Things seemed to be fairly calm in the capital of Tao, aside from the imperial occupation of course. Other than that, everything was quiet.
Except for one small detail…
“Move, bunny ears, move!” Exclaimed Frall while running over the city’s rooftops.
The Tengu group formed this time by Brad, Frall, Yavis, and Lop with TD-4 were running over the rooftops while being chased by a pair of Imperial Patrol Transports, one of them chasing them from behind, while the other was going at their side with a door opened from where a pair of stormtroopers were shooting at them, while the one behind the group was using its weapon against them.
The group needed to use everything they encountered in their path to cover themselves from the attack of the imperials while running and trying to lose them away.
“I'd like to know whose bright idea it was to try and steal those crates from that Imperial transport!” Exclaimed Yavis while running.
“It was not me! That's for sure!” Frall exclaimed, ducking to avoid one of the shots.
“Let's not argue about who designed the plan! Let's think about how to get out of this!” Lop replied to them, jumping over some of the rooftops nimbly with TD behind her.
“She’s right! We must mislead those ships if we want to get out of this in one piece!” Brad said while running and jumping over the rooftops.
“Up here, I doubt it!” Frall said.
“That's why we must try to find a place to go down so we can lose sight of them! At least somewhere we won't run into stormtroopers on the way down!” Yavis explained.
“Lop! You know the city! Tell us somewhere where we can lose sight of those ships!” Brad asked Lop.
Lop looked around just before avoiding a shot from the stormtroopers' side shooting them.
“I think I know where we are! With luck, we can-”
The Imperial Transport behind them fired a missile that hit just behind her, making her fly away while stopping Frall and Yavis in their tracks, and sending TD flying out of the rooftops to the ground, bouncing on several awnings before landing on a pile of rubbish.
Not knowing it, Lop turned to the explosion, her eyes widening in horror. “TD!”
Soon Brad ran to her side. “Are you okay?” He asked her.
“No, we are not!” Exclaimed Frall, looking upward and taking his blaster to aim at the imperial transports while both ships flew at their sides on the top of the rooftop.
“Now we’re doomed,” Yavis said, looking at the transports.
“I don’t think so.”
Suddenly a pair of blasters hit one of the transports, causing it to lose control and begin to fall, while the second transport faced the attacker, which was no other than the Tengu, which flew to the area.
“Just on time!” Exclaimed Brad looking at the Tengu.
Inside the Tengu, Drasha was manning the frontal cannon while Byte piloted the ship.
“Byte! Keep the thing stable while I take care of this thing.” Drasha said, aiming at the imperial gunship.
“Roger, Roger!” Exclaimed Byte while keeping the Tengu stable.
Drasha soon fired against the imperial gunship, making it explode and fall over some of the rooftops, giving time to the Tengu to begin to low altitude to the rooftop where the group was while opening the cargo dock, with Kota waiting there.
“Do you need help?” Rahm Kota asked them, extending his hand.
“Thanks for the aid!” Brad said, pulling Lop with him and climbing to the Tengu, soon followed by Frall and Yavis.
“The mission didn’t go as expected, right?” Kota asked Brad while the cargo dock closed behind them.
“What makes you think that?” Brad asked sarcastically before looking up. “We’re inside! Get us outta here before more ships come to us!”
Byte maneuvered the Tengu to fly away from the city before more imperial ships could reach the place.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at having escaped. All except Lop, who was looking down at the cargo dock.
Meanwhile, TD-4 got out of the pile of rubbish where it landed, looking around, until a figure stopped just near it, getting the droid’s attention.
“Well, look what we got here.”
Time later the Tengu landed in a safe spot, where the crew began to discuss what happened.
“Okay, somebody could tell me what just happened back there?” Frall asked.
“Everything had to be perfect,” Brad said. “As you know, we received this tip that the Empire was planning to transport something of great value. Something that could have allowed us to keep the ship running longer, and even gain more informants.”
“And the mission was simple. It was to go, pick up, and leave quickly and without being seen.” Brad finished.
