[SpringsSong]

Xyshari examined the tracker, her brow furrowed as she tried to identify it by sight alone. After a moment, she shook her head slightly, and instead drew in a deep breath, catching the same scent that Fahx described. However, after considering it for a few moments, she shook her head.

"I can't say I recognize the tracker by any visual cues, and I can't say I recognize the scent coming from it, either - which isn't exactly very definitive. I can't say I've seen one like this employed by the Jedi, or by the Republic, but I'm not a very good judge of that," Xyshari said, glancing over at Lana. "It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that there are people on both sides of this conflict who would rather see her dead than walking around."

"No, it wouldn't," Lana said as she looked at the device. She examined it for a moment, and after a moment, she nodded. "I'm fairly certain it's a CIS model tracker, though - but it's not a model I'm familiar with, so it's just as likely that it might be a third party altogether," she said, glancing over at Xyshari, whose lips were set into a firm line.

[Kylo]

Fahx listened intently to the two women before asking for the device back.

"I gotta droid on my ship that might be able to trace it's origins. I'd like to hunt down the sleemo and catch them off guard."

Toma sighed as his partner dashed off to their ship to retrieve said droid. Hopefully the old thing would be able to do the trick, though he worried what the result would be. He hoped his partner wouldn't try to take off. They were not hired for this, and couldn't afford to do pro bono work.

Soon the Floxal returned with a small Droid in tow that beeped irritability at him.

"Okay, run the thing!"

The Droid connected to the device and whirred quietly for a few moments before spitting out results in binary.

"Telos? They're an independent system.  Last time I checked they don't get involved in things outside of the mining business."

Toma hummed and pulled out a data pad to confirm the planet's most recent status.

"Fahx is right. They are still independent which means either they have secretly allied with the CIS or they are a third party with unknown goals. I don't know which one is worse."

Fahx coughed and grinned.

"So...who wants to pay Telos a visit, raise your hand."

[SpringsSong]

Xyshari and Lana waited as Fahx dashed off to get his droid, while Kaytoo whistled indignantly beside Xyshari. The Cathar offered a sympathetic look to her astromech and placed a gentle hand on the droid's dome, but said nothing else at that exact moment. When Fahx returned with his droid, and had the droid run a trace on the tracker, the two women could only stand there and wait - Lana, with a certain anxious air; Xyshari, with one of concern.

"Telos?" Xyshari repeated after a moment. "That is... hm. Either newly - and secretly - allied with the CIS, or a third party with unknown goals... both are bad enough," she said. "Either way, if someone on the planet felt the need to have my ship tracked, that means they either are after me, for some reason, or they found out that Lana would be with me on this assignment, and are after her."

"We both know that it's most likely me that anyone would be after," Lana said, looking over at Xyshari. "But I don't understand why."

"Well, we're going to get to the bottom of it," Xyshari said, before looking back at Fahx. "By the way... you didn't have to dismantle my fighter too much to get that out, did you...?"

[Kylo]

"Not much at all. Just gotta put a panel back in place. I have small hands so getting inside without moving much was easy. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes to get it back in place. There, ahh, was a dent in the panel though before I got there."

"You all are forgetting something important. As much as I do want to know what exactly is going on, we need paid. We are mercenaries, not a charity. Without funding our ship doesn't fly," Toma said as he looked pointedly at Fahx.

"Aww, come on, Toma. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"It's dead in a ditch along with your sense of tact."

Fahx eyed Toma pleadingly.

"What if we just charge that senator extra later on, to make up for it. Call it an annoyance tax."

Toma eyed Fahx considering his options.

"Fine, but if we go broke again, we are not letting you cook to save money. I still can smell the smoke."

Fahx hugged Toma and leaned up on his tip toes to kiss his cheek.

Toma sighed and looped an arm around Fahx and squeezed.

"So...we should get going now that Toma is on board. I'll go fix your ship real quick!"

[SpringsSong]

Xyshari had raised a hand as though to speak, but Lana raised one of her hands and pushed Xyshari's hand down, shaking her head slightly after a moment.

<Don't. Let them work it out themselves,> Lana said. <I doubt the offer of a berth on your cruiser would be accepted outright.>

<Fine,> Xyshari replied with a slight sigh. Looking back at the other two, she nodded slightly. "I guess the other question would be if we could trouble you for a ride. Not that there's anything wrong with the ship that's waiting in orbit for my starfighter, but... I believe this is a matter handled discreetly, which means not telling the clone troopers, or others, about it until we know what's going on," she said. Lana's head snapped over to look more pointedly at Xyshari.

"You're not even going to tell...?" she began.

"Nope. All he gets to know is that we found a tracker on my fighter," Xyshari said.

[Kylo]

Toma sighed again, but before he could speak, Fahx piped up.

"Of course! So, if that's the case, just grab your gear and meet us in the hanger."

Toma didn't bother arguing this time, knowing he wouldn't win especially since the logic was there.

