The Godless Matron is home to many, resembling a micro-society for those who wish to live outside the typical 'rule' of the galaxy. The Lucrehulk-class battleship's massive hangars have been converted into dwellings as a result. Chute Town is the most notable of these makeshift towns. Many shops and storefronts have been constructed to take advantage of the higher volume of foot traffic. In addition, many ships and crews arrive into Chute Town to sell their "well-earned" commodities, weapons, or artifacts. It is commonplace to find the best and the worst gear the galaxy has to offer, it is only a matter of how big your pocket book is. The 'streets' are patrolled regularly by the crew of the Matron itself, leaving would-be miscreants to be more wary, lest they find themselves on the receiving end of a pirate's sense of justice.

It is built mostly out of spare durasteel panels from derelict ships, dismantled machinery, or any other source or material the pirates could scavenge. It spans the length of the massive portside hangar of the Matron, reaching from it's heavily protected reactor — hidden behind triple-reinforced blast doors and a guard retinue — all the way to the hangar entrance where the many incoming ships unload their cargo. It is more than a mile long, over five hundred feet wide and up to three stories tall, covering most of the floor. Chute Town's streets are a miniature maze, weaving in between buildings on several levels. Verticality is key for the masses of shops and bars to operate without interfering with one another. The main street is nicknamed Murder alley, mostly because all the weapon shops are prominently opened there.

Illumination banks are staggered along the walkways and buildings to provide enough light for the society to function. Still, the 'streets' are left dim with a low hanging fog built up from the collective humidity of so many people in one space. For those calling it their home, there is no such thing as 'off hours'. A large crowd bustles along at all hours, an exotic assortment of individuals from countless planets and the warring gangs that divvy up the territory within. It's the perfect place for those looking to disappear in the crowd.

Emerging from the shady bosom of a half-lit alleyway and looking a bit more disheveled than she would have liked, Tali Sroka adjusted the hood of her cloak to cover up her lekku and any unwanted stains she might have gathered. Hovering after her, the Toydarian information broker still wore an almost serene smile upon his wrinkled features, wings idly flapping with a sound of wet leather to keep him airborne.

Affirming that her swoop was still where she left it, the Twi’lek blocked the Toydarian’s path to the main avenue crossing along the length of Chute Town and folded her arms across her chest. Raising an expectant eyebrow, she extended one hand, palm upward.

“Vell?”

The Toydarian snapped out of his reverie and chuckled, coming to a halt though still airborne to keep himself at eye level with the Twi’lek. “Well what-a? You haven’t paid me yet-e.”

“I paidt you plenty…” Tali muttered bitterly, her voice tensing as the broker leered.

“That was-a extra. You still owe me the price,” the smarmy male responded, rubbing his greedy claws together in a universal shorthand for currency.

“That vas not vhat ve…” Tali began.

“Well-e the deal’s changed. Sixty thousand, take it or leave it,” the Toydarian interjected sharply, moving to fly past her.

The Jedi scowled. In a single fluid motion, the Twi’lek stepped to stop him once again, her amber eyes meeting the male’s dull red. “Fine. But if this turns out to have been another vildt bantha chase…” she growled and pulled out a credit chit, pressing it into the Toydarian’s outstretched palm.

“Oh, it’s well worth-e your efforts,” the Toydarian chuckled. “All of them.”

Pulling a small packet from the breast pocket of his leather vest, the man presented a nondescript holowafer, its surface glinting a rainbow of colors as a ray of light struck it from the overhead illumination banks. Wasting no more words, Tali pocketed the item, sliding it securely against her chest where it would be safe until she could return to Ol’val.

Peering over the Twi’lek’s shoulder while she busied herself with the object, the Toydarian tapped her on the left lek. “Is the Cucumber with you?” He motioned towards a pale man standing across the crowded street, a tuft of green poking out from beneath the black hood that was also edged in green. As Tali inspected the stranger, the older male stepped into the sea of people, somewhat awkwardly moving through the hubbub and heading towards them.

