Dorian followed his escort down a well lit corridor. He was dressed in street clothes and kept his lightsaber in a small bag slung over his shoulder. He had to pass as a civilian. Travel was more difficult on Balmorra than his last visit. The Empire had increased its presence around the space port and outside in the streets of Sobrik as well. It was looking more like a police state. A Jedi wasn't welcome by the civilians and certainly not among the Imperial soldiers. He stayed alert in case a Sith was nearby but so far his luck held up.
His escort was a teenage girl dressed like a generic street tough no more than fifteen years old. She kept her hair short and rolled up the sleeves of a dirty t-shirt.
"Right here," she said nodding at the door.
"Ok, thank you, again," Dorian offered.
The teen held out a hand expecting a tip. Dorian flushed and patted down his pockets searching for something he knew wasn't there.
"Sorry," he said meekly, "I didn't bring any cash. I thought the fee I paid to get this far covered all that. Sorry."
She stared Dorian up and down. He had an innocent face so she didn't take the lack of money as a deliberate insult but she was disappointed none the less. She exhaled loudly and left shaking her head. Dorian felt bad but he couldn't think of a way to help the situation. He just let himself in the door.
He expected to walk into an apartment but the room he stepped into looked more like an office than a living room. There was a couch but it had a distinct executive appearance. The Chiss that occupied the room was fixing himself a drink behind a small bar in one corner of the room.
"Come on in, kid. Nice to see you again," Morgon greeted his Jedi guest.
Dorian closed the door tightly and walked close to the bar. Morgon kept his back to Dorian busy with his task.
"Want something? No charge," Morgon said tossing a glance and a smile over his shoulder.
"No thank you," Dorian answered.
"Suit yourself."
"Moved your operation out of the cantina, I see," Dorian said trying to mask his nervousness in small talk.
"Yeah, well, things are getting rough around here. Can't really find any privacy in any public space nowadays."
Morgon motioned to the couch and came out from behind the bar carrying two drinks.
"Let's sit over here," he said.
Dorian followed and they both sat on the couch.
"I'm sorry, I said I didn't want anything," Dorian said noticing the glasses.
"I know. Did you change your mind or something?"
Morgon put both glasses on the small coffee table in front of the couch. Dorian shook his head.
"The Jedi seem to be coming to me more and more. I'm starting to forget which side I'm supposed to be on."
"I figured you were on your own side."
"That's true. But you know, someone has to pay your salary."
"So Imperial Intelligence still pays you?"
"What are we, girlfriends?"
Dorian looked confused by the question.
"You know the drill. Money first, questions later."
Dorian shifted nervously in his seat. He slid his backpack off his shoulder and let it to fall into his lap. He reached very slowly for a datapad stored inside.
"About that," he said still searching.
"Ten thousand and I'll listen to your question."
"It was five last time," Dorian pointed out, "and we were interrupted. Didn't really get much."
"I gave you good information. The discount was because I couldn't haggle with a band of kidnappers gunning for me. I'm nice and secure at the moment."
Dorian pushed a button to display 225 credits. Morgon sipped his drink staring at the screen over the glass rim.
"Is that a joke?" Morgon asked flatly.
"No, it's all I have."
"Jedi are taking that vow of poverty pretty seriously. Times must be hard in the Republic."
"This visit isn't exactly sanctioned by the Jedi Council. More of a personal thing. This is all I could put together. That's a lot of money for me."
"I'm sure it is. To you. Now I'm really glad you didn't take me up on that drink. As it is you've only wasted some of my time, which I happen to have a lot of. It's been nice catching up, but if you don't mind…"
"Just hear me out," Dorian pleaded. "I'm not trying to take down the Empire here. I just have a few questions and you're the only one I think might be able to answer them."
Morgon studied Dorian for a few moments.
"Tell you what. If it's not a big deal I'll answer what I can. You can keep your credits. But you owe me one."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Nothing big, I'm not looking to take down the Republic or anything. I understand you're spending a lot of time on Coruscant these days."
"How do you know that?" Dorian asked with surprise.
"I know things, remember? That's why you're here."
"Yeah, but about me? That's kind of creepy. You're spying on me?"
"No. Well, I am a spy now that you mention it. I spy on the Republic. Coruscant is the heart of the Republic so I tend to keep an eye on it. I also keep casual contact with past clients. Never know when they might come back."
Dorian took an uneasy deep breath.
"I'll owe you what?"
"Well let's say I needed to come to Coruscant one day, or more likely a good friend of mine did. He could use a ride. Maybe a local to point out a nice restaurant, how to avoid the authorities, things like that."
"I'm not going to do anything illegal or anything that would help the Empire."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Morgon said with an exaggerated pained expression. "What do you take me for? This would be strictly personal business. Legal business, of course."
"I'm not so sure."
"Hey, I may never need the favor. Besides you could always say no. Just trying to, you know…one hand washes the other."
"Ok, if it's nothing illegal and not helping the Empire, then ok, you can ask a favor of me. One."
"Good. One more thing. I'm gonna ask you some questions too. You have to answer those. This is a two way exchange. You probably know something that would be useful to me without even being aware of it. That's more valuable than credits anyway."
