Bring Me Your Loves [Kwenn Space Station]

[Ugoto Chivaro]

KWENN SPACE STATION
COMMERCIAL SECTION 21-6

[member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Slevin Thawne"]

Il D'orgo was, indisputably, the fanciest and most expensive Tapani restaurant on Kwenn Station... If not the fanciest and most expensive restaurant in general. Fine dining on Kwenn Station was something of a rarity, but wherever rich people could be found, so too could restaurants for rich people. Ludding had known about Il D'orgo since making Kwenn Station his base of operations several years ago. He just never expected he would see the inside of it without having to fight his way past security or sneaking in through the back. He was, after all, a horrendously scarred Rodian with bright orange skin and an eye-patch. Hardly Il D'orgo's target demographic. But here he was, sitting not only in Il D'orgo, but in the VIP section - which had been rented out in its entirety Ludding was dining with.

Well, "dining with" was not wholly accurate. Ludding's food remained untouched in front of him. The outlaw had not had a strong appetite these past few weeks. Having your entire chain of drug dens and brothels destroyed, along with all your employees (because some jackanapes from far-away Commenor decided to fly a dreadnought through Kwenn Station - the insanity!) did not necessarily make for a well-settled stomach. Ludding had been on Rodia visiting family at the time and came back to find his little corner of paradise ruined. Not only had Commenor missed him, but the entire station was teetering on the edge of anarchy. Having a bunch of jackboots storm the station, shooting petty criminals to death despite their jurisdiction being tenuous at best was not good for public order.

Even a guy who smuggled spice for a living could see that.

And then this guy showed up. Invited him to dinner. Tytos Ardik. He eats like a woman, Ludding observed. Very carefully, very meticulously. Small bites. Drank like one too, minus the extended pinky. Do all rich people eat like women? He had not dealt with enough of them, or their gross Tapani food. Ludding glowered at the plate in front of him for several moments before Tytos took notice. "You don't seem to be enjoying yourself."

"I am not."

I imagine you would prefer to eat from a garbage can, but some of us have more refined tastes, Tytos thought, And the capacity to acquire them. This was one of his many mean thoughts - mean thoughts that had helped to contribute to the breakdown of negotiations with the Collective. Such was their power. But Tytos did not give voice to such thoughts. That would have been unprofessional. And even if he had, Ludding probably would not have stormed off. He was not carved from pudding, which was more than Tytos could say for some other people he had briefly known. He also knew that Tytos was a wealthy, powerful man looking to establish a controlling interest in Kwenn Station, so whatever the Umbaran had to say must have been important.

Even if it was in this awful restaurant. Tytos gingerly set down his silverware and dabbed his lips with a napkin. Ludding looked on with growing incredulity, thinking something along the lines of What is the matter with this poor, feeble, bearded woman?

"You understand that you are, essentially, the only person of criminal quasi-importance to escape the Commenori purges, yes?"

Ludding narrowed his eyes. Or eye, as it stood. "I am."

Tytos folded his hands. "You were never top dog on this station. And even if you lived another fifty years, I doubt you would ever come close. But the circumstances here on Kwenn Station have changed. All the dogs above and below you are dead. You're in a very unique position to place yourself at the top of a new pecking order, built from scratch."

The Rodian leaned back into his chair, putting some distance between himself and his untouched meal. "I know. I intend to."

"And with what money?"

This was a good question. Ludding preferred to stuff his credits under mattresses rather than use banks. That was why there were now thousands upon thousands of free-flying credit chips in the debris that orbited Kwenn Station, spilling out of mattresses. Ludding was aware of the problem. He was certain that, given time, he could come up with a viable solution, but as of yet he had none. He knew better than to say as much, instead the Rodian simply shrugged his broad shoulders. "I'll find some."

Tytos chuckled. "Resourceful as you are, of course you will. But I'd like to make it easier for you, Mr. Ludding. You see, I am prepared to offer you a quite sizable loan..."

 

[Aver Brand]

[member="Tytos Ardik"] | [member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Slevin Thawne"]

A cold hand clapped Ludding’s shoulder, and a curtain of bone-white hair swung into his vision.

Or would have, were he not blind on one side. That’s what you get for playing with a loaded blaster while drunk on Juma juice and tripping on Glitterstim at the same time. Never get high on your own supply, kids.

“That’s a deal you ought to accept,” spilled from pale lips next to his ear, each word a sugar-coated bullet.

