Public Welcome to Smarteel!

[Saija Kwann]

I made this thread to kick things off after RP discussion here: https://www.starwarsrp.net/threads/wild-west-themed-sw-adventures.149925

you can reply OOC there for comments, questions, chatter, etc.
No real hardcore plot, this is just an introductory type thread to build the setting and establish characters, you can interact or just make solo posts
I don't mind NPC's and such as long as it's ok by the site rules
most importantly, have fun!

 

[Chordok]

Location: Bounty Hunter Guild chapterhouse, Smarteel City

My translator droid spoke for me as I approached the Rodian stranger who dared refuse to obey the house rules.

"Your status as a guild member does not exempt you from the Elysium Protocol in place. You will check in your weapons and agree to the terms of neutrality while comporting yourself in a civilized manner. Either comply or leave now."

"I'm not gonna just hand over my blasters. Who gives you the right..."

My patience has worn thin. I seize the scrawny alien by his neck and fling him against the wall. I'm roaring with unbridled rage at this cocksure, trigger-happy wannabe-hunter as he crashes into a table on the way down. As he's sprawled out on the floor, I seize his twin blaster pistols, which look to be made more for show than actual function.

As the Rodian punk comes to, a pair of my colleagues, charged with keeping the Elysium and allowed to carry, turn their weapons on the foolish alien. The droid speaks up again "Your status as a member of the Bounty Hunter's Guild has officially been revoked. Surrender your planetary acquisition license and all Guild credentials."

The guards don't wait as they seize his datacard as well as his guild-issued tracking fob. After depriving him of his position and weapons, he no longer had any right to be here as this was a member's only club. I wave my paw dismissively and get back to business, I didn't have time to waste with petty scum.

 

[Kronn K'taris]

Nomad desert tribe, I want to make up a background later

 

[Terraxia]

Just a speeder ride away from Smarteel is "Cad City" a settlement owned by the bloodsucking leeches of the Corporate Authority of Denon. They have mining interests on this world and run their own starport. The economic boost by their support infrastructure somewhat mitigates their less-than-welcome presence on the planet. Because of the funding from the home office, this is the largest city and nicest place on Smarteel, though it's still pretty crappy compared to other worlds. Unlike the rest of the planet, the Corpos rule here with an iron fist which tends to keep the riff-raff out of city bounds.

 

[Dominik Borra]

So even this place had a Bounty Hunter's Guild, huh? It was pretty remote, which must mean that if a criminal wanted to run and didn't take Nar Shaddaa, Tatooine or the hundred other outer rim planets that were livable, they would come here. Enough come here, you get those chasing money and action. It seemed you could never run from the law. That is, unless you slept for so long that everybody forgot you existed.

Dominik walked the dusty streets across from the Bounty Hunter's Guild with a thin poncho that covered his body from the sun. He was scouting out the main city on the planet for... well, he wasn't sure what he was looking for. He would qualify as a "wanderer" at this point, but there was always people to help around the galaxy. He would have been leaning against walls in the shadows if that wouldn't be screaming someone to look suspicious at. Walking around and casually observing was much more lowkey. Something crashed inside the Guild building following the warbling growl of a Wookie. Dominik grimaced and felt bad for whatever fellow got on the bad side of a Wookie. Then again, knowing this place and who was here, maybe he shouldn't feel bad for them.

 

[Kronn K'taris]

The sound of a low flying starship crescendos in the distance, then you can see the distinctive shape of a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle perform a low-flyby as it enters one of the docking bays on the outskirts of Smarteel.

My friend Saija Kwann is with me, she's got some business while I'm here to collect on a bounty. She was a liason between the Guild and Darkwire while I was available to the shadowrunners when they needed some additional firepower or a special job that required my skillset.

We arrive at the Guild chapterhouse just as two of Chordok's men are tossing a Rodian out onto the street.

~sighs loudly~ "Why do I always miss all the fun?" The guild security greets me as I wave Saija into the place, after prompting her to surrender her blaster.

"How come you get to keep yours?"

"Chordok and I go way back. Connections have privileges, you know that. When you drag me to one of your little hacker-nerd meetings, I'll be sure to hand over my data pad."

"That thing isn't worth the scrap material it's made of."

 

[Chordok]

(also present: Kronn K'taris , Saija Kwann )

I see two familiar faces enter "The House" (it was a local nickname for the Guild chapterhouse). The Mandalorian Kronn K'taris was one of the top hunters in the region and a feared Deathdealer, an assassin by trade though he didn't exclusively take only death bounties. Bail jumpers, loanskippers, and various local business was the bread and butter of every hunter, and my old hunting partner was no exception.

