Private A new generation

[Joran Del-Finn]

Jakku. Why in the name of The Force would anyone want to come to Jakku? The short answer is that they wouldn't, not unless they were desperate and that made it perfect for Joran Del-Finn. Joran stood out among the riff raff that sulked through the tiny space port near Nima Trading Outpost. He was tall for a human, over six and a half feet tall with copper skin turned a burnt bronze from the sun of a world far more pleasant than Jakku could hope to be, his tan was even and aesthetically pleasing when compared to the locals whose skin had long ago shriveled and hardened into leather from the beating sun that sat menacingly in the sky over head.

It wasn't only his size or his rugged handsomeness that set him apart from the few local vendors and hangers around in the quaint spaceport. His clothes were neither sun beaten or sweat soaked and though simple by most galactic standards was parsecs better than the almost literal rags the locals wore. Large athletic muscles hard a brick pressed tightly against his long sleeve white shirt that was quickly starting to become more and more see through the more he started to sweat, thick tree trunk legs were covered by a pair of black pants and a pair of heavy black boots speckled with sand with each step he took. If that weren't enough to signal him as an outsider the two blaster pistols on his shoulder holsters would do the trick and the gun on each hip would reinforce the fact.

Joran crossed the threshold out of the beating sun and into a local shop. Junk lined the walls as far as the eye could see, which was not far considering how small the shop was and just how stuffed with junk it was.

"Youas lookin' for da somethin' special?" A voice called out from a back room.

"Aye. A chat and some answers I think." Joran responded.

"Joran, what be bringin' you 'ere!" A dark red skinned gungan said joyfully ducking out from the back room, even taller than Joran his arms open for an embrace.

"Dart!" Joran said hugging the gungan. "Like I said I be hunting for answers and somehow that brings me to you."

Dart tutted a few times "Thas no good to have Joran Del-Finn show up at your door wit no warning, no good at all." The two beings separated from their embrace, Dart stood stiffly.

"Not that kind of visit, mate. Different sort of business." Joran reassured the clearly on edge alien. The tension eased a little but not much. Dart, an amphibious creature by nature, did not make his home on this world covered in sand and heat because he liked the local cusine. Joran knew he was hiding from something or someone and Dart knew that sometimes Joran was paid to find those who hid.

"I got a little business in this area of space. Shipping," Joran clarified "but recent some of me customers," almost all of them "are telling me they got a new plug. It seems someone has come in to my spot and undercut my prices. You're a man who hears things, Dart, why don't you tell me 'bout what you're hearing?"

The gungan tutted again. "Dat be very bad business, Joran, very bad." The gungan started to protest before Joran slipped a few hundred credits into the pocket of the baggy shirt the alien wore to protect his skin from the sun.

"Okay, okay, you twist my arm. Me, no know much, I swear but I do hear some kid be making a bunch of noise, bunch new friends, he name be something with S, Star or Store or Sore, me, no know." The gungan explained.

"You know where he's at then?" Joran asked, placing another few credits into Dart's pocket.

"Jakku."

Sorr Kortu

 

[Sorr Kortu]

Location: Niima Outpost

"What's so special about Jakku?"

Sorr took a long chug of the stale water provided to him by the bartender while he squinted through the hot sun. Despite the planet being of little significance, Jakku has been the host of a bloody battle in the early days of the Hyperspace War between the Alliance and the Brotherhood. Why would the Sith bother with this dustbowl Sorr had no idea. In fact, the New Republic and the Galactic Empire once battled on Jakku with many of the Starships still here today with most of it picked clean by scavengers. Or at least that's what Sorr heard, the young man took another sip listening to music from a broken-down radio.

Despite nothing to do, Jakku remained a hub for trade for Smugglers looking to lay low. Sorr heard that many Smugglers took refuge in the old Jedi Praxium temples after the Jedi abandoned it. Sorr was no different, he was doing a solo weapon run while Brinna Dara and the others set up the base back at Lianna. There was a client who Lady X did work for in the past and he wanted Sorr to deliver the weapons for a militia at Selvaris. Sorr remembered watching the news of the inhabitants of Selvaris being rounded up in Brotherhood interment camps when it was taken over and was obliged to help. Being a Smuggler didn't necessarily mean that they were the bad guys after all. Now all that's left was to wait for the client to look over the weapons and Sorr was done. The only thing that was challenging about this job was fighting the boredom on this forsaken planet.

Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

"What are you looking for, stranger? Water? It's mighty hot out today" the bartender asked as Joran's shadow covered the bar.

"You call this water?" Joran asked as he lifted a cup up from the bar away from the person who was dumb enough to drink it and gave it a suspicious sniff.

"No. Whiskey." Joran said, setting the cup back down in front of its own. A kid no older than Dagos would've been. In most situations seeing some kid sitting at a bar would make more people take a second look but Joran had seen Dagos and Ragos both raised in a bar, well a club really a damn nice one but still it was not on usual for Joran to be sharing a drink with Ko'nan while his boys slept behind the bar after closing time.

