Open Nar Shaddaa Alleyway troubles

[Urso]

Urso trudged across the filthy, yet familiar, streets of Nar Shaddaa. The sound of his boots hitting the ground became lost amongst the similar sounds of footsteps on the busy streets of this crowded moon. The Zabrak kept an eye out as he walked, expertly weaving his way through the crowds, avoiding bumping into anyone or tripping over something; navigating the suffocating crowds of Nar Shaddaa was a skill that any who wanted to thrive on this crime-infested place needed to learn, sooner rather than later. He pulled his patchy brown jacket tighter to his body and he picked up the pace. He wanted to be out of the street as quickly as he could. He felt uneasy...like he was being watched.

He had just come from the cantina, the person he had just completed a job for said he would only pay Urso at the cantina. Mentioned something about his place being renovated. The story sounded suspicious to Urso, but he needed the money, so he went there. It was a stupid idea, to exchange credits in a public space, but Urso was desperate. He knew the moon well enough to know that someone might have seen him receive the credits and attempted to follow him. That's why he so desperately wanted to get out of the crowd and go anywhere else for the rest of the day. Out of the corner of his eye, Urso spotted an alleyway which he knew cut through the guts of this district and ended up where he wanted to go. Running his hand through his dirty brown hair, and over some of his horns, Urso picked up the pace and headed for the alleyway. Entering the alleyway, Urso sped up even more - thinking he was in the clear until he heard a voice from behind.

"Woah hold up there now...I saw you leave the cantina after that 'exchange' o' yours. An' now I see you running away...meaning you probably gotta'lotta credits on you. Or somethin' jus' as valuable, am I right?"

Urso cringed a little inside. He knew it. He bloody knew it. Urso, slowly turned around to face the assailant. He saw a not particularly well-groomed human male. Probably in his mid-forties. Long and uncombed shoulder-length brown hair with a bushy brown beard to complement it. His grin was rather unsettling as the man's grin revealed that he did not have many teeth at all.

"I would say you should brush your teeth more...but I don't think that's a problem for you anymore" Urso casually mentioned - possibly attempting to defuse the situation with a kind of off-brand comedy.

The man frowned and aimed his pistol at Urso's chest. "Don't be tryna make a fool of me. Yer the one with the blaster aimed at yer chest. Now, gimme yer credits or whatever the hells it was you got back there" he growled. Well, it was less of a growl and more of a cough. The man seriously did not look like he took care of his health.

Alright, we certainly don't need to make this a thing, really, we don't! On the flip side, however...I do really need these credits" Urso diplomatically explained as his hand, a little less diplomatically, slowly hovered down to his blaster.

Now, Urso could not see the future, but he definitely figured that a standoff was about to ensue. Moreso, he figured that either he or this rough-looking human trying to rob him was gonna get shot in just a moment. But also, this was Nar Shaddaa after all. Anything could happen and anyone could walk by. Who knew what the future held.

 

[Chant Sindhu]

Of all the rotten places to be. A blue Mon Calamari wearing a red jacket and tan pants thought, while strolling down one of the many streets on Nar Shaddaa. The stench nearby filled her nostrils, causing the pilot to scowl and shake her head. Force help me.

To say Chant Sindhu hated Nar Shaddaa would be a galactic understatement. It was polluted, depressing and ruled by gangsters to name a few of many things she had loathed about the Smuggler’s moon. Nevertheless here she was.

Once this mission is over I’m gonna take several showers back on my ship. Didn’t think New Republic Intelligence would send me here so soon.

Keeping her hands in the pockets of her jacket, Chant maintained a steady pace amongst the crowd. Above lines of ships and speeders of various types flew back and forth. Ground level loud music from various establishments played nearby. Subsequently she exited out of the masses to catch her breath on the edge of an alleyway.

Then the Mon Cala paused, hearing voices. Cautiously she took a look, seeing a middle human confronting a young Zabark at blaster point. Judging by their conversation it sounded like a robbery. Not really surprising here.

