Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs. Star Wars belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney. Many thanks to my co-writer zazabelle, who has been amazing as always. Please review it gives us joy. In addition to this new chapter, my cowriter has done character drawings for the crew. I'll add a link to the tumblr post at the end. Anyways please enjoy!
Rating: T (sci-fi violence and language)
'Nar Shadda. What a pisshole.' Soron though as he walked through the filthy and narrow alleys flanked by Cholmon and Cenden.
He always hated the Smuggler's Moon, but it was a good place to lie low and pick up work. If one was willing to put aside their belief in legality.
"Where are we going?" Their new member asked, covering his nose, as if that would stop the stench.
"A nightclub called The Inucbus, I got a friend there I want to you meet." Came the reply from Soron. "She'll have a mission for us."
"Haven't you tested me enough these past few days?" Cenden asked. Soron had rigorously tested his physical, mental, and Force abilities since he had awoken, and it was taking a toll on him.
"This isn't all about you." Chol gruffly stated. "We still need credits to eat and keep the Titan flying."
"And I wouldn't call them 'tests' just more along the lines of, 'physical assessments'" Soron cut in.
Cenden rolled his eyes.
"Hey, look, I've been with my crew for a long time. I know what everyone is capable of, but adding a variable to the list only makes strategizing harder. So no whining from either of you… We're here." Soron smiled.
This time Cenden and Chol exchanged glances. There was something slightly amusing and irking about Soron speaking to them as if they were children. Cholmon gave his glaring face a refresh and all Cenden could do was shrug.
Soron's quick pace slowing before stopping in front of a blocky building. Neon lights covered the front entrance, the dull thrum of music escaping its walls.
"This is it. Cenden, follow me. Cholmon, wait for us while we meet with her. Try not to get too drunk."
"Whatever you say." Cholmon grumbled.
Immediately upon entering they were bombarded by the loud electronic music. Cenden winced at the volume and Soron's ears flattened against his head in an effort to save his hearing.
'She really needs to hire a new DJ.' Soron thought as they approached the bar. Cholmon immediately plopped himself down on a stool and ordered a drink from the nearest bartender.
Rolling his eyes, Soron motioned to a flight of stairs nearby. "She's up there."
Cenden nodded and followed him up the dimly lit stairs where the music became dimmed into the background of their thought. At the top standing in front the only door at the end of the hallway, the where they were stopped by a heavily scarred human acting as guard.
"Clearances." He grunted.
"Ando, can we not do this today? Let us through. Unless you want me to add a few more scars to that thing you're using as a face." Soron said, lips peeling back to reveal his fangs. Ando met him with a growl of his own.
"Let him in Ando." Came a melodic feminine voice from beyond the door. Soron pushed past the doorman, Cenden following behind cautiously.
The door opened to reveal a room high above the dance floor, illuminated by the blue lights below. Against the window was a long coach and on it reclined a Falleen woman clad in tight business clothes and sporting a long black ponytail. She beamed at the duo as they entered.
"Soron!" She exclaimed as the door closed. She raced towards the Shistavenan, wrapping him in a tight hug which he returned. "It's been too long."
"It has. It's good to see you again Beebs." Soron responded.
"Xa-Sin-Ruk, hold my calls." She ordered the Tiss'shar standing behind the desk on the left side of the room as the two untangled themselves.
"As you wish, my lady." He answered, dipping his raptor-like head as he returned to a sitting position in front of his terminal. Cenden and Soron sat on the coach as the Falleen took her previous seat.
"How long have you had him?" Soron asked, jerking a thumb towards Xa-Sin-Ruk.
"A few months now. He's loyal beyond belief, and good at what he does. Keeps the finances flowing much smoother than the last one. But who is this you brought to me?" She finished, locking eyes with Cenden.
"This is Cenden Sondron. Cenden, meet Beebs Dovrees. Probably the nicest crime lord you'll ever meet."
"Pleasure to meet you." Cenden said, extending his hand, which Beebs returned.
Although he was a bit frustrated that Soron gave out his real name, he tried not to show it on his face. For all this woman knew, that might not be his real name.
"The pleasure is mine. It's always interesting to see who Soron here picks up." She said, earning a bit if a smile from Soron and a heavily muffled laugh from Cenden.
"Too true. Now then, I know you already gave us a mission, but I was wondering if you had anything for my new crew member?" Soron asked.
"Wait, what? What do you mean you already have a mission?" Cenden questioned.
Beebs adopted a thoughtful expression for a few seconds towards Cenden. "Breaking him in?"
