Hunting Without a Rifle

[RedneckLoves]

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Nar Shadda wasn't exactly the slimiest planet he'd ever been on, but it certainly wasn't Mav's favorite either. It was currently drizzling nasty smelling rain, which only heightened the smell of the rest of the place. Seemed to him like nobody ever got rid of their trash or something, just left it lying around so it smelled like a dump everywhere you go.

He was fully outfitted in his Mando armor so he activated the rebreather to try and get some of the stink out of it. He had his pistol in a holster on his left hip, his shotgun magnetically clipped to the back of his jetpack and an assortment of grenades attached at easy access points. He wasn't exactly expecting trouble tonight, but a Kote never walked around unprepared.

After hiking around the city for a good while, Mav decided that he was familiar enough with the terrain to head on in. Anyone that had been watching him would think he was just meandering around, maybe deciding where he wanted to go or something. What he was really doing was a systematic grid pattern for the entire five mile radius around the one building that he was actually aiming to enter. It was always better to have an escape plan, y'know, just in case.

When he did finally enter the building, he found himself in an entirely new world. Soft, but bright lights illuminated the wide, lavishly furnished entrance hall. Richly tiled walls set the scene, deep crimson carpet and invintingly plush furniture arranged in casual groupings to encourage social visits. He walked through the room, not feeling a bit out of place though those glancing at him surely felt he belonged back out on the street. There weren't many patrons hanging around this room - they would be in more private settings this late at night.

He came to the crystal desk where a fashionably scantily clad twi'lek stood waiting for him. "Name your pleasure, friend." Her voice was low and seductive, but Mav just gave her a lopsided grin.

"Not here for enjoying, miss, but thank ya much for the offer. I'm actually here to see Mr. Gidian. He told me he'd be around?"

The girl just smiled at him and pushed a button. Doors to a private elevator opened directly behind her and she gestured towards it. The owner of the company must have informed her previously that Mav was coming. The young Mando mercenary gave a polite nod of his head to the woman and walked himself into the waiting carriage. It closed and started moving right away, without him even pushing anything. He looked around and noticed there weren't even any buttons inside of the thing. Figuring it must be some sort of security measure, Mav just shrugged and forgot about it.

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[Mav Kote]

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It only took a minute for the elevator/lift/whatever it was to reach the top floor of the skyscraper of a building. Mav found himself seriously considering how many people must be in this place right now, enjoying all manner of vices. There could only be so many, right? Apparently not. There were dozens of levels in this building and each of them had some different type of "entertainment" for the patrons of the company. A slight shudder actually ran down his spine as he pondered what each different floor might hide.

He did his best to shove those creepy thoughts from his mind as the doors slid quietly open. The top floor must be some kind of pent house, because it opened on a lavish living area complete with fireplace and photos on the walls. A crystal bar could be seen through the next room and doors led off to other parts of the floor at several points. The floor plan didn't bother the merc very much. He was more concerned with the lanky, greasy haired dude walking towards him.

The guy was wearing a gaudy white suit decked out with shimmering silver and diamonds along each edge. His hair was straight and string, but looked to be greased back or something. He was wearing shiny black shoes that clicked on the rich wooden floors of the room with each step. A wide smile was plastered on his face and Mav thought that his teeth looked too big. Overall he had a weird feeling about this guy.

"You must be the D-Dubs guy, right?" Without waiting for a response, the man took Mav's hand in both of his and shook it eagerly. "Gus Gidian, pleasure to meet you." He let go, then put a long arm around Kote's back and started leading him over to the bar. Mav just went with it. This guy was some kind of crazy, but not knowing just what kind he wasn't going to chance pushing any buttons.

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[Mav Kote]

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"What'll ya have, my man?" Gus Gidian asked Kote in a cheerful tone.

Mav gave the sleezy man a crooked grin, then responded jovially, "Bourbon, if ya have it. Neat."

Gus chuckled a bit and nodded, as if the order had been expected, then poured the drink for Mav and handed it to him. He proceeded to add liquid from several different bottles around the bar into a mixer, blend up some ice, and pour some pink concoction into a fancy glass. He topped the drink with a lemon, a lime, and a blue frilly toothpick umbrella. Mav could appreciate the man doing his own drink mixing, old fashioned compared to just having a mixer droid, but was profoundly skeptical of his choice in beverage. What kind of man drinks something pink with a frilly umbrella on top?

Mr. Gidian, finished making his drink to his satisfaction, moved off through the apartment and Mav shrugged before following after him. They didn't go far, just to the other side of the room where Gus sat down in a white lounge chair directly next to a huge bay window. There was a small circular table next to his chair and an identical one across from it. Mav sat down there, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back comfortably before setting the faceplate of his helmet back and out of the way, then taking a sip of his own drink. Good stuff, probably pretty expensive. It had something of a spiciness to it that wasn't very common, but it was good nonetheless.

It was about time to get down to business, but Kote was somewhat wary of this guy. He was going to let Gus make the first move. Mav could sit and enjoy a drink, looking out over the glimmering lights of this city he hated through the window until the dude was ready to talk about it.

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[Sangga]

Nar Shadda, a misty jewel in a tarnished crown, set light-years from anywhere but itself. The perfect place for the Hutts to set up shop and spread. Its tentacles running as deep as the unfathomable depths of Wild Space. Not a bad image, but Hart knew it for its reality. Nar Shadda, Hutt Space was more than planets and lines on the navicomputer. It was debt, it was corruption and it bound its citizenry together. Tighter than any Republic or Empire.

But that was the bigger picture, something that hart could only truly fathom when he had finished a bottle of grain alcohol, and moving onto the next. Pazaak had been successful again, nearly doubling the profits of the last job. So he'd creamed a little off the top and made it to one of the more reputable disreputable establishments. He was only on the lower floor as the higher you got, the more risque and pricey things got. He looked at the crystal tumbler in his hands, the 'white' reflections had greenish tint in his lenses. The stupid pince-nez were ridiculous, but needed in this dankly lit bar.

His hat sat on the bar next to him, and his duster hung around him as his bulk perched on the bar stool. The crew had left him over the years, even the droid! So if he was going to do anything more than haulage or passenger transport... anything with a bit of risk... he'd need to recruit a crew of some sort. They'd need to be capable in space as well as with a blaster. He rubbed his closely shorn scalp, and dropped some legal tender on the bar, a bottle appeared from under the counter and he took it and the tumbler to the balcony. Yeah, Nal Shadda stank worse than a Gamorrean's jock-strap, but it was fresher than a bar that had Spicers and Death stick smokers in it... at least the air was 'fresh'.