A Smuggler's Tail

From TFC Galactopedia

"Shut down your engines, lower your shields and prepare to take on boarders. Repeat, Shut-."

Rillista cut the transmission as she reached for the gauge that wound increase power to her failing shields, "Over my dead body," She muttered before keying the intercom to talk to her passengers, or rather her highly illegal cargo. "Sit tight, trouble just found us."

Jedi might be worth their weight in Imperial credits, but this smuggler had no intention of handing her cargo over to Stormtroopers. There was almost no chance of being paid that way anyway. Besides, what morals she had would not allow her to dump anyone on the Imperials, even to save her own hide. Grimacing at the strain she was putting on her engines, Rillista patted the control board lovingly, "Just this once, baby," She whispered before her reverie was interrupted.

"I thought you said this was going to be safe!" Came a highly irate reply from a young sounding voice, which Rillista identified as belonging to Coris, tone of the more junior of her passengers.

"I said no such thing, kid," She retorted. "Now sit down, shut up and maybe we'll come out of this alive." As she turned her attention back to her boards, she heard similar advice murmured to the young upstart by the other passengers. "By the way, any of you know how to handle a quad-turret?" she asked hopefully.

"I've done gunner duty once or twice," Came an oldster's voice. His words were underscored by several more blasts from the pursuing ship.

"Fine," Rillista said with an urgent note in her tone, "Just get up there and start blasting at them!" Within minutes her ship's oversized gunnery turret was answering the larger ship's weaponry bolt for bolt. She had no time to dwell on that fact. Her ship was fast approaching the planet's asteroid belt and if she wasn't careful, the Imperials wouldn't have to try to blast her at all, the giant, gnashing rocks would do the job for them. As the jagged, nickel-iron profiles grew to fill the viewscreen, Rillista felt her heart sink to meet her stomach. If she made it out of this one alive, she was going to get out of this business and settle herself on some nice, quiet backwater planet. "Sithspawn!" She hissed, banking her ship suddenly starboard to avoid an asteroid on an unexpected trajectory. "I could use a good copilot right now," She muttered to herself.

"Could I help?" The voice came from behind her, from the crew access hatch. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed the intruder as yet another of the passengers. This one was a Lemorian female like herself, but with white fur and a long, braided black mane. She wore the same rough brown robes the rest of the passengers were clothed in and the trademark cylindrical weapon hung at her waist. Rillista remembered this particular female had been closely shadowed by a red and white furred male when they were boarding and had been clutching a small, mewling bundle to her breast. A young mother, then, Rillista thought with a sigh. But a pretty brave one if she'll leave her kit with her mate and offer to fight.

"I don't see how you can," Rillista began doubtfully, jinking the ship from side to side in hopes of avoiding the worst asteroids, "Unless you know how to copilot."

To her surprise, the female settled herself in the copilot's chair and began to dart her fingers over the control boards with lightening speed. The Jedi just grinned, "I flew some small craft at the Academy on Coruscant before I came here," She admitted at Rillista's questioning look. "Call me Zannah."

Rillista's mouth quirked up in a half smile, "Rillista Candron, I'm not to big on the nick name thing, but you can call me Rill if my name's too much of a mouthful."

"Pleased to meet you, Rill," the other Lemorian said with a quick smile. At once their brief respite was over as the asteroids grew thicker around the tiny smuggler ship. Rillista noticed with some satisfaction that the larger craft was no longer concentrating fire on them. They had the new problem of trying to penetrate the asteroid field with their bulkier, less maneuverable ship. While Rillista's ship could slip between the asteroids with relative ease, the larger one had to plow its way through by blasting the rock to rubble that the shields could deflect. It slowed them down and gave Rillista and her motley cargo of hunted Jedi a chance to escape.

"We're coming up on the edge of the field," Rillista announced quickly. "Get on the intercom and tell everyone to strap in. We're going Hyper as soon as we hit clear space."

Zannah nodded and keyed on the intercom, "Hang on, everyone, we're almost out." She told the group huddling in the lounge. She turned back to Rillista, "Should I tell Hadan to get out of the turret?" She asked.

"Don't bother," Came a strained reply from the intercom, "Sanna just went to check on him; apparently his heart couldn't take the strain of what he just did."

"What do you mean?" Snapped Rillista. She heard a soft noise and glanced at her copilot. She was surprised to see Zannah with her head bowed and a single tear rolling down her muzzle.

"Another has joined the Force," She said, barely above a whisper. "He gave his life so we would have a chance. Hadan knew he wouldn't survive another battle." Zannah shivered and pulled her robe tighter around her.

"Well," Rillista was slightly taken aback, "Well let's make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain. Ready to go Hyper?"

Zannah shook off the grief and was all business once again, "Ready, crossing the field edge now. We have clear space and the navicomp has a random course plotted in so they won't be able to track us," She finished and looked over at Rillista, "On your mark, Rill."

"Right," Rillista said with a nod, "Set, and... MARK!"

Working in tandem, the two Lemorians pulled the levers to enable the Hyperdrive and with a flash of Croneau Radiation Rillista's ship shot off into Hyperspace with its cargo of Jedi, leaving behind a very frustrated Imperial captain and his crew in a now battered Lancer Class Frigate.

Rillista brought her little ship once again into orbit above the planet the Jedi had chosen for their haven. The world’s name was Daktia, and it was not on any of her charts. If they hadn't provided her with the course, she would never have found this place, isolated as it was from the rest of the galaxy by a scattering of nebulaeic dust and gas. Before heading out for parts unknown once again, Rillista clicked on her comlink and contacted the surface, "Good luck, all of you. You'll need it if those hunters pick up your trail again."

Zannah answered from the planet's surface, "We'll be alright, Rill. We have friends here. Don't worry about us. Take care of yourself."

"Yeah," Rillista muttered reluctantly, "Whatever. Listen, If you ever need a ride, you've got my com codes."

"A smuggler being charitable," Amusement colored Zannah's tone, "My, how the universe has changed. May the Force be with you, Rillista Candron."

As Zannah signed off, Rillista gave a weary sigh. Maybe there was something to this Force of theirs; then again, maybe not. She turned her sights on the stars once again and as she set in her Hyperspace course, she murmured, "Force be with us all; we're gonna need it."