A city/warehouse on the planet Tao was busy with people going in and out of the city, as well as merchants and freighters doing their work between the various warehouses in the city. All under the strict supervision of the imperial troops patrolling the different areas of the city.
At that moment Brad, disguised as a businessman who was observing the stores, was walking through the place, followed by Frall disguised as a bounty hunter, and Drasha walking next to Brad in a dress that made it seem like she was his date, despite her muscular build appearance. And at the same time, Yavis was walking around disguised as a salesman, looking for something between the warehouses.
After watching a patrol of stormtroopers pass by without paying attention to them, the group stopped in front of a large door numbered with the number 08, and Brad spoke to a hidden communicator on his arm.
“We’re in front of the door. Where are you, Yokai 6?” Brad asked.
“I’m on my way.” Lop’s voice was heard through the communicator.
At that moment, Lop was crawling through the installations’ ventilation ducts while TD illuminated the path while showed a map to the Lepi about the path to follow.
“How could I end up in this situation?” Lop asked herself while remembering what happened hours ago.
In the Tengu, Brad, Drasha, Frall, Yavis, Byte, Lop, and TD were in the Lounge around the holotable.
“This is Nashioka. This city is one of the warehouse complexes on the planet, currently used by the Empire and foreign merchants.” Brad explained. “My contact told me that a group of junk dealers had recently found an old Clone Wars warehouse used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems.” He then faced Lop for a moment. “Or, for the less knowledgeable, the Separatist Army.”
“A Separatist warehouse? I thought that all of the droid army's hideouts were looted by the Empire after the end of the war.” Byte said.
“Well, it seems not, Byte," Frall said.
“And apparently, these junk dealers have left what they found in one of the city's warehouses. A kind of prototype weapon that was never fully developed.” Drasha said. “And guess who these junk dealers have contacted to sell them what they have found?”
“The Empire, right?” Lop asked.
“Exactly,” Brad said. “But we can't let them take it anyway. And that's why we're going to steal the shipment.”
“And do you know where that load is? The place is very big, and surely the Imperials will notice us if we start rummaging through all the warehouses.” Yavis said.
“Yeah, and more if they’re looking for us after what happened in the Yasaburô mansion,” Lop said.
“We don’t need to look for it. My contact told me in which warehouse it is kept. The warehouse 08. There is our prize.” Brad replied.
“We only need to get there and take the cargo,” Drasha said.
“And let me guess. That contact of yours won't be that Farghul, right?” Frall asked. Brad simply made a grin, making the Zabrak sigh loudly as he shook his head. “Oh, I should have known…”
“We know you don't like doing business with her, but we need the money for supplies and fuel,” Drasha said.
“And what hurts the Empire benefits us all,” Brad said.
“That if your seller does not belong to an imperial secret organization,” Frall said.
“I have my doubts that selling weapons to others can benefit us,” Lop commented.
“You think that the fewer resources the Empire has, the weaker it will be and the easier it will be one day to expel them from the planet,” Brad said.
“That's if we try to do that crazy thing,” Yavis said, soon looking at Lop. “No offense, but what can six people do against the entire Empire?” TD began to beep at his words. “Sorry, seven.”
“I know, after all, some of the Tao’s great families accepted the Empire’s presence on the planet,” Lop said, lowering her head.
“Each thing at its time. For now, let's focus on the mission.” Brad said.
“He’s right. Now that we know where to look, we just have to figure out how to get into the warehouse.” Drasha said.
“Well, if they've been upgraded by the Empire, I could easily hack the gate's controls to open it with my hacking computer,” Yavis said.
“And if that fails, which it can, I could sneak through the vents and open the warehouse from the inside,” Byte suggested.
“No, Byte. We need you on the Tengu to bring it to the loading zone near the hangar after we get inside it.” Brad said.
“Well, let's go. I don't think any of us can fit through the ducts.” Frall said.
“Fortunately there is someone who can,” Brad said smiling, facing Lop.
Lop looked at him, making everyone stare at the Lepi. “What? Are you sure?”
“Seriously? The Lepi?” Frall asked.
