Chapter 1 – Crap Job
Location: Coruscant, the Imperial City, Level 1256, in the sewer system
Time: 4 Years Before the Battle of Yavin
Goddamn dianogas, Dex thought as he clung for dear life to the ledge, for it was the only thing keeping him from plunging face first into the putrid sewer water. Even his thick Givin exoskeleton, which was resistant even to the vacuum of space, wasn't enough to repel the filth that resided in the sewers of Coruscant, though it somewhat helped with the smell.
Shit, piss and puke from countless creatures was bad enough, but this was the underworld, the sewer sludge down here undoubtedly contained many of the flesh eating parasites and organ rotting diseases that plagued many of the inhabitants. This place was certainly ground zero for any kind of bacterial life that thrived in the galaxy. That's why they didn't typically hire humans for this type of job, their weak stomachs typically scared off even the bravest of their kind. That, and there weren't so many humans unfortunate enough to be stuck on the lower levels of the Imperial City.
Dex was now in the home stretch of his shift. It brought him little relief, however, knowing that tomorrow the process would start all over again. It wasn't all bad though, there was no need for a bathroom break, considering where he was standing, every moment was a bathroom break. Two, not very many marauders were brave enough to attack workers in the sewers, knowing what was lurking in the sewage. Finally, it was one of the slightly better paying jobs in this section of Level 1256, but only because of those damn one-eyed beasts.
Speaking of which...
The oh-so-familiar groan pierced through the sound of flowing sewage. Very organic, alive, and terrifying, impossible to misidentify. It sounded hungry for live prey. Shimmying along the ledge and activating his headlamp, Dex was able to spot the creature's horrid red eye before it quickly darted under the liquid filth, out of view. This one was somewhat faster than the rest, and it always made Dex nervous, never knowing for sure whether this beast would be his final encounter.
A long brown tentacle shot out from the water and snaked its way around Dex's leg.
"Dude, no!" Dex screamed as he fired his blaster at the tentacle.
His company issue DL-44 was more than enough to take out even the most determined dianoga, at least so far. After two shots made their mark, the beast loosened its grip and shrieked in pain as it retreated back under the sludge.
"Great..." Dex grimaced out loud as he looked down at the disgusting fecal trail left on his leg.
Even if his job hadn't depended on exterminating these filthy beasts, there was no way he was going to let this one live, not after it dared to make physical contact with him. Thumbing the switch up on his DL-44, raising the output to its maximum, he scanned the area, ready for the kill.
"You are just too damn nasty to live. You're really gonna get it now, you freak bitch." Dex said as he got an idea.
In his bag, Dex typically carried with him several large bricks to use as distractions for the dianogas. He imagined it was quite difficult for them to see under the murky grime, that's why they would poke that big eye of theirs onto the surface. With his plan in hand, and a grin as wide as a Givin could manage, he tossed the brick into the water a few feet ahead. In an instant, the dianoga emerged almost completely, descending on the area the brick had splashed into. The cephalopod's horrible thrashing and gaping toothy maw, along with its monstrous screams, were enough to send shivers down Dex's spine, but it didn't stop him from repeatedly squeezing the trigger of his blaster, blowing apart the foolish dianoga. It cried out in agony as its body collapsed onto its back and floated downstream, dead.
"YEAH! Take the brown river rapids all the way to Hell, you bastard!" Dex shouted with a laugh. It was nice to be reminded that he was smarter than a mollusk.
Feeling cool, Dex attempted to spin his blaster pistol around his finger, but in the moment forgot he hadn't practiced the move in a while, nearly dropping the gun into the muck below. Catching it mid-air, he avoided giving himself a heart attack and continued through the sewer. By this point, after about a year of doing this routine, he didn't even need the map he'd been given. The maze-like layout of the sewer system was etched into his memory like a tattoo. That was the last of the four dianogas he'd been tasked with exterminating today, so he made his way to the closest exit to his job.
After a brief walk, the sounds of the hustle and bustle became more clear as the grating above came into view. It wouldn't exactly be fresh air up there, but far better than the swill that filled the air in these tunnels. His boots thudding on the metal floor of the tunnel echoed as he reached the ladder and began to climb up, only to find himself unable to go further as he looked down and saw a massive tentacle wrapped around his waist. Dex gasped in horror as he was pulled away from the ladder and into the slush below.
