Ask Taris Spice Life

[Zactar Hakka]

With a strong rock forward, Zactar's BNG ship dropped out of hyperspace as his armored weight pushed against the pilot's harness and the view of Taris grew larger outside the viewport. He had been here a few times before - only briefly and usually in search of valuable scrap or salvage - but it was enough to earn his reluctance about descending through the smoggy, yellow atmosphere. There was almost a caste system on this planet, with the well-off citizens living above their poorer neighbors both figuratively and literally, in large spires that brushed the lower atmosphere, while their impoverished neighbors lived among starship wreckage and swamps beneath them. Zactar hated entitled individuals, so negotiating with the upper-crusts of Taris might be especially challenging, depending on the route he and his partner decided to go, but he was learned in the ways of diplomacy and willing to do what needs to be done.

Zack was here on a Sith mission, seeking to root out a spice syndicate that had managed to elude all Tarisian security forces thus far. Current intelligence suggests that this underground crime ring may be getting tips from one of the oligarchs of Taris. He was also informed of a partner he would be working with but knew nothing of them other than the name 'Zan Vega'. No matter. He would wait here in the space above the planet's atmosphere with open comms, waiting for his partner to ping on his radars. Zack had some interest in retaining control of this spice ring, if nothing else to bring the Empire additional income, assuming he and his companion would be successful in rooting it out. He unbuckled his harness and reclined in his seat, reaching to his left console to flip a series of switches and press a play button. He gently closed his eyes as an old Serennian ballad filled the cabin of his ship and he eased into meditation for the time being.

@Versok

 

[Zan Vega]

Truth be told, Zan wanted nothing more than to leave Taris and keep on doing his work, but as the most influential imperial agent nearby the planet, he had been told to take care of it even if such a work was usually given to members of the imperial peacekeeper forces. He understood that his ways to infiltrate and operate would be quite useful regardless so the Duros just let out a sigh and focused on the fact that it was for the betterment of the empire.

By the time Zan arrived at the atmosphere of the planet on an empire ship, he would have all the important info the agents on the planet had gathered: Influential people they learned had taken a part of it, posible places where the dealers met with the people they drugged and other tidbits of information. The Duros agent would join the comms channel, making sure no one else was listening to them first, of course "Champion Zactar, I hope I've not made you wait for too long" Zan would say as he looked at the planet from above "There are many ways we can go about this...And I have a few plans already, but I would like to hear yours first" One of his hands behind his back as he drank from a glass of wine on the other, his routine before starting any mission he didn't particularly like, simply waiting for an answer before getting to land the ship on the planet.

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

"Ahh, you must be Zan." Zack said calmly, opening his eyes as he finished speaking. Truth be told, he was never in much of a rush. He had spent the last few minutes relaxing and much of his time before that training or studying, before making his way to this troubled planet. He fiddled with his console to stop his music.

"No worries at all. I was just enjoying an old ballad. To be honest, Zan, I wasn't sure who I would be working with so I wanted a chance to meet you before I got too far ahead of myself. Where is your ship headed?"

Zactar strapped himself back into his seat and grabbed hold of his ship's controls, engaging the thrusters and falling into line behind the larger Empire ship. He hoped this Zan wouldn't be a troublemaker. Zactar could more than handle himself in combat but he preferred to keep a low profile, and getting a criminal syndicate or Tarisian elite on his tail was not something he was interested in dealing with. Whatever plan they executed, they needed to be decisive. Waiting for them to organize would only complicate matters.

@Versok

 

[Zan Vega]

"I suppose it's better to at least know each other faces' before starting the operation, very well." Zan simply stated before pushing a few buttons on his ship "These are the coordinates of my destination, it's a starport made specifically to allow imperial personnel to land, look for a Kaba-Class shuttle with a man in light armor besides it. I'll see you there. " Zan simply explained before cutting off communications and heading to his designated landing pad.

