Beyond the Return of the Jedi

Most droids did as you told them. The ones that worked for Key did. Although, it was true the Kubura and even the Nomad lacked some ways in having a mostly droid crew, Key trusted them. Droids didn't betray you as people do. And she didn't just yet really have the resources to augment the Kubura's crew with peoples.
"I don't care what excuse you use for your attitudes. It has no place here," she said. Then her expression softened a little. "However, I accept the apology. The Nomad and the Kubura are the first steps towards my goals. In time the Kubura will be properly crewed but it is hard to find people one can trust. For now, we complete this relief mission to Toydaria with what we have."
She then stood up from the couch and looked at Geeto and Krell. "Let's be on our way then. Prepare to shove off. Geeto, have Tac secure the ramp and lower deck. Begin pre-flight systems checks. We shove off in 10 minutes," she ordered. "Krell, you're in the cockpit with me for the first shift. Let's go."
With that, she strode from the lounge. She expected Geeto to follow his orders. Though, she didn't wait to see if Krell would follow her.

He followed her up to the cockpit and climbed into the co-pilot seat and strapped in. Looking over the controls he flipped a few switches and waited for Keysla to finish the startup sequence. At least she had accepted his apology. But if the Nomad was his ship he would keep on modifying her. Keeping her more then up to date on what ever was out there. It might be an old freighter, but she was in good shape and a work horse of a ship. He could come to love a little ship like the Nomad.

He called up her specs on the screen infront of him and what modifications she had made to the ship. He bet his Engineering Officer would love to have a look at what she had done. As he looked the specs and blueprints of the Nomad, he thought he would see about aquiring one like her for himself. One never knew when a ship like that would come in handy for some sort of operation, plus it would be fun to fly.

"Two days to Naboo and probably a day to get the medical supplies to be loaded and clear all the red tape. That is if we are going the normal route, other wise only a few hours there and we will be back out into space and well on our way." That was the part that worried him a bit. Being at a Spaceport that catered to all sorts of people the word about what she was going to do would have reached the pirates by now. They would be out there on the various courses that she would have to take to deliver the cargo. "Where and when do we make the rendevous?" he asked.

The schematics that Krell brought up would show much of the standard layout for this kind of ship. However, she'd done a lot of work on improving the hyperdrive, shields and engine performance. One very notable modification is to the weapon systems. She's added a couple of retractable weapons into the mandibles of the ships. One is a concussion missile launcher in the port mandible of the ship, which could be fired from the cockpit at either station. The st starboard mandible housed a double ion cannon, for when a target needed to be immobilized rather than blown to bits. Key loved the Nomad for her central cockpit, rather than it being off to the side like other models. This gave her a greater visibility and excellent control in a dogfight. The Nomad definitely had some teeth.

Key strapped herself into the pilot's seat and checked all her systems. "We're gonna reach Naboo via somewhat the back door," she said. "I'll tell you more once we're clear of this station. I already swept this ship of listening and homing devices while waiting for you to arrive. Still, I like a little distance from this station."
As the engine came to life, Key put on her headset to talk to the hangar officer. "This is the Nomad, ready for departure." There was a pause as she listened to the response. "Thanks," she said with a smirk as they cleared her to leave.
Key was a first rate pilot. The struts lifted easily off the deck and sailed smoothly out into the black of space. Once cleared of the station, Key pushed the engine's throttle open. The acceleration was rapid yet smooth. Key had done some work on the inertial dampeners, too.
"Warm up the Nav computer and set course for the Vergesso System," she said.

As they rose from the hanger they could see the large form of the Raven. The scorch marks of turbo lasers grazing her hull and the hull breaches where they had punched through. Once she lost her shields she took damage. He looked down at her and mumbled. "Have no fear old girl, I'll be back on your bridge before you know it. Just let those repair droids fix you up and make you whole again."

He punched in the coordinates into the nav computer and settled back for the ride. "Back way eh. Sounds good to me. Which way are you going to go for the delivery? I know of one that has a good escape route if there is any pirates about. Care to take that one?"

Key waited for the nav computer to retrieve the coordinates and lay in the course. Once well away from the space station, she steered the ship in the right direction before pushing up the lever to engage the hyperdrive. The effect was immediate as white streaks appeared out their cockpit and then zipped past them. They were on their way.
"We will need to consider our options, Krell. Many lives depend on our decisions and I do not want the deaths of so many due to failure on my conscience. I am also considering the idea of using the Nomad as a sort of decoy. Let the pirates go after her while the medical supplies are safely aboard the Kubura. The Nomad could stand a fire fight for a while and buy the Kubura time. Or we could use both ships to set a trap for the pirates. Hide the Kubura behind a moon or something, the pirates come after the Nomad and the Kubura can flank them. Her turbolasers will make quick work of them. Or they turn to fight the Kuburan and they'll have the Nomad's guns and missiles at their backs."

