Mangat's empty ship was already parked outside when Sonic got back from his encounter with Rey. Going inside the transport ship, Sonic found Mangat chatting away with the rest of the team. He was telling them how lonely he had been by travelling all by himself, how the tedium of the journey had nearly drove him to madness. Mangat talked with theatrical melodrama, but underneath that, Sonic could tell he was genuinely excited to be reunited with the team. When he was done and they had all gotten caught up, Sonic explained the details of their assignment for tomorrow. Terho was glad it was a protection job, and even gave them some of the tips he'd learned over his years as a bodyguard. Tyr, as she was regarded by the team as the strongest single fighter, was elected to watch the ships while they were out. After that, people gradually drifted away to bed, the ship becoming quieter and quieter which each person who left, until the whispers of the wind were the only sounds that could be heard inside.
Early the next day they got the message from Rey to head out. Most of the team had a coat or cloak among their sparse personal effects that they could wear against the cold. In the near nomadic life of a mercenary, a good coat is one of the few possessions that a person might be forgiven for growing attached to. Only Terho went out in the clothes he was already wearing, saying he was used to the climate. Nish wrapped herself in a strange black garment she said was called a "Snuggy", and explained that it was probably her people's greatest cultural achievement.
Rey was again already outside when Sonic and company got to the Falcon, but this time she was paired with a man that Sonic recognized from the previous day as one of the people who had been sitting by Poe. The man had a lean build and was shivering in a old brown jacket. Rey introduced him as "Finn". Finn greeted them through his chattering teeth with a curt, "Hi", and looked over the strange new recruits uneasily. He glanced at Rey entreatingly, clearly confused by her choice of bodyguards. She gave him an apologetic smile, and then announced that they'd be heading into the market.
They trudged through the snow in a miniature procession with Rey and Finn in front and their bodyguards fanned out behind them. Finn kept close to Rey, talking to her in a hushed tone and occasionally turning his head to check on the strangers behind them. This lasted only shortly before, Terho, proud of his expertise, started telling Rey and Finn how he had worked in market before and was well familiar with the layout.
"Really?", Finn asked, surprised.
"You bet, I prowled those streets for a good half a year", Terho responded. "And that wasn't that long ago, there might even be some vendors I know still there", he said with a laugh.
Rey slapped Finn on the back, causing him to briefly lose his footing. "I told you I knew what I was doing", she said.
Once he returned to his normal gait, Finn addressed Terho again. "That really will be useful, though. This is an important job, and neither Rey nor I have ever been to the market here, so any information is useful."
"That reminds me, what is it that the Rebellion needs from the tech market, anyway", asked Mangat, who was shielding his eyes from the sunlight reflected off the snow. Then, understanding why Nish had started frowning at him, quickly adding, "just so we know what to look out for", so that Finn wouldn't think his question too aggressive.
"No, you have a right to know what you're risking yourselves for", Finn admitted. "I mean, you are already members of the Rebellion, even if only very recently. There's no reason to keep you in the dark." He look to see if Rey conferred, and saw her approval written plainly on her face.
"The Rebellion lost the last of it's fleet ships at Crait, we're going to the market to get a new one."
"So we're buying a ship", Mangat said, unimpressed.
"Not just any ship, a modified colony class Star Seeder. And apparently it's been outfitted with some deadly firepower", Finn said admonishingly.
"The Rebellion can't keep fighting a small scale guerilla war", Rey added soberly. "We need something that will allow us to face the First Order head on. Admittedly a Star Seeder isn't the most imposing vessel, but the First Order fleet has yet to recover from the blow we dealt it. They themselves only have a few Star Destroyers left. Acquiring a large ship like this one will show that the Rebellion is still a force to be reckoned with, and hopefully give us the momentum we need to make substantial ground in our cause."
Mangat demurred after hearing Rey's comprehensive explanation. "Gotcha, very cool."
"Pardon me in saying this", Terho said, "but what you described sounds like a hefty purchase. Are you sure you have the funds for it."
