Amir looked at his Master with the expression one reserved for elderly care.
"I'm heading out later. A friend from Coruscant wants me to play bodyguard for a bit," Amir said. Seneir had already contacted him, and they'd set the meet for tonight.
Kain walked up as well. "Amir, tomorrow is the day the Pykes' spice base throws its 'party.' You want to go take a look?"
"I've got something to handle," Amir said. "What, you going to watch the show?"
"Of course," Kain said with a grin. "I'm the one who invited the 'guests' in. I have to see how it plays out. Boba Fett will be there too. He invited me today, actually—but I didn't agree. This time I'm just watching. I'm not getting dragged in."
Not getting dragged in… when you're the one who stirred the whirlpool in the first place.
Looks like this incident had already become a rare feast in the galaxy's underworld. No wonder Hondo had been willing to go undercover for so long.
He'd even climbed to second-in-command, and the boss conveniently died—if Amir hadn't shown up, Hondo would've become the boss himself.
Amir was still curious what Seneir intended to do. That squid-faced guy wasn't like those short-sighted bounty hunters and criminals who only saw profit.
Even when Seneir did things that looked similar on the surface, he always had a deeper layer of planning. Who knew what he was really scheming.
They chatted for a while. Millisyn overheard and immediately started shouting that she wanted to go too.
"This is work. I'm going to earn credits," Amir said. "You stay and study with Obi-Wan. I'll be back soon."
Obi-Wan suddenly said, "Ha. I can take you to meet a new friend."
Ever since Obi-Wan stopped insisting Luke had to become a Jedi, Owen's family had eased up on him. When Obi-Wan "happened" to ride his eopie past the moisture farm, he wasn't chased off immediately anymore. Sometimes Owen would even sit and exchange a few words.
But once it got too frequent, Owen would sour again. He'd look at Obi-Wan like a father-in-law judging a son-in-law—like he felt his precious cabbage was about to be stolen by a pig—then he'd shove Obi-Wan out without mercy.
Still, it had been a long time since Obi-Wan last visited Luke. Going once more should be fine… and he could bring a gift. But what gift?
Obi-Wan glanced at BD-4 lounging nearby. The little droid jolted—instinctively sensing danger.
Seeing that BD-4 wouldn't work as a gift, Obi-Wan's eyes drifted to the square backpacks in the corner and he got an idea.
"My good apprentice," Obi-Wan said, shameless despite the weak excuse, "you probably don't need all those packs. I'll take one to… study."
"You think I don't know what you're trying to do…" Amir sighed. "Take one. There's a smaller one over there—perfect as a kid version. Have Millisyn teach him how to use it. Don't let him injure himself."
"Thank you, Amir." Obi-Wan picked up the backpack. "Paint something on it, alright? Like the one Millisyn has."
Amir laughed. Obi-Wan looked like a kindly father choosing a present for his son—there wasn't a trace left of "one of the deadliest fighters in the galaxy."
"Sure!" Amir was happy anyone liked his work. He grabbed the spray tool and got to it.
This time he didn't paint anything too weird. He painted a small X-wing starfighter, with a starfield background, explosions, and dense blaster fire.
Obi-Wan nodded in satisfaction. Luke would probably be thrilled for a long time.
Meanwhile, Millisyn, excited about the "new friend," kept grilling Obi-Wan for details, but only managed to get one name.
"Come with me, No. 32," Amir said. No. 32 wasn't like Millisyn—his tough body and decent combat capability meant he could keep himself safe without Amir constantly worrying. He could also be genuinely useful.
More importantly, without No. 32 the Traveler didn't have a first mate. After experiencing what it was like to have someone help fly, Amir had become increasingly unwilling to do everything alone.
"Mm," No. 32 answered quietly.
Soon everyone split up, heading in different directions.
Seneir and Amir had agreed to meet at a moderately known station. The station had no official name. It had once been a Republic supply post. In the Imperial era it was seized by pirates, changed hands through several violent takeovers, and eventually ended up under a Hutt. The old station designation had been AX-30, and since nobody ever renamed it, the number stuck.
Today, AX-30 was a black market—crowded with every kind of creature, and packed with transactions happening in secret.
The Traveler landed in the port without attracting much attention. Amir and No. 32 pulled up their hoods and walked inside.
Compared to Eternal Ark, the environment here was worlds apart. Eternal Ark was an entertainment paradise; this place felt like an open sewer. Trash and dirty water lay everywhere with no one cleaning it up. Jawas, Trandoshans, Rodians—every species mixed together. Shouting, cursing, even blaster shots echoed constantly.
Amir sighed. So much for finding anything good to eat here.
When they reached the agreed bar, Amir spotted an entirely unmasked squid-headed Duros sitting by the counter.
"Seneir," Amir said as he walked up.
"Amir? Is that you?" Seneir turned, squinting. "Why are you covered up like that? And you brought a droid?"
"This is No. 32," Amir said. "A cyborg. Not a droid."
"And you…" Amir looked around. "You're not even disguising yourself? Aren't you a 'somebody' now?"
"Heh. 'Somebody.' I'm just a wage worker," Seneir said. "Who's going to recognize me?"
He chugged his drink, then wiped moisture off his tentacles with a napkin.
"Come on." Seneir stood. "We'll talk as we walk. I want to see how that ship's doing. Back then, I only handed it to you because I genuinely had no use for it. Otherwise I wouldn't have let it go."
"Tomorrow's when the spice base location gets released," Amir said. "So where are we going right now?"
"Spice base?" Seneir scoffed. "We're not going there. I'm taking you somewhere good. Heh."
"Where, exactly? When are you going to stop talking in riddles?" Amir was already annoyed just hearing that laugh.
"My people will leak a warning to the Pyke Syndicate early tomorrow," Seneir said. "They'll learn one of their bases is about to be hit. Then they'll deploy a lot of manpower. Since they won't know which base, they'll have to spread forces out and cover multiple locations. That means certain places will end up under-guarded."
Amir frowned. "How do you make them believe an attack is coming?"
"Easy. The crews that need to move will already be moving tomorrow morning," Seneir said. "We just nudge the Pykes, and they'll notice it themselves."
"So what's our target?" Amir asked again.
"We're going to take something," Seneir said, smiling even more smugly.
Where that is, he still didn't say.
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STAR WARS: RELICS OF THE PAST
🌌⚔️ STAR WARS: RELICS OF THE PAST ⚔️🌌
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📢 THE FORCE CALLS AGAIN! 📢
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Ancient secrets, forgotten relics, Jedi echoes, and buried truths wait in the shadows of the galaxy.
✨ Some things were lost for a reason.⚔️ Some powers should never be awakened.🌌 And some stories begin long after history tried to erase them.
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