Chapter 6: Downtime

Luccii stared at the screen in shock, and then looked between Gault and the screen several times. "You're kidding me, right?" she asked with wide eyes. Gault just grinned smugly.

"Lulu, you know by now I never kid about money."

"But... that... that's almost three times what they hired us for." Luccii looked back at the numbers on the screen. "Where did those little jawas even come up with that much money?"

"You remember those other mandalorian bandits, right, Lulu?" Gault questioned and she nodded. There were at least five goons with Kreegan Ramar that attacked out of nowhere. Nearly killed her, too, until Torian took them out for her. "They each had full sets of top-grade mandalorian iron armor." Gault informed her. "That's expensive stuff right there. Torian almost hauled it all back but there wouldn't have been enough room on the speeder to get it all. So we struck up a deal with the little jawas to buy it from us so we wouldn't have to transport it."

"Clever." Luccii hummed thoughtfully. "Didn't know beskar was so expensive though..."

"Only mandos know how to make it." Torian's voice came as he entered the galley, wearing loose gray lounge pants and a tight black tank top. Luccii blushed lightly at his attire, memories of that night on Tatooine flashing through her head. "Outsiders rarely get their hands on it. They'll pay a lot for some high quality beskar."

"Still, this much money?" Luccii once more looked at the numbers. "We won't have to take another bounty for a while with what they gave us."

"Looks about right to me." Torian said, leaning over her shoulder to look at how much money the jawas paid them. "Six sets of high quality beskar, plus the cost of the bounty."

"Hey, the way I see it, don't question it." Gault chuckled. "We just got a really nice paycheck. Why worry about it?"

"He's got a point." Mako said as she entered the room. "Your bounty, plus everyone else's smaller bounties. We got paid extremely well on this trip. Nobody's complaining about that."

"True." Luccii hummed. "Still, we're set for a while. What should we do now?"

"Vacation time it is." Gault grinned, and laughed at Luccii's expression. "C'mon Lulu we know you mandos love to hunt, but let's face it. Every one of us, you two included," he pointed at her and Torian, "could really use a break now that we've got a chance."

"You are still healing, Lu." Mako commented. "Blizz is getting homesick, and Skadge won't shut up about seeing his buddies on Coruscant."

"What about you, Mako? Got somewhere you wanna go?" Luccii asked.

"Nowhere in particular. But I could use some time to just kick back and relax. Might head to Alderaan for one of their spas."

"I'm with you there, sister." Gault agreed to that. "Might hit up a beach on Rishi. Heard they have some decent cantinas there, too."

"Surely there's somewhere you want to go, Lu. Any family you might want to visit?" Mako asked with a smile. Luccii just sighed and shook her head.

"I'm not allowed home, anymore. Why else do you think I'm a wanderer? Echani tend to stay on Eshan." she told them nonchalantly. Gault and Mako raised an eyebrow at this, and even Torian seemed interested. He'd never thought to ask why Luccii had left her home planet to begin with. Luccii rolled her eyes at their curious glances. "Long story short, I did some things and ended up being told that if I ever returned I would be killed on sight."

"Did ya kill someone you weren't supposed to, Lulu?" Gault questioned with a smirk.

"Ha. If that's all I did then I'd still be home. Probably in jail, but still home." Luccii rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't wanna talk about it."

"Gault, leave her alone." Mako swatted at the devaronian when he opened his mouth again. He shut it with a sigh.

"Alright, alright. We've all got our pasts. Let's leave them there, in the past." he conceded. "And now for the present and near future... let's focus on this vacation of ours..."

"Never seen the ship so quiet." Torian commented as he came up behind Luccii. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a few kisses to her neck. She giggled softly and leaned back against him.

"I know. It's... weird." she smiled up at him. They'd just finished letting everyone off at the fleet, and now they were several parasecs away, heading for a planet of Torian's choosing. Luccii didn't even know where they were going yet; he'd simply plugged in some coordinates into the computer and turned on the autopilot. "So where are we headed, Torian?"

"Nar Shadaa." he hummed as he sat down in the captain's chair, pulling her down with him. She smiled as she landed on his lap, only to have her lips captured by his.

"Why Nar Shadaa, of all places?" Luccii tilted her head at him after the kiss.

"Why not?" he grinned back at her. "Way I see it, we can do whatever we want there. If you wanna relax, we can just relax. If you wanna gamble, you can. If you wanna stay busy we can always take down a few gangs while we're there."

"Hm, good point." Luccii grinned at him. How did he know she wasn't going to be happy just staying still and 'relaxing' at a plushy hotel? Probably because he felt the same. It would be a nice change of pace for a day or two, but then they'd both be itching for some action. They were mandalorians, after all. "Alright. I look forward to this vacation now."

