Anakin once visited Coruscant’s underbelly, as an escort for Supreme Chancellor Palpatine’s secret visit. Festering within the 2685th level of Coruscant, it is a feeding ground to the best and worst criminals—bureaucrats among them. Slaves and contraband are bought and sold on the hour, while others gamble with their lives or ill-gotten gains on the roll of a chance cube.

Others are content to seek entertainment, watching holographic projections of exotic dancers in various states of undress—the likes of which will no doubt be traded as slaves in exchange for credits or other services. Games of chance are often obscured under the sheer volume of patrons gathered around the game tables. Smaller round tables serve for social or business gatherings, with more discreet booths tucked into alcoves along the walls.

Having undergone unfinished renovations at some point, the ceiling has been raised to resemble that of a warehouse. Smoke gathers among the durasteel supports, making a buffer for the intense red and violet beams lighting the cesspit below. Zeltron perfumes are among the most common smells in the establishment, while the rolling of dice cubes make for the most recognizable sound above the music. Fights don’t often break out, and violence is often dissuaded at the sight of armoured bouncers several heads taller than most humanoids

Lucine wore a stolen face as she strode into the club. Oh, the silken gown and expensive jewelery she wore was real enough, albeit far more gaudy than she would ever wear willingly. Lady Jaina Valano of the esteemed Valano family, however, favored such adornments, and it was her face Lucine had adopted for the evening.

She looked through the chaotic tangle of gyrating bodies, flashing lights, and disgustingly pungent odors, until she found the man she was looking for. Sprawled out in a booth at the very back of the club, nursing a dark red drink, was Captain Jon Silvon. Odanite law man, and semi-reformed criminal information broker. The “semi” part was why she was here. The “reformed” part required her current charade; she had a feeling he wouldn’t be very open to the idea of working with an Arconan.

“Ah, lady of the hour!” he said with a smile. The captain waved her over and gestured for her to sit. “Please, please, come and sit with me. Have a drink!”

“I’d be happy to Captain Silvon,” she said, sitting down. She took up a glass of the dark red liquid and - after confirming through the Force that it lacked any kind of toxins or drugs - took a sip. It was genuinely good. “Mm. If I may say, Captain, you have exquisite taste.”

“Oh? Are you surprised?” he said, grinning sardonically.

“To find such excellent brandy this far below Coruscant’s surface? Very. I wouldn’t have expected an…” her eyes crawled over the noisy, crowded room, searching for a word that was sufficiently politic. “...establishment like this to carry something of such high quality.”

Jon guffawed. “This joint? No, they most certainly do not, m’lady. That comes from my own personal stock.” He leaned in closely. “For special occasions only, you understand.”

Lucine gave him a demure smile. “Well then I’m honored Captain. I would, naturally, hate to be rude but…”

“But you’d like to get ahead to the business,” he nodded. “I can understand that, m’lady. And as a matter of fact, I think I can help you.”

“You mean you have the information?” she asked.

In response the captain held a holodisk in one hand. Lucine’s eyes widened. She reached out eagerly, the way an affluent girl used to having things handed to her would have. She wasn’t at all surprised when he snatched it back, but feigned frustration all the same.

“Ah, payment first m’lady,” Jon said, wagging a finger at her like she were a child. “I think… fifty-thousand credits should suffice, don’t you?”

“Fif-fifty?” Lucine gasped, nearly dropping her drink. That actually got her mask to slip, ever so slightly. “Surely you’re joking, that's… exorbitant.”

Jon shrugged. “I’m an exorbitant kind of guy. Besides, this intel was by no means easy to get a hold of. And it’s not as though you’re family can’t pay, now is it?”

Maybe he was less reformed than she had been led to believe. He was robbing her after all.

“Of course we can,” she huffed, “but the kind of price you’re demanding goes well beyond what is reasonable, captain.” Lucine began drawing on the Force. She didn’t know if a Mind Trick would suffice on a man who flew with the Jedi, and if it failed it’d be a dead giveaway as to her real intentions. Still…

The captain shrugged. “Eh… perhaps we can come to an alternative arrangement?”

Lucine looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “And what exactly did you have in mind?”

“Oh say… a secret for a secret?” he whispered, leaning in again.

“And,” she whispered back, “what secrets might you be interested in?”

“For instance, how you can be both here, and vacationing on Naboo, Lady Jaina? Even I haven’t perfected that trick, and I’m quite the magician.” He took a long draught from his drink, before fixing her with that sardonic grin of his again.

Lucine’s eyes widened, and she silently cursed. The bastard was smarter than she gave him credit for. In a flash, she had her lightsaber at his throat, but not activated, allowing the hilt to sit just below his jaw, a quiet warning.

“Ah… Sith,” he uttered nervously. “Must admit, I was not prepared for that one.”

