Jordana Jax

History

The high winds of Zaloriis kept life to a minimum, but the sheltering boulders of the Fantain Mountains harbored smaller creatures and rock-lions similar to the tusk cats of Naboo. Legends spoke of dune ghosts that wandered the wastes at night, and of travelers who never returned from their journeys. The natives respected the open deserts and lived well away from them, clustering in small outposts connected by well-traveled roads.

Jarret Jax
Last known location: Ebaq 9

Jarrett worked long, hard hours in order to pay the rent and put food on the table for him and Kalin. Medical care was out of the question for the young, unwed and pregnant teen. Jarrett did all he could to make sure Kalin didn’t have to work as he didn’t want anything compromising the pregnancy any more than a lack of medical care would already compromise.

Kalin gave birth to her beautiful, yet small and premature, daughter - Jordana - at the age of fifteen.

Kalin Jax
Last known location: Phoenix Institute

There were no unions on Zaloriis. Companies, of course, were only looking out for the bottom line and that bottom line equated to the profits that would line the pockets of the executive owners of said companies. This equated to people like Jarrett being paid the bare minimum in regards to salary. These companies were not required by any laws to provide insurance so they didn’t. Through years of hard work, rigid saving, and purchasing only the barest essentials required for living, Jarrett was finally able to move his family into a run-down shack. The rent was real cheap. The owner lowered it in exchange for work that Jarrett would provide.

But it wasn’t long after that when the bottom completely fell out from under the Jax family. Jarrett lost his job when the company that employed him relocated off planet. They cited better tax benefits and an even cheaper labor force. Jarrett was out of work for the next six months. Then the sun broke through the dark clouds and seemed to shine down on the poor of Zaloriis.

Savler Nexdine
Imperial Ties

The minute Jarrett spotted the man, he instinctively harbored a great dislike of him. Of course, his buddies would just laugh and insist that Jarrett was nothing more than jealous and envious of the newly arrived stranger; with his good looks, charming personality, and expensive attire, they would tease that Jarrett just feared Kalin would run off with him.

Within one and a half months, the spiked tentacles of Savler Nexdine began to appear. He’d done well to make friends with many of the locals. He sat down with them, shared food with them, bought copious rounds of drinks with them, and listened to their pathetically dismal tales of life’s woes. All the while, he sat there; smiling and nodding his head when it was appropriate to do so. He patted the heads of babies, kissed the hands of the ladies, and presented himself as nothing more than a well-to-do man who truly cared for the underprivileged.

None connected the arrival of Savler Nexdine with the latest occurrences reported by some of the locals. Such as the odd events and tales spun by Jordana in the early hours of a crisp morning when she was suppose to be spending the night at a friend’s house. Of course, the two girls were ground for their exploits, but not until after being appeased by their parents hearing out the entirety of their tale. The girls’ spoke of seeing strange creatures, ghost-like in appearance yet with a skin that reminded them of reptiles; gray and mottled. They said that the ghostly beasts were emitting an eerie noise that hurt their ears. Of course, though the adults never openly admitted that their story was fitting with local lore, they were still rattled.

Zaloriis

Savler Nexdine spoke of grand things for Zaloriis, and for the people. He spoke of how he’d like buy their land for far more than it was currently worth. Savler explained that the land was going to be used for erecting much needed facilities: hospitals, shopping centers, towering business complexes. He presented it all in such a way that made most of the people stare at him with wide-eyed wonder. Savler also promised that each and every person who agreed to the sale of their land and any buildings on it, were guaranteed a job that would pay them well above what they were currently making now.

”I don’t like it,” Jarrett Jax said as he leaned in close to his best friend since childhood, Han Tavcken.

Han slid a sidelong glance to Jarrett, but didn’t respond with anything more than a, ”Shh!”. He was too enraptured by the dreams and promises spoken so eloquently by Savler Nexdine. When the hours long meeting concluded, Savler excused himself for the evening and left everyone with a way of contacting him should they decide to take him up on his generous offer.

”Well, I’m heading home. Gonna’ tell the wife to start packing only what is necessary. I’m selling!”

This declaration by Han was met with a round of cheers and applause from all except Jarrett. Jarrett stood and slammed his mug on the table which caused the liquor to splash over its lip. ”Have you gone mad?! Han, this guy is slimier than a Hutt!”

