The Falcon Was Faster

[Ronan Nakasla]

838 ABY

"I told you, there's no way in the Seven Hells that I can outrun anything in this junk pile!" Rix Lorsan shouted over the communications blister. A string of angry Huttese flew back out of the speakers and Lorsan banged his head on his fist.

"Yes, the Millennium Falcon was a YT-1300. Yes, the Lorsan Tekka is a YT-1300, but the Falcon was faster! Do you know what Han Solo did to that shi-" he was cut off by a grumble and what sounded like a question.

"I don't think anything could be as fast as that ship except starfighters, but I know a few tricks that could bring the el-tee into the current century. You paying? Of course you are. I'll bring her in." he clicked off the switch, yelled some profanities about stupid Hutts, and set course for Nal Hutta.

The YT-1300 arrived at the Hutt world after a few hours and pulled into a private docking bay. A team of engineers immediately swarmed the ship, taking scans, writing notes, and even already removing panels. Lorsan let out a low whistle and strode through the halls to the Hutt's 'throne room'. The large double-doors swung open to reveal a courtish audience chamber with a raised dais which the Hutt lounged upon currently. In the background, a young boy was polishing the horns of some dead animal.

"So I see you've already got some goons to screw up my ship." Rix called out while he walked the ostentatious distance to truly converse with Tekka. The Hutt replied in his native language, sounding amused.

"Yeah, yeah, better smuggling. More money. Got a foreman I can talk to?" he asked the Hutt.

On cue, a man wearing a Corellian Engineering Company uniform strode out from behind a pillar. Lorsan looked the man up and down, his eye twitched critically, then he wore a massive grin and patted the CEC Foreman on the back jovially.

"So the stingy bastard actually hired professionals! Come on, I've got great ideas to lay on ya!" Rix gripped the other man by the shoulder and led him away toward the hangar.

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

"You want a SLAM," the Foreman asked, "and engines that can rival starfighters?"

Lorsan nodded his reply, looking as giddy as a little kid at the prospect of out-flying most other ships. The CEC Foreman sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. The smugglers always wanted the fastest thing in space, and that was fine, it just caused certain headaches.

"Okay," he said, "Let me get this straight, though. The Corellian Engineering Company does not take any responsibility for damages to property or person as a result of these modifications. You also understand that the limited CEC warranty still applies to your ship since your entire service record has been through our company, as far as all parties are aware. Correct?"

"Yes, yes, I get all that, when will you start?" Lorsan asked impatiently.

"As soon as you sign the contract. Your... friend... Tekka the Hutt has already taken care of other arrangements." the Foreman answered, then pushed a piece of paper forward for Rix to sign. The smuggler quickly scrawled his signature across the bottom of the page and sat back in his seat as though he had won some epic battle.

The Foreman straightened his papers and stapled them together, then rolled his wrist so his jumpsuit's sleeve slid up past his wist comm. He held it up to his mouth and said,

"The formalities are arranged, you may begin work on the YT-1300." an affirmative response came back through the speaker, and he stood and departed, to get to work.

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

The Corellian Engineering Company workers quickly dismantled the rear end of the Lorsan Tekka. They made sure to keep all of the parts well organised and in neat order. The workers removed the engines and fuel duct work, then sent those off to a scrap pile. The Foreman consulted Lorsan and Tekka about what parts they were considering, and the former of the two took the lead. He detailed out models and speeds, modifications thereof, how he would like the sublight acceleration motor configured, and offered to help work. The CEC Foreman was a little irritated by Rix's enthusiasm, but decided to keep him busy since he would evidently not stay out of the way.

Lorsan was tasked with freighting the parts they needed from Corellia to Nal Hutta. Along with the engine parts and systems, a new hull was ordered to replace the old one. Duraplast was almost as hardy as durasteel, and much lighter. It would help make the ship go faster, and allow more cargo. So the smuggler was sent on what was probably his first legitimate assignment. To get him out of the way. In the meantime, the CEC crew stripped the hull off the Tekka and rewired many systems. Outdated manufacturing had to be brought up to code, and overall the ship was rebuilt to be up to modern specifications. Once that was done, they rearranged and rebuilt some walls and rooms to accommodate the new parts that were being installed. At the insistence of Tekka, they sent word forward to get some other components to spice up the freighter, including a longer mandible section.

