Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago
Zeroth Post
Raw
Zeroth


NAR SHADDAA


Nar Shaddaa, nicknamed the "Smuggler's Moon," is the notorious moon of the planet Nal Hutta, homeworld of the Hutt species. It is home to a large criminal underworld dominated by bounty hunters and Hutt crime lords. An ecumenopolis, the entire surface of Nar Shaddaa is covered in urban sprawl. There are numerous crimelords on the planet; the most powerful of which is Khulbe Desilijic the Hutt.

[OOC: Welcome! If you have business to conduct on Nar Shaddaa please feel free to post here. It does not have to compliment ongoing posts from other SWPW players.]
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Jackdaw
Raw
GM
Avatar of Jackdaw

Jackdaw

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Jast



Jaren Jast rolled his shoulder, still sore from some unfortunate slip during his morning workout, as he stepped onto the bridge. The human woman at the console turned, swiveling in her seat, to face him. She was all blonde hair, green eyes, and sharp features; she looked more the part of an actress in a holovid than the true-to-form ace fighter pilot she was.

“Six minutes from egress, Captain,” she said, addressing him with the curt formality appropriate for a superior officer. Telsa Jetstar had flown interceptors for the Republic Navy during the final years of the war, racking up seven confirmed kills and claiming another unconfirmed six. She’d turned to flying freighters and cheap starhoppers as a commercial pilot after the Treaty of Coruscant. Jast figured she must have been bored, so, he made her an offer. It just so turned out she was very bored, and very eager to fly something fast and dangerous.

Jast was the captain of the Raven Trespass, but Telsa was her master; Jast could fly a ship, but Telsa was a pilot. She handled the Raven like a professional dancer handles a partner—boldly, confidently, and with a mind to impress her audience. Jast, seated in the co-pilot’s seat, had all too often felt his blood run cold in anticipation of some death defying, high-g maneuver that, this time, would surely kill him and his entire crew. And yet they always made it through, and without Telsa batting an eye all the while.

Jast sank into the captain’s chair—which on the Raven was situated on the right side of the cockpit—and considered the swirling blue-and-white field of hyperspace spread out before them through the transparisteel viewport. “You think you actually go blind if you look into it long enough?”

“Spacer’s tales,” Telsa answered, relaxing a bit, “I don’t believe it.”

“Probably more likely to go blind on Nar Shaddaa’s surface with all the shit in the air,” Jast suggested. “Walking around in that, you know? That can’t be good for your eyes.”

“I wouldn’t think so,” the pilot answered again, turning to the console to perform some last-minute checks before the Raven left hyperspace. “Engineering?”

“All good,” Val answered, the Twi’lek’s melodic voice floating through the ship’s intercom.

“Thank you,” Telsa intoned, skimming a few more readouts before inputting a final all-clear command. “All clear, Captain.”

“Nice work, XO,” he said.

Soon, the blue-and-white blur dissolved and dissipated, slowly, and then all at once, and suddenly the Raven Trespass was drifting in real space. Before them, at a range of some five thousand kilometers, was the massive world of Nal Hutta, and Nar Shaddaa, the moon-turned-urban-sprawl, orbiting above.

“Home sweet home,” Jast said. Telsa went to work setting a course for Nar Shaddaa, initiating a slow burn across the black that would take them to the Hutt city-moon. “Telsa, can you spin up a tightbeam transmission to our friend?" he asked, referring, of course, to their contact on Nar Shaddaa, Khulbe the Hutt himself. "Let’s get the ball rolling on this. I don’t want to be here any longer than we need to be.”

“On it, Captain,” Telsa answered, pulling up the communications suite and punching in the appropriate codes.
1x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by DELETED32084
Raw
coGM

DELETED32084

Banned Seen 1 yr ago

Palace of Khulbe the Hutt
Khulbe Desilijic


"Your lordship!" The sharp voice made Khulbe the Hutt pause, his huge bulk settling onto the marble floor and shifting as he turned enough to be able to see down the length of his tail. Not being able to completely turn his head was something of disadvantage but the half dozen heavily armed guards who surrounded him would certainly blast any would be assassin.

Zura Lom was hurrying toward him, a small holodisk in her hand, a blue blinking light indicated that someone had placed a call to him. He watched his second in command come closer, alway marvelling at how the hips of a humanoid female swayed so seductively. Her actual sexual attraction, as the humans thought of it, was lost on him on, but the grace of her movements and general visual appeal were not. He sometimes wondered what sort of dancing girl she would have made. The thought was always fleeting, she had also served him well and ensured the continual march of his crime empire. He was not unthankful. Zura had been permitted two new female slaves for her pleasure, paid for by Khulbe himself.

"Who is it?" His guttural hutt speech was translated near instantly by the protocol droid who never left his side, D440. The droids body was a matte green, the same colour as Khulbe's own skin. He had ordered the paint job when he purchased the droid since the machine served as an extension of Khuble himself.

"Jast and the Raven Trespass." Zura had come right up to him, her pheromones lost on the hutt, but her skin had changed to a shade of green she knew he found appealing. His huge eyes rolled down toward her as she came close enough for him. A hutt simply did not "lean" well.

"Good, let us speak with him." D440 interpreted with its stilted speech.

Zura tapped the holodisk and the the bounty hunters head appeared at once in shimmering blue.

"Jast, how good to see you! I hope you're coming to visit." Khuble's voice rumbled through the hallway. D440s' more elegant and high pitched tone was easily discernibly above the hutts native tongue.
1x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Jackdaw
Raw
GM
Avatar of Jackdaw

Jackdaw

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Jast



“Thanks Zura, we’ll hold,” Jaren said to the Falleen majordomo. He muted the Raven’s end of the transmission and leaning back in the chair. He looked over to Telsa. She sat upright at attention in her pilot’s seat, making meaningless microadjustments to the Raven’s course. “Let’s hope he’s hungry.”

“He shouldn’t need much convincing,” Telsa reassured him. Jaren arched his back, stretching a bit, just a bit anxious.

“We’ll see. Not sure it’s his market,” Jast responded. Khulbe was an archetypal kajidic kingpin, a fat and powerful crime lord with a slimy hand in nearly every sort of illegal activity imaginable. Recreational drugs, of course, fell well within his purview, but in Jast’s experience, Khulbe was primarily connected to the industry through the spice trade. Jast had never heard of the Hutt dealing in synthetics.

The captain of the Raven Trespass figured now was as good as ever a time to give the old Hutt the opportunity to get involved.

