"So, you gonna be a Jedi?"
Scourge scowled at Ashara. Kahlei had to give the girl some credit; she didn't even flinch. Not that her question had been the smartest, though. You just didn't ask a hulking Sith Lord like Scourge if they wanted to be a Jedi. And if you did, it certainly wasn't as blunt as Ashara had. "I would die before becoming Jedi scum."
"Hey, we Jedi aren't scum."
He just shrugged.
Ashara turned to Kahlei. "Real nice guy, your Sith friend."
She nearly choked on a seed of the fruit she was eating, laughing. "Yeah, charming, isn't he?" Her comment received a giggle from Ashara and the narrowing of Scourge's eyes. He didn't seem to care very much that he was currently being spoken about as if he weren't there.
"So, what's the plan, boss?" Ashara asked, giving Kahlei a mock salute.
"Uh, we could disguise ourselves as ordinary civilians and ask around about Wrath."
"That's a terrible plan. Clearly you haven't thought this through," Scourge said.
"Huh, I thought you were keen on plans that involved dress up."
"No, you were the one who posed as sith, but I did not. I am Sith," he stated. "If you care about Coruscant, I suggest you try a much more subtle approach. If you do something as blunt as that, Wrath will know what we plan and will most likely use her weapon."
"And your plan is?" As sarcastic as she sounded, she did value his opinion, and instantly regretted the hostile tone she'd taken.
"Instead of asking for Wrath herself, perhaps you could ask about someone close to her. Someone that would have accompanied Wrath as she met with the mercenary."
Scourge was wrong; she had put thought into this. And she did agree that her plan was awful. It wasn't that she hadn't considered something more like this. She had. But it wouldn't work since they knew so little about Wrath. Apart from her 'blazing in like a rancor in a china shop' plan, there really wasn't anything they could do. Perhaps if they'd known more they could-
"Hmm, think I know something," Ashara chirped in, with a mouthful of toast, "She has this twi'lek that follows her around everywhere."
She frowned. "You've met Wrath?"
"Well, not really. I've just seen her talking to Nox a few times."
"Do we have a name?" Scourge asked.
Ashara played with a Leku whilst she thought. "Um, I think she called her Velle. Wait... hm, might have been Vette?"
"Which is it, whelp?"
"Um, pretty sure it's Vette."
"I still think we should all dress casually," Kahlei said. "Two Jedi and a Sith asking for information on someone so close to Wrath? That's just going to draw attention to ourselves. I mean, if you were spying for Wrath, you'd be more worried about three force users than three civilians."
"I wouldn't pass for a civilian."
Scourge had a point. It was extremely rare to find a pure blooded sith who wasn't force sensitive, so he would only raise suspicion. Even if he wore the plainest, most casual clothing in the galaxy, he wouldn't pass for an unremarkable nobody.
Leaving Scourge on the ship, Kahlei and Ashara set off to some of Nar Shaddaa's best known cantinas. Nar Shaddaa was easily one of her least favourite locations. Although out of Hoth, Tatooine and the now toxic Makeb, this was probably the best. It was so hard to shut out everything that she could feel through the force; it was just a constant distraction. Nor was what she could sense very pleasant. Through the force, the moon was a tide of emotions. She was drowned in the anger, despair, grief and jealousy that the people radiated. There was so much pain, so much there was little she could do to stop it. Crime flourished, here and poisoned any hopes of a peaceful existence.
Watching Ashara's expression, she suspected the Togruta felt the same. Having said that, Kahlei imagined that after watching Nox's antics, the padawan was more resilient to the impact of suffering.
"So, Wrath wants Scourge, right?" She nodded in response to Ashara, who then continued, "Why'd you give everything up for someone like him, then?"
"What do you mean?"
"He's rude, unfriendly and moody all the time."
"He just doesn't like Jedi."
"But you're a Jedi, too, like me."
She shrugged. "Just give him a chance."
"Fine, fine. I'll try."
Garbed in their plain civilian clothes, they visited numerous cantinas. However, it seemed that none of the workers or regulars had paid much attention to Wrath and her twi'lek. Sith weren't all that uncommon; she saw a few in each cantina they went to. She'd been worried that they'd sense something strange about her or that they could have been working for Wrath, but most seemed too busy harassing dancers to notice her. Likewise, twi'lek slaves were far too common.
Ashara and Kahlei were sat at the bar of the fifth cantina they'd been to, waiting for a moment where they could talk to the bartender alone without prying ears. Unfortunately, it seemed he was preoccupied with a male Zabrak bawling his eyes out about some girl who'd left him for a smuggler. There was also a twi'lek and a human guy sat at a pazaak table nearby, but the two men seemed to be out of earshot. In the meantime, they ordered some drinks and chatted to each other. When the Zabrak finally left, then they approached the bartender.
"Hey, you heard anything about a little blue twi'lek round here?"
