Private But why's the hyperfuel gone?!

[Tessa Sedaire]

Cursing in a mixture of huttese and mando'a that might make a soldier blush, Tessa emerged from a floor panel and yelled at her Vhe'viin droid for a tool as the ship slowly rotated in free fall. Life support was on, but about everything else was off. There was a fuel leak, and for the moment they were dead in the water. Scrubbing at her nose with a greasy hand, she muttered as the droid dropped her the correct cutter and spun about in zero-g. Luckily her tattoo would keep her from vertigo, a fun side-effect of always knowing what way up was.

The distress beacon chimed as it relayed, and she worked against the clock. Which would win first was almost a race.

Jack Sparrow

 

[Jack Sparrow]

From the co-pilot's seat, Dewkazza the Wookiee growled a warning.

"Distress beacon?" asked Jack, lazily flicking a switch on the Black Pearl's flight console. "From whom?"

The Wookiee snarfed a reply, punctuated by a shrug.

"Well, I just thought perhaps they'd mentioned. It's happened in the past, you know."

The Wookiee growled.

"At some point! At some point in history, Dewey, someone must have included their name in their distress call. I mean, consider the odds!"

The Pearl had dropped out of hyperspace only seven minutes prior, deciding on a more leisurely pace to the desert planet of Sriluur. It was not one of Jack Sparrow's favorite locations, but his hold was full of pilfered goods, and the closest fence that could convert said goods into untraceable creds had a shop (a front, if one were being honest), in Meirm City. Jack was also not fond of Merim City, due to the copper-colored sea mist that tended to coat the craft that landed there.

"Good old Bermit Zon. How I hate him," muttered Jack, referring to the Quarren agent. "All right, Dewey, bring us up alongside. Let's see what we're dealing with, and then we can decide if it's worth an extra stop. Worst case, we raid them, pillage the wreckage, and let them continue to wait. Best case, we rescuse them, offload anything salvageable, gain their thanks, and keep it all as a well-earned reward for our efforts. Assuming anyone's still alive, that is."

Minutes later the Black Pearl was in visual range of the wounded ship. "Well she's a beauty, isn't she?" asked Jack softly.

Reading the ship's transponder code, Jack opened a channel. "Heartfire, this is Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl. Hello. Is anyone still breathing in there?"

Tessa Sedaire