Star Wars, The Old Republic: Smuggler Chronicles (KS & Kye)

[King Serperior]

The Nightfall

Coruscant.....

Coruscant is, arguably, the most well-known planet in the entire galaxy.  It orbited around the star, Coruscant Prime, in the Coruscant system, which was located in the Coruscant subsector of the Coruscant sector of space.

Yeah, the planet was a big enough deal to have a system and sector of space named after it.  You see, some up-and-up person had found the planet and decided that it was perfect.  So, before the galaxy realized it, mountains were torn down, oceans were drained, and massive buildings from the ground up to the skies above were built.  In the span of a couple of thousand years, the initial human groups who discovered the planet had turned it into a massive city the size of a planet!

Over the course of the many centuries, Coruscant basically became the center of the galaxy!  After all, it officially had the coordinates of 0-0-0.  Over time, one could find just about every species imaginable along all levels of the massive city.  The higher one went, the higher the quality of life.  As one traveled downwards, towards the surface, one faces slums, decrepit machines whose functions have long since passed, and hideouts for criminals and the unwanted.  In fact, the lowest two hundred levels were deemed by everyone to be completed uninhabitable.  These levels were where strange beasts and monsters roamed and who knew what else.  In addition, those who lived in the lower thousand levels were forced to wear protective filters and air supplies because the air down there was almost unbreathable and toxic.  Between there and Level One Thousand, Five-Hundred, the most lawless groups and individuals made their homes.  From that point upwards, until one reached Level Six-Thousand, the poor and middle classes carved out a living.  Only the richest and most influential beings could afford the upper five hundred levels.

The lowest level was designated as Level 1 while the highest level currently was designated as Level Five-Thousand, One-Hundred, and Twenty-Seven.  It was on Level Three Thousand, Six-Hundred, and Eighty-Eight that this story begins.  This level is perfectly on the boundary of the old and the new where many structures are made of archaic materials and others made from new Transparasteel.

Sethcor Traven, Seth to his friends, was publicly known as a reliable trader who piloted a fairly sizable ship that could carry quite a lot.  It was also fairly well armored.  In truth, the average height man, lean with muscle and perhaps a couple of skipped meals here and there, was a smuggler.  He had been on the massive city planet for ten days now and only just now were the Scandoverian Wailer eggs he'd smuggled here taken from his ship's sealed, hidden compartment.

Of course, while the eggs themselves paid easily twice as much as he had gotten from the legitimate cargo he brought in, Seth believed that being mostly legit gave him more freedom than other smugglers.  Never was more than a quarter of his ship's cargo full of illegal goods.  Any more and it became harder to hide them.

So, what was the reason the smuggler remained on Coruscant?  It was simple!  As of right now, the new cargo he was to deliver was being loaded.  There was a Republic training base that required supplies and he was one of but a few ships that would be delivering them.  On another note, there was a certain crate that had been loaded and concealed that he was to deliver to a small moon a few days journey out from the training base.  He had no clue what it was and didn't really want to know.  He was being very well paid for its delivery.

That was why he was found here, at one of the nicer bars, waiting for word from his droid that the cargo was loaded and ready to be delivered.  If only he had known before he returned to the ship that he wasn't just delivering the supplies, but was also going to be accompanied by another, he likely wouldn't have taken the job.....

[Kye]

Darbra Galehea was at her wits end.  She’d been on Coruscant for one hundred and eighty seven days, three hours and twenty two minutes.  Give or take a few seconds.  Over half a year.  She’d grown to loath the planet.  From it’s dirty, poor bottom to the shining, pristine glory of the upper crust it was just as bad as any other world she’d ever been on.  The biggest difference was that she couldn’t seem to get off the damn planet.  She’d been trying for weeks to no avail.  The transport she’d originally been told to take had been quarantined upon arrival. What kind of trader managed to pick up something as dangerous as the Bandonian Plague?  Idiots.

To make matters worse, her line of communication to her superiors had been severed, but cut off as she was she had no idea what had happened.  All of the imperial agents she knew about just seemed to have come up missing and she was pretty damn certain that she was going to be next.  She had to get off the planet, and with no other avenue open to her that meant she was left with a list of less than trustworthy traders.  She was down to the last three on her list. 

Sethcor Traven.  A name she’d been given of a trader who might be willing to offer transport without questions.  For the right price.  Now all she had to do was find the bastard. Rumor had it that he was waiting for cargo to be loaded at a bar, which wouldn’t have normally been much help but she happened to know the bar in question.  She’d killed a man there once.  Not that she’d left any evidence of the body behind. 

