After bullying Lulu a bit, which was certainly going to bite me later, I had nothing left. At first she had wanted to try to force her way into being the middleman. But that soon broke down, this caused blasters to be drawn. But the whine of the B2s and the shields of the driodika dissuaded them. Even with most of the bounty hunters here combined, they knew that they couldn't take down the droids. At least, not take them down and walk away without casualties. It was a common weakness in Hutt armies, fodder armies with self preservation instinct. It was also why most of their dedicated units lacked it.

  After weighing the cost benefit analysis, Lulu also quickly agreed, mostly because she would end up with a pyrrhic victory in the first place, enter a place of weakness, and quickly be taken out by an enterprising Hutt that wanted her place. While Lulu was competent and capable, her mother's interest soon waned after the first 2 centuries. Oh she pretended like she still had her mother's favor, and her mother went along with it... But she would not be where she is if she still had it though, dealing with small transactions one ship at a time.

  But I only had to murder another twenty sophonts on the way home. Some of them weren't even 'sapient' races! But that was all I had to do this evening. Well, correction, that was all Nute had to do this evening. There was a smuggler's hatch in my docking port, and I was going to use it! Sidious had given me a shopping list and I would literally be damned if I didn't complete it. The only problem is, there will be in investigation shortly, and I would be damned if I did complete it. At least most of it. I planned on doing some of the things as Nute, mostly things that would bite me, but I could get away with just a little itching. Not something that would be lethally dangerous.

  After getting back to the ship, I dressed myself not in the fine splendor of a Niemidian, but the rustic charm of a Duros merc. It was fine, all but a Duros wouldn't be able to tell that my darker skin marked me as a Niemidian, and even a Duros would never expect a Niemidian to deign to be undignified enough to look like a merc. Which was perfect for a disguise. Heck, they might even suspect I was working for someone else, after all, while Duros were some of the more intelligent races, they weren't know for being crafty, creative, or a mastermind. They had too much of a warrior culture for that. It explained why there were so many that were Mandalorians.

  Fortunately it wasn't very hard to blend in. In fact the armor he was wearing, complete with a breathing mask, goggles, and a hood, meant that nobody could see him or inspect him too close. Honestly, he looked like he was wearing a hoody and jeans. If that Hoody had armor plate like an ancient paladin and those jeans were vac rated. At least the boots looked spacey, but he wasn't sure if it was 1974 I'm cool like a space man or spacer work tuff. They were common sturdy work boots for the average spacer, but they had a lot of bright coloring on them, the pants and 'hoody' too for that matter. However the materials used were tough enough to take indirect small caliber blaster fire and yet the inside felt comfortable like silk, with it's anti-chaffing layer.

  Either way, Nute couldn't decide. The only thing he knew was that old Nute would have hated it, and instead dressed as one of the home guard, instantly ratting him out. So fair, it would probably hold to inspection. I also Equipped a as well as a . The E-313 was mounted on a mag plate attached to my back, and was old, used, and well cared for. This showed I had been in the game for a long time. Meanwhile the DC-15s was obviously new. These blasters had only hit the markets recently and they were weapons. This was likely to allow the Kimonians to have access to equip them while maintaining plausible deniability of where they came from.

  Sidious could get away with many things, but he still wasn't able to play things out in the open. Not till he became chancellor at least. This meant that he had to leek several things and let the scavengers pick up the breadcrumbs, not that he cared. If this was anything like he ran the Empire, and likely was, then he would let the rats have the cheese and serve it and the rats to his guests. Still, it meant that only the best would have the DC-15s for now. And that meant not to mess with me. Meanwhile I had and a dart launcher tucked away in my gloves. They would do me well in this concrete jungle.

  I moved along the tunnel, noting several access hatches that I could only assume lead to other crime boss lairs or to smugglers entrances in the docking ports. It might not seem like it, but in Nar Shaddaa those that had a space ship were already in the upper echelons of power. I could simply place a help wanted add out, and I would have dozens if not hundreds of desperate looking for off this rock. I didn't need them, not now at least, but it was a good backup plan. If I ever needed a disposable 'pirate' gang, I could higher by the thousands and the Hutts wouldn't give a damn. It's ironic to be lower and valuable than a slave, but to the Hutts, that's what the 'free' people not in their 'tender loving' care were.

