Faction Where is (Y)our rebel base now?

[Aeshi Tillian]

DEEP SPACE
SOMEWHERE IN THE TINGEL ARM
THE REQUIEM- HEAVILY MODIFIED YV-929 ARMED FREIGHTER

Spoiler: Rebellion Member Tags

Audren Sykes Caedyn Arenais A ARS VAMI Maethon Hestror Odyn Tarsi Kahlil Noble Shuklaar Kyrdol Mathieu Brion Loreena Arenais-Valhoun Aien Mueller Lilia Arma Jasmille Kavos Nej Tane Luna Terrik Tallin Dain Rebel Command

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The light freighter was cramped, to put it lightly. Every nook, cranny, and hollow space not in use for cooling was crammed full of equipment and members of the Rebellion that she had been able to get in touch with. Aeshi herself had stowed away her coat and hat for a spacer's jumpsuit as she moved through the crowded hull, undoing panels to get at the controls underneath. She'd also sent a message via Orion to Julius Sedaire and the Underground as well as Coren Starchaser , as to be honest, they were better equipped and skilled for this type of operation.

One that nobody had done in close to a thousand years.

Wayfinding. It was an ancient technique that Jend-Ro Quill had rediscovered something on and sent her the information. She had been working with it a few years, practicing and honing it together with instinctive astrogation. But still, this was the first time she was using it to discover an entirely new planet, assuming she could, and then navigating there. The Rebellion and the Underground needed a base on this side of the galaxy, closer to where the action was. But also one that couldn't be easily approached and tracked.

That meant something off the grid and uncharted. Not that it was impossible to be found, but it would buy them more time to operate. The Underground already had a listening post hidden deep in the Redoubt, so they had ears inside hostile territory, which helped.

Her Imyni co-pilot squawked and waved his wings at her from the entry to the cockpit and she picked her way past the Underground techs pulling open the inside hull panels to access the hyperdrive and navcomputer systems directly.

"Just about got the safety mechanisms disabled," one of them called over to her. "We'll be ready to launch in about twenty minutes!"

"Well done!" Aeshi called back, slipping through stacks of rations and extra fuel cells to clap the Ugnaught on the shoulder. "Can't say I'll be ready in twenty minutes, but we shall see. I have to go disable the controls and overrides in the computer. But with some luck, we'll be alright."

She'd never lost a ship using instinctive astrogation, but she had also never tried to navigate based on the Force-presence of a planet, excepting the trip where she helped find Qi-Ko. And that was different- the planet was calling them. This would hopefully be a planet all by its lonesome, just... vibing.

Aeshi squeezed through the hatch into the cockpit where Quawrk waited with his wings across his chest. Another series of trills and squawks and Aeshi just shrugged. "Look, I get it, alright? This is reckless and worse, expensive. But you heard what happened at the meeting. Lots of donations, but not so many committed volunteers. And maybe, yeah, I scared a few off. But I apologized. That's growth, right?"

Disapproving bird eyes stared at her, but Aeshi just rolled her eyes before continuing in a whisper. "If we're going to do this, we have to set an example of what we're willing to give up for the cause. And yeah, kitting this out wiped out my entire life's savings, but if it finds a planet to be abase? Well worth it. And if not, I can go back to running spice and guns in the Rim with League approval so I can charge more. We've been bankrupt before. Like three times! And we always manage to bounce back and only put a handful of debt collectors in the dirt. Still managed to pay their bosses back eventually."

The Imyni just shook his head and rubbed his beak in frustration before giving up and popping open the computer terminals. Aeshi rolled up her sleeves, tried back her hair and grabbed a computer spike as she wriggled underneath the console. "Pull up the safety protocols!" Her voice was muffled from the barrier, but her co-pilot had already stepped out to grab a different set of tools.

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

With the tools of the trade from Starchaser Enterprises, Kaia was the prime explorer in the family now. Her father was a Master of Instinctive Astrogation, but his approach to it was more to get from point A to point B, running blockades, and most recently, successfully winning the Trade League’s race through the galaxy. The Tachyon Rising was set up to get people and goods somewhere safely and quickly, but her YT-2400? Well, that had a whole different kind of package. Updated with some gear from Silk and Starchaser Enterprises, it could match her father’s ship for pathfinding, but her skills were a little different than her father’s.

Jend-Ro had put the term Wayfinding back out there and that did seem to be where Kaia’s skills lived. She was born starside, she knew the stars, knew gravity, and knew a bit about where planets were, sometimes even seeing the life in the void a parsec or two away. It was part and parcel of being a Starchaser, she surmised.

