Survival, Dark Times 3

[Revan Jast]

The mechanical being stepped forward with a thud, looming over the ex-CoS by a few feet. His visual receptors narrowed, the red lights glowing a bit brighter in anticipation. He crossed his arms and looked down at Miss H, his metal deaths head rictus never wavering.

"What is it you require, Miss? Your wishes are my... command."

[hk47fan]

Duskbringer

Shockingly enough, Miss Haltzilakas didn't really seem affected by a large cyborg towering over her...but hell, everyone had known Dawn enough by now to know how tall he was, and I guess you had to be a determined and courageous person to put up with the Senate, get thrown out of office, and still be respectful.

I was also more curious about what she needed us for.

"Come with me," Miss H replied after a moment. "Although this isn't anything too secretive, I'd prefer to discuss it in private first. Is there a place on the ship that we can speak?"

"Well...alot of places are probably empty, but the one place I don't think anyone is going right now is what used to be the Captain's quarters," I said with a sigh. I wasn't sure whether Selas even could take up those quarters now. He was technically the Captain of the Killer, but this was getting to him enough without sleeping in a room Sora inhabited for years and years.

Selas is the Captain of the Killer now. Sora isn't. How is that even possible? Even as a cyborg, I cannot fathom it.

"Any place would be fine by me," she said.

"Okay, follow me." I told her, turning to walk alongside Dawn as we headed for the Captain's quarters.

Soon enough, we were in what used to be Sora's room. It was a nice enough, but not fancy, place...you could tell that it was no more than two months ago that he and Padme happily spent time here.

I sat down in a spare chair. "So, tell us what you need," I instructed.

"As you well know, before Han and I got relieved of duty, we sent out a fairly big team to go after Mona and two Jedi Padawans that she was holding captive. That was days ago, and Winter told me that they haven't reported back yet...she is holding off telling Sora, but I think its alarmed us both. I don't know some of these people personally, but one of them is your brother," Miss H explained, looking to Dawn. "Another is Alsia Fel, a woman I know well. There are others that I know of, like Grandmaster Naos Redgrave or Marlena Gash. I can't see them agreeing with Sora's new decisions...and more importantly, they need to be found as soon as possible. Its going to take some specialists to find them. Thats why we thought of you two."

[Revan Jast]

Dawn's eyes flared at the mention of his brother. "Missing? That evil bitch most likely set up an unethical trap and they fell right into it. I've learned very quickly that it's bad to get close to that person. Rest assured, we can probably find them without too much trouble. There will be some things we'll have to get access to so we know more about the situation, such as the last seen location, ship model, total number of passengers..." he trailed off and looked at Dusk. "You and I will handle this."

He looked back at Miss H. "I'm all for it, if you want a final answer."

[hk47fan]

Duskbringer

"I will get you whatever information I can, but because I no longer have access to anything, it'll be alot more difficult. Winter was able to tell me that Mona's ship is just...gone. She placed a tracer inside the navicomputer, but its gone dead, and she's almost sure that the ship itself is gone. I'm not sure if I know much more than that...the last ship that we saw our people on was an NR transport. Technically, we last saw it in orbit of Coruscant, but I am assuming that it made it to Tattooine if Mona's ship is gone, too," Miss Haltzilakas told us.

I nodded slowly. "I'm in, too...and at least we have a start." I said, looking to Dawn for a moment. "We're experts at this, Miss Haltzilakas...we haven't really been at work in a long time, unless you count that escape from the law on Coruscant, but we can do it. Together, we're a great team."

She smiled. "Thank you. It means alot."

I looked at Dawn again. "So...Tattooine, huh?"

[Revan Jast]

"Indeed," Dawn said, walking out of the room. "Sand isn't good for older machines, nor is it good for the humanoids either. In all honesty, I expect, at the very least, a death percent of 20 or more, because I'm thinking that ship probably went down hard."

Dawn walked down the ramp. "When do you feel like heading out? The sooner the better, I think."

[hk47fan]

Duskbringer

"We need to get there as soon as possible, because that death toll is going to rise, whether they are captured by Mona or trapped somewhere." I said, following Dawn down the ramp. "And, how are we going to get there? Just board a transport to Tattooine?"

"Wait," Miss Haltzilakas said, following us down the ramp. "Before I leave, I can write down a list of the people that I know are on this mission. I think I know all of their names."

