Title: Thieving With Dignity
Chapter: 1/?
Summary: Captain Rielay Taqq has been in the smuggling business for more years than she can count on one hand. She's known as the best shot in the galaxy, but that can only get her so far. After a job goes south she's forced to the Heart of the Republic, Coruscant, where a meeting with a senator's son may have just found her a way to get filthy rich. And if he sticks around…all the more credits for her.
Warnings: Some strong language and violence, nothing major and nothing gory.
*Cross posted to under the username CaptainDeryn
A/N: I'm back kiddos, raising from the fanfiction grace with 10x the sass and 10x the bitterness in an all new bite-sized container. If you all don't like the Star Wars: The Old Republic universe you will not enjoy this, so please vacate the premises. Enjoy.
Doing business on Nar Shaddaa was like trying to do business blindfolded and drunk off the strongest stuff in the bar. It was tough, cutthroat and favor was constantly being shifted on a day to day basis. There were some things that were constant, the slave trade, scumbags that would cheat you out of your well earned credits, and Hutts. Most of the time all three things combined in one disgusting, slimy, stuck up mess.
This wasn't Captain Taqq's first deal on Nar Shaddaa and she doubted it would be her last. There was a certain appeal to the planet's lawlessness that drew her back time and time again for with the smell of credits just waiting to be grabbed. Here she could smuggle spice free of guilt and make a small fortune off of illegal goods she could sell to greedy Hutts for a pretty price. Most of those fortunes became less than ideal by the time taxes were skimmed off the top, but as long as there was a steady stream of green filtering into Rielay's account she would gladly feed the Hutt's greed.
All she wanted to do right now was put her fist through a certain Hutt's ugly, squishy face. As she sat in the seediest cantina she could find, with the shitiest alcohol known to man, and even some alien species she sulked and licked her wounds. This had been starting off like any other well chosen job that was sure to yield enough credits to fuel the Promise for weeks, even months but after almost a week planetside her contact was losing interest, Rielay was no closer to being paid and her deadline was coming up fast. When she had taken her job it had seemed easy, presented to her in three steps. First, smuggle some extremely illegal drugs past law enforcement. Spice smuggling was a personal low in her long run of deals but there was a reason she had sent her crewmate Hugo to Port Nowhere to scope some jobs while she was here. Her moral code went entirely out the viewport whenever she came here.
The spice adventure should have only taken a day tops, but after a close run in with a 'pub law officer she had been forced to lie her way around being searched and put off her delivery until the suspicion died down. She was still preening over her quick save but the loss of two days weighed heavy on her mind.
Second, take out Exchange lackeys that were getting in the way of the Hutt. Rielay should have known as soon as she caught a blaster bolt to the shoulder that things were going to get bad. The Exchange had festered into more than just a street corner gang since she last time she had been here, practically running Nar Shaddaa under the Cartel's nose at this point. With so many people and a list to get through Rielay's diplomacy had followed her morals out the viewport almost as quickly as her body count went up. She hadn't even bothered with the numbers this time. The hits to the gang's key people should have sent them reeling, but all it seemed to do was piss them off. Whispers had followed her home about the small whirlwind creating havoc in their ranks and if they hadn't decided to try and take her out she might have found the time to be proud of that rep.
Ugh. She took a swig of her drink and wrinkled her nose. The stuff was horrible, but what was a trip to the Smuggler's Moon without some of the worst stuff credits could buy. Some of the worst to fill up inside as much as it did outside. Rielay thunked the glass back down on the bar and rested her head on her forearms, glowering at the opposite wall. The chatter all around her or the scuffle in the corner that might have provided free entertainment to pass the night as she got more and more drunk to avoid the little situation she had worked herself into went unnoticed as she brooded over her third and final assignment.
Eliminate the Exchange leader.
Sure, it should have been easy. Just like taking the akk dog for a little romp in a Coruscanti park. Putting a round into one high-and-mighty guy on a cardboard box pedestal was something she could do with her eyes closed.
Except she only had one day left to find him, the whole damn gang on her tail, and zero leads on a location. If the spice deal hadn't taken that extra day or if she hadn't gotten so overzealous with her blasters maybe she'd have had time to actually track him down, or hire a bounty hunter to do the hard part. Or maybe if the Hutt hadn't given her a single week to do all his dirty work...
