CHAPTER ONE
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Corellia :- Located in the system of the same name, Corellia is one of five inhabited planets orbiting the star Corell (the other four being Drall, Selonia, Talus and Tralus). During the Galactic Civil War, Corellia paid lip service to the Empire, but to all intents and purposes remained neutral, using its status as a trading hotbed to persuade both sides that it was best left undisturbed. This rapidly mutated into a de-facto retreat from the rest of the Galaxy. The repercussions of this pseudo-isolationist policy would not become truly apparent until the crises precipitated by the discovery of ancient technology on Centrepoint station, located between Talus and Tralus, the double worlds...
- Adapted from the New Republic Galactic Database, 35ABY
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I watched the crowd gasp as the two TIE fighters raced overhead, rolling on their axis as they passed before pulling up and climbing until they were lost in the high cloud layer. A few seconds later they reappeared, diving in parallel towards a ten-metre wide repulsorlift-suspended ring that hovered two hundred metres above the ground. The first TIE dived straight through the middle of the ring and pulled up in a textbook perfect manoeuvre that must have gladdened the hearts of several of the military observers present. The second TIE, however, seemed to miss the ring by several hundred metres. As it raced down, however, it pulled up at the same time as the first TIE, allowing its curve to take it through the ring as it once more soared towards the sky with its partner, vanishing once more into the cloud layer. Beside the suddenly cheering crowd, a loudspeaker crackled into life.
"Ladies and Gentlebeings, please remain in your seats for the final performance, a re-enactment of the Assault on the Triumph."
As soon as I heard that pre-recorded announcement, I closed the canopy of my Assault Gunboat and warmed up the engines, ready to take off. Beside me Vint Hack scrambled into his TIE Bomber, ready for action on its launching catapult. I activated my Repulsorlifts as an X-wing hurtled overhead, followed by two Y-wings, an A-wing and a Z-95. Smiling at the precision of the wedge formation, I toggled my comm system on in time to catch the start of the "Rebel" dialogue.
"Confirming target locked, boss. Loading torps now, we'll blast these Imps to Kessel and back."
During the pause that followed, I pictured Dave toggling the S-foil lever in his X-wing, turning the craft slightly to give the most sinister view of the opening wings. The comm system buzzed with a precise pre-recorded voice, supplied by an obliging off-duty Imperial Officer several years ago, that served as my cue for lift-off.
"Red alert. Red alert. Incoming Rebel craft spotted in sector six, coming in at our stern. Attempting to roll now. Turn to heading one-seven-three mark two. Power up Turbolaser batteries. Five minutes until clearance of gravity-well."
The commanding voice was interrupted by another voice, one that hissed with the overtones of an artificial respirator.
"Captain, order my fighter to be prepared and my wingmen to their Interceptors. Prepare two TIE Fighters, a TIE Bomber and the prototype Assault Gunboat as backup. We will have to take them ship to ship. The Turbolasers will not be able to target them, they are too fast."
I smiled as I rose into formation and pushed the throttle forwards, Marcus was really hamming it up. As I followed in formation, Marcus spoke again, filling his altered voice with menace.
"The X-wing is mine. Wingmen, concentrate on the Z-95. Task Force, Fighters target first Y-wing. Bomber, target second Y-wing. Gunboat, take the A-wing."
Marcus rolled out of formation and homed in on the X-wing, which turned to flee. The A-wing started to loop behind the TIE Advanced, but was forced to dive as the two TIE Interceptors attempted to strafe it before homing in on the Z-95. The remaining Rebel craft had also taken evasive manoeuvres, trying to evade the weaponry of the Imperial fighters. The first Y-wing managed to dodge the fire of the TIE Fighters, the second fell prey to a missile fired from the Bomber. With smoke pouring out of its starboard engine, it looped down behind a hill. There was a bright flash and a sound of a large explosion.
With the loss of its primary target, the Bomber slewed round and fired another missile, catching the Z-95 on the end of its port airfoil and sending it into a spin. As the pilot tried to correct, the I closed in and raked it with fire, pausing as large flames began to issue from canisters slung between the engine nozzles. The Z-95 dived into a canyon, and an instant later the pre-recorded sound of tortured metal was heard, followed by a dying whine from the engines, loud enough for even me to hear it.