And that was why the red YT-2400 Pulsar was on its way to meet with Aeshi. Having landed, she was in her pilot’s coveralls and had her own tool kit with her, as well as Drifter, her probe droid. She could offer to use Pulsar as well. She’d been working hard with her father to set her ship up to do what she wanted, regardless of what it wanted, or what the droid brains said. Stepping up the gangway of the Requium she smiled. This was a good ship, Aeshi was a great flier, but everyone needed a hand sometime.

“Y’know, when Dad said you needed a hand… Well, didn’t see this as the problem.”

Aeshi Tillian

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Kaia Starchaser A ARS VAMI

Aeshi craned her neck around to peer out from under the command console and waved a hand. She considered popping it off, but chose not to. The 'give me a hand' jokes had gotten a bit old since she'd lost them. "Kaia! Welcome aboard! Think you could deactivate the security terminals in the command computer for me? I'm..." She gestured at where she lay on the deck, squeezed between the command chair and console. "Missing a few hands." She couldn't help herself. The old joke just slipped out.

She leaned further over to look past Kaia to see Ars Vami and his chief engineer. Aeshi just nodded and tossed a thumb towards the engine compartment of the vessel. "We've got a team in the engine compartment your engineer can join in. My first mate is running it to make sure it's flexible." She ducked back underneath the console and unscrewed the panel, letting it drop onto the deck beside her. "And we can't carry that much cargo, but once we have a stable lane, I'll send a message back with the coordinates so you can bring the cargo."

Aeshi yanked out a cord and set it on the floor next to the panel as she stuck a penlight into the guts of the console. "I don't think I can guide a ship the size of yours on a trip like this. Following behind us a jump at a time should work well enough. It'll keep you out of any black hole gravity horizons or nebulae."

She bypassed the safety protocol processor and connected the control cable directly into the central controls.

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

A smile on her face as she walked aboard the ship, the dark haired Mirialan was looking round the ship. Aeshi was an inspired pilot and it did feel a little challenging to be working on someone else’s ship. Her family had many vessels, that was true, but one to the next, a Starchaser ship was a Starchaser ship. This was a Tillian one. She’d work when---

Pulled from her observation of the vessel, she looked over to another one of the Wardens, well, at least Kaia thought she was. Aside from her father and her father’s mentor Jorus, Kaia didn’t really know for certain who was and who was not a Warden. “Sure thing, Captain.” She nodded, as she placed her bag down on one of the bench seats and nodded to Drifter. The small probe was modified to help with ship maintenance. The droid followed Kaia to the terminal as she started to boot it up.

The trick was that Drifter could override a computer to grant a few exceptions to the safety protocol. Hearing the other man, the one she didn’t know speak, she quirked up an eyebrow. “We can lay down some markers to get the larger craft through. Dad’s done it before.” It was how the ancient fleet of legends attacked the Sith homeworld, wasn’t it?

Aeshi Tillian A ARS VAMI

 

[Audren Sykes]

It had been a surprise to learn of Aeshi's goal. Deep-space sensors had been carving through territories for centuries at least, hoping to discover the next habitable system or motherlode of resource deposits. Any time there was a remote likelihood that the detected anomaly was viable a probe was launched, and if the data from the probe was promising frontiersmen and scouts were off to the races. There were corporations with whole divisions geared towards eventually laying claim to worlds. Not only would they need to discover the location, they would need to ensure there wasn't already a claim.

Audren was being quite generous with himself when using the term "they". To his knowledge he had no skill whatsoever in instinctive astrogation, though he knew the general concept. He would be of very little use for much of this effort yet was determined to come along. He'd find some way to help.

The Sephi was learning how to think ahead. He'd disembarked a hundred-meter freighter with several others and made his way to The Requiem's hangar on foot and in civilian clothing. It wasn't that he was trying to sneak up on the members of the Rebellion already present - while the general bustle might have made it possible several were Force-sensitive - but rather an attempt to avoid bringing undue attention on the group. Who knew what kind of modifications the ship had and who all had bounties on their head. If he'd landed in what he was really intending to fly eyes would have followed him into the refresher, privacy screens or no.

The Requiem was almost humming with activity. Techs were buried in parts and wires while loader droids secured fuel cells and boxes of rations. There were far more beings present than the ship was supposed to fit but with a Tillian who ever knew what a ship could handle? The Jedi stepped up to the bridge in time to hear a comment about ships following behind or laying down markers. If this was to remain a hidden location though, he didn't like the idea of standard markers. Better to leave a ship behind to verify who was a friendly, or to safeguard the nav beacon somehow.