Hutts. Rielay huffed out a breath, swirling her drink in her glass and pouting into its murky depths. At this point she didn't even remember the Hutt's name, and as far as he was concerned hers was nothing more than 'pretty little smuggler' but she certainly remembers his foul stink and even fouler personality. She shouldn't have expected anything better than what she got, especially since she had the nerve to walk in on Hutt territory. The Hutt Cartel was one of the nastiest groups she had ever had the misfortune to deal with, and if they didn't readily toss out credits to anyone on the street that claimed they could shoot a blaster she would have ditched the work a long time ago and found herself some place pretty to work.
Instead she had fallen back into this cesspool. Again.
This time's employer wasn't even a big name in the Cartel, even by Nar Shaddaa's standards. He was a small time Hutt with a large ego and a lust for credits and reputation than most of his fellow species that ruled Hutt space. Whatever territorial fight he was having her sort out was just a stepping stone for his name and an even larger boost for his bank account. He had snatched nearly half her promised earnings from the spice run and there wasn't a single thing she could do about it.
Except maybe follow up her fist in his face with a blaster bolt.
She downed the rest of her drink, choking on the bitter taste that made her lips pucker and eyes screw close and threw down a handful of credit chips that would hopefully cover the space she took up and the drink she had brooded over for-she checked her chrono-over an hour. Great. Twenty three hours and counting down now until she had to either return with a gang leader's head or empty handed. But she wasn't willing to get up quite yet. Leaving would mean going to her apartment and there she would need to continue her search for leads on the Big Boss with only a datapad at her disposal.
She leaned back in her chair, tilting back until the legs were off the ground and letting them thunk down over and over until the bartender glared at her. There had to be something here...anything that could count as a lead.
Ah, the fighters in the corner had settled down to talk and she caught the magic word. Boss. If it wasn't a Hutt, it had to be a gang leader. Random gang, Exchange, close enough.
They looked up as she sauntered over, grabbing an empty chair. "Trouble with your boss?"
"What's it to you?" One of the guys was nursing a swollen nose and a drink, squinting at her. "Oh, no reason." Rielay inspected her nails, looking up to flash a smirk and a quirked eyebrow at them. "Just, you know, I happen to be skilled with getting rid of ah...business problems."
The snickers in response earned a wink in their direction, turning the snickers into low guffaws. "You don't look like the bounty huntin' type."
"Bounty hunters are amateurs compared to me." Rielay crowed leaning back in her chair. "Don't become best shot in the galaxy waiting' for someone to show up."
There was a pause and her thoughts screeched to a halt. Kark.
"Best shot in the galaxy, huh?" Suddenly they seemed a lot less friendly. "Funny thing is, we've been lookin' for someone like that."
Her laugh was nervous as she tried to backpedal. "Oh huh, well ain't that quite the coincidence. I might have over exaggerated, 'm really the second best shot." She laughed again, drawing back as the man with the swollen nose leaned his elbows on the table, his rank breath washing over her.
"Well isn't that a shame. You fit the bill perfectly."
"Who woulda thought, such a small girl to be such a big problem."
Rielay yelped as her chair was kicked out from under her, sending her crashing to the floor. She scooched back until she hit the legs of another table, sending it crashing over and whatever alcohol remained on it to the floor where her hands now slipped. "Now, now, fellas." She scowled as one of men knelt across her legs when she tried to kick him, reaching forward to yank the blaster and scattergun from the holsters at her hips. "Is this really necessary?"
She rolled her eyes when the other man finished binding her hands, letting them fall back to her lap. Most of the patrons had vacated as soon as things started to get heated and the bartender was mysteriously gone. Cowards. "I'm not moving from this spot."
The grin tossed her way was slightly feral. "Oh you won't need to. You wouldn't be able to keep up anyways."
She narrowed her eyes. "That was rude." She swore indignantly as she was abruptly yanked to her feet and draped over one of the guy's shoulders. Even as she was carried out of the cantina by way of a back door she couldn't bring herself to feel nervous. They hadn't tried to kill her yet and she still had a vibroblade tucked in the waistband of her trousers and a pistol on a holster at her shoulder. If it came down to a fight she knew she could handle it, she had got out of worse. They had made it clear they were Exchange members, and if she couldn't bring the Big Bad to her, well then she might as well get a free ride to him.
"Classy ride." Rielay remarked, settling down in the seat of the retired, old model sky-cab that might have once been in the taxi business. Her critical eye caught a dents on the side and the many times repaired parts that lay uncovered. "Did you get it out of a dumpster?"
"Hilarious. You should be more worried. Our boss ain't going to be to happy to see you." The man piloting threw a glance over his shoulder, nearly slamming them into a passing vehicle.
