Thule, the capitol of the Oligarchic Imperial Monarchy of the Outer and Mid Rim Dominions. One of the most secure and garrisoned planets in the Galaxy. A lone man stood on the roof of a lone building somewhere in the countryside, watching towards the skyline where the lights of the capitol city glistened. A chuckle left the man's lips as he looked down at his hand and the rings that were on it. He hadn't aged for nearly a century and his family was large and influential in the known space.
'I still remember those days. Before the rings. Before the responsibility. It wasn't the best of times, but one of my happiest' he thought silently to himself, looking back up to the skyline only to see a small craft rushing for the tower. The craft was nimble, fast and able. Too much so. The flak batteries opened fire, but couldn't do anything before the craft started a bombing run. It was yet another hit against the man. No place was safe for him anymore. Not with all the people gaining from his death, including his own family. Two guards rushed to the rooftop to rescue the man, but it was too late. The craft had been destroyed before it could reach the tower, but debris from the blast had hurt the man that had just a moment ago been remembering his youth.

------

The cantina was loud and the men and women were all enjoying their drinks. May it be some time off from the Defence Forces, a night of celebration before a long journey or the first hours after an accomplished bounty hunt. Mostly everyone was happy and enjoying themselves as outside, the skies of Thule fell into darkness. Then someone smashed into the cantina.
"Someone's injured the Lord!" the man shouted, gasping for air. It ha djust been on the HoloNews, it seemed. Silence fell into the cantina. One of the men lurking around stood up, smashed his open hand to his chest and began sinning the anthem of the Dominion. Some joined him, some were silent, some continued drinking. One man in particular acted slightly cold about the news. In the corner of the cantina, a human man sat silent, drinking and watching. He wore the replica armor of a Mandalorian Crusader with the Mandalorian symbol chaged to the Dantes family coat of arms. The cantina owner came to the man and sat down. Not only did he speak with a much more gentle voice than usually, he also spoke silently so nobody else would hear.
"Tell me the truth, Jarek, can he pull out of it?"
"Of course he can. He's my father after all" the man named Jarek said. The cantina owner sighed in relief and left the man in peace. However, once the cantina owner left the mercenary alone, the man looked down at his glass. He wasn't so sure of it after all, it seemed. But he had other things to be worried about at the moment. One of them being a bounty on his mother being still at large and some of the very best bounty hunters on the case. He would call home later, but now he had to try and piece in any information about who were the bounty hunters after Lady Charna and who had put the bounty on her head.

Claude (http://images.contactmusic.com/dn/john+simm_855_18114783_0_0_7000650_300.jpg) walked into the bar after stopping here to refresh and relax before he would be contacted by the Exchange or some other client interested by Claude's "merchandise" either on this planet or across the galaxy. Claude never described himself as a smuggler, if asked he would refer to himself as a "seller of exotic good". Most of goods he sold or traded were usually illegal in some government or state, but like most criminals that didn't bother him the slightest. To him, his deals across the galaxy was simply a task he needed to do in order to survive. It didn't matter to him who was hurt in the process just as long as he received the right necessities to make things through the week.

Entering the bar, he ordered a large pint of some local drink Claude had trouble pronouncing before retreating to a corner of the bar to study the recent object he had received after winning a gun battle with a group of thugs who attempted to buy a lightsaber crystal Claude had "obtained" a few months ago, however they weren't happy with Claude's set prize and attempted to remove it from Claude's cold, dead hands. But like always, Claude had been expecting this sort of behavior and had set up several small automatic turrets which took care of the thugs before they could pull the trigger of the unique blaster they were carrying. Although it appeared to be in the shape of a normal blaster, it contained several features Claude had never seen on a blaster and it fascinated him.

After a while, a some man announced something about a death and started singing however Claude's interests remained with his blaster as he continued to examine it whilst reading several articles about it on the holonet which he viewed on a portable datapad.

An auburn-haired man stood leaning against a wall, facing the entrance to the main room of the cantina. A black cloak was overlaying his tan and brown robes; the robes of a Jedi. Hanging from his utility belt was a silver vibrosword, and his hood covered his pale blue eyes. An alarmed man burst in with news of a killing, so he started listening.

