The climate on Iego was tropical. So, it was quite warm on the planet. Leaving the ship not far from the main city, which on the planet was named after the planet itself – Iego, I headed into it. I didn't intend to stand out much, although I kept the same clothes. But they wouldn't be looking for the clothes as much, since Djorka managed to see them in general, and who knows who else uses hoods, especially on the Outer Rim. They would be looking for the ship – the "Star Path." Perfectly understanding this last fact, I landed not in the spaceport, and didn't even declare my arrival on the planet to the authorities in the city. Considering the fact that with the Judicial Corps Headquarters on the planet, the semi-legal firm "Iego's Miracle" transports goods back and forth, and also, apparently, doesn't pay the required taxes to the Republic treasury, my landing in the spaceport would have immediately given me away.
On the one hand, I could have hoped that Djorka would personally come to deal with me in such a case. But... Considering how many years she has presumably been a Vigo and how she rules her territories, and most importantly – whom she feeds from her hand, she is hardly an idiot. And therefore, she would have sent mercenaries after me. I might not have doubted my victory over them... But why would I need extra problems? So, as soon as I entered the city, where I headed on a grav-cycle I had, I left the grav-cycle outside the city in one of the parking lots. In the city, I passively used the technique of distraction.
That is, in essence, I "didn't catch anyone's eye." A relatively easy and inconspicuous technique during application. According to Master Tivoqqa's message, which I received after a holocommunication session – they intend to meet me on the outskirts of this city, near the spaceport. I entered one of the cantinas located in this area. Inside, the atmosphere was standard. As is usual in clichéd situations – someone was whispering about "dirty dealings," someone was playing sabacc, or pazaak, someone came here with a friend to celebrate something, and someone was just getting drunk. A service droid rolled up to me when I took a table.
"Would you like something, sir?" it said.
It placed a miniature holoprojector in front of me, which displayed a menu.
"I'd like something meaty and a drink," I said.
"I can recommend the seventeenth item," the droid said. "Our chef always makes it the best. And as for drinks – we have a wide assortment. From local ale to select Corellian whiskey."
"Do you have alcohol from Tustra?" I asked.
"Yes," the droid immediately replied.
"Then, please, a liqueur from there," I still had to wait for Tivoqqa and Plo Koon for a couple more days. And the Matukai technicians had made me highly resistant to alcohol. Of course, their goal was to neutralize the effects of poisons. But alcohol, after all, is a poison... I leaned back in my chair and seemed to retreat into myself. But in reality, I did not stop analyzing my surroundings. When they served me food and I began to eat, the thought was spinning in my head – to find a room in the city, or sleep on the ship. The dish they served me was a meat steak with a side of vegetables, and it was indeed quite good, perfectly paired with the alcohol. Then the cantina door opened, and many turned their attention to those who entered.
Personally, I didn't care if I hadn't seen Mandalorians? I had seen too many of them. Although... A woman in Mandalorian armor stood out, I would say – she caught my eye. A vibroblade on her back and a pair of blasters at her belt. And blue armor. Had I seen her somewhere before? The galaxy is a strange place; you can meet someone completely by chance... Then you wonder – is it due to your luck, or simply by the will of the Force. The Mandalorian woman scanned the cantina and headed inside. Walking past a couple of tables and drunks, she sat down at mine.
"Is this seat taken?" she asked.
I looked at her, taking a sip of alcohol.
"Considering you sat down, it's taken now," I shrugged and returned to my food. I felt no threat from her.
"Then I'll take this seat," her voice reached me. She took off her helmet, and I was a little surprised. Chiss are rare guests, and she's also a Mandalorian? Probably one of the so-called foundlings.
"Take it."
"And just like that?" she asked, bending down slightly. She was probably trying to peek under my hood, which I hadn't removed, even while eating.
"I don't feel a threat from you, and besides, you are not my rival," I said calmly.
"Well, I would be surprised if you considered me a worthy rival, although those who underestimated me," she tossed her jet-black hair back, "are long dead."
I looked at her face again. It had regular features, an overly straight nose, and peculiar tattoos starting above her eyes, in the form of... something resembling vines, branches, and going towards her scarlet eyes. The tattoos continued under her eyes.
