Nar Shaddaa

[Anastasia Faust]

4L-T0's mood on returning to the ship was foul, and that was putting it mildly. He kept reaching up and touching a dent and scorch mark on his head and another on his hip. Ammi, for her part, tried to ignore the glares from the droid, having a couple singed ends to her strawberry blonde hair. B45-50 shook his hands, testing his joints.

 

"Do we have a sign that says rob us or try to abduct us?" 4L-T0 moaned. "We're gone for six hours. Six hour! Six hours and we almost get robbed twice and nearly taken captive by those slavers, and that doesn't count the grand finale to our little adventure." The droid gave an indelicate choking sound. "And what do we have to show for it? Nothing, nil. No one's heard any credible leads on any Wolfstars." 4L-T0 tapped his head again. "It'll take half a day to get this polished out. And if we have to record, oh, it'll look terrible!"

 

Ammi gave the droid a sympathetic look. "I'll help," she offered, then looked at B45-50. "How's your hand? You punched out that Gammorean pretty hard. And that fat twi'lek who tried to sick his goons on us." She scowled and shook her head. She'd gotten out her aerosol of pepper spray for that one. Indignant, even after the twi'lek had been on the ground, pummeled for almost half a minute by B45-50, Ammi still gave him another full blast, holding it down. Not behaving nicely, but it felt incredibly gratifying. B45-50 waved it back and forth, indicating he'd take care of it on his own. Ammi nodded, trusting him.

 

"And we may have just blown our contract," 4L-T0 added in a fretting voice. "An entire block of factory space. Up in flames!" Ammi, sighed. Not entirely he fault, she wasn't blameless on that one either. Following a lead from a seedy... Well, this was Nar Shaddaa, an extra seedy bar lead them to an "informant" who could give them more info on her family supposedly. An Anzat tried holding them up at blaster point instead. Ammi, tired of the earlier ordeals let out a scream and attacked him, 4L-T0 and B45-50 jumping into the fray too at that point. Things got harried when she tried to push his blaster away, grabbing his arm and twisting it up. One wild blaster shot skyward into an airborn transport full of volatile tibanna gas, likely stolen, that was up to Nar Shaddaa's "safety code" and packed into cooled metal drums instead of frozen in carbonite, and boom! The pilot jettisoned safely from the transport, which then crashed into a factory that made munitions. It promptly evacuated, so no one was hurt too seriously, but Ammi knew they were still putting out the fires even now and it was a mess to contain.

 

"We can do another benefits concert," she suggested. "I mean, this place embraced us. It's not like the Gems would mind us making a massive display of goodwill."

 

"For an incident we helped cause," 4L-T0 retorted. "I told you that bartender was suspicious!"

 

"It was the only lead I had!" Ammi shot back, her temper rising. B45-50 quickly stepped between them and the two grumbled and parted. "At least we got to have a few choice words for the bartender," she added in a cool voice. Even now, she played with the one-of-a-kind stunsaber her papa built for her. She stabbed the barkeep in a not so nice spot, catching him off guard as he was not expecting to see them again, alive at least. Heartlessly, Ammi lied and told him that the stunsaber's damage was permanent, opting to just "kindly" destroying all the nerves and sensations instead of just gelding him outright. "And his patrons didn't seem to mind," she added brightly. 4L-T0 just stared. After dropping the bartender, Ammi declared it was drinks on the house, the incapacitated barkeep being the house. She gave him a solid kick too, only realizing afterwards he wouldn't feel that one. At least not for a few hours. "Heh, they were practically rioting to get their hands on some free drinks," she added, giggling.

 

"They actually were rioting," B45-50 corrected, his hand rotating around wildly on his wrist, still working out the joints. They'd left before any security forces showed up at least.

 

Ammi just threw her hands up in the air at this point. "Fine, no more plumbing Nar Shaddaa for leads on my birth parents, not until we have something more concrete to work with." She stalked off to her room, settling in with her guitar, playing to calm herself down. She started a new work already, coming up with a homage to her employers, in part inspired by her recent appearance on Corellia called Diamond Memoriam, then broke into a jam solo of Scarlet Rating, a rather cathartic piece she came up with after her first incident running afoul the Imperials.

[AVATAR Kain]

Kain cursed internally as the message was received. They wanted a meeting? Fine. The Sith were being overly generous with this offer, but they still wanted a meeting. He transmitted new coordinates for a meet, this time in a public square, giving them the description of how he would look, a black human male with red eyes wearing a black hooded coat. Then, he began hacking and inserting code into subsystems all around the area, as well as a few other places, to ensure this meet up would proceed how he desired and not any other way.

 

A little over an hour later, and Kain sat on a bench in the middle of the bustling square, waiting, noticed by few, paid attention to by none. He was merely another figment of Nar Shaddaa's seedy population...for all except the Blood Gems.

[Sapphire]

The Gems quickly received a response, which told Sapphire that their contact was indeed on-world. That saved time. Kain said they'd meet in a square that was half a world away, however. It made some measure of sense, but it was a little annoying since Sapphire hadn't had time to pick up the Glory yet.

 

In the end, they took public transport. Dressed in a non-descript black jumpsuit that nevertheless showed her figure to good advantage, Sapphire spent the ride on her datapad, doing some research on Kain and hacking into some public cameras to do some surveillance on the square. She had more luck with the latter. Kain seemed to be someone who flew under the radar. There wasn't even direct evidence that he was a Sith himself. She would have to do a deeper search.

 

45 minutes later, they were there. It looked like rain. A strong breeze was blowing under a dark sky pregnant with rain clouds. Glancing at the sky as they came out of the transport ship, Sapphire pulled a hooded cloak out of her bag and threw it on. It also covered her twin blasters riding at her hips, which she thought was a decent idea.

 

Glancing around the square, her eyes landed on a figure that matched the description Kain had given them. Hoping it wasn't another hologram, she pointed her chin at him. "Alright," she told Emerald. "There he is."

[Emerald]

Clad in similar garb to her companion, except in a charcoal grey, Emerald began moving toward the figure to whom Sapphire had gestured. Both of the women were armed to the teeth, a customary precaution in these parts, but she did not bother to draw a weapon as they approached. Coming to stand about two meters from his perch, the blonde pirate assumed an at-ease stance and nodded at him, the BB unit that they had found in the warehouse rolling to a halt behind her heels.

 

"I think this little guy belongs to you," she said measuringly.

[AVATAR Kain]

"No."

 

Kain's response was quick, as he looked up at the duo before him. From his reconnaissance, Emerald and Sapphire, the former bring the one addressing him.

 

"In fact, the droid belonged to a now subordinate of yours. I merely borrowed it for my purposes. Do with it as you please."

 

As he spoke, Kain enacted several pieces of coding he'd laid in the surrounding subsystems, cutting power to all networked holocams and activating IR floodlights he'd planted in advance, rendering any visual recording unusable. The humans wouldn't be able to see it, but any footage captured would be rendered incredibly dark, so much so that even a professional video editor would have great difficulty pulling any detail at all from any segment. Kain's own photoreceptors were even impaired, but he had other ways of 'seeing'.

 

Also, with some effort that took the several second he took speaking, he hacked the wireless protocols on Sapphire's datapad to the point to where he could send information masked as holonet messages. The protocols for access were much stricter, and although he could have injected a malware trojan into a message, Sapphire would need to unwittingly open and access it, assuming she didn't have programs in place to nuke the code before it executed. He'd already calculated that she wouldn't do anything like that, so even to bother in the first place would be wasted effort, especially considering there likely wasn't much to gain. Still, information was transmitted with basic details of his affiliation with the Sith, not quite identifying what he was or how he operated, but his rank as an admiral was included. He gestured as he spoke, indicating for her to check her pad.

 

"You are wondering if I am a legitimate envoy of the Sith, or whether I'm simply some savvy hacker that got froggy and is trying to pull one over on you. That's the only reason you would ask to meet. Well, you've slightly gained my ire, and you risk the displeasure of the Dark Lord."

 

Granted, it wasn't hard for an organic to gain Kain's ire, but the point needed to be made.

 

"Allow me to enlighten you a bit on the basic inner workings of the Sith. There are three main branches, with leaders of each branch forming an upper triumvirate, and the Dark Lord being one of the three. The Warriors, the muscle and foot soldiers of the Sith, the Krath, Sorcerors adept at working the deepest secrets of the Force...and then there are the Assassins, those tasked with spying and silencing threats otherwise unseen. The Dark Lord is of the assassin branch."

