Through the inky darkness of space, filled with pinpoint lights of stars, the ship cruised. It was a modified Corellian Corvette, like one of the many ships that had been utilized during the height of the Galactic Civil War by the Rebel Alliance to combat the Empire. Now, the ships had found plenty of use by the New Republic. This particular ship had undergone numerous changes to its structure in order to function as an escort carrier. The Corvette, christened the Ardent Liberty, boasted a hanger that could store several fighters of varying models. X-Wings, A-Wings, B-Wings, even the old Y-Wings at times.

None of these things, however, drifted through the mind of the diminutive lilac-skinned girl resting her chin on one hand, peering out a window into the darkness beyond. She was trying to ignore it, but it was difficult. The gnawing feeling inside of her that had plagued her since the very start of their assignment to this mission by Grandmaster Skywalker himself. It was an irritating sensation, to say the least, but it was also an equally difficult one to banish from her mind.

Saku Rira, Lac'li Knight of the New Jedi Order, was feeling rather impatient. The child-like girl let out a sigh, adjusting her green gaze from the window to the interior of the ship. It was, apparently, not going to be much longer before they arrived at the planetary 'wretched hive of scum and villainy' that was Nar Shaddaa. They didn't like many people there, including Jedi and New Republic Agents. But her duty, indeed, was to ensure that nothing there, nothing in this gathering of crime lords, would threaten the safety of the innocent. Grandmaster Skywalker had sensed something that put him ill at ease, something... nasty.

Still, the small Jedi Knight couldn't help it. She couldn't help but feel impatient for their arrival. To be fair to the girl, it wasn't merely out of a desire to see what was happening, but it was a desire to stop whatever threat Grandmaster Skywalker had detected before anyone could be harmed. Or at least ensure it wasn't there, which was what the Jedi Master had hoped.

"Haah," Saku sighed, "It feels like we've been 'almost there' for the last four hours..."

---

Around the Ardent Liberty, through the darkness of space, the fighter escort cruised. One fighter, the familiar form of the ubiquitous X-Wing, drifted to the side of the others, to the right of the modified Corellian Corvette. Inside, its pilot, a human girl, carefully adjusted her sensors. After all, they had to be wary of anything unusual in the space around Nar Shaddaa. Which... well, there it was. The planet loomed beneath them, etched in the lights that made up the enormous city. It was here, in this den of crime, that there was to be an enormous meeting of crime lords.

Fan Sylo was not sure what this meant. But... well, the senate was worried! And they probably had a very good reason to be worried. Apparently there was activity from Children of the Emperor in this sector... which didn't mean very good things at all. That meant, of course, they had to be exceptionally careful. If there was involvement from the Children of the Empire, that meant that something extremely nasty could be going on. And on top of that... well, those Jedi had been sent along. That meant the Grandmaster was worried about something too, wasn't he? Fan couldn't help but be worried about that. But... she wasn't here to worry. She was here to make sure that the Ardent Liberty landed safely!

They were approaching quickly, preparing to land any moment now as they'd be descending into the atmosphere...

Soon enough, it would be time to dock in the corvette's hanger.

---

On the surface of Nar Shaddaa, the criminal element, which was nearly the entire population, was abuzz. Grogga the Hutt, Keel Saggs, Yask Fon, Skull-Face Tyrlon, Sweet Mae, and dozens of other big-name crime lords were all gathering here tonight. And yet... they were not the only ones gathering here tonight.

The warehouse guards had felt uncomfortable about them. It wasn't like dealing with the regular Imperial Remnant.

Commander Tras Oren was an imposing presence in spite of being a relatively small woman in her thirties, especially when backed up with heavily armed Stormtroopers and a glare that could burn a hole through steel. But even she wasn't as uncomfortable as that figure who had appeared only as a hologram. No-one had seen their face, but something felt very wrong simply about gazing upon them.

Whatever they were meeting for, the guards distinctly felt they wanted nothing to do with it.

They'd even brought along Imperial military hardware, and there was the roar of TIE Interceptors above their heads...

There was something big going down tonight, between the assorted crime lords and the Children of the Emperor. Something huge.

"Well you know until I die, all I wanna do is fly, I've flown an X-Wing, a TIE Fighter, and a Corvette, it blows away all the mercs I've met." Sings Cal, who's flying into the planet with a large supply of spice in his cargo. He was going to Nar Shaadaa to meet Grogga the Hutt, who had ordered some of the drug for the meeting, and was promised five thousand credits for it. Five thousand... That'd help get him a used astromech droid, which'd be handy for a freelancer like him.

Soon, he landed on the planet near the warehouse where all the crime lords were meeting. He hopped out of his ship, making sure his blaster was at his side in case things went sour, and threw on his cap. Whistling the tune he had sung earlier, he walked to the warehouse with a smile on his face. 'Five thousand creds...' Repeated in his mind the whole walk there. He finally arrived and walked in, heading straight for Grogga.



Owen flew far behind the Ardent Liberty due to being support fire, though still stayed on edge for reasons unknown. To take his mind off things, he started to sing the same song Cal had sung, albeit altered slightly: "Well you know until I die, all I wanna do is fly, I've flown an X-Wing, a B-Wing, and a Corvette, it blows away all the dark jedi I've met." The song gave him some confidence, and he breezed through the rest of the flight without much care, though still with the lingering thought of being incinerated at any time...

Before he knew it, they were entering the atmosphere and were almost ready to land. 'Phew', he thought, 'got through it without a surprise attack.' He continued on, docking with the Ardent Liberty when it docked.

