Chapter 8 – Welcome to Malastare, Check Your Morals At the Door
Location: Just outside Kurka the Hutt's compound, Malastare
Time: 3.5 Years Before the Battle of Yavin, several months after the riot on Oovo IV
Art hadn't been lying about this taking time. Careful planning, months of it, went into this plot. Like a Yam'rii waiting in ambush, sitting for hours at a time just to strike at the perfect moment. The syndicate he had formed, his dream team, was instrumental in bringing this day to fruition. With many of Kurka's guards paid to be elsewhere, his funding drying up quickly, and increasing boldness from his rival Grollatto, the Hutt was being backed into a corner. Art was well aware that forcing any animal into that position could be dangerous, but he didn't mind. He wanted Kurka to fear the end.
With the help of their spies, they were able to utilize a complete layout of Kurka's fortress, which sat atop a massive cliff in the barrens of Malastare. Formerly an iron foundry, the massive structure looked down on the scenery in all directions, the perfect place to defend from attackers. It was a challenge, but Art welcomed that, it would make the victory that much sweeter.
Disguising themselves as the guards they had paid off, Art, Ash, Kai, Decimus, Boelo, Higgs and two inmates disembarked their speeders and approached the main entrance, a large metal door that rolled up using a pulley system from the inside. Quite old fashioned, but it wouldn't be a problem. Approaching this door, the door guard was easily fooled by the disguises.
"Shift change already?" the Bothan door guard asked as he signaled to the wall mounted camera.
The metal door slowly slid up in increments, no doubt due to its weight. Once it was sufficiently out of the way, Art and the conspirators looked at one another.
"Yeah, you're being relieved of duty permanently." Art replied as he pulled out a hidden shank and stabbed the Bothan in the gut.
As Art continued to disembowel the door guard, the rest of the attackers sprinted inside before the other door guard could react. With a hard swing of his massive fists, Decimus pummeled the Zabrak guard to the ground, sending him crumbling to the ground in a heap. With a huff of amusement, Decimus finished off the guard with a stomp to the head.
"Shut the door, we don't want anyone to get out behind us." Art said.
Using a vibro-blade, Higgs sliced through the door's chain, sending the massive metal sheet crashing to the ground instantly.
"I doubt any of the guards in here will think to leave through the ducts." Art said as he continued further into the foundry.
Just like the plan called for, Boelo, Higgs and one of the other convicts split off from the rest, heading for one of the old smelting rooms, where they planned to snuff out a group of thugs that were known to congregate there. Art led the rest in the more direct route to Kurka's chamber, cutting through the section that used to hold the assembly lines, but was now converted into a massive death stick manufacturing belt, filled with slaves who didn't appear to be aware of what was taking place. The slaves, all different kinds of species, continued to be invested in their work, putting together the deadly concoctions that had made such a big impact on the galaxy over the years.
"Hey who's watching the door?" a Nikto guard asked as he stepped into the attacker's way, still fooled by the disguises.
"Don't worry about it." one of the convicts said as he swiped his machete, decapitating the Nikto guard.
Now the intruders had the attention of the slaves, who continued producing the drug to avoid being reprimanded by their master, but were now constantly glancing up at the intruders, shocked to see the carnage before them.
"Get back to work," Art said, "when this is over, you'll be working for me."
"Wait what?" Ash said, "You know they're slaves, right?"
"Yeah I know, did I stutter?" Art said.
From one of the halls that connected to the assembly room, Art and the others could hear blaster fire erupting. If they hadn't been aware of their presence before, they definitely were now. Art hoped that Higgs and Boelo would mop up enough of Kurka's men to clear a path to the big man himself. Still shocked by his friend's words, but determined to continue the mission, Ash raised his blaster and gunned down the wall mounted TT-8L droids, who were almost certainly providing surveillance of their activities and transmitting it to Kurka's throne room.
"Good thinking." Art noticed.
"Here they come." Decimus said as he pointed to the other side of the assembly area.
Sure enough, six thugs stormed in from one of the lifts and began opening fire, all armed to the teeth with heavy duty blaster rifles.
"Get down, all of you!" Ash shouted at the slaves, who obeyed and ducked behind cover as best they could.
