Elias was just as surprised as Delni at the sudden appearance of the droid and took a moment to appraise the new arrival. While it certainly had more personality than other droids that the smuggler had had a run in with, he didn't recognize it and, in an equally low voice, he stated so. "Never seen it before and that's the honest truth. Just how much of a coincidence is it?" Elias himself was suddenly itching to put his helmet on and sweep the area with an alternate view mode, but he figured it would be rude, not to mention he had a business proposition for the two sisters.

Delni kept her voice soft, so as not to call any attention from Sirka. "Hmm, sure. Guess I can take you at your word for now. I suppose we shall just have to watch and see what happens." She said, taking a small sip of her drink while keeping her eyes on Elias, and maintaining a smile. "But...I get the feeling you had something to say, yes? You would not approach a stranger if you did not. Please, go on."


Willoh was esctatic Sure this lizard person was a bit aprehensive at a droid asking a ton of questions, and Willoh could detect the distrust of droids in their voice, but they were being pretty polite compared to some other people she had to deal with. Figuring that it would be more polite to talk first, since she was being a slight bother anyway, Willoh stoood up straight. "Hiya! I'm Willoh. And I'm a droid, I thought that was a bit... well nevermind. And my questions are because I've never seen someone that looked like you! Its really neat! She said, not doing much to hide her excitement.


Sirka exhaled sharply, pausing to take a swig of one of what was now several drinks sitting in front of her. "Yeah, well that makes two of us." She replied. She had been asked what she was so many times by this point that it may as well have been a ritual for her. Few greetings passed without it, and she could still never answer it. "Don't know what I am. Never seen or heard of my own species. But I've also never seen a droid like you. Never met one so...curious either."

Elias chuckled softly before taking another sip of his drink, letting the taste linger on his tongue a moment before swallowing. Straight to the point, his type of gal. "Well, you've got me there, though it was only after your sister indicated she worked as muscle. You see, I'm something of a...delivery specialist. The kind of guy who will get it to where you want it with no questions asked." He takes another sip of his drink and glances over as a third Mandalorian, once more of a different clan, walks by.

"I recently got out of a bad business deal with a former Moff and thought you might be looking for someone who could provide...discreet transportation when needed." He let his eyes come back to the Togruta's own and smiled a dashing smile. "What do you say?"

Delni kept her eyes mostly on Elias, glancing only occasionally over to the droid and Sirka. The machine certainly had an...interesting personality. From what she was overhearing, it seemed as excitable as a Gungan toddler. Regardless, her conversation with the Mandalorian seemed a bit more important at the moment. "Well, if we had somewhere we needed to go, that certainly would be a wonderful offer. Unfortunately, we are not in need of any sort of discretion at the moment. My sister is a mercenary, and she does not tend to take jobs that overly-rely on subtlety. Not to say she is not flexible, but she is one to hire when you're expecting a firefight. She's about the toughest fighter you could imagine. Strong as a wookiee, scales like durasteel; I've never seen her lose a stand-up fight. She plies her trade for anyone who can pay well enough. I don't suppose a dashing Mandalorian like yourself would have need of such a deadly ally, would you?"

Willoh tried to give a smile, well, as good as a smile you could express with only eyes for your facial feature. "Well I thought you were a tiss'shar, just oversized at the start. But looing at ya up close, I don't think thats true. Pretty neat though!" bouncing around a little bit on the heels of her feet, she continued. "As for why I'm so curious, why wouldn't I be? I'm not one of those storebought droids. I'm a bit more advanced than them." She said with a giggle. "But don't worry, I get that a lot! Whats your name by the way? And who are those two behind ya. Friends of yours?"

Again, Sirka exhaled, though this time it was more of a result of frustration than anything else. "I swear, I'm either the most avoided person in the room, or the most popular." She muttered audibly, though mostly to herself. In general, she was not actually so anti-social, but all of the attention on her sister had put her in a certain sort of mood. On top of that, it was unusual for a droid to be walking around asking questions, and that made her naturally wary. "Guess it can't hurt. My name is Sirka, she's my sister Delni, and I don't know that guy."

Hearing Ms Sirka's little verbal frustration was a bit funny. Willoh had sort of the opposite problem, ignored until she made a loud ruckus. "Hiya Sirka. Nice to meetchya! And thats pretty neato how you have a sister lke that. Droids sorta don't got family ties like that. Kinda lonely really... But hey! You get someone fun to travel with." Willoh said. She then started to eye the mandalorian that Sirka had said that she didn't know, the one who looked like he was flriting with her sister. Motioning to Sirka with a small giggle, pointing at the mandalorian, Willoh approached the mandalorian.Getting his attention, she put on bedroom eyes and got into a sexy pose. "Heya Mr. Rugged. Wanna buy a lady droid a drink?" She said, in a deeper tone.

Elias glanced over at the lizard again and then shrugged, taking a sip again. "Perhaps not, but most Mandalorians also know when it doesn't hurt to have an ally to fall back on too. Besides, it never hurts to have the connections for when future jobs call for mo-" And from out of left field came the droid, adopting what was supposed to be a sexy and seductive pose and asking him if he wanted to buy her a drink. He blinked for a solid thirty seconds while his lips moved in an effort to find words.

From a day that had been horrible due to near death by turbolaser and TIE Fighter to being hit on by a droid that was programmed with a female personality, the smuggler was willing to call it a day. But he needed this potential client and so, with a great effort, he spoke. "I must apologize miss, but I'm not into droids like that."

Willoh looked disappointed at the rejection, or so she had him beleive before bursting out into giggles, slapping her knee and saying. "Aw shucks. And it would've been a fun night. Oh well!" Willoh was used to that response, but it was fun all the while to flirt anyway. Never knew when you'd get some free alchohol, especially since that made for great flamethrower fuel.

Sirka, even with as irritable as she had been so far, could not help but to laugh at the absurdity of the scene before her. It felt like someone was staging some sort of joke on her. Regardless, it would be difficult for the droid to miss her bellowing laugh. "Okay, so...what even are you? Were you programmed as some sort of...I don't know. Dancer? Servant? Prostitute? Where is your master, even?" She asked.

Pumping her fist in joy as she made Sirka laugh, happy at the hearty laugher, Willoh turned while beaming and decided she could say a little. "Well, lets just I'm a bit... more autonomus than most droids. No master, and boy I wouldn't want one. Though other droids do tell me I'm glitchy sometimes. Being a free droid does that to ya." willoh said, laughing. Turning to look at everyone, Willoh went on "So... why is Mr. Mandilorian here? Considering theres a few running around here, it can't be just to flirt."

It took some effort for Delni to maintain most of the composure she had been keeping with Elias, as she shared her sister’s sense of humor. This droid, whatever it was, had rendered the confident Human speechless. It was funny enough that she could not help but to want to keep it going, if just slightly. “I do wonder, how much are you here for business, and how much for pleasure?” She added towards Elias.

Inside, Elias was fuming. Outwardly, he simply grinned finishing his drink before sweeping his arm at the entirety of the entire club. "Look at this place. One comes for one as much as the other, it simply can't be helped. But in all honesty, I'm here to lay low. I do have to do that on occasion. I saw the pair of you and thought perhaps a little business was in order."

Delni raised her brow just slightly at Elias. "Strictly business, then? A shame." She commented briefly. "Not to say I am...uninterested in business, of course."

"What kind of business?" Willoh asked, a bit curious. She hadn't dealt with many mandilorians, only going on what she read on the holonet. But the name was quite reputable, and reputation was what she was after.

Unlike the droid, the scents she picked up on off of the Mandalorian were actually meaningful. Humans were a constant in the galaxy, and she could recognize their scents pretty much on reflex by this point. To his credit, he controlled his expression and most other body language perfectly, but he could not control the chemicals his body exuded. He was angry, and she could guess at the source. "The droid upsetting you, Mandalorian? She is about as blunt as a hammer, I'll say." She said, flicking out her tongues.

Elias ignored the ribbing from Delni's sister and opted to instead to address first Delni, then the droid. "If you'd rather have a night of fun, I'm certainly for that. You would have to pick the fun, as I feel your sister wouldn't trust my choices." And then on to the droid. "As for business, just looking for a new client who has the occasional need of my services."

"Oh, ok. I'm a mercenary slash bounty hunter so... I'd be the one offering you muscle for cash, not the other way around." Willoh said, dismissing his offer with a giggle. She'd be much more interested seeing the date with Delni and this guy though, she was off the job as it was anyway.

Delni nodded along after Willoh. "Much like the droid, I and my sister would not be the one hiring you, unfortunately, but if we ever needed to go into a job as partners...well, I would have to see yours skills first, naturally." She grinned, placing a hand gently upon his armored shoulder for a moment. "So suffice to say, we do not have anything for you right now. Not in terms of business. For fun, well..." Turning back around on her stool, Delni picked up the drink that Elias had ordered for her and swirled it around lightly. "I'd have to say I would have a hard time trusting a man who doesn't drink with me."

"What she said. Plus no drinks for a droid. Now I gotta buy my own." Willoh said, trying to pout in a playful manner.

Elias glanced at the droid and briefly wondered what she even drank before taking a proper seat next to Delni and ordering a round of Mandalorian Ale in Mando'ade, including for the droid. Holding up a glass, Elias offers another grin. "Well then, shall we?"

Sirka placed down an empty glass, then picked up the second drink that Elias had bought. If nothing else, Delni had managed to get the stranger to buy enough drinks for them, and even a droid for some reason. "Way ahead of you there, Mandalorian. You're goin' to be playing catch up."

Willoh gave a little 'yay' at having a drink bought for her. "The downside of being a droid, I can't get drunk. It looks like so much fun when you guys do it. All that stumbling around and all that stuff. Nice to be social though!" she said. making a 'hatch' for her 'mouth to drink the liquid. She did so as best as she could manage with a very basic 'mouth, unable to make anything more eligant with stangers. After all, can't have the wrong eyes on her. Finishing her drink, she looked at Sirka, then Elias, "This makes for decent flamethrower fuel. Can make quite the fireball with alchohol. Thanks guy!" Whilloh said, slipping the bartender a few credits when Elias wasn't looking to pay for the drink he had gotten her.

After giving a knowing smile to Sirka, Elias took the two glasses in front of himself and downed them both in quick succession and then pouring a third and drinking it as well. It clearly had a different effect on the man versus the Brandy, because he quickly stood and retrieved his helmet before calling the droid bartender over. Speaking to it in Mando'ade, Delni's glass was quickly decreased in the volume of drink. "It's been a pleasure, ladies, but I think it's time I head to my room. I need to have some repairs done to the Eclipse before I head out in a couple of days, and I need to shower after today's fiasco. Delni, I must suggest you get to your own room after trying the other drink I had brought to you and consider it me placing some amount of trust in you." And with that, the Mandalorian is gone, his helmet back on his head as he exits the club.

The air aboard the impressive Imperial vessel was filled with tension. So much of it that one could have sliced it wide open with a metaphorical knife. Crewmen darted around the spacecraft, while others stayed in their designated places. The Moff in charge of the ship had quite a few detractors to his divisive plans involving Paradise, which they were within range of at the moment. She walked through the central hallway, her boots clanking against the thick durasteel floors with every step. Each movement of Talina Eriston seemed to be rift with pure determination, yet her expression was one of picturesque calmness. She was not herself on this mission, she had taken another identity and was under deep cover. If her true identity had been revealed then she would most certainly be court-martialed. That did not concern her, failure was never something she considered.

Talina's shoulder length brown hair was tied into an topknot, a hat of an esteemed Imperial officer sat upon the top her head. She looked every bit the part, including the scowl she sported on her face as she made her way to the bridge of the vessel. Crewmen that took notice of her approaching presence stood at attention, giving her salutes. They looked upon her as a commanding officer, someone of a greater rank then them. In actuality she was but a highly skilled spy, who led every single person on the ship on. It felt odd to be performing such a mission 'against' fellow Imperials, but she could not turn down a direct order. Taurus' actions were illogical, she could see why Moff Orro had called upon her for such a high risk task. He trusted her, thought highly of her and she had every intention to reinforce that embedded trust in her.

