Kybuss
Character · also known as Skorrek
A Sluissi starship mechanic on the Outer Rim colony world of Ghauba.
Appearance
A male Sluissi (a non-human species). The published chapters give very little direct physical description of him beyond his species — he is shown at his work in the Ghauba docking hangar, gesturing with a four-fingered hand — and no further features of his appearance are detailed on the page.
Personality
A dock mechanic at the Ghauba colony, Kybuss is regarded as one of the best ship techs around and plainly knows his craft, working on Quinel's freighter the Misfit Stray and reporting her nearly ready to fly. It was he who directed the family to Quinel seeking passage off-world. He is patient and generous as a teacher: he let young Tammea watch him work, answered all her questions, and never talked down to her, encouraging her by saying she had good instincts and a real gift for the work. Both Quinel and Tammea remember him warmly after his death among the colonists on Ghauba.
In the story
These sections contain spoilers, grouped by arc. Open only as far as you have read.
Arc 1 — Escape from Ghauba
Kybuss is a Sluissi mechanic working out of Hangar D7 at the docks of the colony world Ghauba, where he is servicing Quinel's freighter, the Misfit Stray. Quinel rates him among the best ship techs around. It is Kybuss who steers a family of refugees fleeing the Empire — Tammea and her parents, Damika and Deklaen — toward Quinel, giving them his ship's name and where to find him.
When Quinel comes to collect the Stray, Kybuss reports her nearly ready to fly and is walking Quinel through his repairs when stormtroopers enter the hangar to inspect the ship; Quinel handles the inspection, and once they leave Kybuss estimates he needs only about forty more minutes to finish. During the Imperial massacre and orbital bombardment that follow, his fate is left uncertain — Quinel later wonders whether Kybuss survived or became another victim of the attack. He does not; Kybuss is ultimately counted among the Ghauba dead.
Arc 2 — Cloud City Blues
Kybuss appears only in memory. Tammea remembers him as the mechanic back on Ghauba who let her watch him work, explained how ship systems fit together, never talked down to her, and told her she had a gift for the work — a formative influence on her interest in machines. Quinel confirms he knew Kybuss and calls him a good man. Grieving him is part of how Tammea finally mourns everything she lost at Ghauba.