Book One – Search and Rescue
Chapter One
The Road is Closed
When you look at me, young Lady Jedi, what do your grey eyes see? Do they see a fallen Jedi, seduced by the lure of the Dark Side, hungry for power? Do they see a broken woman, a lost soul, desperately clinging to the last shred of humanity left in her after the assassination of all those Mandalorians? Do they see a Dark Lord, a cruel being with a burning hatred for everything that lives? A Sith Lord who finds pleasure in tormenting those around her? Bending the Force to indoctrinate commoners, control armies, topple governments?
Or perhaps there lies more wisdom beneath the steel of your eyes. Perhaps you see me for what I truly am. The true reason why I took up the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. The real purpose of the Jedi intervention during the Mandalorian Wars and the brutal annihilation at Malachor V. Perhaps you may even see the necessity of the Jedi Civil Wars.
What are you, Jedi Knight? A mere puppet of your cruel Council? Or have you seen beyond the false mantras of your Order?
Xana Grey awoke with a massive headache. Stinging surges of pain pulsed through her brain as she sat up in the strange bed. The room she found herself in was dimly lit. It was an apartment of some sort, with two beds, a small kitchen bordering a living area and a workbench pressed against the wall. Onasi was standing in the kitchen and heaved a relieved sigh when he saw her waking up. He rummaged through the cupboards for a moment, then approached her with a small paper box and a glass of water.
"Glad to see you awake, instead of trashing about in your sleep." He handed her the box, which turned out to be painkillers, and the glass of water. "Thought you could use some of these."
"Thanks," she mumbled. With slightly shaking hands she took four pills out of the box and swallowed them in one go, flushing them with the water. For a moment she closed her eyes and felt the fluid and medicine doing their job. When the worst sting eased she took another look at the room, before looking up to the flight commander. "What happened?"
"The Endar Spire was boarded by Sith troopers. We managed to escape in a pod, which crashed in Taris' Upper City. You were knocked out by the impact, but luckily I wasn't. Pulled you out and into this abandoned apartment. I checked you up and don't think you've sustained any further injuries."
Xana nodded. Stiffly she got out of the bed and did some stretches. Aside from some sore spots she didn't feel anything serious, so she figured she got lucky. "How long have I been out?"
"The whole night. I've done some investigating, but haven't found out much about the location of the other marines. Many pods have crashed in the Lower City and some even further down, in the Undercity."
"That's wonderful Onasi," Xana said absently minded. She found her gear neatly folded up on the floor and started to dress. When she was fully dressed and armed she turned to the flight commander. "Well, good luck with that Onasi. I'm out of here." She wanted to head to the door, but was stopped by Onasi's hand firmly taking hold of her shoulder.
"What do you mean good luck with that? Where are you going?" he inquired with a cocked eyebrow.
Xana turned around to face him. "Listen chief, it was never my intention to actually stay with the Republic. I detest them, just like I detest the Jedi Order and the Sith. If you want to continue sucking admiral-cock, please be my guest. But I'm fed up with being told what to do and right now is an excellent opportunity to bail. So the best of luck to you, I hope you'll find what you're looking for."
She wanted to turn and leave, but Onasi wouldn't let her. He held on to her shoulder tightly. "Wait a second, you can't swear an oath to serve the Republic and bail out when things get a bit difficult. Our comrades need us."
The Lieutenant merely shrugged. "Can't see why not. I nearly got my ass sliced in two by a blood red lightsaber, thanks to the Republic. Piss-poor repayment for all my efforts, don't you think?" She pushed Onasi's hand away and headed for the door.
"What about Bastila?" came Onasi's silent words. Xana stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide in shock. "I thought you liked her. I thought you've sworn to protect her." His words hit home, one by one. "Right now we have no idea where she is. Maybe she is captured by some local gang. It's not hard to overwhelm a knocked out woman you know, even if she's a Jedi Knight. Force knows what they're doing with her right now."
