JoJo pulled her hood up over her feathers and fell in step beside Spot. They were making their way through Hyrule's busy port city, which seemed to be mostly populated by the native Hylians and Rito, a members of the other races—Gerudo, Goron, and Zora—easily spotted in the crowd, despite being few and far between. "Where to first, Captain?" JoJo murmured.

"Finch?" Spot glanced over his shoulder to where Finch and Specs were trailing along behind Spot and JoJo, blending in with the crowd far better than Spot and JoJo given that easily a quarter of it was made up of their own race.

Finch pointed towards a tall building in the distance, his golden feathers ruffling in the sea breeze. "That's the inn. If we're going to find people from off-world, it's probably there."

"Hyrule isn't the biggest on visitors," said Specs. "And given how far from even the Outer Rim the planet is, there aren't a lot of people who'd come here anyways."

Spot bared his fangs at a Goron that was staring at him with wide eyes, although the grimace didn't have quite the intended effect, as the man continued to stare, apparently even more fascinated at the revelation of the sharp teeth. "I can see that," he muttered.

"There's a bar on the bottom level of the inn," said Finch. "It's also one of the best places to eat in the port. Most tourists come through there at some point or another."

Spot nodded. He came to a stop and looked around. "Alright. JoJo, Specs, head for the bar. Keep your ears open for any mention of someone named Allie Raysh. Finch and I will head for the cargo docks."

JoJo grinned and shook her head. "You know, Spot, every now and then I remember why you're in charge."

Spot arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

JoJo shrugged. "Hey, what can I say. You come up with good ideas sometimes."

.*.*.*.*.*.

"So, Captain, I gotta ask: why are we heading for the cargo docks?" Finch asked, shortening his stride to keep an easy but brisk pace at Spot's side.

"Allie has a lot of connections among the smuggling community," said Spot. "If that's what she's up to now, the cargo docks are a good place to start looking for her."

"How are you such good friends with a smuggler?" Finch laughed. "I thought you'd avoided stuff like that. Tried to keep your nose clean and all."

"I have, since leaving the Resistance," Spot grumbled. "But I did some work with their intelligence faction while I was there. Not all of our contacts were exactly… above board."

Finch grinned to himself as Spot quickened his pace, clearly signalling the end of the conversation. For the next hour or so, the two roamed up and down the docks, looking for any sign that Spot could connect to his contact. Unfortunately, they came up dry. Finally, they retreated into a small privacy alcove that looked out over the space dock, and Spot pulled out his communicator. "JoJo, come in."

A few seconds later, JoJo's voice crackled over the comlink in response: "Captain."

"Have you and Specs found anything?" Spot asked.

"Unfortunately, no, sir, we haven't. No mention of an 'Allie Raysh'. We've even asked a few people Specs recognized if they've heard of her, but none of them recognized the name."

"Great," Spot sighed. "We're drawing blanks at the docks, too."

"What should we do next, sir?"

Spot stared out at the space docks, thinking.

"Sir?"

"Hang on a minute, JoJo. I want to check something out—something I didn't notice before. If you don't hear from us, head back to the Banner in an hour."

"Will do, sir. JoJo and Specs out."

Finch followed Spot as he headed towards one of the nearby freighters—a small, Baylor-class ship that looked like it had been repaired far beyond the point at which it should have been scrapped. "Captain?" he called, having to rush to keep up with Spot.

Spot didn't answer, quickening his own pace to a brisk jog. Finch gave up on getting answers, and focused on keeping track of his captain on the busy dock. As he neared the space that the freighter was docked in, he heard Spot call out: "Garen!"

When Finch emerged from the crowd, he saw Spot embracing a remarkably average-looking human man. They pulled apart and the man grinned down at Spot. "Conlon! Good to see you! What brings you this far out? Last I heard you were flying for the fleet of a Hapan businessman."

"Still am, sort of," Spot said. "Look, I need to talk to you. You got a minute?"

"For an old friend?" Garen grinned. "Sure thing."

.*.*.*.*.*.

The inside of the freighter was just as heavily-repaired as the outside had been. Exposed wiring ran along the sides of the corridors, control panels were missing their interfaces, and there were a multitude of patches on the walls and ceilings. Finch had to duck his head to go through the doorways, which were lower than standard openings, and kept getting low-level shocks when his feathers brushed against the wiring despite his best efforts to keep clear of it.

"Sorry about the mess," Garen called over his shoulder. "This ship is our newest acquisition. This is her maiden voyage. We're still working out some of the kinks in the overhaul we did."

"Exposed live wiring is a kink?" Finch mumbled, rubbing his arm.

Garen just laughed and led them into the ship's galley. "Have a seat," he said, gesturing at a table surrounded by mismatched chairs. Spot and Finch sat down on one side of the table, while Garen took a seat across from them. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I need your help," said Spot, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table, templing his fingers together. "I'm looking for Allie Raysh."

Garen's eyebrows shot up and he crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. Despite his posture, Finch could tell that the question had set the other man on edge, and he was now clearly on guard. That in and of itself put Finch on guard, although Spot seemed unbothered.

"Allie Raysh?" Garen repeated, voice flat. "Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long, long time."

"What, since the Resistance?" Spot asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"How so?" Garen asked, lifting his chin.

"Because I've been hearing it all over the place ever since I started venturing out into the Outer Rim regularly," said Spot. "And from what else I've heard, Rengar Olis has a certain amount of… overlap with Captain Raysh."

Garen's face broke into a grin. "Okay, okay—you got me. Yeah, I've seen her around. Even crossed paths a few times and run a couple of jobs together."

Spot arched an eyebrow. "That's not what I've heard."

"And what exactly have you heard, Spot?" Garen asked, leaning forward and mirroring Spot's posture.

Spot smirked slightly behind his hands. "Rumors. Rumors that a group of ex-Resistance members have set up a safe-haven colony past the Outer Rim. I've also heard the names Allie Raysh and Rengar Olis in conjunction with requisitions, runs, and other assorted rumors with connections to the colony."

Garen laughed and shook his head, leaning back in his chair again. "You always were good."

Spot shrugged, taking his turn at mimicking the other man's posture. "I learned from the best."

Garen snorted. "Fair enough. I'll tell Allie you said hi."

"I'd rather tell her myself," said Spot. "Can you tell me where to find her?"