Woman without a Country

"Okay, who are you?" Atton demanded. The red-haired bounty hunter tried to twist away, but he was holding her arm in a way that caused incredible pain if she tried to move.
"My name's Mira. Look, Goto has your friend. I'm not the enemy here."
"You led her into this trap," said Atton, trying to keep his anger under control.
"No, I didn't," Mira protested.
"What have you found, boy?" asked Kreia. She had gone the other way, and was only now catching up to Atton. Bao-Dur and Visas were watching the entrance. "Another girl? Surely we have enough of those by now."
Atton shook her a little, and Mira screamed in protest. "She's a bounty hunter, and she was explaining what happened to Ludmilla." He looked at Kreia curiously. "What did you find?"
"I found a Wookie," said Kreia calmly.
"He was dead, right?" said Mira anxiously.
"You were telling us what happened to the Exile," said Kreia with imperturbable calm.
"Right," Mira said uncertainly. "Visquis was going to double-cross Goto, but Goto got wind of it and took him out first. And then his droids took the Jedi to his yacht. She went willingly, I'm not sure why."
"Where were you during all this?" asked Kreia.
"Me? I was right here, hiding."
Kreia turned and looked at the arena, then back at Mira. "You were in range of their weapons, were you not?"
"She didn't know I was here. Wait, you're saying she knew I was here? And she didn't fight because she didn't want to get me killed? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Mira exclaimed.
Atton let go of the bounty hunter's arm. "Great. How are we going to get to Goto's yacht?"
"How would I know?" snapped Mira.
"Look, you're coming with us and you're going to tell us everything you know," snarled Atton.
"Says who?"
Kreia waved her hand and Mira dropped like a rock. "The girl's chatter is most tiresome. Bring her."
"You really have to teach me that move sometime," said Atton with grudging admiration.
Kreia laughed silently, and walked out of the secret base.
Atton lifted the bounty hunter with the Force and pretended to carry her back to the ship. He tossed her carelessly on the floor of the main cabin.
"What is that?" asked Bao-Dur.
"She's a bounty hunter. For some reason, Ludmilla let herself be captured so that she wouldn't get hurt."
"Don't be offended. The General does that all the time. When did Kreia teach you that trick with the Force Lightning?"
Atton flushed. "She didn't. I've always known it."
Bao-Dur looked at him in surprise. "Why weren't you sent for training? That kind of power is dangerous."
"We've been over this already. Because all the Jedi who aren't Ludmilla and Kreia are monumentally stupid." He looked at Bao-Dur. "Why aren't you a Jedi?"
"Because I'm not very good at controlling my emotions," said Bao-Dur calmly.
Atton just stared at him.
"We're done talking about this. Let's wake up our new friend here, and make a plan." Bao-Dur looked at Atton again. "Actually, I'll wake her up."
Atton grinned. "I wasn't gonna hurt her. Much."
Bao-Dur gently woke the bounty hunter.
"Ugh, what hit me?" she asked, glaring at Atton. "I'm not going to be able to shoot straight for days, jerk. You pinched a nerve. My arm is killing me."
"You've got a spare."
"Atton." Bao-Dur looked at him. "Go get a drink, and find Visas and Kreia."
"Great," grumbled Mira. "Just leave me alone with the demon, why don't you."
"And bring me a drink too, if you wouldn't mind."
Atton grinned, and returned shortly with Kreia and Visas in tow, carrying a tray of mugs of cider and chocolate.
"Is one of those for me?" asked Mira hopefully, reaching for the tray.
"What poisons are you immune to?" asked Atton.
"Never mind, I'm not thirsty."
Kreia smiled.
"Look," Mira tried to explain, "Goto's yacht is stealthed. It's invisible, and no one can find it. Trust me, if anyone knew how to find his ship, everybody with a gun and ship would be on their way out there to take him out. The only thing that would draw him out is a Jedi, and she already took off to meet him."
"Isn't Goto the one who's been attacking Vogga the Hutt's freighters?" asked Bao-Dur.
