There on his throne sits Jabba Desilijic Tiure, to all known as Jabba The Hutt, biggest crimelord of Tatooine. When you come to negotiate, business or other matters, be careful. Jabba receives his guests above the gate of the Rancor's pit. And if you annoy him, he will open it without hesitation. People think that his Salacious Crumb seems to have a word in it. Jabba is amused by it, and the Salacious Crumb is amused when people fall to the rancor.

A slavegirl is sitting also on his throne who goes by the name of Oola, a green twi'lek. A rusty protocol droid is standing next to him to translate Jabba's language. Jabba understand the basic language but he does not speak it. The Throne Room is filled with pirates, bounty hunters and other scum.

Bib Fortuna is standing beside Jabba. His Twi'Lek majordomo supervises the affairs of both the desert palace and the Mos Eisley Estate. Mostly only four Gamorrean guards guard the Throne Room. The rest is spread out all over the palace like the gate and the dungeons.

"Follow me then..." He spoke with a sinister tone. He guided him to Jabba's Throne Room which was filled with gangsters, scum and villany. They anjoyed in their lust and pleasures from dancers and slaves. Jabba himself was watching from his Throne as a slave Twi'lek dancer twirled before him.

Bib Fortuna spoke to Jabba concerning Kayen's presence and his aim to trade with Jabba. Though he had wished not to be disturbed.

Orange eyes looked around the throne room and Kayen examined and attributed everything to his memory, especially the positions of the guards and the rancor pit. He then looked up to the huge slug Hutt and bowed low before him. He stepped forward and waited to be addressed...

Jabba the Hutt spoke. His protocol droid translated for him.
Everybody silenced as he spoke. Some even stood in fear or were enthousiastic what was about to come.

"The great Jabba the Hutt requests to know what you have to offer....", The Droid translated in a monotone voice

Kayen smiled softly and bowed low before he spoke clearly and fearlessly "Lord Jabba, a quarter ton of Kessel Spices of superb quality..."

Bib Fortuna whispered to Jabba while he said and gave his own opinion about the offer. Basically he wasn't convinced that this rogue could give such an offer. Fortuna worried that the spice could be 'hot', that he had acquired it from a source he shouldn't have.

Jabba talked back to him in Huttese, making it unable for Kayen to understand what they were saying. Then finally the proticol droid spoke back to him to translate,

"The Exhaulted Jabba wants to know where you retrieved these spices from and how much you would be accepting for it?"

Kayen listened to the Huttese conversation and tried to understand what he could, which was not very much. His eyes darted around the throne room, examining Jabba's scantily clad slave girl with a grin. As soon as he was addressed, Kayen looked up to the Hutt and thought of a good excuse but then he realized that he was in the presence of a thief anyway.

"What does it matter how I acquired them? I need to offload the spices and I will take ANY offer... you can surely resell the goods for a large profit..."

Again Bib Fortuna whispered to Jabba about this matter. Jabba shook in aggreement but wasn't sure what about, he grabbed a frog from inside a glass canister filled with water and threw it in his mouth. He spoke again and the droid translated,

"The Great Jabba offers you a thousand credits....."

Kayen watched as the Hutt ate the frog like creature and made a slightly disgusted face until he was addressed and he shook off the disgust. He thought for a moment before he countered that offer.

"It is worth at least 1500... how about 1250?"

There was some debate between Jabba himself and Bib Fortuna about this statement from Kayen,

The crowd became nervous, it was always entertaining how they would see pirates or smugglers like him deal with the Great Jabba.... Either in failure or success..... Failure was always more entertaining.... So they very much hoped Jabba would refuse his offer.

The droid then spoke,

"1,100 and he will offer you a free stay in the palace... Final offer...."

Kayen sighed and looked around again, as if weighing his options. Eventually he decided that he had better not push his luck, so he smiled and bowed once more.

"Deal... I will fargo the stay for another time, for I have another appointment..... I will have the spices delivered here immediately, unless you have another request?"

"None.... You may leave once the Spice has been delivered..... Take your credits...."

Jabba gave a laugh as the deal closed.

