“Still no word?”

“No sir.” The attendant replied. “Do you think the assassination was thwarted?”

“Either that or our contact on the station did something stupid and got himself thrown into the brig.” He growled. “He wasn’t exactly the ‘brightest’ T’Doshok we’ve hired.”

“If it means anything to you sir, I haven’t heard anything on the rumor mill about the Vice Admiral being attacked either.”

“Doesn’t mean anything.” He said. “It would lower moral if people started yanking about an assassination attempt on their beloved Vice Admiral.”

“Still sir, the lack of information does seem to suggest that girl either didn’t act upon the opening we gave her or she was killed.”

“But which…that is the important question.” He mumbled. “If she’s still alive there’s a chance he knows now. Ziss…he would have to know, she looks too much like her. Send a message to our contact on the Blackblade and tell him to get that fool Balik to find out what’s going on.”

“Balik doesn’t even know Tiosk’s been working on that station sir.” The attendant commented as he got to work.

“Hmm….that is right. However telling Balik that could prove too risky, knowing the fool, he would confront Tiosk about it. It would make an interesting argument though….”

Just then the door to their small hideaway burst open and both Trandoshan’s leapt to their feet when they realized who it was. “Sir! We weren’t expecting you for another week! We have no confirmation on whether the girl….”

“Forget the girl Rosk!” The older, more lavishly dressed Trandoshan barked. “And forget Tiosk as well! Well you were busy doing an ‘elaborate’, unnecessary scheme to be rid of that bloodline once and for all a full blown Jedi has emerged!”

“What!?” Rosk exclaimed. “I thought we had purged all the….”

“Well we missed one!” The other Trandoshan snapped. “And who knows how many others slipped through our fingers as well. I want the identity of this man identified!” He threw a datapad onto Rosk’s desk. “That contains images from the security cameras within the Council building.” He explained. “Took me two skragging days to get them without drawing suspicion so you better make good use of them!”

“These were from the meeting you were at the other day I take it. The one where the last two Miknaks were tried?” The attendant asked.

“Yes. A pity, as they were a good source of info and funds. However they failed to see the true threat to our people, a threat that no doubt helped them to their graves.”

Rosk sat at a table in the Golden Claw, depressed and getting anxious. For three days they searched in vain for the identity of the robed figure in the images their boss provided, only to come up with no real leads. They were able to enhance one image that gave them a good look at a piece of jewelry the man wore, an item that was obviously signified a lifebond. It was of Talus make, but since Talus was currently in the hands of the New Order their investigation on that lead stopped there. This frustrated him, as it was likely the best lead they had.

Why did the Council decide to join the Coalition? He asked as he took another drink. If we were still a completely independent government we would have been able to carry on our investigation without rousing too much suspicion from the New Order. Knowing how the New Order views aliens, they would have viewed their inquiry with suspicion, even if it was an inquiry about a fellow T’Doshok.

Not a fellow T’Doshok. Rosk reminded himself. That man is tainted. A threat to our people, more so then Tiosk and his line ever was. A monster that needs to be destroyed.

A disturbing thought came to mind. Since that had to be a lifebond bracelet on the man’s wrist…did he have any children? Blast it…there could be more of them. He said with a faint growl. He was never completely comfortable with killing children and the man didn’t look to be so old that he had adult children. Still…better to get rid of the tainted ones before they become an actual threat. He thought.

What also bothered him was more immediate: there was this scantly clad female that had been eyeing him ever since he came in. Female he used loosely, as she was obviously a pleasure girl of some sort. While he had enjoyed the ‘services’ of such girls in the past, this one seemed to be different. Most pleasure girls he had met were somewhat down trodden with low self esteem: this was because usually the only Trandoshans that would lower themselves to sell their bodies like that were sterile, thus useless for anything else in the minds of many. This one though, there was no air of depression or lack of self worth at all. She watched him with keen, intelligent eyes and a smirk on her lips that gave him a bad feeling. Rosk could tell that she did more then just ‘pleasure’ work, if she did that kind of thing to begin with.

