The New Generation (Open to All)

[Azimuth Industries]

"Not a droid, but that's the idea."

One did not need to be an expert in Aqualish body language to see Narbo's grin. Tusks shuffling, he leaned in close, "We will make good business together, you and Narbo, ​Ting coing coo soo ah."

The target-head Helix Enforcer wordlessly opened the speeder's door. Gaudy purple upholstery lined the spacious interior, probably the fur of some unfortunate ropos. Built in couches of the same material but fuzzier sat against either side of the speeder. Someone had shoved an icebox full of alcohol in one corner. Neither the alcohol nor the Nar Shaddaa-like taste in design drew the eye. No, that honor belonged to the two Twi'lek women lounging inside. One on each of the couches. And if their sheer silk shifts counted as 'clothing' then Narbo was the patron saint of celibacy.

They smiled coyly at the Chadra-Fan, bodies moving in all sorts of exciting ways.

Narbo gestured with a furry hand, "Let's go for a ride and uh, discuss further business. Eh, pateesa?"

@B'enor (Ben) Benjeel

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Despite his very acute senses, Ben wasn’t paying enough attention to his surroundings to notice being followed. He was too excited to have another job and such a potentially entertaining one at that. If he was at all a good judge of character, Narbo seemed to him to be someone who knew how to have a good time.

The silent minion opened the speeder door revealing, what Ben could only describe as a purple Nar Shaddaa chic interior with, oh yes, the most important part, two twi’lek women lounging inside. Yep, Narbo most certainly knew how to have a good time, he thought.

“Yes, Narbo, we are going to make real good business together… real, real good business” he said as he stared inside.

Not one to have to be asked twice, Ben climbed inside and as smoothly as he could, sidled up to one of the women and sat down – suffice to say, being a working class chadra-fan hadn’t exactly given him a wealth of opportunities with beautiful women, of any species. “Have you ever been with a chadra-fan?” he confidently asked his new speeder companion, “don’t be fooled by the wrapping, it’s a real sweet treat inside.” Note to self, he thought, work on the one liners.

Shorty let out a long whistle as the astromech entered, leaving no doubt as to its meaning.

Once everyone was inside, Ben reached over to the icebox and poured two drinks. Handing one to Narbo he said, “I could really get used to this. Cheers to new business and new friendship.”

Leaning back toward the twi’lek, he took it all in and concluded Narbo definitely wan't an ordinary dealer. “If you don’t mind me asking, do you work alone, or do you work within a syndicate or cartel? Because you, my firend, are doing mighty fine for yourself.”

[member="Narbo"] [SIZE=10.5pt][member="Roth Staflo"][/SIZE]

 

[Azimuth Industries]

The door slammed shut.

"Oh you like my chika youngees? Good, good."

Narbo wiggled until he was comfortably seated on a couch. He draped an arm around one of the girls and her supple body melted against him. One hand accepted the glass, while the other's three furry fingers absently pet the girl's lekku.

"Not alone. You could say my business has uh, sponsors."

One didn't need to be an expert in Aqualish body language to hear the smug grin in his tone.

The target head clambered into the pilot's seat and started the engine. It spun up with a high whine. Dust kicked up in the after wash and they sped off in the direction of the nearest space port. The Twi'lek on Ben's couch slid dexterous fingers along the Chadra-Fan's ears.

"Hey, you're pretty cute, little guy," she whispered in his ear.

@B'enor (Ben) Benjeel

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Ben was having – well now that he thought about it – probably the time of his life, until the Twi’lek next to him played with his ears – which he certainly didn’t mind – and then called him ‘little guy’ which he very much minded.

He successfully stifled the impulse to draw his blaster. Normally he wouldn’t even think twice, but then again, this wasn’t exactly normally, not just because he had a beautiful woman playing with his ear, but also because he had a possibly lucrative, and exciting, job opportunity in front of him. Frankly, he wasn’t sure which of the two stopped him most.

As tactfully as he could through gritted teeth, he said, “I would prefer it if you didn’t refer to me like that.”

Turned off by one prospect, but very much interested in the other, he said to Narbo, “A sponsor, eh? Sure, that makes sense.” Catching the smugness in Narbo’s tone, Ben pried further, “What kind of sponsor? Because, I may be interested in joining you and said sponsor permanently – if there’s an opening, of course.” It would be nice to have a steady income, he thought, not to mention the perks.

[member="Narbo"]

 

[Rainbow Kitten Sunrise]

Tony wandered Tattoine's now empty streets. Dust devils were kicked up in his wake and the resulting clouds got sand in his boots. He didn't mind the gritty feeling of the sand between his toes though. In fact he scarcely seemed to notice, as he was focused on one thing. An unabashed hunger that seemed to wrack his very being. Constant starvation. That's how it felt. He needed it to end if not at least abate itself. So he wandered the streets in search of his next meal. He was still getting used too the power that he now wielded.

It was... Difficult to control to say the least. Still it had to be dealt with. He walked down a seedy alley way. The light was almost completely absent here and trash lined the place. Just as he hoped, he was cornered by three thugs whom appeared from the shadows. Two in front of him, one behind him blocking his exit. They were never in short supply in the outer rim.