Kayen had the spices delivered and waited around the palace for them to be checked and approved. Once they were, Kayen left the throne room happily with the additional credits.

As difficult as it was to get passed Jabba's most loyal servant, if you had a good reason to deal with Jabba, then you would get through to the Throne Room, which didn't always mean you would leave with a large amount of credits. There was always a good chance you would be offered as a snack to the Rancor. Jabba always received his guests above the pit of his pet. Bib Fortuna guided Diego there who was now standing in front of Jabba to close his deal.

Bib Fortuna whispered to Jabba why Diego was here. Jabba started to speak and immediatly his protocol droid started to translate for him to Diego. Jabba understood basic galactic but always spoke Huttese.

"The great Jabba the Hutt is pleased with your service and offers you 2, 500 credits for the blasters you present him."

Jabba didn't smile but he felt a certain enjoyment he was going to make a good deal here. This guy seemed like a rookie and if he was acting to difficult all he had to do was press one buttion and it would be 'bye bye' to Diego.

Looking up at Jabba Diego didn't smile but gave a curt nod. He waited for the protocol droid to interpret what Jabba said in Huttese.

"That's a mighty fine offer I'll take but I want one other slight favor from you Mighty Jabba." he replied calmly. He just hoped he could convince Jabba he didn't want to be his smuggler anymore. He waited for Bib Fortuna to speak with Jabba.

Diego's request sure drew attention from the crowd who all now watched Diego as he stood there in front of Jabba...Jabba himself didn't say anything and waited for Diego to continue. But everybody in the crowd knew that asking Jabba for a favour was suicide, so they were all curious how this would turn out. The Salacious Crumb was laughing very hard, cause though he wasn't very smart, he knew what was going on and found it very amusing. Bib Fortuna himself was whispering something to Jabba and made an awkward sound but again didn't speak, he just kept staring at Diego wondering what he was getting at.

Diego waited in silence choosing the correct words. "Jabba look. I've done quite a few jobs for you in the past which you were most pleased with. Here is the deal. I want out. I'd like to work on my own for a while."

There he said. He waited as the room quieted. The sound of voices over took his sense. He sighed heavily waiting for Jabba's answer. He just hoped Jabba would let him go. He Knew there were other smugglers out there that were Extremely Better than he was and would ever be. The room died down to a silence. The protocol droid waited for Jabba's reply. Even if he wasn't going to get out of this Diego knew everything would go according to his brilliant plan. He pushed a button on a remote control to Foxfire and the engines roared to life back in the port in the town some twenty miles away. He just hoped Alex had woken up by now. He was ready to leave.

Jabba laughed sinister at what Diego just said. He spoke and the others started to laugh too, but what the protocol droid translated is not what Jabba had in mind. The droid spoke in a friendly tone,

"We have hundreds of smugglers, you may go...I'm sure we can miss one ordinary smuggler..."

But with that, Jabba pressed the button and the trap under Diego's feet opened up. The crowd looked inside the lair of the Rancor in enjoyment, how he still tried to survive against this huge monster while it was pointless...no one could survive...From that moment you could only hear Diego scream in fear and pain and that was the end of his career. As the gate of the trap closed every scumbad left back and pretended nothing happened. Jabba had his fun and so did his men.

[The Gate of the Palace]

Rasha made her way to Jabba's throne room, following behind Fortuna but walking in front of the Gammoreans and her prisoner. Stepping just inside the huge room, the twi'lek stopped by the entrance and waited for Fortuna to say his piece to Jabba.

Jabba.

The young bounty hunter kept her attention fixed on the enormous Hutt, sparing only a cursory examination for the rest of the room. Normally she would have studied a crowd of thugs, hunters, and other shady sorts a little more closely, but in this case she knew that there was one true power that controlled all the others, and she focused on it rather then any minor distractions.

Bib Fortuna whispered to Jabba in Huttese what the Twi'lek was doing here. Jabba seemed to be intrigued but for which reasons was unknown. One Gammorean guard gave a slight push against the Twi'Lek hinting to step forward in front of Jabba's Throne. Every gangster looked at her with lust as this was a place where female Twi'leks weren't respected at all. Jabba kept a Twi'lek as a slave to dance for him, to entertain him. She sat at the throne and looked with curious eyes to Rasha why she was here.

