Watch Your Back [Star Wars]

Chapter 3: Test of Dawn

Song of the day is Second Child, Restless Child by The Oh Hellos

Storm spent the next week only working at the cantina. After the disaster that was the last mission he needed a break. Though he needed a mask or helmet for next time. If he got one more comment on his age he might actually explode. Delivering drinks and dishes to and from tables was fun if he let it be. Storm made a game of dodging around patrons as gracefully as he possibly could. Soon enough, he was getting a few friendly questions about his (non-existent) past as a dancer. Unfortunately not all the questions he got were as standard.

"'Scuse me," he mumbled, squeezing past a musician on break.

"Tell me something," the rodian on the same table said, resting a hand on Storm's forearm. "Is it true a-" they lowered their voice, "-crime syndicate showed up yesterday?"

"I have no idea," Storm said honestly.

"Surely somebody would've come here? This is the biggest cantina in the city."

"I don't really get into other people's business. Those that do tend to be at the centre of a brawl." Storm thought back to a few nights ago when accusations of eavesdropping as well as a chair were hurled at a human man.

"If you hear anything, please tell me. Even if it's just the name of the syndicate," the rodian pleaded. Maybe they owed some money to a syndicate?

He gave the rodian a kind smile, "Of course."

Storm resumed his work. He wasn't sure how he was going to find the rodian again if the answers turned up on a difficult day, but by the time he returned to the table with the total of their tab, they had left.

"Hey, Cersei?" Storm asked back at the bar.

She looked toward him with an inquisitive hum.

He lifted himself onto the table and leaned in. "Have you heard anything about a syndicate?"

"Here? No chance. There's nothing on Bandomeer that would interest any syndicate," Cersei laughed. Storm nodded and pushed back off the table.

"Thought so," he muttered. Either the rodian's rumour was right and the syndicate was remaining well hidden or they were overly paranoid. Even so, the question lingered in his mind as he went to sleep.

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"Why don't you take a look at the bounties? A few were submitted last night," Péla said at breakfast. Storm finished chewing on his bacon wrapped sausages before responding.

"Trying to get rid of me so soon?" he joked, grinning cheekily.

"Funny," she dead-panned, then continued, "just because things go wrong doesn't mean you should stop all together. You would be sabotaging yourself."

Storm had only told her that the mission went to shit because he didn't think it through.

"I'm not giving up or anything. I'm on break," he protested. It sounded unconvincing. "A holiday," he added half-heartedly.

Péla gave him an unimpressed look and muttered, "Gullipud," under her breath.

The goad was so obvious but... "Am not!"

"Prove it. You don't even have to take one, just look," she raised her eyebrows challengingly. "It'll be good for you."

"Well there's no point if I don't take one," griped Storm. Ruffled, he slid from the stool and flounced over to the board, pulling out the key. He unlocked it and swung the case open.

At random, Storm pulled off and turned on holos of the bounties. He put back the ones he didn't like, the ones that were really low, or ones on core planets. Also the assassinations went back onto the board, he wasn't doing that anytime soon. But Nar Shaddaa... find and retrieve a weequay with a close range tracking fob provided? It seemed relatively simple and paid twenty thousand. That was a compelling offer. Storm pursed his lips, then sighed. He made his way back to the bar and put the projector onto it.