Krayn
The Messenger
The problem with Tatooine was that it was hot, not the sort of hot that has you complaining of the heat and going to find a nice refreshing drink to cool you down, no not at all, Tatooine was a dry, intense and life leeching heat, one that sucked away everything it could lay its haze upon, which on a planet of endless desert and uninhabitable rock fields was pretty much everything.
It had been the first thing that Maanis had noticed when he arrived on the force forsaken planet where the good came to die, the bad came to get rich and the ugly, well they just seemed to come here to breed. Having managed to procure himself transport from The White Palace aboard a supply runner that worked for the Hutt Cartel as a freelance transport Maanis had arrived after three consecutive jumps by the ship, detouring to Naboo and Nar Shaddaa enroute to the planet of the twin suns.
After the cold of space having all the air seemingly blown out from under you the second the hatch seals are released is not the nicest welcome to a world, the city of Mos Espa, if you could call it a city was just as unwelcoming as the dry air and consistent boiling heat that flowed over it, yet it was here that Maanis had heard whispered rumours that the bounty may have been recently, the problem; as now as Maanis had suddenly come to realise, his target was probably long gone or so well hidden he was going to be stuck on this hell of a rock for longer than he anticipated.
Dressed in the most inconspicuous attire possible, a white clad throw over similar to that of the moisture farmers that regularly visited the city for spare parts Maanis made his way from the spaceport, his credit account considerably lighter after the Bothan pilot had added the un-spoken and un-seen costs to his originally free flight to Tatooine, fortunately neither had the patience to shake the others hand, so Maanis was at least happy he didn’t smell like Bothan fur.
The human bounty hunter made his way down the main access street of Mos Espa; the sheer magnitude of what was before him becoming quickly evident; every nook and every cranny was full of some form of life, here and there human’s dealt with Toydarian traders, having their credits removed from their account at large sums, Jawas moved about like the whomp rats that seemed to cover the area in infestation, droids of every shape and size were seen doing whatever their functions required them to do and as far as Mannis could tell, every single species known in the galaxy was here, somehow in this one city.
Yet there was one small advantage he had been given before plunging into the cesspool of crime that ran rampant around this town, he had been lucky enough to buy a gentleman a drink while residing within Sempra’s abode after taking the contract, the portly human male, who had gone by the simple name of Chris had slipped out a name or two that belonged to several of the ‘knows it’ people upon Tatooine, one such name was a Talon Aresse, who coincidently, three years earlier had given Maanis an ‘I owe You’ for pulling him out of a little bother with the Republic on Pergitor.
Armed with the rather solid knowledge that he had at least one reputable and friendly contact within Mos Espa Maanis continued down the beaten and sand covered street towards a small cantina, freshly renamed the ‘Aristoujio’ Which other than being a completely made up word could have only been thought up by a certain Corellian Information Dealer with too much time and more than enough imagination.
The Aristoujio was nearly identical to every other cantina that littered the surface of Tatooine, from the outside it seemed no more than a mere domed hut, it’s door closed to keep the indecent heat from escaping inside, yet still the small entrance hall and stairs seemed to feel like a furnace as one stepped through the dull green door, aged motors grinding against the sand to shut them quickly. The hardest part was adjusting one’s eyes, their vision having been blinded by the consistent glare of the sun now thrown into a dimly lit and smoky descent that seemed to only grow danker as the stair case began to level out and open into the main room of the cantina.
Across from the entrance, illuminated by deep green lights and just a touch of sunlight from small overhead slits lay the bar itself, a rough sanded counter that wove its way around the floor like a horse shoe, behind lay a series of piping, each known for some form of intoxicating and potentially lethal blend to those who didn’t know what they were ordering, a rough looking Gotal stood behind the bar, his hands busy cleaning glasses, his eyes however had fallen on Maanis the second he walked in and followed the young man as he stepped through the masses, sound of talking not quiet overdone by the Bith four piece band that played cheerily in the corner.
