Cruise Control

[Tribunal Power]

Koda System, Outer Rim Sector I-18

Koda Space Station, over Ryoone​

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Located at the end of the Koda Spur, the Koda Station was the last stop along a hyperspace route that few used. Legitimate business seemed to avoid the place, and as such, it had become a popular stop for smugglers and pirates looking for a bit of shore leave. Security was independent and largely as criminal as the customers, and while fights were common in the cantina, they were less common elsewhere; as such, the meeting point was set for Observation Deck 02 along the outermost ring of the station. The small station had little to offer outside of the criminal element, and so as Xiu stepped into the observation deck, she wondered what her companions might look like-- if she had any.

It had taken some time for the client to get back to her, after being contacted for the job. Xiu had responded to a public posting requesting a crew to find and recover a derelict ship; it had been several cycles since she reached out to the client to take the job. She wondered if the client was putting together a team, or if he was researching the background of the applicants to ensure the quality of their work.

Standing with her datapad in her hand to await the holocall as instructed, she leaned against the frame of the observation screen that overlooked the planet Ryoone. Her armor clacked against the durasteel wall. Xiu had never been to the ashy world below; overlooking it from the station, it seemed exotically beautiful.

Image credit: Shaun-S-Minns, DeviantArt​

There were a few people milling about the observation room, but none of them had the look of a merc; they looked like drifters or vagabonds, maybe an out-of-work smuggler here or there. Xiu suspected the client was not letting just anyone handle this task; she imagined she would find out why sooner or later. They gradually disappeared from the room as she waited, off to handle some other nefarious business about the station no doubt, and eventually it was just her.

She glanced at the doorway, her fingers idly dusting the holster of her pistol as she anticipated the arrival of whomever else may have been told to meet here for the job. Hopefully, they weren't utterly incompetent; that seemed to be her luck lately.

@Sal Falūd @TheHook1

 

[Talon maara]

Archers large feet hit the ground, as his massive 3 meter tall, 413kg body worked its way towards the OD#02. He wasnt sure what to expect, whether it be seasoned warriors or just children out to play. Either way Arc was expecting a good payout. He had a debt to pay, but unlike most sentient beings debts, his didnt mean life or death. His debt was a friendly debt he felt he owed his best friend, a selonian whom saved him some years ago and well, Archer felt he owed him in return and was on his way to do just that.

The massive Houk walked upon the deck and looked about, not seeing a soul he grunted. His eyes over looked the smaller female whom stood overlooking the planet simply only for she didnt look to much like a dirty scalywag or a no do gooder. Archer wore his plated armor under a massive hooded cloak/cape, and wore it well. For his massive size he still was able to maneuver silently and walked to the glass window placing his hand upon its cold presence. Staring out into the darkness of space he wondered If he had been tricked, lied to or just been miss informed.

Arc pulled aside his cloak and ensured he was carying his rifle, and long handled sword. He never knew what to expect. Even IF this was a trap he made sure he was ready.

 

[The Captain]

Vol had said it once and he'd say it again, grunt work was not his forte. While the Chagrain did look the part, dusty clothes, clunky blaster pistol on his hip, beat-up battle rifle with someone elses name carved into it, he didn't carry himself like a thug. His head was held high, his posture straight, his movements brisk and precise, the man moved more like a Muun than a mercenary.

Such discrepancies might lead an ovserver to question why Vol was even here. He wasn't a professional fighter, he was a con man at best. And yet here he was, running a mercenary contract for a pirate.

Vol wasn't a soldier, but a little networking never hurt, and he was always eager to make criminal connections. As he entered the observation room, he noticed a massive, cloaked figure and a woman in heavy armor leaning on the railing. Concluding that these two must be part of the group he'll be working with, he strode over to the railing and stood along with them, starring off into the void of space.

 

[Tribunal Power]

Xiu's eyes were drawn by the massive figure that entered the room, concealed in a cloak. Quirking a brow, she observed him for a moment; with his hood up, she could not tell what he was, but when he drew back his cloak to check his gear, she gathered that he was here for a job. A moment later, another fellow came in, a chagrian with a confident stride; he looked a bit better off than most of the criminal element around the station. Just as he entered, Xiu's datapad vibrated, and she opened the call on her commlink.

"Saffron," said the voice. "It's Dr. Tina Reeves."

"I'm at the meet location," Xiu replied. "What now?"

"I can see you're all there, so please put me on holo."

