Private Odd Jobs

[Jorrann Lanchur]

Location: Denon

After what felt like weeks being on the run from Jeeli the Hutt, Jorrann and Kaesha found themselves on the planet: Denon. Like Coruscant, Denon was a city planet though on a small scale. The two of them had got into some trouble when Jorrann ended up double crossing Jeeli in one of his get rich quick schemes. He planned on taking some purified coaxium that was smuggled to the lower levels of Coruscant and present it to the Cybersouls gang in exchange for 250,000 credits. More than enough to lift Jorrann and Kaesha out of their impoverished situation and out of the planet where he and Kaesha can be in control of their own destiny. Working for Jeeli was equivalent to slavery, long hours, pay so bad that the two of them could barely afford them a decent meal, and of course the fucking mocking and insults from Jeeli. It drove Jorrann insane, he wanted out of level 1313 his "home", he wanted a better life for Kaesha. More importantly, he wanted to explore the Galaxy something that he long thought was a myth given that he lived all of his underground.

When Jeeli sent his goon squad after Jorrann and Kaesha, the two of them ran towards a random Freighter located in the old spacesport. They quickly hid inside the cargo hold where Jorrann saw that it was taking them to Denon. Now here they were standing awkwardly in the city limits with a small cantina in the form of an old train standing in front of them. "So according to the map I stole from the pilot. It's located on the borders of the Outer Rim territories. All we need to do is to find a way out from Denon and into the Outer Rim."

The young man shook his head. "The problem is," he said. "We're broke and I don't think we should chance hopping into another freighter like we just did."

If only they had a ship where Jorrann can start smuggling. "Maybe we can go inside that cantina and ask around?" Jorrann asked Kaesha.

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

"Maybe someone will have some simple labor jobs for us?" Kaesha hummed hopefully, a jest really, as they both knew well enough that 'simple labor jobs' would be the least possible job they could find, or would be a far stretch from the truth if anyone said they had as much. Arms crossed over her chest, the brunette looked out, chewing on the inside of her cheek, a bad habit when she was thinking. "What else do we have to lose other than some sleep?" She tilted her head, peering up at her dark skinned companion with that big wide smile of hers, after all, they wouldn't get anywhere if they didn't stay positive, and that was one of the things Kaesha excelled at.

"I'd say your easiest plan yet. Worst comes to worst we stick around and wash some dishes." She hooked her arm with his, bumping into him purposefully so as to hopefully get him to smile and breathe easy; they'd escaped Jeeli. For the moment they were safe. "One step at a time?" She took his hand, squeezing firmly before taking a long stride forward, tugging him along towards the train-shaped Cantina.

"We won't get any answers by standing around, Jorrann, come on." If he didn't walk through that door first, then she was going to, regardless of what might be on the other side.

Jorrann Lanchur

 

[Jorrann Lanchur]

Jorrann rolled his eyes when Kaesha told him to possibly said to take a dish washing job. "Seriously?" Jorrann asked chuckling while raising an eyebrow. "You honestly want to go back to the days where we have to shovel chit out of one of the many septic tanks in Coruscant?!"

He shuddered thinking about the unfortunate mishap that happened last time they worked the sewers. "No way!" Jorrann said. "I didn't flee from Coruscant just to break my back cleaning some dishes." He placed his hands on Kaesha's slender shoulders a grin spread to his face. "You gotta start thinking big if you want to get a better life!" he said.

Though what kind of jobs that this cantina was offering, Jorrann didn't know. "All I want," Jorrann said. "Is to be a pilot and considering that we're pretty much blacklisted from the Alliance thanks to Jeeli, the only thing that's left is to do what we do best. Smuggle chit."

But first thing they had to do was to get a starship. Jorrann didn't know how to get one, but they needed some credits if they were to even think getting one. "Let's get inside," Jorrann said rifling through his pockets. "I got some credits left about 200, that's enough for some food and drink."

