//------------------------------//
// The Wrong Neighbourhood 
// Story: Alone In The Galaxy 
// by Purple Patch 
//------------------------------//

His mouth felt dry. That was the worst thing he found.
Pipsqueak didn’t do well without his morning tea. No Trottingham pony ever did.
He’d been sleeping on his side on a pile of scrap paper and utensils. The box he found himself inside was barely big enough to fit a foal even of his size. Each joint in his legs ached bitterly.
He gave a groan.
Then his eyes snapped open as he remembered what had happened last night.
“Did you hear that?”
‘Oh bother’
Instinctively, he tried to get up and find a way out, were there one to be found.
Women’s voices could be heard outside. Familiar voices.
“Is that...Is that coming from the box?”
“Why would it...Oh, don’t tell me...”
Footsteps approached before Pip could even comprehend the surroundings.
Light hit his eyes, bizarre pink, blue, red and purple lights above bathed the room in a heady luminescence. A woman was staring at him.
It was the red and yellow twi’lek he’d seen on the Hellfire, her eyes wide with shock.
Pip looked up at her with an awkward glance.
“Um...hello.” he mumbled “I’m...terribly sorry, I think I’ve got the wrong room.”
“Lunae! Lunae! It’s him!” The twi’lek cried out.
The other twi’lek showed herself, the stockier, lilac one. She too stared dumbfounded at the little colt.
“You’re kidding...” she said flatly “Please...tell me you’re kidding?”
“No, no, see. It’s the little animal from before!”
“Pony. I’m a pony.” Pip piped up.
The red and yellow twi’lek raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly.
“What like...on Endor? I didn’t know you little guys could talk?”
“Ayy! Shut up and focus!” Lunae gave her colleague a clip round the back of the head, scowling “Look, get this thing out of there and for star’s sake, look for the documents!”
Pip found himself hoisted into the air by the scruff of his neck. With a nervous yelp, his tiny legs waving at thin-air, he caught sight of Lunae’s furious glare and paled.
“Listen, whatever you are. I don’t know how you got here or what you’re playing at but you’d better not have screwed this up!” She glanced down at Ayy who was rummaging through the box he’d been cramped in a moment ago and spoke with exasperation.
“Well? Is it in there?”
“I-I-I d-don’t know.”
Lunae covered her face with a rigid hand and gasped.
“No, no, no, gimme’ a break!”
“It’s gotta’ be here somewhere, don’t worry.”
“Um...can I help?” Pip mumbled, who swiftly learned it wasn’t smart practice to ask that with tension so high.
“No! No! Just shut up!” Lunae snapped, pacing around the room, still gripping him by the scruff. Pip was starting to feel a bit ill swaying to and fro in mid-air.
“Where’s the key?” Lunae mumbled as she went through a pile of things on a small, shiny, black table.
Taking in the room, the place looked large but almost purposefully stifling.
There were no windows. The red-violet light and sheer black furniture somehow made the room feel a lot hotter than it was inside and there was a pounding bass music from some large room below that reverberated within.
The whole place made him dizzy just to look around.


Impatiently, Lunae took some sort of fob-like object from a drawer and paced over to the corner of the room.
Pip saw there was a cage in the corner, a lofty specimen definitely tall enough to house a person fully standing up and wide enough to stretch fully. What it was doing here was anyone’s guess but it didn’t fill him with a lot of hope to know they kept such a thing in their room.
Ayy looked up with a concerned look.
“Lunae, what are you doing?”
“What does it look like? I’m not letting this thing get in the way, okay!”
“But we can’t put him in there!” The red and yellow twi’lek stood up and stared appalled.
“Why not?! No-one uses this and where else are we gonna’ keep him?!”
“But Lunae...” Ayy glanced at Pip and spoke in an awkward mumble.
“That’s where they put the...strpprs...” She said the last word out the side of her mouth, trying not to let the foal hear.
Lunae cupped her temples in her free hand then used that hand to slap her friend at the side of the head.
“Ayy! Focus! It is not important where we put it!” She threw her arm at the box and pointed with force, yelling each word “Box! Documents! Find them! Now!”
“Okay, okay, sorry...” Ayy shook her head bashfully and went back to the box. Lunae pressed the fob against a panel at the cage’s base. Five bars rose up into the top, making way for whatever went inside, in this case Pip himself who Lunae tossed inside like a garbage bag.
“Lu, c’mon.” Ayy whined “Be gentle with him.”
Lunae turned back to her and spoke sternly, reminding Pip of his mum if she ever ran out of patience with somepony, which thankfully wasn’t often.
“Ayy, I don’t want you talking until you find those frakking documents, okay. The boss’ll be here any...”
The door gave an electric hum. The instant the sound filled the room, the two twi’leks froze, their faces pictures of dread.
As they slowly turned, the door opened.
Pip watched as several individuals walked in.
The first was a woman with pigtails, wearing tight black and maroon leather with shoulder pads and a plain semi-circular headdress. In the dim light, Pip first assumed she was human but as she drew near, he was taken aback.
The woman’s face wasn’t so much wrinkled as ridged, thick and leathery, as if dried in the sun. She lacked lips and her nose was flattened against her face, a frill along each of her jowels. Her eyes were a dull green and deep-set, her furrowed eyebrows set in a suspicious scowl. Her hands, consisting of two huge, thick, clawed fingers and a tiny thumb, we set on her hips. Pip thought her appearance was almost like a cross between ape and alligator wrapped around the body of a human.
The second was a very curious creature indeed. It was squat, hunched and yellow-green with a tall, narrow head and four short horns on either side of four goggle eyes. Around those, wide, fan-like ears; a large, flat nose with gaping nostrils, more like a parrot’s beak than anything else; and a great, m-shaped jaw with smatterings of small teeth sticking out. He was dressed in a dented metal collar and shoulder pads, the rest of his body obscured by a dusky brown cloak with intricate dark inscriptions upon it. His gnarled, three-fingered hands were tipped with stubby claws and were constantly twitching, dipping into his cloak now and again to check for mystery items. His four eyes were wide and one tended to twitch. His massive mouth was glistening with drool.
The third was obscured almost entirely by a great red robe and gown, topped by a shroud that hid all but her eyes from view, showing through a visor like a pair of inbuilt sunglasses. Her hands were shown, tattooed with bizarre writings. Everything else was a mystery.
For a moment, there was silence in the room.
“You girls don’t look all too busy.” The leathery woman said, her voice low and croaky, reminiscent of the accent of the Trottingham gangs back in Equestria, as she approached the two twi’leks.
“Uh...look, Tas. We have what you asked us to...”
Lunae’s words were cut off as the woman named Tas placed a hand on the lilac twi’lek’s shoulder. Flipping it up, a knife flicked out just above her wrist, extending a bare inch from the twi’lek’s neck. Lunae paled, her brow cold with sweat. Ayy crouched beside the box she’d been searching, wide-eyed, cupping her mouth with both hands.
Tas gave them both a look.
“That’s ‘Miss Kee’, you snivelling trollops.” she hissed before patting down Lunae’s shoulder and stepping back “Now...make yourselves presentable.”
The red-robed woman held out a hand and spoke as more footsteps approached.
“Bear witness to the entry of the King of Coruscant, the mighty Hat Lo.”
Pip stared as this ‘King’ made his entrance.