  I came across a crossway and I could hear footsteps. Far off, but the fact meant that I was getting closer to inhabited areas. I didn't want to take an access hatch, or at least not yet. You never knew what you would come across on the other side. I had no doubts that many scavs simple waited topside with an electro prod waiting for an unfortunate to come along. And that's if there wasn't waiting for me. No, I needed to find where this passage met the underground. There I could make my way topside and I'd only have to worry about those I could see.

  I smelled it before I saw it. Ironically the respirator that I was wearing was actually an expensive, valuable kind. The kind that only those that knew what they were looking at would know how valuable it was. This one filtered toxins out, but was able to allow me to smell the surroundings still. It even allowed me to track by smell. I had picked it carelessly and it was biting me now. Not only did the underground smell like hot trash, it was mixed in with scents and spices. Probably the only way to disguise what kind of meat you were eating.

  Indeed, The passage opened up into a market, with stalls as far as the eye could see, and going down at least a dozen levels. I could see many causeways going across and at the end of the industrial chasm was an L shape turn on one side and a T at the other. Over a thousand meters at least from end to end and 12 stories down. I took a picture of the two shops next to me with my goggles, I knew there was no way I could find my way back otherwise. I wondered if there was a [Find My Ship] app on the holonet, but here on Nar Shaddaa it would all be ransomware or spyware anyway.

  I had, stupidly not gotten one of those computational brick in me wristguard. But my goggles should do fine as long as I took pictures at every intersection. Some tuffs and gangers may not like it, but I was more than equipped to reeducate them. Ironically I found less trouble down here. Everywhere I went I would see tuffs and gangers, no enforcers. But there were no scavs here.

  Moving through the causeway, I would lock eyes with a tuff or a ganger. But unlike on the 'surface', they would simply nod along, I would nod back, and then move on my way. I had several places to be, but I did not rush. I walked at a casual but decisive pace. Interestingly this seemed to give me a gravatas in this area. It was interesting how business work ethic, drilled into me since I was a grub, seemed to mirror here. Don't swing your arms, that's a waste of energy, meant, don't swing your arms, that attracts attention. The individual, I could tell was trying to act casually, was followed into a back alley as they made there turn. A handful of blaster fire later the two tuffs that followed them walked out, slightly happier. The individual did not.

  Another thing I noticed, there were a lot more 'aliens' here. Oh sure, the majority was twilek. But that might as well be one in ten, not the overwhelming majority there was in the core. In fact, I might be hard pressed to find one in one hundred humans.

  There were even some interesting ones. I say what I could only describe as a sentient fungus, not to be confused with the sentient mushroom I saw earlier, which seemed to have a small conclave. The fungus was interesting in that it seemed to be almost like a bag of snacks trying to be human-. It had to move several of its individual fungus vines rubbing against each other and flexing as it waved one of its two and a half arms around, gesticulating in conversation. It sat at an 'outdoor' bar on it's five legs with a stool between them.

  The mushroom people though, were apparently living out the side of what was a store. Ironically, they sold what looked like a fungal soup. I saw them smear what I could only assume was their spore on a backpack mounted backpack. This spore would then become one of the wall hangers that were screaming and munching on anything. I even saw one of it's 'parents' lose a hand to the thing. Though they didn't seem to mind at all.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  I saw what could only be described as 'space elves'. I saw a devil like man, and a devil like woman, who were apparently selling themselves inf front of a whore house. I saw what looked like a tree and a dog had a kid and came out looking like a dog worm, with thumbs. But most creatures seemed to by human shaped, or at least human-esk.