Rey snorted. "Of course. That transport ship you got for us wasn't the only one we've targeted. The Rebellion's been picking apart the First Orders supply lines since after Crait. Desperate times call for bold new strategies. As a result our coffiers are doing surprisingly well. It was Finn's idea, actually", she said, nodding her head toward him. "We're carrying the credits with us, and from what I've heard the market can be a dangerous place. That's why we brought you four with us in the first place." Rey started inspecting her nails. "Does that assuage your concerns, Terho?" Terho apologized again and told her that it did.
They continued to walk, and as they did Sonic imagined what a "colony class ship" would look like. Rey had compared it to a "Star Destroyer", which made it seem quite intimidating. At the very least he hoped it would have more visual flare than the ships he had seen already. Perhaps he was spoiled by Dr. Eggman's meticulously designed creations, but the technology of this universe struck Sonic as rather dull. Deep down he hoped they would be purchasing some oversized, metal pirate ship, or if he was really lucky, Sonic would end up cruising in a massive Gundam. He knew the chances of this were abysmal, but one can dream.
This particular dream, however, did not last long. Sonic was unwilling dragged back to reality as they cleared the slope they had been ascending, revealing the entire wide expanse of the market far below. It was a fascinating sight. Rough metal structures crowded together beside teems of ships in every size and color imaginable. Thin paths cut though the mess where miniscule people scurried about, creating a chaotic patchwork. The horizon was filled with the swarming silhouettes of spaceships taking off and landing down.
"Incredible", Finn exclaimed.
"That's one way to describe it", Terho chuckled. "Though in my experience, people more often call it 'horrible' or 'needlessly disorganized'."
It didn't take them long to get down to the market proper. Everyone but Terho was cold from the walk- Finn especially complained he thought he was becoming frostbitten- so the first thing they did was gather around one of the many small fires lit by the vendor's stalls.
"Why put a vibrant market on such an inhospitable planet", Finn grumbled as he warmed his hands by the fire.
"I did recommend you take something heavier", Rey chided.
"Well, I like this jacket", Finn said bashfully, pulling it tighter.
"Being in a secluded location like this keeps other traffic at a minimal", Terho chimed in a distance away from the fire. "I mean, you wouldn't come here for any reason other than the market, would you? Not all of the business conducted here is strictly legal, the inimical weather helps to keep away colonists and any law enforcement that might be brought along with them. Plus the cold keeps the tech here in relatively stable condition."
They remained by the fire until the owner of the stand they were standing near, accused them of loitering and asked them to either buy something or shove off. They opted for the latter. Rey told Terho the name of the vendor they were visiting, and after sifting through his memory for the name, he set about leading them through the maze-like pseudo-streets of the market. They pressed on, and Sonic tried to remain undistracted even as they encountered new curiosities at every corner. There were weapons as vicious looking as they were unintuitive to use, bionic replacements for every kind of appendage in existence (yes, every kind), and even personalized flying suits with steel wings which the nearby presence of sleek jet-packs suggested was more an aesthetic choice.
Colorful aliens bumped against each others while pillars of smoke from the fire rose up into the air, mixing with the gray clouds that sent snowflakes floating back down. The combined effect was a scene so ineffable, that even the well traveled Sonic found himself transfixed by it. Yet, despite the odds, Sonic was able to keep his wits about him until Terho got them to the vendor they were looking for. His name was Dozhel and he ran a markedly better establishment than the shoddy stalls that composed most of his competition. The most notable difference being that Dozhel's Superior Salvaging and Secondhand Spaceship Emporium had a real, insulated building for servicing customers. Dozhel also had a massive inventory of ships outside that emanated from the main building and stretched far into the distance. Among this inventory, way in the back, a gargantuan form stood casting a shadow on all the lesser ships which surrounded it.
Sonic knew what it was the instant he set his eyes on it. He gaped, "that's…"
"There she is", Rey interrupted giddily, "our soon to be flagship."
They each stood in awe of this behemoth of technology. Rey and Finn looked on the verge of tears for this first tangible breakthrough after so many defeats. Mangat actually started crying. "It has so much artillery", he sobbed, "it's beautiful."
