Shipwreck

[Brendan Love]

Adan thought about it. He's in it for the money, no denying that, but he never thought he would reach down so low as to steal someone's ship for it. He knows how much a ship means to a captain and no money can come in the way of that relationship. There's only one way that he could make his decision. He turned on the comms to speak to the captain of the Anticipation. "This is Captain Adan Brandt, let's get straight to the point, Captain Vants. How much money is in it for the two of us on this ship if we help you with your scavenging mission?"

 

[Vi-Stri]

Vants’ eyes narrowed. It appeared they wanted to talk specifics. “You get as much salvage as you can fit in your ship, plus…” He pauses, counting numbers in his head. “Twelve thousand Credits. Each.” That was the offer, take or leave it. Truth be told, it was completely possible that the crew of the Wanderer could get more than double that on the parts in Shipwreck alone. Hell, maybe the Anticipation’s burning corpse could match that deal. But the longer they took to decide, the farther away their potential payday would fly. As they moved forward, the empty space gave way to clumps of rock that drifted aimlessly. They were entering the asteroid field that Shipwreck called home.

 

[Narsi]

Nagorral sat in silence as he contemplated the Anticipation's response. In truth, he thought it would be more profitable to simply attack the Anticipation but the offer was a good one and more preferable. Looking over at Adan, he growled out, "I think what their offering is good but remember we wont get it until we get back to civilization. That means going to and from Shipwreck and a possibility of danger for us and them."

Nagorral watched Adan think for several moments before continuing, " Its your decision, you know what I think but its your call." Reaching up to his shoulder Nagorral turned off his translator giving a clear signal that he was done talking for now and leaned back to wait for Adan's choice.

 

[Brendan Love]

Adan had much to think about. He compared the value of either helping in the mission or pirating the Anticipation. As he pondered, he remembered his life as a pirate well over 15 years ago. It wasn't a good life and he doesn't want to go back to it. He made his decision, flipping the comms on again. "I accept your terms. We shall help you in this mission, captain." He turned off his side of the comms and looked at Nagorral. "I know the danger, but I also know how many credits that is. This will work out in our favor. Trust me." He then turned back to look at the Anticipation before him and waited for a response.

 

[Vi-Stri]

Good, they accepted. This wouldn’t turn into a good old shootout, at least not yet. “Loud and clear; just follow my lead. We’re coming up on Shipwreck now.”Swerving through the thick rubble eventually gave way to… well, it was awe inspiring.

Ships. Ships everywhere. Dotted all throughout this point lied the vessels that time forgot, brought to an end through unknown means. Some floated untouched while others lay embedded into one another. Signs of a forgotten battle? This could never be determined, considering that no two vessels looked the same. However, there was one ship that stood out from the rest, if only for its size. Along the edge of this valley of scrap, one whale swam with the fish. A Munificent-Class Star Frigate, whole but battered. “I think we just found our payday men.” The intercom boomed. “If you check out the port windows, you’ll know where we’re going.”

They approached, but only at such a distance to observe. The ship was long out of order, but it still had it’s internal atmosphere running. The Captain couldn’t contain his smile. “This almost seems too easy… Wait.” A signal was coming through. A distress beacon of sorts. It wasn’t far; I fact, it was coming from the other end of the frigate. Set on investigating, Vants steered the ship closer to the signal. “Wanderer, go ahead and land in that old frigate there. I’m just going to check this signal.”

It was almost too difficult to see, but it was there all the same. An escape pod, just floating aimlessly. The signal was automated, but there was no telling what could be inside a pod like this. Mashing a button on his console, the captain shot a tow line that connected to the container with a loud clunk. They’d have to crack it open upon landing. Steering into the frigate, the Anticipation came to a rest. “We’ve landed. I repeat, we’ve landed. Prepare to board.”

 

[Caligula]

When the intercom crackled to life and told the crew they had arrived, Garoosh's eyes lit up like Kashyyyk on Life Day. He immediately jumped from his seat to find the nearest port side window and pressed his face against the glass. He couldn't speak from the mixture of excitement and amazement. So many ships, just floating there. Most of them seemed to be in decent shape and would more than likely still have their main parts. However, as he looked at all the ships, a rather disturbing question rose in the back of his mind; what had caused all these undamaged ships to fail?

