A Sith lady, Mako thought as she and Ter'viro walked back to the Mandalorian Tower. Are Sith really that scary? She never met any before Dromund Kaas. She knew their reputation, but she needed numbers. She reached out with her implant.

Connect to HoloNet.

Connected.

Connect Imperial Public Records.

Connected.

Search Admiral Fraabaal.

316 entries.

Isolate family history.

61 entries.

Search summary.

3 entries.

She read through them quickly, but they didn't add anything new.

Return to HoloNet Primary.

Search analysis Sith Lord bounty hunter combat success rate.

1,267,304 entries.

Shit.

Add summary.

432,998 entries.

Add recent.

80,617 entries.

Add unbiased.

34 entries.

She skimmed through them, but the numbers weren't good.

"Find anything?" Ter'viro asked.

"Bounty hunters have beaten Sith Lords before," Mako said. "But it's usually the other way around."

"I figured."

"And I don't like killing her. I don't think it's right. I don't think that's what we're here to do. I know he said Sith politics, but she's his daughter."

"I agree," Ter'viro said.

"I don't know how we're supposed to do a job like this, or why, or why you agreed, or- Wait, you agree with me?"

"Of course," he replied.

"I need to listen more. So, what do we do?"

Ter'viro put his hand on her waist and drew her into an alcove.

What was he doing? Why was he touching her like that? We're not supposed to do that, not while we're on the Hunt. It didn't feel bad, technically. It felt firm. His arm felt firm. Really, really firm.

He leaned down, his mouth close to her ear.

That's really close. Did he need to be that close? Maybe he did need to be that close.

"I want you to find someone," he whispered.

"Why are we whispering?"

"I want you to find my cousin Mau'te," Ter'viro said. "He might be on Dromund Kaas."

"Is he a bounty hunter?" Mako asked.

"He's a Sith Lord."

Mako nearly yelled but stopped herself. "What? I thought the people in your family were Jedi."

"When did I tell you that?"

"You didn't," she said. "I looked you up. I wanted to know who I was working with. What?"

"Nothing, I guess. Can you find him?"

"I can try. Why?"

"He might give us some tips."

"I can try," she said. "It will take a while. Sith are higher security."

"Do what you can."

They returned to their quarters, and he trained while she searched.

"I have something," she told him, an hour later. "It's kind of weird."

"Weird how?"

"He's working with a Twi'lek I know. It's kind of a weird coincidence."

"I got a cousin that talks about coincidences," he said. "I never understood her, though."

"I can talk to her," Mako said. "Maybe we can meet them outside the city. If they agree."

"Makes sense," he said.

"Okay. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

Vette groaned while she lowered herself onto a bench. She looked at the line of people waiting for a speeder and decided she could wait. She leaned back and rested.

Someone in a coat and a hood sat on the other end of the bench and whispered, "Don't say anything. Okay, say something, but don't say anything, okay?"

"Mako?"

"Shhh! I mean yes, but shh. We need to go somewhere. To talk, I mean."

Vette pushed herself off of the bench and followed Mako. Vette had a thousand questions for her friend, but only two that mattered. The young slicer guided Vette on winding route to avoid the security cameras until they reached clean but discrete alley. Mako smiled at Vette and waited. Vette hugged Mako and squeezed as if she were Vette's last grip on sanity.

"Vette?" Mako said.

Vette took a deep breath, let it go, and stepped back. "Why are you on Dromund Kaas?"

"I'm in the Hunt," Mako said. "Or trying to be in the Hunt. I'm with a bounty hunter, and we're trying to get a place in the Hunt. We need to prove ourselves to make it in, but we've got a good chance."

"What do you need from me?" Vette asked.

"My bounty hunter wants to talk to your Sith Lord. I can't tell you why. It's not bad, but I can't tell you why."

"Where?" Vette asked.

"Outside the city. Southern jungle, probably. You pick the spot. We'll be there."

"I'll talk to Mau'te."

"Thanks," Mako said. "Leave a message in the 4113-J code."

"I remember it," Vette said. She pushed a lock of hair away from Mako's implant. "How are you doing?"

