The arrival at Ketaris, in contrast to Dantooine, was a tedious wait in orbit for clearance, and then a wait for a designated landing zone somewhere close enough to The Watcher, and then a wait for a clearance in that designated landing zone, and then another wait for them to clean up the clearance. And then yet another wait before they were allowed to land for scanning.
When word of one more wait after landing for a decontamination pass came, Maarani shouted expletives at them and closed the comm link.
This time she got a word in before even Dana could remark. "I am getting better about trying not to swear! This was just a really, really, really bad exception."
"Actually, I agree that it was excessively frustrating. But you can still express that frustration without swearing."
"Yeah yeah, I'll get over it eventually."
They both left their seats at that point, making their way through to the common room where the other three had gathered. For once, they were actually organized.
"Alright, to refresh. Izan looks at getting some weapons at long last for the ship, and while they do that he goes on a crash course in starship piloting. Without the crashing."
Izan grimaced at the incredibly poor choice of words.
"Dana, Jayden and myself go to meet The Watcher. We find out what her deal is, go through with it, and hopefully be done by the time the upgrades are complete. In and out before anyone has a chance to notice. This is a neutral world, so we keep the ship on lockdown until one of us is able to come back and guard it alongside Cecile. It'll also probably be our last stopover for a while if I get a good idea of where Yuthura went. We good?"
They all nodded, including Cecile in the back.
"Good. Izan, I'll draw up a rough layout of what weaponry I want where. Do what you can to get the right parts at a decent price, and don't skimp."
"Assuming we'll still have enough credits, I'll do my best."
Dana tossed over the earpieces that had been obtained earlier, placing one in hers as well. "It's possible we will be out of direct contact for some time, and holocommunicators are notoriously easy to track on worlds without proper encryption networks. These are primitive, but they'll do the job." She tossed the specialized one to Maarani. "Hold onto that for now. It's designed to fit under a headpiece, but in a pinch you can just hold it up."
Maarani carefully placed it in a top pocket of her jacket, next to the small holdout blaster Izan had given her all that time ago.
"Those personal shield generators I obtained are in the weapon locker. They're a crude model, five charges each at most before they're drained altogether. If anything happens, pick up two at least, one on each arm, and be ready to use them. With any luck they won't be necessary."
Cecile spoke up at long last, her lower arms perched on her hips in an indignant way while her upper ones folded over her chest.
"And what about me? I've been placed on guard duty for several stops now!"
This time it was Maarani's turn to interject. "You're the one who bought four blasters. And seeing as the ship is now running just fine there's little else for you to do. Unless Dana's unexpectedly pregnant."
"What?"
"I did say unexpectedly."
"Well I can absolutely assure you that I'm not."
"Whatever, it was an example. We move out in fifteen minutes. City map will be downloaded to the holo table in the comm room any moment now. Get a good look at it, memorize where we are right now, don't get lost. Let's get going."
They were out of the ship exactly fifteen minutes later as described. Izan was immediately off to the spaceport office in the same building complex, while Maarani, Dana and Jayden were headed south-east towards the described meeting point. All three were back in their usual attire, Jayden's armor looking notably more polished. And with the helmet on, they blended in rather well as two people being escorted by a large Mandalorian. Anyone looking for people based on that description alone would be extremely hard pressed to spot them out of all the other varied groups they passed by on the way.
When they reached a network of thinner alleys, where the more unsavoury types were to be found, they picked up the conversation at last to truly appear casual.
"So, how was your visit to that store?"
Maarani knew Dana was referring to the lightsaber parts in an indirect way. It was pleasing to know she had improved her nondescript banter since they first set foot on Twa'janii Station.
"Quite pleasant. The merchant there was very helpful, gave me good prices for some fine pieces."
"And have you gotten around to putting them to use yet?"
"No, I'm waiting for the right time. When it feels right to complete the puzzle. It's waited eight years after all."
In that time, they had passed at least three different drug merchants, some shady beggars that deliberately avoided to avoid the possibility of being shanked in the leg for not paying a passer-by fare, and at least one Twi'lek woman dressed in so little that in turn exposed so much that Maarani was barely able to keep herself from throwing up. There were certainly a wide variety of female bodies she didn't ever want to see, especially not to that extent.
The location itself was set in the back of a gambling parlour, the clamour of which they could hear through the thin walls. The room they had been guided to was a reeking den in the very real sense, the very air was foul with all manner of toxic drugs that both Dana and Jayden were barely able to keep free of Maarani's airways.
Shocking by comparison was that the occupants themselves otherwise seemed like decent people. A pair of Bith in clothing so flamboyant that Maarani again felt like vomiting. Some humans in all variety of rather formal clothing sprawled out over each other on a lounge while they sipped away at spice flutes. A Sullustan in one corner was muttering away to himself about whatever was supposedly flashing before his eyes. In front of a second doorway was a surprisingly thin Gamorrean woman.
"Got an appointment?"
Maarani nearly jumped at the use of Basic by the Gamorrean herself. As far as she was aware, the only other Gamorrean capable of that was serving in the Republic military as a general. To find one in a drug den on a backwater planet of all places…
"Actually we do. Uh, assuming that it's The Watcher behind there."
The Gamorrean grunted, folding her arms.
"I'm Maarani. Vaner Shan contacted her on my behalf."
That seemed to catch her attention. After another grunt of thought, she unfolded her arms and banged the door open with her fist.
"No trouble. She will know before you even think about drawing a blaster."
"Believe me, no trouble is exactly what I want from this visit. To this entire planet I mean."
"Just get inside. All of you."
Maarani stepped through, looking over her shoulder to the others once inside the small passageway beyond. Jayden would have to duck down for some distance it seemed.
The passageway opened up to a room that looked as if it were straight out of a Corellian mystic legend. Crystals of all shapes and cuts were dangling from the ceiling, refracting the solitary light in the centre into an endless display of colour. Underneath the light was a plain table with two chairs facing each other. The other side of the room was cordened off by a thick curtain.
