The Wheel Space Station

Shen and Tanna Terran hustled through the corridors of the station as quickly as they could. Shen, who had lived along the Galactic Fringe on what his beloved sister would call his "adolescent adventures", moved fairly comfortably through. He had been traveling the Outer Rim seeking historical sites from ancient crisis and events that had fascinated him - going from Tython in the Deep Core to see ancient Jedi ruins to Dromund Kaas in Sith space to see the capital of the ancient Sith Empire and from the under-cities of the metropolitan world of Taris to the Shadow Lands of the arboreal world of Kashyyyk. He had fought pirates and ferocious primitive creatures and monsters and, while he would never consider himself a warrior, he could defend himself and his sister when necessary. Tanna, by contrast, had been a representative of the business ventures of House Terran, a noble house of Alderaan. They had both been away from their home when Alderaan had been destroyed. The official story was that the planet's core had suddenly gone critical. Of the billions of people who had called Alderaan home, only a few hundred thousand had survived all told, whether they traded off world or served in the Imperial military or were working on relief efforts of other devastated worlds. Whatever the truth was, Shen and Tanna were alone now. They had money but it wasn't unlimited and they had some resources. Indeed, they could live comfortably off what they had, roaming the galaxy with one of the trade fleets or in hiding, keeping their heritage a secret; but neither of them wanted to do that. They wanted to thrive. They wanted to live as they believed they deserved. More than either of those things, they wanted to know the truth: how and why did their family die?

"The tap caf is this way, Tanna. Stay close to me. Do you still have that hold-out blaster I gave you?" asked Shen, sounding nearly cheerful, as if the idea of a blaster fire fight would just be another exciting adventure.

"I have it, yes;" she said, "and I don't know why you're so cheerful, Shen. This place is disgusting."

"This is nothing;" chuckled Shen. "Up that way there is the best repair shop in the sector - Freemaker Salvage and Repair! I can't tell you the number of times they've fixed the ship I was on quickly and at a reasonable price."

"Indeed?" said Tanna sourly, "and how much money do you owe them at the moment?"

"Nothing!" said Shen huffily, "I always pay! You aren't the only one with money, you know! Hey, look! Isn't that one of our new associates?"

Tanna looked up and saw the tall, lean frame of Price Bostoco coming out of the repair shop, pocketing some credits and shaking the hand of a pair of youngish humans. "Ah, Mister Bostoco;" said Shen with a broad smile, "I see you made it. Did you sell your ship?"

"Yeah, I did. I don't have a use for it right now and when we're done, assuming we're successful, I'll be able to buy one to set myself up for the rest of my career."

"My friend;" laughed Shen as he threw an arm around the other man's shoulder, "when we're done, you won't need a career!"

Tanna allowed herself to smile at Price's discomfort and slipped to his other side, looping her arm around his other side. "My brother may be a garrulous juvenile at heart, but he knows what he's talking about. He's seen and studied events like this his whole life and discovered ruins from centuries and millennia ago. He has been awarded many times by historical institutions, museums, universities and so on for his finds."

"That's comforting I guess;" said the wrangler, his face reddening around the ears at her touch. "Either way, we should keep a low profile. If word gets around the galactic underworld that you have a credible lead to a massive treasure trove, they'll be after us and each other faster than a krayt dragon after a bantha."

"You worry too much, my friend;" said Shen with a careless wave of his arm. "How would they have found out? We've only approached you and the few we hoped would come with and assist us. Luckily, everyone we've approached has agreed to join us. No one could possibly know."

"That's assuming everyone you talked to kept their own mouths shut. Now I did but that doesn't guarantee that everyone did. All I'm saying is we shouldn't be cavalier about any of this. Let's keep a low profile, meet the others, get off this station and begin this search in earnest."

The Terrans and the wrangler found there way to the tap cafe and were happy to see that both of the other contacts were there. "Go get our friend the soldier, Tanna;" said Shen; "I'll grab Captain Groggs. Mister Bostoco, ask the bartender for access to the back room and give him this;" he handed Price a large denomination credit chip.

Price winced. "Mister Terran, that's a bad idea. Every merc, bounty hunter, crime enforcer or low level thug is going to know you and your sister are up to something if you do that. Let me handle this, please."

Shen shrugged and hurried over to the pirate captain. Price went over to the bar tender and said, "Give me a whiskey - Corellian if you have it. I have a couple questions if you're so inclined to answer."

