Reptilian eyes scanned the sandcrawler parked outside the Anchorhead outer market. Jawa merchants were approaching the market with a rough line of droids and salvage carts in tow. The one at the front raising his arms eagerly to a merchant. The Trandoshan let out a low growl but shook his head once before looking away. The Kubaz two alleys away was still squeaking into an comlink, the Ithorians who had arrived earlier still pondered whether to hit the cantina or the bath house on the opposite end of the market. Cloaked farmers moved between stalls, townsfolk scurried around on their errands and no other underworld elements aside from himself and his boss were there.
"Ssssk. Still nothing" he let out a low hiss.
The Quarren crime lord didn't have much to say, still seated on the bench behind him.
A drawn out sniff
"I'm growing restless. They should've been here by now." The Trandoshan tilted his head to the side, a single reptilian eye snapping to the Quarren. His eyes narrowed quickly: His boss' legs were sprawled onto the ground, his head was slumped down and his eyes were shut.
"Krrr-hssst" he snarled, taking two long strides to close the distance between them. A massive hand reached down to shake some life into the Quarren but no answer came.
The Trandoshan picked up his comlink to call for aid whilst his eyes scanned the surroundings for threats once more. Some of the observant farmers had scattered already. The Ithorians had already started making their way to the bath house and the Kubaz was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, the Jawas had already started gathering a larger crowd, seemingly interested in their wares.
Dear diary,
The hit went smoothly. An empty syringe can work wonders. Lifting the datapad afterwards wasn't much of a challenge. Another data core secured.
It all feels kinda pointless now. But I've gotta keep myself safe. There's an obvious out, I've been tempted to take it more times than I care to count. Maybe I should. By the stars it is sooooo tempting sometimes.
But hey, at least I met someone new at the cantina. It's the obvious place to escape to, isn't it? But hey, there's a reason it's obvious cuz it's just so good.
[...]
A tender step introduced the blonde to the cantina. The worn soles of her tan boots barely made a sound as she entered. A beige poncho with white angular patterns covered her form loosely, only going snug where her backpack clung to her shoulders. Unlike the sand covered and worn clothes, the holdout blaster hidden under her poncho barely seemed used aside from a few scratches by the tip of the barrel.
Several patrons noticed the new arrival, her eyes snapped up, quickly scanning the people looking at her and the room at large before lowering to avoid any extended eye contact. She inhaled, her jaw clenched, as if summoning a bit of courage before walking up to the bar. Her light frame easily slid into the U-shaped booth already occupied by the armoured Shistavanen and she soon found herself being pushed to his side as a middle-aged human couple, old enough to be her parents, also joined in. It was getting crowded.
When asked what she wanted to order, the girl's answer came as a whisper at first. Her voice only rose to something audible when the bartender let out an annoyed 'What??' She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat and tried again
"Water". The bartender rumbled something about wasted space before pouring her a glass whilst she produced the credit he charged for it along with a clear
"Thank you"
Once the bartender had turned away, she dug through her backpack until she found a half eaten pallie. After a couple of bites she looked over to the man next to her
"Youuur..." she trailed off until realising that it was too late to stop.
"Uh, your armour is cool." An awkward smile formed before she looked away, taking another tiny little bite from the pallie.
Ines Pen-Ar-Lan
