The Wise Masters of Lessu

[Azimuth Industries]

"Lessu, twin capital of Ryloth, surrounded on all sides by mountains and canyons. Widely known for its elaborate spaceport and close proximity to local Ryll mines in the mountains.

For hundreds of years, the slaves manned the Ryll mines and brought tremendous wealth to the city.

Existence in such a system was not fair, pretty, pleasant, but the city could offer scant else. No lush fields for agriculture, no thriving industry, no valuable metals to export. Just flesh and Ryll.

The first time the denizens were freed from oppression they tried to focus entirely on the Ryll trade, but the mines ran dry, which caused the economy to shrink. People left Lessu en masse and the city declined tremendously.

Riots occurred, homes and shops burned, people died.

A number of times slavery was reinstalled and outlawed once more. The last time was quite recently when the Confederacy rose up again. They set the people free, robbed the city of its main income source and sold it as a benefit to all the citizens.

But people can’t prosper off ideology, moral high ground does not pay for housing.

The decline begins again, but this time outsiders converge in an effort to stop it."

-from the journal of Yu

* * *

Evidence of violence still lay strewn about the city streets from the Confederacy's liberation. Buildings pockmarked by blaster fire. A pervasive sense of held breath, as the people wondered whether their freedom would prove temporary.

Silais, wrists shackled, stumbled past the rows of body bags laid out in the street. Funny how freedom always got paid with someone else's blood.

The Twi'lek knew he was destined for a life in a cell for what he'd done. A life of misery.

He deserved it.

He'd done terrible things.

 

[Arage Bao]

R Y L O T H​

L E S S U​

​

For the entire duration of the journey down the Corellian Run Rukhan seemed to surround himself by pensive silence.

At first Yu had been content with letting him retreat back into his shell, but the longer the travel stretched out the more it weighed him down, until the Mirialan finally sighed. "You seem disturbed, Rukhan, is there something you wish to say?" Of course Praji knew exactly what Rukhan's issue was. A Noghri, proud and jealously guarding his honor, the sentient had disapproved of this venture from the very start. They only just regained their freedom, Yushi, do you really want to take that away from them again? He had guarded over him since he was a little babe and sometimes Yu wondered if the Noghri wasn't simply an elaborate spy installed by his father to ensure that he would not bring shame to their House's name.

"I have said my piece, young Lord Praji." Uh oh. The moment Rukhan decided to use his last name? That's when the Mirialan knew that the issue was serious. They returned to awkward silence all the way up to his personal transport landing gently within the great spaceport of Lessu.

"I have explained it to you a number of times."

"Each explanation runs hollow, my Lord."

Yu sighed, before looking back to the Noghri. Each scale and ridge, every scar, old or new, they were familiar to him like his own soft hands. Rukhan was as much his father as his actual father and he didn't like this conflict between the two of them. But neither was it possible to steer away from this course - he wanted to. Just thinking about what they were about to do... it scared him shetlessly and there was a shine of sweat just underneath his clothing.

But the course was set and they were out of options.

"Are you leaving me, Asharanti?"

The Noghri immediately shook his head, before rising. The transport was calm now and the ramp already descending down for them. "I have guarded you your entire life and I will continue to guard you my entire life, Yushi, just think of what path this will set us on." And then he left, leaving Yu alone with his thoughts while he scouted ahead and made sure there were no immediate threats to them. Yu knew what path this was and he knew that there was no other choice.

This move with Helix and Bareesh would forestall further attempts on their turf on Denon.

Just a couple of jobs, a couple of loose ends, until honor was satisfied and they could turn their back on this... business.

[member="Bareesh Kajidic"] | [member="Helix Syndicate"]​

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

LESSU
WAREHOUSE

Derrenger had no idea at what point the Syndicate became so popular that people kept hiring them out for jobs on the other side of the galaxy. Or at what point the Syndicate became so powerful and criminal-imperialist that they kept showing up on these backwaters like Ryloth and Nar Shaddaa. He didn't get it. He didn't care to get it. Simpler people feared change, but the only change Derrenger cared about was the change in his paychecks. He was starting to find a few extra zeroes in there than he usually did. That was change he could get behind. The Confederacy was big on change too, but apparently it ran counter to the interests of just about everyone with cash. Everyone who mattered, basically.

