Chapter 33: Chapter 32
The single working dim lightbulb cast a shadowy light over the small apartment in the Coruscant undercity. A giant holographic billboard advertising some form of soft drink was placed across the street and would occasionally throw colourful reflections across the apartment's dirty walls.
Cries and shouts of panic and terror could be heard from the streets outside, but no-one was alarmed or concerned about helping the victims. The area was known for its high crime levels but there wasn't anyone interested in helping its residents.
The Coruscant undercity was one of the prime examples of the republic's corruption and failings. On the upper levels of Coruscant the wealthy lived in luxury apartments and spoke joyously of the pleasures of living on the republic capital.
They would compare how better off they were to the people of the outer-rim and speak in the senate and at fancy parties about how they should send aid to those less fortunate, while conveniently ignoring the people living in poverty on the crime infested streets on the lower levels of their own city.
The undercity was home to many criminal gangs and syndicates, taking advantage of the lawlessness of the lower levels. Lawlessness that was encouraged by certain republic senators so they could use it to line their pockets with credits.
The dingy apartment was the base of one of these gangs. They used to be a well known and well feared gang lead by Gardulla the Hutt, but when Gardulla's criminal empire had begun to collapse the gang had lost a lot of its power and territory.
The gang now consisted of seven scruffy looking gangsters and only owned the small apartment in the undercity. The gang was still part of Gardulla's collapsing empire but most of that empire now resided on Tatooine as Gardulla had pinned her last hopes on saving her empire on controlling the desert planet.
"There have been reports of the escaped slave girl on Coruscant, oh great Gardulla." The leader of the seven gangsters present in the apartment spoke to a comm device placed on a table in the centre of the apartment.
After the that Twi'lek slave girl had managed to escape Gardulla on Tatooine she had been searching for the missing girl so she could make an example her, to show what happens when you cross Gardulla the Hutt. She had been close to capturing her, and killing the interfering stranger who had been helping her, when she had lost contact with her trusted lieutenant leading the search. When her goons had arrived at the lieutenant's last known location, they had discovered the Lieutenant and his guards dead the remains of a destructive fight.
"The great Gardulla says, find that slave and kill the interfering slimeballs who are helping her. she wants the slave brought to Tatooine so everyone can see her fed to the great Gardulla's Kyrat dragon as a warning about what happens when you cross the mighty Gardulla." A protocol droid stood next to Gardulla spoke into the communications device.
"It will be done noble Gardulla." The gang leader said as Gardulla cut the comm link, leaving the gang in the silent apartment.
"Well then. Guess we get to kill some people and kidnap a little girl." The gang leader said grinning at the others in the apartment.
"Haha, this is going to be fun." Another of the gangsters laughed while looking at the holographically projected picture of a young blue skinned Twi'lek girl on the table next to the now powered off comms device.
The gangsters were all looking at the picture of their target and ginning in anticipation of the violence and terror they were about to inflict. The girl in the picture looked to be around seven years old and her name was projected underneath the picture in red letters. Seela.
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"Wow, look at those." Opal exclaimed excitedly as she bounced ahead of the group looking at the market stalls littering the high street.
After the funeral Renn's group, plus a self-invited Yaddle, had made their way back to their ship to reunite with Shae, Seela and the droids who had stayed behind. Then after it had become increasingly likely that Shae and Seela would be staying with them for the forceable future, they had decided to visit the markets on Coruscant to find them some necessary items.
Yaddle decided to stay on the ship, and was busy directing the four Hk-50 assassin droids in unpacking her luggage, so the people going to the market were Renn, Opal, Shae, Seela, Alpha, and Bolt.
They were quickly able to buy the things they needed for Shae and Seela but the girls, or mainly Opal, wanted to explore the market a bit more and so the group was now following the excited girl through the market.
"Hey Seela look over here." Opal dragged Seela to a market stall and began discussing its wares with her.
Opal had quickly realised that Renn and Shae only had a passing interest in looking around the market, and the less said about the two droids interest the better, so she had focused her attention on Seela as the shy girl had the most interested in browsing the shops with her.
Renn and Shae were happy to hang back and discuss different types of weapons and fighting styles as they watched the Opal and Seela investigate the market and look for good deals and bargains. They had just been paid quite a large sum of credits by queen Amidala for helping in freeing Naboo, so Renn wasn't too concerned with them buying things and so he, Shae, Alpha, and Bolt were now starting to carry the bags for the two excited girls.
Alpha was watching Renn and the others with a sense of contentment filling his circuits. Renn meant a great deal to Alpha and his happiness was also very important to him. Although Alpha knew Renn loved and viewed the droids as family, and they in turn cared deeply for him, it was still difficult for the droids to demonstrate emotions and feelings.
After Renn's grandmother had passed away Renn had been left alone without any contact with other 'organics', so watching Renn making bonds with others around his age had been very pleasing for Alpha. It filled with Alpha with an emotion he could only describe as 'Paternal'.
Alpha and the other droids could see that Renn, and the three girls were becoming close. Renn and Opal had known each other for about a year now and although they hadn't known Shae and Seela for that length of time, they were quickly growing closer.
Sapphire had talked to him about Renn being able to sense them through the force before they met and though they weren't sure the two of them believed that the four children had been guided together by the force. Either way the four kids seemed happy spending time together and that made Alpha happy.
So, when Alpha noticed the same scruffy looking Rodian spying on them from an alleyway for the fifth time in the span of ten minutes his mood soured rapidly.
The Rodian began talking into a comms device while looking at Renn and the three girls stood around a market stall. Whatever the Rodian wanted wasn't good and Alpha wasn't happy about it spoiling the kid's mood.
Alpha handed the bag he was carrying to Bolt and gestured for the astromech to stay with the children before quietly slipping into a side ally. He crept stealthily down some back alleys until he was behind the Rodian who had been keeping tabs on them.
"Hello meat bag" Alpha said in a 'friendly' tone to the Rodian as he grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall behind them.
But for the Rodian it was like listening to the voice death incarnate as he stared at the menacing droid leering at him inches form his face.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone