Size Matters Not

[Ghorua the Shark]

​

NAR SHADDAA​

FRIDA'S SPACEPORT CANTINA​

​

Nar Shaddaa. What was to be said about Ghorua's home away from home? It was a place built from the ground up to be a smuggler's paradise, a criminal's shangrila, a Bounty Hunter's heyday. The ecumenopolis was dirtier than an Esoomian's armpit, and Ghorua liked it like that. He fit in slightly better here than other places.

Ghorua sat in an enomous chair specially made for him, sipping something fruity from a glass. The booth he found himself at was tucked securely away from prying eyes and ears. He didn't wear any armor, but his physical bulk was terrifying enough. Thick black skin, pulled taut over bulging muscles, his frame towering into the sky. His appearance dissuaded any troublemakers from encroaching on his territory, which was appreciated.

Ghorua once worked as a barkeep for Frida's. It was a quaint little cantina, and Frida, the Duros woman that ran the establishment, was nice enough. The dismal streets outside were contrasted by the warm lights that promised decent drink and warm gruel.

The Shark was waiting on a slicer. Usually, Ghorua would defect to one of his usual hackers, such as Yee or Lok, to get the job done, but Ghorua wanted to keep his personal business separate from his work. And this definitely was personal business.

He hadn't heard much of the slicer he was hiring, but one of his underworld contacts assured him the man was conpetent, if not 'a little eccentric', as he put it. His contact had laughed, as if he had made a terribly funny joke.

The Herglic didn't know what to think of that.

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

“Shorty, you know where we’re going, right?”

"Woop, bep, boooop, whistle."

“What do you mean that’s my job? You’re the robot. You remember everything. It’s your job.”

“Beeeep, booooop”

“Okay, so I’m in charge. That means I demand it be your job. So where are we going you sorry excuse for a trashcan?” Ben said walking next to his astromech/ slicer droid on the dirty, bustling streets of Nar Shaddaa.

He inhaled deeply. Millions of aromas filled his extremely sensitive nostrils. He caught the smell of lightly burning spice wafting through, a unique flavor of garbage passed by, and then, could that be? Oh yes! The distinct pheromones of a certain group of hard working Twi’lek women plying their trade on nearby street corners.

“I love this place,” Ben proclaimed to no one in particular.

“Whistle, Whistle,”

“I know we’re going to Frida’s Spaceport Cantina, you moving grease puddle. What I don’t know is where the karking hell it is!”

“Whislte, booop”

“We’re here?” Ben looked up, far up. A bright neon red sign spelled Frieda’s Spaceport Cantina in gigantic lettering above the door.

“Oh look, here we are” he proclaimed, pointing to the cantina entrance, “Told you I’d find it. No thanks to you.”

Shorty squeaked in protest.

Ben dusted off his mechanic’s suite and utility vest, not improving it in the slightest. “Well, ohta su marvalic plesodoro [let them marvel at our splendor]” he said before swinging open the cantina doors. It was nice, as far as Nar Shaddaa cantina’s went. He was about to check his data-pad, before noticing the hulking form in the corner.

The Shark.

Ben didn’t know much about his new employer. However, he did know he was a notorious bounty hunter, and an oversized Herglic. Which was something like saying a whale too large for the ocean. How the frak did the murishani [bounty hunter] even fit through the tusawa [bar] door, he wondered to himself?

Looking over at Shorty, he said, “Act cool.”

“Boooooop, whistle, whistle.”

“No, you’re not always cool. That’s what I’m talking about. Just follow my lead, unless you have a death wish. In which case, stay away from me.”

Ben had worked with corporations, the military, and mostly smugglers in the past. Bounty hunters were new.

A job was a job. Credits were credits, he tried reminding himself.

Approaching the table, which stood nearly as tall as him, he looked over the rim and very far up. He said, “Good evening peteessa [friend], my name’s B’enor, err, Ben, I’m here for your slicer job opening.”

“Whistle”

“Oh, and this is my astromech/ slicer droid, Shorty. I customized him and taught him everything he knows.”

“whistle, booooooooop.”

“Except that, that was a glitch,” Ben looked at Shorty, annoyed.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Oh, 'a little eccentric'.

Very funny, Satin Devil. Very funny.

Ghorua glanced down, way down, at the small Chadra-Fan chittering at the opening of the booth. The Shark couldn't help but laugh jollily, despite his situation. He knew he shouldn't be chuckling, today was too serious for that, but it felt good to let out a little pressure.

"Haha, good day, my small acquaintance." Ghorua then looked to Shorty, who seemed about the same size anyways. "And his small acquaintance. Yeah, that's me. Ghorua the Shark, at your service." Ghorua reached down with an enormous hand, in an effort to shake the small slicer's hand with his meaty mitts. If Ben obliged, he'd find Ghorua's handshake rather soft, considering his size. He'd had plenty of practice trying not to crush hands.

