Prologue

Prototype





        One surprisingly good thing about war is that it can create some unexpected technologies that, in peacetime, can actually make life a lot better: improved power conversion for those who need to save it when living in very remote areas, faster engines with less fuel consumption, stronger hull plating for when you have to flee from pirates or get pelted by rocks, advanced sensors to avoid said pirates and rocks. 

        But one thing most people in the army will attest is the best part of war are the new ship designs that can come of it, especially for ship lovers and including those who plan to use old war ships when wars are over. That unfortunately mostly includes pirates and smugglers, but its a dog-eat-dog galaxy out there, but there is a rumor that a surviving Venator had been converted into a cargo hauler.

        Most new ships usually go unnoticed by the galaxy and never get their day in the sun. One such ship design, designed and constructed by the Rebel Alliance, never would get its spotlight in the main galaxy, but would end up becoming a surprising savior in one of its neighbors.




        Home One. Flagship of the Rebel Navy and home to its leading command staff. It was a perfect place for them to run to once Hoth fell, while also proving to the Alliance that having a stationary base wasn't such a good idea; their war is one of mobility, and after Hoth, they needed to remain mobile. 

        Within these metal walls is where a brand new ship design was created by taking inspirations from the old. Designed by the veteran mechanist Quarrie, father of the powerful B-Wing fighter/bomber, the Hailstorm, better known as the H-Wing, was born. A rather modest design with a simple origin: what if the Y-Wing and the U-Wing were combined? An unorthodox origin, to be sure, but Quarry is a unorthodox designer. The H-Wing was around the same length as the Y-Wing, but was as wide as a Tie Bomber and as tall as a U-Wing, with the interior space of a couple Lambda's. The H in its name comes from the engines- which were taken from retired Y-Wings- and the two Cockpits at the front.

        The H-Wing operated under a crew of four: a Pilot and two Gunners- one operating a forward-mounted ion cannon while the other operated a swivel laser turret- and a onboard Engineer with a small array of mouse droids and a single astromech. You'd think all this personal would make the ship cramped, but it actually wasn't. According to the design team, the mission was to make the H-Wing into a long-range patrol craft and wanted the crew to be as comfortable as possible, so a cabin was installed... a surprisingly spacious cabin that seems to take up most of the ship- like 7/10's, going all the way to the pilots seats, with the obvious stopping points being the engine block and the cargo hold. It was large enough to include a small galley with a fridge and freezer and stove/oven combo, a bathroom, a small dejarik holotable and accompanying seating, and a couple of beds; when they said long-range scouting, they meant it. Another possible use would be to transport a small commando team or have a more hollowed out cabin so it may serve as a troop transport in place of U-Wings.

        All 3 options were possible, provided it got past the testing phase.



        
        Nestled deep within Home One's hanger, the H-Wing sat ready. Fuel lines were being disconnected and the frame given a twice-over by the engineers and mechanics that helped put this together. Quarrie, the main project lead, stood by as he looked at the schematics and blueprints he had drawn up, making sure everything was perfect. He's earned himself a reputation of being a cantankerous old fossil, but his ships were top notch. 

        "She's as ready as she'll ever be." A Mon Calamari shouted out. She backed away from the ship and dusted off her gloves before taking them off. "Gas tank's filled to the brim, some light snacks for the crew for the test flight, and the droids are currently being recharged." She gestured to the single Astromech and four Mouse droids currently docked at a charging station at the edge of the hanger. "How all we need are the pilots."

        "Eh, they'll be along." The old man responded, leaning on his personal Astromech BG-81. "Eventually..." Eventually meaning late since he didn't tell them what time the test flight was supposed to be. He doesn't like others test flying his babies. Hera was an exception- she proved herself flying through the madness that was Shantipole.

        They heard one of the many doors to the hanger hiss shut. "They should be, cause i told them the time table you forgot." A rugged human general said as he marched in.

        "General Madine." The female Mon Cala saluted.

        He gestured her to stand down. "At ease. You know i'm not one for pomp." He really wasn't. A former Imperial by nature, Crix quickly gained the trust of the Alliance during the months after Yavin. After taking part in a mission to unleash a deadly plague on Dentaal, wiping out the entire planet's population, he became disgusted with the Empire and defected. It wasn't unnoticed and so he was caught by General Rom Mohc. If not for the bravery of Kyle Katarn, he'd be dead right now. His immense guilt over Dentaal earned him their trust, and numerous successful ops have earned him the rank of General. Quarrie went through him to get the H-Wing project started, so he has a bit of a stake in its success. 