Maybe I should look into this... I'll have to get my lightsaber back, first. he thought. Some thugs had taken his lightsaber when they knocked him down with their swoop bikes, then took his saber and rode off.

Rellis Thren stood fully still, watching as twins, one man and one woman underwent the final challenge in becoming a Sith Hunter. Her near-black hair was braided in a fashion similar to that worn by Reibe Vailar, the Hunters' leader, though Rellis' braid was shorter by nearly a foot. Her dark brown eyes glistened in concern. The twins were her responsibility. She had trained them. If they could not overcome this challenge, she would view it as a major failing on her part.

The twins were Gavin and Briana Starr and they had entered the Sith Hunters' machine together. Now, they were fully enclosed, intertwined with one another as though they were one being and the noise from the machine inched upward into a deafening roar. The roar was partially blended with cries of pain and Rellis took a step forward. A single hand gripped her shoulder.

"This is their choice," Jahara Tal-Thren told her daughter quietly, "as it was yours... as it was mine."

"Reibe helped you through it," Rellis objected. "You came to my aid."

"And the twins can help one another," Jahara explained patiently. Unsettled, Rellis remained where she was until the noise from the machine died away. Then, she approached it to observe the twins' progress.

The dark-haired twins were standing, but each was supporting the other. Slowly, Gavin opened his piercing blue eyes and glanced over at Rellis before looking down at his sister.

"We're alright," he informed Rellis. And the twins, still supporting each other took their first steps as true Sith Hunters, the few, ageless warriors. Their leader, Reibe Vailar entered the room, eager to see the progress, though she already knew. A small smile graced her face.

"Congratulations Twin Hunters," she said. "And congratulations, Rellis. The Hunters now number six."

She approached the twins. "Be warned, Gavin and Briana. Because you chose to enter the machine together, your fates are intertwined as well. When one is injured, you will both feel it. When one dies, the other will fall deathly ill and may die as well."

"We were as one before the machine," Gavin said.

"And so it shall be ever afterward," Briana finished. Reibe nodded, satisfied that the twins understood what it was they had done.

"Rellis," she said. "The Lady Charna has been targeted for bounty hunters. Take the twins and defend the Royal Family of the Dominion."

"I question not, though questions I have," Rellis said, bowing to her leader. "The twins will rest and then we will depart."

"So let it be," Reibe said, nodding. The twins left the room first and the other Hunters followed, scattering to their rooms.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

((Ookay, so I'll be doing four characters... you need a bounty hunter to drop in for a surprise confrontation with the royal family of the Dominion and three Sith Hunters :p ))

Kieran Sel narrowed his eyes slightly as the message came across his screen. A job for which he specifically was being contacted. When he opened the transmission, he understood why. This target was damned near impossible, even for a bounty hunter as good as he was. He doubted even his Force-use training from various masters, some light, some dark, and some just... somewhere in the middle would help him on this one.

But that's what made it so fascinating. The royal family of the Dominion were almost all Force sensitive and the Lord and Lady more so than their children. To top it off, the transmission informed him that three Sith Hunters would be arriving to join the Lord and Lady in just a matter of hours.

Fascinating. Kieran frowned thoughtfully.

"Deny," he told the AI in his ship, taking a swipe at a loose strand of dirty-blond hair that dangled in front of his left eye. "But give me information on all parties mentioned... Lord Tepe, Lady Charna, Rellis Thren, Gavin and... Briana Starr... relatives? Information. Give me information."

The AI complied readily and soon, facts on all the people listed were scrolling past Kieran's eyes faster than any human had the right to be reading.

((The Lord's not dead. Just injured))

The mercenary in the mandalorian crusader armor stood up quietly and looked around. The singing had ceased and a slight noise was brewing as people began to chatter once more. Then he spotted something curious. Placing his helmet on, he stared at the jedi without a lightsaber. How odd of a sight on a planet like Thule where no jedi usually set their foot on without a very good reason. Both the Jedi of Ossus and the Jedi of Coruscant despised the planet due to some ancient Sith allegiances that had left force nexuses around the planet. Jarek Dantes turned back to his booth, left a few credits on the table and then left for the door while releasing a cloak hidden within a small compartment on his upper back. With a flap it rolled out and covered the man's back as he walked out. The cape also covered a large array of weapons hanging from his belt. Amongst these were grenades, a carbine, lightfoil and a vibro-knife.

