Hello and welcome to chapter 5 of Unexpected Places. This chapter's probably a little later than it should be, but I was working on Surviving, which ties into Unexpected Places. This chapter deals with Vlanc trying to weed out the pirates endemic to the Auril sector and the Jedi and their Antarian Ranger allies looking for an engineer. Of course, I do not own Star Wars, just my OCs. So, without any further ado, I hope that you enjoy the following chapter, please remember to review and finally...thanks for reading!
"This situation could not possibly be any worse." A disgruntled Shand Essil muttered.
He had thought that the deal that he and Moff Ozzaris Vlanc had been a fair one. The Corporate Alliance would continue to function in return for supplying the Galactic Empire with droids, men and starships. Except, as Shand had soon discovered, the Corporate Alliance was finished, to be absorbed into the Empire, making them now legal employees of Emperor Palpatine and his cronies. In addition, Vlanc had promised that the Corporate Alliance's line of Fantail-class destroyers would be part of his "private fleet". However, there was no private fleet; there never had been one to begin with. Instead, the ships had been impounded at an Imperial Naval base and kept under close lock and key.
"I beg to disagree, Magistrate. We could be dead." Colonel Leosa Vantare said as he sparred with one of the EG-5 Jedi Hunting droids.
Thinking of the droids also brought annoyance to Shand. He had been told by Vlanc that the lightsabers that they had wielded would need to be confiscated and sent to Coruscant. Now without their primary weapons, Shand had been forced to supply the former Jedi killer droids with electrostaffs, Like those common IG-100 Magnaguards Grievous was so fond of using! Shand thought with a disdainful sniff.
"As you like to keep reminding me, Colonel." Shand said bitterly, starting to think that perhaps death would have been a better choice.
Leosa ducked to avoid a swinging blow from the Jedi killer droid, before attempting to sweep its legs out from under it. The droid had other ideas, however, and leapt high into the air, before landing squarely on Leosa. With its opponent pinned, the droid aimed its electrostaff directly at the Koorivar's throat. Leosa held up his hands in defeat and the droid backed away.
"Still need more practice." Leosa muttered.
"I fail to see why you punish yourself like that; you'll never have to go up against a Jedi again." Shand said as he poured himself a glass of brandy, something that he had been doing frequently as of late.
"Never know," Leosa grunted "Could be more out there, no way all of them perished. Besides, I've been hearing rumours."
Shand was curious "Rumours? What rumours, pray tell?"
Leosa looked to be disturbed "Rumours that the Empire has started training their own Jedi. For use as Palpatine's personal enforcers, they say."
Shand scoffed in disbelief "That's preposterous! After the Jedi tried to assassinate him, why would he want to make more?"
Leosa shrugged in response "For protection? Few can claim to have bested a Jedi. Besides, you saw that man, Darth Vader, didn't you?"
Shand shuddered at the memory of seeing that monstrosity stepping off of his shuttle "Yes, yes I do remember that...thing." Shand said with obvious distaste.
"So you concede that the rumours could be true?" Leosa asked, his brow raised "After all, if something like Vader could exist within the Empire, surely there could be others like him?"
"Alright, I suppose that it is possible that there could be Jedi under the employ of the Empire...I still have my doubts though." And at that, he went back to his brandy.
Vlanc slipped the two lightsabers into their display case. He would need to come up with a good reason as to why they would not arrive with the other ten lightsabers when the shuttle that was transporting them arrived on Coruscant, but Vlanc was sure that he could figure something out. Vlanc looked around the room, it was almost entirely empty, save for the two lightsabers and the Mirialan's Eye. Vlanc supposed that he could always convert this room into a full blown trophy room in the future; although he was unsure as to what else he could fill it with. Now that he had put his lightsabers in their new home, it was back to business. Vlanc was going to oversee the addition to the Auril sector's naval forces. The old Acclamator II-class assault ships and Venator-class star destroyers would now be backed up with newer models of warships, such as the Victory I-class assault ships, the heavily armoured Tector-class star destroyers and their similar cousins, the Imperial-class star destroyers, which had been known as the Imperious-class star destroyers until the reformation of the Galactic Republic into the Empire.
"I suppose that sycophant Starkblast will be pleased." Vlanc muttered to himself as he moved out onto the balcony of his fortress.
Captain Starkblast had seemed very excited when Vlanc had mentioned the news to him. Indeed, Vlanc had noticed that the good captain had seemed very eager at the mere thought of being transferred to an Imperial-class. And there they were: A veritable fleet of brand new ships that eclipsed the city. From his perch, Vlanc could see thousands of people looking up at the star destroyers in awe. From the stormtroopers, to the Fusiliers, to the civilians to the Separatist battle droids that Vlanc had had reprogrammed following the battle with the Corporate Alliance Holdouts. Inspired by the NR-N99 Persuader-class enforcer droids, Vlanc had also reprogrammed the deactivated battle droids that littered the streets of Murkhana City. Now joining the enforcer droids were the likes of the dwarf spider droids, the LM-432 crab droids and droidekas, among other such models. Corona hadn't liked it, but fortunately for Vlanc, Palpatine had, noting that Vlanc wasn't the first of the Moffs to use reprogrammed battle droids.
