Across the Stars IV: The Manifest

Ozz’s way off-planet, it turned out, was a con he was pulling on an old customs droid he found in a back alley and kept in a closet on his ship. While thrown out, it hadn’t been disconnected from the network, which meant, like its counterparts, it still had the authority to grant passage off-planet. However, unlike most customs processing droids, it was nearly blind and was missing a couple judgement processors. It was extremely willing to help anyone it saw, even ‘Captain’ Ozzamandes Sabaran, and ‘Inspector’ Carda. Nathan felt a little bad as the droid gave them a jaunty salute and validated their transport token, but it just seemed pleased to still be doing its job.

The token got them through, and Nathan and Ozz finally relaxed as they passed through the security blockade. After giving Ozz the coordinates where he wanted to go, Nathan looked around the cockpit of Ozz’s ship, the Lucky Star, appreciating the few spots that didn’t have stains.

“Where’d you get your ship? Isn’t this an old Separatist Shuttle?” he asked.

Ozz raised a finger. “Aha! No, it ain’t. You know the famed, graceful curves of the Sheathipede shuttle?”

“Sure.”

“Note the lack of ‘em on this beauty. This is a knock off from the secondary market. This, nerd, is a Carrapede Shuttle! Built by Schar Enginnering, ruggedized, of course…and cheap as hell. But hey, she’s still pre-Empire! That means no transponder.”

“Pre-Spaceflight too, from the look of it.”

“Well, safety nerd, why don’t you go ahead and tell me where I could use some handrails, okay? Would that make you feel safer?” he cooed.

“It might,” Nathan popped back.

The shapes of buttes stood dark against the waning violet sunset. Domed spires ringed with warmly glowing windows sat clustered together on the badlands, crowning the sprawl of Garel's capital city.

Like a lot of Outer Rim planets, Garel came out of the war the worse for wear. Just after the battle of Endor, the Empire carpet bombed the capital city's spaceport, leaving the planet with a few new craters to dent its already pockmarked surface. What was left wasn't much more than a few landing pads and a trading outpost. The trading outpost they were looking for.

Targonn's Capital City, downtown, at the Balasti Cafe. Two weeks ago.

Nathan leaned forward, eyes bright. "How'd you end up on Targonn, anyway?"

"Well," she'd smiled. "It was on my way. Garel didn't have what I was looking for." She paused a moment. Nathan watched her eyes flick up and away as she recalled something. "But I did like the Quartermaster. A Mon Calamari in the spaceport, crusty but...likeable, you know what I mean? Like he'd get a job done, even if he moaned and complained while doing it."

Nathan had grinned. "Yeah," he nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. That description fits...everyone I work with."

She had laughed, tossing her head. Something in his stomach twitched, and a nervous grin broke across his face. He'd made her laugh. Stang, what a sound.

Mayla had come through here before moving onto Targonn. It was the best lead Nathan had.
He and Ozz left the Lucky Star accompanied by the hiss of its exhaust vents. Nathan was so lost in thought, he didn’t notice a man loitering nearby, watching them closely. The two would-be bounty hunters passed right on by, heading for the only building on the landing pad.

The small trading post seemed to hold a monopoly on the right to service the landing pad. Crates and spare parts and who knows what else littered the dusty lavender ground outside.

There was a chair atop the trading post from which the Quartermaster kept lookout. Mostly for competitors, and profitable opportunities.

Nathan and Ozz approached the small building cautiously. Maybe one of the hunks of machinery leading to the door was a motion sensor, because once they'd gotten within two meters, they heard the whooshing of a door on the second floor. The bulbous head of a crusty Mon Calimari appeared to assess whether they were a threat or a sale.

"Hello!" Nathan called. "You're the trader, right?"

The Calamari muttered something under its breath before responding. "Something you need?" he barked.

"My partner and I could use some supplies."

Nathan noticed Ozz give him a skeptical look, probably over the usage of 'partner' to describe their relationship. Nathan shrugged; it got the point across.

"Oh, good, good..." said the Calamari, his manner softening considerably. He had seemed ready to blast them, now it was just obvious he wished they'd never shown up. "I'll open the door, why don't you two come on in and look around?"

The shop was as cluttered as the grounds outside: all sorts of bits and bobs covered the shelves. Surplus and second-hand buys that the trader (who's named was Aarjab) had never bothered to organize.

"What's your name, stranger?" Aarjab asked, while they poked through piles of merchandise.

Nathan hesitated. There was a chance he was wanted on Targonn, and that could've reached Garel already. "Janus. Janus...Buttes."

