Ask Nar Shaddaa Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[Grace Zann]

Grace often found herself on Nar Shaddaa for a number of reasons. It was a powerful place to be in syndicate territory, always some business to be done or a celebration to be had. The woman often found herself doing one of the two things, and on this instance it would be celebration. Nearly every piece had fallen in to place for the rise of her criminal empire. While they lacked manpower, a steady flow of credits was coming through from their black market operation on Ryloth.

She ended up in a local cantina for a few rounds of drinks, just her and Havvs, the woman's trusty nikto bodyguard. The pair knocked back several shots in celebration, toasting to their victories so far, and their future ones to come. The Rancid Rancor, as the establishment was called, featured live music as well as an open bar. There were plenty of shady individuals around the place, but Grace had grown accustom to that. It was one of the whole "Crime Lord" perks.

"Oh Havvs! These things are the best drinks in the kriffing galaxy!" The woman would laugh to herself, slightly intoxicated. The mercenary next to her would give a similar quip, "Hell yeah, haven't tasted anything like this in months!"

As the pair of them drinked the night away, Grace couldn't help but notice something or someone who seemed out of place... She didn't know what gave her the feeling, but something was up.

@Tenia

 

[Raanil 'Nuz 'Vez' Chal]

It had been three weeks since Raanil could find a job worthy of the title.
Sure, he had punched plenty of poor devils and addicts for some petty gang leader, but those kind of activities paid small change.
Just enough to extinguish his debts at the local watering hole, The Rancid Rancor.
Thing is, the chiss was good at his job, but the hutts didn't like him: too indepedent, too headstrong, too smart for his own good.
The slugs wanted only rabid mastiffs to sic on someone and throw 'em a bone as payment.
Raanil had finesse and, more importantly, knew the value of his services.
Well, he also had a couple of professional hiccups.
like that time he accidentally shot an hostage mistaking him for his target.
or that other instance when he ran away with the credits of an associate of Issulla the hutt.
It was difficult to make a living on Nar Shadaa if one wasn't on the ledger of the ruling families.

Raanil sighed and walked through the graffiti covered door of the Rancor.

The dim lanterns light shone on the mugs of dozens of shady characters, some new, some almost camouflaged with the cantina's dirty walls. A couple of them nodded at the chiss as he reached his usual spot in the corner.
Raanil replied to some, others couldn't recognize: it wasn't unusual for him to make best buddies one night and forget all about them by morning.

While Chodond, the proprietor of the Rancor, served him his first drink, Raanil spotted a patron he had not seen until then.
It hadn't the usual, depressing appearance of the cantina's clientele. She was a human female, quite good looking for the species, as far as the chiss could tell. The girl was chugging away in the company of a nikto, a big one.
Most surprising of all, the human was laughing and clearly enjoyng herself.
Nobody ever laughed in the Rancor.
Raanil called back the quarren owner
< I'm not making you credit, One Eye. Don't even ask >
< i wouldn't dare. Who's the big spender? >
< That one? Some sort of big boss or something. She was babbling about some big jobs she concluded earlier. All bantha fodder, if you ask me. Why, you thinking about asking her for credit? >
< Maybe. Something like that. She's not involved with the slugs, is she? >
< Do i look like her accountant? if you're so interested, why don't you ask her yourself? >
< Mh >
Raanil stood up and wiped his cape the best he could
< Bring me another, Chod >
The chiss looked toward the table where the human had begun to play a hand of pazaak with the nikto.
< Make it two. And bring them over there >
With that, the merc adjusted his holster and headed for this big boss.

@Where

 

[Grace Zann]

As it turned out, 'she' appeared to the the elephant in the room, as multiple patrons would look at the woman's laughter in confusion. The individual who caught her eye however was Raanil, a chiss. Their kind were uncommon outside of their homeworld, and this planet was across the galaxy from their homeland.

To her surprise, the bartender would side her another round. "This one's on him... And keep it down would ya!?" Chodond would point towards the mysterious chiss, as he was the buyer. It wasn't every day someone bought her a drink, it was usually the other way around. "Oh, uhh, thanks. I wasn't expecting this tonight."

From across the room, a B1-droid carrying an datapad would make his way over to Grace as well. "Miss Zann. The ship is fully fueled and ready to fly." She would turn to her droid quickly, "Thank you B3. Havvs and I will be there soon, I think we may have some business to attend to first."