Erida Teheron straightened back up and drew to the other side of the table. With a pointed eyebrow, one of her bodyguards pulled out her seat. The umbaran folded into the plush chair like royalty.

Not a moment later, a cigarette holder fashioned from pure electrum appeared between her fingers. She held it up to a lighter and sank back against the embroidered upholstery in a lattice of fine blue smoke.

“Perhaps you prefer Mr. Enlud Draaski?” She waved a wiry hand at a passing waiter, and leaned forward to ash her cigarette. “Quite a few people back home looking for you, no? – one Tatooine Sunburn, and don’t skimp on the Starshine – imagine how much they’d pay for your new identity and location.”

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

Gorba the Hutt was actually on station. The risks, which Brutus had repeatedly warned him of, were enormous. Plenty of people wanted him dead, from the Vermilic Kajidic to those blasted Collective assassins. Any time the great slug ventured forth from his palaces on Nar Shaddaa and Nal Hutta posed a prime opportunity to strike. Gorba knew this quite well, which was why he had placed two guards at every corridor from the restaraunt to the nearest airlock, planned alternate exit routes, erected an early warning detection system, and placed three, three getaway shuttles at various intervals around the station.

The cost of these precautions galled the Hutt, but this meeting was vital to Bareesh interests. Yes, he could have sent Brutus, or Narbo, or - Godsheart forbid - Kazbog, but Brutus and Narbo did not possess a mere iota of Gorba's own political acumen. And Kazbog... well Kazbog would probably lay out some amorphous terms that the others agreed to and then later demand Gorba thank him for it.

So, now Gorba sat at the table, taking up an entire side, and leered at the Rodian. He signaled with a hand and a Twi'lek girl scooped up a ladle full of soup, then poured it into his open mouth. His tongue circled his mouth afterward as he contemplated the taste. It was... adequate.

After Teheron spoke, the Hutt added in a guttural, booming bass,

"Mo haku la hatkocanh woy bai uba whao la yoieu fa."

«or what they would do to you if they got it»

[member="Tytos Ardik"] | [member="Slevin Thawne"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="The Prince"] | [member="Scourge"] | [member="Yu Praji"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

Ludding suddenly found himself blindsided. It was fortunate he was too distracted by Teheron to notice the vague impression of annoyance that briefly crept into Tytos' features. His lips pressed tightly together, relaxing after the shortest moment. Generally speaking, you saved the blackmail and strong-arming for after the initial offer was refused. Then it could be kept in the back pocket for whenever Ludding decided to get tired of whatever arrangement was made. That would keep him on the leash for a little while longer while they groomed a replacement and made arrangements to shunt Ludding out of an airlock. But that wouldn't be for years in advance, at least. You had to be prepared for these sort of things.

Who knows that you know is almost as important as knowing in the first place, and now their hand was splayed out in front of them for Ludding to gawk at. Especially when Gorba slithered up, tacking on to the veiled threat in a way only a Hutt could. It was a winning hand, obviously, but a winning hand was a winning hand regardless of whenever it was made public. Whatever. Some people preferred to go guns blazing, such as it was. Ludding wasn't going anywhere regardless. Could an orange Rodian pale? He might have, if slightly. Ludding's - or Enlud's - knees banged into the bottom of the table at the sight of Gorba the Hutt. Tytos he did not know. Teheron he did not know. But he knew about the Hutt. Everyone this close to Hutt Space knew about the Hutt.

He was difficult to miss, especially at this range.

Once Ludding settled back into his seat, fear and surprise melting into indignation. That was what happen when you flung around the blackmail right out the gate, like a barbarian with a javelin. "Okay. Alright. I get it, fine." Despite his tone, the Rodian appeared cowed. It wasn't as though he was in a position to do anything beyond begrudingly accept. Ludding had no goons. The Syndicate now had them crawling all over the station and so did Nadir. Now that Gorba was here, Kajidic scum were probably crowding the lower levels as well. They were just indistinguishable from the rest of the scum.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing you weren't going to do already. Except now it'll be me footing the bill, and the Cabal you'll be cooperating with," Tytos said. Cooperating was a gentle choice of words. What Tytos actually meant was something along the lines of "you'll work for us until you die or make a very convincing argument as to why you should be allowed to retire." The Umbaran clarified further anyway, again with gentler words. "You will act as our de facto representative on this station, our eyes and ears. You will keep any non-affiliated criminals in line, prevent them from gaining any traction. In return, you'll enjoy our protection."

