Ask Bring Me The Bill, Please

[Natalie Hope]

Per my new, totally not stolen, OP template, thread is Death-Enabled.​

Billbringi, a planet that sounded like a Jawa asking for their bill. BILLBRINGI! Natalie chuckled to herself, lounged about across the couch in the main area of the light freighter. After all the things they were able to accomplish for the Jedi Crusades, it wasn’t too hard to find a few stapping young lads to do the piloting and ship security for them. And by not too hard to find Natalie definitely meant she went to the military and got a volunteer airspeeder pilot and a fireteam of volunteer riflemen.

Natalie had thought the extra presence of sentient beings would make space travel less lonely, but man was she wrong. She already wanted to punch Romero in the face. If she had to listen to one more bout about landspeeder torque and engine power, there was a non-zero chance they were going to find out what a lightsaber sized hole in the bulkhead of a ship out in space would do.

Luckily for everyone involved, the pilot called over the intercom that they were arriving. Natalie chuckled again. She could not get over the name, Billbringi. Bring me the bill jokes were probably punishable by death, if she had to guess. Means she had to make at least three of them before leaving.

The pilot came out of the cockpit and began performing maintenance around the ship, a clear sign that they had landed. Natalie got to her feet and stretched upwards. Her custom, olive-drab blast vest covered a long, black, sleeveless tunic over her torso, leaving her arms completely bare but her core body protected. To keep things in place, a tactical belt wrapped around her hips. Her lightsaber was clipped at the right hip of the belt, her new TacSpork next to it. The rest of the belt was made of a small medical pouch, and a couple of thermal detonators. Between the killik queen and Ord Mantell, Natalie was done not having grenades. The tail of her black tunic fell far below the belt, reaching the back of her knees, and a pair of tight, brown leather trousers covered her legs. A pair of Mantellian gators protected her shins and ankles as well as covered anyway to get into her comfortable, low-top boots.

Natalie tied her chestnut hair into a ponytail as she made her way to the ramp. "Keep the ship secure, you know what to do," she said as she passed the fireteam of soldiers. They gave her a nod and brought their blaster rifles a little closer than they were. As the ramp lowered, Natalie waited, stretching again. She looked ready for war, but in almost every mission she'd ever had, not being ready for war had been a lesson learned in I-wish-I-had-armor-and-grenades. Never play gizka with Crusaderlations 10:1. Anyway, no use in heading off without Vanya. Natalie being the one that usually did the talking, she already set up a meeting with the president of the planet, so they'd start planet side and move to the shipyards if needed.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya had already gotten to Bilbringi early because she wanted a new ship. She spent so much time flying around the galaxy in the old, rickety hand me down that looked like it was about to burst apart, that she had decided it might be time for an upgrade.

Of course, she didn't really like shopping for ships, so she had eventually thrown up her hands in frustration and marched over to where she was supposed to meet Natalie with absolutely no success thus far in finding a ship.

Wearing her typical, practical clothes, Vanya saw that Natalie looked like she had come ready to plod through the trenches of Ord Mantell again.

Are you implying that every mission you come on with me ends in a fight? she asked, suppressing a smile and knowing full well the answer to that. Yes, pretty much everything Vanya did ended up with stabbing someone.

How've you been? she asked, finally breaking into a smile at seeing her friend.

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie's lips spread into her infamous shit-eating grin the moment her hazel eyes laid on Vanya. "Well, let's see..." she said, starting down the ramp. "First there was Molly, then goat-man-thing, then there was Tython which counts as a fight because that one guy said no, the killik queen, and then Ord Mantell." Natalie counted on her fingers, keeping her grin the entire way down. "You just add a little bit of spice to what would otherwise be a boring diplomatic mission, is all." As she reached the bottom of the ramp, Natalie gave Vanya a quick hug. She was still riding the high of actually liberating Ord Mantell.