She was about to back away slowly, not wanting anything to do with it. Yet Chant paused and suppressed a sigh. Maybe the horned head deserves it and I certainly can’t help everyone but in this case. Quietly she drew her pistol and set it to stun.

Taking a deep breath and softly releasing Chant made her move. Using the edge as cover the pilot aimed and fired a stun bolt into the back of the human thief.

@ThunderousBaron

 

[Jaga Meen]

Jaga heard the commotion coming from the alleyway. Usually, he would mind his business and leave whoever found themselves in the more brutal corners of Nar Shadaa to their fate. Today was different however, Jaga had come off a pretty big con and felt untouchable.

So, he put on his best outlaw walk which he mimicked from those Holonet programs. As he slowly approached the alleyway, he could see three shadowy figures, one on the ground.

Don't know what I expected really... Jaga thought

@ThunderousBaron @Chant Sindhu ​

 

[Urso]

Urso's hand hovered over his pistol on his hip. The tension between him and this robber was palpable. If he wasn't quick enough, he was dead. His fingers danced along the edge of his holster as he prepared to fire. Suddenly, the sound of a blaster rung throughout the alleyway. Urso cringed visibly, shutting his eyes and waited to die. He waited for the pain to set in, but it never did. He cracked open his eyes to find his assailant on the ground, stunned. Urso's eyes widened, he was in disbelief, but he was also incredibly grateful.

The Zabrak's eyes drifted up, looking for whoever saved his skin. He caught a faint glimpse of the blue Mon Calamari in cover. Urso slowly raised his hands - a sign of peace.

"It's not every day that you come across an altruistic soul on Nar Shaddaa. Thanks for the help. Unless you're also here to rob me that is" Urso commented as he rested one hand on his blaster. "But, if you're not here to rob me then by the horns on my head am I grateful you rocked up. Urso is my name. And you are?"

Urso flashed a genuine smile at his saviour, but it quickly disappeared when he noticed another figure entering the alleyway. "Looks like we have more company" Urso said to the Mon Calamari, as he nodded toward Jaga.

@GreenBeanMachine @Minuteman75

 

[Chant Sindhu]

Once the would-be thief went down Chant let out a sigh of relief. The surprised Zabarak subsequently looked up in her direction and expressed his gratitude with some level of caution. It was only natural given the world they're standing in. Staying behind cover she answered back with her new alias.

“Shah Ebber. As for my reasons, well I just got tired of seeing another mugging today.”

Further discussion stopped when a new figure approached from the other side. Keeping the pistol at the ready Chant’s heart pounded repeatedly. Typical, just typical. She thought with frustration.

@GreenBeanMachine @ThunderousBaron

 

[Jaga Meen]

"Don't worry, just enjoying the show. Y'know He does owe me some credits though so I think I'll just take some off his hands while he's... incapacitated." Jaga slowly and awkwardly slide between the two as he then rummaged through the pockets of the man

Then realizing that he created a sort of tension in the air Jaga spoke again, "Don't mind me, you guys can keep up your little chat..." He then went back to rummaging through the man's pockets while also listening to the two's conversation, he was in need of new entertainment.

@ThunderousBaron @Minuteman75 ​

 

[Urso]

Urso watched rather curiously as the new, strange, figure slipped in between himself and Shah and looted the unconscious form that had just been trying to rob him a moment ago. Urso kept a tight grip on his pistol, not trusting either of these strangers yet, but didn't take any action against them. 'I figured I was entitled to those credits. After all he was robbing me...Bah, whatever he doesn't look like he has a lot of credits anyway. Let him have it' Urso thought to himself.

Surveying the area rather quickly, Urso figured that things were relatively safe...for now. Even if they weren't, he had a plan in mind just in case things turned sideways. But for now, he'd rather befriend these strangers than have to shoot at them.

"Well," Urso began "all three of us are in an alleyway here in Nar Shaddaa, and none of us has shot the others just yet. A rare sight in this place indeed. That must mean we're buddies, right?"

The Zabrak shifted on his feet as he continued to speak.

