Private Smuggling Hope

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Outer Rim Asteroid Field
Shadowport

Junior’s eyes darted back and forth as he walked down the hallway of the Shadowport. This wasn’t the first time that he had visited such a place and it was this he knew to watch where he stepped and who he interacted with because besides being a home for smugglers they were also a hotbed for mercenaries, pirates and gangs of all sorts.

However it was the smugglers who inhabited the shadowport who were his current target. Well target mwas the wrong word, a more apt descriptor was more like goal as he was looking to hire one for a job. He was given a recommendation by an unlikely source, his aunt Stardust. She knew of a Zeltron smuggler who frequented this shadowport who she thought might be willing to help.

The help he needed was of course smuggling but it wasn’t technically authorized by the Alliance High Command or the SIA, whom he had been more recently assigned to. No, this was a personal task that had been handed down to him from his namesake, his father. With his homeworld having fallen, Coruscant, the older Corek had decided to get back into the arms smuggling racket, in particular smuggling them to anti-Imperial and anti-Sith guerilla groups.

The current haul his father had given him? A dozen crates of blaster rifles, a half dozen crates of varied grenades and about two hundred kilos of detonite. In all? The building blocks any rebellion needed to take the fight to an occupier.

It took a few minutes but he finally made it to the cantina that had been set as a meeting point, little more than a hole in the hall carved from the rock of the asteroid with some stools and a bar top. It didn’t take him too long, mostly owing to the small interior of the cantina, to spot his intended. Stepping up to the bar he leaned against it and next to Jahzra Rocvard and ordered.

“I’ll take a Whyren’s Reserve, neat.” The drink was both something someone might order anywhere else but also was a pre-determined code phrase to prove he was the client.

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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Smuggler's Run was always an interesting place no matter where you were in the various shadowports. This rock was maybe a dozen kilometers across. And a little chillier than she liked. They kept the temperature a little lower to cut down on any potential heat corona that would give the place away. Not that it was too much of a concern. From the outside it looked like an old asteroid mining concern. Largely because at one point it had been, but the ore in the rock petered out, leaving the place a warren of tunnels and hollows. It wasn't hard to excavate the place into something somewhat livable.​

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The place was... functional. Bare rock made up most of the walls in this hole-in-the-wall cantina. The bar was made from flat decking, but polished to a fine sheen or sealed. A refrigeration unit kept some things cold. There were a few taps, and bottles of various drinks lined the walls. As bars went, it could have been worse. Could have been a lot better.​

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A figure sidled up next to her. Tall, thin as a rail. A little nervous. Business mode. Then he ordered the drink. Glancing low behind her, she didn't see anyone else with him. Didn't mean much in this place. Still, a subtle shift on the stool pressed the familiar weight of her pistol against her thigh, as well as other... odds and ends she had.​

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The pink-skinned woman sat down her own drink, catching the bartender's eye as he slid the whiskey to Noah. "Reload," she said, her voice almost velvety. "Awful fancy drink for a place like this. Money must be good." She turned her head to look at him, purple-black hair spilling down the opposite side. "Must be the guy my friend told me about."​

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard


Almost as soon as the words left his mouth the bartender, a burly looking Duros who wore an almost perpetual scowl, raised what was the equivalent of an eyebrow and snorted. “Does this like the type of place that stocks top shelf booze like that?”

Junior gave a half hearted shrug at the man’s answer. “Eh can’t blame a guy for trying. I’ll have whatever the lady is having then…and put it all on me.” He placed a fifty credit chit down and the counter and slid it over the bartender, enough credits to pay for his and the woman’s current drinks and her previous drinks.

Leaning on his right side he observed the woman whose drinks he had just paid for. He started at her hands and he noticed quickly the scuffed up hands that spoke to both her line of work and how deeply she put herself into it. Next his eyes trailed up her arms and saw the definition and muscle there, a sign she kept herself in good shape be it from her work or exercising. Next was her body from which he knew she was proud of by the attire she wore and especially near painted on pants, he could respect that. Finally his eyes rested on her thigh and the pistol she wore there.

