An Ordinary Day on Ord Mantell [Ask]

[Rane DeCola]

***Mid Rim Territories***
***Bright Jewel Sector, Ord Mantell***
***Worlport Business District***

Rane entered the door leading to the front offices of Bright Jewel Traders. Once inside the office, no one was around, but by the many stacks of datapads, he took it that business seemed to be doing well.

“Excuse me sir, do you require assistance?,” a protocol droid asked politely as he entered the office from a corridor leading to the rest of the warehouse.

“I was told I would be expected.”

“Of course sir. Did you come with a reference for your appointment?”

“When it rains, it pours.”

“Thank you sir. I’ll let my master know that you have arrived.”

The droid exited back down the corridor from which it appeared, once again leaving Rane in the small, untidy office. As he waited, Rane hears several loud roars come from down the corridor, The commotion comes to an end and the same droid that had greeted Rane comes hurriedly back down the hall.

“My master will see you now. Please follow me.”

Rane follows the droid back down the corridor, which leads to main section of the large warehouse. Before him, Rane notices that the warehouse has been stuffed full of various wares, from the likes of fresh fruits and vegetables to capital starship parts. As he follows the droid through a maze of crates and shipping containers, Rane hears the roaring once again and turning the corner after the droid comes upon a Wookie arguing with another droid that is working on the warehouse floor.

“Sir, Rane DeCola to see you.”

The Wookie looked over at Rane and waving his arm wildly dismisses the droid.

What have I gotten myself into this time?

[Ashara Rys]

Ord Mantell
Bright Jewel sector, Bright Jewel Cluster
Worlport Business District

Ord Mantell.

High King of the Junkyards.

Outside of Bright Jewel Traders, in the junkyard across the dirt path opposite the small establishment, Ashara sat on one of the many piles of scrap playing with her montrals in sheer boredom. As she sipped a glass of green milkshake through straw, she wondered again what she was doing in this place.

Oh, yeah. Rane was up to something, and needed men.

Well, it was his lucky day. He ended up with a woman worth five of them.

She knew Ord Mantell. Everyone knew Ord Mantell. She had been here millions of times in the past, with the Red Key Raiders. Her hands clenched tightly around her glass of bantha milkshake, as she remembered all of those times. Subconsciously, her eyes darted too and fro. It wasn't farfetched if she encountered one of them here today.

Subconsciously, her hand went to one of her blaster holsters.

She looked at the chrono on her wrist. Rane had been gone long enough.

"Aye, time tae go shoppin'," she muttered as she slurped her green milkshake glass empty before throwing it behind her into the heaps of junk. She crossed the dirt path, and entered the office.

“Excuse me madam, do you require assistance?” the same protocol droid tottered towards her that had greeted Rane.

"Aye. Lookin' for a friend. Seen a bloke wi' glareshades? If he still has his intestines, I'mma need him back."

[Trassek Veilser]

***Mid Rim Territories***
***Bright Jewel Sector, Ord Mantell***
***Worlport Business District***

Fresh out of the academy Trassek had been assigned his first duty. A duty that was chafing his Barabel pride worse then the scale rot on the kriffing academy world. The word of the day was patrol and he was to explore the warehousing district and get to know the sights, sounds and particularly the smells of the area. Standing Just over 2 Meters tall the Barabel was wearing 'standard' issue protective armor a gray chest plate, face mask whose straps had been extended to accommodate the His head size. and a datapad strapped to his forearm by multi-tape. The rest of him was covered in his tailored standard issue uniform Ear marking him as a member of the imperial garrison. The entire getup would have been quite comical and not out of place in a RomCom HoloDrama. But then again if any being laughed at Trassek, it was usually once, just once.

Walking down the side streets Trassek was making sure to move as loud and ungainly as possible. The point of his patrol he knew was to asert dominance and the more people who thought he was slow witted or clumsy the better for him if it came to a fight.

