Cal took a step back as the door slid open. A strong smell of must mixed with the lingering scent of alcohol wafted into his nose and, pausing, he closed his eyes and breathed it in slowly. Well, at least it's nice and cold in here. He looked around. A long metal bar lined with stools curved through the center of Greez's cantina. Wires hung from the ceiling and ran along the ground in knotted paths, and a small door across from Cal was propped half open, the crack too small to fit through but large enough to see the upward-headed staircase on the other end. A few patrons sat, spread thin throughout the large room, each gathered around the nearest tankard. Cal relaxed, smiling slightly. Exactly the type of place old Greezy would love.

Slowly, he approached the bar. A large four-handed droid spun towards him, its offset head turning around its body. Cal raised an eyebrow - and Greez accuses me of picking up strays?

"Ah! A potential customer! What will it be?" Cal turned to BD, smirking. BD beeped, and the droid across the counter inclined its head.

"I'm looking for a friend. Hairy? Thinks he knows how to cook? Couple of arms?"

"Vertically challenged?"

Cal nodded. The droid whirled a full circle, hands outstretched. "Coast's clear!"

Entering through a small door on the opposite side of the cantina, Greez ambled by the bar, head down, unknowingly walking toward Cal. "I'll tell ya, Monk, the Bedlam Raiders are going to be the end of this town." Passing BD, who had leaped forward to greet him, Greez nodded. "Hey BD." He took another step forward before his eyes lit up in realization and he turned back toward the droid. "BD!" Spinning around, he finally spotted Cal leaning up against the bar on the other side of the cantina. "Cal! I've missed ya, kid. It's been a while."

Cal smiled, watching the Latero run over. Greez hopped on a stool and, ruffling Cal's hair, took Cal's head in his hand, looking it up and down. "You look terrible, kid."

Cal sighed. "Been a long week." Greez hummed.

"Where's the new crew?"

Cal shrugged. "We got split up on Coruscant –"

Greez's eyes widened. "You went to Coruscant?" Cal nodded.

"They got called off to Corellia – some job there getting humanitarian aid through an Imperial blockade. Told them I'd catch up soon."

"Well, that's a cause, for sure. Still fighting, then?"

Cal sighed. "Yup." Lying his head in his hands, he slowly looked upward at Greez. "You know, sometimes, everything just feels pointless – got these maps for Saw back on Coruscant. The Empire's just expanding, growing stronger." He paused. "Nothing feels the same since the original team split."

Greez stayed silent for a few seconds. Then, he smiled gently. "That was some fun time, wasn't it? Me, you, Cere, that space witch. How's the Mantis, by the way?"

BD trilled softly and Cal dropped his head in his hands. "We ran into some trouble on Coruscant – the imperial flavor." Greez raised an eyebrow and Cal shrugged. "Yeah, I know, typical… The Mantis'll need a new gyro before it flies again."

Greez laughed quietly. "Well, there I can help. Got a lot of stuff downstairs, we'll find something." Studying Cal again, Greez got up and gestured toward the door from which he came. "Look, kid, you seem dead – let's get you some sleep and we'll talk in the morning. How about that? Got a spare room downstairs prepped just for you – always had hoped you'd come around."

Cal smiled, chuckling gently as a pulse of friendship-care came through the force. "Only you, Greez, only you." As Greez started moving towards the door, Cal waved goodbye to Monk and followed Greez downstairs. The smell of musty alcohol quickly transformed into one of light traces of dust and metallic reventilated air as the spiral stairs opened up into a small well-lit room. As Greez guided Cal towards the bunk beds on the far side of the room, Cal couldn't help but marvel at the collection of items that Greeze had assembled. A terrarium covered one wall, the collection of small plants dominated by a singular tree, spinning around itself. Cal smiled. So that's where the Bonshyyyr seed went - knew Greez wanted it for something. A workbench was pressed up against another wall and a closet and chests covered the final wall alongside another door.

Greez patted the bed with his metal hand. "It's comfortable – promise." Cal smiled.

"Hey, thanks again for this Greez." The Latero nodded, patting Cal on the back with his two left hands.

"Of course, Cal. Now, you get some sleep." Cal smirked, laying himself down on the bed as Greez walked out slowly. Pausing, Cal called out.

"Hey Greez?" The Latero looked over his shoulder at Cal. "Wake me soon – can't stay here for too long. You know how it is." Greez closed his eyes slowly, lowering his head towards the ground. He responded quietly.

"Of course, Cal. No worries. Get your rest."

Cal nodded, looking up at the panels of the bed above his until he heard Greez's footsteps disappear upstairs. Then, he got up and walked to the center of the room, seating himself cross-legged on the ground. He breathed in and back out slowly, dropping his shields and letting himself disappear into the whirl of the force.