It was of no surprise when Akyra retreated to a secluded room within the Ardent Liberty the moment she got the chance. Of course, she had taken the time to get a brief tour of the massive ship, but she made sure it was exactly that - brief. Socializing with those aboard was not her priority, though she did not doubt that she would have to do so before long. Her master, if he was here now, would have undoubtedly scolded her by now for procrastinating on it. She would certainly assure him that she would, and it would be no lie. After all, connections are the only way one is able to get anywhere. Akyra could only hope that this mission would not take long, and that there was nothing to worry about.

However, she could not help but feel like her hopes would be crushed. It was this dreadful feeling that chased her to the secluded room, where she now sat in meditation. Her golden eyes remained closed, her breathing steady, slowly but surely erasing the emotions from her being. Her nervousness was the first to go the moment she felt the connection with the force. Meditation was not uncommon for the Vahra - it gave her the comfort she needed and rid her of the emotions that could potentially overwhelm her. After all, she was never good at handling an overwhelming amount of emotion.

The ship was not the most pleasant of places to meditate. Granted, Akyra was never fond of traveling through the darkness that was space. It was a beautiful sight, yes, but she was far more content staring up at the galaxy from a planet, where life flourished. Here she felt trapped in the confines of the metal walls.

A relaxed sigh escaped Akyra's mouth as she opened her golden eyes. They were undoubtedly nearing Nar Shaddaa by now. The young Vahra had her complaints about the planet as well, but then again, who didn't? The Vahra stood and put her hair up in its usual ponytail, then placed her mask upon her face.

Akyra stepped outside and began to wander the ship, stopping only once she reached the hanger. She took a moment to admire the fighters outside, though she was not one that could truly come to appreciate them. She knew the basics, but decided that flying would never really be for her.

Luckily, Alastro had made a name for himself in the past galactic years. He had reknown as a talented and capable, if lazy, bounty hunter.

He had also used his silver tongue to get himself and his armored companion into this particular meeting in a warehouse with the Childs of the Emperor, or whatever their name might be. Used a favor Skull-face Tyrlon owed him for saving his ass that one time.

Now, he wished he hadn't traded in that favor. Because this meeting was absolutely boring.

Hell, they weren't even offering refreshments for the intergalactic travelers, and even when they had been so nice as to get off their arses and get into the meeting. They were all just kind of waiting for something.

"Boy, this better be good." Alastro scoffed.

No matter how much tension or how powerfully evil these guys were, Alastro would have none of it. He came here for a job, and he would get it done one way or the other.

"If this doesn't get interesting soon, I'll be going to check with the Republic guys. Bet they got a mark or two they want erased." The Mantis sighed.

He gained one or two looks filled with disapproval, but he really did not care.

He shook his wings some and accomodated back into his seat with a frown in his face.

Regardless of how boring the meeting was, Alastro had been paid to get himself and one other guy (he couldn't tell what they were because of the armor they were eewearing) into it. It was a shady mission from a shady individual, but credits are credits, even without the details of the mission.

Besides, it was a pretty easy mission, just get themselves into the meeting, and he could even get some new job in here, one that left him with considerable money afterwards as to spend at least a year or two drifting about without a care in the world.

---

Nar Shaddaa. Where scoundrels, criminals and other psychopaths gathered.

Julis always thought of herself as better than them while she was a Jedi, more 'good'. Now, she felt the same. She felt herself better than them, but not because of a loose term like 'morals', but because of her power and position inside the Children of the Emperor.

Soon enough, not even these scoundrels would be left standing, so the Dark Jedi thought to herself.

That's quite enough of Julis' personal ambitions, let's move on to the reason she is visiting such a criminal hellhole with her mask and cape on.

The Children Of The Emperor had a meeting planned with several crime lords. Julis did not know the exact details of the meeting, she had not bothered to ask neither would the higher ups told her even if she asked. Her job at present was to guard and defend the Children Of The Emperor should any Jedi show himself.

So, as they moved towards the warehouse where the meeting would take place, she was looking out for any suspicious movement or ship, OR New Republic ship in sight.

Her lightsaber was firmly hooked to her belt and she was ready should any problem arise. Today was, seemingly, pretty important for the Children of the Emperor, after all.

Emergency Response Droid F7-250
The clicks of metallic toes clipping against the gleaming metal echoed noisily down the twisting corridors of the Ardent Liberty as F7-250 lumbered forward with purpose. Its ocular processors whirred and whizzed to life as the Droid's mechanical eyes scanned its surroundings, storing the sights and sounds of the New Republic carrier in its memory banks with unerring clarity. Perhaps these records should prove helpful in case of a hull rupture or ventilation malfunction. Organics seem very particular about their oxygen intake, F7 thought to itself, making particular note to remind its new masters on the importance of breathing at regular intervals later in their voyage. Asphyxiation was not a pretty death, and one certainly not deserving of the brave Jedi Knights F7 now served.

It seemed particularly strange to the unit at the rapid change of scenery and directive it had been given by its new masters. One moment, it had been fitted with a strange bolt that made it only wish to lift rocks and smash pillars on command, and one malfunction later, it only wished to save Organic younglings from being violently crushed to death by the falling granite head of a historical figure. Some diagnostic tests later, and it was suddenly assigned to these Jedi. The strangeness of the Organic mind truly perplexed F7 to no end, and his new masters were no exception.

