Kal'Shebbol Fixer-Uppers (The Outback)

[Aeshi Tillian]

Kal'shebbol- in the Kathol Outback- just Galactic South of her where her outpost was going to be established. It seemed in her best interest then to be on good terms with them and see how things worked there. She'd done a little poking around about this Kathol Outback and the Kathol Republic and from what she had heard, several key members of the Underground had played pivotal roles in its foundation. Something had drawn them off from their efforts against oppressive governments. Aeshi didn't know what that might be, but hopefully there were a few that had known her parents when they ran guns to resistance movements.

Maybe they even knew where the One Sith might have taken them. She turned to study the others in the ship. A bunch of scruffy looking mechanics, all with her nose and eyes. Tillians- the lot of them. Her extended family- first and second cousins for the most part. They worked as mechanics and engineers for the family business. Tillian Family Enterprises- freight hauling and ship refitting. But the pilot, he was more directly related.

Ragnos Tillian. He was a heavy-set man with graying hair and a permanently wrinkled smile from some old scar or another. Aeshi still hadn't managed to wriggle that story from anyone. Ragnos was her grandfather and he had been overjoyed when she had returned from Castameer. It had been quite the reunion, all things considered. All the Tillians had returned from wherever they had found the winds scattered them through the galaxy to celebrate their missing sister.

Yumfla hadn't seen such a family reunion in generations. About two hundred of them all together, celebrating as only a family of spacer's and adventurers could manage.

As a welcome home gift, Ragnos had put up credits for Aeshi to buy a ship and company assets to refit it however she wanted. She'd ended up purchasing this ship and quite a few upgrades, all shipped to this docking bay on Kal'shebbol. The world itself came into view as they began their descent towards the singular continent below.

Comm chatter flitted back from the cockpit into where Aeshi sat. Bored of being a passenger, she rose and made her way into the cockpit, sitting down beside her grandfather. Despite his years working mostly as a business executive, he had started off as freighter pilot and worked his way up in the family. He sat now in a white shirt and black jacket.

As she sat, he gave her a big grin.

"Did some looking into that ship of yours," He said once landing clearance came through. "She's a beaut. Got a name for her?"

Aeshi nodded, looking as the Gallofree yards appeared below her.

"The StarDream."

Her thoughts drifted off to her plans for the ship as the Susefvi registered ship landed in the neighboring bay. They strode out, Ragnos saying behind to talk with customs officials and handle the docking fee.

Aeshi went ahead of the others, who waited out of respect for this moment. She was meeting her new ship for the first time, and for the Tillians, that was like a first date or a honeymoon. One simply didn't intrude on that moment.

She stepped into the hangar, studying her new home. It was a beautiful Corellian ship- painted blue and white. Stock for the most part, which left her plenty of room to work with. Which was good, because there was already a pile of parts and components shipped in from across the galaxy to upgrade her with. Everything ranging from sensors, boosted comm arrays, new hyperdrive and navcomputer. They'd brought in parts from Susefvi as well.

It was time to get to work.

 

[Bryce Bantam]

Bryce was always a big fan of starship. Big, small, it didn't matter. Whenever a new one came to the years Bryce always tried to find a way to see it up close. Do a little nosing if you would. This new Corellian beauty that had decided to dock for a retrofit was no exception. Bringing the ships newly ordered Hyperdrive Bryce was going to use it as an excuse to get inside if he was able. Maybe strike up a conversation with her captain if he could. If not the few minutes he had would at least be enough to get a feel for her. As so with a lightness to his gate he pushed the hover cart that carried [member="Aeshi Tillian"] newly ordered hyperdrive to her birth of pylon three.

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

A small box waited for her on the edge of the stack of crates. They were pretty standard crates, but this one was special- made of durasteel and biometrically locked. Aeshi placed her fingertips along the edge and held it up to her eyes. A scanner's lights appeared, studying her eyes. Then it clicked open, revealing the contents inside. First was the title to the ship itself and its associated documents. Then below that was the wrist-controls for the remote system. A smile played on her lips as strapped it around her arm. With a tap of the button, the boarding ramp descended.

It beckoned her inside, like a warm invitation to what would finally be a home of her own. But more than that, even. It was an invitation to walk among the stars. The stars that humanity had dreamed of, fought for, and died trying to reach for thousands upon thousands of years. The place where she could truly be free, with no one but herself and her code to make her decisions. No orphanage overseers. No Sith soldiers, Lords, or bureaucrats. No bureaucrats at all, actually.

But first she needed to get this ready and prepared to go. She paced around the ship, tracing her hands along the hull as her grandfather and the Tillian crew made their way into the hangar, setting up tool benches and breaking open the crates to lay out the parts and assign what they would need to retrofit the ship.

