Into a Galaxy at War (Bounty Hunter Edition)

After Spike had collected the bounty for Altaka, he headed down to the office of the Imperial who he was hired for. When he arrived in the office, a man at a desk said, "Excuse me, this is the office of Admiral Faadaal, and he is not taking visitors right now."

Spike told the man, "I'm not a visitor, I'm here on business."

"The Admiral would never have business with you. Please leave before I call security."

Suddenly, a holo came on, "What's all that racket out there!?"

The assistant told the man on the holo, "Nothing important sir, just a quarrelsome individual. Nothing to worry about, I'll call for security to remove this off-world scum."

The man on the holo said, "You idiot! I requested a hunter from the Mandalorians! Send him in now!"

The assistant nodded, "Of course Admiral, my apologies" before saying to Spike, "You may enter."

Spike walked into the Admiral's office and said, "Well, I guess you need some better help. Let's skip the small talk and get down to business. You hired a hunter, I'm that hunter."

Faadaal nodded, "Indeed, good help is hard to find within Imperial ranks. This job requires delicacy. It won't be easy."

Spike smiled, "Good, easy jobs bore me. What's the job?"

The Admiral smiled, "Straight to the point are we? Good. My daughter was born Force-sensitive and was trained to be Sith. An honor for our family. Sadly, she's become a liability. Her master is one Lord Gratham."

Spike nodded, "I've heard people talking about him, crazy paranoid, traitorous, among other things that I'd rather not say."

"Indeed, he boldly defies the Dark Council. And as my daughter is his apprentice, her being captured or killed by Imperials would be damaging to me and my family, we all suffer from Sith politics."

Spike's eyes widened, "Wait, are you saying you want me to kill your daughter because of politics?"

Admiral Faadaal nodded, "Indeed. I love my daughter, but in the world of Sith politics, everyone who's not a Sith just has to deal with it. Lord Gratham's stronghold can withstand a siege from a squad of troops, even the ones who are led by a Sith apprentice. But a single intruder can easily sneak in."

Spike sighed, "I honestly think this is sick, but a job's a job. I'll do it."

Meanwhile in the real world...

Twilight was watching Spike's actions with her friends and said, "My god, I never knew the Bounty Hunter story was so dark."

Rainbow Dash nodded, "What do you expect though? He's a hired gun."

Fluttershy pointed out, "If I remember correctly, he doesn't have to kill her."

Applejack raised an eyebrow and asked, "And you know this, how?"

"My brother has an account and I've watched his live-streams from time to time. Thank god he's not one of the people trapped in this version of the game though."

Rarity nudged Fluttershy with her elbow, clearing her throat before Twilight said, "I take no offense to it Rarity. The players aren't the bad guys here, the company who made this system are the ones I'm angry at, especially because they put disclaimers that rid them of any liability."

Back in the game world...

As Spike and Mako made their way to Gratham's estate, Mako said, "You know, a lot of Gratham's top men have prices on their head."

Spike nodded, "We could use as many credits as we can. Let's get going."

As they arrived at the estate, other players were rushing through on their own missions, giving them the distraction they needed to sneak in. After killing any enemies that were dumb enough to get too close, they made their way to the Admiral's daughter, who laughed at them saying, "My father couldn't even get a real Mandalorian to kill me?"

Spike rolled his eyes, "Let's get this over with. You may be Sith, but you're still flesh and blood. I've never met somebody I can't kill."

As she shot Force lightning at Spike, who withstood the pain long enough to grab his blasters, she realized he may not be a Mandalorian, but he's no pushover, and drew her lightsaber.

As the two hunters fought the Sith, Spike injected himself with a stim, increasing his damage. When the young Sith was defeated, she said, "I-Impossible! I lost? But... I'm Sith... Lord Gratham... everything I've learned, is it all just a dream?"

Spike thought for a moment, "It ain't ending like this. You and your old man are due for a chat."

The Sith gasped, "No, that's worse than death! Please, kill-" before being caught off guard by Spike's carbonite blaster, being frozen in an instant.

When Spike returned to the Admiral, he asked them, "Reports of a siege on Gratham's estate are pouring in. I assume my daughter is...?"

Spike shook his head, "I've got her frozen in carbonite." before bringing in the Admiral's frozen daughter

The Admiral's eyes widened, "I specifically told you to kill her! Why would you disobey your employer?"

Spike sighed, "Look, I can't claim to understand Sith politics, but I know a thing or two about family. Be honest, you were ashamed of yourself for hiring me to kill her, weren't you?"

The Admiral looked down, "I'll admit, when you left, I wished I had thought of something else. She's all I have left of her mother. I realized my choices would haunt me for the rest of my life. Thank you for disobeying my orders. I'll pay extra as a sign of thanks." before handing Spike a check for his payment.

"Pleasure doing business. And you have my sympathies, I would never be able to sleep at night if I had to kill my own kid. I'll be going."

The Admiral smiled, "Thank you hunter, you've done me a great service. If I ever need a hunter again, you'll be my first call."

Spike smiled back and said, "Repeat clients are some of my best." before heading back to the Mandalorian Enclave.

When Spike returned, Crysta congratulated him, "Good job out there, most of the other hunters are dead or got arrested. Bad news time though, this last bounty is proof that somebody's after you. Imperial Intelligence is hiring for something super secret. I wouldn't touch those guys with a ten foot pole, but what are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to take that bounty and earn a spot in the melee."

Crysta smiled, "That's the spirit. Good luck with those cloak and dagger freaks."

And so, albeit against the client's wishes, Spike has finished his second bounty on Drommund Kaas, and is one step closer to entering the Great Hunt. Now he is faced with his final bounty from a spy in Imperial Intelligence, people who can be called almost as scary as the Sith. Will Spike finish his third and final bounty and enter the Grand Melee for the last spot in the Great Hunt?

Find out in the next chapter!