EXT. CORUSCANT - ENTERTAINMENT STREET - EVENING
Entertainment Street -- with its run-down buildings, smoggy air, flickering lighting, and disreputable-looking characters -- lies at the heart of the world planet's seedy underbelly, far from the well-maintained, gleaming chrome centres of civilization that serve as the planet's public face to the rest of the Empire.
A TALL WOMAN-- her features hidden beneath the folds of a deep red, hooded cloak -- makes her way along Entertainment Street, passing several alien lowlifes, pan-handling 'droids, and the upper class slummers along the way. Soon she reaches her destination: a grime-stained establishment with a dim blue neon sign identifying it simply as "NIGHTCLUB". As she steps forward, a scantily clad prostitute standing beside the entrance -- her body too heavily endowed to be natural -- reaches out, stopping her with a touch on the shoulder.
PROSTITUTE: How's it hangin', honey? Goin' my way?
HOODED WOMAN: (regards the woman) I doubt you're my type.
PROSTITUTE: Baby, I'm everybody's type.
As she says those words, the exotically beautiful woman changes her shape, transforming into a scantily-clad man with a muscular physique and a trim goatee.
HOODED WOMAN: I'm sorry, but I've come here to meet someone, and that someone isn't you. Goodnight.
With that, the hooded woman steps past the shape-shifter, entering the nightclub like a shadow merging with a greater darkness.
PROSTITUTE: (gives a rude hand gesture) It's your loss, girly-girl!
INT. NIGHTCLUB - EVENING
The hooded woman enters the nightclub. Looking about the dingy, dim-lit interior, she sees a number of clientele -- all seedy and disreputable like the people outside -- lounging around, nursing drinks and talking in hushed tones at the bar or in booths. Silently, she moves forward across the room toward the bar, her cloak trailing behind her like flowing dark blood. As she stops before the grimy bar counter, the bartender -- a large, unwashed besalisk -- turns toward her, wiping a pair of dirty mugs with a pair of dirty rags in each pair of dirty hands.
HOODED WOMAN: I'm here to see Dep T'rot.
BESALISK BARTENDER: Dep T'rot, Dep T'rot ... (spitting brown phlegm into a mug) Never heard o' no Dep T'rot.
The hooded woman reaches into her cloak. Pulling out some credits, she tosses them on the counter before the bartender.
BESALISK BARTENDER: (scoops up the credits) Now that I t'ink 'bout it, he might be out back. (beat) Ya know whatta knockout t'ose Rhuvian fizzes can be.
HOODED WOMAN: For him or for you?
BESALISK BARTENDER: I make it a religion neva to sample my own juice, baby. (beat) Not while the sign's lit, anyways.
HOODED WOMAN: (turns to leave) Always a pleasure, Xed.
BESALISK BARTENDER: Don't be a stranger, Tachi.
EXT. ENTERTAINMENT STREET - NIGHTCLUB - ALLEY - EVENING
Exited the nightclub, the hooded woman makes her way around the building, slipping into the alley behind. As she makes her way down the dark alley, two shapes come out from the shadows behind her, blocking off the dim light coming in from the street. Spinning around, she finds herself face-to-face with a tall, guant Balosar and a squat, fat, mutant yuzzum.
VISS UTHAR: Hey, baby -- wanna have some deathsticks?
DENN JIIDET: Maybe wanna have my deathstick ...
Without any further word, the two lowlifes unsheathe small vibroblades. Their eyes and grins alive with salacious intent, they begin approaching the hooded woman. She shrinks back, fear evident on her shadow-obscured face.
Just as they reach her, though, her expression of fear transforms into one of hard determination, and she explodes into action.
Throwing out her leg, she kicks Jiidet in his furry gut, sending the inordinarily large yuzzum crashing into an alley wall with a heavy "woof" of expelled air, and ducks as Uthar slashes at her with his vibroblade.
Reaching for her side, she unclips a cylindrical metal rod and, gripping it hard, she punches the Balosar in the face, using the metal weapon to reinforce her blow. Spitting teeth, Uthar goes down.
