"Max Vizsla… Vizsla?" Durge perked up. "Is he strong?"
"Ah, just a spoiled rich kid." Ziro forced a laugh. "Not strong. Not strong at all."
"Hmph. I'm not interested in killing weaklings. Find someone else."
"No, no, no—" Ziro hurriedly stopped him. "That… that Max Vizsla is actually very strong…"
"Hmph. You trying to play me?" Durge's tone turned colder. "You know what happens to clients who lie to me? I kill them."
When he saw the Hutt sweating on the holo, Durge continued, "If you didn't know, fine—ignorance isn't a crime. I'll give you one more chance. One. Don't make me repeat myself."
"Understood, understood!" Ziro nodded rapidly. "Mando-Killer, I'll tell you the truth."
"Talk."
"Max Vizsla—word is he's never lost a battle. That's why he's earned nicknames like 'The Thorn of House Briar,' 'The Mandalorian Demon Blade,' and 'The Unbeaten Legend of Concordia.' But the praise was mostly about his command ability—his tactics, his unpredictability—not his personal combat power. Recently, though, there are rumors he awakened some kind of Vizsla bloodline gift… and became a Jedi."
"A Jedi?"
"That's the street talk. What I can confirm is: he has a lightsaber, and he's got a Twi'lek Jedi girlfriend."
Durge's tendrils trembled. He was excited.
"Now that's a target worth hunting. Hutt—your contract is accepted."
"Then, Mando-Killer… how long will you need?" Ziro asked.
"What, you want it rushed?" Durge shrugged. "Then pay rush money."
"I'll add five million credits. Can you eliminate Max Vizsla within ten days?"
"Fastest is a month, Hutt—I'm on the other side of the galaxy."
That didn't magically make the galaxy smaller. Ziro clenched his teeth. "A month, then. I—"
"No, no." Durge waved a hand. "Hutt. That's fastest. One month."
"I understand. I'll transfer the deposit to your specified account."
"Then it's a deal." Durge smiled. "Pleasure doing business, Hutt."
When the holo-call ended, Ziro's anxiety didn't ease in the slightest. Distant help couldn't put out a close-range fire. By the time "Mando-Killer" arrived, the Zygerrian slavers would probably have grass growing on their graves.
Still—if Max Vizsla died, everything might be salvageable.
But Ziro needed other help, and fast.
...
Galactic Standard Year 5, April 8 — Ryloth.
A comms officer on the Pathfinder, the Navy Second Fleet's Purrgil-class light cruiser, reported to Max:
"Sir, the Pykes are calling for help again. They want our support as soon as possible."
"Tell the Pykes our forces on Ryloth are here specifically to break Zygerrian slavers. We're not redeploying." Max's tone stayed flat. "The reinforcements they requested left Corellia a week ago. Another week and they'll arrive. If they can't wait, they can request a refund—half the deposit can be returned."
"Yes, sir."
Over the past week, Second Fleet had been fighting nonstop.
And it had been boring.
The Zygerrians were just… too easy.
On Ryloth, the slavers had two squadrons—twenty-four HH-87 Starhopper starfighters. But because the airframes were old and maintenance was garbage, only nineteen could actually get airborne. They also had twenty YV-865 Aurora freighters, lightly armed and capable of limited combat.
The HH-87 Starhopper was 6.8 meters long with a 13.59-meter wingspan (wings deployed). It carried only two twin light laser cannons—no proton torpedoes/bombs and no concussion missiles.
The YV-865 Aurora freighter was 52.3 meters long, 42.33 meters wide, and 16.44 meters tall. Aside from a single medium twin laser cannon under the bow, it had basically no real teeth.
Zygerrian fighters and armed freighters simply couldn't meaningfully threaten large ships with high-output deflector shields.
So for the past week, the Dragon heavy cruiser and the starfighter wings didn't even launch. The whole "war" turned into a live-fire fleet exercise: one Purrgil-class light cruiser and four Gozanti-class light frigates chasing Zygerrians across Ryloth.
Even then, it was a one-sided beating. Second Fleet hunted them like sport.
Max wasn't happy.
Everyone knew the Zygerrians weren't a real threat, so the officers and crews weren't tense at all. Training like this had limited value.
"Sir," another comms officer stepped onto the bridge. "The Zygerrians sent a message. They want surrender talks."
"They're already folding?" Max blinked.
Then again… it made sense. Corellian blockade outside, Second Fleet inside. With total loss of air/space control, the Zygerrians had no winning line.
"Tell them surrender is acceptable. Talks aren't." Max's voice sharpened. "We only accept unconditional surrender."
"Yes, sir."
"And tell them this: I suggest they don't surrender." Max added, almost casually. "If they surrender, we hand them over to the local Twi'leks for public trial. Instead of surrendering and living like the dead, they should fight us properly—die in battle. Sounds more honorable."
"Yes, sir."
After that, surely they wouldn't still surrender… right?
Max wasn't eager to end this yet. Ground fighting hadn't even started. The new recruits from Rishi were still sitting on the Dragon watching from orbit—they hadn't seen blood. Max didn't want to pack up this early.
"Sir, urgent call from Intelligence."
"Route it to Conference Room Three. I'm coming now."
"Yes, sir."
...
"More Mandalorian bounty hunters asking for asylum lately?" Max scratched his head.
"Yes." Director Samuel Elda of Mandalorian Intelligence gave his report. "Since April began, eleven Mandalorian bounty hunters have shown up in Cloud City seeking our protection—more than the previous three months combined. It's abnormal, so I'm flagging it as urgent."
"Asylum?"
"Yes." Samuel's expression was heavy. "They say a bounty hunter calling himself 'Mando-Killer' has appeared. He specifically targets high-profile Mandalorian hunters."
"Mando-Killer… that bold?" Max went quiet, thinking. "Who the hell is it…?"
PS: Durge is a Gen'Dai—an exceptionally long-lived species with a body full of nerve clusters and a circulatory system that doesn't rely on a single central heart. Without the usual fragile vital organs most humanoids have, a Gen'Dai can survive extreme mutilation, even complete dismemberment.
Durge's humanoid "look" is mimicry, used to hide his Gen'Dai traits.
PPS: The HH-87 Starhopper is a starfighter originally produced by MandalMotors in the Republic's earlier era, with major customers including Zygerrian slavers and the Hutt clans.
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