The only habitable planet in the Aerenti system glittered dully in its orbit around its star. Luke had been called in because of the increasing political unrest in the region. Aerenti was on the edge of the Mid-Rim, right near Hutt space, but nominally a part of the Hapan Consortium. Various factions had been vying for control of the region as a whole, ever since the death of the Queen's last child.

Or at least, the supposed death. Political change required a catalyst, and Isolder needed an escape. Helping his people more than he ever could from a palace was just a bonus.

Luke and Isolder were meeting up to disrupt the shadier operations of the House that maintained control over the planet. And it looked like Luke was going to be late.

"Let's bring her in, Artoo," Luke said, guiding his X-wing into a berth at Arenti's main spaceport. Looking out the blast shield, Luke saw that Isolder was already waiting for him. If he did a little force-aided flip hopping out of his ship, well, the only one who would judge him was Artoo.

"It is good to see you got in safely," Isolder greeted. He took Luke's right hand in his own and kissed the tips of his fingers.

Luke laughed and pulled Isolder down into a real kiss. "You're too sweet. I like the beard," he added, kissing Isolder on the cheek and taking his hand.

Isolder led Luke out of the spaceport and into the streets of the capital. He pointed out landmarks on their walk from the spaceport district into the wealthier parts of the city. As they walked, the sun began to set, and the lights came on a haunting blue. The higher into the hills around town they rose, the more expensive the houses got. Eventually, they arrived at the grandest house.

Luke looked up at the thin columns holding up the oversized roof and all the mismatched windows from every popular architectural style from a wealthy planet, and then looked at Isolder. He had on an appraising look, something almost tactical.

"I invited you here for a few reasons. The first was to see your lovely face," he winked, "but I also need your help. This family is running drugs, but they are also pirates. Most Hapan families made their fortunes that way, but they have gotten worse. They block shipments of food from their own planet. I need proof they're running more than just drugs, to inform the other families that this is the wrong one to back."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "So, we're breaking in?"

Isolder smirked. "We are."

Isolder started scaling the stone wall surrounding the house, but paused. "Coming up?"

"I am. I'm just enjoying the view."

Isolder rolled his eyes and continued up the wall. Luke followed.

"The office is in an outbuilding. It's that way so their files and information are safe if the masses ever storm the house." Isolder led the way through the perfectly tailored gardens. "Of course, they did not count on someone with my upbringing breaking in." They reached the shed, and he pointed at the simple lock. "Because they're fools."

Luke laughed, and felt around it with the force. He could sense each tumbler and where it wanted to be, and he could just make it... there. The door swung open, revealing a dark, modern office with a simple terminal and reams and reams of data.

Isolder pulled out a datastick and plugged it into the terminal. As he worked on extracting the data, the hair on the back of Luke's neck stood up. He moved out of the shed and stood guard by the door. The last thing they needed was to be discovered. He sent out a probing wave with the force, and felt nothing.

He was just about to go back inside when he heard a growl. In the dim light shining in from the street, he could just barely make out matted fur, shining eyes, a barbed tail. He tried to reach out to the force, to try and calm it down. It didn't like that.

It lunged straight for him. He just barely dodged in time, when another came barreling out of the shadows.

"We need to go!"

Isolder ran out of the building, saw Luke backing away from the creatures, and swore. "Come!" he shouted before sprinting for the streets. Luke ran up and caught his hand, creatures still hot on his heels.

They dodged and wove through the dark gardens with whatever-those-were gnashing at their heels, stone wall looming before them. Luke used a blast of force to propel them both over the wall, Isolder landing in a heap on top of him.

"Got the datastick?" Luke asked.

Isolder sat up and nodded, out of breath.

"We need to leave before their owners react the same way they did. What even were those?"

Isolder made a face. He looked like he knew. "They're vornskrs. It seems this family is even more anti-Jedi than I thought."

"How so?"

"They seem to hate the force. Nobody knows why, but anyone looking to throw off Jedi has them. I'm sorry for putting you in danger."

Luke pulled Isolder to his feet, then pulled him into a kiss. "You put yourself in danger, too. Now let's go find someplace we can spend the rest of the night in peace."

Isolder gave Luke a little nudge. "I already have the perfect place picked out."