Fall of a Hutt Cartel

[Zenas Codrey]

Zenas landed his JM-5K on the outskirts of Mos Gamos and descended the boarding ramp swathed in thick layers of brown and black clothing. It was sweltering, even in the dim light of dusk, but it was the only way to hide his identity. He didn't know who among the city's denizens and visitors might be bounty hunters, or which ones might know his face from Imperial "most wanted" notices. He couldn't afford distractions on this mission.

Darth Acera had once made an enemy of one Urga the Hutt, and then made a corpse of him sometime afterward. Now his brother, Torgo, claimed to have proof that she was dead at the hands of his cartel. The mission was simple; discover what it was that Torgo was holding as his proof, take it from him, and then wipe Torgo's Palace and its retinue from the map of Tattooine's surface. He moved to the ship's outer cargo hold and opened it, removing a light speeder bike. The Togruta started the engine, mounted the bike, and sped off into the darkening night to his target.

[Razadi Syfa]

Hot. So hot.

It was one of those things you had to deal with when on a backwater (hah) desert planet that had nothing of note to add to its' trophy case. And Hutts were certainly no trophy to go bragging about having.

Sitting across from Torgo the Hutt's majordomo, Razadi Syfa made a face. It was a disgusted face that spoke volumes of her opinions on this current deal.

"You ain't got nothin' near what I want, se?"

She leaned back in the hard metal chair she'd been provided.

"We 'ad a deal. Your boss can't get his funds in tight, an' I find m'self suddenly unable t'find the merchandise. Simple as 'at."

[Zenas Codrey]

Zenas found the Hutt's so-called palace easily enough. It was the biggest, roundest building in Mos Gamos, standing out proudly and fearlessly in the city's otherwise blocky landscape. He supposed the Rebellion--no, the Alliance of Free Planets--was still too new and too weak to come and deal with Huttese cartels. The Empire probably didn't care. Strange...in eradicating Torgo's syndicate for Acera's selfish, vengeful purposes, he was doing the galaxy at large a favor. He supposed this was such a thing that sentient beings called "irony".

He stopped his speeder a few paces from the gate and approached the enormous doors. The entire premises was awash in the Dark Side. Why should Zenas be surprised? Such places as this were hotbeds of fear, anger, hate, lust, aggression...all the easy emotions that fed darkness. He tipped his head a bit to the side as he focused his own powers on the building. Something was nagging him, just at the base of his third lekku. Something or someone significant was here. He could feel it, in the way the Dark Side drew at his core. He had barely begun to resume his approach when a camera on a swiveling arm burst out and snarled a rude greeting at him as it tried to resolve his identity.

"My name is Kim Hyaun Tae. I am a mercenary, come to pay respect to great Torgo for the conquest of his hated enemy. I would make an alliance with an organization of such strength for our mutual benefit."

Whatever creature sat at the other end of the security device seemed to find this acceptable; the device withdrew with haste and the door slid open just enough to accommodate him. Torgo was feeling very secure in his position. Zenas began ticking down the minutes until that changed.

[Razadi Syfa]

And still the majordomo fed her the same line; the Hutt was grateful for her efforts, and would be further grateful of her patience.

"Stow it," the albino finally growled out while rising from her seat to stand, "I ain't got time to sit 'ere while you an' Torgo blow smoke up my ass."

The small bantha-hide satchel she'd brought in with her was pulled from the table, and with an incredulous look to the Hutt's main lackey, 'Zadi gave a mocking salute with two fingers.

"Don't botha callin' me, an' I won't botha callin' you."

The majordomo's features shifted from a sort of half-pleading look to one of cold steel, his grey eyes narrowing dangerously. With a barked command a pair of Gamorreans stepped into the small room, their vibro-axes at the ready.

'Zadi turned a disgruntled look to the two guards.

"Outta my way."

It came as no surprise that the two didn't move.

