Private Prey

[Drystan Creed]

NAR SHADAA

Nar Shaddaa—the Smuggler's Moon. It was the perfect hunting ground for someone like Drystan. Corruption, injustice, and the criminal underworld thrived here, and while he was just one man, every action he took chipped away at the rot.

Here, he was the hunter. But tonight was different.

From the shadowy confines of a run-down apartment, Drystan watched, through blinded-windows, the neon-lit streets below. The usual billboards were gone, replaced with his face splashed across every surface that could hold it.

"WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE: 4 MILLION CREDITS"
​

Paranoia gnawed at him as his dark eyes scanned the crowded urban streets, scrutinizing every passerby. For most citizens, it seemed like just another day on Nar Shaddaa. But to Drystan, every shadow held a threat—a bounty hunter on the prowl, a thug eager for a payday, or some desperate punk with a gun and nothing to lose.


What had started as a simple, self-imposed operation went sideways the moment he destroyed his target—a massive drug lab, one of the biggest in the city. Unfortunately, the lab's owner was deeply tied to the PSF, and now Drystan's head carried a hefty price.

One way or another, he needed to get off this rock. And fast.

Connel Vanagor

 

[Connel Vanagor]

"In my experience,
when you think you
understand the Force,
you realize just
how little you know"​

[COMM TRAFFIC]
LOCATION : Nar Shadaa | OBJECTIVE : Hunting | TAG (FRIENDLY) : Drystan Creed

Nar Shaddaa, nicknamed the "Smuggler's Moon," was the notorious moon of the planet Nal Hutta, homeworld of the Hutt species. It was home to a large criminal underworld dominated by bounty hunters and Hutt crime lords. An ecumenopolis, the entire surface of Nar Shaddaa was covered in urban sprawl. It was the homeworld of the Palliduvan bounty hunter Aurra Sing and the Jablogian enslaver Azmorigan.

What did that have to do with today?

Not much.

I hate this planet… is it even a “planet”? No, it’s a rock, nothing more.

Getting out of the X-wing, he simply said ”Brad”... watch the ship.

An emphatic, but enthusiastic whistle came from the enclosed droid slot as the Shadow walked away. He made absolutely no bones about this, he was not hiding, no stealth right now. Normally he would do so, without question, but a trick he learned from his father is that if you are after someone who knows who you are, or are in an area you have a reputation at, be extroverted. Make no attempts to hide. Word will get back to your mark and they will make a mistake.

He was betting on that now.

“Telkim” a Mon Calamari who is ironically Force Sensitive (though not much) is stockpiling items of a nature that he knows of and about. In other words, he’s flashing cash and claiming to have a stockpile of Force related weapons. So Connel was sent in to find out, and if necessary, destroy everything. No claiming, no research, this was search and destroy.

Already some were coming up on him, nothing more than street thugs. Connel wasn’t even completely out of the fething Starport yet! 5 Nikto were on him like white on rice.

Too bad they were outnumbered.

“Nice weapons.”

I know… it’s why I have them.

“Mind if we look at them?” The leader “asked” as one of his cronies was reaching for Connel’s blaster. The Shadow grabbed his arm, hard.

Look with your eyes, not with your hands.

“I wasn’t asking…cccht” Suddenly he felt the oxygen running out of his throat violently.

Neither was I.

 

[Drystan Creed]

NAR SHADAA

Drystan shifted in his room, his senses on edge, just as the creak of the door drew his attention. Swiveling his head, he spotted a bounty hunter leveling a rifle at him. Before the blaster could fire, Drystan lunged, slamming his shoulder into the hunter's breastplate and driving them both into the hallway wall.

He wasn't finished. With a surge of Force-enhanced strength, he tackled the bounty hunter through the wall, then another into another room, and finally a third, until they crashed through the building's brick foundation and onto the street below.

Drystan didn't wait to assess the damage. He had to get out—and fast. The starport was his best bet. Maybe he could stow away on a departing ship or persuade a pilot to get him off this hostile rock.

Breaking into a blur of motion, Drystan sprinted toward the starport. But as he arrived, he encountered a scene he hadn't expected: Connel, dispatching one of the Nikto thugs with brutal efficiency.

Drystan spotted another thug about to draw a blaster on Connel. Without hesitation, he fired, shooting the weapon clean out of the Nikto's hand.

"Alright, ladies—no sudden moves," he warned, training his blaster on the remaining Niktos and alternating between them every second for emphasis.

Then, without lowering his weapon, he threw a question at Connel. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Connel Vanagor

 

[Connel Vanagor]

"In my experience,
when you think you
understand the Force,
you realize just
how little you know"​

[COMM TRAFFIC]
LOCATION : Nar Shadaa | OBJECTIVE : Hunting | TAG (FRIENDLY) : Drystan Creed

“I wasn’t asking…cccht” Suddenly he felt the oxygen running out of his throat violently.

Neither was I.

The Nikto was not quite getting the point, as he was grabbing for a weapon. So were his friends, Connel was not playing around though as he pulled the thug in front of him in a choke, if they were going to shoot, they were going to shoot their friend.

“Let him go!”

“Kill him!”

There was clear hesitation, as the Shadow was momentarily distracted. He felt the presence of another, and it was getting stronger, meaning closer. It was Drystan. A blaster bolt sailed by his head and out into the open air hitting a passing airspeeder taxi. Deciding on ending this the moment that happened, Connel put his new friend to a violent sleep with the choke and threw him at one of the others as he drew his lightsaber. Not bothering to activate it yet. These idiots were no threat to him.

Especially with Drystan showing up as soon as he did.

"What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

The sites, the street theater… a Mon Calamari thinking he can sell Jedi weapons named “Telkim”.

“You know Telkim?” One of them asked, his weapon still trained on the Shadow.

You really felt the need to ask me that? “Telkim” to him was just a target, nothing more, but if he could glean some intel, all the better.

“If I tell you where to find him, will you let us go?”

No. His weapon was out, they did not have options anymore.

 

[Drystan Creed]

NAR SHADAA

So his hunch had been right. Drystan wished it wasn't, but there was no denying it now—Connel was here on a mission, and convincing him to abandon it would be a near-impossible task. Not that Drystan would suggest it. If their roles were reversed, he'd be doing the same.

"That's... deplorable. Damn," he muttered. "Can't let someone like that off the hook."

While bringing justice to the smuggler was the obvious priority, curiosity lingered in the back of his mind. He wondered what kind of artifacts Telkim had managed to procure.

His gaze swept over the remaining thugs, searching for an opening.

One of the Niktos made the mistake of running, darting past Drystan in a desperate attempt to escape. He didn't get far. In a blur of motion, Drystan snatched him by the head, palming his skull and driving it into the concrete. A sickening crack echoed as the pavement fractured beneath the impact.

As the barely-breathing thug twitched on the ground, Drystan caught a glint of something in his pocket. He reached down, pulling out a datapad.

He held it up to Connel, raising an eyebrow. A cursory scroll showed some correspondence referencing Telkim. Perhaps something substantial could be derived from the device. "Reckon this might give you a lead?"

Connel Vanagor