PART III
New Coronet, Trigalis
There had been a time where the city of New Coronet had once been a well-known, perhaps even respectable trading post located along the Five Veils Route. Those days were long past however, as the city—while still maintaining its opulent and picturesque appearance—had since become a haven for criminal activity.
Over the years it had passed between several hands; during the Clone Wars it had been under Black Sun’s control, while the Galactic Civil War had seen the Hutt Clans briefly take control of the trading post. These days however, it was said that New Coronet was under the jurisdiction of a Koorivar crime lord by the name of Menas Neyrr who had once been associated with Crimson Dawn, one of the many crime syndicates that had risen to prevalence during the Dark Times. The crime lord in question was said to have acquired a number of Decraniated servants that had once belonged to Crimson Dawn. This supported the reports of Dr. Evazan being on Trigalis; it would only make sense that someone in possession of Decraniated servants would want to be in contact with their creator. Whether Evazan was still even on Trigalis was, of course, another question entirely.
When Face had told the other Wraiths all this as he briefed them for their mission, Kell Tainer had spoken the question that was likely on most of their minds.
“What disguises are we going to use to get close to Neyrr?”
“Good question,” Face had replied. “I was thinking about resurrecting our old Hawk-bat aliases for this one. Based on what we know of him, Neyrr does not really pay much attention to events that happen outside of his personal sphere. He also really likes pirates.”
“He does?” Shalla had asked.
Face nodded. “Yes. And dancing girls, though I’m not expecting anyone here to dress up as one. Unless anyone wants to volunteer, that is.”
Face had been about to move on with the briefing, not expecting anyone to have taken him seriously, when Piggy—slowly, with very deliberate reluctance—raised his hand.
“I’ll do it,” the Gamorrean said, a dour note in his mechanical voice.
Everyone stared at him incredulously. Everyone, that is, except for Elassar, who had a wide toothy grin on his face.
“You… you will?” Face asked, not believing what he was about to say. “You will dress up as a dancing girl?”
“Yes.” Piggy closed his eyes as he forced this word out, opening them to shoot a glare at Elassar.
“But you’re a Gamorrean. And not a girl.”
“It can often be difficult to tell male and female Gamorreans apart,” Elassar said. “With the right amount of cosmetics and costumery, I’m sure we can pass him off as a female Gamorrean with Neyrr being none the wiser.”
Face looked between Piggy and Elassar as the former glared at the latter while the other simply smiled back. “Is there something I’m missing here?”
“Piggy lost a bet to Elassar during our mission on Ord Biniir,” Shalla said in a tone that suggested everyone except Face was in on this. “I guess this is his punishment.”
Face refrained himself from sighing or rolling his eyes. He knew that he was in no position to comment on his teammates joking around and pranking each other, especially considering he himself had been the team’s designated joker from day one. Since becoming the commander of Wraith Squadron however, he had come to see things from a different perspective. At the very least, he now knew what it was like for Wedge to deal with the Wraiths’ antics.
“Where are we going to find a dancing girl outfit that’s large enough to fit Piggy?” asked Tyria. “No offense,” she quickly said to the Gamorrean, who merely shook his head in exasperation.
“We won’t need to,” Elassar said. “For I’ve already procured one.”
From behind his seat, he produced what was indeed a typical dancing girl outfit—bronzium harness, lashaa silk skirt, and all—that had been enlarged so that it could (at least somewhat) modestly cover up a Gamorrean’s body.
Kell gawked at Elassar. “Did you… did you make that yourself?”
“And you had it here this entire time?” asked Idra.
“Yes to the second, no to the first,” the Devaronian medic replied. “I found it at a shop back on Wielu. I believe the proprietor had said it was tailored for an Askajian client that the designer had mistaken for a human.”
Face shook his head before looking back at Piggy. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? You don’t have to if you don’t—”
Piggy waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine, Captain. I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to the bet. Besides, if it helps us get close to Menas Neyrr, and by extension Evazan, then it will be worth it.”
“Hopefully not too close,” Kell said with a shudder.
“And do I want to know what the bet was about?” Face asked.
“You’re better off not knowing,” Dia said cryptically.
Deciding there would be time later to follow up on that particular detail, Face had finished up his briefing and the Wraiths got to work. The plan was, on the surface, relatively simple: Face would lead a team of Wraiths, disguised as a group of pirates known as the Hawk-bats, into New Coronet and present Piggy—dressed up as a dancer—to Menas Neyrr and get themselves an invitation to his social gatherings. They would then feign interest in the Decraniated and gently grill him on where he had gotten them and whether he was in touch with their creator. Depending on how talkative Neyrr was on the matter, he would hopefully give them at least an idea on where Dr. Evazan was if he was not already on Trigalis. From there, they would follow that lead and hopefully catch Evazan in practically no time at all.
