Ghost of a Smile

Chapter Three

Over Rishi

The planet Rishi rotated almost imperceptivity as the light from the Rishi Maze blessed it in vibrant colors and a warm climate. Even from as far away as the end of the hyperjump point, daring travelers, young and trusting merchants, and pirates alike could see the glowing green-blue of the tropical waters and the reflective white sand beaches that awaited them on the planet below.

The Empire had left a token outpost down on the surface to catch the stupidest of the scum and villainy that frequented this planet. After so many attempts to bring Rishi to order which had only ever ended with various pirate crews retaliating by making off with entire Imperial shipments, the Empire decided against leaving a heavy garrison and just left the locals alone. It was the perfect place for rebels to plot and organize.

So long as they didn't allow themselves to be included as part of the 'stupidest of the scum'.

With a bend of the space-time material preannouncing the arrival of a ship, the U-wing thundered into existence. Inside, Ezra was at the pilot's chair, maneuvering the ship towards a common approach vector to begin their landing while Sabine was stocking her utility belt with bombs and paints.

"Hey, Sabine? Do I need to radio in for permission to land? It's just that, normally, they demand to see our clearance by now." Ezra turned and looked at her. She laughed under her breath.

"Not this planet. The Empire here is more of a symbol than a government. I don't even think they have anything to do with the local landing pads." She finished her task and moved to sit in the chair next to him. "We won't run into any Imperial trouble here, at least."

"So, we can land at the spaceports then? Of course, if we do, we'll just have to deal with pirate trouble, which would be awesome." Ezra replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm at the end.

"I'm willing to risk it. After all, we can fight pirates and walk away unaffected, if we fight the empire here, the entire mission will be scrapped. Probably for good."

A few moments of silence passed as the seriousness of the mission sunk into both of them.

"Alright, I got a couple landing pads on my scope, where are we supposed to meet Fulcrum?" Ezra asked.

"You see the mainland in front of us? It looks like the east most one on it is the closest to the meeting site." Sabine informed him after a moment of thinking. "You see it? It's right on the shore."

"Yeah, I see it." Ezra leaned closer to the display, squinting to see the pad's name, and scoffing when he read it, "They couldn't have been a little more original with the name, huh?"

"You can laugh all you want up here, but I'm sure 'Pirates Cove Landing Pad' is a perfect fit for what we're walking into." Sabine shot back with a grin.

Grinning in turn, Ezra brought the U-wing to a new approach vector, one that would bring the duo straight to the galaxy's greatest named landing pad, and began planetary entry.

Rishi - Imperial Outpost

"Excuse my interruption, sir, but this is important."

Captain Nira Duval, the current commander of the outpost on Rishi, forcefully blew the air out her nose and turned to face the young junior lieutenant, a poor example of an officer, even for his rank. Her frustration was written on her face.

"Why are you bothering me, Lieutenant?" She asked, though her tone was more accusatory than curious.

"We've detected a U-wing fighter exit hyperspace over Rishi, and it's entering the atmosphere."