Dune Hunting

[Bat]

The sun beating down on Bat was starting to really bug him. It was at such a perfect angle to be a genuine nuisance that for a brief moment he wondered whether it was pushing against him in some sort of universal conspiracy. It was at just enough of an angle to blind him whenever he looked up, while also sending scores of heat onto the back of his head.

He walked on for a few steps, sand shuffling beneath his feet with a whispered hush followed by an aggravated twitch from Bat. Walking the dunes of Tatooine had never been the most exciting part of the planet, it was monotonous and tiresome. He could probably have just rode a speeder of some sort out to the place if it wasn't more easily seen on the horizon and if he actually had the credits to fix up the exhaust of the speeder so it wouldn't sound like a blaster going off every time it slowed down.

That would have been counter-intuitive to what he was trying to do, though it would be humorously similar in outcome. Bat smirked, lifting his head for a moment as he re-adjusted his course back towards the little town he was supposed to be heading to. Bat recalled the message that he had received from a pal in the underground, some sort of Hutt or something had called out a 50,000 credit bounty on a poor sap named Malik.

The town was close enough, he decided, coming to a stop as he checked for a decent vantage point. He found one in a rocky section of a nearby dune, the piece jutting out unnaturally from the side as if though specifically placed there. Bat grinned, thanking the universe for it's sudden change of opinion. He was about three-hundred meters out from town, but the view of his vantage point let him see most of it pretty clearly.

Bat removed the Ar-Jurkad from his shoulder, caressing it gently in his hands as he felt the weight of the weapon and admired it's many features. It wasn't a terribly advanced thing in this day and age, but it did pack a handsome amount of tools which would help a beginner like Bat to start his career.

Bat checked that the single-fire was set on the Jurkad before settling down on his stomach and eyeing the town once more. He watched using the tactical scope and almost gave a laugh of joy at how nice it was to be holding something like this in his hands, it almost brought back memories... almost.

"Now, it's just time to wait."
[member="Malik"]

 

[Malik]

Malik could barely hear anything over the drunking rambling in the tavern. He looked down at his cards and then at the opponent, he was playing sabacc and planed to win. His drunken opponent laughed as he set down his cards "You better pay up, I have sabacc. As Malik's opponent reached for the credits Malik chuckled and set down his own cards, the opponent stared at them dumfounded, Malik had gotten and idiots array. The man growled, grabbed his blaster, and pointed it at the masked man "WHO THE KARK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! THIS IS MY TOWN! IM NOT PAYING COLD EARNED CREDITS TO A MASKED FREAK! YOUR GOI-" The man was stopped abruptly by a shot from Malik's DL-44. Malik sighed as he grabbed the credits "You see gentlemen, this is why you play fair in sabacc." Malik glanced over at the body Might have something nice, better take him with me. Malik put the corpse on his shoulder, nodded to the tavern owner, and walked out the door.

[member="Bat"]

 

[Bat]

Bat was whistling an old pirate tune when something peaked his interest about two-hundred meters into town. He cut off his shanty and leaned into the scope of the Jurkad, re-adjusting it by about an inch to zoom in on the disturbance. There was a man carrying a corpse over his shoulder outside of what was likely a tavern or bar by the looks of it. "Bloody tough fellow." He spoke as the man hefted the corpse, apparently having little trouble with it despite what the dead weight must be for a person of the size.

That had to be his target, there was almost no way it wasn't. He continued watching for another couple of seconds until the target's mask caught the sun and gave a quick blinding glare, further alerting Bat's suspicions as to the identity of the fellow. Reasoning flew through his mind rapidly: He hadn't heard the shot, that meant either melee or a small arms weapon which meant the man was limited to short range. He was also carrying a body like it was nothing, that indicated at least some level of experience as well as decent strength.

Which, in short, meant that Bat wasn't going to be going near the fellow for an attempt at an 'Alive' bounty. That was fine, he could deal with shooting someone, it wasn't like he'd not done it before. Still, Randy would have been disappointed in him if he knew this was how he was getting credits. He really hated disappointing him, after all, Randy was like a father to him.

He'd have to think up a convenient lie after the matter, for now, he just needed to off a target. It was a little soothing to his conscious to think of him as a murderer, scum of the world who deserved what was coming. It helped even more when he saw the mask covering facial expressions, it helped to de-humanize him further. Bat wasn't shooting at a person, he was firing on a monster.

He raised his left hand, brushing away a bit of sand as he flicked on the red-light dot on the Jurkad, watching as the little dot danced playfully across the target's side for a brief moment, like a tiny mouse playing about in the dim glow of a candle. He took a breath, trailing the shot along and steadying his hands on the Jurkad.

