"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing?!" the man yelled from the spaceport check in desk as he ran over.
"Argh!" Chewbacca grabbed the man, shaking him violently.
"Chewbacca! Stop that at once," Threepio insisted. He had seen the wookie lose his temper on multiple occasions, but this was hardly the place or time to do so, especially if the man in his grip could help them navigate back to the core of the galaxy.
"Get off me you big hairy oaf!" The man pulled away and reached for his blaster. He froze at the sight of Wyb. "Wyb?"
"Civa? Civa Margar?" Wyb gasped at the sight of the missing Unit-56 member. He was glad to see a familiar face.
"What the hell you doing out here?" Civa asked, still standing tensely eyeing the wookie for any sudden movements.
"You know him?" Soni asked, confused.
"Thank goodness. A contact," Threepio exclaimed and raised his arms up gratefully. "Now we can make arrangements with Senator Organa and go home."
"Threepio, we can't turn around now. What about Sashee and R3? What about the assignment," Soni protested.
"Argh," Chewbacca roared in annoyance, reminding the droid about the falcon causing Civa to instinctually reach for his blaster.
"Don't! He's just upset about his ship," Wyb explained, raising his hands to calm Civa. Civa raised an eyebrow and relaxed.
"Can't blame me for being defensive. I've seen wookies tear the limbs clean off people just for looking at them funny," he said, taking a few steps back just in case. "Now, answer my question. What are you doing here?"
"We're on a scouting mission commissioned by Senator Organ–" Threepio began to explain but was silenced as Civa interjected.
"Wait, does this have anything to do with that info Rol pulled from that Star Destroyer?" Civa asked suspiciously. Wyb sighed and nodded in confirmation. "Psst, Tersu…she'll stop at nothing to play deliverer. Can't believe she'd send her own kid."
"Excuse me Civa Margar, but as I was saying, this mission is entirely directed by the Senator Organa of Alderaan," Threepio redirected the conversation back to himself. He had every intention of getting his crew back to the core with or without the information they needed.
"Alderaan is gone Goldie," Civa snarked. "Along with some of its best people…"
Civa looked down thinking of Rol. Rol was an Alderaanian. Brave, reliable, a wiz with mechanics, and the reason Unit 56 defected from the Empire once 'the Disaster' had happened. Losing his homeworld, Rol had begun to question the Empire's motives. It no longer sat right with him, what was being done in the name of peace. He began planning his defection while aboard the first Death Star. He had never thought the rest of his unit would follow him in solidarity.
But that was Unit 56; a family. Months afterwards they would make their way through the imperial outposts destroying armories limiting the amount of destruction during the war. They weren't rebels. They were renegades. Those were dark times. Dark times Civa would give anything to return to for one more day of camaraderie with his old friend.
"Civa, we need your help," Wyb admitted.
"Not a chance," Civa said and turned walking to his desk and checking his dashboard. "I'm calling for a transport to get you back to the rim."
"We have the coordinates. It's not far from here," Wyb pleaded as he followed the ex-imperial trooper. "We just need to gather evidence to send to the new republic to issue a fully funded extraction."
"What do you think I am? A Pathfinder?" Civa scoffed.
"You were the navigator in Unit 56," Wyb reminded him. "Please, we have to try, for Rol. He died getting this information. I think he would want us to do something about it."
"That's your mother talking," Civa retired then looked up at the other crew members. He sighed knowing he was about to regret the words that were going to come out of his mouth. "Look, only way you're gonna make it out here in the Unknown Regions without that third or second sight those wizards talk about is by doing a jump by jump path. With that you have to be 100% accurate with your calculation by hand. No nav computers, nothing. Your own skills and intuition. It's not easy and definitely not cheap."
"Civa…you're our only hope," Wyb said. Civa looked the young pilot up and down. He remembered when he was that young and naive. He was a fair pilot but navigation was his forte. He thought the Empire would take him clear across the galaxy from adventure to adventure. It was the biggest disappointment to him finding out it was nothing but an authoritarian regime. Something he wasn't still quite over.
"Yeah yeah save it." Civa dismissed him. "You all follow me. If my partner agrees then we'll agree on a price."
"Oh great, there's two of them," Soni groaned and Chewbacca echoed.
"Besa's here too?" Wyb guessed.
"Of course, you think she'd ever leave my side?" Civa winked and led the crew into the office of the landing station.
"Now, I can see why you never wanted to talk about your family," Soni said. "It's complicated."
"A star weird, those are nasty creatures," Besa said solemnly.
