Rian:
So this was how it was going to be from now on, huh? Not if I had any say in the matter. I stormed out of the apartment with Mission and Zaalbar right behind me. I'd leave Carth to deal with that belligerent terror he forced me to rescue.
As soon as I stepped out of the apartment I ran into a Twi'lek. He bumped into me and my shoulder erupted with fresh pain. I hadn't taken the time to look at it yet, but I knew my arm had to have been a useless sack of meat by now. I pushed the Twi'lek out of my way with my good arm.
The Twi'lek's lekku gave an agitated flick, but he placed himself in front of me. "You are the rider who won the swoop race, yes?" he said.
"What do you want?" I in no mood to deal with anyone at that moment.
The Twi'lek's lekku shifted. I glanced over my shoulder to see Mission standing behind me, her head-tails moving fiercely. From what I caught from their silent conversation, he had offered some small talk and perhaps a few lewd comments to which she responded rudely.
"I want nothing. I am only a runner." He offered a smile but it was too toothy to be trusted. "I have a message from Canderous Ordo. He says to meet him in the cantina."
"Why does Canderous Ordo want to meet me?" I covered my wounded shoulder with a protective hand.
"He only said that he had an offer you couldn't refuse." The Twi'lek replied. "Given his connections, you can see why it would be foolish to ignore his request."
"Thanks for the message." I waved him away. The Twi'lek bowed once before disappearing into the shadows.
Zaalbar gave a suspicious snort. I groaned and made my way out of the apartment building. Who was Canderous Ordo anyway? Maybe I didn't scout out Taris as well as I thought I had.
Once we were out on the streets of the Upper City, Mission turned to me. "What was that all about?" she asked.
"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." I muttered.
"Rian Vega," Zaalbar rumbled. "we are not heading in the direction of the cantina."
"I know." I grunted. "I'm not going anywhere until I have Doctor Forn look at my shoulder."
"Didn't you tell Carth Onasi that we would be in the cantina?" the Wookiee persisted.
"I might have." I grazed my split lip with a finger.
Mission laughed. "Are we hiding from Carth now?" she asked.
"I don't need to hide from Carth." I scoffed. "But his little girlfriend is proving to be a hassle."
"She's his girlfriend?" Mission's nose crinkled and she stuck out her tongue.
"There's no accounting for some people's tastes." I muttered.
I peered down the neck of my orange jacket and scowled. It was nothing compared to the massive expanse of supple flesh overflowing in that metal bustier back in the apartment. I grumbled a couple obscenities beneath my breath. It wasn't fair that anyone could be that physically attractive.
When we entered Zelka Forn's facility, Gurney glared at us until Zaalbar snarled in his direction. I found a medical bench and plopped onto it and waited for Doctor Forn.
"You again?" Zelka shook his head. "You really don't know how to stay out of trouble, do you?"
I grinned sheepishly. I peeled the jacket off my shoulder carefully and tried not to cringe in agony. The jacket itself had a lovely fried hole over its right shoulder. I doubted Carth would mind, guys don't really care much about clothing.
Doctor Forn began to wash his hands at the sink. The memory of him stabbing me with Rakghoul serum made me watch him warily.
"Hey, Zaalbar." I waited for the Wookiee to look up before I continued. "Head to the cantina and bring Canderous Ordo to me."
Zaalbar cocked his head to one side, thoughtful. "What if this Canderous Ordo does not speak Shyriiwook?" he asked finally.
"Then he's no use to me." I retorted sourly. I felt like I was going cross-eyed as I tried to both look Zaalbar in the face while keeping one eye on the good doctor.
Mission giggled. Zelka Forn glowered. Zaalbar looked bored and detached. I started to massage my temples with my left hand.
"Zaalbar, when you find Canderous, tell him to bring me an Antakarian Fire Dancer as a sign of good will." I requested.
Zaalbar nodded and headed for the door. Zelka stepped in front of the Wookiee and waved a syringe at him. The doctor's face was grim.
"You'll do no such thing!" he barked. "I'll not have you mucking up the effects of my medicine by giving her alcohol."
Zaalbar shrugged and left. I sighed.
"Let me guess, you got involved in one of those Lower City gang shootouts." Zelka wasn't asking.
I gasped as he grasped my arm. Before I could protest, he shot my arm full of whatever he had in that syringe.
"And they roughed up your pretty face too." Zelka pressed his mouth into a thin line.
"That's nothing." I murmured.
"You're entire lower lip is swollen." He began to 'tsk.'
"That's what I get for getting fresh on our first date." My mouth twisted bitterly.
"Rian, can I ask you a question?" Mission interrupted.
"Sure thing." I tried to keep everything but my right shoulder in my line of vision.
"Why'd you send Big Z out to get Canderous instead of me?" she asked. "I can speak Basic."
"I know." I grinned.
"Don't you trust me?" Mission gave me a hard look.