At that moment, a whistling sound caught Vlanc's attention. He turned to see R3-E7 roll up to him.
"Yes, Eseven, what is it?" Vlanc asked.
In response, the droid began to make his normal beeping noises. Vlanc sighed; I really am going to have to get a protocol droid one of these days to translate for him, that would be so much easier than inferring meaning through whistle pitch. Before Vlanc could say anymore, however, the image of Captain Starkblast appeared, being projected by a holoemitter attached to Eseven.
"Captain." Vlanc greeted wearily.
"Moff Vlanc," Starkblast replied, saluting his superior "The new ships have arrived to bolster our fleet. With them we have received new orders."
Vlanc arched an eyebrow "Oh? And what would those orders be, Captain?"
"They are to take action against the local pirates and any remaining Separatist Holdouts that remain within the sector, sir. With our new star destroyers, I doubt that they shall pose much of a threat." Starkblast said confidently.
"Interesting," Vlanc said, musing over the orders "I shall accompany you; I wish to see how the new ships perform when compared to the older models."
Starkblast seemed surprised "Sir? But who will maintain order on Murkhana while you are away?"
"The local garrison should be fine in my absence. But if you are concerned, I can always place Colonel Vantare in charge?" Vlanc asked.
Starkblast's eyes widened in alarm "The Separatist commander?-! Sir, surely you're joking?"
"Not in the least, Captain. In the short time that I have known Colonel Vantare, he has proven to be a highly capable, efficient and trustworthy individual." Vlanc said, meaning every word of it.
"But, sir, he was a Separatist! What about Commander Corona? Surely he would be a much better choice?" Starkblast suggested.
"Is the commander not accompanying us?" A confused Vlanc asked.
The holographic image of Starkblast shook its head "Negative, sir. Most of this operation will be done from the ships. We'll be bringing limited infantry along with us; there'll be little need for them."
Vlanc thought it over. A few days ago he would have dismissed the notion of leaving a mere clone in charge, but since Corona had saved Vlanc's life, Vlanc was starting to rethink his opinion of the clone.
"Very well then, Corona shall be in charge in my stead. Now, prepare for my arrival, I shall be with you in a little less than an hour." Vlanc said, preparing to com his shuttle crew.
"Very good, sir, we shall be ready. Starkblast out." And with that, the image of Starkblast cut out and Eseven whistled in disdain.
"I know, Eseven, I don't like him much either. Still, he seems to be...somewhat competent in what he does." Vlanc said with a shrug "Now, I had better prepare for the field testing of these new ships."
And at that, Vlanc turned and left the room, eager to get to business.
"What do you suppose is wrong with it?" Sonoro asked.
"Beats me, maybe we should go get Ailan, he's the best with droids." Drum suggested with a shrug.
Standing before them was an R3 unit with orange trimming. Something seemed to be wrong with it, however, as it was standing stock still in the hallway. Under its transparasteel dome, its inner working seemed to be struggling with something, making the occasional clicking noise which Sonoro found to be rather ominous. This particular R3 unit, R3-G5, was important, as it contained important data regarding Antarian Ranger bases, as well as ship data and...other things.
Sonoro reached for his com-link "Ailan? Can you come up to the engine room? There's a malfunctioning droid we need you to take a look at."
"Be right there, just give me a minute." Ailan replied.
A few moments later, Ailan appeared, carrying a toolbox with him.
"Alright, where is it?" Ailan asked as he strode up to the pair.
"Right here," Drum said, motioning to the disabled astromech droid "It's not moving at all and it keeps making these weird clicking noises. Any ideas as to what's wrong with it?"
Ailan frowned "Oh, an astromech droid? See, here's the thing, I thought you were talking about a battle droid. I'm not so good with other models of droids. Battle droids, sure, those are fine, but an R3 unit? Yeah, that's a problem for me." Ailan explained.
Drum sighed "Alright then, who is the expert on astromech droid maintenance?"
Ailan paused to consider it, when he spoke; he did so slowly "That would have been Kassir Thrilke."
Sonoro groaned and Drum put his head in his hands, ignoring the stabbing pains caused by his chin and brow spurs. Kassir Thrilke had been a Human Antarian Ranger. He had also been shot a few days ago by a member of the deceased Ubese mercenary Sadix's group.
"Is there anyone else who could help us?" Sonoro asked.
