Nal Hutta

[Senator Korbath Fraan]

The Dugs continued forward in the ship. Taldrix having appointed another member as point, fell further back in the pack of eight other aliens. He was superstitious and the lack of any resistance or even communication with the ships crew unnerved him.

The appointed Dug walked about a dozen paces before the others, who casually followed two abreast. He walked through the doorway to the crewers trap never seeing what he was walking into. Taldrix's team was not quite as sophisticated as others and did not have any sensors to find hidden crewers.

The Devarion's team, having not sent anyone toward the engines had two members with them more than Taldrix. But, having been slowed while landing were still behind. The Devarion carried his impressive grenade launcher with him at the fore. Unbeknownst to them, their place, now about a minute behind the others', might even save their lives and give them an advantage in the coming fire fight.

[Galactic Citizen/Worker]

The Second the dug stepped into sight the team covering that door opened fire, they didn't wait to see who it was that had boarded them - they had already made their hostile intentions known by firing at the vessel to begin with.

'Watch the other door!" Hessler called to the second team "There should be two teams!" A member of the second team chanced a glance down the hallway.

[Senator Korbath Fraan]

The point dug of the first strike team was hit by the concentrated volley of blaster bolts and crumpled to the floor gurgling. The only thing explaining what had happened was a small wisp of smoke over his dying body. Taldrix heard the blaster fire and new that they had found the crewers. He moved his weapon from his feet to his hands as he dropped to the deck. From the prone position he brought his weapon to bear as close as he could to to the doorway. He called his orders out in Gran hoping that his opposites would not understand, "Toss some detonators in, already!" He continued with that tone as his frustration at their incompatence overwhelmed his meager supply of patience. Just because the pirates were the ones doing the ambush doesn't mean that they couldn't be ambushed. A second after he yelled he saw a half dozen thermal detonators of various make fly out and bounce of whatever was in the room. He couldn't hear if they were bouncing of the deck, a bulkhead, or just some crewer's thick skull. He continued his orders by telling the three dugs closest to him that they were to accompany him into the room as soon as the grenades went off.

Meanwhile the devarion in the second team heard the sound of blaster fire echoing from ahead. Warning his team of the impening firefight, he ordered X men with the heavier weapons into cover positions, and X more men with the lighter weapons and the higher rates of fire to advance at full speed into the next room on his mark. He ran forward the remaining distance, and then fired his weapon. He didn't fire around the corner, as would be expected, he fired at an angle at the opposing wall so that it bounce off it and straight into the doorway. As he heard it ricochet off the wall he yelled loudly in basic, "Mark!". The designated men took up there positions, one even pushing around him to get where he had been ordered faster.

[Galactic Citizen/Worker]

As soon as Hessler became aware of the detonators - which happened hen one of the first one's thrown bounced off his head - he cussed and threw the offending item back down the hallway towards the pirates.

This didn't do much for the rest of the detonators that were bouncing round "GET OUT!" Hessler yelled and pointed towards the second door. The crewmen all rushed the door the Devarions were running towards, one of them was taken down by the pirates ricocheted shot, the rest were all thrown foreward as the detonators exploded. Those still in the room were killed or mortally wounded.

Those at the front - mainly Hessler and his sensor operator Sue-zhan were thrown forward and stunned.

[Rico Henlen]

Where had things gone so wrong? Rico knew where but if he didn’t relive the horrible moments of his past he might actually start to move on with his life. He couldn’t have that, not after he’d lost so much. He didn’t deserve to be happy, the only thing he deserved was his current lifestyle of drugs, prostitutes, and a slow death.

He took another gulp from his death stick enriched drink and let his eyes wonder around the dimly lit cantina. There were only a couple of people in the place and it was one reason why it was Rico’s favorite, his drug dealer being the bartender was also another plus. He glanced towards the restrooms just in time to see the woman he’d hired walking out of them. She walked towards him with a purpose and he smiled at that, just another day of work for his sweet Shylo.

“Didja miss me handsome?”

He grinned at that comment, he was anything but handsome. The metal faceplate covering most of the right side of his face made sure of that, the glowing red prosthetic that served as his right eye didn’t help matters much either. He’d also put on several pounds since the Black Sun had ruined his life but most people cared about his face more than his gut.

Rico slid out of the booth he’d been sitting at and stood on shaky legs, he let Shylo support most of his weight. With her help they made it back to his one room apartment and she did what she was paid to do. He watched her get dressed from his position on the floor after it was all over and spoke the words he always spoke after.

“Money’s in the usual place. Take a little extra if you want.”

She looked back at him with what he assumed was pity and nodded. Her pity never kept her from taking all of it though but he didn’t blame her. If he was in her position he’d take all of it too. When she was dressed and gone he closed his eyes, there was no point in getting up and locking the door. The only thing in his apartment was the bed he was laying on. He supposed they could take his clothes but they probably smelled too bad for anyone else to touch unless they were paid to do so like Shylo.

With the death stick still coursing through his veins it made it hard to sleep, which in fact he didn’t really want to do but there was no other option left to him. When sleep finally did take him the nightmares began.

His daughter stood before him, the burnt skin sliding off the side of her face. She mouthed the words she so often did and when he tried to turn and look away Kallabacka’s dead family was there to greet him. They’d done the job, nothing had gone wrong, but the Black Sun had still killed them. Burned them while they slept, all of them, for no other reason than to show that they could. By that point there’d been no more fight in him, what was the point? “Your fault”, the specters whispered to him and he knew it was true. He’d taken the job and they burned for it.

[Rico Henlen]

Another day another death stick, this time smoked instead of drunk. These things were supposed to lower your life expectancy pretty rapidly, by his account he should be dead already but yet here he was. He’d decided just to go to the cantina and get his fix then come back to his apartment and lay in his own filth for the rest of the day. Today was a special day, today was the day Kal always sent money. He’d told the Wookiee to stop several times but he never listened, after all there was a life debt to be paid. If he couldn’t protect Rico from himself he could at least send money to make sure he stayed alive. If one could call this living.

Kallabacka had taken the whole death of his family surprisingly well. Oh sure he’d mourned but he’d moved on as any normal sentient being should. He’d tried to get Rico to contact his old Jedi ‘buddies’ and go after the Black Sun but there had been no point. They were dead and nothing would bring them back, not even if he skinned every last Vigo alive. He’d told Kal to leave him alone and left for Nal Hutta, the Wookiee had stayed on Kashyyyk and rebuilt his home and started anew. That’s where the two differed, Kal was strong and Rico wasn’t. He’d lost too much to care anymore.

He took a long drag from his death stick and stared up at the ceiling. He thought about calling Shylo but he only ever used her once a week. He couldn’t stand the pitying looks she gave him. Who was she to pity him anyway? A beeping from his datapad brought him back to reality and he lazily slapped his right hand around on the bed beside him. He heard a loud crunch and laughed. When he was high he often forgot his entire right arm was just as mechanical as his face. He dropped the lit death stick on the bed and grabbed the now broken datapad with his left hand.

The screen on the datapad was cracked but it still worked. The message he’d gotten told him what he already knew, funds had been transferred to his account. Good old Kal. Still he didn’t really need the Wookiee’s money. After selling his ship, his lightsaber, and his entire arsenal of blasters he had enough money to keep him inebriated for years. He’d decided Kal’s money would go to Shylo, he wasn’t sure what the Wookiee would think about that but he didn’t care.

Rico picked the death stick up from the bed before it burned to big a hole in his mattress and took another drag. He wondered what it was like to burn alive. His daughter and Kal’s family had known, he thought as he closed his eyes and waited for the nightmares.