The pair exited the ship together, each wearing their own wrappings. Ahsoka had searched around, eventually coming across a cloak she could use. Though it would not hide the montrals denoting her species, it was better than walking around completely exposed. Harena had wrapped her face in a long stretch of fabric that draped over one shoulder, the only thing visible being her nearly-glowing red eyes. The atmospheric composition of the planet was dense with oxygen which caused her already cobalt blue features to darken.

"You will be meeting with Coran'res'halanveros," Harena explained. "Coran and I have always been close. Try not to get on his bad side, I had to drop a few old debts to get you a meeting with him."

"What is he, a gangster? A slaver?" Ahsoka's eyes narrowed. The last thing she needed was to be indebted to someone who would just as easily sell her.

"He's a smuggler," Harena answered under her breath, eying a pair of passerby. "He wouldn't be one to deal in flesh. If he has any respect for me, you'll be safe under his care."

Ahsoka nodded. Though she didn't trust anyone in this situation, Harena had no reason to deceive her. "And where will you be going from here?" Ahsoka asked, still considering whether a smuggler was any improvement to her circumstances.

The two entered a three-way intersection from the south, where the thoroughfare opened up into a busy city street. One would never known they had left the depths of Coruscant were it not for the bright blue sky above.

"I'll be in attendance with a..." Harena struggled to find the right word. "less desirable companion," she decided. "He has his tentacles in all of the empire's business. If anyone knows why they turned on me so suddenly, it'd be him." Ahsoka noticed her secrecy, but didn't make a point of it. It was part of the job.

"Thank you for everything, Harena," Ahsoka said. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

Haren pointed down the path to their left. "Coran will know you when he sees you."

The two broke away from each other, now just two drifting cloaks in the crowd.

Ahsoka kept her senses open, feeling the shift and flow of the Force around her. The crowd that moved through Mali-Zenai was brimming with such an energy that she hadn't experienced on Coruscant in some time. Even with the darkness looming in the core systems, these people were able to go about their lives. Though there was tension, there was still a sense of hope. On Coruscant there was nothing. Only the empire remained.

As she walked at an even pace, she became aware of someone falling into step several paces behind her. She felt outward. There was a curiosity to them, but deeper than that was a writhing seed of a dark thought. She came to a stop, pretending to peruse a merchants stall that was selling various slabs of meat cut from various off-world creatures. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the figure stop at the next stall down.

A Rhodian. Coran had help.

The merchant behind the stall tried to talk her up, eager to make a sale. "Togruta, eh? I've got Akul meat, fresh from the homeworld," the weequay merchant said more loudly that she would have liked, slapping the large slab of meat. When she didn't respond immediately he continued, "Ah, yeah, sacred hunt and all, you probably don't want that," he trailed off as he noticing her lack of Akul teeth. It wasn't common to see a Togruta this far from their homeworld without some form of trophy from their first hunt. "But I'm sure we can find something else for – ah..."

Ahsoka was now looking directly at the merchant, her gaze piercing and her voice low. "What do you know about a smuggler named Coran?" Another disruption in the force settled in on her opposite side. She suddenly felt exposed, she needed more information.

"Smuggler – I don't – why would I," the weequay stammered, running his hands over the bony protrusions on his chin nervously. "I would never engage in – how dare –"

Ahsoka slammed a fist into the meat below her. "Someone's supplying you with Akul, aren't they? You might fool others, but those don't leave Shili unless someone ships them out. Tell me what you know about Coran," she demanded.

Before the merchant could stammer out an answer, a figure slid into view next to her. Tall, bulky, imposing. "You're making a scene, lady Tano."

Coran cast a shadow over the salesman, who was startled into silence as he backed away. Ahsoka looked up the full seven feet to the Chiss male's ruby red eyes. He was much broader and larger than Harena had been; a dark blue titan among commoners. The size difference didn't do much to intimidate Ahsoka, but it seemed to have an effect on the passerby around the stall. The Rhodian she had noticed and a zabrak woman she had only sensed stepped up alongside Coran.

"Sorry, I have a hard time trusting smugglers I don't know," Ahsoka growled, "especially when their friends try to follow and flank me."

So much for a good first impression, Snips, a voice in the back of her mind whispered. She resisted the urge to reply.

