Faction Thyrsus: Great Bargains on Terrible Things (Spacer Guild)

[Jerec Asyr]

(source)​

NICAEA, THYRSUS-

-had a gorgeous open-air market where anything and everything was for sale. Without a doubt, Thyrsus offered the best illicit shopping in the region - a great place to stock up for smuggling runs through Silver space or the Imperial border.

Jerec and Captain Silane of the Jasmin's Wake walked hand in hand through the market, eating street meat off skewers.

(source)
​

"Any idea what the resst of them sshipped in?"

"I mean, I heard Zef Halo found a buyer here for a nice cargo of giggledust he got in Haleoda. The rest of'em, no idea what brings them other than just fething excellent deals."

"Around here, Thyrsuss iss the place to go for crazy weaponss and contraband. It's like an oasiss of grownupss."

Jerec picked meat from his teeth with his skewer. "Gorram love this planet. Can't believe I've never visited before. Ooh, ion disruptors!"


Aeshi Tillian Amea Virou Ay Ge Chybo Fenn Ciara Ardellian Cotan Sar'andor Frielle Kinniak Katria Vekarr Kingsley Maynard Treicolt Porl Berlmat Zak of Amroth Umedara Zaar

And LT-137 if you want to Thyrs it up for whatever reason

 

[Zef Halo]

"Five kay?!" Zef growled at Kuki, the Chadra-Fan 'entrepreneur' or as we, smugglers, liked to call em - rip offs. "We agreed on fifteen kay for the karkin' giggledust. Five kay covers only a damn dockin' tax in the Core. What the hell am I gonna do with five kay - I am better off livin' on benefits on karkin' Geonosis."

"Our contract, Sir, as you can see here, clearly states the deductions we agreed upon due to late delivery." the little trader produced a paper contract with its ink still fresh.

"C-contract?!" here comes the heart attack. "YOU JUST MADE THAT CHIT UP! WHO THE HELL WRITES CONTRACTS WITH SMUGGLERS?!"

"Sir, please, control your temper. Here is your signatu-"

"Listen here, you lil' shit." the ol' scoundrel pulled the rodent by the collar and lifted him up like a toy. "Go back there and get me my damn fifteen kay 'fore I decorate my ship with-"

Something aggressively jolted his whole system and made him drop the furball. Zef tried moving, blinking and even breathing but to no avail. Despicable, backstabbing Chadra-Fan enforcers had electrocuted him from behind with a highly illegal stun baton. Zef fell on his back with a thud. Shoppers evaded his body instinctively as if it was something completely normal to find people lying on the ground helplessly. The enforcers picked him up; twelve of them were enough to do so, and carried him over to a nearby waste disposal area.

It stank like Jedi Overreach of the Space Lanes.

He couldn't do shit.

 

[Maynard Treicolt]

"Sheeeeeit, Ion-Disruptors indeed." Maynard remarked, overhearing Jerec's remark as he was already well into appraising the arms market with a wide grin and satisfied laugh, motioning to one of the merchants for approval before taking up a 'Stopilka' into his arms, aiming down the complex sights of the weapon up into the air before offering another laugh.

"This thing it uhhh the Sta- Stop- whatever the hell they're called, one of the ol' Gat Tambor specials.These beauties can steal your lunch money even if you're hidin' in a damn 'Cataphracht'. Though I hear these things are...'perfectly legal' as they say, it might be the move." Maynard says to himself more than anything, holding out the gun in his hands to appraise the value of it once more. Aside from the serial number scraped clean from the receiver the rifle was in a close to ideal condition for running - even if their nature required a more...careful pilot to run them - the supercharged nature of the weapon meaning any harsh bruise from a fall even at chest height might be enough to...well, it wasn't your problem anymore if it happened to a whole crate of em to say the least.