When he saw the frigate however, his question was erased and replaced with another wave of excitement. He recognized the frigate class, not from past experience, but from stories he had heard from old star pilots and fellow slaves during his time on Tatooine. They talked about how they would fly shipments of supplies through blockades made of these ships during the Clone Wars. The stories painted different pictures but they all had a few things in common, and all those common details were floating in front of him. A word slowly formed into his mind. "Munificent." He said to himself, nodding to assure himself he had named the ship correctly.

Suddenly a loud clunk echoed through the ship, starting from the rear. Garoosh's mind snapped into action as he tried to figure out what had caused the sound. But he calmed down when he came to the conclusion that it had been a tow cable from the Anticipation. He pressed his face against the window to try and see what they had attached themselves too but he couldn't get a good angle so he just had to wait. Then the Anticipation landed and he heard the captain tell them to prepare to board. Garoosh focused on the situation at hand and prepared himself. He was already wearing his Combat Gloves, though he hoped he wouldn't have to use them on this trip. He packed his data pad and started to walk towards the power core to gather his tools. "Come on kid," He said with a quick glance to Gomorrah. "You heard Captain Vants." Then he looked over at Gedro, who had been sitting quietly the entire time. "You too. I'd rather wait for you before going on this ship." Garoosh wasn't interested in facing some space monster without a little fire support. When he passed Data, he tapped the pit droid's nose and the little droid jumped to life. He looked around for a second before following Garoosh to the core.

When he stepped inside he saw that his repairs were holding up surprisingly well, considering the situation. Nothing was out of place or looked close to being useless, but then he started thinking more. Sure the ship was running now, but technically it was idling. If the captain powered the ship down, would it start back up? That could come back to bite them all if things went wrong. Garoosh decided to convey his thoughts to the captain as he grabbed his large tool bag and began to make his way to the exit where everyone had gathered before boarding the frigate. As he waited for the captain, he pulled out his data pad and began to try and link it with the frigate's wireless systems; cameras, sensors, possibly door controls. The ship was old, so it's security could either be easy to break or not compatible with his data pad and require a direct link. Garoosh silently hoped everything would go smoothly.

 

[JollySailorBold]

Gedro smirked at Garoosh's words, glad to be recognized for his ace shooting. After putting on a big show of taking out his guns, examining them, spinning them and finally holstering them, he sauntered out of the lounge and made his way to the cockpit. He sat in an empty chair and addressed Vants.

"So, captain, what's the plan here? You just towed in that pod, so I assume we'll be working on that first? I can get my astromech droid out there and sort of...scout out the area? You probably could if you wanted to. I use him mostly for repairs- I don't know what much else he can do."

Gedro was excited to finally be here. He hadn't done a job like this before, and everything was going smoothly. Well, not smoothly, but nothing too bad had happened. He'd been in tighter spots than this. Hopefully this wouldn't be some kind of pirate hideout or something- as much as he loved to dispense vigilante justice, he'd already killed a man today.

 

[Law abiding heretic]

Time seems to have no meaning when you are stuck drifting inside a metallic sphere, hoping in vain to be picked up by anyone or anything. You start pleading to various deities to end the agonizing wait for a ship to pick you up. The worst part is sharing your pod with another inhabitant. Luckily Mulako rectified that problem shortly after his escape from his doomed vessel. Unfortunately he was forced to stare at the gnawed bones of his fellow crewmember, neatly stacked in a pile and devoid of any flesh. The walls were painted with a thin layer of blood during the struggle so the resulting stench was putrid as it sat and dried for the last five days. Mulako had all but given up hope when something hit the pod with a loud metallic *thud* which reverberated across the cabin as the pod was slowly being pulled. Mulako immediately jolted up and looked outside the view screen and saw the ship that had found him. It's engine trail blinding him and masking any markings the ship might have on it. Just in case the occupants were less than friendly, Mulako mentally prepared himself for what might happen when his pod was cracked open.

 

[Vi-Stri]

“Dude… Whoah… Man…”

She was impressed. Well, that was an understatement. This was probably the greatest thing that she’d ever seen. Like a child in a zoo, Gomorrah burrowed into one of the many windows on the ship. Her eyes darted from one vessel to another, enthralled in their presence even if she knew nothing about some of them.

Murmurs of “Look at the paint job on that one” or “That’s a cool design” escaped her fevered lips. Yes, ships were always an interest for this young one. Like many, she had dreams of owning the latest model of whatever happened to be popular that year; but there was also a craving for the old, the vintage ships that appealed to a more fringe audience. And as far as the space hipsters were concerned, this was the epitome of classic.