"Busy. Been working with the Mantellian Defense Corps to clean up Ord Mantell. Kicking the Cartel out is the easy part. I still have no idea what we're going to do with the Scraplands," Natalie said, shaking her head. She motioned for Vanya to walk with her and started toward the presidential building down the road. "There's enough scrap from the Clone Wars and the Civil War afterwards alone that we could build any kind of factory or shipyard we want."

"What about you?" she asked, glancing over to her friend. Natalie would wait for Vanya to answer, but remembered something. "Oh right! I almost forgot! I got you something." Natalie reached into a pocket and pulled out small, lightweight pair of phrik knuckles. "Phrik knuckles, from Ord Mantell. It doesn't repay you for helping liberate it, but at least you won't have to worry about what you're punching." The shit-eating grin returned as she handed the knuckles to Vanya. It was a small gift, and one that didn't even need to be used, but it was a Mantellian gift.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Oh, this isn't a diplomatic mission, she corrected quickly. Yes, well, as it turned out this was still Vanya and she didn't do diplomacy.

We're actually here hunting criminals, she added, only confirming what Natalie had just moments ago said: the Nightsister added spice to everything.

She was glad to hear that Natalie was starting to get things up and running on Ord Mantell, and it occurred to Vanya that... maybe they were actually doing some good on these worlds. It was probably terrible and selfish that her primary motivation had been to recruit them into the army, but now she was seeing the good that was coming from them actually solving the planet's problems. Was this... what it had historically felt like to be a Jedi? Sometimes she envied the Jedi of the High Republic and their... togetherness.

Vanya didn't even have a chance to answer the question before Natalie had launched into a comment about a new gift. Her eyes widened in excitement, and the gift itself only improved that.

Wow, these are so cool! she exclaimed, trying them on for size and clenching them in her fist before throwing several short jabs to the air.

I love them!

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie watched Vanya give a few air jabs, beaming that the gift went over so well. She normally wasn't one for gifts, but she'd been through a lot with Vanya. There was more to go through still, as neither of the two Jedi were done. Natalie dearly wanted to see the knuckles in use by Vanya. Oh how awesome it would have been to see Molly get her killik owned face punched by them.

"I'm glad!" Natalie said, still beaming from ear to ear. "So, how have you been?" She hadn't meant to cut her friend off, but knowing herself she would have forgotten. Forgetting could have been no big deal, but they were Jedi and Jedi on the move at that. Their life expectency wasn't exactly as high as Natalie would have hoped. One day your friends could be right next to you, the next they could be in the dirt and mud. Natalie stayed quiet while Vanya spoke, waiting until after she was done before circling back around to the criminal chasing.

"Criminal hunting sounds fun," Natalie said. "I take it we don't need to talk to the president, then?" If Vanya had already gathered enough information to work off of, they could get right to it. Natalie preferred it that way. She'd sat through enough meetings in the last couple of weeks to never want to sit in one again. It was like Padawan classes all over again. Pretty sure she fell asleep in a meeting about where to focus spending. Then a thought occurred.

"These criminals don't have control of the shipyards, do they?"

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya thought about what she had been up to lately and it was just... the usual Jedi stuff, really. Oh you know: hunting Dark Side cults, fighting pirates... the usual, she said with a snort. The fact that that was the "usual" and "mundane" really told the story of something wrong with Vanya's life, probably.

I think I need to find someone from the old Diplomatic Core to be my personal diplomat, she said thoughtfully after Natalie mentioned talking to the president. Someone who can just do all of the rubbing shoulders and meeting with high society, she said. She knew she wasn't really the type for smooth talking and was more than a little abrasive to most people most of the time.