Four of the guards were Weequay, two were Nautolans, and the last one was a familiar looking Klatooinian. As the intruders returned fire, Ash realized the last thug was one of the brutes who had beaten Bihan to death all those years ago. With fire now coursing through his veins, Ash rose from cover and blasted the Klatooinian's face off and ensured one of the Weequay caught a blaster bolt to the chest. It didn't take long for the rest to be mowed down by the intruders, who as of yet hadn't experienced a single casualty.
"Nice work, boys." Art said as he began to pick up the pace and lead the charge into the deeper parts of the base.
The palace seemed a lot larger from the outside, even the precise layout they'd been given made it seem like it would be a bigger trek than it really was. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but whatever the case, Ash and the other intruders reached the outside of Kurka's throne room, which thankfully was not protected by a door, but was still filled with enough thugs to put up a final fight.
There he was, sitting on one of those repulsorlifts in the back of the throne room, that foul, disgusting creature that had ruined their lives all those years ago. He didn't seem quite as intimidating this time, a lot can change in just a few years, Ash and Art certainly had. Within a matter of moments, enough of the guards in the throne room had been gunned down for the rest to throw their weapons aside and surrender. Kurka angrily shouted at them in his native tongue, pointing to their weapons they had given up.
"There's no point, they won't be able to kill us all, and they know it." Boelo taunted as he and Higgs caught up with Art.
"Finally..." Art said, "I've finally got you. Boys, keep some guns on him, make sure he doesn't go anywhere. I want him to see this..." he looked at each of the surviving guards, "Get over here now!"
At this point, only three guards remained. The three of them all quickly hurried to Art, hands still raised in the air. Without saying anything, Art pointed to the floor, and just as quickly they dropped to their knees and kept their eyes on the ground, hoping their cooperation would spare them. Art focused on one of the guards in particular, a Quarren.
Art – "I remember you. You were one of the guards who beat my friend Bihan to death. I wanted to punish the both of you in front of your master, but alas, in the midst of the chaos, Ash had to put down your Klatooinian friend. No matter, though, your death will suffice."
Grabbing the Quarren by his face tentacles, Art slammed his wrist-concealed vibroblade through the bottom of the guard's jaw, then tore it free, letting the wounded grunt collapse to the ground and bleed out.
"Since I don't know the two of you, I'll at least make yours quick." Art said coldly as he pulled out his blaster pistol and shot the two of them in their heads, "Now... your turn my friend." he said as he walked over to Kurka, who had a look of utter dread and terror on his hideous face.
Kurka began speaking Huttese, the alien words sent the already furious and maddened Art into a frenzy, jabbing his shank into Kurka's side.
"Speak Basic, you worm! No more of that disgusting filth you call a language." Art said as he relented his attack with the shank.
"Okay, I'm sorry!" Kurka sputtered with a broken accent, "Whatever it is you want, I've got the money, I have vehicles-"
"I don't want anything from you except your slow death..." Art interrupted, "Money is not an issue. A lot of people paid well to ensure your demise. Took a lot of time and effort but we made it happen. Do you know who I am?"
"I wish I did, maybe then I could understand what I did to make you want to kill me!" Kurka said.
"Wrong answer." Art said as he thumbed the power level switch on his blaster.
Aiming at the Hutt's tail, Art pulled the trigger, zapping a massive hole into the Hutt's appendage, making him scream, which brought a chilling smile to Art's face. Even the other intruders seemed somewhat uncomfortable with this, not out of sympathy for the Hutt, but for the lengths this man was going to ensure misery for another sentient.
"This day, everything we're doing here, this is for my friend, Bihan, or did you forget him too?" Art shouted as he aimed his blaster at Kurka's face, "The Verpine! He was my best friend, no, he was like a brother to me. You took him from me, from Ash, in the cruelest way. I'm gonna make what happened to him look like a cakewalk compared to what I do to you."
"What you said about him," Kurka began, "your friend, he would have wanted you to put the past behind you. Killing me isn't going to bring your friend back!"
Ignoring the alien's pleas, Art deactivated the repulsorlift, making it crash to the ground, sending Kurka face first onto the floor.
