[Authors Note: Story will be primarily set during the 3 year (22 BBY - 19 BBY) period of the Clone Wars. While most events are taken from cannon, some legends elements will be mixed in. There will also be flashbacks! Please comment any thoughts, criticisms, etc below!]
39 BBY
Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina, Mos Eisley, Tatooine
Yelling, laughter, music, fighting, the shattering of an occasional glass. The Cantina was always lively no matter the time of day or night. The place was notorious as its clientele consisted largely of smugglers, mercenaries, bounty hunters and many other types of lawless beings. If one needed something illegal to be done or obtained, it was the best place to be.
Vexla was one such of these lawless beings, a bounty hunter... more specifically, a rookie bounty hunter. For the past few years she'd been making credits, hunting down and killing small-time targets. She operated outside the Guild and had even taken down Guild contracted targets in the past, which could be considered more dangerous than the hunt itself... the Guild did not take having their contacts stolen lightly. It was one of reasons she preferred her targets dead... no witnesses meant it was unlikely to have the wrong people find out who'd stolen their bounty in the first place. Unfortunately for her, though, dead bounties usually didn't bring in nearly the amount of credits live ones did... and if she continued operating in the shadows, she'd never develop the reputation a successful hunter needed to make it in the business.
Across the Cantina a Rodian sat at a table alone, hunched over and speaking quietly to a hologram. Tsoku was his name and the bounty on his scaled head was at least enough to keep her living comfortably for a few weeks. The Pyke Syndicate wanted him alive... something about a spice shipment gone missing, but that part didn't matter. Vexla's eyes flickered over her target then she took a deep breath and closed them. The Force was difficult to use, especially for someone untrained like her, but as the years passed she had started to develop some abilities that proved useful in her line of work. It made it so much easier to kill targets after they'd been Forced choked into unconsciousness.
If she could focus well enough, she could use the Force to hear what the Rodian was saying to the hologram. It was harder from this distance and because of the rowdy environment, but she needed to hear it. There were so many voices swirling around at first, but once she picked up on Tsoku's, the others seemed to just melt away. "...I don't have time. I need to get off of Tatooine now," Tsoku whispered and even from her seat across the bar, Vexla could sense the fear and worry consuming him. "Fine... I can get you out of here today, but we have to move quickly. Meet me just outside the city at the Sandor's junkyard and I can lead you to a cargo ship that's leaving for Jakku this afternoon," the hologram responded in a gruff tone before his image disappeared as the transmission ended.
Vexla downed her drink in one go and set the glass down on her table, grimacing slightly at the taste. It should be easy enough to take him down. She could ambush him as he made his way across the city and one stun blast to the back was all that was needed. Some hunters might consider it to be a cheap shot, but it was the safest for her. The woman sighed and let her eyes drift to the other patrons nearby. Another Rodian, a Twi'lek that was extremely intoxicated, a Duros in a rather large hat... Her gaze lingered on the last one, who was seated with his back to her at the next table over from Tsoku. She'd heard a rumor in a different bar not long ago that a young Duros bounty hunter had killed a Jedi. She thought it was unlikely to be true, but couldn't help but wonder what it'd be like to face one. There have been bounty hunters before that had, but most did not live past the encounter. Jango Fett was one of the few that lived, but of course that man was in a league of his own in the hunting game and he was the only one she'd known that was confirmed to have eliminated a force user.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when Tsoku rose from his seat, crossed to the entrance of the establishment and then disappeared outside. Vexla threw a few credits down, checked to confirm her blaster was set to stun, then she followed the Rodian out into the city.
