I didn't need the Force to feel the way the mood of the spy tightened when Vila and I came up to the counter and planted ourselves right beside him, mid-argument over the R7 unit. He had quickly scanned us with one look, becoming even more defensive, his fingers slipping even closer to his blaster... Right until the moment he noticed HK, holding his own rifle, standing battle-ready right behind us three.
"Hi again!" Vila chirped, leaning her elbows on the display case like she owned the place, grinning. "We talked about it a lot and... and we decided that instead of buying upgrades to our bodyguard, we are best to buy a whole new droid to help us out. Is that an R7?" She pointed past the man without looking at him... Heh... she is fantastic at being rude on purpose. "If others can't afford it, we sure do! We will take it!"
"Um..." The older attendant blinked his eyes, also stumped, looking between us and the customer who'd clearly been here first... but has been arguing way too much. "Well... This unit is… uh… still under discussion."
"Discussion?" Vila repeated, widening her eyes, finally glancing at the man whose grimace became even worse than before we walked in. I could feel how aggravated he became... "My love and I here were just talking about picking up an astro... It is cheaper than keeping upgrading this rusty bucket!" She pointed at HK, and while I almost stumbled because she called me lover so openly, HK's servos whirred a little, being called out like that. Of course, Vila was in her element, so she was not stopping. "That's an R7, right? Newer nav core, improved hyperlane charting suite? Mmm." She tapped its dull dome with a nail. "All the sexy bits. As I said, we decided it is what we really need."
"..." Still watching him, the man at the counter didn't move his hand away from where it hovered near his holstered blaster... but I couldn't feel any indication that he was actually ready to draw it. "I was here before you, kid."
"Congrats," Vila said sweetly, smiling at him. "But it looks like you have run out of time... and I'm here now."
"Vila," I murmured, pretending to scan the bench notes like I cared about warranty seals or the price or... just having some kind of decorum. "Maybe we should—"
"No, no, let the lady speak," the shopkeeper cut in, before I could get far. Credits were already dancing in his pupils, and I could feel his greed reignited, especially because previously we had annoyed the two without spending a dime. He wasn't going to let us off the hook this time.
"Um," The younger tech wiped his hands on a rag and tried diplomacy, looking between us all, "Sir, if you pawned it, the fee must be paid plus the services we gave to the droid. This includes the changed parts which—"
"Is robbery," the spy said flatly. "Why did you even change out parts that worked?"
"—is standard," the kid finished, his shoulders tightening, getting annoyed.
Using the Force, I gently pushed on their feelings, and I let the fatigue-and-fear humming within the station coalesce and tunnel into the man beside me. I was making sure that he would not be able to regain his cool and screw up any kind of negotiations.
"Look," I told the older attendant, acting as if Vila was the main decision maker and I was the moneybag, here to please my exotic twi'lek lover, "we just came off a long haul. We're light on spare parts, that's why we asked so many questions before. Now, we checked it against our ship's system, and our nav suite is… vintage." I smiled, "Our droid could interface with it, but... That attack? We couldn't have left on time, even if we tried! So... We could use a reliable astro. If it boots and works, I'll pay you today and stop bothering you!"
"That's my man!" Vila giggled, grabbing my arm, hugging it with two hands, making me visibly blush, "He always spends like this, when I ask him nicely~!" she stage-whispered to the seller.
"Listen here, you scampy little kids from nowhere!" The man at my side finally looked at me properly, his mind hazy from the feelings I was constantly sending towards him. No wonder that his stare flicked over my jacket, my belt, my hands, trying to see where I was from, but had no real idea, especially because my saber was hidden in one of the utility pouches of my belt. "This unit was mine," he repeated angrily, "It's tagged in their records under my name!"
"Not anymore," the old man said, shrugging, "It ceased to be yours after you pawned it here." He spread his hands. "It is ours. And it is ours to sell!"
"Damn right!" Vila tilted her head at the R7, then at the man's hip. "You're armed," she observed lightly. "But so are we." As if on cue, HK moved, flicking the safety off on his blaster, letting the hum of the rifle charging fill the shop, "Be reasonable and scurry off if you don't have the credits."
"..." The spy's fingers twitched at the mention of that... but he was good. Even while I was covertly influencing him, he remained reasonable. "Brave... for a pair of brats..."
"Money talks, a man of your age should already know this," I said, keeping my tone gentle, balancing his anger before looking at the shop owner, "What's the fee?"
When it was shown to us, Vila couldn't help but let out a whistle.
"Wow. Pricey for such a..." she knocked the side panel and it clanked and rattled loudly, "...gorgeous specimen."
"Because it is a damned extortion!" The spy snorted, his anger once again flaring up.
"It HAD a burned motivator," the old man added, which was the kind of detail designed to make a price sound reasonable. "We replaced it with a different one, but it is for an earlier revision. We made custom housing for the component; it rattles a little, yes, but it works perfectly. That is what matters. And that it is still cheaper than buying one new!"
