> Disclaimer: I am adding this here now too, best to be safe they said. Star Wars and all of it's Intellectual Properties is owned by George Lucas and Walt Disney, This fictional work and all of it's original characters are however mine.
----------------------------------------
The Stellar Envoy’s medbay hummed with quiet activity. Jake hunched over Nick-01’s chassis, his brow furrowed in concentration as he delicately soldered a circuit. Nearby, the modified medical droid—MED-44—focused on patching up Skew-02’s damaged plating. Sparks danced briefly as Jake worked, the sharp crackle punctuating the otherwise calm atmosphere.
“Processing cores are a mess,” Jake muttered under his breath. “How you two managed to stay operational is beyond me.”
Nick-01, powered down for repairs, gave no reply. Jake sighed and reached for his datapad, pulling up the specifications he had been tweaking for the past few hours.
“I’m going to boost your processing power and give you better target acquisition algorithms,” Jake said aloud, more to himself than the inert droid. “Your pattern recognition routines need serious work, too. Can’t have you freezing up like last time.”
MED-44 chirped in acknowledgment as it shifted its focus to Skew-02’s shoulder joint. “Structural integrity at 70%. I recommend reinforcement plating to compensate for stress fractures.”
Jake glanced at the med droid. “Noted. Good work, MED-44.” He returned to Nick-01, mumbling as he worked. “Gonna get you and Nick-02 back in top shape. Then it’s Skew-01’s turn. Big guy’s been waiting long enough.”
As Jake worked, the day’s events beyond the hangar bay played out.
Mira and Rina moved discreetly through the bustling streets of the city, blending into the crowd with practiced ease. Mira’s current disguise—a tan cloak and a wide-brimmed hat—gave her the look of a traveling merchant, while Rina sported simple worker’s garb and a tool belt.
Their split objectives had been decided before they left. Mira, as an associate of Kado, was adept at keeping her identity obscured with her ever-changing disguises, and Rina’s status as the newest member of the group made her less recognizable to Gardulla’s network.
Mira focused on essentials. She bartered for food packs, power cells, and medical kits, using fake credentials to set up deliveries to four separate locations. Each drop-off point was chosen for its low profile, ensuring that any curious eyes wouldn’t trace the purchases back to hangar bay 7-10.
Rina, meanwhile, was gathering information. Her sharp ears picked up on hushed conversations in cantinas and marketplaces. The underworld was buzzing with news of Gardulla’s betrayal.
Some groups who had slicers working on Gardulla’s relic had banded together, suspecting treachery. Despite their efforts, most had been captured or killed. A few particularly savvy crews had completed the job quickly and fled the planet before Gardulla could make her move.
Rina absorbed every detail, her mind racing. This wasn’t just about Kado’s shop or the attack they’d faced. Gardulla was systematically tying up loose ends, and it was only a matter of time before the noose tightened around their crew.
Back in hangar bay 7-10, the rest of the team stayed busy.
Tarek sat in the cockpit, the simulator system he had rigged up feeding combat scenarios directly into the Stellar Envoy’s controls. The young pilot gripped the yoke tightly, his jaw set in determination as he navigated a simulated dogfight in planetary atmosphere. Bright streaks of simulated enemy fire lit up the holographic display, and Tarek banked hard to the right, narrowly avoiding destruction.
“Too close,” he muttered, resetting the simulation for another round.
In the cargo bay, Davik meticulously cataloged the crew’s arsenal. Blasters of various makes and models were laid out in neat rows, along with stacks of power cells and a modest collection of explosives.
“Five thermal detonators,” he noted, marking it on his datapad. “Plenty of power packs for now, but we’ll need to keep an eye on these.” He glanced at Nick-03, who stood silently nearby, its optics glowing faintly as it assisted with organizing the equipment.
Kado, meanwhile, was working on familiarizing himself with the Stellar Envoy’s layout. With Nick-03’s help, he explored the ship’s compartments, noting storage spaces, maintenance panels, and emergency protocols.
“Better to know now than when it’s too late,” Kado muttered, hauling a salvaged crate onto a shelf in the cargo bay. The crate contained the last remnants of his shop—tools, components, and a few personal effects.
Jake set his tools down and leaned back, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. He surveyed his progress on Nick-01 with a sense of satisfaction. The new processor core was in place, and the targeting system updates were nearly complete.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Just about there,” he said quietly. He glanced at MED-44, who was making steady progress on Skew-02. “You’re earning your keep, you know that?”
MED-44 beeped in affirmation. “Primary and secondary systems stabilized. Recommend full diagnostic before field deployment.”
Jake chuckled. “Don’t worry, they’re not going anywhere until I say so.”
He glanced toward the cockpit, where Tarek’s simulation efforts continued, and then to the cargo bay, where Davik and Kado were busy with their respective tasks. Despite the exhaustion and tension, the crew was holding together.
“Just a little longer,” Jake muttered to himself. “We’ll get through this.”
He returned to his work, the quiet determination in his movements a reflection of the hope he refused to let slip away.
