HoloNet News Crime Watch News III

Preef Callo

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[OOC: open to reactions only]

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The news tune plays and a camera moves away from the Crime Wach News logo to pan in to the Zeltron and Rodian anchors. The head-anchor Rynn Run and his beautiful co-ancher Vana Walk... No wait, is that Preef Callo!? And they're clearly not in their usual studio but a.. a throne room? What the kriff is going on tonight?

Rynn, a true professional, scrapes his throat and shuffles the two datapads around on a makeshift table. "Welcome to Crime Watch News, I'm Rynn Run," his voice sounds like it has a different color tonight and he swallows before looking to his right, where the legendary gunslinger Preef Callo sits, smiling to the camera. "Joined today by none other than the Legendary Gunslinger-" was he forced to say it with just awe and high esteem, it sure sounded like it, "-Preef Callo."

Silence. Preef missed his cue, made a side-eye glance to someone off-screen and then dropped his smile to focus on something, also off-screen. "Thank you for being here, Rynn-" the smile returned like a kid who just accomplished a minor task that he is nevertheless really proud of. "-for I am proud to announce that today you'll have a Huttaciding-scoop!" Kriff, the pun was unbearable, but nevertheless Preef got right up from his chair and his signature Peacemaker was for all to see.

In the background a shackled Bira the Hutt was walked in. Bira had been put in charge of Nar Shaddaa during the flight off the moon by the other Hutts, making her the highest ranking member of the Hutt Cartel still on the Shaddaa. She looked downright miserable, which was to be expected for she probably knew what was happening and even the viewers might be able to guess it by now, too. "You mean exciting scoop, right, mister Callo?" Rynn said in an attempt to preserve his professionalism and save his career, but the other rodian shook his head. "It's that, too, Rynn. It's that, too. But more importantly-" he removed his peacemaker from its holster and casually turned to the camera. "You all know I'm from Nar Shaddaa," he told the audience as they had no doubt watched his 'origin Holomovie' before, "You know the Hutts rob the people of this moon at their own leisure, work them to death and then discard them. They killed my parents and forced me into slavery when I was only eight years old. They've done it to millions like us."

Rynn looked worried, but not even the coreworld news professional could deny the sad truth that was the Hutt modus operandi on the worlds they owned. Preef seemed ready for his statemtent; "So, as of right now-" he leveled his blaster with Bira and fired a shot at point black range right into her chest. The Hutt slumped to the ground, dead, and Preef merely reholstered his pistol. "I declare the Smuggler's Moon officially Hutt-free." that was one hell of a statement to make during a bonafide Hutticide. No doubt it would start an all out war between the syndicates right smack in the middle of the AMS pandemic, but Preef didn't seem to care one bit as he casually returned to his seat at the table.

The head-anchor of Crime Watch News didn't know if he should be happy he just got the scoop of a century, to have the exclusive that for the first time in millennia Nar Shaddaa was not in the control of Hutts nor where there any slugs physically present on the moon itself, or if he should fear for his life for forever being associated with this underworld-dividing act. Regardless of his own future, Rynn was reminded that he had some prepared questions to ask the boss of the Crymorah Syndicate. "But who will now run Nar Shaddaa?" he asked, almost rhetorically. Preef Callo's smile faded a bit again as he had to focus on reading something off screen. "The Crymorah Syndicate has taken steps to ensure the safety of the people of Nar Shaddaa. More reinforcements, fully equipped to protect them from the AMS virus, will soon arrive onboard a capital ship The Emancipation." He was talking about another army of droids, because ofcourse he was. There was no way he was going to lose Nar Shaddaa to any of the other syndicates now.

