章 47: The Hunter's Gathering: Finale
I don't own star wars
There were only 12 hours left, and we finally landed on Mustafar. A hell pit filled with fire, death, and expensive minerals it was essentially the one place you never wanted to go unless paid an exceptional sum of credits: whether as a miner or something more…
I exited my room armed and ready for work, and there was Yura. Standing outside and quickly checking me over. "You got all your armor?"
"Yeah."
"Spare ammo?"
"Yep."
"Short-round's taser thing?"
"Yeah…"
"You relaxed and ready?"
Milky walked out behind me, pulling on her shirt and belching loudly as she covered her mouth embarrassed. "Excuse me…" I gave her rear a playful squeeze.
"Yep…" I smiled as Milky kissed my cheek and quickly walked away.
"Okay. Remember" Yura began nervously, "You need to get his device to win…" we walked to the hold together as I watched my hunter's device continue to count down.
"I know Yura…" I said, taking a deep breath and wishing I was back in my room with Milky, but this had to be done. It was almost over… "Of course, he could just hide out for another few hours and he'd still win."
"We both know he's not going to do that…" Yura replied knowingly, and she was right. Blackjaw wouldn't miss the opportunity. "…Of course the real problem…" she said, making sure my armor was secured, "Is finding him… Mustafar is a big place…"
I gave her a feeble smile, "…Well…" I lowered the ramp as I watched her, "…Wish me luck?"
She gave me a kiss and slapped my cheek gently, before looking at me seriously. "…Aiden… look. If it looks like you're going to die? It's okay to give up…" when a glared at her skeptically she added, "It's not worth dying over a ship okay?… just do your best and come back alive."
I kissed her gently, and groped her ass as she gasped into my mouth, thoroughly massaging her ass through her pants as I buried my tongue into her mouth. When I finally pulled away from her blushing face, I smiled, "I'll be back later…" I said, and leaving her wanting more I stepped off the ship.
She was right, Mustafar was a big place. Droids and miners walked aimlessly around as they went about their work. I went to dozens of different sites trying to find Blackjaw, abandoned mining structures, crashed ships, old droid factories… Nothing but ash and dust…
I tried my luck at one of the more highly occupied towns if you could call them that. More like metal shanty towns than housing. Quickly slapped together buildings that were just as easily picked up and moved if necessary… I asked around and nobody had seen hide nor scale of Blackjaw…
5 hours left… and I was starting to believe we were wrong. Blackjaw might just be hiding out for the win. I couldn't blame him but it was unexpected. Searching a nearby mine and finding nothing but ash and weequay prostitute. I found an empty mining structure and sat down on an old rusty bench and looked at my device.
3 hours and 45 minutes left… I glared angrily at it as it ticked down, "…You guys could at least tell me where he is…" I grumbled in frustration at the idiocy of this stupid contest, "Otherwise this grudge match you want is going nowhere. I mean I've looked everywhere…" I suddenly looked up and saw an old siren, once it was used to tell the workers the work day was over…
Today it gave me an idea.
With a little offhand information from Short-round I jury-rigged the speaker with only a minor electrical shock, then finding an old mic, I sent out my challenge.
"BLACKJAW" my voice echoed out across Mustafar, "COME OUT AND PLAY!" my voice must have gone for miles, and honestly it was the best I could do. Occasionally I would do it again, calling out to him and waiting just a little while longer… when the timer reached the 2-hour mark however I was about to give up…
Walking across the catwalk of the upper levels I paused for only a moment to check my device just as a blast from a blasterrifle shot across my face, and I moved. Every few seconds another blaster round would barely miss me, as I dove behind cover, rolling away and crawling deeper into the complex out of sight.
"KANE!" Blackjaw roared. His rage was apparent as I heard the clattering of a rifle hitting metal, "Come out and face me!"
I quickly tried to calm my heart as my adrenaline pumped through my body. Gripping my modded rifle tightly to my chest before I decided I needed something with a little more punch, prepping my slugthrower I took another deep breath as Blackjaws' double barrel scatter rifle peppered randomly upwards, trying to ferret me out.
"KANE!" he roared and I picked out his location from his yell, standing up and aiming down I opened fire with my slugthrower, scattering hot shrapnel in a blind fire. Blackjaw immediately dove for cover as holt molten shrapnel stuck into the steel of the complex, firing randomly back up at me. To be fair to both of us we were too far apart for either of our weapons to work effectively, but I need him to rethink his strategy.
