Wanted , The Bad Batch

07 - Ryki the Fighter

Ord Mantell town was just like what you'd expect in the lower levels of Coruscant, except much mild. Still, it pretty much represented the rowdy and scum-filled citizens that dwelled in the famous lower levels. Ryki Taala remembered Coruscant as her only home, mostly because she was forced to live there under the thumb of a low-life sleemo named Mor Vendi. An Umbaran slaver that kept Ryki for her talents in deducing and manipulating his customers to his bidding. 

On Coruscant, Ryki's worked with many life forms. Most of them were sleemos and scugs of the galaxy. Mor Vendi has entertained the likes of corrupt senators like Orn Fre Ta, the senator of the banking clan, and the big shots like Wat Tambor and the Umbaran senator himself. Ryki would admit, that she knew quite a lot of Vendi's customers, and customers she would mean enemies. Mor Vendi would use her Force abilities to predict certain possible futures if his customers choose a certain path in life, that they may change it or even avoid it. 

Otherwise, Ryki would be lent for hire to Vendi's customers to manipulate those under them or their enemies. She'd put her life on the line and make those dirty deals while the higher-ups get to keep their slates clean. Ryki Taala though is a smart woman. Most of the time, she'd change the story from a certain point of view, not explain the entire scenario or just plain pretend to manipulate without the Force. Since most of the dark deeds she's carried out were for villainous purposes, she'd use her powers against Vendi's customers and compromise their goals inside out.

"Just use fancy words and a fancy voice and a fancy act and they're sold." 

Her mantra never failed her because after one daring-do test run on the Umbaran senator, she managed to compromise a whole black market scheme that he wanted to run under the Republic's nose. The senator, was furious when his plan failed. Mor Vendi got the complaint which was as expected and brought the blame to Ryki. 

"The Force works in mysterious ways. It can predict possible futures and certain things at a point in time. Its accuracy though is uncertain." She'd say in faked humbleness, or "I'm just a conduit in the Force. I seek to understand what can be understood. In other words, I'm just a messenger."

Ryki carried out this scheme for quite a while and not being caught by Vendi made it a lot easier. The people she worked for were as greedy as a sarlacc on a hot Tatooine day. The downside was that Vendi's customers began to decrease since their wishes and dreams would not come through and Ryki was punished. Vendi wanted his credits so he took out his frustration on Ryki for months. She was starved, electrocuted, whipped and left to bleed from her wounds. 

She tried to escape multiple times. Ryki told herself that if she were to die, it wouldn't be in a low-lifes hobble. So, she pulled multiple escape attempts and fled the underworld, trying to evade bounty hunters and Mor Vendi himself. Now, Ryki found herself in the company of some rogue clones. All wanting to flee the evil of the galaxy and just live their lives in peace. It was easy right? 

---

Ryki grunted as she finally lifted a heavy bag onto her shoulders. After the run-in with a bounty hunter and the empire on Bracca, she advised the Bad Batch to lay low and act like civilians for a while. 

"They are clones, what did I even expect" She grumbled. On their first week back from Bracca, Tech managed to tick of a local mechanic. They got into an argument and Tech couldn't keep his engineering expertise to himself, resulting in a skirmish with the local. Wrecker picked up a bad habit of 'put it on Cid's tab'. 

"Oh, sure just ask four clone commandos to sit still and behave like normal people" Ryki slapped her face. "I'm sure they won't be so 'commando-ish'" The mirialan repeated Cid's words in a high pitched voice.