It was from behind the curtain that a voice spoke at last.
"Tega Maarani will sit. Dana Lauran and Jayden Mires will stand."
"Tega Maarani? As if there aren't enough variations of my name out there…"
She did as instructed, moving in to sit on the chair facing towards the curtain.
At last, The Watcher made her appearance. True to the room itself, and the one they had come through, she looked rather well kept, but also had an eccentric nature to her. The full dress piece wrapped around her body and tied at the waist looked strangely off-colour from what it once had been. Her thick mess of short hair splayed in all directions. And despite being indoors, she had a thick pair of black goggles that covered her eyes completely.
Maarani could barely make out a large burn scar extending out from beneath them on the left temple. She soon realized it was similar enough to the wound that had claimed some of Bastila's fingers, and the eyes of her former squadmates. The wound of a lightsaber strike.
"You seek Yuthura Ban, a friend I have not seen in such a long time? Why?"
At first, Maarani could only swallow. There was something odd, and yet familiar about The Watcher's face. Perhaps it was the purple lipstick coating her lips?
"It's a long story. I wish to learn from her, ask if she can do anything to heal a wound that has plagued me for eight years. The sort of wound that goes beyond what Force healers can manage."
"Oh really?" The Watcher smiled, leaning a little closer. Her painted nails glinted in the light reflecting around them. "You don't look like a Wound. You don't smell like one, or sound like one. I know what true Wounds in the Force are like, and you are not one. Why then, do you describe yourself that way?"
Maarani swallowed again. "Okay, it wasn't a good choice of words. I've lost my connection to the Force, and I want to get it back. Yuthura is the closest I have to a family member, and as far as I know that's what's related to how I was cut off in the first place."
Behind her, both Dana and Jayden looked at each other in a knowing way.
That fact didn't escape the sight of The Watcher, but she was very careful to keep that to herself. "Why should she restore what was lost, if you cannot reclaim it yourself? The gift of the Force is not to be taken lightly. If you were meant to have it, it would have returned by now. So perhaps, it was never yours to keep."
Again, Maarani found herself thinking, rather than reacting. Perhaps that was exactly the point. It would be so easy to lash out in a moment of anger at having her reasons questioned. If she wanted to proceed, she had to be smart about it.
"My 'gift' developed far too late in life, just before I turned sixteen. I've never had proper Jedi training, I don't know where to begin on undoing the damage myself. And believe me, I have already tried so many times on my own. Finding her is the best option I've thought of yet."
The Watcher leaned back at last, those purple lips curving up into a smile. Her hand lifted up to brush through her mess of hair that somehow still looked reasonable for it. "Fair enough. I don't believe my contact has an exact location, but he did have direct contact with Yuthura Ban as I stated in the message I believe. He may be able to point you in the right direction, figuratively. He may have a message from her to you if she is in fact close to the family. Or they might simply have met to settle an old debt, I just can't be sure."
Maarani crumpled her lips in a bit of a frown. Most of that she didn't want to think about, and yet it was that last exact possibility she hated that seemed the most plausible.
"I'll take the chance. You also said in the message that meeting with your contact would require special arrangements. Are we talking money, drugs, what?"
The smile that The Watcher formed made Maarani extremely uncomfortable.
"It's really quite simple. In order to get an actual private audience with him that won't draw the attention of others, you'll have to play the part of a slave dancer. The fact that you're a young Twi'lek woman just fits oh so perfectly."
At that, Maarani nearly threw the table over in anger. Instead, she settled for standing up in a start. "You stupid fucking racist bitch! Take that back!"
"And there goes the swearing…"
"Shut up Dana!"
It didn't faze The Watcher in the slightest, who instead rose in return to meet her gaze. "I won't step back on what just happens to be conveniently true. Twi'lek slave dancers are prized, and they are among the few that are so out there that they become completely inconspicuous. Put a headdress on, lose the jacket for a bikini and tassels, and Tega Maarani becomes just another dancer. Smirged the Hutt won't have it any other way."
"A Hutt!? You actually want me to dance for a fucking Hutt to get the information!? After what they've done to my fucking people!?"
Dana grabbed both her shoulders at that to forcibly make her sit back down.
"Teegs, enough with the swearing. You knew the situation could call for unusual demands-"
"Oh yeah? Why don't you go in there with two loincloths and tassels? Or what about Jayden? Hell, send Izan in, he can lose the tassels altogether!"
"Dana Lauran has self-inflicted scars covering almost her entire body. Jayden Mires is a married woman, and has a cybernetic leg. Smirged the Hutt has no interest in male dancers, not even Zeltron male dancers. All of these reasons make them invalid for the task."
All three looked to The Watcher at that moment in stunned silence. For a woman they had just met, she had uncannily accurate information about them all.
"Tega Maarani, if you really do want to find Yuthura Ban, you will have to put aside your own racist views of the Hutts, swallow your pride and make sure you get that private audience with him, whatever it takes. This is my part of the deal fulfilled, if you choose to ignore it, that's everyone's time wasted and I will be very upset."
"Why, you busy in your double job as a pimp?"
"Oh, dear child…" The Watcher leaned in again, bringing her voided goggles right to Maarani's eyeline. "You don't know a thing about what I have planned, what I'm here to do. Please, be kind enough to follow the simple instructions I give, that you asked for to begin with. Besides, Smirged is not the kind of Hutt you think you know. I would not propose this if I felt it would put you in danger."
"Yeah that's totally reassuring. And I feel like I've heard that before as well."
Dana took that opportunity to finally pull Maarani away before she could make an even bigger mess of things. "Let me take it from here." When Maarani relented, she moved in front to take her turn at looking into The Watcher's concealed eyes. "She can't just waltz in there, someone in Smirged's employ has to hire her. Don't suppose that someone is also a contact of yours.
