Ask Coruscant Payback

[Talak Rand]

Talak gave up on the idea of her coming in when she didn't even look at the blankets. Somehow, it made him a bit grumpy, and he decided he just needed to get some of that thing he dreaded: sleep.

He headed back inside and he was out as soon as his head hit the bunk. He was awoken a few minutes later by the blaring alarm of his security system, and he sat bolt upright, his heart practically leaping out of his chest. His eyes were wide, and he realized what it was that had happened.

Ugh, he sighed as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Artee, shut that thing up, he shouted and the alarm went off a moment later. He took another deep breath and headed for the door, opening it to find Trys - blue and shivering - standing in front of him. He motioned toward one of the couches and rubbed his face again. She would notice that his hair looked considerably more disheveled than normal and although he was tired, he did appear to be at least a tiny bit better than earlier.

He took a seat as well, but he wasn't prepared for what she said next.

Oh boy... was all he could think as he mulled over having helped kill the son of one of the biggest crime lords in the galaxy. He didn't say anything for a moment and just sat there, blinking and thinking.

Well... he said with another sigh. He leaned forward and rubbed his hands across his face again. To him, the next step was obvious, but he wasn't so sure she would agree with him.

I'm not sure you should be involved in this anymore. You have a family and people they can come after, he said. He anticipated that suggestion not going over well, but the reality was that he was a wanderer with no family and no one who truly knew him. He was surprised by how hard that thought struck him. There wasn't a single person in the galaxy who really knew Talak Rand. His level of isolation suddenly became incredibly clear to him in a way that it never had before.

Before a potential fight could ensure, a quiet whirring sound came from the hallway to the cockpit and Artee came floating out.

Oh, master! We haven't had anyone on the ship in years! She must be quite special, why no one has been here since... the droid was perfectly happy to just keep on keeping on when Talak snapped.

Shut up, Artee! he said, partially in frustration and partially in embarassment. Artee had a tendency to do way too much talking... pretty much all the time. He also seemed unfazed by Talak telling him to shut up.

I am Artee, and who are you our special guest?! he proceeded to hone in on Trys with special interest on one of the only people he'd talked to in years apart from Talak.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys let the information sink in before looking back at the datapad again. When he finally suggested she shouldn’t be involved, her head snapped up and she glared at him, “Haven’t you made enough decisions for me already?” She hissed at him, clearly still enraged from earlier. It was clear she wouldn’t forgive him for that anytime soon, and the fresh wound he had on his shoulder would forever be a reminder of that.

“And my family is none of your business,” She spat out, face slightly red like it had been outside of Guff’s shop. Trys was still annoyed that the Trandoshan had outed her like that. She was sick of people considering the fact that she had a child to be a liability.

Just in time to diffuse the tension was the sudden appearance of a droid. She was taken by surprise, having expected Talak’s choice of droid company to be a killer assassin model. The one seemed...cheerful. As the droid rattled off almost revealing information, Trys’s eyebrows rose slightly.

She could see Talak frantically trying to shut the droid up, and she took it all in. Once the droid turned to her, she sat up straighter and addressed it with a smile, “A very special guest,” Trys said, her tone shifting entirely from the venom from before, “And your friend here is being so rude and not being a nice host. And he’s being mean cutting you off like that. Please go on….when was the last time someone so special was on this ship?”

If Talak was going to nose in on her business, she was more than happy to return the favor.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was getting more and more annoyed at the combination of his stupid pilot droid revealing things and the fact that she kept lashing out at him. Artee seemed like he couldn't care less, however.

Yes, he does tend to do that, Artee agreed with her. Somehow this had suddenly turned to two against one.

Oh my, it must have been when Mistress Zatara was here, but that was... by this point Talak was on his feet, practically fuming and fully intent on physically removing Artee from the room if need be.

Fine! Fine! the droid shouted, seeming to pick up on the fact that Talak wasn't playing around this time. Has he offered you any wine yet? Have you offered her wine, master? the droid rotated its head to look at Talak, it's arms flailing a bit in the air.