"Sounds like a good plan." he told her. "But to hide the Kubura you would need to know where the pirates might hit you." He thought a moment, "Have the Kubura keep out of sensor range but following the course of the Nomad so when and if they do jump us, she can be signaled and come in behind them and give them a nice surprise party." he chuckled. "I think once they get their tails singed they will not be in any mood to stick around and play."

He leaned back in the co-pilot's seat and adjusted some dials to make the ride more comfortable. "Is the Kubura going to meet up with us before or after Naboo?" He had an idea himself but whether she would agree to it was another thing. She didn't seem to be the most trusting sort.

"That's the whole point of setting bait for a trap. You bring the fight to them on your terms, no theirs. So we fake something like a transmission they'll intercept, they take the bait and then they'll regret they were ever born. We could fake a transmission saying the Nomad is having a hyperdrive malfunction with the medical supplies on board. The pirates will have a hard time resisting something like that. The Kubura is hiding behind a moon or a gas giant, their sensors won't pick her up until it's too late. On, we'll meet up with the Kubura before Naboo. That way we have more time to discuss our strategy. And the supplies will be stored safely aboard the corvette."

He chuckled at her basicly saying they would be the bait. "Never been bait before. Should be interesting." She seemed to have a sound plan for the trap, but the only thing that now worried him was how many would respond to the fake distress call. He was not sure how a ship like the Kubura would do against more then one pirate ship, especially with a crew of droids.

"I know you have faith in your droids and all, and don't get mad now." he paused a moment, "But if you had people you could trust, seasoned crewmen, would you take them and use them?" He knew exactly where to find them and it would be on their way to Naboo.

"It's an option to consider, like I said. But the idea is sound. I think I know the pirates Takko was warning me about. I have tangled with them before. It should be fun."
She sat back in her seat. "Who could you trust? No one knows where my home base is and there is reason for that. Much of it is to protect my ward. Her I trust. I will not compromise what I have managed to accomplish. There is more than this ship we're sitting in. Even more than the Kubura. Where could you find men whom you know would never talk?"

"I know where you can find them. They are good people that have no love for the empire or those pirates that would slit your throat for coin." Trust was something that at times you had to take a gamble on. "Once we make the rendevoue with the Kubura, it will take only a couple hour detour to where they are. You can look them over, talk to them, and if you are not satisfied, we will leave and get the medical supplies."

For some reason she trusted him, which for her was taking a big chance. After all he was considered a pirate by the Empire and could be in league with the other pirates.

Keysla had her doubts. She didn't really trust Krell yet, either. There were all sorts coming through that station. The good, the bad and the ugly.
"Why do you say we can trust these people you know? This is not a trivial matter to properly crew the ship."

"Well because these are people that I have freed from Imperal slave camps, mines and the like. People that have been sent to these places because they would not bend to the rule of the empire. Some are men and women that have had their ships confiscated because they, like you were smuggling supplies to places that the empire was wanting to make life difficult. They are all hard working and good people. But like I said, if you don't approve of them, we can always leave."

It would be a chance for them to get back to doing something that might mean something instead of doing nothing.

She pondered what he said. She looked out view ports as the ship sped through hyperspace. "It is true we'd have much greater chances if the Kubura was properly crewed." She looked at him then. "So where would you have us look? And just so you know, if you betray me then I'll shove you out an airlock myself."

"They are at a place called Haven." he told her. "A place of safety and secretcy. I will be trusting you with it's location." he grinned at her comment about throwing himout an airlock. "The lives of alot of people will be riding on me trusting you." He waited for her responce.

