Chapter 30: The Hunt in the Tythonian Wilds
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The masked figure stood motionless, cloaked in a presence so cold it felt like the air itself had turned against us. It’s aura in the Force was sharp and calculated—an assassin, trained to kill with precision and silence.
I knew we couldn’t fight them here, not in the open, not with the girl so vulnerable.
I turned to Merah, my voice urgent but low. "Get back to the village. Warn them. Tell them there’s a Sith assassin in the area."
She hesitated, her hand still gripping her blaster pistol, her expression torn between standing her ground and following orders. "You sure you don’t need backup?"
I nodded. "I need you to make sure the Twi’leks are safe. This assassin isn’t just here for me."
Merah gritted her teeth but didn’t argue. "Fine. Just don’t get yourself killed, hero." She turned and sprinted back toward the village, disappearing through the dense foliage. The wind carried her fading footsteps, leaving only the quiet tension between me, the girl, and the unseen killer before us.
The Twi’lek girl—the descendant of Mission Vao—stood frozen in place, her breath shallow, her blue eyes darting between me and the assassin. She didn’t know what was happening, but she felt it.
I reached for her wrist. "Run. Now."
She didn’t question me—her survival instincts had already kicked in. The moment she turned, I ignited my lightsaber, its green-blue glow casting sharp shadows across the trees. The assassin didn’t move. Not yet. It were waiting, calculating, anticipating my next move.
I wasn’t going to give them the chance.
I turned and ran.
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The forest blurred around us as I pulled the Twi’lek girl along, leaping over tangled roots and ducking under low-hanging branches. The dense foliage rushed past, the twilight sky above barely visible through the thick canopy. Every instinct screamed that our pursuer was closing in.
Then—
A sudden ripple in the Force. A warning.
I yanked the girl sideways just as a scarlet blade ignited behind us, carving through the space where we had stood an instant before. The assassin moved like a shadow, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
I spun, raising my saber just in time to block a precise, lethal strike. The assassin’s lightsaber hissed as it clashed against mine, the impact sending a vibration up my arms. They were fast—blindingly fast—but there was no brute force behind their attacks. Every movement was controlled, deliberate.
I pushed back, creating distance, then turned and kept running. We couldn’t win this fight, not like this.
The Twi’lek girl stumbled but regained her footing, her breath ragged. "Who—what is that?"
"Not someone we want to fight right now. Just keep moving!"
The trees ahead split into a rocky incline, the land sloping downward into a river gorge below. The path we were following ended abruptly, leading to a sharp drop-off. A dead end.
Or so it seemed.
"Hold on!" I called, wrapping my arm around her waist. I let the Force flow through me, and with a single, powerful leap, we soared off the ledge—
—twisting midair, the wind rushing past us—
—before landing hard on a lower rock formation, just above the riverbed. I barely kept my footing, steadying the girl before she could slip on the damp stone.
A mechanical hiss from above.
The assassin stood at the edge of the cliff, watching. It’s stance was relaxed, almost unimpressed.
Then it jumped.
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The assassin descended like a specter, it’s crimson blade carving through the air as they landed with unnatural grace. No wasted movement. No hesitation.
I barely had time to react before it was on me again, it’s** saber a blur of lethal precision.**
I met it’s attacks with swift Makashi counters, redirecting it’s blade rather than clashing directly. This wasn’t a battle of strength—it was a battle of skill.
It was testing me.
Each strike came closer, forcing me to move, to adjust, to anticipate it’s rhythm. It’s fighting style was unlike any Sith I had faced—not as aggressive, not as reckless.
It was a professional killer.
And that meant it didn’t care about winning a battle.
They cared about the kill.
I pivoted, feinting a low strike before twisting upward with an acrobatic Ataru flip, but it saw through it. It’s response was instant—a side-step, a shift of the shoulders, and then it’s saber came straight for my throat.
At the last second, the Twi’lek girl intervened.
She grabbed a handful of dirt and gravel from the ground and threw it into the assassin’s face.
The unexpected move gave me just enough of an opening. I launched a Force push, sending the assassin skidding back toward the ledge. They recovered effortlessly, but the delay was all I needed.
I grabbed the girl again. "We’re leaving. Now.
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We sprinted along the river’s edge, heading for a passage through the cliffs. The assassin didn’t follow immediately.
It was still watching. Still waiting.
I could almost hear their thoughts:
This isn’t over.
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We ran until my lungs burned, until the sounds of the assassin faded into the distant rush of the river.
Only then did I allow myself to stop, my body tensed for any sign of pursuit.
The Twi’lek girl, breathless and shaken, looked at me with wide eyes. "What—who was that? Why are it after me?"
I exhaled, gripping my lightsaber. "I don’t know. But you need to come with me. You’re not safe here."
She hesitated, glancing back toward the village. "My home—"
"Merah is warning them. If this assassin was sent for you, it won’t stop hunting until they find you."
She swallowed hard, realization settling over her. She didn’t want to believe it, but she knew I was right.
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then, finally—
"Okay. I’ll go. But I want answers."
I nodded. "You’ll get them."
The trees whispered around us, the wind carrying an unspoken warning. The assassin was still out there.
Waiting.
Watching.
This wasn’t over.
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