Blaster & Blade 2: Worlds Collide

Chapter 10

Mal’dar

   
The crew was coming together. They had a medic, the 2-1B medical droid. The droid had been salvaged after its ship went down during the clone wars. Then it bounced around from owner to owner until it was set free. Though the droid said that it did not have a name, and to be called either it or GB.
   
The defel, who was named Artal, had set himself apart from the rest of the slicers. So Mal’dar would interview Artal and then see if Artal passed Khura’s test. Mal’dar sat down at a metal table, Artal sitting across from him. Artal sat long arms crossed, and legs not reaching the ground.
   
“You’re a very good sneak and one of the best slicers I’ve ever seen,” stated Mal’dar.
   
Artal shrugged, “Yeah I know, now I got the job or not?”
   
“But,” emphasized Mal’dar, “I need to trust you, so what’s your story?”
   
Artal’s visor narrowed at Mal’dar, “Trust this, I hate the empire, I hate the Jedi, I hate clones, and I don’t hate you yet. So you shut up and we’ll be fine”. Artal moved to jump out of the chair.
   
“You leave and you won’t get the job,” said Mal’dar.
   
Artal froze before slowly turning back to Mal’dar, “What do you wanna hear, how I was always good with computers but always a good boy until my family died. Do you really care?!”
   
Mal’dar flinched. He cleared his throat slightly, “I do, the job is yours if you pass the final test”.
   
Artal flinched, “What test buckethead?!”
   
“Take care of my daughter for the afternoon,” said Mal’dar.
   
Artal immediately began violently shaking his head, “No, no. I’ll clean up for after your kid, I’ll slice anything, kill people, break into places, you can send me on a suicide mission I don’t care”. His visor locked on Mal’dar, “But don’t ask me to do that”.
   
Mal’dar nodded and held out his hand, “I look forward to working with you”.
   

   
The Nelvaanian sat down across from Mal’dar, “Hell-o,” said The Nelvaanian.
   
Mal’dar looked The Nelvaanian calmly, “You fight very well and if pass the final two tests then you are on the crew”. Mal’dar leaned forward and looked at The Nelvaanian, “So what’s your story?”

The Nelvaanian flinched, “My story?” he said speaking so, he seemed unsure of the words almost.

Mal’dar nodded, his eyes never breaking from The Nelvaanian’s.

The Nelvaanian took a deep breath and began to speak, “Metal ones came, and they take many of us. I fight for village but I give myself to them so they will leave village.” The Nelvaanian let out a long sigh, “But they take village anyway”. He began running fingers through his hair, “They tore us taking us out and putting metal in. The white faces came and battled the metal ones. The metal ones fled but then the ghost turned on us. They sell us and I go from person to person until I escape and a winter later I come here”.

Mal’dar looked at the Nelvaanian pity filling him. “What happened to your village?” asked Mal’dar.

“I don’t know, my family is dead but I do not about the rest of my tribe,” said The Nelvaanian keeping Mal’dar’s gaze.

“I’m sorry,” said Mal’dar looking away his mind wandering to Rimi.

“They are with the Great Mother now,” The Nelvaanian said.

Mal’dar turned his gaze back The Nelvaanian, “What’s your name?”

“Harvos,” said The Nelvaanian.

    Across from Mal’dar sat two figures, the first was the Squib the second the Sluissi. The squib stood in the chair so he could see over the table. The Sluissi curled her snake-like tail around the chair and looked at Mal’dar, her face young and kind. Mal’dar looked back and forth between them as he spoke, “Both of you are very talented mechanics, so both of you will have to get past this integration and the final test”. Mal’dar leaned towards them, “So Sly, Kayslee Lusar let us begin”.

    “She ccccannn hahahave ththe ssspopot,” stammered Sly.

    Mal’dar flinched, “Both of you are very good, I’d be happy to have either of you. But don’t you want to at least try”.

    “Mamamy brbrbrother nananeeds me,” stammered Sly.

    Mal’dar sighed a defeated feeling coming over him, though he did not know why. “If that’s what you want very well,” he looked at Kayslee, “It appears that you are the winner by default then”. He tossed some credits to Sly who turned and began to walk away.

    Kayslee unraveled from around the chair and slithered towards Sly, “Wait!”

    Sly and Mal’dar both looked at her in surprise after all Sly had just given her the job.

    “I want to work with you, we could split it 50-50,” said Kayslee.

    “Nnneeed credits,” said Sly.

    “Then work with us for one mission, you’ve got like it more than you would working with your brother. He’s a jerk!” exclaimed Kayslee.

    “It’s not about that,” stated Mal’dar. Both mechanics looked at him, “It’s about family”.

    Sly nodded and began to walk towards the exit again while Kayslee sorrow written on every scale.

    “But if you stay and send money to him then you’re still being a good brother,” said Mal’dar.

    The pilot completion had come down to two pilots a devaronian and a duros. The duros was better with a smaller ship that Mal’dar rented though the devaronian was better with land vehicles. Mal’dar had decided on the duros, whose name was Ras Had and reminded him of Lando.

    Their shooter was a Cathar named Marrish. He was a former assassin who went rogue after a client got mad that he didn’t want to take a contract. A cigar always hung from his mouth and he dabbled in explosives.

    So the crew was made. Harvos was the muscle, Marrish and Mal’dar the shooters, Ras Had the pilot, Artal the slicer, GB the medic, Kayslee, and Sly at mechanic. Mal’dar nodded in, it was a good crew. Time to put them to work.

    “We’ve got a job from The Hutts, someone is muscling on their turf. We rob them and blast them,” stated Mal’dar.

    “So where we headed?” asked Ras.

    “Geonosis,” said Mal’dar.