She straightened her tunic, a plain dark gray number that was nice enough for the level of the city she found herself on, but nondescript enough to keep her from being memorable.  With her dark brown hair and equally brown eyes she could have been any other human female, of which there were a number in the bar.  A quick glance at the grainy picture on her data pad was the only confirmation she needed that she’d found the man in question. 

She crossed the bar, which wasn’t too crowded in the middle of the day, and took a seat opposite the man without being invited.  “Are you looking to make a few extra credits, Captain Traven?”

[King Serperior]

Sethcor was nursing the small glass of Arbenton gin, which was a cheap, but tasteful alcoholic drink imported from a nearby system when the woman he'd seen come into the bar from the corner of his eye came over to sit at his table, opposite of him.  She, without any preamble, went straight to the point, asking if he wanted to make a few extra credits.  The corner of his lips twitched in a very faint smile.  Looks like she was one of those people.  Of course, he'd been in the game long enough to not take everything at face value.

He swished the remaining alcohol around in the glass for a few seconds before lifting his head to meet the woman's eye.  She didn't look like a standard civilian.  No, there was a certain hardness to her.  Wouldn't be the first time someone was trying to escape a gang or a mercenary who wanted to get to a new location for a job came by him.  So, if this lady wanted to play laserball, then she'd need a better opening than that offer.

Sethcor set the glass with the lightest clinking sound on the PlasSteel table between them, "I could always use a few extra credits, Miss....?"

He left the question open for her to give whatever name she was going to give.  In these situations, anyone could go by any name.  In any event, after she gave it, he continued, "Since you called me 'Captain,' then you know I am a trader.  Perhaps you looked into the registry or maybe heard by word of mouth, but I can't simply agree to whatever you want.  Not without more information, that is."

The pale-haired human with the faint scar across his right eye leaned back and checked a small datapad, "I estimate that you've got a little under an hour to state your case.  I've got some cargo that should be finished loading by then.  I'll be leaving this place and on my way to the next destination soon after that.  So, what are you wanting from me and how much are you offering?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sethcor downed the last bits of the alcohol and set the glass aside.  This was good timing as she wouldn't know how long he'd been here unless she really did her research, so she might think he's a little under the effects of the alcohol.  This might make her more careless if she was one of those people who thought they could take advantage of a drunkard.  Luckily, the drink was his first and only one, the gin wasn't the most alcoholic, the glass was fairly small, and he'd been nursing it for roughly half an hour now.  It'd take a lot more than that to put him under the table.

[Kye]

She arched a brow and felt her lips twitch when he asked her name.  They both knew whatever name she gave wouldn’t be her real name, but it was part of the game.  Heavens forbid they not play the damn game.  “Tara.  Just Tara.”

He was going to make her work for it, which was fair enough.  He would be taking a risk, and he damn well knew it.  If she’d been able to leave and go through security like a normal member of society she wouldn’t need his help.  The fact that she couldn’t meant that he knew she was up to no good, or at least involved in something that was no good.  She couldn’t very well tell him, though.  That was almost guaranteed to get her turned in unless he was far more seedy than she had been led to believe.  It was the fact that he walked the line between criminal and legitimate that made his transport perfect for her after all. 

She waved at the droid and ordered a couple more drinks, whatever he was drinking.  She needed it, and it was a decent way to start the hopefully temporary relationship between them.  As soon as the drinks were down and they were alone again she leaned forward, an unconscious motion that spoke of her nervousness. 

“I just need to get off the planet, I don’t even care where you’re going,” she said.  “I need transport for myself and a droid, nothing more.  No contraband, the droid is legal,” she explained.  She couldn’t tell him much, but he didn’t need to know all that much.  Just enough to make a judgment call on whether or not it was worth it. 

“I can offer you ten-thousand credits for transport at least three parsecs from here, and a drop off somewhere that I can find another transport.”

[King Serperior]

Tara....  A simple name, to say the least.  Of course, some people wanting to get offworld went by names such as 'Red,' 'Long Jack,' and 'Irons.'  Still, that was the rule of the game.  After all, a traveler had to be called something, be it a real or fake name or even something as simple as 'human' or other derogatory names.  That was the game everyone played and this would be no exception.

'Tara' waved the droid that served the drinks over and ordered two more of the Arbenton gin.  Sethcor wasn't going to complain about a free drink.  That gave her a few extra minutes to sing her sad tale and convince him that she was worth the effort of bringing her on board.  So, he took the small glass of pale, pink liquid and took a short sip, indicating her to go on.  After all, one could lead a Darmoke to the river, but one couldn't make the beast drink from it.  This would follow the same principle.