"You can come out now. Shah, was it? I'm not going to shoot you" Urso verbally noted. "Although I suppose staying in cover at all possible times is a good practice on Nar Shaddaa" Urso muttered under his breath. "How about we all come out and stand up and have as normal a conversation as we can have...when, you know, standing in a back alley over an unconscious body?"

@GreenBeanMachine @Minuteman75

 

[Jaga Meen]

Jaga found only a handful of credits and put them in his robe.

"'Buddies' is a strong word, but yeah I guess we can have a chat..." He stood back up with a straight posture and shifted his gaze from the limp body on the ground, to the abstract figure hiding in cover. "Y'know I would've done that too if I'd gotten here first, but the stun was a bit generous. In the end, we both really saved the day when you think about it!"

Jaga knew this wasn't true, he always stayed away from physical confrontation when possible, but nobody else had to know that. He played smarter not harder, after all he'd just gotten credits on two separate occasions without so much as shooting a blaster. Business was a booming!

@ThunderousBaron @Minuteman75 ​

 

[Urso]

"True, true" Urso conceded "Buddies is a bit of a strong word but, who's to say what the future holds. Maybe in a week, all of us will be clinking our glasses together on Coruscant at a bar" Urso didn't exactly hold out hope for this resolution, things rarely went that smoothly. But, one could hope.

Urso held his ground. He wasn't the most physically imposing person in the galaxy, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna shy away from this potential opportunity. Removing his hand from his blaster, as a show of friendship, Urso cleared his throat and readied himself to speak. In a rather theatrical fashion, Urso extended his arms out wide and spoke.

"So, I've got to ask. Do the two of you live here on Nar Shaddaa, or are the two of you just visiting this lovely, lovely trash heap of a moon?" Urso inquired.

Urso kept a straight face despite the fake authenticity he embedded into the question. He knew the true purpose of the reason he asked this question. He needed off the planet, and rather soon in fact. Logically, if neither of these strangers was from Nar Shaddaa, they must have gotten there somehow. Ideally, he thought, one of them had a ship in which they would gladly take him on and cart him away into the stars. But this was Nar Shaddaa - it was far from ideal and things scarcely went that smoothly. Regardless, Urso needed a way off this moon and soon. Hopefully, these strangers could provide it. Or at least point him in the right direction; provided he was careful about it.

On the flip side, he might just be dragging these strangers into his own problems...But Urso could live with that. Maybe they'd make a great shield from the blasters of the gangsters he was worried about.

@Minuteman75 @GreenBeanMachine

 

[Arctus Friers]

Of all the things that brought Arctus to Nar Shadda, it was because word had spread that the moon had had been invaded by zombies.

Zombies, of all things. And invasion might have been too strong a word to describe what had happened given the crisis the galaxy had faced. Come to think of it, the galaxy – the inhabitants, more like – was just one, big gossip monger that jumped at every news and often exaggerated things for the fun of it. But zombies...!

Of course they were gone. Eliminated. Obliterated. And Arctus had lost his chance of seeing an undead up close and personal. But he guessed he had to make do with staying in the moon for a little while – the Force his intuition telling him to stay put and he would be a fool to go against such a feeling.

Leaving his ship, the Cyar'ika, on a spaceport, Arctus made his way into the city, causing a ruckus wherever he went and putting the blame on someone else. He'd gotten away with some, but was soon caught touching a pretty Togruta's montrals without her consent. The smuggler would have gotten a black eye for that had he not charmed the Togruta with his puppy-eyed look and sweet words. Instead of a black eye he had gotten a kiss instead, and the woman's private commlink frequency as well as the promise of a good time should they cross paths once more during his stay.

Lucky. But he soon sent a silent apology to his Mando savior from Tatooine, mentally and dramatically pledging himself to her and her alone.

(Pretty obsessed, this one was.)

Arctus was nudged by his intuition towards one of the city's many alleyways, and he soon found himself looking over a small group comprised of a Zabrak, a Mon Calamari, and an Argazdan – and was that an unconscious person on the ground?

Forgoing stealth and caution (his intuition wasn't sounding off alarm bells at the moment), Arctus announced himself to the group in a, well, very Arctus-like manner.