The Raven’s cargo was loaded up with four large tankers, filled with some seventeen thousand liters of pseudotethyline, a key chemical compound used in the production of tethylenedioxytethylaphene, more commonly called OxyTeth by law enforcement officers, and known as Pixie, Stardust, TDT, or Kyber by its users. It was a psychoactive drug that altered physical sensations and caused a heightened sense of energy, empathy, and pleasure. Relatively safe and very enjoyable, it was the kind of thing respectable, professional couples took when they wanted to cross having-sex-while-high off the bucket list.

It also made for a very profitable business venture.

Securing and transporting the precursor compounds was a lucrative business so long as you had a buyer. Unfortunately, Jast and the crew’s buyer on Ord Mantell vanished into the black, leaving them with seventeen metric tons of TDT precursor in their hold and no one to sell it to. So, they made way to Nar Shaddaa, hoping to hand off their highly illicit cargo before running into any curious customs officials. Until it was off the ship, their ability to travel the galaxy freely was severely diminished.

“You ever think about how we fought a war to save the Republic, and then we became drug dealers?” Telsa asked. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Telsa on board with transporting the pseudoteth; she was a good sport about it, but had taken to throwing verbal jabs once the deal fell through. Jast figured he deserved it. He chuckled.

“Beats working Veteran’s Affairs, though, right?” he asked, receiving a laugh in return.

“Jast, how good to see you! I hope you're coming to visit,” Khulbe the Hutt greeted them through the transmission, the twin voices of the Hutt himself and his translator droid filling the cockpit on the Raven. Jast sat forward and unmuted the feed.

“Khulbe! Of course we are. My crew and I are stopping by Nar Shadda for a few days, and I figured I’d give you a call,” Jast began, and then he slid into the pitch. “As it happens, I happen to be conducting some business in the system that you might be interested in, my friend. I have a transaction in mind with some very high profit margins attached, and I know how you love those. I know you’re quite busy, but how would you feel about setting up an appointment while my crew and I are planetside?”
1x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Saix
Raw
Avatar of Saix

Saix

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Nima Tarkona




Nima lounged in one of the large warm pools that were spread throughout the female slave's communal baths. Her bare slender body sprawled underneath the milky water that was so opaque, you could barely see her crimson skin beneath the surface. There were nine other pools identical to the one she was in, some empty, some with occupants, but none as full as her's. The young twi'lek was surrounded by the five other girls that made up their Master's list of favorites among the slaves. A human named Ona, a Togruta named Ehottecri, and three other Twi'leks: Asherbafon (but the girls all called her 'Ash'), Iuric'piti, and Uovec'riti. They were also her friends, brought together under similar circumstances.

"Do you think Master Khulbe will call on us today?" asked Ash. The Rutian Twi'lek wasn't nervous of having to be called upon, as these girls were more than accustomed to being summoned, she just wanted to have a lazy night.

Up until this point, Nima had her eyes closed, focusing her mind on the water's warmth against her skin. She opened them now revealing striking golden colored irises and looked to her left to focus on the blue twi'lek. "I don't think about those things, I just try to enjoy the down time when I can."

Her reply was met with a chorus of agreement from the other girls and the subject was then changed to more relaxing topics. Upcoming Holodramas, clothing, guests seen at parties, and just general gossiping. Nima participated in all but the last discussion, not really caring to take part in idle chit chat, but it was seemingly a favorite pass-time for the other twi'lek women. When she couldn't take it anymore, Nima stood and proclaimed, "Since I don't care about rumors, I'm going to get out before I start to wrinkle!" and proceeded to climb out of the tub.

She was met with various rude but playful gestures by the other twi'leks, which made her laugh in return. As she walked towards the towels to dry herself off, she could hear Ona speaking somewhat softly to the other girls.

"I just don't understand how she could walk like that! It's so effortlessly beautiful, It's like she's moving to music that only she can hear..."

"That's just how Nima is" responded Ehottecri, her wise blue eyes following Nima's movements. The red Togruta used to be the most valued out of all the girls before Master Khulbe bought Nima. She held no malice in her tone, she just stated how it was. She knew as skilled as she was, she couldn't hold a candle next to the red-skinned Twi'lek and she accepted that.

Nima kept walking, pretending not to hear their comments. There are times when it is better to say nothing and this was one of them.
1x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by DELETED32084
Raw
coGM

DELETED32084

Banned Seen 1 yr ago

Palace of Khulbe the Hutt
Khulbe Desilijic


The Hutts eyes narrowed visibly, even over the holo-transmission. Like all of his species he was instinctively suspicious when someone attempted to flatter his love of wealth. Jast was not wrong, Khuble did have a considerable appetite for wealth, but he was wary of any idea that was not of his own making.

"You are always welcome, Jast. You and your crew." Khuble rumbled in Huttese, opening his arms wide in greeting. "I will have a space set aside for your lovely Raven on pad two. I expect you will stay the night as well. Rooms will be made available."

He did not wait for a reply as Zura shut the feed off. Khuble dropped his arms to his side and he sat still for a long moment, eyes staring at nothing in particular. High profit margins in his line of work really only meant one of two things, mind altering substances or slaves. Jast was unlikely to be bringing any sort of slaves since it was no secret Khuble already ran his own slaving operation. That left some type of drug or spice. Possibly weapons but there were no shortage of those in the galaxy and the risks involved in running an Imperial or Republic blockade often called for someone far more desperate and foolish than Jast. The actual profit in arms dealing was often touch and go anyway. He had dabbled in it a little bit during the war but nothing since.

"Clear pad 2." Khulbe grumbled without looking at Zura. "And have the throne room prepared for our guests. Nothing lavish. Oh, and their quarters as well. Give Jast a suite."

Zura gave a short nod and drew a comlink from her belt, speaking rapidly in the common tongue. Her orders, short but concise, would have a small welcome party on hand to greet Jast, led by one of Khulbes favourite dancing girls. He had long ago come to understand that their beauty changed the mood of any lesser race and served as something of a distraction when it came to negotiating with a hutt. Not that anyone ever got a "fair deal" out of a hutt; one did not try to outwit a criminal mastermind.

Zura withdrew down the hall to ensure the prompt arrival of the required staff and Khulbe began the laborious process of moving his considerable mass toward his throne room. Even though he was considered rather small for a Hutt he could have called for a repulsorsled but the idea of giving up on moving altogether made him shudder, a sensation that sent ripples along his huge body.