Upon reaching Trigalis, Face took his team of “Hawk-bats” down to the surface of the swampy world and made their way to New Coronet. Said team consisted of himself as the scarred General Kargin; Dia as the sultry Captain Seku; Kell as the heavyset Lieutenant Dissek; and Piggy as their nameless dancer. Tezalt would take position outside of Neyrr’s residence and keep an eye out for any potential trouble, while Shalla would be waiting with their getaway vehicle in case they needed to make a hasty retreat. If all went to plan, they wouldn’t need to make one, but Face was experienced enough to know that they needed to take as many precautions into account.
After making their way through the bustling streets of New Coronet, passing by wary and fearful looks from civilians, Face’s team reached the residence of Menas Neyrr, a remarkably plain building compared to the fanciful architecture that made up the rest of the city. Standing guard were two masked figures, who both raised their hands to halt the approaching party.
“State your name and business,” demanded the first guard.
“General Kargin of the Hawk-bat Independent Space Force, at your service,” Face growled back, giving the guards a mock bow. “I come to your master with a gift.” He gestured to the shackled Piggy, dressed in his revealing attire.
The two guards regarded the Gamorrean carefully. “Another dancer,” the second muttered. “How many does he have now?”
“Too many,” the other guard replied, shaking his head. “He might as well turn his place into a brothel at this point. I’m sure he’d get a lot of good business.” He then returned his attention to Face and his crew. “We’ll have to pat you down for weapons and comm devices. Standard security procedure.”
Face raised an eyebrow . “Comm devices?”
“Let’s just say the boss is a tad paranoid when it comes to certain pieces of technology.”
Face nodded, doing his best not to let his apprehension show. He had expected to lose their weapons to security, but losing their comlinks as well meant that there would be no way to signal Tezalt, Shalla, or any of the others. As he wracked his mind for a backup plan, he and the rest of his crew acquiesced to the guards’ security check and handed in their weapons and communication devices. The door then opened and the Hawk-bats were led into Neyrr’s residence.
Face wasn’t sure what a crime lord like Menas Neyrr spent his money on, but it certainly wasn’t on such things as lighting and air conditioning. The rooms were poorly lit, with lights flickering and more than a few of them having gone out entirely, and there was a horrible humidity that made him sweat under his pirate clothes. As they finally got to the main room, a wide open expanse, he felt his stomach turn as he realized why. Many dancers—mostly female, some male, all of different species—were dancing upon the large floor, sweat gleaming from their exposed skin. Menas Neyrr himself was seated on a low-sitting sofa, dressed in elaborate maroon robes as he sipped from a wine glass, clearly enjoying himself.
Face spared a glance at Dia. Although the Twi’lek woman maintained a neutral expression on her face, he could see the fury raging in her dark eyes. Like many Twi’leks, Dia had spent many years in slavery and had done her fair share of dancing for the amusement of her owners. No doubt this scene was bringing back bad memories for her.
The guard that had led them inside walked over to Neyrr and tapped the Koorivar on the shoulder, whispering something into his ear. Neyrr’s eyes lit up as they redirected their focus to Face and his crew and he stood up hastily from his sofa. The contents of his glass sloshed onto the floor and some of it even landed on the guard’s uniform, eliciting a disgruntled sound.
“Welcome, welcome!” Neyrr exclaimed, his speech slurring. “Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”
Face greeted him with an overly formal bow. “We are the Hawk-bat Independent Space Force. My name is General Kargin; with me are Captain Seku and Lieutenant Dissek.” He gestured to Dia and Kell respectively before indicating Piggy. “We would like to offer you an addition to your troupe.”
Neyrr took a moment to regard Piggy, rubbing his chin. “A Gamorrean dancer,” he mused. “That’s… that’s different, I will admit. But I am hardly one to complain. Does she have a name?”
Piggy made a snorting sound and Face said, “Snort. We call her Snort.”
“Snort,” Neyrr repeated. “Well, that’ll be easy to remember, at the very least.” He then waved Piggy over to where the other dancers were performing. “Go on and make yourself at home, Snort. I’m sure you will make a lovely addition.”
As Piggy navigated his way over to the impromptu stage, Neyrr snapped his fingers twice and a Rattataki dancing-girl broke off from the others. She rushed over to Neyrr’s side and dropped to her knees, bowing her pale white head as her purple skirt billowed out beneath her.
