Picking Up The Pieces

Six weeks passed with no sign of the promised implant team from the New Republic Medical Service's Cybernetics division. Taz had sent inquiry after inquiry, and had received every assurance that the team was making its way to the Western Reaches. But day after scorching day brought them no closer. He had nine patients waiting for replacement limbs and organs, and every day that went by only confirmed his growing suspicion that the new government had simply written off the forces that remained on Jakku.

After seven more days of non-responsive responses from the New Republic Military Medical Service, Taz exploded, screaming curses at the functionary on the other end of the holo transmission as he wrestled the terminal from its flimsy bracket and hurled it across the room. Frustrated and seething, he stalked after the projector and pummeled it with an oversized hydrospanner that one of the techs had inexplicably left in his office.

"Doc?"

Taz vaguely heard someone's voice pierce his rage above the sound of disintegrating electronics. He jerked his head toward the door, surprised to see soldiers' faces looking uncertainly at him. Taz dropped the spanner with a clatter and turned away from them, red-faced and ashamed.

Sera hobbled in on crutches, pushing the curious troopers and techs out of the way. She looked back at the others in the doorway. "What, you haven't had a bad day on this rock? Back to work, people. Nothing to see here."

A pair of security troopers arrived, stun batons in hand. Sera held a whispered conversation with them and they left, herding the gawkers with them. She closed the door after them. "Doc?" she repeated.

"Trooper Rendix," he responded, drawing a shaky breath.

"Sera," she corrected and took another step forward. She hooked the leg of a stool and dragged it across the floor, then lowered herself onto it. "Mm. That's better," she said. Taz turned slowly to face her, tears pooling in his eyes. She nodded to the chair behind his desk. "Why don't you have a seat, Doc?"

He wiped the back of his hand over his eyes and dragged himself across the small room. He sat quietly, trembling.

"No sign of Medical, huh?"

He swore and pounded his fist on the desk, then rubbed his bruised hand. "They've decided we're not worth the trouble." He stared hard at the keyboard. Maybe Tess did too.

Sera smiled without any mirth. "Soldiers always get the shaft," she said matter-of-factly and rubbed at the spot where her temporary prosthetic was aggravating her leg. "Listen, Doc, I know what you're going through. Hell, we're all rotting on this blast furnace of a planet together." When he didn't respond she continued quietly, "Every time we find another Razorclaw who's put a blaster bolt in her brain..." She drifted into a long silence. "Lately I don't even feel sorry for them. Sometimes I wonder why I haven't done it myself."

That made him look up. "You? You seem so comfortable with this place."

The corner of Sera's mouth curled joylessly. "Price of leadership, Doc. I've got to hold it together so my team doesn't fall apart." She traced a finger in front of her face. "Out here I'm frosty as a midsummer morning on Hoth. In here—" she tapped her chest, "I'm strung so tight I swear I'm gonna snap."

They stared silently at each other for some time. "I don't think I'm too far from putting a PP40 in my mouth and pressing the trigger," he admitted, barely above a whisper. Sera stayed silent but her face was sympathetic. "How do you keep going?"

The Ballista commando grinned a little. "One day at a time, Doc. I take it one day at a time. Besides, Rei-sha would never forgive me if I did anything stupid like fragging myself."

"I..." he drifted off. "Tess is... I haven't heard from her in months. She's so far away." He had to fight hard to keep the tears from starting again.

Sera nodded. "I know she is Doc, and I know how much that hurts." She leaned forward and pushed off the stool, tucking her crutches beneath her. "You know, there's something else that keeps me going, Doc."

"What is it?"

"Leth Aurek Jenth."

He shook his head. The aurebesh letters meant nothing to him.

"Life After Jakku," she explained. "I hear the Senate's gonna pass the Chancellor's disarmament law any day now. Rei-sha and I are getting out. You could too, Doc. You've done more than enough for the Alliance and the New Republic."

Taz had heard the holo news stories about the debate in the Senate over demobilization but hadn't given them any thought, mired as he was in his insular despair. "What do you plan to do?"

"Get a ship and go into business for ourselves. I'm told my Corellian ancestors were explorers, so maybe it's in my blood. Anyway, we're thinking of starting a charter service. Great way to see the galaxy. Maybe get into a little trouble every now and then," she winked and her smile widened. "As soon as those sons of bantha cows from the implant team get here I'm signing out. I've already applied for the discharge cert." Taz's head moved in a slow nod and Sera could see his mental wheels turning. "The Republic's partnering with sector governments to provide severance payouts. Word is between the Republic, Dufilvian sector, and our back pay, Razorclaws could get up to fifty thousand credits."

Taz let out a slow whistle in spite of himself. "That's... a lot of money."

"Sure is, Doc." Sera leaned forward. "Listen, we think there might be ships at some of the wreck sites that could be salvaged. Scrappers have started showing up the past few weeks. Rei's been looking at the Milsec feeds and she thinks she's found something worth checking out. Gonna do a little recon tomorrow after lunch. Why don't you come with us?"

Taz waved his hand. "I've got patients to see and I'd... just be in the way."

"Nah, we could use you, Doc. You're good with tools and you can handle a gun if we run into trouble. Besides, if we do find a ship neither of us knows how to fly." She waved toward the infirmary. "The other medics and the droids can manage while we're gone. C'mon Doc, when's the last time you did something just for yourself?"

He thought about it for a long minute. "Okay, Sera. I'll come along."

"Sounds great Doc," Rendix said and ambled toward the door.

"Sera... thanks. For thinking about me, I mean."

