Lights of Utapau [Open - Pau City]

[Saureen]

Saureen gave out an aggravated sigh, this scrapper woman better be good, he didn't want to be doling out credits to Mr. all bark no bite over here for nothing. But it didn't seem like he had a choice in the matter, so he carried on with the 'interview',

"I'm not asking you to fight, I'm asking you to look scary, keep thugs thinking twice before approaching my party."

Saureen fished out some credits from a side pocket of his, "Payment would be a few hundred credits, ain't nothing special for an ain't nothing special job." The masked man tossed [member="Ala'Tir"] the credits, "Consider that a down payment."

Saureen turned to the human, and nodded towards him, his hood partly concealing it, "And you, have any questions?"

[member="Bengalo Chergari"]
[member="Avin Starfire"]

 

[Darth Chekigh]

Shi had searched the area, seeing multiple smugglers, who could probably offer up a good job with some good pay, but he had noticed someone rather odd, a human, but, he could sense it, special...

Shi walked up to the man, he was sitting at a table right outside a Café in the shopping district, he had a red bandana around his face with a suit made of pure cybernetics. Shi noticed the blue shine illuminating from a small hole within the suit, and the red wire falling from it. The man had a scar across his eye, and a buzzcut. The wookie sat down in the chair beside him.

"Brraugh?: You look like you could offer some good work for some good cash."

"Yeah, what's it to ya'?"

"Raghhh.: I'm in need of some credits to pay off debts, you got any work?"

"Well, you look like a good hunter, real valuable item, mask in fact, you'll know you've found it when you see it, real ancient lookin', and it should look very worn, in fact, that thing dates back to the clone wars. Thing is lots of other folks are after the item too. So you better bring whatever weapon you got along the ride, bring me the mask and I'll pay you good."

"Braggh?: How much?"

"Mmm, 10,000."

"Runhhh, furrhg..: That's way more than I need, it will do fine."

"You need to find me, ask around for Brax.

"Rurgghh: Nice doing business with you, I'll have the mask by the end of the month."

And with that, the wookie had his sights set on the mask, he knew he could only find it in the lower parts of the planet, he looked around the small tunnel like structure he had found himself in and looked at all the creatures, platforms, and shops scattered throughout the region. This could only go one way, great.

 

[Darth Chekigh]

Shi would start to travel downward, as the floors got progressively darker, he took out his stun batton to illuminate the area around him and kept his traditional Wookie Bowcaster by his side, he eventually entered a cantina.

Multiple people took confused and almost frightened glances at Shi.

"A Wookie on Utapau?"

Shi had heard these words uttered by a bar-goer.

He had also noticed a lot of commotion in the cantina, it looked like some people were starting an alliance. Shi sat at the bar and ordered something to quench his thirsts.

"A wookie, eh? Doesn't look so tough to me."

Shi looked to his right to his right and saw a rather sketchy male Twi'lek who had a small blaster pistol attached to his belt.

"I bet I could win a fight with you pal, twice the prize once I get my hands on that mask."

Shi just stared at him, debating whether to tear him apart or not, however, he didn't want to attract much attention to himself, and he affiliated with The Light Side of the force.

"Anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

He remembered, as his father from his homeworld of Kashyyyk had told him.

"But y'know, maybe it's not worth it, you don't look like an expensive fellow!"

Shi roared in anger and ripped the Twi'lek's arms off and threw them across the cantina.

 

[Avin Starfire]

Avin glanced up at the robed figure and weighed his proposal in mind while holding his face in a neutral expression. Some additional credits would always be useful and especially so if he could infiltrate deeper into the underbelly without getting his hands too dirty. Starfire stared up at [member="Ala'Tir"] as his statement was proposed well it seemed easy enough work especially if Avin could pick up any hints on the CIS resurgence on the planet that he had been sent to scout out.

Avin replied his voice gruffer this time establishing himself not to be messed about by the mysterious employer.

"What the big guy said, ill look mean but if it comes to killing I charge double."

Avin let the words ring for a few moments and stared at [member="Saureen"] his eyes slowly narrowing.

"The names Jim by the way."

 

[Saureen]

Under the breath regulator, Saureen smiled, one step closer to getting the mask. He nodded again towards [member="Avin Starfire"],

"Killing is far from my intention. But we must leave now, I do not wish to wait."