First, there was Lac'li Saku. She was somewhat more unorthodox compared to most other Jedi the Droid had interacted with. More willing to show open emotion during social settings than the Jedi who analyzed F7. Her adrenaline and stress hormones also often flared at an increased frequency in and out of conflict, increasing blood pressure and in-turn making her response to stimuli more aggressive. However, Lac'li Saku proved one of the most willing of his new masters to uphold the basic tenants of the Jedi Code while on a mission, provided that her mission reports as a padawan were accurate.

Human Elyka also created conflict within F7's databases. Her responses to situations were adamant and iron-clad in nature, often times resolved in her position before all of the applicable data was gathered. She and Lac'li Saku were similar in some regards, both of the female Jedi unafraid to reveal emotional unrest when pressed. However, F7 observed that Lac'li Saku was more willing to restrain herself when the circumstance required, while Human Elyka seemed intent on pursuing the path she was set on with the full passion of an Organic. F7 resolved to prepare a few more shots of Bacta for Human Elyka than its other masters, given that her personality type usually resulted in more injuries than other Organics.

Human Gideon, F7 observed, was prone to increased production of dopamine in response to what other organics observed with relative neutral brain chemistry. F7 theorized that it was this activity that was at least partially responsible for Human Gideon's positive response to changing circumstances. The mission reports that F7 was allowed access to indicated that he, like the Droid itself, assumed a protective role over his Organic allies. Recording this trait with approval, F7 also made a note to requisition additional medical supplies at the soonest opportunity. Between Human Elyka and Human Gideon, the Droid suspected its bacta supplies would be stretched thin.

Finally, there was Vahra Akyra. She was the master that F7 had found most in-line with what its databanks and the extranet provided that Jedi were. Reserved, stable, mostly at-peace, the Droid suspected that the Vahra Akyra's levelheadedness would prove most effective in delaying the untimely and gruesome deaths of she and her fellows. Out of all its new masters, F7 calculated that it would have to devote the least amount of medical attention her way.

However, despite all of the information F7 had been provided and gathered form their brief interactions, the Droid felt that its databanks regarding its new masters were incomplete. Organics were such complex beings, multi-faceted and seemingly intentionally inefficient, they contained multiple directives which all seemed defined by the chemical imbalances their biological processors generated. For example, all of his new masters were Jedi Knights, but each took their own route to complete their primary directive. For a Droid, a question had one answer, the most efficient. For an Organic, a question had hundreds of different answers, all of them disputed by thousands of different perspectives. Organics, while complicated, were truly fascinating subjects for study, and F7 seemed to compelled to understand them.

F7's sensors lit up at the sight of one of his new masters, Lac'li Saku if its readings were correct. Upon further inspection of her biological well-being however, the droid discovered that her emotional output was slightly unbalanced. Concerned for his new master, the large droid slowly approached the Jedi.

"Greetings Lac'li Saku. My readings indicate that you are emotionally unbalanced. May I be of assistance? Do you require a sedative or mood-altering drug?" The Droid offered cheerfully, its robotic voice thrumming deeply throughout the interior of the Carrier.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Akaemos Fain
The sound of a body crashing to ground at breakneck speed was an odd one, Akaemos decided. It wasn't quite a crash, and calling it a simple thud would just be doing it injustice. Sighing, the Chiss chewed his bottom lip as the twitching body of some sort of humanoid spun idly in the air in-front of him. Blood trickled from its floating form, streaming down off its pallid skin and falling down to the dirty street below like crimson rain. Scarlet eyes stared down at the blood pooling beneath the body in the air, and pale blue lips twitched into a smile.

When the experiment proves inconclusive, repeat until results reveal themselves.

The body of the poor thug who thought Akaemos' robed form would be an easy mark sped downward once again, crumpling under the power of the impact. Crunch, he concluded, it's definitely a crunch. While Akaemos considered it unfortunate that he had to resort to violence, he could not deny that it was undeniably one of the most 'fun' conclusions to that little excursion. Well, fun for him. Decidedly not fun for that poor puddle of man in that alleyway.

As the neon lights flashed and flared around him, the Sith breathed deep the putrid air of Nar Shaddaa. He moved out of that death-ridden alleyway, his dark robes swaying with nonchalant malevolence. This little exercise in excessive Force had set his time-table back a small bit, but ultimately it was no big loss. He still had plenty of time to reach the site of negotiations between the Hutts and the Imperial Remnant.

"Oh yes," the Chiss chuckled to himself as a scream rang out from the alley he had just hurriedly left."I'm going to enjoy this planet."

"Ah?"

Saku looked up, lime green gaze falling upon the metallic form of the medical droid whom they had been assigned. He was a different model then she was used to, but by his programming he didn't seem like a bad sort as droids went. Still, his question right now wasn't anything she was remotely interested in.

"I don't need anything like that, F7," she replied, folding her arms and leaning back in her seat. She didn't enjoy in indulging in sedatives or anything like that unless it was absolutely necessary for medical purposes. She knew some people needed medicines to calm medical disorders that resulted in excess nervousness... but she could calm herself via the Force, if she truly needed to. And she didn't feel she did, as annoying as this wait was. "... I'm just getting irritated about how long it's been taking to land. It feels like it's been four hours since we were told to prepare for landing."

The Lac'li sighed, nestling her childish frame against the seat. At least that was relatively comfortable... Ah, she really should try and be calmer. Grandmaster Skywalker didn't teach to utterly suppress your emotions, but he did instruct his jedi to be in control of them. But it wasn't as if her annoyance here hurt anyone. And... gaah, it was so irritating having to wait! She wanted to ensure innocent people wouldn't be harmed, and verify just what Grandmaster Skywalker had felt.

"... I know we have to be close, but it feels as if time's been standing still."