Marcus apparently anticipated every twist and turn that the X-wing did , closing in before firing a pair of energy bolts straight into the port S-foils of the X-wing. Rotating madly, the X-wing spun behind the hill, closely followed by the remaining Y-wing, which had fallen prey to the concentrated fire of the two TIE's. The A-wing, apparently seeing that all was lost, climbed above the cloud layer, followed by the two Interceptors and my craft, all of us sending streams of coloured energy at it, missing it by mere centimetres. An instant after we vanished into the clouds, I pressed the button that released an explosive that lit the entire cloudbank, dazzling the spectators and giving us time to dive and take our final positions. As their vision cleared, they saw all of us land in perfect formation on the pad in front of them, the TIE Advanced at the front. The audience erupted into a frenzy of cheers and shouts, drowning out the final announcement from the speakers.
"Ladies and gentlebeings, you have just witnessed Knave Squadron!"
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Dave Hunter strode into the room, followed closely by his second-in-command, Marcus Farlander. The conversation in the room died away as the we all turned to face him. I could tell from his expression that he had mixed news.
"First, the bad news. One of the spectators, an Imperial Admiral named Ozzel, was so impressed by our display that he has insisted on meeting us, so you will have to be on your best behaviour."
He waited for the groans to fade away before continuing.
"The good news is, that after expenses, fuel, provisions, etceteras, we have made a profit of well over four thousand credits, so your wages for this show are a hundred and fifty each, with the remaining credits going in the safe for the new craft."
I stood up.
"Does that mean that we get it now?"
Dave laughed.
"Sorry, Graham. You will have to wait until tomorrow for that shopping trip. Tonight, however, we are all going to celebrate our most profitable show staged so far."
Dave was interrupted by a harsh knock on the door. Marcus turned and hit the button that opened it, allowing the portly figure in.
"Ah. You must be Dave Hunter. I am Admiral Ozzel, I believe that my aide sorted all the details out."
Marcus coughed delicately.
"Actually, sir, I am Marcus Farlander, the second in command. This is Dave Hunter, just here."
Ozzel looked slightly embarrassed for an instant, giving Dave the perfect opportunity to take charge.
"Don't worry about it, sir. It could happen to anyone. Please, let me introduce you to the rest of my squadron."
With an economical gesture, Dave led Ozzel to the base of the semi-circular table that faced the door. We all quickly moved to it and sat down, ready to be introduced.
"Starting from your left is Thrantarallenazenzal the Verpine, commonly known as Thranta. He is our main technician and flew the A-wing in the display. Next is Haisani Sulona, an excellent Y-wing pilot despite the fact that he is technically blind."
Ozzel took a step back in amazement before leaning forward to stare at Haisani, who turned his eyeless face slightly to give the impression that he was staring back at the portly admiral. Dave explained in an off-hand tone of voice, as if he could not imagine anyone not knowing of Haisani's race.
"Haisani is a Miraluka, a race that evolved with a radar-like ability to sense things, thus rendering the need for eyes obsolete. Next is Han Tharallen who flew the other Y-wing. Next to him is the Shistavanen Slade Hallon, one of the best TIE Interceptor pilots that I have had the privilege to work alongside. Beyond him, looming slightly, is Golanth the Togorian, his wingmate. Next to him is Vint Hack, a dab hand in a TIE Bomber. The Wookie is Khanchassata, who flew the Z-95, and beside him is his adopted son Graham, the pilot of the Assault Gunboat." I smiled and waved, but Ozzel seemed to take no notice of me. "The two Twi'leks are twins, Kay'Infortuna and Kal'Infortuna. Even we cannot tell them apart, with the possible exceptions of Haisani and, for some reason, Graham. Is there something wrong?"
Ozzel gestured abruptly to the door. With a frown on his face, Dave followed Ozzel out of the room. As the door closed I ran to it and pressed my ear against it, in time to overhear Ozzel ranting at Dave.
"What do you mean by employing aliens! Wookies are a specifically designated slave race. Verpine have been confined to their home system except for specially approved reasons and the Twi'leks are forbidden to fly any craft with weaponry!"
Dave's reply sounded unshaken.