"You look like a worldly man, however." Joran said to the bartender.

"I represent a certain guild and I happen to be in the market for some new equipment and I've heard talk that the best stuff in the sector is passing through Nima Outpost." Joran set a stack of credits on the bar in a very showy way. He was of course lying about being a part of any guild and was asking his question quite loudly hoping to get a reaction from someone that could lead him to his target.

Sorr Kortu

 

[Sorr Kortu]

It was hard to hear anything from the radio due to the static, it was always like this in Jakku from the moment he landed. The operator of the spaceport had issues navigating Sorr to his intended location due to the communications being fuzzy. Sorr ended up flying in the atmosphere for about 30 minutes before communications kicked backed up.... barely though. Sorr took another sip of the stale and warm water was there anything in Jakku that worked? He wasn't even certain that criminals would refuse disappear here even if it was the only planet in their sector. It was that boring and broken down.

The young man's thoughts were interrupted by a bombastic muscleman who was demanding something about new equipment in Nima Outpost. The only person who had said equipment was Sorr's client and he was supposed to meet Sorr. "You might want to look somewhere else," Sorr said surprised at what he just said. Maybe it was the Jakku heat or the absurd boredom getting to him but he should not have said that.

Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

"You might want to look somewhere else," a voice said from next to him at the bar. It was the kid, the one Joran had paid no mind to when he first got here, now this kid had Joran's full attention.

"Yeah? Where should I look then?" Joran asked in his most intimidating voice. Joran has lived this life for a long time. He new when to be charming, when to be loud, when to be discreet, when to be dumb and when to be a prick.

Joran took the credits back from the bar and in their place he laid down a blaster pistol.

"Come on buddy, he's just a kid, just making a joke." The bartender tried telling Joran.

"Stay the kark out of it." Joran snapped "and pour my drink."

The bartender did as Joran said and filled a dusty glass half full with dark oaky warm whiskey. Joran swallowed it all in one drink.

"Now where was it you were telling me to go?" Joran asked placing his hand on the pistol and leaning closer to the kid so as to hear him better.

Sorr Kortu

 

[Sorr Kortu]

"W-wait!" Sorr said shaking off the exhaustion when the man spoke as if he was some thug ready to get his neck snapped. The man was massive, his arms were the just as large as Sorr was. Heck, the man's muscles was as large enough to two of Brinna Dara .

"Hold on there cowboy!" Sorr immediately leapt from his chair holding his hands up. "Let's not get too hasty here! I'm sorry! It's just that the heat just got to me you know."

The young man shrugged. "I don't know where he is!" He said. "All I know is that he comes in Nima every now and then to trade! That's it!"

Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

Joran let the kid stumble and stammer over his words as he tried to get Joran to calm down and try to convince him that he didn’t actually know anything.

The young man shrugged. "I don't know where he is!" He said. "All I know is that he comes in Nima every now and then to trade! That's it!"

Joran motioned for the bartender to pour another whiskey, stuck a thin dark papered cigar in his mouth and lit the end. He rolled the smoke around in his mouth before letting it escape slowly as he savored the flavor, all the while keeping his hand on his blaster. He let the silence linger between them just long enough to keep the kid on edge.

“That ain’t all you know. You know that it’s a he and that’s something I didn’t know. You take me to where he normally hangs out and you point him out to me and This.” He pulled the stack of credits back out “Is yours.”

Sorr Kortu

 

[Sorr Kortu]

"Aw gosh darn it!" Sorr muttered under his breath. He's really messing up as a Smuggler now is he? The big man continued lord over him like he was a piece of meat.

"Listen here man!" Sorr said trying to defuse the situation. "I don't know anything, now let's stop with the threats and let's start with pleasantries! For instance: My name is Sorr Kortu: Captain of the Tiaza's Purr and I'm bored out of my mind waiting for my client!"

Oh, he made things worse, didn't he?

Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

"Kid, it don't get more pleasant than a stack of credits." Joran told the kid. Wait? Did that little chit say his name was Sorr? That sounded awful familiar to the names he got from Dart. Wait? Did that little chit say he was waiting for a client?

"Captain eh? I'm a Captain too, Captain Joran Del-Finn." He introduced himself to the boy. "And I would be very interested in meeting this client of yours." He tossed a cred chip at the kid.

Sorr Kortu

 

[Sorr Kortu]

Sorr blinked at the credits that Joran slapped on the table. "Um Joran.... sir," Sorr replied shakily. "I'm not the type of Smuggler to be bought and paid for."

He was loyal to his clients maybe a little too loyal, but Sorr wanted to establish an early reputation of not backstabbing people. Especially when those said people have powerful connections.

"Bah!" Why are you all arguing about this client?!" An Abednedo was yelling behind the counter he was bartending at. He glared at Joran and Sorr while cleaning a rusted cup. "If you're looking for Aldo, he's holed up in Blowback Town."

"He is?!" Sorr asked incredulously. "I thought he was supposed to come here and talk to me!" He immediately placed his hands on his mouth. He was really bad at keeping secrets was he.