“I’ll be taking my leave-e then,” the Toydarian coughed and made to depart. Tali’s arm shot out and grabbed him by the snout, keeping him right where he was.

The stranger finally managed to bypass a persistent street vendor pushing his wares and walked up to the Twi’lek and the Toydarian. “Greetings, I am Halcyon Taldrya and I require that wafer,” the man, probably twice as old as her, greeted them.

“I don’t know vhat you’re talking about,” Tali muttered. Her eyes darted to the man’s belt where she spied the glint of a lightsaber, perhaps two.

“Please, don’t make this hard on yourself…” the man sighed.

The Toydarian made a muffled snort in amusement.

Gritting her teeth, the Twi’lek knew she had to act. “I’ll give you one better. Here, have the source!” Letting the Force imbue her arms with more strength than they had any right to hold, she shoved the Toydarian forward, sending him careening at the man. Wasting no time, she bolted past them and jumped on her waiting swoop.

As the two untangled themselves from each other, Tali drew her blaster and fired a stun shot in their general direction. Gunning the accelerator, she took off quickly gaining height as she raced towards the hangar bays.

Instincts taking over, Halcyon grabbed the flailing Toydarian and held him between himself and the stun bolt. As the intel broker slumped limp in his arms, he let the man fall to the ground with a weary sigh. Tapping his wrist link, Halcyon opened a channel to his trusty sidekick. “Sparks, she’s running. Move to intercept.”

A string of affirmative beeps soon followed as the Sorcerer ran for his speeder bike. Throwing his leg over the Starhawk’s seat and sped away, hot in pursuit. Why did they always try to run first?

“Yes, of course he is expert pilot,” Tali muttered to herself as she barely veered around another peddler and almost lost control of her swoop. Her swoop was not designed for speed or maneuverability, but it wasn’t like she could handle that sort of vehicle anyway. As she continued to yell at everyone in front of her to get out of her way, her pursuer was unflappable as he danced and jived around all of the various vendors and pedestrians with unflappable ease.

Getting desperate, Tali threw her swoop into a tight turn, using all her strength to hang on as she gunned towards two Matron crewmembers. The two men began pulling out their blasters, but she yelled out, “No! Help!” and slowed the swoop down so it stopped close to them.

Jumping out, she began to cry hysterically, “Please, you must help me! Is my old boyfriend! He is crazy!”

“Listen lady, you need to calm down,” one of them started to say just as a Starhawk-speeder came into view and Tali shrieked even louder.

“That is him! He is crazy! Please!”

The two men looked at what appeared to be a clearly distressed Twi’lek and then back to the approaching speeder. They now fully took their blasters out, moving towards the speeder as Tali stayed behind them.

“Halt!” the second man yelled out, blaster already lining up a shot.

Tali never hesitated, jumping back onto her swoop and leaving everyone behind as she made for the short distance to the hanger. Rounding a final corner she thought she could hear blaster fire, but the noise coming from the hanger drowned most of it out. Up ahead she saw the opening of the hanger, with the Lekmaster 5000 sitting in its berth looking as ugly as ever.

She almost smiled as she neared it, never quite noticing the rolling R2 unit that seemed to jump out of nowhere, brandishing all of its various tools, many of them showering with sparks. She lost control of her swoop and it hit the hanger floor hard as she managed to jump off in time. The swoop went tumbling end-over-end as she skidded along the floor before stopping herself.

“Vish I hadn’t taken away so much protection,” she groaned to herself, already feeling a burning sensation on her legs and back from the skidding. Gingerly she rose to her feet, but on seeing the R2-unit her anger managed to wash away the pain momentarily. She brandished her blaster, pointing it at the droid as she stalked over to it.

“Vhat are you tinking you stupid droid!” she yelled at it. The droid twittered an angry response back, another spark shooting out of one of its brandished appendages.

The sound of a roaring speeder distracted Tali before she could get off a shot. Her pursuer apparently had managed to get around the two other men, and was heading straight for her. She took a few shots, but the speeder was moving too fast and the pilot easily weaved around the bolts. It came to an almost screeching stop between her and the droid, as the man jumped off with the hilt of an emerald lightsaber already in his hand.

