Coruscant Industrial Zone:
A massive warehouse had been converted into the Frenis gang's hideout.
Countless smugglers, outlaws, bounty hunters, and others gathered here. There were also many clients—as long as you had a skill, you could make money here. And as long as you had money, you could buy anything you saw.
In the innermost room, a bounty hunter with his right arm wrapped in bandages placed an envelope on the table. It was the envelope that had been left on the bar counter at the Chaos Bar by the man in the trench coat—and it had now found its way here.
"Good. Here's your payment." Frenis tossed several hundred-credit bills onto the table. The bounty hunter quickly scooped them up with his left hand, stuffed them into his pocket, and cautiously exited the room.
Frenis picked up the envelope and smiled sincerely. The opportunity to join Black Day, something he had longed for over the years, had finally arrived.
Just as he was about to open the invitation, a commotion erupted outside.
As he stepped forward to investigate, one of his men burst in, shouting, "The Empire! The Empire's men have broken in! Run!"
Before he could finish speaking, a red glow flashed into the room, slicing the subordinate clean in half.
"Damn Empire!" Frenis leapt to his feet, clutching the invitation, and pressed a switch. The smooth wall behind him slid open, revealing a narrow door just wide enough for him to slip through.
It was the escape route he had prepared for himself.
He stepped through the door into a storage room. Turning to glance at the safe where he had stored most of his life's earnings—earned through years of danger and crime—he knew it was all about to disappear. After he escaped, the Empire would search the place thoroughly and take everything.
He clenched the invitation in his hand, grinding his teeth.
Finally making up his mind, he tucked the invitation into the lining of his coat and sprinted toward his ship at the end of the corridor.
He had poured a fortune into this custom-built cargo ship—top-of-the-line speed and defense. He had hidden credit points and backup plans on board. With the connections he'd built on the fringes of Coruscant, he would be safe—as long as he got on that ship.
He didn't know how he had drawn the Empire's attention, but as long as he had the Black Sun's invitation, he would return to Coruscant a legend.
The docking platform was just ahead, and Frenis broke into a run.
"Do you think you can escape?" A sinister voice echoed from ahead, and Frenis's eyes widened in shock.
"How is that possible?! How did you—?" He stared at the stranger blocking his path. This was the secret escape route known only to his closest confidants. How had it been compromised?
The stranger in black robes raised his blaster pistol and aimed it directly at Frenis's head.
"What do you want? I'll give you anything. The warehouse is right behind me—I'll even give you the vault password. I owe you a favor!" Frenis watched him warily, testing his options.
"Zzzz~" A piercing sound echoed from behind—the unmistakable hum of a lightsaber slicing through steel.
"They've found the secret passage!" Frenis grew tense. He decided to fight his way out and slowly moved his hand toward the blaster at his waist.
"Goodbye, old friend," said the man in front of him, and then pulled the trigger.
"Ah!" Frenis reacted with the fastest reflex of his life, rolling to the side while pulling his blaster and firing back wildly.
The battle erupted and ended in an instant.
The figure in black robes turned away, dragging his right arm, and walked off, slipping an envelope into his pocket.
Frenis lay on the ground, eyes wide open, muttering to himself. As the blaster beam lit up, he saw long tentacles emerging from beneath the black robes.
"Huff... Sai... Neil..." Those were his final words.
——
"Weng~" A crimson lightsaber flashed, illuminating Frenis's pale face.
"Frenis is dead. There's nothing in the warehouse that we were looking for, Lord Vader!"
"Yes. I will continue the investigation until the end."
The lightsaber shut off, and the slender figure continued toward the exit.
——
Looking at the extra two thousand credits in her account, Veronica smiled. "Senir was generous. He gave us an extra four hundred."
"Let me see! Let me see!" Jax crowded around Veronica's screen.
"This is really good. We didn't get the full bounty, but it's still a lot. This way, we can each get... hmm, hmm..."
"Five hundred, you idiot." Lango pushed Jax's head down and shoved him aside.
"Now that you're awake, Jax, let's go back. Mel just sent me a communication request." Amir leaned back on the sofa and yawned, eyes half-closed.
"Okay!" Jax no longer cared about the mission's outcome now that he had money, and answered cheerfully.
"I'm leaving too." Lango was still visibly downcast.
"I'll transfer the money to your accounts. See you tomorrow." Veronica looked at Amir.
"See you tomorrow." Amir forced himself up from the sofa and led Jax toward the door. BD-4 jumped onto Amir's back, and Lango followed behind.
This was Veronica's residence—a small house in a quiet neighborhood.
A few years ago, when Amir had first come to find Veronica, her parents were still around. But that kindhearted couple had since joined the anti-Empire resistance.
"Amir, shall we go to the industrial zone for a drag race? Even though we don't have much money, I can buy a used motorcycle, and you can help me modify it later," Jax said excitedly.
"All I want to do is sleep, Jax." Amir forced his eyes open.
"Why are you always like this? Every time we finish a job, you turn into a sleepyhead—eighteen hours of sleep a day!"
"That's because I gave it my all during the mission. I'm just exhausted." Amir put on a smug expression.
Jax would normally tease him back at this point, but today he stayed quiet, and Amir lost interest in continuing the joke.
"Amir, I have something to tell you." Lango suddenly called out.
"What is it, Lango? Jax, go on ahead with BD-4. I'll catch up later." Amir turned to face the quiet Farlin man.
"The shield can't stop an explosion of that magnitude," Lango said, looking straight into Amir's eyes.
"But..." Amir had never seen Lango this serious and didn't know how to respond.
"I'll protect Jax from now on," Lango said, then turned and walked away.
Amir smiled, genuinely happy.