Becoming a Hunter

Finally, the Inception came out of hyperspace and reached the Utapau system. Upon flying into its atmosphere, Dak became suddenly incredibly grateful for the coordinates Boba Fett had sent him. The entire planet was dotted with massive sinkholes; it would have been near impossible to find Boba's location without the coordinates. Following these coordinates, Dak guided the ship far down into one of the sinkholes.

Finally, it reached a lower platform, where Dak gently guided the ship to land softly on an empty landing pad. As he exited the ship, he came to a large gathering area built within the rock face of the sinkhole. Inside were gathered the most diverse array of shady looking characters Dak had ever seen, all drinking and laughing at various tables. Dak soon realized it was a bounty hunter's guild. Walking over to the bar, he got the attention of the droid on duty there.

"I'm here to become a bounty hunter," he told the droid, "I was told to come here."

"Certainly," the droid replied, "And who is the one who told you to come here?"

"I am," said a voice behind them. Dak heard the sound of clanking spurs as Boba Fett walked up and sat next to him.

"I told him to come here," Fett repeated, "He wants to become a hunter, so I'm here to help him get signed up."

"Very well," the droid said, "I will inform the guild master." And then the droid left and walked into a separate room.

Dak turned to Boba: "Thanks for those coordinates," he said, "I would have gotten lost without 'em."

Boba nodded: "Anything for a fellow Mandalorian."

"So how does this process work?"

"It's not that hard. All you have to do is state your name to be recorded in the guild log along with your skillset and desired targets."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Just then the droid returned: "The guild master will see you now." It said.

Dak got up and followed the droid, with Fett following close behind. As they entered the room, they saw a large chamber with one of the walls acting as a trophy case, housing racks of old lightsaber hilts. The guild master was at the center of the room. He was in a mechanical chair that was stocked with medical equipment that were keeping him alive and had spider-like droid les at the bottom that moved him around. The master himself was incredibly scarred and seemed more machine than organic. His armor, which was once white, was now blackened and charred. His face was most disturbing as it resembled what Dak recognized from his history classes as a war mask of the Kaleesh race. The mask lay over pale, white eyes that seemed to stare right into Dak's soul.

"So, you are the new one?" the master asked in a raspy voice.

Dak nodded his head: "I am."

The master gestured with his head and a tactical droid walked up with a datapad in hand. The guild master then turned to Boba Fett: "You are his reference?"

Boba nodded: "I am. Name is Boba Fett."

The droid checked the datapad, then turned to the master: "It checks out." It said to the master. Then, the guild master turned to Dak.

"State your hunter name." the master continued.

"Nightstalker."

"What is your skillset."

"Mandalorian."

"And your desired targets?"

This was surprisingly easy for Dak to answer: "I want to hunt criminals. Thieves, murderers, gangsters, the works."

The tactical droid recorded everything on the datapad, then nodded to the guild master. The guild master guided the chair towards Dak and held out a clawed hand, which Dak promptly, but sheepishly shook.

"Welcome to the guild," he said. Then he handed Dak a holo-projector: "This will alert you of any potential targets that fit your criteria."

"Thank you." Dak said, and he turned to leave, Boba following him out.

Once outside, the two sat down at a table as Boba ordered drinks for the both of them.

"Soo, what happened to that guy?" Dak asked, pointing to the guild master's room.

"They say he was a military leader back in the Clone Wars," Fett replied, "During a fight here in Utapau, he was seriously wounded and supposedly killed. That chair is the only thing keeping him alive."

"I see." Dak said, taking a sip from his drink.

"So, do you have any idea where to start?" Fett asked.

"Well, I still feel like I need to learn the tips and tricks of bounty hunting." Dak replied, "You mentioned there were a few."

"That I did. I can teach them to you, but it's going to have to be a learning on the job type of situation."

"You found a job?"

"I did." Fett placed a bounty puck on the table and tuned it on, revealing the target.

"Her name's Lady Proxima," Fett continued, "She's a crime boss stationed on Corellia. Apparently, her actions haven't exactly gone over well with the Hutts, and they want her dead."

"You're suggesting we team up?" Dak asked.

Fett nodded: "I've been looking for a partner to help out with this job lately. Proxima is no easy target, even for me."

"That must be why the bounty's so high."

"Probably. So, are you in?"

Dak promptly nodded.

"Good," Fett said, "Then finish your drink, we leave or Corellia as soon as both our ships are refueled and ready."