Beltran Rarr

An encrypted signal arrives addressed to Brina Thalin. It was programmed in such a way that once it was keyed, the face of an attractive Twi'lek male would appear on the screen. -COM- Greetings Miss Thalin. I am Orb Urranda and I bring the regards of Beltran Rarr, the man who you spoke with at the Hutt Palace. We are very anxious to begin our arrangement. Once you are prepared to receive us at your Coruscant facility, I will arrive with my team. Please, just send a COM back to this channel when you are ready. Thank you. -END COM- The message was then programmed to end, leaving only a communications channel with which to respond to.

Beltran quickly made his way to through the palace to his room. Anxious to get out of his armor, he walked through the door. His first order of business was to remove all of his weapons. From their specially designed holding racks, Beltran pulled his Golan Arms Flechette Launcher, his Merr-Sonn Blaster rifle as well as his DL-44 and DL-48 Blaster Pistols. Unlike on his ship, Beltran did not have a specific place set aside for all his weapons, so he opted to lay them out on his dining room table. That being done, Beltran moved on to the process of removing his armor. As he carefully disengaged each piece from their bio-mechanical ports. It was a delicate procedure that still caused Beltran considerable pain. Once that was completed, he laid each piece on his bed. He was tired, but he knew that there would be little time for him to sleep. There was much to be done, and he had yet to check on his aide. Stepping into the refresher, Beltran engaged the shower. The feel of warm water as it mixed with dirt and sweat was very pleasurable. He continued to wash with his usual efficiency. After he was finished, Beltran made short work of changing into a fresh business suit. Under his dress jacket, he tucked his Blastech DL-48 and fastened the top of his holster. After that he left his suite and walked down two levels to his office. Inside, sat his aide, a Twi'lek named Orb Urranda. Beltran nodded to him and sat down at his desk. "How did the meeting with Kidjic go?" Beltran asked, not really all that interested. His brief contact with the Hutt had left a lot to be desired. Orb tilted his head slightly. "He left without saying anything of consequence." Beltran nodded. "Alright, I want you to send a message to Brina Thalin at the Link. Tell her that we are anxious to begin our business arrangement. Then I want you to put together a team, preferably made up of several experienced mercenaries. They will accompany you to Coruscant when the Link is prepared to receive you. Choose well, Orb. For they will be the ones who guard your life." With that being said, Beltran dismissed him. As the Twi'lek left to complete his task, Beltran decided to head over to the throne room. He needed a good glass of ale before he talked to Rihn again.

As the freighter passed through the spatial realm of hyperspace, Beltran paced along through the mess hall. He was getting anxious, this trip was taking too long and the crew was obviously completely inept. Every now and again, one of them would poke their heads inside, only to recieve a withering glare from himself, Rihn or Grimm. None of them were happy about being here, that much he could tell for certain. In the cargo hold, Beltran knew that their catch, a young Rancor slept through his tranquilizer induced comatose state. It was a small piece of pleasure, to know that he had helped bring such a powerful creature in. In truth, he wanted desperately to get back to the palace. He wondered if his associates from the Link had made it back to their home yet. He would wait a few more days before having Orb contact them about setting up the details of their trade agreement. Beltran soon found that he had met the ship's bulkhead. Turning around, he began to stalk back in the other direction. This is going to be a long trip...

Beltran nodded to Rihn as he approached and sat down. The food on the freighter was absolutely terrible, but Beltran knew he needed a hot meal. Since his ship had been taken, he was forced to remain locked within his armor. When he returned to the palace, Beltran's first act would be to find a change of clothes and then to kill something. "That would put us at two so far," Beltran responded. "Animando and I have already brought in a Wampa from Hoth."

Beltran surpressed the sudden urge to hit someone. They had taken his ship, probably sorted through and stolen all of his equipment, with the exception of his Oracle armor which he had luckily been wearing. Turning to Rihn, he nodded, managing to keep his face impassive. He would get his ship back in time, as well as the heads of the beings who had taken it. As he watched, Grimm somehow managed to drag the fallen creature over to the speeder single-handedly. Interesting... He thought to himself. Standing there, Beltran said nothing. He simply waited for the freighter to arrive.

As Rihn's triumphant laughter came across the COMM, Beltran manuevered the speeder over to the leader's position. Deactivating the vehicle's ignition system, Beltran hopped over the side of the speeder and landed on the ground. Walking forward, he took in the sight of the tranquilized Rancor. Then he walked over to Rihn, reaching out to help the man get up. "Are we going after any others?" He asked.

Beltran reacted instantly to the sudden change in circumstances. Dashing foward, he closed the distance to the speeder within seconds. Behind him, he heard motion from the others, presumably following in his wake. This creature is cunning, He mused briefly. However it only serves to increase the challenge. Jumping over the speeder's sidewalls, Beltran moved behind the controls. Activating the speeder's ignition system, he circled the land craft around, providing his conrades with easier access. "Grimm take the cannon mount, if you please." His voice was cold and calm, but it conveyed a sense of urgency as the creature swiftly bore down on them.

