A False Strand

[Adriana Fortemps]

Nar Shadaa

Jorryn had never enjoyed when her business brought her out to Hutt space, let alone down to the gutters of one of their most disgusting planets. While it was true that the most upper levels of Nar Shadaa did carry some people with class, unfortunately those that she had to chase down never thought of hiding themselves with any dignity. Instead the sewer rats had always hoped that they could conceal themselves within the thousands of bodies on the swamp world, losing themselves somewhere in the crowd with the other drunks and degenerates. It never worked enough to keep them safe, just long enough for those hunting them to start getting annoyed.

The Echani had been hunting down some information broker that worked for the League of Voss, one of the few loose ends to clean up from what was left of that faction. But he had to go and get himself lost somewhere in the city, making the Inquisitor's job that much longer. Time didn't matter all that much to her when it came to the hunt, but having to stay on this cesspool of a planet any longer than she had to rather upset Jorryn. The ever-worrying thought that the stink of the planet would somehow manage to rub off on her left her cautious about where she went, force forbid that she had to spend hours scrubbing Hutt slime off of her black coat.

Still, a Voss would be a strange sight down in Hutt space, and if there is ever a place to get knowledge it's in a lower level cantina. The Sith pulled her hood tighter over her face, her vanity led her to believe that some of the scum down here would immediately be drawn to the first pretty face that walked in.

No one cared though.

It was an unspoken rule that in the lower levels, you were either the hunter or the hunted and neither wanted to gain any attention lest they attract the other. These people lived more or less in fear that one day some bounty hunter or assassin would drag them away, they couldn't care less about some girl shuffling in. Just more meat for the pile at the bottom of some gutter.

Still, she moved cautiously. Not even taking a seat for fear of what kind of creature had sat on it before her. Probably a Wampa judging by how damp it looked. The bartender was an old Kaleesh, polishing away at his glasses as Jorryn pulled his attention to her with a quick pull of the force. Just something subtle to draw her to them, a simple Echani girl might not be so enticing but a Sith would rile the place up.

"What can I get for you?"

The voice was casual and rude, he knew that nobody came here for the service or quality so why bother giving it.

"Any information on Voss running around these levels," A hushed tone coming from the girl as she slid a credit on the table. "I'm here for knowledge, not whatever drinks you managed to squish out from the slime down here."

The bartender took the credits immediately, not even caring about the criticism. Wasn't even necessarily wrong given what he fed some of the offworlder's that came down here. He examined it a short while before he gave her a quick nod and headed to the back room, leaving the girl to wait as she felt the ever growing disgust sinking in from her surroundings. Maybe she should get a few drinks.

[member="Janus Nooran"]

 

[Janus Nooran]

“1,500 credits for the Mimban job. That’s my final offer, Janus.”

Surrounded by fellow scum and denizens of Nar shaddaa in the corner of some long forgotten bar, Janus kept a relatively straight face. He'd dealt with these guys enough times to know they weren't dumb enough to try and strong arm him over a deal, especially without the muscle to back it up. Besides, it seemed that the local gang representative was in a better place to barter with the old bounty hunter.

“That is quite a low price," he said sardonically before downing a drink, then holding out his glass while a passing Cerulian barmaid filled it before passing the girl some credits for her time.

“I heard the Ottarga gang was making bank in the spice trade, little money for a gang sitting on one of the major spice dens in Nar Shadda?"

"That's not the point," he said, waving dismissively at her. "We need to be able to make our losses back easily should you fail. "

"And I know how much the black sun is paying for eliminating their competition."

The representative rapped his fingers against the side of his glass, pretending to consider his options before he practically shouted his response.

“2,500 is final! don't fail us grey hair, or you will find yourself sleeping with the fishes come the end of the month."

Swirling his drink, Janus's tone became more thoughtful, if still sardonic.

"That leaves us on better terms, wouldn't you say? It’s a good deal, and trying to scam me will cost you a whole lot more.” He grinned playfully before yawning, shooting a look of interest towards the mostly vacant bar side.

"If you'll excuse me gentlemen." Janus nodded to the four of them, picking up his long coat and departing without further words.


[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

The Inquisitor's eye twitched involuntarily, frustration as she saw an entirely new bartender come out from the back. She had already assumed that these levels held the lowest of the low, but it somehow managed to shock her that one snuck out the back just for a few measly thousand credits. Jorryn took a loud sigh as she stared downwards, wondering how much longer finding some stupid Voss would take.

Her head lifted at she stared at one of the mixture of sludge and alcohol a patron beside her was drinking, a turning in her stomach telling her that she ought to get out of this dive before she got infected with something. The Inquisitor spun around in her seat before raising herself, hurriedly exiting the bar before anyone looked at her.

She was almost given a moment of relief before the smell of trash hit her immediately, plugging her nose as some dirty vagabonds made their way down the streets. It became a legitimate concern for the Echani that she would have to bathe in sanitizer after she completed her mission, because force forbid something stuck with her from this hellhole.

Turning away from disgust, her attention was brought to a man that had exited the bar just shortly after. It was clear to her that from his step, he was one of the ones that did the hunting down here instead of being hunted.

"Excuse me," Her impatience and disgust of the planet coming clear through her voice. "You haven't seen any Voss trying to escape from everyone down on this chit level have you?"

Her patience was shot, she couldn't care about being agreeable. Jorryn just wanted to be done with this planet, go back to Bastion then bathe and have some tea.

