When the party docked, Atton took a deep breath through the nose. Ah, the beautiful stench of decay and desperate living. The city was noisy, bright, crowded…the buildings cramped together and stretching up to the thin atmosphere above. Closest thing to home he'd known for most of his life.

He turned to the other five and swept a hand grandly over the docks. "Here we are. The Smuggler's Moon. Mandalorians, mercenaries, war veterans, and pilots from the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War ended up here from all sides of the conflict."

Mandalore, watching him alertly, nodded. "Too many Mandalorians were scattered after the War. Without purpose and without direction, most became little more than raiders."

His voice was heavy, and no one said anything for a moment, though the silence was broken by someone staggering by slurring about missing components. Atton watched with amusement and then continued. "It's a rough place and easy to get lost in, or for someone to get lost. If we wanted to keep out of sight from the Sith for a while, you couldn't pick a better spot."
"This moon," Kreia said quietly, "it teems with life. It is difficult to center oneself."

Standing next to her, the hooded woman spoke up. "Never have I been to a place so alive with the Force, yet so dead to it. The contrast is like a blade."

Avery looked at her curiously. When the woman had recovered, she was utterly submissive and firmly reticent. Her name was Visas, Avery was now her master, and she'd seen this coming. That was all she'd explain. Avery heard Visas' signal loud and clear though the Force, however- she would not attack again.

"So where we going, Kess?" Atton asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"If Zez-Kai Ell is here, I want to find him."

Kreia's head turned. "Finding a Jedi or anyone else touched by the Force here will be difficult. The mass of people, the rush of their emotions…makes it difficult."

"Well, if we're going to search a moon of a few billion inhabitants for one Jedi that even our own can't sense, we might as well start as soon as possible."

Avery grinned at the scoundrel's sarcasm, but as they began to walk into the city, a toydarian flew straight towards them in a rage. "You! You there! What's with you, letting that piece of junk sink its struts into my landing pad?"

Atton let out an unintelligible sound of dread along the lines of, "Eeeuuhhh…" as the toydarian began a violent rant about the territory of his landing pad. Avery, however, felt a charge in her frail connection- a charge that hummed with the possibility of control.

As the alien continued flapping his wings in agitation, Avery inclined her head ever so slightly to Atton and said out of the corner of her mouth, "May I use a little Jedi trick to get us out of this mess?"

Atton considered for a moment, which caused the toydarian's voice to rise, thinking he had a sympathetic listener. After a moment, he nodded once.

Avery took a step toward the alien, and Atton saw a gradual shift in her appearance. Her eyes grow wide and dewy, her hair shining and luminous around her head, and her voice was sweet and gentle as she made a graceful arching motion with one white hand. "I think," she said quietly, "this spot will be just fine for our ship."

The scoundrel watched the alien's head begin a sluggish tilt clockwise, and finally he nodded in slow motion. "Mmhmm. Right. This spot is just fine. No problem."

"And we can stay here as long as we like."

"Hey, the spot's up for you for as long as you like, folks," the toydarian garbled. "You have a nice time."

She smiled her thanks, and the party set off.

"Now, normally I'd be livid, but that was pretty handy," the scoundrel remarked.

"I haven't done that in a long time. It felt pretty good, I have to admit." At the expression on her face, she backtracked. "I mean, not like I'm gonna start waving my hand around at everybody telling them what to do. It's more that I'm so glad to be using the Force again. Almost like a normal Jedi."

It looked as though Atton accepted this answer, so Avery was able to relax. She wondered if he'd ever tell her about his past: how he knew so much about the Force, why he despised everything that made up a Jedi, and why he was so firmly against all of it. She'd never pry, but there was so much under the surface, she'd never know half of who he really was at this pace.

Navigating through the dense streets, Avery was far too aware of her surroundings, and it was giving her a vicious headache. She was shuffling along beside a blessedly quiet Visas, when Kreia's voice cut into her mind.

Your thoughts are disturbed. I can feel them, like a shiver running through you.

I just…feel this background noise, a vibration in the air. Like a hunger. She frowned to herself as she stumbled over her description.