[--o--]

“Sir, we have just received a report of some Brotherhood members causing a disturbance in Chute Town, close to the public hangers.”

The Duros smuggler and current Majordomo of the Godless Matron, Iden Sult, gave his assistant a glare as he peered up from his console.

“Yes, and the air is also recycled. Is there any other unnecessary information you wish to convey?”

“Sir, this involved Halcyon Taldrya. Our cameras caught an Arconan being given a holowafer from that Toydarian, Gebb. Now she is being chased by Halcyon and they’re headed for the hangers.”

The combination of items caught Iden’s interest. It wasn’t everyday a Prophet of the Brotherhood came walking into the Matron. The information he was chasing was probably of interest to many.

“Yes, I do believe we should be paying a visit to the hanger. Grab the usual group and lock the hanger down so that we can have a little parlay.”

“I don’t vant to do this…” Tali stated as she circled her opponent, lightsaber drawn. “Just let me go andt ve’ll all go home alive.”

The Human seemed unphased and she did not begrudge him. Clearly, he was far more experienced and powerful than her. She did not fancy her odds dueling him.

“Just hand over the intel and I will let you go,” Halcyon replied, gently shifting a pair of fingers at her. His deep voice echoed inside the Twi’lek’s mind, tugging at a desire to surrender.

“No!” she spat and shook her head, pushing away the man’s influence. “I am not falling for that!”

The sound of closing blast doors seized their attention. Iden Sult paced towards them across the hangar, with an escort of a dozen heavily-armed mercenaries behind him.

“If there’s something worth the time of the illustrious Halcyon Taldrya, then I would gladly partake in whatever you have procured from my station,” the Duros smarmed as the mercenaries surrounded the trio.

Glancing around, Tali suddenly felt a much more pressing concern in the locals than her would-be assailant and it appeared his droid shared her feelings. Glancing over her shoulder at the Human, the green-haired man met her gaze for an instant.

”I am not giving into these thugs. Help me get off this blastedt station andt I’ll share vhat I got.”

The telepathic connection lasted but heartbeats, yet his hesitation seemed to drag on for an eternity before he mentally replied, ”Agreed.” Shifting to put their backs together, the pair squared off against the guards.

“I see,” Iden sighed, as if he’d expected anything less. “I will relay my condolences to your extended siblings, Taldryan.” With a dismissive gesture, the Duros gave the order to fire.

A wall of blaster bolts unleashed towards the two, Tali’s blade spinning around her like an extension of her arm as bolt after bolt of plasma was deflected back at its origin. Swirling through the firestorm like a nimble brook, she danced away from the crossfire.

Where Tali was a river, Halcyon was an impenetrable mountain, his blade weaving through the fire with clockwork precision and the solid, experienced movements of a true master. Yet, even he realized they would be outmatched eventually and his ally’s abilities could not be relied upon. Speed would be of the essence.

“Sparks, the doors!” the Sorcerer snapped sparingly, the droid chirping as it trundled towards an open dataport.

Moving to protect the R2-unit, Halcyon focused his strikes to deflect bolts back towards the gunmen. With Tali doing much the same, the mercenaries scattered in short order, a trio already dead from their own shots.

Their formation broken, Tali took the offensive, leaping in to finish off a clustered handful when Halcyon sensed danger. A second group of guards rushed in from behind her, raising their rifles to finish her off, seemingly heedless of collateral. Letting the Dark flow through him, he channelled the Force through his fingertips in a raw display of power, lightning crossing the distance and striking the first man in the chest.

Life had not yet left his convulsing body when the bolt spread, leaping from soldier to soldier as the entire squad suffered their fate. The burning drain within him growing, Halcyon cut off the flow as the last man collapsed to the deck, much to the Duros’ horror.

A string of beeps preceded the blast doors opening as Sparks completed its mission and the ionized slash of a plasma blade finished off Tali’s opponents. Suddenly with far fewer friends than he liked, Iden turned and bolted, shouting orders into his earpiece.

