Chapter 30: The Conspiracy

30. Conspiracy

Outer Rim, Moddell Sector, Endor System.

Mars-Felasi gazed out of the mothership’s spacious porthole at the beautiful, rising planet below, lost in thought.

She and three other companions, who had been sent to the planet earlier to prepare cargo, were now housed in the mothership’s living quarters. The accommodations were excellent, and they wanted for nothing. Compared to their life in the slums of Corellia, this place felt like paradise.

However, their freedom was restricted. Especially after the recent incident where three bounty hunters had attempted an attack, causing heavy losses, Qi Jian had tightened security significantly.

Now, two grim-faced marines stood guard outside their quarters at all times. Comparing their physiques, Felasi knew that even with four of them, they stood absolutely no chance against these soldiers.

Just then, a companion named Kenneth leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Boss, do you know about that bounty hunter attack earlier?"

"I know. What about it?" Felasi frowned, asking back.

"You were all in these quarters then and couldn't see the battlefield. But I happened to be on the other side of the ship teaching Galactic Basic to a few people, and I saw the whole fight," Kenneth said.

"Three bounty hunters came to rob us, caused heavy damage, but were eventually shot down. I know that. Even now, engineering ships are still salvaging the wrecks of those bounty hunters' ships," Felasi replied.

"No, that’s not the point. Do you know why a mere three bounty hunters could cause such devastating losses?" Kenneth lowered his voice further. "I saw it!"

"What?"

"This mothership is so massive that we all assumed its defensive capabilities were incredibly strong, but that’s not the case at all. Their fighters are practically products of a primitive planet! Those three bounty hunters were flying two G-9s and one GX-1—all old, modified ships—and they were swatting the mothership's fighters away like flies!"

"Is that true?" It was Felasi's turn to be shocked. She had been intimidated the first time she saw the mothership, to the point where she had never even considered resisting. She never imagined the reality was like this.

"Isn't it? Those three old ships shot down over 30 fighters! The people of this 'Fourth Group' had no other choice but to keep launching new fighters as cannon fodder. In the end, it was only because a visiting Jedi intervened that they were finished off!" Kenneth’s eyes glowed as if he had discovered a gold mine.

Felasi’s expression turned solemn. "What are you planning?"

"Their defenses are worth nothing, but this mothership and the colony below are bottomless purses of money! Listen to me, I know some friends in the underworld. They have ties to the 'Black Sun' and possess an old Hammerhead-class cruiser. It might be a bit battered, but it would have no trouble crushing the Fourth Group’s defenses!" Kenneth said.

"A cruiser? I recall the Hammerhead-class being a corvette," Felasi asked.

"No, this is a model from over a thousand years ago, during the Sith Wars—the 315-meter version. Not the 116-meter corvette model developed later by Rendili StarDrive. They bought it as a semi-scrapped wreck on the black market and have modified and refurbished it several times. It’s a beast now! Around Tatooine, it’s the biggest ship there is."

Felasi frowned. "But we have no way to get a message out right now."

"That’s where you come in, Boss. Look, we’re hostages, but isn't Boss Quinto running errands with them? When he comes back, you talk to him, and we’ll get the message out. Once that friend arrives and takes over this mothership, just imagine the life we'll be living!"

"Taking over the mothership is your friend's business. What does that have to do with us?"

"It’s different this time. As long as we make a deal—an eighty-twenty split. We take twenty, they take eighty, they’ll definitely go for it. Besides, a mothership this big needs people to manage and run it, right? We’d be the first batch! By then, forget about ten or twenty thousand credits; we could easily walk into a casino on Canto Bight and throw away hundreds of thousands of credits! Hahaha!" Kenneth couldn't stop laughing, but he immediately checked himself, looking around warily.

"So, Boss, are we doing this?" he asked again.

Felasi didn't speak, but her gaze gradually turned cold.

...

Tang Xiao, Qunter, and the others returned to the mothership. While this trip had been a brush with death, overall, it was a success. Most importantly, they returned fully loaded.

Not only had they earned 100,000 Republic Credits, but they had also brought back a YVX-865 Aurore-class freighter!

This freighter was 52.3 meters long and 16.44 meters high, with a trapezoidal hull, a pair of sturdy wings at the bottom, and engines mounted on the wingtips, with a wingspan of 42.33 meters.

Although it was an outdated ship, the Aurore-class freighter was still used in many places due to its large cargo capacity and reliable performance. One had to realize that a brand-new Aurore-class freighter had a market value of 240,000 Republic Credits!

Moreover, aside from Qunter’s YT-1000 light freighter, the Fourth Civilization now possessed a second ship capable of hyper-space travel, which made their operations much more convenient.

However, the joy of returning fully loaded was quickly dampened.

"What did you say! We were attacked by bounty hunters!?!" Hearing the news, Tang Xiao, who had just sat down to rest, jumped up.

Qi Jian and Clement stood side-by-side before Tang Xiao, bowing their heads in a posture of extreme shame, and said heavily, "Yes. Three bounty hunter ships suddenly arrived in the Endor system and launched a surprise attack."

"The losses?" Tang Xiao's face was as dark as water, his voice dropping to a low register.

Qi Jian took a deep breath. "We initially deployed four squadrons—48 fighters—to intercept, and subsequently launched another 20 fighters and reconnaissance craft. Of those, 31 Blade-class fighters and 3 Arrow-class scouts were destroyed, and 34 pilots were killed. Additionally, four small transport ships at the mining site were destroyed, and 8 pilots died."

Tang Xiao’s lips moved, but he couldn't find the words.

"Manager, our fighters are simply not a match for their ships... the gap is too large." Qi Jian clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly. "Only now do I understand your foresight, Manager. Indeed, even if we had equipped the Blade II-class fighters, the outcome wouldn't have been much different. Only by getting the Phantom fighters into service as soon as possible will we have a fighting chance."

"Mainframe, show me the combat footage," Tang Xiao said.

[Acknowledged, Manager.]