Private Cloak of Deception

[Judah Dashiell]

"Oh, I'm wrong on all accounts? My apologies."

Judah typically had a great deal of patience. However, everyone's patience had limits - his just happened to be strung along needlessly without rhyme or reason. Perhaps he had taken a small step too far but given the track record of the woman in front of him, Judah wasn't sure if he would make it out alive. If Azula was willing to go to great lengths for things, and if he was just standing in the way, logically he would be eliminated.

"No, I could care less about what you do so long as you don't involve me. Now you've involved me so you understand my frustrations."

Blaster eased slightly.

"Whats with the trinket box? What is it? I know you aren't a Jedi - a logical Jedi would have told the truth in gained my assistance in collecting the box. Now, whatever you tell me, I can't say I'm going to believe but color me curious."

 

[Azula Tindara]

"Eugh. It is 'I could not care less'," she said with an eye roll he couldn't see. "You must think more highly of me if you could find a way to care less."

He had a blaster right against her. Azula reminded herself of that after correcting his grammar.

She turned around slowly, keeping her hands out to her sides.

"Involved..." She started, clearly reflecting a little of his frustration. "You stood there gawking when you through I was removing my underwear. Not that I'd would wear any and ruin the line of this dress."

The blaster was now pointed right at her gut. It was a small weapon, but this close it would sear right through her.

"That was an imperial navigation unit," she said, finally getting to the point. Even though she wanted to get there, she was so accustomed to hiding the truth that she took the long way.

"Very valuable. Someone was using it to smuggle in imperial territory until an accident and the freighter was sent for scrap. Someone wanted it back very badly. Someone who I still owe more debt that I can pay off," she added through gritted teeth.

"I clearly wasn't the only person who knew about it, but my plan didn't involve anyone getting hurt. The old jedi act didn't get me in quickly enough."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Blaster was withdrawn from the skin of the Togruta, although Judah kept it in hand and ready. It only took threatening her life to get a story. How true was it? Even if it was a stretch of the truth, he had learned long ago even a lie would have enough truth to it. Salacia had been pulling in scrap off smuggling lanes and it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that such an item had been trawled in.

"How hard was that? We could have resolved this situation hours ago."

A small shake of his head, clear disappointment.

"I can pay off your debt for you, no strings attached, no gawking as you so put it. Credits well spent if we stop running into one another at this point."

 

[Azula Tindara]

"No strings attached? Oh there would be strings. It's not about paying off the debt. There is no paying off the debt. There's just..."

She waved at the terminal behind her.

"...Playing the game until I can find a way to vanish again. If they found out cash came from you, they'd find a way to get you in their pocket too."

Azula turned back to the terminal. She was annoyed at herself for doing him a kindness. She could have hidden those credits and kept them for when she did manage to escape the clutches of the Hutt.

She started typing, despite the blaster pointed at her.

"You can say its to get rid of me, but that's a kindness. One I don't deserve. No one gets to be successful like you giving a shit about their people and being kind."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Hutts do not concern me. Little known fact, they are highly adverse to salt. I just keep a few bags at every facility as a failsafe."

If he had shut down business every time a Hutt demanded something then Salacia would have never gotten off the ground. It was easier to throw off the Hutts in comparison to someone like Tin'dara however. She already owed them so much that climbing out of the hole seemed impossible.

"I can make you disappear in the Outer Rim. Become a Salacia worker for a year or two under a different name. I've got multiple sites on uninhabited jungle planets to that just house workers. Introduce you to a mining camp with some job title like Logistics Coordinator and no one would even question it."

Judah shrugged.

"Believe what you want but I am willing to help you."

 

[Azula Tindara]

"I disappeared once and they took precautions to..."

The rhythm of tapping at the keys stopped.

"I can't believe you just made a slug jokes whilst still pointing a blaster at me."

Azula gave a slight shake of her head. The decorations on her montrals jangled.

"That's actually very sweet," she added on. She swallowed, hiding the slight smile that had followed in the wake of the salt humour.

"I'm glad I'm not robbing you right now."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Every moment is a great moment for jokes. Doesn't matter the circumstances."

Judah suspected she wouldn't take the help. It was obvious to him and she perceived herself too far deep in with the Hutts to see a way out. It was a shame really. A little too talented in his opinion to waste to petty crimes.