Ailan shrugged "I doubt it...well, I doubt anyone on this ship can help us, anyway."
"Well, we can't very well go out and hire an engineer, can we? We're wanted fugitives!" Drum said.
"Well, there might be an engineer who could help us, assuming he's not dead or imprisoned. He'd be a fugitive too." Ailan said thoughtfully.
"Oh yes? And who would that be?" Sonoro asked, hoping that Ailan's mystery engineer would be able to help them.
"Kazan Zanabi, he's an utterly brilliant mechanic and engineer. They say that he can do just about anything with any droid." Ailan explained.
"So, why is he a fugitive?" Drum asked.
"Last I heard, he was working for the Separatists." Ailan said cautiously.
The duo made exasperated noises "Separatists, of course." Drum muttered.
"How would we even find him anyway?" Sonoro asked.
"I knew him pretty well before the Clone Wars, I could probably figure out where he'd be hiding out." Ailan said.
"That is assuming of course that he's still alive." Drum pointed out.
"I'm sure he would be, he's too clever to have been killed. He was never much of a fighter anyway." Ailan said.
"I'll go have a chat with the Captain, see if he'll agree with us." Sonoro said, before turning to find Captain Jericho Gargos.
"Well, with any luck, this Kazan Zanabi will be able to help us." Drum muttered.
"Oh, I'm sure he will, he knows droids like a Jedi knows the Force." Ailan said reassuringly.
R3-G5 just made more clicking noises.
On the bridge of the Imperial-class star destroyer known as the Unconquerable, Vlanc stood alongside Starkblast, gazing out at Murkhana. Thanks to Passel Argente and the Corporate Alliance, it had become a veritable hive of scum and villainy, with pirates, thieves and smugglers running riot. But now that was to end. A complete purge of all the pirate forces in not just the star system, but the entire sector was to begin. It was heaviest in the Murkhana system, again due to the actions of the Corporate Alliance, but the pirates had also firmly dug into the Repea, Weytta and Keedad, not to mention the heavy resistance that the natives of the Bak'rofsen system were putting up.
"Where should we start, sir?" Starkblast asked.
"Keedad, Captain, we've received a tip off that the Black Hourglass pirate organisation plans to steal the five Glorious Caskets of Keedad." Vlanc replied.
"The five...what?" Starkblast asked, a puzzled expression on his face.
"The five Glorious Caskets of Keedad, Captain. They're five highly decorated, bejewelled caskets that house the bodies of the five greatest leaders of Keedad." Vlanc explained, holding out a datapad.
Starkblast took it "A museum robbery?"
"Not quite, the caskets are being transported to one of Keedad's moons for an exhibition. The pirates plan to attack the convoy and steal the caskets. Unless we stop them, of course." Vlanc said.
Starkblast nodded "Very well then. Full speed to the Keedad system then."
On the bridge of the Order, Drum and Ailan were standing before Captain Jericho Gargos. The Captain was sitting in his chair and staring at the pair.
"And you think that this Zanabi person can fix the droid?" Jericho asked.
Ailan nodded "He's one of the best engineers in the Outer Rim, I know he could do it."
"But you don't exactly know where he is?" Jericho pressed.
Ailan faltered, before carefully choosing his response "Well, not exactly, sir. However, I am aware of several of his hideouts."
Jericho considered the idea for a moment, before he shook his head and said: "It's too risky, we can't go chasing shadows and potential leads just for one droid. Besides, we have more R3 units with information on our bases."
Drum and Ailan exchanged nervous glances. Behind the Captain, Bdaris Telnari was sitting bolt upright, staring at the two. Jericho looked at Drum and Ailan, reading their faces, before turning to look at Bdaris, who had gone back to a relaxed position.
"There's something different about this droid, isn't there?" Jericho asked, his voice hushed in a way which no one on the bridge liked.
Drum cleared his throat and spoke hesitantly "Well, sir, some the others and I started this little project, you see..."
"Spit it out." Jericho said sternly.
Drum looked worried "That R3 unit has information regarding possible...Jedi...hideouts..."
Jericho's eyes shot open and he turned to look at Bdaris, who had shot out of his seat "Knight Telnari, is there something that you'd like to explain to me?"
Bdaris rubbed the back of his head nervously "Uh, look, Captain, Alyss and I thought it might be best to go out and find other Jedi so that we-"
"And you did this behind my back? You thought it might be a good idea to put my men's lives at risk?" Jericho asked icily.
Bdaris held his hands up defensively "I didn't think you'd be open to the idea of going after more Jedi."
"And you were right! There's barely any left alive, it'd be suicide to try and go after more! We were lucky to save you, the Jedi massacre was only beginning and Palpatine hadn't managed to consolidate his power! Now almost all of the Jedi have been hunted down and the Emperor is tightening his grip on the Galaxy! I will not endanger you or Alyss or any of my men for a wild nuna chase!" Jericho snapped.