He exhaled half of his breath, the flicker of pressure of his finger tapping against the warm metal on the trigger sent a red bolt of light streaking towards the hip of his target. The shot seemed true, and he gave a sigh of resignation and satisfaction as it flew.
[member="Malik"]

 

[Malik]

Malik sung a tune softly "What will you do with a drunken whaler, what will you do with a drunken whaler, what will you do with a drunken whaler early in the mor-" He stopped sing right when a blaster shot zoomed behind his hip, leaving a small hole in his robe. Malik quickly turned towards the direction the shot came from a saw the glare of a red light in the distance. I can't go a single planet without fighting now can I? Malik dropped the corpse and a activated thermal detantor on it. He grinned under the mask as he sprinted away from the explosion. The detention of the grenade rocked the area around the town, causing most of the citizens to exit their respective buildings. Malik, using the distraction to his advantage, escaped into the crowd.

[member="Bat"]

 

[Bat]

The bolt had flown so perfectly towards the man that Bat nearly put down his weapon and prepared to call it a day. Except that the blast went through a piece of Malik's clothing, not his body. He growled softly as he re-adjusted the scope and prepared to fire again, only to watch a thermal detonator go off in zoom.

The sting against his eyes reminded him of the same principle of not staring at the sun. He blinked back a couple of involuntary tears and scanned the area rapidly for the figure who by all rights should have died were it not for a minor miscalculation on his part. Bat thought he spotted the figure, he was wearing the same clothes and was running through a growing crowd of people who appeared to be, while a bit shaken, not quite panicking just yet.

"Found you, rat." He hissed, hateful over his missed shot.

Bat lost line of sight a couple of times, but the glare of the mask and the flicker of cloth kept his Jurkad on spot every few seconds. This was already running off with more attention than he had hoped. Bat could see the headlines now about someone throwing bombs and shooting at innocents if he hit one of the civilians. It was different if a murderer was shot, no one would pay any mind; after all, this was Tatooine.

The line of sight returned and Bat took another slow, dusty breath. He shifted the Jurkad to the left a bit where there was a bit more room, and then sighted a slightly better open space ahead of Malik. His finger squeezed gently onto the trigger as he released half of the breath, the crack of the Jurkad matching the light strike of recoil against his shoulder. The bolt whizzed fatefully past Malik, hitting just a bit left of it's intended target: The ground in front of the target.

Bat hoped that the sight of the blaster would un-nerve the scum to divert his course and try to run for cover, hopefully away from people where he could still hit. If not, he was going to have to change positions in the next fifteen seconds or so.
[member="Malik"]

 

[Malik]

Malik stopped when he saw the blaster shot infront of him. "I must say he has aim, but doesn't mean I'm moving. Instead of running, Malik moved further into the crowd. He chuckled as he brushed past the people from the tavern, he didn't mind if the hunter shot those idiots. Still, if the hunter wanted a fight he would be doing it on the ground on Malik's terms. Malik looked at his small datapad, looking at the time KARK! Looks like this is going to put me behind by a day.

[member="Bat"]

 

[Bat]

The plan; though it had been conceived with a decent idea in mind, had failed. The slight glint of the mask taunted him as Malik moved deeper into the crowd instead of away from it like he had originally hoped. Now, it seemed he would lose the target unless he moved down onto his level, something that Bat dreaded.

Bat arose from his prone position slowly, carefully moving the Jurkad back into his hands, gently so as not to scrape it against the coarse sand as he did so. He stretched his back slightly with a groan, wiping a bit of sand from his front before moving his hands' focus back onto the Jurkad. With a quick flicker of the hands, Bat set the weapon into full auto mode, gradually moving down the small hill and in the general direction of the crowd.

He stayed on the outskirts of town, not wanting to risk going into it so as not to arouse the fear of the citizens who may or may not blame him for the bomb threat. Alternatively, they might see him as an enforcer of a local crime lord, checking on their assets and seeking to stop the threat. Malik might have made a terrible mistake in setting off that weapon and sending a spiral of citizens in fear out into the open.

Time would tell, Bat decided as he continued scanning the crowd. He couldn't quite see Malik anymore, but he had a general position of where he was. Moving towards the crowd, he felt his feet switch from walking solely on sand to a mixture of sand and harder substances, possibly duracrete. He kept his Jurkad pointed near the ground so as not to threaten the nearby citizens, though already as he neared he could hear a few of them mumbling and stepping away from him, frightful expressions crossing faces.

"Citizens, I am searching for the individual who set the bomb. He is currently wearing a golden mask as well as red clothing, please help me to find him." He spoke slowly, motioning towards a pair of evacuating Rodians who responded with a couple of points directly to their right before they wandered away. Bat nodded his thanks, lifted the Jurkad up a bit more, and began to march in that direction.