"How the mighty have fallen!" Art said as he crouched down next to him, "Look at him, Ash, it's Kurka the Great. This is out of character for you, Kurks, you're usually looking down on everyone, orchestrating so much destruction, but here you are, afraid for your life. You see, I take away your henchmen, and you have nothing. Because that's what you are. You know, of all the horrible things you've done, the one thing I appreciated is that you made Bihan's death relatively quick. I just want you to know that I won't be extending that same courtesy to you. You see, I don't think there's any kind of honor with you bloated sacks of scum. I don't think you're worth a promise, or mercy, I'd respect a Nexu before I'd ever respect a Hutt. I'm gonna make your last few moments of existence pure suffering."
Unhooking the pin of a bright purple poisonous capsule, Art dropped the device into the vile mouth of the Hutt, before its contents began to leak out of the crime lord's maw and nose.
"Know what that is?" Art asked, "That's the taste of a nerve agent. Soon it'll fill every crevice in your filthy body, and you're going to be awake for every moment of it."
"Dude, what are you doing?" Kai asked.
"Just shoot him and let's go." Ash said.
"This thing killed our friend, Ash! He deserves to suffer." Art said as he stood up.
"Yeah, alright, he does." Ash admitted, "He's a horrible creature, he's hurt a lot of people. But you are slowly becoming more and more like him, Art. I mean is this why we broke out of prison? To kill? To be like them? I thought we were trying to be free, to leave this all behind us."
"It will be behind us, when they're all dead." Art said as he looked back at Kurka, who was now writhing on the floor.
"All of who? The Hutts? You can't be serious." Kai said.
"I'm going to make it my mission to kill them all..." Art began, "What value have their species done for the galaxy? All they do is control people, they ruin lives, they're animals that only know how to manipulate people into doing their bidding. We'll be doing the galaxy a favor when we purge them."
"This is messed up, dude." Kai said.
"He's right, Art," Ash said, "this is going too far-"
"You were right before!" Art said, "The Art you knew would never want to go on a quest of revenge like that. When the Hutts hear the name Art Regfeld, they think of the slave, being worked nearly to death on their vessels while they laughed. Those days are over, that man's story is over. They need to fear a new name. Egon Tucker. That's who I am now."
With that, Egon, the new Art, knelt down next to Kurka, who was still clinging barely to life.
"You hear that?" Egon asked, "I just want you to hear my name before you die. I want you to know that Egon Tucker did this to you."
When all was said and done, Kurka continued to bask in his own agony for several more minutes before succumbing to the poison capsule, which had coursed through every crevice of the kingpin's sluggish body. Ash and Kai felt sick to their stomachs and retreated to one of the balconies while Egon and the rest pillaged the palace of valuables and executed the rest of the guards.
"I have to draw the line here, man..." Ash said, "Art's gone too far."
"You mean Egon..." Kai corrected, "what's with that name anyway?"
"We used to play these games when we were kids, we'd run around the slums and pretend to be warriors. It was the name he came up with for his imaginary hero character. Now it's being used for something far from innocence." Ash explained.
"Yeah, I mean that was some psychotic shit back there." Kai said.
"It was, and the thing with those slaves, I really hope he isn't planning on using them for anything." Ash said, "I don't think I can be a part of this anymore."
"Yeah, count me out." Kai agreed, "Soon as we get back to the Pixelito, I'm gonesville."
"Where will you go?" Ash asked.
"Well, I think I might try and see what the Rebellion's been up to since I was incarcerated." Kai said, "You can come with if you want."
"Aren't they dangerous?" Ash asked, "I mean, no offense, but I've read reports on what they've done. They've killed a lot of people."
"The early days of the Rebellion were like that, unfortunately." Kai admitted, "Desperate people did some horrible things. But we're not going to just behead someone for nothing, we've even tried to be humane to the Imps we capture. At least we were last time I was with them."
"Well, I suppose I could give it a shot." Ash said with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
The balcony door shot up suddenly, allowing Egon to come out into the fresh outside air with Ash and Kai.
"We did it..." Egon said, "Malastare's drug trade belongs to us."
"At a great cost." Ash said.
"They got what was coming to them." Egon said coldly.
"Could you clarify on what you plan to do with those slaves?" Ash asked.