Her scales were a golden green in color, eyes of a fiery orange. She wore a black fishnet outfit, which barely had enough ‘solid’ fabric to cover her nether regions: typical pleasure girl attire. Currently she was causally sipping a glass that looked to be a kind of wine while leaning on a tall, small table, but showed no signs of being inhibited. Rosk figured she had such a high alcohol tolerance that it would put a pilot to shame or that wasn’t really an alcoholic beverage she was drinking. When she finally sauntered over to him he discovered it was the latter: there was no hint of alcohol at all on her breath.

“You seem troubled my friend.” She said smoothly. “Need someone to help ease it?”

“Taking your ‘offer’ wouldn’t solve my current problem.” He said flatly.

“Ah that is true…such things would only be a temporary distraction, no real help at all.” She said, Rosk noticing a slight arrogant air about her. She acted like she was a noble in a way….

“Then why are you still beside me?” Rosk growled.

“Hmm…well now….” She sat down beside him and leaned on him with one elbow on his shoulder. Rosk subconsciously shied away from her slightly when she moved her face close to his. “I offer ‘other’ services then ones dealing with ‘pleasure’.” She whispered to him. “Smuggling, information, maybe assassination if the offer is right….”

The ‘information’ part piqued his interest, though he tried not to show it: from her broadening grin though he could tell she caught it. “You do all that?” He asked, playing the game.

“Not by myself.” She admitted, drawing back from him a bit. “I...have access to contacts you may not otherwise think about.”

“I doubt that…my group has pretty extensive contact list. A pleasure girl like you….”

“I don’t work as a pleasure girl.” She said, a bit of anger in her voice. “I only let people think I am. Now, you may have contacts in many circles, but I may have contacts in circles you didn’t think about. That of course…depends on what your ‘problem’ is.”

Rosk thought a moment about this. He was sick of this woman, yet for all the arrogant air about her she seemed sincere enough. He decided to tell her, thinking about how funny it would be to see her face when she realized she couldn’t help him. After all, what could she do if he and already exhausted all options? “We are looking to identify this man.” He said, removing the datapad that held the images and passed it to her. “A jedi. All we’ve been able to determine was that the bracelet he wears is of Talus make.”

“And Talus is under the control of the New Order, while we are under the Coalition, oh dear I do see your problem.” She said as she started studying the datapad’s contents. Rosk was starting to think he had won his private mental bet, but the more she looked at the images, the more angrier she became: it wasn’t the type of anger of not knowing the man, but that she did know the man. “You are quite a bunch of idiots to not know who this man is.” She said finally.

Rosk bristled at the insult. “We looked at everything…”

“But the extremely obvious…” She said, cutting him off. “And even if it wasn’t that obvious I still would know who this bastard is.”

What in Scorekeepers name are the chances… Rosk thought. “You know who this is?” He asked.

“Yes….” There was venom in her voice. “It was him and his wife that forced my poor mother to disown me, leaving me with no inheritance when that old hag finally passes on. No only that, but he and his family have destroyed several of my endeavors over the years, the most recent was the Miknaks.”

“I’ve never even heard of someone like you being in the Miknaks.” Rosk said, doubtful.

“I sold them information and other things.” She said causally. “Was starting to see about going up in their ranks when those idiots suddenly got themselves caught or killed.” After a pause she asked. “So what do you intend to do with this man should I tell you who he is?”

“They are a threat to our people.” He said quietly. “A threat many are blind to, even blindly follow. My…’organization’ seeks to eliminate this threat in all it’s forms once an for all.”

Her grin was truly malicious. “Then you and I have similar goals.” She said. “I want nothing more then to see this man suffer and suffer painfully before the Scorekeeper takes him. His family as well. I will tell you now though that getting to him won’t be easy, considering the status he has.”

“We’ve dealt with high status people before.” Rosk said confidently. “So who is he?”

“Ah ah….” She said with a wag of her finger. “Not here…not now. Some of their supporters could be here.” She leaned close to him again and whispered some directions into his ear.

“Understood.” Rosk said, putting the datapad away as he took care to commit her directions to memory.

The girl then stood up abruptly and strode off stiffly, acting like he was a potential hit that shoved her offer away. Clever He thought as he watched her resume her watchful pose over the crowd, acting like she was looking for another possible ‘hit’. For one that doesn’t work as a pleasure girl…you know how to act like one. He got up and left the bar, deciding to take care of a few things before his ‘appointment’ that night….

