Impetus the Hunter

"It's been a long time since my prey has given me such a challenge. This will be a most rewarding hunt indeed."

, also known as BX-1138, or informally as "the Hunter of Men", was a heavily modified BX droid commando who was built to serve as a commander in the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Under the command of CIS commander Durge, Impetus served as a commander and assassin during the Clone Wars. He was built to be self-aware, but later became tired of the war. Instead, he deserted from the Separatist Army, and became a bounty hunter. As a bounty hunter, he would find work with several organizations, including the Empire, Jabba's criminal empire, and later under Grabela the Hutt. As a bounty hunter, he was notorious for kidnapping individuals (usually death-marked bounties or military units) and releasing them into a large game reserve on Nal Kapok, where Impetus would hunt them for sport.

Early life
Creation:

BX-1138 was built late into the Clone Wars as part of an initiative proposed by Durge to create an elite team of highly modified battle droids to assist in fighting the Republic forces and to serve as Durge's secondary field commanders across the galaxy. This team was christened as "Durge's Fist," and were meant to serve as an extension of Durge's influence as a commander of the droid armies. Each member was given unique enhancements, above-average intelligence, and unique personalities, as well as proper equipment, gear, and programming in order to serve in their given specialist role. The specialist role given to BX-1138 was as a sniper and an assassin. BX-1138 then received the nickname "Impetus," although his exploits quickly gave him the title of "Impetus the Hunter."

Career
The Hunter of Men:

Like most of the members of Durge's Fist, Impetus for the most part was an enigma during his first exploits, often because all who ever encountered him never lived to talk about it. Impetus found the art of sniping to be thrilling to him, especially when his targets were scared and on the run. He also seemed to enjoy the thrill of the chase. As a result, Impetus would often kidnap clone troopers, clone commanders, and sometimes even Jedi, and then release them into the wilds of the jungle world of Nal Kapok. Impetus would keep a large game reserve on the planet, surrounded by an electric fence to keep his prey contained. He would often give them a 24 hour head start, giving them a chance to run or try and fight back. Impetus knew the jungle around his reserve, and was modified with infrared vision to track his prey. Often, they would never see him coming, as Impetus was incredibly fast and nimble, and equipped with a personal cloaking device. He would then pick them off one by one until he had killed them all and collected their helmets and gear as trophies. However, Impetus never hunted for the sake of trophies, but rather for the thrill of the hunt. Additionally, he preferred military units over civilians so that he could analyze the military strategies and tactics used by his prey as they tried to evade him, and then incorporate them into his own hunting and combat techniques. Occasionally, in order to make things more interesting, he would even supply a maxillipede shuttle on a landing platform on the other side of the reserve to grant his prey a chance to escape, but only if they had the tactical skill to evade him and survive his deadly game. Few individuals ever did escape, and Impetus would hold some admiration for those who did. It was this form of amusement that gave him the nickname, "the Hunter of Men."

The Great Hunt:

"I've often heard that clones are superior to droids in nearly every way. So far, they've failed to impress me. Let's see if you can do better."

---Impetus the Hunter

At one point in the Clone Wars, Impetus had kidnapped several noteworthy clones, including Captain Lo, the now clone Captain CT-1409 "Echo," and clone Commander Bacara. By this point, Impetus had acquired a complete set of Mandalorian armor, and had since customized it. His captured prisoners were then brought aboard The Lodge, a modified conqueror-class atmospheric dreadnought that was refitted as a base camp and a trophy room. Impetus addressed them, explaining what he planned to do with them. As he had done on occasion in the past, Impetus taunted them by offering a chance to escape aboard his maxillipede shuttle, if they ever survived. He then released them by opening the cargo hold beneath their feet, and fired a few shots from The Lodge to get them to flee into the forest, beginning the hunt. All of his prisoners were unarmed, save it be Captain Echo, who had a laser cannon built into his prosthetic arm (Echo had previously lost his arm and both his legs while attempting to rescue Jedi Master Even Piell on Lola Sayu, and was later experimented on by the Separatists, who implanted a computer into his brain, as well as several prosthetics on his arm, legs, and spine). Being seasoned soldiers, the clones were unwilling to give up without a fight, but nevertheless were advised not to underestimate him, as some of the clones had already encountered other members of Durge's Fist in the weeks prior. Nevertheless, they still continued towards the landing platform, hoping that the devious droid hadn't been lying about its existence.