"Markers would be open to everyone unless you've got some tricked out ones, so that might not be the best bet. Better to have some guide ships if we want the place to stay somewhat hidden. If there's no objection I'll have Tarlanc follow one hop behind and slave my ship's hyperdrive to the Requiem's, Aeshi."

Of the three at the command area he recognized two. Aeshi of course, and Ars. The latter had said something about multiple frigates and a large number of Wookiee soldiers during their first meeting. The Tarlanc was a frigate too, just on the smaller side, and it was classified as an expeditionary vessel as well as an escort frigate. It would be invaluable in cataloging whatever system they ended up in and the route along the way. The vessel he was intending to fly with the advance team was far smaller. If he tried to stay on the YV-929 he'd more than likely end up bunking under the hyperdrive based on the looks of things.

Aeshi Tillian
Kaia Starchaser
A ARS VAMI

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Kaia Starchaser A ARS VAMI Audren Sykes

Aeshi paused in her work to give a thumbs up to Kaia as the other woman moved to help with the computer and the droid. She cocked her head to listen as Audren came in and spoke and she answered with a muffled grunt as she banged her temple on the corner of the console, followed by the okay sign.

"We don't have any encrypted beacons yet, I'm afraid. Still working on reverse engineering some to operate in a different frequency, but been a bit busy with other things." She felt the change in the power surging through the wire grasped between her fingers as the droid went to work. She paused and watched the results scroll past on a small readout screen.

That was a start. It would take her a few jumps to fully calibrate whatever it was they were doing. Aeshi wished Roth was here- her cousin could feel the shift in gravity based on the phases of the moons. Hers was a bit more... chaotic. Instinct rather than sensation. Luck, many called it. Pure, blind luck, more than one person had screamed at her.

It was great. Absolute anarchy and it got her where she wanted to go every time, even if she didn't know where it was she was trying to go. "Let's slave the hyperdrive at first, work in a relay. Limits our chance of exposure. Once we get some secured beacons, maybe ones that transmit on Otherspace or something, we can set something up a little more permanently perhaps. Or retrieve the markers after they're finished."

She clambered out from beneath the command console and wiped some grease on her jacket. An intercom chimed and she listened to the squawking. Quawrk was ready in the engine room. She pressed a button for the larger intercom. "Last call for departure beyond the Tingel Arm. Launching in five minutes."

There was a flurry of activity as technicians and engineers hurried to finish their tasks. "And that plan sounds fine, Audren. I think yours is better suited for following and doing the precise work. I haven't had a ship with that sort of charting capabilities since my last one rammed a First Order interdiction station. GUIDE went silent not long after so never had employment for my routefinding. Just kept new ones to myself mostly. We'll need yours to map it out and figure out where exactly we end up."

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

Working her way through starships was what she did. Raised by a number of different pilots, from her father to her aunt and uncle, she knew what she was doing. Getting the safety protocols turned off would be one thing. Drifter would have to help parse through the data, but with Kaia around, there was a greater chance she could pull the ship from hyperspace if needed.

But with this trip she wasn’t sure what was going to be done. She would need to see what Aeshi had in mind. Kaia was game for just about anything, it would be odd leaving Pulsar behind, but the Requium could probably use her. With her hands helping wire the ship into and through Drifter, she sat at the terminal and began working on the bypass. It wasn’t her ship so she was taking her time. She didn’t want to rip some other system that Aeshi would want, out of the computer after all.

As she heard the conversation of beacons, she had an idea, but she didn’t think it was going to be something they could do quickly. Focusing on the systems, she found her way around it, linking int hat system to fire suppression.

“I think we have it disabled. I routed to fire suppression; we may just end up getting a warning of those alarms going off.” She didn’t think it would actual trigger the system, but well, Drifter was aware. “Didn’t want to disable it completely. Easier to just point it somewhere else.” She spun around to look at Aeshi.

“Where do you want me on board?”

Aeshi Tillian A ARS VAMI Audren Sykes

 

[Audren Sykes]

There was a muffled grunt from Aeshi - muffled by the console she was under - after Audren spoke. He caught a faint sense of pain in her head as she hit it against something. He didn't physically react however. She confirmed that the Rebellion didn't have any encrypted nav beacons yet, that she'd been working on them but had other things in the works too. That was fine...he could adapt existing technology produced by Ceredir to that purpose. The important part was that she agreed to both parts of his plan however.

