Prologue
Small Wonder
The lights of welding sparks illuminated the hold of a ship, a ship ready to take a child on a extraordinary journey. Power had been off the entire time the reconstruction had been going on, but it was almost over. Soon, it will be ready to fly.
As for the child, she had been moving in all her things from her little hovel outside. Ever since she was orphaned during a crash landing years ago, she had struggled to find a way off the rock they hit. She had been stuck here since childhood, with nothing but droids in an abandoned Imperial Mining Facility to keep her company. The long years had turned her dirty-blonde hair black with yellow spots in between.
"Today is the day, i can feel it." She kept saying to herself, as she had over and over. And she can; she can feel it. Today is the day she will finally leave and go out to find the rest of her family after losing her parents and her brother.
"I can feel you, Cindel." a RA-7 Protocol Droid called P-A16, or Patrick, commented as he watched her put the finishing touches on a console near the bridge. Her brother had programmed Patrick to be more... human then most RA-7's, more sarcastic and childlike. It was annoying at first, but as Patrick is the only real family she has left, changing it would be like killing a 4th member. "Though i don't know what it is i'm supposed to be feeling."
"That feeling that we are finally going to get off this rock." Cindel responded as she clicked in the last touch, lighting up the console. With a smirk, she took out her tools and closed it up.
"While i agree with the sentiment, you have said it before, and we've never gotten off the ground that day either."
"That's because it had no fuel." She tossed her toolbelt over to him, which he caught. "Now we do." She tapped his head with her hydrospanner before she walked on down the corridor, passing by a black-colored T3-Series Utility Droid as it rolled to Patrick. "Just as Fritz; he's the one who spotted that problem."
Fritz, the T3 Droid, did a little dance as its movement and viewing options were limited thanks to its outdated design. "I wasn't discouraging her." Patrick responded. "I was merely being a realist."
Passing through to the engine room, Cindel looked at the large amount of droids hard at work getting the ship ready. A lot of them were repurposed Imperial droids: R2 Units, R3 Units, Gonks, Mice, a couple of Dum-Series Pit Droids, and even Probe Droids; with all those arms, it's amazing Probes Droids aren't used for repairs more often. As she had no way to wipe their memory banks, and didn't really want to, all the droids on the ship had developed personality's of their own. While they weren't in the engine room, there were a couple other droids, such as a medical droid in the med bay, and a couple of pilots that will be met shortly. And as with all Imperial-used Droids, they are all painted black, though the paint was fading away, revealing their original colors. Except the Probes; they just have primer underneath.
As she passed to head to the hallway that led to the bridge, Cindel looked back and saw one of the Probe Droids shaking as it lifted up a duviel wrench to tighten one last sprocket. "Hey, Shake!" The Probe Droid 'jumped', losing the grip on its wrench, which landed on top of a R3 unit's head. "I know you mean well, but todays the day we don't want to take chances. Even a loose bolt can sink ships." A Pit Droid jumped on top of the R3's head and grabbed the wrench to finish the job. Shake 'lowered it's head' and 'sighed' in disappointment; it's not his fault he shakes all the time... well, it is, but that's because of a body error: bad repair job.
Briefly swinging by her room to throw her dirty coat into- she'll wash it later- Cindel strode on into the main cockpit of the 38-meter long vessel. Sitting in both pilot seats were two Pilot Droids: one was a RX-Series Pilot Droid she called Rexx cause RX is just one letter away and she was 5 at the time. The other was a V6 Pilot Droid; think R2 Astromech's, but with a triangular head. Other then that, same chassis. Rexx handles the flying while the V6 handled the finer details, such as shield strength. There were 5 other seats- one for the captain and the other 4 for the turret operators- those are where the two DUM's, Patrick, and Fritz come into place.
"How we looking, Rexx?" She asked as she walked into the cockpit as the pilot fidgeted with the controls.
"Systems are looking green. Everything seems to be functionating optimally, but..." Rexx's voicebox trailed off, almost as if he was thinking.
"But?"
"I'm just worried, is all." With a press of a button, he brought up the hologram of the ship they were in: The YE-4 Imperial Gunship. The best way to describe it is if the Sentinel and the Lambda-class shuttles had a baby, stretched it out to 38 meters long, and packed on enough turrets to give a seasoned squadron pause. The biggest change, other then the length, are the wings; there were only two, one above and one below the engines, and as they don't fold, landing is impossible.. yet this one is on the ground. "All YE-4 Gunships have two stabilizer fins for a reason, but with our ventral fin gone, i worry how it will affect our flight patterns and maneuverability."
"We'll be fine." She said with confidence, a confidence not shared among the flight crew. "We just need to get to the nearest inhabited system. It's not like the wings affect hyperspace travel, right Sink?" She asked the V6. Technically, yes, it can affect hyperspace if they snap off during flight. Rexx isn't sure how hyperspace will affect a ship going IN with a missing wing. "Speaking of which, what's the closest system?"
Sink pulled up a map of the local sector, with all of the inhabited systems highlighter. The system they were in was green with a ring while all the rest were yellow. "We are in the Droxu system; more precisely, on a ringed moon in orbit around a dead planet. The closest system is Nar Haaska, a shadowport located-"
"In Hutt Space..." She finished for him. "Crap..." She looked down at herself. If she was still a child, going to Hutt Space wouldn't be a problem; best she would be is child labor. But now... with how finely sculpted and shapely she is now after a full decade of living on this moon and doing everything by herself, she'll become a Hutt's plaything. She looked into the crew quarters, towards the empty imperial suits that remained. "All chance those would fit a 16 year old?"