“How may I serve you, master?”
Neyrr waved his hand to the spot where he had spilled his drink. “Clean up that mess, will you?”
“Of course, master.”
As the Rattataki hurried off to perform her duties, Dia stepped up Neyrr before Face could stop her, flashing a toothy grin at the Koorivar.
“If you don’t mind, could we perhaps relocated to a more… private area? We would like to discuss business matters with you.”
Neyrr eyed her warily before looking over to Face. “Does this one speak for you, General?”
“Captain Seku is my right-hand for a reason,” Face growled, a vocal sound that was just as much in-character as it was out. “I would trust her with my life.”
“Even so, with all due respect, I would much rather see her on the dance floor than a Gamorrean—”
Dia stepped closer to Neyrr, her eyes blazing as her grin broadened. “Are you rejecting our gift?”
The Koorivar held up his hands, his wrinkled face stricken with panic. “Of course not! I was… I was simply—”
“Perhaps we should take our business elsewhere,” Dia went on, looking over her shoulder to raise a hairless eyebrow at Face. “Should we, General?”
Face pretended to consider. “Well, I was hoping to learn where we could get our hands on some of those Decraniated folks I’ve been hearing about. But since I don’t see any around, maybe we came to the wrong place.”
“Is… is that what you want?” Neyrr asked. “Is that all you came to me for?”
Face shrugged. “We Hawk-bats are of simple pleasure. I did my research before coming here and thought you would like an addition to your collection of dancers in exchange for some cyborg servants. Or, barring that, finding the person who made them so we could make some ourselves.”
A cold silence fell over the room and Face could have sworn he felt a chill run down his spine, despite the humidity of the room. The dancers had inexplicably stopped dancing, with Piggy being the last one to stop as he picked up on the tension that had suddenly developed.
Swallowing hard, Neyrr quietly said, “I see. You’re after him, aren’t you?”
Face frowned, exchanging uneasy glances with Dia and Kell. He tried not to look too much at Piggy, lest it give too much away. “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t try to hide it. It’s the only reason anyone even asks about those lobotomized cyborgs. It’s because they want him. The Doctor. He’s wanted in more systems than you can count on both hands.”
Face cleared his throat. “Well, I can’t say I know anything about. I don’t know anything about their creator; I didn’t even know he was male until you said it just now.”
“You know, you’re not the first ones to come here,” Neyrr continued. “I can’t tell you how many bounty hunters have come to me looking for… for him. I stopped counting after the eleventh one.”
Face could feel his heart pounding against his chest. He was really starting to wish they hadn’t handed their weapons over. “And what did you tell those bounty hunters?” he found himself asking without meaning to.
“I didn’t need to tell them anything. Their fate was the same as what yours will be,” Neyrr said. “Death.”
* * *
From the safety of his hiding spot atop a building adjacent to Menas Neyrr’s residence, Tezalt had watched as Face and the others had been forced to hand over their weapons and comlinks to the crime lord’s guards, depriving them of defense and communication. Right away, Tezalt knew that he would have to improvise.
Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, he moved out of his hiding spot and jumped down to the rooftop of Neyrr’s residence, which was much lower than the building he had been hiding on. He tucked his legs in to absorb some of the blow and rolled forward before getting back into an upright position and rushing over to a door that led down into a stairwell. Naturally, the door was locked, but Tezalt had enough basic slicer knowledge to get through that obstacle. Idra may have been the Wraiths’ designated slicer, but that didn’t mean she was the only one who knew how to hack into a control panel.
Once he was through the door, Tezalt ran down the staircase, his lanky legs taking him from one step to the next in rapid succession. As he turned at the halfway point, he spotted two guards standing at the bottom of the stairs, their backs turned to him. Once he was sure they hadn’t heard or noticed him, Tezalt carefully unslung his rifle and attached a modifier that would fire two poison darts. After taking aim with the help of his scope, he fired each dart in quick succession and the two guards dropped lifelessly to the floor. Tezalt then finished his descent down the staircase and followed the sound of voices. One of them he recognized as Face, deep and growly to put up the persona of General Kargin.
As he turned a corner, he came face to face with another guard. Upon seeing Tezalt, the guard reached for his sidearm but the Duros moved quickly, grabbing his arm and pulling him in to knee him in the gut. As the guard keeled over, Tezalt produced a spare poison dart and stabbed the guard in the neck with it before quietly lowering him to the floor. Once he was sure the guard was in a spot where he would not be immediately found, Tezalt resumed his journey.