Jarrett’s declaration was met with a round of boos, hisses, and shouts of disagreement. He and Han went at it for about fifteen minutes, but in the end, Jarrett lost. There was no way he was going to get through the people who just had the Bantha hide pulled over their eyes. Buzzed, tired, and cranky, Jarrett went home to the loving arms of his wife.

”Everything is proceeding as planned, Governor Kraus. I expect to have most of the locals banging on my door shortly after breakfast in the morning, eager to sell.” Savler said to an unseen face as he stripped himself of his overcoat and folded it neatly before draping it over the back of a chair in his hotel room.

”Good. I will give my teams the go ahead to begin loading the transports and to proceed according to plan.” With that, the transmission ended.

Savler was correct in his presumption the night before. Shortly after 9:00 A.M., the first knocks came to his door. Graciously, he welcomed in the five men who had been amongst the faces in the crowd at the meeting. He offered drinks, which they all accepted, and everyone sat down and followed through according to Savler’s plans. He cut each of the men checks for an exorbitant amount of money. Those men left with the biggest shit-eating smiles ever to wrinkle their faces.

When they were gone, Savler watched them from the balcony while sipping a cognac. ”That’s right. Run home, show the wife, and share the good news with everyone you know.” Then he chuckled knowingly.

It was like that throughout the day. However, since he never gave an exact dollar amount to anyone at the meeting, he was able to get away with giving each man that appeared less and less. By the end of the next day, he planned to give less than the land was worth. However, in lieu of the loss the folks would take, he offered to pay for their moving expenses and to guarantee a hefty sign-on bonus and added benefits to their employment packages. The ignorant folk accepted thankfully and left happy, oblivious of the fact that they had just been taken by one slick con man.

The next few weeks, Jarrett spent grumbling as he watched the people he had lived along side of pick up and abandon their homes. If only he had been watching when night fell and blanketed the land. Those who had been given less and given broken promises were informed to gather at the base of the Fantain mountains. Purportedly they would all be leaving together on one large transport.

The good and trusting people did. Upon arrival, they were told to leave whatever belongings they had taken with them in a pile and to step into the transport. It was explained that their possessions would be stowed in the cargo hold.

Fantain Mountains, Zaloriis

The first transports began to arrive from elsewhere in the galaxy two weeks later. Savler grew tired of hearing Jarrett Jax try to talk those who still stood in the way of progress and Savler’s own wealth out of accepting the offer. He was succeeding and had quickly become a thorn in Savler’s side. But Savler reasoned that Jarrett Jax was a more formidable foe than originally anticipated. He’d be the last one to … leave … Zaloriis. One by one, the families that had seen the truth of Jarrett’s objections to what Savler was doing simply began to disappear.

The story his daughter had told him before continued to bounce around in the back of his mind. To sate the demanding voices in his head, Jarrett left the house after his wife and daughter had fallen fast asleep. He snuck his way through the mountain passes and worked his way up one craggy ridge. As he slowly peered over the ledge, his eyes fell upon several of the mighty, ghostly beasts Jordana had claimed to have seen. Frightened, he pulled his head down immediately and scurried his way home. Had he remained and took a longer look; he would have seen what was truly happening as the construction began on schedule. Large pieces of equipment were excavating and paving in the mountains. Surrounding lands to the South were flattened and existing buildings that had once been homes were demolished to make way for the spread of …

Of what?

Jarrett held out. He held out longer than his friends and neighbors had. Nights spent at the local tavern were frequent and his tab was running up. Of course, the owner knew that he’d never see a dime of what Jarrett owed unless he sold his property. But still, he continued to serve him. The business from the crews that had arrived would more than cover the loss from one single man.

”Why haven’t you sold this place yet, Reeva?” Jarrett asked of the owner.

Reeva was a tall, lanky man, sporting a bald pate on top and thin graying wisps of hair around the sides and back of his head. “Are you kidding? Business has never been better since they arrived. I’d be stupid to sell out now.”

”Even with the stories that have been floating around since they arrived?”

Reeva nodded. ”Ayup. Do you really think the Dune Cows are going to venture into town?” The man scoffed and went about his business.