Hesitating a moment, Xiu glanced up into the corners of the room. There was a camera in the corner over the door frame; how did Reeves have access to it? Was she here on the station, or was she some kind of hacker? It didn't matter right now, she supposed; reluctantly, she did as the Reeves said, glancing to the others around her as she held out her datapad and set the call to holo-mode. An image fizzled into view over the datapad.

"There we are," said the woman. She was pretty, blonde-- she looked to be about the same age as Xiu herself was. She had a light and lilting voice, but confident and demanding as well. "Saffron, Vol, Archer; thank you for coming. I won't waste your time-- let's get to it.

"I am asking you to recover a yacht last seen in sector I-16. It contains some information I need, and was supposed to arrive here at this station some time ago, but sailed right past. It has not responded to any hails or attempts to rendezvous. It had aboard a basic nav and security crew and about a hundred passengers."

"You want us to bring back the whole ship?" Xiu interjected.

"Ideally, yes," responded the doctor, "but I'm well-aware that the odds are high the crew is dead, and as such it would be difficult to bring the ship back in it's entirety. If recovery of the ship is impossible, there are a few things I need from it: the ship's black box, the captain's log, and any security logs you can find. I have patched myself into your commlink to remain in communication throughout the detail."

With a nod, Xiu began to wonder what may have happened to the ship and crew. A mutiny perhaps? Betrayal? Pirates? She smiled as she mused that idea; she, a pirate herself, going to recover a ship that very well may have been ransacked by compatriots. Soon, she thought, I'll be doing the ransacking myself instead of this busywork.

There was a moment of silence, and the hologram looked from one participant to another. "Any questions?"

 

[Talon maara]

"Any questions?"

The hologram asked. Replying vigorously Archer asked

"Is there going to be food?....."

Arc looked around the room at the others. Overlooking their person, semi disappointed in the fact they didnt look like warriors to his standards. But he felt it would show in due time.

All that crossed through Archers mind was there was a ship......and he needed a ship.....

 

[The Captain]

"Ahem, I have an actual question. Are there any potential threats in the area we might encounter? Pirates, slavers, Simpletons?"

Vol steeped in front of the Houk, apparently named Archer, and directly addressed the woman in the hologram. He didn't want to go into a potentially life threatening job uninformed, even if the crew for this mission looked like they could handle themselves in a fight. While he wasn't much of a fighter himself, he knew how to handle a blaster, and slicing skills always came in handy.

 

[Tribunal Power]

The scientist looked at Archer and quirked a brow, replying, "Provisions are not provided... Though you can buy all the food you like when you get paid."

She turned her attention to Vol, nodding at him as he asked his question. "Well, there's the rub. I don't know what you may encounter-- I have no information on how or why the ship has gone dark. At this juncture, I'm only willing to say that the information I've requested is of the utmost importance, above all else, and that you three should be prepared for anything. And I do mean anything."

Glancing to her new allies, Xiu shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like the sound of that. Withholding information, even for good reason, always rubbed her the wrong way. Still, whatever there was, it was worth checking into-- worst case scenario, she could bug out if she didn't like the way things looked from a distance.

"Now then," spoke the scientist again, "Vol, I'm told you're good with computers. That may be needed to access the ship and some of its compartments. The best way to board the ship will be through the airlock; if you can slice into the ship's nav computer remotely, you can override the safety locks and your crew can enter there." Dr. Reeves looked at the three of them before nodding her head, and saying, "That's it, then. I wish you the best of luck. I'll be in touch."

The call ended, and Xiu tucked her datapad away. She looked to Vol and said, "So, you're some kind of hacker, then? Good to have you along." She glanced up to the Houk, then back to Vol. "Since we're all in this together, we may as well introduce ourselves," she said. "Name's Saffron. Do either of you have a ship?"

 

[Talon maara]

Looking down at the two, Arc shook his head. He didnt have a ship but he sure needed one. Archer smirked thinking about what could possibly happen. All sorts of situations and outcomes flooded his mind. Each one exciting his mind with every thought.

"Archer's the name.....no ship....."

He replied. The Houk was curious to if ANY of them had one or would they need to tactically aquire one. He enjoyed this type of work, even for his age it still made him feel worth something. It was in his blood, and it was the upmost honor to spill it all in battle.

"When we leave?"

He questioned Xiu, he really wanted food. His stomach was constantly rumbling from his journey here to said station.

