Chapter Seventeen: Gathering Information

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17. Seeking Information

While the engineering droids were repairing the starship, Quinto and Truda struck up a conversation—they were old acquaintances.

“By the way, where’s Ferasi? Why didn’t he come with you?” Truda asked. “Those folks over there look unfamiliar.”

He nodded toward Munte, Tang Xiao, and the others.

“They are my new… uh…” Quinto hesitated, searching for the right words. He certainly couldn’t say that Ferasi was being pampered as a hostage by Tang Xiao on Tatooine.

“Partners,” Munte interjected from behind.

“Oh right, partners!” Quinto quickly agreed.

“Enough. You handle your own mess. I’ve already notified Jabba; his men should be arriving soon,” Truda said.

“Hey, old man! How could you trick me? I just got to Tatooine, can’t I at least get a drink of water?” Quinto complained.

Truda chuckled darkly. “We all work for Jabba. You should know that.”

Sure enough, just as they spoke, a few bounty hunter types strode in loudly shouting, “Quinto! Get out here! Where’s Jabba’s stuff?”

Quinto shivered in fright, casting a pleading glance at Tang Xiao, but receiving no response. Steeling himself, he said, “Alright, I’ll… I’m coming.”

“You lot, unload the cargo and load it up! This stuff belongs to Jabba!” another Trilek mercenary barked, brandishing a blaster rifle at Tang Xiao.

The blaster rifle looked like a military-grade weapon, far more advanced than the cheap DL-18 pistols Quinto’s group carried. No wonder they were so cocky.

The T-850 stepped forward, ready to teach this provocateur a lesson, but Tang Xiao stopped him. “Enough, load the cargo!”

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With that, Tang Xiao didn’t shy away from the dirty work. He entered the ship’s hold, carried a large crate out, and loaded it onto a Banshee II hover freighter. The bounty hunters stood with their arms crossed, watching Tang Xiao’s group work. One of them tossed Quinto a handful of credits before swaggering away.

Quinto nodded and shouted, “Hey!! This is only 2,000 Upi! Weren’t we supposed to get 5,000?!”

Upi is the currency circulating on Tatooine. Situated in the Outer Rim and under the Hutt’s influence, the Galactic Republic credits weren’t recognized here. This unofficial currency was the real hard cash.

But the bounty hunters didn’t stop. One of them turned back to mock, “You should be grateful we even paid you! Take it, you useless moisture farmer, hahaha.”

Quinto’s expression shifted several times. When the freighter was out of sight, he raised his middle finger in their direction. “A bunch of Banshee bastards!”

Munte was more carefree. He clapped Quinto on the shoulder and said, “Don’t sweat it. At least that’s some money. We’ll haul a few more loads, and once our colony’s up and running, there’ll be plenty of work. We won’t have to look to Jabba’s face anymore.”

“Jabba…” At the mention of that name, Quinto’s head dropped.

“Come on, let’s find a place to drink. My treat,” Munte said.

“In the end, it’s still my money. I’m the one buying,” Quinto said with a wry smile and shook his head.

They entered Mos Eisley—a city utterly unplanned, with no proper streets, just a chaotic sprawl of shacks and hovels like a vast slum.

The streets teemed with all manner of alien species, everyone cloaked against the harsh sun. Some shouted out their strange wares, others asked around for work, and some leaned against walls with weapons, waiting as mercenaries for business to come their way.

Typically, those mercenaries tried hard to look fierce, to seem dangerous.

At that moment, a cylindrical droid resembling a bamboo stalk carried several Quarren heads down the street. Pedestrians hurried aside, with the meanest-looking mercenaries fleeing fastest.

Some onlookers whispered, “Look, it’s the Iron Fish gang’s Quarren! They hijacked one of Jabba’s cargo ships a few days ago…”

Quinto pulled Tang Xiao aside, clearing a path. He whispered, “That’s IG-41, a bounty hunter under Jabba. Stay away. It shoots anyone it thinks is interfering with its mission.”

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Tang Xiao said nothing. He glanced briefly at the droid, then turned away to follow Quinto into a Mos Eisley bar.

This place was a melting pot—robots and aliens of all kinds mixed together, spending their meager earnings on cheap alcohol, venting their restless energy.

There were squid-like Quarren, wild boar-like Gamorreans, humans with two tentacles on their heads, and Trileks of various skin tones. It was like a menagerie of rare creatures.

Munte was fascinated. Upon entering, he grabbed some change from Quinto and wandered off, soon chatting up a Trilek woman, laughing and drinking.

Tang Xiao, however, went straight to the large oval bar in the center, called the bartender over, and ordered a drink. Taking sips, he tossed a Upi coin onto the counter and said quietly, “I want to ask about the Skywalker family.”

The bartender took the coin without expression, wiping a tray as he spoke in a low voice meant only for them: “They live in Mos Espa port. They’re slaves of a Toydarian scrap dealer named Vort—someone he won from the Hutt Gadoola in a gamble. That story’s been around for a while.”

Tang Xiao pushed another coin forward. “I want to find them. Any advice?”

The bartender pocketed the coin again and neatly stacked the trays. “Mos Espa port is Gadoola’s turf. You know how Jabba and Gadoola, two Hutts, relate… hehe. You work for Jabba, you know what that means.”

This place was truly a mix of all sorts, and no one could be trusted, Tang Xiao thought. He had just arrived on this planet and was already taken by Jabba’s people, yet news traveled fast here.

Tang Xiao weighed the last Upi coin in his hand, about to speak, when suddenly a strong shove pushed him aside. Frowning, ready to scold, he turned and saw a clearly drunk man slumped on the bar next to him, reeking of alcohol.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, pink skin! How about teaming up and making some money?” the drunk slurred.

At the mention of money, Tang Xiao gestured for T-850 to hold back and asked, “Speak. What’s your idea?”

“Ha ha ha! You look soft and tender; your family must be rich, right? *Hic!* I’ll kidnap you, then you can have your folks pay ransom. How about that? Ha ha ha—*hic!*” The drunk laughed uproariously as his companions at another table joined in the raucous laughter.

[Bonus Chapter Illustration 1: Tatooine Street Scene]