"I figured you wouldn't. However the offer still stands once you change your mind."

Judah opened the door.

"Best of luck on your endeavors."

It was time to leave. Music still played and talking filtered around the room. No one seemed to be aware they were being robbed yet. Best get out before the chaos started.

 

[Azula Tindara]

"Damn shame," she muttered so that he could hear her as he turned to leave. "Was hoping to claim you put me to this with that blaster if anyone found us"

There was an edge to her tone as he walked away.

No one made genuine offers like that. There was always an agenda. Always a catch or a hook. She was annoyed because part of her wished she could simply believe that Judah Dashiell could make her problems go away.

---

It was seven months before their crossed paths once more.

It was less of an accidental crossing of paths, than one party hurling themselves into the other.

A personal transport reverted to realspace near his space station. That was perfectly typical.

What was less expected was that the powered down ship continued to gradually drift towards the station. One faint lifesign. A familiar Togruta slowly bleeding out on the pilot's console.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Its the same woman that was on the station nearly a year ago. The one who was entangled with the pirates. The fake Jedi."

"How positive are you? There are a lot of Togrutas in this sector."

"Certain Sir. Facial recognition confirms it. We placed her into an alert database for all facilities after her....adventures....in the hangar."

Judah looked around the bloody cockpit. It appeared the blood was clotting on the floor in some spots, where he suspected she had sat where piloting. Bloody drag marks were down the corridor where his team had pulled her out after no response once she had gotten in range. He didn't see any carbon scoring or signs of a fight in the vessel. There had been blood on the walls and some controls - clearly smeared there in an effort to escape.

"What is the current status of the woman?"

"Last update from medical was emergency surgery."

"Understood. Lock down the vessel for now. Let's heighten security protocols for inbound vessels and station a guard outside of her door in medical at all times. Don't want a repeat of last time."

"Consider it done."

Judah left the hangar for the medical center on the space station. It would be interesting to hear Miss Tin'dara's explanation once she woke up - if she woke up that is.

 

[Azula Tindara]

Azula woke up to the cool bright lights and antiseptic smell of a medical unit. She was slow to move, to reveal that she was awake.

Her surroundings did not mean that she was safe. Gildram the Hutt had probably put out the bounty for her to be returned alive so that he could draw out her punishment.

Azula let her hand slide up her midriff to the point where the pain pulsed with her heartbeat. Memories came back slowly.

She almost wished the one associated with that wound hadn't. She had been running when someone had marked her with a powerful long rifle. The bolt had gone straight through her.

Taking off was a blur.

Where did I aim the ship?

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Judah had been in his office when the medical team had informed him of the Togrutas condition. After the briefing he has earlier he was surprised the woman was awake already. The wound was serious and she had lost a great deal of blood, that was evident from the vessel alone.

He passed the guard on the way into the room,giving a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Miss Tin'dara, it seems we meet again. I'm a little flattered at this point."

Judah drew closer to her bedside, taking in her condition.

"How are you feeling?"

 

[Azula Tindara]

"Flattered?" She muttered.

"I just flew towards the softest sap who would offer free medical," She hissed.

It clearly pained her to talk. Even in her state she could hear how easy it would be for Judah to understand that she was hurting, frightened and simply lashing out.

Knowing that was almost as frustrating as being immobilised.

She was certain she could - if she put all her will into it - stand up. She was also certain that it would either cause her a fantastic amount of pain or lead to her collapsing from the drugs or both.

Azula sighed.

"I am not feeling amazing, Mr Dashiell."

She tried to plant her hands and draw up into a seated position. After a single flash of pain, she decided to stay where she was. There was a line of fluids in the back of her left hand. More sensors stuck to her chest and head.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Yes, but this softest sap was on your mind. So, consider me flattered to be the favorite of all your suckered individuals."

Despite her condition, Judah grinned, pleased to get under the Togrutas skin. Even if it was just ever so slight.

After a failed attempt at trying to sit up, he shook his head. There was a stubbornness about her for no reason. Judah understood the need to pick up and push through but Tin'dara was going to have to slow down a little. Especially after her ordeal.

"Easy Miss Tin'dara. No need to rush. You can stay as long as you'd like."

He turned for a moment, grabbing another thin hospital blanket and draping it across the woman. A subtle hint that she was to perhaps relax and try to get some rest.

