《Into an unknown galaxy》 Chapter 1 [Alexander] Honestly, I never thought that technical knowledge could be useful to me. No, no, of course, I took refresher courses from time to time and studied new devices used in the Empire, but I didn''t need it at all. Terrible, absolutely terrible, I''d rather have more books like [Particle Accelerator for Dummies] or [Brief History of Shield Generators] in my library than 101 collector''s editions of [Around the Empire in 49650 Standard Hours]. The book is definitely overrated, inaccurate, and has too much combat, not to mention a really long story. Sure, it was based on real events, but that didn''t help much in the current situation, especially with what I''m doing now. Moving away from the half-welded robot body and putting down the micro-welder, I stood up and stretched. Horrible, I really shouldn''t be spending a lot of time assembling. Maybe I should let an automatic assembly line do it? Hmm, that''s probably not very efficient, because the design problems will only be discovered at the final stage. Hah, so many problems... I turned to the hologram of the project. A meter-long robot spider with ten legs and a small shield generator. Yeah, considering how expensive this project was, I doubt I could afford more than three test units. Damn, why are portable shield generators so expensive in this galaxy? They''re the backbone of every standard Empire ground army, they should be mass-produced... Oh yes, the lack of any significant centralized military formations in this Republic. If the militaristic Senators of the Empire were to learn of such an underdeveloped political structure with vast territories and an incredibly low population density, they would faint... and within an hour they would be calling for another galactic war. Hearing a characteristic click on the floor, I turned to the door. When it opened, my best robot acquaintance began to report. ˇ°Sir, we are receiving a signal from P7/2 reporting that their group has been intercepted by pirates and is currently collecting the ship''s remains. Due to the damage to P7/1 and the failure of P7/3''s engine, the mission has been suspended until we have sufficient forces to advance through enemy territory. Is it worth sending a backup group?ˇ± Oh yes, my favorite pirates! It''s much easier to collect parts when they come for your ˇ°merchantˇ± and ˇ°defenselessˇ± fleet than to conduct illegal mining. Actually, maybe not. Their ship components were outdated even by the standards of this galaxy. The best riches could only come from raiding corporate convoys, but hey, thanks, but I still need my ships. ˇ°Sir?ˇ± ˇ°Send the nearest backup team. Have them help them break through Hutt space. 7th Force needs to get repairs in the south. Send a wake-up call to the South Shipyard.ˇ± ˇ°Aye, sir.ˇ± The robot, or Droid, as they''re called in this galaxy, has left my workshop. In general, the Maid Droid or Special Ship Cleaning Robot or SSCR-1 was far from the best for its current job. In ideal circumstances, it would have been replaced by a live officer, or a specially designed battle droid in case of a shortage of live officers. Unfortunately for me, I had neither a living officer nor blueprints and parts for command droids. That''s why this slow maid droid was the base for all my ˇ°advancedˇ± developments by the standards of this galaxy. What a nightmare. I looked around the room. Well, perhaps I should stretch my legs and get ready to travel to meet with potential customers. Stolen novel; please report. *** [Empire Shipyard] is my favorite and largest ship. It is my mobile base and a large space shipyard that I have constantly tried to develop and improve. This huge chunk of durasteel was slow,poorly maneuverable, and was generally small on a galactic scale. 500 meters in the folded state for interstellar travel and almost a klick in the unfolded state for repairs, ship assembly and resource transshipment. He had almost no weapons. Only a small part of this space was really suitable for living and resting, but I was able to fit a few pots with plants here. I sat on the seat and sipped my drink while looking out the window at the Red Dwarf star of the [R362930] system. What a fascinating name. There was not much interesting in the system except for the 3 gas giants. Therefore, the second name of the system is [Three Sisters]. A real jackpot for getting gases. Probably the best thing about this system was that this system was in Wild Space, so I could park my unregistered merchant-privateer ships there. Of course, this system is away from the trade routes, so it''s not often that my ships stop here. Time is money, and money is money. ˇ°How much time until the scheduled flight to the Lothal?ˇ± I set my glass down on the droid tray. ˇ°Eighteen standard hours, sir.ˇ± Well, that won''t be enough time for me to finish the robot spider project. ˇ°Departure in three standard hours.ˇ± ˇ°Acknowledged, sir.ˇ± Looks like it''s time for a visit to the graveyard. *** I stood silently in the ship''s graveyard. This place always brought back bad memories. The cryptosleep compartment is not really a graveyard, but it feels like one. 26 crew members are in cryptosleep and the 27th chamber is open. I''m very afraid of coming here and disappearing into thousands of years of history. Why are the other 26 crew members in cryptosleep? Very simple! THE DAMN PSIONIC ENTITY! When we first arrived in this galaxy on a small cruise ship, this DAMNED ENTITY got into our brains. The locals call it the Force, and they say that there are even fanatics who sacrifice their will and sanity to the Force in exchange for the opening of their psionic potential. No wonder, because this entity is trying to completely destroy disloyal psionics. Our ship was thrown off its usual psionic path by a psi-drive malfunction and dragged into the entity''s control zone. Because of this attack, I almost fell into a psionic trance, as did these crew members with weaker psi defenses. Now the whole ship is covered with a psi-defense generator, but to pull a psionic out of a trance requires professional help, which I cannot provide at this time. I kissed the lid of the sarcophagus and stepped out into the corridor. Time to go to Lothal. *** [Starfire] is one of the officially registered freighters. Little armor, few weapons, a lot of space. All by Republic standards. The [Outer Wind] transport company has not been very successful, to say the least. Of course, when your competitors have been on the market for centuries, it''s hard to find a customer base. Unless your goods are illegal or you need to move them quickly through Hutt space. This is where the merchant privateers come in. Fast, safe, and without inspections from Corellian Run to the Perlemian Trade Route. All the ships are without a single living person, so if the Hutts are angry, they can blame the Trade Federation. They don''t think some non-corporation is bold enough to fly through their space, do they? No, they don''t, because my ships have been using this system for years. Yes, they do get caught by pirates from time to time, but in general, this scheme brings a lot of profit. My official fleet generally travels between the Hydian Way and the Corellian Run. This is a vast, sparsely populated area. It''s a long flight, mid profit, and slow business expansion. I could wait and have my own mega-corporation in a century or two. As if I needed it. Empire Star Shipping was doing incredibly well, I wonder how it''s doing now. [Sunfire] was actually my way of traveling from [Three Sisters] to the rest of the known galaxy. If I had to attend a Lothal as the head of [Outer Wind] or another official customer meeting, I wasn''t too far away. Of course, this means burning hyper fuel for every little physical encounter, but it''s all in the name of security. I even used a few spy satellites in neighboring systems of known space to minimize the chance of detection. All in the name of secrecy. The SSCR was waiting for me in the hangar in front of the lowered ramp. "Sir, everything is ready for launch." "Excellent." My command droid remained on the Mothership while I climbed the ramp and walked to the cockpit. The pilot droid was already sitting in the main seat, so I took the second seat. After testing the systems and receiving permission to take off in automatic mode, we took off and flew through the now open hangar door. Well, I wonder what this year''s meeting will bring me. Chapter 2 [Lothal] Probably