"Breaking him in." Soron agreed.
"In that case I think I have something." Beebs said. "He can stay to discuss it with me, in the meantime here is your information." She handed Soron a datapad. "Your target is a Chiss smuggling ring that's been pushing into my turf. Eliminate them and grab the cargo they're transporting. Specifics are in there." She finished.
"Thanks again Beebs." Soron said as he stood up.
"Always happy to have you help me Soron." Came the reply, a grin etched into the Falleen's face.
"Alright, me and Chol will head out." Soron stated to Cenden, "Good luck."
"No." Cenden replied, grabbing Soron's arm. "Wait."
Cenden turn to look at Beebs. "What's my mission?"
Beebs smiled, "I have something special for you. I have a certain Twi'lek under my protection. Runs a numbers racket in a lower district, but has been skimping on his protection payments. I want you to go and show him the error of his ways."
"You want me to kill him?!" Cenden questioned worriedly.
"No no no." Beebs responded, slight panic in her voice. "No killing. Takes way too long to build those connections. But you can maim him if necessary. After all, he violated the one rule."
"And what rule is zhat?" Cenden asked.
"Don't fuck with my money." She said, voice hardening. To Cenden it felt as if the temperature had dropped a few degrees.
"Anyways, here's the location. Any other questions?" She asked, warmth returning to her voice, as she handed him a small note with the address and the Twi'lek's name on it.
"No questions just a statement." Cenden said as he stood up and released Soron's arm. "I want you both to realize that I had a life before this. Not a life of commitment but a life with a job nonetheless. I didn't join Soron's team to help anyone, especially not hurt anyone. So before I make any agreements, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me. Am I being hired to hurt an innocent man?"
Beebs smiled slowly, "Before I answer that, ask this. Is anyone truly innocent?"
"If I find someone I'll let you know." Cenden growled back.
She laughed, "I like this one Soron! You'll have to show me where you got one." she said as she stood from her seat, "Cenden, was it? The man I am sending you to is not remotely innocent and I'm sure deserves worse than a warning. I don't do killing unless necessary. Maiming is a stretch. And all this shows me is how well you actually know Soron, thinking he would put you in a situation where you would even need to ask such questions. Now get out, and I wish you the best."
As the two turned to leave, Soron shot Cenden a look that he couldn't quite read. Not anger, just perhaps, disappointment? Soron's speedy pace shot him through the doorway and halfway down the stairs before Cenden was even halfway across the room.
"Wait." Beebs suddenly commanded. "Soron guards his crew jealousy, and thus rarely takes on new crew members. They tend to make his job harder. So what made him consider you?" She asked eyes narrowing.
Cenden paused. "I jumped in front of a blaster meant for one of his crew. And kept him from succumbing to his other wounds." He said, hoping that would appease the crime lord.
Beebs narrowed her eyes even more, an unreadable expression on her face. Like a predator sizing up its prey.
"You are a different one for sure. Maybe one day you'll tell me the whole story." She said, Cenden glaring in return. "In the meantime, good hunting." She finished, dismissing Cenden with a wave of her green hand.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Cenden approached the building where his target operated out of. It was a dilapidated old warehouse, hardly suitable for habitation or storage of any sort. As he approached the door he was stopped by a Zabrak guard who leveled his blaster at Cenden.
"State your business." He barked.
"I'm here to meet Nero." Cenden replied, using the name Beebs had given him.
"How the hell do you know that name?" The Zabrak growled, finger hovering over the trigger.
Cenden sighed and pulled the Force through his mind, then reached our and connected it with the frontal lobe of the Zabrak's mind. A ringing sounded in his ears as he watched the alien's face go calm.
"You will let me pass." Cenden ordered, waving his hand through the connection, sending only the thoughts he desired before interrupting the "line".
"I...will let you pass. Nero is at the end of the hall on the right." The Zabrak replied in a trance.
Cenden carefully skirted around him before disappearing into the building. The guard snapped out of his trance, confused.
"Where did he go... eh he probably ran off. It's Nero's problem now, I'm on break." He muttered as he walked off.
Cenden made his way through the building, thoroughly disgusted by the business taking place. Innocent people, with no other option for improvement, were gambling away everything on this racket, while those running it simply stood by or openly laughed when their hopes were crushed by the "random" numbers. It was enough to make Cenden's blood boil.
'Not here.' Cenden had to remind himself. 'Not this time.'
He made his way to the door and rapped his right knuckles against it. "It's unlocked." Came the reply.