After Zactar reached the landing point, it wouldn't take long for him to find the Duros agent standing right where he said he would be. Wearing his signature armor save for the helmet. Zan would be lighting up a cigarette just after Zactar arrived, Zan figuring out that he was the guy he was waiting for before wordlessly giving him a handshake and then offering him another cigarette, letting him start the conversation, the Duros did want to know how exactly the man wanted to handle things.

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

"BG-620, land us at those coordinates please", Zack spoke behind his seat, where his reliable BG astromech was docked.
"Sounds good", he also replied over comms.

As the astromech took care of his descent, Zactar walked back to his quarters and sat onto his bed, pulling a small metal case out from under it. Creaking the case open, his eyes fell upon the blood-stained hydrospanner that he kept in there from so long ago and spaced out for far longer than he intended, being rocked out of his stupor by his ship touching down. "Shit...", he quietly grunted to himself before hastily shutting the case and tossing it back under his bed.

The cockpit hissed open with a slight whistle and Zactar guided himself to the ground gently through the aid of the Force, his crimson cape billowing behind him. He scanned the port for a Kaba-class shuttle as his companion had mentioned, spotting one northwest of his landing pad. He made his way over and shook the Duros' hand with his unarmored right hand accepting the cigarette with a smile and downward nod.

"That's quite a ship you've got there, Zan.", Zack remarked, looking over the Agent's shoulder at the impressive shuttle.
"We probably shouldn't discuss things openly. Never know who might be a paid ear.", he added, gesturing to the various staff and passersby around the spaceport as he flicked a bit of ash off the end of his cigarette.

"Don't mean to impose, but would you mind inviting me into your ship? Just for the privacy."

@Versok

 

[Zan Vega]

"The Empire doesn't hold back when it comes to giving their agents suitable ways to move through their planets, one of the perks working for the strongest faction in the galaxy" Zan said in reaction to the ship's compliment, lighting up his cigarette and then offering his lighter to Zactar "Agreed, was never counting on talking about this in the open, c'mon in." And so, the Duros gestured the sith champion to follow along before entering the ship himself.

The inside of the ship was quite standard, no crazy decorations, but quite clean and in perfect conditions, the kind of ship that belonged to people that didn't care about much other than results "So...I am aware that there are many types of sith in this empire, you've got your warriors, your assassins, your diplomats and even some mad scientist types going around...I would like to know which kind of sith are you." The Duros agent asked as he sat down in one of the ship's couch, making use of the ash trays on the table while looking at the champion, giving him time to explain how he usually worked.

"Of course, you need to know about my area of expertise too, I am an agent of the sith intelligence network, I don't know if you are familiar with our part of the security bureau, but..." Zan would let out a puff of smoke while respectfully looking the other way, letting the words linger for a moment and giving him a chance to recall any memories about the agents of SIN "Basically, I tend to avoid...Direct confrontation. However, that doesn't mean we don't get our hands dirty, we get things done without anyone knowing no matter how dire or grim it is." The Duros explained, letting the champion know that if he had any ideas, they probably wouldn't go well for the people related to this mission.

 

[Zactar Hakka]

Zactar entered the shuttle and was impressed at the cleanliness and orderliness of everything; it certainly didn't seem lived-in like his own ship, in which he had personally replaced the passenger space with a small studio apartment. As the Duros took a seat on a couch, Zack found a seat on a neighboring couch facing his colleague and tapped his cigarette on the ashtray, not leaving a blemish on the spotless interior. As Zan asked his question, Zack chuckled but continued to thoughtfully listen to the Agent's explanation of his role in the Empire and how he worked.

"Mmm, those skills will certainly prove useful in an operation such as ours..." he said, taking a drag of his smoke, lingering for a moment, and respectfully exhaling to the side. "If I were put in a category such as you mentioned, I would probably fit somewhere between a warrior and a diplomat." he admitted with a smile before gesturing to his somewhat heavy duraplast armor. "I'm not usually one to sneak in and out of tight spaces, I suppose." he added before pausing to take a pull of his cigarette, tapping it into the ashtray as it burned shorter.

