The Finding

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

"Well, yeaaahh," she dragged the last word out in the sort of way that one did when confirming the most obvious thing in the galaxy. She even came this close to rolling her eyes at what she thought to be a silly question.

"I mean, think about it."

Her shoulders rolled as she used the edge of a wall panel to scratch at an itch that'd sprung up between her shoulder blades.

"... you get to go and capture people that do horrible things. Slavers, killers, robbers, all that stuff. It's cool because you do what you can to make sure bad guys get justice."

Pursing her lips then, she looked up at the ceiling high above them both.

"I was confused and a little angry when you left Ossus," an admission that she never thought she'd be able to give to him, "... because it was like you abandoned everything that you had told me to honor and be true to. But, now you're a bounty hunter, and it's like you're living the way that you were really meant to live, I guess. At least, that's how it seems to me."

Her head lolled to the side then, so that she could stare at him once more. Blinking owlishly, she decided to confess what she was sure would bring out the Loki-of-old.

"I mean, here I am, and I still haven't made... " her tone shifted even lower, so that only he could hear.

"... a lightsaber."

[Abarai Loki]

As Teagan waxed lyrical about the great bounty hunting life, Loki considered tempering her expectations with some truths about his own unglamorous experiences, lest she take him for some idealistic bastion of justice, like the characters in holos. He couldn’t do it, though. At first, it was because he liked the way she was speaking about him. For some reason, there was a weight to this kid’s opinion of him, and it stuck. And now that she thought he was cool, it was imperative he did not disappoint. A feat which was about to prove exceptionally difficult.

It stung when she spoke of his sudden departure from Ossus, not least of all because he hadn’t ever taken into consideration her feelings or the effect of his absence, in the first place. If anything, it came as a surprise that his departure mattered to her at all, but that wasn’t the important part; Teagan was making peace with his decision to leave by virtue of her own idealised vision of a bounty hunter. Did she think him something more? To take that from her would cheapen all she valued. Could he really do that when he had a hand in sowing the seeds of those very same beliefs?

Loki pressed his lips into a thin line as he considered his options. Teagan was owed an explanation that did not trample on her convictions. Yet, as he readied himself, she had one more confession to make.


“Your weapon is your life.”

Into each hand was thrust a heavy length of metal. One was coarse and hurt his fingers, the other was shiny and smooth. He could see the crystals winking at him from under Chek’s bunk, where they had skittered to a stop. Chek was too busy staring at his feet to notice.

“Without your weapon, you are defenceless.”

Master’s large hands struck him in the chest. He stumbled and crashed into the corner of the room. His borrowed robes hung from him like an old sack, and tangled as he scrambled frantically to his feet. The long sleeves made it difficult to hold onto the unfinished lightsaber, but he clutched it through the fabric as tightly as he could.

“Without your life, you are… what?”

Master’s voice was tranquil, and cool. From where he stood, he could see the hem of his pristine tunic. He hesitated, and was struck so fast he bit his lip. The sound of the impact rung in his ears. His cheek was on fire.

“I am dead, sir,” he said, holding fast onto the lightsaber parts, “Without my weapon, I am dead."


Teagan was looking at him like she’d just admitted to drowning a litter of loth-kittens. He gave her a shrug and smiled.

“It’s fine.”

He heard a tremor in his voice. His eyes were getting glossy. Arms folded, he pressed himself against the bulkhead and stared out at the eclectic and colourful congregation of shoppers. There was a quiet sniff, then he proceeded:

“I remember how hard you studied before committing yourself to the life. You wanted to make an informed decision. That’s an unusual amount of wisdom for someone so young. So, why the rush? Something tells me you’ll do it when the time is right.”

There was a revelation somewhere in those words. A confirmation of what he’d suspected from the moment he saw her through the crowd. It was in how she carried herself. He just knew it. And he braved a sideways glance in her direction to seek his answer.

“So… you have committed to it, then?”