Talak took a deep breath. I hadn't had a chance before you butted in, he said, though he hadn't really thought of offering her any wine at this point in time. Artee had already revealed more about Talak and his habits in thirty seconds than she had learned in the days they'd been working together. Talak wasn't thrilled about it.

Would you like some wine? he asked, knowing the droid was going to be ridiculous about it until he offered her some anyway. He was beginning to think he could use a drink himself....

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys had the smuggest look on her face as the droid happily revealed information that was making Talak appear as if he were going to go on a murder spree. And best of all, there was no one to conveniently remove her from the setting to keep her from seeing it. When the droid revealed a name, she looked more than a little surprised. A ladyfriend? Someone actually managed to put up with this insufferable specimen?

Her eyes were wide at the mention of wine, and she glanced from the droid to Talak, “Wine?” She said, the tone of surprise clear in her voice, “I didn’t even know he was capable of common manners like that,” Trys blurted out without being able to help herself. She stared at him, “Yes, I’d love some wine, thank you. Please pour me a glass and we can talk all about Zatara,” The stare turned into a glare, and she wasn’t even sure why this was so enjoyable. Perhaps it was because he was fuming and flustered at the same time, and that brought her great joy. She was getting to see him strip down just as he saw her.

The droid was delightfully oblivious to tiny little nuances like this. It knew Talak, but it hadn’t had time to read into Trys’s intricacies yet. She set the datapad aside for now, stretching and popping her joints as he went to retrieve the wine. She was unbelievably sore from trying to sleep in the speeder.

Trys looked around the ship, noting how minimalist it was. It actually reminded her a bit of her own quarters. If it weren’t for all her son’s things, it wouldn’t have anything in it that gave away anything about her. Once he returned, she glanced up at him with a grin, “Regretting asking me to come in here yet?”

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was bristling, and each mention of Zatara only made things worse. Without thinking, he started scratching at the scars on his chest and a slew of memories he didn't want to think about came back. Talak couldn't decide which of these two was worse.

Yes, he said grumpily and with a glare as she asked if he regretted inviting her on board.

He went to go get some wine, but if Trys wasn't too distracted with Artee, she would notice that rather than disappear to the kitchenette, he went down the hall to a small room by the cockpit, which would likely strike her as odd.

Inside, Talak grabbed a bottle and two glasses, promptly downing half a glass before even emerging from the room. He was going to need it...

He came back with the glasses and handed her one, filled with a sweet red wine.

Artee, don't you need to run diagnostics on the engines? he asked, hoping to get the droid out of here.

No, I have already run diagnostics while you were away, he replied with confidence. Talak was thankful for his thoroughness normally, but right now it felt more like a curse than anything.

I suppose I should offer you a tour of the ship, he said, promptly beginning the tour without waiting for her to say "no, I want to talk about Zatara."

Wine in hand - and being drunk - he started leading her through the ship only to realize this was probably a bad idea as well. He pointed out his own room which had been converted from the standard crew bunks and was on the right side of the ship, but didn't go in there. Then there was the two cargo holds, one of which was noticeably empty of anything, the main central room they had been sitting in, a small improvised medical room, a kitchenette area, and her room - with three crew bunks - in the far right side.

Neither the cockpit or the room next to it seemed to have made it onto the tour.

It's not much, but it's home, he said, making it back to the central room at the end and taking a seat. And he was now pouring another glass of wine, hoping it would dull everything that had happened thus far. You need to not get drunk, you idiot, he thought to himself. But he wasn't drunk yet, so he told himself it was fine.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys quirked an eyebrow as she watched him duck into some random side room. What the hell was that? She didn’t bother asking anything, filing away any observations in her mind. She took the wine glass from him and gave him a wide smile when he grumpily answered that he was having regrets. Trys watched him down the wine first before she took a sip, not trusting that it wasn’t poison or something initially.

Before she knew it, he was already on his second glass, and she rolled her eyes at his antics. As he tried to send the droid off on some errand and was promptly shut down, Trys coughed to hide her laugh, genuinely entertained by the exchange.