This is Nar Shaddaa, the true Nar Shaddaa, that you feel around you. Just the location, with the currents of the Force laid bare. I'm surprised you can feel it. I feared the damage to you had deadened you to such perceptions.

Avery felt relief warm the pit of her stomach. She might be able to heal back to what she was.

What you feel is the echo of the minds of these creatures within the Force.

Could you teach me to control this? Avery's thoughts became rushed in her excitement. Could I sense others' thoughts and feelings through the Force?

Later, perhaps. But not now- the concentration would be impossible in this city.

Was there anywhere Avery could go without being actively hunted? Men and women in the slums, bedraggled and frightened, whispered in passing about someone named Goto, how the bounty on her head was outstanding, how all hope would be lost for her, because Goto was far too powerful. Unfortunately, no matter how they were pressed, they either couldn't or wouldn't give up any information on him.

One managed only a name- Vogga. Vogga despised Goto, and although an audience with the Hutt was impossible to come by, Vogga would relay any and all information about the Exchange leader if prompted. Zez-Kai Ell was connected with Goto somehow: Avery sensed it. If she could get to Goto, she'd find Zez-Kai Ell on the way.

"But how are we supposed to get an audience with him? You can hardly just walk up and tap him on the shoulder." Mandalore was too realistic not to be discouraging.

Visas and Kreia were clearly worn out by the atmosphere of the city, and neither spoke while Bao Dur, Atton, Avery and Mandalore tried to create a plan. Force-sensitives were clearly subdued here. If the Exile had been more healthy in the Force, no doubt she'd be exhausted as well.

"Right," Bao Dur agreed. "There must be a less direct way we can get inside. Simply requesting an audience wouldn't work."

"I vote we spilt up," Mandalore stated. "Talk to people in various sectors, see what connections we can make with Vogga. We'll meet back at the docks when it's dark, and if someone finds a lead they can just call."

Though a shaky plan, it was the only one that would even halfway work, so Bao Dur and Mandalore headed toward the higher-class sections, while Avery stopped Atton. She could sense a connection faintly, in an odd-looking bar, but she didn't know the name or location. When she described the room, however, Atton grinned and promptly walked south. Avery told Visas and Kreia to rest for a while and took off to catch up with him. She knew he'd be familiar with the place.

This cantina was wilder than any Avery had ever been in. It was dark, smoky, and packed. The thrum of the beats from each song vibrated along the ground, and all sorts of species were on the large dance floor, levels of skill falling anywhere between couples smoothly grinding to the beat to flailing limbs and wild wiggling. Along the walls were intense matches of pazaak (luckily, with clothing on) and a few patrons were simply walking around dead drunk.

A blue Twi'lek male was shouting at a couple of scantily-dressed women, and after a long moment of venting, he shooed them away. Since the women left in various stages of tears, Avery walked up and demanded to know what the problem was.

He spoke rapidly in his own tongue. "My Master, Vogga the Hutt, is searching for new entertainment. He grew tired of his previous girls, and asked that I should find a dancer to perform for him. As you can see, I haven't found much. Vogga will be furious if I cannot find new entertainment for him. Then again," he said more slowly, eyeing Avery, "perhaps my luck is changing. Look at what fate has brought me!"

Atton nodded knowingly, but Avery looked utterly confused.

"You yourself are quite a specimen," the Twi'lek remarked as he circled the Exile. "You'd do just fine. Perhaps you'd like to work as one of Vogga's dancers?"

Avery was shaking her head when Atton elbowed her lightly. "And who else would you recommend, Kess?" he whispered in her ear. "Besides you, we have a girl who'd never take her hood off and an old woman. Not exactly a great variety of seductive young women." When she slumped in defeat, he added, "Besides, you're so gorgeous you won't need to worry about the dancing part much."

Now Avery elbowed Atton instead, but it was much less gentle. Her posture became rigid, and she turned to the Twi'lek again. "I'll do it. I'll just…need a couple of hours to prepare."

He nodded, and the pair walked off. The Exile looked around the cantina in dismay. How would she learn to look like one of those dancers in such a small amount of time?

"I can teach you," Atton said calmly, as if he read her thoughts. "I've had my, er, experiences with good dancers."

