Nutmeg watched as the four armed Thoracian left his pet at the bar to meet his contact. She took the opening to take his seat next to the pale humanoid, her spotted fur bristling from the shiver that ran to the tip of her tail. For months she had worked to uncover data, crack codes and reroute security systems and until today she had thought herself the best. That was until someone data dumped on her system. Not only did this Zero character crack every encrypted system on Createnark, he also cracked hers. What she wanted to know was why? It had taken her the better part of the morning to follow the trail back to one ship, the ship that was now parked in a dingy lot not far from where she sat perched at the bar.

"Do you always flirt like that with your customers?" Nutmeg asked the Thoracian in common with a heavy accent, as he returned to his seat. "You know when I first laid eyes on you I thought you were a male."

"What does it matter to you?" The bug spoke common back with his own accent, it was not one she recognized and was most certainly not pure Thoracian.

"I just wanted to warn you that you friend with the six arms is going to pull a stand over move as soon as you leave." She growled in a low tone. "See those critters over there, they are all together."

"Well, what do I owe the honor?" Xacks asked sarcastically. "How about I skin him and you can use his shell as armor, miss skinny legs."

"He has more arms than you." She pointed out. "I got a deal you might be interested in, how about we lose them and see if we can't improve that take of yours."

"Fuck him, clumsy fuck to stupid to know four is optimal." Xacks smiled.

He spoke to his companion in a language she didn't understand and she hopped haphazardly from the seat.

"Nutmeg." She introduced herself in common to them both. "So what do you say?"

"Lets take this walk." Xacks smiled. "I want to test your theory."

Nutmeg knew just the place to earn some trust, bustling through crowds of all sorts, everyone looking for something, until the sprawling network of bars and stalls gave way to an arena.

"Bet on the bug." Nutmeg turned to the Thoracian twitching in the direction of their pursuers. "Let your friends see you throw down."

She watched from a distance as the pair placed their bet and picked a seat, before pulling a small control unit from her own bag.

The room echoed a thunder as the two gladiators entered the cage and the lights around them went out. An organic, three legged bug, waved its whip like appendages in the air, while screeching a battle cry. The other contender ignored the bugs theatrics, the humanoid mech was programmed to win at any cost, he simply stood facing his opponent. The odds were strongly in the mech's favor, having already destroyed several organics and was a clear crowd favorite. Nutmeg smiled as she tweaked the program on the droid, it would be a close fight but the outcome was now predetermined.

The dark made good cover as she moved elegantly between patrons while the battle raged, her nocturnal eyes only slightly enhanced to give her an even greater edge. Positioning herself behind Xacks and his curious humanoid companion, she watched as the mech fumbled just enough to give the organic an opening. The powerful insectoid tore through his opponents outer shell ripping its vital components from its chassis, as her practiced hand relieved the Thoracian of his receipt, she left him to collect the winnings, she had no doubts that the bug could handle himself and she wanted to be gone before he discovered her deception.

******

Nutmeg waited in the shadows, starting to doubt her plan, the Thracian should have returned by now. Checking her digital device, she hailed Zero again, as before he was refusing to answer her calls. The only option left was to infiltrate the source, looking at the dingy ship she had no idea how she would even go about getting inside. Normally getting access was as easy as a few minutes of system navigation. The ship and it's system being alien would have posed a challenge but with the savvy Zero at the helm, she was stumped.

Just when she was starting to despair, the alien pair appeared, the Thoracian grumbling as he stalked with his companion in tow. Letting them come closer she took a deep breath and stepped from the shadows holding the winnings in clear view, stopping them in their tracks.

"Didn't run into trouble?" Nutmeg asked meekly.

"Not as much as you just have." The bug gave her an evil grin and a sadistic look.

"Here." She tossed him the hard currency. "It's all there."

"Why?" Xacks asked still looking threatening.

"I want you to take me to Zero." Nutmeg played her card.