Im a Wanderer, Just like you!

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

Location: Void Station, space.

Void station. This place had history that ran deep. The last known owners had been the Black suns before their collapse, and now who owned it? Ellie didn't quite know, but she did know the Crop Duster needed a major overhaul.

Her last delivery job had given her a windfall, enough to install a brand new Sublight Acceleration Motor. The same type that was legendary fro providing excellent speed in the galaxy.

She in the hanger near the docking bays, wearing her usual hoodie and looking perplexed. Her brows were furrowed in deep concentration as she sat on the top of her YT-2400, hyrdospanner in hand. The young girl was up to her elbows in grease and grit. Her hair was a mess, and she was hungry. Really hungry.

"I hate this time of year." she mused out loud, before nicking herself on a sharp edge of durasteel.

"Kark!" She roared, sticking her finger in her mouth and sucking on the blood.

Not the best option, but it beat spilling the crimson substance on the already battered paint job.

 

[KR-04]

[member="Eliza Raxis"]

"Everything okay up there?"

The voice, belonging to a Human male, sounded pleasant enough. After all, even in a place like Void Station, nobody just threw out an expletive for the sake of it. The man's heavy footfalls - audible in the large and the unusually quiet hangar bay - got quieter and quieter until the man had gained enough distance to catch a glimpse of the cursing woman. The skinny girl sat atop the ship, one finger in her mouth and wearing a dirty hoodie. In contrast, the man himself was phenomenally well-built, wearing a green jacket and a dark gray shirt over black pants and boots. He offered up a smile and a wave, looking at her with the bluest eyes of anybody on the station.

----------

Target range is 15.3 meters from current position, elevated 6.3 meters.

Human female, approximately 20 standard years. Approximate height of 1.5 meters. Approximate weight of 50 kilograms.

Face is mildly flushed, indicative of heightened cardiovascular activity related to an elevated emotional state.

No visible weaponry.

Position on ship is indicative of familiarity or ownership. Choice of expletive enhances probability.

Inquire.

----------

"Lose a power coupling or something? Those suckers bite."

 

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

"Uh yeah. Well no. You any good with mechanics?" She asked, giving him a downward glance before returning to the hydropsanner. The area inside the compartment was pretty tight, and she had no intentions of sliding down there herself. The actual couplings that needed to be installed to the SLAM system were underneath a myraid of wires and coolant pipes.

Burst one of those and your ship might as well be a gonner. Like blow up, gonner.

"I'm having a really hard time getting this thing together!"

 

[KR-04]

[member="Eliza Raxis"]

"I can give her a look, sure! Just a second."

----------

Depth scan determines exterior scaffolding insufficient to withstand 950 kilograms. Reroute.

Access door from boarding ramp locked. Reroute.

Cargo elevator locked. Reroute.

Closest ship is 8.8 meters away. Maximum jump distance is 2.6 meters. Reroute...

----------

The man took his sweet time reaching the upper hull of the 2400, almost as if he had needed a map to find himself on top of a ship he had been standing directly under. But before the woman completely lost her patience, he had found himself approaching her, his deep blue eyes fixated on the sizable hole in the roof. His facial expression became an odd mixture of confusion and acknowledgement; it was a good thing she had called him, it seemed to say.

"Wow," the blue-eyed Human said, peering into the hole, "Force knows what would've happened to you if you fell down here. So what's all the fuss?"

 

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

"What would have happened? I would have crawled out dude."

Ellie made another weld, singing the wires in the process. Another stream of expletives escaped her and she got even redder. This wasn't the first time she'd worked on this rust bucket. Normally she could get anything done herself on it, but now?

Now was proving to be a bit of an issue. A real issue. She had another delivery job coming up, and without sub-lights, it was gonna have to be a series of Microjumps, exposing her vessel and herself to unnecessary risks.

"I don't believe in the force either. That's just some kind of hokey mystical religion to me."

 

[KR-04]

[member="Eliza Raxis"]

"Unfortunately, 'angels of Iego only knows' doesn't quite roll off the tongue the same way."

Flashing a smirk, the stranger slowly knelt to peer into the hole the woman had made, his blue eyes darting between the components, his expression now blank as he concentrated on the machinery before him. He was never focused on a given component for too long; as soon as he could clearly be seen looking at the power couplings, his attention was suddenly on the coolant pipe, and the instant an onlooker saw he was looking at the coolant pipe, his eyes were on the internal wiring...

