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_
Wait there.
No weapons. No comms.
No credit. No nonsense.
In you go.
Upstairs lounge is closed tonight.
You pay at the end.
Don't even think about it.
She'll send you home cryin'.
Welcome.
Hello.
Alone tonight?
- Just me. - Hmm.
- Have you been with us before? - First time.
Well, you picked a great night.
It's sort of been quiet this evening.
Excuse me.
We were here first.
Yeah, we've been waiting. He just got here.
Gani will help you.
I don't want Gani.
Behave.
Oh, she's funny, ain't she?
My apologies.
You should take care of them.
Why?
It's a company town.
Oh, they're just sentry guards.
They like to play at being cops. It's... It's annoying.
- Hello, guys. - Where were we?
You were telling me how quiet it was.
Looking for something special tonight?
A friend of mine said there was a girl from Kenari working here.
Kenari?
It was a small Mid Rim system.
I've heard of it.
It's not your girlfriend or something, is it?
I don't have a girlfriend.
Are you from Kenari? Nostalgic, are we?
Let me go and check on that for you.
Is there something amusing?
What?
You keep looking over here like there's something funny.
Definitely not.
What does that mean?
Oh, that is a hard look for a little thing like you.
Yeah, he's not laughing now, is he?
There was a girl from Kenari, but she left several months ago.
We do have a lovely lady here tonight from Tahina
who's got those big dark eyes you're looking for.
This girl from Kenari, any idea where she went?
What are you? Seriously. Boyfriend? Husband?
I'm looking for my sister.
Well, whoever she is, she's not here. She disappeared.
People come and go.
You should leave.
What was her name?
Nobody here gives their real name.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on there.
No weapons. No comms.
No credit. No nonsense.
Hey! Scrawno! Slow down.
Slow down!
Stop! Stop right there!
You're in Pre-Mor corporate zone. You know that, right?
Employees are required to present their IDs upon request.
Oh, no, you didn't park out past the causeway, did ya?
I sure hope not. That's off-limits to visitors.
We'd have to fine you.
Yeah, I mean, you know about the visitor's curfew, right?
Yeah, we'd have to impound your ride.
Tough break.
What if he swum over?
You swim over, scrawno?
Yeah, he's not laughing anymore.
If you've got Corpo ID, now would be the time to pull it out.
Gonna have to see it, big stuff.
There you go.
I got 300 credits in my coat pocket.
What are the chances on that?
That is almost exactly what it costs to cover the fine.
The towing charge and our personal processing fee.
Everybody's lucky night.
Let's have a look at it.
I'm not moving.
You want it, you take it and I walk away.
I don't need any surprises.
Have at it.
No. Other pocket.
Tell me now.
Tell me what to do!
Let's hear it, boss!
Get up. Get him up.
Get him up!
Move!
He's not breathing.
- No. - Verlo! Verlo!
- He's faking. - He's not!
Verlo!
You killed him.
You didn't mean it.
He fell.
We had a misunderstanding, and...
We'll go in together.
We played too hard in hitting, and you didn't understand it.
He tried to grab you, and... and he fell, and he hit his head.
We'll go in together.
We'll tell them what happened.
_
C-C-Cassian. I brought what you t-t-told me.
Cassian. Kassa. Kassa.
Kassa! Kassa!
But where were you?
It's not important.
If it's not important, why not tell me?
Cassian?
Who came by the house last night?
Jezzi and Femmi brought supper and Maarva's medicine,
and then Jezzi came back b-b-because...
Anybody looking for me?
B-B-Brasso. Brasso was looking for you.
What did you tell him?
Maarva told him...
Told him what?
Pausing for data lag.
Tell me what she said.
Bee!
Maarva said you were out ruining your health and reputation
with friends of low character.
She told him sooner or later you were going to
g-g-get yourself into trouble you couldn't talk your way out of.
Then she told Brasso that...
Enough!
Come here.
Listen to me. It's important.
I know it takes a lot of energy, but can you make a lie for me?
I can lie. I have adequate power reserves.
Don't tell anybody you saw me. Don't tell anybody you know where I am.
That's two lies.
Let's have both.
I will have to recharge at home.
Take your time on the way back.
I got to hurry.
I can't come with you?
Not now. I don't have time.
I'm sorry.
I'm late. Wait. What's this?
Hold still. Hold still.
Take your time.
Let's get to it.
- Grab mine. - Yeah, grab those two now.
Brasso will catch you up.
Hey.
You don't look so good.
I'm fine.
- I came by for you last night. - Yeah, I know.
What'd you do when you left?
Uh, I was tired. I went home, cleaned up a bit, and then I fell asleep.
No. You came by for me, but I wasn't there.
So then you started home, and you saw me at the Hotel Bridge.
We decided we were thirsty, and you wanted to go to Cavo's.
