"Good to hear. Now, let's keep this maglev moving. It looks like everyone's out to kill us, and my father's dying wish was that I die debt-free."

Erit walks over to Arnae.

"Being free of debt is a state of mind, not the result of an overabundance of credits."

He lets it hang in the air for a second, then talks on.

"Of course, I realise that my scholarly wisdom alone can not change the ways of this material world. Gulgo waits for no man, but he may make an exception for me, seeing how I am possibly the most heartwarming creature in this sector."

He pauses again.

"Remind me to stop hanging around with Mr. Stryker."

They leave the victims (who one might say "had it coming") in the street and continue on. Finally, they see Gulgo's fortress-like residence. It appears carved from the same reddish-brown rock of the Sullustan tunnels, though polished to a smooth sheen. Three floors, only a few windows. The third floor windows open onto balconies, likewise styled in the same smooth stone. Two Gamorreans - seemingly ubiquitous where Hutts are concerned - stand at rest in front of the main blast door, eyeing the meager foot traffic. They bristle as Arnae and his pals close.

"Gulgo say to look for you. He inside, you go in now."

No pat-down? Good.

"Okay, friend, we go now."

He go now.

Aurelia does her best to stay in the middle of the happy band, knowing that, being a grease-monkey, if it comes down to using her holdout blaster, they've already lost.

Lets just hope the Hutt's greed is developed enough to override their...lack of timeliness.

As Wayde walks through the narrow cave tunnels of the Hutt's lair, he takes note of all possible venues of escape, the number of guards skulking about and the overt security implacements.

Wayde notes that the Hutt has not-at-all disguised cameras set up, with the occasional little mouse droid. There aren't many guards in the hallways, but Gulgo's place is like an iceberg - most of it you can't see from the surface. The Gamorrean leads the party to a wide spiral ramp leading up, where the woman, Joss, meets them, blaster carbine cradled in her hands.

"Did you bring the credits? Let me see them."

Wayde smiles at Joss' inquiry,

I've heard that line before...

"We have the credits, but our business is with Gulgo, not you. Take us to Gulgo and then we will be more than willing to open up the case."

"Like I've never heard that before, Mr. Stryker. The case might be rigged, and your refusal to cooperate only reinforces my suspicion. I'll ask you one more time to open the case and let me verify its contents."

"Fine, now that we have satisfied our shared paranoias of eachother. Show the lady the creds so we can get this over with."

Wayde then instinctively scratches his itchy trigger finger waiting for something bad to happen.

Joss inspects the case, and pronouncing it "safe", motions to lead the group up the curving ramp.

"You might wonder why we've allowed you to keep your weapons. Gulgo prides himself on dealing civilly with all his clients, and a sense of mutually assured destruction keeps the peace, so to speak. Plus, short of stripping you all naked, we'd likely never find them all. Your kind of people tend to carry blasters and shivs in the unlikeliest of places."

The ramp leads upwards for a bit, then terminates in an open blast door, guarded by more Gamorreans. Inside, the group walks through a curtain of hanging clingy fabrics and exotic silk. Gulgo, arrayed on his hoversled, lounging on more lush fabrics, is there waiting. He's flanked by two dark red droids of an indeterminable make - humanoid, but not like your standard protocol model. Erit feels the presence of other people, concealed by the hanging fabrics, and a breeze brought in with the group allows a glimpse of a leg here, or an arm cradling a blaster or vibropike there.

Gulgo raises one eye at the motley array of smugglers before him. "So good of you to come see me, my friends. I was told you have brought a present for me?"

Erit respectfully bows before Gulgo.

"We have brought before you these Imperial credits as gesture of our sincerity, and we hope that you will accept our deepest apologies for losing your Tibanna shipment."

(Edited by Gatac at 5:52 pm on Feb. 2, 2004)

"Ho ho ho ho!" Gulgo bellows, his bulk rippling with nausea-inducing laughter. "And just my size as well! Tell me though, how you came across such an amount, so quickly?"

"The only way money can truly be earned - by liberating it from those with less talent and luck than we have. We acquired a replacement for our old ship in the same manner. We did, of course, take all required precautions to ensure that nobody followed us."

Back at the docking bay...

Jileeza's half bored out of her mind, half sick with worry, when she spies a young Twi'lek female cycling the door to the main throughfare. She's got tan-brown skin and wears what looks to be a technician's jumpsuit, but the way she's moving - furtively, quickly - doesn't jive with Jileeza. The girl? woman? starts padding over to the Chance, towards the cargo hatches.

Flipping channels to Gulgo...

"Always so secretive, Ithorian." The Hutt seems to be pondering something.

"We have the credits. That's the important thing, right? Does it matter where they were acquired as much as the fact that they do sit here before you...your...uh, magnificence???"

The ingratiating words towards the fat mass of slugfulness strain to come out of Stryker's mouth.

This kow-tow shit is pissing me off.

Erit nods to Wayde's words.

"What Mr. Stryker says lacks eloquence, but not truth. Any trouble that managed to trail these credits will be our problem, not yours. Please excuse me if I came across as mysterious, I merely assumed you were not interested in the trivial details of our endavours."

Jileeza's left eyebrow jumps halfway up her forehead upon seeing the Twi'lek girl come scampering out of Gulgo's hidey-hole. She pauses to forward the video feeds to the cargo hold (just in case this is a ruse), then proceeds down there to greet the visitor.

"No matter," Gulgo booms. "You've made an effort, honest or no, to remain in good standing with me. I can do no less than to accept this... apology, I suppose. You all are free to leave."

Joss moves to take the credits, motioning everyone back towards the ramp they came up.

---

Back in the docking bay, Jileeza makes her way to the cargo bay of the ship just as the Twi'lek manages to slice the access hatch. The hatch cycles and the Twi'lek gets one foot and her head in the ship when she spots Jileeza.

Jileeza stands there, arms crossed, idly eyeing the girl who has just boarded their craft uninvited. "You know, where I come from, we shoot trespassers first and ask questions later. Was there something you needed, or shall I begin my target practice?" Her tone is sweet, yet not entirely pleasant.