"Ventress," Kenobi hissed at her while she was firing at the ceiling.
To her slight disappointment, there was some chaos.; people tripping over people, some chairs and tables getting knocked over, some shouting, but it seemed about half the patrons merely looked over at her with a slight interest before turning back to their drinks. Ventress smiled. After all, she did enjoy a challenge.
"Ventress, what the hell do you think you are doing?" Kenobi hissed again. "We have enough to cover our mission, or are you doing this just for the hell of it? Is playing the good guy too boring for you? You are better than some common thief. Ventress. Please stop this. Come to your senses."
She fired her blaster at a light hanging from the ceiling, causing it to crash to the ground in front of a large bouncer. The bouncer looked up to where the light once was, then at Ventress, who still had her blaster out. He walked towards her. She smiled and looked over at Kenobi, who looked like he was debating over trying to defend her from the overly large bouncer or, most likely, defend the overly large bouncer from her. His expression was almost comical to her; eventually, he just covered his face with his hands. She turned her attention back to the bouncer, who was now mere feet from her.
"Oh, look at you. Are you here to stop me?" Ventress purred.
"This bar hasn't been robbed in five years, so you might as well give up, little lady."
Ventress gave a cold laugh, "Are you here to stop me?" She looked around the bar and shouted, "Is this really the best you have to offer to defend your bar? It's almost not even worth my time."
"And what makes you so special?" the bouncer asked.
Ventress's smile grew even wider as she pointed the gun at the bouncer's head. With her other hand, she Force-grabbed a large cooling fan, suspending it in the air. She nodded her head towards the fan, mostly for the benefit of the bouncer. He turned to see what she was looking at, then back to her, his eyes full of shock. She gave him a shrug and hit him with the fan, knocking him out. She cruelly laughed as she Force-grabbed another fan, sending it to the bar and smashing the glasses of liquor everywhere.
This had the desired effect she was looking for: mass panic. There was a rush to leave the bar, some of the braver patrons grabbing their blasters and shooting towards her. This was what she was counting on. If Jormum was using the Red Nova as protection, they should show up any moment. Speaking of Jormum, she wondered where her little friend had gotten off to; she wanted to use him as a hostage. She searched for him when she felt a very irritated presence next to her.
"Ventress, do you enjoy mass chaos, or do you have an actual plan?" it hissed.
She turned to Kenobi, smiling and raising her eyebrows. "Oh, my dear Obi-Wan, you have no idea."
He rolled his eyes. "So far, your undercover skills continue to impress. Did you skip that day in your training?"
She didn't reply and started searching the bar for Jormum. It had been about twenty minutes since she left him out on the patio and when she had decided to robbed the bar. Normally, she would have used the Force to track his presence. But she had lost her concentration earlier when she was forced to sit next to Salia. Internally, she cursed herself for letting herself be distracted.
"So, what is your plan? Or are you just making it up as you go along?" The angry Jedi asked.
"What draws out pirate protection better than a robbery? I plan on finding Jormum and taking him hostage. Once the pirates show up, we will negotiate."
"Negotiate for what exactly?" Kenobi asked incredulously.
"The location of Maul," the former assassin said simply as she kicked open a door.
"And what makes you think they will know where he is?"
"Do you have a better idea?" she retorted.
"Several. None of which involves destroying a bar or taking hostages.
Ventress didn't reply. She turned and walked down a dark hallway, away from the main bar area. There were several doors leading to adjacent rooms. However, it was the door at the very end of the hallway that she was interested in. She stopped in front of it and looked back at Kenobi, giving him a sly smile. She turned back to the door and kicked it open.
Jormum's shocked expression greeted her. He was on the HoloNet talking to someone in a cloak, and it was quickly disconnected.
"Alruia! What are you doing back here? We weren't supposed to meet until later."
"I was impatient," Ventress replied.
Jormum got up and walked around his desk to where Ventress was standing. She felt Kenobi tense in the hallway as Jormum got closer. "I am all yours, my pet," Jormum said, reaching out his hand.
"I know." Ventress smiled, then got out her blaster and pointed it at his head.
"What is this?" Jormum replied with a panicked look in his eye. "I have gold. Let me get to the safe underneath my desk."
"I don't need your stupid money. I need information, and if you don't have it, then you will know someone who does. As you said earlier, you have connections."
Jormum looked at the HoloNet receiver on his desk, then back at Ventress. "What kind of information do you want?"
Ventress force grabbed the holoprojector and turned it on "Who were you talking to?"
"Just a business contact. I was negotiating for a shipment of replicator parts."
"Well, if it's just the same, I think I will keep this. I am looking for information on the whereabouts of two brothers. They have a large bounty on their heads and I intend to collect."
"You're a bounty hunter?"
She grabbed her holoprojector out of her pocket and projected the images of Opress and Maul. She was pleased when Jormum looked panicked at the two images. "Do you have any information on their whereabouts?"
"Only stories, rumors."
"Enlighten me."
"Rumor has it that they control all the pirate gangs in the nearby solar systems. When they show up on a planet, death and destruction follow. Those that refuse or fight back are annihilated. They seem to move from location to location, taking over planets on a whim. It's bad for business; people are afraid. The leaders of this planet are controlled by the pirates, and these two abominations control the pirates. The Red Nova is the largest pirate gang on this planet. Recently, there have been changes in the gang's leadership, among others. It seems that intelligence is winning out over brute strength. My friend I spoke of earlier is now their leader."
