OOC Note: If you wish to join this thread, please PM me or catch me on AIM. I do have a specific goal in mind, and as this is not a fleeting thread, I do wish to reach that goal. However, since this thread will affect certain members of the board (mostly members of the Union, but also potentially members of the Rebel Alliance and other factions with ties to Hutt Space), I don't want to close the thread. Plurga the Hutt would probably be especially interested in this, as might characters like Han Solo and other smuggler types. So as a favor to me, please PM me before you post so I can discuss plot lines with you. Thank you.
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Imperial law.
It was purported to be the highest standard of justice in the galaxy, at least by INS. It was supposed to be that which protected its citizens and punished its criminals.
But there was one glaring blight in the area of Imperial justice. Hutt Space.
The area occupied by the slimy, worm-like creatures was rank with the stink of criminal activity of all sorts. From smuggling to piracy, from murder to robbery, from organized crime to moonshining of illegal types of alcohol, the Hutts ran a thriving business.
And it was time for that business to end.
Of course, ending that business would be difficult. The Hutts had enough money to pay off every person in office, and they did. Bribes were rampant, anything from illegal spice to liquor, from women to hard cash. The Hutts knew how to work the system, and they did. Whenever an honest cop rose through the ranks, he found himself either busted down to a desk job, walking the beat, or just plain dead.
It would take someone with guts to change that. Someone who knew no fear. Someone who was as ruthless as the Hutts and yet unaffected by their bribes. Finally, that person had been found.
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Nar Shadda
2300 hours
Warehouse District
Colonel-General Wesley Vos sat in the driver's seat of what the locals called a hoverdozer. It was a large speeder, somewhat armored, with a massive ram on the front of it. Usually, it was used to clear away debris from wrecks and such, and for construction when needed. Now, it was going to be used to cause such debris.
Beside him sat a rookie cop, one who seemed to be a bit shy. SS men were scattered throughout the group, which had been supplemented by the local police force. Earlier that day, he had received word that a major shipment of spice was going to be coming in, and according to his sources that spice was housed right here. He might not get the ones bringing it this time, but he would get the shipment.
The cop next to him stared out the window, watching...well, Vos wasn't quite sure what he was watching. There was nothing out there but blackness, a few small shops providing the only light. There was nothing to be seen here, no nightlife at all. The perfect cover for a smuggling operation.
It almost seemed too good to be true.
Then Vos saw a man running back towards the dozer. It was one of his sources, a nameless entity to him. The man slid up quietly beside the door and said, "It's there. I saw the boxes. They're marked with the Toydarian word for spice. You shouldn't have a problem confiscating them."
Wes nodded and repeated his orders over the comm system once more. "Boxes are marked with the Toydarian word for spice. Arrest anyone you see, shoot anyone who resists. Let's do this."
With that, he gunned the dozer's engine and sped towards the corner. Rounding it, he lined up with the doors and pushed the throttle all the way forward. Speeders and speeder bikes came behind him, as they careened down the narrow alley. The dozer slammed into the warehouse doors, snapping them in half and sending them flying about halfway across the building. The dozer came to a stop as Wes and his men climbed out.
All around him, police and SS men were rounding up the workers. None had resisted, which was a bit surprising to Wes. He'd heard these smugglers were tough. It became clear, though, when he broke open the first box why they were not resisting. He had just made a raid on a warehouse full of medical supplies.
His face grew hard, and he turned quickly to find his informant. But the man had already disappeared into the Nar Shadda night.
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Nar Shadda
0120 hours
He had left the police station disgusted. If this source had proven false, what could be said for the rest of them? How many of them were paid off? When he had taken this position, he had done so with a bit of resistance, thinking this would not be challenging enough for him. Now he thought that he might have bitten off more than he could chew.
