[Halfway Through the Galaxy]

After the ship had touched down, the boarding ramp was lowered, and Taves and Jin-ho made their way out of the small craft to find even the smallest hint about the direction the man had gone into. While Taves would look for tracks -- given that he was better at it -- Jin-ho was sifting through the interior of the vessel to find the information that had been stolen. Much as was to be expected, she didn't find anything, though the cockpit showed something of interest.

- "Hey Taves, come over here for a sec."

There were small traces of dried blood visible, probably where the durasteel glass had shattered in the impact. After carefully picking it up and placing it in a vial, she handed the DNA sample to Taves again.

- "Right, time to head out. You run that vial through the sensors to have it scan this area for 'compatible life signs', considering there aren't a lot of non-Jawas non-Tuskens walking around in here. If it finds anything, let me know so i'll start heading in that direction."

It was hot though, almost too hot, even under the robes. She fought off the urge to take the robe off, knowing that that would lead to massive sunburn and -- in the worst case -- a heat stroke in the middle of nowhere. Even though the weather made her sweat a mile a minute, this was her mission. People were counting on her to fulfill it, and she wasn't about to let them down.

"Right, you be careful out there" said Taves patting Jin-Ho on the shoulder. "I'll try to stay relatively close considering I'll need to drop in if anything happens. If you find something call me on the com-link. Other than that I'll pick you up around sundown." Taves ran into the ship, and started up the engines after putting the DNA through the scanners.

He floated at a level so as not to be seen, but still in sensor range. Once the DNA ran through the scanners Taves activated the long range scanners and brought up the map of Tatooine and tried to match it up at any area on the scanner. There was a weak signal on the map not far from where they were. Taves cross referenced it with any life forms in the area. What he saw shocked him. He ran to the com system and called up Jin-Ho.

"Christine this is Taves. I've just ran the DNA through the scanner. I found a weak life signature not far from here, but the thing I'm worried about is that it's also not far from an encampment of Tusken Raiders. We could check the area, but we might want to be careful to stay out of sight."

Jin-ho winced as she heard about the Tusken encampment. From what she had heard, Tuskens... weren't the most sociable of people in the Tatooine deserts, yet if their target was truly close to a Tusken encampment, the chance of encountering a scout or two would be considerably bigger.

- "No choice, i'll need to check either way. The weak signs could also be caused by armor like the one you have, moreso if it has a life support system installed. Reports mentioned he was more than likely heavily armed, so assuming he's hurt would be too much to hope for... Just focus on staying out of sight, or you'll alert the camp on me."

She went in the direction the life signs were coming from. Knowing which direction she needed to be heading in helped a good deal in focusing the majority of her attention on not being seen by anyone or anything. Even with Taves being able to fly in in case of an emergency, it'd still take him a bit of time to get there....

"Alright, but watch out. The Tuskens have lived in this desert since the dawn of their species. They can make sure that their presence isn't known until it needs to be." With this Taves made a quick double check of the signal's position and flew a bit higher to stay out of sight.

He didn't like the idea of staying away until Jin-Ho was in danger. Though he knew that if he stayed too close he would only endanger her more. He didn't want to kill anyone, but he knew that the possibility of it grew. He was willing to return to such measures should they be needed.

He looked down into the desert knowing that somewhere down in that featureless wasteland the man they were looking for was lurking trying to return to his masters. Hopefully this was him. Hopefully this would be over before the sun set on the horizon. Taves kept a sharp eye on the map looking at the positions of Jin-Ho's, the hopeful fugitive's, and the numerous Raiders' dots.

- "Dammit, this guy may be an enemy but he sure has brains... I figured out why he's this close to a Tusken camp now."

She looked at the small hand computer she was carrying, linked to the shuttle's scanners. Though it didn't have much in the way of range due to the relatively small screen, it would nevertheless alert her of anyone closing in, which was all she could possibly have asked of it. Not noticing any movement around her, she continued.

