Normal Town (open)

[Sanis Prent]

(Coruscant passed by in a blush of neon, set against the burgundy of late twilight...like candlelight lost in merlot. It was a pretty sight, until you realized that not everything that glittered was made of gold, and usually, you trod on dead mens' bones to get to it anyway. It had been the object of my affections in earlier years. I was an outer rim con, trying to make the game at ground zero. The problem wasn't dodging bullets to get to the top. Thats just reflexes. Its dodging Faust's contracts, and pens that write in dark red ink that end up getting to you. It got to me. I was a big shot now, by anybody's criteria in the galaxy. I was an old hand in the Hutt spice trade, had a share of interest in the Sector Rangers, and was making more than ends meet on a desolate little rock called Kessel...but I was now finding out that burning the candle at both ends wasn't going to work. Everything that quickened my rise to fame was hell-bent on its payment. The so-called pound of flesh, give or take. Sasseeri Reeouurra had ensured that I'd get all I needed, so long as I was always on a leash. Hers. It all sounded good to a two-timing swindler whos rap sheet was thin and for the most part, petty. In a blink of an eye...my suits were custom made, my meals didn't come out of cans, and I wasn't worrying about scrounging enough money to keep on the run. I was a contender, but nothing in this life is free. She'd made it pretty clear that all I had to do in exchange for all this was give her the controls. For all my fancy trappings, you can't tame the beast. So for the past two years, I'd worked at having my cake, and eating it too...but it was slowly beginning to unravel. For my sake, and a few others, I was now on borrowed time, trying to find the last life raft off this sinking ship.

Yoghurt's Bar and Grill shone in gaudy yellows and blues, flashing at an epileptic's pace. I decelerated my speeder, parallelling it into an adjacent lane, before hopping out. As I climbed out of the craft, a thought hit me...like a cold shock of clarity:

...where was it written that I had to take all this frelling dren lying down?

After all, I'm Sanis Prent, and not the kind of guy you can keep down, no matter how hard you try.)

[Karl Emmerich]

--Oh, how I love this town-- Karl thought as he rocketed through the airbore traffic, narrowly dodging windsheilds at least twice an hour. Coruscant was both a danger, and a thrill to those who chose the jetpack; but that night it was the latter to Karl Emmerich who wove like a shuttle through the loom of speeders and flying 'droids in his blue and white flight suit.

Sure, he had been to Coruscant before, but not in the past few years, and never to stay. But he'd struck a deal with the Jedi for some free room abd board if he'd pay attention to their classes, so it was the easy life for now. Rolling sideways, the pakker fell into a killdive toward the street, though tucking up and leaning back as he put his pack to full blast to slow his descent to an easy foot landing.

The jetpack shut off with a whining spindown of its generators, and Karl stretched his back before cricking his neck and pulling down his flight goggles. While running a gloved hand through his hair, he looked to his side and froze. There, stepping out of a speeder, was a face he had seen before. Letting his hand drop to his side, Karl took a step toward him and asked, "Mr. Prent? Yeah, you're Sanis Prent, aren't you?"

[Sanis Prent]

(I paused, lighting up a stim, as the winds of Coruscant's artificial canyons churned on by, catching wisps of smoke for the ride. Almost immediately after getting out, I had company. It made me wonder if I was finally making it big, and if I was, was it something I really wanted. I turned to the man, slipping my shades off as I looked at him.)

Thats the rumor.

[Karl Emmerich]

"I thought so," Karl nodded, looking friendly enough. "You know you still have the fastest run time for the Hutts on a job that large? Heh, a few have come close, but you've still got the record, Mr. Prent."

[Sanis Prent]

(The comment brought a raised eyebrow from me. I wasn't secretive, but a record like that isn't advertised to all. If he knew that, then...)

You done some work in the Outer Rim lanes, I take it?

(Just a venture, but probably well-placed)