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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Apr 19, 2015 22:20:36 GMT -8
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
BROKEN ECLIPSE
It is a period of renewed hope in the galaxy. After decades of war, the GALACTIC REPUBLIC has triumphed over the evil SITH EMPIRE, and at long last, the shadow of the Dark Side seems to have dwindled. For twenty years, the Republic has steadily rebuilt, regaining control over lost systems, while the Knights of the Jedi Order grow rapidly in number to maintain peace and justice.
Not all is well, however, in the far reaches of space. Crime lords run rampant, refugees from the wars still number in the billions, and the Sith, while defeated, are not yet fully destroyed.
On the smuggler's moon of Nar Shaddaa, the last of the Sith Lords lie in hiding, waiting for the right time to strike back against a hopeful Republic, and restore balance to the Force....
Oro didn't know how long they'd been running. Darting from shelter to shelter, alleyway to alleyway, gutter to gutter, through the Refugee Sector of Nar Shaddaa. There was no time to catch their breath; there was no time to look back. The slave girl knew they were being followed, of course. She knew by the obvious indicators - one did not simply strangle a Hutt crime lord, even of meager importance at best, and draw breath long afterward - but she could feel it, too. Of the billions upon billions of souls stacked upon each other on this Smuggler's Moon, of every face in a wayward crowd, of every walking representative of species from across the galaxy and back, the feeling of playing the helpless prey to a low class of vile predator resonated deep within her. Frankly, it scared the hell out of her, knowing her paranoia was almost entirely justified. She couldn't let Reno see it, though; the boy was young, perhaps unaware of the gravity of what his big sister had done, but he was no fool. If he were to pick up on the raw, static sensation of the dread she felt, he'd hardly handle it any better than she was presently. For now, fear was what fueled them. Too much of it, and their engines would stall, leaving them at the mercy of not only their hunters, but the unyielding cityscape that dominated everything around them. Oro couldn't let her little brother see it. Not as she did. "How much further?" the boy murmured, calm, but weary. It had been a long few nights since his quaint little world had been torn open, how he'd been spirited from his dreary but familiar slave quarters into a pulsating city of bright lights and dark corners and howling winds and a relentless assault of sights, sounds, and smells. It wasn't just the running that tired the boy out, it was the system shock that Nar Shaddaa gave him. Oro offered him a furtive smile, taking the moment to look down to her brother. The world around her had grown bigger as well; she knew what her brother meant. "Not much, don't worry," she answered, taking in a breath. She surveyed their surroundings, a mental update to how much ground they had gained, and more importantly, where they could hide away to catch their breath. Through the hustling crowds and the constant thrum of speeders and starships overhead, Oro spotted a flickering holosign above an open doorway, unguarded by club bouncers or lowly thugs. " Long Way Down," Oro read aloud. "Yeah, I bet. Look over the walkway, it goes on for forever!" Oro smiled. She needed that. "No, not that, the place over there. It's called the Long Way Down. Probably another cantina..." Reno frowned, looking down after following her sister's eyes, as if diverting eye contact would make the place disappear. "I don't like cantinas. They always smell weird, and a lot of bad people are there, and--" "--a lot of bad people are out here, too," Oro said, giving her brother's hand a light squeeze. "We'll only stay a little while. Maybe get some table scraps, if we're lucky. Think we can do that? Maybe we can practice your reading again, too." There was a pause. Though it was brief, Oro felt like it lasted a lifetime. "... okaaay, fine. Just a little while. Promise?" Oro knelt down to give Reno a quick hug. "Promise." Whether it was a promise she could live up to, they'd soon find out...
The Long Way Down, like many of the bars and cantinas that pockmarked the Refugee Sector like tiny, infested scabs, was a total dive, for all intents and purposes. It was at a strange, intermediate level of seedy; tougher and grittier than your average watering hole for smugglers and other 'extralegal' sorts, but paled in comparison to the crime-ridden, Hutt-run fronts for drugs, credits and women from exotic species. It had a criminal element, sure - not a single square inch of Nar Shaddaa didn't - but nothing the organized, intergalactic cartels would ever bother with. The place was so named after its location, at the end of the city level's walkways; the long-closed off maintenance ramps and scaffolds were a prime location for goons to dispose of debtors, drunks and other degenerates, dead or alive. They say you could fall for hours, maybe even days, depending on how high up you started from. But, whether this was going on or not was of no concern to Oro, Reno, or just about any of the patrons at this cantina. It was a busy night; every stool at the bar was occupied, as were many a table and booth, and sentient beings from all walks of life mingled and conversed, some much more candidly than others. For Oro, it was another daunting change of scenery, and she steeled herself accordingly, holding her brother tight and close. Most in the cantina would pay the two young Humans no mind, and continue minding their respective business. It was but one soul, here at the Long Way Down, that might have taken notice to a peculiar feeling. A kind of presence they'd not felt for a long, long time...
