Loharr Talem
Legendary Member
Character Backstory: Apprentice Loharr Talem
Notable Kill: Zal Sud
Year: 145 ABY
~~~~~
Loharr made his way through the short terrace, overlooking the overgrown gardens below. A smoothe breeze blew through the open walls, arches placed in favor of windows, which were themselves, overgrown with vines and other such flora. If someone had told him several months ago that he would soon find himself to be a member of a group of assassins operating out of Dantooine, he might’ve laughed at them. Maybe stab them too, for good measure.
Yet, here he stood. Walking along the outer edges of an abandoned mansion, deep within the borders of the Khoonda Plains, a member of the aptly named ‘Khoonda Brotherhood’. From behind him, he heard his name being called out. Turning around, Loharr found himself face to face with the cold, silver eyes of one of the other members of the Brotherhood. Her white hair flowing with the breeze.
“Shalla…” Loharr said, leaning against one of the pillars.
“Loharr, Viriz wants to see you.” She said, “He said it was important.”
“Understood.” Loharr said, passing by the Echani, heading inside.
The inside of the building wasn’t any better than the outside. Vines and other plants grew rampant around them, puddles of water and mildew infesting the walls and floor. Several minutes passed before Loharr reached the inner courtyard, a glass dome covering what could easily be mistaken as a greenhouse.
In front of him, a male Cosian stood before a holographic projector table, his tail softly sweeping the dust and dirt ridden floor. Before Loharr could even speak up, the Cosian turned to face the young assassin, beckoning him over to the table.
“You wanted to see me, Viriz?” Loharr inquired, stepping up to the table.
“I did.” The Cosian answered, activating the table. Before the two of them, a projection of a Duros individual became visible, along with some flavor text describing who he was and what he did. “This is Zal Sud, a Bounty Hunter under the employ of the Red Ring Syndicate in Garang. Now while his employers are in Garang, he operates out of Dantoo Town mainly.”
“Ok… what do I need to do?” Loharr asked, crossing his arms.
“Well, the Red Ring has been using him to get a major leg up on their rivals and competitors by sending Sud after them and killing key players in said rival factions. He is not below causing collateral damage, though never fails to bring his targets in alive. He is becoming too large of a piece within the Red Rings’ game. We can’t let them get too large within the current geopolitical state of the sector.”
“So you need me to kill this Zal Sud guy?” Loharr added.
“Precisely. Remove him from the board, and the Red Ring Syndicate loses a large portion of their bargaining power.” Viriz explained, “Do you have any questions or requests?”
“None.” Loharr responded.
“Good. Let’s hope your reputation lives up to the expectations.” Viriz said, his voice full of vitriol.
“I let my work speak for itself.” Loharr said, a miniscule level of rage in his own voice.
Turning on his heel, Loharr made his way down to the garage, where he had stashed a recently stolen speeder bike. They had a tendency to be lost, stolen again, or destroyed, so his turnover rate for rides was quite high. Either way, he got onto the speeder bike, powered it up, and sped off, leaving the ruined mansion behind him, a small cloud of dust being kicked up from the repulsor lifts and thruster.
His destination was not Dantoo Town yet, but in fact, Mosa Town. He had to go see an acquaintance. The trip was short, in comparison to other trips to and from his other jobs, and upon arriving, Loharr stepped into the cantina, where he let out a rather…. Uncharacteristic greeting.
“Odsalna! Just the one I was looking for.” He exclaimed, “Get over here, we have business to discuss.”
Odsalna had known Loharr for almost a year by this point, and despite his previous experiences with Loharr, matched his friends greeting.
“Ah Loharr! You little rapscallion, you.” He said, approaching the young assassin. “I knew you would come around to my proposition sooner or later.”
“But of course.” Loharr said, leading Odsalna into the back room. The two of them sat down, as Odsalna cracked open a bottle of a strong smelling alcohol, beginning to pour 2 glasses. “I would prefer water. I’ve sees how that stuff makes people act…”
“As you wish.” The Weequayan said, pouring Loharr a glass of water, downing one of the two glasses of alcohol quickly. “So… about my proposition!”
“Yes, you wanted me to take care of a particular…. Associate of yours out of Garang, yes?” Loharr inquired, “I’ll do it…. But, not technically me.”