She couldn’t tell what was prompting him to suddenly act polite, but he was suspiciously more aware of himself around the droid. Trys rose to her feet, looking at the droid with a smile, “I can see why he needs you around,” She said, following Talak, “So, Artee, can you tell me about some of Talak’s friends? I can’t imagine he has too many..” She didn’t even bother to ask the questions quietly, perfectly happy to make Talak seethe.

She was silent throughout most of the tour, though she did pause for a bit longer when they came across his own room. Trys took a long sip from her drink as they wrapped up the tour, “Hmm, I didn’t see any pictures of this Zatara anywhere. Probably would have livened up such a boring dwelling. I give it a solid 3 out of 10,” Her tone was flat and deadpan as she took another sip to finish the glass off, “And I assume you hide the dead bodies in that suspicious room near the cockpit that was conveniently left out of the tour.”

Trys tapped on her glass, “Oh look, it’s empty and I can’t go into your sketchy dead body freezer. Please go fetch me some more,” She shoved the glass into his hand, “Chop chop.”

 

[Talak Rand]

Oh no, he doesn't have any friends. As I said... and by that point, Talak had unashamedly flipped the power switch. Artee was refusing to go away on his own and Talak had had enough about himself revealed for a five minute period, so Talak took matters into his own hands.

That's your fault, he said to Trys. That was quite enough of Artee for the moment.

Her mention of dead bodies in the secret room caused him to cast an unamused glance her way.

No, he just said flatly, denying that there were any dead bodies in there. He figured she probably believed him, and went down to get another bottle of wine anyway. He would have objected to her ordering him around if he weren't thankful for the opportunity to get away from the situation for a moment.

He brought the bottle back out and set it on the table between them, sitting back and only sipping this glass instead of guzzling it down. Wine was one of the few creature comforts that Talak enjoyed thoroughly. All types of wine were stored in his private room. Oh that was perfect, he could just pass it off as a wine cellar!

Have you learned sufficiently adequate amounts about me from that traitorous droid? he shot a betrayed glance toward Artee's powered down chassis.

I'm recluse with no friends and nothing better to do than help a Sector Ranger hunt down a Barabel who murdered a Bothan caf owner, he said. As he said that last part, he realized that at least Zatara probably got him off the hook from the Bothan-lover theory... every storm cloud had a silver lining or some other equally stupid saying, right?

He knew they both should have probably gotten some rest, but there was a certain part of him that was grateful for not only some company, but also the opportunity to be... slightly decompressed. He realized that it was virtually unheard of that he would be this "relaxed" around someone. Not that he could let his guard down truly, but at least he wasn't worried she was about to shoot him again... right now. Artee had been right, she was quite special in that regard, albeit perhaps not in quite the way that Artee had intended it.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys scowled when Talak abruptly shut Artee off. Her jaw tightened slightly before she spoke without missing a beat, “Of course, that’s your way isn’t it? Conveniently shut people up when it’s inconvenient,” Another solidly placed jab about the drugging incident.

She noticed he returned with a bottle and defiantly set it down between them instead of pouring her a drink. Trys couldn’t blame him - she was being purposely difficult. Regardless, she took the bottle and poured herself a glass, once again watching to see if he drank first before she did so.

As he summarized what she had learned so far, Trys shrugged, “I’d say you’re pretty interesting. I haven’t met many bisexual men with Bothan and human lovers alike,” She took another sip from her wine, “You can be a poster boy for the interspecies relationships movement,” There were quite a few humanocetric groups out there.

After a moment, she began to relax and decided to ease off on the jabs. She sighed and leaned back in her seat, staring up at the ceiling. It had been a rollercoaster the last few days, and she didn’t feel any closer than from where she started.

“Maybe you’re right,” She said after a long moment, “Maybe I should back out of this and just go home. Go back to what I know and what I can at least somewhat control,” Trys took another long sip, “This rabbit hole just gets deeper and deeper,” There was a tone of defeat in her voice, and she hated that she was voicing this aloud. Trys had run from the Nar Shaddaa job, and now she was thinking of doing the same with this one, "I'm trying to play by the rules in a galaxy that has none."