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Apr 21, 2015 13:52:03 GMT -8
From beneath the hood of her coat, the Lethan Twi'lek quietly observed her surroundings from where she sat in a booth, tracking any and all details not only with her physical senses but intuitive as well.
Fear.
Despite being a sizable distance from the ones emitting it, it was palpable, a thick cloud enveloping the two. However, it hovered densely over the older individual, a human girl. Stealthily and unnoticed, the hooded twi'lek extended a tendril of her power, using it to lightly touch the girl's mind, wondering if it might induce a reaction or none at all.
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Post by JW% on Apr 23, 2015 18:03:35 GMT -8
The room was too full for Nara's taste. The majority of her equipment would cause unwanted collateral damage if she attempted to use it, and this was the kind of place where she might be forced to perform a 'free demonstration' if somebody started questioning her ability to get the job done. Or to defend herself.
Every seat in the place looked to be taken, so Nara was standing, leaning against one of the support pillars. It was hard to tell if the pillar was functional or not, given the architecture of Nar Shaddaa or any city planet really. Buildings on top of buildings on top of buildings.
At least she didn't have to deal with the smell. Her suit was filtering the environment for her. Made everything smell stale, but sometimes that was better than what you ran into on the streets or in these places. A glance at her visor showed that her contact was late. Or perhaps wasn't going to arrive at all. It had been a long shot, and only a tentative request for some muscle. Which meant she was likely going to be making the credits she did have stretch for a bit longer, until somebody wanted to hire her. Not the best way for a Hunter to live.
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Apr 23, 2015 21:15:43 GMT -8
As an 'indentured servant' of a Hutt crime lord, Oro was well-versed in making herself scarce, small, and otherwise unseen and unheard, even at the heart of a room full of people. It was simply the way it had always been; failure to do so on-duty often resulted in quick, painful reprisals, of the physical nature. Generally speaking, Oro knew how to minimize the risk of such things, walking on light feet and keeping her voice at a whisper perhaps only droids with audio sensory capabilities could hear. At such a young age, Reno was less practiced, and under their recent masters, more liable for punishment, despite his youth and inexperience in such matters. That being said, a smoky, bustling cantina wasn't too different from a dinner party or meeting of the local criminal element; the company was nearly identical, as Oro was quick to pick up on, and most didn't have the time or patience to address lowly children such as themselves. With her brother's hand clasped tightly in hers, Oro looked to find themselves a seat nearby, perhaps in a corner, to slink out of view and-- Stealthily and unnoticed, the hooded Twi'lek extended a tendril of her power, using it to lightly touch the girl's mind, wondering if it might induce a reaction or none at all. " Oro? Oro, you okay?" With an effort, Oro snapped back to reality, shuddering from the sensation she'd felt, which had apparently caught her entirely unawares. A skittish glance around them showed they were just as alone as before - well, alone together - and no one had directly addressed them. Yet, to Oro, something was wrong. Or, if not wrong, not right. She'd felt something. She did not mistake such things. "Yeah," she replied, finally, taking Reno's hand back into her own as she turned toward what she thought was the source of the distraction. "Yeah, I just-- oh!" Oro gasped as she collided with a much taller, much wider sentient being without looking, stumbling back a few steps, and gasped again as a frothy mug of some unidentifable alcoholic beverage fell to the floor with a smash at her feet, splashing her with the liquid. The being - a Gamorrean, by the porcine face and unmistakable stench - bore down on the slave girl like a tower, fists clenching. "You owe me another drink, you clumsy schutta!" "Hey! You can't say that, she's my sister!" Reno protested, stepping between the two. Oro's eyes widened as she tried in desperation to move him out of the way. With a dismissive grunt, the Gamorrean shoved the young boy aside, and did the same to Oro, with enough force to knock her on her behind, rather painfully on the hard floor. "Teach you some damn manners, y'little brat..." the imposing creature growled, fumbling behind his back for what appeared to be a holster. If she could get to her feet and knock him away before that...
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Apr 24, 2015 20:23:05 GMT -8
It was at this moment that the Twi'lek stepped in to intervene, catching the Gamorrean's wrist in a strong grip and pinning it to the alien's back.
"Come on...pulling a blaster on some brats? Bit of an overkill, don't ya think?"
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Post by JW% on Apr 24, 2015 20:40:59 GMT -8
The exchange didn't go without Nara's notice, but it didn't register her interest either. At worst, it would mean a fight, not the first time she'd been in a barroom brawl and she was confident enough in most of the patrons ineptitude that the ones who were dangerous could be avoided or dealt with should it come to that.