 

Kain paused, looking at the nails on his hand casually, and began simple hand calisthenics out of boredom, all the while looking at it while keeping his sensors vividly focused on them.

 

"There are two logical possibilities before you. Either I am a representative of the Sith, an envoy sent forth with the Dark One's blessing in his name, an envoy that, if rejected, represents rejection of him, or...I am simply another hacker looking to trick you, to swindle you from whatever it is you think you have here, evoking the Dark Lord's name and risking his wrath. Of course, if the latter is true, I must be incredibly stupid to piss off the top assassin in the galaxy's most dangerous organization. And while it might be considered stupid to agree to an open meeting with pirates, I assure you it is only occurring out of the Dark Lord's wishes to make every effort to ensure the success of future joint ventures."

 

As Kain spoke, the crowd slowly became...thicker. More populated. More bustling. There was a slight chance the Gems might have noticed, and even guess it was likely his doing, but it was also clear that if he wanted to make a move on them he would have done it already instead of continue to try and explain his situation. Calmly, he looked up at them from his hand, his eyes deadpan and menacing.

 

"Now...are you willing to agree to the terms of the deal I have offered? Or are you going to continue to waste my time?"

[Anastasia Faust]

Another adventure gallivanting around Nar Shaddaa, getting into trouble, stumbling into and thwarting criminals, getting involved in conspiracies involving the high echelons of organized crime and Sith scheming.

None of this awaited Ammi for the rest of the day.

 

While reckless and a magnet for trouble like the Living Force itself cursed her to run into absurd and dangerous situations, only to squeak out a bit worse for the wear, she was not a smuggler, a trained Jedi or Sith, nor a member of any major military faction. She was a stage performer. And that meant hard work, practice, and trying to keep her band solvent.

 

She finished up with the lyrics for her latest song, Diamond Memoriam later that evening, drying a few tears. The song was around the Corellian custom of not burying one's loved ones, but turning them into diamonds. She remembered a promise her mama and papa made to have their carbon joined and split into two diamonds for her sisters when their times came. It was beautiful and morbid at the same time, but fit into her current mood. Putting thoughts of her adopted family aside, she wondered if she should try leveraging the Gems' network to locate more about her birth family, or even, as her now tighter and tighter schedule allowed, head to Cardia and see if she could impress on the Empire to help. It seemed a long shot, but those questions kept at her.

 

She set down her guitar, heading over to the 3D printer in one of the cargo bays. Mostly for the GlobeTrotter's business cards, she thought of setting out to create a new stage suit, going from green with blue highlights to a light purple to reflect her new stage name. Anything would require her new manager's approval, but after 2 years of managing on her own, it bred a certain level of self-reliance she was loathe to give up. She had a few misgivings about being locked into a contract, but knew it was inevitable unless she wanted to scrape by, playing in grungy bars for the next several decades. Besides, the costs were worth it to have her dreams realized.

 

She left her room, her temper far better. She apologized to both 4L-T0 and B45-50, which surprised both of them. The next hour was spent around a table, going over the accounting books with 4L-T0 while Ammi got out the tool kit to work on B45-50's hand. The cash advance gave them a very nice buffer, but she still felt her situation as precarious, especially if anything came home to roost from their mishap earlier in the day. Then again, the figured if something was going to happen, it probably would have by now. And they really couldn't be blamed for that fire, right? They had enough for fuel, food, tolls, and the like to get across the galaxy and back. Ammi decided another actual non-instant food type meal would do for supper and set out with her friends in tow, this time openly wearing her stun blaster on her belt and shifting it around to make it even more visible.

 

She hailed a cab, hopping in at the space port, also refraining from walking around this time to avoid trouble as well. They found a restaurant that had what was purportedly Wookiee cuisine. It was unusual, but a rare treat that Ammi thoroughly enjoyed. She indulged, finding it a bit expensive, but brought off 4L-T0 and B45-50 with an energy shake. Taking another cab back to the spaceport, Ammi and the band headed to their practice area, working on the music for Diamond Memoriam. With the music in place, the notes fell in fairly naturally, but there were a couple stanzas that took almost two hours of back and forth, the trio torn between a C-flat and B-sharp to conclude the verse, even reversing their positions as arguments were made- final consensus landing with the B-sharp.

 

Satisfied with the results, Ammi called it a day, already planning on another song around her employer's motif. Ruby Suns, Topaz Sands. It overplayed the motifs quite a bit, but could afford it to be a longer piece too, picturing it as a 10 minute long epic that detailed a traveler on foot across the deserts of Tatooine. The notes and lyrics danced in her head as she fell asleep, awaiting the following day and whatever else it could bring.

[Emerald]

Peering over at Sapphire's datapad, she raised an eyebrow at the credentials the man presented to them. Emerald was confident that her counterpart would be able to discern a forgery immediately, and since she gave no immediate indication of anything faulty, the blonde was inclined to take Kain at his word. Though, if her last encounter with the Sith was any indication, she was far too trusting in general, and for that reason alone, she felt the need to honor Sapphire's hesitation.

 

"Be sensible," she chided, folding her arms as a smirk played across her features. "Do you really think we'd agree to something without a shred of proof? We may be new at this, but we're not stupid."

 

Every element of the offer was tempting to Emerald, personally. The freedom of piracy was something she was loath to give up for the shackles of an organization, but in many ways, they had sacrificed anonymity and subversive movements when they took over the Smuggler's Moon. A change of power was something that underworld elements would naturally seek out, and Emerald had a feeling that this wasn't the last of such offers they might receive.

 

However, if such an agreement ever became public knowledge, it would almost certainly put them on the Empire's fierfek list. While she had no great love for the Empire--indeed, the opposite--for the most part Emerald preferred that the Gems should keep their head down when it came to galactic politics.

 

Though it didn't hurt that the terms of Kain's arrangement still gave her the unmitigated freedom to take potshots at Darth Quietus if that scum ever came across her path again.

 

"Your terms are... appealing, but I have a few amendments," she said, her voice measured. "One: credits we earn from your profits here on Nar Shaddaa go through shell accounts and must be entirely untraceable. Since your Dark Lord is an assassin, I'm sure he'll know a thing or two about that.

 

"Two, you will retain no control whatsoever over the acolytes you send us. If we find that there is even the slightest possibility that someone else might have access to those busy brains," she tapped her temple with a finger, "kaboom, all of them, deal's over, and we shut down all your operations here."

 

To the outside observer, she was the picture of reserved poise. Inwardly, Emerald could feel her veins themselves tremble with excitement as she continued, "Three: the first ship you send us is an Interdictor."

[Sapphire]

Great. The bloody Sith admiral was already angry with them. Sapphire clenched her jaw as she glanced at the datapad. A pop-up in the bottom corner warned her that the datapad was being hacked, and since it hadn't happened until they had gotten near Kain, she knew that meant he had to have a slicer droid with him somewhere nearby. She scanned the crowd, but it could have been any of them.

 

Mostly, though, Sapphire was so over this. They had made a legitimate request, and now here this being was telling them that they had already pissed him off, and risked pissing his master off too. Well, that was just great. What a joy these guys are going to be to work with, she thought sarcastically. One move they don't like and zap! We're all dead or slaves. She also didn't like how what had started as an offer had now become a join-us-or-die ultimatum. Sell out to the Sith, or the Dark Lord would come after them.

 

Emerald spoke up, and Sapphire grimaced inwardly, though she kept her face a pale, cold mask of haughty indifference. Her fellow pirate didn't seem to care that they were selling their freedom for a few new toys. Even if this worked out in the short term, Sapphire couldn't help feeling that in the long term, there would be a price to pay. And she didn't want that price to be their lives. No reward is worth that.

 

But Emerald wouldn't have that. She wanted this deal. She would give up almost anything to get it, and Sapphire knew it. No, the Gems were about to become Sith pawns, and the only way Sapphire would get out of it was to leave.

 

The thought stopped her. Leave the Gems? Leave Emerald and Ruby? Give up everything they had worked so hard to achieve and start over? What would she do, become their rival? Sapphire knew she could do it. She'd be successful, too. But did she value her freedom more than her best friends?

