The ship's cargo bay was cold. Its metallic walls held no heat, no semblance of warmth or the tranquility Liao-Kur had gotten used to. His former master, Ei Fozan, walked beside him, scanning the innards of the smuggling vessel with perceptive eyes. "Be cautious, Liao," the Kel Dor said. Liao smirked.
"Always, Master," he said, walking ahead. All he saw were shipping containers, stolen or bought from various places across the galaxy, and rust peeling off the ceiling. "What exactly are we looking for? Master Windu just said that we'll know it when we see it."
"Then we will know it when we see it," Master Ei said. "Just check your-" Something skittered across the ground in the shadows of the bay lights, metal on metal. "-corners." Master Ei's lightsaber, hilt long and partially wooden, flew from his belt to his hand. It ignited into a beautiful green blade. Liao followed suit, his a cold blue. "Do you see it?"
"No."
It skittered again, rapid metal clinkings across the floor of the bay. Liao pushed past Master Ei, following the noise. "Wait, Liao!"
Liao did not wait. He skid around the corner of a wall of cargo containers, lightsaber in front of him. There, in a faint light, he saw a droid on four legs, whirring softly. On it's flat topped head, a metal cube. It glowed softly. "I think I found…" Liao trailed off as a turret dropped from the ceiling and turned toward him with a loud, rapid ticking. Liao brought his lightsaber up just in time, intercepting each blaster bolt as they sizzled towards him. With dexterity, he jumped backwards in a series of flips, letting the red plasma impact the floor just beyond him. He landed on top of a container and deflected a final bolt, sending it into the turret. The device flamed and crackled with electricity. The bolts stopped coming.
Master Ei came running, breathing hard into his rebreather. His eyes were scornful behind his protective goggles. "Apprentice, I told you to be careful."
"I'm not your apprentice anymore, Master," Liao said, dropping from the container. He walked to where he'd last seen the little droid walking up the wall.
Master Ei sighed. "I forget too easily. You are your own knight now, but do be cautious."
Liao chuckled and shook his head. Looking up from where he stood, he saw a vent hanging open. "I saw a small drod. It must've gone through there." Liao put his lightsaber on his belt and took off his cloak, handing it to Master Ei. "Watch my back." With a small push of the Force, Liao jumped and grabbed hold of the vent, pulling himself into the metallic darkness.
The shaft was narrow, a tight fit for Liao, but his lithe Zabrak frame allowed him to fit. He crawled with his elbows and knees, following the distant tink-tink-clink-clink of the droids legs. It lead him around a corner and down a small incline before he saw it. The circle-headed droid popped open another vent and dropped out of it. Liao followed, jumping out of the vent and landing in a crouch.
Several Twi'lek smugglers looked up from their place around a small table. The droid skittered away and the Twi'leks blasters came to hand. Liao's lightsaber flew into his hand with the will of the Force and it ignited, blocking bolts. He deflected one back, knocking a blaster from a Twi'lek's hand. He jumped forward with great speed, rolling across the floor, then came up closer to the smugglers, His lightsaber cut through the barrel of one's blaster then, as he blocked a bolt, he used the Force to rip the other one away.
The door to his right hissed open and Master Ei entered. The Kel Dor sighed again. "I will watch them, Liao. Find that droid."
Liao nodded and ran from the room through another hissing door. He was in another cargo bay. The droid was scaling large containers stacked four hight. Liao jumped, touching against one stack of containers and then pushing to the next, landing above the droid. It came right to his feet and he reached down to retrieve it. "Ah!" The droid had released a taser and shocked Liao's hand. He recoiled, grabbing his hand. The droid dropped to the ground and ran off. "Not so fast."
Liao jumped after it, landing softly with the Force. He rushed around the corner and ran after the droid as quick as he could. The little thing could really run. It made another corner, he followed. It ran up and over a stack of containers, he followed. It went through a door, he followed.
They were at the end of the ship, in the cockpit. The droid stood, whirring, on the control board. It was doing something. Liao scowled, creeping closer. From the droid, a long hacking device extended, interfacing with the controls. A hologram appeared, showing the galaxy, then the system. It zoomed in on a planet and glowed red briefly. "You kriffing droid, you changed the coordinates!" Liao swiped the cube from the droid's head, then hit the power switch on the little bugger. "Finally."
Master Ei entered the room. "The smugglers are bound," he said. "What did you find?"
"The droid, who has changed the coordinates," Liao told him. Liao started typing on the control board. It flashed red with every click. "And he's locked it!"
"Where is it taking us?"
"I've no idea, Master."
Looking out of the cockpit, space flashed by. A planet, half snow white and half dust brown, lay ahead of them. "Kiirakaar," Master Ei said. "This is not good."
"What is Kiirakaar?"
"A nightmare."
The ship took them in, past a small patch of debris. "What's that," Liao said, pointing at a floating piece of durasteel. The shadow of a starfighter passed over it.
"It appears we are being followed." Without warning, the ship shook violently. An error appeared on the control board hologram, showing a red outline around one of the ship's engines. "And now we are going down."