Chapter 5: The Smugglers Moon.
AN: Hey guys IM BACK, here's the next chapter it was really fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it. As always leave a review, it always helps.
Spiral-Voltron-Zero0Q1: Yeah, pretty much. It would be fun to read a fic where those two meet.
Bo Katan sat at the ship's controls monitoring it as it flew through hyperspace towards their destination. Kenobi's plan to infiltrate Nar Shada and buy the beskar needed was sound but not without its merits, one of them being that if anyone recognized him it would make things a lot more difficult for them. The Jedi order had pissed off plenty of people and organizations over the years and Kenobi was one of its most prominent members, a man who kills him would instantly get a boost in reputation. What didn't really help their situation at all was the fact Satine decided to tag along with them. When she first heard the plan she had thought that it would be her, Kenobi and possibly Skywalker but the letter Jedi had to stay at the temple and Satine was adamant that she would not stay behind, if she could go a pirate den she can go to a smugglers moon. They did manage to persuade Skywalker to borrow his junk pile of a ship, he was adamant against it at first but Kenobi managed to persuade him. They promised to return it in one piece but it wouldn't surprise Bo if the ship just started to tear itself apart at some point. Bo and Obi-Wan wanted Satine to stay with the ship with Bo but she was having a feeling that her sister won't do as she was told, that was one thing Bo liked about her sister, the fact that she regrew her spine and has actually started to take the initiative. That didn't mean that Bo wasn't still a bit worried about Satine.
The door of the cockpit slid open and Satine and Obi-Wan walked in, Kenobi was wearing Hardeens bounty hunter armor with a blaster on his hip and sniper rifle on his back and Satine wore dark pants and armored boots, red long-sleeved shirt with a bounty trackers breastplate and mask that covered the lower part of her face. She had a black cloak with a hood on her as well as a blaster on her right hip as well as few detonators courtesy of Bo, just in case.
"So how do we look?" asked Kenobi while holding his helmet in his right hand.
"Looking like a true pair of scumbags, you should fit right in with the rest of them," Bo said to the two.
"Flattering," Satine with a hint of sarcasm.
"Well I think your outfit looks good on you, no one should be able to recognize you," Obi-Wan said to Satine.
"And I still think that your armor does not do you justice, you look a lot less dashing in it," Satine said playfully.
Kenobi raised an eyebrow. "For your information, I think I look pretty good as a bounty hunter."
"You have a too handsome face to be a bounty hunter," she said looking him in the eyes.
A cough caught their attention. "If you love birds are done, I suggest you strap in."
"Right," said Kenobi with slight embarrassment.
"My sister and a Jedi in love figures it would be Satine to fall in love with the mortal enemy of our people," Bo thought. The duchess and the Jedi took their seats and moments later the blue of hyperspace was replaced with the sight of the moon-spanning city with its lights covering a good portion of the surface.
"Making way to the New Vertica," Bo said as she maneuvered Skywlakers ship into the orbit of the planet, staying away from other vessels that were going to and from Nar Shaddaa. She followed the trajectory that the nav computer showed until they were above the city where they were supposed to meet the seller.
"I still think it would be a wiser course of action to let me take care of this alone Satine, there is no need for you to jeopardize your safety in a place like this. I can give our seller the credits and be back with the beskar alone without any problems," Kenobi said.
"I'm grateful for your concern Obi but I have to do this, I cant just stay on the sidelines anymore and hope that other people will take care of my problems for me. This is supposed to be my armor and I will be the one to carry the beskar needed to forge it."
Kenobi sighed, "There is no way of talking you out of it, is there?"
"No," Satine said with determination. "We are doing this together, just like old times."
"Let's just hope that I wouldn't need to carry you this time," Obi-Wan said with a smile before he put on his helmet and looked at the spaceport they were currently docking at.
"Once we land, I will stay with the ship and keep the engines prepped in case we need to make a speedy getaway while you two will go and find that bar and make the transaction. Keep the comms on at all times. And make sure not to attract any unwanted attention," Bo said.