In Huttese the Gangster boss spoke to Rasha and as usual his protocol droid translated for him.

"Jabba wants to know where you found this prisoner and why you brought him here!" The droid spoke.

Rasha stepped into the area in front of Jabba's throne, ignoring the looks the gangsters gave her. She was used to such behaviour, and had even used it to her advantage on occasion, though in this case she did not appreciate it. She also ignored the Twi'lek slave, who she might have considered a kindred spirit in a way because of her past but didn't currently have the luxury of sparing much sympathy for.

"I found him when he made a stopover in Mos Eisley," she informed Jabba. "He apparently got a job that he felt was worth the risk of coming back for."

Actually, a fair number of people had know Suran in Mos Eisley, but the big time hunters didn't really consider him worth the effort and most of the small time ones didn't want to mess with smuggler's Togorian co-pilot Molluk until they'd had time to gather a group of friends. Molluk had quite a reputation, and as Rasha had found out, it wasn't for nothing. She probably would have been dead had she not managed to make an extremely luck shot that hit the big alien in the throat just when he was about to rip her open with his claws.

Not that she was going to tell anyone it was a lucky shot. One's success in bounty hunting tended to have a fair bit to do with reputation, after all.

"I brought him here so that I could collect the bounty you issued for him," Rasha finished.

Jabba gave a deep loud laugh. The Gammorean guards pointed their vibroax's in Rasha's direction. Jabba spoke once again and the droid translated to her.

"Foolish Twi'Lek! You think you can dance in here and claim the bounty on this low life...you'll have to offer more if you want Jabba's grace."

Never did it get so tight in a bargain. Every gangster wanted her for lust and the gammorean guards were ready to take her prisoner and make her a slave if she did not come up with a good extra bargain if she wanted to leave this palace as a free woman. But this was Jabba the Hutt...his disrespect for female Twi'leks was well known....

Part of Rasha wanted to go for her blaster, but she knew that there was no way she would be able to fight her way out of a situation like this one. The DL-18 might as well have been pea shooter.

Which meant she needed to find another way out of this situation.

She'd considered possibly trying to use her charms on Jabba given his reputation. She was a former slave who had started dance training in childhood, and while she was a touch out of practice she was probably as good -if not better- then the slave dancer who sat in front of Jabba, as she doubted the other twi'lek had started training at such a young age. She also knew however, that in this situation dancing on anything but her own terms might well be like putting a slave collar around her own neck.

So that was out too.

Rasha cleared her throat and addressed Jabba as calmly as she could.

"I believe that in situations where a smuggler misses a delivery, you generally like to take his ship as compensation. This smugglers ship is currently in Docking Bay 12 in Mos Eisley, along with the body of his co-pilot, Molluk. It should be quite easy for you to send someone to pick it up."

Rasha's heart thudded in her chest as she waited for Jabba's reply. Suran's ship -which he'd named the Hawkbat- was somewhat on the small side, but was fairly fast and well armed. It would probably be worth a fair bit to someone who had use for such a ship.

Rasha hoped this would work. If it didn't, she had only one more plan she could fall back on, and it was a very risky one for her.

The Gammorean guards still pointed their vibroaxes in her direction, waiting for Jabba to respond. Everyone was anxious to know whether Jabba would accept her offer or if he would make her a slave girl. For some, the offer did sound very tempting.

Jabba spoke to his protocol droid and the droid translated to her, "His excellency is most pleased with your offer..... And will let you leave.... He offers you 700 for the bounty...."

Rasha felt slightly disappointed. She'd actually wanted to try to take the Hawkbat for herself. It would have been a fine ship for bounty hunting, and it was worth a lot more than seven hundred credits. Part of Rasha wanted to ask for extra because of the value of the ship, but she knew how close she had already cut things.

Bowing politely, the twi'lek accepted the deal.

"I thank your excellency most kindly for your generous offer. I accept."

The credits were handed over and the Gammorean guards stopped pointing their axes at her. They escorted her back to the gate and as she stood outside in the desert, the gate closed behind her, giving her the feeling she wasn't very welcome there.