 

This time, the grimace reached her face. She reached out and subtly grabbed Emerald's hand, silently begging her friend--her sister--not to do anything rash.

[AVATAR Kain]

Kain shifted, a bit less irritated, and it showed. At least their demands were more reasonable and thought out this time around rather than simply 'meet in person'.

 

"Of course. Profits from this venture will be laundered many times over, then routed through so many shell companies it will take Coresec half a standard year just to trace one transaction, by which time the shells will have changed. We will establish a hidden garrison on this planet as well, to protect mutual interests. As for the slaves we will send you, they will be washouts from our academy. We'd rather make better use of our assets rather than simply kill them, so they will be indentured into a life of slavery for being unworthy of ever hoping to aspire to the title of Sith Lord."

 

He paused here briefly, running a quick analysis of what would be required to launder all that money, and while large, it was still doable. He could even craft a large program that did it autonomously, from creating new bank accounts and routing paths all the way down to creating new businesses and hiring and firing.

 

"And while it will take a while for us to get our fleet up and running, as after all, this entire deal is to serve as a foundation for it, your first ship will be an Interdictor. I will personally ensure its creation meets with your needs and that the primary crew positions are second to none."

 

As Kain finished, he noticed Sapphire's grimace. She was upset about something, and Kain wouldn't have any half-deals. This was to be a success, nothing less.

 

"You, Sapphire. You have concerns? Voice them."

[Sapphire]

Sapphire's first instinct was to keep her mouth shut, which was novel in of itself. But then she tossed her hair back. Kriff it. "Just wondering when the other shoe will drop," she drawled. "Everyone knows Sith can be trusted less than the criminals we work with on a daily basis."

 

She knew Emerald was probably grimacing at her bluntness, but she ignored her fellow pirate. "And I notice that this has turned from an opportunity to 'you'll agree or the Dark Lord will hunt you down'. Very pirate-like. I commend you." I'm not super eager to allow that kind of man to put a leash on us.

 

Sapphire was torn. She really did have a bad feeling in her gut about this whole mess, but on the other hand, Emerald really wanted this. And she couldn't deny her friend. And really, while it wasn't the best option, it was the safest, and it would provide her more chances in the future to build her empire. "But I see that we have no choice, and that you're going to do it anyway. So I suppose that serving the Sith is our only option." I just wish we had been able to enjoy our freedom for a bit longer before having to put our necks in the noose again. I hate being subordinate. But I'd rather be subordinate than dead.

 

She finally glanced at Emerald. "We have an accord," she told Kain.

[AVATAR Kain]

Kain almost spoke. The curiosity of running a few simulations got the best of him.

 

>CALCULATING VARIABLES
>VARIABLES CALCULATED
>74,544,992,943 MAJOR OUTCOMES DETECTED
>SIMULATING TOP 0.01% LIKELY SCENARIOS
>15.3% CHANCE OF FAILURE

 

Kain frowned as the results came back to him, and he widened the parameters.

 

>SIMULATING TOP 1% LIKELY SCENARIOS
>15.6% CHANCE OF FAILURE

 

Several seconds passed, awkwardly silent as he began running calculations in the magnitude of trillions per second. All with similar mean results, slightly outside his preferred parameters. All because this meatbag woman, this Sapphire was unhappy with the deal and how her skillsets could be utilized against the Sith. Kain stood, and as he stood, a large majority of the bustling population stopped in their tracks. Droids, many disguised with heavy clothes meant to simply fill the area and act as 'filler' for a possible escape. Droids of all shapes and makes. This was his army. Kain's skin began to morph, and as he spoke, his visage and voice shifted over a handful of seconds to one he preferred to wear as a 'droid' while he wasn't masquerading as an organic.

 

"So we are clear, this is not something I am doing lightly or on a whim. Few know who I am. Fewer live to keep that secret. I had planned to install an isolated backup system in your ships should we need to reclaim them, but...your skills and dissatisfaction with the Sith would render this deal unacceptable in eighty-six point two three seven, repeating, scenarios where treachery was discovered and subsequently dealt with. So there will be no treachery. No secrets. The Sith value strength and resolve. I value cunning."

 

Slowly, the droids began to clear the area, returning back to their duties as Kain's injected subroutines were wiped from their memories.

 

"While the Dark Lord values this planet, he wishes a business arrangement negotiated before any hostilities are even able to manifest. He would not openly attack you if you choose to decline, though a war of economy is one I can easily wage on my own. The Sith desire your cooperation, not your subservience. This is as much a choice as it was before you asked to meet me in person, a logical choice that I still think was frivolous and time consuming. That was what drew my ire. But the Dark Lord's wishes protect you from my wrath."

 

Now, fully changed, Kain stood before them. It would likely occur to Sapphire, at the least, that he was far more than a simple droid.

 

"I will not ask this again. It is more than I have ever offered anyone. Knowing what you know now, with all the cards on the table, would you change your mind?"

 

Kain waited for a reply, preferably from both of them. He'd willingly put himself in a dangerous situation, but it was in the name of the Sith. They would be fools to reject this, or even be displeased with it. But certain prices were demanded in the name of progress, and this was a price Kain was willing to pay to further the will of his Dark Lord.

[Emerald]

Sapphire could be so dramatic, Emerald thought to herself with a sidelong glance at her friend, who seemed resigned to consider this opportunity a set of chains. She assumed that Kain would withdraw the offer. She imagined that the terms would change for the worse. She mentally prepared for some ill-conceived form of retaliation.

 

She did not anticipate the skin covering their contact to shift and melt and change to reveal an imposing droid construct beneath.

 

The crowd cover surrounding them in the square cleared by the time his form had finished its metamorphosis, and Emerald found herself feeling quite exposed as a result. There was safety in anonymity on Nar Shaddaa, and his point was well made. He had shown his hand, they had shown theirs, and he had the element of surprise.

 

When Kain straight-up acknowledged that he had planned on betraying them, Sapphire couldn’t resist shooting Emerald an ‘I-told-you-so’ look. But at least he was being blunt now. Sapphire loved cloak-and-dagger stuff, but not when it was being used against the Gems. His words actually calmed some of her fears. When his cloak fell back and his identity was revealed, however, she was surprised. A droid? Sapphire mused. Well, that explains some things. Though he was clearly a highly advanced droid. Probably one of a kind. Seeing that he was a droid actually brought a measure of relief to her, because that meant he couldn’t use the Force. She immediately felt that they were on much more even footing. He was a messenger, although she didn’t doubt he was extremely combat-capable. His programming was most likely controlled by the Dark Lord, or at least one of the Triumvirate.

 

That didn’t matter much right now, though. He had made the offer one last time. Sapphire glanced at Emerald. It was her friend’s turn to accept or reject it.

 

The weighty look that passed between them carried more than words could say, and Emerald could feel the tangible indecision in the air. The conversation they’d had at Fizzy’s came back to her in full force, and for a moment, she was prepared to risk the ire of the droid before them out of consideration for Sapphire’s wishes, the hard-earned fight for freedom.

 

However, she could not begrudge Kain his backstabbing tactics. As Sapphire had said when she had addressed him earlier, he was showing his willingness to play by pirate rules.

 

And, as any pirate worth their salt would be well aware, there generally were no rules.

 

Extending her hand to the droid, Emerald raised a cool eyebrow, a smirk evident on her features. “We have an accord.”

 

“Aye,” Sapphire agreed. Their fate was sealed, be it for their benefit or to their detriment.

 

-----

 

Elsewhere on the Smuggler's Moon, Ammi Wolfstar's comm twittered with a summons from an unknown source. The message scrolled across in text, leaving the young woman unable to determine anything about the sender.

 

 

Miss Wolfstar, please relocate your ship to the central compound of the Blood Gem Pirates, spire three, and dock in bay 42-A. A representative will approach you with instructions.

 

When she arrived, the newly-minted Amethyst would find herself in the heart of the five-spired skyscraper network. Just inside the docking bays of the third spire, an ornate sitting room was located, resplendent with plush furniture and fountains, and fully serviced by droid waitstaff. On a low table in the center of the room, two long and curved swords crossed on a stand, each one inlaid with a trio of gemstones in the hilt: shimmering viridian, striking crimson, and rich cerulean.

 

Sheathed below the display was a small dagger, a single lilac-colored gemstone inset in the tang of the blade on either side.

