Public The Smuggler and the Smuggler's Moon

[Jolene Bastra]

Disruptors, huh?

Well, Jolene was feeling pretty good about the connection she'd made tonight. It was always good to know an arms dealer. And Ms. Lister seemed to know the business.

Jo took a sip of her drink when Lucretia mentioned pirates. Sometimes, stolen goods came through the station all the time. She filed this information away in the back of her mind. It was mighty tempting to call in to her pirate contacts, let them know she heard about a job. But…

In their line of business, you had to know who to make enemies with. Jo had a feeling she didn't want to be on Lucretia's bad side… just like most didn't want to be on her own.

"Scar worlds," she said, giving a nod of approval. "I got some contacts if needed." Again, her eyes shifted to Nalah. Maybe she was a bit newer to the game. Details were good and all… but sometimes the less you knew, the better.

Lucretia Lister | Nalah Tezan​

 

[Nalah Tezan]

While Nalah had no problem moving disruptors as long as they weren't used on her, flying to the scar worlds was something well beyond her usual flight skills. She flew a luxury liner with a full cargo hold, not a combat freighter, the Angel didn't even have any real weaponry installed, and she sure as shooting wasn't a fighter. Even with an escort, she doubted her ship (and body) would come out of a run like that unscathed. She was trying to parse out how to phrase a 'no', since Lucretia didn't look like a woman who took rejection well, when Jo chimed in that she had contacts who could assist.

"It sounds like Jolene has contacts who could work that angle, I'm afraid dog fighting isn't my forte." She politely declined.

Lucretia Lister Jolene Bastra

 

[Lucretia Lister]

"Ah well. As long as someone helps me move these Disruptors." Lucretia said to both Nalah Tezan and Jolene Bastra . "I'll be contacting you shortly about the run, Miss Bastra. As for you Miss Tezan, I'd absolutely hate not to find work more suited to you. Since Dog Fighting isn't your thing, perhaps a run to somewhere less deadly? I have a number of rather expensive and illegal stimulants I need delivered to a resort world. The payment would be nearly as good as the Disruptor run."

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

With their business settled, the man in front of him slipped out of the booth, and vanished back into the mass of the crowd. Gatz let out a long sigh, shortly followed by a long swill of his drink. What Vega wanted from him was downright suicide for most pilots. Hell, it might even turn out to be suicide for him. Thirty seconds to pull off a near impossible maneuver, all in a freighter. A part of him was terrified, which he knew was simply a natural reaction to the risk he was about to take.

But another part of him, a bigger part, was so excited.

Too many of his jobs were just running cargo from one point to another. Sometimes he had to slip by security unnoticed, but for the most part, docking authorities left him alone. There were far too many ships in the galaxy, all clamoring to get somewhere. The authorities didn't have the time to board and scan his ship, not when it looked as inconspicuous as it did. He made good money, but his life was largely... boring.

But not tonight.

With a small grin on his face, Gatz Derrevar stood from the booth, and much like his new employer, vanished into the throng of the crowd.

 

[Shin Jhicaro]

Several hours passed without incident, 241 reporting back to Vega intermittently, until, finally, it was night time.

Making his way through the labyrinthine corridors, passages, and access ways of one of Nar Shaddaa's various hangar bay complexes, Vega passed into one berth belonging, however temporarily, to one Gatz Derrevar. Inside the bay, which reeked of coolant, oil, and the burnt acrid smell of starship exhaust, sat a stately ship of what appeared to be Corellian design. "Nice ship." The comment was unenthusiastic, if only because Vega was more or less focused on the job at hand. Conspicuously, a black satchel was slung over Vega's shoulder, and he seemed to pat it reassuringly every now and then to make sure the contents were there. "Will it get the job done?" Now that Vega took it in a little more carefully....it seemed old. Very old.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Gatz sat on the loading ramp of The Red Night, his VCX-100 Light Freighter, drinking a mug of caf. Considering the time of night, and the fact that he'd been drinking in a bar, the young smuggler had felt as though he needed a little boost of energy. It wouldn't sober him up, not that he needed to be, but it was a sort of comfort beverage for Gatz. After he'd left the Order, and returned to Naboo, he'd had trouble adjusting to normal life. On the... bad days, his father would make him caf, and let him stay up and watch some holos with him.

It reminded him of those good days. Calmed him. The smuggler didn't let it show on his face, but he was nervous about this job. Excited too, to be sure, but he still held a healthy amount of fear. This could be the end of him, his ship, and Vega, if he didn't pull this off right.

"She's fast and quiet," Gatz tried to allay Vega's fears, "if there's any ship on Nar Shaddaa that can outrun Hutt security, it's this one. I'll get you where you need to go."

It was bravado speaking, to be sure. But in spite of his reservations about the danger, he did truly believe he was up to the task.

---

Shin Jhicaro

 

[Shin Jhicaro]

"She's fast and quiet," Gatz tried to allay Vega's fears, "if there's any ship on Nar Shaddaa that can outrun Hutt security, it's this one. I'll get you where you need to go."