"Actually, Miss H, in order to preserve time, you don't need to write anything down. Dawn and I have vast databases in our...cores, brains, or whatever we call them. Give us the name, we can have it up immediately and stored for quick retrieval." I told her.

She nodded, actually looking slightly impressed, though not totally shocked or dazzled. "The leader of the team is Alsia Fel," she began.

Immediately, the info came up.

Name: Alsia Fel.

Gender: Female.

Race: Human.

Age: 23

Last Known Employer: Coruscant Security.

However, that was only the basic knowledge...there was alot of other details, as well, such as blood type, a few public images, amongst other things.

Miss H continued to read off the names, and we gathered the basic info we could find on them...however, we didn't know everything, and there was still alot of work ahead.

After she was finished, I looked to Dawn. "Okay, are we good to go?"

[Revan Jast]

"It'll do for now," he replied. "I guess we're taking the transport, eh? You're probably don't have limited space travel in your abilities. The assassin and spy models didn't have those options, I think. Yeah, transport it is."

With that, Dawn looked around for Selas. "We need to tell the boss we're leaving."

[hk47fan]

Duskbringer

I looked around as well. "Hmmm, I'm sure So-crap, Selas, is around here somewhere."

"Actually, Selas left with Han and a few others earlier to rescue Olee Starstone from Jabba the Hutt. They're also going to Tattooine, but their main focus is Olee, and they have yet to know about the other team being missing," Miss Haltzilakas clarified. "They could very well return before you do...if they do, I will tell them about all of this for you."

I nodded. "Thank you, I think we both would appreciate that."

Miss H turned to leave, and I began walking forward as well.

"Come on, Dawn, lets go find that team."

[Rain]

19 HOURS 53 MINUTES AND 17 SECONDS LATER...

Han

I had just managed to drift off when Chewie woke me with a thud. I snapped upright. "Huh? What?" I asked groggily, before holding my arm where the Wookiee had hit me. He probably only meant to nudge me from my slumber, but Chewie often forgot his own strength! "Next time just roar, pal!"

I looked at the navicomputer and realised why Chewbacca had woke me. We were coming out of lightspeed. As I realised this, the starlines faded and the orange glow of Tatooine came into view.

"We're back again Chewie..." I yawned, "Alright let's take this baby down." I pressed the intercom button to talk to the rest of the team, "We're here guys, entering the atmosphere as I speak. I'm taking her down behind the Palace, so hopefully no-one will notice."

[hk47fan]

Trika

"I had best enjoy my last moments of living while I can!" Threepio exclaimed fearfully.

"If you do not shut up about dying, then I will personally make sure that you do die. I will take your pretty little golden head off, and....give it to some poor person on the streets to sell for money!" I snapped to him.

"Oh my!"

"Yeah." I simply said, walking back into the cockpit. I had tried to get a little rest in the Main Hold, but hadn't gotten too much. Everything was too distracting.

"Well...Tattooine. Such a pretty place," I sarcastically said as the Falcon got deeper into the planet. Nothing but pure sand before us.

[Rain]

Han

The Falcon touched down silently, and I glanced out the viewport. No-one had spotted us. I patted Chewie on the back and made my way to the others, who were all ready to go. "Alright, Chewie knows the way to the secret entrance. Once you get in you should be able to sneak around and get Olee, whilst Threepio and I keep Jabba and his entourage distracted."

"What happens if things go awry?" Bria asked.

I smirked. "Why do you think we're bringing weapons?"

[hk47fan]

Trika

I headed towards the ramp, but looked at Han. "Hey, if things do go awry...hell, maybe even if they don't, can we kill the slug? I don't exactly want to be lured to some other Jabba ship and do this all over again." I said, half-jokingly, but also half-serious.

"This is horrendous, Captain Solo! We're doomed for sure! I barely survived the last trip here!" Threepio yelled, walking over to Han's side.

I looked to Chewie. "Lead the way, big guy."

[Rain]

Han

Threepio and I departed from the rest as I mused on what Trika had said. Jabba deserved nothing more than death that was for sure. But our top priority was Olee, if the Hutt got caught in the middle it would be his own fault, not ours. Besides, Jabba wasn't the only, and certainly not the worst crime lord in the Galaxy.

I moved up to the door and looked behind me. "Come on Goldenrod! We don't have all day!"