Instead of taking the shuttle to the docking bays, Wes decided to walk. Throwing on an overcoat, he strode into the night, trying to figure out where it was that he went wrong. It seemd that either there was a massive conspiracy or he was an idiot. He could not find an inconsistency in the entire operation. It was executed flawlessly. And yet it failed.
He stopped on a bridge, one of the many that overlooked the man-made gorges of Nar Shadda. Over the railing was a thousand-meter plunge to the pitch black ground. He shook his head. It seemed that this place was as black as the bottom, corrupt throughout. Perhaps it would be better to demolish the whole place. Destroy the moon.
It was then that he heard a voice, a strange accent carried on the wind. Or not on the wind; the owner of that voice stood next to him. "Something troubling you tonight, son?"
It was an older man, but not too old; his late fifties, perhaps. And he was a cop.
Great, Wes thought. Simply wonderful. On this night of all nights, I run into a cop.
He reached into his overcoat to pull out his ID, but the cop's truncheon was out in a flash, holding the coat closed. "Aye, don't be thinking about that, boy." The truncheon hit the 9mm Wes carried, and the officer said, "What be this? You better have a good explanation for this, lad, or I'll be hauling you're tail down to the station."
Wes rolled his eyes. Great. I just came from there, and now I have to go back? "Look," he said, "I'm an officer in the SS."
"Ah," the old man interrupted. "You're not much o' a cop, are you?"
Wes just stared for a moment, then went back to looking at the gorge. The man continued. "Well, at the end of the day, if you can go home and say that you survived, it's been a good day. Here endeth the lesson."
The man turned and began to walk away, and Wes called out, "Officer, aren't you even gonna search me? How do you know I'm really an SS officer?"
The man turned, a chuckle in his voice, and said, "Who would say they were that who wasn't?"
Wes, a bit dumbfounded, replied, "Officer, what's your name?"
The man smiled. "I'm Officer Joseph Truscott. And yours?"
Wes, ignoring the question, said, "How'd you get to be walking the beat. Man of your age should have a desk job."
Truscott smiled. "I said no to the desk job. At least in this line o' work I'm fairly safe from th' bribes an' the blasters."
At that, he turned and disappeared into the darkness. Wes returned to his contemplations, though they now took a different train. He would bring order to this space in the Empire, and now he knew how to do it.
-------------------------------------------------
Imperial law.
It was purported to be the highest standard of justice in the galaxy, at least by INS. It was supposed to be that which protected its citizens and punished its criminals.
But there was one glaring blight in the area of Imperial justice. Hutt Space.
The area occupied by the slimy, worm-like creatures was rank with the stink of criminal activity of all sorts. From smuggling to piracy, from murder to robbery, from organized crime to moonshining of illegal types of alcohol, the Hutts ran a thriving business.
And it was time for that business to end.
Of course, ending that business would be difficult. The Hutts had enough money to pay off every person in office, and they did. Bribes were rampant, anything from illegal spice to liquor, from women to hard cash. The Hutts knew how to work the system, and they did. Whenever an honest cop rose through the ranks, he found himself either busted down to a desk job, walking the beat, or just plain dead.
It would take someone with guts to change that. Someone who knew no fear. Someone who was as ruthless as the Hutts and yet unaffected by their bribes. Finally, that person had been found.
------------------------------------------------------
Nar Shadda
2300 hours
Warehouse District
Colonel-General Wesley Vos sat in the driver's seat of what the locals called a hoverdozer. It was a large speeder, somewhat armored, with a massive ram on the front of it. Usually, it was used to clear away debris from wrecks and such, and for construction when needed. Now, it was going to be used to cause such debris.
Beside him sat a rookie cop, one who seemed to be a bit shy. SS men were scattered throughout the group, which had been supplemented by the local police force. Earlier that day, he had received word that a major shipment of spice was going to be coming in, and according to his sources that spice was housed right here. He might not get the ones bringing it this time, but he would get the shipment.