"What is there to clarify?" Egon asked, "They work for us now. They won't be mistreated, but they are ours. They will produce the same quality product for us, they will provide us the intel we need on Kurka's associates, and when we sell them, the profits will be used to fund our campaign against the Hutts."
"Art-I mean Egon..." Ash corrected, "This feels really wrong, bro, I mean they're people just like us."
"They cannot be allowed to go free, they know too much about the Hutts..." Egon stated, "The more we know about them, the more of their slaves we can take from them."
"Slavery is still slavery, man." Kai said.
"I don't know how else to explain it to you." Egon said with a sigh, "Anyway, I figured I'd update you two on what's just happened. The Cerean Brotherhood, Crymorah Syndicate and The Free Market are now at war with one another. It wasn't easy to hide my involvement in this dispute, but they will be none the wiser to it. If they ever figure it out, it'll be long after their numbers have dwindled and their assets swallowed up and redistributed into our credit flow."
"Is this your idea of uniting the criminal underworld, making it a safer place?" Ash asked.
"Something like that, yeah." Egon said, "We still have Grollato, Zimm and the others who weren't affiliated with any specific cartels. No sense in turning our backs on them."
"So that means we're left with Black Sun, The Pykes and Crimson Dawn?" Ash asked, "They're way worse than the three groups you betrayed! We're left with these psychopathic megalomaniacs who don't care who they have to kill to get what they want!"
"The people I had killed were tainted with filthy Hutt scum," Egon explained, "the ones that are left are clean. We'll build our numbers up, and we'll take down the Hutts with an army. What are you so upset about? Those worms are going to kill each other off now and we get a bigger piece of the metaphorical pie in their absence, I don't see the down side here."
"Except if news of this gets out, everyone you offer a job to is gonna be worried about getting stabbed in the back over even a slight suspicion of being connected with the Hutts." Kai argued.
"Did you just call me a backstabber?" Egon asked, glaring at the Rodian.
"He was trying to say-" Ash began, seeing the danger.
"He's a big boy, he knows what he said." Egon interrupted, "Listen, Kai, my word is bond to everyone except those who deal with the Hutts, my word means nothing when I say it to them. I've never wronged anyone who didn't have it coming."
"What about those slaves?" Kai asked, "What did they have to do with anything? You used to be one of them!"
"Yeah, and now look at me, now I'm on top." Egon boasted, "Sometimes people win, sometimes they don't, they gotta put in the effort if they wanna win."
"If this is what winning looks like, I don't know that it's worth gloating about." Kai said.
"What the hell does that mean? You got something you wanna say to me?" Egon demanded.
"We wanna leave the life, man." Ash declared.
"This just isn't for us, bro. No disrespect to you or your organization." Kai offered.
"You insult what I do, you turn your backs on me, and you mean no disrespect? I'll tell you what." Egon said calmly as he reached for something.
With one nearly instantaneous motion, Egon pulled out his blaster and shot Kai in the face, killing him instantly. Ash looked on in horror and tears began to well up in his eyes as he looks at his friend's corpse as he relived the death of Bihan all over again. The smell of burned and vaporized flesh nearly made Ash vomit, an overpowering stench of death in a day so full of unnecessary violence, it was more than he could take. Collapsing to his knees from both intense sadness and from weakness in the loss of yet another friend, Ash admitted defeat, but could not look Egon in the eyes.
"There, how's that for leaving the life?" Egon mocked, "Rodian scum... Go ahead, ask him how it feels to not be alive, piece of shit. Doesn't look so fun, does it? HEY! ANSWER ME!" he shouted.
"It doesn't." Ash said quietly.
"You did this, Ash." Egon declared with no remorse, "Don't you ever make me do that again, I've got plenty of slaves that will make for sufficient collateral. You're shipping out with Black Sun tomorrow morning, be ready in the hangar bay at Redd Bank's headquarters."
Egon then stormed off, leaving behind not just Ash, but anything left of their friendship and brotherhood. Having sacrificed his name and past for the chance of power, he'd turned his back on Ash for the last time. To him, Art was now truly dead, just like Bihan and now, unfortunately, like the young rebel Kai. With his fists clenched nearly to the point of breakage, Ash's mind raced wildly with murderous thoughts of his own.