"Please, sit down. We've got plenty to discuss." Ghorua eyed up the little furred creature a second time, much more seriously. One of the first things he had been taught by his mentor was that even ewoks and jawas can be a threat to the largest in the galaxy. He'd better be cautious, nonetheless. The Herglic had plenty of enemies, including two entire nations of people. All misunderstandings of course. The Mandalorians and First Order probably wouldn't stay mad at him forever.

Probably.

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Ben mentally facepalmed at The Shark’s mention of his diminutive height. He glanced knowingly over at Shorty. Why did everyone seem so eager to point out his size!? Shorty gave a short, pleading, squeak. Ben knew what it meant. It meant chill. Stay cool, dude. Maybe even, this guy could kill us blindfolded with a pinky finger… please… no… I don’t want to die. Something like that.

You’d think by now, he’d be used to being called short every which way to Sunday, he wasn’t. He probably never would be.

Other than that, The Shark seemed friendly enough. Well, frankly, a lot friendlier than he was expecting. Ben shook The Shark’s hand. His palm was sucked into his fleshy, though surprisingly gentle, mitts.

Ben hopped onto the stool on the far side of the table. There was plenty to discuss, he agreed. Might as well get to it. “So, murishani [Bounty Hunter], err, Shark, what can I do for you? I’m open to almost anything, for the right price, of course.”

He put a small hand in the air, attempting to get a waitress’s attention. Then he started to wave it around. When that didn’t work, he bounced up and down in his seat. That worked. “Mad Mrelf” he finally ordered. The waitress looked him up and down surprised, considering the notorious potency of that particular Corellian liquor. She finally shrugged and walked off, no skin off her back.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua's brow arched as he scented a sudden spike of adrenaline within the Chadra-Fan when the Herglic greeted him. Ghorua didn't know what he had done to anger the little slicer, but he didn't much care. Hurt feelings weren't important right now. There were serious matters to be attended to.

As much as the slicer's attempts to acquire a strong drink amused him, he could barely bring himself to smile. The gravity of the situation weighed heavily over him. His friend was gone, taken, without a trace.

"Of course, Mr. Benjeel. I'll compensate you for your services." Ghorua turned to the waitress, giving an apologetic smile to the woman. He believed her name was Rein, if he remembered correctly from his time working at Frida's. "A water for me, please and thank you. Oh, and put that Mrelf on my tab." Ghorua turned his attention back to his tiny companion and his droid.

The incredibly massive Bounty Hunter reached to his side, and placed a large holopad on the table with a solid thud. A hologram erupted from it's screen, of a calm, tranquil face. Kind eyes. Flowing hair. [member="Lady Kay"].

"This is Lady Kay Larr, President of Commenor. Loved by her people, and a savvy businesswoman and leader. Former Senator of the Galactic Republic, left before it croaked." Ghorua felt a wave of peace overcome him as he stared at her face, souring when he realized his situation again.

"She's missing, and I need you to find her."

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Oh, a fringe benefit, Ben thought when The Shark told the waitress to put Ben’s drink on his tab. The Shark was one of those employers. He liked the fringe benefit employers, they were so much more fun, well, except for that incident on Tatooine with one of Narbo’s Twi’lek, err, dancing girls. That was less fun.

Whatever, those employers were usually more fun.

It was time to get down to business. The Shark placed a large holopad on the table which soon emitted a hologram of a female human. She was pretty, Ben conceded, but The Shark appeared rather smitten with her.

“This is Lady Kay Larr, President of Commenor. Loved by her people, and a savvy businesswoman and leader. Former Senator of the Galactic Republic, left before it croaked… She’s missing, and I need you to find her,” The Shark said in perfect expository fashion.

The President of Commenor?! Savvy businesswoman?! A former senator of the Galactic Republic?! Maybe The Shark had mixed his number up with someone else, he thought? He was a ship mechanic and slicer, the kind of guy who primarily helped move illegal goods from one sector of the galaxy to the next. Besides the fact that a bounty hunter hired him not to capture someone, but to save someone, this was the most perplexing, and the highest profile job, he ever had, and it wasn’t even close.

Not that he didn’t have the skills to do the job. At least he hoped. Shaking off the puzzlement, he was about to say something when Shorty interrupted, “Beep, whistle, whistle, booooop.”

You stupid tin-can, you don’t ask that in front of a skyscraper sized bounty hunter, what if he understood astromech, he thought?!

