The New Deal

[Outlander]

The ships had never arrived. Tala was cursing to herself safely under her helmet, away from any eyes in the crowd. She'd managed to contact another mercenary. She heard that this one had a lot of credits to drop. This time, she would plan things out better. And she would not let herself be betrayed. She unconsciously checked her blasters, making sure they were ready at a moments notice. Her sniper clung to her back plate, and she felt better knowing she was armed to the teeth. No matter how strange a fully armed mandalorian looked in a rather peaceful town on a planet not worth bothering in neutral space. She waited in the corner booth for her contact.

 

[Steel]

$30 million creds. Those words still sounded false. Like they were a dream. As if any second all those ill gained credits could suddenly vanish. The scary thing? It was entirely possible that those credits could be taken away from Rheas, and what would he do then?

Rheas was still young, but wealth aged someone fast. What if he died, and the only thing he had done in life was get lucky and strike millions of credits, only to squander them just as fast as he had gained them. Rheas knew he needed to invest his riches into something sustainable. Something that would provide him a means of living for years to come.

It was more than thay though. Rheas wanted to invest in something awesome. He wanted to make a $30 million dollar mark on the galaxy. He wanted to a cause to sweat for, to believe in . What Rheas wanted most was find something bigger than him, which was pretty difficult considering his massive size, and work to make the galaxy better.

So far, that cause was freeing slaves and helping the poor. Rheas was just beginning a month long trip around the galaxy, stopping on planets like these to donate money to various charities. Rheas was still sixteen though, and right now he needed a break.

It wasn't too difficult getting past the bouncer. Rheas had a very expensive and high quality fake I.D., and he wasn't exactly the smallest Kushari either.

Rheas' eyes darted around the cantina, his tail flipping excitingly. Where would he sit? Rheas did not like sitting alone. Maybe that Twi'lek over there didn't like being alone either. She did seem pretty sad. The hulking Kushari plopped himself in the seat across from her.

His bright glowing eyes scanned her carefully. She had a lot of guns. Good thing Rheas had a gun too. Finally, after a friendly blink, he offered a hearty welcome.

"Hello! What's with the long face?"

His face took on a grave and serious expression.

"The food's good here right?"

 

[Outlander]

She glared at the guy. "It's not the food that's ticking me off. I'm supposed to meet a contact here, and it looks like he's not coming. I swear to manda, I will pull him out of whatever hole he's hiding out in." She slammed a fist into the wall, leaving a large dent.

 

[Steel]

"You think he's in the wall?"

Rheas' whiskers twitched like they did whenever he found something funny. He raised a paw toward the waitress, if the food was good he may as well try some.

"How do you know I'm not your contact?"

 

[Outlander]

"Are you a Rodian?" She asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Look, unless you have a couple million credits to drop on giving some mercenaries a place to crash, I don't know why you're here."

 

[Steel]

Rheas leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Rodian! Well I can see why the other guy didn't show up. I am Kushari. A proud and noble race of feline warriors. We have a rich culture and a storied history. Few othe races can match the battle prowness of a powerful Kushari warrior".

As Rheas spoke, he sat up straight and puffed out his chest. As he neared the end of his speech, Rheas raised a paw majestically into the air. Then the waitress came over.

"Your order sir?"

Rheas slumped down into his chair and looked eagerly at the waitress.

"Nerf Strips!"

The waitress blinked.

"How many?"

Rheas licked his chops.

"A dozen. With roast beef and orange juice too".

The waitress nodded and turned expectantly toward Tala. Rheas leaned forward, his eyes glittering with curiosity a he whispered just loud enough for Tala, himself, and the waitress to hear.

"What would a bunch of mercenaries need with a million creds?"

 

[Outlander]

Tala chuckled, lightening up a little bit. "As might as your warrior race seems, I would have to disagree." She flipped her helmet in her hands, being sure to display the distinctive T visor. The waitress saw it, backing away before turning to other patrons. "The Mandalorians have been present since our ancestors, the Taung, rose up during the Old Republic." She set it down on the table. "We need the credits for a sanctuary. Mandalorians have been scattered across the galaxy. We can't really set up anywhere since the Genocide. I happen to know a place in the Unknown Region where we can set up a base. The sticking point is credits."

