The transports are landing and the raid has begun. The end goal: erase the Ghanta Black Syndicate from the galaxy, and let the void left behind serve as a warning to Arcona’s enemies. The Shadesworn will strike at multiple objectives to take out personnel and materiel, removing their ability to fight as much as to do business once we’ve left the Ghanta System for home.

Prompt 1 - Storage and Transport

The Ghanta Black base is serviced by a sizeable starport capable of supporting multiple freighters and small capital ships simultaneously, in addition to their own starfighter contingent stowed away in hangars along the main thoroughfare of landing pads. Flanking the starport are two massive warehouses used for storing the goods that the syndicate sells to its erstwhile customers: one for long term storage, and one for pre-freight staging, with a monorail grav train that runs between the two to move goods from point Aurek to point Besh. These warehouses also likely house the sentient chattel — prisoners and slaves for sale to the Children of Mortis as recruits, and to other parties for more mundane servitude — before they are sent off to their destinations, using sectioned off living quarters that separate them from the inanimate goods.

Both locations are well guarded, with round-the-clock manning by armed goons and more mundane dockhands alike. We need all of these to no longer be serviceable; this is a big objective for an ambitious person or persons.

Prompt 2 - The Hungry Pit

The Hungry Pit is an open-pit mine that Chutil’ah uses as both a means of punishment for the unruly, as well as an additional source of income from extraction of precious metals and gems. Those workers serving out a sentence are kept in check with control collars, and are often relegated to the more dangerous tasks, while regular mining teams operate the more specialized equipment and heavy machinery. While the conditions aren’t especially horrible, the labor is hard, and the pit walls are as prone to landslide as a worker is to being crushed by an excavator.

The open ground leaves a lot of room for gunmen to take down targets, so be careful of the perimeter guards especially. The mine needs to be shut down though, as much to frustrate future mining as to create turmoil amongst a possibly unruly population under Chutil’ah’s slimy thumb.

Prompt 3 - The Hotel

Part of the Ghanta Black compound is occupied by a sizeable resort-style hotel. This allows Chutil’ah to not only earn credits off of her own minions, but provide business guests with lodging that is as luxurious as it is secure and separate from her own quarters. At three floors (one ground level and two upper levels), plus a basement for storage and utilities, the place has plenty of rooms of varying size and opulence relative to the price and occupant’s importance. The ground level also includes amenities such as massage tables, bar, restaurant, holo-theater, and a central open-air garden and pool area. Plenty of places to relax and find a little corner to indulge in the high life.

Initial intelligence suggests there may be high value targets occupying the hotel that warrant clearing its many rooms. Be aware though, just because it is a place of leisure doesn’t mean that the occupants are docile and unarmed. The building’s size alone means that any window could become a sniper’s nest if our raid is announced before we get to the door.

Prompt 4 - Palace of Chutil’ah

The most important and, accordingly, most heavily guarded building of the Ghanta Black compound, Chutil’ah’s palace is simply designed but richly furnished. The main and more popular area is often referred to as the pleasure den or simply the lounge: a place of food and drink service, as well as where the Hutt shows off her most attractive servants, ranging across multiple races that include humans, Twi’leks, Zygerrians, Zeltrons, and more; and who are often willing employees. Decked out in thick carpets, draperies, and wood furnishings, it’s an oddly frugal show of Chutil’ah’s wealth. Adjoining this is the audience hall, where the Hutt crime boss resides and takes the majority of her meetings. This room is much more open and stark by comparison, augmenting her ability to intimidate and awe, while leaving little room for would-be assassins to hide in the shadows.

Attacking this objective is a concerted effort, where we will face Chutil’ah’s best guards and most loyal servants. What’s more, its rigid security means it is the building we know the least about. Traps and defenses may be hidden throughout, so be on your toes.

Rules & Grading

• Choose one (1) prompt as the focus of your fiction and detail how your character(s) will take on the objective in support of the larger operation. Success isn’t guaranteed. The story should focus on your chosen character(s) that may include your main, alt, and/or NPCs with valid character sheets.
• You may write this fiction solo or in groups up to three (3) people. Solo fictions follow the standard process of submitting the file with a selection of the desired Loadout(s) for your personal character(s).
• For group submissions, file text must clearly show which participant wrote what (ex. color-coded text), and a list of all character sheet Loadouts at the start of the text. Only one group member need submit an entry; others listed will be manually added by the competition organizers.
• Accepted submission forms for solo entries are in-site text box or PDF. Accepted submission forms for coop entries are PDF only.
• Grading will be done in accordance with the Fiction Grading Rubric.
• Valid submissions will be awarded Clusters of Ice according to the Voice Guidelines. The top placements will be awarded Third Level Crescents according to participation guidelines.