#Jasuri Nin

[shabre-legacy]

The Hunt Begins Chapter Four

The next morning dawned as smelly and awful as the previous one. She wasn’t sure how anyone survived living in this town. There were parts of the planet that she’d seen coming in that indicated that this had once been a nice place, there might even be some of those places left, but it was not Jiguna. She dragged herself out of bed and stretched. Mornings were rough. She always wanted to stay in bed a few more minutes, but ingrained habits rarely allowed that. Lare had always insisted she needed to watch the sun on whatever planet they were on, and if there wasn’t a sunrise to be seen, at least you were up early enough that you could have. Something about remembering your connection to your people and yourself or something. She clung to what few bits of Mirialan culture that she remembered from her family and  what Lare had taught her. It wasn’t much and never felt complete, never like it was where she belonged. Then again, she’d never really spent time on Mirial or in any of the enclaves or neighborhoods on planets she’d been to, so maybe that was the problem. Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be her home. Only time would tell.

She sighed and moved over to Mako, gently shaking the girl’s shoulder. “Hey, time to get up. We got a long, hard day ahead.” 

Mako was far more efficient than she’d predicted. She’d pegged the girl as a ‘laze in bed and take forever to get up’ type. But by the time Nat strapped on her armor and got her weapons tucked away, Mako was already up, ready and had a datapad with factory schematics waiting for her. 

The rest of the day was spent arguing with the kriffing Hutt and taking a couple side jobs for extra credits. Neither she nor Mako knew if entry into the Hunt came with passes off-planet. If it didn’t, they’d need shuttle passes and those were easier to steal if they got up to Nar Shaddaa. Either way they’d need off-planet and they’d need ammunition and rations. If Mako planned to tag along, Nat would need to make sure the girl got some armor. 

The accountant was every bit as pathetic and terrified as she’d thought he’d be. Another chance to lie to the Hutt and screw him over while still technically making sure the job was done. She sent the man running and trudged back through the sludge. 

Every moment on Hutta sucked. This planet was the worst. Maybe it’d been alright before the Hutts showed up, but now it was a mess. 

Seeing Mako try to blackmail her into keeping her on was...adorable. That was the only word for it. It was just down right cute. Maybe it was just nice to have someone actually doing what she expected them to do after Nemro’s little stunt. But she’d expected it. Mako would use her skills to get some info and use the info to get what she wanted. That was how the game was played, so she played along. She’d need to give her some lessons when they had the chance. 

Having Mako was not just sentimental, the girl was useful. She could handle a blaster, not particularly well, but capable and already knew where their quarry was heading. The fight was easy. How the Hutt had ever thought that he was the better hunter, Nat didn’t know, but it was going to come back and bite him. After the Great Hunt, she’d come back and she’d kill him. 

That determination only grew with every slimy word he spoke. By the time she was done speaking with Grataa and was heading out to the spaceport, she’d decided on how she was going to kill Nem’ro

“I’m going to shoot him in that gut of his 3 times, that way everything hurts when I use grenades stuffed down that fat mouth of his to kill him and then I’ll trap his closest Hutt buddies in his palace and make them clean up the mess.”

“Wow, you’re pretty ruthless when you’re angry. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

Nat laughed and bumped her shoulder into the smaller girl. “Don’t worry, that’s nothing compared to what we’re gonna do to Blood when we catch him.”

That got a small smile, maybe a sniffle or two, but a bit of a smile from Mako as they left the quiet hall and joined the other people boarding the shuttle off planet. They’d finally made it. 

It was a shame she wouldn’t be able to get drinks with the Mandalorian she’d found in Faath’raas palace and his buddy. The Mando was kinda cute, she had a weakness for the armor, and the lifestyle was damn good for them. His buddy seemed like he could have spun enough stories to keep Mako entertained for a few hours. But there wasn’t time to lose. Maybe she’d run into them again, after all, this hunt was sponsored by the Mandos, it seemed reasonable to think she’d run into more. If she did, she thought to herself, she’d make sure to spare some time for those drinks. 

As the shuttle took off, she couldn’t help the thrill of excitement. Greater challenges awaited her. Revenge was on her schedule, but there was plenty of time to get there. She was looking forward to seeing what targets she got and who she got to fight next. 

Dromund Kaas Chapter One

The shuttle docked briefly on Nar Shaddaa. It was only supposed to be a few minutes to load passengers before heading off to one of the Imperial space stations where she’d take a different ship. It was a few minutes connected to the holonet and the passengers were allowed off to stretch their legs briefly before the much longer trip. Natamai decided that she’d take advantage of the empty shuttle and holonet connection to send a message while Mako got them food. She was trying not to bring up anything that might remind the poor girl of Braden, unless it was to promise her vengeance. It had only been a day, the wounds were still very raw. The fact that she was headed into the biggest hunt of her life with no support team remained however. It wasn’t like she needed a support team. She was perfectly capable of winning the hunt by herself if necessary. She didn’t need anyone else to do her job. But some help would be beneficial, particularly for monitoring and handling other hunters who might interfere and for keeping watch for Blood. There was also the fact that little Mako didn’t seem to own any armor and she’d never yet met a slicer who was actually good in a fight. Maybe she’d be different, but Nat didn’t want to take the risk, extra hands could help keep her safe. She still had some contacts that she could call on, people who were like family, her old mentors, the kids she’d trained with. She was sure one or two of them would have the time to come help. After all, when it came to bounty hunting, the Great Hunt was the most exciting opportunity to come along. 

