Scraping Together the Past, the Future and the In Between: Chapter II: The Morning After

Nar Shaddaa had seen the sun rise long before the man woke up in his apartment. His head was aching really badly and he still felt the pain from his wound. Emergency-use kolto tank he had treated it with last night had only been a superficial help on the damage a disruptor could do. He hated to open his eyes in pain, it was all too common with him. For a large part it was because of the drinking he had done. No matter how much, too much was never enough for him. But still, especially this time, there were other reasons for the state he was in. For those same exact reasons, it was more than important to get up now, get going and get off this moon. He had already slept too long.

The man ignored the ache pounding on his forehead, sickness in his stomach and the sting between his ribs and got on his feet slowly. He avoided looking in the mirror, as he dunked his head in the refresher sink filled with cold water. Then he took a long shower to help wash off those ill feelings that would slow him down. A couple of painkiller shots accompanied with an energizing stimulant led to a better result, and a military-grade local anaesthesia shot on the disruptor-torn tissue eased his condition substantially. The man observed the contents of his wardrobe, and chose on him simple, practical garments that someone like a pilot would wear. He wasn't at all sorry to leave his apartment for good. At the moment it looked like a cargo container and felt like a holding cell.

Before going anywhere though, he had to take a few things with him. He strapped his blaster under his jacket and fastened his vibroblade on his belt. The man loaded his datapad, small holorecorder and some other stuff in his bag. Then the man went through the closets and containers to gather all the credits he had, and to make sure he didn't leave behind anything he shouldn't. The credits didn't amount to much; he couldn't have afforded one night's drinking with them. Fortunately, Dadah Berd was someone who could help him with that problem. For the last thing, the man took a small black box from a locked blastproof plasteel cylinder. The events of yesterday lingered on his mind as he held the box. It's contents made him feel certain unease, but he had to take it with him, because there was no way he could leave it in here. And hell, at least he might be able to sell the box and what was in it to someone for good credits. The man put the box in his pocket, and with a quiet hiss of the pressure door, he left the apartment that was no longer his.

Nar Shaddaa often appeared more alive and bustling during the night than at daytime. Still, the docks were never quiet. The person whom the man was looking for, Dadah Berd, was the supervisor of a nearby independent spacedock. The burly human male had an instinct for business, and equally due to his profession and character he knew everything and everyone there was to know on the Smuggler's Moon. The man had made a lot of credits that had paid for his life on Nar Shaddaa doing certain jobs for Berd. This time Berd would use his connections to get the man out of Nar Shaddaa. He himself would use his special skills and Berd's need for them to arrange him a place on a shuttle out of here.

The Docks Berd was supervising were busy as always, as the man got there. Different kinds of spaceships were arriving from and leaving for worlds all across the galaxy, carrying with them all types of cargo and passengers. The independent docks at Nar Shaddaa were not too selective about their customers, and allowed them to travel quite freely and unbothered by formalities as long as the dockkeepers got their credits. That fact made the docks an ideal place to those who needed a transport for their goods or themselves, but wanted to avoid the attention of authorities and attracting public interest, those such as him.

The man headed towards Berd's office, where the supervisor was sitting by his desk, his feet on the table. The blue hat, which along with his green overalls, told of his position in the docks, had fallen on his face and covered Berd's eyes. As the man opened the door to the office and walked in, Berd was awakened from his lazy stupor. Pulling his feet from the table and turning around to see who had entered the room, he also managed to swipe a large pile of landing documents on the floor. The man gave Berd a neutral smile. 'Hello Dadah. I need you to do something for me.'

Berd responded with a curious grin on his face. 'Oh hi. Is that so? What can Dadah W. Berd do for you? I'm sure we can come to an agreement on this matter, as we always have on our past businesses together.'

'I need a ride off this rock, and since I'm out of credits, a way to pay for my trip as well. I don't much care for the destination, just get me a fast and easy passage out of here.'

'You seem to be in quite a hurry.' Smile faded from Berd's face and he added: 'Because of your little incident with Scrubus and his gang yesterday? I heard that his associates are pretty mad, since the influential aqualish happened to go missing last night. They're after someone they called 'Captain Pathetic'.' The grin returned to Berd's face briefly, as he said the not-so-flattering name the thugs had used of the one they were looking for. Berd continued: 'You still don't have a real name, do you?'

The man had guessed that Berd would by now know something about last night's events, but this was more than he had expected. The fact that he was so clearly connected to all this made him nervous. The man wondered, if what he just heard was already common knowledge in the sector. Luckily some important details seemed to have remained unknown to others than himself. 'I haven't had a name in years. Now, can you arrange my trip or not? You know it will be worth the trouble, I'll do you some decent favour for it.'