"Wouldn't bet on it." Rexx replied, which made her lower her head in worry. The Pilot extended out its arm and patted her on the shoulder. "There there. None of us would ever let a Hutt take you." That made her smile a bit.
Before take-off, Cindel had gathered every Droid outside and gathered them outside the hanger, as they looked out towards the vast wide emptiness there was. Thanks to Imperial overmining, most of the moon was barren, save for a few small patches of greenery every so often. This was their home for the past 10 years. They built a life here, but... living by yourself with nothing but droids for company is not the kind of life for a young woman. Even the saltiest of droids would know that. And she knew it too. As peaceful as this moon has been, she longs to return to the galaxy, to see what had changed. Besides, as fun as this place was, there is one memory of this place she would like to forget.
She took a deep breath, sucking in the air of her home for the last decade one last time. A part of her will miss this rock. She exhaled, "Take it in one last time, boys... we won't be seeing it again." She knew droids couldn't feel true feelings like sentients can, but... the last decade has proven to her that while it's different feelings droids obtain, it's still feelings. It may not be nostalgia like she feels, but they feel something.
Turning to her left, she knelt down at a trio of grave markers. She kissed her fingers, then put the fingers to the top of the middle one. "I'm gonna miss you guys..." She softly said.
After a moment of silence, she stood back up, and she and the droids headed back to the ship. She looked up at the mountain the abandoned imperial base was built into and saw many nasty creatures lined at the top; oversized millipedes that can spit a nasty corrosive acid. They are also very smart beasts; they won't be performing quantum physics or building ships for a few thousand years, but they are smart enough to know intentions. She has had many run-ins with these corrosive-pedes before, especially one in particular that she marked up with some good laser blasts. "But i won't miss you guys. Especially you, Mark."
The scarred alpha corrosive-pede just watched on. On any other day, he would attack... but this was not another day. He and the rest of the corrosive-pedes could feel it; she was leaving. The two stared each other down one last time, likely acknowledging the other as their eternal rival and equals, before she eventually headed back in.
"Estimated time to Nar Haasha is 3 days." Rexx said as Sink punched the coordinates into the navi-computer.
"Ah, that doesn't sound too bad." Cindel said as she sat in the captains seat. She leaned back on it, putting her hands on her stomach. "What about everything else? Did we pack up everything we need?"
"We loaded up as much food and spare parts as we could manage." Patrick said. "And every droid is present and accounted for."
"Good. I'd feel guilty if we left someone behind." She lowered her hand and stood up straight. "Well... let's not keep delaying any longer. Rexx... take us up." The Pilot Droid nodded and took over the controls. For the first time in years, the repulser lifts kicked in, lifting the ship off the ground. "Let's see what's changed in the last ten years."
For the first time in maker knows how long, the YE-4 Imperial Gunship, designation Tempest 18, took to the stars. The corrosive-pedes watched as the ship took off into the vast sea of stars above them. Rising up, Mark let loose a roar; whether it was a roar of victory over finally getting rid of a dang nuisance to their hive, or a cry of sorrow that his equal was gone, nobody knows for sure.
One thing WAS certain, though:
Cindel's life was about to change forever, for she had rejoined the galaxy as the most inopportune time, for war was on the horizon, between the Empire and a fledgling group still in its infancy known as the Rebel Alliance.
Star Wars
Children of War
Out in the fringes of deep space, in orbit around a red planet, a Revenge-Class Heavy Carrier Star Destroyer and its Raider escorts hovered above, waiting for word from their forces that that had cleared out a Rebel cell.
As the captain looked out the viewport of the bridge, one of the technicians approached him from behind and saluted. "Sir, we've picked up a signal."
"Probably someone trying to send out a distress signal..." The captain sighed out of boredom, taking a sip of his freshly brewed drink.
"No, sir, it's not from the planet. It's from the Droxu system. It's Tempest 18."
The captain stopped drinking and slowly lowered his cup. "Tempest 18? But nobody's heard from the Gunship in over 10 years..."
"Why is that?"
"Cause the wildlife overwhelmed our defenses. If people think the Killik's are bad, they haven't seen those millipedes..." He stopped and pondered for a moment. "... What's the location of the ship now?"
"Based off the transponder and its speed, it just left the system and should arrive at Nar Haasha within a few days."
Well, that settles that then: they can't go into Hutt Space as they are now. If they do, it would be seen as an act of aggression. They'd need to get permission first before they could even think about crossing the border. While most in the Empire would love to put those slugs in their place, their powerbase is too cemented, too powerful, and too widespread. Their fleets can rival even the Empire. "Nar Haasha... that's Hutt Space... we can't cross the border without express permission, and even then, i'd doubt they'd allow a whole fleet." He tapped his fingers, wondering what the solution would be. "... send one of the Raiders; i don't think they'd have a problem with a corvette. Tell the captain of the Raider that a old ship of ours has been found and we'd like to retrieve it."
"Yes sir, but... sir, why would Tempest 18 wait 10 years to come back?"
"I don't know. It may not even be the squad, but some scavenger who found the ship. Either way, it's our property and we must retrieve it." The technician saluted, then went away to inform a Raider of their mission, all the while the captain continued to look out the bridge.
"Tempest 18... what did the Emperor send you all the way out to Droxu for...? What was so important that he had to send his special forces...?" A question that will be answered, just not today.