An Ember in the Ashes: Ashhearth Association (PM to join)

[John Ash]

Nar Shadda Facilities​

​

How much work was needed every day? How many years had they been at it now? Ashhearth Industries was a starving beast and it demanded more every day. More sweat. More blood. More tears. It would consume the entire Mara Corridor if it had its way, and the only creature more ravenous and ambitious was its founder and owner John Ash.

The head of the Nar Shadda facilities knew well the price for failure was as steep as the reward for success was great. The Pii System might be where the headquarters currently stood, but Nar Shaddaa was where it all began. It was the only location that could rival the entire Pii System in importance and drive. The Devoran knew this and was going to be sure it remained this way. His workers thought he was the devil and he was fine with them thinking it. Better they fear him and work their hardest. This was how the company grew and everyone profited after all. The more sweat, the more blood, the more tears spilled into the machine the smoother it would run.

But today something was clogging the gears. Someone was waiting in the holding room with the former mercenaries turned guards for the Nar Shaddaa Devil. Blackwall had trained them himself, so there was no escape and no mercy. The head entered and glared down at one of their designers. A very foolish if smart man sat cowering with dried blood splotching every aspect of them. A datapad sat on the table in front of him. The Devil picked up the holopad and scanned it over. Code. It was software buried deep inside of the device and it was sending out Ashhearth Industry secrets to someone. The Devil frowned. This was not good. The Boss would have to be informed of this.

" You karked up good this time Jory. Now I have to call the Boss." The Devil said in an tone lacking any amusement. Jory's eyes widened as he heard those words. The fool tried to get to their feet to plea but was knocked down by being hit hard with the butt of a guard's rifle. The Devil looked down at the pitiful designer. " You brought this on yourself. Keep him in condition for the Boss to speak with him. Don't let him kill himself. That is too easy an out for what he has done to the company."

With that the Devil left the room. Jory screamed for mercy. There would be none. The fool had unwittingly betrayed the company and the association. There was only one outcome for such an act. The head of the facility might be called the Devil, but John was hell itself for those traitors.

John Ash​

To say John was happy after the call from the Nar Shaddaa was something not even the insane would claim. Everything was cleared from his schedule, even an important business meeting with a potential client. They would lose credits but a leak was too dangerous to allow. He got himself readied in his armor. A pistol was on each of his hips and his rifle slung from his back. He looked ready for war. It was not far from the truth. It was more accurate to say he was ready for a slaughter.

John had informed his secretary, [member="Emilia Delane"] , to get ready and have the company ship prepared. Once it was all done they headed out. His ire burned deep inside of him as they traveled. An ember ready to burn down the entire city moon if need be. It did not take them long to arrive, but for John it had felt like it took an eternity.

The employees at the Nar Shaddaa facility scattered as John walked in. Only the Devil was waiting for him and Emilia. No words were exchanged only looks before they were lead to the room. Blackwall's men were waiting as stoic and professional as always. They had done their jobs and would be rewarded for it. The karking fool who hadn't was curled up in a corner sobbing dry tears. The holopad still rested on the table.

John picked the device up and looked through it. He was better at code than your average merc, but not nearly as good as whoever made what he was looking at. It was a masterpiece of spyware. He had to respect the one who made it for what it was. He looked over at the designer in the corner for a moment then back to the holopad.

Casually, John handed the pad over to Emilia. " Study that. Our newest designer is whoever made that. Do what you need to so we can track them down. I have a severance package to take care of." With that he went over to Jory.

It had taken a few minutes but John had gotten the information he wanted out of the pathetic fool. They had soiled themselves and eyes turned red by the end of it with more than a few broken bones, but they had eventually done their last duty to the company. With that done, John pulled out his vibroknife and slit the man's throat deep. He let the waste of flesh drop to the floor to bleed out wordlessly. He stood up, turned around, and faced Emilia. " We are going to a casino. You two, clean up this mess and then take the day off. Bill the company for your drinks and meals." With that, John headed for the door.

[member="Emberly Carrick"]

 

[Valgærd]

A sigh uncoiled from my chest.

