Nadita had run out of her own luck. The Fobs in her jacket pocket no longer beeped, as her bounties lay in carbonite a short while away. It was simply safer that way, in her own company where no one could even try to take any form of advantage against the woman. Wincing as the volcanic type planet entered her vision, she guided the cargo ship to land, settling in amongst the other bounty ships outside the market. The woman wasn't one for dawdling in this place, but she needed the credits. Chewing nervously at her nails, she looked around the lifeless hull and huffed. "This ship is a bunch of Osik." She cursed to herself, before getting to her feet and lowering the ramp, cutting her losses. It wasn't as though she could complain, work for a woman like her was scarce, and the life of a woman was full of constant battles.
Drawing her black around herself, and pulling up her hood, the woman set out, fobs in hand and blaster at her hip. The sooner this was done the better. Nadita was of little interest to the people around her, a hooded figure was hardly out of place thankfully. She could still recall how she'd bled like a pig, stumbling over the same cobbles years earlier. Snapping from that line of thinking, Nadita clenched her jaw and sauntered her way to the cantina, silently cursing the blasted planet for its sulfuric air and smell as she entered the building.
Removing her head, she paid no attention to the few eyes that looked her way, snarling or appraising, depending on what they'd heard. She returned the looks with the same venom cast in her earthy eyes, flashing a snarl as she weaved through the crowd.
"Allotech!" A boastful voice called, urging Nadita to the table where Greef Karga stat, his hands splayed out in a large welcome as he held a large grin. "Back so soon?"
"Only for you Karga." She responded sarcastically, sliding into the booth opposite when the man motioned towards the vacancy. Placing the two pucks on the table, she easily slid them over to him, watching as his eyes lit up, nodding in approval at her efforts. "They may be a bit cold, but they're all alive." She smirked, casting her braids over her shoulder as if what she had was a simple ordeal.
Nodding, the Guild leader let out a hearty laugh, covering how the door had once again opened and attracted many eyes. "You have a thing for carbonite don't you Tech?" He said, leaning back as he fiddled with his pockets for her rewards. Oh how she hated that nickname.
"May as well make use, the ship you gave me is a pile of bantha crap as it is Greef." She snided, tilting her head as the man in question surrendered with a shrug, as if to say 'and what'. Scoffing, the woman bit her lip and rolled her eyes, freezing when she felt someone approach, stopping just beside the table, the glint of armor informing her of all she needed to know.
"Ah, that was fast. Did you catch them all?" Karga asked, looking to the newcomer as though discussing lunch, turning his attention from Nadita who huffed, wanting nothing more than to leave. She's seen this particular Mandalorian around before, and was relieved to find she didn't recognize the armor, she could only foolishly beg that he hadn't witnessed her fall.
Rather than responding, the helmeted man places his pucks on the table, unmoving as Karga nods and smiles. "Good, I'll begin both off-loads." He informed, nodding towards Nadita who scowled back at him, raising a perfectly arched brow. Without her payment, she couldn't leave, but the presence of what used to be a person of her tribe right there, she was suffocating on land.
"Take a seat." Her eyes widen at this, and as the lady makes to move to another table, Greef reaches out to gently guide her back with a simple smile. "I'll pay you both now, make my life a little easier Tech." He implored, acting twice his age to the annoyance of the woman, picking at her nails to ignore how she feels the cold radiate from the beskar onto her skin when the Mandalorian takes a seat, his ambian rifle in reach as always.
Greef thumbs through his pockets, pulling out handfuls of currency before beginning to count and distribute them slowly.
"These are Imperial Credits." The Mandalorian interrupted, causing Greef to pause and look up to meet the Hunter's visor, looking to Nadita who shrugged, pushing the credit farther from herself. Credits such as those would do nothing but cause her trouble in many areas when planet side.
"They still spend."
Nadita scoffs, tipping her head back as she wipes the dust from her brow, shaking her head lightly before answering in place of the 'man' beside her. "Not without being killed for being an imp or recruited for some grand scheme." She lulls, pulling her thumb to the corner of her lip in vacant worry when the metal man replies.
"I don't know if you heard, but the Empire is gone." His voice is surprisingly gruff, holding an annoyed lilt as he looks accusingly to the man occupant, ignoring Nadita to her immense relief.
"It's all I've got." Greef says with a furrowed brow, staring accusingly as the woman opposite him when she smirks knowingly.
Not once to waste time, the Mandalorian regains his tracking fobs quickly, rising to leave with a dissatisfied huff when Karga rolls out his own huff, halting the Mandalorian before he can properly move. "Save the theatrics. Fine, I'll..." Prompted by the change of events, he places a separate pile of credits in place with a sigh. "I can do Calamari Flan But I can only pay half."