Two Stormtroopers saluted as she approached the entrance to the bridge, following a short set of stairs she found herself walking on a direct course to Moff Taurus. He had his back turned, his gaze directed out the front of bridge, the man's eyes deadset on the opposing Imperial starship. The other Star Destroyer stood out amongst the backdrop of the stars, the sight nearly took away the devoted Imperial spy's breath as she continued walking. To the sides on a lower level were the bridge's crew, they kept an eye upon the ship's logistics, detailing any important information to the moff. A few glanced up at her as she walked, then returned to their stations. Flanking the moff were his second, Admiral Benkai Costake, and his third in command, Vice Admiral Nelsam Varnor.

"The ship is ready for any scenario sir, crew morale is high." Talina spoke out to the moff. Admiral Costake glanced at Talina, then back out toward the window. Varnor was on a datapad, but he briefly popped his eyes up from the device. Both men remained silent as Taurus spoke out, having turned his attention to Talina, who he believed at the moment was one of his loyal officers aboard his Star Destroyer.

"Excellent to hear, Lieutenant. We cannot allow the mission to fail, Orro is in the wrong here," Taurus confidently stated. He was young by moff standards, but was held by high esteem within Imperial command. That was until his latest decision to harass a neutral power. "I will not accept his boarding. He must be the one to back off."

"Sir, are you sure about this?" Costake inquired, the words not coming out in the most upbeat of tones. He blinked as Taurus scowled, his brow furrowing.

"Surer than every, Admiral. Try not to question my decisions again. Varnor, give the order to send Imperial boarding craft to Paradise. I want that scum brought onto my ship alive, rip through the entire station if you have to." Taurus ordered, then glanced back at the window. Varnor tapped on his datapad, then finally spoke.

"I cannot do that sir. The crew do not stand behind you."

"Varnor are you mad? Lieutenant Locrev just informed me the ship is ready and stands behind me. I will find you of contempt against the Empire if you do not issue the order." Taurus reiliterated, getting right into Varnor's face, his hands on the man's collar.

"I never stated they stood behind you, sir." Talina interjected as Taurus corrected the moff and he began to turn his rage towards her.

"Are you threatening to remove me from command? I call the shots around here, the ship does not move without my orders. I will have you all you all put under trial and dishonorably discharged!" Taurus exclaimed, as he stared down Talina. Then spoke out once more, to his second in command. "Are you with these traitors, Benkai?"

"I am sir, I do apologize it had to come to this." The Admiral answered, as a trio of Stormtroopers walked through the doorway, heading towards the officers and the moff.

"Have all three of these mutineers thrown into the brig immediately." Taurus ordered as the troopers approached, their blaster rifles raised.

All eyes on the bridge had turned to the attempted mutiny. Talina did not even turn to the glance at the approaching soldiers, instead a smirk appeared on her face and she stepped aside. That smile that only appeared on her face when a plan had come to total fruition. All three troopers passed by Talina, and pointed their weapons at the moff. Who looked more shocked than he had ever before in his entire life. His typically calm facade had been torn through and he glared at all in the room.

"Moff Taurus I am removing you from command of this Star Destroyer, effective immediatly. I am handing you over the Moff Orro and ordering this vessel to stand down in its approach to Paradise." Costake ordered, his words now full of poise and command. One of the stormtroopers placed Taurus in handcuffs, then started to lead him away.

"You will all hang for this, every single one of you that went along with this treacherous offense!" Taurus hollered as he was pushed away from the bridge. Talina nearly laughed at the man's words. Then activated her comlink.

"Sir, this is Agent Talina Eriston. Moff Taurus has been removed from command and placed in the brig. Admiral Costake will remove the vessel from Paradise space and puts himself along with everyone on the ship under your command." The formerly undercover Imperial agent stated, the now first and second in command surprised at the revelation. Neither spoke a word, only glancing at each other then towards Talina as she walked out the bridge, the smile still on her face. She had to report back to Orro personally.

Orro would inform them all later of what had just transpired. She had under a rouse convinced them both to mutiny against the moff, an initiative neither had openly objected to. She did not plant the seeds, only helped them grow. Talina had spent the last week masqueraded as another high ranking woman on the ship, Lieutenant Locrev. That woman would return to her post as soon as Talina left the ship. Taurus' brash decision to invade neutral space was not looked favorably upon by many under his command. Now the risk filled action had been squashed.

Jacsen smiled when Taurus' fleet stood down. He didn't have to fire a single shot, nor take another imperial life. For a moment there he looked like a proud father who's child had just did something amazing, finally finding the courage to stand he got out of his chair and opened a channel to Talina. "I can't be any prouder at this moment. You exceeded my expectations once again." He said and took a deep breath. "I have some business to take care of on Paradise, you are welcome to enjoy yourself for a bit and I will find you once it's concluded." And with that he ended the communication and walked up the ramp of his shuttle.

During the short flight to Paradise he found himself thinking, when Talina had come to him he planned on using her like the tool she was. When one played Dejarik you couldn't win without sacrificing a few pieces. But she had become infinitely more valuable than he thought, and he thought before long he would be out of things for her to do. When the ship finally landed on Paradise he smiled, and walked off the ramp onto the deck.



The old clone wars veteran within Jacsen hated the idea of setting foot on a CIS ship, with droids, and a man that worked with the CIS. But those were old wounds, and for the Empire to be whole again he would throw himself at any former enemy to stop the new one the threat that had thrown them into chaos. As he walked through the halls of this ship he didn't doubt that the man already knew he was here, he was hoping that Koren was in a good mood despite what just happened, he didn't want to show up here and end up offending the man that could be a valuable ally and tool in the times to come.

Lost in thought he didn't even notice to where he was supposed to be, Orro quickly stopped the attendant droid and said. "Tell your master that Moff Jacsen Orro has arrived and he wishes to speak with him." He didn't even await a reply before he stepped back and waited patiently for Koren to come retrieve him.

Koren sighed. Imperials really had to sit down and resolve their issues before flying anywhere, it should be a requirement of them flying anywhere. "Have all battlestations stand down, inform any concerned patrons that the issue has been resolved and that there'll be no fighting." He turned to Thinker. "I also want you to prepare a course for Sleyhorn. We're not leaving yet though it's about time we moved somewhere new in order to keep things fresh. Clients like it when the scenery changes." He turned, his coat billowing to follow him as a droid came up to him and handed him a list of mercenaries for hire currently aboard the ship. He nodded as the droid turned away as he reached the door, opening to allow him past Ballick immediately followed into step. At least Orro thought to at least compensate him in some way, Imperial personnel on leave tended to spend a lot of money when it came to Paradise. Lack of rules, ability to do things you couldn't do anywhere else.

Though it wasn't always easy for them find partners, even when paying for it due to the stigma that surrounded them. That was their problem, it was one of the conditions Tara had been set upon. Working girls could refuse clients, or increase fees if they saw fit. He wasn't really complaining, it meant he had willing workers rather than slaves. That was always beneficial. As he flicked through the list, checking the names of mercenaries to their corrosponding images and public (and sometimes less public information). He finally settled on one. She, or her file said it was a she, seemed to be strong and intimidating. The two most important factors he was looking for, she was also not a big name in the industry so that gave him some more incentive to hire her for what could potentially be her first big gig. After all, that kind of exposure was something he wanted to capatalize on.

He highlighted her name, and then turned to Aurrie. "Pay this 'Sirka' a visit and hand her the information packet on the job. Defense cover for my courier, seventy five thousand credits up front another seventy five when the job is complete. If it comes to a fight hazard pay will be another hundred thousand, however this doesn't apply if my courier is damaged, it's her job to prevent that. If she accepts the job I expect her to be in the staff hangar within the hour." He believed in paying well, after all he could afford it and it kept everyone happy. A lot of others in Hutt Space had tight pockets, though if you wanted good help you had to be willing to spend for it. If you weren't going to spend the money, you weren't going to get the service.

That was a couple of issues dealt with so far. The intelligence community moved quickly sometimes and slowly other times, his life revolved around hectic moments and quiet moments. That's when Loretta came bursting down the corridor with a spring in her step. "I found him Daddy!" She practically jumped into his arms and he fell back slightly at the force. "Oh, sorry. I just got a little excited."

"I noticed that, who'd you find?"

"The Jedi."

Koren paused for a second, really? Today of all days. It was going to be one hell of a day, he swore his life was as dramatic as a holodrama. "Where?"

"Ilos."

Of course, of course he was on Ilos when they were currently orbiting Ilos Minor. He wasn't so bothered about the Jedi, he had heard the stories of course. Seen the clips of the individual wielding a lightsaber going aorund Hutt Space taking out gangs and groups of criminals. Honestly he had a request almost daily for information so that a group could take his head, though he had much more selfish reasons for seeking out the Jedi. First of all they were a rare breed, and while he had never liked the Republic he had never had an issue with the concept of the Jedi. If this one wanted to go around taking out scum, he had no issue with that so long as he did so off his ship. Secondly, a Jedi held a lot of power. Even if this wasn't actually a Jedi and just someone waving around a lightsaber. Hutt Space was an area where the Jedi weren't as forgotten as the Empire may have liked, Slaves talked about them as hero figures who would save them in the night and crime lords spat their names due to conflict in times gone by.

Loretta was fascinated by the Jedi, he wasn't entirely sure why, though he wouldn't discourage it. "You want to meet him don't you?" She nodded with a grin over her face. "Fine, hire Kast to go get him. We'll both meet him."

"You want me to hire Kast to extend an invitation? Would it not be better if I-"

"No." He raised one finger and pointed it at her. "No it wouldn't, this guy is a target by a lot of different people. I'm sending a known Bounty Hunter who can handle himself." He hadn't worked with Kast before, though his record spoke for himself. "Okay Loretta. Go do that, I need to go deal with business."

"Thanks Daddy." He slapped at the air as he walked away. Whoever had abandoned Loretta aboard Paradise in it's opening years was really missing out on something special, that much was sure.

---

At the top of the tower, were many Penthouse rooms. The most ornate was the observation deck, this was where Koren conducted any and all business relating to the Golden Exchange. It was a power statement more than anything, and the entire thing was a metaphor. Out in space the Imperial ships could still be seen looming, as could all the traffic back and forth to Paradise. Which showed the true neutrality of what he had built here, people legtimantely didn't care about Imperial ships sitting nearby.

The doors to the room opened and Koren looked up from his chair towards the stairs where the main entrance was. While most rooms like this had the person entering coming up stairs, he did the opposite. He was lower than the entrance to place himself lower for the guest. Then when the guest left they'd feel taller and more important again. The little touches were important after all. That said he still didn't go to collect the Moff, no. Orro came to him.

As soon as Orro was closer Koren removed the stopper on a decanter of fine Alderaanian Whisky, some of the most expensive Whisky in the Galaxy, and poured two fingers between two glasses. "Moff Orro, while I appreciate the custom I must confess I'm finding a bitter taste in my throat at the methods." He signalled the seat opposite him as he put the decanter down. "I was very close to not bringing out this, it's a fine vintage. From the House of Lyll, truly fantastical house on Alderaan. I went there once in my CIS days, beautiful mountain scenery. Though you aren't here to talk about Alderaan, that's ancient history now. What can I do for the Galactic Empire today?"

Tip one of dealing with an Imperial Remnant, always refer to the Republic as Rebels and the Remnant as the Empire. It made everyone feel good about themselves.