"They killed Braden," Mako said. "One of the other bounty hunters. Just to make it difficult for us. They killed him just for that."

"Braden? Oh, the hunter that took you in."

"He believed in me," Mako said, wiping tears from her eyes. "He cared about me."

Vette nodded. Compassion was worth more than credits on Nar Shaddaa.

"I meant, how are you doing?"

"Oh," Mako said. "Still looking. I have time. Don't look at me like that. I have time. Some time, anyway."

"Does your hunter know?"

"No, and don't tell him. Promise."

"I promise." She hugged Mako again. "It's good to see you. It's nice to find someone here who doesn't scare the shit out of me."

"I know," Mako said. "They're like that, aren't they?"

"How did you find me?"

"I sliced the security cameras. What? I didn't take control; I just accessed the feed."

"They execute people here," Vette said.

"Oh, right. Okay, I'll stop."

"Thank you for this," Vette said. She crossed her arms and shivered. Weren't jungles supposed to be warm? They had left the city before dawn so they wouldn't be noticed. The clearing he picked was reasonably isolated, but damp and cold.

"Of course, Vette," Mau'te said. "She's your friend. If you trust her, I trust her."

Vette stared at him. "What was that?"

"It's your job to keep me alive, Vette," he said. "How can you do that if I don't trust you?"

"Oh," she said. "For a moment I thought you were being nice."

"I'll endeavor to avoid the confusion."

"So, why the secrecy?" Vette asked.

"The Mandalorians wouldn't like it if one of their hunters asked for help from a Sith Lord," he said. "They are excellent soldiers, and we use them as mercenaries. It's why we gave them a tower. But in direct conflict, Sith Lords beat Mandalorians eighty percent of the time. Roughly. That is an unpleasant fact to a warrior culture."

"Oh," she said. "I suppose you'd feel the same way."

"You're quite right," he said. "We would."

The sound of a speeder reached them through the trees. It was about time. She'd almost been tempted to eat Mau'te's cooking for breakfast.

Mau'te closed his eyes, sensing the riders. "It can't be," he said.

"Can't be what?"

The speeder reached the clearing and a pale blue Twi'lek, obviously too large for the speeder, climbed down with Mako behind him. He had a strong face, a little above average, with a knife scar down his jaw. Mau'te saw him and exhaled sharply.

"You grew," the hunter said.

"I grew," Mau'te replied. "You were shorter than me when I left. You must be as tall as your father now."

"I beat him by three centimeters."

"That wasn't a record you needed to beat. And bounty hunter. How did that happen?"

"How do you know him?" Vette asked.

"This is my cousin Ter'viro."

"Are you shitting me?" Vette said. "I mean, nice to meet you." She held out her hand.

"He doesn't shake," Mau'te said.

Ter'viro shrugged. "I broke a guy's fingers when I was twelve. Accidentally."

Vette believed that.

"So," Ter'viro said. "What's with the accent?"

"I picked it up as an acolyte," Mau'te replied. "It helped me fit in, and it's expected in the Empire. It makes things easier for me. Now tell me, how did bounty hunter happen?"

"I did my year of mandatory. One of the instructors said I could do this." He shrugged again. "I finally found something I'm good at."

"What are you talking about?" Mau'te said. "What about botany?"

Vette stared at Ter'viro and said, "Botany?"

"Oh, yeah," Mako said. "His mother's a botanist, and his grades in chemistry and biology were really good."

Ter'viro stared at her. Vette knew that look.

"What?" Mako said.

"Mako," Vette said. "Jaran."

"Oh, shit. Again? I'm sorry. I'll stop."

"Jaran?" Ter'viro said.

"A guy she liked," Vette said. "She stalked him on the HoloNet."

"Not really," Mako said. "Not much, anyway. A little, I guess. He blew it out of proportion."

"You went back five generations."

"I was thorough," she said. "Okay. Sorry."

Mau'te laughed. Vette stared at him. He actually laughed.

"So, this is Mako," he said. "I can tell you're a woman of exceptional ability."

"Oh," Mako said. "Uh, thanks. Huh."

"Why are you hitting on your cousin's girlfriend?" Vette asked.