"Very perceptive, Dana Lauran." The Watcher handed over a small holomap of the city that highlighted another building. "There you will find someone who can fit Tega Maarani with the attire she will need. He will point you to a nearby club where the recruiter hangs around. He has had a recent drought of good dancers, many of them have left to work for other Hutts. From that moment on, you will not see Tega Maarani until her mission is completed. That is both a warning and an instruction not to interfere. You may only go there and confront Smirged directly if the dangers approaching Ketaris arrive sooner than I foresee."
Maarani was about ready to duck back into the tunnel back then, but she stopped and came back to the table at that. "Dangers?"
"A woman in white and a man in red will have a confrontation in the near future. They both seek to destroy you Maarani, you must be gone by then, as either one will prove more than a match for your two Jedi friends here. I doubt even I could stop the victor."
There was a small sigh from Maarani, her head ducking down. "Very helpful, thanks. When I get back, remind me to ask you about a Seer, a Witch and a Silent. And a Lady. And 'the One'. And Azera Vass. Oh and I might as well also ask you about what career path I should follow while I'm at it. And what I should wear tomorrow, what I should eat for dinner tonight. All those things."
"Alright I can't stand this any longer." Dana pulled Maarani back again, this time glaring at her until she finally went into the tunnel. "She's just obsessing over the partial recovery of blocked out memories. We didn't mean to trouble you more than she already has.
"It is quite alright, I can see why she assumed I would have answers to all those… questions? The important ones anyway. Perhaps if the confrontation is further away than expected, I can give thought to those concepts."
"Right, I'll leave you two to do all the fancy talk then." Jayden gripped Dana's shoulder lightly while ducking down to follow Maarani out.
Dana didn't speak again until she was certain they were both out of earshot, at which point she looked back to The Watcher.
"Really? The Watcher? Could you not make it any more obvious who you really are? It's incredible that Jayden didn't recognize you."
"She is not good with identifying people. I wonder how she has managed to last so long in the spy game with that acting against her, but that is her concern alone." The Watcher sat down at last, sighing as she reached up to move her goggles onto her forehead. Behind them were the two vacuous holes that were her eye sockets, emptied so many years earlier.
"You know better than anyone how important it is to keep Tegama mentally stable. Sending her off to dance for a Hutt after all she's been through is idiotic at best!"
Visas sighed, rubbing around the lightsaber scar of a more recent event. "Better a young Twi'lek woman than a human in her mid fifties. I am rather glad I didn't have to see Surik in similar attire at the time." She cleared her throat once the dull pain had subsided. "In any case Tega needs to learn to overcome her ingrained attitudes about others. It's a vital part of preparing her to face the Sith. And she is headed towards that point regardless of what any of us do. I sensed that Sereti was disinterested in trying to train her normally."
"Oh yeah, about that. She stepped down to have Brianna take over. I knew she was no good from the moment she set foot in the Temple."
At that, Visas smiled again, her empty gaze focusing right on Dana. "So, you remember your life as Suroni? I'm glad to see your priorities are better than ever for it. And while it is unfortunate to hear that my student and friend is lacking in leadership skills, it was still necessary to prepare her for what is to come."
"And what would that be?"
The smile faded, Visas standing back up once more. "My former master of old is returning. Every day, I hear his whispers from Katarr. There is a Wound in the sky where he tore open my vision of the Force; he is seeping through it. Without my true master there to save us again, I can only let the bare minimum travel there to fight and destroy him. Sending the Jedi into battle would feed his power too quickly, I needed to make unique preparations towards that end."
"And that began with abandoning us when the Sith returned?"
"I needed to remain independent with my thoughts. There are many beings surfacing in the Force now. The Lord of Hunger is returning, the Lord of Pain has become the Lady of Pain in Kiarna. The Lady of Sorrows resides within Tega Maarani. I have felt the Lady of Betrayal's echoes in the distant presence of her sister, but there is something different about her. Some discrepancy I cannot determine, thus I doubt Masaka is destined to become the new Darth Traya."
Her smile returned once more. "I know you still carry a shard of the Lady of Rage within you. She is growing stronger as well, she could be of use against the Sith if you are capable of controlling the power she wields."
"Vahl has turned her back on me, Visas. I may still wield the powers of the Chosen, but she will not speak to a Jedi. The Ember is of no use to anyone but herself."
"Perhaps that is for the best. With so many dark aspects of the Force at work, allowing more to surface without certainty would be tenuous at best. In any case, I think that is all we have to discuss."
Dana's own lips tightened at that, her arms beginning to fold. Something else was bothering her.
"Only one Lord in all of that. Since when has the dark side leaned towards the feminine so strongly?"
"You'd have to ask the Lady of Balance about that, an aspect somewhere between the dark and the light, but I doubt she would answer to you. So far, it seems there are only two she actively converses with. And I must call upon the assistance of one of them to defeat the Lord of Hunger."
It didn't take long for Dana to work out the first of those two. "No. Teegs is in no way ready to fight Darth Nihilus. I won't let you take her to Katarr."
Visas smiled one last time before replacing her goggles and beginning to step backwards towards her curtained area.
"Azera Vass is the other, Dana Lauran, I have learned her name and nothing else. But something has bound the two souls together, the Lady of Balance is calling to them both as a result. Azera Vass and Sereti Pala will help me defeat Darth Nihilus, this much I have foreseen. I cannot guarantee that any of us will survive however; you must be prepared to confront the Lady of Sorrows if Tega learns her soulmate is dead."
Dana reached a hand up to the throbbing vein in her temple region. "Even I'm beginning to question all this prophesying and excessive explaining in metaphor and fancy names. But, I know when to keep it all to myself. I suppose in this case it's to spare others the headache."
She finally began to make her way into the tunnel as well, but in a rather obvious move, had to stop and look back over for that hanging question.
"Lady of Balance? Where the hell does she fit in? And how do you know so much about something that has never spoken to you?"
The curtains closed once Visas was behind them.
