Krystah arrived for duty at the mansion of repeat client,  Senator Jalis Tallan.  He and his wife were going out for the night at the opera and would be accompanied by their own bodyguards.  One of which Krystah found most distasteful.  She pressed the “call” button at the door and after a brief exchange with the mansion’s droid, the door opened.  Before she could take five strides into the home she heard the voices of the children,

“Kwistah’s here!  Kwistah’s here!”

Accompanied by a small stampede of little feet.  In the next instant she was being hugged by the Senator’s two small children, Kelmi, 6, and Wily, 4 years of age.

“Good evening to you my sweets.”  She purred.

Senator Tallan and his wife Molena walked regally toward her with their personal bodyguards behind them.  Molena smiled,

“I know now that I can relax and enjoy my evening of schmoozing my husband’s friends and rivals at the opera tonight.  Thank you so much for coming on such short notice Kristah.”

Krystah bowed her head in a show of respect.  “I am happy to be of service mistress.”

Senator Tallen checked his chrono, “Come dear, or we’ll be late.”

With that her clients whisked past her and out the door, their bodyguards in tow.  One lagged a bit behind, the distasteful one, Halor Wolfcin.

“Have fun babysitting.”  He sneared.

Krystah ignored him.  He may think her duties were unimportant, but she knew the truth of it.  Senator Tallen had made a few new enemies in the last session of the Senate.  Enemies that may strike out at the Senator on a personal level since he defeated them politically.  Wolfcin was a fool who did not pay enough attention to circumstances that surrounded his client.  All he cared about was how much the client paid him for his services.  Krystah knew that their were things far more valuable than credits at stake.  She crouched down to scoop up the children.

“Alright my sweets, what shall we do first?”

They had played all evening and Kristah was putting the children to bed.  She was just tucking in little Wily when she caught an unfamiliar scent in the air.  Instantly alert, she breathed a low growl and padded out of the children’s room, softly closing the door.  It was an interior room, this door the only way in.  All the lights were out in the house, even the ones that should not have been.  Kristah didn’t need them.  She could see as well as if it were daylight.  She made her way silently down the hallway, ears perked to pick up the faintest sound.  At the end of the hall, Kristah could see the family’s house droid frozen in mid-cleanup, an ion dart in its chassis, still sparking.

Suddenly, movement!  Her whiskers caught the barest stir in the air a split second before the attacker struck.  She easily dodged the weapon and with the being’s movement, was able to see him.  He was wearing some sort of light-bending camoflage.  Clever.  She let out a snarl and pounced upon him before he recovered from his strike.  It was over quickly.  She tore out his throat before he could even scream.  Her ears picked up the swift footfalls of his partner.  Female from the scent.  She had taken up a position in the room at the end of the hall that would allow her to shoot anyone exiting the hallway.  A third, non-camouflaged male stands in the middle of the room with a vibroblade.  They thought to bait her into attacking.  But Krystah lay in wait.  She was not here to kill these intruders, her duty was to protect.  They would have to come in after her.  After a few moments of silence, Krystah could smell the fear coming off pair.  She hunkered down by the children’s door and tried her comm..  It was dead, jammed, like she figured it would be.

Just then, the children’s door opened behind her and a small voice called out to the darkness, “Kwistah,  I had a bad dweam.”

“Wiley!  Get back in…”

The female with the blaster suddenly swung around the corner at the end of the hall and fired a stun shot at the child.  Krystah roared and sprung up in the bolt’s path, taking the full brunt of the energy.  It hurt, but it did not incapacitate her.  Wiley let out a shrill scream and made to run to her.  Kelmi appeared at the door in an instant.

“Kelmi, take your brother and hide in your room like I taught you.  I want you to cover your ears and sing ‘The Grand Tamaranyk’ together.  Don’t stop until I come for you, understand?”

Kelmi nodded and grabbed her little brother and shut the door.  “Good girl,” she thought.  Once Krystah heard the small voices singing, she gathered herself and stormed down the hallway at full speed, large Togorian teeth bared, and roared her challenge.  The intruders were taken aback, but began setting themselves for her charge.  The female lined up a kill shot.  Using her feline strength and agility, Krystah zig-zagged forward, bounding off walls.  The female fired, but missed.  She had just enough time to let out a short scream before Krystah was upon her.   She smacked the blaster away with her paw and sunk her teeth into the female’s neck.  She could sense her partner moving behind her and swung around growling and baring bloody fangs.  The male let out a whimper and his vibroblade dropped from nerveless fingers.  Disgusting.  She lunged for the male and lifted him over her head.  He pleaded for his life as she carried him to the front door of the home and threw  him with force right into the side of their waiting speeder, much to the surprised shock of the driver. 

“I know your scent, worms!  If you come near my children again, I’ll kill you!”

The male scrambled into the speeder and they took off at high speed.

Krystah closed the door and tried her comm.  It was indeed operational again and she notified the Senator as well as the authorities of the incident.  She took a few moments to clean the blood from herself before going to see the children.  They ran to her as soon as she entered their room, seeking comfort from their fright and happy that she was alright.  Krystah stayed with them in their room until their parents and the authorities arrived.  She bid them a warm goodbye and a promise to come by the next day. 

With her duties discharged, she returned to her own home and family.  It was very late and they were all asleep.  She checked in on her mate and saw that he was sleeping peacefully.  Then she went to her cubs’ room.  The three of them usually slept in a pile, but her smallest son had rolled clear in his sleep.  He was curled up in a tight ball and whimpering quietly.  She gently gathered him up and set up back on the pile with his siblings.  Then she curled up on the bed with them, encircling herself around the pile of her children.  She breathed a contented sigh as she fell asleep.  Yes, indeed there were things more far more valuable than credits.