The bar tender, a Quarren, studied him for a moment before shrugging. "I'll answer what I can. If I don't, take it as a friendly warning."

"Who do we have represented in this marvelous establishment today?"

The Quarren gave a gurgling chuckle and began to motion with his facial tentacles as he spoke. "Over there are a few low-levels from Black Sun. Scattered around in singles and pairs are of bounty hunters - mostly new or not-so successful. That group over there are from the Hutt Cartels but they aren't here on business so no one is dead - yet. See those dozen or so in the dark corner over there? They're Zann Consortium though what they're doing here is a mystery to me. Tyber Zann is still in Kessel last I heard. Anyone else is probably just a poor soul seeking solace in a glass or bottle. Why so curious?"

"Looking for work;" said Price, sliding a hundred credits to the bartender. "I'm a wrangler and big game hunter and hoped that I'd be able to find someone who needs my talents. Anyhow, do you have a private room that my associates and I can use for a couple hours?"

"If by associates you mean those two rich humans who have likely never been on a big game hunt or nerf drive in their lives, then sure thing;" replied the Quarren dryly.

Price chuckled and said, "Yeah, I figure; what would possess two rich kids like that to want to go on a big game hunt, I'll never know. I guess when you can buy anything you want, it's hard to find real thrills."

"If you think anyone in this room buys that, you're dumber than your two friends there, nerf herder;" laughed the Quarren.

Resisting the urge to wince, Price motioned to the Terran's and their new contacts and headed to a room in the back. As he glanced around the room, checking on who he thought might be developing interest in them, he noticed that the woman who followed behind Shen was doing the same thing. She noticed him noticing her and shot him a broad wink as she entered the room. Before Shen or Tanna could say anything, Price said, "Before we get started, just know that everyone in the tap caf knows we're up to something. I suggested that we were looking for work to give our wealthy friends here a thrill. I doubt it will work but we really didn't have time for anything else. I wouldn't be shocked if we have trouble on the way out."

The woman who had followed Shen chuckled and said, "You're probably right, bucko. Anyhow, we should probably start by getting to know each other. I'm Tenellian Groggs, Captain of the Selonian Scourge. At your service and all that, naturally."

The soldier, a man who looked to be older than anyone else, lifted a hand and said, "I'm Red Sixer; I served in irregular forces on the side of the Republic during the Clone Wars and am most recently of the Crimson Peregrins. I'm here to see to your security - something we need to seal down, by the way."

"And we will, my friend;" said Shen before motioning to Price who shifted uncomfortably before saying, "I'm Price Bostoco and I-"

"You're the best damned big game hunter, wrangler and finder of exotic creatures to ever travel the star lanes;" broke in Groggs. "I've heard you're the fastest draw in the Outer Rim, too, though Cad Bane seems to take the idea personally."

They were all silent before Price shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Not how I'd put it but it should suffice. Now how about you two? It's time we heard why we're all here."

Shen smiled and nodded. He stood and clasped his hands behind his back. "My sister and I are members of the Alderaan Remnant. While others are seeking a new home world or have joined the Rebellion wish two things: a way to regain some of what we lost with Alderaan materially and to find out how our world was destroyed and why. The first, I believe, is a simpler thing. We have brought you here to help us find the lost treasure of the Starlaner pirates."

Shen waited for a reply, studying each of the three fringers he had hired. Price was hiding his skepticism well and Groggs was looking at them with great interest. The old soldier Red Sixer seemed to not be interested himself. That made sense since he was going to be paid well either way. "One thing that we know about the Starlaner pirates is that they were operating along the Hydian Way when they were finally captured. None of their ships escaped the trap set by the Jedi and Judiciary forces. That means that all of their loot had to have been hidden somewhere along the Hydian Way."

Price snorted and lifted a hand. "That is a massive section of space - starting at Bonaden and ending at Imynusoph. Any chance we can narrow it down a little?"

"Give the lad a chance to speak, huntsman;" said the pirate lady with a wave of her hand. "Wealthy folks don't invest in this kind of venture unless they have some kind of surety."