Or the Syndicate's, anyway. Tytos imagined Gorba and Nadir had better things to do than check on every up-jumped spice dealer they roped into acting as a patsy. Checking up on things was something the Syndicate made it their business to excel in, however...

[member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Aver Brand"]

 

[Aver Brand]

Erida made a negative effort to hide her repulsion. Clout or no clout, the rolls of lard going by the name of [member="Gorba the Hutt"] oozing to her left were positively odious.

Disgusting creatures. Force knew she only endured this relationship for the staggering profits it brought to the table.

With a curl to her upper lip, Miss Teheron took another deep drag of her cigarette. Eyes like the starless void of space burrowed straight into the rodian. As it turned out, orange could indeed go pale.

“And if you don’t…” the umbaran shrugged – her nexu coat slipped to reveal a lithe shoulder, “you’ll find yourself wishing you were slaughtered along with the rest. The Commenori are saints, really, compared to us, Mr. Draaski.”

A tall drink of red and starburst orange arrived, delivered directly to her waiting hand. The Nadir representative wet her lips with alcohol, burned it off with smoke, and said nothing else.

[member="Tytos Ardik"]

 

[Scourge]

Scourge watched the whole exchange from the bar. He was clad in his battle scarred red Beskar’gam. A series of padawan braids hung limply from his waist line.

His helmet made it impossible to tell what the ugly alien was thinking. Not that Scourge’s thoughts ever strayed far from one thing, vengeance that is.

He hated the galaxy and wanted to see it suffer for all it had done to him. His hands curled into fist as he thought about burning the place to the ground.

Scourge snapped out of his stewing hatred and stared the Rodian down. Once Gorba finished speaking, Scourge patted the scattergun that rested besides the braids on his waist.

[member="Gorba the Hutt"] / [member="Tytos Ardik"] / [member="Aver Brand"]

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

Either ignorant of the disgust of his fellow business associates, or more likely believing himself too high above them to care about their tiny opinions, Gorba continued to beckon the serving girl to fill his gullet with the mediocre soup until at last he held up a hand. She froze, eyes wide as dinner plates, ladle halfway to his mouth.

A drop fell from the ladle and landed on Gorba's belly.

"Stoopa chik, koose mi cuee gocola."

«stupid girl, bring me more wine»

Gorba's attention swiveled back to the hapless Rodian. One eye filmed over and white, the other a bright, acidic yellow-orange. He would rather just shoot the Rodian in the face and find a suitable, loyal replacement from within the ranks of the kajidic, but that would appear to the other members of the Cabal as if he was trying to usurp power. So, he would settle for this worthless sleemo and instead ensure that more... capable hands - Kajidic hands - climbed to places of prominence beneath Ludding. The Hutts had a saying. Why wait for opportunity, when it can be created?

He was, after all, trying to usurp power.

[member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Scourge"] | [member="Tytos Ardik"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

This was getting excessive. Ludding was, even by his own admission, a two bit spice peddler. Why were seven people intimidating him all at once? Wasn't one enough? As if Gorba's inflated presence wasn't enough, then there was the masked one. The one in the Mandalorian armor. Mandalorians terrified Ludding, and this one was carrying clumps of hair. It reminded him of one of those weird human celebrities. Ludding couldn't recall the name, he was too busy shifting uncomfortably and looking annoyed. His one good eye bulged in what might have been alarm as it darted from Umbaran to Umbaran to Hutt to bounty hunter and back again.

Ludding was not qualified for these sorts of encounters. Usually he was the one doing the intimidating. Small fish yelling at smaller fish. Now he was a small fish being barked at by three sharks and a fisherman. "Uh, yeah. Okay. Sure, I'll do it. Fine." There was a quake to his voice, almost standoffish. This is what happens when you involve too many cooks - you spoil the meal. A cornered animal would always fight back, and with all these suffocating bigwigs staring him down...

Tytos cleared his throat, attracting Ludding's frantic attention. Time to release the quarry.

"Well, I'm quite glad that's settled," He said, gently. Someone here had to sound reasonable. He paused to glare disdainfully as Gorba gorged himself on wine and soup. No dignity, these Hutts. None at all. No wonder the Raykkans were taking over. "You can go now, should you wish."

He had scarcely finished the last syllables for wish before Ludding was out of his seat. A Weequay in a dark suit and darker sunglasses stepped forward to escort the Rodian out.