“DL-18 eh? Not a bad choice. Good stopping power, light but controllable. I assume you have a guide rod added onto it? The DL-18 tends to snag on the holster because of the muzzle.” He had yet to speak of business, instead trying to at least develop some rapport with her but in the end she was the one who brought it up first.

Turning his own head to look her in the eyes he grinned when she mentioned her ‘friend’ as a hand came up to smooth out his red locks, a little longer than he usually let them grow. “By my friend I assume you mean my Aunt Star? She said you were a good smuggler…” He let the compliment hang between them for her to digest.

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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Jazz glared at the credit chit on the bar. She could pay for her own drinks. Still, it was money back in her pocket. IF the Duro actually gave hers back. Not that he likely would. Jazz held up her drink "Mad Mrelf actually. Drink at your own risk." One of the benefits of having two livers.​

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"OTherwise, right on all counts. Didn't realize you were her nephew. It's been a while. Things kind of went quiet so been doing other work. Kind of lost touch. I guess her people 've been keeping tabs on me. Or there's a tracker on my ship I haven't found yet." A moment later she grumbled and sipped her drink. "So, I assume you're here for some freelance cargo delivery." A euphemism for smuggling.​

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard


He would have had to have been blind not to notice her glare when he placed the credit chit down, he understood her possible indignation at having her drinks paid for, maybe it made her feel as if he felt she couldn’t pay for her drinks. So he set out to rectify that.

“Didn’t mean to offend by paying for your drink…if my mom found out I let a woman pay for her drinks while I was drinking with her?” He let out a low whistle and a chuckle. “Well let’s just say I wouldn’t show my face at home for a little while.”

He shrugged when she mentioned not knowing his relationship to Stardust. “Well I obviously don’t take after her…” It was of course a joke, him being human or at least human-passing near-human and Star was Twi’lek. “She’s my aunt by marriage. Married my mothers sister but being a Mandalorian family it has always been more than blood.”

It was at this time the Duros returned with his drink, Mad Mrelf as the woman had explained. It wasn’t the first time he had drunk it and thankfully his half-Zorren heritage helped with tolerating it. Not as much as having two livers but still.

He snickered at her euphemism for smuggling and nodded. “Yes…I have some cargo that needs to be transported independently.” His words were almost sarcastic but he avoided rolling his eyes. “I’ve got about twenty crates that need to be moved from Hangar 910 to a meet up about five parsecs from here. I’ll accompany it and do the meet and deal I just need you to get me there and back.”

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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“Well let’s just say I wouldn’t show my face at home for a little while.”

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The Zeltron nodded. She got it. He was just trying to be nice. Jazz could appreciate that. And for a business meeting it might even be appropriate. If that was all it was. Too often it was a prelude, and a clumsy one, to get in her pants. And while that might be fine, depending on the individual... it just wasn't a good opener. But she could see she'd misread him. "Fair enough."​

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I’ll accompany it and do the meet and deal I just need you to get me there and back.”

Her expression dropped. "Run that by me again. You haven't actually worked out delivery? So you're prospecting?"​

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard

Junior wasn't one to use politeness to try and get into a woman's pants, he had just been raised properly and had manners drilled into him by his parents, plus his Mandalorian upbringing had taught him to respect women just as much, if not more than, women.

"I figure a woman such as yourself probably has to beat back the men and even a few women with a stick. Trust me…I ain't like that…well not most of the time anyway."

He snorted to took a sip from his drink, hiding a grimace from the burn of the strong liquor before looking back at her with a grin. "Do you really think Star would send you someone that green?" His question was punctuated by a raised eyebrow before his face grew serious.