The nikto bodyguard would stand up from his stool and shake his head, "Ugh... I'm going with B3 boss, I think I've had too much to drink..." Both he and the droid would leave the bar, just Grace and her new friend remained...

"Well, people are rather forward around here. What can I do for you?" She would grin.

@Tenia

 

[Raanil 'Nuz 'Vez' Chal]

< Well, miss, our mutual quarren friend >
Raanil raised his glass and nodded to Chodond, which scoffed and shook his tentacles.
< Tells me that you run an operation, of the grey kind, one might say >
The woman kept grinning and looking at him. The chiss gulped the remaining jawa juice.
< The drink was merely a peace offering, and a way to put a foot in the door. 'Cause you see, i was wondering if your business might need an extra pair of hand. I noticed you have muscle, but you lack a... tactical advisor, if you will >

Grace, for that was her name, didn't move a muscle but held her smile. Raanil couldn't really figure out the girl: she was too amicable for her line of business. Was that a trap, or was she just dumb and very lucky?

Waiting for a reaction that was not coming, Raanil, annoyed, stood up.
< I see your business is fully staffed. No hard feelings, enjoy your drink >
Durned wench, a full glass of ardees completely wasted, just as wasted as the night that was expecting the chiss.
Why did Chod get his hopes up? Raanil made a point of kicking the quarren for good measure.

Just as Raanil was walking away from the table, Grace grabbed his cape and bursted into laughter.

@Where

 

[Grace Zann]

The woman had a hard time controling herself due to all the alcohol l, but was beginning to calm dow. After an uncontrollable git of laughter at the chiss who approached her, she would beckon him back. "H-hold on, my apologies. Your friend there would be correct. I am Grace Zann, I am the leader of the Zann Consortium and we have no shortage of jobs here..." The woman's eyes would light up as she looked at the man. The crime lord could tell he had potential.

Though her droid and bodyguard had both left the scene, Grace remained seated. She would continue, "You're very bold, and soldiers need to be bold. I could use the services of someone like yourself, if you'd be will to do a little job for me..." the woman would take out a datapad which revealed a map of Nar Shaddaa. They were across town from a wherehouse she had marked on the map. This was for an operation she had planned some time ago, but now was the time to pull it off.

"Downtown in the Duros district there's a wherehouse. The people there make disruptor tech and plan on selling to the empire. I've been looking for the right muscle to help me raid the place. If you're up for the job, I'll give you half the loot and a regular spot with my organization. Sound like a good deal?" The complacent tone which Grace radiated earlier had quickly changed to an aura of business. She was still relaxed, but say great opportunity in the moment.

The woman would take one last sip of her drink, sliding an empty glass to the bartender. All she could do was cross her fingers, and hope this guy lived up to his reputation.

 

[Raanil 'Nuz 'Vez' Chal]

Raanil had a bad feeling about it.
He knew duros gangs were extremely dangerous, especially when forced into a corner; which they always were, giving that they weren't appreciated anywhere and constantly formed ghettos. Secondly, the chiss knew of the deadly potential of disruptor technology. He himself had modified his blaster with a disruptor module and saw the carnage that it could cause: A lucky shot could disintegrate a limb, and still a regular shot caused a two inches hole in the victim. He witnessed enough to hope to never be on the receiving end of one of those plasma bolts.
And yet, his main concern was not for his personal well-being, but for his wallet.

The girl, Grace, had promised him half the cut for this job, but she failed to mention what kind of sum they were talking.
Raanil hoped not to have been swindled by the smirking boss. His brain, soaked in alcohol, wasn't as fast as it used to be, but his feet had already taken him to the entrance of the duros neighborhood.