----------

YT-2400 schematic and stock parts available in onboard database. Cross-reference visual identification with database to identify part.

Component identified: power coupling array.

Component identified: auxiliary power coupling array.

Component identified: sublight engine fuel injector.

Component identified: reactor connection node.

Unknown component.

Unknown component.

----------

...until his eyes were suddenly back on the young woman, his smirk returning to his lips.

"I might be wrong here, but if you can let me down there, I might be able to get your ship here running again."

 

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

"If you can fit down in there be my guest."

It was Ellies turn to smirk now, the conversation taking her mind of her anxieties and stresses. Docking yards cost a lot around these parts, charging upwards of five hundred credits a day to stay. With two nights on station she had practically pissed away almost all her earnings. The next job was gonna be a lucrative one, but that required her getting away from Void station before the bank broke.

There was fuel costs, and power cell costs, docking costs, tax on all that, plus food and....

She killed the line of thought, handing the guy the hydropsanner.

"Never got your name by the way. I realize I might have been a bit rude now. I'm Raxis, Captain Eliza Raxis of the Crop Duster."

 

[KR-04]

Dull surprise crossed the man's face as he prepared to reach down into the ship's innards; the problem component was just within arm's reach, and if he could pull the blasted thing out and replace it from here, all the better; getting stuck was clearly not on the fellow's to-do list.

"Jef. Jef Fyyar."

Jef reached out to take the spanner and finally breached the threshold of the open paneling, keeping his blue eyes on the faulty power coupling. In his estimation...

----------

Coupling connector lines are not fully secured. Rotate connector nodes counter-clockwise to release damaged component. Heat signatures inconsistent with reactor activation or electrical current.

----------

...the older ships, especially the CEC models, tampering with the vessels could lead to a host of problems that seemed minor until they made themselves known. Jef could not say for sure what had caused the connection between the main power coupling array and the primary sublight engines to go sour. For all he knew, a bumpy enough landing could have jostled it loose, and the resulting arcing power fried the power coupling into uselessness. Fortunately, CEC shipboard couplings were comparatively small, and replacement was easy.

With a few quick torques of the hydrospanner, one of the power coupling's two connection points came undone.

"So tell me, Captain," Jef said, half-joking, "what brings you to the Void?"

[member="Eliza Raxis"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

Jef Fryar. A name Ellie had never head before.

"Well Jef."

Ellie poked her head in the compartment, hair bobbing down as she did. The whole assembly looked ok. With on hand she pushed herself out and opened up her datapad, using the scanner to rove over the connections. Red rays swept from side to side, systematically analysing and mapping the components.

"I'm a Wanderer. I mostly take odd jobs here and there. Delivery girl type stuff. Right now though?"

The data pad pinged, indicating her scan was complete.

"I'm refitting for my next job. Some kind of scouting mission to an abandoned space station. Word has it there's some kind of valuable starmap or something left deep in the bowels of the databanks there. Unfortunately the station drifted way out of the limits of known space. My employer wants me to find it, and retrieve the info."

The data pad began to lay an over map of the old set-up over the new, pointing out key differences for her. Good for her studies later.

Then she stuffed it into her hoodie and crossed her arms, legs dangling over the side of the ship.

"What brings you here?"

 

[KR-04]

"Bounty hunting. Trying to, anyway; rough business to try and break into. But probably not as difficult as finding and securing a lost space station."

Jef grunted as the twisted the hydrospanner, finally unlatching the coupling from its first mooring. The grunt into something resembling a snicker, however, as Jef recalled Raxis's story about an employer finding a space station that had gone adrift that carried a valuable data cluster. The tale seemed a bit far-fetched...

----------

Damage sufficient to cause space station to go adrift is likely sufficient to destroy it.

The galaxy is mostly charted and star maps are usually carefully documented and copied. Inherent value is dubious.

Subject: Captain Eliza Raxis has possible intelligence deficiencies for her classification and definitive logical deficiencies. Securing YT-2400 Crop Duster should not be difficult.

----------

...but Jef wasn't about to say anything. The galaxy was a weird place, and he himself was relatively new to it. Nothing was outside the realm of possibility, even if it just sounded like - as Eliza had put it - hokey religion.

----------

No other visible crew of YT-2400 Crop Duster.

Inquire.

----------

"So," Jef began as he went to work on the second mooring, "you weren't just gonna go off and find this station yourself, were you? Wanderer or not, the galaxy's not the friendliest place to be."