[member="Janus Nooran"]

 

[Janus Nooran]

"Lotsa suspicious people travel through these parts girl, chances are if you stick around long enough after dark, you'll probably find one of the Emperors many many sprogs or even the Voss themselves." he muttered to himself wearily, stealing a casual look at the stranger before stretching his back, taking a seat once more at the barside.

Janus's face was impassive as ever, yet he could not help but be amused by the woman's tone of annoyance and impatience.

"Pay the right coin to the right people and hell... you might have your prize come the dawn."

He settled into a thinking kind of silence. He pulled off his hat and used it to mop his creased brow. He let out a long smooth sigh and combed both hands through the cloud of his beard.

"You don't seem the sort to lack for money, you carry a certain air to your mannerisms, certainly not a common born whelp from the lower throngs of Nar Shaddaa," Janus spoke collected and stark now, leaning a little bit back into his seat before continuing, "But who am i to be asking these questions, this planet isn't exactly a place for honesty now."

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

The man definitely belonged here, his mannerisms and casual attitude made that apparent enough. While he lacked respect for someone of her standing, at least the old codger was clever enough to realize that she wasn't some guttersnipe that lived in this horrid place. Though the Inquisitor did assume that someone of her stature would stick out like a sore thumb among the filth that lived down here.

"Well you're certainly right about nobody being honest down here," She muttered as she took the seat beside the man. "But when dealing with someone like me, you can find yourself rather well off for being more honest."

Her fingers placed a credit chip down on the table in front of her, a blank number showing on it. Credits were no problem for the Inquisitor, but she wasn't dumb enough to be giving specific numbers out to criminals. It would be unnecessary for her to lose more credits than she already had and even though all the Saaraisash cared about was the Voss, every number in the mission would have to be recorded in her report.

"So how about it?" Her voice clearly impatient and annoyed by having to be there any longer than she needed to. "If you can find me that Voss, I can give you enough credits to maybe move up a level. You get to live with Genosians instead of Gamorreans."

Jorryn didn't even slightly try to hide the disgust in every word she had to talk about the planet. The time for charm was down, now her credits would do all the speaking.

[member="Janus Nooran"]

 

[Janus Nooran]

"I just need a ride off planet darling, one thousand caps up front and i'll have your man alive or dead in a bag before you can write a little report to whichever superior you call boss." The grizzled bounty hunter nodded with a heavy sigh, before taking a glug from the flask of spice-laced Corellian flask he'd been carrying with him. "I'd be wary of which hornet nests you kick dear, a pretty face and a nice rank won't save you from the bigger fish that live in the murky swamp we call the underworld." He refrained from mentioning prior run ins with gangs on Eshan and associates of the Black Sun, he himself had came to the conclusion that it was never wise to mess with the Wolves long ago.

With a nostalgic half smile, he mentally recalled how he spent the better half of his youth running hit jobs for the local Eshan gangs, but alas they were but memories of a forgotten life buried by his own guilt.

Ah, if only he'd listened and taken heed back then.

"Are we on the same page then girl?"

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

The look of irritation on the Echani's face now seemed to be a permanent stain, her lips pulling aside as she heard [member="Janus Nooran"] out. His payment wasn't to bad if the Hunter was honest about how fast he would be able to find the Voss, but Jorryn never did take kindly to being called girl. It's better than "Girlie" at least.

"Alright then, 1000 credits." Her hands pressing the amount into the chip that she held, before sliding it towards the man. "As for transportation I suppose you can lie in my cargo hold, I don't want the stench of this place rotting my ship."

The Inquisitor stood up again, pulling the scarf back around her mouth so that she could block out the foul stench of the lower levels. She stared off towards the exit of the cantina again, a short glance to the man telling him that she wanted to leave the sinkhole as soon as she could. Jorryn listened to the man as the pair walked out, holding the scarf upwards so that it met her hood and only revealed her eyes.

"I think you're underestimating how pretty my face is." Her tone dry as she returned a barb to the old man. "Bring him to me alive and it won't have to be the last thing you see."

 

[Janus Nooran]

“Oh, I trust you'll follow that through miss," Janus quipped back jokingly, a sinister smirk cast across his weathered face.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A FEW HOURS LATER

"Look man you don't have to do this! i'll pay you- i know where there's money p-please!"

The familiar smell of blood and fear was all too familiar to the bounty hunter. Much more so was the sound of a man begging for his life. Before the Voss had even realized it, the silver haired killer had rocked up to his hideout in the early hours of the morning, waking up to screams of terror as his bodyguards were viciously killed. The young Voss reminded him of his first contract as a hit man for the Echani gangs years past, the look was all the same in both peoples eyes, that cornered look of pure primal terror.

The old bounty hunter glanced back as the Voss man slowly realized that he was dead. Man was a gracious term. The human still standing before him was barely an adult. He had none of the resolve that his now dead friends had.

His lips tried to form words, but his mouth was soon bound once the crazed ramblings finally annoyed the waiting bounty hunter. It amused Janus to no end. He really thought there was still a way out. the Voss still believed he would listen to his words?

Janus slipped his free hand and wrenched his com link from his belt, he'd need the inquisitor to come to him with the ship as a badly bloodied and bound man was bound to attract some serious unwanted attention. Thankfully, the docks around this part of town was usually empty save for the odd maintenance droid or hooker.

"Do you copy over, bring your ship to C dock at the red district, i've got your man."

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]