Hat Lo was perhaps the strangest sight Pip had ever seen. He entered in a floor-length lavender robe and a great, intricate, indigo collar that stood high around his neck and head.
It would have likely made a very majestic sight if Hat Lo stood over four-and-a-half feet tall.
If the humans Pip had seen so far were anything to go by, the robe Hat Lo was wearing wouldn’t have come up to their knees and the collar he was wearing was far too tall for him, obscuring most of his mouth and all of his neck and chin.
Pip could see enough of his head though, fleshy, puce and wrinkled, thin hair and eyebrows making the creases in his brow that much more prominent, his baggy, blue-grey eyes cold and hungry.
Himself smaller than the average pony, Pip could somewhat relate but with the enormous garb he wore, the towering associates at his back, and his self-proclaimed ‘Kingliness’, it was all he could do not to burst out laughing at the sight.
Yet the two twi’leks stood rigidly to attention, their entire bodies gripped by fear.
It didn’t take long for Pip to gather that this was an angry little man.
An angry little man who liked hurting people.
As he turned to face them fully, Pip saw that he was carrying some kind of walking stick. There were buttons on it close to his hand, his ring-adorned fingers tapping on them impatiently.
Again, there was silence.
Ayy glanced at Lunae nervously and mumbled.
“H-h-hello boss...We were, uh...I mean, we’ve...”
Hat Lo raised a hand, silencing them both. With his raised hand, he snapped his fingers. With a bow, the red-robed woman glided over to a machine on the wall, held a fob to it and pressed a few buttons.
A moment of heavy silence later, she brought out a large cocktail glass of shimmering, vibrant liquid, opened a draw, placed in it a long extendable straw and held it graciously to her boss. Hat Lo manoeuvred the straw into his mouth, hidden in his collar. There came a slurping sound before he waved the woman away. The drink was placed on a table and the attendants stood stock-still as Hat Lo cleared his throat and spoke.
“My dear girls...” his voice was dry and hoarse yet trying to sound cordial “It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that your selfishness is starting to become problematic to my various invaluable business interests. Now, I’m as eager for the end result of your endeavour as you must be. However, don’t forget that everything has a time limit to it. Grav-Ball, Podracing, the Galactic Stock Exchange...hell, even sex.”
“Mr Lo...” Lunae began in a shaky voice “We’ve done as you asked and we’ve...kept in contact as best as we could under the circumstances. As before, we are very sorry but we weren’t to know that the ship we were on would take a detour to...”
Hat Lo slammed the butt of his walking stick against the floor. Lunae’s mouth snapped shut.
“Listen...” the little man’s voice grew a lot more growly “You and the lovely Miss Vida here are the only ones who care about the small details. What matters is that arranging to get you home cost me four-hundred-thousand credits. I suppose that’s the price of success...that is, if you weren’t supposed to have gotten back two months ago.”
Tas Kee withdrew her wrist knife again and the four-eyed alien grinned obscenely as Hat Lo snapped his fingers again. The red-robed woman reached into her gown, withdrew a flat box of thin black sticks and handed it to Hat Lo who placed it in his obscured mouth, lit it with a fob he took out of the top of his walking stick and smoked whatever stick it was.
Pip had always hated smoking. It reminded him too much of his father.
“Now...” Hat Lo continued “Personally, I have a hard time believing this but some of my colleagues think...Well, they think you might be trying to screw us over. As in, take advantage of the care and generosity I have shown you all these years, paid for in no small part by them. I’m sure you can imagine how upset that would make them.”
Pip could hear Ayy gulping.
“But I wouldn’t worry, sweethearts. Lucky for you, I don’t believe a word of what they’re saying...And you’d better hope I’m right.” His voice grew venomous, like a hissing cat “Because if what they’re saying turns out to be true, I’m going to have to cut you in places where you do not want to be cut!”
“B-b-boss, it’s...It’s okay.” Lunae held up her hands apologetically “We have the plans, I promise. Ayy’s just searching for them.”
“That’s good to hear. But what’ll be better is if the plans are in my hand.” Hat Lo held out an open hand meaningfully “And by better, I mean ‘Won’t be reason enough to let Mumpfasoom here show you why they called him ‘The Butcher of Almak.” At this, the squat, four-eyed alien grinned openly, showing off slavering jaws and a lapping tongue, his eyes boggling wildly.
It steadily dawned on Pip that these were not people to be trifled with.
It also dawned on him that these twi'leks, Ayy and Lunae, were under their protection.
And he was not.


