The Hunt for Jarvis Begins

The assault on the hidden merc base went down quickly and easily. "Mercs, over-hyped and overpriced most the time," Mal thought to himself. Several of his men stood guard over a couple dozen scantily clad females as he flipped through a ledger on one of the recovered datapads. He stood, leaning against the bar in 'Pleasures a Plenty' as he continued scrolling through the pad's files. Most of the entries were purchase orders for various supplies and more than a few credits spent on ... 'exotic entertainment,' most likely a reference to the females currently under guard. He continued flipping through the ledger and stopped at a curious entry that was titled 'Litter Duty,' tilting his head, Mal tapped the entry. His eyes narrowed, having found the data he was seeking.

The doors to the business opened as two armored Togorians entered, dragging a bloodied and beaten man with them. The prisoner, hands bound behind him with a pair of binder cuffs, was covered in tattoos. The two Togorians ( Judro & Kei - new additions to the team) dropped the man at Mal's feet. "He resisted, capture. He put up an admirable fight, I might add, for a human." Kei snarled.

Looking down at the prisoner, Mal kneeled, looked at the datapad, and then back down at the man, "You know we're not here to take you and your people into custody for petty legal violations. You must be Kal, the leader of these misfits." Mal said as he motioned for them to lift the man to his knees. Immediately the two Togorians grabbed the man's arms and lifted him off the ground and to his knees.

The tattooed man opened his eyes and spat at Kei, splattering his knee with bloodied saliva. The Togorian just snarled. Turning his attention back towards Mal, the man said, "Yeah, I'm Kal. And I know who you are too, cat." he stopped to spit more bloody saliva on the floor accompanied by a tooth, "It was just business, nothing personal. A contract, that's all it was."

"Nothing personal the man says," Mal responded as he looked up at the other two Togorians. Reaching out with his free paw, he grabbed Kal by the neck, standing to his full height, he lifted him into the air and about a meter off the floor. Pulling Kal's face closer to his own, "It sure felt personal." he growled, releasing his grip and dropping him.

The man hit the floor and dropped to a prone position, coughing, and spitting blood. "Jarvis! The contract was for your old pal, Jarvis!" he said before coughing and spitting some more. 

Mal snarled, "I know Jarvis hired you. That's not a secret anymore. What I want to know is where he is!" 

Kal rolled over, looking up at his captors, "Last I heard, the idiot ran afoul of the empire. They nabbed him at Deevah the Hutt's palace. He's probably dead or in an imperial prison somewhere. That's all I know."

Eyeing Kal for a moment, Mal then waved his paw, saying, "Take him to the ship and secure him." He looked at Judro & Kei. The two Togorians wasted no time taking hold of Kal and dragging him back out through the door.

Mal turned his attention back to the ledger as he considered his next move. "Hutts don't just let imperials walk in and take prisoners odds are good this Deevah will know more." he thought to himself. One thing he was sure of - this would require a more diplomatic approach.