[Zenas Codrey]

Zenas had his own pair of green-skinned thugs to deal with. They stood shoulder to shoulder, hands resting on the pommels of their vibroswords, blocking his way. A scrawny Twi'lek administrator approached from a side room and held up a boxy device with a small screen and plenty of round buttons.

"Weapons check," he explained as he punched the buttons, cursing his mistakes as he prepared the sensor.

Zenas barked a short laugh. "Seriously? You're trying to confiscate my weapons?" he asked incredulously.

"Nah, don't care that you got 'em. Just gotta know what comes in and out, y'know?" One of the Gamorreans grunted something, and the pair fell into fits of wheezing laughter. The Twi'lek sighed irritably and finally pointed the device at Zenas, who spread his arms slightly in mock-affront. "Hrm," mumbled the security chief. "What's that on your hip?"

Zenas drew the lightsaber and activated it. The three grunts gasped, eyes going wide, and the Gamorreans lifted their weapons while the Twi'lek ran for his control room. Zenas threw the lightsaber with a flick of his wrist and watched it thrum through the air in a red disc, beheading the fat guards and striking down the security chief before he could alert anyone. He relished the sound of air escaping the Gamorreans' lungs as he stepped over the bodies, counting the dead for his report to Acera.

"Hana, dul, set..."

[Razadi Syfa]

Her wiry body, though short of stature, was quick. Lean muscles tensed as the pair of vibro-axes turned in each Gammorrean's meaty hands, and her stance shifted imperceptibly.

The Hutt's majordomo said something that she largely ignored, and with one hand going up to make sure the shoulder-strap of her pack remained on her shoulder, 'Zadi twisted her torso ever so slightly.

"If y'ain't gonna let me pass, I can't be 'sponsible fer what happens next."

The majordomo grunted in amusement, and 'Zadi frowned. It was an expression he couldn't see, but her body at least conveyed the unspoken message.

A small blade appeared in her free hand, seemingly from out of nowhere, and like some self-contained hurricane of menace the albino spun on her heel, using her momentum to bring the blade around. Her hand released the handle, and the knife shot through the air to bury itself in the majordomo's neck.

[Zenas Codrey]

Zenas was killing a fast clip, even for him, using his surprises to his advantage to save his strength for the throne room, where he was sure security would be tightest. So far, he'd ruined a barracks and its twenty mercenary occupants, as well as the slaves who had been...pampering them. He'd also taken time out to destroy a series of droid servants who'd been calculating Torgo's wealth and sorting his illegal wares for transport. He was up to thirty-seven beings and roughly fifty droids, and was determined to destroy the warehouse and report the loss as a bonus to Acera.

As 'Zadi lashed out on her would-be captors, Zenas felt the Force pull strongly at his mind. He stopped, looking around suddenly, body swaying as he felt the ghost of something slide by his throat. He'd never experienced such a sensation in his life! But when he focused, tried to find the source of this inexplicable tether, he could not! The ambient energy of the Dark Side drowned the presence and hid it well. With a cry of rage, he turned down a winding staircase, following screams of pain that he hadn't caused. He kicked in the door, crushing the guard who'd been standing at its tiny, slitted window, and stepped into a brig and torture room.

[Razadi Syfa]

In the confusion of her sudden actions, 'Zadi had capitalized quite fabulously. Growing up on Nar Shaddaa, one needed to have a healthy dose of resourcefulness, and that was exactly what she called into play as she slipped past the flailing of the majordomo. Bolted into the back wall was a ventilation vent, and Razadi Syfa knew that her best chance of escape lie in navigating her way through the maze of ductwork. Torgo would no doubt have every guard and mercenary in his palace put on every exit and entrance; in every hall and corridor.

A booted foot came out, kicking in the thin metal grating and reaching out with a quick hand she wrenched it out from the wall, pulling the thin screws that'd held it in place out.

Ducking low, the albino darted into the ventilation duct with just enough room to allow her movement, and with short motions she propelled herself forward and out of sight.