Emergency Response Droid F7-250

F7 hummed quietly in acknowledgement at Lac'li Saku's response, understanding that while it wished to fulfill its primary directive, it should not press aid when the recipient did not wish it and the outcome was not life-threatening. From what the Droid had gathered from Lac'li Saku's medical file and its brief interactions with the Jedi Knight, this state of unrest was generally the woman's default mode of operation.

"I sympathize your distress, Lac'li Saku. The delay is extremely inefficient for your and the other Jedi's primary directives," the machine offered in as an empathetic a tone its vocalizer could manage, its large form assuming a crouched position near the Jedi. F7 had not often been given the chance to interact with Organics since its reactivation, and the few times it did were often just maintenance on its chassis. Perhaps interfacing this Organic would be able provide useful data regarding social interaction as well as helping it fulfill its primary directive of ensuring its masters' well-being.

F7 quirked its large, stream-lined head at a slight angle, hoping to emulate Organic body-language so to better convey its meaning. "Lac'li Saku, scientific testing has revealed that entertainment aids in the passage of relative time. Would you like to engage in an activity in order to shorten your perception of time's passing?" The machine offered optimistically, its cobolt and silver form illuminating its surroundings with dim, blue light.

It was a sight to behold, an angry Orryxian bashing her fists against the Ardent Liberty's pilot console. "I hate Hutt Space...", Kara cursed. They were drifting in front of the Huttese Golan III defence platform for four hours now and they were not let down to the Spaceport. After letting out a stream of expletives, Kara turned the comm-panel back on.

"Commander, your urgency to land seemed suspicious to some Hutts, therefore we are going to scan your ship once more before you can proceed the the spaceport. We are very sorry for this inconvenience, but the Republic is not that welcome in Hutt Space."
Kara sighed.
"I understand. However, I will have to file a report to the Senate about this. They will not be happy about this delay." This was her final gamble, something she learned in one of her more... diplomatic missions. And it usually paid off.

"The Senate? Oh... I am very sorry, we thought this was a warship and not an ambassador of the Senate. And we're sorry for not contacting you earlier." It always pays off to play the diplomat, Kara thought smiling a little.
"You're assigned to landing bay 27, don't stray from your assigned course.", came another person from the orbital station.

"Finally...", Kara muttered under her breath as she put the course into the computer, then she activated the comm once more.
"Fighter pilots, we've received landing clearance, please proceed to dock with the Ardent Liberty."

One thing Kara never understood about pilots was their decision to stay in their fighter cockpit, even when travelling through hyperspace. It was baffling to her.

"well, then... Let's get to it." With these words Kara pushed any distracting thoughts into the back of her head, clearing her throat and activating the intercomm.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we've just gotten landing clearance. I'm very sorry for the delay. It seems the Hutts are not very fond of Republic ships appearing on their doorstep. Probably because they have something to hide. We're now posing as a diplomatic corps from the Senate, I don't know how this will complicate the mission, but they would not have let us dock otherwise. For questions, come to the bridge or wait until we have landed."

Deciding it would be safer to do so, Kara deactivated the autopilot and the guidance system she had fed with the coordinates of the docking port displayed a row of green beacons on her HUD. Slowly and smoothly she eased the ship into the atmosphere of Nar Shaddaa.

A black and red X-Wing flew towards Nar Shaddaa slowly. In it was a Mandalorian, wanting to get some credits. It was hard for him to get past the spaceborder control, as they thought he was with the Republic because he flew an X-Wing, but after he managed to convince them that he was a bounty hunter trying to find some 'smugglers who didn't pay their employers what they owed', they let him through. It was not a total lie though, he was trying to find some law breakers. However, he was more interested in the people at the secret meeting. He bet the Republic would pay a lot for some of them, and as he liked the way the Republic was handling it's government, he would help them. For now.

He landed on the appointed landing spot, opened his cockpit and got out. "Denying, you stay at the fighter. I will be back soon." The R2 astrodroid started to complain with its bleeping. Krat sighed. "Look, Denying, I know you want to come with me and kick some butt, but this is a stealth mission with much climbing involved. I don't think you are able to do that though." One long, annoyed bleep came from the droid. "You know what, I'll make a deal with you: You stay at the fighter and I give you permission to aim at anyone who comes too close to it. I even allow you to shoot anyone who touches it. Do we have a deal?" The droid now sounded as happy as it could be, and started turning the turret at the bottom of the X-Wing around towards the people walking past the docks. "That's a good droid!" Krat said, then walked away from the fighter. It was time for him to get ready for the job.

Delro the Hutt was remarkably thin for his species. That is to say, he was incredibly large, but was still able to fit into a luxury speeder with little modification. Which was a good thing, considering that Lucar didn't like the idea of being smashed up against Hutt girth and a wall. He took the cigar offered by the red servant droid standing beside the Hutt, lighting it up.

"Now, you must understand, Delro. This cabinet is made of genuine rainbow wood- native to Alderaan. The value of such a fine cabinet has skyrocketed over the past twenty years..."

The Hutt garbled on. {"I'm aware, Lucar. But I need this cabinet NOW."}

"Yes, Delro, and that's what concerns me. That's an awfully large transaction to be making out of the blue."

{"My wife's mother is coming from Nal Hutta to stay with us for a few days. You KNOW what she's like."}

"Oh, Dekra. That explains it. Well, as this IS a very unusual item- one of the last surviving pieces of rainbow wood furniture, you understand- I'm afraid I can't accept less than, say... Nine thousand credits? Plus shipping, of course."

