Private Hunter and Prey [Koda]

[Darth Carnifex]

The sun was beginning to set on the distant horizon, casting a dark red pall over New Jedha City. Rebuilt decades after its destruction at the hands of the First Death Star, New Jedha City had grown to surpass its predecessor and remain one of the only viable trading hubs on the Western hemisphere of the galaxy following the Four-Hundred Year Darkness. Ignored by most intergalactic powers, Jedha had established its own sense of autonomy with its own trade-based form of self-governance. Tens of thousands of beings traveled its spaceports every month, from every walk of life from the lowliest scoundrel to the richest nobility.​

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One such scoundrel was running through the twilit back alleys of New Jedha, casting terrified glances over their shoulder as they dipped in and out of alley after alley. They ran because they were scared of the thing which stalked them and had been stalking them for some time, even before they had arrived on Jedha. But what terrified them more was the prospect of failing the one who had sent them on this path, for as horrible as that which chased them was, nothing could compare to the ire of their master.​

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And so they ran, the path memorized as the target structure loomed ahead. A sound pierced the air, and they flung themselves down into the dirt, dodging what looked like a metal projectile that sailed just above their head. Not risking a glance back, they scrambled up into the building and slammed the door behind them.​

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Running further into the structure, they paused for a moment to catch their breath before closing another door behind them.​

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But they were not alone.​

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"He pursued?"​

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Breath shaky and throat dry, they nodded. "Yes, milord, he is here."​

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"Good." A flash of red briefly illuminated the darkness, followed by a meaty thump. The runner's body collapsed to the floor, their head rolling to a stop a few feet away as smoke rose from the cauterized stump of their neck. They hadn't even had a chance to react, the exhausted expression plastered across their sweat-slickened face.​

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The being who now remained simply returned to where he had been sitting.​

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And waited.​

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Koda Fett ​

 

[Koda Fett]

The Mandalorian never found too much excitement in the chase; frightened screams and scrambled motions brought on as a result of all their fear never suited Fett. It could never be clean, the Bounty Hunter mused, not whilst their desperation could seem the breathe for a moment more. He pursued the smuggler across the system before Jedha came into view, and further found the scent into the depths that all cities seemed to possess for one reason or another -- someone made their coin in the ill-found trade beneath the rest. But Fett almost felt robotic, the mindless chase of someone in an effort to see credits rather than some semblance of sense. He supposed it hardly mattered, for whatever their crime seemed to be, the cost came first.

Safe to say that the Mandalorian required credits, regardless of the questionable ethics behind them.

His approach came beside a soft descent; the sound of sputtering flames forced the end to the jetpack that so often let the man soar, and the encroaching spurs on the other side of the doorframe came to an end. He arrived. In one short blast, it opened at once and the Bounty Hunter worldessly entered blaster drawn.

Yet that target seemed to take the form of a corpse now.

Darth Carnifex​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The door exploded with a blast of plasmatic energy, splinters of what remained to shower every corner of the room. Some of those bits embedded themselves in the headless corpse of the Mandalorian's quarry, who had remained where they had fallen when they were executed. The flash from the explosion briefly bathed the room in brilliant illumination, casting light on the lone individual which sat patiently in the chair at the darkened corner for a brief moment before he was swallowed by shadows once more.​

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"Koda Fett."​

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The voice rang out through the darkness a moment after the door's destruction, a voice that would be innately familiar to the bounty hunter. He had done many jobs for this voice, committed many atrocities at its behest. It was so ingrained within his memory, that the mere utterance of those simple words was powerful enough to give even him pause.​

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"It's been a long time, old friend. I had wondered when we would meet again, though I wish it were under more accommodating circumstances."​

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The figure rose, his head nearly brushing against the high ceiling. Stepping out into the light revealed the voice to be owned by Darth Carnifex, the nominal Dark Lord of the Sith. Though he had abdicated his titles and responsibilities in the Sith Empire to pursue his own objectives, the moniker by which he had been known and feared was a hard cloak to shake. He was every bit as imposing as he was the last time Koda had set eyes upon him, the regality of authority having not diminished in the slightest. ​

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Koda Fett ​

 

[Koda Fett]

"You set me up."

The Bounty Hunter remained stoic, unmoved, as still as stone itself. His T-Visor continued to stare forwards and some varying amount of caution continued in the reminder of the carbine that remained held; Sith Emperor or not, Carnifex remained more dangerous than most, if not all. His armoured shell could ensure momentary safety, yet no triumph against the Dark Lord of the Sith. Jedi became a nusance, though a Sith seemed unchained and of another nature altogether. Even as the movements came, all seemed to be so slight in the shift of the eyes - to the corpse beneath them, to the room that surrounded them, to the Sith above him.