“Except for the fact that they were waiting for us. If it hadn't been for Lop who had gone ahead to keep watch, we would have had more than just two Imperial gunships after us.” Frall said.
“Yes, the same gunships that spotted us when she informed us. Don’t make me remember that.” Brad said, sighing loudly.
“It's clear that this was a trap. We can no longer rely on this informant.” Drasha said.
“That’s right,” Brad said. “Hate to admit it, but this ISB agent is better than we expected.”
“I think we can all agree that the best thing we can do is to investigate before we try to find out if something is out of place.” Rahm Kota said with his arms crossed.
“True. We'll be short on time, but we'll avoid more unnecessary surprises.” Brad said.
Meanwhile, Lop was in her cabin with her arms and legs crossed thoughtfully, giving a loud sigh.
“Hey, what’s the matter?” Yavis said as he entered. “You're missing the meeting.” Then he looked at Lop's face. “We're a little down, aren't we? Don’t worry! I think I can make you happy with an idea. How about we see if we can make some improvements to TD?” He said, soon looking around. “By the way, where's the little droid?”
Lop sighed again, looking at Yavis.
“I’m sorry but we got separated in the explosion while running,” Lop said.
“You lost it?” Yavis asked, soon scratching his head. “Oh, sorry to hear that. I know you've been together forever.” He looked at her. “But don't worry. I'm sure he'll be fine, hidden somewhere. As soon as things calm down, we'll come back for him. We just have to be patient.”
“The truth is, I think things are more complicated,” Lop said, looking at Yavis.
He raised an eyebrow looking at the Lepi. “How complicated?”
“Let’s say… that I never erased TD’s memory,” Lop said, scratching her head.
Yavis stared at her for a few seconds, until his eyes suddenly widened.
“You never did what?!” Yavis exclaimed loudly.
“I never dared to erase TD’s memory. After all, he has images of all my life in the mansion with Dad and Ochô, before all this happened.” Lop said, looking down.
“But… But do you have any idea what that means?” Yavis asked. “It means that TD still has in its memory all our past operations and secret landing spots since the day you joined the crew!” He placed his hands on his head. “If the Empire gets its hands on that droid, we’re toasted!
“That's why I must find TD as soon as possible!” Lop said as she stood up, going to the door.
“Fine! I’m with you!” Yavis said, making Lop stop and look at him.
“No. You must stay here.” Lop said.
“Impossible!” Yavis exclaimed. “By telling me all this I'm your accomplice. If I stay here, I'll end up telling the rest of the group, and then we'll all go looking for TD, and most likely the Imperials will find us and suspect something. So I’m going with you.”
“Okay, I get your point. Let’s go!” Lop said, getting out of the door.
The two began to run to the cargo bay where Yavis got a speeder on which both he and Lop climbed.
“Hey, where are you going?” Byte, who was at that moment there, asked when spotted the duo.
“Oh, Byte! I remembered we need some parts for maintenance. And I’m taking Lop as support.” Yavis lied to the droid. “We will be here as soon as we can!”
When the cargo bay opened, the two left the Tengu under a perplexed droid. At that moment Drasha approached the cargo bay to see what was happening, only to see the droid turn to her with a shrug with the cargo bay opened.
After at least an hour of traveling, Lop and Yavis returned to the city, and after placing the speeder in a safe place, they began to look through the city, making sure to avoid any of the imperial patrols roaming the streets.
In no time, the both of them reached some streets where they could see some debris, and looking up they could see remnants of the chase they suffered not long ago.
“Okay, here’s where we got separated from TD,” Tavis said. “If it survived that explosion, most likely it landed somewhere down here.”
“But where?” Lop asked, looking around.
She then spotted a homeless Gotal who was searching through the garbage and she approached him, while Yavis looked around.
“Excuse me, sir,” Lop asked, getting the homeless’ attention. “Have you seen a small TD droid here recently?”
“A TD droid?” The homeless asked, thinking for a moment. “Yes, I think I saw one around.”