The Hutt shook his head. {"Lucar, I know as well as you do that cabinet's overpriced. Six thousand."}

"Six thousand? Delro, I'm not selling you a prom dress here. This is made of rainbow wood, for goodness sake. But for you, I can do, say... eighty-two fifty?"

{"Yeah, the rainbow wood's why I want the damn thing. Seven Thousand."}

"Seventy-five hundred, but I want it up front."

The speeder came to a stop as the Hutt glared at Lucar. Seeing the warehouse out the window, Lucar began to assume this was a shakedown, reachign down into his pockets for his weapons... shortly before Delro laughed and nodded.

{"You always drove a hard bargain, Lucar. Seventy-five hundred it is."} The Hutt made his way to the ramp. {"You'll get your money as soon as this meeting's over. For now, just stay put."}

Leaving Lucar in the speeder, parked in an alley next to a warehouse, Delro slithered in.

At the back of the Ardent Liberty's hanger sat a standard Republic A-Wing Starfighter, its systems powered but engines offline, a young Jedi Knight fast asleep in its open cockpit. She had one foot hanging out and her other pressing against the floor, her back hunched in poor posture and her head resting at an angle; she would have looked uncomfortable were it not for how deep in slumber she appeared to be, even drooling on the cold metal. A red safety light blinking above and a glowing HUD illuminated her furrowed expression as it began to intensify, her mind getting lost in dreams.

Whether it was something in the force or just the depressing cold of space, a darkness began to cloud her dream. Suddenly her head jerked as she woke wide eyed, at once sitting up straight as she quickly focused, adjusting to her surroundings as if prepared for an attack. Her mind calmed and she used her sleeve to wipe the drool from her face. Just then the intercom started to broadcast,

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we've just gotten landing clearance..." Good timing, Elyka thought, attempting to shrug off her unusual awakening.

She could feel the soreness in her neck sleeping like she did, rubbing with her right hand as she stretched her other arm. She reasoned she'd rest in a fighter's seat so that she would be at the helm for any kind of emergency, but that was no longer necessary since they were about to land. Pulling herself out of the cockpit and standing tall on the wing of the small fighter, Elyka stretched her arms and yawned before hopping off.

As she stared off into the view of Nar Shaddaa's approaching atmosphere from behind the wide forcefield for a few moments, she felt Akyra's presence at the hangar's entrance. Elyka had first met her when they were Padawans, and they had completed a couple missions together as Knights, so she was probably more familiar with her than anyone else on the ship. "Ever been to Nar Shaddaa?" she asked loudly from a distance as she headed towards her fellow Jedi, sounding excited about their mission.

"Let's regroup with the others before we land," motioning for Akyra to come along, walking down the hallway towards the briefing room, where Elyka assumed the others might be waiting.

Gideon Shurima finished his patrol of the Ardent Liberty, the ship that would take him and his fellow Jedi to Nar Shaddaa, the moon hub of criminals, bounty hunters, and perhaps Sith. It was about time, Gideon was getting a little board of policing duty, but now it was a mission by Great Master Skywalker himself! Now that was truly exciting to Gideon. With the routine patrol finished, the human Jedi sighed with relief as he could now enjoy himself for what time he had left before they arrived to their destination. Unlike some of the crew and personnel, Gideon wasn't bothered by being cooped up on the ship. It was kind of... peaceful, apart from the impeding threat of pirates or an imperial ambush. Speaking of the others, perhaps it was time to pay Saku a visit. They hadn't talk much after departing so it might be nice to catch up with one of the fellow Jedi's. Who was there? Saku, Elyka and Akyra, right?. Gideon set of straight away, passing a rather odd, hooded man, using a screwdriver against his arm... ah, he's seen stranger.

Gideon arrived to where Saku was sitting, also with the ER Droid they were accompanied with, F7. However, it was kind of comedic seeing the two together. Saku was small but sitting by F7, even crouched, it really showed. With a smile, Gideon bowed courteously before greeting the two. "Hello, Saku! Hello, F7!" He cheerily said. "How have your journeys been?" The Jedi followed.

---

Severus, or Fusion as he was called, contemplated the mission ahead as he ran some compulsory self-maintenance on his arm. With each turn of the screw, Fusion ran through another scenario in his head. Fusion imagined he would provide over-watch outside or infiltrate the criminal meeting and get some eyes and ears in there. However, many things could go wrong and Fusion had to be prepared. There is no room for failure, never was, never will be. Fusion did briefly glance his cyber-eye up as the male Jedi walked past. He almost forgot there were Jedi's of The New Order accompanying the Ardent Liberty, which probably means there is a greater goal that the Grandmaster had in plan. But that wasn't his concern and only will be when he has to. He has a mission, and he's going to complete it to the letter. Fusion got up from his corner, still screwing his arm as he walked to wherever his gear was kept. With the announcement of landing clearance, it would be all to soon before his boots were on the ground.

Aura stood bored in the corner of the warehouse. Some grumpy crime boss had acquired her services for a protection detail to this meeting in a shady warehouse. She had been hanging around the spaceport for a while now and everyone was talking about this meeting going down tonight along with the imperial presence making nuisances of themselves. She had been planning to break in anyway but this way she was getting paid to stand in the shadows and look vaguely menacing. It was her best look. Stormtroopers blocked every entrance and exit and Aura's skin crawled with the flight instinct she always trusted. It was about to begin and maybe it wasn't her best idea to get involved. She did her best to stay of the limelight and it was likely that being in this meeting would throw her out of the shadows.