"No. Delivery has already been worked out, price agreed upon and all the minutia. I'm just meeting the clients there so they can inspect the cargo and make sure it meets their expectations. As long as everything goes as planned it'll be a quick and easy run…and if not well then I'll take care of the shooting. Though I except you’re more than a decent shot yourself…”

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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Jazz put her hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, I'm just going off what you said. And I'm not really sure what she'd do. We weren't exactly close." When he mentioned being a decent shot she twitched. Her mind flickering back. Torn dress. Body atop her. Blaster discharge. The smell of burnt and smoking meat. Another shot. A nearly headless body sprawling onto the decking of the Swift Horizon, her trusty Baudo-class star yacht. She bit her lower lip, gripping the glass tighter in her hand, keeping her hand steady. That ... had been too close. "You could say that," she said. Te smell of ozone seemed to waft past her nose for a moment.​

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Swallowing a knot in her throat she didn't meet his gaze. "What's the payday on this?" If the money was right, it seemed like a blue milk run. But then again she didn't know the destination either.​

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard

Junior snorted and shook his head a little bit. "Well you made enough of an impression on her to get a recommendation to my old man…but trust me in her owns words she said she doesn't do amateurs in any aspect…and knowing Aunt Star that's true."

Junior was a soldier, well he was at least a soldier until the discharge papers were processed, so he knew a flashback when he saw one do when she gave all the signs she was having one, her twitching, nostrils moving as if remembering a smell and the tightening grip on her glass. He knew well enough to let it pass before speaking again.

"Good…no plan survives first contact, though I would hope to get a break at least once in my life."

When she spoke about the payday he nodded, it was of course the entire reason they were here. "Five thousand credits up front. Ten when the job is done. Plus access to custom made gear and more jobs in the future…how's that sound?”

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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Well, it wasn't bush league. As introductory jobs go it wasn't bad fare. Sliding off the stool she stood. Found the room was steady enough and nodded. That sloshed her brain around just a little. But no matter. It would clear up fast. "Alright, let's see what you got. Lead the way."

As they put distance between the Duros and the bar, she stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets. Out of earshot, she walked beside him but let him lead. She was itching to ask for more details on the shipment. Not because she wanted to be nosy. There were just some things she would not haul about, not as cargo. People weren't cargo. But she hadn't gotten the sense he was hauling slaves around. She doubted his Aunt would have condoned that any day. Much less sent him to her to work with. Star knew her proclivities better than that. If it were more of her preferred stock.. Well that could be interesting.

Destination would be just as interesting too, But she felt certain he wanted to keep that quiet. And she couldn't agree more. Once they were off this rock and readying for the run up to hyperspace. That was the time to actually figure that out. Normally, she'd want to know where they were going, but competition around here could be tight and morals very loose.​

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard

Junior grinned as she agreed to at least see the cargo she was going to be moving and he nodded, grabbing his glass and down the last of the liquor before standing, thankfully not falling down immediately as he was at least a little practiced at the art of walking while he was more than a little tipsy.

Smoothly steadying himself he jerked a thumb over his shoulder in a universal gesture to follow him that way. The pair walked for a few minutes, a testament to the size of the shadowport, before Junior spoke. "Realize that I've been a little rude. My name is Noah." After giving her his name he'd reach out to shake her hand and whether she did or not he'd continue leading her to the hangar.

As they entered the first thing that would stand out to the Zeltron would be the Razor Crest parked in the middle of it and the second would be a stack of almost twenty crates sitting next to the ship.

Motioning once again for her to follow him he would take her over to the crates, enter a password into each of them in turn and open them. The first twelve were filled twenty blaster rifles each, the next half dozen were packed with fragmentation and concussion grenades and the last two contained a seemingly putty-like substance. "Rifles, grenades and detonite…my aunt said you've got a fondness for gun running…right?"

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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L Jazz took the proffered hand. Firm grip, fast shake for a woman. Probably by virtue of spending so much time with a wrench or a hydrospanner. "Jazz, but I think you knew that." She held his grip just a hair longer than maybe was needed. Just long enough to feel that while she might have had some callouses to that hand, worn form work and care of her craft, they were also still soft and supple. And warm to the touch. just then the light caught her eyes just right so the dark pools they had been shone through a shade brighter than amethyst, with enough blue to register as indigo.​

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Heading to the crates, she pulled one of the rifles out, inspecting it quickly with a quiet "Not bad." She listened to the manifest with one ear, then put the weapon back. "Lots of party favors. Everything a girl needs to throw a great little bash." Truth was, it was enough to outfit a decent sized company, at least four platoons. Right timing, right people, that could get a lot done. And with recent events on Coruscant, moving through back channels. Well.. This didn't smell like it was going to typical criminal enterprise. No, this smelled like the right people.​

