Chapter 31: Conspiracy

*30. Scheming in the Shadows*

Outer Rim, Modell Sector, Endor System.

Marth Ferrasi gazed out the wide viewport of the mothership, her eyes fixed on the beautiful planet Dawn below. Her thoughts were a mystery, even to herself.

She and the three others who’d gone ahead to prepare cargo on Dawn were now housed in the mothership’s dormitories. The living conditions were comfortable—plenty of food, no worries about survival. Compared to the slums of Corellia where they’d scraped by, this place felt like paradise.

The catch? Their freedom was restricted. After three bounty hunters had stirred up trouble, causing heavy losses, Qi Jian had tightened security. Now, two stern-faced marines stood guard at their dormitory door around the clock.

Ferrasi sized up the marines. Even with four of them, she knew they didn’t stand a chance against those soldiers.

Just then, one of her companions, a man named Kenneth, sidled up and whispered in her ear, “Boss, you heard about those bounty hunters who attacked, right?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Ferrasi asked, her brow furrowing.

“You were all stuck in the dorms here, so you didn’t see the battle. But I was on the other side of the ship, teaching Galactic Basic to some folks, and I saw everything,” Kenneth said.

“Three bounty hunters came to rob us, caused a lot of damage, but got taken out in the end. I know that. There are still engineering ships out there salvaging the wreckage of their ships,” Ferrasi replied.

“That’s not the point.” Kenneth lowered his voice further. “Do you know why just three bounty hunters could cause such heavy losses? I saw it!”

“What?”

“This mothership is massive, right? We all thought its defenses were top-notch. But they’re not! Their fighters? Straight out of some backwater planet! Those three bounty hunters were flying two G-9s and a GX-1—old, patched-up ships—and they swatted our fighters like flies!”

“No way,” Ferrasi said, stunned. When she’d first seen the mothership, its sheer size had intimidated her into abandoning any thoughts of resistance. She hadn’t imagined it could be so vulnerable.

“It’s true! Those three junkers took out over 30 fighters! This so-called Fourth Group was completely outmatched, throwing together fighters just to fill the gaps. In the end, it was the visiting Jedi who had to step in to finish them off!” Kenneth’s eyes gleamed like he’d struck gold.

Ferrasi’s expression grew serious. “What’s your plan?”

“Their defenses are a joke, but this mothership and the colony below? A bottomless credit vault! Listen, I know some guys in the underworld, connected to Black Sun. They’ve got an old Hammerhead-class cruiser. It’s a bit beat-up, but it could crush the Fourth Group’s defenses without breaking a sweat!”

“A cruiser? I thought Hammerheads were corvettes,” Ferrasi said.

“Not this one. It’s a model from the Sith Wars, 2,000 years ago—315 meters long. Not the 116-meter corvette Rendili StarDrive built later. They bought it half-scrapped on the black market, fixed it up, and now it’s a beast. Biggest ship around Tatooine.”

Ferrasi frowned. “But we can’t even get a message out right now.”

“That’s where you come in, boss. We’re hostages, but Quinto’s out running jobs with them, right? When he gets back, talk to him. We pass the word along, and when my friend rolls in and takes this mothership, imagine the life we’ll have!”

“Taking the mothership is your friend’s job. What’s that got to do with us?”

“Oh, it’s different. We cut a deal—20% for us, 80% for them. They’ll bite. Plus, a mothership this big needs people to run it, right? We’re the first in line! Forget pocket change like 10,000 or 20,000 credits. We’ll be tossing around hundreds of thousands at Canto Bight’s casinos, laughing all the way!” Kenneth couldn’t hold back a chuckle but quickly stifled it, glancing around nervously.

“So, boss, we doing this or what?” he asked again.

Ferrasi didn’t answer, but her gaze grew colder.

---

Meanwhile, Ventus and Munte returned to the mothership. The trip had been a hair’s breadth from disaster, but they’d pulled through. More importantly, they’d come back loaded.

Not only had they pocketed 100,000 Republic credits, but they’d also brought back a YV-865 Oro-class freighter!

This freighter was 52.3 meters long, 16.44 meters tall, with a trapezoidal hull and sturdy wings at its base, engines mounted at the wingtips, spanning 42.33 meters.

Though outdated, the Oro-class was reliable and had a hefty cargo capacity, making it popular in many regions. A brand-new Oro-class freighter went for 240,000 Republic credits on the market!

With this ship, alongside Munte’s YT-1000 light freighter, the Fourth Civilization now had two vessels capable of hyperspace travel, greatly expanding their operational range.

But their triumphant return was quickly overshadowed.

“What?! We were attacked by bounty hunters?!” Ventus leapt to his feet, barely having sat down to rest.

Qi Jian and Clement stood before him, heads bowed, their voices heavy. “Yes. Three bounty hunter ships jumped into the Endor System and launched a sudden attack.”

“Casualties?” Ventus’s face was like stone, his voice low and tense.

Qi Jian took a deep breath. “We deployed four squadrons—48 fighters—initially, then sent up 20 more fighters and scouts. We lost 31 Blade-class fighters and 3 Arrow-class scouts. Thirty-four pilots were killed. The mining station lost four small transports and eight crew members.”

Ventus’s lips moved, but no words came out.

“Administrator, our fighters… they were no match for their ships. The gap was too wide,” Qi Jian said, fists clenched, his body trembling. “Now I see your foresight, Administrator. Even if we’d equipped the Blade II fighters, it wouldn’t have made much difference. We need the Phantom fighters in service as soon as possible to stand a chance.”

“Mainframe, show me the battle footage,” Ventus ordered.

[Understood, Administrator.]

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*[Bonus Chapter Image: YV-865 Oro-class Freighter]*