"Don't worry, we will be careful. There are so many unsavory characters here that with our disguises should make us blend right in," Satine said.
"What did mother always say about sure plans?" Bo asked.
"That there is no such thing and that something will always go wrong with some portion of the plan," Satine said remembering their mother's words well.
"Good, you remember, so don't be so certain and keep your head low. Just take the beskar and get out quickly.
"Will do," said Kenobi as the ship landed on the ground and soon the two made their way out of the ship towards the street. They followed the street going along with the instructions Hondo had given them, all the while Satine was looking around the place. It was definitely one of, if not the worse places she had ever been to. It was dirty, the horrible smell filled her nostrils even with her mask on, there were drunkards everywhere, people were fighting each other, a large trandoshan had tossed a rodian out of a bar right in front of her feet, she saw a body with signs of fresh blaster bolts on its chest and a lot more. Right now she honestly preferred Hondos hideout to this.
"Not the most hospitable place, I agree," Obi-Wan said.
"I almost wish that were being chased by venom-mites again, almost," Satine said.
"Don't worry, I won't drop you this time and I promise you won't get a scar again," Obi-Wan tried to reassure her, his tone playful.
"I will be happy to leave this place in one piece but I wouldn't mind being carried," the duchess said in a seductive tone.
"That could be arranged," Obi-Wan said.
"Focus you two, mission first, flirting second," Bo's voice came over the calms.
"You can't begrudge me for trying to relax a bit, this place is making me more nervous by the second," Satine said to her sister.
"Just try not to think about it too much and have your hand near your blaster," Bo said.
"Thank you for the advice," Satine said sarcastically.
"Always when you need it the most sister."
The Jedi and the duchess silently walked towards the location of the bar they were looking for, they were getting close. Unbeknownst to them, they did not stay unnoticed among the crowd as they believed. Most people truly saw them as nothing more than a pair of bounty hunters but one set of red eyes was watching them carefully from a distance.
"Are you sure it's him?" the little floating droid asked.
"Positive," the bounty hunter said, his hands resting on his twin blaster pistols.
"It could be anyone really, it's not like every piece of equipment a bounty hunter uses is unique to them," the droid continued.
"I know it's Kenobi, that's Skywalkers freighter that landed opposite of our ship, I don't know who the other one is but that man is Kenobi. The other one if probably another Jedi."
"If so then why have they come here?" the droid asked intrigued.
"I don't know but I'm not going to ask either. I got a score to settle and there is also a nice bounty on Kenobi's head so that is going to make a welcome addition."
"Oh dear," the droid whined "Well in that case what's our next move?"
"We follow them and once we figure out what they are here for we dispose of them," Cad Bane said as he pulled the toothpick from his mouth and tossed it to the ground. Tipping his hat he returned to the shadows of the dark streets of Nar Shaddaa, carefully following his new targets.
Obi-Wan and Satine stood in front of the bar, the neon sign that read The Final Destination hanged above the entrance, the sound of loud music was heard from inside and there was a man passed out next to the door.
"A truly lovely place you brought me to," Satine said sarcastically while looking at the door of the establishment.
"Only the best for my lady," Obi-Wan said with a smirk behind his helmet. "Trust me it could be a lot worse than this."
"Somehow I don't doubt that," Satine sighed. "Let's get this over with and get back to the ship."
"I will go first," Kenobi said as he made his way to the door. Satine wanted to protest for a moment but bit her lip and followed him inside. As they entered they saw the interior of the establishment, it was medium size with tables and chairs scattered around and a bar in the middle. There were a dozen or so occupants inside drinking and none of them looked like law-abiding citizens, common thugs, smugglers and thieves. As they walked to the bar all eyes were on them, mistrusting looks of every person inside were directed at them. They got to the bar which was being tended by a large trandoshan.
"Welcome to the Final destination, what can I get you?" the lizard asked, slightly hissing at the end.
