In the shadows of Corellia

[Alexander Varellion]

Corellia, a planet of the core and one of the most powerful in the entire galaxy. The navies of both the Republic and the Empire had been built here, from the surface it would seem like a prosperous planet. Yet as one dug deeper into Corellia they witnessed the darker side of it.

The prosperity of the surface didn't reach the lower levels of Corellia. Where natural lightning was scarce and riches even less so. In these depths gangs and bands of outlaws made the law. And in these depths might made right. Gangs fought each other in an endless attempt to become more influential. Often being used by politicians as security or to do things that they officially could not be seen doing. Or sometimes there were a rare few who grew so influential in the slums of the planet that they even made a bit of a political career. Mostly using it to extort politicians and get laws which only benefitted themselves.

But often if one gang or group of people in the slums grew too powerful the other gangs would unite to take them down. This made the slums of Corellia have an endless cycle of death and decay. With the biggest gangs trying to claw their way into power only to more often than not be dragged down in the others. In the slums especially the part in which Alexander was born it was hard to make a honest living. One either worked for a gang indirectly: paying 'protection money' or providing good and services to them if you didn't have any currency to pay the protection money with. Or you joined the gang directly, following the commands of the current gang leader.

In this environment Alexander was born. He was born to two human parents. Well only one parent you could say as his father had died shortly after he was born. From what he heard of his mother he was mostly a drunkard who was in the upper circle of a medium-sized gang which had itself been destroyed when he was only 10 years old. His mother raised him, giving him as much of a civilized upbringing as she could do which was not much but she tried her best. As his family only consisted of himself and his mother Alexander also needed to bring in money to care for the both of them. He mostly worked for the local gang as either a messenger boy or as their minor mechanic. Alexander had gotten the skills from this by often going to the nearest local library. This was still in one of the poorer parts of Corellia but by far not as bad as the slums. Here he spend most of his free time, getting knowledge and trying to give himself as much of an education as he could.

Though when he was younger the biggest incentive was that the library was generally a safe space for him than the slums. Sometimes the local librarian would teach him a few things if he had nothing else to do. At those times Alexander would revel and listen attentively, trying to learn as much as he could so he could one day get out of the slums and maybe to a higher level of Corellia. Or if he was lucky of this planet entirely.

Still Alexander did not spend ALL of his time in the library (though his friends often complained he did) he got a small pack of friends who he talked with. They were mostly part of his local gang, working more often than not as enforcers but they were not as bad as most of the other gang members.

Due to encouragement from his friends when he was about 15 years old Alexander started to work more directly for the gang. Often making explosives or other mechanical stuff which no one else knew how to make since none of the other people in his part of the city had the bright idea to go to a library and actually learn stuff, the dimwits. At first Alexander thought it could be nice for him to work for the gang more directly but it seemed that most of the gang consisted of ********. Most of them got on his nerves quite often but none really talked down on him since the explosives which he made for them made them grew much larger in influence. The funny thing was that he was not even that good with mechanic and chemistry skills. Sure he had a certain aptitude for chemistry but it was mostly through some extensive instructions that he managed to make explosives.

His skills attracted the attention of other gangs who saw the quick rise of Alexander's gang mostly through the explosives produced by Alexander. Thus when Alexander's gang their leader said hello to a bullet at his head Alexander knew that he would need to flee. The gang of Alexander quickly fractured as a small internal conflict was waged which resulted in the rest of the gang killing each other and eventually getting mopped up by the rival gangs.

Seeing this outcome as inevitable Alexander had already went into hiding in one of the abandoned neighborhoods in the poor area of Corellia though still richer than the slums. That was to say until one of the gangs interested in him kidnapped his mother and executed her when he was't there in time to help her. Let's just say that a lot can be done with some H2O, an electrical generator and some other chemical tools needed to separate the H from the H2O, and a canister and a blaster. A.k.a. burning the gang's headquarters to the ground with some Hydrogen stored in the canister and shoot it with a blaster. And whilst this may have resulted in his mother being avenged he has now come out of hiding at least temporarily and the bloodhounds are coming.

