Rick appeared in the cockpit almost immediately after Nick caught the car in the cargo hold.
The guy was in a good mood: despite everything, he believed that the conversation had gone as he wanted overall.
"Missed me?" he asked, sitting in the captain's chair and studying the ship's performance readings with interest.
"Not at all," the navigator replied with utmost honesty.
"I was teaching Sher piloting, she liked it. How do you feel about giving her the basics?"
"Positively," Rick nodded, studying the navicom's readings, then his gaze fell on Nick, then back to the readings.
"I was planning to teach Vaimi the basics of cartography and route planning, but I haven't had time yet. But overall, the more interchangeable we are, the better."
Finally, his gaze rested on the navigator:
"Did you use the Force for the hyperspace jump?" the question was asked without accusation.
"Yes," Nick nodded.
"On the way back. I needed to be sure I wouldn't park 'Chance' in some wreck. Where's Jethro?"
"I'm glad you're recovering so quickly," Rick paused, "but next time, use the navicom. For a while, we need to minimize any manifestation of the Force on board."
"No navicom would account for wreckage in orbit," the pilot sighed, noting that the question remained unanswered.
"But I'll try... Besides, I was outside the system, it's unlikely anyone would have sensed me there."
"I don't want to risk it," the ship's data disappeared, and instead, several systems lit up in the cockpit.
"Jethro got his way; if everything goes well, he'll be reporting to his commander within the next standard day. I also got my way..."
Meanwhile, the map displayed three hyperspace routes, the Corellian and Hydian Ways, and a small unnamed one.
The captain carefully studied the maps available to him.
"And what do we have in the end?" Nick piloted the ship in orbit.
The captain was holding back a lot, and this didn't please the ex-ISB agent.
"In some time, a fully equipped team and an understaffed infirmary," Rick sent a request to the navicom to plot the shortest course to Tynna, "but I was asked to participate in clearing out a transshipment base of Black Sun renegades. They want to see me in action."
"You?" the navigator's voice clearly conveyed bewilderment.
"Guy, are you going there alone?!"
"You guessed right," Rick nodded, "Larius and Bus primarily rely on the Force and exotic combat methods, you... I need you here. My new acquaintance decided I was gifted, and it would be fine if I weren't, so I need to convince him of that. My... main skills should be enough for that."
"And have you considered what will happen if your new acquaintance is too disappointed?" Nick inquired.
He wasn't looking at the captain, but his gaze was reflected in the cockpit's canopy.
A very attentive gaze.
"I have," Rick studied the displayed information, "Fallens are not prone to impulsive actions. And in theory, I can still be used in the future. But I'll still have a backup. You."
"I don't like this," the navigator informed him.
"Alright. What is required of me?"
"To back me up," the counter increased the map, "the base is located here. In the triangle formed by the three routes. You will arrive at one of the nearest planets and wait there. If everything goes well, we will meet on its surface, if not... I will make a small beacon. It will send a signal hidden under white noise, but 'Chance' will read it. This means I need help. My coordinates will also be there. Enough to get me out if necessary?"
"Enough to be nearby as quickly as I can manage," Nick made a correction.
"Everything else will depend on the situation."
"Let's try not to let it come to that situation," He saved the map in the navicom's memory.
"It seems I've slightly pleased this green-skinned guy. As much as that's possible for them. So, when I don't meet some of his expectations, I hope he'll at best send me away, which is also the best case for me."
"No one spanked you as a child," the navigator sighed.
"And now it's too late. Well, let's hope the Great Force didn't bring us all together just to kill us all together... do you know such a joke?"
"I don't know," Rick honestly admitted, "and I was spanked as a child. You have no idea how much I was spanked. But... I developed my own philosophy."
"Philosophy in exchange for a joke?" Nicholas suggested.
"Then you first," the captain glanced at his navigator with a smile.
"And it's short," Nick chuckled.
"A liner is traveling on a tourist route. Who isn't on board – magnates, businessmen, stars, one Jedi got mixed in. They just entered hyperspace – disaster, no navigation, can't exit hyperspace, all systems failed, in short – utter disaster. Passengers rush to the Jedi: What should we do? He replies: We need to ask the Great Force. He goes into meditation, addresses the Great Force: So, here's the situation, we're screwed, we don't know what to do, save us, give us a way out... 'Oh no!' replies the Great Force. 'I've been gathering you scoundrels on one ship for fifty years, now you won't get out...' 'And why me?!' yells the Jedi. 'And for company,' replies the Great Force. So, what about philosophy?"
"Don't expect a huge logical postulate from me," the guy shrugged, smiling at the joke.