"We'll give you some time to think things over. A representative of mine will find you tomorrow," Tytos smiled. It did not reach his eyes. "Try not to leave the station in the meantime. You wouldn't want to give the wrong impression after all this."

[member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Scourge"]

 

[Aver Brand]

The cocktail glass clicked against the metal table. Half-full, still. (Might call it half-empty, too, but the Cabal were a surprisingly optimistic bunch for such morally bankrupt specimens of sentient life.)

Erida Teheron stood. Her bodyguards flanked her immediately, peeling back from their inexistence in some indeterminable corner.

She did not smile.

“Then we’re done here.” Black eyes slid right past [member="Gorba the Hutt"], settling on [member="Tytos Ardik"] instead. “Truthfully, I can’t quite fathom why you called us here, Ardik. This hardly required our full bearing. Draaski was one Coratanni away from wetting his britches.”

With a puff of blue smoke, the umbaran squashed her cigarette and disappeared with the clack of heels.


[member="Scourge"]

 

[Scourge]

Scourge watched as the Rodian got up and left, the alien bounty hunter supposed the bigwigs at the table were through with him. Scourge contemplated tailing him to make sure he didn’t run off, but decided Gorba or one of the others had probably put eyes on him already. Scourge walked through the restaurant lounge and approached Gorba’s table as the Umbaran left.

He took a seat next to the Hutt and said nothing. He felt oddly out of place in such a nice establishment. Especially clad in his armor. Scourge finally opted to remove his helmet and placed it on the table, revealing an ugly head full of just about as many scars as his armor sported. Scourge deigned to speak finally and as he opened his mouth several sharp incisors were exposed.

“So what now boss?” Scourge growled to Gorba

[member="Aver Brand"] / [member="Tytos Ardik"] / [member="Gorba the Hutt"]

 

[H3xle]

Businesses were still cleaning up from the recent incursion by Commenori forces, people still putting their lives back together. Yet, as always, those with the money often bounced back fastest. Not wanting to spend a day out of business that Il D'orgo wasn't out of business, the coffee shop, Common Cup, was open as well. They made the majority of their business serving people who were waiting for the queue to get into Il D'orgo, and the VIP security details that were stationed outside. At any time of day that Il D'orgo was open, it was even money on if the person in the sharp suit was a multi-system businessman, or the security detail responsible for external security while the businessman was inside.

Kaori sat at one of the tables, a mug of steaming espresso in front of her as she read from a data pad. From time to time she glanced up at the door to Il D'orgo, then scanned the surroundings, then went back to her pad. For all intents and purposes, she seemed to be the loyal guardian of some big wig in the restaurant, and as such, her presence was never questioned.

Ludding slipped from the front door of the restaurant like a well greased snake. His eye darted around, and his hands made periodic rubbing motions on his pants and jacket. It would seem that, while the meeting inside left him alive, it also left him with a bad taste in his mouth. Common street criminals often thought they had it good, until the real players came into town. They often envied and despised the real players, breaking the illusion of control the small fish often thought they had.

Kaori smirked as she noticed the orange rodian moving towards the nearest lift. This wasn't his level of the station, not where he was comfortable, and he wanted to leave as soon as possible. Ludding gained the lift, and instantly pressed the door close button, and then the level of his home. Kaori's attention was already back on her pad, left hand absently lifting the mug of espresso to her lips for a sip.

She tapped a few times on her pad, and a video feed popped up. The encrypted feed showed a far different scene than the one around Kaori, even though it was only a few hundred yards from where the Atrisian Agent sat. The lift door in front of the feed opened, and bits of off color clothing could be seen as the person the feed was attached to stood from his slumped position. An orange rodian stepped out and paused, looking far more at ease to be back among his kind.

The feed bounced as the man Kaori's intermediary had found limped forward.

The gleam of light off of a dull metal shiv blinded the feed for a moment, the price you pay for used optics purchased on the lower levels of Coruscant from a street doc.

A sharp, violent motion followed, then another, and another. The feed did not have sound, but Kaori imagined the assailant was grunting as he continued to pierce the rodians corpse. The feed stumbled again as the man was shoved back. It panned up as a big trandoshan stepped over the dead rodian, then turned away and bounced as the hired knife ran away.