"Does it come with a warranty?" Vila just grinned, ignoring the price, waving it towards me, "If it does, we'll pay the fee," she told the shopkeeper, bright as a proton torpedo explosion. "Assuming it powers on..."
"Yes, it does come with a warranty!" The old man coughed, and I could feel he was surprised we weren't trying to slice a zero off from his mentioned price point. Now he was sure he would sell it to us... "Of course it works!" He jerked his chin at the kid, who trudged over and jacked a power coupler into the R7's belly. The droid's status lights flickered, stuttered, then steadied to a steady amber glow. But... there were no cheerful boops; they'd muzzled it under maintenance lock. Junky, yes... but all in all, the droid was alive.
"Done," I said, not waiting for the spy to argue with anything, and I slapped my credit chit on the table.
"Boy," The man beside me inhaled through his nose, gazing at me. "You don't want this one," he said in a low voice. "I've flown with it. It's cursed... Take it and you may very well die."
"Good thing then," Vila's smile got toothy, flashing part of his canines, "That we're lucky," she shot back. "We like cursed items... our luck usually cleanses them..."
By then, it was all done and dusted as the attendant scanned the price and I transferred the credits. A moment later, the receipt was out, a 'warranty,' which was a lie by the way, was filled out, and Vila patted the R7's dome like it was a puppy that could explode.
"Come along, little blinker. You're ours now!"
"Awooo?" beeped the R7, finally free of its inhibiter, and although I couldn't understand him, the confusion in its voice was apparent.
As we left, the spy didn't move much, but his aura had shifted a lot by then. Just to make sure he would follow us, I turned just enough to address him.
"Sorry," I said, and meant it on an entirely different level than he actually heard. "We needed it... Don't worry, if any data remains on it, our computer can dig it out and wipe it off, so... No need to fear anything!"
"Enjoy your purchase," he said, and his voice had cooled to a dangerous level, watching me like I was prey. "Be careful with it."
"Always," I promised, and I meant it literally, but I think he took it as a provocation, that we were feeling safe with HK walking with us.
We didn't look back, not once, but both of us could tell he was following us. Ignoring it, we didn't speed up, letting ourselves even stop here and there, window-shop before moving on, pushing the little R7 along the way. The spy never got too close, probably carefully trying to gauge HK's sensors and to stay out of their range... but that didn't mean he would fall far back enough to lose us.
[Encrypted Whisper: Statement: I have the cargo ramp of the ship set to manual fake-lock.] HK's voice clicked over my earpiece as we took the final turn toward our bay, [Addendum: The intruder will believe it is closed and can hack it.]
"Copy," I subvocalized back to him, making sure I stood in a way the spy couldn't see my lips move, "Don't shoot until we have him inside, and please, take him alive."
[Reluctant Acknowledgment: Understood.]
"Kaaeeeel~!" Vila yawned loud enough for three spacers to hear us, including the spy a corner away. "I need caf," she announced to no one, really, "And maybe a nap. This system is a drag..."
"We can nap on the ship," I said agreeably, hoping he would think he had a good chance of doing... whatever he wanted to do.
Back at our docking bay, the ramp of the Silverlight hissed down with a heavy clunk while I rolled the R7 onto the deck, parked it dead center in our cargo bay, where it could be seen from the threshold of the entrance if you climb up the ramp. In the meantime, Vila walked deeper into the corridor, stretched, and disappeared around the bend toward the galley while HK closed up the ship behind us.
By a minute later, we were all at our spots, waiting...
The seconds turned into minutes... Then half an hour. I resisted the urge to check the corridor and trusted my senses through the Force. He was here, just being extra careful. He was waiting to ensure we indeed went to sleep before trying anything. Then I heard a brief scraping sound, and then the ramp hissed open, just slightly, barely enough for someone to climb inside.
He was in, surprisingly quickly, his blaster out but angled toward the deck and not in a shoot-first type of way. He kept to the shadow along the port bulkhead, eyes on the R7 from the start, as he cleared the corner in two careful steps. His thoughts were a clean sheet of glass now, wholly different from anything from before. I could read him openly:
Don't shoot, don't trigger alarms, pull the data core, smash the motivator, fry the buffer, disappear.
So... Even angered to the level we managed... he wasn't going to go for some petty revenge and find us to shoot in the back of the head while we were sleeping. That is at least a good sign... We weren't dealing with pirates, then... but professionals.
That was when HK dropped straight on him from his hiding spot amongst the ceiling panels.
He didn't fall so much as crashing down, one precise but catastrophically loud arrival from above, metal feet crunching into the grating beside the spy's body as he managed to react at the last moment. He was good... By now, I leaned over and watched as the man spun, avoiding HK coming down on him... but HK's hand was already on his wrist. There was a sound like a branch snapping... The blaster in his grip discharged into the deck at an angle when his wrist was broken, carving a molten groove across the metal and filling the bay with the hot stench of scorched durasteel.
