There Beneath

[Kinsey Starchaser]

She hadn't admitted to Xin that she couldn't swim but he knew she didn't like water. Funny that she didn't mind floating in the void. A tether the only thing between her and oblivion. And a sketchy tether at that along with a sketchy, well-used and patched up spacesuit.

Familiar. And that meant home.

Blues focused back on the derelict space station ahead as she floated closer and closer. Cutting saw strapped to a tool belt on the suit's waist. Things held on by Velcro and adhesive. Yup. Just like home.

The only light came from the Vagrant ship's beams. She spoke to the others as they floated near different entry points. "Not enough stability to dock doesn't bode well for the rest of us once we get in the station. Doubt there'll be air but we'll see. Probably looted by everyone else by now. Then again," lips pursed as she activated her grav-boots. "Didn't show up on our sensors either."

Maybe she'd find something to finally pay off her debt with the fleet. There were other things she didn't want to find as well. There'd been talk of living dead, Vong hives, pirates, and much worse. All possibilities when salvaging.

 

[Shorarri]

The ship aptly named Rust Bucket floated along listlessly through the open void of space. It’s engines spluttered and died repeatedly as the pilot attempted to start the ship up again and again.

“RARGH!” Shorarri roared in frustration as the ship refused to move.

The autopilot had failed while Shorarri had been traversing an asteroid field, as a result the Wookiee had been forced to fly. This did little good for the ships well being as Shorarri didn’t know the first thing about flying. By some miracle he had managed to escape the field of rocks with the Rust Bucket almost in one piece. But now, the engines wouldn’t start and Shorarri was worried that if he activated the hyperdrive the dang thing might blow. So, he atempted to fix it the best way he knew how.

“ROOOAAARRRR!”

WHAM

Giant hairy fist came crashing down on the control panel. Two large dents appeared where the Wookiee’s fist had landed and smoke began to pour out of the flight console. Red emergency lights began to flash throughout the ship and a new message appeared on the diagnostic machine.

Life support failing. Emergency signal transmitting…

“Rargh…” (Feth)

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Shorarri"]

Grav-boots clicked on the outside of the abandoned station. Head swiveled as she looked at the others within her peripheral, all clicking into place at different points. How many were there? Just three or four of them? Once inside, they'd still be a good distance apart but hopefully not too far apart if either of them got into some kind of trouble.

Gloved hands swung the hull-cutter saw around, thumb flicking on the switch once she made sure her tether and general self were clear.

A crackling came over her comm set.

"What's that?"

Finger tapped the emitter along the side of her helmet.

"Got a distress signal coming from your side of the station?" Hirrau's voice came in loud and clear.

"Alright. Once I breach I'll check it out." Electrosaw cut through a hole large enough she'd have no problems slipping through and sealing it with the temporary shield. Harness was clipped to her entry point, then she used the gravboots to walk right on in. Lights flickered down the corridor.

"Looks like we've got some power. Testing now for air quality." Shield activated over the hole she just created, sealing out the vacuum of space.

 

[Shorarri]

[SIZE=11pt]Shorarri stared in dismay at the machine as it continued to chirp about his imminent doom. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do, he was in the middle of nowhere and there appeared to be no sign of help coming anytime soon. Shorarri let out a low sigh, he had come to this part of the void seeking salvage, but instead all he found was trouble. It quickly dawned on the Wookiee that he might be able to find the parts to repair his ship on the derelict station, all though it seemed more likely the station had probably been picked clean already. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Still, it was worth a shot. Shorarri made his way through the [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Rust Bucket[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt], red emergency lights flashing throughout the ship, and entered the airlock. The room pressurized and the docking bay doors opened with a whir. The air in the station was thin and Shorarri thought he could smell the rust in the air, but the artificial gravity was still operational, so their was hope. The Wookiee’s eyes quickly adjusted to the darkened corridors, but did little to comfort him. The dark reminded him of the jungle floors of Kashyyyk, where the Wroshyr trees grew so tall and the leaves so thick, it was rare to catch even a glimpse of the sun. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Shorarri reached for his Ryyk blade, but as his hand grasped emptiness he remembered he had left it on the ship. Instead opting to bring a plasma cutter and some tools he had placed in his satchel. As the Wookiee traversed the decrepit station he began to hear a noise. Like that of a plasma cutter. He sought to investigate and was surprised when he spied a human. Or so he thought, it was hard to tell who exactly was under the spacesuit. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Rargh, arr err,” (What are… Who are you and what are you doing here?) He asked cautiously.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]He wasn’t sure if his mind was playing tricks on him or if his luck had made turn for the better and he had stumbled upon his saviour.[/SIZE]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Shorarri"]

Pressure normalized and the young girl stepped forward - only to come face-to-face with a wookie. Who was breathing. Blues the color of starbursts widened. Gloved hands rose slowly as her head cocked, catching the last bit of the roar.

Good thing she understood wookie. And binary. She missed that astromech of hers.

Fingers pressed down on the helmet release switch and she peeled it off, resting the convex piece of equipment on one cocked hip. "Could ask the same of you," she drawled slowly. "But don't worry, not here to hurt you or anything." Said the average-sized girl to the large wookie. As long as those furry arms of his didn't wrap around her throat.

Whew yeah. The air was certainly stale in here. Probably didn't have much oxygen left.

"Name's Kinsey. That your distress signal we picked up?"

Shot in the dark but worth the inquiry.

 

[Formorta]

A derelict space stations, it gave Fomrota bad memories of the one filled with acid spitting Xenos, still the fleet needed parts, unfortunately there were no vac suits that tailored to her 'specific' needs. This meant her entrance tot he station was slower that [member="Kinsey Starchaser"], having to maneuver her Collon fighter to the side and to a docking port. It was risky given the stations condition, but it was better then having on of the mains cruisers exploring from the inside due to some tiny and easily fixable problem.

The craft docked with the airlock, but the door did not open, "Fuck, power must be out, or really low". Formorta moved out of her seat and to the air lock, giving it a once over before presenting her virbo blade, driving them into the steel with all her might, slowly but surly cutting through the control panel, "What I would do for a light saber". Finally there was a big enough hole to reach through and she went to work connection wire from the door to her fighter, "This better work". The wires snapped together, the door shuddering a bit before slowly opening into the dark and empty space station.

Her arms reached around the door and pulled her through, an leery feeling washing over the expert sniper, 'looks like somthing out of a bad holo film'. She breath in, her mask and oxygen supply being used instead of the stale air of the station, it only lasted 15 minutes, but that would be plenty of time, unless something happened, which if her track record was anything to go by was a certainty.

[member="Shorarri"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Shorarri"] [member="Formorta"]

Head cocked. Thin shoulders shrugged when the Wookiee didn't say anything else. Taking her chances, she ducked around the side of the furry bulk. The station didn't have much stake oxygen left and her suit wouldn't last her forever.

Gloved-hand brought the comm up to her lips as she crept further into the station. There was an intake facility somewhere on this level. Hopefully, she'd get lucky. The Wookie was more than welcome to follow.

"Kinsey to fleet members. Everyone able to make it? Formorta you in? See anything? I just ran into a stranded Wookiee."