Coran slid a non-imperial form of currency Ahsoka didn't recognize to the weequay, then dipped a hand directly into the Akul meat in front of her. The uncooked slab pulled apart at the marbling into a sizable chunk, which he dropped into Ahoska's hand. "For the road," Coran said as he turned away from the stall. "Walk with me."

Ahsoka thought to leave the meat, but the groaning of her stomach reminded her just how long it had been since she last ate something substantial. She tucked it into a cloak pocket against her better judgment and fell into step next to the giant of a man.

"Harena'res'halanveros speaks highly of your abilities, lady Tano," Coran said. Ahsoka had a feeling Harena wouldn't appreciate her full name being used. "I would expect nothing less from the lost Padawan of the Jedi order."

Ahsoka was waiting for the "But" at the end of that statement. When none came, she shrugged it off. "That was another lifetime."

"It may see a reprisal yet," Coran said. The group fell into silence; it seemed he did not want to discuss business out in the open. Finally, they entered a wide open doorway leading into a storage facility for various goods, most likely illicit. The Rhodian and the Zabrak broke off from the pair to close the doors behind them.

Coran continued down the warehouse, taking a metal staircase upwards to a second level. A few beaten-up chairs were scattered throughout what might have been a foreman's office at one point, now converted into something of a lounge. Coran sat in the largest of the chairs overlooking the storage area. He motioned for Ahsoka to sit, but she remained on her feet.

They each stared for a long moment, sizing each other up. Finally, Coran chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "At ease, at ease, lady Tano, please. You and I have no issue! My sister came to me for help, I wouldn't betray her trust."

"You just seemed to know a lot about me for just a rogue looking to do a favor," Ahsoka said, glossing over the fact Harena was Coran's sister. She had a feeling.

"Now now, rogue is such a harsh way to put it. I'm a businessman," Coran waved a hand. "You're a hot ticket item right now for the empire. All Jedi are, even former ones. As a businessman it pays to know who to look out for. Harena'res'halanveros brought you to my sector of space, I'll see to it you end up somewhere comfortable. I can promise you that." He pointed to her, a pair of golden rings glinting in the light.

"How do I know you're not about to sell me out for the reward? I'd fund so many smuggling operations you'd be able to retire a rich man."

Coran made a face. "Someone with my reputation won't be running to the imperials for anything, and I'm already a rich man." He leaned forward, pressing his fingertips together in a pyramid in front of his face. "You might have to accept the fact that I just want to be of assistance."

"I've learned there's no such thing as a free lunch in this galaxy, Coran," Ahsoka fired back, tossing the untouched Akul meat into his lap to emphasize her point. "What's your price?"

Coran looked down at the bloody hunk of flesh that had landed on his pristine white pants. For a moment she felt the force around him shift to darkness as his face contorted in anger, then it passed. Calmly as he could, he picked up the chunk and crushed it in one hand. The dark blood of an Akul oozed out over his fingers and down his arm. He threw the scraps aside. Ahsoka didn't flinch.

"Harena should have told you to show more restraint," Coran said through grit teeth.

"She did. I ignored it."

Coran laughed. It was hollow. He spoke firmly but evenly, his gaze never leaving her. "My profession is one that relies on finesse, lady Tano. Anyone can become a smuggler, but I am not just an ordinary smuggler and we are not transporting spices on Nal Hutta. To perform work on my level requires pure cost-benefit analysis; what course of action benefits me the most. Assets are required to... lubricate this process. When I look at you, I do not see an asset. You, lady Tano, are a child and a liability. Maybe in your former life I could forgive any offense and your skills could have made you useful to me, but certainly not in this one. I want you out of this system before you bring the wrath of the emperor himself down to destroy everything I've worked to build on Mali-Zenai."

Ahsoka was silent; she could feel the darkness emanating from him as his anger spiked. Coran went on.

"It's only out of respect to my sister that I have not already left you wandering the nearest asteroid belt with a faulty oxygen tank. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. There will be one ship to take you off-world. It will leave tomorrow at dawn. It will drop you off on Mandalore. You will then take a shuttle to the Outer Rim where you'll live as a Hutt's sex slave for all I care. If you're fortunate, the Mandalorians will recognize and kill you before you can leave the planet's surface."

Ahsoka crossed her arms over her lekku. "It seems as though I don't have any other options." Coran didn't seem like the kind of person who would change his mind. There was no way she was going to lie down and die on Mandalore of all places, though.

Coran crossed his arms. "I'm glad we have an understanding. Get out of my warehouse, Jedi."