Instead of waiting, Aura tried to take in details of everyone around her, it was a good practice to get into. The mantis like creature drew her attention first. He seemed it be the most relaxed here and she seemed to vaguely recognize him. A lot of the low life that hung around here did tend to travel in the same circles as she did. The door was pulled open by one of the stormtroopers and Delro the Hutt slid in. Surely they should be nearing the complete guest list.

Sulik patiently stood outside Delro the Hutt's luxury speeder. While he understood the logic behind having a bodyguard outside, where he could be most effective, he certainly didn't enjoy being stuck in the cold. Sulik always hated guard duty. As a guard, he could only express himself when an intruder came about, and acting as a bodyguard for a damned antique dealer meant that intruders rarely ever bothered. Still, Lucar paid reasonably well and it wasn't totally gruntwork. It wasn't nearly as bad as that extermination job he'd taken up on Naboo, and it would at least grant him the chance to do some networking.

Sulik glanced at the humanoid to his right. A Weequay, working as dumb muscle for Delro. Typical. Sulik wisely kept his comments to himself, and instead tried to strike up a conversation.

"Nice weather tonight." Sulik muttered, feigning a brisk shiver. The Weequay glanced across the alley, making sure that his boss had departed, and quietly turned to Sulik.

"Ain't as bad as it was 'bout five years 'go," the Weequay said, grinning. "y'go home an' spent t'rest o'night dryin' youself off!"

Sulik gave a convincing mockery of a look of concern. "Really? Glad I was off-planet, then. Saw a lot of real important faces coming around here... wonder what they're doing?"

The Weequay shushed Sulik, and leered around again. "'s a 'portant meetin'," the Weequay whispered conspiratorially. "Says there's summat Imperials still roun' an' tryin'a get Delro an' t'others on der side. Keeps it under y'hat, though."

Sulik feigned surprise, and gave the Weequay an appreciative nod. "Thanks for the info," he hissed.

Hm, Sulik thought. That line of questioning went nowhere. It'd be hard not to notice the Imperial presence here. Should show me for expecting that pitted ape to know anything.

Sulik sighed heavily, and returned to his post. He hoped whatever it is that Lucar needed done was finished, and he could get back to the ship. This would be the absolute last time he would show up for another one of these blasted contracts. He'd be happy letting Kurak or Nokk deal with such miserable boredom.

Saku nodded. F7 was a pretty agreeable droid, none of this sticking to protocol stuffiness that some models tended to have. But then again, that varied with their programming. Some were allowed more personality, others kept pretty strictly to their core directives and did very little else. Regardless, she was glad to have one that seemed to agree with her right now. This was interfering with their duties. She could easily guess it was the hutts being obstructive. They didn't exactly like the New Republic.

"This is just... It feels almost painful, sitting up here," Saku replied, folding her arms more firmly accross her chest. She paused for a moment, realizing speaking like that may cause a bit of confusion. "... Before you try and prepare any treatment, that's a metaphor. I'm just tired of waiting."

As the droid pitched possible sources of entertainment, Saku cocked her head to one side, blue braids bouncing lightly as she did. Well, at this rate, she might as well...

"... Yeah, let's see what you've got," she said, leaning forward and sighing. It was almost the moment she said that when the announcement that they would soon be landing finally came. And indeed, there was that slight disturbance as they entered the atmosphere... Finally! Saku shot to her feet.

"Nevermind, we need to get prepared, now!" she said. This had quite simply taken far, far too long. A familiar face strolled into the room a moment later. She knew Gideon decently well, having sparred with him previously in the Dantooine Temple. She was victorious, but he was a reasonably skilled fighter.

"My journey has been excessively long and incredibly boring," she said, bluntly, "But we can finally perform our duties as Jedi, Shurima."

---

The meeting was well underway. Those who had arrived somewhat late received a rather stern look before being allowed to settle in.

"Understand," began the woman in the center of the open warehouse, "That not only shall you receive payment, but you shall also receive protection. Your enterprises shall be defended from those glorified rebels as fiercely as we would defend out own installations."

Tras Oren was a stern woman. Her short, blonde hair was in a tight bun, and what she lacked in stature she made up for in presence. And while she was not visibly armed, the numerous stormtroopers around her were. She was confident even these criminals would not attempt anything foolish, that was certain. They were just as interested in this deal as the Children of the Emperor were. She didn't have to tell them that, when the New Empire was firmly established and order was destroyed to this chaotic galaxy, they would be eradicated by their new guardians.

Grogga the Hutt, an excessively corpulent example of his species, leaned forward.

"{How can we believe your word?}" he said, his voice as slimy as his looks.

"Simple," she said, swiftly, "Our desire for the items backs up our word. We have come here in force intended not for our own defense, but yours as well. We have offered an impressive price, and have included a few pieces of ordnance I do not believe even your black market possesses."

There was murmuring amongst the assorted crime lords.

Skull-Face Tyrlon, his head firmly encased in a dark helmet, leaned forward. His voice was a withering hiss as he leaned forward.

"You have yourself a deal, Imperial," he began, "We'll transfer the files shortly."

Commander Tras Oren gave a cold, sharpened smile. "You won't regret thi-ah?"

The trooper her had approached her whispered into her ear.

"... There is a New Republic Vessel approaching," she said, with a sigh, "Very well. Blow them out of the sky."

There was a wave of outrage amongst the crime lords. Protests included how it would be obvious what they were doing if such retaliation came, how much of a hassle further investigation would be...