---

Jerec Asyr | @Anyone Else nearby

 

[Amea Virou]

Jerec Asyr // Zef Halo

There was no doubt she would have followed Jerec around the marketplace, but given who he linked up with she thought it fair to give the man some space. Still, the sight of the rather intimidating insect-looking individual and a rather non-intimidating human, well… It was hard not to at the very least chuckle at each time she saw them.

Wait, did Jerec just mention—

A loud shout echoed out into the alley as Amea passed it by. Her eyes darted towards it with no small sense of curiosity and the faintest hint that she already knew what this was about. A dozen of henchmen passed out of a nearby store with a body in-tow. She let them pass her by before she slowly sighed and shook her head at the incapacitated man.

She trailed behind them, let them drop him off where he belonged, and slowly approached him from above. Or well, from Amea’s left but it would most certainly seem as if she came in from above for him. Her brown eyes locked onto his as her bangs swayed back and forth in the wind while she hunched over him.

“We meet in the strangest of places, Mister Halo.” She spoke and let the bemused undertones drag out each word to truly tear under his skin before she extended him a hand. “You okay down there, bud? Need a hand?”

 

[Zef Halo]

The stench, the noise, the rip off. Man, he really was gettin' old for this shit. He knew it. They knew it. Everyone knew it; but he'd die before he let Joza Perl send him to a retirement home. Man's gotta have some dignity. Not like he didn't lose it the moment he bailed on Yula and Iana. In his defence, he didn't know about Mav Halo till he nearly got blasted by the man's gun.

So when this youn' lady offered him hand, he knew exactly what to do. Slap it away. With dignity.

"Who in the blue hell are you, kid?" he grumbled as he painfully got himself on his feet. "Ya ain't takin' me to no retirement home!"

Memory faded with each day. Life back on Nar Shaddaa felt ages ago. He missed it.

What did he miss?

Amea Virou

 

[Jerec Asyr]

"Sheeeeeit, Ion-Disruptors indeed." Maynard remarked, overhearing Jerec's remark as he was already well into appraising the arms market with a wide grin and satisfied laugh, motioning to one of the merchants for approval before taking up a 'Stopilka' into his arms, aiming down the complex sights of the weapon up into the air before offering another laugh.

"This thing it uhhh the Sta- Stop- whatever the hell they're called, one of the ol' Gat Tambor specials.These beauties can steal your lunch money even if you're hidin' in a damn 'Cataphracht'. Though I hear these things are...'perfectly legal' as they say, it might be the move."

The beaming Bimm merchant's golden fur fluffed happily as he handed Jerec another Stopilka. Jerec hefted the hefty weapon with equal happiness. "Thing of beauty. I've never held one of these before."

"It'ss Treicolt, right?" said Silane. "The ssnubfighter pilot? I'm Ssilane of the Jasmin'ss Wake, this is Jerec Assyr of the Infinity'ss Free."

"Good to meet you in person, Maynard," Jerec added, squinting into the ion disruptor's excellent sights. "Holy feth, remind me to kiss Gat Tambor if I ever run into him. This is gorgeous. And so, so restricted everywhere I want to sell it." He turned back to the Bimm. "I'll take a dozen. I'll even pay sticker price."

As the Bimm processed his transaction, he watched some nonsense between Amea Virou and a possibly drunk Zef Halo some distance away. Bless his heart.

 

[Amea Virou]

That grin faded in an instant with the indignant slap, replaced by a deep stare as Amea peered into the mirrors of the man’s soul.

And then the grin was right back again, good as new. Wasn’t the first time he had forgotten her, most likely wouldn’t be the last. Hey, it practically hadn’t even hurt after the first time so there was always that. People prioritize things differently, and to say that Amea prioritized obsessing on the past in more ways than one seemed to be an ever so apt way to put it. There was always one more spot she could add to the backstory before she let herself drown in it. And the same could be said about old texts and passages from the Gulag Plague.

Still, she had a withering old fool to tend to.