"I didn't finish academies or universities. In short... Most of your actions will always entail some punishment. You don't need to succumb to apathy and get stuck in someone else's rut to avoid it; you need to not get caught. And any punishment should be perceived as a signal that you haven't honed your skills enough. So, when I was getting my ears boxed, I didn't stop my studies, but just went underground, only to return after some time with a handful of new knowledge and talents. So, it was pointless to spank me."
"That's a rather peculiar logic," Nick glanced at the captain.
"If you stole a candy and got punished, the conclusion isn't 'stealing is bad,' but 'I steal badly, I need to learn to do it better'?"
"I love candy..." Rick licked his lips, "especially chewy ones... If you stole a candy and got punished, then you live in a family of misers. If you stole a pack of candies and got punished, then first, you need to curb your appetite and take a little, preferably unnoticed, second, cover your tracks, third, do it all without witnesses and evidence. So yes, if I stole something and was punished for it – I need to learn to do it better, if you were caught smuggling, you need to learn to do it better. If you were shot in a firefight, you need to learn to shoot better and faster. It's just that I'm not good at fights. I prefer not to engage in close combat..."
"You won't believe it – neither do I," the ex-ISB agent snorted.
"Because I was taught that a fight is a failed operation. And close combat, even more so..."
"We will now have contracts and tasks, let's leave operations to our doctor," the guy pondered.
"Alright, this is all good. But I need to get around the crew before the call comes."
The navigator nodded, equalizing the ship's speed with the drift speed of the nearest debris cluster.
Now the ship was moving by inertia.
"I'll keep watch," the scanners in passive mode couldn't detect 'Chance'.
But they could warn about a search.
The first person Rick decided to find was Larius.
Immersing himself in the Force, he began to search for a familiar aura.
The woman turned out to be in the cabin she had chosen.
Quickening his pace, he walked down the corridor separating the cockpit from her door and knocked on the bulkhead.
A slight ripple in the Force was almost imperceptible.
"Open," he heard in response.
The mercenary was sitting on the floor, polishing a long needle with a piece of leather.
"Settling in?" he looked with curiosity at the combatant's activity.
He didn't understand why it was necessary, but professionals had their own rituals and requirements.
"Settling in," Larius nodded, checking how the leather slid over the shiny, lacquered surface.
"What did you get up to?"
"An invitation to participate in a shootout," there was no point in lying.
"I'm going to participate in the assault on the base that Troy found. Tell me, how do you generally assess Vaimi?"
"Generally?" the woman raised her head.
"Healthy, physically developed, mentally sound."
"That's understood," he nodded, sitting down on a chair.
"In terms of whether she can handle any task independently. Won't falter when given freedom of action?"
"Two owners, your predecessors, used her more as an assistant," Larius didn't like something, and a scrap of someone's skin again danced on the needle. "And she managed, as far as I found out. Do you want to entrust her with something?"
"I need her to organize the delivery of cargo from Nar Shaddaa to Bothawui and leave the cargo there," the counter calculated that he would take it immediately himself, and continued: "Overall, nothing illegal for the destination planet. The question is, can she handle it alone?"
"That can only be found out by checking," this time the mercenary was satisfied with the result. The needle slipped into the seam of the sleeve. "Who are you taking with you?"
"Nobody," he looked at the ceiling, mentally preparing for the same reaction as Nick's, "the less the Black Sun knows, the better. Besides, if something happens, the stronger the group here, the easier it will be to get me out. But... I don't think there will be any problems."
Larius just nodded, took another needle from her second sleeve, and began polishing.
"I'll try to ensure your luck," came the answer. "It won't hurt."
"Luck is never superfluous," saying anything else was superfluous. "Ensure luck for Vaimi too."
The mercenary raised her head again.
"Vaimi? She has enough luck for a dozen."
"Glad to hear it," he smiled, getting up, "I won't disturb you."
And he left, wondering where the Lethan might be now. As an option, she could be in one of the rooms or sitting in his cabin. Habitually immersing himself in the Force, he began to search for her.
The girl was found in his own cabin.
"Are you still reading everything?" the captain asked, looking at the girl in the picturesque pose of "leaning on the bulkhead with his shoulder," as if in a frame now. Close-up.
The Twi'lekka looked back.
"No," she showed him a stone shimmering with milky highlights on her palm. "I'm looking at what can be done with it."
"With it..." Rick smiled, walked to the table, casually pushed aside the tabletop, and began to rummage through the junk he had brought. "A lot can be done. But I prefer to just admire it for now. Or are you talking about the fact that it has lost its color?"
