Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Sith - Chapter One: Fear

 

Neon lights awash with pinks, purples and fluorescent oranges reflected off the craft as they sped by in the ever-busy night of Nar Shaddaa. James stood on the roof of a nondescript building, his matte grey armor and helmet blending into the shadows caste. He scanned the speeders high aloft through a pair of binoculars, when he found what he was looking for. Two speeders flew in staggered formation — a luxury cruiser and its escort. They were still about a minute away, but on Nar Shaddaa, with its winding and cramped city-scape, that was all the time he could hope for and more than he would need. James quickly stashed his binoculars in a small mechanical pack on his back, then knelt and opened the rifle case at his feet, assembling it in three quick movements. A row of small cartridges were in a line in the case. Selecting one, he loaded it into the rifle and slid the bolt forward. His scope lit up faintly as he peered through it, the visor on his helmet feeding him wind and temperature data, velocity of the target and tracking. James aimed at the lead speeder, lined up his shot on the left engine intake, and fired. No noise emanated from the rifle as a small flash of light burst from the muzzle. Less than a second later, the engine on the speeder lit up in flames as it began a controlled decent into the lower levels of the skyline. James quickly disassembled the rifle and replaced it into his case, his helmet’s HUD tracked the craft as he worked to replace the rifle and case. The speeders landed on a nearby roof about two stories below him. He again pulled out his binoculars. The ship he had disabled had only a passenger and the pilot and the escort speeder only it’s pilot, who had gotten out to see what the cause was. James smiled as he spoke into the comms of his helmet.

                “See, prep the ship for takeoff. Shuttles are on the ground.”  A young female voice came back, irritation making its way through the comms.

                “Oh, good. About time.” James rolled his eyes.

                “What's got your tails in a twist?” James watched the pilots below inspecting the damaged engine.

                "It's this rust-bucket of a droid. His damned..." Some static and a barely audible curse, followed by clanging. "... There! Gah! Damnit. James, its servos are shot. I managed to loosen them up but he's going to be limping along. He could really use a service from a proper shop."

                "I know, I know, See, just get the ship moving. Bounty's on the ground."

                "You know Joro on Corellia, he's really good." More clanging sounds, then the distinct whir of starting engines. "We should go. For Trapper's sake, I mean he's practically falling apart."

                "Yeah? You sure it's not because of Joro's assistant?" Silence. Leaving the gun case against the parapet, James leapt from the ledge, free-falling the 20 meters to the next roof. Small booster jets on his pack lit up just as his feet touched the rooftop, letting James land in a light crouch as he made his way to the next parapet. "See, what's your ETA?" More silence. "Selana." James, sighed. One of the pilots had pulled out a rifle and he was scanning rooftops now. The other could be seen back in his cockpit, his pudgy passenger wagging hands at him while he was clearly on the comm. James unfastened the leather strap on his leg holster. "See, I'm going to need an ETA."

               

               

 

                “Roger that.” Selana said, irritated. She still had James on comm one, but she had to put him on mute when the docking officer came at her in a huff over the radio. "Credits transferred." She tapped a finger on the console as she waited for the green light indicating docking clamps had been released. After an eternally long minute, the red indicator blinked green. A disapproving docking officer came on the comm.

                "Minnock, you're free to depart. South-Under Port thanks you for your patronage." Selana gritted her teeth as she responded.

                "Thank you, Minnock departing." She slapped the comms back to James. "ETA: five minutes. And no, it has nothing to do with Jacen, Trapper clearly needs servos."

 

 

 

                “What’s taking so long. This is Nar Shaddaa folks!” Whined the Mon Calamari who sat comfortably in his luxury cruiser. The pilot working on the engine outside rolled his eyes and tried his best not to let any sarcasm into his voice.

                “I’m sure you’ll be fine, sir. The engine seems to have taken some random debris and Nawik is calling for another speeder to come pick you up.”

                “Well, what’s the hold up? Don’t they know I could be robbed or killed at any moment?! We’re practically on the streets!”

                “We’re well above the streets on a random rooftop, sir.”

                “Well, go ask when the other speeder will arrive. And make sure it has some gads-damned booze this time. Flaming idiots.” The window had barely finished rolling up when the pilot stopped his tinkering on the engine and walked over to the other pilot standing watch.

                “Devils, I can’t wait for this job to be over. When’s that other lift coming?”

                “Fifteen minutes. Authorities were also notified; said they’d send a patrol over.”

                “Politicians get all the perks, huh.”

