MISERABLE WOE, PART VI
"It doesn't count."
"It does so count!" Typha protested. "You're just jealous."
Valrisa rolled her eyes as she put their ship on autopilot, having already made the jump to lightspeed. As she got of her pilot seat, she said, "Why would I be jealous?"
"I don't know!" Typha called after her. "That's just the way you are!"
Valrisa simply shook her head as she headed for the refresher. Removing her helmet, she went for the sink and splashed water in her face. It was probably about time to look into a new set of armor; perhaps one with a better cooling system. Being on a planet like Tatooine in full armor had been pure torture for her.
Once she was properly refreshed, she started to remove her armor plates, at the same time, reaching into the pocket of her jumpsuit and digging out the totem that had been her miserable woe.
The Eye of Kaas. Or, as she liked to call it, the "triangle think with an eye in the center." Was this worthless thing really worth all the trouble it had put her through?
Oh well. It surely had to be worth something on the aftermarket.
After putting her armor away, she entered the main hold, where she found Typha already lounging on the sofa. Upon seeing Valrisa, the blue-skinned girl glowered at her.
"It does count," she said.
"He wasn't even a real worrt," Valrisa said, sitting down next to Typha on the couch. "He was a skin-changer. He just made himself look like a worrt."
"So? Who says it had to be real to be shot?"
"If that were the case, then you could have easily made a few cardboard cutouts and shot at those."
"That's not... that's not even remotely comparable! At least he was still a living thing! It counts!"
Valrisa smiled as she leaned closer to the Pantoran, gazing into her gold eyes. "You're cute when you're mad."
"You've said that before," Typha grumbled.
"And it still holds true now." She raised a hand to cup her partner's face, stroking her cheek with her thumb. "Then again, you're always cute, no matter what."
"Stop flattering me," Typha said, the smirk on her lips betraying her true feelings. "You just don't want to admit that I'm right."
"Keep telling yourself that, beautiful," Valrisa said before joining her lips with the Pantoran's.
* * *
"This... is incredibly... heavy."
"Cry me a river, ya thieving rodent!" called the namesake owner of Petro's Parts. "I sell parts, not labor. Ya should have thought to bring some help beforehand."
Trek simply rolled his eyes as he, with great effort, pulled the wagon full of parts after him towards his sandcrawler. He was starting to seriously consider lightening the load by throwing some of the parts back at Petro... but that would surely get him banned from Anchorhead, if not the rest of Tatooine as well.
As he got to the sandcrawler and prepared to lower the front ramp, he caught sight of a pair of short, pudgy, stout-nosed Blarinas wandering over to him. By the way they acted, they seemed to be a lost couple; indeed, one of them was holding a map to his face. Upon noticing Trek, the map-carrying Blarina walked over to him.
"Ah, excuse me, good sir. My wife and I appear to be lost. Could you perhaps point us in the direction of a place called Junix's Joint?"
"Junix's Joint? Yeah, it's just down...." The Jawa started to point in the direction of the cantina, only to see a rather surprising sight. What had once been Junix's Joint was now a burning crisp, with Gungan "firefighters" attending to the fires by simply spitting at it.
Upon seeing this, the Blarina moaned in sadness. "Oh, what terrible, terrible luck! What are we going to do now, Teka?"
"Don't worry, Lahn," the other Blarina said, patting her husband on the arm. "We'll find something."
Trek looked curiously at the couple. "Were you looking to apply for a job?"
The one called Lahn shook his head. "No, we were looking to purchase a valuable antique item that would've surely paid off our debts. Now we are doomed as we ever were before!"
Trek scratched his chin as he looked from the couple to the wagon full of parts he was carrying. Then, to Lahn, he said, "Would you be willing to accept a job offer from me?"
Lahn blinked his slit eyes. "A... job offer?"
"Yeah, to join my crew. I can pay you each ten credits an hour and perhaps increase that wage depending on our profits."
Lahn exchanged a glance with Teka before looking back at the Jawa. "You... you would do that for us?"
"Of course," Trek said, smiling underneath his hood. "Stars know I could use the hand."
* * *
"He's not going to be happy."
"I know," Lokai muttered as he and Haarkon stepped onto their ship, both of their faces still covered in soot and ash.
A nasty sneer crossed the brutish man's face. "This could very well mean the end of us both."
"I know," Lokai bit back. "You don't need to keep reminding me, Haarkon. I get it. We've failed. Lord Krayt is going to punish us. What more do you want me to say?"
"Perhaps some admittance that this failure is your responsibility," Haarkon said darkly. "Had you succeeded in apprehending that bounty hunter, we would have--"
Lokai cut him off with a sharp raise of the hand. Haarkon glared at him until he saw what had caught the Nagai's attention. Sitting there in the cockpit of their ship was a male Givin, bony hands folded in his lap as he stated at them with his deep, sunken black eyes.
"Hello," Nasoth said politely. "Fancy seeing you back so soon. Did you get the totem?"
"What are you doing on our ship?" Lokai demanded.
"Hm? Oh. My apologies. I did not think permission was required to come aboard your ship, considering everything I've done for you."
"You informed us of the whereabouts of the Eye of Kaas and led us here to Tatooine," Lokai said. "That is the extent of our affiliation. Do not presume there is more to it than that."
"Oh, I am not presuming," Nasoth said. "I am merely altering the terms of our agreement."
Haarkon sneered. "What more do you want? We gave you the means to liberate yourself from your master."
"Galus was never my master," the Givin said sharply. "Besides, the 'means' you gave me were something even I could have made myself. Lipstick laced with poison? I expected far more from Sith. I was very much looking forward to seeing some lightsaber action."
Lokai glowered as he reached for his saberstaff. "That can easily be--"
"Oh, come off it." Nasoth flicked his wrist and the saberstaff went flying into his hand. He repeated the gesture and Haarkon lost his weapon as well. Both Sith stared at the Givin in surprise.
"Are you...?" Lokai started to say.
"Sith? No. At least, not in the same way you are." Nasoth leaned back in his seat, idly tapping the saberstaff against the chair. "I have dabbled in the teachings of the Sith, but my interest is no more than a passing one. Same with the Jedi. I prefer to not devote myself to either one path. For in the end, we are all united in the Force, dark or light."
Lokai frowned. "Then what do you want from us?"
"As I've said, I expected more from our partnership. I didn't just want to be freed from Galus' service; I want to find that which has eluded me for so many years. To finally find that which my father failed to."
The two Sith frowned as they exchanged looks. "What are you getting at?" Lokai asked.
"Here's the deal: I'll help you turn this loss of yours around and get you back into the good graces of your Dark Lord... if you help me find the Ancient Order of the Whills."
"The Whills?" Lokai looked incredulous. "Are they not just merely a myth?"
"Oh no." The Givin raised his left hand and splayed his palm, revealing the faded mark of an abstract insignia. "They are very much real. And I intend to find them." He then smiled, a disturbing sight to behold. "So what are waiting for? I would very much like to finally meet this Darth Krayt of yours...."
END OF
MISERABLE WOE
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