The other is a Twi'lek who used to be a slave, then escaped a life of bondage and servitude, eventually becoming a hacker and shadowrunner. While that skillset wasn't often a necessity on this barren and backwards planet, Saija Kwann and her computer gang were also useful to the guild in other ways. Everything that wasn't sprouted from a plant or made of rocks required maintenance and repair. And every once in a while, their gadgets came in handy. I didn't know Saija like I knew Kronn, but he vouched for her and that was all I needed.

Kronn starts with Saija's business, mainly record keeping and database related stuff. I was never any good at it, so it was nice to have Darkwire help my chapter in that regard. In exchange, I handed out bounties at a reduced commission fee. A mutually beneficial relationship. Once that's complete, I talk shop with my ally in the guild.

The Mandalorian hunter takes out something wrapped in a cloth and hands it over. Curious eyes look our way, the hunters were always nosy about one another's exploits. I unwrap the mysterious object slowly, drawing out the suspense. It was one of those bone tribal masks with the antlers coming out. Not worth a chit to anybody except to the tribe to which it belonged. The size and position of the antlers marked it as a chieftain's mask. Some off-worlder thought he could score one as a souvinir, but he underestimated the resources of the indigenous peoples, who had amassed various forms of buying power. Enough to secure my best Guild hunter. It was that important to them.

(in Wookiee) "A fine recovery, Kronn. The chief will be pleased."

"Where's my payment, Chordok?"

~"Settle down, I've got it right here."~ I discreetly slide across the table a brick of Beskar, which Kronn eagerly accepts. To the Mandalorians, every scrap of their steel was the property of their people.

"That's Beskar!" The foolish Twi'lek blurted out loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. A few gasps could be heard in the hubbub of the rubbernecking bounty hunters in the room.

~QUIET!!~ I growl at the girl with disapproval.

"Sorry!" Saija quickly apologized for her faux pas, but that's okay. Nobody here was actually stupid enough to try and take a piece of Beskar steel from a Mandalorian, especially Kronn. That was asking to be killed.

"After I take this back to where it belongs, I'm up for another bounty if you've got any." Kronn and the girl get up to leave, presumably to track down the Mando encampment. This particular group of Mandalorians lived in the deep deserts of Smarteel and were nomadic by nature. Always on the move, rarely in the same place for long. Like their brethren scatted across the stars, they cherished and revered the traditions. It was their Way, after all.

 

[Cyran Vaas]

Objective: ...
​

Fun... For a zeltron that was one of the most important things ever in the entire galaxy. While most of the galaxy continued on their violent and grim ways those on Zeltros could remain a positive constant to fall back on. A beacon of good vibes for forever and aways, even after that god forsaken netherworld catastrophe.

Fun was something poor old Cyran has had a hard time finding for himself. Lately it's all been work, work, work. Even then he wasn't rolling in credits. Such was the life of a fairly unremarkable bounty hunter he supposed. Left toiling away from home, so many parsecs from that hectic yet familiar warmth of Zeltros. Was Cyran home sick? Yeah, most likely.

Even now though, being married into the Mandalorian culture of Clan Awaud who were based on Vlemoth Port, Cyran wasn't too far from his "home away from home". Currently on Smarteel he wasn't too far away from Vlemoth Port. Smarteel to Cyran was supposed to be something of a blank slate for him to find that almost forgotten yet familiar of feelings. Fun. Currently he was parked out of a Cantina in Smarteel City. His curved speeder bike behind him as he leaned against the floating vehicle. It was in dusty old climates like this that Cyran was glad to have his custom beskar armorweave. Otherwise he'd be sweating his balls off in heavy plates of the stuff. Because "The Way" always wanted him to have his armor on at all times, or at least as often as he could. Well, might as well do that in comfort.

Setting his bike on parked he got off from leaning on it and approached the cantina with an open mind...

 

[Mondo Ohnaka]

Mondo sat at a nearby table as the Rodian proceeded to make an utter fool of himself. This was a place for bounty hunters. Did he have a guild membership? Of course not! Mondo would never lock himself into such an overly dangerous profession such as that. What Mondo did have, however, was connections, and connections go much further than an official association. He scoffed at the Rodian as he got booted from the bar. After all, who would be that incredibly stupid? Even the great Mondo had left his pistols at the door. No sense in causing fuss where none is needed.

He took another drink from his mug, returning to the conversation at hand. He had people to entertain, after all. Specifically, he was entertaining some incredibly drunk hunters. A Gotal and a Trandoshan, to be exact. He knocked back yet another drink and continued in his previous rant.