~
Thunk. Tsoku hit the ground face-first after the stun blast caught him right in the middle of the back while traveling through an alleyway shortcut. Vexla emerged from her hiding spot, walked the distance to the Rodian and prodded him with her boot to ensure he was indeed unconscious. "Too easy," she said to herself, grinning, as she pulled a pair of cuffs from her satchel, but in the act of doing so a strange feeling came over her. The woman swung around and her breath caught as the cold barrel of a blaster was pressed against her forehead. "'Too easy'," The tall Duros repeated, his red eyes locking with her green ones. "Drop it, lil' lady," he then ordered, nodding once to the blaster still in her hand. Vexla immediately obeyed and the blaster fell from her hand onto the dirt below. "A-Are you with the Guild?" She finally asked once the initial shock had worn off and fear began to take hold. To her surprise, the Duros looked amused by the question. "Yer stealing contracts from the Guild," he noted, a smirk on his face, "I'm not with the Guild, darlin', but this one here belongs to me." Vexla's mind started racing, thinking of how to get out of this situation. She was at a major disadvantage in close quarter combat. Not only was she a poor hand-to-hand fighter, but the limited reaction time made using her Force abilities difficult during a fight. She'd likely only get one shot to get away.
The woman slowly raised her hands in surrender after a moment. "Fine. You can take him," she told the Duros finally, her eyes slightly narrowed. Behind the pair, a large storage container fell over with the help of a Force push, and hit the ground hard only a few meters away. When the Duros had turned instinctively at the sound, Vexla grabbed his wrist and forced the blaster away from her face while bringing her knee up to strike him in the stomach. The weapon fell from his hand and the man doubled over from the impact of the hit. Without thinking twice, Vexla turned and fled knowing very well that only bought her a few precious moments.
She'd only gone seven steps before a cable wrapped around her ankle and sent her tumbling into the dirt. She rolled onto her back but found the Duros already standing over her, his sharp teeth bared and his red eyes burning. Acting on instinct, she delivered a kick to his leg, making him lose his balance. The moment he went down, she launched herself at him. One hand went for his throat and the second pulled the small dagger strapped to her thigh. She barely got it out of its' sheath, however, before the Duros was able to shove her off. The next thing the woman knew, she was on her back with her knife holding hand pinned above her head and her second pinned at her side. It was almost laughable how easily he'd overpowered her.
"Ya shouldn't have done that," He hissed in a low, gravelly voice, leaning in closer to the woman's ghostly pale face. "I wasn't plannin' on killing ya, but now I-" The Duros paused when he realized the woman's eyes were no longer on him, but staring at a point behind him and he turned his head. Tsoku had woken during their fight, picked up Vexla's weapon and now had it aimed at the Duros, ready to fire. Everything then seemed to move in slow motion, but in reality it was only a split second. The Duros had let go of one of the woman's wrists and turned fully in the direction of his new adversary while his free hand went for the second blaster on his belt...only to find the holster empty. There was a loud shot followed by utter silence.
The Rodian was on the ground once again, this time on his back with his eyes wide open and staring, unseeing, up at the sky. Directly between them was a gaping hole with his blood slowly trickling out and pieces of brain matter poking through. The Duros turned back to look at the woman beneath him. Her eyes were still on Tsoku and her arm was outstretched under the Duro's, blaster aimed at the Rodian, with her finger still on the trigger. A flicker of confusion passed across his face at the sight. He hadn't expected that, but he clearly wasn't complaining.
Vexla let out a breath she'd been holding, then she lowered the blaster and turned her gaze to the Duros', unsure of what was about to happen. The Duros first took the blaster and re-holstered it as he stood, then to her surprise, he offered his hand to her. She lightly bit her lower lip before taking it and allowing him to pull her back onto her feet.
"Bounty's dead... no use to me now," He grunted as he retrieved his second blaster, then he surprised the woman once again by taking her blaster from her ground and offering it back to her. Vexla's lips parted slightly as her expression became bewildered. "... thank you?" She hesitantly offered before gasping as the Duros roughly pushed her back against the alley wall, his face mere centimeters from her own and his wide-brimmed hat brushing the top of her head. "Make no mistake, lil' lady, ya still owe me for this bounty. Understand?" Vexla was speechless and she felt her cheeks start to redden at the lack of space between them. The Duros couldn't help but smirk once more at the woman. It was strangely pleasing to him to see her get so flustered by such a simple action. Before he could dwell on the thought too long, he released her just as abruptly as he'd grabbed her in the first place. Without so much as a word, the man then turned and began walking away.
