The group then reached their next destination wherever this ship was taking them. It was somewhere that none of them were familiar with, considering most of them hadn't left their home planets. Opening the gate, they looked to figure out where they were. They sneaked their way out of the Imperial shipping area and found a sign.
"Welcome to Vandor." Casey read the sign. "Wherever that is."
"I'm gonna take a guess and say here," Claire replied.
"Ugh!" Pace cried. "Why does this keep happening? I don't go looking for trouble, and yet I always end up running into it like a Rancor."
"Well, whatever the case is, we gotta get out of the rain," Lena tells them.
"How about up there?" Qira asked looking at an establishment of sorts.
Making their way inside, the six of them looked around and saw that the place was a bar of sorts. Looking around, they were getting looked at by all of the residents of the bar. Some were foreign to this planet, some from the same soil they were standing on.
"Hi." Pace sheepishly waved his hand at them.
"Just keep walking," Casey said as they stepped forward, the establishment finally done looking and going back to their drinks. "So...guess this is where we part ways?"
Chewbacca growled and seemed to be in confirmation.
"Yeah, it's been fun. But we've got the Empire after us." Lena confirmed.
"And we've got a crazy Hutt after us," Han added.
"Honestly? I think that means we should really stay together." Casey stated. "I mean, stronger in numbers."
"I feel that could make us a bigger target," Claire stated.
"I'm not saying forever, but it sounds like we could both use the help," Casey stated. "And we could definitely both use it."
"And where do you suppose five people and a Wookie get work?"
"You said you're looking for work?" A man asked as he approached them at the bar.
"That depends. Who's asking?" Lena asks.
"Names Beckett. Tobias Beckett." He introduced himself to them. "We're here trying to scrounge up a crew." He gestured behind him where they saw a woman around Beckett's age and a four-limbed Ardennian. "We're looking to hire some muscle for this job."
"What's the job?" Han wonders.
"That depends... you interested?" Beckett asked them.
"That depends on the job," Claire stated.
Beckett could make a guess they weren't friends of the Empire. Not that they have many friends, and not many people would actually defend the Empire. "What do you know about Coaxium?" He asked them.
"Rare type of hyperfuel." Lena shrugged. Then she seemed to get the hint. "You're going after Coaxium?"
"Yeah, we're heading for Mimban, steal an AT-Hauler, then head to steal some Coaxium. You in?"
"What do you need us for?" Han wonders.
"Muscle." Beckett shrugged. "And you look to be desperate enough for the job."
"He's got us there," Casey admitted.
"And what's on Mimban?" Pace asks.
"Well, the Empire is in the middle of capitalizing on it, so that's going to be our cover," Beckett tells them. "Don't worry, we'll be in and out. Quick and easy job."
As they were leaving, they were spotted by someone who pulled out a communicator and contacted Graballa. "Oh, hey, Pru, listen, not a great time. My cousin Jabba is all over my tail, and I've got-"
"I've found your bounty," Pru tells him.
"You found Pace and friends?" Graballa asked in glee. "The guy who promised me a Jedi Starfighter, and then left me high and dry? Great, find out where they're going and I'll make you rich...whatever the heck you are."
The crew now were currently running for their lives on a battlefield where the Empire was trying to colonize Mimban. Han and Pace were running for their lives, the chaos going around them with blaster fire and fire from everywhere. Chewbacca was among them, but was in heavy armor you could barely hear him growl inside.
Claire was having a blast, shooting every rebellious trooper that was closing in and having a blast. She might just be a little bloodthirsty. They leaped into the trench and tried to stay alive with everyone meeting back up. The only one missing was Han, and he was trying to meet back up with the others as he ran through the chaos.
"Hey, Beckett, you said we were here to pull a quick job," Pace commented as he tried to avoid the blaster fire.
Beckett nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, does this look like a quick job?!" Pace asked in terror. "No! It's a war!"
