Chapter 10

I nervously tugged at the collar of my newly acquired Imperial Captain's uniform, and watched, on the holo table at the center of Moon Base Alpha's command center, our contingent of rebel fighter's pour out of the hangar bay. Our numbers were now at six X-wings and one lone A-wing from the nine fighters we had begun with. I sighed heavily at the memory of losing those two pilots. They were deaths that never should have happened, and I promised myself I'd do everything in my power to make sure that it never happened under my watch again.

I continued to watch as our fighters flew across the moon's landscape and then lowered themselves into the very craters out of which the enemy TIE fighters had come. I crossed my fingers in hope that they would not be detected by the hunter who was due to arrive within the hour. I stood myself as straight as I could, trying to emulate those Imperial officers that had often found themselves in my gun sights, and turned to Lt. Yem and Commander Dorin.

"Bring the Base's defenses back on line, and order all crew aboard to do their best to look Imperial. We must be able to make this look convincing or the hunter will never go for it." I received a nod form Dorin as Yem brought her voice onto the loudspeaker.

"To all crew, begin act I. Make it convincing or we'll certainly be found out. Good luck to you and to us all."

I nodded to Yem, offering the red-haired woman a thin smile that I was sure betrayed my true worry. D'lek and Nim, two people that I cared more about than anything in this existence, were out there in powered down fighters. Nothing but unforgiving rock and the cold vacuum of space surrounding them. I hoped that this would be over soon, I didn't want them out there any longer than was necessary.

My thoughts were interrupted as a blue dot appeared on the long range holo image. My heart leapt into my throat as the imager interpreted the incoming ship as friendly, and timed it's arrival at five to eight minutes. "This is it," I said quietly to no one in particular. "Let's get this bastard."

The hunter brought his comm system online as his ship entered stealth mode, only allowing it to appear on Imperial radar. "Moon Base Alpha, this is Hunter one requesting clearance to land. Hangar bay will be emptied until I deem otherwise. This base is hereby under my control by order of the Empire, clearance code H-999-Alpha 3. Acknowledge."

"Hunter one, this is Captain Jawan on Moon Base Alpha," came a man's voice over the speaker. "Hangar bay has been cleared and you have clearance." The hunter sighed as he switched off the comm system and rolled his ship down and around to put it in line with the hangar bay's opening. He was surprised to see the hangar empty, save an Imperial Landing Craft, but thought nothing of it since it was not unusual for fighters to go on reconnaissance missions. He just wanted to lie in a real bed for a while instead of his fighter's command seat. While the Adder was state of the art in weapons, stealth, and electronics, it lacked any real comfort.

The Hunter's pitch black ship was only noticeable by its four rear-mounted ion engines, pushing it towards the hangar. The sleek fighter slipped its way into the bay, its crescent wings receding back into the oval-shaped missile-like hull as the landing skids deployed beneath the ship. As soon as the hunter had the Adder down, he brought the hatch up and slipped down and out of the fighter. He quickly pulled open the storage compartment under the cockpit and, after removing his flight helmet, donned his hunter helmet, back pack, armor, and boots. He then drew his menacing three-barreled blaster rifle and attached it to the hard metal back pack on the right side.

After donning two hip mounted blaster pistols, the hunter closed the compartment and the Adder's cockpit hatch. He then walked across the hangar bay towards the exit and to the command center. Now to meet this Captain Jawan, get what I need, and then get out of here, he thought as the doors parted before him. How I can't stand the lower ranks of the Empire. Such mindless robots but that's just how Vader, and the Emperor, had liked them.

Xan Dar Ardin took the sleek black helmet from the gloved hands of Darth Vader, and quickly suppressed the proud smile that wanted to tear across his face. "Thank you my Lord, I promise to make you proud," he said instead, standing rigid and holding the helmet to himself.