        "Of course, sir." She stood down. "So... where are the pilots?"

        "They are, and to quote that kid Rowan, 'psyching themselves up'. I think it means they are preparing for the mission."

        "It does." She confirmed. "But how long will they be?"

        "Not long. Hrieen had to take care of some things before he joined the others."

        She tilted her head. "Hrieen?"

        "A Gran who helped me back when i was defecting. After Kyle saved me, i returned to Corellia to say goodbye to some people i knew and to link up with a cell there that would get me to the fleet, but the Empire found us. Hrieen was one of the Rebel pilots that came to my rescue; the man has talent for flying heavy ships, cause i swear, the U-Wing he flew acted like a X-Wing. Since then, i've been wondering if he's a Force Sensitive, or if that interface makes a difference in flight."

        "I don't care if he's grandson to the Emperor himself; He better not try any of those tricks with my baby." Quarrie said as he patted the ships hull. "Least not until after the trial run."

        "He'll behave, you old coot." A new voice said behind him.

        Quarrie nearly jumped out of his scaly skin; he hates it when people sneak up on him like that. "Don't... ever do that again." He panted. He thought he was talking to Hrieen, but was in fact a human with extensive cybernetic work, including a cybernetic interface that allows him to connect mentally to machinery. There were a lot of exposed metal; the only part of his body that didn't have it was his face. Beside him were the other two pilots; Hrieen to his left and a female Mirialan to his right. While Deek is mostly cybernetic, Hrieen also had an implant: an interface on the back of his skull, like that Lobot character he met a long time ago when he was on Cloud City. 

        "So you all made it in time after all." Madine said. 

        "Sorry about that." Deek replied for turning his gaze to the small Mon Cala. "Someone didn't tell us the time we needed to be here." Quarrie awkwardly whistled, trying to ignore them. BG made a disapproving honk, which made the whistling stop.

        "Who are they?" The mechanic asked.

        "The name's Deek." The cyborg cheerfully replied as he pointed to himself. "Actually, my full name is Tark Decaron, but call me Deek for short. And as you can plainly see, i do have cybernetic innards. I got in a pretty bad accident some years back that resulted in a lot of chemicals getting in and on me. It was a miracle i even survived long enough to get to a hospital."

        "I'll say." The impressed yet grossed-out mechanic replied. She's imagining the chemicals in the body and that never ends well. 

        Deek then put his elbow on the Mirialan, who grimaced. "And this is Kala Unduli, who is a heck of a crack shot. Scored pretty good on the turret simulator."

        "Unduli?" Madine repeated. "That sounds familiar."

        "I recognize it." Quarrie spoke, remembering the name all too well. "It was the last name of a Jedi Master named Luminara. I heard she died during the Purge. Are you related to her?"

        "She is." Hrieen coldly replied with his arms crossed. "I don't know if they were sisters or cousins or if Kaia's her niece, but they are related."

        Quarrie scratched his head. "Well, ask her then. She's right there."

        "We did, but for some reason, Kala took a vow of silence. Or she is a mute. Or just refuses to talk; nobody knows cause nobody can get a response out of her. She won't even nod her head or write down the answer when asked that question. She'll react to every other question, but not that one. All we can do is guess: maybe her tongue got cut out or her vocal chords damaged. The boys in Dagger have a pool going on about it, with the top guess that she vowed to never speak again until the Empire is destroyed and Luminara avenged."

        Pulling some last-second maintenance work, the mechanic finished up and tapped the underbelly of the ship, hitting the button that allowed the ramp to lower; it came down in the middle section just between the two cockpits. "She's ready to fly." She called out.

        "And you all have a test flight to perform." Madine said. The trio of pilots nodded and headed towards the boarding ramp. Madine activated the small group of droids that would accompany them and they followed the pilots onboard. When they boarded, they saw it was as spacious and as cramped as they thought. First positive: high ceiling- about 8 feet (2.5 Meters) tall. Deek described the interior as like a Lambda Shuttle; both spacious and cramped. If they needed to, they could fit 15 people in this ship; 20 if they cram them into the side engine access rooms, the refresher, the sensor-suite room, and the cargo hold. 

