Draj Haerin

Draj Haerin sat up in his ship, The Sixth, and rubbed his eyes. He'd been in a deep sleep for quite some time. Once Draj had set the ship into space, he left it in a drift, and went into a sleep. It was unintentional that he fell asleep for this long, but now he was rejuvenated. It was time to return. Var checked his equipment: two Mandalorian blaster pistols, his Mandalorian chest plate, a stealth generator, a medpack, and a vibrosword rest in it's sheath on his belt. Strapping all of it on, Var went to his ship's conrols. They seemed foreign to him, but his memory was quickly returned. Haerin flipped some switches, pulled a lever, and let the autopilot take him to his next destination: the Golden Link Casino.

EDIT: Shit, sorry. Wrong one.

Draj's ship entered the blackness of space. As he sent the ship into a lumbering drift, he awaited further orders.

Draj noticed the Other bounty hunter move up behind the Jedi. He needed time to do something, and fast. Draj did the first thing that came to mind: He grabbed the Jedi's lightsaber. His mind had comprehended the fact that Fett had tried to intimidate the other Knight with the fact, and Draj had used to his advantage. The Bounty Hunter stunned the apprentice, thus taking him hostage. Draj was disappointed he didn't get a chance to prove himself, but there would be many other chances. After Draj had made sure Chassis had captured the Jedi safely, he returned to his ship. He started up the hyperlift engines, sending them into a deep, high-pitched whine. While they spent time to heat up, Draj ran an ignitions check, making sure that everything ran fine. It did. The engines fully functional, Draj sat down in the familiar seat and took off, heading for space.

((OOC: Sorry guys, been gone.)) Draj noted all that went on with interest. Fett almost died, a Jedi DID die, the apprentice was about to be stunned, and - The Jedi, stunned. Draj noted that another person, presumably a bounty hunter, had snuck up behind the Jedi. It was a good chance that they'd take this one alive. If not, he would die. The Other Hunter had taken to trying to take down the apprentice with explosives. Draj never cared with explosives, they were to messy. He prefered the accuracy, swiftness, and grace of the honorary vibrosword. That gave Draj an idea. Taking out his sword, he flipped it on and used the vibrations as a melting device. He put it on the ground in front of him, and saw that his plan worked. The vibrations gave Draj some maneuvering room. Draj attempted to distract the apprentice by talking. "Jedi!" he called. "You are trapped. There are three of us, and only one of you! Judging by your actions -" BOOM! The grenade exploded, sending debris and snow all over. The Jedi was launched into the air, doing small flips and moves via the Force, Draj assumed. Giving the apprentice no chance to run, Draj exploded into a sprint, trying to keep his balance on the ice planet. Thinking ahead, Draj immediatly stopped and put both feet forward, sending him into a fast skid. He timed it perfectly, stopping right in front of the soon-to-be-prisoner. "Stop fighting Jedi. You cannot win." And with that, Draj raised his sword in an obvious will to fight, if need be.

Draj had recuperated just as Fett eliminated the wookie. Both seemed to have come from no where. First there were two, and then four, and then three, and then two again. Draj watched Fett grin, and, selfishly, felt jealous of his kill. Draj indeed would have to fix the jealousy problem. It was an emotion, one of many he intended to be rid of. Stepping up to the victorious hunter, Draj asked "So what is our next plan of action? The young one ran that way. I would have chased him, but the Jedi impeeded my progression." Draj looked around, and saw a flash of steel. Smiling, he went over and picked up his vibrodagger and wiped off the blood. He then - blood. The young one would have left a trail of blood. I hit him on his leg, in which he used to walk, Draj thought. Wided-eyed, he searched for the red liquid his enemy had involuntarily spurted out. Scanning the ground, Draj soon-there-after found his target: A red splotch of blood had almost soaked into the ground. Draj scoped it, deemed it the Jedi's blood, and looked towards Fett. "If you want to find the young one, follow me." Without looking back to see if Fett followed, Draj immedietly sprinted in direction of the blood splotches.

