***Thand Sector, Kafrene Asteroid Belt***
***Ring of Kafrene***
It was a time of empires, but not the one most knew to associate with the word. This was a time of rising and falling syndicates, each clawing and scraping for the greatest share of power within the galaxy. Gangs of raiders, families, cartels, all were waiting for the proper moment to stick the proverbial vibroblade between the ribs of their enemies and, if it was necessary, their allies. Three kings had once been untouchable; the illusive Kabal, leader of Black Sun, the Grand Mogul of the Hutt Cartel, and the man, a saint to some and a demon to others, who many addressed simply as "the Captain," Jay Mertaal.
There had been a transparisteel ceiling to how high other cartels and syndicates could rise with the Black Sun, Hutt Cartel, and Blue Star Pirates crowding the underworld, permeating nearly every sector with their influence. One poor decision; a twist of fate, really, opened the floodgates and allowed the rest to come pouring through only a matter of months ago. A galactic conflict created strange bedfellows, and Black Sun was in bed with the Galactic Empire. The rise of the Sith, carving their territory into the Empire's flanks, threatened the investment that the Black Sun had made. The Blue Star Pirates, against all expectations, throwing in with the Galactic Alliance and taking Coruscant from the Empire's clutches, brought everything crashing down upon Black Sun like the peaked towers of the Imperial Palace crashing down upon the former capital world of the Galactic Empire.
It was a new galaxy, ripe for the taking, and this struggle wouldn't be seen on the strategic worlds of the Core or the battleground systems of the Perlemian. It would be fought in the grime-covered back allies of the galaxy...
The Ring of Kafrene was a former mining colony, long since rendered obsolete by the much more lucrative illegal cargo that passed through the outpost. Desperate travelers seeking sanctuary from the Core and those looking to escape from their past plodded down the shoulder-to-shoulder throughways of the Ring. The outpost was a dead-end for many of these sentients, a forgotten trading post in an uninhabited corner of the galaxy. Forgotten by those that did not seek what could be found beyond the prefabricated shacks and through the clouds of ammonia that rose from the non-Human housing complexes. That characteristic alone made the Ring beneficial for many; particularly those that handled the valuable and, more often than not, illegal goods that passed through the port.
A group of five men walked down one of the Ring's crowded throughways. There, sentients of all types bumped against one another-- all but the five men. They had earned the respect and fear of the Ring's unfortunate inhabitants, at least in this sector of the outpost. These men trailed another group; a rival group of criminals who had begun to interfere with their operations in the outpost. The Ring was a labyrinth of corridors, shanties, and prefabricated structures. To those that were not intimate with this sector of the outpost, losing one's bearings was almost inevitable.
Yes, one wrong turn, and the rival party found themselves at at dead-end. The five men trailing them immediately spread out, their vibroblades brandished, each wicked edge catching a glint of neon light from the walls that hemmed in their prey. With a gesture from the leader, the massacre began. Within moments, only one of the rival group remained, his hands raised in a plead of mercy.
"What do you want?" the sentient begged, the blood of his companions running down his blue coveralls.
The leader, a member of the Red Key Raiders, leveled his blaster, squeezed the trigger, and replied, "...To send a message."
