Barge of Shadow

[OhNoesBunnies]

BARGE OF SHADOW​

As the Sith retreat to the galactic north and the Republic gain strength with its new military, a small mining corporation on a desolate, unmapped moon unwittingly rouse something from a deep, dreamless slumber. Near the fringes of Republic space, skimming along the edges of the massive and mysterious Ghost Nebula is a powerful presence. A being with ties to the first days of the force and an overwhelming anguish that touches nearby force users with unwelcome clarity.

It brings dreams to distant worlds of nightmarish lands and beings, touching every mind within its reach all while the vessel grows ever near to Republic space. Sometimes it takes great leaps into hyperspace, bringing it closer to its unknown goal, while other times it seems to aimlessly drift, like a ghost ship, towards the nearest inhabited world. Pirates, scavengers, and even military vessels from different independent nations have made attempts to intercept whatever the object may be, only to lose contact with the outside world and become part of its dark design.

Jedi Master Khon-Loo, a Kel Dor, has heard the call and purchased the services of a corvette with a small crew to get closer to the distressing presence that neared Republic space. As they approach, the crew--even the Jedi--begin to grow uneasy as an old monolith comes into view; one of the vessels that had been reported missing was a large freighter of ancient design, having been retrofitted to carry archeological supplies, and was now drifting aimlessly past a white dwarf star...

Somewhere outside of the Ghost Nebula...​

In the distance, outlined by the glow of a bright white star was a pillar of darkness: An obelisk-shaped craft with a hull of rusted metal and patchwork repairs that denoted its age. Khon-Loo furrowed his thick brow and adjusted his breathing apparatus slightly, his eyes locked upon the massive vessel as it creaked and drifted past the cockpit's view. "The hangar should be in the rear section of the ship. That, I believe, is an old YT Freighter vessel. It was once used to ferry--" Khon-Loo's voice was cut off by the pilot, a rugged, portly human man with thick stubble and a receding hairline. "I know what it is. I used to manage the bridge of one back in the day before spice mining was outlawed by the Republic. What is it doing all the way out here? Ain't no spice or mining to be done for lightyears near the Ghost Nebula." A pink-skinned Twi'lek beside him glanced over nervously, "Somethin' dun feel right, Nolan," she started. Her bright blue eyes then glanced past to Khon-Loo. "Why you out here anyway lookin' for dis junk?"

Khon-Loo almost seemed to smile. The ship gently pitched and started to come around the old freighter's rear, spying the hangar. "Mostly a matter of curiosity." A half-truth. The presence coming from that ship had indicated to him that there may very well be something of extreme value to the Republic, and to the Jedi. A Holocron. Judging by the foul presence that tried to churn his gut and unsettled the others, however, it was certainly of Sith origin. Though his 'smile' withered away when they saw the rear of the vessel. The hangar doors were wide open and within was a plethora of smaller vessels--mostly passenger ships but many fighter-like designs from various independent governments--all huddled together as if they'd smashed into the back. "Guess we're not getting in that way," Nolan remarked, giving Khon-Loo a sidelong glance. "True. This vessel should have a hatch on its port side, however. We will need to make a hard-dock, so I may enter. I need to find what I'm looking for."

"What exactly are you looking for?" The Twi'lek asked, or rather demanded. Khon-Loo offered her nothing but silence in response while the ship swung around to the port side of the freighter. "We're going in with you," Nolan said. Khon-Loo had already tried to argue the point before but gained no ground. They wanted their salvage more than their safety, it seemed. "Very well, but you must remain cautious. Old wrecks such as these may contain dangerous surprises." Khon-Loo said such with a low tone, one Nolan hadn't heard before. Yet he shrugged it off with a smile, "Caution's my middle name, Boss."

