The Rogue Shadow burst out of Hyperspace into the seemingly friendly atmosphere of Nar- Shadda. Trails of airborne spacecraft circled its atmosphere. Juno directed the ship towards the planet.
"How long will you be gone?" Juno asked in a concerned tone, following the young apprentice to the lowering door of the ship that she had docked at port. The port could lead anywhere. Why would she be so concerned, anyways? He had handled himself before. He always came back…yes; he did, actually, even if it took a while.
Galen, outfitted in his bounty hunter wardrobe for safety, paused at the door. With a sigh he looked over his shoulder. "I…don't know. As the usual, just wait here, okay? Well, maybe not right here, but hang around. Find a safe place to land and stay there. We'll stay in contact by comlink," he assured her.
The pilot nodded and watched Galen depart down the ramp. She watched him find his way down a winding road where he disappeared around a corner. With a sigh she headed back in the ship and the door to Rogue Shadow lifted. The hard part, now, was to occupy herself with something so she wouldn't be worried about him or his success. His droid wasn't something of pleasant associations.
The young man waded through a bar area, keeping his ears pricked for any interesting information. The buildings were open at this hour. The doors were parted and anyone of any caliber could walk in and make himself at home.
If he could manage it he had to find someone he already knew, but whom? It was a silly thought for he only knew of one person. He knew of Master Kota. That was his original plan upon arriving here, but then there was the matter of Ferine. He could be anywhere in the galaxy right now. He might never find him. The apprentice dismissed the fearful thoughts he was beginning to muster and acted casual. Six men sat along the perimeter of the bar counter very animated about their conversation. Galen found a nearby support beam and casually leaned back against it, acting as if he were waiting for someone. He purposely listened to their conversation.
"My money is on the Nexu this time. I've been dumb enough to bet on the sluggish wampas these last few fights. They fight hard and brutal, but no speed and then they're done for," commented a blonde haired man to the far left. He nervously scratched his head with a forefinger.
"Where did the Nexu come from?" asked a blue male twi'lek four people down.
"It's been imported. Story goes it was captured on an unnatural planet for itself. Tatooine, I believe. It's brought in big money. It's never lost a fight either. It was a pain in the ass to bring here to Nar Shadda to fight," the man replied placing his hand across his chin.
"Is it true it's been altered in some way?" An oddly colored gungan sat more erect which was sitting beside the twi'lek. The gungan was almost a turquoise color. Very unique considering gungans were only shades of red and green. He was unusually well spoken in basic for one also.
"Yeah, actually. The nexu has ears, two eyes, and a furry tail. How the hell that happened I will never know, but it's different and that's what the owners like. All kinds of bounty hunters have come to buy it from its master, but she won't part with it. She's dark skinned and hotheaded if you approach her wrong. I would like to own her myself, if I could. I could use her in taming some of my animals that I have had imported from other sectors," the man said with a grin.
The twi'lek scoffed. "Haven't you heard? She's got a bounty on her head!"
All the bounty hunters shifted to him with itchy ears.
"What yousa sayin, twi'lek?" the gungan asked in a low voice, looking at his partner. His speech had suddenly reverted to its original base language.
"She's up for grabs by anyone. I haven't seen her wondering the streets lately. She knows. I wouldn't turn her in. I would keep her for myself. Rumor has it that she's got a lightsaber hidden on her somewhere," the twi'lek publicized in a hushed voice waving his blue hands about. His long fingernails gave his hands an almost feminine look.
"Ahh, that's hog wash and you know it, tail head! She ain't no damn Jedi! The galaxy's rid of em' all anyways. Good riddance," the man disclosed chugging his glass of water down quickly.
The twi'lek leaned in the man's direction narrowing his eyes. "Then how do you explain the men that have been littering the streets with severed arms and holes in their guts? They've been sliced and stabbed with a lightsaber! It's got to be a lightsaber! Don't tell me you haven't seen any, human! She's not prejudice just against human men. Trandoshans, Shistavanen's, Talz, and twi'leks, alike have been lost to her. All because they tried to approach her, scam her, bully another person, or they tried to mistreat her pet. Now if you ask me," the twi'lek said softly in a very arduous tone, "that is explicit jedi behavior!" he finished. A blue hand slapped the surface of the bar resolutely.