She turned her head away, pondering. Right now there were lives depending on them, too.
"Krell, we know virtually nothing about one another. One thing you need to know is that I don't like to let anyone down. Yeah, I took this job for the money but I do believe in getting that vaccine and medicines through to Toydaria. So I'm trusting you quite a bit by bringing you aboard.
"When we reach the Kubura, then Nila's life is also involved."
She was then quiet for several minutes. Lost in her thoughts. "Krell, very few know my past. When I was a little girl, the Empire arrested my father as a rebel sympathiser and I never saw him again. I never knew my mother. A couple days later, storm troopers found me as well... but I didn't want to go with them. I didn't know what happened next. I seemed to will the troopers away and they went flying backwards away from me. It wasn't long after that that an older man found me. He was a freighter captain, like I am now, but more. He had an old YB-300 heavy freighter. Great old ship. Hauled over 10 times what the Nomad does. He pretty much raised me over the years and taught me everything I know. He said, though, what drew him to me was the power that he sensed and he wanted to quiet my mind. His name was Perlan. I had decided to strike out on my own for a while, and I picked up the Nomad for a bargain back then. I'd worked on her for months. About 3 years ago, I'd heard that pirates had tried to raid Perlan's ship and I never heard from him after that. No one knows what happened to him.
"Perlan was the last man I ever really trusted, Krell. He was like a father to me, really. After he went missing, I just kinda built up walls around myself. My only chink in the armor is Nila. She helped me out of a jam in Mos Eisley and I kind of adopted her.
"So, that's my story. I'm not really a good storyteller. But it's hard for me to trust anymore. The ones I call 'friend' like Takko... I don't let them get too close, you know?"

Krell listened to her story and found that they had at least one thing in common. A dislike for the Empire. Not much was known about Krell's past, except what was out there in places like the space port they had just been at. He was known as a pirate and wanted by the empire, but his past was not known. "Well since you brought up your past, might as well let you know mine."

He leaned back and closed his eyes. "I was born into a wealthy and infulencial family in the old republic and then when it became the empire my parents gave their full support to the emperor. I was raised to be an important individual in the Empire, so they sent me off to the Imperial Space Academy." he shook his head, "Fast track to greatness and power. They filled my head with more then tactics, astro physics, and mechanics and the like. You have seen some of that. Well anyways, like I said fast track to greatness and power. I was quickly promoted to lieutenat and was placed aboard one of the empire's capital ships, not a star destroy but a cruiser. Our mission was to patrol the boarder to ensure that no Republican vessels crossed over into imperial space, and to keep those from try to escape into the New Republic."

"I guess they didn't brain wash me good enough. For when we spotted a small freighter trying to make a run for the New Republic space, the captain ordered it to be destroyed. It was full of inocent people, men, women and children. I refused to give the order, pulled my side arm and held it on the captain until the freighter escaped. I was arrested, courtmartialed, and inprisoned on a prison world. Not the nicest place in the galaxy. There the empire had been building a prototype of a ship. More advance then anything I had seen or heard of. Fourty of us had been planning to escape anyways and try to take a shuttle that came once a month with supplies. But we broke out early and stole the ship. I named it the Raven. Most of the controls were normal but the drive, and new weapons were superior to anything we had ever seen. The technicians aboard were more then willing to show us everything. Seems they had been more or less slave labor for the Empire."

"Now I raid Imperial ships and outposts." he chuckled. "Pay back perhaps or just that I hate them so much. Now you know my story."

Key listened and nodded. But she had been raised on the other side and had hated the Empire all her life... especially for taking away her father.
"I told you before that the Kubura was a step towards my goals. I want to gather a mercenary fleet. To be added muscle against the Empire and these pirates out here. Could even offer protection in convoys... a lucrative business in these turbulent times. My fleet would employ a many people out here who want a decent cause and make a difference."

"Well we have that in common at least. We both hate the empire and want to strike back at it." He opened his eyes and looked down at her as she sat in the pilot's chair. "So you willing to try out these people?" I can lay in the coordinates into the Kubura's nav system once we make the rendevoue."

She wanted to make a mercenary fleet. To the Empire that would be a rebel fleet and they would do everything they could to destroy it. The present Emperor would not want to have another rebellion on his hands. The last one had cost the empire almost everything. But he was all for it. "I might even help you out on putting together a fleet."

Key knew better. The Empire's control over itself wasn't as tight as it once was. With the Emperor dead, there were internal power struggles. There had been no 'heir'. No real order of succession... so the remnants of the Empire were often trying to figure it out for themselves.
"Yes," she answered him. "We will go but we must not take much time. If we succeed in this mission, think of the support Toydaria could put behind us. But we must get those medical supplies to them soon."

Anyone they could get on their side would be helpful. He knew someone that would be very intrested in Key's idea. He along with the others awaited at Haven. "Won't take long at all." he said. Time began to pass onboard the Nomad. Her droid came up and relived them so they could relax and rest.

Krell busied himself with looking over everything that Key had done to the ship. "You know, my enginerr, Rataflan or Rat for short, would love to see what you have done with the ship." he told Key after his examination of the hyperdrive. "He is sort of a nut on that type of thing. Alwasy seems to be able to give me just that little more power when it is needed the most."

The sound of the warning signal told him that they were about to come out of hyperdrive and that ment that they were about to make their rendevoue with the Kubura. He immediately went to the cockpit and watched as the Nomad dropped out of hyperspace. There before them lay the Kubura.