"Do you want me to take them memorial wreaths? Or pray for them?" I asked.
"No," the girl smiled. "I want you to help me... Jedi."
"Hmm," I popped one of the last pieces of steak into my mouth. "Interesting."
"You are a knight, and you wouldn't want to abandon a lady in distress, would you?"
"You don't give the impression of a lady who needs help," I said thoughtfully. "Mandalorian armor, a vibroblade, a couple of blasters. And these are just the visible advantages. What else is packed into your armor is a big question. If you haven't encountered a Sith, or some other dangerous Force-sensitive – I doubt you need my help."
"The same as my interlocutor," the Chiss told the waiter droid, who moved aside. "And you are quite cold towards those asking for help."
"I'm interested – what could make a representative of the Mando ask for help from a Jedi? I understand how you became a Mandalorian and what your new culture is like. What has happened in your life that you approached a Jedi?"
The Mandalorian smiled, taking the order from the droid, and she began to eat.
"Mmm, this alcohol is excessively sweet," she noted.
"If alcohol isn't sweet, then there's no point in it," I said importantly. "But you haven't answered the question. I have plenty of time, of course. But patience is not my virtue."
"Well," she pursed her lips. "My name is Lora," she said.
"Lora?" I asked.
"If you don't understand why I'm introducing myself with this name, and not my full Chiss name, then look at my armor. Can I use my full Chiss name, being a representative of another culture and an exile from the Dominion?"
"Ha, I'm concerned about something else," I sighed. "A long time ago, I met a Mandalorian-Lora on Rishi."
"I knew it was you, truly, the galaxy is a strange place, Jedi," she smiled.
"Yes, strange. Or it's the Will of the Force, or the 'strange galaxy.' Let's get back to your question, Mandalorian-Lora, what do you want from me? I have my own business here. Why should I get distracted by you?"
"So, you don't want to help a lady..."
"I am, of course, a knight, but not an idiot, I hope. To help a lady? If you were cornered by bandits in an alley – please. But you don't look like someone who could be done that to, and right now you're eating and enjoying yourself, not in a dark alley. I'll repeat the question: what do you need, Mandalorian?"
"Hah, how cold," she sighed. "Well... I would be interested in your help too. But it's better to discuss my order where there are no extra ears."
"You came to a cantina to ask me for a favor. Someone here," I gestured around the cantina hall, "works for you."
"I will leave that assumption unanswered, Jedi, but you are thinking in the right direction," she smiled. "I'll eat now, since I ordered food, and then we'll talk."
"You still haven't provided even preliminary information..."
"Hmmmm..." she leaned over the table and approached my ear. "I think a Jedi would be interested in my work, because, in fact, I will most likely encounter someone important... from 'Black Sun'."
"Oh, you," I whispered. "You should have started with that. You will tell me everything, Lora. But first, eat..."
The woman ate the steak, drank the alcohol.
"And you won't even pay for the lady?" she asked sarcastically.
"I'll cut off your hand and pay with your insurance," I snorted. "If you get too cheeky. I repeat, I agree to help women in difficult situations, as the weaker sex. But you – you don't give the impression of a woman in a difficult situation, Lora."
"Yeah, you're a terrible Jedi."
"You have a strange idea of Jedi. We are Keepers of Peace in the Republic, not 'gentlemen in the service of ladies'."
"I would comment on 'how you keep the peace'," she smirked, putting on her helmet, "but I'll probably keep quiet."
"You won't tell me anything new, besides the information that interested me," I stood up from the table, paying my bill. "Well? Shall we go?"
I moved towards the exit of the cantina, making sure she followed me. After leaving the cantina, I used the Force to enhance my physical characteristics and jumped, doing a backflip. The cantina was a single-story building, so I immediately found myself on the roof.
"And you know how to make an impression," Lora landed nearby, having gotten here with a jetpack.
"Better turn off all electronics related to you," I advised. "I'm going to hit with ionization around us and hide with the Force."
"Are you paranoid?"
"I can't say I'm a cynical paranoid," I sighed heavily, looking at Lora, "but I've had a couple of situations that taught me caution. Do as I say and don't argue."