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She opened her mouth to answer, but a sudden poing reached her ears, diverting her attention. Snapping her head over to the side, the young Lupine watched as a bouncing ball made its way in her and Loki's direction. Behind the ball was a bundle of excited fur and fluff, as a Shistavenan cub gave chase. Small barks and yips, and the cub reached out with both paws to grasp at the toy that seemed to constantly remain out of reach.

Half-crouching, Teagan easily caught the ball, and the cub skidded to a halt in front of her. A smile, and the ball was returned to its owner with ease.

"Well," she stood back up, watching the happy youngling return to a waiting mother.

"... I have."

She pulled in a long breath, letting it back out slowly.

"Wasn't anything easy to decide on, though. But yeah."

Shoulders squared back then, as she pushed away from the wall. There was a small seating area a short bit away, and she was getting tired of standing. A quick beckoning gesture for Loki to join, and she went on.

"My mom left me and Markos on Ossus because she knew we'd be safe there, and also because she wanted me to see what it was like to be a Jedi, I think."

For a short moment she looked all around her.

"She comes here sometimes, you know. Something to do with resupplies and restocking or whatever."

[Abarai Loki]

Teagan’s confirmation made his chest swell. It was an unusual feeling, to be proud of something he had not achieved. And it wasn’t the old pride he remembered, swaddled in ego and hubris, but something wholly transparent, something honest. She told him it hadn’t been easy and he knew it to be true. For long, she wrestled with the decision, with questions upon questions. What he once considered Teagan’s indecisiveness he now recognised as conviction: the choice was hers and she made it.

As they walked, he stole a glance her way. So much of the girl he remembered remained: the inquisitiveness, the determination, it was still there, but it was blossoming into a well-rounded intelligence and a quiet confidence. Much like her mother. The life would suit her, but it would also shackle her, perhaps in ways she did not yet understand. And, as he watched, Loki could not help but feel a stirring of guilt that maybe he, too, had a hand in forging those shackles.

Trees stood at intervals, along the prominade, providing rare greens across a heavy canvas of grey. They had slim pale trunks that flaked in thin curls, and round fulsome canopies. Each boasted a circle of benches at their base, turning them into concentrated gathering points. They found a free bench and sat. On the neighbouring bench, a couple of elderly Mon Calamari shared candies from a neatly wrapped parcel, and to the other side, a rowdy family Ugnaughts; the mother nursed an infant with delicate utterances while the father corralled excitable twins.

Loki disliked their central location, which forced him to keep his back to strangers, but on balance, it felt safe enough. Even if it was just the illusion of safety. He wondered what Teagan’s mother would make of her wandering Jovan Station alone. As with Vymes, he tried not to dwell too long her, or on Ossus, or the life he had packed away into the dark recesses of his past. But with Teagan, he had to at least try. He followed her gaze, taking in their new surroundings.

“It does not surprise me your mother visits this place. It has become an important trade hub for the entire quadrant. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in Jovan Station, you will be hard-pressed to find it anywhere else.”

Spoken like a true encyclopaedia. Loki privately scolded himself. He would have to try harder than that, even if it meant discussing things he’d rather not talk about.

“How… are things on Ossus, these days?” He attempted a conversational tone, but it came out stilted, “It was never the easiest place to live, after all.”

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Ossus not being the easiest place to live was a heck of a thing to say. It went leagues beyond stating what was already known, and as the two sat, Teagan half-leaned back as she turned an amused look his way.

"It's not much easier than when you were there," she found herself grinning.

"Things have popped up though, like weeds and asaha sha'ahga vines*."

For a small moment she had forgotten herself, lapsing into Bast'yr to reference the invasive vine that seemed to always grow up on the walls of her mother's family home on Schwartzweld. Uncle Rasmuss often complained about the daily battle to keep the things at bay. For a fraction of a second, she hesitated, but rather than try to explain, the girl forged on.

"The library is still being excavated, but there are a lot of things that have come up around the first camps. There's even a few cantinas around."

Her left hand came up then, to gesture in the air.