"Sir, when you demanded an audience, I thought that this situation might arise. On this datafile which I prepared earlier, you will see copies of the ownership documents for Khan, the exemption forms for Thranta and the special dispensation forms for Kay and Kal. These documents were approved by the Diktat of Corellia and have been personally endorsed by the Emperor himself after he witnessed our first true show three years ago at the COMPNOR convention on Corellia. I do not see any problems at all."
"I see. Well, I must admit that you are sane, after all. Well, it was a good performance. Who was flying the TIE Advanced?"
"Marcus Farlander."
Ozzel sucked in his breath slowly, like a Corellian Sand-panther before it pounces on its prey.
"Is he related to Keyan Farlander, the Rebel with the four thousand credit bounty on his head?"
"Distantly. They shared the same great-grandfather, so they are second cousins. However, before you take pre-emptive action, I seem to recall that a certain Imperial Planetary Governor had a son who joined the Rebellion. Did you ever question the Governor about that incident? Was it he that incited his son to join the Rebels, or did his son just decide that he wanted illicit excitement of the sort that can only be found amongst a group of traitors?"
There was a long pause before Ozzel responded.
"I take your point, it is not the family that is at fault, it is the misguided individuals that join the Rebels that need attention."
"Indeed. Other documents on the pad show that Haisani, Slade and Golanth have all been investigated and approved by both Imperial Security and CorSec. I assure you, we have no traitors in our ranks, just hardworking pilots who do our best to help to raise morale and in doing so, aid the Empire."
"I see. Tell me, do you have any plans for the future?"
"Well, if we can raise another forty thousand credits, we are planning on buying and modifying a Corellian Corvette so that we can take our performances to wherever they will do the most good."
There was another long pause, during which I heard Ozzel speak softly into his communicator. The tinny voice replied, and he grunted what sounded like approval.
"As it happens, the Imperial Navy recently captured a smugglers corvette in
orbit above this planet. We cannot use it, as it would cost too much to rebuild it to Imperial specifications, so we were planning on destroying it. I will arrange for it to be given to you, thus solving two problems at once. You will have to rename it, as the name "Death to Palpatine" would cause you to be shot down almost at once, but it has been modified so that it has a large hold on either side. All you have to do is make a few trifling modifications, and you will be able to perform anywhere in the galaxy. Anywhere, even, if I may suggest it, Coruscant."
"Thank you, sir. I expect that we will soon be able to perform for the Emperor himself again. We will be sure to mention your contribution when we do."
Ozzel let out a pleased grunt which was interrupted by a high-pitched beeping.
"Ah. Got to go. You will get the Corvette tomorrow. Hail the Emperor!"
I heard the footsteps of Admiral Ozzel fade away before I ran back to my chair, sitting down just as Dave came in. He glanced at me, and I knew that he knew that I had overheard the conversation. He smiled and spoke.
"I have some good news, it seems as though we are getting a Corvette from the Empire itself in exchange for services rendered. Graham, looks like you will get to do that shopping trip tomorrow, as will several others of us."
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I feathered the throttle as the speeder lifted and smoothly started forwards. Behind me, Khan jammed the lever forward on his speeder, and held on grimly as his speeder leapt forward like a hungry Sand-panther. I carefully slid in formation behind him as he rocketed past, watching him sway wildly as he wrestled to bring the speeder back under control. He finally managed and let out a roar, his mane flying over the straps of his protective goggles. I switched on my helmet comlink as he dropped back to beside me.
"Khan, do you want a race to Peregrine's point?"
Khan glanced over at me and bared his teeth in a growl of assent before positioning one hand over the throttle. I placed my hand on my speeder's throttle and started to count down.
"Five. Four. Three. Two. One. ZERO!"