Bdaris looked down at his feet, he knew that it had been a bad idea, but he simply could not let his fellow surviving Jedi die at the hands of the Empire.
"Captain, please understand. I realise that what we did was foolish, but Alyss and I could not live with ourselves if we just sat back and did nothing. Captain, we know that you would do the same in our situation." Bdaris said.
Jericho sighed and slumped backwards into his seat. He raised a webbed hand to his face and covered his bulbous orange eyes. After a moment he lifted his hand and looked straight at Bdaris.
"I would do anything to protect this crew. Suicidal, dangerous things if necessary. But going out to seek more Jedi survivors would only put them and you in more danger, you know that." Jericho said.
Bdaris looked at Jericho sadly "I know, and I regret that, truly I do. But while we sit here in Wild Space, more and more Jedi are being murdered in the name of the Empire."
Jericho sighed again "Yes, I suppose they are...You do know that there is only a slim chance of finding other survivors?"
Bdaris simply nodded "I know, but if we can find even one Jedi still alive, there's hope of rebuilding the Jedi Order."
Jericho looked down at his lap, before facing Bdaris "Very well, Knight Telnari, I will consent to this mad search. Just know that if I feel that my crew is in danger, I will stop."
"I understand, Captain. Thank you for agreeing to this." Bdaris said.
"I just hope that I don't come to regret it." Jericho muttered, before turning to Ailan "Tell me, Ailan, where can we find this Zanabi?"
In the Keedad system, a ZZ-class freighter accompanied by a squadron of Dagger-class starfighters, a tripled winger starfighter that was small, fast and highly manoeuvrable, a good ship for use in planetary defensive forces. However, it lacked such equipment as shielding and life support, also making it a ship for only the best of pilots.
"This is Blue Leader, reporting that the skies are clear." A Keed pilot reported.
The words were no sooner out of his mouth when over a dozen starships exited out of hyperspace. A heavily modified ILH-KK Citadel-class civilian cruiser was leading the charge, its heavy ion cannons firing. Painted onto its back was a solid black hourglass, signifying that it belonged to the Black Hourglass pirates. Accompanying it were an array of starfighters, mostly comprised of Dianoga-class assault fighters, but there were also A-6 Interceptors, MorningStar-B starfighters and even two or three droid tri-fighters. The Black Hourglass had never been aligned with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, but when the organisation had collapsed it had left behind plenty of equipment for opportunistic pirates to salvage.
"This is Storm of the freighter Keelkana's Maw, surrender your cargo or perish!" A crewmember from the cruiser ordered through the com-link.
"Krinking pirates! Blue Squadron, prepare for battle!" Blue Leader ordered.
"Against that kind of firepower?-! We'll be slaughtered!" Blue Nine exclaimed.
"Belt up and start firing!" Blue Two snapped as he formed up on Blue Leader's lead.
The two groups quickly came into firing range. The Dagger-class starfighters were more nimble, that was true, but their insufficient armour put them at a distinct disadvantage against the heavily armed Dianoga-class assault starfighters. One of the pirates mused that it was almost overkill as he blasted Blue Ten into oblivion.
"There goes Danye!" Blue Six cried out.
"Calm down! We've trained for this! Keep your heads!" Blue Leader ordered.
Blue Leader, closely followed by Blue's Two and Eleven began concentrating their fire on the opposing starfighters. Soon, a pirate A-6 Interceptor was sent spiralling towards the surface of Keedad, the pirate's screaming all the way down.
"Scratch one bandit!" Blue Two cheered.
Mere seconds later, a droid tri-fighter blew him out of the sky with a well placed missile.
"Stang! Ichido! Ichido, do you copy?" Blue Leader shouted, only to be met with silence.
"I've got bandits on my tail!" Blue Five cried as a Dianoga and a MorningStar chased him down.
"Hold on, Kre, we're coming!" Blue Leader said as he and Blue Eleven rushed to aid their fellow.
Blue Five weaved and dodged excellently, but he knew it was only a matter of time before it would end. If only he could shake the pair behind him! Suddenly, one of the ships was hit from behind, and in his confusion, the pilot careened into his wing mate, taking them both down.
"Thanks, Blue Leader, I thought I was a go-!" Blue Five began.
He was cut off when the Keelkana's Maw silenced him forever with a shot from one of its laser cannons.
"Kre!" Blue Leader cried out in horror.
"Pull up! Pull up! We're too close to that thing!" Blue Eleven shouted as he pulled away from the enemy ship.