Boqo listened carefully to Koren's details. The idea of bringing something to someone that he knew he wouldn't like was a bit scary, but also exciting. When Ballick disturbed them, even he knew something was wrong. Luckily, he had faith that his boss would handle it. He left the office and took the turbolift to deck 5. As he walked through the hallway to room 209, he heard some droid voices coming from the room. "... See? I told you it wasn't going to fit!" "Well maybe if you turned better it would've gone straight in!"



Boqo stood in the door opening, looking at two droids trying to put a dead body into a box, which obviously was too small for the task. "I can't help it that my gears are starting to rust!" The droid holding the legs said, not noticing the Marialan watching them. "Maybe you should go and get an oil bath for once!" The one at the head said. "If I need an oil bath, then you need a memory wipe!" "Hey!"

Boqo now stepped into the room. "Ladies, ladies, calm down!" The one holding the head dropped the body with a loud 'thud'. "Excuse me, I identify as a TIE/IN Interceptor." The other one shook its mechanical head. "No you don't, you are a B1 droid." "I can have dreams, okay!" "No you can't, still a B1 droid." "I know..." The head-end droid finally admitted while making a dissapointed pose. "Look, you two need that body in that box, right? And it's dead, right?" Both droids nodded. "Then you can use some more force. I mean it isn't like he still feels pain." The droid holding the legs tried to push them into the box, eventually dislocating the joints but still getting the job done. "Hey, it worked! Thanks, Boqo!" Boqo walked to the box, closed it and used the hover function to carry it along. "No problem. Also, aren't you two late for your next assignment?" The two droids looked at eachother for a second. "O-oh!" Then ran out of the room as quick as possible for the B1 units.

Boqo chuckled. This is what he meant with the droids not standing guard being more fun. Also, he had no problem with the package containing a body. He did jobs like this before for Koren, and as long as he didn't have to murder an unarmed innocent person himself, he could take it. As he walked through the hallways back to the turbolift, he noticed some Star Destroyers flying outside of the ship. If there was one thing that discomforted him, it were Imperials. Because of Koren's neutrality, he had to keep himself from engaging them, but ever since Alderaan, he straight up despised them. And who could blame him after they destroyed a whole planet filled with innocent lives, including his parents'. He walked into the turbolift, hoping not to have to see any of them.



Once Boqo arrived at his hangar, he saw his beauty again: the Rapier. Okay, maybe she wasn't fully his as Koren still legally owned her, but she was his to fly. He carried the floating box into the Star Courier, placing it in the cargo bay. He then did some checks on the system to see if everything was working properly before stepping outside of it again, seeing if his 'protective detail' had arrived yet.

Paradise
Nightclub

"You can't do a thing to me," The Rodian complained, though nervousness has begun to creep into his voice. "If you touch me, Koren will throw you out and put a bounty on your head!"

Sol'id gripped the Rodian's shirt, hauling him up to eye level to stare into the Mandalorian's cold, dead visor. Rodians were slightly smaller than the average human, but to the large Mando he seemed dwarfed in size. With no weapons present to even the odds, it was a precarious position to be in. Those around the Rodian backed up, unwilling to help directly but not against going around behind and maybe grabbing one of the bouncers.

"You thought I'd lost you around Geonosis, didn't you?" Sol'id said, ignoring the previous blustering comment. He pulled him up further. "I've been tracking you across half of known space, Ramul. Do you think the rules of a nightclub would keep me from taking your head back to Vishnu?" He let the words sink in, and the Rodian stuttered, unable to really comprehend what was happening. "But I'd rather Vishnu not need to pay Koren for this inconvenience. So I'll make you a deal."

Sol'id had a reputation for seeing bounties through to the bitter end, and Ramul had sought to test that theory to the limits, at his peril. Sol'id set him down, letting go of him. "If you wish to live, you'll fly straight back to Vishnu for me, and sell your starship to pay off the debts. He's given me leave to promise you 5 galactic years of indentured servitude, and you'll be released. If not, right here, right now, I will tear you limb from limb, and beat my way out of here with your dismembered corpse."

Three minutes later, past the looming threat of the Imperial Star Destroyer and wondering if he could collect on who they were trying to find, Sol'id made his way over to the bar and sat down. The threat was over, regardless, and he would have Vishnu credits paid to him in a weeks time. Ramul now knew Sol'id could track him wherever he went. If he tried to escape now, it only added satisfaction to the inevitable kill.

"Hello sir, might I offer you a drink?" The Droid offered him yet again, as if he had not spoken to Sol'id five minutes before.

"Whatever you have that's strong."

The Mandalorian had parted ways with the rest of the group, which had been something of a relief for Sirka. A part of her had suspected that Elias intended to get Delni drunk so he could sleep with her, but the fact that he suddenly left seemed to dispel that theory. It had been why Sirka had not gone too overboard on the drinking herself, but perhaps he had been more honest than she had given him credit for. Sirka had a distinct buzz at the moment, but Delni had either underestimated the Mandalorian ale, or vastly overestimated her ability to handle it, as evidenced by the fact that Sirka was currently carrying the highly intoxicated Togruta down the hallway in her arms.

“That droid was just…really something else. Really something else. I mean, who even makes that, right? I mean it even tried drinking with us. Drinking! A droid. Then it started dancing…it’s like it thinks it’s…people!” Delni stammered at least somewhat coherently, but heavily slurred. “Right, sis? Right?” She added, jabbing her thumb into Sirka’s ribs.

“Right, sis.” Sirka responded, if nothing else, to get her to stop poking her.

Delni allowed her head to fall back and started to watch the walls of the hallway pass by upside down, from her perspective. She was silent for the rest of the way to their room, seeming almost mesmerized. Sirka did not notice as they walked along, since she was trying to avoid breaking the silence. Eventually, they reached their room, and Sirka had to disturb Delni’s position to open the door enough to cause her to suddenly lift up her head.

“Heh, it’s like I’m on the…bottom of the world. And…uh…” Delni began. Sirka, upon glancing down at her, noticed that she was looking just a bit green.

“Hey, careful, you don’t want to make yourself si-“ Sirka started, but it was already far too late for warnings. Before Sirka could do anything to stop it, Delni ended up purging the contents of her stomach all over herself, her dress, and Sirka. All Sirka could do was stop, close her eyes, and let out a long sigh.

Over the course of the next few minutes, Sirka struggled to get the largely-unhelpful Delni out of her soiled clothes and into the refresher so she could take a shower. Or at least, she managed to get her to sit down in the shower while the water poured over her. Under the circumstances, it was the best she could hope for out of Delni. Sirka stepped away for just a few minutes to get her clothes into the wash, clean up herself with a wet cloth, and the floor afterwards. Once all of that was done, she returned to the refresher and sat down on the floor next to the shower so that she could supervise Delni and make sure she did not find a way to drown herself in a few centimeters of water. It was cramped and uncomfortable, but Sirka did not give much thought to it as long as she was able to keep track of Delni.

There was silence for a while between them. Delni had protested the cool water at first, but she now seemed relaxed, to an extent. She was sat in the floor of the shower, slumped over slightly. She was making no effort to actually bathe herself, but the water alone was doing a decent enough job. Eventually, she slowly craned her head over to look at Sirka to finally address the thoughts that had been going through her head. “Hey, sis…you think…you ever think ‘bout our parents. I mean, you ever think they’ll get to go home. Not, uh, our home, you know, but, um, theirs. You know, uh, Cora…Corku…”

“Coruscant.” Sirka interrupted. “Yeah, I have. What brought that up?”

Delni leaned her head back, sluggishly closing her eyes once the water started to fall into them. “I don’t know, we’re just all…havin’ a great time out here. Enjoyin’ ourselves. But they always, uh, talked ‘bout how much they enjoyed things back home. They’d really like to go home.”

“That was back during the days of the Republic, before the Empire. That time is long gone.” Sirka replied.

“Yeah, but…there’s a Republic again, right? I’d just…love for ‘em to be happy again, and if there’s a Republic now, uh, don’t you think they could finally go back home?” Delni asked. She was wide-eyed, and the way she was looking at Sirka almost reminded her of a child. Although, her blatant drunkenness quickly diminished that illusion.

Sirka looked straight ahead, staring intently into a wall. “Yeah, I think they’ll get to go home.” She said, though she was not completely sure how much she believed it. She did not follow the news too closely, but the last she heard, Coruscant was in the midst of a civil war, which was hardly the kind of place she wanted to send her parents. It could not last forever, but there was no way to tell what kind of planet it would end up being after the dust settled. Even if the Republic faction prevailed, Coruscant was an expensive place to live. At least, the part that her parents were from was. Sirka would not be able to afford to support both them and herself in a place like that at the moment. Still, all of that was no reason to ruin Delni’s mood.

Her sister just smiled as she stared up at the ceiling. “That’s great! They’ll…love it.”

With a brief groan, Sirka slowly stood herself back up to her feet and extended a hand down towards Delni. “I’m sure they will, but right now, it’s about time to get you dressed, and get you to bed.”

Delni snickered. “Get dressed. Why do I have to…get dressed? I mean, look whose talkin’? You’re always, like, just, walkin’ around everywhere naked. Just like it’s nothin’. Why do I have to wear…things?”

Still laughing, Delni shakily stood herself up to her feet, still in the shower. “Oh, look at me! I’m a giant lizard! I don’t need no…pants!” She mocked.

Worried, Sirka held out her arms wide to try and catch her if she fell. “Careful, Del. It’s wet, you might…”

Delni looked like she attempted to step out of the shower, but with an impressive lack of coordination, she managed to slip and fall in the exact opposite direction as Sirka, landing face-first on the bottom of the shower. She groaned in pain, to which Sirka could only stop, close her eyes, and let out a long sigh.

Over another few minutes, Sirka was able to get Delni dried off and into a nightgown, then laid her down onto her bed. Sirka had managed to get her to drink some water, but she was still somewhat uncooperative. At the very least, she seemed to enjoy finally being able to lay down in a nice, comfortable bed, so Sirka did not expect her to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Sirka was sat on the edge of the bed, dabbing a wet washcloth against Delni’s face to wash away the last traces of blood from her split lip. She did not seem to be in pain, which was fortunate. It was frustrating enough to deal with the happy version of her drunk sister, though she made no outward complain in any case. All she cared about at the moment was keeping her comfortable. Sirka had filled up a full glass of water and prepared some headache medicine on a small table next to the bed for when Delni woke up the next “morning.” As well, Sirka had dimmed the lights in the room so that they would not exacerbate her inevitable hangover. Delni was not yet asleep, but she was finally willing to stop and relax.

After another few minutes, the pair received a visitor to their room, which Sirka was naturally the one to deal with. It was one of the ship’s droids, and at first, Sirka wondered if a camera had witnessed her sister vomiting on their floor before she cleaned it up. However, the information that the little floating machine transmitted to her datapad told a different story.

Once more, Sirka sat down on the edge of Delni’s bed, scrolling through the details of the job on her datapad. Normally, Sirka did not immediately accept a job, no matter the pay on offer. She was always careful to allow her sister to do her research on the client and make sure they were someone they would want to work for, who could be trusted to pay on time. However, this was a different story. This job was coming straight from Koren: the very owner of Paradise. Sirka knew exactly who he was, and exactly what kind of an opportunity this would be.

Taking in a long breath, Sirka slid over and placed her hand gently upon Delni’s shoulder. “Hey, sis, good news. I found another job. A great one, in fact.”

Delni smiled up at Sirka. “A job? That’s, uh, that’s great. I need to, uh, check it out or something?”

Sirka lightly shook her head. “No, no, it’s definitely legit. Koren is the employer.”

“Koren…Korrreeen…”

“The owner of Paradise.” Sirka reminded her.

Her sister nodded her head. “Ah, right, right. So…good credits?”

Sirka smiled and patted Delni’s shoulder. “Very good credits. I finished my obligations to my last client, so I’m free to accept. It’s just…well, I’ve got to leave soon. Like, now.”