Returning the fobs, the Mandalorian sits again, pocketing the credits as he awaits offload and a new job. Snapping her gaze from the painful memory the beskar brings to her, Nadita turns to Karga with a raised brow. "Pay up old man, just because I don't have the shiny beskar anymore doesn't mean I don't get paid." At her choice of words, the Mandalorian's visor snaps to focus on her, urging her to shuffle in her spot, cheekbones flushing a dark bronze as she clears her throat.
Collecting her own share of payment, Nadita makes to leave, looking to the Mandalorian who blocks her path. Just before he can move from her way, the Guild Leader interrupts once more. "Stay Tech, maybe I can see about a better ride to get you somewhere."
Gritting her teeth, Nadita simply nods and harshly situates herself back down, crossing her arms atop the table as she chances looks towards the Mandalorian. His beskar was worn, parts painted a tan rose, others with a hint of royal blue whilst most stayed a true steel beskar colour, he had the honor of full armor, and the battle damage did little to stop his intimidating stature, he was tall and clearly well versed in battle, if the way he commanded the room had any indication. It put her, belted mechanics suit to shame.
"Hmm. I have a bail jumper, a bail jumper, another bail jumper, a wanted smuggler."
"I'll take them all." The Mandalorian cuts in, going to grasp the numerous fobs, freezing when a dark arm blocks his path with a light hiss. "No way! You can't just take them all bucket head." She cursed, unwavering when his attention was on her, his helmet holding her gaze in a dangerous staring battle like animals.
"Now both of you hold on. There are other members of the Guild, and this is all I have." At Karga's words, both Bounty Hunters seemed to abandon their staring for a common thought. Drifting their gazes from one another, they looked opposite, tilting their head simultaneously as if they'd always known one another.
"Why so slow?" The Mandalorian inquired, shifting lightly away from Nadita, a small victory in her opinion.
"It's not slow at all. Actually, very busy. They just don't want to pay Guild rates." Karga explains, glancing between his two prized Bounty Hunters as he continues. "They don't mind if things get sloppy."
"What's your highest bounty?"
"Not much. Five thousand."
pNadita laughed loudly, uncaring as curious eyes watched the woman with interest. "And here you were saying about a better ride, Karga that wouldn't even cover fuel!" She complained, talking slowly as if he were a youngling who had asked to fly a cruiser./p
p" is one job." He surrendered, looking between the pair as he lowered his voice slightly, leaning inward./p
p"Let's see the puck." The Mandalorian ordered, sparing a glance to Nadita as if she would pounce at any moment./p
p"No puck. Face to face. Direct commission. Deep pocket."/p
pAt this Nadita grows slightly unsure, clenching her hands as she leans back, the feeling of imposing settling on her chest as he conversation continues, setting in a change of events. "Underworld?" She questions, scratching at her nape as she watched the canteen, suddenly feeling all eyes and ears on their table./p
p"All I know is no chain code." Greef explained, pulling out a chit card and handing it out towards the pair. "It's not something you'll want to do solo, I'd advise a team up." At their wary and annoyed looks between another, he sighed. "Someone of your standards can surely benefit from a little teamwork."/p
pNot saying a word, the Mandalorian grasps the card and makes to leave, however as he approaches the door, he stops, turns his head and motions to Nadita. Swallowing the bile in the back of her throat, she walks to catch up, huffing as she looks up to address him, wishing he was smaller or she taller. "I'm not a dog."/p
pShaking his head at her bitten words, he continues, following the instructions without watching to ensure Nadita is following. Which of course she is, glancing around warily as they approach the backstreets, every time however, her gaze falls to the broad shoulders before her, silently admiring his confidence that he has within the beskar. That is a Mandalorian, she thinks shortly, disregarding personality in that moment, instead commenting on the aesthetic./p
"Stop staring."
p"Just enjoying the view shiny." She retorts evenly, sobering at the glare cast over his shoulder, or what she would assume to be a glare./p
pHalting before a heavy door, the Mandalorian motions for Nadita to stop, stepping beside him she chews on her lip, watching as after a swift knock to the door, a GateKeeper droid pops out from a small alcove, beeping in its language and looking between the odd pair, when shown the card, the droid chatters, disappears and with that the door opens allowing the pair /
"This feels..." Nadita trails off as they come to a simple yet large room, her lips slamming shut as she schools a hard expression, stepping from behind the Mandalorian to assess./p
Stormtroopers occupy the room, each watching intently as the pair do the same in turn, tension coating the air. It is only then, that an older man speaks, looking slowly between the pair, sizing them up. "Greef Karga said you were coming."