Sethcor was rather experienced with negotiating, so when Tara leaned forward, he had to keep from smiling.  The girl was nervous about something.  Desperate, perhaps?  Desperate individuals in a negotiation always did one of three things.  The first was usually for those with money, influence, or raw physical strength.  Those individuals threatened where they could get away with it.  The second kind promised payment that was far out of their reach.  That often led to that person being taken to a destination and leaving without a word, meaning no one gets paid for the job.  This one, however, appeared to be of the third variety, the kind that would pay using whatever means necessary.

As expected, Tara spoke plainly and simply.  She wanted off the planet.  She didn't care what his destination was.  She and a droid needed to be at least three parsecs away from Coruscant.  She would pay him ten-thousand credits for the job.

Now, that last part was what really got his attention.  Ten-thousand credits for simply taking someone off Coruscant was more than he was expecting.  The cargo he delivered to this planet had given him seven-thousand.  The supplies he was taking to that base would give him eight-thousand credits.  What was in that one crate likely would get him much more.  This wasn't something he was going to be turning his back on, not by a long shot.....but, why let her know that?

"A droid?  What kind?  My ship's sizable, but most of it is cargo space.  I don't think I can take on a very large one.  If it's no larger than a Protocol type, I think I could manage it.  As for the distance.  Three parsecs is quite the travel.  Of course, most of what I'm delivering on this run is to a Republic military training base about two parsecs out from here.  I suppose going an extra parsec wouldn't be too big a deal."

Sethcor tilted his head slightly to the left, "I do hope you don't have anything against the Republic.  Considering the number of ships that are leaving over the last three days, it may be up to a day or two before the cargo is unloaded and we can continue.  If you are fine with that, I know a nice planet about a parsec from that base I can drop you off at.  People there are nice, if you aren't afraid of water."

He set the mostly full glass back down on the table and gave her a pointed look, "Now, as for the price....I might be willing to take you and your droid, but I'm a merchant who has been stung before over a bad deal.  What say you pay three-thousand credits up front?  That way, I at least know you can put your credits where your mouth is and if you happen to scurry away like a Naboo Swamp Rat, I at least won't have done this for nothing?"

There it was.  Those were the terms of the negotiation.  If she agreed, then he would be more inclined to help.  If she tried to negotiate, then he would respect her all the more.  If she refused to play Laser Ball with him, then he'd thank her for the drink and leave her to whatever fate she was trying to run away from.  All that was left was her choice in this matter.

[Kye]

“An Administrative Droid, it shouldn't be a problem,” she responded simply.

He didn't need to know exactly what the droid was for.  It appeared to be a standard Administrative droid, but it's programing was a bit different.  Standard class one body for the most part, but it could serve as a slicer droid, as well as advanced security.  She'd have to make sure it's weaponry was offline before it was loaded onto the ship, but beyond that it would withstand the basic examination he was likely to perform before he let it onto his ship. 

“My personal opinions on the Republic have no place in this conversation.  I honestly couldn't care less about it at the moment, I'm just ready to move on,” she said, a partial lie.  She wasn't a fan of the Republic, and worked actively against it, but she was willing to keep her opinions to herself.  It was safer that way.  She just wanted to get off planet before she could end up dead or captured like the others.

“It sounds good to me, I don't care what the planet is like.  As for credits.  One thousand now, another thousand upon boarding and the rest when you drop me off safely,” she said, settling in to negotiate.  “I don't want you running off with my credits, but a thousand is a reasonable risk.  You guarantee my safety once I'm on your ship, not a moment before.”

She sat back and took a sip of the Arbenton gin she'd ordered.  She managed not to grimace, it wasn't her drink of choice.  Still, she'd drink a dozen more if it got her on his ship and off Coruscant. 

[King Serperior]

“An Administrative Droid, it shouldn't be a problem.”

Sethcor's eyebrows rose just slightly when she mentioned what type of droid she wanted to bring along.  He installed several programs from such droids into Hector's database over the years so the chimera-droid's usage would be increased dramatically.  Hector's base model was that of a Protocol Droid, but the torso and arms contained many of the retractable tools that an Astromech Droid kept.  The arm and leg servos were altered to represent that similar to a Hunter-Killer, vastly increasing mobility and dexterity should they find themselves in a combat situation.  Finally, programs from those four droids were installed, giving Hector a wide range of knowledge, be it about maintaining, repairing, or piloting various ships, knowing how to trade and negotiate, the ability to speak and translate nearly eight-thousand languages, and knowledge on maintaining and repairing weaponry as well as how to use it.

He spent thousands of credits to obtain the cobbled-together droid over the years and it could be said that Hector was about the only person he could call an actual friend.  Of course, people gave the droid odd looks, but it looked enough like a Protocol Droid that not many gave it a second thought beyond the first look at the strange machine.  Hector rarely left the ship in any case, so that wasn't much of a problem.

