Private The Golden Ticket

[Tok Demvu]

Location: Nar Shaadaa

Ahh good ol Nar Shaada a planet of dreams and hope. A planet on the verge of greatness, a new type of planet based on not a person but on the type of speeder or starship they ride. A symbol of freedom and at times expression of the constant expansion of the various species of the past few millennia or so. Nar Shaadda where everyone can own their own home and be the King of their castle. Free to live, free to love, free to spend time with their families. A planet of innovators pushing past the limitations placed upon society. A planet where happiness can be found.

Yeah, all that is a bunch of bullchit.

Tok chuckled to himself while he stood on the wet sidewalks observing people passing by him. The 14-year-old just couldn't help himself years of reading pulp Holocomics that he scavenged from the alleyway. An Ithorian couple walked past the small boy not even noticing him. Good thing too because he took both of their credit chits from their pockets. Given that Tok was orphaned on the streets since he could remember. This was home: Nar Shaaddaa a planet filled with scum and villainy. Recently, the Hutts finally took over the planet after years of being under Silver Jedi jurisdiction. Honestly, Tok couldn't remember the last time he saw a Jedi in this Planet. He heard that the Jedi were trying to reform the planet but obviously that was bullchit as well. Forcing a planet to change is like forcing Dug not to insult everyone they see. It's just their nature and Tok is embroiled in it.

He was on this planet for how long now..... maybe seven years. Tok was surprised that he wasn't enslaved yet but slavers were always aggressive thankfully he knew the most of the areas of Nar Shaaddaa in the back of his head. The boy was finished with his nightly pickpocketing, it was time to get home and in bed. Tomorrow Tok will be eating good, a nice special of bowl of brown. His favorite.

Ylva Heavenshield

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

After more than a decade spent solely upon the world of Midvinter, Ylva Heavenshield had finally decided to try her hand at visiting other worlds within the Galaxy. Her husband Thêodred Heavenshield had often spoken of his adventures, some grimmer than others, sharing the warmth of their hearth and filling her head with images that she had imagined his earlier life to have been like.

Now that she was well versed in the ways of the Force, she felt confident enough to be able to protect herself should something ill come her way; Not that she hadn't been a skilled warrior before her training had begun, but her control over the Force today far exceeded any of her abilities from back then.

Nar Shaddaa was a planet that she had felt would challenge her. It was well known for being an underworld planet, one serving as a haven for criminals of all kinds, with a far lighter hand on crime than other government or corporate worlds compared. There, Ylva was certain that she could avoid mistakenly being pulled into anything that might politically impose on Midvinters reputation while also being allowed the complete freedom to roam and explore the vast Cityscape at her own pace.

Walking along one of the streets suspended far above the surface of the world, Ylva wandered and looked to either side as she inspected store after storefront, listening to the music of the locals, visitors and general public as they passed her by. The streets were incredibly crowded, consisting of far more people in one place than she had ever experienced on Midvinter before.

Truthfully, she wasn't entirely certain of where she was on the world, having gotten a wee bit turned around due to all the activity of the night. At first she hadn't been overly concerned but eventually she had come to the realization that she'd need to return to the Starport sooner or later in order to return home. Of course, she had credits so it wasn't like she couldn't simply rent a room and leave things for the following day...

It seemed such an interesting world though, and she had no real place to be in any hurry.

Tok Demvu

 

[Tok Demvu]

When you're an orphan you tend to get lost in the crowd which means a perfect opportunity to either pickpocket or if Tok is feeling a little generous sell some junk or drugs for minor drug lords in the city. As the boy walked towards the alleyway, he caught a glimpse of a red headed woman wearing a fancy dark green dress. She had red hair tied up and looked all doe eyed. A noble lady in the middle of the streets? All signs pointed to easy prey but Tok didn't want to go for it. What if it was some Jedi in disguise? Many of his fellow pickpocketers often got caught because the Silvers disguised themselves as gullible nobles. Even if the Silvers no longer had jurisdiction over Nar Shaadda some Jedi just couldn't resist the urge to feel all heroic.

