Take a Gamble on Nar Shadda

[Ser Codael]

Nar Shadda, the largest moon orbiting around Nal Hutta, the birth places of the dreaded Hutts. Nar Shadda, also known as the Smugglers Moon, is well known for being a main sorce of crime throughout the known Galaxy. Large crime Syndicates were formed and remained here. Most run by the Hutts from the nearby planet, but a few ran by other alien races strong enough to fight the hutts. A moon encased by a solid city, the lower levels populated and poluted by various refugess, and the higher levels owned by the Crime Syndicates.

One of such syndicates was owned by the dreaded Narta the Hutt. A ruthless hutt who rivaled Jabba on the size of his 'corperation.' Many smugglers, mercenaries and bounty hunters were hired on by Narta. And even more slaves were sold to him. If there was one thing Narta loved more then crime and money, it was slave dancers. And he had alot of them.

One of the slave girls he owned was a young human by the name of Ser Codael. A slave her entire life, she had been won by Narta in a bet on a game of Pazaak. Her previous owner, a Rodian by the name of Graato, had been furious when he had lost her. He had vowed to win her back by Narta's death. But Graato's death had come first. Narta had hired on a series of Bounty Hunters to remove Graato from the galaxy. His remains now drifted around in space after being shot out an airlock.

So, for a while now, Ser had been the property of Narta. Her danceing matched and often surpaced that of the Twi'lek slaves, who were usually thought to be the much more graceful race. It was danceing that she was doing at the moment when Narta's assistance reported to him that his Guest was on his way to their front door now. Narta had challenged another Hutt to some gambling on the local pod races. And now that Hutt was almost at their door step.

[Muuta The Hutt]

The thick doors slide open, revealing the massive gastropod known as Muuta. Others follow right behind, among them a beautiful young girl that looked like she had something to prove, a few bounty hunters and body guards who would never leave the Hutt's side. For the sake of those who do not understand Huttese, a protocol droid stands next to him, translating as gutteral sounds emerge from the massive sentient.

"Narta! My friend, it has been too long!"

The huge form resumes moving forward along with its tail, running its tongue in circles in sheer anticipation of an old fashioned gambling time. The doors slide closed as the Hutt looks around, impressed by the lavish decorations and furniture, it seemed that Narta had vastly improved since the last time he had visited.

"How I have missed Nar Shadda, how's the operation going around these parts lately, my old friend?"

News of old dealings didn't interest him much, but it was always useful to use etiquette around business partners and other shady figures of the underworld. However, the shape of a stunning human female catches his attention like dinner, running his tongue around the bottom half of his mouth.

[Ser Codael]

The human woman paused a moment in her dance to look over her shoulder at the hutt that had just slithered into the private room. The crack of a whip and a sharp pain in her back was the response that her master gave her for the pause in entertainment. She quickly resumed her preformance, only now with a bit of blood dripping down her back from a new wound that would leave a new scar.

Narta grinned his disgusting grin, flicking his tounge out once or twice at the woman before turning most of his attention to his fellow hutt that had just entered. His grin spread as he looked apon his old friend and he motions Muuta towards a nearby Hutt sized seating pad that looked rather comfortable. He spoke in Huttanese with a slight laugh.

"Muuta. ha ha ha. How have you been, my friend? Operations have been going well. Why you not return to Nar Shadda and run your buisness here? Koonda fell apon some... misfortune recently and his somping grounds have become free domain. You should look into it."

[Muuta The Hutt]

Muuta's gaze continues to be fixed upon the beautiful woman, dragging himself to the sitting pad and accomodating his long tail accordingly. The woman and other followers make their way to the bar, keeping an eye open in case of any unpleasant surprises.

"Business is going very well in Coruscant, be a fool to return to this crime-infested hole. A loved hole nonetheless."

Muuta's eyes narrow in curiosity and lust, licking the upper side of his mouth this time.

"A pity about Koonda, I heard about it. Not good business."

The protocol droid catches up as well, handing Muuta a few small mammals to snack on before dinner is ready.

"That human, how much do you want for her?" he asks, scratching the upper side of his belly.

[Ser Codael]

Narta turned his fat head to gaze at the dancer for a moment then back to Muuta. The protocol droid behind the counter of the bar began to distribute drinks to the various humanoids that Muuta had brought with him. The human continued to dance, casting the occassion warry glance at Muuta, who had kept his gaze on her sense his arival. It was rather unsettling to her. But she knew if she stopped dancing, that the whip would begin cracking again.

Narta smiled again, flicking his tongue out a couple times, debating with himself. Finaly, though, he had his answer for his friend.