As Tara continued to speak, Sethcor made no show of surprise one way or the other at her rather defensive and somewhat evasive reference towards the Republic.  Perhaps she really didn't care about the government.  Perhaps she was a deserter?  That could explain why she wanted to get off the planet.  The war with the Sith has been going on for nearly a hundred years now and it didn't seem any closer to an end than when it started.  There were many soldiers who had enough of it and just wanted to get away from it all.

Finally, she said that she didn't care what the planet was and followed up with a counter-offer of just a thousand credits.  Normally, he'd take it as a deal, but Sethcor wanted to push her a little, "I'm a businessman, Tara, but I'm not a crook.  How about we skip the offers and counter-offers and meet in the middle?  Fifteen-hundred credits and we can go right now.  Hector seems about finished and by the time we arrive at the landing zones, the last of the supplies should be delivered."

He gave her his best, winning smile and left the laserball in her court.  The debate had gone on long enough and he didn't know how long she had been missing, if she actually was a deserter.  For all Sethcor knew, the woman was being watched and tailed, which was not the most beneficial of moments to find himself in.  Depending on the truth of the matter, the longer this went on, the more likely she would be attacked, which would inevitably drag him into it due to his current proximity to her.

[Kye]

She eyed the Captain and pursed her lips, making a show of thinking about his counteroffer. It was reasonable, and the offer to get her onto the ship asap was exactly what she wanted.  That made her think it might be too good to be true.  In her experience that was the way the universe worked.  The only thing that kept her from walking away when her gut told her to was the fact that he had a top rate reputation.  She'd done her research, he was a man of his word or as much of one as a smuggler could be. 

“Deal,” she said then, her need to get off planet greater than her caution. 

She pulled out her datapad and set up the transfer before she set it down and slid it across the table.  He'd enter his information where she couldn't see and transfer it to his account, which he would check on his datapad to make sure that her's hadn't been a ghost.  This wasn't her first rodeo.  Meanwhile, she contacted 3D-7G and gave him the coordinates at which his ship was docked and told him to meet her there using her secondary pad.  She had a backup for everything. 

She drained the rest of her drink with a grimace and set it aside before she arched a brow with him, clearly a bit impatient though she didn't say a word.  She couldn't afford to piss him off at the moment, she needed him too much.

[King Serperior]

Sethcor gave Tara a few minutes to think it over.  He was dancing along a fine line, but all negotiations were like that.  It was simply a matter of balancing the needs of the opposing party and his own.  Tip the scale the wrong way and the other side just might get up and walk away.  Tipping the scale just enough to make them seem like they're getting a fair deal and they'll eat right out of one's hand.

In the end, he was pleased when Tara accepted the offer.  In but a few moments, her datapad was out and sliding across to him.  He entered the code to complete the transfer of credits.  The quick follow-up check did reveal that she wasn't a scammer or the like.  That, at the very least, was another plus for her.  There had been a couple of scammers who tried to wrangle him into their schemes, but he'd luckily been able to get out of it before the trap closed.

When it was all done and her datapad was back in her possession, Sethcor gave her the first full grin he'd shown, "Guess that's that, eh?  How about we head on up to the ship?"  The young man then brought a finger to his left ear and pressed gently, "You get that, Hector?  Go ahead and clear out that extra room.  We've got a guest on this trip."  Without even waiting for a response, he removed his finger and moved to stand.

Sethcor had experienced a few injuries over the ten years that he'd been a smuggler.  The ear implant that he used to keep in communication with Hector and his ship was but one of a few alterations to his body that he'd taken.  Some days, he could remember the searing burn where he'd lost most of his left ear to a stray blaster shot.  The life of a smuggler could be harsh at times, but also quite rewarding.  It was the harsh parts that had forced himself to use the rewards to pay for bionic and cybernetic implants.

The ear was but the first serious injury he'd suffered.  There were two more major injuries he'd taken.  The second was being too close to a flashbang that left him partially blinded.  He'd had surgery to replace the outer lens of his eyes with a synthetic polarized lens that automatically adjusted to filter lights and reduce glares.  He could even look at a star directly and suffer no damage.  The third injury he'd taken was the worse and forced him to have a synthetic lung made using his own DNA made to replace his own.  It came with a micro-oxygen storage cell that could, with about four hours of steady breathing, fill with about two hours of emergency air.  In truth, that little storage cell even saved his life once, automatically kicking in when he'd been caught in a room with rapidly depleting air.  Took him about an hour to get out.

All-in-all, Sethcor considered himself rather lucky.  There were some who weren't so lucky and often had all four limbs replaced or worse.

In any event, with the drinks paid, Sethcor motion to Tara to follow where he hailed an automated transport vehicle, "Shouldn't be more than twenty minutes to weave in and out of the traffic and make it up to the shipping levels.  I assume you have all you need?  Once we leave this planet, we're not landing again until I've dropped off those supplies."