"Not much has changed." Torian commented as he and Luccii maneuvered their way through the crowded marketplace. Luccii just nodded in agreement. This planet was still as overpopulated and crowded as ever. And, from the shady characters she saw lurking in the shadows, it was still just as dangerous.

"Where, exactly, are we going?" Luccii asked as she followed Torian through the marketplace.

"Found a bounty. Going to speak with a client." he grinned back at her.

"Did you read my mind?" she laughed lightly. She was honestly about to suggest taking a bounty anyways. They'd been planetside for a day and she was already restless, even though Torian had kept her quite thoroughly occupied for most of those two days...

"It's what I do." Torian gave a light chuckle. Luccii just smiled up at him and they returned to a peaceful silence, unaware of the pair of bright blue eyes watching their every move from the shadows.

That hair... her face... her smile... She was the spitting image of Leisa, right down to her button nose and the way she laughed. But her eyes... oh, her eyes... they were his eyes. His eyes!

He had been relaxing, for once in his life, and he'd decided to take a walk through the market. He did enjoy people watching, and there was certainly an abundance of people on Nar Shadaa. A familiar feminine laugh had filled his ears and alerted him to her presence. He spotted her instantly, her pure white hair standing out in all the dark colors of the marketplace. And then he saw her face, and her eyes, and he knew exactly who she was.

She was with a man, and they were both decked out in heavy armor. She was armed from head to toe, missiles and grenades hanging all over her, two blasters in holsters at her hips. The man was equally armed, if not more so, and he carried two blasters, a sniper, and a vibroblade. They were acting very friendly towards one another, smiling and laughing as they moved through the crowds, which parted for them once the civilians saw all their weapons.

Mandalorians. She was hanging out with mandalorians. From the crest on her shoulder, she was one of them. That was a twist he'd not expected. Mandalorians typically did not associate with Echani, but she seemed to be the exception. Then he spotted the other crest on her armor. It was a clan crest, and it matched the man's crest perfectly. She was married... if not, engaged for sure.

He watched them, watched every move they made. He could barely make out their words. They were talking about a bounty, and the man was leading them to a closed shop in the market. He couldn't help himself. He followed them, sticking to the shadows and using the crowds to hide in. They seemed unaware of his presence, which was good. He even managed to get close enough to hear them talking.

"So who's the client?" the female mandalorian asked her companion.

"An Evocii." he responded as he led her into the closed shop. "Said some gang's been terrorizing his shop. Wants us to take out the leader."

"The payment?" she questioned.

"Shopkeeper says the gang has a stash of raided credits and valuables. Said we can help ourselves to it." the mandalorian man answered her.

He followed them as silently as possible as they made their way to the shop keeper, who was halfway hiding behind his counter at the sight of two mandalorians approaching. "Hey, take it easy, pal." the female said to the shopkeeper. "We're here about that bounty you put out."

"Oh thank the stars." the evocii sighed in relief, coming out from behind the counter. "I was starting to think nobody would help me."

"Tell us who we're after." the male mandalorian said now.

"Ah, yes, um well it's the Krayt Dragon gang." the shopkeeper told him. "They come in here every week demanding protection money, and then they take almost everything I have for sale. They're ruining me. I can't feed my family like this. I-I just need you to make them stop. I know where their leader likes to hang out."

He watched as they talked about the bounty for a while. Finally the two mandalorians left. He hid around the corner and watched them leave, talking about how easy this bounty was going to be. Easy? Did they not know who the Krayt gang was? She was going to get killed, he just knew it. That's it, he's definitely going to follow them now.

"You okay?" Torian questioned as Luccii suddenly stopped and looked around.

"Feel like someone's watching me." she mumbled, turning back to him when she saw no sign of life near them.

"Feel dangerous?" Torian asked quietly. He'd felt the eyes on them, too, but whoever was watching them wasn't attacking, even though now would be a prime opportunity. He figured they weren't hostile, but he was keeping his guard up.

"No... but its unsettling." she sighed. She shook her head and put her helmet on. "Whatever, let them watch. We're almost to Krayt territory. I almost feel bad for these thugs."

"That shopkeeper hired the right mandos for the job." Torian chuckled, putting his own helmet on. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a light headbutt. "Good choice for a vacation?" his voice held a smile in it, and Luccii smiled back behind her helmet.

"Perfect choice." she told him before gently pulling out of his arms. "So perfect, I think I should reward you."

"Don't tease me, c'yare." Torians voice was a low rumble, and it sent a pleasant chill up her spine.

"Not teasing. It's a promise." she assured him. "For later."

"Then let's hurry this up. I want to have you to myself as soon as possible." his voice was amused, but it held a fiery promise that made her legs feel weak. She didn't respond, merely pulled out her blasters and motioned her head in the direction of Krayt territory.

