Mara had nothing but time on her hands as her ship
soared through hyperspace. She had taken Talon
Karrde’s offer and was now en route to meet her
contacts on the planet, Nevus. Talon had been kind
enough to inform her that this was a new customer
she would be dealing with and to spare them her
‘venom’. After all, this deal could be quite
prosperous and he didn’t want them scared away.
“Then why send me? You have plenty of others in your
organization that could handle it,” Mara inquired,
her eyes narrowing menacingly.
“Because of that.” Talon had chuckled.
“What?” Mara demanded, her ire rising.
Talon grinned back at her. How he enjoyed her feisty
nature. “Your excruciating aloofness. And because
when it comes to some transactions I want my best
person on it. They won’t be able to play you without
the risk of you serving their head back to them on a
platter.”
Mara’s lips curled upward derisively. “How much is
this deal worth?”
“A lot.”
“I see…” Mara contemplated just what that figure
might be and knowing Karrde, it was indeed a healthy
figure. “And my cut?”
“Ten percent.”
“Ten? That’s ludicrous! Do it yourself, Karrde.”
Mara spat, insulted by his answer and leaned back in
her seat.
Feigning his exasperation, Talon took a deep breath
and said, “Fifteen and no more. Considering the
magnitude of this deal, you should find that amount
worthwhile.”
Mara remained quiet, taking into account her
options, and finally said, “I want more than your
word. Give me your signature on a contract.”
Talon nodded. “I assumed as much. It’s all laid out
on here.” He tossed her a datapad with the
particulars on it. “You really should learn to trust
me, Mara. I’ve never cheated you.”
“Yet,” Mara retorted with a nod as she picked up the
electronic device and scanned its contents.
“Well?” Talon inquired. “Is everything sufficient?
All your additional details are on there as well.”
Mara looked up and smirked. “I see that. Pleasure
doing business with you, as always.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Talon responded, flashing
the woman his most charming smile.
With a roll of her eyes, Mara stood up and made her
way through the crowd and out of the cantina, Cela
close at her heels the entire time.
“Intriguing woman, that one.” Talon Karrde said in a
low voice as he took a long draw of his drink.
Mara lay on top of her bed in her private quarters,
her head leaning back into a propped up pillow and
deep in meditation when Cela softly said over the
internal comm, “We’ll be coming out of hyperspace in
an hour.”
Cela knew better than to expect an answer and
instead went about her duties. She had informed her
mistress as requested and any further interruptions,
other than an emergency, would constitute a
punishment. A chill raced up Cela’s back at the
thought – she had been privy to such reprimands and
it made her wince to think of it.
Mara came out of her trance-like state, bounded off
her bed and stretched her supple body. Walking over
to her computer console, she brought up the notes
she had compiled for this deal to refresh her
memory.
“Yurrn and Irgan Uyllt. Small smugglers that have
tried to tie into different organizations…” Mara
mused to herself as she slowly scrolled down the
notes on her viewscreen. “Considering no one wants
to bring them in…I wonder how they landed this
deal…” She paused to gather her thoughts and then
continued her conversation with herself. “Stunted
womprats from what I’ve heard of them. Let them try
something stupid. That’s probably why Talon wanted
me on this one… Oh, I’ll be watchful… He was
definitely serious about the profits from such a
deal – very advantageous. Anything that has to do
with art is profitable.”
Mara cleared her screen, got up and walked over to
the chest at the foot of her bed. She knelt down,
punched a series of numbers onto the keypad and
heard a distinct click. Throwing open the chest, she
stared at, among other items, the array of weapons
neatly placed inside. Attached inside the cover of
the chest, was a line of small daggers – each
encased in their own sheath. Taking hold of two of
the daggers, she inserted them into custom made
slits – one inside each of her boots.
“I like contingency weapons.” She sneered roguishly
as she picked up two blaster pistols from the chest
and strapped them on over her black pants. Looking
up, she glanced at her lightsaber – the one she had
constructed under Darth Sidious’s tutelage – that
had a permanent place of honor just above the
headboard of her bed. “I don’t think you’ll be
necessary today,” she declared with absolute
conviction.
Mara heard her door chime as she finished tucking in
her cream colored long-sleeved shirt. “Enter,” she
bellowed, closing the chest. She heard the familiar
click and smiled, knowing that the trunk had
instantly locked itself.
The metal door slid aside and Cela stepped in.
“We’ll be coming out of hyperspace within a few
minutes.”
“Good. Let’s go,” she ordered in a no-nonsense tone
and stalked out of her quarters with Cela trailing
right behind her.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Mara snuggled into the pilot seat of the Conquest
just as the ship came out of hyperspace and
immediately busied herself with the computer
console.
“Impeccable timing, Mistress Mara,” Cela commented.
“Of course I have. Your prattle isn’t necessary to
inform me of that,” she retorted sharply as she
immersed herself in the intricacy of her task.
Without another word, Cela took her place in the
co-pilot’s seat and they finished the last few
strides of their voyage to Nevus in silence.
They were arriving near the orbit of the planet when
a humanoid voice sounded over the comm, breaking the
self-imposed hush in the cockpit. “We have you on
our screen now. Identify yourself.”