[AVATAR Kain]

Kain nodded slowly, calculating this as an acceptable outcome. His appearance shifted again, taking on the appearance of a Duros, again wearing a black hood.

 

"We will be in touch. Rest easy in the protection the Sith afford. It is not granted frivolously."

 

With that, he turned and melted into the crowd, deactivating the remaining camera jamming IR floodlights and restoring the area to its normal functionality. Seeing as they were allies, Kain also deigned to leave behind a small gift, a seed of coding on Sapphire's datapad that functionally was a mutable framework program capable of developing into an AI, albeit lacking much of the filler coding that dictated exactly how the program would operate.

 

Kain doubted he would ever find an AI that surpassed his capabilities and ambition, other than the Mechis AI, but a skilled slicer like Sapphire would likely be able to make use of it...after she figured out the nonstandard coding, of course.

 

Hours later, Kain's ship left Nar Shaddaa, shooting into hyperspace like an angry white kid at a public school.

[Anastasia Faust]

Ammi's morning routine started off the same. Exercise, breakfast, getting cleaned up, and then settling down to work on her latest songs. Just as she got into a groove, really feeling the music and direction of the song as she practiced potential lyics, her commlink buzzed. She almost ignored it, remembering a time about a year ago, when all but broke, she and the droids tried to get by via signing up for all sorts of marketing lists and offers. That got them a week's worth of meals and enough discounted fuel to get off world, but even now they were still dealing with the frivolous offers and messages, as well as all kinds of business solicitations. The temptation at moments like these was to hurl her commlink into a wall, though the last time she did that, it broke and then bounced off and hit 4L-T0 right in the optics. Ironically, the spammy message that triggered said outburst was for discounted electronics, which Ammi turned to for a new commlink and to get parts for 4L-T0's eye.

 

Then she remembered she might actually have people who she wanted to talk with like her new employers. She reluctantly answered it, promising herself if it was a solicitation thing, she'd give whoever it was a piece of her mind. It turned out it was her employers and with an excited hop, she moved to get the ship started up and docked as directed. No more paying for docking fees at the local spaceport!

 

She carefully eased the ship in, 4L-T0 and B45-50 keeping an eye out as she did. Just because things were going well didn't mean they always would and the droids, knowing Ammi, figured at the least they should keep an eye out for quick escape routes if needed. Ammi was impressed as the structure looked both functional and ornate, like something a Xizor or Daisaku would have. She also realized too if she upset them enough, they'd probably have all the resource to hunt her down to the ends of the Galaxy and back, more so than a washed out Imperial commander assigned to the backwaters or a minor Hutt boss. Voicing his own parallel concern, B45-50 is more direct. "Powerful people. Don't piss them off," he advises. 4L-T0 just nods in agreement, having been prepared to say the same thing in about 6 times as many sentences.

 

Docked, Ammi enters, wearing one of her finest outfits, choosing something resembling a green kimono style dress that her mama often wore. As a concession to her new stage name, she wore a purple obi with it. It was fashionable and reserved for special occasions, but a trained eye could detect a few thin threads hidden here and there on it, mute signs of 2 years of infrequent wear and tear. She looked around the sitting room, the word "opulent" coming to mind. She asked the serving droids for a flavored water, something citrusy, then meandered over to the table, examining it. The swords and the symbolism was obvious enough, eyeing each of the gems embedded in it. Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire. She looked down at the dagger below it and had to do a double check. Kneeling in for a closer inspection, she touched the sheathed dagger and ran her fingers over the inset gem.

 

"Amethyst," she murmured softly, looking at AL-T0 and BA5-50. She picked up the dagger, testing it, but set it down, her hand going back to the sheathed silver wolf's head dagger with its sapphire eyes. She sat down and sighed. "I don't get this guys," she murmured to her droids. "Knowing zilch about my real parents. Why is this starting to eat at me now? It never did before."

 

"Hierarchy of needs," 4L-T0 said cheerfully, showing off his knowledge, sitting next to her. "Physical, safety, and then emotional well being. We might have a secured future from all of our hard work finally," he said, pleasure at that thought creeping into his voice. "But since you ran away from home two years ago, you haven't had the need for belonging truly fulfilled, but you couldn't worry about it before now either since someone's hijinks might have kept us on the edge of disaster at all times." Ammi glared at him, but without much real force. 4L-T0 continued, shrugging off the stare. "You're able to ask that question of belonging safely now," he said. B45-50 just nodded in agreement.

 

Ammi stared at AL-T0, digesting his explanation. "Make sense to me," she says. "I suppose I'll just need to stir up more trouble so it's not an issue any more," she teases with a wide grin. 4L-T0 and B45-50 look warily at her, knowing those kinds of idle jokes and threats often turned into a reality.

[Sapphire]

The mutable droid paused for a moment, then agreed and left. Sapphire couldn't help but feel relieved. At least they had made the most out of this. What was done was done, and she hoped for the best.

 

Her datapad beeped, signalling that it had received something. She checked it, and saw a new program had been downloaded--a present from Kain, she assumed. Opening it up, she glanced through the code. It was unlike anything she had seen before, but something about it nagged a memory in her mind. She shut it down. She'd play with it later. It wasn't enough to cause her system any harm.

 

She put her datapad away and looked at Emerald. "Well, that's that," she said, shrugging. "Looks like the galaxy just got a whole lot bigger for the Blood Gems."

 

Turning, she headed back towards the transport depot, checking her chrono as she did so. It was early afternoon. Perfect. They still had plenty to do today, and hopefully hiring the band manager and taking over Jalos' garage would be much more enjoyable endeavors.

 

She linked arms with Emerald. "I need to fly. Let's go get the Glory."

[Anastasia Faust]

Ammi sat around, arms crossed, one leg over the other, her foot kicking in tune with the music in her head. She was still thinking how to round out the last half of Ruby Suns, Topaz Sands when impatience set in. No longer sitting, she started to pace.

 

"Miss Ammi, please calm down. I'm sure our hosts will be here shortly enough," 4L-T0 tried to say soothingly. Ammi just growled and the droid earned a small headshake from B45-50. The two kept watching Ammi pace back and forth in front of the long table, Ammi stopping to check the chrono on her PDA. B45-50, for his part, tried to make a game of it, working out the average speed of her pacing, the times back and forth in a minute. 4L-T0 just found himself getting fidgety.

 

As they waited, Ammi went back to the table, looking at the dagger again. She drew it and tested it, taking a few thrusts and jabs in the air. Not a knife fighter in any professional sense, she at least knew to stab with the pointy end and how to hold it, as well as controls on when to stop her blade after a strike. Boredom set in after a few minutes. She then eyed the two swords on their stands.

 

"I wouldn't," B45-50 advised.

"Miss Ammi, I wouldn't disturb those," 4L-T0 cautioned.

 

Shrugging off their warnings, Ammi tested one of the jeweled swords and started swinging it around. Both B45-50 and 4L-T0 made a point to raise an arm protectively over their optics. "Different than the type of swords mama used," Ammi said grandly, giving it a twirl, striking in the air and stopping with firm, precise blows. "But well made." Ammi's swinging became faster.

 

"Ammi, be careful! You'll brea-" 4L-T0 began. Ammi half turned to say she got it, when a loud THUNK echoed in the room, followed by wood splintering, and then a crash as her sword swipe cut the table in two, causing it to cave in the middle, dumping the knife and sword stand onto the ground with a crash. All three stared at the broken table in the middle of the ornate room. Ammi just said "Oops," covering her mouth. 4L-T0 would have rolled his eyes and was busy trying to calculate the costs of the table. BA5-50, who never did this, actually started laughing, earning a cross look from Ammi usually reserved for AL-T0.

 

"It was like that when we got here," Ammi said firmly, placing the sword back on the stand and uprighting it on the floor. The droids both gave her an incredulous look, doubting anyone would buy that. Ammi, for her part, at least had the grace to blush before sitting back down again, arms crossed, leg crossed, foot kicking at an even faster tempo, ignoring the ruined table in the center of the room.

[Emerald]

"I see you've made yourself at home."