Hat Lo paced on his stubby little legs over closer towards them.
Pip then realised he and his three associates had caught sight of him.
The boss cleared his throat and spoke.
“And would you care to explain just what the frakking hell is that?” He jabbed the air with his walking stick.
“Uh...he followed us-No! He didn’t follow us!” Lunae exclaimed, noticing Tas Kee drawing the knife again and Mumpfasoom licking his lips “He um...well...”
“He stowed himself away in the box we found the plans in.” Ayy Vida piped up, looking up from the box.
There was another weighty pause.
“How?” Hat Lo asked.
“We’re...not quite sure.”
Hat Lo shook his head in his high collar and muttered.
“By the stars, I know I don’t pay you for your brains but damn it...” He gave Ayy a snarl “Find those stinking plans already!”
“Y-y-yes, sir.” Bending down, the red-and-yellow twi’lek continued to search through the box frantically. Behind her, Hat Lo gave a half-hidden smile, raised his walking stick out in front of him and pointed the tip of it at Ayy Vida’s backside. He pressed a button and a buzzing electric charge crackled against the twi’lek girl’s buttock. Ayy gave a high-pitched shriek and bolted upright, clutching the mark the shocker had made on her rear. As Hat Lo and his associates gave cruel chuckles as Lunae Minx bit her lip, hiding anger, and Ayy Vida gave Hat Lo a frightened, pleading look.
“P-p-please, boss. I’m looking for it, I-I’m going as fast as I can.”
“Well if you were faster, I wouldn’t get bored, now would I?” Hat sneered before turning his cruel gaze towards the colt.
“And what are you supposed to be? How did you find your way into the company of my girls here?
Pip stared, stock-still at the crime boss, eye to eye from the elevation of his cage.
He fought to keep his voice level and his eyes away from the tip of the walking stick.
“M-my name is...Pipsqueak, sir.”
Hat Lo sniggered behind his collar.
“Pipsqueak? Well...can’t say the name don’t suit ya.”
“Now look here, Mr Hat...Er...Lo...This is all a misunderstanding.”
“That’s one way of looking at it.” Hat Lo nodded, holding up the walking stick again “But another way of looking at it is that you’ve been poking your nose where it don’t belong.” The tip crackled with electricity again, causing Pipsqueak to jump in his hooves.
“You know what happens when I find something where it don’t belong?”
The colt gulped, staring at the blue coils of voltage at the walking stick’s end.
“I have a...fairly good idea, sir.”
“Ooh, a fairly good idea, sir.” Hat Lo mimicked Pipsqueak’s voice in a squeaky, exaggerated accent “You talk fine, I’ll say that. But in this part of Coruscant, talking fine doesn’t always keep you fine.”
As Pip felt his little hooves trembling, he remembered the words of his godmother, Blue Murder. She was tough, she was straightforward and always ready with advice whenever Pip had trouble with the bigger colts.
‘Never show fear. That’s what they want. Whenever somepony’s trying to make you afraid, it just shows how afraid they are. They need you to be afraid to make themselves feel braver. It’s a sure sign of a weak heart and mind behind a big empty show. And a brave little colt like you shouldn’t ever be afraid of that.’
It was her words that had got him in many places he found comfortable, namely ignoring Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s taunts whenever he tried to talk to Dinky.
Standing steady on his hooves, Pip gave a quiet shrug and simply turned away.
He could practically hear Hat Lo’s knuckles tensing.
“You making fun of me, you little pissant?!” he snarled “You know what your sorry ass’ll be in for if I find out...”
“B-b-boss?”
All eyes turned to Ayy Vida staring tentatively at her employer, holding up what looked like a flat, black card. Hat Lo snatched it dismissively and scowled at the colt.
“You’re damn lucky I ain’t got the time to teach you some manners! But once this is done, you and me are gonna’ have a nice little chat.”
The door hummed but didn’t open. Not long after, there came a quick knock.
“Miss Nod.” Hat Lo ordered “The door please.”
The red-robed woman they called Nod bowed and opened the door as a nasally, whiny voice sounded from the newcomer.
“M-M-Mr Lo...H-have you got them, yet? The...important plans?”
Pip resisted laughing as a ridiculous-looking man entered. His face was flabby and queasy-pale, his eyes were droopy and dull. He was balding and must have assumed his comb-over hid that fact, his nose was tiny and turned-up like a rodent and his lips were moist and fish-like, twisted with nervousness.
With a pot-belly and bandy little legs, he walked in a manner similar to a duck or goose. There was little intimidating about this man.
Yet Hat Lo held out his hands in welcome, the black card still in his grasp.
“You’ve come at the perfect time...Inspector Tan Divo.”