Vexla stood motionless for a moment against the wall then she blinked and took a step forward, seeming to come back to her senses. "Wait, just who the kriff are you? You never even told me your name!" She called out after him. The Duros turned back to face her and tipped his hat in her direction. "The name's Cad Bane, lil' lady. I'll be seein' ya around."
36 BBY
Level 1313, Coruscant Underworld, Coruscant
The patrons of the small bar fell silent as they caught sight of the newcomer in the entryway. She was wearing an oversized leather utility jacket, pants, boots and various belts laden with ammo, weaponry and pouches. She was also splattered with what appeared to be some creature's purplish blood. She raised an eyebrow and kept her hand at the ready over her holstered blaster while crossing over to the bar. The woman had clearly been in some sort of fight. Aside from the blood, she had a few cuts on her face and her platinum hair was all over the place. "What can I get you?" The bar keeper grunted as he eyed her with suspicion. He was accustomed to such characters here, they were in the Underworld after all, but with this one he sensed trouble. "Raava, Nectarot... whatever you've got that's strong," Vexla said as she set a few credits on the bar. The bar keeper grunted again then soon returned with a cup of amber liquid that was giving off an odd glow. Vexla took it and went off to find an empty booth, simply wanting to relax after her latest kill.
The Twi-lek she'd been pursuing had proven more difficult than she'd originally thought. When she'd finally caught up to him, it turned out he'd purposely led her into a den of pirates. Years ago they would have given her trouble, sure, but now? The woman smirked to herself as she thought of the double-bladed lightsaber hilt attached to a special holster on her back, purposely hidden by the jacket. To make a name for herself, she'd started focusing on honing her Force abilities. She became adept at quite a few tricks that the Jedi used but found herself lacking the infamous weapon they carried, the lightsaber. A Force vision had brought her the solution a year ago and led the woman to Jedha, a place filled with kyber crystals. She was able to construct the device and now it was her primary weapon to kill her targets. It was always exciting to see the fear in their eyes when the amethyst saberstaff first ignited and they knew death was upon them. Just thinking about it gave her chills.
"What's a pretty woman like you doing down here?" A loud, masculine voice brought her out of her thoughts. Vexla made a face as she turned her head slightly to look at the offender. He was just a petty street thug by his appearance and was oozing a stupid amount of confidence. "Leave me be," Vexla snapped before taking a swig of her drink. "Aw, don't be like that. You look like you-" "Didn't ya hear what the woman said. Leave her," A voice growled just a short distance away. The thug whipped around and was met immediately by a precise blaster shot to his heart. Vexla watched in silence as Cad Bane approached the table, seemingly oblivious to every other single patron in the bar staring, and gestured to the empty seat across from her. "This taken, darlin'?" Vexla drained the rest of her drink before gesturing for him to sit. The Duros did, stepping over the thug's carcass to do so, and waved for the bartender to bring them both another round.
Vexla hoped her facial expression was remaining neutral, because on the inside she was anything but calm. She hadn't seen Bane for nearly three years now but damn if she didn't constantly hear about him. In just a short amount of time, the man across from her had gone from a virtual unknown to one of the top in the game, just under Jango Fett. If even half of what she heard about his escapades were true, she had a reason to be a bit on edge. She didn't believe the man just happened to be in the same grimy bar as her. He had sought her out for sure, but what did he want?
Vexla pursed her lips as the bar keeper nervously approached their table and set the drinks down before then all but running back behind the bar. The silence in the bar was eerie and it seemed to last an eternity. Finally, the music started back up and one-by-one the patrons went back to their own conversations. All this time, Cad Bane and Vexla hadn't taken their eyes off of each other. It was clear they were sizing each other up and the tension between the two was thick.
