Waking up

[Riley Reese]

Deep bellow the streets of Nar Shadda, the remains of a Hutt empire lay in ruin. The heart of this empire was Kwee-Kunee, the queen palace. The palace was large, even by most Hutt standards, containing large halls and elaborate sculptures, wide walkways with towering columns supported high ceilings. For years this palace was a hive of activity, a city in itself, all in an effort to control and expand Arko the Hutts empire. In its peak, Arkos empire was the largest on Nar Shaddaa. To expand his empire and police what he had conquered, Arko used slave soldiers, all taken at a young age and physically modified with prosthetics to fit a specific task.

As Arkos empire grew, so did the ranks of his enemies. After many small skirmishes with other Hutts, a full blown war erupted between Arko and his rivals. Even with his superior soldiers and wealth, his empire eventually fell. The last battle took place at Arkos palace, his soldiers, out numbered and out gunned were unable to keep back the sheer numbers of enemy forces. Arko himself died in his main hall, betrayed by his closest adviser. Thousands died in the battle, leaving only a handful of his soldiers left. With no one to give orders, the remaining soldiers continued to guard the crumbling ruins of the Queen palace. Now the only enemies they have are looters and scavengers searching for great fortunes within the decaying building. Eventually the number of infiltrators began to decrease as the tales of Arkos ghost soldiers that roamed the ruins began to circulate through the under city.

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali ran a finger along her brow, brushing stray hairs out of her face. "Nar Shaddaa...what the hell could possibly be going on here that the Republic gives a kriff about?" Ali's stray hairs fell back into place. She blew a frustrated puff of air up passed her nose. The hair stayed this time. Ali reached for her hip and checked her side arm, it was full up on charge, just like before. She was here on assignment, which was to conduct a survey of organized criminal activity on Nar Shaddaa. Apparently the local government didn't keep up much on those sorts of things, it needed the GR to do the leg work for them. Ali frowned, looking out over the brightly lit cityscape, unsure of where to start. She had no contacts on Nar Shaddaa, not even from the Rebel Alliance; with whom she'd only worked for half a year.

Arko the Hutt, a long dead crime lord, was rumored to still have activity at his old lodgings on Nar Shaddaa. Ali figured that was as good a place as any to start looking. Chances were someone had decided to move in and set up shop after Arko's empire had fallen to pieces. There was likely to be valuable tech and wealth left behind any one of the Hutt's enemies could have been after. And all these years later, why wouldn't they stay?
Ali checked the charge on her sidearm again. You're paranoid, girl. She told herself. Smirking, Ali stepped off and followed the route outlined on her datapad. Swiftly, the bright night of the city swallowed her.

 

[Riley Reese]

A new soul had entered Arko's old territory, a foreigner to its walkways and empty streets. From the shadows above a figure watched through the scope of a sniper rifle. The figure was clad in black and grey armor, over that he wore an old cloak. He watched this foreigner make their way deeper into his territory. This new person intrigued him, they weren't a Hutt soldier, nor were they any locale. The insignia on her uniform was that of the Republic. What the Republic was doing down here he couldn't possible know, but he would find out. Lowering his rifle, the watcher moved swiftly and quietly from shadow to shadow, tailing this new comer.

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali kicked a rock aside with the toe of her boot and sent it skittering several meters away across the cold stone floor. It struck something off in the dark and silence fell again. She'd been making her way through the old Hutt's palace for nearly half an hour and had yet to see anything. The rumors she'd picked up on in the many bars and nightclubs and brothels permeating this district of Nar Shaddaa had all pointed to a sort of ominous presence occupying the palace and grounds. So far Ali had found...well that rock was about it. She would have wagered that the "ominous presence" was really just a minor criminal gang that had holed up on the grounds and was doing their best to keep anyone else away from whatever valuables they trafficked; likely some sort of off-world contraband. Ali kept her hand on her sidearm and continued searching through the palace, picking slowly through massive chambers and large, tall-ceiled rooms. Almost everything was covered in dust Ali noticed, though now and again the age of the place seemed to wane. Portions of a table would be more organized or less dusty than others; old footprints wouldn't look so old. There's certainly been activity, Ali thought to herself, wishing whomever was there to just show their faces already.

