Not Anti or Pub Safe

Once Nines is secure enough in their relationship, he stops masking so much around Theron and the eccentricities and tics start showing. Theron loves the unfiltered version of Nines that only he gets to see. He loves Nines' dry sarcasm and nervous energy and brilliant, constantly turning mind. He loves Nines' thinly veiled anger and the way he tries to make sense of everything he comes across.

Most of the hiccups in their relationship come from Nines. Nines is used to homosexuality being taboo in the Empire, used to seducing men that are ashamed to want him and see him as little more than something to be used. It's what he expects attraction between men to look like and absolutely nothing like how Theron treats him.

At first Nines mentally groups Theron with Vector. It's the closest relationship he has for context. Theron is kind and concerned like Vector, he fusses like Vector, he worries like Vector. Theron's kisses and flirting are nothing like Vector so Nines just adjusts his expectations to "like Vector but with kissing" and that's the social protocol Nines follows.

This works until they actually have sex post-KOTXX and it reframes their entire relationship for Nines. When it hits him that Theron loves and wants him without shame he just breaks. His breakdown is a shock to the both of them. Nines never expected to be loved and Theron didn't even know Nines had relationship baggage in the first place.

Once Theron understands they've never quite been on the same page (because Nines was just MASKING and following Theron's lead, the fucker) they are able to work through it. Theron is the best thing Nines has ever had. If you think Nines was obsessed with him BEFORE they were in love, it's way worse after. Every single thing he does is for Theron. Theron is the center of his galaxy.

Just not the head he had requested. 

Using her ability with the Force to get an audience with Huttsbane and one of their spiritual leaders, Noara had laid out her dilemma and plan. The freedom fighter had hated the idea, threatened to just kill her himself and be done with it, but the Elder had seen the wisdom in it. The head in the bag belonged to a young Evocaii male who had died the day before from swamp fever. The Elder had promised her it wouldn’t be infectious anymore but she was still very glad to have it out of her hands. 

As expected, the Houk didn’t even open the bag to inspect the contents. 

“Who's more savage? The savage or the savage-killer?” Nem’ro asked. 

“Uh... wait, I know this one....”

“Shut up, Carnus.” Nem’ro said, sounding irritated before turning his attention back to Noara. “One time might be luck. Your next target will not be so easy to reach, though he shouldn't put up much of a fight when you find him.”

Internally Noara wanted to groan. Of course he wasn’t done making her prove herself. 

Nem’ro continued, unaware of her annoyance. “How much do you know of what is happening here on Hutta?”

“Some kind of turf war between you and another Hutt.” Make had told her a little about the unrest in Jigunna when they arrived but she hadn’t been too concerned with the finer details at the time. 

“The upstart Fa'athra lays claim to things that are mine. He moves against my factories, sends his scum to make trouble in Jiguuna. Some fools think Fa'athra is becoming a stronger Hutt than Nem'ro. One is Yalt, my ex-accountant. Yalt now works for Fa'athra at the factory in the Rust Yards. The accountant must die for his betrayal.”

“You're kind of a one-solution Hutt, aren’t you?”

“I like things simple,” Nem’ro said with a deep laugh. 

Noara forced a smile, “anything else I should know before I head out?” She hoped not but needed to make sure she had all the relevant information to get that sponsorship. 

“After the accountant Yalt is dead, take his head to the cantina. Yalt's wife works there. She encouraged his disloyalty to me. Give Yalt's head to her.”

It took all of Noara’s self control not to show her dismay at his instructions. Another head? What was his fixation on heads? Taking the man’s head to his wife just seemed unnecessarily cruel. “Harassing people isn't exactly my line of work.” she said, not feeling much hope she could work around that part. 

“If you're going to the Great Hunt, you must be willing to do anything, little girl.”

For once she couldn’t even argue internally with the Hutt and it left a very sour feeling in her gut. 