"Might I interest you in something?" A young Chadra-Fan, murmured as Trassek passed, "This One is on duty but may return later on This One's spare time. he murmured his reptilian voice modulated by the mask he wore. moving away he continues down the path his eyes moving from one side of the small street to the other.

[Rane DeCola]

As the large brown-furred Wookie turned and faced Rane, he roared something that Rane figured loosely translated as “What in the Sith do you want?”

“I think you know why I’m here. Management has asked me to look into the books and check your protocols.”

Again the Wookie waved his arms about and rumbled a heated response back in Rane’s direction.

“Look, I don’t care what type of a time schedule you’re on or that your convoys keep getting intercepted. It’s the interceptions that I’m here to investigate. It’s impacting the bottom line.”

Once more, the Wookie grumbled and finally turned and walked away from Rane, heading off toward the rear of the warehouse, out of Rane’s site.

“Thanks. Maybe I will,” Rane said under his breath.

Rane was glad to have avoided further conflict with Wookie over the matter. Having reviewed much of the information on the convoys that had been intercepted, Rane already knew that Shayda D’ren, owner of Bright Jewel Traders, and her Wookie partner that went by the name of Dacca, had followed the proper protocols and safeguards to ensure safe transit. However, three of the business’s recent convoys which the Blue Star Pirates had worked with Bright Star Traders to facilitate had fallen victim to impoundment by Imperial patrols. While everyone got boarded sometimes, three was too many, and the Blue Star Pirates needed to make certain that their protocols hadn’t been compromised or that there wasn’t information leak in their network. He needed to speak to Shayda, but Dacca said he hadn’t seen her and conveyed that if he wanted to find her he should start looking for her himself.

As Rane looked around at the mountain of cargo and various wares stored in the warehouse, he heard a bit of commotion come from the direction Dacca had wandered off in. He couldn’t make out what the commotion was about and started to make his way toward the rear of the building when he heard the Wookie roar and blaster shots ring out.

As he quickly pulled his weapon and started running in the direction of the blaster fire, he once again wondered what he had gotten himself into…

[Ashara Rys]

"I am terribly sorry Madam but I am afraid I simply cannot allow you to--"

Then she heard blaster-fire.

"Outtae the way ye wee clanker!" Ashara kicked the protocol droid aside, sending the poor thing practically flying into a pile of cargo containers stocked within the office itself.

"My word!" the protocol droid protested, only to fall on deaf ears as Ashara sprinted down through the maze of crates and shipping containers with all the agility and speed of a carnivore. Her montrals guided her instinctively through the maze thanks to her natural echolocation, helping her trace the shortest clear path through the boxes of crates to where she could sense multiple human sized or larger figures.

In but a few moments, the sounds of Wookiee roars and blaster fire was close enough to reach her ears. She stopped behind a wall of crates, separated by it from the blaster brawl on the otherside. She understood she was in the rear of the building, and she could feel at least five humanoid-sized figures on the other side as well, one of them large enough to be a Wookiee - she judged that one of them was a Wookiee thanks to the roars she heard.

#
Genghe Reech was not pleased. As the lieutenant of Kanjiklub in Ord Mantell, it had been his job to expand Kanjiklub's sphere of influence in this junkyard. Instead, he had spent way too many a cycles wasting his days with Twi'lek hookers - though if one asked him personally, he would say that indulging in his Kanjiklub Lieutenant privileges was just as important as the work he had been assigned to do by the Great Leader, perhaps even more. Sadly, the Great Leader himself did not see it that way, and he had issued a death bounty on Genghe Reech's head all the way from Nar Kanji. The only way it could be removed was if Reech did something significant within the next standard month.

That was seven weeks.