She unknowingly responded to Garoosh’s call with a smile and rushed back to her bunk to gather her things. Rifle? Check. Bag? Check. Grandfather’s scarf? Wrapped snuggly around her neck like always. With everything in order, the girl scurried to the ship’s exit.

Vants stood in Gedro’s presence, motioning for him to follow with the others. “We open the pod and see what we can get out of it. Then, we explore this beast we’ve discovered. There’s no telling what types of ancient technology and artifacts we could find.” He was correct in that this stuff was ancient. So much so that Garoosh wouldn’t be able to connect to the systems of the frigate. Alas, his datapad just wasn’t compatible. He’d need a more direct connection if the Filvian wished to unearth more about the old CIS rocket.

The crew departed into the frigate’s dim hanger, devoid of anything save the things the crew brought with them. This included that escape pod that the captain was so eager to find, and he approached it with both a morbid curiosity and a wariness that could only be gained through trial and error. He flexed his metal digits, knowing full well what another blunder could cost. Slowly, he punched a button on the front of the pod and watched as the door slowly slid open…

 

[Brendan Love]

As the Wanderer approached the Shipwreck, one of the few places that he hasn't been, he saw what the name implies. Shipwrecks everywhere. He stared in awe at all of the wreckage. He then thought of how many credits-worth there is there. As he thought, he smiled. "We're rich." The comms came on and Captain Vants started speaking, saying to go ahead and Lang on the huge shop in front of them while the Anticipation checked out to some signal. "Roger, Captain Vants."

 

[Law abiding heretic]

The pod decompressed with a loud hiss once Garoosh punched the "release" button as the circular door of the pod slid lazily over to the side, exposing the inside of the cabin. The scent of stale air, decaying flesh, and old blood melded together and seeped out of the pod as the door opened. The Yam'rii that occupied the pod had parts of his green carapace stained red with hardened blood and a scar running down his left eye. The two meter tall bug fluttered his wings and tilted his head out of curiosity as he slowly walked out onto the metal bulkhead, his claws making a clicking sound as they hit the hanger.

Scanning the hanger he saw that the hanger of the ship was empty, save for a male Tw'iilek with a prosthetic hand, a Zabarak, and a human With a red scarf wrapped around her neck. Mulako was content that the small group in front of him were not pirates and felt that now would be a good time to say something to his rescuers. "Sssorry about the sssmell, when one butchersss a carcasss and doesssn't clean up a few daysss later it ssstarts to ssstink." Clicked Mullako, testing the nerve of the three in front of him.

 

[Narsi]

Nagorral stared with wide eyes out the viewport as the Wanderer picked its through the wreckage. He agreed with Adan's voiced opinion, their was a lot of potential credits floating out there. Even Riva was smeared against the window as the big dog took a gander at the unfamiliar sights. However, it couldn't be this easy. The big Wookiee slowly scanned the area in front of them,waiting for the inevitable catch to show itself. Besides spotting an escape pod being taken up by the Anticipation, nothing revealed itself to his wary eye and Nagorral's fears remained unfounded. Taking a moment to shoot a derisive glance at the practically drooling Adan, Nagorral continued his lookout.

 

[Caligula]

After trying 5 different codes that should have given him total control of any ship, Garoosh huffed in disappointment. The Munificent was simply too old. He shook his head and put away his data pad as he left the Anticipation and joined the crew. Captain Vants had cracked open the escape pod he had decided to tow and out came a red, no, green bug alien. Garoosh hadn't seen anything like it before, but it spoke to the captain and didn't seem to be hostile. Garoosh kept his guard up though.

"Captain," Garoosh said while holding his data pad close. "What are your orders?" He didn't want to go cause trouble until he knew what he was up against. This ship had failed for a reason, and Garoosh was interested to find out why. To do this he'd need to make it to the Archives and pull all the data he could. Another thing he could do was to scavenge the ship for any parts he'd need to fix the Anticipation. There appeared to be some heaps of metal further down the hanger; possibly some damaged CIS ships. Another possible option was to get connected to the ship as soon as possible using a terminal or other direct link. However, he wasn't going anywhere until the captain gave orders.

