Siorc vs. Adept Farrin Xies Tarentae

Located on the Rimma Trade Route within the Outer Rim territories, Dagobah could very well be the best place in the Galaxy to hide. The remote location of the planet in combination with the lack of any kind of advanced civilization made it a system of little value to any kind of galactic government. The planet is hot, humid, and mostly filled with foggy, swamp-like jungles.

Dragonsnake Bog is a murky lagoon on the surface of the planet. Fog covers the cloudy waters of the bog. The waters ranged in depth, but at its deepest the bog was roughly 4 meters deep. Even in the shallow areas, the floor of the bog was thick with mud, making it easy for something or someone to get stuck within the lagoon.

True to its name, Dragonsnake Bog was the home of the large, snake-like creature known as the dragonsnake. The beast had an average length of 7 meters and weight of roughly 200 kilograms, though some fully grown dragonsnakes were much larger. It had large, venomous fangs that could help it to subdue prey and a hunger that was nearly unmatched. The dragonsnake usually hid just below the surface of the water, waiting for an opportunity to find its next meal. Once the creature spotted a snack, it would quickly lunge out to attack it.

The Everini didn't move.

He was standing knee deep in the water. Fog rose in misty swirls from the top of the swamp. He knew he was out of his element here. Siorc had studied his target and knew Farrin was both as good as advertised and exceptionally good at remaining unseen. Scans from his helmet were not helping him much as he held his A-15 rifle in a ready position. The butt of the stock placed firmly against his shoulder as he switched the selector to scatter shot.

He watched a large wake in the water swim by less than ten meters away. He tracked it in his sights as it went by. He had hoped staying in the shallower water would help him avoid the Dragonsnakes and so far it was working. He waited a few more minutes for the water to settled back down. Once it had he continued the search not wanting to draw the attention of whatever had crossed his path.

The swamp started getting deeper as he moved again. His rifle swinging between the tree tops above and the water he was in. Trying to keep his head on a swivel between two unseen enemies. Waist deep now he was starting to feel vulnerable. If he was the Tarentae now would be the time to attack.

But it didn't come.

Starting to second guess himself as the water started to shallow, Siorc turned back around swiftly to check his six. Not even a ripple could be seen. He turned back around and barely dodged the first white blade that came at him. The second blade caught him on his forearm, the Beskar keeping his arm from being separated. A sudden powerful strike knocked Siorc back into the water and when he emerged Farrin was gone again.

Should have known he’d be kitted out in that damned beskar, Farrin thought, barely stopping himself from muttering a few choice phrases under his breath. The scant information he had on Siroc already painted his target as a tough nut to crack; he didn’t realize just how difficult it would be until now. Cloaked in the Force, the Tarentae crouched on the limbs of one of the gnarltrees that dotted the swamp and studied the bounty hunter as he rose to his feet, each man trying to determine their next moves.

Two sets of eyes - the slight Human’s and the much larger Evereni’s - moved in tandem as the telltale ripple of a dragonsnake preparing to strike disturbed the murky waters less than two meters away from Siroc. The tall bounty hunter swiveled his well-used A-15 to bear just as the dangerous reptile lashed out at him. He lunged to the side and let loose two quick blasts, the forceful shots ripping chunks out of the beast - not enough to kill it, but certainly enough to send it away and discourage it from hunting this particular prey.

Hoping that the brief attack by the dragonsnake had served as enough of a fortuitously-timed distraction to land a solid blow, Farrin dropped down from his perch above Siroc, the silver-white of the twin blades once again lighting up the night as they arced toward the bounty hunter’s less-protected neck. The Evereni had just enough time to throw himself to the side, rolling in the shin-deep muck and splashing mud all around him as he did so. With a quickness and ease indicative of years of training, he spun the A-15 toward Farrin and fired.

The Tarentae had only a split second to allow him time to recover from his landing and bring his lightsabers up to block the shot. The quick timing, the point blank range, and the muck now surrounding them both all made that more difficult than usual, though, and Farrin couldn’t help but wince as some of the scattered shots sliced through his cloak and armor to the flesh underneath. The force of the blows pushed the slight Human back and he could already feel the familiar burning sensation in several places across his arms and one particularly nasty shot across his ribs; he considered himself lucky that he managed to parry the more dangerous shots at the last minute.

