Kaliyo rolled her eyes. “Ugh, great. You’re one of those. Forget it, Agent, not taking this shit today.” She signaled the bartender, an octopus-like alien with green skin and six tentacles. “Hey, you. Get us something that tastes nice and is only slightly poisonous for the Chiss.”
Two of its tentacles grabbed glasses and bottles from the shelf behind the bar while the rest remained occupied serving other customers. Cipher wondered what a cephalopoid was doing on Tatooine. It couldn’t be easy, with the lack of moisture.
The Mos Ila cantina was busy, for a forgotten desert planet, though Cipher supposed there wasn’t much else for the residents to do. Humans and droids lounged in dirty chairs, sipping from opaque cups. Hooded figures slinked in dark corners. There were aliens, too, but not many, and Cipher caught several pairs of eyes staring at her colouring. A twi’lek hologram danced at the front of the room, glitching every few seconds. Everything, including the tables, was covered by a layer of perpetual dust.
“This place isn’t so bad,” Kaliyo said. “Everyone’s bored and drunk. There’s gonna be a fight.”
“Let’s hope not before we complete the mission,” Cipher replied.
“Oh, yeah, the smuggler.” She scanned the room.
Two metal cups materialised on the bar, courtesy of a green tentacle. Kaliyo picked one up, sniffed it, gulped it down and grimaced. “Too sweet.” She stood up. “Okay, I’m going. Give me some of those things.”
Cipher pressed a few trackers into her palm. “Tag the ones that look like off-worlders, and don’t get caught.” Locals probably didn’t have the resources to smuggle enough supplies to the objective.
“Sure thing. This is gonna be fun.”
Cypher watched Kaliyo make her way around the room, bumping into people and sliding into conversations, usually with a provocation. A few of her targets eyed her suspiciously, but none seemed aware of what she was actually doing. Kaliyo could be subtle, apparently. A pity she didn’t choose to very often.
Cipher gave the drink a try. It was sweet in her mouth and burned on the way down. She sipped it slowly to give Kaliyo time to work. What she’d said earlier hadn’t been a lie; she disliked alcohol, but it would make the next part easier - being loud and obnoxious didn’t come naturally. She was more used to passing under the radar; it was amazing what you could learn when you were overlooked.
Surprisingly, by the time she got to the bottom of the glass, the burning had eased and the concoction tasted rather good.
When her partner looked like she was done Cipher sighed and stood up. She swayed a little, walked to the nearest table and slammed her empty glass down, making the two humans and the Rhodian that occupied it jump. “Anyone here know Dragon Eyes?” she demanded. “I have a score to settle with him.”
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