The Duros was the first to make a move. He picked up his glass and downed the entire drink with impressive speed. Vexla reciprocated the action but couldn't help the slight grimace as the whiskey went down. "You've been quite busy these last few years, lil' lady," Bane noted before his expression became stoic as the woman unexpectedly let out a sarcastic laugh. Of all the things he could have said, she hadn't expected that to be his opening line. "I've been busy? That's hysterical coming from you! No, no, no... I'm not the one that's become an infamous Jedi killer. Everywhere I go, there's some hunter or petty thief talking about you," Vexla shook her head and rested her arms on the small table between them, her eyes narrowing. "So stop with the flattery and tell me what it is you want from me. You wouldn't be here otherwise, so talk. What could the great Cad Bane need?" Sarcasm was dripping heavily from her voice and the Duros was close to having enough of it. Time and experience clearly hadn't changed her feisty behavior.
"Straight to the point then, woman, I need yer assistance for a job," He said, his tone turned cold. Vexla stared then she slowly shook her head, a grin on her face. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor. What could you possi-". Bane, quicker than she could have imagined, had grabbed her tightly by the jaw and forced her closer while leaning in so their faces were nearly touching. "I ain't got the time to be playin' these games. Ya still owe me for what happened back on Tatooine and I've decided it's time for ya to pay up. Understand?" He growled. When the woman let out a barely audible 'yes', he released her and she rubbed the side of her jaw while leaning back in her seat. "What's the job?" Vexla finally asked and Bane shook his head. "Not here. My ship is nearby, we'll talk there." "I guess I don't really have much of a choice in this, do I?" The look he gave her made the answer clear and the woman sighed. This was not the way she thought her night was going to go.
~
As the pair approached the Slight of Hand, Vexla could not help but be impressed by the sheer amount of militarily grade modifications it had. Bane had clearly put a lot of time and credits into this ship and it was a sight to behold. The inside, however, was a different story. Yes there were plenty of exotic weapons and equipment, but everything was in messy disarray. Vexla had just opened her mouth to make a comment when a small Droid flew over to meet them. "Mister Bane, you're back! Oh! You didn't tell me the package you were picking up was a wom-" "Can it, Todo," Bane growled before waving the Droid away, "We've got business to discuss." With that, the Duros took the woman by the arm and steered her towards the cockpit of the ship, leaving Todo behind in the hull.
"Sit," Bane ordered gruffly as he took his own seat in the pilot's chair and began pulling up a file that had been sent to his ship's communicator. Vexla had sunk down into the only other chair in the cockpit and watched Bane quietly. If someone like him truly needed assistance for a job, it was sure to be dangerous... far more so than the ones she typically took from clients. The thought wasn't all that bad however. It had been some time since the young woman had had a real challenge.
Bane could feel her staring at him but, for the time being, ignored it. A moment later he'd pulled up an image of a dumpy looking building that appeared to be on one of Coruscant's lower levels.
"What is it?" Vexla asked as she leaned forward to examine the image.
"Hideout of an ex-enforcer from the Hutt clan named Avon, a Trandoshin," Bane answered, flashing a brief image of the said man. "He runs his own little criminal empire now here on Coruscant."
Vexla wasn't sure what she disliked more: the fact that the Hutts were involved or that their adversary was a Trandoshin. "Do they want him dead or alive?" But Bane just shook his head. "It's not him we're after. Last intel I got puts him on Rosia. Right now, we're just after the information he stole off the Hutts of hidden caches of refined spice. We get in, find and access the vault, then get out."
Vexla gave him an incredulous look. "It cannot be that simple," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Of course it isn't, darlin'. The place is going to be swarming with his thugs and two of them hold the keys to the damn vault this data is located in." "Two?" "Can't open the vault unless two keys are turned by two different people at the same time."
Vexla fell silent again, her eyebrows contracting slightly. Even with that information it didn't totally add up to why he needed her. He was more than capable of dealing with petty thugs on his own and his Droid could have provided the extra hand needed for the vault access. For now, Vexla would just follow along and hopefully see what the Duros' angle was.
