A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away...
Star Wars: True Origins
The year is 201 ABY and the galaxy continues to repeat itself with never ending war. The New Republic has lost its strength and respect from its people and as a result many worlds enter a state of unsettling peace that holds on by a thread. The New Republic struggles to maintain control over its allied systems as planets are dying at alarming rates for an unknown reason, Eco systems fail, some even erupt into destructive clusters of molten rock and others just cease to sustain life. Mass populations are moving their cultures not to planets, but colonies built in space in order to escape what fate may befall their planets if nothing is fixed. These colonies have been accepted into the New Republic as their own system, with little respect and representation as a result of their desertion to their core worlds.
The Jedi Order remains intact despite the large and alarming decrease in Force sensitive families. Even ones with long histories of force sensitivity are losing their connections to the Force, including the famed Skywalker and Solo families. The Jedi believe the Force is the only power great enough to cause the recent planet implosions and removal of force awareness and diligently search for the reason and source. While the Sith, slowly and secretively rise to power. Recovering from their defeat 60 years ago, they have used the panic and uneasiness to secure high ranking positions in both the Republic and the criminal underground.
The Only thing thriving in this state of depression are the crime lords, who seem to be the only law as faith in the New Republic falls with each passing day. Money laundering, slave trade, weapons dealing, smuggling and other such job placements become more and more popular as the rise in cash flow creates a whole new market. Some planets have even resorted to electing these crime officials into office in desperation for order and security as well as economic prosperity. The New Republic, unable to stop their rise to power, struggles in itself as officials argue and debate what needs to be done. In order to save the Republic and attempt to maintain it's rule, the Supreme Chancellor has called an emergency summit in the hopes to stop this depression and ease the building tensions. However attempts at the life's of different officials, some being successful, have made this summit a dangerous place to be, some officials even went as far as to refuse to come, in fear of their own lives. Desperate, the Chancellor has called in the elite mercenary team, known as the Fortune crew, for security measures. Knowing them for their many exploits and unparallelled skill, he hopes it will bring at least some stab ability to this crucial meeting.
Chapter 1: Meet the Crew
Space, so vast and endless. What lies beyond those stars, and what lies beyond that? These were the normal questions a spacer would ask himself as he sets out on his journey into that cold black sea. But for Captain Algrin of the Freedoms Fortune, his questions were more along the lines of where should I go for the next big score. He was not a bounty hunter nor a smuggler, he was a Handyman as he so claimed himself. He and his crew would do odd jobs for their cash, some benign, others criminal. Yes these did include bounty hunting and smuggling but they were not his primary work. Course it didn't matter to him either way. He cared for three things above all others, himself, his ship and money, sometimes the crew were in that three but it was very unlikely.
His ragtag collection of a crew consists of 7 individuals. His first mate, Loki, a force user who claims he was a Sith before Algrin found him in a carbonate freezing cask. He also says he never agreed with the Sith and therefore left, now he works for Algrin. Another member, his weapons expert, a Mandalorian woman by the name of Sefiria, but she prefers Sef. She used to be one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy until an incident caused her a mental breakdown and lead her to be a gladiator in the death match coliseums of Geonosis. She was then picked up by Algrin and became part of the crew. Another member, by the name of Luluco, joined shortly after due to history with Algrin which makes her act almost like a daughter to him, following him everywhere, doing whatever he requests, within reason of course. As far as Algrin knows, she was subject to many harsh experiences and he's the only one she can really trust.
