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literature
Nightfall on Nar Shaddaa
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Literature Text
As Tortai Haar prepped the front galley of an aging Corellian Star shuttle for a flight from Tatooine to Nar Shaddaa, the orange skinned togruta dreaded the trip ahead of her. Of all the cover jobs she had taken in her career as a spy, being a shuttle line stewardess was probably her least favorite. It was hours on end, wading through grumpy passengers in a form fitting purple miniskirt dress and matching uncomfortable high heeled boots. Plus the ships had pale orange interiors with gray carpet that looked as if it hadn’t been replaced since the Clone Wars. Despite these drawbacks, it was a great cover: it provided free transportation; the turnover rate was really high which meant there were always jobs available, and the alias she used had not yet been compromised so it made changing her identity much easier. Plus, she got to work with her best friend Kina who always seemed to make the best of whatever situation they were in.
“I got to admit, Janna,” Tortai turned to her green twi’lek friend in her matching uniform and head band, using her cover name. “I really don’t understand how you manage to stand in those heels all day. My feet are killing me!”
“My best friend in adolescence school taught me how to walk and stand in heels,” She turned to Tortai and smirked. “You haven’t worn high heels much have you?”
“Hardly at all,” Tortai admitted. “Growing up on Shili, I never really wore regular shoes. I didn’t get my first pair of shoes until I was nine and didn’t wear them all that much except when I went out onto paved roads. I’ve only started wearing high heels on and off for the past two years.”
“Well, then I’ll just have to show you how then,” Kina said as Tortai shut a cabinet. “First off, when you’re standing in heels, you should position your feet so that the heel of one foot is in the middle of the other.”
“Oh,” Tortai looked down and positioned her feet. “Like this?”
“Yep,” Kina looked at her feet. “Also, you should shift the weight between your feet when they get tired so they won’t hurt so much.”
“Alright,” Tortai smiled. “Anything else I need to know?”
“Make sure you keep good posture, which shouldn’t be too hard since you already have that. And when you’re walking, make sure you take small steps. On that last flight from Utapau, you nearly fell over because you took too big a step.”
“Good to know,” Tortai said, shifting her feet. “I just can’t wait to get back home so I take off this sexist garbage, especially these stupid boots.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Kina snickered. “I think you look rather cute in your stewardess outfit.”
Tortai gave her an icy cold glare.
“That’s exactly the point,” She fumed. “I hate dolling myself up just to be the subject of some pervert’s sensual fantasies.”
“Well, we’ll be back on Nar Shaddaa in about six hours,” Kina gave her a pat on the shoulder. “So hang in there.”
Tortai nodded and they started greeting the first group of passengers. Because the company she was working for, Interstar Shuttle; was a low cost carrier most of the passengers were middle class tourists who wanted a cheap ticket. It was very seldom that anyone of any significant wealth booked passage on their ship, which was why Tortai was a bit surprised when she saw a tall, fit, white haired human male in a nice looking black suit with a blue tie. Despite his white hair, the man appeared to be no older than thirty.
“Hello, sir,” Kina greeted him. “Welcome aboard.”
“Thank you,” He said as the line of passengers stopped moving. “You ladies must be glad to be leaving Tatooine.”
“Yeah,” Kina shrugged. “The sunsets are pretty nice, but aside from that, this planet doesn’t have very much going for it.”
“I agree,” The man extended his hand. “Allow me to introduce myself, my name’s Jahan Cross.”
“Nice to meet you, Mister Cross,” Kina shook his hand. “My name’s Janna,” She turned and motioned to Tortai. “And this is my colleague, Ashani.”
“Hello,” Tortai shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“Nice to meet you too, Ashani,” The man looked up at her forehead. “You have a real nice akul tooth headdress, where did you find all those alaki pearls?”
“My family lived close to a lake with a lot of alaki oysters,” Tortai smiled, rolling the small, bead like pearls hanging off the right side of her headdress near her chin. “It was difficult finding and collecting all the pearls, but I think it was worth it considering the beautiful blue sheen they have.”
“I agree, they look most stunning,” Mister Cross looked at her with his sky blue eyes. “They’re almost as beautiful as you are.”
“Oh, why thank you,” Tortai chuckled as the line started moving again. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Mister Cross. If there is anything we can do to make your experience more pleasurable, please let us know.”
“I will,” Mister Cross smiled walking toward his seat. “Nice meeting you, ladies.”
As soon as he left for his seat, Kina turned to her with a playful smile.
“Ooh,” Kina said in a child-like voice. “Looks like somebody’s got herself a boyfriend.”
“Oh, yeah right,” Tortai shook her head. “Just because he noticed my headdress and paid me some compliments doesn’t mean he likes me that way.”
“I don’t know, he did seem to get awfully friendly,” Kina smiled. “I think he might have a thing for you.”
“Possibly, but I think he’s a little too smooth for my taste, though.” Tortai shrugged, turning back to the boarding passengers. “Besides, you know I can only truly love a togrutan man.”
“True,” Kina agreed, scrunching her face in thought. “I can’t quite put my finger on it but something seems oddly familiar about him.”
“Hmm, he was pretty well dressed; maybe he’s some kind of politician.” Tortai shifted her weight on to her right foot. “Maybe I could take a quick break during the flight and look up who he is.”
“Good idea, let me know what you find out.”
Tortai agreed and they continued to help boarding passengers.
The ship departed barely in time to avoid a huge sandstorm that was on the horizon. After the ship made the jump to light speed and they had finished serving drinks and meals, Tortai got her datapad from her crew bag and set to work looking up everything about this “Jahan Cross”. Within moments, the screen lit up with all the information the Rebel Alliance had on Jahan Cross. Kina was on her way back from a routine aisle walk when Tortai called her over.
“No wonder he seemed so familiar,” Kina said as she looked over the information. “He’s a top level Imperial spy.”
“That he is,” Tortai pointed at the screen. “But he’s probably traveling as a Special Envoy from the Diplomatic Service.”
“Hmm,” Kina looked at Tortai. “I wonder what he’s doing traveling to Nar Shaddaa?”
“I don’t know,” Tortai scrolled through the information. “But I can bet you that whatever the reason is, it’s something that’s very important to the Empire.”
“Definitely,” Kina agreed. “I also hear he has a unique taste in women, that’s probably why he was hitting on you earlier.”
“Oh, will you stop that,” Tortai logged out of her account and shut off the data pad. “He’s not that interested in me.”
“Isn’t he,” Kina smirked. “Every time I saw you near him, he seemed to be checking you out.”
“How do you know he wasn’t checking you out?”
“Ashani, please,” Kina stared at her. “When you leaned over to give that boisterous Besalisk man his drink, Mister Cross was too busy looking at your rear to pay any attention to me. I’m telling you, he’s into you.”
Tortai peaked around the galley wall and saw the white haired human in his aisle seat at the rear of the forward cabin, looking at his datapad.
“I don’t know,” Tortai said. “I think I should talk to him a little more before we can draw any conclusions.”
“Well, now’s your chance,” Kina nodded toward him. “Looks like your lover boy could use some more scotch.”
“Right,” Tortai grabbed a small bottle of Corellian scotch from the galley liquor cabinet. “Okay, here I go.”
She then grinned and slowly did her best sashay down the aisle to Jahan Cross’s seat.
“Hi there, Mister Cross,” Tortai cheerily asked. “Would you like me to refill your drink?”
“Of course,” He put down his datapad and held out his glass. “You have a wonderful sense of timing, young lady.”
“Oh, well, I do what I can,” Tortai smiled and poured his drink. “Is everything else to your satisfaction, Mister Cross?”