As Garoosh stood there, Data had scurried off down the hanger towards the heaps of metal. His eye scanned the CIS ships until he found a fairly intact Vulture Droid. The Vulture droid was deactivated and lying on its side, its usually bright red eyes now dim from years of inactivity. Data went into his scavenging protocol and began to find salvageable parts from the Vulture. Data's little hands started at the head and began to remove the supports that kept the head in place. As he worked, he was surprisingly quiet.

 

[Vi-Stri]

“What’s your name bug?” Vants spat, caring not if he were to offend. Though he first seemed hostile in tone, the Twi’lek was anything but, flashing a toothy grin that revealed a few missing incisors and canines. “You wanna get rich? Eh?”

Then came that laugh, a deep cackle that bounced off the walls and back. He sauntered over to the pod, peeked inside, and let out another chortle. The Yam’rii wasn’t going back in there. As far as the captain was concerned, he had an obligation to join them, or he’d die alone on this labyrinth of a ship. Of course, Mullako could always butcher them and take the ship for himself... But no, Vants was willing to keep that outcome from happening.

He grabbed at his belt, pulling a pouch into his grasp and tossing it to the pincers of their newest guest. “Join my crew. You’ll live, get fed, a bed, and paid. That’s an advance. Three thousand credits. Sound good?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “Good!”

Now that that was taken care of; and yes, it was taken care of, because Vants had money and money solved all problems. Now that that was taken care of, the captain would explain how they would continue from here, prompted by the question of Garoosh.

“We’ll split into two teams!” Nae took her spot beside her superior like always. “One led by Nae, and another by me.” With the captain would be Garoosh, Gedro, and Mullako. Their task was to search for parts that could get the Anticipation running properly. Nae would take Gomorrah and the Wanderer’s men, Nagorral and Aden. They were to check the cargo stores near the bottom of the freighter. They would cover more ground this way, with Vants’ team wandering up towards the bridge.

 

[Brendan Love]

Adan started to dock on the ship that the captain told them to. As he set her down, he wandered how so many ships could crash or be blown to bits in one area like this. He looked at Nagorral. "Can you believe this. This is crazy. I'm sure the members on these ships had a good last few moments." He thought for a second about the dead crew members. "I hope we don't run into any of them." As he set the Wanderer down and started to exit it, he asked, "So where to first, Nagorral?"

 

[JollySailorBold]

Gedro remained relatively silent during the whole ordeal. He kept his hands readied near his blasters, and had been leaning against the side of the ship while the other cracked open the pod and looked around. He wasn't incredibly interested in the pod now, though he did remain wary of the giant insectoid the captain had apparently decided to give free money to. A cut from his pay. By the look of it, the captain had apparently decided against his advice and had invited the other ship to travel with them- yet another cut to his pay. At this rate, Gedro would be taking I.O.U.s from the captain! Nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut and followed his orders. He was rather relieved to be traveling with the captain and Garoosh, as it would be easier to take on the new member should he decide to betray them. Although, if The Wanderes crew attacked, he'd have Nae and the girl with him...but if they both attacked then Vants and Garoosh would be defenseless. Gedro shook his head and focused again. As the group walked, Gedro approached Vants and started a hushed conversation.

"Captain, I'm placing my faith in you that I'll be getting my pay. However, your frequent urges to handout substantial amounts of credits is...discouraging. I still have your assurance I will be getting my double digit pay, right?"

Meanwhile, Essix was still on board the original ship, rolling and rumbling around. He was in patrol mode, keeping guard in case any foul monsters or pirates decided to board.

 

[Law abiding heretic]

Mulako would roll his eyes if his species possessed the ability to at the Twi'leks diplomatic skills and his oral hygiene. The man was either very strong or very stupid to be willing to piss off a Yam'rii that hasn't had the opportunity to eat anything fresh within the past couple days. And could disembowel the three with relative ease. "My name isss Mulako Tllkth and I would appreccciate it greatly if you did not call me 'bug'." He replied sarcastically as he watched the man walk over and inspect his pod. Hopefully the bones of his former crewmember would show him that he was not a common pirate. He was genially surprised as the Twi'lek captain instantly offered him a job and tossed a sack of credits at him instead of probing for more information. Mulako pierced the sack with both of his bladed arms and looked inside, seeing the credits that were housed within. "Alllright Twi'lek I'll crew your ship if it takes me away from this graveyard." Mulako conceded as he pocketed the bag and followed the group on board the other ship.

