Run of bad luck...

[Veg]

There was something calming about sitting in the cockpit of your ship, staring out into the blue swirling void of Hyperspace. Everything seemed so peaceful in Hyperspace. There were no pirates, no wars, no fighting, no problems. You could be carefree until you dropped out of Hyperspace and returned to the Galaxy plagued with problems. But for all the relaxation it gave Jaden, it bored him half to death. You couldn't really fly in Hyperspace. You more watched your ship travel and waited to take it out of Hyperspace. It was a good time to kick your feet up on the dash and take a nap, especially because of how damn quiet it was. Besides, people say you go mad if you stare into Hyperspace for too long. Bunch of hokey religious crap if you asked Jaden.

So he did what any sleepy Captain would. Kicked his feet up on the center console, leaned back in the pilot's chair, and rested his head against the back of the chair. Nap time.

Just as poor Jaden got comfortable though, there was a terrible lurch forward in the ship. Like a massive deceleration, or like the ship had been yanked out of Hyperspace by an Interdictor. The latter of the two didn't make sense, the only unfriendly space they had to pass through on their trip was Hutt. Only the Republic and the Sith had Interdictor ships in their fleets.

Opening his eyes, Jaden brought his legs back to the floor and leaned forward again. Sure enough, the blue swirl was gone. The only thing staring back at him were a million stars.

"Blast!" Jaden sighed, checking the threat board for any ships near-by.

Nothing there that the sensors could pick up. They weren't yanked out of Hyperspace, which meant-

Fire alert alarms went off in the cockpit. Another sigh from Jaden. This was getting better by the second. The alarms were interrupted by the intercom.

"What's going on up there?" Grumbled Nel.

"I think it's the Hyperdrive. Want to check for me?"

"I'm in the shower, check it yourself." Nel snapped back, as if offended she was asked to help out with the ship.

"Thanks..." Jaden mumbled to himself, getting up out of the chair and heading out of the cockpit. As much as a God send that women was for long trips in the way of company, and how many times she had saved him planet side, she was a pain in the ass sometimes.

Down the hall from the cockpit, Jaden made his way back to where the engines and the Hyperdrive were. Everything was covered in fire suppressant foam, which was slowly draining through the drains in the floor into collection devices for storage. After the sixth or so fire, they had been installed to make clean up a lot easier.

After a brief inspection, it was clear the Hyperdrive was done. The Hyperdrive field guide had blown out, but luckily the fire suppression had doused the flames before the rest of the drive went up in smoke. There was no repair for this, and Jaden had used the last replacement rods going from Dantooine to Mygeeto a few weeks back. Picking up new ones had slipped his mind until just now, but at this point it was obviously too late. The Fighting Chance was dead in the water now. The sub-space drive was still working, but at best they would be able to make it to the nearest planet before they ran out of fuel. They were in the middle of no where.

Jaden headed back to the cockpit to check the nav-charts and see just where they had ended up when the drive gave out. He had been right, almost in the middle of no where. The nearest planet was...

"Sithspit." Jaden grumbled, hitting the nav-computer as if that would change where they had ended up.

"What's the matter?" Nel asked, walking into the cockpit while still drying her hair with a towel.

"Hyperdrive is toast, and the nearest planet is Nal Hutta."

A frown from Nel. "As I recall, we left there last time after causing quite the stir."

"As I recall, the Hutts aren't exactly our biggest fans right now." Jaden started to browse planets farther out, in the hope of finding one that could repair the ship. "I suppose I could try to talk to the Hutts, explain it wasn't my fault."

Nel only shrugged as she turned around and walked out of the cockpit. She didn't care, so long as she got some food that wasn't pre-packed. The Hutts didn't mind her, only Jaden. It was his ship that had blasted out of their hangar after killing a speeder full of goons, not hers.

They would have to go to Nal Hutta, they wouldn't make it anywhere else on the amount of fuel they had. They could technically use all the fuel they had then drift to another planet, but that would take months. Time they didn't have. Time wasted was money lost in the import/export business.

So Jaden climbed back into the pilot's chair and set course for Nal Hutta. It would be an interesting trip...