Just as the Balosar hits the pavement, though, Jiidet recovers his senses and attacks, grabbing the woman by the hem of her dark red cloak. As he spins her around, the cloak comes loose, and she goes sailing into a heap of trash, the metal cylinder flying from her grasp.
Chucking with sinister glee, the yuzzum retrieves his fallen vibroblade. Flipping and twisting it around his fingers, he charges the dazed woman.
Just as he reaches her, though, and pulls his knife hand back to deliver the killing blow, she jumps up onto her feet and then springs into the air, somersaulting over Jiidet as his momentum send him crashing into the pile of trash. Landing behind the sprawled-out yuzzum, she somersaults across the pavement toward the cylinder, sweeping it up into her hand as she passes over it. Springing up onto her feet, she grips the cylinder with both hands as the yuzzum climbs to his feet and charges, slashing his vibroblade through the air maniacally.
Siri presses a button set into the side of the cylinder, and a blade of fuschia energy erupts from its top with a sharp snap-hiss. Startled by this dazzling weapon, the yuzzum stops mid-slash, stumbling as his momentum carries him forward toward the glowing fuschia blade. Pivoting to her right, the woman throws her left leg out high, kicking Jiidet in the chin and throwing him backward onto the pavement. Fully in control of the situation now, she strides forward, placing the tip of the blade under the yuzzum's chin.
HOODED WOMAN: Perhaps you'd like to try my deathstick.
No longer obscured beneath the heavy red cloak, we can see that this woman is human, in her early twenties, pretty, with shoulder-length ash blond hair and piercing gray eyes. Judging by the lightsaber she wields and the loose charcoal coveralls and black boots, belt, and outer tunic she wears, she is a Jedi knight of the Coruscanti sect.
HOODED WOMAN: Get the hell out of here.
Taking the blade of her lightsaber out from under Jiidet's hairy throat, the Jedi takes a step back. Wasting no time, the yuzzum scrambles to his feet and takes off, leaving his unconscious accomplice behind.
DEP T'ROT: (in Kubazian, subtitled) Impressive, Siri -- very, very impressive.
With a sigh, SIRI TACHI deactivates her lightsaber. Clipping it back on her belt, she turns around, where Dep T'rot -- a tall Kubaz -- stands behind her, his dark black cloak helping to blend him into the alley shadows.
SIRI (HOODED WOMAN): So are you -- I didn't even know you were back here.
DEP T'ROT: (subtitled) You can take the Kubaz out of the Jedi, but you can't take the Jedi out of the Kubaz. (beat) I have what you've come for.
Reaching under his dark cloak, the Kubaz pulls out a datacard. Retrieving her deep red cloak, Siri fastens the blood-red material around her neck as she steps up to him.
SIRI: (takes the card) What's on it?
DEP T'ROT: (subtitled) Read it.
Pulling out a datapad, Siri slips the datacard into it and calls up the information stored on it.
SIRI: (reading the card's information over) Consular-class space cruiser Radiant VII carrying Zull ... high priestess of the Meketrex ... attacked en-route to Vuldronaii, throne world of the Sebouillia ... fragments of ship found by terraformers on KMN-0, uninhabited water planet ... no survivors. (looks up at Dep T'rot) And you're sure Mandalorians were involved?
DEP T'ROT: (subtitled) It fits their M.O. Small, lightly-defended ship, attacked out in the Outer Rim far from any heavily populated world ...
SIRI: (deactivates the datapad) I'll check up on it.
Turning around, Siri begins making her way out of the alley.
DEP T'ROT: (subtitled) Aren't you forgetting something?
SIRI: (stops and turns to face him) Don't worry -- your fee has already been transferred to your account.
DEP T'ROT: (subtitled) That isn't what I meant.
SIRI: (rolls her eyes) What do you mean, then?
DEP T'ROT: (subtitled) Aren't you going to say "thank you"?
Her face freezes. She wasn't expecting him to say anything like that.
DEP T'ROT: (subtitled) Well?
SIRI: (stoney) Thank you ...
No longer comfortable with the Kubaz, she hurries along on her way, leaving the black-clad ex-Jedi alone in the dark, dirty alley.