She turned at the door with a grin. "You're welcome, Doc."

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Reiko and Sera drove up in a slab-sided GTS-53 closed-cab speeder truck they'd checked out from the motor pool. Taz threw on his utility vest, grabbed his carbine and medbag, then hopped in the bucket seat behind Reiko. He felt better than he had in days. Hudson turned the utility craft and its heavy-duty repulsors rumbled as it lumbered through Destiny Outpost's southeastern shield gate.

A few hundred meters beyond the camp's perimeter a motley group of tents, weathered prefab huts and other structures peppered the hardpan and bedrock. The little settlement had grown in the past weeks as scrappers and fortune seekers began congregating on the planet despite the dearth of anything resembling a spaceport. A half dozen semi-permanent facilities were already engaged in the business of tearing down and processing the remains of ships and vehicles, equipment, and supplies that littered the sand-filled landscapes in the aftermath of Gallius Rax's last desperate stand in over the desert world. There was even a hastily cleared landing zone for transport shuttles to ferry the flotsam up to the bigger Scrapper Guild ships orbiting Jakku.

Word within the New Republic camp was that a Hutt by the name of Niima was in charge of the rapidly growing settlement. Taz hadn't seen any of the giant slug-like Hutts but he'd noticed plenty of armed, shady characters hanging around lately. They were smart enough to give a wide berth to the hard-bitten, battle-scarred veterans of Sector Force 767 and the other New Republic troops. The outpost's security teams had only needed to break up a handful of scuffles between the newcomers and the personnel who sometimes ventured into the scrapper's camp for a little excitement. In the past week a new beacon had begun pinging out Jakku's coordinates on the standard navigational frequencies. It would probably have taken a Hutt's criminal connections to get one of those installed on the planet. All in all, Taz supposed it had the makings of a permanent settlement. At least until the scrap dried up. But there was probably decades worth of it scattered across Jakku's canyon-strewn wastelands and dune seas.

Taz tapped Reiko on the shoulder. "Hold up, Miss Hudson." She let the truck drift to a halt in front of a rusted half-barrel shelter. After a few seconds, a woman poked her head out of a cracked wooden door that creaked loudly and wavered on its frame. Taz waved. "Good afternoon, Ensign Nimor."

Lyra shielded her eyes against the high sun with a raised hand. "Officer Oktos," she returned. "Need something?"

"How are you adjusting?"

"Doing great, as you can see," she said without a trace of enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry I couldn't secure a billet for you in camp." She looked tired and gaunt to Taz.

Nimor shrugged. "I wouldn't want me in your camp either, if I were your CO."

Taz made introductions. "Reiko Hudson and Serasana Rendix, this is Lyra Nimor."

Sera's eyes narrowed. "The Sentinel pilot." She rubbed her leg and aimed an ugly look at the other woman.

"Pilot's the operative word here, Trooper Rendix," Taz said. Then to Nimor, "We're going ship hunting."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that, Officer."

"Taz," he responded. "We could use a decent pilot, unless you have something better to do."

Seeing Sera's hostile expression, Lyra shrugged and crossed her arms.

"Come on. It's just for the afternoon. We'll be back by nightfall."

Nimor stared at him. Rei glanced back and forth between the two of them, an uncertain look on the engineer's face. Finally, the Imperial officer grumbled, "Give me a minute," then ducked back inside her hovel. She emerged with a small pack slung over her shoulder and climbed in behind Sera. The commando flashed an annoyed look at Taz while Reiko powered up the truck's repulsors and made a study of the map on her holodisplay. She steered through the camp and out into the rocks and dunes, taking a route that avoided the few remaining areas known to be under Imperial control.

After a while, Taz asked, "So where are we headed, Miss Hudson?"

"Well, sir, a recent Milsec survey showed an energy signature that could be leakage from an unshielded reactor."

"Wouldn't the Republic have tagged that and sent a team to investigate?

"Maybe, sir. There's a lot of wrecked ships out there and only a few survey teams. This one is two hundred seventy klicks from the graveyard where most of the wreckage ended up. Unless scrappers somehow sliced into the encrypted Milsec feed or got really lucky, I doubt anyone knows or cares much about it."

Taz nodded and was surprised to hear Ensign Nimor's stomach rumble conspicuously. "Hungry?" he asked her. When she didn't answer, he pressed. "Have you been getting enough to eat, Ensign?"

"Sure," she rejoined, "I've got a garden behind my shelter that's just bursting."

"You know," he started as he dug into his bag, "you don't have to answer every question with a wisecrack." He withdrew a ration bar and held it out to her. "It's not much but it's better than going hungry."

"I don't need charity," she responded, her tone curt.

"Call it a loan then. Pay me back when you can."

Nimor looked at the bar for a time, then she took it without a word. Taz grabbed another from his bag. "Rei, Sera? Snack?"

"I'm fine sir," Reiko said.

"Just ate, remember?" Sera quipped.

Taz shrugged, unwrapped the bar and bit off a chunk of dried fruit, nuts, and grains. After a moment, Nimor did the same. He swallowed and said, "I hope the intel group's interrogation wasn't too rough. They told me they were just going to question you."

"They did." After a while, she added, "Five days in a hot box and one interrogator droid session later, they figured out that what I told them on day one was the truth." She didn't bother hiding her bitterness.

Oktos looked uncomfortable. "What did you tell them on day one?"

"What they wanted to know; my mission profile."

"Which was?"

"Transporting a stormtrooper detachment to outpost FQ Nine-Nine-Four."