“Of course we can find this Lady Kay,” he said angrily toward Shorty, then facing The Shark, he said, “Don’t mind him, he worries too much, I have to fix that. So, Lady Kay is missing, is there anything else you can tell me about her? The more I know, the better my chances of finding her. I mean, do you know anyone who might have taken her? Did she have any prominent enemies? Where was her last known location? Was she planning any trips?” he asked seriously. Then added, less seriously “Is there any chance she could have gone camping unexpectedly and dropped her comm-link in the pond trying to take a selfie with all the pretty fish?”

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

For the first time in the encounter, Ghorua's features hardened. His rather smooth face grew hard lines, his pointed, serrated teeth poking out from his closed maw. The Herglic's fists from under the table flexed, and each muscle on his body hardened against the world. His blowhole flared silently, a quiet hauum escaped the orifice.

The shadow the Shark cast over the table seemed to elongate, submerging the tiny being across him in darkness. The shade on the walls danced and grew like wildfire, an unnatural, barely noticeable dancing of shadow. Ghorua growled roughly, the epicenter of a strange phenomenon.

The Blood Frenzy reacted to the Chadra-Fan's ill-timed humor as a caged animal might react to a piece of meat just out of reach. It stirred, out of the Shark's control. Ghorua was no Force-Sensitive, but the Frenzy contained so much rage that he became like a miniature nexus of the Dark Side.

Just like that, it was gone. One could've convinced themselves that they'd imagined it. Ghorua simply frowned. "Yes, I suppose you'd want more info." He passed the occurrence off, as if it had never happened.

"Kay was last seen on Commenor, outside the capital, Chasin City. Her two guards had been murdered. One by a blade." Ghorua's frown seemed to harden further. "She has had many enemies. Hutt Cartel, the Jackals... A Sith." Ghorua felt a smile perk the corners of his expression, but banished it.

This little slicer and his droid were in far over their heads.

They'd better learn to swim fast.

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

After Ben’s last joke, the Shark’s features hardened and impossibly, he seemed to grow even larger. Ben noticed the shadow the beast cast over the table. Was that there before?

Following the shadow, he looked down at himself. The darkness creeped across the table’s edge, leapt, and consumed him.

The room felt colder. Lonelier. For the first time in his life, he felt hopelessly small. His sensitive ears picked up the monster’s rough growl, like waves crashing violently against stone. Was that the growl he was feeling?

Ben’s large, black eyes widened in surprise, ears cowered in fear, fur stood on end.

He really was smitten with this Lady Kay, Ben had time to think, before…

It was over.

Whatever it was.

The room brightened, the natural drunken ruckus of the cantina returned. The growl was silenced and the Shark didn’t seem so menacing anymore.

The waitress arrived with their drinks.

Had he imagined it?

“One Mad Mrelf for the little guy,” the waitress announced “and water for the big man.” Ben was so shaken he didn’t even register the waitress' slight. Silently, and without taking his eyes off the Shark, he reached out and grabbed his glass, taking one hell of a gulp. Then another. What had he gotten into?

Note to self, DO NOT JOKE ABOUT LADY KAY, he screamed in his little mind. Knowing him, it wouldn’t stick. It never did.

Trying to remember what they’d been talking about before the incident, his head finally cleared enough that he knew what they had to do.

“So, I’m going to assume you wouldn’t have contacted me if Lady Kay’s whereabouts were easily traceable over the holonet,” he started to say slowly, cautiously, “which means I need access to deeper levels of the net that I can’t get to from an average device. I need some serious hardware. Real serious. Hiobbo, the Hutt’s compound is nearby. After doing a little I.T. work for him -- you wouldn’t believe how many viruses that slug picked up from the net -- I know for a fact he has the required equipment. Get me into his network room, and I’ll give you the best chance to find Lady kay.”

Breaking and entering, then hacking into, a crime lord’s compound and network was usually not on his list of things to do. Then again, he wasn't often paired with Ghurua the Shark.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua hadn't quite realized what had happened. He felt the Blood Frenzy stir, as it often did when his rage got the best of him. This episode did feel slightly different, however. More focused. Perhaps that was due to his working with the Lady herself. During their final meeting before her disappearance, she had told him that she believed his Frenzy was a gift. A tool to be used, something that would make him one of the best warriors the galaxy had ever seen. So far, it had only been a nuisance, but since he had stopped fearing himself for it, strange things had been happening.

He discounted it all, listening to B'enor speak.

Ghorua nodded, planting his elbows on the table. He thanked Rein for his water, giving her a generous tip. When he had worked with her, he had gathered she was an only mother of two, and was just scraping by. She could use the extra credits.

