Hyperspace - en route to Daiyu
Baylan Skoll watched his Padawan meditate or attempt to; she was getting better but he didn't let her drop too deeply into the Force. There was no telling who was roaming around their searching; the Inquisitors were gaining in strength and numbers. When he ventured into the Force he recognised some signatures but they had been corrupted by and turned to the Dark side, others had already been there.
He was still not sure exactly where he stood.
"Good. Good."
She sensed Baylan's presence and came out of the meditation with a little smile on her face. Pleased that she had pleased him.
"You need to do this for yourself, not to please me." He chastised her gently.
"Yes Master."
"Now eat and get some sleep."
"Yes Master."
She was behaving at the moment and he watched her as she went to the quarters in their small ship. Once he was sure she was settled down for a sleep period, he headed to the cockpit.
Sitting in the pilot seat, he drifted gently into the Force skating through various planes, sensing the dark side in many areas, avoiding it. The occasional light glowed and was then extinguished. At one time that would have meant searing pain for him but no longer. He had moved on from that.
There was one area, which was grey, uncertain. Some younglings there but it was odd, unnatural.
He came away from there; he could sense no one near them, light or dark.
Baylan was no longer a Jedi, they didn't exist and had proved that recently, taking bounties to live and this latest commission. He avoided seeking out other Jedi and any rescue pathways some misguided force users had set up.
There were Jedi still out there, clinging onto the past but he was not one and did not intend to ever be one again. He was being drawn in another direction, and he realised, after the Purge, that he always had been.
His com vibrated.
He answered it.
"Baylan."
"My Lady."
Former Jedi Baylan Skoll had more enemies than allies but these two Force Users had found each other in a changed galaxy and for the time being were pursuing the same goal; surviving in a dangerous Galaxy.
"Have you found it yet?" The Imperial asked. But it was not the Empire's business that she was on
"No! But I sense it's near."
"Good. Remember it is only part of the puzzle. I have others searching."
"Yes My Lady."
"Let me know as soon as you have it, for both our sakes."
"Yes My Lady."
He had been deliberately vague with the Nightsister he was working with and not many knew she was from Dathomir and was able to work their magic. Although she was an Imperial she had her own agenda and that's how they had met.
He had a very good idea where the object was but unsure if it was still with her.
Hence this Commission.
When he had activated the tracking device, he was surprised to see the blue light flashing. He had thought she was in prison or dead, or worse until the contact with Vos; there had been no sight of her, not since the supposed crash on Naboo. He had not sensed her death but that was always difficult now.. He traced the signal.
"What are you doing there?" He asked, speaking to no one in the cockpit.
He was working for two equally dangerous masters, at the moment but he had survived the Sith and he sensed he would survive the Crimson Dawn leader and the Nightsister. Try as she might, she could not hide it from him; her proposition had made sense.
The Force confirmed it.
This would be another test for Shin.
.
Daiyu
Shin looked around the city with interest but no fear; this was what she had grown up with. She could deal with any of this. There was no evidence of any Imperial presence or Inquisitors but they often came before the Empire, following their own lines of enquiry.
"What are we doing here master?"
Baylan had been quiet since he informed her of their destination. She didn't have a problem with that, she just wanted to understand the reasons why they were doing the things they did sometimes. He didn't always explain but she did as she was told and it usually became clear.
Every time she learned something new.
"Looking for something." His answer enigmatic as usual. She preferred the straightforward ones.
"Not someone?"
"After we have found the item." He smiled.
They had done this before; looked for items or people. Her Master was good at this, good at finding things. She would learn to be just as good.
She walked quietly next to him watching and feeling exactly what he did. He suddenly stopped and turned, looking down an alley filled with various small shops.
"Do you sense anything?"
"No!"
"Hm!"
"Should I?"
"No!"
She felt pleased. She had passed that test. She followed him down the alley. He stopped outside an Antique shop.
Baylan focused on the jewellery section, displayed in the front of the window to draw people in. He opened the door.
"Padawan?"
She closed her eyes, searched for the security cam connections and severed them.
