"Where'd you learn that move?" Corso asked as they meandered from room to room.
"What move?" she responded while digging through cupboards and the cooling unit in the galley, wrinkling her nose when all she found to eat were ration bars and energy pudding.
"The one where you swung around that big guy and climbed up his back like a kowakian monkey-lizard. I've never seen you do that before."
She pulled her head out from under the sink where she'd turned on the water valve and stood, wiping her hands on her pants.
"Just something I picked up in my travels, I suppose." She shrugged.
"Huh," he grunted not thoroughly convinced. He'd seen that particular maneuver before, he just couldn't remember where.
The crew quarters held nothing of interest, and the cargo bay stood empty, only the straps and netting showed any life where they swayed and tapped against the walls.
The captain's quarters coughed up a small treasure trove of goodies including a few spare tank tops and tees, silky draw-string sleep pants and a couple pair of trousers, a tad large for Corso but they'd suffice.
"Seems our captain was quite the ladies' man," snickered Ky as she gingerly held up a lacy, hot pink bra she'd found between the bed and nightstand.
"Guess that explains the sleep pants," chuckled Corso, a faint reddish tint shading the tips of his ears.
"Easy on, easy off. If nothing else, he was efficient," she said, slipping into a faded tee with 'Spacers do it Better' written across the front in Aurebesh.
"Well, looky here," Ky's face brightened as she pulled a nearly full bottle of whiskey from the rear of the locker. "Don't give me that look, I'll pace myself."
"Wonder who owned that ship you saw. The one that helped us," Corso said, sliding his belt through the loops on the too big trousers.
"Damned if I know. The silhouette wasn't familiar, but I have the feeling we'll meet them sooner or later."
The four-day trip to Denon allowed them time to convalesce and scour the ship's hidden compartments that mirrored many of those on the Chance. Ky doubted they'd found them all since every smuggler modified their ship with a few personal touches. Sonhem and his pilots would be no different.
She'd reactivated the C2 series steward droid, wishing in hindsight she'd been quicker on the draw with that decision. Corso kept himself busy removing sand and dust from the servos and oiling moving parts that had begun to squeak from poor maintenance. The droid paid them back by keeping fresh linens on the bed, assisting with regular ship upkeep and helping with their medical needs. It also kept a running list of needed items that would come in damned handy once they reached their destination.
Denon; an ecumenopolis much like Coruscant, the entire planet surface one teeming city. The busy hub world at the confluence of the Hydian Way and Corellian Run hyperlanes, Denon's constant stream of arriving and departing ships made it easy to land on and tough to police.
Ky opted to land in one of the spaceports she'd used on a couple of runs back when being a privateer for the Republic had been a lucrative business. One of those places on the seedier side where decent folk never tread.
As soon as they'd exited hyperspace, she'd called Largo to let him know they were ok and to check on his men. All were alive, but Tol had lost partial use of his arm, and Voxal had been in the tank for three days, ruptured spleen or some such. Pilot's luck had apparently smiled on Dester who'd walked away with a few minor scratches and contusions.
"I'll keep your stuff for you, and you're right. That droid of yours can cook." Largos image grinned appreciatively. "The Uj cakes are heavenly. It's still bitching about the leg replacement since all I had was one from an old GNK droid, sort of makes him lopsided, and he drags his foot. Kinda funny actually. Keeps the place clean though, problem is I can't find a damned thing anymore. Don't worry about the guys, they knew what they were getting into. I love you girl, you take care out there."
"Ditto, my friend." Damn, she hated that Tol and Voxal had been hurt, just one more thing to make up for at some point when she was free to do something decent again instead of just surviving.
Tractored into a hangar and ground crew already busy with refuel, she placed her second call. It was to someone she hadn't talked to in a while, but this one owned her a favor.
"How's it going, Rogun? Where the hell are you?" she spoke to the blue holo image of the Chagrian she'd known since Corellia and her Voidhound days.
"Long time no hear. On Atzerri at the moment. Nothing you'd likely want to know about. What can I do you for?" Rogun responded.
"I'm going to need you and at least eight or ten of your guys. On the trail of something big. Big enough for someone to try and kill me over. I smell credits and lots of them, I just need the package."
"Lots of unknowns here, Ky. I hate dipping my toes into someone else's dirty bathwater, you get my drift?"
"You owe me, and I'm pulling in my mark. This makes us even, and you'll get paid, unlike me when I took a knife for you and hauled your ass out of that Imperial prison you were stuck in. Good times, remember?"
"Yeah, I'm alive to remember, thanks to you." He ran his fingers across his chin. "Alright, I'm in, but this makes us even. Where and when do we meet?"
"Sit tight for a while. I should know something in the next few hours. I'll contact you then."
Ky checked on the camo-tab signal and then her dwindling funds. They needed supplies. There was a big difference between being flat-ass broke and saving a bit of cash only to starve to death. She and the droid made a quick trip to the spaceport commissary where she purchased restock items for the galley, including some fresh food goodies and bought a change of clothes for her and Corso. She also picked up a spare datapad from the 'reduced price' table, not top of the line, but it would do.