the worst thing about droids that any organic has to deal with is the lack of socialization. Don''t get me wrong, droids are incredibly efficient, especially at the specific task they were created for. But take this droid pilot, for example. It''s incredibly specialized, and it just doesn''t have the ability to engage in even basic conversation to keep the mood up. Of course, droids can be replaced by androids, but the Empire has not practiced this due to... well, to put it mildly, rapid population growth. Had we allowed droids to be used on a large scale, the Empire might have faced an unemployment crisis. But in this galaxy... Well, most of the droids I''ve seen are programmed too simply to block the effects of the Force. If these Organics had developed stable programming and/or simple anti-psionic field generators, this entire galaxy might be filled by droids by now. Ah, well, there are these fanatics who worship this Entity. What did they call them? Jedi? [Sunfire] folded its solar sails and prepared to enter Lothal''s atmosphere. I don''t know why, but this relatively simple addition to any starship was not used much in this galaxy. Perhaps it was the constant need for maintenance, or a distrust of any form of artificial intelligence, but in this part of the galaxy I was about the only one to install them on my ships. Maybe that''s why they were the fastest, well, by the standards of the local pirates. Honestly, Lothal can hardly be considered a developed point on the galactic map. Huge areas of fields, bantha pens, and generally empty terrain. In general, it is hard to say that the administration has done nothing to improve Lothal''s development and situation. Take, for example, the annual exhibition dedicated to the development and prosperity of Lothal. Of course I participated! I was offered free publicity for my solar sails in exchange for being introduced as "the best sailmaker in Lothal". It didn''t matter that I didn''t work for Lothal, but merely had an automated office on the outskirts of town that took orders for the transportation of goods. It was my official headquarters, and it was the planet I visited the most, but it still didn''t make me a full-fledged shipbuilder. If it had been easier to get a shipbuilder''s license, I might never have thought of building a mobile shipyard and would have just had an orbital station here on Lothal. In that case, however, it would have been much harder to produce unregistered ships. That''s why I''m known here as the head of [Outer Wind] and the best (and only) solar sail maker on Lothal. Of course, I improve ships and build various inventions, but I am not well known for that. Passing through the atmosphere, our ship descended to a specially designated platform in the middle of a field being prepared for the celebration of the 44th anniversary of the Lothal Development and Prosperity Exhibition. When the ship''s feet finally touched the platform, I finally got out of my seat. As I walked to the airlock, I grabbed my standard psionic field suppression belt. After securing it, I opened the airlock. Almost immediately I was hit by strong waves of psionic radiation. In general, it is similar to a headache. A constant psychological buzz that tries to kill you. It''s terrible. I clapped twice, and the loader droids began carrying my prototypes of the equipment I will be displaying at this year''s expo. It looks like I''ll be the only ship improvement company on Lothal this year. No one even from Mon Kalamari wants to visit this backward place. I stepped back from the gangway to let a small air truck pass by, loaded on the [Sunfire]. This truck was perfect for transporting a single bantha or delivering crops from a small farm. It has rounded corners and special folding walls to make it easier to put the banthi inside. By the way, there was a built-in camera at the bottom of the truck. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "It''s incredible that not a year goes by without a new product for sale! Maybe in 10 years you''ll be able to buy your own territory on Lothal for shipbuilding." "Mr. Hart, what a surprise! I didn''t expect to see you so soon." "You know, you can just call me Henry, but organizing all this requires direct control." Henry Hart. A dark-haired xenos whose species is called human. Today he already wears a formal suit for meetings. An innovator and probably the basis for the entire modernization of Lothal. He has been the Minister of Development and Technology of Lothal for 40 years. He is said to have connections in the Trade Federation, but that does not help the development of this investment pit. Why is Lothal so backward that even selling to megacorporations is not an opportunity for rapid development? Enter the Bantha Barons and Agribusinesses. The problem is that they are, well, not interested in industry or mining on Lothal. They want Lothal to remain a place with easy access to cheap labor and vast areas suitable for growing bantha and food. Probably the only reason I am invited to Lothal is because the agribusinesses are also looking for a way to get their goods to the central galaxy cheaply. Therefore, alternative transport routes such as the Outer Wind are not considered foreign or undesirable. All to reduce the Trade Federation''s monopoly, of course. There are enough piranhas in that pool already, so any other corporation will just get gobbled up until they back off. "I''m not sure anything that different happens every year. New products, maybe, but the customer base generally doesn''t change. What difference does it make if the same products are grown and shipped to the same markets? It''s just a crab pit that never changes." "Unfortunately, that''s true. Are you sure you don''t want to work for Lothal? I could help you with the Capitol elections. I could be a "shipbuilding expert" or something." "Ha! Until I get an official license to build ships, I won''t get involved in this complicated scheme. Also, any of my development or production projects will be blocked. It''s not very profitable for me unless you get me a certified Republic permit to build a mini-shipyard in Lothal''s orbit." "You know that''s impossible. I''m afraid of how much pressure I''d have to take to even try to get it through the Capitol." "Right, and until that changes, I''m not likely to change my mind about moving here." "Okay, okay, what did you bring this year?" "A couple of upgraded crop choppers and a new repulsor truck." "All with certification?" "Still in the works." Henry sighed. "Well, good luck with your preparations for the expo." Why can I safely sell unregistered equipment without getting arrested? Well, because I wasn''t officially a manufacturer, and I was backed by the local government. Of course, selling unregistered parts is not completely legal, but here in the Outer Rim, the law was not clear about it. I can still sell them as long as I pay all the taxes. Of course, this prevented me from selling my components in the Core or Mid Rim, but it still left an incredible number of places to sell. Not to mention the pirates, who were willing to buy anything that improved their ships'' combat performance. I left the ship and walked over to my repulsor truck. Sitting in the 2 driver''s seat, I''m ready to check out the office. I wonder if there will be any personal customers. Chapter 3 [Kash] To be honest, the [Outer Wind] office was pretty small. At least by my standards. Still, it was one of the most compact fully automated offices on the planet. Was it crowded? Haha, on such a small planet, there was no need for regular transportation. Honestly, if I had brought hydrogen and other gases from neighboring systems, I could have gotten more customers. With all this, there are officially 2 billion Xenos on the planet. I honestly believe that this number is completely far-fetched and untrue. Although the number of people who emigrated from Lothal was really high. It was definitely not the best place to find a skilled job. But today I had a special guest: A representative of the Trade Federation. His main concern was to control trade in the region. We were competitors, of course, but for now we were neutral toward each other. Things were not so good 6 years ago. The mercenaries hired to destroy my ships were destroyed by my privateers, so we reached a sort of consensus. It''s not that I have much money after paying all the fees and taxes, but if I want to have a functioning merchant fleet, I should do