Xana felt her hands trembling, her stomach made a quick roll when she thought of the beautiful woman being abused by gangsters. She might be an inflated Jedi, acting all high and mighty, but she still was a fragile little thing. And Xana had sworn to protect her. Sure, she had sworn to serve the Republic as well, but this was different. Bastila was different. You can't just tell a woman you will protect her and then leave her in the hands of petty criminals. Besides, she still had thousands of questions to ask the woman, both about her visions and the strange respect she felt for her. She had the feeling Bastila Shan knew more about her past.
She turned around to face Onasi. "Listen here, mister pilot. I'm going to keep my job as lieutenant for a little while longer. But as soon as we have established that our Jedi Commander is safe, I'm out of here. Capisce?"
He breathed a relieved sigh, but eyed her with suspicion. "I don't know what to think of this, Grey, but I don't think I have another option. I guess I should be glad you've seen reason?"
"Oh, you won't be so glad once you get to know me," Xana said with a dark look. "Let's get things abundantly clear, flyguy. I will be the one in charge of this 'mission'. I will be the one doing the talking and calling the shots. You just shoot where and when I tell you to. Understood?"
The guy looked a bit taken aback. "Err… alright? Guess you're trained for this sort of thing."
"You've got that fucking spot-on. And you are trained to take the wheel and follow orders. I'm glad we've established our roles here, helmsman."
"While I have no trouble following your orders, can I at least make one request?" He gave the scoundrel a mocking respectful look.
The lieutenant grinned deviously. "Well, I guess a good leader would listen to the requests of her inferiors, so I'll allow you one. Just one mind you, soldier boy. Well then, flydude, what is it you want"
"Please call me Carth, for Force's sake!"
Xana had just wolfed down the breakfast Carth had bought and was now sipping on a mug of coffee. Her headache was settling, giving her the opportunity to go over the things she knew about Taris and what Carth had learned during his short investigation. It was an urban planet, the entire landmass was cultivated into one big city. Taris had a strong caste system, which directly translated in the layout of the city.
It was build up by layers. Carth and she were currently somewhere in the Upper City, the top layer. This was where the rich and privileged lived. Nobles, politicians, the middle class… all living comfortably in their little paradise on top of the world, under the direct light of the star. Underneath their feet, hidden away from view, lay the Lower City. As it didn't get as much natural light as the higher parts it was inhabited by the poorer folks. The working class, commoners, but also gangsters and criminals. And underneath all that, at the very surface of the planet, lay the Undercity. A rotten cesspool of urine and shit, inhabited by the poorest and saddest scumbags. Outcasts, prisoners and the lowest of gangs, all living together with mutants and beasts.
Carth had a strong suspicion that Bastila's pod had landed down there, in the Undercity. Every politician, nobleman and their brother would want a piece of a Jedi Knight. Not to mention the Sith, who had established control of Taris. They'd go absolutely mental if an enemy was found deep within their territory. None of that was happening according to Carth, meaning the city wasn't yet aware of the arrival of a Jedi. It troubled Xana; Bastila found herself caught between on one side and the Sith on the other.
Xana wondered why she worried so much about the coldhearted Jedi Knight and couldn't give herself a satisfactory answer. She cursed her amnesia and pondered if she had ever met the knight before. Her mind came up with nothing, causing her to growl. The ice queen had a lot to explain to her, but that meant finding her first and getting her to safety, like she had sworn to her.
Her eyes shot to Carth, who was cleaning his blasters at the workbench. "You almost ready to leave, Onasi?" As per his request she had stopped giving him nicknames, but she didn't respect him enough to get on a first name basis.
"Hold on, Grey, let me put these things back together."