 

The sultry alto rang out in the lavish sitting room before its owner appeared, this time clad in a streamlined suit jacket, form-fitting slacks, and a blouse made from the finest imported Lashaa silk in a deep blue that brought out the undertones in her sparkling green eyes. Emerald leaned against the windows that overlooked the long drop from the central spire and gave Ammi a measuring look that spoke neither humor nor displeasure. Casting her eyes from the splintered Alderaanian timbers--priceless in their extinction--back to Ammi and the droids, in turn, a deadly silence filled the room. Like a feral jungle cat, she crossed the room to retrieve the swords that had been hastily replaced, slightly askance, on their ornate stand, before padding back towards the window.

 

With nary a warning, she burst into motion, bringing both swords crashing down onto the table, cross-sectioning the piece that Ammi had already severed. Stabbing the blades point-first into the remains of the dead table, she flopped down nonchalantly on the sofa under the window and grinned at the young woman. "I always hated that table."

 

The hiss of the door admitted Sapphire, who entered arm in arm with the reason for their tardiness, and in response, the blonde stood again, flashing a winning smile. "Ah, right on schedule. Amethyst Wolfstar of the Galaxy GlobeTrotters, please meet your manager, Kalen Lorell."

 

Following their departure from Kain's company--and after Emerald had convinced Sapphire to wait on getting her ship back--the Gems had expediently returned to their offices. They had not bothered to move into Dorjoola's office, or Syddro's, given that the dank smell of slimy Hutt tended to linger, instead choosing to occupy spaces on another spire completely. The question of finding a manager for Ammi had become of greatest priority, since entrusting such a malleable asset with great potential to someone outside of their triumvirate felt almost unthinkable. But with Ruby already sinking her teeth into management in their Nar Shaddaa headquarters, and the skillsets of both Sapphire and Emerald not being particularly suited to such a task, they had begrudgingly agreed that a fourth party would have to be brought into the conversation.

 

Enter Kalen Lorell, the finest business school dropout in the Consortium. He had been a classmate of Emerald’s on Hapes itself, but his mother, being a Duchess on Relephon in the Hapan Rifle Worlds, had been involved in some kind of power struggle that necessitated the relocation of their family for their own protection. At the time, he had been the closest thing to a friend that Emerald had, and his relocation from the capital planet was devastating to a younger, more naive version of the voluptuous pirate. Of course, that had only lasted until Emerald herself was similarly displaced following her Aunt Terelda’s ballistic display of temper against her family, removing her from the care of her parents and attempting to groom her into a similarly power-hungry candidate for the role of Queen Mother.

 

Ah, Aunt Terelda. Funny how things work out. The Gems were still benefitting from... commandeering her hall of Gallinore rainbow gems a few months ago. Not only that, but Emerald had become, in a way, more powerful than Aunt Terelda might have ever imagined. Now, instead of the limited and culturally confining crown of the Hapes Consortium, Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire had won the criminal crown of Nar Shaddaa.

 

The tall, handsome man was a typical Hapan in appearance, but his penchant for making smart gambles had drawn Sapphire’s attention when she was studying under a brilliant Bith computer scientist on Artus Prime. He had always seemed to know how to win at both sabacc and other games of chance, as well as making the smartest investments. It was as if he had a gift for knowing when the markets would be strong, which products would be in demand, and when the best time to sell and buy stocks was. Sapphire had met him, gotten to know him, and kept his comm number, never knowing when she might have the need to do a little insider trading.

 

But when the Gems had needed a manager for the GlobeTrotters, Kalen’s name had been thrown into the ring. He had the skills necessary to make an excellent manager, and as his sister had been involved heavily in the music industry, he knew the business. It hadn’t taken long to convince him to take the job. The pay was better, and he had admitted to being a bit bored with his white collar job. Add that to the benefit of seeing Emerald and Sapphire again, and he had hopped a transport to Nar Shaddaa immediately.

 

Now, he strode forward and took Amethyst’s hand, kissing the back of it. “It’s a great pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said, his voice as smooth as nerf butter. “I look forward to bringing your band a great deal of success--for both you and your beautiful benefactresses.”

 

Sapphire chuckled softly. This might be Kalen’s first foray into working for the criminal world, but she was sure he’d fit right in.

 

Beaming, Emerald gave the manager an appreciative glance. “Kalen here has drafted an itinerary, if you’d like to look over it. While the original idea was to send you to Coruscant to record your full-length album, given the quarantine, you’ll stay here until your EP is finished, and we’ll start the tour on the Outer Rim and move it Coreward. If that is amenable to you, that is.”

 

Green eyes met cerulean ones in a knowing grin. The illusion of choice was a powerful thing.

[Anastasia Faust]

For one who was sitting firmly down, one leg kicking in the air, the other leg still idly crossed over the other, Ammi pulled off a feat worthy of a Jedi and somehow managed to jump nearly a foot into the air. Turning away and gulping to avoid a look of panic in her eyes, Ammi's hands clenched into fists and slowly unclenched, trying to let the tension flow out of her before she turned to look Emerald in the eyes, finding them fixed ever so briefly on the broken table. 4L-T0 and B45-50 diffidently turned away, leaving Ammi, rightfully they both thought, to answer for the destroyed furniture.

 

Ammi held her breath, the silence thick. She guessed the table expensive, but didn't know its lineage. That was probably the one thing keeping her from bolting. Ammi's gaze followed Emerald across the room, feeling the tension build, uncrossing her legs, sitting more upright, starting to coil like a spring. Sweat started to bead on her forehead as she saw her retrieve the swords. B45-50's gaze followed her now, an indifferent look, but 4L-T0 could sense his friend measuring the distance between Emerald and Ammi, ready to intervene if necessary. When the sword flew, Ammi jumped again, catching the flash of metal, and then heard a further crash as the table was cut In four. She found her breath, exhaling, one hand clutching her chest, staring incredulously at Emerald in the aftermath, speechless for a change. Slowly, she managed a smile, fingers crossing nervously. Wisely, she continued keeping bher mouth shut, though still felt jumpy as she heard Sapphire make her entrance.

 

Her gaze immediately fell on the handsome Hapan with her, some of the lessons that sunk in during her early years allowing her to recognize his background. She rose to standing, giving a formal bow, as despite her wild behavior she did have a refined sense of etiquette. Never mind that she often, though almost always might be fairer, chose to ignore said sense of etiquette. She gave a small, even girlish laugh as he kissed her hand, half genuinely flattered, half unconsciously trying to apply the charm to her new manager. "A pleasure to meet you as well, good sir," she said with a smile. "though please, call me Ammi, at least when we're not in public," she said, adding the last with a side glance at Sapphire and Emerald. "If our mutual benefactors trust you," she said, giving them a grin before turning back to Kalen, "then you have my confidence and trust as well." There was no double talk, no sarcasm in her voice as she made an honest declaration of faith.

 

For their parts, 4L-T0 and B45-50 rose and gave a smaller, polite bow as well, taking their seats again. Situations like this were Ammi's forte, never mind about a good twenty percent of the time things ended in tears and panicked flight.

 

Ammi took the itinerary, looking it over. 4L-T0 and B45-50 rose as well, reviewing it. It looked appropriate, nodding along in approval. An idea struck her. "Skyhooks," she mused, thinking aloud, then turned and looked at Kalen and the others. "Could we secure a skyhook over Coruscant to do the recording and then holocaust the concert locally?" she asked. "We bypass the need to deal with the quarantine since we never actually land on the planet, and give a show of still being willing to visit and perform for them?" Her eyes flash an almost sparkling green, alight with thoughts of how that could play out. "I've already done a charity concert that benefited Coruscant General when I was on Corellia. Something like this could really help out, not only bringing awareness for our brand, but also in getting aid for those affected by that awful virus. Getting the permits for that shouldn't be too hard, right?"

 

She felt torn, the next world on the list was Cardia as a dense population center. She wondered if she'd be able to find anything about the Wolfstars or anything about her birth parents there. Still, it could wait. It wouldn't be the Galaxy Opera House, but it was definite mark up from the bars and small venues she'd played before. Besides, she felt that sense of doing good with her music that made her all the more eager.

[Sapphire]

"The permits are easy," Sapphire replied, waving a hand dismissively from the other side of the room, where she had taken a seat. "The hard part would be lining you up a gig."

 

"She's right," Kalen said. "Unfortunately, everyone seems to have the same idea right now. You wouldn't believe how many bands are lining up to do charity concerts for Coruscant." He pulled up some info on his datapad, all business now. "Although...I might be able to get you in the Band-AID charity extravaganza being held in a few weeks. A bunch of bands are all playing, and it's gonna be a big deal. You won't be a headliner, but it wouldn't be bad at all for publicity and getting your name out more."