Claire then leaped down and whooped on her way downward to her best friend. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm actually enjoying this!"
"She scares me," Casey commented.
"You get used to it," Lena said as she fixed her mask.
Beckett then noticed a ship coming flying over them. That was the main objective that they came here for.
"AT-Hauler." Beckett got their attention. "That's what we came for. Forward operations must be this way."
Han ran over to them in terror. "Hey, guys. The major's dead."
Beckett nodded. "Well, who's the ranking officer now?"
Qi'ra looked at his uniform and chuckled. "You are, Captain."
Everyone laughed when they realized he indeed was captain. There were even a few troops who were waiting for their orders from the same captain.
"She's got you there," Rio laughed.
"So, what's the plan, Captain Beckett?" Val asked sarcastically.
Beckett then jumped into his position of captain. "Val, you take Rio and these four mud skulls flank left. I'll take this mouthy scooch and we'll go around to the right and maybe we'll get lucky."
"Luck's got nothin' to do with it," Rio stated.
"Let's go!" Beckett called as they ran into the battlefield again.
Making it into operations, they began to sneak their way around to try and find their AT-Hauler. While they were searching, there was another ship making their way in and it was Graballa and his men. Pace froze when he spotted the Hutt and slowly backed into the trenches.
"Okay, Pru said the tracker led him here," Graballa said as he looked around. "You guys seeing them?"
"Looks like they're running sorties every 30 minutes," Beckett commented as he eyed the guards.
"Yeah, I can take out the guards at the perimeter, signalman, pilot," Val tells him.
"Hell, I'll just take 'em all out." Claire offered as she stepped forward. She then grabbed one of her batons and spun it around. "I'm ready to go."
"Han," Pace whispered as he approached. "Something you should know..."
"What is it, Pace?" Han asks.
"Graballa." Pace whispered.
"He's here?" Han asked as he looked over and noticed Graballa. "Uh-oh. Guys?"
"What?" Casey asked when he spotted Graballa. "Oh, hey..well, screw the subtle approach."
Casey then drew several arrows from his suit. He then shot dozens of explosive arrows, getting the attention of the entire battlefield, and getting them to start opening fire. They ran for the ship, Beckett and Claire shooting the remaining troopers as they prepared for takeoff.
"Well, that wasn't exactly subtle," Beckett commented. "What went on down there?"
"An old enemy of ours showed up!" Han called as they ran for takeoff.
Rio quickly shed his armor and prepared the ship to fly. "No wonder these guys make such lousy pilots. You can't turn your head, you can't breathe, you can't hear each other!"
"Is that a Hutt?" Val asked as they saw Graballa and his men approaching the ship as they took off.
"Huh. You guys are enemies of the Hutt clan?" Beckett wasn't sure why he sounded impressed by that.
"It's a bit of a long story," Pace said sheepishly.
"Well, you can fill us in on the way," Beckett stated as they flew off, making their way for the second part of the mission.
As they were filling the crew in the fact they were being chased by the Empire and the Hutt clan, at least Graballa. Seemed that it was enough for Val to question their decision as they then found themselves heading for Vandor. Also known as Vandor-1 or ID 53-80: a cold frontier planet in the Sloo sector of the galaxy's Mid Rim. Despite being sparsely settled, the Galactic Empire had a growing presence on the planet. Fort Ypso was a snowy mountain village located on Vandor and was a main target of this heist.
Han sighed as he walked over to see the others waiting around. "Look. This isn't exactly ideal, I get it, but we do this one deal, we can make some real money, and then we're free. We can stop looking over our shoulders."
"Not so bad when you put it like that," Lena shrugged.
"I mean, we've come this far." Casey shrugged.
"Yeah, we already came far enough, we might as well continue on." Pace shrugged.
The thumping sound caught their attention, and they turned to see Claire approaching, clad in a stark white uniform. Her suit had an imperial flair, yet it was customized with various gadgets and gear. A belt of her own design cinched the waist, and batons were secured at her back. She walked up to the group, taking in their puzzled expressions with a measured stride.