"Worry not, ladies and gentlemen," she calmly replied, "The rebels are well aware of the Children of the Emperor. When our fighters annihilate them, the blame will be placed solely on us. Think of this as a demonstration of how we will use our assets in your defense."

---

Ah, at last, they'd be landing... Fan preferred flight, of course, but regardless, it was good they would soon be going about their mission. After all, they were here to ensure that this meeting of crime lords was not going to be a threat to galactic security. And to determine what the Imperial presence here was like... just what they were doing. As they entered the atmosphere, she heeded the words of the Ardent Liberty's pilot and began to bring her X-Wing in line with the hanger to dock... when she suddenly detected incoming ships. Fighters! Her radar was aflare with fighters.

Glancing quickly up, she could see them approaching from below, in the distance. TIE Interceptors, the eyeball-like cockpit and twin daggerlike solar collection panels.

"We have interceptors incoming!" she cried into the communications. This wasn't any time for hesitation! There was a green flash ahead as TIE Interceptors opened fire, before breaking off in various directions in a bid to surround them.

Aura tried to keep her face passive all the way through the commander's speech but she knew the changes this would bring. If the top crime lords had the backing of the Imperials then they would rule. There would be no more lone Rangers, you would either be working for one of them or taken out of the game. And Aura was no going to have her life ruled over by these fools. She needed to get her ship, the White Dwarf, and get off planet side as soon as she was paid.

A look of shock flitted across her face as the New Republic was mentioned. Great, it was really started to get crowded around here and everything was going to go to hell if that Republic team managed to land. Somewhere deep in her blackening heart, Aura hoped they survived, not just for her personal gain but for all the people she left behind. But now she had a job to do, if her target died then she wasn't getting paid.

Emergency Response Droid F7-250

An electronic whisper buzzed brightly in the forefront of F7's processors as Lac'li Saku accepted its input, the signal informing the Droid that it was preforming a subsection of its primary function well. The experience was hard to describe, and definitively alien to anything within an Organics ability to comprehend. The best comparison F7 could manage was an experience something akin to what certain carbon-based species described a 'high' was. However, instead of a feeling of altered reality, the experience enhanced F7's cognition of events around it. Data streams seemed to flow faster, actions appeared more efficiently executed, even its base functions carried a sense of purpose, drive, perhaps even passion with them. Put simply, completing even a small part of its core programming was the closest experience the Droid would ever come to achieving Organic happiness. The closest thing the Droid would come to an actual, physical feeling, if it was being completely honest.

However, the experience was an extremely fleeting one. As F7's sensors returned to their default mode of operation, the Droid began to create subroutines to pick apart various activities that Lac'li Saku might find enjoyable. It eliminated the impossible given their current setting and resources, bookmarked the few activities that might seem feasible and non-lethal aboard a starship, and then generated the statistical likelihood of Lac'li Saku enjoying said activities given her psychological profile and current mood index. After a brief moment of silence, F7 had its optimal solution,

"Perhaps you would enjoy-" the machine began, before the confident voice of this vessel's captain rang out over the intercom, informing the passengers of the impending descent into Nar Shaadda's atmosphere. At Lac'li Saku's request, F7 trailed after the tiny humanoid in order to prepare for the landing.

"Greetings Human Gideon. I would classify this journey as adequate, factoring in that I have not been deactivated nor that any of my new masters have died to the grisly perils of space travel," F7 replied in a happy tone to Human Gideon's question, enjoying the unusual amount of 'active' time it was being allotted. It had not often been given the chance to interact and catalog these dialogues between itself and Organics, and was happy to add more information to its now growing data-bases.

Unfortunately for the Droid, its attempts at data gathering were cut short by the panicked voice of a humanoid over the emergency com-channel. Ceasing all subroutines devoted to its passive inquiries regarding organics, a mechanical focus overtaking such idle fancies. "Alert: we are under attack. I recommend that all Jedi precede to either the bridge or battle stations. Should you be dismembered, eviscerated, or otherwise impaired, I will available at your request. I am needed in Engineering, it appears a crew member has sustained an accidental injury. Lac'li Saku, Human Gideon, please attempt to remain alive in my absence. Your passing would be both a waste of resources and....unfortunate. May the Force be with you, masters," F7 announced with a precise and almost eerie calm.

The dull, cobalt light which illuminated F7's form now blared a bright blue. The machine crouched low on all fours, shifting and reorganizing unused power to its hydraulics, before bounding off at breakneck speeds towards engineering. An organic was in danger, and it could not, would not, allow their expiration.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dark Jedi Akaemos Fain

The air was stagnant and still outside the warehouse in which the negotiations were taking place, as if Nar Shaadda itself knew what importance took place inside that ramshackle building. Akaemos chuckled absentmindedly to himself as the cool air of the planet breathed softly on his skin. If only things of such importance could be damned exciting too.

It wasn't that Akaemos couldn't stand minutia, he was a historian and an archaeologist after all, it just that the endless back and forth between the two factions began to grind his nerves. He knew that Hutts could be selfish, but to debate the deal down to the iota just to come out a little bit ahead? The idea baffled the Chiss with its absurdity. It was enough to drive him up the walls, and he had to excuse himself briefly before 'accidentally' cut off the fat slugs' air supply.

Pinching the bridge of his nose to focus his thoughts, Akaemos breathed deep the rank air of Nar Shaadda, allowing its foul stench to cleanse his irritation at the Hutts. There was a time and a place for anger and passion, and it was decidedly not at the negotiation table. The Chiss shook such thoughts from his head as he re-entered the now packed warehouse, scanning the crowd for the Imperial delegation.

