"Maybe we should just forget it," Sein muttered.
"Yeah, maybe," Amir agreed.
The ship was far too aged—almost every component was beyond salvage.
The two of them began cleaning up the pile of scrap metal.
"What's this?" Sein, clearly discouraged, pointed at something that looked like a storage compartment. The cylindrical container was already damaged.
Amir, equally drained after spending an hour with nothing to show for it, dragged himself over and opened the compartment's lid. In the next instant, he shot upright and immediately pulled the item out.
It was a silver-white cylindrical object. Two symmetrical arc-shaped structures curved outward from the top. Minimalist grooves ran down the middle for added grip, and the bottom was rounded with a protruding square-shaped control module.
"A lightsaber! Sein! A lightsaber!" Amir shouted excitedly. Sein just stood there, stunned speechless.
Ten minutes later, the two of them sat around a table, staring at the gray hilt.
"This really a lightsaber?" Sein asked doubtfully.
"Should be. But where the hell is the switch? Where is it?" Amir muttered, wide-eyed and frantically scanning the hilt. After dreaming of holding one ever since watching the movies in his past life, the real thing was finally in his hands—and now he couldn't even turn it on! He had pressed every spot on the handle and still—nothing.
"Mature men, dinner's ready. Someone go fetch little Jay," Pierre called from the doorway.
Still locked in their stalemate, the two looked at each other. Amir suddenly grabbed the lightsaber and bolted out the door. "I call dibs for a few days!"
"Hey!!" Sein shouted, caught completely off guard.
There was no true night on this planet—only artificial cycles created by the orbital light-control systems. They followed a standard day-night cycle, dimming and brightening the artificial light around the planet.
The lights were dimming now. Coruscant was entering dusk, and the surrounding neon glowed even brighter.
Amir followed a familiar alleyway, checking location after location. Eventually, he spotted a group of rough-looking teens in an alley—Jay Mels was among them.
"Jay!" Amir called, walking toward the group.
"Amir!" The three of them turned to see him, smiling brightly.
"Long time no see. Nice hair, Lango. The green really suits you. Veronica—new arm model again?" Amir greeted them like old friends.
Before enrolling in the academy, Amir used to hang out with these kids all the time. Despite their fierce looks, they were all younger than him. Even the oldest, Veronica, a red-haired human girl, was only fifteen—one year younger than Amir.
"On break from the academy, Amir? Perfect timing—we just picked up a new gig," said Lango, a Falleen with a reptilian appearance, scales on his wrists, and skin that could change color at will—though he liked green the most.
"Alright, future underworld bosses of Coruscant, let's eat first and then talk business," Amir said, unfazed. Two years ago, they were already doing small-time jobs like these.
Usually, they'd just show up as muscle, strut around to intimidate people—it was never truly dangerous. Plus, it earned them a bit of spending money. Amir often tagged along.
"It's a job from Saynir. Two thousand credits each if it goes well," Veronica said, arms crossed. Her voice was as cool as her crimson hair.
Even calm Lango's eyes lit up.
Two thousand credits was no small sum. For street kids like them, that could mean living comfortably for a whole year.
But Saynir… They'd done a few jobs for him during school breaks. While they'd always made it out unscathed, something about those missions never sat right with Amir.
He turned and looked at the three of them, their eagerness obvious. Risky jobs, sure—but when they succeeded, they could feast at real restaurants instead of choking down the cheapest nutrient paste available on the market.
They rarely failed. Amir and Veronica would always vet the jobs and reject anything too dangerous. That's why most missions ended with only minor scrapes.
But desire is hard to suppress. When the reward is high enough, someone is bound to take the leap.
"So, if I hadn't come back, you'd have just gone through with it?" Amir asked with a smile.
Veronica silently nodded.
"Alright then. Let's meet at the usual spot tonight and talk it over," Amir said. His instincts told him to say no, but looking into their eyes, he couldn't bring himself to shut them down completely. He decided to hear the plan first.
Later that evening, Amir and Jay returned home and sat down for the dinner Pierre had made: a steaming cup of zongya tea and perfectly roasted Nuna chicken.
Having grown up with Earth chicken, Amir had initially refused to eat Nuna—it just looked too ugly. But now...
"This stuff is amazing!" Amir exclaimed, devouring the meat.
As they ate, Sein rambled on about the junk he'd collected during his latest trip—strange parts, outdated panels he treated like treasure. Amir listened eagerly. Pierre had heard it all before and tuned him out, while Jay clearly had his mind elsewhere.
Eventually, Jay's impatience won out. After dinner, the two of them hopped on Amir's heavily modified speeder bike, Cola, and rode off.
"This bike really wasn't made for two people," Amir said with a grin, glancing back at Jay, who was squirming and complaining about the tight fit.
"If this job works out, I'm buying an XP-30 landspeeder!" Jay declared boldly. He had no idea that his wishful daydream only strengthened Amir's determination to turn this job down.
The red speeder weaved smoothly through Coruscant's residential districts. Amir had always been an exceptional driver, whether on land or in the air.
Though the Cola was pieced together entirely from scrap, it was still a thrilling ride in Amir's hands. Jay, long used to the wild rides, wasn't worried at all. He shifted his seat, stuck his head out to feel the wind—like a happy little husky.
Eventually, they stopped by a small building. Amir and Jay skillfully climbed onto the roof from the side. It wasn't some dark underlevel—it was ground level. They'd discovered this abandoned building years ago, and its rooftop had become their "conference room."
Two figures were already waiting on the balcony.
"So? What's the job?" Amir asked bluntly.
"Straight to business, huh? Didn't expect that from you," Veronica said coldly, glancing aside.
Lango's green skin nearly turned purple. He wisely stayed silent. Jay hopped onto his usual ledge and kicked his feet.
"Ha," Amir chuckled, leaning on the railing beside Veronica. "Two years, and I've got nothing to show for it. But hey—I did bring some new parts. Might upgrade your arm a bit."
"Hmph." A slight smile curled at Veronica's lips. "I thought maybe the Empire sent you to arrest us or something."
Sensing the tension ease slightly, Lango jumped in, "So, should we go over the mission? If we pull this off, we can hit up Ice Eye Bar for a real celebration."
"Yes! What's Saynir got for us this time? Hopefully not another ridiculous fruit heist," Amir chimed in.
Veronica placed a holoprojector on the table. A human figure flickered to life before them.
"Our target is the item in this person's hands."