While she did not quite frown, Delni’s smile did start to fade once she registered in her mind what Sirka was explaining. “Oh. So you’re, uh, going…then?”

Sirka lightly nodded. “Yeah, sorry. I did hope to enjoy Paradise with you for a bit longer, but you know, we’ve got to make a living. I went ahead and ordered room service for you in the morning, and I made sure this room is paid up for a while. If it takes any longer than I’m expecting, I’ll make sure to send you more. Just try to get some rest, okay? I promise I’ll call you as soon as I can.” She did not particularly like leaving her sister alone and drunk, even if it was in the relative safety of their room in Paradise. But more than that, despite how much Sirka had harped on Delni about wasting credits for wanting to come along, she had been looking forward to spending some time with her sister away from Nar Shaddaa. Now, their much-anticipated vacation was being cut short before it could really start.

Delni remained wordless for a while, but eventually, she managed to sit herself up and get her arms around Sirka for a hug. “Love you, sis.”

Sirka wrapped her free arm around Delni to return the hug. “Love you, Del.” She said before finally pulling away so she could stand back up to her feet. “Enjoy your vacation, sis, you deserve it.”

---

After leaving her room, Sirka had made her way to her assigned meeting place as quickly as she could. She was still a bit buzzed from drinking, but it would not be noticeable on the outside, and she would be perfectly fine by the time they reached their destination. It seemed that her acceptance of the job was expected, as she was re-united with her weapons and other equipment that she had parted with on check-in as soon as she was in the hanger. She supposed there would be no delays before they could get moving, she supposed.

Now fully-equipped, complete with all of her bandoliers, harnesses, and the rather conspicuous heavy repeater on her back, Sirka approached the vessel at which she had been instructed to meet. As she neared, she saw a Marialan man, who she assumed to be the courier she was meant to be guarding. Compared to him, she was a towering presence who loomed over him once she was in front of him.
“You, uh…Boqo?” Sirka asked, glancing down at her datapad to double-check the name as she spoke. “Name’s Sirka. I’m here to guard you.”

"Feke Kast, you arming yourself or a small army?" the rodian arms dealer swore as he scanned a holopad with a list of Kast's necessary materials.

"Funny." Kast replied, unamused. Opening up the briefcase, he handed off not an insubstantial chunk of money to the rodian. The arms dealer examined a few of the credit chips- even going so far as to bit on one, wincing as his teeth clattered against the hard metal. Seemingly content with the quality of the credits he had just acquired, he began casually stacking them on his desk as he made a call with his comm link.

"Alright Kast, your supplies are being delivered to your ship now, try not do die- better for business."

Paradise
Mid Level

Kast strode through the corridors of Paradise with practiced ease- he had spent enough time on this ship between bounties that he was used to the different corridors. As he walked, he heard a few other groups of people idly gossiping about a Star destroyer that had warped in and fired on the station. Strange enough, as Kast had heard not felt any disturbances. Though he did notice a larger than normal concentration of Imperial remnants walking through the ship corridors- presumably on leave.

Kast always found it interesting how many Imperials and New Republic personnel visited the Paradise. While Republic presence wasn't particularly strong in this sector, it wasn't unheard of to see them walking around on the Paradise. Interactions between the two groups varied wildly. Most of the time it was tense, their animosity leading to different groups staying far away from one another. But Kast had also seen groups of soldiers mingling and laughing at one of the Paradise's bars. It would appear that for some, being a grunt was being a grunt, no matter which side you were on. Kast didn't particularly care enough to find out why the two groups occasionally mingled, but it was interesting observation nonetheless.

Kast was brought back to the present by the sight of a young blonde girl approaching him, a pair of IG-100 Magnaguards in tow. On a ship like Paradise, such security was unheard for outsiders, meaning that this must've been someone who belonged to the Golden Exchange. However, even Golden Exchange personnel rarely warranted the security of two dangerous, expensive Magnaguards. The girl looked nothing like the Paradise's security chief, Ballick. Logic reasoned that this was probably someone close to Koren.

"Zaheed Kast? I've been looking for you." the girl said, her voice barely managing to contain some measure of excitement. "Loretta Graeff, I have a job for you."

"Graeff." Kast said plainly. He was right, the girl was someone of importance, though he wasn't expecting the young Graeff herself. Kast had never seen the girl, nor had he heard much about her. Just as well, Koren wasn't the type to let out that much information about one of his own- that would just be inviting exploitation, something someone in the information business probably wasn't too keen on. "What's the job, and how's the pay?"

Loretta giggled, "Details of the job are confidential, Mr. Kast, information is power, no matter how small it is. You're finding someone for me. Pay is 40,000 now, and another 60,000 when you bring him here."

Kast drew himself straighter and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing behind the polarized faceplate of his helmet. He didn't like working without all the details of a job, and 120,000 was a big number for just a simple job. Taking his stance as a sign of hostility, one of the Magnaguards took a protective step forward, stepping in front of its charge. Kast glowered at the droid, though with little effect- droids, at least Magnaguards weren't to be intimidated.

"I don't work without details." Kast said finally, "I'm not some trigger you pay to pull when you want someone dead. I need more to go on. Otherwise, you're better off hiring some brainless grunt downstairs."

Loretta sighed exasperatedly, "You're not killing anyone, Mr. Kast. You're finding someone that my father is interested in, and bringing him back to the Paradise."

"Who?"

"A Jedi." Loretta finally admitted, though she seemed more eager to admit it than Kast expected. The answer wasn't one Kast had entirely expected. He had heard rumors of a Jedi making his rounds through Hutt Space, killing a couple nameless drug dealers or other lowlife scumbags. He didn't actually believe the rumors though, it was easy for people to blame the deaths of their competition on Jedi- few people in Hutt Space liked Jedi, but even fewer had the guts to actually go after one. Jedi, with their force powers were notoriously difficult to fight against, to top it off, they were fast, deadly, and seemed to deflect blaster bolts with ease. Kast had faced down a Jedi or two before, but it wasn't a particularly glorious experience. Fights were sporadic and messy at best, and required careful planning ahead of time. Taking a Jedi into custody alive was an even bigger challenge, as they could overcome simple restraints with ease. That explained why she was offering 100,000 credits.

"Why does Koren Graeff need me to capture him a Jedi? I thought he remained neutral in all activities." Kast questioned, still too suspicious of the current circumstances to accept right away.

"You're not capturing him," Loretta explained, "You're... Extending an olive branch with him, a chance for him to learn and experience something... more."

"And?" Kast prodded, "What if he doesn't want this olive branch?"

"Then you capture him."

Kast was silent for a moment. Weighing his options. On the one hand, he wasn't exactly short of credits- having just finished a bounty mission of his own. At the same time, he was a regular here on Paradise. Being in Koren Graeff's good books could lead to better opportunities, and being liked by your host was never a bad thing. If the encounter with the Jedi came down to capturing him, Kast would be the first individual since Jabba the Hutt's very brief imprisonment of Luke Skywalker himself to have a Jedi in captivity. Kast also remembered how badly that went for the Hutt. He'd heard the rumors, ship shot down by the Sarlaac pit.

"Fine. I'll do it." Kast finally relented. A Jedi was a challenge he hadn't faced in a while, and the credits were hard to turn down, no matter how flush he was.

"Excellent!" Loretta said excitedly, pushing a button and wiring 40,000 credits to Kast's personal account on the Paradise. "Which way to your ship?"

"What?" Kast replied, dumbfounded. "Why would you need to know?"

"Because I'm coming with you obviously," Loretta replied, as though this had been thoroughly explained.

"Absolutely not." Kast said resolutely, turning on his heel and walking away. Much to his chagrin, Loretta followed him, her Magnaguards in tow. From the Mid-Level, to the turbo-lifts, to the security check, waiting for Kast to re-equip his not insubstantial supply of weapons, all the way to Kast's freighter in the hangar. All the while insisting that Kast bring her along and ignoring his increasingly irate pleas for her to go back.

Standing outside the entrance to his freighter, Kast finally stopped and turned around. "What ever gave you the indication that I would allow a tourist to follow me around on a bounty?" the now fully armed bounty hunter asked, arns crossed, fists balled.

"Because if you do, I'll put in a good word with my father..." Loretta started, Kast cocked his head, unconvinced. "and... I'll wire an extra 15,000 credits."

Kast looked at her for a moment before turning away and opening the door to his freighter. "15,000 credits isn't worth getting in deep shit with Graeff for getting his precious little daughter hurt."

"If you dont!" Loretta snapped, her voice raising slightly, "I'll tell my father you pulled a blaster on me in the hangar. You'll never be welcome back here again."

Kast paused. While normally, such a threat would be insubstantial, it was a threat that Loretta Graeff of all people could feasibly pull off. Observation in the hangar was spotty at best, and in the end, there were several bounty hunters like Kast, the Paradise wouldn't be missing any real business from him. Whether or not Koren Graeff believed his daughter, Kast had the most to lose in any situation. If Koren didn't believe the younger Graeff, the worse she'd get is a slap on the wrist. If he did believe her, Kast's days would conceivably be numbered unless he took his leave of Hutt Space. While there was definitely business other places in the Galaxy, Hutt Space had the most conflicting parties- making it so much easier to remain neutral in most affairs, which Kast valued.

He slowly turned to face the smug young girl, arms crossed, Magnaguards at the ready. "20,000." he said finally. The girl rolled her eyes but nodded. "20,000." She agreed, pushing a button on her holopad. Kast's own holopad dinged, another 20,000 into his personal account on the Paradise.

"Fine. You can come."

"Great!" Loretta said happily, her voice returning to its youthful eagerness. "Come on Ix, Ion." She said to her Magnaguards, and quickly traipsed her way onto Kast's ship, her magnaguards slowly marching along behind her. Kast stood outside his ship, still dumbfounded.

"Uh. Boss! There are intruders on the ship!" came the whiny robotic voice of OOM, echoing out of the ship.

"They're coming with us OOM." Kast replied with a sharp bark. "Clear some space."

"Roger, roger."

"What am I getting myself into?" Kast said aloud, as he turned and slowly trudged onto his ship.

Having had their drinks, the mandalorian and the two sisters departed, leaving Willoh all alone. "Aw, they didn't even swap holonet names! Laaaame." she whined, looking for something else to do. She could join the other patrons on the dance floor, although she wasn't all that interested in watching the female Twi'lek dance like most of the patrons. It was around this point another Mandalorian walked in and sat at the bar, looking a bit peeved over something. "Jeez, I thought these guys were supposed to be rare. Is there some convention happening on another floor I'm unaware of?" Willoh said, laughing a bit at the absurdity.

Deciding to make a new friend, Willoh walked over to the mandalorian drinking his anxiety away. Sitting in the seat next to him, she examined the man. She wondered if this one would be as fun to play with as the last one. He did have different armor and gear on. She did notice the different markings on his face as well, which made her wonder if that was a cosmetic choice or something deeper. At any rate, she waved to try to get the bartender droid's attention and ordered a drink. Thinking it was for the man beside her, the droid obliged, much to Willoh's annoyance. While waiting for her drink, she said to the new guy. "Hiya buddy, hows it going? Did a bounty go bad or something?"

Paradise
Nightclub

Sol'id took the drink the serving Droid had given him, and lifted up his helmet enough to reveal a square jaw with a five o'clock shadow. He looked like his mouth was set in a perpetual scowl, and the Mandalorian took a sip of the strongest brew in the bar. Setting the drink down after a few good chugs, he placed his helmet back on firmly when the strangest droid approached him. He'd seen her, it, when he had come in. But it had been his assumption the Droid was simply a female in armor.

He was wrong.