“I… do not understand…” Odsalna was confused.
“I need to kill someone else and I need some bait.” Loharr said, “That ‘associate’ is part of a decently sized smuggling operation, dealing in munitions and supplies, right?”
“Yes…? Why, I don’t see why…. Oh!” The Weequayan began to laugh. “You sly dog! What do you need?”
“Invite him here for a meeting.” Loharr said, “Then I’ll handle the rest.”
“Understood, my friend.” Odsalna said, “Cheers!”
The two clinked glasses, before standing and leaving. The other patrons of the cantina found it odd, watching the two leaving the room. They had seen Loharr interact with Odsalna before, but nearly always with someone else. And never before had Loharr ever been so enthusiastic about talking to someone who he seemingly hated.
As Loharr left the cantina, he made his way to a nearby inn, the only one in town really, while Odsalna made his call to his associate. It was time for Loharr to make a call of his own. Pulling out a holocommunicator he had obtained several jobs prior, he set the settings to secret call, which would mask his identity and voice. He set the frequency for a lieutenant member of the Red Ring Syndicate, a contact he made on the same mission in which he obtained the holocommunicator. After several seconds of waiting, the hologram came up, revealing a woman, with her hair in a ponytail, wearing dock workers clothes.
“Who is this?” She asked, rather irately.
“That does not matter.” Loharr answered, “I have some information for you… regarding an opportunity for your employer.”
There was silence from the woman for a few moments before she responded.
“What sort of opportunity?” She inquired.
Loharr smiled at the question.
“There is a smuggler from Garang heading to Mosa Town to discuss a deal with a representative of the Hound Head Clan.” Loharr said, knowing the Hound Head Clan was a viciously competitive faction for the Red RIng. “He will be en route soon. I trust it will be taken care of.”
Before the woman could respond, Loharr ended the transmission. Perfect. Now all that he needed to do was wait. It was easily a two days ride with any local speeders to get from Garang to Mosa Town, one day if it was good. Dantoo Town was somewhere between Garang and Mosa Town, but out of the way enough that any real option was to intercept while closer to the Mosa Town settlement.
With the plan in motion, Loharr took out a nutrition bar from his belt and began to nibble on it. It wasn’t tasty, or very satisfying, but it did keep the hunger at bay. The day was still young, so Loharr left the inn, making his way around the town. He eventually found his way to the market, where he came across a familiar stall. He remembered it vividly. It was the stall where he tried to take from the garbage just before he met Dana Carrana.
“Anything to interest you?” Asked the stall tender.
“No… just looking…” Loharr said, making a mental note for later.
He left the market, and after some hours of wandering in circles in the small settlement, he saw a familiar plume of dust being kicked up by a speeder. Interesting… that was rather quick. He made his way over to the cantina, where he had a better line of sight for the incoming speeder. He allowed himself a slight smirk upon seeing it was in fact, Zal Sud. Early. Perhaps he was closer to Mosa Town when he got the call.
He decided it was best to keep Sud close by, so he started following him, keeping a more than healthy distance as to not arouse suspicion. Loharr even went so far as to purposefully lose sight of Sud occasionally, and for varying amounts of time. After all, Mosa Town wasn’t that large, running into the same people over and over wasn’t uncommon.
Loharr did this until it was time to retire for the evening, as the sun was setting and the moons were coming out. So, returning to the inn, Loharr decided to forego sleep, opting instead to meditate.
As a young child, he would often observe his father meditating, as his father shared the same trait as he did, being Force Sensitive and all. He found himself meditating more and more in the recent years, but it wasn’t anything major, as nothing ever happened during the sessions. Though he would feel a faint sense of where others were around him, but never able to pinpoint exactly where anyone was.
Before long, or at least that is what it felt like, the sun was coming up.
Loharr stood up, feeling refreshed… surprisingly enough. He made his way out of the room, paid his due to the innkeep, and made his way out to the building. Making his way to the cantina for breakfast, he merely motioned for Odsalna to bring him a bowl of stew. The Weequayan brought the stew over, and as the bartender returned to his post behind the bar, in walked Zal Sud.
He ordered a bottle of Ardees, or as it was more commonly called, Jawa Juice. Not a glass, a bottle. Heavy drinker it seemed. That could be useful for later.
