Public Slice of Life: Bounty Hunter Edition [BHG]

[The Bounteous Hunt]

Taris
The Lower City
The Guild Hub

During the 400 Year Darkness, the Bounty Hunters Guild was broken up by the galactic quarantine, each Guild house on every world becoming independent by necessity. They rendered the services they could and ended up taking smaller and smaller bounties on the isolated worlds wrecked by the death and destruction of plague victims, becoming more and more decrepit. Most backwater worlds where they had been stationed to keep out of the public eye and especially the eyes of the law in some cases, the Guild Houses suffered and eventually disbanded without enough substantial bounties to support the benefits of unionized Bounty Hunting. The profession as a whole took a hit, and the common Bounty Hunter became little more than a desperate thug looking to rat out and turn his own criminal 'friends' and associates in for fast cash.

In some places though, where the population was big enough, the Guild Houses remained and serviceable for the duration. The tradition and longevity of their order were enough to keep them afloat on these worlds were huge populations still existed. The Bounty's were prolific enough on worlds like Coruscant, Nar Shaddaa, Denon, and even a place like Taris, a broken ecumenopolis but an ecumenopolis nonetheless, to continue the use of professional unionized Bounty Hunters across the planet. In fact, Taris supported the largest Guild House in the galaxy during the Darkness Era specifically because it was broken. Vegetation exposed thousands of years ago by bombardment had created in some places, a literal "Urban Jungle". In other words, a source of local food to support the remains of the plague-stricken population. Nar Shaddaa, Denon, and Coruscant especially weren't as lucky without their imported food and suffered more for it.

By the time the Darkness Era ended, and the quarantine was lifted, Taris had become one of the most powerful Guild House out of all its sisters across the galaxy. Over time, as new nations rose from the apocalyptic ashes of the Golden Age, the remaining Guild Houses found each other and banded together. The professional Bounty Hunter returned to the galactic stage and thrived in the new chaotic environment they found themselves in.

This brings us to today on Taris, one of the largest Hubs for the Guild to meet, find jobs, and purchase gear from and for the Guild. Pucks were traded, Tracking FOBBs exchanged, weapons and armor crafted and forged, contracts signed, and old Hunters exchanging stories with one another about their careers, both successful and not.

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OOC: The Bounty Hunters Guild invites you to Taris, where you can explore the day to day life of a Bounty Hunter when he's stuck between hunts, looking for her next gig, or maybe they are just doing a bit of shopping. Taris is the backdrop for the Guild's slice of life, and feel free to bring friends along. Most importantly, have some fun!

 

[Vallaro Kindall]

Vallaro hated waiting. If there’s one thing he missed about being a smuggler it was the pacing. Pickup, drop off, repeat. The only time he had to wait back then was for a patrol to pass, but now, it feels like every other job demands a pit stop. Four days for varied munitions, one week for a grenade shipment, and three weeks for ship repairs. Normally he would put off a stop like this as much as possible to stay in the action but circumstance demanded that he do nothing but wait, and circumstance wasn’t willing to barter.

The last puck Vallaro had gone after went horribly awry. It was a simple job at low risk, good pay. The dream of every hunter not born to a Mandalorian clan or with a death wish. Some punk had messed with an executive’s daughter while on Coruscant then hightailed it all the way out to Lothal when the law got involved. It wasn’t hard for Vallaro to find and capture him, but transportation was another problem entirely.

Unlike most bounty hunters, Vallaro lacked the signature Carbonite freezer that had become so popular. Instead, he used more traditional methods like stuncuffs and a locked door. The kinds of things any thug worth their salt could get out of in a heartbeat once unattended. Needless to say, the prisoner wreaked havoc on as much of the ship's electrical system as he could get a hand. Which for his haphazardly converted transport ship is a lot.

Now Vallaro was stuck on world for the better part of a month. At first, it was fine. Taris was the kind of planet you’d be hard-pressed not to find something to distract yourself and pass the time with, but after the first week, it became nothing but repetitive. There’s only so much sabacc and Twi'lek dancers he could take before it just became monotonous and a little creepy.

Bored and unable to find anything to entertain him that he hadn’t either already done before or found unpalatable. Vallaro made his way to the cantina by the guild hall. Sure, he’d already been there twice this week and the bartender was beginning to know him on a first-name basis, but at least it was something and right now that’s all he could ask for: Something to kill the waiting.

 

[Zivos]

Zivos paced his way through Taris, scanning everything he saw around him. The metaphorical fresh face, he had finished a delivery job before heading this way to have a look at the guild hall. The old ship of his was due for filter replacement for a number of reasons. The switch between compatible oxygen for standard breathing and an atmosphere similar to one his suit produced had fried the circuitry on his last run when loading cargo. Making the vessel a deathtrap for anyone other than him. At least that is what he had thought at first.