The next day, Impetus began his hunt. Because he knew the jungle so well, and because of his enhancements, he quickly gained ground on the clones, and eventually caught up to them. Of the 10 clones he had released into the wilds of Nal Kapok, he killed two of them instantly with his specialized light-bow, and two more with his energy chakrams. One of the clones made a mad dash for the droid, and managed to steal one of Impetus' holdout blasters. His success was short-lived though, as Impetus then killed him too by impaling him on his Tekko-Kagi, but not before critically damaging his personal cloaking device. The remaining five clones continued to proceed deeper into the forest, where they came across the remains of another clone trooper, who had somehow managed to avoid Impetus' gaze, but had died of starvation since then. The deceased clone had built up an intricate display of booby traps, as well as some rudimentary weapons like bows and slings. The surviving clones used these to their advantage, and used them to ward off and do some damage to their adversary, before escaping towards the shuttle.

Destruction:

"You're tougher than I thought, meatbag. In fact, you could almost say that you impressed me. But that won't save you from me, clone. This predator always catches his prey."

---Impetus the Hunter, to Captain Echo

Against all odds, the clones successfully made it to the shuttle, and had actually outsmarted their pursuer. However, before they could board the shuttle, Impetus cut them off, saying that despite impressing him by their brilliant tactics, they were not going to leave the system alive. Nevertheless, because they had impressed him, Impetus was willing to give them a fair fight, dropping his blasters and removing the Mandalorian helmet he was wearing; instead willing to fight hand-to-hand with the clones. Echo, having had the most experience with hand-to-hand combat and with members of Durge's Fist, volunteered to take up the droid's challenge. Both were evenly matched, and early on, Echo had managed to disarm the droid. Nevertheless, it seemed that Impetus was quickly gaining the upper hand. However, Echo's prosthetic arm was more robust than those of Impetus, and Echo managed to punch right through Impetus' chest, severely damaging the droid. While Impetus violently lurched around, frantically trying to regain control of himself, Echo then grabbed him by the neck and decapitated him. After destroying the droid, Echo, Bacara, Lo, and two other clones managed to escape the planet, and return to the Republic.

Continued Service and Desertion:

Despite the damage he had sustained, Impetus was quickly rebuilt, and continued his service in the Separatist ranks. However, as the war progressed, he began to get increasingly frustrated with the war. For starters, the war was taking time away from his hunts, and the Republic had already invaded the planet. Additionally, he had several disagreements with Durge, especially over his possession of Mandalorian trinkets, which Durge openly forbid possession of, due to his immense hatred of the Mandalorians in general. Eventually, Impetus realized that he really didn't care much about working for the CIS, and especially hated working for Durge. As a result, he decided to go AWOL, but because Durge kept a close eye on him, and was suspicious of his treasonous thoughts, Impetus was unable to do so. Eventually, his chance would come when another member of Durge's Fist, a modified aqua droid named Tsunami, also decided to defect, and assisted the Republic in invading the heavily guarded planet of Serrenno. Amidst the chaos, Impetus briefly aided the Republic forces, before fleeing the system, leaving the planet--and the Confederacy--behind for good.

Freelancing:

Impetus later became a bounty hunter and assassin, whose skills rivaled those of other notorious bounty hunters such as Embo and Sugi, and quickly ascended the ranks as one of the most successful and notorious bounty hunters in the galaxy. At one point, in order to protect his own interests, he aided Republic forces alongside several other bounty hunters on Level 1313 during the Battle of Coruscant in 19 BBY. With the rise of the Empire, Impetus would occasionally do a few odd jobs for them, often kidnapping insurgents and rebels and hunting them as he did the clones during the Clone Wars. However, Impetus didn't care much for the Empire, as they had for the most part cleared the galaxy of anyone worth hunting; so occasionally he would hunt stormtroopers as well. He eventually found work under Jabba the Hutt, and performed numerous bounties for him.