- "He's got the skill to hide from Raiders, using them as his shield. Anyone closing in on him has to keep the Raiders in mind, so they can't fight to their fullest, and i'll bet neither of us stands much of a chance one on one. The more people chase him, the bigger the chance the Tuskens will get involved. And if the group's large enough to take both him AND the Tuskens on at once, chances are his employers will know exactly where to look, and we'll get jumped ten seconds after takeoff. Judging by that, he knows he's being followed, and probably fortified his position as well."

She looked over the edge of the sand dune she was hiding behind, noticing the sheer amount of Raiders that were patrolling the area. She didn't blame them either, not while being this close to their homes. She had an idea though, one that's been nagging at her ever since she had discovered the reason why the spy had hidden himself where he did. It was a gamble, but it might just be crazy enough to work. She crawled back, and started retracing her steps.

- "Taves, i'm backing up again. Land near the cave i used as a shelter when that sand storm got close to me."

Taves nodded despite the fact Jin-Ho wasn't there. "Will do" he said. Taves backtracked on Jin-Ho's path through the desert. Looking at where they had paused for a sandstorm.

He set a course for the cave. He wondered what Jin-Ho was up to. He landed near the cave, looking at the map for where the group of Tuskens were. Though they weren't right on top of them they were closer than Taves wanted to be. He was glad that he had taken the more silent approach toward the cave. He dropped the ramp and stepped out. The familiar blazing heat of the twin suns welcomed him back to the surface of the planet.

He walked toward where Jin-Ho was, making sure to be stealthy so as to not attract any unwanted attention. He crouched next to where Jin-Ho was. "So what is this idea you have. Is he in the cave or what?"

Jin-ho let out a nervous laugh, shaking her head briefly.

- "Heh, i wish. I figured the only way i can possibly get to him would be by turning his advantage into his disadvantage. I'll explain later, but i'm keeping my armor and weapons on the ship just in case things go horribly wrong. They probably will."

She walked up the ramp and into the ship's crew quarters, where she had slept a few hours earlier. She removed the Blast Armor that had been hidden under her robes, and placed the Hold-out Blaster and DL-44 in their respective holsters in one of the lockers. She then put the robes on again and walked out, all the while looking nervous as Hell.

- "Taves, i'm not going to tell you what i'm planning. You'll try to talk me out of it, and knowing me, i'll probably agree. Now, get back up there, i need you on the scanners more than anything now."

She took a couple of deep breaths, fully aware of being unarmed and unarmored near a Tusken Raider camp. And waiting for Taves to take off before they'd notice the ship.

Taves was stunned. What could Jin-Ho be thinking. She was apparently going after a well armed fugitive with no armor or weapons. He nodded as she gave him the last orders. He returned to the cockpit and started the engines. He tried to keep the noise relatively low.

He took off into the sky, still looking down at the spot where Jin-Ho still stood. He didn't want to give her away, but he also didn't want to leave her in danger with nothing to protect her. He kept as low as he thought reasonable, and stayed there until Jin-Ho would call, if she did.

He knew Jin-Ho had a plan, but even she sounded like she thought it was crazy. He was ready, almost to the point that he was concentrating more on Jin-Ho than not crashing into the desert.

From the relative cover the few scattered rocks on the outside of the cave were giving her, she watched the ship become smaller and smaller as it rose up into Tatooine's atmosphere. She felt... envious of Taves, being in the protective surroundings of a ship, but she knew this had been her own choice.

She walked over to where she had been looking over the dunes earlier, vigorously scanning the small screen for the way the Raider patrols moved. It was vital not to run into one of the Scouts now, considering they probably had orders to shoot on sight. She took a deep breath, and turned on her communicator.

- "Okay, if things go wrong, call Captain Antilles to form a rescue party, and give them the location where the spy is hiding so he can send a team to get him at the same time. Also... Never EVER do what i'm about to do, or i'll kick your ass myself, you got that?"

She still sounded nervous, only less than before. From the sound of it, she had been preparing herself for this the entire way back, steeling her resolve as well as her confidence.

"Don't worry" replied Taves. "I'm already kicking it myself." It wasn't much, but he felt he should try a small attempt at levity. "I'll be ready to call Antilles if anything should go awry. Don't worry you're more than prepared to do this uh... I guess."