 

[The Captain]

"Vol Kalinth, at your service." It was nice to have his more subtle skills appreciated for once, most people only cared if he knew which end of a blaster to point at people. Still, with no one present owning a ship, it looked like they would have to get creative with their transportation. Although, acquiring a ship was the least of Vol's concerns, given the doctor's lack of information regarding what had attacked her ship.

"Well, it appears as though we'll have to 'borrow' a vessel from someone else."

 

[Tribunal Power]

Xiu regarded the both of them and their introductions, before looking to Vol. "Not necessary-- I have my own. More ships would have given us a tactical advantage, but we can work out of mine just fine." She glanced to the Houk and gave him a subtle grin, adding, "And yes, you can have some of my food if you're buying drinks when we end up station-side again."

If we are all alive then, she thought grimly. It was just her gut talking, she knew that-- she had an uneasy feeling about this, and her gut was seldom wrong. Still, she had to hold her nose and get it done if she wanted the creds-- and she really, really wanted the creds. Besides, this Archer fellow looked like he wasn't going down without taking a whole hell of a lot with him, and with her to back him up-- well, she wasn't sure a job like this could throw enough at them for that kind of outcome. It was hard not to feel invincible with a partner like that standing next to her, but Xiu let the bittersweet mortality of reality seep back into her thoughts as she prepared to leave the observation deck.

As she turned toward the doorway, she tapped the brim of her armor's neckline, deactivating the commlink that operated via throat mic. It was a power-kill to the electronic comms her suit used, and allowed her to talk privately. "Word to the wise, this Dr. Reeves has access to our comms, she said candidly. "I don't entirely trust her-- there's more she's not telling us. With access to our comms, it means she can hear everything we say-- so if you need to say something only meant for us, signal and kill your comms. That means unplug them, disconnect them, take the batteries out-- however your comm system works, because even if they're just turned off, it doesn't mean it's not accessible." She reconnected her comms and pressed the same key on her neck, holding it down. "You should be able to link in with me now. Patch in to me and you'll also be linked up to my ship."

Leading the way down the halls toward the section of docks nearest to them, she made an effort to keep an eye on the criminal rabble around them. While she felt better not having to worry about the law, she was just as edgy around the criminal element, as they were unpredictable and entirely self-serving-- just like her. Turning the corner down the hall to Dock 09, she lifted her datapad again and pressed a few buttons-- disable the security measures in her ship and unlocking the manual lock on her ship's airlock.

Stepping through the rustic but functional automatic doors of the station, she was greeted by the familiar face of her ship's external airlock port. The doors closed behind them and the pressure checked to even out, unchanged since both the station and the ship contained the same atmosphere. A moment later, the doors to her ship parted and she stepped in. Now inside the airlock of her own ship-- a feature not contained in all ships, but very necessary if one intends to leave the vessel while in space-- she stopped to allow the doors behind her to close, and to allow the ship to scan them for possible contaminants. When the scan cleared, the internal doors opened before them, revealing a spacey but quaint freighter interior that was worn with age and character.

"Welcome to the Final Word," she said. "She's a lot like me. Treat her with respect, and she'll be good to you."

She moved to the right and down the grey-scale hallway, taking another right into a small storage room full of plasteel containers. She punched in a keycode with quick fingers on the face of one of the cylindrical containers, and the lid opened to reveal that it was full of rations. She reached in and grabbed one, pulling it out-- only to hesitate a moment to look at Houk's size, and grab another. She thrust it towards him and said, "Hope you like field rations, because they were on sale on Nar Shaddaa. Didn't pick the flavors, so enjoy the surprise-- think of it as a mystery gift. There's a flash oven over there to heat it up, if you want." She gave him a smile, kinder than her appearance should allow but genuine nonetheless.

With that resolved, she turned back down the hall and moved toward the cockpit-- but not before snagging a bottle for herself from the container, closing it behind her. Walking through a large open room containing a circular console and down another hallway before opening into the small room that contained two seats and a giant viewscreen that stretched from floor to ceiling, curving around the room from left to right. Already engaged, the viewscreen displayed the open space ahead of them illuminated by the sunlight reflected from the planet below and the floodlights of the station beside them. A midnight canopy of starlight was unfurled before them, and no significant celestial bodies appeared before them other than a spatter of pinprick stars and planets.

