First Reply Paint it Black

[Drifter]

N A R . S H A D D A A
SHADOW SECTOR


It was a tricky thing, really. Staying out of sight and out of mind while trying to figure out how to hunt someone down. It was also a very startling realization that, well, when you cut yourself from the family funds, that meant that there is a finite amount of credits one had to pull from. He had one means of income, and while that required him to run a fixed brick and mortar building, he could pawn it off to someone else while trying to discretely access any of the funds or items bartered for his goods.

However, with him unable to actually make more of anything, this meant the man would have to actually work beyond the typical lines of society to earn a living. Fuck.

So, what did he have? His charm? A good arm. Some tracking skills and he could hunt. So, what did that lead him to?

Bounty hunting.

Ironic, I know.

Either way, as he could not get into a bounty hunter's guild, he had to try and find something local on Nar Shaddaa to make ends meet. Some back alley transactions and he came out with a bounty puck. Some lower-level spice-head weasel who owed money. Great, now you're a thug. Mother would be proud.

As it was, the tracking device on the puck led him towards the Shadow Sector of Nar Shadaa. Nothing like gilt heads, warring gangs, and questionable pools of liquids across the surface of these back alleyways to make one beam with pride.

Holding the puck in the palm of his organic hand, the fully armored man would wait for the tracker to focus. Up ahead, was a warehouse, a cantina, and a few large Gamorreans and Nikto packing more heat than any Sith who was trying to overcompensate with their saber.

Hah, dick joke.

 

[H6-098]

H6-098 was in the murky streets of Nar Shadda, shadow Sector specifically.

She was lurking near the door of the cantina, watching in disgust as organics walked in then came out again dead drunk.

Filthy organics.

She sidestepped one that had fallen down and hadn’t the strength to rise- then she continued on her way. She had been hired for her perfect record as an assassin to kill a spice addict who owed money. Apparently after some failed bounty attempts they weren’t worth it anymore.

H6-098 was thoroughly relieved that she was Shard- and wasn’t susceptible to such foul things as spice.Only the weak did so- relying on drugs to get rid of their sorrows. Weak fools, that’s what they were.

A while down the road, H6 was stopped by a street seller.
“Please,” The mangled stall owner said, gesturing to his stall,”By some droid parts and give them to your owner as a gift. They’re the finest droid parts around!!”

H6 took one look at the parts, they were all broken messes temporarily fixed by hologram. Then she looked back up at the stall owner who had mistaken her for a droid.

H6 was neither droid nor organic- hating to be called either. She turned to fully face the stall owner- yes, he would pay for that.

 

[Drifter]

H6-098

The light on his puck was picking up in pace. Alright somewhere around here was the hit. Peering through his helm, he could only pickup a few staggering bodies, a droid peddler, a droid — wait why was a droid out here alone?

Not to say they couldn’t be independent, it was just more apt that someone would try to take the droid for parts.

Coming up behind him, a sensual mechanized voice would drift along his ear.

[ That is not our objective.]

A roll of his eyes came next, glancing over at the floating spherical droid.

[ I was just looking!] defending himself.

[ No, you are getting distracted. ] she chimed in, flexing the flaps around the singular ocular sensor she had. It shone a bright blue as it focused on the man and then back at the peddler and droid.

It was about that moment that a trio of glit-heads stumbled out of the cantina, staggering in all different directions. One managed to bump into H6-098 , slurring his voice “Oi! Why you bumping into me!”

 

[H6-098]

H6 was about to show her superiority to the FILTHY stall owner when three drinks came out of the cantina and one bumped into her. Usually, that would be enough to set her off, but then he spoke again.
“Oi, why you bumping into me?”

Kriff no was any filthy drunk organic going to talk to her like that. She whirled on the man and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off his feet.

“Query: What did you say?!?” She said in her odd way of talking.

H6 was slowly squeezing his neck- crushing his windpipe.This man wasn’t getting out of here alive.

The man spluttered helplessly, his glazed over eyes now fully comprehending that this was his last night on Earth. His drunken friends had begun realising what was happening and came over.

“What ya think ya doing?” One of the other men slurred angrily.

H6 snarled, there would be payment for this.

 

[Drifter]

H6-098

[ Oh that escalated quickly. ] Drifter said, eyes widening under his helm. Part of him knew that he shouldn't get involved. Another had the voice of his mother and that nagging prod at his conscious.

[ Not your problem. Not your problem. ] he chanted, spinning on the ball of his foot to try and continue his bounty quest. That nagging prod grew a little stronger, punctuated by the bounty puck in his hand indicating that he had turned to the wrong direction.