"Sooh uba'laz bu bo whooh oeals da-ha poodoo Blue Stars!" Genghe Reech shouted towards the Wookiee, as he and his Soojes rained down blaster fire on both Dacca and Rane. He then turned to the skinny, pale green Nautolan beside him in stun cuffs, and pulled one of his head tentacles, the apprehended Nautolan grunting in pain. "Wetto, u told je da Bright Star was run by do wooky um do cheeka. Coo's this guy? Did u lie tah je, u poodoo!"

/pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/

Blaster fire at the Wookiee and Rane continued throughout the chatter.

"In my defense, that is what the... drunk - ugh! - Rodian... told me... Ugh!"

"U brought us unko on do word tuta do drunk Rodian?! Ugh! U're doe worst Ulwan mee've ubber ooordh uf!"

The Nautolan gave him a cocky grin. "Ah, but you have heard of me!"

/pew! pew!/

"Argh! Blastoh Tee-tocky!" Genghu Reech ordered, and somehow the already incessant onslaught of blaster fire began to increase, raining down upon the Wookiee and the Blue Star, destroying whatever crates, cargo containers and other obstacles that the two may be hiding behind.

/pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/

What the Human Lieutenant did not expect was the wall of crates beside him, providing his own cover, to suddenly shift, the quasiwood boxes raining down over Kanjiklub's heads as they all shouted and grunted in various Huttese and Nar Kanjin dialects, scattering.

Their Nautolan prisoner took this moment to kick Reech away from him, at just the moment a quasiwood crate smacked over on top of Reech's head, effectively disorienting the Kanjiklub Lieutenant long enough for the Nautolan to slip away from him, raising his still stun-cuffed hands in triumph. "Ha! You will always remember this as the day you almost blasted Captain Jek Sparro!"

/pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/

The swaggering Nautolan, identified as Captain Jek Sparro, had barely finished his sentence when he was almost shot by one of the Wookiee Dacca's stray blaster bolts. He immediately flipped around towards Rane and Dacca. "Wait, no! Don't blast me! I come in peace! I'm not with them!"

Meanwhile, the source of the falling crates was revealed to be none other than Ashara, who had knocked them all over from the other side right on top of Kanjiklub's head. Said Kanjiklub was now beginning to recover and regroup, rushing towards their weapons even as Ashara rained down her own twin-blaster fire upon quite a few of them. But there was three (or four, including Jek) of hers, and more than twenty of Kanjiklub.

"Do yer dinger! We need tae get outta 'ere, now, ladies!" she shouted back towards Dacca and Rane, ducking under blasterbolts before firing back her own.

/pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/ /pew! pew!/

#
Translation of Huttese:
1) So you're the one dealing with those bastard Blue Stars!
2) Wait, you told me the Bright Star was run by a Wookie and a Cheeka (woman). Who's this guy? Did you lie to me, you bastard?
3) You brought us here on a word from a drunk Rodian?! Ugh! You're the worst pirate I've ever heard of!
4) Argh! Blast them!

[Trassek Veilser]

Private Veilser heard the Blasterfire and turning towards the sound he pulls off his mask blinking as his nostrols flare and his tongue flicks out scenting the air. he taps his datapad taped arm triggering the mic on his neck "Blaster fire! Wolport Disssstrict, This One is responding." he says even as he suits action to words and using his powerful tail leaps from the alley to the top of the building running til he got to the area. crouching on the rooftop he draws his blaster, like most of his uniform it had been jury rigged to fit his large hands. watching as the Nautolan backs away spouting lines straight out of a bad holodrama.

Knowing he was outnumbered and out gunned by both parties he opted to sit and observe and wait for the time to strike, all he could do until and if backup arrived. Trassek watches as one of the hutt's goons wanders to the side fiddling with his blaster presumably dealing with a power jam. Trassek moves quickly and silently using his claws he slashes some cargo webbing off a nearby box and a length of rope, tying the ends he moves to the edge of the building and throws the net over the man pulling him to the roof he knocks him out and secures it to the side of the building. Sissing in excitement because he hadn't hunted since he got to this planet.