"Having a general idea of your skillset, our best course of action may be to work independently, dangerous as it can be. I could likely persuade an addict that's down on their luck to forfeit some information. Alternately, I could try to rub shoulders with some oligarchs but I tend to have a hard time...containing myself around entitled people." he said with a clear snarl on his face, staring at the ground between them with unfocused eyes. Zack shook back into focus on his companion and spoke again with his normal calming demeanor. "If you're better trained to attack this from a different angle, I could keep in touch for status checks and general information." Zack gestured at the commlink on his gauntlet.

@Versok

 

[Zan Vega]

Zan listened carefully as Zactar explained his own skills and talked about a first plan. Zactar was right for the most part, Zan would prefer to split from him while working as their skills complemented each others in such a way...However, there was something he could add "I agree for the most part, however, know that convincing people is still within my skillset and so we may gain more from it if we work together, it's just that the way we go about it is a bit more...drastic" Zan explained, taking another drag from the smoke before leaning forward, looking at Zactar "A good cop, bad cop approach would do the trick, no matter who we go for."

"However, when striking the actual location, I agree. You could perhaps make a diversion and attack directly while I take care of the leader, or I could sabotage it and weaken them so you have an easier time dealing with threats" Zan explained, killing the cigarette before getting up "Those are our two options, but regardless of which one we choose, we should get going sooner than later."

 

[Zactar Hakka]

Zactar tapped the final ashes of his cigarette into the ashtray as he thoughtfully listened to his companion’s ideas. At the mention of the ‘good cop, bad cop approach’, Zack quirked an eyebrow up and grinned. “Now THAT is a fantastic idea. I have a feeling we’ll be able to get quicker answers that way. And I’d be happy to divert the attention of the henchmen while you strike more strategically. I’m rather skilled in returning blaster fire and an even better duelist. I think I could slay my way through a crowd,” he added with a hearty laugh, before slapping his thighs, standing up, and walking to the shuttle’s exit.

“I’d like to start in the slums. Might have an easier time getting answers out of those folks, or at least getting leads as to which oligarch might be in bed with spice dealers,” he said as they made their way to a landspeeder with imperial branding on it’s side and hopped into the driver’s seat, patting the seat next to him with a smile at Zan. Once his accomplice joined him, Zack would lift off and speed toward the planet’s slums, trying to make casual conversation along the way. Once they reached the especially rough part of town with people in rags huddled in alleys, Zactar pulled the speeder to the side of the lane and powered it down. There were a number of shady individuals around, several of which tucking out of view at the sight of the imperial speeder. “This seems like as good a place as any to start…” he remarked quietly, looking around the destitution.

@Versok

 

[Zan Vega]

"We have a plan, then." Zan stated after Zactar agreed to it, it was a simple enough approach, but sometimes simple was the best way to go about it, no need for overly convoluted plans that could be derailed and fail so easily "If we find a supplier to the drug, I doubt we'll need to get to the oligarch, they'll tell us about who they're working for one way or the other" The Duros added before getting inside the land speeder, letting Zactar drive it to the location.

"We probably should've used a landspeeder without any marking..." He muttered as he took a look around the slums they had gotten themselves into. Zan had quite the experience when it came to knowing where drug deals usually happened, being someone that had lived in places such as Nar Shaddaa for quite a long time "You sith have the ability to sense people, right?" Zan asked Zactar before getting out of the speeder "Try to sense if there's anyone in that alley...that one or the other one over there" The Duros said as he pointed at three different alleys "Drug deals probably happen in those three, at least that's what I'm gathering from my experience."

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

"I certainly hope so," Zactar said flatly as his companion mused about not dealing with the oligarchs. The apparent disparity between the ruling class and the working class drove him to anger without even having to meet any of the despots. Unfortunately, this disparity was a common sight throughout the galaxy; part of the reason why Zack sought to bring the benefits of the Sith Empire to every corner of this cruel universe. As the Duros pointed out the conspicuous markings on their ride, Zack shrugged. "Yeah, sorry...I saw a free ride and took it. Maybe the branding will serve some purpose toward intimidation." It had been some time since he had to rough it in the slums. He didn't want to admit it, but he was probably a bit out of touch.