As she rolled out from under the console she was working on a chime sounded. What he could only describe as squawking sounded from the speaker, completely unintelligible to him. The long-time spacer clearly understood however, as once the sounds ended she hit another button and made a ship-wide announcement about launching in five minutes. Activity in the ship picked up as a clear deadline was given to those working on systems. The other woman piped up then, having disabled something but tied it into fire suppression. With no idea exactly what had been disabled, the Sephi got a mental image of fire-suppressing foam erupting whenever the cooking systems signaled completion.

"Roger that, see you topside."

The Jedi left The Requiem with tongue firmly in cheek and headed back to his own freighter. He didn't move quicker than a walk yet seemed to outpace the other walkers. Someone paying close attention might notice that where others subtly paused when avoiding other people he gracefully slipped through spaces with grace. It displayed an uncommon spatial awareness and while it might annoy a few others who noticed they didn't get bumped and didn't even feel the trace of fabric touching them. Any surrounding annoyance wasn't sensed, he was on the comm.

"Darro, prep for launch. I'm on my way and heading directly into Cresh hold, we want to be off the ground in five."

"Are you sure, sir? That will leave Niuk here while he sells the product."

"He can find his own way back, just tell him we only cover economy, he's paying for upgrades. And patch me through to Tarlanc please."

"Aye sir. Let us know when you're onboard."

There was a momentary pause as the freighter opened a new channel and transferred his line in. The comm he carried was a smaller one unsuitable for interstellar distances, but when relayed through the ship-based array could reach out. Tarlanc could attract attention so it was sitting just outside the system with the crew waiting to hear whether they'd be coming along.

"Tarlanc here."

"Korus, let the captain know you're coming along. You'll be following the Hathol via my signal, one hop behind, and mapping the whole way. Warm up the nav gear."

"Yes sir. XO wants to know about opposition?"

"Unknown. Be prepared but chill."

"Understood. Tarlanc out."

The crew would likely go on a minor alert, enough to keep crews aware and ready to respond but not high enough to man the guns and blast anything in sight. The crew were all former military - they'd debate the word former - so that was their domain, he just directed them. Less than sixty seconds from the launch time, Audren slipped into the Cresh hold of the freighter and sealed the airlock, which sent a signal to the freighter's bridge. Idling engines were fed more power and forty-seven seconds later the vessel's landing gear felt the alleviation of weight as repulsorlifts began to lift. It was seconds past the five minute launch notice.

The hold itself did not contain merchandise or materials. Rather, it held a dangerous-looking starfighter named the Hathol. The ship was already prepped, and all it took was a finger pointed at the cockpit - as well as a minor application of telekinesis - for the startup sequence to be triggered. Engines started to come online and other systems went through automated checklists. In the rear of the vessel Audren changed into a basic flight suit, barely keeping his balance as the freighter engaged sublight engines and began to ascend through the atmosphere.

Minutes later the freighter broke through the atmosphere and Audren was in the starfighter's cockpit. All systems were online despite the extra configuration needed to ready the hyperdrive to receive external direction, and the view of the main hold door was hazed by a magnetic containment field. That door stayed shut until sensors detected The Requiem however. Only then did the door begin to open. Docking clamps were retracted and the relatively large starfighter goosed its way from the cargo bay to rendezvous with the Corellian light freighter.

"Audren here, ready to go."

Aeshi Tillian
Kaia Starchaser
A ARS VAMI

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Kaia Starchaser Audren Sykes Audren Sykes

"A warning..." Aeshi said, squinting as she wiped grease off her face, "Via the fire suppression system?" She rapped on the command console gently. "Better make sure we don't run into issues then or I'll never get this ship clean." She clambered all the way to her feet and stepped up onto the captain's chair to access the controls above the console. "Your family's skills tend to be more like Roth's, right? Sensing gravity and interstellar motion type stuff, right? I'll need you up here if that's the case."

She hit a switch on the console and spoke into the ship's comm, "Buckle up, folks, we're going up." It wasn't quite five minutes, but this would give them that extra window of time to do that one final thing techs always wanted to do at the last minute. She strapped herself into the chair and swun the other chair around to Kaia. "Quawrk is overseeing the engine, so he won't need his chair. Don't mind the feathers. Imyni are very hygenic."