"What's there?"

"Exhausted troops guarding a comm uplink, I think."

"You had a TIE escort, though."

She stared at him hard through narrowed lids in the subdued light filtering through the darkened windscreens. "You interrogating me too, Oktos?"

Taz put up his hands. "Just curious. Forget I asked."

Nimor screwed her mouth into a scowl and finished the ration bar. Taz reached for another but she waved her hand at him. "No thanks, Oktos. I already owe you too much."

"That's not —"

"I know what you're trying to do and you can knock it off! I don't need a savior, and I definitely don't want your pity!"

Taz was about to respond, but he clamped down on the angry retort. He crossed his arms and leaned against the speeder's door. Lyra did the same. In the front seats, Rei and Sera shared an uncertain look. They finished the rest of the drive in silence.

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Jakku's sun was still high in the western sky nearly two hours later. Reiko steered the truck across a broad desert plain and up a long, shallow dune. As they crested the rise, the hulk of a wrecked Imperial vessel appeared a few klicks off, partly buried under months of shifting sand. Sharp gusts buffeted them and stirred the sand into miniature storms.

The big ship lay in two large sections, with jetsam scattered over a few thousand meters. Even from a distance it had the classic dagger-shaped hull of a Star Destroyer, but looked a lot smaller. There was a single large ion nozzle at the rear of the ship, flanked by two smaller ones to each side. Even mangled as it was they could make out a broad, T-shaped superstructure.

"That's a—" Taz started.

"Vindicator-class cruiser," Nimor interrupted. Catching Taz's sharp look, she added, "I served on one when I was a cadet."

Taz screwed up his mouth. "Did you bring a scanner, Sera?"

"Sure did, Doc." the commando answered, handing him the boxy device.

Taz powered it on and manipulated the controls. "There's a lot of volatiles out there," he said. "Radiation, too."

"We brought hazard suits," Reiko replied.

"My girl's way ahead of you, Doc," Sera added, flashing a smile at Rei.

He continued working the controls. "Low-level power readings in the wreckage nearest to our location. The forward section —" He dialed in the resolution and increased the power— "looks inert." Taz switched modes on the scanner and ran more sweeps. "No movement or life signs within detection range."

Rei swung the truck in a wide arc around the cruiser. Its inner frame and hull plates were bent and torn, its viewports shattered, comm masts crushed or melted away from the heat of reentry and violent terminal deceleration. Sand had been thrown up all around and much of it had been vitrified by the heat. The once sharp impact crater was little more than a vaguely circular outline more than two kilometers across.

Rei idled the truck at the edge of the wreck. Out the windscreen they could see that the cruiser had broken apart right at its massive ventral hangar. Detritus lay scattered all over, including a fair number of TIE fighters and other small ships.

She angled her petite frame between the front seats and hunched over in the low cabin to open the cargo area. "We only brought three hazard suits," the engineer commented, tapping her lips with a finger.

Sera swiveled her seat to face the back. "I'll crew the autocannon from here, in case any curiosity seekers show up."

"Are you sure, Sera-sha?" Reiko queried as she stepped into the oversized protective garment and zipped it closed.

Sera rapped at the plastic cuff that secured her prosthetic leg. "I won't be any good scrambling over wreckage anyway."

Reiko traded places with Taz and he shrugged himself into another suit. When he was finished he stepped back into the cramped cabin and looked at Nimor. "You coming?"

"I'm not babysitting any Imps," Sera announced, a hostile edge in her voice as her green eyes bored into the pilot.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Nimor crabbed. She got up and put on the remaining suit, jerking angrily on the zipper to seal it.

"Comm checks every fifteen," Sera ordered when they were all buttoned up. They switched on their suit comms and Rei started to close the cargo door. "Be careful."

Rei nodded and smiled behind the suit's transparent hood. "We will be, Sera-sha."

Taz handed out folding shovels, then grabbed a big, heavy bag that Reiko pointed out and slung it over his shoulder. She lowered the speeder's cargo ramp and they stepped out into the bright afternoon. Their hoods darkened against the sun and cooling systems kicked in almost immediately to oppose the heat. Unpredictable gusts of wind pushed them around.

He checked the scanner again, then pointed to a chunky, artificial shape a few dozen meters away, obscured by sand. "There's a low-level EM signature coming from that drift, a bigger signal from the Vindicator." He turned more knobs before declaring, "Radiation's manageable in the suits."

Reiko looked up at the cruiser. The nearest opening was at least twenty meters above ground level. "We'll have to rig ascent cables to get up there. I say we check out the drift first, sir."

They started trudging toward the drift. The soft sand shifted beneath their feet and walking was a chore that had them quickly sweating despite the hazard suits' cooling units. A few minutes later they drew close enough to confirm that the shape was indeed a ship of some kind. Its bow was dug half into the sand with a pair of stubby, cylindrical sublight drives poking skyward. As near as Taz could tell they were looking at a ship roughly twenty meters long that must have been ejected from the Vindicator's hangar as it crashed. The prow ended in a big dome, with a rectilinear cockpit above, just visible amid the scalloped sand. Behind the cockpit, the ship widened into a long box with angular radiator vanes at the rear. Serious-looking cannons poked out of pods high on either side of the bow. Stubby outriggers farther back held three more guns each.

"There should be docking rings toward the back and a cargo ramp between the ion drives," Lyra said.

"Is this an Imperial ship?" Reiko asked. The craft seemed to be in decent condition, all things considered.

Nimor shook her head. "Pretty sure it's a civilian model."

