Chapter 1: New faces in the Cantina
The Upper city cantina, it has always been my go to whenever I'm off duty. After all, it has nice music and the duelling arena is worth watching. Not much else to do on a planet that is more backwards than a space-slime. A lean back in my chair, taking another sip of the cool drink in my hand. The water races in my mouth, before going down my throat. It was a slow day, ever since we lost a par…
I stop thinking, feeling something on my hip vibrate. My personal communicator buzzing, meaning I had an incoming call. I place the receiver in my ear, and press the 'Answer' button on my wristband, connecting the call.
"Hello? This is Captain Phillips speaking" I say, sitting up and placing my drink on the table, waiting for whoever called me.
"Captain Phillips, this is Corporal Amanda Gomez, I've been asked to give you a report, from Sergeant Tarken. He says that we've lost contact with the teams sent down into the Undercity" said the younger female officer. I feel a frown on my face, and for good reason. The Undercity shouldn't have anything that was too dangerous for the sith troops I sent down there, which leads to the question what killed them?
"Corporal, I want you to get in communication with the guard unit we've set up in the lower city, guarding the elevator, ask if they've let anyone through, sith and alike. I want a report on my desk in 3 hours, along with a salvage team sent down with an armed escort. I want those bodies recovered so we can determine the cause of death" I reply, placing my forehead into the palm of my right hand. Today should have been slow, but ever since the Republic escape pods landed, squads had gone missing in the most random of places. First an apartment complex in the upper city next was a team of officers found murdered in their apartment, and tests had shown the young fools were all drunk of Tarisian Ale. The next, the lower city, dozens of squads had come under attack, with many others being confirmed dead or just vanishing. And those were the ones I hadn't had a hand in. What was next?
"Roger that Captain, I'll ensure the report is on your deck in 2 hours, and the salvage teams are dispatched within the next hour. I'll keep you informed in case of another incident sir" She flicked off her side of the call, ending it. I reach into my ear, placing the device back on my armband. A let out a loud sigh, I might not be what everyone thought me to be, but I had to make my job look legitimate, least I get discovered and executed for what I've done.
I reached forwards for my drink, when I heard a voice from behind me. They coughed, trying to catch my attention, before speaking.
"Excuse me..." they paused, they sounded male, and were speaking Galactic Basic, which was nice, they were most likely a human. "I didn't mean to be listening, but I heard you mention something about the lower city. Is something happening down there?"
I turn around, facing the person who had addressed me. They were quite a bit taller than me; then again, I'm not short. He stood at, my best guess, around 5'10. He has quite strong green eyes, and smooth brown hair that slightly covered his left eye. I couldn't help but look over his equipment; he was wearing what looked like Echani duelling armour, something that wasn't an easy commodity to get, and had the marks of battle on it. I easily spotted the vibroblades attached to his belt, and the blaster pistols strapped on to. This human looked like he could walk through a small army, and probably had.
I laughed at his request, before nodding my head. He looked like he'd been fighting in the lower city, and if he had been fighting the missing sith troops, then it would be a perfect person to have the information I did.
"Yeah, when is something not happening down there? Swoop gangs attacking patrols, missing teams in the Undercity and a 'Legendary' Jedi here on Taris. Makes me wonder why I came here, I was better back at my old post. But what is better, is the rumours about a gang war finally ending down there, hopefully it means less dead troops, but who knows. I told the commander heading into the lower city was a bad idea, but no one listens to me" I rant as the person I was chatting to as he grabbed the seat on my table, looking at me with interest. He was obviously interested in what I had to say, and that meant he would use that information. That meant a few things, but one of them was a positive prospect.
He shakes his head "That's not good to hear. Sounds like you sith have been busy, controlling a planet this size can't be easy, and that is for certain. Still, I'm sure you come by quite a bit of information, if you really are a captain..." I looked at his face as he spoke, a small frown on his face, which I laughed, interrupting him.
"Its cause I look young, doesn't it?" I run my hand over my mouth, down my grin to the table, feeling nothing but smooth skin. He had a point though. "I am young, only 22 and already reached the rank of Captain. It's a long story that you've probably not interested in. But going back to what you said, I do come past quite a bit of information. Classified of course, so I'm afraid I can't tell you anything civilian. Besides, most of it is just given to me on datapads" I reach into my bag, which had been resting by the seat, and pulled one out "Like this, just got this on today. Reports about a human who won the lower city swoop race, and orders of varying importance. Thankfully, reports are all electronic, so I can copy them"
He nods his head understandingly "I see, so that means that no matter, you have a copy of your orders? That's quite smart, means you can't use the excuse you lost them"
I nod my head in agreement, placing the datapad on the table. "Yeah, but it also means that I have spares, in case I lose them... Not often, but troops have been known to leave their orders just lying around for people to pick up. I must apologize, but I didn't actually ask your name"
The man laughed, nodding his head "Fair enough. My name is Jax, Jax Fields. I'm, well, I'm a mercenary of sorts" Jax shrugged "We can't always get jobs like your own, high and mighty"
I take another sip of my water, sitting up in my seat "Well, Jax, it has been a pleasure to talk to you. If you need anything from me, don't hesitate to contact me. You'll probably find me here, or just call me" I finish my water, standing up and placing the cup on the table. I lean down, picking up my backpack and putting it over my shoulder. I start to leave, and then I hear Jax calls out to me.
"Wait, you never told me your name, or gave me a way to contact you" Jax says, and reaches for the datapad I had left on the table. I smile at him, and shrug.
"Worse things have been forgotten by sith, and after all, I have copies of my data. Guess I dropped my datapad off the edge of the city, shame" I say, giving Jax a small wink. I'm no fool, Jax was trying to get information from me for some reason, and I have that good feeling that he would use that information to make sure those sith troops would be suffering. I let out a giant smile as I exit the cantina, something tells me that the Republic escape pods landed, and at least one Republic troop was trying to make a difference.