He passed a table of a disgruntled wookie, his roars and growls only matched by the loud grunts and squeaks of the darkly clad kubaz sat across the table from him, it’s hands waving some form of abuse at the larger species he was arguing with. The next table along was two Trandoshan’s and several Bothan’s each silent over a deck of Sabaac, eyes flittered between each other as they paid less attention to their surroundings than they did the cards before them. Another table or two were not as entertaining as the last, mostly smugglers and mercenaries trying to get wind of a job or two, here and there even the odd traveller looking for a way off the planet sulked past, Maanis was made to step around the rather large form of a human who had gruffed at him as he passed, the man was so huge and ugly that he had to have some gamorrean in him.
Sliding into the stool at the bar Maanis was met by the face of the Gotal, whose deep purple eyes seemed to give the young man a once over before placing a glass of what Maanis hoped was Corellian Whiskey in front of him.
“You look familiar human, where have I seen you before?” The bartender asked, his arm supporting his weight as he leant over the bar to get a better look. “Ain’t around here for sure.”
“Perhaps it was somewhere outside of the Minos Sector, headed out there a few times recently.” Maanis replied, sort of casually, yet his eyes met the Gotal’s slight smile.
“Ever as far as the eighteenth sector?”
“Always my favourite for surprises.”
“Maanis Vizla you stuck-up son of a nerf.” The gotal clapped the boy on the shoulder with a wide smile, his other hand reaching for a small button attached to his belt, one that Maanis knew would be connected to an office hidden somewhere for other ears. “What brings you this far into the pearl of the galaxy? Not a woman I hope.”
Maanis held back a laugh, taking a sip of his beverage as he leant slightly forward, his tone remaining casual as he spoke to the Gotal who had at one point held a gun to the lads head thinking him an Imperial Spy as they had made a daring escape alongside Talon Aresse and several others that had belonged to his circle at the time. “Actually I’m here to see a man about a whomp rat. Was wondering if Aresse would be somewhere on planet, he owes me a favour. In fact if I remember rightly so do you Lusic.”
The Gotal made a passing gesture as his hand rubbed over his chin, two eyes flittering to the back corner of the bar so very briefly. “Ah yes I suppose I do, after that little spot off the Rishi Maze, but you never were much of a collector Maanis, that’s why we always felt at ease.” Lusic laughed, as did Maanis as they spoke.
“I may need that favour soon, I’ve taken up another profession, or at least starting out. Smuggling was getting me nowhere, so I looked at my options, I need to speak to Talon though, he’s here; behind me yeah?”
“You always were a bit of a bright spark.” The cool, Corellian accented tone of Talon Aresse flooded over Maanis, the aging, yet still charmingly handsome human slipping in on the stool next to his younger and once closest protégée. His hand reached out and with confidence the two men embraced each other like long lost friends. “So Maanis, I thought we’d seen the last of you on Bothawui.”
“You know me Talon, I have a tendency to appear when you least expect it. Got pulled into a job and honestly I need a favour.” Maanis replied in a hushed tone as Aresse took a drink from Lusic who had also leant into the conversation. “Working for Sempra, Teemo fell through;” He tried to ignore the rather pained look that ran over both Talon and Lusic’s face, but something in it just got the newly crowned bounty hunter worried. “I’m looking for a man, names Kei Amadis, he was rumoured to be somewhere in the sector within the last month or so, I’m hoping that you, being you will have some form of lead that can get me closer than this city.”
