Star Wars - Black Bounty

Chapter 3

The small house was made of wood, with vines growing over almost everything inside, as if the rainforest was trying to claim back the tiny patch of land the house was built on. Inside, it looked like a shop of some kind. There were pieces of junk metal everywhere; hanging from the ceiling, inside boxes, sitting on shelves, and some even inside glass display cases. Reylan winced as the man treated his wounds. He was human, with a completely bald head and blue eyes. Even underneath the cloak he was wearing, Reylan could tell that he was very muscly and strong. He had several scars too, the most noticeable one was on his cheek; must have been a pretty painful cut. His face was very dirty; clearly he spent a lot of time in the rainforest just outside... what was this spaceport called again?

"Thanks for all this, but I really need to be-" Reylan began.

"Leaving? And how will you do that without a ship? How did you even survive that crash anyway?" the man asked.

"I jumped out at the last second" Reylan said.

"What?"

"I jumped-"

"No, I heard what you said. But... how did you survive that? How did you jump far away enough to escape with so little injuries?" the man pondered.

"Ah... Well I'm just lucky. Seems to happen a lot I have to admit" Reylan smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... I mean escaping death. Dodging blasters, surviving in situations that would normally kill others and that kind of thing" Reylan said all this like it was nothing.

"Sounds like more than luck" the man said.

"Well I'm not exactly complaining about it. What's your name anyway?" Reylan asked.

"Vulross Vorn. And you are?" Vulross replied.

"Reylan Mollek. You might have heard of me" he said. The man was silent for a few seconds.

"Nope. Never heard of you" Vulross said.

"Reylan Mollek, the fearless bounty hunter?"

"Not ringing any bells. Sorry" Vulross said. "So you're a bounty hunter? That's illegal you know"

"I'd like to see you try and arrest me" Reylan spat.

"I'd like to see you try and fight me" Vulross smirked.

"I could and you know it!"

"Right! Vulross Vorn, defeated by Reylan... What are you called again?"

"Mollek! And everyone will know my name in years to come!"

"There are thousands of bounty hunters out there kid, especially in the outer rim. What makes you so special?"

"Well what do you do?" Reylan shot.

"I scavenge the rainforest for crashed ships, and sell anything valuable I find in the wreckage. I normally let a day or two pass before I actually go and scavenge a crashed ship, to let the fires burn out and the metal to cool down. But since all of Bandadoodri heard your ship come down, I didn't want some rookie scavenger taking my prize" Vulross finished.

"And ships crash here often?" Reylan asked.

"Kodon II has a twin planet, Kodon I, the centre of all trade for planets in our galactic sector"

"So?"

"Well, this is the Outer Rim, so trade isn't exactly... civilized. People will kill those who possess items they desire. People will sell objects, then go and kill the person they sold them to, so they can take the objects back while still making a profit. Everyone who tries to flee Kodon I always comes to Kodon II, more often than not, they crash due to the damage to their ships" Vulross said.

"Well I didn't come from Kodon I. I was chasing after a bounty. He was lucky, managed to shoot me down before I could kill him" Reylan explained.

"Once again, doesn't sound like luck" Vulross smirked. Reylan quickly stood up.

"You know I'm really starting to regret saving you from that creature"

"You didn't save me," Vulross said, brushing dirt off his cloak, "I had everything under control"

"You call lying on your ass getting your face clawed off 'under control'?" Reylan smiled.

"I'm really starting to regret saving you from that crash" Vulross said.

"I'm not a fool, Vulross. Scavengers don't carry blasters. Tell me, what do you do when you find survivors inside a crashed ship?" Reylan asked, tilting his head to the side. Vulross didn't respond for a few seconds.

"You didn't lie to me. So I won't lie to you. I kill them. Before taking all their stuff of course" Vulross admitted.

"So you just kill the poor souls who are lucky enough to survive a crash, and then take all their stuff?" Reylan questioned.

"You're a bounty hunter. Think about what you do, before you get mad at me" Vulross said without even looking at him.

"Mad? I think it's brilliant!" Reylan exclaimed. Vulross looked at him, intrigued. "You kill people, then use the crash as the reason for the death! That's genius" Reylan smiled. "Now! I need a drink. I'm presuming that there is a cantina in Banda... What is it called again?" Reylan asked.

"Bandadoodri. And yeah, we have a cantina"