Under the archway two of the blue xenos stood guard. They were chattering in their strange native language, but stopped as soon as they spotted Raanil.
< Oh, what are you looking for, sentient? >
Said one of the two, swapping to Basic.
< Nothing much, just looking around >
The two duros fell silent for a second, then laughed
< I think this one's a little slow eh, Fen? >
< Eheh, he sure is >
< I'll be on my way then >
< Oh? what you think, can he pass? >
< Ye, whatever. What's the harm? >

Still in disbelief the trick worked, the chiss moved through the dark ghetto. The neons created just little spots of lights, in the otherwise shadowy streets. The neighborhood echoed only with steps of lonely passers-by and the grotesque laughter of mobster gatherings.
Raanil jumped from shadow to shadow, ignored by the drunk duros. He reached the warehouse without any accidents.
Said warehouse was a low, boxy building, closed by a large damper and three or four gang members, all sporting military-grade blaster rifles.
< Dank farrik >
The playing-dumb strategy worked before, but wouldn't now. A direct approach wasn't doable either: he was still too drunk to try and talk his way in, and there were too many guns for an assault. He desperately scanned the surrounding, when he saw it: on the side of the warehouse an air vent blinked, reflecting the neon lights.
Carefully, the chiss went around the building and crawled through the vent. The conduit interior was slimy and foul-smelling, but serviceable. As he reached the grid at the end of the vent, Raanil heard people talking animatedly, but couldn't see them yet.
Praying the voices didn't belong to someone looking directly toward him, the chiss pushed the grid off its place and silently jumped after it on the warehouse floor.
Floor wich was stacked to the roof with crates of disruptor rifles. < Gotcha >
The merc turned on the spot, in awe for all those riches. And he stepped on a tookas tail. The little creature screeched in agony and suddenly the eyes of half a dozen duros mercs were on Raanil. But weren't the only eyes: behind dark lenses, the eyeballs of two entire squads of imperial stormtroopers observed him.
The time stopped for a second, as the confusion turned into battle readiness.
Raanil grabbed his blaster and in a fast, silent motion, fired from the hip.
One of the duros fell on the ground, chest pierced by a white plasma bolt.
And then mobsters and imps returned fire. The warehouse air was suddenly filled with red lasers.
The chiss jumped behind one of the crates and randomly shot from cover.
Grace failed to mention the exchange was being held right that night and that the empire would be there. Cursing The woman, Raanil sent an impulse to Grace's chaincode beeper, hoping that the merch was valuable enough for her not to abandon him...

@Where

 

[Grace Zann]

Grace wasn't the type to simply hire a mercenary and cross her fingers for a result. That was simply bad for business, and Raanil's situation was no different. The woman expected he would have needed reinforcements the whole time. A fifty-fifty job deserved at least some assistance from the boss.

Outside the warehouse, a skippray blast boat was landing in the Duros district. The various gangsters of the area would all start taking cover, knowing the destructive capabilities of such a gunship. The door of the vessel would hiss open as both Grace and her nikto mercenary walked out. Before them was the manufacturing building she sent the chiss to, and blaster fire could be heard from behind its doors...

The fire fight on the inside of the warehouse would suddenly be interrupted by the sound of a lightsaber piercing through the main doors. A yellow blade would make a large circular motion, carving a large hole through the entrence. From behind these doors, Grace would emerge weilding a double-bladed yellow lightsaber. Her body guard Havvs would follow closly behind.

One of the stormtroopers would shout, "It's a jedi! Blast her!" Which would quickly split the attention of the two parties firing at Raanil. The woman would raise her lightsaber and began spinning it around as laser after laser came her way. The bolts would behin to bounce off her weapon, reflecting the attack back at the various troopers.

"I am no jedi... Nor sith."

[SIZE=4][COLOR=rgb(255, 255, 255)]@Tenia[/COLOR][/SIZE]

 

[Raanil 'Nuz 'Vez' Chal]

Raanil couldn't believe his eye. The girl was a jedi!
No no, wait, she said she wasn't nor with the jedi nor with the sith. Still, it didn't matter, the chiss knew that force sensitives brought only misery to the galaxy.
He considered shooting Grace there and then, but he still needed her credits, not to mention his own life.
Zaan was making quick work of their enemies, deflecting their shots while Havvs mowed them down with a heavy duty blaster.
Distracted by Grace's prowess, Raanil noticed a large duros charging him just at the last second. He raised his nubian blaster and shot the aggressor two times, causing big, smoking holes in the mobster arm and abdomen.
A blow came from the chiss blind spot: another duros had snucked behind him and hit his elbow with the blaster stock.
Raanil's pistol flew off his hand to the dirty warehouse floor. Grinning his teeth from the pain, the chiss grabbed the pocket vibroblade he hid in his gauntlet and stabbed the gangster in the jugular.
A gush of dense blood sprayed from the duros neck, blinding the chiss good eye.
< Not really a clean job > Raanil tought, cursing himself for his clumsiness, while wiping the blood from his face. He should really tone down the alcohol chugging.
He threw himself on the ground to avoid a spray of blaster bolts coming from an imp. While on the ground Raanil retrieved his pistol and shot the stormtrooper multiple times, causing his opponent to burst into a plethora of ash and guts fragments.