  Of course there was that one bat winged woman. She didn't seem to be intelligent, with a maw of needle-like teeth. She was all white, including her wings. She had a black main of tentacles for hair, with one ropey one that traveled down her spine and ended in a tail that had a vicious stinger at the end, no bulb but it leaked venom as it twitched behind her. She was stuck on a perch with a leash and completely nude. Her 'owner' seemed not to mind her, though she did not ware a slave color, just a leash. And she hissed at passers by that seemed to gain an interest in her. Again, not that her owner minded.

  Nar Shaddaa, in spite itself, was one of the few places I had been, where non humans seemed to outnumber the human population. There were still plenty of humans of course. But the Hutts preferred rare slaves. And while twileks and togruta were fairly common galactically, it was simply for their *cough* qualities. Humans were far too common for the Hutts. Of course, they also became rarer outside the core, with most of the human worlds there, but most of the core was also human to start with.

  What was more interesting were the 'non' slaves. These were either the children of former slaves that weren't reported and thus not chipped. Or formerly slaved to a Hutt, but not anymore. Of course, both was an option too. This left them as the dregs, as Hutts would grant their protection. This left them as fair game to prey on by everyone else. This even kind of sort of applied to off-worlders. However, that was only to a point. While the gangs could pay the enforcers to look the other way if they moved a few people, they hardly ever moved more than in groups of five or six.

  I could even see a group doing so, but this was to an enforcers attention then to actually dissuade it. Nobody was going to bring down the wrath of the Hutts. And while the Hutts would gladly allow all of the dregs to get murdered, that was bad for business overall. And if there was anything the Hutts revered, it was business.

  I saw the group pass by on a lower level. They were soon harassed by another group but the Hutt enforcer stepped in quickly. Probably too quick. After a commotion both groups quickly paid the Hutt enforcer and left. Only when the other group left did the Hutt enforcer give them their cut for 'allowing' him to step in. They quickly started and argument about being short changed, but stopped when the enforcer reached for his axe. Gamorreans**** may be stupid, but they were not weak, AND he was a Hutt enforcer. So even though he was outnumbered they took it and left.

  I shook my head. The whole interaction was silly, if that enforcer wanted to go anywhere he should have paid extra for the good job. It was why the Hutts were so generous. Everyone thought it was to curry 'favors', and it was to curry favor, but it was also to leave a good impression on the individual. Usually after the Hutt launched an assassination attempt or trap.

  No, you rewarded competence, and punished incompetence. You favored your competent employees and the incompetent ones would earn your ire. At least that was how things should run. Old Nute did not, but old Nute was a stooge raised to stupendous levels. He kept around sycophants and boot likers, while he retained just enough competent to maintain his standing. While that could function, as his sycophants would keep the competents in line, eh needed to have slightly above even numbers. Instead, he had only an handful of competent people to keep his operations running at the bare minimum. The rest were too incompetent and were losing him business. That reminded him, he needed to make a series of layoffs. And his coming troubles would be the perfect excuse.

  I came to an unassuming exit, covered in graffiti. Which was the thing about Nar Shaddaa, I could see both the Hutt graffiti and the normal range. I quickly checked the graffiti and found the right bar on the surface. It wasn't hard with the mandalorian that was tossed out a window. They quickly turned on their backpack and flew back in, blasters blazing.

  I... was not so sure I wanted to go in there anymore. When I was bout to turn around however, I got a call on my communicator. Ducking into an alley and stepping over the sleeping mandalorian. I went a bit further before peeling off again. I did not need the mandos looking through the automatic recordings and realizing I had picked up a call in their vicinity. Ducking behind another back alley, I was getting further from the main street. This was dangerous territory as it all belonged to the gangs, to keep those individuals that could actually afford an apartment in line.

  The communicator stopped beeping for a moment, only to start beeping again, more insistently this time. I knew who it was, my ship only allowed to patch through one person, Sidious. Everyone else could wait. luckily, it was not a holotransmitter. He was not going to be happy to be made to wait, but I was not in a place that I could afford to demure to his ego. Finally I was in a dead end, tucked away between two mega buildings.