Not everyone was concerned with all that, though. Not Derrenger, and certainly not the squad of Syndicate Enforcers loafing about as they waited for orders, sitting on crates and playing Pazaak. Derrenger remained far away from the group, leaning against a pillar counting the minutes as they ticked by. This was far preferable to socializing, especially given the insipid conversation between the Enforcers.

"I'm just saying, we ought to switch it up sometimes," Melvio said, shuffling the cards in his hand. "Every time we go somewhere, it's a warehouse. We're always waiting in warehouses. Gets kind of repetitive."

One Enforcer, a Neimoidian, had his helmet off so he could smoke. This one used a free hand to remove his cigarra before speaking, "Of course it's repetitive. It's repetitive because it works. Look at all this space we got, plus there's never any civvies around. Big and yet barely noticeable."

"Yeah, kinda like Slim over there."

Heads turned to look over at another Enforcer, a fat one by their standards, who was not engaged in the conversation or the game. Instead he was quietly browsing the HoloNet on his datapad. Eventually he noticed the silence and looked up, bewildered to find everyone looking at him. "Uh..?"

They laughed at him. But then someone played a perfect twenty, and they all went from laughing to indignant yelling in record time.

[member="Yu Praji"] | [member="Bareesh Kajidic"]​

 

[Azimuth Industries]

LESSU
WAREHOUSE

A skeleton walked into the warehouse. Well, not really a skeleton. Just a Givin. He wore a flowing black tunic that somehow managed to cover both his neck and his ankles while also looking stylish. Because what better way to keep them guessing?

Ni'gel the Accountant glided toward the group of obscene ruffians, dreading the coming dialogue. Honestly, he would prefer working for people with class. At least in the First Order he knew he would get the occasional quadratic formula greeting. Sadly, the First Order did not pay what the kajidic did. So, here he was, about to discuss the takeover of a freed city with a band of hooligans whose idea of subtlety was hiding the bodies after the blasting.

Disgusting, really.

Two large crates floated behind him, like miniature repulsorsleds. Obviously they held something. Guns? Drugs?

Nothing so crass.

Ni'gel slowed to a halt and panned his baleful gaze across the pazaak playing popinjays.

"Greetings, which of you is the leader?"

[member="Helix Syndicate"] | [member="Yu Praji"]

 

[Arage Bao]

LESSU​

WAREHOUSE​

The rest of the journey to the warehouse was filled with silence.

Rukhan did not want to speak and Yu was too nervous to try and break up the obstruction in his throat. So the Mirialan just rubbed his hands together, wringing sweaty palms and rigid fingers into inter-locking gestures, while trying to project an aura of calm. None of that was very effective and in the end they reached the front door of the warehouse.

The Noghri was already chatting amicably with the pair of guards, which ensured that Yu didn't have to be slammed against the wall. Instead it took a simple search of his clothes, before he was admitted inside together with Rukhan.

"I did not think that would be necessary." Yu commented as they entered the room. All that the Noghri did was snort, at first anyway.

A moment later he shrugged. "This is the world you move in now, Lord Praji, best to get comfortable." Because it would be a long stay... that was what his surrogate father wished to say, but he kept it to himself. The last thing that they needed were more bad omens, either spoken or otherwise shown through chance.

Helix had send a handful of representatives.

Bareesh a single Givin and a pair of floating... cubes?

Yu tilted his head as he arrived at the scene. "Hello." His voice rang through the room, before Rukhan snorted softly. "I see we are all here, that is good. We have much to do." Even using his larger-than-life noble voice did not seem to ease his anxiety at the situation. These ones were hardened killers by the looks of it.

Even the Givin seemed to be... cold, his eyes dead and unfeeling.

What had he involved them in?

