Coruscant: 18 BBY
Feton Ralius' Stronghold
Lesia Mirri

    Feton stood and approached them. He glanced over Nakoa and Oni, his expression giving away nothing. He turned to her and smiled. "Hello there. What's a pretty thing like you doing with the two of them?"

    Les crossed her arms and lifted her chin. "I work with them."

    "Oh, do you now?" Feton hooked a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head from side to side. She sensed anger rush over Nakoa, accompanied by...jealousy?

    Les pulled her head away. "I'm surprised you didn't notice me sooner, given your reputation."

    Feton chuckled, lowering his hand. "I saw you right away, rest assured. For the sake of formality, I had to address the situation first."

    Nakoa stepped in between the two of them. "Can we at least explain things to you a bit more?"

    "Come on." Feton grabbed his helmet and led the way out of the throne room. They headed down a narrow hallway. People pressed themselves against the walls as Feton breezed past. He acknowledged a few of them with small nods, but nothing more. They reached a remote room and entered. Feton dropped into a seat and waved his hand.

    "I met an employee of yours on Nal Hutta," Oni explained. "He said his name was Nevere. He told me that you had sent spies out to monitor Tarek Vizsla. We tracked you down in hopes that you'd tell us where Tarek is."

    Les sat down and crossed her legs. Feton's gaze strayed towards her, although he appeared semi attentive to what Oni was saying. "I may know where he is."

    "Where?" Nakoa exclaimed.

    "Hold on." Feton raised a hand and brought his attention towards him. "Why do you want to kill Tarek? I understand vengeance for our Clan, but why now? It's been..." he counted off on his fingers for a moment, "eighteen years since the attack."

    "That doesn't matter. Don't you want to kill him too? He slaughtered our Clan. He's responsible for the death of my parents."

    "He's responsible for mine too." Feton pursed his lips and closed his eyes, thinking. "I don't need or want revenge. I don't care about the old Clan. All that matters now are the men here with me. If you want to kill Tarek, then be my guest. I'll tell you where to find him."

    "Where?" Nakoa prompted.

    Feton flashed him a smile. "I don't know where he is at the moment. I'll have to get in contact with my spies. That means you get to stay put for the time being."

    "Our ship," Oni began.

    "I'll make sure it stays safe. Those Ugnaughts work for me."

    Of course they do. Les rolled her eyes. Feton noticed the gesture.

    "You, come with me." He pointed at her and stood. Lesia's mouth dropped open in shock.

    Nakoa butted in front of her. "Absolutely not."

    "Relax." Feton patted a patronizing hand on the top of Nakoa's helmet. It was a strange gesture, seeing as Feton was shorter than him. "She'll be safe with me."

    Les stood hesitantly. Feton moved ahead and waited beside the door. Nakoa gripped her arm as she tried to walk past him. "What are you doing?" He hissed. "Remember what we were told about him?"

    Les paused and let her senses brush past Feton. She sensed no malice. Only curiosity and a subtle attraction. "I'll be fine," she replied. His grip tightened on her ivory arm. "Nakoa." He sighed and let go. She followed Feton into the hallway.

    He slid his helmet on as they walked. "A protective fellow, isn't he?"

    "I suppose so." She knit her brows. It seems to be a new development and it's more common these days. She pushed the thoughts aside. "Where are we going?"

    "To talk to one of my spies."

    "A spy on Coruscant?"

    "No." Les followed him out of the compound and towards a few speeder bikes that were parked nearby. She hopped on behind him and they took off through the street. "I can't risk contacting my spies from inside the compound. If someone were to trace the signal back to it, I'd be a dead man," Feton explained.

    "They could trace the signal from anywhere, though," Les pointed out.

    "That's why I contact them from different places every time." He held up a hand and she watched a small comlink disappear between his fingers. "I destroy the device every time too."

    "Smart," she admitted.

    "Smart and attractive. The perfect catch, right?" He glanced back over his shoulder. She was certain that he wore a smirk beneath his helmet.

    They reached an abandoned warehouse shortly. Feton parked the speeder and covered it with some old cloth to keep it from being stolen. They entered the warehouse and he switched the comm on.

    "Holden, do you copy?" Feton crossed his arms and waited for a response.

    "I read you, Boss."

    "What's the status on Lone Wolf?"

    "He abandoned his old ship and left the planet. I've followed him to another planet in the same system. He's hiding out on Wobani."

    "Wobani? Only an idiot would go there now," Feton scoffed. Les stayed silent and tucked the information away for later.

    "There's been no sign of Nevere either. I don't think he ever found Ban."