36 BBY
Avon's Hideout, Level 1313, Coruscant Underworld, Coruscant
Getting into the hideout itself was easy for the two as neither were strangers to breaking and entering. The first few rooms they passed through were strangely devoid of life and it was making Vexla a bit weary. The two continued down a new darkened hallway and as they approached the door at the end a strange but bad feeling washed over the woman. She had gotten that sort of feeling before and knew it was akin to a warning from the Force. Vexla stretched out her hand in front of the Duros, bringing him to a stop when she touched his chest. Bane pressed his lips together tightly when she did that. No one typically dared touch him like that and if they did, they'd get a blaster shot through the head. Though when this woman did it, a different kind of feeling came over him. When he realized he actually welcomed her touch, he made a face. He couldn't be thinking of that kind of shit right now.
"There are multiple people in there," Vexla said quietly, snapping the Duros from his thoughts. "How can you be sure?" He then asked as he turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed. "The Force... I just...know," the woman responded as she moved her hand from his chest to tap a finger to her head. "I'm not sure exactly how many... but I can sense they're in there." Bane's eyes remained narrowed as he watched the woman start forward again. He'd never done a mission with a Force user as his partner yet, but it was surely going to prove interesting.
The two then made their way through the door and into the large room that served as the main hold and both came to an immediate stop as at least a dozen of the thugs stood facing them with their weapons drawn.
"Oh fuck me..." Vexla cursed quietly as she looked at the line of thugs blocking their way. True she had sensed them, but even she didn't think there'd be this many.
"Later, darlin'," She then heard Bane quietly respond in a nonchalant tone without missing a beat.
Vexla's face turned red and she shot the Duros a furtive look. Did he really just say that?! Bane remained staring straight ahead at their opponents, but she saw the ghost of a smirk on his lips and it only infuriated her further. Even in the middle of a situation like this, he was finding time to toy with her... and was clearly enjoying it. She was going to have to repay him later, but now they had more pressing matters.
Vexla took a calculated step forward and raised her left hand. "Now, now... let's not be too hasty," she called out sweetly to the men across the room. She then clinched her fist and jerked her hand to the side. Simultaneously with her action, the guns were ripped from their owners hands and flung across the room with the power of the Force.
"She's a kriffing Jedi!" One of them yelled out, enraged, as he pulled his only remaining weapon, a knife, instead. Vexla's lips curled back in a taunting smile. "Oh I can promise you that no Jedi would do what I'm about to do to you," she purred, pulling her saber free from it's holster on her lower back and igniting both ends, "I'm going to enjoy this."
Bane pulled his ll-30 blaster pistols and fired off two quick but precise shots, each hitting their mark and killing instantly. Rather than continue, however, he decided to hang back and observe the Force wielder instead. Vexla was definitely no longer the scared rookie he had met three years ago. She had grown stronger both physically and with the Force and was far more ruthless... which is exactly what he needed from her. However, he could tell that her fighting style was still sloppy and needed much more work. He also noticed rather quickly that she relied heavily on the lightsaber. Much more than one should rely on a single weapon. Still, nevertheless, she had improved from the first time they'd met.
The last thug fell, his throat cut so deeply that his head was only hanging on to his body by a small patch of skin. Vexla switched off her saber and glanced around the carnage while breathing heavily. Coming off her adrenaline high, she scoffed upon spotting Bane in nearly the exact same spot he'd been in when the fight had started. "I guess you didn't feel the need to help," she said sarcastically and the Duros regarded her with an unreadable expression before shrugging. "Ya looked like ya had it handled, darlin'," he simply said as he started off to the next doorway that would lead them deeper into the hideout. He made sure, however, to bump into the woman's side as he passed by partially to annoy her and partially because a sudden desire to touch her passed over him.
The rest of the way to the vault was met with little resistance. They obtained the keys off the corpses of nearby guards and used them simultaneously to unlock the door. It creaked loudly as Bane pushed it open and Vexla frowned as the interior came into view. All that was in the cavernous vault was a small data drive hastily hidden in a corner. "All this... for that?" She asked and Bane glanced back at her after stuffing the prize into one of his side pouches. "Size doesn't matter, lil' lady." "Oh is that what you tell yourself?" Vexla's smirk was short-lived as a moment later Bane had her pinned against the wall of the vault with a look in his eyes that made the woman's face flush red again.