Aeshi flipped the switch on the engine and felt the power thrum through the vessel beneath her feet as she adjusted the controls. Repulsorlifts kicked in and guided the freighter up off the surface and angling towards space. Vapor clouds whipped past the cockpit, lit by the glow of air molecules as they whipped past the deflector shield.

Ahead, the blue sky darkened into a rich purple as the freighter shot into the vacuum, its propulsion already transitioning from repulsors to engines. The comms crackled, and Aeshi leaned over to adjust them.

"We read you, Audren. Ready to begin hyperdrive sync when you are." Aeshi nodded to Kaia as she readjusted the navicomputer for manual controls. Can you start the link, she mouthed to the other woman. "Powering up hyperspace systems now."

 

[Brooke Waters]

oop

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

Looking over at Aeshi, all Kaia could do was smirk. It was either fire suppression or life support. She didn’t have a lot of options in the time she was given. Problem of being late she supposed. What she had to do was get some of the pieces from her family’s shop. There were quite a few interesting subsystems she could wire into this vessel. Maybe, if she was lucky, be able to install a switch. When you’re taking the reigns of the hyperdrive you don’t need certain things, like planetary scanners. Next time.

“We’ll be fine. Just the alarms, won’t send off the actual suppressants. Drifter will do that.” She jerked a finger towards her floating probe droid. “And yeah, I mean Dad does it without getting close, but I’m more a fly-by-feel.” She took a second to consider what she said “I mean, yeah, let me stay up here.”

K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, Starchaser.

“Roger that, Captain.” Kaia smiled as she slipped into he chair freed up by the Imyni.

Reaching up and finding the controls, she set up the sync, all Audren was going to need to do was accept it. Giving an O-K sign with her hand, something common for space walkers to signal to others she sat back, reaching for the Force slightly.

Audren Sykes Aeshi Tillian

 

[Audren Sykes]

"We read you, Audren. Ready to begin hyperdrive sync when you are. Powering up hyperspace systems now."

Audren nodded though he knew full-well that the others were unlikely to see him. As the Hathol fell into formation with the other Rebellion vessel the larger freighter peeled off and vanished into hyperspace. The incoming signal received a quick visual scan to verify it originated from the Requiem, after which a single press of a button - held long - accepted the pairing. Some might have thought him paranoid but he felt it was just a matter of security. Although he couldn't fathom why anyone would want to do so hijacking the signal would have been the simplest way at this point to kidnap.

"Roger that. Hyperdrive systems online, all systems green. Sync confirmed...on your go."

The Sephi was slightly amused at the size disparity between vessels. One would typically expect a fighter to be smaller than a freighter but the opposite was the case this time. His Hathol was thirty-one meters long the CEC-produced ship was only twenty-two and carried nearly as much weaponry. Notable were the light turbolaser cannons, which the Rekali-class starfighter did not carry...he'd have to see if he could retrofit one on. In preparation for this particular mission the team had installed the advanced astrological sensor array in the modular bay. The Tarlanc would follow behind and do the bulk of the long-term work the Jedi wanted to have data of his own to work with. Plus if the frigate hadn't been permitted to follow...they would have needed this data. His own hyperdrive was a stock class two; it was likely that the other ship would be limiting their speed so he could keep up.

As the two ships spooled up their hyperdrives and accelerated up to the transition point the Jedi relaxed into the Force. Maybe he could learn something from what the other ship's crew did.

Aeshi Tillian Kaia Starchaser

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Audren Sykes Kaia Starchaser

Aeshi waited until the sync flickered green and then stabilized there before increasing power from the generators. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes.

This was not going to be easy. Finding life was hard. She had never been the greatest at that, let alone across distances that could be thousands of light years away. She closed her eyes and let her hands rest on the hyperdrive controls by instinct.

She pushed everything out of her mind and opened her consciousness. The flow and ebb of gravity and the shifting of the stars across the cosmos tugged at her mind, but she kept those at the background.

Instead, she pushed farther and felt for something smaller, warmer, and more personal.

Life. It took a few minutes, but she was able to get a sense that there was... something out there. In one direction, she could feel the rest of the galaxy, but in the other direction, ahead of her, towards the edge of the galaxy, there was a glimmer.

Not something big, but something faint, almost undetectable. Her brows furrowed and perspiration beaded along her hairline. She ignored and let her hands drift over the controls.

"Do you feel it?" She finally asked, flicking her chin just slightly in the general direction of the feeling. Sort of north-northeast, and oddly.... down. Steeply down. Wherever it was, it was well beneath the galactic plane.