Mako was back pretty quickly, the station they were docked at having plenty of stands nearby and after filling her in on what she’d been doing while the crew loaded the other passengers. They were off again. 

Small shuttles like this were the worst. Honestly, Nat couldn’t wait until she was able to get her hands on her own ship. She’d thought about stealing one a few times, but hadn’t found a good opportunity yet. The trip would take 2 days. 2 days in cramped quarters, shared narrow bunks, bad food in small portions. Her ship, when she got it, would have bigger bunks. She’d have her own room with her own bed, room to stretch and train, a weapons case that she didn’t have to carry with her constantly, and a galley where she could keep the better rations. It wasn’t like rations were good, but some were better then others and with bigger portions, better for bounty hunters. They burned through too much food on hunts or even just maintaining their skills for the small shuttle portions to be anywhere near enough. 

Reaching Viaken Spacedock was a relief. A chance to get out of the crowded shuttle and get a little space. Of course it came with the negative factor of being solidly in Imperial Space. Natamai had carefully avoided entering imperial territory since she’d escaped from it. She’d been thinking about this all the way here. There was no official record of her name. Only a number and a name assigned when she was first sold. As long as she avoided Sith and didn’t mention anything about her past, she could likely get by just fine. The current armor she was wearing had high neck seals that would hide the scars on her neck as well. No reason for anyone to suspect her. Plus, she wasn’t a child anymore, she could fight now. She could kill. There was no reason to worry and if something happened, she’d be capable of dealing with it. Everything would be fine. 

Mako noticed her nerves as they disembarked. “You ok boss?”

She smiled at the girl. “I’m fine Mako, just not a fan of Imperial Space and all their rules.” 

Her comm beeped at her as she connected back to the holonet. She pulled Mako aside and answered it. On the comm was her friend Jasuri Nin. A Cathar bounty hunter she’d trained with back when she still hunted with her mentors. The woman barely greeted Nat. “I’m on Viaken. We need to talk. I’ve got bad news. Where are you?”

Nat stared at the Comm, she’d just been trying to see if Jasuri had been interested in running around with her for a bit, not looking for more bad news. But it was best to hear it now, get everything sorted out. “Just docked on Viaken myself. I’ll meet you in the Cantina, bringing a friend.” Jasuri nodded and hung up and Nat started towards the center ring of the spacedock with Mako at her side. 

“Hey boss, who are we meeting?”

She smiled at the small note of hesitancy in her voice. She wouldn’t be replacing Mako anytime soon, if nothing else, she owed it to Braden; but Mako seemed smart enough not to be entirely convinced by words. It was a good trait, but it meant she wouldn’t entirely believe Nat wouldn’t leave her behind until Nat proved otherwise. 

“That was Jasuri. We trained together as teens and had the same mentors. I’ll have to tell you stories about them sometime. She’s a fantastic tracker and great at ambushes and traps. Never been my thing, I prefer a straight fight, seems fairer to me, but she’s real good at what she does.” 

Mako nodded and made a passing observation about a group of imperial civilians in their ridiculous fashion as they hit the stairs into the cantina. People were scattered around, sitting neatly in the chairs, drinking and placing the glasses on the tables properly. It was the most boring Cantina she’d ever been in. Yet another reason the Empire was the worst. At least the low number of people and their orderly behavior made it easy to spot Jasuri in a corner booth as far from others as possible. 

It had to be uncomfortable for her, a Cathar in imperial space.The women shook hands and settled back as the Natamai could see the guards eying Jasuri and keeping an eye on her and Mako as they approached. The Cathar was tall and lanky, but strong. You could see that in the way she wore her armor as though it weighed nothing. Her thick fur was mostly a very dark brown with a few dark grey spots and light grey stripes across her face and across the top of her head where she had a single ponytail of tawny hair stretching down to her shoulders and ending in about a dozen separate strands, each beaded at the ends. It all worked to make her red eyes shine more prominently.

She moved over to Jasuri and slid into the booth, Mako sliding in next to her, and waved over the serving droid. She could see Jasuri’s gaze gliding over the slicer. She should have expected that. Jasuri always did seem to go for the smart, pretty ones. She had to smile a bit at that, Jasuri never changed. “Hey Suri, This is Mako, slicer, genius, helping me with the hunt I’m on. Mako, this is Jasuri.” The droid glided over and took their order. They sat quietly until the droid brought their drinks and left again. 

Jasuri drained whatever swill she’d ordered in one long swig and pushed the mug aside leaning forward on her elbows and staring at both of them. “So, somebody killed Braden. I can’t believe that. Daala always spoke so well of him. I’m assuming Mako here is his kid. You mentioned you were bringing her along.”