James was smiling lightly at the complaints of the pilots as he padded towards his quarry. He knelt below the window of the car and rapped an armored knuckle against the glass. The pudgy fish-man inside had an air of annoyance as he lowered his car window, not even bothering to look at whomever he was addressing.

                "The only thing I want to hear out of you is: My ride has arrived." James smiled and answered, his voice metallic through his helmet's external speaker.

                "Ready and waiting my liege." The man had about a second to gape in surprise then went limp as James shot him in the neck with a tranquilizer dart from a wrist thrower. He slid out in gelatinous mass as James opened the car door. Shit, damned slippery fish, he thought. Grunting, he slung him over a shoulder and looked back at the two pilots who were still nonchalantly scanning rooftops, then made his way back toward the safety of the blinding lights of the holo-vid ad boards. He was safely in cover when he called over the comms.

                “See, are you in position?"

                "I'm right below you." James saw the Minnock hovering just out of sight below the roof line, silent as it's name's sake. A quick glance at the two pilots showed they weren't alerted, and he called over the comms.

                "Trapper, you awake, buddy?" Lights flickered in a dimly lit room full of tools and half-finished projects, the eye sensors of a humanoid shaped android assessed its location, then stood abruptly and almost smoothly, its worn out servos whining in protest. A slightly sardonic male voice answered the call.

                "Ai, sir. Ready to receive our meat cargo." Trapper made his way to the loading ramp and lowered it mid-flight, while Selana maneuvered the Minnock, pivoting so the spindly and obviously pieced-together android standing on the lowered loading ramp was about five meters from James. James took his 'meat cargo' with both hands by its shirt and with a pivoting motion tossed him towards the robot on the loading ramp. The body rag-dolled, but the droid snagged the limp man in a surprisingly deft and delicate manor, cradling him in both arms and marching back up the ramp into the ship. James called to Selana,

                "Ok, See. I'll meet you at the drop site." The Minnock rotated bringing Selana, at the helm, into view. She gave him a two-fingered salute as the ship silently rocketed off towards traffic lanes and he made his way back to his hidden rifle and skiff. "Definitely about Jacen."

 

 

 

“Miss Selana. I have our bounty.” Selana steered Minnock into normal traffic, flipping back on here position lights, setting nav and guidance, and disengaging the heat dampers. They were terribly inefficient, and at this point, weren't needed. Distractedly she responded.

                “OK, Trapper.” She took an exit and flew Minnock into a narrow tunnel. Ships zoomed by from the opposite direction overhead as others flew in front and behind. Nar Shaddaa was much like Coruscant: one huge, un-interrupted city. A skyline that reached from horizon to horizon and levels stretching up and down several kilometers, neither seeming to have an end. The Minnock emerged from the tunnel, and she hit the autopilot into a smooth transition with traffic as it flowed upwards, like a reverse waterfall. She didn't have to do much at the helm now, merely plug in the destination and choose the preferred route, the ship doing the rest. Navigational control was relinquished to the central hubs dotted across the districts making for a much more streamlined traffic flow. Of course, she could override it, which she had done to complete the job. But now she just sat and distantly monitored the helm. Nar Shaddaa had a certain beauty to it in its heavy neon’s and deep shadows. The city never stopped and there was life in every nook and hole within it. James had mentioned once that there was a pattern to its seemingly unrelenting streams; that the havoc belied a certain harmonious balance. She didn't see it, though, and couldn't wait to leave. Her thoughts were heavy as Trapper made his way into the cockpit. She didn't notice him until he had sat down next to her at the helm.

                "Our bounty is secured in the holding bay, miss Selana. Would you like me to take navigational control?"

                “Thanks, Trapper." She got up and said over her shoulder as she was leaving. "Let me know when we get close. I'm going to let Narda know we're on our way." The Minnock wasn't a large ship, but it had living space for four, a small galley, lavatories, and a cargo hold for twenty-two metric tons. The ceilings weren't all that high, though. She walked the length of the neck hall and climbed a small ladder that led to the quarter deck. The door to her room was already open and she walked in, a modest shelter within the vastness of space. She took a seat at her small desk alcove and keyed up. It glowed awake with little dancing alien cartoons on a simple digital desktop where she pulled up a secure comm link and made the call to their payee. A brief pause and a female Nemoidian answered the call. Her voice rang out with practiced courtesy. 

                "Hello, you've reached Mid-Rim Shipping and Freight, my name is Liliany, how may I help you?"

                "Hey, Lil, it's me, Selana."

