His first stop after visiting the Client found him entering one of the more seedier cantinas in Nevarro. Those of the more underworld element frequented the cantina searching for anything that gave them the pleasure found in the peak of Imperial control. Voices silenced when he entered and the bartender, a petite pink Twi'lek, glanced around nervously.
"Apologies, sir, but if you're lookin' to cause some trouble, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," she said quietly.
He shook his head just barely to refute her statement, tilting his helmet to the side so he could view the crowd better. Waitresses lounged next to customers clad in scraps of silky fabric and shimmied their way through the crowd, expertly avoiding the wandering hand or claw. His gaze settled on one table in particular where a hooded figure sat with a Rodian on one side and a mercenary on the other. A waitress sat across from them, one of her slender legs exposed from a slit in her skirt that she had propped up in the lap of the hooded figure. Her own hair was covered by a thin hood that was attached to the back of her brassiere, providing a hint of decorum and seduction wrapped into one.
The Mandalorian approached the table and planted his hands on the back of the velveteen couch the waitress was laying back in, his visor boring a hole into the hooded figure.
"If you're here to arrest someone, Mandalorian, I don't hear a tracker fob," the hooded man purred.
"I'm not here to arrest you," he assured him. The Mandalorian leaned a little closer. "She is."
In a split second, he had a blaster trained on the mercenary while the waitress had hers pointed on the hooded man. The mercenary in turn had blasters fixed on the two of them. The Rodian immediately slipped away and based on the lack of reaction from the woman, he had nothing to do with the standoff occurring.
"Heard you skipped bail," she casually commented, voice strong and cold. "Hired your buddy here to keep you company and keep bounty hunters off of you."
"Clearly it failed," the man drawled out.
"I'm not a bounty hunter. I'm retired."
Athena tilted her head to the side and shrugged her shoulder before tossing a pair of cuffs onto the table. "I'm also very good at...persuasion. Your bodyguard is actually who led you straight into my trap. Thank you, Luka. Now, put those on without complaint and I won't put a bolt through your head."
The mercenary sheathed his blaster and the hooded man chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. "You got me."
A blade appeared in his hand and before anyone could react, the woman kicked it out of his hand and had her sharp heel pressed against his throat, exposing a little more of her tan skin. The Mandalorian had to refrain from rolling his eyes as he kicked the mercenary to keep him from staring at her like she was his dessert.
"Listen, you should be grateful I'm taking you in rather than just killing you. I'm not a big fan of Imperial scum like you," she hissed, lowering her blaster to line up with his eyes.
A minute later, Luka the mercenary was dragging the unconscious man out of the cantina as she brushed herself off, finally turning to face the bounty hunter. He averted his eyes at the sight of her turning her face but realized that she was covered even when on a mission. A thick fabric ran across her mouth while gossamer fabric hid her eyes from view but allowed her to see the people in front of her and scan the premises.
"Thank you," she muttered before crossing her arms over her chest. "Did Karga send you to beg me back?"
"No. I have a job that...might need your expertise. No ties to the Guild. No having to return," he lied.
"What's in it for me?"
"A thousand credits and after we drop off the bounty, you tell me where you want to go and then you never see me again."
Under her face covering, she raised an eyebrow in question but thought it over. The question wasn't rare. Bounty hunters had teamed up with her in the past. It was the asker that made her be cautious. The Mandalorian and Athena had only partnered twice in their long past with the Guild but they had been stellar successes.
"It's time I get off this planet," she finally muttered. "I'm in."
"Get your stuff. Meet me on my ship."
"Razor Crest, no?" she hummed, her original accent slipping past the false Basic Galactic accent she had earlier.
"Don't be late or I leave without you."
"Yes, I hear you are quite the charmer, Mandalorian."
"And I hear that your skills are rusty, Athena. Don't make me regret this."
As he left for the covert, the words told him only half an hour before seemed to settle across his shoulders.
"And Mandalorian," the Client called out before the doors shut behind him. "If you are able, I might be able to increase your pay if you are able to bring another."
"No tracker, no bounty," he replied.
"I believe the Guild is aware of Athena's location," the Client mused. "I believe it is time they are brought out of retirement and can be a useful ally to me."
"I can acquire Athena," the Mandalorian finally said before he walked out.