Anabeth: New Beginnings

Chapter 12 - Undercover Mission

By the time the ship touched down on Corellia, Ana had swapped out her usual robes for the clothes Ventress had got her. She was now sporting some dark brown cargo pants with an elaborate utility belt. Her top had been changed for a right black one with a turtle neck and a  worn down beige jacket for her to hide her lightsaber in. Additionally, Ventress had gotten her some black, fingerless gloves. Her boots were the only thing she actually got to keep.

"You still look too graceful for where we are about to set foot," Ventress stated as she eyed Ana up and down. "You need more of a mysterious edge. Put you hair up."
"My hair?" Ana asked skeptically.
"Trust me, I'm doing you a favor," Ventress just replied.

Deciding resistance was futile, Ana quickly went to tie her hair up and braid it into a long, neat braid. Once Ventress was satisfied, the two of them went ahead and snuck off the ship. They made their way through the busy cargo dock until they finally exited the premises and found the nearby train station.

"So, where are we going?" Ana asked as they stood among the waiting crowd. "Have you even been here before? Because I sure haven't."
"I visited once or twice since I became a bounty hunter, so I know where we need o go if we want to find Bane," Ventress replied. "There is a district much like the Coruscant underworld a few stops from here. We'll start there."

The sound of the train arriving interrupted their conversation. Together with the people around them, Ana and Ventress boarded and remained standing in silence until their stop came. Immediately upon getting off, Ana could tell they were in the right place. They had long left the at least semi clean cargo docks of Coronet city behind and were now entering the far less maintained part.

They only had to walk a few streets until they ended up surrounded by people dressed very similar to them. And while Ana was aware that this wasn't Coruscant, she could have easily assumed so had she not known better. The vibe of the buildings and the people surrounding them was simply too similar to the nightlife she associated with Coruscant.

"Now what?" Ana asked as she walked beside Ventress.
"Now, we go to a bar. One where an acquaintance of mine usually hangs out. He might be able to help us," Ventress replied. "Watch your back in there though, the people there usually don't have good intentions in mind."

"I can handle myself," Ana assured Ventress.
"Good," was all the dathomirian replied with. "Today, for all intents and purposes, your name will be Dara. You come from the underworld of Coruscant, and that's all people need to know if they ask, got it?"
"Dara from Coruscant, got it," Ana confirmed.

They went down another two streets in silence before they finally reached their destination. Ana followed right behind Ventress as they entered the bar. It only took her once glance through the room to now that the dathomirian hadn't been exaggerating when she had said that the people in there were sketchy.

There was a man in the corner, staring at them with the most soulless eyes Ana had ever seen. A rhodean and a tolothian sitting at a table together seemed wary of their presence and were giving them suspicious glances, and many other people turned to at least get a glance at them.

Ana played it cool though, putting on the 'don't mess with me face' she was good at and marching on like nothing was the matter. Ventress did the same, simply leading them to one of the tables in the corner where a human man with a headscarf and chest and shoulder armor was sitting and sipping away at a drink.

They sat down opposite him as he raised his eyes from his glass to look at them. Ana quickly tried to match his face to one of the more notorious bounty hunters the Order was aware of, but she came up short.
"Asajj Ventress," he greeted her.
"Dengar," Ventress returned the gesture.

"Who's your friend?"
"Dara," Ventress replied before Ana could. "She's doing a job with me."
"Her?" Dengar asked, giving Ana a creepy smile. "She doesn't even have a blaster. And she looks far too harmless."

Ana knew he was right. By any standards, she did look far too harmless to be a bounty hunter. But that didn't mean she actually was. Or that she didn't know how to look the part. Perhaps it was time she proved as much to the man.

"Looks can be deceiving," Ana spoke provokingly as she shifted forward in her chair slightly. With a quick movement of her hand she reached out and grabbed the knife strapped to Dengar's thigh. Pickpocketing had been among the skills she had become rather good at during her time on Gandri.

Holding Dengar's gaze determinedly, she leaned back in her chair again.
"And so long as I know how to take my opponent's weapon, I don't need a blaster," she stated as she slammed the knife down on the table. Ventress raised an impressed eyebrow at her while Dengar took the knife back with an amused chuckle.

"A bounty hunter and a pickpocket then. What kind of job could you possibly be doing?" the man asked.
"None of your concern," Ventress snarled.
"You came to find me, I'm pretty sure you're after something that is of my concern," Dengar stated dryly.

"We're looking for someone," Ventress replied. "We heard that he might here. And if he's here, you know where he is because you know everything that happens on this planet."
"Give me a name, and I'll see what I can do for you," Dengar graciously offered. Too graciously for Ana's taste. It didn't seem right.

"Bane," Ventress stated.
"Bane," Dengar laughed, also a little too heartily for Ana's taste. "Whatever rumors you heard about him being here are about as absurd as Jaba the Hut stopping by. He's not here."

"You're sure of that?" Ventress asked, obviously suspicious of what he was doing as well. "You're a little too talkative for my taste today."
"I'm telling you the truth. Don't tell me you wanted to beat it out of me instead," Dengar replied with an amused grin.
"I just might yet," Ventress snarled, darting up from her seat and grabbing the man by the collar.

Ana quickly stood up too as she watched Ventress pull Dengar to his feet and back him up against the wall, hands around his nack. The whole bar was now watching the little commotion they were making.
"Easy," Dengar choked as he grasped at Ventress' hands, trying to loosen them. "I swear, I'm telling the truth."

"Come on, just let him go," Ana went to reason with Ventress. "Bane's not here. Killing him won't change that."
"No. He's lying, Bane is on this planet, I know it," Ventress insisted.
"Ventress, killing him won't get us any closer to finding him."

"She's right," Dengar choked out. Carefully, Ventress began to loosen her grip on his neck, but she still held him in place tightly.
He coughed several times before speaking again. "Tell you what, I'll check again. Ask around a little. And then I'll get back to you."

"Check thoroughly," Ana insisted as she grabbed a hold of ventress and pulled her off the man. The Dathomirian resisted of course, but by the ttime she had freed herself from Ana's grasp, Dengar was already out of the door. She hurried outside with Ana right behind her, but came to stop outside when she saw the crowd Dengar had disappeared into.

"Why did you let him go? You know he was lying. He knows exactly where Bane is and is probably going to warn him now," Ventress snapped at Ana. She only gave her a knowing smile though.
"He wasn't going to reveal Bane's location of his own will, so I made sure we have a contingency plan."

"A contingency plan?" Ventress asked a little confused.
"Indeed," Ana began to explain. "I placed a tracker on his knife."
"You placed a tracker on it? How'd you know we'd need one at that point?" Ventress asked.

"The way he looked at me when you said I was doing a job with you. He knew something was off right away."
"You've got quiet the skill set," Ventress praised her. "Which of your Jedi friends taught you to pickpocket?"

"No one," Ana replied. "I taught myself, long before my time with the Jedi."
"Long before..?" Ventress trailed off obviously taken aback by Ana's statement.
"A story for after we caught Bane. We already let Dengar get enough of a head start. Time to go hunting now."