‘NOW ENTERING ARX ATMOSPHERE. ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME, FOURTEEN MINUTES.’
A soft chime played both before and after the ship’s notification, giving an otherwise charmless system a bit of light. Siorc was positioned at the helm, as it was his vessel, though he relied on the advanced droid brain to do the piloting. He was already adorned in his heavily upgraded beskar armor, his jet black eyes focused intently on a datapad containing the mission details.
Far behind him, in the passenger compartment, Ood Bnar sat in a deeply meditative state. With his arms at rest beside him he appeared completely motionless. Dameeze sat across from the Elder Jedi and wondered if he was a man or a tree. After several minutes of intense internal debate, the Lonto abruptly stood, walked over to Ood, and kicked him in the shin. One of the Neti’s eyes shot open, but he remained still otherwise.
“Why did you kick me?” He asked calmly: Dameeze immediately looked embarrassed.
“Meez is sorry, that was not nice. You are a man, not a tree. My mistake.”
“The two are not mutually exclusive, but apologies accepted nonetheless.“ Ood nodded and stood, bark cracking and popping as he stretched. “Should be arriving soon, correct?” Before Dameeze could reply, Siorc appeared in the doorway.
“We are about to touchdown just outside the village.” The Evereni was curt and direct when he spoke. “Make your final preparations.”
Snow was falling gently outside the massive ski lodge nestled in the mountains of Elos Vrai. Night had already descended despite the early hour and the twinkling lights of a village still very much hustling and bustling could be seen through frosted glass.
Kamjin the Hutt, dressed in his finest Imperial armor - he had spared no expense - placed one bulbous hand up to the glass as he sighed. This has to be perfect! Behind him the server droids whizzed and whirled setting up decoration, laying out steaming platters of traditional Life Day food, and ensuring the lodge was ready for Kamjin’s guests.
Well…he hoped they’d see it that way. You see, poor Kamjin the Hutt was trying his best to be Kamjin Lap'lamiz, former Emperor of Scholae Palatinae and current Justicar of the Brotherhood. Why? Well, even he would struggle to tell you why. After so many years it had just become its own thing and today was the day for his grand appearance.
He had crafted the invites personally. One each to the former Hands of Justice investing them to this Life Day celebration - well, them and a plus one. He had felt that was important for appearances. If he could convince these people that he was the real Kamjin then anyone would believe him.
“Sir, one of your guests will be arriving soon.”
Kamjin glided his large body around to address the server droid. His massive tail, unfortunately, connecting with the leg of one of the tables. Kamjin winced as the platters of food came crashing down to the table. Why can’t this lodge be more Hutt friendly.
“Excellent! Please escort them here!” The Hutt had been studying Alderaanian accents for years and was certain he had it down. If the server droid had eyes to roll, they would have. The accent was terrible.
Kamjin the Hutt rubbed his hands together as a massive smile spread across his face. This is gonna be the best Life Day ever!
It wasn’t everyday that Siorc had his quarry delivered to him on a silver platter. He had been hunting the slimeball of a Hutt for months now. Always one step behind this fresh intel was welcome. Inviting the sitting Left Hand of Justice was a mistake. It was immediately reported to the Justicar and Clan Vizsla was notified of the meeting location.
Quick arrangments were made for Siorc to fly the former Right Hand of Justice, Ood Bnar and his clan mate Dameeze to the meeting spot and apprehend the rogue Hutt. For a distraction they would also be bringing Life Day gifts to the denizens of the small alpine town. Loaded up in the bomb bay were hundreds of gifts with miniature parachutes. Each gift addressed generically with regards from the Grandmaster.
Flying in low and slow over the town square Siorc opened the bay door and watched the gifts come pouring out of the Salty Trinitaur. He turned the ship towards the landing bay and began the landing procedure.
As the Neti descended the ramp, he could see a lovingly decorated Lodge before him. The pristine snow expanding in every direction, aside from a strange trail leading towards a side entrance that made it seem as if something truly massive had been dragged inside the building. ‘Maybe a Life Day tree?’ Ood mused as he took a moment to check his comlink, Oddly nobody had needed his attention since he left Kasiya to start his vacation. The smells of the Republic Senate behind him, he smelled the pristine nature around him. The Elderly Jedi also caught a whiff of a scent that awakened memories. He may have smelt it before on Nar Shaddaa once before but couldn’t quite place its origins. It seemed to be coming from the drag marks. Regardless, the old Neti was expected by his old friend. And when the Justicar invited him to a nice vacation, Ood was not one to refuse.