“Such as it is,” He said as she finished pouring. “The scotch is fine, but that meal left much to be desired.”
“Yeah, Interstar in-flight meals aren’t very good” Tortai shrugged. “I guess that’s progress for you, they make droids that translate almost billions of languages, but space line food tastes worse than ever.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Cross leaned back. “So, brings such a nice and eloquent young lady to being a space line stewardess?”
“Lack of jobs,” Tortai sighed. “It seems that most people tend to think that even togruta’s with college educations aren’t good for anything except servile positions, especially females. I find it rather frustrating.”
“I bet you do,” Jahan folded his hands. “Where did you attend college?”
“I went to the University of Kiros,” Tortai grinned. “It’s really a rather nice school.”
“Yes, I’ve heard many nice things about it,” Cross looked up at her. “It’s a pity that a well-educated young woman such as you can’t find a better line of work.”
“Tell me about it,” Tortai started to turn back. “It was nice talking with you, Mister Cross, but I must be getting back to work. Let me know if you need anything.”
Tortai then gave him a flirty wave and walked to the forward galley where Kina waited in anticipation.
“See,” Kina looked at her. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“He certainly does seem interested in me,” Tortai said. “Although for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Kina asked. “You’re young, intelligent, beautiful, and a togruta. If he gets with you, he’ll be able to put a great big notch in his belt.”
“Why, that sly arrogant pig,” Tortai glared at him. “I’d like to take him down a couple pegs.”
“Me too,” Kina glanced over. “Maybe you could use his infatuation with you to lure him into loving you then you could dump him and break his heart.”
“Nah, that’d take too much time,” Tortai curled her right index on her lips. “Besides, he doesn’t seem to be interested in anything long term. I’m fairly certain that all he wants is a one night stand and I think I should indulge him.”
“Tortai, have you lost your…”Kina’s face lit up with sudden realization. “Oh, I see, you’re playing one of your seduction angles, aren’t you?”
“But of course,” Tortai straightened out her lekku. “I normally don’t like making myself look like a slut, but for the information inside Jahan Cross’s head, I think it’s worth it.”
“Definitely,” Kina smiled. “Just make sure you really get him.”
“Oh, I shall,” Tortai smugly smirked. “I guarantee that by the end of the night, he’ll have no idea what hit him.”
They had a good laugh and got back to work.
A Pleasurable Prospect
Jahan Cross usually didn’t like having to rely on space lines for transportation; he much preferred the luxury of flying his own ship. Unfortunately, his previous ship had been destroyed and since the Empire didn’t have many ships available in the Outer Rim territories, he had few other options. Although, traveling on Interstar wasn’t the most miserable way to get to Nar Shaddaa: the seats, while old, were still very comfortable, they still provided free meals and alcoholic beverages, and they had some of the most gorgeous female cabin attendants in the industry. There was one in particular on this flight to Nar Shaddaa that caught his interest.
Her name was Ashani; she was a young and beautiful orange skinned togruta of average height that had seemed to taken a bit of a shine to him. He didn’t know if it was because of the rumors he’d always heard about togruta women being man hungry temptresses or if it was because of the naturally charming way he had with women, but Ashani couldn’t stop talking with him at every possible chance. She was certainly a fine woman and he wanted nothing more than to spend the night with her rather than all by himself. As she routinely walked down the aisle, he made his move.
“Excuse me, Ashani,” He flagged her down. “I would like to ask you something.”
“Sure thing,” She stopped and looked at him. “Is there something you would like?”
“Just to know your plans for tonight,” Jahan smiled. “You see, I don’t really have any friends on Nar Shaddaa and I was wondering that if weren’t busy after this flight if you’d like to join me for dinner.”
“I would love to,” The young togruta woman smiled. “I’ll need some time change into more comfortable clothes though.”
“That’s fine, I’ll need some time to change also,” Jahan looked at his wrist chrono. “It’ll be about five by the time we land on Nar Shaddaa, would seven o’ clock work?”
“Seven o’ clock would be fine,” Ashani agreed. “What did you have in mind for dinner?”
“I don’t know Nar Shaddaa very well, but I’ve heard of a restaurant in the Corellian sector called ‘La’mour’ that’s gotten some good reviews.”
“Oh yeah, I live a block from that place,” Ashani cheerily bounced. “That sounds like fun, I love twi’leki food.”
“Splendid, then it’s settled,” Jahan smiled. “Now, if I may impose upon you for your communicator code.”
“Sure,” The young lady pulled a napkin and a pen from the small black apron tied around her waist. “This is my apartment’s com-link, contact me the first chance you get.” She then set the napkin on the tray table in front of him. “Talk to you later, Jahan.”
As the young lady sashayed toward the forward galley, he glanced at her toned legs and firm buttocks. He then pocketed the napkin, sat back in his seat and thought about his plans for the night. First, he would have contact the old man; tell him that he made it to Nar Shaddaa and how things went on Tatooine. Then he would shower and change clothes for his date. Then, with a little luck, if the date went well, he could take Ashani up to his suite for a little night cap. It definitely seemed to be a possibility; he’d always heard that togruta’s that used alaki pearls in their headdress were more adventurous and free of spirit. No matter what happened, she would certainly make for an entertaining evening. After the ship landed and he’d collected his luggage, he took his rented speeder to his hotel and immediately contacted Armand Isard, head of Imperial Intelligence, on the holo-com.
“Agent Cross, you’re right on time;” Director Isard said as his holo appeared. “I take it everything went well on Tatooine?”
“About as well as can be expected,” Jahan untied his tie. “Thanks to those contacts in Anchorhead, I was able to break up that Rebel gun running ring. I also got a tip on that small Rebel cell on Nar Shaddaa and I took the first flight here. I'll check it out first thing in the morning.”
“Good,” The black haired, red uniformed man approved. “I hope you manage to keep your investigation discreet. The last thing we need you attracting any attention from the Hutts.”
“You worry way too much, Director,” Jahan smiled. “What makes you think I wouldn’t be discreet?”
“Well, that last incident on Serenno doesn’t exactly inspire confidence,” Isard glared at him. “And I could list at least a dozen others, but at least you managed to get to Nar Shaddaa safely. Nobody there really wants to draw attention to themselves, just make sure you keep a low profile. I don’t want to have clean up another one of your messes.”
“Noted,” Jahan took off his sport coat. “Now if, you’ll excuse me, I have a hot date tonight and I need to shower.”
“I should of known,” Isard sighed. “Yet another random floozy you met on en route?”
“Oh, she’s not just any floozy,” Jahan smiled unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. “She happens to be a rather nice togruta space line stewardess with a rather dazzling figure.”
“Well, just be careful. You of all people should know how tricky women can be, especially considering your taste in them.”
“Don’t worry, I will be,” Jahan nodded. “I’ll give you an update as soon I learn more about the Rebel group. Good bye, Director.”
“Good bye, Agent Cross, and do be careful.”
He shut off the holo-com and hopped into the shower.
For his date that night, he decided to go a little more casual than he was on the flight there. He wore a gray sport coat, matching slacks with a blue dress shirt but no tie.
After he had changed, he contacted Ashani and confirmed their plans for the evening. He then signed off and left for the restaurant. When they met, Jahan couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked: aside from the small, bright colored blue pearls that dangled from both sides of her headdress like earrings, she was wearing a low cut, knee length black dress, held a small matching purse and wore a pair of black strappy sandals. They got a table and chatted over dinner. As the night went on, Jahan couldn’t help but admire the young lady with white eye sockets and the three white dots she had on each cheek. She was very intelligent woman with a very interesting appetite.