Jorrann stepped inside the small cantina only to be greeted by a sound of large gears being grinded together. If Jorrann had to guess it was almost as if the train was still functioning. Some of the ceiling lights above were flickering and there were at least three people drinking what appeared to be coffee while reading the newspaper. A Rodian leaned against a jukebox jamming to the jazzy beats of music that came from the radio, As Jorrann sat down looking around the interior, he saw a television that was displaying the Holonet News.

After intense fighting on Cato Neimodia, the New Jedi Order and the Silver Jedi Concord has created a foothold in the Capital City where they are continuing to engage the Brotherhood of the Maw. Blaster fire from both sides light the sky as anti-air guns fired by the Maw are preventing the Jedi Alliance from sending air support. In addition while many bombs that were planted in key areas around the city have been successfully removed by the Jedi. There are still some bombs left that can make a devasting impact to the general population if denotated.

"Agh, that's all on the news now and days," a deep voice appeared from the back. He was a rotund Besalisk with 4 arms and a grin. "War, war and more war! I miss the days when the only things that happened was when some Coruscant teen overdosed on Deathsticks."

Jorrann shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it sucks," he said not really caring for the Jedi. "But what can you do with a senate who cares more about devastating planets for profits?"

The Bessalisk shrugged. "Yeah, the Galactic Alliance loves a good war!" He said. "It serves as a good distraction from the things that the senate should be doing like helping us. Anyway my name is Pald Nill what can I get ya?"

"Can I have the Branta Burger along with a Jawa Juice?" Jorrann asked before turning to Kaesha. "What do you want?" he asked smiling.

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

"I'll just have the same." She smiled sheepishly, "Though I'd love a few greens on the burger if you have any?" Kaesha directed the question to Pald Nill as she sat down next to Jorrann, leaning onto the counter with her elbows as she nonchalantly looked about, trying to get a quick look around the place.

"Oh, ah, if you have it, I'd prefer some water?" Her smile widened a bit, glancing now to Jorrann to make sure her order wasn't going to make them dirt broke.

Jorrann Lanchur

 

[Jorrann Lanchur]

As soon as Kaesha mentioned water, Jorrann smiled sheepishly forgetting that he only had a few credits left and Jawa Juice tended to be a bit pricey. "Um," Jorrann said. "I want to change my drink to water please."

Pald smiled as he looked at the two of them. "Looks like you kids are short of credits eh?" he said.

"You can say that," Jorrann muttered feeling embarrassed at the fact that he was called poor. "We're looking for work."

"Work huh?" Pald said. "Well not much work can be had in these parts. I'm not hiring at the moment and you two don't like people who worked in a kitchen. In fact...."

Pald leaned closer to Kaesha forcing Jorrann to get in front of her. "Excuse me," he growled.

"Sorry about that," Pald said. "Just needed a good look at ya! And I see you got a blaster as well!"

Jorrann looked at his blaster that was holstered at his hip. "Yeah?" he said. "What's it to ya?"

"I'll tell you what?" Pald said. "I'll let you have anything food you want for free."

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

Free? Kaesha tensed up a bit, her brow furrowing for a moment as she then glanced to Jorrann, knowing full well that this might spark trouble for the two of them. "Free? No catches? No contracts? Nothing in return?" She didn't buy it, they'd lived almost their entire lives under Jeeli's thumb, they knew nothing in the world was truly free, not for the likes of them anyway.

Hidden by the counter, or she hoped anyway, Kaesha reached out squeeze Jorrann's thigh, more as a way to reassure herself that they were in this together and they'd be fine; she did not like the way this guy was looking at her.

The dark haired female took another moment to look about the cantina, as subtly as she could, hoping none of the other patrons were actively paying attention to the slight scene that was starting.

Jorrann Lanchur

 

[Jorrann Lanchur]

Jorrann nodded in response. Where they lived, there was ALWAYS a catch. "Come on what's the catch?" Jorrann spat. "You creeped on my girlfriend and you stared at my gun. Who do you want killed?"

"Killed?" Pald said while Jorrann placed his hand over Kaesha for reassurance as he took the orders he written and gave it to a male Twileak cook. "Who do you I am a Hutt? Nah I just need you to take something back."

Jorrann frowned though a smile starting to creep up. A job that could pay well? Better than washing dishes or cleaning out a septic tank. "Go on."

"This place," Pald explained. "I bought at 851, it was part of a decommissioned Dennon trained which transported minerals from the planet to the city. "Fired her up and give it that unique look as if you're riding a train. It's all thanks to a generator which I pawned as soon as I got place."

Jorrann continued to squeeze Kaesha's hand while he listened intently. "A week ago, gangsters wearing red stormed place and cleaned me out taking my profits and my generator now while it's running on back power it ain't gonna last long. Now I'm not going to say kill the bastards, but all I want is that generator. The police are apparently too "busy" to deal with the like of me."

"We'll take it," Jorrann said smiling. "Don't worry I've done this thing before. We can get you that generator in no time! Question is: How much?"

"I can give you half this weeks profits," Pald responded. "About 1,500."

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

Kaesha started to chew hard on the inside of her cheek, squeezing that hand back firmly as she too listened in. A run in with gangsters. Collecting stolen goods and returning them to the 'rightful' owners. It would be a dangerous job if they had to steal from the thieves. Sometimes she wished they had a larger crew for jobs like these.

1,500 credits was... more than they'd seen in a while, but it still wasn't a ton. Not as if it would make them rich, but they were definitely desperate for cash. It certainly made the gears in Kaesha's head start to wind as she tried to think just what sort of scheme Jorrann was cooking up in that mind of his. But where else would they find a job this quickly, and at least for money to stay a night so they could find more work.

Her dark eyes glanced to Jorrann, more biting her lip now as she thought about it; they were desperate, but they couldn't just run in blindly, they needed more information. "We'll need more information on these gangsters' of yours. Where you think they might be hiding out, who they are...?" She looked back to her boyfriend, her expression more leaning towards if he had any other questions or information she might have missed.

Jorrann Lanchur

 

[Jorrann Lanchur]

"Of course! Of course!" Pald said as the smell of burgers came from the back kitchen. "Called the Red Rockets, not an original name but their small time punks trying to make a name for themselves on Denon. They smuggle in drugs such as glitterstim, spice, you name it and have been trying to expand their territory in the poorer areas of the city."

Jorrann nodded. "In other words," he said. "A pretty typical gang."

"Yup," Pald replied. "They hang out up North taking over an old Toy Factory." Jorrann frowned. "Sounds good to me," he said. "We'll sneak in, grab the generator and get out."

He stared at Kaesha. "We've done this multiple before Kaesha," he said. "It's easy!"

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

"Yeah. Your definition of easy." Kaesha shook her head, smiling warmly regardless. "About five pages long with footnotes and edits scratched all over it. Doesn't mean we still shouldn't be careful, Jorr." She sighed, trying not to drool and the delicious smell of burgers, leaning on her elbow on the counter as she looked up to her companion.

"Your simple plans never end up going as, well, planned. We always have to add extra steps." She looked back to their, well.. employer.. and smiled a bit, curiosity in her gaze. "Got a spot where he and I can talk this out without fear of others listening in?" She hummed softly, her voice low so hopefully only Jorrann and Pald could hear her.

Jorrann Lanchur

 

[Jorrann Lanchur]

"It's called keeping your options open Kaesha," Jorrann said leaning closer to the young woman. "Do you want to continue to live in squalor? We're given an olive branch here." Maybe there was something off about this Pald guy but they can overcome it like they always do. "I mean look at this place," Jorrann whispered. "Do you- ugh."

The young man shook his head while Pald chuckled. "Get in the back," He said. "Many of my employees go on smoke break there." Jorrann nodded. "We will take this on," he said grabbing Kaesha's arm and dragging her towards the back of the cantina. "Look Kaesha," Jorrann said. "We need that money, It's a start to at least start getting off this planet. Maybe he does some stuff on the side, but we need to get off our feet."