Blanket in place, Judah figured he might as well ask another question or two before the pain medicine wiped her out.

"Let me guess, the Hutts?"

 

[Azula Tindara]

"Yes, but this softest sap was on your mind. So, consider me flattered to be the favorite of all your suckered individuals."

Azula made a grunt of frustration at the back of her throat. She was too exhausted to maintain any kind of facade.

This was painful, but still better than what Gildram would have done to her.

"Let me guess, the Hutts?"

She grimaced. She gave up on her attempt to move into a different position.

"Someone snitched that I'd been siphoning into a retirement fund."

She wanted to make a break under her own steam, but it had backfired.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Hutts tend not to be so forgiving. At this point I think it must be genetic. Never met a Hutt I found personable."

He looked to give a mild reassurance about her predicament, figuring it was somewhere in the back of her mind.

"Security protocols have been tightened. I also have security stationed outside your door at all times. I figured you wouldn't want any visitors while you recover. Bad enough they let me into the room I'm sure."

"So it's safe to get some rest."

 

[Azula Tindara]

Azula breathed in and out through her nose. She didn't want to be in anyone's debt. She didn't care how Judah saw it, it would be that way to her.

There had been people she had relied upon once. Azula preferred to keep everything transactional. She preferred not to be noticed at all.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I will pay you for this."

She didn't know how. Her hidden accounts might have escaped notice, but they might have been locked and drained by now.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Judah gave the Togruta a wide berth for the next couple of days while the recovery process was ongoing. It was clear his presence annoyed her and it seemed cruel to impose his attendance on someone who was essentially to rapped. Medical had advised him she would be clear enough to leave the medical ward and relax on board.

The relax on board was the issue. There were a vast number of guest suites and flats on the space station set aside for visitors. If Miss Tin'dara had any sense, she would take full advantage to get healthy and strong before being chased down by another bounty hunter. He suspected she was too stubborn for his sound logic however.

Reports indicated that Hutt activity had increased in the sector and hyperlanes. Security suspected the Hutts had narrowed down the trajectory of Miss Tin'daras ship to the area but were lost on where to head. Or too scared to take on the mega corporations doing business.

The morning of her release Judah rapt his knuckles on the half cracked door.

"Miss Tin'dara Id like to extend and invitation for you to stay and join us at the station in one our guest flats."

 

[Azula Tindara]

She was sitting upright in her bed, back to the hardboard, as he entered. She placed a book down on the table beside her.

Painkillers went a long way, but when a doctor had rearranged your insides after being eviscerated by a blaster bolt they did not go far enough. Two days of being uncomfortable and feeling sorry for herself had taken the edge of her attitude.

"Azula is fine," she said quietly.

He was probably maintaining that formal air to draw a line in the sand between them. She was nothing but trouble for him.

And yet he was offering her a room to finish her recovery.

"I...would quite... I would be grateful," she said. She could manage a touch of humility when it suited her.

"Could I keep my lightsaber please. Just in case. And if you're worried...I am better than getting myself half killed to pull out a job on you."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"I'm not worried about myself, just the people on this Station who call it home."

While Tabaqui Station was a business, it was also home base for a great deal of his workers. The lower half of the station handled salvage and scrap day in and day out while the upper portion was home to employees and their families.

Space had even been set aside for an entire entertainment district, Salacia leasing space to restaurants and various shops to give an illusion of not been trapped in a floating hunk of metal.

Judah didn't have to pause and worry about himself in the slightest. In fact, he was making sure Azula would be staying on the Executive level next to his own place.

"You can keep the lightsaber. You won't have to go far to kill me, you're going to be my short term neighbor."

Judah reached into pocket and handed her a small keycard.

"Your pass for your time here. Guest level access, plus the hangar so you can get to your vessel as needed."

 

[Azula Tindara]

"Even after what I just said Judah, you really should be a little less trusting than that," she replied.

She leaned forwards to take the key card, lips curling back at the flash of pain. Azula hadn't been careless enough to get hurt like this for a very long time. It made it hard to imagine being in perfect shape again. Being able to walk around pain free.

Patience was a jedi trait. Even having assumed to identity of one for five years, it was not something she had learned.

"Sorry to ask but...are there...any shops on this station. I didn't exactly get to pack..."

Her real concern was trying to access her hidden accounts and find out how many had been burned. She would still prefer to do that wearing something other than a medical gown.