“Give me the holodisk,” she hissed, putting her hand out. “Now Captain.”

Jon dropped the holodisk into her palm. He shifted, and she grabbed the other hand mid air before the dagger could even touch her silks. She gripped the arm, and tightly and twisted until the dagger clattered onto the table. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the grimace of pain on his face.

“I’ll be taking my leave of you now, Captain,” she said, curtseying as she backed away from their table. “Thank you sincerely. For the information, and for the drink. I hope you enjoy the remainder of your evening.”

As she turned to walk away a warning rang out through the Force, and she turned just in time to cut three daggers out of the air. Before she knew it, a flurry of blaster bolts were fired into the ceiling, and all Hell broke loose.

Club Kasakar was a place that was frequented by all manner of unsavory individuals. As a result, the security guards were observant and quick to respond at the merest hint of violence. As the partially melted remains of the throwing daggers clattered to the floor, the crowd parted around her, trying to stay out of reach of the woman with the plasma-sword. A nearby shout made it clear that the bouncers were aware of the situation. Lucine cursed under her breath as she hastily put away her lightsaber, but it was too late. There were at least three of the tall, armored goons pushing their way toward her.

She cast a look of annoyance at the mercenary, but Jon merely gave her a placid smile in return. He lifted his drink toward her, before settling back to watch the show.

She had just enough time to glance quickly around, the beginnings of an idea forming in her mind. She called upon the Force to decrease the sensitivity of her pain receptors. She would no doubt feel the pain later, but at least for now, it would not be a distraction.

Then the first of the guards were upon her, a tall and muscular Barabel that had used his superior bulk to simply shove his way through the crowd. Apparently, he was the type to solve problems with violence, as he threw a punch as soon as he got within reach of her. She did not even try to avoid it. The scaled fist impacted hard against her abdomen, and the force of the blow sent her sailing into one of the nearby crowded booths. The table shattered beneath the impact, but as a result of her earlier preparations, she barely felt either the blow or the impact.

Shouts and screams rang out around her, as the people who had been occupying the booth tried to clear out of the bouncer’s way. But the close confines made it impossible to move easily, meaning that most of the patrons succeeded only in getting caught in a panicked tangle of limbs. The localized chaos was just what she needed.

Hastily, she let go of the energy she had used to endure the punch and also the energy she was using to disguise her features. As the illusions faded, she tore off the gaudy jewelry and ostentatious silks to reveal the simple utilitarian set of black armor underneath.

Some of the people in the booth were managing to crawl away as the Barabel drew near enough to search for the blonde Human troublemaker that he had just sent sprawling. He frowned in confusion when he did not see her, and began pulling people out of the tangle as he searched for her.

Lucine took advantage of the bouncer’s distraction to work on extricating herself from the rest of the crowd. Though it took some work, she managed to crawl free of the others and slip away. Everyone was looking for a blonde, so a redhead barely drew a second glance.

She hurried away, wanting to put as much space between her and the bouncers as possible. She couldn't resist turning toward Silvon's booth with a saucy smirk on her face, but that smirk faded a bit when she saw that he was no longer there.

No matter, she told herself. She had the holodisk, so there was no reason to hang around. She wove her way through the crowd of onlookers who were still hoping to see a fight and made a direct line for the door.

She paid little mind to the Astromech that was patrolling in front of the exit until it abruptly gave a trilling shriek. At the same time, the Force sent a cold chill down her spine, warning her of an impending threat. She twisted to the side, just barely avoiding a blow aimed for a nerve cluster that would have paralyzed her arm. She grabbed Silvon's hand and stepped behind him in a single motion, twisting his arm painfully behind his back.

"That was not very friendly, darling," she murmured into his ear. "And after we shared a drink and everything."

Silvon's smirk remained confident despite the pain that marred his features. "We're not done. You still haven't paid for the intel."

He shifted his weight and allowed his free arm to drop. Lucine responded by twisting his trapped arm a bit further out of alignment. He sucked in a sharp breath of pain, and the nearby Astromech squealed in outrage. She ignored them both and spoke into his ear once more. "Fifty thousand credits? You are a charming man, but a terrible comedian. Here is my counter offer. I keep the holodisk and let you go without breaking your arm. How does that sound?"

"Not too bad," Jon replied. "Here's my counter counter-offer." He triggered the blaster in his vambrace, shooting the floor near Lucine's feet. She instinctively jumped back, releasing his arm. He turned swiftly, raising his arm to aim the vambrace at her but she closed the distance between them as quick as a striking snake. She pushed his arm out of the way, sending the blaster bolts into the nearby crowd. There were a few shouts and screams as the weapon went off. Once again, they had the attention of both the bystanders and the guards.

"Help!" the redhead shrieked, loud enough to make sure that her fear-tinged was easily heard. "The Force User's partner is attacking me!"