Private Black Market Blues

[Das]

//: Tags: Sindev Elzadar
//: Location: DENON...

"Where are you…" Das said as she walked through the crowded market.

Dozens of stalls were setup with merchants peddling illegal blaster mods, fake ID cards, hacked comm-links, and much more. Das nudged her way between a pair of Duros who were eying a particularly expensive EMP grenade.

It was odd to see so many people gathered here at once. Denon’s black markets are known for popping up and clearing out before they become too noticeable. Keeps CorpSec on their toes. Going to the market while it’s packed is a risk, but she had a lead she couldn’t pass up: a new propulsion mod hit the market that would give her speeder a much-needed edge. She just had to find her contact.

Das tapped the screen of her comm-link, verifying the information in the docket. The location was right, the time was right (she was five minutes early, actually)… so where was the seller? She took a few steps more, deeper into the market, when the sound of a metal canister bouncing across the ground caught the nearby shoppers’ attention. Das had only a moment to register what the object was before Sam Kolburn commanded “Get down!” into her earpiece.

She hit the ground as a flashbang exploded, followed by another a short distance away, then a third. A CorpSec raid? It was a setup. Das’ ears were ringing painfully, her eyes adjusting to the sudden white flash from the grenades. She shook it off the best she could and turned to run for her speeder. She’d only parked it a block away from the market, but it would be tricky getting out of the crowds of people that rushed in every direction. A squad of CorpSec officers poured from the back of an unmarked shuttle, their electro-batons ignited and ready. Das placed her hand on the hilt of her blaster, keeping it handy should anyone recognize her in the crowd. She pulled her hood up, and tried to blend in.

 

[Sindev Elzadar]

Sindev wasn't comfortable in a place like this, and it's doubtful he ever will. Although you can get certain things from certain people if you know a certain name, he couldn't keep track of it all even if his life depended on it. He knew to keep anything valuable at whatever place he's stationed himself at, and to only bring necessities, and even then, only the bare necessities.

"It's so damn crowded, how's anyone ever get anywhere?" he mumbles to himself while trying to wade through what seems to be waves of people, attempting to find some new tools for himself. He glances at each stall he passes by to quickly assess their wares, trying to avoid eye contact with any vendors so they don't try to hook him into something he really doesn't want. "Wish I could look it up and buy it at home, I hate all this noise" he says to himself again, and as he says that he hears a loud sound go off an alleyway or two ahead of him, with a blinding light that thankfully didn't reach him.

A woman runs toward Sindevs direction, at first, he thinks that she may have set something off or something, but then he sees the CorpSec officers and gets immediately uneasy about the officers already being in a district such as this, he starts going the way the woman went, seeing as that seemed to be the direct route away from officers.

Maybe it was just his nerves, or maybe there was something that Sindev did without realizing, but he soon found himself also running away from the officers, he had no real reason to, but he's heard enough times when someone who legitimately did nothing get in trouble and blamed for something. Sindev is an easy target due to his race and stature, it feels unfair due to a certain bounty hunter giving his race a bad name but you gotta deal the cards you're dealt right?

Due to Sindevs size, he caught up pretty quick to the woman that was running from the officers, which was quite the feat seeing as the crowd was panicked due to the explosion from earlier and the CorpSec officers. Unintentionally, he just followed the woman running as if his legs were on autopilot, his mind blank as he just focused on running and not being tripped up by the mob.

 

[Das]

//: Tags: Sindev Elzadar
//: Location: DENON...

Das pushed deeper into the crowd of people, trying not to let them knock her to the ground as they shoved past. In the distance, somewhere behind her, several screams rang out as the CorpSec officers struck a man with their stun batons. It made her blood boil, and she almost turned back were it not for the wall of people clamoring and and fighting to escape. Then she heard the wailing of sirens as more CorpSec shuttles descended upon the market. It was too loud to tell for certain, but a few quick glances over her shoulder indicated two? Three?

"That’s not good…" she muttered under her breath. Too many Corpos for a routine bust. This was a full-blown raid. Someone must’ve spilled, they always do, but this… it was certainly an elaborate setup. Das even got a tip docket from a trusted source that pointed here. It all felt so twisted, luring in tons of people just to spring the trap. CorpSec always loved being the hunter.

