First Reply Denon Is Always Trouble

[Iris Arani]

She shouldn't be back here, but she was.

Denon. As a girl she tried once to play hero. Help people who needed help the most. Both against and with the law. The blatantly corrupted law at that. It was always infuriating, between the Corpos and Darkwire and everything else she just couldn't do what she really wanted to do. And yet here she was, wandering through the crowded streets on the surface. Her mutli colored eyes scanned around, watching the various people as she went by. It was another busy day here. Everyone was in a hurry.

The colors blurred and, well, they weren't the prettiest for her. She looked up, focusing on them. The colors of emotion, intent, how they dyed the Force in her mind. Perhaps once she would've drawn this.

Perhaps she still should.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

As far as ecumenopolises went, Denon seemed to resemble Nar Shaddaa more than Coruscant.

That wasn't an insult: Gatz far preferred the Smuggler's Moon to the capital of the Galactic Alliance. On Coruscant, everyone of affluence was colluding to stab each other in the back. It didn't matter whether they were a politician, an entrepreneur, or a trust fund baby. Plus, it always came when you least expected it. At least with the Hutts and Cartels, you knew they were going to betray you. And they usually had the decency to do it to your face.

Denon's corporate structure and blatantly corrupt law enforcement were similar to a cartel's thugs, Gatz thought. You knew they weren't around to work with you, or for you. Only for themselves. Back when he still smuggled illicit goods, that had been a good thing: it made bribing officers a real breeze, because just about every one of them was willing to look the other way for a few credits.

Unfortunately, now that he was mostly on the right side of the law, Gatz found them to be far less helpful.

"Come on, you must have heard something," Gatz asked, exasperated, walking at a brisk pace.

The law enforcement officer he was questioning, a middle aged woman with greying hair, only sighed, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know he still operates on Denon," Gatz pushed, matching her stride and jumping in front of her, "I know he's gotten involved in human trafficking, and I know it's for Kragan Garr. How much is it going to take for you to point me to him?"

"More than you've got," she snorted, "now get out of my face, or I'll bring you in for obstruction."

"Obstruction? Obstruction of what?!"

"My coffee break."

With that, the officer in question stalked away, and Gatz Derrevar was left standing in the street, irritated.

---

Tags: Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"Y'know most people don't talk about slavers in Alliance space on a busy road."

It caught her attention. How could it not? She'd known that there were some pretty unsavory places on Denon and throughout Alliance space, but the idea that there was still human trafficking even after all this time, even after the war with the Maw ended and the Alliance could finally afford to pay attention to what was going on in it's own boarders, she couldn't help but be curious. She watched the man, scanned through his colors. Emotion, intention, disposition. She could see so much now.

It was kind of annoying, if she was honest.

"Why are you messing with Garr?"

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

"That's because most people in Alliance space think that slavery doesn't happen here, because it's illegal. They're wrong." Gatz sighed.

He turned to the woman who approached him: short of stature, at least compared to him. Her eyes were colorful, more than the average human's, but seemed to brim with a level of intelligence that most lacked. She was cute, but Gatz knew better than to voice that opinion these days. More important was that she seemed to take some level of interest in what he was doing, and why.

That was already more than most people on Denon cared.

"Why are you messing with Garr?"

"Because someone ought to," Gatz tried to keep the anger out of his voice, "but most are too scared of Kragan Garr to do anything about him. And he knows it, so he's been getting bold! Moving into Alliance territory, thinking he can get away with anything if he greases enough palms, and that he can treat people like livestock!"

Gatz let out a long breath. This woman didn't need to hear his frustration; he didn't have the right to vent at her.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to, uh, drop all that on you. I've just had a frustrating day. Err, week."

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Tags: Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris nodded slowly. So there was active slavery. She sighed, frowned even. This wasn't supposed to be a problem. Worse, she probably made it that much harder for the real cops to crack down on it with her earlier meddling. She was a Jedi, so she could at least help in that regard now with ease.

Ah, right. She was a Jedi. The frown turned to a smile as she shook her head.

"Don't apologize. .. If you're alright with it, I can help. I know these streets pretty well, actually."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Why had he decided to tackle Kragan’s slaving empire? Gatz still wasn’t quite certain. It helped that the man wanted him dead anyways, so it wasn’t like he was putting himself in any more danger than he was already in. Part of his motivation was petty: he wanted to tweak the Quarren’s nose. Or facial tentacles. He wasn’t sure how that expression was supposed to work with aliens that lacked noses.