pThe Mandalorian takes this as his cue to approach, Nadita however remaining a few paces behind, feeling far too exposed in the face of this new turn of events. "What at else did he say?"/p
pThe Client's voice is cold and calculated as he stares directly to the Mandalorian, unmoving . "He said you were the best in the parsec."/p
pBefore long the silence in interrupted as a door slides open, another person entering the room, causing a startled drawing of blasters. Both the Mandalorian and Nadita training their blasters steadily on the newcomer who raises his hand and shakes, hunkering down defensively./p
p"Drop your weapons!" At the order from the troopers, she did no such thing, instead slowly pacing forward to guard the Mandalorian's exposed back, unaware of the dart of eyes recognizing the action./p
"No, no, no, no. Pardon." The newcomer stammers, hands still up and unable to look anyone in the eye."Uh, sorry. I... didn't... mean to alarm."
The Client rises from his position, stopping before the Mandalorian to address the issue. This is Doctor Pershing. Please excuse his lack of decorum, his enthusiasm outweighs his discretion." At this point the Client gestures to both Mando's and Nadita's weapons, almost accusingly. "Please lower your blasters"/p
"Have them lower theirs first." Mando supplies, nudging his heel to Nadita's foot lightly, a signal to follow his lead. Not a dog, she muses to herself, but still decides to follow in his actions./p
p"We have you four to two." One of the Stormtroopers smarts, jerking his blaster foreward, far too close for either Hunter's taste./p
p"I like those odds."/p
pSeemingly bored of the tension, the Client steps forward once again, facing the pair. "He also said you were expensive. Very expensive." With that, he motioned towards the seats available. "Please sit."/p
pOnce all weapons are lowered, The Mandalorian and Client sit, Nadita however remains stood, on guard over Mando's shoulder, oddly enough, he's unbothered by the company. Casting a package on the table before him, The Client unpacks clothe from whatever is packaged, removing his hands to reveal the spoils to the pair, watching in cold delight as Nadita lets out a shaky exhale, tearing her eyes from the ingot to look accusingly at the man./p
p"Beskar?"/p
p"Go ahead. It's real." He urges, remaining cold faced as the ingot is inspected by the Mandalorian, the woman biting her lip harshly to contain the desire to feel the smooth metal that once gave her such security./p
p"This is only a down payment. I have a camtono of Beskar waiting for you upon delivery of the asset." At the news, Nadita chokes lightly, concerned over where exactly the beskar came from, the brand in the corner of the ingot says enough however, urging her to simple step closer to her current 'partner'./p
p"Alive." Pershing added quickly, almost squeaking when Nadita looked questioningly his way./p
p"Yes. Alive." The Client waved his hand in dismissal, the status of the bounty more of a burden to him than a detail. "Although, I acknowledge that bounty hunting is a complicated profession. This being the case, proof of termination is also acceptable for a lower fee."/p
p"That is not what we agreed upon."/p
p"I'm simply being pragmatic."/p
pNadita scoffed aloud, rolling her eyes, if the Client's themselves couldn't agree on a status, how could they expect the Bounty Hunters to react. "Alright then, let's see the puck." She said, planting her hands on her lips as she stared the man down, wanting to leave the building and planet quickly./p
p"I'm afraid discretion dictates a less traditional agreement. We can only offer you a tracking fob." With that said, the fob is passed to Mando, who appears to match her discontent at what is beginning to pan out./p
p"What's the chain code?" Mando asks tiredly, resigned for a job that better be worth what his people had taken from them./p
p"We can only provide the last four digits."/p
p"Their age?" At this, the Mandalorian even casts a look to Nadita who simply shrugs, crossing her arms across her stomach tightly."That's all you can give us?"/p
p"Yes. They're 50 years old. We can also give you last reported positional data." The Client says, uncaring for the hardships he's created as he looks evenly between the pair with that same cold and calculating look. "Between that and the fob, two Mandalorian's of your skills should make short work of this."/p
pAt that, the Mandalorian freezes, looking from the Client to Nadita, who stands stock still, glaring at the Client with the threat of pain. "I'm not a Mandalorian." She whispers, however the pain within her voice does little to convince anyone./p
pAs she turns to take exit, one of the Stormtroopers, tries his luck. "Not since you lost your..." Before the sentence was finalized, Nadita had pulled the trigger, sending the trooper to the floor with a hole to the head. Her face blank, she watched as the Client did nothing but motion the remaining troopers to remain calm, watching her instead as if she was a wounded /
"Apologies, thought there was a fly." She snarled./p
pIgnoring the flickering gaze of her newfound 'partner', she holsters her gun and marches from the buildings, drawing mouthfuls of air and maintaining her composure as she turns her back on the apparent Imperial wannabes./p