Edge of the Empire: Book 05: Enter the Unknown

Chapter 03: Too Good to Be True

"I need a ship and hearty souls for the adventure of a lifetime!" The declaration took them all by surprise. So much so that Jarek's hand dropped from his blaster and Madlyn forgot the drink in hers.

This stranger was being serious. What he'd originally mistook as drunken bloodshot eyes Jarek realized were, in fact, wide with manic enthusiasm and determination.

Slick was about to speak when the human interrupted, "If you have the stones and the will you can accept my job offer and become richer than you ever imagined." At that point, the man paused to stare at them all, waiting for an answer and slowly swilling the nasty concoction in his glass.

The crew looked at each other in bewilderment before Slick asked the most obvious question, "Who the devil are you?"

The man had the decency to look abashed. He hastily bowed at the waist. "Apologies," he said cordially, "sometimes in my excitement I forget myself." He straightened and gestured to one of the remaining seats. The crew, still reeling from the stranger's bombastic arrival, didn't say anything to prevent him from sitting. "My name is Jacek," he stated, "and for a few moments of your time I may have a tale to tell that, should you believe it, could mean wealth beyond your imaginings."

Tale? Wealth? In the span of a single sentence, the new arrival managed to pique both Era's and Madlyn's interest. Slick looked skeptical but curious. Jarek still wasn't convinced the old man wasn't a total nutter.

Jacek took another sip of his drink before beginning his explanation, even though none of them had given him leave to do so. "Hutt Throne worlds are the stuff of Legends among spacers," he intoned with a gravitas that belayed his drunken state, "they're off-limits to non-Hutts and purportedly filled with treasure from long-dead Clans."

Era leaned forward, eyes wide with excitement. "The Dead Road," she declared causing Jacek to look at her in astonishment, "You're talking about the lost worlds beyond the Dead Road, aren't you?"

The old smuggler shook off his surprise before nodding. At that point, Jarek shouldn't have been surprised at the extent of the Mirialin's knowledge, but kriff it still floored him. Her ability to retain such massive amounts of knowledge and access it at will was truly astounding. He'd have to ask her later how she kept her brain from overheating.

"Many have braved the Dead Road," Jacek continued to explain, "The hyperspace route through the Bootana Hutta, in search of these hidden caches of riches." He waved a dismissive hand towards the rest of the tavern, wrinkling his nose in annoyance. "Most put little stock in the various tales that pass through the Cantinas that allege the discovery of a world rife with artifacts and other great rewards." A wry smile crossed his face as he added, "Yet sometimes a tale has more to it."

The stranger began to spin a yarn of a lost Hutt treasure Palace on a world the species had abandoned. On a world called Pybus, Vortga the Hutt's wealth remained untouched in his abandoned palace complex. Before his death, Vortga had set plans in motion so that if he could not have his riches no one would. Thus, after his assassination, every member of his entourage had met a grisly end.

"If everyone was killed then how do you know this lost treasure exists?" Slick asked still eyeing the man wearily.

"The same way we know everyone in relation to the Hutt was killed," Jacek countered tapping the side of his head. "The assassin himself survived." Jacek then insisted he had proof of his claims hidden away. The treasure was so vast he had to take precautions to ensure his safety in the event the crew he hired was less than honorable. If the right crew was willing to accompany him on the expedition, then they would have equal shares in the Treasure.

As the man spoke a sobering look seemed to dawn on his face even as he indulged in several more swigs of his beverage. Suddenly his haggard appearance took on a new meaning to Jarek. Here was a man who'd been dedicated-no-obsessed with this single quest for so long that it had exacted a physical as well as psychological toll. The stress lines and circles under his eyes indicated he may not be as old as he appeared. That was telling.