"She saved me from the Devouring at Katarr. Of all the Jedi and those of my kind, I was chosen by her to live on. I've received impressions from her actions over these past years, impressions that guide me to a destination I feel is drawing near. The galaxy, the Force as we know it is about to change."
The walk over to the next point of contact was almost entirely composed of Maarani grumbling yet more expletives to herself, this time either in Ryl or Mando'a. Jayden was never more glad for having her helmet on at that point.
And as if the strangeness of a Gamorrean that spoke Basic working in the middle of effectively nowhere wasn't enough, the one that was supposedly there to dress her for the part was there to blow it out of the water.
"A Wookiee? You don't even wear clothes!"
"Arrauaaah!"
"Oh spare me! I don't speak or understand the language!"
"Raaragh!"
Once again, Dana had to step in before Maarani's sudden compulsion to shout got out of hand. "The Watcher knows what she is doing, okay? Isn't the whole point of being secluded that all your contacts are exactly what you'd never expect them to be?"
The Wookiee nodded in agreement, even though that was directed at Maarani herself.
By that point, she was barely able to keep herself from going mad at the thought of it all. "The last time I stripped down when I wasn't about to bathe… Hell I don't remember that time, and that still scares me. So please do forgive the fact that I'm more than a little uncertain about all this."
"Teegs, think about it like this. Smirged isn't going to have men in that kind of gear. So, he'll have women in that kind of gear."
"Oh yeah, women in degrading gear designed to make them look vulnerable and show off sex appeal alone. I totally see the appeal."
Dana's hand impacted her face. "Teegs, for once in your life, get over it. You're not making a political statement, or exploring new career options, you're getting information. I can't believe after all the times you whinged and whined about wanting a girlfriend that the prospect of being surrounded by half-naked women is now pissing you off to no end."
"I'm supposedly soul-engaged to a married woman though, so-"
"Teegs, I'm really starting to get annoyed here. Do you want to find Yuthura or not?"
Maarani finally relented, albeit with a rather fierce scowl. "Fine. Fine fine fine. I'll go and embarrass myself for a clue. Next time I'd rather just yell at the Jedi until they answer me."
The two Jedi there shared a great sigh of relief when she finally followed the Wookiee through to another room beyond the uncomfortably vacant one they had been standing in.
"Yes Jayden, we can absolutely trust The Watcher in this matter. And no I'm not going to explain everything we discussed after we left, that will take days at least. I still need to wrap my head around most of it."
"Oh. Well at least I can maybe expect to actually be brought up to speed then. Thank you for not acting like you just decided to sit down awhile and whatever you talked about was irrelevant."
"I brought you into my trust, that is not something I do lightly or disregard easily. Depending on how long Teegs takes, I can possibly get you up to speed on it all." Dana made another cautionary glance around the room they occupied. No surveillance equipment, no listening devices.
The Wookiee probably already knew who The Watcher was, but knowing they knew could have other consequences she was already too confused to consider.
"Starting with the fact that you didn't recognize Visas Marr despite having being trained by her on several occasions if I'm not mistaken."
"Visas… what? That was her?"
Dana nodded.
"I genuinely didn't recognize her without the hooded veil. I suppose that explains the concealing bounty hunter goggles."
"The most I'll say here is that she is working on something far beyond anything we've tackled before with Teegs in tow. Azera Vass is tangled up in that mess as well, the fact that you've met her already tells me that we're in the middle of some elaborate course of events tied directly to the Force. It has drawn us all together, and Visas is trying to work out what the reason is for it. Hence the overload of theories and strange concepts I need time to explain."
"I feel like I'm losing track as is…"
"Exactly my point. And if you're losing track, there's no way Teegs is going to be able to make sense of it anytime soon. Not until she's sorted all her other issues out."
The conversation dwindled after that. Jayden moved to a wall to lean back against, even taking her helmet off for a while. Dana didn't feel nearly comfortable enough to try meditation; instead she began reciting passages of text from the Archives that she had studied to try and make sense of what Visas had told her.
It was nearly a full half hour later when Maarani finally emerged, her normal clothes in hand, all neatly folded up. She passed them over to Dana and outstretched her arms, still clearly frowning beneath the veil that left only her eyes visible.
"I feel utterly ridiculous."
Just like her favoured dress, what cloth there was underneath the massive array of glittering beads was aquamarine in colour, weighted to match her own skin tone. The headdress itself was a dark navy; Jayden could make out the shape of the earpiece underneath the stretched fabric seeing as it was the only place she felt comfortable looking.
Dana had no inhibitions or concerns, taking the moment to look Maarani over with a very straight face. The scars in her back did stand out with how little there was as far as tie-arounds went, but they were still insignificant compared to the ones adorning her own body.
"It'll do. You certainly look the part, and if I didn't know you for several months I certainly wouldn't recognize you from a hologram."
"That isn't going to fix the fact that some might recognize my voice."
"Not the important part. Better that they only recognize you up close in talking distance, than from afar through…"
She chewed on her tongue when Maarani turned around, glaring more than ever at her.
"Dangerous people, not perverts. They're not always the same thing."
"I'm going to find it very hard to tell the difference in this crap, thank you very much."
Dana walked back around, then gave a small nod with a sigh. "Got protection?"
Maarani's middle finger went up.
"Your holdout blaster. Where is it?"
"I found a place to hide it. Old trick of mine."
"There's that at least."
"No guarantees there won't be someone losing their fingers, or more, if they try to touch me."
Dana rolled her eyes again, only it wasn't accompanied by a cautionary word or disapproving comment about her behaviour. "It won't come to that Teegs. The Watcher will let Smirged know you're coming, he'll probably make special arrangements that otherwise don't seem out of the norm for his usual routine. And he'll also probably let you know who these 'other people' he's being watched by are."
Maarani nodded at that, her scowl softening down a bit. Something about that was oddly making her feel less apprehensive about meeting with a Hutt. If he had enemies, and he was also willing to work with her, that meant those enemies were presumably people she would have little issue with killing. And at the very least, that was something she could focus on over the fact that she was meant to swing her hips about provocatively.