Rei headed toward the back at a quick pace despite the yielding sand under her boots. The others followed. From what little she could see, the two engines looked intact. Her smile faded when she saw that the docking rings were near the top of the ship, several meters in the air. Sand had filled the gap beneath the vessel, blocking access to a boarding ramp. Rei tried crawling up but the soft material just flowed away and wouldn't support even her light frame. She looked back at the other two, frustrated.

Taz dropped the bulky duffel. "We'll be here a week trying to shovel out that sand." He tapped the comm key on the hazard suit's cuff. "Rendix from Oktos, checking in."

"What's the sitrep, Doc?" Sera's voice was accompanied by static in the hood's speaker.

"We've found a ship. Seems intact, but its partly buried. We're looking for a way in."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Copy. Anything I can do?"

"Gonna try a couple of things first. I'll let you know. Oktos out."

Taz opened the duffel and retrieved a reel of light cable and some tools. He looked at the two women as he clipped the items to his belt. "I won't be able to carry much with me but I'll lower a cable to you. There's an emergency ladder in the bag. Attach the cable and I'll haul it up."

Lyra looked up at the docking ring. "How are you going to get up there? Fly?"

"Close," he said. "I'm going to jump."

"What are you talking about? It's at least five meters."

Taz ignored the pilot's question. He flexed his knees a couple of times, testing the sand. He decided it was too soft and rummaged through his medbag. He pulled out a roll of heavy-duty material and spread it on the sand, unfurling the meter-long sheet.

"What's that?" Reiko asked.

"Field immobilizer. You can wrap it around an injured limb, or even the torso, then—" He flipped the switch on a small control box in one corner of the sheet, which became instantly rigid— "turn it on to immobilize the patient."

"Ooh!" Rei enthused. Taz stood on the flat, hard sheet and flexed his legs again.

"I still don't see how you're going to —" Lyra began.

Taz closed his eyes, crouched, then sprung up as hard as he could, summoning the Force as he jumped. He'd tried the technique in the weeks after reading about it in Master Jorun's journal, though he could never seem to get the hang of augmenting his musculature consistently. This time, he shot up at an angle, then yelped and threw out his arms as he crashed hard into the upper lip of the docking ring. He let out a grunt as the impact knocked the air from his lungs and scrambled, barely managing to grab onto the durasteel hull. One hand slipped but he hooked his foot on the bottom edge of the docking ring before he lost his grip.

Gasps from Rei and Lyra carried on the wind as he gulped in deep breaths and steadied himself. As soon as he was able to speak, he assured, "I'm alright."

Rei just stared, her mouth agape. Nimor uttered an amazed obscenity. "How'd you do that?!"

"The same way I healed your arm, Ensign. I used the Force."

"Rutting hell!" she swore, this time in disbelief. At the same time, she grasped her arm reflexively. "You mean that mystic drekh is real?"

"Your arm is proof," he said as he dropped one end of the cable down to them. He found the manual release for the door and fumbled with the lever. A sharp tug confirmed it wouldn't move more than a few millimeters. "Looks like the release is jammed."

"Pull it up," Rei said, clipping Taz's cable to the coiled steel ladder she'd taken from the bag. "I'll come up and see if I can get it open."

Taz nodded. With care he began hauling on the line, passing it from hand to hand while he leaned back as far as he could to keep his balance. After a minute of careful work, he grabbed the ladder's top rung. The long cables ended in stubby magnalocks which he placed against the steel door frame.

Taz signaled to Rei to start climbing, then turned back to the release lever. Getting a firm grasp on it, he gave it another hard yank. It made a grating sound and moved a centimeter or so. Encouraged, he jerked on it even harder, leaning back a little. The lever came free to the sound of grinding metal and crunching sand even asTaz's balance gave way and he went tumbling backward, arms pinwheeling as he fell. Reiko let out a little shriek as he passed her, but he thudded on the soft sand and slid the last couple of meters. He lay on his back, groaning and looking up into the brilliant sun, his G9 carbine jabbing into his spine.

Nimor stood above him, fists akimbo. "You're an idiot, Oktos." After a few seconds she held out her hand. He grasped it and got to his feet.

"You're not the first person to say that," he admitted, brushing the sand from his bulky suit and checking for tears in the tough fabric. Finding none, he looked up. Rei already had the door open and was busy crawling inside the ship.

Nimor started replacing items in the duffel. Taz switched off the field immobilizer and put it back in his bag. She angled her head toward the ladder. "Get going," she said to Taz. "I'll get the gear. Unless you want to jump again."

Taz shook his head. The last one had left him winded and bruised. "I'll take the ladder."

Nimor put her arms through the bag's straps and started climbing after Taz. He scrambled through the door, then turned to help her in as she struggled over the threshold with the heavy duffel on her back. She stood, leaning against the angled deck, breathing hard. Taz pulled up the ladder behind her, then pumped the manual lever to close the door. They went to the main corridor that ran along the spine of the ship and turned forward.

Rei stood in a small alcove between cargo holds to port and starboard, busy at the panels in the circuit bay. After a few minutes of work the interior lights and air circulators came to life. She smiled with satisfaction. "Looks like environmental systems and two of the APUs are active." She tripped one of the circuits and clouds of mist shot from nozzles concealed throughout the interior. "I'm running an atmosphere and radiation purge. Give it a minute or two and we should be able to get out of these suits."