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The sound of rushing feet echoed through the empty streets of district 5-D of Corenet city. The producer of these sounds was a relatively tall young man. The young human male was 17 years old. He was quite tall being 1.8 meters in height and was not thin but not big either, just in-between. He had dirty blonde hair, it seemed to not have gotten a shower for about at least a month and was only barely maintained. This was much the same of the rest of the appearance of the man. He had quite ugly but functional clothing, a pair of old trousers. A leather jacket which had a pale colour from all the use it has had and under that a black T-shirt. Furthermore, the man had blue eyes which held quite an amount of cunning and intelligence inside of them. But as of right now in those eyes there was another emotion, panic.

Alexander was running away. He had just managed to get some distance between him and the Scrapper gang in one of the crowded areas of the slums but he knew they were close by. This was why he needed to get to his safehouse. Here he could at least defend himself properly against the intruders and activate the traps. If worst came to worst he could just blow an escape route out of the wall. Alexander felt his hand brush against his blaster, located safely inside his holster. With it and a single shot he had taken down the Jackals and their headquarters. He heard dying by fire could be quite painful. Especially if it got into the lungs but they deserved it for what they had done to his family. Still he did not gain much satisfaction from the dead of the monsters. A hole in his heart had been filled yes but it was filled with a dull grey fabric. His family was dead and he could not change that no matter how many of the jackals he had killed.

Alexander then mentally scolded himself for drifting of and continued running towards his safehouse, hoping to get there before the Scrappers managed to catch him. He then dared to take a quick glance only to see a person or some kind of reflective object for the duration of a whole second before he turned around a corner and continued his run. Once he saw this Alexander increased his speed hoping to stay just ahead of these gangsters.

Finally ahead of him he could see the large abandoned concrete building where he had set up shop. Or rather it's construction had never been finished as the person who paid for the building died before it's completion and none of his sons or daughters wanted to finish it so it mostly stayed empty. Well empty except for his safe house there which would probably not be much of a safe house for a long time if he was discovered entering it. But he knew that it was at least easily defensible and he had a few traps at certain choke points which could take down quite a few enemies.

Then as he glanced behind him once more he could finally see the ragged forms of the scrappers. Seeing this he increased his speed even further if that was even possible. Running for his life as he had even seen quite a few blasters amongst the small crowd that was gathered. He could even hear someone say "COME BACK HERE VARELLION !!!!!!" Then Alexander finally reached the building, opened the door as quickly as he could whilst frantically breathing, closing it and putting the lock in place. Alexander then sighed in relief for a moment. This steel door should at least keep them there for a few moments. He then walked through the entrance hall that was never finished and took a quick glance at the fire sprinklers he had installed in this part of the building. With the intention to use something far deadlier than simple H2O. He then walked through a second steel door he himself had installed and took a good glance around the room here. In here there were most of his possessions which consisted of: Some personal objects of significant worth, tools used for his experiments and chemical and mechanical projects as well as something else he needed to grab right now. Some extra protection A.k.a. a gas mask and finally, something he had spend most of his income on, his personal data pad. It had access to the few electrical things in the buildings and the sprinklers inside the entrance hall of the building.

(OOC: I know this is god modding and unless Alexander has prepared something like this beforehand and stated it on other occasions that he installed such things he won't suddenly have traps out of nowhere)
When Alexander heard the front door break down due to some blaster fire he put the gas mask on and pushed a certain button on the data pad which released a large amount of Fluor into the air. Which in the form it was being used right now was more deadly than mustard gas. Alexander then casually packed his bag as he heard the screams of people being killed by the mustard gas. He was now pretty sure that the Scrappers were safe so he could now safely "VARELLION" he could hear someone shout.

Alexander face-palmed as he realized he had mentally taunted the great god Murphy and been punished for it. He recognized the voice as the one of Lady midnight. As of right now the largest gang leader in Coronet city. Mostly because she relied on her brains rather than her brawn. Alexander then sighed, finished packing his bag and walked up the stairway. He then stopped on the third floor of the four floor building. Here he looked out of the windows and saw that the building was surrounded by several dozen men and women of the Midnight gang. I know really original. In the largest mass of people he could see five people with purple clothing. Midnight and her inner circle.