"No, your real name."

Nathan's heart skipped. "...what?"

"Hah, I just say that to everyone! You should see the look on your face! Always throws people off! You looked real familiar though."

Nathan grumbled over this unnecessary added stress until he approached the counter with a jacket and harness, and a few other items more suited to adventuring than his safety inspector uniform.

"This gonna be it?" asked the Mon Calamari, beginning to check the items and decide what he wanted to sell each of them for.

"Actually, there's one other thing…" Nathan said sheepishly. "A girl might have come through here recently, someone I'm looking for. Young woman, brown hair, cheerful smile."

The Mon Calamari eyed him up suspiciously.

"What's this about? Some sort of…local trouble, is it?"

"No, not at all. I...she's a friend."

"Say, boy. What was your name, again?"

Nathan couldn't stand the huge, staring eyes glaring at him. "...You know what, fine," he threw up his hands, losing his nerve. "My name is Nathan--I guess Nathanyal--Carda. Nathan Carda. The other name was, uh, an alias. I try to play it safe, you get it."

"Hmm...Carda, aye?"

Nathan nodded, hoping desperately he hadn't just made a big mistake. He tensed as Aarjab reached under the counter, flinching when he whipped out a...datapad.

Well, that was alright.

"Girl was here again a few days ago. Left this here, said to give it to you. Paid me to keep it safe and not look at any of the data. I dont care about some datapad, but I'll take the credits..."

Nathan took it and turned it on. "What's the lock code?"

"She said to tell ya, er....'Cafe'. Said you'd get it. I don’t have a clue what it means, if you don't. Don't whine to me."

Nathan knew what it was. He entered 'Balasti'. Access granted.

Ozz had approached the counter to make his own purchase. He looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"What's that for?"

"Give me a second. I've got no clue."

Nathan tapped to enter the singular file within. His he widened as he read its contents. Ozz couldn’t bear the suspense.

"What! What does it say, kid? Is it a bank transfer?" He asked hopefully.

"Holy Karf. No, but, effectively, it's pretty close, Ozz."

"Free money?"

"Well, we'll have to do a tiny bit of work. It's a manifest, Ozz. Names, descriptions, locations...it’s a list of all the active, undercover Imperial spies working for Moff Pyerce!"

Ozz looked glum at the mention of work instead of free money, but he gradually processed what this meant. "The crazy guy, the one the CFS has bounties for? You've got to be kidding me...that's going to make hunting them a breeze for you, ain't it?"

"Uh, yes. It might help a bit, yeah. I mean, we'll have to do a bit of tracking, but...this…this is great."

"I can practically smell the payday from here," Ozz grinned dubiously. "Who's it from?"

"There's a message about that..."

Nathan read it for himself.

Hi, Nathan.

I really hope you're okay. I bet that by now you know what I was doing on Targonn. But maybe you also noticed that a particular vulnerability you and I discussed went unnoticed by the Imperial attackers. I hope Targonn's defense force mopped the floor with them. I gave them bad Intel to make it easier.

I've been having doubts for a long time about my place in all this, and our conversation was kinda...the nail in the coffin. But you don’t just 'quit' on the Empire. I can't just leave. So I'll do what I can until I find a chance to jump ship.

You're the only person I know who isn’t an Imperial, Nathan. I need your help.

The information on this manifest should help you expose my coworkers. Please, please help me do this. I've seen what the Empire can do, I've heard things, rumors, of Pyerce's plans. I don't want people to die. Please don’t let this chance go to waste.

 

I really hope I see you again.

Affectionately,

The Girl from Balasti Cafe

Nathan's heart soared in his chest, and a grin stuck firmly on his face. Ozz tugged away the pad despite objections and read it for himself.

"''Only person I know who's not an Imperial'...well, 'least we know it's not because of your qualifications,” he mused.

"Hey, that's nice."

"And just so you know, this doesn't mean she's in love with you, okay, nerd boy?"

"Wow. Didn't want to soften that one, huh?"

"I'm just saying! I don’t want you getting your hopes up. I hate it when humans cry." He finished with the datapad, looking at Nathan with a particular gleam in his golden eyes. "We better hit the road! Let you get to doing your nerd thing, and making me money! This is quite the little advantage we got here! Long as it's real and your girl's not double-timing us here."

A man came through the door of the shop. Aaftab took issue with this. "HEY! Only one set of customers at a time! Wait your turn!"

"I think not," said the man. He started forward, reaching for the datapad.