Farrin compartmentalized the pain as he had long ago been trained to do and dropped back into the familiar Shien ready stance - right foot back, left pointed toward the target, and the hilts of his lightsabers gripped tightly in hand. The rather incomplete dossier he had gathered on the Evereni indicated that though the bounty hunter was younger than the former Imperial, his much larger size coupled with the heavy armor he was wearing was likely to tire him out quickly. Even having to contend with the swamp around him, Farrin was betting he could quickly gain the upper hand as Siroc’s stamina waned. That was, at least, the hope given it was the best tactic he could think of when literally staring down the barrel of a blaster only a couple of meters away.

With blood trickling down his ribs, Farrin narrowed his eyes and studied his opponent, his Force-attuned senses hoping to pick up on the tiniest movement in an effort to gain an advantage.

Come at me, you fool… big ol’ scary brute versus the small Human, should be a piece of cake for you… Farrin doubted that the Evereni could read minds, but he hoped that his body language conveyed the taunt all the same.

The Vizslan recognized an invitation when he saw one. His opponent wanted him to charge full speed ahead and wear himself out. Siorc had spent enough time chasing his opponent. He would close the gap, but he would do it on his terms. Raising his A-15 rifle again, Siorc fired another shot as he advanced slowly. The spread of blaster bolts tore through the air between them, only to be intercepted by two spinning blades of plasma.

The rifle fired again as Farrin tried to reposition himself. Siorc wasn’t going to give the smaller man the reckless charge he wanted. He knew better than that. Instead, he continued firing, forcing his opponent to dodge and block as he slowly closed the range. Multiple blasts echoed through the swamp as he finally got close to melee range. At the last second, Siorc let the rifle fall against its sling and pulled his Munit'kad Halberd.

The longer beskar weapon settled into the Evereni’s hands with ease as the fog began swirling around them. An eerie quiet fell on the area around them as the shooting stopped. Farrin had spent the entire fight trying to keep Siorc at a distance and blitz him. Now he couldn't avoid the Mandalorian.

The first strike of the halberd came in hard and wide, forcing the human to jump back. Using his speed and agility, Farrin jumped forward, inside the halberd's reach almost as soon as it passed where he'd been standing. His lightsaber lashed out and caught the black beskar of Siorc on the chest. A glowing red streak formed as the large man twisted away to keep it from getting through to flesh.

Reversing his grip, Siorc slammed the butt of the halberd into Farrin's ribs, causing him to fly back and land in the water. Farrin hit the water hard and sent a muddy splash of water onto Siorc's armor. He didn’t wait for the Imperial to recover as the Halberd swung down vertically to cleave the man on the ground in two pieces. Without anywhere else to go, Farrin rolled through the water and mud, the blade missing him by millimeters.

The blade of the halberd got stuck in the mud for half a second as Farrin was able to gather his feet underneath him. Both opponents stood facing each other in the shallows. Behind Farrin, Siorc could see the wake getting closer; attracted by the noise and splashing, a Dragonsnake was stalking them through the water. There wasn’t much time to react as Siorc activated his jetpack, propelling himself up and out of range just as the dragonsnake emerged. It struck at the open ground Siorc had been in a mere second ago.

Siorc hovered for a few seconds as he watched Farrin turn his attention to the Dragonsnake and begin attacking it. Siorc could have helped; he could have charged back in guns blazing. Instead, he made the smarter play. He turned towards where the Salty Trinitaur was parked. Engaged his jetpack thrusters, and the last he saw of his opponent was white sabers slashing violently through the air as the snake struck again.

In the end, he hadn’t needed to beat Farrin;

He only had to outrun him.

The muggy air of the Dragonsnake Bog was oppressively thick and still as Farrin and Siorc stared at each other, the tense standoff dragging on for what likely felt like hours. Farrin’s twin lightsabers illuminated the swamp with a white glow, punctuated occasionally by the crackle of lightning, while Siorc’s A-15 was trained squarely on the smaller Human’s center mass. In his last fight in that damned cell, the Tarentae had gotten impatient, an error that could have ended significantly worse for him than it did. He was certainly not going to make that mistake again, especially not on one of his first bounties since returning to the active service of Clan Vizsla.

The wait stretched on as both men eyed each other, both waiting to see who would make the first move. Moves and counter moves - it was all part of the game, but there was likely no way this game would end shy of someone’s death. Farrin held no ill will against the Evereni, but that didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t going to allow him to leave the planet alive.