Well, not exactly, she said. There's a pirate group that has been making raids on the shipments of supplies coming in. The government think there's a traitor in the shipyards who is working with them, she said. A little bit of investigation and a little bit of combat. Sometimes that was all it took, and they had been given security authorization to conduct the investigation as they saw fit.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Ah yes, the age old Jedi tradition of kicking Darkside cult butt and fighting pirates. Seems the more one grew the more dangerous the mundane became, too. Natalie had started with kicking old, or young, hermits out of ruined temples, finding trouble where ever she could find it as a Padawan. Now she was hunting terrorist cells, fighting eternal wars, and occasionally coming face to face with Darkside shit she could never even dream of.

"We had a couple of them in the killik nest, didn't we?" Natalie asked, remembering there being a few Jedi there focused almost entirely on getting the joined out of the queen's chambers rather than fight the queen. Natalie certainly wasn't one of them. She just gave a pair of knuckles as a gift- that was about diplomatic as she got. Well... unless it involved drinking. She'd challenge any diplomacy target to a drinking match any day. Ord Mantell was a good training ground for that.

"Well, sounds like we better get up to the shipyards," she said, turning them toward shuttles. If they didn't have to talk to the president, even better. Natalie had brought the team of Mantellians with her, but she'd rather not use them; they'd seen enough on Ord Mantell. "Do we have a plan yet? Last time I had to get to the bottom of something, just letting them know we were Jedi drew all the bad guys to us." Natalie would leave out the part where Lance had them fork over their lightsabers before they did that. This time she'd have Vanya punch anyone suggesting it.

"Best course for pirates with Jedi sniffing around is to get rid of the Jedi, after all."

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Yeah, there's plenty of them around, she said. Time for someone to become Vanya's dedicated diplomat.

I mean... that was kind of my plan, she said with a shrug. "Be a Jedi, get attacked." Maybe not the best recruitment slogan, but it had worked well for drawing out enemies. "Maybe just by your presence the mystery surrounding this threat will be revealed," was the more diplomatic way that Senator Amidala had put it allegedly.

This must be why we're friends, she said with a smile.

Do you know anything about ships? Like buying person ships or... you know... building ships? Or... anything useful? she asked. Vanya knew how to fly, but when it came to actually picking a new ship for herself to call home she was far less useful.

Any tips for picking ships? she asked. She had no idea if Natalie was as ship-girl, but it was worth the ask.

 

[Natalie Hope]

"It's a good plan," Natalie said, nodding. "Glad I brought the armor and thermal detonators this time around. Though... I'm not too sure I like the look of it. We'll see how it works out." Natalie gave herself a bit of a spin, looking down at her get up. She couldn't believe that she actually thought about going back to her simple black robes. They were practical, and she could always hide some armor underneath them. Oh well, too late now.

"We are quite the duo, aren't we?" Natalie grinned at her friend. She'd met a lot of people in the Order, and though friendships formed, few really stuck around. Maybe it was all the danger Natalie found herself in- something it seemed that was quite compatible with Vanya's own way of living.

"A ship..." Natalie said, lifting her eyes to the sky to think. "I wouldn't be able to to tell you the difference between thrusters or hypder-drives, but I usually go for aesthetics. No use having a ship if it isn't pretty to look at, right?" Natalie shot Vanya a grin. Of course, the ship Natalie was using right now was practically issued to her by the Mantellian government, so pretty wasn't really a factor in it. "It depends on what kind of capabilities you need from it, though. I do know that there's much of a middle ground between ships, so if you want something that can fight you'll be uncomfortable when you have to sleep in it, and vice versa."

It was an interesting thought though. With shipyards the Jedi could commission new ships for themselves. Ships that were capable of holding their own in a fight while having a small, simple living quaters in the back. She shook the thoughts away before she went down that rabbit hole. That was for another day.

They made it to the shuttles and Natalie did the talking to secure the two a trip up to the shipyards. At first the security was less than pleased that two armed individuals were approaching, but at the mention of being Jedi they softened. They boarded the shuttle, and a few minutes later the shuttle lurched upwards and they were on their way.

"What kind of ship are you looking for?"