Muttering a little Alexander cursed the scrapper gang for creating such a trail of witnesses, sounds and more than enough physical clues that the most influential gang in the area knew his exact location.

As he walked up the stairs he knew that it was unlikely he would escape this and send a quick prayer to whatever gods that there were that he would make it out alive. He then shouted in the direction of the lead group of gangsters. Of which there were exactly 5 each consisting of roughly 20 men. "LADY MIDNIGHT, TO WHAT DO I OWE THE PLEASURE ?" Alex said trying to keep his tone calm and confident. Which he was most assuredly not as he was pretty sure that his position would be stormed

"YOU KNOW WHY I AM HERE VARELLION. I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU A BUSINESS PROPOSITION, YOU WORK FOR ME FROM NOW ON AND I MAKE SURE YOU DON'T GET SHOT TO BITS BY MY MEN OR THOSE OF OTHER GANGS" Alexander would then rub his chin for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should accept the offer. But then he remembered seeing the sight that some of his explosives has created and knew he could not get such resources in the hands of midnight. "THANK YOU FOR YOUR GRACIOUS OFFER LADY MIDNIGHT BUT I PREFER TO WORK FREELANCE."

Alexander swore he could see who he assumed to be lady midnight frowning. "IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT MY OFFER YOU WILL DIE VARELLION. IF YOU WILL NOT WORK FOR ME YOU WILL WORK FOR NO ONE ELSE, NOT EVEN YOURSELF"

He then signed resignedly, knowing that he was most likely going to die and once more he thought of accepting her offer but once against refusing mentally as he did not want any more devastation because of him "I WILL NOT LET THE BLOOD OF ANYMORE PEOPLE BE DRAWN BY MY EXPLOSIVES AND BECAUSE OF ANY MORE GANG'S WISHES FOR POWER. IF YOU WANT TO KILL ME COME AND GET ME."

Alexander then raised his blaster which he had gotten as loot from a rival gang and repaired to decent condition and shot at the group of midnight. The bolt hit one of the inner circle of midnight but sadly not herself. He then got slumped shoulders as he saw the masses of men charging at the concrete building of 890 square meters and closed his eyes for a moment. Grieving for himself, his friends and his mother for a moment. Then when he opened his eyes there was only determination to do what was needed to kill as many of these ******* as he could

[Raphael Xandir]

It was not a familiar environment the young man Raphael tended to frequent. The slums of Corellia was a place he never thought he would have a need to go, but in times like these he had grown desperate. Particular tasks that he would usually assign to others, he now had to get done on his own. The amount of people he trusted around him grew fewer and fewer by the days as his network drastically decreased. The lean man had to do most of the legwork on buying the loyalty of his once great network. His plans were in place, but there was still much to do. Before he left with a bang, he must ensure that in key parts of the galaxy, he would have influential contacts.

The brown robe he wore covered his extravagant armor, as well as a little surprise clipped to his back plate. Dark boots began to sink into the mud on the ground as he bartered with locals for information leading to his lost contact. The hood of his robe covered his long black hair and kept his silver eyes in the shadows.

Before long, Raphael had a lead, a direction to head in. His boots turned on a heel to head in said direction before his attention was caught. A young man, just a tad younger than he, ran through the streets as if monsters were chasing him. A puzzled look came over Raphael’s face as he watched him desperately move away. Moments later, the supposed monsters ran by as well as they gained ground on him. The interest of the now tanned young man was peaked as he put a little haste in his jog to follow the commotion.

At the end of the jog, a group gathered in front of a construction site. Raphael pushed his way into the group as their attention was directed towards the near top of the building. He stopped to look as the men did, the group seemed to be heavily armed, but Raphael did not concern himself with that at the moment. For the time being, the group as well as Raphael listened to the shouts coming from the top.

A woman standing a couple feet away from him began to shout back, he supposed this was the “Lady Midnight.” The one they called “Varellion” and the “Lady” went back and forth with the exchange, as Raphael stood there puzzled.