[Zenas Codrey]

His sudden, unwanted presence provoked the torturers to attack him. He sidestepped as one threw a serrated, crescent-shaped knife at him. Zenas sidestepped it smoothly, deliberately holding his lightsaber aside so that the projectile would strike it. The knife melted into viscous fluid, spattering on the outstretched leg of a prisoner behind him. The being howled and jerked, trying to shake off the metal. Zenas spared it the trouble and lifted the molten, glowing liquid with the Force, flinging it into his attacker's eyes. As the man screamed, stumbling through a charge only half-begun, Zenas held his lightsaber out horizontally at throat-level. The torture technician's own weight and momentum severed the head from the body.

"Please, let us out!" begged a prisoner who still had his wits about him. "Free us from this madness!"

"You will be freed," Zenas promised. "Death is the only mercy I can grant you."

Silence chased him back up the stairs, though the pleas for mercy still rang in his ears. The mental noise wasn't enough to cover the draw he felt inside. Still!? He'd hoped to quell the inexplicable pull in his chest by massacring the slaves and prisoners. A waste--he could have used them as allies and saved himself a little trouble. He stalked to his next stop, a room with the door hanging ajar. Inside, he found a set of corpses--ones he hadn't made--and a vent with the cover torn off. So, someone else was making trouble for Torgo today. Fine with Zenas, so long as he got to the Hutt first. He moved on, seeking fresh targets.

[Razadi Syfa]

With a strange sort of ease, 'Zadi scrabbled her way through the maze of ducts. She moved in quick motions that maximized speed and energy output, letting her shunt herself along at a stuttering yet rapid pace.

Every so often she could hear muffled shouting, but it was never very long before the voices quieted.

Light from above punctuated the darkened interior of her crawlways, and the albino let herself slide to a stop. Her fingers moved quickly, snaking through the vent's slits as they sought out the corners and the screws that held the ventplate in place.

Satisfied, she pulled her hands back, and like some boneless house-felinoid she twisted her body within the cramped confines of her current escape route, and with the best leverage she could muster while on her back, kicked upward.

It took three tries before the plate came loose, and with a grunt Razadi shifted her body, moving so that she could wrangle herself up and out.

And out of nowhere she felt rough hands grab each arm and haul her up the rest of the way. Clear out of the ductway and held at least a foot off the ground, 'Zadi found herself staring into a pair of beady, Klatooinian eyes.

She paused in surprise, then smiled wide.

"Hi!"

[Zenas Codrey]

Something skittered in the floor's vents. Zenas ignored it, hiding in a small alcove as a small troop of Klatoonians hustled on with purpose, calling out to each other to hurry up and do something for Torgo. He wasn't sure if they were after a person, item, or both; he hated the way criminals referred to all their goals as "the package". If you want something, call it what it is. If you want someone, call their name. If you want a corpse, call them dead. Too easy.

Killing them now would be a mistake. If this patrol failed to return, it would make the task all the more difficult. He wasn't finished with his slaughter, and it was clear in the instruction that he should make sure that Torgo went out last, knowing full well that his entire base on Tatooine had been ruined to being unsalvageable, and that his criminal empire would fall out of existence or into the hands of his rivals.

"Nothing is more hateful to a Hutt than this," Acera had admonished him when he'd suggested a more direct approach. Well, she was nothing if not thorough. He slid out of his shadowed cover, proceeded quickly across the hallway and stepped through the double doors, igniting his lightsaber as they swung shut behind him.

There, taking late meals, sat scores of Torgo's hired muscle. They looked up at him, dumbfounded, then all stood to their feet and drew their weapons. The mess hall was a forest of blasters, knives, and axes. Zenas smiled and took Shien's stance as his opponents began their assault.

[Razadi Syfa]

Her cheerful greeting was enough to surprise her accidental captors, and Razadi used their moment of uncertain hesitation to lash out with a booted foot, catching one in his gut. His hold loosened, and she wrenched her arm free to come around in a quick slicing motion, the knife-edge of her hand smacking painfully into the other guard's throat.

