Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage

Most of the crew didn't have much to do during the trip from Omega Station to Tatooine. With the cargo bay nearly completely full and with a general lack of space, most of the team rotated from their rooms to the lounge area, watching holovids and playing games that barely passed the time adequately. This lack of space to spread out was only made worse by the fact that the trip to Tatooine was surprisingly long. It took three full days in total to arrive at the desert planet, mostly due to a dark zone of hyperspace lanes that existed between it and Omega Station.

By the end of the first day, I was kicking myself for not having dragged my enchanting table out of the Chariot and into the Starcaller. I would have likely had to stack it on my bed or force it into the hall when I wasn't using it, but I had a massive backlog of enchanting to get done that would have made the trouble worth it.

Luckily, unlike the rest of my crew, I wasn't stuck twiddling my thumbs and waiting for stuff to happen. I still had access to my grimoire, so I spent the first two days learning new magic. The first day was spent learning Superior Ward, a spell I don't remember from the game, but I was still eager to learn now. It was the Expert-level ward and was a powerful barrier, thrumming with power when I cast it.

Despite how much learning Superior Ward took out of me, I forced myself to repeat the process, this time learning Paralyze. The spell was simple in effect, locking up a person for ten to twelve seconds, depending on their constitution. It also needed to hit someone's skin, rather than their armor, though it could pass through thin clothes or robes. While I remember thinking it was silly that such a simple spell was Expert-level, I could now appreciate its usefulness and potency.

When we finally arrived at Tatooine, we dropped out of hyperspace at a pretty significant distance away, with the Loyal Hound and the Chariot dropping out nearby not long after we did. At this distance, Tatooine was just a double fist-sized ball of rock suspended in space.

"Our scans aren't picking up anything bigger than a Corvette," Ahsoka said, reading her console before looking over at me. "But at this range, there could be something hiding behind the planet, and we wouldn't be able to detect it."

"Alright, let's plot another jump somewhere over here," I said, pointing to a location closer to the planet but past it. "That way, we can check around the other side but still have plenty of distance to run. Our escort can hang tight there, charting a micro jump into the orbit of the planet. That way, they can keep an eye on our escape route and jump in to help in case we need backup."

Both Tatnia and Ahsoka agreed to the plan, so Racer quickly got to work with the ship's astronavigation systems to plot a new jump. While the starship was more than capable of performing the job itself, Racer would significantly speed up the process.

Sure enough, only a few minutes later, we were ready, both the Chariot and the Loyal Hound following after us as we made a short jump across the system. A second quick scan showed that there were no surprise capital ships waiting in the wings.

With my paranoia temporarily sated, we accelerated towards our destination, beginning a thirty-minute journey to the large desert planet's surface. According to the message we received from our contact, our meeting was in Mos Espa. While I was glad that we weren't being forced to do business in Mos Eisley, Mos Espa wasn't exactly a five-star resort. Sure, it wasn't nearly as broken, crime-ridden, and dangerous as the infamous trade hub, but it wasn't exactly by much better, either.

As we got closer to the city and the surface, Ahsoka deliberately pulled away, heading down to one of many thousands of square miles of desert. With the complete lack of air control or any sort of law, there was absolutely no reason for us to land in the city itself save for the protection from Tusken Raiders and Jawas. Instead, Ahsoka landed us perfectly in the middle of the desert, far from any prying eyes or prodding nosey scam artists. The ground team would ride our speeders and speeder bikes to our destination.

With any luck, this would make it even more difficult for Jabba to realize something was going on or for him to intervene and start making our lives difficult when he did. Sure, the wastes were not exactly safe for ordinary people, but Ahsoka was more than capable of feeling any incoming danger before it became a problem. Between her and the contingent of commando droids, led by Boxi, I had confidence she would be fine.