“Where?” Lop asked with hope in her face.
“I saw one being carried by a member of the Ôshan Clan. Now, if you don’t mind.” He said before returning to search through the rubbish.
Lop’s face darkened after hearing him.
“Excuse me. Ôshan Clan?” Yavis asked, lowering his torso to her.
“Oh, right. Why didn't I realize this before?” Lop hit her forehead with a hand. “This is their territory.”
“Excuse me, what?” Yavis asked.
“Follow me!” Lop said as she began to run, soon being followed by Yavis.
After running through some streets, they stopped at a corner, and from it, they spotted a large building that seemed like a warehouse with Japanese decorations outside, with a pair of men with black yakuza clothes guarding the exterior.
“Where are we?” Yavis asked, looking at the building.
“This is the main house of the Ôshan Clan,” Lop said. “If what that man said is right, then TD’s there.”
“Okay,” Yavis said, looking at her. “And how did we get inside there? I doubt these people would allow us to enter nicely.”
Lop looked at the houses at the building’s sides.
“Follow me,” Lop said, leaving the corner.
Yavis looked at her with a confused glare but followed the Lepi, without knowing that a shadow was following them.
In no time, the two were jumping over the rooftops until reaching the warehouse’s rooftop. There they began to look for a spot from where to get inside, soon discovering thanks to Lop a ventilation duct through which both could fit, soon entering inside of it.
While navigating through the ventilation ducts like a labyrinth, Lop and Yavis could see in some rooms how, while some of the rooms were used for accountability, other rooms were used as an illegal casino, and other rooms were used for more… illegal activities.
“What do you know about these people?” Yavis asked Lop while following her. “And how do you know they have the droid?”
“One of the many businesses the Ôshan Clan has is the traffic of droids,” Lop said. “If they get a valuable droid, they will sell it to whoever they think will pay a lot for it.”
“Okay, and you know them because?” Yavis asked.
“A few years ago, my father brought me and Ochô here. He had a meeting with the head of the Ôshan clan.” Lop replied while advancing through the ducts.
“Wow, and I thought the Yasaburô clan was the only one in Tao,” Yavis said.
Lop chuckled for a moment. “You clearly have no idea how things go in Tao.”
“Enlighten me, then,” Yavis said.
“Unlike other planets, Tao is ruled by the Great Families.” Lop began to explain. “Nothing happens on the planet without the Great Families deciding it.”
“And leave me to guess: The Yasaburô Clan was one of the Great Families, right?” Yavis asked.
“Exactly,” Lop replied with a serious tone. “It was before my father and Ochô adopted me. And he was the only one to see what the Empire truly was, beginning the clan’s attacks.”
“And what role does the Ôshan clan play in this,” Yavis asked.
“It’s one of the Lesser Clans.” Lop began to explain. “There are many of them on the planet. And there are at least three or four in the city. They have their own territories and businesses, but all of them have to answer to the Great Family in the city.”
“So, basically the Ôshan clan works for the Yasaburô clan?” Yavis asked her, raising an eyebrow.
“On paper, that’s right. Sadly they and the other clans refused to fight against the Empire.” Lop said. “And he never forgave them for that.”
“And now that the Empire has seized the clan's holdings, none of them will be interested in confronting them,” Yavis commented.
“That is why I hope that our actions will convince the Great Families to override the occupation treaty that allows the Empire to remain on the planet,” Lop said.
“Occupation treaty?” Yavis asked confused.
“It is the treaty that allowed the Empire to occupy the planet, in exchange for all the improvements and technological advances promised by them,” Lop said.
After advancing through the ducts, Lop spotted something through the duct slits down, signaling Yavis to approach there.
From their spot, they could see a kind of small warehouse used as an office, where they could see a Mon calamari clothes as a yakuza boss with a pair of goons at his sides with their arms crossed.
And he seemed visibly upset at that moment.
“I’m sorry! No matter how many times you ask. I can’t give you them.” Said the Mon calamari to somebody.