some operations. But today, I had a special reason to meet with this Nemodian. "Good afternoon, please sit down," I said, pointing to a chair. Oh my God, these are so disgusting. "Thank you, Alexander, it''s a pleasure to meet the best technician in the sector. I hope you have plenty of time before the expo." "Thank you, yes, quite a bit." "In that case, I''ll get right to the point. You probably know about the tragedy on Eriadu." "It''s... terrible." Eriadu recently hosted a full conference on Outer Rim taxation. Half of the Outer Rim gathered for the conference, with the entire leadership of the Trade Federation as its centerpiece. They brought battle droids to protect themselves at the summit. It is not known exactly what happened, but the guard droids shot the Council. No one else was killed. Either the droids were hacked or it was a secret plan all along. The Federation blames the Republic, the Republic says it was a malfunction. It''s like a powder keg, I''m afraid we can expect a response from the Federation soon. "You''re right, it''s terrible. Management has ordered me to change the prices for this sector." This is not so bad. Considering that someone with the connections and reach of the Federation is organizing this, it could mean an increase in the price of transportation throughout the Outer Rim. Especially on backward planets like Lothal. "I am willing to cooperate. But I have conditions." "Of course we expected nothing less, you can list them." "I will only raise prices after a month if your prices go up. Also, I would like to get a few hundred B-1s for help on the ship." "That''s... Good. We will send you our decision via hyperlink. I''ll have to talk to management about the B-1s. Do we still have reason to talk? If not, I should go to the Expo." "Okay, thank you for your time." Now we can move on to something more interesting. *** [Lothal Development Forum] was a meeting place for all the influential local leaders. The entire [Capitol], leaders of local businesses, representatives of corporations and potential investors were all invited to this event. It was not a small event. For Lothal, the gathering of humans and other xenos from hundreds of parsecs of space was a big deal. The stand with my products was located at the edge of the exhibition next to the Lothal extraction company. This is probably the only company allowed to mine in Lothal. In general, they are doing poorly, and raising transportation prices could mean bankruptcy for this company. Not to say that I wouldn''t like to buy some official mining on Lothal. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. My stand was not very popular. Of course, why would a bantha baron want my solar sails, and so I was more focused on medium and small entrepreneurs. [Sunfire] stood on its platform in all its glory. The shiny golden sails were open at the top and sides of the ship, reminding me of a pheasant opening its beautiful tail. But the ship itself could hardly be called incredibly beautiful. The wide, angular cargo frame, the scratches in the airlock area, and the odd combination of pale purple and red colors would repel potential customers from a very rich market segment. I might have to hire a designer to create a model suitable for market sale. Thinking that my help was unlikely to be needed, I moved to a more central area of the exhibit. In general, I did not know what else to expect from an exhibition in this agricultural world. Lots of different crops whose names I didn''t know, some unique dishes for the richest part of the population, and representatives from the next hundred parsecs of space. This is, you could say, the shadow government of Lothal. Phew, what a shame, now I''m even ready to join the interest groups of these disorganized xenos. But the star of today''s demonstration was the Academy project in Lothal. Why wait for people to leave Lothal when you can train them on the spot? It''s a brilliant idea for LOThAL, but the main problem is that it''s not clear where these pilots, technicians, and engineers will go to work after they graduate. For them, LOTHAL is a place where they won''t find work. This can only accelerate the emigration from Lothal. Unless someone starts hiring all those specialists. Perhaps I should think about ships with organic materials. Even though my ships were certified, I saved as much as I could on life support systems. Why do you need air filtration and temperature control on a ship when all your "employees" have an optimal temperature of -50 to +75 degrees? "Alexander, it''s been a long time, my friend! How are you? I hear the Republic has raised taxes on the outer regions. If you need any help, I can help you." Kash was a quick-witted, green-skinned Twi''lek. If you needed to find a way to get a slave or some strange substance on the galaxy''s black market, she could dig into her contacts and get you anything you wanted. "I think we both know I don''t need any help right now. Especially help that would be probably illegal." "Alexander, you break my heart, I thought we always had a fruitful relationship. It''s probably not illegal, and no one will ever know about the transport of these goods to the right place." "I still have enough business, Kash, I''ll contact you if I need to." "As you wish, but every day you think about it, you could be missing out on this very interesting opportunity. It''s a very interesting job from Cantonica." "Cantonica?" "I don''t know, we have an incredibly interesting client who is looking for ships to transport unknown materials. The goods must be delivered to Tatooine quickly." "What? Are you kidding me? That''s thousands of parsecs from here, not to mention it''s an unknown commodity. What if transporting these things is illegal?" "I will escort those crates. All you have to do is come to Cantonica, pick up the goods, and fly quickly to Tatooine. Fast delivery will be charged extra." "Fast, huh, what exactly do you need to move?" "Interested?" "Maybe." "200 special crates in total. Size 2*2*2m." "Special boxes? I don''t like this order." "Tell me more about the payment." "I knew I could count on you, Alex." I thought the adventure was over for this year. ////////////////////////////////// This chapter prabably will need a rewrite. Chapter 4 [?nteresting Delivery] The biggest problem with special orders is strange conditions. From the simple "do not move the crates around the ship" to the more complex "avoid any Republic patrols". Some missions even meant picking up the goods at a certain location with the initial payment, leaving the goods at another location and waiting for the payment to be made to the account. These were very strange missions, and it seems that this one was no exception. The worst part was that the delivery was to Tatooine. A piece of Hutt space in the middle of the Republic where you can find everything from common pirates and slave traders to representative "offices" of galactic syndicates. The strangest and most problematic thing was the place where the crates of goods were to be picked up. Cantonica. Why hire a small company whose headquarters were several thousand parsecs away when you had the headquarters of many, if not all, of the galaxy''s trading conglomerates right next door? Still, the rule of gray business is simple: the less you know, the longer you sleep. Adding to the problem was an extra condition of the contract: Kash had to accompany the goods to Tatooine. This means that I, as the only organic, will also have to accompany the goods. Gray goods that had to be transported quickly by a small company on the hyperhighways of the outer region. I can''t even imagine what it could be. However, I was preparing for such a trip. I was in my shipyard section in [Empire Shipyard]. The shipyard itself is a huge space filled with rarefied air, full of robot assemblers and other autonomous mechanisms. What I was standing on was a huge forward-facing room that added a lot of space to the ship for the assembly of space and ground vehicles. In general, this is the extra 500 meters of the ship that appeared in the expanded state. I was separated from the vacuum by less than a meter of duralumin beneath my feet. The last ship in my party, which will help me transport 200 medium-sized crates, was just getting its finishing touches. In the past, I had bought a cargo ship on Mon Kalamari and then reverse-engineered it. I was not a professional shipbuilder, so most of my designs are slightly modified copies of existing ships in the galaxy. Adding more weapons, a better reactor, or replacing a shield generator is easy enough, but changing the ship''s frame or moving critical elements is beyond my expertise. Perhaps one day I''ll be able to hire a professional shipbuilder. This is an urgent order. What could possibly be going on in the next few weeks that I am in such a hurry to have it delivered in secret through the outer ring? Looks like I have to prepare for an interesting trip. *** The good news was that the Kash was ready almost immediately. When I visited Lothal again, I was greeted not by an elegant informant for the wealthiest of the Outer Circle, but by a full-fledged mercenary. Dark trousers of thick cloth and a dark blue jacket. A holster with a simple blaster was slung around my shoulder. I was also dressed in local clothing. I wore black technician pants and a gray sleeveless jacket. Of course, I prefer homeworld clothing, but this time I was expecting contact with pirates, mercenaries, and Kash. That means a high probability of getting shot with a blaster, and unfortunately my clothes are not designed for such negative reactions. Maybe I''ll order some combat gear when I get back to the Empire. