It's a New Day
Nuyen City, Atrisia several kilometers south of Jar'Kai. Nuyen's Shakatu district runs along the waters edge. Here is where most of Nuyen's economy comes from, shipping, and taxing those who ship through their waters and space. Shakatu is run down and has been in decline for awhile although somehow it still clings to life. Dotting the district are your typical signs of life, temples, businesses, food stands and residences.
After the events of Kal'Shebbol, Ria Misrani stops here to rest she hadn't planned on it but she received an invitation from someone who went by the name of Min Saigon. Said to meet her where the Seoulpa River met with Nuyen's harbors and that would be Shakatau, without any real sense of direction Ria decides to grab something to eat at a nearby tea room chain, 'Takoyaki Tea.' Location: Takoyaki Tea on Tsuchiya and 7th; Shakatu District, Nuyen City, Atrisia
Allies: None // Min Saigon?
Enemies: None
Objective: Meet with Min Saigon
Walking into Takoyaki Tea, it wasn't hard to notice that Ria was well out of place but it found comfort in that she wasn't the only foreigner here. Had Min not provided the coordinates, the blonde slicer was sure that she'd have never known that this planet even existed. Takoyaki Tea is an up and coming chain ran by Sejong Hanbok, from the look of one side of his face, he looks pleasant enough at least on the photos that line the wall of Takoyaki's proud history. Sliding into a booth, Ria grabs the menu and is pretty sure she can't understand Atrisian and simply points to a photo of something that looks okay when the service droid arrives.
The service droid returns with tea and snacks, and Ria begins to eat. Things are quiet in the establishment her booth overlooks the gritty freight yard just across the way. Above Takoyaki's are residences of various qualities most of them no better than the other despite the advertisements saying otherwise. Neon signs begin to illuminate the darkened sky. It's not necessarily night but the pollution around Nuyen's Shakatu district is thick, most people here are use to it.
Growing up on Nar Shaddaa, Ria's become almost immune to poor air quality. Thankfully Takoyaki Tea boasts a good air filter. Just as she's getting ready to finish her snack the service droid returns and hands her, her bill. There's something else attached to this, though, a slim, almost translucent data card. There's a chip inside of it that much she can tell. Ria pays for her meal using her credstick that was given to her by Gigi. A burner stick that no one ever asks where it came from and people don't care so long as the credits are credits.
Slipping the credstick back into her blast vest, the blonde leaves Takoyaki's and finds herself back out on the streets. She waits with pedestrian traffic to cross the street, studying the translucent card in her hand. Squinting she can just about make out what it says. Choji Station, huh. Looking up just as traffic begins to move she scans around looking for Choji Station. Looking back down at the card as she reaches the opposite of Takoyaki she can see something else on it. Jar'Kai Transit, now she gets it this is a metro card to get around.. Wait. She was pretty sure that Jar'Kai was the city north of here, confused she sticks the card into one of her other pockets on her vest and keeps walking.
As she walks along Nuyen's Tsuchiya street she comes across another opening to the freight yard something which loosely translated into Duraworks. Ria doesn't make anything of it, not now anyway as she walks through the crowd. Her blonde hair stands out as does her light fawn colored skin, and blue eyes. Tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear she keeps going until she comes to a crossroads, Tsuchiya, and 8th. Ahead she sees a skytrain station, Jar'Kai Transit is beveled up and underneath it, Nuyen Metro. Which looked to be a subsidiary of the capital's transit authority. Shrugging her shoulders, Ria doesn't think it'd hurt to go up and have a look around. The girl from the Smuggler's moon trudges up what seems to be a mountain but in reality was roughly six flights of stairs to reach the first level platform. There's nothing of interest here just people waiting for the train but the metro map on one of the pillars is something that Ria takes note of.
Walking there she puts a finger on the little red dot that might as well say, you are here, at Tuschiya Station, level 1-platform 2. This line was simply called the blue line and ran a circle around Shakatu, there were express lines that ran parallel to each other and if she wanted to get to Nuyen's main line then she'd have to hit the blue line and then get off to take the green line that would get her as far as Atsukai, from there she'd have to take a grounder bus to get into downtown.
"Choji, Choji." She's whispering to herself looking for it but can't seem to find it. An older woman walks by and is looking over Ria's shoulders, and hears her say Choji.
The older woman taps Ria on the shoulder, "no Choji here. Choji been taken down, long, long time ago. You want Eungam. Take a blue line here, but you go to level two, third platform and then you take blue line all the way to red, you see the red?"