With a final nod towards the other passengers, Ood started to make his way towards the front door, where a droid seemed to have already opened the door to allow his entry. Force he was tired, his senses dulled somewhat. His meditation would have fixed the issue but he’d been interrupted by the strange creature who presumed to find trees in ships instead of forests…
Dameeze exited the ship behind the two Elders, his heavy boots echoing off the metal ramp. Though the sky was overcast, the brightness of the snow, contrasted with the dimly lit passenger bay of the Salty Trinitaur, forced the Lonto initially to shield his eyes. After waiting a few moments for the pain to subside, he opened his eyes to see his two allies were nowhere in sight. Instead, dozens of locals had taken to the streets to open the freshly dropped presents.
“Uhm, hello?” Dameeze called out nervously. A cheerful villager set his gift aside and looked up at him, smiling warmly.
“Hello stranger! Are you here for the baking competition? You sure look like you can put away some food!” Dameeze looked down at the friendly individual. He didn’t know exactly why he was here, but he knew for certain that it wasn’t for baked goods. However, before he could speak, his stomach rumbled so loud it drowned out his own internal dialogue.
“…Yes, Meez is here for baking. Meez knows everything about baking.” This was not true. “Lead the way, little man!” The villager smiled and turned towards the Lodge, motioning for Dameeze to follow.
“Sir, they’re in the entry way.”
Kamjin the Hutt stopped his pacing…or whatever counted for pacing when a Hutt glides absent mindedly across the floor. This was it. No turning back. Now was the moment!
“Show them in.” The accent really was terrible and if Kamjin the Hutt had been even a little bit aware of his surroundings he’d have noticed the droid doing its best to roll its ocular devices. Not being observant and not being willing to wait, Kamjin the Hutt glided behind the droid as it hovered over to the doors and announced the first guests to arrive.
“Consul Ood Bnar and Mister Dameeze.” The droid had barely begun to turn when Kamjin the Hutt batted it out of the way as he grasped Ood Bnar’s hand. “It is a pleasure to see you again! Indeed, its been far to long. Welcome…Welcome! And what a charming companion you’ve brought with you. Naturally, welcome as well!”
Kamjin’s accent faded in and out as he struggled with some of the more challenging drawls and movements of the Alderaanian dialect. “You must be famished! Please, join me in some of the refreshments.” As Kamjin turned to lead the way back to the table his tail crashed into a particularly complex ginger bread house that had been setup near the entry way. It crumbled to pieces. Days of preparation loss in a single movement. Kamjin, naturally, didn’t notice so excited to have two guests arrive and to begin putting his hard work into practice.
Standing at the entry to the hotel Siorc admired his handywork. Thousands of small gifts rained down from the sky, slowed by paper parachutes. Everyone from small children to adults were crowding the town square to gather gifts and hand them to each other. The Hutt wasn’t going anywhere and the Evereni rarely got to see this much joy all at once.
‘Woah, that is a pretty-’ The thought had not even fully formed yet as Dameeze watched the elaborate gingerbread house crumble to the floor in a pile of sprinkles and cookie bits. Disappointing. Maintaining his pace alongside Ood, he stretched out his arm, snagged a handful of gingerbread, and quickly shoved all of it into his mouth at once. He crunched loudly as he walked, drowning out any of the conversation that Ood and ‘Kamjin’ might be having, though he wasn’t paying attention anyway. The Lonto was absolutely transfixed by the beautiful display of candles at the end of the hall. Hundreds of varying sizes and styles in multiple ascending and overlapping rows. An aged tapestry was hanging behind the candles depicting a strange scene involving a dark creature with antlers, its fine craftsmanship still clearly visible though its colors had faded with time. Not realizing the Jedi had stopped, Dameeze walked right into the back of Ood and the pair collapsed to the floor.
“Oh my!” Kamjin blurted out. The fake accent lost for a moment until he recovered his senses. “You must be more careful. There are so many things around here that are fragile.” Kamjin helped them both up as best he could. Hutts, after all, aren’t known for their flexibility.
“Let’s continue.” Kamjin wondered if they had caught his slip-up. The thought festered in his brain as he took them down the hall way and described the glorious tapestry. He had spared no expense in learning about the local customs and lore. He was all of twitter as Ood and Dameeze appeared to be caught up in his story until a flutter out a nearby window caught his eye.
“What’s that?” He turned his bloated body to glide over to the window where he noticed several packages raining down. What is this?! No one one-ups me on Life Day! “Gentle-beings, we should head outside. It appears that my little surprise has come early.” His lips smacked as he mentally patted himself on the back for thinking up the lie so quickly. His tail thumped the ground in annoyance at whomever the upstart was.
As the companions headed out into the cool night it went unnoticed that Kamjin’s tail had knocked over several of the candles. Hot wax covered the display as whisps of flame danced their way over to the tapestry.