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

Kaesha blinked, being dragged behind the young man as he headed for the back of the cantina. Her brow furrowed a little, and she shook her head, trying to smile at Jorrann reassuringly. "Jorrann. I know we need the money. I'm not saying we shouldn't do the job. I just think we need to take it one step at a time and get it right. I'm not saying we should trust Pald either, but you're right, it's all we've got right now."

She reached for his hand, squeezing it firmly, her expression more serious now. "We do what we do to survive, and he has his own way. I'm no one to judge. I do still think we need to tread lightly, even if we don't seem like we are?"

The brunette tilted her head, looking up to Jorrann curiously, her expression a bit clouded with concern. "I didn't mean to make it sound like we weren't going to take the job, Jorrann. Or that I don't trust you, because I do. I trust you with my life."

Jorrann Lanchur

 

[Jorrann Lanchur]

Jorrann nodded placing his hands on his hips. "I know," he said bitterly. "But after being screwed out of the 250,000-credit heist at Coruscant I just want to get going." He looked around the area sighing, Jorrann and Kaesha lived all of their lives on Courscant. When they saw the Sun for the first time, Jorrann thought it was artificial not natural. It was large, bright, beautiful making Jorrann realize what he was missing in life. He never seen so much color being used to the dark and grey colors that decorated Level 1313. The constant sounds of blaster fire that served as his lullabys as a kid was replaced with noises of speeders and people talking and laughing.

"We'll take it slow," Jorrann said. "But we do need the money."

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

Kaesha leaned up, kissing Jorrann's cheek firmly for a moment before she pulled back, squeezing his hand again. "So long as we make smart decisions. We're in this together, and we'll get through this together." She beamed up at him reassuringly, elbowing him gently to get that smile of his back.

"Just slow enough to make sure we can do it right, we don't need to go any slower, I promise you." She knew they needed the money. It broke her heart they hadn't been able to score that 250K credit heist, but what can one do when unforeseen circumstances arise? Not much in their case, anyway, other than run.

"Lets get what we need to get our own ride and out of here." She knew he was thinking something similar, or at least, even if not immediately he had at one point in the last day or so; it was their dream after all, to get their own ship and make their own living out in the stars.

Jorrann Lanchur

 

[Jorrann Lanchur]

"Right," Jorrann said. "I don't fully trust this Pald guy yet but I just don't want to run out of credits and be stranded on a planet that we don't even know." The young man looked around the place. "I'm just taken aback though," Jorrann mumbled gulping and feeling the Sun's rays shine against his skin. "I've never thought there was so much green in the galaxy before."

Living underground in Coruscant most of his life, Jorrann never thought he'd ever see the surface. He and Kaesha would dream of a day that they would finally leave and see the surface together. He didn't think that it would be this lively and honestly this peaceful. "Let's talk to Pald," Jorrann said cupping his hand around Kaesha's cheek. "I'm sure he has some transportation, I'm doubtful he's going to allow us to walk in this fucking heat."

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

"Agreed." What was Kaesha agreeing to? Well, everything Jorrann had said, honestly. They'd be a fool to immediately trust anyone other than each other, especially after everything that went down on Coruscant. And being stuck on a planet neither of them knew? Definitely was on the lower (unfavored) end of her 'possible results to their plans' list.

The liveliness of being topside on a planet, a different world, the green, the stars. Apart from their current situation within the cantina, Kaesha would have been quite well distracted, taking in all the sounds and sights, the air that was at least fresher than the lower levels of Coruscant, and the freedom of it just being the two of them, however she had reigned it in before they came in; the prospect of taking on a job from some unknown person or source had her nervous.

Kaesha smiled warmly up at Jorrann, leaning into the hand that cupped her cheek. "Having transportation for once would be really nice..." the prospect of transportation, perhaps a method she'd never seen or experienced, brought the curiosity and excitement back to her eyes, squeezing his hand firmly as she kept the one not cupping her face hostage.