Once Jarek got outside, a beep on his belt caught his attention. Raising his right arm up, he pressed a button and so switched on a holocomm on his gauntlet.
"Jarek, how is the mission?"
"Not good. Nobody knows anything and the bounty hunters on the planet aren't visiting the cantinas. I heard from one of the customs officers that a few vessels known to belong to bounty hunters have landed, but nowhere near the palace or the capitol city"
"There's a rumor that a couple of Sith Hunters are heading here to reinforce protection of the Lady"
"Really? Which ones?"
"Thren and some rookies"
"Interesting. Notify me when they arrive. If they arrive during the nights, deny access to the palace hangars. I wish to test them"
"Alright, Jarek. Take care" the hologram of the Chief of Sunguards said and shut the communications, leaving the man standing on the street of Thule alone. The sun had set, there was hardly any traffic in the city and most places were closed. The Sunguards Civil patrolled the streets silently, giving the city the feel of a safe place. The mercenary walked down the street for a short while before reaching his destination: his speeder bike. The man jumped on the bike and began to get it ready for a trip to a local swoop gang hideout. They might have some more information about any bounty hunter arrivals.

"It's evening down below," Rellis commented for the benefit of Gavin Starr, who'd just entered the cockpit. The young man nodded, peering out through the transparisteel viewport before him.

"Sister Thren, what do we aim to accomplish here?" he asked quietly.

"We aim to accomplish whatever Leader Vailar has sent us here to do," Rellis answered. "Reibe often sends us on little journeys, surprise visits to places we've never been before, or places we know well. She rarely informs us of the intent behind having sent us... but the situation always presents itself in such a way that we can have no doubt of our mission."

"In other words, we have too many questions," Briana said, entering the cockpit to join her brother and her trainer. Her chin-length brown hair was a mess, which she was half-heartedly attempting - and failing - to correct with her fingers. "Let the situation play out, yes?"

"Precisely," Rellis confirmed. She flicked on the comm unit. "Thule Palace this is the shuttle Silver Rain, Sith Hunter Rellis Thren speaking. Requesting permission to land."

It was a formality, Rellis knew; the Hunters were always welcome at the Palace. Jahara went there often to visit with Charna. But it was a necessary formality, for there had been many a time when unidentified shuttles, fighters, and other flying vehicles had been driven on a headlong course in attempted suicidal assassinations... oh, well. Best get it over with...

"They're not going to let us land," Briana said quietly. The young woman had a gift for machines and their workings. Normally, the order to set the automated defense guns on standby would have been given already. She could sense that it had not.

"They have no reason to..." Rellis began, but Gavin cut her off.

"No, she's right," he said. Gavin's abilities tended more toward the sentient side than his sister's and due to enduring the machine, his 'sentient' sense told him that the guards had been told not to allow the Hunters access to the palace. Trusting her students, Rellis eased back on the throttle, waiting for the reply...

The response eventually came when the Sith Hunters' ship entered the palace airspace. The turrets on the ground sprung into action, turning and loading up to track the incoming ship.
"You have entered a restricted area. Due to the threat on the Royal Family we have been ordered not to let any ships enter the hangars. Leave the palace airspace immediately or we will be forced to shoot you down" one of the many people in the air control of the palace told them. As further leverage, two police air speeders were launched from a nearby police station for escort.
"Please land on a public landing pad and talk with the head of palace security about entering the palace"

"Fabulous," Rellis muttered, ever so slightly irritated that her students had been correct. She backed off from the palace and found a landing pad not far from the palace that had surprisingly not been taken yet. There, she landed and the Hunters departed from their ship.

"Who is the head of palace security now?" Gavin wondered. Rellis shrugged.

"No idea," she answered. "It's been so long since I was here last."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kieran Sel went to sleep with his personal equivalent of 'information overload' - even though he was no longer looking at the information on the Hunters and the Royal Family, he could still 'see' every piece of information his ship's AI had been able to dig up. A photographic memory which acted at the speed of his reading certainly had its disadvantages.

Sleeping was hell...