Objects in Mirror are Larger than They Appear

[Ugoto Chivaro]

NAR SHADDAA
VERTICA RACE TRACK CONSTRUCTION SITE

Constructing a racing circuit the size of Vertica on Nar Shaddaa could not go unnoticed. Already the Hutts were scrambling to see who could extort the Helios Racing Company first, as the poor fools had just bought the land and started construction without giving any consideration to their neighbors. The only reason the Hutts hadn't shown up already was because they were confused. There were conflicting reports being funneled to them from the channels the Syndicate controlled, each stating that a different Kajidic had already gotten to Helios.

Or that they were a front company for the Republic Remnant, and treading on them would inevitably spell disaster.

Or that they were run by a Sith Lord. Darth something or other. Who could keep track?

While all this was going on in the background, the foreman and his crew would arrive at the construction site one day to find several dozen Syndicate Enforcers waiting for them, plus a Mandallian Giant the size of two outhouses stacked on top of each other. His name was Rahgot, and he was presently chewing on a toothpick. "Hello, friends."

Another half-dozen Enforcers emerged, blocking off the exit in a line. Stun batons, wielded menacingly, crackled with electricity. They were all wearing helmets, so clearly it was 'serious business' season for the Syndicate. Rahgot removed the toothpick from his mouth and flicked it away.

"Who is boss here?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Helix Syndicate"]

Jimmy Happyhands stepped forward from the small crowd of workers.

Mr. Dallius, the owner of the Helios Racing company had set him to create the racetrack here on Nar Shaddaa by any means necessary. Jimmy wasn't entirely sure why they had to construct the track here, but he had done exactly what his employer had asked and set to work as quickly as he could. Of course he had assumed that Mr. Dallius would make out some sort of deal with the Hutts here, but it seemed his employer had done no such thing.

Stupid move, Jimmy knew this world well enough to realize that. It was a lucky thing that for all intense and purposes he ran the track here, Mr. Dallius would just have to deal with whatever came of this mess. Strutting forward with clip-board in hand Jimmy moved towards the large...monster alien thing.

"Me." His voice was gruff, the hard-hat he wore decorated with a myriad of scratches and scuffs. "What can I help you with Mr...?"

He trailed off questioningly, glancing at his clip-board.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"I am Rahgot!" Bellowed the Mandallian Giant of the same name, his thunderous voice carried several meters down the durasteel corridor-alleyways of Nar Shaddaa before inevitably being lost to the ever-present sounds of air traffic and chronic drug abuse.

He did not have a last name. Or maybe he did once. Rahgot could not remember if he had technically adopted his owner's surname when he was still a slave. Such memories were foggy to him now. They were mostly spent pit fighting anyway. "This is the wrong question, you see," said Rahgot. "I am here to help you. There is security concern here. Terrorist plot. Construction must be halted."

Rahgot sniffed delicately, then continued.

"Your boss, the Dallius, must come here to see me. For now, you and your friends must go home. And do not return unless the Dallius is with you. We will keep things here safe, in the meanwhile."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Helix Syndicate"]

Jimmy let out an exasperated sigh.

He knew it was going to be something like this. He had worked Construction far too long not to expect it. The truth of this business was that someone was always going to want to take a cut, didn't matter if it was Coruscant or Nar Shaddaa. On the former it was politicians, on the latter it was criminals with their hands gladly stuck out. Jimmy didn't mind it really, it was the way of things, but he had thought Mr. Dallius would at least take care of it before he had it.

Though now that he thought about it, perhaps that was why the man had given him so much discretion. "No."

The old construction worker said simply.

"Listen I have a strict schedule." Jimmy showed the alien his clip-board. "We gotta be up and running by the end of the month."

It was important for the first race. "So what is this gonna take? Flat fee? Percentage? Your logo on a swoop bike? Just get it over with so we can get to work."

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Rahgot blinked once in surprise, twice in confusion, and then finally narrowed his pupil-less eyes. Jimmy Happyhands, they called him. How happy would he be without his hands? Who was this foreman who was so cool when in the presence of clear enemies? Of men in shadowed armor wielding painful weapons? This place had no security detail. There was only Jimmy, his happy hands, and the workers. Why struggle? Why thrash in petulance in the face of Rahgot?

It made him sad. And angry. But mostly angry.

"There is more at stake than simple flat fee," Rahgot said, annoyance creeping into his tone. "Hutts will kill you, rig your races, scare your customers, take your money. The Helix offers its protection. Do you have this authority, boss-man? To pay our fees and save your skins?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Helix Syndicate"]

"I have any authority I damn well need." Jimmy was annoyed. Really annoyed. He didn't need an explanation of extortion, he wasn't an idiot.

No indeed old Happyhands was not.

"Look." He shifted slightly so that he leaned on one side, his leg bothering him somewhat. There had been a strike a few years ago at one of his construction sites, damned unionists had broken his leg with a metal bat. Now those had been some tough mothers. "Helios isn't a big company. You're not gonna get a great payday out of this."

That was the simply truth. "I understand you're big and mean and scary and can kill us all within the next fifteen minutes, but you're going to have to say what you actually want out of me."

It seemed that the alien was leaning towards a percentage, but Jimmy wasn't about to throw out a figure off the top of his own head.