"And so, this absolute ruffian from Dathomir tries to tell me, Mondo, where I can and cannot go. I told him to take his opinion, and stuff it up a Rancor's backside!"

His companions burst into mutual laughter. Mondo knew when and where to make friends, and out here in wild space, one could use all the friends they could get.

 

[Kronn K'taris]

Location: Smarteel City streets

As I walk out of The House with Saija Kwann , I overhear the notorious pirate's little anecdote. It elicits a brief nod. Other eyes in the place are staring at my companion, something I was used to by now but not because I was the one wearing a form fitted black leather jumpsuit.

When we get outside, I notice a couple doors down a pair of unfamiliar people. One is a helmeted guy getting off a speeder next to Carousel,
a saloon with some benefits if you wanted to rent a room upstairs by the hour. The other man in a cloak is walking up the street minding his own business. But what I'm really picking up is a pair of swoop-thugs looking at me and my friend very hard.

They're trying to look inconspicuous, but I've made them out already. I don't tip off that I know we're being followed, so for now we keep walking. Around the corner and down the street from the Guildhouse is a local stable. The air in the vicinity has a distinct smell of manure.

"We need to get a ride."

The look on Saija's face tells me she knows what's coming up next. "Wait a minute? Can't we charter a speeder?"

"No, we can't." I say back matter-of-factly.

"Oh come on, those things are smelly and they leave HUGE poo-doo..."

"The speeder-gangs and swoop mobs really upset the locals. We go by Orbak. End of discussion."

 

[Kronn K'taris]

Saija Kwann , and I are galloping along on the dunes of Smarteel, keeping a steady pace towards the southern reaches of the deep desert. In the corner of my eye I can see dust clouds kicking up; it's our two friends back in town trying to creep up on us. Another dust cloud kicking up in the distance and then merging with the first one means they're bringing some friends along for the ride.

There's a rock formation not too far off, almost a klick away. Without warning I spur the Orbak onward at full running speed. "Hyah!!" I call out, snapping the reins like our lives depended on it. Which it literally did...

"Heyyy!" Saija grabs onto me tight to keep from falling off the saddle. "Kronn! Slow down!"

That's when the swoops come closing in, chasing at breakneck speed now. Their thunderous repulsorlift engines whine and rumble, making noise and vibrations that could be heard for several kilometers in all directions. We've got a decent headstart, but they are closing in fast...

 

[Saija Kwann]

Just when I thought we were having a smooth and quiet ride, suddenly the Orbak is blitzing towards a big rock sticking up out of the sand dunes. I barely had enough time to grab onto some bounty hunter before the beast underneath us was firing all thrusters. My cries went unheeded, but then I manage to get a look at what's coming up behind us.

"This is so not good." A pack of swoop mobsters swarmed in pursuit. It's like they came out of nowhere, but Kronn seemed to know we were about to be ambushed. I never saw them coming. Blaster bolts begin whizzing past us, a few coming too close for comfort. Both Kronn and our Orbak seemed unfazed by the laser fire as we reached the saftey of cover.

"Get down and hide!" I don't have to be told twice as I scramble off the huge, smelly equine and duck behind a rock pile. While I get down and draw my blaster, Kronn turns the Orbak around with his own weapon in hand, returning fire. He doesn't score any hits, but manages to make them scatter. The swoops circle back around and regroup.

The Orbak rears up on its hind legs, wailing menacingly before Kronn charges at the cluster of swoop bikes on a collision course. He unleashes a hail of gunfire at the raiders, taking out two of them. One shot lands square in a swoop's engine block, causing it to explode. The other blaster bolt strikes the second rider, simultaneously dismounting him from the bike and putting a gaping, burning hole in his chest.

The remaining riders whizz by with blasters poppin' off. Most of them miss, but one bolt manages to hit Kronn's armor up high, sending him off the Orbak. While the animal goes charging off in terror, I start firing back at them to give Kronn some cover while he gets back on his feet.

Just in the nick of time, he sidesteps the pointed metal steering vane of the biker trying to skewer him with his swoop. Another bike makes a beeline straight at him, but he fires a grapping line at the rider. Kronn yanks the cable hard after the grappling hook mechanically clamps onto the thug's shoulder, sending him into the dirt while his swoop veers away and collides with the rocks. I can feel the heat of the fireball as the swoop explodes into scattered flaming debris just meters away.

As I'm searching for a new place to hide, I see the Mandalorian fire off his jet pack, getting an aerial advantage over the bikers. He hurls a thermal detonator down at the pack of riders, sending up a huge explosion which takes out another three speeders. The shockwave sends him careening to the ground, landing as well he could by rolling into the direction of the sand dunes.