They followed her forward, crossing through a lift tube and into the cockpit. The four seats were covered with more conduit tape than their original tan polyhide upholstery. The control panels fared no better; scratches, dents, and an unhealthy layer of grime covered everything. Behind the copilot's seat were two gunnery stations—no surprise given the arsenal they'd observed on the way in. On the opposite wall were hazy, cracked displays for the engineering and environmental systems, and controls for the ship's computer.

Nimor slid into the worn pilot's chair without conscious thought. Rei gave her a suspicious look as she unzipped her hazard suit and stepped out of it.

"Sorry," uttered the pilot. "Force of habit." She started to stand.

"Don't worry about it," Taz said, climbing out of his suit. "That's why you're here." He answered Rei's questioning glance with a reassuring nod and looked around the cockpit. "So, what kind of ship is this?"

"A dirty one?" Rei suggested, crinkling her small nose.

Lyra stood anyway and took off her hazard suit. She drew a deep breath. Despite the musty air in the cabin, it felt a lot better than the confining hood she'd been wearing. She handed her suit to Taz. "It's a CEC light freighter. Model YV Nine-Twenty-nine."

"Somebody added a lot of weapons to it," Rei commented.

"Nope," said Lyra, sliding back into the pilot's seat. "This is its standard configuration."

"Really? That's a lot of firepower for a freighter."

"For escorting convoys, combatting pirates and raiders, supposedly." She scowled. "Customs used to impound these all the time. CEC was only supposed to sell them to legitimate businesses but plenty of them ended up in the hands of pirates and Rebels—" She turned back to the instrument panel in front of her. It was stained with grease and what might have been dried food. "Sorry."

"Why?" Rei asked. "We were Rebels, we're not ashamed of it, especially seeing as how we were the victors." She took the copilot's seat, a little grin on her round face as she manipulated switches and dials. The cockpit panels hummed to life.

Lyra looked across at the other woman. "Hudson was it?"

"Senior engineering technician second class, at least for a couple more weeks. But you can call me Reiko." She hesitated a moment, then held out her hand.

Nimor shook it after a second. "Lyra."

"So, can she fly?"

"I won't know until we go through a systems check and inspect her." Lyra made adjustments to the controls. "Looks like the repulsors have power. If the controls are intact I should at least be able to get her out of this divot and onto level ground."

Rei checked the wall monitors. "I'm going to inspect the drives and power. Engine room?"

"Um, lower level, aft section. Take the lift." Lyra poked her thumb over her shoulder.

"Got it," Rei said, grabbing her hazard suit. She left and Taz sat in the copilot's seat. He found the comm controls, set the frequency, and keyed the transmitter. "Rendix from Oktos."

There was a low crackle of static over the speaker for a couple of seconds. "Rendix here. How's it going, Doc?"

"We've boarded the ship and Miss Hudson has auxiliary power running."

"That's my girl," Sera said, making Taz smile. "Any problems?"

"Not so far. She's checking the ship's systems now. We're going to do an inspection, then see if we can get the ship out of this hole."

Rei's voice came over the comm. "You'll love her, Sera-sha. She's full of guns."

Sera chuckled. "Sounds like my kind of ship."

"Any sign of movement, friendly or otherwise?" Taz asked.

"Nothing," Sera confirmed. "There's some interesting wreckage out here, though. A few TIEs, a Mark Three scout walker, too. I thought all of those were prototypes. And there's another ship, two or three klicks from here. It's in bad shape but I ran it through the database. Looks like a Decimator-class transport."

"Hmm. Might be worth taking a look at it," Rei called, "see if there's anything we can use."

"We've got our hands full with one ship, Miss Hudson."

"Copy that, sir."

"Let us know if you see anything," Taz said to Sera.

"Will do, Doc. See you soon, Rei-sha."

"Mm-hmm," Rei answered, sounding distracted.

Taz imagined she was deep into her systems check already. "Thanks Sera. Oktos out." He got out of the seat. "I'm going to do an interior check for hull and systems integrity."

"I'll come along," Lyra said, standing behind him.

They headed back to the cargo bays, checking for breaches, cracks in the hull, ruptured conduits and power couplings, and anything else that might pose a hazard once they put the ship under stress. The holds were nearly empty apart from a few small boxes that held nothing of interest. It had been stripped of anything valuable before whatever circumstance had brought the freighter to Jakku. They continued rearward, inspecting the starboard airlock and docking port. The doors were inoperative but at least they were closed. At the rear of the ship was a freight loading area with an extendable ramp.

"You could fit a cargo handler or a small speeder back here," Taz mused.

They returned to the lift and headed to the lower level. The lift started down, but halted suddenly before it reached the bottom. The lights flickered and went dark for a few seconds before glowing to life again, dimmer than before. The platform continued its descent but the motors protested loudly and made unpleasant noises until they finally stopped on the lower deck.

Taz and Nimor headed toward the engine room where Reiko was moving quickly from panel to panel. "Miss Hudson?"

She looked up from her work. "The APUs are only running at about fifteen percent, sir," Rei answered, anticipating his question. "They need time to recharge the storage cells. I'm working on getting main power online but I want to be sure the reactor's undamaged and that we have fuel."

Taz frowned. "Understood. We'll limit power use as much as we can. Any way to move between decks? Other than the lift, I mean."

Lyra pointed to a ladder at the rear of the room. That leads to an emergency hatch in the upper corridor. There's two more integrated into the lift and one in the cockpit that goes to the passenger salon."

"Good to know." He was about to leave when his torch light swept over the unmistakable shape of a bipedal droid. It was slumped against a wall, inactive, with a restraining bolt on its chest. "What's with the droid?"

