Seeing that silver-clad world again, Amir couldn't help feeling excited. This time, that temple definitely wouldn't escape him—he had to get inside and take a look.
A call came in. Amir accepted it, and Ahsoka's image appeared on the screen. She was wearing a thick, heavy parka.
"I'm already here—at the foot of the mountain," Ahsoka said.
Ahsoka had already agreed with Amir that they would explore this ruin together. That had been the plan from the start. In truth, once Amir found the entrance, he had already fulfilled Ahsoka's original request.
"I've dropped out of hyperspace. I'll be there in a minute," Amir said.
"I'm already changed, Amir!" At that moment, a white ball rolled into the cockpit.
Looking at Millisyn bundled up so tightly she was almost unrecognizable, Amir smiled and asked, "Aren't you hot?"
The ship kept a stable temperature. Wearing something that thick now would practically roast her—besides, even after they disembarked she wouldn't need to dress that heavily.
"Hot!" Millisyn declared, shamelessly confident.
"Take off two of the three sweaters you've got on underneath," Amir said, helpless.
"Okay..." Millisyn finally seemed to realize you couldn't wear too many clothes at once. "I just like these outfits—I wanted to wear them all." She trotted back to her cabin.
No. 32 only wore the most basic insulated outer layer—enough to retain heat from his internal heating system. Of course, he'd also put a cap on his shiny bald head.
The Traveler officially entered the atmosphere and began lowering altitude, flying along the familiar rift in the sky. After changing, Millisyn also ran into the cockpit to look at the scenery outside.
"What's that?!" Millisyn suddenly stretched out her arm and pointed at the ground.
On the pure white snowfield below, a pitch-black gash cut across the surface. At the end of that trench sat a strange lump of something.
"What is that?" Amir widened his eyes and looked over.
"An e-escape pod," No. 32 suddenly spoke. He raised his learning panel—on it was the interface for escape pods, as if it had lined up perfectly with the moment.
"Wow, you can talk now! That's amazing!" Millisyn patted No. 32 on the arm and praised him like a parent.
She earned two eye-rolls in return.
"Escape pod?" With the reminder, Amir looked carefully—sure enough, it was.
There weren't any large ships passing through this area. How could there be an escape pod here?
No—large ships...
Amir's expression changed as something clicked in his mind. He immediately altered course and flew toward the crashed pod.
The Traveler set down beside the escape pod. Amir and the others walked down the ramp and headed over.
"Without a place to keep warm, leaving an escape pod is a terrible idea. So if there's someone inside, they're probably still in there," Amir said. He couldn't be sure who was in that pod. As he walked, his hand slowly moved toward his lightsaber.
At that moment, the escape pod's hatch slammed open, and someone burst out.
"Finally—someone came! I'm saved!!!"
Along with that hysterical shout, a familiar figure appeared in front of Amir.
"Eh—A-Amir! Hahah... long time no see. How've you been lately?" Hondo said with an awkward grin. He froze in place, his body still bent forward, and a gust of icy wind made him shiver hard.
"Thanks to you, I've been doing very well," Amir said, walking toward him with his lightsaber in hand—without igniting it.
"Wait! Wait!" Hondo threw both hands up in front of him and flailed them wildly, his feet unconsciously backing away.
"What's there left to say?" Amir kept walking.
"There is—there is," Hondo said. He looked a lot thinner and completely drained. He'd clearly suffered these past days. The food and water in the escape pod had probably been used up already, and this barren field of ice and snow had been grinding down his will. He'd thought he was going to die here.
"Talk."
"I left you a weapon back then, didn't I? You know a lightsaber is worth a fortune. I left it for you because I believed you could save yourself!" Hondo said.
"Wow. I'm truly grateful," Amir said, still walking closer.
"Wait, I still have something—good stuff! I'll split it with you, half and half. Remember the crate I hauled out of the pirate base? It's all of those pirates' wealth. It's right behind me!" Hondo added quickly.
"Good. Now it's all mine. You can get lost," Amir said. He hadn't expected an extra surprise.
By now, Amir was sure this escape pod had come from the cruiser where the lab had been. After selling Amir out, Hondo hadn't expected to run into a bunch of people who didn't play by any rules.
Even a legitimate Imperial unit might not have paid him a bounty. Gideon certainly wouldn't bother with something like that—so there was no chance Hondo got paid. That meant Hondo had definitely been caught too. Yet he'd still managed to escape via an escape pod, and even bring loot with him.
For a slippery old pirate, it was exactly what you'd expect.
"Th-this..." Hondo hesitated, as if he couldn't bear to part with his property.
"Mm? You've got a problem with that?" Amir asked.
"...No!" Hondo finally made up his mind. "Heh heh—everything's yours. You take me out of this cursed place, yeah?"
"Oh. Go on, then—where do you want me to bury you? If the money's enough, I might consider it."
"Don't joke, brother—there's no grudge that can't be untied. Besides, I left you a weapon, didn't I? And look, you made it out. And there's the wealth behind me..." Hondo shivered as he laughed, trying to cozy up to Amir.
"Listen—listen. I know a huge secret. That's the reason I was in that dangerous pirate nest in the asteroid belt!"
"A secret!" Millisyn leaned in curiously.
"Say it," Amir said. He was also curious what this old man had been doing there.
"I—We should get on your ship first. It's too, too, too cold here," Hondo said. In a place approaching minus sixty degrees Celsius, he was practically turning into an icicle.
"Fine. But you'd better behave," Amir said, then turned and started walking toward the escape pod.
Just as they passed each other shoulder to shoulder, Hondo suddenly exploded into motion. His body—hunched from the cold—lunged straight at Amir. A hand hidden under his clothing clenched a curved blade.
But Amir had already seen through him. He had even stepped in close on purpose to give him the chance.
Because Amir wanted a perfectly clean excuse to beat him up.
Amir's lowered hand gave a light push forward the instant Hondo lunged. Immediately, Hondo's entire body—still locked in the posture of the attack—was sent flying backward uncontrollably, and he slammed hard into the snow.
With another casual flick of his hand, the blade near Hondo's hand shot backward through the air, far away from him.
Amir walked toward the stunned old pirate with a smile and said, "Don't say I didn't treat you like an old spacer. You swung first."
"Aaagh! Don't hit—don't hit—don't hit my face! Easy!!" Hondo's scream rang out across the snow.
"Ah! Hitting people is bad!" Millisyn whispered, but the excitement in her eyes betrayed what she really thought.
After a round of very "friendly" communication and an agreement reached through mutual understanding, Amir had No. 32 search Hondo and take everything off him. They locked it all away in the ship's cargo storage. Amir, meanwhile, headed for the escape pod.
To see what gift his old "friend" had brought him.
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🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past
📢 The Force Calls! 📢
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