"Lead the way then, handsome. I'm right behind you."

Jorrann Lanchur

 

[Jorrann Lanchur]

Transportation of any kind would be nice, being on the outskirts of Denon while a step up from living in 1313 wasn't all that much better. There seemed to be a lack of opportunity and there was already a lot of gangs. Then again Jorrann wanted to be a Smuggler seeing that it was the one thing he was good at. That and blasting people's face off with his blaster pistol. "Come on," the young man said. "Let's get going."

The two re-entered the restaurant bar where Jorrann saw that the burgers and drinks were ready. "Is the job still on?" Pald said smiling. "We're still doing it." Jorrann said sitting down and began to take a large bite from his Burger. "But we need transportation, you can't expect us to walk in the desert all day."

Pald chuckled. "Of course not," he said taking reaching for his pocket and pulling out a key. "Which is why you can use the Speeder out back. It's an ancient repulsorlift vehicle but it drives as fast as any modern-day speeder. Won it in a card game 10 years ago, haven't had much use for it though. It's designed for humans and I couldn't get a buyer or at least one that was willing to pay a price that I wanted."

As Jorrann continued to eat, Pald slapped the key down and smiled. "I'd figure that you kids need all the help you can get. If this place shuts down then not only I'm out of the job but people will have to go miles without a place to rest before entering the city. Pretty desperate here."

A smiled formed on Jorrann's face, for once in her and Kaesha's lives luck finally smiled on them. "Raced many speeders back at Coruscant," he said. "Have a knack for driving."

"Try not to crash this thing," Pald frowned. "It's the last of its kind."

Jorrann chuckled nervously. "Can't make any promises on that," he said.

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

"This looks amazing.." Kaesha hummed with excitement at the food, settling down beside Jorrann to dig in as well, though she made an effort to take her time eating. The smell of the burgers were killing her, and she was having a hard time keeping her grumbling stomach quiet, but rushing when eating never ended well. "And I'll do my best to keep him from wrecking it, Pald. Thank you for letting us use it."

"And thank you for the meal." She commented after taking a breather from her burger, sipping from the cup, sighing in relief as the water soothed her throat. Maybe she was wrong to be so suspicious of Pald at first?

Her reddish brown eyes turned to Jorrann, smiling warmly, determined even. "Head out after were done?"

Jorrann Lanchur

 

[Jorrann Lanchur]

Even though it didn't look like it, Kaesha and Jorrann were obsessed with food. Given that the two of them grew up in the slums of Coruscant access to food was scarce. As children, Kaesha and Jorrann would rummage through the trash bins eating whatever scraps of food that was thrown into the trash can. Finding fresh food as good what they were eating now was just as rare as finding Coaxium in the mines. "Indeed," Jorrann mumbled gorging on the Burger. "The food is wonderful!"

"I'm glad you think so," Pald said sliding a piece of paper on the table. "So you guys taking off? Here's the location."

Jorrann unfolded the paper to see map and saw the marked area. "It's in the mountains," Jorrann said. "A couple of miles from here."

"Yup," Pald said. "Don't worry the bike is full of gas and it'll get you in and out."

"Wait....." Jorrann looked raising an eyebrow. "The speeder uses gas? How old is this thing exactly."

Pald scratched his head. "I'd say dating back to the Hyperspace wars." he said.

Kaesha Thalen

 

[Kaesha Thalen]

Kaesha glanced between Jorrann and Pald as they talked, chasing a bite of her burger down with the sip of water. "You've been to their base before?" She asked curiously, or maybe he just knew the bike that well? He said he couldn't use it, with it being designed for humans and all.

Within moments, while waiting for their employer to respond, Kaesha was digging back into the burger, unable to stop the happy hum as it tasted so good; best food she'd ever eaten in her whole life.

Jorrann Lanchur