"Pretty sure he's an L-One, but I haven't had a chance to look at him yet."

"What kind is that?" Lyra asked.

"It's a general-purpose model for operational and labor-intensive tasks. That's a waste if you ask me. They have the same high-end neural processors as the 3PO series, you know. Some were even programmed for tactical analysis."

"Hmm," Taz intoned. "Might make a good addition to your crew."

"You think so too, sir? We have a few on the Olminar. They're good at complex problem-solving. If he's functional I can program him for gunnery and logistics, ship maintenance, even protocol."

Taz smiled at the engineer's enthusiasm before continuing their inspection. He and Nimor spent the next half hour carefully working their way from stern to prow. The lower deck was a good deal narrower than the upper, with living space instead of cargo holds. There were five cabins with compact toilets and sonic showers. Four were clearly intended for passengers and crew to judge by the double and triple bunks. One, more spacious, was meant for the captain, or so Taz assumed. At the very front of the ship was an expansive salon that extended into the domed area of the bow they'd seen from the outside. A narrow galley was at the back while the rest of the space held a pair of tables and bench seating.

Taz let out a whistle. "Is this stock?"

"I think so, though the captain's cabin might be aftermarket or a factory upgrade. CEC marketed these to higher-end freight companies in the Outer Rim, so they tried to make them attractive."

They continued their careful inspection by torchlight, checking in twice more with Rei and Sera. Finally finished, Taz tallied the potential issues on his datapad. There were a few small breaches, severed power connections, optical data cables and the like, but nothing that would preclude them from running the ship.

Back in the cockpit, Lyra got to work checking the landing and maneuvering systems while Taz ran diagnostic routines on the communications, sensors, and tactical systems. After working in silence for some while, Lyra glanced over at him. "I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful. For fixing my arm."

Taz shrugged. "I'm a medic. It's in the job description."

She made a noise that might have been a sigh. "Why'd you bring me along, Oktos? Your soldier friend thinks I'm to blame for her leg and I've been watching you at that panel. You might not be a pilot but you could've gotten this thing in the air well enough."

Taz fiddled with his controls and looked uncomfortable. He avoided her gaze but after a long pause, he uttered, "This place, Jakku. It messes with you... after a while, I mean." His hand started shaking. When he noticed, he clenched his fist and hid it in his lap. "The heat and dust, the endless waiting, the bombings and night raids. And for what? What in the name of creation is worth fighting for on this barren sand trap of a planet?" He fidgeted some more and his face twitched as if he might want to laugh, or cry.

"Look, you don't have to say—"

"It's okay," Taz spoke up, reining in his wavering emotions. "My family was killed four years ago when the Protectorate forces bombed Vrast from orbit. It's been almost a year since I've seen the woman I love. I, um..." He swallowed hard. "I started feeling like maybe it'd be better if I wasn't around, you know?" Taz sat still for a while.

"I'm sorry. I... didn't know about your family." She fiddled with her hands while the corners of her eyes crinkled.

"When you told me about yours it made me realize that maybe Rebels and Imperials have more in common than we'd like to admit." He thought quietly, then shook the melancholy out of his head. "Anyway, it was Sera who reminded me that there's still a future out there. 'Life After Jakku', she called it. She and Reiko want to start a charter service. That's why they're out here looking for a ship they can fix up. They invited me along, to cheer me up I guess. When we passed by your shelter I thought you might be feeling some of the weight of Jakku like I am." After a long pause he added, "Sorry I dragged you out here. I should've known you wouldn't want to spend a day cooped up with a bunch of Rebels on a wrecked freighter."

Lyra was quiet for a minute. Then she uttered a dry chuckle. "The Empire's been nothing but a shell since the Emperor was killed on that battle station of his. I heard most of the top military brass died at Endor too. The sector moffs and command staff, the ones that were left, were in a panic for months. The Navy lost so many people that they called up academy cadets and drafted or press-ganged every freighter and transport crew they could find just to fill out minimum crew complements. I even heard they commuted pirates' sentences in return for naval service.

"They gutted Customs for pilots and techs, too. I got three transfers in five months. They even put me in a TIE but I got transferred before we saw any action, thank the Two Moons.

"It got to the point that I didn't know where I was going to be from one day to the next. So when they told me I'd be transporting troops and some techs planetside, I didn't know where we were, much less any details about the mission. When we took the ion blast I wasn't even that upset." Lyra chewed her lip and looked as uncomfortable as Taz felt. "The whole galaxy seemed like it was spiraling into madness and I decided right then that crashing might be better than living with the chaos.

"I was conscious when we crashed—barely. The troopers knew it but they just left me there. Probably thought I'd be good bait for their ambush. They all disappeared in the rocks. I didn't see anyone for a long time. All I can remember is how badly my arm hurt, thinking I wasn't going to make it. There was a fire in the troop compartment and it was getting closer to the cockpit. I decided I didn't want to burn to death so I held my arm as best I could and jumped from the shattered viewport. That's really all I remember until I woke up with you leaning over me doing... whatever you did.

"After your intel team was done with me, I spent a few days trying to find my way back to an Imperial post. Even got some scrappers to give me a lift out to one of our checkpoints. But when I got there, they turned me away. Didn't want anything to do with a Customs pilot who'd lost her ship and gotten some of their buddies killed. Probably thought I was a Reb—Republic spy, too. They argued over whether they should just shoot me where I stood but their sergeant decided I wasn't worth the blaster bolt." She barked a bitter laugh. "Can you believe that? Eight years of my life I gave to the Empire. You said Jakku messes with you? I think it had messed with those troops way too much."