*


Parisian Froul ate breakfast at the usual hour but the space caper yesterday had stopped him sleeping that well. Unlike his father, he’d never had much of a head for the stars.
His light blonde hair was scruffy in the morning as he ate the plain but filling cereal from the bowl.
Gallius Rax was at the table along with the Dusk Trooper. Neither of them were eating.
Parisian wondered if they ever did.
As Pendre produced another round of tea, Rae Sloane emerged, bedecked in a dressing gown with a towel wrapped around her head.
Gallius Rax cocked an eyebrow and spoke sarcastically.
“Well done, Lieutenant, breakfast at o’ eleven-hundred on investigations. Wouldn’t the Emperor be proud.”
“Sorry...” Rae sighed sleepily “I was in the showers.”
“For two and a half hours?”
The Lieutenant’s eyes shifted about awkwardly.
“The girls wouldn’t let me leave.” she mumbled.
There was a pause. Parisian’s mind went rather busy.
“...Could you explain what you mean by that?”
“...No.” Rae reached for a cup of tea and practically gulped it down.
Torland Storm had been having breakfast around the same time after tending to the fuel tanks and boilers around the station and while he often disappeared into the kitchen to help out his wife, he often came out on the conversation he’d started this morning. While the Storms didn’t sing praises of the Empire, Torland wasn’t shy about letting them know what he thought of the Republic. To many average Coruscanti, the Senate and its practices had not been missed.
“What they don’t tell you is that when that blockhead, Valorum, disbanded the entire military just to make some Jedi come close to smiling, they put half the republic out of work!” he thundered “Then, they give the job to a bunch of test-tube babies?! Soldiers pumped out of a factory?! It’s not right!” He gestured with his empty coffee mug as if it were a stick to hit Valorum with “I mean, I don’t know much about the Jedi, I don’t know if they were evil or corrupt but they weren’t all too frakking smart, that’s a dead certain!”
“We’re better off without them is what I think.” Rae added, speaking her mind as she was wont to do “Sitting up there in that bloody temple, blind to the suffering of others, only daring to venture out to make people suffer for breaking rules no-one else knew existed. If we need to keep the peace, let’s do it ourselves, I say!”
“Well, of course, there would be strong reasons to get rid of the Jedi, after all.” Gallius said with a shrug and a slightly smug look in his eyes that suggested he knew more about the matter than most.
Dusk spoke up.
“Lieutenant, have you seen Pipsqueak this morning?”
“I thought he was in the bathroom.” Rae answered “He’ll probably come down for breakfast soon. I’ll check on him later”


The door went and a young man walked in. He was about as tall as Rae and fairly muscular but had a certain naïve look to him. His hair was cropped short like most junior mechanics (Essential if one’s head was close to jet engines or fuel tanks) and he was trying to grow a beard but wasn’t getting far, the gold-brown fuzz on his lower face barely visible. He smiled apologetically as Torland and Pendre turned to him, Pendre with a welcome smile and Torland was a raised eyebrow of slight disapproval.
“And just what time do you call this, my lad?” he asked sternly.
“Uh...” The young man checked the lounge clock “Is that a trick question?”
Torland’s gaze darkened.
“Forren, if the Guard tell me you’ve been around the lower streets after curfew, there’ll be trouble in this house of mine, you hear?!”
“I wasn’t, dad. I promise.” The boy named Forren assured them “I was...with Miro.”
“Miro Bel’Wara?” Pendre asked “She’s the waitress at that old diner, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, I told you, we were having dinner. But it got late, the airbuses were out again and she let me stay at her place. I left you a message.”
“Is that all that happened?”
“Get off my case, dad! I’m a grown man.” Forren sulked, sitting down.
“Debatable.”
“Boys, let’s not argue.” Pendre’s voice raised firmly “Not when we have guests.”
Forren turned to the four at the table and gave a polite nod.
Gallius tapped his chin in thought and spoke.
“Miro Bel’Wara...You mean she’s a girl? When I saw her I just thought that diner doubled as a drag bar. You might want to double-check on that one, Forren...I mean, unless you like that sort of thing.”
At this, Forren shot him a look of resentment. The cocky agent shrugged.
“What? I won’t judge you...”
“In any case, let’s hear about the investigation.” Rae interrupted “I’m sure Mr Rax is just dying to tell us what he’s found out.”
“Very true.” Gallius said with a smirk and held up a hologram “Coruscant Guard found Gume Saam’s flat but he hasn’t checked into it for some time. But four days ago an individual matching Gume Saam’s species, height, weight and features was spotted on hidden surveillance camera in the Coruscant Underworld, approaching the Moga Mouth Club.”
“Who owns that?”
“In this part of the city, used to be the Baath Brothers. But ever since Yularen had those tattooed slime-balls locked up, there’s been a bit of a power vacuum as you might say.” Gallius explained “Now, these are the individuals we found in Saam’s company.” He swiped the holocron and three images showed up. A female Weequay, a male Leffingite and a woman obscured by a red veil.


“The weequay is Tas Kee, a skilled assassin and bodyguard in the Coruscant Underworld, known to just about every gang boss in the lower streets. The Leffingite is Mumpfasoom, nasty piece of work. Earned the name ‘Butcher of Almak’ during the Clone Wars and has been known as a murderer and predator of young women. And this enticing lass is Seib Nod, once a member of the Sisterhood of Beatific Countenance on Lorrdia but banished from the group and has since served multiple sentences for heist and grand theft.”
“What do they have in common?” Rae asked. Gallius smiled, tapped the holocron and produced a picture of a short man in a high collar.
“This chap. He's hired Tas Kee as a bodyguard, granted Mumpfasoom sanctuary in the underworld and employs Seib Nod as a secretary. His name's Hat Lo.”
At this, Forren Storm suddenly spat a mouthful of tea on the floor in shock. Catching sight of his mother’s peeved expression, he reached for a kitchen cloth while staring at the group with wide, frightened eyes.
“Hat Lo?! You’re going after Hat Lo?!”
“Someone you know?”
“Know of. Almost everyone in this part of Coruscant knows who he is. I mean, he’s small-time when you consider guys like the Hutts or the Black Sun but he knows dangerous people and, honestly, he’s pretty dangerous in himself.”
“Do you know where he resides? Or just where he frequents?” Parisian asked.
“Of course, The Sign of the Tri-Forked Tongue Cantina. Big club in the Underworld. You find the worst kind of people in there.”
“How do you know?” Rae asked.
“Yes, Forren. How do you know?” Torland asked with a look of grim suspicion.
“Take it easy, dad. I haven’t gone near the place.” Forren sighed “You remember Boco Bunyea?”
“Do I?!” his father thundered “Your deadbeat friend still owes me the credits he promised to pay for that generator he broke. Clumsiest mechanic I’ve ever seen, off his face on spice most of the time.”
“Yeah well, he got in with the guys at the Cantina, gambling.” Forren shook his head “The other mechanics told me Lo’s boys cut off three of his fingers when he couldn’t pay the debt he owed them.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised.” Torland grumbled before Pendre shushed him.
“The Sign of the Tri-Forked Tongue Cantina, eh...” Gallius whispered, amused “Well, that sounds promising. I’ll have my people keep an eye on that one.”
“We’ll check out the Moga Mouth then.” Rae said “Captain Rondell will get in touch once he’s done checking out Saam’s accounts on Muunilist. Might lead us somewhere new.”
“Excellent. Let’s be quick about it.” Gallius glided gracefully to his feet and almost skipped out the door.
Rae gave him a look as he departed.
There was definitely something odd about that one.