As he continued working her mind turned inside again. Carth had found out that Taris was surrounded by the bulk of the Sith fleet. It had the planet in lockdown, completely blocking all traffic going in or out. Xana didn't know the fleet's goal, but didn't feel very comfortable with the amount of firepower hovering over her head. This place might not be so great to get lost in after all. She had to get the hell out of Taris, somehow avoiding the blockade. With a sigh she realized she might need the help of both Carth and Bastila to achieve something like that, which meant being bound to the ice queen's command for a while longer.
After Carth was done and all geared up, they left the apartment. No sooner had they stepped out of the door, or they met with trouble. A bit further up the corridor a few Sith officers were harassing some aliens. Quickly she grabbed Carth by the arm and started walking the other way. "What are you doing?" he hissed. "It looks like those Sith are going to kill those aliens."
Xana nodded. "Exactly. No need for us to become witnesses."
"What the hell, Grey? Do you want to leave those guys to die?" Carth sounded utterly shocked. Once they were out of sight Xana pushed the pilot against the wall and looked him intently in the eyes.
"In case you haven't figured it out yet, we're in deep shit. Republic marines in Sith territory, we could be shot every minute. Our top priority is keeping a low profile. Trust me, telling Sith officers to stop bullying some aliens will achieve just the opposite. Besides, we don't even know these aliens, who knows what they've done to anger the Sith." As Carth wanted to make a comeback they heard shots firing. The dull sound of limp bodies dropping on the floor followed, coupled with the hoarse laughter of the Sith.
"We could have prevented that," Carth said grimly.
"By killing Sith officers," Xana rebuked. "The only better way to make our presence known is by walking into a Sith base and showing them our dog tags."
Carth considered that for a moment. "Maybe you're right."
"I am right," she answered curtly. "Trust me, I'm a pro when it comes to staying alive. Let's keep going."
The apartment block housed a number of homes, all connected to a circular hallway. Xana quietly slipped into each house to search for credits and other valuables. White knight Carth had something to say about this of course, but the lieutenant managed to silence him. Even Carth had to admit they needed the credits right now, for either supplies or bribes.
One of the apartments wasn't empty. It was inhabited by a woman and she wasn't exactly thrilled by Xana's sudden appearance. "What are you doing?" she screamed while pointing a vibroblade at the intruder. "You can't just barge into other people's homes."
Xana quickly held up her hands as a sign of peace. "Ma'am, I am terribly sorry to frighten you like this. I can assure you it was never my intention and I apologize deeply for my ill behavior. Why don't I just quietly leave and we all pretend this never happened?"
The woman looked a bit surprised at the eloquent woman. "I… you aren't one of Holdan's mercenaries?"
"I'm afraid not. Might I ask who this Holdan is, and why he would send mercenaries after such a beautiful woman such as yourself?"
She smiled weakly at the compliment, but collapsed in the couch. Clearly she was very exhausted and deeply troubled by something. Xana sat next to the woman and wrapped her arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "Holdan is… he is one of Davik's dogs."
"Davik?" The name didn't ring a bell.
"Davik Kang? The Exchange's local crime lord?" The woman eyed Xana like she was daft.
"Truth to be told, ma'am, I've just arrived in this part of the city."
"Please, call me Dia." She gave the lieutenant a weak smile. "Well, Davik owns all crime around these parts. Holdan thinks he is protected by his status of top dog. The slimy bastard tried to… tried to…"
As Dia's voice broke Xana pulled her closer against her. "But he didn't succeed?" she asked gently.
Dia sniffled. "I cut him with my vibroblade and scared him off. Hurt his ego, of course. He has put a bounty on my head… I've been hiding here from the bounty hunters ever since."
Xana looked at the woman as she processed that information and for the briefest of moments considered killing the woman and collecting the bounty herself. But seeing the broken woman she just couldn't do it. She was fairly open-minded when it came to making a quick cred, but she wouldn't sink that low. "If I ever run into this Holdan I'll try to talk some sense in him."
"You'd… you'd do that?" Dia asked uncertainly.