“Its size is perfect for passing through the ducts. What's more, she will be able to open the door for us when she gets inside. This way you won't have to take out your equipment, so we will prevent any imperial guard from seeing what you are doing. We will only have to be in front of the door and act normally while Lop reaches the interior of the warehouse.” Brad explained.
“You can’t be serious,” Lop argued. TD beeped arguing with her.
Back in the warehouses’ ducts.
“I can't believe I let myself be convinced to take this part,” Lop said as she kept crawling through the ducts.
“You wanted to be part of the group, and I told you that I would put you to the test. Well, here's the test, miss.” Brad said through her communicator.
“Yes, but I expected something other than this,” Lop said.
“We also jump into the mud when necessary, so don't complain, Big Ears,” Frall said.
Lop made an annoyed face when she heard Frall while she was advancing through the ducts. Eventually, she got out of the ducts on the structure’s roof. Then she began to jump through the roofs of the different warehouses until she reached the one she had to reach, immediately entering the ducts again without being seen.
It didn't take long for her to reach the interior of the warehouse, and after looking around, only seeing some large boxes inside the warehouse, Lop went to the door and activated the controls inside to open it.
"Good job, girl!" Frall exclaimed as Yavis got closer to him.
“Was there any doubt?” Lop asked them.
“Yes.” Was the duo’s answer.
Lop looked annoyed by their answer but was taken by them when they went to the boxes with Drasha, while Brad opened the way to the warehouse’s port just when the Tengu began to land nearby.
“Okay, does anyone know what we're stealing?” Byte asked while landing the ship.
Yavis opened one of the boxes, his eyes widening when he saw the interior.
“No way! This is…” Yavis exclaimed in shock.
“Yavis, what happened?” Frall asked.
Then Yavis went to the larger box and opened one of the sides, revealing what seemed to be a large yellow cannon with a platform to tilt the cannon.
“No way… they actually finished it on time!” Yavis exclaimed.
“Yavis, what’s this weapon?” Lop asked.
“Guys, let me introduce you, the Defoliator,” Yavis replied, looking at the cannon.
“The Defoliator? The separatist’s secret weapon?” Drasha asked.
“What?! Are you serious?!” Byte asked through the communicator.
“What is special about this weapon?” Lop asked.
“Oh, Lop, you have no idea!” Yavis said, looking at Lop. “This weapon was designed to destroy all organic life in a specific area! A single shot from this weapon can incinerate a large area around the impact zone.”
“What?!” Lop asked in shock.
Yavis inspected the weapon more closely.
“No doubt. It seems to be the final model. They must have finished building it before the Clone Wars ended.” Yavis said.
“But why does the Empire want a weapon like that?” Lop asked.
“Knowing the Empire, surely to inflict terror on whoever rebels against them,” Frall said.
“Just imagine the damage an armored Imperial tank unit with this weapon could do to a settlement,” Brad said as he approached them.
The mere idea that such a weapon could be used against innocent people terrified Lop more than she thought possible.
Meanwhile, at the spaceport, an imperial transport was landing at the port. Ochô came out of the door of the ship, accompanied by several stormtroopers.
She was soon greeted by a twi’lek junk dealer along with several of his companions.
“Are you the junk dealer who contacted us?” Ochô asked the twi’lek.
“Yes, miss. I’m Celos Fot, and I hope you've come to buy what we have.” The junk dealer said.
“If you truly have what you claim to have, the credits will not be a problem. Director Prar is quite interested in that weapon that you have found.” Ochô said.
“Of course, miss. If you come with us, we'll take it to the warehouse where it is.” The junk dealer said and began to walk into the warehouses’ section followed by Ochô and the imperials.
“I don't understand why we should pick up an ancient weapon from the Clone Wars.” A stormtrooper asked.
“Director Prar isn't interested in how this weapon works. The Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research is the one interested in that weapon. For my part, they would dismantle that thing. Such a weapon could incinerate Tao in days if used mindlessly.” Ochô said to the stormtrooper.
Back in warehouse 08, Brad began to take the boxes to the ship.
