Ask Nar Shaddaa Remnants of Callo

[Bhaal]

A Star Wars Story

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Rolobhaalorak was pretty keen on getting rid of Zaa Fenn. They had only caused they rest of the Syndicates several problems and created a huge mess for all of them to get rid of. On Nar Shaddaa, the alleged sister to Preef Callo himself was hiding from the rest of the galaxy. Bhaal was working with a Lasat bounty hunter to catch Geena Callo and turn her in. Yes, the Wookiee was a scoundrel working for Black Sun, but he made an honest living when he could. There was honor amongst thieves as far as Bhaal was concerned. Besides, this bounty was going to do wonders for his reputation. Catching Geena Callo was not going to be easy, but it was going to get done.

Tarfful's Revenge touched down on a landing pad in the lower levels of the capital city. This place was once filled to the brim with infected, but now they were a thing of the past. Nar Shaddaa was more of a ghost town than anything else. Bhaal exited his courier, ordering his meager crew of three other scoundrels (all of which were Duros) to keep the ship running. Luckily for Bhaal, at least one of the blue aliens knew how to speak Shyriiwook, so hopefully everything would be fine while Bhaal was away.

Now he was just awaiting the arrival of the Lasat. Bhaal had heard some pretty neat stories about the purple aliens. They were very similar to Wookiees, except they were shorter and weighed a little more, but they were proud warriors nonetheless. If the bounty hunter was as good as the stories said, Rolobhaalorak would be sipping blue milk with his little sister in no time.

@Burpee

 

[Krom Grenivad]

Krom guided his WTK-85A Transport around the spires of the crowded moon, aiming for a lower-level pad near the cantina where he was to meet his partner for this bounty. With the current state of the galaxy, the Bounty Board had recommended partnering up with other hunters when possible, both for safety and to ensure a successful hunt. He'd known he was partnering with a wookiee, which had him equal parts excited and cautious. He'd heard tales of wookiees' strength and courage. He'd also seen the holonet broadcasts of what had recently happened on Kashyyyk and felt some semblance of understanding, being an exile of his own race. In any case, he'd hoped that the wookiee could speak galactic basic, because his Lasan ears had no idea what to make of the traditional wookiee speech.

Krom was also looking forward to another payday. It had been a while since he'd turned in any bounties, and he had never hunted anyone of such notoriety. His target was Geena Callo, sister of the notorious crime lord Preef Callo. He smirked thinking of the food quality he'd be able to resupply with after this job. He hoped to also purchase a nice longblaster - something he could really snipe with. His EE-3 carbine had decent range but nothing like a proper sniper rifle. He shook the fantasies out of his head as his ship touched down on the landing pad near the cantina. He slung the carbine over one shoulder, made sure his blaster pistols were full and ready at his sides, and walked down the cargo ramp exiting the transport.

What surprised him most was to see the normally-bustling world quiet, like a ghost town. Scanning the area for any sign of familiarity, Krom saw the long hair of what he gathered must be a wookiee and made his way over, looking around him all the while. "Uhh, hey...Krom. Sorry to hear about your...nevermind. Inside?" he awkwardly said while gesturing at a nearby cantina, wondering if it was even staffed.

@Charles

 

[Bhaal]

When the Lasat arrived and tried sharing it's condolences, Bhaal smiled friendly and dipped his head towards the bounty hunter with respect. It was a small kind gesture and the Wookiee appreciated it. Lasats and Wookiees had fairly similar history- both pertaining to the evils of the Sith. While Wookiees were kidnapped and enslaved, sent to work in the mines of Kessel, the Lasat were almost completely wiped out all together. Maybe this small common ground could help the two work together more efficiently.

Bhaal joined Krom inside, which was entirely empty besides a 3PO series protocol droid that seemed to be the bartender. The Wookiee examined the weapons the bounty hunter kept on him, thinking that it would've been nice to have a weapon with longer range than his bowcaster rifle. Make no mistake, it was one heft weapon, but Bhaal wasn't sure he wanted to be put at a disadvantage purely because of his lack of range. Maybe it was time the Wookiee invested into other weapons besides the ones he made himself.

