The cantina was oddly quiet for the late hour, Sinn thought, or early hour, depending on your point of view. On the job, she surveyed the cantina's clients looking for potential problems, but thankfully wasn't seeing any. Twi'lek dancing girls were hovering over some high rollers with more credits than taste. A group of Imperial soldiers were boozing it up at shared tables, enjoying the chance to blow off steam and the Trouk bouncer kept a close eye on them, ensuring they didn't get too touchy-feely with the girls.
Gamblers wandered in and out of the cantina, different species but the templates were the same. There were first-time big winners buying rounds of drinks for complete strangers, and the down-on-their-luck types trying to drown their debt in cheap glasses of Jorian whiskey. No one was truly distinctive, which made Sinn wonder if that made her and Torian more noticeable.
They were positioned at the corner edge of the bar, best vantage point of the room with the most escape routes and they made, at least in her opinion, a good looking pair. He was helmetless, decked out in full armor while she was lounging in her seat, all dangerous curves with her twin blasters slung low on her hips. Empty glasses lined the bar next to them and Sinn signaled the bartender for another round. She locked eyes with Torian for a second and his face turned pink. Still got it, she chuckled to herself, all this time together and I can still make him blush.
"So you like my idea?" she asked, sharing a devilish look with him.
"Corridan will never know what hit him," he replied, "I'll show up for the hunt then you arrive and get the drop on him, make him think someone put a price on his head. Then we can let him know who you are, maybe teach him a lesson about being distracted by a pretty face." Sinn politely dismissed the bartender with a wave while she smiled impishly.
"Was hoping you'd like that. Good to know you think I can distract him," she gave him a sly look, "'Sides, 'bout time he got to meet your wife."
Torian's eyes softened and he reached over to clasp her hand, his thumb brushing the simple ring she wore. "It's overdue, sorry we haven't done this sooner," he said as adoration poured from his eyes, "Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum."
Sinn leaned in to give him a lingering kiss. "You too Baby," she replied warmly, "Now stop distracting me. Can barely concentrate on this bounty when you got me thinking 'bout that big bed we left up in our suite." Stretching out one long leg she used it to stroke his armored thigh and watched him turn from pink to magenta for a split second before taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"Why worry about such a small bounty anyway?" he asked.
"Every lil bit helps right now," she said, "Speaking of Lil'bit, a good reputation with the BBA will make Mako's job easier. This guy Otheros has deep pockets, we get this first target, maybe we can take down who he's really after. Then we can get back to our room. That big shower sounds so much nicer than the lil one on Glory, more room to share." Smiling that wicked grin again, she made the word 'share' sound like an act even the dancing girls wouldn't do, and this time Torian returned her look.
"Had the same thought," he teased, "You could use someone to scrub your back." He leaned over to the side appraising her curves while Sinn threw her head back and laughed.
"Baby, you give 'Got your six' a whole new meaning. Start thinking too much like me and we'll never leave the bed!" Sinn's laugh was infectious and Torian joined in but too soon the moment of levity broke as she settled back into business mode. "Now where's that Nikto? The intel said he'd be here," she muttered as she scanned the crowd.
Cantina patrons were still milling about but the group of soldiers had picked up and started leaving. Sinn shot them a hard look, she'd been contracted by the Empire in the past but she had no loyalty to them. Still rather deal with them than the Republic, she thought; sic'ing your own kind on you created a lot of ill will. Straining her vision against the artificial lights she continued her scan when something caught her eye.
Well I'll be damned, she thought, that's a Sith the dance floor. The slim pale woman wasn't dressed in the usual armored robes, instead looking sexy and dangerous in her dark-red leggings and a revealing top but there was no mistaking the level of corruption bleaching her skin. This girl had done some bad things too, Sinn thought, noting the distinct pallor and red irises of a Sith that followed the Dark Side. In her experience Sith usually equaled trouble. Oddly enough, this one seemed more engrossed by the man she was slow dancing with. In fact, Sinn mused with a grin, if there was a power outage in the city, the promenade could stay illuminated for days by the electricity they were generating.
A study in contrasts, the Sith was slight with athletic curves and short silver hair where her companion was tall with dusky skin and piercing dark eyes. A distinctive tattoo wrapped the side of his clean scalp making Sinn narrow her eyes, something about it sparked a memory she couldn't completely grasp. But before she could focus on it a movement by the door captured her attention. Alertness washed over her as she realized the Nikto had arrived.
"Time to go to work," she muttered as she downed the last bit of liquid in her glass before leaving a pile of credits for the bartender, making sure to leave extra in case things got broken.