[hk47fan]

Threepio

"I am coming, Captain Solo! I am not programmed for running, and this sand slows me down even more! Surely you expected this by bringing me back to this awful place!" I exclaimed, quite terrified as I saw the huge palace once again.

"Oh dear...oh dear...perhaps we should just get this over with..." I muttered.

I knocked on the door, just like last time, and that strange, small droid came out.

"Kawhs qui rvi loty(State your business here)." the droid said.

"Diy accij wuqqq nmmg Jabba(We request an audience with the grand Jabba the Hutt)." I replied in the Huttese language.

"Gi tfuean colianx(Who requests an audience)?" the droid asked.

I glanced to Captain Solo, before replying. "Ruji yit Han Solo(Captain Han Solo)." I answered.

The droid was silent for a moment, examining both of us. "Bgian ces(Enter now)." he said.

The large palace doors opened, and I began to enter with Captain Solo. "Well, here we are...oh it is going to be just horrid to see that abusive Hutt again..."

Trika

While Han and Threepio were out in front of the palace, Chewie led us to the back, and to a secret entrance. It was a door on the ground, in the midst of all the sand...it took some digging for the Wookie to get all of it off the door, before he opened it.

He led us down a long staircase with a grunt, and I examined the filthy place.

How can Hutts love living here so much?

After getting all the way down the stairs, we entered another large chamber....looked like a dungeon, for sure.

We began to walk forward, but suddenly, out of nowhere, two Gammorean guards emerged and blocked our way with large spears.

What the hell?! I thought this place was un-guarded!

A Twi'lek emerged, chuckling. "This place is a bit more protected than it used to be, I'm afraid...now tell me why you are intruding on Jabba the Hutt's palace?"

I looked to Bria, Selas, and Chewie, totally uncertain as to what to say. The two pigs just stared at us, and the Twi'lek had a smug look on his face, like he was eager to just kill us.

"Well..." I began slowly, thinking up an explanation as fast as I could. "We're the exotic dancers, duh!"

The Twi'lek laughed. "Exotic dancers? I am not in Jabba's top chain of command, but I do not remember being noted about the arrival of dancers in my dungeon. Why not use the front entrance?"

"Uh, well...my co-worker and I," I said, pointing to Bria. "need to get changed before we present ourselves to the wonderful Jabba. He can't possibly see us looking like this can he?!"

"A fair point...he may have tossed you to his new rancor," the Twi'lek said, scratching his chin. "But this still doesn't make much sense. What is your name?"

"Well, we are all called...the Dano Troupe!" I yelled, glancing to Selas.

Fastest name I could think of that they wouldn't possibly know.

"The Dano Troupe? Never heard of it," the Twi'lek said. "And why are there only two of you? Usually I see trios of dancers."

"Umm...our third girl, Fi, sleeps around alot. She got pregnant and is on maternity leave, but she'll be back to dance for Jabba soon!" I replied, totally making this up as I went along.

"And who are those two?" the Twi'lek asked.

I looked at Selas again. "He....he is our pimp, of course! How can dancers expect to get anywhere in life without a good pimp?!"

"And the ball of useless fur?"

"He keeps us in line in case we try to go rogue," I answered, smiling at Chewie. "We all need a little brute strength. He's also our protection in case someone ever tries to assault us."

"And where did you all come from?" the Twi'lek asked.

Enough with the questions!

"Well...remember Narduk the Hutt? I think he's related to Jabba in some way, shape, or form...but anyway, we used to work for him. Then he died, and we were jobless...but before you say it: Yes, I know that was a long time ago. So we sorta went around, doing random jobs for a little while, until finally Jabba decided to hire us. We're so...thrilled." I explained, then turned to look at Bria. "Right, Bria?"

[Revan Jast]

Selas smiled a little at the mention of the Dano Troupe. There was a name that he hadn't used in a while; it was his cover name when he joined the Killer crew all those years ago. The comment about Fi almost made him bare his teeth, but they needed a cover, and besides, this was Trika talking. He'd have payback...

"Certainly," Selas said, taking up the plate. After all, he was the pimp. Smirking, he walked behind Bria and placed his hands on her shoulders. "This one is particularly good. Good moves, very seductive, great selection of clothing. As for her," he continued, nodding at Trika, "she's pretty new and working out the kinks in her dances. That, and she desperately clings to her modest apparel. Don't worry though; she'll learn soon enough that less is more. Ain't that right, sweetcheeks?"

It was all he could do to keep from grinning.