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

You certainly look the part of a Crusader, Vanya said with a smile. Armored up, weaponed out... some people would probably have a problem with the Jedi appearing so much like soldiers, but Vanya certainly didn't. They needed more people ready to fight on the front lines and it was a relief to have at least a couple of friends who were on the same page with her.

That we are. Ready to go out and conquer anything the galaxy throws at us! she declared with a laugh.

Hmm... alright, she said. She couldn't blame Natalie for not knowing much about ships when Vanya, too, knew little about them.

Guess I'll keep looking and investigating, she said with a shrug. Maybe I'll see something here that catches my eye... literally, because like you said, if it doesn't look good... she said with a shrug as if to say "what's the point."

I don't know... something to serve as a mobile home, she said. Probably a yacht or something. But I'd like to not be completely defenseless, so a couple of guns wouldn't be terrible, she said with a shrug. She wasn't the daring pilot that some Jedi were, but she knew how to at least move from point A to B.

As they passed by the security and the hiss of the turbolift began to transport them up into the factories themselves, Vanya was struck by just the sheer size.

Sometimes I forget just how big the galaxy is, she said, looking at the shipyards that stretched through the starry skies for miles, building ships that were hundreds of meters in length.

So how is it going getting the military underway? And having a leadership role? she asked.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

"Sounds like you want a light freighter, then," Natalie said. Her eyes were fixed on the sprawling shipyards above. The thought of filling Ord Mantell's skies with the very same formed a knot in her stomach. She hadn't decided whether it was a good or bad thing yet. "Most don't have automated guns though, so traveling alone could get pretty rough if you get into it." Natalie was kind of glad she had a team on hers, though a droid would do just the same and take up less food.

"I try not to think about it most of the time," Natalie said, lowering her gaze to Vanya. "I don't really like space travel. On land, I'm in complete control of my fate; up here, a lost and found rock zipping through space controls it." Natalie shuddered, and shoved all the thoughts of getting trapped out in the endless expanse of the galaxy down into never-again-please-ville. Thankfully Vanya changed the subject.

"It's going well... I think," she said with a shrug. "We're working on reorganizing the army. Right now the idea is to keep a sizable portion of the assets as the Defense Corps, but form a new offensive component that's small enough to travel with a fleet but powerful enough to handle anything thrown at it. A self-sufficient unit with infantry, armor, artillery, and air power. We just need the ships to transport them. There's some rumors of Mandalorians on Ord Mantell. Figured I'd check that out sooner rather than later." She shrugged again.

"Coordinating them across Ord Mantell is fine. It'll get harder once we spread them out in the galaxy," Natalie said, looking back at the shipyards. "It's nice to be able to use some of my non-physical talents for once."

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya nodded understandingly. Although she didn't feel that way about space, she certainly understood why Natalie felt that way. Space was a dangerous place even if they had largely gained control over it.

Vanya listened as Natalie talked about what she had been doing and it sounded like it was going well. She was creating something of her own and it sounded not only useful and practical, but elite as well. The best of all worlds so to speak.

Sounds exciting. Did they give you a formal rank in their military? she asked curiously. She was guessing it was some honorary title of command, but she could be wrong. The Mantellians seemed to have their own, very stubborn and unique way of doing things. Vanya respected them for it.

As they traveled upward, the turbolift finally came to a stop and the doors opened to reveal a protocol droid.

Good morning. I am TK-1479. Please come with me and I will show you around the station, the droid said before turning and heading on to its task.

They were led through the various corridors before coming upon the "command station" where it seemed all of the oversight occurred. They were greeted by a short man in his late 40s who looked... perhaps a bit peeved to be hosting guests, though he seemed to keep it mostly under wraps. Even so, Vanya could sense the vague discord in his song in the Essence. He wasn't happy to have them here.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

"They wanted to, but I told them that Warden of Ord Mantell was enough for me," Natalie said. She cringed, turning to her friend. "Some of the soldiers have taken up the whole 'Lady Hope' thing." It seemed like yesterday that they were on the balcony of a restaurant, watching nature do naturey things and they were joking about how pretentious the title Lady sounded. Now it was a reality, at least to the enlisted. The last several weeks had borne several fire fights where Natalie taking point with a lightsaber and wielding the Force had saved a number of them. As much as Natalie hated being called it, she wasn't going to take it away from them.

