Chapter 4: A pirates deal
Obi-Wan Kenobi, his former padawan Anakin Skywalker, Duchess Satine Kryze and her sister Bo-Katan were all traveling through hyperspace aboard Anakin's prized ship a Corellian G9 Rigger- class light freighter, the Twilight. It was not the most luxurious of ships but for their mission, it didn't have to be. The two Jedi were upfront sitting in their pilot seats while the two sisters were in the cargo hold.
"We should be exiting hyperspace soon enough," Anakin said while checking the systems of his ship.
"I still doubt your plan Anakin, granted most of your plans tend to be half-baked and made on a spot and somehow work in the end but this is stretching it even for you. How can we trust him?" Obi-Wan said looking at his student skeptically.
"Weeeeell," Anakin said sheepishly "We know that we can't trust him but we can trust his greed."
"Anakin you know well what happened last time we were on this planet, I rather not have to try and break out of another prison cell with Satine here," Kenobi growled out. Anakin looked at his master, he had rarely seen Obi-Wan worked up like this, but thinking about it he would probably be the same if Padme was here with them, his love had the tendency to get into tight and dangerous situations as much as he does.
"Relax master, all we need to do is offer him enough credits so he won't refuse, it worked before and it's gonna work again," Anakin tried to reassure Obi-Wan who just sighed in response. To be honest, Anakin wasn't too fond of this plan either but considering their circumstances it was the best option they had right now, they were going behind the council's back after all. Moments later the two Mandalorians walked into the cockpit, Bo-Katan in her full armor while the duchess was wearing what could be described as a prowler outfit, similar to what Padme, white pants, brown leader boots, a dark pink coat that went down to her thighs with the sleeves a light shade and white shirt beneath. The duchess had withdrawn a suitable sum of money from her personal bank account in the Intergalactic banking clan, as Obi-Wan had said that they were going to need credits to where they were going.
"This ship is a pile of junk," said Bo-Katan. Anakin immediately turning his seat around to glare at the Mandalorian warrior.
"Hey!" Anakin exclaimed. "This ship might not be a luxury yacht your highness but it gets the job done, it has gotten me out to some tight spots before. I have also completely restored and upgraded its systems," Anakin said.
"I'm not spoiled princess Skywalker," Bo-Katan said returning the glare. "But what I said stands, it's a pile of junk."
"For where we are going we need to remain inconspicuous, taking a republic ship would draw attention, and using your own starfighter would even more. This was the best option in this situation, as much as I hate to admit it," Obi-Wan said.
"Obi-Wan," Satine said stepping closer to the Jedi master. "This friend of yours, will he truly be able to help us?"
"Trust me, duchess he will," Anakin said beating his master to the answer.
"How is it exactly that you have meat him?" Satine said with a raised eyebrow. From what Obi-Wan has told her so far she could tell that her love was not overly fond of the man they were about to meet.
"Well, when we first met he had me and Anakin imprisoned and tried to ransom us to the Republic," Kenobi said truthfully.
"So we will be dealing with a kidnapper?" Satine asked shocked.
"Kidnapper, pirate, thief, extortionist, smuggler, and everything else you can think of," Anakin said counting on his normal arm, not bringing any confidence to Satine while Kenobi just glared at his student.
"More criminals, just great," Bo-Katan sighed in annoyance. "What's to stop him from selling us to Maul?"
"Trust us, our friend is not someone who works for others, and working with US is safer than with Maul. If he can get some easy credits with no actual work or danger he will take it. Besides, he and Maul have history, it is more likely that Maul wants his head." Anakin said.
"I hope you are right," Satine said, crossing her arms and looking at Kenobi with a worried expression.
The ship exited hyperspace, the blue light of faster-than-light travel being replaced by the sight of a sulfurous desert planet. Florrum was a hot and dry desert planet in the Outer Rim Territories, not a place that travelers visited often, willingly that is. Both Jedi clearly remembered their time on the planet and could only glare at it as they approached the surface.
"Doesn't look really hospitable," Satine said.
"These kinds of places rarely are," Kenobi said.
Anakin piloted the ship through the upper and lower atmosphere until he saw their destination, even with the separatists being here for a while the planet has not changed one bit. He maneuvered the ship towards where the pirate camp was located and brought the ship to the ground, next to one of the pirate vessels.
