Guardians of Light

Dangerous Minds

'Hey. You. Same again.'

A grouchy Rhodian pushed his mug across the bar, not even making eye contact with the blonde who was forcing a smile through gritted teeth at the sheer disrespect of the customer. 

'Coming up,' she muttered, reaching below the bar to grasp the alcohol that this particular joyful customer had been swigging for the past few hours. No doubt his vision was swimming as result of the intoxication, but this was not an establishment that would cut off a customer who was willing to pay for more alcohol. 

Some bartenders were even known to charge the unfortunate souls double the price required, pocketing the extra money as a tip for having to deal with such behaviour. As long as the owners got the cut owed to them, they had no issue with the less than moral interaction. 

Despite the infuriating behaviour displayed by the alien, Clarke would not lower herself to such standards and took the correct money, watching with mild disbelief as he grabbed the now full mug, sloshing the contents over the rim before bringing it to his lips, his throat opening in an almost animalistic manner to consume the liquid contents in a few deep gulps. 

Satisfied with his alcohol consumption for the night, the Rhodian half threw the mug back onto the bar and virtually fell from the stool, staggering for a short second to regain his balance before lurching towards the exit, receiving some irritated exclamations from other customers as he bumped into them in the process. 

Clarke shook her head at the display and, not for the first time, wondered exactly what she was doing in this pit of an establishment. 

She had been deployed in Hutta town now for almost three months, slowly but surely gaining the trust of the higher ranking members of the gang who oversaw operations. She had finally been placed in the rundown bar under distant ownership of the Hutt - Voras Jahibakti - who controlled Hutta town. It was under his ruling that the town had become a haven for crime and it was under his operation that the Republic Spy Lana had been working for the past year. 

The prospect of hunting down this woman without alerting the criminals to her true alignment had, at first, appeared to be a difficult task until Clarke had heard rumours of an important meeting involving the more senior members of the gang, now including Lana after enough time and effort infiltrating their ranks. It was the only opportunity Clarke would need to pass on her message to the woman. 

Clarke's new boss, Caleb, one of many underlings loyal to the Hutt, had hired her at the miserable bar, acting as a front face to greet and direct any clients that had business transactions into the back room. It just so happened that the back room would be the location of choice for the important meeting that was to take place at some future time yet to be disclosed to her. She would have to work harder to get those details.  

At the present time, a sinister looking Trandoshan was in the back with her boss, coming to an arrangement over the transaction of highly illegal weapons. Clarke was keeping a mental record of the names and faces that passed through, ready to report her findings back to the Republic in hope of finally being free from their hunt for justice. 

Her shift couldn't have finished sooner and, once the Trandoshan had completed his business out back, the rest of the customers were ushered out so the bar could be closed. 

'Another successful transaction,' Caleb droned from the doorway behind the bar, crossing his arms over a broad chest as he watched the blonde woman sliding the heavy locks into place over the main doors. 'Our wages for the night just doubled.'

Clarke forced a sadistic grin onto her face, urging herself to remain in character despite the overwhelming urge she felt to get out of this dive.