He wanted to see where this "Rahgot" would start.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Rahgot was becoming increasingly flabbergasted with this foreman's tone. Clearly he had been through something similar - or much worse - before! Rahgot might have respected him if he were not so terribly annoyed. This was not how it was supposed to go! Usually no effort was required with these things. He was a Mandallian Giant, for the love of the Force! Most people buttoned up right away! How many Mandallian Giants had this man seen?

Unbelievable!

"You will be big company on Nar Shaddaa when we are through with you," Rahgot clicked his tongue. "Fine. You have authority? You can be authority. You are giving us a quarter cut. We will know if you are under reporting, it is part of our 'thing.'"

One need only look at the Helix Syndicate's other "partners" in this sector to know if that were true. Rahgot lumbered forward until he was mere inches from Mr. Happyhands himself. The foreman would need to crane his neck to look directly at him. "We are becoming involved here, you see? We will be part of this. Friends forever. Others will come here after me. They will work with you. Install things. I do not advise you obstruct them. Are you understanding?"

Rahgot tilted his head to the right, as a giant might do as he regarded an ant before crushing it.

"I am hoping you do, in fact, have all of this authority. Because if things are not happening as should, it is you that will be expecting to answer for it. Yes?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Helix Syndicate"]

He did have all of this authority in fact. Mr. Dallius had undoubtedly expected this sort of thing to happen, after all the man was an experienced smuggler and had been born on Tatooine. This thing was just as common on the desert world as it was here on Nar Shaddaa. Happyhands expected that this was some sort of test for himself, but that might have been giving the old man too much credit. He frowned for a brief moment in thought, glancing up at the alien.

His neck hurt from the effort. "Twenty Percent."

Jimmy countered.

It was only five percent less than a quarter, but if Helios did become a large operation and the Nar Shaddaa track became successful that five percent could add up quite a bit. Though of course that was quite a large "if". There were a myriad of competitors here on Nar Shaddaa, and while Mr. Dallius intended on making this place the best of them all, Jimmy knew that it would be an uphill battle. Especially considering that some of the other places were hundreds of years old.

"You'll have your run of the place." Happyhands conceded. "As long as you don't get in the way."

He still had that schedule.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"You are seeming to be under the impression that this is negotiation," Rahgot observed. Two massive hands clamped down on the Happyhands' shoulders. "It is not."

In Rahgot's experience, there was nothing quite like a change in altitude to change the tones of people who were, for lack of a better term, behaving inappropriately. Rahgot lifted Jimmy and, before long, was holding him above his head as if he were a barbell. A live, struggling, writhing barbel. The Mandallian seemed poised to fling Jimmy back into the durasteel flooring, or perhaps into his people, but so far refrained from doing so.

There was a lot of shifting movement as the Foreman's workers took a step back... And the Enforcers took a step forward. Rahgot spoke again, "If you are finding that our technicians are interfering with your schedule, then it is you who will be having to adjust their schedule. Twenty five percent cut, and I will put you down nicely."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Helix Syndicate"]

"Your technicians can shove it." Jimmy would stand for the loss of money, but not the ruining of his schedule.

While the current situation was entirely humiliating, that didn't mean he was easily going to bend to the demands.

"You can have your money." He was finding it rather hard to breath with the tight grip around his chest, but he somehow managed to choke out the last few words. "But it is my schedule."

Jimmy was still holding on to his clip-board somehow, waving it around slightly to punctuate his point. "Or else nothing happens here."

It was true enough. If the technicians disrupted the build then they wouldn't make their opening date, if they missed their opening date they would lose credibility, and if they lost credibility they would lose customer base. That was simply how business worked, especially the entertainment business. Mr. Dallius had set things up on a schedule, the swoop races were to air just after the first races on Dac. That way the two would lead into one another and create a better program for patrons to watch.

Without that initial opening would be less than stellar. He couldn't allow it.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Unbelievable. A low grumble rose up in Rahgot's throat, gradually growing in volume until it finally came out as a single, indignant, "Bah!"

Contrary to his promise, Rahgot did not put him down nicely. But he did lower him relatively closer to the ground and simply release him, as opposed to flinging him violently into some nearby surface - or his men. Rahgot dusted his hands, face in a snarl. Like he just touched something gross and slippery. Or recalcitrant and ballsy, as the case was.

"You are a brave man, Mr. Happyhands," Rahgot said, though it sounded more like a concession than a compliment. "For your sake, I am hoping we do not have this conversation again. Even the brave men are easy to squish."

His business concluded, the Mandallian thundered off back into the depths from whence he came. The Enforcers dispersed as well, following after their much-larger commander like bottom-feeders after a shark.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Helix Syndicate"]

Jimmy half stumbled as he was dropped onto the ground, hanging onto his precious clip-board only barely.

A sigh of relief could be heard audibly from the group behind him, the workers relaxing slightly as they realized their boss would not be used as an odd sort of bowling ball to send them all flying onto the ground. Happyhands himself simply gave the alien creature a stern look, but said nothing as the man turned away and headed off. He watched them for a time and then finally let out his breath, his knees shaking slightly before he managed to catch himself on a nearby fence.

His voice crack as he spoke. "Holy shit I almost died."

Tears began to well in his eyes.

"I'm getting too old for this." One of the other workers came over to Jimmy, gently patting him on the back. "I'm asking Dallius for a raise."

The other worker nodded as Jimmy broke into a sob.