Tir-Nem-Saral stepped into the diner, carrying a dark green bag under her arm in addition to her usual equipment. It was reasonably crowded at the moment, and it was not a place she frequented, but it was where her client, who had placed the bounty she was about to collect, had told her to come. She had a description of who she was supposed to look for, but even if she hadn’t, it would not have been hard to pick out the three, obviously-armed thugs who started staring her down the moment she stepped through the door. 

Wordlessly, Tir walked over and sat down at their booth, across from a Human and Devaronian, and beside a Weequay. She placed the bag down on the table in front of her and waited for one of the three to speak up so she could figure out who was in charge. 

“So, you’re the bounty hunter, yes?” The Devaronian said, leaning forward onto the table with his hands clasped together. 

[color=f7941d]“Right, we should probably get this over with quickly.”[/color] Tir responded. She generally was not quite so impatient with clients, but for this job in particular, she felt she wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. 

“Hmph, whatever. Just let me see your datapad, and you’ll get your credits.” He continued. Tir’s datapad had an application that could be used to test collected samples of blood, not only for DNA, but for markers that were present in many species when the body entered a state consistent with death, or at the very least, potentially fatal trauma. However, there had been a slight complication with her ability to use that application for this specific bounty.

Tir rubbed the back of her neck. [color=f7941d]”Yeah…about that. My datapad’s busted. So…”[/color] She began, not bothering to finish her sentence before she partially opened the bag on the table, just enough for the Devaronian to look inside, to reveal a severed Human head.

---[b]Two hours earlier[/b]---

Tir’s target was running for his life. Altogether, her ambush had worked quite well. She had been following him, and knew that he would return to his speeder soon enough. He had been seen at this apartment before, and she had seen him there the previous day, but it was not where he lived. She had needed only to find a spot to wait, then, when he returned, she had managed to get off a stun shot on his bodyguard. The shot had been meant for him, but the bodyguard had at least managed to perform his duty in the most literal sense. 

The target was a Human male, and a member of the Pure Hand. He had ran into the closest alley and was attempting to weave his way between the many, tightly packed buildings to escape his purser. The bright blue stun shots from Tir’s blaster flew by him as he dashed and evaded to the best of his ability. Each shot briefly illuminated the darkened alleys, but he was spry enough on his feet that, while a few came close, none actually found their mark. Tir was not the most accurate while running at a full sprint, so after the Human turned another corner, she quickly holstered the blaster and drew her vibroblade from the back of her bandolier. The Human was reasonably agile, but as a Tiss’shar, she had the advantage in strength and speed over him, and she was indeed gaining on him. 

Tir rounded the corner only a few meters behind her quarry. She grasped her blade firmly in both hands, holding it level as she charged after him. She could see that he was armed, but by the look of its glow, it seemed to be a stun baton. Useful for pacification and torture, but not terribly useful against an experienced opponent with a sword. The Human hit the baton against a bin overflowing with compacted refuse to knock it down behind him, which Tir promptly and easily jumped over. He rounded another corner to the right, but she was only seconds behind him.

This time, when Tir ran around the corner, she found her target attempting an impromptu ambush. He charged at her, swinging his baton straight for her head, but the Tiss’shar’s reaction was like lightning. She was able to bring up her blade to block the strike; although, the momentum with which he was running allowed him to force his assailant back and slam her against the wall behind her. However, once that momentum was lost, her strength allowed her to quickly push back against him. Realizing his disadvantage, he tried to start backing off, but she was able to land a clean kick straight to the middle of his stomach. The claws on her feet tore through his thin clothing and left three short, but deep gashes across his middle. He stumbled back, just barely able to keep his balance, while Tir moved to capitalize on her advantage. She thrust her blade towards his chest, intentionally off the mark for his heart. To his credit, he was able to parry her blade off to his right, but because his weapon had much less reach, he had to take a step forward in his attempt to retaliate. It was a movement that took more than enough time to allow Tir to bring her blade around and swing for his weapon to deflect the strike.

Since the stun baton lacked a guard, Tir’s blade slid downward on impact and cut clean through a few of his fingers. Screaming out in pain, he of course ended up dropping the baton. Tir expected this would have been enough to motivate a surrender, but either through training, or simple rage towards his attacker, he was surprisingly resolute in his willingness to fight back. With his unwounded hand, he pulled a knife from his belt and started to rush forward. Once again, however, Tir’s advantage in reach allowed her to stop the attack before he could get close. She slashed upwards and diagonally across his chest, against which he was powerless to defend. Overwhelmed by the shock of yet another wound, he dropped down to one knee and lost his grip on his knife, though the short blade did not fall far and was still well-within his reach. 

Tir stood with her blade held above the Human’s head in the prime position to swing for a killing blow. She looked down upon him with an intense glare, scrutinizing his every movement. His own expression was one of fear, pain, and rage. Despite his profusely bleeding injuries, which were weakening him ever further by the second, his gaze darted between Tir, and the knife on the ground in front of him.

[color=f7941d]”Look, don’t even try it. That’s not going to work. I don’t [i]want[/i] to kill you. Surrender, and I’ll patch you up and bring you in alive. But you reach for that knife, and this blade is going straight down onto your neck.”[/color] Tir warned. [color=f7941d]”Now, make your choice.”[/color]

The Human looked back and forth once more between the knife and his attacker. There was a brief delay as he looked straight ahead, then, after a few moments, took in a deep breath.

---[b]Present[/b]---

Tir moved to a different table to herself near the opposite side of the diner, then opened up the pouch she had been given to double-check her count of her credits. Fortunately, the Devaronian had possessed the presence of mind not to make a scene with the head, and had instead closed up the bag and passed it off to one of his men before they made their way uneventfully out of the diner. Tir wished she could have brought the target in alive, but the payment for confirming his death was still sufficient for it to have been worth her time. 

Putting away the credits, Tir reached back and pulled out her datapad from one of the pouches on the back of her tool belt. She held it out on the table in front of her and traced a claw across one of the many cracks covering its screen. [color=f7941d]”Hmm, hopefully it’s just the screen that’s cracked.”[/color] She muttered to herself. It would be cheaper just to buy that part from a junk dealer than to get a new one, and she was not keen on losing the locally saved data.

Tir just happened to glance up from her datapad to notice something, or rather someone, who quickly piqued her interest. He was a Tiss’shar as well, and while this was not the absolute first time she had seen another member of her own species, it was a definite rarity to see any of her own kind. For as long as she had been living in level 3030, she had never seen another in person. Tir’s booth was only a short distance away as she looked straight at him. [color=f7941d]”Well, would you look at that.”[/color] She said to herself.