Chapter 4

En Route to Taris

Myrtenaster

"So, what exactly is on Taris, anyways?" Ruby asked curiously from where she lay halfway under the bridge console on her back, legs crossed and one foot bouncing up and down aimlessly. She reached her hand down, groping for a wirecutter which P3-NY obligingly scooted closer to her with a low tweet. "Thanks, sweetie! So, yeah, Taris… I don't think we ever got to there, some kinda embargo, I think?"

"Taris…" Jaune murmured thoughtfully from the pilot's seat as he tapped the display there, checking their course. "Used to be a city-world, home to a planetary metropolis covering most of the planet. Something like... three centuries ago, I think? Anyway, it was bombarded by Darth Malak and left a toxic ruin."

The brunette scooted out slightly, resting her tools on her stomach in order to regard the blond Mandalorian solemnly. "Oh. Wow."

"Yeah, it's a mess down there now, bunch of shattered skyscrapers and the like where vegetation and animal life struggle to survive." Jaune turned to give Ruby a wink. "I think your Republic tried recolonizing, and then the Empire decided to step in, so it's a bit of a mess now."

"That ain't the half of it," a voice chimed in. Yang walked onto the bridge, wiping her hands on a rag, while ZW-31 rolled in behind her. The two droids hummed a brief greeting to each other while the blonde plopped down into the navigator's seat. "Reason we never went anywhere near the karking planet was the plague that's been spreading by something called a 'rakghoul'."

"Heard about them," Jaune commented with a small grin. "Heard they're tough to hunt."

Yang snorted, shaking her head in amusement. "Spoken like a true Mandalorian… Hey, so, question for ya."

"Lek?"

"Fancy ship like this," the blonde began, sitting forward with her elbows resting on her knees, "has got a whole lotta automation. Even a droid AI to pilot if needed, yeah?"

"It's rudimentary," Jaune admitted. "And Weiss doesn't trust it."

"Okay, that answers the first part… So, then, how long have you been piloting?"

The blond armored man grimaced slightly. "Um, a year or so."

Yang blinked her lilac eyes. "Is that… just on here, or total?"

"Uh, yeah, same thing, really." By this point Ruby had gone back to work, so Jaune turned in his seat to face Yang fully. "I'm not all that great at it, I know… I mean, I can take off and land easily enough, get us from planet to planet… But I already know what you're going to ask, ultimately."

"Oh, yeah?" The blonde Corellian leaned back with an easy smile, hands laced behind her head. "Am I that easy to read?"

"If you pay enough attention, sure," her sister chimed in from somewhere amidst the lattice of electrical wiring.

"Did I ask you, Little Worrt?"

Ruby snorted humorously at the nickname, referencing the small frog-like creatures native to Tatooine. "Nar'sheb!"

"I'm still gonna find out what that means… Jaune!" The blonde grinned disarmingly at the Mandalorian pilot. "First off, what do you think I was gonna ask, and secondly, what the kriff does nar'sheb mean?"

Chuckling lightly, Jaune turned to regard the readout in front of him, tapping a few controls idly. "Well… you were going to offer your services as a pilot. Weiss won't let you, though."

"She won't?"

He raised his hands slightly in a calming gesture at her bristling tone. "Hey, it's nothing personal, it took her six months to even allow me at the controls, up till then she was the pilot." He shuddered briefly. "And believe me, she's an awful pilot. In any case, you're aruetii, an outsider, and you have to earn her trust before she would let you take over."

Jaune rose then, shrugging his shoulders easily. "Personally, I wouldn't mind you taking over if you're as jate as you've said you are. But give it time, elek?"

"Yeah, okay… Hey, what about the other thing?"

"Well…" The blond Mandalorian rubbed the back of his neck with an ungauntleted hand. "I… kinda can't tell you, sorry. Ruby made me swear not to." With that, he beat a hasty retreat from the bridge.