But Gatz had also seen, first hand, how Kragan Garr handled his slaves. How he auctioned them. “Abominable” wasn’t harsh enough a word to describe their treatment. After that experience… well, it had recontextualized his world view. Gatz liked to think he valued freedom of choice and independence above all other ideals. But how could he say that, without hypocrisy, if he turned a blind eye to those who lacked such things?

But toppling a crime lord took time and resources. And he couldn’t just kill the man. Oh, Gatz had been given that chance, but refrained because it would have solved nothing: someone else would have just taken the reins of his operation. Probably his majordomo.

So the former smuggler had to come up with another idea: tackle supply and demand. Kragan couldn’t sell slaves if he didn’t have slaves. Gatz didn’t know everyone who contributed to the Quarren’s slave trade, but he had transported spice for Kragan many times back in the day. He knew a handful of “distributors” in the slaver’s inner circle.

Unfortunately, Gatz was nearly a year removed from his life of crime, and most of them had packed up and moved their operations in that time. So he was back to square one: looking for a woman named Dhuul, who he’d met exactly one time, in a place she no longer occupied.

But it wasn’t all bad: if nothing else, Gatz was glad that at least someone on this metal hunk of a planet cared enough to lend a hand. Still, accepting her help would have been irresponsible of him. He was likely to get shot at today. He couldn't drag a random bystander into that.

“I appreciate the offer,” he sighed, “but this isn’t a situation you want to get involved with: we’re talking about seasoned criminals here, and I’m trying to put an end to the way they make their credits. They won’t take that lightly.”

---

Tags: Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"I figured that was your plan. It sounds illegal technically. The local authorities wouldn't ever allow you to do such a thing after all. Not without some serious bribery usually." Iris smiled after a moment before glancing after the cop that had walked away. "Some don't, though. She doesn't, for example. She's one of the good ones, actually, but with out corrupt the system is she won't trust someone who comes out of no where demanding information on the underground she's been desperately trying to fight against while not getting pulled apart by both her fellow cops and the local crime syndicates."

It was a fine balance, and Iris imagined it only got harder to keep with peace of all things. People wanted their.. Not so legal supplies. And in peace times with folks like the Jedi freer to keep an eye out, they'd be fiercer to defend it. Ironic.

"Having a Jedi would help, though. We can move freely after all."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

""Illegal technically" may as well be the story of my life," Gatz shook his head, but with a smile on his face, "I thought, when I decided to turn my life around, that I'd start to be on the right side of the law. Turns out: not the case."

He supposed he'd always be an outlaw. Ironic really, but it suited him. He'd never liked authority, or people telling him what to do. He'd always assumed he had learned those traits during his time on the Outer Rim, smuggling for the cartels. But when he really thought about it, he'd always been a rebel, even as far back to his early days as a Jedi youngling.

As the woman elaborated on the local law enforcement, suddenly the officer's stonewalling of him made sense: she was one of the few decent authorities on this world... and he had tried to bribe her. Frankly, he was lucky she hadn't tried to book him for that. It was still frustrating that he got nothing from her, but at least it was because she was honest, and not because she was corrupt.

"Well, that makes sense. She probably think I'm either trying to join up with the criminal element, or cause trouble for them. Either way, it's a losing scenario for her," Gatz sighed, "honestly, I'm not out here looking to shoot anyone. I just need some proof that a trafficking ring exists here; something concrete I can give to Alliance authorities anonymously."

In neutral territories, Gatz would have been happy to dismantle a slaving operation with nothing but the blaster on his thigh. But Alliance types tended not to like the whole "cowboy shooting from the hip" approach. Things were supposed to be more civilized here.

He might have continued on pondering the difference between the Outer Rim and the Galactic Alliance, if it wasn't for the random bystander talking to him revealing that she was, in fact, a Jedi Knight. How did this keep happening to him? Six years he'd spent smuggling spice, and not one Jedi popped up in front of him. Then Valery Noble comes knocking on his loading ramp, and suddenly he's rubbing elbows with the Order on a near daily basis.

And thank the Force for that.