        As he was the one with the interface, and with his experience piloting heavy starfighters, Hrieen was the natural choice for the pilots seat. Once he sat down, he pulled a cord out of the side of the interface and plugged it into the ship's console, which looked like it was ripped straight from a Y-Wing. His eyes rolled back and his body slouched forward for a few seconds while the interface calibrated to the new system. Once done, Hrieen woke back up.

        As for the Ion Gunner and Turret Gunner seats, it was a hard choice to make, even now. Both Deek and Kala have top scores in the simulator either of the ships guns, and both are skilled mechanics. But the one deciding factor was Kala's mutism and Deek's mechanicals: since Kala can't speak, being in the turret wouldn't make much sense since she would have to call out if anyone is chasing from behind, and Deek's mechanical skills would come in handy in case something happened within the ship and the droids needed help. So, Kala took the Ion Gunner seat and Deek the Turret. Both walked down the Tie-Bomber-sized corridor to their seats, with Deek only a few feet away from Kala.

        As they prepared for flight, Quarrie and Madine watched from outside. "Better hope you picked good pilots." The Mon Cala said to the General. "And that i designed a good ship." He then left, heading for the edge of the hanger to watch, as were most of the repair and maintenance crew. 

        Madine nodded and silently replied, "And that they can get through that training course you set up, old man." He walked to the center of the view and activated his personal commlink to talk to them. "Is everything operating smoothly?"
    
        "<So far, so good.>" Deek replied as he moved the turret around.

        "<Systems are checking out. Engines and shields are nominal.>" Hrieen added. The beeping and chirping of the droids followed suit.

        Madine looked to the Ion Gunner and saw Kala give him a thumbs up. "Alright. Now head on out there and let's see what this thing can do."

        "With pleasure, sir." Hrieen replied before hitting the ignition button. The engines in the back roared to life; they may look like Y-Wing engines, but they have the soul of a racing rod.

        The H-Wing slowly rose up off the landing struts, which retreated back into the ship with a flick of a switch. The propulsion systems work, at least; it's hovering pretty well. Gently tugging on the control wheel, the H-Wing began to taxi towards the edge of the hanger, staring out into the vast recesses of space with only a single Nebulon-B and a pair of GR-75's in the distance. Everyone backed away from the exit, as is common procedure when a fightercraft takes off: they tend to leave fast.

        With the engines warmed up and boost filled, Hrieen clutched onto the stick and throttle while Deek and Kala belted themselves to their seats. "This is Hailstorm One, taking off!" He thrust the throttle forward...

        ...And the ship rocketed out of there at great speeds, leaving behind a vapor trail as it went from the hanger to between GR-75's in 7 seconds. The mechanics and engineers applauded as they watched it arc and head 'up'; they can rest easy knowing it can fly. The ship pulled a sharp Kulpit between the two blocks of the Nebulon-B; it is definitely maneuverable. 

        Arriving at the same spot as all of the other mechanics, Madine called them up on the commlink once again, "Ok, ok, enough showboating- you've proven it can maneuver without even needing to use the training course."

        "<Sorry for that. We'll still run it; i was just getting a feel for the controls.>" Hrieen responded. 

        "And?"

        "<It's got some kinks to work out, but pretty maneuverable so far. Perfect for if we get caught and need to make a getaway.>"

        "That was the point." Quarrie said. "Now how about the weapon systems?"

        "<Heading to the shooting range now.>"

        One of the cargo pods on one of the GR-75's opened up and unleashed a small group of captured Imp Probe Droids, all painted a bright red so they can see them in space. One of them, however, was painting yellow. All took up positions around the three ships as the H-Wing buzzed past the hanger's entrance.

        "The red droids are the ones to test the Ion blast on." Madine went on to explain. "The yellow one requires the turret, but we programmed it to be extra evasive." And it showed; a speedy little speed demon that zipped between the two transports and frigate. 

        "<Roger that.>" The H-Wing moved into position. "<Starting our attack run.>"

        The H-Wing flew to the far back of Home One before turning around and began its approach to the probes. Once in attack range, Hrieen maneuvered the ship into attack position and Kala fired the Ion shots. Half of all shots hit their targets just as it passed over. It pulled back around and, same result.

        "Not very accurate..." Quarrie commented.

        "Well, Kala is forced to fire only where the pilot aims, so the pilot is half the reason most of the shots are missing." Madine explained. 