Of course, no crew is complete without its engineer, Algrin has a Jawa for that, who he nicknamed Jim cause he couldn't pronounce his full name. He became part of the crew when Algrin found the poor guy passed out in the desert on Tatooine. After rescuing him, Jim swore to himself that he would repay the debt and until he did so, he would be indentured to Algrin. Now every ship needs a good pilot to fly it, so Algrin picked up a Corellian kid, who had been known for his piloting skills since he was 10. The kid's name was Nick Callaster, and he joined the crew during a smuggling operation that went bad. Nick showed such amazing skill that even with all the places Algrin had been and all the pilots he met, he had never seen anyone come close. So he asked Nick to be his pilot and he joined. Now with all the stuff Algrin does and all the danger he goes into he needed a doctor to patch him up in the unlikely case he actually got wounded. So he hired Dr. Trayvar as the crews doctor, the old Calamarian was a perfect choice as his experience and reputation seemed to proceed him when Algrin met him on Naboo where he ran a small clinic that took anyone in no matter the size of their pocket book. It wasn't his good Samaritan attitude that caught Algrin's attention, it was his ability to fix any wound and cure almost every virus or infection he came across, with nothing but average tools. Algrin offered him a job to work for his crew and Dr. Trayvar joined after appointing his assistant as his successor to watch over the clinic while he was away. As soon as he accepted, Algrin also gave him a nickname, Gills, for his Calamarian background. He wasn't being racist he just didn't want to address him as Dr. Trayvar every time. And now we move onto the final addition to the crew. Chloe Nora, a true Jedi through and through. Why she joined is still a mystery to Algrin, but her abilities in the force and saber skills are on par with Loki and she provides a good insight into situations and sometimes serves as the crew's conscious so to speak.
That consists of the crew, but no crew is a crew without its captain. This crew follows Captain Algrin. He is a Zeltron that has done it all, from assassinations to smuggling runs. Its rumored he was a former Imperial Agent that worked closely with some of the top brass within their military but no one knows for sure. He has everything a captain could need, intuition, guts, intelligence, and above all, charm. All of these have helped shape him and his crew into the one of most hired odd job crews around. His ways of doing business are also responsible for this, as well for the rules he keeps. Rule 1: Never ask why, Rule 2: Never betray a current contract, this makes you more trustworthy for more jobs and gives you a better reputation. Rule 3: Know your employer more then they know you, this helps you haggle a better price and keep you alive. These three alone have kept him and his crew both alive and well payed. But sometimes cash and credits don't go far enough and little does he realize his job is about to get a little more complicated.
Captain Algrin looked out from the window on the bridge of his ship. Staring endlessly into the mind absorbing darkness. Every time he did, he found himself watching the stars pass by as their ship slowly drifted through space. Their glittering bodies making the black of space not so threatening and made it seem more of a great canvas on which the lives and fates of all beings would be painted. Then again he was never really a philosopher, these were just thoughts to pass the time. He sighed and looked down at the radar to check if they were being followed. It was all clear and he started up the power and engines again. He reaches over and turns on the com system.
"Attention passengers and crew, this is your captain speaking we have successfully exited the shitstorm please refrain from showering me in praise and love, as I know you all owe me your lives...again" he clicked it off and kicked back in his chair, propping his boot covered feet on the console. He looked down at his pilot, who's expression was definitely one of annoyance, as one of his eyebrows kept twitching. I looked kinda funny on the kid's young and almost perfect face.
"Whats the matter Nick? You seem upset" Algrin asked just to bug him. He was a Zeltron, he could easily feel Nick's emotions especially one of anger. Algrin had mastered that ability of his race just for these occasions.
"No Al, I'm perfectly cool with you taking credit for my hard work, do you have any idea how hard it is to guide a ship with nothing but the auxiliary jets? Makes meteor navigation look like child's swoop bike races" He stated, staring down Al with that twitching eyebrow of his.
"Well, that's good here I thought I had offended you somehow" he said knowing his nonchalant attitude would get Nick all fired up.
"Whatever" Nick grumbled, making sure to dismiss anything else Algrin had to say about his skills. He knew for himself he was good, one of the best in the galaxy, or so he proclaimed. He had won many trophies on both the swoop bike circuit as well as the space racing circuit. He had been born to be a pilot and this was shown, ever since he was a young boy. He could never stay away from the thrill of it. Every day he was either practicing in the simulators or actually test flying some of his father's small speeders. The winning circle was all he knew, until he was brought down in his prime by someone who he knew had cheated but sadly he had no evidence to back this up. In his frustration he started a fight with the guy, using a hydro spanner as his primary weapon. Because of nearly killing the man, Nick was banned from the pro circuit for good. He shook his head trying to forget the past, he had work to do and moping about his mistakes would not help, it just wasn't how he was raised. He turned his focus back on the route ahead of him as they slowly drifted to Coruscant.