"Ever encounter one yourselves?" Wyb asked hopefully then fell silent as he saw Civa and Besa shake their heads. Sashee had the odds stacked against her. What if she didn't make it? What would he tell Lenore? What about R3? Prisa would be crushed.
"I'm afraid the odds of surviving a star weird are approximately 3,720 to 1," Threepio added. Soni shot him a disapproving look.
"Argh," Chewie protested knowing the droid's facts were unwelcomed in the moment.
"I could be wrong," Threepio recanted as best he could even though he knew the data he had was correct.
"Sashee is a Jedi. Hopefully she is as good with the force as she says she is." Wyb sighed as Soni comfortingly placed her hand on his forearm. He smiled knowing that although he was worried, Sashee would want him to carry on as originally planned.
"Who pulled these coordinates?" Besa said as she studied the data pad in front of her.
"I did," Soni said. "The information was given to Leia Organa who then asked for my expertise in plotting the course."
"You're expertise," Civa chuckled in disbelief as he made a few adjustments to the path.
"I had the top marks in navigation in the Academy on Coruscant," Soni retorted.
"This is the Unknown Region, top marks and core navigational technology are no match for what lurks in the chaos out here," Besa explained. "But if the time stamp is up to date on this, they're most likely in the 'pitch'."
"The pitch?" Wyb was puzzled by the term.
"Playing field where the remnants of the imperial star fleet seems to be gathering. Few months ago we did a delivery to one of the chapters in the Navigator's Guild when they were ambushed by an assortment of imperials," Civa admitted. "It definitely took a hit on our pocketbook. But since then, we've been monitoring the ships that come and go.
"And?" Soni asked. "What do you think they're doing?"
"How should I know?!" Civa snapped.
"Take a guess," Soni shot back.
"I dunno. Not much they're doing really. Almost like they're waiting on something."
"Or someone," Wyb suggested. "There has been an uptick in grand moffs making a grab at power."
"Moffs," Besa laughed. "Definitely above our pay grade."
"What were you delivering?" Soni pressed, unsure of the ex-imperials intentions.
"Rwar!" Chewbacca echoed.
"Supplies," Civa grunted.
"What kind of supplies? Weapons? Spice?" Soni asked sharply.
"Soni," Wyb interjected with a weary tone.
"Wyb! How do we know we can trust them? They were imperials after all," she replied.
"Look here missy, you want to interrogate us, arrest us first. But seeming how you're the ones that need our help, I warn you to lay off the details," Civa sat back in his chair, annoyed. Soni rolled her eyes and folded her arms. The trooper had a point.
"We do what we can to make our way," Besa explained. "It hasn't been easy since leaving the farm."
"Then come home," Wyb said. "Lenore would have you back in a heartbeat."
Civa stood up angrily and paced out of the office for a smoke.
"I'm afraid that's not really in the cards for us," Besa said, keeping a watchful eye on her partner.
"Rol's death wasn't her fault," Wyb defended his mother.
"Wyb," Besa said as motherly as she could muster, "You're a soldier. One day you'll know what Civa is going through, what we all are going through. Grief is strange…sometimes it's easier to put the blame on someone who can take it. Lenore can. And I have my duty to keep an eye on Civa while he works through it."
"Well, are we going to do this or what?" Civa returned calmer.
"You'll help us?" Soni asked surprised.
"For the right price. You said you work for a Senator," Civa said.
"Senator Leia Organa," Threeprio said.
Civa wasn't after credits. He knew Besa and he could always find work. He wanted his freedom back. Freedom to roam from one edge of the galaxy to the other. The chance to make the ceremonial tribute back to where Alderaan once was for Rol without fear of being thrown in a prison or labor camp.
"You get this senator to lift the home arrest sentence and expunge our records, and we'll call it even," Civa said.
"I don't think she has the power–" Soni began.
"We'll see that she does," Civa growled. "If I'm going to navigate through the Unknown Regions to spy on the Empire and dodge all the anomalies lurking out there I want the reward to match the order."
"Threepio," Wyb turned to the droid. "What do you think?"
"I believe we can meet the necessary requirements."
"Coming out of hyperspace," Wyb alerted the crew that now included Besa and Civa. Threepio and Soni were not thrilled about the two additions, but Wyb knew it was their best shot at completing their mission. He leveled off the YT-2400 Corellian light freighter Civa and Besa had scored before leaving the Outer Rim. Similar to the falcon, it was equipped with two double laser turrets, concussion missile launchers, and a class 2 hyperdrive. Wyb liked how it flew.
"Keep your distance. With these coordinates we'll be right on the edge of the pitch," Besa warned as she steadied herself at the end of the ship ready to deploy a reconnaissance drone to collect data for the mission.
