Star Wars Tyranny on Teth

Chapter 8

Rhodes paid for the hangar with a portion of the credits Rose had lent him. The deck officer accepted the payment, and the trio left the spaceport and into the moderately crowded streets of Iziz.

"That is how you pay a deck officer. Quickly and without incident." Rhodes joked as Lena rolled her eyes.

"So, how do we find your friend if she is so elusive?" Lena asked, choosing not to acknowledge his previous statement.

Rhodes motioned a finger indicating that he would tell her in a second.

They walked further down the main street while two stormtroopers were interrogating a frightened Rodian ahead of them. Seeing this, Rhodes grabbed Lena by the arm and pulled her down an alley with Hunter in tow.

Lena's eyes were wide, clearly startled by the quick change in events. The two rushed down the alley, Lena giving a confused look to Rhodes who asked her to trust him.

Once he was sure they were not followed, Rhodes stopped to explain. "Since my friend is a somewhat high-value target to the Empire, at least on this planet, she has to be secretive about her whereabouts. We can also not afford to let the Empire know we are in league with her or that we know how to find her. There is a short code phrase that can help us find her."

Lena, still a bit confused, hesitated before asking, "What is the code phrase and how do you know it?"

Rhodes laughed at the question. "First of all, it is secret for a reason so I can't give it out. I happen to know it because I worked a few jobs for this friend, and she may or may not owe me a favor."

Lena crossed her arms, clearly wanting in on the secret. "Fine. So, are we going to someplace specific or are we going to stay in this alley?"

"Impatient, aren't we?" Rhodes snickered. "We will get there soon but we should get moving." Lena and Rhodes continued down the alley eventually reaching the end. The two popped out on the other side of the alley to a busy side street.

The street had vendors lining it in addition to a few shop entrances. The stores were busy with people filtering in and out.

The streets were crowded enough to the point that Rhodes and Lena had to walk single file. Hunter was weaving throughout the crowd trying his best to keep up.

Rhodes diced into a store with his two crewmates following closely. It was a weapons store with the walls lined with various blasters. Racks of different munitions and supplies crammed the middle of the store.

Rhodes began to browse the store, looking at the various weapons and weaving between the numerous racks.

Lena eventually caught up to Rhodes and stepped in front of him whispering, "We aren't here to look at—"

Before Lena could finish her sentence, Rhodes put a finger up to her mouth, mouthing the words, be patient, I got this.

Rhodes removed a weapon from the wall, bringing it to the counter.

The cashier was a man shorter than Lena with a thick beard and glasses.

Rhodes showed him the blaster and proceeded to ask numerous questions about the weapon. Lena sat watching impatiently, trying to figure out what he was trying to accomplish.

The cashier answered every question that Rhodes had asked while adding a speech of his own.

"Will you be taking this fine weapon home with you today? A real bargain if I do say so myself." The store clerk asked in a high-pitched crackly voice.

Rhodes stroked his chin as if he were pondering the offer. "I am just trying to find the edge I need in my profession."

Lena, who was listening carefully, noticed that Rhodes made a slight emphasis on the phrase "the edge" which the shopkeeper seemed to react to.