Shen shot her a grateful look before continuing. "We can rule out vast swaths of the Hydian Way. They pushed into the Core Worlds several times, if my memory of history serves me, but they never stayed long. The same goes for the Corporate Sector - anywhere they may have run into massive amounts of armed resistance, they either avoided or made hit and run raids on. Where they made the raids isn't important, however. It's where they held up after doing so that we are interested in. Given how frequently they hit certain areas, we can likely narrow it down to either the Inner Rim."

He paused again, looking around at his new companions before continuing. "According to history the loot was never found. It was, for a hundred years or so, the big mystery that had adventurers and scoundrels all over the galaxy searching for it - much like the Old Republic Katana fleet of nowadays. Now, we know several things about the pirates themselves. One is that the captain of the group had an uncanny ability to choose where to be to find the best targets - raiding merchant convoys, corporate freighter fleets and even planetary colonies and facilities. Estimates state that they amassed massive amounts of artwork, the currency of hundreds of worlds, stockpiles of precious metals and stones, documents and books of ancient knowledge and who knows what else. None of it was ever recovered. That means that it is still out there somewhere, just waiting to be found."

"All of this sounds pretty amazing, Shen;" said Captain Tenellian Groggs, "but how do we actually begin to find it? Even narrowing it down to the Inner Rim, and then, only those worlds and areas near the Hydian Way itself, still leaves a massive area."

Tanna suddenly pulled a handheld holoprojector and activated before setting it on the table. A map of the galaxy, with all its borders and all its hyperspace lanes highlighted. After using a cable to connect her datapad to the device and began keying into it. Everything beyond the Inner Rim disappeared. Anything inward of the Core World of Brentaal did likewise. "What we need;" said Shen, "are copies of the ships logs found on the Starliner ships captured by the Jedi and such way back when."

Stunned silence followed that statement. Groggs cleared her throat and asked in as diplomatic a way as possible, "And how do we go about get logs of ships that are centuries old."

"We'd need to go to Imperial Center and hack into the old Senate Records. They would likely have them. I doubt that the Emperor would have a reason to alter such seemingly unimportant records. They have nothing to do with Jedi or the rebels or anything."

Finally, seeming to have taken all that he could, Price Bostoco began to chuckle deep and hard. He stood to his feet and shook his head. "I'm sorry, folks, but you can count me out. If this task requires that we go to the center of the Empire and slicing into government records, then it's done to begin with."

"Clearly you haven't heard;" said Tanna casually. "The Imperial Senate is dissolved and the Senate building has been locked down. I'm guessing that it wouldn't be all that difficult to break in, slice into the records and get what we need."

"We could also just put in a request for information on it;" said the old soldier Red Sixer. They all looked at him quizzically and he continued. "If this information isn't important to the Imperial rulers, why should we worry about simply running a search on it in the Imperial archives? Things like ships records from hundreds of years ago should easily be accessible."

They were all stunned until Groggs burst into raucous laughter. "What fun would that be, Red? All the same, I suppose we should keep it in the cargo hatch as a back up plan. You are right about one thing, Shen. A good slicer would be an excellent addition to our little crew here. I think I know just where to find one too."

Shen nodded his head. "Then that's where we can start. We'll find ourselves a slicer and then head into Coruscant to get our information."

Still shaking his head doubtfully, Price shrugged and said, "Alright, let's get moving. I already sold my ship so there ain't much else for me to do now I guess."

They all stepped out led by Price, only to jolt to a dead stop with Red walking into him. "Sorry;" the soldier muttered but then frowned. The big game hunter was looking around the room, eyeing some of the more shadowy corners. After several moments, he said, "No, my fault. Shouldn't have stopped in the middle of a doorway. Say, Red, what kind of combat experience do you have and-" and he lowered his voice to just above a whisper, "are you armed right now?"

"Yeah, I am and I've mostly done guerilla warfare in all kinds of environments: urban, jungle, mountain, swamp - just about any; what's going on, Bostoco?"

"There are some in this room and most likely outside who are going to cause some trouble;" explained Price. "I need you to have whatever weapon you have ready and to get our folks out and to their ship. I'll be sure to be behind you but you need to make sure they get outta here."

"I'll see to it;" said Red firmly, loosening the blaster in his holster. That's when Price noticed it for the first time - a type 1 DC-17 blaster pistol of early Clone Wars vintage. "I like your blaster; always heard they pack a hell of a-"

"Well ain't this interesting;" came a cool, wheezing voice from the entrance to the tap cafe. There stood the tall, lean figure of a Duros. His skin was a blue color and his eyes were red. He sported a long duster and a wide brimmed hat. In fact, he and Price looked like they had shopped at the same clothing store. "I've been keeping my eye out for you, Price; how have you been?"