Taves figured he should stop now before he totally took away Jin-Ho's confidence. He was poised to go. He didn't know too much about the will of the force, but he felt that nothing could be so cruel as to stop them when they had gotten so close. If it was however he was fully ready to stop it.

Jin-ho nodded a silent thanks at Taves, even though he couldn't see her. She closed the communicator before sitting down for a bit, holding her face in her hands as she repeated what she had been thinking in her mind.

- "Leia said they sell slaves. Slaves means trade, to maximise trade efficiency, you need someone to speak the language of the people you're trading with. Which means have someone with you who speaks Basic."

After the first few times of hearing herself say the words, she switched to a whisper, and slipped into a low crouch, the robes effortlessly blending into the soil under her. Heading straight at the Raider Camp.

- "Right girl, time to see how much of a merchant's daughter you really are.." :ph43r:

And she stood up, in full view of anyone even remotely looking her way. She pushed back the hood of her robes before calling out as loud as she could.

- "PEOPLE OF THE SANDS! I COME TO YOU UNARMED, IN GOOD FAITH, AND I WISH TO BARTER!"

She had her hands spread out to her sides, standing still while knowing there'd be more than a few rifles pointed her way, and hoping with all she could muster that her guess would be the correct one. They probably wouldn't kill her either way though, not when they sold slaves.

The thought was strangely reassuring, though far from comforting.

The noise of Tuskens could be heard all over the camp. They were clearly alerted and yelling out. At the towers of the camp two Tuskens were pointing their snipers at Jin-Ho, though they did not open fire at her yet. The gate of the camp openened and two armed tuskens with Gaderfii's walked outside with the leader of the tribe. Since his face was covered you could not see determine how old he was, but at the way he walked you could see he wasn't the youngest anymore or he had a serious leg problem.

Tuskens don't speak Galactic Basic, but some clans do understand it. They teach it with stolen data, so they understood only a little with the information they had. This would make communication more difficult between him and Jin-Ho.

He growled and grunted at her, but there was no way in making out if he was being agressive or not. They always growl in Tusken, that was just their language. Now that the conversation started the situation became much more tense between him and Jin-Ho.

Jin-ho did not lower her arms, aware of the tension in the group of warriors aiming their weapons at her. Judging by the guards flanking him, she assumed the older one in the middle to be their leader, or at least someone with the authority to make important decisions. She could barely suppress a wince when she heard him speak though, and realised she would have to keep things simple.

- "Greetings. I am Jin-ho, of the Morinagare Clan. We have discovered a blood traitor in our tribe, and the Tribe Chief has ordered me to see to his return. I have managed to track him to here, but he hides near your camp, so i must ask you for permission to hunt on your ancestral lands. Your warriors could also have the honor of capturing him in my place, and i could negotiate a price to buy him from you in that case."

She kept her eyes on the older Tusken, fully realising that she was surrounded, outgunned and outnumbered. She took great care in not making any sudden movements, and as the sun started to sting on her now exposed skin, she waited for a reply, hoping it would be simple enough to be understood by her.

The Tribe Leader nodded and he spoke to his guards. They yelled back at the tower ordering to put their snipers down. Jin-Ho wasn't in such a treatening position as she was before. Did this mean the leader understood what she said? He turned around and the guard put their hands on each side of her shoulder escorting her inside the camp where negotiations would continue.

Inside the camp children were playing. You saw mothers hitting their children and the men hitting their wives in a very agressive way. Some were even knocked down with their Gaffi Sticks. They lived an agressive life, but they were used to it. Two female tuskens attented to Jin-Ho. They brought her in one of the tents. Inside were ragged clothes that Tusken females wear. They tried to hint at her that she had to change into these clothes as exposure of skin was forbidden.

Jin-ho let out a sigh of relief as the guns were lowered. Though she wasn't out of the woods yet by far, at least it meant she was understood, and the Tuskens were willing to talk. As she followed them into their camp, she noticed the women and children there, and even though she personally disagreed with them hitting their children, she could tell by the way no one looked twice at it -- not even the child itself -- that such things were considered common. And judging by where they lived, she found she couldn't really blame them either.