"It's been hard on everyone," Taz offered. "I'm sorry you weren't able to return to your people."

"They're not my people." She let out a breath. "I'm starting to think they never were."

"Do you have—Is there anyone waiting for you?"

Lyra shook her head. "Since I joined, it's just been me."

"I see." Taz flipped some switches on the console to keep from fidgeting.

"Thanks, Oktos, for making the effort, at least." She still sounded bitter but after a moment she let a little smirk tug at the corners of her mouth. Lyra interlaced her fingers and stretched her arms with a low groan. In a cheerier voice she said, "So, what's 'life after Jakku' look like for you?"

"Not sure yet," he admitted. "I'd like to learn more about the Force, and I've always wanted to travel, see the galaxy. I've heard rumors about former techs from the Alliance and Empire putting a group together to rebuild after the war. I think I could help with something like that."

"Or you could sign on with us, sir," Reiko suggested, making the other two swivel their heads toward the engineer standing at the back of the cockpit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to overhear." She looked sheepish and thrust her hands into the hazard suit's pockets. "I don't think Sera-sha would mind, and every ship can use a doc."

"What's with this 'sha' business, anyway?" Nimor probed.

"Filvians use a lot of honorifics," Taz explained. "Sha is the honorific for people you're... intimate with."

"Ah..." Lyra made a slow nod. "So you're not just partners, you're partners."

"Mm hmm," Reiko hummed by way of an answer, wearing a big smile.

"At least one of us has someone to go home to," said the pilot.

"What's our status, Miss Hudson?"

Her expression deflated a little. "One ion drive is shot. It'll have to be rebuilt. The other looks like it'll output about thirty percent of its rated thrust. Two out of four repulsors are functioning, but only around seventy percent. A couple of the maneuvering thrusters are misaligned and the hyperdrive isn't responding at all." She waved her hand around the cockpit. "As you can tell, maintenance was low on the crew's list of priorities so the systems are in poor shape overall."

"What about the reactor?" Lyra asked.

"The core is stable although a couple of the converters are pretty dodgy. Most of the fuel was drained but there's enough to spin up the reactor for an hour or so if we restrict ourselves to essential systems and don't use shields or inertial compensators. Oh, and the number two landing strut is fractured so we'll need to be careful setting her down."

Taz handed her his datapad. "Here's a list of all the items we found during our inspection. I ran diagnostics on comms and sensors. They're functional but pretty basic. The targeting system is crap, too. In addition to all the guns there are four missile tubes on this thing. Hard to believe they let CEC sell these to anyone other than military or law enforcement."

"I heard the Empire fined the company for every one they impounded or had to fight," Lyra put in. "These ships have tough shields, too. If you're starting a charter business you won't have to worry about most pirates."

"That's if we can get the ship out of here," Taz said.

"I ran the numbers," Reiko said. "The hull and frame should withstand the stress of pulling out of the sand. I also checked the ship's log. She's registered as the Dogo-Skiv out of Ord Celbus. The last entry indicates she was boarded near the Llanic system on suspicion of running spice and guns. Its cargo was impounded and its crew detained."

"That would explain why it was in the cruiser's hangar," Taz opined.

Nimor rubbed her hands together and looked impatient. "What are we waiting for? Let's see if she'll move."

"Give me ten minutes to get the reactor online. I want to start gently." She disappeared back down the lift to the engine room.

Lyra and Taz scrubbed some of the worst dirt and grime from the instruments, then ran preflight checks and donned their suits. Taz relinquished the copilot's seat when Rei returned so she could monitor the ship's systems. Lyra and Rei flipped switches and manipulated controls, bringing the ship to life with an off-key resonant hum. The hiss of the air exchangers moved the stale atmosphere as beeps and chirps confirmed the ship's subsystems were online.

Lyra traded a look with Reiko. "Ready?"

"Repulsors and thrusters at your command," Reiko said, an excited grin on her face. "Let's give it a try."

"Here we go." Nimor fed power to the repulsors, making the ship shudder and rumble. She manipulated the control column and the freighter shook roughly, rattling Taz's teeth until he clamped down on his jaw. The sand obscuring the viewport started shifting and the Dogo-Skiv vibrated wildly as the discordant whine of the repulsors increased. The ship was moving, but Lyra struggled with the controls. "Can you feed more power to the number two repulsor?"

"It's running about as hot as it can," Rei answered, sounding nervous.

Nimor curled her lip. "Thrusters, then." She dialed the thumbwheels and the ship jumped with the additional upward force from the small maneuvering engines. Taz's datapad skittered off the vibrating panel and clattered to the floor. Lyra struggled and swore, feathering the steering grips to compensate for the misaligned thrusters. The freighter moved more certainly, finally coming level, though it continued its harsh shaking.

Over agonizing seconds Nimor nudged the ship this way and that, inexorably freeing it from the accumulated sand and detritus until it hovered about ten meters in the air. She tilted the controls and the freighter drifted toward the speeder truck with a drunkard's wobble while Lyra worked furiously to keep the ship steady in the air.

"Thrusters and repulsors are redlined!" Reiko called over the din and shuddering.

"I'm going to set her down before she falls out of the sky," Nimor shouted, laboring at the controls.

The freighter descended to the blare of warning tones in the cockpit. Sputtering and clanging noises accompanied the descent. The landing pads touched down and the whole ship groaned and leaned as the fractured strut gave way. The vessel issued a final shiver and settled. Nimor shut down the repulsors and thrusters in a hissing cloud of exhaust gasses.

