Vax opened a comm channel to the shuttle that was beside them, but before he could speak, a voice from the other end came through first.

Having a leg disintegrated made anyone's day bad, and the Trandoshan was no exception. The lizard fell with a horrible shriek, dropping its weapons and clutching at the mangled remains of where its thigh had been joined to its lower leg. The knee, and a good bit of flesh below and above it, was gone, thanks to the handy disruptor pistol.

Lopek, who'd come to a stop, simply laughed. He seemed quite unafraid of Fett, for some odd reason, as most sentient beings would be afraid when faced by the infamous T-shaped visor of the relentless bounty hunter. Instead, Lopek slowly raised his arms to his sides. "You can't threaten a dead man, bounty hunter. Credits are another story. Perhaps you'd consider that... and I'll consider not blowing the belt of thermal detonators strapped to my waist. Oh, you could stun me, but the little pack at the small of my back is linked in to my nervous system. I find it to be the best sort of dead man's switch in my line of work. So what's it to be, Mandalorian?"

On board the shuttle, Varak, having been instructed to hold station at this meeting site for three days, finally breathed a sigh of relief that something had come through. Waiting was nervous work, and the man hated to wait. Of course, he was more afraid of Shiva than he was of being captured by the Imperials. The commander did not know the meaning of the word 'mercy' when it came to his command.

He could sense the pilot's relief, more through his voice than any aura he was giving off through the Force. As for Vax... he seemed unreadable to Caden, a fact which troubled him slightly, considering he himself wasn't so able at concealing his thoughts and feelings, but rather, drawing them from the people around him and exploiting them. He made a note to ask the Jedi for some training in calming himself and masking his thoughts once this meeting was over.

Caden Sturn
Former Inquisitor - Fugitive
Imperial Inquisition Ace Pilot

Depressing the transmitter button, Vax gave it a moment and then spoke.

"We are routing our navigation computer to yours and powering down weapon systems. The rest of the trip is yours from here."

Sitting back, Vax shot Caden a tight grin. "It's showtime, boy. Put on your nicest face and try to play well with others. If we are lucky, whoever they are taking us to might have some snubfighters or something we can use to draw others to our cause."

"Oh, I know who you are, Boba Fett. Son of the late and rather unlamented Jango Fett. Men like me in the information business, we always know who could be gunning for us." Lopek's smile was rather unpleasant. For him, the screaming people, the wailing Trandoshan, all of it had ceased to exist. Under the loose brown duster he wore was a spring clip on his left arm, indiscernible through the folds of clothes, but it held a small and powerful holdout blaster. All he needed was the right moment.

"So the Empire is willing to pay big, huh? It depends, Fett, exactly what you are seeking to find. I don't come cheap and right now, my salary is quite high. So, speak your peace."

Caden smirked at the mention of visions, and the pointed look that followed. Of course it was more his strong suit than Vax's, but he didn't have a huge degree of control over what he was shown.

"Put on my nicest face?" he asked. "This is my nicest face. It ain't pretty enough?" he said, still smirking. He allowed the shuttle to pilot itself on guidance from the pilot who called himself Varak. He privately agreed with Vax, though, that even if things weren't what they were hoping for, it might still be worthwhile suffering a one-sided alliance if it gave them the tools to draw others to their cause.
He politely ignored Varak's advice to stay calm; if anyone had reason to be nervous, it was Varak himself, for if he led them even a little astray or piqued Caden's suspicious nature, he'd end up little more than a decompressed splatter on the viewport of his own shuttle.

While they were effectively dragged along into hyperspace by the other shuttle, with no input from either of them beside toggling the hyperspace lever to prevent them being ripped into shreds as their escort entered the void, Caden decided it wouldn't hurt to try and glimpse some indication of what awaited them, whether it be trouble or not. He kept half a mind on the conversation, though.
"Bet you're real glad I interrupted your breakfast now, old man" he muttered, opening an eye he hadn't even noticed himself close, and peering at Vax. "Speaking of which... did you bring any food supplies with you? I'm starving, and ration cubes just ain't gonna cut it, I don't think"

Caden Sturn
Former Inquisitor - Fugitive
Imperial Inquisition Ace Pilot

Vax guffawed at his own comment, then went back to looking out the viewport. Their destination was coming up soon, at least if the computer read correctly. Some time passed in relative silence, which Vax finally broke. "So this idea you have of a rebellion... say this Separatist goes along with it. Have you thought of where to go from there? We can't hide along the Outer Rim forever. We'll need ships, men. Resources that the Empire and its laws are trying to crack down on. Perhaps it will be the aliens who help us most."

