Not so easy
The ships of the small Resistance cell landed smoothly in the large cave the asteroid was providing for them as the place to be their new hideout.
Dash looked at the readouts and sighed. "Great, there's no breathable atmosphere. We'll need breathing masks for the first days. This doesn't make it easy to work."
Biggs, who was sitting in the copilot's seat, cast a glance at his father and nodded approvingly to the remark. His brother Corran, who was at the navigator's station during the flight, stood up, opened a drawer and retrieved breathing masks tossing them to his elder brother and his father.
"Thank you, son," Dash said before donning the mask. He hated that thing because of the odd smell and the feeling it gives him.
Corran laughed seeing the face his father made before donning the mask and put his own on.
"It could be worse, father," he said with a through the mask changed voice.
Biggs had caught the mask in midair and donned it without any word.
After his sons had attached their breathing masks Dash rose. "Let's go, boys our new home is waiting for us."
Followed by his sons he walked to the hatch, opened it and lowered the ramp. The air was thin with a too small amount of oxygen to keep humans or humanoids alive. In their midst were only a few who wouldn't be forced to rely on breathing masks now. They would need them after the life support system would be installed.
When they walked down the boarding ramp they saw in the dim light of the landed space vessels others just doing the same. Most of them were also wearing breathing masks. Dash smiled when seeing his wife and his eldest leaving the Aquarius. Dash Jr. was carrying a crate and set it down amidst the space ships.
Nomi Darklighter climbed on the crate and waited patiently that all gathered around it before she begun to speak. Since her voice was muffled because of the breathing mask she amplified it with the Force. This way everybody was able to hear what she had to say.
"First I wish to thank all of you who agreed to follow me on this path. I know it will be no easy way and some of us might be not still around to see our victory. But we will be victorious. I believe in us and in the cause we are fighting for. But first thing first; we must make this asteroid habitable. Therefore we brought components for a magcon projector and an atmosphere generator. After we've assembled and installed them most of us can go without breathing masks."
Muffled cheers were heard before Nomi commanded silence with a gesture of her hand.
"I've counted more human and humanoid members than non-human so the atmosphere will be adjusted to their needs. There will be other benefits for our non-human members to compensate the inconvenience."
The non-human Resistance fighters nodded their heads in approving because of this announcement by their leader, who continued to speak.
"It will be not so easy to make this cave a habitable hideout but together we can do it. If we stick together we will reach our goal. And now, let us begin and may the Force be with us."
The Jedi Master jumped off the crate amid the applause of the crowd. She walked over to the Aquarius to unload the components for the magcon projector together with her eldest. Others were unloading energy generators and power cords.
'So this is how it begins,' Nomi thought while assembling the projector at the cave entrance. It would keep the artificial atmosphere inside and the vacuum of space outside. Dash Jr. helped her with the task handing her the tools. He smiled behind his breathing mask how eager his mother was working. She seemed almost happy to him.
"Almost there," she said attaching the last module to the projector and closing the hatch. "Now we need energy." She looked over to her husband who was laying the power cords from a generator toward the magcon projector. He was so concentrated on his work that he didn't see the small bolder and tripped. When he fell the breathing mask went flying since he had attached it only loosely to his face. In the fraction of a second he was clutching at his throat gasping for air. The Jedi Master jumped up and ran to her husband. There she took a deep breath before she attached her own mask to Dash's face. The former mercenary was coughing and unable to breath. Nomi waved their eldest over speaking to him in the Force while holding her breath to not inhale the toxic air. 'Help your father.'
Dash Jr. rushed to his parents and took his father in his arms to support him with the Force. The elder Rendar was finally able to breathe evenly and his son secured the breathing mask firmly. Meanwhile Nomi was still holding her breath, drawing at the Force while reaching for the breathing mask which was drifting toward the cave entrance. In the blink of an eye the mask flew in her outstretched hand and Nomi attached it to her face, taking a deep breath.
She turned her attention to the two men who were sitting on the uneven ground of the cave.
"Everything alright?" She asked, now able to speak again.
Her son nodded his head still holding his father. Dash Sr. felt embarrassed and freed himself from his sons embrace. "Thank you, Junior," he said and rose slowly.
Nomi looked worried at her husband. "Are you sure, darling? Maybe you should see the medic. As long as we haven't installed the atmosphere generator the mix of gases here is toxic. You've got a lot of it in your lungs."
Her husband put her off. "I'm fine, sweeth…" But he was unable to end the sentence since he fell into a fit of coughing.
"Yeah, I see how fine you are. How can someone be this stubborn? Bring your father in the Outrider and I'll send the medic to him." She pulled out her comlink and asked the medic to examine Dash. Then she went back to the magcon projector resuming her work while Dash Jr. brought his father to the YT-2400.
Nomi sighed since she was right with what she has said in her speech; it would not be so easy to establish their hideout in this asteroid.