“Retirement home?” She raised her eyebrows and laced her words with sarcasm. “Aren’t you too old for that?”

“No, I saw you get carried away and figured I would ask what that was about.”

She took a breath to stop herself.

“Or rather, I noticed you were having troubles convincing someone to pay up for an honest day’s work, and I figured you might need some help. For a small piece of the cut.”

After all, it was more of a salary re-negotiation than Amea acting as some random thug. To avoid paying a smuggler was one of the lowest things she could think of. They risked their neck for you bringing goods that few would ever be dumb enough to carry with them. Yet there was no denying that without the smugglers the world stood still. To some extent.

No, these people had broken one of her rules. They should be offered a chance to reconsider their mistakes.

Zef Halo

 

[Zef Halo]

​

"Hngh..." Zef cursed something underneath his breath and then raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You ain't one of Joza's goons she keeps sendin' to take me to that damn retirement prison?"

Space millenials these days...ain't appreciate nothin'.

"Listen, kid, these damn rodents ain't no damn joke." the smuggler cracked his ol' bones and nearly died. "Ugh...but if ya got a plan to get my cash..."

His good ol' peacekeeper of a pistol materialized in his hand. A greasy package of a waffle slid down from it.

"...I am in."

Amea Virou Jerec Asyr Maynard Treicolt

 

[Maynard Treicolt]

"Maynard's the name you got it right. Residente Ex-uh-wing pilot I s'pose. Flyin' em out in the core 'gainst the Sith and them." Treicolt remarked to Silane.

"I'm tellin' ya man - its good stuff. TIEs aren't so much my speed but that slimy Skakoan certainly has some chops when it comes to this kinda shit. Compliments to the chef on this one." Maynard said kissing his fingers before waving them out in the air as a 'bon appetit' before raising a brow to Jerec's quick purchase of a dozen ion-disruptors outright.

"Dozen outright huh? Damn - hell where ya thinkin' of runnin' these bad boys? I'm thinking we try and link up with a buyer in Imp space, these are restricted to military use only in those grounds or hell- just about any of them core governments ban these things but I'd care to stay on their good side...ya know, Jedi shit n' all that." Maynard remarked. As he might've been one of the worst Jedi pound for pound on Peace he certainly didn't want to cause the Republic or Alliance any problems. The Sith Empire however? Completely different story.

---

Jerec Asyr | Zef Halo | Amea Virou

 

[Katria Vekarr]

She hated trade markets almost as much as she hated deserts, but they'd come in a distant second.

What she hated most about them was the sleazy dealers, melodramatic enforcers and the occasional hotshot, newcomer smuggler with an ego that could inflate the bridge of a battlecruiser. Maybe it was a little too much in regards to the smuggler, but it was a sentiment she'd developed having spent so long running with her father and the remainder of his crew.

No matter where she looked she could see merchants trying to pass off their goods as prime quality, smugglers and spacers trying to haggle a price they could transform into something profitable and those who were getting tossed out onto the street for kark all know what reason.

"For the last time, no I do not want your shoddy hyperdrive or power converters," the young mercenary groaned as she took a half step to the left of the shop she'd been standing at so another shopper could be politely ejected. "I want the top line converters and hyperdrive components."

- - -​

While the half epicanthix hadn't really been keen to notice any particular persons passing her by, outside of a man ( Jerec Asyr ) picking meat from his teeth and alien species she wasn't sure she'd ever seen before, her crew mate, Skiss Iskiss, certainly had. Or rather he had just about stumbled past a man being removed from a premises in a manner he couldn't quite understand.

These humans and their inability to act accordingly, the Verpine chittered to itself as it passed by Zef Halo and Amea Virou while making his way through the markets thoroughfare towards where he had last seen Katria. No tact or character I can make sense of.

Perhaps it was his being an insectoid species amidst a number of humanoids or he was just selectively xenophobic when he was in a bad mood.