Rey turned to face the rest of the group. "Come on, we're going in"
Dozhel, an ewok with very emotive features, sat on a tall stool by a counter to the left of the entrance. Two menacing guards were on either side of him. He grinned widely as they came through the door, flashing his impeccably white teeth. Sonic found it disturbing, those ivory mashers set in that tiny face.
Dozhel spread his arms wide as if he were about to hug someone. "Rey, Finn, you're right on time. Early, actually", he said, checking a bulky device that Sonic assumed was a watch. "That's alright; they say it's fashionable to be late, but I think the opposite is true. It shows you respect other people's time, and that's fashionable in my book."
Rey bowed slightly. "It's good to finally meet you in person, Dozhel."
Dozhel waved his hands dismissively. "You don't have to butter me up so much, dear. We're here to do business, and business has nothing to do with manners. Speaking of business, let's get down to it. I want to keep the momentum on this efficiency rolling. Have you got the cash?"
Finn dug through a couple pockets sewn into the inside of his jacket and produced a hefty stack of large gold chips. "It's all right here"
"Perfect." Dozhel motioned to one of his guards to retrieve the chips. "I hope you don't mind if I have my people inspect your credits before we finalize? I'm a naturally cautious person, and this is a rather large transaction."
"By all means', Rey said.
The guard passed the credits to Dozhel, who pulled out an archaic magnifying glass and began scrutinizing them one by one. "This might take awhile", he said. Rey and the rest of the party stood in silence as they patiently waited for him to finish, watching minute after minute elapse before them until Rey finally gave up and started ignoring his presence.
"This new ship is going to become a symbol of our cause", she addressed her companions, "as such it's going to need a name that stands out. Any ideas?"
"A good name can go a long way in inspiring people", Finn muttered. "How about 'Phoenix', cause we're rising from the proverbial ashes?"
"No, too cliche", Rey responded.
"What do you think of 'Spirit of Revolt?'", offered Nish.
"Better, but it's a little on the long side", Rey said.
"I got one", exclaimed Mangat, raising his hand. "You know how all of the First Order ships have really aggressive sounding names like 'Star Destroyer' or 'Dreadnaught'? Well, I think we should one up them and call our ship something like 'Quasar Obliterator'. Sounds good, right?"
"Not really the image we're going for"
"I could tell you it's original name if that would help", Dozhel said without looking away from his magnifying glass. "It was first used to transport a colony of Beylians who sold it to me once they had settled and no longer had any use for something that size. When it was first made they thought it resembled a type of ceremonial sword used on their planet so they gave it the moniker 'Beylian Blade'."
Rey rubbed an eyebrow with her thumb while she pondered the idea, eventually deciding that she liked it. "It could be punchier though", she admitted. "Short names with hard syllables tend to stay in people's minds the longest."
"Why don't we just call it the 'Beyblade', then?", suggested Sonic.
"Perfect! I can see it now, the rebel flagship, Beyblade." Rey said enthusiastically. "We'll go with that."
Dozhel wrapped up his inspection of the credits soon after they settled on a name. He told Rey that everything looked good on her end, and gave her the entrance codes to the ship that was now called 'Beyblade'. "I'm sure you'll find everything to your liking, but for some reason something isn't, you can come see me within two stellar weeks and I will either fix the problem free of charge or give you a free refund", he said.
Rey thanked him, and with great enal she told the rest of the party that they were ready to board their new ship. But before they could go into anymore jubilation, the door to outside swung open and a young woman entered into the building, the cold air rushing in behind her. She had short red hair, a spattering of freckles, and wore a fur-lined robe over a black officers uniform. Standing before them with rigid posture, the woman exuded authority. Dezhol tried to welcome her into his shop, only to be stopped mid-sentence when she silenced him with a perfunctory wave of her hand.
"It took me a great deal of time to locate you, lowlife", she said with a voice equal parts regal and imperious.
"I resent that", Dozhel exclaimed indignantly, "my business may not be perfectly legal but that doesn't mean I'm an unethical person. I simply operate off postconventional morality."