As I shouted zero, we both thrust our throttles to maximum and hunched forwards, bracing ourselves against the wind. Khan pulled ahead slightly before he "bounced" over a rock outcropping, losing some speed and allowing me to sneak past him. Knowing what he was planning, I turned to my right and went straight into a valley, using the downslope to boost my velocity. Glancing back, I could see him silhouetted against the sky as he flew along the very edge of the valley, a move that would have prevented me from maintaining my lead had I not taken the detour. Glancing ahead, I saw a long rock-ramp leading up the left side of the valley. In a moment of mischief, I aimed straight for it, letting it carry me above the edge of the valley. My speeder flew off the end of the ramp and leapt across the gap before landing to the left of Khan. Unfortunately, my landing had robbed me of some of my speed, and that was all that Khan needed to pull into the lead. I looked ahead and could see Peregrine's Point start to rise on the horizon slightly to the left, just beyond the Crystal Swamps. I looked ahead at Khan, and then altered course, heading straight for the swamp while he went the other way, skirting it. As I passed through the wall of mist that marked the edge of the swamp, some instinct caused me to slide the speeder slightly to the left. An instant later, I ducked an outflung diamondtree branch, missing the trunk by a mere metre, and pulled up slightly to avoid disembowelling the speeder on some silver razorleaf. Ahead, I saw several geysers spouting high. Acting again on instinct, I aimed at one, throttled back slightly, and flew through a fine mist as the torrent of boiling water stopped spouting an instant before I reached it. As my goggles cleared, I saw that I was heading towards a shardbush, the one of the plants on Corellia with a natural monomolecular edge. Yanking the speeder to the right, the bush missed my leg by the merest fraction of a millimetre, but placing me on a collision course with a low outcropping of rock. Before I could do more than gasp in horror, a sudden updraft lofted me over the rock, and back out of the swamps. I poured on the power and raced up the slope, pulling to a stop just at the top of the conical hill. As I pulled off my goggles and wiped my forehead, Khan pulled up beside me and growled questioningly.
"I won."
Khan shook his head in mock disgust and pointed at the rear end of my speeder. Turning, I saw a deep cut in the armour plating just over the engine thrust nozzles. I swallowed, remembering how close the shardbush had passed to my leg.
"Okay. We'll take it easy on the way back."
Khan nodded agreement as he restarted his speeder, swinging it towards Coronet. I followed sedately, occasionally glancing back at the worryingly deep scoring on my speeder.
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"I don't know who used to own this Corvette, but it is both a total mess and a work of sheer genius."
I entered as the translator worn by Thranta finished the sentence.
"Well, part of your job is to get wrecks back into condition. What can you tell me about this ship?" Dave asked.
Thranta motioned for Dave to follow him as he walked round the Corvette, with me close behind him.
"Well, for a start, the engines have been modified, even fully laden, it can go as fast as a Y-wing, and possibly faster. However, the sensors are next to useless, probably been taken from an antique Cloakshape, a severely damaged Cloakshape at that. It has several hidden weapons, hidden so well in fact, that even I found them hard to find. The two upgraded Quad lasers that have replaced the original dual Turbolasers are obvious, but the three missile launchers, two fore and one aft, the dorsal Ion cannon, the two forward firing Turbolasers and the four side-mounted retractable dual laser cannons will need a great deal of work to get them working again. It looks like they broke down just before the Corvette was captured, and so escaped detection. The life support system needs completely upgrading, as do the access panels to the holds. I was going to remove them and install a special retractable air-tight roof system with a MagCon seal. There is ample space for us and our craft, especially since the wing-quarters have, as you can see, been partially replaced by extensively modified armoured containers, but the bridge transparisteel plating needs replacing, it will probably not last for more than another twelve hours of voidflight. The Hyperdrive can be upgraded from a class two to a class point seven five if I can get my claws on a leeth-mark five point seven computational hyperspace analysing module and a clathh-four point three Hyperdrive motivator booster unit, but the backup is completely shot, and needs replacing, hopefully with a class one at least. The hull itself is in very good condition, but I need parts for the shield generators, although I will be able to upgrade them as well to nearly Star Destroyer-class. The landing gear needs minor structural adjustments, and the navicomp needs extensive reprogramming if not replacing. The fuel level is almost zero, the repulsorlifts need significant retuning and the lower-port engine is running at only forty-three percent of optimal. All in all, it is better than I had hoped for, and will be well within our present financial resources."
"Can you get it flying again?"
"Alone, it will take me several months, assuming we have the parts. With help, we will be ready about twelve days after we finish the shopping trip, assuming that there are no emergencies or other detrimental activities."