"I'm not hitting on her," Mau'te said. "I'm simply being nice to her."

"And I'm his information officer," Mako said. "Technically. Not his... Never mind."

"Isn't she your friend?" Mau'te asked.

"Yes," Vette said. "That's why I want to save her from you."

"I wonder how you ever acquired a friend in the first place," he replied.

"I'll have you know, I'm very loyal to my friends," Vette said.

"She really is," Mako said. "She... Never mind."

"No," Mau'te said. "I actually believe that." He turned to Ter'viro. "How..." He stopped and took a breath. "How did the family react?"

"I don't know," Ter'viro said. "I didn't ask. I wanted to leave. I never liked what they did to you."

"What he did to me," Mau'te said.

"Yeah."

Mau'te took another breath. "How is she?"

"Recovered. Mostly," Ter'viro said. "Never did anything about the scars. I don't know why."

"I know why," Mau'te said. "I know exactly why." He closed his eyes as if holding something back or pushing something back. "How is she doing?"

"Joined the military," Ter'viro said.

"Yes," Mau'te said with a bitter laugh. "She would excel at that. Thank you." He exhaled slowly. "On to business. Why do you need the help of a Sith Lord?"

"I guess it's safe to talk," Ter'viro said to Mako. "Our next target is a Sith Lord."

"This is to enter the Hunt?" Mau'te said.

"Yeah," Ter'viro said.

"Who is the target?" Mau'te asked.

"Admiral Fraabaal's daughter."

Mau'te nodded. "I've heard about her. She's joined Grathan's cult. That would be an embarrassment. What do you know about her?"

"She's nineteen," Mako said.

"Still an acolyte," Mau'te said. "How much combat experience does she have?"

"None, I think," Mako said.

"Her father kept her out of battle?" Mau'te asked.

Mako nodded.

"An undertrained, inexperienced, spoiled brat. Your chances are not horrible. Not even the Force could compensate for all of those failings." He retrieved something from his speeder. "Fortunately, I have my training saber with me. Let's run you through a few drills."

"Training saber?" Mako said.

"Yes. It generates a forcefield in the shape of a blade and fills it with a weak plasma. It mimics the feel of a lightsaber without chopping off limbs, although it does sting a bit."

"Okay," Ter'viro said. "Thanks for the help."

"Of course," Mau'te said. "Let's begin."

Four hours later, Mako dropped to the ground, begging for a break.

"We might do better if you held back," she said.

"He is," Ter'viro said.

"That's holding back?" Mako said. "But he's like really, really good, right? There's a lot of talk about him on the Imperial net. Everyone says he's really good." Everyone stared at her. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"I won't hold it against you," Mau'te said.

"Oh, good. There's a lot of talk from female officers saying-" She saw Vette's reaction. "Stuff I'm not going to talk about."

"Think we have a chance?" Ter'viro asked.

"I do," Mau'te said. "Your instructors were right. You are good at this, but a lightsaber is a very unforgiving weapon. One lucky hit, and I lose my cousin. Remain on guard at all times to all things."

"You mentioned that few dozen times," Mako said.

"So I did. I think I've done as much as I can in the time you've got. Best of luck."

Vette gave Mako a quick hug before she and Ter'viro drove off.

"What's wrong with her?" Mau'te asked.

"She's a little intense sometimes," Vette said. "But she's brilliant. Really."

Mau'te looked at her. "You know what I meant. I could tell by the way you were watching her."

"Did you sense it?" Vette said.

"A little. Mostly, I noticed in her combat reactions."

"She doesn't want your cousin to know, so I'm not telling."

"Very well," Mau'te said. "I will respect her privacy."

"It weirds me out when you act like a decent guy."

"Do you want me to strangle some nexu kittens on the way home?" he asked.

"No, I'm good."

"You never ate your breakfast."

"I wonder why," she said.

"I am not that bad! I'm better than my mother."

"How bad is your mother?"

He pointed a finger at her, trying to think of something to say, then pointed at the speeder. She climbed into her seat, and stared out the window while he drove. That was the second time he'd been a decent... Third time he'd been... Fourth time... Never mind. He was still a Sith Lord.