Key didn't leave the cockpit when Geeto joined them for a shift. She told the droid of the change in plans. "You stay with Krell and I, Geeto. I want Tac as a bridge droid aboard the Kubura. His talents will be most useful there."
Geeto said, "As you wish, captain. Do you think there is a possibility that this detour could be some sort of trap?"
Key sighed. She had considered that and she still wasn't ready to trust Krell completely. "Then we'll be prepared for one. Which is why I want Tac on the Kubura's bridge with Nila."
"Understood, captain," replied the droid.
Just then, the hyperdrive gave an alert that they were nearing their destination. Keysla had devised a little failsafe mechanism which would cut the hyperdrive if she were not in the cockpit. Otherwise, the ship would overshoot the coordinates. Ships didn't ordinarily stop on their own.
However, Key was readily on hand and her hand reached for the HD controls just as she heard footfalls behind her. She cut to sublight engines and the white streaks outside the cockpit disappeared. Unveiling before them the Vergesso asteroid belt and the white of the Kubura, presently at an all stop awaiting them.
Key maneuvered the Nomad towards the larger ship. She was roughly 600 feet long from bow to stern. The fore of the ship resembled a snake's head, at least to Key, and thus why she called her the Kubura, which means cobra in another tongue. Also suggesting that potential foes excercise caution before tangling with her. She might not be fresh out of the shipyards but still a sight to behold. At least to Key.
Key flew the Nomad alongside the Kubura so that they could get a good look at the exterior of the ship. Her turbolasers were presently retracted. The hangar bay was at the bow of the ship like a narrow mouth. The Nomad came around smoothly and Key cut back on the throttle to thrusters, extrending the landing struts to land lightly on the flight deck. The hangar was large enough for about 12 small fighters (not present) in addition to the Nomad.

Krell looked out at the Kubura grinning. "Not bad at all?" he said as he entered the cockpit and then he gave a small laugh. "I should have seen it sooner. Guess that is what I get for having my navigator lay in the course for the Raven." He looked beyond the Kubura to the Vergesso Asteroid Belt. "Looks like we will not have very far to go. Haven lies within the asteroid belt."

he watched Key maneuver the Nomad to the larger ship and then into the docking hanger. Like the Raven it had room for around 12 to 15 star fighters, which it had. Once they had come to a stop, he continued. "If you will allow me to punch in the final coordinates and then take the helm of the Kubura I will take you directly to Haven. The way in is a bit tricky and only a handful of people know the safe path to it. If you don't know the way, your ship will be pulverized by the constant movement of the astoriods."

She gave him a puzzled look. It was inside the asteroid belt? Most people avoided those. Which is kinda why she chose this place as the rendezvous point. "We'll talk about it on the bridge," she finally answered.
On the hangar deck were a few droids and one young Twilek girl awaiting them. Beside the girl was a brilliantly colored blue varactyl.
Key got up from the cockpit of the Nomad to exit the ship. Tac already had the ramp down when she reached the lower deck of the ship. Key walked down to greet her ward. The two met with a friendly hug.
"I'm glad you're finally here, Key," said the girl. "i've missed you."
"You've done a fine job here, Nila," said Key.

He saw her puzzled look and grinned. It was a strange place to have a base of operations but only a real fool would venture in to look for it. Especially if they did not know the only safe way into the base. He followed her down to the hanger deck and followed a few seconds after she did. He looked over at Key's ward.

He waited for they to greet each other before slowly walking forward. Had to be very lonly aboard such a big ship with only droids about. But he hoped that would change once Key met those he wanted her to. As he reached where they were he smiled down at the girl that was called Nila.

It was the varactyl, Grall, that reacted to Krell's presence. The creature looked at the unfamiliar form coming down the Nomad's ramp with Geeto and Tac behind him. Grall shrieked in alarm and clacked her beak.
"Easy, Grall," Key said and stroked her pet's head. Key looked over at Krell as the man approached them. "Krell, this is my ward Nila. Nila, this man is going to be working with us on this mission," Key said to Nila in Huttese.
Nila looked over Krell appraisingly. It was kind of cute for the pre-adolescent twi'lek girl.
Nila said to Key in Huttese, "I guess if he doesn't work out then Grall can have a new chew toy."
Key tried to suppress a laugh and didn't quite succeed. "Okay, Nila, be nice and give him a chance."
Key looks at Krell and grins. "I think you're on a probationary period with Nila. She takes a while to warm up to new people," she said in basic. She has no idea languages you understand or speak.