"Okay, I have to ask, what is that?" Lena asks.
"You like it?" Claire asked as she showed off her body in the suit. "Found it in the closet. There's a whole bunch of stuff up there, I figured I'd wear something for the snow."
"Okay, not a half-bad idea," Casey commented.
Han and Lena were with Beckett and Val looking over an advantage point. He showed them their target point and explained the plan.
"Here it comes," Beckett said as he showed them a train making their way to Fort Ypos. "Take a look."
Han nodded. "Yeah."
"We hit the Conveyex between the tower and the bridge. Rio drops us in, we separate the payload container, cable it up to the AT-hauler, and then..."
"Rio jams their distress signal. I blow the bridge, the container slides right off the track and we sail away." Val finished explaining the plan.
"You trip that security beam, wake up those Vipers, it's liable to get real spicy, real fast," Beckett said as Lena eyed the tunnel.
"Well, I'm not the one you should be worried about," Val stated. "Enfys Nest."
"What's an Enfys Nest?" Lena asks.
"I told you, we're way ahead of the competition on this one." Beckett stayed, ignoring her. "There's no way Enfys Nest even knows about this shipment. Only my guy has the intel."
"Well, you better be right. Yeah?" Val stated as she stood up. "Because sometimes, you put your faith in the wrong people." She then stood up and began to make her way back to camp.
"Our whole future depends on this one score and you bring in amateurs," Val stated with a scoff as they sat around the campfire they started.
"In case you hadn't noticed, we're a little shorthanded," Beckett said.
"So we get who we need. The Xan sisters, or Bossk. But, no, instead you're putting our lives in the hands of morons." Val stated
"You guys morons?" Beckett asks the group.
"No!" Han promises.
"Of course not," Casey stated.
"No!" Lena agreed.
"See?" Beckett was fine with that answer.
"Look, we've been waiting for a chance to get out of our problem, and we're not going to crew it up now," Han promises.
"Oh, come on, Val, he looks so sincere." Rio seemed to be okay with them. "Plus, have you ever tried to disinvite a Wookie to anything?" He questioned with a laugh. "Not a good idea!"
Chewbacca even laughed and chuckled at that one.
"Not to mention, she is a little scary," Rio said as he eyed Claire. "I think she's thirsty for battle. Almost like one of those warriors in stories."
"Only a little," Claire said with a grin.
"You truly scare me," Qi'ra commented.
Casey exhaled deeply, easing into the comfort of his attire tailored for the frosty environment. He was garbed in a nearly all-encompassing black suit that left only his visage uncovered, complemented by a loosely hanging scarf around his neck. Perched atop his head were goggles, poised to protect his vision against the harsh winter conditions.
"Look, now, I have great instincts about these guys." Beckett defended his decision. "And, besides, do you see any other options?"
"I just hope you know what you're doing." Val sighed.
"Yeah, I know exactly what I'm doing and why," Beckett promised. "We're gonna clear our debts, go back to Glee Anselm, and I'm finally gonna learn how to play that valachord."
"Babe, you're never gonna learn how to play the valachord." Val scoffed as she sat down.
"She's right. You are tone-deaf." Rio agreed.
"What about you?" Han asked Chewbacca. "What are you gonna do with your share?"
Chewbacca then growled, which only Lena and Han were able to follow and understand.
"What'd he say?" Pace wonders.
"He said...the Wookies were enslaved by the Empire, taken over Kashyyyk," Han was trying to translate.
"He's searching for his... can't tell if it was tribe or family." Lena shrugged not much practice with her Wookie speech.
"Is there a difference?" Beckett asked, followed by him placing his blaster into the hilt with a spin.
"Show me how to do that," Han asked him.
"The only thing you need to learn to do is do what I say when I say it," Beckett said as he started to take off fragments of the gun to put it at the normal size. "And this time tomorrow, you and your friends will have more than enough to buy your own ship."