Loharr ate his stew, it was an ok meal, better than nothing. His spot was by the window facing out from the town, hoping he could see any trace of an incoming speeder. It wasn’t until several minutes later, and one bowl of stew later, he finally spotted a nearby speeder on approach to the settlement. He opted to wait until the speeder arrived before acting, an action which paid off well.
Into the cantina walked a middle aged man with peppered, black hair, walking up to Odsalna, who quickly invited him to the backroom. With this, Zal Sud stood up and walked out of the cantina, bottle of Jawa Juice in hand. Didn’t even pay for it.
Loharr stood up as well, depositing his empty bowl at the bar. He was an assassin, not a slob. He dropped down a few credits to pay for the food, and left as well, well hidden among the small crowd of patrons also leaving for whatever work they did. Taking possession of a small sack, clueless of its contents, Loharr made his way to the speeder bike he rode to his current location, got on, and began on his way to Dantoo Town.
It was several hours later, a fair distance from his destination, a small burst of flame, sparks, and smoke blew from the back of the speeder. Very quickly, the speeder lost power, and the nose dipped down at such an aggressive angle, it caught the ground and flipped. Loharr was sent hurtling through the air, crashing into the ground and slid along the ground, his body tumbling as his mass scraped against the coarse ground.
This ultimately led to Loharr getting knocked unconscious from the blunt force trauma.
When he woke up, Loharr would find himself in a strange room. Clean… almost too clean. He looked around, his clothes and weapons were stripped and he was wearing white clothes. Though he did notice his clothes and other belongings were folded on a nearby side table. He sat up and something in the room began to emit a low pitched, buzzing sound, almost like a strange alarm. The second his foot hit the floor, a medical droid stepped into the room.
“Wh- where am I?” Loharr asked, a little groggy.
“You are in the Dantoo Town infirmary.” The droid answered, “You have sustained a minor concussion and numerous scrapes and abrasions on a significant portion of your body. Nothing too serious mind you, but you were found near a wrecked speeder bike. If that was your bike, then you should consider yourself extraordinarily lucky.”
“I’m in Dantoo Town?” Loharr repeated, his mind still in a state of minor confusion.
“That is correct.” The droid said, “I am DD-14Z….”
The droid paused and seemed to change.
“Ignore that previous name, Brother Talem.” The droid spoke, it’s vocal modulation now a little higher pitched than before.
“B-brother?” Loharr repeated, before realizing that is something pertaining to the Khoonda Brotherhood.
“I am SQ-3RKZ.” The droid spoke, “I am currently inhabiting this horrifying body at the behest of Sister Marelen. She voiced her concerns regarding your assignment to this job with Viriz and sent me to assist you.”
His heart sank. She didn’t have faith in him…. That’s why she sent someone else. Because he couldn’t handle the job on his own. Did she only see him as a failure?
“She doesn’t think I can do this on my own… does she?” Loharr asked SQ-3RKZ.
“False. She knows you can not do this alone.” He responded, “This was the consensus of the Brotherhood. Only Viriz, Borin, and Sola agreed that you alone should take on this job. Luckily, the Brotherhood is an Isocracy, and thus, everyones’ decisions are their own. It was of my own will that I decided to come and join you on this mission. The others were needed elsewhere throughout the region.”
Those words hurt. A lot. It made Loharr retreat into his mind, like a depression, before the depression quickly faded into anger. An anger unlike any he had felt before.
“Do they think I'm weak?!” Loharr exclaimed, “I am as good an assassin as any of the others. I CAN do this.”
“There is no doubt regarding your capabilities as an assassin, Brother Talem.” SQ-3RKZ said, “It is merely an observation. You are but a child, your target is a full grown sentient with years, if not decades of killing experience. It was not that the rest of us did not think you were weak. Quite the opposite in fact. We are all well aware of your abilities, we know you are capable. It is just that we know Zal Sud is better, and in limited engagements, he could eliminate at least half of the Brotherhood or more. It was never a matter of your skills. This was a matter of making sure you survived the encounter.”
Loharr paused, looking up at the droid.
“Without a doubt, Zal Sud would kill you before you had the opportunity to draw your blade.” The droid said, “This is why we must be smart about this job. Sud is back in town, but seeing as this was your mission first, I shall surrender the final decision to you, regarding how we deal with Sud.”
