Star Wars: Dark Protocol

Chapter 2

3 Months Earlier

Captain Harut Ming was a hardworking man. 47 years old with a widows peak and gray creeping through the dark-brown hair he had left; he had the look of a man who'd been across the galaxy, twice. He ran his own business shipping supplies between Reecee, Borleias, Pantolomin, and Bilbringi. Occasionally he would make runs as far in as Coruscant or as far out as Ord Mantell, but he preferred to remain in the Inner Rim systems. It was safer.

This week he was running a shipment of produce and flash frozen meats from Borleias to Reecee when a warning light began to flash on his control terminal. He checked his sensor monitor. Two ships dropped from hyperspace a couple hundred kilometers away from his converted Junk Hauler, The Third Wife. One of the ships was behind him, it's transponder naming it Maverick. The other blocked his current course, this one calling itself The Renegade.

The comm board lit up indicating that he was receiving a transmission from The Renegade.

"Attention Third Wife. This is Admiral Selky of the Luna Independent Starfleet. Shutdown all non-critical systems and prepare to be boarded."

Unwilling to hand over his cargo and lose precious credits, Ming was just about to change his course so he could make a jump to the safety of hyperspace when his ship shuddered from laser fire.

"And in case you were thinking of running, I have my fighters standing by to blow out your engines." Selkys voice chuckled over the comm.

Rather than lose his cargo, payment, and his ship, Ming decided it was much more likely he'd survive if he did as he was told.

"This is Captain Ming. Complying with your demands." He began flipping switches to power down most of his ship.

"Will you be sending a shuttle to pillage me, or will you tractor me in?"

"Our shuttle Jetsam will be docking with you. Be warned, my crew is armed. So no funny business. Do as you're told and you will live to be pirated by me again. Selky out."

Twenty minutes later the shuttle was docked to the topside hatch and three pirates in black jumpsuits and facemasks were loading Mings cargo into it. What Ming didn't know was that there was a fourth pirate outside in a vacuum suit crawling across his hull. Using a vacuum rated welding torch, the pirate began to burn a crest onto the side of the cargo hauler. The crest consisted of the initials "L.I.S" encircled by a blazing sun. Then the pirate placed a small, matte black device at the base of the comm antennae just aft of the docking hatch. His work finished, the pirate cycled through an airlock and back into the shuttle.

Ten minutes later the three other pirates finished moving the cargo and left. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ming began his start-up checklist and severely hoped he'd never see those pirates again.

Three days later Ming was running a new shipment of expensive liquors and luxuries for a wealthy official on Pantolomin when his control board lit up. He checked the alert and paled.

"Blast, they got me again!"

The comm unit crackled to life.

"Nice of you to stick to your schedule Third Wife. I see that you've already begun to shut down. Good choice."

"I am so borked." Ming moaned to himself as he flipped switches to shut off his engines, weapons, and shields. Then he toggled his comm unit.

"How did you know where to find me?" He asked.

"Have you not heard the tales of Admiral Selky, pirate legend? No? That's too bad. Maybe you'd be kind enough to spread the word. This is my territory. It is my business to know everything and everyone that comes and goes. For instance, in two days you will be hauling a shipment of nerf steaks to Bilbringi. Lucky for you, I've already 'acquired' a shipment. So you don't have to worry. After all, if you want afford to haul cargo i can't steal it all from you." Selky replied.

Within minutes the shuttle Jetsam was docked and Mings cargo was fast disappearing in the hands of the pirates. He watched on ruefully as, one by one, his biggest payday was carried off his ship.