Beckett then passed the gun over to Han who looked over the blaster. Pace didn't seem to need one as his job was to hang back and stay on the ship. The group laughed and knew that tomorrow was going to be anything but easy. This was their last chance to be free and escape the terror of the Hutt and Empire.
The train kept to its precise timetable, matched by the crew's impeccable timing. Rio piloted the ship overhead, positioning Chewie, Han, Qi'ra, and Lena for their leap, while Casey stood by, arrow-nocked and ready. They descended onto the train car, confident in Rio's skills to jam the signal, preventing any calls for aerial backup.
"Val, how is it going up there?" Beckett asked.
Val and Claire were currently making it to the edge of the bridge, shooting grapples to get themselves up there and they began to place the explosives. They needed to destroy the bridge so that when they got the car detached from the rest of the train, they could fly off with the Coaxium as they had planned.
"Never better," Val replied, getting to work.
The team then started to hook themselves to the cars to make sure they didn't get thrown off. Casey used one of his special arrows which was laced with acid he got from someone who managed to get it from a Krayt Dragon. Opening the crate, they looked and saw the entire thing was full of Coaxium as they hoped.
"Coaxium." Han was happy to see it. "Enough to power a fleet!"
"Or blow us all straight to hell!" Lena proclaimed.
"She's right," Beckett confirmed.
"All right, talk to us," Rio called with Casey by his side. "Is it a good day?"
"It's a great day!" Beckett called out. "Best day of your life, my grabby friend!"
"I don't know, you've never been to a Mynock roast on Ardennia," Rio stated as he was keeping them steady. "It's nuts!"
Then they were suddenly getting shot at, causing them to look over and see Stormtroopers were beginning to make their approach to them. Han started to open fire, so did Beckett, and so did Casey as he grabbed his arrows and began to fire. Luckily the troopers were downwind, meaning they could shoot the arrows and send them to the troopers.
"Here they come!" Beckett warned everyone else. "Get down to the couplers!" Everyone did as he said and ran for cover. "Rio, fall back!"
"Well, that didn't take them long," Rio said as he moved the ship out of their range of fire.
The cars were starting to turn to their side, giving Lena a bit of a flashback when she escaped the Empire Prison transport. They all leaned back, while the Troopers activated their boots so as not to fall off.
"Chewie!" Han called when Chewbacca nearly fell off and grabbed his hand.
Casey grabbed Han, helping them drag the big Wookie back up. "You all right?"
"Little close there, buddy!" Han called.
"Han, what's the holdup?" Claire asked as they finished placing the explosives.
Han and Chewie then looked down at the car and saw the connecting rod. Casey grabbed one of his arrows that lit on fire, using that to help scorch them free. Han, Qi'ra, and Chewbacca began to try and rip them apart, using their combined strength. That managed to unbutton the train cars, getting them free of the oncoming troopers.
"They got one uncoupled. Where are you, buddy?" Beckett asked as Rio came flying back with the ship.
"Just up here planning my retirement," Rio admitted. "Thinking about opening a cantina somewhere warm but not too warm, you know?"
"Lowering the winch cables now!" Pace said as he helped out.
Cables started to be lowered down from their jet, making their way down to the train cars while the others were still working on getting back up.
As they were beginning to attack the cables to the car, Val and Claire were finishing on the explosives when they noticed hover cars flying off in the distance, making their way towards the train.
"I knew it! I told him!" Val proclaimed in anger.
"What is it?" Claire asks. "Who is it?"
"Enfys Nest!" Val explained, only raising more questions for Claire. "Beckett! He's coming!"
"Damn it!" Beckett proclaimed in anger, latching one of the cables to the car. "I'm never gonna hear the end of this!"
Then the same hover cars that passed Claire and Val came up to the train and swerved past. But it didn't take long until they were making their way back for the train.
Who's that?" Qi'ra asks.