Ord Mantell:

"Well, the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind."

---Han Solo

During the height of the Galactic Civil War, Impetus continued his service under Jabba. He was one of the bounty hunters called in to hunt down Han Solo, who had previously dumped his entire cargo at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser. After much delay from Solo in repaying the Hutt, Impetus was tasked with delivering an ultimatum to Solo, that if he didn't pay him back then and there, then Solo would receive a massive price on his head. Eventually, Impetus tracked him down to Ord Mantell, where he confronted the former smuggler with an escort of several reprogrammed BX commando droids. Impetus delivered the ultimatum, to which Solo sheepishly admitted that he didn't have the money on him currently, and asked for more time. Impetus refused, stating that this was Solo's last warning and he blew it. Impetus then attempted to turn him in, but was interrupted by Luke Skywalker. A skirmish broke out in the hanger, and Han and Luke ended up escaping the fiendish assassin droid, but not before Han destroyed Impetus' personal starfighter. Impetus became enraged with Solo, and vowed that he would not rest until he had delivered Solo to Jabba in pieces. He never got the chance though, as Han would later be frozen in carbonite, and delivered to Jabba by Boba Fett.

Work with Grabela:

"I've been waiting a long time for this, Solo. Ready to pay you back for all the misery you caused me. After all these long months, I'm getting choked up just thinking about it."

---Impetus

After the death of Jabba the Hutt, Impetus would later find a job with Jabba's cousin, Grabela. Impetus would continue to serve him by the time Durge resurfaced as part of a rival criminal empire called the Zahn Consortium. At one point, Impetus once again crossed paths with Solo, whom he captured and delivered to Grabela. To his surprise however, Grabela welcomed Solo with open arms, as his wife, Princess Leia, had killed Jabba the Hutt, to whom Grabela had no love for whatsoever. Jabba's death had given Grabela a greater degree of freedom, and allowed him to fulfill his dream of building a beach-side resort and buffet on Scarif. However, Consortium forces attacked the resort, in an attempt to kill Solo and the accompanying Rebels present there. They were unsuccessful, and Grabela was infuriated with the Zahn Consortium. Eventually, Grabela, and by extension Impetus, would aid the New Republic in destroying the the threat of the Zahn Consortium for good.

Impetus would continue to do odd jobs for numerous clients in the years following, and was still active by the time of the First Order.

Legacy
Impetus the Hunter was remembered as one of the most brutal and dangerous bounty hunters in the galaxy, as well as one of the most prolific. At the height of his career, he was ranked alongside bounty hunters like Sugi, Embo, and IG-88, and being surpassed only by the top bounty hunters in the galaxy, such as Boba Fett, Aurra Sing, Cad Bane, Bossk, and Durge. As a member of Durge's Fist, he was among the few to survive the Clone Wars, and the only one to survive well into the First Order era.

Personality and traits
Impetus had a unique personality. Despite having a similar mentality to the Trandoshans, Impetus did not seek for trophies, although he would still acquire them. Rather, he did it to improve his own performance, as well as simply for the thrill of it. He also had a unique view on a person's tactics. If one had the tactical skill to outwit and best him in combat, he would take admiration for that, and occasionally would even let them go, since those with great tactical skill where few and far between, and killing them outright would be a waste of their talents. He also found open combat in war to be boring. He preferred to hunt his prey in a way that he could enjoy the thrill of the chase, instead of simply massacring them on the battlefield. Such sloppy kills were "unsportsmanlike" to him, and he preferred to kill his victims on his terms and in his own special way. He also did not harbor grudges against those who bested him in combat. However, he did bear a grudge on Solo for refusing to pay Jabba and destroying his ship. He also bore a grudge on Durge for their disagreements and differing philosophies, which is why Impetus refused to join the Zahn Consortium, despite it being a much larger criminal organization than Grabela's organization. He was also self-aware, which was not common among any droid, much less a Separatist commando droid like himself. It was this self-awareness that caused him to desert from the Separatist Army. Impetus also possessed several Mandalorian trinkets, including Mandalorian armor, a personalized Mandalorian helmet from a fallen super-commando, and several Mandalorian weapons. He also adopted many symbols of Mandalorian culture, including painting a Mandalorian skull on his chest, Jaig Eyes on his head and helmet, and even giving himself horns as a nod to the current leader of Mandalore at the time, which, of course, was Maul. The reason why he admired the Mandalorians so much is because he considered their warrior culture and fighting styles as an art, and often embraced their fighting styles in his own combat style. This obsession often clashed with his creater, Durge, who despised everything Mandalorian, and wished to wipe them out entirely.