[ It appears that one of those men is our target.] Alex's seductive - and annoying - voice would call out.

[ Gorram it!] with a huff he spun back around, looking at the commotion. With a weary sigh of understanding that his would likely all go sideways, he began to jog over towards H6-098 and her quarry.

[ Hey there! How's it going! Maybe we can talk about this?] his mechanized voice would call out to the drug addicts and the droid.

 

[H6-098]

H6 scanned the faces of all three men- Yes that one was her target. She let out a mechanized laugh that sounded like a burst of static.

The one in her hand was choking and flailing uselessly- a few more seconds. Then a figure came jogging towards her,

[ Hey there! How's it going! Maybe we can talk about this?] A mechanized voice called to her. H6 gave a moment to look up, and after scanning his armored form, she decided to speak.

"Statement: I have a job to do"

 

[Drifter]

H6-098

[ okay fair,] Drifter began, showing one hand up in the air to show he was unarmed. Probably a bad idea, in hindsight.

[ But choking him to death might make it difficult to do your job.] honestly he wasn’t sure if it was. Drifter was just trying to deescalate matters.

Until his bounty puck gave an insistent beep. Yup. One of these guys was his target. Thankfully not the one being choked.

[ Either way don’t mind me... I’m just here to claim that guy as a bounty. ] he pointed to the druggie with the dark hair scrambling on hands and knees.

[ So....] is this what one did? To be sure he brought up the holographic image of the bounties face.

Yup. This was the one.

[well that one is mine.]

 

[H6-098]

H6 listened emotionless to the armoured male blab on- UNTIL he said that the dark haired one was his.

“Statement: Wrong.” H6 snapped the mans neck and dropped his body to the floor, before turning to the man,”Statement: He is mine.”

While H6 didn’t NEED the credits, after all, she didn’t need to eat, drink, charge or sleep. But she did take great pleasure in killing Organics, and was very proud of her spotless record.

The dark haired one WOULD be hers.

 

[Drifter]

Well fuck.

While his polarized mask hid the man’s reaction, there was no doubt that Drifter gave a wince at the sickening sound of the cracking of neck bones.

There was no skirting around the issue now. By that time their target started to run, [ Alex go! ] Drifter yelled, while her withdrew his blaster pistol from his hip, dropping the puck on the ground.

An attempt at a few pot shots at H6-098 direction was made to allow the hovering ocular droid to go chasing behind the druggie.

Of course this was going to result in a fight.

 

[H6-098]

The figure shot a few times at H6, but they deflected off her body shield, as she liked to call it. For it was not her.

She let out a small snarl- something that droids could not do. She took out her lightsaber staff from her back and turned in the direction of the figure that was melding into the crowds.

The hover droid was chasing after him.

Kriff- I will destroy that fricken droid.

H6 started running with long heavy strides, using the Force to shove others out of the way. The droid was reaching her target and H6 leaned back to throw her staff-

 

[Drifter]

[ Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!] Drifter cursed, eyes widening in alarm as he saw the droid chasing after Alex.

There was little time to make any thoughtful choices. When it came between friends, family, and everyone else, the former always won. In this instance, allowing the druggie to escape while Drifter focused on trying to save the hovering ocular droid.

[ HEY! GET AWAY FROM ALEX!] he yelled out, deciding to do the utterly recklessness, and well, attempt something stupid. He went rushing forward, boots pounding on the piss-stained ground to bound out, trying to tackle H6-098 to the ground.

This was likely going to hurt. A lot.

It was also likely going to be a stupid decision considering he only had one bloody arm.

 

[H6-098]

The armored clad figure ran to H6- attempting to tackle her to the ground. Being over 6ft, metal, and a Force user, made sure that it didn't work.

It merely weighed her down, she let out a mechanical sigh and turned her full attention to the figure.

"Statement: I need that man- then I won't hurt your friend."

 

[Drifter]

Well, what happens when you get a full-grown man trying to tackle a hunk of metal? Simple. Said the man to bounce off, lose his balance, and then promptly, and hilariously, fall on his ass on the said questionable puddle of liquid on the ground.

Actually, not questionable. It was a mix of piss and brackish water. Gross. Now not only did he fail in his tackling endeavor, but his ass and pants were saturated with piss.

This could only get any better.

Adrenaline was pumping hot in Drifter's veins, and had been expecting to at least get into a tussle, however, now he was just on his ass looking up at the droid with the staff.

