Arakand Bast

Dran Shukkan are extremely devout towards their religion and its teachings. The Dran Shukkan believe that they are the guests of Shukkanna the Benefactor at the Galla event of life. As worthy and honored guests, it is their responsibility to have the best time at “The Party” as possible. Most followers have a different opinion of exactly what this mission means, but the majority feel that it is their responsibility to have fun no matter what the consequences. As a result, most Dran Shukkan are immoral, selfish brutes who do their best to fill out the ranks of the galactic underworld. Biography: Arakand Bast, a skip tracer by trade, performed his religious duties by doing the job he loved very, very well even though he had fallen into that line of work as a necessity to his continued existence. He had always thrilled at using his razor sharp wit to bully beings into giving him exactly what he wanted. As a youth he was never particularly fond of physical violence so he learned very early on to fulfill all of his wishes through diplomacy and honed his already charismatic personality into his weapon of choice. He was able not only to capture and hold the attention of anyone he wished, but through his verbal prowess alone, could also bend most anyone to his way of thinking. As he approached adulthood, this natural leadership gained him a following among the younger Dran Shukkan. Everywhere Bast went there was a group of lackluster thugs on his heels ready to do his bidding. Bast embraced his role as the gang’s focal point by masterminding numerous robberies, protection scams, and gambling rackets, all the while refraining from direct involvement. Over the course of his adolescence Bast was able to amass a reasonable fortune from his many shady enterprises. He paid his lieutenants well, and they in turn, saw that the business kept growing. As his group gained experience and expanded to influence a handful of star systems, they came under the scrutiny of several organizations. The first was the law. On a number of occasions, either as a result of careless planning and execution or of overdeveloped egos, Bast’s minions crossed paths with the Sector Marshals. Through numerous chance busts and orchestrated raids, the police were able to chew away at Arakand Bast’s group a few members at a time, but were never able to connect anything to Bast himself. The group’s exploits, however, also drew the attention of a more dangerous eye. Black Sun. The Black Sun criminal syndicate reached into every dark corner and back alley in the galaxy. They were as expansive as the Empire and the Republic before it. The organization had not grown to its size and power by letting small time operators run free. More often than not, Black Sun’s files on free ranging criminals were updated faster than those of the law enforcement agencies. Such was the case with all of Arakand Bast’s associates. One by one, they worked their way under the watchful gaze of the local Vigo. Records also showed those same associates were continually bailed or bribed out of police custody by none other than Arakand Bast. Many years’ experience taught the Vigo to look for the focus of loyalty and cash flow in a gang, easily pinpointing Bast as the leader. While the police could make no legal connection to Bast, Black Sun swiftly made him their prime target. The Vigo had a choice of either bringing Bast on, or wiping him and his gang out. Recruiting one as skilled and motivated as Bast into Black Sun’s fold would have undoubtedly helped the Vigo secure a place of true power in the organization, but the Vigo’s arrogance and paranoia were such that he ultimately saw Bast as a threat to his position regardless of the situation. Black Sun began eliminating Bast’s men as the opportunities arose leaving him with an ever-dwindling gang. The final blow came when one of Bast’s long-time confederates, the prizefighter Aresnal Delge, was recruited by Black Sun and charged with the mission of personally assassinating Arakand Bast. Repeated attempts failed but drove Bast into hiding. The credits it took to keep him concealed from the galaxy’s premier criminal organization quickly drained his accounts. His vulnerability frightened him and made him miserable. These were feelings that, for a faithful Dran Shukkan, are the ultimate blasphemy. Knowing his mortal safety was compromised and having nowhere else to go, Arakand Bast returned to the Dran Shukkan mission ship that had been his home as a youth in search of help from his earliest mentor, the High Host Atticus Range. The Host immediately recognized the situation and his student’s need for total reconciliation. After a brief stay at the mission, in which Bast was allowed to recuperate and once again enjoy the pleasures of life, Atticus Range sent him off on a preprogrammed, private luxury shuttle. Nearly a week of short hyperspace jumps and minor adventures dropped Arakand Bast into the custody of Sloane, his new employer. Bast was briefly interviewed and interrogated where he was given the choice of putting his considerable skills to use for Sloane or returning to the waiting arms of Black Sun. Bast, although often greedy, was no fool and accepted gainful employment in Sloane’s service. Bast spent several years as a minor member of Sloane’s entourage before one day being taken in to the complete confidence of the mysterious capitalist. Bast emerged from that meeting as Sloane’s most trusted aide and was given the task of tracking down and settling the accounts of any and all beings who had tried to take advantage of the businessman’s financial generosity. Bast was given a few solo missions before Sloane realized his razor wit was not enough to make him completely successful as a loan shark. Bast did not have the physical presence needed to instantly intimidate his targets into compliance. For several years Sloane had kept the Wookiee Dutchabeen on retainer, training him in various weapons and martial arts, for just such an occasion. He paired the Wookiee with Arakand Bast to create one of the most successful skip tracer teams in the history of the galaxy. The two became fast friends and quickly learned how to play off of each other in order to get exactly what they wanted out of their targets, making their employer a very happy man. Sloane’s power and influence was enough to subdue even Black Sun. The official bounty that had been taken out on Arakand Bast was dropped once his employment with Sloane began. The Vigo that first uncovered Bast’s organization, however, retained a grudge against the Dran Shukkan. Having lost face in Black Sun because of his failure to eliminate Bast, he kept Aresnal Delge under his employ with secret, standing orders to assassinate Arakand Bast on site.