Crash! A glass full of liquor shattered against the polished floor. A furious roar echoed from the top of the high-rise tower.
"Exploded?! That damned insect—how dare he!" Rensys Coppett, blue-skinned and seething, paced back and forth in his office.
His bodyguards had never seen him like this. Lord Rensys was always calm and calculating, the master of every room. But now, after receiving just one message, he was unraveling.
"The item—where is it?! Where is it?!" He suddenly grabbed Sainir, the tentacle-faced Quarren beside him, who looked like he wanted to burrow into his own chest.
"I don't know. All I heard is the case exploded. Everyone at the scene was turned to ash," Sainir muttered, head low. "Maybe the case only had a bomb. The real item might still be with Fronis. Maybe he wanted to keep it for himself and sent a fake."
"Fronis doesn't even understand its value! In the Empire's hands, it could reach its full potential. And I—the one who 'accidentally' discovered it—would become a kingmaker on Coruscant! You wouldn't have to live like a parasite, surviving on waste. But now… now it's all ruined!" Rensys bellowed, his face twisted like a volcano about to erupt, forehead nearly touching Sainir's.
With a violent shove, he threw Sainir aside and resumed pacing, head down, thinking.
"Go. Tell the Empire that Fronis's men were behind the explosion. Don't mention our involvement. If you do, you die," Rensys growled, yanking up the hood on Sainir's cloak and slamming it over his head.
"Y-Yes! Right away!" Sainir nodded furiously, tentacles quivering as he stumbled out the door and disappeared into the streets of Coruscant, just another hunched shadow in the crowd.
At Veronica's apartment, four people and one droid were gathered.
"Jay's fine," Veronica said, laying him on the bed. "Just caught the blast wave. He just needs rest."
Rango stood silently by the window, his green face streaked with dirt.
Amir sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the couch, staring intently at BD.
"You've got some explaining to do," Amir said, voice firm. They'd come way too close to dying.
That vision—if it could even be called that—he'd seen before the explosion… It wasn't just a hallucination. It felt like a glimpse of a possible future. Everyone dead. Veronica sobbing in hopeless despair. It had carved itself into his brain.
And the trench-coated man was at the center of it all. A simple exchange had spiraled into chaos because of him. And BD was clearly connected.
Beep-beep... bzzzt.
A tiny projector on the right side of BD's head activated. A figure appeared before them in a flickering blue projection—a man in a trench coat.
Veronica walked over, and Rango turned to look. Both frowned as they recognized the man who had caused the disaster.
Then the recording began to speak.
"I used to be an Imperial technician. The Empire… destroyed everything I had. Until," he lifted a small cube in his hand, "my friend and I found this. It's a database from the Old Republic—maps of hidden bases, research labs, ruins. We thought we could trade it to the Empire for a reward."
"But the Empire reacted far more aggressively than I expected. A man in black armor came for the deal, with agents at his side."
"My friend was killed—cut down with a red lightsaber. I was hiding. I escaped."
His tone was calm, but Amir could feel the weight of pain and bitterness beneath it.
"After that, I gave the holoprojector to a droid and had him dump it in a junkyard. Then I destroyed the droid—so even I wouldn't know where it was. That way, if the Empire caught me, they'd never get their hands on it."
"But one day, someone claiming to be from the Fulcrum network found me. She followed the trail, asking about the projector."
"She told me they were fighting the Empire. I said I wanted to join them."
"I told her about the holoprojector. She didn't push, but I could tell she knew it was important."
"So I started searching the scrapyard every day after work. BD-4 helped me."
"Time passed. I got busier. Eventually, I was recruited into the Rebel intelligence network on Coruscant."
"Two years ago, I was sent on another mission. During that time, BD-4 found it. But Fronis stole it."
"When I returned, I infiltrated Fronis's organization. Over the past two years, he used the data to plunder several hidden locations and made a fortune."
"Recently, he discovered a Black Sun meeting point. His ambition grew—he wanted power in the now-disorganized syndicate."
"He sent me to exchange the projector for an invitation."
"Heh. My Rebel contacts sensed Imperial activity, but we lost contact with Fulcrum. The intel network vanished."
"Yesterday, my comrades were caught."
"And now they're watching me too. The Empire knows about the projector."
"I can't escape anymore. On my way to the exchange, I'll place the projector inside BD-4. Then I'll vanish."
"If you're watching this message, please deliver the holoprojector to Fulcrum. I'm forever grateful."
The projection faded.
Silence.
The room was thick with tension. This was bigger than any of them had imagined.
Amir looked at BD-4, who sat quietly. He reached out and patted the droid's head.
"Don't worry. We're not handing you over to the Empire. You and what you found—you keep it."
He didn't know why BD had chosen to trust him. But Amir wasn't going to betray that.
Even without the message, there was no way he'd ever give that device to the Empire. And Veronica and the others had never second-guessed his decisions before.
With the explosion wiping out all the leads, they could stay quiet for a while. If no one talked, this whole thing could vanish.
All they had to do now… was wait for the Rebels to come.
Then hand off the holoprojector—and it would be over.
Beep-beep-beep. Veronica's communicator buzzed. Onscreen appeared a Quarren with a squid-like head.
"It's Sainir," she said, glancing at Amir.
Amir took the device and stepped aside, answering the call.
"Veronica—wait, Amir? Long time no see! Heard you joined the military. You're not here to arrest me, are you? Haha." Sainir put on his usual grin, his tone annoyingly familiar.
"You lied to my friends and nearly got us all killed. That's your idea of a joke?" Amir said coldly. "If we hadn't chased after the case, we'd be dead."
"I'll double your payment. I'll send it right now," Sainir said with a nervous chuckle. But his eyes showed no remorse. "So, uh… did you find anything? What was in the case?"
"Hmph. Didn't even see it. There was a smoke grenade, then boom. If you're that curious, go dig through the rubble yourself," Amir lied smoothly.
"Heheh. Glad you're safe. There'll be more work soon. Most of the other bounty hunters are either dead or in custody. Looks like it's just you left."
"Oh, lucky us. Now send the money. Goodbye," Amir snapped and ended the call.
He sat back down, thoughtful.
"Sainir's hiding something..." he muttered.