Cenden breathed deep, then pushed the door open. The room was small, with several terminals and desks along with five guards. At the far end sat his target, going over documents on a datapad and with two Quarren guards flanking him. He looked up, surprise appearing on his blue face.
"Who the hell are you? How did you get in?"
"Beebs sent me. It's time to pay up." Cenden replied, channeling a small amount of anger into his voice.
"Ha, she must truly be a fool to send someone as green as you. Now get out of my office before an "accident" happens." Nero threatened, gesturing to his guards.
They loomed towards him, both surprisingly light on their feet.
'I hope Soron's mission isn't going as badly as this.' Cenden thought as he reached for his pistol.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Of course this happens to me!" Soron shouted as he dove back into cover, a storm of blaster fire passing over his head. This mission had gone horribly, with the Chiss apparently expecting him and had already dug in. Priming a grenade, he tossed it over cover, rewarded with the screams of two Chiss.
"How many of these blue skinned fanatics are left Chol?" Soron asked as the Mon Calamari in question slid into the cover across from him, venting his pistol.
"Let me check." He responded, but no sooner had he peeked his head around cover than a shot whizzed inches over his head. "Sithspit!" He swore.
"How many Chol?"
"Six or seven of em. This had better be worth it."
"I have a plan." Soron yelled. "I'll throw another grenade, then you lay down some suppressive fire. I'll sneak around the right side and flank them."
"Fine by me cap." Cholmon responded.
"Alright on three. One. Two. Three!" Soron yelled, throwing the grenade. Hearing Cholmon's pistol a second later he sprint towards the next building, getting ready to loop around.
'I hope Cenden is having more luck than us right now.'
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The first guard, a human, reached for Cenden's shoulder. The moment his hand made contact, Cenden unfurled his arm, jabbing his wrist swiftly into the throat of the guard. Swiftly stepping back as the guard choked Cenden's fist flew to make contact with the man's temple.
The room exploded to life.
All Cenden could see were fist and feet and weapons. All things he instinctively knew needed to go.
He grabbed and pulled one guard's stomach into his knee as he felt the presence of another on his right. Tumbling over the winded guard's back, he used the inertia of the tumble to gain momentum to throw himself onto the third guard that had appeared on the opposite side of the winded one.
The guard's body flew with Cenden's towards the wall. Grabbing the man's face during their flight, the guard's skull smashed hard into the surface. The man crumpled into unconsciousness before the three remaining guards were upon him. Cenden swung hard into the side of one guard's head and grabbed his blaster pistol.
He reached out, just for a moment.
The room seemed to go into slow motion. Just for a second, Cenden could feel something adjusting his hand and directing his aim.
He fired once.
Twice.
The two remaining guards went down.
They weren't dead, but they easily could have been.
With the last guards down Cenden advanced towards Nero, panting slightly.
"I guess I'll do this myself!" Nero shouted as he stood and reached under his desk. Cenden flew towards him and grabbed the pistol from the Twi'lek before using it as a bludgeon against his head.
"Ah! For the love of-" Nero began, but Cenden cut him off by grabbing the front of his shirt, dropping the borrowed pistol and placing his own against the bottom of his jaw.
"Now then, what will it be?" Cenden asked menacingly.
"Screw you and that green bi-" Cenden slammed his face against the table, earning another cry of pain.
"Want to try zhat again?" Cenden asked.
"Alright alright. I'll pay Beebs what I owe. Tell her she won't get any more trouble from me."
"Good choice. Try and remember this next time you get ideas about messing with her money." Cenden finished, shoving Nero into his chair. He holstered his pistol and exited the room, looking forward to leaving this shipwreck of a moon.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The wind began to blast at the faces of Soron and Cholmon as they stood among the bay now littered with the corpses of pirates and smugglers. The smell of a storm once again threatened the horizon, but the two weren't thinking on the storm, only the rain that they hoped would wash away the traces of blood that stained the ground.
Soron left out a shaking breath and Cholmon nervously rubbed the long closed scar that ran along the top of his head.
"That could've gone better…" Cholmon spoke lightly, trying to calm their nerves.
"Why do we do this to ourselves Chol? Why do any of us fight this war? I saw younglings not much older than 14 handling the heavy artillery fire just over the ridge there…"
"Soron, let's not get into this now. We needed money, they needed money, and we earned it, and they didn't and that's the way things are." The two older men exchanged glances, Cholmon could see the old pain beginning to resurface in Soron's face. "Don't start doing this to yourself now, tell you what, when we get back to Beebs I'll buy us both a drink. Sound good?"
