Star Wars: Traits Of Descent

by Madman007

Time: Twelve years ABY

  Setting: Nal Hutta

  The run down tapcaf was now so deserted that it was merely an echo of its former festive self after a standard hour earlier. The music had been turned off. The dancers went home for the night. The watered-down well drinks and kegs of ale were stored. It was quiet. It was just the perfect background for waiting.

  Exactly the way Meeko wanted it. It took a long time to bribe the owner to allow him and his guards to close that night. Meeko had chosen the location specifically. Though devoid of the public inside, the tapcaf was positioned on the edge of what Nal Huttans considered suburbia. Any chaos heard there would echo to the Hutts in various forms. It wasn't like the residents could put a stop to anything. It was merely bad business for the Hutts if anything went wrong with high end deals.

  Not that Meeko expected Rousch to start any chaos. Meeko was protected by two WeeQuay guards if anything did go awry. Rousch did know how to deal. He had been a Vigo in the ancient Black Sun days in which he was inherited the same position in the newly formed Black Nebula. It too was a shadow of its former self ever since Prince Xizor had died. It was strange to believe that throughout Black Sun's existence, it took the death of its greatest leader to bring it down so close to a bottom level that it disallowed its old name. Creating Black Nebula was for the sole purpose of letting the galaxy know that Black Sun's presence would still be felt, despite the name change. There were fewer Vigo leaders in Black Nebula. Some, like Rousch, became a Vigo through necessity, and normally would have never had the chance of rising to the same power during Xizor's reign.

  Meeko always considered himself to become a Vigo someday. He could be the first Rodian to do so. His species were perceived to be less educated and only useful for trivial duties. Most Rodian could not make hard decisions easily. Meeko had come a long way to dispel that presumption about his race. Despite his skills in crime all through his life, he would never be considered Vigo material.

  One of his WeeQuay guards suddenly said in his language, "We wait too long. Them not coming."

  Meeko never attempted to use the WeeQuay's language. He stuck to Basic, which is what he spoke the majority of his time. If you didn't speak Basic, you would have a hard time in the smuggling business. "He is most definitely coming, Quy'psi. Rousch is taking his time. Like all Vigo. You'll have to be patient."

  Quy'psi replied, "Me no like patient. Take too long."

  Meeko had to grimace at the creature's accidental hint of wisdom. The environment went silent again. Until a small distant crash was heard from the back storage room.

  "What was that?" questioned Meeko.

  The two WeeQuay stared at the door that led to the back storage area of the tapcaf. They were ready to pounce into action as soon as it would be necessary. The noise did not continue.

  Meeko had to prod them impatiently. "Well, one of you go see what it was."

  The other WeeQuay started for the door cautiously. He was almost near enough to touch the controls to open it when it suddenly looked like he was being attacked. He started to choke and he seemed to magically lift into the air as his blaster fell to the floor. The WeeQuay squealed in pain.

  Meeko looked frantic as he strained to see who the attacker was. All he could see was the blurred view of the storage door. And with the extra sensitive eyes of a Rodian, Meeko could just make out the shadow of a creature. Instantly, he knew. He called out, "Rousch! Call off your Defel!"

  "That will be enough, Visnel," ordered a voice from behind him.

  The WeeQuay was lowered and his choking was replaced by excessive coughs. The limited light coming from the storage room fragmented into the form of a wraith. Meeko turned around and as he suspected, Rousch was standing with a case in hand. He was big-boned. Not as rotund as a Hutt but more than the usual size of a human. The dark hair of his goatee looked more groomed than the receding gray hair on his head. He looked at Meeko with a confident smile.

  Meeko attempted a smirk with his oversized lips. "You always love dramatic entrances."

  "Your Basic is improving, my friend."

  "You're not my friend."

  Suddenly, the WeeQuay who had been attacked by the wraith lunged at Rousch and pointed his blaster at him. He warned, "Quay'ell no like surprise!"

  Rousch quipped at Meeko, "Your guards, though, need some pointers in their Basic."

  Like lightening, the wraith was on top of the advancing WeeQuay ready to act. There was a murderous threat behind the glowing red eyes of the creature.

  Meeko ordered, "Get back, Quay'ell."

  Quay'ell pleaded, "I take him dead."

  Meeko calmly stated, "And then his wraith kills you where you stand before you realize it."

  Rousch noted, "Smart for a Rodian."

