The Vertical City, Nar Shaddaa. They call it the Smuggler's Moon—an apt description based on the myriad of sentients shuffling back and forth with their illegal wares and hidden weapons. The narrow streets below criss-cross endlessly, soaring miles above the planet's surface. Exposed and uncovered, the streets offer a nearly perfect setting for someone with some skills with ranged weapons. From a vantage point on the ledge of a towering structure of glass and steel offers a dizzying view of the cityscape.

Simple shops and merchants peddle both legitimate and illegitimate wares. Storefronts are just as plentiful as open-market pop-up tents, and the cantina's adapt the same lowlife air as the rest of the Smuggler's Moon. Enemies could be hidden in plain sight, whether one of the Hutts’ gangsters or mercenaries-for-hire looking to earn some credits. The streets are plagued with violent gangs and the general riff raff of the poor and destitute. The streets may be an ideal place for blasters, but the winding streets are difficult to disappear from. An opponent would be easily boxed in and simple to finish with a few quick slashes of a lightsaber. The moon is dangerous—even for one gifted in the Force.

Nar Shaddaa, a true hive of decadence and scum. The perfect place to find a criminal, providing you can find the one you are looking for. This is the exact problem that was currently plaguing Taldryan Knight Thorn.

’Blast this cursed city. How hard can it be to find one Sith lunatic?'

Thorn mused to himself as he moved silently across the rooftops of the gambling district. He had been tasked with tracking down and ending the life of a Tarentum Sith warrior. Unfortunately, this particular Sith is an enigma. So much so, that Thorn couldn’t even find out his name prior to setting out. The only information he was able to scrounge up was that his target was male, a Sith, wore a suit of black armor, and most importantly was renowned as a madman. Despite the lack of information, Thorn had been able to track someone he was certain was his target to this district.

Dropping silently onto a lower roof the zabrak looked out over the wide thoroughfare. Certain his target was in one of the buildings below, Thorn drew his DLT-20A pulse cannon off his back and set it up on the edge of the roof. Propping it up on its bipod, the zabrak laid down next to the rifle and drew out his quadnoculars. Staring through their viewports he watched the street below, the hunt had begun.

Solas Night-Thorn stood inside of a cantina watching the people milling about the dark room. Why was he here? No one knows, not even the man himself. He had departed his home system on a quest to ease the pain caused by a ritual he participated in. However, this pain also exacerbated the madness that dwells within his mind and in a fit of insanity he found his way to the Smuggler’s Moon. He had allowed his thoughts to drift away but was brought back to the here and now when someone placed a rough hand on the Sith’s shoulder.

“Hey buddy! I noticed you giving my boys some nasty looks! You got something you want to say to us?” The man was unbelievably drunk, exemplified by his comment about Solas glaring at his “boys” despite the fact that the epicanthix’s face was completely covered by his heavy mask. Solas attempted to ignore the drunkard but was forced to act when the man forcefully turned him around to face him. The Sith sighed before driving his forehead into the man’s nose. With a sickening wet crunch the man staggered back cupping his broken nose. With a guttural howl he lunged at the Sith, only to have his head removed by the crackling unstable blade of Solas’ lightsaber.

The debut of the infamous weapon caused chaos to erupt inside of the cantina. Most ran for the exits fearing the wielder, however several men rushed Solas. Screaming about how he had killed their boss. Taking a lax one handed grip on his weapon, the Sith effortlessly dispatched his attackers. Seeing there was no more challengers, he returned his saber to his belt before heading to the exit.

Stepping outside he sighed, the fight had brought him back to reality. Once again focused on his quest he made for his ship. Walking along the thoroughfare, he stopped to look around for a moment when something in the back of his mind told him to duck. Taking its advice he dropped into a crouch only moments before a heavy blaster bolt struck the wall behind him.

Thorn cursed under his breath seeing the man dodge his shot. Only someone tapped into the Force could have dodged that shot. This meant two things; this man was almost certainly his target, and he knew he was being hunted. Thorn knew what came next. He had to move, quickly.

Thorn immediately activated his armored jetpack. It hovered lazily for a few moments a few inches above the concrete roof before blasting off. "One thing for certain: this man is a strong Force User or he'd not have dodged the blaster like that. However, this is what makes a good hunt anyway...an elusive prey. What is the fun in a prey easily subdued?"

He flew parallel from the street where he shot the Force User over the various buildings. Despite having the huge advantage in having a jetpack, the assassin knew the importance of remaining out of sight. He decided to land on the towering building on the end of the street. The huge concrete structure was easily the largest in the area and presented an amazing vantage point for Thorn's devious schemes. This same building had a large tower on the top, taking up much of the space. However, there was sufficient room for maneuvering, probably made for the maintenance crew and apartment owners who would like to enjoy the scenery from the edge.

Quickly he dismounted on the top of the building and started setting up his sniper on the edges. This took a few moments only, since he only needed to balance his bipod. As he looked through the magnification scope, he also tapped into the Force to know about the whereabouts of his prey. The Force did not disappoint. He was still on the same street, although farther away than Thorn thought.

"Being a Force Sensitive makes you much more easy to kill".

Solas was not one to rest when there was a threat to be taken care of, especially a sniper. Though he missed, there was no guarantee Solas won't be fired again. Better to take it out first, by going through the backdoor of the building where the shot was fired from. This wasn't locked, thankfully which meant he didn't need to slide the door down with his light saber, alerting his assailant.

He reached the roof fast enough, yet there was no one there. How could anyone have escaped so quickly, the Sith wondered. However, an eerie feeling came over him, as if being watched. He glanced at the adjoining structures but could not discern anything out of place. Shaking his head he returned to the brightly illuminated street below.

This end of the street didn't have much denizens at present. After the blaster bolt hit, people were afraid to come closer. However, some have already started trickling in. Crime is common in Nar Shadda and life must go on. Solas blended with whatever crowd there was and started walking down the street using the designated footpaths. He kept a keen eye on his surroundings, lest something else comes at him. One hand was already on the pommel of his lightsaber. Suddenly...

SPLAT!

Blood and brains splattered his face. The Twilek who came in front of him momentarily had his brains blown off! Unfortunately, the poor guy took a bullet obviously meant for him. It was not hard to know where the shot came from...and Solas tore down the street in a blood rage after his assailant, wiping the grime off himself.

"If I find this karking shooter I'll skewer him!" The street was suddenly in a panic. Crowds scattered and shops started running down.