He had been briefly told about his task and the current state of his newfound employer's ship. The plan was to essentially cannibalize the cargo hauler for spare parts in order to get out alive. The Zabarak and the Twi'lek moved closely together and started talking in hushed whispers, probably talking about hiring Mulako the second they met him. His hunter instinct told him to simply kill them both right here and hijack the ship but if what the captain said was true then he would have to work together, for now.

 

[Narsi]

Nagorral slowly stalked off the ship with his axe slung over his back. Turning his shoulder-mounted translator on, he commenced looking around the new environment. It was a massive hanger filled with scrap piles and old equipment. He saw some vehicles and other parts with CIS emblazoned on them, a small ways away he saw the crew of the Anticipation gathering around a tall greenish figure from the escape pod.

Hearing Adan's question he turned to the watch the human gaze around in wonder. Nagorral smacked one paw down on Adan's shoulder to gain his attention and pointed across the hanger with the other. " I think they might have something to say about where we're starting." Across the hanger, where Nagorral was pointing, two figures had broken away from the Anticipation and seemed to be headed their way.

 

[Vi-Stri]

“Don’t you worry.” Vants consolidated. “You’ll get every last credit I’ve promised.”

It was then that somebody went to gather the crew of the Wanderer, filling them in on what was to be done and who would go with who, and where. The two teams separated soon after, leaving the ships along in the hanger bay. Well, not alone, as Gedro had ordered his Astromech to roam around the Anticipation as a guard. With him would be a very angry Lisa, though the Mandalorian wouldn’t be able to take out her rage on much of anything considering she had one locked door and a stack of heavy boxes separating her from the other parts of the ship.

The two teams advanced, one up and the other down. But no power meant no elevators, making the stairs a very intimate partner for these eight individuals. Couple that with no lights and that makes walking a fairly slow, tedious process. Thankfully, the two team leaders had lamps that gave them dim light in a moderate area around them, but not so much that they’d be able to see very far ahead. Everyone would have to stay close if they had hoped to stay together at all in these eerie spaces…

“Mulako, was it?” Vants questioned as he trudged up the incline. They had almost made it to the next floor. Just a bit more and they’d be on a nice flat space to stop for a moment. “How exactly did you get stuck in this hell hole, eh?” There we go. They just passed the last step and faced down a door and another flight. Tired of steps, they’d peruse the floor ahead instead.

“Is that it?” Nae questioned, jumping down the last step. The way down had been significantly shorter and the second team hadn't exhausted as much energy in the decent. In fact, the light workout might have been energizing to the four. Well, might. Gomorrah found herself breathing heavier than the others, as well as last in line. “No more stairs? Great.”

Like Vants’ team, they also found themselves in front of a door, but one that refused to budge, no matter how many times the Kel Dor pounded the switch. She looked back to who she was working with, eyeing the Wookiee. “Hey, Nagorral. You think you can bust this thing down?”

 

[Caligula]

Garoosh followed his orders without trouble, though he wasn't completely comfortable with their new crew member. Something about scythe-handed bug pirates covered in blood just didn't sit well with him. But he tried to ignore the thoughts as he followed his team up into the heart of the ship. Their mission; find salvageable parts for the Anticipation. Garoosh's mission: find his payday and help the crew. Garoosh had taken out his data pad and was scanning the area around him for anything of interest. When his pad found something, he'd mark it for Data to collect. The pit droid had abandoned his Vulture droid and was standing by for Garoosh's targets.

As his team climbed the stairs, his data pad blinked to life as dozens of dots began to appear. They were old tech, but it was still tech. Garoosh hung near the back of the group and selected a few valuable looking pieces for Data. The pit droid sprung into action and began to gather whatever pieces were chosen, no matter the size. He had the strength to gather any piece he needed and he was very precise in his work.

When everyone decided to stop to rest, Garoosh looked down the hallway on the floor they had chosen. His data pad was still going a little crazy but by now it had calmed down. This raised a little flag for him and his interest begin to increase. The majority of hits he had gotten were offline systems for the ship itself, but now there were marks for droids, old droids. His scanners were picking up various droid models dating back to, well a couple hundred years actually. But the big thing that popped up was the fact that they were battle droids. He could easily rewrite droids this old. In fact, they were putty in his hands because all their security measures were old as asteroids. An idea crept into his mind as the group moved on.