"The Whaladon is still where it was first landed," the gesture became a tight sort of twirl, then her right hand came up to cast a line from where the left had finished its little dance.

"But you follow the main travel-road, and the hospital is almost the first place you come to. Then a little further on and to the right are the dorms, but they're bigger now. And you keep going down the way, and there's lodging for the Alliance workers. That's where the cantinas are, of course."

Her right hand swept back around to the imagined point of the Whaladon, and pointed to the right.

"Knight Hicchoru has added a second growing plot to his first, and across from that is the water filtration plant. It's a lot bigger than it was when you were still there."

Teagan was now fully lost in trying to verbally paint a picture of Sanctuary for him, her hands doing their best to pull pictures from the air before the two.

"There's even a new park that the Alliance built, with ribbongrass from Ithor and sleeping-leaf treas. It's really pretty, and nice and quiet, and a bunch of padawans like to go there to meditate. The sandwhich guy is still there, even. Everyone is still afraid of him," came the final bit, with a particularly sharp upturn to one corner of her lips.

Both hands fell then, as she folded her fingers together in her lap. She had a particular question that from the moment she'd scented him, she'd wanted to ask of him. How did one even think to step up to the bowl for that? Bowl? Was it bowl? Maybe it was plate? Step up to the plate? No. It had to be bowl. She would step up to the bowl and put her question right out there for all the galaxy to see.

"Do you ever... you know... miss it, there?"








*Asaha sha'ahga vines - An invasive vine species found on the Lupine world of Schwartzweld.

[Abarai Loki]

“I try not to think about it.”

The answer came up, at once, like a shield. As if a single sentence could weather the volley of nostalgia Teagan had just fired his way. He saw it coming, as she attempted to soften him up by talking about the Whaladon and Anbira Hicchoru’s blasted vegetables, she even tried to throw him off-balance by bringing up new things like cosy meditation parks with Ithorian lazy trees or whatever they were called, but he was ready for it. The sum of all their shared experiences shrugged off like an old coat.

But he asked for it. Quite literally. How was it fair to expect Teagan to bear the brunt of such a clumsy knee-jerk response? It wasn’t, and that was why he hadn’t looked at her when he said it. Nor could he bring himself to picture the transformation of Sanctuary that she’d so vividly described – her words were heard, but they were not allowed inside.

He stared at the ground.

“Sometimes, I see things… a refugee camp on Junction, or an oddball droid workshop on Nar Shaddaa, there was a hydroponics lab on a starcruiser this one time, and I see Cizerack troops everywhere on this station. And I’m reminded. Yes, even when I see a particularly well-made sandwich.”

He smiled now, but it hurt. Memories were open wounds for the heartsick soul. At least, finally, he had enough strength to meet Teagan’s gaze and answer her question as honestly as he could:

“It was my home.”

His mouth tightened.

“I’m sorry I never said ‘good-bye.’”

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

"It's ok."

Her long legs came up then, to fold under her in a crossed position like some sort of knobby rockspider settling in for a bit of comfort.

"When we left Cathar, I didn't get to say goodbye to my nanny and all of my friends from the market. I miss them, and I'm still sad sometimes and I wonder what they're doing now, but I just remember all the good times that we all used to have, and it makes me feel a little better about it."

Her eyes set out to watch the bodies moving past, from families trying to find the best meal for their little ones to enjoy, to groups of merchants on their way to sell their wares, to Alliance and Pride personnel either coming off of their shifts or on their way to start those shifts. Her eyes still couldn't help but try to pick out the Major, since time was still creeping along. Loki however, once more drew her attentions, and she let out a long breath that seemed to deflate her body just a little bit. His tone seemed so tight and pinched, and she couldn't but try and soothe any worries he had over his departure.

"Don't think too much about it, though. After we left Cathar and were traveling with Sanis, my mom would always tell me that home is where we make it. She'd say that as long as we were happy, we'd always be at home."

A memory tugged at her then, and the young Lupine let out a soft laugh.