When two Tuskens she assumed to be female -- the robes hid their entire bodies, but she was still able to tell their gender by the way they moved -- tried to guide her into one of the tents, she complied. Through hand signals and pointing at the robes lying in a corner of the tent, they made it clear that she was to change into them for a reason she was not able to tell. Still, she nodded at them and took off her own robe, changing into the borrowed clothes.

They turned out to be a little wide in some areas, and tight in others, but on a whole they fit reasonably well, and most of the discomfort they caused was due to her inexperience with the rugged material. Now fully in Tusken gear, she turned towards the two females again, waiting on them to tell her what to do next. The communicator and scanner she had used were still in the pockets of her own regular clothing that she had worn underneith the robes themselves.

The Leader of the camp noticed her immediatly, though she was covered in all the clothes and her face was hidden behind a mask. She walked a little awkward, probably because she was not used in wearing these clothes. When the leader approached her he pointed his finger to the south-east direction. What he exactly was saying was unknown. It certainly looked that now she was dressed as a Tusken, she was free to walk inside the camp, though other Tusken Raiders kept an eye on her all the time.

Jin-ho, not being used to wearing a mask, found it slightly harder to breathe, though she noticed with curiousity that the robes she was wearing now were surprisingly effective, to the point of managing to turn down the heat as well. She figured that was due to the skin of an animal of some sort that would have been woven into the fabric, but she suspected that since she wasn't a Tusken, it'd be a cold day in Hell before they'd tell her about it, and not just because of the language barrier.

Another series of grunts got her attention, and she noticed the leader pointing to another part of the camp. She nodded at him, then started walking towards the designated area -- slowly though, both to prevent tripping over her own feet as well as threatening to miss new instructions due to the decreased field of vision the mask was causing.

The guards grunted at each other as they followed Jin-Ho stll wondering what they were up to. The Leader of the Tribe also looked at Jin-Ho if there is still something more she wanted or she had to tell. They only understood basically what she was doing here, but she used to complicated words, at least in their opinion, to explain what she was doing here and why she was risking her life in this camp.
The leader grunted at her, but of course she would not understand what exactly he was saying, but it did seem that he wanted to know more about her presence.

Jin-ho looked around the tent. From the sound of things, she was getting the impression that the Tuskens didn't quite get what she was saying. Not that she blamed them for it -- she had no idea what they were saying either -- but it did make negotiating a price a tad more difficult than anticipated. Still, there was always another option remaining, that of making sure they would not intervene when she'd go after the spy on their lands.

Looking around, she picked up a number of small pebbles. She wiped her hand across the sand on the tent 'floor' until it was even, then drew two separate circles with her finger. A group of pebbles went in both circles. She pointed at the one closest to her, then at herself. Then, she pointed at the other circle, after which she'd indicate the leader.

She then picked up a pebble, and dragged it from her circle to just within the edge of the 'Tusken circle'. After that, she'd pick up another pebble of a different color, held it up while pointing at herself again with her free hand, and then moved it along the same line the first pebble had followed, before dragging both pebbles back to the middle of her circle again.

She looked at the leader again, hoping that he got what she intended to tell them. Someone had fled from them into their lands, and she was supposed to bring him back again. What would happen after that would depend on whether the chief managed to understand the simplified 'wordless version' of what she had wanted to say.

Jin-ho scanned the chief's face for a sign of understanding, and felt somewhat relieved when she noticed it in his body language. There was still a fair bit of puzzlement, probably due to wondering as to what she was doing in their camp, but the increased interest she noticed said that she was moving along at the right level.

She took the two pebbles again, placing one -- the spy -- within the edge of the circle that represented the Tuskens. She then moved the second pebble -- herself -- to just outside the edge of the circle, moved her hand along the edge to make the border a bit more distinct, and then moved her pebble across it to follow the spy.