"Do you expect retaliation from the Hutt Cartel?" Rynn asked and Preef just smiled and shook his head. "Rynn, you gotta understand. The Hutts not only engineered the AMS virus, but they left the ordinary people to their fate while they hide in their fortresses. Have you seen the cartel do anything to help? All I've seen is them threatening to bombard entire planets because someone found a way into their treasured vaults." he said, referring to Mataou. "I've acted for the best interest of the people, not to expand my own power, and the other syndicates will see it that way, too."

and then it was eerily quiet as Preef seemed to have run out of rehearsed and pre-written statements and Rynn just sat there, stunned, trying not to the turn around to look at the body of the dead Hutt. Preef Callo had really had him fly over with his entire crew to film an act of Hutticide right here in Hutt Space. Kriff.. was he ever going to get home? Would they be forced to film Crime Watch News from the Smuggler's Moon now? Was this the last episode, ever?

Kriff, "For Crime Watch News, this was Preef Callo and Rynn Run. Good night, and good news."
 

Aska Ryun

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Sitting at the desk in her personal quarters, Aska bobbed her head to the bass-filled tune in her ear pods as she tinkered with a burnt out gauntlet buckler of her armor. She couldn’t hear the whirring of the hyperdrive as they tore through the galaxy at lightspeed, the constant complaining of Kayto as he piloted the freighter, the sounds of Poffo snoring in the main chamber. No, she was here in her own little world and finally able to reflect on everything that had taken place while the holonews played in the corner of the room. That is, until a spinning image of Nar Shaddaa had caught her eye. Furrowing her eyebrow, she reached up and plucked the pods from her ears before leaning back in her chair to watch.

"Welcome to Crime Watch News, I'm Rynn Run, joined today by none other than the Legendary Gunslinger Preef Callo,"

Aska smirked at the mention of the Rodian named Preef Callo and kicked her feet up on her desk, proceeding to pull a cigarra from the pack in her pocket. She’d heard stories of this guy, the things he had done and while she wasn’t fond of his species, she couldn’t help but admire him slightly. He had it all. Money, power, women. Who didn’t want that?

"Thank you for being here, Rynn, for I am proud to announce that today you'll have a Huttaciding-scoop!"

”Ugh…” Aska cringed at the pun. ”All trigger finger, no brains… Maybe I had you pegged wrong, Callo,” she muttered to herself, ashing the cigarra on the desk. However, as she continued to watch the Hutt be brought into the line of view for the camera, Aska’s attention became entirely committed. The Hutt, chained and down trodden, clearly did not want to be there… Maybe there was more to that pun than what she thought?

"You know the Hutts rob the people of this moon at their own leisure, work them to death and then discard them. They killed my parents and forced me into slavery when I was only eight years old. They've done it to millions like us."

She found it impossible to disagree. During her time as dock worker, her own wages were slashed by taxes to the Hutt overlords. Deskar, rest his soul, had paid amounts that put her head into a spin when he had drunkenly let the numbers slip to her one night. And then there was Alisaah, enslaved as a child. Hell, her own friends were all massacred by a Hutt. They were a blight on Nar Shaddaa, no doubt.

Then Aska’s mouth dropped wide open, causing the cigarra to fall to the floor, as Preef levelled his blaster with the Hutt and fired into her chest. She was speechless, motionless, as she continued to listen to the Rodian explain that he and his Syndicate had purged the Hutt’s from the Smuggler’s Moon. It took her a few moments to grapple with this, to let it sink in.

”Zugg…” she whispered. The Hutt who had wiped out everyone she held dear, he operated out of Nar Shaddaa. She couldn’t be sure he would have been a part of Preef’s cleansing but odds are that he was. And if he was, then she could go home and give her friends the memorial they deserved…

”Ali! Ali! You need to see this!”
 

Vako Yizok

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Vako was already on Nal Hutta when the news broke. It had been a very rapid exit from Nar Shadda, and one that was surprisingly easier then he was assuming it would have been. The news of the attack was spreading around the world, but not much about who was winning or even what had happened. Vako had escaped the madness only just at the very end, but the verdict was already decided before that point. His small gang was cut in half in the madness that was escaping the palace, and some of them had run off into the streets every which way following their departure.

