The Underworld

[Aela Talith]

Ah, credits.

How droll.

Elizabeth well understood that the galaxy revolved around money, but she always found conversations about it so boring. The Underworld focused heavily on such things of course, more than the average organizations but...to Elizabeth, and she suspected many others, it was only secondary. The drug trade, slaves, everything else brought in so much money that one almost forgot what it was for in the first place.

At a certain point it became less about money and more about what doors it opened for you. "I see."

She said finally.

"An appropriate number then." She mused for a moment. "Fifteen thousand credits if the Hutts are removed unharmed."

She really didn't want them dead. "Plus, some equipment for your future ventures."

 

[Arekk]

Credits.

Her offer was definitely not what the Jedi had been expecting, a whimsical amount of credits to be offered. It felt almost like a slap to the face yet Ar'ekk mantained a polite demeanor towards his new soon-to-be business partner.

"Fifteen thousand to blow up four sources of income and leaving the Hutts unharmed? I could make more by taking their stuff instead." he uttered, a smidgen peeved.

A cheeky smile developed underneath the mask during the negotiation, knowing she could do more than that. It was only a matter of time before she gave a true number for his services.

"There's potential for a good business partnership here, lady. Let's not ruin it, shall we?"

The doors this relationship could open for the duo was big, him being known in the centric part of Nar Shaddaa and soon expanding in the business. Her running a well reputed yet still rising nightclub in a dangerous territory.

[member="Elizabeth Castille"]

 

[Aela Talith]

@Ar'ekk

"No, you couldn't." Elizabeth countered. "You'd have to pay a fence to sell it, plus the allies of those Hutts would come after you if you did such a thing."

She smiled.

"It's a fair price, and we both know it." It was important to remember just what she was asking him to do. Elizabeth didn't want the young man to slaughter his way through the Hutt's, she wanted him to disrupt their business. All that she needed was for them to move up and out of the Promenade. She didn't want them dead, she didn't want everything they owned destroyed, she just wanted them gone. That was it, all of it in total.

"Their wrath will fall on me." She reminded him. "Their allies will look to me, and the responsibilities of this will come to me."

She leaned forward. "Plus, this could very well be a beginning."

Elizabeth reminded him, this was only just a start for her after all.

 

[Arekk]

A frown developed in his face. The price remained to be slightly too low for such a big risk to take in Nar Shaddaa, specially in a high traffic zone as the Promenade itself.

"I want thirty thousand credits as a minimum. I'm taking way too many risks here and not to mention I'll make use of my own equipment." he said back as he sipped from his glass, the strong taste making him grimace. The young Jedi knew the intention Elizabeth had and killing the Hutts would only bring problems for her and the club.

"The job is guaranteed to be a success and that's my personal promise. But please, do not insult my capabilities. Fifteen is not enough."

The words coming out of his mouth sounded bittersweet as he tried to bargain with the lady. If you look at things, how often you had a Force User and even more a Jedi coming through your door to help you solve your most painful problems?

[member="Elizabeth Castille"]

 

[Aela Talith]

"Twenty five." She countered.

The price, all said and done, didn't really matter. She would make more money on the back end of this than one could even really imagine, but she knew that the man meant. He held himself in high esteem, and at the very least that was something that could be respected.

"Plus." She added. "The equipment I spoke of."

From her inner coat she pulled out a small sleek datapad. "Weapons and armor."

Elizabeth was no fence, but she'd taken payment from more than one client in the form of stolen goods. Most of it stayed within her warehouse deep on Nar Shaddaa, but it would be far more useful for someone like Ar'ekk than it was for her.

"To aid in your future endeavors." Sweetening the deal.

 

[Arekk]

A smug smile formed underneath his mask yet invisible for Elizabeth, nodding in approval.

"Twenty five it is." He agreed with the terms.

Ar'ekk snatched the datapad given by the girl and gave it a brief glance before stuffing underneath his cloak with his free hand, the other one still occupied by the glass of Kriff.

He realized that this woman had some sense and was very smart after all, a fair person to negotiate with as well. The Jedi was pleased with the conditions set during their brief conversation.

"I'm going to need more details. Locations, expected opposition and any other important matter for the success of this operation. Anything you can think of, tell me."

[member="Elizabeth Castille"]

 

[Aela Talith]

@Ar'ekk

"Mm." She agreed.

Perhaps this wouldn't be all that difficult after all.

With the Hutt's gone she would be able to take another small plot of the Promenade. Things were going surprisingly well on that front, though just how she would acquire the rest...well that would remain to be seen. She frowned for a moment and then slowly shook her head, hand reaching out and motioning towards one of the nearby guards. The man held himself in a stiff stance, though headed towards her without even a second of hesitation after she motioned.

"Please get the proper records for me. The Lirak Cartel." She frowned. "All of them."

Didn't want to leave anything out after all.

 

[Arekk]

The Jedi leaned over to leave his glass on the small table in the middle of the room. His gaze dragged over to the lady sitting in front of him and uttered,

"I'm looking to expand on Nar Shaddaa. If everything goes well, we could do more business in the future."

The Lirak Cartel was something he was unaware of but since they had the capability of running most of the Promenade, they were certainly powerful Hutts. All their venues would be heavily guarded by Niktos and other cannon-fodder individuals working for them against their will, which could prove helpful in case Ar'ekk wanted to recruit them for a future occasion.