[member="Bareesh Kajidic"] | [member="Helix Syndicate"]​

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

LESSU
WAREHOUSE

The Enforcers stared blankly back at the Givin and his crates. For about a minute, anyway. Then one of them said, "Who the hell is this nerd?" That was how the laughing started up again, and it was boisterous enough that nobody heard Derrenger march over behind one of them. Derrenger gave Melvio a sharp smack across the back of the head, the Enforcer dropping his pazaak cards and yelping like a kicked Akk hound. That got them all quiet again. "Bunch of idiots," he hissed, "Get yourselves ready." The Trandoshan wasn't finished, because he bent over, picked up a rifle, and shoved it into the hands of one of the other sitting Enforcers. Again, cards went flying and Derrenger apparently misjudged the amount of force with which he shoved - the Enforcer was bowled over along with the crate.

The others scrambled for the helmets and sidearms, picking themselves up and moving away from Derrenger and Ni'gel. The cards were abandoned to the floor and crate lids. Cleanliness took a back seat to things when you were getting yelled at by a Trandoshan. Having routed his own troops, Derrenger was free to focus on Ni'gel. Hateful lizard eyes met empty stare. It was about as depressing as an exchange of glances could reasonably be. "Derrenger," he said, by way of introduction since he had apparently demonstrated that he was in charge. He didn't waste time after that. "What's in the crates?"

If there was one thing Derrenger didn't like, it was ambiguity. And there was something about a corpse towing unmarked crates around that reeked of it. Why did it feel like every time he left his ship, the Scorekeeper sought to test his patience? Case and point was when Yu Praji showed up. Derrenger only folded his arms and looked at the Mirialan, clearly anticipating a longer explanation. Either that or he had folded them to resist the urge to throat-punch the Triad ringleader. Between the spiky hair, stupid face, and silly voice, it was a sure sign of Derrenger's discipline.

[member="Yu Praji"] | [member="Bareesh Kajidic"]​

 

[Azimuth Industries]

LESSU
WAREHOUSE

Unsurprisingly, the band of troglodytes devolved into a sudden flurry of violence. The Trandoshan emerged as the clear alpha. Ni'gel sniffed disdainfully. He supposed it would be entirely too much to act for some sort of professionalism from these vagabonds. At least the lizard could speak in complete sentences, even if he didn't offer the quadratic formula greeting. Ni'gel had come to expect it. He was still offended.

Indignation mixed with mild terror at the scaly being's hostile demeanor. Nearly knocking out a subordinate with a slap did tend to instill a certain measure of... apprehension in one's business partners. Fortunately, Ni'gel's range of facial expression was nil.

"May your Jagganath points be plentiful." Ni'gel uttered the proforma phrase in a cold, aloof tone. "The boxes are a solution. Let us hope we do not require it."

Turning, the Givin noted the entry of the green, tattooed humanoid and a burly reptilian. Also green. Clearly a running theme, along with the aligned right header. It could only be the Jade Triad.

"Yes. Our current risk of detection is above the fifty percent threshold." Noghri were not common. Sadly, any sort of precise calculation were disrupted. Humanoid error was an enormous variable. A Confederate patrol could blunder into them by accident at any moment. No one could account for sheer incompetence.

"You received the schematics? The ringleaders must be freed first."

[member="Helix Syndicate"] | [member="Yu Praji"]

 

[Arage Bao]

LESSU​

WAREHOUSE​

Eyes widened a fraction at the display of force.

He had spend his life around fine dinners, beautiful galas and guarded by Noghri, but not even they could have prepared him for the Trandoshan. He had only seen one once before- years ago, when his father and him had visited a local plantations on Kashyyyk and it had been attacked in the night by a small Trandoshan raiding group. It had taken a dozen Noghri to put down those animals and they had taken heavy losses in the meantime, sometimes even competence and speed could not prove itself effective against overwhelming force and the element of surprise. A lesson, the Lord Praji had said to his crying son, that in this world chaos ruled and the proper order could be thrown into the wind within a moment's time.

Preparation was the key to avoiding unwelcoming outcomes.