"Yes my young apprentice I am sure that you will. I trust in your abilities, otherwise you would not be here before me accepting such a great honor." Vadar came closer to Ardin and clasped his shoulder with his black-gloved hand his respirator breathing rhythmically for him. "Out of the fifteen top cadets you have won out, you are a superior marksman, pilot, and fighter. However do not let this make you over confident in your abilities. The retched scum who you are to be hunting will be powerful, whether or not they are full aware of it. Never underestimate the power of the force my apprentice and all shall fall into place. It is now your responsibility to wipe all resurgence of the force from this universe, as it was mine." Vader's other arm came out in a gesture to encompass Ardin's newly acquired black armor, blaster rifle, back pack and jump boots. "Do not let these tools make you think yourself invincible, you are still vulnerable to the ways of the Jedi."

Ardin nodded stiffly and slowly slid the somewhat bulky helmet onto his head and latched it onto his neck armor. "Yes my Lord."

"Go my young one, you have a long mission ahead of you, do not disappoint me."

"Never my master."

The Jedi Hunter frowned under his helmet as he trudged through the snow, the swirling flakes forcing him to switch to light enhancement. The world before him turned green and became brighter as he punched up the settings on his wrist computer. With his vision cleared, he pressed on through the deep white swells. Although his suit had been specially equipped with a heating device for this mission, the Hunter wished he could have taken his ship. The state of the art stealth fighter, named Adder, he had received on his trip with Vader to the now destroyed Death Star, would have gotten him to his destination much faster, and made hunting his target much easier.

The hunter checked his sensor readings on his wrist comp again as he halted at the foot of a tall snow bank, searching for signs of life, and was finally rewarded with a pair of readings. A thin smile spread under the Hunter's helmet as he pulled himself through the snow and up the hill, his white set of armor blending and hiding him in the snow. It wouldn't have mattered what color his suit was though as he saw the source of the readings lying in the deep snow, almost covered itself. A long and quiet whistle sound denoted the powering up of his blaster pistol, now in his right hand, as he approached the figure.

The fur clothed being was obviously injured as the snow before it's face was tinged pink with blood and it's body rose and fell with irregular breathing. The Hunter was preparing to roll the figure over until his sound enhancing helmet sensors picked up the baying of an animal in the distance, and the crunch of snow under running feet. The Hunter drew back and retraced his steps, hunkering down behind a growing snow swell a few feet away.

In front of him, and by the fallen figure, came a rider atop a tauntaun, a two legged animal indigenous to the planet Hoth. The rider, clothed in the same way as his comrade, dropped from his tauntaun and was immediately at the side of the injured man. Through his speakers, the Hunter faintly heard the words "Luke" and his eyes shot open in response. His target was laying there in the snow, ripe for the taking. Vader had told him that compared to the eight potential Jedi that he had already hunted, Skywalker would be close to impossible to find and destroy. Through bribery, disguising as a rebel, and threats, the Hunter had been able to find his location, although barely. He was sure that the Rebel's would pick him up as he entered the atmosphere, but the increased meteorite activity had saved him from that trouble.

The Hunter's fist smacked against the snow as he thought of the easy chance he had lost to vanquish his target. Although he hated unplanned kills, he would be glad to put the second rider into his grave for interrupting his activities. Blaster in hand, the Hunter began to crest the snow bank, but stopped suddenly as his comm system buzzed in his ear.

"Encoded transmission from Lord Vader... Authorization required." The hunter quickly punched in his access code and was rewarded with a visual message displayed on the inside of the right eye lens on his helmet.

"Good day my young apprentice, it pains me so to take you from your current mission, but the Emperor has given new orders. You are to leave young Skywalker alive and well since the fleet will be arriving soon at the coordinates you provided. The Emperor hopes to capture this young Jedi for his own use. Your new orders are to scope out the Rebel base on Hoth and then vacate the planet. I will send your new orders and information on your next target when we arrive. Good luck and good hunting."

The Jedi hunter sighed as he dropped back down the snow bank and began to retrace his steps back to the beacon that denoted the position of his ship. He wished that he could have had a chance to duel with a true Jedi, instead of the children and unskilled teenagers that had made up his first eight targets. He knew his time would come for a challenge eventually though, and he hoped it was soon.