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "Tick tock, time''s running out, let''s go," Kash said, jumping onto the [Sunfire] as if she owned the ship without waiting for me, "By the way, where''s my room? I turned around, exhaled, and followed the expressive Twi''lek. "What if there was no room for another organic on the ship?" "Well, I guess you''d be sharing your quarters with me," she suddenly turned to me, "You know, you might be one of the few people I can trust in this part of space." She continued walking, this time more slowly as the ship began to move. "And I am even more certain that you will not sell me into slavery." "What makes you think that?" I smiled. "You don''t like slavery," she thought a little more and added, "Well, I don''t think I''ve seen you fulfill any such contracts in the last 5 years." "I tend to think slavery is inefficient." "Really?" she looked at me again with a raised eyebrow, "Should I be afraid?" "Perhaps only if you meet other members of my species." We reached the small recreation room where we would spend most of our time. It was a small room with two couches on one side and a small workshop on the other. For now, there were only a few boxes of droid parts nearby. "Wow! I didn''t know you were so into droids." Kash walked over and grabbed a droid leg peeking out of a crate, "Your parts are pretty unique for mass-produced parts." "Custom made for special droids." "Oh? What kind of droid needs such a limb?" "A security robot." "That doesn''t look much like a Trade Federation B1 leg." "Because I don''t buy junk, I only use quality machines," I took the leg away and put it back on the workshop table, "As I understand it, we''re going to Cantonica and deliver the goods from there. Any change of plans?" "No, although I doubt this ship will hold all 200 crates." "There are two more ships waiting in orbit." "In that case, I have no complaints. So what are you going to do during the voyage?" "Well..." *** POV KASH Kash sat in the cabin Alexander had on his ship and rested with her eyes closed. She doubted that this alien would try to capture her and sell her into slavery before the mission was over. Alexander was one of the strangest mercenaries she had ever worked with. He was a tall humanoid with long ears. When she searched for information about him, she found very little. There was nothing about him or his species in the Republic databases. She remembers 6 years ago. She found information about an incredible technician on Lothal. One thing led to another, and she was able to contact him for a possible gray job. He was a good technician, and she hired him several times for locals who wanted to upgrade their ships. That ended very quickly when he started getting these contacts on his own. A little later she found out about his trading company on Lothal. He was one of those crazy people who almost never refused to deliver gray goods. The most interesting thing was that he avoided transporting slaves. Well, I hope this will be the last such job for me and I will finally be able to stop meeting with slave traders and smugglers. Chapter 5 [Cantonica] "How often do you travel the galaxy? It seems to me you''re used to spending more time with droids than people." Kash annoyed me by watching me work from behind. "I''ve had incredibly little contact with organics lately. I''m trying to gather enough resources for one of my experiments," I was busy assembling a small robotic brain and talking to the Twi''lek behind me. "Is the way to get those resources to keep repairing droids? Do you even sleep at night?" "My species doesn''t need it, physically speaking. We need mental rest, which can be much more difficult than the physical component of sleep." "I''ve always wanted to ask about your species. Where do you come from?" "I''d rather not talk about that," I stopped welding and looked at the wall. Kash was also standing silently behind me. "Well, okay? But we''ll be landing soon, so you''d better come out of your state of apathy." There was silence again. "Alex-" "Got it! Okay..." I exhaled slowly, stood up and turned to my friend. "Everyone needs some time." *** Cantonica was a corporate tycoon''s paradise. As long as you had the credits, almost every door on the map and in the sector was open to you. For our delivery, we were given a short window to load the goods onto our 3 transport ships. It was a small spaceport, far away from anything important on the planet. In general, I thought I had enough problems as it was, but there was something that bothered me a lot. I stood leaning against the wall of the spaceport with my arms crossed in front of me. "Why are you frowning like that? Is something wrong?" Kash approached me after confirming the receipt of all the crates. Actually, there were 203 of them, but in general they did not exceed my transport limit. "There''s not enough bureaucracy. It''s as if we''d never been here before. According to the records, a random ship came here." "I''m no expert, but it seems to me that the whole outer ring works like this. The fewer records, the easier it is, no?" Kash looked at me in surprise. "Well, I''ve gotten a little used to the lack of records in the outer ring. But even here, for gray flights, they do the necessary arrival documentation. In this case, we look like a smuggling ship that never landed. Do you know anything about this particular delivery?" "No, I have no such information." Listening to her heartbeat, I could tell she was nervous. This could be a big problem. *** The cargo droids had just finished loading the last of the crates into the ships when I saw movement at the entrance to our mini-spaceport. Several organics ran into our open-air hangar and began firing blasters at us. I quickly ran for cover. Despite my worst fears, Kash returned fire. Luckily, all the ships had full droid crews, so the bandits returned fire with turbolaser defense systems. I began returning fire with my little blaster. Despite its poor quality, it was quite effective at close range. I hit one organic in the arm and another in the head. By this time, more and more enemies were running into the hall. Most of these Raiders were only firing at the Sunfire because its hull covered the other cargo ships. The gangways of the ships were lowered perpendicular to the line of fire, making it impossible to get inside and damage the interior. While we were exchanging fire, another dozen enemies entered the room. One of them was holding what looked like a rocket launcher. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. OH NO. BOOM! Looking in the direction of the explosion, I noticed that one of the walls of the building was missing. Looks like luck is on my side today. I put the communicator to my mouth. "Cover us. We''re retreating." My robot spider ran out of [Sunfire] and started firing at the enemy organics. It didn''t reduce the number of shots fired in our direction much, but it definitely reduced the accuracy of the shots. Good news, the robot spider''s shield withstood the enemy fire. "Retreat!" I shouted to Kash as I bent down and ran towards the [Sunfire]. I ran inside and started returning fire while hiding behind the ship''s hull, waiting for Kash to get inside as well. When Kash was inside and I was about to stop firing, a pain shot through my arm and I dropped my blaster. Damn, I''ve been shot! "Argh, let''s get out of here, now!" The ship began to bend noticeably, taking harmless blaster shots at itself. The ramp began to rise, sealing off the ship''s storage room. "Huh, it''s a good thing we... ARGH!" When I grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up to eye level, Kash was scared. "What do you know about it? Try to tell me a lie and I''ll throw you out of this airlock back to Cantonica!" "Kriff! It''s my boss''s delivery order, I suspect it''s an attack by enemies of my boss! I don''t know anything else!" She desperately tried to get out of my healthy hand by hitting it with her own. "What''s in the boxes?" "I don''t know! Maybe weapons!" I carefully put her back on the ground, holding her neck in my left hand. "Who''s your boss?" "Reys. He is the head of the [Two Suns] pirate group and my master." She raised her hand and pulled the collar of her sweatshirt away from her neck. Shit. I saw a slave collar around her neck. She continued speaking, only more calmly. "This collar is nothing. It keeps my family in slavery until I pay my debt. This mission was supposed to bring me enough credits to pay off my debt and buy my family back." We looked at each other in silence, studying each other''s expressions. She was sure of what she was saying. I let go of her neck. She began to rub it where I had grabbed it, without taking her eyes off it. "Okay. I believe you. What were you going to do by freeing your family?" I continued without changing my slightly angry expression. She continued to stare at me, then exhaled, relaxed her face with a few blinks, and said. "I hope to get away from Tatooine and Hutt space. Maybe become a pilot in the Core or Mid Rim. Hell, I''m ready to go anywhere." "I... apologize for my impulsive decision, but I thought it was a trap. I don''t trust people I don''t know well. I am willing to complete our contract. After that, you will be free to decide your own fate." "Sounds good to me." I exhaled. "Okay, time to relax, let''s go get something to eat or something." Kash looked at me strangely. "You trust me that much?" "I don''t know, but your story sounds logical and we''ve been working together for about 5 years now. I believe you." And besides, I didn''t notice her lack of confidence in her story, nor did I believe she would attack me on a ship full of droids. But I chose not to express those thoughts. Chapter 6 [Pirates] The last firefight reminded me of 2 problems with fighting in this galaxy: 1.This is not the Empire, and I will not have reliable support unless I create droids to back me up. 2.Despite the fact that the Empire has better technology than the local Organics, I don''t have access to that technology, which means my technological level is almost equal to the technology used by the Organics in this galaxy. This is a big problem in general. Most of my strategies are based on the expectation of technological superiority over the local population. But that is no longer the case. This is an interesting change in circumstances that requires me to develop a battle helmet. I must add this item to my to-do list. So far, I''ve looked through the records of the Robo Spider''s combat use. In general, it was a blaster machine gun covered by a shield generator on a mobile spider-like frame. The speed of movement of such a droid may not be comparable to repulsor transport, but this spider compensates by being able to move on a vertical surface. In general, I was pleased with the results of my experiment. It could not be compared to the use of live fighters, but in the absence of orbital cover, it could help in the use of an army of droids. Suddenly, a message came over the ship''s communications, signaling an urgent situation that required the captain''s attention. I went to the captain''s cabin to find out what was causing the alarm. Kash ran out of her room, looking sleepy and tired. She looked at me and followed me into the cockpit. When I entered the cockpit, I looked at the status screen and the reason for the alarm. "Possible pursuit by neutral fleet," read the status screen. I said: "Send a message to the Operations Center. Send P... Activate P8 Group and move into battle formation according to the data provided on the pursuers, taking into account our planned jump." I received confirmation of the orders on the console. I don''t really know how to fight in space, so I hope the ships'' automatic systems along with the droid''s advanced brain will be enough. "Looks like we''re going to have to take a detour." I looked at Kash, "I hope that''s on our order." "What happened?" Kash asked. "Looks like we''re being followed. We''ll wait for our pursuers at the rendezvous point." I said as I continued to look at the simple 2D map of the galaxy. "A rendezvous point? I thought there were only 3 ships to transport." "Are you willing to keep my secrets to the death?" I turned back to Kash and looked into her eyes, "Are you willing to put my interests before yours?" "What? No. What kind of stupid question is that?" "That''s what I thought. I have no allies here unless you''re willing to work for me." "Work for you? And why should I choose you?" Kash was skeptical about my offer. "Well, I doubt anyone will pay you much. Besides, you already know a lot about my operations in the region. If you find out too much and I have no way of pressuring you..." Kash decided to continue for me. "So you''re going to try to take me out?" "No, I''m going to try to erase your memory." "Is that possible? I''ve never heard of such technology." Kash was unsure of the truth of my words. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "There are three ways to erase the memory of certain events. You can pay an organic, hit them over the head, or brainwash them. Unfortunately, the third option is not available to me at this time. That leaves only two options, and I don''t want to pay you." "Is that a threat?" "Of course!" Kash looked at me confused. "In that case I don''t want to know too much, does that work?" "You already know too much... But not enough to make me want to take you out. Besides, we have a contract. As long as you fulfill all the conditions of your part, I will fulfill all the conditions of mine." *** I didn''t like setting traps for anyone. A trap is too unstable a tactic, which can lead to your own destruction if not executed correctly. Traps should only be set during strategic games and in case of a significant lack of combat forces. In my case, I relied on the autonomous software of the ships to better accomplish the tasks. I think I had an advantage over these pirates. I had four privateers and three transports under my command. I was followed by an unknown number of ships ranging from two to ten starships, based on the hyperwave impulses analyzed by my scanners. I could have been at a disadvantage, but I knew exactly where I was and I knew more about the system than the enemy. For example, I knew exactly where to exit hyperspace, while the pirates were most likely using galactic standards. This meant that they would probably exit hyperspace at square A11. A minute passed. Five very different ships jumped out of hyperspace. Before I could fully distinguish them, they began firing lasers at me. My privateers also sent a volley of torpedoes at the pirates. It seems the pirates were not expecting it at all, so each ship reacted differently. The front 2 ships decided not to retreat and took most of the shots. The third ship tried to reverse and make an emergency hyperjump. Unfortunately, a torpedo hit its engines, preventing it from increasing its speed quickly. Only the fourth ship made an emergency hyperjump. The fifth ship was a large transport ship that had no chance of surviving the number of laser shots that hit it. It seems that this is where the pirates intended to put most of the crates. Note to self: develop robotic boarding teams. Capturing ships can be incredibly profitable. When the firefight was over and only my 7 ships and the 4 remaining pirate ships were left in the system, my favorite part of fighting pirates began. We cut off everything useful from these lifeless pieces of durasteel. Each privateer had several robotic arms built in, and they began cutting the remains into components and taking the useful parts back to their hangar. I looked at the composition of the components we expected to find in this wreckage. I couldn''t find