[ WelI need that man too! He's my bounty!] he cried, only to try and look for the bounty puck. Oh right, he dropped it earlier. Fuck!

 

[H6-098]

"Statement: He is my target," H6 said to the man covered in grime. She wanted to kill the organic she was after, but now she was interested in this figure.

She Ignited the blade on the tip of the staff and watched it's light bathe the street. "Statement: The bounty expired so I was hired to kill him"

She waited for the figures reply- she was willing to let her target go for now. She was curious.

 

[Drifter]

[ No, no - Wait wait wait! ] Drifter held out his lone good arm out towards H6-098 , gesturing with a gloved hand for her to pause her line of murderous thoughts.

[ I have proof! ] he told her, scrambling to his feet. All the while, Alex had paused her giving chase, as her protocols were more in line in ensuring that Drifter didn't die out of his own bloody foolishness - a throwback from the original programming.

Said bounty guy did his best to skitter off into the darkness. He would soon slip into an alleyway. If he did, it would require hunting him down again.

Bounding over towards the lost puck, Drifter identified it, grabbing it from the ground. [ See! ] his mechanized voice cried out to show H6-098 proof, pressing the button that would reveal the face of the druggie and the active bounty therein.

[ I just got it this morning! No way it is void ] otherwise this would make getting paid rather difficult.

 

[H6-098]

H6 looked from the puck to the man in front of her. Whether or not the puck was valid was the question- he claimed that he only got it this morning, but that didn’t dictate whether it was void. H6 had a job to do- one she wanted to do.

“Statement: I have been hired, and I will fulfil what I have been hired to do.”

H6 ended upon, after a few moments of consideration. Despite hating all organics, this one at least was reasonable. He didn’t try and insult her with her lowers voice Droid like appearances.

 

[Drifter]

[ Whoa whoa whoa! ] Drifter would call out, taking the puck and tucking it in his pocket for safekeeping. Alex by this time had come to hover and drift around his head, her blue ocular shuttering open and shut as she took in the scenario.

[ I was hired too! ] he defended himself, adding to ask H6-098 [ Where is the proof that you were hired to kill him anyways? ] He added rather reasonably. Of course, using this to buy some time and think of what to do next. If he had the ability to cross his arms... he would have. Instead, he made an attempt and sorta dropped his arm only to bring it back up over his chest as if he was crossing his arms anyways.

It was the point of the matter, regardless!

 

[H6-098]

If H6 had eyebrows to raise- they would be high on her forehead at the figures attempt to show he was crossing his arms.

Uh huh. Right- you want my proof?

H6 stares motionlessly at the figure for another second before opening a hatch on the front of her chest and pulling out a data pad. It had bloody finger prints over it that H6 didn’t have the physical ability to wipe away.

She had tried- it had been like 10 minutes of her metal fingers just scratching away before she had given up.

H6 Mentally rolled her eyes and handed the fugue the data pad.

On the screen, there was the proof that she was indeed hired to assassinate thatman. There was the contract and everything.

“Query : Does that Answer your question?”

 

[Drifter]

[ Well fuck. ]

It was a filthy curse that summed up the situation. He eyeballed the bloody datapad. It was hard enough to read it anyways with the smear of blood, let along with the scratches across the screen. Just how often does this droid go on a killing spree? he mused.

Trying to do his best, he brought the datapad over his abdomen to try and clean some of it off. It could only do so much. His armor was already pretty dirty as it could be. Nevermind the damp piss and putrid water stains on his pants. Feth, he'd never been so happy that his helm had a filter.

He was, after all, rather easily prone to throwing up when it came to rancid smells. Don't get him started with the sympathy puking.

[ Okay, well Yours is valid. Mine is valid. Now, what?] he asked H6-098 blankly.

[ We can't both turn in a bounty or a dead guy. ] a darker part of him, however, whispered that technically... they could...

However his mother's voice and his guilty conscience zapped that idea away.

 

[H6-098]

H6 watched with a sort of twisted amusement as the figure tried to clean off the blood/ scratches with his singular arm and filthy armour.

You can try all you want buddy- that data pad ain’t getting no cleaner.

“Point: Technically- we could.” H6 said. She imagined that the thought had come to the figures mind. He seemed like someone that didn’t take much pride in his work.

H6 took GREAT pride in every kill she made, though lately, she was getting bum jobs like this one.

I was made for more than killing this scum- I was meant to go kill BETTER scum that this!!

She turned back to the figure, now a tad disgruntled, awaiting his answer. She could very well go on and ignore this being- but he interested her. He was... amusing.