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"Alright, I can grab my ship and bring it in, or we can move these to my ship. I dont think you wanna roll this around through the rest of this rock." ​

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard

He was impressed with the handshake, it was firm yet fast and he could feel that she had gained some callouses and roughness from her work. “I did know that but didn’t wanna come off as creepy.” Just as she held his hand longer than was required, which gave him a good feel that despite the roughness of her hand it still had a softness that he found he enjoyed, he held her gaze longer than required. He found himself temporarily lost in her eyes as they caught gazes, admiring how the color shifted in the light.

Let go of her hand with a cough into one of his own to remove the awkwardness that had creeped into his mind they continued onto the hangar. When they got there and he opened the crate, Junior raised an eyebrow and grinned as he watched Jazz inspect the rifles, a little surprised but happily so when he saw how expertly handled the rifle she had grabbed. “The rifles are from a contract with the Alliance that fell through, the company ended up selling them as surplus ...they’re pretty good honestly, I was surprised they weren’t picked. I can get you one if you like it…”

The way Junior spoke potentially betrayed he was more than a little familiar with both the Alliance and the company that had made the rifles. He chuckled when she spoke of party favors and throwing a ‘bash’ with them. “Nothin better than blowing off a little steam by blowing something up eh?” He grinned at his little pun before nodding at her idea of bringing her ship here.

“Yeeeeah…I think hauling these across the port would attract a little too much attention. I can wait here or come with…it’s up to you.”

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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Truth was, there was more money in just three of these crates than she was being paid for the whole job. But if it went well there were other opportunities down the road. In truth the idea of another nice carbine in her racks wouldn't hurt, but it was probably a bad idea to have anything attached to the job. In case she was interdicted later. But perhaps.... "Maybe something legit and not attached to ..." She gestured to the weapon crates.​

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"Better to keep an eye on the merchandise. I'll go get our ride." When no protest came, she turned quickly on the balls of her feet and made for back the way they came, taking longer ranging strides. It drew a fresh roll and sway to her hips even as she ate up the ground. In a hurry without trying not to look like she was in a hurry.​

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard

He’d known that Jazz was counting up just how much all of the gear would be if she were to just take it, it was a sum that he was well aware of himself but again she’d come highly recommended from his aunt and he trusted his aunt so by extension he trusted Jazz…to a degree. He also knew she was smart enough to recognize future contracts could bring more credits.

He nodded at her explanation of not taking one similar to what they had in front of them. “That’s fair…smart too. Don’t wanna be in possession of anything incriminating.”

He gave a small nod when she mentioned watching the merchandise. Quickly sealing said merchandise back up and sitting on top of one of the rifle crates. He had just enough time to watch as Jazz hurried away, eyes inevitably drawing to her rear as he hips swayed and rolled as she hurried away to get their ride.

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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A few minutes later, a vessel appeared just outside the containment field. It glided into the interior with room to spare, and rotated so the nose faced out before the pilot sat the ship down with a rock-steady hand. A moment later the engines winked out, ticking and popping faintly as they cooled. The loading ramp for the cargo bay extended down, which was the entire rear bulkhead for the main hull of the ship. Gave any loading equipment or teams complete access to the entire bay for easy and fast loading. Not that they'd need all the room for such a small cargo. 20 crates wasn't a lot.

Behind her followed the one droid she had, came with the ship to help load and move exactly the kind of heavy crates that she hauled. "Alright. Let's load up."

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[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard

Junior waited in the cargo bay for a few minutes and waited for Jazz to return, unconsciously smiling to himself when what he assumed to be her ship landed in the hangar bay, arm coming up to shield his eyes from the debris that flew around inside the hangar as he wasn't surprised that it wasn't often they cleaned the hangar.