"I've dealt with Hiobbo before. I can only imagine his search history." The Shark surmised that probably didn't surprise the Chadra-Fan. He lived decently close by, in an apartment complex. If the little slicer had done his homework on the Shark, a few of his jobs had been for the Hutt. As much as he didn't like working with that particular breed of scum, he had to admit he had a penchant for it.

Ghorua placed a hand on his temple, thinking hard. "If I were to get an audience with Hiobbo, distract him and his guards, I'm confident you could sneak by security, Mr. Benjeel. And if not..." Ghorua smiled, gesturing across the table. "We fight our way in." Ghorua had no qualms killing a Hutt's guards. It was their choice to serve. Perhaps on Nal Hutta, where slave guards were more common, he would have doubts about killing them, but most guards on Nar Shaddaa were simply criminals.

Poorly-trained criminals, at that.

"Unless you have any better ideas, I believe that is our best course of action."

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Ben nodded in agreement as the Shark laid out two plans. Plan A: Ghorua would get an audience with Hiobbo, the smutty Hutty, by leveraging his previous dealings with the sleemo [slimeball]. Distracted, Ben would sneak past security into the network room. Then do his thing.

Plan B: Kill everyone.

Sounded about right. “You read my mind, pateessa.”

“Boop, Whistle.”

“That too” he acknowledged.

To the Shark, he admitted, “And it might take a few minutes to hack into the mainframe.”

“Whistle”, Shorty corrected.

“Okay, maybe a little longer than a few minutes, but I can work fast, I always do. See, when I was the poolyee yama [systems consultant] for lorda [boss] Hiobbo, he hired me to upgrade his network security, the wermo [stupid person] was tired of all those viruses from a couple thousand certain cites breaking through his firewall. So, I upgraded his security. I mean, I Really upgraded it. The good news is, I built the firewall, so I know all the backdoors. Bad news is I have to rewire a couple hundred things to open those doors.”

He grabbed his drink and proceeded to chug it, hellbent on taking advantage of all the fringe benefits his jobs offered. Sloppy, he slid off the chair. Maybe the Mad Mrelf hadn’t been the best timed order of his life. At least with his accelerated metabolism, he never stayed drunk for long. He started wobbling toward the exit, “Lets… go… kick some ass,” hiccup, “time is of the essence…” hiccup, “We’re coming for you, Lady Kay,” he yelled as he charged enthusiastically for the door, miraculously staying upright the whole time.

Nobody ever called him professional.

Exiting the cantina, he slumped against the exterior wall, just another drunk creature on Nar Shaddaa trying to anchor himself to the smuggler's moon.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

LOCATION: OUTSIDE HIOBBO'S PALACE​

EQUIPMENT: IN BIO​

CURRENT MOOD: TENSE​

Ghorua stood tall against his surroundings, his armor securely fastened against his massive bulk. The suit was a new creation of his, and he considered it his best. It would stand up in any fight against almost any person, whether they be Sith, Jedi, or an army of soldiers. He knew he would have a substantial chance of taking on the entirety of Hiobbo's thugs by himself, but also knew not to get too confident. One lucky shot would be enough to do him in.

With his helmet tucked securely under one arm, he surveyed the entrance of the building, like he often did. Hiobbo may not have been the most wealthy Hutt on Nar Shaddaa, but he certainly wasn't lacking in credits, and was influential in other ways. As much as Ghorua found the Hutts distasteful, he did enjoy some of the bounties he took for the slug. Hiobbo used him often to take out potential rivals for his businesses, mostly deathstick dealers and slavers. The Herglic could even pretend he was doing some good by working with this criminal.

That didn't mean he didn't secretly want to punch Hiobbo squarely in his squishy face.

Ghorua looked down at B'enor, wondering briefly how the Chadra-Fan was holding up. He had drunk an entire Mad Mrelf in a very short time. Not professional at all, but then again, Ghorua hadn't chosen the man for his professionalism. If he were looking for that, he would have gone with one of his regular slicers, like Lok. "Well, we might as well go over the plan again."

Ghorua brought out his holopad once again, and a map of Hiobbo's compound erupted off of the screen. "We are here," he said, pointing to the main entrance. "The throne room is straight ahead, through a few layers of heavy doors and guards. My rep with the guy will get us an audience... Probably..." Ghorua frowned, briefly wondering if they would immediately have to go to their backup. "Once we get to Hiobbo, I'll cause a distraction, and you slip away to... here." Ghorua pointed at another section of the palace, presumably where the slicer's equipment was being held. "Hopefully, you'll have no issues. If you do, don't be afraid to blast these thugs. They're no friends of mine."

With a final nod, Ghorua put on his helmet, locking it in place with a solid thunk. He strode forward confidently, towards the main doors, and a set of four Gamorreans.