Algrin sighed out of boredom and decided to take a shot of the Corelian whiskey he had picked up to pick up his mood a little. He could feel in Nick's emotions the sudden depressing return of memories and needed a distraction.
"Drinking already? You know its only 2 Pm on Coruscant right?" a familiar feisty and smart allec feminine voice called to him as it's source came from below and onto the bridge.
"Yes this true Sef, but its happy hour on Zeltros and I want to celebrate" Algrin retorted taking a good gulp from the drink. Sef, his hired muscle, was a Mandalorian female who's brashness and bitchy attitude was always a thorn in Algrin's side. Before she was a bounty hunter by trade and one of the most feared ones at that. She had earned the title Blood Dragon Ordo from her long list of kills and catches as well as her vicious disposition. But now she was part of Algrin's crew as extra muscle and weapons expert, the name Blood Dragon behind her, well behind her at least.
"Whatever you say alcoholic" she snatched the bottle from him when he wasn't paying attention and took a long swig herself, then dropped it back on his lap. She looks out before them to the clear view of the massive city planet Coruscant, the central hub of the Republic. It had been always been the center of politics and control of the core worlds, and also the one with the most problems. Many times in history had it been the home to democracy as well as imperial governments, and now once again it was home to the Republic. Sef sighed, she hated the idea of a multi-rule government which gave rise to insurgents and other such enemies with its constant lack of taking order. They compared nothing to the Mandalore's rule of her people, who's single and strong will never lead them astray. Some cases were different but those were weak minded fools who would be quickly dealt with by someone stronger and better. But yet sadly her she was, helping out with security detail for the summit of all the governors and senators who were addressing this recent planetary destruction that was occurring, as well as the rise in crime activity. Security measures was an understatement, as far as Algrin had explained they needed 24/7 baby sitters to watch their spineless backs. Well she didn't really care, a job is a job and a bounty is a bounty, perhaps one of these assassinations would reveal some high bounties she had been looking for. There was one, nicknamed Edge, who had been posted on the boards multiple times taken off then posted again, by both crime lords and legitimate organizations. Right now he was fetching a high price of 500,000 credits from the Syndicate, who must have suffered harshly for a bounty that size. She grew eager hoping to run into a worth while fight.
"I'm just a man of my culture as you are, can't blame me for enjoying the sauce once in a while" Algrin said, breaking her train of thought on the Edge matter. She looked down on him and gave a exasperated sigh of annoyance and turned to leave.
"Once in a while is an understatement,well hopefully that second liver of yours doesn't give out in the midst of this, it will look bad on our reputation." with that she gave a wave of her hand and left to go back down stairs. Algrin shrugged and took another swig, he wondered to himself for a moment,thinking of the lovely visage of Sef that had just walked away. She was rather attractive for a mandalorian woman, a buxomness body that tried to pop out of her armor , her soft facial features that lowered your guard to the stark contrast of her vicious and brash nature. Her long, shining blonde hair worked the same way as it would catch your attention away from the knife before it was plunged into your side. He remembered falling for it once, that alluring beauty, and had the scar on his neck to prove it. It was because of this chance meeting and the feeling of her constant wanting to kill him that he had swore to himself, never to even attempt to get with her. He took another swig as a distraction again and let out a ranting laugh, too much Giggledust he realized, though it was too late, the random laughter had attracted his crew's doctor.
"Random and psychotic laughter is the sign of a deteriorating mind and judging by yours you really are in need of some psychiatric help. I recommend a dose of this to calm your nerves before you captain us into black hole because of pure insanity." the Calamarian spoke, pulling out a rather large and ominous needle. He was old, you could tell by his scale's complexion he was aging. From its once vibrant orange to a now dulled brown, it was very obvious. And the barbs on his chin had grown long enough to look like some stereotypical Jedi beard.