Beltran muttered an old Lorrdian curse as the Rancor turned off, he'd managed to fire a couple of shots but he was unsure whether they hit their target or not. Pulling out some extra catridges, Beltran quickly reloaded his weapon. Lost in thought, he made no attempt to enter the others' conversation for several moments. "I saw you hit it at least once and I probably hit it once," Beltran mused. "So more than likely it'll be feeling the effects of the tranquilizer already. I figure we can follow it in the speeder. Since it already knows we're coming, the element of surprise isn't an issue and we'll gain an advantage in speed and manueverability. In addition, if things do get sticky, we always have the cannon mount to back us up..." He paused for a moment, as if sifting through all the pros and cons of the arguement. "Of course, the reason he ran off could be that there are more Rancors over there, and we'd be walking into an ambush..."

Beltran tilted his head, lost in thought. Utilizing the zoom feature of his helment, he zoomed in on the rancor below. It was large, but from what he had learned about Rancors in general it seemed rather young. Inexperienced, He mused. That is always a plus. It was a small advantage, but an advantage all the same. Being young meant that it would be easier to anger, easier to lead into a trap. "You're right," He replied to Rihn. "Going down there doesn't seem like a good idea. I would suggest finding a way to make our quarry come to us. An attack, something non-lethal but painful from this range, should anger it enough that it will charge us." He paused for a moment. "As it traverses the hill, it will have to slow down somewhat or risk loosing its balance. Then we could open fire with the tranquilizer. It won't be able to manuever very well, so hitting it should not be much of a problem."

Beltran counted off the distance as they sped toward the canyon in Rihn's speeder. Rihn had told him to order the stop within a hundred meters. A sense of a excitment rose up within him. He loved testing himself, there was no better way to learn about himself. This will definately be an interesting experience. They were closing, only two hundred meters now. "Prepare to stop, Rihn." Beltran ordered. Glancing at the console, he felt Rihn ease off the accelerator. The last fifty meters passed fairly quickly. As they entered within 100 meters of the canyon, Beltran spoke again. "Stop, we'll have to proceed on foot from here."

As the three Hutt operatives rode along in Rihn's speeder, Beltran watched the radar console carefully. Already he had a bead on three distinct lifeforms which fit the parameters for what they were looking for. He immediately disregarded the lifeform to the north-west. Best not to give the creature too much natural cover. He thought to himself. Though the three of them were trained marksmen, Beltran still felt that the trees in the forested area would be a liability. They didn't have endless stores of ammunition, and there was no reason to waste it. Similarly, Beltran disregarded the lifeform to the south-west. If the creature retreated into the cave network, it would be difficult to follow it. "I've got a read, Rihn. Bring us to the north-east, there seems to be a creature in a canyon about ten kilometers away."

Orb Urranda nodded, smiling at the large being. "Of course, of course. You have to understand, Umaga is very powerful. Her influence reaches through much of the galaxy. The highest of the galactic elite show her respect. She had much that would attract someone like yourself..." The Twi'lek paused nervously, before pressing on. "I must ask, what exactly is it that you would bring to such an operation?"

Beltran listened as Rihn explained the operational requirements of the weapon he had been handed. Following his superior's instructions, Beltran quickly loaded the weapon. Part of him smiled as Rihn saw it fit to lecture him once again about research. What the man didn't know is that the weapon he had brought had less to do with the Rancor's and more to do with the company he was in. Never go into battle without an tried and true weapon, He mused. Especially when you don't trust those that are coming with you. Brining the projectile weapon to the ready position, Beltran followed Rihn. "Let us do this, and then go get paid."

Though unseen by Rihn or the newcomer, which he recognized from the palace, Beltran's brow furrowed as Rihn spoke. How am I feeling? He thought incrediously. Beltran was not used to such pleasantries, nor did they garner any sentiment of trust from him. In his experience, anyone who wanted his mind on anything besides the job, was trying to distract him. If they were trying to distract him, they were up to something. As Rihn motioned to his bags, Beltran simply nodded. Walking over, he grabbed two of them. They were heavier than they looked, but nothing he couldn't handle. With them in hand, he followed Rihn into the glade. Once they reached the landspeeder, Beltran placed each bag into the trunk, along with the ones Rihn had carried. With that done, Beltran pulled his Merr-Sonn Heavy Blaster Rifle from its rack and quickly checked the power-pack. Full charge, excellent. He thought as he set the weapon to its heaviest stun setting. If they were here for Rancors, it wouldn't do to kill the creatures. Looking up to Rihn, Beltran spoke once more. "I would imagine we do, sir. What is the plan?"

Hours later, the Shadowfax emerged from hyperspace. Guiding the vessel into Dathomir's orbit, Beltran scanned the surface. It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for. Entering the atmosphere, Rarr landed next to Rihn's vessel. Walking down the boarding ramp, the armored figure that was Beltran nodded to Rihn. "Here as ordered,"