Saureen turned towards [member="Bengalo Chergari"] and [member="Ala'Tir"],

"Finish your drink trader, we are leaving now."

Saureen swiveled on his heel towards the door, readjusting the strap of his rifle and pulling down his cloak. Glad he got his breath from the stale filters, protecting him from the awful smell that this Cantina most likely possessed. At first he paid no mind to the wookie who entered to cantina, he wasn't the first giant in here anyways. But his little confrontation with the Twi'lek did bring up Saureen's attention. Saureen unholstered one of his blasters and said,

"Let's go!"

[member="Shi-Tarnan_Wookie"]

 

[Ala'Tir]

Ala'Tir took the down payment. It was only a few credits, but it was something. What really drew his attention was the Twi'lek who was violently dismembered behind him.

The Gen'Dai upholstered his blaster, although he had no intent to use it. If the Wookiee got in the way, he could probably submit him with his bare hands. Probably. Wookies were strong creatures, especially so when they were upset. Gen'Dai were stronger, and Ala'Tir wouldn't even be fazed by damage that would instantly kill other species. He looked towards his motley party and spoke, voice an urgent rasp.

"I agree with the masked one, it's time to go."

[member="Saureen"] [member="Avin Starfire"] [member="Shi-Tarnan_Wookie"] [member="Bengalo Chergari"]

 

[Bengalo Chergari]

Getting her way was one of Benny's favourite things. Honestly if Saureen hadn't asked those particular two bar patrons to be his 'muscle' she'd probably still have taken the job, but it was fun to throw her weight around and see what she could get away with. And they actually seemed to be going for it. Gods alone knew why, but they were, and this, Benny decided, was a clear sign that this particular venture had the Gods shine on it. At least for her, and that was really all that mattered.

"Benny. Jimmy-Jam, Buttercup and Princess, got it, time to go."

She drained the mug, left it on the counter and high-tailed it. Shine or not, the Gods never handed anyone anything, they just might see to it you had opportunities or warnings. First had come the opportunity, now came the warning. Saureen had said he didn't know that anyone else was after the mask, and yet here in this very cantina came a wookiee who was immediately challenged by a Twi'lek about what she could only presume to be the same mask.

While not overly prejudiced against wookiees, honestly Benny had an unreasonable soft spot for any being over a certain height, she just really wanted to climb them, she did have opinions about folks who went about pulling other people limbs off. This opinion was largely that they shouldn't come anywhere near her limbs.

The nearest locations of interest had been a black-market. A true black-market. Assuming the whispers she'd heard were right, it was a locals only deal, and although nominally in the lower levels of the sinkhole, was actually set off in a warren of tunnels, where they didn't bother with lighting period. Which raised the question of how four obvious off-worlders were going to set in. Benny had some ideas about that.

She'd done some dealings with an arms-dealer when she'd first arrived....

"We goin' in a rough patch hey? Try t'at least look tough." The Ryn for her part might have been moving with speed, not sure what might be coming out of the cantina behind them, but there was still a certain cocky swagger to her steps. Act fearless and the world sometimes paused to wonder why. She was definitely leading them into a seedier area. Benny was probably the only one in the vicinity not armed. Kids here carried blasters. It was that kind of place.

If they made it, not too far away, maybe fifteen minutes brisk walk there was a shop with a certain Sugi.

[member="Ala'Tir"] [member="Saureen"] [member="Avin Starfire"] [member="Shi-Tarnan_Wookie"]

 

[Darth Chekigh]

The unfortunate Twi'lek screamed and fell to the ground. Shi looked around the room and saw many folks staring at Shi, many had brought out their blasters just in case. Shi saw the giant towering figures looming by the doorway. Shi guessed they must be people of great strength, and sat down immediately, not wanting to get into some sort of confrontation. The wookie finished his drink and went back outside, unhooked his stun baton and continued on his quest for the special mask.

 

[Avin Starfire]

He had been so distracted with the conversation at hand he didn't notice the commotion at first but as the blue arm clattered to a rather messy halt on the bar next to him his reaction swiftly matched that of his fellows. He stood up, powering his blasters on the rise.

"Time to go indeed."

