Battle Royale Round Two - Mictian Vorenus

Prologue:
The Jedi Order, a reclusive bunch of old masters and councilors. Some say that they work under the command of the Republic, others, that they control the Republic Senate. The truth is that they work as equals with the Galactic Republic, giving aid when necessary in accordance with the principles they uphold. There are times as well, when the Jedi Order, in all of its magnanimity, call upon aid from the Republic. One can be assured, that when the Jedi call upon the Republic Military, it's for purposes which are against the Jedi code, without authority from the councilors, and always, off the books.

The plan was simple. Shoot the Jedi into space oblivion as he left hyperspace from Coruscant to Caarimon. Apparently, no one informed me that the Jedi could shoot back, or that he would be jumping out of hyperspace near a jungle planet. Now, here I am, hiding on top of a tree trying to look for my target.

They never tell me why I do what I do. Just a name, how he looks like, and where to find him. They told me that he betrayed the Jedi order, or some bullshit like that, I never believe them. However, I took an oath of loyalty when I entered the Military. I don't take oaths lightly.

The humidity of the air could be felt even through my helmet's oxygen filter. The entire area was full of trees that seemed to extend to the heavens, if there was a heaven. Leaves of all shapes and sizes, followed by weird looking fruits and flowers, like a mosaic display of beauty, the forest floor littered the with colours of the leaves, surroundings that mirrored those of a rain forest. The good news was that he crashed, while I landed.

Due to the trees that obstructed my view, I wasn't able to blast him from the sky, so I set my ship down in a relatively distant clearing, and made my way to the crash site on foot. I followed his tracks leading away from the ship, to a nearby cave, and from the length of his strides, as well as the amount of pressure he exerted on each foot, I could tell that he was injured in his left leg. Nevertheless, I wasn't about to risk walking into a trap, so I decided to camouflage myself on a branch, attach my sniper scope, and wait.

It seemed almost unreal. Who was this assailant of mine? Why was he after me? What if its a she... now that would make things interesting. Here I am, in this cave, with an injured leg, and an assassin after me. Great. Using the force, as well as a medkit I found in my ship, I slowly healed my leg. All I needed now was some rest. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, I lost track of time in my deep slumber. By the time I woke up, day had turned to night. Perfect.

My leg was feeling better, so I thought that it was about time the hunted became the hunter. Something didn't feel right. A disturbance in the force. I didn't see it coming, but I felt it coming. I jumped to the cave wall just in time, for the shot was a high powered laser burst, used by snipers throughout the galaxy, and an attempt to deflect such a shot was suicidal. Judging from the trajectory, I guessed where the shooter was, maybe I could use the force to distract him. I jumped out, battle plan at the ready, lightsaber glowing like an extension of my arm.

Another shot came. I wasn't prepared, caught off guard, for it was from another direction. There was no time to consider the possibility that there were more than one. I tried to block the shot with my lightsaber.

The force of the shot sent me whirling into the cave wall, smashing my back against hard solid rock. The pain was excruciating, but I had no time for writhing or groaning in pain. Shots this powerful had a cooldown time, not long, but just enough. I jumped forward using the force and concealed myself among the trees, trying to feel his- their- presence. The shots started coming in, from all around, weaker, yet solid, blaster shots. I deflected them all with my lightsaber, but from the variety in direction, I deduced that it had to be a squad of assassins.

However, when I concentrated hard enough, I realised that I was wrong. It was just one soldier.

"You're fast Mictian. Remember that, use it to your advantage. Confuse your enemy, for when the mind is led astray, the body becomes an easy target."

The words of my instructor back in commando school have always proved essential in any encounter. Jumping from tree to tree, I kept firing a volley of shots at the Jedi. He was standing still, deflecting all my shots, typical of a Jedi. The shots weren't meant to kill, just distract. However, I knew that if this were to continue, I would run out of energy faster than he did, for despite my stamina, running in circles is definitely more tiring than standing still. So I stopped.

Big mistake.

He jumped right at me. How he managed to detect my presence was beyond me. I knew that I was at a disadvantage in close quarters. Especially since I didn't have a saber of light that incinerated everything it touched. He came at me, I jumped from my branch to the ground below. He was fast. As soon as he landed on the branch, he jumped down at me, lightsaber raised high above his head, ready to strike and kill me.

I thought it was the end of him. This unmarked soldier trying to kill me. However, out from his knuckle plate, extended a vibro blade which parried my lightsaber. In a backflip, he slung his blaster over his back, and attempted to withdraw a side-arm. Like I was going to let him.

I was amazed at his speed, blocking every stroke I made with his three inch blade. We danced, past trees and flowers, a magnificent dance of death. I knew I was winning. He was on the defensive, not being able to make a move against me since my lightsaber whirled a cage around him. His focus was divided between me and the environment, so he didn't have much left to spare. Yet again I was proven wrong, yet again was I given proof that this was no ordinary soldier.

With his free right hand, he grabbed a branch attached to a huge leaf and used it to obscure my vision. He jumped, kicking my in the face, his left hand still blocking any movement of my lightsaber. I fell backward. He withdrew his side-arm. I had to use it. It was that or death. I concentrated all of my remaining energy on harnessing the force. Time stood still.

I was about to end this. Finally. Underestimating me has always been the downfall of most of my opponents, or should I say, targets. I was about to pull the trigger, but something didn't feel right. My mind... it was telling me not to... why...

"I see now... you're but a republic soldier... forced to work for your superiors... who treat you like dirt anyway... Surely you deserve better... no?"

"Shut Up! You don't know anything! I... I swore an oath! Get Out of My Mind!!"

"Day after day... without a break... why? Because a bunch of Sith killed your family... boo hoo... You're just being used... nothing more than a tool... what purpose do you have in this world? NONE!"

"BE QUIET! I... I do this because I can... because I have to... Kill... I... DIE DAMN YOU!"

Rage took over me. I dropped my side arm and tried attacking him with my vibroblade. My speed matched his. Surprisingly, we were equal this time. It was not until I saw the wicked smile on his face, and thought about what just happened, did I realise that this was no Jedi. He was employing classic Sith tactics. Too late.

Ironically, despite all that battling, we ended up at the mouth of the cave. I wonder if the gods had been smiling down upon me that day, or it was simply meant to be. He was about to give the killing blow, when a vine dropped from a tree and distracted him for a second. More than enough. I didn't have enough time to strike him with my vibroblade, for I ran. I ran because I remembered what I did those long hours waiting outside the cave.

"Strategy beats real time tactics my friend." I whispered to myself, amusing that the Jedi could've heard me.

I ran as fast as I could in that minute I was spared. For as soon as the Jedi realised what was happening, it was too late. The explosions went off. Rocks fell from the mouth of the cave, and the Jedi was surrounded by fire. As a precautionary measure, I emptied an entire cartridge of laser fire into the blazing inferno, threw a grenade in there, and listened to the screams of the Nautolan as he burned.

Epilogue
Mictian reported to his superiors with another successful mission. They were pleased, and gave him an entire day off, the first he day off he ever had. Despite all that the military has done to him, Mictian dismissed the words of Jeme Maer, for Mictian knew his duty, as well as his resolve to serve it with Strength and Honour.

Thanks, I can't wait to pit myself against one of you >=D oh and I sooo gotta remember to format... Hope you guys could tell the difference between my character and Jeme's character XD