Two chapters in one night. Go me.

Nikka POV

I woke up to the sound of Theron getting dressed.

It had been two weeks since Rio's victory over Arcann and it had been fairly quiet in wild space. We had learned that Scorpio had given the Eternal Throne to Vaylin, which was worrying considering the female sibling was far less stable than her brother, but she had yet to do anything with her newfound title and fleet. We could only wait until she made a move.

I hated to admit it, but I was enjoying getting to spend some uninterrupted time with Theron. After my marriage failed, I swore I'd never get into a relationship like it again. Now here I was, exclusive with another man. A spy, of all people. Things were different with Theron, though. Time with him was easier and less forced. We got along better than I ever had with Corso.

"Sorry to wake you." Theron said, sitting next to me on the bed once he was fully dressed. "I just got a call for Sana-Rae. She's requesting to return to Voss to have a vision interpreted and she thinks it would be best to take some backup. She seems to think something is about to happen on Voss. I'll probably be going with her."

I sat up in bed, doing my best to wake up. "Let me know what's going on before you head out, okay?" I asked, accepting the kiss he offered me. If Sana-Rae had a vision, then it probably meant something. I wasn't as Force sensitive as a Voss mystic, but I did believe in the power they held. Their visions were powerful tools...or powerful warnings, depending on the situation.

"I will. You be careful too. I don't like you going to Nar Shaddaa all on your own."

I snorted. "Nar Shaddaa is practically a second home to me, Theron. I'm more comfortable on Nar Shaddaa than on Coruscant. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, I'll take my usual backup with me. You know nothing says 'leave me alone' quite like a heavily armed wookie. Not to mention it seems Major Jorgan and a couple former Republic commandos have volunteered to come along as well."

Theron laughed. "Good. I know you can take care of yourself, but it's just the message you got. A set of coordinates on Nar Shaddaa and that's it? It might be the paranoid spy in me talking, but it's suspicious."

"I'll be fine. You just stay that way, too. If Sana-Rae is seeing something in her visions, then something must be about to happen. Voss visions are spooky accurate, or at least from my experience."

Theron smiled at me. He really did have a nice smile. He gave me one more kiss, then headed out of my ship. I sighed, laying back down. I had to get my butt moving too. The mysterious message I received wasn't going to investigate itself and my borrowed team of ex-Republic soldiers would arrive soon to get going to Nar Shaddaa. Not to mention, Bowdaar got cranky when I made him wait. There was nothing worse than traveling with a cranky wookie.

I walked casually to the location sent to me in the message with a smile on my face. It happened to be my favorite cantina on Nar Shaddaa. Even after all these years of playing respectable for the Alliance, I still felt right at home on the Smuggler's Moon. It was nice to know some things hadn't changed.

Bowdaar was stationed a few paces from the entrance of the cantina, ready, just in case this was some type of trap. My military backup was also on the promenade, but had stationed themselves a bit further back, pretending to do a little weapon and armor shopping near the cantina. Major Jorgan knew how to blend in on Nar Shaddaa. This wasn't his first rodeo.

I walked into the cantina and ordered a drink. I had no idea if the person or persons I was to meet were here yet or not, but figured I might as well get a drink and get comfortable. I took my drink and headed to the table off to the side. I scanned the room with both my eyes and the Force, not finding anything or anyone of interest.

Lana had been working with me to help hone my situational senses. I knew the basics from my training with Master Satele, but the Sith perspective on the same abilities was interestingly different. The Sith were far more paranoid about their surroundings. I hated to admit it, but her advice and guidance did help.

I sat alone at the table, sipping my drink. I was wearing an earpiece, connected to both Bowdaar and my team of soldiers. They had seen nothing unusual.

Sometime around the half hour mark of my wait, I sensed someone familiar approaching from the far back of the cantina, probably from one of the private rooms. I'd begun to notice that if I spent enough time around the same people, I was able to pinpoint them from a crowd using the Force. It really was a handy trick. I smiled as Risha approached my table. She looked good, though perhaps a bit less relaxed than when I'd seen her last.

"Good to see ya again, Captain." She said, taking a seat with me.