Mira nodded. "Yeah, Goto's got some way of tracking Vogga's ships. But the Hutts closed the warehouse, and they're not sending out any more flights."
"Goto is probably tracking the transponder codes from Goto's ships," Bao-Dur mused.
"So if we changed the Ebon Hawk's transponder code, then Goto's yacht would come to us," said Atton.
"Probably," said Mira reluctantly. "But you can't get the codes, they're kept in the warehouse. You'd have to be a droid to get in there."
Atton grinned. "T3? Did you hear that? You have to pretend to be a droid for once."
T3 beeped in response and drove in a circle around Atton.
"Don't give me that," snapped Atton. "You get your own. I don't care how many times you've heard it. Now get your little rotors down to that warehouse and get us those codes."
T3 beeped and zipped off the Ebon Hawk to carry out his mission.
"What the hell was that?" demanded Mira.
"What was what?" asked Atton innocently.
"That droid that just took off. You didn't program it or anything."
"It came pre-programmed," said Bao-Dur mildly.
"What he means is that the little machine is insane," snapped Kreia. "It has a mind of its own and a learning program that can't be disabled or removed."
Mira stared at them. "You're flying around with an insane utility droid."
Atton shrugged. "He also cheats at Pazaak. Oh, and he has some weapon upgrades and an incredible shield upgrade. I'm not sure where he got that. It's self-restoring. He's pretty useful."
"He does not cheat at Pazaak," said Visas.
"What?" Atton stared at her. "Oh, and he has a thing for Jedi women. Did I mention the thing for Jedi women?"
Visas blushed. "Now you are being foolish."
"Are you all insane?" asked Mira.
The Exile's companions looked at each other. "Yes," they all said at once, and broke into laughter.
"Visas, can you watch the prisoner until T3 comes back?" asked Bao-Dur. "I need to do some work on the manifolds. It sounds like we'll need all our speed when we run into Goto."
Kreia set down her empty mug. "I will try to contact the Exile again. I suspect that she is too far away, but I will try." Kreia walked away, her robes swirling behind her.
Atton collected the empty mugs, and went down to the galley.
Bao-Dur went to the engine room, leaving Visas alone with Mira.
"Can you see anything through that cloth over your head?" asked Mira.
"I am a Miraluka," said Visas softly. "I cannot see at all."
"Oh. So how exactly are you supposed to watch me?" Mira stood up. "This is stupid. You're all crazy."
Visas slammed the bounty hunter against the ceiling with the Force, then let her fall to the floor where she lay, stunned.
Bao-Dur poked his head out of the engine room. "Careful with that, some of the ceiling tiles are loose. We're trying not to kill the prisoner, remember?"
"Of course," said Visas softly. "Please sit down. T3 will not be gone long."
"What the hell is wrong with you people?" muttered Mira, rubbing at her new bruises. "I thought your leader was supposed to be one of the good guys."
"She is," Visas assured her.
"Then why is everyone in her crew one step away from crazy murderer?"
"If you keep insulting us, you're going to bed without any supper," said Atton and set a tray down for Mira.
"Is it poisoned?"
"Why would that stop you?"
"Good point," Mira muttered, and began eating. "This is really good," she said in surprise. "Do you guys keep a chef locked up down there or something?"
"Something like that," said Atton. He sat down at the table and pulled out his datapad and began reading.
Mira looked around cautiously. There was a knife on the tray. She looked up again, to see that Atton was casually pointing a blaster at her. "I didn't do anything."
"Just keeping it that way," said Atton, and holstered his blaster again.
Something clattered to the floor behind her, and Mira turned to see a long metal pipe slowly returning to its place on the wall. She stared at the veiled woman still sitting silently at the table across from her. "Didn't the demon just tell you to stop trying to kill me?"
"You would have survived the blow," said Visas calmly. "Atton, is it in place properly? It feels off."
Atton looked at the wall. "One of the retaining bolts is loose. Bao-Dur will fix it later. Or Ludmilla will." Atton looked at Mira's plate. "Are you finished?"