“We can't let the Empire keep these things! We must take them now! Cannon included!” Said Brad while taking one of the boxes to the Tengu.
“Good idea,” Yavis said as he closed the Defoliator’s box, using the box’s repulsorlift to move it to the Tengu.
The others quickly began to move the boxes to the Tengu, but then the junk dealers and the imperials reached the warehouse.
“Hey, what are you doing with our cargo?!” Celos asked, seeing what was happening.
“Oh, man, great timing!” Frall cursed as he carried one of the boxes.
At that moment Ochô recognized Lop among the group, just as Lop looked at the imperials and junk dealers.
“Lop?” Ochô asked, surprised.
“Ochô!” Lop exclaimed seeing her.
“Watch out!” Frall said, pulling Lop as he ran into cover.
The junk dealers and the imperials began to shoot at them, also forcing Drasha to take cover as she opened fire at them.
“Take the boxes to the ship, quickly!” Said Brad as he rushed to aid the group against the attackers firing his own blaster.
“You heard the boss, go!” Frall said to Lop as he kept shooting.
Lop leaned to look Ochô worried as she stayed hidden from the Yokai’s fire behind the stormtroopers, but TD beeped near Lop, convincing her to push the cargo box to the ship while the others covered her, the Lepi being aided by Yavis to get the boxes into the Tengu.
“Return our goods, you thieves!” Exclaimed Celos as he kept firing.
“Yokai 2 and 3, time to go!” Ordered Brad.
“Fine,” Frall said, beginning to run while firing behind them, as Drasha began to run too.
“Yokai 1 to Tengu! Ready!” Exclaimed Brad to his communicator as he ran to the ship with the others.
“Okay, let’s go!” Byte said as he began to fly the ship.
Brad, Drasha, and Frall jumped inside the ship, the moment the Tengu began to fly away from the city, getting into hyperspace to escape.
“Man, that was close.” Said Frall, stretching his arm.
“Too close for my interest,” Drasha said, then she looked at Lop who seemed depressed, and approached her. “I know you wanted to talk with your sister, but for now trying to talk with her will be dangerous. Don’t worry, you will get your moment someday, just be patient.”
“Yes, maybe you’re right,” Lop said.
The Lepi began to walk to the ladder, but then saw Yavis looking at the container with the Defoliator, but then he looked at Brad, who was already up.
“Hey, are you sure we should sell this thing to her?” Yavis asked Brad.
“I know what you feel, Yavis. But still, we need the money to get supplies and fuel for the Tengu. And if you don’t mind, I need to confirm the reunion with her.” Brad said.
“Yeah, that’s the problem,” Yavis said. “As you know, I worked for the Empire as an engineer some time ago, as well as studying the weapons of the Clone Wars, and I know that this weapon could be very dangerous in the hands of anyone who owns it, especially in the Empire. Maybe we should destroy the Defoliator and the ammo.”
Lop was a little surprised to hear that Yavis was an engineer of the Galactic Empire in the past.
“Don't worry. You already know that she never does business with the imperials, so they won't get hold of it so easily,” Brad said as he climbed the ladder.
Yavis stood silent as he crossed his arms.
Meanwhile, at Tao’s Capital City in the Yasaburô mansion, Director Prar was receiving Ochô’s report through a hologram.
“Describe the thieves, officer Ochô.” Prar requested while crossing his arms.
“I saw six. Two adult men, a male zabrak, a togruta, and to my surprise, Lop and her droid TD were with them.” Ochô said. Prar’s eyes widened after hearing her report. “It seems that, as you guessed, Lop has joined a group. And one of them was the person who, according to you, rescued both Lop and my father.”
“Well, losing the Defoliator has been a blow, but knowing that both Brad and Lop are in the same group reduces the search effort quite a bit,” Prar said.
“Oh, I don't think so, sir.” At that moment Celos appeared in the hologram.
“What do you mean, mister?” Prar asked.
“I was sure that they would try to steal my merchandise, or that you would try to screw me over. For that reason, I placed a transmitter in one of the containers.” Celos explained.
Ochô turned to the twi’lek surprised.