Loharr paused for a moment more, now deep in thought. Then, with a smirk upon his face, he looked up at the droid.
“Do you know where any sedatives are?” He asked.
Time passed slowly, for the rest of the day, as Loharr was cooped up in the infirmary, having to keep up appearances, while SQ-3RKZ went out to make sure the preparations for the plan were made.
The plan was to get Sud extremely inebriated, then sedate him by drugging his drink. Then, using SQ as a reasoning, they would take Zal Sud to the infirmary and finish him off there. A simple plan in theory, but a lot less work than Loharr initially planned. Which may or may not have involved dropping down from the ceiling or roof or something higher and strangling and stabbing the target. In retrospect, that would’ve gotten him killed.
Eventually, it was time to put the plan into action.
Loharr got dressed in his normal clothes, barring the weapons, as advised by SQ, and made his way to the cantina. There, the target was precisely where SQ said he would be. So, Loharr found his way to an empty booth and sat down, and when a waiter came over to see if he wanted anything to drink, he simply said water for himself and a bottle of Jawa Juice for the target.
Confused, the waiter repeated what Loharr said, to verify what the young assassin had requested. Loharr confirmed the order, even paying twice the cost of the Jawa Juice with money given by SQ. They needed to make sure the target was very inebriated.
Not too much later, Loharr saw that another bottle of Jawa Juice was headed over to the targets table. The waiter stopped at the table next to Loharr’s, dropping off several drinks to other patrons, which gave him just the opportunity he needed.
He reached up, over the gap between the tables, and dropped in several of the sedative pills into the bottle of Jawa Juice, before quickly retreating back to his seat in the booth. Luckily, the cantina was darkened and busy. He went completely unnoticed by the other patrons. A side effect of still being a child, a very useful one.
After several more minutes of waiting, Loharr watched as the target began to appear significantly more drowsy as they had previously been. Then, just as planned, the target dropped onto the table, unconscious. In this moment, Loharr signaled for SQ to come and pick up the target for transport back to the infirmary. As SQ did this, Loharr would return to the infirmary himself and wait.
Loharr couldn’t contain his joy when he saw the droid carrying the unconscious body of the target into the room, dropping it onto the table. Together, the two of them secured the targets’ arms and legs to the table, before Loharr gave SQ the command to wake him up.
And so, SQ gave the target a shot of adrenaline, making him wake up very quickly.
“Wha-where am I?” He growled,rattling his bindings “Who are you?”
“We are…” Loharr started, before being cut off by SQ.
“It does not matter who we are, only that we know who you are.” The droid spoke, “And what you have done to make a name for yourself. It should be quite obvious what we are, but even more so, it should be obvious what your current situation is…. And how it ends.”
“You’re insane!” The target roared, “Do you know who I work for?! They will have your heads for trophies.”
As much as Loharr wanted to drag this on, he knew this had to be finished, so he stepped up to the target, pulling a knife from his belt.
“You stole a bottle of Jawa Juice from Odsalna’s Cantina in Mosa Town…” Loharr said, which warranted quite the facial expression from the target. Before he could react, Loharr slit his throat. “You should’ve paid…”
Loharr watched as the Duros bled out on the table before him. SQ knew the job was done, as did Loharr, and they went on their separate paths. SQ made his way to Garang to catch a shuttle to a nearby space station, where a rowdy, upstart mobster needed handling, and Loharr returned to the Brotherhood headquarters.
Marelen gave Loharr his due for the job, minus the pay needed to give SQ his due for his involvement. This angered Loharr a bit, but he ultimately understood it. Working in teams meant less for him to earn. That just meant next time, or anytime really, he would go out of his way to not join teams.
Taking his pay, he made his way to Mosa Town, where the sun was just setting. He calmly walked through the town, passing by the inn, the marketplace, heading to the cantina.
This was a good day for Loharr.
He not only completed his first job in the Brotherhood, but he also took care of some unfinished business in Mosa Town as well. As he entered the cantina, the doors closed behind him as he wore a smile on his face with a small, almost unnoticeable smear of blood over his face.
“Odsalna, a water please.” Loharr requested.
“Why, of course, my friend! Of course!” The Weequayan said, fetching the glass of water immediately.