After a couple of days, they were done preparing the YT-1300 and were merely waiting for Lorsan to return with the parts they needed to finish up the construction.

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

Lorsan's borrowed medium bulk freighter touched down, and the engineers were quick to start off-loading it. It had been about two weeks, and the CEC crew had had plenty of time to fine-tune the design of the Lorsan Tekka. Now that their main project components had arrived, they could truly get to work. They hauled the engines and SLAM into the docking bay holding the YT-1300, and set to the task of installing it all. They craned the engines into place, welded them on, and made sure they hooked up to the hyperdrive correctly. Once those tests came back positive, they set to the task of rigging the sublight acceleration motor into place. The system hooked up nicely into the ship and the engines, evidence of Corellian engineering and innovation.

Once the engines were installed, the SLAM was installed, and it all tested green for readiness and stability, the CEC Team began the process of re-hulling the freighter. The new pieces fell into place like a well-made puzzle. Hull plating went on and was welded, bolted, and otherwise secured into place. Once it was all sanded down and applied correctly, the engineers applied pain, sealant, and markings to ensure that the Tekka was all it could be. With slightly extended mandibles, new warhead launchers, new engines, new hull, and a SLAM, the ship had taken on one of its biggest overhauls since the cockpit was moved. The Foreman signed off on the completion of construction, and next came the testing phase.

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

First they had to move the ship out of the hangar. It was not a safe environment for benchmark testing and performance analysis, so they craned the ship out to a permacrete pad they had constructed in the time Lorsan took to fetch the parts for the YT-1300. Once there, they fired up the repulsors to make sure they still worked properly. The ship hovered for awhile before it touched back down and the repulsors powered down. They worked just fine, and were fully capable of in-atmosphere vertical take-off and hovering manoeuvres.

Next, they tested the engines. The blue-blazing bar at the back of the ship illuminated with power and the hum started from within. The ship sounded much different now. Instead of a grinding, thrumming sound, the engines sounded sleek and had a distinctly technological sound to them. The jet-like whine complemented the smooth pulsing of thrust. The ship's engines roared louder, the pulsing thrumming faster and the whine reaching a frequency too high to hear. Engine wash blasted out behind it, a testament of its power, until the engineers cooled the engines and shut the ship off.

"She's ready for real testing," the Foreman said, standing next to Lorsan, "I assume you would like to take your ship on her first run with the new engines?"

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

The Lorsan Tekka sprung to life under Rix Lorsan's hands. The newly-upgraded YT-1300 felt more alive than it had since it was new. Repulsors kicked on, which were brought up to date, and they held the ship off the landing pad they continued to push the freighter up until it was clear of Nal Hutta's swampy foliage. Lorsan pushed the engines more open and flicked off the repulsors. The ship dipped slightly then kicked off in an unfamiliar thrust of engine power. Soon the landscape was zooming by at breakneck speeds, and Rix was in heaven. He pulled the ship around and blazed trails back toward the landing pad. He did a barrel roll over the audience, then flicked a switch that cut power for a moment. In that instant, he pulled the controls hard and punched the SLAM. The engines jumped to life then blazed forward, pulling an almost impossible turn thanks to the modifications.

The Tekka soared straight up, but Lorsan was holding off on space tricks for the moment. He pulled the ship back around and nose-dived the ground. He adjusted the controls, flicked the SLAM on then off again, and the play of throttle and direction made the ship rub against the ground before taking off again. It clipped a few trees, but the new stabilisers took care of the impacts and kept the ship flying straight. Rix rose the ship above tree level again. This was fun.