He reached the throne room about the same as he heard Jasts ship coming in for a landing. Several heavily armed guards, including a pair of battle droids, had been deployed around the perimeter of the large circular room. The roof was high with a ring of huge windows about thirty feet overhead and topped with an orange tiled roof that also served to collect solar power. Light poured in to illuminate white stucco walls decorated with tasteful artworks from around the galaxy. Alcoves were cut into every portion of the wall between the huge roof beams that curved from the edges of the main floor and up into the vaulted veiling. Those alcoves were filled with comfortable pillows and a few hangers on of Khulbes court. He did not permit many such beings on Nar Shadda, this was his vacation home. Of his favourite dancers all were present save for Nima who would be greeting Jast about now. Khulbe knew Zura has chosen the Twi-lek since she was undoubtedly the prettiest of them all and tended to set the tone for any sort of meeting.

Khulbe heaved his immense bulk onto the platform that served as his sitting area. A small table was quickly placed in from of him and a single comfortable chair set so that someone could sit privately with him. In the corner, at his wave, a small band struck up an opera tune popular with humanoids. He found it quite relaxing himself and had spent a considerable sum of money obtaining the musicians who took up the tune. D440 took his station near the Hutts shoulder, the only being or droid who was permitted within arms reach of Khulbe unless summoned.

He gave a heavy sigh and reach out a thick arm to take up his hookah pipe, drawing a deep breath in as he waited for Jast. The man and his crew would be disarmed before they were permitted into the room or they would not enter at all. It was nothing personal, but Khulbe truly trusted no one but himself.
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Saix
Raw
Avatar of Saix

Saix

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Nima Tarkona




Nima grabbed a soft towel from the built in shelves that were near the entryway, her mind occupied with options for what to do once she left the baths. Her slender hands moved slowly as she dried herself and only stopped when the door to the baths opened suddenly. The Twi'lek had a feeling their down time was coming to an end. A female human messenger stepped purposely around the corner, eyes quickly scanning the room opposite from where she stood. Nima recognized the woman. It was the messenger used for when a female slave needed to be contacted and wasn't near a communication terminal. She was an average looking female, with shoulder length brown hair, hazel colored eyes, and a relatively short stature. Nima could have rested her chin on top of the woman's head if she ever felt compelled to.

"Hello Alynia, looking for me?" Nima called out.

Alynia whipped her head towards her voice, sending her short brown hair flying across her pale face. "Hey Nima! Yes, looking for you and the rest of your posse. You in particular are needed to greet a last minute guest and their party at Pad 2." Her eyes flicked to look at something just over the Twi'lek's shoulder. The others must have seen her come in and made their way over. "The rest of you girls are wanted at the throne room." the woman reported, talking quickly and turning to leave as swiftly as she came. It wasn't her job to make sure the girls got there, just to deliver the message.

Looking over her shoulder to find her dripping wet friends Nima moved quickly, handing out towels for the girls to dry themselves with before departing herself. She couldn't afford the luxury of leaving with the group. "See you ladies later!" she called out, her long slender legs carrying her quickly through the frosted double doors and into the hallway connecting the baths to the rest of the slave's quarters. The nude twi'lek made her way through the white walled halls, towel still in hand, past rooms and the main lounge area occupied with the rest of Master Khulbe's slaves. Her crimson bare feet were a striking contrast against the white marbled floors as they carried her to her personal suite.

The door to her room was always locked, rigged to only open from the outside when sensing her slave collar or with a pass-code known only by Master Khulbe and his trusted associates. Once someone was inside, they could allow an unauthorized person into the suite. This was to protect Nima from unwanted visitors, as no one was allowed to lay with her without the express permission from Master Khulbe. This was true for the other girls as well, as they were his prized slaves and not there for just anyone's entertainment. Once she reached her door, she paused to allow the security at her door to scan the golden platted collar that hugged her neck. It wasn't long before the door slid opened and she slipped into her room.

It was fairly spacious lodgings given to someone of her status, equipped with high ceilings, white stucco walls, and white marbling flooring that is a common theme throughout the palace. Directly across from her was a glass paneled wall that gave her a view of her master's slice of the ecumenopolis moon while simultaneously concealing the room from prying eyes. To her right was a small lounge area for the purpose of entertaining guests complete with a round table, a set of high-backed cushion chairs, a small bar, and buffet to hold food and dinnerware. A sizable round rug rested between the bed and the lounge area, given the room was longer than it was wide. Various plants, rugs, and artwork decorated the room, adding color to the otherwise white room. To her left was a walk-in closet and further along was a small cabinet with a wash basin that she used to cleanse her face each morning.

Spinning on the balls of her feet, she turned to go into her closet and thought of what to wear for the meeting. It wasn't a formal assembly, there simply wasn't enough time for something like that, so she ignored the fancier dresses in her closet and moved her way to the more traditional outfits of her class. There were various styled bikinis that hung in the closet, some cloth and some metal plated. She went for the latter as it would likely match the collar she wore now, saving her the time of having to go and change it. She browsed until she found a golden bikini. The top itself had only two straps, the first wrapped around the base of her neck and was made of an emerald green cloth and the second was more of a metallic clasp that closed in the back for the purpose of giving her breasts the support to create an pronounced cleavage. The bottoms rested low on her hips by more emerald cloth that she tied to metal triangle-shaped panels that covered her more intimate areas. The bottoms also had a liner so that if anyone were to ever find themselves staring up her 'skirts' they wouldn't be given too much of a show. A matching sash was attached to these panels and the silky cloth fell to her knees. Once dressed, Nima clasped golden metal bands to her wrists, slipped into matching strapped sandals, and ran out the door.

As she approached the Landing Pad 2's main blast doors, she spotted the security detail that was assigned to guard the entry way and quickly made her way over. "Good afternoon gentlemen, to whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?" she asked. Alynia hadn't shared that information in her earlier instructions.

One of the men answered her, a Twi'lek, "Jaren Jast, Courier, Associate of Master Khulbe".

As he answered her, Nima heard a ship pull in and land on the platform above her. Soon, the platform will descend to bring the ship into the building and she needed to be outside to greet her charge. "Thank you" She told the male guard before passing through the blast doors, revealing the chamber where the freighter will be docked. It was an immense empty space, meant to hold cargo to be loaded and unloaded. Various panels were outlined along the floor around the mechanical platform, hiding whatever resources or tools an engineer would need to maintain a ship and keep her space-worthy. As the door closed behind her, she focused her attention on the descending platform and waited for it to lock in place before approaching the loading bay door of the ship.
1x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Jackdaw
Raw
GM
Avatar of Jackdaw

Jackdaw

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Telsa



Telsa released the controls and leaned back in the chair as the Raven settled on the landing pad. “We’re on the ground, Captain,” she said. She loved flying, but landing was a satisfying feeling, and there was nothing quite like having a planet under your feet. She knew it was all in her head, but something about the natural gravity of a world felt more right than the artificial gravity fields on space stations and starships. It was something she had become accustomed to after spending so many years in space, but there was almost a sense of homecoming whenever she touched down on a world.