Managing to keep his torso and arms above water wasn't easy, but it wasn't just from the disgusting factor, it was also to ensure this dianoga wouldn't have the upper hand. Dex fumbled around frantically for his blaster, a struggle made even more difficult when more tentacles began to ensnare him. He could feel the beast's teeth begin to gnaw at his leg, thankfully not breaching the thick padding he'd been provided with. Still, not a pleasant feeling.
Gnarly.
Wrestling with a dianoga was certainly not on Dex's to-do list for the day, and neither was becoming this thing's next meal. Finally grasping his blaster and pulling it from its holster, he stuck the barrel into the monster's mouth and fired several shots, taking the fight out of the beast and sending it into its death throes. Smacking the creature in its eye to loosen its grip on him, he channeled his primal instincts without even realizing it, and was able to put the beast down for good. Tearing the tentacles from his throat and waist, he suddenly remembered what he was standing in, his eye twitching with disgust as he slowly backed up towards the ledge. If this didn't make him an outstanding employee, he didn't know what would.
This dianoga hadn't been reported yet, but it was fully grown, which meant it either traveled from another part of the sewers or was just extremely elusive. His guess was the latter, considering how it managed to sneak up on him. Trying not to look at how dirty he was, he climbed the ancient, cold steel ladder and unlocked the grate above with his key.
Perhaps it was due to his near-death experience, but it felt great to be back on the surface, despite not being much better than the sewers. This was Farrel Street, it ran for about a mile or so and had steady foot traffic, with many businesses on both sides of the street. There wasn't much natural light this deep in Coruscant, several artificial lights from the upside down skyscrapers above provided minimal light, along with the neon signs of the businesses and small fires kept aflame by the slum dwellers.
These streets in the undercity of Coruscant were all Dex knew. He'd been here his whole life, never even seen his species' original planet, Yag'Dhul. Hell, he didn't even know what the surface of his own home planet looked like. It wasn't a lack of motivation, or nostalgia, it was because of what he was, an alien, an undesirable. The surface and upper levels of the city were confined strictly to humans, with very, very few exceptions, as to not contaminate the Empire's grand capital with diversity. The have-nots of this society were segregated to the dark underworld below the grand ecumenopolis, or 'world city', as Coruscant was a planet completely covered in one giant city. Dex often daydreamed about what the surface must look like, but knew the chances of actually seeing it for himself were quite slim. He'd gotten used to being an alien on his own home planet.
With his pants still soaked in sewage, Dex made his way down to the office, Capital City Extermination, a moderately successful chain that had locations all over the Imperial City, even a handful of spots on the surface. He'd tried dozens of times to be transferred to one of the company's surface locations, but Imperial red tape got in the way every time. He knew he would have to get used to being disappointed.
The plain neon sign illuminated the Aurebesh logo of Capital City Extermination, with two vagrants sitting in the adjacent alley, looking at Dex cautiously. One of them attempted to cover up a horrible cough, to no avail, wheezing and producing blood that dripped from their mouth. Dex pitied them, but there was nothing he could do for them, especially considering he was already covered with enough germs for one day. Unfortunately, this was a common sight here in the Underworld.
Entering the office and unhooking his blaster holster from his belt, he made his way to the front counter, which was manned by Elsie, one of the humans unlucky enough to be stuck on this level of Coruscant. Dex was unsure if she was to be considered beautiful by human standards, he knew nothing of such things, but she was pretty good at her job, responsible for dealing directly with clients and sending the exterminators to the places where the dianoga sightings occurred.
Elsie looked at Dex from head to toe, it probably wasn't just the sight that gave away what Dex had been through.
"Went for a swim, Dex?" she said as she tried to avoid breathing through her nose.
"Oh yeah, it's good for building the immune system." Dex said as he placed the company blaster on the desk, "I'd love to share that health advice with you, come here, let's share in the wealth." he said as he opened up his arms for a hug.
"You stay away from me with your nasty self!" Elsie said with a laugh, "You at least got them all, right?"
"Yeah, plus an extra one on the house. Don't say I don't ever do anything for you guys." Dex grimaced as he made his way into the employee break room.
Thankfully, it was the company issued pants and boots that were tarnished in the filth, not his own clothes. Nonetheless, he doubted it would take anything less than a thousand year shower to rid himself of all the germs that had made Dex their home. For once, he was actually glad to be an alien with a hardened, vacuum resistant exoskeleton. As he retrieved his personal clothes from his locker and changed out of the putrid company clothes, he could hear a commotion going on outside.