His feet moved steadily the same way he had entered after the rodian scuffle one by one to the Cantina doorway. His right hand trailing in position ready to draw on anyone stupid enough to raise a blaster in his direction. In connection with the fresh air of the outside world, his head swiveled to regain the direction in which the rag-tag group had taken off in.

As they pushed further into the city Avin ensured to keep beside his fellows best he good, allowing his scared and hard face, large frame, and two heavy blasters put off any gutter dwellers that would try their luck at the party of strangers. His ears pricked up as [member="Bengalo Chergari"] let them know about the area. Rough patch... the name was normal to his line of work damn a place like this back on Kuat was his loving childhood home.

"Oh yeah, no problem, ill growl at some children or maybe etch a skull into my armor make it look really scary." Avin quipped the people here wouldn't be stupid a big karker like [member="Ala'Tir"] would put off the idiots and spice addicts looking for a quick buck yet Avin's artillery would be more than enough to put off any organized crime lots. Hell if it really got down to it and his identity had to be revealed then they would have even less trouble although chopping down the poor with a saberstaff might not go down to well with his superiors.

[member="Saureen"]

 

[Darth Chekigh]

Brax was standing in the corner of the room, out of sight, he looked up to see the Wookie leave, he had what he had came to this planet for right in front of him.

He would wait until no one was looking, the mandalorians had attacked the planet recently, he wouldn't want to start up a ruckus, if he did, however, he had an arsenal of weapons by his side. And the sight of a Jedi in the room a few minutes ago made him even more sure that he must wait, besides, he had a tracker set on the wookie, and his mask was very dark efficient, he shouldn't have trouble finding the wookie, but, trouble capturing the wookie? It was very possible, the show of strength by him a few minutes ago, tossing an arm like it's deadweight, this wouldn't be easy.

 

[Saureen]

Saureen took the time walking from the cantina to whatever market [member="Bengalo Chergari"] had determined the right place to look, to observe his surroundings. Saureen he had lived on Utapau for...a long time, although the memory damage prevented him from any specifics, Saureen knew it had been a long time. But he had spent so much of it planning, brooding, imagining the glories of Grevious, he had forgotten to take in what was around him then. Even as the lights dimmed, he could see most of what they passed. He wasn't unfamiliar to these dark tunnels, he had lived in the underbelly of a much smaller city on Utapau for a long time, it kept his eyes well adjusted to the poor lighting. All sorts of folk littered about in the alleyways and tunnels of Pau City, off-worlders, natives, criminals, the lower class, and maybe even hidden law enforcement, you never knew until you got close.

Although Saureen had never been to this market, he'd heard of it, many of his questionable-morals type friends had been here, one had even gotten the DT-54 blasters Saureen sported from this place. It was crawling with old junk from old wars that had managed to come to Pau City, and Saureen just knew there was going to be plenty of Mandalorian and Outer Rim Coalition gear floating around. But that wasn't why they were here. They needed the mask.

"Don't worry about your protection, junker, worry about finding the artifact."

[member="Avin Starfire"]
[member="Shi-Tarnan"]
[member="Ala'Tir"]

 

[Bengalo Chergari]

Could you strain your eyes from rolling them too hard? Hopefully not or Saureen was going to be covering her medical bills even if Jimmy-Jam and Buttercup did their jobs. Worry about finding the artifact. It wasn't just that she was protecting her own tail, although obviously she was, it was also that only a certain kind of person was allowed access to where she wanted to go. She could maaaaaybe get in by herself, because there were few people as good at spinning a lie as she was, but it would be so much easier if they were just accepted as the sort of people who ought to be there.

Jim was amusing at least. "Make sure y'really commit to th'growl, these kids ain't gonna drop their lollipops for just anyone. I like th'skull idea though. Maybe add some sick flames too. That way you'll be scary and you'll go faster."

They reached the shop without incident. Anyone without preexisting knowledge wouldn't even know it was a shop, it looked just like any of the rundown abodes around it. The Ryn let herself right in however.

"Oi Khashoggi! I need somethin'." Not 'I need a favour', there were no favours with beings like Khashoggi. The Sugi scuttled out from a backroom, looking for all the world like a particularly spiny insectoid.

"Krr-Chergari, we thought our business was concluded satisfactorily."

"New business. I want in th'dark market."

"Hrrrrm, perhaps given a few days.."

"Now Khashoggi. Right now."

"And in return?"

