They followed Lexa across the cantina to a set of big double doors. She took one last drag from her cigarra, then dropped it to the floor and crushed it out with her boot heel and exhaling the thick tabac smoke our through her nostrils. "I suggest you don't upset Jama. I doubt your Sith body guards will be able to help you if you do," Lexa said, touching Falka's arm.
Raezyr could sense Falka's stress, and Trychon calling on the Force as they resisted the Zeltron's pheromones. He could tell she was trying to give them one last dose to distract them before entering the Hutt crime lord's throne room.
Lexa hit the control switch and the doors slid apart and into the walls. Raezyr could feel the vibration of the electric motors through the floor as they hummed. The doors came to a stop with a clang, and Lexa walked down a set of wide stone steps which opened up into a much larger area.
Off to the left, a band was playing while a pair of blue Twi'lek dancers moved in unison to the music on the main floor. The fact they wore collars around their necks and were chained to a nearby wall wasn't missed by the Black Phoenix group.
Around the outside of the room various aliens and humans sat at tables while a pair of serving droids went about, serving drinks or other things requested of them. Some of the people sitting at the tables appeared to be mercenaries or bounty hunters, while others looked as if they had never held a blaster in their lives. Trychon assumed these must be advisers or other yes men which the Hutt kept around.
Across the room on a platform, lounged Jama'Rukus Rus'El, surrounded by pillows and smoking tabac from a hooka.
Raezyr and Trychon made sure they were in formation as before, on either side of Falka as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Whatever happened here on out, they needed to keep their wits about them in case the giant slug tried anything.
Lexa led them forward onto the floor, and was about to announce them to Jama's "court," when Falka spoke first. "Jama, you requested that Falka, leader of the Black Phoenix come see you. I am here, and I am a busy man. What is it that you want?"
The big Hutt laughed slowly. "Oota ka wachi no wonga mae tama," he said in a deep rumbling voice, and a protocol droid stepped forward from the shadows behind the slug.
"The mighty Jama the Hutt says you are bold, and he likes that. Therefore he will let you live," the gray droid said with a female voice.
"Again, what do you want with Black Phoenix?" Falka said, ignoring what the protocol droid had said.
"I want your puny smuggling ring off my planet, or under my control," the Hutt said, switching to Galactic Basic when he realized that using the droid wasn't going to impress the Khommite.
Falka crossed his arms. "Is that what you called me all the way here for? I would have thought you were smarter than that... maybe suggested some sort of working relationship."
"I did suggest a working relationship, pirate scum. You will take your orders from me, or I will wipe you off the planet," the Hutt said, then picked up his hooka pipe again, as if the discussion were over.
Falka knew the negotiations were over, as did Haley and the Sith. Apparently the whole room did as well. Raezyr and Trychon shifted a bit, turning their backs slightly toward Falka so they could see the rest of the crowd. They could feel the tension rising and watch the seasoned mercs and bounty hunters ease their hands toward their weapons, some even grabbing them out right.
"I will think over your proposal, and will give you an answer by the end of the week," Falka said, attempting to get them out of there without a fight.
"No, you will give me your answer now," the Hutt replied.
Falka didn't hesitate, "Then my answer is, 'no.'"
"Then you are my prisoner. If your Sith attempt any tricks, you will all be gunned down where you stand," the Hutt stated, and dozens of guns around the room were drawn and leveled. "And you, sweetie," Jama said, directing his comments to Haley, "will be added to my harem." Raezyr couldn't help but shiver with repulsion as the big slug licked his lips.
Several guards began approaching them, some with leveled weapons, and others with stun cuffs in hand. They were smart to be cautious as they approached, knowing that even unarmed, a Sith can be dangerous, but they weren't cautious enough.
As soon as they drew close enough, Trychon and Raezyr reached forward, each using the Force to yank a blaster from the hands of an approaching guard, then activating their lightsabers at the same time they tossed the blasters to Falka and Haley.
Instantly the room was filled with red and green bolts, the acrid smell of smoke, and the sounds of gunfire as well as the hum and crackle of lightsabers.
Falka, Trychon and Raezyr all had the same idea, firing, and deflecting bolts at the Hutt, but at the first sign of resistance, the crime lord had slapped the panic button on his platform, which activated shields and slid the platform back and into an alcove, where blast doors began to lower.
Trychon swore softly and began redirecting bolts toward a small side door, trying to clear an exit. "I was hoping to at least take out Jama if we couldn't get him to back down. I should have known he was craftier than that!"
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