His smile grew wider as he saw the cargo bays loading ramp come down and Jazz came back into view. "Nice ship…she looks like a custom build. I like it." He hooked his thumb over his shoulder toward the crates, most now packed onto a repulsor dolly. "I've got all of the light stuff packed up. I assume we can use your buddy here to pack in the heavier stuff?"

He walked to the dolly and began to push it over to the open cargo bay before looking over his shoulder. His sixth sense was tingling at the back of his neck but he could not seem to find something wrong in the hangar so he kept alert but moved on to load up.

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Equipment: DL-18 blaster pistol, holdout pistol, vibro-knife, vibro-shiv​

Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

Jazz nodded. "Thanks. Your aunt actually had a significant hand in getting her for me." The Zeltron jerked one thumb over her shoulder toward the vessel. "She's put in a lot of good work for me. I still have my old ship too. And it's quite capable. That one is built for speed. This is more to be rugged. Hauls more. Hits much harder too if she has to defend herself." It was nearly impossible to keep the affection for both ships out of her tone, but it was clear that the Starchaser was her current favorite. And was still quite a quick ship.

Jazz sent her loader to start ringing the heavy stuff in and busied herself helping Noah.

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[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard

Equipment: 2x Customized DC-17's - Fighting Knife - Concealed Blast Vest - Vambraces

Junior let out a snort through his nose and shook his head with a knowing smirk on his face. "That sure sounds like something Aunt Star would do. My sister talked about wanting to be a pilot when we were kids, so what does Aunt Star do? Well she bought Moe a replica Dynamic-class Freighter for her 18th birthday. Damn nice ship, tried to buy it off her a few years ago but she wouldn't sell it."

He nodded along as she explained her current ship and that she also had another one as well. "Smart to have a spare, gives you options for jobs that might need different skill sets and if one needs repairs you can still work. Very smart indeed." He could tell that she had some love for her current ship and he understood the feeling, he himself had his favorite pieces of gear.

He smiled and gave her a thankful nod as they began pushing the repulsor dolley into the cargo bay, that feeling creeping over his spine as they reached the lift. He quickly turned, one hand hovering over his hip where one of his blasters was holstered, and scanned the hangar with discerning eyes. "We should get a move on…I've got a bad feeling about…something."

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Equipment: DL-18 blaster pistol, holdout pistol, vibro-knife, vibro-shiv, nerf-hide jacket, comlink​

Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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Jazz turned with him, hand casually hovering near her blaster. She'd felt the change in his emotional state, growing unease. She couldn't be sure if that was his pattern or not. But he believed whatever it was that had his attention. But when he spoke she felt her won gut knot up a little. She'd felt a growing sense of unease as well. But in part she'd dismissed it as working with somebody new. Not having all the particulars for the job. It was one of the risks of this line of work. Every job was risky, especially with new people. Jazz had become quite comfortable with risk over the years, to the point that most of the time it was background noise for her and ignored as such. But she couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. Even though she'd not seen anyone paying them undue attention earlier. Dismissed as undue paranoia she'd operated as normal.

And yet, she was kicking herself for ignoring it now. That feeling in her gut had never, ever, been wrong.

"I know," Jazz said, turning back for the interior of the ship. "I'll get us ready to go." Turning back toward the Starchaser, she took off at a lope up the ramp, past the cargo they already had aboard, disappeared up front.

The wide doorway into the bay opened then to admit a trio of men in maintenance jumpsuits and tool belts with tool boxes in hand. With them was a small droid, a little over a meter tall, spindly frame. Small head mounted on an actuating neck, digitigrade legs, spindly arms, various visible tool parts and hands. It looked as though it could articulate, fold and contort in all kinds of ways, useful for moving into maintenance crawlspaces and tight fits.

Two of the workers pulled up deckplates with some effort and busied themselves with equipment in the flooring while the droid followed the third man to a terminal on the wall, and plugged into the port.

Then the man, who seemed to be a supervisor turned from the droid and began making his way over to Noah, datapad in hand. He was middle-aged, but only had a little salt in his otherwise pepper beard and hair Noah could see beneath the cap he wore. "Hey, son. That your ship?" There was curiosity and mild annoyance in his tone, as though Noah and the ship were an inconvenience.

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