[Rane DeCola]

The entrance of Ashara to the fight was welcome by Rane, but he was slightly annoyed as he had left her outside to provide security for the meeting. Obviously something had gone awry with the meeting, as he was certain that Ashara wouldn’t have missed the increasingly large group of armed assailants entering the building. Either this was a set up by Dacca, or the group had already been inside. Regardless, the person that Rane was looking for wasn’t here.

Turning to Dacca and yelling over the blaster fire, “listen up fuzzface, we need to get out of here now. Where’s the closest exit?”

The Wookie roared back at him, not fond of the fuzzface comment. In response to the Wookie, Rane held up his blaster. “Look, I haven’t got time to argue and if you’re in on this, management would prefer I just cut you loose now.”

The Wookie grumbled less understandably back at Rane and waved his arm back toward the direction from which he and Ashara had entered.

“Ashara! It’s back the way you came. You and Dacca get out now. I’ll cover you!” With that, Rane stood up half way, barely revealing himself overtop of the durasteel shipping container that he had taken cover behind once the shooting had started and let loose a barrage of blaster fire, in an effort to provide cover for Ashara’s and Dacca’s attempt at escape.

Today’s a good a day as any to die…

[Ashara Rys]

Ashara closed her eyes and reached out, feeling for the ethereal power that many referred to as 'the Force'. While she was far from an adept in any of the arts that Master Buggie had offered to teach her, she had already discovered that the small exercise still served to calm her and increased the efficiency of her shots. Snapping her eyes open, they momentarily flashed gold - not that Ashara knew of that - before she fired blasterbolt after blasterbolt from her weapon of choice, taking out one, then two, three, four of Kanjiklub.

"... Oh dear," the Nautolan, Captain Jek Sparro commented from her side, even as Genghe Reech could only stare in shock, quite a few Huttese expletives remaining hitched in his throat. Never before had he witnessed such a fine display of marksmanship.

It was maddening.

"Blastoh Poo-Doo!!!" he screamed at the top of his voice and Ashara screeched as she narrowly avoided getting hit by a blasterbolt shot by Genghe Reech himself.

Ashara glanced back at Sparro. "How good are ye wi' a blaster?!"

"Uh... I know my merry way around-AAGH!!!" Sparro ducked another bolt from one of Kanjiklub before diving behind a durasteel container himself which he had finally managed to sneak towards.

Ashara didn't think twice and tossed him one of her two blasters, even she heard Rane's voice over the deafening pew-pews.

“Ashara! It’s back the way you came. You and Dacca get out now. I’ll cover you!”

"Aye!!!" she fired at Reech who ducked out of the way just in time before Ashara turned around and grabbed the gigantic Wookiee, pulling him alongside herself. She was far from Wookie-level in strength but she could lead him along should he choose to do so. "Come oan ye fuzzball!!!"

"Oi, wait for me!" Jek Sparro bolted, following right behind Ashara. Ashara turned her head around and hissed, baring her Togruta fangs at him to intimidate him from doing anything he might come to regret. Togruta were carnivores after all; more docile species like Nautolans and Humans tended to forget that. Sparro, getting the message, signaled her with twin thumbs-ups, before the woman the three of them ran back out whence they came.

Meanwhile, Genghe Reech was not pleased.

"BRIGUN PAU ODA BIGGE GUNNZ!!!" he shouted, and immediately, the scoundrels following him moved, before a reptilian brought four large hovercrates which an eye-patch wearing, rather humongous, Whippid slashed open with a swipe of one of their tusks - all four at the same time. Each of Genghe Reech's enforcers, including the man himself, were now armed with A280 blaster rifles, augmented with Kanjiklub-specific modifications.

And they all had their weapons aimed at Rane.

"BLASTOH!!!"

/bigger pew-pew!/ /bigger pew-pew!/ /bigger pew-pew!/ /bigger pew-pew!/ /bigger pew-pew!/