"My first mandate was that any Jedi Knight the requests a unit of Mantellian troopers gets them to command," she explained, showing a shit-eating grin. "So if you ever want or need them, just say the word. Guess we're back to being generals and commanders."

The doors opened, and Natalie was almost thankful they were greeted by a droid. That reprieve didn't last very long though. A man just shorter than Natalie herself was who they ended up in front of. She had to suppress a smirk. Someone was smaller than her! While his demeanor showed no real signs discontent, Natalie could sense his discontent at having to entertain a couple of Jedi. Perfect! Off to a great start.

"Hey, I'm Natalie, and this is Vanya. We're Jedi here to help with a certain pirate problem." Natalie said, giving the short man a smile. Force she hated talking- especially to people.

"And two Jedi alone are going to solve a pirate problem?" the man growled, rubbing her chin.

"Two Jedi have done a lot more before," Natalie said. They've liberated planets, investigated killiks, and all sorts of stuff. Two Jedi was the best team size of all!

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya laughed at the Lady Hope angle, putting her hand to her mouth in an attempt to wipe the smirk off her face. Natalie suffering through that was going to thoroughly entertain her.

Would you like me to start calling you Lady Hope as well? she asked with a grin to match Natalie's typical one.

Looks that way, she said. Yes, they were going to be in the thick of it soon, and Ord Mantell might well be at the forefront.

As they met with the facility supervisor, Vanya felt she was surprised he wasn't more... pleasant. His mannerisms weren't exactly the smooth-talker she would have expected from someone at his level.

Subtle is better until we know what we're dealing with, you know? No point in bringing in the reinforcements until we've figured out what's going on, she said.

Right, well just try not to mess anything up, please. We're on a very tight schedule and I'm a busy man. Ask your questions so we can keep things moving, he said, making a "hurry up" motion with his hand.

Vanya didn't really like him.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie shot a quick glare to Vanya at the suggestion of calling her Lady Hope. Even thinking about the title made her have to suppress her cringes. The worst thing her parents ever did was have the last name Hope. Technically she could change it, but she was committed to it at this point. No, she would suffer the cringes until people everywhere figured out that she was in fact, not lady like at all.

She listened to the exchange between Vanya and who Natalie assumed was the "big man" in charge. Natalie couldn't hide the smirk that curled her lips at the joke she absolutely would not say in front of the man. Calm yourself, Natalie. Jokes on the inside, business on the outside. That's how we talk to people that might have some importance or value. Just like Molly- except maybe less dead and buggy than Molly. Like a Molly that did what they wanted her to do and not what Molly wanted to do! Yeah!

"Well for starters, can I ask your name, position, and what you do here?" Natalie asked. She so wanted to steal a glance at Vanya and share a moment of teasing the man between the two of them, but she suppressed it. Business first, laughing at how this dude definitely punched dry wall as a kid second. Besides, there would be at least ten people who hated this guy, guaranteed.

"Overseer Yarros," the man said, waving his hand dismissively. "I oversee everything and keep things moving. Something I can't do with you two taking up my time." This time Natalie didn't spare the glance to Vanya. With a name and position they could question other, nicer people about the Overseer. That didn't stop Natalie from wanting Vanya to test her new phrik knuckles on the man. Would be quite entertaining. Ruinous for their investigation probably, but entertaining.

"Then I guess we'll leave you be, Overseer Yarros." Natalie bumped the back of her hand against Vanya's before turning fully to the droid. "Do you have the recent records of activity around the shipyards? Personnel records, shift changes, pirate incident reports?"