After hastening the changing process, he rushed out of the building and back into the streets. Now he could clearly hear what it was. A female Mon Calamari was screaming at the top of her lungs as intruders sprinted out of her residence and rushed through an alleyway, carrying large bags filled to the brim with something that made a metallic clinking sound. Almost as soon as the ruckus began, the hooligans were out of sight.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" Dex asked.
"Those hooligans crashed through my front door and ran right past me!" she called back, "I think they just robbed some place!"
"Hey you're lucky that's all they did!" Dex said as he headed down the street in the opposite direction.
In a lawless environment like this, staying alive was the most one could hope for. The Empire didn't bother enforcing any of its laws or offering any protection this deep into Coruscant. It was all but abandoned by the Imperial government, save for the individuals who were unfortunate enough to garner their attention. When the authorities did show their faces down here, they meant business. Unfortunately, the thieves were almost certainly going to get away with what they'd done.
As Dex traced the oh-so-familiar cracks in the worn path of Farrel Street on the way to his home, he could hear some more commotion. As he got closer to another alley, he looked down, the light from an open doorway illuminating a scene. Three Stormtroopers, all armored up head to toe in those iconic white suits of theirs, and an almost too well dressed Imperial Officer, detaining two aliens and one human. The three captives had their hands behind their backs, facing the wall, as one of the Stormtroopers breached a closed door and entered quickly, with one of the other troops behind him.
"GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!" one of the Stormtroopers screamed.
"DON'T REACH!" another Stormtrooper shouted.
"GET ON YOUR GODDAMN KNEES!" the first Stormtrooper shouted.
The officer and the third Stormtrooper, who remained outside to guard the prisoners, both stared blankly at Dex.
"Move along, ghoul." the officer said without breaking his soulless eye contact.
Whatever...
Dex continued walking, glad the Imps didn't arrest him on the spot for obstruction or some shit. He'd gotten used to the 'ghoul', 'freak' and 'ghost' insults by this point in his life.
Someone in one of the apartment complexes was playing some very nice easy listening music through an open window, it was the little things that one had to appreciate if they expected to make it down here. From a certain point of view, the upside down skyscrapers above were quite a sight, at least they were until you saw them every single day and had next to no chance of ever visiting them up close.
Finally, Dex arrived at his apartment. Well, that is if you can call an old cubicle in a derelict office building an apartment. The building had been abandoned sometime right after the Clone Wars, and was where Dex and his parents lived. It was nice because it was off the ground level, so it wasn't quite as dirty, and one could get at least a modicum of privacy. Though sometimes the other vagrants were known to be selfish, and would attempt to take the living spaces of others. Dex had fought for his space several times in the past, and for the most part, the memory of these fights kept the others from trying to take it from him again.
Entering the cold and dark office building, boots treading over the torn fabric of the old carpet, Dex walked past the collapsed staircase and over to the one that was still in working order. Every croak and groan in the staircase made him worry that today was going to be the day that it finally gave way, but that was not the case today. Stepping into the second floor office space, which was dimly lit by some fires contained in the shells of old droids, kept aflame by the loose firing mechanisms of broken blasters, Dex made his way past his alien neighbors and sat down in his cubicle, which was furnished only with three walls, quite a luxury suite.
Laying down on his back, Dex pulled his holopad out of his pocket and turned it on. It was the only kind of entertainment he had, and with no access to a library or any kind of electronic shops. There wasn't much on the device, and half the time he had to slap the damn thing around just to get it to work properly. To be honest, he was surprised it was still functional in the fifteen years he owned it. Had it been fifteen years? He didn't even know for sure how old he was, days and weeks just kind of blurred together.
He'd removed the back panel years ago, exposing the wiring and circuit board beneath. Although he hadn't received any formal education, his father had taught him what all Givin should know, computers. They'd practiced on anything they could find, and to Dex, this holopad was a smaller scale version of the broken, busted up ATM machines he and his dad has messed around with all those years ago. Soon, the device was up and running again.
The holopad had an old dejarik, or holochess, game built into it, with the option to have programmable opponents to increase replayability. Dex selected 'Dad', for his father had designed his own dejarik AI and put it into the game, using his own strategies and techniques, a personal touch so that even after death, he could still spend some quality time with his son. It always made Dex tear up a little bit, made him think back on his childhood, because although it was rough, at least he had someone to share it with.
That thought never really left him.