"Done master."
"Well done!"
She basked in his praise; if she had done this before she met him she would have been beaten or worse but it was how she survived.
.
The Ithorian was disappointed when he saw his customers, a father and daughter; both dressed in black, no evidence of any wealth. Not the sort of customers he wanted in his shop; he needed them to have plenty of credits. They didn't look as if they were going to make any expensive buys and he needed one. Trade was slow recently.
"How can I help you?" He asked pleasantly.
"The locket in the window. Gold with a blue stone."
"It's expensive."
"Did I ask the price?"
"Apologies." He shivered, unsure why, "Do you want to see it?"
"Yes!"
He came from outside of the counter warily; there was something unnerving about the child as she watched him. The father wasn't much better; his stare was intimidating. Poz shuddered involuntarily, he was used to dealing with the scum in this city but these two were odd; he checked his blaster was in place.
He pulled the locket from the case and handed it over to the man, who looked at it carefully.
"Where did you get this from?"
"A woman brought it in."
"What did she look like?" He turned the locket over carefully in his fingers, then did something with his hand.
"Human"
"Anything else?"
"Difficult to say you all look the same to me."
The man's hand moved again, "Try!"
"I'll try. Brown hair and skin like that." He pointed to Shin, "Pale."
"Was she alone?"
"She came in alone."
Poz could not remember the last time he talked so much to a customer about another customer without talking money or demanding any for his time but he couldn't stop himself. The words just came out.
"Can you remember anything else about her?"
"Not local. She said she found it on Alderaan but she sounded Imperial."
"What do you mean Imperial?"
"You know, she spoke just like the Emperor used to speak."
"We'll take it." Baylan stated, staring intensely at the Ithorian.
"Of course, that'll be…."
"I said we'll take it." The man in black, made another gesture with his hand
"Of course. Please take it."
The locket floated over to his hand. He grasped it tightly, feeling Hela's presence on it.
"Thank you. It's been good doing business with you."
"It's been good doing business with you." The Ithorian replied.
"Padawan, is it done?"
"Yes master. No one will see us here."
"Good."
He stopped at the door, raised his hand and closed his fist slowly, as he opened the door the Ithorian lurched forward over his counter, his eyes glazed.
They couldn't take any risks.
.
Hela heaved the rubbish bag outside; the droids had both malfunctioned again and the Durand was being slow having them repaired. She didn't believe him, when he said there was a problem; something was wrong and it was just cheaper to pay her overtime and some of the others to clear up. As she tipped it into the chute, she saw a small blonde head back away, out of her sight.
"Who is it?" She asked. They didn't look big, in fact she thought it was a child. There were a lot of displaced children around the galaxy now, begging and scraping a living, just to survive.
"Please come out, I won't hurt you. I won't tell anybody."
She wiped her hands on her apron.
The small head appeared again, followed by a scrawny humanoid body, female Hela thought. The hair was almost white, straggly and the skin pale. Hela looked past her and around.
"Are you alone? Are your parents here?"
The child shook her head; it looked like a 'she' but Hela couldn't be sure. It looked towards the rubbish chute.
"Are you hungry?" Hela had seen a lot of these kids. Often they took to begging or stealing food, or rummaging for scraps in the rubbish bins, finally succumbing to being drug dealers on the streets. None of which were really safe.
The child nodded.
"Stay here! I'll get you something. What's your name?"
The child shook its head.
"Okay. Just wait here."
Sometimes they didn't like to give their names; they could be identified later and a case built on that with any other times they were caught, by the local police when they did one of their sweeps. The sweeps only happened, if someone important was visiting, or complained and that wasn't very often.
"Dag. I'm just going to take my supper outside."
"Whatever." He was busy counting something.
She grabbed the plate, this was one of the perks of the job from Dag; she got any leftovers Durand was quite specific that they didn't re-serve the leftovers the next day. Dag saved some for Zur as well but he had very little appetite at the moment. She put some to one side for him.