"Hey!" Shouted Ozz, and he wrestled against the human. "What's the big idea? That's our golden ticket, pal!"

Nathan reacted. He shouted, jumped in and threw an awkward, inexperienced punch at the man's face. It landed well, but it hurt like the dickens.

The man staggered back and drew a blaster pistol from his coat.

"Not again!" Nathan yelped. "Ozz, look out!"

Nathan pulled Ozz out of harm's way, but Ozz wasn't the target. One of the several shots fired hit the datapad. There was a shower of sparks as it was sent flashing into scrap.

"NO!" Ozz howled, clutching uselessly at the ground.

The spy wasted no time, and turned to bolt out the door. Nathan started to follow, but a groan from behind the counter stopped him in his tracks.

The trader was hit.

"Aaftab! Hey!" Nathan shouted, rushing to the Calamari’s side. The blaster bolt had struck his torso. Acrid black smoke curled off the burnt carapace, his coverall's burned away around the spot of impact.

Unpursued, the spy sprinted down the landing pad, past the docked starships to a sleek black shuttle near the end. He had a real head start.

"Nerd, he's getting away!" Ozz called, but Nathan had no chance of catching up now. Ozz would have to stop him somehow else.

"Wait, he's running past the Lucky Star!" The Iakaru realized, and he fumbled for his remote fob in his coat.

"This'll stop him in his tracks!"

Just as the spy was passing the Lucky Stat's engines, Ozz pressed the button that triggered the ship's afterburners. The rear ports flared to life with a bright flash of ion engine. The only problem was that Ozz timed it wrong. The engine flare didn't stop the spy in his tracks...it engulfed him, turning him into soot.

Ozz stared at the spot the Spy had been in disbelief.

"...Whoops. What goes around comes around, I guess? That never happened."

"Did you kill him!?"

"Engine misfired, that's all. Definitely not. Hey, let's get that guy some help, we gotta leave this planet as soon as possible."
 

Nathan was able to get the Quartermaster emergency help quickly enough that he was taken out of critical condition. He was going to live. Not that Nathan got a thank you out of it. He was also explicitly told there would be no discounts.

Or a datapad with a manifest of all the Pyerce spies.

"What wretched luck! What a blasted, stupid thing to have happen to poor ol' me!" Ozz moaned as they sat in the cockpit of the Lucky Star, preparing to depart. "I hate these Imperial spies! They're like annoying, shooty bugs!"

"Yeah, they're the worst. I wish I could have read that message at least one more time, too..."

"I think you're missing the point here, nerd boy...we had information! We had leads! Now we got nothing!"

"Oh yeah? Not nothing. I read those files for a few minutes, right?"

Ozz let himself feel a hint of excitement. "...You tellin' Ozzie you remember some of what you saw?"

"I just might. Bits and pieces, enough to get us started on the hunt. Maybe enough to find Mayla. And if we find her, we can free her, and she can help us hunt down the rest. This is a good plan. I like this plan. Of course, this only works if you still want to travel with me."

"...Fine, it's the best we got. I want a payday, Carda. I don’t have time for debt collectin’, I’m not leaving your side ‘till you give me what you promised."

"Try not to incinerate the next spy, then."

"That never happened," Ozz said quickly.

"Sure. Boy, I’d hate to be the safety inspector overseeing those afterburners…”

Ozz grinned toothily. “Why do you think Schar Enginneering went out of business?”

Nathan would've laughed, but he couldn't help but feel the odd pang of dread. Safety instincts, he had to guess. “Well, no payday this time…hey, it's not a total loss, though: I got this nifty jacket!"

Ozz glared out the viewport as he busied himself with preflight checks. "If I didn't need what's inside your brain, I'd flush your stupidly optimistic smartarb out of my ship. I swear I would."

Nathan leaned back in his seat, his heart full as he remembered the contents of Mayla's message. 'Affectionately...'

He chuckled at his cranky companion, who seemed to be struggling a bit with the controls.

"Uh-huh," he deadpanned. "You'd have to learn your ship, first. Your inertial dampener is on."

"...How'd you..."

"Same systems installation package as the loadlift speeders at the plant. Safety inspector, remember?"

"Shut up, or I'll make you inspect the outside hull once we leave orbit."

Nathan snickered. "Seriously though, anything I can do to help?"

"Oh, we’re bein’ serious now…yeah, actually, you know what? Go ahead and program our heading into the navcomputer. Where do we start our search, nerd boy?"

Nathan stood, and started to tap the answer into the controls of the computer.

"The fourth moon of Yavin."