When Rae went to change and gather her equipment in her room, she was concerned to see Pip neither in his bed nor in the bathroom or anywhere else she could see.
She gave the room another look-round and sighed.
Perhaps he’d just gone to where he was meant to be. He’d mentioned this ‘Princess’ of hers had powerful magic. Maybe she’d found him or he’d found her and he’d left the place as quickly as he’d entered it.
Gone. Forever.
Rae shook her head, brushing the corner of her eye.
It was for the best. She was a soldier. She needed to be professional and in this kind of mission, one couldn’t very easily carry a little animal about the place. No telling what he’d get up to.
‘Back to work’ she thought ‘No more nonsense. And a good thing too’
The Storms had given them civilian fatigues to wear over their armour. Rae found hers to be a beige and lilac Kuati robe. Understandable. They covered almost all the body and Kuati were known to carry their worldly wealth on their person. Suicide for anyone entering the Coruscant Underworld but then few Kuati did so; the rich ones anyway.
Parisian came out dressed like a Serennoan Attendant in a wide black collar, fur trim and a plain, dark cloak. Anyone who saw such a garb would assume he was probably working for the Great Houses. But in the Underworld, it was likely he was hiding from them, finding work as an accountant for a gang boss or a casino owner.
In a plain robe and hood, the Dusk Trooper could easily pass as a bounty hunter or bodyguard.
Together, they would look as if they were on their way to see someone, someone no-one else needed to see. Probably a prize for any thief but death would follow once their mystery contacts got wind of it.
In short, a very decent disguise for masquerading in the murky depths of the capital.
Parisian shrugged in his ungainly collar, making sure it was fitted with a catch to open it out and quickly throw itself off if he got in a fight.
“I suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Sir?” The Dusk Trooper entered with a grave voice “Problem.”
He pointed to a bare patch of carpet in the middle of the room. Parisian and Rae glanced a moment and turned back to him.
“What’s the problem? Did someone make a mess?”
“No...Someone cleaned it up.” Dusk sighed behind his mask “I must confess, I was given a confidential mission from Imperial High Command. I was to deliver a package containing various items of high importance to Grand Commandant Honor Salima’s office at the Coruscanti Imperial Garrison. Yet now I see it has been taken from where I put it. Have either of you moved it since last night?”
“No.” Rae said with concern “May we know what was in the box?”
“I am afraid all I can say is that it was highly confidential and very important. I did not care to ask too many questions. The orders came from High Command.”
“No, no, I understand.” the Lieutenant sighed “Is there any way to track them?”
“If we are fortunate. I was told there was meant to be an emergency tracker but I did not discover how strong the signal was. If I may...” He held up a small control switch and tweaked at it.
“Hm...It seems the signal is trackable. We are pointed towards the Coruscanti underground.”
“Mr Storm?” Parisian called into the kitchen “We appear to have had something taken. Can you check the door mainframe and see if it was used at any point during the night?”
“Hold on.” came the reply and a pause “Yes. Yes, it was. Blow me, that’s some sleepless nights I’ll be having! What’s taken?”
“Don’t worry. It’s our stuff they were after. We’re off to get it back.” Rae replied “Don’t wait up and thanks for your help. If you don’t hear from us in twelve hours, go to the garrison and tell the Grand Commandant you want to speak to Moff Kaine about a disappearance on Tibrin. Tell no-one else and say nothing else. She’ll know what you’re talking about.”
“Right. Good luck.” Torland Storm called back as they departed for the wretched hive of scum and villainy that was the Coruscant Underworld.


*


“The Lorrdians said it best...All warfare is based on deception.”
Liegeus Vorn stood before the gathering of Imperial higher-ups with a nervous, almost delirious grin as he stood atop the podium of the Eriaduan Grand Declarant Chambers reserved for speeches, announcements and demonstrations.
And, on some occasions, executions.
How his legs weren’t shaking was beyond him.
Then he caught sight of the woman he loved in the audience, giving him that encouraging smile.
Holding up a small, ovoid device for all to see, he continued.
“And so, taking a lesson from them...And going one step further, Sienar Fleet Systems presents the latest and greatest in holographic technology. Through this perfectly innocent-looking imagecaster comes the perfect combination of power and manoeuvrability. Allow me to demonstrate.”
He held the device between two hands, pointed it at himself and pressed several buttons.
“To start with, you point the device at yourself or the object or individual of your choosing. Wait just a moment as it calibrates and...”
The projector flashed on and scanned up and down Liegeus’s body. The audience gave varying looks of intrigue.
“Now the image is saved...Which means all that standing around looking stupid I just did can be done anywhere you like at anytime. Now here’s the fun part. Once the device is primed, like so, you remove the projection switch, like so.” He pressed a wide button in the middle of the device and unplugged a tiny wired switch, holding the caster under one arm and the switch in his free hand.
“Now watch closely.” Turning to one side, he took several exaggerated strides, pressing the device with each stride.
The audience gave a collective hum of fascination as four Liegeus Vorns appeared, the blue of the hologram only faintly visible. Each one copying the original’s movements, slightly slower than the one before, all turning to the audience with a smile. The holograms lips opened but didn’t move noticeably.
“You know what they say. Two’s company, three’s a crowd, four’s awkward to get through a narrow doorway.”
A generous applause sounded across the hall.
“It gets better. You’ll notice the holograms don’t speak when I do but with some careful calibration...” he showed up the necessary dynamics “You can prerecord audio on the projection device, choose which image that speaks and...”
He pressed a few buttons and the third image, though standing exactly as Liegeus did, spoke clearly in sync.
“They just let him talk ‘cause he has the looks. I’m the brains of the outfit.”
“Suck it, SoroSuub!” The fourth one added.
There was some moderate laughter as Liegeus held the device high triumphantly.
“The Sienar Endymion-Series Imagecaster is the cutting edge. And you know what we say. ‘Sienar for the Empire; The best technology for the best people’.” He bowed as they applauded “Any questions?”


