CLARKE

Raucous laughter from the loud group on the corner table almost overpowered the music to which a lone twilek was dancing animatedly in the corner of the bar, but few people seemed bothered by the noise as they remained lost in their own individual problems, drowning a mug of ale as if they might find the answers dwelling beneath the amber liquid.

Clarke leant against the alcohol spattered bar, blissfully ignorant to the goings on around her as she let thoughts of the Jedi shroud her senses. No longer in the Commanders presence, she soon began questioning everything that she had previously been so certain of, including just how reciprocated her feelings for the woman were.

The mind of a Jedi was no easy thing to decipher.

'Hey! I'm talking to you.'

Clarke jolted in the realistation that the words were directed at her, pushing herself away from the bar abruptly to glance sideways at her boss.

'I asked you to clean the bar, not stare at it,' Caleb drawled, reaching beneath the curved surface to retrieve his second bottle of alcohol that night. 'I'm out the back working hard, so don't let that bunch start causing any trouble.'

Working hard, more like downing shots with the newest client, Clarke thought scornfully but managed a reluctant nod, not that the man was paying her any attention as he slipped back into the private room behind the bar.

Cloth in hand, she slowly began to draw the material across the sticky surface, keeping a close eye on the boisterous group that had taken up residence in the bar that afternoon.

The long awaited day of the meeting had arrived, and Clarke scolded herself for not being more alert. It would be a few hours or so until the event began, but it was no excuse to lose focus at such a vital time.

Customers came and went, credits were exchanged, and the hours passed by until finally the designated gathering time came around.

The visitors began to file in through the back door, twelve of them in total making use of the private room as well as the interconnected VIP rooms which were reserved only for the most important clientele. Clarke just had to find a way to pass her message on to the Republic spy and her part in this mission was complete.

'Service!' her boss called out from the back and Clarke eagerly grabbed a bottle of spirit on her way behind the bar.

'Anything else I can assist you with?' she offered, casting a subtle eye across each of the guests to scope who exactly had been summoned. The Republic spy was instantly recognisable, just as the Lieutenant had described, and was listening with a detached disinterest as one of the other visitors rambled on about his business.

'No, no, just keep the rabble out of here and don't interrupt us again,' Caleb insisted in a hushed tone, grabbing the spirit bottle and ushering the dejected blonde out of the room with a frantic gesture, puling across a partition once the woman had crossed the threshold to return behind the bar.

There went her first chance of interacting with the Republic Spy. Now she would just have to create her own reason to infiltrate the secret on goings, not that they were so secret anymore that she had placed multiple recording devices throughout the room that would broadcast the feed live to the waiting Republic agents.

With Caleb's love of binge drinking and new found trust in his blonde employee, it hadn't been a difficult task to set up surveillance weeks in advance.

'Hey, lady, I've been waiting for service and...'

The intoxicated man's words descended into an unintelligible slur of noises as Clarke looked on in distaste. She was hardly paying attention to the drunkard, absentmindedly pouring a glass of finest liqueur on request as he produced only half of the creds that were required.

'Try doubling that,' she commented, swiping the freshly poured alcohol from the bar as the man swept an arm forward to retrieve it, gurgling with displeasure as he found himself grasping at empty air.

'How about you give it here before I-.'

His words were barely audible and Clarke had a mind to take the creds and throw the man out onto the streets to prevent him from causing a scene at this crucial time.

It was as she pondered this idea that another individual rose from far end of the bar and relocated to the seat next to the drunken idiot.

Clarke recognised her to be a Clawdite, a reptilian humanoid, wrapped within the darkness of a cloak, its slit-like pupils observing the bartender with a steady gaze.

'Is he causing you trouble?' she inquired, a surprisingly smooth voice like velvet emerging from the small mouth.

'Nothing that I can't handle,' Clarke replied hesitantly. She knew by now that her instincts tended to be worth listening to, and right now they were relaying nothing but distrust for this changeling.

The Clawdites golden eyes, which held a deceiving warmth, drifted to the fool who was still arguing with himself about the pitiful service he was receiving - blissfully unaware of the newfound attention.

'I detest those who cause a scene,' the Clawdite said pointedly, locking eyes with the blonde as a sly smirk highlighted her features. 'Though I myself am prone to a dramatic outburst now and then.'