"Is it my head now, or someone else's?"

Darth Carnifex​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Someone else's, always."​

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For years, the Mandalorian had worked the many odd ends and jobs that Carnifex had available for him. He never complained, never hesitated, he was dutiful to the job he had been given. Regardless of whether that job was collecting a highly dangerous rathtar from Twon Ketee or snuffing out someone who had fallen into the once-Emperor's crosshairs, Koda Fett had proven time and time again to be efficient and above all reliable.​

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But that had been several years ago, and Carnifex's recent transgressions against Koda's own kind threw that reliability into question.​

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Did Koda Fett hold the same sympathies that had turned Vilaz Munin away from Carnifex's side?​

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"There are a few in this turbulent galaxy of ours that I would see extinguished." Though Carnifex did not move towards Koda, the distinct sensation of a pair of hands resting on both of Koda's shoulders was unmistakable. "Those that stand in the way of what needs to be done, my old friends. Politicians, military officers, and of course..." The presence on Koda's shoulders seemed to tighten in anticipation, "Mandalorians."​

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He let the word hang in the air for a few moments.​

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"Will that be an issue?"​

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Koda Fett ​

 

[Koda Fett]

Silence overcame the scene, if but for a moment. Had it been some inkling of doubt, a tinge of skepticism, or a brief bout of refusal? He could not say; to be the case if such had been known, too. The Bounty Hunter earned a name for ruthlessness, in said case came a distinct absence of choice in the contracts offered to him by others. Fett tried to retreat into the Outer Rim Territories, escape the set stage that so often came to see the rise and fall of the superpowers that reigned supreme - no matter the attempt made, connections made in the time since passed came back to haunt him, to reel him back into the stage. If anyone, Koda ought to have known it was to be Carnifex.

Perhaps that insistent thorn in the side came to call for the return. Had it been some form of the so-called Force, able to burden those that found themselves unburdened by the influence? Possibly, the Mandalorian mused, since bothered by the prospect. The once Dark Lord of the Sith doubtless to since the slight hesitation, set amongst other ever-present emotions; bitterness, chief among them.

"No," said the Bounty Hunter in due time, certain of the answer. "Name them, and make it so. I still find preference in the Galatic Alliance, but I require improvements in order to enter the Core undetected."

Darth Carnifex​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

If Carnifex was still capable of emotion, he might've smiled or laughed.​

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He did neither.​

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For a brief moment, he sensed the Mandalorian's hesitation, a foreign feeling between them, but it was quickly brushed away. Try as he might, he could not escape the hunt for long. For as long as Carnifex had known the bounty hunter, he had known that Koda was embodied by the thrill of the hunt, the adrenaline of the chase. He did not seek to settle down and start a family, he was unburdened by such weakness. Money and fame were not his glories to chase either.​

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The pull of the trigger.​

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The light leaving the eyes of his mark.​

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The power over life and death.​

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Carnifex knew that sensation intimately. He understood Koda Fett perhaps better than those who would profess to be his vod ever could. He was far more than just a Mandalorian, he did not let that heritage weigh him down.​

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"Passage through the Core Worlds will not be an issue, old friend. The Alliance is not as secure as they think." He reached into his cloak and produced a datachip, which he then placed on the nearby table for Koda to take. Whenever Koda would plug the chip into his systems, he would be confronted with a laundry list of targets. Some of the notable names included Aerarii Tithe , Julius Loghain , Briika Munin , among many others. "I have taken the liberty of designing a new vessel for your travels, one that will outpace anything the Alliance will use to patrol their systems. A set of coordinates are included among your target list. Your new vessel will be waiting for you there, but wait five days before inputting the coordinates in your navicomputer."​

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The coordinates pinpointed a spot in empty neutral space, far from any civilized system. It was unknown what would be waiting for Koda when he did arrive, but the once-Emperor did nothing without some sort of purpose.​

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Such things would become readily apparent in time.​

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Koda Fett ​

 

[Koda Fett]

"I can make no promises on Munin. Mandalorians are troublesome by nature, and one so entrenced in a commune is doubtlessly shielded by the rest of them and their lot; Vilaz is not one to be careless in the cocerns of a beloved." He said, confident of the fact as the T-Visor reflected the display of the figures the once-Dark Lord felt too bothersome to remain alive. He offered a brief turn upwards to Carnifex, curious, "Is she bait for someone else? Is the Union the Sith permitted not all it sold itself as?" Fett hardly awaited an answer, instead able to find more amusement in the criticism to be thrust onto that Mandalorian culture - the Empire, the Crusaders, the Sons, and the Union. Neither seemed to separate from one another, all the same no matter their bitter contempt for the other that may deem themselves Mand'alor. Is it Kurze that commands the Sons, Westwind the Union, Vizsla the Crusaders, and... suppose the Empire is no more than a rotten corpse sent out into the abyss, the remnants of such out there somewhere.