Finally the crowd had begun to disperse as they neared the exit to the market. The smart ones were jumping on speeder bikes, taking off in personal shuttles, or hailing taxis. Some fled on foot - they’d be run down soon enough. Others walked away casually, as if their fellow smugglers weren’t being beaten and arrested in the alley. Das tapped away on her comm-link, starting her GT remotely. It was only a block away. If she could keep a low-profile, the Corpos wouldn’t even know she was there.

Das allowed herself a final backward glance at the market, when she noticed a Trandoshan was following her. Now that she thought about it, he’d definitely been following her the whole time. She was too focused on CorpSec, the stun batons, the crowd to notice him outright, be she was sure he’d been behind her since the flashbangs went off. Das clutched her Night Sniper instinctively. No way she was going to let a Corpo operative tail her back to Darkwire.

 

[Sindev Elzadar]

"Shouldn't have come. Shouldn't have come. Shouldn't have come. Should've just ordered online. Why'd I think this would be a good idea? All for some tools? For some hardware that would've costed a bit more from someone semi-legit? C'mon Sindev!" Sindev said outloud, not caring anymore who hears as everyone was still running in attempts to flee the CorpSec Officers raid. He felt bad for the people who were caught and abused outright, but he knew he didn't wanna join them in their suffering.

He kept running, or as best as running one can be running when there's havoc around you. it was lively before, but now? Now it was like there was no communication, no cooperation, no understanding other than to escape, to survive. That's what mattered most to anyone in the area. Sindev was tempted to steal some stuff from vendors in all the panic, but he saw a couple people who had the same idea and saw that the vendors had no quarrel with taking some hands. Sindev liked his hands, they're useful Afterall, a trinket for a hand was not a good price even if prosthetics have come this far.

He saw the woman that he was passively following make a move for a gun and knew that either she was about to shoot him, or about to shoot someone else, regardless, he started to take a more cautious and intense understanding of her. He didn't make a move for his weapon yet, but he did keep in mind that she was aware of him. He slowed down a little bit, but still kept track of her and followed. Sindev doesn't know if she was responsible for that explosion earlier, but he intended to find out.

 

[Das]

//: Tags: Sindev Elzadar
//: Location: DENON...

The Trandoshan backed off, seeming to notice Das’ holstered blaster pistol. She let out a sigh of relief, but remained vigilant as she progressed through the last stretch of people who were funneling out of the alleyway. The streets were bustling with pedestrians and outlaws as the marketplace visitors rushed into the public and tried to appear indifferent.

Das did the same, pulling her hood up further and stuffing her hands into her pockets as she walked down the street. Her GT was less than a block away now, tucked inconspicuously away from prying CorpSec eyes. She cast a backward glance occasionally to be sure she was in the clear. In the distance, she caught a glimpse of the same Trandoshan who’d followed her in the market.

Das tapped on her comm-link, bringing Sam’s face onto the monitor.

“Sam! This guy, he’s tailing me. Can you try to parse him against our records on CryptNet? Who the hell is this guy?”

“I can try, yes,” Sam said, his blue eyes fluttering as he scanned the virtual database. Das pushed ahead, stealing another look at the marketplace. The Trandoshan was behind her, but the other CorpSec officers seemed to be busy down the alley. At least she’d only have to kill one agent.

“Hmm… there’s nothing here. No records of a Trandoshan agent,” the AI reported. Das sighed, her brows furrowed in exasperation. She quickened her pace. Not in the database doesn’t necessarily mean not an agent, just that the Trandoshan hasn’t been identified as a Corpo by Darkwire yet. Only a few meters more and she’d be revving up her GT and barreling for the safe house.

 

[Sindev Elzadar]

He saw that she raised her arm to her face, assuming she isn't smelling herself Sindev comes to the conclusion that they're calling someone. Was it to report that they completed their terrorist objective? He decides to change his gait again and covers himself up so only his eyes are visible. Maneuvering in a serpentine manner in a sort of hunchback position to elude the woman, he succeeds in blending in within all the chaos albeit accidentally bulldozing through the crowd.

Getting closer and closer he gets close enough to where they could easily shoot each other in the crowd, but a massacre is not Sindevs intentions. "Closer, I gotta closer so I can hear what she's saying" he thinks to himself. "What's the point of setting off an explosion like that anyway? It's not big enough to harm anyone, and it's a waste if the point of the explosive was to steal something. Afterall, the cost of explosives like a flash bang, emp grenade, etc, ain't cheap. Maybe it was to get away? What if they set it off after getting busted by the CorpSec Police and that's why they're running? There're just too many possibilities with this situation. Worst of all, they ruined my shopping! I don't get a lot of free time after all!"