It was like a poorly planned wild west shoot out. Blaster marks peppered the complex as we tried our absolute best to kill each other. I had the high ground and I kept him well pinned below me, blasting with my pistols and rifle at any stairs he tried to climb, but his scatter gun was as lethal as it was cool. Every step closer we took to each other was one step closer to death…
This went about for over an hour… and finally my pistols clicked empty… I had spare ammunition but as I reloaded Blackjaw ran for the stairs… "Shit!" scrambling for my rifle I peppered the stairs but it was too late he was already on the second floor, but I clipped his shoulder making him scream as it burned him. But he kept coming. Pulling my slugthrower and shooting from the hip I managed to keep him back as a piece of shrapnel buried in his chest armor, stunning him only briefly.
I know the plan was to get his device, but now getting closer was obviously the worst of decisions. Scrambling away I shot at the lights, shattering as many as I could as I stuck to the shadows. I dropped a pistol in my scramble and a spare clip… cursing myself and narrowing my eyes trying to make out his massive frame.
I heard him hiss angrily, he was close. I could ambush him…
"I can smell you Kane…" he then sniffed audibly to emphasize his threat, his voice echoing around me. "And I can see in the dark…" he sniffed again, "…Come out and face me…"
"If you can smell me, come find me." I mocked him, if he could do what he'd said he wouldn't be trying to intimidate-
A scatter blast slammed above my head and I moved. "Holy shit!"
"Come on!" he roared, firing again and again, alternating barrels and firing both at the same time, "Stand and face me!" I fired my rifle in his direction hearing drop to the ground as I dove for cover again. All was quiet… I gripped my slugthrower again, breathing through my nose and resisting a cough, there was a lot of smoke and ash in the air.
"Kane…" he hissed suddenly again, and I heard his footsteps. He was surprisingly light-footed for such a large creature. "Come out…"
Shit he was close… his footsteps were getting louder. I frowned to myself: it was do or die now. I heard him sniff audibly again, and pinpointed him. Standing up I saw him, he was a catwalk away. He saw me and my blood ran cold as my adrenaline ran hot… we aimed at each other raising out blasters… and fired…
His was empty… holy shit…
My rifle blast slammed into his chest, and sent him spiraling over the side of the catwalk to the floor below, his double-barrel blaster clattering away from his still body… watching him go I could believe it. "H-holy shit!" I said, my heart returning to its normal pace as I quickly ran to the stairs to the body. Checking my rifle and finding it was empty too, apparently the last of it went into Blackjaw's chest, I placed it carefully aside and approached his corpse.
I killed BLackjaw…
"I killed Blackjaw…" I said in disbelief, staring at the still form and toeing it slightly, I ripped my device from my belt, unable to believe it myself, "I killed Blackjaw!" I roared into whatever recording device was on it, "Girls I did it! Tolara! Kavilla! I did it! I did it!!" I roared, raising my hand to the empty complex. "I killed Blackjaw Gryst! I WON!"
Complete and indescribable pain slammed upwards into my jaw and I was bodily lifted into the air from the force of it… my brain rattled in my skull at the blow as I was sent several dozen feet back…
I did not kill Blackjaw…
He stood there, he had slowly stood up as I was distracted and slammed his rock-like fist up into my jaw. He sniffed angrily and tossed away his ruined chest armor… still smoking from my blaster bolt. He sniffed again indignantly, "…You say something, runt?"
Fuck me… he really rattled my brain with that one.
He stomped quickly towards me, as I tried to scramble to my dropped slugthrower right as he grabbed my leg in a firm vice-like grip. "Oh no." with the strength of three berserk wookiees he hurled me bodily across the complex with a backhand swing where I slammed into a support pillar and sending my slugthrower spiraling away. I screamed, it hurt like hell let me tell you.
"You can't kill me!" he roared, approaching me again menacingly, "I'm Blackjaw Gryst! I CAN! NOT! BE! STOPPED!" he roared triumphantly to the echoes of Mustafar.
No rifle, empty pistol, no slugthrower and I never did get around to replacing my lost homemade vibro-knife… what did I have left?
Then it came to me like a force ghost… holding up my left arm at the approaching Blackjaw, I primed my grapnel…
Then the piercing spear-like head of the grapnel slammed into his shoulder and he screamed as the grapnel propelled me forward and like a living battering ram and tackled him with my whole body. Taking him down I rolled away from him, but the grapnel held me close with the tension. Then… in a moment of brilliance, I primed my taser and slammed it into Blackjaw's rage-filled, screaming mouth…
His whole body twitched as he screamed until finally, the taser was out of juice, and once again… everything was still and quiet with only the smell of burned flesh filling the air. Ripping the grapnel out of Blackjaw's shoulder I stared down at his groaning, smoking, and amazingly still alive body. I could not help but praise him, "…You are something else Blackjaw."