It was something Tok liked and admired about the Jedi but in this world, it's just gonna get you killed. Just then a couple of thugs about 4 of them approached the red headed woman. Frowning, Tok dived next to the nearby trashcan to witness the woman being surrounded by four men. Tok squinted: Two Wequay, one Duros, and a human. Slavers from the looks of them. "Why hello there Jedi!" The human said while the Duros quickly placed a silver collar on her neck pushing her on the floor. "Now hold still! We're gonna take you far away to a Hutt who..... values your abilities."

A gasp left Tok's mouth. "This ain't good." he whispered.

Ylva Heavenshield

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

"Why hello there Jedi! Now hold still!
We're gonna take you far away to a Hutt who..... values your abilities."
​

Ylva hesitated, not having expected the sudden run-in with the trio. It was one second too long. Next thing she felt was some kind of collar snapping shut around her neck. "Hey!" she growled, raising a hand and about to throw the closest of the group through the air with the Force.

Nothing happened when her hand reached out with an open palm. No sense of power running through her arm as she would normally have felt. It was at that moment that she realized she felt little to nothing at all, as though she were blind to the whole world around her. "What in seven hells is this!?" She exclaimed before the thugs were upon her, binding her hands and dragging her away as quickly as she could.

"Let go of me you son'uva gundark!" she yelled, trying to make as much noise as possible to alert anyone nearby. All the while thrashing against the hold of her captors as she tried to break free.

Tok Demvu

 

[Tok Demvu]

Oh boy.... the thugs are trying to kidnap a Force Sensitive. They were winning too judging by how the woman's Force powers were disabled. Was she an actual Jedi? It seemed so, how else did the thugs get the woman? "It was probably by orders from a crime lord," Tok whispered watching the woman being dragged away.

Great..... he had to do something did he? Rifling through his pocket, Tok took out a Holorecorder. Something he made from the scrap heap, the boy pressed the button as the sounds of the Kryat Dragon was heard in the alleyways.


"Oh chit!" One of the thugs said. "A damn Rakghoul! Let's get the fuck outta here!"

As the thugs began to ran, Tok approached the shackled woman. "Yeah we have a Rakghoul problem," Tok shrugged. "But people oddly mistake Rakghoul roars with a Kryat Dragon's quite strange really."

Ylva Heavenshield

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

"Oh chit! A damn Rakghoul! Let's get the fuck outta here!".

Ylva's would-be captors all scrambled at the sound of the monstrous roar, something that shocked the woman too, yet she couldn't help but stand there trying to make sense of what the three idiots were saying. 'What the hell is a Rakghoul?' she wondered, among many other less than kind thoughts about the thugs as they ran away from her.

"Yeah we have a Rakghoul problem, but people oddly mistake Rakghoul roars with a Krayt Dragon's quite strange really.".

Turning around Ylva found a young boy standing in front of her, holding a holo-projector of some sort. Not the kind she was familiar with, and it looked a little rough around the edges much like Tok Demvu himself. "That was you huh kid?" she asked rhetorically, glancing past him to see whether there was anyone else alongside him; "Just you?" she added, wondering why there weren't any parents with him.

 

[Tok Demvu]

Tok chuckled when the red headed woman asked if that was him who scared the thugs. Honestly, he was pretty surprised that it worked normally people on Nar Shadda would send Bounty Hunters to flush out the "monster." It happened to Tok a couple of times so now and days he just uses it to scare off Gundarks who get too close to his home. "I mean yeah," Tok said casually tossing the Holorecorder. "No need to thank me all at once."

He knew what the woman meant; he had no parents to take care of him. Tok was alone as long as he remembered, he didn't have any memories of his Mom and Dad except in dreams...... the boy shook his head trying not to remanence about those fragmented memories, those thugs could be back any time. "Come on!" Tok said grabbing the woman's hand and pulling her away. "We gotta leave before those thugs come back!"

Tok guided the woman deeper into the alleyway curiosity getting the better of him. Was this woman really a Jedi? Was she from the Silvers? So many questions, Tok was actually a little eager. "So what's your name?" Tok asked holding her hand. "The name's Tok: Scavenger, merchant, duct rat. With the fancy you're wearing, you're outta place in Nar Shadda. What are you doing here?"