Rosk was eager about this meeting, yet dreaded it at the same time. The female he met at the Golden Claw he had correctly guessed was involved in more then just selling her body. What bothered him though was what she would want in return for the information: someone like that obviously leapt upon any opportunity they could get their claws on. Rosk knew this was their best chance yet to discover the identity of the Jedi, yet he feared she would refuse to give it to him once she found out that they had nothing they could ‘offer’ her. I just hope helping her get revenge would be enough… He thought as he finally arrived at the location she gave him.

It looked like some run down old building, however the solid looking door suggested otherwise. After hesitating a moment, he rang the buzzer. For a moment there was nothing and he started to wonder if he got the right place when a gruff voice suddenly growled from an intercom unit beside the door.

~You’re late.~

“Traffic was bad.” Rosk replied, remembering what the girl told him. Truth be told, there was hardly any traffic in this sector of the city, making such a statement an ideal passcode.

There was a faint hiss and the door opened into darkness. When no one appeared Rosk just walked in and the door slammed shut again behind him, plunging him into darkness. The air smelled a bit moldy and humid and Rosk hoped he wouldn’t be left in the dark for too long. Fortunately a light from a lamp appeared a moment later and Rosk was surprised to see a male Trandoshan meeting him: he had expected the female to meet him. He was young and in his prime, his clothing consisting of formfitting latex. The youthful appearance didn’t cover the hardened expression in the man’s eyes however.

“You are here to see the Mistress?” The man said, to which Rosk nodded. “This way.”

Rosk followed obediently, feeling slightly bothered by the title the man had given his contact. He decided not to dwell on it now and insist concentrated on following the man closely, lest he end up stumbling on some piece of debris. The man led him down a set of stairs, which were surprisingly in good shape like the front door. Partway down the man set down the lamp and continued on without it, the light emanating from beyond making it unnecessary. What he saw when they finally reached the bottom of the stair way surprised him.

Underneath the decrepit building was a full functional warehouse bustling with activity. Rosk saw some Trandoshans doing inventory of the contents of crates, most of which he guessed contained illegal contents if what the girl told him before was accurate. In another part he saw another group in a make shift training area, sparring or practicing with their preferred weapons of choice. In yet another part he spied what looked like a recreation area.

“This way.” He heard his escort say, shaking him out of his state of shock. Continuing to follow, Rosk noticed something that bothered him: all the workers he had seen thus far were male and wearing the same kind of outfit as his escort. None of them looked old or disabled in any way either, which brought back that uneasy feeling he got earlier when his escort referred to his contact as ‘Mistress’. It was becoming obvious that this female was in charge of an unofficial organization and liked to only keep workers that were ‘young and fit’.

He continued to follow, passing by the males whom only gave him a passing glance if that. Finally his escort stopped at a particularly decorative door. “In here.” He said before leaving him to continue whatever duties he was doing before Rosk had arrived. For a moment Rosk stood there, unsure if he should knock first or just go in. He finally opted for the latter and was shocked by the drastic change in scenery.

The floor was covered with a thick, plush, purple carpet and the walls painted a light pink. There were a couple of couches, both maroon in color with matching coffee tables in front of them, a bar in one far corner and a king sized bed in the other, the covers of which were red. He almost didn’t see the girl in the room, for she was sitting on the bed wearing a dress of the same color as the sheets. The way the dress was cut made her look no less provocative then she did at the Golden Claw.

“Ah, punctual….I like that in a man.” She cooed as she rose from the bed and gestured for him to sit. He did so on the nearest couch. “Care for a drink?” She asked as she poured herself one.

“No thank you.” Rosk said politely.

“Suit yourself.” She said casually as she joined him on the couch.

“Interesting…operation you have here.” Rosk said after a moment of silence passed.

“Yes…took years to get it up to this point.” She said with a grin.

“So about this…information….” Rosk asked, hoping to get this meeting done and over with.

“Not so fast my dear.” She teased, wagging a finger at him. “I want to know more about this organization you are a part of.”

He was afraid of this, though he knew he had no choice but to oblige her. “We are simply a group of like-minded T’Doshok that use our own funds from our individual jobs to fuel our efforts.” He explained.