“I must admit, Ashani,” Jahan said as a human bus boy cleared the table. “I’ve never seen a woman finish a rycrit steak like you have before.”
“Oh, well,” Ashani giggled slightly. “Togruta’s have a higher metabolism than most humanoids, we generally require more protein than most humanoid species. That’s partially why we’re so carnivorous.”
“I can imagine,” He took a sip of the scotch he was nursing. “I’m curious if you don’t mind me asking, why are brain tails shorter than most togruta females I’ve seen?”
“I don’t mind at all,” Ashani rubbed her right brain tail. “It’s due to a recessive trait on my father’s side; it makes the females lekku grow only to about shoulder length.”
“Hmm, I see,” Jahan leaned forward. “Were you ever made fun of for it?”
“Well, the difference didn’t become noticeable until adolescence school,” Ashani shrugged. “By that time, no one cared that much about it, although I would occasionally get jibbed about it. But it was all in good fun.”
“I would certainly hope so,” Jahan smiled. “What did you study when you were at the University of Kiros?”
“I majored in psychology and minored in electrical engineering.”
“Well, that’s certainly an interesting mix of studies,” Jahan’s eyes widened. “Whatever possessed you to study those two subjects?”
“My parents always told me to never limit myself to one thing,” Ashani smiled. “They always said that the more a person knew; the more power they had. I wanted to study more subjects, but didn’t really have the time or money for more school. So now I just learn what I can during what little free time I have. Right now I’m studying textbooks on hyper drive repair.”
“Hyper drive repair,” He looked on, impressed. “I take it you have an interest in starships?”
“A little,” She showed with her thumb and index finger. “Only enough to learn how they operate, I don’t think I could ever fly a starship. The idea of having to pilot through all those hazards like asteroid fields and going around black holes is too nerve racking.”
“You should take a test flight with me some time,” Jahan smiled wide. “I think you’d really enjoy it.”
“Really,” She smiled back. “Are you a professional pilot, Jahan?”
“Of sorts,” He sipped his drink. “I would’ve flown here by myself, but ship was destroyed in a terrible wreck.”
“That’s a shame,” She made a sad face. “I know how much pilots value their ships that must’ve been heartbreaking for you.”
“Not really,” He shrugged. “It was all just metal, bolts and electrical wire. It can be replaced.”
“Well, I just hope no one was hurt.”
“No, no one was hurt,” Jahan lied. “I’m just waiting for insurance to help replace the ship.”
“Oh,” Ashani sighed. “It’s good thing no one got hurt.”
A moment later, the neimoidian waiter placed the check tablet on the table. As Ashani dug into her purse, Jahan extended his arm.
“Don’t worry about the bill,” Jahan grabbed his wallet. “I’ll take care of it.”
“That’s very nice of you,” Ashani pulled her cred card. “But it’s much too generous, at least let me pay my half.”
“That’s unnecessary,” Jahan pulled out his cred card and gave it to the waiter. “I insist on buying you dinner, an intelligent lady like you needs to save money for books so you can become more knowledgeable.”
“Why thank you,” She sighed and dropped her cred card back into her purse. “You’re such a nice gentleman; it’s a shame that this night has to end.”
“Who says it has to end,” He said as the waiter charged his card and gave it back. “If you want we could go back to my place and chat some more.”
“That sounds wonderful,” She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. “Although, I think we could do something more fun than just chat.”
Jahan smiled at that thought as they both got up and left the restaurant.
This is almost too easy, He thought, walking her to his speeder. I can’t wait to get her back to my place.
He drove his speeder to the hotel and when they got out, Ashani immediately grabbed his hand. They walked hand in hand through the lobby, up the elevator and all the way to his luxury suite. As soon as he walked through the door and it shut behind them, she wrapped her arms around him, stood slightly on her tip-toes and kissed him.
“Oh, Jahan,” Ashani said throatily. “You’re the nicest, most handsome man I’ve ever met.”
“You’re certainly the most intelligent and beautiful woman I’ve ever met Ashani,” Jahan kissed her back. “I have a bottle of champagne in the fridge, would you like me to open it?”
“Certainly,” She loosened her grip slightly. “You do that while I go to the ‘fresher and powder my nose.”
She then gave his nose a playful flick, took off her shoes and headed to the refresher. He slipped off his shoes, took the champagne bottle out of the small mini-bar fridge and poured a pair of glasses for him and his date. He grabbed his glass and sat back on the couch, contemplating the young togruta. He thought of the possibility seeing her more after this night. She was so eloquent and well-mannered she would be the perfect partner to be seen at social events with, especially for a non-human woman. But he didn’t know if she would want to go out with him again after this encounter.
I’m not sure she would, He shrugged as he set the other glass on the living room table. No matter, either way she’s going to be a pleasure to be with.
With that thought, the young orange skinned togruta came out and sauntered over to him. She grabbed the remaining glass of champagne.
“You’ve been asking me a lot about me tonight,” She took a sip and rubbed her fingers under his chin. “I would like to ask you something, Jahan.”
“Go ahead,” He said. “What do you want to know?”
“What is it you do, exactly?” She looked at him with her dark blue eyes.
“Oh, I’m just a simple Imperial diplomat,” Jahan shrugged setting his glass on the table. “It’s pretty fun, I get to travel all over the galaxy and help the Empire maintain its relations with different governments. It does get rather tedious sometimes, what with all the politicians bickering and arguing on how the Empire can better serve their interests.”
“Yeah,” Ashani leaned in closer to him, wrapping her right arm around his shoulders. “But that must be exciting to visit such exotic locations and explore places people rarely see.”
“Yes, it is,” Jahan said. “You know, you’re getting awfully comfortable for a woman I just met.”
“Oh,” Ashani sat up. “Please forgive me; it’s just been so long since…”
She waved her left arm and knocked over his champagne.
“Oops,” Ashani held her left hand to her face in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to spill your drink! I hope I didn’t ruin anything.”
“That’s quite alright, my dear,” Jahan chuckled as he pulled out his handkerchief. “It didn’t spill on the carpet, it’s no big deal.”
He took out his handkerchief and dabbed up the small spill.
“Well, the least I could do is get you another,” Ashani grabbed the empty glass. “Then we can discuss our plans for the rest of the night.”
“Sounds lovely,” Jahan smiled as he put his handkerchief back in his pocket.
He watched her as she went over to the mini-bar and grabbed the champagne. Before she poured, he noticed that the young lady reached into her purse and grabbed something. It was suspicious enough that Jahan decided to try and see what she was doing. He padded over to her and looked over her shoulder, spotting a small green bottle in her left hand. He snuck up behind her and grabbed her left wrist, pinning it behind her.
“Hey,” She snarled. “What are you doing?”
“You really should’ve learned how to drug people better,” Jahan grabbed the bottle from her. “Bothan truth serum,” He said examining the bottle. “Looks like you have some explaining to do, young lady.”
“I will explain nothing, you filthy Imperial pig!” She hissed.
“Well, aren’t you feisty,” He laughed. “Perhaps you should have a seat.”
He then dragged her over and shoved her down onto the couch. She turned to try to attack him, but he’d already drawn his blaster from his shoulder holster under his coat and had it trained on her.
“Charming,” She sat down and growled. “Do you always carry a blaster on a first date?”
“I’ve learned that it never hurts to be prepared,” Jahan grimaced. “Something you should’ve learned if you were going to try to drug someone.”
“Makala,” She shouted. “Makala ai gaedai!”
“Oh, a togruti death wish, that’s rather harsh. Of course, I would expect nothing less from a captured Rebel spy.”
“How do you know I’m a spy,” She stared him down. “You have no proof!”