The chiss stood up, to see the majority of the imps and duros dead on the ground. However the threats were not over yet: the imperial officer which presumably had conducted the talks was fleeing, unnoticed.
If the guy had run off, he could have called reinforcements and they would be in big troubles. One thing was a dozen stormtroopers, another a full imperial assault team, complete with dropships, heavy weaponry and all the bells and whistles.

Raanil shot the officer, but was still half-blinded by the duros blood and failed every single time. The imperial skittered through the warehouse damper and vanished like a womprat. < That's not good >

The chiss put away his blaster and met the eyes of Grace, holstering the lightsaber herself.
The girl had an inscrutable expression.

@Where

 

[Grace Zann]

After a few more blasts from Havvs' heavy rifle, what remained of the imperials were dead on the floor, along with the duros. She did notice one escape however, the officer of the group. It was true that the man could call for reinforcements, but their crew could be long gone by that time, if they acted quickly.

Seeing that her new hired gun was looking a little worse for ware, she would toss him a small kolto injector. She was not disappointed in him, but herself. "I apologize. I didn't realize the Duros were doing a trade tonight." As she spoke, her nikto mercenary would begin taking account of all the disruptor rifles.

"If we stay here too long the empire will send reinforcements. I'd say we have fifteen minutes to load as many crates on to my ship as possible."

The woman could tell the contempt the man had for her. It wasn't at the trade, but rather the fact she saved him, and was a force-sensitive. It was a look she had gotten many times before. "Moving forward, I'd like to let you know... I didn't chose to be who I am. I am who I am. I'm honest, and fair in my dealing for starters. If you're still in, you'll still get your cut..."

@Tenia

 

[Raanil 'Nuz 'Vez' Chal]

Raanil considered his options.
He could: (A) take the credits, drink himself to numbness and be gunned down by the empire or some bounty hunter one week from now, or (B) stick with Grace for the time being, leave Nar Shaddaa and maybe make some more money out of it.
A week with no worries and lots of spice and ardees was tempting, but the chiss wasn't really ready to leave the mortal plain, for some reason.
Plus, the girl seemed kinda nice, an exceptionally rare attribute for a crime lord.
Raanil looked at Grace, which was helping Havvs and B3 load the skippray with the disruptors.
He didn't really trusted her: she appeared to be honest, but the lightsaber and the empire surprise left the chiss dubious.
Raanil wasn't used to trust, not since he left Csilla, at least.
Yet, the fact remained: he didn't have much room for manouvre at the moment.

The woman was observing him with a questioning look.
The skippray was fully loaded and Grace was standing on the walkway of the ship, ready to leave.
Raanil looked behind for a moment, then hoisted himself and entered the vessel.
The skippray would rapidly gain altitude, turning the streets of the hutts planet into a blurry puzzle of grey buildings and green marshes.
The smuggler moon had been Raanil's home for the past two years. What a dunghole.

The chiss turned toward the bridge, where Grace had taken command
< So, where to, boss? >

@Where

 

[Grace Zann]

Thankfully, between herself, Havvs, and B3 their crew managed to get the disruptor rifles loaded on board. This would be a massive score for them, and enough to set up Raanil for a long time if he were to just take his cut and leave. It would be at the very last moment that her newly hired mercenary decided to stay after all.

As he stepped into the vessel, she would give him a proud nod. Happy to except a skilled tactician and mercenary into her organization's payroll. The Consortium needed everyone it could get now. "Welcome aboard."

Walking to the bridge, the woman would hear Raanil question their destination. "Well my friend, we take our haul to Ryloth. My outfit has a black market there where we can sell these goods. I also happen to have a spare ship there for you, it's already paid for in full, if you want it..."

@Tenia

(OOC: We can either continue to Ryloth from here, or we can conclude it here with you getting your own ship/Off Nar Shaddaa. Either way is fine with me.)