Nat sighed. She had told Jasuri that. She’d let her family know what was going on. For her, that meant Jasuri, her mentors, her younger twin Leikael and her adopted brother who’d gone off to join the Mandalorians. “That’d be accurate. Seems like we got on the bad side of some Mando, Tarro Blood. He took down Braden and Jory. Mako only got out by not being there. He thinks it’s going to knock me out of the hunt.”

“Tarro Blood, huh? So that’s the reason then.” “Reason for what?” There was something in Jasuri’s voice, something bitter and angry and deeply sad. 

The pain in Jasuri’s eyes only made her more nervous as the hunter swallowed her own emotions. “Acoma, Daala, Lare, they’re all dead. Mandalorians killed them. Almost killed me too.” 

Natamai feels the air leave the station as she stares. Dead? All three of them? They couldn’t be? She stares in shock for a few seconds before she remembers to breath. With a shuddering gasp, she closes her eyes. She had expected this, sort of. Bounty hunting did not lend itself to a long lifespan. But this? “Blood was involved? What happened?”

“Ambush on Nasaue. They just finished a job, I was in the area. I was supposed to meet them there for a visit. I arrived minutes after. If it hadn’t been for the security holos, I wouldn’t have known what happened. Some man named Blood and a few other mandalorians came in, checked the room, Blood left and the others set the ambush. Grenades and mines and everything. They never stood a chance. I’ve had 2 attempts to kill me just getting here.”

Nat nods “Savri?” 

Jasuri shrugs. “He’s fine as far as I know, but he hasn’t answered either. His mandalorian status might protect him from them. But depending on how bad this guy wants to cripple you, it might not.” 

Nat reaches up to rub her temples. “Ok, ok. We’ll warn him to be on guard. I have to go to the mandalorian enclave anyways so I’ll reach out when I get there if he hasn’t contacted us. See if his clan knows his status.” Mako was staring at the two of them, a little confused, but mostly sympathetic. Nat feels the need to explain and that itself is irritating. “Acoma, Daala and Lare are… were bounty hunters. They taught us and Savri everything we know about hunting. Lare taught me about being Mirialan, at least a little bit. We’re family, the six of us. Or… We were family… I guess… Now”

“I’m so sorry. That’s just awful…”

There seems to be more Mako wants to say, however the serving droid interrupts their conversation, delivering their meals. Natamai takes a moment to breathe through her grief. She can scream later when she kills something. For now, Imperial space is dangerous. “So I was already taking Blood’s head. I guess that’s three more reasons for it.” Jasuri nods and the look in Mako’s eyes is pure steel. “Jasuri, did you think about my offer?”

The grin on the Cathar’s face is dangerous. “I did and I’m in.”

Nat nods and looks over to Mako. “Jasuri will be joining us.” The slicer nods and pulls out a datapad. “We only have the two tickets, but other then that, there shouldn’t need to be too much adjustment.” She begins tapping away. 

“I have my own ticket to Dromund Kaas. Let’s kill some shit.” Natamai nods to Jasuri’s statement and the three women dive into their meals, quickly finishing them off and leaving the station cantina. 

It doesn’t take long before they manage to get aboard their next shuttle and settle in for the trip. It’s too long, too crowded. Natamai hates it. She gets a bit snappy as the hours pass. Eventually Mako and Jasuri step out to leave her alone on the small double bunk she managed to secure. She takes advantage of the moment to send out more messages, responding to Leikael and another to Savri in hopes that he’d respond. 

Eventually though Jasuri made her way back and crawled into the bunk, sitting next to Natamai. “Mako found herself some guy to flirt with for a bit. They’re dancing. I gave her a panic button and backed off.”

“Good. She could use a fun distraction.” Nat leans against the woman who was nearly another sister. “I miss them.”

“Me too” 

“Blood will pay for this. He isn’t going to get away with it.”

“I’ll help. How’s Flip?” 

Natamai chuckles at the old nickname. “Still hates being called that. Got her ship stolen and is chasing the criminal. Got her first bounty too.”

She grins as she pulls up the notice. Jasuri whistles, “Rogun the Butcher? That’s a pretty decent price for her first galactic bounty. She knows to be careful?” 

Nat nods. “I told her. I’m proud honestly. Good for her.”

Jasuri nods and leans against Nat’s shoulder. “Worried about being in Imp Space?”

Natamai knows the unspoken question ‘Are you worried about being caught? “Not really, I’ve changed so much since last time. Tats, name, my face even looks different. It’s not like I was ever important enough to get loaded into some genetic scanner database. It’ll be fine. If it’s not… We have blasters.”

A large grin spread over Jasuri’s face, made all the more dangerous by her sharp fangs. “We do have very powerful, very expensive blasters.”

She wraps an arm around Nat and they sink down a bit. “It’s good to see you again. It’s gonna be good hunting with someone I trust.”

Nat nods with a yawn as Jasuri stretches her legs. “About that Mako. She single?”

#swtor #my writing #natamai shabre #Jasuri Nin