<Raaaaaahhgh aarrragghuuhw aarrragghuuhw aaahnruh wuuh huurh?> If not, they had a protocol droid as a bartender that would be able to help along with the Wookiee's ability to speak fluent sign language.

@Burpee

 

[Krom Grenivad]

This Wookiee seemed friendly enough, from what Krom could make of his body language. Regardless, the Wookiee's stature was still somewhat intimidating despite Krom's own size. He couldn't help himself from eyeing over the Wookiee's bowcaster; their firepower was legendary, and he wondered what kind of kick that unique weapon produced. Walking into the bar, Krom was somewhat relieved to see that it was empty, save a droid behind the counter. He didn't enjoy crowds, and it usually ended with crowds very much not enjoying him. Despite the empty appearance, he briefly walked around the cantina to peak behind benches and corners, making sure there were no eavesdropping ears around. As they approached the counter and the Wookiee spoke in its native tongue, the uneducated Lasat turned his head to the side with an embarrassed snarl.

"Shit. Uhh...", he turned to the protocol droid. "Could you help us out? I can speak a bit of Rodese and Huttese, but Basic is my only real fluency." Krom turned back to the Wookiee. "So what can I call you? And you got any leads on this shitbag we're after? And why is this place so damn barren?" Krom shifted uncomfortably on his stool for a moment, adjusting a spot where his armor was pinching his side, waiting for the droid to relay what he'd conveyed.

@Charles

 

[Bhaal]

The Wookiee gave another nod after Krom expressed his inability to understand or speak Shyriiwoook. It wasn't common to find someone who did these days, and Bhaal was used to it by now. And again, there was a protocol droid with them. In fact, it gave a nod and looked to Bhaal to begin translating. The Wookiee began to wonder where the droid's master was. Were they off world awaiting to return after the AMS virus was cleansed? Or did they fall victim of it? Either way, it didn't matter much.

"The Wookiee's name is Rolobhaalorak, but requests that you call him Bhaal for short." The protocol droid translated as Bhaal began to speak. "He also states that...oh my, Geena Callo? You two are after-" Bhaal snorted with annoyance. "Oh right, right...Yes, Geena Callo has been spotted in Preef Callo's old residence. When the planet was rife with infected, she built it into a mini military fort so it is heavily guarded and meant to keep flesh-based beings out." After the protocol droid finished the first translation it left for a few moments got the two drinks of ice water.

"Ah, and the Wookiee does not know why this place is so empty. But I do, yes." The protocol droid said as it began wiping down the counter. Bhaal shrugged at his companion and took a sip from his drink, shifting his attention to the droid. "Our count for the AMS virus may be significantly lower, but so is the count for the basic population. Many fled off world to avoid the virus and haven't come back. I do not know the reason why, but maybe they found a better life or something of more appeal. The lower you delve into the city, the less and less alive people you will find. Most of the upper levels have returned back to normal. It may take some time before the lower levels become inhabited again."

By the sound of things, it was going to be pretty easy to get to wherever Geena was allegedly hiding. The problem was that there was still over ten percent of AMS victims down there, too. It may not sound like much, but this ten percent of an entire planet. That's a pretty big number as far as Bhaal is concerned. Krom and Bhaal would to devise a well thought plan to get their bounty.

"Don't mention me if you repeat this but...There's lots of free housing. Most of the past homeowners are either undead or unwilling to come back. I'm surprised no one has taken advantage of that as of late..."

@Burpee

 

[Krom Grenivad]

Krom listened intently as the droid spoke along with the Wookiee, shifting his eyes between the two to better gauge the tone of his companion. This Robo...Bhaal seemed sincerely kind and was surprisingly easier to understand through gesture and tone than he would have thought. Listening further, Krom leaned back with a grin and crossed his arms over his chest. "Good to meet ya, Bhaal. You're full of helpful info." he said, impressed with the details Bhaal had acquired about their target. As the droid left for drinks, he leaned closer to Bhaal and spoke softly. "It's a little weird that this droid is just here alone..."