"Why, you little…" Yang looked around in outrage only to note that at some point her petite sister had vanished, along with her little astromech droid. She sighed, flopping back in her chair and regarding the softly-beeping ZW-31 wryly.

"I'm fine, Zwei, not really mad at her, you know that…"

Tweedling in concurrence, the black and white droid wheeled forward to gently bump his master's knee. He softly inquired as to her mental health, which seemed to be more tenuous than usual lately, even for an organic.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy," she snorted. "Ah, vape it all… I dunno, Zwei, are we doing the right thing here, tagging along with a buncha bucketheads? I just… I feel like I can't control my life anymore, y'know?"

ZW-31 beeped sagely, listing several possible reasons for her sense of helplessness, starting with the loss of Ember Celica and covering their kidnapping as well, not to mention the bounty likely still on the sisters' heads. As a last tidbit, he threw in both the brunette's current gainful employment as the mechanic on their new ship as well as the seeming infatuation developing between her and the Echani, who he was still unsure whether or not to classify as a threat or a friend. Likely a combination of both, at this point.

Yang's laughter increased in volume as the droid's thoughtful and warbling rendition completed. "Oh, yeah, I think that about covers it all. Thanks, buddy." She glanced towards the entrance to the bridge, ensuring there was nobody nearby. "So," she whispered, "you picked up on the little thing going on between Weiss and Rubes too, huh?"

He let out a rather indignant-sounding blat at that, defensively stating that he was not nearly as unobservant as most other astromech droids due to his programming.

"Okay, okay, didn't mean to offend you any," she chuckled. She checked around once again before regarding ZW-31 with a grin. "Zwei, cold one."

At that, a small hatch atop the droid's head opened with a tiny pressurized pop, and a frosty bottle jumped up and into Yang's waiting artificial hand. She flipped the cap off with her metallic thumb and took a long swig, finally setting it down with a very satisfied sigh.

"Yeah," she murmured happily. "Corellian ale makes every situation look better."

Taris Orbit

Myrtenaster

"Nothing yet?" Pyrrha asked as she strode onto the bridge.

Standing next to the communications console, Weiss shook her head irritably. "Nayc, nothing."

From her seat in the navigation chair once more, Yang crossed her ankle over her knee and leaned back with her arms folded. "Can't do a job if your contact goes offline."

"Precisely," the platinum-haired Echani bit out, more worriedly than anything.

At the pilot's station, Jaune gave a thoughtful hum as he also crossed his arms. "How long do we want to wait, ner vod?"

"We only just-"

Weiss' reply was cut off by the sudden wailing of proximity alarms. The blonde Corellian sat forward abruptly as she peered out at the small Republic cruiser that had just dropped out of hyperspace, practically on top of them.

"Shavit," she breathed, suddenly cognizant of the fact that the ship she was now on might certainly be considered an enemy of the newcomer. And that they were, technically, inside Republic space.

The white-armored Mandalorian showed no hesitation in reaching over and slapping the controls to activate their shields. "Osik!" she barked angrily. "Jaune, scan them, are they powering up weapons?"

"Uh, lek, they are, but they seem kinda sluggish…"

"Weiss, call incoming," Pyrrha warned, her voice tense but level.

With a flip of a switch, the bridge was able to regard the holographic projection of what appeared to be a Cathar Jedi.

"Mandalorian cruiser," she began levelly, her voice husky but melodic. "My name is Master Blake Belladonna and I am the captain of the Gambol Shroud. Please make no hostile moves, surrender peacefully and there needs to be no loss of life today."

"Jare'la Jetii," Weiss growled under her breath before addressing the translucent figure. "This is the Myrtenaster. Are you that eager for a fight, aruetii, that you would insult a Mandalorian so?"

Yang turned to Jaune, mouthing the Mando'a that Weiss had initially spoken. In return, he leaned over in her direction. "Jetii is Jedi, and jare'la means… well, stupidly oblivious of danger, basically."

