This is another story about Nnohe Henip and her adventures, a longer, more detailed one showing how she infiltrates a crime organization called Black Maw, and how she works to destroy it.

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Star Wars, but I do own Nnohe Henip, Ardol, etc.

Black Maw

ORD MANTELL was a world filled with the galaxy's scum and pleasure seekers of all sorts. It was positioned in the Mid-Rim, bordering the Unknown Regions, making it far enough away from any real Republic police forces to be considered "safe" for criminals.

And Ord Mantell was certainly crawling with criminals.

And bounty hunters, smugglers, illegal "information" dealers, excessive gamblers and just plain scum.

Numerous cantinas and casinos dotted the sea towns and they attracted thousands of customers. One of these such establishments was the "Savrip Cantina and Casino", nestled in one of the planets largest cities, Tyvyrp.

Inside, most beings sipped their drinks while meeting with business partners, listening to the jizz band or gambling at one of the few sabacc tables or the jubilee wheel that made the cantina a casino.

One such being was Nnohe Henip—or as her Duro companion thought, Hesje Dyjyrn.

"Sources tell me you're good, Dyjyrn," the Duro sitting across the table said. "Black Maw's very interested."

Nnohe lifted her glass to her lips and sipped the bitter liquor. She refrained from making a face. She hated Swyrlan whiskey—it was much too strong—but if she were really the assassin Hesje Dyjyrn that she claimed to be, she'd have no reason to decline the Duro's offer.

She was holding the effects of the liquor at bay with the Force, but she still felt a little slow.

Nnohe set down her cup and grinned. "Well, Ardol, what'd you expect?"

She'd been planting that information for over a month and the roll of Republic credits the Senate had given her had taken several large hits.

And even on Black Maw's payroll, she wasn't going to fix that problem any time soon.

"Well," the Duro admitted, "I actually expected a lot less."

Nnohe cocked an eyebrow and he shrunk back into his chair.

Not after a month's work! she thought.

"So," she said, "Black Maw has accepted me?"

Black Maw was the criminal organization that Nnohe had been order by the Senate and Jedi Council to infiltrate and destroy. This was her second attempt in two weeks to do so, pretending to be an assassin who wanted to serve Black Maw permanently.

Once inside Black Maw, she'd plant seeds of deception and distrust, and then idly watch the organization rip itself apart.

"Well, it's not official," Ardol said. "There's still a few tests and you've got to be approved by a few more people, but your chances are very good."

And by the look on his face, Nnohe guessed that she was practically part of the organization already.

Finally, thought Nnohe. It took me long enough!

She grinned and said aloud, "Good."

She took another sip of her whiskey.

A hideous Gamorrean brushed past Nnohe and for a moment, she envied Ardol's nose-less Duro face.

Using the Force, she cut off her sense of smell, but finding it too hard to do that and hold back the liquor's effects, she just tried to breathe through her mouth.

It made her throat burn slightly from the whiskey.

Ardol glanced at one of the sabacc tables, then at Nnohe's glass. "How about a refill, then we'll test just how good you are at sabacc?"

Nnohe's sabacc game was a little rusty—she hadn't played in a couple of years—but with the Force, she was an expert.

Because she was a Jedi, she could easily read the other players' minds and tell if they had good hands or not. She could also influence some of the others to fold or exchange a card when she needed them to.

She'd won almost every hand.

Some times she just allowed Ardol to win, just so she looked legitimate, even though she wasn't. And even her abilities failed sometimes, more often now because of the whiskey.

Of the five players besides Nnohe and Ardol, none remained.

Nnohe's credits roll had at least tripled.

Now in the last round of betting, Ardol pushed all of his remaining chips in with a slight grin. Nnohe matched the bet easily.

The Duro grinned and turned over his cards: The Mistress and Ten of Flasks. "Pure Sabacc!" he exclaimed, reaching for the credits in both pots. "You lose, Dyjyrn!"

Nnohe's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

The Duro looked absolutely stunned.

She smirked and turned over her own cards with her other hand: The Idiot, the Two of Coins and the Three of Sabres.

Her smirk broadened. "Idiot's Array," she said.

Ardol wrenched his hand out of her grasp and stood up swearing viciously. He'd lost at least two thousand credits.

Nnohe coolly collected the chips and added them to her pile. She had all of the chips! She could repay at least half of the Senate's credits.

Ardol bent down and shoved his face close to Nnohe's. "You cheated!"

Smelling the whiskey in his breath, she again envied his nose-less face.

She coolly cocked an eyebrow. "You," she said calmly, "had better tame your mouth. It's about to bring you a lot more trouble than you can deal with."

He looked down to find the muzzle of a blaster pressed to his chest and Nnohe's finger twitching on the trigger. His face changed immediately.

Nnohe didn't plan on shooting him, she knew that he would back down before taking a bolt through his chest.

Ardol backed up, hands raised. "I—I don't want any trouble," he stammered, gulping.

Nnohe holstered the blaster. "Then don't ask for it."

She collected the rest of the chips, scooped them all up and drained the rest of her whiskey from the cup. "You'll be in touch?" she asked the recomposed Duro.

At his nod, she marched to the bar, cashed in her chips and left.

Moments after she left, Ardol's personal comm sounded. He answered, "Ardol here."

"So, is she suitable?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Yes, boss," Ardol answered, staring at the door through which that assassin had just left. "Feisty, quick and strong." He rubbed his wrist.

Mentally, he added, And one heck of a sabacc player.

"Good, relay that she's in."

"Alright, boss. Ardol out."

He switched off the comm, then opened his datapad and began typing a message.

Just as Nnohe collapsed on her rented hotel room's bed, her datapad chimed.

She groaned.

She was exhausted from holding back the liquor's effects and influencing everyone during the sabacc game. She let loose the effects of three cups of very strong Swyrlan whiskey and almost immediately doubled over, holding her stomach.

It hurt worse than nearly anything Nnohe had felt before.

And then the ringing in her head kicked in.

She curbed the nausea as best she could in her exhausted state, but she wasn't strong enough to hold back the headache too.

After a moment, the pain in both her stomach and head subsided enough that she answered her datapad.

It said "MESSAGE WAITING" and Nnohe pressed "READ".

The message sprung up immediately.

"Dear Hesje Dyjyrn,

"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Black Maw…"

There was a lot more, but that was all that Nnohe read. That was all she needed to know for now: She was in.