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

From the shadows the watcher kept his vigil. He was not alone however, others had joined him once the intruder entered the halls. Each watched with mild curiosity. When the stone the woman kicked came to a stop, a small red dot came to life, pointing straight at her chest. Then another, followed by another, soon six red dots appeared on the her. There was a moments pause before a green flare burst to life. The hall was bathed in a dull green light. Holding the flare was a cloaked man, underneath the cloak was battle hardened armor. His face was covered by a helmet that had glowing blue eye pieces. Surrounding them was a dozen other soldiers dressed in similar fashion. Their black and gray armor showing signs of hard use, much like the old building they guarded. The man with the flare stepped forward and spoke in a deep mechanical sounding voice. "What do we have here? A republic soldier so far from home. What brings you to our home little soldier? Are you lost?"

 

[Ali Hadrix]

At first, Ali didn't catch sight of the laser on her chest; the dot had appeared below her breasts, around her navel, and it wasn't until the laser's beam cut through the dust in the air that she noticed it. When she did, Ali whipped out her sidearm as fast as could be, but by that moment several other lasers had flickered into existence and Ali knew she was surrounded. She clenched her jaw and let the DL-44 blaster pistol hang from her index finger by the trigger well.
"I'm not lost," she told the leader of the group of soldiers that seemed to materialize out of thin air. They must have been tracking me the whole time, what an idiot I am. Ali thought to herself as she felt her cheeks begin to burn. Caught like a womp rat in a trap. "And I'm not Republic, either. I killed the owner of the uniform." Ali reached slowly for a belt pouch and drew from it a little plastic bag filled with red powder. "I'm just looking for the spice dealer I heard was stomping around these parts. I just wanted to talk."
Whomever these people were, they weren't friendly, and defending their own would be their top priority. Ali needed them to know she wasn't a threat, and wouldn't be after they decided to let her live...if she could convince them to.

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

Some of the soldiers gave a low chuckle when Ali said the she had killed the owner of the Republic uniform and was looking for a spice dealer. The leader gave a low laugh at this as well. "We don't take to kindly to dealers around here, or any gangs for that matter. Not kindly at all." The sound of several charge packs powering up, as the others began to draw their weapons, began to fill the room. "There hasn't been a solid dealer in here since big boss Arko died. We ourselves are that kind of people." He reached up and pulled off his helmet, revealing short cut read hair and red stubble of a beard. His eyes opened, showing black cybernetic eyes with glowing green irises. "We are but ghost amongst the halls of the dead. And you, little soldier, should start telling the truth. Unless you want to be buried amongst these halls like the rest. For you aren't a buyer or a seller, that much I can gather just by looking at ya."

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali dropped the bag of spice and put her hands up. "Okay, okay!" She choked out quickly. The whine of weapons scraped against her eardrums; it wasn't a pleasant sound to be on the receiving end of. "You can't blame me for falling back on my cover, sheesh." Calmly, slowly, Ali lowered the hand with her pistol in it, setting it down on the ground. She left the bag of spice with it before standing. "I'm going to go for my credentials. I'm Captain Ali Hadrix, Galactic Republic Military Intelligence." Ali lowered her left hand slowly, reaching obviously for the front pocket of her uniform pants. She pulled her wallet out of the pocket and tossed it toward the man still hidden in shadow, hoping he'd just catch the kriffing thing. "The plain truth is that we picked up word of weird stuff going on here, I got sent out to check it. We figured it was nothing more than a new drug operation, that's it. Now I know it's not, so I can just report back to my superiors I didn't find a damn thing...right?" Ali felt her jaw tighten as she ended her monologue. Hopefully these strangers didn't psyche themselves out and convince themselves Ali was still lying. There wasn't any point to by now.

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

The leader of the group easily caught Alis wallet. He scanned the information slowly, seemingly not paying attention to what she was saying. His black and green eyes shifted from the information in front of him back to the woman. Before he could say anything, another soldier stepped up to him and whispered something in his ear. The mans eyes narrowed before he started barking orders in Huttese. Without hesitation, members of the group began to break off and melt into the darkness. He then turned his attention back to Ali. "You. Republic soldier. Come with us, there's much to discuss." Without another word, he turned and began to make his way deeper into the building. Two of the other soldiers stepped up behind Ali to make sure she followed.

