The Imperial phantom-class starship touched down near the Kandera bunker. Talyc recognised it as Vax’s; apparently so did Fane, for he fidgeted uneasily. Talyc took his hand to comfort him. Fane nodded, as though acknowledging the reassurance.
            Vax exited the ship with a group of Imperial officers. He walked up to Talyc and bowed politely from the waist.
            ‘Talyc, you look well.’
            ‘Vax?’
            ‘Cypher Five, if you please,’ said Vax. ‘We are here to collect our shipment of beskar’gam, strictly speaking.’ He turned to Fane. ‘Fane, my congratulations are in order. You saved the galaxy and I am very grateful that you both live.’
            ‘Thank you, Cypher.’ said Fane. It felt weird to Talyc to hear Vax being addressed as such by Fane. He shifted awkwardly, not because of Vax or Fane, but because of the formality of the exchange.
            A group of Mandalorians were bringing out a few crates of shipment, as well as carrying out the beskar from the bunker.
            ‘May we speak privately?’ Vax asked Talyc. One of the officers looked at Vax. The Imperial agent did not heed him. ‘I wish to discuss what happened on Dromund Kaas.’
            Fane scowled but he walked away, giving Talyc and Vax some space. Vax motioned Talyc towards the bunker. Talyc recognised the look on Vax’s face and guessed this was a ruse. As they made their way into the bunker, Talyc began talking about his and Fane’s engagement. He saw the officers eyeing them but they did not follow them into the bunker.
            As soon as they were in, Vax hurried to a far-end room.
            ‘Can we speak freely here, are we being monitored?’ he asked.
            ‘No, go ahead, what is it?’
            Vax nodded. ‘First off, is this true, what you just said? You’re engaged?’
            ‘Yes. I realised that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Fane.’
            ‘I can’t say I’m pleased to hear it, but I am happy for you,’ said Vax. He paused. The Rattataki’s grey skin seemed paler in the bunker. ‘Listen; given our affiliations with Lord Void, we are being scrutinised and evaluated by Lady Gofaylia. She seems to enjoy…toying with people. She specifically sent me to pick up the shipment. I’m not sure if she’s looking for a reason to end the alliance early and mark you as our enemy, or if she is testing my commitment to the Empire. Regardless, I must keep up appearances.’
            ‘I understand.’ Talyc pointed a thumb towards the exit. ‘Are those her officers?’
            ‘No, but everyone has been told to keep an eye on everyone and to judge everyone,’ replied Vax.
            ‘Ah, yeah, that mustn’t be much fun.’
            There was a shuffling sound that quickly stopped. Vax looked around.
            ‘Are you certain we’re not being listened in on?’ he asked.
            ‘I’m pretty sure,’ said Talyc. ‘The bunker door isn’t a quiet one. And we can hear your officers inspecting the beskar outside. I did choose good quality beskar for you.’
            ‘Thank you. Listen, off the record, there is a matter I wanted to discuss with you, and I was hoping Lady Gofaylia would send me here.’ He got closer and lowered his voice. ‘Awgro has put a bounty on your head. Word is, he wants you captured and brought to him so he can kill you. He’s made sure to put this bounty to all non-Mandalorian bounty hunters. One of my contacts got in touch and informed me.’
            Talyc took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. ‘It was to be expected,’ he said. ‘No rest, eh! We just fought one major enemy.’ He shook his head. ‘I suppose it’s better to know. And had Awgro spread the word to Mandalorian bounty hunters… Well, most clans would have told me, so I assume he thinks I won’t find out the extent of this bounty.’
            ‘No, exactly,’ said Vax. The Rattataki got a conspiratorial look on his face. ‘There is something else. He also put a bounty on a woman called Maranna.’
            Talyc scowled. ‘Never heard of her. She’s not a Kandera as far as I know.’
            ‘What little Imperial Intelligence was able to dig up on her was that she was recruited in her early adulthood at the Sith Academy on Korriban. Apparently, she has a Force defect. Word is she simply absorbs everything.’
            ‘Well, a lot of Jedi master the art of absorption, so I’m not surprised at the ability. I mean some Sith do it too, so she must have it to some extreme for it to be qualified as a defect.’
            Vax shrugged. ‘All I know is that she was rejected and hunted as a Sith and was unable to learn the ways of the dark side properly. She joined the Followers of Kromus, though I do not know if she ever knew Kromus or Gourd, or if she ever met Relsor, for that matter. I don’t know what her affiliation with Awgro is either for him to want her dead. I believe he prefers to have her captured but the information about her is ambiguous at best.’
            ‘That is strange,’ said Talyc.
            ‘I thought you should know. Perhaps you and your friends can find her, find out what she knows about Awgro that he doesn’t want the rest of us to know.’
            Talyc nodded. ‘Sounds good to me.’ He began to turn to go.
            Vax caught his arm. ‘Talyc, we never had this conversation.’
            ‘Got it.’
            Vax took Talyc’s hand and squeezed gently. ‘Live well.’ He let go and walked towards the exit. Talyc watched him leave and was as surprised as he was when he shouted in startlement. ‘Seems we were being listened in on after all.’

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