The body of the stall tender wouldn’t be discovered until the next morning.
Notable Kill: Zal Sud
Year: 145 ABY
~~~~~
Loharr made his way through the short terrace, overlooking the overgrown gardens below. A smoothe breeze blew through the open walls, arches placed in favor of windows, which were themselves, overgrown with vines and other such flora. If someone had told him several months ago that he would soon find himself to be a member of a group of assassins operating out of Dantooine, he might’ve laughed at them. Maybe stab them too, for good measure.
Yet, here he stood. Walking along the outer edges of an abandoned mansion, deep within the borders of the Khoonda Plains, a member of the aptly named ‘Khoonda Brotherhood’. From behind him, he heard his name being called out. Turning around, Loharr found himself face to face with the cold, silver eyes of one of the other members of the Brotherhood. Her white hair flowing with the breeze.
“Shalla…” Loharr said, leaning against one of the pillars.
“Loharr, Viriz wants to see you.” She said, “He said it was important.”
“Understood.” Loharr said, passing by the Echani, heading inside.
The inside of the building wasn’t any better than the outside. Vines and other plants grew rampant around them, puddles of water and mildew infesting the walls and floor. Several minutes passed before Loharr reached the inner courtyard, a glass dome covering what could easily be mistaken as a greenhouse.
In front of him, a male Cosian stood before a holographic projector table, his tail softly sweeping the dust and dirt ridden floor. Before Loharr could even speak up, the Cosian turned to face the young assassin, beckoning him over to the table.
“You wanted to see me, Viriz?” Loharr inquired, stepping up to the table.
“I did.” The Cosian answered, activating the table. Before the two of them, a projection of a Duros individual became visible, along with some flavor text describing who he was and what he did. “This is Zal Sud, a Bounty Hunter under the employ of the Red Ring Syndicate in Garang. Now while his employers are in Garang, he operates out of Dantoo Town mainly.”
“Ok… what do I need to do?” Loharr asked, crossing his arms.
“Well, the Red Ring has been using him to get a major leg up on their rivals and competitors by sending Sud after them and killing key players in said rival factions. He is not below causing collateral damage, though never fails to bring his targets in alive. He is becoming too large of a piece within the Red Rings’ game. We can’t let them get too large within the current geopolitical state of the sector.”
“So you need me to kill this Zal Sud guy?” Loharr added.
“Precisely. Remove him from the board, and the Red Ring Syndicate loses a large portion of their bargaining power.” Viriz explained, “Do you have any questions or requests?”
“None.” Loharr responded.
“Good. Let’s hope your reputation lives up to the expectations.” Viriz said, his voice full of vitriol.
“I let my work speak for itself.” Loharr said, a miniscule level of rage in his own voice.
Turning on his heel, Loharr made his way down to the garage, where he had stashed a recently stolen speeder bike. They had a tendency to be lost, stolen again, or destroyed, so his turnover rate for rides was quite high. Either way, he got onto the speeder bike, powered it up, and sped off, leaving the ruined mansion behind him, a small cloud of dust being kicked up from the repulsor lifts and thruster.
His destination was not Dantoo Town yet, but in fact, Mosa Town. He had to go see an acquaintance. The trip was short, in comparison to other trips to and from his other jobs, and upon arriving, Loharr stepped into the cantina, where he let out a rather…. Uncharacteristic greeting.
“Odsalna! Just the one I was looking for.” He exclaimed, “Get over here, we have business to discuss.”
Odsalna had known Loharr for almost a year by this point, and despite his previous experiences with Loharr, matched his friends greeting.
“Ah Loharr! You little rapscallion, you.” He said, approaching the young assassin. “I knew you would come around to my proposition sooner or later.”
“But of course.” Loharr said, leading Odsalna into the back room. The two of them sat down, as Odsalna cracked open a bottle of a strong smelling alcohol, beginning to pour 2 glasses. “I would prefer water. I’ve sees how that stuff makes people act…”
“As you wish.” The Weequayan said, pouring Loharr a glass of water, downing one of the two glasses of alcohol quickly. “So… about my proposition!”
“Yes, you wanted me to take care of a particular…. Associate of yours out of Garang, yes?” Loharr inquired, “I’ll do it…. But, not technically me.”
“I… do not understand…” Odsalna was confused.