Talon looked Maanis over, and then glanced at Lusic. “I’m going to be honest with you Maanis, because I like you. But be careful, Sempra is not the sort of Hutt you get wrapped up in without consequences further down the line, you may do your job fantastically but he will only start to expect more and more as you pull in whatever it is you asked. Some say Teemo was bad, but personally the things I’ve seen Sempra do make Teemo seem like a spoilt pup. The problem I’m getting with this is Kei Amadis hasn’t been anywhere near the system in months, and last time I heard of him which wasn’t that long ago he was associated with the Silver Jedi, a price on his head with little explanation strikes me as odd and suspicious.” Talon took a sip out of his glass and exchanged knowing looks with the Gotal who had been nodding as his boss spoke. “But I can at least get you in, see the Trandoshans playing Sabaac? Well one of them is called Jurell, he’s a tracker; a hunter so to speak. Not in bounties, but for other assets. He rolled with a crew of Jedi Hunters during their monthly smuggling runs along the rim, before they betrayed him and left him for dead somewhere outside of Cato Neimodia, had a chip on his shoulder ever since, but in that time he managed to get a good idea on where these Silver Jedi were common place. So I’ll go and have a word, introduce you and see if he can get you at least a solid trail on the silver bastard, information won’t come cheap of course, but i’ll pick up the expense, I do as you say owe you a favour.”
“Talon I appreciate it.” Maanis said as he spun on his chair slightly, so he could better look at the three Trandoshans who were playing against the Bothans at the table down the bar, one of them, a lighter brown than the others with a large scar down his face was marked as Jurell as Talon slipped in behind him and whispered into his ear, eyes were raised, deep and reptilian to meet Maanis’, the young human giving him a slight nod in respect and acknowledgement, he was being measured up by those calculating eyes he knew it, yet soon enough the nod was exchanged and the Trandoshan excused himself from the game and sat himself down next to Maanis, on the opposite side to where Talon had returned.
“Sso you after sssome information on a mutual business?” The Trandoshan said, his S’s catching on the end of his tongue, “I can help, for a price.”
“The price will be cared for Jurell, just deal with me for payment.” Talon interrupted as the Trandoshan smiled, showing his pointed and many teeth.
“Have many powerful friendsss it ssseemsss, maybe thisss Jeeedi ssshould watch hisss back for this one?” He seemed to sniff the air, his eyes still planted firmly on Maanis. “Sssmellsss fresssh, not much experience, who are you working for?”
Maanis remained silent a moment, his eyes briefly looking at Talon, then Lusic the Gotal and finally returning to Jurell. “A rather angry employer, they just need a message passed on.”
The Trandoshan gave the man a look over, his eyebrows raised, or at least that’s what Maanis took the stretch of skin above his eye for. “A messssage? How about I passss sssaid messssage on?”
“I thought you cared more for killing Jedi then passing on messages?” Maanis had his turn to raise his eyebrow now, watching as the Trandoshan returned his stare with a smile.
“That isss true, how very attentive of you.” He looked passed Maanis and centred his stare on Talon, “Eight hundred creditsss and I will have a location on this Jeeedi within a week.”
Talon nodded, his arms crossed and face serious, “Done.”
“Very good, boy meet me at docking bay ninety sssix, ‘The Juriman SSStar’ in four hoursss, we will need to move fassst, or the trail will go cold.” With that the Trandoshan left and returned to his table, Maanis and Talon closing in the ranks to speak some more.
“Just watch your back Maanis, whatever it is this Kei Amadis has done to deserve a bounty it’s got a few people scared, in fact I’m starting wonder if it was someone else who put this price on his head and had to go through our little Hutt friend for protection.” Talon said in hushed tone towards Maanis, who tried not to give away to much on the origin of the bounty, his eyes not on the Talon but rather on the Trandoshan who had just stood and left, obviously to prepare his ship. “Just promise me you’re not getting in over your head with this one.”
Maanis slipped from his stool and planted a hand onto Talon’s back, “Trust me; I’m not going to get blasted anytime soon.” With a smile he turned and was about to leave, but as his head turned to face the looks of his two companions he added quietly, “I’d appreciate if you forgot I was ever here, or that our little Jedi friend was mentioned. Only I’m not meant to leave a trail.”
