With the lab on lock down, Sergeant Star knew that her place was back out in the city, looking for the people who tried to blast her. Some of them were still at large and still carrying blasters that were not deactivated by the city barriers. Amanda could tell this had the potential to be a long day but refused to let it bring her down. This was a challenge to overcome, not an inconvenience to her and the patrol. This was exactly what she signed up for; to protect the people and have a life that was a lot more exciting than the one she was leading before signing up. She had her chance to be one of the lemmings. To stand on the sidelines and let someone else make the big decisions. It just wasn't in her to be that kind of person. She wanted to do bigger and better things with her life and her ambition was as bright as the two suns in the sky. As she was approaching her speeder to get back out to the city, she was cut off by Commander Anders, who still looked as angry as he did when she fired a blaster in his office earlier.

     "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you arrested." Anders said with a look that told her he was very seriously considering it.

     "We still have at least three unmarked blasters out there that are unaffected by the barrier." Amanda replied, "You need every person you can get out there looking for them."

     Anders paused for a moment but he knew she was right. She was also one of his best troopers so benching her now didn't make any sense.

     "Alright," The commander conceded, "But try work with me instead of against me. If this turns into a crisis, the only thing that's going to keep us together is the chain of command. Understood?

     "Yes, Sir." Amanda said as she gave and salute. "I will try."

     "I suppose that's better than nothing." Anders admitted, "Last we heard the suspects who attacked you were spotted in the under markets. I suggest you go down there and have a look around. See if you can pick up the trail."

     "Excellent idea, Sir." Amanda agreed, "I'll get right to it."

     "Dismissed." Anders said through grit teeth.

     Considering that Sergeant Star had obliterated a piece of furniture in Commander Anders' office, she took the slap on the wrist she was just given and ran with it. She continued walking to her Patrol Pod and got ready to head back out into the city. She at least has a place to start, which was the market. She also had to consider that Anders might have used this situation to give her false Intel so she wouldn't cause any trouble for the rest of the day. She couldn't think that the Commander would waste her time like that, so Amanda was determined to hit the market and if it turned out to be a false lead, she's pick up a few items for dinner before heading home. She even considered picking something up for Peter for putting himself into harms way to deliver the illegal blaster to the lab. As pulled her pod closer to the hangar door, she could see out of the corner of her eye the woman that tried to take the blaster away from her. Amanda had no idea what division she came from but could tell that she was going to be a problem moving forward with her investigation. It was a bridge she was going to have to burn down when she got to it.

     She got back on her speeder, put on her helmet and finally got back out into the city, away from the politics and bull puckey that stopped real officers like her from doing their job. She couldn't blame people for wanting to climb the ladder and advance their career but it shouldn't come at the expense of their job, which was their entire reason for being there. As long as they did their duty to the patrol and the people of the capital city, Amanda didn't care whose asses they kissed during their downtime. She preferred to be out there on the field rather than behind a desk. Anders knew that and threatened to not suspend her but take her out of the field and make her do paper work for the next year. That would drive her literally insane so she did what she could to make sure he didn't get too pissed at her. Star could have swore she crossed that line when she fired the illegal blaster in his office but even he knew this was a legitimate threat to every man, woman and child in the city. Even to a politician like Anders, the city and the safety of the people was just as important. He knew her place was out there where all the action was. Amanda was also no dummy and she was well aware why Anders approached her alone in the hanger bang. If she saves the day, he takes all the credit for not keeping her away from the chaos. If things go south, a rouge officer who fired a blaster in the office was the right person to toss under the bus for it. Star knew what Anders was up to but that was the least of her concern at the moment as she sped towards the market to look into the lead her commander gave her. All Amanda wanted to do was crack this case and find out who built these blasters and what they wanted to do with them.