----------------------------------------
The following morning, the group gathered in the Stellar Envoy’s common area for another meeting. The droids, except for Nick-03, were powered down in the medbay for further repairs and diagnostics. The hum of the ship provided a steady backdrop as Kado spread out a makeshift ledger on the table, Mira and Rina leaning over to glance at it while Davik paced nearby. Tarek stood at the doorway, arms crossed, half-listening while keeping an eye on the ship’s systems through his datapad.
“Food supplies should last us another week, maybe a bit more if we stretch it,” Kado said. “Power cells are holding steady after the latest purchase. Ammunition is decent, but not great.”
“Medical supplies?” Davik asked.
“We’ve got enough for basic injuries,” Kado replied. “But if we face another fight like at the shop, we’ll be in trouble.”
Rina took a sip from her cup. “Information’s still a mess. Gardulla’s men are tearing through anyone connected to her little relic project. Groups banding together, others going dark or fleeing the planet. Everyone’s paranoid.”
Mira nodded. “I made sure the deliveries yesterday didn’t leave a trace, but we shouldn’t count on being unnoticed for long. We’ll need to decide soon if we’re sticking to the ‘let them get complacent’ plan or moving on.”
As the group deliberated, Jake finally spoke up. “I’d like to join Mira and Rina on their next run.”
The room went silent. Rina raised an eyebrow, and Mira crossed her arms skeptically.
“Absolutely not,” Mira said. “It’s dangerous enough out there with Gardulla’s men hunting slicers and mechanics. You’re the last person who should be walking into a potential trap.”
Jake held up his hands. “I get that. But we’ve got that old helmet and those armor pieces in the stash. I can throw something together. If I stay quiet, no one will know it’s me.”
Mira hesitated, then nodded slowly. “It could work as long as you don’t say a word.”
Kado frowned, suspicion creeping into his voice. “Why, Jake? Why risk getting identified when we can just wait it out?”
Jake looked down, his voice quieter than usual. “Because I need to see it for myself. The damage. The deaths. All because I messed with Gardulla’s records without thinking it through. I need to face what I’ve done.”
The weight of his words settled over the group. Jake looked tired, his shoulders slumped, and there was a sadness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Everyone realized he had been burying himself in fixing the droids as a distraction.
Davik broke the silence. “Fine. But I’m coming too. Same kind of disguise. No way you’re going out there without backup.”
Jake blinked. “Four people might stand out, don’t you think?”
Rina shook her head. “Not really. A group of four looks normal right now with all the bounty hunters and mercs wandering around because of Gardulla’s hunts. It’ll just make us look more legit.”
An hour later, the four of them stepped out of the hangar bay, each clad in mismatched armor and helmets, posing as a team of bounty hunters. Mira led the way with a confident stride, Rina flanking her while Jake and Davik took the rear. Their disguises blended well, and the atmosphere of paranoia and desperation in the city worked in their favor.
They spent hours moving between bars, listening to gossip and rumors. Jake heard the same things Rina had shared the day before—groups torn apart, lives lost, betrayals rampant. Each conversation made the weight of his guilt heavier.
He thought of the dead. Criminals, sure, but also people like Tarek, who wanted adventure, or like Kado and Davik, who held onto a moral compass even in a dirty trade. Mira and Rina thrived in this line of work, but that didn’t make them bad people.
The faces he imagined blurred into a kaleidoscope of what-ifs. Jake felt a pang in his chest, his mind repeating a simple truth: Actions have consequences.
That truth burned in him, a lesson he would never forget. He vowed silently to focus not just on goals but also on how to achieve them without losing himself in the process. “No regrets,” he whispered to himself.
The others noticed his introspection throughout the day. While they couldn’t guess exactly what was going through his mind, they gave him space, exchanging brief glances of understanding.
As they left the last bar, Jake said quietly, “I’m okay now. Let’s head back.”
Their return route took them through an underground market, where low light and damp air created a seedy, oppressive atmosphere. As they passed through a crowded corridor, Jake stopped abruptly.
Mira turned. “What’s wrong?”
Jake didn’t answer immediately, his helmeted head fixed on a group being herded like cattle. His heart sank as he realized they were slaves, likely destined for Gardulla’s service.
The murmurs of the crowd confirmed his fears.
“...sold to Gardulla soon...”
Jake’s eyes locked on a specific pair in the group—a woman in her late twenties clutching a small boy who couldn’t be older than three. He froze, wide-eyed beneath his helmet.
“I know them,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “Crap, crap, CRAP!”
Mira and the others exchanged confused looks, concern creeping into their expressions. “Jake,” Rina asked cautiously, “what’s going on?”
“Oh yeah,” Jake muttered, his voice barely audible now. “There’s that guy too...”
Mira tilted her head, frowning. “What guy? Jake, you’re acting like you’ve lost it.”
Jake couldn’t tear his eyes away from the pair, his thoughts racing. The crew stared at him, bewildered, as he stood paralyzed, gripped by a mixture of recognition and panic.
----------------------------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
60 Chapters are available on my patreon
you can support me and become a patron
P A T R E O N . C O M / TofferPlays
(but only if you want to, okay?)
This fanfic is also on:
SpaceBattles
SufficientVelocity
RoyalRoad
ArchiveOfOurOwn