"A little blue twi'lek? That's like asking if I've seen a Nikto in the Nikto Sector," he laughed. "This twi'lek got a name?"
"Vette."
"Huh. Yeah, might know that one. What d'you want with her?"
"We go way back," Ashara said. "We heard she'd been forced into slavery and we want to help her."
"Go home, give it up. You won't be getting your friend back."
Kahlei folded her arms. "We'll do whatever it takes.
The bar tender just continued to wipe the table with a ratty looking rag, smirking. "Cute, real cute. But you're in way over your heads. You got a death wish? Then yeah, sure, go ask for your friend back."
"Why're we in way over our heads?"
"She's with a Sith."
As she mocked surprise by letting her jaw drop and eyes widen, she heard a voice in the back of her mind lecturing her on how wrong this constant lying was. About how a true Jedi wouldn't have found these lies as easy as she did. Kahlei pushed it away. There was no room for doubt: she had to commit to this. "A Sith? No, no, you must... you must have the wrong twi'lek!"
The man sighed, throwing his cloth down. "Look, girly, I know you don't want to believe it, but she is a slave to a sith. No one in their right minds would mess with a sith, but this one? You don't want to go near her."
"That bad, huh?" Glancing round the room, she'd noticed that displaying a lack of manners was typical behaviour and so, decided to kick her feet up onto the table.
"You don't know the half of it."
Ashara frowned, leaning closer to this man. "They been here recently?"
"Yeah, the other week. Don't tell me you're still thinking about going after your friend?"
Kahlei shrugged. "We've been through some pretty rough stuff."
"Pretty rough stuff? You've obviously never been face to face with a Sith, girly."
Kahlei grinned to herself, thinking how he'd have changed his tune had he known that she had the ex-Wrath back on her ship. Well, he probably didn't know what the 'Emperor's Wrath' meant, but if he did.
"You need to be waving your little twi'lek friend 'bye bye'."
Ashara downed another shot and Kahlei hoped the Togruta would manage to make it back to their ship without needing to be carried. "Nope, not an option. So, you seen those two with anyone else?"
"Maybe. Maybe not." he said, folding his arms. "I'm not talking."
She sighed. Why did people always insist on being this obstinate? "Even after all those credits we just gave you?" Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ashara giving her a raised look. That man had asked for the mind trick.
"You did?" He scratched his head.
Hm, he seemed to have a much stronger will than she'd been expecting.
"We did. Don't you remember seeing the transaction?" Kahlei waved her datapad at him.
"Huh, really? I don't remember. Guess I must have had a few too many to drin-" His eyes flashed open and he glanced at them both with concern. "I- I didn't say that." He leant closer to them and whispered, "Please, don't tell my employers."
"Tell them what?" Kahlei leered. "That you've been stealing booze from them?"
"No, no. Shut up. You can't tell them that."
"Oh, really? And why wouldn't I?"
Ashara giggled and Kahlei grinned back at her. This guy was just digging himself a hole.
"Fine, fine. I'll talk. What do you want to know?"
"Who were Vette and the Sith with?"
"Some big time mercenary. One of those blue folk."
"Blue folk?"
"Y'know, those blue things with red eyes. Uhh... chiss. Don't get too many of those round here," he slurred.
"He a local?"
"Yeah, does a lot of jobs for the Giradda the Hutt. He's one of my regulars."
"Name?"
The man remained silent. Kahlei sent him the fiercest stare she could muster up. He swallowed and with reluctance, continued. "Fine. Calls himself Zander. Dunno his real name, something long and Chissy." He frowned. "What's that got to do with your friend?"
"Everything."
"Just.. Look, I didn't tell you anything about him. 'Kay?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
Although he'd been stubborn, he'd been pretty helpful in the end. Feeling generous, Kahlei decided to leave him a big tip. However, he seemed more worried about what this mercenary was going to do to him to be happy about the extra credits.
At least they had the name of Wrath's hired thug. Zander. Now they just had to dig up some dirt on him.
"Huh, poor guy."
Kahlei suspected she was hinting at her mind trick. "Hey, if I hadn't confused him, then we wouldn't have this guy's name."
Ashara waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah, I get that." Kahlei waited for a comment about how she 'wasn't a typical Jedi', but was glad when she got none. Instead, Ashara grinned. "I didn't mean it like that, anyway. What's so bad about a little mind trick? That's nothing compared to what Nox'd have done."
"Huh, Nox didn't seem that bad. She came across as very friendly, actually."
The Togruta stopped, her face full of disdain. Kahlei studied her expression. She'd intended for her comment to get a reaction out of Ashara and it had. Whirling round to grab Kahlei's arms, she stared at her dead in the eyes. "Friendly?" She scoffed. "Yeah, friendly as the Nexu beast that stalks its prey."
Kahlei stared back at her. She couldn't sense a hint of deception in the girl. The doubt she'd had about Ashara's honesty was gone. There was no way she could have been acting.