She looked at the old chief again, hoping her message got through. With no one to speak Basic, she wouldn't be able to expect any help -- not like they'd be able to understand her directions anyway, or she theirs for that matter -- but at least she'd be able to get permission to travel across their lands unharmed... Which would remove perhaps the largest threat to the mission for no longer needing to divert her focus between the spy and the Tusken scouts.

The leader kicked the pebbles away, showing that he had no interest in her game. This was not the way to negotiate. Playing with some coloured rocks was not going to point out what she was really after. So he made it clear by kicking the pebbles away that she should work better on her body language. The situation became a little tighter as the guards began to close in on her, holding their gaffi sticks towards her. This clearly meant that time was running out.

Jin-ho winced as the pebbles were kicked away. She raised her hands up defensively, apologising regardless of whether or not they understood her. Either way, judging by the leader's reaction she had just gone from too difficult to too easy, to the point of have the chief feel somewhat insulted.

For all good measure, time for Plan B.

She took out the hand scanner, clicking the button on it to activate the device. Much as was expected, her blue dot swam in the middle of red ones, and a yellow one -- the spy -- was standing still a ways off of the center, to the east. She pointed at the yellow dot.

- "I come to get him. Dangerous man, has weapons, has skills. You capture, i buy from you, agreed?"

She looked at the chief, still holding out the small device. The chief would know the layout of his own camp, and should he put two and two together he'd recognise the red dots as being his own tribesmen.

- "You trade this person and all he carry for... 300 gallons of water?"

There were multiple reasons why Jin-ho asked for that specific trade. Armor, weapons and holodiscs on him would be given to her in the trade along with the man himself, and wouldn't be used to raid human settlements. Additionally, in a desert world like Tatooine, water would be an expensive commodity to have, meaning it could give her a good amount of weight to trade with. Should the chief agree, the trading would begin.

The leader nodded in agreement and commanded the guards to aid Jin-Ho in a quest to find this man. They were not going to capture this man for her, but the leader promised her aid, though she would have to stay in a costume so that she wouldn't offend their culture. He tried to make that clear by agressive sounds, in hope that she would understand what he was trying to say.

Jin-ho looked at the two guards, noticing by the way they took up positions that they were now on her side. It was one of already many times that she was glad she had signed up as a Handmaiden, simply because she would have otherwise missed the subtleties of body language that now helped her understand the Sand People's intentions. She bowed to the chief to thank him for the offer, and stood up to leave the tent.

She knew that, since the guards would be following her, she wouldn't be able to change out of the Tusken robes, but she might very well use this to her advantage in getting close to the spy unnoticed. Before she'd start out though, she flipped open the communicator to contact Taves.

- "Hey, it's me again. Everything's under control here, but i need you to do something. Head over to the Corellia system and stuff the hold with as much water as you can fit in it, then come back here. Selonia and Tralus should sell water at a low price. I'll pay you back when i can get to a terminal again."

After waiting for confirmation, she ended the communications link again. Under her mask, she sighed, grinning at how she was thinking. The hold could hold more than 300 gallons of water, of course, but there were many desert planets in the area. If she could sell the excess storage on Tatooine, or maybe Ryloth, it might just be enough to break even with the payment to the chief added in. Her father had run water between Corellia and this sector often enough as well, and it made for modest, yet stable profits.

Still, she knew that with Taves leaving, the scanner would stop functioning. She showed the radar to one of the guards, and tried to tell him to lead her there. He'd certainly know the terrain better than she did, and any passages the radar would not be able to show -- basically most of them, concerning all it really showed was lifesigns and altitude markers -- would be known to the Tusken this close to their camp. She'd pretend to be the docile female Tuskan following her 'husband' so as not to arouse suspicion, and tried to copy the movements of the other females in the camp as her two guides led her there.

She couldn't help but wonder if she'd get to ride a bantha.

They stepped their way through the camp and where Jin-Ho exactly showed where she wanted to be, the guards luckily did understand how the radar was working. It gave them an understanding who she was after. Though they could not make Jin-Ho notice that. Mainly because of their language, but also other reasons. When they got closer to the tent, they waited for Jin-Ho to step forward and waited for her next moves.

