[LTC - L19 - Shumavar - AE] Nexu Creek Distillery

The wooden footbridge groaned in protest as Sheriff Syal Corekki and his two deputies crossed the crystal creek. This afternoon is so humid, I actually wouldn’t mind if it collapsed and we all went in the drink, he thought. Like every afternoon on Shumavar.

The three lawmen stepped onto the public cantina platform of the Nexu Creek Distillery. The droid bartender floated out from behind the bar, its static metal face somehow managing to convey a look of alarm. 

“Officer Corekki! I assure you all of our accreditation is in order and our water extraction is strictly within quota— “

“Calm your circuits, CH. I’m not here to inspect you. Although, I think I see one more pipe in the creek than last time I was here. Tell Jerran he owes me a bottle of Gold Label if he doesn’t want me to look too closely at his licence.”

“I understand. I will pass your request to boss Jerran and then erase my record of this conversation.”

“Good droid.” He turned to the junior officers. “I’m going to have a little chat with Tench. Best if you stay here. Don’t drink anything too strong.”

Corekki left his juniors at the bar and moved towards the elevated platform where Dhur Tench, Captain of the Vine Storm Collective, was drinking with three of his crew. They called themselves “liberators of oligarchic capital”; most would call them pirates. 

“Tench. How goes business?”

“Swimmingly. But nothing worth speaking of with a fine officer of the law such as yourself. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Three Ashlon stromtroopers were found face-down in a river in Xillai this morning. Know anything about it?”

“Where in Xillai?”

“Warehouse district. We think they might have run across some goods that people didn’t want them to see.”

“Don’t know anything about it.”

“I’ll choose to believe you for now. But I’m going to warn you, and I want you to pass it on to the other crews. Killing troopers is the fastest way to get a full Imperial garrison on Shumavar. None of us want that. The Empire is already sticking their nose in inconvenient places. With a full garrison, business will be harder for everyone, on both sides of the law. There were two deaths last month and now three in one night. Rein it in, or our cordial working relationship will have to change.”

“Like I said, sheriff, I don’t know anything about it. But: message received.”

Aurebesh posters:

- Upper poster: "Drink Rancor Revnog - Gold Label - Always Fierce"

- Lower poster: "Binary"