The room, one of the 'Permenant Stay' rooms above the casino, was small... no not even small, it was tiny. Half a dozen cubic feet for the crisp monthly fee of an annual salary. The biggest thing in here was probably the admittedly decent-sized bed, shoved against the far wall, just enough space beside it for the doorway that led to the tiny balcony. That bed also served as my couch, my dining table, and my working desk... also occasionally laundry basket when I was feeling particularly lazy.

Between it and the door into my tiny sanctuary was a miniscule kitchenette, one designed to encourage patrons to use the casino facilities. A tiny bathroom hidden against the far wall completed my space. It really wasn't much, especially for the price, but it was home.

Sprawled out on the bed on my stomach, legs kicked up into the air as I idly scrolled through the data on my datapad. So far removed from the standard piece of hardware it had once been, my datapad had been heavily modded. Some of it had come from necessity, some from curiosity, other upgrades merely from quiet, boring nights with nothing better to do. This device was my life; thanks to it, as well as the patrons downstairs, I was able to afford the outrageous living expenses of this place. Thanks to it, I had been able to learn things I should have, and ultimately turn them around for prfit. Sure, dad probably wouldn't approve, but it was a way for me to make my own living in the galaxy, without constantly hiding in his shadow. I'm sure that was getting old.

My heart suddenly stopped in my chest. My body froze.

I'd been found out.

The talk in the workshop had become surprised, then curious, before falling to a gasp of horror as my software was discovered. It wasn't the thought of being discovered that had spooked me, in truth the thought hadn't even entered my mind. It was the pure terror in the voice of the man whose datapad I'd infected. That was horror... true horror. I lifted a hand to gently brush the scar on my neck. It had faded significantly over the years, now barely even noticable, but it was still there. I knew pure, unadulterated fear when I heard it.

I was just overreacting, surely. I was just spooked that my software had been found out, right? I hurriedly disconnected from the feed and closed the program. Had they been able to ping my location? Unlikely... from what I'd gathered, maybe someone at that company would be able to do that, but certainly not the poor schmuck on whom I'd been eavesdropping. I just needed something to take my mind off it.

Shoving my datapad to the side for a moment, I turned my attention up to the panel on the wall, flicking it onto the holonet. I wasn't normally one for news broadcasts but right now, it'd do.


[member="John Ash"] | [member="Emilia Delane"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Ready the ship. That was the message she received in her comms as she was messing around with wires inside her personal office with datapads, slicer darts, and various other equipment strewn about the room. She was messing with some code, fixing some things, and practicing some of the harder to crack codes in the galaxy. She had to be prepared, after all, for whatever was coming next. She may be a secretary, but she had a particularly important role as his slicer.

It didn't take her long. She was fast, good at her job. She had the ship prepared, ready for taking off and heading to Nar Shadaa in fairly quick time. She was proud of her fastness, in truth. She hadn't expected herself to be so quick. But there was a tone to [member="John Ash"]'s voice that made her concerned. Something had happened. She was sure he'd fill her in when it was the right time.

Emilia wore, naturally, a slick black dress. She carried a bag which contained a few slicer darts and most importantly, her holopad used for slicing. Emilia said nothing but once they were on the planet, Emilia followed John into the room. It was only moments later that John handed her a holopad. She perked a brow, examine its' design before nodding. She stepped back as John took care of the leak. She fiddled with the coding with the help of her holopad and a slicer dart in attempts to unlock the device.

What was it's secret? She fiddled. If she was able to get in, she'd easily be able to locate the signal. Was it... Broadcasting? She immediately began to find the source and eliminate it. Maybe she'd be able. Maybe not. She'd find out. She perked a brow at John and nodded. To a casino.

Which, if she succeeded, was exactly where the broadcast was coming from. She followed behind John as they left for the casino as she continued her attempts to shut the broadcast down. Or, at least, broadcast something else. Maybe some porn. Or something of a silly politician. All sorts of fun things she mused.

[member="Emberly Carrick"]

 

[John Ash]

The casino tip that John had gotten out of his former employee was much like any other on Nar Shaddaa. It was loud, colorful, and full of sin. Spice of all kinds was easily visible no matter where you looked. The waitresses were barely clad in clothing, and a few were even missing their tops, as they carried liquors and liquids around on trays. People screamed in joy and in despair. He hated it from the moment he walked in. Gambling could be fun. He enjoyed it from time to time, but not in this kind of place. A backroom filled with cigar smoke, glasses of whiskey in front of everyone at a round table, and piles of chips for a game of sabacc with some pricey stakes was his speed. Things from risky but rewarding where he played. This place was just designed to suck the credits out of people along with their good sense.