By all accounts Vako had made the right choice at the right time. He put a gun on Bira the Hutt, an insane thought even in the vulnerable spot she was in. But it had allowed him to come up on a small fortune... which he had only minorly shared with those that stood with him. They did not know how much money was now in his possession, but the amount he gave them was generous enough for average thugs that for the most part faded right back into the background.

Vako had made his way into a ratty spaceport cantina to see the report, which already had the handful of denizens in the area bustling abut the news. There was no way to know if Bira was dead, but somehow this Preef Callo, a gunslinger that Vako had only heard about as getting some traction, was sitting on her throne.

Vako took a drink of green liquid watching Callo speak. "He's putting the biggest target in the galaxy right on his back." Vako shook his head.

Vako hardly had a dog in the fight beyond he had worked most of his life for the Hutts. Toydaria was in Hutt space and its entire economy was tied in with them. He was not felt no overwhelming loyalty but he glared at the holonet and gritted his teeth.

"Any rock makes big waves if it drops in the water fast enough." Vako said to himself. "But the water always comes back in to swallow it before taking it to the bottom." He took another drink from his cup.

Even still, there was profit to be made in these moments of chaos and Vako would keep his options as open in the future as he had when he pulled his blaster on Bira the Hutt herself. Just because Callo would inevitably lose in the end, didn't mean he wouldn't shake down some tasty fruit from tall trees before he did.
 

Vizim

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Vizim wasn't really the news watching type most of the time, but it was playing on the holonet as he ate lunch and with Preef Callo popping up on the recording, it caught his attention. The hunter spent enough time in Huttspace to make it worth paying attention when things happened there. Or here. Technically he was still within Syndicate territory even if it was at the edge.

He continued scarfing down his Endorian chicken sandwich when he saw the gun and the blast. And that caused him to pause.

Holy...

Full stop. Vizim didn't move as he watched the body slump forward, and he pondered for a moment what all of this meant. Killing Hutts was no small thing. It was what had gotten the AMS virus underway, and doing it publicly on holonet was a far larger deal. It was an act of war, and Vizim knew the gunslinger knew it. He'd put an unbelievable target on his back.

Apocalypse was already on Nar Shaddaa, an invasion had been launched, and Vizim wondered if full on war was soon to follow. Surely the Hutts would retaliate, but what Preef said - propaganda or not - made sense. The Hutts had caused the decimation of Nar Shaddaa and then left it. No one on the smuggler's moon was likely to miss their greasy hands.

Good luck, Crymorah... you're gonna need it, he said.
 

Trys Aran

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Trys’s life had been a whirlwind more than ever before. She had been doing jobs closer to the Core, but then she was wrapped up in a plot regarding York that ended up going nowhere. She was still coming to terms with her son being a Jedi and being away from her. For the first since he had been born, Trys moved into a one bedroom apartment with no room for him. It was a painful realization that he was his own man now and living his own life.

And there was Talak.

Those memories began to come far too late. Right as she discovered what happened on Denon. Trys was numb, coping in her own way of internalizing and compartmentalizing in unhealthy ways. Not having reconciled with Talak before he died would be something she carried with her forever. All she had left were comlink messages and Holorecordings of when he had tried to reach her. She had a painting he had done for her and a tattoo on her back that now held truer than ever. It had taken her far too long to remember just how much he had meant to her. And he died without knowing that.

So when the Holo began to play with notorious gunslinger Preef Callo on the screen, Trys’ jaw tightened at once. Her face twitched ever so slightly as he proceeded then to casually execute a Hutt on live air, having clearly grown too big for his britches. She knew it was only a matter of time before he would encroach on the rest of the galaxy. A bold move like this against the Hutts meant that Crymorah had nothing to fear.

The Ranger’s fingers curled into fists, her knuckles growing white. Trys knew she was done with the Core World jobs. It had never been her before, and it wasn’t her now. Now that Crix was with the Jedi, she no longer had that nagging concern. She had faith in Hannibal.