“I have a hunch,” He slowly stepped back toward the mini-bar. “Let’s have a look in your handbag.”
He kept the blaster trained on her and reached out for her purse with his free hand. He dug around in her purse, pulling out her make-up kit, a tube of lipstick, a cred card, and her identity card. He then pulled out his data reader and scanned her identity card.
“You’re wasting your time, Jahan,” The togruta defiantly folded her arms. “You’re not going to find anything. My identification is perfectly valid.”
“That would be true, young lady,” He said as the reader dinged. “If wasn’t a forgery.” He looked at her and gave her a very harsh glare. “For your own sake, I’d suggest you better start talking.”
“Since when do you care?” She stared him down. “As far as you’re concerned, I’m just some random alien floozy! Why would you care what happens to me?”
“If you weren’t so intelligent and graceful I’d agree with your assessment,” Jahan’s voice softened slightly. “But you’re much too smart to be a floozy and you definitely have way too much potential to associating with such filthy scum as the Rebel Alliance. ”
“Typical Imperial,” She scoffed. “You think that just because a group suggests an ideal of government different from the Empire’s, they must be a terrorist. Yet, when that delusional slime ball Palpatine declared the organization of the first Galactic Empire and made himself the leader, nobody seemed to care.”
“That’s where you’re confused young lady,” Jahan walked over to the couch. “The Emperor took control of a collapsing Republic and brought order to a corrupt system. You’d know that if you actually paid attention in school instead of letting your mind be filled with traitorous lies.”
“No, you’re the one that’s confused,” She clenched her teeth and pointed at him. “Your stupid white fur covered head has been filled with lies of the worst kind! The Empire does nothing but lie and destroy those who get in their way!”
“Well, don’t you have a one track mind,” He gave her a curious look. “Why do you hate the Empire so much, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I have a myriad of reasons,” She growled. “With the biggest one being seeing my father murdered right before my eyes by a mindless, cold hearted Imperial death squad when I was a little girl, during Order 66,” Then her lips started quivering and tears welled up in her eyes. “The troopers, they just… shot him because he tried to stand up for a small, force sensitive child that couldn’t defend himself.”
The orange togrutan woman then collapsed on the arm rest and started sobbing. The scene was almost enough to make him have sympathy for her, but he knew that she was a potentially dangerous Rebel agent and had to be arrested.
“My apologies,” He sat down next to her, keeping the blaster on her. “I can certainly understand the pain of losing a loved one. But I’m afraid that doesn’t excuse your trying to drug me.” He stood up and grabbed her left arm. “Come on, I’m taking you in.”
Just as Jahan was about to drag the Rebel spy off the piece of furniture, she grabbed his right arm and flipped him over onto the floor. While he lay dazed on the floor, she stepped on his chest and wrestled the pistol from his other hand. When she stepped off his chest, he reached out, trying to grab her ankle, but she stunned him and he blacked out.
When he awoke an hour later, the Rebel Agent had completely vanished. He picked himself off the floor and found his blaster pistol on the living room table. He grabbed it and used his handheld scanner to check for fingerprints, but it had been wiped clean. He sighed in disappointment, looking out the window at the bright lights that lit up the night on the Smuggler’s moon. What had started as a wonderful night with a beautiful togrutan woman had turned into a dramatic standoff with a very aggressive Rebel spy. Now, he was left to deal with a very unsettling realization: Not only had a very skilled enemy operative escaped, but she would also tip off the rest of the Rebel group on Nar Shaddaa to his presence and they would vacate the moon almost as quickly as the togruta had vacated his suite. He slumped down on the couch and dropped his chin into his right hand, pondering his predicament.
Well, I’ve certainly done it this time, Jahan thought. Three months of investigation, straight down the ‘fresher. The old man won’t like this at all.
Failure
Having alerted the rest of her group to leave Nar Shaddaa, packed everything she could take with her and destroyed what she couldn’t, Tortai contacted Kaalia to see if she could smuggle her off in the Misfortune. She agreed and told her what landing pad her ship was parked at. After they signed off, Tortai pulled on her heavy brown cloak, rushed to her speeder bike and sped off to the spaceport. When she got there, Kaalia was standing at the bottom of the boarding ramp with her arms folded.
“Hey-ya, Tortai,” Kaalia smiled. “So, how’d you get yourself in trouble this time?”
“I’ll explain later,” Tortai said as she walked her speeder bike up the ramp. “Let’s just get out of here.”
After they had left Nar Shaddaa and made the jump to light speed toward the Rebel base on a planetoid near Florrum, Tortai filled Kaalia in on what happened.
“Wow, you really blew it this time,” Kaalia laughed. “I wonder how you’re going explain this to your bosses.”
“Ugh, I don’t want to think about it,” Tortai rubbed her eyes. “It took the Rebel Alliance three years to set up a network on Nar Shaddaa and I ruined it by going out on an unsanctioned mission and getting myself compromised. They’re going to love me back at headquarters.”
“Well at least you made it out alright and gave everyone the heads up,” The red togruta said. “Did all your friends make it off okay?”
“They most likely did,” Tortai sighed. “I won’t know for sure until we get to Florrum. Doesn’t matter, any way you slice it, I’m going to be confined to base for sure.”
“Yeah, but it won’t be all that bad,” Kaalia snickered. “Knowing you, you’ll use your confinement to read more books.”
“That would be a good use of my time,” Tortai smiled slightly. “You know, you should try reading some books, Kaalia. I think it would be very beneficial.”
“Yeah, no thanks, I got tired of reading when I realized that no book would ever make help me make a decent profit.”
“Really,” Tortai smirked. “What about the ‘The Statement of Twi’lek’ we stole from Governor Vergesen? That brought in quite a sum of credits.”
“Yeah, but then I had to avoid Ryloth for over a month,” Kaalia rolled her eyes. “You want to talk about anger; you should have heard Jabba when I told him about that caper. He was livid.”
“I bet he was,” Tortai chuckled. “Well at least you didn’t get thrown to the rancor.”
“Oh, yeah,” Kaalia nodded. “I’m very lucky that he has a small soft spot in his gross, ugly heart for me.”
“True,” Tortai leaned against the table. “It’s going to be a while until we reach Florrum, how about we play some Dejarik?”
“Sounds fine,” Kaalia pointed at her. “But only if you promise not to cheat!”
“As if I would want to cheat at a friendly game of Dejarik,” Tortai smirked. “One of these days, you’re going to have to accept the fact that you’re just a lousy player, Kaalia.”
“We’ll see about that,” Kaalia turned on the game generator. “C’mon, let’s play.”
A week after the incident with Jahan Cross, Tortai was lying on the bed in her quarters with her data pad. She’d explained what had happened on Nar Shaddaa to Director Logan and got a stern lecture over it. Fortunately, all of her fellow spies were able to clear Nar Shaddaa before they could be caught and left virtually left no trace of their existence. For that, her punishment was reduced from a full year of base duty down to only five months. Tortai then proceeded to serve her punishment doing whatever she could to keep the base operational. Fortunately since the planetoid base was so far away from any important systems, the technicians didn’t need much help, which gave her a lot of time to study and put the whole incident behind her.
As she flipped through a book on Sith alchemy, a sad thought haunted Tortai’s mind. The night with Jahan Cross was the first time in years she’d even thought about her father’s tragic fate at the hands of an Order 66 Jedi hunting squad. She set the book aside, grabbed her datapad and pulled up an old holo image of him holding her as a baby. Tortai sighed, thinking about how much she missed her father. He was a man of great character and honor, which was why he’d sacrificed his life in the attempt to save that poor young boy. She was certain he would be very proud of her siding with the Rebel Alliance and for standing up for what she believed in. She looked at the picture and a couple small tears trickled down her cheeks.