"How do you know that the Red Nova is in league with the brothers?"
"I don't for certain. I haven't had contact with him for years. I hear rumors, though. Some of my business contacts are less than lawful, but they have the best droids, and I deal droids to local farmers on the side. Many of the farmers tell me stories about how pirates came to their farm and stole everything, threatening them and their loved ones if they didn't supply them in the future. A few of them have left, afraid for their lives and their children's lives. Many other business owners are now controlled by the Red Nova."
"Are you not?"
"As I told you before, I have contacts that offer me protection from the Red Nova."
"Who?"
Jormum didn't reply and looked at the holoprojector in Ventress's hand. She waited patiently for a moment, and when he didn't reply, she pressed the blaster to his head, earning her a wide-eyed look.
"Who?"
"Bounty hunters and my previous friendship with the leader of Red Nova. My bar is the one place he hasn't tried to take. I am unsure why."
"What is the name of your little friend?"
"Alyonen."
"Where is Alyonen?"
"Red Nova's headquarters is over in Rhyn, on the other side of the planet. I don't know if he is there or not."
Ventress reached in her pocket and withdrew a handful of gold credits and threw them on the desk. "For the damage to your bar, as well as your information."
She grabbed another handful and added it to the pile. "This is for your silence. Although I suspect you won't talk anyway, since if you do, you'll have to deal with me."
Ventress poked him with her blaster one more time for good measure and turned to leave, when Jormum added, "If you intend to go to Rhyn, you will need a lot more than just a blaster. The city is fortified."
She didn't reply and walked out to find Kenobi standing just out of view of the Toydarian. He was looking down the hallway with concern on his face.
"Ventress, wait," he said.
Ventress spun around; she was already halfway down the hallway. "What?"
"Your little plan has produced some undesirable results. There are about five armed bounty hunters waiting for us outside the bar."
"Well, then let's use the back door," she replied, annoyed that Kenobi was so thick.
"That, my dear, ceased to be an option, as they have the bar surrounded. So, what is your plan now?" Kenobi gave an irritated sigh. "Ventress, you're just like Anakin. You never think things through. You rely on impulse, and you get into situations like this, with no way out besides to fight. You both seek excitement, to be in the action. Patience is not one of your strong points."
Ventress rolled her eyes at the comparison to Skywalker and started walking off down the hallway again before adding, "I think you secretly like it, Kenobi."
She saw a small sly smile go across his face and smiled in return. "Ready to add a little impulsiveness to your life?"
Kenobi sighed and tried to hide his smile. "If we must."
Ventress opened the door and found that there were three beings pointing guns at her.
"We mean you no harm," Kenobi said. "We just needed information. Let us pass. You will find Jormum alive and well, and most of the bar intact." Ventress looked over at him and nodded, then put hers on the ground, too. However, when she raised back up, she grazed her hand on the lightsabers hidden beneath her cloak.
"We can't do that. They paid us to provide protection," one of the bounty hunters said.
"We can give you more than what Jormum pays you for this month to let us pass. More if you come with us to Rhyn and provide a distraction while we infiltrate the city," Ventress added.
The bounty hunters looked at each other for a moment, before one of them asked, "How much?"
"We will pay you what Jormum pays you for the entire year for about an hour of work," Kenobi replied.
Two of the bounty hunters talked for a few moments. "When?"
"Tomorrow at daybreak. Meet us here at the bar. I will bring the credits," Kenobi said.
"See you tomorrow." The Bounty Hunter said, and walked past the pair of them, into the bar.
"Oh, and keep an eye on Jormum. Make sure he doesn't contact anyone until after we are in the city."
The bounty hunter nodded and disappeared into the bar. Ventress and Kenobi picked up their guns and walked back to the ship.
"Why wait? If we do it today, we have the element of surprise on our side," she asked.
"But we do not know what we are up against. We need to do some recon to see what kind of protection they have surrounding the city and we need time to form a plan. We know who the leader is, but we don't even know if he is on-planet. What will we do if we barge in there and he isn't there?"
"How do you suppose we find out if he is on the planet?" Ventress asked.
"I think Jormum is still in contact with his friend, and the holoprojector you stole is the direct link between the two. Tomorrow, before we infiltrate the city, we are going to give Alyonen a little call."
"What makes you think Jormum won't warn him?"
"I think you frightened him quite enough. Plus, with the amount of money we have promised the bounty hunters, Jormum won't be doing much besides counting his credits tonight. When we get back to the ship, I am going to look up the known information about Red Nova. Then I thought a fly-by of Rhym to see what kind of fun awaits us."
"You take the fun out of everything, Kenobi."
"I think you secretly kind of like it," Kenobi mused.
Ventress gave him a bemused look, to which his smile widened even more.
"We did things your way back at the bar with that little stunt you pulled there. Which, I admit, was much more effective than I thought, but also endangered the lives of many-"
Ventress interrupted, "I didn't kill anyone."
"No, no, you didn't. Threatened, yes. Injured, yes. But killed, no. I guess that's you on your best behavior."
"I still got my blaster," she half-threatened.
"Yes, darling, but so do I," Kenobi laughed, patting the blaster on his hip.