"I'm getting tired of fighting for all this nothing." Soron sighed and the two turned to leave, the storm growing steadily behind them.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Cenden sat impatiently in Beebs' office. Soron and Cholmon should've been back by now. This senses still on high alert from the fights, every sudden bout of laughter or shatter of glass from the nightclub downstairs was enough to make him twitch for his pistol, but his stern face remained deadpan as always. His more explosive emotions safely tucked away within the grooves of his mind.
If there mission was as… violence filled as mine was, maybe I need to go looking for them? Would that be the smart thing to do? Cenden thought to himself, a bit of stress surfacing. Why am I worried? They're fine. I would've sensed if something happened… right? They again, it's not like that helped in the past.
As if on cue, Soron's voice could be heard muffled through the door and it wasn't long before a tired looking captain stepped into the room. A scowled was locked onto his face mirroring the several cuts just barely surfacing from underneath the alien's fur.
"How did it go?" Cenden asked.
"How does it look like it went?" Soron responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Got it."
"And your mission?"
"About the same."
"Figured." Soron mumbled flopping onto the couch opposite his new crew member.
"So where's Beebs? I've been here a while and I haven't seen her."
"Eh, she owns like half this whole nightclub so she's probably just lost in the crowd downstairs. She might be up soon, or in an hour. Either way, I'm going to take a nap until she gets here." Soron explained, his mouth barely making the effort to move as his head rested on the couch's backing his eyes shut.
For the little Cenden knew about Soron, him taking a nap seemed strangely out of character, and for a moment he wondered if the captain had a concussion or something. The two sat in silence for a while. Even in his half conscious state, Soron could tell something needed to be discussed while there was silence.
Cenden broke the quiet built up in the room.
"Ya know, zhis was not exactly what I was expecting for my first mission on the team."
"What? Did it not meet your high standards in terms of excitement?" Soron chuckled, his eyes still closed.
"I guess… Just from the way you were talking on the ship on my first night, I was expecting something more but less, ya know?"
Soron raised an eyebrow as his eyes opened ever so slightly.
Cenden sighed, "How you were talking about this greater picture, and this noble neutrality to the universe, it sounded like, someone I used to know. I was expecting more importance and less… conflict."
This time Soron was the one to sigh, "That's why I took you on, I thought maybe with your background of work you could help us straighten things out." Soron said as he threw a glance at the Tiss'shar secretary.
"I am not the man to help you find some sort of greater purpose. I was never good at what I did, and I certainly never did anything for any of you to put faith in me. And I certainly haven't had any kind of epiphany after my original position was terminated. So, maybe next time you'll quit the riddles and have a better interview when you take on a new employee." Cenden laughed sarcastically.
"If you knew you couldn't help us, then why'd you take the job?" Soron's voice dropped to an agitated whisper as he leaned forward in his seat.
Cenden fell quiet for a moment before continuing in the same hushed voice, "Maybe I had nowhere else to be?"
"You sure acted like you could be somewhere else when you were taking your mission from Beebs earlier."
"Well I don't."
"You are not making much sense to me Sondron."
"Sorry to disappoint you, captain. I was foolish to think this would be any different from any other crew in the galaxy." Cenden sneered.
The door to the room suddenly burst open and a slightly tipsy Beebs came wandering in laughing. Her half-lidded eyes met the two crew members.
"Ah! Great to see you two made it back alive! Credits are with him..." she pointed at her secretary as she hiccuped.
Cenden and Soron rose from their seats and collected the credits from the Tiss'shar. Before the two made it out of the room, Beebs stopped them.
"I believe I'm owed a story from mister Cenden here before you leave." Beebs smiled drunkenly.
"I don't owe you anything. Maybe some other time." Cenden said sternly as he and Soron exited the crime lord's office.
Emerging into the packed club, Soron spotted Cholmon sitting at the bar near the center of the room. Weaving their way through the crowd of dancing people, Soron nearly dragged Cholmon off his chair as him and Cenden shuffled past.
"We're leaving now." Soron shouted above the noise.
The Mon Calamari followed without a word.
The three crew members wandered back to the ship parked several blocks away in the main bay area of the quadrant.
They were silent most of the trip, and the mood didn't lightened much even after the three walked inside one of the main common areas of the ship to find Nek had brought back food from the market nearby.
"So how'd everything go? We spent the last of our spending credits on food." Lerti explained with her mouth full.