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was surprised by how borderline-saintly he was being at taking all of her little jabs. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe he was just too tired to fight about it. The day had taken a toll on him that stretched far deeper than just the physical.

In the moments of silence that followed, his mind returned to Zatara. He didn't like to think about her anymore. All the memories were tainted by the evils that had surrounded her death. He hated the helplessness that he had felt when he watched her die. His face grew long in the silence. A part of him wanted to apologize to her for what he'd done because he knew what it was like to be helpless, but he wasn't sure he could truly apologize because he wasn't sure he wouldn't do it again if he had to relive that moment. Maybe that was wicked of him in and of itself.

He came back to the moment as she spoke about returning to what she was good at. Rules in a galaxy that doesn't have any, he thought to himself.

Then... maybe you need to play outside the rules, he said. To a law officer, that was probably something that sounded terrible, like giving up on the system. But Talak was a borderline anarchist. He believed he existed to shatter the system after it was already broken. Restrictions were simply that: restricting what was necessary. For better or worse, she'd already shown that she could work outside the law.

He leaned forward and looked her directly in the eyes, his gaze suddenly becoming far more intense. She was bothered by him drugging her, and he was starting to understand why. Perhaps it was time to address it... indirectly.

Tell me honestly: if you'd been awake, would you have been okay with killing off every single man in that room? he asked. He had taken away her choice, but in a way, he'd freed her from having to make that choice as well. Although she wasn't likely to see it like that, she'd been torn up when she'd killed those two men in the alley. Now, the depraved criminals were dead and her hands were clean. Of course, he wouldn't say that, and he knew no justification he would ever make would be satisfactory because he had robbed her of her right to choose.

It was wrong of me to let them drug you, he said. It wasn't an apology, and he spent a life doing wrong things for right reasons - which this was precisely that - but it was a step in... a direction. Perhaps if the situation came up again, he wouldn't let that happen. There had to be another way, after all. Maybe he should actually apologize?

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys grimaced when he suggested playing outside the rules. She knew plenty of Rangers like that. She quietly sipped from her wine, watching him as she knew he wasn’t done speaking. He went on, and she was surprised by what he said next. Silence lingered after he asked his question, and he followed up with what sounded like the closest thing to an apology she would ever get.

She looked down at her wine, thinking back to when she had killed the two Rodian back in the alley. She didn’t exactly have a leg to stand on when it came to judging him. Trys swirled the wine in her glass, looking down at her outline of her reflection in the red liquid. She looked up in time to see him gazing directly into her eyes. He wasn’t turning back from this now, and she couldn’t look away.

“I don’t think it was whether or not I would have approved of the killing itself that drove your decision,” She said quietly, her expression difficult to read, “I think it was the how,” There was the faintest sliver of fear in her eyes then, fleeting yet present, “By all accounts no single person should have been able to clear that place out. I don’t know what you did, but it was something you didn’t want me to see.”

Trys smiled sadly, “And I would have wanted the Rangers to crack down on the place. If I pick and choose when the rules apply, how am I any better than the very people selling those girls for profit? They do what they do because rules don’t apply to them. Whether someone deserves it or not, there needs to be a fair process to bring justice. Where does it stop otherwise? You kill someone because they looked at you wrong?” Trys took a sip from her drink, “You kill someone because they saw something they shouldn’t have seen?” Trys said, hauntingly reminding him of how the Bothan died.

She shook her head, “No, I can’t become that,” Trys sighed and added quietly after a long moment, “Not again,” She took another long sip before finishing off the glass. She hadn’t thought back to her criminal days in a very long time, and she despised that person now. Trys poured herself another glass and took a sip.

“But you don’t play by the rules,” She said, looking at him, “Why did you care whether I saw or not? You could have easily silenced me forever and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Why were you so concerned by what sides I saw?"

 

[Talak Rand]

For a moment, everything else in the galaxy was far less important. It was just the two of them sitting there together and he found himself staring intently at her as she spoke. It was becoming far less of a secret that there were things about him that he didn't want her to see. She was too perceptive not to have picked them up, and he wasn't doing a stellar job of hiding them.

