Chapter 3 - Sabre Squad

The speeder gently eased out of town as Mal moved it between traffic along the costal road. The breeze coming in from the ocean was gentle and warm, the planets second sun now adding a soft heat and a light blue haze. The whole place was very serene.

We headed down the main highway which was now pretty much deserted, the bustle of Corneum fading behind us. "So thats how its gonna be?" Asked Mal, still amused.

"How whats gonna be?" I asked, more in conversation than question.

"You're gonna dick around on missions?" He moved through the gears. "Don't get me wrong, you'll fit right in with the crew, but it can be a little alarming at times."

"So where are we headed?" I asked, noticing we were headed into the foothills of the mountains that were visible in the distance from the cafe.

"Basecamp, my man. Ceaz owns a farm up in the hills, and thats where we hang out when we aren't out on missions, but don't stress, I'll introduce you to the crew when we get there." He slowed as the road became narrow. "So we have a job to do here on Corasco. Not sure if you know but its the best source of Trailum in the galaxy, as well as being a bit of a vacation spot."

I nodded. "Yeah, I read that on the transport. The part about tourism anyway. It mentioned natural ore but didn't go into much detail."

"Well that ore is Tralium. Any idea what that is?"

"Sure, they use it for aiming equipment. Mainly blaster sights. Its the most accurate material available for sighting."

"How in the hell did you know that?" He asked, the same grin from the cafe playing across his face.

"I spent a few years out on Corellia designing different parts of ships and weapons tech. It was one of the things they showed us. They even use it for computer sighting in the smaller ships like Tie fighters."

"I actually didn't know that. Thought it was just blasters and rifles."

I nodded. "Yeah it helps the computers calibrate the sights or something. I never got into it too much, I was more interested in the engines."

"Well that should come in handy anyway, TT-19 isn't the best Astromech." He pulled the speeded into a farmyard and stopped in front of a large barn. Off to the side I could see a ship partly hidden by the trees. It was a Nubian M-27, light freighter. Small but fast, great for moving small shipments quickly. It looked like it had been modified a little. It was sleek, shaped like a seed pod with a tail fin. Many years ago it would have been shiny and silver but now it was covered in rust and grime, motifs spray painted on it suggested it had been parked in some less reputable areas.

We walked up to the ship and he waved a hand. "The Piccalo." He declared proudly. "I won her on Naboo from some guy. He let her go to waste hence the image but she's got a lot inside. Got me through some, um, interesting times." He ran a hand along the fuselage. Ok, this was obviously his pride and joy. He stopped and paused a moment then turned towards the farmhouse. "Let's meet the crew shall we?"

We turned and walked towards the small broken down looking house, Mal gesturing around us. "So this is a Forstus farm. Its a small fruit, they use it in that drink you had earlier." I looked around, the second sun now following the first behind the horizon casting the area in a musky orange glow made it hard to see clearly, but close up I could see the small teardrop shaped purple fruit hanging from the vines. "Don't eat them raw though." He continued. "That shit'll send you wild for sure. Some kind of hallucinogen that boils out when they get fermented. That trip is no fun man, take it from me."

I nodded and followed him through the door. Inside was dimly lit by small electric lights. We passed into a room with some chairs and a table, and plenty of screens and computers. Two man were sat in there at the table studying some papers. A beat up looking astromech sat beside them. All three turned to look. Mal spoke first. "Ceaz, Vray, TT-19, meet the newest member of Sabre squad, Boas Hunter. Grab a seat." He motioned for me to sit, and pulled up a chair of his own. The others watched me closely as I set my bag on the floor and pulled up a seat at the table, which was covered in papers and sabacc cards.

"Where ya from, guy?" Asked Ceaz as he handed me a glass of purple liquid. It smelled similar to the stuff in the cafe but this was lightly pulsing with a phosphorus glow. His skin was a light purple hue and he had big, bright eyes that seemed to take in everything.

"Renifro." I replied taking a sip of the drink, a sparkle touched my tongue and started to light my brain. "But I guess you could say my last real home was Corellia."

"Ship builder huh?" Asked Vray, thin and lean with black hair and eyes, the kind of eyes that could pull your attention. I nodded. "What discipline?" He asked.

"Propulsion and weapons tech. More propulsion though, I never got too deep into the weapons."

"Shame, we could use some good weapons." Vray said through a wide smile. He was watching my every move.

"Propulsion should come in handy though," chipped in Ceaz. "The Piccalo's been handling like crap lately and TT can't seem to find the problem."

The Astromech droid was basically a red trash can on legs with a ball like top that rotated when he moved. He whistled and beeped defensively. Mal raised a hand. "Guys, play nice huh?" He nodded towards Ceaz. "This farm is the family home of Ceaz, makes a great place to lay low when we have to. And sorry for these guys, they suck at meeting people." He grinned to himself as the others bustled. Ceaz leaned across the table offering me his hand.