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

The YT-1300 turned skyward yet again, this time shooting up at maximum speed. The ship rocketed away from the planet, and quickly escaped atmosphere. The Lorsan Tekka spun out toward Nar Shaddaa, where Rix had an idea to test manoeuvrability. Speed had already proven beyond impressive, but now came weaving. He hurdled the ship into traffic, and weaved the vessel through clusters of ships. It was like an artificial asteroid field, where the movements of traffic and variety of sizes made a good simulation. The Tekka took the turns like a champion, and was still running hard. The communicaions array came to life, with significantly less static than before.

"How is it performing, Lorsan?" came the CEC Foreman's voice.

"Like a dream, man," Rix replied while sending the YT-1300 skimming over something like an Action IV transport, "Like a gods damn dream." he squeezed between two close ships, making them separate. Across the shipping lanes in and out of Nar Shaddaa, he was making plenty of enemies and angering far more. If this kept up, today would be a good day.

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

It was time to pull the Lorsan Tekka back into dock. Rix had his fun, and now the Corellian Engineering Company workers had to finalise tuning, patch up a few things that had come loose, and overall tighten up the ship so it would not require additional work after this. Lorsan twisted the ship around and darted back to Nal Hutta. The trip back was just as interesting as the trip here. With new ships arrayed up, there was a new obstacle course to play with. The YT-1300 spun, dipped, skimmed, and sprinted its way through the starship traffic it was in the middle of. Finally clear, it was a simple matter to swing around to the planet and return to the landing pad. Rix kept it from being simple, though. He tipped the ship sideways and flew through trees until he reached the landing pad. There, he tipped up, flipped over, and slowed down. He engaged the repulsors and brought the Tekka to a hover. It touched down gently, and settled upon its landing gear with a hydraulic hiss. Lorsan exited the ship by its loading ramp and took a deep breath.

"Had fun?" the Foreman asked with a raised brow.
"Oh yeah."
"Good, we need to run some diagnostics, run a few repairs, and then get your performance report to tune up. After all of that is said and done, we can get out of each other's hair."

With that, the Foreman led Rix off to a side office to fill out a few more forms and get his report.

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

"So when I would gun the SLAM, it seemed to take a moment to kick in,"
"That's normal. We can modulate it a little more closely with the engines, but it will always have a delay."
"Alright, so next up the ship doesn't seem to turn as quickly as it should,"
"This is the Lorsan Tekka, not the Millennium Falcon. Maybe in the future you can get this upgraded further, but for now you're getting what you paid for."
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot..."

The conversation went on like that for awhile. Rix presented a comment, perceived issue, or other statement about the ship, and the Foreman addressed the issue and recorded the resolution on his datapad. It lasted a few hours, the conversation slowly evolving into more of a discussion of the ship than a one-line-per-person dialogue of a business transaction.

"There were a lot of older parts on that ship. I'm sure you noticed that we updated many of the systems, accessories, electronics, et cetera. How old exactly is this ship?" the Foreman asked with curiosity permeating his voice.
"Well, let's see," Rix answered, "Before it was my ship, it was in a junk pile, and when I found it there, it had no registration anymore. So it was at least a hundred years old." he shrugged, and went on.

"She needed the spa day, thanks for that."

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

The engineers did as they were instructed. They tightened up the ship and systems, fixed some loose panels, and performed a second round of benchmark testing. The whole process took about a month, and Tekka the Hutt was very irate, behind on shipments scheduled for Rix to deliver, but in his mind a faster ship meant faster delivery. So Lorsan would just have to play catch-up. A second bout of paperwork was passed around, and finally the moment came when the CEC workers were finished and made to leave.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you," the Foreman told Rix, "Remember to return to the Corellian Engineering Company for any future modifications to your vessel." once the canned line was completed, the man walked up into a shuttle, and it took off into space.

Soon after, Lorsan's wrist comm screamed in Huttese. He gave an exasperated sigh and held the device up to his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Shipments, late, I'm on it, keep your flab on." he rolled his eyes and let out a sharp whistle to some droids off to the side.

"Time to get rolling! Get my ship loaded up with the next shipments so I can get moving!"