OOC: You can add the credits to your profile now

Disappointed with the outcome of the encounter, but knowing that it could have been worse, Rasha made her was back to her rented landspeeder and headed back towards Mos Eisley.

[The Cantina]

[The Gate of the Palace]

"Why have you returned now?! The great Jabba the Hutt wants to now why you have disturbed his sleep!"

Rasha grimaced inwardly at her rotten luck, but did not lose her resolve. Bowing respectfully, the twi'lek bounty huntress spoke to the Hutt crime lord.

"I apologise for disturbing your sleep, Your Excellency, but I bring information on the whereabouts of the pirate Viscos that may be of use to you if you act quickly."

She figured that was the best way to start things off and hopefully defuse some of the volatility of the situation.

Bib Fortuna looked to Jabba, curious what he would say next and of course every piece of scum was watching again hoping this Twi'Lek would get what she deserved. Chained...Anything!

"What possibly could you have of value to the great Jabba... We already know of the pirate's Viscos whereabouts... Jabba is keeping him now prisoner in his cell... We captured him from your ship" Bib Fortuna said with a great grin

"So... What else do you have to offer?!"

Rasha's face fell as she heard what the Hutt had to say.

What? How? He has to be bluffing. How did he find the ship out there in that wasteland?

But why would Jabba bluff about something like that?

Rasha swallowed as she considered what cards she still had at her disposal. She knew where to find Viscos' base thanks to the yacht's navigational computer, but if Jabba's men had actually found the yacht, then they could probably access that information easily enough.

Rasha grimaced. She knew she didn't stand a good chance here, but she was the resourceful type, and she wasn't about to give in to fate unless all other options had been exhausted.

"I have information on the composition of Viscos' forces. It might be useful to any strike force you send to deal with them. You could probably get the information from him, but it might take a while, and sooner or later those pirates are going to be wondering where their leader is. They're mobile, so if they get spooked they'll probably move their operations, and then you'd be back to square one."

Of course, if she gave Jabba that information there was nothing stopping him from just putting a slave collar on her anyway after the fact. The Hutt had all the cards in this situation. Looking Jabba dead in the eye -or at least as close to it as she could managa- Rasha spoke in a stern tone.

"Beyond that, trust is an important part of bargaining. When you put that bounty on Viscos' head, you made a contract to pay whoever brought him to you. As far as any bounty hunter worth his salt is concerned, I brought him to you. It wouldn't be good for Your Excellency's business -any part of Your Excellency's business- for you to be viewed as someone who doesn't honour his bargains -or someone who doesn't make the most efficient use of his resources. And frankly, I'm of far more use to your business as a bounty hunter then I am as mere entertainment. I would think the fact that I'm resourceful enough to single-handedly capture the leader of a major pirate gang would prove that."

Having finished her piece, Rasha stood awaiting Jabba's response. She knew there were weaknesses in what she had said -the fact that she had simply brought information on how to destroy Viscos' group rather then news of the destruction of the group itself for instance- but hopefully it would be strong enough.

Maybe if I'm lucky I'll only be his "guest" until he can confirm the destruction of Viscos' underlings...

Jabba laughed at how desperate the Twi'lek tried to save herself out of this situation. He found it very amusing.

"Yes... We could get it out of the prisoner... or out of you... But that means money... And Jabba doesn't like to spend money when it's unnecessary. Guards!!! Take her to the torture room! There we will have a nice interrogation... I can promise you that" Bib Fortuna Spoke with a sadistic tone.

The Gammorean Guards approached her. Others were dissapointed she didn't fell into the Rancor's lair. The guards held their Vibro-Axex... There was not much she could do to save her out of this situation...

Rasha quickly considered her options. She wasn't keen on being tortured, so if she had no other choice, she'd tell them what they wanted to know. But she also didn't want to show weakness in front of Jabba. If she did that, she'd probably end up as his pet. So if she had any other option...

As the Gammoreans began to approach, the bounty huntress' eyes fell on Fortuna. She still had Visco's blaster at her side, so if she could get by the Gammoreans and reach the majordomo...