Mira shook her head and went back to eating, banishing all thoughts of escape from her head.
T3 buzzed back to the ship, burbling happily.
"Oh, sweet! New transponder codes!"
Mira stared in disbelief. "No way, there's no way that droid broke into Vogga's warehouse and got the codes."
Atton held up the new ID cards. "I'll just go stick these in the ship, and we'll be on our way. Nice work, T3."
The droid clicked and whistled in excitement.
"Really? Well, Ludmilla will be glad to have something new to do. Personally, I think we have enough droids on the ship now."
T3 beeped some more, and Atton laughed in disbelief.
"You did not. I'm sorry, I don't believe you. One assassin droid, maybe. But three? C'mon, little guy, that's pushing it."
T3 followed Atton into the security room, chirping insistently.
"Well, you can tell Ludmilla all about it. I'm sure she'll be fascinated. Or your new girlfriend, Visas. Ow! Don't do that! Seriously, that hurt."
Bao-Dur walked over to the security room. "Everything in place?"
Atton nodded. "Once we take off, we'll be broadcasting the ID of one of Vogga's freighters. We should probably leave someone on the ship when we get picked up by Goto's yacht."
"I take it you're planning to go," smiled Bao-Dur. "I'll stay. I can get the ship ready for takeoff."
"I'm going with you," said Mira suddenly. "What? Don't look at me like that. I can help! Goto's got some serious defenses, and you're going to need all the help you can get."
"I'm sure you can help," said Atton, "but I don't want it. You're staying here."
"Oh, so who are you going to take? That decrepit old bag or the blind freak?"
"You know," said Atton as Mira slumped into unconsciousness, "I would have phrased that better if I was standing right in front of the person I was insulting."
"Or moved faster," Bao-Dur agreed. "You realize that since all of us are picking on her, the General will go out of her way to be nice to her."
Visas replaced the pipe on the wall again. "I apologize, Bao-Dur, but there seems to be something out of place on that section of the wall."
"I'll get it," said Bao-Dur. "Are you going with Atton?"
Visas nodded.
"We'll take T3 with us, too," said Atton. "We might run into some friendly databanks. Or unfriendly security systems."
"Good idea," Bao-Dur agreed. "But first, lock her in medbay or something."
Atton and Visas dragged Mira to the medbay and dropped her on the operating table, and Atton locked the door.
"Kreia?"
"Yes, boy?"
"I've locked the red haired bitch in the medbay. She's out cold for the moment, but she'll wake up in an hour or two."
"Possibly more," said Visas softly.
Kreia smiled. "I will watch her. You are ready to go, are you not? Bring her back, boy, or do not come back at all."

"You are not what I expected." The hologram was of a middle-aged Human male, balding, scrawny, with the forehead of an intellectual. He was holding a datapad, and looking her over curiously.
Ludmilla frowned. Something was odd about the man, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was.
"I am Goto," he introduced himself. "I am one of the ... officials ... representing a conglomerate of the non-sanctioned trading interests in Republic space and some nearby systems. I have a question for you. Are you a Jedi?"
"I have no ties to the Jedi Order, if that's what you mean."
Goto frowned. "Unexpected. Still, you may have some value," he sighed. "I have gone through considerable expense and effort to bring you here. I have a proposal to set before you."
Ludmilla crossed her arms and looked at the hologram. "You set every bounty hunter and assassin in this sector on me so that you could ask me a question?"
"I specifically requested that you be delivered alive. I am unclear as to how my instructions got corrupted. You are of no use to me dead. However, if you were truly a Jedi, mere bounty hunters would have been no deterrent. And my calculations proved correct, and you have proven that you can indeed assist me."
Ludmilla watched the hologram closely as he spoke. "Okay, so you want me alive. You have a strange method for contacting people. Couldn't you have just sent a polite letter? Messenger, maybe? Most people don't try to ask for help by putting a price on someone's head."