Taking the seat on the left, just beside her rifle and the helm that sat atop it over the barrel, she adjusted her posture before punching a few keys on the console before her. The whirring and fizzing sound of the ship detaching from the dock could be heard even in the cockpit-- a telltale sign of aging equipment-- and soon, the ship jolted ever so slightly as it achieved breakaway. Normally Xiu would communicate with station control before departing, but with this particular station there was no point; no one was really in control at all. Traffic came and went unchecked, no logs or accountability were maintained-- and that was how most of the 'residents' liked it. While the lack of a paper trail was nice, it also left a lot to chance. Xiu wasn't happy either way.

The bottle she had set on the console rattled slightly, and she frowned at it; the ship's inertial dampers had a habit of not keeping up in slow-speed maneuvers, and it was just enough to annoy her. She made a mental note to tweak them later. As the ship lurched from the station, she pushed the throttle forward, and the impulse drive began to pick up speed, shoving out into open space. Leaning back into her chair, waiting for a comfortable distance to enter hyperspace, she took up the bottle and popped the cap using the corner of the console and the ball of her fist, taking a long swig. The dark nutbrown beer was nice and cold from its storage, and it felt positively soothing as it hit her throat. Dathomiri ale was her favorite, though it was pricey without returning to her home system; still, having a small drink before a job made her feel a little more at home. She wouldn't be finishing the bottle now-- she needed to keep a clear head. Just enough to steady the hands, that's all she needed.

Glancing over her shoulder to her companions, she offered up the bottle, in case either of them were-- like her-- perhaps a tad bit dependent.

 

[Talon maara]

Archer noticed Xiu unconnect her comms and grant them with a small piece of information on their.....employer. Gratefully the houk nodded in affirmation unsure what to trust anymore. Steadily following his companions in the rear he onlooked at all the wrong doers that floated around him. Studying them, wondering if they too had, had a life such as he.....wondering what started their whole...dark lives....? Screwed over? Raised wrong? Or possibly enslaved like he??? Regardless of their reasons, Archer knew they had one thing in common.... They all could go to prison.

'Food' Arc was pretty hungry, seeing his long journey across the galaxy....and his massive stature and high metabolism all mixed creating his astounding size. Following Xiu anxiously to sit and endulge in a savory sustenance, he stepped up to the ship she called home, he watched as she stepped in to be cleared and stepped out to allow them to be cleared.

Once Archer and his companions were cleared he followed her up to a pantry like cabinet and pulled out not one but two entrées for him to partake in. Thinking back about her comment on her hoping he liled them he thought to himself

'well its gotta be better than slave food....'

But either way he didnt care at this point. Finding a chair he sat down behind Xius captains chair and began to engorge himself, only realizing there were three of them and he slowly offered up some of his food to the other two, seeing it was only polite.

The houk had noticed her offer him and Vol a drink of her beer and he mindly declined. Archer didnt like the taste of alcohol, but after the mission was still willing to 'buy drinks'. Archer didnt talk much, he was raised, trained, 'forged' fought and killed in battle. He was used to physical interactions over verbal, so this was new to him.

"....Thank you....."

He muttered to the female for his meal. He enjoyed it regardless of its origins. Archer placed his rifle at his side, and his blade across his lap, leaning his head back he began to nod off......the dreams began to flood his mind as the night terrors of his past revealed themselves to him.

--View attachment 2957View attachment 2958View attachment 2959

 

[The Captain]

'Of course she's hiding something from us,' Vol thought, as he followed Xui to her ship, 'I'd be concerned if she wasn't.' Vol was more than prepared to disable his comms if need be, he wasn't about to become blaster fodder for someone.

Passing by countless thugs, pirates, and madmen on their way to the ship, Vol kept his head up and his eyes firmly locked forward. Criminals are like akk dogs, if they smell fear on you, they'll eat you alive. Entering the vessel alongside the Houk, he took a seat near the captain's chair, tactfully denying both the alcohol and Houk-slobber covered food provided to him. Vol liked to keep his wits about him in combat situations, and the sight of Archer eating so much had spoiled any appetite he might have had.

 

[Tribunal Power]

When they dropped from hyperspace some hours later, they were pulsing through sector I-16, well into wild space beyond the Outer Rim. Xiu took an initial survey of the area, seeing only space and stars and a distant nebula. She started a long-range scan of any dense body, simultaneously scanning for distress beacons in the area. As the ship's sensor array did the searching for her, she leaned back, tapping her armored fingers against the mostly-full bottle on the console at her side.