"Yeah, yeah I see it." No, but she'd figure it out and at least try to comprehend signage or else rely on the strangers around her. "So I'm going upstairs, and down to the third platform and Eungam is there?"
"No, Eungam is grounder station baby, but you take the red line there and then go down it'll be there." The older woman instructs and then pats the blonde on the shoulder. "Stay safe, Shakatu is not nice for a girl like you."
The feth? Ria thought to herself, as she simply waved a polite goodbye to the older woman. For a girl like me? What in the feth is that suppose to mean? Ria tried to not let that bother her as she found a set of stairs and went up to the second level. Walking a little ways until she came to the third platform, it seemed her timing was great as the train pulled up. Getting into one of the back cars, the slicer took a seat, it was another ten minutes or so before the train moved out of the station heading down toward wherever it was she was supposed to go.
She kept her hands in her lap and looked out the window as Nuyen's Shakatu district passed her by, and she noticed that Shakatu shared a great deal of border with the Seoulpa river. Sweet lekku it could take her all day to find wherever it was that Nuyen met with Seoulpa. Kark, should've just gone straight back to Naboo, she thought to herself but it was too late now, she was sitting here on a train going through this city that she had never been to before trying to find something she's never even heard of.
Thirty minutes go by and she's found herself where the red line meets with blue, and runs parallel to green. The lady mentioned that Eungam was a grounder station so it meant that she'd have to go all the way back down to the ground level, or street level as it were to find this station. It really felt like she was back on Nar Shaddaa in some cases only she could actually see the ground and feel it as she walked along the streets. Nar Shaddaa she was never quite sure what that was, as it didn't seem to matter how far down you went there was always somewhere you could go that would be further.
This part of Shakatu wasn't nice, so maybe that lady had a point, because if the part where Takoyaki Tea was, was considered nice. Then this place was an outright slumhood, where it was easy to get your hands on spice or anything else that might be considered illegal. There was some graffiti on the walls that read, Shakatu's Slot Town. Ria wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but if it was supposed to mean gritty, sinful, and outright dank then yes this was Slot Town.
"Fething abyss," She cursed putting her arm to her nose, "where the feth is Eungam?"
"You're standin' on it kinpatsu." A local says, "the entrance is down this way, I can help you there."
Ria looks at him and studies him for a second, she can see the tech on his neck and just below his eyes. "So it's an underground station?"
He scoffs, "yeah what did you think grounder meant?"
"Um." She really wants to say here on the ground, but she's not in her hometown of the Corellian Sector on the Vertical City and it's always best not to mess with the locals. "I don't know, but you said the entrance is down that way?"
"Names Kenzou." Ken introduces himself plainly, "listen it's really not a good idea for a sweet kinpatsu to be walking around out here all alone."
Ria recalls that she's got her stun baton and her blaster pistol and she knows that he should be able to see it. "Hey, Ken. I can take care of myself, appreciate the offer, though."
"Alright kinpatsu, your call. I'll be around the Slot." Ken turns and walks away from Ria, and Ria goes in the direction he pointed, she sees the signs for Eungam station and descends down the stairs. When she enters the grounder station the smell from above seems to be worse down here and no one else seems to bother. Homeless line the walls, trash is everywhere and all Ria can think of, "you can take the girl out of the slum, but you can't take the slum out of the girl."
For all its lights and glam, Nar Shaddaa was a far cry from civilization at least as far as the core was concerned. She walked as far as she could walk passing by several platforms, and going through various crowds all saying the same thing, 'hey kinpatsu, anyo kinny girl.' Or something like that, cat calls, wolf whistles things she's heard before so it doesn't bother her much, but what does bother her is the inability to find Choji. She walks back in the other direction and now those same people are asking if she's lost, but she doesn't pay them any mind. Even as she crosses their paths for the third time, at some of them at least sound concerned. This time, she notices something on a wall it's faint, but you can still make it out. 'Choji.'
It feels like a dead end because there's nothing there, it's locked off, she sees it, 'Choji.' Written on the duracrete wall and behind her is another duracrete wall and then as she turns she faces a third wall, except there's something on this third wall. Feeling along her vest she pulls out the card the service droid had given her back at Takoyaki. She can make out a card slot and a piece of electronic that shouldn't be working, but as she slides the card in.
The wall that had 'Choji,' written on it opens. Looking behind her she can see that the locals are busy getting high, and so she takes the opportunity to slip inside. And here, she finds the air is a lot more palatable, taking in a deep breath she sighs. "Okay now to find where the Seoulpa meets Nuyen's harbors..."
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