"We also want to see the money," Seneal said.
Steffen took four cards from his breast pocket and placed them on the table. "Each one has 200,000 credits. No password. You can withdraw from anywhere. This is all I have on me. The rest will be paid after the goods are inspected."
"Thank you," Amir said sincerely.
The Pykes across from them didn't understand Amir's meaning, but seeing his faint smile, they felt a sense of unease.
. . .
32 sat in the Traveler's cockpit. This time, he wasn't in the co-pilot's seat, but the pilot's.
BD-4 beeped worriedly beside him, clearly not trusting his piloting skills.
32 ignored the short-sighted little droid. After so many days of study, he had mastered the ship's controls. Piloting it alone was no problem.
But this was his first solo mission. He was a little nervous.
Not long after Amir and the squid-head left, a dense swarm of ships took off from the port, heading to an unknown location.
Those were all Pyke ships. They even scrambled a cruiser.
32 couldn't help but worry for the man named Kaiyin. According to Amir, all those ships were heading for him.
But that was none of his business. His only mission was to pilot the ship, pick up Amir and Seneal when he received the signal, and escape.
But waiting was always long. He thought of Milisen, the girl who came from the same place he did. Around this time, she would usually be sneaking into the kitchen for snacks. He wondered what snacks tasted like...
. . .
Tatooine
Obi-Wan had calculated it. On this day of the week, little Luke would definitely be dragged to the moisture farm by Owen to help, so he didn't have to worry about missing him.
On the Eopie's back, Milisen sat in front, frowning.
This place was too hot. It was no place for people. The Traveler was much better; at least there was ice cream.
"Ben, have you really lived here for ten years?" Milisen asked in disbelief.
"Haha, yes."
"Amir isn't going to live here too, is he... Adrian is better. Mona, Yunyin, Ahsoka... so many people are there, and it's not hot!" Milisen pulled her hood down. A robe with a hood was a must for wandering around Tatooine.
"He's not staying. I'm the only one staying here," Obi-Wan said.
"Why are you staying here?"
This time, Obi-Wan was silent for a long time. He still didn't answer. He didn't want Luke to know, didn't want to affect his normal life, so he didn't tell Milisen either.
Fortunately, Milisen was in the throes of heatstroke and didn't pay any attention to Obi-Wan's non-answer.
Soon, Milisen saw a lone house in the desert ahead, with many machines she didn't recognize scattered around it.
A small boy was helping his father lift something.
"Is that him, Ben?" Milisen said excitedly.
"Yes. His name is Luke."
From a distance, Luke saw Obi-Wan. He put down what he was holding and ran happily toward the slowly walking Eopie.
"Ben!"
"Hello, Luke. It's been a while." Obi-Wan got off the Eopie, holding its rope.
"Hi, my name is Milisen!" She was overjoyed. Once she got to Luke's house, she wouldn't have to suffer this heat.
Luke looked up at Milisen on the Eopie. It was a blue Twi'lek girl. He had seen people like her in Mos Eisley, but none his own age.
"Hi, I'm Luke," little Luke replied, looking up. This new kid was a girl, which made him a little shy.
"Is it cool inside your house?" Milisen asked eagerly.
"Um... it's okay." Luke didn't know how to answer. He had grown up on Tatooine and could tolerate the heat, but it was definitely more comfortable inside.
"Great!" Milisen hopped off the Eopie and ran toward the house, which was built underground.
Owen stood in the distance, watching this scene with a smile. He nodded at Obi-Wan, signaling that he could come over.
Obi-Wan sighed in relief, leading the Eopie toward the house.
"Luke! Take our guest inside! Get something to drink from the fridge!" Owen let Milisen into the house and shouted at Luke, who was standing there stunned.
Little Luke brushed the hair from his eyelashes and ran after Milisen.
"Who's the child?" Owen seemed to be in a good mood, probably satisfied that Obi-Wan had stayed away for so long.
"A new apprentice," Obi-Wan said, a bit embarrassed.
Sure enough, Owen's face turned cold upon hearing this.
Obi-Wan quickly explained, "I don't mean it that way. I just brought a friend for Luke. And a gift."
Obi-Wan took the prepared Smart Combat Pack off the Eopie's back.
Seeing the painting on the backpack, Owen nodded. He was about to take it and tell the old man he could leave, but then he remembered Milisen was already inside. Helpless, he welcomed Obi-Wan in.
Beru had already prepared chilled blue milk for them. Milisen was gulping it down, a milk mustache around her mouth that she didn't notice.
Seeing Obi-Wan, Beru stood up. "Luke, go play with Milisen."
"How old are you?" Luke asked, slightly shocked, as Milisen finished the entire glass of blue milk in one go.
"How old? I don't know," Milisen replied.
Luke was confused. "Why don't you know?"
Milisen thought for a moment. "No one ever told me. I don't think Mona knows either. I'll have to ask Amir later..."
"You know Amir?" Luke asked, surprised.
"Of course! Amir is one of my best friends. Hey, you know Amir too?" Milisen suddenly realized.
Luke picked up the datapad. "Yes! He even gave me this."
The moment Milisen saw the familiar datapad, she gasped. Poor Luke. So we're classmates. Her gaze toward Luke became much kinder.
Misery really does love company.
"Luke, I brought you a gift." Obi-Wan walked over and handed the backpack to Luke.
Seeing the art on the backpack, Luke's eyes lit up. "Wow, this is so cool! Thank you, Obi-Wan!"
"It's a Smart Combat Pack. Amir made it. Milisen, you can teach Luke how to use it." Obi-Wan also sat down, drank a glass of blue milk, and made small talk with Owen. Neither seemed to mind the awkwardness.
At the mention of the backpack, Milisen perked up. She had completely figured out this fighting-thing. She grabbed Luke and ran into the courtyard.
. . .
Kaiyin had released the specific location of the spice base early in the morning. In an instant, all the prepared underground organizations, bounty hunters, smugglers, and others set off from every corner of the galaxy.
Kaiyin was already there. He was squatting alone on a mountain peak, holding macrobinoculars, eagerly waiting.
A good show was about to start. He loved watching the chaos!
---------------
You can read +100 advance chapters on my Patreon
Patreon(.)com/izan24
TIER 1 you'll get +15 ADVANCE CHAPTERS
TIER 2 you'll get +40 ADVANCE CHAPTERS
TIER 3 you'll get +60 ADVANCE CHAPTERS
TIER 4 you'll get +100 ADVANCE CHAPTERS