"Enfys Nest!" Beckett quickly informed them.
"Marauders, pirates." Rio explained.
"Come to snake the score from under us," Beckett explained what they were doing.
They then began to open fire on them, trying to stop them from advancing on their score. But their blasters weren't doing much against their ships, and they were more or less circling one another.
"Ready your harpoons." Enfys Nest called as they started to shoot harpoons on their catch.
"Oh, hell, that ain't happening!" Casey proclaimed, taking one of his arrows and readying to shoot them down.
"Move in," Enfys tells one of his men, getting them to move in on their ship.
Pace was at the rear when the ship's hull was compromised, prompting a sharp cry from him. Reacting swiftly, he seized the nearest weapon—a wrench—and struck one of the intruders. However, another boarder lunged, knocking the makeshift weapon from Pace's grasp.
"Rio!" Pace called in terror.
"Hang on!" Rio called to Beckett. "I got an uninvited guest." He then pulled a blaster and opened fire on him, getting off of Pace. "Get off of my ship!"
Pace ducked down and allowed the two of them to retaliate fire between one another. Beckett managed to shoot one of them down from the outside, whilst Casey shot three split arrows, sending them flying into the three different pilots, sending them crashing. They saw the blaster fire from below, seeing Rio fall as he shot down the man.
"You still with us, brother?" Beckett asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Rio groaned as Pace ran over to his side. "Just nicked one of my shoulders. It's nothing."
"Uh, guys, he's not okay," Pace tells them.
The ship then began to crash on top of the train cars slowly. Han looked over to his friends who were still latching the cables onto the car.
"Go, we got this!" Lena promised.
"Han!" Beckett called as he and Casey kept shooting their attackers.
"I'm on it!" Han called as he ran over to the ship so he could take over piloting.
"Val!" Beckett called into the comms. "Keep your eyes open. We just tripped a sensor."
Val was climbing underneath the tracks while Claire looked over and noticed the station opening. Several probe droids began to exit and make their way down the tracks.
"Tell him we're ahead of him there," Claire said as she leaped underneath the tracks to stay hidden.
"Viper droids headed your way!" Val informed them.
Han made it on board and saw Pace was trying to mend to Rio's wounds. Han ran over and saw his back was scorched from the blaster fire.
"He okay?" Han asks.
"Yeah, it looks worse than it is," Rio promised.
Pace however didn't seem to share his enthusiasm. "I don't think so..."
"Don't worry. Just gotta patch it up." Rio said. "Maybe rest my eyes for a minute."
Han then jumped into the pilot seat as Rio started to faint and fell out of the seat and Pace carried him to the secondary seat. Beckett almost got hit by the last cable while Val and Claire were helping by shooting the probe droids to keep them off their backs.
"Enough! I'm going in." Enfys Nest stated, driving his chair over to Beckett.
Casey however beat him to it, blocking Beckett and Enfys Nest from one another. "I don't think so." He stated, turning his bow into a staff with a button push. "Get off my train!"
Enfys Nest then charged in while Casey managed to dodge the swing from his staff, then used his own staff to smack his face which then gave Enfys Nest an opening to smack him with an electrical strike from the staff she carried. Casey was zapped and felt limp as he was then falling when Chewwie grabbed him before he fell off. Han was able to get their ship back on track and off the mountainside and the train, keeping it steady.
"You weren't lying, kid," Rio said as Pace tried to tend to his wounds, but they weren't helping much. "You're a hell of a pilot."
"Rio, stay with me, buddy," Pace tells him, seeing Rio getting weaker. But Rio then tilted his head over, and Pace was sorry to say he didn't make it. "Rio? Rio!"
Han watched as Enfys Nest managed to get one of the cables off, and the others were shooting cables of their own. "Beckett, we just lost a cable!"
Beckett looked and saw they were closing in on the cables and went after Enfys Nest with his blaster, getting him to stop cutting the cable.
"We gotta go!" Qi'ra stated.