"What ya want? Y'know I don't carry much what interests you."

"Deliver a package for me, no questions."

"Fine. Now."

"Krrrr, agreed. Package will be delivered to your ship. Follow the droid."

An RIC series general labor droid edged it's way out and waved one of its arms at them.

[member="Saureen"] [member="Avin Starfire"] [member="Ala'Tir"]

 

[Darth Chekigh]

.

 

[Darth Chekigh]

He wandered the streets, he had reached the deep depths of the planet, he could not find it, he had already gotten into plenty of battles in the past hour, which he won, he had decided that maybe he wasn't looking in the right places, he might have to go down into the caves and waters below the surface to find the mask.

Shi had bought his grapple hook up in the higher levels and and started his way to the center of the planet, he had found the giant tunnel, the small openings on the sides of them, and the large pit of water that lay below, in the distance he saw a large platform, worn by years of being held in the sky, he began there, only to find... peices of metal on the ground.. the eroded remnants of an ancient separatist droid. And right below the platform, was that tunnel, he knew he had found the correct location, the bottom of the pit, the mask had to be there, yet, Shi couldn't sense it, but it was still worth the try.

 

[Darth Chekigh]

He wandered the streets, he had reached the deep depths of the planet, he could not find it, he had already gotten into plenty of battles in the past hour, which he won, he had decided that maybe he wasn't looking in the right places, he might have to go down into the caves and waters below the surface to find the mask.

Shi had bought his grapple hook up in the higher levels and and started his way to the center of the planet, he had found the giant tunnel, the small openings on the sides of them, and the large pit of water that lay below, in the distance he saw a large platform, worn by years of being held in the sky, he began there, only to find... peices of metal on the ground.. the eroded remnants of an ancient separatist droid. And right below the platform, was that tunnel, he knew he had found the correct location, the bottom of the pit, the mask had to be there, yet, Shi couldn't sense it, but it was still worth the try.

 

[Darth Chekigh]

(How do I delete posts? I'm on mobile.)

 

[Avin Starfire]

Avin reached into his jacket as the group came to a stop behind Benny and her rather odd looking reptilian contact. He pulled out the chromed cigarra case popping the cap from one side and withdrawing the rolled paper filled with a herbal smelling Havao Tabac before pressing it to his lips and lighting the end. The cloud of smoke initially produced by his exhalation seemed to linger in the smog-filled air for a moment with its white wisps a stark contrast to murky blacks and browns of carbon that paved the streets. He continued to repeat the process until the conversation came to a natural end.

"Hey, Benny-boo whats the deal with old spider legs over there? I thought this was a simple retrieval job, not a delivery service."

Avin let the stub of his cigarra hit the floor before pressing the toe of his boot into the smoldering stub and twisting.

[member="Ala'Tir"] @Saureen @Bengalo Chergari

 

[Ala'Tir]

The parts of Pau City that they were going through just got seedier and seedier. Ala'Tir was pretty certain he saw several children armed with blasters at this point, enough weapons to make his look like a peashooter. Then they stopped at a strange creature's store, and the feline was intent on gaining access to something called the 'dark market'. The Gen'Dai was confused, and briefly took off his helmet.

"Jim, my friend. May I have a cigarra?"

After getting sucked into a job like this, he needed the boost.

"And you two. Masked man and feline. How much further is this mask?" Ala'Tir had asked this in a whisper, careful not to alert anyone nearby. His helmet was still off, and the Gen'Dai stretched his ears from under his jaw before tucking them back under. Bright, blue eyes pointedly observed his surroundings, and sharp rows of fangs clicked together in anticipation.

[member="Avin Starfire"] @Shi-Tarnan @Bengalo Chergari @Saureen @Brax Hanturi

 

[Avin Starfire]

Avin looked over to [member="Ala'Tir"] after his request, opening the box and offering it forward to the Man with his lighter following swiftly to light it for him.

"Help yourself."

Avin gave a friendly smile to the Gen'dai as he took his helmet off.

"Its good to meet a man who appreciates the finer things in life."

[member="Ala'Tir"]

 

[Darth Chekigh]

Shi entered one of the caves. He felt something, he felt pain, the pain of another. And with that, rocks had fallen and covered the cave's entrance. Shi couldn't resist, he had to explore the narrow cave.