 

Sapphire rose. "We'll leave you to work out the details," she said airily. Then her tone grew serious. "There's just one more thing, Miss Wolfstar. Your background check came up with a lot of blanks. What is it about your family history that you're trying to hide?"

[AVATAR Kain]

Over the next few days, the transport ships to Nar Shaddaa were more and more loaded to the brim with associates of the Sith, whether petty criminals or just simple folk looking to make some money, all had a place in the machine Kain had artfully begun crafting. Businesses were registered over the Holonet, all via untraceable digital addresses, and began adding employees in much the same manner, listing jobs and hiring digitally, communicating through text mail and audio only calls with voices that sounded real, but weren't. All manner of networks were put into place, from smaller casinos, to street gangs, private security firms, insurance companies, a Holonet hacking conglomerate, and even used speeder dealerships, all aimed at edging in and cornering business markets on Nar Shaddaa while feeding into each other and ripping off customers for more than they bargained for. Advertising companies would ensure tourism to Nar Shaddaa's casinos remained high while controlled Media coverage would downplay any potential negative reviews or reports from swindled civilians.

 

A smaller bank was even established so as to route some credit transfers through, making it much simpler to bounce transfers around banking networks so many times along randomized routes that even the best CoreSec agents with complete access to the data would take months piecing some of the financial puzzle together, and by then the puzzle would simply have shifted to start them back at square one. Kain had even written a specific complicated program stored deep in the Holonet to orchestrate most of it. Shell companies would open and close, records would be 'lost', bought and paid for government dignitaries would sign off on waivers overlooking most of it. In the end, the funds would be untraceable, the majority of profits deposited solidly in Sith coffers, with a small sustainability cut routed to the Gems, because they did, after all, own much of the assets by name. But the price of security and freedom was high, and the Sith would have their war machine.

[Anastasia Faust]

It was odd mixture of disappointment and relief at not being able to perform a second charity concert. The relief mostly came in the situation being well covered by other performers, so while it might be good to put in an appearance, Ammi felt confident that a marked difference would be made without her. "It can wait a few weeks while we start up the rest of the tour," she concluded.

 

Something in Sapphire's manner caught her off guard and before she could sit back down to work over the details, she felt a premonition that something was off.

 

Then came the question she'd been trying to avoid since she ran away two years ago. The droids, for their part, just stood impassively, giving the ultimate poker faces. Ammi, realizing all eyes were now on her lowered her head, giving a rather sheepish laugh. It wasn't quite a rehearsed reaction, but she'd played out how she'd answer this in various forms. That question still offered hope too, since that meant some of her misadventures making her way here weren't widespread knowledge either.

 

"Short answer is, I don't have a family history," she said candidly, fingering the pendant she wore. "I was in an accident when I was very young, a fire that kept me hospitalized for a long time, and I don't have any memories from before that. I was adopted by a small family on a backwater that's ah, what's the phrase, 'off the grid' as they say on some farming planets. They said I should keep the name my parents gave me though." Her smile grows slightly wistful, thinking back to some of those simpler times. "Despite the good childhood and all, still kinda didn't stop me from running away a couple years ago to try and make it on my own," she admitted, giving a roguish smile.

 

"Or from stealing your ship when you ran away either," 4L-T0 added dryly. B45-50 nodded in assent. Ammi's scowl at them could have made a rancor pause, her face softening once she remembered what her employers did if all they rumors they heard were true... which given where they were on Nar Shaddaa, meant they probably were. Even so, the ship was meant for her. She just took it and left without asking... or even telling anyone... after being told "no" a few times by both mama and papa.

 

"I didn't exactly steal it," she muttered, that still being a bit of a sore spot. "Anyhow," she added with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. "I don't know much about my birth parents and I don't think my mama and papa did either. Just have a couple mementos that were from them," she said touching her pendant again and the small knife she carried with their sapphire ornamentations. She slowly drew the latter and offered it to Sapphire for inspection, showing off its wolf head before resheathing it. "All I was told was my mom was once a smuggler and my dad an Imperial. Odd paring, but, if there's love," she shrugged. Her face darkened. "I was told they were both murdered by the Sith. Kinda like the old Skywalker betrayed and murdered bit that the histories teach, except unsure if there was any actual betrayal involved and instead of murder being a metaphor, it actually meant killing them dead in an act of murder." She looked away, cold anger in her voice fading to suppressed grief. "Always assumed the injuries I had came from whatever killed them, but I don't know. Doubt I ever will. And all the Sith in the Galaxy can go jump in a black hole and rot for eternity."

 

She wasn't sure if it was just her or if there was a heavy mood in the room after she finished. She hated feeling this down. "Well, Kalen," she said, giving a grin and clasping him on the shoulder, forcing good cheer into her voice. "I'll leave it to you to find a publicist who can spin a good story or bio out of that."

[Emerald]

"Carida's Sweetheart: Ammi Wolfstar, poster child in the Empire's quest to exterminate the Sith." Kalen's hands splashed the imaginary words across every holographic advertisement from Nar Shaddaa to the Core. "I think we can use it, but maybe not on Coruscant. Political tensions being what they are."

 

Kalen was no stranger to political tension, Emerald thought wryly, but Ammi's last comment stuck in her mind even louder than the manager's suggestions. If she had any inkling of what would be taking place on the planet under her very nose, she might rethink her allegiance to the Gems. A keen eye studied the girl as she and Kalen chatted about venue possibilities, the debonair Hapan naturally putting his client at ease. The decision to keep Ammi a bit distant from the Gems' other dealings was reinforced in Emerald's mind as a canny decision; if a bit Machiavellian. When the lines between good, evil, and profit began to mingle for her, more room could be made within the Blood Gem Pirates for her.

 

But that was a conversation to ease into, and they still had plenty of time.

 

"Tell you what," Kalen was saying as she extracted herself from her thoughts, "Band-AID isn't for another couple of weeks. We have time to lay tracks for Fear Is The Mind Killer and Scoundrels Shoot First before we leave Nar Shaddaa."

 

"You should set something up on Carida, Kalen," Emerald said impulsively. While her voice was chipper, her measuring gaze never left Ammi. Sapphire's questions had also raised concerns in her mind about the girl's history, and it hadn't escaped her notice that Ammi had not dropped the names of her adoptive parents. "I hear benefit galas are all the rage. You could probably find someone to host her EP debut before you make your way to Trip Zero."

[Anastasia Faust]

Ammi heard that offering and actually flushed. She loved the idea of being the anti-Sith poster child, but felt it was a bit above her. She looked uncomfortable too and it was 4L-T0 who spoke up, asking the question Ammi didn't quite have the courage to ask.

 

"A lovely thought, and one I think we can agree on is a worthy cause, Miss Ta'ara," he said. That drew a sharp look from Ammi, who just knew her benefactor as Emerald. What had her friends been up to? "But I fear there's certain danger in that course," he continued, as B45-50 drew protectively over Ammi. "We respect Miss Ammi's wishes and will follow them," 4L-T0 said, "but with how the Sith are, I fear painting a target on her. Can you protect her?"

 

Ammi looked back and forth between her friends, Kalen, and the Gems. She felt glad that her friends were looking out for her, but she also felt the need to use her music to make a difference. "I fear the same thing," she said, her usually confidence, cheery voice uncertain. "But, what the heck. If it's for the greater good, I'll do it. I doubt I'll be asked to play on Korriban or Byss or the like anytime soon," she added with a bland smile. "Though a good point is raised where if there's blow back from this I'll be taken care of. I don't want some psychotic Sith marking me for death or anything." Left unspoken were five words.

 

Like they did my parents.

 

She tried not to think of that, glad when Kalen brought up the Band-AID concert. She nodded in appreciation at the idea, her fingers working on their own, instinctively playing the first few chords of that new song. "I think that sounds wonderful. She'd tried using the studio built into the ship for recording, but it was still quite tiny and while the equipment was once state of the art, that was a couple years ago, and it'd likely been surpassed. She'd never been inside a full one before and looked eager to try. "I've also been working on a couple new songs," she added, deciding now was a good time to surprise her benefactors. "Gem themed. Only got one so far, Diamond Memoriam, but I'd like to present you with the final product," she said with a teasing smile.