“I need to kill someone else and I need some bait.” Loharr said, “That ‘associate’ is part of a decently sized smuggling operation, dealing in munitions and supplies, right?”
“Yes…? Why, I don’t see why…. Oh!” The Weequayan began to laugh. “You sly dog! What do you need?”
“Invite him here for a meeting.” Loharr said, “Then I’ll handle the rest.”
“Understood, my friend.” Odsalna said, “Cheers!”
The two clinked glasses, before standing and leaving. The other patrons of the cantina found it odd, watching the two leaving the room. They had seen Loharr interact with Odsalna before, but nearly always with someone else. And never before had Loharr ever been so enthusiastic about talking to someone who he seemingly hated.
As Loharr left the cantina, he made his way to a nearby inn, the only one in town really, while Odsalna made his call to his associate. It was time for Loharr to make a call of his own. Pulling out a holocommunicator he had obtained several jobs prior, he set the settings to secret call, which would mask his identity and voice. He set the frequency for a lieutenant member of the Red Ring Syndicate, a contact he made on the same mission in which he obtained the holocommunicator. After several seconds of waiting, the hologram came up, revealing a woman, with her hair in a ponytail, wearing dock workers clothes.
“Who is this?” She asked, rather irately.
“That does not matter.” Loharr answered, “I have some information for you… regarding an opportunity for your employer.”
There was silence from the woman for a few moments before she responded.
“What sort of opportunity?” She inquired.
Loharr smiled at the question.
“There is a smuggler from Garang heading to Mosa Town to discuss a deal with a representative of the Hound Head Clan.” Loharr said, knowing the Hound Head Clan was a viciously competitive faction for the Red RIng. “He will be en route soon. I trust it will be taken care of.”
Before the woman could respond, Loharr ended the transmission. Perfect. Now all that he needed to do was wait. It was easily a two days ride with any local speeders to get from Garang to Mosa Town, one day if it was good. Dantoo Town was somewhere between Garang and Mosa Town, but out of the way enough that any real option was to intercept while closer to the Mosa Town settlement.
With the plan in motion, Loharr took out a nutrition bar from his belt and began to nibble on it. It wasn’t tasty, or very satisfying, but it did keep the hunger at bay. The day was still young, so Loharr left the inn, making his way around the town. He eventually found his way to the market, where he came across a familiar stall. He remembered it vividly. It was the stall where he tried to take from the garbage just before he met Dana Carrana.
“Anything to interest you?” Asked the stall tender.
“No… just looking…” Loharr said, making a mental note for later.
He left the market, and after some hours of wandering in circles in the small settlement, he saw a familiar plume of dust being kicked up by a speeder. Interesting… that was rather quick. He made his way over to the cantina, where he had a better line of sight for the incoming speeder. He allowed himself a slight smirk upon seeing it was in fact, Zal Sud. Early. Perhaps he was closer to Mosa Town when he got the call.
He decided it was best to keep Sud close by, so he started following him, keeping a more than healthy distance as to not arouse suspicion. Loharr even went so far as to purposefully lose sight of Sud occasionally, and for varying amounts of time. After all, Mosa Town wasn’t that large, running into the same people over and over wasn’t uncommon.
Loharr did this until it was time to retire for the evening, as the sun was setting and the moons were coming out. So, returning to the inn, Loharr decided to forego sleep, opting instead to meditate.
As a young child, he would often observe his father meditating, as his father shared the same trait as he did, being Force Sensitive and all. He found himself meditating more and more in the recent years, but it wasn’t anything major, as nothing ever happened during the sessions. Though he would feel a faint sense of where others were around him, but never able to pinpoint exactly where anyone was.
Before long, or at least that is what it felt like, the sun was coming up.
Loharr stood up, feeling refreshed… surprisingly enough. He made his way out of the room, paid his due to the innkeep, and made his way out to the building. Making his way to the cantina for breakfast, he merely motioned for Odsalna to bring him a bowl of stew. The Weequayan brought the stew over, and as the bartender returned to his post behind the bar, in walked Zal Sud.
He ordered a bottle of Ardees, or as it was more commonly called, Jawa Juice. Not a glass, a bottle. Heavy drinker it seemed. That could be useful for later.