"I'm here to see Hiobbo about a job." He growled out his words, almost a threat under the serious veneer.

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Ben listened as intently as he could to the Shark’s plan, trying to ignore the hangover that now gripped his small body. His rapid-fire metabolism had shot him quickly out of the fun, drunk, phase and into the much more miserable, what was I thinking, phase soon after leaving the cantina. Squinting up at Ghorua’s holopad, his sensitive, migraine filled eyes recoiled violently from the blazing screen. He brought one hand up to shield his eyes while the other massaged his temples. He nodded along. At least it was easy enough to follow: short, simple, and the same one they’d discussed in the cantina, or at least, what he remembered from the cantina.

Finished, the Shark locked his intimidating helmet into place, completing the equally daunting body armor. His massive size combined with the extremely heavy suit made Ben feel like he was suddenly standing next to a tank. Which, by this mechanic’s estimation, was likely not far from reality. Good thing he was on his good side. Contrasted alongside the behemoth, onlookers could be forgiven (not by him) for mistaking Ben for Ghorua’s costumed lap-dog.

Not only was he more than seven feet shorter, and almost 1300 lbs lighter, he was also no warrior. He was a mechanic and a slicer who preferred the kind of company that always found their way into violent confrontations. As such, he was frequently ill equipped for heavy combat, with today being no different. He wore his simple green mechanic’s suit. Dirty, stained, worn from years of heavy use and light cleaning, with an equally threadbare utility vest bulging with tools, one blaster shot would punch a hole through him the size of, well, the Shark’s fist.

He wasn’t defenseless, however, nor-harmless. He carried a heavily customized blaster, nothing particularly special, but as an expert marksman, he could make it special. Hanging around thugs, criminals, and smugglers for his entire mature life, he was brave, and stayed calm, cool, and collected in combat – well – calm, cool, and collected for an overstrung Chadra-Fan.

“Hopefully, you’ll have no issues. If you do, don’t be afraid to blast these thugs. They’re no friends of mine,” Ghorua advised. “Don’t worry, I won’t even think once,” Ben grumbled, “I’m in no mood to take crap from any stoopa Hutt kung [stupid Hutt scum], even if they were two days from retirement.”

Ben and Shorty stood behind the Shark as one of the Gamorreans grunted in response to the colossus casting a shadow over him, then followed as two of the Gamorreans opened the large, decorated, durasteel doors and two others led them into the Hutt’s palace where they soon came to the entrance to Hiobbo’s flamboyant grand chamber.

Ben decided he would remain as uncharacteristically inconspicuous as he could and let the Shark do all the talking. Being hungover had a lot to do with it, but it also made tactical sense, as he would be easily overlooked standing in the shadow of his towering, heavily armed partner, which, would make it much easier to slip away as soon as the time came.

Maybe that Mad Mrelf hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. It tempered his restlessness, and kept his big mouth shut, for now.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua and B'enor walked past a healthy helping of guards, each one with a different story, no matter how diverse or similar they were. Each had goals, aspirations, ambitions, fears...

Their lives would be the price if Plan A failed. He wouldn't let that happen.

What's wrong with you, Balin? You're thinking like a Jedi.

Towering over even the giant Gamorreans, the Herglic strode forward with all the confidence in the world. Even the guards seemed to shy away from him as he thundered past. He had built up a bit of a reputation in the criminal underworld in his years of bounty hunting. He couldn't go anywhere without attracting amazed stares, and newer bounty hunters often gravitated towards him for training and the like. A few, he obliged. After all, one of his best partners had been a student of his.

The goliath and Chadra-Fan were escorted into Hiobbo's Throne Room, and Ghorua once again marveled at the slime that Hutts attracted. All manner of thugs and gangsters milled about, drinking and laughing to their heart's content. A few fistfights raged, the most interesting of which included a Weequay woman beating in the face of an extremely drunk Chevin.

Hiobbo sat on his throne in the back, lounging as Hutts were so fond of doing. Ghorua activated the comms in his helmet, and spoke to the Chadra-Fan below him. "Get going, Mr. Benjeel. You won't go unnoticed for long."

The Shark stepped forward, trying to distance himself from the subterfuge that was about to take place. He stepped to the center of the room, and gazes immediately began to gravitate towards him. Almost every glance was fearful.

Well-deserved fear. Ghorua was almost sure he had arrested around half of the criminals in the palace at one point or another.

Ghorua stopped at the center of the room, examining the Hutt ahead of him. He activated the Voice Disguiser in his helmet, and his already-deep voice dropped to dangerous levels.

"Hiobbo. I have a bone to pick with you."