As the blow to Draj's stomach hit, he lost his breath. His chest plate had blocked most of the shot, but the axe was a mighty weapon; his breath had involuntarily left his system. Draj was also surprised that, even when his leg was hindered, he still could summon up enough momentum to use the colossal axe. Stepping back, Draj threw his weight to the right, watching the Jedi apprentice stumble forward, thanks to the axes momentum. Draj would've blocked the attack, except for his quick thinking again may have saved his life. Still in mid-stumble, the young apprentice had no time to recuperate before Draj slid up from behind him. Instead of killing the Jedi, he decided to give the young one another chance. Draj took his sword up to the young one's hands. He sliced the axe from his grip and continued to hold the sword to the apprentices neck. Breathing deep from the short battle, Draj said "You have one last chance, Young One. Your weapon lay dorment, and my weapon lay at your neck. Should you move, you will be decapitated. Come with me, and you will not be harmed. If you don't respond, you will also be killed. Make your move, Jedi." Draj hoped the ploy worked. Even as a Mandalorian, Draj didn't mind death, but he knew the Jedi would. If your not Mandalorian, you feared death.

Draj grinned; he'd hoped his opponent wouldn't go without a fight. The young Jedi with the big axe wanted a fight. Draj would deliver. Feinting left, but leaping right, Draj thought quickly. Dispatch, don't kill this one. Disable his use of the axe, he thought to himself. Removing it from it's holster, Draj threw his vibrodagger at the Jedi's knee. The Jedi shouldn't have told Draj of the lack of training. Knowing that he had no training, Draj knew he wouldn't be able to dodge the dagger. It struck, giving the man a limp. Blood started to ooze from the wound. It wasn't deep, but it would still give him problems. Landing on his armored feet, Draj silently waited for his opponents next move. He would act upon that.

A bleep occured on Draj's ship. Quickly snuffing out of his short nap, he leaned forward in his ship and checked his data: There were two ships heading in for Ilum. Draj kept watch just in case they were Jedi. While he was watching, a red blip popped up to his right: A message. "Draj, you can handle the apprentice down on the planet, correct?" it said. The message was from Fett. Draj smiled and sprung into action. Draj grabbed all of his equipment: A vibrosword with a hidden surprise, and a vibrodagger. He made sure his armor was functioning correctly. It was. Draj needed new equipment, but hadn't had the time to get it made. After this job, however, he'd have the money and time. He'd get his equipment. The bounty hunter returned to his main console to open the exit gate. Fate must have been with him, for he saw the apprentice, searching without results. The young one carried a huge vibro axe, one that could inflict great pain if Draj wasn't careful. Again Draj smiled, seeing the apprentice's fear; chances were that he'd never been in a fight. This would be interesting. Stepping off of the Sixth, Draj attempted to sneak up on the apprentice. It was almost succesful, but Draj, while trying to sneak, managed to step on a crystal of some sort. It alerted the young apprentice. Cursing his luck, Draj acted immediatly. Pointing his vibrosword at the apprentice, Draj said "Freeze and you won't be harmed. Move, and you will be harmed and then forced on my ship." Digging deeper into his mind, Draj came up with a plan. "I know your Jedi ways. Should you move, you will probably create a problem for the Jedi. Aren't you guys supposed to be peacekeepers? I highly doubt you will attack me. It's against your code!" He hoped his words had the desired effect.

Piloting his ship from the dark abyss also called space, Draj made sure that the coordinates were right. "Ilum: Planet of the Jedi," his onboard computer said. Draj nodded as if to confirm his own question. His shaggy hair fell into his eyes, and he brushed it away with one quick swipe of his gauntleted hand. The cold metal touched his cheek, reminding him that he still needed a helmet. He felt naked without it. His father never gave him one. The chestpiece, however, was given to Draj as a reminder of his father's death. Such memories were a disturbance, but it was this one that Draj could not erase. As the Sixth came down upon Ilum, Draj kept a close watch for other ships. He was supposed to come with ShadowFett, but he'd needed to talk with Piccolo first. Draj hadn't had a chance to follow Fett. His own mistake, of course, but one that could have been avoided easily nonetheless. A minor thorn in his side. Right before the ship set down, Draj thought he'd seen a glint in the distance, but he wasn't sure. Better to leave it for later, he thought. If he'd heard shots, Draj would be there in a second. He leaned back in his chair, waiting for the next moment of action.