Loharr ate his stew, it was an ok meal, better than nothing. His spot was by the window facing out from the town, hoping he could see any trace of an incoming speeder. It wasn’t until several minutes later, and one bowl of stew later, he finally spotted a nearby speeder on approach to the settlement. He opted to wait until the speeder arrived before acting, an action which paid off well.
Into the cantina walked a middle aged man with peppered, black hair, walking up to Odsalna, who quickly invited him to the backroom. With this, Zal Sud stood up and walked out of the cantina, bottle of Jawa Juice in hand. Didn’t even pay for it.
Loharr stood up as well, depositing his empty bowl at the bar. He was an assassin, not a slob. He dropped down a few credits to pay for the food, and left as well, well hidden among the small crowd of patrons also leaving for whatever work they did. Taking possession of a small sack, clueless of its contents, Loharr made his way to the speeder bike he rode to his current location, got on, and began on his way to Dantoo Town.
It was several hours later, a fair distance from his destination, a small burst of flame, sparks, and smoke blew from the back of the speeder. Very quickly, the speeder lost power, and the nose dipped down at such an aggressive angle, it caught the ground and flipped. Loharr was sent hurtling through the air, crashing into the ground and slid along the ground, his body tumbling as his mass scraped against the coarse ground.
This ultimately led to Loharr getting knocked unconscious from the blunt force trauma.
When he woke up, Loharr would find himself in a strange room. Clean… almost too clean. He looked around, his clothes and weapons were stripped and he was wearing white clothes. Though he did notice his clothes and other belongings were folded on a nearby side table. He sat up and something in the room began to emit a low pitched, buzzing sound, almost like a strange alarm. The second his foot hit the floor, a medical droid stepped into the room.
“Wh- where am I?” Loharr asked, a little groggy.
“You are in the Dantoo Town infirmary.” The droid answered, “You have sustained a minor concussion and numerous scrapes and abrasions on a significant portion of your body. Nothing too serious mind you, but you were found near a wrecked speeder bike. If that was your bike, then you should consider yourself extraordinarily lucky.”
“I’m in Dantoo Town?” Loharr repeated, his mind still in a state of minor confusion.
“That is correct.” The droid said, “I am DD-14Z….”
The droid paused and seemed to change.
“Ignore that previous name, Brother Talem.” The droid spoke, it’s vocal modulation now a little higher pitched than before.
“B-brother?” Loharr repeated, before realizing that is something pertaining to the Khoonda Brotherhood.
“I am SQ-3RKZ.” The droid spoke, “I am currently inhabiting this horrifying body at the behest of Sister Marelen. She voiced her concerns regarding your assignment to this job with Viriz and sent me to assist you.”
His heart sank. She didn’t have faith in him…. That’s why she sent someone else. Because he couldn’t handle the job on his own. Did she only see him as a failure?
“She doesn’t think I can do this on my own… does she?” Loharr asked SQ-3RKZ.
“False. She knows you can not do this alone.” He responded, “This was the consensus of the Brotherhood. Only Viriz, Borin, and Sola agreed that you alone should take on this job. Luckily, the Brotherhood is an Isocracy, and thus, everyones’ decisions are their own. It was of my own will that I decided to come and join you on this mission. The others were needed elsewhere throughout the region.”
Those words hurt. A lot. It made Loharr retreat into his mind, like a depression, before the depression quickly faded into anger. An anger unlike any he had felt before.
“Do they think I'm weak?!” Loharr exclaimed, “I am as good an assassin as any of the others. I CAN do this.”
“There is no doubt regarding your capabilities as an assassin, Brother Talem.” SQ-3RKZ said, “It is merely an observation. You are but a child, your target is a full grown sentient with years, if not decades of killing experience. It was not that the rest of us did not think you were weak. Quite the opposite in fact. We are all well aware of your abilities, we know you are capable. It is just that we know Zal Sud is better, and in limited engagements, he could eliminate at least half of the Brotherhood or more. It was never a matter of your skills. This was a matter of making sure you survived the encounter.”
Loharr paused, looking up at the droid.
“Without a doubt, Zal Sud would kill you before you had the opportunity to draw your blade.” The droid said, “This is why we must be smart about this job. Sud is back in town, but seeing as this was your mission first, I shall surrender the final decision to you, regarding how we deal with Sud.”
