Nar Shaddaa

It had been only the briefest of explanations, through messages on their comms and then once they arrived.

'be inconspicious'

'be armed'

'be prepared'

'It will be dangerous'

That, and the explanation that they were infiltrating what could be the stronghold of one of the biggest enemies the empire was presently facing.

It would not be until they'd get to some private quarters onboard the Hutt transport they were taken that Layne seemed to relax a little, plopping herself into a seat and adopting an expression that seemed to suggest she was ready to field some real questions.

The large imposing form of Jo'ren Rath had joined her at the spaceport after his morning's heroics. Knowing Layne, a bit at least, he had waited until she was ready to explain herself.

"So. The hell's going on Layne?" He gave her a cheeky grin.

It would've been altogether too late to back out, the hutt transport's engines rumbling into action as the ship began its pre-flight checks.

"There's a Sith traitor that's been feeding intel to the Republic. Maybe you've heard of her. Maybe you haven't. One of my master's agents has identified a likely location for her stronghold. We're going to raid the place. Simple enough, yeah?"

His big shoulders shrugged. "Sounds simple, so it won't be. What's the name of this traitor and how much do you trust this agent?"

Anything involving Baras was likely to be levels of complexity above his pay grade, and he didn't trust the man in the slightest. Still, he was nominally Darth Vengean's ally.

"The name is Magpie," she said, "and we're to keep that strictly between ourselves. As for the agent, I have no reason to suspect they are lying about this."

There was a flicker of recognition. Sinea had told him about a Magpie, after seeing it in a vision. "Alright then. Any details on the type of security we're expecting to face?"

"Not at this time. I expect my master's agent will send us more intel once we get closer. Personally though, I expect heavy resistance."

Remmington shows up and waves to the others. "Hey guys. So you got some crazy party arranged for us Layne?"

He gets caught up to speed about what is going on.

"So the primary objective is to eliminate Magpie? Or is capture desired? Are there any secondary objectives?" He asks. Like Jo'ren he hasn't really heard many good things about Baras either.

"Magpie is unlikely to be there herself, though it's possible. More likely we'll be dealing with whatever assets and security she has there. Perhaps even an apprentice if she has one."

The big Sith nodded. "Okay, so we'll get an info dump right before we get there. Better than nothing. You sure keep things interesting Layne."

He looked over at Rem. "Telling you to your face bud: I'm pulling a team together while all that shit with Valkyries gets sorted out. I might've not be in any state to play later but I thought you should hear it from me."

His comlink flashed with an incoming message and he sent a few texts.

"Ah, so you believe Magpie to be a Sith as well? The information is accurate then I guess?" Remmington asks.

He nods over to Jo'ren. "Duly noted. Though I think the fail yesterday was rather spectacular. The Hutts attracted way too much attention to themselves. So I don't think they will interfere with the games anymore." A small smile mainly to himself.

"I wish you luck with that Jo'ren. Will it be too much to ask if you can still play for my team as well?" He asks.

"I briefly encountered her before. She is Sith."

And then they inexplicably started talking about Huttball. Layne looked lost.

Remmington looks over to Layne. "Oh, I don't mean to be callous Layne. You have my sympathy. If the Holonet was accurate about what happened to Lord Baras earlier."

He looks over to Layne to gauge her reaction. He is a little skeptical about the news.

She herself had only a brief period of time during which she'd managed to peruse the news. But that particular bit of news had of course stood out.

"Sympathy is misplaced," she said, "if he is dead then that is that. I wouldn't shed a tear. Regardless, this mission stands."

A panel pops open and a young human kid sprawls out onto the floor. He looks up at the gathered Sith and says, "Oh man... so that is definitely not the refresher."

Jo'ren looked at the kid sceptically. "Friend of yours Layne?" It was a suitable distraction from the Huttball talk, and for his part he didn't really think Baras would die so easily.

"Oh for FUCK'S SAKE!" Layne exclaimed."What the fuck are YOU doing here?!"

She clearly had not intended for Daz to come along. In fact she'd probably mentioned last night that he should stay on Nar Shaddaa for the day. In fact, she'd have been adamant.

"This is way beyond what you can deal with, Daz!"

Daz smirks and says, "It's fine... I can handle myself."

"No, you *can't*" she said, emphasizing the word. "You have no experience, and no training, and this mission will be more dangerous than any I've faced myself. So, when we get there, you're just going to stay on the ship."

"But I have a lightsaber... well I have a hilt," he says honestly.

"I don't know where you get the crystal thingy of power."

"Forget about the crystal, you don't even know to *use* a lightsaber."

Layne could feel a headache coming on.

"Light end goes in the bad guys," he replies.

"Oh for fuck's sake." she said, hand going up to her face. "Do you want to die that much?"

"No, I just want to help," he says honestly.

"And how would getting yourself killed help anyone?"