the resources I needed. Looks like I should start mining planetoids and asteroids illegally. If no one finds me, then I haven''t broken any laws. But for that I need a cover, hmm. I went to the recreation room where Kash was sitting on the couch. She saw me out of the corner of her eye and turned to me. "Did everything go well? Are we going to continue the flight?" "Almost. We just have to collect the useful parts from the pirate ships." Kash just looked at me in silence. So, to Tatooine, huh? Chapter 7 [Two Suns] If you ask an average Republic citizen what Tatooine is, the best you can get is that it is Hutt territory. But ask the same question of any smuggler or slave trader and you will get a completely different answer. This is the place where all slave owners try to conduct their slave exchanges. And why is that? It''s Hutt territory in the middle of the Republic. Easier shipping, and it''s right next to a major trade route, which only makes the exchange of "goods" easier. That was another reason why I didn''t like this galaxy. Slavery? No, slavery was inherent to many species as a way to develop society unevenly. What I really didn''t like was the absolute inability of the Republic to enforce laws on their planets. It would be understandable if they were captured planets. But no, the planets were VOLUNTARILY part of the Republic. Only our 3 ships went into the system. I left the privateers at the southern shipyard (which is actually just a small orbital resource depot with some repair droids) to offload resources. It seems that 5 out of 8 groups of my privateers have already gathered here in the galactic south. That is up to 20 warships. I need to find interesting missions to deliver to the north to bring this number back to the standard 3 groups in the south. In general, no one has ever had a meeting on the planet itself, unless you have a REALLY big transaction or one of the parties has Hutt cover. I don''t know which part of my delivery is referring to, but the Pirate group [Two Suns] objectively refers to the two suns in this system. In fact, it''s not the first pirate group with that name in this system, but I''m not sure if it''s the same group or if they''re using the name of an already known brand. As we entered the atmosphere, Kash came up behind me. She was fully prepared to meet her "master", complete the delivery, and release her family. In general, I understood her. The opportunity to free her family was incredibly important to her. We were given an unusual landing site for the ship. I was expecting a spaceport in the middle of the city to unload the goods, but the closest thing to a military camp was designated as the final delivery location. Well, as close as a military town could be on Tatooine. The city had a small fortification in the center and appeared to be accessible to groups affiliated with the Hutts. The city was protected from the desert winds by its location near the mountains. Our ships were assigned a large area on a hard surface in the non-arid part of the settlement. I was lucky that we were given enough space, otherwise one or two of the ships would have just hung around in space waiting for a landing opportunity. Despite my fears, the landing was successful. We even unloaded a few crates of battle droids. For now, I''m using B1s mostly because I don''t have enough crystals to build a droid computer. Another reason to start mining asteroids. In general, I was led to the leader [Two Suns] and "asked" to surrender my weapons. This was no less than I had expected from pirates, so I had already tried to hide scanning-resistant weapons. After handing over all our blasters, we went to the pirate captain''s lounge. In general, I could understand his taste. A large room, a variety of drinks and several slaves to serve him. I don''t know if he just wanted to show off or if this was how he spent his time, but if your entertainment is so simple and monotonous, I don''t wish him a life like that. Seeing us, a smile flashed across the pirate''s face. "What people! Oh, Kash, I was wondering when you would return to me. Please massage my feet, they are incredibly tired." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Kash knelt down and began massaging the pirate leader''s foot. This gave him much more pleasure than it might seem. "And who are you? The merchant who took this order?" "My name is Alex, yes, I''m the captain who delivered the cargo. There were more than 200 boxes, will there be a surcharge? The pirate looked at me questioningly. "No?" "Well, good. While delivering the cargo, our convoy was attacked by pirates. We hired mercenaries to protect our ships. Will the cost of the mercenaries be covered?" "No." The pirate said more confidently. "That''s all there is to the cargo." "You must be the first merchant to be so confident about your safety on this base. All right, all right, I''m willing to pay you... 10,000 credits for the delivery." "The deal was for 13,000." I objected. "The contract was for 12,000." "So you agree that I''m underpaying?" "No, you were too slow in delivering the goods. I asked for quick delivery." He was unwilling to pay. "Do you not want to maintain a business relationship with [Outer Wind]? I know the Outer Rim is wide, but I doubt that many will cooperate with you when others find out about the risk of meeting your competitors." "Competitors?" "That''s what Kash called them to explain why they attacked us." I replied and looked at Kash. He also looked at Kash. "And how are you going to get this information to the others if I don''t let you out of here?" "The ships are not fully unloaded, they will leave as soon as the negotiator is captured. You have more to lose than to gain by threatening and capturing me." Reys sat and looked at me, studying my face. Finding something in my expression, he replied. "Okay, okay. I''m willing to pay 11 thousand." "Just to hire the mercenaries costs 2 thousand." "You decided to hire mercenaries. It wasn''t listed as a mandatory item in the contract." "Nevertheless, you will definitely want to pay the FULL amount." I decided to speed up the negotiations with some psionics. He stared at me for quite a while, confusing even the guards in the room. Everyone was very quiet and I was getting a headache. "All right, then. I''ll pay you the full amount." Many people in the room were relieved that the atmosphere in the room had become more positive. Kash looked at me hopefully. Looks like I have to hold up my end of the bargain. "That''s great. Since the delivery will be fully paid for, we can talk about other options. For example, how about I buy Kash back from you?" "Buy it back? And why would I sell it to you?" "Because I have the money, right? Especially since you promised her the opportunity to buy you back with money. Our company could certainly use another pilot." "I agreed to fire her only if she brought the money to ME. In that case, I would release her and her family." "She gave me the money for safekeeping. I will pay the ransom for her with this money. Or will you not release her?" "How much did she give you?" He touched her face, "And how much money did you keep, my dear Kash?" "I had about ten thousand." "So you trusted a random mercenary over me?" He sat more comfortably. "Okay, let''s make the sale. Kash is worth five thousand credits, and her family members... Let''s take 2,500 per family member." "I''m willing to buy the last member of your family." I looked at the pirate again. "I WANT you to sell her." Chapter 8 ["EMPLOYEES"] When I decided to help the Kash family move, I realized there would be some problems. First, my ship was not designed to carry a large number of organics. Second, when I arrived on Tatooine, I thought about "hiring" additional workers to make the job easier for me. Of course, I will give everyone I hire a choice to choose only motivated workers. I was planning our Tatooine route when Kash walked into the room. After all the machinations with the delivery and the firing, she looked years older. Her eyes were full of joy and incredibly exhausted from years of shedding tears. "Why did you pay for me and my family? What does that give you?" "So the first thing you do for me is look for a reason instead of simple gratitude." "Nothing is free in this galaxy. You can''t expect someone to hold up their end of the bargain unless you have a way to intimidate them." "And what intimidation did you use on me?" "There were explosives in at least three crates