"Worried?" Rielay shook her head with a shrug. "No need to be, I'm not scared of anything. 'Specially not a gang leader."
Silence. It wasn't any fun being captured by thugs with good self control. Usually she came out of captures with at least a broken nose and a good story to tell.
With a sigh she sat back, watching the city fly by. While the cantina had been all dim lights, loud music and hazy clouds the city was a chaotic mix of neon signs, speeder lights and light pollution. There was something pretty about it, if you could look past the disgusting people and even nastier upkeep. With this saved time she'd have hours and hours to admire it and her pockets would be heavier.
One member of their group had left, most likely to go warn his boss. Good, let him get cocky before the fight even began. People were stupid when they got over confident. And while fighting might be hard without her blasters she was no stranger to fighting with less. They hadn't bothered to check inside her jacket, where she had a detonator tucked into the inside pocket. As long as she could play her cards right, this wouldn't be a problem.
The Exchange's home of operations was even less impressive than when Rielay had been here before. Much to her satisfaction she could still see evidence of her fight, holes blown through crates, scorch marks along the floors and walls. Even the looks sent her way as her entourage pushed her through the massive warehouse, filled with both fury and trepidation filled her with a pride that put a bounce in her step.
She was led down several hallways that she recognized and several doors still jammed open from when she had sliced into their locking mechanisms and fried the wiring. They would have one hell of a time trying to cover this up to their rivals. More points to her reputation.
"Might want to fix those." Rielay stepped over the shattered remains of transparisteel windows and light casings, casting the room in only the struggling white of the remaining lights and the colors of the planet outside. "It's creating a draft."
When she looked over her shoulder the men that had brought her in were gone leaving her standing alone in the middle of the room. The pricing of the hairs on the back of her neck and a bad feeling told her that there were blasters trained on her from all around.
"You're the captain that took out my men?" And so the Big Bad shows himself.
Rielay raised her chin. "I am. Surprised?" Her heart, already quickened from when she realized she was surrounded seemed to forget how to beat as she inspected the subject of her final task. Besides the height and mass he had on her, that was nothing unusual, he had a high tech blaster at his hip and Rielay couldn't tell if it was the dust swirling around him, or a shield generator.
"Not what I was expecting for the reputation that precedes you. But you are...something." He was in her space now, crowding her. Rielay took a step back, fists unclenching and clenching. That was definitely a shield generator and if there was one time she wished she had backup, it was now and-
And her wrists were free.
"You're little stunt caused quite the chaos. Already our territory is being intruded on. You need to be taken out, but we won't be taken seriously unless you go down swinging."
Rielay rubbed her wrists, eying him warily. "I won't be the one going down."
As his hand went to the holster at his hip she reached back to grab the pistol in hers, firing the first several charges. They all bounced of the shield generator but when he opened fire she was already tucked behind a set of cargo boxes. There was only so long that shield could stay charged. If she could stay just in range until then she might be able to get out of this.
"Hiding isn't very professional captain." Shots sparked over her head as they connected with the wall. "Come out and play."
With a deep breath the popped up, firing the next charge from her pistol before diving towards a new section of boxes, the weapon whining as it charged.
Fire. Dodge. Sharp, quick breaths. Fire again, swear at a close call.
Burning metal and short circuits assaulted her nostrils as shots hit the walls and circuit panels. Lights were shorted out left and right until they were fighting in the dull shadows of the city.
A bolt caught her across the thigh and she cried out, retreating until she could dig through the pack at her hip for a kolto stick. She swore, almost all the stims kept neatly there had been smashed when she had been shoved against the wall. Her hand found a stim still in its casing and she jabbed it into her leg. Within seconds she felt a new rush of energy and she could put the stinging pain into the back of her mind.
The rhythmic repetition as her blasters charged and fired, charged and fired kept time with her breath as she held her ground, always staying just out of sight.
She hit the ground hard on her shoulder, rolling with the force of a pulse detonator that hurled her way. When she scrambled to her feet, firing another shot with her pistol that was rapidly overheating she saw the plasma bolt go through, hitting the boss's arm.
It's dying.
In the brief reprise as he took several steps out of her range, clutching at his arm she dug in her jacket, pulling out the detonator. Her fatigued, shaking hands almost dropped it as she tried to pull out the pin and the blinked against the sweat dripping into her eyes.