Shortly, BD hopped onto Cal, looking at him and beeping quietly. Cal, opening his eyes, gave BD a small reticent smile.

"I have an idea on how to make this whole war against the Empire actually work. And yes, I will tell Greez."

BD trilled in response, tilting its head as to raise an eyebrow, and Cal chuckled, putting himself back into the bed. "Dangerous? Sleep isn't dangerous." He patted the droid's head softly. "Don't worry. Let's 'recharge' and talk after, okay?" Seeing BD's nod of approval, Cal called out a quiet, "Good night," and headed to sleep.

Cal woke up with Greez's head floating above him and jolted backward. BD trilled out in laughter and Greez smiled widely.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. Still talking in your sleep, eh?" Cal laughed, getting up slowly.

"Hey, Greez, thanks for letting me crash here." The Latero spread his hands out, chuckling.

"I'd always hope you'd come here. Take a break, if you know what I mean." Cal shrugged and Greez shook his head. "Look, kid. Let's talk."

"I'm fine." Greez exhaled deeply.

"So now what, then? Get the Mantis fixed and off to fight somewhere else? Haven't killed enough people yet?" Cal froze, mouth open. To tell Greez or not to tell Greez. The force pulsed in trust-confidence and Cal forged forward.

"Yesterday, I know what I would've said. That at least one of us had to still fight the Empire. And I still think that." Cal stood up slowly, pacing around the room. "Something came to mind last night, however. Look –" he said, holding his hands out in front of him, "when I took these maps from Senator Sejan, on Coruscant, I told him I was a member of the ISB looking into a way to stop the Hutt expansion into the Outer and Mid Rim. Yesterday, I told Rayvis that Jabba was on his way to thwart the Empire by taking this hyperlane and mining the resources available on Koboh. Of course, neither lie can really stand scrutiny." He paused as Greez raised an eyebrow, waiving him on with the flick of a hand.

"Or… we could make it true. Koboh's a small planet – almost completely uninhabited. The Empire's already here, so we call the Hutts in and turn the two against each other. Have the two go at it, hopefully, in space in the Gamor Run, hijack some ships, and weaken both sides in one blow. Maybe even sever the working relations between the two or, at least, get Jabba pushed to the rim of the Hutt Council –"

Greez waved his hands in the air. "Ey, slow down, kid." He got up, twirling his long beard in one hand. "Look that's… it's a lot. It's ambitious. It's certainly, certainly, very dangerous."

Cal shrugged. "What's new?"

"And, anyway, how are you going to get reliable info through to both Jabba and the Empire? It's not like either of them trusts you. That's for sure."

Cal laughed, raising an eyebrow at Greez. "Well, I was hoping that you had a gambling buddy that worked for Jabba? To be honest, the plan's just fletchling right now."

Greez humphed. "That it is. For something this big, I'm guessing Saw'll be involved." Cal nodded and Greez shook his head. "I don't trust the guy. You know his reputation. What victory is worth that… carnage?"

Cal tilted his head as BD beeped quietly. "That's right, BD, he did help us on Kashyyyk." Slowly, Cal went to sit back down on the bed near Greez. "Look, Greez. Look at me. I've been fighting the Empire for, what, five years? Look at what it has done to me," he said, clenching a fist. "To all of us. Saw's been fighting his whole life. If I cannot stop, imagine what it has cost him."

Greez nodded slowly and Cal put his arm around the Latero. "Look, I'm not saying he's the most sane guy – are any of us? – but he's trustworthy, damn good in a fight, and a brilliant strategist. To pull something like this off – he'd die for it. Plus, I'll promise you – if we turn Saw's attention to a fighting force of imperials and Hutt Cartel members – there won't be a butcher's bill of innocents. Not this time. Not ever."

Greez sat in silence, looking off at the ceiling. Slowly, he turned toward Cal. "Look, I don't know if this is what you really want, kid. More war? More deaths? But," he said, smiling slightly, "If this is what you want, then I may – may, mind you – know a guy I met in my gambling days in Stenness."

Cal's eyes lit up as he turned, smiling, toward Greez before giving him a big hug. The Latero laughed as BD jumped in, resting on his shoulder. Greez lingered for a while before getting up slowly. He pressed a small button and one of the closets spun to reveal a secret tunnel. "If I have a spare gyro, it'll be here somewhere. Just poke around for me, I'll be… upstairs."

Cal smiled. "Thanks, Greez."

"No problem, kid."

As the Latero ambled back upstairs, Cal got up from the bed, smirking at BD. "Looks like we have one person on board." The droid beeped and Cal laughed.

"Well," he said, looking at the revealed tunnel, "who wants to make sure Greez doesn't kill us too much for damaging the Mantis?" Grinning, Cal paused, centering himself and letting out his grief-worry into the force. How long has it been since I've done that? Passing through the closet, he took a deep breath, and the two disappeared down the tunnel.