"I am not in the habit of asking for assistance. You are a very difficult person to find. Even after that incident on Peragus, tracking your movements has been ... problematic. The Jedi were meant to be defenders of the galaxy, and specifically, of the Republic. However, what has happened at Peragus has set in motion events that I can no longer control. Not to be melodramatic, but I fear it has broken the Republic... irrevocably. This has occupied much of my attention, and there seems to be no predictable way to resolve the situation."
Ludmilla raised an eyebrow. "You hunted me down and risked getting me killed so you could ask me to save the Republic?" Her eyes narrowed as she watched the hologram. His body language was unusual, for a Human. He was very still, and his face was almost completely expressionless. "And you're being slightly melodramatic."
"In approximately one Standard month, the Republic will collapse," said Goto. His voice was irritated, but his movements were still calm, as if the hologram didn't reflect the actual speaker. "Not due to war, or secession, or any outside force. It will collapse from within, because the infrastructure of the Republic will no longer be able to support itself. The Republic lost the Jedi Civil War. The Republic was already on the verge of collapse at the end of the Mandalorian wars, and your petty religious squabbles following immediately on the heels of the Mandalorian wars sounded the death-knell of the Republic." Goto - and the hologram - sighed in frustration. "Revan departed into the Unknown Regions, leaving the Republic without a solid leader. The Senate, though well-meaning, is ultimately ineffective in such a dire situation. The armed forces are reluctant to take leadership, because it would give the appearance of a military coup and further destabilize an already unstable situation. And the Jedi Council is gone."
"There's a shock," said Ludmilla dryly. She noticed that the hologram was moving more now, and suspected that Goto had noticed her scrutiny.
"In times past," said Goto with evident irritation, "the Jedi Council has provided able leadership in times of crisis, allowing the Republic to bridge stressful events and avoid a total collapse. But now it seems that any and every possible leader that could serve the Republic has been eliminated by an unknown force. I cannot find any pattern in these attacks, and it is a source of frustration to me. There is some clue, however, that perhaps the Jedi are linked to these attacks - or that the targets are significant in some way I have yet to discover. It is also significant," said Goto, the hologram looking directly at her, "that you have survived where others have fallen."
"Are you working with the Sith?"
Goto shook his head. "I do not wish to help the Sith any more than I wish to help the Jedi. It is simply important to me that the in-fighting amongst these Jedi religious branches be resolved so the galaxy may be put back together. It is not significant to me which one triumphs, only that the fighting cease long enough for the Republic to recover from these constant crises."
"You're a crimelord. Why do you care about the Republic?"
Goto smiled. "You could say I am something of a... patriot. I was not in a position to be of assistance during the Mandalorian wars or against Revan and Malak. However, I am now. The problem is that I can find no side to choose. Both are hidden from me, as they seem to be hiding from each other. Irritating. It is not an equitable game. I dislike it, but I intend to win nevertheless."
"Well, I can help you with that at least. I've seen the alternatives, and the Republic is the best option we have right now."
"Agreed. It is, of course, in your best interests as well. These unknown Sith are really quite efficient, and they have almost completely eradicated the Jedi from this sector. If they eliminate you, there will be nothing to stop them."
Ludmilla decided not to correct him. "So, you'll be letting me go then? Did you have a target for me?"
"You misunderstand," frowned Goto. "I cannot set you free at this time. Your presence seems to invite catastrophe, and the status quo really cannot suffer another."
"What?"
"Peragus."
"That wasn't my fault!" Ludmilla protested.
"The impending collapse of the Czerka Corporation?"
Ludmilla didn't respond.
"And I'm not even going to bring up what is happening on Nar Shadaa."
"Okay, I - "
A series of loud alarms started going off throughout the ship. The hologram of Goto turned as if to look at a console, then back at her with thinly veiled disgust.
"What is that?" she demanded.
"That," said Goto, "is the proximity alarm. It would appear that my yacht is being boarded. Somehow, your friends have found you." The hologram winked off. "You will remain here, under guard," Goto's voice boomed from the overhead speakers. "I must see to the defenses of my ship."