John looked over at [member="Emilia Delane"] after he got a quick look around. " Split up, stay in sight. Whoever finds the target first pings the other. I want to have a long, private talk with this person. As good as they are there might be a job in it for them if they don't give me a reason to shoot them on the spot. If you need to play a game feel free to, but don't waste too much time. Hate this place already." With that said he didn't wait for a response before he left. She knew what she was doing and he could trust her. She would get the job done right the first time around and they would have their mark soon enough.

The hatred for this place only grew in John as he walked around. While the other customers were dressed in fancy clothing meant for a good time, he was in armor that screamed mercenary or bounty hunter. This caused a few people to go into mild panics. Nar Shaddaa, always a few wanted people around. He ignored them and the looks though. The owner of the place wasn't going to touch him. John had connections to Gorba the Hutt who owned the vast majority of casinos in the galaxy. This place had managed to escape the hutt's notice and grip, and they wanted it to stay that way. No one had told the waitresses though as everyone that got near him offered him something while flashing off their feminine goods. Every time he declined as gently yet firmly as he could, but it was beginning to run his patience thin. They were just doing their jobs after all, but so was he.

Eventually John got a little snippy with a busty rodian waitress and a bouncer swaggered on over. The brute was a muscular near human species with a bald head. Couldn't really tell which near human species he was since he was one of those that look very close to humans, but John also didn't care to sort it out. All he did was look at the man hard as a hand very openly came to rest on the grip of his pistol. The bouncer paused as he noticed and stood there staring at John. John stared back. The bouncer eventually backed off without a word and headed back to his post. The rodian waitress was frozen in place the entire time out of fear, so John removed his hand from his pistol and gave her a descent tip for the trouble. She was still in shock but scampered off to do her job elsewhere. A frown was on his face. He wasn't happy with this place at all.

Thankfully, Emilia found out where their target was at. John had found nothing. He stuck out too much at the casino and people were too scared to approach him after the standoff with the bouncer. The man was definitely not getting laid by the waitress later for being such a weak coward. The two headed up to the room where this [member="Emberly Carrick"] was staying. Once he got to the door, he cleared his throat. He knocked three times then paused for a second. Before any kind of answer could be given in that time, he full force kicked the door in. Looking to the young echani woman in the room, he said, " Ms. Emberly Carrick, we have a lot to talk about. Don't get up though. I'm coming to you." With that, John walked into her room heading straight for her.

 

[Valgærd]

I couldn't focus on the news.

All that was in my head were the sounds I'd heard before shutting off my datapad. I had tried to drown it out, tried to focus on the stories playing on the holonet. I'd shifted from my belly to my back, and over again. I tried to take slow, deep breaths. I tried to stop myself from thinking about that awful noise. But no matter how loud I turned up the volume on the holovid panel, all I could hear were those awful voices from the datapad. My heart raced in my chest. I knew what had happened. I was trying desperately to block it from my mind, but I knew.

That man had died.

He'd died because of something I had done. It was my spyware that had been discovered on his datapad, my actions that had led to... that. I shuddered, a wince escaping my chest before I could stop it. This... had not been part of the plan. I didn't like having this on my conscience. I had killed people before, sure. Even for what some might consider relatively petty reasons. But this? This was different. I hadn't expected this to lead to any deaths.

Suddenly I heard a knock at the door. Three taps; deliberate, purposeful, but not unnecessarily loud. Having been so wrapped up in my thoughts, the knock shocked me enough to make me squeal in surprise. However, the visitor hadn't waited for me to regain my composure and let them in, simply kicking through the door and striding inside.

I gasped.

Hurriedly I scrambled to draw my knees up to my chest, sitting on my bed as a man I'd never seen before moved towards me, calling me by name. I recognised his voice from my datapad. He was... someone important. He was from the company I'd been spying on. How did he know my name? I thought I'd been so careful. My mind reeled, spinning wildly with fear as I fought to get my racing heart under control.

"What do you want?" I asked, trembling.

Oh if only my blaster pistol was within reach, rather than tucked away in a safe I couldn't get to!


[member="John Ash"] | [member="Emilia Delane"]