        "True... i'll have to work on improving that. Until then... it could be safe to assume that the ship, if in combat, is better used for hit-and-runs." He commented as he watched the ship move to attack the Yellow Probe.

        
        Onboard the H-Wing, Deel cracked his knuckles, ready to put the turret through his paces. From behind, he heard the Astromech make remakes about... something. "<What was that sound?>" Hrieen asked.

        "TR talking about something involving the hyperdrive." He shrugged it off and concentrated. "It's nothing we need to worry about for now." He gripped the controls tight.

        The Yellow Probe spotted them coming and, in a lurch, zipped away towards the Nebulon, with the H-Wing in hot pursuit. It was a maneuverable little bastard, making it hard for the turret to get any good bearings. The turret was moving slower then Deek can get a target bead on.

        "Ergh...Damn thing turns like a brick." He grunted as he tried to get it to move. "I thought you guys calibrated this thing."

        "<We did.>" Quarrie responded. "<Something must be wrong with the turning radius, then; oxidation from lack of oil, perhaps? Or something else; hard to tell unless we get it back in the hanger.>"

        Madine's voice came over next, "<Let's pause the turret test for now and move on to the main test and why we built this thing: Long Range Scouting.>" They heard shuffling over the commlink. "<We received reports yesterday about a Imperial convoy moving grain making a pit stop in a nearby system. You are to scout things out and signal if we are clear to attack.>"

        "Grain, sir?" Hrieen responded. "Seems a little... belowgrade."

        "<Grain makes food, and we need food. Rebellions can't run on hopes and dreams alone. Besides, it's a good test run mission; i was in charge of one and we only had like... two, three Arquitens escorts. Of course, we weren't in wartime then, so maybe security increased. Regardless, it's close enough to where we can be of assistance in case of issues.>"

        "Very well sir." The Gran flicked a few switches on the dash. "Starting up hyperd--" He suddenly yelped in pain as he lurched forward, holding his head.

        "<Hrieen? What's wrong?>"

        Hrieen panted heavily as he popped his eyes open. "I'm fine, sire. Just--" His head started to hurt again, this time making him scream as he saw haunting visions of a terrifying metal demon... inside the computer system?

        Hearing his screams all the way in their seats, Kala and Deek instantly got out of them and ran to their comrades side. Kala went straight to him, holding him to the seat as he started to have a seizure. As he was still connected to the ship, the H-Wing spun and turned erratically, which cause a lot of concern for the crew. "<What's going on over there?>" Madine asked.

        Deek took over the commlink and responded, "I don't know, sir. He just started having a seizure!"

        "<a seizure? he never mentioned anything about having any episodes like that, and the medical field is out of my range.>"

        Well, that's not helpful. How are they supposed to help him? All Kala could do was hold him down. Deek was looking for some kind of a solution, but only one came ot his mind. "We gotta disconnect him from the ship!" He yelled out. He grabbed the cord Hrieen had plugged into the dash and pulled it out. The seizures stopped and Hrieen went limp. The two of them breathed a relaxing sigh of relief. "That was a close one."

        "<What happened over there?>"

        Exhaling again, Deek responded with, "He's alright, General. Seems the ship was causing issues with his neural interface. The seizure's stopped, so he should be fine. Long as we get him to the medical bay, at least."

        "<Aye aye. I'll contact them and tell 'em to get ready.>"

        "Roger that." He looked to Kala and she nodded; the Ion Gunner can serve as a secondary pilot if the primary is out of commission, so she can pilot them in... assuming she gets past this trashcan in the way. "We'll be--" He stopped talking when he heard TB rolling towards them, beeping and whooping wildly. As he had audible implants, he can understand what the droid is saying. "Wait wait wait wait, slow down... what do you mean the hyperdrive is active? And what do you mean, 'it roared'?" A second later, they heard the familiar hum of a powering-up hyperdrive slowly fill the air.  "Un, that can't be good." Alarms on the control console began going off like crazy, soon followed by alarms going off all over the ship. "What the heck is even happening?!" 

        Suddenly, the ship lurched sharply to the right, slamming Deek against the wall, sending Kala to the floor, and almost tore Hrieen from his seat. "Ow..." Deek hissed as he rubbed his shoulder. "What the hell...?" The ship lurched sharply to the left, sending all three flat on their backs. 