Leaning over to the man standing next to him, Raphael proposed a question. “So let me get this straight. This man…. Varellion? If he does not work for the lady then he will be killed? Either he is a talented worker or he owes her a lot of credits, but it would make no sense to kill him regardless,” he muttered to the man.

The man began to speak right before a blaster bolt struck him right in the head. His body smacked the muddy ground as Raphael continued to look puzzled. The group then charged to building as Raphael did as well, caught up in the commotion of the crowd. Pulling a sporting blaster from his holster on his waist, Raphael too climbed the tower with the men. Although he was following them, he was merely inserted in talking to the young man everyone was so fascinated with. Raphael wondered what skill they coveted so much out of this man.

Inside the building the group split up as they searched through rooms. Bodies already lined the floor as a faint smell of gas still lingered in the air. Raphael took the opportunity to take out some of his “competition”, as in his mind; he was competing with the others to get to the young man first. A blast here, a blast there; Raphael dropped some of the group as he moved up the building.

It had become almost too quiet; he decided it was best to speak up. A sly voice slithered out, “Varellion?”

Raphael would continue until he heard a response.

[Master Buggie]

Lady Midnight and her gang were the most powerful in Corellia's largest slum district, but there were always competitors to the throne. Some of the minor players were too insignificant to make a difference, and others had affiliations with various Hutt clans or the Crymorah syndicate, who, in turn, had decided it was not worth the resources to make a play against the Midnight Gang. One particular minor player had sworn loyalty to the Blue Star Pirates; they were few in number, but they were led by a man with a hungering ambition to improve his place in the underworld.

"Dox," a lieutenant reported, "There's activity in the Scrapper district. Midnight found the boy."

The boy, of course, went by Varellion. He was impressive, at least for a slum rat. The gang he belonged to, which had dissolved practically overnight as so many others had before it, had risen to a respectable level of influence thanks to the boy's explosives. It didn't surprise Dox that Lady Midnight wanted to track him down and bring him into her gang. There were alternative means to acquiring explosives in the slums, but cheap, potent weaponry came at a premium, and the slums did not often nurture minds like Varellion's. Varellion would be an asset to anyone lucky enough to earn his loyalty.

"Send scouts, but don't make a move unless you see an opening," Dox advised with long, steepled fingers, "Don't commit if he's going to wind up dead anyway."

[Jak Bexel]

"I hate this," muttered Jak Bexel, his YT-2000 granted a special clearance to land on the corner of Pellaeaon Way and 256th St in the Hudsucker building -- another BSP complex.

"I know, this is the fifth time you've announced that," responded a tired Red-Eyes, Jak's main Gran. "It'll be easy. We meet Dox, we shake his hand, give him the Blue Star seal of approval. Nothing better than boosting morale."

There was a strong role reversal at play between the two friends. Their antics had gotten them in more trouble than they wanted to admit, but it was always Jak on the other end with a cheery disposition. Tonight, not so much. The two men arrived with ten well-armed pirates in tow -- a recruitment exchange program for the BSP. Growing their numbers from afar, it was suggested that they send reinforcements to their more fledgling markets. Coronet proved tricky, especially versus the homegrown criminal element.

"I can't come here without explosions to mark my arrival. My Jedi sense is tingling," Jak shook his head and concentrated on the landing. The Corellian primed his front thrusters to gently nudge the Nice Jacket into the vertical docking bay, which sat open on the side of the skyscraper. He made sure to park her nose-out for a quick getaway, should the explosions prove literal and not metaphorical. The ship's powerful frame relaxed against its landing gear and everything began to settle.

"Yeah, but you're not a Jedi. Trust me, we'll be fine," Red Eyes stood up from the co-pilot seat, stretched, and began his half of the job. "Alright gang - put on your socks, comb your locks, and let's meet your new boss."

The landing hatch hiss-clanged to the tiled floor and all twelve men marched out more or less in a line, greeting a Rodian Lieutenant who guided them to the famous Dox. Jak and Red Eyes prepared their cordial faces as the lift barely fit all thirteen of them.