 

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

Ellie cast a glance at Jef, smirking. With razor precision her hands ripped her Sawed off shotguns loose from their sheath’s and whipped them down, pointing directly at the weird guy. She didn't slip her fingers in the trigger guard, but merely kept him there, in her cross hairs.

It wasn't meant to be a threat, more of a gesture. As fast as the guns came out they went back, slid back into their bantha leather sheath’s with quick hands.

"You have no idea who I am or what I do Mr.Fryar. I am a Raxis. I come from a long line of freighter pilots and navigators. If the stations out there, I’ll find it, one way or another."

The datapad was pinging again. Probably Galactic Book, but she ignored it.

"The only question is, are you brave enough to take on the frontiers with me? I am always looking for a partner. The job itself is worth half a mil, due to the dangers involved."

Ellie kept a wry grin on her face, watching intently to see what the mans next move would be.

 

[KR-04]

[member="Eliza Raxis"]

Response indicative of solitary lifestyle. Further crew of YT-2400 Crop Duster improbable.

Credit value of 500,000,000 sufficient to repay debts to former Kuat Robotics executives.

Benefits to assignment completion: Transport acquisition, ID #404 uncompromised, Mission Accomplished.

Costs to assignment completion: Possible loss of ID #404.

Benefits outweigh costs.

Accept.

----------

"Sure, sure," Jef said, smirking, "I'll make sure you don't go and get yourself killed, oh Descendant of Mighty Astronavigators."

With a single twist of his arm, the second coupling popped loose, freeing the power coupling. Extraction would not be easy from this angle; one of them would have to go into the ship proper and provide a push to fully remove and replace the power coupling, but that would be much simpler a task. Far less finesse required. Jef was about to pull his arm out when he saw the sleeve of his jacket almost catch the same sharp edge that had caused Eliza to cry out in the first place...

----------

WARNING: Epidermal breach imminent.

----------

...before he angled his arm out of the way and slowly pushed himself upward, the durasteel beneath his hand almost groaning in protest as he rose to his feet, extending a hand to pull Eliza up with him.

"Besides, life's entirely too boring. I could do with something fun."

 

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

A new partner in crime. Ellie felt her euphoria surge, giving her a high in her head and smiled, patting the weird huy on the shoulder. What his whole pausing for was she didn't know, but he seemed alright to her. The job of affixing the SLAM system was done, thank god.

From her pocket she pulled the last of her credits, counting them. Just about five hundred, and now the job was done early which meant she had twelve hours to blow in civilization, or what passed for it; before heading into the great unknown. Her stomach rumbled, growling like a feral beast.

"Sweet. I knew you had some kind of reason for being here. Wanna go get a bite to eat before we go? On me of course."

Ellie jumped down, impacting the deck and rolling into it. She sprang up off her shoulder to her feet, grinning.

She could be a showoff sometimes...

 

[KR-04]

[member="Eliza Raxis"]

Jef barely had time to reply before the sprightly young woman leaped from the dorsal hull of the ship and onto the deck of the station. He glanced at the deck before turning back to his new partner, taking another glance at the deck before looking back to the hole in the ship. He would not have much luck getting through to the interior and taking the boarding ramp down from there. But a full jump? From that height? Jef was not nearly so springy. With slow, measured steps, Jef made his way to the ship's stern and knelt down once more, gripping the top "fin" just above the primary engine exhaust. Jumping off, Jef held fast to the top fin and let himself dangle for a moment before dropping slightly, grabbing the bottom fin and stopping himself before letting go one final time, landing on the deck of the space station with a dull thud.

The Human turned to the pilot and shrugged his shoulders, smiling.

"If you're buying, sure. Just remind me to grab a few things before we go, yeah?"

 

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

Two Mins later.....

They had walked down the station main-ways, keeping an eye out for a suitable eatery. On her chronometer Ellie was counting down the remaining hours she had left at her docking space. Something quick and easy would suffice. Her eyes scanned the shops and clubs, until she found one that she liked.

It had a purpled dragon on the sign, and the bouncers were dressed in some standard grey fitted uniforms. They looked harmless enough, and there was general outlet across the walkway from it. Ellie turned to Jef and nodded.

"Anything you want to eat in particular? I'll grab a bite for us both, if you wanna grab your hear."

The spacer girl rolled up her sleeve, tapping the circular chronmeter with her gloved fingers.