"Hey there, folks! Having fun right there?" he said cheerfully in greeting. The smuggler approached the group, grinning as he gestured at the unconscious man in their midst. "Is this guy dead? I hope he's not—" Alive, his intuition said
"–okay, poor bloke's not dead. What are you all doing here? The fun is out there in the cantina... down the bars... a dingy alleway? Nope."

@ThunderousBaron @Minuteman75 @GreenBeanMachine

 

[Jaga Meen]

"I don't like to stay in one place too long, bad for business. If I was gonna settle down, I'd be in Zeltros or Coruscant, not this place." Jaga said this in the hopes that he might just get a free ride out of here. He had to stow away on a junk freighter just to get here from his last job, and he was just about done with his celebrations at this point.

Jaga noticed the man walk into the alley and announce himself to the group.

"Yeah, I guess the more the merrier at this point! Not like this place reeks of dead rodent carcass or anything!" Jaga settled down for a moment, this guy looked like the type that would have a ship...

"Where are my manners though, I'm Jaga Meen expert swordsman, master of business, and voted greatest up and coming criminal by the Roughiant Times!" He always made sure to announce his accomplishments and accolades from the get-go, so that the criminals that he encountered would take him somewhat seriously. That and he loved to stroke his overblown ego.

"And this is... well I guess none of us have acquainted ourselves yet..."

@ThunderousBaron @Minuteman75 @Forsythe Crowholde ​

 

[Urso]

Urso looked around. He greeted the newcomer with a well calculated grin and a nod of his head. However, his eyes kept flicking around the alleyway, looking for danger. This was Nar Shaddaa after all, and he didn’t like being in the same spot for too long, nor did he like the big crowd that had gathered.

“How about” Urso contended “we head somewhere a little less...public? There’s a place nearby, where people won’t keep stumbling upon us”

The Zabrak looked around one last time, certain that they had to get out of the alleyway sooner rather than later.

“I might have a little proposition for you all. Assuming we all have the same interests” He furrowed his brow a little bit. “I’ll explain on the way?”

“Considering how much of a cesspool this place is, you’d have to be crazy not to have similar interests to mine” he muttered hastily.

Urso stepped to the side and gestured for everyone to start walking down the alleyway and out the other side. He certainly wasn’t going to turn his back on someone in an alleyway on Nar Shaddaa. But the others didn’t need to know that, hopefully they just assumed he was being polite.

“The name is Urso, by the way. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Hopefully we can all help each other”

@GreenBeanMachine @Minuteman75 @Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Chant Sindhu]

Another one, this is becoming a party. The pilot turned agent thought to herself. Honestly she was a bit bewildered at the sudden attention they were receiving. That was not good. The Mon Calamari considered her options for the moment.

Maybe these three may know something useful but then again...

However, looking at the others Chant paused. She didn’t know why but the blue alien couldn’t shake the feeling there was something wrong. Slowly putting her pistol away Chant walked out of cover.

“No thanks, I have to go. Good luck to ya.” Said the republic operative before walking away. Indeed Chant had other business to tend with.

//Exit thread

@Forsythe Crowholde @GreenBeanMachine @ThunderousBaron

 

[Arctus Friers]

Arctus returned the greeting with a carefree grin and a wave of his hand. He could feel that the Zabrak and the Mon Calamari were cautious, and the Argazdan was open enough about wanting any of the group to stroke his ego. Arctus decided to humor the guy – no harm in doing so, right?

"That is awesome, Mister Jaga!" he exclaimed, voice booming in the alleyway. "Man, I wish I could get a spot in the Roughiant Times, too, whatever that is!"

Never heard of it, never read it, but maybe soon.

The Zabrak – Urso, he called himself – mentioned something about a proposition and it made Arctus perk up with interest. Suddenly feeling rather adventurous, he turned to Urso with another grin.

"Well, when you put it that way, mate, it certainly gets a man interested," he told the Zabrak with a wink before stepping over the unconscious man to make his way out of the alley. Perfectly showing his back to the two males, but the Force his intuition would warn him immediately if they attempted anything funny – they'd find that he was a dab hand at a blaster the easy way. At the Mon Calamari's announcement that she had other places to be, however, the smuggler stopped midway and followed her with his gaze.