“I’ll love you forever, father,” She lightly sobbed in togruti. “May the force be with you.”
“I got to admit, Janna,” Tortai turned to her green twi’lek friend in her matching uniform and head band, using her cover name. “I really don’t understand how you manage to stand in those heels all day. My feet are killing me!”
“My best friend in adolescence school taught me how to walk and stand in heels,” She turned to Tortai and smirked. “You haven’t worn high heels much have you?”
“Hardly at all,” Tortai admitted. “Growing up on Shili, I never really wore regular shoes. I didn’t get my first pair of shoes until I was nine and didn’t wear them all that much except when I went out onto paved roads. I’ve only started wearing high heels on and off for the past two years.”
“Well, then I’ll just have to show you how then,” Kina said as Tortai shut a cabinet. “First off, when you’re standing in heels, you should position your feet so that the heel of one foot is in the middle of the other.”
“Oh,” Tortai looked down and positioned her feet. “Like this?”
“Yep,” Kina looked at her feet. “Also, you should shift the weight between your feet when they get tired so they won’t hurt so much.”
“Alright,” Tortai smiled. “Anything else I need to know?”
“Make sure you keep good posture, which shouldn’t be too hard since you already have that. And when you’re walking, make sure you take small steps. On that last flight from Utapau, you nearly fell over because you took too big a step.”
“Good to know,” Tortai said, shifting her feet. “I just can’t wait to get back home so I take off this sexist garbage, especially these stupid boots.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Kina snickered. “I think you look rather cute in your stewardess outfit.”
Tortai gave her an icy cold glare.
“That’s exactly the point,” She fumed. “I hate dolling myself up just to be the subject of some pervert’s sensual fantasies.”
“Well, we’ll be back on Nar Shaddaa in about six hours,” Kina gave her a pat on the shoulder. “So hang in there.”
Tortai nodded and they started greeting the first group of passengers. Because the company she was working for, Interstar Shuttle; was a low cost carrier most of the passengers were middle class tourists who wanted a cheap ticket. It was very seldom that anyone of any significant wealth booked passage on their ship, which was why Tortai was a bit surprised when she saw a tall, fit, white haired human male in a nice looking black suit with a blue tie. Despite his white hair, the man appeared to be no older than thirty.
“Hello, sir,” Kina greeted him. “Welcome aboard.”
“Thank you,” He said as the line of passengers stopped moving. “You ladies must be glad to be leaving Tatooine.”
“Yeah,” Kina shrugged. “The sunsets are pretty nice, but aside from that, this planet doesn’t have very much going for it.”
“I agree,” The man extended his hand. “Allow me to introduce myself, my name’s Jahan Cross.”
“Nice to meet you, Mister Cross,” Kina shook his hand. “My name’s Janna,” She turned and motioned to Tortai. “And this is my colleague, Ashani.”
“Hello,” Tortai shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“Nice to meet you too, Ashani,” The man looked up at her forehead. “You have a real nice akul tooth headdress, where did you find all those alaki pearls?”
“My family lived close to a lake with a lot of alaki oysters,” Tortai smiled, rolling the small, bead like pearls hanging off the right side of her headdress near her chin. “It was difficult finding and collecting all the pearls, but I think it was worth it considering the beautiful blue sheen they have.”
“I agree, they look most stunning,” Mister Cross looked at her with his sky blue eyes. “They’re almost as beautiful as you are.”
“Oh, why thank you,” Tortai chuckled as the line started moving again. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Mister Cross. If there is anything we can do to make your experience more pleasurable, please let us know.”
“I will,” Mister Cross smiled walking toward his seat. “Nice meeting you, ladies.”
As soon as he left for his seat, Kina turned to her with a playful smile.
“Ooh,” Kina said in a child-like voice. “Looks like somebody’s got herself a boyfriend.”
“Oh, yeah right,” Tortai shook her head. “Just because he noticed my headdress and paid me some compliments doesn’t mean he likes me that way.”
“I don’t know, he did seem to get awfully friendly,” Kina smiled. “I think he might have a thing for you.”
“Possibly, but I think he’s a little too smooth for my taste, though.” Tortai shrugged, turning back to the boarding passengers. “Besides, you know I can only truly love a togrutan man.”
“True,” Kina agreed, scrunching her face in thought. “I can’t quite put my finger on it but something seems oddly familiar about him.”
“Hmm, he was pretty well dressed; maybe he’s some kind of politician.” Tortai shifted her weight on to her right foot. “Maybe I could take a quick break during the flight and look up who he is.”
“Good idea, let me know what you find out.”
Tortai agreed and they continued to help boarding passengers.
The ship departed barely in time to avoid a huge sandstorm that was on the horizon. After the ship made the jump to light speed and they had finished serving drinks and meals, Tortai got her datapad from her crew bag and set to work looking up everything about this “Jahan Cross”. Within moments, the screen lit up with all the information the Rebel Alliance had on Jahan Cross. Kina was on her way back from a routine aisle walk when Tortai called her over.
“No wonder he seemed so familiar,” Kina said as she looked over the information. “He’s a top level Imperial spy.”
“That he is,” Tortai pointed at the screen. “But he’s probably traveling as a Special Envoy from the Diplomatic Service.”
“Hmm,” Kina looked at Tortai. “I wonder what he’s doing traveling to Nar Shaddaa?”
“I don’t know,” Tortai scrolled through the information. “But I can bet you that whatever the reason is, it’s something that’s very important to the Empire.”
“Definitely,” Kina agreed. “I also hear he has a unique taste in women, that’s probably why he was hitting on you earlier.”
“Oh, will you stop that,” Tortai logged out of her account and shut off the data pad. “He’s not that interested in me.”
“Isn’t he,” Kina smirked. “Every time I saw you near him, he seemed to be checking you out.”
“How do you know he wasn’t checking you out?”
“Ashani, please,” Kina stared at her. “When you leaned over to give that boisterous Besalisk man his drink, Mister Cross was too busy looking at your rear to pay any attention to me. I’m telling you, he’s into you.”
Tortai peaked around the galley wall and saw the white haired human in his aisle seat at the rear of the forward cabin, looking at his datapad.
“I don’t know,” Tortai said. “I think I should talk to him a little more before we can draw any conclusions.”
“Well, now’s your chance,” Kina nodded toward him. “Looks like your lover boy could use some more scotch.”
“Right,” Tortai grabbed a small bottle of Corellian scotch from the galley liquor cabinet. “Okay, here I go.”
She then grinned and slowly did her best sashay down the aisle to Jahan Cross’s seat.
“Hi there, Mister Cross,” Tortai cheerily asked. “Would you like me to refill your drink?”
“Of course,” He put down his datapad and held out his glass. “You have a wonderful sense of timing, young lady.”
“Oh, well, I do what I can,” Tortai smiled and poured his drink. “Is everything else to your satisfaction, Mister Cross?”
“Such as it is,” He said as she finished pouring. “The scotch is fine, but that meal left much to be desired.”
“Yeah, Interstar in-flight meals aren’t very good” Tortai shrugged. “I guess that’s progress for you, they make droids that translate almost billions of languages, but space line food tastes worse than ever.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Cross leaned back. “So, brings such a nice and eloquent young lady to being a space line stewardess?”
“Lack of jobs,” Tortai sighed. “It seems that most people tend to think that even togruta’s with college educations aren’t good for anything except servile positions, especially females. I find it rather frustrating.”
“I bet you do,” Jahan folded his hands. “Where did you attend college?”
