Nikana: 19 BBY
Hondo's Stronghold
Nakoa Sen

They landed the Mythos a good distance away from the base. Nakoa followed Les off the ship and waited for her to locate the rhydonium warehouses. "Over there." She pointed one out, at last.

Oni sealed the boarding ramp and joined them. "How many will we need?"

"Four. All of the spice warehouses are on that side of the base." Les pointed them out as well. "Once we have them set up, the two of you should go after Baja. I'll blow the rhydonium to cover your escape."

Nakoa narrowed his eyes. "What will you do afterwards?"

Lesia shrugged. "I guess I'll figure that out when I need to."

"Great. And here I thought you might actually be good at planning things," Oni groaned.

Something flickered in Lesia's eyes. Nakoa couldn't quite tell what it was. She turned away, her lekku falling over her shoulder. "Let's hurry before they decide to bring their party outside." She started running towards the rhydonium warehouse.

Nakoa glanced at Oni and shrugged. He took off after Les and heard Oni running behind him. Surprisingly, there were no guards when they reached the warehouse. Les pried the door open and stepped inside. Nakoa's eyes widened.

There were rows upon rows of rhydonium. Several were carefully stacked onto floating hovers. "Who needs this much rhydonium?" Oni wondered aloud.

"A man who has to keep his fleet ready to run in a moment's notice," Les replied. "Hondo is a very wanted man after all."

"Let's get to work." Nakoa activated the antigravity on one of the canisters. He moved it out of the way while Oni grabbed another. Lesia activated a cart that held two canisters already on it.

She closed the door when they left the warehouse once more. Nakoa kept his senses alert and mostly focused on the pirate's stronghold. Music poured through the open windows and doors. There wasn't a person to be seen outside.

Oni fell in step with him. "Where will we take Baja once we have him?" She whispered.

Nakoa glanced at her. "You aren't going to like it." She inclined her head. "His bounty was put out by the Empire. We'll be taking him to one of their command centers."

Oni looked away from him. He could feel the anger that radiated from her. Nakoa waited for her to speak. "We're not taking him to any on Corellia."

"I didn't plan to. I figured we could take him to Lothal. It's close by and currently occupied by the Empire."

Oni sighed, finally. "All right."

Les whipped her head back towards them. "Hush!"

Nakoa fell silent as they reached the first spice warehouse. Les slid the door open and he placed his rhydonium canister in the center of the room. They moved to the next warehouse and Oni set up her canister. Lesia handled the last two.

"Do you have explosives?" Nakoa asked.

"I can steal some from Hondo's armory."

"Just use these." He pulled four small charges off his belt and handed them to her, along with their detonator.

Les nodded and took them. "You should probably make your grand entrance now. I'll set these and blow them in five minutes."

Oni immediately started walking towards the compound. Nakoa remained behind as Lesia set the first charge. She turned, seeing that he was still there. "Thank you," Nakoa said.

"You're welcome. Thanks for getting me off Tatooine."

"I hope we run into each other sometime in the future." Lesia smiled a bit, then returned to her task. Nakoa ran to catch up with Oni.

"What was that all about?" Oni asked.

"I was thanking her."

"For what? She didn't really do much." Oni glanced back.

"She brought us here. She's drawing all of Hondo's attention to herself so we can escape with Baja."

"I think she's someone who is used to being the center of attention. I wouldn't thank her too much."

"You don't have to be rude, Oni."

"Sorry."

Nakoa drew one of his blasters as they neared the stronghold. There were no guards at the door so they entered quietly. True to Lesia's word, the main hall of the building was full of feasting and dancing. There were dancers entertaining the pirates. Droids carried around trays of food and drink.

Hondo himself was seated on a makeshift throne. A Shydopp stood beside him. "There's Baja," Nakoa whispered.

Oni took the lead and wove through the crowd of pirates. They caught a few stares and the number increased as they got closer to Hondo and Baja. Hondo had been watching them for a few moments by the time they reached his throne.

"Mandalorians," he stroked his chin with a hand. "How can I help you?"

"We're here on business," Oni stated.

Hondo tilted his head curiously. "What kind of business? A profitable kind, I hope?"

"Profitable for us, yes."

"So, you're bounty hunters here for old Hondo." He shook his head, clicking his tongue. "You are very bold and very foolish. No bounty hunter has bested me yet."

"We love a good challenge," Nakoa growled, "but we're not here for you. We're here for him." He jerked his head towards Baja Haap.

"Really?" Hondo leaned back in his chair once more and crossed his legs. "Well, come and get him."

