The cruiser met up with their original shuttle, piloted by Garan Madak, in orbit. What proceeded from that moment was a long and arduous manoeuvre where the two attempted to connect docking rings, something that should have been simple but was made difficult thanks to starfighter rack that wrapped around the midship, from top to bottom, fitting snugly around the two turbolaser cannons on each side of the stunted wings to prevent the structure from obscuring their fire. As Garan and the others transferred their personal effects from ship to ship, Luna and Zatt piloted the Uglies to their docking ports on the rack. It was difficult, requiring extended periods of concentration to complete the technical flying, made all the more difficult by the other Nexus crowding around them, calling out which starfighter they wanted.
'I want the X-TIE!' said Vix Horne.
'I call the Z-95!' said Cora Pavin.
'Y Bomber,' said Kai Me'Sei, his eyes growing misty at the explosive possibilities.
'Kids, there'll be plenty of time for this late- oh! Dibs on the Z-'ceptor!' grinned Face.
And on and on, each one picking out what they wanted. Even Fenn Tegmen, the silent communications specialist, tremulously uttered a few words, asking if they could have the Jedi starfighter-hybrid with parts unknown. Luna took for herself an X-Defender, an x-wing-TIE Defender hybrid, that she had hidden on a separate console screen so that no one else could see. Being in command had its perks.
All through this, Rapier Squadron flew around them in a protective formation, keeping them safe from any retaliatory attacks, though none came. With that done, Poe Dameron slaved the shuttle's controls to Rapier One's computer. 'Good hunting, Nexu Squadron,' he said over the comm.
'You too, Poe,' said Luna. 'Good luck!'
Poe wiggled his fighter laterally, a visual message used by pilots to mean various things, depending on the context: 'Good luck', 'acknowledged', 'I'm nervous', 'I'm excited', 'well done'. Or, in combat, 'screw you, enemy, I just killed you'. Luna was fairly sure it wasn't that one. Rapier Squadron disappeared in a flicker of pseudomotion, entering hyperspace, heading back to the core.
Face entered the cockpit and leant over the console, punching in some coordinates in the nav console. 'Set a course for here, How's our fuel situation?'
'Nearly full, Face,' said Luna.
'That's good,' said Face. 'Make it a long route, give us time to give this old ship a once over.' He looked around the cockpit. 'Did I ever tell you my dad used to fly one of these in the Clone Wars?'
Luna frowned. 'Uh, in the military?' she asked. 'Wasn't that war all clones and droids?'
Face sighed, long and deep. 'What do they teach you in school today?' he said, but smiling as he did so to take the sting out. 'The Republic had a force of mostly clones, sure, but volunteers too. Early in the war they retrofitted these cruisers to fulfill a more aggressive role, and Dad served in one of them.' he leaned up and caressed the hull lovingly. 'Tell you what: you go and give the old girl a look, I'll take over the flying.'
'You sure?' asked Luna, already unbuckling her harness.
'Sure, sure,' said Face, settling into the warm seat. 'And don't forget to pick a room for yourself. But not the front cabin in the starboard wing. I already called it!'
Luna smiled to herself, shaking her head, and made her way down the length of the ship to pick her kit bag up, which had been left by the docking ring next to the engines. She was no expert on this particular model of ship, but it was clear that the cruiser had been heavily modified. The engines didn't quite fit the casings, the safety bracketing holding them in place had obviously been moved several times, and inexpertly so. Rana and Garan were already at work, fixing them. 'This baby will haul ass, all right,' said Rana, poking her head out from out of a crawlspace under the main engine. 'I guess it's to compensate for the extra weight of the fighters, but once they're off, flying, it'll outrun most other ships of its class. She patted a nearby manifold, her face not dissimilar to the expression Face had. 'I wouldn't mind finding out exactly how fast she can go-'
