Star Wars Galaxies: A Midnight Call (RP Story - Part 2)

A Midnight Call
By Yojimbo

The beaches of Verni Island are one of Yojimbo's favorite places. He laid on the sand, soaking in the gentle Corellian sun, not another soul in sight. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his left side. What could be bothering him here in the most beautiful place he had ever seen? And why was his comm. beeping? He was sure he had left it at home. He closed his eyes to tune it all out, and thoughts of his wife came to mind. He could almost hear Tabitha's soft voice in his mind, but this irritating poking in his side wouldn't stop!

"JIMBO! Wake up and answer that thing!" Tabitha all but yelled in his ear.

"Knew it was too good to be true" Yojimbo grumbled as he reached for his comlink. "What?" he almost barked into it.

"Mister Semaj, I have a matter to discuss with you, it is of the utmost importance." Said a mysterious voice from the other end.

"Can't it wait till morning?" Yojimbo mumbled sleepily, "And who is this"

"Who I am is not important right now, but it is important that you meet me in Coronet immediately. You must leave now if we are to be successful in this endeavor." Said the voice.

"What's this about?"

"It is not safe to discuss it over this link; I was probably unwise to even say your name, my apologies. I can however promise that if you come and hear me out, that this will be your most profitable job yet. Coronet cantina, 4 hours from now. Goodbye." And with that the line went dead.

"Who was that sweetie?" Tabitha asked, putting an arm across Yojimbo's chest.

"I dunno" He replied, "But he promised me the most profitable job I ever had. He wants me in Coronet in 4 hours."

"You gonna go? Seems kinda creepy, him not telling you who he is. Could be a setup"

"They could all be setups princess, but it's worth checking out. All my gear is still packed from my last job anyway. Think I'll go check it out. I'll send word if I hear anything." He said getting out of bed and donning his blue and black attire, topped off by his black duster.

"Ok" Tabitha said giving him a kiss, "Be safe. And honey...?"

"Yeah baby?"

"Take Slim." She said with a bit of worry in her voice.
Yojimbo stepped out into the cool Corellian night air and stretched. The only thing he liked as much as money was sleep. He knew the value of being well rested, and had seen many hunters end up in a cloning facility due to fighting exhausted. "Oh well," he thought, "I can catch a nap on the shuttle. The tough part will be waking Slim without getting killed"

Anyone who knows Yojimbo knows Slim. Slim is a very large, very irritable rancor that Yojimbo took as a pet and comrade long ago. While on a bounty on Dathomir Yojimbo found Slim, just a baby at that point, dying in the wilds. Yojimbo took pity on the creature and tended to him until he was well. When he tried to release Slim back into the Dathomirian wilds, the beast refused to go. Yojimbo had made a lifelong friend, and the two had been through many battles together.

When waking a rancor, one must be sure to make plenty of noise on the approach. The unfortunate explorer that startles a full grown rancor out of sleep usually doesn't live to tell the tale. Yojimbo grabbed a stick from near Slims lean-to and banged it loudly against the fence as he walked toward the entrance. The fence wasn't really necessary, as Slim wouldn't usually attack unless startled, but the neighbors got tired of cleaning rancor poodoo out of their yards. When he got to the gate, Yojimbo still hadn't heard Slim stir, so he slammed the branch into the gate. Slim roared out of his lean-to, looking for an unlucky victim to become his late night snack. "Thank goodness for that fence" Yojimbo thought. "C'Mon Slim, we got a job in C-Net" he said, calming the rancor. The beast growled a bit, and then moved out the gate to follow Yojimbo to the Independence shuttle.

After a three hour ride, the two old friends stepped off of the shuttle in Coronet, and headed to the cantina. "You'd better wait out here Slim," he told the rancor, "The bartender pitched a fit last time you came in, but keep your eyes and ears open. If you hear shooting, come in quick." The rancor grunted and took a spot near the door of the cantina. Yojimbo made his way inside, took a seat at a quiet corner table, and ordered a Tatooine Sunburn.

An hour passed and Yojimbo was beginning to think that he had been called on a wild goose chase. From behind him a hand came to rest on Yojimbo's shoulder. In a flash Yojimbo was out of his chair and had the Bothan on the floor of the cantina, with one hand at his throat and the other holding a scatter pistol aimed squarely at the bothans furry forehead.

"I...I...I'm sorry!" the bothan stuttered, "My boss asked me to tell you to meet him in the back room!"

"Many men have died for less lad, be more careful next time. And never sneak up on a Bounty Hunter" Yojimbo told him as he helped him up and holstered the pistol. Slowly the crowd in the cantina went back to the business of drinking and dancing, and the music started again. Yojimbo made his way to the back room of the cantina, cursing the fact that attention had been brought to him in this place. "Stupid bothan, should have killed him where he stood" he muttered on his way to the back of the bar. But that wasn't Yojimbo's way. He would kill for money, but hated killing if not for a good reason.

As he entered the back room, a voice spoke up from a dark corner of the room.
"Please have a seat Mister Semaj."

"I'll stand thanks; I like to have a quick way out when my companions won't show their face." Was all the response the voice received.

"I apologize for the stealth, but it is important that my identity remain unknown, even to you"

Even in the bad light Yojimbo could make out the profile of yet another bothan. He assumed that this one was a member of one of the more influential clans, given the way he was talking about big money. But why were the bothans calling on him? He hadnever had any dealings with them before.

"And why should I trust someone to pay me if he won't even show me his face?" Yojimbo retorted.

"Please Sir Hunter, hear me out. If you don't like what I have to say, then you can leave, and I'll pay you fifty thousand credits for your trouble. But if you stay, I promise that the payoff will be much more than that"

"Ok Bothan, talk... I'm listening." Yojimbo said, cautiously taking a seat.

"I want to hire you to be my personal... doer. A fixer of sorts. When I have a problem, I will call on you to fix it. This will not be just completing bounties of course. This could mean anything from delivering messages and information, and collecting information, to the occasional assassination" the Botha told him from his dark corner.

"So I'm to be an overpaid errand boy?" Yojimbo asked "Look, I get paid very well to kill and capture people that have upset others enough to place a bounty on them. I don't see the desire in being someone's pawn. Sorry."

The bothan leaned forward a bit, almost to the point of bringing his face into the light, and slid a slip of paper across the table. "Read that before you make your decision. That is the pay for your first job, and the payoff goes up each time. You see Mr. Semaj, I don't need an errand boy, the jobs I have require discression, and are usually dangerous. A common courier would be dead before he started. I need someone with your skill. I considered others, but found your skill and reputation to exceed theirs by leaps and bounds. You may choose others that you trust to help you wherever you may need it. Just make sure the jobs get done."

Yojimbo reached out for the slip of paper and unfolded it. His eyes got very large for a moment, and then he realized that his eyes were giving away his emotion.

"That'll do Bothan, I'll take the job" was the response.

With a knowing smile Yojimbo's new employer said "Very good, you'll have your orders soon, be ready."

With that, Yojimbo rose and left the cantina, his mind full of thoughts on the shuttle ride back to Independence, and to Tabitha.


Blink... and you'll die in the dark.

Yojimbo Semaj - Master Bounty Hunter