"You think he'll keep his word?" Civa whispered next to his partner with worry in his eyes. He had become more anxious and distrusting over the years, but never with Besa.
"He's a Tersu," Besa reminded him. "He'll do everything he can to make sure it's honored. But from my take, it's the wookie and the droid we'd ought to be worried about."
" Wyb," Soni said leaning over his chair, "Are you sure we can trust those imperials?"
"Ex-imperials," Wyb corrected. "Yes, they're my family."
"Argh rwar argh," Chewie echoed Soni's concern. Wyb wasn't completely up on his Shyriiwook, that was Sashee's speciality.
Sashee…
Wyb wondered if she was alive. He closed his eyes tightly trying to vanish the last image of her straining to withhold the star weird at bay long enough for them to escape. It was heroic, honorable, and most of all what the family did. They protected one another. He turned to face his crew's doubtful faces.
"We can't lose hope. I know Besa and Civa have checkered pasts, but who doesn't nowadays," He said as encouraging as he could, trying to mimic Lenore. He had grown up watching her convince others in the Forgotten what needed to be done while easing their doubts. It was an art form and she was a master at it.
"I hate to admit it, but Ranger Tersu is right," Threepio agreed. "The sooner we work together the sooner we can head back to the capital and leave this forsaken place."
"There," Soni pointed out toward the assortment of imperial ships. "My god, it's as though they don't know the war is over."
"It isn't for them," Civa replied over the intercom.
"Deploying the drones," Besa alerted and released the devices into space and navigated them toward the ships.
"How long do you think this will take?" Soni asked anxiously. The sight of the imperials was making her uneasy.
"If we're lucky, a few minutes. Keep your distance but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance," Besa instructed. She maneuvered the drone close to the tie fighters and one lone star destroyer. "If anything you can send a log back to the New Republic of what ships you found still in active duty. I'll start collecting the serial and registration numbers."
Besa pushed a few buttons on her remote and began to scan the side of the ships. Luckily for her the Empire had always been a stickler for serial numbers and data organization. This could help the republic cross reference it to their data bank while also providing evidence that her and Civa were worthy applicants for their amnesty program.
"Roar!" Chewie altered as he saw the ships begin to move out in formation and jump to lightspeed.
"Where are they going?" Soni questioned.
"Probably to the next meetup," Civa replied. "They do this a lot."
"I'm not going to ask how you know that," Soni sassed.
"Good," Civa replied sarcastically. " You're catching on."
"Wait, look," Wyb turned the ship to see a mid size correctional transport emerge into view as the tie fighters disembarked. "There. That's it. That's where they are."
"How do you know?" Soni asked.
"I have a feeling about it," Wyb slightly smiled knowing Sashee would have said the same thing. But Wyb was not at all attune to the force, but every fiber of his being told him that was where the stolen children were.
"Image captured," Besa confirmed. "Ready to move out?"
"No,"Wyb said.
This was their chance. By the time they got the information to the New Republic it would be too late. He could do it. He knew it in his gut. After all, he was a child of the forgotten and had seen Lenore and Lord extract people from slaver freighters for years. It was now or never. He swerved the light freighter toward the transport.
"Wyb!" Soni yelled startled.
"What are you doing?!" Civa echoed.
"I told you to keep your distance!" Besa shrieked
"Roar," Chewie joined the protest.
"This is our only chance," Wyb said. "The fleet is leaving, we can sneak aboard and pull–"
"Ranger Tersu, we were advised to only collect information. What you're suggesting is suicide." Threepio reminded him as he tried his best to keep his balance in his passenger seat.
"Come now Threepio," Wyb chuckled. "You ought to take the lead on this. After all, you and Chewbacca are the only rebels aboard."
"Rwwar!" Chewbacca agreed.
"Right," Threepio remarked and then brought up a schematic of the transport's make and model. "Well if you somehow latch on to the north side of the ship we may be able to board through the waste management dock. The detention block is only one level below."
"Right away Captain," Wyb teased and ducked underneath the transport to make a u-turn.
"Are you crazy?" Civa asked. "I'm not getting aboard another imperial ship."
"I don't need you to. Stay with the ship. Soni, Chewie, and I will make the plunge," Wyb said, readying his weapons and checking his vambrace. "Keep the ship ready, this is going to be quick."
"Wyb," Besa said with worry in her voice. But she knew as they latched on to the transport there was no talking him out of his plans. He was too much like his mother. "May the force be with you."
"Ready?" Wyb asked Soni and Chewbacca.
"Let's go Ranger Tersu," Soni replied bravely and followed Chewie and Wyb aboard the transport.