[Alexander Varellion]

Alexander was running through the entire building. Looking where there were any significant groups of enemies coming towards them and then lobbing a few small scale grenades at them. He did not have much, only about 12 but they proved quite successful as he managed to take out several of the enemies though he could not see how much since the moment he lobbed a grenade at the group they normally started firing at him. He then made his way towards the fourth/top floor and hid amongst one of the rooms. Stealthily taking down any individual who tried to enter the room he was hiding in and luckily any groups bigger than 2 people did not enter.

Eventually he heard someone whisper "Varellion" When he heard that he carefully grabbed one of his grenades and made his way towards where he heard someone whisper his name. At the end of the corridor he saw quite an intimidating man standing there. He did not seem to be like most gangsters. Somehow he seemed much more dangerous than most gangsters combined. Alexander carefully held a grenade in one of his hands, one of only three he had left. Though he also had 2 high yield explosives remaining. He then went into the doorframe of his room. Ready to hide inside of it again and glanced suspiciously at the man. "Yes I am Varellion. Alexander Varellion to be precise. Who might you be and what do you want ?" He spoke with suspicion and caution in his voice.

[Raphael Xandir]

Loud cracks of explosives igniting rang through the halls of the building as Raphael continued his search for this Varellion. Bodies of the gang members lined the floor, creating quite the fire hazard. This person of interest was creating such a mess in this construction building; it only served to create more of a curiosity for Raphael.

One by one, Raphael slowly took down the members of the gang in secret so he could be the first to reach this man. Making his way to the top, he kept whispering out the name in hope of a response. With the marks on the walls of fragments from the explosives, Raphael felt he was nearing his target.

Turning a corner, Raphael came upon a long dark corridor that had a few of the gang members on the ground lifeless. From his crouched position, Raphael stood tall and confident as he saw a figure appearing at the end of the hall. Lights began to flicker revealing a young man, similar in age to Raphael it seemed. He was only able to catch a glimpse before the next flicker and then his attention was drawn towards a grenade in the hand of the young man.

Raphael kept his pistol pointed to the ground as to not threaten the man with the explosives as he began to speak. Choosing his words carefully, Raphael chose not to acknowledge his question at all. Instead he came back with his own curiosity, “Alexander… I see you have a particular talent for certain volatile devices. May that be the reason you are so coveted by these syndicates?”

Taking a few steps forward into the flickering light, Raphael awaited a response from the young man. He hoped he wouldn’t be dodging grenades any time soon.

[Alexander Varellion]

Alexander would be tense observing this man. He had not answered his questions but chose to ask some new ones. Even with the man's gun pointed to the floor Alexander knew an expert marksman could hit him quicker than he could hit him. What made Alexander even more suspicious was when them and said "These syndicates Thus implying that he was not working for any of the gangs. Which begged the question, for who did the man work ?

He supposed for now he would answer the questions of the man, he seemed to have an interest in him and he supposed that if he did not work for any of the gangs he could provide at least some temporary extra protection. Which was a lot better than what he had expected previously with near certain death. So Alexander decided to humor the man.

"Indeed it is.It seems there is a large market for cheap explosives. Such a shame the clientele are not the people who would use it responsibly. and from your statement I can deduct that you are not a part of 'these syndicates' so what are you a part of mhm ? "

He said whilst also keeping his hand on his blaster and grenades just in case. Blinking quickly whenever the light flickered, trying to keep an eye on the man and any gangsters which might come from behind the man.

[Raphael Xandir]

The moments in the hallway were tense as only a long corridor separated the men. Their weapons clenched tightly, unsure if they would need to use them. For the untrained, this would be a very uneasy situation. But for Raphael, he had been down this road one or two times before, some of them not ending with both man standing. Yet, despite similar situations in the past, he stood strong and confident as he sought to discover whom this young man truly was.

His head cocked as Raphael listened to the boy pester him about who he works for. It interested him to know that this could be how the underworld of Corellia is; someone always works for someone else. In truth, Raphael followed the lead of no one; he worked for himself and himself only. But alas, a golden opportunity stood right in front of him. An opportunity so hard to pass up he might even lead the boy to his past.