Some of her questions weren't easy ones to answer. The difference between why he killed and what the criminals did was fundamental difference in goal. But her other question wasn't as easy. There were times he would kill people for seeing too much. He hadn't even considered the thought of killing her for knowing too much until she mentioned it now. For some reason, the thought wounded him more than he had expected. Even as much as he'd tried to hide things from her, she still thought he was a monster anyway.

The thought made him withdraw into himself more abruptly than he had expected. He didn't say anything for a moment, looking away at the floor as he thought about it, lost in thoughts he didn't want to confront.

I'm not going to hurt you... he said quietly after a moment more and she would get the impression that he had somehow been hurt by her comments. Perhaps it had been a mistake to let anyone into his world again. He didn't even know why he'd let her through his barriers to begin with. Perhaps it was the desperation of their situation that had prompted it.

I'll get you some clothes. Nothing will fit that well, but it'll be something... he said, looking down at how much of her was... exposed. Not that it was unpleasant but he was sure they both would be more comfortable if she had something else on.

He moved to get some clothes, and returned with loose, black robes quite similar to the ones that he was currently wearing. Okay, so they were pretty much exactly the same, but they were practical and comfortable.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys wasn’t surprised when he closed himself off again. She began to recognize he did that whenever she struck close to home or backed him into a corner. He didn’t know the answers himself, and he diverted the topic. She stayed silent, weighing his words about not hurting her. He defeatedly looked at the floor when he announced it, and the gesture puzzled her. He was oddly dejected, his mind elsewhere and far away from the present.

When he changed the topic entirely about getting her clothes, she realized she had been in the ridiculous slave attire. Trys almost had to laugh at how she had forgotten entirely, and that probably contributed to her being so damn cold. She wasn’t exactly super worried about her state of attire, but the thought amused her nonetheless, “Of course, sorry to distract,” Trys mumbled dryly, rolling her eyes as she continued to drink from her wine.

As he returned with clothing that mirrored his own, Trys had to grimace. Nevertheless, she rose to her feet and grabbed them, gazing at him for a moment, “Did you destroy the security footage at the lounge?” The thought suddenly occurred to her that Durr’s wrath would be terrible, his retribution swift.

 

[Talak Rand]

Trys definitely hadn't noticed how upset he had been. Surely, she hadn't, Talak "convinced" himself as he returned to deliver clothes to her.

No! It's not because it's distracting! It's... because you're cold! he objected a bit too strongly, his face suddenly turning hot as he... kind of lied.

She stood to go put the clothes on in private vs the last time she changed, and that was when she mentioned the holologs. He frowned and the precariousness of their situation suddenly became apparent to him.

I burned the building, but if there was off-site uploads... he said. How could he have been that stupid? He was sure she would be pissed at him, but not any more than he was with himself. He resisted the urge to lash out with the Force, but only barely caught himself, remembering that she still didn't know about that...

Kriff... he said, getting a sudden burst of adrenaline that made it so that sleep would elude him now even if he wanted it. Then he realized that meant going back to see the carnage he caused. It meant her going back to see it. Karking kriff, why do you KRIFFING care! he screamed at himself.

We need to go back and deal with this, he said, still not convinced that, even on stims, going back right now was a good idea.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys blankly stared at him as he fumbled over his words and his face turned red, “Noted,” She said flatly, “I’ll be sure to have more layers of clothing on next time I ask probing questions,” She muttered before disappearing to change. Trys wasn’t happy at all with the clothes, and they were baggy on her and looked like pajamas. She looked like a strange clone of him with them on.

Once he admitted that he hadn’t taken care to remove all records, Trys’s eyes went wide, “What?” She yelled, “That’s Ranger 101! First thing we do is look at footage!” Trys growled in frustration, knowing that several hours had passed. There was no way that Durr wouldn’t have intel by now…

As Talak announced they needed to go back, Trys glared at him, “Neither of us are okay to drive. Drunk driving is illegal,” She hissed, though this put them in a conundrum. She was definitely buzzed, though she managed to be coherent and with it still.

“Make Artee drive,” She said at last. A pilot droid could figure out a speeder, right? Trys was back to fuming again, thinking about how much shit they would be in if an entire syndicate were coming down on them.