Avery grinned, picturing Atton working his hips all saucily like the Twi'leks onstage. "Okay, teach me. As long as I get to laugh."

"There won't be any opportunity for that. I have a different method in mind."

She was instantly suspicious, but she grew still as he walked up to her and began to slowly pull her robe off her shoulders. His eyes never left hers until the fabric was in his hands and he threw it over a chair. "Come on."

"W-where-"

He led her into the dense crowd of dancers. There was a primal song playing with a slow, intense beat, and as Atton found a spot, he wrapped an arm around her hips and pulled her firmly against him. Instantly, she stiffened, so he let up a bit. "You're gonna have to get comfortable with this. You need to move with the beat of the song, and don't focus on what other people are doing. Move with me."

He rolled his hips up against her, but she was still resisting. His palm went flat against the small of her back, and he pushed her in. "Come on, Kess. We don't have much time. You want to talk to Vogga don't you? Move with me. Do that Force stuff if you have to, and connect with the rhythm. Otherwise we won't get an audience."

He felt her sigh, and finally she managed a little shift with her waist when he moved against her. "I'm not comfortable with this," she hissed.

"Obviously. You know what else you won't be comfortable with? Dancing around half-naked in front of a fat Hutt. If you think it's bad now, with me, you're screwed in there. Now move your hips against me in as smooth a motion as you can. Bend your back a bit too."

The move felt too taut, but it was better than nothing. On the second beat, however, her body slid against his with just the right amount of friction, and he gripped her hips in encouragement. He pulled her up so she flowed in with him, and his hands guided her waist into a smooth rotation as she came back. She was looking down at the floor, so concentrated she hardly seemed aware of her surroundings, and shifted up against him again. He groaned a little on an exhale. "That's it, Kess. Now just pay attention to the music and me- use those same moves, but use them based on the rhythm, not because you're telling your muscles to."

Avery's breaths were coming in hard and steady. Impatient and fast by nature, she was built for reflex and quick movements, not these slow waves of muscles. She focused on making her body flow as much as possible, but it was difficult to concentrate. Though she'd never admit it, Atton felt…good. He was warm and strong and his hands shifting on her body were a sure guide for how and when to move. He had hold of one of her upper thighs, and he brought one of his legs between both of hers so that when she slid up, it was against the cloth of his pants. As they got closer, more comfortable with the feel of each other, Avery lost herself in the sound. She moved just like Atton said: based on the music and his body, not based on her own.

When she finally sank into him, her forehead dropped to the top of his shoulder, and she was grinding against him with an easy rhythm. Atton let out another strangled sound in the back of his throat. He'd been with countless professional, sexy dancers in his lifetime, but he'd never felt this hot and heavy with one, even in the bedroom without the restriction of this hateful clothing Avery had on. He leaned his head against hers, his hands moved up to grip around her hipbones, and he drove into her.

Avery's senses were overwhelmed. Nar Shaddaa was laid bare again, and she could feel each current of desire, the uninhibited thrum of heat and swift heartbeats and Atton's craving, moving her body. As his hands wandered up beneath her shirt and his fingertips brushed her skin, she felt tiny stirrings of the Dark side in her. This was pure lust, powerful and unchecked. She'd never experienced anything even close to this in the Academy. Sure, there were moments when she'd have a stray wish for a man to touch her, but she was taught to suppress that. There is no emotion, she was told. Now, someone very masculine was breathing hard in her ear, his muscles clenching against her, his hands trailing along her bare spine. Even if she didn't have the Force again, she could feel how much he wanted her- the ache practically came out of his skin.

The slow burn in her blood was becoming too hot. Thoughts, vivid scenes with Atton blurring the lines between pain and pleasure for her were flitting around in her head. This was dangerous.

She backed up, but Atton reached for her to pull her back again, so she had to scoop up her robe and leave the floor entirely to avoid the temptation to return to that warm, dark place. As she headed toward a quiet corner of the cantina, the haze around her broke, and she was able to think clearly again. Of course, Atton was right on her heels, so she held her hands up when he came close- perilously close- and said firmly, "I think I've got it now."

"But we were having such a good time," he said quietly. "Don't you want to go back with me? Pick up where we left off, and try it all again later in a quieter setting…"

Her breath caught, but she shook her head. "No. I've got it."