Ylva Heavenshield

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

"Come on! We gotta leave before those thugs come back!".

The boy grabbed Ylva's arm and started pulling her away, the woman relenting as he obviously seemed at home here compared to where Ylva had come from and how much quieter and humbling that Midvinter was. Her apprehension quickly left her, and instead, she would move in stride alongside him, able to keep up rather easily as they moved to get clear of the scene.

"My name's Ylva" she introduced herself as they moved, "From Midvinter" she added, clearly not a local to the world of Nar Shaddaa. "I came here wanting to get a feel for other places in the Galaxy. I've spent most of my late life on my homeworld" she explained while trying to pull the collar off from around her neck. The locking mechanism wouldn't give.

"Do you live here on your own?" she asked Tok Demvu , "And do you know what this thing is they put on me" she added with no small hint of frustration.

 

[Tok Demvu]

Ylva? That's an unusual name. Even more unusual was the planet: Midvinter, definitely not an Outer Rim planet that's for sure. Ylva looked like she got some fight in her based on how she carried herself which was good though Tok wasn't entirely she knows what she's getting into. Ylva had that wild look on her face as someone not to be messed with but at the same there was a certain amount of naivete about her. "I do yeah," Tok said looking around for more thugs while holding on to Ylva's hand. "And that collar they put on you..... I'm not entirely sure but I've heard that the Hutts were developing technology to disable Force users."

Tok frowned at her collar. "Looks like that's one of them," he muttered. "Maybe I can open it once we get to my place."

Though Tok was doubtful that they can pull it off.

Ylva Heavenshield

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

"Perfect. Visit a foreign world and land myself a force-negating collar..." Ylva grumbled, her right hand still tugging at the contraption that felt unnecessarily heavy. Had these people visited Midvinter, they'd have been decked just for talking about such things. They didn't believe in slavery, it was outlawed on her homeworld. Hell, Ylva had more respect for animals and wildlife than to put such a ridiculous thing on them, let alone a person.

"What do these thugs usually do after they've collared someone like this?" She asked, suddenly dreading the thought. Human trafficking. That was still a thing in some parts of the Galaxy, human or any sentient worth a credit or two on what she assumed would be a black market. Ylva herself was a warrior on her homeworld, and she was an exceptional one at that. She wasn't just some local girl but had become a strong-willed killer long before her husband Théodred Heavenshield had taught her the ways of the Force. Blast it all for deciding against bringing her Axe's or her signature bow. Atleast still had her Lightsaber...Coci would have killed her had she not brought it with her.

"Where I come from, people have more honour. There are clan disputes from time to time, but even in times of disagreement, respect is still present. I guess I should have known that not all worlds lived that way" she spoke in frustration, evidently disgruntled with her first choice of location to visit. "Is there anything good about this place?" she asked sarcastically.

Tok Demvu

 

[Tok Demvu]

"Hey that's actually a nicer greeting on Nar Shadaa compared to what the others get." Tok's fingers formed into a gun as he imitated a blaster sound. "As far as I know, Nar Shadda is back under Hutt Territory again." Tok said. "The Silvers tried to reform the planet but that's like teaching a baby how to split an atom. Nar Shadda ain't gonna change for no one."

Tok took a sharp left turn motioning Ylva to follow him, she was still ranting and raving about honor and stuff. Chit like that flew over Tok's head, honor? That's something that comes out of the Holovids he watched when he was a kid. "I've heard the Hutts began to enslave Jedi," Tok replied. "And Sith as well, there's this one guy: Gula the Hutt he had a Sith woman as his slave girl at one time."

It was just a rumor though not many people saw Gula with the Sith slave girl and Gula was mum about the issue. Though Tok learned from years on the street is that every rumor no matter how outlandish, has a grain of truth buried beneath it. "There are some good hiding places," Tok shrugged. "And people of Nar Shaddaa despite it being filled with scum, has a strong sense of independence which was why they resisted the Silvers for so long."

The two almost approached Tok's home, it was a small shack with rusted metal holding up the place. "I guess you can say they have honor who knows?" Tok shrugged. "What are these clans you're talking about?"