The raven haired woman gave Dia a warm smile. "I have a thing against men who think they're superior to women and can just use them as they please. Someone has to make him realize he has to be a good little boy and behave."
"But… he's with Davik and Davik is part of the Exchange. You might get in trouble as well."
Xana smiled wickedly. "Then I'll just have to make him feel so ashamed that he would never talk to anyone about it."
"You are a very brave woman." Dia stared the other woman in the eye, clearly deeply impressed. "He usually hangs out in the cantina in the Lower City. That's also where Zax the Hutt has his bounty office. But you might not be able to get there, not with the current lockdown."
"There's a lockdown?"
"Rivalry between two local gangs has spun out of control. It's an all-out war down there, so the Sith have closed all entrances to prevent it from spreading to the Upper City."
Xana gave Carth a quick glance, who returned with a troubled look. This was bad, they had to go to the lower parts of the city if they wanted to find Bastila. "You reckon we could sneak by them?" she asked the other woman.
Dia shook her head. "Not a chance, each entrance is guarded around the clock by a solider. Please don't try anything foolish on my behalf." She actually looked a bit frightened.
With another squeeze and a warm smile Xana reassured the woman. "Don't worry, Dia. I intend to live on in freedom for a very long time. But if I find a way around the lockdown and happen to come across the prick that tried to hurt you, I'll make him regret putting a bounty on your head."
"Thanks," Dia whispered. "I don't know what I've done to deserve this, but thank you. For your listening ear and kind words."
Carth turned to her when the apartment door shut close behind them. "So, we can't help a group of aliens being slaughtered by the Sith, but we can help a young, pretty lady who is being harassed by some gangster?"
Xana cocked an eyebrow at the pilot. "Tell me, when did you hear me say I was going to help this woman?"
"I… you mean you lied to her? You aren't going to find this Holdan and make him lift the bounty?" Carth sounded extremely offended.
"You fucking deaf, mate? I told her I would talk to Holdan if I ever ran into him. As much as I like to help Dia, I'm not going out of my way to find the sad bastard. Time is of the essence here, with that bloody Sith armada above our heads." She started walking again and Carth tailed behind her. "It has been a good chat either way, we've learned a lot about the situation here."
On that the pilot had to agree. "A lockdown of the Lower City. That will give us some trouble."
"And don't forget the Exchange," Xana reminded. "Things can get proper dangerous if those bastards operate here. We have to watch our step on two fronts: don't piss off the Sith, don't piss of the Exchange."
It did give Xana a bunch of opportunities though. The Exchange was a wealthy organization, they might have a ship capable of outrunning the Sith fleet. Perhaps she could do some mercenary work for them, to get back in business. After earning their trust and building her reputation they might let her catch a ride to Nar Shaddaa or some other backwater planet. With the cash she earned she could get a crew of her own again.
The pair left the apartment complex and was now standing outside, among the many skyscrapers. As she turned to Carth she caught him staring thoughtfully at her. "Something up?" she asked.
"Wha…?" The question caught him off-guard. "Yes, of course something is up. My ship has been blown up and I've lost a lot of colleagues and friends. And now I'm stuck here on this Sith infested planet looking for my commander with the help of an…" He looked alarmed as he realized what he was about to say.
"A what, Onasi? An opportunist scoundrel that will bail out the first chance she'll get? Don't worry, I've promised to protect Bastila. I will protect her, if only to give her the chance to answer some of my questions. If you tag along I'll return you safely to your Jedi Mistress before bailing. You can trust me on my word."
"Yeah well, I don't trust people."
Xana heaved an exasperated sigh. "Let me guess, this is where we find out you've been horribly betrayed by someone you trusted your life with. And now you're locking yourself up in your grief and shunt all attempts at friendship."
"Something like that," he said with sad eyes. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. You want to help me find Bastila? Great, awesome, thanks for your help. Let's get to it so you can betray the Republic with the satisfaction of having done a good deed."