“I went to the University of Kiros,” Tortai grinned. “It’s really a rather nice school.”
“Yes, I’ve heard many nice things about it,” Cross looked up at her. “It’s a pity that a well-educated young woman such as you can’t find a better line of work.”
“Tell me about it,” Tortai started to turn back. “It was nice talking with you, Mister Cross, but I must be getting back to work. Let me know if you need anything.”
Tortai then gave him a flirty wave and walked to the forward galley where Kina waited in anticipation.
“See,” Kina looked at her. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“He certainly does seem interested in me,” Tortai said. “Although for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Kina asked. “You’re young, intelligent, beautiful, and a togruta. If he gets with you, he’ll be able to put a great big notch in his belt.”
“Why, that sly arrogant pig,” Tortai glared at him. “I’d like to take him down a couple pegs.”
“Me too,” Kina glanced over. “Maybe you could use his infatuation with you to lure him into loving you then you could dump him and break his heart.”
“Nah, that’d take too much time,” Tortai curled her right index on her lips. “Besides, he doesn’t seem to be interested in anything long term. I’m fairly certain that all he wants is a one night stand and I think I should indulge him.”
“Tortai, have you lost your…”Kina’s face lit up with sudden realization. “Oh, I see, you’re playing one of your seduction angles, aren’t you?”
“But of course,” Tortai straightened out her lekku. “I normally don’t like making myself look like a slut, but for the information inside Jahan Cross’s head, I think it’s worth it.”
“Definitely,” Kina smiled. “Just make sure you really get him.”
“Oh, I shall,” Tortai smugly smirked. “I guarantee that by the end of the night, he’ll have no idea what hit him.”
They had a good laugh and got back to work.
A Pleasurable Prospect
Jahan Cross usually didn’t like having to rely on space lines for transportation; he much preferred the luxury of flying his own ship. Unfortunately, his previous ship had been destroyed and since the Empire didn’t have many ships available in the Outer Rim territories, he had few other options. Although, traveling on Interstar wasn’t the most miserable way to get to Nar Shaddaa: the seats, while old, were still very comfortable, they still provided free meals and alcoholic beverages, and they had some of the most gorgeous female cabin attendants in the industry. There was one in particular on this flight to Nar Shaddaa that caught his interest.
Her name was Ashani; she was a young and beautiful orange skinned togruta of average height that had seemed to taken a bit of a shine to him. He didn’t know if it was because of the rumors he’d always heard about togruta women being man hungry temptresses or if it was because of the naturally charming way he had with women, but Ashani couldn’t stop talking with him at every possible chance. She was certainly a fine woman and he wanted nothing more than to spend the night with her rather than all by himself. As she routinely walked down the aisle, he made his move.
“Excuse me, Ashani,” He flagged her down. “I would like to ask you something.”
“Sure thing,” She stopped and looked at him. “Is there something you would like?”
“Just to know your plans for tonight,” Jahan smiled. “You see, I don’t really have any friends on Nar Shaddaa and I was wondering that if weren’t busy after this flight if you’d like to join me for dinner.”
“I would love to,” The young togruta woman smiled. “I’ll need some time change into more comfortable clothes though.”
“That’s fine, I’ll need some time to change also,” Jahan looked at his wrist chrono. “It’ll be about five by the time we land on Nar Shaddaa, would seven o’ clock work?”
“Seven o’ clock would be fine,” Ashani agreed. “What did you have in mind for dinner?”
“I don’t know Nar Shaddaa very well, but I’ve heard of a restaurant in the Corellian sector called ‘La’mour’ that’s gotten some good reviews.”
“Oh yeah, I live a block from that place,” Ashani cheerily bounced. “That sounds like fun, I love twi’leki food.”
“Splendid, then it’s settled,” Jahan smiled. “Now, if I may impose upon you for your communicator code.”
“Sure,” The young lady pulled a napkin and a pen from the small black apron tied around her waist. “This is my apartment’s com-link, contact me the first chance you get.” She then set the napkin on the tray table in front of him. “Talk to you later, Jahan.”
As the young lady sashayed toward the forward galley, he glanced at her toned legs and firm buttocks. He then pocketed the napkin, sat back in his seat and thought about his plans for the night. First, he would have contact the old man; tell him that he made it to Nar Shaddaa and how things went on Tatooine. Then he would shower and change clothes for his date. Then, with a little luck, if the date went well, he could take Ashani up to his suite for a little night cap. It definitely seemed to be a possibility; he’d always heard that togruta’s that used alaki pearls in their headdress were more adventurous and free of spirit. No matter what happened, she would certainly make for an entertaining evening. After the ship landed and he’d collected his luggage, he took his rented speeder to his hotel and immediately contacted Armand Isard, head of Imperial Intelligence, on the holo-com.
“Agent Cross, you’re right on time;” Director Isard said as his holo appeared. “I take it everything went well on Tatooine?”
“About as well as can be expected,” Jahan untied his tie. “Thanks to those contacts in Anchorhead, I was able to break up that Rebel gun running ring. I also got a tip on that small Rebel cell on Nar Shaddaa and I took the first flight here. I'll check it out first thing in the morning.”
“Good,” The black haired, red uniformed man approved. “I hope you manage to keep your investigation discreet. The last thing we need you attracting any attention from the Hutts.”
“You worry way too much, Director,” Jahan smiled. “What makes you think I wouldn’t be discreet?”
“Well, that last incident on Serenno doesn’t exactly inspire confidence,” Isard glared at him. “And I could list at least a dozen others, but at least you managed to get to Nar Shaddaa safely. Nobody there really wants to draw attention to themselves, just make sure you keep a low profile. I don’t want to have clean up another one of your messes.”
“Noted,” Jahan took off his sport coat. “Now if, you’ll excuse me, I have a hot date tonight and I need to shower.”
“I should of known,” Isard sighed. “Yet another random floozy you met on en route?”
“Oh, she’s not just any floozy,” Jahan smiled unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. “She happens to be a rather nice togruta space line stewardess with a rather dazzling figure.”
“Well, just be careful. You of all people should know how tricky women can be, especially considering your taste in them.”
“Don’t worry, I will be,” Jahan nodded. “I’ll give you an update as soon I learn more about the Rebel group. Good bye, Director.”
“Good bye, Agent Cross, and do be careful.”
He shut off the holo-com and hopped into the shower.
For his date that night, he decided to go a little more casual than he was on the flight there. He wore a gray sport coat, matching slacks with a blue dress shirt but no tie.
After he had changed, he contacted Ashani and confirmed their plans for the evening. He then signed off and left for the restaurant. When they met, Jahan couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked: aside from the small, bright colored blue pearls that dangled from both sides of her headdress like earrings, she was wearing a low cut, knee length black dress, held a small matching purse and wore a pair of black strappy sandals. They got a table and chatted over dinner. As the night went on, Jahan couldn’t help but admire the young lady with white eye sockets and the three white dots she had on each cheek. She was very intelligent woman with a very interesting appetite.
“I must admit, Ashani,” Jahan said as a human bus boy cleared the table. “I’ve never seen a woman finish a rycrit steak like you have before.”
“Oh, well,” Ashani giggled slightly. “Togruta’s have a higher metabolism than most humanoids, we generally require more protein than most humanoid species. That’s partially why we’re so carnivorous.”
“I can imagine,” He took a sip of the scotch he was nursing. “I’m curious if you don’t mind me asking, why are brain tails shorter than most togruta females I’ve seen?”
“I don’t mind at all,” Ashani rubbed her right brain tail. “It’s due to a recessive trait on my father’s side; it makes the females lekku grow only to about shoulder length.”