A short distance away, Blues Three, Four, Six and Seven had found themselves amidst a group of pirate ships. Blue Four narrowly avoided a shot by rotating his wings, but Blue Seven was not so fortunate, as a shot destroyed his cockpit, immediately killing him.
"There goes Elias." Blue Three said bitterly.
"We'll join him unless we bug out!" Blue Six cried out in a panic.
"Stay with us Blue Six!" Blue Four ordered.
"I'm getting out of here!" Blue Six said as he turned to flee.
"Wait for me, I'm coming with you!" Blue Nine added.
"Come back here you cowards!" Blue Three snapped.
The pirates were content to let the deserters flee, but the droids weren't, and two droid fighters quickly got behind Blue's Six and Nine, blowing them away, before rejoining the battle.
"Stang! We're in trouble!" Blue Eight said as he twisted to avoid a stray shot.
"You're just noticing that now?" Blue Four asked.
The group was soon accompanied by Blue Leader and Blues Eleven and Twelve.
" We need reinforcements up here!" Blue Leader said into his com-link.
"Where the hell is our backup?" Blue Twelve questioned.
"It looks like control doesn't give a kriff about us." Blue Eight said.
"But what about the cargo?" Blue Eleven asked "It's our history!"
"Evidently it's not worth the effort." Blue Leader said.
"Scratch one more bandit!" Blue Twelve announced as he destroyed one of the two droid fighters.
"Atta boy!" Blue Four cheered.
"Keep it up, we' have to protect the caskets!" Blue Leader ordered.
"Stang, I'm hit!" Blue Eight cried.
"How bad is it?" Blue Leader asked.
"They cut off the tip of one of my wings! That's one of my laser cannons down!" Blue Eight said.
"Hold on, Te, we're going to get out of this!" Blue Leader said.
"One of them is coming back for the kill!" Blue Eight reported, alarm in his voice.
"Form up on Te, now!" Blue Leader commanded.
"I've got this one, Blue Leader." Blue Twelve said calmly as he shot off towards the MorningStar fighter.
"Blue Twelve! Don't be a fool! Osa!" Blue Leader exclaimed.
The two ships charged towards each other, laser cannons firing wildly. The MorningStar managed to score a hit, sending Blue Twelve careening off into space. However, before he was lost, Blue Twelve managed to score a direct hit on the cockpit of the enemy fighter, killing the pilot.
"I'm hit! I'm hi-!" Blue Twelve cried out, before his ship exploded in a brilliant blossom of fire.
"Damn it, we're getting massacred!" Blue Eight exclaimed.
"If we die, we're going to give them hell before we go, boys!" Blue Leader said as he bore down on the remaining droid fighter.
At that moment, however, two gigantic starships pulled out of hyperspace. One was a Venator-class star destroyer, the other was a new kind of ship that Blue Squadron had never seen before.
"By the gods!" Blue Eleven exclaimed.
"What the hell is that thing?" Blue Four asked.
"More importantly, whose side is it on?" Blue Three added.
Their question was answered as turbolaser batteries fired on the pirate forces, utterly obliterating them. The remaining pirates tried to escape, but it was fruitless, as they were all quickly destroyed...
...Save for the Keelkana's Maw, which was seized by a tractor beam from the Venator, which drew it into a hangar.
"Keed ships, this is the captain of the Imperial-class star destroyer, Unconquerable, we have dealt with the pirates. Return to your business immediately." A voice blared through the com-link.
Blue Leader looked confused by the captain's orders. It was certainly abrupt; still, certain rules had to be followed.
"This is Captain Talvin Corto of Blue Squadron, addressing the captain of the Unconquerable. We appreciate your help, but we would like to question the survivors and detain them on Keedad while-" Blue Leader began, before he was cut off.
"Your authority is irrelevant, Captain. The pirates are being detained by the Galactic Empire, our jurisdiction overrides yours. Now, get back to what you were doing before I blast you and your squad for sedition." The captain said harshly.
Talvin scowled under his breath mask. He had his doubts about the Imperials, but he hadn't been aware that they would be this bad.
Before he could say anything however, a new voice broke in "Captain! You will do no such thing! The people of Keedad, and indeed, the entire Auril sector are under our sovereignty and no harm is to come to them!"
The captain muttered something unintelligible, before apparently moving away.
"This is Moff Vlanc, the governor of the Auril sector. I apologise for the rudeness of my subordinate, he will be reprimanded, I assure you."
Now Talvin was confused, this was an unexpected change "Ah, thank you for your assistance, Moff Vlanc. But, as I said, we will need to detain the pirates."
"Yes, of course. However, we think it would be best if we were to interrogate them first, after which we shall hand them over to you. Is that acceptable?" Vlanc asked.
In Talvin's book, it most certainly was not. However, he doubted that he was going to get a better deal and he didn't want to push his luck with this Moff Vlanc, you never could tell how these Humans would react. True, they were a Near-Keed species, but they were still so...alien, that it was better to play it safe.