Despite the numbness in my arm from the medicine, I felt a firm pressure in my shoulder. I glared at Zelka and he ignored me.
"Even better." I told her. "I trust that you'll tell me if I look fat in this stylish bloodstained star pilots jacket. But I sent him for a reason. I wanted to talk to you about Zaalbar."
"Zaalbar? What did you want to talk about?" A smile blossomed on Mission's face to match my own.
"Well, he's sworn this life-debt to me," I said. "and if he's going to be throwing himself in front of rancors on my behalf, I'd like to know at least something about him."
Mission laughed. "Zaalbar's always been the strong, silent type, in case you haven't noticed." she said simply.
"How did he end up on Taris?" I wondered.
"He was fleeing some kind of trouble on Kashyyyk." Mission's eyes widened and she donned a no-nonsense frown. "That's all I know really. Big Z doesn't like to talk about it."
"Slavers maybe." I suggested.
Mission shrugged. "Doesn't much matter to me." she admitted. "I accept him for what he is, not what he was. Me and Zaalbar like to live in the present."
"Anything else I should know?" I pressed.
"He mentions wasaka berry pie a lot when he thinks I'm not paying attention." Mission offered.
"I'll keep that in mind." I replied.
"You really let those gang members wound you? I didn't expect you to be so sloppy." The gruff and decidedly masculine voiced resonated through the medical facility.
"Canderous Ordo, I take it?" I didn't bother to turn around to face him. "Why did you seek me out?"
"I heard of your exploits in the swoop race. Very impressive." he said. "You seem like you know how to get results. That's just the kind of person I'm looking for."
"Results?" I forced out a chuckle. "The only reason I was worth spit in that race was because I had a prototype accelerator and I wrecked the competition's bikes."
"You weren't the only one sabotaging swoop bikes." Canderous' voice had an air of nonchalance. "The Black Vulkars wanted a guaranteed win for Redros. But that's not what I'm here for."
"And just what is it that you're here for?" I demanded as I turned to face him. The rest of my words were caught in my throat.
The Mandalorian that stood before me was relaxed, but by no means did that make him any less deadly. His sturdy musculature was concealed only by simple body armor. An older man, Canderous' sandy blonde hair was peppered with gray and he proudly wore scars earned by previous battles. I swallowed hard around a lump in my throat.
"I work for Davik Kang and the Exchange; the hours aren't great, but they promised me a fortune to work for them and I have nothing better to do." The Mandalorian cut to the chase immediately. "But lately Davik hasn't been paying me what he promised. I don't like getting cheated, so I figure its time for me to break the Sith quarantine and get off this backwater planet."
I glanced at Mission for support, but her eyes were perfectly round. I looked at Zaalbar and gritted my teeth. All that damned Wookiee hair covering up any facial expression that he might have.
"And how do you propose to do that?" I asked. Zelka jabbed me with another needle and I yelped.
"I've got a plan to escape Taris, but I can't do it alone." Canderous explained.
His pale blue eyes looked as if they were carved from icy crystal. I tried desperately to restrain myself from gulping. I don't think it worked.
"I need someone I know who can get the job done to help me." He said. "That's where you come in."
"This is a medical facility, not some rendezvous point." Dr. Forn interrupted. "You fools should work out the details of getting yourselves killed elsewhere."
"I ain't talking to you." Canderous warned.
"We'll be
quick." I promised Zelka.
Canderous
gave the doctor a disdainful snort.
"Some of the stunts you pulled at that race were less than sensible and
it made me think. Anyone crazy enough to
do those things is probably crazy enough to break into the Sith
military base." He crossed his
arms. "I need someone to steal the Sith launch codes from the base. Without those codes, any ship leaving the
atmosphere will be disintegrated by the Sith fleet's
automated defense guns."
"Why should I help you?" I raised an eyebrow.
Canderous smiled. I think my jaw fell open. It seemed completely unnatural for a face as hard as his to show any hint of emotion.
"Here's the deal." he said. "You bring me those launch codes and I can provide the vehicle to get off the planet, Davik's flagship, the Ebon Hawk."
"How are you going to manage that?" Mission blurted out.
"I didn't realize you were part of this conversation." Canderous spared the young Twi'lek an aloof glance.
"Mission's raised a good point." I cut in. "I doubt Davik's going to just hand his ship over to us and I'd bet my right kidney that it's securely guarded."
"Uh uh. Not yet." Canderous raised a finger as if scolding a small child. "First you bring me the launch codes. Then I'll tell you the rest of my plan."
"How do you expect me to get inside the military base?" I questioned. It sounded to me like Mr. Ordo wanted to reap the benefits of my hard work while doing nothing himself.
I caught notice of a devilish glint behind Canderous' eyes. Maybe the Mandalorian had a soul after all. "You'll need a top of the line astromech droid to slice through the encrypted security system. Lucky for you I know just the place to get a droid like that."