He found himself curious, if but for a moment. Had all those souls the Mandalorian once loathed or named allies found themselves since slain in the endless conflicts that coated the Mandalore system? Had each moved on, believed their fight a worthless cause? Had Mandalore simply been of little matter anymore? He figured, in the end, that no such question needed an answer, and even if it found one, it likely never mattered.

"Not the Chancellor herself?" Fett remarked curiously, uncertain. "Is there something special about Tithe, so much so the Supreme Chancellor is cast aside in favour of the Vice? He's earned enemies, I see."

Darth Carnifex​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"The Mandalorians serve their purpose and will continue to do so, even if they do not realize it yet." How strange it was that Mandalore had been so under-defended when the Union had come to reclaim it when not even the bolstered might of the Australis Clan could dislodge the Sith in the battle prior. Some would say that it was because of the Sith attack on Myrkr, that the Empire had diverted forces from the Mandalorian sector to lay waste to the planet adopted by the Australis clan. Some would wonder why the Empire had not instead diverted forces away from areas of the Empire less under strain by external and internal strife to attack Myrkr while keeping Mandalore well-stocked with soldiers and ships.​

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Such was the web that Carnifex had woven.​

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"Vilaz would keep his beloved safely tucked away from danger, that is true. He places too much emphasis on his familial ties, it weakens him. To reach her, you would have to bypass the firewalls he had placed around her. For you, this shall not be as difficult as you might imagine." A dark glimmer flashed in Carnifex's eyes, "Not when you walk alongside the man himself, or what appears to be him." Many many years ago, Carnifex had acquired samples of Vilaz Munin's DNA and cloned him to create the first iteration of his phantom army. Gradually, he phased out the Vilaz clones with his more reliable strand-casts, but he still kept quite a few of the Vilaz clones around for just such an occasion.​

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"As for the Chancellor of the Galactic Alliance, she has yet to fulfill her role in this grand drama. I still need her alive for now, but as for the Vice-Chancellor? He had served his purpose and must be removed from the board." The man was as spineless as they came, and while his mind had been useful to Carnifex for a brief moment, he had ultimately passed out of favor. Carnifex now had a new bureaucratic mind with which he could work with, and Tithe's usefulness had all but dried up.​

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A pity.​

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"Chandra's time will come, but for now she proves useful."​

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Koda Fett ​

 

[Koda Fett]

He possessed little of worth to make mention of, and so namely maintained such often found silence; a common feature of the Mandalorian, most found, more of a silent observer than a talkative participant. It served him fine to be the former, yet the concerns of payment and the like need be addressed. For what was the scum and villainy of the galaxy if not rich and infamous in the height of their success?

"Your board is not what it once was," Fett remarked, almost cruelly. "I still expect to be paid my regular rates, new vessel or not."

Darth Carnifex​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"For you, my old friend, I will pay triple your rate."

The once-Emperor did not lack in credits or raw materials, he had both in bountiful spades. He had spent the last three-plus decades accumulating as much financial wealth as he could, utilizing the militaries of various governments to do his bidding across the entire galaxy. Even now, his feverous followers continued to amass material for him to use as he saw fit. Manufacturing magnates, banking secretaries, and even political officials were all on his payroll in one form or another.​

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Most never even realized it.​

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With all relevant information having been disseminated and neither individual eager to engage in mundane small-talk, it was time for them to temporarily part ways. "You have the coordinates, I will be expecting your punctuality to be impeccable. Five days." The shadows seemed to darken around the once-Emperor, swallowing him in their umbral embrace before they, and the Sith Lord himself, faded away from view. All that remained was the corpse of the quarry that Fett had been chasing and a frigid numbing sensation in the air.​

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Five days passed without much incident, the coordinates given to Koda Fett leading him deep into unpopulated space. In this limbo between systems, nothing existed except empty space and the occasional passing debris. Darkness concealed the gargantuan construct which moved in this shadowy abyss, the blinking lights of various structures that adorned its surface appearing as distant stars on a veil of shadow. The light from nearby stars just barely reached this zone between systems, an eternal twilight chasm in the black fabric of the galaxy.​

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This was Malsheem, the hidden throneworld of the Sith'ari. Deep within its bowels held the potential to fabricate entire armies and starfleets from almost nothing, and with it, Carnifex had forged an army that was loyal only to him. It was here that he intended for Koda Fett to come and meet him, to receive his gifts, and to be sent on his way to hunt those he had sentenced to death.​

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Koda Fett ​