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya did a slow blink as the man started throwing around his titles, doing her best not to visibly roll her eyes.

You sure don't seem very interested in solving your pirate issue, she said aloud. Interesting. Well thank you for your time, she said, deciding to go for something just slightly antagonistic, but still not entirely wrong. It was strange and set Vanya's warning bells off.

Natalie asked for all the records, but Vanya was already becoming distracted by other things. Namely, the fact that she didn't really want to look through boring records that she probably couldn't interpret anyway.

Instead, while Natalie finished up with the overseer, Vanya just kind of wandered off to look over the shoulders of the workers nearby.

Excuse me, can you not get in the way of my people? You've already insinuated that I'm involved with the pirates, and now you continue to get in the way of my crew, the man said, all scowls and displeasure at this point.

I am investigating. My job is to investigate, she replied. Now my partner and I have agreed to stay out of your way, but that doesn't mean we won't be doing our job still, she said.

He humphed off and Vanya just kind of scowled before turning to Natalie. She was supposed to act like a Jedi, but frankly, there was more Nightsister in her than anything, and these people got on her nerves. Nothing like trying to help someone and they whine about it.

I can't tell if he's in on it or just a tool. I think the latter, she muttered grumpily.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

The droid, for its part, had all the information that Natalie requested. The issue was that now that Natalie had the information she would have sift through it by hand, and well... that wasn't exactly Natalie's thing. Honestly, the Jedi duo could do with a couple of droids to do all the fancy not-stabbing-things stuff for them. A little late to bring one now. Besides, droids could be creepy with their beady little flashlight eyes and their proper "sir" and "madam" speak. No one up to any good says "sir" or "madam."

All the same, the information was in hand so they could correlate stories with time cards, and such. If the Overseer would mind his own business now that they were, for the most part, done with him. Unless Vanya wanted to sock him. Natalie snickered as she turned to her friend- she would totally look the other way if that were the case.

"A guy with a stick that far up his ass wouldn't have the time of day for pirates," she said, giving Vanya a smile and lowering her voice to a whisper. "I won't tell anyone if you miss a punch on a bad guy that ends up in his face, though." Natalie winked and turned to the command center operators, moving down the line slowly as she looked over each one's shoulders. Their terminals showed all manner of information and data, mostly about starships. It wasn't until one had his lunch out in front of him that Natalie stopped.

"What's that?" she asked. The man turned, surprised by the intrusion to see Natalie pointing at his container of food. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious.

"Oh um... it's a cheesy... meat pie?" the man said, slightly confused as to why a woman dressed for war was asking for food. Natalie's stomach growled, but she played it off and smiled at the man.

"That's a native thing?"

"Uh, well... yeah. You aren't from here? How did you get up here?"

Natalie shot a glance to Vanya, then back to the man. She leaned over, bracing herself on the desk he worked at, shifting her hazel gaze between him and his terminal screen. An ordnance officer. This guy kept track of weapon systems on ships being built. Something pirates would absolutely want their hands on. Her smile warmed toward the man.

"Jedi get special treatment sometimes. Have you noticed anything strange around here? People not showing up for shifts? Stores going missing?" Natalie asked. The man was starting to sweat.

"Uh... no not really. I just um... do my job and then go home." It was an odd way of putting it, but the man was nervous. Natalie straightened out and turned to Vanya. If the Overseer was suspect number one, this guy was definitely right behind him. And certainly not because Natalie wanted his food- that would come after the pirates were dealt with. Natalie started moving across the command center, motioning with tiny hand movements to Vanya to watch the man. If he reached for any buttons, or his screen switched from weapons to communications, it would be one hell of a red flag.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya laughed at Natalie's comment. Don't tempt me, she said. And it was tempting to just... not even punch him, but just give him a good slap in the face. She restrained herself, though.