"This is our stop people, R2 stay with the ship and don't let anyone inside," Anakin said as he got up from his seat, the droid beeped in confirmation. The younger Jedi moved towards the cargo bay, the other three companions followed him. Anakin pressed a button and the bay doors opened. The four of them exited the ship only to find a large group of ragged-looking Weeguay pirates aiming their blasters at them.
"Jedi," one of them growled out.
"I see that they still remember you," Satine said to the two knights. The pirates kept their weapons aimed at the new arrivals, Bo had started to reach for her blasters while Kenobi and Anakin were both ready to bring their lightsabers to their hands using the force at any moment. Satine was currently only armed with a blaster which was holstered at her hip. She looked at the men surrounding them warily. It looked as if a firefight would break out at any moment but then a jovial voice broke the tension.
"My friends, my friends," Hondo Ohnaka said as he pushed his way through his underlings to gaze upon the four arrivals, the pirates lowering their weapons as he did. The Jedi and the Mandalorians relaxed slightly.
"Hando," Kenobi said in a less than enthusiastic tone while looking at the pirate captain.
"Kenobi, it's good to see you again," Hondo said with a smile as he approached the Jedi master.
"Likewise Hando," Kenobi said, trying to be as polite as possible. Hondo then looked at the other Jedi in the group.
"Skywalker, it's good to see you still alive and kicking," Hondo greeted Anakin.
"Same to you. I honestly thought after how much trouble you caused to both Dooku and Grievous that they would not rest until they wiped you from the face of the galaxy," Anakin said.
Hando laughed. "They can certainly try but they will fail just like they did the last time around."
Hondo then moved his gaze to Bo, examining her from head to toe, more specifically her armor. "A Mandalorian," Hando said with a raised eyebrow. "Together with two Jedi, that's something you don't see every day," Hondo moved closer to Bo. "That's some fine armor you got there."
"Touch it and you are dead," Bo said in a cold tone.
Hondo continued to eye the armored Mandalorian "So tell me what the reason a Mandalorian such as yourself is in the company of Jedi?"
"That's not your business," Bo said flatly, her voice slightly muffled by her helmet.
Hondo raised his hands in the air. "Fine, I know not to mess with someone like you. I had run-ins with your kind before, some good some bad."
He then looked at Satine, his eyes studying her for a long moment. "You look familiar," he told her. "Have we met somewhere?"
"Doubtful," Satine said, there was a hint of disgust in her voice.
Kenobi coughed in her fist and bought Hondos attention back to him. "Hondo, as much as we would like to exchange pleasantries, we are on a short schedule and have come here to do business with you."
Hondo stared at the Jedi for a moment before his eyes lit up at the potential of making some profit and whatever the Jedi needed was sure not make him plenty of it.
"What kind of business?" Hondo asked intrigued, leaning towards Kenobi.
"We need you to acquire something rare for us. With your connections we think you are just the man for the job," Hondo then laughed and put his hand around Kenobi's shoulder.
"Let's get your people a drink, then we will talk further about what you need," Hondo said as he moved Kenobi towards his base, the other three travelers right behind. The pirate cast one last look at the Mandalorian and the other woman before they entered the camp. They followed Hondo through his base, many of his goons were around, all staring at the new arrivals with suspicion. Satine suppressed a shiver while Bo looked at all of them warily, ready to pull her blasters out at any moment.
They all entered the cantina following Hondo, a drunk pirate got in Hondos way almost falling but the captain simply kicked the drunk to the side and moved forward. The pirate, the Jedi, and the Mandalorians all sat at a table while a waiter poured them some drinks. The cantina was filled with Hondos pirates who were in various degrees of intoxication, two goons were having a fight over the female bartender and Kowakian lizard-monkey was jumping around everywhere until it landed on Hondos shoulder and laughed. Hondo took his cup and emptied half of it in one swing, Bo looked at her drink with a skeptical eye before she took a swing herself, it burned her throat slightly. The rest only held their drinks.
"So tell me what is it that you need that has brought you all the way to my lovely home?" Hondo asked. Obi-Wan and Satine looked at each other before Obi-Wan spoke.
"We need you to use your black market connections to acquire a certain amount of beskar," Kenobi said. This had caught the pirate captain off guard because he choked on this drink.
"Beskar?" Hondo asked dumbfounded. "When you came here I thought you would ask many things, you aid your republic or something similar but to find beskar that was not one of them."