“Thank you, XO,” Jast answered, standing. Telsa stood as well and followed him out of the cockpit and through the corridor to the Raven’s mess hall. It was a comfortably lived-in affair, complete with a kitchenette, a pair of tables, a couch, and a full-color holoprojector. A few pieces of art adorned the walls, two-dimensional canvas paintings the crew had taken kept as trophies from an art heist on Obroa-skai. Sprawled on the couch was a giant of a man, reading from a datapad that looked tiny in his great hands.

“Boq, you ready?” Jast asked. Boqorro Nbara was the Raven’s chief of security. His job consisted of either intimidating the bad guys or putting blaster bolts in them, depending on the circumstances. He stood at over two meters in height, possessed a broad, powerful build, and wore red, bioluminescent tattoos that looked like flames dancing against the black skin of his face. He’d been a hitman on Nar Shaddaa, working for a Hutt affiliated with the Besadii kajidic, before Jast recruited him. He was very good at his job.

He also had a penchant for romance novels, with at least a dozen stored on the datapad.

“Boq?” Jast repeated the man’s name.

“Hm?” Boqorro asked, seemingly engrossed in his reading. “Have we landed?” he asked. His voice was not exactly high, but it wasn’t a match for his physique. Telsa, expecting a deep, rumbling baritone or something similar, had been surprised when she’d first heard him talk. He was the newest addition to the crew, replacing their previous chief of security, a Nikto named Glaato. Boqorro’s predecessor had died on one of the crew’s jobs just a few months past.

They’d been doing a deal for Coronet Analytica then, the private intelligence company that provided them with their more lucrative legitimate jobs, usually independent intelligence work that would get filtered up to the Strategic Information Service. They’d almost gotten off-world when Imperial Intelligence agents engaged them in a gunfight in a narrow, urban alleyway. They killed their contact and put a red lance through Glaato’s skull.

It had been Telsa’s first gunfight. She’d been new to the crew then, just a few weeks into her service as the Raven’s pilot. The whole sequence of events was less of a coherent memory and more a string of images strung together. A Mandalorian warrior, armor dripping with acid rain shot through with the refracting neon hues of Nar Shaddaa's lower levels. Blaster bolts illuminating the dark passage in sudden flashes of red and blue. Glaato’s blank stare, eyes fixed on the crests of the towering skyrakers above.

“Telsa?” Jast asked, and the pilot blinked, coming back to her senses.

“Sorry, Captain, could you repeat that?” she asked, realizing she’d missed something.

“You and Val will stay here and keep the ship secure.”

“I’d like to come, actually,” she asserted, surprising herself with the force in her words.

“You don’t have to,” Jast said. Probingly, she thought. The cadence of the words made them a question. “I have Boq watching my six.” Boqorro, checking the energy cell on his large, heavy blaster pistol, smiled and nodded as he snapped the magazine into place.

“Of course, Captain, but I am your XO. I’d like to be part of the negotiation team,” she answered. “At least for the purpose of observing.”

Glaato’s death had hit Jast hard, she knew. The Nikto had been one of the oldest members of the Raven’s crew, signing on with Val back when the captain had first acquired the ship. They’d flown together all those years, right up until the Sith Empire had killed him in that alley. Khulbe was a friend, but only as far as friends in the underworld go; the Hutt was an extraordinarily dangerous person, and Glaato’s death had served as a reminder about the reality of putting crew in the midst of dangerous people. Jast had since preferred to limit the people he put in harm’s way to himself and Boqorro.

Jast nodded after a long moment. “Alright. You can carry the product. Swing by the armory and grab a sidearm too,” he said. “They’ll disarm us before we go in, but I prefer to remind them that we’re the sort of people you have to disarm.”

Fifteen minutes later, Jast, Boqorro, and Telsa strode down the boarding ramp and onto the landing pad. Jast walked in front, with Boqorro on his right and Telsa on his left. Telsa carried a compact blaster on her hip, and carried a hard shell black case, some thirty five centimeters across and thirty centimeters in height. Inside the case, she carried the product, the key to their pitch to Khulbe.

Jast recognized Khulbe’s emissary, a scantily clad female Twi’lek, as Nima Tarkona, one of Khulbe's favorite slave girls. He offered her his hand. “Nima, pleasure to see you again,” he greeted, and then introduced his crew. “I have some new faces on the Raven since the last time I saw you. This is my new chief of security, Boqorro Nbara, and my executive officer, Telsa Jetstar.” Telsa smiled plaintively as Jast said her name, giving the Twi’lek a shallow nod. "We're looking forward to our meeting with Khulbe," Jast concluded.
3x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Mistiel
Raw
Avatar of Mistiel

Mistiel Edgier than a Sphere

Banned Seen 5 yrs ago

T'a Tarinai

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There was a reason for the big placard with bold Basic letters underneath this freighter that read “DANGER! Do NOT remain inside while gear is retracting!”. T’a groaned weakly as the light freighter exited hyperspace with a jolt, but remained on the brink of unconsciousness. A week of no sunlight, food, or water had left the Zelosian T’a Tarinai in dire straits. She wished she didn’t have to disembark the passenger freighter that had ferried her from Zelos II to Ord Mantell, but she simply ran out of funds.

A half an hour later seemed like an eternity to T’a as the ship started rumbling once again, shaking like a bantha with fleas that signified the ship had entered hyperspace. T’a groaned weakly and curled tighter around the landing gear strut in the fetal position. She longed to see the sun and dreams of the Zelos sun flashed behind her eyelids.

Those dreams were rudely awoken by the sound of the landing gear bay doors opening beneath her. Suddenly adrenaline pumped through her with the new action, and she screamed – but all that came out of her parched, unused throat was a choked coughing whimper. As the gear retracted, slower than all the other gear undoubtedly due to her added weight clinging weakly to it, she vaguely found herself flying over a seeming bottomless drop. Momentarily, the brink of starvation didn’t look so bad as she redoubled her efforts to desperately cling to the landing gear strut.

An open-top taxi whizzed by mere meters underneath Tia’s feet with the Aqualish driver shouting angrily at her in his native tongue. The ship slowed, but not by much from where T’a was now half standing, embracing the pole like a long lost lover. It slowed further so her hair no longer whipped around her face, and the walls of a palace shot by at a safer distance underfoot.