Dag was cleaning everything in sight; there were rumours that they were cracking down on the hygiene laws, another way of getting more tax paid and Caesar told him it needed cleaning up. They couldn't afford to come to the attention of the authorities too much.
Dag was proud of his kitchen, it was spotless.
She took the bowl outside; the child had disappeared.
"Are you still here?"
The blonde head bobbed out again and the child's body followed it; on her second look, Hela definitely knew it was a she.
"Here!"
The child grabbed the bowl and shovelled the food into her mouth at tremendous speed.
"Where are you living?"
The child didn't answer, just stared at her.
"Do you understand basic?"
Still no response and when she was finished she dropped the bowl and spoon and shot away. Hela ran after her but couldn't see where she had gone; she looked up and down the street but could see no sign of her. Hela picked up the discarded bowl and spoon and walked back inside.
"There's more there." Dag pushed another container towards her, "Make sure he eats it. I'll come and check on him tomorrow. Give you a chance to get some sleep. You're looking tired."
"Thanks."
"Are you okay for credits?"
"We're managing."
He nodded.
She was still proud.
.
Zur woke as soon as she entered the apartment.
"You're late." he grumbled from the settee.
"Busy night. How are you feeling?" She asked, and touched his forehead, he backed away from her. "I don't think you're infectious."
You don't know!" His voice was barely there, he was having another attack. He appeared to recover then, the toxin resurfaced, worse than ever.
"Here. Ronto Roast."
Hela helped him sit upright and he took the food from her and ate a little, chewing carefully.
She sat next to him and ate hers. It was delicious, she was surprised Dag stayed where he was but he had his reasons. He said so, and said he would tell her one day. She was still waiting. He should be at some high end restaurant on Coruscant or Alderaan.
"There was one of those displaced kids begging at the bar again." She told him, between swallows.
He nodded, "Did they get rid of it?"
"No! Security had gone for the night."
"Gone? They're getting lax. They should be there whenever you are."
"Something's wrong with Durand." She muttered changing the subject.
"Don't get involved."
"I won't. Are you feeling any better?"
"I was. Then it got worse this afternoon. Not sure why. I just slept."
"Drag's coming in the morning before his shift starts."
"Why?"
"To see you, of course. I think he worries I'm not looking after you properly."
"Rubbish!"
"He thinks a lot of you."
"No. I mean he knows you look after me."
"I can see it in his face. The way he talks about you."
"Huh!"
"Eat more!"
She watched as he carefully spooned the food in his mouth, his hand shaking. He put the spoon down.
"I'm sorry."
Hela stared at him, "For what?"
"For this." He gestured to himself, "It was stupid, just taking off after them. I was angry. They hurt you."
It was, he reflected, a trap, which he ran headlong into. He'd had a lot of time to think about it.
Hela leaned over and kissed his forehead, "It doesn't matter."
.
Hela injected the antibiotics and anti toxin and redressed the wound but Zur didn't seem to be getting any better. She struggled to get the drugs he needed that would help him recover, they were so expensive.
Working in the bar was the only job she could get without a real chain code and then it was touch and go. She couldn't find anywhere else at the moment that was remotely legal, or paid higher and she drew the line at selling drugs.
She had a quick sonic shower and sat down next to him; he had never been the same since Anoon left and then Ryloth. Dag provided some comfort for him but Zur had said some harsh things to him; she had heard them arguing at times and she sometimes wondered if he would still come to see him, or if Zur was deliberately pushing him away.
She listened to him breathing, it was better, less of a rattle. This last dose had taken a while to work but there was no one else she could turn to; she didn't even trust Durand, especially Durand.
She leaned more into Zur, hearing a sigh as he relaxed. The door was locked, alarm set, hopefully she would sleep better tonight, there were too many noises last night, fights that disturbed her light sleep. This was the only place she could relax even a little.
.
"Why don't you use the droid? It's been repaired."
"I'm fine. It's still charging up."
"There are only two bags tonight. Slow night."
"Good and no late night meeting?"
"Shush! He's gone for the night, beside you know the rules."
She nodded.