The blonde snorted humorously. Yeah, that about describes most kriffing Jedi I've ever met.

"I assure you, no insult was intended," the Jedi was saying. "However, we are prepared to take your ship by force if necessary."

"Right," Weiss snarled, slapping the button to cut off the bridge holoterminal. "Jaune, break orbit, charge up the hyperdrive. Pyrrha, with me to the turrets."

With that, the two female Mandalorians were gone in a clatter of armor while Jaune twisted the yoke to the side, sending the ship into an oblique course away from the now-pursuing Republic cruiser.

Yang remained in her seat, keeping an eye on the monitors as she flicked the switch for the comm unit. "Hey, Ruby, looks like we're about to get into a scuffle here."

"We are?" the brunette's voice came back from the engine room. "Should I be worried?"

"Um." She glanced over at the scan report of the enemy, comparing that with the readout of their own ship, and factored in Jaune's less-than-inspired piloting skills. "I don't think so?"

"Right. Well, I'll be ready to patch up what's needed, just… Y'know, it'd be really nice to keep this ship intact, okay? I mean, it's really nice and shiny and expensive, and Penny can even fit under most of the piping, it's like a mechanic's dream job, and-"

"I get it, Rubes," her sister chuckled. "Not that I have any control over this, but I'll try to make sure your ride doesn't get broken."

"Thanks, Yang!" she chirped back before closing the channel.

"So, we're running?" Yang asked casually. "Doesn't seem to fit with the whole Mandalorian image…"

Jaune snorted softly, concentrating on the console in front of him. "No Mando is stupid enough to stick around in enemy space where we're shabla. Er… karked. We pick our fights. Ba'slan shev'la."

"Well, that's a mouthful."

"It means… well, literally it means to depart silently." Jaune shot her a tight grin. "And it's a very Mandalorian tactic, disappearing strategically only to regroup and pop up where least expected. It's served us well in the past, as a culture and as individuals."

"Always learnin' something new…" The blonde turned her head at the slow warbling coming from ZW-31, parked in front of the sensor display. "What was that, Zwei?"

He tweedled some more, this time a bit more confidently.

"Huh, well, if you say so…" She narrowed her eyes as she watched the flight profile of the other cruiser. Turbolaser fire was beginning to pepper their stout rear shields, which normally wouldn't be a problem if they were competently maintained. With a sigh, she unobtrusively reached over and nudged a few controls, evening out the shields.

Jaune had his teeth grit determinedly as he tried to evade the pursuing ship, but his movements were rather tame, in her opinion. There was no way they would outrun the pursuing ship in open space, much less throw off their aim. By now she'd identified the model of the cruiser, an old Vanguard-class light corvette that was a few generations out of date but still with powerful engines. While it seemed capable enough, her practiced eye could tell that the ship was sluggish and with weapons that fired far more slowly than should be the norm.

And then she noted what ZW-31 had already picked up on once the blond Mandalorian swerved again to avoid another turbolaser barrage.

"Jaune, that ship is droid-piloted," Yang announced quietly.

"It is?" he asked, sweat beading on his forehead. "Sure is giving me enough trouble…"

"Yeah, but Zwei noticed it right away - it's predictable. Look, you've got another three minutes till the hyperdrives are charged, but our shields will be vaped by then." Yang spread her hands, trying for sincere earnestness in her expression. "I can get behind them, let us take out their engines."

"Yang…" The man glanced between her and the console, chewing on his lip in frustration. "Haar'chak, I'm gonna get in so much trouble for this… Elek, take the con."

"Yesss," she hissed exultantly, strapping herself in tighter as she took hold of the now-extended yoke. "Alright, let 'em know that we're gonna have a clear shot, but not for too long. Droid AI should have the shields all forward, won't be able to switch them fast enough…"

She tuned out Jaune as he began rapidly talking into the ship's comm, instead concentrating on her flying. The sleek ship maneuvered back and forth, on an ever-widening zig-zag, which the Republic ship ably tracked, if just slightly behind.

