Helo kept to her quarters for most of the trip to Nar Shaddaa. She emerged a few times while Aric and Elara were drinking caf and chatting over a meal, but she hadn't joined them, which was uncharacteristic of her. Through their travels, Aric had found her to be friendly, compassionate and kind – traits that weren't often found in the soldiers he had worked with. The anger he had felt at Tavus' defection and his subsequent demotion had been soothed by her optimistic demeanor. Even though she was now his commanding officer, she treated him with the respect of her superior, even refraining from using his new title of Sergeant and instead simply calling him "Jorgan".

They had developed an easy rapport on Coruscant, fighting back-to-back through Black Sun and the Justicars and even bringing in Karden alive. The way that Helo had treated Karden – it had made Aric's head swim. Her kindness and compassion had convinced the stubborn man to turn himself in to the Republic, something Aric would have never thought possible. And the grace and poise she had exuded during the hearing was incredible. Even though Senator Krasul was a fellow Cathar, Aric had been ready to rip his throat out. But Helo had just smiled that disarming smile, and the council had let them go.

They had even come close to...something, at one point. He hadn't meant to flirt, but when she teased him about looking through her belongings and looked up at him through her pale hair with that glint in her eye, he hadn't been able to help himself. And it hadn't backfired – her smile had widened, if that was even possible, and she had flirted right back. He had felt a strange tightness in his chest as she had walked away from him that day. What was he getting himself into?

Nar Shaddaa turned out to be exactly what Aric expected. Flashy lights, neon signs, pazzac tables, strippers, the works. Helo walked beside him, her hands clenched into fists, her heavy boots scraping against the pavement. She hadn't said a word since they disembarked, after General Garza's briefing and information about the SIS agent. When they had walked out of the spaceport, she had looked up for several minutes, taking in the ships and the towers and the millions of people. Aric had watched her, but her face had been unreadable.

Helo didn't speak again until they found the cantina they were looking for, jostled their way past all sorts of drunken aliens, and found themselves in a cozy sort of private room with a scruffy-looking man in his mid-thirties. Aric immediately found himself irritated with the way this man looked at Helo.

"Well hello, gorgeous," he drawled. "You must be Helo. I'm Jonas." He stood up smoothly and reached out a hand. Helo ignored it.

"That's Lieutenant Helo to you," she snapped irritably, and he dropped his hand, looking dejected. Her gaze softened, but only a little. "We were told you have a situation with a rogue droid. What information do you have for me?" Jonas motioned for Aric and Helo to sit at his table, and motioned to the bartender as he slid back into his seat. He leaned forward, steepling his hands and resting his chin on top.

"We have information," he began slowly, the flirtatious drawl now replaced by serious professionalism. "But we're not sure how reliable it is. We've been using locals on Nar Shaddaa to find out information on the Empire's movements, but, well...you know how it is." Aric snorted and Helo grunted in assertion. The bartender appeared with their drinks and placed them on the table, then disappeared discreetly.

"So who do I have to interrogate?" Helo asked wearily. Aric glanced at her, furrowing his brow in concern. She seemed so tired, so...lifeless. Her usually dancing grey eyes were dull and downcast, and no hint of a smile touched her lips.

"I don't have a name, but these are his coordinates, and all of the information we have on the droid." Jonas pulled out a datapad and tapped in a few commands, swiping forward to send them to Helo. "The contact is a smuggler of sorts, petty crimes from what we've seen. He seems eager to help the Republic if we...overlook certain things." Aric's blood boiled at the sentiment, but Helo merely nodded. "Lesser of two evils, and all."

Helo pushed her untouched drink back towards Jonas, then stood up and nodded curtly at him. "We'll be in touch," she said, then turned and headed out of the cantina without a backward glance. Aric stood quickly to follow her, but Jonas put a hand on his forearm. Aric resisted jerking away, but growled quietly.

"Is everything okay with her?" Jonas asked, looking at Aric quizzically.

"What, something's wrong with her because she wasn't interested in your ridiculous pickup lines?" Aric snapped, immediately regretting his rudeness but unable to retract it. Jonas jerked his hand away as if scalded, and gave Aric a long, cool stare. Aric returned it until Jonas broke eye contact, then he turned and hurried after Helo.