"Get on the ship!" Beckett called, seeing he couldn't risk their lives right now.
"Beckett, we're .8 from the bridge!" Han warned him. "Val and CLaire are still on the track!"
"Val, you gotta get off that bridge!" Beckett warned as he boarded the ship. "We're here!"
Val and Claire were blocked off from their escape with the probe droids having them pinned. Claire looked down and saw she only had one wire left, and it wasn't strong enough to carry her and Val at the same time.
"They got us pinned!" Claire tells them.
"Not us." Val denied her. "You need to go."
"I am not leaving you. Were in this together, right?" Claire asks.
"We got you into this, and I am not letting you die because of me," Val promises, pulling out the detonator. "I'm gonna have to finish the job from right here."
"What?" Beckett asked as they were closing in.
"Get out of here!" Val cried to Claire.
Claire saw she wasn't going to budge and saw her window was closing, shooting out a cable to latch onto the mountain. She then yanked herself away and slammed into the mountain where she then landed on the train, making herself roll down and making it for the ship.
Val saw Claire leave and saw she was out of time. "It's been a ride, babe. And I wouldn't trade it for anything."
"Val!" Beckett cried in terror.
Val then set off the explosives, giving them their opening to take the cargo with them. Enfys Nest jumped off when he saw the explosions and escaped.
"Chewie, now!' Han cried as Chewie needed to detach the cable to the cars.
When they were able to detach the cars, they started to fly off and Chewie managed to catch Beckett who was going to fall due to the explosions. They were hanging on the cable car as they watched as the Enfys Nest crew kept their cables attached as they were currently heading for a mountainside.
"Beckett, I can't pull it away from them," Han said as the mountain was closing in.
"They'll let go, you fly straight!" Beckett proclaimed.
"Release your cables, or die!" Enfys Nest crew warned them.
Han looked to the others who were left, then to the mountain closing in. "We're too close. I gotta release."
"You do what I tell you, Han!" Beckett cried in anger.
He's right." Qi'ra knew Han made a decision already and he was right. "Chewie, grab the line."
"Don't you do it!" Beckett warned him.
But Han had already done it, and Enfys Nest and his crew managed to make it off with the Coaxium falling due to the cables detaching. The explosion was massive, taking the entire mountain with it.
"Han!" Beckett cried as they flew off. "You coward!"
Beckett then created tombstones for Rio and Val. He was left alone as the rest of them hung back to give him the space they thought he needed. Han then decided to approach him, only for Beckett to turn around and punch him, sending Han toppling.
"What the hell?" Pace asked.
"You don't listen and you can't follow orders!" Beckett cried in anger. "You have any idea what you've done?" They weren't following. "We were not stealing for ourselves, we were hired by Crimson Dawn."
"Crimson Dawn?" Qi'ra asks.
"You mean the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn?" Casey asks in terror.
"Yeah, that Crimson Dawn. Now we owe them 100 keys of refined Coaxium." Beckett confirmed. "When they find out we don't get it, they're gonna kill us."
Chewie growled, pointing out, stating they should run.
"Right. We run." Han agreed. "We're already fugitives. What's the difference?"
"The difference is the Empire doesn't send out a team of enforcers to hunt you down when you're a fugitive," Beckett proclaimed. "Dryden Vos will. You have any idea what it's like to live with a price on your head? The only thing to do is to go to them. Maybe I can find some way to make it up to him."
Han saw this was partly his fault and knew he needed to make it up. "Then that's what we do."
Beckett scoffed. "No. He knows me, not you or your guys. If you come with me, and show your face, if they don't kill you, you're in this life for good."
"You find some way to... square this, we still get our money?" Han wonders.
"Maybe." Beckett shrugged.
"For me, it's worth the risk." Han shrugged and looked at the others. "How about you?"
"Meh." Casey shrugged.
Chewie growled.
"That's yes." Lena shrugged.
"Yeah, we've come this far." Claire agreed.