Suspicion clawed at the blonde as she cast her gaze around the crowded room, taking note of the figures who were abandoning untouched drinks onto the table, their hands reaching under similar concealing attire.

A paralysis froze the blonde in place as the results of her casual observation filled her with dread for the total carnage that she could only assume was about to take place, and the devastating knowledge that there was virtually nothing that she could do to stop it.

Within seconds of the thought, a thunderous crash resonated from the private room behind Clarke, followed in an instant by the unmistakable firing of blasters.

As if on queue, around six individuals in the bar drew their own weapons and began an assault that would prevent any escape from this ambush.

The female Clawdite grinned sadistically and whipped her weapon out to her side, hardly glancing as she ended the drunken man's ramblings with a clean shot to the head.

Clarke winced at the cacophony erupting inside the bar and dropped to the ground as a roaring customer tackled the Clawdite from behind, knocking her off balance and given Clarke the time she needed to prepare her response.

The bar provided a much needed shield from the ongoing fighting that had erupted between the intruders and retaliating customers. No-one came to this bar unarmed, it was a bloodbath.

She could still here the fight echoing through from the private room and could virtually hear the seconds ticking down to take action. Her weapon was on the opposite end of the bar on a shelf beneath the surface, resting in prime position were she not pinned down by multiple hostiles.

It was an infuriating company policy that staff members were not to wear weapons on their person, but stashed behind the bar was okay.

A bottle flew over the bar in that moment and shattered on the ground not a metre from where Clarke was situated as she winced away from the flying glass that was sent hurtling in every direction.

With no time to waste, she threw her left hand out in the direction of her weapon, utilising every ounce of concentration that she could muster to summon it through the air, breathing a sigh of relief when it connected with her hand.

It was not a moment to soon when one of the infiltrating criminals hurdled over the bar, weapon drawn with a frenzied grin as he located the blonde. His joy did not last long when a blast of energy ripped through his chest and he crumpled to the ground.

Clarke's only thought right now was to retrieve the Republic spy and get them both out of this alive.

With a low stance, she hurried through the partition separating the bar from its more exclusive rooms and was met immediately with a nightmarish scene.

The guests lay strewn around the private room, their bodies littered with wounds that would have killed them instantly.

She had no time to pity their brutal deaths, even that of Caleb who not even been able to rise from his seat as the attack began, his body arched unnaturally over the arm of the chair as dark liquid began to pool on the floor beneath.

Clarke swallowed thickly and cast her gaze around for the spy, her search extending to the VIP room where she found the woman barely clinging to consciousness. Three of her attackers had not survived the encounter and lay motionless on the ground as the blonde stepped over each of them in turn to arrive at the woman's side.

'Hey, hey, it's okay, I'm with the Republic,' Clarke said reassuringly, crouching down next to the woman who, even in her dire state, had made efforts to reach for the discarded blaster by her side.

The woman's mouth moved silently, her body convulsing agonisingly as it was overcome with the effort of maintaining consciousness after sustaining such life threatening injuries.

She would not make it out of this alive, Clarke didn't have to be a healer to recognise that. All she could do now was get any answers from the woman before she passed away.

'How did this happen? Do you know who did this?'

Clarke felt terrible for even attempting to gather information from the injured woman who was clearly in so much pain, but this was their only chance at receiving some intelligence about what had happened here.

'Janos...'

The word uttered was barely audible, a mere whisper in the surrounding chaos, but Clarke felt a chill in her spine as she recognised the name. This Sith seemed to be connected with every disastrous event that befell their crew lately, hardly a coincidence to be overlooked.

The sound of multiple footfalls caused Clarke to spin, adrenaline fuelling her movements.

A group of blaster-wielding thugs stepped into the room, led by the oddly charming changeling with whom she had conversed with earlier at the bar.

There was no doubt in the blonde's mind that they were either here to kill or subdue her, either way she wouldn't make it an easy fight.

Blaster held firmly in hand, she raised her arm rapidly and fired off the first shots. If she was going down then she sure as hell would take a few of them with her.

Thanks for reading this chapter!

I know its been a while but university has been my priority recently. Thanks for your understanding.

Let me know what you thought and if you want to see more. :)