Baja turned a horrified gaze towards Hondo, then took off running. Oni whipped up her vambrace and wrapped a fibercord around his legs. The Shydopp crashed to the ground. Nakoa drew his second blaster and waited for the pirates to attack. Just as they began to advance, an explosion rocked the building.

Light flared outside and the earth beneath their feet trembled. Hondo jumped out of his seat. "What have you done?" He snarled at them.

"It wasn't them." Hondo turned, hearing her voice. Les strode into the building, holding a detonator in her palm. "It was me."

Nikana: 19 BBY
Hondo's Stronghold
Lesia Mirri

"Well, I see Jabba's Palace was no match for you," Hondo said as she approached him. Nakoa and Oni held Baja in between themselves.

"I'll admit I had help." Lesia stormed up to him.

"Are you going to tell me what you destroyed or will I have to find out for myself?"

"Let's just say, I hope you already used those four containers of spice that you thought I was worth."

Hondo pinched the bridge of his nose and shook a finger at her. "I don't know if I should be angry or proud." He was silent for a moment longer, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm proud! It seems I'm in need of a new second. Would you like to fill that position?"

Lesia crossed her arms and glared at him. "You traded me for spice. I'm not working for someone I can't remotely trust. I'm here for my belongings and then I'm leaving."

"Fine, fine. I can't say I blame you." Hondo stepped in front of her and pulled her blaster and lightsaber out of his coat. Lesia grabbed them and hid her saber quickly. "All the same, I'll be glad to see you if you ever come back. Now, if you'll excuse me. There will be some very angry people outside and I must put on a show for them." Hondo flicked her chin before breezing out of the room.

Lesia grimaced and crossed her arms. Nakoa and Oni were still waiting with Baja. Oni tightened her grip on the Shydopp as Nakoa pulled away and joined Les. "What do you plan on doing now?"

Lesia sighed. "I don't know. That was kind of a last minute decision."

"Do you know somewhere you can go?"

Les squeezed her eyes shut, thinking. "I'll just find someone who's looking for a smuggler."

Nakoa watched her for a moment longer, then jerked his head towards the door. "We'll take you wherever you need  to go. We have a few stops to make first, though."

Lesia grinned before her gaze flickered to Oni. "Will she be all right with that? I don't think she likes me very much."

"She'll get used to it. Oni is sort of..." Nakoa rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly at a loss for the right word.

"Territorial?" Les offered. Nakoa's hand fell. "Don't worry. I'll be nice..." She smirked, sensing his immediate nervousness. "Enough." She whirled on her heel and followed Oni and Baja out of the compound.

Nikana: 19 BBY
"Mythos"
Nakoa Sen

Nakoa clamped a pair of wrist binders onto Baja and pushed him into a seat. He sat down across from the Shydopp and crossed his arms. The ship jolted as they took off. Oni and Lesia were at the controls. He couldn't help but wonder how it was working out for them.

Oni had not been happy when she noticed Les returning to the ship with them. Still, she hadn't questioned it. He, however, was questioning a lot of things.

I knew Oni liked me, but enough to be...jealous? Nakoa thought to himself. I thought she outgrew that years ago. And Lesia. He couldn't quite decide what to think of her. From what he'd seen so far, she was headstrong and feisty. He just wondered to what extent.

"Where are you taking me?" Baja demanded.

"To the Empire. They're willing to pay a great deal for you." Baja's face fell. "You're lucky your pirate friends didn't know that. They would've cashed in on that bounty long before we arrived."

"Hondo will come for me. He wouldn't leave his second to rot in some Imperial prison." Despite his confident demeanor, there was a tone of anxiety in Baja's voice.

"Are you sure about that? It seems like Hondo was pretty fond of Lesia and yet he traded her for spice." Nakoa drew in a measured breath. That fact still didn't sit well with him. He guessed that she was around his age, possibly a little younger. She was skilled enough, but he doubted even she could have escaped Jabba's Palace on her own.

"He had to get rid of her for her own protection and ours."

"Why?"

Baja lowered his voice and leaned towards him. "Because she's an Imperial traitor."

Nakoa narrowed his eyes and watched Baja suspiciously. "She worked for the Empire?"

"No, she never worked for them."

"Then how is she a traitor?"

"I don't know the whole story. I just know that Hondo said she knows things the Empire would kill for. I assume it means she's a traitor with information that would be damaging to them."

"I guess we'll find out about that. It doesn't exactly change your fate, though." Nakoa pulled out his vibroblade and twirled it in his hand. "It's payday." Baja gulped.