"Time is ticking."

 

[KR-04]

"Y'know," Jef said, having looked at the menu at least half a dozen times by now, "I'm not feeling too hungry. I'll take a raincheck on that lunch."

Eliza wasn't the only one whose mind was elsewhere. Jef had a full crate that he would have to have transported onto the ship proper, and its contents were not the kind he was apt to have shown about. Every second they were not in his possession was another second he had a variable in play. As a rule, Jef tended to dislike variables.

"So tell me," Jef said, turning his blue eyes to Eliza, "you know anything about this station your employer wants to ransack? Apart from it being drifty and spacey and holding some important chart."

[member="Eliza Raxis"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

Eliza smiled, picking up two old fashioned hotdogs and holding them in her hand as she squirted what was known as Ketchup round these parts on them.

"What do I know? It's in Uncharted territory and holds a section of a map my employer wants. Beyond that not much."

She had to admit it was a blind job. No intel, no brief, no reports of crew count or what had happened to it. It could be a myriad of factors, a radiation leak, piracy, overrun by Reavers or Rogue Yuuzhan Vong. The Uncharted regions had things there that were as terrifying if not more than a horde of Sithspawn beats bearing down on you.

Ellie knew, she'd been there once.

"Safe to assume it's full of something really bad, if not half destroyed. Odds of death, dismemberment or other means of destruction are highly probable."

She took a ravenous bite of the hotdog, spilling half of it down her front.

"Any other questions?" She asked.

 

[KR-04]

[member="Eliza Raxis"]

"Not a one," Jef said, smiling at the younger woman, "not a one."

Pulling his comlink from his belt, he clicked it on and said something in a language Eliza hadn't heard before...

----------

Move contents of Crate 1, Barrel 1, and Barrel 2 from YT-1300 Summer's Day to YT-2400 Crop Duster immediately. Payment upon delivery.

----------

...and watched with a small chuckle as she cleaned off the foodstuffs from her front. The woman had a spark, no question about it. If nothing else, she had an enthusiasm that was lacking in so many that Jef had met before. The prospects excited her. The danger did not deter her. The plan was an absurd one, and yet she was willing to go headlong into it anyway. It was an admirable quality in many sentients across the galaxy. Perhaps not the most intelligent, but that often came with time and experience; the absence of both was glaringly obvious in Eliza's case. For all Jef knew...

----------

Variables indeterminate.

----------

...she may just surprise him.

"Ready when you are, Captain."

 

[RC 212]

[member="KR-04"]

Much Later

They were loaded and ready to rock. Ellie had topped off her fuel and the rations reserves. Much of the ship was still a work in progress, but the Crop Duster held her own.

They were six minutes from their scheduled jump. She was sitting in the captains chair, head bowed in deep concentration. Navigating was her skill, and she was able to do it without the nav computer. It was a lucky shot too, because starcharts did not exist where they were going. Only one way there and one way back.

As she plotted in her mind, imagining the course space seemed to expand. Little threads of multicoloured paths lay before her, each having its own weight of danger vs reward. It was a common ratio she used to plot, feel the path, travel it in her minds eye and see what was there. A few were dead ends, yielding a massive feeling of butterflies in her gut. The others were solid enough, and process of elimination brought her down to one.

A single route she held in her concentration as her fingers hovered over the hyperspace lever.

"Almost ready."

The drives fired up, whirring as they spun the gamma radiation needed to tear a rift into hyperspace. Ellie kept a close eye, balancing her focus between watching engine and drive readings, and trying to keep the path close to the fore of her thoughts.

To Jef it'd appear that she was doing a blind jump, evidenced by the fact that the nav computers screen was black and lifeless.

 

[KR-04]

"Uh...

----------

Navigational systems inoperative.

Hyperdrive engaged.

----------

...we sure about that?"

Jef looked incredulous as he stood firm in the cockpit, holding the top of the copilot's chair rather than taking a seat and strapping himself in. The look of worry crossing his face said more than his question ever could. There was Eliza, happily plotting away without her ship's navicomputer, and from the sound of things the hyperdrive was close to firing up and launching them into an asteroid. Or a star. Or, even if she was a born navigator, the very station they were supposed to land on. There was a lot being taken on faith right now, and despite his choice in expressions, Jef was not the praying type.

"I mean, navigator or not, a blind jump is juuuuuuust a bit...I dunno...suicidal?"

[member="Eliza Raxis"]