I shot up in bed, shaken awake by the memory of Bo's death and the black-armored man who sought the Darksaber. I got out of bed and into my clothes and armor, which was a faded, bluish color. My helmet had the standard T-shaped visor, and a white decal of the Mythosaur skull on the forehead.

The ship I flew was an old Correllian garbage freighter, which I had refitted with dual sets of strong engines, added twin laser cannons on the front, and modified the hyperdrive so that the ship itself would move faster, and travel for longer distances in hyperspace.

I went into the food storage compartment and grabbed a plate of space waffles, then walked into the cockpit area, where my astromech droid, an R5 model, was piloting the ship himself.

"Morning R-five." I said, then sat down in the pilot chair and began to eat the waffles.

R5 beeped and whistled at me, letting me know we were approaching our destination-

"Corellia." I said as the planet came into view.

The world, which had once thrived with green life, was now a foggy, smoke-belching industrial planet, used to manufacture all kinds of ships- mostly Imperial.

Underneath the nose of the Imperials, a crime Syndicate controlled the planet secretly, using underground hideouts and abandoned buildings as their bases.

"I'll take the controls, R5." I said, and the red droid beeped his reply, before unplugging from the wall terminal.

We entered the planet's atmosphere, and I flew past a Star Destroyer shield generator being lifted up to the unfinished vessel. I headed to a landing platform at the spaceport, where a trio of Stormtroopers and a black astromech- the Empire's excuse for a welcoming committee- walked down the pad to greet me.

I lowered the boarding ramp, and walked out of the ship to meet the Stormtroopers.

The one in the center had a white pauldron on his shoulder, identifying him as a sergeant.

"Is your ship registered?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled by his helmet.

"Yes." I replied.

"Please present your registration codes."

I reached into a pouch on my belt and withdrew a thin, chromium tablet with a disc shape embedded into the center. I handed it to the sergeant, who turned to the astromech behind him and inserted the tablet into the droid's datareader.

After a minute, the droid ejected the tablet back into the sergeant's hand, and beeped a response.

"Registration checks out." the sergeant stated, before turning back to me and handing the code tablet back. "Enjoy your stay on Corellia, sir."

"Thank you." I said, taking the tablet back and putting it back into the pouch on his belt.

As I walked past the troopers and into the city, I breathed a sigh of relief that I had been holding since the stormtroopers had approached me. It was hard being respectful to the troopers, even if I was doing it just to get into the city. Every time I saw a trooper in white armor, it reminded me of the massacre back on Mandalore.

I walked through the city, past all kinds of people;

A group of people garbed in black robes, their eyes hidden behind white veils.

Two small children in torn clothes, fighting over a small loaf of bread.

A pair of Stormtroopers, muttering to each other about the new T-16 starfighters.

A Rodian arguing with an Ithorian about a bet they lost.

Finally, I came across what I was looking for- a rundown cantina.

To outside eyes, it may not look like much. But to me, and others like me, it was where our employer dwelled.

I entered the cantina through an entrance that was covered by a torn cloth, and the inside was lit by a dim light. All around me were my co-workers- bounty hunters. We didn't serve any particular guild, but we all had the same employer, and this is where we hung out. I scanned the room, then spotted the man I was looking for.

"Krypto Kinoto!" came a jolly voice from across the cantina.

"Torluuk Ohnaka." I said, and approached the booth the Weequay was sitting in.

He had a blue trench coat on, and wore a cap on his head, and long, braided hair that went down the back of his head.

"Come, sit, sit, sit!" he insisted, gesturing to the seat across from him. I took his offer, and sat down.

"So, how's my favorite Mandalorian?" he asked, grinning ear to ear.

"In need of money." I replied. "And work. Something entertaining."

"Ah, an entertaining job, huh? I have just the one!" he reached into his coat, and pulled out a holo-card. He pressed a button, and a small screen popped up, displaying the picture, name, and bounty amount for the target.

"Podra Argor." Torluuk read. "He's a Besalisk who is wanted by the Hutt Syndicate. They're paying a very handsome price for him, preferably frozen in carbonite."

"How much are they paying?" I asked.

"Almost six million credits."

"Six Million!?" I gaped. "This must be big. What planet is he on?"

"Now, there's where things get, ah, a bit tricky." Torluuk stroked his chin. "He's on Coruscant."

"That's heavily controlled by the Empire." I stated. "I deserve triple the bonus for this job."

"Double bonus and you have a deal."

"Double it is."

We shook hands, and he handed me the card. "Oh, and Krypto?" he called before I could leave.

"Yes?"

"Be careful on Coruscant. I hear they're searching the inner worlds for Mandalorians."

My heartbeat quickened. "Why?"

"Don't know. But by the sound of it, they're not sitting down to have tea with them."

"Thanks for the advice. I'll be careful."

As I left the cantina, thoughts danced through my head about what the Empire could possibly want with Mandalorians.

I better not get caught.

I headed back to my ship, and put no more thought to it.

Thanks for everyone who enjoyed this! As amazing as this story is, it will not be continued unless this chapter gets at least five or more comments (I REALLY MEAN IT.). Now to mention my good friends, who have helped me on the way (At least I think some of us are friends)

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