Almost in tandem with Zan's suggestion, Zactar started closing his eyes and opening his senses to the Force, feeling the energy swirl within the living beings around them (and notably absent from a few droids in the area); feeling the vague emotions of those closest. He felt hopelessness first and foremost among the nearby natives, followed by fear from some of the individuals who fled at the sight of the Imperials. Toward the northwest, Zack felt something uncharacteristic: a craving. Not lustful or vengeful, but something wilder. Something that would make a person do anything to feed it. He opened his eyes and gestured in the direction with a nod of his head, before heading off in that direction.

As they made their approach, Zack turned to Zan and said "This might be easier if you happen to have some spice. Not that I'd expect you to keep something like that on you." His heavy boots left deep impressions in the dirt beneath them. Crossing the lane, they approached a tall rust and dust covered metal building that was tilted uncomfortably near the top, as if a small amount of force would cause it to come tumbling down. A broken streetlight was posted at the corner, ahead of a shady alley running along the side of the equally questionable building ahead of them. "I think I feel...addiction. I can't quite tell if it's down this alley or in this building, but it's in that direction. Your choice." Zack said with a look at his companion.

@Versok

 

[Zan Vega]

"I...suppose so, as long as they haven't left the scene because they feared the imperials coming" Zan replied as he got off their ride, letting the other man do his sith force sensing magic while making sure no one was spying on them. This slum was...about as normal as the ones Zan had been to in the past, the Duros had to wonder if the sith had told him to take part of this operation specifically because he did have knowledge of spices and other activities thanks to his past on Nar Shaddaa, pretty smart if that was the case.

"Unfortunately, no, I have only one vice, don't need more of them" The Duros simply stated as they got closer to the source of what Zactar had sensed, giving him the choice to go either down the alley or inside the building. Zan pondered for a moment, thinking about the best course of action: And there really was only one way to go about this, or at least the Duros agent really thought so "Let's split up, if they are inside that building, they won't have many ways to escape, so you can safely get them without needing to use stealth...I'll make sure they stay quiet, should they be down that alleyway" Zan simply explained before moving towards the alley "Whoever catches them has to inform the other, I'll see you in a minute."

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

"Fair enough. I'll talk to you on comms." Zactar responded in affirmation. He pulled his red cape close around his sides, obscuring the lightsaber hanging from his belt, and pushed open the metal door with a creak. The inside, from what was immediately apparent, was barren of life. From his best guess, this place was probably a club or clinic of some sort. There was a front window with a wall dividing the entrance from the rest of the establishment, though much of the wall paneling had been torn off and the front window shattered. There was a partially open door to the left of the desk, which Zactar eased through as quietly as he could.

Beyond the threshold was similarly decrepit, with tables and chairs broken and overturned throughout. There was a slightly raised platform in the center of the place that seemed to have been either a bar or open kitchen at some point, and on towards the back end of the establishment was an office guarding a long hallway lined with doors. The purpose of the building suddenly became abundantly clear to Zactar. Though caught in a moment of amusement, the slight tinny jangle of movement in the shadows gave away the presence of another lifeform. Homing in on the location through the Force, Zactar sensed the movement of one humanoid sneaking through a side door with a second a short way behind it.

Focusing the Force into worn muscles and joints, Zack leapt into pursuit and with only a few powerful strides had closed in on the straggler. Into his wrist comms, Zactar huffed "One coming your way!" before refocusing the Force from his body and out into a telekinetic grip around the throat of the figure still in the building, slowly lifting it into the air as he stalked towards it from behind. "Pardon my grasp, but I have a terrible need for some information that you might be able to provide me." he offered in a polite tone.

@Versok

Spoiler

Roll for Zactar's perception vs criminals: 15