"Where you been?" she asked Corso, who'd entered the galley as she and the droid were putting away her purchases.
"In our room, looking around," he replied with a shrug.
"Huh. Here, see if these fit," she said throwing the bag with his replacement clothes across the counter.
Corso caught the bag mid-air. "A call keeps coming in over the holo. I haven't answered it though. Whoever it is is damned persistent."
"One guess. He'll call back, that's guaranteed. What I can't understand is why the delay? The package is still here on Denon. Although this is a non-contested Republic world, it wouldn't be too hard for Imperials or anyone else to land. I'd think if there were a hand-off it would be in a more remote locale."
"Maybe it is a hand-off location for decoys, or maybe they're picking somebody up. Who knows what the hell is in that box or who wants it."
"Good point, sweetheart. Well, whatever is going on, I hope they move soon, or I'll get stuck with a damned hangar fee too. The fueling should be just about done, anything past that is space rental."
As if on cue, the holo began to chime indicating an incoming call. Ky sauntered out of the galley and into the common room where the holo terminal resided.
She pressed the receive button and waited for the image of a man with implants around one eye socket to coalesce.
She smiled sweetly. "Why Pabal Sonhem, what a pleasure to hear from you. This a courtesy call?"
"You fucking bitch," the man seethed.
She poured a little more sweetness into her smile. "I see no need for this conversation to devolve into name calling. What has the universe come to that business partners can't speak in a civilized manner? Equitable dealings work in mysterious ways, don't you agree?"
"I want my ship back and recompense for my compound."
"Oh, you are such a dreamer. You shouldn't have wrecked mine with me in it. It seemed only fair to take back a small percent of what was due. Nice trick with the credit chip, you still owe me."
"Nice trick with still being alive and I don't owe you shit. I'm not the only one who wants you dead, and hunters don't come cheap. I'm going to carve my payment out of your hide."
"Ah yes, bounty hunters. Been there, avoided that. Let it go Pabal. I'll call it even if you will, honor among thieves and all that. Or does me being alive cock up your little deal? Bet nobody saw that coming."
"Don't sound so smug. This isn't over yet."
"No, it isn't," she said reaching for the disconnect button.
"Think he knows we're on Denon?" asked Corso.
"Maybe, but if he's got some sort of meeting deadline I doubt he'll do anything right now. Besides, he doesn't know this transponder ID. The man's an idiot. I was a loose end and so is he. I wouldn't take a half credit wager on his chances of survival once the delivery is made." She absently rubbed her temples. "Dammit, I need to contact Akaavi."
"You should have done that already. She's expecting us to pick her up."
"I know what I should have done. I don't need any reminders," she snapped.
He threw up his hands and backed away without a word, turning down the corridor toward their quarters. A twinge of guilt nipped at her conscience as she keyed in the frequency.
"Ma're, Ner Vod," Akaavi made no attempt to hide her exasperation. "When are you coming for us?"
"It's going to be a while longer," admitted Ky.
"Haar'chak," cursed the Zabrak. "What's the delay? Sharing a room with a snoring Wookie and a gurgling Mon Calamari was tiresome several days ago."
"I'm sorry, Akaavi. There's nobody I'd rather have at my side than you and Bowdaar, but if I came for you now, I'd lose the item I'm after."
"You have the skanah's ship then?" Akaavi asked, her mood brightening somewhat.
"Yes, and I'm tracking his cargo that almost got Corso and I killed. The more thorns I drive up Sonhem's ass, the happier I'll be. I just called to warn you to be extra careful from now on. Sonhem and his cronies may have just upped the bounty on me and mine. It's liable to get worse before it gets better."
"Understood. We will not seek trouble, but at least if they come, Bowdaar and I will get a decent fight. We will be ready. Ret'urcye mhi, Ky. Come for us when you can."
She leaned against the comm terminal and crossed her arms, staring blankly at the floor. She shouldn't have snapped at Corso, she wanted her crew back and felt like she was hanging on everyone else's tenterhooks but her own. Hell, who was she kidding? Her drive for revenge with the promise of a big payday at the end directed her actions. Desperate times, right?
Twenty minutes and two shots of whiskey later, the insistent beeping of the datapad resting at her elbow on the galley counter drew her out of her thoughts. They were moving the box.
She capped the bottle and sprinted toward the front of the ship.
"Corso?" she yelled from the cockpit having already pulled up the astrogation charts.
"I'm here. What is it?"
"They're moving the box down the Hydian Way, and none of the planets make sense. Eriadu is under Empire control, and something tells me they don't want anyone, including the Empire, to know that they have it."
"Not only that but why did they travel all the way to Denon when they could have just used the old Triellis Trade Run to cut straight across?" Corso interjected. "Dorvalla is an industrial world with a barely breathable atmosphere, Tibrin is oceanic, and Asmeru is too near the Asmeru Anomaly. No spacer worth their salt would go within a hundred parsecs of that place."
"Karfaddion bans any incoming travelers, and that leaves..."
"Belsavis," they said in unison.