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Upon following the Shark into Hiobbo’s gaudy throne room, Ben and Shorty found themselves quickly overwhelmed, submerged beneath thugs, gangsters, and fistfights. One of which happen to be a Weequay woman wailing on a hammered Chevin. Ben pumped his fist a little, cheering her on, caught up in the scene of drunk scumbags surrounding him – a scene that had always been home.

The Shark’s deep voice coming over the com startled him out of his daydreaming, “Get going, Mr. Benjeel. You won’t go unnoticed for long.”

Ben shook his head to clear it, oh yes, he thought, this wasn’t a pleasure cruise. His headache helped remind him of that. He motioned at Shorty to follow him. The two half-pint beings found little trouble slipping through various cracks and spaces in the overcrowded room. They glided between an Aualish and Gungan, then a Human getting too close to a Nautolan for comfort, they slid behind a Neimodidian trying to mack on a Human female – Ben couldn’t tell if she was into it or not – before freeing themselves of the mob.

As they entered the hallway leading to the network room, he heard the unnaturally deep, booming, voice of the Shark take command of the room, “Hiobbo. I have a bone to pick with you.” The chaotic chamber went silent.

Definitely glad he’s on my side, Ben thought again, before walking into the hallway. After a few twists and turns, Ben and Shorty approached the doorway to the network room. The only problem was, it was guarded by a mean looking Trandoshan. He held himself confidently, arrogantly, like a bounty hunter, but he looked worn down, old. Too old for an active bounty hunter, Ben thought, too confident for just a paid guard. Looks like Mr. Trandoshan got a little rusty in the field and took something of a desk job, he mused.

Moseying up to the network room door, Ben was planning to talk himself through the guard. He’d worked here before after all and it wouldn’t be a stretch for Hiobbo to hire him again to make some changes. But then, “Hey little fella, are you two lost?” the Trandoshan asked condescendingly.

Oh hell no, Ben thought.

“How far from retirement are you?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, not important,” with lighting speed, Ben drew his blaster and shot the guard in the chest three times. The body slumped to the floor in a heap. Ben punched the passcode into the door, it beeped amicably, the light turned green, and the door opened. “I thought I told that oversized slug to change the passcode when I left,” he said to Shorty as he stepped over the lifeless Trandoshan.

“Wooooooop, beep, booooooooop,” Shorty responded before a Taser popped from one of his doors, zapped the Trandoshan’s face to make sure he was dead, then rolled over the body into the network room.

Ben grabbed hold of the lifeless Trandoshan's arms and slowly dragged him into the network room, then closed the door. I hope this thing doesn't start smelling, he thought, having no idea what the decomposition of a Trandoshan body was like.

Getting to work, he looked around. More or less the way I left it. “Start your up-link” he ordered Shorty, “Make sure it’s a tier three-b super-standard connection. Override basic protocol and be ready to redirect feeds as I rewire these bad-boys.” He cracked his knuckles, staring ahead at a wall filled with various wires, tubes, ports, and every other flavor of connection.

”Woooooooop,” Shorty confirmed.

Ben hoped the Shark could hold the compound's attention long enough, not that he had many doubts.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

The room went silent as men and women sized-up the oversized Bounty Hunter. Hiobbo, to his credit, didn't quake in fear, although one didn't have to look too hard to see the sudden scared shift in posture from the Hutt. Ghorua could practically sense the Hutt mentally going through his day, to see if he had done anything to upset one of his favorite hunters.

"Ah! If it isn't the Shark!" The nervous Hutt spoke carefully, motioning for his guards to draw their weapons. They seemed reluctant to do anything that might anger the behemoth, but complied anyways, holding up vibroblades and blaster carbines. "What brings you to me today, in such a... sour mood?"

Even Hiobbo seemed to realize their weapons wouldn't do much against Ghorua.

"You conned me on my last job, Hiobbo. It's time to pay the piper." Ghorua's voice disguiser modulated his voice incredibly deep. The vibrations of his words echoed in the skulls of all present. Some had to hold their temples, while others stepped back. Hiobbo frowned.

"Conned you? I would never do such a thing to someone of your stature!" Hiobbo raised his hands diplomatically. This was the most respectful Ghorua had ever heard the Hutt speak. Fear was a great motivator.

"Tell that to the fifteen-hundred credits that didn't find their way into my bank." Ghorua was lying through his teeth, but he was sure the Hutt had no way to prove him wrong. He wasn't the most organised being. "I'm looking to collect, whether you give me the money, or I take you in for the bounty on your head." He could almost smell the sudden spike of fear in the air.

"You... You know, I've always liked you, Shark. Lots of guts. Guts and... and... loyalty. It's why your my favorite hunter! You don't have to do that, Shark. I know Half-Face wants my neck, but... I'm sure we can make an arrangement."