'Ok, Ok... There are a couple of ships that are leaving today or tomorrow that I could get you on. '1Zb6325-X4' is departing tonight to Nal Hutta...'

'No.' The man turned down the proposition before Berd could finish his sentence.

'I thought you said... Maybe it's just a good thing you are not that desperate.' Berd got back to listing the potential transports for the man. 'Cargo ship 'Balargan' will head to Manaan tomorrow morning. You won't likely want to pick that one either. The selkath have very strict laws, and your drinking habits would surely be illegal there.'

'Nice.' The one word was all that the man said, and asked Berd to continue with the list. 'Then there is 'Lardak II', which will leave today, in the evening towards Dantooine.'

The man couldn't think of travelling to the place that was once something like a true home to him, the place where he had once lived with those he had considered to be his family, those closest to him. He wouldn't even visit the planet where the Jedi enclave once stood, and was then crushed into rubble during the wars. Some rumours said that the enclave had been rebuilt quite recently, but he didn't even want to know if these tales were true. 'I can't really go there either. Anything else?'

'I can't believe this! How did you make yourself that unpopular among the moisture farmers of that backwater planet? You seem to be pretty choosy over your no-matter-wheres... Hmmmph... 'Latea Tek' is the last one of the possible ships, so it better be good enough for you. It leaves tomorrow night, and the destination is Coruscant. What do you say?'

The man would have preferred the Outer Rim to the central planets of the galaxy. Even the Mid Rim worlds or less important planets with a central location would have been way better places for him than the political, economical and the symbolic center of the galaxy and the republic. Though, in the situation he was in, he didn't have much choice. He managed to think there was a brighter side to this too. On a planet like Coruscant, which is inhabited by billions of sentient beings, one could likely lose himself in the crowd quite well.

'Coruscant it is then. Now to the second part of our agreement. What do you want done by tomorrow night, my friend?' The man asked Berd, and the supervisor answered with his usual smug smile back on his face: 'Good. Bringing me some suitable cargo to be loaded on the freighter with you should pay for your trip quite conveniently. These particular goods should be relatively easy to access to for someone like you.

Getting his hands on some contraband merchandise or stealing something so that Berd could ship it forwards wasn't a problem for him, certainly not under these conditions. 'Tell me the details.' The man said, and Berd's smile grew wider as he continued with enthusiasm: 'Although this is actually an easy job, I've been waiting for some time to have it done. It's lucrative for me and simple for you, exactly the way we want our businesses to be. But the details, yes... These items I want you to obtain, are of a medical nature. You must be familiar with the medical station a woman named Rila Kajastus operates not too far from here? You must know it, as it is the only medical establishment in the whole sector.'

The man knew the place well enough. He had bought many of his emergency-use kolto tanks, medpacks and stims from there. He knew already, that committing a robbery at a medical station or something similar would be required from him to make it possible for him to escape Nar Shaddaa. Although it wasn't a too noble a thing to do, it could have been worse. At least he didn't have to kill anyone or attract much attention. With a nod of his head, the man encouraged Berd to tell more.

'That Kajastus-woman and her station have been incredibly efficient in their field. I have heard of some honestly unbelievable cases, where sentients of various species with different ailments have been healed and saved from an almost certain death on that station. I want to know what is the secret behind these miraculous healings. I need you to figure it out with whatever means you find the most suitable. Then you will bring this invention, technology or knowledge of some technique, whatever it is, to me. This time there won't even be any moral or ethical issues you seem a little too prone to develop bothering our business, as you are helping me to provide the galaxy with something that could save countless lives, when now only very few on Nar Shaddaa can benefit from it.'

Both the man and Berd knew what was the real deal behind Berd's words, and both could have let a sarcastic laugh follow what he had said, if laughter hadn't felt so misplaced in this conversation. Everyone knew that the trade in medical supplies and related products was a huge, galaxy-wide business, and certain items in that field could have an enormous market value. The wealthy elite could pay almost anything for something that gave them hope when they believe their lives are in danger. The powerful medical industry would invest even more in something that could get them to the endless profits mass markets can provide.

'But I'm not finished yet.' Berd kept explaining. 'Due to the uncertainties that are typical with projects like this, I also need you to bring me something that has a stable market. This way I won't lose too much for rescuing you from this moon, if I suddenly run out of luck with my dealings. While at the medical station, be sure to grab some strong stims with desirable effects with you, and get them to me. There is always more than enough interest in products like these, and the inhabitants of the worlds such as Coruscant are willing to pay handsomely for the goods of the Smuggler's Moon.'

Enthusiastic grin stayed on Berd's face, and the man responded with a grim smile. 'Fine, I'll do it. Get everything ready for me.'

'Great. Come see me before tomorrow night!' Berd shouted his words to the man's back, as he had already left to do his last job on Nar Shaddaa.