Igniting a new reason to chase this hooligan, Sindev becomes increasingly less concerned about the CorpSec officers and more in tune to catching this brat before she gets on a ship too. He blows his cover and shouts out "HEY, LADY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO-" getting cut off by another explosion behind him, possibly by other people desperately trying to escape from the officers forces. He can't tell if she heard him or not amongst all the screaming and such, so he continued to run along side her, unbeknownst to her.

 

[Das]

//: Tags: Sindev Elzadar
//: Location: DENON...

The familiar hum of Das’ GT calmed her nerves but she wasn’t out of CorpSec’s reach just yet. She pulled the hood tighter around her head, concealing nearly all of her turquoise hair. She walked around the driver's side and popped the door, but as she knelt into the cab, she saw the grey-skinned Trandoshan closing in on her.

“We have to go,” Sam said through the comm-link, but Das ignored him, unholstering her Night Sniper. She raised the blaster defensively, ready to pull the trigger at the first sign of trouble.

“It’s you or me,” she muttered under her breath. He wouldn’t be her first CorpSec agent, and he certainly wouldn’t be the last. Das tightened her grip as the Trandoshan drew closer and closer. He was well within the blaster’s range, but she’s only had time to shoot once before the agents in the market would be crawling all over the area. She couldn’t miss.

“Das,” Sam prodded.

She clasped her free hand on the blaster grip and extended her arms in one fluid motion, training the sights on the alien’s chest as he came within meters of her and the GT.

“I’ll shoot!” she shouted at him, closing one eye and looking down the scope. “Come any closer and you’re dead!”

Her finger was delicately resting on the trigger. She was ready. Was he?

 

[Sindev Elzadar]

Sindev raised his arms when she pointed her gun at him. A bit of fear ran through him and almost a little bit of something else when he saw the glint of the gun. He expected her to be packing heat, but he didn't expect to be aimed at suddenly. He stopped where he was and stared down the barrel that covered her face. He looked like a fork with his hands up like they are and his body rigid. He saw someone else do as he did across the street but the moment she screamed "Come any closer and you're dead!" made him acutely aware of his momentum and he tensed up everywhere in an attempt to stop where he was standing.

"Woah there! Hey hey shit okay look look okay look, I ain't gonna harm ya, I'm unarmed, okay don't shoot give me a sec alright will ya? I wanted to talk to you about that racket back there! I ain't too keen on those Corpsec lunatics seeing me either, easy target and all..." Sindev said in a panic. I can't believe i'm gonna be gunned down by a child. I wanted to go out in my sleep from old age in a nice place or maybe die in a quick yet heroic fashion, but to die in the streets being blasted by a kid ON MY VACATION PERIOD is not the way anyone would wanna go out.

He waited for a response from the girl but to no avail. "Could you say something kid? I'd appreciate it if you didn't shoot me as well unless that's asking too much... Kid?" Sindev said, still doing a great impression of a plant in a dessert that he saw in a book. "Look, I'm just on vacation from work, I work as a maintenance guy, nothing more, nothing less, could pay more, will probably pay less and replace me with a droid." Sindev joked dryly, keeping his eyes on the gun, hoping he would make it out alive. I've never liked how every blaster had a scope of some sort. There's no need! It's a sidearm blaster, it isn't for long range, and it isn't for heavy use either, just simple self-defense.

 

[Das]

//: Tags: Sindev Elzadar
//: Location: DENON...

The Trandoshan stopped in his tracks, hands up, as Das aimed the Night Sniper at his chest. She needed to leave, go back to Seven Corners and get to the bottom of the CorpSec raid, but she couldn’t risk a potential agent following her. He prattled about being unarmed. Some kind of maintenance crewman on vacation. As if anyone but the rich and corrupt come to Denon for pleasure.

“Shouldn’t have come to Denon!” she shouted back to him.

“What’s a vacationing Trandoshan doing in a pop-up market on Denon, unarmed at that?” Das adjusted her grip. This was all too coincidental. First, the docket that was too good to be true. Then the Corpo raid. Now this Trandoshan tailing her back to her speeder. He had to be part of the sting operation. But something told her not to shoot… yet.