It took twenty minutes for Vaz, Tatnia, Nal, Julus, and myself to climb into our blessedly climate-controlled armor and prepare our speeders. Once everything was set, I said goodbye to Ahsoka before hopping onto a C-PH speeder. Julus and Tatnia were on the other two, while Vaz and Nal were inside the Arrow with the statue. As we lifted off and started our trip into the city, the speeders took up position around the Arrow as if we were a defensive screen for precious cargo.

We pushed the speeders to the max, cruising over the desert, leaving a massive dust cloud behind us. We made quick work of the long stretch of desert, eventually reaching the city proper.

Now, Mos Espa was a city that shared a lot of similarities with the rest of the Tatooine cities. With sand-covered streets and large domed buildings, it was easy for your eyes to get lost as you moved through the alleys and streets. Thankfully, with Clairvoyance, it was easy for me to locate the bar we were looking for. It was a decent-sized establishment, and as we landed by it, we assigned Nal the responsibility of keeping an eye on the vehicles. The older Duros agreed, sitting inside the Arrow, rotating the blaster cannon around as if it was watching people as they walked past.

Confident that our gear wasn't about to get stolen, we made our way inside the bar, with me taking the lead. The second we stepped inside, the normal murmuring talk that usually filled places like that stopped, silence filling the bar. After surveying the large space, I focused on the bar, stepping forward and tapping the counter to get the bartender's attention. When they looked my way, I motioned them closer.

"We are here for a meeting with Yarlo," I explained, using the name we were given by the intermediary. "Could you direct us to his location?"

"Sorry, don't know anyone by that name," The bartender, a gravel-toned, three-eye stalked Gran, responded.

I let out a sigh and internally fought the desire to pull out my blaster and ask him if he was sure. He was clearly expecting me to bribe him, and I was not interested. That said, this was the perfect opportunity to lay the foundations for our story.

"Listen, pal. I am not getting paid nearly enough to deal with your bullshit right now," I explained, doing my best to sound frustrated with everything going on. "So I'm going to repeat myself. If you say that there is no one here by that name, I will leave, and you can explain to him why a business deal disappeared. Now, we are here for a meeting with Yarlo, could you please direct us to his location."

That got the man's attention, all three of his eye stalks rearing back in shock before he started to nod rapidly.

"Oh, right, Yarlo. Just follow along the bar," He said, pointing down the dark, smokey room. "There's a door. Knock twice on it and wait."

I wordlessly pushed off the bar and walked away, the rest of my team following after me as I followed the man's directions. Eventually, we reached the door, and I knocked twice, stepping back to wait. Almost immediately, a small panel opened, revealing a camera. It scanned us for a good fifteen seconds before the panel closed, and an audible chunking sound of a sturdy lock being opened echoed around us.

As the door slid to the side, I watched for a moment before stepping through. Past the doorframe was a smaller room, though it had plenty of room for all of us. Inside were several dozen shelves along the walls containing actual books, as well as dozens of datapad readers, knick-knacks, and other artifacts. In the corner was a desk with an old human sitting at it, reading something of a holo projected. He quickly slapped the base, the projection disappearing in a split second.

"Hello, yes, come in," He said, gesturing harshly with a no-nonsense tone.

As we all filed in, he watched us with a harsh look, though it was hard to tell if it was just how he looked or if he didn't appreciate this many of us showing up to his office.

"Well, let's see it," he ordered, gesturing to a space on his desk. "I don't have all day."

Despite his brusque and blunt nature, I was picking up a sense of eagerness in his rushing. He knew exactly what we were carrying, and he was desperate to see if it was real.

I gestured for Vaz, who was carrying the box containing the artifact, to step forward. She carefully stepped past us and placed the crate down on the desk before taking a step back. Yarlo leaned forward and pulled the crate closer, quickly cracking the top open and reaching inside. After gently placing the statue down, he began his inspection, starting first with a scanner of some sort, running it around the artifact.

He spent five minutes silently confirming the statue's authenticity before finally looking up at us.

"Where did you get this?" He asked, looking at me with a harsh gaze.

