Public The Art of the Deal

[Martra Corandel]

Terminus Spaceport, mid-day.

Martra hops out of the cargo hold of her U-Wing and onto the hard pavement of the spaceport, she could already tell that it was going to be a very long day.
"Terminus" She mutters to herself. She liked to avoid highly trafficked planets like this one but she was left with no choice. Terminus was the closest trade hub she had access to, and she had to unload this cargo fast.

She turns and kicks a panel below the side doors of her cargo hold, and a ramp slides out and clangs against the ground. From the darkness of the cargo hold she rolls a large case, which makes a telltale metallic rattling noise as she pulls it. She stands up again and stretches out her back, then slides the lid off with her booted foot. Inside are several rows of old, beat up, assorted blaster pistols. She stares down at them and then rubs her face in frustration.

"Should never have trusted that guy."
She looks around at all the crowds funneling through the space port. She needed to sell the whole crate, otherwise this whole job would be a bust.
"alright then, who here looks like they need some busted old blasters"

 

[Zak Amroth]

TERMINUS
THE OUTER RIM

"Get the hell out of here sleemo!"

"Is that any way to treat the Sheriff of Terminus?!"

Zak picked up his hat and wiped the city grime off it. Another cantina. Another credit limit exceeded. Sentients on this planet could be so ungrateful. He hiked his britches and moseyed on down to the bazaar. Street markets snaked around frontier spaceports like veins in some vast creature. You could buy or sell almost anything on Terminus. Traders from all over the galaxy made port here.

"Howdy there," he tipped his wide brimmed hat at Martra Corandel , "That case looks awful heavy. Need a hand?"

A Judge's badge gleamed brightly on his poncho. Around them the spaceport crowd bustled about their business but Sheriff Zak seemed in no hurry to be anywhere at all. This beat was always better than the undercity. His Deputy Yula Perl was on vacation offworld which meant more time for some classic solo adventures. It also meant there was no one to keep him pointed more or less in the right direction when solving cases.

 

[Martra Corandel]

Martra watches Zak of Amroth swagger out of the crowd towards her, and the first thing she notices is the gleaming lawman's badge on his chest. An instinctual urge to run kicks in but she stays calm and looks over at him with a smile as he addresses her. She instinctively steps between him and the crate.

"Oh me? I'm not sure actually, trying to make a sale, is there a marketplace where I can set up?"

Her eyes wander all over the place, and her arms dangle awkwardly at her sides, unsure what to do with her body language. Usually when she has to bluff the authorities its through comms when they hail her ship in deep space. She doesn't even know if she should be worried, law-folk are usually a coin toss in this area of space. Still, better to be safe.

"I was hoping to offload these as fast as possible, I am running on a tight schedule."

She, casually as she can, rolls the ramp back up and shuts the bay doors and cargo hold of her ship.

 

[Zak Amroth]

"Lady you've come to the right planet," Zak grinned, "There's markets all over!"

He didn't seem to notice the crate Martra Corandel was trying to cover up or her nervous reaction to a lawman's sudden intrusion upon her day. Instead he cinched up his belt and eye smouldered off into the distance. Evidently the Judge was attempting to convey a certain image of wisdom and authority. Behind him a few swoop thugs accosted a spaceport merchant but he didn't seem to notice that either.

"The trick is finding one who won't rip you off. There's a lot of shady characters around here. Not everyone on Terminus is honest as Sheriff Zak."

The kiffar glanced around at a bustling spaceport crowd and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially.

"You know some people even sell...dangerous cargo?" he patted a rather large looking heavy blaster on his belt, "That's where I come in."

Just when things started to feel tense he threw a couple of shadow punches and kicks into the air apparently showing off his fighting prowess.

"If you want I can show you around."

 

[Martra Corandel]

As Zak of Amroth stands in front of her, preening and kicking around, she immediately regains her composure as she realizes that this man is in no way a threat to her. Her posture relaxes and she crosses her arms and pops a hip, smirking at his antics.

"You know I'd really love to get a little tour and meet some trustworthy merchants, you certainly seem like you know your stuff."

As she says this, she notices the small group of thugs behind him, harassing the merchant across the way. Her hand brushes the handle of her blaster and she takes a step to the side to more clearly see what is going on.

"Not to do your job for you officer, but it looks as if there is a bit of a ruckus across the way."

Her eyes immediately glance down at her crate of weapons. If that gang was flagrantly harassing what looked like a simple produce merchant in broad daylight, she needed to make sure they didn't know what she was carrying or she was sure they'd make an even bigger problem for her. This is what she got for coming somewhere like Terminus.

 

[Zak Amroth]

"I don't know about that ma'am but its kind of you to say so," Zak grinned from ear to ear. It was obvious that flattery would get Martra Corandel everywhere.

His intentions were not entirely altruistic. Even the dim witted Judge reckoned that if he steered this trader in the right direction he could rack up a finder's fee in cantina credit. He wouldn't trade being Sheriff for anything but the job didn't exactly pay his bills. So Zak had a few side hustles. What was the harm in that? After all there were no laws on Terminus, just cops.

"Say what now? Oh, so there is."

Before Martra could react Zak drew his heavy particle beamer. Two stun bolts lanced across the spaceport. One caught both the swoop thug and merchant in his grip. The second knocked his accomplice into a merchandise stand. Everything around them erupted into chaos. There were panicked screams and a stampede of fleeing civilians.

"Right then, to the market!" he beamed at the girl as if nothing was amiss, "Let me grab that for you."

Without glancing down at its contents or markings the Judge started hauling Martra's weapons crate through fleeing spaceport crowds.

 

[Martra Corandel]

Martra blinked incredulously, this man was pure chaos. She liked it.
She gave Zak of Amroth a wide smile and nodded forward as if to say 'after you'.
As they walk away she pulls a small chip from her gear holster and swipes it across a small screen on the outside of her ship. Immediately all hatches seal and metal plates slide over all the windows.

"You can never be too careful, especially in a spaceport like this one"

She gives a glance at the gangsters and merchant, passed out on the pavement.

"You're a good shot, never seen a lawman with a draw that fast or an eye that keen"

She hopes that if she can keep him distracted, she will be able to pull off some kind of trade without him realizing the kind of merchandise he was carrying.