In the days following the Mandalorian pirates' attack on Alderaan, former mayor Bail Antilles left for Ord Cantrell, a southern colony deep in the Outer Rim Territories, adopting a pseudonym of a John Shepard, an out-of-luck mercenary. While it was unknown why he travelled there at the time, as this was a desolate ghost planet, {The planet used to be a rich resort planet due to a gold rush, but once the mines ran dry around 304, most everyone absconded away to other Ord planets in hopes of striking it rich. –Ed. Bibble} the reason soon became obvious.
Bail stepped into the bar. It was a mix of several species; Humans, Duros, and Twi'leks alike; even a long-necked grey alien that he couldn't recognize. Quite the place. Was this the future, Bail wondered? A galaxy where all species would mix together? A future like that sounded far too distant for him to think about for more than a moment. Besides, he was on a mission.
Sitting at the table was a mid-sized, balding man that was alone with half a dozen glasses of blue tequila. {Captain Picard certainly bears some resemblance to this mysterious man. Though that man is in a completely different universe from ours, so many of you will not get my joke… Carrying on… -Ed. Bibble} Bail instantly recognized him and sat down in a chair across from him.
"Name's John Shepard." Said Bail.
"Yeah, really?"
"Mhm. Just a Merc looking for good business."
"Yeah, really. Huh."
"What are you doing out here in the Outer Rim?"
"Hmm. Yeah… Really? Really?"
The balding man pulled out his gun, the barrel up against Bail's right temple. Responding with amazing reflexes, Bail smacked the gun out of his hand. Both of them threw punches at each other, and their hands collided with a glorious smack, causing both to recoil backwards. Spectators began forming a circle around the table where the two battled each other at lightning speeds.
After several seconds of straight punches, they disconnected and ceased their direct combat. While the bald man picked up a chair, Bail attempted a roundhouse kick to the gut. He missed, and twirled down onto the cold ground with a pathetic thud, without the need for throwing chairs or anything. Spectators became furious at the apparent anticlimax and immediately began dispersing.
"Huh, really," Said the bald man. "Gettin' rusty." He held out a hand to Bail, and lifted him back up. "Guess being a mayor has softened ya up, wuss."
"Well at least I don't have an addiction to violence like you do," replied Antilles, brushing the dust from the floor off of his clothes.
The bald man cocked a brow up. "What the hell kind of comeback was that?" he jokingly asked, sporting a wide grin.
"Give me a chance, c'mon!" Bail laughed and shook the bald man's hand. "So Gasgano, what are you doing out here?"
Gasgano, the bald man, put his hand behind his head and rubbed his neck, saying, "Meh, just looking for a couple fights, 'cuz life on Coruscant got hella boring real fast.. Guess you're right about me, huh?"
Their happy reunion lasted a few moments more, but their smiles both quickly faded, and they got down to business. Gasgano looked into Bail's eyes with a piercing gaze. He understood the circumstances of John Shepard's visit very clearly.
"Why me?" He asked. Gasgano was never one for beating around the proverbial bush, especially not in times like these. "I don't wanna be a part of this, and you know that. My merc days are long over."
"This is not just a merc mission," said Bail. "The entire United States could be at risk here, and you know that. I need a team to defeat these Mandalorians, Gasgano, and you're the best."
"I'm not the best anymore. I'm gettin' old, just like you."
"It's not just your fighting skills I need, you know."
"What else do I got? Not any charmin' good looks, anymore."
"I need your help forming this team; I have no idea where to look."
"And I do?"
Some bar-goers that had been watching their previous duel had exited the bar during the fight to contact authorities. They would need to hurry up this conversation. Fast.
"Yeah. Otherwise you wouldn't be out here searching already, before I even got here."
"You know me too well, Bail." Gasgano always went out of his way to
"It's hard being a "roughneck" and being a nice person, right? It's hard and nobody understands?"
"Anyway, yes I have found somebody, I was just waitin' for ya to ask."
"Who is it?"
"A woman named Shaak Ti. An amazing warrior. Heard she uses a sword instead of a gun."
"A sword? Well, that's interesting. She a Twi'lek?" {Twi'leks are a species of humans that adapted to have2 brain stems coming out from the back of their heads like a twintail haircut on a little girl. Some wrap their stems around their necks, though usually males are the only ones to do this. Besides that, they're pretty much human. Of course we should all know this, because in our universe they are the most populous sentient species! –Ed. Bibble}
"Nah, she's human. Well, technic'lly. She's pretty much savage, goin' around and killin' anyone she doesn't like. But she does it well."
"Are… you sure about this?"
"Yeah, don't worry, she only offs scum. Well mostly. But she'll be a good teammate." Gasgano paused. "…Prob'lly." Bail had a very bad feeling about this, but he went along with his friend's assumption that she would be a good addition to the team.
Gasgano continued. "Anyway, she's near Bespin right now, at least from what I've been hearin'. We gotta leave quickly though, she never stays anywhere too long."
Bail nodded his head in agreement, but noticed two or three policemen walking into the bar. One of them shouted at them, trying to get them to surrender without a fight. They completely misunderstood their friendly duel, but oh well… Hurtling a chair at the policemen, Gasgano made a run for it, with Bail quickly tagging behind. This was going to be quite an adventure, he could already tell that much.