My hand not wanting to waste any more time reached to remove the device from his belt, my fingers barely touched the device… just the timer ran out…
…My blood ran utterly cold as the device erupted in an elaborate display.
THE WINNER IS BLACKJAW GRYST
"No…" I breathed, utterly shocked as I stared at it, tears actually threatened to flow from my eyes as I couldn't believe it. "No. I beat him. I won! I…" then suddenly I realized something. I took off my device. Staring utterly horrified at where Blackjaw had thrown me, I saw it… There it was, on the ground, several yards away… mocking me. Even if I had taken Blackjaw's device it wouldn't have counted.
…When I was a boy… my bitch of a mother told me that my father had died. I was being shipped to the academy tomorrow on my birthday, and my sisters would not be attending said nonexistent birthday that day. At the time I literally thought that it was the worst day of my life. Finding out that my father wasn't my father and all the mind screwing my bitch of a mother did with me on her ship replaced that day…
Now. Knowing that I failed when I was so close, that I let Yura and Torga, and everyone down because I decided to gloat instead of finish… Congratulations, today now qualifies as the worst day of my life.
Despite the fact that I was on Mustafar… the world was suddenly colder than Hoth.
Silently, I collected my gear… my com began to ring but I didn't answer it. Not yet. When everything was collected and loaded I picked up Blackjaw's double barrel rifle and tossed it onto his body, I aimed my slugthrower at him, then I kicked him. And regardless of the fact that I had tasered him unconscious, he sat up as if he was merely taking a nap…
"What?! Where…" and spotting me he clutched at his (empty) double barrel but saw my Slugthrower staring him down. Even at this range I would have missed if I TRIED to be a stormtrooper.
"…You won Blackjaw…" I said bluntly, "…Congratulations." I meant it. It wasn't his fault I lost, he was a good hunter. No, he was a great hunter there was no arguing that. Especially now... he's still an asshole.
He stared at me as if I told him he won a million credits. Which he did. But apparently, his mind didn't believe his ears, "I won?" he asked surprised.
"You won…" I repeated, "Congratulations…" I said again, and slowly I put my slugthrower away and held out my hand to help him up. He stared at it like I was diseased… but solemnly he gripped my hand and I helped him to his feet and shook it.
He stared at me, but his aggression for now seemed to dissipate. "…I won?" he said again, and the words finally began to sink in.
"You won." I repeated for the last time and pulled my hand away as my com rang once more. "…Let's call it a day…" I said diplomatically, "I've had enough." Then turning away, limping slightly as my injuries began to pile up, I added. "I'm going home."
He started laughing as I walked away, "I won…" he whispered, more to himself than anything as he began to chuckle, his lizard-like face stretching into a horrific grin, "I won!" he roared, still laughing as I walked on. "This changes nothing Aiden!" he laughed threateningly, but I slowed. Did he actually use my name? "I am the greatest! And when we cross paths again I will continue to prove it!"
I sighed, "…Sure Blackjaw…" I mumbled unconcerned, leaving him to his victory… alone in the smoking complex.
I landed the rental speeder near the ship and slowly approached. Staring up at the rusty junker I never realized before how unimposing it looked. Sure it had a few guns, but it was a drab brown not red, and those guns were essentially jury-rigged by Short-round… Yeah, I was attached to it, but suddenly realizing we weren't getting a custom frigate to replace it did I realize how crappy it was…
My com rang again; it had been doing that a lot. And i decided to finally answer it…
"Aiden!" Yura, Scarlet, Milky and Baleen all seemed to be fighting to get into the holo-com, "Thank the force!" they all began talking at once, asking if I was alright, asking how I felt, asking if I needed medical attention, asking if I wanted emotional attention… when they started to calm down. I finally spoke.
"…Open the ramp please…" I said, and after a few seconds, the ramp to the ship opened. I slowly walked up the ramp and stared at them all as they watched me concerned. Letting my guns hit the floor and closing the ramp I stripped my armor to my clothes and watched them all before finally I stretched my arms open.
"…I could use a hug…" I said simply, the pain and the loss finally hitting me fully as my eyes watered a little. Mostly from pain, mind you… but also because, well: I let them down, I let Yura down, and that hurt a lot more than anything Blackjaw did to me.
Then they all hugged me… and I felt infinitely better.
End of chapter.
DO NOT GIVE HELLMIN MONEY
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