There was predictable look of disappointment on her face. “A ‘non-profit’ group then…oh phooey.” She said. “And here I was thinking it was something a bit more exciting.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but if we had organized officially we likely would have gotten shut down a long time ago. That’s what happened to the last group like us.”

“I suppose I have to agree.” She said with a sigh. “Being ‘unofficial’ makes it that much harder for the officials to find and lock us up. However since I won’t have a chance to become a part of this little ‘group’ of yours I will have to ask for payment before you get this information.”

Rosk was getting that bad feeling again. “Just…what sort of payment do you want?” He asked, not really wanting the answer.

He watched as she put down her glass and drew herself close, very close. So close she was hanging over him. “I accept only two forms of payment.” She said slyly. “Credits…or….” He felt her hand stroke his belly and he crushed his eyes closed as he fought the bile that threatened to rise up to his throat.

“I thought you didn’t work as a pleasure girl.” He said flatly.

“Please….” She breathed huskily in his face. “Such girls offer that to get credits, I offer it as a method of payment besides credits: how do you think I keep all those young men around hmmm? So which will it be?”

***

Rosk was glad to be out of there. Glad to be on the street again. He got the information he wanted, but he didn’t like what he had to do to get it. It was worth it…. He reminded himself. But he’s going to owe me BIG for this one!

There was still the problem of how they were going to eliminate this Jedi, especially now that they know his identity. But that was another problem for another day: right now all Rosk really wanted was a long bath…..

Rosk sighed as he lay in a full tub of warm water, letting himself completely relax and ‘forget’ the events of that day. He had almost dozed off when his comm started beeping at him. Groaning with annoyance, he flipped it on speaker phone: he didn’t feel like getting out of the tub. Much to his chagrin though, it was his ‘boss’.

~Rosk!~ Came the voice of his superior. ~Are you there!?~

“I’m here boss…” Rosk said with a sigh.

~I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for hours Rosk! Where have you been!?~

“Finding out that identity of that Jedi like you asked, what else?” Rosk replied.

~Well? Did you find out?~

“Aye I did…and what I had to do to get it you owe me big for.” Rosk growled, the memories of that…woman…coming back to the surface.

~What? The contact clean you out of your credits?~

“No…more like lose my dignity.”

There was silence on the comm for a long moment. ~I shouldn’t have asked….~ Rosk couldn’t help but chuckle. ~So…what was the result.~

“Trazu K’Sakitur.”

There was thud from the comm and the sound of some movement: his boss must have fallen out of his chair. ~That can’t be right….~ Came the shocked response.

“I’m afraid it is. Considering what I had to do to ‘pay’ for the information I went and verified it while my tub was filling: if it hadn’t fit I would have gone back and killed the bitch myself.” Rosk said. “Trazu lived on Talus, the source of the bracelet the Jedi wears, for a number of years. He met and married his wife there, a female named Tzosha. Tzosha later died here on Dosha from an assassin’s blade, so he must still be wearing it for sentimental reasons. Everything fits, including the little sob story that bitch told me about how Trazu and Tzosha forced her mother to disown her.”

~Alright…so it has to be him.~ He heard his ‘boss’ sigh. ~Of all Clans…of all T’Doshok…it had to be him!~

“Why so worried boss? A Jedi is a Jedi right?”

~Not any Jedi has the K’Satizitus at his beck and call you idiot.~

If he hadn’t already been in the tub, he would have fallen over. “What!? Kazuk! I had forgotten the K’Satikur Clan was the one that….”

~Yesss…now you see our problem.~ His boss growled over the comm. ~It’s likely his ‘Jedi’ abilities are due to the K’Satizitus, but because of it he’ll be next to impossible to kill.~

“Are you suggesting we give up?”

~Of course not! We just have to do this a bit differently.~

“How then? Obviously a direct assault won’t work.”

~Simple. Keep his bloodline from passing on to the next generation. We already don’t have to worry about his sister Varcanna, as she’s sterile, but I know Trazu has children: Naosha can’t stop talking about them sometimes.~

Rosk winced: he had been afraid of that. “So take out the kids and keep him from having any more then.” He replied with a sigh.

~Correct. See to it Rosk.~ The line went dead and Rosk sat there in the tub, feeling heavy. It’s time’s like this he really questioned why they did what they did….