"One more… Good, good, keep following… Now!" Yang slammed the yoke to the side while flipping several switches. The port sublights surged ahead while the starboard thrusters sent them skipping to the side and in a tight circle, the old Republic cruiser now woefully out of position and unable to bring its forward guns to bear. Within the span of a heartbeat, the blonde Corellian had their ship slipped in neatly behind the other and facing minimal shields, which the pair of gunners in the turrets took full advantage of.

In rapid succession, the enemy's shield generator was vaporized, followed by the hyperdrive and main power couplings.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the opposing ship was a bit more of a derelict than previously assumed, as it began to now drift, completely lifeless.

"Kandosii!" Jaune exulted, pumping a fist into the air. "That was amazing flying!"

"Yeah," she replied with only a hint of modesty. "It was."

She was, after all, a Corellian.

Before long the bridge was crowded once more, this time with the addition of P3-NY and Ruby who perched worriedly on the edge of the defense console while Weiss finished admonishing both Jaune and Yang.

"...Very specific rules, and for good reason!" the platinum-haired woman stated shrilly, though she seemed to finally be winding down somewhat. "This is my ship! I am the only one who may designate who the pilot shall be! Is that clearly understood?"

Yang sat at the navigator's station still, the chair turned around to face the furious Echani woman and with her arms crossed. She thought she was doing an admirable job of keeping calm in the face of her dressing-down, but also had to admit that the platinum-haired woman was making a conscious effort to keep the Mando'a phrases out of her tirade. Rather considerate, all things considered.

"Elek, vod," Jaune murmured, abashed.

Weiss arched an elegant brow towards Yang who suppressed an irritable growl. This is our home now, and her ship, I gotta play by the rules… if nothing else, Ruby is really happy here and I don't wanna kark that up for her…

Truth be told, though, she'd been enjoying the company of the Mandalorians. They were oftentimes gruff and uncompromising, but also very open and sharing of their culture and language. And it was nice, after so long, to have others besides her sister or their droids to converse with, as much as she dearly loved both the bubbly brunette and the little buckets on wheels.

So, she clamped down on her pride and gave a slow nod. "I understand," she stated evenly.

"Good." Weiss exhaled loudly through her nose as she considered the blonde Corellian closely. "Now, that said… Jaune, would you have any problem with Yang becoming our primary pilot?"

"Shab, no!" he laughed, relief coloring his words. "She makes me look like a complete di'kut when it comes to piloting!"

Yang gaped openly at the platinum-haired woman who crossed her arms over her alabaster chestplate with a small smirk on her pale face. "Well?" Weiss inquired.

"Um… Yeah! I mean… Elek? That means 'yes', right?"

"It does indeed." She gave the blonde a brief glare that paled in comparison to the one she'd been treated to when she first came on the bridge. "You take care of my ship, now, tayli'bac?"

"Yep, you bet." She grinned widely at the Echani and offered a thumbs-up. "Elek."

"Hey, Weiss?" Ruby murmured. She'd twisted around from where she perched to regard the sensor readings closely. "Y'know… the other ship, there's no power at all… I mean, no life support, nothing. I don't even think they could get a lifeboat off."

"Ship that old, likely doesn't even have lifeboats," Yang commented. "Maybe some escape pods, that's about it, though."

"Yeah, but still… they haven't launched any…"

"Yes?" Weiss prompted. "So?"

The brunette turned then, regarding the rest of the crew with solemn, pleading pools of silver. "So, we're not just gonna let them die, are we?"

Weiss and Pyrrha shared a long look, communicating wordless volumes. "Nayc, we will not," the platinum-haired Mandalorian finally murmured. "Yang, can you dock us?"

"Not a problem, boss-lady."

