The New Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 84 - Preparations

After several hours of contacting their pirate friends, Dash Jr. leaned back in his seat in front of the Trader's Luck's comm unit. A broad smile lit up his face.
"They'll come, all of them. Even Draco has agreed to join our cell," he said, winking at his sister.
Tasherit chuckled.
"It was hard work convincing him, Dash. I almost thought you were going to fail. Draco's always been a tough nut to crack. He's a fierce fighter and will be a valuable asset."
Dash Jr. nodded.
"That's why he was the first one I contacted. Convincing him meant that others would follow. It made it much easier to recruit more of our friends."
"Good job," Jaden said as he walked over from the hyperdrive motivator he was working on.
His future brother-in-law looked at him.
"Yeah, it was easier than I expected."
The young Katarn smirked.
"Did you use a Jedi mind trick?"
"It definitely doesn't work on pirates. The mind trick always works on the weak minded. Draco, especially, is far from weak minded," Dash Jr. answered him.
Jaden nodded thoughtfully.
"There's so much I need to learn about the Force and how to use it. I'm glad my father finally agreed to teach me. I'll be just like you soon."
Looking at his fiancée, he smiled.
Tash returned the smile and pointed to the empty seat at her side. Jaden shook his head, showing his greasy hands and pointing to a large oil stain on his butt.
"I need to change first, and I can't wait to shower, love."
Tasherit stood up.
"Mind if I join you, Jaden?"
Her brother rolled his eyes when he heard this.
"I think I should leave you lovebirds alone."
"Maybe it really is for the best," Jaden replied, grinning widely at Tasherit's eldest brother.
Then he made his way to the shower, followed by his future wife.
Dash Jr. deactivated the Trader's Luck's comm unit and headed back to Rimmer's Rest.

Meanwhile, Nomi went to Shug's Space Barn to pay for the retrofitted freighters. Shug looked up from the engine he was working on and smiled at his friend.
"Did you come to check on your treasures?"
The Jedi Master smiled.
"Not just to check on them, but to pay for the extras you put in, Shug. 40,000 credits it was, am I right?"
"Exactly," replied the starship mechanic. "I think you and Dash will be pleased with our work. Everything is state of the art, Nomi. C'mon, let me show you."
He walked to the landing pad, followed by the experienced pilot. There he lowered the ramp and opened the hatch of the Aquarius after deactivating the intruder defense with the password Nomi had given him when she had ordered the modifications. He then walked up the ramp, followed by the Jedi, and together they entered the ship. Nomi went to the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat, while Shug sat in the co-pilot's seat.
"Why isn't Dash here?" he asked as he wiped a speck of dust off the console.
"He was still asleep when I left. I didn't want to wake him. It seems he needs more sleep as he's getting old."
"Who's getting old?"
Nomi turned her head as she heard the voice she would recognize among thousands.
Dash was leaning casually against the door with a wide grin, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
"It's your gray stubble beard that tells me you're getting old, my darling."
She smiled at her husband, who walked over to her and then kissed her on the forehead.
"Hello, Shug," he nodded to the talented starship mechanic. "How's Nomi's baby, my friend?"
"Just fine, Dash, I was about to tell her where and what," Shug Ninx replied, turning his attention back to the console in front of him.
Dash Rendar sat down in one of the spare seats.
"Fire away, Shug. I'm curious what Nomi asked you to put in."
"That was a lot, Dash," the mechanic chuckled and began to show and explain the modifications, pointing at buttons and levers here and there.
After an hour, he leaned back in his seat with a broad grin.
"You see, we've done a good job on the Aquarius."
"And what about the Outrider?" Dash's question came promptly.
"Same modifications, Dash. You think your wife would pay less attention to your ship, my friend? She even made sure your firepower was tripled," he said this with a wide grin that Dash could only guess at when he heard the undertone in Shug's voice. "There will be few ships that can match the Outrider. I can show you if you want."
The mechanic rose from his seat and walked to the exit of the cockpit.

Dash rose as well and followed Shug, putting his hand on the man's shoulder to stop him.
"That won't be necessary. I trust you and my wife to know what I need. So I think it's time to pay for your effort."
He pulled out his datapad to make the transfer to Shug Ninx's account. The former mercenary typed in the amount with a smile.
"Here we go," he said and pressed the button.
Shug pulled out his own datapad as a signal indicated that the transfer was complete, and let out a low whistle when he saw the amount.
"You've paid too much."
Dash Rendar gave him a broad grin.
"Excellent work deserves good pay, my friend. Shut up and take my credits before I change my mind."
He chuckled and patted Shug on the shoulder.
The mechanic smiled at his old friend.
"Thanks, Dash, it's always a pleasure working for you and Nomi. But now I have to go, work calls."
After saying this, he hurried out of the freighter and back to his workshop.
The former mercenary looked after him and then turned to his wife, who was still sitting in the pilot's seat admiring Shug's work.
"Do you want to take a look at the Outrider's modifications, honey?"
The Jedi Master smiled at her husband and rose from her seat.
"I knew it wouldn't be long before you asked that."
Then she followed Dash, who was already walking down the ramp.

It was only a few steps to the landing pad, where the Outrider stood waiting for her owner. Dash punched in the code to disable the intruder defenses before lowering the ramp and opening the hatch of the YT-2400. As he walked up the ramp, he gently touched the hull of the freighter.
"Hi, baby, I'm back," he said in a low voice, but not low enough, because his wife smiled when she heard it.
Nomi knew very well how attached her husband was to his ship. She followed him into the cockpit, where he sat down in the pilot's seat and patted his lap. Nomi settled on his lap and Dash called up the armament list.
"Wow, Shug wasn't exaggerating when he talked about tripled firepower. Look at this, honey," he said, pointing to the list.
"I know, Dash, because I was the one who asked him to do that."
She turned her head and gave Dash a kiss while her stomach growled loudly. The Jedi laughed.
"It seems my stomach wants to remind me that it's time for breakfast."
Her husband laughed with her.
"I'm starving too, darling. Let's get back to Rimmer's Rest."