"This is an artifact of the Galactic Empire!" another man exclaimed. "The prison facilities on Akrit-Tar Planet have been looted so many times. I never thought we'd still find something this good!"
Gallandro, the pirate with a handlebar moustache, stroked the hair at the corner of his mouth. "That's what puzzles me too. I received this signal when I was near Kessel, and Kessel is eleven seconds away from here—a full several thousand light-years. With just this thing, and no signal relay stations left behind by the Galactic Empire nearby, how could it possibly transmit a signal that far?"
"Let's give it a try." A technician dressed like a mechanic walked over, carrying a large bundle of data cables. The other ends of those cables were connected to a massive mainframe. Clearly, this too was a military-grade mainframe previously used by the Galactic Empire aboard its frigates!
It was hard to imagine an ordinary band of pirates being equipped with a military-grade mainframe like this. That only meant they were no ordinary pirates and likely had some powerful backers behind them.
The technician directly connected the cables to the metal component and switched on the power.
The instant the power came on, the metal component erupted in a shower of sparks, startling everyone. Just when they all thought it had been completely destroyed, something astonishing happened: several indicator lights lit up. The component actually began operating.
Words gradually appeared on the screen of the mainframe at the other end—"I am the Galactic Empire." The line repeated over and over.
"What the hell is this?" Another pirate scratched his head. "The Galactic Empire was taken down more than two years ago. Doesn't this thing know that?"
Gallandro said smugly, "There's only one possibility—this thing was left over from the war. If