Chapter 7
The hourglass turns
Pearson looked at his chronograph again with mounting frustration, before looking at the front of the line. Once again he felt irritation for having to comply with the asinine hearts and minds campaign that had him waiting in the line to sign out of Headquarters. Who cared if the civilians got upset when Sith officers got preference, but no, now he had to wait to show civilians that all are equal by standing in a line by the front desk.
A group of Echani finally moved away, with mild interest he noted the ambassador was in the group, more notably the man was standing in a deferential stance to a woman who had the hood of her robe up. Dursley, the officer on desk duty for the day, was bowing and scraping to the group even going as far as wishing them a pleasant flight. His interest peaked further at that. Cleared for leaving the planet and having the ambassador acting like a lackey, who was this woman?
A Togruta woman was next, she was dressed in a tight fitting red leather outfit with a silk robe over it. The Twi'lek at the desk took the flimsy she handed over.
"My apologies, miss Arsana. Due to the ongoing medical quarantine only military personal are being cleared to leave the planet."
" But clearly the Echani are not part of your military yet they got clearance." The Togrutan stated, petulantly.
"I am sorry. Miss, I am not at liberty to discuss this. If you would like to escalate your concerns Commander Dursley is free to attend to you."
Dursley strutted to the front and imperiously held out his hand for the flimsy. He barely glanced at it before thrusting it back
"Request to leave the planet denied."
The woman pulled out a datapad and handed it to Dursley who reluctantly accepted it. As he was moving the robe moved showing a lightsaber clipped to her belt. The gaurds at the desk immediately stiffened and slowly started moving their weapons in her direction. Pearson felt his hand drifting to his holstered side arm.
"To be honest I am not too sad with your decision as it would give me more time with the kitten, but dear old Alek would be so disappointed. Would you be so kind as to add your name and rank and the reason for declining to the message he send me so I can forward it to him, I am so terrible with names."
Dursley went from his usual florid hue to white ashen in seconds. With a trembling hand he moved to hand the pad back
"Oh, you can keep that I have plenty." She demurred.
"You will have your clearance codes momentarily." Dursley, strangled out
Dursley stumbled over to the office attached to the front desk and returned within minutes with a pad held in trembling hands. The woman took the pad and left, an amused smile on her face. Dursley rather stiff legged, marched to the refresher.
Pearson finally reached the desk and as he was signing out he glanced at the pad that had been left with the message on display. He paused and looked more intently. He felt sweat break out on his brow, he was beyond thankful to whatever deity looking after him that he was not allocated to the desk that day. Momentarily he felt pity for Dursley, after all no one wanted to be the one to have delayed a personal emissary to Darth Malak.
Reaching the fifth police precinct he was directed to a small courtyard in the middle of the building. Columbo was seated on a bench looking into the small feature. Walking closer he noticed more details.
The old officer was looking terrible. His uniform was crumpled, dark rings around his eyes, his skin ashen and grey. The man was sitting hunched up, back to a wall with clear sight to the entrance. The snap on his holstered side was open. The nicotine stick he was using was held in a shaky hand, a large pile of stubs was scattered by his feet, a cup of cold caf by his side.
Pearson slowed his approach, hands held away from his body. He sat down slowly on a bench nearby making sure he was not obstructing Columbo's view of the entrance. Columbo handed over a pad, left handed Pearson noted.
"Do you know those men?" Columbo asked without preamble
The holopic was clearly taken in a morgue. The first man was unknown to him, scrolling to the next picture he froze. He looked up, Columbo was looking at him, shrewdly
"I thought you might" Columbo said.
"The first one, no. The second was my master sergeant. Where?"
"Javiers cantina"
Columbo lit another nicotine stick, he briefly offered one to Pearson, who declined with a wave. Columbo pointed to the datapad
"Go to the active investigation tab, the file is in progress. You can follow as I talk"
Columbo took a deep drag on his nicotine stick
"Your man is a new investigation that on the surface does not link to the case you are looking at."