Ludmilla smiled at first, then started laughing aloud. She sat down to wait, still chuckling to herself.

Atton and Visas stepped into Goto's yacht, with T3 buzzing behind them.
Visas looked around in confusion. "I do not sense anything living on this ship."
"You're right," Atton agreed. "The air here is too cold. It's probably full of droids. Saves money, and they're all loyal." Atton grinned. "Oh, look, a console. T3, let's take a look at Mr. Goto's security systems, shall we?"
T3 hooked into the console, and started investigating.
"Droids could be formidable opponents for us," said Visas doubtfully.
T3 paused in his downloading to burble an explanation.
"Really?" said Atton. "I've never tried that."
"It should work," said Visas gently. "If not, they will still take damage from being thrown."
"Tell you what, I'll try zapping them like T3 said, and you do the throwing."
"All right," Visas agreed.
T3 disconnected, and led them to a door, whistling a quick warning.
"Okay, we're ready."
The door opened, and a group of security droids turned to face them. Atton sent a surge of Force energy at them that stunned them, and Visas sent a shockwave that threw the droids against the wall. The two activated their lightsabers and charged into the group, ripping the stunned security droids apart while T3 shot down the maintenance droids that kept trying to repair them.
Visas smiled. "That was fun."
"Hey, you're pretty when you smile," said Atton. "You should do it more."
Visas blushed. "You do not need to flatter me."
"Okay, I won't. T3, isn't she pretty when she smiles?"
T3 beeped in assent, and Visas giggled.
"Wait, Sith don't giggle. Make her stop that."
T3 burbled again.
"What? That's just crazy talk. I'm ignoring you. Come on, let's go."
They continued down the corridors, fighting more droids with the same strategy, until they came to a large barrier door. Atton stopped and stared at it. "She's back there. Somewhere."
"You are linked that strongly to her?"
"What? No, I can smell her perfume. She uses a floral essence with an unusual musky base note, it lasts for hours. She definitely came this way."
Visas decided not to question him. "So we must find a way to open this door."
"There will probably be even more droids back there. T3, let's see what we can do with this console."
Atton and T3 bent over the console, and Visas surreptitiously sniffed the air.
"Hey," said Atton, "I heard that."
Visas flushed, but didn't say anything.
T3 overrode the control systems for the turrets, causing a severe malfunction. T3 chirped in embarrassment as the turrets in the hallway beyond began firing indiscriminately.
"Well, it worked out okay," said Atton. "We'll just wait."
The firing continued, and they heard droid after droid fall, and turrets explode one after the other. The firing stopped after a few minutes.
"Should we try to open the door now?"
"Why not?" Atton grinned. He got the door open, and the one lone remaining turret fired a desultory shot at him. He bounced if off his lightsaber, and the blast went right back to the turret, destroying it. "Cool!"
Visas giggled again, and T3 made a little cheering noise.
They ran down the hall, and found another security door. Atton easily got it open, and Ludmilla pounced on him in joy.
Visas blushed as she listened to them kiss and turned to T3. T3 burbled a question.
"What? No, I don't know. I don't think so. Maybe?" she said in confusion. Ludmilla and Atton pulled away from each other, laughing uncontrollably.
"T3," said Ludmilla as soon as she could speak, "why would you even ask that?"
"And no," said Atton, holding his sides, "I'm not answering that."
Ludmilla gave Visas a hug in gratitude, and Visas almost jumped in shock. "Let's get going. My lightsaber is locked in one of these boxes here," and she led them to the next room.
After recovering her lightsaber, they made their way to what should have been the bridge of the ship, seeking Goto himself.
"This ship is creepy," said Atton.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone on board," said Visas. "But that's impossible."
"Not exactly," said Ludmilla, and T3 burbled in agreement.
"What? That makes no sense," complained Atton.
The door to the bridge opened to a large room, filled with computer banks, collecting financial and political data from every corner of the Republic. "I think I'm beginning to understand," said Ludmilla slowly. T3 squealed with excitement and connected to the main console.