Talon gave a laugh, his face genuinely amused, “Maanis my friend I’m the crossroads to so many paths they would get lost and give up.” His eyes followed Maanis right out of the door, before he turned to Lusic. “I sure do hope he knows what he’s doing.”
“When has he ever boss?”
“Good point.”
It had been the first thing that Maanis had noticed when he arrived on the force forsaken planet where the good came to die, the bad came to get rich and the ugly, well they just seemed to come here to breed. Having managed to procure himself transport from The White Palace aboard a supply runner that worked for the Hutt Cartel as a freelance transport Maanis had arrived after three consecutive jumps by the ship, detouring to Naboo and Nar Shaddaa enroute to the planet of the twin suns.
After the cold of space having all the air seemingly blown out from under you the second the hatch seals are released is not the nicest welcome to a world, the city of Mos Espa, if you could call it a city was just as unwelcoming as the dry air and consistent boiling heat that flowed over it, yet it was here that Maanis had heard whispered rumours that the bounty may have been recently, the problem; as now as Maanis had suddenly come to realise, his target was probably long gone or so well hidden he was going to be stuck on this hell of a rock for longer than he anticipated.
Dressed in the most inconspicuous attire possible, a white clad throw over similar to that of the moisture farmers that regularly visited the city for spare parts Maanis made his way from the spaceport, his credit account considerably lighter after the Bothan pilot had added the un-spoken and un-seen costs to his originally free flight to Tatooine, fortunately neither had the patience to shake the others hand, so Maanis was at least happy he didn’t smell like Bothan fur.
The human bounty hunter made his way down the main access street of Mos Espa; the sheer magnitude of what was before him becoming quickly evident; every nook and every cranny was full of some form of life, here and there human’s dealt with Toydarian traders, having their credits removed from their account at large sums, Jawas moved about like the whomp rats that seemed to cover the area in infestation, droids of every shape and size were seen doing whatever their functions required them to do and as far as Mannis could tell, every single species known in the galaxy was here, somehow in this one city.
Yet there was one small advantage he had been given before plunging into the cesspool of crime that ran rampant around this town, he had been lucky enough to buy a gentleman a drink while residing within Sempra’s abode after taking the contract, the portly human male, who had gone by the simple name of Chris had slipped out a name or two that belonged to several of the ‘knows it’ people upon Tatooine, one such name was a Talon Aresse, who coincidently, three years earlier had given Maanis an ‘I owe You’ for pulling him out of a little bother with the Republic on Pergitor.
Armed with the rather solid knowledge that he had at least one reputable and friendly contact within Mos Espa Maanis continued down the beaten and sand covered street towards a small cantina, freshly renamed the ‘Aristoujio’ Which other than being a completely made up word could have only been thought up by a certain Corellian Information Dealer with too much time and more than enough imagination.
The Aristoujio was nearly identical to every other cantina that littered the surface of Tatooine, from the outside it seemed no more than a mere domed hut, it’s door closed to keep the indecent heat from escaping inside, yet still the small entrance hall and stairs seemed to feel like a furnace as one stepped through the dull green door, aged motors grinding against the sand to shut them quickly. The hardest part was adjusting one’s eyes, their vision having been blinded by the consistent glare of the sun now thrown into a dimly lit and smoky descent that seemed to only grow danker as the stair case began to level out and open into the main room of the cantina.
Across from the entrance, illuminated by deep green lights and just a touch of sunlight from small overhead slits lay the bar itself, a rough sanded counter that wove its way around the floor like a horse shoe, behind lay a series of piping, each known for some form of intoxicating and potentially lethal blend to those who didn’t know what they were ordering, a rough looking Gotal stood behind the bar, his hands busy cleaning glasses, his eyes however had fallen on Maanis the second he walked in and followed the young man as he stepped through the masses, sound of talking not quiet overdone by the Bith four piece band that played cheerily in the corner.