When Derrenger stared him down with no words Yu gulped, before Rakhan whispered just behind him, low and soft. "Steady." And the Praji bastard nodded, head inclining a mere fraction in response. "We have, yes, and our men are in position around the facility."

The bulk of the forces would be drawn from Bareesh and Helix, but the transportation and get-away was solely the purview of the Triad. They would make sure that they got there, ensure the route out remained clear and then facilitate a clean exit. It had taken inconspicuous scouting and observation to ensure they knew the goings of the guard details, but also the patrols of confederate law enforcement. It would be awkward if they extracted the ring leaders just to find a police officer writing a ticket for one of the get-away vehicles.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

LESSU
WAREHOUSE

Lips curled into a snarl. As if his failure to answer the question did not grate enough, now this Givin mocked the Scorekeeper. Such insincerity could only be taken for an insult. Derrenger had seen people flayed for less. Givins, however, could not be flayed. This would have disappointed many of his kin back on Trandosha, but not Derrenger. He imagined Ni'gel's neck could be snapped much the same as anyone else's. Then they could both see how good that mathematical savvy and the ability to survive in a vacuum paid off crumpled in a paralyzed heap on the floor, waiting those last few seconds for death to creep in. Happy thoughts. Only happy thoughts from Derrenger. A constant barrage, a mighty stream. Derrenger was a very happy Trandoshan, after all.

They really should have sent someone more sociable. Maybe Ogedei. Or Aldabert if they wanted to drive these people mad with witless banter. "Then we're ready to go."

If the bowcaster slung across his back had not been mentioned until now, that was an unfortunate oversight. He withdrew it anyway, the stocks snapping out from their collapsed state. Derrenger thumbed the activation switch and the weapon hummed to life. Fortunately he did not turn the safety off just yet. While Yu Praji was providing the speeder trucks, the Syndicate would be manning them. They were not about to risk a bunch of good Bareesh men and Enforcers by putting them into the hands of third-stringers. Explaining to the Triad thugs where they needed to go would have taken too long anyway. The droids manning the vehicles only had to have their GPS turned on and a good street address.

"Me and mine go in first," Derrenger announced. Already he was walking past them, out the large loading bay doors that were opening. This was because he craved combat, but because the idea of spending any more time with these idiots without explosions to distract him was, quite frankly, repulsive. His Enforcers hurried after him, checking diagnostics as they went. Five speeder trucks were waiting for them, engines primed.

Sensing his companions would require further advice, Derrenger added, "Don't get in the way."

[member="Yu Praji"] | [member="Bareesh Kajidic"]​

 

[Azimuth Industries]

Sniffing to show his disdain, since his facial exoskeleton could not actually move, Ni'gel likewise climbed into the rear of a speeder truck. The boxes floated in behind him. Given that the Givin did not appear to be wearing any sort of body armor or carrying a weapon worth firing, there really seemed to be a valid question for why he was even there in the first place.

Whipping out a datapad, Ni'gel began inputting information methodically. A Rodian gangster seated across from him leaned forward, elbows on knees, silver chain dangling from around his throat.

"You gonna beat the guards over the head with that pad?" He sniggered.

"No," Ni'gel reached into a duffel bag at his feet and pulled out a probe droid. "But this might."

The little droid spun to life and seconds later Ni'gel used the datapad to pilot it out of the window and high into the air above the little convoy. It wouldn't take long for them to reach their destination, but Ni'gel hated surprises.

[member="Helix Syndicate"] [member="Yu Praji"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Bareesh Kajidic"] | [member="Helix Syndicate"]

Rakhan wasn't happy.

Whilst his Lord was bathing in cold sweat behind the sweet, soft silk and light armor-weave beneath that the Noghri was less impressed with the abrasive Trandoshan. Foul and without honor, simple-minded and blood always rising for the killing. At least he had the decency to feel mildly bad about cutting the throats of his enemies.

He did not let it show.

This alliance was important to Lord Yu and if the Mirialan was willing to let slight after slight pass, then he would not make a problem out of it... for now anyway.