As they got into the floating vehicle and set off, they failed to notice a small drone that hovered in the shadows, observing.....

[Kye]

Darbra aka Tara  tucked her data pads back into their respective pockets and nodded.  The sooner the better as far as she was concerned.  She could feel the planet closing in around her, as if it were shrinking and leaving her fewer and fewer places to hide.  She’d done what she came there to do and more besides, it was time to take care of herself so that she could live to fight another day.  Not that she had any intention on sharing any of that with Sethcor.  He’d already proven to be a loyalist just by the question he’d asked her about her thoughts on the Republic. 

She followed him out and waited for a transport.  “My droid will meet us there, I have everything else I need,” she confirmed. 

Just before they got into the vehicle the hair on the back of her neck rose, a tingling sensation washing across her body.  Her trainer had called it a sixth sense, she just thought she was overly paranoid.  Sometimes her feelings were right, however, and right now she felt like she was being watched.  She glanced around quickly but didn’t find anything before she closed the door to the vehicle behind her and settled into the seat next to the Captain. 

She shivered and rubbed the back of her neck with one hand.  She took a small earpiece out of one of her multitude of hidden pockets and slid it into her ear, it was a direct link to her droid.  3D acknowledged the link and asked if everything was alright, to which she grunted.  “Not sure.  Be careful,” she murmured under her breath.  “Run a surface scan of official traffic and let me know if you see anything out of the ordinary.  We’ll be there in twenty.”

The automated vehicle chose that moment to swerve to avoid a mid-air collision and she slid across the seat into the Captain.  That would teach her not to put on her safety belt.  “Sorry...” she said with a grimace as she slid back across the seat and buckled in. 

[King Serperior]

As the vehicle's doors closed and took off from the street level and began its flight path upwards through traffic, the small, spherical drone sank back into the shadows of the alleyway.  Once it had retreated far enough back, it transmitted an encrypted message to a holopad located fifty levels below:

::::::::Target identification confirmed at 91.2356%::::::::::
::::::::Object not detected to be in target's possession::::::::::
:::::::::Target appears to be accompanied with another::::::::
::::::::Accompanied individual appears to be human::::::::
:::::::::Target had entered vehicle with unknown individual::::::::
:::::::Target appears to be en route to ship docking bays::::::

The glow from the receiving holopad illuminated a smile before it was shut off and the tall, feminine figure stood, gesturing to the larger figure partially hidden in the shadows to her left to follow her outside...



Similar to Tara's seemingly sixth sense, Sethcor's hair stood up on his neck.  Years of dodging blockages, cargo inspections, and simply avoiding bad deals with possibly unsavory sorts had given him the instinct to escape by just a hair from numerous bad situations.  Just before the door closed to the transport vehicle, he did a brief glance around the street, but didn't see anything in particular.  Sethcor shook his head, dismissing the thought.  They weren't in the most secure level of the mega-planet after all, being on the very edge of the almost lawless lower levels and the more secure upper levels.

As the vehicle doors closed, he took note of the woman taking what looked like an earpiece and began murmuring something into it.  Unfortunately, as interested in what she might have been saying, the bio-ear implant he had didn't have such a feature to magnify sounds.  Such an addition had been out of his budget after he was injured.  Still, he wasn't about to pry.  This was the person paying him so much for such a simple job.

Sethcor brought his hand to his ear to connect back to Hector when the vehicle swerved to avoid another vehicle, one of those new Speeder Cycles, causing Tara to slide over the seat before she moved back with an apology.  He gave her a small, sideways smile, "Nothing to apologize over.  Those daredevils are always skirting the the laws."

After about five more minutes of swerving in and out of traffic, the automated transport began its ascent up through the levels.  As they rose, the slight buzz in his ear came back, indicating that Hector was trying to contact him.  He brought his fingers to his ear and pressed gently, "Hector?  We're about five minutes from reaching the outermost checkpoint to the docking platforms.  The cargo loading done?"

"The cargo has been loaded, Mister Sethcor.  However, there is an individual in Republic military garb, a female Twi'lek, who is in possession of a container.  She has stated that she is under orders to only give it to the captain of the vessel.  Should I send her away and demand she leave the container here?"

"No, no.  I will be there shortly and deal with her.   Thank you for informing me."

"It was what I was programmed for, Mister Sethcor.  I await your arrival."

Sethcor cut the connection and looked over to Tara, "We're getting close to Platform eight sixty-three.  As you are surely aware, platforms eight fifty through nine thirty-four are designated for non-military ships with weapons systems.  My ship has a nose gun, mainly for point defense if she ever gets under attack.  However, she can pack a punch if needed to.  It doesn't quite compare to the standard armament of a Republic vessel, but it does its job."

