ANGEL'S MORTALITY

v

KOBOH
PYLOON'S SALOON
THE NEXT MORNING

Diane wasn't really sure what her goal was here. All the angel knew was that they needed a place to lie low from Heaven...and the Empire. (But that was a different story.)

Greez allowed her to work at his saloon in the meantime. Something about "making them useful" and also the fact that she'd completely trashed his lower room a couple of days ago.

M-6NK, or Monk, a bartending droid, was surprised to see the angel. The droid claimed that he thought she was fake, as Greez talked about her so often. He'd apparently told stories about her powers and whatever information he knew about Heaven that the droid thought the Latero was going crazy.

The three-story saloon had a very sketchy yet comfortable vibe. When you first enter, it feels small, with a few booths on the left side and the bar table on your right. But on the upper level were the gamblers and a lovely aquarium in the middle of the area. On the rooftop was an untouched garden that was begging to be used. After a few days, Diane could spot the bounty hunters among the tired farmers and passersby.

But there was no one here just yet, and she was finishing wiping down the table on one of the booths when Greez ran to her.

"We gotta go, kid."

"What? Why?"

She didn't get a response as Greez took her down to the bottom floor.

"Greez, what are you not telling me?" she whispered.

"Bedlam Raiders," Greez hissed.

"Oh karabast!" Diane cursed under her breath.

There was a commotion upstairs, and they waited for a moment.

"Wait here," Diane whispered.

"Diane!"

The angel crept up the stairs, and the Latero followed behind her.

There was nothing but silence and small chatter. It was Monk talking to someone.

"You can come on out old boy, the coast is clear!" The droid yelled.

Greez let out a sigh and patted the angel's back. Diane shook her head as Greez started rambling.

"I'll tell ya Monk, the Bedlam Raiders are gonna be the end of this town! We got no hope! Zero! Zilch! Nothing!"

Diane took a few steps forward before freezing in place when she saw two familiar figures.

"Greez," she whispered.

BD-1 hopped off of Cal to walk on the front bar, excited to see his old friends.

In the moment, Greez turned and said, "How you doing BD?" Before continuing on his monologue.

"Beep!"

Greez faltered.

"Wait a minute."

Greez wheezed and looked up to see Cal Kestis leaning with a hand on the bar and a hand resting on his top belt.

"Cal! Cal Kestis, get over here you son of a boggling! Oh! It's been a while, I missed ya kid!"

Cal smiled and leaned down to hug the Latero.

"Hey."

"Lemma look at cha."

Cal's scars were more prominent and Greez was surprised to see some stubble on his face, and his once shaggy hair was cut short. But his eyes...they held weight to them.

"Ya look terrible," Greez said.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too Greez," Cal said with a playful tone.