"I remember the first time Uncle Cirr made fried fish and potato spears and put them in a thin bread-wrap, and rolled it all up. He even made a Rodian chili jam dipping sauce for it, and cut up some green tube-onions to sprinkle on top. It was the best thing I'd ever had, and I knew after my first bite that I was happy, and also that I was at home."

She'd begun to rock slightly, going from side to side as she let her memories wash over her.

"As long as you're happy, I don't think it matters where you are. Happiness is home."

[Untaaura Verratoa]

At the last moment, Untaaura had done something rash.

She decided to buy k'yorrbaa. Two cups of it, in fact. She'd probably not had k'yorrbaa since she was a cadet on Cana'daari. It wasn't even something that Untaaura particularly craved, either. Even the small servings were obnoxiously tall, everything was brightly-colored, and sweet. Basically, all the things that she wasn't. However, k'yorrbaa was something that was both experiential as well as quintessentially Cizeri. That was a pretty good way to meet Teagan, Untaaura thought.

That being said, the Major began to question herself after seeing the line at the kiosk. True to form, business was brisk, even among the aliens. Hell, most of the people ordering drinks were aliens, Untaaura realized with an eyebrow that cocked for nobody. Instead of grinding her teeth in impatience at the Bith asking the kiosk owner twenty questions, Untaaura fixed her attention instead on the cycling holographic menu. What was strawberry? Her default frown shifted into an uncertain grimace. Half these flavors she didn't even recognize. Guess that explained all the forrda.

When it was her turn to order, Untaaura didn't dawdle. Even when ordering street junk food, she did so like a Marine - efficiently.

"Ja'irra, dri'anna va harreei k'yorrbaa fei. Urra c'affeei c'a n'yoorri."

By the time that she was done, she already had a chit keyed for 4.4 du'arri. If only the bored teenager taking her order had the same love of efficiency. Well, hurry up and wait was basically the Marine motto, wasn't it?


Five minutes later, and Untaaura was back to look for her missing Lupine, each hand now freezing and holding a cup full of an opaque thick beverage made of green and orange swirls, topped by a cluster of orange pearls, with a wide paper straw shoved alongside. Untaaura steered one of the straws to the corner of her mouth and allowed herself a little nostalgia as she looked for Teagan in the crowd. One thing was for sure, crowds were way less enjoyable when dressed like a civvie. It was easy to have personal space in crimsons and golds, even when short.

[Abarai Loki]

"As long as you're happy, I don't think it matters where you are. Happiness is home."

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

With the ghost of a smile, Loki gave a nod. It was a sweet notion, perhaps too saccharine for his soured sensibilities, but he would do his best to take it to heart. There was wisdom in those words that rang true even to his own experiences. Ossus had once been his home and, indeed, he had been happy, there. For a time. If only he’d tried to enjoy it more. In his mind’s eye, a small and serious boy was casting a long shadow, and a familiar creeping dread threatened to take a hold of him. He considered Teagan’s words, again – her mother’s words – deceptively simple, like all enduring wisdom.

“If your mother says so, there must be some truth to it,” he added, after some consideration, “She was one of the few people who ever made sense to me. I think you have inherited her intelligence.”

Amongst other unique traits.

Loki cast his mind back to a time when he joined Teagan’s mother aboard the Valiant, and there, inside her impressive office, Loklorian s’Ilancy divulged ancient truths of her people, the Losstarot Lupines. Even to his cynical mind, it had been wonderous to see the stuff of mythology thrown into sharp relief by historical fact. And Teagan herself was living testament to the miracle, revealed in all its glory in the shape of a mischievous pup that slobbered all over his first lightsaber. In times like this, it felt like he was reflecting on someone else’s life. And that made it easier.

And Teagan, despite their shared past, remained in many ways a mystery to him. She spoke candidly of her time on Cathar, her sudden departure and new found family in Cirrsseeto Raurrssatta and Sanis Prent; there was so much he never took the time to learn. He looked and spotted her casting glances into the crowd, and searching the upper walkways. Disregarding it for idle curiosity, he pressed on:

“It occurs to me now that there is precious little I know of your past. Were you born on Cathar? Was it difficult being different?”

