Whispers in the Dark

By Arriss

 Chapter IX – Partnerships

The night chill whipped past Mara’s face as they walked along the beach. She could hear the waves crashing against the shore and rocks, along with the laughter of someone a short distance up ahead. As much as she loved the water and felt the urge to plunge into its dark depths, she restrained herself and focused on the duo walking in front of her. Mara’s lips curled upward slightly as she continued to sense a person tracing their steps. The satisfaction shone in her viridian eyes as Cela stalked their movements in complete stealth.

 

“How much farther?” Mara demanded.

 

“Not far,” Irgan said as he glanced back at her, taking notice of her hand that rested on a holstered blaster.

 

“I hope you didn’t forget to bring the agreement,” Yurrn said with a hint of sarcasm.

 

Mara simply sneered. She didn’t trust these two any more than they trusted her – probably less. “I will abide by my bargain as long as you do the same.”

 

“Oh, we have every intention to do so,” Yurrn retorted and glanced knowingly at his brother.

 

Mara arched an eyebrow at the comment but followed along, hoping this entire ordeal would be over soon. She still had a personal mission of her own to complete and this was taking her away from that.

 

__________________________________*****__________________________________

 

“Here we are,” Yurrn said as he stopped at the mouth of a darkened cave and turned to look at Mara.

 

“It’s about time,” she commented icily.

 

Warily, Mara followed the brothers into the cave, her hand never straying from where it rested on her blaster.

 

 

Not only was the cave dark and foreboding, it was somewhat damp as well. Mara noted that the fault lay where the tide came in and flooded a portion of the entrance. As if to concur with her thoughts, she noticed how slippery the rocks were that she stepped on. She could hear the Uyllt brothers grumbling a few feet ahead of her and sneered at their complaints. As she walked deeper she took out a hand light and shone it upon the many stalagmites that jutted up from the ground.

 

“How did you get your shipment in here?” she asked.

 

“It, uh, wasn’t easy,” Yurrn hesitantly said as he maneuvered around the formations sharp points.

 

“There isn’t another point of entry?”

 

“Not that we could find,” Irgan quickly answered, giving his brother a knowing look. “But this was safe and discreet.”

 

 

They wove around the last of the conical shapes and came upon a rather oversized rectangular container that was more than one and a half meters long and nearly one meter in height.

 

While Irgan busied himself with lighting a couple of torches, Mara scrutinized the dark duraplast box that sparked her inquisitive nature. At the same time, she made sure to listen carefully to the distinct beeps of the code Yurrn was entering to unlock the container, which instantly emitted a hissing sound from the rectangular shape, indicating its seal had been broken.

 

Yurrn stepped back and demanded, “Where’s the contract?”

 

Having no further need for her hand light, thanks to the now lit torches, she tucked it away. “I have it, but I have to inspect the merchandise and deem its worth first.”

 

Irgan shook his head in defiance. “No. We delivered and now you have too.”

 

Mara dipped her head and glared at them. “I will uphold my end of the bargain as long as you do. And all you have ‘delivered’ is a crate. Not worth much in my opinion.”

 

Flustered, the brothers pushed aside the container cover to reveal what they hoped would bring them a very prosperous lifestyle.

 

Mara frowned as she looked into the box. Reaching in, she picked up one of the pieces, a rather grotesque sculpture and examined it. “Tell me, are either of you a connoisseur of art?” she asked, picking up another sculpture, this one of a nude Twi’lek.

 

Yurrn looked at his brother and shrugged. “N-no, why do you ask?”

 

“Because if you were you would know these pieces are worthless. Nothing more than cheap replicas and poorly made ones at that.”

 

“WHAT?” They shouted simultaneously and then Yurrn continued, “I protest this outrage!”

 

“Hrumph,” Mara mumbled. “Protest all you want – this is junk and you’ve wasted enough of my valuable time.”

 

“But we were told it was priceless!” Irgan angrily shouted.

 

“Well, you’re not the first ones to ever get duped,” Mara commented nonchalantly and turned to leave.

 

“Wait!” Yurrn reached out and grabbed her arm. “They gotta have some value!”

 

Glancing down at the hand wrapped around her arm a wry smile crossed her face as she recalled the incident in the bar before she had found the brothers. Scathingly, she replied, “Not to Karrde’s organization. Go find someone else. In the meantime, remove your hand.”