     It took Sergeant Star less than twenty minutes to get to the market flying above and between the sky scrappers of the capital city. She parked at a spot near the market that was reserved for only for public officials. Usually on days when the weather was nice, Amanda would roam the market without her helmet to interact and be friendly with the citizens. With functional blasters being smuggled into the city, she preferred to stick to code and keep it on. As she strolled through the market, she could tell that keeping it on was making some of the patrons and especially the vendors a little nervous. To make everyone feel better, she strolled over to a coffee hut and ordered a double java with a cheese bun on the side. She hadn't eaten since the blaster fight and needed to keep her energy up. Amanda ended up giving half of the bun away to one of the beggars in the grounds when she was full but slowly sipped the coffee as she browsed around, trying to look like a patrol officer who was looking for a deal during her lunch break rather than someone who was looking for a suspect. Eventually she strolled out to a specific vendor, one that specialized in electronics. As she slowly approached the vendor, he seemed relaxed as she still sipped the coffee on her approach.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

     "Good afternoon, Sergeant Star." The vendor called out. "Is there anything I can offer you to upgrade that amazing speeder you have?"

     "Very tempting, Joel." Star said as she looked up from the merchandise to look the vendor in the eyes. "But if you're going to attempt to sell me illegal parts to enhance my speeder's abilities, I prefer you do it when I'm not on duty."

     "I don't think I've ever seen you off duty." Joel noted.

     "Well, the next time I'm off duty." Amanda said as she finished her coffee. "I'll make an effort to drop by but that's not why I'm here."

     "What's going on, Star?" Joel then asked, all business.

     "I need to know what the word is going around the market about the blaster fight earlier today." Amanda asked.

     "I've heard rumors of a blaster fight, nothing more." Joel replied, "Personally I don't believe it myself. No one's broken through the grid in almost a century."

     "Believe it." Amanda said as she stepped closer. "I was the one they were firing at this morning."

     "Not good for their health." Joel noted.

     "I agree." Amanda said with a smile. "I need to know where someone like that would get the parts around here to beat the grid defense and we need to do it before there is another incident."

     "I will ask around." Joel replied, "If someone is hawking illegal blasters, I'll see if my people are hearing about it."

     "Thank you, Joel." Amanda said as she tossed her expired coffee cup into the bin with precise aim. "Give me the usual signal if you hear anything."

     Joel had been her informant for well over three years, every since she caught him upgrading speeders for people who wanted to outrun the patrol during high speed chases. He had come through for her many times and she hoped he'd come through this time. This was the one time she really needed him to come through and find a lead for her. She didn't exactly trust the one Anders gave her and since she already had a C.I. at the market, she would get him to look into it for her instead. If there was any validity to what Anders gave her, Joel would have no problem sniffing it out for her and verifying if it was legit. The patrol didn't approve of making deals with criminals, but Amanda knew this was the best way to go. She had a few informants that she paid out of her own pocket to not only keep the flow of good Intel coming her way but to also keep an eye on these goons and keep them out of trouble as well. If she ever got caught using these people against regulations, Anders would not hesitate to decommission her service on the patrol. She didn't care and the Intel she bought from them led to numerous arrests. It was working so she wasn't in the mood to let something like a minor infraction get between her and the real criminals.

     Amanda could tell that her presence, along with her brooding presence looking at everyone through the visor of the helmet was making people nervous so she decided to leave. She was about half way to the market when something happened. A man came up behind her and before she had a chance to respond, she felt the barrel of a blaster press up against her lower spine. This guy had to be good to be able to sneak up on Amanda without her noticing until it was too late. Sergeant Star stopped walking and paused, waiting to see what her attacker would do next.

     "I don't have to remind you how functional these things are." The man whispered from behind. "I fired a few shots at you this morning."

     "What do you want?" Amanda asked.

     "We're going for a little walk." The man answered as he nudged her with the barrel of the blaster. "Make a move, not only will I destroy your spinal cord with a point blank shot, I'll kill whoever around here witnesses me do it. Are we clear on that?"

     "Perfectly." Amanda said as she moved forward. She was tempted to try to disarm the man but she didn't want to risk it, especially with the blaster pressed so close to her. She decided to wait for a better opportunity, one where there wasn't as much potential for collateral damage. She walked slowly and away from the market and past her speeder as he led her towards a building and then into the alley next to it.

     "You and I are going to have a little chat." The thug informer her.

     "What about?" Amanda asked. "We can talk about baseball. How about those mashers?"

     "Shut up." He said as he pushed her into one of the building walls in the alley. "You know exactly what I want."

     "If it's a deal you want, I'm willing to talk terms." Amanda suggested. She doubted that was the reason but it was worth a shot.

     "I'm not here for a deal!" He screamed at her. "I just have a few questions: where did you take my blaster? Where the hell is it?"