"Gill's sadly, I know your serious, so I'm gonna make it easier on both of us, mainly me, I'm not crazy, just spiced my whiskey is all" he waved his hands nervously in front of him. Usually Gills would just stab the needle into him without consulting or even a warning but this time he was kind enough to give Al a heads up.
"Fine but prolonged uses of Spice and other such paraphernalia leads to skin cancer, extreme muscular dystrophy and supreme mental deterioration. Which leads to a painful slow and agonizing death" Gills stated in a matter-of-factual tone. He never joked around when it came to peoples health, everyone should be well aware of health concerns, especially ones resulting in spice addiction. Though he always thought of his captain as a miracle of modern biological science. The curious Zeltron male had withstood many things most humanoid species would instantly die from, or at least sustain critical and permanent damage. But even so, Gills would not slack on his duty to heal anything and anyone in need. Personal repent for all the things he had been responsible for in the past, he had vowed to help anyone and anything in need of medical attention and never to create anything that would be used as a weapon again. In his younger days, Gills had been one of the most prestigious doctors in his generation as well as been part of one the leading medical companies in the galaxy, Neuro Savv. But it had cost him his sanity and decency in the process and was elected to head production on a major bio weapon project, a position he very much wanted and enjoyed. He had succeeded with his creation but when a act of fate had taken his leg and forced him to face what he had created and done, he had a change of heart and vowed to fix it all.
"Thanks for the info doc, much appreciated but I think I can manage" he laughed randomly again trying to shake off what the doctor had said. The old doctor stared at Al for a moment, or at least he thought he was. Al could never tell with those fish eyes of theirs, that seemed to view the entire room with out moving. In silence the doc left back downstairs where Sef had gone. Al let out a sigh of relief, he would not be receiving any helpful injections for now and that was enough. He looked back to Nick, praying they were landing soon, these long hauls where the crew would be forced together for more then a week were torture on the mind and body sometimes. But much to his dismay Nick had just gotten past one of the many checkpoints, Al would be stuck for another half hour on this ship with these psychos.
"Hes right you know" the cold, emotionless voice said from out of nowhere. There she appeared out of the shadows, that devil of a girl, Luluco. She stood not too tall,maybe about 1.4 meters, with a vacant look in her eyes that never seemed to change, and a blank expression on her ageless face. Al laughed nervously again, a little afraid at how well she managed to startle him every time she appeared. One of the only people who could sneak up on him.
"Ya of course I don't disagree with him, I just prefer to do things my own way" he said plainly trying not to have any emotion in his voice either.
"Oh, I see" she stated in her usual silent monotone. She stared at him, it was befuddling to her how this man behaved, he was always in trouble with somebody or under some threat but instead of removing it or even acknowledging it was there he would 'laugh' it off. A curious motion to do in danger, she had been designed to target and destroy anything that posed a threat or was considered dangerous immediately without hesitation, why would he be designed so differently? It was a question that not even her advanced computing mind could decipher the proper answer too. She looked to the stairs where she had caught a glimpse of the orange thing that had created her. She had heard it refer to her as a mistake, but according to the data she had gathered from it before, she was perfect in every way. From the elegant long, golden hair, to the scarless, innocent face that kept her continuously looking like a little girl. She was even a master of combat and stealth, silent as the wind and deadly as a rancor. She decided to ignore it, for some reason the very image of that thing that called itself a doctor, would cloud her mind with a curious emotion she had learned was called rage. Why she never would understand, but it was irrelevant. She looked back to Al who seemed to be showing signs of extreme stress or was it frustration, both emotions seemed to be the same to her.
"Uh well, never mind" Al sighed, ignoring her and her inquisition for the time being. He looked around the bridge, for some odd reason he had seen everyone but Loki and Chloe. He snickered to himself, maybe Loki had made a successful move on her, and was reaping the benefits, however that perverted thought was brought to a sudden halt as Loki came walking up into the bridge with that usual pissed off look on his face.