Jin-ho looked at the radar one last time before the image faded, a sign that Taves had gotten out of the scanner's reach on his way to Corellia. Much to her relief, it showed the spy to be inside his tent, which meant she didn't have to start tracking him down. Much as she regretted having to send him off for the time being, she knew that she couldn't bargain with things she did not have, and the holds of the small ship were empty when she rented it.

Still, she looked at both of her guards before walking on behind some cover where it couldn't be seen where she was doing. Dropping down to her knees in the sand, she evened out a small patch of sand, drawing a circle again, this time indicating that this would be the tent they were about to assault.

With a combination of simple words -- partially muffled by the mask she wore -- indications and drawn symbols, she tried to tell them to circle around the tent before she'd walk in, both to cut off any escape routes the man might have as well as intervene should she be taken hostage. She may not be a Tusken, but she knew perfectly well what would happen if the spy opened fire on her and the guards, all three of them wearing Tusken robes.

As soon as the two guards had taken up positions, weapons raised and ready to snipe their target, Jin-ho took a deep breath and simply walked into the tent. She really missed having her blaster with her, but with a little luck, maybe she could try and talk him into surrendering without bloodshed.

She ignored the question that popped up in the back of her head as to whom said blood might belong to...

As soon as Jin-ho entered the tent, things started getting out of hand. The man had known enough about Tuskens to realise that Jin-ho wasn't one despite her robes, and to know that Tusken females didn't walk into strangers' tents without their mate present. As such, a gun was pointed at Jin-ho as the spy barked something at her in Huttese. Not understanding a word of what he was saying -- again -- she simply raised her hands up defensively at him, trying to talk him down. If she could fast talk her way into a Tusken camp, how much trouble would a single man give her... right?

- "Whoa there, calm down. I'm not here to kill you if it can be avoided." :ph43r:

For the first time that day she was glad she was wearing a full mask. If she hadn't the man would have been able to see the nervousness on her face, which would have made negotiating... a lot more difficult. Even with it, it was hard enough to suppress her body language to the point of appearing calm.

- "I believe you don't fully realise the situation you're in."

He pointed the gun at her head, but she managed to get a quick reply in, hoping it would work. If not, she'd be in more trouble than back when she tried to flee Kamino.

- "Neither do you. Where are we now?"

The question was simple, but the spy frowned for a moment, taking in Jin-ho's question. Then he realised. They were in a Tusken camp, the girl -- obviously not a Tusken herself -- was wearing full Tusken garb... and there had not been a single shot fired, nor an alarm raised. As he thought on this, Jin-ho decided to turn up the pressure a bit more before the man could come up with an idea.

- "The Tusken are on my side, and you're in the middle of one of their camps. What do you think they'll do when they start hearing shots?"

The man looked over his options, then stood up, his crouching stance telling her he was planning to make a run for it before they'd notice he was gone. Again, Jin-ho stopped him, though this time concern crept into her voice.

- "No, don't! There's snipers out there, those guys shoot at podracers for fun. They'd have no problems with a moving target going at running speed." :unsure:

The man froze for a moment, before standing up fully now, the gun still pointed at Jin-ho though no longer aimed at her head, but somewhat lower.

- "If i return with you, i won't survive for long. I know too much. That's how things work in this business. You think you can guarantee my safety when there's an interrogation team standing by for when i arrive alive? I know we would have one."

The man smirked as Jin-ho frantically looked for a solution. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she knew that he was right. And there was no way a relatively new member like herself would have the leverage to ensure his survival herself. Hesitantly, she shook her head.

- "...No. No, i can't guarantee that, i'm sorry."

- "No need to apologise, little one. I must say, your innocent idealism and honesty is something i thought i'd never get to see again, which is why i will let you live in return... For the Empire!"

The last words risen to a shout, he lifted the gun to his own temple, and pulled the trigger in one smooth motion. Seconds after his lifeless bocy fell to the ground, one of the Tusken guards stormed into the tent, surveying the scene. It was easy to see the man had committed suicide with his own weapon, courtesy of the placement of the body as well as the scorch marks at the spy's temple indicating a blast from extremely close range. The chief wasn't going to be pleased about it, but Jin-ho had gone in unarmed and would therefore have no blame in this.