"What can you tell me about The Lirak Cartel?"

He wanted a brief explanation.

[member="Elizabeth Castille"]

 

[Aela Talith]

"They're your typical hutts." She said with a shrug.

The Cartel wasn't all that different from the dozen of others that sat around Nar Shaddaa and Nal Hutta. They were lead by a trio of Hutt lords all of whom weighed in on decisions equally. They had enforcers, droids, and dozens of thugs.

She shifted her weight and leaned forward.

"They're not a very old group." She stated simply. "Most of their enforcers aren't loyal, and they have a penchant for being...cruel."

Miss Castille crossed her legs. "What else do you want to know?"

 

[Arekk]

"Their operations you want gone."

If he was to strike down their sources of income, the need for vital information would be key to the success of the mission. Anything she could think of could make the difference; Locations, secret passages, weak entrance points, etcetera. A plethora of things that would aid the operation.

"You mentioned several venues. Let's go through them again."

Ar'ekk seemed to have slouched even more in his sofa, clearly comfortable and overconfident of his capabilities to carry out such a heavy task by himself. The experience would come in handy to demonstrate that he's a skillfull and able person to work in the underworld.

[member="Elizabeth Castille"]

 

[Aela Talith]

"The most important is the racetrack." It was their primary source of income and where most of the Hutt's themselves hung out.

"It's not located on the Promenade itself obviously." Too large for that. "But it's viewing Gala is."

That was where the Hutts were situated.

The Gala was a nice little club, smaller than circuit but large enough to fit well over two hundred people. Large screens dotted every single wall and an amphitheater sat within the middle of the gala itself. The place was nice, but it was also a hub for gambling and dozens of other illicit activities. "That's where you'll find the Hutts."

She shrugged and pulled out another datapad, this time somewhat larger from the side of her chair.

"I don't have any blueprints." She placed the device on the table. "Just general layouts."

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk reached over for the datapad but did not give the device any read whatsoever, a task that'd be primary once deployed on the field to commence the operation. Certainly the information provided was more than enough, finding the rest of the venues wouldn't be a hardous difficult thing to carry out.

"Very well, I think I've got everything I need so far. Might as well start the mission right away."

It was settled at the last. Whatever happened in a few hours more would be determining to break or continue the business relationship built so far between the Jedi and the underworld figure herself, hopefully the first would be as successful as he said he'd be.

"I'm going to prepare."

No going back now for either party.

[member="Elizabeth Castille"]

 

[Aela Talith]

@Ar'ekk

"Good." She gave the man a little wave.

It remained to be seen if he could actually accomplish what he'd said, but then again Elizabeth had a way of hedging her bets.

IF this man failed she'd send another, if that one failed she'd send another after him. This wasn't some sort of carnival ride, it was the game of life on Nar Shaddaa. Deceit and lies were common place here, and though Elizabeth hadn't told this man a single lie she knew well that accomplishing the task that she'd set him upon was difficult.

"I'll be here." She mused. "Return when you succeed."

If you succeed. Elizabeth thought to herself.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk simply acknowledged her words with a nod as he did pretty much the whole evening. His lack of words made him a mysterious individual and masquerading his emotions played a big part when dealing with underworld figures, specially the most experienced ones as they could read your body language and intentions like an open book.

He had set up in a small area of Nar Shaddaa where he kept all his belongings, a private two-story small building that resembled an apartment that overlooked the Promenade. On a table laid his battle robes and multiple accesories that would aid him in this risky operation that Elizabeth had commanded him to do. It would've been smart to ask for half the money now and then upon delivery yet it was only their first deal of hopefully many to come, should he succeed. Of course he would, failure wasn't an option.

The first venue to be targeted would be racetrack due to it's longevity and biggest play on the Hutt's income operation. Ar'ekk would go in blind to each location, making sure no one had the time to trigger any alarms and alert the rest of the venues to close down. This is where the grenades, EMPs and bombs would come into play because the Jedi had no intention to disrupt inside multiple places as they were heavily guarded so major explosions were part of his plan.

The Jedi made his towards the promenade with a medium sized backpack slinged on his shoulder containing as many explosives possible to put down each money-making front to shambles. These explosives had to be placed in specifically targeted locations so nothing could be salvaged inside and that being cash, lives or anything useful for the Hutts to reuse in the future and rebuild.

Earlier, Ar'ekk had placed an encrypted commlink on Elizabeth's pocket that would be his communication bridge with her. Unbeknowst to the lady, he wanted to show her first hand that the money that she had would be spent in the best way possible.

After an hour of going back and forth between different venues in distant locations through the Promenade, the young Jedi had placed all the explosives in place for the big finale. This would put a swift end to the Hutt's Cartel reign and the turf could be claimed by someone ambitious: Him. But this was just a benefit he found fair besides being paid by Elizabeth, she would no longer be disrupted by these criminals.

"I know you can hear this so I'm going to be quick. Every hope you had placed in this particular situation had just become true. See for yourself." He said loudly enough through the secure commlink. With the press of a button, the Promenade would light up even brighter than anything the people of Nar Shaddaa had seen in their short lives.

"Let me reform what I just said. Hear this."

Bang.

Loud continuous explosions could be heard coming from the Promenade. It was like a fireworks festival. A magnificent job pulled off by an "annonymous" individual or should we say "individuals"?

[member="Elizabeth Castille"]