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

This side of him was such a departure of what she was used to, back when he was still on Ossus. In those older times, he had never shown any interest in any of his students. He'd only been focused on showing them how to fight, and how to understand the ways that the Force spoke to them in those sorts of tense situations. But now, he was like some sort of whole new creature. It... it wasn't a bad thing, just so very different from the Abarai Loki that she had once known. Of course, their conversation since he'd approached her had been such a departure from what she remembered of him that she shouldn't have been surprised.

Still though, Teagan couldn't help the break in her searching to look at him in with slightly-raised eyebrows.

"Well... yeah. I was born on Cathar. It was a lot of fun, the times I can remember."

Shoulders hitching back, the young Lupine rolled her head from side-to-side as she felt her neck bones give a series of audible cracks. It always felt so good!

My mother used to take me to the Joffa Market, which was always fun. Sweet-treat sellers, and trinket stalls, and there were also meat sellers and vegetable stalls. Everything you could think of, it was there."

Finally her eyes shifted away, and she let her gaze sift through the myriad of beings all around them until one finally caught her eyes. There was a noticeable lift to her features, and the girl let her long legs unfurl, feet finding the ground as she rose to stand. With one hand going up, she waved at the person she'd spotted.

There was a quick look back to Loki, her expression lit up with an excited smile.

"You remember Major Verratoa, right?"

[Untaaura Verratoa]

Well this was...

"Abarraji Lokji."

...weird.

Abarai Loki, Jedi Knight. There was a bit of mileage and rough living on him, but Untaaura couldn't forget that face. One of the first aliens she'd met upon touching down on Ossus. He very quickly made an impression.

That seemed like a lifetime ago. The man before her still projected gravitas, but not the sort that lay behind Jedi vestments. Mysteries and mysteries.

And a moment later, the Major was self aware that she was in civilian clothing, carrying two huge cups of neon-colored sweetness.

"jIss thjiss ssome kjind of Osssuss rreunjion tourr?"

[Abarai Loki]

Loki was upright, rigid even. His shoulders square. How it happened, he could scarcely recall, but at the appearance of Major Verratoa, his whole body inflated to assume an old familiar shape. The major’s name tumbled from his lips like a recording, with a curt assertiveness in his voice that turned his blood cold. It was bright on the station, and the red clay blazed like flame in the morning sun, the air was still and his bare neck baked in the heat. Ahead, a landing barge loomed, wings outstretched like the great peko albatross of Nabooian legend, with columns of immaculate Jaanni’saari spilling from its innards. They got to work, at once, putting together a skeleton of support beams for a large prefabricated shelter. The major stood like a boulder, compact and muscular in her smart uniform, with a tall beverage in each hand. Green and orange icy swirls crowned with amber pearls, and a thick straw. Strange. Loki’s eyes narrowed, as he regarded the bright drinks, and the sight of the major in her flared trousers and striped shirt. She said something about an Ossus reunion.

“I certainly hope not,” he said, at once. And he meant it. A quick glance over her shoulder for any sign of reinforcements helped him put to bed the nightmare scenario, for now. Tension started to break off of him, crashing about his feet like fractured shelves of ice until he was light enough again to turn to Teagan. She was not surprised to see Major Verratoa. The confusion melted from his face as he drifted towards the first logical explanation:

“You came to the station together?”

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She could feel his shift, and at his final question, Teagan couldn't help but let her smile overtake her features as gamely reached out to liberate one of the two drinks that the Major had with her.

"I wish," she got out before giving a quick shrug.

Whatever liquid concoction that the Major had brought with her looked incredibly enticing, and the oversized straw was just as equally interesting.

"The Major works here now, on Jovan."

Well, 'now' was subjective. Two years was certainly not 'now', but truth be told, it felt like her Cizerack friend had been gone from Ossus for at least ten years.

