(Star Wars d6) #68 - The Underbelly of Naboo

The Crew of the Pretio in This Week's Episode 

Ne'vets Aharo - An exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise, majority owner in the Pretio, with no combat skills whatsoever.
Duk'k - Sipsk'ud Bounty Hunter, recently rescued by the crew. His warning shots are dead center mass kill shots.

"Sid" - A peculiar woman with some piloting prowess, no social skills, and a mysterious past.

Evus - Twi'lek male, former slave, then former associate of Ne'vets.  Recently re-united with the crew on Naboo.

Tarrie Prolek - Human pilot "under contract" to fly the Pretio, and drive the Piscopo. Brother of potential terrorist, rebel Latorna Savvn. His climbing skills are suspect, but his dance moves are above par. Edging a dangerous lifestyle of drugs, booze, and loose women, he's now missing after a raging gun battle on Naboo.

Tarrying in Naboo

After a horrific gunfight that scattered 

The team to the four corners of 

Naboo's capital, the crew members 

Of the Pretio have regrouped and 

Have one final mission before leaving

Naboo for good: Finding their pilot,

Tarrie Prolek.

All searches and inquiries had been

In vain thus far, and all seemed lost,

If not for a strange transmission, and 

The help of a struggling artist....

Numerous trips to bars and clubs in search of their missing crew, Tarrie, had produced no lines and only space in their pockets where credits were once stored, but a bored Evus working the coms garnered a mysterious voice that an unlikely party knew their identity.  

"That Transdosian's voice. I know that person.  Why is your friend there???"

Evus and the crew looked up from their seats to the Rodian wearing a blonde wig, dancing on stage.

What type of a club did you take me to?

"Again, your friend is missing?"

Duk'k was the first to come to his senses, "Why yes, he is.  Have you seen him?"

"Have you seen this," she asked, then turned around, sashaying what her Rodian Mama gave her.

Duk'k eyes were transfixed, but replied matter-of-factly, "Why yes, I have, but here are some credits for your university education," and promptly flicked some more credits on to the stage.

The dancer suggestively shrugged, "Well, obviously, that fellow was Transdosian."

"I gathered that, you know exactly which one."

The dancer moved over to a railing and a holographic projector produced two images of her, one on each side, following her movements.,

"Yes, a real scumbag named Tray'essek.  He's not bad news, he's horrible news."

Duk'k looked puzzled, "I'm not sure I what that distinction is, but do you know where to find this Transdosian?"

The dancer shot a look to a door along the side of the dance floor, and flickered her tongue like a party favor, "I'm sure I can lead you there, but first we need to check out the 'map room' for at least a half hour."

Forty minutes later, the crew huddled around the entrance where the dancers would leave for the day.  The dancer they had been talking too emerged, more than fully clothed.  Instead of tassels and sheer clothing, she had traded that for light body armor, and kept the wig. 

She turned to Duk'k and gave a half-assed salute.  "Reporting for duty."  

Duk'k has relieved, but not amused.  "Great, what do we get to call you."  

She stepped to the Sipsk'ud, "My real name is Sinoka....," then lightly caressed the underside of his bill with a lone finger, "but you can call me Sin...let's go."

Sinoka, in civilian garb

Sinoka led them to different neighborhood in Naboo's capitals.  She was pointing out all the obvious signs and markers for Black Sun, Pyke, and other territories.

She had Sid park the Piscopo and started working back alleys.  Even as the shiny towers of Naboo had been tarnished over the years, this area was equal to the worst spots on Correlia.  Soon, some realized that a few flights of steps had led them to a sub-level to the city, perhaps two sub-levels below.   Dozens of small alien races or creatures scampered between heavily damaged cargo containers.  

Two Transdosians could be spotted down the street.   Sinoka told the group to stay put and walked over to speak with them.  The aliens did not appeared amused, but Sinoka took two steps back and waved them to come over. 

"These two fellas work with Tray'essek, they'll lead you him. I gotta find my way out of here. Good luck."

The crew agreed, and the Transdosians led them down the street.  The scene of ripped apart containers and stripped speeders evolved back to large quantities of capital ship shipping containers, repurposed as housing, offices, shops, and even sometimes, warehouses.  The scattered markings and signs went from multiple languages to all Transdosian, which no one could read.

After a byzantine maze of containers and burning barrels, the duo led them to a double-wide container welded together. Inside was some form of an office, with five Transdosians.  One, was standing behind a table, with a large pile of small-denomination Imperial credits sitting atop it, along with a large silver metallic bowl filled with what appeared to be candy. 

"Really, these are the onesss?" the one behind table asked the pair.

"Yesssss bosssss.  They're lookingggg... for Prolek."

"Prolek's dead."

The crew looked at him sternly. 

"I have his com, you know that, but we turned his body into the Imperials.  Easiest 10,000 credits I've ever made."

Duk'k didn't buy any of it. "Where'd you find the body?"

"He literally fell on top of me. Outside the Spyder"

"There's no way that's possible."

"Not from the roof, you sssssilly being.  Naboo is riddled with thessssse underground levelsssss.  I was under the Ssssspyder at the time."

"Okay, where'd you turn in the body."

"The Imperial Customsssss House beside the Old Bridge.  You probably passsssed right by it when you drove into the city from the starport, I suppose.  You couldn't miss it."

"Don't worry about our route, who did you speak to?"

"The guyssss behind the counter, they verified and paid out."

Duk'k continued pressed on with questions, and Tray'essek gave vague but satisfactory answers.  Duk'k looked over to Ne'vets and gave a shrug.  Ne'vets was satisfied as well.

"I believe we got the answers we came for, and we'll be happy to leave you be."

"I'm afraid I can't doo that. You know who paysssss even better than the Imperialsssss?"  Tray'essek asked, raising his blaster from his side.  His compatriots followed suit.

"You know who has trouble collecting when they're a corpse," Duk'k retorted, his hands moving towards his pistols. 

Ne'vets kept the Transdosian talking, "And what's the current bounty on us?"

"I don't care what the Imperial bountiesssss are, Black Sssssun alone will make us made as we can ever get..  You can go in alive, too, but we only need one of ussssss to be alive to collect."

"In your dreams." Duk'k snorted.

Ne'vets was a bit more diplomatic, "Now, friend, it's in your best interest to let us go  We've destroyed a bank, we've destroyed a gambling hall, this crate is far easier.  You understand that right?"

Tray-essek did not seem to flinch, and with everyone else eyeing each other up and down, Ne'vets seized the moment, pulled out the blaster and fired at the Transdosian.

<Cue End Credits>

Next: #69 - The Killbox