The pirate kept a description of her contacts vague as they began to move onto the planet. It seemed that this Scorch wanted to keep the upper hand on Celine. The agent would have probably would have done the same thing if the situation was reversed, she thought.

The redhead took the undercover agent to what could be liberally interpreted as a bar. With as many aliens as was here, Celine could only believe that the armor was giving them some protection from alien harassment.

Celine nodded at Scorch’s suggestion to split up. They would find this alien known as Delph quicker that way.

It was the blonde who finally found a single alien who was sitting alone drinking some sort of beverage. The red skinned alien get a gun trained on her as Celine approached. The monsters multiple stalks seemed to mostly focused on the fake hunter though a few seemed to be looking around to see if Celine had brought back up or if the crowd was getting to rowdy.

Easy, Delph. I am not after you today. I am only after what you possess and that is information. I am sure we can work out a deal that would satisfactory for everyone.

The gun was still trained on her though Delph relaxed physically at least though his eyes scanned the immediate vicinity. He noted another few hunters though none seemed to be paying them any particular attention, nor did any seem too relaxed as if they had been this hunters back up.

Delph had a few warrants for his capture under his other alias though they were meager bounties they were large enough to make him paranoid.

“Information? Oh, I have plenty of information for the right price Hunter. What is it that you are most interested in and we can discuss price.” He gestured around to indicate the crowd.

“Though here there are always ears listening and some relocation might be recommended if it's rather sensitive, one of the back rooms for instance.”

Delph kept his gun aimed at Celine, but the agent was encourage that he seemed to be scanning the room more that concentrating on the fake hunter. He seemed to making sure that she did not have back up rather worrying what the blonde was armed with.

The paranoid alien seemed to be concerned it was a trap, but the lure of potential money seemed to be too much for the alien to resist.

Oh it is nothing as simple as anyone in this room. The agent looked around the room. If it was, I would not have come to someone of your talents.

A back room would be a great idea. I rather not risk any of the hunters trying to listen in any conversation we have.

This could be a trick to get him alone, Delph had been a bit weary of that though he had seen nothing disturbing that the Hunter had back up. Profit was some what of a lure to his species though driving them to take greater risks as long as they weren't life threatening though some times they cracked against such pressure.

He debated the matter now, an eye stalk twisting in her direction. Clearly he had been interested though he he assessed the risks one final time as he looked over any visible weapons and how likely they would come into play.

“Very well, come this way.” He escorted her through the bar to a back room past a guarded door with a large bull headed creature who looked board as he chatted with a smaller six armed creature.

She was lead into a back room, one that had been used for private games of chance, this one currently not in use. She was no longer covered by Delph as he slid into the booth here. “Alright, what is it that you wish to speak of?”

The creature seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if it was not sure whether to take the chance of dealing with the Hunter alone. Celine could see that the alien was trying to determine his risk versus reward in this case.

The creature's eye stalk looked up and down the armored woman. Unlike other creatures who tried to figure out that what she looked like underneath the armor, this one seemed to be checking out her weapons and see how dangerous they would be.

Delph lead the blonde agent through the bar to a back room. The room was guarded by the a large creature that looked like bull and some sort of six armed creature. No doubt the alien would feel safe here.

Once they made in the room, the undercover agent spoke again. Let me speak directly. My client is after a couple of girls that might have something important to him. I have been able to track them here and I am attempting to find them. Delph did not have to know that she was an agent, so this cover story would have to suffice.

The alien nodded. Lie or not it did not matter to him why she was after information. The Ulan had gotten into some hot water in the past and it was mainly the corporate element that had been after him and some minor crime syndicate when he had not been too careful.

He had switched his identity a few times to try to shake any tails attaching him to his old life.

“I see … then you have come to the right place if compensation is worthwhile.” Of course, who he had been obtaining this information from and how dangerous or vital the information was would factor in to his price but before he could quote that price he had to learn what this information he was to retrieve was, provided that he didn't already know it.

The bounty hunter was probably going to be tight lipped about the client too so he wouldn't be able to set a higher price if he thought they could afford to pay more. It was useless trying to determine who was beneath the armor given that those suits had scramblers to disguise the voices of the wearer.