“Why are you following me?” she pressed.

 

[Sindev Elzadar]

"I'll give you that, this place does not sound like the ideal place to bring the wife and kids, but by 'unarmed' I mean to say I ain't trying to shoot you. My blaster's concealed and secured under this cloak. I'm here because of a hobby of mine, surely you can understand that, right? Trust me, if I could have bought it and have it shipped to me I would've, and right now I sure as shit wish I did." Sindev replied.

What was her deal?! Shouldn't have come to Denon?! I know that! everyone knows that! Why would anyone even want to move here? Sure as hell ain't because of the community. The crime rate's higher than the population count, and the amount of arrest and death far exceed any place he's seen anywhere.

Sindev exhaled and explained himself further. "Alright, so, originally I was just running in the same direction as you because it was a straight line away from those CorpSec Officers, but then I started thinking that they might be chasing you because of that explosion back there. Was that explosion you? What'd you do it for? And could you PLEASE not aim at me!?"

How can I convince her not to shoot me? I regret following her. What even WAS I thinking following her? All because I thought she was a terrorist or something?

 

[Das]

//: Tags: Sindev Elzadar
//: Location: DENON...

"I started thinking that they might be chasing you because of that explosion back there. Was that explosion you? What'd you do it for?"

Das scoffed, gripping the Night Sniper harder in frustration. She had to go, now, but the alien had struck a nerve.

"You think I did that?!" she spat. "Those were flashbangs, that was a Corpo raid! I had nothing to do with that!"

She considered dropping her aim and jumping into the GT, but she held her ground. It was bad enough that Darkwire was blamed for every little inconvenience CorpSec ran into, but to be accused of helping those Corpo bastards maim innocents in the alley? No way she'd let him put that on her without push-back.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Das kept the blaster pointed at the Trandoshan. She knew he had a weapon now, he said so himself; If he made a move for it, he'd have a smoking blaster hole in his chest before he could blink his reptilian eyes.

 

[Sindev Elzadar]

Who am I? What do I want? Did she not listen to a thing I said? Why does she look like she's going to shoot me even more now?

"My name's Sindev. I don't want nothing from ya but an answer and I got it. I figured they were flashbangs because there ain't no one who's dead and or missing a limb or two. I know Now that it was a corpo raid, and it makes sense seeing as they were right there after the bang, but you've gotta understand how it could look when I see someone running by me after something gets set off. AND COULD YOU PLEASE PUT THE GUN AWAY?! If I was gonna shoot you, I would've done so earlier."

They held each other's gaze for a bit, but after a while Sindevs arms became more and more tired from being held up and started lowering them in front of him in a lazy macarena way. Sindev gave a shaky sigh and said "Look, I now know you ain't a terrorist, and I got places to be, specifically anywhere where you're not aiming at. I'd say I hope you have a good day, but honestly, being held at gunpoint kinda removes any charity that I could have for ya. Can I go on my unmerry way without being shot kid?"

Why were CorpSec raiding this area? Was it to get her? Does that mean she IS a terrorist? Is she wanted? Am I going to be wanted for talking to this girl? I'm not too keen on being a terrorist by association so I'm done here. I'm just going to take a step backwards slowly. If I get shot, then I'm haunting this kid for sure. I'll make sure they get the worst luck if they shoot me. I even tried building some trust and instead they just yelled at me and aimed at my face. "I'm gonna go okay? You do you kid..."

 

[Das]

//: Tags: Sindev Elzadar
//: Location: DENON...

The Trandoshan stayed put at the end of Das' blaster, rambling about the details of the black market raid. He must really be new to Denon, considering how inexperienced he was with the Seccers. She still wasn't sure why he'd bother to tail her all the way back to her GT if he wasn't a Corpo agent - or, at the very least an informant - but the longer they stood in the open like this, the less she cared to understand the alien's motives.

"Can I go on my un-merry way without being shot, kid?""

Das readjusted her grip on the Night Sniper, keeping the barrel trained on Sindev. She wasn't going to shoot him, not yet at least, but she had to make sure he wasn't going to follow her back to Seven Corners. Were she not in such close proximity to a squad of Corpos, she'd be able to ditch the Trandoshan and cover all her tracks before splitting. If only she had more time...

"Turn around and walk away," she ordered sternly.

