Chapter One

Friendly Locals

Taris. A planet teeming with life and commerce, some call it the Coruscant of the Outer Rim. Many called it home, and few remembered that millennium ago, Taris was turned into a smoking rock of debris and death. Rebuilt and prospering, Taris found itself a hub of trade. But with trade comes crime, and Taris had a lot of that too. Now, members of one of the most feared criminal factions in the galaxy were travelling there to take a job, and possibly have some fun on along the way.

The Black Shadow entered the system, exiting hyperspace. Everyone was ready to get off of the ship, and to tour the planet below. They all stood, or in the pilot's case, sat, in the cockpit, viewing the planet in silence.

"Huh, so this is Taris. Smaller than I pictured it", Raaj said, breaking the silence.

Riflesso let out a short bark of laughter, then replied, "Everything is smaller than you pictured it Raaj."

Raaj gave a shrug, then focused on the controls, guiding them towards the planet. The other three passengers on the Black Shadow went to the hold to discuss the game plan. V brought up the contracts info on the round holotable in the middle of the hold, also making a small image of Taris appear in the corner of the info.

"We're three days early", Luna began, "and chances are that we won't be contacted until the set date. I say we lay low until then, get the job done once we get the info, then leave."

"Oh come on Luna, lay low? On Taris? With the dueling ring, swoop circuit, and best of all, Tarisian Ale? No way!" Riflesso exclaimed.

V raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. Luna rolled her eyes.

"John, this isn't a pleasure cruise, this is a contract", she began.

"A contract that we won't start until three days from now", Riff countered.

V cut in, saying, "Both of you cut it out. I don't think it matters what we do or not honestly. As long as we complete the contract and get paid, I don't care".

John smiled triumphantly at this, and Luna sighed, shaking her head.

After a moment of silence, Luna finally said, "Fine. Do what you guys want. But when it comes to the contract, we are not going to fool around. Understood?"

Both Riff and V nodded, right as Raaj walked into the hold. He had his blasters in their respective holsters, and was tapping on his wrist pad.

"We'll be landing in about two minutes", he said, "I've sent the landing codes down and they've been approved."

"Good", Luna responded.

Raaj smiled and said jokingly, "Anything to declare?"….

….."I declare that this place sucks", Raaj said.

They had landed on Taris in docking bay E4 an hour ago, and had been touring the streets ever since. Though Riff, Luna, and V were spared due to their more normal appearances and sizes, Raaj had been the target of many nasty insults, many folk telling him he belonged in the Lower City. Almost every local in the streets looked at him with disgust and hate.

Raaj mumbled after another comment was hurled at him, "I swear I'm about to shoot someone. Or maybe just pulverize them with my bare hands."

Riff smiled and responded, "Oh calm down Raaj. In a few days, we'll be outta here."

"I don't see you being told that you're a lumbering piece of alien compost", Raaj countered.

Luna looked over her shoulder at the two of them with a slight grin, then said, "How about we find a place where Raaj can be more at home. They have quite a few good activities here."

"Oh yeah, like what?" Raaj asked, interested.

Riff cut in, "Well, you have the Pazaak dens here. Sabaac never kicked off as much as Pazaak, so that's really the only card game here. Down in the Lower City, you have the swoop circuit, and it happens to be one of the best in the Outer Rim. And then you have the dueling ring, where you go in and fight others with fists, swords, and blasters. Nobody dies though due to some strange series of sensors and whatnot that minimize damage."

Raaj took all of that in and nodded, thinking, "I'll do Pazaak another time. Let's look at the dueling ring."

The four moved through the streets, Raaj now ignoring the insults thrown his way. As they walked, a group of six brutish looking locals eyed the group, watching them move by. The group of locals moved in front of the four bounty hunters, blocking their way. Luna stopped, the others coming to a halt behind her, sizing up the new threat. The leader of the thugs looked past everyone, leering at Raaj.

Thug One: "Who let this filth leave the Lower City?"

Thug Two: "No idea Korvak, but I say we send him back down there. In pieces."

Raaj slowly pushed past his friends, moving in front of Luna and standing toe-to-toe with the thug called Korvak, towering over him by more than a foot. Korvak however, wasn't cowed, believing his superior numbers would grant him a swift victory in the brawl that was sure to come.

Korvak said with a smirk, "Well look boys, the trash thinks he can stand on the same ground as me. I say we teach him a lesson."

The rest of the thugs nodded and smiled sinisterly. Raaj threw a warning glance over his shoulder towards the three behind him. All three smiled, nodded, and took a few steps back. Raaj then turned back to Korvak, rolling his shoulders and flexing his fingers. He then took a single step back and raised his hands into a ready position. Korvak and his thugs surrounded Raaj. One of the thugs lunged, and Raaj spun and slammed his fist into his stomach. He then picked the thug up and threw him at two of the other thugs, sending all three to the ground. Raaj then spun and kicked another approaching thug hard in the torso, rupturing his spleen. He then brought his elbow down on the man's head, knocking him out cold. Raaj turned back toward Korvak, who was backed by one more thug. The thug rushed forward, and was rewarded for his effort by taking a snap kick to the groin. Stepping over the whimpering man towards Korvak, he paused three feet away from him and crossed his arms.

"Ready to back off, or do I need to stomp you into the ground?" Raaj said calmly.

Korvak growled, then countered, "I'm going to kill you myself you alien piece of trash!".

Korvak rushed forward and slammed his fist into Raaj's chest, then stepping back, shocked that the blow didn't seem to do anything. While he was distracted, Raaj stepped forward and rammed his knee into the Korvak's stomach, then delivered an uppercut to his jaw. As Korvak began to stagger back, Raaj stepped towards him again and delivered two rocking blows to the man's torso, sending Korvak to the ground. He then turned and walked back towards Riff, Luna, and V, all of whom had smiles on their faces.

"You done already?" Riff asked, putting away a small camera that he had recorded the fight with.

"Indeed I am", Raaj responded, "Let's go check out that dueling ring".

And with that, the group continued on their way, leaving behind six highly injured street thugs on the ground. They would never learn this, but Korvak and his gang would never again insult another alien species. The group headed for the location of the dueling ring in high spirits, wondering what other surprises would be in store for them.