        TB hurried to the control console to plug in, but a sharp upright flip sent the unsuspecting droid backwards, back into the cabin and into the comms, hitting it hard.

        And then, against all warning, the ship jumped into hyperspace, barely missing Home One's bridge.

        Everyone in the hanger was left dumbstruck. Everything happened so fast, they didn't know how to react. What... what even just happened? "Um...... what just happened?" One of the mechanics asked.

        "I have no idea." Madine responded, as dumbstruck as them.

        "They jumped into Hyperspace." Quarrie droned. "A malfunction with Hrieen or the Hyperdrive by the sounds of it, or maybe both. But where they're going.... that's all a mystery. Let's just hope it's someplace safe, assuming they get out at all."

        The Mon Cala engineer from before commented, "Deek said the hyperdrive roared.... can hyperdrives roar?"

        "No. No they can not."









 

 

Star Wars
The Lost H-Wing

2: Chapter 1: Lost

Chapter 1

Lost

 

        If there was ever a way to tumble your way through Hyperspace, the H-Wing found it. As the ship rumbled and tumbled and rolled its way through the corridor, the crew inside were busy trying to put out the fire, metaphorically speaking. And while on the outside, the ship was spinning out of control, inside was perfectly fine- the wonders of artificial gravity.

 

        TB and the Mouse Droids anxiously squealed as they rushed around the ship, trying to do something, anything, to get them out of this situation. They don't want to be stuck out in Hyperspace forever, and neither do the organics. Kala had take Hrieen out of the cockpit and into the cabin to try and revive him while Deek sat at the main controls, pressing every button he can to get them out.

        "Um... un.... um...." He whimpered to himself, biting his lips as he looked over the console. This was all brand new- this was nothing like the other starships he flew. This was more complicated. And he lacks the link Hrieen has, so he has no quick fix to this. "Oh, come on... Think, Deek, Thiiiiiiiink..." TB came rolling in, blaring up a storm. Kala can't understand him, but Deek with his cybernetic implants can. "What? How the hell did the Comms. go offline?!" He loudly groaned, getting up to run back as the droids were already overworked.

        As if things didn't get bad enough, the artificial gravity went offline, causing them all to float. Deek had a lot of momentum when the gravity shut down, which sent him careening into a wall. "Ow..." He grunted, rubbing his chest. "This day just keeps getting better." Tapping the side of his shoe, small thrusters came out of his feet, allowing him to propel around the ship at a decent speed to avoid hitting anything else. 

        He pried open the hatch to the engine compartment and saw that the hyperdrive was sparking like a Sith Lord. "That's not normal." He commented. He activated a built-in sensor in his eyes and scanned around. "Wait... everything looks fine... i don't see any malfunctions. So then why in the hell...?" He went through every sensor module he had built in, but found nothing wrong with it. So then why....? A question for another time. For now, they need to get out of Hyperspace before they are lost in in forever. There is a function for emergency hyperspace exits, but it's risky... but also their only option. 

        A hard shutdown of all their systems for a brief moment.

        Pulling out a comm link, he contacted Kala in the cockpit. "Kala! when i tell you to, pull off the ships ignition systems and pull on the Hyperdrive lever. !" He hopes she understands. Pulling out a hydrospanner, "TB!" He called out for the astromech, who flew over using its own thrusters. "We gotta disconnect the couplings and power cords! Get over to the droid access and pull when i tell you!" The astromech gave it's own version of a "roger" and went over to the opposite side of the ship. "Everybody ready?!" TB gave a response, but he knows Kala can't, or won't- whichever term works best for a mute. 

        "PULL!"

        Deek and TB canceled out the couplings, with Deek also pulling out the ignition. The ship went dark and, thanks to the lurching motion, he felt them coming out of hyperspace, which means that Kala was able to do her task. He put the power ignition back in, and pulled the activator for the Hyperdrive out- just in case, you know. Pulling his head out, he towards the turret access and saw black though what little window he could see through.

        They were out of Hyperspace. 

        "Whew..." He exhaled. He got up onto his feet... and realized that the artificial gravity was back; One of the Mice must've gotten to it, or turning off the Hyperdrive fixed it. "Huh. Did one of the Mouse droids fix the gravity?" The legion of Mouse Droids rolled up and one of them, with a bird painted on the side, wiggled. "You did?" It wiggled again. "Huh. Nice work." The Mouse wiggled again as Deek walked past, causing the other mice and TB to look at it- with jealous or adoration? Who can tell with Droids that don't have a speech function.