 

[Steel]

Rheas reconized the shape of that helmet. It was Mandalorian. The woman continued talking, but Rheas didn't hear a word she said. He just patiently waited until she finished so he could ask a question.

"I thought all of the mandalorians were dead?"

 

[Outlander]

Rheas reconized the shape of that helmet. It was Mandalorian. The woman continued talking, but Rheas didn't hear a word she said. He just patiently waited until she finished so he could ask a question.

"I thought all of the mandalorians were dead?"

"As hard as the Sith tried, they failed. And more of us are being trained. I'm a new mandalorian myself."

 

[Steel]

Rheas paused for a second, thinking. Despite his boasts of the Kushari's fierce warrior culture, Rheas was not much of a warrior himself. In fact, Rheas had never fired a blaster in his life. Maybe it was time to change that. If this woman was being trained as a Mandalorian, maybe Rheas could be trained too.

"I want to be a new Mandalorian too. Take me to this sanctuary, train me. I'm strong enough".

Were those nerf strips coming soon?

 

[Outlander]

Rheas paused for a second, thinking. Despite his boasts of the Kushari's fierce warrior culture, Rheas was not much of a warrior himself. In fact, Rheas had never fired a blaster in his life. Maybe it was time to change that. If this woman was being trained as a Mandalorian, maybe Rheas could be trained too.

"I want to be a new Mandalorian too. Take me to this sanctuary, train me. I'm strong enough".

Were those nerf strips coming soon?

"I'd be more than happy to teach you. But there isn't any sanctuary to take you to. We still need a couple million credits to build it."

 

[Steel]

Rheas beamed. He was going to become a Mandalorian. His tail flicked quickly from one side to the other. Then his meal arrived, and Rheas dived right in. A thousand questions flew out of his mouth at once as he tried to speak through the food he kept shoving in. Only a few questions were actually understandable.

"When do I start? Do I get armour like that? Want to see my blaster? What's the best way to kill a Wookie? This food is amazing, you should order something. Do you know any advanced knife tricks?"

Then just like that Rheas' plate was clean. Maybe he should have ordered two dozen nerf strips. Then Rheas remembered how the nice Mandalorian kept on mentioning her need of credits.

"Don't worry about those credits. Me and a few buddies robbed the Imperials blind and I have like thirty million creds just sitting there".

 

[Outlander]

Tala was fairly baffled by the pup sitting in front of her somehow managing to eat and talk simultaniously. At the sound of thirty million credits, she held up a hand to silence him. "Hold on. You're willing to give me 30 million credits in exchange for mandalorian training?"

 

[Steel]

Rheas halted in his tracks. His father's advice echoed in his ears, 'Don't waste your fortune on stupid things boy, spend it on something that means something'. While Mandalorian training had its uses, it was not worth thirty million credits.

"Ummmm, I guess not. There's probably lots more ways for me to learn how to fight. Ways that don't cost thirty million creds. What's the difference between a Mandalorian instructor and a Barabel one right?"

 

[Outlander]

Rheas halted in his tracks. His father's advice echoed in his ears, 'Don't waste your fortune on stupid things boy, spend it on something that means something'. While Mandalorian training had its uses, it was not worth thirty million credits.

"Ummmm, I guess not. There's probably lots more ways for me to learn how to fight. Ways that don't cost thirty million creds. What's the difference between a Mandalorian imstructor and a Barabel one right?"

Tala removed her blaster in an instant and shot five precision rounds across the tavern, creating a smile on the opposite wall. She was still looking at Rheas while she did this. "They won't teach you that."

 

[Steel]

Rheas laughed out loud.

"How to fire a blaster? Anyone could teach me that. My dead grandmother, rest her soul, could teach me how to fire a blaster. I'm looking for something awesome".

The Kushari began to stand up. While it might appear he was leaving, Rheas was actually only searching for another waiter. He wanted desert.

 

[Outlander]

"Look." She said, replacing her blasters. "We need those credits. Badly. I can teach you our culture, our techniques, and how to make your own armor. We are the best. You won't find better training from here to the core and back."