"You seem like a good person, Kahlei, and Nox hurts good people. Be careful. Seriously. You can't trust her." Ashara swallowed. "But you can't tell her any of this."
"You're afraid of her," Kahlei said, neither teasing nor sympathetic. She simply stated the fact.
"Well, duh," Ashara rolled her eyes. "You'd be crazy not to. You have no idea how powerful she is. I mean, I know you took down the Emperor an' all, but she's different. She's ... cunning."
"You sound like you've had first hand experience."
"She convinced me into meeting her by the offer of a forbidden holocron. I was so young and I thought it'd be okay, thought it was just gonna be a holocron. A holocron with knowledge that would help me save the galaxy from the Sith. That's what she promised me," she confessed. "Next minute, I'm killing someone in cold blood."
"That's not your fault. She probably used the force to play with your head."
"No. I may have been stupid, but I wasn't weak. It was my choice and I can't go back."
"Ashara, you truly regret it. The Order would see that," Kahlei said. "Are you afraid of going back? Or do you just not want to?"
She stared at the ground. "Bit of both."
Giradda the Hutt was perhaps one of the most infamous Hutts on Nar Shaddaa and was best known for his sponsoring of Huttball. Finding information on Giradda was much easier than it had been for the mercenary.
Apart from being a huge supporter of the bloodsport, little else was remarkable about this Hutt. His tan-blue skin was coated with slime and the disgusting body odour he shared with the rest of his kind caused Kahlei to take a big step back.
They were stood before this Hutt in his private room of the casino he owned. The casino was notorious for its chaos and violence, but who would have expected anything else from Huttball's biggest supporter?
Kahlei and Ashara had opted for their Jedi garments, knowing the Hutt wouldn't have taken them seriously had they shown up as mere civilians.
Giradda laughed and then spoke in Huttese, a language neither Kahlei nor Ashara were fluent in. "Stupid Jedi, you come seeking information from me yet you have nothing to offer," said his translator.
Dealing with this Hutt sure made dealing with a Sith Lord look like a walk in the park. "We can work something out."
Giradda let out a low rumble whilst he thought. "And what can you give me that he can't? This mercenary is very useful."
"Can't you just hire another?" Ashara asked him.
"I've yet to find one as capable. I pay this man lots of credits to demonstrate my power across the galaxy."
It was a shame Hutts were resistant to Jedi Mind Tricks. If they hadn't, dealing with this Giradda would have been much easier.
"Unless you take his place. Having a Jedi willingly doing my bidding would be a huge display of strength."
Being a Hutt's lap dog? "Uh, no thanks."
"Then you can offer me nothing I want."
Kahlei sighed. He really was stubborn. "Fine. I will do one job for you."
"Three."
"Two."
"Done."
Great. Now she was working for a Hutt. "You tell me about Zander, then I'll do what you want."
"No. You do what I want, then I think about it."
She scowled. This was starting to grate on her. "Then no deal."
"You do one job, I'll tell you about Zander. You do the other job, I get Zander to meet you."
Could she really trust a Hutt? "Fine. But if I find out that you've told Zander about me looking for him, then you'll be sorry."
The Hutt's hearty laugh sounded more like a deep roar. "I am the Great Giradda. You are a puny Jedi."
Kahlei folded her arms. "I am the Jedi who slew the Emperor, Hutt."
And that certainly had Giradda looking fearful for a moment, but then seemed extremely pleased that he'd managed to employ someone who'd accomplished such an enormous feat.
"Vette, there's people looking for you."
Xaryia was out and for once, had taken Broonmark with her. Vette had been left behind to look after the ship.
She frowned at the miniature guy on her holocom. Her old twi'lek friend looked like he hadn't bathed for days. And his tatty clothes didn't look much better. He probably still had his gambling and alcohol problems.
People were looking for her?
"Who?"
"I didn't catch their names. A female human and togruta."
"What did they want?"
"Heard they say they'd known you a long time and wanted to rescue you from your Sith friend."
Known them for a long time? Vette shook her head. She'd couldn't remember any Togruta friends. And she certainly didn't need rescuing.
"You know them?"
Vette paused. She'd been about to say no, but on second thought... "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry 'bout it."
When he was gone, she collapsed into her chair. She didn't plan on telling Xaryia this. If she did, Xaryia would insist they were a threat that needed eradicating. Then they'd be killed without her ever finding out what they were after.
Besides, what if they'd sorta been friends but it had been so long that she'd forgotten them?
No.
She had to keep this a secret from Xaryia.
So, how long had she said she'd been gone for? A couple of days?
Vette tapped Xaryia's frequency into her holocom. It went straight to recording. "Don't worry about me, Xar. Just nipped back to the fleet to pick some supplies. You won't even notice I've gone."
With that done, she set course for Nar Shaddaa.