Noara wasn’t sure she could keep the disgust off of her face as she left Nem’ro’s palace and headed directly back to the Poison Pit. She knew she should head out on his errand directly, but she wanted to check in with Mako and see if she was okay. They had talked over their comms when Noara was finishing up with Huttsbane and she had sounded very freaked out about the “bone face” guy. She also wanted to see if she was okay after taking care of the others, burying Braden and Jory wouldn’t be easy. She was struggling with their sudden deaths and she had barely known them, Mako was far more attached. 

She found the slicer right where she expected, leaning over the computer terminal with her fingers going a mile a minute. “Hey Mako,” she said, hopping up to sit on the edge of the table and digging around in her bag looking for an energy bar to eat. 

Mako turned around and smiled, “how did it go with Nem’ro?”

“He made me deliver a head to him.” Noara frowned, that was a memory she didn’t want to have. “Now he wants me to go kill his accountant, who defected to work for Fa'athra, cut off his head and deliver it to the man’s wife.”

Mako’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth. Then closed it. Then her whole body shuddered in revulsion. “Are you going to do that?”

Grimacing, Noara huffed out a breath. “I don’t know, maybe? I don’t want to but if it’s that or the mission… and catching up with Tarro Blood.” She shrugged. “I guess I’ll find out how far I am willing to go today.” Really that had been the theme of her day, pushing her line in the sand back farther and farther than she ever imagined. And she wasn’t even in the hunt yet. 

“I appreciate you wanting to help me avenge Braden and Jory,” Mako said, “but I'd understand if this is too much.”

“Thanks, it’s not too much yet. I can manage,” Noara said, looking again for her energy bar and giving up when she realised it wasn’t there. “I should get something to eat then head out.”

“You stay here and relax for a minute, I’ll go grab us some grub.” Mako said, heading for the door when Noara nodded gratefully. 

It had been a long day and she could use a moment to turn her brain off. Reaching into her bag she pulled out her datapad and opened the holonovel program. She had only read for a few minutes when she sensed four people heading toward their room. Dropping her datapad she grabbed the nearest weapon, her shoto saber, and pressed herself against the wall just to the side of the doorway. 

It was only a moment later that four figures crossed the threshold, three in what she recognized as Mandalorian armor and one wearing a dark red hood over his montrals.

“We plan,” the one closest to her, in armor painted brown and orange, said as he stepped into the room and Noara moved before they could spot her. 

Using just enough of Force to make sure she could move him, she pushed the armored man against the wall and held her now-ignited and glowing blade near his throat. He yelped when she grabbed him but otherwise didn’t react. The three others drew their weapons and Noara prepared to grab her main saber if she needed it. 

“Who are you? More of his lackeys?” Noara hissed, resisting the urge to Force compel him to answer. She was already uncomfortable with how often she had considered manipulating those around her to satisfy her own ends. 

The man raised his empty hands slowly, “We might be in the wrong room.”

”Release him, or I’ll add a new hole to that pretty face, girl,” the only female Mandalorian, who was even more petite than Noara was, in the group snarled. Noara didn’t need to know anything about her to hear the possessiveness in her voice. Good. Hopefully his life being on the line would keep her from shooting until Noara got an answer. Shooting her now would no doubt make her hand twitch and it would be yet another decapitated head on Hutta. It was becoming a morbid theme to her day. 

”Whoa, what the—“ Mako ran into the room, shoving the Torgruta’s arm away when he tried to bar her path. “Easy, these are friendly. Sheesh, I leave for five minutes and you’re all ready to kill each other.”

Relief washed over Noara as she lowered her blade, but she kept her other hand on the man’s chestplate, pinning him with just the slightest touch of Force. “you know these Mandalorians, Mako?”

”Yeah, well, mostly.” Her brown eyes widened. “No way, you’re Cinlat. I’ve read all about your tactics. Do you mind if I pick your brain a little? This is our champion for the Great Hunt and I’d love to get a professional’s opinion.”

”Only if she lets my husband go.” The woman’s voice was now emotionless and lacking the possessive undertones. Interesting. She also found it interesting that Cinlat was Force sensitive. It was just a whisper, so faint Noara doubted she could do anything active with it, but definitely noticeable. 