Before either of them said a word, in the silence, they heard a faint beeping noise coming from nearby. They both turned to look and were met with the sight of the last thing they wanted to see. A detonator was placed by the vault door and was counting down with barely a minute left before hitting zero. It was evident that it had been triggered from the opening of the vault door, a final trap to eliminate anyone who'd made it this far.
Vexla wasn't sure she'd ever run that fast before. She was vaguely aware of Bane racing along beside her, or of the fact he was yelling into his wrist communicator for Todo to bring the ship to the entrance. When they did make it to the outside, she didn't even remember using the Force to vault herself onto the Slight of Hand or Bane landing beside her with the aid of his rocket boosters. Reality came crashing back when in the middle of Bane yelling for Todo to take off, there was a deafening boom and the entire ship was shaken. Both hunters lost their footing, one crashing into a pile of armor pieces and equipment and the other into a stack of crates. The ship then lurched forward with a sudden burst of speed as Todo began rapidly ascending. As a result, the Duros and the human slid backwards the entire length of the hull and smacked into another pile of junk.
Vexla stayed stationary where she'd landed on top of some sort of armor, her eyes closed and her mind reeling. Without a doubt, that was the best rush she'd felt in some time. Rather than frighten her, the close brush with death made her feel elated and excited. It was almost like some sort of twisted high she was on.
"Are ya comfortable, darlin'?" The now all too familiar voice sounded from beneath her. Vexla's eyelids fluttered open immediately and she started to try and sit up, intending to get off of him, but was thwarted when his hands harshly gripped her hips, holding her firmly in place. When they made eye contact, Vexla felt something akin to an electric shock run through her.
The woman's lips parted open slightly while she thought of some retort to shoot back at him, but when he suddenly reversed their positions her mind simply became unable to think clearly. The woman stared up at him, her cheeks burning red and wondering what the hell the Duros was thinking and what he was planning on doing.
Bane was far better at hiding his emotions than the woman beneath him. He had felt the same sort of thrill when the two were quite literally running for their lives. Bounty hunting and all the danger and excitement that came along with it was like an addicting drug... and the credits brought in were a hearty bonus. When he looked down into her eyes it was almost like seeing a reflection. He could tell she was going through the same emotions. It was almost frightening to think about how much the two craved the rush of danger and near-death experiences.
"Bane..." Vexla's voice brought him out of his thoughts. She was still beneath him, wrists pinned above her head by his hands. He had to admit the sight was extremely gratifying, but he was not about to be the one to cave in to desire... of course, that didn't mean he wasn't going to mess with her simply because he could. The Duros leaned in and let his sharp teeth graze her neck. He felt the woman shift under him in anticipation, unintentionally causing even more friction between their lower halves, and making the urge to bite her neck and mark her strong. But, no, he couldn't do that now. Bane pressed his rough lips to her neck for the briefest moment then the next he'd pushed himself off of her and was heading to the cockpit.
He heard the woman swear loudly and get to her feet. "What the kriff was that for?!" She snapped and Bane turned to face her, an infuriatingly cocky smirk on his face. "Shouldn't've made that little comment in the vault, darlin'. I would be remiss if I didn't repay ya in kind," He told her before tipping his hat towards her, that had impressively stayed on his head during the ordeal, and then vanished into the cockpit. "Son of a bantha," Vexla seethed, her hands clenched into fists. Now that the adrenaline had started to wane, she was beginning to feel the after effects of their mission and was developing a splitting headache on top of it. And the teasing from the Duros certainly didn't help.
~
Vexla was sitting in the co-pilot's chair, her boots up on the dash and idly listening to Todo prattle on about something to do with another bounty. Hearing the door open behind her, the woman glanced over and watched as Bane took the only other seat and set a locked case of what she assumed to be credits down in front of him. Vexla eyed it for a moment then she exhaled and looked out through the glass in front of her. "You have your payment now... my debt with you is settled then," she said, keeping her expression neutral. The Duros definitely did annoy her, but if she was being honest, she did enjoy working with him for the brief period. On principle, people like them were supposed to work alone. With what they did, having others usually only caused more problems.