The ship neared the ground and seemed to take forever before it finally landed. The sudden impact of the strut on ground was all it took to throw her onto the ground face first. Gravel bit into her cheek, knees, and right elbow, simultaneously tearing a hole in the right knee of her flight suit exposing a gash of green blood. Having not been exposed to sunlight or nutrition for weeks, the blood possessed a sickly yellowish white tinge to it and ran thinly, more like actual blood than the chlorophyllic sap of which it was primarily composed. T’a Tarinai lay there on her belly, too weak to rise. The weak Nar Shaddaa sunlight beating down upon her through clouds of pollution just barely keeping her conscious. This is where I die she thought, vision blurry as people approached her. The ends of her auburn hair reached up to the sky as if they had minds of their own, trying to reach the rays of sun. This photonastic response intensified when the platform the ship landed on suddenly began to descend, bringing her further from the light.
1x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Saix
Raw
Avatar of Saix

Saix

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Nima Tarkona



It was some time before the ramp finally opened, but Nima used that time to collect herself and focus her mind. She was there to set the tone for her master and help negotiations with Jast run smoother. The old 'sex sells' tactic. Sometimes she enjoyed the game of seduction, as it allowed her to be in control for a change, but it was short lived given her reality. As her charges emerged from the ship and made their way towards the Twi'lek, her training took hold.

A human male led the group confidently down the ramp and walked with purpose. It was their leader, Jaren Jast. He was taller than she was, but not significantly so, with dirty blonde hair and captivating green eyes. He was a fit man who obviously kept up with himself and probably wouldn't be put out too much if he didn't have the blaster that was currently strapped to his leg. To his left was another male taller than Jast, with a broader chest and muscular build. He was obviously their guard and had interesting flame-like tattoos across his face. If he were to ever carry himself with less malice, she would ask him about them. He too carried a weapon, a heavy pistol. Lastly, a human female was to his right. She too sported blonde hair but it was more of a true blonde, green eyes, and was attractive enough for Khulbe's standards. The woman also had a weapon on her hip and carried a black case in hand. She carried herself with confidence, but something else was there. Was it fear? Concern? Nerves? Nima did not know, but she may figure it out in due time.

By the time the party stopped in front of Nima, she had finished her initial observation of the group. It seemed to her that Jast either forgot his weapons would be confiscated before he was allowed into the palace or that he intentionally brought them along.

“Nima, pleasure to see you again. I have some new faces on the Raven since the last time I saw you. This is my new chief of security, Boqorro Nbara, and my executive officer, Telsa Jetstar.” At the mention of their names, the taller human male remained stoic but the female offered Nima a smile, though it was a bit melancholic. Maybe fear? The Twi'lek thought, still trying to pinpoint what bothered the woman. "We're looking forward to our meeting with Khulbe."

Nima rewarded the man with a smile but didn't extend her crimson hand to his. Physical touch was forbidden. "Welcome back to the palace Captain Jast" she replied, meeting his eyes with her golden ones and ignoring his extended hand. "You know we cannot touch without the express permission from Master Khulbe!" She was teasing him of course and was about to speak again before movement near the ship's landing gear caught her attention. Focusing her attention at the base of the structure, she saw a figure laying on the ground.

The crimson twi'lek turned her attention back to the human male, her face serious. "It seems you have forgotten many things Jaren Jast." she told him and called for the guard.
2x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by DELETED32084
Raw
coGM

DELETED32084

Banned Seen 1 yr ago

Palace of Khulbe the Hutt
Jos'rizud


Jos'rizud watched on a monitor as the Raven Trespass came into sight over the upper level of the landing pad. The big Twi'lek was well familiar with Jast, having met the courier on his last several visits to Khulbe. The two males weren't exactly friends but they respected each other enough to have shared a brew or two in the palace saloon during Jasts' last visit. Even so, working for Khulbe meant staying on your toes at all times. At least the two battle droids at his back would serve as a surprise to the courier, they were new since his last visit.

His eyes wandered for a moment over the slim figure of Nima in front of him. He had wanted her since he first laid on eyes on her. His gaze lingered on her perfect curves before trailing down over to her firm ass. Perfect. If he was given the chance to bed her, he would, but to do that he would need to impress Khulbe. Nima was the Hutts favourite and he controlled access to her tighter than a Sith to his lightsaber. Still... It might almost be worth the death that would surely follow.

He dragged his eyes upward toward the heavy landing pad that shook as the freighter landed on it, the big disc beginning to lower at once into the confines of the hanger bay. The design had been prohibitively expensive but it allowed Khulbes men complete control of a visiting ship. A tractor beam and several laser cannons had been built into the design and were manned whenever a ship arrived. Small anti-personnel laser cannons were slotted into the walls at floor level to support the guards already present with Jos'rizud.

As the lift settled into place the landing struts gave a sigh and the high pitched whine of the engine died away to nothing. There was a long pause, he could see the laser cannons tracking along the side of the freighter, and then the main ramp began to descend. Jast came first, flanked by the hulking male he did not know and the female, Telsa. He had to admit he had a bit of thing for her too, something about a female who could fly. He eyed the big male carefully and bared his teeth slightly when the man looked at him. They exchanged nods recognizing each other as dangerous beings and the silent dick measuring contest was over.

"Guard!" His attention was suddenly drawn to Nima who was pointing at a figure that had dropped out of the belly of the Raven Trespass. He didn't hesitate as he swept his weapon upward to aim it between Jasts green eyes. The two battle droids quickly followed suit to cover off Jasts associates, the fourth guard, a slim human female with short cropped redhair was a second behind them as she moved right swiftly with her blaster rifle levelled at the prostrate figure.

"One of yours?" Jos'rizud asked Jast over the barrel of his rifle. It seemed unlikely, and not at all like Jasts reputation, to make such an incredible blunder, but Jos'rizud was taking no chances.
2x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Jackdaw
Raw
GM
Avatar of Jackdaw

Jackdaw

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Media liked to portray gunslingers and soldiers as gritty, fearless warriors who wouldn’t even think about blinking in the face of a blaster muzzle. Jast knew from personal experience that this was very untrue. His blood ran cold as Jos’rizud leveled the rifle with his face. His hands went up, level with his ears, and he swung an open palm toward Boq. Telsa’s hands had shot up immediately, but the big Soroccoan had not been so easily intimidated by the Hutt’s security team. His hand rested on the grip of his heavy blaster, but he made no move to draw. Jast thanked the Force for that, and tried very hard to pay attention to Val’s voice in his earpiece over the pounding of his heart.

“…on the security camera, seems like we had a stowaway this whole time. Must have been in the access shaft to the left landing strut,” she said quickly. The Raven’s chief engineer had been on the bridge of the freighter, watching the meeting play out on the landing pad, when she noticed a figure fall out of the landing gear and hit the pad hard.