"Now... I could not take your money from you for her... She is my best dancer. Strange for a human girl, but very graceful. The humanoids always find her appealing. I am sorry, my friend, but she is not for sale..."

Narta saw the quick flash of disappointment of a few people around the room and his grin widened.

"Although... I supose I could be persuaded to... a bit of a gamble with her... How about it, Muuta. We have not gambled on anything in a long while. There are some rather impressive Pod Races that go on around here. Shall we put it to them to deside who she shall be with?"

[Muuta The Hutt]

Muuta opens his huge mouth wide, dropping the wiggling mammal inside. Muuta has some trouble chewing the resilient rodent, but it is of no use as the bones are crushed and he swallows it.

"What do you wish to bet her against, Narta?" he asks, already choosing his next snack between the frightened creatures within the bowl.

"She looks like she's worth a great deal."

Yet again, his tongue runs all around the corners of his mouth, thinking of the most vile things he could have fun with being the owner of such beautiful human female. He had accidentally crushed the last one to death, regretting the loss and blaming a few drinks too many.

"If I win, you will come remember the name "Muuta", cute human." he speaks to her through the protocol droid, not sure if she understood Huttese at all.

[Ser Codael]

Ser gives a slight shiver at the hutt's words as her dance finishes. She is escorted by one of the slave masters to where the rest of the slaves were sitting. Narta gives Muuta a large grin as her dance had finished.

"Oh yes, A great deal. Although, I won her over a game of Pazaak against a rather upset Rodian. Foolish little grin race. Think they can beat a hutt at his own game." he gives a great, deep laugh at this. "So. What do you have that you believe would be worthy of placeing up against her, my friend? Negotiations have begun on what the terms of the bet are..."

[Bella D'lyes]

Breathe through the mouth. That was the key when surrounded by Hutts. Well that and making sure you didn’t eat much before coming into close proximity to them or entering their dens. After spending a year or so serving at Muuta’s pleasure she ought to have accustomed herself more to their…habits and living quarters, but her stomach still turned as she surveyed the stifling, and in her opinion, badly decorated room. Slaves lined the walls and mingled with the various lackeys and hangers on that inevitably surrounded a Hutt. Nobody really liked a Hutt but the money they tended to rake in and their manipulation skills evoked a certain loyalty in those who chose to work with them. For everybody else involved in anything remotely criminal an encounter with a Hutt was as unavoidable as it was undesired.

The two gastropods greeted each other in a friendly enough manner, and anyone who wasn’t familiar with the species might have been fooled by it. Unfortunately she was all too knowledgeable in that area, forced cultural and language immersion learning as it were, and didn’t hold any delusions that either of the two large slug-like beings wouldn’t quite happily do away with the other if it suited their own, and those of their respective kajidic’s, purposes. A quick shake of her head indicated her refusal of the proffered beverage by a protocol droid and she watched as it moved on to the next person in Muuta’s retinue. Her gaze remained on the droid as she steadfastly ignored the dancing slave girl that had attracted Muuta’s attention. No doubt the woman danced very well but watching her only made Bella acutely aware of how close she was to becoming like her. She was constantly thanking whatever higher power there was, god, goddess or the force, that had provided her with that small consolation. Enslaved she might be but at least she had other talents that made her a valuable enough commodity to keep her from the ranks of half naked pleasure slaves that filled Muuta’s lair.

Wincing at the sharp sound of the whip connecting with skin Bella felt a pang of sympathy for the dancing slave which she quickly suppressed. There was no room for sympathy here. One did what one needed to survive and if that was at the expense of someone else then so be it. Making emotional connections with anyone, no matter how brief, was part of the mistake that had landed her in the position she found herself in now. Don’t think. Don’t connect. Do as you’re told. These were three principals that had stood her in good stead while she had served Muuta, it was humiliating enough to be owned by a Hutt and dwelling on it only made it worse. Trying to make friends with someone that might be killed the next day by a Hutt that had woken up in a bad mood was a lost cause. As for disobedience…well, after her first escape attempt it had been… strongly discouraged.

"So. What do you have that you believe would be worthy of placing up against her, my friend? Negotiations have begun on what the terms of the bet are..."

Tensing, Bella did a quick mental inventory of Muuta’s assets that might be of interest to the other Hutt. Several things came to mind, including herself. She talked herself down from the rising panic that threatened to shake her emotionless façade, after all she was a little too valuable to gamble with, especially when there were other options. She brought in far too much money for Muuta in various ways. The most obvious was the venerable trade she had been raised in, shipjacking. The profit to be made in the current political climate by stealing and reselling ships was just too great for Muuta to risk her. The other talent was not something that Muuta would make public, if he did it would lose most of its effectiveness. She glanced up at Muuta waiting for his reply, that is if he could stop staring at the dancing slave long enough to formulate one, convinced that she had nothing to be worried about.