Footsteps sounding louder and louder dropped his train of thought. Within a second, Raphael turned to the staircase next to him and blasted a duo of men making the climb towards Varellion. Smoke from the blaster bellowed up as it came to a resting point downward yet again.

Raphael decided upon a question to answer the boy’s interest in order to entice him. “What makes you think I am apart of something?” he muttered out.

Taking a step closer, Raphael moved directly under the blinking light to reveal his bone plated armor.

“What if I am just one man who desires loyal disciples with your skill set?" He questioned again.

[Alexander Varellion]

Alexander's eyebrow would rise as he saw the man with his bone plated armor. It seemed like this man was a crazy cosplayer which was unlikely with the body tone of the man as well as the weaponry and professional stance. So this only leaved the latter option of Alexander's mind. This is most likely some kind of force-sensitive or just a generally mysterious and dangerous person.

During the whole conversation Alexander would keep a tight grip on his blaster whilst the two men were talking. At the very least he did not seem immediately hostile to him as he saw that the man blasted a duo of gansters as if it was nothing. Alexander then thought on what the man said. It seemed like he was offering him a job which on the one hand was tempting as it did not result in his immediate death but he did not know much if anything of this person yet. He would need to know a bit more about this man if he wanted to be employed by him or something like that.

Alexander would then speak in what seemed like a carefree tone. As if he was not in a life threatening situation. Though Raphael could discern hidden steel behind the words spoken"Generally everyone in the slums works for someone else. Neutrality is something very rare. And disciples ? How could I join you when I don't know you, your intentions nor your ideology. Though considering you are making sure that I am not dead we could at least have a civilized conversation. "

In the meantime the light would continue flickering and Alexander started to wonder when he installed electricity on this level of the building and repaired the lights. He shrugged considering that this was not the weirdest thing that was happening today with this man suddenly entering the picture. Alex then mentally did a count of how many of the enemies had approximately died and if this man had killed more gangsters than the duo that went up the stairs he supposed the majority of the gangsters were dead. Though there might be some individuals left.

Impressive, he had a chance to survive this day. Quite a relishing prospect

[Raphael Xandir]

Raphael took a few more steps down the hallway, closing the gap between the two slowly. He was careful not to startle the young man in front of him; he wouldn’t want an interesting prospect like this getting spooked early on. Raphael would have to plant this seed very early on if he were to see his plan blossom in the future.

Speaking after the boys words were over, “You do not need to know my ideologies. My thoughts are my own as your thoughts are yours.”

A few more steps and the duo were only a few feet away from each other. Raphael could feel throughout the nearby area that they would not be interrupted anytime soon. It seemed the pair had dealt with most of the gangsters, yet if the boss were to come up herself; that much was uncertain.

“You will not work for me boy. But I will make sure you are put in a place of wealth and the ability to garner power,” he said, a smirk evident with the light.

More steps closer put Raphael directly in front of him. He did not care if the man would raise a weapon against him; he figured he held his interest enough.

“Now… I have a proposition for you boy. Consider carefully, that it seems I am the only party here that will free you of this hell hole and make sure you survive another day,” he muttered out with a sly grin.

Raphael paused a moment to determine the best possible escape route. His brain going into overdrive as it analyzed all possible ways and outcomes. He quickly had to shake himself out of the daze a he realized that there had been a long pause.

Placing his free hand upon the young mans shoulder, he spoke, “I will liberate you from these slums. I will provide you with an opportunity to work for someone who is in dire need of your talents. You will have a life you could of never imaged…. But in turn, I may ask of something in return…”

Raphael then turned his back to the young man, hiding his holowatch in the shadows of the hallway. He holstered his blaster and would press upon the watch to summon a transport to the top of the construction building. Once the details of the orders were complete, he turned again to meet his gaze.

“To repay this…. debt. All I require in require in return is simple inside information now and then. We will have a private communication link and no one will have to know,” he added.

Raphael then moved only inches from the young man’s face, he wanted to show him how serious this matter was.

“And when the time comes…. You will choose to follow my lead rather than any other loyalties you might have at the time,” he said, then allowing some space.

“It’s a rather simple and favorable deal for you my friend…”