"I'll meet you all on the ship. I'll get us ready for the trip. It will be a decent ride out there."

Toma detached himself from Fahx and began to head to the ship.

"Do you two need any help with your stuff?" Fahx asked.

[SpringsSong]

"We just need to get our armor from my starfighter - won't take us but a moment," Xyshari said, looking to Lana. Lana nodded her head in agreement, and the two of them made their way back to the starfighter quickly. While they were at the starfighter, Lana looked back at Xyshari with a certain look in her eyes.

"You're serious about not telling anyone about going off-course of this assignment?" Lana asked, and Xyshari offered a nod.

"Sometimes, you have to trust your instincts with these things, Lana," Xyshari said. "Do you really think they would look into this before we were followed to a more remote location and cut off from any support?"

"They would leave us on our own, even if it meant losing one of their best knights," Lana said. The two of them made their way back to where they had left Fahx, their tucked under their arms.

[Kylo]

Fahx rocked back and forth on his feet as he waited for them to return. When he noticed their approach he stopped and waved them over.

"So before we head to the ship I gotta ask you two something."

He looked around to see if anyone was near, but when he saw no one he pitched his voice low.

"What are you two to each other out of the professional area. Like friends or...? Not that it matters to me, I just want to know where everyone stands. It makes it easier to know everyone is gonna get along. Last thing we need is infighting."

He waits for their answer surprisingly patiently.

"If you don't feel comfortable telling me that's fine too. You probably figured out that me and Toma are more than just business associates."

[SpringsSong]

The two women looked over to each other before looking back at the Floxal, and Lana folded her arms and gave the Floxal a very serious look.

"I would say that I trust her more than I trust the rest of the Jedi," Lana said. "And I would consider her a friend. Beyond that, though... it's frankly none of your business what we are outside of a professional sense," she said. Xyshari blinked as she looked between Lana and Fahx, staring at the Floxal for a moment.

"I... wasn't going to draw any attention to it. What you are to others in your personal time is your business," Xyshari said. Lana barely glanced over at her.

<You had no idea, did you?> she asked telepathically.

<None whatsoever,> Xyshari replied.

[Kylo]

"As long as we all aren't gonna stab each other that's good by me. Trust is important so if you two trust each other that's enough for me."

He hummed and turned to head to the hanger.

"Also don't tell Toma I brought this up. He is more...private than I am."

In the hanger Toma stood waiting on the boarding ramp of their ship. It was a former smugglers ship but retrofitted to be more well armed for combat. It's speed was nothing to scoff at either. But most importantly it was the only stable "home" Toma and Fahx ever had making Toma weary to allow essentially strangers on board.

"Ship's ready. You two have everything you need?"

Fahx gave him a thumbs-up and clambered on board, excited to give their guests a quick tour.

"You guys are gonna be glad you choose our ship just wait and see!"

[SpringsSong]

"Lana has not given me reason not to trust her since we met," Xyshari said, bowing her head slightly. "And worry not - your secret is safe with us," she said, and Lana nodded in agreement. They followed Fahx to where the ship was, looking it over. They looked it over, and Xyshari couldn't help but offer an appreciative purr.

"Looks fast, and like she can handle herself in a fight," she said. Regarding Toma, she said, "We have everything that we need for a little detour," indicating hers and Lana's armor that they were holding under their arms. Both of them glanced over to Fahx and couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"Lead the way, then," Lana said. "That is, assuming Toma doesn't mind...?"

[Kylo]

"Just stay out of our rooms and office. Otherwise it's fine," he said as he watched them walk up the ramp before closing it behind them.

He wasn't upset per say so much as unprepared. Unknown variables set him on edge.

Fahx began to chatter excitedly about the ship's specs as he lead them around the ship, pointing out various rooms and their uses. Finally he brought them to the guest quarters and he opened the door.

Inside was a small desk, a bunk bed, a small fresher off to the side with a tiny sonic shower, and dresser. It was very plain and orderly.

"You two will be staying in here if you need to sleep or whatever. Otherwise you're free to roam the ship, but like Toma said stay out of the office and our rooms. Especially his room."

He grinned and gave them a thumbs up.

"Let me know when you're settled in and me and Toma will take off."

[SpringsSong]

"Not to worry. We won't stick our noses where they don't belong; that would hardly be proper," Lana said, and Xyshari nodded in agreement. They followed Fahx around as he talked about the ship, its specs, and led them around the ship; it was plainly obvious to the two that he was proud of the ship. Xyshari could understand that feeling; she could talk for hours about every small detail of her starfighter, Selari.

When they arrived at their room, they looked around it for a couple of moments before turning back to Fahx.

"It shouldn't take us more than a couple of minutes to get settled," Xyshari said. "Go ahead and start preparations - you don't need to wait on us."

"I guess there's just the small matter of which bunk you'd prefer," Lana said, looking at the bunk bed. Xyshari offered a shrug.

"Doesn't make a difference to me, Lana. Is there one you'd prefer?" Xyshari asked.