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali rolled her eyes and sighed. "Crap." She muttered to herself as the shadowed stranger made his demands. She glanced back at the two soldiers who fell in line behind her as the rest seemed to melt back into the shadows and vanish from sight and sound. "I'm not sure what there is to discuss," Ali remarked as she stepped off, following the pack leader deeper into the compound. "Like I said, as long as none of this is gang activity, which it clearly isn't, I have nothing to do with this joint." Ali continued trying to affirm her disconnection with this place, and these people. Whatever they had going on was none of her business, or the Republic's, that much was crystal to her.

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

The squad of armored people ignored her. Instead they lead her to an old turbo lift with rusty and damaged looking doors. The leader of the group hit several buttons on his wrist band and the door slid open. Surprisingly the inside of the turbo lift was clean, almost new looking. Once the small group was inside, the lift began to descend. The leader of the group then turned to Ali. "My apologize for this, but it seems like we weren't the only ones following you. Some pesky Hutt lackeys are on their way here, looking for a fight no doubt. Until their dealt with, we're keeping an eye on you." The lift came to an abrupt stop. The doors slid open revealing a short hallway that opened onto a balcony. Below them was a large hangar with several gunships and other military vehicles. The red haired squad leader placed his hands on the balcony railing and looked at over the hangar. Here and there small groups of soldiers hurried about, preparing for the coming assault. "Are numbers my be few, but we'll hold today."

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali listened to the man's words as the turbolift began to rise swiftly. She decided to let him talk without interruption for the moment; as long as he was willing to give away intel, she was willing to take it. The turbolift slowed to a halt and Ali followed her escorts onto a small balcony overlooking a large hangar filled with gunships, vehicles and soldiers. There seemed to Ali to be too few soldiers for the number of vehicles present, a fact her host pointed out shortly. "Who are you," Ali asked, her curiosity overcoming her.

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

A small grin graced the mans features. "Why, we're the remnants of Arkos army. Defenders of the palace that was once the largest Hutt empire on Nar Shaddaa and everything that it holds. The last guardians." The smile seemed to fade as he leaned away from the balcony and began to walk towards a set of stairs. "Like I said, our numbers are few, but we will hold for now. I bet you're wondering why I'm telling you this. Simple, if you are Republic, then they'll kill you as well. We, probably, won't since we don't want any trouble with the Republic. Besides, we could use another allie. Especially since we can access the bacta tanks in the medical wing to release the rest of our troops."

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali frowned, suddenly curious as to why these individuals had remained holed up for so long despite the empire they once served had dissolved years ago. Her question was partially answered (or so she thought) as the man mentioned inaccessible areas that housed the remainder of their soldiers. Ali followed the man toward the staircase. "I don't have to worry about the Republic, they won't kill me for a damn thing." She eyed the place haughtily. "But you lot...they'd glass this place if they had to, and other than my own life, I'm not sure what you have to bargain with." Ali crossed her arms over her chest and stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at the man. "Let me see this medical wing, though, I'll see if I can't get it cracked for you." Ali continued down the stairs and walked confidently passed the man. "You guys did try explosives, right?" She asked. "That'll do in just about any door."

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

The man shook his head. "I believe you misunderstood me. It's not the republic you need to worry about, but the other Hutt gangs that seem to be playing another assault on this base. Been awhile since that's happened." He followed after Ali, quickly taking the lead to direct her towards the medical wing. "We've refrained from using explosive actually. Even a controlled blast could damage the already unstable floor above, if that happens then the whole structure could come down. See, the medical wing sits directly on top of the main support column for this base. The column was damaged in the original battle that killed Arko. We have been unable to fully repair it since we're locked out of three floors that connect to the column itself." Within moments they arrived at the door. The door itself was simple in design, flat grey with red wording indicating what the room was for. Along the wall was a keypad with an eye scanner attached to it. The man came to a stop in front of the door. "Here we are. Getting through should be simple enough. Our techs have designed a device that will allow someone with organic eyes to use the scanner and open the door. That's the reason we haven't been able to open it ourselves, none of us have organic eyes. If we use the scanner, then the defense protocols are activated. Call it a safeguard for Arko in case we went rouge." He then turned to Ali as one of the techs arrived. The tech handed the man a small scanner before plugging a cord that connected the scanner to the keypad on the wall. The leader of the group then held the device out to Ali. "If you say you wish to help, then here you are."