"Work it out as I go, fine. Let's get going."
For the walk to the next location, she wrapped a comfortably warm cloak around her entire body, and used that opportunity to become accustomed to the beaded high sandals that had wrappings extending right up over her ankle to the middle of her shin. Ironically, she felt almost Jedi-like with the cloak, except no Jedi would ever allow themselves to be caught in such atrociously exposed styles.
The first real test came when she had to drop the cloak in a corner of of the cantina to give a very blatantly half-assed attempt at dancing for the recruiter, a Duros man that time. She didn't need the Force to feel all those eyes gravitating towards her, and the temptation to draw her blaster and begin shooting down some people then grew stronger and stronger until she finally made a passable attempt at the routine.
While retrieving her cloak, something she did by very deliberately bending her knees first, she made one last nod to Dana to assure herself that there was still an understanding of trust between them. The moment had come at last where she was going to be separated from two of her closest friends, and after having them watching her back for so long, that prospect was a scary one indeed.
The walk from the cantina to Smirged's estate was shorter than she had expected, and that was already a great relief to her. Compared to the disgusting applause she had almost gotten at the cantina, she could now feel discerning looks made in her direction that felt just as uncomfortable in a different way. They saw a Twi'lek being escorted by a Hutt recruiter, and the conclusion was obvious. She wasn't sure if they were leaning towards disapproval, or more insidious thoughts.
Never was she more glad to see a Hutt establishment. The gateway itself was guarded by two tall humanoids that didn't even glance at her as she passed through. Further in at the trade hall, the groups they passed were far less rowdy, composed of business-types, clean mercenaries and a mix of both Republic and Imperial officials occasionally thrown in.
The grand hall surprised her more; it lacked the usual display of greed that she often associated with Hutts. The building itself looked nice without being garish or excessive in decoration, again rather like the people they had passed earlier. The sort that were somehow wealthy and yet removed from the usual taint of dirty business and underhanded behaviour.
And then came the audience room. Through a pair of large doors, attended to by more guards, she could see the Hutt himself. A very faint blue in tone, with mottled patches of purple running down his back, and an unusually long form to his body. It was a much older Hutt, and yet he somehow looked actually passable.
"Nusogah! Uba koose je chik youngee ateema?"
'Nusogah' nodded, muttering some words in Hutteese, which sounded nearly incomprehensible to Maarani given the Duros vocal chords.
Smirged chuckled to himself, then motioned to Nusogah who made a swift departure. His attention then turned to Maarani herself.
"My apologies if he has appeared rude, he has never had a strong grasp on the finer points of Basic, like myself as you might notice. I also speak proper Ryl if you do not understand Basic either."
Maarani nearly fainted from surprise at hearing Smirged speak so fluently in Basic. Compared to the mutterings of the Duros, he might as well have been Alderaan born and raised for how clean it sounded.
"I understand Basic, master." She tried very hard not to get that last bit out through gritted teeth.
Again to her surprise, Smirged laughed.
"Dear girl, you may address me by name. You are not to be made subservient here. Everyone around you is in my employ, not my service." He gestured his stumpy arms to the other Twi'lek girls and the guards around the room. "It is a simple regulation of the Cartel manifest that adequate entertainment in the form of dancers be ready for any business meeting conducted on Hutt property. But you need not concern yourself with the legalities of Hutt affairs, they are truly vast and convoluted in many ways."
Beneath the veil was one of Maarani's most dumbfounded looks to that moment. The Watcher was exactly right in that Smirged defied all her expectations, but it was in ways that she just didn't know how to respond to in the slightest. Dancers and servants actually considered employees? Needing someone to fill in for a business requirement?
"I see from your stupor that you are not used to this kind of treatment. It is not surprising, many of my former dancers have left for other Hutts out of actual disappointment that they would not be treated like slaves. To this day I do not understand just how the mindset of enjoying it could be so thoroughly ingrained in these young minds. It truly concerns me that it might have become a cultural phenomenon among Twi'lek as a whole."
That opened up even more questions. Too many to count, to even consider. It almost seemed like an elaborate hoax, a truly inspired way to trick Twi'lek into believing they were perfectly safe in his care and make them so utterly willing to serve him anyway.
When she did finally find words to say, she nearly blurted them out in a mix of Mando'a and Ryl before correcting herself to Basic at last. "I… I'm… I'm really confused, yes? I've spent literally ten minutes trying to perfect the usual dancing style for this moment."
She nearly punched herself for being so utterly stupid. Admitting that it was only ten minutes?
"You will have time enough to learn. The girls will instruct you well."
Smirged gave a heavy clap of his hands. Every one of the Twi'lek girls standing around moved to all various doorways leading out of the audience room. One of them approached Maarani to guide her to where most of them were headed.
"Come. You sit with us. We teach."
"Uh, right, yeah that sounds good."
Maarani could tell that the Twi'lek guiding her by the arm was one of those who only understood enough Basic to say that to new prospects by how wooden her words sounded, and the fact that her lekku moved to accompany the equivalent words in Ryl as she said all that.
At the service room, as it was so labelled by convenient little signs in Aurebesh, she found yet another welcome surprise. A lot of the Twi'lek women there were rather more free in attire than she had expected. While there were those that had similar looks to what remained under her cloak, quite a few were in simple robes that looked ready to fall off at a moment's notice without the waist ties, but still a step up from being left in the near nip.
It also occurred to her then that Smirged hadn't even made mention of the fact that she was still cloaked and veiled. Very odd indeed.
"Pick spot. Help job when not dance."
"Great, does that involve cooking? I'm no good with spices or anything."
"Men cook and clean. Women other jobs."
Maarani smirked at that. "For once, I'm actually glad there's men around after all."
Her escort frowned in confusion at that before giving a bit of a firm shove to make her step into the room itself. By then she had drawn the attention of the others, who began whispering to each other.