    "I doubt it. Nevere was dumb enough to get himself captured by the Empire. He's on Kessel. I'll have to send someone after him." Feton sighed and dropped the comm onto the floor. "Keep tracking Tarek. If he moves again, contact me. I've got hunters on his tail."

    "Yes, Sir." The comm switched off and Feton crushed it beneath his boot.

    "Well, there you go. He's on Wobani." Feton faced Les.

    "I should tell Oni and Nakoa."

    "First off, there's the matter of my payment. My services don't come free."

    Les arched an eyebrow. "You should've told us that before helping us."

    "Ah, but then you might not have stuck around." Feton tapped a finger to his helmet. "Lucky for you, I don't want much."

    "Fine. What do you want?"

    "I want you to be my personal guest at a celebration I'm hosting."

    "When?"

    "Tomorrow night."

    "Are you kidding me?" Les dropped her hands onto her hips. "Nakoa isn't going to let us stay that long. He'll want to be after Tarek right away."

    "He'll survive. It will give him time to plan his method for killing Tarek. Besides," Feton's voice took on a dangerous growl. "He'll never learn where Tarek is if you aren't there to tell him."

    Les stiffened at the slight warning. "Fine. You'd better come up with a convincing story about why we have to stay, though."

    "Oh, I have one." Feton placed a hand on her back and steered her towards the door.

Coruscant: 18 BBY
Feton Ralius' Stronghold
Nakoa Sen

    Nakoa paced across the room he and Oni had been shown to. Anxiety was eating away at his mind. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to distract himself. Once more, his hand instinctively reached for his vibroblade, only to close around thin air. Their weapons had yet to be returned to them.

    "She'll be fine, Nakoa," Oni grumbled. She was laying on a bed in one corner of the room. Her jetpack sat on the floor next to it.

    "You heard what Hondo said. I'm inclined to agree with him. You saw the way Feton was watching her."

    "It's terrible when someone new comes along and steals someone from you, isn't it?"

    Nakoa paused and shot her a glare, even though she couldn't see it. He didn't bother to give her a reply. She can be mad all she wants, he thought. At least I was never in danger.

    He paced some more. "I don't like this. They've been gone a while."

    "Calm down." Oni sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "You were the one who wanted to find Tarek in the first place. She's out there appeasing Feton for you."

    "I know." Nakoa sat down beside her and dropped his head into his hands. "I just...I can't believe that's Feton. I knew him when we were kids. He was nothing like this."

    "From what I've heard, you didn't know him that well. He doesn't even seem to remember you. Besides, you were just kids. A lot can change as a person ages."

    Nakoa nodded. "I'm sorry about earlier, too. I could've phrased myself differently."

    "Yes, you could've."

    He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "I don't want you to leave, but you have to start acting more civil towards Les."

    Oni sighed. "I don't know if I can stomach staying."

    He didn't get a chance to reply. The door hissed open and Les entered. Nakoa jumped to his feet and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you all right?"

    "She's fine," Feton said, following her into the room. "We just went to speak with an informant of mine."

     Nakoa glanced at Lesia for confirmation. She nodded. "What did the informant say?"

    "He's been tracking Tarek and knows his planetary location. I'll be able to give it to you the day after tomorrow."

    "What?" He stammered. Les cleared her throat, pulling his attention back to her. Nakoa let go of her sheepishly.

    "The spy only knows what planet Tarek is on now," Les explained. "He's going to get closer and give us an exact location but he needs a little bit of time."

    "So what are we supposed to do? Just sit here?"

    "Of course not," Feton laughed. "I have ways of keeping people entertained. Oh, and Lesia, don't forget to explain my fee to them." With that, he spun on his heel and left the room.

    "His fee?" Oni crossed her arms expectantly.

    "He told me that in exchange for helping us find Tarek, we have to stay and go to a party that he's hosting tomorrow night."

    "That's it?"

    Les looked down and shifted away from Nakoa a bit. "I have to go as his personal guest."

    Nakoa gritted his teeth and shook his head. "No, that's too risky."

    "I already agreed to it. If I hadn't, he would've killed me and taken you prisoner. It will be fine." Les flashed him a smirk. It wasn't exactly sincere. "I've dealt with Hondo and Jabba and come out fine. Besides, my ankles are stronger than they used to be so I could attempt to run."

    "You'd inevitably trip," Oni muttered. She left the room as Les shot her a glare.

    After a moment, Lesia took a step closer to him. "It will be fine. I don't think Feton will try anything rash."

    "He'd better not," Nakoa growled. He sighed, releasing some of the tension within himself. "I appreciate you doing this for me, despite how you feel about it."

    "I may not agree with you on this, but I know it's important to you. I just hope you know what you're doing." Les slid her hand over his shoulder and one side of his neck as she passed him and stepped out of the room.