  "I try to give my species an element of intelligence."

  "You have a long way to go. Now, are we done threatening each other, because I do believe you have some new product for me."

  "That all depends on if you have enough credits for me.," Meeko shot back.

  Without a word back, Rousch placed his case on the nearest table and clicked it open. He reached inside to produce a datapad, which he also set on the table beside the case.

  "Funny, that doesn't look like a credit case," Meeko

  Rousch said nothing as he punched in some keys on the datapad and then angled it so Meeko could see the screen. Rousch explained, "This has a link to your account. Five million credits are being transferred there as we speak. See?"

  "Yes, but the price was ten million."

  "I will send the codes to the encrypt that will transfer the other half when my associate and I are safe and well outside the perimeter."

  Meeko sighed but stated, "Fair enough."

  "Now, about that product?"

  Meeko nodded and reached for the edge of his coat. He exaggerated the motion of opening it wide to show Rousch the lack of weapons hidden. He pulled out from an inside pocket a small flask. He opened it and set in on the table next to the datapad. Inside were three small vials of a pink liquid.

  Meeko announced, "Behold, the future source of profits. All the effects of glitterstim mined from Kessel and crystalized into liquid form. Yay for progress."

  Rousch scoffed. "Progress. All you did was create upgraded death sticks."

  Meeko chuckled. "Death sticks? Those things are the past. When were those last popular, when you were ten? No, this stuff makes death sticks feel like bacta water."

  Rousch took one of the vials and opened it.

  Meeko warned, "I'd be careful if you're test driving those. What's in there is very concentrated for mass production. A little of that will bounce you into Oblivion for days."

  "You're crazy if you think a man of my status would sample his own product. I have my own way of testing." Rousch pulled out another contraption from his case that looked like a plasti-form tube. Meeko could tell even from a few meters that there was a small amount of white powder inside the tube. Rousch tried to carefully pour some of the liquid spice into the tube but managed to spill a drop anyway.

  Meeko said, "That was about a few hundred credits you just spilled there."

  Rousch shot back sarcastically, "Sorry about the mess."

  "Actually, I was more concerned with leaving evidence."

  Rousch ignored him and continued with his testing. He capped the tube and shook the contents inside. He stopped and held the clear tube to the light and a bright green hue appeared. Rousch grinned and remarked, "I don't think I've ever seen it turn that green before."

  Meeko said proudly, "As I said, it's pure. Has something to do with it being in crystallized form. You satisfied now?"

  "Very," Rousch stated as he started putting away the tube and the rest of the vials inside his case. He then started to mention, "Now, once we are away, you will find the codes for the encrypt transferred to the datapad here. Then you can..."

  Just then there was a sound all of them heard that sounded like a small piece of metal dropping t
o the floor with a ting.

  "What was that?" Rousch quickly asked.

  Meeko supplied casually, "Sounds like someone dropped some change."

  Rousch emphasized, "I don't carry change."

  "Neither do I. Nor my guards." Meeko started looking around the empty tapcaf and his WeeQuays mimicked his action. Instead of looking up, Rousch looked down at the floor apparently concerned as to what hit the floor. After watching him search for a few moments, Meeko was getting impatient."Rousch, you're getting paranoid. It's nothing. Can you leave and finish the deal?"

  Rousch then shouted with glee as he found what he was looking for. His large frame strained to bend over and pick it up. His look was filled with confusion. Meeko edged closer to him to see what the object was. It was no coin. Rousch held a medium sized cooper-colored piece of metal in the shape of a circle.

  "What is it?"

  Rousch turned it around so Meeko could see. There stamped in the metal was the old insignia of Black Sun. A black dot was in the center of a spiked circle with a point at its apex. This would have been stamped during Xizor's day, or before.

  Meeko asked, "What exactly is that?"

  "It's a Vigo's chit."

  Meeko chuckled, "Why Rousch, I didn't know you cursed in Basic."

  Rousch turned angry, "I said 'chit', you imbecile. It's what Vigos receive as a symbol of their dedication and loyalty. I have a similar one like this stored away when I was made Vigo after Xizor died. I have a new one for Black Nebula." He sniffed. "Funny, they use a lower grade meleenium than this old one."

  "All right," Meeko, began, "so the five million credit question is, what in chak'ra is it doing here?"