Satine looked at Obi-Wan before she returned her attention to the bartender. "Two tickets for the Devaronian express to the destination."
The trandoshan stared at them for a long moment, showing his mouth filled with pointed teeth. Satine thought that something went wrong, that was the password Hondo had given them.
"You will get your tickets in the back, follow me," the large lizard snarled out and started walking towards the back with the two of them in tow. Satine had released a breath she had not realized that she was holding as she started to walk behind Obi-Wan. The trandoshan stooped in front of a door, pushed a few buttons and the door opened. "The last door on the right," he said and left. Obi-Wan and Satine just looked at each other, she felt slightly worried but she felt safer with him around, so she took the first step into the hall.
"We are going in," Satine said to her sister over the comms.
"Don't do anything stupid, just grab the beskar and get out," Bo said. Satine didn't reply feeling like there was no need. It felt good to hear her sister still cared for her, even after everything. They came to the door they were told to go and Kenobi knocked politely before it opened and an armored guard came out. He looked at them for a moment before asking. "Who are you?"
"Hondo sent us, we have business with your boss," Kenobi said, trying to sound as much as an actual bounty hunter as possible. The guard continued to look at them for another moment before he moved to the side. "Hand over your weapons and you may enter, the boss will see your shortly."
They were both reluctant to part with their weapons but knew that they had little choice in the matter, Obi-Wan still had the force and Satine was a good hand-to-hand fighter so they weren't entirely defenseless. They gave their blasters and rifle over to the gourd to showed them inside. They entered a sizable room, an office that was nicely decorated, the walls were painted bright yellow color, there was a small table with what Satine surmised were expensive drinks and an expensive-looking office table, not something one thought he would find in the back on a place like the Last Destination. There were several guards in the room, dressed the same as the first one. By their arms and armor, Obi-Wan could tell that they were neither Hutts, Black Sun, or Pykes. To who did Hondo send them?
Satine continued to look around the office until the door they entered opened and in came a woman with several guards in tow. The two false bounty hunters immediately turned their gazes towards her. The woman had red-brown skin, brown hair that reached her shoulders, shining purple eyes, long pointer ears and small bumps on her forehead, so they were dealing with a devaronian both Kenobi and Satine summarized. She wore an expensive-looking red dress that matched her skin.
"Ah, so you are the ones Hondo spoke of, got to say I was expecting more by how Hondo spoke of you. He said you were his friends," the woman said as she walked gracefully towards the office table.
"You could say that but he is more like business partners," Obi-Wan said.
"Business partners? Hondo rarely gets directly involved with bounty hunters, he usually lets one of his lackeys do it for him, so you must be special then," the devaronian said with a smile.
So this woman knows Hondo well then, this was not something the duchess had expected. Then again she shouldn't be that surprised. But knowing Hondo may not be a good thing, they didn't know her history with the pirate. The duchess decided to use something that was used in diplomacy on daily basis, flattery, to get the most of this situation. They were getting out of here with that beskar but she didn't wish to start a firefight and have half of the criminals on the moon gunning for her.
"Nice office, decorated it yourself?" she asked.
The devaronian looked at her. "Indeed, considering to who it once belonged to, it desperately lacked a woman's touch."
"I heard this place belonged to Zero the Hutt once," Satine said.
The devaronian frowned. "Indeed, it took a month to get rid of that slugs stench from the walls. And I ordered the place decontaminated just in case."
"It was that bad?" Satine asked, she would be lying if she wasn't slightly interested.
"You have no idea," the crime boss said disgust evident in her tone. "But you seem quite well informed and considering what you are after you must have deep pockets."
"The credits are here as agreed," Satine pulled the case from her cloak.
"Good, I like when the people I do business with don't play around but first before I get down to business I wish to know with who I'm doing business with," the female crime boss said as she leaned forward. "I believe introductions are in order."
"I couldn't agree more," Satine said. "My name is Cassana Mori."
