Before coming here, Seneir had already mapped out the base's interior layout. The original plan had been to hide inside a cargo shipment, infiltrate deeper, and only then begin the operation—but that carried a high risk of discovery, and the timing would be uncertain. It would be easy to miss the window. And once you got caught during inspection, getting in again would be even harder.
The current situation was much better. Even though the clash came earlier than expected, they could go straight toward the target.
"Did your people warn the Pykes or not?" Amir asked. "I don't want to step out later and find ourselves sealed in from every angle—stealth won't save us then."
"Don't worry," Seneir said with a grin. "Before we even stepped off the ship, the Pykes had already received my kind reminder."
By now, alarms were blaring. The remaining forces throughout the base were converging on their location.
Amir wasn't too worried. The critical step was already done. Inside a fortress made of steel, if they managed to box him in, he'd take the loss.
Along their route, every blast door behind them—and every branch corridor they passed—sealed shut. And the power to those doors went dead. Opening them again quickly would be impossible.
The only thing they had to deal with was what was in front of them.
Amir had originally wanted to close every single door in the entire base, leaving only one route open—the route he intended to take. But the mental load was too heavy. His Force sense could cover the range, yes, but precisely distinguishing and controlling the countless circuits and lines was beyond him—at least right now.
Within roughly twenty to thirty meters around himself, though, he could still control everything with precision.
After only a short distance, they reached a different zone. Here, the structure was packed with rough stone, with alloy construction interlaced through it, creating a bleak, filthy, decayed look.
Amir glanced aside and saw someone skeletal slumped in a corner, groaning without sound.
The moment the prisoner noticed Amir, madness flared in his eyes. He dragged himself toward the cell door with everything he had.
So this was the prison block, Amir thought. The "rooms" were clearly cells, and the person inside had been tortured into this state.
But as the prisoner crawled closer, Amir finally heard the words he was muttering.
"Spice… give me… spice…"
Amir's sympathy turned into a bleak kind of pity.
He didn't bother responding. He kept moving deeper.
A squad of Pykes rushed out from the corner ahead—but the instant they showed themselves, Seneir's blaster opened up. The smart combat backpack behind him fired in sync.
Three Pykes who couldn't stop in time were instantly shredded.
Amir surged past Seneir, rounded the corner, ignited his lightsaber, and with a few precise sweeps sent incoming blaster bolts back where they came from—then followed with rapid cuts.
In a single exchange, seven Pykes died.
Blast doors continued to slam shut around them. They ran into a few more squads, all dispatched easily.
Seneir said cheerfully, "I thought once we were exposed, it'd be a real fight. But this doesn't seem that hard."
Amir shot him a look. If they hadn't sealed this many doors, there would be hundreds of Pykes swarming them. The corridors would be packed wall-to-wall with enemies. No matter how strong two people were, breaking out of that would be impossible.
Cutting through them like harvesting crops, they soon reached a lavish gate.
The dark alloy door was carved with elegant patterns, and where the lines met, clear crystals had been set into the metal. One glance was enough to know: there was something valuable behind that door.
But in the open hall directly in front of it, more than a hundred Pykes were waiting—weapons raised, aimed straight at them.
"Told you not to talk," Amir muttered, remembering Seneir's earlier brag.
"Tsk," Seneir said, looking sick.
The instant blaster fire erupted, Amir grabbed Seneir and yanked him back behind the corner.
A storm of bolts hammered the wall less than two meters in front of them, punching a dense layer of craters into the alloy. The metal even heated to a glowing red.
Amir wiped sweat from his brow. "We're fully burned. They were clearly waiting for us. This was set up."
Seneir frowned hard. By all rights, only he and Amir knew about this operation. He hadn't told anyone else.
Part of the reason he'd brought Amir was Amir's strength. The other reason was fear of leaks—no one around him was trustworthy.
And still, the worst case had happened.
This was a trap.
Seneir couldn't figure it out. He couldn't see where the mistake was.
"So what are you actually here for?" Amir asked.
"I didn't want to tell you," Seneir said, leaning against the wall and taking a deep breath. "But we're here now. I'm looking for proof that an Imperial official is colluding with the Pykes."
"And why do you want that?" Amir asked.
"He holds a major post on Corellia," Seneir said, forcing a bitter smile. "With that proof, I can make certain… trades with him."
"What kind of trade is worth charging into the Pyke base?" Amir pressed. "This is a lot of risk."
Seneir thought for a moment. "You remember Francis's incident? When you were making explosions, I got an entry ticket into Black Sun's core circle."
Amir nodded. So Seneir had joined Black Sun—an enormous criminal syndicate that thrived under the Empire's shadow. Its tendrils reached into every corner of the galaxy: from Coruscant's shining towers to Tatooine's dirty cantinas.
Many of its operatives didn't even realize they were working for Black Sun. They contributed anyway.
Black Sun's deepest core was in the galaxy's center—on Coruscant.
"I've been assigned to the Corellian system now," Seneir continued. "That region needs the board opened up. This official is an obvious pressure point, so I came."
Now Amir understood. "And you're sure the evidence is in that vault up ahead?"
"They just traded for a shipment of Imperial ships and high-end equipment. Reliable sources say it's stored in the vault," Seneir said. "If we get inside and record it, that's enough. Those are Imperial assets—if someone's leaking them for personal profit, the Empire won't tolerate it."
Even as he explained the objective, Seneir couldn't stop glancing back the way they'd come. He was already thinking about retreat.
"Where'd you get the intel?" Amir asked. He'd caught something.
"Black Sun's boss—" Seneir started, then froze. "Damn it. I get it now. The information might be real, but the boss's messenger can't be trusted."
Seneir's face twisted with regret.
Amir smiled slightly.
Seneir lifted his head toward Amir. "You're still smiling. Heh. That means you've got a way out, right?"
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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.
Follow the trail of ancient relics before the rest of the galaxy catches up.
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