Nar Shaddaa, a few months after leaving Mandalore….
Nar Shaddaa was a planet covered in a perpetual blanket of darkness. Over the centuries, pollution had formed a globe-spanning soup that blocked out any sunlight and made an endless twilight, reflecting the gaudy lights of the endless cities. Dozens of smells, from sex to refuse to sickness to spice, filled the air, promising of the very best and worst the planet had to offer. Despite the rancid aftertaste left in the woman's mouth from simply breathing, it was still far better than being surrounded by hidden enemies like she had been on Mandalore but like her loved ones, they thought she was dead and she was now in hiding. No longer in her beskar'gam, she wore a black cropped tank top, that revealed her muscular, toned stomach, under a black bantha hide jacket that were tucked under armored gauntlets of a metallic gray color on both forearms over fingerless gloves and black form-fitting pants that were tucked into armored boots. Her utility belt was adorned with several pouches and the holsters for her hand blasters were attached to her belt. That wasn't the only change she did to her appearance, her once braided long hair was now worn freely down her back but there has three small braids on the side of her head with red and black beads eat the end of the braids.
She turned her body so that she wouldn't hit anyone as she walked down the crowded walkway, heading to the hotel that she was staying at. The woman pauses when she faintly senses six people following her but then she started walking again, pretending that she hadn't noticed them. She turned down an alley and hide just a little away from the entrance she was planning to lure them in so that she could attack them. Or that was her plan until she pinned to the wall behind by an unseen force, where they too Force users? Did the Death Stalkers find her? She got ready to fight until a woman's voice said, calm and cool, "We mean you no harm, Kestra Verd…"
"Oh really? Then why are you pinning me and how do you know my name?" Kestra snapped struggling a bit.
Another woman tsked at her and said, "So suspicious, Shae Verd told us about you when we came looking for you…of course, we could have gone to that Vhetin guy but he would have been a bit suspicious of us and why we were looking for you, little one."
The pressure eased off her and she turned her head to get her first look of her…not attackers but she wasn't going to trust them right off the bat. Their clothing consisted of a carapace-like armor that hugged their skin and covered every bit of it, including their hands, painted in dark ebony, with white stripes down the front side, a zipper running all the way up to secure themselves, their thick hardened boots making sounds of footsteps on the floor. There was six women standing in front of her, ranging in height but they all had similar features that looked similar to her own to make her wonder just what she was. One of the women reached up and pulled her hood up to cover her face, she then tucked her dark brown hair that was pulled back in a braid into the hood before slipping her sunglasses on and taping the side which triggered the tinting of her sunglasses to cover the lens, covering her almond shaped brown eyes.
The woman who spoke first stepped forward and said, "I am Ranek…this is Ori, Saricia, Parell, Talura and Reese." She motioned to herself than to the other five, who waved and smiled at her though Ranek was a cold mask of indifference towards Kestra. Kestra inclines her head towards them in hesitant, confused greeting and said, "Hello…umm…if you don't mind me asking but why were you looking for me?"
Ori, the second woman who had spoken, grinned and said, "We are hunting some Death Stalkers, Kestra…and we had heard that you had dealt with them before." Talura nods her head and adds, "Though you weren't very good at fighting them but that's because you didn't have any training to fight against others who are like us." Reese places her hand on Kestra's shoulder and said, "We are here to train you." Saricia places her hand on her other shoulder and smiles, "And what better way for us to train you then while on the hunt for these Death Stalkers." Kestra looks at the women, even more confused and said, "Why do you want to hunt them?" It was Parell who answered her, "Because they were stationed in the Unknown Regions which is our home and we want them out…yes, the Empire and your friends think they are dead but we know that they are not and we want to finish the job."
Ranek nods her head slightly and said, "You need to learn these skills in order to hide from those who would try to use you like they did." Kestra was silent for a few minutes before nodding her head and said, "Alright, I will go with you."
Ranek smiles then but it too was cold yet it had a predatory hint to it and said, "Good, your training starts now."