The scrubbers hadn't cleaned all the oxygen out of the ship's system to his surprise. After a choking fit and a harried minute of donning his suit once more, he was also due for a checkup from the burns he had received from the event. His lungs rasped, painful still even in his environment suit that protected him from the oxygen the humans choked for on other worlds. Patches of his skin were still tender enough to repeat the burning sensation he had initially felt. Which had led to some uncomfortable dreams about burning alive.

Shuddering at the thought, he left the medical center with skin ointment tailored for his kind. Between the treatment and ship repairs, he wasn't pleased by the sudden cut into his savings. A job would have to be lined up soon, whether with the bounty hunters, or hauling freight. The environment fiasco had given him some idea for bounty hunting at least.

The terrifying amount of time it had taken him to put on the suit and breath in that wretched air had made his adrenaline spike. Forcing speed when accuracy was key, making typically steady hands fumble to don something he wore daily. He made a mental note to check into grenade production for non-lethal gasses. Likely something that someone had already thought of, but having a better advantage with.

Stopping in front of the cantina, the helmets scanner updated the small map that was being created and uploaded to his ships database. Even here on Taris he wanted to know the routes around the place. The mask looked up at the sign before shaking slowly. Both eager to start, and anxious about how he would be received, nothing was to be gained by standing outside.

 

[Cassus Akovin]

Cassus had been to a number of worlds in his youth, a result of being born on a starship and ferried along a continuous route for all of his childhood. Lately too, since he has been on his own as a Bounty Hunter working for himself and now the Guild, there have been many worlds he wouldn't have visited otherwise. Coruscant, Geonosis, Denon, Dxun, Belazura, Devaron, Csilla, and now Taris. There was always work to be done, and currently, Cassus found himself without a mark to hunt, a rare thing ever since his mother fell sick. This was his intention, though, as he had spent so much time trying to acquire jobs he had let his gear go unrepaired or unreplaced. Sure his Mother's workshop was full of miracle technology for the common soldier, but one or another, despite the odds Cassus kept on breaking it.

So he elected to find some gear that was more durable, more reliable, than the high technology his mother had produced throughout her career. It was time to go lower-tech, down to basics, stuff any Bounty Hunter could trust. So the boy made it down to the lower levels of Taris, and was making his way to the Guild Hub, where all the services he would need would be located. He brought along behind him a hover sled, filled with sealed containers of gear. Maybe he could offer trades of valuable gear for services. That was the idea anyway, he would soon find out if this would be a worthwhile process.

Zivos Vallaro Kindall

 

[Moira Connell]

As Moira came to her sense’s the only thing she could see was steel, girders, and wire. She woke with a jolt as she forgot where she was for a moment. The last thing she remembers was sneaking on a ship, then it took off. That guy who was in handcuffs made a whole mess. Than what? Did she sleep that long? Not fully out of character of her but maybe she should learn how to sleep for a more average amount of time.

She stretched as she roamed the halls of the ship. The dock workers were already hard at work putting things back together, i’d hate to see what the bill on this would be. That guy really didn’t want to get brought in for whatever. Can’t really blame the guy, we all have something we’re running from. As she walked towards the exit the mechanics gave her a weird glance. They were sure that no one was on the ship, maybe the guy who’s ship it was had another prisoner, maybe he can’t restrain anyone. They shrug her off, Bounty hunters always had something off in there ship, even if it was some Blue-haired girl who shouldn’t have been there.

Moira made her way out of the dock and into the city proper, it looked murky, dark, gross. She learned that she was on Taris, apparently the home of the Bounty Hunters Guild. She thought a moment, was there a bounty out on her? Surely not, she didn’t think she offended anyone, if she did they never found out. Was it about the stowaway bits? Taris doing its best to drive away the thought of Carbonite from her mind, she was presented with the Guild hall itself. Using all her training she looked over Building and immediately began to panic and fled into a nearby cantina. If the Jedi could see her now, Fleeing into a Cantina as to avoid getting frozen, She was well trained.

The inside of the building spared no expense to be as average and grimey as possible. The tables needed to be wiped down from whatever was done to them. Parts of the floor stuck to her shoes as she tried to walk nonchalantly to the bar. She felt the eyes of the few patrons of the bar on her. She was out of place, a lost puppy. She shrugged it off for now, after all, there was no bounty on her, no reason to be suspicious after all. Looking over the bar she saw there was only one patron, maybe it was a little early to be drinking. She sat down a seat away from the guy at the bar. pretty sure there was a rule about that, pretty sure it was about skipping seats.

“I’ll have one of what he’s having.” she asked with a smile



Vallaro Kindall

 

[Vallaro Kindall]

The closer one got to the Guild Hub the more chaotic the streets became as vendors shouted over each other to pedal their assorted wares and hunters boasted to each other about how they managed to capture or in some cases kill their most recent target. Vallaro wasn’t much of a braggart but it stung a little to know that his last hunt would cost him a good bit more credits that it had made. A sour expression crossed his face as he ran the numbers in his head once more.

