Sitting on the couch in the ship's main hall, sipping water steeped with some unknown leaves, Amir let himself sink into the soft animal pelts and ultra-elastic synthetic stuffing. He couldn't help but sigh at the sins of capitalism—and silently thank Fronis once again.
BD-4 was in the cockpit, monitoring the signal transmissions from Coruscant.
After much deliberation, Amir had decided to bring BD-4 along. At the very least, it saved him from having to watch the comms himself all the time.
Fronis had left behind some credits on the ship, but more importantly, valuable physical assets: currencies from Outer Rim planets, high-grade ship components, rare weapons, and exotic metals.
Amir had searched extensively for one item in particular—beskar. The legendary Mandalorian alloy capable of withstanding lightsaber strikes had always fascinated him. But no luck.
The ship had five sleeping quarters, a cargo bay, a workshop, and a waste disposal unit in the corner that doubled as a toilet.
In addition, there were the main cockpit, the central lounge, and the gun deck.
BD-4's beeping pulled Amir out of his appreciation of the ship's craftsmanship.
"The target's left Coruscant?"
Beep-beep—zzzt!
"Alright. Prep the spatial disruption device. Stand by until they enter hyperspace."
"Target has entered hyperspace. Countdown: Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Activate!"
Imperial Port 3, Coruscant.
A massive prison ship lifted off from the dock. Inside were prisoners recently arrested across Coruscant, being transported to an Outer Rim colony where they'd be used as forced labor, digging up resources for the Empire alongside the lowest-ranking slaves.
A group of Imperial recruits stood in line before their commanding officer.
"Commander Herman!" they shouted in unison.
"You'll be assigned to squad leaders for patrol duty. Learn the procedures. Dismissed."Wearing a green Imperial uniform, Senior Colonel Herman issued the order, hands clasped behind his back. These were elite cadets from Coruscant, here to log one final mission before graduation—boosting their chances of rapid promotion.
Herman didn't mind helping the talented ones. Better they serve as officers in critical roles than die pointlessly as front-line grunts.
Eight years ago, he'd been just like them. A top graduate of Coruscant's military academy, he joined the Empire two years after its founding and quickly rose through the ranks after several victories in the Outer Rim. Now, at just over thirty, he'd been promoted to senior colonel and reassigned to his home planet.
If war broke out again, he was confident he'd be promoted to major general, leading a fleet detachment.
For now, though, he had to settle for assignments like this.
Still, it was a stable post with no risk—just watch the ship travel from point A to point B.
What made him uneasy, however, were the Inquisitors—those black-armored agents who claimed to serve the Empire but clearly answered to a darker power.
After the recruits left, Herman sat back in his command chair and gazed at the stars.
Among the new recruits, one couldn't stop glancing at a nearby docked TIE fighter.
"Focus, rookie! On the battlefield, you'd be dead five times already!" the veteran sergeant barked.
"Sorry, sir!" Kayen snapped back, wrenching his head forward and focusing on his patrol route—even if his mind was still on that fighter.
Amir activated the spatial disruption device. Nothing happened. Space remained eerily silent.
"Don't tell me this thing's busted…"
Beep—beep~
Man and droid exchanged glances. Still no change outside—just peaceful starlight.
Just as Amir was about to abort the mission, a ship suddenly appeared outside the planet's atmosphere. A red blip lit up on the scanner.
Amir pulled on an old Clone Wars-era helmet from Fronis's collection. "Heh. Showtime. Let's go, BD-4!"
Aboard the prison ship—chaos.
"Sir! We've been ejected from hyperspace. Scanners report local spatial instability!"
Herman wasn't alarmed. Even well-mapped routes occasionally hit spatial turbulence.
"How long to recover?" he asked.
"Based on current readings… about thirty minutes."
Herman nodded. A minor delay—not worth logging.
Meanwhile, a small stealth vessel silently launched from a nearby uninhabited moon. With its cloaking system active, it drifted toward the prison ship, rotated to align, and slowly docked with one of the maintenance hatches. A soft click confirmed the seal.
The hatch opened.
Amir and BD-4 poked their heads in and scanned both directions.
"Clear. Let's go."Amir stepped aboard the prison ship.
He extended his left hand and tapped a control on his bracer. The spider drone detached, its eight legs clacking across the floor as it scurried ahead.
"Find a terminal and access their database. We need the target's location," he told BD-4.
The little droid zipped down the corridor while Amir monitored the spider drone's live feed.
Scouting first—then act. No time for trial and error.
Sainir hadn't provided much intel. If Amir had gotten floor plans and a prisoner ID, the mission would've been over in ten minutes.
But at least the spatial disruptor had worked perfectly. Now he had time to spare—more than enough to sweep the entire ship.
Beep-beep—
"Nice. Crack the system. Find our target's cell number."Amir grinned. Sain had loaded BD-4 with top-tier slicing software. Combined with access codes Amir had "borrowed" from the academy, it tore through the prison ship's firewalls with ease.
The spider bot also pinged back with its map data.
A few moments later, BD-4 transmitted the prisoner's cell number. Amir cross-checked it with the mapped layout and plotted a route.
He touched the lightsaber hanging at his hip, then drew his blaster and switched it to silent stun mode.
Time to move.
Elsewhere aboard the ship…
"The Rebellion? Hmph. A no-name little faction dares challenge the Empire?"An Imperial Inquisitor in black armor sneered at the two prisoners collapsed on the floor.
"You'll talk soon enough. And when you do, you'll learn the true meaning of pain—Imperial style."Beneath his angular helmet was a pale, scarred face. His white eyes were dead and cold.
"You'll never find those children… cough!" gasped the human prisoner. The other, a small and elderly alien, was already unconscious.
"Oh, I will."The Inquisitor leaned down for one last eerie stare, then turned and walked away.
The alloy door slammed shut behind him.