He was recovering already, tossing aside the empty cannister of a kolto stim. She pressed her back against the crate she was behind, yanking the pin out with her teeth and spitting it onto the ground.
Using the box for support she limped out so she could see around it, hurling the detonator as hard as she could towards him and firing her pistol when it hit the ground. Bright white light crowded her vision as she blinked, the rumble of the small explosion ringing in her ears. From above blaster bolts began to rain down and as she hightailed it back to her cover spot.
"The blasters, Rielay, the blasters." She snarled to herself. "How could you forget about that gut feeling!"
With no detonators and her blasters missing she couldn't hope to get through the hailstorm of bolts to get any ID off of the boss, or even to take out any of the snipers with her low range weapon.
So she ran, darting around crates and skimming along the wall until she burst out into the main space of the warehouse. There she stalled, searching for her stealth generator that she prayed had had enough time to recharge since she had killed it earlier in the day. After jabbing the button three times the generator sputtered to life and Rielay was able to breath again.
Moving slowly and with great care she was able to maneuver her way through the thinning crowds of Exchange members, slipping through through the shadows as her generator began to fail again until she was back in the streets of Nar Shaddaa. She wasn't even spared a glance by the vagrants and smugglers that still wandered the streets so late at night.
Eliminate the Exchange boss. Check.
Although not as easy as she had hoped. The stim Rielay had injected into her leg was wearing off as she sunk into a sky-cab that would bring her back to her apartment and the burn was starting to sting again every time she moved.
Her deadline still stood, but with the job no longer threatened she felt like she had all the time in the world.
"What do you mean you aren't going to pay me?" Rielay cried, digging her nails into her palms.
There was a delay as the protocol droid at the Hutt's side translated her words into Huttenese and then listened to the deep rumble of his response. Her lips curled in disgust as she waited, tapping her foot rapidly on the ground. This whole room was a shrine to the Hutt's wealth, filled with fancy trinkets and droids. The Hutt himself was sprawled across cushions made of exotic silks and by his side were several Twi'lek slaves in typical Hutt fashion.
"My master wishes me to inform you that you brought no evidence back that you were the one to kill the Exchange leader. Therefore your contract was not met."
"I did kill him!" She seethed, throwing her hands out. "He shot me! Do you seriously think that I just shot myself in my leg to try and trick you?"
The longer the pause went on the more agitated she became. "My master says that this is non negotiable and you will not be compensated for your failed contract." The droid moved closer to it's master as the Hutt rumbled something more. "He also advises you to leave before he you wear his patience any thinner."
"But I did the job." She protested, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she saw the hope of credits sliding through her fingers. "I smuggled your stupid spice and killed all those gang lords for you so just give me my damn paycheck!" She rose her force, flinching back as the Hutt became angry, roaring something in Huttese.
"I am going to have to ask you to leave," The protocol droid shuffled towards her, lifting it's hands. "Your audience is over."
Rielay slammed her foot onto the ground when two guards from the door outside grabbed her elbows. "You scheming, lying maggot!" She bellowed. "I did your dirty work you slimy piece of-" She yelped as one of the guard's elbows caught her in the nose as the tossed her out into the hallway, the door sliding closed in front of her.
Clumsily she caught herself against the wall, rubbing a hand over her throbbing nose. A week on this nasty planet dealing with a Hutt and she wasn't even going to get paid for it. If he wouldn't give her the credits in hand then she'd just have to find a way to get them anyways.
There was a cantina for the Hutt's patrons out front and Rielay took a table in the corner, pulling out her datapad and opened up several different files and programs, her fingers flying over it's surface as she worked. Within the hour she sat back with a sly smirk, watching the credit count on her account going up and the credit total sliding down in the Hutt's account.
"Take that."She muttered spitefully, wiping the datapad's history before shutting it off and putting it back inside her jacket. Her compensation and then some was gone from the total and wouldn't be noticed until she was long off planet. And there wouldn't be any way to trace it back to her. No one could jip her of her well earned credits without paying for it.
Hours later she was back in her apartment, packing up her things she would need to take with her back to her ship. With a content sigh she closed the drawstring on her back, slinging over her shoulder and went to shut off the holovision when she paused with her finger poised over the power button.
Wanted: Smuggler accused off breaching into private Hutt accounts and stealing thousands of credits. Large reward offered.
Rielay whacked the button and the holovision screen flickered out. She looked out the viewport into the traffic lanes, biting her lip.
Shit.
She really screwed up this time.
Up Next: Rielay tries to find a way to get off planet with a price on her head.