He passed a table of a disgruntled wookie, his roars and growls only matched by the loud grunts and squeaks of the darkly clad kubaz sat across the table from him, it’s hands waving some form of abuse at the larger species he was arguing with. The next table along was two Trandoshan’s and several Bothan’s each silent over a deck of Sabaac, eyes flittered between each other as they paid less attention to their surroundings than they did the cards before them. Another table or two were not as entertaining as the last, mostly smugglers and mercenaries trying to get wind of a job or two, here and there even the odd traveller looking for a way off the planet sulked past, Maanis was made to step around the rather large form of a human who had gruffed at him as he passed, the man was so huge and ugly that he had to have some gamorrean in him.
Sliding into the stool at the bar Maanis was met by the face of the Gotal, whose deep purple eyes seemed to give the young man a once over before placing a glass of what Maanis hoped was Corellian Whiskey in front of him.
“You look familiar human, where have I seen you before?” The bartender asked, his arm supporting his weight as he leant over the bar to get a better look. “Ain’t around here for sure.”
“Perhaps it was somewhere outside of the Minos Sector, headed out there a few times recently.” Maanis replied, sort of casually, yet his eyes met the Gotal’s slight smile.
“Ever as far as the eighteenth sector?”
“Always my favourite for surprises.”
“Maanis Vizla you stuck-up son of a nerf.” The gotal clapped the boy on the shoulder with a wide smile, his other hand reaching for a small button attached to his belt, one that Maanis knew would be connected to an office hidden somewhere for other ears. “What brings you this far into the pearl of the galaxy? Not a woman I hope.”
Maanis held back a laugh, taking a sip of his beverage as he leant slightly forward, his tone remaining casual as he spoke to the Gotal who had at one point held a gun to the lads head thinking him an Imperial Spy as they had made a daring escape alongside Talon Aresse and several others that had belonged to his circle at the time. “Actually I’m here to see a man about a whomp rat. Was wondering if Aresse would be somewhere on planet, he owes me a favour. In fact if I remember rightly so do you Lusic.”
The Gotal made a passing gesture as his hand rubbed over his chin, two eyes flittering to the back corner of the bar so very briefly. “Ah yes I suppose I do, after that little spot off the Rishi Maze, but you never were much of a collector Maanis, that’s why we always felt at ease.” Lusic laughed, as did Maanis as they spoke.
“I may need that favour soon, I’ve taken up another profession, or at least starting out. Smuggling was getting me nowhere, so I looked at my options, I need to speak to Talon though, he’s here; behind me yeah?”
“You always were a bit of a bright spark.” The cool, Corellian accented tone of Talon Aresse flooded over Maanis, the aging, yet still charmingly handsome human slipping in on the stool next to his younger and once closest protégée. His hand reached out and with confidence the two men embraced each other like long lost friends. “So Maanis, I thought we’d seen the last of you on Bothawui.”
“You know me Talon, I have a tendency to appear when you least expect it. Got pulled into a job and honestly I need a favour.” Maanis replied in a hushed tone as Aresse took a drink from Lusic who had also leant into the conversation. “Working for Sempra, Teemo fell through;” He tried to ignore the rather pained look that ran over both Talon and Lusic’s face, but something in it just got the newly crowned bounty hunter worried. “I’m looking for a man, names Kei Amadis, he was rumoured to be somewhere in the sector within the last month or so, I’m hoping that you, being you will have some form of lead that can get me closer than this city.”