Ghorua smiled, the action covered by his helmet. "Start talking, Hiobbo, or my trigger finger get's itchy."

Hope you're doing your job, Benjeel.

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

“The D-coupling is connected to the A-socket,

The A-coupling is connected to the hyper Y-V socket,

The Y-V- coupling is connected to the B router socket…”

He sang as he swiftly unplugged and plugged wires into different ports, all the while Shorty rerouted the feeds through the mainframe to prevent tripping the security system.

“The F-G-C manifold is connected to the Z socket,

The Z-socket is transferred to the C-wire connector,

The C-wire connector is plugged into the Alpha protocol,”

Flicking his head over to shorty he said, “You’re getting all this right, I’m not going too fast for you peteessa?”

“Woop, beep,” Shorty replied confidently.

“Alright then,

The B6 coupling is connected to the multivariate A-socket,” and just when he plugged the bundle into the multivariate A-socket, all the power in Hiobbo’s palace shut off. “What the frak!” He yelled.

“Whistle, whistle, booooop”

“Oh, come on! He doesn’t bother to change the passcode to his network room but decides to reroute the main power circuit into the mainframe network. What kind of koochoo [idiot] does that!.... Oh yeah.”

Shorty shone one of his lights onto the control panel and Ben unplugged what he’d thought was the B6 coupling from the multivariate A-socket, putting it back where he’d found it. Power returned to the palace. Looking guiltily over at Shorty, he shrugged his shoulders, “maybe nobody will notice?”

An agitated female voice burst through the intercom, “What’s going on in there?”

Ben pressed the intercom button, “Nothing… err… you know, no problems here… um… just setting up a few things for Hiobbo’s birthday surprise,” he said releasing the com.

“Hiobbo’s birthday isn’t for another three months.”

“Of course I know that… obviously… but Hiobbo has a few very specific wishes for his birthday and they’ll take time, so I’m starting early.”

“I haven’t heard of any such wishes, what are you talking about?”

“Well, I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise, of course.”

“But, you just said Hiobbo requested them, how much of a surprise could they be?!”

“Shhhhhhhhhh, you’re breaking up, shhhhhhhh… must be the adjustments…. Shhhhh… talk to you later… shhhhhh…”

“Play time’s over,” he said as he hurried through the last few adjustments. He pointed at Shorty,” Okay, kick it!”

Shorty started searching the deep net for Lady Kay using Hiobbo’s considerable brute force network.

“We might have a little problem around, or in, the network room in a few minutes. Just thought I’d let you know. No big deal, or maybe a big deal, hard to tell.” Ben said through their comm. He locked the door and drew his blaster.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

"You... You aren't going to let me out of this one, are ya, pal?"

"In your dreams, Hiobbo."

Ghorua stood defiant against the Hutt and his goons, staring daggers behind his helmet at the large gangster. He had learned to study those around him, and not only how they thought, but how tough they were, and what to say to make them crack. Apparently, he had hit the right buttons.

"You play a dangerous game, threatening a Hutt. But because I love you, we can make a deal." Hiobbo slumped, defeatedly ordering his guards to lower their weapons. Under his visor, the Shark smiled.

"You're a wonderful human being."

The Shark removed himself from the center of the floor, stepping to the side, where he was immediately approached by a few men and women in light body armor, as well as a few slave girls on chains. Ghorua hated slavery, but he knew he had to stay on the Hutt's good side. He would have to bring it up with the big man later.

He had seen the group approaching him before. The ones in armor were a cadre of relatively new bounty hunters, who seemingly were rewarded by Hiobbo with slave girls in metal bikinis. They had come to Ghorua for advise before, as he was a relatively experienced hunter himself. He'd given them a few pointers, but they often pestered him for more help.

Truly a perk of working with a Hutt.

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Ben stood aiming tensely at the network room’s gray door for a few minutes as Shorty zipped through the deep net in search of any sign of Lady Kay. After a little while, he started to think they’d actually bought his stellar acting and that they wouldn’t be breaking the door down any moment now.

“Whistle, woooooooop!” Shorty squeaked excitedly.

“You found her?!”

“Whistle, boooop, whistle, beeeeep.”

“Two leads? Well, I suppose two is always better than one, am I right? Pull all the information for both, we’re getting out of here.”

A moment later Shorty beeped a confirmation.

Ben unlocked the door and pulled it open, just a crack. Nobody in the hallway. “Alright, let’s go. Remember, act cool. We didn’t do anything, we’re guests of Hiobbo accompanied by one of the deadliest bounty hunters in the galaxy.”

“Wooop, whistle!”