[Warm Salutation: Welcome aboard the Silverlight, intruder. Statement: Enjoy the full hospitality of this master of yours.]
The spy, without moaning out in pain, moved, a vibro-blade appearing in his off hand from his sleeve, faster than most people can think. He slashed, aiming for the joints between HK's holding arm and its elbow. With another twist, HK's forearm met the blade with a sharp clang, blocking, slapping it with the other hand, and the knife skittered away, spinning on the floor towards us. Still, the spy wasn't giving up. The man dropped his weight and tried a leg sweep, but it didn't work. HK didn't budge as he pivoted, redirecting the sweep into empty air, and introduced the spy's body to the bulkhead with professional courtesy, as he flung him against it like a ragdoll.
A droid's strength is no joke...
This time around, the man grunted, yet still, he rolled with it and shoved off to make space, getting free of HK's grip. His broken wrist hung close to his chest, but his eyes were sharp and looking for... No, not an escape. He was still trying to complete his mission. Bolting forward, he went for the R7, but HK was already between them, extending a hand like an usher at a very unfriendly theater.
[Admonition: Do not touch the merchandise. We had already bought it.]
"Don't kill him," I stepped forward, warning HK, because letting him play unsupervised is how you get corpses...
Seeing me, I felt the spy's change of mind, thinking he could take me as a hostage and bargain. He came in with a feint toward my thigh and a real strike aimed higher, aiming to knock me off my feet. Vila would've headbutted him... That was my first thought. But, calmly, I just slipped to the left using Makashi's footwork, letting his momentum pass by me. Of course, I wasn't going to let him try again, and I hooked his arm when he passed by me and brought him to the deck. It wasn't elegant because even then, his training was something out of this world, and he managed to land a desperate attack. Which meant that I caught an elbow to the ribs and saw a flash of stars... However, as we fell, he went down hard on his bad wrist and finally hissed like the pain got through him, unable to do much more.
"He is a pro, eh?" Vila appeared out of nowhere, here to help me pin him down. "Don't do more," she advised cheerfully, "Or it will get really baaaaaad..."
"..." Realizing he had lost, he turned his head and looked between us, measuring both of us. He tried a crooked smile that said he was a reasonable man in a very unreasonable situation... "You don't want to do this."
"Mm," Vila chuckled, "We heard this already. Counterpoint: We kind of do."
While speaking, HK crouched beside his head, and the spy finally realized the droid was not any kind of casual bodyguard unit.
[Professional Suggestion: We could remove his limbs to prevent further inconvenient locomotion.]
"No, his limbs stay connected where they are, HK." I said, glancing at him, "Stun cuffs will do."
[Disappointed Statement: Predictible.]
Despite his complaining, HK produced them from somewhere and locked the man's wrists behind his back, not bothering with his broken bones. When it was done, Vila eased her boot off his ankles, allowing him to be finally brought up into a sitting position by HK.
"Name," Vila said, starting the interrogation right there and then.
He said nothing... of course.
[Thoughtful Observation: He will not talk without incentive. Suggestion: Begin disassembly.]
"HK," I shrugged again.
[Reluctant Correction: Metaphorical disassembly.]
"You mean mental torture?" Vila smirked and squatted on her heels in front of him, her lekku sliding forward. "Here's the deal," she said, bright and deadly, playing the scoundrel now, "You followed us onto our ship to steal our new pet. That's rude. Also criminal! Tsk-tsk... Also suspicious, given there was just an attack." She leaned closer. "So. We're going to ask some questions, and you're going to answer them before security notices your terrible choices."
"..." He looked at me rather than her, "Just leave," he said quietly, "This isn't your fight."
"So you do have something to do with it," I said. "Sorry, sadly, it does have to do with us."
"Who sent you?" Vila asked, smiling. Silence... again. "Okay," she said, clapping her hands once, standing. "Ship rules, then. HK?"
[Statement: On it.] HK tilted his head in that uncanny way. [Pleasant Anticipation: Interrogation protocols online.]
"Last chance," I looked at the spy one more time. "This can still go the easy way," I told him, and meant it. "Help us, and I'll make sure station security hears the right story."
"..."
To my horror, I sensed a new kind of resolve... Vila felt it too, as that connection between us was like a link, transmitting my realization. It was what saved the spy's life as she reached out first, with a powerful force-grip, and she ripped out a tooth from the man's jaw. One... that broke apart next, releasing a toxin, dripping onto the floor right before us. It was then that the man looked at us in abject horror...
"You are Jedi..."
"And you almost died..." I said with a serious look in my eyes... "For nothing..."
"No... not for nothing." He said defiantly, raising a head, allowing the blood to drip from the edge of his mouth, "For Mandalore."