The hunt was back on.
[member="Malik"]

 

[Malik]

Malik made it to the large empty farms of the town. Everyone had evacuated to the center of town so it was best to fight here. He heard footsteps and as he turned he grinned. He then spoke in his cold, calm voice "Oh very nice to see my attacker up close, now, can I have your name before we fight? I'm sure you know mine." Malik reached down in his coat and pulled out a Vibroblade and DL-44

[member="Bat"]

 

[Bat]

The tracking ended quite quickly as the pair neared a set of farms, apparently deserted due to the recent explosion. Bat hefted the Jurkad in his hands nervously, giving a soft cough as he cleared his mind a bit and prepared for the upcoming battle. He was about forty feet away when he finally stopped, eyeing Malik who had taken notice of him as well.

He could feel the dull thudding of his heartbeat, the faint anxiety of battle wasn't quite a friend, but more like an acquaintance from the old days as a pirate. The figure spoke, a pounding of conscience attempting to shatter the wall he'd put up to allow for his actions. He wasn't fighting a person, he was fighting a killer, no amount of speech would change that.

The convincing worked gradually through his mind once more as he cleared his throat and answered "Of course, that's only courtesy, my name is-" He raised the Jurkad rapidly mid-sentence, letting off a spray of blaster fire; nearly eight in total, from the automatic weapon and stepping towards one of the nearby buildings for cover in case he missed, the recoil and movements lessened the aim, but the amount of bolts helped to make up for it. The old trick had been learned after a couple of standoffs had turned deadly, most people expected you to finish your sentence, they weren't ready for you to open fire.

"Bat." He finished, the cover still several feet away from him.
[member="Malik"]

 

[Malik]

Malik rolled, causing a few of the bolts to tear through his cloak. As he stood up sprinted towards where the bounty hunter was "Well Bat, if we do cross paths again I expect you to pay for the damage of my cloak." Malik fired three bolts from his DL-44 at the hunter, while he had his vibroblade ready to strike when he got close enough.

[member="Bat"]

 

[Bat]

Bat reached the cover a moment late as one of the searing shots from Malik's DL-44 scraped along his calf, sending a searing pain up his leg. He stumbled a bit, but managed to remain standing, peeking around the corner of the building to spy Malik, now only about twenty feet away and charging towards him rapidly.

The quick blasts from Malik were obviously some sort of distraction, he assumed. He probably didn't expect Bat to be up so quickly. "Idiot." He hissed, wincing as he put a bit of weight on his leg. He leaned more fully out of cover, Jurkad pressed tight into his arms as he released another volley of bolts, about ten in total before sliding back into cover and inching down the wall a bit.

If the volley hadn't killed him, it would probably have wounded him, but Bat assumed he might try to turn the corner and stab him. So he raised the Jurkad and pointed it at the corner, about five feet away. Taking a glance behind him he saw that the other corner was about ten feet away, meaning it'd be quicker for Malik to come directly towards him, but if he did he'd also risk being shot by the remaining shots in the Jurkad.

Bat bit his tongue a bit as he cast another weary glance at his leg, pressed against the wall for additional support. He had to finish the fight soon.
[member="Malik"]

 

[Malik]

A few shots whizzed past him while Malik tried to dodge the others. He was succesful up until the last two. The last two blaster shots skimmed his side, the pain and surprise caused Malik to stumble into the other corner. He glanced at his side, the shot cauterized it but it didn't mean it didn't hurt. He placed his right hand where the injury was, he needed this fight to end soon before the injury got any worse.

[member="Bat"]

 

[Bat]

Bat was fairly confident that Malik was still alive, especially considering how Malik was somehow managing to dodge all of his shots. That meant the fight probably wouldn't go in his favor if he continued it. His primary fighting technique was accurate shooting, but this man was rendering it all useless. Any moment now he would be following around the corner, ready to slide a dagger in his ribs.

The bounty hadn't specifically been by contract, which meant he lost very little for leaving. He'd probably need a way out however, thankfully, his recent purchases had fully equipped him for that. He reached for his side, removing a cylindrical object and pulling away the pin. He tossed it into the clearing, and it began to spray out a dense cloud of thick smoke.

Bat, using the smoke as cover sprinted through, keeping his Jurkad trained on the smoke for any sign of a charging fellow. Once he had cleared the gap, he gradually began to creep away, back towards town, hoping his exit was covered.

Then again, Malik had no real reason to chase him down and now would be an ample opportunity for him to escape as well. It meant that Bat was sacrificing a fair amount of credits, but he knew from many card games at the local cantinas and bars that you had to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, and know when to run.

[member="Malik"]

 

[Malik]

Malik coughed as he saw the bounty hunter running away. Malik smiled and spoke to himself "So long, Bat. May we meet again and finish this fight." Malik slowly got up and grunted, he had been shot before but it always stung no matter how many times it happened. He started to walk away from the town, towards the closest ship hangar. He had somewhere to be and didn't want to miss it.

[member="Bat"]