The Echani paused at the exit from the bridge, shooting the blonde another mild glare. "Do not call me that."

"Gotcha!"

Ruby sighed, giving her sister an exasperated look as the pair of Mandalorian women departed. "Don't tease her."

"Who, me?" Yang smirked, easing the ship alongside the derelict Republic cruiser with adroit hands. "Never."

Jaune snorted softly as he rose from his seat and grabbed his blue helmet from the rack behind him where it normally rested. "You just like prodding the Rancor, don't you?"

"Maybe a little bit," the blonde snickered, giving the ship one last nudge before a muted thunk was felt throughout the ship. "Whelp, we're attached. Let's go see the crazy Jedi lady, huh?"

The brunette laughed lightly as she hopped down and strode out of the bridge. "I'll go get my gun," she called out over her shoulder, P3-NY wheeling rapidly after her.

"Suppose I should too," Yang mused as she rose and stretched. "Um, hey, Jaune?"

"Elek?" the Mandalorian queried, his voice now filtered through the electronic modulator of his helmet as he checked the blaster in his holster.

"Thanks for sticking up for me and, y'know, getting me back in the pilot's seat. It means a lot." She shot him a somewhat sheepish smile. "Don't quite feel like myself anymore if I'm not flyin', so… Yeah. Thanks. Um… Vor entye."

"Ba'gedet'ye," he replied solemnly. "You're welcome, Yang."

Myrtenaster Central Lounge

The three armored warriors, along with the blonde pilot and two astromech droids, stood by watching the efforts of their diminutive brunette mechanic as she worked. Ruby's upper torso was concealed within the panel set next to the secondary airlock by a mess of wires.

"Almost got it!" she called out cheerfully. "Annnd… There we go! Give it a try, now!"

Weiss gave a soft grunt as she tapped on the main holoterminal, stepping back to wait for the call to be answered. Soon enough, the same Cathar Jedi appeared, though looking a bit more disheveled than before.

"Well, this is unexpected," she began quietly, her translucent form wavering slightly. "Did you attach your ship's power to ours?"

"We did," Weiss affirmed. "Just enough to communicate."

"I can see that. Well, you have us at your mercy, so to speak. What would you like to talk about?"

"Your surrender."

"I see." The Jedi Master tilted her head slightly. "I have two others on board with me. I would like to ensure their safety."

Weiss let out a huff as she crossed her arms. "I imagine you're running out of air, so let me make this quick, Jetii. Any attempt at hostilities on board my ship will be met by copious amounts of lethal violence."

"Noted," she replied dryly.

"I will, for now, allow you to keep your weapons so long as you behave. I am trusting in the legendary honor of the Jetii that you will keep your word on this, otherwise, you will end up in a force cage. Ni dinu." At the slightly perplexed expression on the Jedi's face, she sighed. "That is… take it or leave it."

Nodding, the hologram folded her hands inside the sleeves of her robe. "I, Master Blake Belladonna, so do swear to ensure the peaceful behavior of myself and my companions while aboard your vessel." At an indignant squawk that sounded from off-screen, she shot a look over her shoulder. "All of my companions," she emphasized sternly. Facing forward once more, she offered a slight smile. "I appreciate your willingness both to negotiate so honorably with us, as well as… well, not leaving us to die, of course."

"Of course," Weiss repeated, ignoring the wide grin from Ruby. "We'll unlock the hatch on our end."

"And we shall do the same." With that, the hologram blinked out.

"We're taking a bit of a risk here, vode," Pyrrha noted mildly.

Jaune sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the bulkhead. "I don't have much experience with the Jetii, just what I know from reputation, though… I think it will turn out alright."

Ruby glanced between the three armored visors uncertainly. "Sooo… am I unlocking the hatch?"

After another moment's hesitation, Weiss nodded. "Go ahead… Ruby. Gedet'ye. Er… please."

"On it!"