Trys rose from her seat and walked over to start packing a bag. The sound of blaster parts coming together resounded as the Holo played in the background. Extra clips were neatly placed in rows. Different plates of armor were set out as Preef’s voice echoed behind her.

She glanced up at the screen just one more time, a hard look on her face.

Trys Aran was going hunting.
 

Hannibal Grayza

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Oh good. More news.

By now Hannibal just generally expected anything that showed up on the Holonet to be terrible. There was never good news, just more bad news. Death, death, exploitation of traumatized youth, death, explosions, and more death. But of course he still had to watch the screen like it was his job. It kind of was, actually. Gave him things to look into.

His brows rose when he saw who was on the screen this time, however. Hannibal obviously recognized the infamous Preef Callo, a Rodian known across the galaxy for shooting things. There was even some fantastical song about one of his exploits still floating around. Hannibal even had a little action figure of the gunslinger he'd purchased after Sullust where he'd been shot across the ribs by the quick-fingered scoundrel.


"This is bullshit. He's just gonna make everything worse in the long run."

Most of what Preef was doing was objectively 'good' aside from all the crime, but he was better for the people so far than the Hutts. Hannibal cared more about good than law generally speaking. Executing a Hutt on the holonet was too far on its own, but there were even more complications. A powerful syndicate growing out of control would draw the ire of the others, especially after they broke the neutrality agreement.

Preef had also shot him while standing on the same side as the Eternal itself. All this together meant the situation bore investigation.

Hannibal rolled on his office chair over to the holoconsole and brought up Lieutenant Aran's information to send her and Chief Douglas messages and see what she and the Rangers were doing about this. Best to coordinate or something.


@Sreeya
 

Corran Velt

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There wasn't much to ever watch on Nar Shaddaa holonet channels. Basilisk-oil salesbeings hawking miracles cures for ailments of 'mental tiredness' to AMS. Game shows that often robbed contestants more than rewarding them. Shady speeder dealer commercials. Lots of news updates about infected. None of it interesting but plentiful. Not that Corran had any time usually anyway. He and the other Sector Rangers had been here awhile. Hiding out in deep cover, prepping for their final raid on the Sith base down in the depths.

Transparisteel eyes in a red helmet stared at the blond ranger as he cleaned his weapons at the junkyard table requisitioned from a garbage heap. The hideout wasn't much but it was better than being on the streets. In the background the holonet played just for the sake of noise. All of it was a blur of mumbles until his hears perked up at the word 'Huttaciding.' It was so preposterous that it actually elicited an actual chuckle. "That's so dumb," Lieutenant Velt said as he turned his attention away from firearms and to the screen.

Two Rodians took up the whole view and one was doing all the talking. Preef Callo. Folk legend in the Outer Rim and Crime Boss of the Crymorah Syndicate. Rumors claimed he organically could transport his hand and pistol through hyperspace to shoot his victims before they blinked. That was about as dumb as Huttaciding. But held a kernel of truth. Callo was a killer but he had good PR. Corran furrowed his brows at the public execution of a Hutt and all their vile deeds laid bare.

Criminals killing criminals didn't upset the blond ranger. Better Preef take his hyperspace hand and kill others in the same game than innocents. The Rodians invasion had even done them a favor. Disrupting the usual balance of power had enabled the rangers to remain undetected more easily and even get off world once or twice. Killing of a Hutt cartel leader was just one less pair of stun-cuffs Corran needed to account for. He nodded to the screen before returning to the task of removing carbon from the blaster barrel, "Thanks for the help, Preef Gunslinger, I owe you one." Of course he was kidding. If he ever met the outlaw, he'd arrest him or shoot him all the same.

Nothing personal. It's just justice.
 

Zad Ruzed

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OOC: This is a react post only. Not a reply prompt.


In a cantina crawling with scum, one might wonder whether a lawman would feel out of place. Not this one. He had likely put a few of these thugs behind barriers and might put a few more there before the night was over. For now, no one would expect the rough and tumble man in a black coat to be a Sector Ranger.