“Whatever, I’ll just have to make up for in next time around,” he murmured to himself. Money wasn’t exactly tight but the whole point of working was to make money and yet somehow, he’d failed at this most fundamental aspect. The acknowledgment of his failure dug at him and he angrily tossed the butt of his cigarra down the street. Vallaro continued down the street with his head in his wallet and a fresh cigarra between his lips.

At the entrance to the canteen stood a man clad in the environmental suit typical of an Ubese. Vallaro normally knew better than to draw the provoke a member of the famously aggressive race but he was already in a bad mood and manners required an extra level of effort he simply was not willing to provide.

“You’re blocking the door pal. Get in or get out,” Vallaro grunted as he walked around the Ubese and continued into the cantina without so much as looking back. Normally he wasn’t this rude; he simply didn’t have it in him to care at the moment between worrying about his finances and the frustration of not being able to get off planet to do anything about it. For a moment felt a slight pang of guilt but he figured the chances of them ever seeing each other again after today were astronomical and so he’d allow himself that one moment of indiscretion.

The Cantina was exactly what you’d expect to find in the lower levels of an ecumenopolis. The air was filled with the smells of drinks and clients long since passed, while the floor itself was engaged in the attempt of robbing patrons of their shoes. Vallaro considered using his rockets boots to cross the floor but his desire to not see his name on a puck for arson kept him grounded.

“Hey barkeep, I’ll have a bottle of Utozz Utoz, none of that off-brand shab,” he shouted as he took a seat at the bar, one seat away from a blue-haired girl and a man he could only assume was her father.

Moira Connell | Zivos

 

[Zivos]

The helmet slowly turned to face the voice that chastised him. Burns and weak lungs didn't stop the Ubese from giving the man a long stare before entering shortly after him. Well, it seemed he wasn't the only one in a bad mood. The scanner in his helmet went to work as he entered, cataloging everything as he moved.

Any with a trained eye could see the careful movements made to avoid hurting himself further. The burns were mostly on his chest and arms thankfully. Moving between the tables until finally he found a table he felt happy with. The bar tender was slow to approach, bringing something resembling a translator with him.

Deciding to remain secretive, he spoke in his people's tongue, ordering something that wouldn't have him trying to catch miniature bantha's the day after.

He scanner slowly worked over the people in the bar, difficult to truly tell where an Ubese had there attentions.

 

[Haro Lergo]

Haro turned his head slightly as the young blue-hairedn girl spoke then returned to his drink enjoying the semi-quiet atmosphere compared to the bustle of the vendors outside. Haro sighed and took a sip of his drink thinking of all the down-time he would have to kill before his equipment was ready, although he was pretty pleased with himself with the time he made getting here, he considered it pretty lucky there was a cargo ship headed to Taris and the captain was good-natured enough to let him travel to the planet with him if he helped load the ship. Now all he had to do was sit back and enjoy his time before his gear was ready and head back out to work.

 

[Moira Connell]

It was all over in a moment, the next few moments flashed before her eyes as the bartender started to give her an attitude. She saw some Guy enter the bar and demand some real liquor or something. The Ubese from the doorway walks in after, he looks like he’s trying to be careful with his body. The bartender brings them their drinks then returns to Her to give her a hard time about something, they argue, she gets kicked out.

After the Bartender made his rounds he walked up to Moira.

“Actually,” she says, cutting off whatever the tender was going to say, “i’ll just have water, thanks”. She offered a smile to the man. He sighed and went and fetched the water, crisis averted, Precognition had its perks from time to time.

The water tasted of copper, as if the pipes haven’t been looked at in years. I suppose it didn’t matter next to the Bounty Hunters Guild, they all seem the type to pretend not to taste it, or prefer it or something. She looked around at the room and wondered if any of the patrons were Bounty Hunters, they all seemed the type. Grim faces or helmets, and they all seemed armed.
Her brow furrowed in thought, didn’t the ship she rode in on belong to a hunter? They probably weren’t in the room anyway, It was best not to dwell on these things.

She sat back and took another sip of the water, She had a few things getting refurbished on Taris so she would be here for a few days at the very least. There was probably some trouble she could get up to here anyway. She was almost looking forward to the change of pace Taris would bring.

 

[Gierhyst Xzun]

Heavy thuds prelude Gierhyst's appearance as he makes his way through the streets. He doesn't dodge people, they dodge him. As the giant passes, he mutters something low and quiet. Gierhyst stops, looks around to get his bearings, and pivots to face the location he was looking for. Gierhyst marches forward, a train hauling intent as he strides and ducks the doorway. He strides forward to the bar and in a deep voice rumbles, "One blue milkshake, please."