"Who the hell does she think she is? Telling me what I should and shouldn't do? I choose my own path and carve it out with my saber, who gives a damn who gets in the way of that?" he shouted punching at the wall. Surprisingly the metal didn't hurt him as much as Al originally thought. For a moment he was lost at what to say,but then it came to him.
"Is she still upset about that fight in the cantina? The guy pulled a knife on you, you had every right to chop his arm off" Al stated, trying to keep the angry force user from shocking the entire crew into coma's. He had dealt with Jedi before,the light ones were predictable with their virtue and what not but the dark ones like Loki, they were the ones he worried about. They really liked their lightening. Although Loki wasn't as dark as those others, he still had that power and it showed up frequently on days like this.
"Exactly my point!" Loki said with zealot forcefulness, agreeing completely with Al.
"Why does it have to be related to my path? It was a brawl in a outer rim cantina! Do I look like I'm gonna turn Sith or something? I've been there before, I hate being under someone else's thumb" he said taking a very prominent seat next to Nick, taking over as co pilot just take his mind off it. Though technically he was first mate and under Al's thumb, he was treated as an equal, unlike in the Sith,where he had always been an understudy.
"Well, I think you were in the right pal, someone pulls a knife you got to show them you have a bigger one or else you'll just run into more problems" Nick said as Loki took his seat as the other pilot. He liked having someone else take over for a bit.
"Or pull a blaster and then the two with the knives can't get close enough to CAUSE problems" Al said relaxing a bit that Loki had settled down. He looks back once again to the window view of them pulling in. They still had some ways to go, security was extremely tight with this event going on. Ships would be scanned at least 4 different times on different levels, crew ID's were being checked multiple times over, and background checks were being given on both the ship and whoever the crew was. All of this lead to them taking the most time to get in since the history of both were rather, interesting. One of which were Loki's. He had no previous ID or background of any kind. Al had scooped him out of the cryo chamber that was in this ship. The ship was out of power and drifting through an asteroid field, and upon closer examination both it and Loki did not belong in this generation. The ship seemed both new and old at the same time and most of the data had been either corrupted or were under security that no one could figure out how to hack. Loki himself was totally bewildered at most of the modern technology and seemed to have the understanding of an ewok. Using his confusion, Al tried to sell him but the deal went bad after one force touch from the buyer had caused Loki to decapitate the man instantly. Upon further investigation and after some time passed, Loki told Al what he had done in his time, from what he could remember at least. He spoke of being a Sith and striking his father down but other then that, most of Loki's past and origin was a mystery.
"But a saber can deflect a blaster bolt, don't forget that" Loki said with the wave of his finger.
"Yes,but only if you aim in the wrong spots and who said the blaster wasn't a shotgun?" Al said in retaliation. Whether or not Loki was evil from his Sith background hadn't show itself in the years Al had known him, but he wasn't no good guy like the Jedi He was undisciplined and impulsive and always trying to get into a fight. But Al liked that, and so now he has become like a brother to him, metaphorically of course. The red spiky hair helped with the brother look of Loki, resembling that of a zeltron like Al, but this was the only thing. Yes Loki had the well metabolized physique of Al's people but he lacked that odd colored skin.
"I believe a shotgun is a clumsy and uncivilized piece of metal" a females voice spoke. It was stern but also had the softness of an angel. It was hard to place sometimes but after the years she had been with them, Al could place it in an instant.
"Its better then a saber cause it can hit multiple targets at different ranges and points, at the same time Miss Chloe" Al sated. She was a very old school Jedi for such a young age. And those constant training sessions as well as the physical conditioning, gave her almost unparallelled beauty. The delicate looking snow white skin, complimented by the vibrant blue hair, was a very transcending combination. But most of all were those sparkling silver eyes that seemed to captivate your soul upon a moments gaze. No wonder the exiled Jedi had stolen Loki's heart. And Al could tell this easily whenever she was present in the same room as Loki, he was undisciplined so all of his emotions were easy to read, but Chloe was different, she was hard to read and if he caught any glimpse of it, she would make quick note to change it. That was the thing with Zeltrons like Al, they could read people, but in turn they would feel their emotions as if it were their own and between the two of them Al was always left with a completely neutral feeling, a real bummer to his species, who were only about the good emotions. He took a large gulp of his spiced whiskey and was relieved when they finally entered the busy air space of Coruscant. Chloe was about to speak but before she could utter a word, Al cut her off.