“That’s the boss?” Yavis asked in a low voice.
“Yes, he’s Boss Ôshan,” Lop replied. “Now quiet.”
“Don’t be like that, Boss Ôshan. We just ask for a little cooperation from you.” Said a female voice, moving close to the table and being visible to Lop and Yavis.
It was a female clothed with a black shirt exposing her cleavage under a black cropped open jacket and black gloves, wearing a pair of black belted pants and black cuffed boots, which most significant features of this blonde woman were her deep blue skin, her finned ears, and her yellow cat-like eyes. Lop got tense looking at the woman.
“Lop?” Yavis asked quietly.
“That’s the Azun bounty huntress we encountered before,” Lop replied, narrowing her eyes.
“The one which you can’t feel with the Force?” Yavis asked. “Now this gets interesting.”
“I'm sorry, but the information you're asking me for is private. If people find out that I've given that information to someone, I'll lose both clients and contacts.” Boss Ôshan explained.
“Come on, mister. I’m sure we can get a common ground. Nobody needs to know this ever happened.” Suddenly a figure appeared walking at Diara’s side.
A blue-skinned humanoid alien with red eyes and sharp teeth, with a distinctive breathing apparatus implanted in his cheeks, with a brown duster coat, a wide-brimmed hat, a black undershirt, and pants, along with brown boots and gloves.
“Bane?” Lop asked surprised.
“Bane? The CAD BANE? The bounty hunter?” Yavis asked her, surprised. “And how the heck do you know him?”
“He was the bounty hunter who chased me, Vlad, and Master Kota, when we were in Bespin,” Lop replied.
“So, he was the reason we had problems with the imperials there,” Yavis said, returning to the conversation between the three parts.
“You know I can't do that. Are you seriously telling me that no one is going to find out that I gave out my contacts? In case you haven't noticed, I have one right in this very room in case you haven't wondered.” Ôshan Boss said, moving his head in a direction so the bounty hunters looked at somebody who approached the table’s side.
One who was wearing a full green armor over a black bodysuit, with a jetpack on the back and weapons on his wrists and belt.
Now Yavis’ eyes widened seeing him.
“Now we’re toasted!” Yavis explained quietly, trying to not raise his voice.
“What happens? Who’s him?” Lop asked him.
“Who's him? You're kidding me, right?” Yavis asked her with a frown. “That guy is Boba Fett! He’s one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy! One of the best indeed!”
Lop looked at Yavis for a moment with a worried face before looking back down, where the conversation continued.
“Well, that was a surprise, isn’t it, Boba?” Bane asked facing the bounty hunter. “Hope you don’t mind this situation.”
“I might mind if I knew the reasons why you are asking for this very... important information.” Boba Fett said before looking for a moment at Ôshan Boss and then turning back to the other two bounty hunters.
“I am very sorry, but our client has been very explicit that his identity will not be revealed in the negotiation.” Cad Bane said. “But I can assure you that this information will not be used in a way that is harmful to you or those on the list.”
“I'll have to decide that myself.” Boba Fett said, holding his weapon with a hand ready to grab it.
Bane simply smiled as he prepared to grab his weapon too, facing the bounty hunter, the two facing each other for a moment. But then Diara rolled her eyes, snapping her fingers a few times to catch the two bounty hunters’ attention.
“Excuse me, men!” Diara said. “We’re not here to begin a fight! We have a job to do here, so can you do me a favor and stop arguing about who has it bigger for a second?”
“What? I was about to give another lesson to this neophyte, my dear.” Cad Bane said.
“I am a neophyte no more, Bane.” Boba Fett replied to him.
“Hey, hey, calm down! The both of you!” Ôshan Boss exclaimed, raising his hands. “I don’t want fights in my house! And much less with the Empire in the city!”
“Yeah, we don’t want the authorities to close this place too soon, right?” Diara said, facing the two bounty hunters.
“Maybe you’re right.” Cad Bane said before looking at Ôshan Boss. “Well, about that list of names…”
“I already gave my answer!” He said to them.