“Hmm, I see,” Jahan leaned forward. “Were you ever made fun of for it?”
“Well, the difference didn’t become noticeable until adolescence school,” Ashani shrugged. “By that time, no one cared that much about it, although I would occasionally get jibbed about it. But it was all in good fun.”
“I would certainly hope so,” Jahan smiled. “What did you study when you were at the University of Kiros?”
“I majored in psychology and minored in electrical engineering.”
“Well, that’s certainly an interesting mix of studies,” Jahan’s eyes widened. “Whatever possessed you to study those two subjects?”
“My parents always told me to never limit myself to one thing,” Ashani smiled. “They always said that the more a person knew; the more power they had. I wanted to study more subjects, but didn’t really have the time or money for more school. So now I just learn what I can during what little free time I have. Right now I’m studying textbooks on hyper drive repair.”
“Hyper drive repair,” He looked on, impressed. “I take it you have an interest in starships?”
“A little,” She showed with her thumb and index finger. “Only enough to learn how they operate, I don’t think I could ever fly a starship. The idea of having to pilot through all those hazards like asteroid fields and going around black holes is too nerve racking.”
“You should take a test flight with me some time,” Jahan smiled wide. “I think you’d really enjoy it.”
“Really,” She smiled back. “Are you a professional pilot, Jahan?”
“Of sorts,” He sipped his drink. “I would’ve flown here by myself, but ship was destroyed in a terrible wreck.”
“That’s a shame,” She made a sad face. “I know how much pilots value their ships that must’ve been heartbreaking for you.”
“Not really,” He shrugged. “It was all just metal, bolts and electrical wire. It can be replaced.”
“Well, I just hope no one was hurt.”
“No, no one was hurt,” Jahan lied. “I’m just waiting for insurance to help replace the ship.”
“Oh,” Ashani sighed. “It’s good thing no one got hurt.”
A moment later, the neimoidian waiter placed the check tablet on the table. As Ashani dug into her purse, Jahan extended his arm.
“Don’t worry about the bill,” Jahan grabbed his wallet. “I’ll take care of it.”
“That’s very nice of you,” Ashani pulled her cred card. “But it’s much too generous, at least let me pay my half.”
“That’s unnecessary,” Jahan pulled out his cred card and gave it to the waiter. “I insist on buying you dinner, an intelligent lady like you needs to save money for books so you can become more knowledgeable.”
“Why thank you,” She sighed and dropped her cred card back into her purse. “You’re such a nice gentleman; it’s a shame that this night has to end.”
“Who says it has to end,” He said as the waiter charged his card and gave it back. “If you want we could go back to my place and chat some more.”
“That sounds wonderful,” She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. “Although, I think we could do something more fun than just chat.”
Jahan smiled at that thought as they both got up and left the restaurant.
This is almost too easy, He thought, walking her to his speeder. I can’t wait to get her back to my place.
He drove his speeder to the hotel and when they got out, Ashani immediately grabbed his hand. They walked hand in hand through the lobby, up the elevator and all the way to his luxury suite. As soon as he walked through the door and it shut behind them, she wrapped her arms around him, stood slightly on her tip-toes and kissed him.
“Oh, Jahan,” Ashani said throatily. “You’re the nicest, most handsome man I’ve ever met.”
“You’re certainly the most intelligent and beautiful woman I’ve ever met Ashani,” Jahan kissed her back. “I have a bottle of champagne in the fridge, would you like me to open it?”
“Certainly,” She loosened her grip slightly. “You do that while I go to the ‘fresher and powder my nose.”
She then gave his nose a playful flick, took off her shoes and headed to the refresher. He slipped off his shoes, took the champagne bottle out of the small mini-bar fridge and poured a pair of glasses for him and his date. He grabbed his glass and sat back on the couch, contemplating the young togruta. He thought of the possibility seeing her more after this night. She was so eloquent and well-mannered she would be the perfect partner to be seen at social events with, especially for a non-human woman. But he didn’t know if she would want to go out with him again after this encounter.
I’m not sure she would, He shrugged as he set the other glass on the living room table. No matter, either way she’s going to be a pleasure to be with.
With that thought, the young orange skinned togruta came out and sauntered over to him. She grabbed the remaining glass of champagne.
“You’ve been asking me a lot about me tonight,” She took a sip and rubbed her fingers under his chin. “I would like to ask you something, Jahan.”
“Go ahead,” He said. “What do you want to know?”
“What is it you do, exactly?” She looked at him with her dark blue eyes.
“Oh, I’m just a simple Imperial diplomat,” Jahan shrugged setting his glass on the table. “It’s pretty fun, I get to travel all over the galaxy and help the Empire maintain its relations with different governments. It does get rather tedious sometimes, what with all the politicians bickering and arguing on how the Empire can better serve their interests.”
“Yeah,” Ashani leaned in closer to him, wrapping her right arm around his shoulders. “But that must be exciting to visit such exotic locations and explore places people rarely see.”
“Yes, it is,” Jahan said. “You know, you’re getting awfully comfortable for a woman I just met.”
“Oh,” Ashani sat up. “Please forgive me; it’s just been so long since…”
She waved her left arm and knocked over his champagne.
“Oops,” Ashani held her left hand to her face in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to spill your drink! I hope I didn’t ruin anything.”
“That’s quite alright, my dear,” Jahan chuckled as he pulled out his handkerchief. “It didn’t spill on the carpet, it’s no big deal.”
He took out his handkerchief and dabbed up the small spill.
“Well, the least I could do is get you another,” Ashani grabbed the empty glass. “Then we can discuss our plans for the rest of the night.”
“Sounds lovely,” Jahan smiled as he put his handkerchief back in his pocket.
He watched her as she went over to the mini-bar and grabbed the champagne. Before she poured, he noticed that the young lady reached into her purse and grabbed something. It was suspicious enough that Jahan decided to try and see what she was doing. He padded over to her and looked over her shoulder, spotting a small green bottle in her left hand. He snuck up behind her and grabbed her left wrist, pinning it behind her.
“Hey,” She snarled. “What are you doing?”
“You really should’ve learned how to drug people better,” Jahan grabbed the bottle from her. “Bothan truth serum,” He said examining the bottle. “Looks like you have some explaining to do, young lady.”
“I will explain nothing, you filthy Imperial pig!” She hissed.
“Well, aren’t you feisty,” He laughed. “Perhaps you should have a seat.”
He then dragged her over and shoved her down onto the couch. She turned to try to attack him, but he’d already drawn his blaster from his shoulder holster under his coat and had it trained on her.
“Charming,” She sat down and growled. “Do you always carry a blaster on a first date?”
“I’ve learned that it never hurts to be prepared,” Jahan grimaced. “Something you should’ve learned if you were going to try to drug someone.”
“Makala,” She shouted. “Makala ai gaedai!”
“Oh, a togruti death wish, that’s rather harsh. Of course, I would expect nothing less from a captured Rebel spy.”
“How do you know I’m a spy,” She stared him down. “You have no proof!”
“I have a hunch,” He slowly stepped back toward the mini-bar. “Let’s have a look in your handbag.”
He kept the blaster trained on her and reached out for her purse with his free hand. He dug around in her purse, pulling out her make-up kit, a tube of lipstick, a cred card, and her identity card. He then pulled out his data reader and scanned her identity card.
“You’re wasting your time, Jahan,” The togruta defiantly folded her arms. “You’re not going to find anything. My identification is perfectly valid.”
“That would be true, young lady,” He said as the reader dinged. “If wasn’t a forgery.” He looked at her and gave her a very harsh glare. “For your own sake, I’d suggest you better start talking.”