Pearson looked up for a moment in surprise
"At twenty two fifty the subdermal tracker on one Glori Halcoyn triggered an alarm. Her father's security division activated to recover the heiress to the Halcoyn hotel chain. The signal led to the Lower City. The security division had been held back from pursuing the signal by a security post to the turbolift to the Lower City."
Columbo flicked the stub onto the ground.
"Several high profile calls later the division accompanied by a squad of Sith troopers proceeded. They found the heiress and eight beings on the lower level, three identified as her security detail, all deceased, all bodies stripped completely. The division recovered the bodies and prepared to egress. They were engaged by a group called the black Vulkars. The ensuing firefight led to the destruction of the group with one survivor who ran early during the engagement. A Trooper was confirmed killed in action during this engagement. On returning to the domicile of the Halcoyn family the police was contacted."
Columbo took a long sip from the cold caf, not even grimacing at the taste.
"Any usefull evidence on the bodies."
"Coroners report tab, only the first two are really relevant."
Pearson looked up in disgust when he read the first report. Columbo gave a humourless chuckle.
"That never gets any easier. That was actually the only usable DNA recovered. It was linked to an active investigation. Adding necrophilia to the thirty charges of paedophilia was no step up. The second one raises questions."
Pearson scrolled to the second report.
"Post Mortem disfigurement. Hands removed by high energy source. High impact injuries inflicted post mortem."
Columbo continued his tale.
"We tracked her movements back to the cantina where oh so coincidentally two bodies had been discovered by the cleaning crews.
Ajurr the Hutt immediately demanded a blanket immunity in exchange for letting us access to his security recording. With potential fallout it was decided to grant it. Halcoyn had been in an altercation with a minor and had left shortly thereafter. Footage is attched. The second clip concerns your man."
Pearson watched turning pale after watching the second clip.
He pointed a shaking hand to the packet of nicotine sticks.
"May I have one?"
Columbo passed one over and lit it. Pearson coughed but kept pulling on it.
"You can close my man's case as unclosed. You will not get close to the woman who approached him, she is untouchable." Pearson coughed, "She is off world, got a clearance pass this morning. Authorised by Malak himself."
"This just keeps on getting kriffing better and better."
Pearson stared at the water feature.
"I am assuming you can not pull them in?"
"Not enough evidence. Not even enough for questioning, the only thing that clip shows is a conversation, no audio."
Pearson grunted in acknowledgement.
"Not enough for me either to take to the Commander. He has become fixated on capturing the Jedi rumoured to have survived the recent battle."
Pearson flicked the butt of his nicotine stick towards the water feature.
"How bad is this going to get?"
"The Silent Wardens are looking for payback. Halcoyn will be looking for payback, and he has the credits and resources to be a threat. The Black Vulkars will be looking for reprisal, they are already in a turf war with the Hidden Becks, the search patrols are riling up the other small gangs and the guilds. The spacers are getting agitated with the blockade. And to top this shit sandwich off we have the usual tension with the Taris swoop bike association season opener. One spark and this city will burn."
Columbo looked piercingly at Pearson.
" You did not hear this at all. The lower city precincts are being instructed to gather all personell and their families and bunker down in the precincts. Heavy weapons will be dispersed to all precincts. It is not a question of if the city will explode it is a question of when."
The trio was looking at the early morning newscast. It was dominated by news of the Halcoyn murder, closely followed by reports of rising conflicts in the lower city. Terri turned the monitor off with a sigh. Carth was sitting in his chair, broodingly staring into a cup of caf. Melissa was strangely silent. She had been silent since the fight and having shot the girl in the back. Terri took a sip from her own cup. The prepared breakfast had been ignored by all three. The silence lingered.
"I created this mess." Melissa whispered," if I had given up that table this would not have happened, if I had not taunted her…"
Carth was the first to speak.
"I will grant that the taunting may have been a bit below the belt but it is not your fault. You rightly stood up for yourself in the cantina, she had no right to demand what she did no matter who she was. As for the fight; as trite as it sounds; it was started by them. When they confronted us a fight was a foregone conclusion, there was no way me or Terri would have let them beat you up or worse to satisfy her childish desire for revenge"
Terri reached over and clasped Melissa's hand.
