FTL Chapter 4

The armor is gray with yellow markings. The woman wearing it is slightly smaller than Blu, and the blaster rifle is nearly as long as she is tall. She’s not carrying it as though she intends to start firing, but there’s a familiar wariness in her bearing that awakens Blu’s nostalgia. This is a Mandalorian. Every part of her is hidden by the armor. All anyone can know by looking is that she’s slender and strong.

The Mandalorian stands aside. She’s a bodyguard, and her client is behind her: Nar Uned. Nar Uned is human, and that’s all Blu knows. She’s an arms dealer, and it’s reasonable to conclude that her connections are in Republic military intelligence.

But that is none of Blu’s business. Nar Uned is about the same size and shape as her bodyguard, although without the armor. She wears subdued business clothes that wouldn’t be out of place on Coruscant.

Nar Uned radiates tension. Not outwardly; she looks calm. But the **** tells Blu that she’s uneasy. Blu doesn’t have to get ready for trouble; she’s always ready.

“Greetings,” she says pleasantly.

Nar Uned ducks her head. “When does the sun set on Tattooine?”

“When a Hut moves in front of it,” Blu replies, giving her the other half of the passphrase.

“You have my money?” Nar Uned asks bluntly.

“That’s it? You don’t want to go somewhere technically outside Republic governance?”

“Do you?”

“No.”

Nar Uned shrugs and produces a data stick.

“How do I verify it?” Blu asks without moving.

“You have any Republic cruisers handy?”

“Is that a joke?”

“I’ve been in this business for thirty cycles. My reputation is all the verification that you need,” Nar Uned snaps. “You’re the one I’m not sure about.”

Blu startles her by lowering her hood. “My name is Blu Bahls. I’m a bounty hunter. I’m wanted by the Republic for breaking into the Jedi temple. And as an accessory to the **** of a Jedi. I didn’t kill her, but they don’t seem to care.”

The bodyguard doesn’t react, but Nar Uned seems shaken by Blu’s candor and confidence. She’s a professional, and she recovers quickly.

“My money?” she prompts.

Blu lifts the plastic case from the floor and gets to her feet. The bodyguard’s helmet turns toward her as she walks to Nar Uned and holds it out. They make the exchange, and Blu stays open to her feelings. Nar Uned is beyond edgy. She’s itching to be out of there, but Blu doesn’t sense that she’s being deceived. It’s strange.

The best explanation is that things aren’t going well for Nar Uned. Maybe that’s why she’s dragging a Mandalorian around to protect her. Maybe she’s in debt. Maybe the Republic is onto her. It doesn’t matter. Blu tucks the data stick into her robes and watches the bodyguard follow her client out.

The door closes. Blu stands under the silver lights while the music plays. That was easy. Now she just has to sell this to Crimson Dawn. Maybe her luck is changing.

Maybe there’s time to look up that dancer again, maybe schedule something a little more private on Seiki Ondori. Smiling at the thought, Blu raises her hood and leaves the private room, heading out into the club. As she emerges into the vast hotel lobby, she can see Nar Uned and her bodyguard. Nar Uned is even more tense now, and that’s the second time that Blu has seen her touch her stomach. Is she sick?

They leave the structure as Blu pauses to pay her bill. Barely a second later, an explosion rocks the building, sending massive cracks through the windows that make up the front of the hotel. Then the blaster fire starts.