Beckett nodded as they started to make their way off. "Sorry, I punched your face."
"Happens more often than you think," Han admitted.
Traveling by foot due to losing their fuel, they began to make their way off into the distance as it seemed that he was supposed to meet up with Crimson Dawn here on this planet.
"So when we get up there, Dryden Vos is waiting for us at Fort Ypso?" Lena asks.
"Nearby, on his yacht," Beckett replied.
"You're gonna know how to find it?" Claire asks.
"That won't be a problem," Beckett said as he gestured out to the sky.
They looked out and saw a Nau'ur-class yacht. This was the First Light a Nau'ur-class yacht owned by the near-human crime lord Dryden Vos of Crimson Dawn who used it as a personal residence and mobile base of operations for the crime syndicate. They headed inside where they saw someone waiting in the doorway.
"I'll need to check your weapons." He warned them.
Beckett then spins his blaster, giving it over to him. "That's all I got left."
They headed inside after handing over their weapons and saw there were a lot of people on board the yacht, as well as a singer. They were amazed at the different people and species around the area.
"I'm here to see Dryden," Beckett told one of the people. "He's expecting me."
"Tobias!" Someone called out, getting them to look and see Dryden was heading towards them as Beckett approached.
"Dryden," Beckett said as Dryden embraced him.
"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Dryden asks.
"No, I'm fine," Beckett promises.
"I'm sorry to hear about Val," Dryden said in sorrow.
"Yeah, I appreciate that," Beckett replied. "But there was no way we could've anticipated..."
"I don't believe we've been introduced," Dryden commented as he approached the team.
"Yeah. This is Han Solo and Chewbacca, Qi'ra, Lena, Claire, and Casey." Beckett introduced them. "They're with me."
"I'm Dryden Vos." He introduced themselves. "Well, it's good to have you. Welcome. All right, let's eat a little drink a lot, and talk privately."
They then headed into Dryden's private office so they could talk out of view of everyone else.
"Beckett, you have put me in a terrible position," Dryden said as they walked around.
"I know Dryden and I am sorry," Beckett said.
"You're sorry?" Dryden asked in anger, approaching him, and holding his collar.
"Dryden, there were complications." Beckett defended. "There were factors. Enfys Nest has been a constant irritation forever."
"It's one you should've anticipated, it's one you should've dealt with." Dryden proclaimed.
"Trust me I know I made a mistake but, when you hired me, you told me no one else had this information..." Beckett defended.
"Test me! Test me one more time, you'll see what happens." Dryden warned him.
Dryden, what can I do to make this right?" Beckett asked as Dryden began to release him.
"Make this right? There is no making this right." Dryden proclaimed. "You know who I answer to and you know what he'll expect of me. He'll say, there have to be consequences. So here's what I need you, to do for me. I need you to give me a reason, not to kill you all."
"Because I will make it up to you," Beckett promised, watching the guards in the room aiming their weapons.
"No, no, no. How?" Dryden asked, preparing to shoot. "How will you make it up to me?"
"By delivering exactly what was promised," Beckett replied, raising his hands.
"100 k-grams of refined coaxium?" Dryden asks.
"Yes. We will simply steal it from somewhere else." Beckett promises.
"From where?" Dryden asked, taking a seat. "You'll be hard-pressed to find that anywhere outside an Imperial vault."
"Scarif. Maybe Mercy Island." Qi'ra offered some suggestions.
"That's impossible." Casey shot those down.
"What about unrefined?" Han offered, getting everyone to look at him.
"Well, the only known source of astatic coaxium is a fissure vent beneath the spice mines on Kessel," Qi'ra informed them.
"Yeah. That's the one I was thinking of." Han stated.
"That's a very, very good one." Dryden agreed. "But see the Pyke's control Kessel. Crimson Dawn maintains a fragile alliance with the Pykes. It's one that I can't jeopardize without risking an all-out war with the Syndicates, and that gentlemen, I will not do. So if that's all you have, I think we're done here."