Later that night, Jordan came bursting through the door. She had snuck out of the house – again. Her face was pale, as if she’d seen a ghost. When questioned, she babbled on again about ghostly gray enormous beasts in the mountains. She described what they looked like, stating that they were taller than anything she’d ever seen before, had gray skin like a reptile and made weird noises like she’d never heard the likes of before.

She went on to tell her mother the stories she’d heard from others while out wandering. She’d heard frightened women gossiping about how their loved ones or neighbors were rousted from their homes in the middle of the night by small, grayish, robed creatures and taken away. They’d said that they were taken to be experimented on and all sorts of terrifying things!

Jarrett ordered the child to her room and to bed without supper. Kalin wasn’t too pleased with the way her husband handled it, but she said nothing about it. Instead, the woman tried to be subtle in her tactics of presenting her feelings on the child’s blathering. But Jarrett ended the conversation before it could begin with a simple yet firm, ”Enough, Kalin.” If their minds hadn’t been otherwise pre-occupied with their own very differing thoughts, perhaps one of them would have taken notice of the small, muffled noises that came from the child’s bedroom just over their heads.

As Kalin cleaned up in the kitchen, muttering under her breath yet just loud enough for her husband to hear, Jarrett stepped out to have a smoke. When he stepped out, Jarrett saw Savler standing a few feet away. To either side of him, stood a total of four small stature, gray skinned, robed figures Jordana had mentioned earlier. They were disturbing to look at. Even Jarrett was taken back by their appearance.

”What is the meaning of this?” Jarrett demanded, just as Kalin stepped out quietly behind him and closed the door.

Savler stood there, his arrogance permeating the cool, misty air. ”Mr. Jax,” he began while adjusting the snug-fit of one black glove covering his right hand. ”I believe I have been more than generous in my offers to you. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Jarrett cinched his teeth and worked his jaw, shifting his eyes from Nexdine to the gray-skinned Noghri flanking at either side. ”This land’s not for sale.”

Savler inhaled a breath, shaking his head slowly. ”I thought you’d say that. I really do wish it didn’t have to come down to this,” he said mockingly while stepping to his right. As he stepped aside, the twin Noghri also stepped aside, one to the left, the other to the right.

Jarrett’s eyes widened and every muscle in his body tensed at what he saw. Behind him, Kalin gasped sharply and clutched at her husband’s bicep as worry marched across her face.

Savler’s lips drew into a tight-lipped wicked grin, knowing he had the upper hand in this most unfortunate situation. ”I will ask only once, Mr. Jax. What say you to my offer of purchasing your property?”

A large and calloused hand closed into a tight fist. Jarrett had just been defeated. Slowly, his shoulders sank; right along with his heart. Though it broke his heart to lose his land to the scum Savler Nexdine, there was no way in hell he was going to lose his daughter over it.

”I thought you might come around.” With a simple hand gesture, the Noghri keeping Jordana from running to her parents jerked on the girl’s wrists, signaling that she was to go with him. The other two who had stood guard, fell into line and escorted the struggling, panicked girl further away as she cried out for her daddy.

”I agreed! Let her go!” Jarrett started after Savler. Within the blink of an eye, the remaining Noghri slipped from the shadows and took care of the remaining problems standing in Savler’s way.

Savler stood there, satisfied.

Sunrise, the next morning

Governor Klaus

”Cut the dramatics, Nexdine. I don’t have all day.”

”My apologies, sir. It’s just … there’s a … young girl. She may be useful.”

Governor Klaus remained silent on the opposite end of the transmission for a few minutes. ”How young?”

”I would put her age at around fifteen or sixteen years, Sir.”

Governor Klaus held a steely gaze on Savler, then said, ”Young, supple. Weak in mind,” though he was thinking out loud more so than actually speaking to Savler directly. Normally, the ruthless man would have ripped Savler a new one for not taking care of her as he did the other children. However, he had grown weary of the man’s dawdling long ago. ”Ship her to Werncin 3. She’s only useful for another year or two. They can put her to work and dispose of her when her usefulness runs out.”

Werncin 3
Slave Planet

The response came accompanied with a nod. ”The female was sent to the Phoenix Institute as instructed. The male was shipped to Ebaq 9 immediately last night.”