  "Yes" I replayed as soon as the comms connected. "What took you so long?" asked Sidous angrily. As if I was in my own home, safe, and not on Nar Shaddaa making a clandestine phone call. "I had to reach a safe place to receive you, or did you want this conversation to be heard by everyone, including the Hutts." Which I knew was the last thing I wanted. The Hutts were famous for one thing if not anything else, double dealing. They dealt information as if it were spice, deadly, addicting, and would ruin your life.

  "No, you are right, that would not be preferable." said Sidious. I knew what he meant was, 'You were wrong to do this, but I will delay your punishment until the next time you screw up.' But it did not matter. One was a slow and painful death, the other was something incredibly painful, but survivable. "What was it that demanded my immediate attention?" I questioned in a dull whisper. I had taken my respirator off so as not to change my voice. It was installed with a vocalizer to disguise my voice, but I didn't want Sidious to know I was making his deals clandestine. He would have wanted me to be upfront, better to make them all the more damning, and curry more favor when he gets me out of them.

  "I wanted to know if you had met with the death watch yet? It is imperative that you meet with them as soon as possible." He stated. And I was it was, but not beneficial to myself. He just wanted the Trade Federation to do more of his dirty work for him. "I was just about to meet them, if I didn't receive an important call beforehand." I stated. Even though Niemidians were not known for their sarcasm, I could feel that Sidious both understood and did not appreciate it, I couldn't for the life of me understand why...

  "Just make sure not to screw this up, it is imperative to the future of my plans, as it is your own." Stated Sidious. I could feel him trying to worm something into my head, and for a moment I let him succeed. It felt like this meeting held my life and future in it. And forced it back out the moment the call disconnected. It was a good thing I had removed the respirator, as I puked up something black and vile in the alley. Taking a moment to collect myself I started my walk back. Only to find a no longer sleeping mandolorian in my way.

  "You, *hurp* you think you can ignore me? Huh? I'm a mada, manda, lorian, *hurp*, and I'm going to kick your ass to show you..." he stated drunkenly. Considering how hard it was for him to stand, I highly doubted it. But he was still an armed mando. He launched a shock wire that completely missed, likely to drunk to follow the targeting computer in his helm. Lucky for me too, as I wouldn't have been able to dodge. We both stared at were he missed to, and a moment later it plugged into a dumpster, which pulled him forward with a jerk when the wire locked on and retracted.

  He quickly cut the wire, the whole thing going to a waste as my mind calculated the loss of profits. Then he pointed his other gauntlet at me and I dodged out of the way. Quickly he launched a series of darts, ones that landed into a couple of unfortunates, some thugs that had poked their heads out to see what was going on. Unfortunately for them, they landed, they writhed on the ground screaming in agony for only a moment before going still. My goggles beeping that their life signs had ceased. The mandolorian had brought up his other gauntlet already aiming it at me, but I was faster, my blaster knuckles hit him in the neck, set to stun, as I hadn't had the time or thought to change it.

  The flame thrower went off wildly as the mando flopped, I blocked his gauntlet as it came up and the flamer went off. Probably out of juice and needed to recharge. I left the mando to his own devices and moved on to the cantina. Only to have every blaster pointed in my direction.

  "And what do we owe the pleasure of someone that comes into my house, and beats up my people? Hmm?" Stated Tor Vizzla, leader of the death watch. He was watching a holo of me beating up his subordinate, but he did not seem perturbed. I noticed a young female mandalorian by his side, clearly too young to be here, probably Bo-katan Kryze then. She looked to be in her early teens, trying desperately to fit in with the much older rougher crowd.

  "The same as everyone in our business, well business." I stated as I threw the holo recorder onto a nearby table. From it Sidious voice started to play out. "Hello, glorious mandalorians..."

  *** So, GL himself stated "I wanted to create a species that is universally the bad guys, no argument." when he made the Hutts. But, since I'm dealing with them, I wanted to have a much deeper culture than 'Machiavellianly evil'. So I'm styling the Hutt culture after ancient egypt. And it fits lore wise. Which also means that the Hutts do not see themselves as evil, just possibly out of touch with their literal 'lessers'.

  **** learned my lessen and actually looked this one up first...