“Does that mean you will know where they will be?” Asked Prar, leaning on the hologram.
“We just have to follow them wherever they go,” Celos said with a grin while crossing his arms.
“What do I do? Prepare the troops?” Ochô said.
“No, Ochô. Return here.” Prar said. “I will send my men to hunt them. This time the Lepi won’t escape.” Prar made a wicked grin after these words.
In the Tengu, Lop was walking through the ship with TD on her shoulder while making time. She knew that the person who was going to buy the Defoliator was waiting for them somewhere else on Tao, but they were using hyperspace routers to elude any imperial ships that might follow them. Also, she noted how Yavis was silent with everyone. She tried to speak with him, but he shued her away.
“Uhm, Lop, can come a moment?” Byte asked her from the cabin.
Lop got inside the cabin, sitting at his side.
“I know what you want to do, but trust me, he wants to be alone right now,” Byte said.
“You seem to know him better than the rest,” Lop asked.
“Yeah, let’s say that I've been his best friend from the day I was repaired. You can consider me as his confidant.” Byte said.
“Honestly, I don't know what's wrong with him. At first, he was surprised to see the weapon in the store, and now it seems he doesn't want to know anything about it.” Lop said.
“If you knew,” Byte commented. “You knew that he worked for the Empire once?”
“I think I heard him say something about it,” Lop said, TD making some beeps.
“The truth is, Yavis worked for the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research. That department is in charge of developing the most terrible weapons of the Empire. Yavis witnessed the fearsome power that some weapons possessed.” Byte explained.
“Moreover, during the Clone Wars, the Galactic Republic created the Electro-Proton Bomb, a weapon designed to damage droids and vehicles alike. That bomb could turn off a whole city, sending it back to the dark ages.” Byte kept talking. “You know that the Empire was developing a bomb that mixes both weapons?”
“Are you serious?” Lop asked, surprised.
“Yeah,” Byte replied. “Yavis was in that project before he defected. He knows the weak points of the weapon and how it will not work right now. And now he fears that if the Empire gets hold of this complete model, they may complete what he believes to be one of the most devastating weapons in the galaxy.”
Lop was silent for some seconds. “Maybe I should leave him alone for now.”
“Well thought,” Byte said. “By the way, do you plan to do some kind of Jedi training?”
“And how? As far I know, nobody here knows how to train somebody to be a Jedi.” Lop replied.
“Yes you're right. And looking for one these days is dangerous.” Byte said.
The two then turned toward while the BX droid took the ship out of hyperspace, getting into Tao after making sure they were safe.
The Tengu kept flying until it reached an isolated area surrounded by rocks, where the ship landed. And soon everyone was getting ready in the cargo bay with the boxes.
“Okay, now let’s get these boxes out and get paid,” Brad said.
“Still I believe that this is a bad idea, Brad,” Yavis said. “Do we even know who she's trying to sell this thing to?”
“I'll tell you who he's not going to sell it to, the Empire,” Brad said. “And I already made a deal with her, so let’s get these things out of the ship, okay?”
The group took the cargo boxes out of the ship and into the ring of rocks while Byte stayed in the ship, where they met a group of smugglers of various races. And one of them was a female bipedal felinoid, who approached them.
“Welcome, Brad. I hope the mission was not difficult.” The female felinoid said.
“It depends on what you see as difficult, Zaneye,” Brad replied to her.
“What’s she?” Lop asked Drasha.
“She’s a Farghul, Lop. Be wary of her, as her race is known to be cheaters and thieves.” Drasha warned Lop.
“Do you have the load that I told you about?” Zaneye asked.
“Yes, we have it. But you could have warned us that it was an old Separatist secret weapon.” Brad said. "And before you say something, you only said that it was found in the Separatist hideout. Nothing about weapons."
“Would you have accepted the assignment if you had known?” The female Farghul asked. “Now, what's your problem exactly?”
“We don't like being used,” Frall informed her.
“Look, I can only promise you that the payment is good. We also need those cargo boxes.” Zaneye insisted. “So I suggest that you hand over the goods in exchange for the credits and I will guarantee that the buyer won’t make any trouble.”