                "Ohhhhhh! Hi! How has the hunt gone?" Selana strained to hide a grimace. This woman drained her. No one should be this happy all the time. Especially working for a Hutt.

                "Heyyyy, yeah, it went well. We have your man locked up in our hold. We should be arriving within the half."

                "That's great news! I'll inform Narda. I'm sure his illustriousness will be pleased. Wait just a moment."

                "Sure." Selana reclined back in her chair and ran a hand down her lekku thoughtlessly. The moments passed by ships soaring past her small bedroom's view-port. How long had she been on this ship now, ten years? She thought. Liliany came back, a slight, practiced, downturn to her tone.

                "I've informed Narda and he will be expecting you at the agreed upon coordinates." A slight pause and Selana glared at the attendant on her screen.

                "What is it Lil?" The Nemoidian’s eyes darted away as she peaked over her shoulder, then leaned in toward the monitor, whispering.

                "Narda is up to something. There has been a Republic officer here all morning.” She paused briefly as she looked over her view screen, then back at Selana through the monitor. “He is a particularly stingy Hutt, even by their standards and has no qualms about screwing people over to save a credit. Be sure you don’t arrive alone, See.” Selana could see the concern on the Nemoidian’s face.

                "Have you any idea what it’s all about?”

“I haven’t a clue, but it must be important. I’ve had to cancel all his morning feedings, I mean meetings.” She looked flustered at the slip and Selana had to stifle a smirk.

“Ok. Thanks again, Lil." The attendant nodded and leaned back, then said.

                "Let’s go out for drinks sometime, See. Good seeing you." Selana nodded back and cut the communique. Selana leaned back in her seat. She could see her reflection in the transparasteel window of the view-port, ships darting past. She had grown up on this ship. She barely had a memory before this. An absent hand stroked a lekku as she pondered the information Liliany had given her. She had a bad feeling about the meeting. Experience had taught her when things were up, be ready for the swing, free fall happens quick and there’s not much to do once you’re in it but hang on and point your feet foward. She looked once more at the room she grew up in, then headed towards the cockpit.

 

               

 

 “I’m across from the Tooth, See. What’s the hold up?” The arranged meeting place was an old cantina on the lower levels. The district was known for its crime, so a mid-size freighter hover-dropping cargo in a dark alley wouldn’t attract much attention.

                “Ugh, this damn traffic! I hate this planet, James. Can we please go somewhere nice for our next job? How about Corellia? The Minnock could use a servicing, too, and you know it.”

                “We go where the money is, See.” He stood in the shadows of an alley across the entry pad, watching patrons come and go. Strangely he hadn’t spotted Narda’s customary luxury skiff. As he drew breath to tell Selana, a patrol ship landed outside the bar in the street, spewing forth a squad of troops, an assault droid, and one shrouded in a cloak. The hooded figure seemed to look around a minute, then its gaze settled on James. It pointed toward the alley and troopers began a slow and cautious assault, heading his way.

                “By the way, I got an interesting hand-off from Liliany back at the office and she says some Republic officer has been with Narda all morning. I’ve got a funny feeling about this job, James.”

                “Well then, that explains that.”

                “Explains what? I’m here by the way.”

He glanced back and saw their ship, The Minnock, just above the alley and back aways, lights off and silent. Meanwhile, the squad continued their approach, but thankfully hadn’t seen the ship. He raised his hands and stepped out of the alley towards the group, their attention fully on him as he saw their weapons train. They continued to close.

 

 

 

                “See. Go to bravo site.” Selana could make out the scene, saw James walk into the open landing pad with his hands up like he was being arrested.

                “What the hell is this? Who’s down there, James?” Then she heard over comms someone yell,

                “The use of The Force in any capacity is grounds for arrest! Surrender peacefully and no harm will come upon you!”

                “That doesn’t sound good. You sure you don’t want me to come guns blazing?”

                “No. They can’t see the Minnock. No sense in getting interdictored, we’ll never leave the system.”

                “James, those sound like Storm Troopers.” She paused and bit her lower lip as she looked at the scene, so close, but so far away. “That piss-drinking hutt. You know our bounty is garbage now, he probably called them in.”

                “And got paid handsomely for it, I know, See. Now get out of here. We’ll deal with the Hutt after I’m finished here.” She worriedly continued chewing her lip as she sat motionless, staring helplessly at James’ back.

                “Let me come get you. Like you said, we don’t want to get trapped planet-side. If they see you as a big enough threat…”

                “Selana. Leave. Now.” She snapped out of her memories and grabbed the controls, the Minnock doing a silent 180 and fading into the night traffic.