What gave us away... Vanya asked when the man pointed out that they weren't from around here. Was it Natalie asking about the meat pie? Was it Vanya's face tattoos and pale skin? Was it that Natalie was dressed for war? Was it that they both carried lightsabers? Really this wasn't rocket science... and up here on this platform there was a distinct possibility that this guy actually was a rocket scientist.

Vanya was, unfortunately, slightly oblivious to Natalie's suspicions about this guy and had literally just written it off to the fact that Natalie was wanting his food. It would be a real Natalie move, to be honest.

Come on Natalie, let the man eat his lunch, she said, having completely missed that this guy was being sus. Vanya was already turning to head for the door when the man abruptly locked his data terminal and started heading out of the room.

Sorry, excuse me, I have to use the restroom, he said, and started heading somewhere else. Probably the restroom, right?

 

[Natalie Hope]

"We'll have to try some cheesy meat pie before we leave, though," Natalie said, walking over the Vanya. The man excused himself and disappeared, but Natalie was too focused on seeing what the other side of the room was doing to notice. That was until she turned around, finding the man gone and Vanya very much not looking at him. Oh no... That's even more suspect. Wait, we can use this. Homie runs off to tell his pirate pals that they were snooping around, pirates come to deal with them, wham-bam-thank you-ma'am.

Still... losing sight of the guy wasn't ideal. Natalie rushed over to the terminal, sliding the food away so that she wouldn't be tempted to shove her entire face in the cheesy, meaty, goodness. Her definitely not rudimentary computer skills were no match for the simple lock-out screen and password protection, though. Always train with with the Force, they said. Trusting in the Force is all you need, they said. Oh how a computer or hacking class would have done wonders at that moment.

"I can't get in," Natalie sighed with a hint of defeat, glancing over at Vanya. She turned to the woman that set next to the meat pie man. "Excuse me, who is the guy that works this terminal with you? What's his name and position?"

"Oh, that's Iman, he keeps tracks of weapon systems if any ships have them," the woman said, a worried smile coming over her.

"Is he normally a nervous guy?" The woman shook her head.

"No, quite outgoing, actually," she said, then turned back to her work. Natalie stood up, turning to Vanya with her hands on her hips.

"I'm pretty sure that was the guy we were looking for," she said in a hushed tone. All it would take was one look out into the corridor the man had disappeared to to find that he was no where in sight. "So what now?" As much as Natalie enjoyed the thought of getting to the fun part that involved moving around and lightsabers, not knowing the actual strength of the pirates was uh... well... Ord Mantell didn't raise no bitch so bring it, she guessed.

Spoiler: Coin flip

Homie with the cheesy meat pie was the traitor.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya still wasn't entirely sure what Natalie was doing, and as she lunged over at the computer terminal, she definitely thought that Natalie was lunging at the man's food.

Natalie! she said only to see that she was actually trying to do something on the terminal. She gave a side eyed look at her fellow Jedi, but wasn't really sure what was going on still.

What are you doing? she asked, but as Natalie declared she couldn't get in, Vanya's eyes widened a little and she gave a little head shake.

Don't look at me, I can barely get on the holonet, she said. She'd been amidst the rest of the galaxy for many years now, but still hadn't really taken to technology and was virtually worthless for anything to do with hacking or slicing.

Vanya shot a look back at where the man had disappeared to as Natalie conjectured he was their mole, and Vanya frowned skeptically.

You think? she asked, but that was about all the questioning there was. If Natalie had a sense of it, then it was at least worth looking into for sure, and Vanya didn't waste any more time heading out after him.

Of course, as they emerged from the room and into the long corridor outside it was packed with people, and there was no sight of their sketchy man. A few seconds of trying to catch up and Vanya had still found no sign of him.

Maybe we should head to the security office. See if we can get more eyes and cameras looking for him, she said. More and more, Vanya had found that relying on the local security forces solved a lot of issues they would otherwise have to do themselves, and most of them were willing - if not outright eager - to work with Jedi.