"If it's not information that you could use to hurt the Jedi or the Republic, then I'll answer."
"Agreed. What do you want to know?" Morgon asked taking another sip.
"Well, it's about Darth Talus."
"Him again? What is the obsession the Jedi have with him?"
"It's not an obsession."
"What about him?" Morgon asked, bored with the conversation already and looking for a way out of it.
"I met his apprentice. She said something I can't quite get my head around."
Morgon put his drink down and leaned a little closer.
"You spoke to his apprentice?"
"Yes."
"Well, what did she say?"
"She said I could never kill Talus on Kote. That he had some power there and I'd have to face him someplace else. What is it?"
Morgon leaned back again and ran a hand across his chin.
"What power keeps him alive on Kote?" Morgon asked back for clarification.
"Yeah? What's so special about it that makes him so powerful there. Is there some Sith artifact? Some bond with the planet?"
"Sorry kid, nothing comes to mind."
"Nothing?"
"Nope," he said out loud but dots started connecting in his mind. Sounds like a lie you tell someone to make sure they don't come back. Why would Talus' apprentice let a Jedi leave alive, for one thing, and tell a lie to convince them not to come back?
"How'd you end up on Kote?" Morgon asked.
Dorian looked reluctant to answer so Morgon did for him.
"So you were part of that Jedi excursion on Kote a while back that went so spectacularly bad."
Dorian nodded.
"You know, you and Sesh came to me and I said 'Kalumet.' Did I say Kote? No. Kalumet. You wasted good information to stage a revolt on some useless backwater. I was hoping to see Talus dead and he wasn't even there. You failed me, Jedi."
"It wasn't an assassination attempt," Dorian objected.
"Of course, that's right. Jedi don't do that."
"No."
"Jedi keep getting my hopes up. The first one that came by asking about Talus was, what was his name? Duros. Weird name. Jedi Master. He looked pretty tough too. I thought for sure Talus was dead meat. And he survived. Then you and Sesh come, another Jedi Master. Finally, I think Talus is dead. Yet he's still here."
"And you're still here, on Balmorra, until he's dead."
"Sort of."
"So tell me something I can use. What's this power? What's his weakness?"
"I wish I could tell you. I got nothing. Sorry."
"That's disappointing."
"Look, Kote is a pretty dead place. The native population is really small, ten million at the most, and they're useless. Worth less than the Evocii. It's tough getting any information off the surface. The soldiers stationed there don't go anywhere else. They go on leave like any soldier, and go right back to Kote. None are ever moved to another assignment, ever. There's barely any information coming off that planet. The Empire's written it off already. There's nothing there. No sources. No info. Barely any rumors even. Sorry. If there is something, no one knows about it except Talus, and his Apprentice."
Dorian's eyes dropped and his shoulders sagged.
"What was that girl that came with Duros? Lisa or Lillian…"
"Lenora," Dorian corrected Morgon a little too sharply.
"That was it, Lenora. I remember her. She had spunk. Really easy on the eyes too."
"Yes," Dorian reluctantly agreed.
"I don't mind saying for quite a while I couldn't get her out of my mind. Worked her way into some of my dreams. I don't just mean the sleeping ones either."
"Don't be crass."
"Just saying," Morgon backed off but he could see Dorian getting upset.
"So where is she now? Can you bring her back with you next time? I wouldn't mind getting to see her again."
"She's…passed away."
"Oh, sorry. What a waste. Oh, I get it now," Morgon said acting like he just figured it out. "You were kind of sweet on this girl. She goes after Talus and gets herself dead. Now you're after Talus."
"Something like that," Dorian agreed.
"I understand. Unfortunately, I got nothing for you. Talus has no special abilities I'm aware of. He has the same brute strength wherever he is."
Dorian shook his head in disappointment.
"Believe me, Talus has a lot of enemies," Morgon said. "Some very powerful ones too. No one's figured out how to get to him. If you ever do figure it out, you let me know. I'll pay you."
Dorian let a small smile find its way onto his face before quickly fading into a frown. They sat in silence for a few seconds. Neither could think of a way to continue the conversation.
"Well, I guess you don't have much information for me either after all," Morgan started abruptly. "Why don't we just call this a wash. Don't worry too much about that favor. If I call, don't feel too obligated. I know you didn't really get anything from me."
Morgon stood up and Dorian followed suit. They shook hands and then walked together towards the door. Morgon opened it and Dorian walked out.
"Sorry about your girlfriend," Morgon offered.
"Just my friend," Dorian corrected him.
"Right. I forgot the whole Jedi thing for a second. War is a tough business. We all lose people we care about."
"Thanks," Dorian said and pulled his bag over his shoulder and started back to the space port.
Morgon closed the door tightly and walked back to the bar to pour himself another drink. He called an underling on his comlink.
"Yes, sir?"
"Book a transport to Dromund Kaas," Morgon declared with a smile on his face.
"For you?" the voice replied with surprise.
"Yup. I have some news that can only be delivered in person. I'm not taking my ship. It has to be low key."
"Ok. I'll take care of it. Give me, say, three hours."
"You got it."
The link cut off.
"Lenora, huh?" he said to himself, "Sorry kid, but she's not quite dead."