The cop next to him stared out the window, watching...well, Vos wasn't quite sure what he was watching. There was nothing out there but blackness, a few small shops providing the only light. There was nothing to be seen here, no nightlife at all. The perfect cover for a smuggling operation.
It almost seemed too good to be true.
Then Vos saw a man running back towards the dozer. It was one of his sources, a nameless entity to him. The man slid up quietly beside the door and said, "It's there. I saw the boxes. They're marked with the Toydarian word for spice. You shouldn't have a problem confiscating them."
Wes nodded and repeated his orders over the comm system once more. "Boxes are marked with the Toydarian word for spice. Arrest anyone you see, shoot anyone who resists. Let's do this."
With that, he gunned the dozer's engine and sped towards the corner. Rounding it, he lined up with the doors and pushed the throttle all the way forward. Speeders and speeder bikes came behind him, as they careened down the narrow alley. The dozer slammed into the warehouse doors, snapping them in half and sending them flying about halfway across the building. The dozer came to a stop as Wes and his men climbed out.
All around him, police and SS men were rounding up the workers. None had resisted, which was a bit surprising to Wes. He'd heard these smugglers were tough. It became clear, though, when he broke open the first box why they were not resisting. He had just made a raid on a warehouse full of medical supplies.
His face grew hard, and he turned quickly to find his informant. But the man had already disappeared into the Nar Shadda night.
----------------------------------------------------
Nar Shadda
0120 hours
He had left the police station disgusted. If this source had proven false, what could be said for the rest of them? How many of them were paid off? When he had taken this position, he had done so with a bit of resistance, thinking this would not be challenging enough for him. Now he thought that he might have bitten off more than he could chew.
Instead of taking the shuttle to the docking bays, Wes decided to walk. Throwing on an overcoat, he strode into the night, trying to figure out where it was that he went wrong. It seemd that either there was a massive conspiracy or he was an idiot. He could not find an inconsistency in the entire operation. It was executed flawlessly. And yet it failed.
He stopped on a bridge, one of the many that overlooked the man-made gorges of Nar Shadda. Over the railing was a thousand-meter plunge to the pitch black ground. He shook his head. It seemed that this place was as black as the bottom, corrupt throughout. Perhaps it would be better to demolish the whole place. Destroy the moon.
It was then that he heard a voice, a strange accent carried on the wind. Or not on the wind; the owner of that voice stood next to him. "Something troubling you tonight, son?"
It was an older man, but not too old; his late fifties, perhaps. And he was a cop.
Great, Wes thought. Simply wonderful. On this night of all nights, I run into a cop.
He reached into his overcoat to pull out his ID, but the cop's truncheon was out in a flash, holding the coat closed. "Aye, don't be thinking about that, boy." The truncheon hit the 9mm Wes carried, and the officer said, "What be this? You better have a good explanation for this, lad, or I'll be hauling you're tail down to the station."
Wes rolled his eyes. Great. I just came from there, and now I have to go back? "Look," he said, "I'm an officer in the SS."
"Ah," the old man interrupted. "You're not much o' a cop, are you?"
Wes just stared for a moment, then went back to looking at the gorge. The man continued. "Well, at the end of the day, if you can go home and say that you survived, it's been a good day. Here endeth the lesson."
The man turned and began to walk away, and Wes called out, "Officer, aren't you even gonna search me? How do you know I'm really an SS officer?"
The man turned, a chuckle in his voice, and said, "Who would say they were that who wasn't?"
Wes, a bit dumbfounded, replied, "Officer, what's your name?"
The man smiled. "I'm Officer Joseph Truscott. And yours?"
Wes, ignoring the question, said, "How'd you get to be walking the beat. Man of your age should have a desk job."
Truscott smiled. "I said no to the desk job. At least in this line o' work I'm fairly safe from th' bribes an' the blasters."
At that, he turned and disappeared into the darkness. Wes returned to his contemplations, though they now took a different train. He would bring order to this space in the Empire, and now he knew how to do it.