"I don't do good deeds, Onasi."
"Then why help Bastila?" he asked darkly. "Not to burst your balloon, but Jedi Knights live in celibacy, so she won't reward you with a hot night between the sheets. And don't give me that bullshit of giving your word. The word of a scoundrel means very little in my book."
"I'm not a woman to make light promises. Certainly not to Jedi Knight." She stared at a faraway skyscraper and heaved a deep sigh. "But you're right, there is more to it." She turned to look at Carth and decided to open up to him a little bit. "When I first met with Bastila, something strange happened. I felt a weird connection, like I somehow know her from before."
He gave her an uncertain look. "But you've never met her?"
"No, not that I know of. I mean, not after I lost my memories." The pilot had read her file and was aware of her amnesia. "But after I met her on the Endar Spire, I started having dreams, nightmares really. Visions of Bastila defeating Revan."
"That's… strange indeed." Carth contemplated on her words quietly. "Maybe it has something to do with the Force? They say it can do strange things to a mind, terrible things even." The scoundrel merely shrugged, not knowing enough about the Force to respond to his suggestion. "So that's why you want to find Bastila? To ask her about this connection?"
"Yes, that's the main reason." A small grin appeared on her lips. "Though I still have hopes of getting her in my bed someday."
Carth couldn't help but laugh at her sudden joke. "You could hope for universal peace and have a higher chance of it happening."
Xana laughed as well and gave him an amiable smack on the shoulder. "Maybe, maybe not. We won't find out if we keep standing here for the rest of our lives, so let's get moving."
A quick visit to the Equipment Emporium rewarded them with a bit more information about the situation. The owner told them the escape pods would all be scavenged right now, either by the Sith, one of the swoop gangs or Davik's men. She also mentioned that things had gotten worse ever since the Black Vulkars took over control from the Hidden Beks. The Beks were pretty alright as a gang, but the Vulkars were just brutal. On top of that the Exchange was an ever looming threat, always lurking in the background, cleverly avoiding the Sith. It gave Xana a pretty good idea of what she would be facing in the Lower City.
After buying a few supplies they left the shop and headed for the cantina. It was surprisingly busy at this hour of the day. At the entrance was the Pazaak Den. Carth offered to play a few hands to increase their credits, which gave Xana the opportunity to scout the cantina out on her own. Some very interesting words reached her ears as she headed for the bar.
"…will just take our uniforms to the party. No need to head back to the Sith base to…"
The noise in the cantina drowned the voice again, but Xana had heard enough. She turned around to find the source of the voice and quickly spotted a young woman. A grin formed on her lips as she realized she had just found her way through the Lower City lockdown. The woman was currently talking to a male colleague and Xana decided to wait till she was alone.
She did a quick round through the cantina. A fat Hutt was sitting in a separate room, which turned out to be the gambling zone of the duel arena. Fighting in the arena would be quick cred, but it would also draw attention to her and potentially wound her. Neither was an option right now, as time and discretion were of the essence.
As she entered another separate part of the cantina, a young woman approached her. "Finally someone to take my order," she said in a very bossy voice. Clearly part of nobility. "I'll have one of my regular drinks. Now hurry up girl, shoo!"
Xana noticed a few eyes staring at her and she didn't want to cause a ruckus. But she wasn't about to let this girl boss her around either. "You must've mistaken me for someone else, I'm no waitress."
"Preposterous!" she exclaimed loudly. "You just wait until my father finds out about your insubordination! He will get you fired, he will." Many eyes were now turning in their direction, Xana had to act fast before things got out of hand. With a sly grin she stepped close to the woman.
"I'm terribly sorry, ma'am," she said in a sultry but submissive voice, quiet enough so no one would overhear. "I've seen the way you were looking at my body. Perhaps I could join you in your bedroom tonight and make up for my… insubordination. I'll do everything you want me to, mistress."