"Really? I'm more confused than ever. Where is everyone?" Atton examined some of the computers. "Look at all this data. T3, I hope you're helping yourself to some good stuff here."
T3 chirped in joy and continued his raid on Goto's systems.
"I fear that Goto has escaped us," said Visas softly. "I do not sense anyone besides us on this ship."
"No," said Ludmilla absently. "T3, we have to get going. How do we get the Ebon Hawk loose?"
"There's some kind of tractor beam holding us in place, and with the cloak still on Goto's yacht, we'll be flying blind," said Atton.
"So we need to cut the power to both systems." Ludmilla brought up the map on the console, looking not at the room designations but at the power schematics. "Here. Let's go."
Ludmilla led them down to the room where the power station controlling the tractor beam was located.
"Jedi," said Goto's voice from overhead, "surrender now or your companions will be injured beyond repair."
"What does he mean by that?" asked Atton. "Is it just me," he coughed, "or is the air - "
"Goto, stop!" shouted Ludmilla.
Visas and Atton crumpled to the ground, unconscious. T3 burbled in concern.
Ludmilla snarled in rage. "T3, get that power off, now! We have to get out of here!"
"Jedi, you will not be able to escape. Your droid is helpless as well."
T3 squeaked in mocking denial, and zipped over to the console, unaffected by Goto's signal.
"What? You impertinent little - do not speak to me that way," Goto commanded.
T3 ignored the voice and continued his work with the console while Ludmilla wrapped Visas and Atton in a Force bubble to protect them from inhaling more of the gas.
"This is impossible," said Goto in frustration, and T3 succeeded. The cloak dropped, and the ship was now visible.
"Warning," said a standard computer warning voice. "Multiple incoming hostiles detected."
"Nobody likes you, Goto." Ludmilla started for the exit, pulling the Force bubble behind her with T3 following.
"Warning," said the computer voice again. "The ship has been boarded."
"Oh, that's not good," said Ludmilla.
The droids started shooting at the boarders, those that didn't immediately succumb to the gas. Ludmilla dodged as much of the fighting as she could, as the Force bubble protecting her companions wouldn't stop blaster fire.
T3 zipped to a console, and made a quick change to the programming controlling a nearby security droid. The newly reprogrammed droid lifted the two unconscious forms and activated its shield at full strength.
"Thanks, T3," said Ludmilla gratefully. She activated her lightsaber. "That will make this a lot easier. Let's just go in a straight line." The bright blue blade flashed again and again, cutting down all the bounty hunters in her path while T3 led her to the docking bay where the Ebon Hawk was. The hatch opened, and Ludmilla took her companions from the hijacked security droid, leaving it to defend the corridor while they disconnected from Goto's yacht. The ship pulled away, unnoticed, while every bounty hunter and ambitious Exchange boss in the region took a shot at Goto's crippled yacht.
"You truly are a walking disaster," said Goto's voice as the yacht exploded, taking a number of ships with it.
Ludmilla jumped, and T3 squealed in surprise. Behind them, a spherical black droid with a single red optical unit was floating.
"How did you get on my ship?" demanded Ludmilla.
"Do you realize that by crippling the Exchange, you have completely destabilized the criminal element in this sector?"
"Pardon me if I don't lose any sleep over that," said Atton as he staggered to his feet.
"Answer my question."
"Your ship's defenses are pathetic. I shall begin an upgrade of your entrance controls immediately, assuming that ridiculously overpowered astromech droid is amenable," grumbled Goto's voice from the droid.
"You were never on the yacht, were you?" said Ludmilla. "It was all a blind. You were controlling the droids remotely, and made everyone think the only way to find you was to board the yacht."
"You are intelligent," said Goto grudgingly, "another unexpected development."
"So what are you doing on my ship?"
"I am trying to mitigate your propensity to cause interstellar catastrophes," snarled Goto. "This droid will permit me to keep you under observation and to relay information to you that might possibly influence you to take the path of least disaster."