"What is bothering you so much? It is not only that it was your first close up kill is it? You are thinking about shooting the girl in the back"
Melissa nodded a tear running down her face.
"Can you tell us why you did it?" Carth asked, surprisingly gently.
Melissa's shoulder hitched, the tears increased.
"I just somehow knew if she got away, she would be back with more thugs. She would not go away. So I murdered her in cold blood without thinking twice. I am a monster!"
The girl broke completely. Carth was the first to reach her, sweeping her into a hug as she wept uncontrollably. Murmuring reassurances while rubbing her back; holding her tight. Terri kept her hold on Melissa's hand lending her silent support. She wept bitterly for a long time and eventally eased. Carth loosened his grip as she pulled away but kept her within his arm. Terri reached in and wiped some stray tears away.
"The fact that you feel all this shows you are a good person. Monsters do not show remorse, monsters do no question themselves, they believe they can do no wrong." Carth spoke softly, You are not to blame, if not this; something else would have happened, our luck is just that bad"
"Not that I will say this a lot, Carth is right" Terri added
Cart tightened his hug for a moment.
"Now cadet, go wash your face, take a shower and get dressed for the day. I will overlook this breach of decorum only once. You know we have to maintain both a stiff back and upper lip at all times, fleet rules." Carth, jokingly said
Melissa gave a watery hiccup and nodded. She stood up and walked to the refresher. Once the door closed Carth looked at Terri
"Our timeframe just became much narrower, we have to find some way to the lower city today."
"After last night our credit situation improved by a wide margin but not near enough for our needs. How did you do at the tables?"
"I won a fair amount, I stopped playing when I started losing. It should come as no surprise that the tables are rigged."
Carth pondered for a moment
"If not for last nights escapade I suspect we would have been jumped and mugged. The bouncers were taking a little too much interest in us when we left."
"You believe we scared them of?"
Carth looked to the refresher and listened to hear if the shower was till running before speaking.
"If the fight did not scare them off. Seeing someone shot in the back without hesitation would do so."
He shook his head.
"This is escalating way too rapidly. The Sith, bounty hunters, the unknown feelings that disables Melissa, the cops and now probably private military contractors or private security, not that there is much of a difference between the two."
"I agree. Our time up here is finished, I suggest we pack and leave by the side entrance."
Pearson walked up to the building, a mall squad at his back. He was not overly surprised to see Columbo there with two officers. He nodded to Columbo
"You could not let it rest either, I see"
Columbo just shook his head and fell in next to Pearson. The two police officers following behind the soldiers. The caretaker rushed over as the group walked to the turbo lift. They rode to the seventeenth floor in silence. There was no reply to the comsystem, less to a rifle butt hammered to the door. Reluctantly the caretaker opened the door through his override code. Pearson and Columbo strolled in, a single look was all it took.
The unit was clean, the workbench empty of tools. The beds made with military precision, the implied taunt clear as day. Pearson gave a roar of rage and swept a neatly stacked pile of crockery to the floor. A trooper stepped forward, cautiously.
" Sir, shall we effect a search."
Pearson tucked on his uniform, taking a deep breath. He turned around and walked to the door
"Do not bother, they are long gone."
They were seated in a park overlooking the turbolift to the lower city. For all facts and appearances the perfect pictures of tourist enjoying the day, snacking on junk food before going on with their shopping. Carth idly crumpled a take away container and threw it into a waste container.
"The only ones they let through uncontested are the patrols. I do not think we can get hold of one of those civilian passes or beat the biometric scan going with it."
They sat and watched as a minor troop exchange occured
"I can not believe it! It is you! I never thought I could get a chance to meet you!" A voice called.
A young female Sith officer was rapidly approaching, having detached from the squad she was with. Eyes fixed on Terri.
"Your fights were amazing." The officer gushed.
Terri threw a flirty smirk and the officer pinked slightly.
"I do not think I saw you last night, I certainly would have remembered your face."
"I was watching from the monitor."