Wilhuff Tarkin stood and spoke.
“All very impressive but vague truths and compliments do not win wars nor secure space. What are the specifics, Mr Vorn? I believe we are entitled to know.”
Liegeus Vorn chuckled.
“Ooh, he’s good, isn’t he? Straight to the point is old Grand Moff Tarkin.” he jested. Some officers gave chuckles. Tarkin meanwhile simply raised an eyebrow unimpressed.
“Of course, specifics.” Liegeus continued in a more dutiful tone “Currently, the first edition is capable of generating six images of any choosing. By our calculations, each image moves ten percent slower than the one that came before it, unlikely to matter too much if you’re only showing one at a time. You can turn off the mimic pattern cycle at any point and place them anywhere. Instructions are in the manual.” He waved the device around and the still images of himself glided about the floor “The projection can pass through a surface area of two and a half inches and a distance of fifteen paces...” To demonstrate, he walked said distance across the podium and held up his suitcase between the projector and the images which flickered and switched on and off “And for a little bonus, we installed this baby.” He drew a short-range stun gun he’d requested to keep for the demonstration and fired on one of his images which fell back, crumpling dumbly like a ragdoll.
“Aw, that was uncalled for!” It whined comedically on the ground.
The less-serious officers gave another chuckle.
“And if you need the image to fall over in a way only you can do right, you can also save certain movement patterns as you do for images. Now the device currently has a small memory so connecting and saving the selected data to a larger holoprojection station is advised. But once you’ve got the right images, movements, sounds and whatnot, this device is perfect for protection, distraction and deception tactics that will make the Empire a powerhouse in strategy as well as strength. Now to improve the utilities and supply them galaxy-wide, Sienar will need plenty of time...”
“And money.” the second image added.
“Shut up, you.” Liegeus retorted “But I doubt its anything the Empire can’t handle and these babies will be well worth the price, let me promise you. Free first-editions are being given to every member of High Command as a token of our esteem. Use them well, you shan’t regret it. Thank you, men and women of the Empire.”
The audience stood and applauded graciously before the lights around the chambers dimmed and Liegeus Vorn gathered his things and left the podium, passing by the various officers, the more amiable of them talking to him.
“An excellent demonstration, young fellow.”
“Yes, I believe investing in the Fleet Systems may prove very wise.”
“Mr Sienar will be most pleased, esteemed officers.” Liegeus bowed and continued on.
And there she was.
“Lig!” The long, fire-red hair of Natasi Daala swayed back and forth as she ran at him and hugged him.
She still hugged just as tight. Most likely she did it to keep up her intimidating persona.
“Hi...Nat.”
“You were great up there, Lig. And I gotta’ say, I reckon we’re looking forward to trying those things out.”
“I should say that is very likely.” Wilhuff Tarkin walked up behind them, a small ‘Tarkin-smile’ on his face “An impressive demonstration, Mr Vorn, though I would prefer a more formal approach in future. Nonetheless...”
“Didn’t mean to irritate you, sir.” Liegeus assured with slight unease.
“No great worry...I can’t remember the last time anyone deliberately tried to be funny with me.”
“Yeah, I...er...I can imagine.” The young engineer cleared his throat “Mr Sienar gives his regards and asks that I supervise while the devices are still in their early stages.”
“As he wishes. I am confident you’ll be eager to make yourself useful.” Wilhuff placed a hand on his shoulder “This equipment certainly does the Fleet Systems proud. My friend, Raith, has outdone himself. I shall inform my associates of the potential these devices could bring to our proposed strategies.”
“Thrawn’s bound to think of something.” Natasi added.
“Thrawn’s the blue guy isn’t he.” Liegeus piped up.
“Very well-informed.” Wilhuff said aside, rolling his eyes “I believe you might benefit from your time here.”
“Thank you, sir.” Liegeus bowed “I’ll contact Sienar and tell him the good news. Be right back.”
He dashed off. As Natasi turned back, he noticed Wilhuff was giving her a look of intrigue.
“I’m told you and Mr Vorn were academy partners, Miss Daala.”
“Ah...In a manner of speaking. We learned under some of the same fields, cultural and political studies. I went into military training, he went into engineering. We crossed paths now and again but...”
“I am sure.” The Grand Moff gave a smile “Stay by his side. He has a fine mind for mechanics but he’s an...awkward fellow. He’ll need someone looking out for him.”
“No argument from me, sir.” Natasi gave him a smile, saluted, and departed in tow.
The derisive scowl the back of Captain Daala received from Shayla Paige-Tarkin did not go unnoticed by her uncle.