"No, not you, imbecile", she responded hotly, eliciting an offended gasp from Dozhel and a 'wow, rude' from one of the guards. She stared Rey in the eyes fiercely, "you're the one I've come for."
Rey, more perturbed than intimidated, stepped forward to face the woman. "And who might you be." The woman seemed somewhat repulsed that she would be questioned, and started to remove her robe. "You may call me Ji-Yu. I am a member of the knights of Ren and I have come to claim your life", she said histrionically. Her robe removed, Ji-Yu held her arms out to the side and clenched her fists, as in response, two curved blades of plasma to shoot out at either wrist. Before anyone had any time to react, she lunged forward at Rey. Her feet went lightly across the ground, and her sights were dead focused on her target, everything else thrown to periphery. As such, she was slow to react when Finn moved from behind Rey, and when he took took a heavy swing at her chin she was hit by his uppercut full on. The impact knocked Ji-Yu straight on her back.
Finn winced and tried to shake the pain from the hand he had punched with. "She has a really hard chin", he complained.
Ji-yu hauled herself back up from the ground, rage beginning to crack her mask of calm superiority, and was about to make a second attack on Rey when one of Dozhel's guards took a shot at her with his blaster. She blocked the laser beam with one of her arm blades, and redirected her attention to the guard. Anger having gotten her blood boiling, she reached him before he could get off another shot, dragging one of her blades across his chest. The other guard only had enough time to get her hand to her holster before Ji-Yu leaped over and used both blades to cut clear through her waist.
Dispatching the guards gave the Rebel's enough time to recover from their shock, however, and when Ji-Yu turned back around, she faced four guns leveled at her, one shoddy lightsaber engaged, and a small blue creature in a fighting stance. She grunted in irritation, knowing herself to have lost the advantage of surprise. "Oh good, you've got her", Dozhel said as he tentatively crawled out from beneath his desk.
"How did you find us", Rey inquired in a disaffected tone. Ji-Yu rose to her full height and spit a clot of blood onto the floor. "You're not especially discreet", she replied. "The only reason you were able to evade us for so long is because your numbers are so few now." Ji-Yu allowed herself a small smirk as she said this.
Rey ignored the attempt to goad, extended out her free hand, and slowly closed her eyes. Ji-Yu looked puzzled at first, but then she started to wince. "What are you doing", she asked, putting her hands on her temples. She snarled and began gritting her teeth, "no, that won't work. I'm not letting you into my head." Rey started showing signs of straining. Her extended arm quaked. She opened her eyes and gasped in exertion, "you've had some training, I see."
Ji-Yu had begun to sweat. "Of course, unlike you, the knights of Ren put a great emphasis on discipline."
Rey pointed the tip of her lightsaber at Ji-Yu. "That's fine. We can do this the old-fashioned way as well. Now, answer the question and maybe I'll spare…'' Rey was stopped by the sound of a propulsion system settling against the ground outside. "Now what", Finn grumbled as he went to go outside. He opened the door and stopped dead when he saw the stormtroopers streaming from a recently landed ship in the distance. He frantically slammed the door closed and pivoted 180 degrees on his heel. "Time to leave", he blurted out.
"What's wrong", Nish asked Finn with concern.
Ji-Yu scoffed from the ground. "You wasted your time trying to interrogate me and now my reinforcements are here to blast you scum to pieces."
Sonic looked to Rey for what to do next and saw in her expression a sangfroid he guessed had been developed over the course of her numerous encounters with the First Order. "How many were there", she calmly asked Finn.
"Enough to pose a threat. We could probably take them on, but it would be risky… Listen, I don't think we have time to deliberate."
Rey nodded. "Sonic, I need you to get to the Falcon as fast as you can. You're small enough that you will probably be able to lose the stormtroopers in the crowds of the market. The rest of you are gonna stay with me and we're going to fight our way to the Beyblade. Any questions?"
Dozhel, who was now cowering in the far corner, raised his hand. "Am I included in 'the rest of you'?"