"Could've gone better, could've gone worse. But we got credits and we're alive so that's a plus." Cholmon answered reaching for some of the assorted fruits that lay scattered across the counter.
"Well that good I guess..." Nek joined in, noticing the unpleasant faces of the three. "Did something happen or…?"
Soron answered, "Oh a lot of somethings happened. I'm going to go bandage these cuts, I'll tell you all later."
After the captain had left the room, Cholmon's mouth flew open.
"Soron just upset cause, as with most missions, people died unnecessarily. He'll be fine, just give him an hour or two to push back whatever's making him upset and he'll be over it."
"Oh shut up." Cenden suddenly snapped as he plopped down onto one of the booth chairs.
"What?" Cholmon asked sounding genuinely surprised.
"I've met too many people like you, like all of you, in my lifetime and you're all the same. You think you have some sort of unspoken rule, some burden to bear. Well guess what? You're allowed to be upset. You're allowed to be angry. It's better than just bottling everything up all the time! We live in a time of mercenaries, and thieves, and dictators, and heroes. But we're all still just people…"
"Whoa. Ok where'd that come from Master Jedi?" Lerti scoffed defensively.
"I just realize what you all expect from me. Or what Soron does anyway. That I'm suppose to change something, or make some difference. But I'm just a person who's just been trying to live a normal life up until now, and I thought you all might have some answers. But truth is, I don't know anything about any of you."
They were all silent for a moment.
Outside the closed door, Soron stood listening.
Nek hopped down from the counter he had been watching from and walked over to where Cenden sat. Smiling he put his hand on his shoulder.
"My friend. We do not expect any greatness from you. And what you say is true. The lifestyle we, and many others in this galaxy live, make us feel responsible for something. Perhaps we feel invincible. Maybe we feel vulnerable to point that we all have nothing to lose. There were no 'better times' as some claim. There are only good moments, for all of us that we dwell on when we're sad or hurt and we think, maybe, just maybe, we can make those moment last forever." He laughed, "I'm actually glad I got nearly shot to death just so that I can finally speak these feelings with all of you. Sometimes the worst can lead to a little good! We formed this team to look for a greater purpose than to kill or be killed, so let's do it!"
Nek fell completely silent in a bit of surprise as the door to the kitchen slid open and Soron and BX walked in. The captain laughed a bit.
"Today has been one of those days, and I don't know about the rest of you but I'm tired of feeling sorry for myself."
Glancing at Cenden, Lerti stood.
"So what's the plan?" she asked with a smiled in her eyes.
"We're going to figure out what we're looking for and find it." Soron answered.
"Sounds easy enough." Cholmon said.
"Am I understanding we are looking for something that we don't know what we're looking for?" BX chimed in suddenly sounding disgusted.
"We have a feeling and that's what counts right?" Nek spoke.
"Cut the sentiment, engineer." Cholmon snapped.
"Alright, alright." Soron spoke up, drawing the attention of everyone in the room before directing his gaze towards Cenden, "Cenden. We know you are just a man, you've been through a lot. But so have we all. Is there anyway we can figure out what we're looking for? Answers to… bigger purposes? Not to many people are religious these days, but there has to be something more than all of this." He said gesturing around him.
"Well believe it or not, but the Jedi aren't very religious." Cenden joked sarcastically. He sighed, "I really do appreciate everything you are all doing. But I want you all to understand that we are going to have to go digging around in some very… restricted places. It almost sounds like you are trying to dig up the Jedi from their graves. And if that's what we are going for, well Jedi Temples are where we are going to have to start."
"Temples of the Jedi are restricted by most Imperial controls in any area, are destroyed, or overrun by scavengers and thieves. This seems like getting involved in a lot of Imperial business for some people who definitely have made it clear they want to avoid the Empire." BX analyzed.
"We'll do what we have to. But this is a huge start. Do you know where the best one to start with might be?" Soron questioned Cenden.
"A few I can think of off the top of my head might be Alaris Prime, Iktotch, Tyroth, Jedha…"
"Wait so we're really doing this!?" Nek piped in excitedly.
"I think so." Lerti confirmed.
"Cholmon. Can you begin charting some possibilities on the star map with Cenden?" Soron asked.
"Sure, but, is this a good idea?" Cholmon inquired.
"It's the only good idea we've ever had as far as I can remember." Nek responded.
"Let's begin our search then." BX spoke.
A/N: Here is the link:
post/163154250430/hello-everyone-over-the-course-of-this-summer-me