"Not bad, Cad; haven't seen you since we were both sent to collect those Felucian rancors for Black Sun. I heard you had been contracted by the Zann Consortium since then but never saw you around when the fellow Urai Fen sought me out to gather up some Kouhuns from Indoumodo."

"Nasty things;" said the Duro's as he slid a toothpick into his lipless mouth. "What you have going on here, now? These are the usual lot of dung kickers, hunters and rip-corders you work with."

Price shrugged casually and thumbed back towards Shen and Tanna. "These two kids want to go on a big game hunt of some kind. I tried to get them to go after something like wildernerfs or something like that but they want bigger, badder game. I was barely able to talk them out of a krayt dragon hunt but I think we settled on some Bomas on the hunting preserves on Onderon."

"Your homeworld; that makes sense;" said the Duros and his red eyes narrowed. "and how much they paying you for the job?"

"Come on, Cad;" chuckled Price, "you know a gentleman doesn't share his rate. Why so interested anyway? Surely there's some bounty you may want to collect somewhere."

Cad Bane grinned and said, "Just finished and job and haven't looked yet. I keep hoping to see your name come across the board."

Price burst into laughter and said, "That would be a bad day for everyone but especially me. Come on, Cad! Who could I irritate so badly that they put a worthwhile price on my head? Better question: why're you so anxious to draw down with me? We both know how good we are and it's just as likely we both wind up dead or close to it."

The bounty hunter shrugged and dropped his hands, his thumbs in his gun belt. "Ran into some kids on Lothol who swore up and down that you'd come and kill me if I didn't leave him and his family alone. Turned out that his older brother got in wrong with the miner's guild and they put a bounty on his head. Does the name Axel Kitcher ring a bell, Bostoco?"

Price's jaw tightened; the name rang a bell alright. During a mission to bring in a stock of nerfs to a rancher company, they had run into a group of farmers. Price had helped prevent trouble by getting the farmers and ranchers together and showing how they could help each other out. Two of the farmers were the Kitcher brothers. They grew tall grain and had put him up while he stayed on the world since their property was right up against the ranchers nerf ranges. "Well;" drawled the bounty hunger, "they both tried to put up a fight, see? I had to kill the older Kitcher boy but decided that I'd let Axel go - minus a hand; blew it off when he went for his brother's blaster pistol. When he said what he said, though, I wondered if maybe I'd have to worry about you coming after me. Now blaster to blaster, I think I could take you but there's no accounting for a hunter - and this is coming for one. I'm willing to bet you'd rather get me with a shot from long ranger - increase your odds of success and all."

"Oh believe me, Cad;" said Price, his tone just barely under control, "if I'm after you, you'll know about it. After all, what fun is hunting pray that isn't trying to avoid you. What's more, what pray is better than a sentient being who can fight back? You know what I'm talking about, Bane."

The Duros chuckled and pulled aside his duster, revealing a pair of Blastech LL-30 Blaster pistols. "Why wait, then? Let's just get this outta the way."

Price chuckled, his temper dissipating. "Naw, not this time, Cad. Let's wait for a real reason to draw down before we commit to it, how's about that?"

With that, he touched the brim of his hat and led his new associates passed the Duros and out of the tapcaf. Just before he exited, Price heard Bane say, "No one touches Price Bostoco, you here? That one's mine if any bounty appears and even if it don't. Anyone who touches him but me, gets touched by me, got it?"

"Well that makes things better, doesn't it?" said Shen cheerfully as he exited. "No;" said Price, "that makes it much worse. You've never had Cad Bane after you and neither have I but he's one of the best in the galaxy, if not the best. There's always some toss-up between him and Boba Fett but as far as I'm concerned, he's more dangerous. Bane works on reputation and revels in cruelty. If he thinks he's going to have a reason to hunt me, he probably will. If he doesn't he'll make one up, simple at that."

"It can't be that bad;" said Tanna.

"It's worse;" replied Tenellian Groggs, her normally jovial voice somber, "we need to be careful as we move through the galactic underworld or else we'll give Bane an excuse to come after us. If that happens, finding this pirate treasure will be the very least of our worries."