“That depends on who the buyer is,” Yavis said. “And can you tell us why someone would want a Defoliator?”
“Look, it is right that it is mainly a weapon, but as you should already know, any technological improvement always comes to the public after being used militarily.” The Farghul said. “Imagine the different uses of a weapon that can burn hectares of land can be useful.”
“But what use could a weapon like that possibly have?” Lop asked.
Zaneye looked at Lop before looking at Brad. “New in your team?”
“Yes, and she's from this planet, so you can be sure she's worried that a weapon capable of burning entire areas could damage this planet,” Brad said.
“From this planet? Never heard of Lepi living here.” Zaneye replied.
“That’s not the question,” Drasha replied. “We are more interested in why someone would want such an obsolete weapon.”
“I wouldn’t call it an obsolete weapon. It still works perfectly fine, even though its original owner has been long dead.” Zaneye stated.
“I suppose that as long as this weapon is out of the hands of the Empire, and is far from this planet, we can negotiate the price,” Brad said.
“I like how you think,” Zaneye said, whistling back for one of her men to bring a suitcase that she opened, showing a large amount of credits on it. “Here it is, just as promised.”
“Are you sure?” Brad said, raising an eyebrow.
“My people can be cheaters, but you can trust me that I can keep my word.” The female Farghul said.
“I will take your word,” Brad said, taking the suitcase. “I still remember how the last time you underpaid me for that little job at Tatooine.”
“What little job?” Lop asked Frall.
“Please don't remind me.” The Zabrak replied, shaking his hand.
Suddenly they saw how TD was scanning one of the containers with the Defoliator’s ammo, beginning to beep.
“What happens with that droid?” Zaneye asked.
“Td must have found something in the container,” Lop said.
Brad approached the container and opened it. After looking through the ammo he found something that didn’t like him.
“Uh oh,” Brad said, taking what he found within the ammo: a transmitter. “This will complicate things further.”
“A transmitter? But how?” Yavis asked.
“The junk dealers must have placed it before leaving the cargo in the warehouse,” Brad said.
“Hey, guys! I’m detecting something approaching us!” Called Byte through the communicator.
Lop then sensed something and looked in a direction. “Look!”
They turned in a direction, spotting how an Imperial freighter approached the area, carrying a pair of ATDP walkers with it.
“You idiots. You brought them here!” Zaneye exclaimed angrily to Brad.
“This isn’t our fault!” Brad countered.
Then the Farghul turned to her henchmen. “Get to the ships! We’re leaving now!” She said, going to take the suitcase.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Brad asked, moving the suitcase away from her.
“The cargo is compromised, the deal is off, so give me my money back!” She exclaimed.
“Sorry, give a thing and take a thing, to wear the devil's gold ring!” Brad said.
"You know what? Okay, keep the money and the weapon. I'm not going to stay here when the imperials arrive.” She said, running to the speeders. “Say hi to them from my part.”
Zaneye and his smugglers quickly left the place, just as the imperial transport dropped the two ATDP walkers on the ground.
“Now what, boss?” Preguntó Frall.
"We can’t allow the Empire to get their hands on the Defoliator,” Brad said, before turning to Yavis. “Yavis, try to find a way to destroy the weapon!”
“Now you’re speaking my language!” Yavis said running to the Defoliator’s containers.
“And what do we do meanwhile? You’re not suggesting fighting those walkers, right?” Frall asked.
“We must buy time until we can destroy that weapon,” Brad said, soon giving a blaster to Lop. “I hope you know how to use this. At this moment a lightsaber isn’t useful against those things.”
“If there is no choice,” Lop said, taking the blaster.
Then the four rushed to take cover behind the rocks, beginning to shoot at the ATDP walkers, with the only effect that the walkers began to fire their laser cannons at them, forcing them to hide behind the rocks.
“Hey, what’s happening?” Byte asked through the communicator.
“They were imperials, Byte! Prepare the ship, we need some coverture here!” Called Brad.
At that moment the Imperial transport landed, letting out of the ship a squad of stormtroopers accompanied by two black knights, one of them carrying a huge spiked ball mace, and the other a falchion.