Mara opened a communication channel. “This is the
Avenger, requesting permission to land,” she
responded. Mara knew this was standard protocol and
there was no choice but to comply. Not that it
mattered; she had already manipulated the ship’s ID
to one of her pseudo ones and transmitted that to
the controlling authorities. No one, not even Talon
Karrde, knew of her bevy of pseudonyms she used for
herself as well as her ship. It was a precaution she
had learned long ago – one she deemed an
occupational hazard. Additionally, she had had the
outer ID of her ship ‘scrubbed’ thus rendering it
sufficiently obscure.
“Affirmative. Business or pleasure?” the voice
requested.
“Combination.”
“State your destination for our records.”
“Kuryn,” she stated confidently.
There was a slight pause and then the voice replied,
“Proceed to Kuryn docking area 426. Enjoy your
stay.”
Mara smiled sweetly. “Thank you. Avenger
out.” She turned toward her co-pilot. “Guide her in
and land, Cela.”
The girl’s eyes widened in shock – Mara was actually
going to let her land the ship! Desperately trying
to keep her wits about her, Cela took over the
controls. “Aye, Mistress Mara.”
Nervous, yet trying not to show it, Cela brought the
ship into the planet atmosphere and guided it not
toward the directed docking bay, but to the
coordinates Mara had instructed. Everything was
progressing smoothly – until she tried to land…
“I-I’m sorry,” Cela stammered.
The look on Mara’s face was one of ice – very cold
and unreadable. Cela had no idea if she was about to
be punished or congratulated for keeping the ship
intact. This had been the first time Mara had
granted the young waif the privilege of landing the
ship and beads of sweat began to form on her
forehead as the girl waited for the aftermath.
Ever so slowly, a grin crept up Mara’s lips. “That
was…satisfactory…bumpy, but you held it.”
“Thank you for allowing me to bring the ship in.”
Cela’s face flushed.
“A thank you isn’t necessary. I have my own reasons
for improving your piloting proficiency.” Mara
suddenly stood up and said, “Let’s go.”
“Won’t our flight deviation cause –”
Mara quickly turned toward the girl, annoyed. “You
question me?” she snarled.
“N-no, Mistress Mara.” Cela swallowed hard.
Mara’s eyes narrowed as she stared hard at her
slave. “I’ve already taken care of that. Now, let’s
move.”
Cela knew better than to say another word.
Opening the hatch, Mara squinted against the glare
as sunlight greeted her face. Undaunted, she strode
down the ramp and out into the open air. The
customary light breeze of the area touched her face,
bringing with it the pleasant scent of flowers.
“Oh, it’s beautiful here!” Cela declared as she came
down the ramp and stood next to her mistress. “And
the scents in the air…” She inhaled deeply the smell
of the fresh flora.
“Yes, yes, enjoy yourself later. We need to find our
contacts, which shouldn’t be hard. I’m sure anywhere
they can get inebriated is where we’ll find them.”
Mara took out her datapad and studied the map of the
city it contained in addition to the surrounding
area.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Yurrn Uyllt, a squared-jawed man with a dark
complexion, and short, dark hair was sitting on the
beach when his brother, Irgan, came running up.
Winded, the latter collapsed in the soft sand and
took some deep breaths.
“What?” Yurrn asked in an irritated tone as he
flicked a clump of hair out of his eyes.
“A message,” Irgan managed, “from Karrde. He says
what’s her name is on the way. We’re to meet ‘er, uh
Mara, at the Clipper Tavern at 2000 hours.”
“Uppity tavern – it figures,” he commented with a
sneer. “Mara? I don’t suppose he gave you a full
name?” Yurrn pressed.
“Uh…no, he didn’t. First name only.”
Yurrn growled deep in his chest. “A first name and a
description – that’s all we have. I suppose if it
gets us in it’ll have to do.”
“You think Karrde will let us in his organization?”
“That’s the plan.” Yurrn scowled.
“Yeah,” Irgan began to laugh, “the plan.”
“He give you an ETA of when she would arrive?”
Irgan shook his head from side to side. “Not
really…only sometime today.”
“Evasive, ain’t he? Well, we may as well not starve
ourselves while we wait. Let’s meet Garen and get
some grub.” Yurrn got to his feet without bothering
to brush the sand from his filthy pants and swiped
his grimy fingers through his hair.
“Think we oughta clean up before we run into her?”
Yurrn paused a moment to think. “Hmm, that will make
a better impression…and we need to make one, that’s
fer sure. I wonder how much of a pushover this woman
will be. Ya know, this may be too easy,” he said
with a chuckle.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
After invoking the ship’s security, Mara and Cela
began their long walk toward the outskirts of Kuryn
and what had been dubbed the ‘entertainment sector’.
From what she knew of the
Uyllt brothers, they preferred hard liquor and
scantily clad women. If she would find them
anywhere, she had to look no farther than the heart
of this district.
It would only be a few kilometers walk for them and
the exercise would be welcome after being on the
ship for so long. Mara relished the outdoors – the
sun glancing off her face, water rolling down her
back from a swim, and the constant exercise that
kept her mind and body toned. Cela had been nothing
more than a scrawny whelp when she had first laid
eyes on the girl. Now, she was blossoming into a
pretty young girl – a girl that could steal you
blind if you weren’t careful.
