She met her target several blocks away in a dark cantina.
The roguish Twi'lek, who went only by Saren, was not unfriendly, especially as Oola had nothing about her to indicate a threat. Nor was she particularly out of element pretending to enjoy his company. She'd learned how to ingratiate herself to the less-than-reputable element of Tatooine a long time ago, or so it felt. Saren almost immediately invited her to sit with him after she chatted with him at his table and tossed her lekku a bit.
"You know, I didn't get your name," he said as she looked for the chronometer to check the time.
"Oola," she said. "Of Clan Tarkona."
"Tarkona." She could almost see the thoughts coming together in his mind. "A successful clan, if I remember correctly; though I don't recall any business with them. Who is the current chieftain?"
"My father is the chieftain," she said.
She'd seen the shiny, intense stare of greed before in thousands of eyes at Jabba's palace. He'd already been taken with her, but now she was valuable in a real way. He recovered himself quickly. "You're not all alone on Tatooine, then, I assume?" he asked.
"Not until recently. I, uhm, lost my occupation and was forced to come to Mos Eisley. I am trying to get back home."
"What child of Ryloth isn't? A shame we have to struggle so far out among these dark stars. You know, I'll be going home to Rloth in a few weeks. I'm just waiting for a few payouts."
She flipped her lekku back and said, "Really?"
"Are you in a hurry to get home?"
"That depends," she said. "Are you offering me a place on your ship?"
"You would improve the accommodations," he said. "I haven't associated with a fellow Twi'lek in a while; definitely not one as easy on the eyes as you."
"No I'm not. Tatooine has dried me all out. And my lekku are too fat—"
"Nonsense. You look as if you just stepped foot on this planet. Fresh as the dawn."
"I will choose to believe you," she said finally.
"I mean it. Would you like a drink, Princess Oola?"
"Please, I'm not a princess."
"Where I come from on Ryloth, the chieftain's daughter is certainly a princess. Now, what would you like to drink?"
Oola pretended to scan the labels at the bar. Any impairment right now would complicate the charade, and she didn't trust the Twi'lek across from her besides. "I'm sorry, I don't recognize anything here."
"Let me get something for you. I come here all the time when I'm on Tatooine."
She only nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at the chronometer again. Despite how long it seemed they'd been talking, the time still wasn't right to leave.
He handed her one of the glasses put in front of them, filled with a light amber liquid. Oola lifted it hesitantly, then took a minute sip. It had a sweet taste—not too strong at all. He stared at her until she drained a quarter of it.
"Well?" he said.
"It's very nice," she said.
"You should finish it."
Self-conscious, not knowing what else to do if she wanted to avoid suspicion, she slowly drank the whole thing. It only took a few minutes for the drink to take full effect—her body grew warm, especially in her lekku, and her brain got a little fuzzy. Her companion drank several times as much.
When the chronometer on the wall showed the designated time, she feigned tiredness and said, "I really need to get back to my room, now."
"Already?" he said.
"I think the drink took more out of me than I was expecting."
He looked around at his other companions, whispered something to one of them, then stood up and took her by the shoulder. "Let me walk you back. Mos Eisley is even worse at night."
"Oh, you don't have to," she said. "You're with your friends."
"For a princess of Ryloth, it would be my honor," he said.
Oola pretended to think about the offer, then made a point of letting her lekku fall down over her shoulders in a supplicatory gesture. "Actually, I would like that. The lodgings I'm renting are not in the best neighborhood."
"Here there are no good neighborhoods. As long as I'm here, I'll walk you anywhere you want to go." He paid the tab and started to usher her out. "I'll be your personal bodyguard, Miss Oola."
"My family will be so grateful," she said. "When I get home, I'll tell my father. He can pay you for your time, and all your kindness."
"No payment is needed," he said. "Anything for a fellow child of Ryloth."
He kept his arm around her as they walked, Oola directing him back to her lodgings. She didn't like his proximity to her, nor the thought of showing him where she was staying, but if everything went as it should, there would be no negative outcome.
On the other hand, she had no idea whether or not Zuckuss and 4-LOM were good, or even competent, bounty hunters. She'd never asked. Their entire setup could fall apart and dissolve into a firefight. She could get shot.
"You seem nervous," he said as they neared her building. "It's not me is it?"
"No," she said. "It's just this place.'
She winced as one of his lekku wrapped around hers. Maybe the drinking had just made him a little friendlier, but she didn't like the way he held her. She didn't like anyone touching her, of any species.
The way his arm wrapped around her reminded her of some of the more forward servants and guests she'd encountered in Jabba's palace. Some had been more than forward and hadn't bothered to get her permission before they made their advances, or cornered her in a dark nook, out of sight of Jabba or Fortuna.
Inside the building, she pulled out of his grasp, pretending it was only to find her key fob to let them into her room. "Would you like a drink?" she asked with a practiced smile. Before he could answer, she went to retrieve the small bottle left by the window. After pouring its contents in a small, cloudy glass, she handed it to him. "Here, Mr. Saren. From Ryloth."
"To Ryloth," he said. "And to Princess Oola."
She waited for his eyes to cloud over, for him to stagger and fall. Instead, he closed the door.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'll keep my promise," he said. "I will take you back to Ryloth. Whether it's to get a ransom from your father, or credits from someone else, I haven't decided yet."
She backed away. He advanced. Then his knees buckled and he sank to the floor.
Oola didn't dare to lean down to check if he was fully unconscious. She kept her back to the wall, afraid to move even slightly and wake him. After a long, heavy silence, someone knocked at the door.
Oola skittered around the body and opened it.
Zuckuss pushed past her without ceremony. He aimed his rifle automatically at the body despite its unconscious state. "Well done, head-tails. You are quite the find."
4-LOM stayed in the hall, also brandishing its rifle, presumably to guard against someone taking their bounty.
"You told me he wasn't dangerous!" Oola said to Zuckuss. "He was about to abduct me. And you didn't give me even a weapon to hold—"
"Nonsense," Zuckuss said. "4-LOM and Zuckuss were monitoring you the entire time. There was no danger. Besides, the target was inebriated even before the soporific entered his system."
Oola sank to the floor. Her flesh was covered with a breakout sweat. Combined with the desert-night chill that crept in through the poorly-covered window, she was shivering.
"The first hunt is always the most difficult," Zucckuss said. "If you ever decide to become a bounty hunter, just know that the worst is already over."
"I don't think so," Oola said faintly. All the anger was gone, almost instantly replaced by fatigue. "Once is enough for a lifetime."
"Yes, it does sound like a bad idea," Zuckuss said. "Look at yourself. Zuckuss is happy he didn't second-guess himself and give you a weapon, or you may have panicked and killed the bounty."
He called in 4-LOM and the droid restrained and picked up the body. All sympathy she'd previously felt for the Twi'lek splicer was gone now despite the way his head hung loosely above the floor, and saw the sickly pallor that had tinged his skin.
Zuckuss checked the chronometer on his data pad and said, "Time to go, head-tails. As soon as the bounty is locked away and the ship is cleared to disembark, we will be headed for the Middle Rim."
-TBC-