Still, he was direct here. “And how do I know I am not being set up? Granted it is unlikely but who's to say that you are not an agent of so and so asking for information about so and so to plug up leaks and to find my sources, not be mention silence me in the process? It had happened before, all but the silencing bit as I learned of this a bit late but still with time to save myself.

Of course, you might say that if I were good at what I did I should be able to check into you, hm?” He drummed his fingers against the table top as he gave the issue some further thought. Depending on how she answered him would determine how matters went from here.

The alien seemed to at least understand where the fake bounty hunter was coming from. He seemed to at least accept that someone would be using a bounty hunter to track some girls down for some sort of secret reason.

Ah good. I would hate to have wasted my time otherwise. The suit had a modulator that changed Celine’s voice enough that she would be hard to identify. It made the blonde agent feel anonymous, which meant she felt at least somewhere safe to proceed. She just had to make it through his paranoia.

She decided to attempt to use logic to bolster her identity. Well if I was here to silence you, we are both in a room by ourselves. If I needed to silence you, now would be the time. However, that is not why I am here. If I was agent, I would try to arrest you. Again that is not why I am here. I am only here to get information.

The alien had made a hint of checking on her identity. You probably can. However that is time you are not spending to get my information I need for my client. And that makes it that more difficult for me to find those girls.

Delph turned an eye stock to the door but kept the other on the hunter. Silence?

“Maybe I designed it that way, to goad you into action,” the red skinned paranoid alien said though he did not sound so confident either having performance anxiety or how far or long it would be to get assistance.

He rubbed his chin then. “True … I have the resources to do both simultaneously though I see your point. However, there is still payment to consider I have sources that need to be paid in order to get access to certain pieces of information.”

His eye peeled back from the door to regard the hunter before him. What was the hunter willing to give up for this information? Tracking a slave was probably not too hard, not unless owned by someone with pull or someone that had been paranoid about having their movements down.

Delph had been patient though, it seemed that their would be no getting around this aspect of matters.

The alien quickly turned one of his eye stocks to the door a clear sign he did not think this through. The red skinned creature tried to verbally cover his tracks as if it was going to be enough. However the undercover agent was hardly fooled.

Of course, of course. I trust credits are good here? The blonde agent had a discretionary fund that would enable her to move in and out of her roles as easily as possible. After all corrupt hands were the easiest to move past after a little money greasing their palms.

The alien kept checking the door. Was he really that paranoid or was he expecting someone else to arrive? It was hard to tell, the creature was paranoid enough that Celine could not really read his expressions.

“Credits are fine.” He looked back to the agent as he took out a communicator setting it in front of him on the table. Confirming the information she sought and haggling over price would ensue of course and once hey had those finer details out of the way he trained one eye on the door and one on her as if paranoid that someone would burst in here, it did not seem that anyone else was going to join them.


“Give me an hour ...” He wouldn't have every detail mind you but enough of them, he explained that.

During this time he had left the bar allowing her and Scorch to pass he time in leisure more or less.

A minor bar fight broke out, though it was a one on one contest with a black scaled lizard and some insectoid with six arms. It was pretty much just the Hideozu laying out the creature with a single blow.

Scorch had the agent take a look. “One of the creatures working for Mercer … the Hideozu are ill tempered saurian. That one may not work for Mercer specifically but he has plenty on his pay roll. They're mercenaries. Quite strong too and resilient, I takes a little more effort to bring one down though not too much more.”

She had faced them twice now, once in an alternate dimension and another time when trying to save her sister. Tough was a good descriptor though they were still mortal creatures and could be killed as such. Going hand to hand with them was probably not the brightest idea though.

After about an hour Delph returns. He goes out back again to the same room they were in a scaly short muscular alien with wicked claws slaps the agent on the back shortly afterward.

“You're in my seat Hunter ...”

The creature seemed to relax at least a little bit when he finally pulled a communicator to begin the transaction over price. Still the paranoid alien kept one eye focused on door even during this part of the negotiations. That suited the blonde agent just fine, if he kept his mind on different tasks it made it that much less likely that he would ever figure out the true identity of the false hunter that was sitting right in front of him.

The suited warrior nodded, As long as I get my money’s worth that is all that I can ask for.