A few taps later, the feed was gone. The third hand eye replacement the Commenori national had worn was bottom shelf used Alliance tech, obviously purchased on the black market. Looking into the mans dealings would show that he had been a low level soldier before being drummed out of the Commenori military for gross disobedience. He had lived on Kwenn for over a year prior to the Commenori military jack boots crushing the local population under heel, and had suffered several serious injuries in the action, including a blaster bolt through his knee, and his eye smashed out. The eye had a flaw of broadcasting it's feed, and had been installed in the aftermath. Nothing connected the man to Kaori, not even a money trail. The man had been promised payment after the job, but would find his account no more furnished with credits than it had previously.

"Ma'am, would you like a refill of your espresso?" A voice spoke as the server appeared in front of her. Kaori glanced at her anachronistic time piece on her wrist, and smiled.

"I should have time for one more, thank you Carol." Kaori responded, passing the mug to the server. She placed the pad on the table and took the time to look around the street, ever the able bodyguard. She picked the pad back up when the espresso refill came back with Carol. She took a sip, and set the mug down to resume her watch.

[member="Scourge"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Tytos Ardik"] | [member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="slevin thawne"]​

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

KWENN SPACE STATION
COMMERCIAL SECTION 21-6

[member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Scourge"]

Erida Teheron might have left without incident were it not for the obstruction on the other side of the door. This obstruction itself, a Mandallian Giant, towered at least several feet over the slight Umbaran woman and her bodyguards. Rahgot was of a particular height and build. The sort that could have crushed all three of the Nadirians heads with one hand. But of course he wasn't going to do that, because that would be rude... Or, more importantly, Tytos did not want to pay to replace the carpeting in this little private slice of Il D'orgo. Aside from his deliberate obstruction, the Mandallian didn't do much. Rahgot's featureless white eyes observed Erida with boredom, idly rubbing his chipped fang. He still had the phantom sensations sometimes. You know, that strange feeling that it was still whole. Sometimes it made him nostalgic, other times it just annoyed him. It never lasts long, but it helps to get rid of it by feeling the broken part.

Meanwhile, Tytos hadn't budged from his seat, aside from dabbing his mouth with one of the fine cloth napkins provided by the restaurant. Although his own meal was only half finished, the spectacle of Gorba's consumption had done enough to whet his appetite. He'd get a to go box. "I didn't call you here, you were sent by someone exceedingly more relevant after I called them," he said, rather annoyed. With Ludding out of the room they could move on from the illusion of a united front, he supposed. Nothing either of these troglodytes did could be considered united half the time. "Now with a figurehead in place, we can discuss the division of Kwenn Station's territory among ourselves."

Attitude from someone important, Tytos might have overlooked. That was not the case for the second-stringers surrounding those important people. It was already quite insulting that Aver Brand had peddled out one of her least redeeming tapeworms for an important meeting. Now she had the nerve to think she people? Almost unbearable. No self-awareness from these Nadir lackeys. If those simpletons weren't good for muscle the whole place would have fallen apart already.

Tytos gave a dismissive wave. "But by all means, see yourself out. I'm sure your employer will be thrilled to learn she received nothing due to your mindless impertinence."

Rahgot raised an eyebrow and shifted out of the way. Oh boy, crime lord drama.

 

[Aver Brand]

[member="Scourge"] | [member="Gorba the Hutt"] | [member="Kaori Tsang"]

The Helix enforcer was the conversational equivalent of a disruptor.

Even so, Miss Teheron hardly batted an eye. At the curt wave of her hand, the bodyguards stayed at bay. With all the emotional breadth of a marble statue, Erida pivoted on the spot and leveled a black gaze at [member="Tytos Ardik"].

“Though I am of course not, as you were so courteous to point out, exceedingly relevant enough to have been there myself, I do believe the terms of our cooperation said nothing of discussion.”

Eyes like an icepick flickered downwards as she slid another cigarette from her aurodium case. Studded with Corusca gems and a latticework of electrum, it looked expensive enough to buy a small moon with.

Her cheeks hollowed to expose the delicate bones of her skull as she dragged the smoke into her lungs.

It crawled back out with a husky crack in her voice. “Indeed, Mr. Ardik, there is another clause you should sooner concern yourself with. Perhaps a review of our agreement is in order before you yank the leash of your dog here?

“That Helix chose to waste so much time is none of Nadir’s concern. If you so yearn to debate, Mr. Laglan makes for a sparkling conversation partner – you will find, however, that my employer has already taken all she intended to have.

“There is plenty of the Entertainment district left for you to divide as you see fit. Or the docks, if you prefer infrastructure.” Erida snuffed out the second cigarette with vim. “Enjoy your dinner, Messrs. It’s on the house.”