Satasafied these were not more of Tarro Blood’s lackeys, Noara deactivated her saber and stepped away from the man she had threatened. Truthfully she was glad she hadn’t had to kill him. This mission would contain enough death already without her adding to it unnecessarily.  

“Sorry, we’ve run into some bad luck with Mandalorians lately.” 

Mako’s shoulder slumped at her words and she wanted to kick herself for reminding the other woman of her loss. “Are you okay with them? I need to—do something.” 

”I’m good. Be careful out there.” Mako said, passing her the wrap of questionable meat she had been holding and waiving her away before turning back to the Mandalorians. “Sorry. Like Noara said, we’ve hit a rough patch. I don’t want to talk about it. Anyway, what can I do for you?”

Noara didn’t stick around long enough to hear what the Mandalorians wanted. If Mako wanted to share her business she would later. Right now Noara needed to get some calories into her body and go see a man about a head. 

Maybe. 

Noara needed to send Leena Oran a fruit basket or something. Anything to show her deep appreciation for the stealth generator the other Jedi had given her. It was literally a life saver, keeping her from having to kill Fa'athra’s gangsters and opening herself to potential injury. The time it saved was also a major bonus. As Noara slipped her way past yet another patrol at the edge of the Rust Yards, she could only imagine how long it would have taken to fight her way inside and back out again. 

Instead of a long grueling series of back to back battles she was in and out of Fa'athra’s place in about an hour. It had taken her longer to locate Yalt than it had to get into the compound. 

To her horror the man she had been sent to kill was an elderly man. One stuck between two bickering Hutts threatening him and his family. It had been easier to arrange the farce with Yalt than with Huttsbane, the man was more than willing to disappear. He even offered to crash Fa'athra’s financial accounts to make Nem’ro happy. 

He had even offered her some of the credits, taking some for himself to get him and his wife safely off world. In any other situation Noara would have refused any sort of payment, especially when it felt like she was being paid not to kill him, but Mako had mentioned earlier that most of Braden’s credits had already been tied up in their preparation for the Hunt. The funds would ease the burden of accomplishing their goals. 

With the influx in credits Noara didn’t even think twice about scanning her credit chip to pay for a taxi to take her all the way back to Nem’ro’s place. Watching the trees pass by as the taxi flew, Noara was hit with a deep sense of homesickness. This was by far the longest she had spent away from Naboo since she arrived there as a child. She didn’t remember anything about Ord Mantell, she only knew it was where she was born because it was listed on her personal files in the Jedi Order’s computer system. 

Part of being a Jedi was knowing she wouldn’t live on Naboo all her life, that a more nomadic lifestyle awaited her, but it didn’t stop her longing for the familiarity of the world she knew. She wondered if it would ache less if she was on a planet that wasn’t so obviously sick from the industrial pollution that was slowly choking the life out of Hutta or devoid of natural elements like Nar Shaddaa. 

With the taxi ride it took far less time to arrive at Nem’ro’s ‘palace’ than it had taken to trek through the swamp to Fa'athra’s factory. Yalt had said he would contact his wife and pass on the details of their plan. She only hoped he had, or what she was about to do wasn’t going to work. 

Once again she was walking into the Hutt’s premises with a head sized bag in her fist, though this time it was filled with a wadded up bit of fabric to give it the shape and size of a head. After entering the building she headed for the small cocktail bar set off to the side of the main cantina floor, where Yalt said his wife would be. 

Sure enough an older human female was working the bar that matched his description. 

The woman looked up at her approach and Noara saw a flash of recognition before she smoothed the expression away. Mistress Yalt seemed to be quite the actress, sounding polite but completely casual as she spoke. 

“Hello, can I help you?”

“I bought you something,” Noara said as she tossed the bag, which the woman caught and then recoiled in horror. 

“... what is that? Yalt!” Mistress Yalt screeched her husband’s name, cradling the ‘dead’ to her chest and pushing past Noara to flee the room. Noara watched her go, along with everyone else in the cantina. They wanted a scene no one would miss and the woman had certainly achieved that. 

Now to find out if she had impressed Nem’ro enough to earn that sponsorship. She suspected the Hutt was not done making her jump through hoops. 

