Ahto City

As Krom made his way back across the room, Ash used her helmet HUD to watch the people he passed without turning her head to look at them. Most of them still seemed to be carefully ignoring the Mandalorians, but Ash saw hints of things more dangerous than fear in some of the bolder individuals. When Krom reached her, she leaned slightly towards him, speaking Mando'a.

<We might have trouble, friend.>

Krom turned to follow Ash's line of sight, and rumbled a question. Ash shook her head slightly.

<No, not him. Some of the others might decide we've overstayed our welcome. Just be ready in case things go south.>

Krom made an agreeing sound, and checked the plates covering the backs of his hands, within which rested short beskar blades. Normally, blades of that size needed to be vibroweapons to be effective, but Ash had found that the Wookiees strength would snap any blade of that size not made of Mandalorian Iron, and beskar was too heavy for most vibro generators. Subtly powering on her arm-mounted weaponry, Ash stood, making her way to the bar, with Krom following. Leaning on the counter, she turned her head towards Able.

"Su cuy'gar, vod."

Behind Ash, Krom pulled off his helmet and barked at the bartender, pointing and gesturing at the man until he'd clarified what he wanted. The barkeep placed a large mug, usually used for cheap ales, on the bar and filled it from a bottle of liquor with a bright 'No Humans' label across the front, accepting and checking several cred-sticks before he released his grip on the mug.

Ash watched Able handle the thugs, shaking her head slightly as they made for the exit. Very few beings ever bothered a Mandalorian a second time. Busy with his drink, Krom lifted his head just long enough to bark our a laugh at the retreating groups before busying himself with the alcohol again.

"They shouldn't be too much trouble. He was fairly small time. I'm not going after the local big man with anything less than a squadron of bes'uliik at my back."

Ash shook her head angrily, then sighed.

"He's got himself a right little empire here. But you're not here to help with my personal vendetta, are you?"

Ash sighed softly. Of course that's why Able was here. There was little else on this planet that could warrant the attention of a skilled killer, especially one with the skills and training Ash knew the Chiss had. Gently tapping her knuckle plate against the forehead of her helmet, Ash sigh again.

"Ner'vod, if you go in there alone, especially like you normally do, you're going to wind up dead."

The expressions and nods coming from any of the patrons close enough to hear seemed to show complete agreement with the Togruta. Hesitating a moment, Ash switched to Mando'a, not wanting the whole bar to know what she was going to say.

<Listen to me, friend. I've been inside this criminal's palace. I was hired to stop you, or whatever other killers came after him, before I figured out how he had made all his money. I met him face to face, and he's still alive. That is how paranoid this guy is.>

Ash hesitated again, for just a heartbeat.

<Ruthless and cruel, too. If I hadn't kept my armour on...well, I doubt I would have made it out without wearing a collar.>

Ash's whole body tensed up when she spoke those words, and she was thankful for the disguise of her armour plates. Although meant to hide her gender, they often disguised a range of emotional cues, even beyond that of normal beskar'gam. Glancing up, Krom gently swatted Ash in the back of the head, and in his mixed language, barked that he would have taken the whole palace apart one stone at a time before leaving her in a collar. Ash chuckled at his enthusiasm, then turned her attention back to Able.

"If you're determined to go in there, come back to my ship first. I might be able to help you a bit."

"Alright. Let's go, Krom."

The Wookiee barked, and slapped down a handful of credits before snatching the bottle his drink had been supplied from. Sliding his helmet on, he and Ash stood in unison and headed for the door. Outside the bar, Ash hesitated a moment, noting several pairs of eyes turned towards her, then dismissed them, and made he way towards the docks. On the short trip there, she stayed mostly silent, using her internal HUD to catalogue and compile footage from her time inside the slave-lord's palace. Walking a few paces behind her, Krom, helmet once more firmly on his head, gripped his bottle in one hand, the other resting on the handle of a very large blaster pistol. It only took a few minutes to reach the hanger where Ash's ship was parked. Making her way towards the ramp of the Maka-Eekai L4000 transport that lowered at a command from her helmet systems, Ash thumped the hull of the ship.

"Rang Ka'rta, old friend, keep flying for many more years."

Ash spoke over her shoulder, hopefully at Able, while Krom went ahead into the ship.

"Several of his eyes are watching. Come aboard. I think I've got everything I can give you ready."

As the ramp raised behind the Mandalorians, Ash tugged at her helmet, popping the seals and pulling it off.

"Oh, I guessed you would have noticed them. I mostly wanted an excuse to get this armour off for a bit."

Krom came loping down the ramp that led up into the upper levels of the ship, bereft of armour. One large hand clutched a remote device while the other vigorously combed and scratched through his fur. Ash laughed softly as she began pulling of her armour plates.

"Beskar'gam doesn't agree with fur so much either. Go ahead Krom, show him what our last job bought us."

Krom roared happily, and pushed a button on the remote. The walls o the cargo hold shimmered momentarily, then disappeared, instantly transporting the trio to a location just outside the entrance to the palace of the crime lord. Insects buzzed in the background, the sun shone from overhead, and guards patrolled past, seemingly oblivious to the trio of Mandalorians. Ash, wearing only a form-fitting bodysuit that extended from wrist to ankle to the base of her throat, walked over and thumped Able gently on the shoulder.

"What do you think? Full colour true to life definition holographic display on the ceiling, floor, and all four walls. The data centre is linked to the sensors in our armour and the ships sensors, and can exactly recreate anything it records. Give it a minute or two, and it can create new scenarios based on existing records too."

Ash nods slowly at the first comment. It had been both anger and determination that had driven her to her choice of armour.

"It can be a problem sometimes, but I have lost more than a few jobs because of my gender. Despite obviously being a Mandalorian, and regardless of my skills, many who hire Mandos saw me as a woman first, and everything else second."

Ash contemplates the hologram around them for a moment, glancing back over when Able spoke.

"Limited, yes. But I've found it useful."

Nodding, she waves a hand, indicating permission to access the computer system which would allow Able to share what he had collected, or even make use of the holographic system if he had enough data.