She brought her left hand to her visor and pressed a couple of buttons, shutting down the technology. A wave of ionization spread from me, burning out the circuits of the nearby electronics.
"You've also fried the cantina's electronics," the woman remarked.
"I left a slightly larger tip than necessary," I shrugged. "So, what do you want to tell me, Mandalorian-Lora," I walked to the structure on the roof and leaned against it.
"To be honest," she sat on the roof, "I thought I would interest you and the Jedi Order with information and you would start some operation against 'Black Sun', but now it seems to me that you came here for such an operation in the first place, meaning you are already going to act against the syndicate."
"I don't deny it, you're thinking in the right direction. But who are you, and aren't you afraid to challenge 'Black Sun' yourself? I'm fine, I'm a Jedi. It still takes an effort to kill me, and not every criminal syndicate will seek me out for revenge. But you? You're a freelance shooter; if you're exposed in an operation against 'Black Sun' – won't they look for you?"
"Oh, you're worried about me," the Chiss put her hand to her face, "that's so sweet. I'm blushing. Want to see?"
"Your skin is blue, and the most that will change is it getting even bluer..."
"Hmm, you know a lot about Chiss," she snorted, crossing her arms.
"Let's get back to business," I demanded.
"Okay, okay. You have beautiful eyes, but only when you're not looking at everyone with a threat. Then they're scary... Ahem... In short, the point is that I'm not afraid of 'Black Sun'. I'm already at war with them..."
I even laughed. She's at war with them? Even the Jedi can't deal with them. And she's at war.
"What's so funny?" Lora asked.
"Well, you're at war with 'Black Sun'. Funny..."
"You don't know anything about me, and you don't know what resources I have..."
"Again, no. You didn't notice it while you were eating and drinking, but I made a request about you. Lora, a Mandalorian of the Chiss race. Currently, she is part of the so-called Moon Guild, under the command of Genra Zait. According to the information I was able to read – you position yourselves as a group fighting injustice on the Outer Rim. You have challenged 'Black Sun' and tried to fight the Paikes. However, you don't shy away from mercenary work, which probably doesn't spoil the overall impression of your group. Composition – four dreadnoughts, I don't know how you got them, but this is a significant force for the Outer Rim. Each dreadnought is commanded by a 'Fleet Captain'. You are one of them. In addition to dreadnoughts, fighters are assigned to the 'fleet', mainly Z-95s and various re-equipped transports and gunships. It's interesting, how did a warrior-Mandalorian join beings who declare 'supposedly high goals'? Were you bought, or is it a calling?"
"You don't know anything about me..."
"That's why I'm asking," I noted the woman's suddenly serious voice.
"By calling," she replied, "okay, we've strayed from the topic," she sighed. "Do you want to know what I want from you? You're welcome. We fight for the Outer Rim, trying to alleviate the oppression of many criminal syndicates, which you, Jedi," she pointed at me, "have allowed to flourish, obeying the orders of this idiotic Senate, bought and paid for. And yes, as you noted, we don't shy away from mercenary work! Because we also need something to eat and something to load into missile silos and fuel tanks. My group was recently hired by a local Senator..."
"A Senator? Nelson Kitar? He's covering for 'Black Sun'..."
"I know," she nodded, "being a member of the Committee for Combating Organized Crime – he's covering for a criminal syndicate. But due to bribery."
Really? On the "Black Sun" base, only his name and some compromising data about Nelson were listed. Apparently, to blackmail him...
"Well, why did he hire you?" I asked Lora.
"Because Nelson Kitar's daughter has been enslaved."
"Slavery? To whom? Who has the audacity to send the daughter of a senator, and one who is on such a committee, into slavery?" all these committees formed in the Senate are a bit strange. It's like there are something akin to Ministries, but there are also committees in the Senate. Moreover, both Ministries and committees have virtually the same powers. Very interesting and sad are the cases when the Ministry of Justice reports the need, for example, to conduct a raid against pirates. The Jedi are ready, the ships are ready, but then the Jedi receive a message from the Senate, signed by the Committee for Combating Piracy, stating that these are not pirates, but simply "beings forging their way through the galaxy." Naturally, those beings who are passionate about their cause, and there are still such in the Republic, get a little heated by such an attitude.