Bao-Dur snickered. "He must not know you very well, General."
"The droid will also serve as another layer of protection for you. I have noticed that despite your annoyingly long list of competencies, security and computer use are not among them."
"I don't have the patience for it," Ludmilla snapped.
"An understatement of epic proportions," replied Goto. "If your interrogation is complete, I will now proceed to confer with your altered T3 unit on upgrading the ship's onboard security and navigation."
Before Ludmilla could reply, Bao-Dur gently pushed the still slightly dazed Atton into her arms, and gestured to the droid. "Follow me," said Bao-Dur. "Stop aggravating the General."
Atton laughed at the look on Ludmilla's face, and kissed her.
Ludmilla smiled, and decided she would concentrate on what was important right now, and kissed Atton back. After one more kiss, Ludmilla carried Visas to her cabin to recover, and Atton brought her a glass of warm milk and cookies. Visas woke almost immediately.
"Oh, thank you, Atton," she said with a smile, and devoured the cookies.
"Well, I'm glad you two are friends now," grinned Ludmilla.
"Uh oh," said Atton.
Ludmilla looked at him curiously.
"We united against a common enemy," Atton explained. "I think she's still locked in medbay." Atton ran off, and Ludmilla followed him, shaking her head.
Mira banged on the door as she heard footsteps approaching. "Let me out!" she screamed. "Let me out of here!"
"Is that the bounty hunter?" asked Ludmilla in confusion as Atton unlocked the door.
"You're all crazy! Let me off this ship!" Mira screamed, and Atton ran to the galley, leaving Ludmilla to deal with the enraged bounty hunter.
"Oh, hello, Mira. What are you doing on my ship?"
"Being attacked, held prisoner, knocked unconscious, you name it," Mira stepped quickly out of medbay so that she couldn't be locked in again. "Just drop me off on Nar Shadaa, anywhere. It will be safer than this ship full of monsters."
Ludmilla smiled gently. "We're heading back to Nar Shadaa now, calm down. I'm sorry if they overreacted. But, that reminds me," Ludmilla went to find Goto. The droid was in the security room, working with T3. "Goto, I need to make a call to Telos IV."
"What is that?" said Mira in confusion.
"I am using this droid to communicate with the Exile," Goto explained. "And who should I be calling on Telos IV?"
"Lieutenant Grenn, head of the Telos Security Forces."
"You are connected," said Goto. "Go ahead." A small communication hologram of Lt. Grenn appeared.
"Hello, Lt. Grenn."
"General Sîvoš?"
"I have a message for you," Ludmilla grinned. "Vogga the Hutt will be contacting you shortly regarding an alternate fuel source for the Telos facility."
If a floating droid could bounce angrily, Goto's droid did just that.
"What?" said Grenn in shock.
"The Hutts were having some transit issues, but they've been cleared up now. Fuel from Sleheyron has been piling up, and they're as eager to sell as the Republic will be to buy. I think all that indemnity money from Czerka will come in handy now."
Grenn just stared at her, and Goto turned the droid so that the red optical unit was focused directly on her.
"That was all I had to say, Grenn. I'll be going now." She nodded at Goto to cut the connection, and the hologram flickered away.
"You... I did not consider that alternative. That would not have worked, under ordinary circumstances," said Goto slowly.
"I don't get to work with ordinary circumstances," said Ludmilla calmly. "I don't suppose you want to call Vogga the Hutt?"
"That would be extremely inadvisable."
"That thing is connected to Goto? Where's my money, Goto?"
The droid turned to Mira. "Mira. What are you demanding payment for?"
"For the Jedi, of course."
"You are mistaken on a great number of levels, Mira. You did not deliver the bounty to me. If anything, the only person who can collect the bounty would be the Jedi herself. Unfortunately, and much more importantly, the Jedi has destroyed all my available disposable income. No one is getting paid for anything."
Ludmilla laughed. "Sorry, Mira. I guess I'm not really worth that much after all."