Terri extended her hand. The officer took it. Terri kept the grip for a bit longer than normal, the pinkish hue increased. Terri licked her lips and looked down into the eyes of eyes of the shorter officer
"I am Terri. Terri Plant." She said, huskily.
"Sarna Celchu" The officered stammered
"So will I see you at the Cantina tonight?"
The officer looked downcast.
"No. The cantina has been declared off limits."
Terri gave her a lingering look.
"A pity. I would have loved to buy you a drink or two."
The officer looked frantic for a moment, before giving a relieved smile.
"I and my roommates are having a private party at our residence tonight. You… could swing by if you wanted?"
Terri leaned in close to the officers ears.
"Give me the address. It sounds like…fun." She breathed.
The officer quickly wrote an address on a piece of flimsy, before she rushed back to her squad, blushing all the way. Terri turned to the others who were looking at her with inscrutable expressions.
"What?" She asked
Carth looked way with a slight cough.
"Nothing." He said
"I thought so." Terri replied.
There was minimal pedestrian traffic as the surveyed the given address. There was a marked difference in buildings appearance in comparison to the much more rundown area they had vacated. The target building was easy to spot with the amount of Sith entering and leaving the building, not to mention the troopers on sentry duty.
They were currently seated in another little park. The hedgerows giving a lot more privacy than the previously open park they had used. A lamppost was standing next to the bench. Terri looked at it thoughtfully a plan starting to form.
"Let's go. We have some shopping to do."
Their credit supply took a heavy hammering after they had returned to the Merchants promenade. New black coveralls for all three and various sundries from the clothing store. Terri had disappeared from the group for a moment and returned later with a sealed package. A decent toolkit and several loose tools, including a light fusion cutter from a hardware store. Three industrial grade med kits and several packets of the strongest muscle relaxants and sleeping medication available without a prescription from the dispensary. The heaviest hit to their pocketbook came from the equipment emporium.
Three backpacks, meals ready to eat, small macro binoculars, groundsheets, new knifes, colour andblack face paint and the most costly three light rifles. If they had bought them standard, the price would have been less, but all three had been modified with collapsible butts and scopes. Like the previous time they had been assisted by Isana Yurt, who had come barrelling up to them the moment they walked in, clearly remembering their previous shopping spree.
Melissa kept looking at a display case, Isana had noticed her interest and zeroed in sensing another sale atop the already impressive total spent.
" See something you like?"
"Never saw anything like that apart from those pre space civilization fantasy holodramas." Melissa replied.
Isana tittered lightly.
"Specially built for a hunter who had and I quote" wanted to hunt in the way to give him the maximum challenge". I mean really, there is nothing wrong with a decent blaster."
"What happened to the hunter, why did he not collect it?"
Isana leaned forward as if sharing a great secret.
"Eaten by a Rancor, I heard. Finally found the perfect pray I would guess."
Melissa kept looking at it in curiosity.
"Want to try it out?"
"Sure, why not."
Isana looked at Terri for permission. Terri just shrugged and made a go ahead gesture after checking the time on her chronograph. Isana walked to the display case and unlocked it, retrieving the items. She led the way to the range, Melissa and Terri followed behind.
Isana set a target for twenty five metres and handed over the bow and the arrow filled quiver. Melissa took up a stance she had seen in a holodrama, notched the arrow drew and fired. She yelped as the bowstring hit the inside of her arm, followed by a litany of curses. Isana gave a small giggle.
"That happened to me too."
Terri hid her smile and looked at the target as a distraction. She paused and looked again whistling softly. She pointed to the target
"Think you can do that again."
The arrow was lodged dead centre in the middle of the targets chest. Melissa adjusted her grip and notched another arrow. The only noise the twang of the bowstring and a slight whistle, followed by the thump as the arrow lodged next to its twin. Isana manipulated the controls and the target moved to fifty meters. Melissa pulled back a bit further arm feeling strain and loosed. Solid hit, but slightly of centre. Isana looked at Terri , who made a gesture to the back, the target moved to sixty five. Central hit but further from the first. Melissa tapped out at eighty metres, the strain from the bowstring to hard.