"Only if you want to be."
"No, thank you. I'm good." Dozhel said and then pointed behind his desk, "I'm going to leave through the back exit over there."
Mangat gestured to Ji-Yu with his blaster, "what should we do with her?" Rey was about to answer when the hinge to door was shot off, causing it to collapse. A group of stormtroopers rushed in through the opening and were greeted by a barrage of laser fire. Seeing her chance to attack amidst the chaos, Ji-Yu rushed to re-engage Rey, her arm blades held out like a shield against any projectiles. Once she got close enough in range, she swung both blades down towards Rey, who blocked horizontally with her lightsaber. "Get to the Falcon, Sonic, hurry", she shouted. Sonic hesitated, at first wanting to disobey Rey's orders and stay in the fight. He wanted to aid them in their battle, to tear through the opponents threatening his allies. But he also knew that they could fend for themselves. At that moment, what they most needed from him was to mobilize the reserves, and they needed it done fast.
Sonic looked out into the battle unfolding outside, his eyes which were accustomed to tracking movement at extreme speed, instantly processed the visual information present and allowed him to assertain the safest route through. He took a runner's crouch, flexed the powerful muscles in his legs, and burst forward with such flashing speed as if he were jumping into hyperspace. The stormtroopers could just as well have been mannequins as he weaved himself through the spaces between their formation. He left them to grapple with his after-image and surged ahead into tightly packed crowd of the market. He ducked through legs and hurdled over shoulders, and Sonic felt life flow through his veins once more. He worked his way past the huddled masses and became a blue blur cutting through the settled snow. His brain lurched to adjust to the visual information shooting past his eyes, returning to the level of processing it had to do once before. The environment melted away, then came into to stunning clarity, all other objects moving through sludge compared to him. He was pushing himself, moving with such speed that he could barely breathe, his heart pumping blood like he was a hummingbird. He felt like an engine injected with nitro. He felt free.
Sonic was close to collapsing as he neared the Falcon and began to slow down. He cried out that it was him, Sonic, and he urgently needed to be allowed in. After no more than thirty seconds the ramp was let down. Sonic nearly fainted when a giant bear like creature emerged from the ship and growled in his face. Fortunately Poe was next to come down the ramp. "You look distressed; did something go wrong?", he asked, going beside the giant bear. "This is chewie, by the way", he added, seeing Sonic's heightened bewilderment. "He's an old school rebel, been fighting the good fight since before I was born." Poe shook his head. "You two can be properly introduced later. Right now just tell me what happened."
Sonic gave a brief summary of the events that had occurred at Dozhel's shop, and explained how Rey had asked him to bring the Falcon back with him. "I imagine she also wants you to message Tyr to follow us to their location", he added at the end.
"You better hop in, then", Poe said, walking back to the Falcon.
The conflict in and around Dozhel's shop ceased briefly as both the Rebels and First Order troops were left stunned by Sonic's flash-bang exit. The stormtroopers Sonic passed shot or grabbed at where they thought he was, and variously caught air. Even Rey and Ji-Yu halted their clash, their minds too busy trying to intepret what they had just witnessed. But through adrenaline and the perilousness of their situation, the shock passed quickly. Soon they were back to fighting. Aware that they were being bottlenecked, the stormtroopers retreated back to use the door frame as cover. Rey and Ji-Yu continued their ferocious melee, plasma sizzling like a shrimp on the barbie each time their weapons collided.
"We're going to be overrun if we don't get out of here soon", Finn yelled as he attempted to keep the throngs of Stormtroopers at bay.
Rey jumped to avoid Ji-Yu's leg as it swung underneath, trying to sweep her over. "I hear you, I'll create an opening and then we can make a break for it. Everybody make sure you're ready." She deflected a few more blows and then took a step back, switching her grip in order to wield her lightsaber one-handed. Rey closed her eyes and made a shoving motion with her free hand, causing Ji-yu to fly off her feet and through the door. "Now!", Rey exclaimed, leading the party to the back exit that Dozhel indicated earlier.