"In a manner of speaking." Sol'id said curtly. He was certain the bounty was done. Ramul wouldn't dare leave here and risk Sol'id wrath by escaping once more. But after chasing that bastard around half the galaxy, he'd been looking forward to ending the Rodian's life. Still, he would get paid nonetheless. He had to remind himself that not every contract was satisfying, or a particularly physical challenge.

"What kind of droid are you?" He asked, his voice deep and grim.

The bar stank of cigarettes and lies, a small trio of musicians played a somber tune in the corner of the establishment. A bith blew into a flute, his fingertips dancing across the instrument as the song progressed. He was in rhythm with a human who was strumming a seven-string hallikset. Both musicians flanked a green skinned Twilek woman, clad in a tight black dress. As Talina stepped into the tavern the wookie bouncer give her a glare, then rose a furred paw indicating that she was allowed inside. She was happy the furbag had let her in without incident, those animals shouldn't be in a place like this. They belonged tolling along in the mines across the galaxy, using their great strength for something productive. If this wasn't a neutral location then she would have certainly informed the Empire of the beast. She let out a deep breath then approached the central bar in the middle, a grey haired man behind it, polishing a shot glass. She was relieved it was a human there. She didn't feel like trying to enunciate her words for some bug eyed freak that would undoubtedly screw up her order.

"One vodka martini, stirred with a twist." Talina ordered with a smile as she put her arms on the bar and waited. The bartender gave her a nod then went straight to work. His fingers seemed to move in synch with the music as he put together her drink.

The bar was quiet, only three patrons sat at it. Two rough looking men, one missing a right arm, and a duros. The latter gave her nothing but the briefest of glances then looked back at the band. The gaze from the other two lasted longer, the armless fellow not so inconspicuously checking her out. Talina wasn't dressed like most off duty Imperials would. A cutoff shirt with a hardy leather jacket on her upper body, then a pair of black slacks with high heeled boots on her lower half. The armless man seemed to be eyeing her backside. The Imperial agent shot an icy glare at both men. They locked eyes, the duo then seemed to collectively smirk before finally looking away from Talina. Then her drink was placed in front of her, she gave the barkeep a smile then retreated to a table in the back of the room.

As the tailhead wailed into the microphone in the corner of the pub, Talina sat down, taking a sip of her martini. She blinked as she downed the smooth taste of alcohol. There was nothing better than a refreshing drink after a hard day's work. She was by no means an alcoholic, so many in the Hutt systems were that. Their entire existence was based around perpetual intoxication. What a waste of life. At least they were easy to extract information from.

"You crooked nerfherder! I saw you peeking at my cards." A man in a booth within speaking distance from her's exclaimed, then rose up from his seat, then lunged over towards the surprised rodian, grabbing him by the collar. The bar room went silent, the band pausing their music as the musician hit a bad note on his hallikset.

"Put him down now. I've told you before Reyza. You can't pull this nonsense in my bar. There's no fights in here or I'll have Urryhr rip him from your arms. He'd take your whole arm with it." The bartender hollered from his position behind the bar. The wookie bouncer scowled, then clenched his fists, just waiting for the moment for his boss to order him into action. Talina could practically see the boiling rage on the beast's face. Reyza glanced around, his hand starting to shake before he let go of the rodian, then issued a quick look of apology to the bartender.

As the man sat down the calmness seemed to return to the The Tipsy Rancor. Talina had watched the entire incident with curiosity, she didn't doubt the rodian had cheated. They were a notoriously untrustworthy species, dirty in their ways and thinking. She returned to sipping her martini and watching the band as they had returned to playing. Her attention was pulled from that as she watched the two dirtballs that were eyeballing her get up from their seats and stroll towards her. She sighed, rolling her eyes. Talina did not even look up at them as they stood in front of her table, the one of them able to cross his arms doing so. Both of them stunk of booze and cigarettes.

"Hey there pretty lady, whats a girl like you doing in a dirty place like this?" The armless one spoke, trying to flirt with her. This made her roll her eyes again and causing her to try her best to not gag in disgust.

"Why don't you come back with us to our ship? We're both merchants, heading to Coruscant." The other one said with a stupid smile on his face. Talina stared at the table, then finally glanced up at both of the fools. They didn't know who they were speaking to, of course they didn't, her occupation was not known to all but a few in the Empire.

"Walk away now boys. You've both clearly had too much to drink and honestly, neither of you are even worth the breath it takes to talk to you." She said coldly, leering at both of them with an expression of disgust.

"What did she just say?"

"You have some nerve, harpy, we're just trying to help a girl out." The armless one replied, giving a dumb smirk once more. At that moment Talina swore if she saw him give that stupid smile again then she'd knock the teeth clean from his mouth.

"Go away. I'm not normally this nice." Talina muttered, resting her hand on her forehead. Her other hand went down towards her hip, underneath the table.

"Come on baby." The one armed idiot pitifully said, then grabbed her shoulder. That was it. They were lucky she even was speaking to them, touching them was a whole different level. The fact that they thought they even had the right to touch someone of her level sent her into an instant rage.

Her hand shot at his firmly grasping the wrist with surprising swiftness, then she bent it in a direction it should not have gone, slamming the lower part of her hand down hard on his limb. Then the sickening sound of a bone being shattered echoed through the bar, then the man hollered. As the other man reeled in shock he went to grab her, his buddy still in pain, his one good arm no longer good. Talina slipped from her seat, tucking underneath the man's grasp. One of her feet slipped just in front of her attacker's left shin, then she lifted the leg up and pushed down on the back of his head with one of her hands. The wooden table shook as the man's skull impacted onto it, knocking him out unconscious. The other man blinked, then uselessly lunged at Talina. She darted underneath the swing with a stunningly fast amount of athleticism. Her right boot came up and nailed the man in the crotch, as he bent over in pain she brought a fist up to meet with the man's temple. He too was down for the count, out cold next to his idiot friend. The Imperial agent didn't even break a sweat.

"Sorry about that. I can't stand creeps like that." Talina said with a nervous smile, then quickly finished her drink.

She moved towards the bar and paid for her martini, counting out just the right amount of credits. She left a nice tip for the bartender, then speed walked out the door. The wookie bouncer's mouth was wide open in surprise at what had just transpired. As Talina vanished into the crowd the Tipsy Rancor was quiet once more. A few minutes after she had departed and both drunkards were removed, the pub returned to its usual state.

When the droid came and ushered him away, he followed silently. When he entered the room himself and Koren started speaking both about Alderaan which to him seemed like a subtle insult. “Alderaan was unfortunate business, were I in command things would be different. I only saw glimpses of it during the clone wars, I wish I could of set foot on it.” He sighed, that wasn’t a lie. While he idolized the Emperor, and Tarkin. Anything having to do with Vader left a sour taste in his mouth. “I also apologize for Moff Taurus, he couldn’t make it. So in his stead let me offer anything within my power I can do. Credits, slaves, ships, my help, and if you want Taurus himself you can have him but I fear he’s probably not much physically nor can he dance.” He laughed, a rare joke from the Orro was still a joke. “But in all seriousness I have come for information and am prepared to offer you whatever you need in exchange.” He looked at the man in front of him, awaiting a reply.

Koren waved his hand. “Taurus is your business, and a sign of business that you need to deal with yourself. There’s discontent in the fragments of the Empire all over Hutt Space, even within your own faction. There’s only six Moffs left in Hutt Space, that number has halved since Endor-” He paid careful note not to explicitly mention the death of the Emperor. Koren signalled to the drink opposite his as Orro moved to sit down. “- and will continue to do something unless someone pulls them together. Of course I’d rather it was you, you’re a reasonable man.” He shrugged, there was nothing wrong with a bit of free advice. “In terms of your offer, you know I don’t use slaves. You can’t trust them to keep a secret to save their lives, a paid happy worker is a lot more efficient when you have the funds to do so. Something the Empire really should have capitalized on. After all, the Empire has history with malcontent slaves, not to say the Separatists didn’t. If you’re offering ships, you could probably spare those nice new cruisers that Taurus gave you, you wouldn’t be able to staff them anyway.”

He took a sip of his own drink. “Now that you’ve bribed me to be in a good mood, what is it you’re after?”

The man took a sip of his drink, he savored the taste of it and thought about how his host had good taste before moving on. “You want them? They are yours of course. One for the inconvenience that was Moff Taurus, the other for your bit of information which I am most thankful for I fear for my fellow Moff’s with you in this sector of space. But that’s not what I’m after. You see my men don’t like fighting other imperials anymore than I do, I need information on the New Republic.” He scowled after saying that as much as he hated saying it calling them rebels at this point was, inadequate. “For this information, I would be happy to provide you a crew who could train anybody you need on the operation of those ships until you don’t need them anymore of course, as well as my services on things you might need a...” He paused. “Heavier hand on, as long as they don’t interfere with imperial business I mean.” He sat back in his chair, and took a drink. Letting what he just said sink in.

“I appreciate the offer of military assistance, however I don’t tend to go on the offensive. The crew is also appreciated but unnecessary, the Arquitens-Class has been in service since the Clone Wars. They’re a relatively simple model to figure out. The two ships will be sufficient for now, however you need to be more specific in terms of your request for information. The ‘New Republic’ as you call it-” Orros words, not Korens. “- Is almost in as many places as the Empire is these days. Though I presume that what you’re after is something you can rally your fellow Imperials around, perhaps as a show of power to take some form of leadership? It’s not unheard off.” He took his own drink swirling the glass in his hand, the brown liquid moved around the glass. Forming patterns that were entertaining to watch.

“Also you must remember that in order to appear strong, you need to get your house in order and fear tactics-” Koren shrugged. “-They aren’t going to be all that it takes nowadays. Before Endor, well… there was no real alternative to the Empire. Now there is, people don’t feel like the Empire is the only option anymore. Just something to consider, as having New Republic to fight isn’t going to solve all your problems.”

Jacsen nodded. “I wish to show the other Moff’s that I have the bests interests of the Empire, and defeating our common enemy seems to be the way to do it. A show of force for any of the Moff’s who turn their back to the real empire, something to show the New Republic that we are here to stay, and a rallying cry to show all the Moffs in this sector of space that joining me won’t be misplaced.” He took a drink. “I can’t go to the other Moffs and ask them to join me. A lot of these men quite like their power and them standing down is like admitting defeat, and I very well can’t go to war with them it’s a waste of life. I was lucky with Taurus, but the others I won’t be so lucky with.” He sat forward in his seat. “So that’s why I need you. If the New Republic has their hands in everything now, then they might be in hutt space. And I can’t have them wooing the hutts now can I?”

“Well no, you can’t. Though I find it far more likely that they’d end up financing Ciphers little pop up group. After all the Rebels never got along with the Hutt Cartel. Cymoon, Grakkus. There’s a very tough relationship between the two groups, not to mention they’re much likely to work with the underdog group.” He took another long sip from his drink. “Your points about the other Moffs are well made however, I’d also suggest improving the infrastructure of your own sector and the improvement of the lives of your people. Make them happy and you’ll succeed. Others will soon follow. In terms of the New Republic, I’m actually appalled at your intelligence network.” He keyed a button on the arm of his chair and a hologram appeared above the table of a New Republic fleet.

“They’re already here.”

Jacsen frowned and polished off his drink basically gulping it down. “I guess with the other Moffs I’ve been paying attention elsewhere. Your ideas are great and don’t worry with my rule my people are already happy, but with the New Republic here I fear we are going to have a war of attrition once again.” He sighed and thought back to the combat. Rebels striking from the shadows then disappearing again, the inability to fight a enemy who used guerrilla tactics due to the massive bureaucracy that was the empire. Maybe it was time to fight fire with fire, but at that moment he realized where he was and that he had been silent for too long. “Then I’m going to need your help it’s only a matter of time before they seek you out. And if you help me, i’ll give you an entire fleet if you want it.” His voice was grim, and he looked at Koren his eyes seemed colder. “I have to end them…”

Koren picked up the decanter and poured Orro another drink. “Moff Orro, I’m going to be entirely honest. I don’t have a lot of time, and a fleet-” Koren shrugged. “-I suppose I could use. It could drastically increase my revenue, and I have plenty of more droids ready to go. With the bonus of already having worked out the various different programmings that I needed to do in order to have them do what needed to be done. Tell me what you want, and I’ll see if I can provide. Though if you’re looking at using me to bring an end to the entire New Republic I’m sorry to disappoint but my sphere of influence is largely consolidated within Hutt Space. Though you should know by now how this works, ask me a specific question. I’ll state my price, and give a specific answer.”