When the droid returned with their drinks, Krom accepted the glass with a nod and sipped it carefully as he continued to listen to the recount of the virus that had struck the Smuggler's Moon. It would make things easier knowing where this criminal was hiding away, especially knowing what kind of support she would have. It was, however, extremely disconcerting to hear of the potential infection rate of the remaining citizens, especially if they were going to spend much time in these lower levels. Krom started tuning out the protocol droid, starting to think of how they could complete this operation without dying from the forces Geena had gathered or this AMS virus. Once the droid was finished speaking, Krom turned to face him directly and gave him a suspicious eye.

"So what brings you here, tending this cantina by yourself?" he paused, listening for the protocol droid to respond.

Once the droid responds, Krom will turn back to Bhaal and say "I'd like to see this building Geena's held up in. It'll be a lot easier to make a plan once we have a general idea of the layout and which entrances are guarded. I've got a swoop bike in my ship to get around on, but it won't fit us both. Unless you want to look around for an abandoned speeder..." he trailed off in thought.

@Charles

 

[Bhaal]

"I run this place myself." The protocol droid said simply. Bhaal was glad his partner was easy to get along with. Working with hotshots and egomaniacs wasn't fun or usually efficient. Now all Krom needed to learn was Shyriiwook and these two would be the best of friends. When the Lasat asked for more details on Geena's location, Bhaal looked at the protocol droid so it knew to start translating again. Once he got the droid's attention, he began speaking.

"Bhaal says that she is five levels below us- oh, then you won't see too much infected. You two should be fine!" Bhaal agreed that figuring out what exactly Geena was able to round up would be beneficial to her capture. Sadly, all the Wookiee got was a location and rumor. The location checked out, but Bhaal was about to find out if the rumors were true. "Oh, if you are in need of speeders, there is a great many in the garage next to my cantina." The protocol droid mentioned.

Bhaal looked at Lasat and smiled. It looked like they'd be getting to Geena's place in no time. After the Wookiee tipped the droid, he left with his Lasat companion outside to the garage the droid had spoken of. When he opened the doors, Bhaal was a little surprised. He was half expecting some dinky old rusted airspeeders, not a bunch of FC-35 Razorfin Swoopbikes. Bhaal rumbled out a roar with surprise. Maybe their luck with catch Geena would reflect the luck they had with this cantina.

@Burpee

 

[Krom Grenivad]

Krom gave an impressed nod as the droid confirmed some level of management over the cantina. He wondered briefly about the rights of droids, specifically related to ownership of land/property, but quickly shrugged it off as unimportant. As the droid translated the location of the building and offered his own speeders, Krom smiled genuinely at Bhaal and then the droid. Even if the upcoming fight was tough, the ease in which they had closed on their target would make up the difference in time and effort. "Thanks for the help, pal. I'll bring back that speeder assuming it still runs when we're done." Krom laughed as he walked out the exit behind Bhaal.

When the Wookiee pulled open the garage doors and Krom saw the Razorfins, he let out an excited whistle. "Daaamn, I guess we'll be riding in style." he said as he swung his digitigrade leg over one side of the swoop bike and powered it up. "Hey, uh...we ought to grab a drink some time and see if you can teach my ear that language ya speak." Krom shouted over the whir of the engines. "Maybe blow my shoulder out with that bowcaster of yours!" he laughed as he applied throttle and left the platform, descending through the metal spires to lower levels of the city and glancing behind him to make sure his companion followed.

Their trip through the towers and shanties wasn't long since they were only descending five levels, but Krom took a generous sweep around to keep an eye out for aerial/vehicular support. There was slightly more activity at this level, with the occasional lifeform visible on a platform here and there or tucking in and out of nearby alleys and buildings. The appearance of the hunters didn't seem to draw too much attention, but they earned an uninterested glance or two along their way. Rounding a spire in the airways, Krom immediately noticed a strongly fortified residence a few hundred meters ahead of them and braked to a halt, assuming it to be their target's location. They were still a distance out, but even so Krom could see a large courtyard with balconies overlooking it and what seemed to be about six dark figures on top of them. High above the figures on the balcony was at least one on the roof, assumingly a sniper or watch.

Once Bhaal pauses next to him, Krom states "Sneaking up might be hard...", pointing at the figure on the roof and swinging his harnessed carbine around to his front.

@Charles