"Let's hunt."

So they were married. Or at the very least lovers. He watched the young woman as her companion pulled her into his arms and gave her an affectionate headbutt. He'd seen other mandalorians do this with their spouses, it was like kissing but with helmets on. He watched the way she relaxed in the man's hold, and he heard her teasing promise. Definitely lovers, if nothing else.

He was surprised that she could sense him. He was an expert at stealth, after all, and while he knew she couldn't physically see him, he was still surprised that she sensed him. Maybe she took after him more than he thought.

They were entering Krayt territory now. It didn't take long for the gang to notice the pair of intruders and swarm. He almost went out there to help them, but he stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. The pair moved in unison, taking down foe after foe. He watched them with awe, they moved so fluidly through the swarm of thugs. Her companion pulled her out of the way of a blade and she went with the motions easily, attacking a foe in front of her companion as she herself was pulled out of harms way. The male mandolorian had more strength, so he focused more on the enemies up close, while the female easily shot down enemies at mid range. They worked so perfectly together, and it was obvious that they had years of experience in battle together.

It was almost artistic. You could put classical music to the scene and it would bring a tear to your eye. He could do nothing but watch the couple fight their way through Krayt territory with ease, leaving piles of unconscious and dead men as they moved.

And then everything went silent, and the two Mandalorians were left standing alone in a room full of bodies. Not a speck of blood on their armor, not a single injury to show. They didn't even take a moment to pause before they continued further into the gang's territory.

So that's what they meant when they said it would be an easy paycheck.

"Not bad, not bad." Luccii hummed to herself as she went through the stash. There were a bunch of credit chips and jewelry in the chest they'd found. Plus a nice new pair of blasters, and some interesting baubles. Definitely worth the work to get here. "Think we've crippled them enough to make them stop terrorizing shops for a while?"

"More than enough." Torian nodded as Luccii stood up. She pocketed half the credit chips, handing Torian his own half with a smile.

"Easy jobs are so boring, but I guess this is better than just staying at the hotel." she hummed, smiling when Torian gave her a heated look.

"And what if I want to stay there for the rest of the trip, cyar'ika?" he grinned, slowly approaching her. He backed her up against the wall and grinned down at her.

"Well, depending on what we're going to do there, I might not oppose." she smiled slyly at him. She was rewarded with a hungry kiss from her mando lover as he pressed her against the wall. She tensed slightly when she felt that presence from before. Her slight tension alerted Torian to the presence, as well. Without having to say a word, they both reached for the other's blaster. Torians hands moved from her rear up to her blaster, easily pulling it from its holster at the same time as she did with his. They both aimed the guns at the shadows, where they knew someone was hiding.

"Come out. Now." Luccii demanded, breaking her kiss with Torian to speak. "I know you're there. Show yourself."

"Now, now, no need for violence." a man's voice came from the shadows, but he didn't show himself.

"There will be violence if you don't show yourself. Right now." Luccii threatened, cocking Torian's blaster with her thumb. "I do not play games."

"Alright. Just... put the weapons down. I mean no harm." The voice came again. Luccii glared at the shadows a moment before disarming the blaster and putting it back in Torian's holster. Torian did the same with hers and they both turned to face the shadowed area where the voice was coming from. They watched intently as a man in black robes came out of the shadows. He was tall and the robes did little to hide his muscular form. He was older, perhaps in his late forties or early fifties, and his black hair had some gray to it. But it was his eyes that caught Luccii's attention. They were the same eyes she saw every day when she looked in a mirror. They were her eyes.

"Those eyes..." Luccii said in awe as she locked eyes with the stranger. Bright blue eyes, the color of Alderaan's sky, the same exact shade and shape as her eyes.

"Yes. I noticed yours, as well." the man said with a surprisingly gentle smile. "My name is Elileo. I... do you know someone named Leisa?"

"Leisa?" Luccii's eyes went wide. "That's... my mother's name." The man's eyes turned soft as he looked at her now.

"You look just like her." his voice cracked lightly and Luccii could tell he was getting emotional. "I... do you know who I am? Has she ever mentioned me before?" Luccii just shook her head, standing closer to Torian. She was... uncomfortable. She didn't know if she wanted to know how this man knew her mother. She had the feeling she already knew. "I, er well... you see..." the man trailed off and scratched his head. He looked just as uncomfortable as she did. "I believe you are my... daughter."

What's this? Luccii has a father? Or does she? Muahaha, you'll have to wait to find out.

Sorry this chapter was a little bit... jumpy. Unorganized, maybe.

Anyways, thanks for reading. Tell me what you think. We will be going into Luccii's past here in the next few chapters.

No new mando'a for this chapter.

Thanks! -Zora