        Deek returned to the cockpit and saw that Kala had returned to Hrieen's side. "How is he?" he asked, to which Kala responded with a shaking head. "Still out, huh?" Kneeling down, he looked at Hrieen's connection cable and pursed his lips. "It was the oddest thing... the Hyperdrive looked like a lightning storm. Have you ever heard of a Hyperdrive look like that?" She shook her head again. "I thought so..." He leaned against the chair. "I wonder if that's related to the 'roar' the Droids heard." She shrugged in response. He sputtered like a horse, then looked out the window. "At least we're out of Hyperspace."

        Hrieen groaned and grumbled as he regained consciousness. "Ugh....." Kala was gentle in helping him up, angling his back. "My head..." He moaned as he rubbed it. "What happened?"

        "The Hyperdrive malfunctioned." Deek said as he let go of Hrieen's connection cable. It zipped back into the connection hub. "It was sparking like a Sith Lord on a bad day, and the Droids said it roared." Hrieen looked at him like he was out of his mind. "I know, it makes no sense either."

        "So what did you do...?" He grunted as he got up against the wall. 

        "Disconnected it..." He held up the Hyperdrive ignition. "But in order to shut it off, i had to do a hard shutdown of all our systems ...meaning we're stuck wherever we came out at, and the shutdown means no map or communications until we get new navigation software and a hard refresh of our Comms., which had issues during the whole mess so whatever troubles it was having may be doubled." And that's not good. If they're in the middle of space, they're screwed beyond belief. If there's a planet or moon nearby, they may have a chance- bonus points if it's inhabited and with a space port. "So let's hope we're someplace inhabited."

        Hrieen nodded- given the situation, that was the only option they had. Although... "Why not just disconnect the ignition?" 

        "Explosion. Pulling it while its active has a 70/30 percent chance of us going kaboom." And there's the answer. "And i'm not putting this  back in until we run diagnostics on that thing."

        "Well, you're not sending me in back there..." Hrieen grunted as he rubbed where his connector is. He slowed to a pause as he remembered, "... When we activated the hyperdrive, i swear i saw a face. It looked like some nightmarish machine, but with a face."

        "A nightmarish machine?" Deek replied. He looked to Kala, and she shrugged unknowingly. "First we've heard of it."

        "Because that shouldn't happen..." He grunted again. "Is there any good news?"

        Is there any? "Um......" Getting up, Deek peered out the window. He pursed his lips, "We're not dead?"

 

        Several hours later, as the crippled and mostly-powerless H-Wing drifted through the blackness of space, those within it are working to get it operational again. TB and Deek were focused on getting the engines online, Kala was working on the sensors so they can find out if they are near anything- a system, a planet, a frozen comet, just anything. They'll even take a Imperial patrol; at least then, they'd know if they were still in the Galaxy.

       The Mouse Droids fluttered about, going to every part of the ship they can help out at. "Hye, Bird." He said to the Mouse Droid with the bird painted on the side. "Can you bring me a Carbon Cutter?" The droid made some kind of noise, almost like a 'rightaway, captain', them zoomed off. Moments later, it came back with the cutter in a clawed hand that came out the top of it; one of several modifications made to these little guys. "Thanks. Now can you go get inside and check the pumps?" It made that same noise again, then went into a little access hatch made for these guys.

       With built-in shades coming over his eyes, Deek cut off one of the Hyperdrive connecting cables. Better to not take any chances, after all. He kicked the cable aside, then did it to another, then another. Once that was dealt with, he put the cutter down and worked on the fuel injector, making sure it was working properly.

        Meanwhile, Kala, who was under the main table, pulled out a hard drive and was replacing burnt out drives with new ones they had on ship- they must've overloaded, she concluded. Once done, she slid it back into place with a satisfying click. The board lit up- the sensors were fixed. She pulled herself out from under it, sat up, then turned the table on. The hologram flickered and sputtered, but eventually turned on. Getting up onto her feet, she pressed a few buttons and turned some knobs to calibrate it. 

        "Is it working?" Hrieen asked as he walked into the cabin. Kala held up a single finger- 'gimme a minute'- then continued on. Eventually, the hologram became legible, returning to normal. "There we go." He said as he approached. "Now, how about we see what we're near to." She nodded and started a search program.