Terri thought for a moment before turning to Isana
"How much?"
"Five hundred credits." Isana offered
Terri snorted
"Three fifty and you throw in the design specs and the program to make the arrows." Terri countered.
" Four twenty design specs and the plans to three types of arrows."
"Deal."
They were back at the park as the sun was setting. Terri pointed to the lamppost.
"Disable it"
Melissa had to unpack her rucksack to get to the toolkit where she had packed it right of the bottom. Unwrapping the covering from the set and tucking the wrapping in the bottom of the backpack, she made a mental note to make a smaller tool roll she could carry in a side pocket. The cover plate took a moment to take off, exposing the simple set of wires attached to a timing switch. Using an insulated side cutter, she snipped the wires. Looking up, the lamp remained unlit, as the others switched on.
They waited for night to settle. A steady stream of Sith entered the building, several carrying shopping bags, in one case two carrying an open crate stacked with bottles. Terri was seated on the grass, patiently grinding tablets with a rock she had picked up from the side of the walkway using the bench as a pestle; looking lost in thought.
Melissa was about to speak when Carth shook his head and mouthed later. The shadows increased as darkness progressed. With a sigh Terri stood up, five rolls of flimsies containing mixed crushed medication lying on the bench, she reached into her backpack and pulled out the sealed package she had bought earlier. Carth handed a set of macro binoculars to Melissa
"Scan from east till the building and back, alternate between low light, normal and thermal. I will take west to the building."
The dark patch they created and the hedgerows let them able to survey the area without being spotted by the Sith sentries. Melissa heard the rustle of clothing and was about to turn when she was nudged by Carth. He pointed to the east, his message clear. She returned to her surveillance. She heard Terri and Carth talk softly, too softly to hear. She heard the clacking of heels on the paving and spun to the sound. Terri was walking to the building, now dressed in a short black dress and high heels.
Carth grabbed her elbow and shook his head, his expression grim. He waited till Terri entered the building before releasing her elbow. He sighed running his hand across his face.
"For this one she is going alone." He said in a strange tone.
"But she is alone. What if she needs back up?"
Carth sat down on the bench with a bitter laugh.
"Remind me never to play dejarik against her."
"How does that even matter now? We need to go." Melissa protested
"It matters that she is six steps ahead of us. She saw what needed to be done this morning already, when that officer came over she was not playing the new celebrity she was checking for a specific response. She set up her plan and is now executing it."
Carth leaned forward tiredly, resting his head in his hands. HE spoke looking at the ground.
"She is going in alone to get the job done. She knew taking me in would likely result me in losing my temper and blowing it. She kept you here to let you keep what little is left of your innocence."
Melissa blanched
"You mean she went in to…"
"Do whatever needs to be done."
"We cannot let her do it!"
Carth kept contemplating his shoes.
"We have to; it is the only option we have. It sickens me that I have to let her do this. I keep going on about the mission coming first, yet I am not the one paying the price."
Melissa looked at him feeling ill.
"When did you figure out her plan?"
"When she told me to distract you by taking you to buy tools."
Carth looked at her, looking tired and haggard.
"Kid, believe me, I tried talking her out of it, for every point I raised she had two counters."
"Then why keep me in the dark? Were you afraid I would screw up again like I did last night?"
Carth stood and grabbed her by the shoulders. He leaned down aking sure he had eye contact
"You did not screw up last night. You carry no blame for what happened.
Terri asked me not to tell you because she wanted to protect you. She sees you as a little sister. She does not want to place this burden on you or have you think any less of her."
Melissa looked at him in amazement.
" How can she see me like that? I have barely known her for twelve days. I am just a nobody, just another orphan"
"Never, say that again! You are not a nobody. You have gone through stuff no kid your age should go through, and not only have you endured, you excelled in ways that have amazed me."
He knelt, keeping eye contact.
"As for her seeing you as a sister, does it really matter how long you have known each other? She cannot explain why she feels that way, you cannot explain emotions. And from the way I have seen you looking at her I can see it is not one sided. It is not just hero worship towards what is probably the first strong female you have had. It is real emotion."