"Ceaz Fagreisa, Pilot. Welcome to my home. Make yourself comfortable."

"Vray San Telesdco." Vray snorted without moving. "I guess you could call me the confidence man of the group. I do most of the talking when required." That seemed very plausible. Despite his inward demeanour towards me and his lethargic appearance, his eyes had a certain pull that could probably convince you to do anything. "Hey Mal, where's Syd? She should be here for this, surely?"

Mal shook his head. "She's on Yeusnum on a solo mission. Probably be back tomorrow." He poured another shot and turned to me. "So you wanted to know about our operation?" He asked, scooping up the cards and shuffling the deck. "First thing you need to know is this. We try not to kill here. It's a nice gig, quiet and the last thing we want to do is bring the Empire down on us." The other two murmured in agreement as they looked at their cards. "Like I told you before, the main export from this rock is Trailum."

"This 'rock' is my home, y'know!" Bristled Ceaz. "And nobody really started pulling out the Tralium until the Empire found it. Good job the ore grows back naturally."

"So do they refine the ore here or transport it off world?" I asked, trying to get my head around the operation here. It all seemed so casual.

"They refine it here." Said Mal, switching out some cards. "Just over the mountains in a town called Sacara. Then they move the refined Tralium to Corneum where it gets picked up on an imperial shuttle."

"Thats where it's most vulnerable." Said Vray as he placed his hand of cards face down on the table and took a deep pull of his drink. Night had taken over completely and the entire room was cast in the deep orange glow of the lights set into the wall. "Best place to steal it or blow it up."

"So we just disrupt the production line?" I asked, starting to bounce a few ideas around myself.

Mal took up the narrative as he lay out a winning hand and dealt again. I was glad we weren't playing for money. "As much as we can, yes. As you know, this stuff is very important in terms of weapons production. This is the only place it can be easily mined, so to disrupt the supply line here hurts the empire very much."

"There's only a small military presence though." Said Ceaz. "Which is why we can only work small scale. If we went after the mines or the refinery they would bring a bunch of guys here." He lay a plate of fruits on the table and took one for himself. "The officers here are pretty low on the ladder."

I chuckled, thinking of Lt Yar. "Ok, how about if I told you there could be a way to interrupt their supply, take the Trailum for ourselves and keep doing it large scale?" I asked. Now they were interested.

"Nice way to get our attention." Said Vray, leaning back in his seat.

"We're all ears." Said Mal eagerly. He had now totally forgotten the cards in his hand.

I thought for a moment. "Have you got any refined Trailum?" I asked. They shook their heads. "Ok, well thats easy to arrange I guess." Confusion on their faces, but also intrigue. "So I was thinking we could synthesise the stuff. Use it to replace whatever we can steal. That way we get the real stuff and the Imps end up with inferior product."

Mal laughed with Vray and Ceaz sat back in shock, saying "How in the hell have we not thought of that?"

"Well its a great idea." Said Mal, "But how in the hell are we going to synth the material?" Now the mood fell just a little.

"We build a synth press." I said. "I know how to build one, but we would need to get our hands on the parts to build it."

"So what do we need?" Asked Mal, standing and draining his glass.

"I can draw up a list. I know where to get some of the stuff but not all of it." I got to my feet and picked up my bag, sensing that the evening was coming to a close.

"Ok, well follow Ceaz, he'll show you your quarters. Its a damn sight more comfortable here than on the Piccalo, so enjoy it." He turned and walked out the room leaving me with Ceaz who was standing by my side, and Vray who was making himself comfortable, still in his seat.

"Follow me." Said Ceaz as he started down the hall. There were several rooms, and he opened a door and motioned me inside. It was basic, bed, desk, window. Nothing more needed. "It aint much, but the bed is soft." He lingered.

"Thanks Ceaz, this is perfect." I said, throwing my bag on the bed and opening it up. "And thanks for welcoming me into your home. It's a beautiful planet."

"We're a tight little family, and I'm sure you'll fit in." He said, watching with interest as I took things out of my bag. Flight suit, uniform, armour, blaster. He was very interested in the final item, a wooden box, rectangular with carvings on it. "Whats that?" He asked.

"Thats nothing." I said, dropping it on the ground and pushing it under the bed. "Nothing helpful anyway. I'll work on the equipment list and we can look it over tomorrow?" I asked, implying it was time for him to leave. He took the hint.

"Sleep well, Hunter, and welcome to Sabre Squad." He said, and he closed the door as he left.

I took out a notepad and pen, laying it on the desk. Then I placed my helmet beside it. The helmet was one I found a while ago. A clone trooper pilot helmet. The box, I took from under the bed and put it on the desk. It was speaking to me again, whispering low and warm. The feelings I began to take in were hopeful. This group wasn't a major part of the rebellion, and it knew it, but it was at least doing something. Now I had provided hope that we could do more.

I settled onto the bed and closed my eyes, hoping it wouldn't start. But it did. Of course it did.