Hurtling through the vastness of hyperspace, you wouldn't think a being would feel cramped or boxed in, but that was exactly how Storsek was feeling. It had already been over three standard days since the bar incident, and their cabin was actually looking smaller. Looking over at Leda, he knew she wasn't feeling much better. Xieb slept like a Doshan Slooth, which hibernated three fourths of the planet's cycle. It only seemed logical that the rodent-like Sullustan wouldn't notice enclosed spaces; his whole species lived under ground.
Storsek look over at Leda and opened his mouth. "You know…"
"Oh, shut-up!" she snapped back. "If you hadn't been so drunk that you actually put a rifle to that scum's head, we would have had enough money to get a bigger room. But no! You had to be the big scary Trandoshan and threaten his life! You almost got us killed!"
"Yeah, but I didn't." Leda looked ready to pull her pistol on him again. "And, besides, we got the information we needed, didn't we?"
"Only after paying for his meals through the next galactic cycle."
"You two want to keep down the noise? I'm trying to sleep. You should too. It'll only be another few hours till we reach the Duros system. And we'll need to start this job as soon as possible." Xieb then rolled over and fell back asleep. How he did it, Storsek would never know. Though, now that he was sober enough to think, he did agree that he had acted a little rashly with the Rodian. He should have at least smelled the Wookie. It's not like there were that many loose in the galaxy to begin with. And how a human could sneak up on him without Storsek even noticing was an embarrassment. The more he thought about it, the more he agreed that intoxicants only got you killed faster, not a good thing in his mind. Of course, Leda would say that he'd said all this before.
After reaching the Duros system, they caught a shuttle up to the Executor. As the shuttle circled the Super Class Star Destroyer, the only word that came to Xieb's mind was, "wow." Even so, he was still more articulate than his friends. He knew that this ship was Darth Vader's personal ship. If there had been nothing more that would have been enough. Rumors of Vader's powers were what kept most bounty hunters away from Imperial affairs. But add that to the large amounts of weaponry that the Executor boasted, and most sane people just stayed away. Leda looked in awe as they passed under the durasteel belly of the gargantuan ship. As the shuttle docked in a secondary hanger bay, she felt that she was being swallowed alive. As they stepped off the ramp, a rather pompous looking Imperial officer walked up to the ramp.
"I assume that you are here about the bounty hunt?" The imp's tone of voice reminded Storsek of a protocol droid. Xieb answered. "We were told the Empire had a job available. We're interested in whatever creds you got." The imperial officer didn't even try to hide his disgust. "Then follow me. The other hunters are already in the briefing room." With that, the arrogant human turned and strode off towards a lift.
"I thought that there wouldn't be any competition!" Leda motioned for Storsek to lower his voice. "We were never told that. For all we know, Fett, Dengar, and Dossk are here too." 'Great,' thought Storsek, 'just what we needed, to compete with the galaxy's best hunters!'
When they reached the briefing room, however, he discovered that his fears were unfounded. Inside were only a handful of other bounty hunters, none of whom he could identify. In a near corner of the room stood a small human female with blondish red hair. She was talking to a large Wookie with silver tipped hair. Near the center of the room stood a Gotal who was looking at a data pad. As far as Storsek was concerned, the Gotal could just keep his distance. He didn't like creatures that could tell what he was feeling. It left him at a disadvantage. In the far corner of the room stood an armored human. The padded armor suit was matte black. Storsek thought he was human. He really couldn't tell with the person wearing a helmet that covered his entire head. The helmet was round overall with dark lenses covering the eyes and a gas mask over the mouth. The helmeted hunter looked at the new comers as if deciding what to do with them.
The pompous officer walked up to the center of the room and called for the group's attention. "You may be wondering why you were chosen for this job and not Boba Fett, Dengar, or others. The answer is simple, they have already been sent on another mission. You degenerates were asked to come here…"
"You may cease with your pointless ranting lieutenant." The voice sounded as if it belonged to a god, an evil, cold god who had no feelings for the lives of those who surrounded him. Storsek normally felt cold no matter what. It came with being a cold-blooded being. But this was something beyond anything he had ever felt in his life. Fear penetrated every corner of his soul. He felt himself shaking almost beyond control. He had heard of the terror this, thing, created in other sentient beings. There were rumors that this latest arrival could kill with just a glance. Storsek had always attributed these infamous legends to lesser beings' weaknesses. Now he was the weak one. Now he believed. He believed with all his being that this person was possessed of some power that obeyed his will. Some power that was inexplicable, great, and evil. He knew that this person considered him to be no more than the officer who he had just silenced. As the figure entered the room, his boots clanked on the deck plating beneath him. He just stood there for a moment in all his dark glory. This was he, the Emperor's second in command, and dealer of his wrath,
Darth Vader.
"Some days ago, a treasonous stormtrooper betrayed his company and went AWOL, killing the entire squad in the process. His name is Soris Lull. At the moment, the Imperial Navy is busy with other matters, and cannot spend its time looking for the culprit."
'Busy', thought Xieb, was probably accurate. There were rumors on Tatooine that some members of the Imperial Senate had begun to question the emperor's decisions, just before he disbanded them. Some said that a war was even brewing. Looking at the size of this ship, and thinking that the Empire probably had hundreds of these monsters, Xieb doubted very much that any rebellion would succeed, except at causing a headache for the navy to hunt down.
Darth Vader continued. "There will be a generous reward of fifty thousand credits for the one of you who brings Lull into custody, alive." Leda's mouth almost dropped. Storsek's did. The thought of that much money was unreal. What did this guy do? "Also, in his escape, Lull stole a data rod that we want returned, unopened. The return of the unopened rod will earn the hunter an extra seventy thousand credits. I want Lull alive and the rod unopened. If they are received in any other condition, the bounty will be revoked. That is all."
A few hours later, Storsek was admiring how helpful an imperial officer can be. Especially when offered a large amount of credits. Having paid an officer to arrange passage for them to one of the floating cities orbiting above Duros, they then rented a small shuttle. Now, onboard the shuttle Bollo, and with a lead as to Lull's whereabouts, Storsek figured he would finally be able to start making a name for himself. The officer had said that Lull had family on Corellia. The planet was one of five inhabited planets in the Corellia system. The other four were Selona, Drall, Talus, and Tralus. The five planets were called the Five Brothers due to their close orbit, with Corellia being the Elder Brother. Inhabited mostly by humans, Corellia also had the capital city, Coronet, were all three races of the system, humans, selonians, and drall, worked together. Corellia's pilots were renowned throughout the galaxy as being some of the best available.
"Family tradition was very important on Corellia." The officer had told them. "You probably would have better luck getting a hutt to let his slave dancer go than to get a member of Lull's family to betray him." The officer's laugh was proof enough of how little he thought of the three bounty hunters. Storsek knew he could do this. If he could just stay away from the intoxicants, he would have no problems.