“Excellent work, Vorn. I must admit, some of my associates had their doubts about your...disposition, shall we say, but if High Command are impressed, our chances of maximum profit improve dramatically which should make all the costs worthwhile.” the trimly-dressed figure of Chief Executive Officer Raith Sienar, silver-haired and straight-faced, spoke through the holoprojector in the minor conferral room opposite the declarant chambers. 
“I’m pleased that you’re pleased, sir.” Liegeus said with an awkward grin.
“Course you are. You should find the list of persons allotted for a free first-edition holoprojector. Make sure they get them while you’re there. And if that’s all, I’m due to have lunch with Onara Kuat and the new Emir of Skako. Enjoy your stay with the gentry, Mr Vorn, might learn some useful things. Take notes.”
“Righto, sir.” The holoprojector turned off. Liegeus heard footsteps behind him, a woman’s by the sound of it, then jumped in alarm, wide-eyed, as a hand landed fast against his backside.
“Oi!” he whooped “Hands to yourself!”
“You were asking for it, getting cheeky with the Grand Moff.” Natasi Daala chuckled, striding in “He says I’m to keep an eye on you while you’re here.”
“Huh...He must be starting to like me.”
“Or starting to hate me.”
“Nat, no-one could hate you.” Liegeus said fondly.
“Lig, you’re a great engineer but you’ve always been a terrible liar.” The woman leaned against the holoprojector in what could have been a flirtatious manner.
Liegeus shook his head.
“So how does he treat you?”
Natasi gave a wry smile.
“I know what people must think of it when they hear it, but trust me, he’s very charming. To me anyway. It was me that initiated the...shall we say affiliation.”
“So are you just into older men?”
“Look, I won’t lie...and he won’t either. It started out as a matter of convenience. I needed to be noticed by someone who could pull strings at my garrison. He needed...well...” Natasi sighed “I think what he needed most was someone he could talk to, someone he could be himself around. Even someone like him needs an outlet, a rapport with someone. His first wife had died around the time I joined up, you see.”
“And worse still, his second wife hadn’t.” Liegeus joked.
“Oh she’s a nightmare, let me tell you.” the captain shook her head “But you know, we just got along, really. I guess both of us know it’s not the real deal but...it’s nice. We mean a lot to each other.”
“Natasi Daala, the woman who finally warmed the heart of Grand Moff Tarkin. It’s as I always said, Nat...” Liegeus gave her an amorous smile, one of the few times his grin didn’t come off as goofy or nervous, only around her.
“You’re one incredible girl.”


*


“Good luck, officers. I wish you as safe a journey as these streets will allow.”
“Thanks for the help.” Rae Sloane patted the shoulder of the Judicial Officer who’d piloted the air taxi into the underworld, an aged Tarnab in a blue-grey suit. Despite the humanocentric policies of many of the Moffs, most aliens who had jobs in government before the Empire’s foundations had kept them on, little changing in the short-term as long as they didn’t draw unwanted attention. After all, what sad excuse of a Moff wanted to scour their entire workforce for any non-human? While no fan of aliens himself, Tarkin would have a few things to say about wasting the Empire’s time and resources in such a way.
Dressed up in their curious costumes, Rae, Parisian and the Dusk Trooper stepped into the colourful lights, eerie coldness and hungry eyes of the streets of constant night.
It was said that those who ventured into the Coruscant Underworld were either very brave or very desperate.
And at this point, Rae supposed they were a bit of both.
The Moga Mouth was an imposing place, the doorway decorated to form the head of a great carnelian serpent, open-mouthed, guests invited to walk into its gaping maw.
They found Gallius Rax there, dressed in his usual officer’s attire.
Yet somehow he’d seemed invisible until he stood up and smiled at them.
“Nice spot for a bite, eh?” he jested, ignoring Rae’s unimpressed expression “And do you see what I see?”
He gave the snake’s lower jaw a point. The three eyed it.
“Three forked-tongues.” the Dusk Trooper said flatly.
“If that’s not a clue, I don’t know what is.” Gallius chuckled.
“The Moga’s a popular emblem for gangs. It could just be a coincidence.” Parisian pointed out.
“Kid...” Rae gave him a look “In the Empire there’s no such thing as a coincidence. Right, Dusk, you keep looking for your box. If it’s as important as you say, we can’t let it stay with whoever’s taken it. Junior, Rax, you’re with me. Inside.”