"Let's do the hyperdrive and navcomputer," She called out the crew, walking up into the ship. They followed with the parts and tools needed as Aeshi strode through the ship, tracing the panels until she found the hyperdrive. It was now that the strengths of the ship came into play. Everything was behind removable panels and as she studied the cables, she noted that they had connectors that would work quite easily with basically any parts. "Toss me a hydrospanner!"

Her voice echoed through the corridor and someone handed her a hydrospanner. Aeshi ducked down and began unbolting the hyperdrive, while a few other techs began making sure it was powered down.

"Aeshi!" Her grandfather called from the entry ramp, "New hyperdrive is here. Want it taken up?"

Curled halfway around the old hyperdrive, grease from the connectors staining her hands, she popped her head out. "Yeah! Send it up!" She ducked back into the compartment, cranking one of the cables with the hydrospanner. It came loose and she tucked into the superstructure to keep it off the floor.

"Roger that, captain!" Ragnos called up and Aeshi grinned. She'd never been Captain before. It was a title she could get used to. "He's on his way with the system!"

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

Gleefully Bryce pushed the hover cart up the boarding ramp of the Corellian vessel. Whistling as he traveled there was a lightness to his step. As he reached the top he noticed how those onboard seemed to be up to their elbows upgrades. These Corellian ships never really stayed stock, so easy to modify there were the hot rods of the light freighter fleets, with no two being alike.

"Captain, got your new Hyperdrive here, where ya want it?"

[member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Bryce Bantam"]
------------

Aeshi looked out from where she was curled around the original hyperdrive, smearing grease across her forehead. She nodded in greeting as the man stopped the hovercart. She squeezed herself out, pausing to undo the final bolt on the hyperdrive system.

"Right here works," she answered, replacing the hydrospanner to its proper location on her utility belt. The old hyperdrive was ready to be removed, except it was a rather large piece of equipment. "Can you give me a hand with this?" She knelt down and placed her hands underneath the drive, bending with her knees.

Outside, a team of technicians had prepared the satellite dish while a lifter droid took it gently in its massive claws and lifted it to the top of the ship, setting it in place amidships. Two other technicians had scrambled on top and spun around, bolting it in place.

It would have to connected to the new array, which was also being wheeled into the ship. She had marked it as being near the cockpit, but not directly inside. Just visible with is readings relayed to the ship's main console.

Ragnos was tinkering back in the engines himself, working to improve speed and install a SLAM system. Primarily though, he wanted to boost the average sublight speed. Fast acceleration to a slow speed wasn't that helpful. He was chest-deep in the inner workings of the engine, tinkering with the wiring and conductors that connected it to the reactor.

 

[Bryce Bantam]

Bryce nodded and bent down as well, closing his eyes he let the force flow through his body to help with the lift. Now while he was pretty sure he was strong enough to do this with just brute muscle there was little reason not to work smarter and not harder. Soon the drive was lifted out of place and Bryce followed [member="Aeshi Tillian"] lead on where she wanted it put back down.

Grabbing a grease cloth Bryce began to while the oil from his hands before asking. "So what brings ya here to the outback?"

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

Aeshi stiffened suddenly as she felt the Force flow from this man. He was a Force sensitive? A Jedi of some sort? He didn't feel like a Sith. Not the ones she knew from Coruscant, anyways, so she would let it slide. But still, that brought an itch to her neck that made her want to leave as quickly as possible, until he asked the question. What brought her to the Outback? Most simply, she was here to pick up her ship. But there was more to it than that.

The Outback was far from the Core and its dirty, stinking city-planets and the endless wars between Jedi and Sith. Away from their high-handedness and separation from the people they claimed to protect. It didn't matter all that much from whom. Each other, themselves, Aeshi saw no difference between the two. She let the question hang there for several moments as she moved to the new hyperdrive. Wedging a crowbar in the top, she pried the lid off, collapsing the crate around the new drive.

It was a beautiful piece of machinery, that was for sure. Lucerne Labs had done a good job with this one. She knelt down and lifted her end, aiming to move it into place and bolt it down. She took a deep breath and wiped her hands on a rag.

"Wanted to get as far away from the Core as I could. Setting up a trade and exploration outpost on Imynusoph. Found this ship here, so I'll be on my way to set up the Outpost." She moved her side of the hyperdrive to where it belonged and set it in the clamp. "Also figured I'd see if anyone around here knew my parents."

She tossed a look around before leaning forward. "They ran supplies for the Underground into One Sith territory."

 

[Bryce Bantam]

"Good people those underground folks, helpful and kind to all right."

After placing the hyperdrive down as instructed he stood up and smiled at [member="Aeshi Tillian"], while making sure to play with his Rebel Signet Ring. Odds are if her parents were in the underground she would know what it means. As they talked he stepped a few paces back from here as she seemed to tense up a bit at his mild use of force power.

He didn't mean any harm, just wanted to talk a little and get to know the girl and her new ship.

"So outpost ya say, what ya looking to sell or trade?"