"Okay. Give me the list of the parts you want. Get the others to help you make a start, and make sure that you get Graham to help in the refitting, he seems to be intent on spending his credits before anyone else, and we need to encourage prudence in terms of monetary matters."
Thranta let out a low buzz of laughter as he glanced back and saw my scowl.
"I've only spent forty credits so far."
"Yes, for three data-card novels and a meal out. Khan told me about it over the comm when you two were coming back. Thranta, we have a full month before our next major show, so as well as this craft, I want the X-wing checked. The upper port engine was only at seventy percent efficiency and the starboard debris extractors seem to have lost their protective properties against excess dust in the atmosphere. The engines nearly failed twice because of that."
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Thranta piloted the Fighter-transport speeder out through the Hanger door and accelerated towards the horizon, Marcus, Slade and Golanth slowing their swoops slightly to flank the speeder. Kal and Kay watched them go before turning towards me and Haisini as we stood underneath the Corvette.
"Well, let's -"
"- get started."
Hasaini smiled at them.
"That's a good trick. Have you been practising it long?"
I glanced at him, amazed that he had worked out what they were doing.
"What do -"
"- you mean?"
"Telling each other what to say with your lekku, thus confusing and mystifying everyone else."
Kal laughed.
"How come it works on everyone except you and Graham?"
At the tone of his voice, I smiled. I did not know how, but I had managed to work out what they were doing, and had actually understood what they were saying, the first time they had tried that trick on me.
"I don't know about Graham, but I can sense your lekku moving, and can draw logical conclusions about what you are saying."
Kay twitched both lekku violently. I laughed before replying.
"You should believe it."
Kay glanced at Kal, who burst out laughing again.
"Alright. You win. Let's have a look at the list of things that need doing before the others return. Hmmm. The formation lights need reconnecting and testing, the landing gear needs adjusting, the primary and secondary sensor arrays need to be removed ready for the installation of new upgraded arrays and the sensor/targeting computor needs replacing and debugging."
I instantly volunteered for the Targeting system work.
"Kay, what do you want to do?"
"I always wanted to pull out a sensor array."
"Alright. Hasaini?"
"I think that I will adjust the landing gear. Kal, Where did you put the fusion-welder and the face-mask?"
"Behind you, to the left of the cryo-jet assembly. That means that I am doing the lights. Alright, let's get started."
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Khan walked into the Hangar just as the heavily-laden Fighter-transport speeder touched down on the plascrete. Thranta waved at him as I lifted the first computer core down, ready for installation. Khan looked round, and started to retreat, only to be stopped by Thranta's artificial voice.
"Glad you could come, we need all the help we can get with the parts. You and Golanth unload the shield and hyperdrive systems and place them just by the engines. Marcus, Slade, you deal with the sensor arrays, put them all underneath the bridge module. Kay and Kal, you place the weapon parts under the port side. The rest of you, help me with the armour plating and Transparisteel. The datapads on the side will show you how to install the different parts once we have unloaded."
Grunting slightly, Khan and Golanth lifted the first of the four shield generators down from the speeder as I staggered up the ramp with my burden. Once I reached the computer room, I picked up my hydrospanner and started to remove the old wiring, frowning at the flakes of rust and dirt that showered me as I worked. As I removed it, I accidentally hit a button that was mounted on one wall. Opposite me, a screen flickered into life, showing a view of Haisani partially obscured by a shower of sparks. I moved to look closer at the monitor, finally spotting a row of buttons underneath. Choosing one at random, I pressed it and the picture changed to a view of Kal, from above his head. Picking up the microphone underneath, I spoke into it.
"Hello, Kal."
Kal started, and looked round, trying to see who had spoken. His mouth and lekku moved, but no sound came. I hunted round the monitor and finally pressed a likely-looking button.
"I said, who's there?"
I smiled and spoke into the microphone.
"Kal, I just got the cameras working. Gave you a shock, didn't it?"
Kal looked up and spotted the camera. He waved at me and smiled, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
"I see. Question for you, how long before you can tie the cameras into the targeting system?"
I thought about that, pulling up a system analysis programme on the secondary monitor and highlighting the camera icon.