The beeping of the alarm warning them that hyperspace emergence was imminent drew Vax's attention to the viewscreen. When they reverted to realspace, even the Jedi was not prepared for the sight before them.

Varak's voice was broadcast to the Jedi on their shuttle then. "Gentlemen, let me welcome you to the home of Shiva, High Commander of the Separatists at this time. We will be landing shortly."

"Well... isn't that a sight" he said, his mouth still half full, as the Providence-class destroyer dominated the viewport. "Not seen one of those since the end of the War".
He listened to Varak's comm message, and raised both eyebrows, glancing over at Vax. "Looks like Lopek was telling the truth, old man. Still... need to meet this 'Shiva' before we start setting any other plans in motion. The way I heard it, what remains of the CIS is mostly scattered. We should see what Shiva has to offer before we go setting up a proper plan of action".

He paused, however, to think it through. True, Shiva's sources and credibility may be questionable at this early stage, but there was still a clear-cut path before them.
"We will need to contact others, though. Maybe Shiva has access to other Jedi that we can bring to our cause. Then we'll need resources, like you say... and the best means of doing that, as far as I can see, is contacting members of the Imperial Senate privately, and bringing them over to the cause. There are a few who've been under unofficial suspicion from one quarter or another, I'll compile a list later of who they are and what they could offer us".

With that, he waited for the shuttle to guide them to the hangar of the destroyer, eager now to meet this Separatist.

Caden Sturn
Former Inquisitor - Fugitive
Imperial Inquisition Ace Pilot

"So, are you going to make yourself useful, or get arrested and probably die without taking a chance at such a high bounty?" he asked. He expected the man to counter by asking why he needed Fett at all, but the fact remained that Lopek had relied on several armed bodyguards just to keep a bounty hunter off his tail. Going after two Jedi was probably not the man's forté.
He kept a hand near the grip of his holstered disruptor; if Lopek refused, then it was equally as unlikely that Fett would get any information out of him, and he wouldn't put it past the informant to have a last trick up his sleeve other than the suicide belt.

"If we are lucky, he'll know of other Jedi, or perhaps other Separatists that know other Jedi. And, as your say, the Imperial Senate is a perfect place. I'm sure more than one of them know a Jedi or two. The problem is not speaking to the ones who are actually loyal. For now, let's play this game here, eh?"

Lopek looked intrigued for a brief moment, then shook his head slightly. "Sorry Fett, but I'm no bounty hunter. I certainly don't plan on coming with you. That's a brilliant way to get myself killed. I've heard what happens to barves who travel with you. Tell you what though, I'm willing to stand here a bit longer and discuss the matter, or maybe even head over to that docking bay and talk it over."

"Welcome to the Sword of Justice. Shiva awaits you in his private dining facilities, if you'll come with me."

Drawing his disruptor with well-honed speed and precision, he loosed a shot at Lopek's chest, his jetpack activating barely a second later to carry him up and away from the resulting blast, should his shot find its mark and set off the suicide belt as a result.

The informant had done a good job of keeping him on Nar Shaddaa. Now he'd have to hope the Inquisitor had pulled out some sort of result, hopefully a location, while Fett had been busy chasing dead ends.

Reflexively, his hands dropped to his lightsabers, hidden by the long jacket he'd once again adopted as a means of concealing his weaponary. The B2 'Super' Battle Droids still made him twitchy to this day, it seemed. He calmed and crossed his arms, surveying the death machines, noting how placid they looked when they weren't firing double-barrelled destruction across a battlefield.
"So, who is this Shiva?" he asked Varak, as he followed the pilot toward the dining facility, remembering that Vax had mentioned not having heard of him. "I recall hearing of others, such as Trench and Ventress, but no Shiva" he added. "I wasn't aware the Confederacy had enough of a structure remaining for any man or woman to claim themselves the supreme commander".

He cast another glance toward Vax, wondering if the old man had anything else to add, or to tell him off for being so blunt.

Caden Sturn
Former Inquisitor - Fugitive
Imperial Inquisition Ace Pilot