Noara had just entered the long hallway leading to Nem’ro’s throne room when she became aware of a presence lurking in the shadows. She turned toward it as a Rodain female stepped forward. 

“Here is the fraud I’ve been looking for. The one pretending to be a bounty hunter.”

Noara had no idea what the Rodain wanted, or why she was being accused of pretending to be a bounty hunter. She was of course, but no one other than Mako knew that for sure. Hoping to goad the Rodain into giving her more information, Noara decided to play dumb. “Hello yourself. How are you doing on this fine day?”

Her tactic proved effective quickly. One of the things Braden had told her while they were preparing for the Hunt on Nar Shaddaa was that some people just could not help but monologue, and if someone started, to let them. You never knew what could be learned, people rarely watched what they said when they assumed they were going to win the impending fight.

The Rodian glared at her, “don't be high-and-mighty! Not with me! Tarro Blood doesn't want you in Great Hunt. Smart person would take the hint. You're not smart. I hear all about how your weak master is butchered! Now you have no team, no support. Tarro Blood tells me I take you out, he makes sure I get in Great Hunt. Even if I have to let Blood win, just being in Great Hunt is big honor. I think after I go in Great Hunt, I come back and have statue made of me stepping on your head.”

There it was, all Noara needed to know. Tarro Blood wasn’t finished trying to prevent her from entering the hunt, but this was a new tactic. Bribing other hunters to join and then throw it wasn’t much more honorable than killing Braden and Jory but at least no one would need to die this time. 

“You're going to join the Great Hunt to throw it?” Noara asked, raising her hand and reaching out to the Rodian’s mind with the Force. “That's a terrible plan. You want to leave this place and rethink your life choices.”

The Rodian’s expression smoothed out and she spoke in a monotone voice, “I want to leave this place and rethink my life choices.” With that the woman turned around and walked away from Noara. 

Glad she was able to avoid unnecessary violence, Noara continued on her way back to the throne room.

Nem'ro was once again pleased to see her, calling out as soon as she entered the room. “There she is! My people say Yalt's wife left town as if all the akk dogs on Hutta were after her. I also saw that you crashed Fa'athra's accounts. Above and beyond, bounty hunter. Truly powerful.”

“I aim to please,” Noara said, putting her hands on her hips and fixing him with a serious look. “Now you can see how capable I am. Put me in the Great Hunt, Nem'ro.”

“Soon, soon, my impatient bounty hunter.” Nem’ro gestured for her to come closer. Noara obliged but she wasn’t happy to be standing closer than necessary to the hutt. Speaking quieter than she thought him capable of, he continued speaking. “I have one more simple task for you. Something I need an outsider for. There is a traitor in my house, someone who works for Fa'athra’s interests over mine. My own beastmaster, he plots against me and thinks I do not know. He is down in the beast pits below us, go and pull the alarm switch to draw him out. Kill him and rid my house of traitorous scum.”

He gestured to the large retractable doors built into the floor below him as he spoke and Noara understood his meaning. The pits were made for Nem’ro and his guests to watch the fights, he would no doubt be watching his next assignment he had given her. 

There would be no trick or sight of hand she could pull this time to avoid violence.

“Will this truly be the last thing you will ask of me? I want that sponsorship.” Noara wanted to hear him confirm it before she agreed to what would obviously be entertainment for him and his guests. 

“You don't trust me, little bounty hunter?” Noara gave him a pointed look and he laughed again. “Smart. Fight for me and will get what you deserve.”

Somehow Noara doubted it would be that simple but, like in many things, it did not appear she had a choice. 

Carnus led her to the lifts on the other side of the palace and told her the bottom floor was where the entrance to the Beast Pits was. 

“Try not to lose fast,” he said with a grin, “make fight fun to watch little girl.”

Scowling at his back, Noara stepped into the lift and selected the right floor. As the car began to move she pulled out her blaster. It had been in an underarm holster for the entirety of her time on Hutta. So far she had not felt the need to use it since Vexx’s hideout. Really the last time she had used a weapon that day was to threaten that Mandalorian she mistook for one of Blood’s minions. 