Orro smiled. “I just want to see what I’m going up against here in the system. I will derelict a ship in hutt space, you will feed them the bit that an Imperial ship went derelict with some juicy juicy intel, and I’ll spring the trap. In return you are welcome to whatever ships I capture in that fight.” The moff folded his hands in his lap, before deciding to speak again. “You are not giving me information as much as you are feeding them misinformation, you will be rewarded for it of course.”

“No.”

“No?” Orro wasn’t bothered by his reply, but still it bugged him.

“No. I have a reputation of giving information, that is fine. People have come to accept that I sell information that I find on occasion. That’s their own fault, and I take no sides. Giving false information? No. That’s a road I’m not going down. You want information? You ask, I sell. Misinformation, I will not give.”

Orro nodded, the man had some honor after all. “Give me a location, numbers, and training. If you have them anyways, that’s all I want.” The other man sighed and drank a little bit of his drink, before looking back at Koren.

“In compensation, I want both Cruisers sitting out there. I also want any and all Imperial Sentry Droids that were in Taurus’ possession before his imprisonment. I mean all of them, you’ve got enough staff sitting around doing nothing that you can protect your own cargo vessels. For this I’ll let you know the area that the New Republic is in as off this moment, the location of two listening posts and the rough fleet composition as well as a couple of names. I’ll give half the information now, and the other half once I’ve received full payment-” He pointed out the windows all around them. “-I’m taking the cruisers still sitting there as the down payment. The droids will be the final payment.”

This man was asking a lot of him, but to be able to unite the empire no price was too much. “You have yourself a deal.” Orro said, looking into his glass as if it somehow held the secrets of the universe and then looking back at his host. “I will uphold my end of the bargain of course.” He quickly passed his demands along to his second in command via comms and turned back to his host. “It Is done.” He stood and awaited his reply, but he knew this meeting was coming to a close.

Koren nodded and tapped something into his own datapad, a Sheathipede-Class shuttle departed towards each cruiser mere moments later. He had however been planning a boarding party anyway. “I’ll give you three pieces now. They have a listening post on Toydaria, naturally, as well as Nar Kaaga. Their fleet composition I’ll send directly to your datapad. The third piece of information-” Koren shrugged. “-Consider it more of a gift from doing business with me, and incentive to come back. I have recently discovered that a New Republic vessel crash landed on a planet, this ship was an important blockade runner, it’s cargo so important no official manifest exists. It crash landed on Dirha. From what I can tell it was damaged in an engagement with Imperial Forces outside of Hutt Space before performing an emergency hyperspace jump, through luck or coincidence it has placed it right in our back pockets.”

He gulped down the last of his drink. “That said, move fast. I’m sure there are many others, including the New Republic, interested in this information.”

Why would this man, share this kind of information with him? But if it was true he needed to act quickly. “I will get right on it, you have my thanks Koren.” The Moff stood a little straighter before grabbing his drink off the desk and gulping it down. “Such a shame, Alderaan. Would love to have an entire crate of this stuff.” He turned and walked out of the office, letting himself out of the office. As soon as he was out of the office he broke out into a dead sprint looking to find his off duty crewmen and cut the trip short.

---

The Jedi weaved in and out of the proverbial traffic, slipping and passing people as he looked for a vantage point. Tez was tall, sure, but it was difficult to pick out a target on a street this crowded. He was on the look out for the Twi'Lek Supplier the gangster had unwillfully disclosed the general whereabouts of a while ago. Tez ducked into a nearby alley, looking for anything that could provide a vantage point. He looked up at the one-storey building which provided a perfect vantage point. Tez turned back to the wall behind him and began to ran at it. Kicking off from the wall, Tez used the Force to enhance his jump and grasped onto the ledge. Everyone seemed too busy with their days to notice anyway, so Tez wasn't too worried about suspiciously climbing on property anyway. Tez clambered onto the roof and made his way to the ledge, overlooking the street to pick out his target.

A purple skinned Twi'Lek was about halfway down the street when Tez spotted him from the crowd. It was painfully obvious from a top-down view now that he was there. He was accompanied by a tough pair of Besalisks either side of him. If this wasn't Sola'nuga, then this day was going to be even longer. Tez descended from the building and shifted back into the crowd. With target in sight, the Jedi stalked his new prey throughout the streets, managing to hide behind a citizen whenever a guard looked over his shoulder. As they turned off the street, Tez followed suit, waiting patiently until they left the main streets. The vigilante darted behind a wall, peering round to spy his quarry and his goons being shown into a secluded back-alley building by a bouncer.

If the shoe fits..

Tez approached the bouncer after waiting a few moments. Recognising the style of robes, the Bouncer pulled out a blaster. Tez simply gestured with his hand, using the force to pull the firearm out of his hand. The gun propelled into the wall behind him, smashing it altogether. The human guard grunted in frustration, before recklessly charging at the Jedi. He sighed as he leant out of the way, pushing the scoundrel past him and sending the bouncer crashing to the floor. Tez motioned for the door to slide open and made his way into the building. He could hear the thumping music as he descended down a flight of stairs. As he entered the large room, he could see the slave auction happen. There were all sorts of scumbags and criminals around him, but he decided to take it one step at a time. Tez stayed to the edges, remaining mostly unnoticed as he spotted Sola'nuga once again. Everyone seemed too focused on the girls being put on display to notice the Jedi skulking about. It wasn't until the Twi'Lek turned his head and saw the raven-haired Jedi staring right at him.

"Sola'nuga!" Tez called out over the background noise. The Twi'Lek's eyes widened, then signalled for his bodyguards to shoot. Before they could draw their weapons, Tez vaulted over the table separating them from each other. He kicked out with one leg, and crossed his fist over to the other bodyguard, simultaneously striking them both and making them stumble back. As Tez landed, he could already see his quarry sprinting off. Tez gave chase before the Besalisks could recover, racing after Sola'nuga. Bursting through another exit, Sola'nuga had lead Tez back onto the main street, however this time Tez was hot on his heels. Barging through the street crowd, Sola'nuga attempted to lose the Jedi in the bustle. Tez was too slippery for this, and soon enough he had a clear line of sight once again. Although, it seemed using the crowd as a hindrance worked to some effect, and Sola'nuga managed to clear some ground between the two. The Twi'lek clearly knew these streets much better than the Jedi and by using the winding streets and narrow alleys, it wasn't long before Tez lost his line of sight. Trying to follow the fleeting footsteps, Tez didn't have his advantage anymore and was now playing to his target's tune, not his own.

A really long day...

Paradise
The Tipsy Rancor, dive bar

Skidder just quietly sipped his Kowakian Rum while the woman at the bar demolished two of the more stupid patrons hanging around. He made sure that he had his back to one of the corners and his eyes on an exit just in case any real trouble started up. Taking in a barfight or two was okay, especially since he was just killing time until whatever errand the pleasure ship's owner had summoned him for began. It wasn't like anyone had any cause to pick a fight with Skidder right now either, and if some old grudge showed up looking to punch his lights out he could easily slip under the table and scurry for the exit while the Wookiee bouncer played interference. He was pretty sure the big fuzzy treeman would step in if any such trouble came Skidder Grace's way, after all he was the Best Gun-Runner in Hutt Space and the big bossman of this place had sent for him personally. They did have something of an officially unofficial business relationship of course!

So for now he just sipped his drink, waited to be called up, and kept his eye on the woman who looked like a bar-hopper and fought like a killer.

Collab with @Alias

Kast's Freighter
Ilos

"So Mr. Bounty Hunter, how are you going to find our Jedi?"

"Feet off the console." replied Kast absentmindedly as he peered over his holopad. The girl reluctantly complied, though offered him a tongue as a response.

While Kast sat in his cockpit, when he was sure of a relatively simple and safe flight, he often left control of the freighter in the hands of his droid pilot OOM. In times like these, where he was sent off to find and if necessary capture a Jedi with little to no preparation, it was useful to have someone to fly for him, so he could concentrate on more important things, like coming up with a plan. Jedi, while a rare breed, often operated similarly to one another, they each had some code of honor, and adhered to a sense of good and morality. That made them easy to find, and similarly easy to exploit- at least in the short term. Jedi could be crafty, and their skill in combat was something to be careful of. The Jedi temple- the primary learning place of the Jedi in Coruscant had been sacked and converted into the old Emperor's personal palace for the better part of a few decades by this point, which meant the Jedi he encountered nowadays always had differing levels of experience and skill with the lightsaber and the force. That gray area of skill made predicting just how powerful a Jedi was difficult. Kast responded to that simply- he'd overprepare if necessary and be ready to shut down the Jedi with as much force as he could.

Unfortunately, having to capture the Jedi rather than straight up killing him made shutting him down a much more daunting task, and Kast would have to prepare properly. His right arm gauntlet sported a rocket launcher with Type-12B stun rockets and blaster, while the left sported a dart launcher and whipcord launcher. Sonic grenades would come in handy, and the Magnaguards a potentially useful asset as well.

"Hellooo? Are you going to answer me?" Loretta prodded him again, annoyed with his silence. Kast offered her a passing glance, the polarized T-visor scanning over her for a moment before returning to his weapons.

"Finding the Jedi is simple. Bringing him back with us is the challenge." Kast replied curtly.

"That doesn't answer my question." Loretta pointed out, scowling.

"So? You're a tag-along, and I'm not your mentor. I'm getting paid to find the Jedi and bring him to paradise, not to teach you how to do my job."

---

The sudden slamming of a door alerted Tez's attention in the back alleys of Ilos. Seemed the Jedi managed to stay relatively close during the blind hunt, somehow. Striding through the winding streets, Tez spied an isolated building which seemed to fit the bill of some sort of safehouse. If he was a betting man, this was where Sola'nuga had holed himself up in. Seemed the Gunjack supplier didn't have time to rally any kind of security detail. Probably hadn't had to use this safehouse in a while. The Jedi approached the door, trying to find some way of opening it without making much of an entrance. Seemed to be sealed pretty tight and would require his lightsaber to cut through. As the lightsaber emitted and hummed, he pushed it through the security door, slowly but surely creating his own entrance.

While he knew this gave the Twi'Lek time to hide, it certainly wouldn't be enough when Tez could finally make his way inside. So much for not making an entrance... Eventually, Tez had cut a big enough circle to be pushed into. As the newly made disc of metal slammed into the floor, the Jedi winced at the noise he created. "Poodoo..." He thought as his plan went right out of the window. As the blue glow of his saber dimly lit up the room, Tez began his search of the safehouse. Focusing his mind, he listened out for any kind of signal. Breathing, footsteps... any kind of clue.

Stepping into the safehouse, Tez found himself face to face with the Gunjack dealer, Sola'nuga, blaster in hand, body tensed, and sprawled on the floor. His face was slack and eyes glazed over, and Tez didn't need an expert opinion to know that the blaster hole in his back, subtle wisps of smoke still rising, meant that he was dead.

To either side of the dead Gunjack dealer was a set of stairs, culminating at a balcony that overlooked the rest of the foyer. Standing at the balcony, illuminated by the blue glow of Tez's lightsaber, along with spotty beams of sun creaking through shoddily boarded up windows stood Kast, fully armored and arms crossed.