As Farrin’s cold, calculating mind ran through potential gambits, he settled on one that he thought might give him a chance to gain the upperhand. His jade-green eyes - which had been locked on Siorc since their standoff started - quickly darted to the Evereni’s left as a sound broke the stillness. Without thinking, the large bounty hunter snapped his head in that direction and spotted what appeared to be another submerged dragonsnake beginning to advance on them. Siorc stepped back in an attempt to keep both targets in his field of view and cursed when he looked back to find only ripples in the muddy water where Farrin had been standing.

A lesser man would have panicked at that moment, but Siorc was made of far stronger stuff than that - he was the personification of the cliche, “Been there, done that.” He swept his blaster rifle back toward where he had last seen the dragonsnake and was surprised to see… nothing. He slowly circled in place, scanning the area for either of his targets. Neither Human nor reptile seemed to be around, as if both had been ghosts. Siorc peered at the gnarltrees above him, still not seeing anything, until he noticed a slight shimmer curled up in a branch nearby; he had fought against enough Force-sensitive targets to recognize this was some sort of trick they’d use, likely to hide themselves.

The tall bounty hunter continued slowly scanning around him, though his targeting system’s AI had marked the shimmer in the tree as a presumptive threat. He adjusted his hand on the forward grip of the A-15, hoping the ruse was buying him time. Suddenly, he spun back toward the tree where he thought the troublesome former Imperial was hiding and in a quick, practiced motion sent two strong blasts from his rifle at his target. The enhanced bolts tore through the tree but didn’t seem to find their mark.

Siorc had only a moment to be puzzled before he felt something akin to a sledgehammer crash into the back of his left knee, buckling his leg. As the Evereni fell to the ground, he rolled to his side and saw Farrin shimmering back into existence just a couple of meters behind him. With a growl, he quickly brought the blaster rifle back up on his target. Before he could squeeze the trigger, however, Farrin made an almost imperceptible motion with his hand and the weapon was wrenched from his grasp, sailing through the air and landing somewhere in the muck.

“You’re worth more alive than dead, but I don’t want to take my chances. I’m sure you understand.” The Tarentae shrugged as he spoke, his face expressionless.

The hilts of Farrin’s lightsabers shot into his hands from their holsters at his belt, and once again the brilliant white of the blades cut through the darkness of the bog. Siorc reached to his back and grasped the hilt of his halberd, detaching it from his armor and swinging it in front of him. Farrin looked at the vibroax and chuckled, shaking his head.

“Cute, but I have no intention of fighting fair today.”

As he spoke, Farrin leveled one of his lightsabers at the Evereni and stabbed forward in the air, the blade of the lightsaber crackling as bolts of pure white electricity lanced between the two fighters. The first blast of lightning lit upon the metal-clad bounty hunter, causing him to grit his teeth in agony; the second causing him to drop the halberd; and the third bringing him to his knees. Fighting through the excruciating pain as the blasts of lightning caused his muscles to seize had sapped the remaining stores of his stamina, and the havoc the electricity had caused to the targeting systems in his helmet was making his vision spin.

Still, Siorc had the wherewithal as Farrin approached, crackling lightsaber still pointed at him, to reach for the pistol at his hip. Pushing through the pain, he shakily drew his pistol from its holster and tried to raise it to meet his attacker.

One shot at close range would be enough to turn the tables, the Evereni thought, that suddenly realization spurring him on.

It was, unfortunately, the last thought that the bounty hunter would have. With one deft motion, Farrin’s off-hand spun around and cleanly sliced through Siorc’s armor at its weakest point: the throat. The pure white blade cut through the tall man’s neck, cauterizing the veins as it did so. The victorious Dark Jedi looked down at his fallen target, emotionless, before he finally let out a ragged breath that he didn’t even realize he had been holding. He disengaged his lightsabers and let the hilts drop back into their sheaths before he half-collapsed against the large root of the nearest gnarltree. That fight had drained him and the wounds on his ribs and arms throbbed in pain. As distasteful as he found it, he would have to find some sort of rucksack to store his bounty’s head and helmet in so he could turn it in for payment. After that, he had a date with a bacta tank.

"The things I do for my Clan," he muttered, shaking his head ruefully.