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- Jul 24, 2011
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Ootmana Bunko
Rubin Sector, Nar Shaddaa
Level 920 ∂
Lights from the moon-wide city gleamed, illuminating the night sky. Various shades of colors from buildings, decorations, and advertisements could be seen for miles. Despite the high-tech surroundings, Nar Shaddaa was a criminal haven; anything but civilized. People came to Nar Shaddaa to commit various atrocities against galactic law, from spice running to murder to human trafficking. There were 90 billion people on Nar Shaddaa. It was statistically impossible to find an individual on the planet if one was looking for him. It was the perfect place to drown in the crowds. The business on Nar Shaddaa was crime and information. If you were a known figure, you either ran a major spice empire or you knew everything about someone's spice empire.
Anyone could hide on Nar Shaddaa. Murderers, war criminals, traitors, serial rapists, spice lords, and your average Joe could all be living in the same apartment block, especially in the trying times during and after the Fall of Coruscant. Even an Imperial Knight, a warrior devoted to the true Empire, could be found on Nar Shaddaa. The most hunted sect in the entire galaxy, with numbers dropping dangerously close to the extinction mark, could still be found on Nar Shaddaa. Information brokers knew everything about everyone. Information was everything. So how did Ainu Navkh avoid Imperial detection?
He WAS the information
Navkh was in the information broker business. He worked for Kalo the Hutt, the powerful lord of the Rubin Sector. Navkh ran the Ootmana Bunko, or Outlander's Paradise, a club near the Rubin spaceport. The penthouse bar looked over the spaceport district. The bar's giant windows, from the outside, reflected a panorama of the city below it. From the inside, however, one could see for tens of kilometers. Vibrant music and great drinks could be experienced at Ootmana Bunko along with gambling, comedy shows, and other sources of entertainment. Ainu wasn't in the entertainment business however. He was in the information business. His office was situated in the level above the bar, at the very top of the tower.
"Julian Batsken's been dead for five years now," Ainu said to a customer. "His debts were collected in the form of a starship by a hunter employed for Vaggon."
"Vaggon?!"
"Yeah, we all know what happened to Vaggon's estate and property once he died. Valen didn't make things much better. Once Valen's estate was captured, anything of value was taken away. For an extra 1000 credits, I can trace where this starship went."
"1000 credits?!"
"Were you under the impression that my services were cheap?"
"No, but 1000 credits is ridiculous!"
"On the contrary. Do you have any idea how much it costs to run this operation and Ootmana Bunko?"
"I am an important man and Batsken owed me money. I want to collect, damn it."
"Then a man of your standing should be able to afford this. What do the entertainers downstairs say? No dough, no show?"
"Kriffing fine. Here," the man said, holding out his credit chit. Ainu swiped it into the terminal at his desk and handed it back to the man. The 1000 credits was withdrawn from his account into one of Ainu's proxy bank accounts.
"Thank you. The starship was recovered by the Exchange and its registry was changed. I'm forwarding it to your datapad. The ship has changed hands over the last five years almost six times. Gambling debts, theft, a legitimate sale. It's currently operating under the name Jenni. Its last port of entry was documented in the Rubin sector. That spaceport over there, in fact."
"When?"
"About a month ago. It was last seen joining the offworld lanes."
"Which direction?"
"1000 credits, please."
The man handed Ainu his credit chit again. Ainu swiped it again and continued.
"Orbital satellites collect calculated trajectories. His ship was going to Coruscant."
"A month ago?"
"Yes. It's likely that it was destroyed when Coruscant fell or abandoned if its owner was killed."
"Can't you trace it?!"
"There is a communications blackout in much of the damaged areas of Coruscant. We're getting a lot of these. There is no way of knowing where it is. Luckily, however, I can approximate where it was headed. Orbital cameras and tracers on Coruscant can sometimes tell where ships are heading and where they came from. He dropped out of hyperspace during the Sith attack in an attempt to escort people out of the Senate hall."
Ainu typed at his computer before saying, "There was a body count done at the Senate Hall following the invasion. The owner was among them. Take a look for yourself." He rotated the monitor display to show the customer. "He was killed by weapons carried by Imperial Stormtroopers, likely the 501st. Looks like our friend thought he was a bit of a hero. What became of his ship is up to speculation at this point, though I have a lead. That'll be another 1000."
The man continued to cough up more credits.
"Thank you. There's a report of a Rand Freighter found abandoned near the Senate Hall. It took a bit of fire and had to make an emergency landing. It was taken to Raxus Prime and left in the T-5 Junk Ring. That's where you'll probably find it. Given the trajectory and speed it was going when it was released, I can more-or-less pinpoint its approximate location in the ring."
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Navkh."
"Don't mention it."
As the business man left, Ainu secured the vault-like door to his office and began his daily scouring for information on any Imperial Knights out there.