"Very good, Moff Vlanc, I'll alert the Keedad Judicial Forces and have them prepare a prison shuttle for your guests when you're done with them." Talvin said.
"Thank you, Captain. I assure you, this will not take long." Vlanc said reassuringly.
Talvin sat in his starfighter for a moment, before activating the secure comm channel "Right, we'd better get these caskets to safety. Te, are you alright to fly?"
"Yes, Blue Leader, I can manage."
"Good, better get out of here before those Imperials decide they want to detain us." And with that, Blue Squadron was off.
Vlanc and Starkblast were anxious to interrogate the pirates as they were swiftly ferried to the Harbinger aboard an Imperial shuttle. A squad of stormtroopers was ready to greet them, with another squad of Imperial marines ready to board the enemy ship in case of any violence.
"They'd be mad to attempt anything." Vlanc said as the clones began to cut a hole through one of the airlocks of the cruiser.
"True, but these men are going to be desperate and afraid. That makes them more dangerous, better to be cautious." Starkblast said.
Soon, an entrance was created and the clones rushed into the Keelkana's Maw. The sound of muffled blaster fire soon began and the stormtroopers who were outside the captured ship began to twitch, apparently anxious to join their brothers. It was not a long scuffle and eventually the squad, minus three members dragged out the surviving crew. They were a mishmash of species from the Auril sector, Koorivar, Keed, Dashade and Human, but one figure stood out. This particular pirate stood over two meters tall and was wearing what seemed to be an enviro-suit, a black hourglass proudly embossed on the chest.
"Captain, Moff Vlanc, I present Captain Storm." A stormtrooper marine who had a chain link pattern embossed on the left side of his armour said as he shoved the enviro-suited figure towards the two senior officers.
"What species is this one?" Starkblast murmured in confusion.
Vlanc leaned forward for a closer look, confident that Storm could not harm him, his hands had been restrained with a set of stun-cuffs and all of his weapons had been confiscated. Something seemed to be swirling around within Storm's helmet. Vlanc leapt back when a pink tendril slapped the inside of the glass.
"Get away from us, Imperial scum." Storm said in a very unusual voice, as if multiple people were speaking in unison.
"What is he?" A surprised Vlanc asked.
"Not he, they." The clone marine, whose name was Link said.
Vlanc and Starkblast looked confused by what Link had said.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Starkblast asked.
"Storm isn't a singular entity, he's a small colony of Moappa centralised in that enviro-suit." Binder explained.
Vlanc's eyes widened in surprise at the information he had received. A Moappa colony? The Moappa were a species indigenous to Mon Calamari, being a species of small conical, tentacled invertebrate. The unusual thing about Moappa was that on their own, they were mere animals, yet if they numbered over a dozen, then they could achieve sapience. Vlanc had never heard of any Moappa criminals, however, so he was quite surprised to learn of Storm's species.
"This is remarkable, fascinating!" Vlanc breathed, leaning in to examine Storm, now noticing that his suit was filled with sea water to accommodate them.
Starkblast cleared his throat "As fascinating as these...things are, we're still going to have to interrogate it...them."
Vlanc looked up at Starkblast "What? Oh, yes, carry on Captain. I eagerly await your results."
"You stupid Imperials, when we get out of here, We'll kill you all! We'll kill you!" Storm shouted as they thrashed around in an attempt to escape from the clones who were leading him away.
In a cantina on the Outer Rim planet known as Far Pando, Alyss, Bdaris, Eno Dagger, Sonoro, Ailan, Poe Tac and Sig Salza were searching for Kazan Zanabi. All around them were members of species commonly ruled by Hutts: Nimbanese, Niktos, Klatooinians and Riileb, among others. Despite the negative stereotypes associated with members of Hutt aligned races, the group was not overly worried. Far Pando was an agrarian world, and most of the inhabitants were farmers.
"So, who exactly do we talk to about Zanabi?" Alyss asked in a hushed whisper.
"A Yahk-Tosh named Jeo-Firsr. He's the owner of this place, but he was friendly with Zanabi. Apparently, Zanabi did some work for this guy, managed to find and reprogram a platoon of E4 baron droids for him. Firsr was pretty impressed with him, I know he hired him a few more times, I think they even became friends." Ailan explained.
"How is it exactly that you know all of this?" Bdaris asked, a frown on his face.
Ailan shrugged "Because I used to work alongside the guy. He was a pretty good friend too, good sense of humour and damn good with a fusioncutter."
The group approached the bar, where an olive skinned Klatooinian dispatched drinks. He nodded his head as he saw Ailan approach.
"Ailan, I haven't seen you in a while. The war been keeping you busy?" The Klatooinian asked.