Talon looked Maanis over, and then glanced at Lusic. “I’m going to be honest with you Maanis, because I like you. But be careful, Sempra is not the sort of Hutt you get wrapped up in without consequences further down the line, you may do your job fantastically but he will only start to expect more and more as you pull in whatever it is you asked. Some say Teemo was bad, but personally the things I’ve seen Sempra do make Teemo seem like a spoilt pup. The problem I’m getting with this is Kei Amadis hasn’t been anywhere near the system in months, and last time I heard of him which wasn’t that long ago he was associated with the Silver Jedi, a price on his head with little explanation strikes me as odd and suspicious.” Talon took a sip out of his glass and exchanged knowing looks with the Gotal who had been nodding as his boss spoke. “But I can at least get you in, see the Trandoshans playing Sabaac? Well one of them is called Jurell, he’s a tracker; a hunter so to speak. Not in bounties, but for other assets. He rolled with a crew of Jedi Hunters during their monthly smuggling runs along the rim, before they betrayed him and left him for dead somewhere outside of Cato Neimodia, had a chip on his shoulder ever since, but in that time he managed to get a good idea on where these Silver Jedi were common place. So I’ll go and have a word, introduce you and see if he can get you at least a solid trail on the silver bastard, information won’t come cheap of course, but i’ll pick up the expense, I do as you say owe you a favour.”
“Talon I appreciate it.” Maanis said as he spun on his chair slightly, so he could better look at the three Trandoshans who were playing against the Bothans at the table down the bar, one of them, a lighter brown than the others with a large scar down his face was marked as Jurell as Talon slipped in behind him and whispered into his ear, eyes were raised, deep and reptilian to meet Maanis’, the young human giving him a slight nod in respect and acknowledgement, he was being measured up by those calculating eyes he knew it, yet soon enough the nod was exchanged and the Trandoshan excused himself from the game and sat himself down next to Maanis, on the opposite side to where Talon had returned.
“Sso you after sssome information on a mutual business?” The Trandoshan said, his S’s catching on the end of his tongue, “I can help, for a price.”
“The price will be cared for Jurell, just deal with me for payment.” Talon interrupted as the Trandoshan smiled, showing his pointed and many teeth.
“Have many powerful friendsss it ssseemsss, maybe thisss Jeeedi ssshould watch hisss back for this one?” He seemed to sniff the air, his eyes still planted firmly on Maanis. “Sssmellsss fresssh, not much experience, who are you working for?”
Maanis remained silent a moment, his eyes briefly looking at Talon, then Lusic the Gotal and finally returning to Jurell. “A rather angry employer, they just need a message passed on.”
The Trandoshan gave the man a look over, his eyebrows raised, or at least that’s what Maanis took the stretch of skin above his eye for. “A messssage? How about I passss sssaid messssage on?”
“I thought you cared more for killing Jedi then passing on messages?” Maanis had his turn to raise his eyebrow now, watching as the Trandoshan returned his stare with a smile.
“That isss true, how very attentive of you.” He looked passed Maanis and centred his stare on Talon, “Eight hundred creditsss and I will have a location on this Jeeedi within a week.”
Talon nodded, his arms crossed and face serious, “Done.”
“Very good, boy meet me at docking bay ninety sssix, ‘The Juriman SSStar’ in four hoursss, we will need to move fassst, or the trail will go cold.” With that the Trandoshan left and returned to his table, Maanis and Talon closing in the ranks to speak some more.
“Just watch your back Maanis, whatever it is this Kei Amadis has done to deserve a bounty it’s got a few people scared, in fact I’m starting wonder if it was someone else who put this price on his head and had to go through our little Hutt friend for protection.” Talon said in hushed tone towards Maanis, who tried not to give away to much on the origin of the bounty, his eyes not on the Talon but rather on the Trandoshan who had just stood and left, obviously to prepare his ship. “Just promise me you’re not getting in over your head with this one.”
Maanis slipped from his stool and planted a hand onto Talon’s back, “Trust me; I’m not going to get blasted anytime soon.” With a smile he turned and was about to leave, but as his head turned to face the looks of his two companions he added quietly, “I’d appreciate if you forgot I was ever here, or that our little Jedi friend was mentioned. Only I’m not meant to leave a trail.”
Talon gave a laugh, his face genuinely amused, “Maanis my friend I’m the crossroads to so many paths they would get lost and give up.” His eyes followed Maanis right out of the door, before he turned to Lusic. “I sure do hope he knows what he’s doing.”
“When has he ever boss?”
“Good point.”