"I have never heard of you, but there is plenty of your kind out there," she looked at Obi-Wan. "And you?"
Kenobi crossed his arms and straightened slightly. "Rako Hardeen."
This got the attention of the crime lord, the devaronian looked at the disguised Jedi master with a raised eyebrow. "Rako Hardeen? I have heard of you, I thought you were supposed to be rotting in a republic prison."
Kenobi shrugged. "Managed to escape while back, laid low for a while and now I'm back working."
"And how much are you getting for this job?" the female boss asked.
"Plenty enough, can we get back to business, time is money after all," Kenobi said, his time as Hardeen giving him a good insight of how various bounty hunters acted, he was now being the no-nonsense, do the job and get the money type. The eyes of the female boss narrowed slightly.
"You have to forgive my associate, manners are not his strong suit," Satine said in an apologetic tone. "We have introduced ourselves, I believe it is only right if you do the same."
To this, the boss smiled and leaned back into her chair. "Isa Durand, you might have heard of me," the crime boss said proudly. The identity of the seller was slightly surprising. Isa Durand is a well-known crime lord responsible for everything from spice dealing to selling high-grade weapons on the black market. The Durand family were small-time gangsters until she took over and quickly made a name for herself in the outer rim, going as far as eradicating several of her main competitors down to the last man and taking everything they owned. The woman can be summed up in a sentence take what you want.
"Your reputation precedes you," Kenobi said.
"You have earned quite the impressive reputation, taking your family to big-time must not have been easy," Satine said.
"Flattery is always welcome," Isa said with satisfaction "and yes it wasn't easy but nothing that is good ever is dear, it took a lot of work and more than a few obstacles that needed to be removed to get where I'm now and I have no intention of stopping any time soon," Isa said with a predatory grin.
"So what is a boss like you doing in a gutter like this, I thought you would want us to meet somewhere less..." Kenobi started but was cut off.
"Subtlety is important in this line of work, this place does serve a purpose plus I put a lot of money into it so it would be a shame not to use it for something. There is also the Hutts who are not happy that I took over a part of their territory but so far they have not been able to stop squabbling among each other long enough to do anything about me and the longer they wait the harder it will be to remove me from here."
"The Hutts are not a joke, they will turn their attention on to you, it's just a matter of time," Kenobi said.
"Oh I'm aware but you don't need to worry yourself about that. Now that we had this little chat I think it's time to get down to business. You want the beskar I have acquired and I want the credits that have been agreed upon. That way both parties go away happy with what they want."
"I couldn't agree more but I would like to know from where the beskar comes first, I wouldn't like some Mandalorians chasing after us as soon as we step out of the bar," Kenobi said. Isa looked at him with a calculating gaze.
"It came from one of my former competitors, how did he come into possession of it I do not know but considering that so far I had no trouble with any Mandalorians I can safely say that they don't know that their precious metal is in my possession. So you are safe in that regard."
"Good to know," Obi-Wan said.
"We have the credits you want right here, we would like to see the beskar as well," Satine said and Isa nodded. With a snap of a finger, a guard from behind walked over to her desk and put a gray case on top of it. The guard opened the case and inside were the unmistakable bars of beskar metal. Kenobi could feel relief and eagerness coming from Satine.
"As you see, my offer is real now I would like to see the credits, not just the case," Isa said and Satine handed her case over to the guard who took it, put it on the table and turned it towards Isa before opening it to reveal it was full of unmarked credits. Isa smiled with satisfaction. "I'm glad to see people with good sense for business, always stay true to the dial that was made, doing otherwise could result in some unfortunate circumstances."
"I couldn't think of who would want to cross you," Kenobi said.
"People have tried dear but they all failed," the crime boss closed the case with the credits and the guard did the same with one with the beskar. "It was a pleasure meeting you two, I would like that more transactions would be like this one. Who knows I might try to reach out to you in the future when I'm in need of services of bounty hunters, it's always better to work with professionals."
