Kara Adar walked off her ship, The Wish, into the large hanger bay on Coruscant, and looked around. It was a private hanger bay, for all it was so large. There were at least fifteen ships scattered around, almost as if a child had been playing with them. Kara was a lovely young women with long chestnut hair, neatly braided, and wound around her head like a crown. She wore jet-black knee-high boots, dark blue pants and a matching long-sleeved shirt, topped off with a utility belt, traveler's cloak, and all the weapons she could carry. There were modified bowcaster on her back, custom-made blasters on her hips, and one in the top of one boot, and a vibro-blade in the other.
This gave her the oddest appearance, but the strangest thing about her was her eyes, they were bright purple. She just had time to notice a door on the far wall, when another ship entered and landed. Kara stared. It was Boba Fett's ship, The Slave III. When she caught herself, she shook her head, and started towared the door.
When she reached it, she punched the access code she'd been given, and the door slide open.
Kara blinked and stepped into...
The brightest room she had ever seen.
The carpet was red, the walls yellow covered with coulorful wall-hangings. The floor, over the carpet, was scattered with large cushions, nothing in the room was exactly the same coulor, and all were at least three shades different then any other.
There were pinks, purples, blues, greens, and oranges, as well as any other bright coulors. In the middle of the room was a long low table (you were obviously supposed to sit on the cushions). Sitting at the far end of the table, on a very pink cushion, was a very strange man. Human, he had red hair, one eye was green, the other brown. He was short, and dressed in clothes that simply breathed wealth. He had a very smiling, hansom face, although he was not smiling now. At the door behind her, Boba Fett walked in,
"What the-" he said (clearly surprised by the coulor), before he could stop himself, it seemed. The man smiled at them,
"Come in, come in, sit down, have a seat!" both Bounty Hunters sat, Kara on a purple cushion Fett on a blue one "Now then, I expect You'll both want to know why I asked You here, and what I'm proposing to pay You, if You take the job. Would you like some tea? Cake? Or would you just like to know what the job is? I find that most Bounty Hunters are usually in a hurry, but the cake is very good. My wife makes it you know, and if you don't eat any then I will have to eat it all myself, and then I would probably get sick from to much sugar, and that would be no fun at all, would it?" it was amazing how the man could smile and talk at the same time, especially at the speed he was talking.
"Umm...."said Kara, unsure what to say, as any being would be, when bombarded with such a torrent of words.
"No and yes, Sir." Said Fett
"Ah-ha! A riddle lover! Good. Very good. Now, what exactly do you mean?"
"I mean that I would not like any tea or cake, and anyone getting sick from to much sugar not good. Yes I would like to know what the job is, and what you're paying, and yes most Bounty Hunters are in a hurry."
"Ahh." said the man looking much enlightened "I see. What about you, Dear?"
"That depends which question your asking, Mr. - umm, Sir." Said Kara
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Where are my manners? I am Vertex, and I believe what I was asking was 'would you like some tea or cake?'"
"Not at the moment, Thank You."
"Polite. Ood for a Bounty Hunter."
Kara blushed slightly. Vertex grinned. Fett stared straight ahead.
"Very well, then." His face fell, and he sighed. "I have a job for you, if you take it. Likely to be dangerous and exiting. Think you can handle it?" Vertex winked at Kara.
"Depends, Sir." said Fett.
Vertex raised an eyebrow "Depends on what?" Kara smiled wryly
"Depends what your paying, and what the job is, Sir." Vertex sighed
"Please, call me Vertex, as in 'Crystalline Vertex'. Ok, here's the job. My Son, Vernollo, was kidnapped a few days ago, and I want you two to go and bring him, and the kidnapper back here. Sound easy? I know it does, but somehow I think it will be harder then that."
Kara glanced at Fett, he nodded to her once. She sighed he would let her ask the questions "Umm.... isn't kidnapping usually a job for the local security force to sort out?" she asked. Vertex seemed pleased,
"Not afraid to ask questions, eh? Yes it is usually, but I want to get Vernollo back as soon as possible" 'ok,' thought Kara 'if you say so.'
"How do you know he was kidnapped?" she asked aloud
"There was a note, ah, here it is." He handed Kara a piece of durasheet with tidy writing on it, (the durasheet had been preserved, so that the righting was still visible.) Kara read it quickly, and handed it to Fett.
"Dear Father and Mother," the note read, "I know I should have told you, but I have decided to run away and become a Deep Space Pilot. I can't tell you ware I am, because I need to be on my own for awhile. DO NOT LOOK FOR ME, AND DO NOT SEND ANYONE TO LOOK FOR ME. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.
Your loving son,
Vernollo."
Kara looked at Vertex doubtfully
"The note says Vernollo ran away, yet you think he was kidnapped. Would you mind explaining?" Vertex smiled at her,
"I do not 'think' I know," his smile broadened as Kara raised an eyebrow, "I know my son very well, Kara. This is not his hand writing, Vernollo's hand righting is very neat. He never calls my wife and I 'father and mother'. The ink used to right this note is all black, my son is very artistic, and he always leaves very coulorful messages. Which is another reason this note must be fake, what my son wants to be more then anything in the galaxy is an artist, he's never wanted to be a deep space pilot and he's always doodling on things, especially notes. I'll admit that the signature does look like my son's, but I don't think it is."
Vertex looked from Kara to Fett then back to Kara,
"What do you think? Will you take the job?" his mismatched eyes seemed to take on a somewhat pleading look. Inwardly Kara grimaced; she wanted to help this man. But she was a bounty hunter, and she had a ship and family back home to support. If the pay was too low she would have to take her bisnese elsewhere.
"Just a few more details, if you wouldn't mind." Vertex nodded,
"Yes of course."
"Do you have any idea about who kidnapped Vernollo, how they did it, or why?"
"Why they did it, hmm.... Well, there are, of course, several reasons, but I'm not clear on which one, yet. How I'm not quite sure, the kidnapper, or kidnappers, got in somehow, and stole Vernollo, from his own room, in the middle of the night. That was two days ago." Vertex paused, so Kara prompted,
"Who do you think it is?" He hesitated again, and then,
"I think it was Ruethan Zorthow" was the soft reply.
A sudden and deathly silence filled the room and the colors did not seem quite so bright as before.
"What did you say?" Kara asked as both she and Fett turned to stare at Vertex.
"I think that the person that kidnapped my son is Ruethan Zorthow, the famous gangster." Kara swallowed and nodded, paling slightly,
"I thought that's what you said."