"Seems to be a pretty good place to be."

And punctuating that final bit, the young Lupine brought the straw to her mouth, pulling in a measure of the drink, and swallowing, her eyes went wide in surprise.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

The look of naked surprise eased on Untaaura's face, thawed into almost a smile at seeing Teagan's first try of k'yorrbaa. She didn't dawdle on the moment though, not with Abarai Loki in immediate company.

"No sshorrtage of actjion, and the farrthesst posstjing that doessn't jinvolve a galleon. jI'm admjittedljy sstjill gettjing ussed to cjivjiljian clothess."

He seemed tense, but in the few interactions they'd had, he was always a bit keyed up. As if she could talk. Still, Untaaura's brow knit slightly, wondering what this all meant.

"jI command the Marrjine battaljion worrkjing ssecurrjitjy alongssjide the Alljiance contjingent."

An unspoken Should I be worried that you're here? hung afterwards in pregnant silence, broken by the slurping of a straw.

"Teagan'ss a bjit of a galactjic cjitjizen ssorrt, and jI wass gjivjing herr a rrun of the thjingss jI grrew up wjith back home."

Untaaura shifted the cold cup from one hand to the other, giving it a break. She then gestured to the brightly-neoned kiosk with a queue.

"jIf jyou've neverr been to the clussterr, jyou ought to have the trrue afterr sschool experrjience."

She looked back to Teagan with a grin, explaining.

"A drrojid rrjicksshaw would wheel up to mjy vjillage'ss academjy fjive mjinutess beforre the fjinal chjime of the dajy, and would sstajy forr onljy half an hourr, then sserrve up to two hundrred borred and ssugar-sstarrved sschoolgjirrlss. jIf jyou took 31 mjinutess to get to the top of the queue, well, ssuckss to ssuck."

Untaaura came to a realization upon saying that, and laughed a little.

"Guesss that'ss wherre jI found out that jI ljike to fjight."

[Abarai Loki]

He watched their lips move and saw them exchange kind glances, bursts of colour against the drained world of monochrome that stretched out around them. The din of Esk sector shrunk until it was a tiny ringing sound, somewhere on the periphery of his senses. In their distraction, he stole glances into the crowd, into the walkways overhead, into his blind spots. There were no hints of deception or ambush; no more ghosts from his past. He was safe. He was safe.

Yet his heart raced, frantic, like a trapped fwit. Running would be easy. Instead, he was steadfast and as unyielding as durasteel. And despite this, he watched, as they slowly shrunk on the horizon while he drifted gently away, like a boat torn free of its mooring. Smaller, smaller, they fell away. He was safe.

The bite of fingernails into the palm of his hands were as an achor scraping at the sea bed; he found himself by their side, once more. He inhaled, allowing his chest to swell until the feeling found its way to his face. Now, his eyes moved between them. Verratoa spoke of fighting school girls and took another sip of her luminous drink. Teagan joined her, leaving a void in the conversation for him to fill.

"I must commend you," he said, racing to the first inoffensive thing he could find to say, "It is no easy feat to keep order on a station so vast."

He was staring at the major, recalling a picture of unshakeable professionalism that was at odds with the relaxed creature before him. Jovan was a civilised place, but never without its faults - there was action to be had that her previous assignment had long-denied. She looked well for it. His gaze drifted to Teagan, who, for all her growth, remained to him that small inquisitive mischievous pup from his youth.

"I can see you will be in good hands," he said, a note of relief in his voice.

He was free to take his leave knowing she was safe. He was safe.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"Osssuss made forr a good crrucjible."

A vein of pride rang in Untaaura's quick response, brassy even when understated and harder than beskar. She drew in a sharp breath, surveying this particular patch of her domain.

"No Janni'saar could have taken thjiss assjignment comjing frrom a home posstjing orr a trrade garrrjisson. Not wjithout a lot of help orr a lot of luck."