"If any of you happens to be friends with a dancer on Citadel Station at Telos… It wasn't my fault I swear."
Based on the confused looks, none of them were in fact friends with that one Twi'lek that despised her for no real reason.
"Okay, now that that's out of the way…" She looked back over her shoulder to see if the other woman was there. To her relief, she had already gone off to another room.
After a breath of relief, she moved further on inside, cautiously stepping around the many cushions strewn around the sitting area to get a better look at the array of labelled doors on the other two walls ahead. Many of the 'other jobs' that they mentioned seemed decent enough, though those on the far left of her had a few connotations that made her uneasy. That wing of the building wasn't just coincidentally where many of the guest quarters were located.
She made a point about steering as far away from those doors while moving towards the corner passage opposite where she had come through. Beyond was a mirrored hall that she soon realized was a practise room for performance of all kinds. Apparently Smirged's interest in dancers was more for performing full acts than just being something to look at. By then she was becoming used to his eccentricities.
"New girl huh? Still nervous about taking the cloak off I see. Why don't we try warming you up to the idea before someone gets bothered."
Maarani had only just noticed a new Twi'lek arriving at the door via the reflections to her right. That immediately told her it was a Lethan woman in tight clothing. When she turned around however, her jaw dropped altogether.
"By the living Goddess…"
"What? I'm not a Sith if that's what you're thinking, kinda silly to think that just because I have red skin."
In a beat, Maarani dashed over and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the room just out of view while the other tore her veil away, allowing her to lock lips with the last person she had expected to see there.
When they parted, she gave a nervous chuckle and began adjusting her lekku. "Nurrina. I thought you were gone forever when the Zygerrians took you."
Nurrina stared back in mild surprise for a few seconds, certainly not bothered by the forward display of affection. It took her longer to recognize a face she too had not seen in nearly nine years. When she did, her own lit up with joy.
"Tega! It's really you Tega?"
They locked lips again, only this time their arms spread around each other's waists, just as they used to. After a long hold, they both parted with an ecstatic sigh.
"Nurrina, I mean… Wow, you still look amazing."
"And you look…" Nurrina actually looked down at last, blushing a little more with a smirk when she saw what was under the cloak. "Really Tega? I thought you were gonna join the military, how'd you end up as a dancer?"
"Long story. And I mean, really, really long and convoluted and strange and crazy and weird story. How'd you get away from Zygerria?"
"Long story too. Well, actually it's short and simple, but it can wait." Nurrina straightened the cloak back out, leaving her arm to find its way around Maarani's waist so that she could guide her through to a different doorway and hall. "They won't miss you for a while yet if you're new. Longer you stay here, the more crabby the Smirged veterans get when you don't pull your weight, it's weird like that."
"Oh yeah, I'm starting to figure everything here is weird, with men cooking and cleaning, legit business people coming and going, not to mention a Hutt who speaks Basic, is super polite, and supposedly pays everyone who works here including the Twi'lek girls."
"More than supposedly. If you're here to stay, you really chose the perfect Hutt to come work for."
Maarani quickly realized they were heading into what she assumed was the guest wing after all, but soon realized was actually staff quarters. Nurrina's own room was quite nicely decorated, and for the time being Maarani herself was able to forget about the implications of what she had seen in the service hall.
The door was soon closed behind her, as were shutters on the window looking out over one of the many gardens. With another glance to Nurrina, she finally undid the tie of her cloak and pulled it aside.
Nurrina's warm, admiring smile was still quite good at putting her at ease. "You've certainly grown in nine years. In all the right places." Her smile remained as Maarani moved around to find a seat, but quickly vanished when she noticed the scars on her back. "Oh, oh Tega, what happened?"
It took a while for Maarani to take notice of what had her old girlfriend worked up. And there began the complex task of trying to catch her up as well. "I was in the military, got pushed over to starfighter pilot. The scars are just from when my fighter blew up one time, I'm fine now."
The explanation only softened Nurrina's worried look by a slight amount. "You make surviving an exploding ship sound like one of my girls stubbing their toe. Not to mention that sounds a lot worse than what I thought."
"Your girls? You mean the ones you train as dancers or whatever, right? Not actual…"
"No, not even once." Nurrina finally moved into a nearby seat when Maarani sat up on the bed. "Nasty as the Zygerrians are, they are extremely ruthless in punishing anyone who forces themselves on others, helpless slaves in particular. Probably the only thing that kept me sane until I was bought out from their grip was that comfort."
Maarani nodded solemnly. It was a subject she had quickly regretting going near, but there was all the more relief for knowing her slip-up was not of consequence. "Smirged, I take it?"
"Actually it was a trading company run by some woman named Mission. They've been using what extra funds they get to free unwilling slaves and get them back on their feet. I needed extra protection and a feeling of security after Zygerrian tyranny, she pointed to Smirged as someone vehemently against them, and I've been working here since."
"Mission saved you? The coincidences keep racking up."
"She part of that super complicated long story of yours I take it?"
Maarani nodded again. There was so much she wanted to tell Nurrina, but the harsh reality was that she had intended to be gone as soon as possible. And however nice Smirged seemed, Nurrina was working for a Hutt that still had unknown loyalties. What was and wasn't safe to tell her seemed impossible to tell apart.
"If you don't already know, the Jedi at the training grounds were killed by the Sith. Ma, Pa, Tilasa and Kadano were all there. And well, it's been an absolute nightmare of whiplash experiences since then."
Nurrina's concern returned, her head sinking back against the chair some more until her lekku began to splay out slightly. "What about Masaka?"
There came the first harsh truth that she was definitely uncertain about revealing.
"She was taken by the Sith, as far as I know. I've had a bit of a strained exchange with the Jedi since then."
The silence that followed gave Maarani more time to think. With so much to consider, there was a new question coming to mind that certainly deserved an answer. "Nurrina, didn't you see the speech I made about Mirial? It was a galaxy broadcast."