Something was happening in this place; it was some kind of meeting place for the Durand gang's contacts on the planet. She tried not to see what was happening, not wanting to get caught up in it any more than she was.
"There's more Ronto Roast for you and your little friend who's been visiting." Dag offered.
"I …"
"Get rid of the rubbish and I'll heat it up for you."
"No cleaning?"
"Why would I clean it again, I did it last Benduday?"
She laughed, knowing full well he cleaned everything scrupulously every night.
"Yeah."
She pulled one of the bins out and dragged the bag up and over the top. She dragged it outside, although it felt heavier each time. She perhaps should have activated the droid but she had noticed it seemed to upset the child.
She looked around as she exited the back door but there was no sign of the child. She waited for a few minutes before returning.
"Not there?"
"No."
"It's probably been picked up. They've been doing another sweep."
"I think it's a girl."
"More likely to be picked up then. They think they're more pliable."
"Hm!"
"And you would know from experience, eh?"
Hela shrugged, before she pulled the other bag out and dragged it outside. She emptied it into the bigger compactor, with the other one. She turned to leave and the child stood there waiting patiently.
"Hello!"
The child stayed silent, she still looked scrawny.
"Would you like some more food? I have some."
The child nodded.
Hela went to get the Ronto Roast.
"She's here."
"Like clockwork. We'll be feeding her forever." He put an extra spoonful in the disposable bowl.
Hela took it outside and offered it to the girl, who grabbed it and started eating just as fast as she did the first time.
"What's your name?"
The girl looked up, wide eyed and suspicious.
"I'm Fay."
The girl never said anything but finished her food and ran off.
Hela saw her disappear out of the alley just as she had done every night.
After she ran around the corner the girl made an impossible leap onto the roof top and walked back towards The Flying Nuna, where she could watch the woman her master was interested in, from the roof. She knew her name and it wasn't Fay but she didn't know what his interest was but it wasn't just the bounty on her.
.
"Are you sure it's her? We have to be sure."
"Yes master, it's her. I've seen her four times now and followed her back to her Apartment."
"Good. You're getting much better."
Shin basked in the praise but she knew she still had a lot to learn.
"Master?"
"Yes."
"Who is she and what was she to you? I sense…"
He put a hand up, "Later."
He had never hit her or hurt her. He had saved her. She still remembered the blue skinned bounty hunter who had found her. He was searching for Force sensitive children for the Empire, for the Inquisitors. Her master should have killed him but they were disturbed by the Stormies. They kept well away from them.
.
Barton IV
Enfys followed Finor through the corridors, holding her headdress at her side and Weazal following behind, her trusted companion. They emerged into a room with small tables all pushed to one side. Enfys wasn't sure what they were but she wasn't here to comment on the decor.
They agreed on a meeting to finalise what they were going to do but it would take time and planning. This was going to be a long mission, with others in between but the final goal was to destroy Dryden Vos.
She was surprised when they agreed to help her; she had been more than happy to go it alone, to let him know who was after him. Destroying his business, his position.
She looked at those standing in the room—Donca, the clone and the one called Zak. Finor had said they would need him, he was important.
Donca stood up; Enfys had known her all her short life and had listened to the stories her mother told her. She respected Donca, as did Enfys.
"I want you to realise that Vos and Crimson Dawn aren't our main focus but we will help you."
"Of course." It had been explained to her that Donca's cell now had others to consider, "I was surprised you agreed."
"Mayday convinced me that our aims could be mutually beneficial in the long term."
Enfys looked at the bearded clone leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed; he had said nothing so far. She could not read what his mood was but he was a clone and she had heard they were the best fighters in the galaxy. He looked back at her, meeting her gaze, almost daring her to say something. Was he smiling? She couldn't say.
"Thank you."
He pushed away from the wall, "None necessary. I can see there being occasions when our paths meet and we have the same aim. Besides, I never did like the Criminal gangs. Two birds as they say."
She frowned, not understanding what he meant; he gestured to sit at the table.
"So what have you got so far?"
They sat and Zak opened up his datapad.
"Zak can show you. I think you'll be interested."