Loharr paused for a moment more, now deep in thought. Then, with a smirk upon his face, he looked up at the droid.
“Do you know where any sedatives are?” He asked.
Time passed slowly, for the rest of the day, as Loharr was cooped up in the infirmary, having to keep up appearances, while SQ-3RKZ went out to make sure the preparations for the plan were made.
The plan was to get Sud extremely inebriated, then sedate him by drugging his drink. Then, using SQ as a reasoning, they would take Zal Sud to the infirmary and finish him off there. A simple plan in theory, but a lot less work than Loharr initially planned. Which may or may not have involved dropping down from the ceiling or roof or something higher and strangling and stabbing the target. In retrospect, that would’ve gotten him killed.
Eventually, it was time to put the plan into action.
Loharr got dressed in his normal clothes, barring the weapons, as advised by SQ, and made his way to the cantina. There, the target was precisely where SQ said he would be. So, Loharr found his way to an empty booth and sat down, and when a waiter came over to see if he wanted anything to drink, he simply said water for himself and a bottle of Jawa Juice for the target.
Confused, the waiter repeated what Loharr said, to verify what the young assassin had requested. Loharr confirmed the order, even paying twice the cost of the Jawa Juice with money given by SQ. They needed to make sure the target was very inebriated.
Not too much later, Loharr saw that another bottle of Jawa Juice was headed over to the targets table. The waiter stopped at the table next to Loharr’s, dropping off several drinks to other patrons, which gave him just the opportunity he needed.
He reached up, over the gap between the tables, and dropped in several of the sedative pills into the bottle of Jawa Juice, before quickly retreating back to his seat in the booth. Luckily, the cantina was darkened and busy. He went completely unnoticed by the other patrons. A side effect of still being a child, a very useful one.
After several more minutes of waiting, Loharr watched as the target began to appear significantly more drowsy as they had previously been. Then, just as planned, the target dropped onto the table, unconscious. In this moment, Loharr signaled for SQ to come and pick up the target for transport back to the infirmary. As SQ did this, Loharr would return to the infirmary himself and wait.
Loharr couldn’t contain his joy when he saw the droid carrying the unconscious body of the target into the room, dropping it onto the table. Together, the two of them secured the targets’ arms and legs to the table, before Loharr gave SQ the command to wake him up.
And so, SQ gave the target a shot of adrenaline, making him wake up very quickly.
“Wha-where am I?” He growled,rattling his bindings “Who are you?”
“We are…” Loharr started, before being cut off by SQ.
“It does not matter who we are, only that we know who you are.” The droid spoke, “And what you have done to make a name for yourself. It should be quite obvious what we are, but even more so, it should be obvious what your current situation is…. And how it ends.”
“You’re insane!” The target roared, “Do you know who I work for?! They will have your heads for trophies.”
As much as Loharr wanted to drag this on, he knew this had to be finished, so he stepped up to the target, pulling a knife from his belt.
“You stole a bottle of Jawa Juice from Odsalna’s Cantina in Mosa Town…” Loharr said, which warranted quite the facial expression from the target. Before he could react, Loharr slit his throat. “You should’ve paid…”
Loharr watched as the Duros bled out on the table before him. SQ knew the job was done, as did Loharr, and they went on their separate paths. SQ made his way to Garang to catch a shuttle to a nearby space station, where a rowdy, upstart mobster needed handling, and Loharr returned to the Brotherhood headquarters.
Marelen gave Loharr his due for the job, minus the pay needed to give SQ his due for his involvement. This angered Loharr a bit, but he ultimately understood it. Working in teams meant less for him to earn. That just meant next time, or anytime really, he would go out of his way to not join teams.
Taking his pay, he made his way to Mosa Town, where the sun was just setting. He calmly walked through the town, passing by the inn, the marketplace, heading to the cantina.
This was a good day for Loharr.
He not only completed his first job in the Brotherhood, but he also took care of some unfinished business in Mosa Town as well. As he entered the cantina, the doors closed behind him as he wore a smile on his face with a small, almost unnoticeable smear of blood over his face.
“Odsalna, a water please.” Loharr requested.
“Why, of course, my friend! Of course!” The Weequayan said, fetching the glass of water immediately.
The body of the stall tender wouldn’t be discovered until the next morning.