But I said that was no good because
there's too many people there I owe money.
You're serious?
Yeah.
Who's gonna be asking?
So Cavo's was out.
But then you remembered you still had
half a bottle of nog stashed at home.
So we went there and drank ourselves to sleep.
Please. I really need this.
You insulted my choice of beverage.
As host and provider, I was offended by this.
You failed to gauge the depth of my irritation.
You rose to make your point more vocally.
I was helping you back into your chair when you fell.
You were gone when I woke up.
You've come here now to apologize.
I accept your apology.
Hey, Brasso, let's go.
Do me this. Whatever this is, when it's done,
pull your boots on and get to work. You look like a wreck.
I knew I could count on you.
I'm not lending you any money.
I knew that, too.
Tell your mother she can afford to put the heating on.
It was freezing there last night.
Make yourself useful.
_
This is quite the report. This happened when?
Last night, sir. I knew you were leaving this morning,
and I wanted to make sure you had all
the information before your departure.
You've been very busy.
Two men are dead, sir.
Employees.
If that's not worth staying up for, then I'm not worthy of the uniform.
Have you modified your uniform?
Perhaps slightly.
Pockets, piping, and...
and some light tailoring.
I know one of these men. Kravas.
That's another reason I wanted this to get immediate attention.
He was a squad commander on Four.
He's fallen a great deal since then.
He was a Sentry Corporal here on One.
No mystery there.
He's lucky he wasn't killed years ago.
One of the most unpleasant people I've ever met.
There's no suspect at this point?
We have some excellent leads.
"A human with dark features asking about a Kenari girl"
"who might have been working in the establishment."
Are there no witnesses to the actual
crime? It's usually quite busy there.
Apparently not. This happened just outside the district,
- at the plaza entrance to the causeway. - I know.
- There's an intersection... - I said I know it.
- Were they robbed? - No, sir.
Tough case.
Bad timing.
I'm sure that in several days, with the proper resources,
- I can bring this case to a... - Stop!
And I don't mean just the talking. I mean stop.
This case appears to bear all the hallmarks
of what I like to describe as regrettable misadventure.
Sir?
Two dedicated Pre-Mor employees
caught in the sad orbit of a rare calamity.
I don't understand.
I want you to conjure a suitable accident.
- But... - And let's make sure
it's on the far side of the plaza.
Let's get it outside the Leisure Zone.
- But they were murdered. - No.
They were killed in a fight.
They were in a brothel, which we're not supposed to have,
the expensive one, which they shouldn't be able to afford,
drinking Revnog, which we're not supposed to allow.
Both of them supposedly on the job, which is a dismissible offense.
They clearly harassed a human with dark features
and chose the wrong person to annoy.
I suspect they died rushing to aid someone in distress.
Nothing too heroic. We don't need a parade.
They died being helpful.
Something sad but inspiring in a mundane sort of way.
You look stricken, Deputy Inspector.
Are you absorbing my meaning here?
Trying, sir.
When I said bad timing,
I wasn't referring to the fact that you spent all night worrying this.
I meant that I am on my way this very morning
to an Imperial Regional Command review,
where I'll be asked to make a report about our crime rates,
and the goal of that speech,
should you ever be asked to deliver it, is brevity.
Minimizing the time the Empire spends thinking about Preox-Morlana
benefits our superiors and, by extension,
everyone here at the Pre-Mor Security Inspection team,
which at the moment includes you.
Don't put your feet on my desk in my absence,
and let's have an accident report waiting when I get back.
Yeah, tell him that 15,000 is the best he's gonna get.
She's in the yard.
Yes, Yes, we can do that.
I'm busy.
I'll be quick.
What?
- Your friend. - What friend?
The one who buys. Your secret friend. How fast can you reach him?
What happened to you?
I fell.
On what? A jealous husband?
I have something to sell.
Don't we all?
How soon could he be here?
I was planning to reach out at the end of the month.
No. This would have to be now.
Yeah, for what? For one item?
No. That's not how it works. I bundle things before I make contact.
Bix. Bix. Come on.
There's a Tac Corvette coming in this week looking for scrap.
I'm told there's a rack of Imperial targeting units
someone might forget to strip out.
We'll get that, that thing you've got.
Got a few Naval com-scans...
- I can't wait that long. - Why?
What have you done?
Your friend will want this piece.
He'll come for this. You said he wanted to meet me.
So, what is it?
What is it?
I got an untraceable NS-9 Starpath unit.
Vector crystals and Imperial seal still intact.
How long have you had that?
I need to move it, Bix.
- You've been hiding it. - Saving it.
I'm guessing it comes from one of my bids.
- Guess again. - Not your best move, Cassian.
So, what?
You want to call your guy or not?
- Do you know how much that's worth? - Yeah.
Enough to get out of here, lay low till things cool off.