Casting a glance to the Houk, who seemed to be resting peacefully, Xiu decided to let him rest for now, oblivious to the dreams he suffered. She then turned to Vol, stretching in her chair with her back arched and her arms out wide. "You're awfully quiet," she observed. "'Strong and silent' type?" He looked as though he was always thinking, calculating-- as if the universe before him was an old book, every moment another word on a page, and he was only vaguely interested in turning the page but for his intrigue in what might concern him. Xiu could relate to that, in a way, but at the same time felt a distant caution for that type. If he was indeed anything like her, he was smart-- and smart meant dangeorous.

How dangerous, and to whom, remained to be seen.

 

[The Captain]

Vol had spent the bulk of the trip trying to get a read on the mysterious woman piloting their ship. The Houk was easy, a simpleton who enjoyed little more than violence and hedonistic pleasures. A physical threat, but hardly a mental challenge. This Xui, however, was proving far more difficult to pin down, as she showed moments of both intelligence and ignorance. Considering the two traits couldn't coexist, she was clearly feigning one of them, but which one was being faked remained to be seen. As the ship dropped out of hyperspace, Xui turned to Vol, and appeared to be observing him, as if she was trying to read him as well. It was an amuzing attempt, but Vol had far more practice at this game than she did, and maintained his veneer of neutrality.

"I'm just a good listener, my dear." He replied, relaxing back into his chair and crossing his legs.

 

[Tribunal Power]

With a quirked brow, Xiu scoffed and looked back to the viewscreen. Guess he's not much of a conversationalist, she thought bemusedly. Shortly after he spoke, a blip sounded on the console, and Xiu looked down to see it. "A distress beacon," she commented, leaning forward to reach the keys. With a keystroke, she selected and inspected the beacon's repeating signal, which sounded over the ship's speakers in a female's automated voice.

--RBY SHIPS, CALLING ALL NEARBY SHIPS... EMERGENCY DISTRESS BEACON ACTIVATED... CRS NIGHTLIFE, VIN#009814LLP0015774... BEACON POSITION SECTOR I-16, COORDINATES X00095 Y-00115 Z-00011... CALLING ALL NEARBY SHIPS, CALLING ALL NEARBY SHIPS... EMERGENCY DISTRESS BEACON ACTIV--

Xiu looked at Vol as the voice played, first in Basic, and then in a smattering of other languages. She cut the feed and adjusted the ship's controls to fly to those coordinates, flicking on the ship's shields just in case by diverting power from the hyperdrive. It was a trade-off when it came to surprise attacks; power to the shields meant they could survive an opening salvo, but less to the hyperdrive meant it would take longer to jump. Xiu was able to justify it by knowing her drive--she knew how much juice it would take to make a short-range jump, and by the time anyone pursuing caught up, she would have enough power to hit hyperspace and leave them in the dust.

The weapons already had power, and were now heating up. Xiu's fingertips tingled as she dusted them over the weapons controls. The ship was designed for two pilots, sure-- one to fly, the other to shoot-- but with some clever engineering and a replacement console, Xiu was able to transfer all of the control to one terminal. The captain's chair had a massive, ugly console before it, filled with half and again as many keys and levers as a normal ship, but at least the co-pilot seat (Vol, in this case) had a nice chair and an empty console to put his feet on.

"Hey," she said, patting the Houk's leg with the back of her hand. "Wake up, Tiny. Time to get up for school." The ship pulsed forward, the screen shifting down and to the left relative to their perspective, and the bottle rattled a bit on the console again-- Xiu just put it out of her mind this time. If she let herself think about the adjustments she needed to make on the inertial dampers, she might just get up and tear the kriffing things out of the wall.

 

[Talon maara]

Sitting up Archer grabbed his plasma rifle clearing it to only load it once more. It was a superstition the houk had, had to clear it to ensure it was to be loaded. Looking on Arc looked over their destination with intrigue trying to spot their mission.

Archer was well rested, how ever long he was asleep he didnt know, but what he DID know is he was ready. The one they called Xiu was kind enough to feed him, he at least owed her one. And with that he had already began to watch out for her. Not that she needed it but rather that she would have less to worry about.

Archer was no doubt a massive muscle bound of a Houk, but that didnt mean he was....well dumb. Unlike most believed he had an exceptional knowledge of technology for his species, being born into war, and combat that is. It was mandatory for his people to gain knowledge at an early age of the outside, strictly to be able to combat it and its wares and overcome them if needed. But most houks relied on brute strength and rage which gave them a bad wrap amodst space.