"I..." Gatz blinked, embarrassed, "well, I may not be a smuggler any more, but I'm still a damned fool. I'm sorry. I... didn't think you'd be up to the task, and I was wrong to assume that. I'd be grateful for any assistance you'd be willing to offer."

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Tags: Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"I'm more a doctor than a Jedi now, but I know a couple tricks still." More specifically, she knew what it was like to wait to be sold off. Treatment wasn't good. Living conditions could be even worse. If there were any slaves on Denon, she was going to find them and make sure they got the treatment they needed. He didn't seem to want to actually rescue the slaves, though. Just find and report?

Probably the smarter thing to do.

"I more want your help. If there are slaves, they can't be left to suffer."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

A doctor and a Jedi? Well, at least if he got shot or stabbed, there'd be someone around to make sure he didn't bleed out. Plus, who would say no to having a laser sword wielding warrior on their side while they pissed off the local criminal element? Well, he didn't see a lightsaber on her, but a lightsaber didn't make a Jedi anyways. Gatz felt safer already. And now his interference was less like vigilantism, and more like official Jedi business.

There was really no losing in this situation, at least for him.

"You want my help?" Gatz was taken aback, "I mean, I'd be happy to, but I'm not sure there's much I can do that you can't. Unless you need someone to fly a ship."

Because, really, that was his only skill: piloting. And piloting while transporting drugs without the authorities catching him, but Gatz suspected that wouldn't be useful here. Hell, he wasn't sure how he could be useful to a bona fide Jedi Knight at all. Because, despite what Valery often told him, he really wasn't much use to anyone trained in the ways of the Force.

Even when it came to the one thing he was good at, Gatz suspected any pilot with more than a modicum of Force-training would blow him out of the skies.

"Regardless, I won't say no to aiding in emancipation. Don't think I'd be able to sleep at night if I did."

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Tags: Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"You seem to have more of a lead on all this than I do. And to be honest I'm not much for going it alone with these kinds of things." She didn't have her lightsaber. Or a will to actually hurt people. She knew that much. It probably wasn't going to be fair to him to keep that in the dark, but if things went as she planned them to they wouldn't have to fight anyway. She was still good at stealth after all.

".. You have a ship? That'll actually make this a lot easier. Is it uh, how stealthy would you say it is?"

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

He had a name, and a former location. Gatz wouldn't call it that much of a lead. But this woman knew the planet, and maybe that meant she knew someone who could point them in the right direction. That would be more than he'd managed alone. And, by her own admission, it would be more than she'd manage alone. Maybe, as lacking as he was, he did have something to offer her.

And speaking of offering her something, Gatz realized he'd never given her his name.

"Well, then I guess we need each other," Gatz held out a hand, "Gatz Derrevar. Former smuggler. Currently... in between occupations, I guess."

One of these days, he'd have to come up with something to call himself. Thing was, he technically didn't really have an occupation these days. Mostly he just meddled in other's affairs, which might have made him something of a mercenary, but he didn't do it for money. He did it because it needed to be done, and because he'd grown a conscience that sounded suspiciously like a Jedi Master he was well acquainted with.

But he supposed he'd have to mull over that another time, as the Jedi had a question for him.

"That depends on how you define "stealth," really," Gatz rubbed the back of his head, "if you're asking if she can go unseen? No. My ship doesn't have any sort of cloaking system, and she's painted red and black, so she's hard to miss. But if you're asking if she can blend into the background, be seen, and still pass under someone's nose? That I can manage pretty well, between scrambling transponder codes, flying casually, and jamming radar signals if need be."

Oh how he missed those days: flying right past blockades by transmitting false transponder codes, and getting scanned by security and still sneaking spice past them onto the world below.

But those days were done. He'd moved on to more important things.

---

Tags: Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"That would be more of what I was hoping for. Smuggler, so.. Freighter, right? Lots of room? Possibly a medical bay?" Her own X-wing certainly couldn't hold passengers. She nodded towards the spaceport, pausing only for a moment to look back towards him. Now that she thought about it, she had no idea where exactly his ship would be. "We'll use your ship to get close to where the slaves are being held and take them back. Should be easy, I think."