"Yeah, Saranova, fighting for freedom and democracy, you know." Ailan said.
"Well, I guess not anymore, what with the Empire in place. So much for democracy." Saranova said with a snort.
"Blame the Jedi, everyone else is doing it." Ailan said, turning to Bdaris.
"The Jedi? Feh, if they're anarchists, then I'm a Chadra-Fan." Saranova said.
"So you don't believe what Palpatine says?"
"Not even slightly. If the Jedi wanted to seize power, why didn't they do it back when the Republic didn't have an army?" Saranova questioned.
Bdaris was starting to like this Klatooinian.
"They say that the clones were supposed to stay loyal to the Jedi and help them with their little coup." Ailan said with a shrug.
"Feh, that turned out well then, didn't it?" Saranova said, rolling his eyes.
Ailan nodded "Mmmm hmmm. Listen, Saranova, I have a little favour to ask..."
Saranova stared at Ailan "Oh yeah? And what exactly would this favour be?"
"We need to see Jeo-Firsr." Ailan said.
Saranova's eyes widened in surprise "Oh yeah?" He said slowly "And may I ask what for?"
"We're looking for Zanabi." Ailan said.
Saranova seemed to balk at that "Zanabi? What, Kazan Zanabi? The engineer?"
"That's the one." Ailan confirmed.
"There's not some kind of bounty on him, is there? Because Jeo-Firsr would soon as cut his own hand off before he sold out Zanabi." Saranova said.
Ailan shook his head "Nothing so dramatic, we just need him for a small job. Just fixing an astromech droid is all."
Saranova seemed surprised "Really? That's all?"
Ailan nodded this time "Yep, that's all."
Saranova seemed to consider it "...Alright, I'll see what I can do. Wait here while I go talk to the boss."
The group waited for a few moments. After a moment, Sig spoke up.
"Ok, I can understand why you're here, Ailan. I can also guess why Bdaris is here, but what about the rest of us?"
Ailan shrugged "In case anything goes wrong."
Poe stared at Ailan for a while before he spoke "In case anything goes wrong?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, by Yahk-Tosh standards, Jeo-Firsr is a downright decent being, but he does after all have a platoon of repurposed Separatist battle droids at his disposal. Best to be cautious, right?"
"But this is a peaceful planet, why he's need so much firepower anyway?" Alyss asked.
"Pirates, marauders, bounty hunters," Ailan said, ticking off each with his fingers "All the usual stuff that small colonies have to deal with. That and he's not exactly friendly with the majority of the Hutts. Apparently he took in some runaway soldiers to spite some of them."
Bdaris and Alyss exchanged cautious glances, their hands going for their lightsabers, which were concealed beneath their cloaks. They retracted their hands when Ailan glared at them. After a moment, Saranova returned.
"Alright, the boss said you can go in, but you have to leave your weapons here." Saranova said, pointing to a metal tray.
One by one, the group placed their weapons on the tray. Ailan drew a few glances when he reached over his back, unhatched a few straps and placed a quad laser cannon on the table. When Alyss walked up, Saranova raised a brow and held out his hand.
In response, Alyss waved her hand in front of his face and said in a soothing tone of voice "You don't need my weapon."
A blank look crossed Saranova's face as he replied "I don't need your weapon."
"I can move along. So can my friend." Alyss said, motioning to Bdaris.
"You can move along. So can your friend." Saranova repeated.
Alyss and Bdaris quickly walked past Saranova. Ailan raised a brow at them.
"Cute, but don't try that on Firsr. He's a Yahk-Tosh, your Jedi mind tricks don't work on his kind." Ailan said.
Alyss and Bdaris nodded, before following the others into a large room. It was highly decorated, red banners covered the walls, beautiful, rich carpets paved the floors and there was a table on which a number of beautiful glass pieces rested. Also inside the room however, were a number of bulky, heavily armed E4 baron droids, Ganks, a LOM series protocol droid and a being the group could only assume was Jeo-Firsr. He was a large, corpulent creature, very similar to a Hutt in appearance. However, he had green-yellow skin, six arms, a more slug like face and four horns atop his head. A crimson shawl lay over his shoulders. He looked up at his visitors and spoke, albeit in a language that none of them understood.
The LOM droid stepped forward and gave a slight bow "Greetings, honoured guests. I am 7-LOM, the personal translator droid of my master, Jeo-Firsr. My master welcomes you to his humble cantina. However, he also wishes to enquire about your business."
Ailan opened his mouth to speak, but Alyss stepped forward "It is an honour to be in the presence of the exalted Jeo-Firsr. We have heard about his legendary power and compassion. As for our business, we merely wish to locate and use the services of one Kazan Zanabi."