        "Shouldn't you be loading in your astrological data?" Deek commented from the maintenance room, tilting to the side to see what was going on.

        "I would if i didn't have a splitting headache." He groaned as he rubbed his aching cranium. "Have you ever hooked up to a computer system with a migraine? A lot of things can go wrong because of it, and it's also not pleasant." 

        "Fair enough." He stepped out of the maintenance room, dusting off his hands. He had grease stains and oil on his clothing, which was something nobody was going to point out at this time- no way to wash it. "Then let's hope we're near a place that has a map we can buy, eh?" Several seconds later, Kala activated the sensors. It will take some time as the sensor's range is only so limited. "Or at the very least, another ship in the area." They nodded in agreement... but all they could do was wait. 

        "So what do we do if we're in the middle of nowhere?" Hrieen asked.

        "Panic?" Deek coldly joked. "We don't have any food or water. We better hope there's something nearby, or else we won't last a day."

 

        "Anything?" Madine asked the woman in charge of one of the many sensor stations aboard Home One.

        "Nothing." The Rodian replied. "They aren't within range of our sensor scans, meaning they must've gone out-system."

        "That's not good..." Quarrie grumbled. "This was only a test flight- the ship wasn't kitted with food or water, and the fuel was only meant for this test flight."

        "Then let's hope they ended up someplace with a port." Madine commented. "Can we extrapolate where they could've ended up based on their last trajectory?"

        "I can try, but that's gonna be difficult; they were rolling around when it happened." But she went to work regardless to try and figure out where they could've gone. "But what happens if they ended up in Imperial space?"

        Madine and Quarrie looked at each other, each with the same worried expression. "Well, they're smart people." Quarrie spoke. "I'm sure they could think of some story that could be believed by the officers. Vader, far less likely, but your average captain or admiral..." 

        "Let's just hope they're still alive, at least." Madine said. "And if not... let's hope the droids can find their way back."        

 

        They still are, but after hours of scanning their immediate space and nothing coming up, it probably won't be long until hunger, dehydration, or boredom rears its ugly head and claims them. With all the repairs they could do on the inside taken care of, all the three organics could do was wait. And wait.... And wait........... 

        And wait.........................................

 

        Deek was flipping sabaac cards into a old trash bin he found in the supply closet, Hrieen was sprawled out on the sofa with a wet cloth to his head, and Kala was tending to the aching Gran. After flipping the last card into the bin, Deek sputtered like a horse as he sat back, resting his head on the holo-table.

        As if through some strange providence, the table flickered as the scans were finished. He leaned back to look up at the finished scan and frowned.  

        Nothing. They were in the middle of nowhere, and they were royally screwed. 

        "Remember earlier when i said if nothing showed up, we should panic?" The cyborg drolled, prompting the aliens to look towards him. "Now we can panic." He grunted as he got up. "Kiss your butts goodbye, people, cause we're not gonna have them in a week, if we're lucky." Kala shook her head, obviously noticing something he didn't. She approached the table and pointed to a spot off to the side. Deek stepped to the side and noticed what she saw: a slight bulge out of the corner. "What is that?"

        Hrieen sat up and tilted his head to get a look. "A bulge in the sensor data? What could that be?"

        "A planet? A comet? A star? Another Death Star? Who knows and who cares- it's something, and it's really the only thing we have to work off since we have absolutely no other options other then dying."

        Morbid, but true. "Then i'll set a course." Hrieen took a step towards the pilots seat, but collapsed when his head hurt again. Deek walked over, got him up off the floor, and put him on the nearby sofa. "Ow..." He grunted.

        "Maybe you should let Kala fly us there." Deek suggested. Hrieen agreed; he was in no condition to fly. Kala nodded when the idea was suggested and went to the pilots seat. "She does have pilot training, right?"

        "Of course she does."

        "Just making sure."

        Sitting down at the pilots seat and taking ahold the controls, she flicked on the switches and powered up the ship. Leaning to her right, she pressed a green button and brought up the sensor data. Tugging at the flight stick, the ship moved. It took some time to angle it in the direction of the bulge, but once they were aligned, she put some power into the engines and began their trek.

