Nowhere/Chapter 1

CHAPTER I: NOWHERE
The Nowhere drifted slowly through the dark vastness of space. The vessel had just left its home station from Orion IV, with the mission to deliver millions of credits worth of arms and armament to the Alliance base on Yavin 4. The ship was a relatively small recommissioned cargo vessel from the time of the Old Republic, commandeered by Captain Rylex.

“Welcome to the Nowhere.” Rylex addressed his new crew of misfits when the ship had just left Orion IV’s orbit. “I am Captain Rylex, commander of this vessel. Some background info – I was a serviceman in the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars, captained my first vessel at eighteen and now I’ve been assigned on this fine ship.” He explained. Rylex was a tall man. A Human standing near seven feet tall. He had a thick beard and weary grey eyes that have seen just about enough conflict.

“You are here on a mission. Nothing major – just dropping cargo.” He continued. “I don’t care why you joined, where you came from, which army you may have served in, if you had relatives who lost their lives to the Empire.” Rylex made it clear, his gaze piercing at every serviceman present. “All I care about is you doing your job and doing it as expected. We got a hundred tons worth of weaponry to deliver to Yavin 4. Normally we would just send the nearest dreadnought – but we’ve hit a blockade. Literally and figuratively.” He explained. Anders looked up at the booming captain. A lad of nearly nineteen, Anders joined the Alliance Fleet after he lost his parents on Corellia due to an Imperial raid. He was eager to fight the Empire – hearing of such heroes like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo putting their lives on the line to liberate the galaxy. His hair was a shade of blonde. Short and unkept. He wore simple clothes of green fabric, and a holster where a blaster sat. He had never used nor owned a blaster – and it felt both exhilarating and terrifying to own such an item.

“The Empire got wind of our activities in the Outer Rim and have set up a blockade that functionally bars any starship larger than an EF76 from entering the Gordian Reach. But we’re gonna go there anyway, because we’re smaller, faster and – “ Rylex was interrupted by two crewmembers chattering in the back. “Miss Serenity!” Rylex yelled, everyone’s attention being directed to the servicemen in the back. “Do you have anything you like to share with the class?” Rylex asked sarcastically. Serenity was a meager Twi’lek woman. Mischievous and daring. Serenity was most likely not her real name – not that she ever cared to share it. “Uh, yeah, actually.” She smiled. “We were wondering about the ship’s name, Cap’n.” She asked, looking with a fabricated shy gaze. Rylex looked away in annoyance. “The ship’s name?” He asked dryly. “Yeah. Nowhere. Why Nowhere? Why not, *Somewhere* instead?” She chuckled.

“A good question, Miss Serenity. Perhaps I would be inclined to share the secret with you if you would actually spend time calibrating the cannons instead of the men!” He yelled. Serenity looked unimpressed, the other crewmen laughing in response. “Funny, is it?” Rylex chided them. “We are on a mission to deliver precious cargo to a severely undermanned outpost! This isn’t some late-night romantic comedy you find on the HoloNet!” Rylex roared, putting the other servicemen – including Anders – to shame. “Back to your posts. Quartermaster Briggs can fill you in on your objectives if you so desire. Dismissed.” The gruntled captain ordered. The crewmembers followed, chattering with each other before they were assigned to their stations. Anders kept looking on to Captain Rylex in amazement. He was keen to begin his service to the Alliance – to freedom and democracy.