Ailan seemed indignant that he had been cut off before he could speak. Bdaris however, was suppressing a grin. He had forgotten that Alyss had been a Jedi Diplomat, was this how she treated all the dignitaries she met?
Jeo-Firsr spoke again, motioning to his bodyguards as he did so. 7-LOM paused and listened intently before he relayed the message "Jeo-Firsr is flattered by your words. However, also says that he is weary of giving away information regarding Zanabi. Zanabi is a close friend of my Master's, and he does not wish to see harm come to him. If you have come to harm Zanabi in any way, I am afraid that my master's, ahem, friends shall have to deal with you."
Alyss smiled "I assure the great Jeo-Firsr that we have not come to harm Zanabi. As we told your bartender, we merely wish to employ him briefly for a small job. One of our astromech droids has broken down and is in need of repairs, that is all."
Jeo-Firsr seemed to pause, before setting his gaze squarely on Alyss. Alyss cocked her head to the side, a confused look on her face. All of a sudden, her eyes widened in surprise and she took a step back. Bdaris became alarmed and moved forward, placing a hand on Alyss' shoulders.
"What's wrong? What is it?" Bdaris asked anxiously.
"He was in my mind! I could sense him!" Alyss hissed in surprise.
Jeo-Firsr chuckled, before saying a single word: "Jeedai."
The effect was immediate, the Ganks focused their gazes on Alyss in alarm, their hands firmly gripping their blasters as they aimed at her. The baron droids however, moved in an efficient unison, with all of their own blasters aimed squarely at Alyss.
"Oh dear!" 7-Lom gasped in surprise.
Acting quickly, Bdaris pulled out his lightsabers and ignited them, ready for a fight "Everyone, get behind me!"
To his surprise however, Jeo-Firsr laughed again and raised his arms in a calming gesture. The baron droids immediately complied. Although extremely hesitant, the Ganks also lowered their weapons. After taking a moment to stare at Bdaris, Jeo-Firsr spoke to 7-LOM.
"My master does not wish to cause you any alarm. He has no desire or intention to harm you. He was merely searching your mind to see if you were trustworthy." 7-LOM explained.
"He's Force sensitive?" Alyss asked as she rubbed her forehead.
"Negative, he is however, telepathic, as all Yahk-Tosh are." 7-LOM said "Now that he knows that he can trust you, he regrets to inform you that he has not been in contact with Zanabi for a number of months."
Sig sighed "Well, this has been a complete dead end then."
"However, my master does know that Zanabi was stationed on a Lucrehulk-class transport in orbit around Weytta." 7-LOM added.
The group brightened at that. Now they had a lead.
"Better contact the Captain about the news." Poe said, nodding towards Sonoro.
"We offer our sincere gratitude to Jeo-Firsr for his help." Alyss said, bowing slightly.
Jeo-Firsr spoke again.
"My master feels that he must add that if Zanabi is harmed in any way, he will not hesitate to send bounty hunters for your heads." 7-LOM said ominously.
"We'll keep that in mind. Let's go!" Bdaris said as he pulled Alyss away.
Once they were gone, 7-LOM sighed "Typical meat sacks, impertinent and always in a rush. Am I right?"
The baron droid that he had been addressing said "Indeed, a shame I did not get to vaporise them."
On the bridge of the Unconquerable, Starkblast turned to Vlanc.
"The pirates gave us all of their information, sir. They say that they have significant outposts located in the Cron Drift." Starkblast informed his superior.
"Excellent. Did they say anything else?" Vlanc asked.
Starkblast hesitated before he said: "Well...yes, sir. They mentioned an attack on the planet Repea. Apparently they wish to settle a conflict they're having with a local mercenary force, the Crimson Aces."
Vlanc cocked an eyebrow "Really? Well then, perhaps we should make an appearance."
Starkblast had known that this had been coming "Sir, I'm sure that the local planetary defence force can handle whatever forces the pirates can muster. We should strike now while their forces are preoccupied with other matters."
"That seemed to work out well for the Keed, didn't it? Leaving them to their own battles? Most of that squadron was slaughtered and the rest would have died if we had not intervened. No, Captain, if we are to gain the trusts of the natives, we must endeavour to do everything in our power to help them. It will greatly benefit us in the long run, I assure you."
Starkblast sighed in defeat "Very well, sir. I understand."
Vlanc nodded "Very well then, set a course for the Repea system."
"Aye, aye, sir." The helmsman said.
In a moment, they were in hyperspace, heading for planet Repea.
And end of chapter 5. Originally, Vlanc was to go to Repea, Weytta and Keed all in one chapter, but I realised that would make this chapter too long, so now it will be divided into three chapters. The character of Jeo-Firsr was great for me, as I've been trying to use a Yahk-Tosh character for a while, they're an interesting species. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please remember to review and finally...thanks for reading!