"Said every smuggler of their ship." Muttered Vega. With a whistle and a click of his tongue, Vega summoned 241 to his side, who proceeded to float lazily in the air. "Let's hope you're right Derrevar. it'll be a short trip otherwise." Holding out his arm towards 241, Vega's bracer chirped as it downloaded files from the droid, a scant few seconds later projecting an image into the air above the bracer. It appeared to be a floating repulsor palace, with detailed scans of exterior defenses, nearby terrain, and interior lifeform readings. Auspiciously for Derrevar the droid had mapped the firing arcs and optimum targeting ranges of the exterior air defense turrets, taking the extra step of mapping several routes with statistical probability of success. <<Wong, Drzzt, Vrong.>> The droid seemed pleased with itself, and floated idly in a slow loop.

"Two-for-one's surveillance data is always top notch. You can trust that the scans are accurate." As he spoke, Vega walked towards the ship and up the ramp, just inside the small cargobay, 241 floating after him dutifully. The ship reminded him of a pelican, the bay at the front swallowing up cargo and people as the great ship flew through the air and space. Taking a seat, Vega said no more, instead just nodding at Derrevar. This was the pilot's area of expertise, and Vega had no more input to give.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

"Well, that's a handy little map," Gatz stood up from his seated position on the ramp, "I've got some options, it seems. Climb aboard, make yourself comfortable by the ramp. I'll let you know when to drop."

Gatz made a beeline for the cockpit. Vega was clearly on some kind of timetable, and Gatz wasn't usually one to be late. He plopped down in his seat, flicking toggle switches to bring the ship to life. Her aftermarket thrusters kicked on with a low whine, and Gatz grabbed for the yoke. He spun the ship around, and took off out of the hangar at a casual pace. He drifted into a lane, following along behind a multitude of other ships, as they approached the star palace at a pace no one would find suspicious.

They flew beneath it, far enough beneath that the space lane didn't encroach upon the no-fly zone.

"Get ready," Gatz spoke over his comm, "we're about to make a real sharp climb, in three... two... one!"

Gatz pulled the yoke back, hard. At the same time, he threw the throttle forward to its maximum. The Red Night made a ninety degree rotation upward, and kicked forward like it had afterburners attached to it. Gatz was thrown back against the seat, g-forces practically fusing him to the metal and padding at his back. The whole ship shook violently, and if Gatz didn't know his ship the way he did, he might have been afraid of it shaking apart. But he knew this ship. It could pull this off.

Gatz began to count in his head. Thirty seconds was all he had, before they caught on. At ten seconds, he spotted the antenna. At fifteen, he lowered the boarding ramp.

And at twenty, "this is it, make the jump!"

That left him with ten seconds to get as far away from the palace as he could, before their sensors inevitably spotted him, and they sent air response his way.

---

Shin Jhicaro

 

[Nalah Tezan]

"Stims? That I could do, I love a good expensive contraband run." Nalah had to admit, high-end stimulants were definitely more up her alley, and if Lucretia had a job already prepared that would give Nalah a good chance to strut her proverbial skills for a new potential patron. Of course, that also meant that she hadn't gotten any sort of offers from Jolene, so that left her with one more person at this bar to pump for work.

"What about you, Jolene?" She asked between drags on her cigarra. "Do you have anything specific in mind for me?"

Lucretia Lister
Jolene Bastra

 

[Shin Jhicaro]

Get ready," Gatz spoke over his comm, "we're about to make a real sharp climb, in three... two... one!"

Vega had been tracking their progress across Nar Shaddaa via geosat, 241 idly floating on standbye, when Derrevar spoke over the intercom. <<Vrong, Drzzt, Drzzt?>> Asked 241 with worried drone. Vega shook his head at the droid. "I'm sure it won't be that bad, besides, how would we put you in a safety harness? You're round - URGH!" The ship tilted upward, the craft's engines violently surging, and the occupants in the cargo bay were thrown haphazardly about - Vega for his part held onto a nearby safety grip for dear life, while 241...

<<DRRRRZzzzzzzTTTTTT!!!>> Well, 241 bounced around the bay like he was a grav-ball thrown by a Trandoshan.

And at twenty, "this is it, make the jump!

Vega picked himself up, rubbing his sore shoulder. "Two-for-one!" The droid, having used its repulsors to recover, was more than eager to get out of the bay - with an affirmative drone, it sped out of the bay and into the open air, a dark and virtually invisible spot against the black night of Nar Shaddaa.

The underside of the palace was visible, long antenna dozens of meters long hanging down from the dome-like repulsor platforms that kept the palace afloat. Derrevar had rightly oriented to the largest of these, and Vega took aim at the antenna. "Here goes nothing." Vega surged forward, boots pounding against the deck as he tilted into an all-out sprint; hurtling himself out into the night of Nar Shaddaa, he slammed into the antenna shoulder first.

There were several seconds of heart-pounding terror as Vega scrabbled against the antenna as he slid down its surface, the dizzying cityscape of the planet spinning hundreds of meters below. Thankfully, Vega had just a few tricks up his sleeves.

With a hum, Vega's gloves activated, the magna gloves emitting a crackling electric field as they slowed his descent to a full stop. As surely as a spider on its web, Vega clung to the antenna with an unyielding grip. Grunting with exertion as he began to climb, Vega commed the ship through the comlink embedded in his collar.

<<Get out of here Derrevar!>>

Gatz Derrevar