"Ketaris doesn't usually get broadcasts. I've had to relay messages to home through other worlds. My parents know I'm alright by the way."
"Sorry, I forgot to ask."
"It's quite alright. I can tell you've got a lot on your mind." Nurrina's lips tightened down when she noticed how much Maarani's hands were starting to shake. "You don't have to tell me about Mirial if it's gonna upset you, Tega. I really am so glad to see you're still alive and well, that's what matters most to me."
Maarani managed a smile again. With everything in mind, there were really only a few things that Nurrina absolutely had to know before all else.
"Nurrina, I didn't know it at the time you were taken, but I was starting to use the Force. I lost that ability a year later in an accident, and lately I've been trying to get it back, ever since I quit the military. I'm only here for a day or two at most, Smirged has information I need to ask him in private about."
As confusing as it was to try and make sense of, Nurrina was still able to put on a small smile and lean forward again to offer her support. "I knew you looked uncomfortable in a bead bikini. I guess if you wanted an appointment you would've gone through the front door, so I won't get in the way."
"I appreciate that, truly." Another breath, another moment closer to the issue she was still uncertain about herself. Before coming out with it, she moved back off the bed to be closer to Nurrina again, though this time it was not to embrace her.
"Nurrina. Just a few days ago, I attempted to reconnect to the Force. It told me something rather specific, relating to us."
"I see. What was it?"
Maarani slowly reached for her hand, holding it close and tight. For just how elated she was at finding her, she also loved her too much to not come clean with it outright.
"It told me I have a soulmate out there, Nurrina. Her name is Azera Vass."
Nurrina herself was still reeling with all the various emotions about their reunion. But at that moment, she knew exactly what Maarani needed from her. And that was support.
"Oh, Tega, that's wonderful! It must be amazing to have the Force itself guiding you that way. Have you found her yet?"
It wasn't the reaction Maarani had expected, but it certainly did go a long way to lifting her spirits on the matter. "Well, sort of. A friend of mine met her in person, they saved each other from a big mess some months back. But, well, Azera is a Sith for starters. And she already has a husband."
Immediately, she could see an identical reaction to her own at the time in Nurrina's changing expression. It was almost uncanny.
"Husband? I didn't think Sith bothered to marry. Aren't they supposed to be constantly watching for signs of betrayal?"
"There's a lot of weird Sith out there these days. And I trust my friend a lot, Mandalorian honour and all."
Maarani sighed at last, finally stepping back to sit on the bed again, taking the time to instead stare at the ceiling. "I guess I've been really in and out since learning all that. So much is happening all of a sudden, and then we're reunited and I can barely keep track of everything I want to tell you."
This time it was Nurrina's turn to leave her seat. She moved across the room deftly to sit down beside Maarani, once again wrapping an arm around her. "Hey, it's alright. It really sounds like you're getting to do so much, I'd go mad in a big adventurous life like that. I'm happy with the simpler life here. And finding out we're not soulmates after all doesn't mean we can't love each other still, right?"
Just like that, Maarani began to giggle, once again leaning into the hold of her old girlfriend. "You still know exactly what to say huh? Making me feel mature, so that we can talk about our relationship."
"That's the Tega I remember." She let the silence set in again, this time with a level of comfort that came with knowing they were safe together.
It lasted a good while before Maarani broke it at last, in a gentle way of course. "I'm so glad you're okay. The other two girlfriends since… They didn't end well at all."
"I'm real sorry to hear that." She gave a supportive squeeze to her shoulders, and a tender kiss to her cheek. "Here's hoping number four works out like a dream, right?"
"Yeah, I guess. I've got no idea how things are gonna go down with her though. I did make contact with her, she does know who I am and what the deal is now, but she was a bit standoffish."
"You'll work something out. You're strong. And probably spending way too much time with an old girlfriend, you've got secret spy stuff to do after all."
Maarani felt just a hint of disappointment when the arm fell away from the embrace, but it was an extra help in reminding her of why she came to begin with. With a small sigh she stood back up, waiting for Nurrina to do the same so she could hug her one more time.
"When I've sorted my life out, I'll come back to visit I promise. Maybe a little early to plan other things."
"Visits would be great. Now, don't forget your cloak."
For a moment, Maarani was ready to pull the cloak back around herself. After another look to Nurrina, she began to drape it over her arm instead. "Maybe it's about time I stop hiding so much."
"Whatever makes you comfortable Tega. Like I said, this really is one of the best places to let loose without worries."
Maarani smiled yet again before making her way out, having forgotten about why she had the veil on to begin with. Even if Ketaris wouldn't have seen her holographic appearance.
A few minutes after she was gone, Nurrina shut the door again and made her way over to a small communicator pad she had lying on the table. With a few adjustments, it began replaying a message she had received some time back.
"To all field agents; this is Aruga. You are hereby instructed to maintain surveillance for a Rutian Twi'lek by the name of Tegama'Arani. She is accompanied by a Jedi, a Mandalorian, and a Zeltron. She has kidnapped Seradan'Kulure's daughter, Zariba. Extreme caution is to be taken in her presence, and all efforts are to be made in ensuring Zariba's safe return. Tegama's associates are not to be involved; liberate Zariba, then and only then kill Tegama."
Nurrina reached in under the collar of her tight shirt, drawing out a gold chain. On the end of the chain was the small pendant print of a tightly clenched fist.
"Find the mark, strike first. The Hidden Hand prevails. Tega, what have you been getting yourself into…"
By the time Maarani got back to the audience room, it was completely devoid of people, or any living thing really. She could still see others in the adjacent halls and rooms, so it was hardly as if the whole place had been spontaneously deserted. And yet there was no indicator of where Smirged had gone, or why even the guards had been asked to leave.
"This just gets weirder…"
She tossed her cloak over a nearby seat, now wandering the spacious room with a soft jangle of beads every time she took a step. When a quick search around the main area turned up nothing, she looked over to Smirged's raised section. For whatever reason, there was a long curtain behind it that she hadn't noticed the first time.