Jast looked over at the prostrate figure; a young girl, it looked like. This was an easy situation to diffuse. Simply hand her over to them, let them take care of it. The security feed on the Raven’s external cameras would corroborate the story if Khulbe even cared to check. There’d be no complications to his business proposal. They’d all get rich and never think about her again.

But what happens to a young girl you hand over to one of the most powerful Hutt kingpins on Nar Shaddaa? Jast would definitely think about her again, that was for sure. He’d fought a war in defense of the Republic’s highest values, its liberty and its democracy. He was not the sort of man who’d easily sell a girl into slavery.

“She’s ours.” Fuck, he thought, we’re really in the shit now. "She’s a stowaway we picked up on Ord Mantell, actually," he continued. "She is supposed to be,” and here he shot a pointed look at his chief of security, “safely secured in our brig, not falling out of our undercarriage. Trying to escape, I imagine, before we bring her back to the Ord Mantell Port Authority to face charges. Boq, would you kindly secure our prisoner and escort her back onto the ship?” Boq, nodded, quickly catching onto the game.

“Yes, Captain. My apologies, I thought she was secure,” he said, and made to move toward the stowaway. The confidence with which he stepped signaled, quite clearly, his absolute assurance that the Hutt’s security team would not shoot him. Jast was not nearly as confident.

“Are we okay, Jos?" Jast asked. "You know me. I don’t know what kind of stunt you think I’d be trying to play with this move, but I assure you, I’m here in good faith.”
3x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by DELETED32084
Raw
coGM

DELETED32084

Banned Seen 1 yr ago

Palace of Khulbe the Hutt
Jos'rizud


There was a long moment of silence as Jos'rizud quickly ran the scenario through in his head. Jast had said the girl was his prisoner and she was clearly no threat as she on the ground, a vicious material oozing from her body. He had never seen a Zelosian but he was familiar with their need for sunlight and this girl looked starved for it. Once he was sure his employer was unlikely to blame him if the girl fell out of the ship and went right back on it, he lowered his rifle.

"Of course, Jast. Can never be to careful." The rest of the security team followed his example and the tension eased at once. Jos offered Jast a toothy smile. "Welcome back to Nar Shaddaa."

He gestured toward the hanger bay door where a plain looking human female waited next to several locked bins. As they approached she held out her hands silently, there was no need to remind Jast and his team what was required. Their weapons were secured in one of the bins and the key was handed to Jast. A small handheld scanner was then used to go over each of the couriers crew to ensure no hidden weapons remained before the heavy blast door slid into the wall and a long hallway beckoned them onward.

* * *

Khulbe Desilijic


Khulbe waved the floating holo-monitor away as the blast doors opened. He had watched the interaction in the hanger bay with interest. He did not approve or disapprove of Jos'rizuds' decision to let leave the girl with the Raven Trespass. The Twi'lek had done his job as he was paid to do and that was good enough for the Hutt. There would be a question or two for Jast of course, but he doubted there any advantage in it for him to really press the matter.

He looked around the throne room, eyeing the guards who stood nearby. Not for him the usual cadre of mindless thugs who lazed about while their boss conducted business. He could not see the Defel, but he knew Sounmil was nearby to keep an eye on the arrivals. A pair of Wookies flanked his considerable bulk. They were a strange addition to the Hutts entourage but he had asked no questions of them when they approached him looking for employment.

The throne room slid open with barely a whisper and his guests stepped into the cavernous space.

Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Jackdaw
Raw
GM
Avatar of Jackdaw

Jackdaw

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Jast


Jast and Telsa stepped to the center of the Hutt’s throne room. They were at the heart of Khulbe’s criminal empire on Nar Shaddaa now, and they found it to certainly look the part. The Hutt lord’s entourage was as alien and diverse as ever, a throng of sentients from across the universe gathered together in this nexus of criminal darkness, all eyes fixed on the captain and his officer.

Jast smiled, looked over to Telsa. His first officer stood at attention, face an impassive mask and the black case in her hands.

“Khulbe the Great,” the captain began. “It is a pleasure to see you, and an honor to join at your court today. I come before you to offer you an opportunity to bring the most lucrative recreational drug product of the Core Worlds to Hutt Space. Telsa, would you kindly?” She opened the case, revealing a glittering sea of what seemed to be shards of glass, or diamonds, all of them a rosy pink hue.

“Pink Kyber,” Jast introduced the product, selecting a single, large, irregularly cut crystal from the case and holding it up in the light for Khulbe to see. The crystal looked like a pink ruby between his thumb and forefinger. “This is a unique, enantiomerically pure strain of tethylenedioxytethylaphene that binds with the receptors of over two dozen of the galaxy’s most common species more efficiently than standard TDT. To put it simply, this is the best stuff on the market, currently produced by one laboratory on Ord Mantell that holds a monopoly on its production.

“In the spirit of the free market, which I know you love, I think there’s room for some competition.”

- - -


Boqorro



“Would you be careful with her? She looks like she’s half dead.”

While Jast and Telsa made their case to the great Hutt lord, Boqorro led the stowaway through the ship and to an airlock. The blue skinned chief engineer, Valera Syndulla, walked with him, repeatedly urging him to be gentler with their new prisoner.

The Raven didn’t have a proper brig, but an airlock worked well enough. It sealed from the outside, and with a single push of a button could either release a prisoner or evacuate them into the black of space. The giant security chief pushed her into an airlock and sealed it.

Boqorro and Val considered the Zelosian through the airlock’s transparisteel viewport. She did not look like a particularly dangerous individual. In fact, she looked very much like she was in need of food, water, and sleep in something that was not a crawlspace deep in the guts of a starship. Boqorro pressed a button, opening the intercom between the airlock and the ship's corridor to allow him to speak to her.

“You need to tell me everything about you right now,” he ordered. It was a simple enough request, he figured. “The more you tell me, and the more honest you are, the easier this gets for you.”
1x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Mistiel
Raw
Avatar of Mistiel

Mistiel Edgier than a Sphere

Banned Seen 5 yrs ago

T'a

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

T'a was only vaguely aware of being half walked and half carried through the ship's halls, presumably towards some sort of holding area. Her hair had stopped trying to escape her head, given how far away from the sun they were now, so at least she didn't resemble some odd kind of hedgehog from the neck upwards.