 

Frustrated, Irgan grabbed one of the pieces and after turning it around in his hands a few times smashed it against the edge of the container. “Nooooo,” he decried.

 

“What’s that?” Mara inquired as she shook off Yurrn’s hand.

 

“What?” Irgan asked, looking around confused.

 

Mara looked closer and picked up a tiny vial, approximately 2.5 centimeters in length that had apparently come from inside the sculpture. She held it up to her eye and stared at the light orange colored liquid. “What is this?”

 

Irgan and Yurrn exchanged bewildered glances. “No idea,” Yurrn finally stated.

 

“Where did you get this merchandise?”

 

“We took it over from a friend,” Irgan admitted.

 

“He couldn’t complete the delivery so we helped out,” Yurrn added.

 

Mara could see they were hiding something, although what she wasn’t sure. However, judging from their body language she knew they were lying. Cautiously, she glanced further into the box. “What’s that?” she pointed to an item wedged against the inside of it.

 

“Just an inventory datapad,” Yurrn answered.

 

“You sure? Did you look at it?”

 

The brothers exchanged glances again and slowly shook their heads from side to side.

 

Mara rolled her eyes and reached for the datapad. She activated it and began to quickly scan the contents and was surprised to discover it only comprised of names. Wealthy names. She glanced at the vial in her hand and set the datapad down. Slowly, she removed the lid and gently waved the small duraglass container under her nose.

 

“Hmm, no smell… Perplexing…”

 

“Taste it,” Irgan suggested.

 

Mara cocked an eyebrow at the suggestion. “I don’t think so. Perhaps you’d like to see if it’s edible,” she said with a devilish grin and thrust the small vial toward him.

 

“Uh, no, thanks,” Irgan responded, holding his hands in front of his chest and backing away.

 

Mara chuckled. “I didn’t think so.” She replaced the lid and made sure the liquid couldn’t escape and then picked up the datapad again.

 

Yurrn walked back over to the crate and peered inside. He shook his head from side to side in disbelief at the turn of events. Just as he began to turn away, he spied something out of the corner of his eye. He slowly turned and carefully reached out for the object and picked up a small datachip.

 

“What’s that?” Mara inquired, casting a sideways glance at the man.

 

“Nothing,” Yurrn replied as he turned away. “Just a piece of the wretched sculpture. I can’t believe how sour this has gotten.”

 

“Comes with the territory. Sometimes you lose,” Mara said with indifference as she shrugged and then turned to leave.

 

“Hey! Where you goin’? That pad belongs here!” Irgan shouted menacingly.

 

“Save your growls for someone who will be frightened by them. I’m going to do some checking on this list and the contents of this vial. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow night, 2100 hours sharp!”

 

“We’ll come looking for ya if ya don’t show!”

 

Mara smirked. “Don’t worry, Yurrn. If I say I’ll be here, I will.” Not bothering to let them say anything more, she turned and went back out the way she came.

 

 

Yurrn waited until he felt the woman was gone and out of earshot range and then turned toward his brother. “Look,” he held out his open palm, “see that?”

 

Irgan leaned over slightly, squinting at the small chip. “Yeah, so?” he responded.

 

“So?” Yurrn replied, his tone reflecting his irritation. “Gimme yer reader! I wanna see what’s on this chip.”

 

Irgan did as his brother asked and Yurrn quickly inserted the chip. He waited a moment for the reader’s screen to display the contents and suddenly shook his head in anger.

 

“Blast!”

 

“What’s wrong?” Irgan looked curiously at the screen.

 

“It’s encrypted. I can’t access it.” Yurrn pounded his fist on the reader in frustration and suddenly the display changed. The image shifted and distorted and only a portion became visible. The brothers leaned in closer and tried to make out the garbled display.

 

 

in  te    atte

 

w n’t b  di ap

 

 

“Hmm,” Yurrn rubbed his stubbly chin. “Not much to go on but it’s something. If we could crack the code we could get the whole message. This chip is damaged so it’s probably worthless to try and get more out of it.”

 

“How we gonna break the encryption?” Irgan couldn’t help wondering.

 

“It may not be worthless. Use the wench!” Garen appeared from within the shadowed walls.

 

Startled, the brothers tried to stifle their reaction, but Garen saw it anyway and chuckled quietly to himself. “I’m sure the wench has the ability to crack it on her ship. She’s a smuggler after all.”