"Walk. Away."

 

[Sindev Elzadar]

I never wanted to deal with kids, let alone teenagers. All the power one feels when they have a weapon and or the higher ground gets to their heads too easily. You never know when things will turn around and bite you back harder than you ever could have imagined. If I was more agile, I would kick that gun out of her hand and aim mine at her, see how she likes it when-

"FREEZE! DON'T MOVE OR I WILL FIRE!" Yelled a Corpsec officer, who had apparently split up from his squad and found Sindev standing there with his hands already in the air with wavering care.

Am I saved or am I even more dead now? I know I haven't done anything but that hasn't stopped anyone from taking unnecessary actions against him before. The girl looked panicked and enraged all in the span of a second and yet she still had her aim locked on me, which made no sense as I didn't even have a blaster in my hands aimed at her but sure, aim at the unarmed guy, that's cool.

"COULD WE POSSIBLY SOLVE THIS SITUATION WITHOUT POINTING A BLASTER AT ME OFFICER?!" Sindev yelled to the Corpsec officer all the while keeping an eye on the girl's blaster.

 

[Das]

//: Tags: Sindev Elzadar
//: Location: DENON...

"FREEZE! DON'T MOVE OR I WILL FIRE!"

Das’ eyes flicked from Sindev to the Corpo. Her blood ran cold, but she was quick to realize that the officer hadn’t noticed her in the shadows of the alley. “He’s… he’s not with them,” Das thought to herself as she contemplated her next move.

The Trandoshan must’ve been telling the truth. A brief pang of guilt struck the teen, but there wasn’t time for feeling bad. She needed to leave. Now. But still… she couldn’t just leave Sindev to the Corpos. He may be an idiot for coming to Denon, and an even bigger one for coming to the black market, but keeping people safe from CorpSec was what she signed up for. And if she could get him out of there too, they’d be even.

The teen gave Sindev a reassuring smile. She was going to help. Hopefully he was ready.

“Duck!” she shouted, and the Trandoshan hit the street. She squeezed the trigger, hitting the officer center mass. As he dropped, Das made way for the driver’s seat of the GT. She mashed a button on the center console, opening the passenger door.

“Get in!”

 

[Sindev Elzadar]

"Duck!" and immediately Sindev ducked as ordered. He looked at the ground and saw red light fly by him that was gone just as fast as it came and a heat that reminded him of a summer from his youth. Sindev briskly looked at the CorpSec officer's form collapse from where it stood, thankfully the officer didn't get a shot off even in death.

'A second or two earlier and that officer's life would've been spared and mine taken...'

"Get in!" she yelled while starting the speeder up.

Panic was the only thing that was going through Sindev, but he scrambled to climb into the speeder. Eyes wide open and jittery hands that were doing their best to reach for a seat belt.

She actually fired. It wasn't a prop; it wasn't empty words. That officer would've just as easily shot and killed Sindev, yet still he felt pity for the officer. Or he would if he wasn't scrambling to make the belt click into the slot while the kid drives. Wide eyed and buckled in, Sindev started to then realize that he's in a dangerous stranger's vehicle and goes meek.

"You're not gonna harvest my scales, are you?" Sindev asked dryly, sort of joking yet still fully aware of the blaster she has, along with the lack of humor.

 

[Das]

//: Tags: Sindev Elzadar
//: Location: DENON...

Das cracked a smile at the joke, but the pressure of getting them out of there alive stifled any trace of a laugh. She gripped the gear shift and pulled it hard, throwing the GT into drive. She floored it, drifting on a dime as she whipped it out of the alley and barreled toward the overhead airlane. She stared into the rearview, eyes narrowed, looking for any sign of Corpos on their trail. Luckily, judging by the ever-growing distance between them and flashing lights, it looked like they were still occupied with the market bust.

She slowed the speeder down a bit, matching the pace of the surrounding traffic before turning a dial on the dashboard.

"That was... interesting," Das said with a nervous giggle. She sighed, the high of shooting the officer and booking it still rushing through her veins. She cast Sindev a sharp side-eye, smirking as she answered his question from before.

"No, I won't harvest your scales. As long as you don't tell anyone who shot that Seccer. Got it?"

She patted the blaster resting on the center console to drive home her point. No one needed to know she was there. And as long as the Trandoshan knew what's good for him, nobody would ever know.