"We know it's unusual but we need it Hondo," Kenobi said.
"Beskar is not something you can find easily, it is rare mostly due to the Mandalorians tracking any amount they can find down and taking it. And what amount you can find on the black market is expensive, really expensive that's why only people with deep pockets ever purchase it. How much are you looking for exactly?"
"Enough to make a full set of armor," Bo said.
Hondo placed his chin on his hand, thinking for a moment. "That's not going to be an easy task, if you wanted weapons, transport, or spice I could easily get you that but beskar will take some work. Very few people who have it will be willing to part with it."
"We can pay, we have the credits," Satine said, talking for the first time since they entered the camp.
"I am sure you do… duchess," Hondo said with a smirk.
"You know who I am," Satine said.
"I do, I remember seeing you on holovids, a pacifist leader trying to make a bunch of warmongering Mandalorians into peaceful people," Hondo snickered. "A truly daring effort but I have dealt with enough Mandalorians to know one simple truth."
"And what truth is that?" the duchess asked.
"The Mandalorians are crazy, all they want to do is fight and fuck, their answer to every problem is to shoot it. The bigger the problem the bigger the gun."
"Hondo," Kenobi said while glaring at the pirate.
"He ain't really wrong there," Bo-Katan said.
"No need to get all worked up," Hondo stayed silent for a moment, eyeing the four visitors. He was surprised that Skywalker had not said or done anything so far, it was all Kenobi and the duchess. He smirked and continued. "I will help you find the beskar you need for a price of course. And one more thing."
"And what is that?" Satine asked. She slightly feared what the scoundrel might ask for.
"I wish to know what has made the leader of the pacifists of the galaxy go full Mando. I'm not blind, I see the blaster on your hip, and considering that your friend here already has her armor I would say you want to make yours."
Satine locked eyes with Hondo before she sighed. "My home has been taken away from me and my people are being ruled by one of the greatest evils in the galaxy."
"And what evil is that? Your prime minister looks like every other politician I have seen."
"It's not Almec, its Maul," Kenobi said and Hodno's demeanor immediately changed, gone was the jovial pirate, in his stead now sat a serious captain. A look of fury crossed Hondos face.
"That horned bastard is alive!" Hondo exclaimed.
"He is and he has taken over Mandalore," Bo said.
"I heard that you and Maul have crossed paths," Satine said.
"Crossed paths," Hondo scoffed "He tried to kill me and take my men away from me, he tried to take my base, riches, everything. I'm starting to think that Florrum is somehow attracting laser sword wielding maniacs," Both Jedi in the room were slightly offended by the comment.
"It's called a lightsaber," Skywalker corrected.
"He tried to take your world from you, well he took mine. You fought to keep it and your people under your rule, now I must do the same," Satine said. Hondo looked to be in deep thought, this could be a great deal for him, he would earn a large sum of money and help get back at that tattoed maniac for trying to take his pirates and planet from him without putting himself or his men in danger. If the duchess dies trying he still gets to have his credits, it is a perfect deal either way. After a long moment, he spoke.
"I will find you the beskar you need for your armor as long as you promise me that you will end that horn-headed maniac once and for all," Hondo said. There was a moment of silence before Satine agreed. "Good, now let's talk about my cut," Hondo said returning to his normal self.
After some negotiation, the price for Hondos services was reached and he promised to get right to it, half of the money would be given to him now and the other half when the beskar was in Satines hands. He said that it might take a few days to arrange the things properly so they decided to wait abord Twilight. They were not going to return to Couresant until they had what they needed.
"Quiet the friend you have Obi," Satine said.
"You have no idea," he sighed.
Hondo had made many calls during the next few days trying to find anyone who was willing to sell beskar, he found several potential sellers but only one with the amount Kenobi and his duchess were looking for. This particular person was not someone he was overly fond of, the reason being that she was the only person in recent memory that swindled him of his hard-earned credits and even made him pay her. Usually, he would just track anyone who wronged him down and killed them if possible but this particular crime boss was the exception to the rule. Hondo waited for a few seconds until a hologram of a female Devaronian sitting at a table with a glass of what he guessed was wine in her hand.
"Hondo, what a pleasant surprise," she said in a courteous tone, a pleasant smile on her lips.
