Soldiers of the Stars

Chapter 13: Just What We Needed, Pirates

AGAMAR

CAPTAIN GUNNER

     I hate droids. Acrux helped me to my feet. Thane snapped his head to the doorway. Two bolts crashed into his armor, throwing him back into the crates behind him. I drew my pistols but held my fire. A Chagrian female and a male Lasat waltzed onto the ship, blasters pointed at Bryka and me. They both wore solid black pants and dark blue shirts, finished with a cream-colored, long coat, and a maroon convor emblem on the sleeve. Thane emerged from the crates as the Chagrian reached for a second blaster without looking at him, pointing it at him.

     "There's something of value on this ship to our Captain. Hand it over, and we'll be on our way." The female demanded.

     I read Bryka's wide eyes. The holodisk.

     Thane stood, unbothered by the blaster aimed at his head. "I can't let you do that."

     The Lasat tilted his head, trudging over to Thane. I held both pistols at him. The Chagrian moved both of hers at me. "You! You stole our score!" The Lasat spat.

     "Easy, Koda."

     "Cap'n doesn't have a Mandalorian trophy yet. I think he'd appreciate this beautiful armor as a gift. Don't ya think, Dorian?" She shot him a warning glare. "Boss didn't specify if he wanted this job to be clean. I'm gonna rip that Beskar off your rotting corpse." He held his blaster against Thane's temple.

     "Koda!"

     The Lasat flew back into the Chagrian. Bryka summoned her saber to her palm, ignited the blade. Thane and I rushed for our helmets. The two scrambled to their feet. "We can save countless lives. We can prevent the suffering of those in need. This mission is bigger than you and me." Bryka held the edge of her saber inches from their necks. "Leave now, and no one gets hurt."

     Dorian hissed and leaped at Bryka. Koda charged at Thane and me. The cargo hold filled with blaster fire. Although my hands were full, I looked to Bryka, who was too weak to fight. I took some cheap shots at Dorain to grab her attention away. Koda and Dorian switched targets. The Chagrian came at me with bared teeth as the Lasat swung from the ceiling towards Acrux. I shouted to Bryka but it was too late. The Lasat kicked his legs into Bryka's torso. She took to the ground with an agonizing scream. I snapped. Disregarding my opponent, I send two shots at the Lasat. Before he struck his finishing blow, two holes burnt through his chest. He dropped. Bryka trembled, curling herself into a ball. I was thrown to the ground. My helmet tumbled off. Tears formed in Dorian's eyes as she pressed her knee into my throat, holding a knife against my neck. "You're gonna pay for that." She growled.

     "Ne shab'rud'ni." I struggled to take the knife off my throat. Thane held his blaster to her head. A single shot fired. Thane fell to the ground, stunned. Suddenly, everything went black.

✮✮✮✮✮

     "The clone killed Koda." A faded female voice stated.

     I scrunched my eyebrows, squeezing my eyes shut. The pounding ache in my head matched the strength of the ones I'd get whenever I was hungover. I went to rub my face when I noticed the restrains. The cell had a red energy shield. There was a groan next to me.

     "Thane! Wake up." I whispered. The Mandalorian slowly raised his head, taking in our surroundings.

     "Did they take it?"

     "I'm not sure, but that holodisk has to get to the Republic." I looked for any possible ways of escaping.

     "Holodisk?" Thane sat up.

     "Yes, the thing those pirates were after. The Separatist must have put a heavy price on it. The information on that disk can change the outcome of this war."

     "They're not after the disk." He shook his head.

     "What?"

     Thane sighed. "I received intel a few rotations ago that there was a shipment of medical supplies headed to Agamar with a high buying price. These pirates wanted to raise the value. Desperate people are willing to pay any price to save the ones they love. But the people of Agamar are suffering. So I intercepted the cargo. When I learned there was a cloaking device on board, I knew I could use that to continue my work without raising suspicion from the Republic." He glanced over me, hesitating to say what he did next. "The Republic and I aren't exactly on the same page. Roughly twenty thousand credits away from being on the same page."

     With a bounty that big, no wonder Thane was out here. And these pirates had no interest in the holodisk after all.

     "My intentions were honest and good, I swear. I never meant to drag you and Bryka down with me."

     My heart dropped. "Bryka, I need to find her. Any ideas how to bust out of here?" She could be anywhere.

     "Lucky for us, Renee wasn't captured. Knowing her, she's already on her way."

     "Great," I rolled my eyes. "A clone trusting a droid to save his life. Ironic."