Turrets in the roof shifted.

“Move, now!” Halcyon shouted, sensing the impending doom as the guns trained upon the Twi’lek and her ship. Dropping his saber, eyes squeezed shut, he reached out with both hands. Fingers curled, a bead of sweat running down his brow, he felt the cold durasteel of the twin turbolasers before crushing them both in his clenched fists.

The Twi’lek had disappeared inside her ship by the time he looked again, the freighter soon rising from its berth and heading for the open gate. Turrets began coming online around the hangar and he kept twisting their barrels at pace, but his strength was beginning to wane.

Catching the Twi’lek’s gaze through the cockpit window, he touched her mind.

”Go. We’ll finish this. Next time.”

“Give me the disk and you can leave here without any issue.”

The statement was made calmly, but Tali knew the unsaid threat behind the simple words. It should have been a simple and straight-forward mission. She did not know where this man came from, or how he even knew about the disk in the first place.

“No deal,” was her response, made with all the confidence she could manage. “Maybe you can come with me instead and ask my bosses for the disk?” She threw out the question, trying to buy some time to figure out an escape. She never expected the other man to burst out in laughter.

“If you manage to make it out of this, be sure to ask your bosses why this was so funny,” Halcyon told her, seeing the confusion on her face. “Now, defend yourself.”

“You wouldn’t hit a defenseless woman, would you?” Tali asked, using her most innocent voice and demeanor to sell the part. A green blade burst out of his emerald hilt, telling her he didn’t buy the act. She grabbed her own lightsaber as quickly as she could, igniting its yellow blade, expecting an attack at any moment. Yet the man hadn’t moved, and instead appeared to be looking past her.

“No, please, continue,” a new voice called out, causing Tali’s head to turn. She saw a Duros man walking towards them, surrounded by a large retinue of heavily-armed men and women.

“Tali, is it?” the Duros asked, his demeanor relaxed as he came within a few metres of them. Tali nodded her head curtly in response. “Tali, if you would be so kind as to hand over that holowafer of yours, we can all be on our way.”

“Not you too,” Tali said, exasperation creeping into her voice.

“Yes, me too, little lady.”

Tali’s only warning was a sudden filling of the Force, like the room taking a deep breath, as Halcyon exploded from where he stood. The Force flowed through him like a raging river, his legs infused with it as he crossed the distance between himself and Tali in the blink of an eye. A telekinetic strike went out ahead of him, a hammer seeming to slam into the side of Tali’s head a moment before she felt the marbled-hilt of Halcyon’s lightsaber find her nose.

Pain enveloped her entire face as she fell backwards, blood rushing down her nose as she hit the ground. As she fell, Halcyon slipped the Force inside her armor, grabbing hold of the holowafer and pulling it into his palm.

“That wafer is still ours, Taldrya,” Iden stated, ice creeping into his voice. Halcyon could sense not only the resolve of those around him, but also how many others were hidden around the hanger.

“You will eventually kill me, Iden, but how much will it cost you to take me down? I am sure you have more than enough information on me to know what I am capable of. I know what I face here. You will stop me at a high cost, and this wafer will not survive it.”

Halcyon’s voice never rose as he explained the situation to the Majordomo, his face showing neither fear or trepidation.

“And do you think I can let you leave here without any consequence?”

“Take her,” Halcyon said, indicating Tali, who was now coming to her full senses again. “She may not know exactly what’s on the wafer, but I’m sure she has some useful information on Arcona’s plan at the very least.”

Tali could hear what was being said through the ringing of her head. Fighting through the pain she began to rise to her feet, her hand beginning to wrap around her fallen lightsaber.

“You have a deal,” Iden said, his hand gesturing to those around him as a sudden deluge of stun bolts slammed into Tali’s body, dropping her back to the ground instantly.

Halcyon had never moved, trusting his own senses that he was never a target. Nodding at Iden, he stepped over Tali’s body and mounted his speeder once more. Slowly he moved further into the hanger towards his own ship, Sparks following closely behind.