Within a few short moments she was dropped as both dealt with her rapid-fire attacks, and she used the momentum to gain more of the upper hand. Two more slim knives appeared in her hands as if they materialized from thin air, and her body tensed for only a moment. She knew where to hit them, and as she moved in for the kill, the albino felt as if her motions were guided by an unseen hand. It was a feeling that she was well acquainted with, and embraced it as she had done so many times before.

The two Klatooinians fell to the ground in the throws of death, each with numerous puncture wounds dotting their chests and guts. And over them she stood, her expression just as bright as when they'd hauled her out of the ventilation duct.

A sound caught her ear then, and Razadi angled her head to the open doorway and the faint sounds of blaster fire that echoed forlornly down the hall.

She blinked, then stepped over the body of one of the guards, sheathing the slim blades she held and offering a murmured farewell to dead ears.

"Bye."

[Zenas Codrey]

He'd killed nine in the initial outburst of fire. That was a good sign. The ones with melee weapons had upturned the tables for use as cover quickly enough, and now were crouched behind it waiting for an opening. A thermal grenade sailed over one table and Zenas swiftly put a reflected blaster bolt to it, cooking the thrower and his allies in the back-right quarter of the mess. The sound was deafening; he found his ringing and all other sounds muffled as he stepped a pace into the mess to plan his further assault.

The melee attackers would be an easy match, even with their greater numbers. Their inferior weapons against his lightsaber and expertise made for a curb-stomp battle at best. However, the cover was beginning to be a problem. No matter how many shots he returned, the tables refused to give into the bolts he put to them. It seemed Torgo had planned for just such an occasion. He looked to the ceiling lights and quickly put the next fifteen shots to them, then snapped his lightsaber off and hit the floor. Zenas stretched his senses out as the blasterfire stopped, anticipating the next move.

[Razadi Syfa]

Her rapid pace took her through a maze of corridors, around twists and turns, and even up and down a few flights of stairs.

She only knew the layout of Torgo's 'palace' vaguely, and with little to actually guide her through the Hutt's estate, Razadi gave her best estimations of where any of the exits might possibly be. It was a difficult establishment to parse at the very least, and she found herself becoming more and more frustrated as her search grew into a fruitless dash for freedom.

And in a fit of desperation, she skidded to a halt, screwing her eyes shut as she tried to suss out the correct path to take.

It was a strange sort of mentalism that she performed, rudimentary and so very undisciplined, but it at least was usually successful, and as she stood there, alone in a darkened hallway, the albino seemed to hunch inward into herself in her attempts to primitively divine the way out.

[Zenas Codrey]

Zenas knew the layout of the room within a second of shutting his eyes and focusing his power. He knew the locations of his enemies and what their movements were. He could feel the potential energy in their weapons and muscles, amber indicators of violence soon to be. They formed defensive circles, many reaching for handheld lights. And suddenly, he felt a presence pressuring down into the room, radiating like a sphere against his own controlled senses. He focused up several floors above, his senses sharpening and narrowing on the target. The tether behind his navel seemed to tighten as his Force-born senses found Razadi Syfa as a small, burning fire full of potential energy. She could be inferno, given the correct circumstances. And damn, but the Dark Side wanted its inferno.

He almost didn't realize until too late that the mercenaries were sweeping the room for him. He swiftly withdrew his hand from the edge of a beam of light and crept carefully around them, then, with a swift action, ignited and threw his lightsaber along the line of searching mercenaries. They fell in quick succession, heads rolling away from bodies as Zenas mentally directed it through a long arc towards the galley's far end. He shut his eyes and sensed out his foes in the dark, moving quickly to crush windpipes and break necks as the whirling disc of his weapon drew their attention. He caught the weapon and felled his last foe, a Tusken Raider swinging a bizarre stick at nothing in the crushing blackness, and quickly ran out, ascending the nearest staircase as he sought to meet 'Zadi face to face.