"What? Eh? Hey, lady, don't go!" he called after her. "Come back, have some fun with the lads here!"

...and there she went, into the crowd and out of sight. Arctus' shoulders drooped, having their party go down by one person. But he assumed that the lady did have something far more important to do, so he snapped himself out of his funk and turned to face the other two when he reached the end of the alley.

"Let's go to that place you're talking about, Mister Urso," he called after the pair, hands away from the DL-18 Blaster Pistols holstered at his sides, "and go talk about business."

@ThunderousBaron @GreenBeanMachine

 

[Jaga Meen]

"Sounds interesting, okay I'm in..." Jaga said as he made his way with the two down the alley. He would've been more hesitant, but since he was continuing to have his ego stroked he couldn't resist...

@ThunderousBaron @Forsythe Crowholde ​

 

[Urso]

Urso almost reached out a hand to the Mon Cal that had helped him - it wasn't often that you found someone who was willing to help a complete stranger on Nar Shaddaa after all. Ultimately, he decided not to say anything and let the helpful blue Mon Cal go. She had business to attend to and was nice enough to help him out in the first place, Urso didn't have a right to demand any more of her.

Instead, he turned his attention to his two new... 'friends' and started walking with them.

"So" Urso began "the truth is, I need off this planet. And rather soon in fact. However, I lack the credits to purchase my way off this garbage fire of a place, and I lack the firepower to brute force my way off the planet. More to the point" Urso somewhat nervously spoke the next part "I am being hunted...by a gang"

Urso let the silence hang for one second, attempting to gauge the immediate reaction of his potential allies before continuing.

"They're not a major gang so don't think you'd be facing down a Hutt and their army of goons. In fact, it is quite the opposite. They are a very minor gang - but, a blaster is still a blaster after all and I am only one lonely Zabrak" Urso flashed a grin "Despite being as marvellously capable as I am"

Urso cleared his throat as he led the group toward a rather run-down and nearly abandoned hotel he had been calling home for the past four days.

"Thus, my proposition is this. Help me get off this planet and you can keep whatever the gangsters have on them and whatever we find on the way. If you prefer a simpler method of payment, I might be able to scrounge some more credits for you. If you prefer something more abstract like an IOU then that can be sorted as well. The only kick, however, is that we will most likely have to blast our way out of the planet. So, thoughts?"

@Forsythe Crowholde @GreenBeanMachine

 

[Jaga Meen]

"So that explains our... unoccupied friend back there. I happen to have quite a bit of experience when it comes to getting heat off my tail and getting off-planet, and I've been on a hot streak lately so I'm feeling confident." Jaga thought for a moment as they approached the old hotel, he wasn't much of a combatant but he could handle himself. He also had a trick up his sleeve that's worked every time before.

"Alright, I'm feeling generous... I'm in! Seeing that you don't have much on you and IOU's mean almost nothing around these parts, I think I'll just take what I can off those 'gangsters'."

@ThunderousBaron @Forsythe Crowholde ​

 

[Urso]

Urso listened intently to Jaga. Upon hearing that he agreed, the Zabrak cracked a large smile. Looks like fortune had turned around for him. He also smiled at Jaga's thoughts on an 'IOU' as payment. Urso figured that an 'IOU' wouldn't have been an acceptable offer, but ah well, it was worth a shot. Hopefully, this other fellow was just as agreeable.

"Don't trust my word Jaga? I would've said I was hurt that you didn't trust me if this entire moon wasn't filled to the brim with liars and thieves. But suit yourself. I'm sure the gangsters will have credits enough and blasters and...well whatever the hell else they have, to compensate you"

Urso's chances of leaving were looking a little less slim now. He still wasn't sure what chance 3 strangers who just met less than an hour ago had of making their way out, but...well, right now it was do or die for Urso so he wasn't particularly picky about companion choice.