"From our client," I explained. "They hired us to transport and sell their finds to avoid the risk of dealing with the types of people willing to collect such artifacts."

If the man was insulted by the insinuation that he or his boss would attempt anything nefarious, he didn't show it. Instead, he chewed his lip and looked back at the statue.

"They hired you to deliver a singular artifact?"

"They hired us to do business in their name," I corrected. "They also wished to assure you there are more artifacts they are willing to sell."

"Tell me, when conversing with your clients, did they make it seem like they were dissolving a collection? Or maybe that they had uncovered something like, say, a dig site, or perhaps some ruins?"

"Why would I tell you that?" I asked, tilting my head to look directly at the man. "The secrets of my client are not something I'm offering here."

"Of course, of course," He agreed, trying to seem understanding. "Then again, they can't be paying you very well for this, and it's not as if it would mean anything. You've already confirmed that you will have more to sell soon, after all."

"...speak plainly, what are you offering?" I demanded, the man's face lighting up.

"This statue is genuine and worth around twenty-five thousand credits," He explained with a bit of smirk. "I could be convinced to spend an extra five thousand credits on a separate chip if you confirm what the source of it was…"

I paused for a long moment, staring down at the older man. He stared back, with a surprising amount of steel in his spine, considering how much of an intimidating sight we were, especially all together.

"...They took great lengths to reveal as little as possible about the source of the artifacts," I finally responded, the intermediary frowning at my admission. "However, I did spot several of the artifacts being cleaned. Almost as if they had been buried."

"Ah! I see. That must mean they have uncovered something interesting!" He said, showing the real first signs of excitement since we arrived. "Grakkus is going to be very interested when he hears this."

"Then I assume you are going to be interested in purchasing the rest of their artifacts?" I asked.

"Assuming they are as intact as this, then yes," He prefaced. "Grakkus has no real interest in pottery shards or crumbled masonry, only what might add to his impressive collection properly."

"Very well… the payment?"

The man, who seemed like he was barely managing to not rub his hands together in greed, nodded and opened up a safe under his desk. After its lock was disarmed, he opened it up and pulled out payment, handing me five, five thousand credit chips, before adding the sixth bonus chip.

"A pleasure doing business with you," He said as he passed the last chip, holding on to it before I could tug it free. "I don't know exactly how Grakkus will respond to your information, but I assure you he will be very interested in returning customers and working with individuals who remain…flexible when helping friends."

After a long pause, I nodded as if agreeing with him, and he released the credit chip with a smile.

"Good. Now get out. I have to contact my client and inform him of his newest purchase," He explained, brushing us off with a wave of his hand.

With no desire to linger, the crew quickly filed out of the room. We didn't bother slowing down in the bar, making our way directly back out into the harsh sun of Tatooine.

"Well… That went well," Julus commented before Tatnia slapped his back, shutting him up.

"We can talk more once we are back at the ship," I said, Julus nodding as we made our way back to the speeders. "The walls have ears here."

The ride back to the ship was simple, though a bit nerve-wracking. I kept on imagining everything that could go wrong as we sped through the desert, flying along dunes and rock formations. When we were finally back at the Starcaller, we quickly loaded everything back into the cargo bay. Ahsoka took off the second bay door closed, sealing us inside. It was only then that I pulled off my helmet and let off a laugh.

"Well done, everyone. That was an encouraging result," I said, slapping Julus on the back. "I think I should take up acting. I'm clearly a master at the art already."

"The helmets made it easy," Tatnia said, pulling off her helmet and letting out a sigh of relief before continuing. "You didn't have to worry about covering your tell."

"I don't have a tell," I scoffed, only for Tatnia to roll her eyes and walk past me, making her way to the bridge to help Ahsoka in the co-pilot's chair. "Tatnia, I don't have a tell!"

"You keep telling yourself that boss!" She called back, disappearing further into the ship.

I frowned, looking over at Nal with concern on my face.

"I don't have a tell… do I?"

The older Duros said nothing, simply patting my shoulder and following after my second in command.