"Same, Risha. I was beginning to think you got lost all these years...or was sitting pretty on Dubrillion."

A look of sadness flashed on Risha's face for a fraction of a second. "Things have been a bit rocky since we parted ways." She said sadly. "Dubrillion is gone. Sacked by Vaylin, under the orders of Arcann. There's nothing left to rule over."

I sighed. I'd heard Arcann had ordered the destruction of several planets, but I hadn't heard which ones. "I'm sorry, Risha. I knew taking back your royal claim was important to you."

Risha waved it off. "I was never cut out to be a queen, anyway. I think I always knew it, deep down, but I had worked for so long to get that cursed crown back for my father, I guess I started to believe my own delusions. Anyway, I spent a year looking for you, ya know. You just kinda dropped off the map after your brother was officially declared dead."

"Yeah...I met back up with our favorite former SIS spy after Rio's funeral. We spent the next four years looking for my brother. I didn't actually mean to go off the map for as long as I did, but it was necessary."

Risha shrugged. "Things seemed to have worked out for you, from what I hear. Your brother has really made a name for himself this time, hasn't he? Alliance Commander."

"Still good at finding things out, I see."

"Not really." Risha said with a shake of her head. "If I were that good, it wouldn't have taken years to track you down. As it is, I only know about your brother's new title because of his kicking of Arcann's ass and my underworld connections. And speaking of underworld connections…"

I chuckled. "Yes, the Alliance is always looking for more skilled individuals capable of procuring the impossible to procure."

Risha smiled. "Good to hear. It'll be nice to be back. I'm assuming Bowdaar is still hanging around you?"

"We parted ways for a bit, but yes, he's back with me. He's actually right outside the door, along with my other guys."

"Guys?" Risha asked, raising an eyebrow. "You collected yourself a harem while I was gone?"

"Of course not." I said, rolling my eyes. "I can usually get by with just Bowdaar as backup, but I had some volunteers this time around. Some former Republic spec force soldiers who knew my brother before all this mess started. Your message was suspicious and I think some of the soldiers were bored enough to want to tag along."

"Interesting. Now, you say you 'met back up' with our dear Agent Shan. How 'met back up' are you?" She asked, sounding just as gossipy as I remembered.

"Very." I replied, taking a sip of my drink.

Risha's eyes widened. "Very, as in, married?"

"No. Not sure I'll ever do that again, but we're pretty much exclusive. We share a bed whenever we're on the same planet. And sometimes, we're only sleeping."

"The true sign of commitment." Risha laughed and I couldn't help but laugh with her. "Well, I guess some things do change."

"And some things don't. Corso is a part of the Alliance, too."

"Well, son of a hutt. How's that working out for you?"

"Not too bad. He's still alive after several months, even with a half dozen people just waiting for him to screw up so they can kill him in some horribly painful way. He'd probably make a move on me, if I hadn't shut that down the very first hour he was there. I did find out why he left me, though."

"Really? Do tell." Risha asked, leaning back in her chair.

"I wrote him a two page letter, explaining what I was doing on Tython and why. Apparently, he only read two lines of it, then deleted it out of anger."

"So you mean…" Risha said, pausing slightly out of astonishment. "...your whole happy marriage was ruined because he couldn't be bothered to read a letter? Let me guess, knowing our farm boy, he probably thought you were leaving him to become a Jedi, or some such nonsense."

"Exactly. You'd think he'd have known better. You'd never believed I was turning into a Jedi, right?"

"Jedi, no. Not in a million years. You'd be a lousy Jedi." She held her hand up. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you could be one physically, if you trained enough, but you're too...dishonest...to pull it off for long."

I laughed. "I've missed you, Risha."

"Right back at ya, Captain." She downed her drink in a final gulp. "Now, let's go collect Bowdaar and your pack of burly soldiers and go somewhere cleaner. I love this moon and all, but I'm ready to get the hell outta here."

I downed my drink and nodded. "Meet back up at the ship, guys. We're done here." I radioed to everyone, then headed out of the cantina. Bowdaar would probably wait for me outside the door. I just hoped Risha would get away without any broken ribs when the big guy saw her. My big, furry bodyguard was a hugger.

To Be Continued...