"Well to bad we can't continue this invigorating conversation but there's work that needs doing and we can't get it done with words, get ready people" he said as he departed the bridge. 'Chloe and Loki, what a space opera that is' Al thought to himself as he went down to the garage of the ship where the exit ramp was located. Maybe it was their similar yet different pasts that caused so much friction between them. Chloe was an outcast of the Jedi order and Loki was an outcast of the Sith, and both were trained by father-like masters. But Chloe simply left her's, Loki killed his. And Al actually knew Chloe's master, a big member of the Jedi council, Master Micainil Naru. But that was unrelated to what Al and his crew were working on, so he went back to focusing on their next task, getting to the summit and meeting their employer.
"Sometimes people can get annoying, I wish I was back on Zeltros so I could just let loose my-" he was cut off as a spark went off and the cry of a very annoyed Jawa echoed about the garage. Soon after, very quick jawanese swearing occurred and Al knew his engineer was not happy.
"Jim, how many times have I told you, no modifying or repairing the ship without my say so! I mean one of these days your gonna freak out and use a hydro spanner and accidentally modify your face and then who's gonna fix my ship WHEN IT NEEDS fixing?" Al shouted up to the rafters of the garage where the Jawa engineer he called Jim was busy trying to fix, something. Jim looked down and saw his captain shouting at him, he thought he had done something wrong as the captains words were diluted up in the rafters and all he heard was indecipherable shouting. He hooked himself up and then zip lined himself down to the garage floor and left himself hanging at level with Al.
"Fixing up broked power coupling was making funny noises messed up others" Jim spoke in Galactic basic. He never spoke it well and when he did it was fast like his native speech but he said enough for Al to understand what he was talking about. It had taken a few years but Al had learned to understand the jist of what he was saying.
"Well next time, tell me these things, so if your working on something and I come down here a flaming piece of shrapnel doesn't hit me, hurts a lot you know." Al grumbled, recalling the last time Jim did this. He felt the hot metal in his side again from just the memory.
" Anyway, I need you pick up these things for our job here, your better at haggling and I don't have the patience to shoot another scammer, wears on the nerves a bit when they sell you something bad and claim it was like that to begin with" he handed Jim a data pad with the list, who gave a reassuring nod, or at least what appeared to be a nod.
"Right right, so big job today lots of cash monies?" he asked expectantly, they needed some extra cash to fix a very large torpedo hole from their previous engagement.
"Ya, Republic job, clean and legal with high payout, were pretty good to go, now off with ya, I need those things yesterday and I like to be prepared"Al ordered to Jim and walked off to where he was originally going. He gave a prominent crack of his neck as he walked down the ramp. He liked Jim, he was mostly quiet and knew his place, and, to Al's understanding, had sworn some sort of debt to him for saving his life. Al recalled that day when he was cruising in a speeder along the desolate desert of Tatooine and ran into a random lone Jawa. The thing looked as though it had been left there to die. Al, wanting some extra cash decided to take the creature back with him for trade, but instead ended up keeping the Jawa with him. After a while he decided to ask its name, and so Jim became part of the crew. He thought of the name cause whatever Jim said his real name was, Al was unable to understand and in his laziness he went with the only part of it he understood. After countless times of saving their skins in the field of engineering, one Al only knew a little of, Jim earned his respect and so Al and the crew now treat him as an equal. Al laughed to himself a little, recalling the humorous past of the Freedom's Fortune and its crew and looked out the hustle and bustle of Coruscant with a welcoming grin. He was glad to be off the ship and back in the city. He stretched out his stiff arms and took in a deep breath, he could feel things were about to get interesting for him, and his ragtag crew.