So Zad Ruzed settled for sitting on stool sipping whiskey and watching the grav-ball game on the holo. His team was winning. Then they were losing. Winning again! Druk, nope. They lost. "Kriff!" The Ranger demanded another drink to wash his sorrows away before the bartender changed channel to Crime Watch News. Preef Callo’s pretty callous face came with it.

Huttaciding scoop? Zad blinked. What is that, some kinda ice cream? Moments later and Preef took a scoop out of Bira’s chest. It was one shot and one moment that would lead to many more moments and shots to come. Zad shook his head, teasing his lips with the rim of his glass before the whiskey teased his chest and heart with a guilt-free gift of gratitude.

Hutts were a plague to the galaxy beside the AMS. What was one less slug? One less thug?

“Another one,” Zad tapped the bar after downing his drink. He smiled, suddenly remembering the face of another Ranger. How would they be taking this news? Just might shake Preef’s hand...then slap a cuff on his wrist. With that, Zad pulled out his comlink, sighed, and sent a message to someone else’s.

Bit of some folksy wisdom for you, partner… If it isn’t the cleaners taking out the trash then the trash doesn’t get taken out. Trash can’t take out trash. Criminals taking out criminals are still trash. And I smell a heaping pile of it that needs to be taken out. First, though, maybe I’ll take an old friend out for a drink. Where are you? Don’t be shy.

—Z

@TerranSteel
 

Kel Dryden

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News travels fast around the galaxy... as long as you are in range of a comms beacon. You jump into a system, link up to it, and suddenly your databanks are filled with all the latest stuff: galactic news, local news, trade prices, latest gossip, rants about local news and trade prices, advertisements, job offers, rants about job offers, more advertisements, you name it. And that happens every single jump. So you have the droid sift through all that stuff, find out what's important, and delete the rest.

But sometimes you aren't in range of a comms beacon. Sometimes you haul highly illicit cargo and have your ship approached by a local patrol and hailed for inspection. When you get approached by a local patrol and hailed for inspection, you grow nervous. When you grow nervous, you take the jump a couple of seconds too early. When you take the jump a couple of seconds too early, you end up in a nearby uninhabited and barely-traversed system. When you end up in a nearby uninhabited and barely-traversed system, you have to run hyperspace calculations again, on your ship. And that takes a lot of damn time.

To give you a better idea how long it took, Kel had left the astromech to focus on hyperspace calculations only. The enforcer had also manually sifted through everything that the Black Swift had downloaded the last time, and had run out of rants and gossip to read. He already knew by heart the latest spice-induced stunt that a local governor's aide had pulled off, and what the office and the public had to say about it. He could also recite the prices for every commodity that he hadn't hauled in his life because it would barely pay for the fuel and wear and tear.

So, catching another broadcast from the nearby system felt like a breath of fresh air. And what a broadcast it was. Kel's jaw almost dropped as he saw a familiar brown mug and an even more familiar green mug on the viewscreen. Was he hallucinating, or had Preef Callo truly taken over Nar Shaddaa and slain the Hutt ruling that place?

Last Kel checked, there was some disease spreading through the place. Then again, he hadn't been on Nar Shaddaa ever since that job when his passenger blew up a building or two and surely left the Black Swift on a bounty board somewhere. But now, with Preef in charge and the place being a mess, Kel finally had the option to go back to his old home... Riddled with thugs and infected thugs.

It was nice to know that he had the option. But the question remained: wouldn't the Hutts retaliate? Of course they would: a Hutt always got his cut, and Preef had been upsetting the balance in the Underworld quite a bit. First he negotiated with the Jedi about taking over Kessel in front of the Pykes. And now he started a war with the Hutts. What syndicate hasn't Preef crossed yet?

Suddenly, sifting through the latest gossip and advertisements became a much needed calm before the inevitable storm that Kel would get caught in after returning to "civilized" space...
 
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