Within a minute, the first of the Republic crew entered their ship. The figure was perhaps a bit shorter than Weiss and in the distinctive armor of a Republic Commando, white with colored accents. However, unlike the more common orange, blue, or green, this particular trooper's armor was highlighted in a vibrant pink. And on their back was an enormous rotary blaster cannon, alongside what looked to be a repeating grenade launcher, and finally, a blaster pistol holstered on their belt, gauntleted hand resting on it lightly.

"Clear," they reported tersely, voice filtered through the helmet much as the Mandalorians' were. "No ambush."

"Thank you, Nora," a melodic voice murmured from behind the commando. Blake appeared next, smoothly sidestepping the armored figure with a serene smile. "I am glad to finally meet you all in person. Before we progress any further, though, I must ask you something."

"Go ahead," Weiss replied mildly. Yang's gaze from where she stood to the rear of the assembled Mandalorians snapped over towards the Echani woman, picking up on a strange tone in her voice, even over the electronic filtering. As she did so, however, she also caught Ruby's open-mouthed stare from where she still stood next to the airlock.

"Oh, Rubes," she murmured under her breath. "You always gotta get hung up on the impossible ones, don'tcha?"

Movement by the airlock caught the blonde's attention once more as another robed figure came into view, this one a slim Mirialan. She idly noted both his long hair and the somewhat rebellious-looking magenta streak in it, wondering just what sort of Jedi they had managed to pick up.

"The reason for our interception of your ship," Blake was saying, "was a reported kidnapping of a pair of Republic citizens." She looked around, glancing first at Yang and then Ruby, though her eyes lingered on the latter somewhat. Under sudden scrutiny, the brunette snapped her jaw shut with an audible click as she blushed furiously.

"It would seem, however," the Jedi continued, humor coloring her words, "that they do not appear to be prisoners of any sort. Would anyone be able to provide assurances that this report was false?"

Yang started in surprise when Weiss' visor swiveled towards her. "Um, yeah," the blonde chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "So, it kinda started out as a big misunderstanding, I guess? But no, we're all totally cool now. Best buds."

"We're crew now," Ruby chimed in. "I'm the engineer, Yang, that's my sister over there, she's the pilot."

"I see." Blake gave Yang an impressed nod. "That was truly inspired flying earlier. I suppose I should begin the introductions, in any case, yes?"

"Um, before you do…" Ruby was edging along the bulkhead so as to drift a little bit closer towards where the Mandalorians were standing. P3-NY remained in her shadow, quietly making little nervous trills. "Wouldn't it help if everyone, y'know… took off their helmets?"

"An excellent suggestion. Nora?"

"Oh, fine," the trooper grumbled, reaching up to unclasp her helmet. Once removed, a round face framed by short orange hair was revealed. Though there were laugh lines around her eyes and she had the look of a perpetually cheerful person, at that moment her turquoise eyes were glinting dangerously. "I still don't trust any of them."

"I know, dear." Blake faced the rest of the crew once more. "This is Trooper Nora Valkyrie of the 32nd Republic Commando Corps, permanently assigned to me as… well, both bodyguard and insurance that I behave."

"Like I really need to do either," Nora snorted softly, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth as if she was finding it difficult to remain in a sour mood. "I'm just along for the adventure."

"Ain't we all?" Yang and Nora shared a tight grin, while Blake gestured the other Jedi forward, who gave the room a solemn bow.

"And this is Lie Ren, my apprentice."

Weiss sighed audibly once the opposing rounds of introductions were complete. "Right. Buy'ce off."

With that, the three Mandalorians removed their helmets as one. Jaune placed his on the seat next to him, while Pyrrha rested hers on the holoterminal. Weiss simply clutched hers in front of her with both hands, shaking out her long white ponytail.