"It was a pleasure doing business with you as well lady Durran, I wish you luck in your future endeavors," Satine said.
"Likewise," Obi-Wan said as he took the offered beskar case and followed Satine out of the room but not before Isa had one last thing to say.
"Send Hondo my best regards and tell him to feel free to stop by any time he wants, it's been so long since we have seen each other," the crime boss said with a flirtatious tone and a smirk on her lips. To this, the Jedi and Mandalorian just nodded and left. They retrieved their weapons and made their way out of the bar. After a moment of silence, the guard behind Isa spoke.
"You could have just ordered us to kill them and take the credits, it would have been a double win. Also, there has been no word of anyone named Rako Hardeen escaping republic custody recently."
Isa smiled a predatory smile. "Oh I'm aware but I don't particularly care who the man was, it was obvious that the woman was the one who wanted the beskar and she paid good money for it. It was refreshing to have a smooth deal for once. What they do with the metal is up to them. Besides they are friends of Hondos, I wouldn't want for the old pirate to get any madder at me than he already is. Now let's get ready, we don't want to be late to Grakkuss little celebration."
"That went better than I expected," Obi-Wan said. They had exited the bar and were now walking through the streets of the city towards where they had left Bo with the ship. Satine had notified her sister that the mission went smoothly and that they were on their way back.
"Indeed, good work with staying in character If I didn't know any better I would have really thought that you were an actual bounty hunter," Satine said.
"Well, I'm not just a good negotiator I can also be a good actor when I want to be," Obi-Wan said in a chicky tone.
"You truly never cease to amaze me," Satine said looking at him, a smile on her lips. "I'm glad that we didn't need to cause a firefight, getting out of that place would have been tricky."
"All has gone well and as soon as we get back to the ship we will be leaving this place for good. I think I'm going to need a bath as soon as I get back to Coruscant."
"I could use a bath as well," Satine said but before she could say anything else Kenobi felt a sense of danger in the force and tensed up, Satine immediately noticed his behavior.
"What is it, something wrong?" she asked concerned.
"I think we are in trouble," Obi-Wan said, worry clear in his voice.
"Right you are Kenobi," an all too familiar voice was heard from behind them. The two of them turned to see a blue-skinned, red-eyed, bounty hunter with a large hat glaring at them.
"I think you have us confused with someone else," Satine said slowly reaching for her blaster.
"I don't know you," the bounty hunter said to the duchess "but I know Kenobi, should have chosen a different disguise Jedi," Cade Banne said while his gaze was focused on the Jedi master.
"It was on short notice and I wasn't honestly thinking that you would show yourself here," Obi-Wan said.
"Another friend of yours?" Satine asked while keeping her eyes on the new threat, her hand slowly going for her blaster.
"Not really, but we do have a history of trying to kill each other if you were referring to that," Kenobi responded.
"You and I have a score to settle Jedi, I have not forgotten the times your meddling cost me my payment," Cad said.
"It was only natural, you tried to do something bad and I stopped you. That how things work Bane," Obi-Wan said. The three combatants stared at each other intensely, hands near the blasters, ready to pull the weapons out at any moment and to start firing.
"I going to enjoy this," Bane said as his rocket boots activated and flew into the air pulling his LL-30 blaster pistols and shooting at the Jedi. Kenobi and Satine immediately dived for cover hiding behind some crates while the people around them started running for their lives.
"You sure know how to make enemies Obi," Satine commented.
"We will discuss this later, for now we need a plan," Obi-Wan said with urgency.
"Here's a plan, return fire," Satine said as she pulled out her own blaster and started shooting over the crates at Bane who maneuvered in the air to avoid the blaster shots. Kenobi left with no choice pulled out his own blaster rifle and started firing on Bane. Bane flew to the left of them and tossed an active detonator which Obi-Wan spotted in time and used the force to push it away from them, just in time as not a moment later the detonator exploded.