"A dozen dead black market traffickers, disrupted slave auction, and a Gunjack dealer. You certainly know how to make your presence known, Jedi." the bounty hunter spoke, his low voice slightly digitized by the speakers in his helmet.

Tez looked up at the newcomer. It was clearly obvious just by looking at the man's armor and what visible equipment he could make out that this was a bounty hunter. Tez just couldn't get a break today. He kept his lightsaber on but idle by his waist.

"My reputation clearly precedes me." The Jedi replied. "I appreciate your handiwork here..." He complimented, gesturing to the deceased Twi'lek. "But I have a funny feeling he isn't your target. Is that correct?" He asked calmly.

"Surprisingly astute observation." Kast said dryly, shifting his weight slightly, changing his posture, though keeping his arms crossed. "You are correct, Novacore. I'm not here for drug dealer. I'm here for you."

As if on cue, the corners of the room to Tez's left and right light up with a purple glow, followed by a low hum and the crackling of electricity. A Magnaguard stood on each corner, weapons lit, but not leveled at the Jedi. Likewise, the droids didn't move, they merely stood there, almost as unmoving as statues, their staves held vertically in one hand.

"My employer would like to speak with you." the mandalorian stated plainly. "He calls it an olive branch."

Tez looked over his shoulders, acknowledging and making a note of the location of the revealed Magnaguards. It was clear that this bounty hunter did his research. Not that bounty hunters were an entirely new concept to the Jedi, but it seemed that he wouldn't be a shoe-in if it came to a fight either. However, what was intriguing was that this did not seem to be a contract to kill.

"If it doesn't break your skewed sense of honor..." Tez began, making it clear his disdain for scoundrels, criminals and bounty hunters alike. "May I ask who offers this invitation?"

"The Golden Exchange." Kast replied plainly. Whether he noticed nor cared about the Jedi's tone seemed not to effect his low, practically flat voice. "My bosses deal in information and things of value; and it appears that you are someone of value to them."

The Jedi grunted at the mention of the Exchange. A fabled "neutral" zone for Criminals and Imperials alike. He sometimes wondered just how long such a place could exist. Although, it seemed to be acheiving it's purpose so far and Tez was no fool as to mess with it's operations or those who run it either.

Tez didn't want to risk it. He could not be so dim-witted as to trust a Bounty Hunter's word. On the other hand, the odds were not exactly in his favor. Magnaguards were tricky opponents, not to mention the difficulty added with a trained assassin in the mix. He sighed and shut off his Lightsaber as a sign of good faith.

"I do not believe I'm in a position to decline this invitation." He admitted with a sigh. "If you'd like to show me to your ship?"

Kast relaxed, only slightly, though his caution was kept high. Jedi were always tricky to deal with, and their lightsabers were fast and deadly. Not impossible to beat, but not a surefire victory in any situation. He turned his head slightly, the corner of his visor still visible to the Jedi's eyes, and beckoned to a figure hidden in the shadows behind him. Out from the shadows came a cloaked figure- shorter than most, and beneath the hood was a young face, blonde, and less than two decades old. As she appeared, the Magnaguards straightened even more, and took a small step forward.

The two walked down the steps, though Kast made sure to keep a large berth from the Jedi. If trickery came to play, distance was Kast's greatest ally. He beckoned to the Jedi to follow him. Generally, Jedi were an honest folk, almost painfully so, and typicall kept their word.

"Watch your step." Kast commented, gesturing towards a pair of sonic detonators sitting next to the threshold of the door, a third attached to the dead twi'lek's boot.

---

The YV-929 Freighter- only occasionally called a scrap heap by Kast, was essentially an armored brick that flew through space, sporting enough enough weaponry to ward off smaller pirates, but not big enough to hold enough cargo to entice larger, more enterprising groups. The ship was rather mundane, most people be they Imperial Remnant, New Republic, freelancer or otherwise rarely paid it more attention than a mere passing glance.

Kast had 'obtainted' the ship several years back, and had since converted it into a rudimentary mobile base of operations. The ship originally had a 'salon parlor' underneath the cockpit, designed to house diplomats and non-crew passengers, though Kast had converted into a basic medical center, fit with a small surgery suite, and a bacta tank.

Of the ship's two large cargo areas, one had been converted into a multipurpose living area, a long table sat against one wall for all work/hard surface related needs, though instead of seats small crates of about sitting level were positioned around it. A second table and some shelving units were strewn with all maner of mechanical parts, spare blaster pistols, rifles, weapon parts, tools, and various canisters of different fluids populated its surface along with the remains of a half-eaten meal.

Memorabilia populated the living area: various helmets, a few republic, a few imperial, and a mandalorian helmet, some with shattered visors, scorch marks or blaster holes in them. A loop with half a dozen imperial dogtags sat on a crate, and in a sealed ray-shielded wall display sat a pair of lightsaber hilts, as well as a double-bladed hilt.

"Try not to touch anything." Kast commented as he took a seat on one of the crates. "OOM, take us to Paradise."

Tez looked around his surroundings, analysing every detail of the ship and section he could. As the blonde woman and the guards also boarded the ship. The internals of the freighter had clearly been repurposed. As Tez heeded the Manadlorian's warning, his attention was drawn away from his search to find a place to meditate as he saw the helmets, tags and... no way...

The Jedi walked over to the ray-shielded wall, looking at the hilts on display. He closed his eyes and exhaled, feeling the remnants of their original owners linger through the Force. Seemed this hunter wasn't your average gunslinger. Not angry, but rather somber at the fact, he decided to at least mention it to his new host.

"Trophies?" He asked, jabbing his thumb at the wall.

"Memories." Kast responded, though the difference between the two was slim. "Two of the toughest fights of my life. Three of the most lucrative."

"The third one wasn't a Jedi, or was a piss poor one. Never seen a Jedi with slaves before." Kast remained on his crate, though he wouldn't turn his back to the Jedi, he didn't get up to shoo the Jedi away from the case either. Kast shot a look at Loretta, who stood quietly in the corner, sneaking glances at the Jedi whenever she felt he wasn't looking,

Tez nodded at the Bounty Hunter's explanation. At the end of the day, it was no reason to start a confrontation about. This was the Outer Rim, and Tez realized that if the Mandalorian REALLY wanted to, Tez's own lightsaber could be part of that wall. As the ship fired up and began it's journey to Paradise, the Jedi waited until the ship levelled out.

"Please excuse my rudeness. I would like to take this moment for meditation." The Jedi said, trying not to upset his host. Even though the woman kept trying to discretely look at Tez like some sort of exhibit, he ignored this and found a space on the floor where he sat down, crossed his legs and close his eyes. The Jedi felt serene and calm in this state as he controlled his breathing and focused his mind.

The Tartarus, Slaver Ship
Orbiting Vodran

Walking down the halls of the cell block, Klaatu’s nose was assaulted with the foul odors of feces, rot, and death simultaneously. The cellblock was well lit, with low ceiling, Klaatu was almost unable to fully stand up straight. The cell doors lined the walls, with a guard posted on 4 corners of the adjoining cell blocks, as well a a roaming guard in every block. Stopping at a cell, Klaatu recognized the number as the one he was looking for and ordered the accompanying guard to unlock the door.

Inside the cell was a frail brown Vodran, his horns chipped, one eye covered with a patch. He lay on the floor of the cell, an empty room with a bucket for waste and separate bucket for food to be dropped into through a small slot on the door. This particular resident was formerly the leader or elder of a Vodran village just raided by Klaatu and his men.
Klaatu and his hunters waited until dark to raid the village. Unfortunately the old vodran had seen them coming and warned his people to evacuate, with only him and a small group to give cover fire with a couple of outdated blasters. The ‘resistance’ was met with a brutal response. Klaatu ordered his men to eliminate all who held weapons and to burn the village to the ground. Had they agreed to cooperate peacefully, Klaatu would’ve only taken a few healthy males, and a couple young females. The fighting force was quickly stomped, leaving only the old Vodran alone and wounded, the rest of his people hidden in the swamps. He was taken prisoner and returned to the ship where he would have the location of his people extracted from him.

The weak frail frame lay shaking from the cold temperatures. Klaatu woke the prisoner with a swift boot to the abdomen, and spitting on him. The prisoner curled into the fetal position, holding its sore stomach. “I’m going to give you this one opportunity to tell me where you’re people ran off too. You tell me now, and your stay on my ship will be brief and painless. You stay silent or mislead me…” he stopped, a sick grin spreading across his lips “Honestly, feel free to not say anything, I’m a big fan of trying to make someone tell me.” he said quietly, placing his boot onto the alien’s head. Pushing down, he began to flail as the pressure began to build in his skull. “This is honestly the best part of my job.” Picking the alien up by its head, Klaatu quickly slammed it down on the tops of its head, breaking a couple more horns. Yelling out in pain, the alien began to squeal like a pig, telling of their villages evacuation plan and where they had planned to go. Evidently, there was a cave system underneath the village, through which the rest of vodran had escaped. “You better not be feeding us false information” He barked at the alien, kicking him again, this time in the side of the cranium. Leaving the cell, Klaatu ordered the posted guard to alert to gather his hunting squad on the top deck.

Making his way down the narrow hallway, Klaatu stepped off the elevator onto the command deck. His small force of a dozen armed hunters and trackers, had gathered on the command deck. “Alright, the vermin were hiding out in system of cave tunnels weaving under the village. According to our source, theirs multiple entrances in and out within the village. There's a large cavern connecting the tunnels at the deepest point of the cave, and that's where they are hiding.” Klaatu explained his plan to his men. They were to drop explosives in all but one entrance/ext into the caves. Bottle-necking all of the the herd is key in keeping it under control, especially when they have the numbers advantage. “Any who refuse to come out quietly are to left be left in the cave when you blow the last hole. Let them die in their bunker if they so choose.” Klaatu commanded. With their orders and fully loaded weapons, the small squad took one of the Lambdas back down to the surface. Klaatu, decided he would take a nap while his men took care of the rest.
Walking back to his quarters, he thought about his profit from this particular hull. He estimated if he could just get a dozen healthy adults, he could easily score at least a hundred thousand credits. Elderly and children wouldn’t get him as much, as most of his clientele wanted healthier livestock capable of working long periods of time. Assuming his men didn’t mess things up, this would end up being a nice payout. Klaatu lay on his bunk, calculating how much he would make after paying his crew. The end result made him smile as he dozed off, meanwhile, the village raid had just begun.

Waking sometime later to a loud banging at the door to his quarters, Klaatu opened the door ready to tear into whatever imbecile had woke him. “Commander… this had better be good.” Klaatu spoke, barely able to contain the venom in his words. Commanders Oren stood unfazed by Klaatu’s glare, becoming somewhat used to the vile alien’s poor attitude. Many saw Oren’s burned face and gave him the same look of disgust and fear Klaatu evoked out of everyone. It was out of their mutual repulsiveness that they’ve become close allies.“I would just like to inform you that the hunting party has succeeded in their mission, but there has been a slight delay in the boarding of prisoners..” Oren droned on before being cut off by Klaatu. “What do you mean problem? How hard is it to load prisoners onto a transport!?” Klaatu barked, his temper rising. “Well sir, the problem is that there were too many prisoners to be loaded onto the transport.” Oren replied. “So then tell them to make multiple trips then.” Klaatu ordered, as he began to close his door. Sticking his foot in the door, Oren quickly blurted out the last of the information “It’s over 40 prisoners sir. We would need to deploy all of our lambdas to get them all on board, but that would leave the ship understaffed.”

Klaatu stopped, and a maniacal grin began to spread across his face. “Well, this is a problem I don't, mind having.” Klaatu spoke, now stepping out of his cabin into the hallway of the command deck. “Commander Oren, set a course to bring the ship down onto Vodran, we’ll load the prisoners directly.” “Yes sir.” Oren replied, turning back towards command center. Klaatu leisurely followed, filled with glee over all of the credit’s he was going to make.

