Operation: Slave Ruse, a Star Wars Fanfic

Operation: Slave Ruse Part 9. Demolition Man Incognito

Abandoned Apartment High Rise. Location: Entertainment District, Nar Shaddaa. Time: 1800 hours.

Beyond the walls of the abandoned apartment unit, down below on the street level, the men of Valor could hear the muffled sound of the electronic dance music being played across the street at Ja-hutta. Already there was a lively crowd of club-hoppers standing in line along the street waiting to enter the popular nightclub while a crowd of off-worlders, droids, and Nar Shaddaa inhabitants alike traversed the bustling street without a care. The fact that it was a weekend probably helped liven the mood of those seeking any sort of distraction. Arson just hoped that it would increase his chances of entering the club without being recognized, but rest assured, he knew that Gek had already prepared for that little technicality. He stood away from the window in the dark apartment unit dressed in a disguise he was able to scrape together throughout the day. Much to his own shock, he thought that even he could pull off this disguise on a regular basis if the GAR ever allowed clones to wear civilian clothes when not on duty. His thick, grey ribbed shirt and dark wash blue trousers, equipped with a drop-down leather holster made him look like an off-world smuggler. His hands were sheathed in black, fingerless gloves, while his right wrist carried a strapped communicator so he could keep in contact with the rest of Valor if anything changed with Ri and Nika inside the nightclub. To ensure no one recognized him as a clone, he wore a weathered helmet of silver with a single horizontal visor that shielded the upper half of his face from identification. A single strap rand down either side of his check and ran underneath his jaw. It was very different from the bucket he was so accustomed to wearing while on assignment, but was necessary to enter and blend into the crowd who came from many different walks of life.

He casually watched as various humanoid and non-humanoid species walked up to the bouncer-guarded doors and flashed their membership chits. Some waited in standby to see if the bouncers would let them in, while on some occasion, the bouncers had permitted several attractive looking women enter without a problem to the dismay of those who waited outside. Convinced that none of the club-hoppers cared about the immorality of intergalactic slavery that would no doubt be on full display within the club, Arson shook his head as he turned his attention away from the window and back to Gek who handed him his falsified membership chit. Arson took the fake card-sharped ID and stored it away in one of his belt pouches.

"Are you sure that this is going to work?" Arson asked his tech-savvy brother.

"Without a doubt. All you gotta do is show it to the bouncers and they'll let you in. Relax, Ar'ika." Gek said with a confident tone beneath his white and orange striped helmet. "Do you know where you're supposed to meet Nika inside the club?"

Arson shook his head. "No, but I'll find her. It shouldn't be too hard to spot an oversized slug and an attractive woman in a metal bikini."

"One would hope." Bolt replied as she kept a vigilant watch on the nightclub through the scope of his modified sniper rifle. "Gek patched me into his listening probe. So far the Toydarian hasn't coughed up any good intel yet. He does seem a bit on edge though."

"About anything in particular, vod?" Arson asked with intrigued curiosity.

"It seems like he's a bit anxious about a pending deal between Jawuk and the Separatist Alliance. Something about the Hutt possibly funding a new fleet of warships. Nothing has been decided yet."

Gek stood off to the side away from the window, but behind the raised bar-counter next to an inactive cold-food storage and nodded. "I've been recording that tidbit of information to implicate Jawuk and his associates. It could put them away for a long time if the Republic gets wind of it. I am a bit curious though as to why the Seps would broker a deal with a crime cartel. I guess they'll go to extreme lengths to win the war."