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

He twisted a ring on his finger and Aeshi glanced at it a little more carefully before a small smile flickered across her face. Her parents had each had one, and her father had once carved her a tiny one from a piece of whalebone they had found washed up on Susefvi's shore. Its emblem was famed throughout the galaxy for its fiery signal of defiance and independence. It stood for hope and liberty and fiery dreams of a better life in the future, even though it would be bought for in blood. Hers had been confiscated when the ship had been taken by the Sith. Destroyed, probably. That seemed to be the norm for those affiliated with the Undergrund.

"Yeah," she said after a moment, kneeling to begin bolting in the new hyperdrive. It wasn't a long business. Just about ten minutes with a few turns on the hydospanner. Then it was to the power cords. She grabbed those and moved around the drive, reconnecting and securing those. All things connected, she ran a quick diagnostics check through her datapad. All lights were green. The hyperdrive was connected. Aeshi stood and brushed her hands on a rag before starting to head to the cockpit, tilting her head as an invitation. "Problem was the Sith weren't so kind and helpful when they caught us running supplies under their nose."

She strode to the cockpit, pausing to pick up the box for the navcomputer.

"The world's fairly isolated from the galactic community. Aiming to trade their crafts and native supplies in exchange for normal commodities. Enough to pay for the supplies and keep me away from the wars of Light and Dark." Her voice darkened at the mention of the war.

She set the box down by the hatch into the cockpit and inspected the installed navcomputer. It was decent and standard, but that wasn't what she needed. She pried open the casing and set about disconnecting the wires, very carefully this time. Computers were a fair bit more delicate than hyperdrives.

"What brings you to the Outback?" She called over her shoulder.

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

One by one, the wires were disconnected and the stock computer carefully removed from its casing and set aside on the deck. She could still get some decent credits from that. Most freight pilots didn't need a Kol computer and its features, certainly not when paired with a Zephyr hyperdrive. She could go anywhere in the galaxy without ever dropping back into the realspace, except to refuel.

Then for the next installation. She set the new computer inside the casing, leaning over to trace the wires. Those, she delicately grabbed with her fingers and one by one, connected them with the rest of the systems. It took a few minutes, but she managed to get it all connected. Now the question was if it had worked right. She stood and booted up the computer.

It had to install software updates and configure settings. Aeshi frowned. That tended to take a while. She stood and paced around, eventually finding her all the way to back where her grandfather was working on the engines, assisted by an astromech droid. He was a big man, heavyset and sweating. She slipped in beside him, picking up a hydrospanner and setting it in the tool box.

"How you boosting the engines? Never done that before." Her voice was low and calm, but inside, she was shaking. He was a blood relative. In fact, all the engineers with him were blood family. It had been a shock, honestly, a spike driven through her heart, and it had hurt. A good pain, maybe, but it had hurt. She had had family that entire time, people would love her and have her back just because she was related. Nothing to earn or pay for.

Her grandfather grinned and gestured to the various things in the compartment.

"Engine's typically kept from draining too much power by a regulator. Sets a level where the computer will cut it off. I'm just raising that level, since you've got more'n enough power to do that."

Aeshi leaned forward to look at it more carefully.

"Can you set it so I can adjust it from the cockpit?"

The older man muttered softly for a few moments and then nodded.

"Aye, I can manage that. Will take some tweaking, but I think so, yes."

"Thanks, grandpa," Aeshi said, flashing a sudden grin, which only grew wider as his face beamed. That'd been the first time she called him that. Warmth spread across her chest and she patted him on the chest before heading back up towards the cockpit.

Status reports began to filter through the corridors.

"Cap drain system installed. Diagnostics running green. Working on SLAM system."

"Tractor shroud installed."

"Affirmative for the sensor array. Kills the look, but it's running."

Aeshi smiled. It was taking shape quicker than she might have expected. She returned back to the hyperdrive computer. It was up and ready. Aeshi pulled it up, running system diagnostics and their congruence with the ship's main computer. All systems go.

Ragnos' voice echoed through the comms.
"Aeshi, check the regulator, should be up and working."

She turned to the control board and powered it up, finding the engine controls and looking at the regulator.

"We're green. Needs a proper field test, but everything looks good."

"Roger that, Captain," Ragnos replied, voice a bit cheeky at the use of her new title, "Moving to the shield generator. Got a nifty one off the defense boys back home. Should do your ship an awful lot of good."

Aeshi made her way to the back where he was working on the deflector shield generator and moved beside him again. He was disconnecting the original, and she moved to do the same on the other side. They worked in a companionable silence, slowly removing the generator and wheeling it off on a hoversled, which they used to wheel the new one back.

They repeated the process in reverse. First setting the generator in place and securing it, then bolting it back in place, and then reconnecting the cables. It took a couple hours, but it was finished. Aehi and Ragnos exchanged grins before striding out into the berth. Night was coming by now, and the ship was cluttered with scaffolding and gantries as the family engineers finished up their job.