I'm trying to shoot back, but these guys are just way too fast. At least I can try to draw their attention while Kronn runs back to the rock outcropping. The speeders regroup and begin to circle the island of stone protecting us.

"Give us the metal and we'll let you live!"

I see the mechanical eyepiece on Kronn's helmet lower down as he raises his weapon. He snipes another swoop thug right off his bike, shooting him clean off. That was the only answer they were going to get.

 

[Saija Kwann]

Kronn slides up behind me in our hiding place, but we needed better cover, staying here for too long will get us pinned down.

"Things can't get much worse..." I mutter to myself. Then I can feel a distinct vibration in the ground. Not the swoop bikes. It was something else. My desert guru companion feels it too, his fingertips are on the ground. "It's about to get worse, isn't it?"

"Saija...you remember that job we did on Cato Nemoidia?"

I knew exactly what he had in mind. "Oh no...no, no, no..."

But he was already one step ahead of me, wrapping my lower torso in a harness while hugging me close from the back. "We've got to get to higher ground." Kronn draws his blaster pistol and hands it to me. "On three...1...2..."

Suddenly we're shooting up in the air. A hail of blaster fire comes from all directions as the gangsters realize what is happening. The sudden aerial caught them by surprise, and in the confusion I let loose my pistols. I'm not sure if I hit anything, since the pilot is trying to keep us alive, weaving and dodging madly in the Smarteel sky. It helped that the sun was out, he angled the flight path just right so that it was hard for them to see us against the glaring sunshine.

Soon we are at the top of the large outcropping, and we land the best we can since that jetpack of his wasn't designed for two. Just before we hit the surface, Kronn releases the snaps on the harness and I roll with the fall while he does the same. It hurt crazy bad, but the adrenaline rush of battle masked a lot of the pain, but I know I'd feel it fully later.

As the swoops gather at the base of the rock and begin their ascent, the ground around them suddenly rips open. Burrowing from underneath the sand is a huge scaled creature with giant fins, about 13 or 14 meters long. It looked very much like an aquatic predator, like a shark, but it was swimming in the sand. A sandshark. Whatever it was called, it leaped into the air and ate one of the swoop riders whole along with his entire bike.

"Mother of Moons!" I'm standing there slackjawed at the carnage I just witnessed. The swoop riders scatter like crawlons and go tearing off in flight for their lives.

"Saija get down!" Kronn hisses at me, he's lying flat against the rock and I quickly followed suit. But it was too late, the sandshark saw me and now it leapt up in the air trying to get us at the top of the embankment. It moved with impossible speed, launching itself with its tail and flippers, steering with deadly accuracy with that large back fin. It came very close; the gaping jaws of the creature nearly got us but we managed to roll away at the last moment. As it came back to the earth, I tried to fire my blasters at it.

"No!!" Kronn grabbed both of my wrists and ruined my shot.

"Are you crazy!?! That thing is gonna kill us!"

"No blasters. And switch off!" he hissed at me trying to stay as quiet as he could. I didn't need to see Kronn's face behind that helmet, he was giving me one of those looks.

"Aw, don't tell me this is one of your desert tribal things."

"It's a desert tribal thing."

 

[Kronn K'taris]

Before it became a desert world thousands of centuries ago, Smarteel had great oceans and a wide variety of marine life. The Quagga adapted to the climate change but still behaved very much like its ancestors. Territorial and aggressive.

It burrowed then shot up in the air again. Saija and I scrambled out of the way as the Quagga nearly sideswipes us together as a two course meal.

"Kronn! Do something!" Saija whines in frustration and fear.

"Just hold out a little longer." We dodge yet another attempt by the Quagga to eat us, again barely escaping by the skin of our teeth.

"Ow!" Saija puts her hands on the sides of her head as a growing noise begins to fill the area. A high frequency buzz that her species can hear, along with the Quagga. The creature howls in agony as it's particularly sensitive to ultrasonic frequencies, and quickly submerges itself back into the sand in retreat. When the noise subsides, my companion recovers, no worse for the wear.

As we climb back down to ground level, Saija says to me, "It's gone! What happened? What was that noise?"

"Kronn K'taris, you're getting sloppy."

The two of us turn around and see another Mandalorian who had seemingly come from out of nowhere, as quick and sneaky as the Quagga he had just saved us from.

"Sorry about the noise," he says to Saija. In his hand is an ultrasonic emitter, which he tosses to me. "You shouldn't travel this deep into the southern reaches without one."

"I was waiting for you to rescue me, Deihan." I reply jokingly. Then I clasp my tribal brother's wrist in a friendly shake before I tell him. "I've got the Beskar."

"Very good, Kronn, I will take you to the chief right away."