on different ships. I put detonators on them so that if I didn''t come back, they would explode." "That''s a good idea, but I''ve already received reports of detonators being found during the loading phase. Besides, how were you going to control that they would explode on me and not on the pirates?" "I didn''t plan for that. It would have been better if it had detonated on the pirates. This whole trip to Tatooine is just one improvisation after another. I decided to bet on you because you have a better reputation than Reys anyway. He was one of the reasons my family and I were captured. You haven''t answered the question. What''s in it for you?" "You could say I continue to work as I did at home. Do you want to know? Work for me and I''ll tell you my secrets." "Work for me? What can I do for you?" "You are famous. Even if you don''t have much power, you are famous in the sector. You can solve many of the problems of the privileged of Lothal or other small planets. In addition, you want to find a place where you can settle without a high chance of being captured by slavers. You can do a lot with your popularity. I want to use this opportunity to my advantage." "I don''t want to work with slavers and smugglers." "You won''t have to. I''d like to get a proxy on Lothal. You could make a lot of money, especially since Henry Hart is looking for popular organics to support his reforms on Lothal." "I... Will they accept me into their [Capitol]? I''m a Twi''lek, and I doubt they''re very tolerant of non-humans." "It''s not as big a problem as you think. Money is the main reason for their work." "I''ll think about it. Do you want to tell me how you convinced Reys to sell me? I don''t think he has a compassionate soul all of a sudden." "Until you decide to work for me, I won''t tell you my secrets." "Fair enough. So, what''s your plan?" "I''ll buy organics and give them a chance. Maybe I''ll bet on the future and buy freedom for children, probably orphans. I want to train loyal employees, or just those who will pay me back. If they don''t want to work for me, I''ll let them go." "You will only be promoting the slave trade. And these children won''t be able to work for the next 10 or even 15 years. Are you sure you have that much time?" Kash was unhappy with the idea but tried not to contradict me. Stolen story; please report. "Unfortunately, I have no choice but to wait and see if this idea really works." "So you''re really going to buy the kids back from the huts?" "Yes, I''m going to buy orphans from all the slave owners in the region." "Where are you going to put them? Although the ships are quite spacious, there is hardly enough room to transport a large number of children comfortably. And where will you put them when we get to Lothal?" "I have ideas for housing on Lothal, but the bigger problem will be getting food for these children while we transport them." I scratched at the skin behind my ear. "I don''t want to get involved in this slave trade, but until you finish your business, we''re not going anywhere." "In that case, if you want to come with me, you''d better wear a fake slave collar, because someone might try to enslave you again." "I don''t even know if you''re joking." *** With the search for orphans in mind, I decided to visit slave auctions first. "And a young slave was sold for 900 credits!" It is clear that this market segment was only for the rich looking for slaves for sex slavery. New auctions started for Wookie, and it was then that we decided to discuss our goals. "Can we get out of here? I don''t see a single living soul here that fits into your plans." Kash was clearly uncomfortable with our presence on this auction ship. "Actually, we haven''t even gone through half of their slaves yet. Yes, we can''t ask them here if they want to work for me, but this is probably the best opportunity to find slaves for sale in the middle of this desert planet." "...Sold for 1200 credits to number 27! Dear guests, we have more items to prepare for sale, the auction will be suspended for 15 minutes, you can go to the ship''s bar to wait for the auction to resume." After the announcement, all the customers started to leave the room one by one. We decided to go to the bar as well. It was an interesting place, combining the cheap raider side of Tatooine with the desire to please the most prestigious part of the audience. All in all, not a great place, I''m definitely not going to stay here again. "...And the latest reports. The Trade Federation, in response to the failure of the Eriadu negotiations, has extended the blockade of Naboo..." Wow. I certainly didn''t expect the Federation to be so bold as to literally threaten one of the Republic''s planets. Of course, I don''t know Republic law, but I''m sure there should be some sort of response. It is not for nothing that the Federation has raised its prices for transporting goods. It was all necessary to compensate for the allocation of ships for the blockade of the planet. After a short pause, the auction resumed. It seemed to me that the mere fact of the blockade of Naboo had already shaken the entire stability of the Republic. The fact that it was even possible meant that many disloyal elements might try to rebel against the central government. While I was thinking about how this event was going to affect the galaxy as a whole and trying to figure out what to do next, the auction went on. Suddenly, a little Zygierian girl was brought on stage. By the way, Zygierians looked really cool. "Another incredibly interesting slave! A young Zygierian that everyone can want! The starting price is 500 credits!" Chapter 9 [Tatooine] It was one of my dumbest decisions to attend this auction. Yes, there were definitely a lot of slaves for sale, but only a small fraction of them were useful or children. I did not buy that Zigerian girl. They were asking so much for her that I could have bought a dozen or more children for the same amount. This without knowing who she was, if she had parents, etc. Absolutely wasted time with this group of slave traders. I was just planning a route through Tatooine to cover the largest settlements on Tatooine. The problem was that our route could only go through cities with spaceports. Mos Espa was one of the largest settlements on the list. Sometimes, because of the size of this city, it seems to me that there is more population here on Tatooine than even on Lothal. Although, if you believe the expert estimates, Tatooine had at most a tenth of the population of Lothal. Also, the whole plan with the orphans meant spending a lot of time on Tatooine. I''m not saying I''m in a hurry, but that might make Kash not work for me, so this whole operation has to happen very quickly. *** Mos Espa can be considered the second capital of Tatooine. It was a very underdeveloped capital where slaves were bought and various jobs were performed by slaves without any secrecy. In general, all I did now was look in every shop and ask the locals if anyone had orphaned slaves or knew of other owners who might have them. I felt a strong psionic presence, even while running my psionic shield generator. It might be interesting to meet a strong local psionic. So I went to Watto''s junkyard with the owner, who was a Toydarian. Damn, I can''t stand those monsters. I''m not even talking about the quality of the mechanisms in this place. It was literally called a "junkyard". Watto, which was the name of this salesman, was almost asleep at the counter when I walked in. "Oh, customer! What are you buying?" He took off on his wings until he reached the height of my gaze. He probably also spoke some other language. No, thank you, I have no other language after "galactic standard". "I''m looking for droid brains. Non-working versions will do, but I''d prefer to get working versions." "I have a working security robot brain. Such parts are hard to find and in high demand. It won''t be cheap, not cheap. How will you pay for it?" "Republic credits." "Republic credits? Republic credits are no good out here. I need something more real." "Ha, well, let me think. I have a quarter ton of water on my ship. Will you make the exchange?" "No, it''s an unequal exchange, even for a brain that doesn''t work. If you sell half a ton of water..." "Bah! No trade. You want too much for a droid''s head. Okay, one more question. Do you have any slave children? Preferably orphans without parents." "I have one boy, but he''s too valuable. He has a mother as well. No, I