They pushed her into an airlock, in which she fell promptly against the opposite wall. Struggling to keep her eyes open, unable to make eye contact with her captors, T'a mumbled in heavily accented Basic, the words coming out in an exotic way with emphasis on Is turning into long E sounds, and her tone thick with a heavy lilt. "T'a. T'a Tarinai. I...I'm from Zelos. I hitch--" she coughed violently before resuming, "...hitched a ride from Ord Mantell because I ran out of money. I'm not good with people, so I didn't..." her eyes fluttered shut and she leaned her head against the cold opposite wall of the airlock. "I didn't think to ask per...per..." she trailed off helplessly, cursing her lack of Basic vocabulary. The word was right on the tip of her tongue, but her grandmother's limited education and what T'a herself had just endured prevented her from being able to force out such a simple word. By nature's wrath grandma, why did you have to teach me only Zelosian? the well-rehearsed thought slid through her brain like melting snow.

T'a, much to her own embarrassment, fell asleep against her own will. The darkness behind her eyelids serving as a welcome distraction to alien interaction. Her mind flitting from memory to memory; her grandmother's death bed, her running through the wilderness trying to distance herself as much as possible from her nearly overrun village, finding the nearest Zelosian city and gaining access to the starport. The broken DL-18 blaster pistol lay on her hip still, the working stun baton lay on the other side on her right hip. She remembered them both, the pistol being swindled unto her at the spaceport for a hundred credits. The baton being salvage from one of the raids on her village. Little did she realize this might be the last time she'd have those two tangible memories of home, for she was in a strange place now, at the mercy of other people.

In her delusional state, she muttered a jumbled assortment of words such as "want stars", "grandma where did you go", and "they came from the mountain".
1x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Jackdaw
Raw
GM
Avatar of Jackdaw

Jackdaw

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Boqorro



“We need to get her to the medbay. She is going to die in there if we don’t do something,” Val urged, and she reached for the airlock controls. Boqorro grabbed her hand, gently, in his.

“We cannot. If the Hutt bothers to follow up on our prisoner and finds that we are not treating her like a prisoner, he will not be pleased,” he said. He considered their options for a long moment. “We will treat her in the airlock. An intravenous glucose drip should be sufficient to bring her back to the land of the living.”

Val pulled her hand away with force and stormed off toward the medbay, pausing only to turn around and address him. “Would you at least get her something to sit on, damn it? One of the seats in the mess?” Boqorro chuckled at the venom in her voice.

It took them some fifteen minutes to set up their impromptu medical station in the Raven’s airlock. The Raven’s chief of security unfastened a small couch from the floor of the mess and hauled it down to the airlock. He and Val seated her on the couch and, with the help of the medbay’s medpad, determined the glucose and water concentration appropriate for a Zelosian. They also consulted the medpad to determine how to go about administering the drip. They were not medical technicians by any stretch.

“I think that’s in the vein,” Val said as she worked with nimble fingers.

“I believe we need to know if it’s in the vein,” Boqorro suggested.

“I’m on this ship to fix the ship, not the people on the ship. This isn’t anywhere near my paygrade.”

“If she wakes up I will recommend you for a raise,” he replied. They stood, their work done, and waited to see if their efforts would resuscitate her.
1x Like Like 1x Laugh Laugh
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Saix
Raw
Avatar of Saix

Saix

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Nima Tarkona




'She's Ours.' He said. Jast's words kept repeating over and over again in the Lethan Twi'lek's head as the situation reached a climax. Nima watched as Boqorro successfully carried the strange girl into the depths of their vessel, still processing what she just witnessed. That girl looked to be about Nima's age with obviously no relation to Jast or his crew and he just stuck his neck out for her. He could have easily turned her in and she would have been Master Khulbe's concern, not his. The Twi'lek had seen it done countless of times. She probably, no definitely, would have ended up like Nima, a slave, but the mysterious girl was now in the relative safety of Jast's freighter.

Something moved in Nima that had died long ago. Hope. Never in her 14 years as a slave did she ever think anyone in the galaxy would stand up for another person's freedom. She was sold at the age of 5, the only people she loved in the entirety of the cosmos were murdered in front of her and she grew up only knowing the life of a slave. She lived her life until this moment accepting this reality that was forced upon her. The situation diffused as quickly as it ignited and they proceeded as planned to the throne room. After Jast and his remaining crew member, Telsa, were disarmed of their weapons, Nima silently lead the party to their destination.

As they entered the throne room, Nima left Jast to take his place at the center in front of Khulbe to rejoin the girls that she had left earlier. They had offered her smiles but she did not return them and simply took her seat among the women. She had an unobstructed view of the meeting and focused her golden gaze intently on Jast. Now what Captain? she thought to herself. She knew Master Khulbe saw what happened at the hangar. Not much gets past the Hutt, especially in his own palace, but she wasn't sure how much of an interest he would take in the matter after the human male began his pitch to the crime lord.
2x Like Like
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by DELETED32084
Raw
coGM

DELETED32084

Banned Seen 1 yr ago

Palace of Khulbe the Hutt
Khulbe Desilijic



Khulbe grumbled in pleasure at the flattery, Jast had always had a way with words that he found very pleasing, even if he knew it was only to try and curry favour with him. He spared a moment to track Nima with his huge eyes as she joined the other dancing girls. He was equally pleased with her that she had chosen such a wonderful outfit on such short notice. She would have to be commended. He waited until she had sat before turning his attention back to the humans standing in front of him.

The small case carried by the female, Telsa, if the Hutt recalled correctly, was opened and Jast pulled out a small pink rock, holding it up for the Hutt to see. Khulbe knew immediately what it was. There were very few illicit substances in the galaxy that had not crossed the Hutts path in three hundred years. Tethylenedioxytethylaphene, Pink Kyber, was something he had only dabbled in a couple of times before but the unique production facility it required was currently beyond his means. Simply put, he did not know how to synthesize the drug. Perhaps Jast had an answer to that problem.

"Jast, my friend," The heavy rumble was cut through by D440s' immediate translation. "You always surprise me. First an unexpected passenger and now this. A day for firsts indeed."

The Hutt waved a heavy hand and a droid moved forward from the corner of the room. It was a tall medical droid, almost humanlike in appearance with a cone shaped head and a single black optical sensor that blinked a continuous rainbow of colour. It extended a small claw to take the crystal from Jasts hand before moving away to a doorway behind the Hutt. The door opened soundlessly and the droid disappeared.

"I will have that sample analyzed while we talk. Have your associate make herself comfortable in an alcove. You can join me up here." The Hutt gestured to the single chair that shared the dais. Telsa was politely directed to an alcove by Jos'rizud where she was joined by an attractive human female who smiled disarmingly and asked how the flight had been.

When the Jast had settled himself across from Khulbe and a small pot of Shots Fired brandy had been placed in front of him, the Hutt folded his hands across his substantial belly and eyed the human thoughtfully. He had never been one for small talk or idle banter and he quickly cut to the point. The two Wookies moved within arms reach of Jast as the interview began, should he attempt to attack their employer.