  Rousch grinned. "Why Meeko, I didn't think you cursed in Huttese." Rousch enjoyed his small crack at the Rodian while he turned the metal over on its opposite side. All the joy in his face was substituted by a look of utter horror. He was so frozen with fear that he inadvertently dropped the metal back to the floor. After the clang ended, Rousch started to look frantically around the tapcaf.

  "Visnel," he called for his wraith, "keep your eyes open. For anything."

  Meeko bent over to pick up the metal and saw that there was a name etched on the back. Caiecos. Meeko asked, "Who is Caiecos?"

  Rousch gulped as he looked panicked. "He was once a Vigo. Long before I had been one. I was only starting into the organization when he was made. But, we heard. We all did."

  "Heard what?"

  Rousch finally looked at the Rodian to answer, "The murders. Caieco was one of several Vigo who were murdered back then."

  "Murdered? What, Black Sun couldn't take care of this on their own?"

  "It was all hushed. Not open to the public. They suspected, but never knew. The official word was that the group of Vigos died in a suicide pact."

  "That was convenient. I take it the killer was never found."

  "You got it. Then the murders just stopped. It was right around the time the Empire took over."

  "I'm sure Vader and the Emperor didn't cry over blasted Vigos."

  "Oh, the killer didn't just off them with a blaster. There isn't a word for what was done to them."

  Meeko could detect the increasing amount of panic in the current Vigo's voice. He held up the chit. "This doesn't mean they are starting again."

  Rousch glared at him. "Meeko, they never found their chits. They were missing. And suddenly this turns up here and now?"

  "All right, let's don't panic. Why don't you give me the codes for the transfer so we can all get out of here." Meeko was almost embarrassed that he was using Rousch's fear to his own advantage. Almost. He was expecting Rousch to revert back to his sarcasm and call him on his greed. He didn't. Rousch was truly spooked.

  Instead, Rousch admitted, "Actually, that's a good idea." He made a beeline to the datapad and started punching in keys quickly.

  Meeko motioned to his nearest WeeQuay and muttered, "You be on alert too."

  The creature said proudly, "Quay'ell ready for anythi..."

  The sound was a small swish and it was quick. Too quick to be seen even with a Rodian's wide peripheral vision. Meeko could only see a dark flash go past him. Yet, he turned and there was nothing. He looked at his guard and saw a blank expression staring back at him. "Are you all right?"

  The WeeQuay struggled to utter, "Small...pinch." With that, the creature collapsed to the floor with a thud at Meeko's feet. Spilling out of the WeeQuay's abdomen was a pool of magenta blood.

  Meeko muttered to himself, "Tu chak'ra."

  Rousch called out to him casually to say, "The transfer is done. You are ten million credits richer. Now, we are leaving."

  Meeko was confused. He heard his words and it registered. He doesn't know. The kill was that silent. Meeko mentioned to him, "We may have another problem."

  Rousch finally walked over by Meeko's side. "What do you mean? We're finished here...," he spotted the dead WeeQuay. "Wh...what happened?"

  "I don't know. I just know we may not be finished here." Meeko had always considered himself an intelligent criminal. He had brushed himself up with all manners of violence. This was something different. "You've got all your stuff?"

  "Yes," Rousch whispered in fear.

  "Let's take the back exit. I don't want to find out who is behind this." They both turned...and were frozen in shock as to what they saw.

  Meeko's second guard was being held as a victim. Holding him by the neck from behind was a thin humanoid figure wearing a tight black one-piece tunic with blood red highlights along its limbs. It's face was not just obscured by the WeeQuay's head, but also a darkened hood. It was faceless. Silent as well. It did not announce its presence. There was no sarcastic greeting or threat of any kind. It was just there. Its other hand grasped a long, thin vibroblade that was aimed directly at the WeeQuay's waist.

  All at once, it broke its silence and spoke in a mechanical, almost droid-like whisper. "I am behind this."

  Meeko braved speaking with it. "All right. You have our attention. What do you want?"

  The figure said nothing.

  Meeko could see the outline of fragmented light that was Rousch's wraith. It almost sprang into action against their new guest, when Meeko shouted, "Stop! Don't do anything." He kept his large eyes on the hooded figure. "No one else has to die tonight."

  The figure said back eerily, "Yes. They do." In that instant, the figure plunged the blade deep into the waist of the WeeQuay. The creature squealed in pain and sprawled on the floor. It soon stopped squirming and its cries became silently...dead.