"I'm Weiss," she began shortly. "My vode here are Pyrrha and Jaune, and then we have our Corellian sisters…"

"Ruby Rose, at your service!" the brunette chimed in pleasantly, her earlier flustered expression eased now. "Oh, and this little cutie here is Penny, and this is my sister Yang Xiao Long and her droid, Zwei."

"A pleasure," Blake murmured, peering more closely at the bubbly mechanic. "You… have silver eyes."

"Um, yep!"

"How interesting."

Ruby chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck as her blush returned in full force from the scrutiny. "Ah-heh heh… Yeah, I suppose, kinda rare, huh?"

"Might I ask a question of my own?" Weiss interrupted, the tips of her own ears pink for some reason. Yang carefully hid a smirk behind her hand. Maybe the big bad Mandalorian is gettin' a bit jealous of the attention?

"Certainly," the Jedi Master replied evenly.

"This… report you received, of the kidnapping. Where did it originate from?"

Amber eyes blinked in curiosity. "From what I understand, Nar Shaddaa."

At that, Weiss' face contorted into a scowl. "I knew it. That hu'tuun Xiong, I will eviscerate him the next chance I get!"

"Hu'tuun?" Ruby murmured curiously to Jaune.

"Means a coward."

"Well, that doesn't sound so bad…"

"It's actually the worst insult a Mandalorian can give someone."

"Oh." Ruby chuckled lightly. "Gotcha."

"I take it you already had a run-in with this particular character?" Blake asked, humor dancing in her amber eyes.

"Elek," Weiss spat out, gripping her helmet furiously. "And his gett'se will be crushed by my kom'rk, I swear it!" With that, she raised her gauntlet up and made a fierce squeezing motion with it at eye level.

Ruby looked questioningly towards the blond Mandalorian, who in turn looked to be decidedly queasy.

"Lek… Er, gett'se, it means… testicles."

"Oh. Oh!" Ruby giggled at that. "Wow, sounds painful."

"It will be," Weiss muttered before visibly pulling herself together. Pyrrha gave her a soothing pat on her armored shoulder.

"Udesiir, vod," the redhead murmured with a slight smirk.

"My apologies," Weiss finally sighed. "Yes, this man was our former client, at whose bequest we did secure these two as bounties. And then he double-crossed us. We received no payment."

"I see," the Jedi Master murmured. "Hmm… an interesting situation, indeed. Some decent-minded Jedi might still consider a crime to have been committed."

"And you?" the platinum-haired woman returned, one eyebrow raised elegantly.

Blake's smirk widened. "I've never been accused of being a decent Jedi," she stated humorously. "In any case, if we might be so allowed, our baggage is just inside the airlock…"

"Yes, of course." Weiss started forward to help, and after a second's surprised hesitation, both Pyrrha and Jaune followed suit. "We have a larger bunk room with Ruby and Yang, you and the trooper can fit in there, while Jaune here has a double. Ren will have plenty of space."

"And I thank you once again for your hospitality."

Weiss paused inside the derelict cruiser, glancing around at the darkened interior and giving the stale air a disdainful sniff before hefting a duffle bag as if it weighed nothing. "What planet would you like to be dropped off?"

"Hmm." Blake remained at the entrance to the ship, her gaze flickering between Weiss and, curiously enough in Yang's opinion, the Corellian brunette. "Actually… perhaps we might accompany you for a while? See where our travels take us. I can provide recompense for our accommodations, of course."

The Echani woman seemed to almost trip while crossing the airlock but caught herself in time. "O- Oh? Elek, er, yes, that'd be… Well, there's no need for that, I'll just… er… put these in the quarters, then…"

Her smirk unabating, Blake followed on her heels, trailed by the other two Mandalorians and the Mirialan Jedi. Ruby, as well, curiously headed in their wake.

ZW-31 gave a confused tweedle from Yang's side.