 

“Must you sneak up on us like that? Damned side entrance!” Yurrn scolded and then added, “I don’t suppose you can decrypt it?”

 

Garen shook his head. “And here you told her there wasn’t another entrance, tsk, tsk,” he commented as he grinned slyly at Irgan before turning toward his brother. “Nope. I’m an assassin not an encryption expert, Yurrn. Let the wench do it for ya and then I’ll take care of her.”

 

A smile crept up his lips as Yurrn warmed to the proposal. “Yeah, let her do our work and then she’ll be as good as dead. I like how you think, Garen.”

 

__________________________________*****__________________________________

 

The newlyweds were enjoying their evening swim and before long found themselves much farther up the beach than they had intended.

“You are mesmerizing, mon aimé, you know that?” Sakoya whispered in her husband’s ear as they floated together in the water.

Obi-Wan responded by tightening his embrace on her and kissed her passionately.

“Mmm, I guess you do,” she said huskily as their lips separated. She slid her arms up from his waist to around his neck and nestled her head on his shoulder, wistfully gazing at the view surrounding her. “Oh, look.” Sakoya exclaimed as she pointed toward the shore. “Caves of some kind.” A glint of mischievousness began to emerge in her eyes. “Feeling adventurous, my love?”

“…Possibly.”

Without another word Sakoya raced out of the water with her husband right on her heels and ran toward the cave.

__________________________________*****__________________________________

 

Obi-Wan stepped inside first, followed closely by Sakoya and quickly offered a warning. “It’s slippery, be careful.”

 

“I discovered that,” Sakoya replied as her foot easily slid over a smooth rock.

 

“Are you sure you want to venture inside?”

 

Sakoya tried to look around but everywhere was dark…and cold. “We’re already here, why not?” she daringly said.

 

“Just be careful. I don’t need either of us getting injured.”

 

“Worrywart,” Sakoya shot back.

 

They quietly continued through the cave, their Jedi senses tapping into the very ground at their feet. They couldn’t make out the mass of formations that surrounded them, which would have marveled the duo, but they were ever aware of the slick rocks that their bare feet padded across. It wasn’t long before the sound of voices reached their ears, along with the flickering glow cast from the torches.

 

Obi-Wan halted and reached out behind him to stop his wife. The voices were male, that much he could discern, and he got the impression that making their presence known would not be in their best interest. It was time to utilize all those years of Jedi training and unobtrusively listen in on the conversation.

 

“It may not be worthless. Use the wench!” Garen appeared from within the shadowed walls.

 

Startled, the brothers tried to stifle their reaction, but Garen saw it anyway and chuckled quietly to himself. “I’m sure the wench has the ability to crack it on her ship. She’s a smuggler after all.”

 

“Must you sneak up on us like that? Damned side entrance!” Yurrn scolded and then added, “I don’t suppose you can decrypt it?”

 

Garen shook his head. “And here you told her there wasn’t another entrance, tsk, tsk,” he commented as he grinned slyly at Irgan before turning toward his brother. “Nope. I’m an assassin not an encryption expert, Yurrn. Let the wench do it for ya and then I’ll take care of her.”

 

A smile crept up his lips as Yurrn warmed to the proposal. “Yeah, let her do our work and then she’ll be as good as dead. I like how you think, Garen.”

 

As the Jedi listened they cast a knowing glance at one another.

 

*Garen? The bellhop?* Sakoya asked through their mental bond.

 

*…Possibly,* her husband silently answered. *The voice sounds the same.*

 

*I wonder who the target is?*

 

Obi-Wan slowly shook his head as they continued to listen.

 

“Curses! I don’t have a way to contact her!” Yurrn spat.

 

Garen rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. “You couldn’t get basic info from her?” he groaned.

 

“Like that should surprise you from what you’ve seen o’ her,” Irgan retorted.

 

“We’ll just meet her tomorrow night then,” Yurrn commented greedily, as his lips curled upward into a sneer. “Once we get the info in this chip I don’t think we’ll need her anymore. We can take the contract from her and make it look like an accident.”

 

Grinning like Cheshire cats, Yurrn and Irgan covered the container and activated the lock. A moment later the trio laughed together as they walked out of the cave’s side entrance.

 

 

*Quite an interesting conversation,* Sakoya commented through their bond.

 

*Sounds like we stumbled onto a murder plot…and more,* Obi-Wan responded.

 

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