 

[Amea Virou]

Zef Halo // Jerec Asyr // Maynard Treicolt // Katria Vekarr

Amea hunched forward, her hands raised by her side and the confusion evident in her face as she looked at Zef.

“Who the hell, is Jo-ooohhhhh…” Her eyes went wide as she pulled back. Zef knew Joza Perl? Interesting. “No, I am not hired by Joza to imprison you. I’ve only met the one Perl in my life that I know of. Though her name was Yula, not Joza.”

Amea turned away from the man to look back in the direction that the henchmen had carried him from. While she didn’t have a plan, she did have an idea of what they could and probably should do. It was to put yourself in danger, willingly to boot, but hey…

“I was thinking we’d talk to them,” She said and turned back to Zef. “Words first, fists second. Maybe guns third.”

No doubt he wouldn’t like that, but given the fact that there was the small matter of tending to the balance of supply-and-demand for smugglers it was probably for the best.

“A triple-layered plan to ensure they start to reconsider their choice one way or the other without lowering the amount of potential employers.”

 

[Koushou Mito]

Mito.

Loved.

The Market.

Unabashedly loved it.

Did that mean she wouldn't steal while she was here?

Probably not.

But she loved it anyway.

For now though, Mito wasn't rifling through pockets and yoinking things from tables. She had set up her own makeshift stall, using a discarded upside down canned nerf tin. She'd dragged it from quite a distance to set up right at a corner but out of foot traffic in the lee of a stand run by a good-natured Herglic that seemed more bemused than concerned by the 'competition'.

Laid out on the can was an assortment of odds and ends, bits and bobs. Mostly, if we are being honest, junk. But in the junk? A few genuinely valuable things. The list, as Mito looked over her 'stall':

A pile of shelled peanuts.
A single unshelled peanut.
Small lengths of wire in various metals.
A shard of kyber crystal.
A paint brush with high quality brush hairs, but the handle has strange teeth marks.
A tiny fire node the size of a pea.
A small basket of wheels and cogs, also in various metals.
A paper clip.
A single credit chit from the days of the One Sith, a hole punched through it.
A bracelet length of slender Vonium chain.
A memory chit, contents unknown.
A broken restraining bolt.
Three high quality micro-gyros with weird scuffs on the sides.
A Nezumi sized bunch of dried flowers, ID unknown
A pile of seeds, ID unknown
A thimble holding a single, pinky nailed sized Rainbow Gem.
A ring of cheap durasteel big enough for Mito to use as a hula hoop.
Several rubber gaskets for various ship components.
A blank birthday card.

Wynter Rackham had helped her carry it all so rather than it taking all morning just to set up, Mito was all set to go early and very pleased as she sat behind the can. Every now and then she would eat one of the peanuts from her pile without realizing it however, and as the day went, that pile dwindled whether any were purchased or not.

 

[Wynter Rackham]

Koushou Mito

It was good to be out of Cloud City.

Oh, it was all fun and games, until they dropped a deputy badge on you. He helped as much as he could. Sorted out some gang members, spread around some necessary supplies to refugees, helped with the repairs. But the moment Mito mentioned the bazaar? Yeah, running for the exits without a second thought, worry or consideration.

The deputy life wasn't for him.

He helped her set-up, made sure she was okay and nobody would trample on her and then went to explore the market. There was a TON of stuff going around here. Lots of tinkerers plopping up with black-market guns and chit. It was great. Paradise.

Nothing to sell himself, but that was okay.

There was a lot to see. Even more to buy. He even got himself a new pair of boots, premium leather, nice cut. It was great. After about an hour of wandering, Wyn started making his way back to Mito's smol stall. Passing a food stand it didn't take a lot of thought to buy some food. Shish kebab of meat, two of them... and then Wynter realized he didn't even know if Mito was an omnivore.

Did Nezumi eat meat?

Puzzled look, but then he purchased another shish. This one vegetarian. She could pick which one she wanted, he'd just polish off the other one.