The voices grew louder as he neared what he was sure to be the main hall, loud enough for him to make out some of the words. “Is that what you want?” said a voice Tezalt presumed belonged to Menas Neyrr. “Is that all you came to me for?”
“We Hawk-bats are of simple pleasure,” replied Face. “I did my research before coming here and thought you would like an addition to your collection of dancers in exchange for some cyborg servants.”
Tezalt slowed his walk to a near crawl as he reached the corner of the hallway he was in, peering around the open doorway to see Face’s crew and the Koorivar crime lord they were confronting. Not far away were a group of dancers in revealing outfits, a disguised Piggy being among their numbers. None of them would be able to see him from where they were standing.
“Or,” Face continued, “barring that, finding the person who made them so we could make some ourselves.”
Tezalt could feel a chill enter the humid room as everyone went still and silent. The dancers (save for Piggy) halted their performance to stare at Neyrr and the Hawk-bats, their expressions blank. Another slave girl, a Rattataki woman who had been scrubbing something on the floor, also stopped and rose to her full height, an icy expression on her face.
“I see,” Neyrr said quietly. “You’re after him, aren’t you?”
Tezalt kept his eyes on the Rattataki woman as she slowly moved to take position behind the Hawk-bats. They did not seem to notice her, their attention solely on Neyrr, as Face said, “I’m sorry?”
Neyrr continued talking but Tezalt tuned him out as he readied his sniper rifle, loading it with his two darts. One of them was poison while the other carried a sleeping agent. As he started to take aim, he debated in his head who he would hit with each dart. At that moment, he heard Face speak with a hint of apprehension in his voice.
“And what did you tell those bounty hunters?”
“I didn’t need to tell them anything,” Neyrr coolly responded. “Their fate was the same as what yours will be: Death.”
Tezalt saw a flash of silver as the Rattataki woman drew a knife from a hidden sheath on her thigh. Instinctively, Tezalt pulled the trigger of his rifle and one of the two darts flew out and struck her in the neck. Before she even hit the floor, he redirected his aim to Neyrr and fired the second dart, hitting the Koorivar in the same spot.
An armored guard that had been standing there prepared to draw his weapon but Kell got to him first, grabbing his arm and forcefully bending it in a way that arms were not meant to bend in. As the guard cried out in pain over the sound of cracking bones, Kell wrenched the blaster free from his grip and pressed it against his chest. He pulled the trigger and Tezalt saw a flash of light before the guard crumpled lifelessly to the floor. All that remained were the other dancers, who continued to stand there with blank expressions, barely reacting at all to what had just happened.
When Tezalt emerged from around the corner he was hiding behind, Face was kneeling beside Neyrr’s body, checking for a pulse. “Blast it, Tezalt,” he muttered, glaring at the Duros. “He’s dead. We could have brought him in for questioning.”
Tezalt stared back at him before nodding over to the Rattataki woman. “What about her?”
Dia checked the woman’s vitals before reporting back, “She’s alive. Unconscious, but alive.”
“I hit her with a sleeping agent,” Tezalt explained. “We can bring her in for questioning.”
“Why didn’t you hit Neyrr with the sleeping agent?” Kell asked, not bothering to hide the complaint in his voice. “He’s the one who would have had all the answers. I doubt she knows anything.”
“Look, I panicked, okay?” Tezalt snapped. “She was about to kill you and I reacted without thinking. I was going to hit Neyrr first and then her, but then….”
The Duros trailed off and Face sighed. “Well, it’s too late at this point. We’ll bring her in and let someone else take care of Neyrr.”
“What about the dancers?” Kell asked.
Dia turned to them, looking at their blank faces, and spread her arms. “You are no longer tethered to this man! Seize this chance to embrace your freedom! You can hold the Hawk-bats in your debt for giving you this opportunity.”
The dancers glanced amongst themselves, uncertain expressions on their faces. Then, a Nautolan dancer said, “Can we join you?”
Dia blinked in confusion and Face looked up from Neyrr’s body. “I’m… I’m sorry?” the former asked.
“We have nowhere else to go,” said a Theelin performer. “We’ve been cut off from our homes, from our families. We have no means of transportation and whoever comes in to take Neyrr’s place will simply treat us the same way he did us, if not worse. I may not speak for everyone here, but… I would like to join the Hawk-bats.”
The Nautolan dancer nodded in agreement, as did several of the others. In fact, all of them did save for Piggy, who was now staring at Face with an expression that Tezalt thought suggested some sort of twisted amusement.
With a heavy sigh, Face said, “Aye. Let me call for transportation and we can discuss details later. I just hope there’ll be enough room for all of you….”
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