"I'd pull out all the stops. Flower petals, candlelight, as expensive a room as you want. I'd tell you all sorts of stuff you'd like to hear, like how great you are, be all tender and careful." He was joking, but behind the light tone there was a sort of buried truth. His face was grave as they watched her. "You could let it happen. It's fun." A pause. "Uh, 'dancing' with me, that is."

"Dancing sounds expensive," Avery teased.

"Not normally. Dancing with you would be a pretty big deal though."

Avery just shrugged, too warm and too uncomfortable with Atton's hazel-brown eyes trained on her to have this sort of conversation. He didn't speak for a long moment. Then his head tilted slightly, and his voice dipped. "It would be amazing, you know. If we did. You have no idea."

Now she was truly too warm for this. She took a deep, steadying breath, managed a small smile, and told him, "If we did. But we can't. Not unless I want to reverse all the damage I sustained in the War. These lines may work on all the other women in the city, but I'm not the same as them. Can we go back to get the information out of Vogga now?"

Atton would have protested, but he was already cursing himself for pushing her too much, so he simply stepped back and waited for her to walk. He had to keep in control, or he'd lose her faster than a bet at a pod race. And unless he got a grip on himself and something changed, he was beginning to realize that he couldn't lose her now.

They'd managed to notify Mandalore and Bao Dur, who were headed to the location as quickly as possible. The Twi'lek ushered her into the changing room and shoved some odd scraps at her before slamming the door. The Exile looked down at the rags and almost shrieked. Oh space no. Oh no.

It was practically silly to categorize what she was wearing as clothes. She might as well have walked out naked for all the good the "outfit" did her. It took her way too long to figure out where everything was supposed to be, and the results were terrifying. Her heart was fluttering. She'd take a lightsaber battle against ten Sith over this any day.

This had better be worth it. If I don't get confirmation of Zez-Kai, a load of information about Goto, and the specifics of the bounty on my head, I'm stabbing someone. That's it.

When Avery walked out to the waiting room, Atton just managed to brace himself at the bar before his knees completely gave out. Holy shit. Gold chains made a halter around her neck for a skimpy red and gold bra- barely there really- that cut off so her entire flat stomach was bare. Low-slung on her hips was a red triangle of fabric that only covered what it absolutely needed to, and Atton, of course, helplessly imagined peeling it off her with his teeth. His mouth went dry. As if he didn't have dreams in graphic detail about her already. This was torture.

She was flushed, holding her hands stiffly at her sides. It took a great deal of effort not to cover up and run screaming out of the room. Going from long robes to this was past jarring.

The Twi'lek recruiter was already scrambling around her, putting chains in her hair, smearing something red on her lips, telling her to go through the routine again to make sure it was right. You must not be stiff, he kept saying. You must be relaxed.

Avery looked pleadingly at Atton, who was still clutching the bar for dear life, and at the expression on her face he forced a smile at her. "You gonna be able to do this?"

"I've practiced a lot," she tried to say flippantly, but it came out as more of a squeak.

"Didn't ask if you've practiced. I asked if you're gonna be able to do it."

"I have to regardless."

He chuckled. "That's as good an answer as I'll get, I guess. Just remember how it was when we practiced. I'll be out there with you in case a fight breaks out. You won't be much help in that."

Before she could muster up a reply, the Twi'lek was pushing her out. She had a few precious seconds to focus, pull the energy from Nar Shaddaa into her, as Atton and the Twi'lek passed her so the domo could introduce her to Vogga. Now just pay attention to the music and me- use those same moves, but use them based on the rhythm, not because you're telling your muscles to.

As a beat started in the room, Avery was brought back to the dark, crowded floor. She experimented a bit with her movements as the Twi'lek's praise of her looks rang out, reliving the sensation of the Dark, slightly painful ache she'd felt only a while before. At last, the alien motioned toward her, and she walked in.