 

At the mention of Cardia, that caught her off guard. Like Corellia, that had a sense of what felt like resonance for her. She couldn't think of why that would be. She never recalled visiting there, ever, though she'd heard of it as the seat of power for what remained of the Empire. She'd thought of visiting there before and felt eager to do so again, though those four incidents she'd had with the Empire on her way towards the core worlds still made her a bit twitchy. Still, if the Gems didn't link anything to her, and mercifully, she felt, didn't bring up her adoptive parents again, she doubted she'd have much reason to worry from the Empire which seemed much more... sprawling and bureaucratic.

 

"Cardia, eh?" she said. "As long as I don't have to dress up in one of those silly stormtrooper bikini outfits to perform, I'm totally down with that," she said. That after all had been one of the things that set off a prior incident.

[Emerald]

The use of her given name brought Emerald's attention to bear on Ammi's mechanical friend, daggers dripping from her eyes. Her unwavering smile gave way to a throaty laugh.

 

"Please. I guarantee you, if the SIth can manage to worm their way onto Carida after Zinthos' inquisition, then there is no place in the galaxy that is safe. If you wanted safe, little droid, you should have kept her at home with mommy and daddy. I'm sure she could have been put to great use... oh, I don't know, tending the moisture farm, or minding the shop, or sketching the blueprints for a new line of speeders, or feeding the family ronto," she said sardonically, with a hint of warning in her easy tone. "Nar Shaddaa isn't safe, Carida isn't safe, and Coruscant definitely isn't safe. But there's profit there, and a name to be made."

 

Seeming suddenly wearied with the conversation, she stood. "If it's of concern to you, we'll send you along with a bodyguard. I don't trust any of the Hutt-slime in this organization, so we'll order you one. There's a droid company on Nubia that's caught my eye. Since you're already used to the company of droids, what's one more, right?"

 

She quirked her head to one side. "Tarvil has been instructed to service your ship and have it readied to go by the time you leave here. Kalen, if Miss Wolfstar is ready, the studio is waiting for her, and I for one would love to hear DIamond Memoriam."

 

Stooping to the remains of the ruined table, she plucked the dagger out from the shards of splintered wood and extended it to the girl, leaning in conspiratorially. "You are one of us, now, Amethyst." Her eyes flickered to the droids behind the girl, and as an addendum, continued, "Lesson one: better keep your friends on a tight leash. You wouldn't want them getting you into trouble."

 

Just as quickly as they had appeared, the Blood Gems vanished through the side door, leaving Ammi alone with her droids and her new manager.

[Anastasia Faust]

Ammi didn't miss the reaction 4L-T0's statement had on Emerald with that name drop. She tried to talk on as if nothing happened, hoping it'd pass. She understood why he, though likely "they" given how unsurprised B45-50 was, did it, but kriffin-farkled droids at times. She was an asset to the Gems, and not one they'd throw away. Was it necessary to hammer in that they were guarding her like that? She was about to go on about the Cardia idea when Emerald spoke up. There was something in there that caught her attention, and at the mention of "blueprints", Ammi froze. Even her friends tried to remain calm at that, but B45-50, ever the gracious one, simply gave a nod like she'd seen practicing lightsaber duelists do when acknowledging an opponent scoring a touch.

 

Oh, Sithspit...

 

"Droids would be good," Ammi said. "I... trust them," she admitted. She thought it odd how she considered the droids her two best friends, at least after her sisters. There were other people she knew on her adopted homeworld, but there was always an arms length distance between them as Ammi kept to herself. She wasn't sure why she always kept herself distant. She loved people, and felt like she needed that positive energy. At the same time, there was something holding her back too that she couldn't place. A fear perhaps? Of rejection? Of hurt? Or hurting them? Well, she'd sort that one out later.

 

She met Emerald in the eyes and gratefully took the dagger from her this time. She actually gave a smile at that. "They're more likely to keep me out of trouble that get me in," she said softly. "Papa built them for that I think," she added wryly, then in a measure of trust, her own green-blue eyes still meeting Emerald's, added the confirmation to Emerald's guess. "Though he'd more likely have me building starships than speeders." Unspoken were two items Ammi's eyes conveyed, a thank you for the discretion with that name remaining unspoken, and a thank you for the opportunity to allow her to take those risks on her own.

 

She watched Emerald and Sapphire depart, fingering the dagger. Maybe she could go for a kind of double hilt ensemble? She knew of some arts around two handed dagger fighting, but was leery of learning anything defensive that could kill a person if she slipped up. Sighing, she turned toward Kalen and the droids.

 

"Soooooo," she said, taking his arm and leading him back to her ship. "The studio, yesssss?" she said, all sunshine and smiles again. "Unless you have a speeder that can get us there faster. Oh, and if there's time before the tour, I think I'll want to stop by Myrkr. Girl can't be too careful these days. So, what kinda soundboards and mixing programs do you have? Mmmm?" And so on...

 

4L-T0 and B45-50 just stared, shaking their heads, meeting Kalen's gaze as if answering the unspoken question on his lips. No, not an act, Miss Ammi really was that... mercurial...

 

Back at the studio

 

The music rose up powerfully as Ammi broke into the final verse of Diamond Memoriam.

 

• I'll hold you close to my heart, forever more.
   
  Our diamond love will burn bright.
   
  Till the stars grow cold.

 

The last note from Ammi's voice faded away, as did the notes from her guitar, B45-50's piano, and 4L-T0's drum. Ammi let out a sigh, feeling as if singing that song with its heavy material took a lot out of her. Then again, it probably did. She regretted not having it when she'd performed on Corellia. On the plus side, they'd definitely nailed it. She looked up outside of the recording booth, shock registering on her face.

 

"Kalen?" she asked, looking at her manager and then the other staff in the studio. "Are... are you all crying?" she asked both shocked and amused by that for some reason, unaware she had a tear of her own trickling down her left cheek. "Hah, I know it's a bit melancholy and bitter-sweet, but really-" She felt 4L-T0 brush her cheek, then turned, her eyes narrowing on the tear drop on the end of his slender fingers.

 

"ALTO!" she half-screamed, her loud, high voice causing half the staff to pull their headphones off in pain, her face flushing. "Oh, come'on! That's totally not a teardrop! This booth is hot and that's sweat! B45-50, that's not funny! Kalen, come'on! Hey!" And on that went.

 

And things were back to... normal...

[Ajani Lainthok]

Ajani wasn't looking forward to dealing with the Hutt. She found the whole race vile, but it was a necessary dealing for she was hungry and her ship needed fuel plus a few repairs if the deal went well. She secured her ship, and the bounty on board, before she made her way to the usual place designated for all of Dorjoola's dealings.

 

The air was different than the last time she'd been here. It was still the hive she remembered, but she couldn't quite place the subtle difference to the air as she walked towards her destination. Her lip curled in a snarl in anticipation of the onslaught of sounds and smells she expected when the door opened, and remained as she quickly scanned for her usual agent. Finding him, she inclined her head in a moment of brief eye contact before choosing a booth and waiting for their approach.

 

After a short time, too long for her taste, a voice grated on her ears, "Lainthok. What a pleasure to see you again, and so soon!" There was always a flourish she never appreciated from this particular agent.

 

"I have a bounty. Inform Dorjoola." Simple. To the point. She was never one to mince words or flatter. She had a job and she'd see it to completion.

 

"That is, unfortunately, not an available action at this moment," the agent confessed, albeit with a hint of glee at the frustrated look it caused Ajani, "Didn't you hear?"

 

When they paused, Ajani simply stared them down. She was growing agitated at being a plaything of this creature. Her ear twitched and her lip curled back once more in a small threat of violence.

 

"Dorjoola no longer holds sway over these parts," they quickly stammered after seeing the flash of teeth, "It's run by a couple pirates now. Gems, they call themselves. They may take your bounty."

 

With a heavy sigh, she leaned back into the booth, drumming her fingers on the tabletop, "And how might I get in contact with them?"