A lone tear started rolling and she angrily brushed it away. Carth gave her a sad soft smile.
"Now I have to ask you to do something for her and it will not be easy"
"What?" Melissa sniffed
"She will need you to be strong for her when she comes back. She may not show it or say it, but she will need your support. Can you do it for her?"
The bed side clock showed one o'clock when she slipped from the bed and gathered her clothes, sparing a dispassionate glance at the occupant who pulled her blanket closer on the loss of the extra body heat. Getting dressed, she suppressed an involuntary hiss as the cloth made contact on her scratched back. She spared a brief longing glance at the door to the refresher, but decided against it, the risk of waking the sleeper too great. She caught her reflection in the mirror but felt as if she was looking at a stranger. She slipped from the room into the lounge where the floor was covered by drunken and unconscious bodies, the drugs she had prepared having been unneeded; as there had been enough narcotics to kill a Kryatt dragon. She started to classify them by body size before getting to work, stealing access cards. Silently she slipped from the unit without the occupants being aware of her departure
The guard at the desk did not look up from where he was playing a game on a datapad as the lone armoured trooper walked past. If he had paid more attention he would have noted that she was carrying two backpacks with rifles stuck in them, in her hands, her rifle stuck into the backpack on her back. The sentries were on the far side of the building the glow of nicotine sticks visible.
Terri had just dropped the backpacks and took the helmet of when she was struck by a soft red headed missile, who pulled her into a hug she felt through the armour.
"You never can do anything to make me think less of you, sister." Melissa whispered," You are a good person even if you do not think that of yourself now."
That sentiment undid the iron control she was trying to have on her emotions and she let them out, sobbing softly into Melissa's hair. She felt Carth placing his arms around them, pulling them into a brief hug, before he stepped back; taking up watch; to give them their moment.
Any professional soldier will tell you that there is no more onerous an assignment that guard duty. You get to stand on your feet for hours keeping watch over something for no clear reason at times while the officers slept comfortably. Your feet hurt, the armour chafed and of course it has to be raining.
The soldiers looked up in apathy at the trio approaching their position by the turbo lift door. The males armour showed signs of recent use but the two females were wearing bright new armour. The male was in the lead.
"Reinforcements for the undercity check point." The man said tiredly
"Sucks to be you." One trooper commented
"Tell me about, just got off from patrol, the sarge then tells me to pack and go to shitpoint zero, and to make it even better he assigned me two shinies to take along."
"What did you do to piss him off?"
"Told him I was going to kriff his wife on my next leave cycle."
The troopers on duty snickered at that.
"That proofs you have the balls to go down there at this time of night. Word to the wise first pool of water you see, let them roll in it to take the shine off. The gangs down there will be drawn to the shine like a Hutt to a credit chip"
" You are telling me. I already told them to jump in the dumpsters behind Javier's to get them to look and smell like the locals. They threatened to bring me up on charges of harassment. Figured if they want to get shot, no skin of my nose. I can crawl back and report their heroic deaths before crashing in my bunk."
One of the troopers got to attention and turned to the women.
"Those who are going to survive salute you."
The one operating the controls opened the door with a chuckle and the trio entered the lift. One of the females pressed the down button and the lift started on its journey.
One of the troopers fidgeted briefly with her helmet.
"How do they see in this?" Melissa asked
Carth briefly gave a chuckle.
"Now you know why they use large squads who constantly fires. They reckon somewhere, somehow one of those shot is statistically liable to hit."
The braking system grinded as the lift slowed. The door opened to show one trooper prone on the floor rifle pointing across a rucksack used as temporary cover and two rifle barrels pointing in opposite directions from the corners of the lift, moving in a sweeping motion
"Clear."
"Clear"
"Clear; move"
Up on the level above the control operating trooper was watching the camera feed from an illegally connected pad, describing what he saw.
"Not a bad technique to make sure you do not get ambushed stepping out." The one operating the mobile turret remarked
" Just two problems with that." The squad lead remarked looking over his mans shoulder at the pad
"What would that be, corporal."