The two kept spying on the discussion between the different parts down there until Lop looked at Yavis.
“Come on, let’s keep looking. Maybe TD is in a closer room.” Lop said, getting Yavis’ nod before both began to move.
Diara and Ôshan Boss kept discussing, just as Cad Bane and Boba Fett heard something faint over their heads, subtly looking to the ceiling where the ducts were. After nodding, Boba Fett aimed his arm to the ceiling shooting a grappling hook at the duct and pulling down, making the duck fall open, making both Lop and Yavis fall to the ground.
Ôshan Boss was surprised at how fast things went at that moment, until he fixed his glare on the intruders that dared to spy them, recognizing one of them and approaching them slowly, while the both of them groaned at the harsh landing.
“Well, well, well. Look what we have here.” Said Ôshan Boss as he approached Lop and Yavis with his hands on his back, with a smile on his face, while the both of them looked worried as the three bounty hunters aimed their weapons at them.
In a few minutes, both Lop and Yavis were sitting on a box with their hands tied up on their backs, everybody looking at them while Ôshan Boss walked around them.
“You’re pretty bold to come to my turf, Miss Lop. And more than that your father has lost his power in Tao.” Ôshan Boss said, looking at her.
“That’s something that wouldn’t have happened if you had answered his call when he asked all the lesser clans in the city!” Lop said, facing the clan boss, while Yavis simply nodded to her.
“And who is this buffon here?” Ôshan Boss asked, looking at Yavis who jolted at that moment.
“I have no idea who he is.” Cad Bane said.
“But I do,” Diara said, holding Lop’s lightsaber after it was taken away while tying them up. “He’s one of the members of the rebel group that has been giving problems to the Empire here in Tao.”
“The rebel group? Now that’s interesting.” Ôshan Boss said. “And why is he with Lop?”
“Oh, it's pretty obvious, pal.” Said Cad Bane. “She’s part of the same group. She’s one of their members.”
“But why are they here?” Boba Fett asked, not skipping his glare over the Lepi.
Ôshan Boss thought for a moment. “I think I have a supposition.”
At that moment the door opened, being crossed by a member of the clan with a small droid Lop recognized.
“TD!” Lop exclaimed looking at the droid.
TD-4 sounded as if it was happy and floated to her, but suddenly was shocked, making it fall to the ground with smoke coming from it. Lop looked horrified as she saw that TD had a restraining bolt attached to the main body.
“Did you really think we'd just let this droid go free like that?” Ôshan Boss said with a nasty smile. “Look, I recognized the droid the moment my men took it here. I knew that sooner or later you would come here.”
Lop continued looking at TD who struggled to stand up. Filled with anger she turned her face to Ôshan Boss, her eyes turned yellow and her hair waved violently, which scared Yavis.
At that moment the bounty hunters aimed their weapons at her.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you, Jedi.” Cad Bane warned her.
“What? She’s a Jedi?” Ôshan Boss asked, looking at the Duros bounty hunter.
“You didn’t figure it out?” Diara waved the lightsaber at the clan’s boss.
Ôshan Boss stared at it for a moment until returned his eyes to the angry Lepi. “Well, if that’s right, maybe the Empire would allow my clan to become a Great Family in old Yasaburô’s place…”
“Forget it!” Exclaimed Lop angrily. “Release TD NOW!”
As she demanded to the Mon calamari, some of the objects in the room began to float, startling everyone in the room, Yavis the most as he looked around alarmed.
“This is getting pretty interesting,” Diara said, looking at the object.
“Hey, you! Stop what you are doing now!” Ôshan Boss ordered Lop, who didn’t listen to him. He turned to his men. “If she doesn’t stop and calm down, shoot at the droid! No, better, shoot the buffoon!”
“W-w-w-what?!” Yavis exclaimed, looking at the clan boss. This also made Lop look at him while Yavis spoke. “For the love of- Stop now, please!” He begged her.