The group murmured lowly to themselves nodding and skeptically gesturing that the twi'lek's statement was plausible.
"Hey, isn't the empire looking for anyone who's against it? Per say a Jedi? We need to find her and ambush her. We could get so many credits for turning her in," surmised the man, regaining his interest in the theory.
Galen raised an eyebrow at this new information. There were more jedi that existed besides the select few he had terminated all ready and Master Kota? Why didn't she show up on his master's hit list? If he could find her, he could request her help. He figured she already knew she was in danger, but it was very evident in the bounty hunters body language that they were going to find her now.
He was about to leave when he realized he was back at square one. Where did he go to look for her? She would surely be hidden and someone the likes of himself would not be welcomed with open arms in the bar if he asked around about her whereabouts. If she was a jedi he could possibly seek her out through the force. After all, he force signature was far different than his or his master's and so was General Kota's. Complete opposites. He leaned off of the lamppost and headed further into the city, departing from the bar.
He walked through a few outdoor dining areas before he emerged on a maze of streets that were elevated above the planet's surface. He sequestrated himself and closed his eyes.
"Hey, there," came the sultry female voice.
He whirled around in offense to see a beautiful young zeltron female smirk at him. She wore tight khaki-colored leather pants and a revealing khaki-colored leather top shirt. She had a gun at her waist secured in a leather sheath. She also had two daggers in sheaths enclosing both of her legs over her knee-high brown boots. She was a bounty hunter of some type.
"Can I help you?" he asked in an unimpressed tone. She had pushed her way into his general bubble. He backed away from her, fingers itching in annoyance.
"Yes, do you want to know me?" she asked him, twisting about.
The young man instinctively reached for his lightsaber. He awakened its red blade, pointing it at her warningly. He was safe now for the saber separated her from approaching. Whatever the hell her problem was, she had a look in her eye that she wanted to make physical contact. The only kind contact he had made was when he rescued Juno and carried her to the ship. Otherwise, any other contact would most likely result in pain. It…always did. He wanted to just blast her off in space, but he was in a different setting, different world, and culture. He was in disguise! This would be less fun than he was used to. It was such an impulse to get rid of nuisances!
"Oh," she chortled, "so you're not a bounty hunter?" she inquired of him.
She seemed even more interested than fearful, than the apprentice was used to dealing with. A red lightsaber blade usually made people flee, shoot, or run and scream. He killed them either way. This…woman, whatever she was, another female he had ever seen besides Juno was actually bothering him. That was very unusual. It was how she was going about it.
"You're very resistant. I like that in my boys," she stated to him. That seemed to be her mindset. He was guilty of being too attractive for her apparently…somehow. He had no interest or appeal for alien women. Why was he even thinking about this? He had things to do!
Galen intolerably stepped towards her and she backed up in slight alarm, throwing her arms out in front of her. He was not pleased with her attempt to hit on him.
"Hey, what are you doing with that? So you want your space, I get it, even though that's unlike the male species," she acknowledged in disappointment and curiosity. "It's not nice to be angry for unseen things," she tried to convince him in her sly voice.
"I not only want my space, I want information about a suspected Jedi that owns a Nexu around here," he wittingly seized from the situation and scene. His voice was hard and low. He was fighting impulsive emotions to be happy, attracted to the sexy zeltron, and lively. It had to be some kind of mind-trick. How so? She was no force-user like he. It made him crawl with intolerance.
"Oh so you're half and half. I get it. You mean IS (Ih-ss)," the zeltron corrected him. She folded her light red arms again. She became casual. "You'll never find her. She knows the best places to hide in this slag of the city. I would suggest you start looking for her in the underground holding cells for the arena beasts. You might find someone there who's willing to point you in her general direction. Just don't expect her to accept your seeking intentions. She will castrate you without so much as second thought. The zeltron smirked.
The young apprentice backed away from her further. He was feeling uneasy with fighting these positive emotions that prodded his conscious mind even more persistently for no comprehensible reason. "Where is it?" he snapped.
The zeltron female only grinned at the young apprentice and he reversed his grip immediately on his saber. He sank into his knees, exhaling. This individual was not going to just let him go. He had made a mistake by drawing his lightsaber on her. He should have just kept walking.