Bane didn't respond until after he'd gotten the ship airborne once more and on autopilot with coordinates inputted to one of his safe houses. After that was done, he turned his chair to face the woman. "Debts settled," he confirmed before briefly pausing as he considered how he wanted to word his next thoughts. "But that's not why I sought ya out. There's... something else."
Vexla pursed her lips. Her suspicions were right then... she was sure he hadn't tracked her down after all this time for a petty debt. The woman moved her boots from the dash to the floor and turned to face him as well. "I figured as much. What then? I'm listening," she said while gesturing for him to continue.
Bane watched her, unblinking, then he spoke. "Yer not a bounty hunter, yet. Right now, yer just playin' like an assassin... killer-for-hire, whatever ya wanna call it." When the offended woman furiously opened her mouth to respond, he held up his hand while his eyes narrowed. "Let me finish." Vexla narrowed her eyes as well but held her tongue and nodded stiffly. "Yer getting better, but this shit yer doin' taking easy jobs that only involve killing the target and bein' picky about contracts isn't gonna get ya to where ya wanna be." Vexla glared at him, but she knew he was speaking the truth so she remained silent. Bane then pressed on, "What ya need is a mentor. Someone to show ya how to properly do the job. Any job. Heists, captures, infiltration, how to track, everything in between. Not to mention how to fight. Can't rely on a lightsaber for everythin', darlin'."
Vexla's hostile expression slowly gave way to confusion as she processed his words. She knew damn well he wasn't just going to offer this and expect nothing in return. But what did she have to offer someone like him who'd already proven to be so skilled as to take down a Jedi. The woman closed her eyes for a brief moment then exhaled slowly and looked at him. "And what is it that you want in return? There's nothing for me to offer you of an equal value," she said and by the tone of her voice, Bane could tell she truly believed that.
The Duros shook his head then his hand flashed out and gripped her jaw tightly, ensuring she couldn't turn away. "Ya think I would've put so much effort into keepin' tabs on ya and trackin' ya back down if ya didn't have value to me. Yer a force-wielder, darlin'. Ya have abilities that most bounty hunters could only dream of... the same power of the Jedi." "But you've already killed Jedi-" Vexla started to say before Bane cut her off, his tone rather harsher than he intended. "One Jedi. But I ain't foolish enough to think that means I can just waltz up to another and kill him with no problem."
Truthfully, Bane hadn't even actually killed a Jedi yet. The "Jedi" he had been hired to hunt down and kill was no Force user at all, but used tech and gadgets to imitate being one. Bane had never seen anything like it before and in exchange for the man's life, he forced him to reveal every detail about the tech he used so that Bane could in turn replicate it for himself. The Duros was still able to claim the bounty and as a result he walked away with the credits, the tech and a newfound and terrifying reputation. With this notoriety, it meant he had started to get increasingly dangerous and difficult assignments from clients and before long he was sure to be offered a chance to tango with a real Jedi. When that time came, he had to be ready or risk losing it all. In that sense, this woman was everything and he hated to admit it, but he needed her as much as she needed him.
"Listen to me, darlin'. I can teach ya everything about being a bounty hunter. I can take ya on jobs, teach ya better ways to fight, help ya build yer own reputation. In return, ya use these Force abilities of yers and help me prepare for jobs to come. Sparring with a Force-wielder and being able to test my equipment out to see how effective it is before I'm up against the real target... this ain't an opportunity I'm about to let slip by. It's near priceless and can damn well be the difference between life and death." Bane marginally tightened his grip on her face briefly before letting go and then holding out his hand to her. "Do we have a deal?"
Vexla stared into his eyes and within seconds made her decision. She reached forward and gripped his hand firmly, shaking it once. "You've got a deal, Cad Bane."