Noticing Piccolo's talking with the stranger, Draj waited a few more minutes. He had no intention of disturbing a well-known bounty hunter. After a while, however, Draj remembered that Fett was waiting on Ilum, awaiting assistance. Quietly slipping out, Draj returned to his ship, and deactivated the security devices. He then ran a malfunctions check while waiting for the engine to heat. Both finished at the same time. Draj took off for space.

Draj's plan still had it's advanteges. He'd always been able to think of a plan like that. "No, I think the Jedi are already to thinned out; they will be only-to-willing to let another on-board. He turned around only to see that Fett had already left. Switching his focus back to Piccolo, he waited to see what the old hunter would do. Thats when another idea hit him. "Hey... we could say that you caught me snooping around one of those evil-peoples base things! What are they called... Sitch.. Swin.. Sith.. SITH! Thats it! You could say you caught me at a Sith base! You could say something like, 'I thought he'd be of use to you.' That way, I don't have to have Force-sensitivity!" Draj still waited.

Draj smiled. "I never said anything about killing anyone. I could get the info, and have an 'emergency' pop up. After I leave, I will come back and report to you guys." He aimed at Fett and Piccolo. That way we have more of a chance of succeeding, no?" He waited to see what was going on.

After the two had finished fighting, the one called Piccolo had come in. Immediatly Draj stood up, showing respect for his - aquaintence. Fett and Piccolo had said a few words, none of importance to Draj. But after a few minutes, he was suddenly interested. "Some sort of assassination mission would do the trick, if you ask me. Sort of like what we tried to pull on Hoth during the Jedi evacuation. We just have to find out where the Jedi are and, more importantly, at which Jedi base are our targets." So soon after the words were said than Draj was making a plan. He waited until there was a break in the talking. "I could do it. My name has no reputation in the galaxy. Pretty much anyone else you send out there will be recognized. I don't have much experience in hunting, so it won't seem obvious. I could fly over to the gunshop and buy different clothes, seeing as these ones won't cut it." He pointed to his Mandalorian chestplate. "Just a thought. You won't lose much by losing me. You will, however, lose something of importance by having him killed," he said, nodding towards Fett.

Blinding pain thrashed throughout Draj's body. He hadn't expected the blow from the boot. ShadowFett's other attacks were easy enough to block, but Draj couldn't win the fight on defence alone. He decided to attack. Grimacing from the pain, Draj stood up and shifted his weight onto his left leg. He switched his sword from the traditional stance to a backhanded stance. It allowed him to attack with swiftness rather that pure power. Draj tossed the sword to his right hand, where he swung it at Fett's neck. He blocked it quite easily, and threw in a counter-attack as well. Both swords clashed in mid-air, but Draj recovered first. He jumped back a step, hoping to gain some distance between ShadowFett. It worked. Using the few feet that were given to him, he quickly lunged forward. At the last second, he feinted and struck to the left, rather than the right. It caught his enemy by surprise and allowed Draj to strike a hit on ShadowFetts left torso. Breathing heavily, Draj stepped back again, this time for some recuperation.

Draj watched the one leave, and then another approach him. Although he said nothing, the Other seemed intent on fighting him. "Fight me and learn," he said. Although Draj disliked being told in this way, he had to follow orders anyway. Draj took out his vibrosword, and heard the Other do the same. Even if they couldn't kill, Draj activated his sword none-the-less. Holding up into the defensive position, he honorably awaited his opponents first move.