However she suspected the Beastmaster would not face her in a fair fight and the animal fighting pits of the Hutts were common knowledge, even to her. She didn’t know what they would have to throw at her, she needed to be ready for anything. 

Stepping off the lift Noara followed a short hallway and then a large cavernous space opened before her. The ground was covered in sand and rocks and along the walls were multiple animal enclosures. She could see the animals pacing behind their bars and did not think for a moment they would hesitate to attack if unleashed. 

Blaster still in hand, Noara crossed the space and approached the alarm Nem’ro had spoken of. It was set next to another space blocked off by a set of barred doors, but on the other side was not an animal enclosure. It looked like the Beastmaster’s living quarters. 

Since there was nothing else to do, Noara hit the alarm. Three things happened at once, and none of them were a surprise. An alarm rang out, the Beastmaster, a human male with an impressive beer gut appeared behind the bars in front of her, and the ceiling started to retract. Noara could already hear the voices of Nem’ro’s guests and the loud rubble of his laughter. 

Beastmaster laughed as he appeared, “you call me just like Nem'ro said you would. So stupid. Now I kill you and Nem'ro give me big reward.”

“At least one of us is being played here.” Noara said, and she had a feeling it was her. There was no sense of deception in the man’s words. The Hutt had no intention of giving her the sponsorship, he just wanted a show. 

One she wasn’t sure she wanted to star in.

The Beastmaster was reaching for a control panel on the wall and she only had a split second to act. With the blaster already in her hand it was easy to lift and shoot before he reached the bottom that would release the beasts. 

The Beastmaster went down with a cry and she could hear the people above her reacting. Apparently they were not entertained. 

Turning she looked at where Nem’ro was seated and glared at the Hutt. It was clear from his expression he had not expected her actions. Shaking her head she holstered her blaster and stride back across the sand toward the lift. 

“Clever hunter!” Nem’ro said when she entered the throne room. “You killed the beastmaster and kept him from unleashing his terrible beasts on you. I confess I wanted to see how you would fare against them. See how you’d do in the Hunt firsthand.”

Noara stopped several feet away from the Hutt and placed her hands on her hips, looking up at him and for once letting her true feelings show. “Am I meant to believe that? I know you told the beastmaster he would be rewarded for killing me.”

“Now, now don’t be angry little hunter. Deception was the only way I could eliminate my beastmaster without upsetting things here. Carnus here did not think you would survive but I had a feeling you would surprise us all.”

Carnus didn’t look apologetic at all when he shrugged at her. That wasn’t unexpected. 

“I’m good at surprising people but this is enough games Nem’ro, are you going to sponsor me or not?” Patience was something Jedi were known for, and Noara was no exception, but she was running short on it now. 

Nem’ro did that little bob that passed for a head nod. “A representative of the Great Hunt will be here shortly. When he arrives, you would merely have to hand him my sponsorship token to enter the Great Hunt. Unfortunately... I already gave the Great Hunt sponsorship token to someone else.”

Noara closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, reaching out her senses to center herself in the Force. Needing the calming effect it would give her. “Are you telling me you’ve had me running around collecting heads for you for something you can’t even give me?”

“I didn’t expect you to live out the day.” Nem’ro said with a weird shrug and for once Noara thought he was actually being honest. “The sponsorship is just a token, a small holo with my authorization given to its bearer. Someone fierce and deadly on Hutta has the sponsorship token. If you want it so badly, find him and take it! Ha!”

“Really, just like that? No more run around?”

“Yes, yes. If you succeed, I win. If you fail, I still win. Either way, the toughest hunter on Hutta goes to the Great Hunt with my name!”

Noara wanted to call him a cheat. She wanted to point out how insane this was. But she knew neither reaction would help her and really, she wanted to be away from him.“I don’t suppose you are going to tell me who has your sponsorship token, are you Nem'ro?” she asked with a sigh. 

The Hutt laughed, “oh, now, that would make it too easy, wouldn't it? This is a better test, the Hunt won’t give you targets on a platter.”