Star Wars: Heir of the Menace (Book 1)

Chapter 4: Smuggling

Marquikise's POV

I scramble to get into the crate and lower the lid before they can see me. The voices begin to approaching the storage space.

"We can charge you a little extra for the cargo to be dropped off on your ship for your convenience." The protocol droid informs the client.

"Will it be fast?" The Neimoidian client asks.

"Yes, at your earliest convenience."

"Can that happen now?"

"Of course." They are almost standing at my crate. "I am ordering it now."

"Good." I hear the door to the storage unit slam shut and a pair of engines sputter to life. My adrenaline starts pumping as I realize that I'm about to be smuggled into the Trade Federation Capital ship. Taking a few deep breaths and calming my mind helps me to relax. I turn my attention to the plan to escaping the ship. The now moving storage unit probably will not have an exit but I could wait to escape on the Capital ship. The storage unit jolts to a stop. A few seconds later, the unit door opens.

"The captain said to take these units to the storage bay for assembly." Ordered a robotic voice. The sound of metallic footsteps approach and grab my crate. They begin moving the crate, as they do I start planning my escape. I don't have a working lightsaber to defend myself but I can use the force to stop an attack. If I can find an escape pod, I could leave the ship before it jumps into hyperspace.

My crate stops and the footsteps disappear. Carefully raising the lid of the crate to scan the area, I notice the droid that was pushing my crate is a B-1 unit. The new room I'm in appears to be clear of droids so I climb out of the crate, replacing the lid before I continue. The large storage room is dimly lit but I can make out the stacks of crates filling only part of the space. This room is lined with metal, floor to the ceiling. The floor has large yellow lines separating each stack of crates to allow walking space. By what I can see it appears there could be thousands of crates already in this room.

I will need to find a terminal to get off this ship quickly to alert the council of my findings. Sneaking my way to the edge of the storage area, I scan for a ship terminal. With none in sight, I decide that I should head toward the exit. I back track to my crate and head in the direction the B-1 unit was heading. Before I reach the exit, he hear a crash of metal hitting the floor. Spinning on my heels, I creep towards the direction of the crash. As I approach the source of the sound, I notice a partially assembled B-1 unit on the floor along with several open crates.

"Don't move." I feel a small metal object against my back. My hands are already up but I stop. They slowly walk around to my front. The individual is wearing armor and is pointing a blaster pistol at me. They stop for a second. "Marquikise?"

"Yes?" I'm confused.

"It's Dalka." She places her blaster back in her holster. "Boy am I glad to see you. I thought you were one of those creeps."

"What are you doing here?"

"Collecting evidence to give to the Republic." She plainly states. Before returning to deconstructing the droid.

"You seem awfully good at helping us." I note.

"Yeah, I love the Republic." She says with some enthusiasm.

"You would risk your life for some information?"

"Yes." She states. "You have no idea."

"About what?" I ask.

"The plot to rebel." She states in a mater of fact way. She turns to face me. "Seriously no idea?"

"None."