He purposefully failed to mention the hidden weapon systems, such as the hidden missile pod or the fact that the nose gun was much stronger than it appeared.  That wasn't even mentioning the hidden systems that technically weren't legal in most systems.  In addition, there were some hidden compartments that held weapons and the fact that Hector wasn't quite the cobble together hunk of junk he appeared to be.

Within five minutes, nothing was noted to have followed the automated transport as it let the two of them a few streets away from the landing platforms.

[Kye]

Darbra was equally as interested in what he was saying, but unlike him her device did give her the ability to listen in.  Unfortunately, she could only get one side of the conversation, but it was enough for her to become concerned.  Well, more concerned than she already was.  Her lips were pursed in mild annoyance by the time he turned to her and she was forced to wipe the expression from her face. 

She nodded in understanding.  She wouldn’t have even approached him if she hadn’t known his ship was armed.  It was a fine line.  She needed it to be a ship that was armed, but not illegally so.  At least not in such a fashion that it would draw attention.  She just hoped that the attention he’d already drawn had nothing to do with her. If he didn’t have his shit together she was going to be livid as well.  Really she was fucked either way unless this all went smoothly. 

Nothing ever went smoothly in her experience.

She followed him through the streets towards the dock.  “Any issues I need to k now about, Captain?” she asked, her voice deceptively calm. 

“Who exactly is waiting for you at your ship?”  She didn’t reach for the blaster she had in the right pocket of her jacket, but it was a close call.  She didn’t want to have to use it, but she would. 

“Stop,” she added before he could respond.  She glanced back over her shoulder to find her droid rolling up.  Best to have him with her if things hit the fan, he was good in a fight.

[King Serperior]

The two barely walked more than a couple hundred feet from where the auto-transport dropped them off when Tara spoke up, “Any issues I need to k now about, Captain?”

He opened his mouth to speak, partially turning her direction before she interrupted again with yet another question, “Who exactly is waiting for you at your ship?”

Again, Sethcor started to speak, "At the shi..."  But, the words had just barely left his mouth when she told him to stop talking.  He fought off a frustrated sigh.  This woman was really getting on his nerves.  If she wanted to ask questions, then how about letting him speak?  He swore she seemed jumpier than one of those Krogak Snap Cats, which were twitchy as anything he'd ever come across.

About that moment, a droid came rolling up behind her, coming to a stop a little to the side and behind her.  Judging by her lack of reaction to it, it must have the droid she was talking about.  What followed was an uncomfortable tension that lasted for about a minute.  He was almost tempted to grab one of his blasters, but two things kept him from doing so.  The first was the fact that they were close enough to the docking platforms that security would be on them rapidly.  The second thing was that they were in a rather inhabited area and while he may be a scoundrel, thief, an occasionally dishonest person, and a smuggler, he wasn't one of those moral-less people who would risk killing innocents.  After all, he was a somewhat decent person.  Despite that, two of his fingers on one glove were hovering above hidden alert signal pressure  pads that, when pressed at the same time, would give Hector his coordinates and let him know he was in trouble.  The pressure pads were designed to be near invisible and both needed pressing at the same time to send the alert.

After a few more seconds passed, Sethcor gave Tara his best winning smile, "So, am I allowed to answer your multitude of questions that sound like an interrogation?  Or are you going to interrupt me again and again every time I try to answer?"

[Kye]

She glanced at him in surprise, a brow arching at his annoyed tone. He could have broken in and spoken at any point if he’d wanted to speak.  She wasn’t used to someone with manners it seemed, which was a sad state of affairs as far as she was concerned.  When she finally got home that would change.  Things were much less chaotic outside of the Republic, at least in her experience.  She liked order and routine, which she rarely got. 

She glanced at the droid for a moment before she smiled sweetly, though the expression didn’t reach her eyes.  “Apologies.  Please, take your time answering.  We have all the time in the world,” she said as she crossed her arms and waited.

Whatever he might have said she would never know.  She glanced behind him just in time to see two people who were far too intently focused on him.  “Never mind.  You’re being watched, we need to get going.  What kind of trouble are you in?” she asked under her breath.  She’d been sure she would be the one being followed, it was almost a relief to realize she wasn’t. 

“Two of them, both armed.  About fifteen yards back, way too close for comfort.”

[King Serperior]

Sethcor had had enough dealings with unsavory people to know a false smile when he saw one.  The smile that Tara was giving him now was exactly like those he received before he had to make an escape.  It was all about the eyes.  If one could read the eyes, they could read the emotions of the person.  After all, lips were only good for kissing and he once had the misfortune of spending an evening with someone who wasn't even good at that.  But that was another thought for another time, as in he wouldn't think about it if he could.