"What is it with curtains on Ketaris?"
After another glance around, she slowly approached the other side of the room, her sandals sinking deep into the carpet as it grew thicker towards the raised section. Presumably less and less people getting that close to Smirged in regular traffic, and then a noticeably flattened large strip that he presumably slid up and down on a regular basis.
With another affirming breath, she stepped around the section and carefully yanked at the curtain. Behind it was solid wall, nothing more.
"What did you expect to find behind there?"
She whipped her head around in a bit of a start, trying very hard not to yelp in fright while Smirged slid back into the room. Many of the other doors were beginning to slide shut.
"Well, for whatever reason I thought you and several others might be hiding behind there for a big surprise appearance. I'm kinda silly like that."
Smirged chuckled at that, barely noticing her own nervous laugh while he moved closer. "I am pleased to see your confidence has returned, Tega Maarani."
The use of that particular version of her name was in fact a relief, rather than the usual shock she'd feel at being identified first. It almost certainly meant he had been in contact with The Watcher through their own established means.
"I had some help with that." She cleared her throat and straightened up while walking back around as Smirged ascended the raised section through the exact path she had noticed earlier.
"Yes, the Lethan woman, Nurrina. It was only after I met your parents that I learned of the significance she was of to you."
Maarani looked around again. Every one of the doorways and halls leading into the room had been sealed off. Instinct told her it was to keep her trapped, but a different feeling told her it was to ensure total privacy between herself and Smirged. This was the opportunity spoken of, and it had come so soon already.
"You met my parents? Was this when the Zygerrians came to my village?"
Smirged nodded. "Very perceptive, Tega. Your father fought valiantly to ensure their safe return, while I, your mother and Yuthura worked to stop Toka the Hutt and the Zygerrian leader Kusrag from leaving. We spoke of many things following that, and I made a promise to continue working for the betterment of the Twi'lek race as a whole. An endeavour it seems I am increasingly alone in amongst my kind."
"Right… Well as many questions as that raises, and hell I'm bursting with them already, I came here for one reason."
"Yes, of this I am aware. I merely wanted to help provide some context on how I came to know Yuthura Ban, and the reasons why I have taken special precautions for this audience with you. They are directly related."
With one last look around, Maarani folded her arms across her chest and nodded. "Fine, let's hear it so I can go."
"For a while now, I have maintained relations with the Jedi where possible. This involved sending those Force sensitives I encountered in the ranks of slaves to them where they could live a better life. Thus, when Yuthura came to me, a little under eight years ago, I expected she was there to ask that I provide more direct support for the Jedi. It seemed I was wrong.
She was there to ensure your personal safety above all else. I was to spare no expense in rescuing and rehabilitating you if your name ever ended up in the Cartel database. She was entirely convinced of your significance to the Jedi, and thus I agreed to honour that request of hers. Unfortunately, she did not give me a direct indicator of where she planned to go, or any special instructions to relay to you personally if we did eventually meet. I believe at the time she did not even know where she was going herself."
Maarani reached up to her face again, partially because of a shocked realization, but primarily to gently feel around the tattooing still covered by her headdress. She had yet to meet the woman in person, but her interests were already being looked after by her.
"I don't know what to say. I was hoping for a direction to go in, but that…" She slowly turned around, pacing around over the thick area of carpet while she tried to think more.
"If my memory serves me well, I believe I can speculate on what she planned to do in her self-exile. Words such as 'ancient temples' and other synonyms were mentioned in physical Ryl while she spoke. Perhaps she had concerns about being overheard at the time I cannot say. Regardless, it is my speculation that she is seeking out Jedi ruins from lost ages, as I have observed most older Jedi do over the centuries. It may prove to be useful to your search."
Maarani nodded again, almost ready to smile in appreciation for a Hutt's help. It was only really beginning to settle in her mind as something that really was happening.
"It's a start, thank you."
"I am pleased to see a promise fulfilled, and an attitude changed, even if it is rather justified in the end." Smirged chuckled again when Maarani looked away in shame. "I am not one to be offended by assumptions of any kind. Most of the ire I receive comes from my own kind after all, including those of my spawn."
"Right, because Hutts are… yeah." Maarani dropped her arms again, mostly out of a feeling of confusion at how to proceed. It had gone by so quickly that she felt as if there were more to be done yet. "Why do I get the feeling you're about to ask a favour?"
At that, Smirged erupted in laughter. "Your perception is truly remarkable, Tega Maarani." When he settled back down again, he used a nearby cloth to clean his lips down again before continuing. "It is a unique and situational favour. I only ask it because I believe you will have a personal investment in carrying it out. Perhaps even a satisfaction to be gained."
"So long as it's not going where I think it is…"
"There are many spies among my employees, this much I know. I tolerate, and in some cases even welcome their presence, as there is a strange comfort in knowing I am worthy of being observed by so many unseen parties. One of these includes Republic Intelligence."
One hand went to Maarani's hip. "I assume you know I'm not in their good books?"
"Precisely why I believe you might just enjoy this favour. Very soon, within the next few days, they will send an agent of theirs to interrogate me. I do not know why, nor do I care. He will choose a time when my guards are elsewhere and I am unable to summon them without threat of danger. What he will not expect is that the young Twi'lek woman attending to me personally is trained to kill."
Maarani's head began to dip. "Becoming a hitman isn't really what I had in mind, but-"
"His name is Rako Durrun."
Her head lifted back up immediately. The doubt was immediately washed away.
"Yes, I have also read the files that were distributed across the galaxy, the ones relating to activities on Mirial. It seems we have a happy coincidence, in that I am about to be attacked by someone you have every reason to despise. You are not Jedi at this time, one death of a man who deserves nothing more will hardly become a stain on your conscience."
With yet another glance around, Maarani sighed, then finally nodded. "I'll have to let my crew know. But, I'm already armed, and you're right that I won't have a problem killing him. Guess I'm not becoming a dancer girl after all."