After getting herself to stop shaking, Jin-ho gathered the man's belongings and items, putting them all in the packs he had probably brought them in. After that, she'd dismiss the guards, waiting for Taves to contact her as she waited outside the tent.

Taves was frantic to get in Com range of Jin-Ho. Walking into a camp of Tuskens unarmed, and even without armor seemed one of the stupidest things someone could do in the Galaxy much less on Tatooine.

He followed the trade path he had taken back to the Tatooine system as quickly as possible. The water was a rather annoying factor, as it took up a great deal of space. He had trouble moving from the pilot's seat to the holo-computer. He brought up the map of Tatooine once again, and scanned its surface for the area where they had landed. He then brought up the bio-tracker. Looking at where he had left Jin-Ho he saw that amongst they sea of Tusken bio signs her dot flashed serenely. However he noticed something odd. The bio sign of the fugitive wasn't on the map. He increased the sensor's sensitivity, but still could not find it.

He activated the ship's Com-Link. "Christine, this is Taves. I have just returned with the things you sent me for. Something is wrong. I can't pick up a bio sign for our little friend. Are you alright? Have you found out where he is yet?"

Taves knew that even if Jin-Ho's life sign was still detectable she could still be in some really deep bantha fodder, considering what the Tuskens sometimes did to their captives. He waited there frozen. The time without response only added to the tension that was already inside of him.

Jin-ho had been sitting still, leaning against the back of the tent when she heard something blip. Perking up, she reached for her communicator... before realising just exactly where she was. She dashed into the tent before taking the small device out of her pocket, taking her mask off as well to make herself a bit better to understand.

- "Taves? Oh! Thank Ceiphied you're here... No, i'm allright, i managed to negotiate with the Tuskens, they gave me a few guards and everything."

She looked at the dead spy, still lying in a corner of the tent. There was a small scent of something burned, but luckily enough there was little to no blood since the blast had cauterised the wound on impact. Still, looking at a dead body wasn't exactly first on her list of things she had wanted to see.

- "The spy? No, he's dead. He... shot himself when he realised the Tusken were on my side... Tried to talk him out of it."

Shaking her head to get her thoughts straightened out again, she came to her senses, recalling just why she had sent Taves off to buy water.

- "Oh! You managed to buy some water, right? Good. I want you to land right in front of the Tusken camp and unload three hundred gallons for them, it's what i used to get them on my side. No visible weapons, but wear your Mandalorian armor, it's insulting to them if you show skin. I've been given some Tusken robes and a mask for this purpose... See you there."

After that, she'd pick up the bags filled with what she had gathered, put on her mask again and started heading for the camp entrance. With her waiting there, she might be able to prevent a similar scene from when she appeared near the campsite.

Taves was caught off guard by the mention of the fugitive being dead. He wasn't expecting something like a suicide to end this mission. "Alright I'll get down there." Taves started to circle down, and landed close to the camp. He stepped out and held his hands high in the air. He watched as a person dressed as a Tusken woman step out of the camp surrounded by some guards. Taves suspected that the woman was Jin-Ho. He stayed where he was as she approached, and signaled for him to put his hands down. He did so. "Sorry I kind of overshot by fifty gallons, but I figured it would be better safe than sorry. Do they want to get it themselves or should we make sure they don't start taking things from inside the ship?"

Jin-ho shook her head, telling Taves not to worry. Even though her voice was slightly muffled by the mask, she tried to tell him what she was planning.

- "No need, just open the loading bay and give them a hand unloading the water. They'll probably want to count it first anyway."

She walked into the ship with the bags she carried, and about a minute later the cargo loading bay was opening up, revealing the goods. She helped the Tuskens carry it into their camp while Taves stayed at the ship to count off the gallons until they reached the amount that was agreed upon (as well as make sure the Tusken didn't wander off into the ship).

After she had remained with the water until the chief had finished counting, she took out her communicator again to send a message to Taves.