Untaaura paused on that, hiding an awkward moment to think behind a tactical straw slurp. But her eyes betrayed her, still sizing up the human across from her, until her tongue managed to catch up with her brain.

"Sspeakjing of help, jI don't ssupposse that jI could avajil mjysself of your parrtjicularr experrtjisse?"

The way that Untaaura framed it (not to mention the way that she clocked back to Teagan) gave the notion that she didn't care to discuss a sordid professional matter in public.

"Perrhapss jI mjisss ssome of the perrkss of mjy lasst posstjing."

Her attention returned to Teagan, a small smile trying its best to hide behind a straw.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

One last sip of the bubble tea, just as the Major asked her question, and Teagan sputtered out a small cough as she finished swallowing. Her eyes shifted from her Cizerack friend to Loki, then back to Untaaura. Was this some sort of station mystery?! Was it an unsolved thing? Teagan had taken a bit of an interest in Holoflix documentaries about true crimes that happened (and there were a LOT of them, if she was to go by all the documentaries on Holoflix).

What were they called? Cold Cases? The young Lupine licked a few lingering traces of flavor from her lips as her thoughts immediately went to solving a 'mystery' that hadn't even been revealed yet.

Suddenly excited eyes went to Loki.

"I bet we could help," she couldn't keep from gasping out.

[Abarai Loki]

Braced, though he was, to decline the major's request, Loki found his hesitance wavering in the wake of Teagan's enthusiasm.

"You can certainly ask."

It was a mis-step on his part, and he knew it. In conceding this small ground, he had positioned himself, and perhaps even his old compatriots, for disappointment. The least he could do was hear the major out, he reasoned. Inwardly, a quiet war was waged between the anxious pit in his stomach and all the restless curiosity eager to fill it. There were at least 48 hours to go before his access to the bounty terminals was reinstated, he reckoned, though perhaps he ought to clarify with that old bastard, Ygor, just how many days were 'a few days.'

"I have time, and will be glad of something to fill it with."

Speaking business came easy, like slipping into an old skin. It was unlikely he'd ever master the greasyspeak that served well within the guild, and without, amongst the unsavoury sorts throughout the galaxy, but there was something to be said for having a demeanour that cut through the bantha shit like a well-honed vibroblade. A glance to Teagan, who was practically vibrating with anticipation, reminded him of the need to temper expectations:

"Though, I must warn you that my particular expertise have changed since last we met."

[Untaaura Verratoa]

How do forrda say? Dank farrik? Untaaura's polite smile began to creep into a grimace, cutting a glance back Teagan's way. Damn! The kid's plenty insightful. If that's not enough, she's a Jedi, or was on that track for a while, anyway. Still, the need for help was real. And this didn't seem to be anything dangerous. Not anything too dangerous, at least. Nervously chewing on her straw, the Major at last made up her mind.

"Thjiss jiss a bad jidea. But jyou'rre at that age wherre a few bad jideass mjight not hurrt, sso whjy the dank farrrjik not?"

The alien curse spilled from her lips with the grace of a mouthful of rocks, and Untaaura vowed to never use the phrase again.

"But, jyou do exactljy what jI ssajy. And jif jI'm not herre, jyou do exactljy what Arr Loki ssajyss. jIf jyou brreathe anjy of thjiss to jyourr Arr'fai, jI'll denjy jit, and jI'll wrrjite jyou a tjicket forr ljitterrjing."

She cocked a dangerous eyebrow at the Lupine, but the curling flick of her tail betrayed her completely serious facade. When she was sure that the Lupine got her, Untaaura fished a dataslip from a pants pocket, twirling it over her fingers a few times.

"Apologjiess jin advance, but mjy place jiss a messs. But jit'ss got djisscrretjion, and jI'd rratherr not brrjing ejitherr of jyou to prrecjinct. jI'll get ssome deljiverrjy."

Untaaura looked at Loki with a knit of concern. The kid had always been pretty drawn taut, but he looked a little more hard boiled then last she'd seen him, not to mention thinner.