[Muuta The Hutt]

"So. What do you have that you believe would be worthy of placing up against her, my friend? Negotiations have begun on what the terms of the bet are..."

The Hutt begins formulating something of equal or greater value. Narta would probably be offended if not offered something that would entice him to even up the bet. He rolls his huge eyes towards the direction of Bella, beginning to build up a deep and sinister laugh.

"Ho ho ho..."

Almost as if sharing the same mind, Muuta's bodyguards grab the young woman by the arms and bring her over in between the two Hutts, one of the brutes is even rude enough to kick her behind the knees, bring her down.

"Will this human be suitable enough?'

Muuta hadn't lost a race bet in eons, and his sheer arrogance would make him bet his most valuable human.

"She would surely make a great addition, Narta."

The obnoxious beast is even cocky enough to run his slimey tongue up the young woman's neck and face, showing what the female was good for.

"Delicious. Go on, taste her, Narta."

[Bella D'lyes]

A Hutt’s laughter…never a good sign. Ever.

The sense of security from moments before vanished very quickly as she felt herself seized by both arms. Instinctively she struggled against the bodyguards, digging her heels into the floor and fighting to free her arms from their tight hold. She was going to have bruises later on. She glared fiercely up at one of them only to find him grinning down at her obviously amused at her attempts to free herself. She could be considered very tall… when being compared to Ewoks or Jawas. As for her own species, at 1.5ish meters she was decidedly on the short side. So perhaps it was rather funny for him to have a diminutive human girl who weighed practically nothing trying to fight off two huge bodyguards. She, however, refused to see any humor in it and cursed at him as her legs were kicked out from under her. Her knees hit the floor with a jarring thud and she took a deep breath trying to regain her composure. Biting back another curse she dropped her eyes, glaring furiously at the floor and hoped that she at least appeared more submissive than she actually felt.

The position was entirely too familiar. She had seen Muuta for the first time looking up at him from a kneeling position and now here she was in front of Narta. She did not like the thought that this might become the tradition for every time she made the aquaintance of a new Hutt.

***
“You contracted with a Hutt? Why? Surely we’re not that badly off…”

Bella scowled up at her older brother demanding an explanation.

“Relax Bells… it’s not a matter of not having credits…it’s all about making more now. And to do that we need some big contracts. You know how much Rin made with his run for Muuta…”

“I don’t give a damn about Rin. I’m talking you, me and Rhy. Sure there’s a possibility of making tons of credits but more likely we’re gonna get screwed over. And when I say screwed I don’t mean a leisurely shag in a nice hotel followed by a kiss goodbye in the morning. I’m talking rape in a back alleyway, beaten and then left for dead. That’s what goes when you make deals with giant slugs.”

The vehement reply was met with a carefree laugh and a cocky grin from her brother. He shrugged off her protests, ruffled her hair and moved past her on his way to the cockpit of the ship still grinning. No doubt fantasizing about the wealth that they were supposedly about to acquire. She glared at his back in frustration before turning to their longtime partner, Rhy.

“What was the deal? And why the hell didn’t you stop him?”

“Relax darling. It’s nothing that we haven’t pulled off a thousand times before. Muuta wants a ship, we’re gonna provide. We even have the slave circuit codes and a guarantee that none of the crew will be aboard. Easy.”

“What happens if we don’t pull it off? How much will we owe him?”

In response to her questions Rhy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. Cupping her chin in his hand he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.

“You’re stressing over it way too much darling. We won’t have to give the ‘giant slug’ a thing. Promise.”

***

The memory of Rhy’s gentle kiss stood in stark contrast to Muuta’s tongue bath. Her hair stood on end and she couldn’t repress a disgusted shudder. She would have loved to grab the bowl that contained the Hutt’s snacks and smacked him in the face with it. As it was she gritted her teeth together and thanked the force she hadn’t eaten anything that morning.

"Delicious. Go on, taste her, Narta."

Then again maybe that didn’t matter. She swallowed and with an effort forced back her gag reflex. It wouldn't make a good impression if she vomited all over Muuta's good 'friend.'

[Ser Codael]

A twinge of compassion twisted through Ser as she watched this woman being placed up. It was very obvious that she was not used to this sort of treatment. Ser felt sorry for her. This was not something that she would have cursed apon anyone except for the Hutts themselves.

Narta held his hand out and motioned for her to be brought forward. One of his guards walks forward and drags her towards the hutt, his gun pointed at her. The hutt grabs the woman's wrist and turns her around forcefully, looking her over. He takes a deep sniff of her then, at the prompting of Muuta, licks her from her chest up to her ear.