[Emerald]

The capricious musician was a study in contradictions, thought Kalen Lorell as he watched Ammi through the soundproof window of the production booth, but she was nothing short of inspiring. Something unspoken in her manner, or in the clear and brilliant tone of her voice, was instantly captivating. The studio engineer, a Bith by the name of Iryn Dinyel, was the only one who showed no outward signs of emotion. But he worked quickly and efficiently, doing retakes when necessary and proving why he was worth his salt. In this case, "salt" was the exorbitant amounts of cash that the Gems had paid to grease his palms enough to coerce him to drop every other project on his plate to prioritize Ammi's EP. Before long, her little trio had finished their work for the day, and Diamond Memoriam was set for its Holonet single debut.

 

Extending his arm to her in debonaire Hapan fashion, Kalen moved to escort Ammi out of the booth, reassuringly grinning down at her. "Excellent work today, Miss Wolfstar. Now, on your itinerary for the evening, I have a list of restaurants below in the casino for you to choose from before I show you to your room here in the palace. I figured, if we have to discuss the finer points of our travel plans, better to do it over a glass of Kuati pommra-vine, no?"

 

With a slanting nod, he indicated 4L-T0 and B45-50. "Your friends are welcome to join us, of course. I also had some ideas about the music video for Diamond Memoriam..."

 

-----

 

After swinging by the apartment to collect Ruby and change from sensible business attire into combat suits, armed to the teeth and looking every bit the part of the smugglers they were, Emerald and Sapphire proceeded to the private lounge of The Slag Pit, a cantina located in the Corellian Sector that had been a favorite of theirs when they were simple bounty hunters. Here, even the Pirate Queens could disappear into the throng of lowlifes that packed the cantina wall-to-wall, setting up or collecting on the bounties Nar Shaddaa was famous for proliferating. And it was here that they had come to plot Jalos' destruction.

 

With a glance at Tarvil as he activated the privacy field around the lounge, Emerald crossed her ankles atop the table. "Tarv, be a doll and grab us a fifth of Kashyyykian rum, would you?"

 

"Only if you save me some this time, swill."

 

"No promises," she spat, a sly grin in her eyes.

 

Turning her attention to Sapphire, the blonde let a Cheshire smirk onto her features. "So, how are you going to do it? Go back to get the Glory and leave him a handful of thermal detonators as a parting gift?"

 

-----

 

Tarvil made his way back towards the privacy field, four chilled glasses and an expensive bottle of rum clutched in his hands, when the tail end of a conversation met his keen ears.

 

"Dorjoola no longer holds sway over these parts..."

 

Intrigued, he tucked the bottle under his arm and moved to stand behind the agent, assessing the hunter who sat across from him. A Togorian? Triiani? Cathar? ... no, this feline was definitively a Horansi.

 

"I can help you there," he interjected, his brilliant white teeth starkly contrasting his rich brown skin. "Tarvil A'ro. I speak for the Gems."

[Ajani Lainthok]

Her attention snapped to the source of the voice intruding on the conversation, the atmosphere making it difficult to keep her relaxed posture. Her eyes scanned the stranger for any threats - weapons, weaknesses - before settling on his face. He was tall, but she smirked to herself knowing she had the advantage in that aspect.

 

With a wave of her hand she dismissed the agent she’d been talking to, noting he’d nearly wet himself, since he was no longer useful to her. She stared down - Tarvil, he said his name was - attempting intimidation and nonchalance before responding.

 

“I have a bounty. Turns out who placed it is no longer available to fill it. These Gems, do they make good on bounties here now?”

[Anastasia Faust]

Ammi's not-quite-tirade finished up. 4L-T0 and B45-50 didn't say anything the whole time. They didn't need to, their droid bodies quivering in a way that barely hid their silent laughter. Composing herself, she brushed a strawberry blonde lock of hair out of her eyes, her green eyes no longer flecked blue with irritation, reverting to their normal soft green. She turned back towards Kalen and Iryn, studying their reactions. Iryn in particular fascinated her. Back when it was just the three of them a couple years back, they'd had all sorts of tools available on the ship. While her friends knew the basics and the ship's droid brains dedicated space and talent to running the tiny mixing studio, there was a certain barrier they were never able to overcome on their own in terms of compiling and managing their music. Iryn seemed a savant at what he did. Once more she missed that cozy sense of managing her own fate, and being in control, but with all her disasters along the way, was she ever?

 

Well Ammi, you're in the big leagues now.

 

Slinging her guitar over her shoulder, she graciously took Kalen's arm. She felt a small flutter in her chest as she took it, charmed by his demeanor. "Thanks Kalen," she said. She reached up and cleared another tear off her cheeks giving a winsome smile and blush. "I ended up putting more into that one than I thought I did." She wondered. If her parents had died on Corellia, were they interned there somewhere as diamonds? Or did something else happen to them? When she was back on Corellia last time she felt a connection there that she couldn't place. She kept up things as smiles and sunshine, channeling those feelings into her performance. Dammit though, she would not be all angsty and dour. There was too much of that, too much sadness and strike in the Galaxy and she'd do her best to change that as she only knew how.

 

She looked at the restaurants, her eyes bulging. "Dinner at some of these cost more than we'd made in a month on the road," she said. Plus a room at the Palace. Though having grown up in relative luxury, she'd gotten used to her bunks on the ship and back-end motels and places over the past couple years. It seemed odd how things had come full circle. She gave a softer smile. "Pommra-vine sounds good," she said, and flashed Kalen a smile, hugging him. There was one word in there that generated that reaction, something that wasn't likely missed, at calling 4L-T0 and B45-50 her friends. She'd met too many people who dismissed them as servants or property. She pointed towards something in the middling range on the list. "Mon Calamari cuisine is a favorite," she admitted. "There's a few South Hemisphere cultures in particular that have ways of preparing things that I swear is better than anything else in the whole Galaxy. Mama used to make these fish rolls wrapped in seaweed over rice that were divine, taken from some recipes there."

 

She started walking and talking, her mind already racing, still holding onto Kalen's arm. "Have we found any sponsors for the Coruscant piece? I heard the Survivor's Foundation is active there. They have a good reputation and are also staunchly anti-Sith, so that would be ideal. Oh, and for Cardia, I have a few ideas on how to put on a show that I wanted to clear with you. As you know, 4L-T0 managed our bands pyrotechnics and laser lights. We think we could do lot with holograms too... which makes me wonder... what did you have in mind for that video?"

[Emerald]

"If it's worth it to them," Tarvil's voice came coolly. The sizable feline was certainly a sight to behold, and while he had limited experience with Horansi, his history with Togorians pushed him to err on the side of caution. "I decide what warrants their time and attention."

 

His eyebrow raised, Tarvil's glance flickered to the privacy field that obscured the trio of women from view, as though weighing a decision carefully in mind, before turning his attention back to the Horansi. "Tell me, are you a freelancer, or did you only pull work for Dorjoola?"

 

-----

 

Staunchly anti-Sith? Kalen chuckled to himself, intending to inquire into that particular comment, but his young client's chatter continued so quickly that soon he abandoned any pretense of an actual conversation. He contented himself with engaged listening as they walked arm-in-arm, patting her hand with his unencumbered one every now and then to show he was still graciously listening.

 

Raising a hand as they entered the exquisitely ornate Mon Cal restaurant, Golden Brine, Kalen watched with a degree of amusement as the wait staff scurried as quickly as they could once they realized who had entered. They were seated quickly, and as Ammi paused for breath to peruse the menu, Kalen leaned over the top of his.

 

"Miss Ammi--may I call you that?--I think you'll be happy to hear that Ruby sent over a list of pyrotechnic effects that your ship is already being outfitted to produce. Without too much arm-twisting, we could probably talk her into including some holograms," he drawled comfortably, studying the girl with a measuring look on his face. "In line with the charity bit, I think the video for Diamond Memoriam could be shot at the Coruscant Memorial. The ruins there are exquisite, and they'd make a great, grungy background. Something moody and heartfelt, glittering lights of Coruscant, we'll put you in something covered in gems, bedazzled make-up, all that jazz. I know the area is cordoned off, so if we can get through the CoreSec blockade, it should be free of plague, at least. Maybe your... anti-Sith... buddies at the Survivor's Foundation could get us a ticket onto the planet."

 

A serving droid arrived to take their order and Kalen extended the menu to him in a premeditated gesture without even having given it a cursory glance. "We'll take the deluxe sample platter and a bottle of your sake, please. Oh, and extra dipping sauce."

 

He winked at Ammi. "They never give you enough unless you ask for it."