Ask Nar Shaddaa Black Market Blues

[Renard Harlow]

No, no, none of these would work. Of course the sellers were saying all the parts were the best quality money could buy, though they obviously hadn't come across someone who could notice flaws at just a glance. This field was Renard's life, after all, and while there were a great many things he wasn't skilled at he excelled at anything related to weapons and their design. He would shake his head and move on silently, only barely noticing the grimaces and slander thrown his way by the previously cheery vendors. For a black market, the quality of goods here was incredibly poor. The Shistavanen didn't even know why he had decided to come here.

Well, he knew ONE reason. Renard could have easily just found the parts in another, far less crowded place, yet he was trying something new: socializing. He'd always been afraid of meeting other people, something his parents fostered and emphasized due to their own fears. They'd even gone so far as to blow themselves up instead of letting anyone even close to their home or son. He didn't know if it had been fear or love that they had sacrificed themselves like that, the scene still vivid in his mind and especially his nightmares. He couldn't think of the last time he'd had a peaceful night's sleep. He was getting tired, so was willing to try anything. Meeting Flynn and the others had seemed like a good thing so far, so perhaps it couldn't be all THAT bad. He wandered the stalls, still worried of actually trying to reach out to another, instead focusing on the parts. It was really hard, trying to change.

@Aberforth

 

[Ty'kh]

Once a pleasant world, Nal Hutta and its moon Nar Shaddaa now were heavy with trade centers ruled by the members of Five Syndicates and the moon itself had a constant stream of smugglers and fugitives running in and out of its space. It had been over a year since, Ty had started to call it home, yet he felt as uneasy walking its streets as he had the day he had first landed. His intermittent trips off world had prevented him from developing any landmark he could use to orient himself and he would often find himself aimlessly wondering the dingy back alleys at his own peril.

One of the most vibrant and dangerous places in the galaxy, the Smuggler's Moon was a sprawling cityscape where nothing came without a price. Dominated by a black market that catered to every indulgence, the satellite had become the ultimate symbol of corruption. The upper levels presented an endless parade of glittering neon towers and floating pleasure palaces; no greater concentration of wealth exists across the galaxy. Behind these flashy facades, crime bosses and secret political emissaries made backroom deals that decided the fates of worlds far, far away.

For all the opulence above, however, an equal level of brutality lay below. The bowels of Nar Shaddaa were among the most dangerous places you could find yourself in the galaxy. As he approached the markets, Ty'kh found himself moving his left hand to his belt, resting it on the blaster pistol secured in its guard. He had not made two steps in the direction of the first impromptu stall the he noticed Shistavanen looking remarkably out of place. For a moment, he hesitated; the alien would make an easy target for a con man of his caliber...

Remembering that he had once been the outsider on Nar Shadaa, Ty decided instead to try for a charitable gesture. "Hello there. Need some help with... whatever you are doing?" he asked hesitating, realizing that he didn't know what the stranger was up to. "I'm Ty. What was your name again?"

"You really ought to be more careful around these parts," he warned inclining his head in the direction of two menacing-looking thugs insistently looking in the direction of the off-worlder. No doubt they too had sense that the stranger would make an easy prey, and Ty's mere presence did not mean that they would not succumb to those primitive impulses...

@Insalius