The inside of the Moga Mouth was a proverbial haven of gambling and vice. Huge casino machines and betting tables adorned every corner where players gained or lost years of wealth in a single throw. Before the bar were a labyrinth of elevated tables where the young dancers (For lack of a more cordial word) played their part.
“Sir...” Parisian whispered at her side.
“What is it, Corporal?”
The young man glanced about awkwardly and answered.
“I need to use the toilet.”
“What...now?!” Rae resisted facepalming.
“Please.”
She sighed.
“Be quick.”
“Yes, sir.” Parisian Froul dashed off to the side, ignoring the venomous looks the patrons gave him.
The clientele was the unsavoury sort. Many were armed and most looked hungry for a fight. If one of them grabbed one of the dancers and brought her onto their bench for a ‘better look’, no-one stopped them. It was little wonder the place didn’t have a bouncer to check their entry, the patrons themselves needed little guarding.
The barman, a withered, old Er’Kit, was polishing glasses and handing out cocktail samples with a quiet, shifty-eyed look of unease, almost as frightened as the dancers that, on closer inspection, looked as though they hadn’t slept in days. Those within had practically taken over the cantina, those working within little more than prisoners for their pleasure.
And Rae saw, sitting comfortably in the centre of the place was Gume Saam himself, guarded by a pair of stocky Skrilling in jet-black armour who’d hauled a pair of dancers, a Nautolan and a Balosar both barely older than twenty, from the dancing podiums. The Ishi Tib ex-Senator was dressed in his usual opulent manner, dark indigo trimmed with gold, and was sipping a tall, colourful cocktail. His eyes seemed fixed on them as the three made their way to his table.
Rae recognised the Nautolan from her years in the Coruscant Guard, before the New Order emerged. As she unveiled her hood, the amphibious female gave a small gasp. One of hope.
“Ah, I recognise the scowl. You must be Imperials. Do sit down.” Gume Saam said in his syrupy voice, the folds at either side of his beak twisting into an amused grin, holding up his hand for the barman “Dozby. Drinks for Palpatine’s finest, if you please.”
“Y-y-yes, Mr Saam.” The Er’Kit stammered.
“No need.” Rae held up a hand “We don’t drink on the job.”
Gallius Rax lounged in the seat he’d been offered.
“You haven’t done too bad for yourself, Mr Saam.” he said nonchalantly, as if he'd only spoken to Saam yesterday.
The Ishi Tib shrugged.
“Well, you have to put what you've saved to good use one day. I’ll admit the drinks around here aren’t anything special but not to worry. Once this is over, I’ll be living in true luxury on an estate in Zeltros. Might take these pretty little things with me.” His stubbly, scaled hands groped at the two girls either side of him. The Balosar gave a whimper but the Nautolan said nothing.
“You won’t be going to Zeltros, Senator.” Rae said, standing up “You’ll be going to an Imperial command for questioning. Gume Saam, for fraud, bribery, illegal warfare and conspiracy against the Empire, I am placing you under arrest.”
There was a pause. Gume Saam gave her a pitying look.
“You are just adorable. I wish I had a camera.” He placed his cocktail on the table, got his feet and called across the cantina.
“Excuse me.” he declared “Sorry to interrupt but would you fine gentlemen care to show this lovely lady how many people I paid to kill those the Empire sent after me?”
There was a collective rumble of boots and weapons as every hard-faced, able-bodied cutthroat in the cantina stood up and drew a variety of blasters and blades. The pair of Skrilling drew slug-throwers and glared menacingly at them.
With cries of alarm or terror, the dancers and waiters hid under tables and booths.
Rae looked around at what could only, at least, be fifty armed guards all pointing their aforementioned arms squarely at her.
She tilted her head slightly and retorted.
“Is that all?”
Gallius Rax raised his eyebrows.
The Ishi Tib gave a chuckle.
“Don’t think your bravado will do you any good.” He backed away towards a small exit where two guards stood, a bald human in skull-shaped goggles and a skinny individual in a brown long-coat, his face obscured by a wide-brimmed hat. Edging between them, he nodded.
“Take care of these two clowns. Then get me on the speeder, Lo’s waiting.”
“...‘Fraid not.”
Gume and the goggled human turned to the hat-wearer, the Ishi Tib’s face creased with indignation.
“What do you mean by that? What do you think I’m paying you for.”
“You ain’t payin’ me...” He raised his head.
Gume Saam’s eyes boggled, his parrot beak opened wide with terror.
“Y...Y...YOU!”
Before Rae could blink, the mysterious figure leapt forward, grabbing the sides of the goggled man’s head and wrenching it to the side. There was a dull crack and the man toppled over. With a horrified squeal, Gume Saam found himself kicked over a table, a foot placed over his chest as his betrayer tipped his hat.
A blue-skinned, craggy-faced Duro with sheer red eyes and breathing tubes at his cheeks greeted them.
“Don’t anybody move!” he yelled in a croaky voice “Saam here’s got a date with the Black Sun!”
“Wrong!” Rae drew a blaster “He’s wanted for questioning by the Imperial authority. He’s coming with me.”
The Duro gave a coy grin.
“You want him? Come get him!”
“Don’t just stand there, you morons! Help me!” Gume Saam screamed.
As the pair of Skrilling drew up their firearms, Rae spun round and fired.
The one on the right fell back with a blaster hole through his head, the one on the left took three shots to the face and toppled over as the Duro drew two LL-30 blaster pistols and grinned at Rae Sloane.
Strangely, she returned the grin, pointed her blaster at the ceiling lights and fired.
The room devolved, or perhaps evolved, into chaos. The heady coloured lights flashed maniacally, sparking in all directions. In the brief darkness, the streak of plasma bolts lit up the cantina. Rae threw off her cloak screamed at the top of her voice as she let fly blast after blast at any who looked at her wrong. Someone grabbed at her and received a bolt at close range for their trouble. As the hired thugs shot at anything that was shooting back, the Lieutenant scooted along the ground, ducking behind the tables, whispered to the girls by her to keep their heads down and fired.
The Duro meanwhile punched Gume Saam into semi-consciousness then vaulted backwards onto the bar, shooting at every armed thug he spied, dodging and dancing out the way of every shot coming for him as if he’d been brought up doing this (Not impossible under the circumstances)
Men fell in the dozens, time slowed for Rae Sloane as she rushed toward her target. The Duro jumped off the bar table, rolled across the floor and aimed his sights.
Gume Saam shrieked and covered his head, crouching into a ball on the floor as Rae Sloane and the Duro stopped between him. Rae Sloane’s rifle was pointing squarely at the Duro’s forehead while his blasters were primed at each of her eyes.
The Duro smiled.
Then there was a click as another blaster rested by the side of his head.
“Don’t move, Bounty Hunter.” Parisian Froul commanded, seemingly having appeared from nowhere.
“I told you to be quick.” Rae sighed.
The Duro gave a chuckle.
“Gotta’ say, you ain’t bad with that blaster.” he said dryly “You ever considered takin’ up Bounty Huntin’? Might suit you?”
The Lieutenant smiled.
“Well that’s praise indeed from you...Cad Bane.”
Gallius Rax hadn’t moved since he sat down. Calm-faced and nonchalant, he looked at the carnage, leaned over the table, picked up the cocktail Gume Saam had left and sipped at it.
“Hmm...He’s right. They’re really nothing special.”