HAPPY STAR WARS DAY! 3

I know I didn't update last week, and I apologize. Things get away from me once in a while. But I'll make it up to you...just not today, because I'm exhausted from Star Wars'ing it all day. May the 4th be with you! And don't forget Revenge of the 5th!

Enjoy~

The general slouched over the table, impatiently glaring about the cantina for the slightest excuse to make a scene. Any passerby who was unlucky enough to meet his sunken dragon eyes looked away unassumingly and sped up noticeably. As they should. With or without his authority, he could have this place completely empty in less than a minute. Well, empty aside from the dead bodies that would inevitably result from some upstart questioning his right to lord it over them. In fact, he had every imaginable right to lord it. Especially if might makes right.

Somehow while he had been investigating the milling crowds for his informant, the very man he'd been looking for had slid into the general's booth unnoticed. He suppressed his instinct to behead the stranger when he recognized the card the man had slid onto the tabletop. A rather amateur business card, if he must say, but it beheld the right name nonetheless: Fong Do, Bounty Hunter & Space Rat.

"A pleasure to meet you in person, Do," grated the general, his voice mangled by his life-giving technology. "I trust you have the hologram?"

"I got it, all right," replied Fong, voice heavy with a Nautolan accent. A spotted head-tentacle draped over each shoulder, giving the misdirection that he was a Twi'lek. But the large, mottled red-black eyes gave it away when the alien leaned forward as to let his face into the light.

"But it needs some explaining," continued the bounty hunter, pointing with a mild accusational sense. The general was sorely tempted to crush that insolent finger with his bare fist. "so don't you think of pulling a fast one on me. I designed it in a way that won't incriminate whatever monkey-lizard gets caught with it-presumably me, soon to be you."

"Are you calling me a monkey-lizard, scum?" snarled the general. Fong shook his head fervently, not wanting to get on the wrong side of this imposing cyborg.

"Of course not, my mistake," he apologized hurriedly. The general heaved a sigh inwardly-why did respect have to be threatened into the hearts of bucks such as this? "But you get the idea. Once you have your intel and I have my credits, we leave at the same time, in broad daylight. No tricks. Capiche?"

"I understand perfectly," snapped Grievous, tiring of his paranoid banter. "Can we get on with it?"

Nodding curtly, the Nautolan placed another object onto the table, its circular shape identifying it as a holo-projector of sorts. Tapping it, Fong Do pulled up a map of a section of space that ranged from Coruscant to the Raxus System. His curiosity was instantly piqued-why were both capitals of the opposing sides of the war necessary for this demonstration? He almost immediately recognized the route highlighted in red, beginning in Republic territory and ending at Tythe. He'd repelled that attack from the Republic a year ago, but planet had since been neglected by the Separatists. With better things to do than waste time and money over an uprising on a worthless planet, the Separatists had let it slip out of their grasp. Grievous had not paid it any attention since.

"I'm sure you recognize this route," began Fong, having dropped his smooth facade and resorted to a strictly businesslike tone. "I was working on Paqwepor only days before they attacked Tythe. I managed to pick this up, but then I realized something..,"

Fong Do tapped the hologram again, and Grievous took note of the intricate pattern he tattooed on the device. The map appeared to invert, now revealing something that Grievous's tactical mind realized almost immediately. Something that was surely worth 5,000 credits.

"The ship they used to attack was a real dinghy, so they had to stop at six planets on their way to Tythe," explained the Space Rat. Grievous knew the first part of that sentence already, because he'd been able to shoot it down in record time. "but I know that your technology is beyond that. And the less times you stop, the less chances there are of getting tattletaled, right?"

Grievous nodded, barely tolerating this as it was. Every worthwhile general knew that. But there was something else that he needed to know.

With a few more keystrokes that Grievous internalized, the secret was revealed.

"They forgot to cover their tracks."

Fong undoubtedly went on to talk more, but Grievous hadn't noticed. He'd realized the importance of this deal the moment the hologram changed. Sluis Van was revealed to be only two or three sectors away from Rishi-which was a hop, skip, and a jump to Kamino. Sluis Van, home of some of the Separatists' best shipyards.

"The Republic had a mole on Sluis Van," explained Fong Do. "a mole who was a friend of mine. The Republic knew that Sluis Van was dangerously close to Kamino, so they sent my friend to incapacitate the shipyards. I know a business opportunity when I see one, so I, ah...convinced him to feed misinformation to the Rep. According to the Republic, Sluis Van is backed up until Coruscant turns green again. They'll never suspect an arrow from that sector. Even better, even if it is backed up, you can bypass everything with your rank. I also know that Rishi's fortifications have slackened, because the clone army has spread out so thin. I have the exact number of troops, tanks, and anti-artillery vehicles on Rishi as of yesterday. But of course...it'll cost you."

Grievous hated haggling. It was bad enough giving this scum five grand for something he could've beaten out of a hostage. Now he was asking for more? The general gave the bounty hunter his best death glare, his hand reaching into his cape for a lightsaber.

"Is five thousand credits not enough?" he demanded, inwardly relishing Fong Do's cringe. "I came here for information, not a tease! Where are the numbers?"

"Okay, okay," said Fong Do, shrinking. Grievous would have smiled if he had a face to smile with. "you win. You'll get the information, it's all on the holodisc. But the file's encrypted, so you'll need a decent hacker."

"Much obliged," purred Grievous, seizing the holodisc and attempting to appear less menacing now that he had what he wanted. "Your contribution to the Separatists will be quite useful."

Fong Do gestured with a hand wave, inviting Grievous to stand up first. When the cyborg didn't budge, the Nautolan decided to get up first anyway. Grievous rose as well, and they walked side by side to the exit, both stealing uneasy glances at each other. The distance to the door seemed to stretch out to miles, time slowing to a grim march. But then the general stepped out into broad daylight, squinting a little at the harsh sunlight of Dantooine in the summer. Fong Do split off to the left, turning his back to Grievous. It was the last thing he would ever do.

With the reflex of a predator, Grievous lunged for him. With the reflex of a hunted man, Fong Do whirled and shot blindly. If his aim had been as good as his reflexes, perhaps Fong would have continued to be alive. A green laser blade skewered him in the chest, slowly ending him as his dying eyes stared into the hateful yellow dragon eyes of his murderer.

"I'll take that 5,000 back, thank you," he snarled, letting the Nautolan's lifeless body drop to the dust. Brushing his shoulder where an ashen burn mark singed, he crouched down to give the body a pat down and find those credits. But as he looked into those marbled red eyes, he felt an uncharacteristic pang in what remained of his heart. In his gut he knew that Fong Do's death was necessary for the security of the mission, but perhaps he didn't really need to mooch a couple credits off of a stiff. Sighing unhappily, he got to his feet and began striding back to his cab. He was still mad at Fong Do for giving him a useless tease-the whole Tythe attack route nonsense was a red herring. But no matter. Now he had his information...and a deviously sound strategy beginning to form in his mind.

He keyed up Count Dooku. Time to activate that war grant.