Lop was still angry with everything unleashing her Force on everything, but at her friend’s words and the clan boss’ threat, she began to calm down forcefully as the object lowered down to the ground, until her eyes turned blue again, while the bounty hunters lowered their weapon.
“Well, it seems you’re getting the idea.” Ôshan Boss said. “Now, this is how things are going to go.” He approached Lop. “If you try anything funny, somebody else, be your droid, this dummy, or anybody else outside this building, will suffer the consequences. If you try to challenge me, that challenge will be answered with the life of anybody outside, be it an old man or a child. The only way to keep everyone in the city safe from my wrath is to behave nicely as a well-maned slave.”
Lop began to revive her memories of when she was a slave from the Empire until she was adopted by the Yasaburô Boss, making her chill down her back with the idea of reliving that again.
But suddenly some brawl noises were heard at the other side of the door, when suddenly a member of the clan went flying through it, landing hard on the ground, startling everyone, looking to who was entering now.
“Drasha?!” Yavis asked in shock.
To his and Lop’s surprise, Drasha was there, with one of the clan goons being held through his clothes by her before dropping him.
Lop got the words to speak after the surprise. “Drasha? What are you-”
“Shut it, Lop. I’m taking care of this.” Drasha said with a serious tone.
Diara and Cad Bane narrowed their eyes looking at her while the Ôshan Boss looked wary at the Togruta. Meanwhile, Boba Fett just got ready for anything at this moment.
“Oh, look what we have here, pal.” Said Cad Bane to Diara.
“Well, this is what I call an unexpected encounter, Drasha,” Diara said, aiming her weapon at Drasha.
“The same could be said, Diara,” Drasha said, looking at the Azun. “When Brad and the others told me about an Azun bounty hunter, I had a strange feeling that it would be you. Still working with corrupt regimes, am I wrong?”
“If they pay well, of course,” Diara said.
“Wait a sec,” Yavis asked, looking at Drasha and the two bounty hunters. “Did you already know each other?”
“Shut it.” Ordered the three of them at Yavis, who lowered his head worried.
Drasha looked at the bounty hunters until she turned her glare to the Mon calamari. “You’re the boss of this gang, right?”
“Yes. Do you have something to discuss with me?” Ôshan Boss asked.
“Yes. I want you to release my partners right now.” Drasha demanded, soon eyeing TD-4 for a moment. “And the droid too.”
“Are you kidding me? Are you making demands of me? What if I refuse?” Ôshan Boss mockingly asked her. “I warn you that if you try something, another person will suffer the consequences of your actions.” He threatened her before laughing as his men smiled.
“Then, in that case, if you send one of your men to deliver that punishment… I will do the same with other of you men.” Drasha counter-threatened him.
The Ôshan Boss stopped laughing out of a sudden and the smile of his men disappeared.
“For example, if you send that one…” Drasha signaled the man to the clan boss’ right. “Then I will beat up that one, badly.” She signaled the one of his left, making the two men look at each other.
“If you send that one later to another punishment…” The Togruta signaled the one on the ground. “I will do the same with this one.” He kicked the goon at his side.
“Basically, we will keep doing this little game of you punishing civilians, and me punishing the goons of yours that you didn’t send to do the work until you suffer from a shortage of lackeys,” Drasha said, placing her hands on her hips. “Or until your men try to sabotage the men you sent to survive and avoid being my next target. Whatever gets first.”
The Ôshan Boss’ men turned pale, looking at each other while the boss himself felt a shiver on his body at the Togruta’s threat. Even Lop and Yavis felt a chill on their backs after she finished speaking.
The Mon calamari then looked at the bounty hunters in the room, who were tense at that moment, before looking at Cad Bane. He returned the glare to him with a frown, shaking his head slowly, telling him to not enter into war with her at that moment.
He then gave a loud groan of defeat. “Leave them go! And the droid too!”
At his orders, his men untied both Lop and Yavis, while also removing the restraining bolt from TD-4 who returned to float around Lop, who seemed happy to have her droid safe. At the same time, the bounty hunters lowered their weapons.