In any event, he was finally allowed to speak.  She was almost as bad when it came to interrupting as a Hutt and one didn't speak over one of those oversized grubs.  So, as he opened his mouth to explain and cool this woman's jets, as the saying among spacers go, she appeared to be transfixed on something behind him.  That was when she interrupted him again.  If this was going to be a habit, this would be the worst job he'd ever taken.  Then again, the Dewloran Rotfruit he'd agreed to transport to some science facility had left his ship smelling like something had died and become pickled in its own juices for months!  That was the worst job he'd ever taken.

But that was neither here nor there.  Tara quickly stated that he was being watched by two armed individuals about fifteen yards behind him.  Sethcor wracked his brain to figure out who on Coruscant would have issues with him.  It couldn't be the Durks.  He'd cleanly cut ties with them when he delivered those Cig-Sticks through the restrictive trade agreements to that gang's boss.  Maybe the Geroles?  But last he heard, they'd been taken out during a crackdown five years ago.  Maybe it was an ex-client?  Yes, that was more likely.

Sethcor gave her a grin and spoke softly, "Act normal, Tara.  Just pretend that you're angry at me or something.  I have a plan."

Whether Tara protested the idea or went along with it, Sethcor raised his arms into the air as if he were exasperated and then brought his hands to his head and acted like he was rubbing his temples in annoyance.  As he did so, his thumb pressed against his ear, initiating a connection with Hector.  He then spoke fast and soft, "Hey, buddy.  Looks like there's a situation.  Our new, temporary guest just spotted two armed people some distance behind me.  Said they're looking at me.  Think you can ring up a report?  I'll give you the description."

As he finished, he looked at Tara and tried to communicate with his eyes that she needs to give him the description of the two so he could tell his ally.  They likely only had a few minutes before the ruse failed or the two got frustrated enough and went on the offense....or whatever they wanted.

The two individuals were humanoid in appearance.  The smaller one was a likely a human female.  Roughly Tara's height, give or take, and perhaps a bit more muscular.  The larger individual was obviously not human.  It was vaguely masculine and had dark grey-green skin.  The obvious feature was the fact that he had four very muscular arms and stood almost a foot taller than the female.  They were both concealing weapons of some kind, so the average person wouldn't notice.  But to people like Sethcor and Darbra, it was quite obvious what they had.  It is impossible to tell exactly what make or model weapons they possessed though.  However, it was easy to tell that it was some kind of small arm, perhaps something like a blade or a stun-baton.

Judging by the way they looked, they were likely mercenaries or the bodyguards of someone unsavory.  They held themselves with confidence and the fact that they were able to stand and not be in the way of the average person walking up and down the street told of their experience.  These two weren't the typical cronies that some random criminal possessed who had more brawn than brain.  The fact that they were blocking off the only entrance to the docking bays on this level also spoke of their planning.  It was quite possible that Sethcor and Darbra could lose them and double around, but it was also likely that they would have thought of that as well.

[Kye]

The irony of being caught up in the Captain’s trouble was not lost on her.  Darbra likely would have laughed if the situation had been even a little less dire.  She didn’t need the scrutiny a gunfight would bring, but she doubted they would be able to avoid it.  She should just walk away.  That would have been the intelligent thing to do, but she was desperate.  She needed off of the planet as quickly as possible, and he as still her best bet.  Assuming they both survived whatever trouble had found him.  Her luck had definitely taken a turn for the worse. 

Act normal he said.  As if she were going to do anything else.  A deep frown wrinkled her brow, she really didn’t have to fake her anger at him.  She was furious, though it was more at the situation than the Captain if she was being honest.  She started yelling at him, but she didn’t do it in Galactic Basic, she chose a much more obscure language so that whoever might be listening in wouldn’t have a clue what she was saying. It made it easier to maintain the lie as the Bothan fell from her lips as easily as Basic did. She was just as articulate with her hand gestures and body language, adding to the illusion of anger directed at him. 

When he asked about the two people following him she made a show of calming down so that she could speak more quietly, and switched back to Basic, making sure that the thugs couldn’t see her lips as she spoke. 

“Human female, my height, fit, dark hair with a  scar of some kind on her right arm.  The other one is most likely male, larger and taller, green skin with a grey tent to it.  Four arms, maybe Codru-Ji, I’ve never seen one in person,” she admitted.  “Both armed.  Mercs perhaps.  They are good, blocking the entrance to the docking bays.  The smaller one is talking into some kind of com, so they might have help.”