With the meeting done for the moment, the agent was able to return back to main bar to Scorch. She may not be a friend, she was at least an ally for the moment.

About that time a fight broke out between some sort of insect and one of the Hideozu that was a bar fly. However, the argument was settled by a single blow from the powerful dark lizard, allowing the creature to return to its drink.

Celine nodded as she listened to the redhead’s advice on how to deal one of the creatures. That is good to know. The fact that Mercer like to maintain many of these saurians in his employ could be a problem. She would have to make sure she did not get into a close quarters fight with any of them.

And so it went with Celine keeping an eye out, learning as much as she could about the aliens in the room until Delph returned. A creature soon slap the agent on her back, I did not see your name on it, but you are in luck today. I have other business to attend to. She had to play the part of a tough Hunter to ensure her cover was maintained…

The alien seemed to track her eyes without looking back. “Good man …" it commented to her as the seat was vacated and it took over. He had been sent over by Delph to notify her “casually” of his return and it seemed that the Hunter had already picked up on that given where his eyes seemed to look beyond him or rather the visor seemed to indicate that the Hunter was directing attention elsewhere.

Again moving past the guard she had returned to the familiar room. Delph had been her scant seconds before her and now gazed at her. His eye stocks doing that weird looking in two directions bit.

“I have some preliminary stuff already. More detailed stuff will be trickling within the next few days but the gist of it is all on this chip. Mercer purchased the slave from Vanejin. She was part of a group of two that had been off loaded on the market at the time by a slaver called Goro, or rather one of his affiliates handled the maters so it's easy to trace it back. One was purchased by Mercer, the other by an alien called Fafner. Your slave in question had been transferred her to Sextus and put to work training in the arena here, a local one not as grand as the large Shokushu ones all over bu she's being taught the basics and sparring. The occasional fight is broadcast from their but it's mostly a training facility for newly acquired slaves that can be shipped off all over to other holdings of Mecer's.

“You are in luck. Her training has just started as she has only been at the facility for three days. Security there include some of the senior slaves that have been brainwashed and half a dozen or so Hideozu. Slaves are kept confined to a sub basement of the arena and there is a means of accessing it via the sewers though I have not yet determined what other security they have in place.”

The alien seemed to be content with taking the seat, Celine made her way to the back where the room had been. The alien had already by then looked away at something else in the bar. The undercover agent could not see what had the alien’s attention, but she assumed whatever it was it could not be too dangerous. The bar noise seemed to remain steady, so clearly there was nothing particularly shocking going on.

As she headed to the room, she saw another guard in front of the room. She nodded as she entered room. Delph was there on time and ready for business; scanning her as well as that door.

Excellent. Excellent. This will be quite useful. However, what happened to the other girl. The one that Goro did not sell to Mercer?

“She was acquired by an alien entity known as Fafner. I have not had the chance to delve into details about him or the time. If you want to know that will be extra but from what I do know of him off hand is that he is associated with Blue, a drug dealer and smuggler that takes jobs from time to time beneath a well known and respected crime lord named Drez, a spider-like being.

“My guess is that he is known better on the fringe worlds that he and Blue operate on.”

Coordinating with Luna so that they could rescue both agents near simultaneously so one didn't tip off the other may have been a good idea though there was nothing that seemed to link these alien beings either.

“I will be getting more information in the days to come but seeing how this is a training facility that she is at you may have a few days to get everything in order if you are considering what I'm thinking.”

Delph raised his hands at his side. “Not that I am judging you. Contact information? Or do you prefer to meet back up at a certain time?”

The alien explained that the other girl was being held by an alien by the name of Fafner. She would have to look him up later. He sounded pretty dangerous as he was working with a couple of criminals one of who was a crime lord. Organized crime meant that there was always minions to deal with some of whom could be quite troublesome.

Celine would have to coordinate with Luna later so they could make sure their rescue attempts would happen to the same time. But the blonde agent would have to worry about it later, she was going to have to make sure her cover remained intact right now.

Yeah, you seem to be able to read me pretty well. But any additional information would be pretty helpful. So I can wait a few days. Let’s meet up in a couple of days, would you prefere to meet here?