“The place will be closed by now, so we’ll need to find another way in,” Trys recalled the main entrance being a normal front. She didn’t know the extent of damage the building was in, but if it weren’t so overt, then perhaps there was a chance no one had noticed something amiss several levels below…

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was already kicking himself, and felt all the more like an idiot as she yelled at him. He tried to focus his mind on the problem, but it wasn't working all that well.

Well, I'm not a Ranger, now am I? he snapped back. He knew it wasn't helping anything, but it made him feel slightly better to vent his anger before taking a deep breath to calm himself. The fact that "drunk driving is illegal" actually came out of her mouth was both comical and incomprehensible to Talak. Breaking the law was really what she was worried about right now?

They were both drunk. They were both exhausted. He was still wounded. Their enemies likely already had the intel. Their enemies were likely to be crawling all over the place already. And Talak really didn't think Artee could pilot a speeder any better than drunk Talak.

He held up his hands as if to slow them both down.

This isn't going to work. We need to wait. They'll already have the intel, which means that us rushing over there will only get us both killed, he said. He didn't like the idea of trying to sleep, but it beat out going in their current state. Not to mention that as anxious as he was, he still felt like he could probably pass out in an instant... partially because he actually felt like passing out from exhaustion still.

Plus, I don't think Artee will be able to pull off driving a speeder, he said. If they wanted to go now, they'd have to break the law. Oh no! The horror!

He looked at her waiting for her to object.

 

[Trys Aran]

“No you certainly are not,” She replied hotly when he quipped that he was no ranger. She was seething, and his irritation didn’t help diffuse the tension. Trys crossed her arms over her chest as he finally threw out that this wasn’t going to work. She despised that he was at least partially right, but she’d never admit that aloud.

“These are Gamorreans,” She snapped back, “They don’t know their head from their own ass. I bet you two of those idiots are still outside guarding the ruins of whatever you left behind,” Trys glared at him. However, when he mentioned that he didn’t believe Artee could drive, that was what made her reconsider things. She was entirely too by the book in order to ever participate in drunk driving or be any part of it.

In the end, she threw her hands up, “Fine!” She said in exasperation, “Don’t be shocked if your stupid mug is on the Holonews bright and early tomorrow,” Trys scowled at him, “Maybe I’ll finally be able to see what bullshit you pulled back there. Go and get your beauty sleep then.”

She grumbled to herself about stubborn banthas and other things as she spun on her heel and walked towards where he designated her room was. He would hear the door slam as she disappeared. She was in disbelief that they weren’t chasing this down, but she wouldn’t budge on law when it came to this.

 

[Talak Rand]

He certainly hoped that he wouldn't be seeing his mugshot on the news. Though, it wasn't the actual authorities he was worried about. If the Hutt came after them, it would be a whole different social circle that had his picture. What would be was going to be, however.

He watched her storm off to the other wing of the ship, and he rolled his eyes. She is so weird, he muttered under his breath.

He went quickly through the ship and locked it down for the night, reactivated the security system, and then turned Artee back on.

...before, no one has been on the ship in years, he continued the sentence right where he had left off, looking around in confusion when he found that Trys was no longer there.

She went to bed, Artee. And so am I, he said.

Oh, I see. Very well, I'll clean up your mess here. I must say, I like her, master. You should keep her around, he said before whirring off to clean up the mess of wine glasses and bottles. I like her, too, Artee, he thought to himself. What had he gotten himself into?

---​

Talak's nights of sleep were always fitful, but this one seemed even worse. He awoke the next day and applied the third round of bacta to his arm as he prepared his gear for an almost-inevitable conflict. He found himself nervous about everything surrounding today. Going up against a crime lord's thugs again, check. Chances that his partner found out some horrible things about him, check. Having to face up to the fact that a leader of the Syndicates was now coming after him, check. Having to confront the reality once again that his partner already thought he was a monster, check. Trying to keep Artee quiet in public, check.

It was going to be a wonderful day.