"Heya pal, spare a few credits?" The thug asked innocently.

"No,"

"Well then... We'll just have to make you reconsider!" The thug shouted as he thrusted a broken bottle towards Tony's frame.

In mere moments Tony's hand whipped from his side and a red light seemed to ignite from his palm, severing the thugs arm. The one behind him had hoped to get the drop on him. He razed a large rock, but just as he was about to strike Tony merely thrusted his lightsaber behind him. The Thug gave out a small sigh then crumpled to the ground as Tony's saber sheathed itself. The last thug stood frozen in horror. Tony walked a slow methodical pace to the man and then layed his hands atop the thugs shoulders. The man fell to the ground on both knees as purple flames seemed to engulf Tony's hands. Essence like skin visibly peeled off the fellow. His face grew gaunt and his eyes became glossy balls of goo. The man slumped to the side, a former husk off his old self.

Tony checked their pockets and withdrew a few credits. He was beat and now just wanted to find a place to sleep. A slightly rowdy inn seemed to be the closest place for rest and Tony decided to try their. Upon entering he sensed the force near by. He walked towards the disturbance and found himself in a bar. He scanned the crowd and aura's of light seemed to encircle the two. He approached their table.

"Mind if I sit?"

[member="Darren Onyx"], [member="Xzara Vox"]

 

[Azimuth Industries]

The Twi'lek draped all over Ben pulled back, with a mix of expressions one might expect from a rejected hooker.

If Narbo noticed the Chadra-Fan's uncomfortableness at the diminutive, he didn't seem to care.

"The kind who doesn't like too many questions. Yanee dah poo noo. Need to see if you can handle job first, eh?"

Narbo drained his glass, set it down, then took out a vial of spice. He uncorked it and sprinkled out a line on one arm, then held it out to the Twi'lek girl beside him. She licked her lips. Not seductively, but as if she'd been starving in the deserts of Tatooine and suddenly stumbled across a Bantha barbeque. She bent down and snorted the line off his furry arm like a pro. Big-eyed blinks followed as the drugs started to course through her system. She gave Narbo a wide-eyed stare that clearly said "I want karking more," but Narbo was either oblivious or pretended not to notice.

By this point, the Twi'lek on Ben's couch had apparently decided that the Chadra-Fan was really joking when he said "don't call me that," because she leaned forward and licked the rim of his deliciously large ears, then said. "Don't worry. I think tiny is cute. Besides, you can't be so small everywhere, can you?"

Her hand on his chest drifted lower, presumably to "unwrap" his "sweet treat."

@B'enor (Ben) Benjeel

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Things were beginning to pick up in the hotel. Leo had spied no less than four light-sabers in the one room, and the tension was thick. Sipping his whiskey, he took the chance to survey the remainder of the room. People sat and drank, laughing at some jokes or sneering at others, the alcohol taking control of their emotions. Leo twisted his head to the entrance of the room as a well-groomed human with another light-saber strolled in, walking right over to the two in the corner.

His contact still hadn't shown, Leo began to assume the worst, which was more than likely in a back-end town on a planet such as Tatooine. He stood up, finishing his drink with a elongated gulp and began to stalk over to the group, it was beginning to look more like a gathering at this rate. "How are we folks doing this fine night?" He addressed them in his usual rich, deep voice, charisma emanating from his very presence.

| [member="Tony Ro'samo"] | [member="Darren Onyx"] | [member="Xiarr Sair"] | [member="Xzara Vox"] |

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Of course he wasn’t going to tell me who he worked with right away, Ben thought as he mentally facepalmed himself, illegal operations don’t stay alive by giving away their information. Guess I got too caught up in it all. Don’t lose track of this job, you need the money.

The Twi’lek closest to Narbo greedily took a hit off his arm. Then, pled for more. Unfazed, Ben responded to Narbo, “Yeah, ‘course you want to see how I handle this job, I respect that. I can assure you, you’re going to have secret passages wrapped in hideouts covered in so much mystery gravy your mom won’t know where she is anymore, let alone the authorities.”

“Wooop, whistle, beeep, beep”, Shorty confirmed.

“Beeep, long whistle”

“No, I don’t think hooker astromech droids are a thing, you sack of loose nuts.”

The Twi’lek next to him started licking his ear, ”Don’t worry, I think tiny is cute”, and at that moment, his hand twitched down to his blaster and started to unholster it – job and beautiful women be damned – but then he heard, “Besides, you can’t be so small everywhere, can you.”

She called me… tiny, but then again, she also suggested I punch above my weight class… but she still called me tiny… but, was it meant to be a compliment? It sounded like a compliment. Or was it?

Now, unsure more than anything, Ben slowly slid his blaster into the holster. He looked over at the Twi’lek, puffed himself up as best he could, and said, “Look, sweetheart, I think you’ve got the wrong impression. You’re right that if I were tiny, I wouldn’t be tiny everywhere, but lucky for you, I’m not tiny, which means…”, he firmly tapped his hand on her hand moving south, “well, you’re a smart gal, you can figure it out. If you want to dance, we can dance, but right here might not be the best time. I’ve got business to attend to.”