[Veg]

It was common knowledge that you didn't land on a planet owned by people who wanted you dead using your real name, or your ship's real name. Instead, Ran Donnovan would be landing the Fate's Turn on Nal Sharddaa. Mister Donnovan was here for repairs, which would be explained when he landed. This alias would get them on the ground, but once there it probably wouldn't last that long. Without it however, they would probably be shot down before even seeing a hangar.

Once the ship touched down, there were about fifteen armed men in the hangar. As expected, but it still wasn't a pleasant sight. The good news was they weren't shooting. The bad news is, that might just mean the local Hutt wants to meet Jaden before he has him executed.

"Stay with the ship." Jaden commanded Nel as he passed her on the way to the boarding ramp.

She sort of snuffed at him, smirking at the same time. "No complaints here."

If they did intend to execute him, he would need Nel to rescue him. That just never sounded right to Jaden. Being rescued and all. The two had done their fair share of saving each other, but it was the Corellian in Jaden that refused to enjoy being saved by his partner. Mostly because she was a girl after all, but more to the fact she was so small. Tiny framed little thing packed a punch though. Things she learned in the Marine Corp that shocked others and scared Jaden.

At the end of the boarding ramp, Jaden was greeted by a Twi'lek in robes, a few humans with blaster rifles, and a dozen or so assorted other species with assorted other weapons.

"Jaden Andeer..." The Twi'lek hissed, "Welcome to Nal Shaddaa."

"I assume you're here to take me to Vogga?" Jaden smirked.

"It's best not to fight..."

There was no argument there. He needed repairs, and the only way he was leaving alive at this point was with Vogga's permission. So Jaden went with them. He would be taken through the city and to Vogga, where hopefully he could explain what had happened and bargain with the Hutt.

The group took a fair amount of speeders from the Hangar, to what from appearances looked like a plain old Cantina. The size of the place alone was enough to prove it was clearly more than that. That and the fact it could still seem crowded for such a large place. People probably came from all over Nar Shaddaa to relax here. Others probably traveled to do business; find a smuggler, a bounty hunter, or have something stolen from them. As much as someone could call this a scum hole, it was also a major business hub for the Outer Rim. A lot of action went down here, and a lot more was started here. The Hutts still retained most of their power in the Outer Rim, even after the Republic. Not military power, no. Economic power; with the power of money came the power to crush star systems without a single ship.

Jaden was escorted off the speeder and through a side entrance to avoid the crowds at the front doors. There was no need to attract unwanted attention, or have Jaden killed by any number of Bounty Hunters relaxing in the Cantina. For that, the Corellian was thankful. At least this Twi'lek wasn't all too stupid, he had probably been hand picked by Vogga.

Once inside, the group of thugs led Jaden down a twisty tunnel of halls and doorways, to which even a Jedi would probably have a hard time remembering. The maze was probably to confuse would be assassins and make it very hard for a new-comer to find their way around. Eventually, the halls ended to a large chamber decorated with various precious metals and expensive cloths. It was the dancers that gave away this was where Vogga was though, not the room itself. Pretty girls gathered from across the Universe into a slave trade they couldn't escape, who eventually found their way to Vogga as dancers. Jaden had heard Vogga enjoyed dancers; another reason to leave Nel on the ship.

There was a deep, rolling laugh that broke the momentary silence that filled the room. It was the kind of fat, jiggle of a laugh that could only come from a Hutt.

"Andeer..." The voice started in Huttese, once the laughter had stopped. "You are foolish to come here after what you did."

Jaden was shoved forward, and into the light shining from the ceiling. "Vogga, you know that wasn't my fault. It was the bounty hunter. I was here on business, and he-"

Another Hutt chuckle. "Yes, we found the Quarren. Almost in half he was, like a sandwich. But still, you trashed the Cantina. One of my Cantinas."

"Vogga, he was trying to kill me. I couldn't exactly ask him to step outside so we could talk about it. I gave the bar keep some money on the way out, that should have more than covered for a new table." Jaden smirked. "Plus where would your business deals be without people like me? I think your clients would be disappointed if the Fighting Chance was no longer hauling."

"Ah yes... The infamous Fighting Chance. My men tell me this ship is nothing special, or I would have claimed it myself when you arrived. So then, how do you do the things you do?"