Time to remember where he had left her.....

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Maynard Treicolt

"I've known a couple decent Jedi but I'm not above screwing them over as a whole. But never fear, man, I've got a buyer in mind and it's nowhere near the quote-unquote good-guy territory."

Silane groaned. "Don't tell me you're sstill thinking of sselling to the Eclipsse rebelss. You barely got out of the Eternal Empire territoriess lasst time. And the marginss."

"Hey, no, you're right." Jerec shrugged. "Maybe the...maybe the - holy feth is that vonium?" Ion disruptors forgotten, he skittered over to the stall of a Nezumi trader, one Koushou Mito . He picked up a tiny chain between thumb and forefinger. "I've been needing some vonium for a nav computer refit I've got in mind. How much for the chain, friend?"

 

[Porl Berlmat]

The HT-2200 Medium Freighter ejected itself from hyperspace above the planet Thyrsus. Unbeknownst to the pilot the cargo bay door was left open gently flapping in space. Lucky for air locks...

Slowly the ship descended onto the sandy planet landing near the market place. With a hiss the struts let down the small ramp and the hulking figure of an Elnacon appear at the bottom of the ramp. "Sand planets. Always gotta be sand planets." He said as he made his way around the back of the ship to get his cargo.

"What the kark!?" The shouted echoed its way through the markets. "Why is this stinkin' door open! Where's me heckin' cages!?" Somewhere in space lost along the journey, four crates containing several now dead Nuna floated around.

Porl headed into the market kicking his feet in the sand muttering under his breathe. "Now I gotta come up with some excuse. Third time this week this has happened. Damn buttons too small for me in the damn ship." The Elnacon had his breathing apparatus around his neck and some makeshift armour on. A vibromace swung from his hip and he easily carried a heavy repeater aswell.

Porl approached a small meat stand and nodded to the owner. "About that delivery. It ain't comin'." Porl said as he reached over and picked up some street meat from the stall vendor. "Imperial blockade and all that stuff. You understand."

The vendor slapped the giants hand away from the meat. "Whatta do you mean eh?" The vendor waved his hands around in the air as he spoke. "You mean thatta Imps wanted ma swampa turkeys!?" The hands waved around more furiously the faster the man spoke.

"Yep. Sorry I'll get more next time." Porl stood to his full height and threw his shoulders back and stuck his chest out. "Or are we gonna have a problem?" His sausage like fingers once again reached for the street meat, this time they were met with no resistance. "That's what I thought."

With that he went on to explore the markets. Why did no-one stock armour his size? No guns ever let his large fingers through the trigger guard. Life was tough for this brute. His eyes scanned around and saw a small creature with a little shop set up.

" 'Scuse me." He said as he brushed past Jerec Asyr and bent down to pick up the blank birthday card. "Lifes tough bein' our size, ain't it little one." He said as his giant sausage fingers lifted the card. "How much?"

Koushou Mito

 

[Kingsley]

"Rrrrawk! Quality parts and trinkets! Satisfaction guaranteed!"

Kingsley croaked over and over again. In fact all of his wares were second rate and most were defective. He'd made some scrip here and there off his no returns policy but the captain of the Eravana was really scoping this market out to see what he could steal. And to sell the natives spice under the table. Thyrsians loved spice.

"Rrrrawk! Step right up-" he froze and his heart skipped a beat, "Silane?"

He coughed uncomfortably.

"I didn't realize you were back in this galaxy. You uh...you look well."

Their tryst had been ages ago, but the Jasmine's Wake was a name he'd always remember. Kingsley glanced over at Jerec Asyr as if noticing him for the first time.

"And this is your...cousin?"

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Talking as he was with Koushou Mito , and blindsided by the affable bulk of Porl Berlmat , Jerec failed to pick up on certain cues.