Reiko powered down the primary systems with a long sigh and a deep nod to Nimor.

Taz relaxed the white-knuckled grip he had on the arms of the gunner's seat. "I'm glad you came along," he admitted, sounding relieved.

Lyra wore a smile, the first Taz had seen from her. "Me too," she answered. "That was fun."

"You have a strange idea of fun." Taz wondered if all pilots enjoyed living on the edge of disaster. It dawned on him that Tess would probably have said the same thing. The idea made his chest tighten. He cleared the uncomfortable thoughts gathering in his head and unclipped his safety harness.

Reiko was on the comm to Sera, urging her to come aboard. Taz doffed his hazard suit so Rei could take it with her, and ten minutes later the Ballista commando hobbled up the boarding ramp, ascended the lift, and joined the other two in the cockpit.

Taking off the bulky hazard suit, she glanced around. "She's not much to look at, but there's plenty of cargo space and she's definitely well-armed. Thanks for getting her unstuck."

"Lyra did a great job flying her, even with all the damaged systems," Rei said. She smiled at Sera's surprised look.

Rendix glanced at Taz, who made a slight nod. She turned her cool gaze on the pilot. "Seems I owe you my thanks as well, Nimor."

"Don't mention it," Lyra rejoined without looking at Sera.

"She needs a lot of work," Reiko interjected. "She won't be spaceworthy for a while."

"How long, do you think?"

Rei let out a sigh. "A month or two? I have to replace repulsors, realign the thrusters, overhaul the main reactor and sublight engines, puzzle out what's wrong with the hyperdrive—"

"Easy, Rei-sha," Sera said, giving her hand a squeeze. "We'll figure it out, somehow. First though, we have to secure this ship. Who knows when Niima's scrappers might start poking around out here?"

"We're pretty far away from Destiny Outpost," Reiko commented, "but the sooner we get her out of this desert, the better."

Taz checked his wrist link. "Speaking of Destiny, we'd better get back unless we want to be declared deserters and get ourselves court-martialed. Any chance we could fly her back?"

Rei shook her head. "Maybe but I wouldn't want to chance it. If either of the repulsors failed she'd crash."

"How much time do you need to repair them?

Reiko looked uncertain. "A few days? A week, maybe."

"We'll just have to hope no one stumbles on this until we can get back here to make repairs."

"Hang on," Lyra said. She opened her little pack and retrieved three metal and plastic placards, each the size of her hand.

"What are those?" Sera asked, a suspicious look on her face.

"Salvage tags." In answer to their inquiring looks, the pilot scowled. "The Empire doesn't want me and neither do your people." Her tone had a sharp edge. "I had to do something, so I applied for provisional membership in the Scrapper Guild."

She held up the placards, fanning them in her hand like playing cards. Each one had a small red triangle in the corner that could be detached from the main body. "They all have unique ident codes, each quantum locked to its little key, here." She tapped one of the small corner pieces. "You remove the key and affix the placard to the scrap you want to claim. Once you attach it, the placard can only be removed with the key and a user-defined passcode. You just have to tag the ship and anything else you want to claim salvage rights to." She hesitated a moment, then gathered the cards together and extended her hand to Sera. "You can have them if you want. I can get more."

"Why? You don't owe us anything."

"Allegra would've wanted me to," she muttered.

Sera looked confused. "Allegra?"

"My sister. She died," Lyra quietly added, "in a Rebel attack."

"Oh." Sera didn't say anything more but she took the offered tags.

Lyra sniffed, blinking away the tears that always accompanied thoughts of her sister. "Allegra had a big heart and she loved to fly. She wanted to be a pilot but she didn't have the aptitude for it." She chuckled at the reminiscence. "She'd have liked this ship, I think." She poked her thumb at Taz. "Besides, I owe him for lunch, and... I got to fly again, even if it was just for a couple of minutes. I had fun."

Reiko smiled. "Thank you, Lyra." Then to all of them: "What should we tag?"

"If you tag a vehicle under one-hundred meters or five thousand tons, anything inside of it is subject to the claim. So you only need one tag for the freighter."

"How about we tag the Decimator I saw?" suggested Sera. "It looked intact enough that there ought to be something worth salvaging."

"Decimators have military-grade systems and class-one hyperdrives," Reiko enthused. "Pretty good targeting computers too, from what I remember."

"This ship's got plenty of firepower but all the guns are fixed mounts except the ion cannons up front here," Taz noted. "Too bad she doesn't have a turret or two. For point defense, I mean."

"Sure you don't want to join the crew, Doc?" Sera teased.

Rei had a thoughtful look on her face. "What about those rotary cannons on the AT-ST?"

"They'd be pretty good against starfighters, I'll bet," said Taz.

"Pretty sure I can rig up dual-axis mounts for them from the walker's systems."

"That's my girl," Sera said, planting a kiss on the smaller engineer's cheek. "That would use up all of the tags." She looked back at Lyra. "You sure you want to give these to us?"

The other woman shrugged. "They're on a deferred fee schedule so you won't have to come up with the salvage claim fee now, though you'll owe 50 credits per placard in a month, and there's a six percent commission that goes to the guild if you sell it."

"Fair enough," Sera acknowledged. "Thanks, Nimor, and... sorry I called you an Imp before."

"Don't mention it," Lyra replied, meeting the soldier's gaze squarely this time.

Beside them, Reiko clapped her hands together and smiled.