Once, of course, they figured out where the slaves actually were being held. She didn't seem to think about that though, instead focusing on trying to sort out what kind of medical supplies she'd need depending on how terrible the conditions they were left in would be.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

The Jedi certainly was passionate about the slave trade. There was a story buried there, Gatz was certain, but it wasn't his right to dig it up. At least, not yet; not when they'd barely met. Maybe he'd ask after it later.

"A whole cargo bay, four total separate bunk rooms: one I turned into my personal cabin, another that I converted into a well stocked medical bay, and the last two are stock with two bunks per room. Oh, and a sort of lounge at the back. Plenty of space for a group of recently freed slaves," Gatz confirmed, "but, uh, we're sort of skipping a step: I still have no idea where Dhuul runs her operation from these days. She used to be close by, running spice out of an old warehouse. But I suspect she moved to a larger facility when she got into the slave trade."

His ship wouldn't be of much use housing these people, if they didn't find them in the first place. Gatz was almost beginning to regret cutting himself off from most of his old contacts. Almost. If he'd kept in touch, maybe he'd have known where Dhuul was these days. Maybe he wouldn't be struggling to dismantle Kragan's swiftly growing empire.

Oh, who was he kidding. Of course he'd still be struggling. He was one man against a crime lord whose influence stretched over the entire Outer Rim, and now he was moving inward.

Something occurred to Gatz, almost randomly. He opened his mouth to address it.

"I, uh, don't think I caught your name?"

---

Tags: Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Right.

Iris frowned for a moment, looking around as she tried to figure out where exactly they could find slaves on Denon. The cop from before might actually know something, but that'd mean putting her in danger, which is something she really didn't want to do. Girl was just doing her job after all. Iris let out a sigh before giving Gatz a brief smile.

"Iris. We should probably figure out where they went, huh. We can swing by the underworld, I'm sure someone knows something down there."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Iris. That was a pretty name. He might have made a comment about that, had it not been for their more pressing issue of emancipating Denon's slaves. A problem which he still was lacking a lead on. Gatz had only visited Denon once before, and that wasn't enough time for him to have gotten a feel for the planet, or for him to have made a few seedy contacts.

But then, even if he had, they probably wouldn't have helped him out. Not if it meant crossing a crime lord.

"So Denon has an "underworld," huh?" Gatz asked, not particularly surprised, "I guess all these planet-wide cities are the same. I take it the people down there are desperate, mistreated, and generally ignored by the people on the top levels?"

That was how Coruscant worked. That was how Nar Shaddaa worked. Some people who were born on those planets lived and died without ever seeing the sun, blocked out as it was by the impossibly tall skyscrapers. A cruel fate, and one Gatz expected happened all too often on Denon. Because at the end of the day, it was an ecumenopolis like any other. It just had a different name.

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Tags: Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"Worse, but yes, more or less."

Some of the upper levels didn't ignore them. In fact, they made them into sport, but she wasn't going to go into that topic. The only advantage they had? Working together and keeping their heads down in a hopes the Corpos above and the crime lords below didn't bother them. They wouldn't help, not easily, and certainly not as much as they could if they weren't under the constant threat of death.

It was part of the reason she played vigilante back then. A person in a mask that didn't seem to care or have ties to the locals meant the criminals didn't try to hold them hostage. Whereas against a Jedi they certainly would. Advantages, disadvantages, it was her Master Valery Noble who taught her that hiding wasn't the path for a Jedi, or anyone, though. They could inspire hope, inspire people to help protect one another.

It wasn't enough back then as a Padawan, but perhaps now that she was older..?

Iris paused, very visibly in her own head before seeming to snap out of it to again look at Gatz. Ish. It was apparent before but more so now. She didn't look at him, not directly. The stream of colors that was the Force made it hard for her to actually see the people and the environment around her. Instead, she learned to see through those very colors and see him by the aura he gave. He was trustworthy. All throughout this conversation she'd been sizing him up just in case he had some hidden agenda.

She couldn't see one.

"We'll head down. Block C-26 has a good group of people who can point us in the right direction, but we'll have to be careful. There are plenty of snitches looking for a quick way into the good graces of those in power. All it takes is the wrong ears to hear the wrong question for a whole block to get killed off."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Apparently Denon’s underworld was even worse than that of Coruscant or Nar Shaddaa. Gatz found that hard to believe, but he’d take the Jedi for her word. It wasn’t often that he met a Jedi who lied, or at least, didn’t tell a version of the truth. There was no reason to suspect Iris of any falsehoods, and really, what reason would she have to subvert the truth?

