"Solok, Shipment 5; Karn, Shipment 14, Yates, Shipment 7; Mabrin, Shipment 9."
A large holo-screen, spanning an entire wall flashed up the Smugglers names, with their elected Shipment numbered beside it. A Besalisk announced the numbers to the crowded hall in his deep, booming voice; which easily rose above the loud chatter.
Keedra was eyeing the Smugglers as they prepared to collect their goods, their cocky persona both amused and infuriated her. They looked down at people such as her, believing their role in the spice business was far superior. It was true that the Smugglers possessed freedom and got paid for their services, but Keedra believed that the strength, both mental and physical, of the slaves far surpassed that of the arrogant spice couriers.
Her train of thought was abruptly broken when the Wookie standing before her turned and disappeared through the exit. She stepped towards the desk, her faithful R3 astromech droid following slowly behind. The female Pyke behind the desk released a series of strange clicking noises, it seemed like an unnatural noise but was the common speech for the Pyke. Keedra stood before the magenta eyed Pyke who rose her head to stare the young slave down.
"Mine code?" the question was in Basic and the Pyke's dull tone was bored yet commanding.
"K-48."
"Spice barrel number?"
"14 barrels of Glitterstim."
"You understand that due to Glitterstim being photoactive it cannot be exposed to light at any stage before consumption?"
"Of course." It was for this reason that the miners of the Kessel Spice mines were forced to labour in the pitch-black below the planets surface.
"Are the containers packaged?"
Keedra looked at the Pyke accusingly, if she had confirmed her knowledge of Glitterstim being photoactive then why would the spice not be packaged in sealed receptecles?
"Of course. We are well versed in the art of Glitterstim preparation." She said through gritted teeth.
It was the same questions everytime she delivered a shipment, she was not a novice; she had grown up on this blasted planet. She had always been a slave of the Spice mines of Kessel and yet they decided to question her knowledge everytime.
The Pyke seemed unphased by her annoyance.
"Identification number?"
The young slaves hand reached up and smoothed the skin at the back of her neck. Tattooed at her hairline was a series of numbers. It almost always went unseen, her brown hair successfully covering it, even with her hair up the small numbers were barely noticeable and for that she was thankful.
"847492."
"Section of the K-48 mining region?"
"Rubindii. Droid repairs and Spice Transportation."
"Landing Strip?"
"Landing strip 5, Bay 9."
"Yours is shipment 18, you will receive assistance when unloading." And with a wave of her green tinted hand the conversation was ended.
Upon entering the landing bay she was approached by a group of Wookies, four strong. They made their way to her ship and began the tiring process of unloading the large spice barrels. The barrels were heavy and difficult to carry across the slightly uneven ground of the docking bay. After piling the barrels into three separate land speeders they made their way to the Smugglers landing bay, where they would begin loading their ships.
The trip was short and as Keedra clambered off the speeder she rubbed the side of her torso in pain, glaring hatefully at the slavers who had repeatedly shocked her whilst they were unloading. Her hand ached to grab her serraknife that was resting at her hip, but knowing the consequences of such an action prevented her from carrying it out.
She never quite understood why the slavers allowed them to carry the ancient weapon, granted it came in handy during everyday work, but they seemed to have such a fear that their slaves would revolt against them and yet they provide them with a weapon. Their masters weapons far surpassed theirs in power, but considering previous incidents that had occurred; resulting in injured and livid slave masters, she was surprised they were still allowed to posses the long bladed weapon. In fact the residents of the Rubindii region had become quite proficient in wielding the weapon, and knife-throwing competitions had become a favourite pastime, although they had found that shorter blades made this sport far easier.
"Shipment 18?" The question had come from a green skinned Arcona male, by the name of Dazon. His posture and confident tone informed the party of five slaves that he was a Smuggler and soon he, like the masses of other Smugglers surrounding them, would be taking on the Kessel Run with their spice aboard his retched freighter. With a large sum of money awaiting him at his destination Keedra assumed that he the right to be arrogant, but not one to tolerate Smugglers behaviour she ignored him completely and instead began hauling the barrels aboard his ship, the Wookies in tow.