won''t sell him for a ton of water." Analyzing the psionic field, I found this human boy. Even though I was under my mobile psionic suppression generator, I felt his strong presence in the psionic field. It was incredible. I wish I could open the way to the world of psionics for him, to make him my discipline. The problem is that in a purely hypothetical sense, I could teach any psychic how to use their powers, but from a practical point of view, I couldn''t resist the psionic entity on my own for long. It was too big and too strong for me alone. "Well, in that case, goodbye. May your business prosper." *** I take back all my words when I said that Lothal was an undeveloped planet of the Outer Rim. "Are you seriously unwilling to accept Republic credit?" "What do I need this junk for? I''ll trade it for 200 kilograms of water." "That''s too much, I''ll take 180 kilos." "190 and we have a deal." "Fine, you can take the water tank. Mark, let''s go." He probably also spoke some other language. No, thank you, I have no other language after "galactic standard". "I''m looking for droid brains. Non-working versions will do, but I''d prefer to get working versions." "I have a working security robot brain. Such parts are hard to find and in high demand. It won''t be cheap, not cheap. How will you pay for it?" "Republic credits." "Republic credits? Republic credits are no good out here. I need something more real." "Ha, well, let me think. I have a quarter ton of water on my ship. Will you make the exchange?" "No, it''s an unequal exchange, even for a brain that doesn''t work. If you sell half a ton of water..." "Bah! No trade. You want too much for a droid''s head. Okay, one more question. Do you have any slave children? Preferably orphans without parents." "I have one boy, but he''s too valuable. No, I won''t sell him for a ton of water." Analyzing the psionic field, I found this human boy. Even though I was under my mobile psionic suppression generator, I felt his strong presence in the psionic field. It was incredible. I wish I could open the way to the world of psionics for him, to make him my discipline. The problem is that in a purely hypothetical sense, I could teach any psychic how to use their powers, but from a practical point of view, I couldn''t resist the psionic entity on my own for long. It was too big and too strong for me alone. "Well, in that case, goodbye. May your business prosper." *** I take back all my words when I said that Lothal was an undeveloped planet of the Outer Rim. "Are you seriously unwilling to accept Republic credit?" "What do I need this junk for? I''ll trade it for 200 kilograms of water." "That''s too much, I''ll take 180 kilos." "190 and we have a deal." Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. "Fine, you can take the water tank. Mark, let''s go." The ship had already begun to move away from Tatooine, but thanks to the acceleration dampers and gravity generators, it was almost impossible to feel it. I walked further into the ship and the confused Mark followed me. He was less and less afraid and more and more interested in the ship. This is what I love about people with less technological knowledge. They can be incredibly surprised by such simple things. We walked a little further and reached the rest room. The door that separated the rooms opened and Mark and I went inside. Inside there were about fifteen kids sitting on the warm floor listening to a story that Kash was telling. Kash''s brother Jan, who was older than the other kids in the room and maybe 6 years younger than Kash, nodded at me. He was the only one who responded to my entering the room. "... And the Mandalorian said, "You can''t fool me, you sneaky Hutt, I''ve already sworn to help my friends! And then the Hutt lost confidence in his victory and became afraid of his friends'' combined strength. He was so frightened that he fainted. The friends thought and thought and locked the evil Hutt in a large cave. Since then, the friends have lived happily ever after, traveling the galaxy and leaving the evil Hutt to live in a dark cave. I honestly will never get tired of the uniqueness of some types of fairy tales. I''m very curious about the Mandalorians and what kind of Beskar material they have, but that''s for another time. "So, Mark, meet your new group." I honestly will never get tired of the uniqueness of some types of fairy tales. I''m very curious about the Mandalorians and what kind of Beskar material they use, but that''s for another time. "Mark, these children are your new family, with whom you will spend the next few years until you come of age. Go ahead and say hello." I left the slightly frightened boy with the group of curious children and walked over to Kash. She was a little tired, but very happy to spend time with the children. Still, not seeing her family for 6 years was a big blow to her. Priya, Kash''s younger sister, didn''t remember her sister very well and this reunion was important for the family. "So? How do you like taking care of children? Do you want to do it for a living?" Kash was not pleased with my humor. "Are you serious? You literally bought these kids, gave me the job of entertaining them on the ship, and you''re laughing at me? Do you have any sense of tact?" "Maybe. I''ve never needed it before. You see, I''m not used to living with non-members of my species." "So that''s it? You''re going to buy everyone out of slavery and give them a basic education to pay you back? How do you expect to make a profit on that investment?" "Patience. I can easily wait a decade to see results from my investment. Besides, it was each of them''s choice to take out my student loan individually. They will grow up, learn more about the world, improve their lives, and only then will they pay off my debt. It is important to me that they pay it off, but it is not urgent." "What about me?" Jan interrupted our conversation, "What do you expect from us?" "You are free. Kash has been saving this money for years for a reason, although I''m really surprised that you''ve collected so much and so little at the same time." "It''s not all my money. I invested some of it in stocks of various companies and just couldn''t use it in time. I''ll be able to pay you back when we get to a more or less developed planet." Kash replied. "You don''t have to take money out of your stocks. You may still have time to pay me back, and if you make a profit on the shares, it will bring you and me more in the long run. Though I wonder how you would have access to it if that pirate left you behind." "I don''t know. It was a rash thing to do. I.." "All right. What happened is what happened. Kids, who wants to go stargazing?" *** Kash''s POV. I was just resting in my room with my family. I was on the floor with Jan and I put my sisters to sleep on the bed. I was not ready to raise kids. I was ready to take care of my brothers and sisters, not a whole group of little children who had been slaves in the past. Of course, I would never protest or take away their opportunity for a quiet life, but even so, it was easy to see how much stress these children were under. Most of them were between the ages of 8 and 12, which made it a little easier to take care of them. The most amazing thing was watching the kids and how they reacted to Alex. Most of them had nothing to lose, but they still called the man who had ransomed them "Scary Uncle Alex". He was against the use of the Master saying: "If someone wants to call me Master, he must be old enough and swear loyalty to me." I honestly couldn''t understand why he did it, but I have nothing to complain about. He helped me free my family. It was clear that he had children in the past, but also that he was not used to spending so much time with them. It is not clear whether this is due to a peculiarity of the species or just a peculiarity of his character. However, he definitely liked to show the children something new. He would show them stars, holoscreens, the structure of a plasma pistol, a droid... It''s not clear if the kids really understood what he was showing them, but it definitely interested a lot of them. The only problem was that we still had a long way to go through Hutt space. I don''t know exactly what he''s up to, but he certainly deserves a minimum of trust. I don''t know how hard it will be to work in the [Capitol], but it will definitely give me and my family enough security from raiders and pirates. I hope I won''t regret my decision.