Chapter 10
Alex bit into his lip while Elexis tended to the scalded patch of skin on his arm, each time she touched the wound it erupted with pain and hurt him a little more.
"How did this even happen anyway?" Elexis asked.
"Things in the engine room got a little heated." Alex replied humorously.
Elexis laughed at the remark and then continued to pick the pieces of cotton out of his skin, and each time the cotton was removed Alex flinched. "Hold still." Elexis demanded. She finished off by rapping a bandage tightly around the burnt area of Alex's arm. They looked at each other and were silent for a moment.
When Alex was patched up he and Elexis joined Amicus in the cockpit. Through the thick glass of the windshield they could see the massive Clantaano Desert City in the distance. Following the coordinates on the navigation screen, Amicus landed the frigate on a factory landing pad a few leagues from the city.
The team exited the frigate, fully cloaked so that their faces could not be seen. A Clantaani approached them with outstretched arms and a wide open-mouth smile that showed a single row of dirty pointed teeth. He greeted them with the surprising respect that a host would give to honoured guests.
The Clantaani had followers of all shapes and sizes, and most of them were well armed. Alex could immediately tell that Black Shot was a cautious figure, as there were dozens of blasters and rifles aimed directly at him. One wrong move and he would be blown into oblivion.
The leader himself was much taller than his fellow gang members, he stood up straight and his blue skin was riddled with scars. Black Shot appeared to have had quite a taste for danger, and Alex wondered about what he must have done to earn each of those scars.
The Clantaani wore a full dark blue coat that stretched down to his ankles, and he had light brown trousers and boots that stretched up the length of his shins.
"You must be my new weapons dealers," he smiled. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Black Shot Burnsie." Black Shot bowed to Amicus, his speech was slow but comfortable. "I have never heard of you before, what is your name? If you don't mind me asking." Black Shot questioned with ease.
"I would rather have it that my identity remains hidden." Amicus responded. "I trust that a man in you line of business would understand."
Black Shot allowed Amicus to step off the ship.
"I understand fully." Black Shot said, "But keep in mind that ever since the death of the great bounty hunter Jango Fett, we have been relatively safe from trouble."
Black Shot lead Amicus into a large room full of weapons and machinery. "Do you know how Jango Fett died?" He asked.
Amicus, like most Jedi, knew the story of Jango Fett's death very well. "No, I don't." He answered briefly.
"Jango Fett was murdered by the hands of a Jedi on the planet Geonosis," Black shot began to tell. "You see, now days people like us have much more to fear than just bounty hunters. The republic are a much more deadly enemy and they will destroy us if something is not done about it. That is why I have all these weapons." He gestured to all the weapons around the landing pad. "This is only a taste of it, the rest of my weapons are properly stored inside. But that is why the Vipers support the Separatists Confederacy."
Black Shot had realised that he was being distracted. "Enough stories. Let us get straight down to business then, do you have my equipment?"
"It's all on the frigate. I will have my assistants unload it at once." Amicus replied. He gestured for Alex and Elexis to get the weapons, and then began to walk alongside Black Shot and they moved between two large iron doors.
"Allow me to show you around my great facility," Black Shot offered, "I'm sure you will like what you see."
Amicus offered a smiled and then followed Black shot into his facility and left Alex and Elexis with the frigate.
…
Alex later came to join Amicus in the facility, his pace was fast and he seemed troubled. Black Shot had been called away to his office to answer an urgent message and Amicus was left to explore the facility.
"Where is Elexis?" Amicus asked Alex quietly.
"She is still loading the last of the weapons with the others." Alex explained, "She thinks that Black Shot might be onto us. I think so too." And he shot a glance at Black Shot's men, cloaked figures watching them from a distance.
"Let's get this done then." Amicus tried to contact the star ship over his com-link, there was only static. Alex sensed that they were in big trouble. Black Shot returned to them with his normal mannerly expression. He gestured for Amicus to follow.
Alex and Amicus readied their weapons and followed him into a room, and what they found was tragic. Their clone pilot and co-pilot were tied up and gagged in the centre of the room, they were badly beaten and they were stripped of their uniforms.
Alex made the mistake of rushing into the room, and then he heard Black Shot's slow voice. "You think you are so smart! Jedi scum!" And then Alex was knocked hard over the back of his head, and he fell to the sandy metal floor, unconscious.