And next to them were the junk dealers from before.
“Take care of the thieves. But don't forget, the director wants the Lepi alive.” One of the black knights ordered the stormtroopers.
“And be very careful with shooting the cargo!” Exclaimed Celos.
The stormtroopers got into position and began to fire at the Yokai, forcing them to fire against the imperials while avoiding being shot down by the ATDP firing at them. And to make things worse, the junk dealers joined the stormtroopers and began to fire at the group.
“Why am I not surprised to see the junk dealers here?” Drasha asked as she shot at the enemy.
Lop kept firing at the stormtroopers and junk dealers, not having luck in hitting them with the blaster.
“Keep focus, Lop. Aim and then shoot.” Brad said as he was able to hit a junk dealer with his blaster.
Taking cover behind the rock, Lop took a deep breath and then leaned out to aim at the enemy, managing to hit a stormtrooper with her shot.
“Not bad, girl. Not bad at all.” Said Frall, taking down two stormtroopers and a junk dealer with his blaster.
“Keep focus, guys!” Brar scolded them while shooting at the enemy.
“Guys, I know how to destroy the Defoliator!” Exclaimed Yavis. “If we can make all the ammo blow, they will destroy a great area, but the weapon will be destroyed too with the explosion!”
“Prepare everything! We will get you time for it!” Said Brad while shooting at the enemy.
“You know that we must be away from here before blowing the ammo, right?” Drasha asked.
“Don’t worry, we will be at a safe distance when they explode,” Yavis said, beginning to place some explosives on the Defoliator’s ammo.
Then at that moment, the two black knights rushed to the area passing the stormtroopers and junk dealers and getting to the rock formation. The one with the falchion attacked Lop, who was forced to use her lightsaber to block the incoming attack, while the one with the spikeball mace jumped against Drasha, forcing her to stay away from the black knight.
“Great, as if we didn’t have enough troubles with the bucketheads!” Frall said, forced to keep firing at the stormtroopers and junk dealers.
Lop kept blocking the black knight’s weapon, trying to find an overture to counterattack him, while Drasha kept avoiding the heavy attacks from the black knight attacking her. Suddenly the Togruta was able to catch the black knight’s heavy weapon by the stick, and to his surprise, she began to push back against him.
“What the heck are you?” The black knight asked in shock as he was forced to struggle against the toned Togruta.
She then pulled the weapon away from the black knight, immediately hitting him with the weapon and throwing him against the ground with the impact.
“Hard to explain to you,” Drasha said.
Carrying the spikeball mace as a javelin, Drasha aimed at the head of one of the ATDP walkers and threw it against it, with the impact being so strong that the walker wobbled until it loses its balance and fell to the ground, causing the cabin to explode, shocking the stormtroopers.
Lop was shocked by this even when she was struggling against the black knight attacking her.
“Seriously?” The black knight asked as he saw how the Togruta was able to bring down an ATDP by just throwing the spikeball mace against it.
“That's nothing. If you knew…” Said Bras as she shot down another junk dealer.
Lop kept fighting the black knight until she was able to push him away and hit his weapon with her lightsaber disarming him.
“You have lost this fight!” Lop said, aiming her weapon against the black knight.
“Oh, you’re going to kill an unarmed man? That’s not the Jedi’s way.” The black knight said, getting a blaster he had in the back slowly.
But Brad saw him doing it and before the black knight could aim the blaster at the Lepi he shot him down with a few shots, caughting Lop off guard.
“Next time do not hesitate. They won't.” Brad scolded Lop, getting a nod from her.
At that moment, Yavis finished placing the explosives in the ammo and the Defoliator. “Okay! Bombs placed!”
Just at that moment, the fallen black knight knelt up and got his blaster, and aimed it against Drasha who had her back at him, but Lop saw this.
“No!” Lop exclaimed, extending her hands toward the black knight as her fur suddenly waved, pushing the black knight away and making him miss his shot which hit the rock near Drasha.
The Togruta looked confused behind her, but after she figured out what happened she turned to Lop, thanking her with a nod.