"Hm. Indeed, this woman seems to be of around equal worth."

He pushes the woman back towards the guard with a laugh. His slave girl, Ser, flinches slightly, knowing that feeling.

"We shall house the two in the betting cages. The race is tomorrow night. They can get to know each other in the mean time. Guards, take Ser and this woman away."

He waves his hand and four guards, two for each, move forward to take the two women. Ser does not struggle, for she knows the consequences for struggling against it.

"I shall set up quarters for you and your men, Muuta. Will your old suite suffice? Some new modifications have been made to it to modernize it. I hope it is to your liking."

[Muuta The Hutt]

Perversion and a sick feeling of home surround the enigmatic Hutt, narrowing his wide, toad-like eyes as he watches the epic lick Narta gifts the impotent young woman. It's unusual for Bella to be caged by Muuta unless he threw some type of fit, but now that she had become a betting item, he saw a need to secure his investment.

"You and I have very similar tastes, my old friend, I don't have a doubt that I'll enjoy the accomodations."

Dinner has arrived as a huge womp rat releases steam and sticks its tongue out, stuffed by various ingredients after the top is removed right in the middle of the table. Muuta giddily flaps his little arms as he laughs in sheer joy.

"Womp rat, my favorite! You have outdone yourself, Narta!"

The thugs and servants wave away the terrible smell, prudently walking away from the table before they are kindly offered a plate.

[Bella D'lyes]

If someone had asked her what she wanted most at that moment Bella would have been hard pressed to decide between a bath or her freedom. She’d even go for a bucket of water and a little soap, not so much to ask really. But judging by the smell and look of the place she doubted if anyone even knew what soap was. She settled for stripping off her jacket that was now covered in Hutt saliva and using any dry spots she could find to scrub at her neck and her face in an attempt to clean herself up a bit. Ignoring the catcalls of the guards that invited her to take off more than just the jacket she kicked the now useless garment into the corner furthest away from her and flopped ungracefully to the floor. Letting out a sigh of disgust at her current situation she glanced towards the other occupant of the cage before looking quickly away.

The other women seemed to take everything in stride but it wasn’t too long before Bella was on her feet again and pacing the width of the cage. She’d never been particularly good at sitting still and waiting for things to happen and being trapped in a cage to boot made the feeling of restlessness even worse. She took a deep breath and counted to ten while letting it out slowly. The urge to scream and rattle the bars demanding to be let out receded to a managble level. After all she wouldn’t want to give the guards the satisfaction of seeing her lose control. Carefully continuing to ignore the other women Bella brainstormed for ways to distract herself that didn’t include any interaction with the dancer. Her eyes swept the room and came to settle on the men that had dragged none to gently to the cell. She really shouldn’t do it...

One of the guards, she nicknamed him Lout to distinguish him from his fellows, made eye contact with her and she smiled seductively at him. He looked startled at first then a slow grin spread across his face and he got to his feet as his friends caught on to what was happening and began to laugh and cheer him on. She continued to smile flirtatiously as he swaggered towards her.

“You know dearie, you’re gonna luck out one of these day.”

“Yeah? And whys that? You gonna start being more… friendly?”

“Nah, I’m not the one for you. But y’know at some point in your life you’re gonna meet the perfect women, and y’know how they say opposites attract? I bet I can predict exactly what she’s gonna be like; beautiful, intelligent, cultured…see? You’re gonna be a really lucky guy.”

She watched the various expressions that crossed his face with amusement, puzzlement at first, then hopeful and extremely pleased with himself.

“You think so?”

“Uh huh.”

Snickers broke out among his friends behind him and he glanced back at them frowning not understanding what was so funny.

“She’s right Neff! Opposites do attract, man I’m so envious,” one of his fellow guards called out, she named that one Nimrod.

Confusion then understanding flashed in Lout’s (Whose actual name was apparently Neff. She preferred Lout, much more appropriate.) face and he rounded on Bella.

“Bitch!”

His eyes narrowed in anger and he made a grab for her through the bars. Bella hastily backed up against the far side of the cage smirking at him.

“Not too bright are we sweetheart?”

Lout went for the cages door obviously intending to get inside but his fellow guards quickly stood up and pulled him away from the cage trying to calm him down. He yelled another insult back at Bella who responded in kind. The language, taste and quality of the insults traded back and forth went downhill from there, until the guard she’d nicknamed Nimrod threatened to gag her if she didn’t shut up. Bella shrugged and sat down on the floor again a satasified smirk on her face which slowly vanished as she realized there was still a long way to go until the races the next day.