Chapter 5

The tiny blaster repair shop is hardly larger than a closet. There is nothing to see in it, just the counter that Rena stands behind. She’s an analysis droid. Once or twice, Blu has asked her how she became so independent, but Rena is always evasive. She’s flirty and honestly very charming, but Blu is never sure how to react to that when Rena is shiny silver, more than six feet tall, and covered in exposed wires and circuits. Her eyes glow green.

Usually, when Blu visits this place, Blu plunks her blaster down on the counter for maintenance. Only droids know how to disassemble and maintain such an ancient weapon. But this time, Blu sets down a pair of silky, blue panties.

“Can you tell me anything about the owner of these?” she asks bluntly.

Rena peers at the panties with her glowing, unblinking optical sensors. Her metal fingers touch the fabric.

“This is not a blaster,” she observes in her slightly metallic voice.

“No, it’s underwear. I’ve brought you this kind of thing before. I need you to analyze,” Blu says. “It’s what you’re good at, right?”

“Sometimes I wonder if you only like me for my body,” Rena replies, her joints buzzing as she moves to pick up the panties. She examines them in the light. “This has been worn,” she notes.

“Of course. I took her back to my ship,” Blu says with a yawn, leaning on the counter. “Fucked her brains out.”

“How crude,” Rena says.

“I wish I remember what she looked like. That would make it easier,” Blu goes on, yawning.

“Do you have money to pay for this service?” Rena asks worriedly.

“Yes. I just landed a fat bounty,” Blu says. “Guioz. You’ve heard of her, right?”

“I have. Very good. I have examined the enzymes present in the dried fluids present on this garment. It could only have been worn by a Twi’lek.”

“Hmm.” Blu frowns, trying to think. She’s taken more than one Twi’lek into her bed over the years. Sometimes two at a time. Twi’leks know how attractive they are, so the ones in the sex trade have a habit of partnering up to maximize their profits. Blu remembers this one pair that got her to give them a big tip by sucking her off and tonguing her asshole at the same time.

But here? In this part of Coruscant, where Blu and all the other scumbags do business? A Twi’lek thief? Whoever she is, she has to work for Jayo.

( )

Jayo’s place is nice. Too nice for Blu, which is why she’s never visited before, but everyone knows where it is. In F-District on Coruscant, Jayo is in charge of every criminal operation that Twi’leks have anything to do with.

There is a zero percent chance that the woman who robbed Blu does not work for Jayo.

There’s no way that Jayo has the right permits to run a casino, so she must be paying off some serious people to have such a noisy operation right out in the open. Hell, Coruscant police probably like to gamble there and make it with cute, Twi’lek call girls and dancers.

Most people dress up to visit a place like this, but not Blu. She pays the entry fee and buys a few chips for good measure. Taking down Guioz was risky, but at least her money problems are over for the moment.

Blu strides out into the bright, colorful casino. Holograms and Twi’leks dance, music plays, and everyone is drinking and gambling. A hundred different games are being played, and tables and booths surrounding the gambling floor are packed with bodies sipping drinks and looking on. Blu knows what Jayo looks like, but she’ll never find her just by wandering around.

She catches a passing waitress.

“I’m looking for Jayo,” she says.

“She’s here,” the waitress, a green Twi’lek replies cheerily. “But don’t hold your breath. She has a lot of friends.”

“I’m one of them,” Blu says, putting a small stack of chips on the waitress’ tray. “Find her for me?” She smiles her sultriest smile at the waitress. Blu’s blunt, rugged, smoldering lustiness doesn’t work on every woman… but it does work on a lot of them.

“I’ll try,” the waitress says with a wink.

“Thanks,” Blu says, taking a seat at a Sabacc table and throwing a few chips in. She’s not a great card player, but she’s just killing time. Pure luck wins her the first hand with a 21. The player at her side lifts her drink in admiration, and the brown thing with eyes on stalks across the table gurgles at her irritably.

The red, humanoid droid beside her beeps rapidly.

“Pal, you’re just lucky they let you play here,” Blu tells it. Most gambling dens don’t let droids play because mathematical skill is part of gambling. Computers have an unfair advantage.

But apparently, Jayo doesn’t care about that.

The droid beeps a reply.

“Double or nothing? Fine,” Blu says, throwing more chips in.

“Don’t get baited by a droid,” the woman beside her says.

“Why? You better at it?” Blu asks.

The woman blushes, and the dealer throws cards out. This hand is not a winner. Blu won’t even clear 12; the droid will win for sure. That’s OK. It’s money that Blu can afford to lose.

“Too bad,” says a voice behind her as she pushes chips to the droid, who beeps at her. Blu ignores the droid and looks up to see an elegant, yellow Twi’lek. It’s Jayo, wearing a glamorous gown and holding a glass. “You wanted to see me?”

“That’s right.” Blu tosses a chip to the dealer and rises.

“Let’s go somewhere private,” Jayo suggests.

“Sounds good.” Blu smiles at the glamorous Twi’lek, who is truly radiant. The urge to flirt is strong, but business has to come first. She enjoys watching Jayo’s swaying hips as she follows her across the gambling floor and down a hallway to a private room, which boasts a lovely sofa but not much more.

Another Twi’lek appears as if by magic, fully nude.

Blu watches Jayo drop casually onto the sofa, and the other Twi’lek begins to dance erotically.

“What can I help you with?” Jayo asks as the dancer bends over in front of her. Blu stays focused. She’s seen naked Twi’leks before.

“I think that someone who works for you may have hit me,” Blu says honestly.

“What do you think I am? Some kind of gangster?” Jayo asks, lighting up a **** stick and ogling the dancer’s peachy rear end.

“I think that if you tell me who’s responsible, I’ll make it worth your while,” Blu says. She is prepared to pay just about anything to find this girl. She will have to earn that money first, but she doesn’t care. Nobody posts her stuff on the webs without her permission. Blu just likes to jerk off to those videos when she’s alone. She never meant for anyone to see them.

“I have a better idea,” Jayo announces. “How about I grab you and turn you over to the eight billion people that you pissed off when you fucked with Guizo, then I don’t have to give you shit and I get paid. How’s that sound?”

Before Blu can react, she’s grabbed from behind. Two Twi’leks in combat armor crept into the room while she was distracted by the jiggling boobs of the dancer.

“You,” Blu snarls at Jayo, “are fucking with the wrong Mandalorian.”

“You aren’t a Mandalorian. Where’s your cute helmet?”

Blu can’t answer that. She sold that helmet a long time ago.

The guards throw her violently against the wall and hold her there.