Ord Mantell. A serene and peaceful countryside planet with scenic meadows and rustic farms, perfect for a getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life. At least, that's what the travel brochure said. What a hunk of rock, Tresse Finn thought to herself as she eased her thrusters for touch down. Considering that she had just spent the past 10 minutes as a somewhat nervous wreck while navigating through mortar fire as battles were raging, she had expected the surface to be somewhat nice. Well, nicer than grayed fields with only rocks, dry grass, and the occasional ronto to break the monotony. As she peered from her window, she couldn't see why there was such a war going on at all. In fact, she would bet a good 27 credits that the planet was probably much nicer before the war had broken out.

"Oh, well, job's a job," She muttered to herself, locking the brakes, "Not my place to judge, especially with the pretty penny I'm getting a cut of," Once she cleared this job, she'd have a lot more than 27 credits to place abstract bets with. Also, the extra credits would mean no more dehydrated noodle packs for lunch, and dinner.

The tips of her fingers itched as she imagined the ding of 75000 credits being deposited into her account. The money was so close to her, she could practically feel it. All she had to do was talk with the middle man, some punkish dude named Skavak, who seemed to fancy himself as a ladies man, then he would pay her. She would be on her merry way to a pantry full of groceries and some needed repairs on her ship, the Sphincter.

Before she got off the ship, she glanced in the dusty mirror hanging on the wall. From the spots of engine grease and small tears on her shirt, it was looking like she'd also need to go clothes shopping, too. Luckily, her head was freshly buzzed, keeping her from looking too sloppy. She liked keeping her hair shaved close to her skull, only with the barest halo of blonde fuzz. After getting off Hutta years ago, one of the first things she decided was that her silky blonde hair had to go. She never looked back. No longer did she have to comb it or configure ways to keep it from her eyes. Instead, she only had to shave it once a week to keep itchy stubble away. Never mind the added benefit of no longer being ogled at by men like she was a slab of meat on display.

Blaster on her hip, she did a quick ammo check. Things should go smoothly, but there was always that chance that if anything could go wrong, it would. Extra magazines hooked to her belt and a pouch of kolto, she should be fine, "Showtime," She said as she punched the hatch switch open. As the ramp lowered, she could hear chatter and movement. At the bottom, stood a pair of worn boots waiting for her.

"Ah, Captain," A man's cheerful voice greeted, "Glad you could make it. The separatist's sure are making flying difficult," As Tresse walked into the light of the huge flight hangar she had landed in, she could see the person connected to the boots. Definitely Skavak, she recognized his long greasy hair and dramatic tattoo nearly instantly. He was already acquainted with her unusual appearance, so he didn't seem too fazed with her bald head, at least, not this time.

"I've seen worse," She replied shrugging. Casually, she scanned her surroundings. The hangar was big, mostly empty. A few workers were hanging around a pile of cargo containers. They seemed to be waiting to unload her shipment. Skavak motioned for her to follow him. Up close, she could smell the harsh scent of his cologne, probably some cheap aerosol one from the supermarket. She kept her face smooth. It was better he smelled of too much product than of not enough.

"Yeah, you look it," He said offhandedly, "What I mean is, you look like you can handle yourself in a dogfight," He tried to save face, but was not really helping himself.

Tresse raised her hand, "I know what you mean," She said, hushing him with a sharp look, "Now, get your cargo out of my ship so we can get this going. The sooner I'm out of here, the better it will be,"

"Of course, Captain. I don't blame you, I've been trying to get out of here a long time, myself," He picked up his datapad, "It may take a few minutes with the interference, so why don't you go make yourself comfortable in the hangar bay for a while,"

"Fine," She walked over to a pile of crates, hopping up onto one, her legs dangling over the edge. From her perch she could see the whole hangar. The workers she'd seen earlier weren't busy unpacking her ship, though, she noticed. They were still sitting around, smoking and passing around a bottle. Weird, she thought to herself. She would probably be wise to keep an eye on them.

The hangar door swung open behind her, "Skavak, we've got a problem!" A man's voice yelled out, breathless and panicked. Tresse turned to see a man running to Skavak. Skavak stepped out of his office, his brow wrinkled in concern, "Those seps have hijacked the targeting systems and have already downed a Republic cruiser," He was talking a mile a minute, "They're firing at anyone trying to get in or out of the system,"

Tresse was going to mind her own business, but now this seemed to be her concern. She hopped off her perch and made her way over to Skavak and the newcomer.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Corso," Skavak said to the man, "Now, start off from the top," He noticed Tresse coming up to them, "Captain, it looks like things won't be going so smooth after all,"

The man, Corso, looked at her with a double take. Not the kind of double take she was used to, having a shaved head and all, either. There was something different in the way he had looked at her that she couldn't place her thumb on, "Ma'am," He nodded his head at her politely. Ma'am? She thought, bewildered. What kind of a guy thought she looked like a lady? "Okay, the seps apparently have a new hacker. They've gained remote control of our anti-artillery cannons. Now they're using those, along with their other ones, to blast everything out of the sky. A Republic cruiser has already been downed about 20 klicks from here,"

"Kriff," Skavak muttered, running his hand through his hair, irritated, "Well, Captain, this is trouble for all of us,"

"I dunno," She crossed her arms, "I made it through before,"

"This isn't just some wildfire. With the Seps armed with our cannons, they'll blast you clear out of the sky before you even get your landing gear up,"

"So, I'm stuck here?" The thought of hanging around this hangar until further notice made her shudder.

"You're not the only one in a jam here. Tell you what," Skavak crossed his arms, "You can handle yourself in a firefight, I can tell. How about we add on an extra 30 percent to your payment if you can take out the cannons?"

Tresse did the math in her head. An extra 30 percent could cover for new landing gear.

"Ah, no," Corso interjected, "We can't send her. No offense, Ma'am," He said quickly to her, "But that just doesn't seem right,"

"Excuse me, but I think I can handle myself out there, Farm Boy," Her pride puffed up. If this guy thought she was one of those dainty girls, he was dead wrong. She'd do the job for free just to prove him wrong.

He flinched at her sharp words, blush rising in his face. Now she felt a little bad, which was odd in and of itself. "What I meant was that this isn't your fight, and you don't know your way around these parts,"

Oh. That made sense, she supposed, "The moment those guys started shooting at me made this my fight. Make it an extra 45 percent, and I'll leave them hurting for months,"

Corso seemed resigned in the argument. Skavak was calculating how much 45 percent would be, "Deal," Skavak announced, "I'll give you a marked map. The cannons were controlled with a remote transmitter not too far off from here. Either remove the hacking data or destroy it. Come back when you're finished and I'll give you your payment, with the bonus in cash,"

"I can go with her," Corso chirped up, but Skavak shook his head.

"Nah, according to a scout, we may have seps running here soon enough. You need to stay here to hold down the hangar," Corso frowned, but did not argue. He didn't seem like the arguing type.

"Alright, gentlemen," Tresse clapped her hands, "Get ready to see some impressive blaster action,"

"Hope to see you in one piece, Captain," Corso said, giving her a friendly smile. He wasn't a bad type, she decided, just a little antiquated in his view on women. Without thinking, she smiled back at him.

"C'mon, Corso," Skavak said, pulling him away. Tresse turned to leave the hangar. Go into a town she had never been to before and destroy a cannon remote transmitter that may be heavily guarded?

She's done crazier for less.