He rotated his shoulder again, still noting that it wasn't 100%, but it would do. He emerged from his room to see if Trys had already risen, and pulled up a map of the warehouse district on the main holoprojector. Some planning might go a long way to helping them not die.

 

[Trys Aran]

“I know, I know,” Talak would be able to hear her voice faintly coming from the room if he were nosy and listened, “I’ll be home soon,” There was a sigh, “Did you finish all your homework?” A pause, “What do you mean group project?” Pause, “What girl?! No, no, I didn’t sign off on any study sessions,” Trys growled, “You want me to go over there right now? Because I’ll get on a shuttle right this second,” Longer pause, “How are you more difficult than all the bad guys I ever face?” She sighed in a defeated tone, “All right yeah, love you too. And that’s still a no on a tattoo. I don’t care if I was your age when I got one.”

There was silence after that and some shuffling around. Trys was convinced that Talak was still asleep as it was early local time. She had gotten up early to take a quick shower and freshen up before finally emerging from the room, looking grumpy. Study session… feh! She wiped the expression off by the time she saw the map on the Holoprojector and the fact that Talak was up. Trys suddenly felt awkward about what he may have heard, and she hoped against hope he was too immersed in the map to have listened.

“I was thinking about something when I woke up,” Trys said as she sat down across from him, “We need to think about what we want to chase here,” She looked at the map, “The more time we spend on this, the further Zaltor slips from our fingers,” The Barabel was the entire reason they had come to the planet.

“There might be a connection between the two, however,” She pondered aloud, “Is there anything near Nudskutch identified as significant? That’s where Talvo would be. And also,” Trys pulled out the coin that Banfi had handed her before she killed him, “Does this symbol show up anywhere?”

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak, of course, heard most of the conversation, but he had the courtesy not to make her feel any more embarrassed than he knew she already felt. It was sweet in its own way, and he had no idea how she managed to balance being a mom with what she did. He couldn't even imagine being a dad.

He looked up from the holomap as she came out and sipped from his cup of caf. Artee - who had clearly taken a liking to her - whirred over and offered her a cup of her own. Dumb droid never brings me my caf, he mentally grumbled. He had a very love-hate relationship with that droid.

He listened as she talked about Zaltor escaping, and he knew that she was probably right. He hoped that if this was Zaltor's home base then he might be sticking around here, especially if he didn't realize he'd been tracked here yet, but there were no guarantees of that.

It's possible, he agreed when she mentioned that there might be a connection between the two. He hoped there was, but he wasn't counting on it. She passed across the coin and he started searching for any buildings with a similar symbol, but then he stopped.

Maybe... maybe we should be going after the Hutts instead of the Barabel, he said. He didn't like it, and he knew it was why they'd come here. The idea of leaving the dead shop owner unavenged didn't sit right with him, but there was one thing he couldn't deny: We might be able to still save the living instead of avenging the dead, he said. She would be able to see on his face that his suggestion didn't make him happy, but it did make sense. In fact, if she took note, it would give a great deal of insight into how he thought in general.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys couldn’t help but pick up on his non committal responses as she wanted to dig into Zaltor. When he finally spoke and suggested going after the Hutts, her mouth hung open. There was nothing but silence for a moment, “Are you seriously getting philosophical on me?” She blurted out. There was no rhyme or reason to his thinking, and he went by the whims of his heart.

“Zaltor is an active case,” Trys said, “We don’t stop until a case is solved. You wanted to be a volunteer Ranger, and this is the job. You can’t save everyone,” She leaned back in her chair, staring at him, “Talak, did you know that most slaves have brands and tracking chips on them?” Trys hadn’t bothered mentioning that before because it could be potentially painful to hear, “So while your actions may have been heroic….they could very well be rounding up those girls and doing something far worse than what was done to them before.”

Trys looked down at the desk, “That’s why process and order is so important. That’s why methodology is key. Doing things on a whim is always easy, but there are always repercussions you can’t anticipate...there are always people that can get hurt,” She looked at him again, letting him ponder on the ramifications of what they had done.

“Solving the slaving ring will take a very long time,” Trys explained, “But catching Zaltor isn’t just about the Bothan. It’s to ensure he can’t kill again.”