Both Rakhan as well as Yu settled into one of the trucks.

The door banged shut and there was silence for a while, until the droid driver suddenly beeped into activity. Trailing behind the other trucks towards their destination.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

LESSU
TAKAHASHI PENITENTIARY

Up in the watchtower, a Twi'lek gazed through a pair of macrobinoculars. This particular tower was connected to the electric chain link fence that encircled the penitentiary and provided an excellent vantage point of the main entrance gate. A long, straight road lead right up to it. This was mostly where visitors and supply shipments came through on landspeeders. There weren't supposed to be any visitors while they transitioned into the droid garrison and he wasn't aware of any impending supply shipments. But there were five giant trucks barreling towards them at an unreasonable speed. The Twi'lek frowned and lowered his macrobinoculars. "We got a shipment scheduled today?"

His friend, a Rutian, was sitting in a chair at a small wooden table. He was playing some sort of solitary game with his pazaak cards. "Don't think so. You got trucks coming in?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah. Come give it a look," he said, holding out the macrobinoculars for the Rutian to take.

The Rutian rose and snagged them, taking a look. "Huh. I don't see nothing," he handed the device back to his companion.

His companion scowled and snatched them out of the Rutian's hand. "The hell are you talking about? There's five trucks. You don't see five trucks?"

He looked through the macrobinoculars again, oblivious to the Rutian unclipping his stun device from the belt. "Man, I told you I didn't see anything."

"Well, that's poodoo, 'cause right now I'm looking straight at- HRRRGBlrrrgbgr...!"

Contrary to his speech, he was not looking straight at hrrrgblrrgbgr. This was actually the result of the stun baton the Rutian jammed into his side while he was looking through the macrobinoculars at the five speeder trucks still steaming straight towards them. In a few moments, they would smack into the gate. Or they potentially would, anyway, but the Rutian had been paid so that didn't happen. His spasming companion flopped onto the ground like a limp fish, convulsing with a similar grace. Meanwhile, the Rutian hit the buzzer and the gates slid open. Nice and smooth, just the way everyone liked it. The trucks screeched to a halt inside the penitentiary's fence, fanned out in two rows - three in front, two in back.

The doors to the center van opened up so Derrenger and his Enforcers could spill out. The other two were carrying Hutt thugs which, as usual, would be acting as the expendable vanguard. The two in back were empty. Those were for the slavers about to be rescued.

The party was starting.

[member="Yu Praji"] | [member="Bareesh Kajidic"]​

 

[Azimuth Industries]

Two guards stood in the corridor between the prison yard, watching the prisoners mill about.

"Hey, Johnny."

"Yeh, Billy, 'sup?"

"Brass weren't supposed to be shipping us any new prisoners 'til next taungsday, right?"

"Yeh."

"So why're we gettin' all these trucks?"

"Trucks?" Billy turned to look over at the trucks that'd just pulled up inside the penitentiary. What looked like a Givin was walkin' toward them, with two floating boxes trailing behind. "Huh. Food shipment?"

No, that really didn't sound right.

Johnny's hand reached for his gun. "I uh, stang. Open the door."

Brrrr.

Johnny walked out to meet the Givin, frown intensifying as he noticed a whole bunch of Rodians n' such fanning out behind him. Lots of Rodians, with guns. Johnny stopped walking, a mere five paces outside the safety of the wall. He started walking backward.

"Billy, keep the door o-"

A Rodian drew down on Johnny with a pistol and fired. The slug caught Johnny in the throat, blowing out his trachea in a spray of scarlet. The confederate soldier sank to the ground, gargling out his last words.

The gun made a barely audible, belated chirp.

Billy stared, slackjawed, then grabbed his commlink and started screaming. Inside the prison yard, the inmates had all lined up at the fence, expressions confused or else giddy with the violence. One among them looked perfectly at ease. Shock absent from his features. The Twi'lek named Bril pushed his way to the fence and watched, expression blank.

They should leave me here.

[member="Helix Syndicate"] | [member="Yu Praji"]