Powers and Abilities:

Impetus was extremely fast and nimble, even for a commando droid. He also displayed an intricate form of hand-to-hand combat. He was also an expert marksman, and often killed his opponents via a sniper rifle (though he would more commonly use a Nightsister light bow). He also had an ability to see in infrared, so there was no way of hiding from him. He was also a decent duelist, and very handy with a blaster. He was able to use any weapon he came across, although he preferred weapons that could kill from a distance, and only on rare circumstances would he use explosives other than energy chakrams (his weapon of choice). He was also an avid pilot, and was able to pilot several ships of varying sizes, including a Saboath interceptor, a trireme corvette, and a conqueror-class atmospheric dreadnought. He was also very durable, having a chest plate that consisted of sandwiching thick durasteel with cortosis, which allowed him to survive even a lightsaber strike. However, not even his tough armor was impenetrable, as Echo demonstrated on Nal Kapok.

Weapons and Gear:

Impetus often acquired his gear from victims of previous hunts. These included Mandalorian armor, blasters, sniper rifles, grenades, thermal imploders, Wookiee bandoliers, ammo straps, clone trooper helmets and utility belts, Tekko-Kagi, knives, vibroswords, and his trusty Nightsister light bow, which was one of his weapons of choice.

He also made good use of energy chakrams, which were large throwing disks with a circular plasma blade surrounding it. They were akin to large shurikens, only with what can best be said as a lightsaber blade wrapped around the edges of it. They were often thrown in pairs. When thrown against a wall or hard surface, they would often ricochet off it, which if used correctly results in two spinning blades of death hurtling towards an enemy at high speed in a scissor-like formation. They were easily capable of decapitation and severing limbs, before remotely returning to their owner (turning off the blade in return flight of course). Occasionally, they would become embedded in a wall or other surface, after which they can be used as remote explosives, since they have an explosive timer built into them as well.

Impetus also had other gear built into him, including a personal cloaking device, infrared vision, shin-mounted jetpacks, and sharp spurs on his feet for scaling up walls or tree branches.

He also possessed three different ships; a Saboath interceptor (as his personal ship before it was destroyed by Solo), a conqueror-class atmospheric dreadnought (which served as a home and a makeshift hunting lodge), and a trireme corvette (which he used to transport prisoners to his game reserve).

Behind the scenes
Impetus' Mandalorian helmet is patterned after Predator, of whom the character is loosely based off of. In fact, some of his mannerisms were created for a storyline that payed homage to the Predator franchise.

Impetus would speak in a Russian accent, as a nod to Kraven the Hunter, although I'm debating on instead giving him an Australian accent, to reflect his big game hunter status.

His energy chakrams were based off of the real world chakrams, which were basically killer frisbees. They were used by the Indian Rajput warriors, and are probably one of the coolest weapons of the ancient world. I wanted to incorporate a modern version of it into Star Wars, and this thing was born.

Interestingly enough, I had come up with the concept and behavior of the weapon some time ago. Albeit unintentional, the closest thing resembling an energy chakram outside of my fanfic is the laserdisk used in Tron, though I had never even considered how similar the concepts are until after I had already created it, and then saw Tron. Great minds think alike.

Although not mentioned by name, Han Solo does mention running into a bounty hunter on Ord Mantell in The Empire Strikes Back.

The reason why Impetus sports a Mandalorian Skull on his chest is to show his affiliation to Durge, who also bears the same symbol on his chest.