Collab between @EliteCommander and @NightmareInd



Boqo was lost in thought when the saurian alien came towards him and asked if he was the right guy. He knew Koren didn't do half work when hiring people, but they (he couldn't see if they were a male or female) were huge! Nonetheless, he looked up to the new hired muscle. "Pleasure to meet you. The ship is ready to go so we can leave whenever you are ready."

Sirka's eyes scanned across the ship as the Mirialan spoke. Like most vessels, it did not seem particularly designed for someone of her size, but she could manage. If it was like most ships designed by Human-sized species, it would just be cramped in places. "Well, I'm here and I'm armed, so there's nothing more I need."

Ducking down to get through the entrance to the ship, Sirka stepped inside the airlock, in which she took up most of the space. "I've got the basics on the job, but the droid didn't tell me everything. So, what do you think I need to know? About how much traveling are we expecting?" She asked.

Boqo chuckled. "Knowing Koren, you got told everything you need to know and nothing more. Sorry if we are leaving you a bit in the dark, but like he usually says: 'It's for the best interest of all parties involved.'" He said, following his new bodyguard into the ship. Directly right of the entrance was a small lift he pointed at. "That is the way to the cockpit. It might be a bit tight, but the cockpit itself is much bigger. As for the traveling time, the ship has a warp-engine so it will not take too long."

"Yeah, I'm not interested in learning your company secrets or anything." Sirka replied, though she had to stop once they reached the lift, as they definitely could not both fit on it at the same time. At least, not if he wanted to avoid some awkward contact. She allowed him to go up first, then followed suit once the lift was back down. As expected, the chairs would be far from comfortable for her, so Sirka just pulled off her heavy repeater and its attached power pack and set it down in a passenger seat in her place. The backpack she wore was bulky enough that removing it allowed her to at least lay down on the floor reasonably comfortably. "There are some things I think I should probably know, though. Like, if there's anyone specific I shouldn't shoot, or should shoot. Should I be going non-lethal, or just kill anyone attacking us? Any special instructions like that."

Boqo, who was setting up final configurations before take-off, looked back at the bodyguard. "Let's see... Don't shoot unless they shoot first, and if you can use non-lethal actions while outnumbered that would be preferred but we won't cut it on you if you go lethal on any hostiles. Also, it's more of a 'keep us alive' than a 'kill them' mission on your side, so try not to make too much of a mess. Talking about a mess, sorry about the chairs, they didn't make them for non-humanoids back in the day they made these." With that out of the way, Boqo opened a commlink with Paradise's control tower. "This is Boqo to Central, requesting permission for take-off." It didn't take long for a robotic voice to answer and give them clearance.

As the Rapier started its engines, the Star Courier started hovering, unfolding its wings and made its way out of the staff hangar. The ship aligned with its preset coordinates, then jumped out of the sector. "We have now entered lightspeed." Boqo notified the bodyguard.



Sirka gave an amused huff in response to Boqo's comment. "Believe me, I'm used to it." She remarked, eyeing the chairs behind her. "Anyways, guess we've got some time. Don't know exactly what we're getting into, but I'll follow your lead when we get there. If we get into trouble, you can hide behind me. Literally. I can take a hit."

As was habit for her, Sirka flicked out her nose-tongued briefly to take in the environment around her, which she had done a few times since she entered the ship. She started to pay attention to something that she had noticed before when they boarded. It was a particular scent, faint, and which seemed to come up from the lower floor. "Say...we are meant to be alone on this ship, right? I feel like I smell...someone. It's faint, but fresh."

Boqo was worried at first, thinking someone might have smuggled themselves on board. Then he just laughed a bit. "Oh, I know what you smell. Don't worry, it's the 'package' we are delivering. Although the reason he smells 'faint' is because he isn't an actual passenger anymore. Got to say, you must have a very strong sense if you could smell that all the way from the cargo bay." He was acting like it was his usual business, which in some way it was, but in another way he was feeling bad about having a dead body in his ship. On the other side, he knew Koren didn't kill anyone without a good reason, leave alone letting them be delivered to someone like this.

It did not take much for Sirka to figure out Boqo's meaning. At the very least, she appreciated the honesty. She was not going to bother to ask why their package was a dead body, as it was likely not her business. It was not as bad as transporting a living slave, at least. "Hmm, starting to make sense why you need muscle, I guess. One of those kinds of jobs. But yeah, I've got a useful sense of smell. Great for tracking, among other things."

Sirka flicked out her tongues once more, this time focusing more closely on Boqo himself. He had a professional exterior, but his body betrayed some of the emotions within. "You're Mirialan, right? So you're feeling a bit of...what is that? A bit of regret about something. Not too much, it's conflicted, but it's there. And I didn't smell it until we started talking about the body, 'till you started thinking about it. So...you either aren't sure that you like that he died, or you just don't know if you like transporting it?" She reasoned. She did not have any real intention with where she was going with the conversation, except to show off her capabilities. If she ended up smelling trouble on their job, she wanted her partner to feel like he could trust her nose.

Boqo was not amused at this at first. "Wait, you can smell emotions? Even though useful, I don't really like it when people do stuff like that without asking me." He then looked a bit sad though. "But you are right. It's that I don't like killing, no mather who they are. I know in this galaxy it's sometimes either kill or be killed, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So when I get a body to transport that I don't know of who they were, I just have to trust Koren that he had a good reason for it. It makes it a bit better that I know Koren good enough that he usually does, but still..."

They hit a sensitive part of Boqo there, the only way they could hit an even more sensitive part was if they- No, he wasn't going to think of that. That bodyguard could smell emotions, maybe they could even read minds or something. Bringing up THAT would not be a fun thing to do on this job. Still he started to become a little sad inside just thinking about it this short.

"Sorry, but there's nothing much I can do about it. It would be sort of like me asking you to turn off just part of your eyesight. If I can smell anything, then I can smell everything." Sirka explained. "People, organic species, we're all just meat, hormones, and chemicals mixed in water and wrapped up in a sack of flesh. Emotions aren't as much of a mystery of the mind as they are a chemical reaction. Pretty much any species I've met is always exuding something; usually something I can smell. As long as it's something I am reasonably familiar with, then I can link it to an emotion. Useful, definitely, but sometimes a bit of a curse. Like when someone pays you a compliment, does something nice, but you know they're lying. Or when someone's nice and polite to you in public, but you can just smell that they're a speciesist piece of bantha dung that resents the very fact that they have to look at you. But, you don't want to start anything, so you just have to go on like it's nothing."

Sirka let out a soft sigh. She could smell the sadness, and a bit of worry within Boqo. However, despite his fears, Sirka could not read his mind, so she did not know the exact source of that sadness. He alluded to the fact that he did not particularly like killing people, so she figured it was related. "But yeah, I get you. We do what we have to do to survive. The galaxy's not a nice place, so sometimes, you've got to punch back when it hits you. I fight because it's what I'm good at, and it's what supports me and my family."

The word 'family' was another small trigger for Boqo's sadness, but he let it slip. "I guess that's why I do this 'transporting' job. The Golden Exchange is my family, it supports them and I'm good at it." He almost missed the notifying light that they almost reached their destination. "Anyway, it looks like we are almost there. Dropping out of lightspeed in three, two, one..." On que, the Rapier dropped out of hyperspace, having reached her destination.

A collab with @POOHEAD189

What was it with Mandilorians and the whole 'grim survivor' attitude they all had, Willoh thought to herself after hearing this mandilorain speak. Feeling snarky, Willoh said. "A bounty hunting one.", giggling a bit afterwords. Her drink arrived soon after, although she had to swipe it from the bartender droid as he was about to hand it to Mr. Mandilorian and not her, the droid looking only a bit confused before moving off to serve other patrons.

The Mando turned to Willow, tilting his head as he looked at her. She couldn't have been a bounty hunting droid. He'd seen a few before, and none acted or looked like that. "Assassin droid, then?" He asked. He didn't know why he was entertaining the droid, but he was curious about how it acted so lively compared to most he'd seen. Was that something to help ease her victims, perhaps?

"Assassin Droid?" Willoh echoed back. "I mean, I can do that, but thats way too easy. No I'm a bounty hunter slash gun for hire sorta thing." Willoh responded. Why was it so hard for people or clients to see a bounty hunting droid being a thing, there were stories of such a thing long, long ago back when technology wasn't nearly as advanced after all. :"Are you an Assassin yourself then?" Willoh said jokingly, making a playful sipping motion with her drink.

Sol'id didn't trust the droid, unable to actually appreciate a machine coming up to drink and chat with him. He didn't even like organics doing that, and a Droid attempting it just showed he was probably being watched by someone. Then again, he had been on the recieving end of that plenty of times. "When need be," He replied slowly, regarding the machine. "Do you have a job, then?" He asked. "What is it you want?"

Like the other Mandalorian, this one was also... unsocial, but in a more traditional way instead of roundabout like the last one. "Not yet nope, just came off of one. Some guy stole some artifact from someone or something. Fun fun." Willoh said. Using the same mouth hatch as before, she drank most of her drink, then said. "And I'm just here to chat. Last Mandalorian I chatted with a few minutes ago wasn't too... how do you say, sociable? Tried to get a few peolple including me to hire him for a job. But I guess he did buy me a drink when I asked so... " Trailing off her words as she finished.

Another Mando here. He vaguely recalled seeing armor similar to his. But a lot of it has been lost or scavenged, and claiming to be a Mandalorian got people bigger paychecks. He supposed it could be true though.

"He tried to get you to hire him? I thought Koren gave the jobs around here."

Willoh shrugged. "I think the guy was down on his luck as well. I mean, he was flirting with a torguta that basically knew how to play the game. Could've just been a booty call for all I know. Course I tried that and he didn't take so... I dunno" She said. What was with all the anti social people here? It was a party! Well, a nightclub, but still!

"The Togruta..." he began, contemplating. He remembered the other alien beside her as well. Vaguely he recalled something in his memory, but he forgot it just now. Shaking his head, he turned back to the Droid. "And what brings a droid to the night club to get drinks with Mandos?" He asked, more wondering how she found this place. He'd just mainly stumbled on it.

The look this Mando gave after Willoh mentioned Sirka's sister was a bit troubling, but this guy would be in for a rough time if he tried anything. Assuming they all met again in the future of course, the galaxy was a big place! "Holonet said you could have a lot of fun at this place. Drinks are cheap but they didn't mention it was mostly for the dancers." Willoh said, finishing her drink and glancing at the people staring at the Twi'leks. Maybe she should've gone dancing after all, it didn't look like she was going to have much fun with this Mandolorian.

Sirka had seen the name of their destination within the information the droid had given her, but she did not truly connect it with the actual location until she saw it out of the window. Circumtore: an artificial, ring-shaped planetoid that was under the firm control of the Hutts, though they had certainly not built it. The Hutts lacked any such talents for creation to be able to actually make something so impressive themselves. Sirka had read about the place on the holonet before, but she had, until this point, been skeptical of it actually living up to its reputation.

Of course, the one thing that was actually impressive about the place related to the Hutts was the fleet in orbit around it. It was the largest Hutt fleet in the galaxy, and the largest collection of combat-ready vessels that Sirka had ever seen in person. While the Hutts were no Empire or Republic, it was still a large enough force to give pause to anyone looking to cause trouble near the planetoid.

Sirka stood back up to her feet and walked up behind Boqo. "Hmm...hope you know what you're getting us into. I'm tough, but I'm not a miracle worker." She commented. Of course, the Hutts were hardly a unified group, especially in recent times, so it was not like whatever Boqo intended to do would suddenly turn the entire ring-world against them. Still, there was not much Sirka herself could do against orbital defenses. Her protective capabilities were restricted to when they were on-foot.