“Diara.” Called Drasha to the Azun, gesturing for her to return the lightsaber to Lop.
Shrugging, Diara tossed the lightsaber back to Lop who recovered it.
“Now go! I have things to do!” Ordered Ôshan Boss giving his back to them.
Lop just looked at him for a moment before she, TD, and Yavis began to leave behind Drasha, soon leaving the building under the glare of the clan goons, some of them visibly beaten up surely by Drasha’s hands.
“Oh, my! For a moment I thought we wouldn’t get out there alive!” Yavis said, breathing relieved. “Good job there, Drasha! Thanks!”
“Yeah, I can't believe that bluff of yours worked. As if wiping out a clan was that easy.” Lop said as TD floated at her side.
Drasha was simply walking without saying a word until she turned around to them.
“Look, what you did was dangerous!” She scolded both of them. “If I hadn't followed you, who knows what would have happened to you in there? Next time you do something stupid like this, let us know first!”
Both looked at Drasha, soon nodding at her.
“Fine.” She said, turning around to keep walking. “And for your information, I wasn’t bluffing.”
Lop and Yavis just stared at her without walking after she had spoken, before looking at themselves confused. She wasn’t bluffing inside there? She was seriously on that threat? That was enough to make them shiver in fear.
“And here I thought the old Jedi was the most interesting member of your rebel group.” A voice said behind them, making them turn around to see Cad Bane walking to them.
“What do you mean?” Lop asked the Duros.
“Wow, it seems you don't know his past.” Cad Bane said. “Let's just say that at the time, that woman was the most terrifying being in the galaxy. If you want to know something, ask people about the 'Red Beast'.” He said before leaving them.
Both looked at each other in confusion.
After a few hours, Lop, TD, Yavis, and Drasha returned to the Tengu, not mentioning to the others anything about what had happened in the city.
With doubts in her mind, she went to the room where he found Rahm Kota sitting on the bed, eyeing the Holocron in his hand.
“Happens something, young Lop?” The old Jedi asked her.
“Master, just a question,” Lop asked him. “You know what the ‘Red Beast’ is?”
That question made him look at her suddenly. “Where did you hear that name?”
She simply looked down, not wanting to explain the circumstances of how she learned that name. Understanding that Rahm Kota gave a loud sigh before closing the Holocron.
“The Red Beast was the name of an unknown figure in the galaxy, before and during the Clone Wars. Nobody knew who it was, but it was known that it was a threat to anybody who tried to go against it.” Rahm Kota explained. “Thousands of bounty hunters went to reclaim its massive bounty, the largest of all the galaxy, but almost no one returned. And the ones that made it alive never explained what happened. No Jedi was able to find it, but it was heard that was the strongest thing the galaxy met. As far as I know, the Red Beast disappeared after the Clone Wars, just after the Galactic Empire rose. After that, no one heard of it again.”
Lop thought for a moment about what her master said, tying up some loose ends regarding Drasha. But there were still things that made no sense to her, so she thought of keeping that relationship about her a secret for now.
Still…
“Master, do you think this Red Beast is still alive?” Lop asked him.
He was silent for a moment.
“If the Red Beast is still alive or not, that’s out of my knowledge. But if it were still alive, we'd have to tread carefully. No one who has faced that has ever come back alive.”
Lop kept silent about what she learned about Drasha’s unknown past, wondering why she was with them and if she was really this ‘Red Beast’.
Meanwhile, in the Yasaburô Mansion, Prar was sitting on his chair while speaking with Agent Hercules and some officials, Ochô included.
At that moment, Diara and Cad Bane entered the room, getting the people’s attention.
“Gentlemen?” Cad Bane said. “Mission accomplished. We got the list from Ôshan Boss.”
Diara placed a data disk on the table, which Prar grabbed it with his hand while Ochô looked silently at the bounty hunters.
“Excellent.” Shador Prar said, holding the data disk. “Now, Cad Bane. I have a new task for you.” He said, giving the data disk to him.
