EXT. NAR SHADDAA -- CORELLIAN SECTOR -- TWILIGHT
Up in the heavily polluted sky of Nar Shaddaa, countless starships and airspeeders move about like a swarm of angry hornets, passing around and between the countless rusting skyscrapers which reach up from the decaying surface of the moon below.
INT. MELTDOWN CAFÉ -- TWILIGHT
A dank, filthy place lit with dirty red lighting, the Meltdown Café is packed with clientele, most of whom are visibly disreputable types. Sitting at a small round table in the back corner of the establishment, out of place in his surroundings, is a relatively clean-looking ORTOLAN; visibly nervous, he chain smokes cigarette after cigarette, crushing one out and lighting another before finishing its predecessor. Resting on the floor beside him is a metal briefcase.
As the Ortolan worriedly smokes, a WAITRESS -- an incredibly emaciated Bothan with sparse, stringy hair and a lazy eye -- approaches his table.
WAITRESS: (takes out a datapad and stylus) What'll ye be havin'?
ORTOLAN: (looks up at the waitress; stammering) Oh no, nothing, please. I'm not hungry -- I'm just waiting for someone.
WAITRESS: (sighs) Look, this is an eatin' and drinkin' establishment -- ye come in here ta eat or drink, not ta sit 'n' stare like a stuffed bird. If all yer gonna consume is that goddamn smoke, then ye can take yer ass out o' here and free up some space fer payin' customers.
ORTOLAN: I'll have a glass of Saurian brandy, then -- a small one.
WAITRESS: (takes the order down on her datapad) Yer wish is meh command, meh lord.
The waitress walks off, leaving the Ortolan to himself again. Resuming his chain smoking, he takes a glance at his wrist chronometre.
ORTOLAN: By the goddess' bulge, how long is he going to be?!
After a few minutes pass, a new figure -- a TALL KUBAZ adorned in a dark green overcoat -- enters the Meltdown. Taking a gander at the clientele filling the place, he notices the Ortolan sitting in his secluded spot. As he walks up to the Ortolan, he reaches to a mechanical device secured to his right wrist and presses a series of small buttons.
ORTOLAN: Are you Khar J'ak? Are you the one I've been waiting for?
KHAR J'AK utters something in Huttese. Judging by the artificial sound of the words, they come from a mechanical device rather than his own vocal cords.
ORTOLAN: I'm sorry, I don't understand Huttese.
The Kubaz makes an adjustment to the settings of his translator.
KHAR J'AK: Did you bring my money?
ORTOLAN: (looks down at and places a hand on the briefcase beside him) It's here.
KHAR J'AK: Good, very good.
As J'ak reaches down for the briefcase, the rotund Ortolan slaps his hand away.
ORTOLAN: No, not until you fill your end of the bargain.
KHAR J'AK: (rubs his slapped hand) Outside, then.
ORTOLAN: The alley?
KHAR J'AK: The alley.
Turning, the Kubaz walks away. Picking up his briefcase, the Ortolan follows after him.
EXT. MELTDOWN CAFÉ -- ALLEY -- TWILIGHT
The Ortolan stands waiting in the alley alone. Clutching the briefcase to his chest, he taps his foot impatiently.
KHAR J'AK: (O.S.) Here she is.
From the shadows Khar J'ak emerges, leading a SMALL ORTOLAN FEMALE before him. In J'ak's right hand is a blaster pistol, the barrel of which is pressed against the female Ortolan's right temple.
ORTOLAN: Kleu!
KLEU: Daddy!
KHAR J'AK: Alright, Imunafas, here's your daughter. Now give me the case.
IMUNAFAS (ORTOLAN): Let Kleu go first!
KHAR J'AK: Try to run away, either of you, and I'll burn holes in both your heads -- capisce?
Taking the blaster away from Kleu's head, J'ak pushes her forward. She runs up to her father, who hugs her to him.
KLEU: (ecstatic) Daddy!
IMUNAFAS: (crying) Oh, Kleu -- Kleu!
KHAR J'AK: I'm touched by the familial love you share, but my money?
IMUNAFAS: (sets the briefcase down on the ground and pushes it toward the Kubaz with his foot) Take it!
The Kubaz catches the briefcase and, holstering his blaster, pops the case open, revealing the contents: several small bars of a shiny red metal. As Khar J'ak looks upon the bars, the two Ortolans back away from him.
KHAR J'AK: Wait a minute. (looks up at the Ortolans) This is only half! Where's the rest of it?!
IMUNAFAS: What are you talking about?
KUBAZ: (angry) Don't play games with me! We agreed on one-hundred bars; this is only fifty!
IMUNAFAS: (incredulous) What?!
KUBAZ: (pulls out his blaster) I don't like being played with, Ortolan. Now you tell me --
Before the Kubaz can finish his sentence, a whirring metal disc comes flying out from the darkness of the alley. Passing through the air at nigh-invisible speeds, it hits the Kubaz's right elbow, severing his gun hand from the rest of his body. Releasing an untranslatable Kubaz scream, J'ak collapses to his knees. Gripping his stump with his remaining hand, he desperately tries to staunch the blood flowing from his wound.
KUBAZ: (screaming) Goddamn you! I'll cut your --!
Before J'ak can complete his curse, a loud, resonating BANG sounds out through the alley, followed immediately by the appearance of a bloody hole in the side of the Kubaz's head. Kinetic energy knocking him to the right, he is dead before he hits the pavement.
As Imunafas holds his sobbing daughter close against him, two tall, intimidating figures -- a TRANDOSHAN and WOOKIEE -- emerge from the shadows. The Wookiee -- his fur black with silver streaks -- is naked save for a gunbelt worn about his hips and a lanvarok secured to his left wrist. The Trandoshan -- sporting midnight green scales and wearing a black-and-white spacer's suit -- carries a slugthrower rifle in his long arms. Walking up to the remains of Khar J'ak, they look down upon the corpse to regard their handiwork.
IMUNAFAS: Thank you, I --
TRANDOSHAN: (speaking through a translator) We don't care about your thanks. (points down at the briefcase) Is that the rest of our fee?
IMUNAFAS: (stammering) Y-yes. Fifty bars to go with the other fifty I gave you as a down payment.
Bending down, the Trandoshan re-closes the briefcase and hoists it up.
TRANDOSHAN: Then our business is concluded.
Turning, the Trandoshan leaves and re-enters the shadows, leaving the two Ortolans alone with his Wookiee partner.
The Wookiee, uttering a low grunt, bends down over the slain J'ak. Grabbing hold of the Kubaz's severed arm, he picks it up, examining the controls for the corresponding translator secured to it. Peeling off the controls and tossing the dead appendage away, the Wookiee bends low over J'ak's body and strips the translator apparatus from the dead being's neck.
Releasing a short laugh, the Wookiee then turns and leaves himself, following his Trandoshan partner into the shadows of Nar Shaddaa.