Then his men began to take aim again. "Not all we have," Pace called out. "We don't have any alliance with the Pykes."
"Right! Right, so nobody is gonna know we're working for you." Lena agreed
"Possible." Dryden shrugged. "It's risky. As soon as the raw Coaxium is removed from the vault, it starts to destabilize so..."
"Unless..." Han called. "Unless?"
"Unless...unless you could find somewhere, to get it processed fast." Claire offered.
"Where can we do that?" Pace asks.
Chewie then growled, getting their attention.
"He's saying Savareen?" Lena asked, seeing Chewie nod. "Savareen."
"Yeah, it's an old refinery there and it's not under Imperial jurisdiction." Claire members. "I went there once as a child."
"But the canisters will explode before you get there so..." Dryden warned them. "...you'd need an incredibly fast ship and a brilliant pilot."
"We'll find a ship," Han stated. "We've already got the pilot."
Dryden chuckled, seeing Han's arrogance. "He is arrogant and he's hungry. All right." He then stood and his men lowered their weapons. "I'll see you all on Savareen."
Beckett was surprised to see this worked. "Savareen it is."
"I feel great about this plan," Dryden stated as they started to walk out.
"Me too," Casey said as they left.
"We should do this again. It's been fun." Dryden says. "And just one more thing. If you do fail me again, we'll all be out of options. Right?"
"We won't," Claire promised.
They then got into the elevator and headed out. "So, I thought that went really well," Han said.
"Let's get this done as quick and as clean as possible," Beckett tells them.
"What do we need?" Lena asks.
"I can scrounge up the gear," Beckett promises. "Do you got a line on a ship?
"I know a guy," Lena said with a grin. "And I might even know where to find him."
The Watcher saw this story coming together and looked back out to the stars. "Across the Galaxy, these scoundrels didn't realize they were about to meet up with some protective people..."
The Protectors were currently meeting back up in the Stellar Sentinel and were being shown a map of Kessel. Peter was with Kate and was informing everyone what was going on.
"We got half of the money, but trust me, this might make it worth it," Peter tells them.
"Better than not needing to work for a decent meal for a while?" Kyle asks.
"This better be good," Amber said with a sigh.
"We're heading for Kessel," Peter told them, seeing the looks of shock from the team.
"Kessel?" Rex asks. "Why are we heading there?"
"We learned that's where the Wookies are being worked as slaves," Kate informed them.
"We're gonna head there in the disguise of wanting to sell slaves to the Pyke Syndicate," Peter explained the plan.
"Wait, what?" Kyle asks. "Now we are dealing with the Pykes?"
"Trust us." Kate tells him.
"Me, Rex, we will be the slaves," Peter told the Captain. "Kate, she will be the seller. Amber, you stick back in case we need a quick escape. Kyle, you will go as her bodyguard."
"Mandalorian bodyguard." Kyle chuckled.
"Sounds easy." Rex scoffed. "Too easy."
"All we need to do is have them transport us to where they keep the slaves," Peter explained his and Rex's plan. "We free the slaves with our combined power and skills. Kate and Cheep take out their defenses in the main room when they discuss the price for our heads. Kyle deals with any resistance on the way out, and we get out. We save the Wookies, and maybe take out a few Pykes along the way."
"What do you guys think?" Kate asks. "I am on board."
"It sounds like a good plan," Rex stated. "But the last time we dealt with something like this..."
"It won't go like on Zygerria," Peter promises, remembering back then. "Trust me, it was weird enough that I almost bought Ahsoka to free her."
"If I get paid enough, I will not be paying to get you back," Kate warned as she took a seat. "You guys can free yourselves."
"Good to see where your loyalty lies." Peter scoffed as he knew she was joking. "What do you guys think?"
The team seemed to consider their options and shrugged.
"Looks like were heading for Kessel," Peter stated with a grin. "Let's go free the Wookies."