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| - His name was Meridan. The year was 3,676 BBY. He was 26, born in 3,702 BBY. He was standing on the ramp on the Distributor. It had been ten years since his parents, and the rest of the Distributor's old crew had been murdered. He was the only survivor. He, and his mentor Streg Onè, were only survivors. A tall figure in a black cloak and hood slowly began walking towards Meridan, out of the throng of people. When the man finally arrived next to him, Meridan said, “Well, how did it go?” “He is here,” was all the Kel Dor said. Meridan nodded. “Is everything read?” “Yes.” “Are you ready?” “Are you?” his mentor asked. □□□ “I live a good life,” the Duros said. He twirled a pair of blaster pistols absentmindedly, looking at the man behind the desk. “They will attack tonight,” the man said. He wore a black suit, black gloves, black pants, black shoes and socks, and a small pair of glasses on his face. “And how do you know this?” the Duros asked. “I have many sources and spies. Most of this city reports to me, whether they know it or not.” “Fine, be vague with me, I don't really care so long as I get paid,” the Duros waved the man's answer away. “And that is why you still are employed.” “Glad to hear it, now what's the job?” “They will attack tonight,” the man said. “Yes, yes, we've been here before,” the Duros interrupted. “When they attack,” the man flashed a dark glare at the interruption, “you must kill them both.” “With pleasure,” the Duros laughed. □□□ Meridan breathed in slowly. He let the air out, and breathed in again. He could hardly think of what they were about to do. All he could think, was that his mother and father were about to be avenged. Suddenly, he felt something on his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he saw Streg had placed his hook there. “It is time to go,” the Kel Dor said. They hurried through the narrow, dark backstreets, staying out of the glare of streetlamps, and away from inhabited houses. They slithered through gutters, climbed over walls, crawled behind bushes, and slipped around corners until they arrived at a large complex. They looked around, for a place they could enter, but there were two doors obviously under observation, and no windows, only thick concrete walls. Meridan swore. “Now what?” he asked Streg. The Kel Dor reached into his cloak, and pulled out a grenade. He tossed it around the corner at one of the doors. The grenade when off, and light exploded across the sky. Huge pieces of the building were flying everywhere, smoke clogged in their lungs, and they could hear an alarm wailing out the arrival of intruders. “What the hell have you done?!” Meridan coughed. “Follow me,” Streg said, pulling Meridan to his feet. He then pointed with his hook towards a second door. “Here.” Meridan tried to open it, but it was locked, as he had suspected. “Great plan,” he said sarcastically. Streg didn't respond. Instead, he smashed his hook through the door and painstakingly cut a hole around the lock, leaving a circle of sharp jagged metal in the door. “Wow,” Meridan said seriously. Streg pulled out a smoke grenade and tossed into the hole. He and Meridan stepped away as it went off. Meridan kicked the door down, and covered his mouth as he walked in. Streg paid no heed to the smoke, as his mask protected him, and plunged away, out of sight. “St-ahg. Stre-ghhh,” Meridan tried to call out to his mentor, but he couldn't through the smoke. Meridan stumbled from room to room, looking for Streg, his enemy, or anyone else. He could barely see, and could breathe even less. The only thing Meridan could tell, was that he was going higher and higher, taking many flights of stairs. Finally, he gave into despair and hopelessness. He slid to the ground. His parents might still be avenged by Streg, but he didn't know if he would ever make it out. All he could see was blackness. Blackness... Meridan jumped to his feet. He wasn't seeing blackness, he was seeing walls. The smoke was fading. He hurried along the corridor, and found a door at the end. He opened it slowly, looking around. No one. Meridan walked cautiously into the room. Still, no one. He was turning to leave when the door slammed shut. Standing behind where the door had been, was the Duros mercenary that had killed his father and mother. “You!” Meridan yelled. “Me,” the Duros agreed. Meridan ran towards him, but the Duros quickly knocked him to the ground and pulled his blaster pistols away. Meridan realized with a shock that he had failed. He was about to die. Then he realized that the Duros was still wearing his father's huge brown hat. The hat he had loved. It would be one of the last things all of Meridan's family had seen, before each died. “You see I knew you were coming. My employer told me. I don't know how he knew, take it up with him. Oh wait, you're not gunna see him. You're gunna die,” the Duros mocked. “Not without a fight,” Meridan laughed. “A fight? I gave you a fair chance at a fight, and you lost. You're a dead man.” “Where is your employer, seeing as I'm a dead man,” Meridan interrupted. “Fourth building across the street,” the Duros said, unconcernedly. “Hey? Where's old grandpa? The one with the mask and hook, Kel Dor if I recall correctly,” the Duros asked suddenly. “I don't know,” Meridan answered honestly. “But even if I die, he'll get you.” “I'll keep that in mind,” the Duros mocked. “Good,” Meridan spat. “Time to die.” The Duros lifted one of Meridan's pistols and pointed it directly at Meridan's throat. His finger closed on the trigger. Just as the gun was about to fire, it flew out of the Duros' hand and across the room. “What the?” he spun around, shooting Meridan's other gun wildly. Suddenly, that blaster was flung away too, and he was lifted off the ground. Out from the shadows stepped Streg Onè his hook lifted. The Duros clawed at his throat, twitching as he died. Meridan picked up his pistols and put them back in their holsters, and then turned the the Duros, and lifted his fathers hat from the mercenary's head. “That belongs to me. Have fun in hell,” he turn and walked out of the room as the man died, avenging his parents. Streg came out after him. “How did you get there?” Meridan asked. “I sensed his presence the moment we entered the building. I followed it up to the room, and sneaked in. I can hide myself very well. Then, when you entered, I waited for the opportune moment to kill him,” the Kel Dor explained apologetically. “I knew you would find him,” he added. □□□ Meridan and Streg looked up at the fourth building across the street. “I can sense him. He is here,” Streg said. They silently climbed through a broken window, and crept up a flight of stairs. Streg led the way down the landing, and stopped outside a door. Meridan pulled out his pistols as the Kel Dor pushed it open. Inside there was a middle-age man wearing all black, and had a pair of glasses on his nose. Surrounding him were almost two dozen body-guards with heavy rapid-fire blasters and armor. “Don't look back! Run!” Streg pushed Meridan all the way down the hall and down the stairs with a wave of his hand. Meridan heard the sound of blaster fire, the sound of metal clashing on metal, and the sound of breaking bones, but Meridan obeyed his mentor and didn't look back. Meridan ran down the streets far away from the building. He mourned the man he had once thought a sorcerer. The wise but powerful crew mate. He ran in the direction of the Distributor, but he feared that they might have been chasing him. Perhaps it was because he was thinking of Streg, perhaps because he simply saw the bar's sign, but at that moment, Meridan remember something the Kel Dor had once told him. “Bars are dangerous places. If you ever want to hide from someone, that's the place,” Streg had said. Meridan looked at the bar, and without any further hesitation entered. □□□ Meridan walked out of the bar, hours later. He wasn't sure whether or not that had helped, but he didn't care. He walked slowly back toward the Distributor. Just as it came into sight, he heard the noise of crying. Meridan whirled around and saw a baby boy lying on the street, abandoned to die. Again, he remembered something Streg had said. “If you ever get the chance to save a life, infant or not, do it. Regardless of whether they pay you back, it is the right thing to do.” Meridan picked up the baby. “You, my young friend, are the newest member aboard my ship, the Distributor. Let's go, we have work to do.” The End of Part 3 Part 1–Part 2–Part 3
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