Hoot
Equipment : Laser Cutlass, Heavy Blaster Pistol
Location : Nar Shaddaa
Objective : Get into deceased crime lord's residence, find valuable lost Jedi artifacts to sell back on Coruscant
This was a terrible idea. Xochicalcu said to no one in particular, for about the fifth time since he'd reached the low level of Nar Shaddaa. He was a long way from his ship, the Star Turtle, parked in the relative safety and comfort of the landing pad, up on the surface.
And he'd come here alone of his own free will, to make it so much the worse. The assistant curator back at the Galactic Museum on Coruscant had waxed lyrical on the recent removal of a Hutt crimelord on Nar Shaddaa, and the particular ancient Jedi artifacts the Hutt had been said to own. The man's voice had contained such longing that Xochi had taken special note of the information.
Was it greed then that brought him to this abominable place? Not completely. Sure, the promise of being able to bargain a goodly sum of credits for the things he might find had begun this journey, but not for the sake of accumulating wealth. He was hardly a wealthy individual, and with no consistent means of support, he needed to, had to, fund his seemingly endless search for the fates of his family, his children. His search was always what motivated him to do the things he did. Some of them stupid, like coming alone to the underlevels of Nar kriffing Shaddaa.
The lowest levels of this renowned cesspit of a moon were predictably vile, but it was here the Hutt had made his place. Xochicalcu was in full expectation of finding the location broken open, looted, and deserted. He was here to find things that had been missed. Dismissed as worthless, or unnoticed and undisturbed. He wasn't looking for precious metals, jewels, or valuables. Art and historically significant artifacts often seemed of no account to the uneducated. It was his hope that several items might still be present and intact.
He'd already had to blast a few creatures down here, solitary predators of species he didn't recognize, and hadn't bothered to find out. Wasn't clever to make noise, but it was equally stupid to let anything hungry get close. His blaster pistol stayed in his hand as he carefully stepped a path through debris and other horrible mess he'd rather not speculate on, boots squelching in liquid and organic mess more than once.
Before him stood the entrance to the late crime lord's stronghold, across a wide open area with no cover. Xochi paused in his movements for a moment, to listen and watch. He hoped fervently that he was alone down here. The artifacts he was here to find would be of great interest to many people such as other collectors, in particular he'd heard that Jedi were notable in acquiring such things. He wanted to get there first. Without encountering other treasure hunters. In we go. He was talking to himself, but quietly. Something he did, and figured it was a sign of impending senility whenever he caught himself at it.
Cautiously, he walked towards the entrance, which was suitably dark and foreboding. There was some light down here from ancient glow strips and bioluminescent lichens. There was a constant dim background hum of heavy machinery, much of the larger buildings had foundations down this deep in the cityscape of Nar Shaddaa. There were other intermittent sounds too, some of which sounded uncannily like screams, some of which seemed close, and all of which would abruptly cut off. Xochi found the sounds to be a very unpleasant addition to an already unpleasant location. He was incredibly grateful just now for his breath mask which efficiently filtered out smell. He expected that this area was equally unattractive to that sense. It looks bad, feels bad, and smells bad. It's going to smell bad. And he wasn't going to even entertain what it might taste like.
In he went, no more lights, outside sounds muffled as he entered the cavernous interior and mystery of the crimelord's former home.
This is a terrible idea. He said again, and stepped forward into the fading light of the interior and the unknown...
