Glee Anselm was a mostly aquatic world that had very few resources of significance, produced little of importance, and was not in a strategic position in the galaxy at large. It was a minor, insular world that offered little and asked for nothing.
And yet, despite all that, the First Order was still here.
Why, Luna had no idea, but it made their mission all the more fraught.
Fortunately there was only one star destroyer in orbit, and it was a simple matter of waiting for the capital ship to reach the day side part of its orbit, so they could make landfall on the night side. And while they were queried by First Order sensor buoys, Mara had reconfigured the Nest's transponder to send out information identifying it as a First Order supply ship. It was crudely done and there was no way it would stand up to literally any further scrutiny, but for their purposes, it worked.
Face brought the ship down to an archipelago chain, dropping Luna, Cora and Ro'vena into an empty bit of jungle adjacent to what seemed to be a minor spaceport.
'Perhaps it was not such a good idea, landing in jungle at night,' Ro'vena observed.
Luna couldn't help but agree. They knew the general direction that they had to go, but navigating the dense bush and undergrowth was proving more than a little difficult, and even though they were roughly a kilometre from the outskirts of the settlement, it took them an hour to cover that short distance, since they couldn't risk using any strong flashlights, or Cora's lightsaber to cut a path, despite her many, many offers to do so.
Once they had reached the outskirts, though, it didn't take long to find the First Order already there.
'What the hell?' Luna exclaimed, as they ducked into an alley to avoid one small patrol.
'How are they everywhere?' Cora mused out loud, and then tensed. 'You don't think they're here for us, are they?'
Luna shook her head, then realised that the others wouldn't be able to see her in the dark. Well, maybe Cora could. 'I don't see how they'd know we'd be coming here. It's probably just - I don't know. Bad luck?' it was a poor reason, but she couldn't think of any better. The stormtroopers passed them by. 'Come on,' she urged the others, before stepping out, 'let's find a bar.'
It was a settlement none of them had ever been to before, on a planet where they had no practical, useful information, and in what they could only consider to be hostile territory. But they were pilots, and if there's one thing pilots knew how to do, it was to find a bar.
It was a small rotunda with a dome roof, and at this time of night it was mostly empty, occupied by a few diehard drinkers or people who had irregular workshifts, and when the three Nexus entered, very few patrons actually looked at them, but the barkeeper did. From what little Luna knew from Zatt's telling of her home planet, Luna figured that the bartender was an Anselmi, the land dwelling species that also called Glee Anselm home. This one - she had no basis of understanding with which to guess gender - was squat and blue skined, which seemed typical of the species, and wore a broke sleeveless robe. They regarded the newcomers with a squint that Luna determined to be a suspicious one. Luna affected a yawn to make herself seem less dangerous. It wasn't an affectation she had to reach hard for.
'Can I get ya anythin'?' the barkeeper asked. They had a high pitched voice, with a slight gravelly feel to it.
'Three sour-grape brandies, if you please,' Ro'vena replied. She folded her arms and slumped lazily onto the bar. She looked quite relaxed and half asleep already. Luna stood to her left, leaning an elbow on the bar, trying to copy her look and only half succeeding. Cora came to stand by Luna's only left and rest her head on Luna's arm. Luna absent-mindedly leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
'That'll wake youse up, right anough,' the bartender said gruffly, grabbing a bottle from the shelf behind them. They poured three glasses out.
'Have one for yourself, too,' Luna said, placing several New Republic credits on the bar. Face's advice: get people drunk and they're less likely to treat you with suspicion. The barkeeper eyed the coins warily, then snatched them up before anyone else could see. Luna thought that perhaps that was the wrong move, but the barkeeper poured themself a drink too, downing it in one, without even a flinch. She had no clue how bartenders could drink anything without it seeming to faze them; Luna herself had only had this brandy on a couple of occasions and it took her a minute to regain her breath after only a small sip.
'So what brings you to our neck a woods?' they asked, planting their fists firmly on the bar, as if to prop themselves up.
'Just visiting friends,' Ro'vena said silkily. She took a sip and let out an appreciative sigh. 'Oh that is lovely.'
To Luna's other side, Cora gagged on her drink. Luna rubbed her back, trying to ease her coughing fit.
'Oh yeh? And whereabout are theh, eh? And where's ya shep? Didn't see nothing on the board?'
Luna wasn't sure what board they were talking about, but she provided her preplanned answer. 'We had engine trouble and had to make an unplanned stop, just out the way, theh - there,' she corrected herself quickly. Wouldn't do to mimic the locals, that just seemed rude. 'But if you could help us find our way? She's of the Fenndy clan.'
'Ah, gill heads,' the bartender snarled scornfully, making themself another drink. Luna felt herself bristle and she had to force her mouth shut. Cora must have felt her anger, for she wrapped an arm around Luna's waist, giving her a gentle squeeze.
Ro'vena was the quickest to adapt. 'Our friend's not like the others,' she assured them smoothly, leaning closer to the bartender. 'But we do have some bad news to pass on, on her behalf. So, needs must.'
'Plenty bad news all around,' the bartender said gruffly. Luna looked around the cantina. Now that she gave the other patrons a proper look, she could see no Nautolans there. 'Well, I'll be no help to yas,' and then added. 'But there's some right ones, some landwalkers, that works the docks. Theys get you what you need. Best of luck to ya.'
The three Nexus took that as their cue to leave, and they parted with forced smiles. Luna took a few steps before stopping, thinking over the barkeeper's words. She made her way back to the bar. 'Sorry,' she said, 'I forgot to ask the name?'
The bartender leaned back to look her in the eye. Given that Luna was nearly twice their height, that took some leaning back. 'Gebrin.'
'Nice to meet you, Gebrin,' she didn't give her own name. 'I'm just wondering - why luck?'
Gebrin snorted derisively. 'Ain't no love for them outlanders, they make things a pain. First Order coming in, messing with us locals. But at least they got something right. Went underwater to where the water breathers lives, rounded them up, the lot of them. Doubt there's any left.'