The mouth of the noblewoman fell open and her face turned a deep scarlet. For a moment she couldn't find words and was looking like she was going to choke. Finally she pulled herself together and turned on her heels, leaving the cantina with her nose high in the air. Xana couldn't help but chuckle. Crisis averted.
The rest of the cantina held nothing of interest, so she decided to tackle the girl with the uniform. If she was going to take it to a party, Xana had a high chance of stealing it. She wouldn't be wearing it at the party, as it would be rather hard to have a drink with a full facial mask. Alcohol raised her chances and she figured it was worth giving it a shot. Xana eyed the woman from afar, she was alone and looking extremely bored. The lieutenant approached the barmaid. "Hey, you got any idea what that girl over there likes to drink?"
The barmaid looked at the girl Xana was pointing at and grinned. "Think you have a chance huh?" Her eyes hovered over the lieutenant for a moment and she nodded approvingly. "You might just make a chance… if you bring her a Flameout."
Xana smirked. "I'll have two please."
With two drinks in hand Xana approached the redheaded woman, who actually looked rather pretty in her opinion. With a small smile the lieutenant offered the redhead one of the drinks. "Aren't you a bit too pretty to be sitting here alone without a drink?"
The redhead watched her in surprise and she took in the stranger for a moment. Then her face softened and she accepted a drink. "The men here are such swines, they'd never offer a woman a drink."
The raven haired woman grinned. "That's why I never bother with men. Our own gender is so much easier on the eye, anyway. Certainly such a beautiful Sith soldier such as yourself." She gave the woman a small seductive smile, without overdoing it.
"That's Sith officer actually," the woman said, but not harshly.
"Sorry, ma'am." Xana grinned sheepishly. "I'm just a simple spacer's daughter, I have no idea of such military stuff." The woman's brown eyes hovered over Xana's combat suit and she cocked an eyebrow. "God-ugly thing, I know," the scoundrel said innocently. "Father makes me wear it. Thinks there is a trigger-happy madman lurking behind every corner. I know he means well, but he goes a bit overboard in my opinion."
"A spacer huh?" The officer seemed to be losing interest. Not good. Time to start stroking her ego a bit, officer's usually loved that sort of thing.
"Yeah, it's pretty boring, always being locked up in his small freighter. Sometimes I think about joining the Sith as well," she said while giving the redhead a deeply impressed look. "It must be so thrilling, to be one of their officers. Certainly on such a lively planet as this."
The redhead looked a bit embarrassed at the woman's awed stare. "It's not as exciting as you might think."
"Not?" Xana looked surprised. "But someone like you, with both the looks and the skills, must certainly get all the nice jobs, right?"
The redhead's chest swelled with pride from the compliment and she looked pleased with herself. She gave the innocent, cute spacer's daughter a bold look. "Well, they indeed trust me with the most important missions. I've made myself irreplaceable, so whenever they want to make sure an assignment succeeds, they ask me."
"Wow," Xana said in awe. Her eyes grew wide in admiration and the officer visibly felt her self-esteem rise. So she liked the shy, submissive kind. Time to step it up a notch. The scoundrel started to nervously twitch a bit with a coy smile and gently stroked the back of the officer's hand. "You must be really something. I bet you got all the beautiful girls at your feet."
"You're the first one, actually. To be honest I never thought I was into girls, until I met you." She started to stroke Xana's cheek and the arousal became clear in her eyes. "So… what did your father call his beautiful daughter?"
"X-Xana, ma'am." The scoundrel's eyes darted nervously around the redhead and her cheeks and ears started to turn red.
"Xana? That's such a wonderful name." Her voice had turned low and sultry and her hand made its way down to Xana's neck, which she stroked with a silky touch. "My name is Sarna. Say Xana, I'm going to a little party tonight. Just me and some other Sith officers drinking together, without our superiors knowing about it. Want to join?" Her fingers started to play with the collar of the combat vest, trying to work their way under it to feel the skin beneath.