“Again, no, you’re not always cool, that’s my point. Let’s go.”

Ben and Shorty slipped from the network room, Ben making sure the door was closed all the way before starting down the hall with a swagger in his step. Maybe they’d get out of here without killing anyone or getting into a firefight… well, except for that has-been laying stiff and cold in the network room. He deserved it.

Just before the turn heading toward the grand chamber, he walked past the R&D lab, its door slightly ajar. Inside, he glimpsed a very large, sleek black, figure. He reversed and peered through the crack. It was some sort of magnificent droid and it wasn’t a make or model he knew, which most likely meant it had been custom built.

“Look at those actuators… and the smooth topology of that armor casing, oh, and look at the sensor unit..” Ben mused dreamily to Shorty.

“Woop!”

“You’re just jealous.”

Five armed guards, one of which looked like an active bounty hunter, turned the corner at the far end of the hallway, in the direction of the network room. The bounty hunter looking one pointed at them, “Stay where you are or we’ll blast you full of so many holes your mom won’t be able to identify your corpse.”

The first thing Ben thought was, that was a much too long opening line for this situation, she really needs to work on those, and the next thing he thought was, get out of here. They burst into the R&D lab. Ben slammed the door closed, then locked it.

Seemed like the perfect time to call upon that famous bounty hunter he’d come with. Over the com linked to The Shark, he said, “Looks like we’re probably going to have to shoot our way out of here. And by that, I mean, I’m locked in the R&D lab with five guards fast approaching, one of which looks like a bounty hunter.” He lowered the com. Then raised it again, “Oh yeah, and the good news is, we have two very promising leads on Lady Kay’s whereabouts.”

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua found a smile. It appeared he had wrapped Hiobbo around his rather large fingers, yet again. For being a crimelord, the Hutt was a rather easy pushover. He looked down at the amateur hunters that had congregated around his large form, and grinned, simply taking in the awe.

"Wow, Shark. I've never seen anyone stand up to the big guy like that!" A rather muscled Zygerrian nodded in respect, patting a disruptor pistol at his side. The others in the group laughed heartily, pulling their various slaves closer to themselves.

Ghorua was glad he was wearing his helmet, because it hid his disdain. He appreciated new hunters, even enjoyed training them. But any man that would accept another as payment is quite messed up. "I try my best, little Fajir."

Ghorua's comm beeped in his ear, and Ghorua activated the dampeners in his helmet, silencing his voice from the outside. B'enor's high voice made Ghorua flinch, and his news was no better for his ears. "Lay low, Benjeel. I'm coming." Ghorua excused himself from the rowdy crowd, and walked away from the area.

"I've got your locale, half-pint, but it'll take me a few minutes to get there inconspicuously. Distract 'em for that long, and if you could turn off the recording devices Hiobbo has, that would be great. I just mended my relationship with the man, and I'd rather not break it so soon."

- @B'enor Benjeel -

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Fortunately, Ben was far too focused on the mob outside the lab doors to notice the Shark calling him “half-pint”. The door control panel exploded into shards and sparks after he promptly blasted it. It meant he couldn’t open the doors, but it also made it much harder for the offending party outside to do the same. That’s how he wanted it.

Now to those recording devices Ghorua was worried about. He scanned the lab, there had to be a terminal around here somewhere. Aha he thought, “Shorty, get over to that uplink. The boss ordered up a ‘put out the lights with a side of wreck’em smothered in 86er sauce’.

“Woop?”

“Man, you can really take the fun out of everything. The Shark wants us to toast the palace recordings.”

“Whistle, wooop!”

“I did just say so!”

Ben walked over to the slick black and gray droid that caught his eye earlier while Shorty stretched out an uplink and promptly started to shred the recording software for the entire palace. An easy task now that they’d created a backdoor into the mainframe.

The droid dwarfed Ben. Even more so than most people. It was almost as imposing as the Shark, but, alas, nobody was as imposing as that beast. Ben ran his hand against the smooth durasteel platting. His greedy gaze moved up from the legs, over the clamps holding it to the wall, to the head where three thick cords attached to the back of its head and ran along the wall to a terminal a few feet away.

The door behind him started to sizzle. Turning around, he saw sparks fizzing out from a corner. Great, they’d come prepared.

He sprinted over to the terminal where he quickly broke through the backdoor of the security software. He selected the first AI program that showed up and started its upload into the currently empty droid form.

A loud clank announced the last hinge giving way. The door slammed to the floor and blaster fire filled the lab. A bolt struck the terminal causing sparks to explode toward Ben. He dropped to the ground and opened fire, efficiently dispatching the first two guards, and causing the human female bounty hunter and the two surviving guards to take shelter on either side of the doorway.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]