“Since when do you care?” She stared him down. “As far as you’re concerned, I’m just some random alien floozy! Why would you care what happens to me?”
“If you weren’t so intelligent and graceful I’d agree with your assessment,” Jahan’s voice softened slightly. “But you’re much too smart to be a floozy and you definitely have way too much potential to associating with such filthy scum as the Rebel Alliance. ”
“Typical Imperial,” She scoffed. “You think that just because a group suggests an ideal of government different from the Empire’s, they must be a terrorist. Yet, when that delusional slime ball Palpatine declared the organization of the first Galactic Empire and made himself the leader, nobody seemed to care.”
“That’s where you’re confused young lady,” Jahan walked over to the couch. “The Emperor took control of a collapsing Republic and brought order to a corrupt system. You’d know that if you actually paid attention in school instead of letting your mind be filled with traitorous lies.”
“No, you’re the one that’s confused,” She clenched her teeth and pointed at him. “Your stupid white fur covered head has been filled with lies of the worst kind! The Empire does nothing but lie and destroy those who get in their way!”
“Well, don’t you have a one track mind,” He gave her a curious look. “Why do you hate the Empire so much, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I have a myriad of reasons,” She growled. “With the biggest one being seeing my father murdered right before my eyes by a mindless, cold hearted Imperial death squad when I was a little girl, during Order 66,” Then her lips started quivering and tears welled up in her eyes. “The troopers, they just… shot him because he tried to stand up for a small, force sensitive child that couldn’t defend himself.”
The orange togrutan woman then collapsed on the arm rest and started sobbing. The scene was almost enough to make him have sympathy for her, but he knew that she was a potentially dangerous Rebel agent and had to be arrested.
“My apologies,” He sat down next to her, keeping the blaster on her. “I can certainly understand the pain of losing a loved one. But I’m afraid that doesn’t excuse your trying to drug me.” He stood up and grabbed her left arm. “Come on, I’m taking you in.”
Just as Jahan was about to drag the Rebel spy off the piece of furniture, she grabbed his right arm and flipped him over onto the floor. While he lay dazed on the floor, she stepped on his chest and wrestled the pistol from his other hand. When she stepped off his chest, he reached out, trying to grab her ankle, but she stunned him and he blacked out.
When he awoke an hour later, the Rebel Agent had completely vanished. He picked himself off the floor and found his blaster pistol on the living room table. He grabbed it and used his handheld scanner to check for fingerprints, but it had been wiped clean. He sighed in disappointment, looking out the window at the bright lights that lit up the night on the Smuggler’s moon. What had started as a wonderful night with a beautiful togrutan woman had turned into a dramatic standoff with a very aggressive Rebel spy. Now, he was left to deal with a very unsettling realization: Not only had a very skilled enemy operative escaped, but she would also tip off the rest of the Rebel group on Nar Shaddaa to his presence and they would vacate the moon almost as quickly as the togruta had vacated his suite. He slumped down on the couch and dropped his chin into his right hand, pondering his predicament.
Well, I’ve certainly done it this time, Jahan thought. Three months of investigation, straight down the ‘fresher. The old man won’t like this at all.
Failure
Having alerted the rest of her group to leave Nar Shaddaa, packed everything she could take with her and destroyed what she couldn’t, Tortai contacted Kaalia to see if she could smuggle her off in the Misfortune. She agreed and told her what landing pad her ship was parked at. After they signed off, Tortai pulled on her heavy brown cloak, rushed to her speeder bike and sped off to the spaceport. When she got there, Kaalia was standing at the bottom of the boarding ramp with her arms folded.
“Hey-ya, Tortai,” Kaalia smiled. “So, how’d you get yourself in trouble this time?”
“I’ll explain later,” Tortai said as she walked her speeder bike up the ramp. “Let’s just get out of here.”
After they had left Nar Shaddaa and made the jump to light speed toward the Rebel base on a planetoid near Florrum, Tortai filled Kaalia in on what happened.
“Wow, you really blew it this time,” Kaalia laughed. “I wonder how you’re going explain this to your bosses.”
“Ugh, I don’t want to think about it,” Tortai rubbed her eyes. “It took the Rebel Alliance three years to set up a network on Nar Shaddaa and I ruined it by going out on an unsanctioned mission and getting myself compromised. They’re going to love me back at headquarters.”
“Well at least you made it out alright and gave everyone the heads up,” The red togruta said. “Did all your friends make it off okay?”
“They most likely did,” Tortai sighed. “I won’t know for sure until we get to Florrum. Doesn’t matter, any way you slice it, I’m going to be confined to base for sure.”
“Yeah, but it won’t be all that bad,” Kaalia snickered. “Knowing you, you’ll use your confinement to read more books.”
“That would be a good use of my time,” Tortai smiled slightly. “You know, you should try reading some books, Kaalia. I think it would be very beneficial.”
“Yeah, no thanks, I got tired of reading when I realized that no book would ever make help me make a decent profit.”
“Really,” Tortai smirked. “What about the ‘The Statement of Twi’lek’ we stole from Governor Vergesen? That brought in quite a sum of credits.”
“Yeah, but then I had to avoid Ryloth for over a month,” Kaalia rolled her eyes. “You want to talk about anger; you should have heard Jabba when I told him about that caper. He was livid.”
“I bet he was,” Tortai chuckled. “Well at least you didn’t get thrown to the rancor.”
“Oh, yeah,” Kaalia nodded. “I’m very lucky that he has a small soft spot in his gross, ugly heart for me.”
“True,” Tortai leaned against the table. “It’s going to be a while until we reach Florrum, how about we play some Dejarik?”
“Sounds fine,” Kaalia pointed at her. “But only if you promise not to cheat!”
“As if I would want to cheat at a friendly game of Dejarik,” Tortai smirked. “One of these days, you’re going to have to accept the fact that you’re just a lousy player, Kaalia.”
“We’ll see about that,” Kaalia turned on the game generator. “C’mon, let’s play.”
A week after the incident with Jahan Cross, Tortai was lying on the bed in her quarters with her data pad. She’d explained what had happened on Nar Shaddaa to Director Logan and got a stern lecture over it. Fortunately, all of her fellow spies were able to clear Nar Shaddaa before they could be caught and left virtually left no trace of their existence. For that, her punishment was reduced from a full year of base duty down to only five months. Tortai then proceeded to serve her punishment doing whatever she could to keep the base operational. Fortunately since the planetoid base was so far away from any important systems, the technicians didn’t need much help, which gave her a lot of time to study and put the whole incident behind her.
As she flipped through a book on Sith alchemy, a sad thought haunted Tortai’s mind. The night with Jahan Cross was the first time in years she’d even thought about her father’s tragic fate at the hands of an Order 66 Jedi hunting squad. She set the book aside, grabbed her datapad and pulled up an old holo image of him holding her as a baby. Tortai sighed, thinking about how much she missed her father. He was a man of great character and honor, which was why he’d sacrificed his life in the attempt to save that poor young boy. She was certain he would be very proud of her siding with the Rebel Alliance and for standing up for what she believed in. She looked at the picture and a couple small tears trickled down her cheeks.
“I’ll love you forever, father,” She lightly sobbed in togruti. “May the force be with you.”
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I decided to do a little bit of a James Bond rip-off with my spy OC Tortai Haar featuring Jahan Cross. I thought it was a fun idea since I make Tortai out to be kind of like a Bond girl and her meeting Jahan would work perfectly into my stories timeline. Plus I felt like writing more about Tortai.
Takes place in 3 BBY.
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this could be called the Togruta that loved me.