"Here," The bartender tossed the Holorecording to Sorr. "It's for you, I was going to send it myself, but muscles here kept disturbing the peace."

Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

"Um Joran.... sir," Sorr replied shakily. "I'm not the type of Smuggler to be bought and paid for."

"First." Joran said holding up a finger " it's Captain Del-Finn and you won't be forgetting that again. He was not yelling or even using the same intimidating tone he'd used earlier now Joran spoke calmly and more respectful like.

"Second." He put up another finger. " Any smuggler who can't be bought is a right chit smuggler." Joran knew a fair share of smugglers that shared a similar line of thinking as this kid and they were all dead for the most part. Smuggling wasn't some job. It wasn't punching a clock and having weekends off. It was a life and in Joran's experience with life it paid to be flexible.

Joran snatched the holo out of the air and turned round to face the bar man.

"You," he said, his tone again full of venom. "Shut your mouth, mind your business, and pour me another drink or tomorrow you're going to find yourself serving drinks with a few less fingers than you walked in with today, savvy?"

He turned back to face Sorr now. By The Force, Joran could hardly believe this kid was the captain of his own ship. Not just because he seemed to blab every thought that ran across his head or even because of his age, well not entirely because of his age. Joran was around his age when he first got into the life but he weren't no captain. He had a mentor, someone to show him the right way to do things, to help him build contacts, to keep him from dying and there was no doubt Joran on his own would've gotten himself killed within a week. So this kid must have something going for him.

"Now kid this only goes one way from here on out. I came to Jakku to find the son of a schutta who is stealing my business. Turns out that son of a schutta is you. Now this client of yours is either buying from you or selling to you, I don't right care which. I get my cut. Non Negotiable. You wanna run product through this sector, be my guest, if I never see Jakku again it's too soon but you will pay me, that isn't a question. Now you and me, we are gonna go chat wiv this Aldo and inform him of our new arrangement."

Sorr Kortu

 

[Sorr Kortu]

"Very well," Sorr chuckled nervously. "From one Captain to another! So, what? We're fellow Smugglers just doing our jobs! No need to beat up my client or.... threaten that man." Boy this Smuggler is rather..... bold, isn't he? First rule of Smuggling is to keep your head down especially when authorities or other gangs could easily kill you or throw you in an iso cell for a long time. Joran may be armed to the teeth but he's no one man army.

The bartender snorted. "Piss off with the threats outsider," he said. "Jakku may not be pretty to look at, but we watch for our own. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

The patrons slowly turned around towards Sorr and Joran. Some of them had their hands on the holster of their blaster pistols. Large beads of sweat began to form around Sorr's brow. His entire body was shaking eager to get out of this heated confrontation. "Hey!" Sorr said. "I didn't do anything! Please let's just put the blasters down! We're leaving okay!"

Taking one quick swig, Sorr left the cantina motioning Joran to follow him. "All right!" Sorr said wishing that he could go back to being bored in the cantina again. "We'll go to Blowback Town and meet up with my client! And then you'll leave right?!"

Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

"Wha'du I need to beat your client up for? You're the one cutting into my business out here, Captain. It's you that got to pay me, savvy?" Joran reminded the young smuggler. Joran could give two yanks about the kid's client so long as he got his credits and order was restored.

Joran's face became hard as beskar as he turned fully to face the bartender.

"Is that supposed to scare me, mate?" Joran asked, gesturing toward the bar's paying clients. "Me? Joran Del-Finn of the once famed Del-Finn mercenary company, Jedi killer, scourge of the Sith? I'm suppose to be intimidated by a bunch of day drunk dirt farmers?" Joran was not in fact intimidated. He was Mando'ade or he had been once upon a time, he had once killed a Jedi and on more than one occasion caused a problem for some Sith faction or another. Sun beaten scavengers with blasters and no training on how to use them were of no concern to the hulking pilot.

"No, mate you got this all wrong." Joran continued. "Then folks behind me with the blasters, they don't mean a thing. If any of them could even draw their blasters before they were dead I would be impressed and even if one of them were to be the luckiest being alive and manage to not only hit me but kill me, well, mate I'd be following after you." Joran pointed a finger at the alien behind the bar

"You are the first kriffing son of a kath hound who I'm blowing a hole through and if that doesn't bother you. If you really are that desperate to leave this miserable life on Jakku then by all means leave my glass empty but if you have anything at all to live for, family, friends, your…work. Frell, even just that troublesome fear of death I've heard some many people yammer about. If any of that means anything to you. Fill. My. Glass. Now."

A few tense moments later Captain Joran Del-Finn joined Sorr outside the cantina, swallowing the last of his freshly filled glass.

"I leave when I get paid, kid and not a moment sooner. I got a speeder over here." Joran hopped into the back of the speeder and laid sprawled across the seat. He placed a finger thick cigar between his teeth, took a lighter to the end and exhaled a cloud of sweet scented bitter smoke.

"Your meeting. You drive." He told the kid from his spot in the back of the speeder.

Sorr Kortu