"Taris? That's all the way in the New Territories of the Outer Rim!" Calista scoffs as she crosses her arms.

"I suppose that means you should be on your way." Kylo Ren speaks down to the woman.

Calista clenches her jaw as she takes a deep breath to calm her rage—as well as her darkening red skin. She swiftly turns away from the masked giant of a man and makes her way back onto her ship.

"What's so special about some relic anyway?" She mutters to herself as she soars out of the hangar. "Rushing me all the way across the galaxy to find some bug-eyed alien, not even having the decency to provide a tracking fob."

She flips a few switches as she calculates her route across the galaxy. It'd take way too long to jump through the core systems, she'd have better luck swinging around the unknown regions and taking the Hydian Way straight through the Expansion Region. That is, if she can navigate her freighter through the Unknown Regions' constantly-changing routes.

Luck must be on her side though, as she hasn't had to face a single misfortune thus far in her travels. At this rate, she'll have 20 million credits in her possession by the end of the second rotation.

A blinking light on the radar of the 690 light freighter causes Calista to furrow her eyebrows. "A distress signal? All the way out here?" She asks herself, changing course to investigate the mysterious signal.

The freighter soon finds itself on the desert planet Ponemah, which looks to be deserted—and rightfully so. She herself is not too fond of the shady characters that choose to dwell on this dustball of a planet.

After landing her ship in a sheltered area, Calista holsters her blasters and trudges through the sand towards the lone cantina. Her entrance goes unnoticed by most, as the crew of pirates are too busy making fools of their drunken selves, but a stumpy Gabdorian notices her right away.

Calista helps herself to a seat at the bar, not paying any mind to the shouting and shattering of glasses around her. The stool beside her is almost immediately filled by a male Arcona.

"What are you doing back here?" The triangular-headed alien asks through gritted teeth.

"Nice to see you too, Reeg." Calista smirks to herself. "I assume Quiggold informed you all of my being here."

"He will not be pleased to hear of this." Reeg Brosna continues.

Calista rolls her eyes. "Not everything is about him. Pass that on for me, will you?"

"Cal." A deeper voice speaks up from behind the seated pair and Calista's cocky smirk falters.

She turns to find the unique red plasteel mask, which resembles that of the Kaleesh species, and a small smile finds its way to her face. "Sidon."

"I thought we had agreed to go our separate ways." He states.

Calista notices the prying eyes around her and stands from her seat. "Why don't we go somewhere a little more.. Private?" She traces the side of his helmet with the back of her hand, sending a wave of pheromones in his direction to sway his decision in her favor.

Sidon Ithano grabs her wrist and leads her to a hidden room in the back of the cantina. The sound of the door causes the other beings already in the room to look up. Calista raises an eyebrow as she turns to Sidon.

"Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of my crew." He states, reclaiming his seat at the table with the others.

Calista glances at the unimpressed and hostile faces around her. "Quiggold." She nods at the round-headed amphibian. She'd always been fond of him.

"What is she doing here?" The red Twi'lek points a dagger at the Zeltron.

"Ah, always a pleasure Reveth." Calista smiles. "Pendewqell, Squeaky, I assume you're still pulling all the weight around here." She addresses the Ishi Tib and Gamorrean respectively.

The door slides open and closed again, allowing Reeg into the meeting.

"What is this about?" Pendewqell asks.

"She's here to mess with the captain's head again, no doubt." Reeg huffs.

Calista crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm right here." She states, not appreciating their assumptions but also not surprised by them. "Believe it or not, I have no intention of ruining your little circus. I need to borrow a barge."

The crew's eyes widen as some eyebrows furrow.

"An entire barge? For what?" Quiggold asks.

"We all know that no ship can make it through the southern regions." She states obviously. "I won't be long. I'll be back before nightfall."

"The Sea of Sand?" Sidon asks, causing the others to fall silent. "What business do you have there?"

"The best I can do is 200 credits." She states, ignoring the captain's question.

"200 credits? Just to borrow the barge for a few hours?" Reveth raises an eyebrow. "Seems like you really need to get out there."

"The barge is yours until sundown, free of charge." Sidon states.

The crew's eyes widen in shock as they turn to their beloved captain.

"Stop using your mind tricks on him you witch!" Pendewqell shouts.

Calista gives him an unamused glare. She hadn't used any of her powers to persuade the Captain.

"But my crew and I go with you." Sidon continues.

"What?" Calista and the crew ask in unison.

"Reeg, Squeaky, be sure that the barge's munitions are stocked and prepared for the voyage. Reveth, Pendewqell, raise the sails and set course for the Sea of Sand." Quiggold immediately barks orders to the crew as he stands beside Sidon.

The four head out to do as told and Sidon nods at Quiggold, who follows the others to oversee their preparations.

"What is it you seek in the Sea of Sand?" Sidon asks again now that the two are alone. "Surely it is treasure of some sort."

Calista looks up at the masked man. "Is this really necessary?" She asks, reaching up to remove the helmet.

Sidon grabs her arms to stop her and she sighs.

"Look, Si. I know things didn't end well between us but—"

"Didn't end well? Calista you betrayed me and turned in one of our own crewmates all for a petty bounty." Sidon recounts.

"We all knew Kragan was the weakest link." She states. Sidon remains silent and she glances up at him. "You didn't have to agree to help me. You could've sent me on my way."

"And have you brave the Sea of Sand alone?" He asks.

She looks up at him and he bites his tongue to keep himself from admitting how he still cares for her. Their past is quite colorful, but despite the fond memories he holds, Sidon would agree that things have improved greatly since Calista has left the crew.

"What exactly out there is so important you risked facing me?" He questions.

Calista sighs. "I'm not sure. I was cutting through the Unknown Regions when I intercepted some sort of distress signal."

"What were you doing in the Unknown Regions?" Sidon asks.

"Just another job." She waves him off.

The door slides open to reveal Quiggold. "Captain, while we were setting course we found some sort of.... Well, you'll want to see this for yourself."

Sidon nods at his first mate and wraps an arm around Calista to lead her to the barge. Intimate contact is no stranger to her, but Sidon can barely contain his emotion as the two walk.

Upon their arrival on the barge, the crew parts like the Red Sea for their Captain but spare no glares for Calista. Quiggold leads them directly to the control room below deck and steps aside to show a holographic transmission of an old battle droid.

"Is there any sound?" Sidon asks, stepping closer to the image.

"No, sir. This was all we received." Quiggold infoms him.

Calista studies the image of the droid closely. "This must've been sent from the same coordinates as the distress call." She thinks aloud. "But.. a B1 droid? I thought those only existed during the Clone Wars?"

"They did." Sidon confirms. "Which means your curious destination must be some sort of Separatist wreckage."

Reveth gasps in excitement from behind them. "I bet we'll find thousands of blasters." She smiles widely at Squeaky, who himself has never been a fan of blasters. He prefers axes or knives over such uncivilized weapons.

"I bet there'll be loads of kyber crystals." Reeg's big eyes glisten at the thought.

"We'll be rich!" Pendewqell laughs.

Sidon looks down at Calista, whose mind seems to be running a million miles an hour.

"All hands on deck." Quiggold announces. "To the Sea of Sand!"