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali listened intently to the predicament as it was described to her, following about the mysterious half-man. Rival criminal organizations weren't any fun to deal with, Ali knew that much from personal experience. It wasn't hard to understand why these people wanted help to begin with. They needed it. As her begrudging host explained the use of the organic eye scanner, a question cropped up in the forefront of Ali's mind. Why do they need me when they could an junky ten credits to operate the scanner? For once, however, Ali refrained from saying what was on her mind. She felt it best to simply help these people out and be on her way. If they let me leave, of course. Ali heard a rather negative-sounding voice preach from the back of her mind. "Well that's what I'm here for, I suppose," Ali said instead to the man, smiling sweetly and stepping forward as his engineers set up the device. She watched them intently, looking at the glint of metal limbs and listening to the almost imperceptible whirr of shifting servomotors and adjusting ocular lenses. They were interesting folk, to be sure, but Ali had little idea how much of their story was true, and how much was bantha dung.

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

The leader of the group showed little expression when the door slid open. Instead he walked in confidently and came to a stop a few feet inside the room. As he did, lights began to kick on, revealing several dozen bacta tanks. Each of these tanks contained a person, all of them asleep and free floating in their temporary prisons. The soldiers inside the tanks wore nothing but undergarments, this revealed the heavy cybernetic and prosthetic replacements they all had in common. The red haired man began to walk silently amongst the tanks, scanning over each being inside. Coming to a stop, he turned to face Ali. "For your service, I am grateful. When the time comes you will be set free. However though, the threat of attack still remains. Until that time has passed you will have a guard accompany you throughout the facility. To show our trust though, I'm allowing you to pick which guard you want." He gestured to the soldiers still in the tanks. "The rest will be sent about their duties to prepare for the assault."

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali followed the man inside as the doors slid open with a long creak. The facility clearly had suffered much over the years, causing Ali to wonder at its true age. When she saw what was contained inside, she felt slightly sick, and had to rest against the wall for a moment to collect herself. "All these people..." Ali muttered, looking them over one at a time. She felt she owed them her gaze, they'd been cast in shadow for so long, alone. It wasn't for several moments that Ali was able to walk steadily, though when she did she went from tank to tank, silently hoping for better lives for each of those trapped within. So enveloped in this self-assigned task was she that Ali didn't even hear her host's words regarding her release. When it came to the issue of choosing a guard, however, her mind snapped back to attention.
"Excuse me?" Ali asked, turning to face the man with a confused look. As she spoke the words though, realisation came to her. She turned again and pressed a hand against the tank before her, it contained a young woman who couldn't have been older than 20-something. She had the same prosthetic arms and legs, and though her eyes were closed, Ali suspected they too were artificial. "I-I..." Ali frowned. "Just release them all, and give me this one."

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

The leader of the group merely gave a nod. He could almost sense Alis feelings from where he stood. It didn't bother him however, these were the kind of feelings he was used to. Turning to another soldier he gave a nod. Within minutes all the bacta tanks began to drain, and the beings within started to stir. The tank in front of Ali finished draining and gave a small hiss as it began to slid upwards. The young girl inside went limp as the liquid and tank no longer supported her body weight. She was suspended momentarily by the cables that connected to her prosthetic limbs and cybernetic ports. Slowly her eyes began to open, her black eyes moved groggily back and forth before the bright green iris activated. The cables then detached from her body, allowing her to drop to her knees. The girl hit her knees and automatically reached out and caught herself with her hands. She coughed up some of the bacta that had seeped past her mask, before sitting back on her calves. Reaching up she brushed aside some hair that was stuck to her face. She opened her eyes again, only to see a pair of feet in front of her. Her gaze, still somewhat groggy, slowly panned up until she looked at the face of the person in front of her. To her surprise, the woman was all organic from what she could tell, and possibly not one of her brothers or sisters. Opening her mouth, the young woman had a hard time getting words out. After several attempts she was finally able to speak. "Who...are you?"

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali knelt down as the girl collapsed onto the floor, resting a hand on her wet shoulder. Her brow was furrowed in concern as the girl coughed up bacta, spraying it onto the floor at Ali's feet. It didn't bother her in the slightest. "Who...are you?" The woman asked. Ali attempted a smile, though the entire situation was a bit dark for all that. "My name's Lieutenant Ali Hadrix, I'm with Galactic Republic Intelligence. Do you know who you are?" She asked.

[member="Riley Reese"]