The question was sort of a tease. Vogga had to know if it wasn't the ship, it was the pilot. Or perhaps he thought there was some secret route Jaden was taking. Cutting parsecs as it was.

"Hey, it's me." Jaden raised his arms to shrug, with a lopsided smile to go with it. "What can I say?"

More Hutt chuckles, Vogga was apparently amused by Jaden. That was just fine. The longer he laughed, the less likey Jaden was going to be shot in the back or dumped into some horrible animal's cage for dinner. "I like you Andeer. For you, I make a special deal. You take a shipment for me and bring it to Dantooine."

"What am I-"

Vogga interrupted the question. "No, no. Just make the delivery. No questions. The Sith will not want you to arrive on the planet. Know that."

Sith? Oh right. Dantooine. This was just great. The only faction to want him dead now had more of a reason to want him dead, and now he was giving them the chance to make their dreams a reality by hauling some unknown load to a planet they had just taken. Better to die there than here right? What the hell was Jaden thinking?

"And if I do this, we're even?"

Vogga confirmed. "For now."

"My Hyperdrive is still fried. I need repairs." It was sort of a question, seeing if Vogga would toss in free repairs as part of the deal.

"Fine!" Vogga said, clearly now upset. "Now go before I change my mind!"

As Jaden was escorted out of the building, lopsided smile on his face the entire time, he tried to figure out what he could be hauling that the Sith wouldn't want to arrive on Dantooine. Weapons for the resistance? Was he carrying people? Perhaps some secret Republic weapon... But why would a Hutt have that? It was a mystery. Jaden would make his way back to the Hangar to tell Nel of what had just happened. Hopefully she wasn't too bored.

[Veg]

Almost a day later, the Hyperdrive was repaired. Nel had been able to get off the ship and have a little fun for a while, after hearing the Hutts no longer wanted the crew of the ship dead. Jaden on the other hand, spent the day watching over the Hutt repair crew and giving them a helping hand. He didn't trust anyone with his ship, and his ship didn't trust anyone but him. The two understood each other pretty well. The only reason the Hyperdrive gave out so often was because Jaden was pushing it so hard. In the end, it was Jaden who wound up doing most of the work. The Hutts were really just there to provide the parts and complain about how stubborn Jaden was.

At the end of the repairs, Nel came strolling back into the hangar, jacked slung over her shoulder and a wide smirk on her face. "So, we ready to go yet fly-boy?"

Jaden was just sitting at the bottom of the boarding ramp, relaxing after the stressful repair. "You betcha, hotcakes."

"I still don't understand how you smooth talked a Hutt out of not only killing you, but into repairing your ship and then giving you something to do with yourself." Nel started up the ramp, pushing past Jaden who was still sitting, and slapping him on the back of the head as she went by. "Stop calling me hotcakes."

"How you ask?" Jaden once again had the lopsided smile on his face as he stood up and followed Nel. "It's me after all. I can talk my way out of damn near anything."

"And when you can't?" Nel turned her head so she could see behind her.

The smile still there, Jaden winked. "Fast hands and a reliable blaster at your side."

"One of these days all that bad luck is going to catch up with you, and I'll be in the background laughing."

"Well it might be soon," Jaden stated matter of factly, "So you might have a front row seat."

The two made their way to the cockpit to start the ship and make their way to space. The cargo had been loaded while Jaden was making the repairs. Five tons of something. Couldn't be people, unless it was a Hutt commando team. Jaden chuckled to himself as he thought of what that would look like. Nel gave him a cockeyed look, as if to say he was crazy.

Whatever the cargo was, it would make it to Dantooine. A sith bounty was quite enough. The Hutts adding one just wouldn't do. It would leave very few places as safe havens in the galaxy, and a lot more as death traps. That many Bounty Hunters on you made it hard to run a steady operation.

The Fighting Chance slowly raised out of the Hangar, and into the smelly Nal Sharddaa air. This time there was no need to blast out of the space port and race to a Hyperspace route. They had the blessing of the Hutts, and there was no need to put a strain on the ship. Instead they slowly made their way into space, acting as civilian as possible. No need to draw attention from anyone paying attention. Once in space, a route would be plotted to Dantooine through Hyperspace, and off they would go. Perhaps to certain doom, perhaps to great fortune. Who knew, really?