At the sight of his allies, the Dark Jedi moved to join his fellow 'Children'. Akaemos was relatively recent addition to their ranks, and perhaps more loyal to his previous friends in the Imperial Remnant, but the Chiss was nothing if not a patriot. The blue-skinned alien truly felt that in order for the Empire to reclaim its rightful place, more radical action was required. And one could not get much more radical than the Children of the Emperor.

Akaemos turned his attention to Commander Tras Oren, who seemed to be giving orders for aggressive action against a New Republic ship. While the Chiss could not fault her logic, he had hoped these dealing would proceed a bit more clandestinely. Oh well, he thought, it's not a total loss. A chilling smile crept from under the scarlet edge of his mask. Perhaps, if they survive the fighters and the landing, I may even be able to face a Jedi today.

Lyra was well and truly sick of Nar Shaddaa. They had only made planetfall for a few hours and she had already grown tired of the putrid and corrupt system, its hellish residents and the constant stink of criminality that aired the nose quite well after a long briefing on Coruscant. She had been to the planet before in talks with the Hutt Cartel but given the connotation surrounding her mission now, she wasn't too amused at where she had ended up.

Alastro, the merc who had been paid quite a lot to get her into the meeting had guided her to a rather rundown warehouse where, surprisingly, they actually found the crime lords. Lyra hadn't pegged the mantis-like creature for being intelligent and even suspected he was going to sell her out to the cartels. Nevertheless, although he was dropping some sweat-inducing hints, he had lived up to his promise and got to the meeting place. She didn't expect much of him, considering his rather shady appearance and general mannerisms but he got the job done.

Lyra herself had been briefed separately from the detachment of troops on their way to the planet. Her job was reconnaissance and intelligence only - any and all information would be transmitted straight back to the Senate from Lyra herself to decide the correct course of action. After her briefing, she had been given a confiscated set of armour that appeared Mandalorian in design and bundled onto a rather rusty spacecraft with yours truly. Her eyes once against sought the green skin of her guide.

The disguise had worked so far and along with some sort of voice modifier, it was obviously not too clear that she was female.

Out of nowhere, seemingly, a blonde Imperial Commander confidently glided into the room, her every step a careful and precise strike. Lyra recognised her face but given her poor knowledge on the infrastructure of the remaining Imperial Remnant, she wasn't too sure. The Republic had been alerted to a meeting of the Crime Lords and although the information of the presence of the Children of the Empire came later on, an idiot could have worked out what they were doing - the exact same thing the Republic did while trying to spread peace to the galaxy: bringing over the criminal cartels.

What surprised her, however, was how quickly the crime lords seemed to accept the terms. They must have really been feeling the strain of the Republic bearing down on them to make such a rash decision. Lyra, inside her suit of armour, was noting every word said but on the outside, the apparent bounty hunter looked bored.

It was only when the announcement of the Republic ship came that she suddenly tensed - there were a team of jedi and Republic commandos on the ship. They couldn't afford to lose them. She had no choice, she stepped forward. Inserting a few clicks into her speech to hide her origins and having her voice distortion to keep her voice deep, she began to speak in Huttese, directing her speech to the head of the Hutt Cartel "{Wise Grogga - can we really trust the Imperials? They say they can defend Nar Shaddaa but many know that where there is one Republic ship, others will follow. If these Imperials can fight off an armada, then why do they need us? And what then? They will leave us to the Senate!}"

Her tone was fast, aggressive and silently she hoped that none of the imperials were fluent in Huttese otherwise she would have some answering to do. She could not afford losing this deal and the impending doom for the Republic Ship sparked her to action.

Xanthe had mostly zoned out on the long escort run; Gee had mostly kept the autopilot ticking over and there wasn't a whole lot else to focus on.

At least until the radio perked up. Squints were bad news at the best of times, easily able to outrun and outmanoeuvre larger craft like their X-Wings. And her last simulated run through Endor hadn't exactly ended well.

With a sigh, she reached forward and tapped a control, shifting her craft's S-foils into combat position and shunting power into the laser cannons. As the first green bolts surged past them, she dragged the stick back and left, pulling her fighter into a long climbing turn before pitching back down to aim at the closest grey screamer.

Suddenly the peace and quiet that had enveloped the Ardent's bridge was gone. With a screeching sound the combat alarm came to life and Kara's view immediately wandered to the scope spotting the TIE Interceptors incoming. Quickly she opened intercom and simultaneously pressing the button sounding for battle stations.
"All crew, battle stations. Scramble the fighters." She tried to sound as confident as possible and she was certain she achieved bringing a little more calmness into everybody's mind by staying calm over the comms.

And to be honest, it wasn't the TIE Interceptors she was worried about, no, not at all. It was more the thought behind the TIE's. Throughout Republic military it was very well known that almost all TIE variants don't actually have hyperdrives equipped, so there had to be some vessel the TIE's were launching their strike from, and judging from their apparent attack vector they couldn't have come from the planet's surface.
Just until the last X-Wing left had taken off Kara had kept the vessel as straight as possible, but when the fighters were away, Kara took the Ardent into a steep climb making the TIE's, which were not engaged in a dogfight with the Republic fighters, miss. A quick roll later, the fighters were in the scopes of the Ardent's gunners sending bright red flashes towards them.

Although Kara did her best to avoid most of the returning fire, there was only so much manoeuvring you could do in a corvette and of course several laserbolts hit the shields, but they were holding. It took a lot more than a few Interceptors to take down a Corellian Corvette, much less one retrofitted with a hangar.
"Now... where is that fricking carrier?"