It always surprised the Neti how common urban legends could be. Weren’t winter nights supposed to be quiet, cold, and dark? The orange red glow of the night cast deep shadows as the warmth of the night spread over them from behind. All around them, things kept falling from above at near various velocities. Maybe a ship had forgotten to close its cargo hold? Maybe some nefarious Hutt was dumping waste products produced by some highly criminalistic enterprise for no other reason than it brought gleeful joy to the criminalistic spacefaring mollusk. Luckily they were in the presence of the mighty Justicar who would brook no interference from such a gargantuan mobster.
“I think we should call the Spaceport and report this occurrence, lord Justicar… It is clearly either accidental or deliberate littering. It may otherwise even end up ruining your surprise!”
The old Jedi’s gaze moved towards the Hutt’s face, a deep sense of honest and genuine worry filling the beady eyes.
“Some poor woodland creatures may end up choking on these. Especially with how warm and illuminated the winter nights are around here. I mean, they’d be able to so very easily see these things lying around! It is purely animal cruelty to do nothing in a disaster like this! Does anyone know the number of the local security offices? Maybe they can assist as well…”
As the Neti kept talking, a package cratered in the ground at their feet and - quite like a meteorite - a ripped, badly burned parachute landing nearby. In the distance, a strange being with a heavy duty laser rifle continued taking aim at the parachutes of the packages still high enough up to cause issues. Mad cackling laughter sounded faintly in said distance.
Lost for a moment in his admiration of the gifts falling from the sky, children laughing and scurrying around to gather the small bundles of credits and trinkets, Siorc had been interrupted by his target finally making an appearance. He drew his blaster pistol and aimed at the Hutt. Even as he did so, the sound of a heavy blaster started echoing through the town square.
“Krampus!” he exclaimed, his blaster still pointing at the Hutt.
“I’m afraid you are mistaken,” The Hutt replied in his normal voice before switching to a bad Alderaanian accent and puffing up his chest and what Siorc guessed was a chin. It was hard to tell on a Hutt, “I am Kamjin, Justicar of the Brotherhood.”
“And I am a Monkey-lizard’s uncle,” the Evereni replied. “I will deal with you later.”
As he turned around, a very large Gotal appeared in the town square. He was covered in short brown fur with pieces of dark hide covering his chest, arms, and thighs. Two horns protruded from his head that curved backwards. He was armed with a heavy blaster and was taking shots at the gifts raining down. As Siorc headed down the steps to take care of the intruder, he heard the Hutt muttering. “A monkey-lizard’s uncle? How is that possible?”
Siorc charged at the large Gotal, not even bothering to fire at him. Running at full speed, he launched himself into the hulking man. Both combatants were propelled into one of the many carts selling goods. Plastic, wood, and credits went flying everywhere as the impact shattered the flimsy merchant stall. The move would have incapacitated most, but instead, the Gotal jumped right back up. As Siorc was in the process of getting himself upright again, he caught a large foot to his stomach. His armor absorbed most of the impac,t but it still sent him tumbling away back into the main area of the town square.
“Hey, you don’t hurt Meez’s new friend!” Dameeze boomed out over the town square as he watched the Evereni slam into a small booth and scatter its frame into a thousand wood shards. The strange Gotal seemed unaffected by Dameeze’s outburst and continued walking towards Siorc on the ground, now laughing in a low and gravely tone that echoed off the cobblestones. The Lonto spun his pack around and dug through the myriad of electronics and volatile compounds, a determination in his eye that the others had yet to see. In front of him, Siorc had risen back to his feet and the two combatants were going blow-for-blow. The horned Gotal appeared to have some otherworldly strength that would have intimidated even Dameeze, if not for his blind loyalty.
The Lonto pulled a pair of land mines from his pack and dropped the rest on the ground. He quickly armed them as he ran forward toward the distracted Krampus. He slammed the twin devices into its back, easily getting them entangled in its mass of knotted fur. The impact forced it to turn, giving Siorc a clear view of the impromptu plan.
“Together!” He called out to Dameeze, who nodded and grappled the horned Gotal immediately. Siorc scrambled around to the front and together the two men slammed into the abdomen of the Krampus with all their might. It launched in the air several feet and slammed into the ground on its back. The Evereni quickly ducked down to take cover, but Dameeze just stood and watched in amazement as the Krampus’ body was annihilated. A grotesque shower of viscera and gore erupted from the point of impact, sending out a mushroom cloud of blood that coated every surface within the area, including Dameeze.
Ood Bnar and ‘Kamjin’ watched in shock and awe, standing at the front entrance of the inn, bits of Gotal still falling from above. Behind them, flames were licking up to the ceiling and thick black smoke was pouring out into the evening sky.