Barren spices mines litter the North of the planet, hidden among the mazes of canyons. The unearthly screams and shrieks that escape their dark clutches were not uncommon and instead seemed to be the planets quotidian sound. The wasteland that Keedra called home was predominantly made up of steep, craggy canyon cliffs and large rock pillars. Mines went deep into the ground, their entrances were vast, gaping holes in the arid landscape. Originally the mines were home only to the Energy Spiders but overtime the development of the Spice Trade had lead them to also be the home of many hundreds of miners. The slave population of the planet was mainly Human and Wookie but there were plenty other species mixed in with them.
Surrounding the mines entrances were communities, all of whom assisted in the Spice extraction. The Rubindii region of the K-48 mine was home to Keedra who, like the other inhabitants, took part in Droid repairs and Spice transportation.
Almost the entirety of the North of Kessel was made up of mining communities, but several space ports and towns could also be found between the canyon walls. The largest of the ports was Mas Nespa a city rife with Smugglers, Slavers, Bounty Hunters and Criminals. Keedra found the city to be of little bother, she did not fear the folk that inhabited and visited the city, and was more than capable of handling herself in a brawl. It was here that she spent much time after loading the ships with spice. After years of practice she had become an excellent bargainer, her primary purchases were Droid and ship parts since the scrap yards that piled up behind Rubindii did not always provide the necessary parts.
The heat was almost unbearable and to those visiting the planet the vast temperature changes were a strange phenomenon. The days were filled with an intense heat from the burning sun and the nights were frigid. Keedra's clothing accommodated the heat being a tunic that reached her upper thighs, the sleeves were cut off at the shoulders; the fabric had been roughly ripped away. Trousers tucked into her black leather boots, they were worn and scuffed. The clothing of the slaves of Kessel was generally made up of whatever materials they could purchase, steal or find; the colours varying shades of beige and grey. A single metal band was wrapped around her right bicep, it was a common sight on all Kessel slaves; not only did it mean they could easily be identified by passers-by, the band held a tracking device allowing the Pyke Syndicate to keep tabs on their slaves.
After scanning through the dense market place and tearing apart several sections of fallen ships, Keedra made her way through the city beneath the cloth that was spread across the streets from building to building. She met up with other Rubindii residents and they all clambered into their respective ships. The canyons were difficult and dangerous to navigate, the pilots of the ships had to be skilled and after years of evasive manoeuvres and near death experiences they had all become accomplished star pilots.
As a convoy they weaved their waythrough the maze of canyons, the K-48 mine soon coming into sight.
The landing bay at the mine was constantly patrolled, preventing any slaves from escaping. After being given the once over the pilots were finally allowed to enter the mining region. They all made a beeline for the mess hall, quietly excepting the small portions of food they had been offered. Keedra made her way to a table occupied by only two others; a male Wookie and a human female. Sitting beside the Wookie she tore into the bread and swallowed it greedily; the meat was, as always, chewy with a strange after taste; it was a pitiful meal.
"Find anything useful today Keedra?" Jana asked.
"I got a computer probe and a scomp link. Not sure how well they will work though. I am going to have to climb the scrap mountain tomorrow, we still need an infrared receptor. Although I highly doubt I'll find one."
Jana nodded her head and stared at the table; deep in thought. Jana was a native of the planet Caluula, she was taken from her home at around twenty years old and had been on Kessel for the past thirty odd years. It was Jana that had brought Keedra up, her parents passing away soon after her birth. For nineteen years the woman had cared for her, she was without a doubt Keedra's mother figure. The old Wookie, who they shared the table with; Ciiranta, also played a part in Keedra's upbringing. It had been he that had taught her to pilot and to defend herself; she had adapted the skills he had taught her so as to be better utilize her petite frame and flexibility. The trio protected and looked out for one another. They found themselves, most days, holed up in the droid and ship repair centre, with Keedra often leaving to transport the collected spice to Mas Nespa.
They weaved their way through the 'organised chaos' that was their workshop and lowered themselves into hammocks that were slung haphazardly from the walls. The screeching of the Energy Spiders lulling them into an uneasy sleep, it was at moments like these that Keedra was happy with her position in the Kessel Spice Business. The slaves that tear the spice from the webs of spiders spend months down in the mines, sleeping in the crevices of the rock walls and working long hours without a hint of light. Often when the miners are lowered into the abyss it is the last time they ever see daylight, very few rise from the mines alive. Both the treacherous conditions and the Energy Spiders end the lives of the poor souls. The notorious Spice mines of Kessel claimed many lives and Keedra swore that she would get off this hellish planet eventually.