"Really?" Xana looked up, coy, nervous and honored that the important officer would ask a simple spacergirl like her out. "I would love that, Sarna!"
Sarna smiled confidently. "Great. It's held at ten at the apartment block just north of here. Follow the music." Her fingers darted back up and cupped Xana's cheek. Her confident and aroused smile widened as she leant in and placed a gentle, lingering kiss on the scoundrel's lips. "Can't wait for the afterparty," she whispered in Xana's ear, before turning around and leaving the cantina.
From her place behind the bar, the barmaid gave her the thumbs up. Some other spectators were leering at her, while grinning widely and joking with each other. It didn't matter, that uniform was as good as hers. Sarna was about the same height and build as Xana, so the fit wouldn't be a problem. As she made her way to the exit she smirked to herself. Maybe she would even have a nice shag to boot.
"Yo Onasi, let's get out of here." The pilot looked up and spoke a few words with his pazaak partner before standing up and heading for the scoundrel.
"Why are you grinning like mad?" he asked in surprise.
She led him out of the cantina before explaining her plan to Carth in a low voice.
Carth and Xana were making their way through the busy streets of the Upper City when they came upon a pair of thugs harassing a merchant. Xana wanted to ignore them just like everybody else did, but Saint Carth had different ideas… once again. "Hey, we can't just let them beat up that poor man, can we?"
Xana stopped dead in her tracks and silently counted to ten. When she was confident it was safe for her to speak, she turned around to face the pilot. "Tell me Onasi, why can't we just let them beat up that poor man? We are currently doing just that, and it doesn't seem to impair us in any negative way." She made a wide gesture at all the other pedestrians. "In fact, all these people are just letting them beat up that poor man and they all seem fine to me."
"Yeah, but we're better than that, aren't we? We have the power to stop them."
"And what exactly do you think we will we achieve?"
"Save him from a beating, perhaps?"
"Alright, alright." Xana heaved an exasperated sigh, before tapping one of the thugs on the shoulder. "Excuse me sir, my colleague here would like to know why you are beating up that old man."
The guy looked a bit surprised at the question, but answered nonetheless. "The fucker owes Davik Kang credits. We are here to collect, be he won't pay."
The scoundrel nodded once. "Excellent sir, you all have a fine day." She turned to Carth and pulled him with her into the crowd.
"What the hell, Grey. They'll beat him to death!"
Xana grabbed the pilot by the arm and pushed him down a small bench. "Sit down, shut up and listen." Carth wanted to say something, but was shut up by a murderous glare from the scoundrel. His jaw audibly shut close. "Good boy. Why aren't we chasing those thugs away? We could, right? Of course we could, quite easily in fact. But what would we achieve with it? The merchant certainly won't be helped, because he still owes a mobster a sum of money. They'll just come back to collect the debt later. You want to become his personal bodyguard and protect him for the rest of his life? You're free to do so if you wish, but I don't have the time for that.
"And what would we achieve?" she continued. "Well, you will feel good about yourself, glad that you've done a selfless good deed. But then you're forgetting something important: you have pissed of some of Davik's men. Sure, they are low on the criminal ladder, but that doesn't mean they don't answer to a superior. They're going to have to explain why they weren't able to collect. They'll give detailed descriptions about us to their officers. The officer will go after us, probably with violence. We'll be forced to kill him. What do you reckon will happen when we kill a mobster's officer? A mobster that's part of the Exchange?"
"I… I get your point."
"Good, then I suggest you shut up from now on and follow my orders." The scoundrel gave the pilot a grim look. "You've got to think about the consequences of your actions. You could blindly help every poor soul on this godforsaken planet and be destroying more then you're healing."
Carth stared thoughtfully into the distance. "There is wisdom in what you say," he reluctantly agreed. "Perhaps I shall not be so quick to offer aid in the future."