- I need to relocate for a while. - You've been holding out on me.
And you've been skimming off the top.
So let's not get emotional.
You'll need an alternative plan...
No, no. The answer's no.
You don't know what I'm about to suggest.
- I'm not selling this to you, Bix. - Come on.
I didn't hang on to this to have a partner.
I need every credit I can put my hands on to...
Are we bidding on the Wobani run tomorrow?
What?
There's a Wobani run coming. Jeef wants to know if we're in on it.
He'll know when I'm ready.
Yeah, are you...
What?
Well, it looks like it's turned into something more than work.
Do I ask about your personal life?
Just promise he knows nothing about any of this.
He'd do anything for me.
No. No, no. That wasn't my question.
No. He knows nothing about any of it.
Bix, you said he wanted to meet me.
I really need this.
I'll let him know.
Now, go fix your face.
Four of these, five of these. Transport at once, once we get payment.
Mm-hmm.
She seems upset.
It's good to see you, Timm.
Seems like that happens every time you come around.
I wouldn't worry. She's tougher than both of us.
I'm getting tired of hearing that.
Then you'd better find yourself a less-complicated woman.
Good luck with that.
Kassa!
Ey!
Everything okay, sir?
Fine.
Thank you.
Forward.
Wait. Wait, wait. Go back. Go back. That.
What is that?
I'm not quite sure, sir.
Sublight something.
Orlean Star Cab or a Dayvan. Some old thing.
And this something just strolls through the checkpoint?
No identification whatsoever, just wanders into points unknown?
The nights get busy. You know the traffic.
I don't know what's more disturbing,
the fact our borders are unprotected or your complacence about it.
Find it. Whatever it is, I want to know when it left and where it went.
You'd have to filter the entire night.
Well, if it's too much for you, let me know.
I'm sure somebody wants the chair.
- Hey, Cass. - Hey.
- Good to see... - What's the hurry?
- Got some place to be? - Yeah.
What, not happy to see me?
- What, no love for Nurchi? - No, I'm late, okay?
I know. I want my deposit back.
I wish I could, but it's in play.
Just waiting to hear they're on-site. Okay?
Vetch?
Seriously?
I'm not one of these losers gonna let you float
until they forget how much you owe them.
You're here with him.
To what?
To threaten me?
Vetch, you let him talk you into this?
The subject is money.
- I just asked you a question. - What?
Since when do you take orders from Nurchi?
Don't answer that.
- You need work this bad? - Leave him out of it.
He said all I needed to do was stand here.
Good.
You keep at it.
You think I'm messing around?
I hope so.
I'm gonna do us a favor and not mention this happened.
Vetch, very nice to see you.
What?
I'll be back.
- What's up? - Errands. Won't be long.
Dad.
Haven't seen you lately.
Some of us work.
What are we looking for?
Bendine Mesh-Tech filter.
Yellow racks in the back.
You might have to dig a little.
- Thanks. - Good luck with it.
Look alive. He's on his way up.
Is he even allowed to approve overtime?
- That's his problem. - Not if we don't get it.
Well, it'll be his name in the time scan.
- Ferrix! - Yes, sir, we've been working on it.
Kenari human males on Ferrix.
I'm afraid that's a blank, sir.
What?
But we have got a Imperial census.
How old is it?
This is six years ago.
That's an eternity.
There's not a lot about Kenari, sir. It's fairly obscure.
That should make it easier.
We'll have to put the word out.
- On Ferrix? - Where else would we put it?
We don't have presence there, sir.
- Is it not under our jurisdiction? - Technically.
We are simply asking for information.
Have you ever been there?
What difference does that make?
They have their own way of doing things.
This is the murder of two Pre-Mor employees!
Put out a bulletin.
Kenari human men wanted for questioning. Slam their channels. Flood it.
Set up a desk here to monitor anything that comes in.
Let's go!
- What do you think you're doing? - Forgot something.
Now? He's in the office.
I refueled it. Just like you told me. And now I'm almost done.
What is that? Is that the ID chip log?
It's the old one.
I'm just putting a blank in right now.
Pegla! Pegla!
What in the name of Chobb is going on out there?
I think the yard rats are back.
There's a customer out front.
Get those hounds to start earning their keep.
Why are you swapping chip logs? You're gonna get us both in trouble.
I didn't like the way it was running last night.
So you're doing me a favor?
Leave it better than you found it.
The way you always do.
The Cassian way.
I was gonna ask if I could borrow it again tomorrow.
I wouldn't do that if I was you.
Close this out.
Don't come back.
- Come on, Pegla. - No, no, no.
No.
We're done. No more favors. No more deals.
- Listen, this... - Don't.
I don't want to know what you're doing or why
or where you took this thing last night or any of it.
Finish up. Get out.
Don't come back.
Kassa.
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