"If I read the screen correctly, the previous owners of this ship got a full 360 degree sphere of coverage from the cameras, with no blind spots. Give me a few hours to debug the secondary sensor visual input interface software and we should have a sensor/visual matrix to ensure high accuracy and ease of use. With slight tweaking of the systems and partial reprogramming of the new computer cores, I can probably create a holo-display showing other craft in relation to our ship, with full sensor/targeting information. Thanks for the idea."
As I deactivated the cameras, I heard Kal mutter to himself.
"Ask a silly question . . ."
Smiling, I picked up the Hydrospanner and concentrated on fitting the computors into their respective places. Once I had managed to connect them, I activated them and ran them through their startup programmes.
"Ahhh, therrre youu aarrre." rumbled a deep voice.
Without looking up from the screen, I waved at Golanth.
"Golanth, you are good with computors. I seem to be having trouble with the integration-five sequence. It says that there is a type seven-three hardware fault."
Golanth turned and slammed his fist into the wall, shaking the computors. The screen in front of me flickered, and then displayed a new message.
"'Integration sequence five, completed.' Thanks Golanth."
Golanth grunted, and then placed a package beside me.
"Daave saays youu haave too eaat."
I nodded and reached out for the package with one hand while adjusting the secondary sensor visual input interface software with the other. Golanth grunted and strode out of the room. I watched him go before returning my attention to the scrolling programme in front of me.
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With a roar, the final engine ignited, the exhaust fumes drifting away in the breeze. The ship thrummed with the harnessed power as the engines cycled through their test sequence before extinguishing with a muted rumble. Beside me, Golanth roared with satisfaction as I thumbed my comlink.
"Dave, the engine powered up succesfully and showed no visual sign of deviation. I think that we managed to get it working at last."
"I copy, internal sensors agree with your assesment. Engines are now powered down, replace the access panels and report to the hangar."
I grabbed one of the ropes that dangled down from the top of the engine array and used it to haul myself up to the lowest tier of engines, coming to a halt just beside Khan. Balancing myself on the ledge, I reached out and swung the panel up on its final fastener, holding it steady while Khan used a hydrospanner to secure it into place. Once it was secured, I pulled myself up to the top tier of engines, balanced myself on a small platform and reached for the next access panel, swinging it shut, then securing it into place. I had just finished when a familier voice called out my name. Craning round, I tried to see who was talking to me. An instant later, as I shifted my weight, I suddenly felt my foot slip, and realised that I had hit a patch of oil. No sooner had the realisation occured, then I flung out an arm, trying to stabilize my position before I could fall, but my hands only encountered smooth hull plating. Trying frantically to keep on the ledge, I tried to move off the oil, but only managed to destabilise myself, slipping away from the engine. As I fell, I shouted out, trying to gain the attention of Khan. As I fell, I saw Khan trying to reach out to catch me, but I missed his hand by millimetres and plummeted. An instant later, a pair of large furry arms snatched me from the air and set me onto the ground, supporting me as I staggered in shock. As I recovered, Khan slid down a rope, and grabbed me, pulling me into a hug as he apologised for missing me.
"Khan, it's all right. Golanth caught me. Thanks, Golanth."
As Khan released me, I turned, and almost bumped into someone.
"Sorry. Corran!"
Coran Horn smiled, and from behind Golanth a familiar tootling announced Whistler's presence.
"Sorry to interrupt you. I had a free day, and thought that I would drop in and see how you were. I didn't expect you to be the one to do the dropping, though."
Khan rumbled slightly, muttering about how humans had no sense of self-preservation, joking about death when there were Wookies and Togorians present. Golanth growled in agreement while Corran merely grinned wider.
"I thought that I would give you a hand getting the Knave Home fixed up, It has certainly been improved since I disabled it on approach."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"Ozzel said that the Imperial Starfleet had captured it!"
Corran smiled.
"I disabled it, and they pulled it into their hangar bay. Think of it as a combined operation. We pulled fifty kilos of glitterstim from it, and the smugglers volunteered to have a nice vacation on Kessel. So, what needs doing to get it working again?"
I smiled, then turned to face the Knave Home.
"We've managed to fix the engines and all the other primary systems, so, as normal, you've arrived just in time to miss the hard work."
Beside me, Corran choked while Whistler released an ascending whistle of laughter.