As she and Torian maneuvered from their seats she noticed a motion out of the corner of her eye. The couple she'd seen earlier was also moving towards their target. Her instincts told her to hold back and she motioned for Torian to do the same. The pair faced the Nikto and he looked like a bark rat being stared down by a nexu. That's exactly how the Sith moved too, Sinn thought, like those large cats, prowling and ready to strike.
"Think we're about to lose our bounty," Torian whispered in her ear.
"Not on my watch," she grumbled "I want that Kingpin." They started easing towards the Nikto and the mysterious couple, being careful not to draw attention and soon they were in earshot of the conversation.
"I won't stop until I get what I'm after," the Sith's voice was musical, but low and deadly. The Nikto looked stricken, torn between running and grabbing the blaster at his side.
"Better give the lady what she wants if you feel like walking out of here," the man's gravelly voice was just as deadly as he shifted his open trench coat to one side revealing a blaster at his hip.
"I swear they'll kill me if they know I talked to you," the Nikto rasped.
"And what do you think I will do?" She pinned him with her red eyes and the Nikto seemed frozen by her icy words. He shook his head before pulling something from his pocket.
"Fine, take it," he tossed the object at the Sith then drew his blaster. Lightning fast she ignited her light saber to deflect the shot while her companion drew his twin blasters and fired on him.
"Damnation!" Sinn cursed as the Nikto fell heavily. Too furious for common sense to kick in she marched to the couple. "That was my bounty Sith!" she barked at them, "Otheros contracted us to bring him in." Torian rushed to her side as the Sith and her partner exchanged a look.
"Otheros wasn't the only one who wanted him," the man stated flatly, "But our employer needed him dead." Employer? Sinn groaned as she swept her hand down her face, Sith bounty hunters, what was the galaxy coming to?
"We needed information from him," Torian spoke up, "We're after a bigger catch and he was going to lead us to it. This body won't bring in those types of creds."
"This information, you mean?" The Sith's icy voice was regal as she pulled out the holocube and rotated the small cube in her hand. "Casey just needed the bioscan once they were both dead, correct?" she addressed her partner and at his brisk nod she gave Sinn and Torian an assessing look. "Maybe we can strike a bargain, hunter; we need the corpses, you need the credits. We can help each other in this venture... or Revel and I can walk away, leaving you and your friend to clean up a dead Nikto."
Sinn's eyebrows rose at the Sith's haughty tone but realized she had a point. "Think we can take 'em?" she asked Torian openly. Never one to back down he reached for his techstaff.
"Only two of them, we've faced worse," he replied with confidence. A smile of surprise and mild amusement curved the Sith's lips as she shot her partner an approving glance.
"Wouldn't try it if I was you, but then I don't know what kind of death wish you have," a slight smile twisted his mouth as well, "I'm with the Sith, if she doesn't mind partnering I don't, since you just want the creds. But walking away is fine too." He gestured with his head at the woman beside him, "That's Lord Kallig, just call me Revel. You in or what?" Sinn's mouth dropped open as the elusive memory hit her full on.
"Revel? As in the 'Sky Princess' Revel?" he tensed before giving her a quick nod, "Thought I recognized you from the bounty posts," she continued, "Wasn't the Republic fleet looking for you? Something about piracy, treason, a couple other things?" Both his stance and the Sith's turned defensive.
"What of it?" he growled and Torian's techstaff hummed as he moved in protectively towards Sinn but she turned to him, shaking her head as she signaled stand down.
"Don't look so tense. We got no love for the Republic, just making sure we know who we're dealing with," she smiled at Revel and Lord Kallig with a wink, "And making sure you know, we know. We're in, call me Sinn, this here is Torian."
"Her husband," Torian warned, curving a defensive hand around her hip.
The comment triggered quick glance to pass from Lord Kallig to Revel, something indefinable that was gone as quickly as it came. Sinn noted the look but filed away for later, keeping her comments to herself. "We should get moving," she stated.
Just as they turned towards the door, a voice boomed out. "What do we have here?" A squad of Republic soldiers started filing into the cantina, led by a burly Sergeant who was looking the couples up and down. "Looks like we might get a bonus tonight boys."
Author's Note-
It's Back! This was one of the first things I wrote, but never finished. Now it's being rebooted and submitted in a new(and what I hope is improved) style. Inspired by the Bounty Weeks in SWTOR, I wondered what would it be like if my two favorite in-games and fic girls crossed paths chasing a bounty. It's a longer fic than most of mine so I'm easing out the chapters for better palatability. There are spoilers since this takes place after the SWTOR Bounty Hunter and Sith Inquisitor storyline. Hope my beloved readers enjoy!