Atton had a profile view as Avery's arms rose, eyes shut, and her hips began to sway with the music. They swung side to side, then shifted to a slow roll up, dipping back down at the next beat. He was rapidly forgetting all those restraints he'd set up for himself for pushing her too far, and by the time she flipped her hair and spun for a back view, the worry of his pace with her was out of his mind entirely. Atton had never wanted a woman this badly in his life. It was overpowering. This bullheaded Jedi girl was so determined to get to her Jedi Master, she was dancing half-naked for a fat Hutt, but Atton wondered if it was just fate tormenting him with what he couldn't have.

When the song ended, Vogga expressed his pleasure and dismissed her. All she had to do now was get this ridiculous thing off and go back in to speak with him.

Avery rushed into the empty changing room, relieved to be done. But as she reached behind her neck to start undressing, she realized the room wasn't empty after all. Atton was waiting.

In three long strides, he'd covered the distance across and pushed her against the wall. Before she could draw a breath to figure out what he was doing, he'd made a low sound in his throat and his mouth crushed against hers. One hand rose to cradle her neck, one fell to her hip to pull her lower body against him, so by the time she'd recovered, there was nowhere for her to go.

He was grinding against her again, just like in the cantina, but his hips moved into her roughly now, insistent and demanding. Overloaded with the sensation, Atton's dominating handling of her body, and the currents of impulse from the planet itself, Avery was trembling, clutching at him. As he sucked at her bottom lip, a tiny sound escaped her, and one of his hands slid down to that red triangle covering her lower body. Atton leaned down and bit her throat as a finger brushed over the fabric between her legs.

He cupped his hands beneath her and lifted up, shifting her onto the dresser. As his mouth covered hers again, he realized he couldn't take the time he wanted to, be gentle and careful with her. From Peragus to the cantina to watching her dance, he simply had to take her now, fast and violent and hard. Lifting his head, his palms pushed against her, his fingers hooked into the back of that little red triangle, ready to rip it down and take her.

One minute he was in the midst of superb foreplay with an almost-naked and fully willing Exile, the next the back of his head was slammed against the far wall. She'd Force-pushed him off, and now she looked truly angry.

"I told you to stop."

Oh, shit. He hadn't even heard her. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to-"

"Don't ever do that again. I'm not some cheap dancer you can paw at whenever you want-"

"I know you're not, believe me, I never-"

"I'm a Jedi, and we can't do that kind of thing, it leads to-"

"I know but do you have any idea how bad it's been?" He halted when she drew back a little. "Avery, you were grinding against me for about an hour, then you show up wearing…" He helplessly gestured toward her bare body. "Then you dance like that right in front of me and you really think I'm not going out of my mind from wanting you? You have no idea how hard it's been not to touch you for all these weeks. Today it just seemed like you'd let me."

"Well, clearly I wouldn't. Don't do that again."

There was an odd light in his eyes, almost as if someone else was trying to claw their way out of him. He gritted his teeth, his hands clenched into fists, and jerked his head away from her. "I won't. I just thought...I'm…I'm sorry."

Without a backward glance, he left the room.

Avery, angry at herself as well as Atton, pulled off the scrap covering her lower body, noting the dampness and then viciously Pushing them across the room to land in the trash. She was supposed to be a Jedi, removed and calm. Not hot and achy because of what Atton did. She couldn't lose the Force again.

She just couldn't.

Fuck. I thought I had him suppressed. I was actually thinking about forcing her to…no. That's not me anymore. That's him.

Atton was standing outside of a tiny cantina near Vogga's place, wrestling with going in and drinking himself into unconsciousness. He'd felt that evil rise up in him again, the violent and dominating part he could have sworn he had in check, and it had been around Avery.

I can never touch her again, he thought, panicking even as he told himself that. No. I can't. She doesn't want me to, and I could have…I could have…

After a few seconds he spent in horror, he looked up to see Mandalore and Bao Dur approaching. Avery was still inside, likely discussing heavy stuff with the jaded Hutt, so the three boys walked inside to have a stiff drink. With the other two there to take his mind off of what could have happened, Atton managed to regain himself again. It was a temporary fix, yes, but it was better than passing out and being dragged to the slums by a bouncer.

Even as he recovered, a voice in the back of his head was telling him that this was a pivotal point. She had to know about it, all of it, soon, and something had to be done. The Exile had to help him. He had to find a way to change.