Both surprisingly and unsurprisingly Hondo came through and managed to arrange a meeting with a potential seller of the amount of beskar they needed. They were going to meet them on Nar Shaddaa, a place filled with scum and villainy of all sorts, and not to make things worse it was ruled by the Hutts, something none of them were particularly happy about. Kenobi asked why Hondo could not arrange it to be somewhere else but the pirate replied by saying that it was not up to him, that the seller wanted the deal to happen there and nowhere else. Nar Shaddaa was known as the Smugglers moon and one of the most dangerous places in the galaxy, no one in the group was overly excited about going there. It was not a place that Jedi were welcomed at, usually they are shot on sight.
Satine sighed. "I guess we don't have a choice."
"Cant you find another person who is willing to sell beskar?" Kenobi asked Hondo.
"On such short notice no. Finding this was complicated enough, I had to pull many strings and favors, even threaten a few people for it. It's on Nar Shaddaa or nothing," Hondo said, he had an od look on his face, as if something or something had bothered him. The group looked at each other skeptically, no one liked the idea of them going to a place that is filled with people who are more than willing to kill them just to take the clothes off their backs, someone could capture them and sell them into slavery or worse. But their options were limited and with Maul controlling much of the underworld and Mandalorians they had few real options left. This was Satines best bet if she wanted to start fighting Maul as soon as possible.
"Fine, where exactly do they wish to meet us?" Satine asked.
"New Vertica, there is a bar that was once owned by Ziro the Hutt near the spaceport called Final destination. Once there you will need to say the code phrase that i will give you to the bartender."
"Good to know," Kenobi said.
"That only leaves the question of who will be sent to make the deal," Bo said.
"We could always send you, you would fit right in," Anakin said to the Mandalorian warrior.
"I would but Maul has eyes and ear on Nar Shaddaa for certain if I come with my armor or just show my face he will know. Satine can't exactly go and this job requires more subtlety and finesse than what Skywalker has to offer."
"Hey! I can be subtle when I want to," Anakin said with his arms crossed.
"I highly doubt that," Bo said. Satine looked at her sister while Kenobi had a thoughtful look on his face.
"I know that look, you have a good idea but potentially dangerous to yourself," Satine said while looking at Obi-Wan.
"Perhaps," Kenobi said.
"Well, what is it?" Bo asked.
"I believe it's time for Raco Hardeen to show himself once more," Kenobi said. Both Anakin and Bo-Katan looked at Kenobi with puzzled expressions. Anakin was still a bit angry about Obi-Wan not trusting him with the knowledge of his undercover mission but he understood why his former master had kept it from him. Too Satine the moment when she was informed that Obi-Wan was killed was one of the hardest in her life, she felt as if she was back in the civil war, right after the deaths of her parents, much like Anakin she too was furious when she found out about the deception but eventually came to terms with it realizing that he had done for to save the chancellor.
Satine gave him a questioning look. "Isn't he the bounty hunter who supposedly killed you that time? How are we going to rely on him?"
"We aren't but we are going to rely on his reputation and armor. It just so happens that I saved the gear I wore as Hardeen while I was undercover, with it I should look like any other low life in the crowd. If anyone questions who I am, I will just say I'm Hardeen."
"That might be dangerous Obi," Satine said worried about the man she loves. She didn't want him to get caught in something that might get him killed because of her.
"Hardeen is rotting in a Republic prison, the news of him killing you was widespread, someone might see through the deception," Anakin said.
"You might be right Anakin, but at least it will make me fit in and if anyone asks I will say that I escaped Republic custody and am working for a new employer. If things get dicey I can always use the mind trick."
"And what if the seller is a strong-minded person, I know how a mind trick works," Bo said.
"I will come up with a plan B on the way there but before we go I need to go back to the Jedi temple, Hardeen's gear is there."
Anakin smirked. "Now you sound like me master," he said in a chicky tone. "Maybe I'm finally rubbing off on you."
"Don't remind me. I'm the master, it should be the other way around."
"I'm never going to change and you know it," Anakin said a smirk still plastered on his face.
AN: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, I really liked having Hondo in it and he might make an appearance or two in the future. Next chapter its away to Nar Shaddaa, it's going to be really good.
Response to the reviews:
VicRattlehead83: Well you got the answer to who it is and Padme is don't going to get in any trouble. Someone like a duchess would definitely have a private bank account to rely on.
prjones339: Hondo is here, he always was one of my favorite characters from the clone wars.