"One, how did the shinies know the manoeuvre and two since when do we use republic commando techniques."
"Fuck me running."
"Men; I believe the wise three mynocks approach is needed. We saw nothing, we heard nothing, we do nothing. I have no wish to get electrowhipped for negligence. If the republic idiots want to wade into that shit show; let them" The corporal remarked
"Sounds like a good idea to me."
"I just feel sorry for the bastards whose uniform they stole."
" As long as it is not me I don't care."
The others quickly confirmed compliance with the idea and the pad was disconnected and hidden away.
Melissa was on watch lying prone under the cab of a burned out delivery barge as Carth and Terri sleeped inside, sweeping the area constantly through the scope of her rifle. She kept a vigilant eye to keep them from being attacked again, not taking the chance that the next group would be so stupid as to blindly charge at them as the first of them had done. Day light was slowly filtering in from above lightely lightening the gloomy murk that was the normal of the lower city. The smell of fire, fetid pools of water, decay and untreated sewage filled the air. She spared a glance to the back as Carth slid from underneath the partially open hatch, dressed in his usual clothing.
Having weathered three ambushes they had decided that the Sith armour was too much a risk to keep wearing despite it giving superior protection. Their backpacks slowly filling with what they scavenged. Finding a place to rest and take cover till they could rest for a bit had been a godsend. Not one of them complaining about the lack of comfort, desperate for some rest.
Jax's cantina was a massive downgrade from the cantina above. Sight was heavily reduced by the heavy haze of nicotine sticks. The occupants ignored the savage beating being administered to a cheater at the sabac tables. The patrons either being indifferent or too drunk to care. Stepping into the dining area they saw a blue Twi'lek girl being accosted by two Rodians. She slapped one's hand away as he tried to touch her. She was dressed in skimpy black shorts and a well filled short red top baring her toned stomach, the look completed by an open jacket. Knee high boots covering her legs.
"Little girl should be more friendly. Soon Black Vulkars rule area. Little girl might need protection." One spoke
"I will take my chances, poodoo breath."
"Soon things go bad for you little girl"
One Rodian moved forward starting to draw a vibroblade. The girl looked over her shoulder at a towering pile of hair and fur.
" Zaalbar, could you give me a hand here."
The pile of fur grunted and roared something.
"Stop thinking with your stomach for a second."
The Rodians stepped back.
"We Black Vulkars, we not scared of Wookie. Soon have new rug."
Terri and Melissa shared a glance and two Rodians had blasters stuck to the back of their heads.
"You scared of bolt through empty head." Melissa snarked.
The two Rodians scampered off
"I totally had this under control." The girl huffed.
" We could not let you have all the fun, sharing is caring after all." Melissa replied.
The girl looked her up and down.
" Hello beautiful, where have you been all my life? Tell me do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk up and down bit?"
The girl stepped into Melissa's personal space.
"Can I have the space angels name? My name is Mission Vao, remember it, you will be screaming it later."
Melissa looked at Carth and Terri in alarm, but realised that no help will be forthcoming. The two traitors were standing there snickering at her discomfort. Clearing her throat she stepped back
"Come on Mission, not even going to buy her a drink first. I will help you out. She likes Correlian reserve, she can down shots like no one else." Carth chuckled.
The girl pouted.
"That is a bit out of my price range, can we settle for something cheaper?"
Terri stepped forward hand extended.
"Nice to meet you Mission. I am Terri, that's Carth and miss tomato over there is Melissa.
Mission pointed to the Wookie.
" That walking stomach is Zaalbar, My best friend, we go everywhere together, if he is not busy eating his weight in one sitting!"
She shrugged her shoulders
"Once he has food in front of him, everything else does not matter."
The Wookie grumbled something. Mission tucked her arms under her chest.
" Hey who is the one who ignored his friend for a plate of crappy food?"
She turned back to the trio.
" I know you are new here, otherwise I would have met the angel already. How about you join us and I can tell you all about the Lower City."