"Something doesnt feel right...."

Arc muttered, with his semi awake rasping voice.

"It doesnt sit well with me...."

Reaching down to his comms he turned them off, beeping as they powered down.

"Wonder why this is so important...."

Grabbing his blade he emplaced it on his back, for easy access if or when needed. Standing Archer made his way to the ramp, awaiting for it to open so he could step out and set up a quick parimeter for the other two and pull security.

 

[The Captain]

"The Nightlife?" Well, that was an interesting name for a ship. It was clearly some kind of passenger liner, luxury most likely, which raised immediate red flags considering their destination, direction, and the person who had hired armed mercenaries to find them. Normally, this would be a case of either faulty equipment or piracy, but neither fit the operational objectives. Faulty systems warranted a repair team, and pirates would require a larger team in a more well armed ship. Plus, if it was piracy, then they'd have instructions to...well...fight pirates, not bring the entire ship back. The good doctor was more concerned about information than personnel, not that this job wasn't shady enough to begin with. Even the Houk knew there was something wrong here, and that was a VERY bad sign.

 

[Tribunal Power]

Distant and nearly invisible in the black backdrop of empty space, the ship came into view as a spec. Xiu noticed it, a moving object amidst a field of stasis, and enhanced the optics on the viewscreen. The ship came into view, somewhat grainy for the distance but observable nonetheless.

"Got visual. Looks like a Starwind-class yacht," she said, before disconnecting her own commlink to privatize their conversation. "I don't like it either. Reeves said it was a derelict ship-- that thing looks brand new. And I don't see any plasma scoring-- the ship doesn't look like it was attached or boarded." She pressed a few keys, attempting to raise them on hail. There was no response. Letting out a sigh, she said, "No response to hails. Scans aren't picking anything up in the area-- we're alone here. We'll have to board."

The approach went by quickly, though she remained cautious. As she aligned the Word's side port with the ship and fired out the boarding spikes, she reactivated her comms. The ship took it from there, automatically running the collapsible bridge to the opposing ship. Once it was sealed, the life support systems began working to pressurize and aerate the bridge.

"Val," she said as she grabbed her helm and stood from the captain's chair, "your time to shine. See if you can get that door open. Whatever control you can get on that ship, take it. Let me know if you need anything." She pulled her helm on over her face, twisting the locking mechanism at the back of the neck. Her suit equalized the pressure, just in case, and began an air supply. Unless something went seriously wrong, she wouldn't need it, but caution never killed anyone. Grabbing her rifle, she moved from the cockpit down the corridor toward the ship's starboard sallyport, standing beside Archer. She looked to her companion, her face obscured by the opaque yellow visor, and nodded. "Who knows what we'll find in there. Be ready."

 

[Talon maara]

"Vol.....his name is vol...." Archer muttered towards Xiu. Arc didnt mean to sound rude or out of place but in his culture it was an honor to one remember your name and Vol he gave respect to. Seeing as he was more of a tech man and still lived this lifestyle.

Looking to his companion now standing before him, he looked her over in her suit. He seen she meant business and that made him smile.

"If this be the day, then make it worth it."

Archer mittered to himself. It was a small prayer he would say before each bout in simple terms

'if this is the day i die then let it be not in vain'

Raising his heavy plasma repeater he knelt down trying to make his massive stature a smaller target just incase.....even though he still was well.....just as massive. Nodding to His companion as she too nodded he was ready for anything....or anyone. To him it was just another mysterious job. But this time it was amidst space....the unforgiving darkness.

 

[The Captain]

Saffron's observations only deepened Vol's mistrust of the good doctor, the ship clearly hadn't been boarded, and was too new and high quality to have had a technical malfunction. This was some kind of cover-up or information retrieval operation, and while Vol had no real moral objections to this, he was not about to be used as fodder on some shady black-ops mission. Since the ships were now connected, Vol could access their computer systems through the Final Word's. Attaching his personal datapad to the control console, he set to work breaking into the digital security systems while motioning for Saffron and Archer to disable their comms, waiting for them to do so before speaking.

"This is a cover-up and data retrieval job, plain and simple. There is some kind of information on that ship so valuable, the good doctor has to have it at all costs, she can't just let it drift off into the void. If the ship was disabled somehow, it was probably either remotely via slicing, or from the inside. This is, by all likelihood, a set up."