Draj filled in the spaces of the missions details. The one called Tefgod would be an important asset, therefore Draj decided to protect him for the time being. I don't think any other of us are Force sensitive, or whatever thats called. What is the Force anyway? he thought. The "captain" was still bandaging his wounds, so Draj ignored him; he was not part of the mission yet. What he did know about was the Jedi academy. It was the heart of these Jedi. Just entering it as an enemy was dangerous. Draj knew this, and began quietly checking and double-checking his equipment.

Draj finally got fed up waiting for Piccolo. As he moved to see the hunter, a man slung his arm accross Draj's chest. He looked down at the limb, and decided against tearing it out of it's socket. He looked up at the controller of the arm. "Piccolo is in no condition to handle a new recruit," the man said. Draj believed him; from what he could see, he could hardly handle himself. I will be introducing you to the Black Sun," he finished. Draj looked up into the intimidating mask; Draj was in need of one, yet couldn't aquire one. He'd already attained a chest plate, but that was it. After this next job, he thought. The man took Draj and sat him down next to what Draj figured as other hunters. They must've just been going to a new bounty. Just in time, Draj thought, with a smile to accompany. "I believe that we can capture both in one stroke, though that stroke will take effort, foreplanning, and precision. Failure from even one of you may result in another defeat," the mystery man said, for Draj had not found his name. Draj awaited the others to gear up. He himself already had his vibrodagger in his pocket located next to his shin. His vibrosword rested in a sheath on his back.

The clearance was granted, and Draj responded. "Thank you mate, I'll be landing shortly." He again returned the transponder to recieve and landed. He found a nice spot between a few other ships. He stepped out onto the dusty ground and took in a whiff. After being on ship for several hours, new air smelled wonderful. Draj stepped into the base. He attempted to talk to several "important" people, but they all said the same: "Talk to Piccolo." After the 14th person said this, he decided to find Piccolo. Draj found the hunter. He appeared to have been treating to his wounds. Draj grinned at the chance to get some, but didn't let his excitement show TOO much. He stepped into a quick handshake. "Honor to meet you. I am Draj Haerin."

The Sixth erupted from hyperspace, heading on a low bearing. Not now did he mean to land, but after he'd said his words. He flipped on his transponder and attempted communication. "Base, this is Draj Haerin, bounty hunter. I was pointed here from the Black Sun. Musta been my.. charming.. personality." He sent out a short laugh. "I am requesting permission to land. Draj out." He set the transponder to recieve, and held a low altitude.

Through space the Sixth floated. It went to the planet Dubrillion.

Draj's heart hammered as the vibrosword fell inches before his face. He quickly stood up and glared at Stykes. After a while, he decided to leave. The Sith surely wouldn't help him again, and then Draj left.

Draj looked at The Other. Within a few minutes, he already knew he was with a Sith. Playfully punching The First One (Stykes), he asked "What are you all doing down here? Looks like you made a mess."

"Thanks." Taking it, he lit the cig and started to smoke. The infernal cough-maker entered his throat, but he struggled to conceal his disgust. The light-giver punched him on the shoulder. Draj didn't like it, but he didn't do anything in response. Better friends than enemies, he thought. He wouldn't forget it though. That punch would remain in his mind.

The Ship, The Sixth, flew out of the dark hole called hyperspace. Looking at the ground, he estimated the ETA, and adjusted his ship to that. Thrusters were ignited, and landing gear was lowered. Slowly the ship landed, until it touched base with the dirty ground, and came to a stop. After a few minutes, an exit ramp lowered, and out stepped Draj. He took in his bearings, but didn't wait to long. You never know when someone want's to randomly kill you.. he thought. He'd done it on an occasion. Sort of. He looked around and saw three people standing around, none of which he knew. Two of the three were injured, he could tell just by standing there. The other was off to the side, apparently uninjured. Draj approached the injured two. He could tell there'd been a fight going on, but it was over. For now. He looked at one, and asked for a light. Then the other. (That'd be Jareth and uh... *checks* Sticks.)