Not her concern, not for her to get involved in. Getting involved in things personally was why she was on this Hutt hole of a planet in the first place.
Still, she gave the room another sweep with passive sensors. Her visor lighting up the more obvious technology everyone was carrying, from the metallic alloy of a knife they might have strapped, to the energy signatures of any blasters. Wasn't a full sweep, droids and others in powered armor like hers showed up as solid walking tech with no clue as to what they could do, but then somebody might take offense to an active scan. This was not the place you pried into other peoples business without consequences. Still, it gave a sample of the weapons, and com devises, present in the room.
As she scanned the crowd yet again a text message flickered onto her visor. Her slimy little contact was weaseling out of the meeting. The whole evening looked like a waste.
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Apr 27, 2015 12:56:28 GMT -8
It was at this moment that the Twi'lek stepped in to intervene, catching the Gamorrean's wrist in a strong grip and pinning it to the alien's back. "Come on...pulling a blaster on some brats? Bit of an overkill, don't ya think?" Oro flinched reflexively, her abuse-acclimated body preparing her in vain for the inevitable blaster flash, and burn, and the long nothing after that. When it didn't come, she risked a peek up, bewildered and confused at the apparent turn of events. A red-skinned Twi'lek, clad in cloak and hood, had the furious Gamorrean in a tight arm lock, preventing him from going for the weapon at his back. "Get the hell off me, tail-head!" the Gamorrean roared, recklessly attempting to free himself from her vice-like grip, to little avail beyond worsening the strain on his wrist. In the struggle, he launched a low kick at Oro on the floor, who did her best to scurry out of the way, gathering her brother and holding him close, giving him a quick once-over to see if he'd been hurt. Beyond getting the wind knocked out of him from the fall, the boy was fine. The exchange didn't go without Nara's notice, but it didn't register her interest either. At worst, it would mean a fight, not the first time she'd been in a barroom brawl and she was confident enough in most of the patrons ineptitude that the ones who were dangerous could be avoided or dealt with should it come to that. Not her concern, not for her to get involved in. Getting involved in things personally was why she was on this Hutt hole of a planet in the first place. Still, she gave the room another sweep with passive sensors. Her visor lighting up the more obvious technology everyone was carrying, from the metallic alloy of a knife they might have strapped, to the energy signatures of any blasters. Wasn't a full sweep, droids and others in powered armor like hers showed up as solid walking tech with no clue as to what they could do, but then somebody might take offense to an active scan. This was not the place you pried into other peoples business without consequences. Still, it gave a sample of the weapons, and com devises, present in the room. As she scanned the crowd yet again a text message flickered onto her visor. Her slimy little contact was weaseling out of the meeting. The whole evening looked like a waste. " Eyyyy, Nara, what a surprise!" The Mando bounty hunter would have to look down to locate the source of the raspy voice, coming from about waist height, relative to her. A grizzled-looking Dug in a vest crawled his way up to her, a deathstick poking out of the side of his naturally-snarling mouth, though his tone was amicable enough. "What's a killer like you doing in a place like this, eh? This kind of hive of scum and villainy is more Azargo's forte." ((Figured you'd need something to do, Per. I'll have a sheet up for this guy later tonight, probably.))
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Post by JW% on Apr 27, 2015 13:09:57 GMT -8
Nara turned her helmet to give the Dug what seemed to be full attention as well as a passive scan. Not that the scuffle across the room wasn't also being watched, in case it should turn into something a bit more than just one surprisingly well spoken Gamorrean smacking a slave when he shouldn't.
"Business." The armored bounty hunter replied, the helmet mechanically distorting the voice ever so slightly. Nara made a show of checking the display on the back of her gauntlet, not that it showed anything that her visor did not. "My contact is late. Possibly cancelling the contract." Not that there had even been a verbal contract made, but there had been an implication that somebody somewhere could possibly have wanted something dealt with.
Nara was not usually particularly talkative, but since conversation seemed to be called for, at the very least information about a potential rival or ally, would be useful. "And you?"
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Post by Alkonost Storm on May 20, 2015 16:53:08 GMT -8
It was little trouble for the hooded Twi'lek to use the Gamorrean's own weight against him, maneuvering so as to slam him up against a wall, knocking the wind out of him along with leaving him dazed and confused. Quickly hauling him up, the Twi'lek propped him against the wall.
"Just a little bump, is all...Ya gotta admit, pulling a blaster on someone for that is rather overkill, no?"
((OOC: Going for Jedi Mind trick suggestion thingy here))
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Post by JW% on May 20, 2015 21:04:12 GMT -8
Nara's attention moved over to where the Gamorrean had impacted the wall near her, helmet scanning the room.
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