Trust was a hard thing for Gatz, considering his former occupation. But recently, he’d learned a very valuable lesson: sometimes you just had to have faith in people.

“Worse, huh?” he asked, “how so? What should I expect to see?”

Gatz was of the mind that one should only approach a situation after they had all the information. Of course, he rarely had the chance to be that cautious. Usually, in times of potential crises, he was forced to take action before he’d considered all the angles. But here… there was no real rush, besides Iris’ clear desire to deal with the slavers. They could, and should, take their time in approaching this problem.

Gatz had plenty of experience with what happened when he didn’t think things all the way through. A fair share of nightmares too, recently. He didn’t want to make that mistake twice.

Iris suddenly just sort of… stared in his direction. Like, not at him. Not through him. Just vaguely in his direction. He didn’t really know why, or what to do about it. Did he have something on his face? Did someone behind him have something on their face? Should he look behind him?

He did. All he saw was the crowd. So, trying to avoid any kind of awkward conversation, he elected to ignore it.

She had a clear idea of where to go, and even knew the dangers of the place. Was she a local? Well, considering that she knew that one police officer he’d tried to bribe, she at least had to be pretty familiar with Denon.

“Block C-26? Alright, lead the way,” Gatz smiled, before adding a joke, “I’ll try to keep my nose out of trouble, just this once.”

Joking was his coping mechanism when things were awkward or stressful. Then he realized that Iris might not find the idea of an entire city block getting executed very funny.

“Seriously, though. I’ll, uh, keep my head down.”

---

Tags: Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris paused at the question, before looking around. Just in case.

There were ears here on the surface, just as well as the underground.

"Corpos can get away with a lot here, depending on how much money they have. Outright slavery hasn't been allowed because of the Alliance, but they find other ways to entertain themselves and feel the rush of controlling someone. There's not much people below won't do to keep a safe home for their families, and they like to exploit it."

It wasn't be unheard of for a whole block to disappear if a Corpo wanted it for a building. Even if it was just a storage building, like a warehouse. It was brutal, and the fact she couldn't do anything against it was more frustrating than anything else. They were clever, knew how to work the law on their side in a way that no court could prosecute them on. It's why groups like Darkwire formed.

She turned then, leading the way to the turbolift to bring them down to the level in question. They'd still have to walk a little, but it was certainly faster than the stairs.

"They'll appreciate it. They're good people, regardless what they might do."

It was another warning, though Iris seemed rather ignorant on how vague it sounded.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

The more Gatz learned about Denon, the less he wanted to be on Denon.

He had spent years on Nar Shaddaa. It was a cruel and wicked place. Death was a casual companion in Hutt space, and there were thugs waiting to jump you for your credits down every alley. There was virtually nowhere you could go on the Smuggler’s Moon to avoid crime. Crime was business to the Hutts, and business meant credits. Meant affluence.

Despite all of that, Gatz had never heard of a Hutt “disappearing” an entire city block. Raid an enemy crime lord? Yes. Buy and sell slaves on the main promenade? Absolutely. Firefights in the streets? Normal occurrence. But at least those things were blatant; were in your face. What Iris was describing was a sinister, silent thing. And it sent chills down his spine.

“I know a thing or two about degeneracy,” Gatz spoke quietly, “I mean, I used to spend a lot of time in Hutt space. But what you’re describing is something else entirely. And to think it happens in Alliance space...”

Anger burned in his veins, but he quickly stifled its flame. Fury served no purpose here, except to force him to make a mistake and get them both killed. Iris had just told him that where this turbolift would take them was extremely dangerous. He couldn’t afford to let his emotions get away from him. Couldn’t screw up here. Not if it put an entire city block at risk.

“Desperate action doesn’t make people evil,” Gatz agreed with her sentiment, even if he couldn’t apply it to his own past, “they do what they do in order to survive. I… understand that more than you might think.”

The guilt of his years smuggling spice still haunted him. He had his reasons for doing it, and they weren’t as selfish as most people probably assumed—

No. No, there wasn’t time to dwell on that. Better to focus on their objective.

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Tags: Iris Arani