"Not entirely lost," the Lethan's voice was worried. "But it has been lacking something for a long time..."
"Light," he found what he was looking for - a small empty spray can, "it was in a cave for a long time. In a container. Where I found it."
"That's not hard to fix..." Vaimi watched him with curiosity. "Just keep it in the light constantly. But at the same time in a nutrient solution... Hmm. Do you have a strip of flexible metal about three fingers wide? My three fingers," she immediately corrected herself, looking at Rick's palm.
"Possibly in the workshop," Rick said thoughtfully, "Vaimi, do you remember working with Muha well?"
The Lethan put the stone back in the solution, looked back at him, raising her lekku in surprise.
"Of course," her round eyes looked with interest. "Do you need to know something from him, but he can't answer yet?"
"I need someone to organize the delivery of cargo from here to Bothawui and escort it to the planet, renting a hangar," he admitted honestly, "and I think this is a great opportunity to prove herself."
"From here to Bothawui?" the girl thought. "Well, you could turn to the same Fox, he takes on one-time transfers... If he's not busy, of course."
"Considering that we've already worked together..." the guy carefully took out Troy's knife and put it in the table, "that's a good option. Do you know what kind of ship he has?"
"He doesn't have his own ship," Vaimi glanced at the blade and, just in case, picked up her lekku. "He believes that it limits him too much, and rents the most suitable ship for each order."
"There's logic in that," taking off his jacket and shirt, he began to change into casual clothes, "given our agreement, I am obliged to hire him... Will you contact him?"
"All right. What should I tell him?" Vaimi prepared to write. "Where and what cargo needs to be picked up? For how long should a hangar be rented for it?"
"The list..." he began to dictate. "I think for two weeks. When and where to pick up the cargo, I will inform you separately, but soon."
"I'll contact him," the Lethan hastily wrote down the list of goods. "Are we going to war?"
"Vaimi, the list for war looks different," he smiled, pulling on his jacket and taking the list from the girl, "all the weapons here are sporting, or for hunting. Except for the "Intimidators," they will be in case we have to fight on the ship. I chose the armor based on price, protection, and the ability to operate in various environments. But... this can indeed be used to create a combat group... But there are no grenades, mines, or other... special equipment."
The Lethan sighed, took out her comlink, and began dialing. Judging by the fact that she didn't need a contact list, she knew the mercenary's number by heart.
Sitting down at the table, Rick took several devices from the same drawer and began to disassemble them into components. He needed to assemble a transmitter.
The conversation was short. The girl clarified if the mercenary was free, quickly explained the essence, explained that the client himself would provide the details a little later, said goodbye, and hung up.
"Fox is taking on this job," she told Rick.
By this time, Rick had managed to sketch out the transmitter's diagram and gather the necessary parts for it.
"That's good. Will we discuss the cost of services in person, or did he name a specific amount?" the parts were neatly placed in the gutted casing of one of the decks Rick had bought.
"When I arrange a simple transport with him, there is usually a fixed fee, he discusses the amount with the client himself," the Lethan made an indefinite movement with her lekku. "A percentage of the deal - only if it's about remuneration..."
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind," getting up from the chair, he spun it on one leg and, pushing it away from the table, placed it with its back to Vaimi, sat on it and looked at the girl. Taking a breath and pausing, he finally asked the question that interested him: "How are you?"
Her lekku curved upwards at the tips.
"What do you mean?" the Twi'lekka asked cautiously.
A smile touched the captain's face involuntarily. It seemed he was becoming a master of general questions.
"How do you like it on the ship, how are the new acquaintances, the new environment..."
The gaze of her round eyes became surprised.
"Everything is fine, Rick. If something were wrong, I would tell you, you... asked," at the last moment, the girl remembered that he didn't want to be spoken to like a master, and "ordered" took on a more acceptable form.
He didn't miss the pause at the end, but Rick decided not to dwell on it. So he nodded in response.
"You're doing great," he got up from the chair, taking the box with the parts, "Do you need anything?"
Her lekku twitched - Vaimi didn't understand why she was praised again, but the question distracted her from her bewilderment.
"A strip of metal, some glue, tools..." she began to list. "A piece of packaging plastic, food coloring."
It was unclear why the girl needed food coloring, but in general, he could give an answer:
"You'll find metal and tools in the workshop, glue can also be found, but if you need non-toxic, it's better to ask Sher, look for plastic around the ship. Anything else?"
"No," the Lethan shook her lekku and almost ran to the door, dancing as she went. Judging by her demeanor, something very pleasing to her was being planned...
The captain followed, going to look for the doctor.