"Yeah, I dunno, buddy, she doesn't seem like any Jedi I've ever come across or heard of…"

"Oh, she's not," a cheerful voice piped up. The blonde glanced over to see the trooper now standing next to her, turquoise eyes studying her carefully but with a humorous twinkle in them now. "Blake's not like any Jedi I've ever worked with before."

"Oh, yeah? How so?"

"Well…" Nora turned and glanced down the hallway before lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I joined up with them about three years back, just a couple of missions, first with my squad, and then just me, since I'm, y'know, awesome like that… But anyway, since I've known her, she's had a couple of… Well, let's just call them relationships."

"Oh, really?" Yang's eyes lit up with the juicy bit of gossip. "Like, physical ones?"

"Mmhmm."

"Huh." She crossed her arms and shared a wide grin with the orange-haired woman. "This journey just got a whole lot more interesting."

Nar Shaddaa

Hei "Junior" Xiong leaned his elbows on the bartop, sighing heavily. Overall profits were still down, with the gang wars escalating throughout Nar Shaddaa there was plenty of opportunities, but also plenty of competition. The legitimate business at his club was booming as always, but the real credits were always in the information brokering and smuggling.

While the former was doing well enough, the latter was decidedly… lackluster. One after another, the crews he contracted out to either dropped out of sight, whether retired or removed or sold out to his competition. Culminating with the complete kark-up by his last, seemingly promising and trustworthy, crew.

"Kriffing Corellians," he sighed into his mug of Lomin ale. "Last time I hire any from that Hutt-forsaken planet."

At least he was rid of them, now, and his reputation secured. His face soured somewhat as he recalled the disaster that his little ambush turned out to be. "Last time I contract out to any Mandalorians, either," he grumbled.

His latest effort, though, in closing up untidy loopholes should return better results. Better yet, they couldn't be traced back to him. Given the enmity between the Republic and the Sith, siccing the Jedi on those troublesome bounty hunters was practically a sure bet.

In any case, there was no point in following up any further on the matter of those irritating sisters, he had a business of crime to run.

Just as he set his mug down to return to his datapad, though, his head swiveled at a commotion by the entrance. As there shouldn't be anyone foolish enough to come by when the club was closed, at least not without announcing ahead of time, he gestured curtly to his exiled Devaronian bodyguards. The twins gave him a brief nod and moved towards the front door to check on the disturbance.

As soon as they reached the shadowy alcove, twin searing bars of crimson light came to life, flashing outward. Neither Melanie nor Miltia had the chance to even make a sound before their upper halves were separated from the rest of their bodies, slowly dropping to the floor with meaty thuds, before the lights vanished once more, leaving only bright motes in his retinas.

Junior was frozen in shock as one of the shadows detached from the wall, revealing itself to be a black-robed Twi'lek woman with mint-green skin. He gulped in fear at the evil grin she wore as she gracefully sauntered forward, reaching up to pull her hood back and allowing her lekku to hang forward from her shoulders, the twin tails twitching with eager anticipation.

Oh, vape, a Sith...

"Hei Xiong," she purred darkly. "Rumor has it you had a run-in with a certain girl… a girl with silver eyes…"

A/N: Been nice knowing ya, Junior… Side note, the "Zwei, cold one" line is a direct homage to the X-Wing series of Star Wars novels featuring Wraith Squadron. I have always wanted to use it.

Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):

Yang Xiao Long - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.

ZW-31 - Yang's custom astromech droid.

Ruby Rose - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.

P3-NY - Ruby's astromech droid.

Lady Salem - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.

Lady Cinder Fall - Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.

Darth Hazel - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.

Darth Tyrian - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.

Emerald Sustrai - Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.

Mercury Black - Human male. Sith Warrior.

Weiss Schnee - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Pyrrha Nikos - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Jaune Arc - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.

Hei "Junior" Xiong - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.

Melanie Malachite - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.

Miltia Malachite - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.

Blake Belladonna - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.

Lie Ren - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.

Master Ozpin - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.

Nora Valkyrie - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.

Stay shiny!