    
        While waiting for the course to be extrapolated, Madine returned to his tasks while Quarrie was taking a nap in an empty seat; no matter the species, old age is still tiring. But he woke up when the technician spoke up: "Sir." The Rodian sensor tech relayed back to Madine, who had the final casualty report from Hoth in his hands. He didn't dare say what happened, lest he demoralize everyone here... even though they probably already heard about it from the Holo-news. Regardless, he's going to keep the specifics hush hush. "I believe i have the course." He handed the report back to the officer who brought it to him.

        "Good." Madine replied as he approched. "Let's hear it."

        "Yeah.... um....." She went silent for a moment. That is never a good sign. "That's the thing... based on their trajectory, there's only a single system in that direction: Skye. Beyond that... it's unknown space before they hit the galactic rim. And at that point.... they're probably out in dark space."

        Quarrie shook his head; not in that they are likely dead, but at a mistake in her wording. "Doubtful. The Galactic Barrier won't let them."

        "The Galactic Barrier?" The Rodian asked.

        "It's the impassable barrier that surrounds our galaxy. Projected to be a perfect oval in shape, this barrier prevents anyone from leaving the galaxy. Nobody knows how or why it was created- related to the Force? Maybe. Natural? Probably. But we can't leave it. Many have tried, all have failed... though i've heard rumors that the Banking Clan has vaults outside the barrier, but i believe that's all hogwash. If the Hailwing did hit the barrier, the three of them are likely dead. Unless..." Looking at the map, he believes he knows where they went. "...they got lucky."

        "Lucky?"

        "Are you familiar with the Dwarf Satellites?" She shook her head no. "They are small dwarf galaxies that orbit around us, like moons to a planet. Two of those Dwarfs are within the barrier: Companions Aurik and Besh, but most everybody else knows them as Firefist and the Rishi Maze."

        "He speaks true." Madine spoke up. "They taught us about the Dwarf Galaxies in the Academy. The Maze we've explored a bit; the tunnel that connects it to us is near Kamino, and it's long been a den for pirates and mining companies as most of the worlds within it are dead. Firefist, unfortunately, remains mostly a mystery. From what i remember of history class, a expedition was sent into Firefist around 900 years ago, but all contact was lost and they were assumed dead. The Empire sent in Probe Droids during my time with them, but have yet to share what they found with the public, and i was too low on the totem pole to be privy to such information. What i do know is that they were preparing a expedition to the Dwarf, but i don't know if it was put on hold thanks to the war."

        "So we know nothing about this Firefist?"

        "No. Aliens from that place have regularly entered our own, and from what's been observed by their actions, Firefist is vastly different and more wild."

        "Another reason why we know next to nothing about Firefist..." Quarrie said as he approched the console. With a few press of the buttons, the path continued on, into the Unknown Regions. "...is that the Unknown Regions is the only location..." And the path went right towards the tunnel that connected the main galaxy and, "... to have the entrance to Firefist."

        

 

         It wasn't long until a speck came into view- a small insignificant one, at least at first glance, but as the ship got closer and more detail came into view, they saw what it was: a green, blue, brown, and yellow planet; a perfect garden world. 

        "So there was a planet nearby after all." Hrieen commented. "Lucky us, right?" He asked Deek, who was looking out the observation dome he had to step on several steps to look out of.

        "It looks like one, at the very least." The cyborg commented back. "It's still a bit too far to make out anything industrial, but at least it's something."

        "There any landmasses? I don't care if there's only a spit of land the size of a womprat."

        "It's got continents, so calm down. Besides, we can't be picky. It's the only planet in range with what little fuel we have left." He climbed down from the dome and headed to the table, where the planet now took up the whole thing. "Hopefully there's a civilization down there. Or at least a outpost."

        "What if it's Imperial?"

        Good question. There's always the chance they are in Imp space and they could be flying headfirst into a Imp controlled planet. Deek twisted his lips. What would they do in that situation? "Hmm... well, since this ship is a prototype, that means nobody outside of the crew that built it have ever seen a H-Wing before, so we could possibly come up with a good story." He looked down at teh Mouse Droids as they whisked pass. "We have Mouse Droids, and they are mostly regulated for Imperial use." He snapped his fingers. "We could say we are spies and that we built this ship specifically for the task of finding the main Rebel fleet. As for the lack of food and water......... i'm drawing a blank on that."

        "We'll figure it out soon enough." Hrieen said. He shouted up to the cockpit, "Take us down, Kala." She nodded and pulled on the flightstick.