- "Okay, it's all here. I need some help bringing... the corpse in. Ugh, not that i'm squeamish but... Yeah, i'd rather do this in two if you don't mind. Oh, and bring the metal detector, it should be in my room."

She ended the transmission, then walked over to the tent. Taves would lock the ship before heading over as well, along with the item Jin-ho had asked for. The metal detector was more of a precaution in case the spy would have buried holodiscs in the sandy terrain, but given the importance of her mission she wanted to make sure she didn't leave a scrap behind.

"Alright" replied Taves "I'll be there in a sec." He headed back toward Jin-Ho's room and rummaged around until he found the metal detector. He walked out of the ship and locked it up before heading back toward the camp. He made especially sure that the doors were locked. Despite the fact that they had left him alive didn't mean he totally trusted them.

As he continued to think of the Tuskens he wondered whether this was the tribe whose chief he had killed. They may not have even recognized him if it was due to his being in disguised the entire time he was there. "Oh well" he thought "That's the past. If they don't know and I don't go on a killing spree I suppose it doesn't matter one way or another."

He arrived where Jin-Ho was and handed her the metal detector. "So what do we need this for?" he asked since he had been turning the idea in his head. He supposed it was to find something the spy had hidden.

Jin-ho took the detector Taves had brought her, and started to explain what her intentions were. She already suspected Taves had guessed why she needed the device, but she figured she'd mention it anyway.

- "Well... According to my briefing, the spy made off with important documents. I don't know where he's hidden them or what they are, but if i were him... i'd have buried them around here somewhere, just in case. So, i'm going to scan this area in case his contact knows what he'd be looking for -- and where to find it."

Activating the device, she noticed the scanner come up empty. She cranked it up to its highest setting, but before checking the console screen for the results she leaned over to Taves to make a last addition.

- "Besides... Between the Tuskens and whoever this guy was working for, i'd rather check everything twice before running the risk of leaving something behind for them. Umm... if you could carry the body please, he's kind of heavy..." ^^;

Taves nodded and went to the tent to pick up the body. He looked down into the fugitive's face. What was left looked up at him with a frown. Taves felt sorry for him. He wondered if Jin-Ho might have been driven to this if he had actually taken her back to Mandalore. He doubted it, knowing her she probably would have escaped and still gone into hiding. He lugged the body back to the ship. He was a bit grudging against Jin-Ho for making him do the dirty work, but he knew it was a privilege of rank. He stowed the body and went back to help Jin-Ho.

Jin-ho was waiting on Taves, detector in hand. A carefully wrapped up bundle was under her arm though, and it wouldn't take a whole lot of effort to guess she had found the documents she had been looking for in the time Taves had used to bring the body of the spy back to the ship.

- "Hiyas... Sorry for having you drag him back to the ship on your own, but the detector managed to find what i was looking for. The less people know about this, the better... You understand, right?" ^6;

Jin-ho winced at Taves, giving him an apologetic smile as she held up the package. She'd then head over to the chief's tent to say goodbye, after which she was led back to the tent she had changed her clothing in. When she emerged, she was once again wearing the robes she had arrived on Tatooine in.

The trip to the ship was fairly uneventful... Well, not counting the Tusken, that was. The water they had delivered into their camp had taken away much of the initial hostility, and even though they still appeared not too keen of having a ship parked in front of their camp there were no problems boarding the craft.

Once there, Jin-ho let out a nervous laugh, letting herself slide down against one of the wall panels. She took several deep breaths, clutching the package tightly as she looked at Taves.

- "Man, am i glad that's over with. I thought i was going to have a heart attack when that chief didn't speak Basic."

Closing her eyes, she let the back of her head rest against the cold steel, taking a couple of deep breaths of artificially cooled air from the ventilation system.

- "Right... We'll sell the remaining water at the human colonies here, should be able to net a hundred Credits for what's left. And between you and me... I can't wait to get back." :ph43r:

[Halfway Through the Galaxy]

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OOC: Okay, we're basically done here. We can mention selling the rest of the water in passing in the other thread, and we could use the travel time to have me pay you back, talk about Protection Services a bit, the usual ^_^