                “Fine. But next time we go to Corellia.”

 

 

 

                “Sorry, was on a call. If there’s a problem, I have all my documents in order. Legal bounty from the Hutts.” The cloaked figure closed the distance, droid in tow, then stopped almost a handshake away and removed her hood, revealing a striking Falleen face. Her soft yellow skin had a slight shine to it and her midnight black hair was up in an elegant, yet minimalist braided tail of Falleen house fashion. Her reptilian eyes had fire in them and at this distance, he was glad for his helmet’s filters. Falleen females had notoriously strong pheromones, especially the royal ones. Her voice was alluring and commanding as she spoke.

                “How do you think we came to be here?” She cocked an eye ridge in a rather human way. Her smile grew menacing as she said. “Do you really think the Hutt filth will honor the bounty now that he can receive his prize from us for free? I will ask you again, from one force user to another: surrender peacefully.” James lowered his arms.

                “Hmm, yeah, just being thorough.” Troopers had surrounded him on either side now in a phalanx. He looked around at the situation, the dark visor of his helmet revealing nothing. “I’ll have to have a talk, a reassessment of our business arrangement.” There were six troopers, three on either side of him, and what looked like an IG hunter/killer droid of a model he didn’t recognize. “Thanks for coming all this way to let me know he’s a scumbag. Sorry he wasted your time, though, because I’m no user.” He turned his back to leave, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Hutt to squeeze a bounty from.” As he began walking, he felt suddenly as if the weight of a moon hit his mind. He froze mid-step as the force sought its way through his thoughts, the effect like having a boreworm chew its way into his cerebellum. His hands clenched into fists as it dug deeper, and he fought the urge to resist. Memories were brought to the surface, recent, then older, flicking past his cognition at a ripping pace. The intruder was quick and efficient, digging through years of memories in mere moments. As it dug deeper, James could feel his anger building. Then, finally, a wall was reached, something the intruder couldn’t look through. It clawed at the impasse, but to no avail. As the intruder left his mind, he took a deep, calming breath, and when he opened his eyes, a searing blue blade hung under his chin, tip mere millimeters from his throat. He smiled to himself, Heh, predator instincts. The yellow eyes of the Falleen were wide, though, the fear in them restrained, but he could see it. Her voice was quiet, emotions held in check as she spoke.

                “You will remove your helmet.” E-web blasters cocked all around him. The droid he noticed hadn’t yet moved.

                “No.” His voice was cold now, all the earlier charm drained away.

                “Remove it, or I will take your head and remove it for you.”

                “That,” James gritted his teeth. “Is not the way a Jedi should respond. You shame the memory.” He watched as she squinted at him in a stern and puzzled way. Then she motioned to a trooper, keeping her saber at his throat. The trooper came up behind James and grabbed his arms, wrenching them behind him and locking his wrists in bindings, then removed his bryer pistol from its thigh holster and his pack from his suit’s magnetic mounts. Stepping back, she did not extinguish her saber, but held it down at her side, and ordered the trooper.

                “Remove his helmet.” The trooper made to remove his helmet, but then he stopped, hands hovering just from it. The Falleen glared at her trooper, “I said remove his helmet. What are you doing soldier?”

                “He can’t hear you, none of them can. It’s just you,” She looked around at all of her troopers, her heart was racing. The cold, metallic voice attacked her very core. Fear she’d never felt. “And me.” She raised her weapon and viciously attacked the bound man, but her saber passed through him, then he vanished in a mirage. She looked around, but she wasn’t on the landing platform outside a shady cantina anymore. There was darkness all around her, water sticky and warm up to her ankles, she couldn’t see anything. Fog and darkness, her heart pounding, her instincts threatening to take control. She knew where she was, but what she saw, she knew this too. Ripples in the water, a small tremor and splash. She knew what would come, her body threatened to run, to scream. Against every instinct in her, she extinguished her saber, closed her eyes, and breathed. She concentrated on the air filling her lungs, passing through her nostrils, cold and metallic. Nar Shaddaa air. Her eyes snapped open, and she was back on the platform, her men all lay unconscious on the ground. The grey armored man was gone, his bindings lay where he stood, as did her droid, in two pieces, neatly cut by what was obviously a lightsaber. She walked over and picked up the head of her IG unit, then not-so-softly kicked one of the troopers. As he stirred awake, she walked back to her shuttle and ordered at him over her shoulder.

                “Get us into orbit captain. We have some hunting to do.”