"Kingssley?" Captain Silane made a gesture a bit like a humanoid woman brushing back her hair. Claws rasped on carapace, but it was a delicate little ringing sound. "Iss that you? Sstarss, it'ss been too long. Jerec, keep shopping. Captain Kingssley and I need to...catch up."

"Alright, see ya later," Jerec said over his shoulder, then turned back to the Nezumi with a goofy grin. "She's great, isn't she? We've been on and off the past few weeks. Never been with a lady like her. Anyways, this vonium..."

Kingsley

 

[Maynard Treicolt]

"Good ya feel that way, Jerec. Heard you were a real good dude from those folks I asked, don't listen to none of them Jedi that give ya trouble we're all tryin' to do good the best way we can you know what I mean?" He remarked, following the smuggler's attention as he peered over the Vonium. Maynard had barely a clue what the metal? He was referring to.

"We got some real characters here huh..." Maynard remarked, peering about with an arched brow as the pair were joined by even more outlandish band of aliens.

"Hoh- Shit! " Maynard remarked to the hulking alien as it brushed past him. Porl Berlmat

"Sorry man - spooked me a little bit I ain't tryin' to lie..." Peering toward the merchant's table he appraised the products for a moment before pointing toward the chunk of kyber crystal.

"Mind if I take a look at this?" Koushou Mito

---

Jerec Asyr

 

[Katria Vekarr]

It was almost as if the longer she stayed in front of the merchants stall the more she was going to be driven insane. Or perhaps that was just the knack of a majority of the merchant breed to be selfish, manipulative, impatient and passive aggressive.

Either it was that or she simply didn't have the mind or savvy for such things outside of the standard form that was provided by Jaeger Solutions.

Resting a hand against the counter of the merchant's shop, the young mercenary pressed her free hand to her temple and let out an auditory groan. Visibly becoming further and further disinterested in the ridiculousness of his enterprise and ramblings, every inch of her body starting to get a little rigid, she felt her hand itching towards where she kept a stached Verpine pistol.

I suggest you not aggravate the locals, child, Skiss chittered to her as he approached her, his insectoid clicking giving him away before she could even be considered caught off guard. He knew better than to try and do the opposite of having her aware, but even then there were times he almost met the bad end of one of her weapons. I'm sure his poor manner can attested to accompany his lack of hygiene.

"Why is it that you're always right about these things, Skiss?" The mercenary sighed as she pushed herself away from the stall and out into the street once more. While she had more to say on the subject, it was a particularly large being standing in front of a stall that housed his very antithesis that drew her attention next as a scrunched look of bewilderment formed on her face.

Oh yes, it would seem that a Nezumi has set up shop in this area. I know how you are fond of the smaller creatures, child. He had barely finished before she was already making her way over to the stall that was seemingly becoming more and more crowded by the second.

"I knew Nezumi were resourceful, but this is impressive based on what I've seen a Nezumi haul around." Tactful? Not quite. But if she was going to pay the small being a compliment, she was going to do it her way. It was only matter of fact that she would do it as though none of the others were even standing around the stall even as Skiss once again caught up with her.

Koushou Mito | Porl Berlmat | Jerec Asyr | Maynard Treicolt

 

[Zef Halo]

​

Plans, plans, plans. Is that what kids were up to these days? Shit, used to be a time when goin' brash was a young man's trait. This youn' lady here, she seemed too methodical for her age. Ain't nobody got time for that. Good ol' Zef gonn' teach 'em youn'lings how to live on the edge. Bones creaking, blood pressure and sugar rising and pharmaceutical pills dangling in his pocket, he walked forth decisively, rolled the barrel of his gun, heard it click and aimed.

Man, it's been so long.

The resilient pull of the trigger, the bang, the smoke and the rush of adrenaline.

One of the nasty lil' rodent enforcers crumbled down on the ground with a painful gunshot to the shoulder.

Showdown on Thyrsus. Leggo, lil' rats.

Amea Virou