“So, how much longer until I can get to work?” He asked Narbo.

[member="Narbo"]

 

[Azimuth Industries]

Narbo let out a low whuffling chuckle, though whether he was laughing at or with Ben was impossible to say. He leaned back against the couch and declined to respond to Ben for the moment, more interested in what happened next.

"Aww he's puffing." The twi'lek said. "So cute. Are you short for your species? Like a, what do you call it, a midget? Hehe. Can I call you Itty-Bitty Ben?"

@B'enor (Ben) Benjeel

 

[Xzara Vox]

Xzara took another sip from her beer as another man approached her table. She could sense the force within him, but there was something... Different about it. It sparked her interest to say the least, so she nodded her head when he asked to sit. Xzara was just about to flag down a waiter to bring another round for their table when she felt the presence of another force user enter the building. "Curious." She thought. Apparently this was where all the force users liked to spend their free time.

The third man approached their table and said, "How are we folks doing this fine night?"

Xzara smiled, "Wonderful, it appears we have a party on our hands now."

As she eyed the three men Xzara thought to herself, this certainly was a strange occurrence. They had all seemed to gravitate towards one another, as if the force pulled them together. Xzara lifted her beer bottle, "Cheers."

[member="Leo Vandermolen"] [member="Tony Ro'samo"] [member="Darren Onyx"]

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

With growing volume and intensity Ben yelled, “What the chubba is up with these damn stoopa Twi’lek women today!” He pulled out his blaster and began to level it at the Twi’lek, “how about I blast a few holes in you hutt-spawn schutta and we can see how tall you are dead on the ground!”

Before he could fully level the blaster, a small but strong robotic arm popped from one of Shorty’s hatches and sprung toward his wrist. Grabbing hold, Shorty jerked his wrist down so that the blaster was pointing at the floor.

“E chu ta!” Who’s side are you on anyway, traitor?!”

“whistle, whistle, beep, beep, boop!”

“I don’t care! She’s asking for it!”

[member="Narbo"]

 

[Azimuth Industries]

By this point the spiced up Twi'lek caught on to the fact that, all things being considered, a blaster pointed in her face probably indicated that the little guy meant business. She fell backward, away from Ben, with a short little gasping cry.

"Ey, relax cheeka," Narbo chuckled, tusks shuffling. "Not every day you almost get charred, eh?"

Which was not, strictly speaking, entirely true. The arachnoid turned four eyes on @B'enor (Ben) Benjeel.

"U kulle rah rode kankee kung."

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Any scumbag and smuggler in the galaxy worth his or her spice knew a thing or two about Huttese.

“You don’t know how lucky you were chik youngee” he spat, still furious, “if it weren’t for this dopa meekie droid being too afraid of offending our new employer, I’d have blasted a proverbial photon cap in your karking face.”

Clearly, Narbo wasn’t just not offended by his nearly toasting one of his girls, he seemed entertained by it. That gave him an idea. This twi’lek pushed him much too far, and since Narbo seemed amused, he thought he’d give him a choice.

“Dopo mee gusha, pateesa. Because it’s up to Narbo whether I make good on my threat” he said to her as he wrestled his gun hand free of Shorty’s grasp.

“So Narbo, what’ll it be? Thumbs up, or thumbs down for this pretty little thing?”

[member="Narbo"]

 

[Azimuth Industries]

Narbo waved a dismissive hand. "No, no. Not on my ropo seat backing. But she mess with you again, just dump her out the speeder door, eh?"

The girl looked at the Aqualish with trembling lip and wide, teary eyes. He didn't even glance at her. She turned to her companion, but the other Twi'lek was so far gone it would be a wonder if she didn't think they were flying to one of the twin suns on the back of an Arkanian dragon.

"Let's get back to business. You gotta ship?" Narbo took out a scrap of flimsy and handed it to the Chadra-Fan. Scrawled on the back was the address to a house on Ryloth. "Meet me there in your ship, or pickup a bus if you need a lift. We've got work to do, kung."

And the way he said that last word, well t'weren't an insult at all.

 

[B'enor Benjeel]

Ben shrugged, “Seems fair, if you’re into that sort of thing. I guess this cheeka might think twice before disrespecting an associate of yours. And really, it would be a shame to damage your ropo seat backing.”

As for a ship, he definitely didn’t have one. And, to top it off, he didn’t have a credit to his name. He also didn’t want to ask his new employer for an advance in order to get to Ryloth – that would look bad, he thought. Oh well, I’ve figured my way out of worst scenarios than hitching a ride. He took the piece of flimsy.

“Not lucky enough to have my own ship, but I’ll meet you here none-the-less,” he said as confidently as he could.

“By the way, you should think about branching out with your, um, girls. In my recent experience, Twi’lek women are overrated.”

[member="Narbo"]

 

[Azimuth Industries]

Narbo whuffled, tusks shifting eerily beneath his four black eyes. Two large, two small, and altogether too many.

"Maybe just for you Narbo will get some other cheekas, eh?"

The speeder slowed to a stop. A glance out the window would show the city of Anchorhead. Narbo opened the door.

"You get off here, Ben. See you in one week."

FIN