She'd have to wait for the guards to give her an opening.

Taking a few steps back so as to appear less threatening, Rasha watched the line of Gammoreans as it approached. As they neared her, the burly aliens began to form a ring around her.

A narrow gap openned between two of the guards in front of her, and Rasha took it. Moving with all the speed she could muster, the twi'lek slipped between the aliens -so close that her shoulders actually brushed their arms as she passed between them- and went straight for the dias, moving as fast as she could. She felt the trap door begin to slide open beneath her as she neared the edge of it, but by then it was too late. Launching herself into a leap that carried her over the gap that began to open just in front of her, the bounty huntress landed on the dias near the surprised Fortuna, and -without stopping, grabbed the majordomo, slipped around behind him, and put Viscos' blaster to his head. As her view came back to the scene in front of the dias, she realised just how lucky she'd been as the trap door began to roll back into place, muffling the squeals of some unfortunate guards. Using Fortuna as a shield to try to protect herself from the armed hanger-ons who were standing near the edges of the room, the twi'lek bellowed an order.

"Nobody move!"

Jabba began to laugh... A very deep laugh. Bib Fortuna stood shocked and didn't dare to move... He was surprised at his master's reaction. Fortuna bagan to sweat and hoped Jabba wouldn't just sacrifice his most loyal advisor to put this Twi'lek on her place.

The protocol droid spoke once as Jabba was speaking for the droid to translate,

"Jabba likes your cunning attitude... He doesn't care though, if you shoot down the darn Twi'lek... He really doubts if you would... He is one of your own kind..."

"So's the pirate I came to collect the bounty on," Rasha countered. "And I suspect whatever you have planned for him is a whole lot worse then a simple blaster shot to the head."

As she spoke, Rasha surveyed the plethora of threats facing her with nervous eyes. The danger present in the situation was making her extremely tense, and Jabba's laughter wasn't helping matters at all. She wondered how long her nerves would be able to stand the tension.

The protocol droid passed it through to Jabba and Jabba spoke once more.

"Jabba admires your courage and says that if you let the Twi'lek go, you will be granted a safe audition with him... I do suggest you take his offer or you will end up as rancor food... Wheter you kill the Twi'lek or not"

The situation got more tight. Bib Fortuna watched Jabba and hoped the Hutt was only bluffing, which he probably was... Still the Gangster could be unpredictable in his actions...

Rasha considered the situation. She didn't entirely trust Jabba after what had just happened, but she really didn't have much choice but to trust him in this situation.

"Very well," she agreed, releasing her hold on Fortuna. She did however make sure that those in the room got a good view of her reholstering Viscos' blaster, using the action as a reminder that she was still armed and could become a threat again if she so chose.

Bib Fortuna made a sigh of relief. His master dealt with the situation good, but didn't like the situation as it could have turned out very different if Rasha hadn't accepted the audition. He felt in a bad mood, but stood next to Jabba's throne again.

"Now then... What valuable can you offer to the great Jabba... You said you know some information... If you share it, you will have the master's respect..."

Rasha bowed slightly and explained what she knew about the strength of Viscos' pirates. She wished her information had been a little more comprehensive, but she included what details she had been able to make note of, and provided an estimate of the group's overall strength based on the portion of it that she had seen. For good measure, she also provided a list of some of the captured vessels she had seen at the pirate base, hoping the knowledge that he might regain those vessels might butter the hutt up a bit.

Jabba spoke once more. From his voice it sounded very serious.

"Since you have learned Jabba's respect, he wants you to lead a campaign against these pirates. Jabba will offer you any vessel to command and it is your task to destroy the pirate base and retrieve as many vessels as possible for the master..."

Everyone in the room was shocked. It surprised them how Jabba trusted this enormous task on a Twi'lek woman he hardly knew...

Rasha blinked in surprise. This was something she hadn't accepted, but she wasn't the type to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"I accept your gracious offer, Your Excellency. Is there someone in your employ whom I could speak to about organising a strike force? Time and the element of surprise are of the essence, so it is probably best to draw upon those directly under your employee to conduct the operation."