Some time later, the ship had finally secured itself against the port side hatch of the freighter. Though it took some effort to seal the ancient docking bridge and seals to its own, when it had finally finished Nolan felt a unique satisfaction with having done such without even the slightest knock to his own vessel. "That was strangely easy. These things are usually difficult to hard dock on." He remarked. Khon-Loo kept that in mind, thinking perhaps all was not as it seemed. "From this point onward we should remain vigilant. We do not know what to expect inside, there may be a band of brigands waiting for us." Nolan looked to him with a slight squint. "You reckon with all those ships we saw in the hangar that there could be pirates aboard? Didn't detect anything with the sensors." Nolan then finished fitting his air-tight suit on, along with several other members of his crew. He secured his helmet last. Khon-Loo changed nothing with the exception of a small gas canister attached to the side of his mask. It would allow him to breathe in a vacuum, or in toxic environments.

When the door to the bridge finally opened, a gust of stale air rushed into them. It was musty, like the smell of old books and mildew. A first look inside through the docking port offered nothing but darkness until the Twi'lek nearby flicked on her headlamp. She yelped at the sight that presented itself. Within were at least twelve bodies, all hung by the neck with fiber-optic cables from the ceiling of the ship. Several of them were alien, but a few were human and uniform attire with various insignias that represented an assortment of mining corporations. The human bodies were ancient, having been dead for years at the least. The aliens, however, were far fresher. Barely a few days had passed since their demise and they showed no signs of decomposition. "What in the Maw are we walking into?" Nolan quipped before the docking doors behind him and his team slammed shut with a loud bang. Everyone but Khon-Loo spun around with blasters ready, while the Jedi Master kept his eyes forward, looking past the bodies to an unlit corridor.

"The Maaaaaaw...?" A voice rang out from the darkness, soft and feminine.

Khon-Loo flipped the right side of his robe open and brandished his saber in one hand, the blade glowing a brilliant green that illuminated the entire room. In the doorway now stood a hulking figure, leaning over and covered in various rags of ancient design. The creature seemed to stare at them despite having no noticeable eyes, and it hacked and heaved with every breath. "What the hell is that!?" Nolan cried out, raising his weapon towards the creature with an untrained finger trembling upon the trigger. Khon-Loo raised his free hand to prevent Nolan from firing, crying out sharply "Do not fire! You cannot handle her. Find a way back to the ship, NOW!" The creature cackled, taking a shambling step forward through its mess of robes and rags. "Run, run little ones. Don't look back, it isn't fun. Nothing here but those that died. Nothing here but those dead eyes."

As she reached out with lanky limbs garbed in strips of ancient cloth, the others took off to either side, running past her as she lunged towards Khon-Loo. He countered with a blow down her middle that just barely missed, forcing the creature to lurch backward and scream at the top of her lungs. He was unphased, both of his hands now cradling the hilt of his saber as the blade hummed and glowed so brightly. Then she opened the front of her robes, a small spinning sphere barely the size of his own head revealed itself, levitating and spinning. "What wonderful new lights you have brought me, Force-Herald. What wonderful new toys I shall play with." She said, black spittle dripping from beneath the garments covering her face hit the ground with a hiss. "What are you?" He asked while the spinning sphere before him began to take the shape of an ancient sword.

"AM I SO EASILY FORGOTTEN!?" She screamed with rage, the bulk of the ship shaking beneath the sudden burst of force power emitted from that single cry. Then she seemed to calm as a black, wrinkled--almost mummified--hand gripped the hilt of the newly-formed blade. The other soon joined it as she leaned in close, her garbed face nearly touching the brilliant jade saber. Khon-Loo could see her face through the veil with it so close to the light. Remarkably feminine features, untainted by time but marred in black with brilliant reflective eyes stared at him. "Has the galaxy changed so much?" Her blade clashed with his, he returned the blow and words melted into actions. Nolan and the rest continued running, panic gripping their hearts as they ventured aimlessly into the depths of the dark ship, leaving the Jedi to fight his own battles. A battle that would soon quickly become their own.

Meanwhile, the freighter and all the ships it had taken suddenly began transmitting long range distress signals. Creating a chorus of chaos that was certain to attract others like wombats to a starship...