“Okay, guys! Time to go!” Brad said as he kept firing at the enemy.
“And how with that walker aiming at us?” Frall asked him.
Suddenly the Tengu appeared floating, firing her lasers against the ATDP’s cabin and destroying it with an explosion.
“Good job, Byte! Now get the ship here, we must evacuate the place!”
“Roger, roger!”
The Tengu landed on the ground opening the cargo bay’s ramp, allowing the whole group entering into the ship before taking off, firing at the stormtroopers and junk dealers to keep them at bay while getting ready to fly away.
“Get us away from here, now!” Yavis said to Byte as he sat at his side. “This place will be too dangerous to stay in a few seconds!”
“Don’t need to say that!” Byte said, piloting the Tengu away from the area into space.
The black knight got up just when the stormtroopers and junk dealers reached the area.
“Perfect! They left the cargo! Secure it immediately!” Celos ordered the junk dealers.
“You idiots! the containers are compromised! Get the bombs and dismantle them!” Ordered the black knight.
But then they saw the explosives on the ammo and in the Defoliator, getting ready to blow.
“Oh, no…”
The bombs exploded, not only destroying the Defoliator, but also causing a chain reaction with the ammo that ended in a violent explosion that destroyed everything in and around the stone circle, putting an end to the old Separatist superweapon, the junk dealers, and the imperial forces.
In the Tengu, everyone sat in the chairs of the ship’s bridge, except the ones without a place to sit.
“Everyone, today we did a good job,” Brad said, standing between the group.
“Yeah, we got credits to keep the Tengu flying, and we blew an old Separatist weapon in front of the imperials,” Yavis commented with a smile.
“But I can't help but think about the damage we've done to the place with that explosion.“ Lop said.
“Lop, we don't always make everything work out for everyone. It is the overall result that counts, and in this case, it is a defeat for the Empire.” Frall said.
“Yeah, but I wish we could save Tao without damaging it in the process,” Lop said in a sad tone, while TD beeped at her side.
“Don't worry, you'll see how everything ends up going well,” Drasha said to Lop. “By the way, thanks for the earlier. I should have watched that black knight more carefully.”
“Yeah,” Brad said. “It’s obvious that you need to know how to use the Force, but until we find a way to give you these lessons, we will have to work a little more with your swordsmanship.”
“Yes, maybe you’re right.” Lop said, before looking at Drasha.“ But I must admit that what I saw was awesome. What a launch! I still can't believe you took down an Imperial walker with just that mace.”
“Now you understand why he is the group’s muscleweight over Frall,” Yavis said.
“Hey, just give me time and I’ll be able to do that too!” Frall argued with Yavis.
“Guys, we need to think about one thing.” The BX droid said.
“Byte’s right, guys. Now that Prar knows that Lop is with us and that we're operating in the system, we'll most likely be seeing his black knights more often than usual.” Brad said.
Lop got silent after hearing him.
Back at the Yasaburô’s mansion, Prar was hearing the report of the recent events from Ochô.
“So, the Defoliator has been destroyed, isn’t it?” Prar asked.
“That seems. The thieves used the weapon’s ammo to destroy the weapon itself, alongside a large area.” Ochô said. “Sadly we couldn’t rescue anything from the area.
“Well, it doesn't matter. The truth is, I have never been interested in the fact that the Empire is dedicated to researching weapons capable of destroying entire areas just to instill fear in its enemies.” Prar said. “I'm satisfied with my black knights.”
“But director, be sure that the Imperial Security Bureau will send someone to investigate this incident.”
“And what happened with Lop and the group?” Ochô asked.
“We will meet them again, that’s for sure,” Prar said, walking around the room. “And to be prepared, I will have my black knights assigned to every single platoon and company of Stormtroopers on the planet. Their presence should be enough to make those flies think twice before intruding on our operations.”
Then Prar stood in front of the window staring at the city. “And if this group decides to act against the Empire, our forces will be ready.” He crossed his arms while looking at the city through the window, having a devilish smirk on his face. “They will pay for their audacity, make sure of it. And the Lepi will be forced to join us, whether she likes it or not.”