Urso stepped up to the door of the shoddy looking hotel and looked it up and down. The building was small, a single floor with a flat roof. Only two exits, the front and the back. There was technically a reception desk at the front but by the looks of it, no one had used it in a long time. 'Home sweet home...Well, for a total of four something days now' Urso thought to himself. The iron door took a moment to slide open, old and rusty as it was. The red Zabrak stepped inside; the faded and flickering blue light from the ceiling barely illuminated him. The beige paint on the walls was already peeling off and some rooms were missing doors.

"It doesn't look like much...and that would be correct. It isn't much...at all. But I'm only here temporarily. But, before we make our way any further" Urso turned and faced Arctus, staring him in the eye. "I don't think I ever caught your name, and - more importantly - you haven't said whether your in or out now that you've heard the story and what I'm offering in return...or well, what the gangster's corpses would be offering in return"

@GreenBeanMachine @Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Arctus Friers]

Arctus was content with just humming out agreement after agreement at Urso's narrative, and soon ended up choking on his spit at the revelation that the Zabrak was being hunted by a gang.

It was enough to wipe the grin off of the smuggler's face, and he listened more critically at the proposition and mode of payment while they walked. Arms crossed, he surveyed the dingy hotel they stopped at, feeling for any tug from his intuition for anything dangerous in the place.

None so far.

He was getting second thoughts on helping Urso, however. Was doing so would prove to be worth the effort? But the Zabrak offered payment, after all. And if truth be told, Arctus had nothing better to do at the moment. Just a plan to head off to Malastare for some downtime in between jobs.

What now?

Arctus rolled his eyes in annoyance towards himself. Since when did he fully think things through? And wasn't he looking for an adventure right now?

Mind made, he gazed at his newfound companions and gave them a thumbs up.

"You're in luck, pals. I happen to have a ship somewhere out there. And," here, the grin returned on Arctus' face "I'm interested with that gang and that pay. Creds, most likely, and loot from that gang. The name's Arctus, by the way. Arctus Friers."


@ThunderousBaron @GreenBeanMachine

 

[Urso]

"Perfect" Urso muttered with a grin at Arctus' words. These strangers were definitely much more palatable than previous people Urso had worked with. Hell, they were pretty generous - Urso might even like these people if all turned out well; they were risking a lot for just the promise of loot from some gangster's corpses. 'Well, they could probably sell any weapons they pick up. Make some neat credits that way I suppose' Urso thought quietly to himself. He shook the thought from his mind and pressed a few digits into the keypad on the side of the door.

Gzzt! The door sparked with electricity as it opened, causing Urso to frown a little at the sight. He had to get away sooner rather than later. He was destined for greater things than this, he could feel it in his bones...or whatever it was that he felt from time to time. It was just a gut feeling, or so Urso thought. The door slid open slowly to reveal a small, rectangular, room with a single bed, a small table with some chairs and a fridge that looked like it had been broken for a long time.

"Enter. Please, make yourself at home. It's not much but hopefully, if all goes well, we won't need to see this place ever again"

Urso stepped inside the room and sat on the bed, facing his two new associates. He grinned devilishly and ran his hand through his hair, stopping briefly to run a finger over one of the horns on his head.

"So, as far as I see it" Urso began, speaking a little fast, and a little more excited than usual "we have two options. We can either head straight to a ship - yours, presumably?" asked Urso, looking at Arctus.

"Even if we use a different ship, the point is we can either head straight to a ship and see if we can't just up and leave, but risk getting ambushed when we get there; we'd then have to fight our way out of an ambush. There is a slim chance that they won't ambush us and we could just leave freely - but I wouldn't count on it, like, at all"

Urso closed his eyes briefly and inhaled. He sucked in the filthy, musty, air of Nar Shaddaa. Letting it soak his lungs in the distinct scent of disappointment, piss, and the notion of shattered dreams for - hopefully - one last time.

"Or, we can try the second option and take the fight to the bastards tryna hunt me, and by extension you, down. Ambush them instead perhaps. Personally, I prefer to plan for a situation as much as possible; meaning that, ideally, we try to ambush them first. Thoughts?"

@GreenBeanMachine @Forsythe Crowholde