"How much of this do you have? And what do you want for it?" Already Khulbe was considering possibilities and how they might work with his current operation. He suspected Jast would not have brought such an expensive and highly illegal cargo to Nar Shaddaa unless he had no other choice. Cutting Khulbe in on any profit, or trying to sell it, would be a desperate act. Or perhaps the courier needed a middle-being, it was unlikely the human had many contacts of his own who could move such a shipment. Part of Khulbe relished the opportunity to negotiate and to strike a deal. An idea had already begun forming in the back of his mind.

[@Saix@Jackdaw]
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Mistiel
Raw
Avatar of Mistiel

Mistiel Edgier than a Sphere

Banned Seen 5 yrs ago

Raven's Trespass
T'a Tarinai



T'a woke to a pinching sensation in her arm. Blinking her eyes groggily, she reached up to rub her eyes only to discover that something tugged at her arm to prevent her from lifting it higher than chest height. Momentary panic flitted through her, thinking it was some sort of restraint. With her eyes adjusting to the harsh light after so many weeks in darkness, it took T'a a few seconds to look down at her arm and realize that there was a needle and tubing poking out of it. "What the...?" she muttered in Zelosian, having never seen an intravenous setup before in her life.

Looking up, she discovered that she was indeed being observed. "Hi, I'm T'a," she said weakly in still accented Basic. "Might I ask why there's a needle in my arm? I've heard rumors of Empire truth serum. If you want to use that, I have no problem with it. I'm just a stowaway with nothing to hide." She looked down at herself, surprised that her weapons hadn't been confiscated yet, although it was little wonder since the stun baton was nonlethal and the blaster's insides were half-melted and unusable without repair anyway. She looked back up at them with a wary expression, green eyes a little bit more colored in from their near milky white state of earlier malnutrition. They were still lighter than most of her race's eyes, but current observers might not have any other Zelosians through whom to compare. It was times like these where she really hated being so naive and in the dark. Thinking of herself as an adult at a mere nineteen was still difficult; yet here she was, with her fate riding on every word that came out of her mouth. She imagined a litany of her late grandmother's sarcastic responses to her current predicament.
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Jackdaw
Raw
GM
Avatar of Jackdaw

Jackdaw

Member Seen 8 mos ago

Khulbe’s Palace – Jast


Jast took his seat across from Khulbe as directed, looking over to Telsa and shooting her a roguish smile and a wink. She did not return the nod.

He poured himself a couple of fingers of the brandy. “I have seventeen thousand liters of TDT precursor,” he started, “a chemical called pseudoteth, in the Raven’s cargo hold. That’s enough to kickstart a TDT operation, provided you acquire some supplementary reagents and get a few chemists on your payroll, but shouldn’t be a problem. The pseudoteth is the only regulated component of the TDT formula. The rest of it—red phosphorous, anhydrous ammonia, lithium, hydrochloric acid—that’s all easily obtainable. So, Khulbe, your first problem was getting the pseudoteth, and I’ve taken care of that for you already.” He pressed on, making his way to the heart of his pitch. “There’s a second problem, though. Any chemist can make TDT; not just any chemist can make Pink Kyber.”

He pulled a crystal form inside his coat, slowly, so as not to worry Khulbe’s Wookie guardians, and held it up in the light. It was translucent, colorless, and shot through with impurities. It looked like a piece of dirty glass. “This is ordinary TDT. Kyber, Pixie, Starglass. This stuff is easy to make. Any high school chemistry teacher on Coruscant could cook this garbage in a basement lab. Hell, there’s swoop bikers on Corellia cooking this in their garages right now.” He turned the shard in the light, hoping to emphasize its impure nature. “About forty, fifty, maybe as much as sixty percent of this is the wrong kind of TDT—the left-handed enantiomer, which is useless as a recreational spice. Only about fifty percent of this crystal’s chemical makeup is the active drug.

"Now, there’s nothing wrong with cooking regular Kyber and selling it. It’s cheaper than genuine spice and works well enough to sell, so it has a market,” he tipped the brandy back and took a drink, “but this chemist on Ord Mantell, guy by the name of Trithemeus, came up with a new process, a way to achieve what they call ‘chiral selection.’ With the Trithemeus Reaction, the process only produces right-handed enantiomers. Pink Kyber is ninety-five, ninety-six percent pure, right-handed enantiomer TDT. Powerful, clean, and it sells for forty, sixty, even eighty percent above the market price of ordinary TDT, depending on where you sell it.”

“The problem is that no one knows how the hell this process—the Trithemeus Reaction—no one knows how it works. Except for Trithemeus.” Jast pulled a long draught of the brandy, putting it back until he completely drained the glass. He began pouring another, and said, “My proposal, my good friend, is that we steal the Trithemeus Reaction.”

- - -


Raven Trespass – Boqorro


“It’s an intravenous glucose drip. Sugarwater. If we understand your physiology correct, this should get you back on your feet pretty quickly,” Val said. Zelosians were, basically, plants, even engaging in photosynthesis, which produced glucose form carbon dioxide and water. They couldn’t put her out in the sunlight, so an artificial source would be good enough, they imagined.

“No one is interested in drugging you,” Boqorro added. Probably a good idea to mention that, he figured. “We’re going to be holding onto these,” he said, referring to the blaster and stun baton, which he removed from her person and handed to Val. “Stick these in a storage locker somewhere, please.”

“Be nice to her, please,” Val said, tone pointed, before taking the articles and leaving Boqorro with the Zelosian. He nodded to her before she left. He’d do his best.

“So, T’a,” he said, arms folded. “You said you’re a stowaway. Where exactly are you trying to stowaway to?”
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Mistiel
Raw
Avatar of Mistiel

Mistiel Edgier than a Sphere

Banned Seen 5 yrs ago

T'a Tarinai

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sugar, T'a thought. Yep, I'm a goner. Either they did this intentionally or they know nothing about my species. T'a tried to plan her words out carefully, but already her thoughts were starting to become slightly muddled again from panic. Trying to remain calm, she asked, "Umm...how much sugar did you put in this thing?" A note of panic crept into her voice, muted somewhat by an oddly tingly feeling developing in her middle and slowly spreading out towards her extremities. She didn't really want to share WHY sugar was, not bad exactly but a caution, for Zelosians, lest they take advantage of her, but best to speak before the effect came on in force.

"I'm afraid to shay this might not have the effect you expect," she said, slightly more alert than before with every moment. "Shay? Sssshay," she tested the word out on her tongue a couple more times. Weird, she thought, guess I broke a tooth in that fall.
↑ Top
© 2007-2024
BBCode Cheatsheet