They made their egress while the stormtroopers rushed to aid their superior. Coming out into the scrap yard behind Dozhels shop, the Rebels ran in close formation, poised to return fire when their pursuers caught up. "What happened to Sonic back there? Is he okay?", Mangat asked as they booked it across the snow.
"He'll tell you everything when he brings the Falcon back to us", Rey said. "Probably", she added, herself unsure. A laser beam screeched over their heads. "For now, worry about yourself." The stormtroopers were now in the scrapyard, and following them with the determination of bloodhounds. They fired at the Rebels and the Rebels fired back, but both groups were running, separated by some distance, so no shots met their targets.
All the same, the Rebels pressed further into the shadow of the looming behemoth until they got to one of the elevators that went through the ship, and at the bottom served as entrances. They frantically brushed off the snow that caked the sides and found the panel that housed the exterior console. Rey opened the panel and imputed into the console the codes given to her by Dozhel. They waited with bated breath to see if they would be brought to salvation or condemned by faulty technology and a perfidious used ship dealer. Their answer arrived when the massive ship shuttered to life and the elevator doors before them slipped open.
The dust-filled interior of the Beyblade that they came into would have been a profoundly spooky sight had the lights not been on. The outdated, yet well preserved furniture was festooned with thick cobwebs that would have an arachnophobe looking over their shoulders for the eight legged monsters of nightmares. There were, of course, no spiders crawling around the empty corridors of that ship. In fact, since it was a space faring vessel, there were no breeches in the Beyblade large enough for any insects to penetrate through the hull.
"It's going to take ages to clean this mess", bemoaned Nish as they rushed past the long abandoned halls and to the command center.
"I bet there are some ghosts wandering around that we could enlist to help", Mangat said, trying to lighten the mood. An effort not aided by the wheezes which broke up his sentence.
It was quite a walk to the pilot's cockpit located far in the front of the ship, even if you factor in the couple of moving walkways that had been so thoughtfully installed and which they utilized on the way. Everyone was panting and sweating when they eventually did get there (Nish was the first to run out of energy, but was able to cajole Rey into giving her a piggyback for the rest of the duration). As such, no one was in the mood to deal with the skeleton they found seated in the captain's chair. "See I… huh… told you there were ghosts… oh god", Mangat sputtered while wiping his brow.
"How did they even get here?", Asked Nish from atop Rey's back.
"I don't know, but I'm not going to touch them", she replied, putting Nish back on the ground.
Terho, already realizing where this was going, swiftly put his finger on his nose. "Not me", he said.
"Can't you just force push it off the chair?", said Nish, who was now laying with her back flat on the floor.
"That seems disrespectful, don't you think", Rey asked rhetorically. "Also, get off the ground, it's dirty." Nish begrudgingly obeyed and moved onto a couch in the adjoining room.
"I wouldn't worry about it", Mangat added, beginning to catch his breath again. "I doubt this poor souls wish was to lie here, unmoving until they turned to bones and they longer still."
Rey ran her fingers over her eyebrows. "Fine, but someone else has to move them off the ship", she said, receiving half-hearted 'sures' and 'whatevers' as a reply.
Rey cringed and mumbled "sorry" as she used the force to guided the bones off the seat and into a pitiful pile in the corner. She then used the Falcon's call signal to send Poe a message asking where he was. The reply came back in seconds: "We are coming to you right as we speak. I take it that since you were even able to send this message means that you're okay. Listen, we won't long, so do you think you could open the hangar doors for us? Thanks." It took a bit for Rey to locate the button to open the ship's hangar, by the time she finally did, the Falcon and the captured transport ship (with Mangat's ship attached to it by a thin tether) were just moments behind.
"You can take off whenever you want, we're sitting snug over here", Poe said in his message once they within the hangar. Rey, with some help from Terho, initiated the start-up sequence. Machinery whirred, breathing life into the huge propulsion system that allowed the Beyblade to lurch itself from the ground in which it had long rested. Rey reverently gripped the hyperspace throttle; "time to let it rip", she said, and pulled down hard.