"It's not standard slavery," the woman noted, "but... how should I put it? Will you even understand what I'm going to tell you? Or do you Jedi not even accept hints of such things?"
"Speak plainly," I shrugged.
"She is in sexual slavery," she said. "Do you know what sex is?"
"Are you sick, or did you hit your head? I'm almost twenty years old. I, naturally, know what sex is. Both in theory and in practice... But... How does the daughter's nymphomania affect the Senator?"
"And I thought all Jedi were virgin monks."
"And I thought all Mandalorians were great warriors," I retorted.
"One-one. She got into a rather strange situation with... the Vigo of this territory, known as Jarko Itari. A Vigo – an Anzati. And Nella Kitar considers Jarko something like a goddess."
"Yes," finally we've gotten somewhere. "And I understand why. Jarko Itari is not like other Anzati you might meet in the galaxy. She's not a typical snotty vampire. The essence of Jarko is that she has learned to control the process of absorbing her victims' brains, stretching, as I understood it, the absorption over years, while providing the victim with orgasmic pleasure. In addition, she is Force-sensitive and a decent telepath, so she probably also knows how to amplify these sensations with the Force for the victim. Hence Nella Kitar's attitude," and I thought Nelson was an enemy. Bought off... But my attitude towards him was mistaken. Jarko is probably blackmailing him with Nella's condition. And Nella herself is incapable of understanding the dependency she has fallen into.
"A graduate of Alderaanian University, one of the best, if not the best in her class," the Mandalorian said, "she graduated with the most elite specialization of this university: 'Public Administration', I believe, second in academic performance, second only to a certain Taivi Lanian, as her father told me – wow, I was too focused on Alderaanian aristocracy, so I didn't pay attention to Nella, or others. But if you think about it – there was such a girl in our group. Quiet, pacifist, and modest, who, nevertheless – studied almost as well as I did. – But what do you want?"
"We want to crush 'Black Sun'," Lora said, "in this region of the galaxy. The local Vigo rose to power through the trade of bot, which is supplied from a certain planet. If we can identify the planet – we can lure the Vigo out and force a battle on our terms. That's my plan."
"Yes, only I've already ruined it," I laughed, "the thing is, about a week ago, I struck a bot farm; it was located on a planet in sector T-5, Drongar."
"Drongar?" she asked in surprise. "According to my information, the planet where bot is grown is a satellite of the planet Malagarr. In sector V-8."
This is what knowing the canon does. She was forced to study intelligence, rely on those who could feed her false data, and they fed her. And I knew from the beginning that the enhancement substance, called bot, was on Drongar.
"You have incorrect information. It seems that whoever provided it to you – is not clean."
"Or you want to send me on a false trail," the woman remarked. "I've known you for a short time, but the being who reported Malagarr to me did so a long time ago."
"I didn't know you were that old," I grinned and tilted my head, dodging the Mandalorian's fist strike.
"Don't talk to a woman about age!" she almost roared.
"But," I said, pushing the Mandalorian back with telekinesis, "it's really interesting. The thing is, I intend to destroy Jarko Itari, as well as her connection. This will be a blow to 'Black Sun'. And quite a strong one. Your forces will be useful."
"That's what I wanted to talk about," the woman snorted. "Hey, maybe you'll let me go?" – I was holding her with telekinesis and immediately stopped.
"The Master of the High Council with his Padawan will arrive soon, as well as the forces of the Judicial Corps," I said. I felt no lies from the woman, and my intuition strongly indicated the absence of a "double bottom" in her words. I need to observe her, of course. And find out something... "The forces will arrive at Jubilar, where we will all gather and begin planning our actions against 'Black Sun'. I think no one will object to seeing an extra dreadnought on our side. You sat down with me because you were looking for allies, weren't you? You have an order – to free Nella Kitar. According to your organization – to deliver a blow to the syndicate. We have common goals."
"At Jubilar?" the girl asked.
"Yes, in three days," I said. "I only landed on Iego to replenish supplies."
"Then we will meet your forces there?"
"Yes, Lora," I grinned, "yes. As I said – your participation will not be superfluous."