"This is bound to attract attention, call your sister and tell her to come to pick us up!" Kenobi shouted to Satine to which she immediately complied. She turned on her comms.
"How far are you out?" Bo's voice was heard asking.
"We ran into a small problem," Satine said as she continued to shoot at Bane.
"Define problem," Bo demanded, Satine just knew that her sister now probably had a keep frown on her face.
"A bounty hunter recognized Obi and is trying to kill us, we could use a lift out of here," Satine informed her sister.
"On my way," was all Bo said before she cut the comms.
"Bos on her way, all we have to do is stay alive until she comes," Satine informed Obi-Wan, lowering her head behind the crates just in time, a blaster bolt went over her head a second later. Obi-Wan tried to use force push on Bane but the bounty hunter used his vambraces to shoot flames at the Jedi, making the latter duck for cover.
"Good to hear," Kenobi responded and soon ducked out of cover and fired a few more shots from his rifle and then tried to stop Bane from flying around using the force. Bane growled as his boots came to a sudden stop and he saw Kenobi outstretching his hand, using the force to hold the bounty hunter still.
"Where is that damned droid?" Bane thought. With the bounty hunter not moving around anymore Satine came out of her cover and aimed her weapon at Bane. Just as she was about to take the shot Obi-Wan fell down to the ground, a blaster wound smoking on his shoulder, a growl of pain came from the Jedi. A feeling of fear and anger came over the duchess as she looked at the injured Jedi master. Satine turned to look at the narrow ally to the side and saw a small floating droid who had taken the shot, she immediately moved her blaster at the droid and opened fire, the droid ducking for cover behind a dumpster.
"You alright?" she asked with clear fear and worry in her voice.
"Just a scratch, I will live," Kenobi said through greeted teeth, trying to reassure the duchess with little success. The situation wasn't looking so good right now, they were stuck in a real corner. Obi-Wan tossed away the rifle and pulled out his pistol with his good arm aiming it at where the droid was. "You are a better shot, just try to keep Bane busy until your sister arrives."
Satine looked at the injured Kenobi, she could feel blaster bolts hitting their cover, she needed a way to take away Bane's aerial advantage. She looked at her belt and saw the detonators her sister had given her, an idea came to mind. Taking Obi-Wan rifle she readied it, then she took the detonators and primed them and after few seconds she tossed them over the side. Bane's eyes went wide as he noticed the explosives flying towards him, he tried to fly up to avoid them but Satine quickly came out of cover and shoot with the rifle at the middle detonator, causing a chain reaction that ignited all three of them. The explosion sent Bane flying to the wall of one of the buildings. It took few moments for the smoke to clear out, when it did, Satine could see Bane laying on the ground with one of his rocket boots sparking due to damage and his weapons out of reach.
"Good thinking, a bit too explosive for my tastes but good nonetheless," Obi-Wan complimented Satine.
"Just be glad we are alive," she told him. They noticed the small droid coming from its cover and were ready to shot it but stopped when it didn't fire at them but instead flew towards the downed bounty hunter.
"Bane! Bane!," the droid shouted, shaking the bounty hunter. Bane gave out a grunt of pain showing that he was still alive. The small moment of triumph ceased when the Jedi and the Mandalorian heard shouting coming from in front of them. They turned their gazes from Bane to the street only to see a large group of armed tugs marching towards them.
"Looks like this isn't over," Satine said worriedly.
"I really wish I had my lightsaber about now," Kenobi commented. Just as the two were about to take cover a ship flew over and stopped, the bay doors opening. It was the Twilight. "That's our ticket out of here. Grab hold of me."
Satine tossed the rifle aside and grabbed the case with beskar in it before wrapping her arms around Kenobi who used the force to leap into the air and land safely on the ramp of the Twilight. They quickly made their way to the front of the ship where Bo-Katan sat in the pilot seat.
"We are here, let's get away from this place," Satine said hastily.
"Don't need to tell me twice," Bo said as she piloted the ship into the moon's orbit and soon into hyperspace.