Chapter 9

As soon as their star ship had come out of hyper drive Alex could see the desert planet Clantaano III and the two moons that orbited it. The three Jedi on board the ship could sense the danger and the evil that lurked around these parts of the galaxy. Warlords and gunmen ran most of this sector, and it was a treacherous place for a Jedi to stick around.

"I thought we were pretending to be weapons dealers, any thug with eyes will be able to tell that we are from the republic." Alex inquired.

"Just wait Alex." Amicus responded, "Our equipment is still to come."

Just as he said it a star freighter appeared ahead of them as it came out of hyper drive.

"See," Amicus said. "All is going to plan. Pilot, send a transmission to that frigate vessel."

The vessel was slightly rusted and battle worn, and its white and red colouring was mostly faded. There were laser marks and other damages done from long ago, however they assumed that whoever owned the vessel only needed it to move from one place to another and nothing else.

The pilot turned a nob and then pushed a button, then he handed a com-link to master Amicus, "Go ahead sir."

"Greetings smugglers!" Amicus started, "We are commandeering this vessel in the name of the galactic republic. Surrender yourselves peacefully and we won't kill you." The threat was plain and simple and Alex found it amusing.

There was no response from the frigate for a while, then a voice came over the com-link, "I will rather die before I surrender my ship to you, Republic scum!" The voice was harsh and it hissed like a snake.

"Sir, they are trying to contact someone," the captain reported, "Shall I block the signal?"

"Do it," Amicus ordered, "But it is only a matter of time before they override the feed." He turned to the co-pilot, "Ready the weapons systems and fire on their communications array."

The co-pilot fired two green laser bolts at the satellite on top of the ship, but the attack did no damage.

"Laser shields," Amicus uttered, "Of course they would have laser shields."

"This looks like an old frigate. Look at the rust and the faded colour." Elexis pointed out, "Perhaps a well placed EMP shot will fry their systems."

The frigate fired on them, and their star ship shook violently. Alex was nearly knocked off his feet.

"All right," Amicus told the pilot, "Try to get under them and then fire the EMP at the loading bay, right there." He pointed.

Their star ship dropped down and the momentum of it threw Alex of balance again. Then the co-pilot fired a blue electric projectile that struck the bottom of the frigate. A wave of electric pulses brushed over the vessel and then sparks shot out from all sides.

"Their systems are down, sir." The pilot reported.

"Good," Amicus turned and faced Alex and Elexis, "Be ready to board the frigate, and no unnecessary deaths if you can manage it."

The star ship pulled up under the frigate and Amicus was able to deploy a shield between the ships, allowing he and his students to force jump into the cargo hold of the frigate.

Inside the cargo hold was a series of neatly stacked weapons crates, they were even ordered according to the type of weaponry that was on board. From the cargo hold ran three small hallways. One probably lead to the cockpit, the other to the engine room and the third Alex was unsure about. Amicus signalled for Alex to head into the engine room while he went to the cockpit and Elexis to the third room.

The engine room was uncomfortably hot and steam bellowed out from large motors that were probably the machines that moved the transport. Alex looked around but he could find nothing. Then, as if from the depths of the ship, came a large reptilian creature, charging and swinging at him from side to side with a heavy metal pipe. Alex dodged the attack and the pipe clashed into another pipeline, the force of it triggered a burst of hot steam that struck the creature full in the face, forcing it backwards while it gripped its burning face with both hands.

The creature was nearly twice the size of Alex, and all it wore was a torn rag that was stained with sweat. Its skin was thick brown and leathery, except for its face which was red and blistered from the intense heat of the engine steam. Alex watched the creature as it howled and cried and kicked violently, and he was unsure about how exactly he was going to capture the giant, so he drew out his light sabre and uttered under his breath, "It is a necessary death."

The creature regained it's footing and threw it's arms at Alex. Before he could retaliate, the beast struck him full in the chest and sent him flying across the room. Alex landed roughly on one of the engines and the heat scorched his fully clothed shoulder, burning the fabric into his skin. The pain made Alex scream and he gripped his sweltering arm, but he quickly recovered as the creature approached him again.

From the shock of the burn he found a new strength. This time Alex ducked as the creature tried to club him again, and using his laser sword sliced through the creatures' ankle, severing the tendons. The beast shrieked and then fell onto it's back, and Alex used the opportunity to jump onto its chest and drive his laser sword deep into its heart. It struggled on the steaming metal floor for a few seconds and then went limp.

When Alex retuned to the main room he found that Elexis had had two people handcuffed to a rail. One of the prisoners was a human, however his nose was flat and he wore a very tight metal vest over his torso. The other prisoner was a Barabel, a humanoid creature with thick green plated skin and a wide mouth armed with razor sharp teeth. The creature also had a tail with spikes that ran down the length of it.

Amicus stepped out from the cockpit with his own prisoner, a Clantaani. The little humanoid struggled around in Amicus' firm grip. He had long ears and plain white skin, and he wore a simple light brown vest and baggy blue pants that were tucked into his boots.

After handcuffing the Clantaani with his friends, Amicus spoke, "I saw an escape pod leave, did anyone get away?" his voice was urgent.

"No master," Elexis answered, "There was only two of them. They tried for the pod but I deployed it before they were in."

For some reason Alex sensed that something was wrong, however he ignored the feeling. He knew if someone had gotten away that Elexis would say something. He dismissed it as a heat of the moment feeling. Besides, how bad could it be? There was absolutely no reason for Elexis to lie about escape pod. Alex didn't like this feeling, and unlike the others this one brought him a small amount of pain and he couldn't explain why.

"Excellent work." Amicus complimented Elexis and patted her gently on the back then he squatted in front of his captives. "Now tell me, what is the name of the gang on Clantaano that these weapons were going to?" His tone was strong and fierce. When there was no response he spoke to the prisoners more compassionately, "If you tell me what I want to know now I will let you go free."

One of the prisoners, the human, spoke up, "The Vipers, the gang is called the Vipers. They are a gang tied up with the Confederacy. The guy you are looking for is a Clantaani, he runs the operations in these parts, goes by the name of 'Black Shot Burnsie.'" He added.

"Thank you," Amicus said, and then looked at his students, "Get them on the star ship."

"You said you would let us go." The human protested.

"I said I would let you go, but I did not say when. Alex, Elexis, put on your cloaks and take their equipment, until this mission is over you are no longer Jedi, but weapons dealers on a planet that is entirely controlled by thieving and murderous scum."