Ylva Heavenshield

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

"The Hutts are taking Jedi as slaves?" Ylva turned to look back at Tok Demvu , speaking upon the edge of a scowl. Her Father-in-Law Thurion Heavenshield would be appalled to hear that she'd been on Nar Shaddaa, hearing of such things and doing nothing about it; "Where are they held?" she further questioned as they walked. Ylva didn't know where they were going but this boy seemed to know the area well and so she was left to have faith in the fact.

"I have only met a few of the Silver Jedi through my family back home, but from what I know of the Jedi, they're supposed to help people" she replied following Tok having mentioned the Silvers being resisted by those on Nar Shaddaa. It seemed strange to her that they would see the Jedi be a force needing to be repelled. She held a great deal of ignorance however when it came to the nature of Galactic Politics and the Silver Jedi Concord's expansive territories.

"I suppose a hiding place will have to do for now. Do you have anything I can use to get this blasted thing off of my neck?" She asked as they approached the boy's home. It didn't seem very sturdy or safe for someone his age group to be living out of, especially on his own. "It's just you here?" she yet again posed a question, this time out of concern for his well-being and general quality of life.

 

[Tok Demvu]

With the way Ylva was talking it sounded like she wanted to rescue the enslaved Jedi. Admirable but foolish what the hell is she going to do try to punch her way through thousands of guards? "Hell, if I know," Tok shrugged. "Hutts make sure that their slaves are held in hidden facilities all over their territories. With Consortium on the rise, the prices of slaves are shooting through the roof. Rival slavers are becoming more elusive in where they keep their captured slaves."

Tok kicked a can to the side smiling a bit when it ricocheted off the rusted metal wall. "Especially Jedi," Tok continued. "Though I don't know how the hell you're gonna convert a Jedi Knight into a slave. It's like trying to destroy an Asteroid with your bare hands."

The thief approached his small home in the middle of the alleyway. A small ramshackle littered with cardboards, magazines, Holodiscs and plates. Wasn't much, but it was home. "I dunno," Tok said motioning Ylva towards the bed. "Why don't you sit down while I grab my toolbox and make yourself at home. Haven't had a visitor in months."


Ylva Heavenshield

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

Ylva Heavenshield entered into Tok Demvu 's little homestead, a beat-up-looking shack that completed the rest of the shanty town district of Nar Shaddaa. Despite her lavish attire, the young woman moved to seat herself as she was encouraged without even batting an eyelash at the state of his residence. In fact, Ylva's only concern was more for the boy's sake than that of his shack; As comfortable as he might be, she couldn't help but want more for him.

"They should be grateful that I left my lightsaber behind. Gods, Coci would have a field day with this..." Ylva remarked, knowing how her Master and Mother-in-law would lecture her on the merits of one's lightsaber.

Looking about the shack, Ylva studied the belongings that young Tok had collected for himself. Holovids and magazines, some dirty dishes scattered around the place, all very normal for a young lad of his age. "You don't have friends over at all?" she asked curiously as Tok searched for his toolbox; "It must get lonely here all on your own" she added thoughtfully.

The boy seemed so much at home in the wild city, despite the dangers and rough nature of the population there on Nar Shaddaa. Ylva hadn't stopped to give much consideration to the lads' well-being with all that had happened surrounding the thugs and her being collared like some pet. Now at the moment, sitting there in his personal home, she found herself wanting to know more about him and if there wasn't some way she could help him out.

 

[Tok Demvu]

"Lightsabers are cool," Tok said. "But on this planet, guys will be trying to kill you for sport. Jedi and Sith have been frequent targets by the Hutts lately. The Hutts have grown bolder and they're not going to allow anyone to trample over them."

It stunk but Tok will always survive and endure as always. Ylva on the other hand is probably going to get in trouble a lot. He got his toolbox taking out his hydrospanner and approaching Ylva. "I admit it can get a little lonely sometimes," Tok replied. "I have other orphans I talk to but they're off doing their own things like being the eyes and ears for minor Hutts vying for control."

Tok placed the Hydrospanner against Ylva's collar attempting to wiggle it free. "Strange," Tok said. "The locks aren't budging this gotta be some state of the art tech the Hutts are using."

Ylva Heavenshield