[King Serperior]

Whatever anyone might say about Tara, she could act like the best of them.  There weren't many people who could do as well as she did when put on the spot.  He knew because he'd had to deal with a lot of them over the years.  Most of them were pretty terrible, if he were to be honest.  In fact, he still had a small scar from a grazing blaster shot when one of those bad actors actually drew the attention of the guys chasing them instead of blending in.  Now that was an interesting experience.

Sethcor somehow refrained from smirking, though his lips did twitch, but only just at the thought.  In any event, Tara began yelling in some kind of language he'd never heard of before.  He was pretty positive that Hector was listening in and would have an answer if he asked, but that wasn't necessary right now.  No, he simply let her acting play out until she reached the point of pretending to calm down and explain the situation.

So, a human woman and possibly a male Codru-Ji?  Interesting.  If they do have backup, then that was quite the problem.  Two of them, he and Tara could possibly handle.  Depending on how many others they have with them, it could be a bit more challenging.  What-to-do, what-to-do.....



Keirah, looked across the crowd of people going in and out of the docking bays with a bored expression.  So far, none of people they saw came even close to matching the descriptions of the two they were look....wait.....those two over there having a fight.  She paused and, while she couldn't see the face of the guy, the woman looked somewhat familiar.

She raised her com to her mouth, "Chaser, I'm not quite close enough to tell, but I think I found our two.  Keep in mind that there's now droid with them.  No, it's not a combat droid.  If they start to move, don't damage the primary target.  Take the droid as intact as you can.  There may be some value in it."

She received the acknowledgement from the converted hover transport that was just out of view.  It was large enough for six roughly human-sized individuals to stand somewhat comfortably in addition to the pilot.  It was armored to protect it against typical blaster fire and was a bit more maneuverable than it appeared.  Right now, there were only four in the transport since she and Go'Lak were down here.  The two of them held concealed micro-blasters.  They were new weapons designed specifically for this purpose.  Though their range was maybe fifty feet, sixty on the outside, and their cells only held enough charge for eight shots, they were more than capable of inducing fatal injury.  In addition, they each carried knives and a collapsible stun baton.  It wasn't the armaments they would have chosen, but their typical preferred weapons were far more conspicuous than they would have wanted in such a public area.

It would have been enough for just the two of them, but if they somehow tried to slip away, that's where the chase team came in.  She had no reason to dislike either of the two, but business was business and they were hired to bring the target back alive, preferably with as little fuss as possible.



Sethcor smiled, "A Codru-Ji?  Very interesting.  It's no surprise that you've never actually seen one before.  They're generally very xenophobic.  Most stay on their own home world.  I knew one who ran a small-time mercenary group on vibrant, habitable moon.  I wouldn't say we saw each other as friends, but she helped me out of a couple of jams and I helped her out with supplies from time to time.  Come to think of it, it's been about a year since we last spoke..."

His voice trailed off for a moment before he shook himself, "Anyway, it looks like we can't get past them, at least not on this level.  Unless we take the long way around to the other entrance on this level, which would take a bit of acrobatics if you catch my meaning, then we need to find a way up three more levels or down five more levels to reach the next set of docking bays.  From there, we take the lifts to return to this bay.  Before we do that, how about we slip out of sight while they're not paying attention?  Even if they are, the crowd's pretty heavy.  Unless they start firing weapons to clear the way, we'll be able to move a but faster than they would."

Unbeknownst to either of them at this time, the small, spherical spy drone was hiding in the shadow of a sign and was keeping watch.  The moment they began to move to avoid the two mercenaries, it would send a signal to the hover transport's driver, who would Keirah.  Luckily for the both of them, the two mercenaries would be smart enough to not pull out weapons in such a crowded spot.  No, they would wait for the minimal of witnesses as they attempted to subdue their target.

[Kye]

It wasn’t a bad plan, all things considered, but it definitely wasn’t a good plan either.  He seemed to think they could lose the pair, she had her doubts.  There was something about them that led her to believe they were fairly competent, a gut feeling – though most people didn’t give a damn what her gut had to say.  She’d eat her blaster if they managed to slip away that easily, but still she turned to follow the Captain into the crowd, fading into the masses. It was a specialty of hers.  It was far more difficult to do with another person and a droid to worry about. 

“Up or down, Captain?” she asked, her voice barely carrying enough to reach his ears in the cacophony of voices and the mishmash of languages that surrounded them. 

A series of clicks and warbles came from the droid behind her, but she didn’t turn around to look at it.  She’d had it for a long time, a very long time, she knew what it was trying to say without any conscious thought on her part. 

“It’s not working.  They are moving in this direction,” she commented, though she waited for the Captain’s answer before she spoke.  They still had a few minutes.  It would take time for the pair to close the distance, and they would likely wait for a break in the crowd.  They couldn’t afford to give them one.