  Rousch called out to the killer, "That was very dumb. Now, you'll have to deal with my wraith. That is, if you can find him."

  True to his threat, Meeko looked back and found the wraith gone from it's former attack position. With its ability to bend light and become a shadow that couldn't be seen until it was too late, their new guest had no chance. There was no way to tell which direction its attack would come from. Meeko almost felt sad at how quickly their guest would soon be dealt with.

  The humanoid stood motionless before them. It's hood revealed nothing of what was lurking from beneath the blackness. Finally, it reached for something on its belt. A small device of some kind. It placed it on the table beside it and flipped a switch. The device started blinking a small white light rapidly.

  Rousch questioned Meeko in whisper, "Is that a thermal detonator?"

  "None that I've ever seen," Meeko answered.

  Within seconds, the device went off. A flash of blinding white light flooded them all around. Both Meeko and Rousch tried to shield their eyes with their hands, but they were too late. They were temporarily blinded.

  "What's going on?" Rousch shouted his question full of panic.

  Meeko noted the flash did not interrupt their hearing. Especially his. Rodian's had a keen sense of hearing which Meeko now relied on. "Shut up and let me listen."

  Soon they could hear the battle cries of the wraith in its attack of the mysterious guest. The soun
ds of battle were evident. Meeko almost felt sorry for their attacker. The cries continued as their sight was slowly returning. They started to see darker shapes rather than sheets of white. Soon, the cries stopped.

  They looked before them and saw the shadowy form of the wraith standing tall in victory.

  Rousch confidently stated, "Well done, Visnel. Come on, let's get out of here." He turned in the general direction of Meeko and apologized. "I'm sorry about your guards. But, you have your credits. And I have my product. I promise to profit generously." As he walked toward his wraith, Meeko saw it first with his wider eyes than the human's. He could see the dark shape before them, but with hints of blood red. Those weren't the cries of battle they heard. They were cries of pain from the wraith. Meeko looked down and saw the true dark shape of the wraith on the floor.

  "Rousch, no!" Meeko tried to call out.

  It was too late.

  In a flash of speed, the strange humanoid lunged at Rousch to push him back with great force. A durasteel pillar had stopped their momentum and Rousch was pressed against it so hard that Meeko could almost hear the man's spinal cord snap. Rousch yelled out in pain that Meeko did not want to think about. The attacker took his left hand and grasped it around Rousch's neck.

  Rousch was forced to gag his question. "What...do...you...want?"

  The figure replied icily, "I want your chit."

  "It's...it's you! You killed those Vigo."

  "No. I am not who you think." The hooded figure got so close to Rousch's face, Meeko wondered if Rousch could see its face underneath its hood. It added, "I am worse."

  Meeko decided he had to act. He knew he couldn't defeat this being. It had already taken out two WeeQuay and a wraith within minutes. Meeko took out his blaster and pointed it at the figure. "Now, listen. That man is a prominent figure in the Black Nebula organization. You know what will happen if you kill him?"

  The figure replied, "I am counting on their reaction."

  Meeko continued. He knew he should have been running as soon as Rousch was trapped. But, he couldn't. He was a criminal. That didn't mean he did not have a heart. Or a soul. "I can't allow you to do this. You've got your working arm at his neck. There's no way you can get a shot off at the same time..."

  In another blur of motion, the figure reached onto its belt with its right hand and flicked...something...at Meeko. It was a hint of another small piece of metal. Meeko didn't have time to study what it was. It came at his leg quickly and buried itself deep through his right pants leg and into green flesh. Meeko shouted in pain and he fell backward dropping his blaster.

  After he squirmed on the floor holding his injured leg, their guest spoke to him. "I need for you to be silent now. Do not worry. I need you alive to tell the tale." It looked back at Rousch and said, "As for you..."

  Rousch pleaded. "No! Please, no! I...I have credits. Many credits. They're yours. Please."

  It hissed, "All of your credits cannot equal the actions of what you are a part of."

  "Wh..what are you?"

  The figure produced another cylindrical weapon that clung to its belt. It was extended with the right hand and ignited. The most familiar sound in the galaxy emitted from it. A lightsaber. This had a white blade and was about half the size of the lightsabers that Meeko had been witness to see. The figure extended the blade out in a pre-jabbing motion, obviously aimed at Rousch's mid-section.

  It finally answered Rousch. "I am your doom."

  * * * * *