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

Within his personal quarters aboard his starship, Xanthis snapped out of a deep trance. His attention returned from being focused on the Force to being focused on himself, and yet he could still feel the disturbance. Something was out in the great expanse of space, something dark and powerful. Whatever it was, Xanthis seemed to be in the area of the disturbance, and so directed his Navigator to change the course of their ship. The droid complied, and soon the Oceanspray freighter that was Xanthis's base of operations was headed towards yet another dark threat.

While he approached the source of the darkness, Xanthis prepared himself to face whatever was the source of the emanations he felt. Unknowing of what he was going to face, Xanthis decided to prepare for the worst. UAI- 19 Combat Armor encased his body, twin lightsabers hung from his utility belt, a B-8R Medium Blaster Pistol was attached to his leg, and a R-8R 'Raider' Battle Rifle was secured to his back by the time he reached his destination. More out of habit than protection, Xanthis also draped an armorweave cloak over the combat armor and raised the hood on the cloak.

When he arrived in what he believed to be the right area, Xanthis beheld a strange and rather massive freighter. Detecting the dark energies emanating from within the depths of the vessel, Xanthis decided to investigate the large ship. His curiosity only grew when he realized that others had arrived before him, though whether they had come due to the emanations was yet to be seen. For now, Xanthis opened his communications channel, having become aware of a massive alert blaring from the various ships inside the freighter. All of them were distress beacons, wailing simultaneously throughout the void. "This is Xanthis Revenas, Knight of the Jedi Order. I'm responding to your distress signal. What is your emergency?" With that, Xanthis waited for a response, though he would not wait long before assuming that action needed to be taken.

 

[Rasputin]

As his scarred vessel drifted through the desolate void, Mavrak Phel felt something. It was a thing he had felt long ago. A certain kind of cold. It made him shiver, yet it allured him. It was like the smell of a nice cigarette; it know it's bad, but it's just too fragrant to resist.

As he closed his eyes and embraced this feeling, he was interrupted as his comm began to ring off the hook. Opening one eye in annoyance, he slowly trudged over and activated to see what message he had received. And wouldn't you know it, a distress signal. He hesitated to respond, and before he could make a decision, a man's voice rang through the comm. He introduced himself as Xanthis Revenas, a Jedi Knight.

Ah, so the Jedi were involved. He'd heard of the Jedi. They were people of myth and legend. He didn't even think they really existed until now; he had thought they were a fantasy made into the Republic's mascot. Then again, who was he, the herald of Force witches, to judge what was mythical or not?

Myth or not, a Jedi, if the legends are true, are powerful adversaries. But so was Mavrak Phel, and he was confident he could handle the Jedi should things go awry. As for the distressed, they wouldn't be an issue if they were attacked. Most of them are likely dead or dying. He had only two concerns: the spoils might have already been looted and the dark presence he felt is not unlike the hostile wilds of Dathomir. However, he'd survived Dathomir. He could survive this.

Jumping to lightspeed, it didn't take long for Phel to reach the distress beacon, where he immediately saw the source of the vast dark energy: an ancient pillar of a craft, with a considerably smaller freighter docked with it. He initially thought that the dock vessel belonged to the Jedi, but the sight of a thirdship in the system concerned him. How many more were there?

He didn't take the time to ask questions. Zooming at full speed, he activated his turrets and opened fire on the outlying vessel.

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

The hail was sent, but no answer was received. A heavy silence began to weigh down within the cockpit of the freighter, broken only by the sigh of the Knight who sat in the commanding chair. Looking out, he could clearly see the multitude of starships in the hangar from his seat, a sight which caused him to frown before rising to his feet. "Orders?" His utility droid's gravelly voice rumbled from his right, though Xanthis was already walking with a purposeful speed towards the rear of the freighter. From his other side, his astromech piped up the same question in its binary chatter simultaneously with the taller utility mech. "Keep the ship level with the hangar. Prepare to open the door."

There was a pause for a moment before the utility droid's voice begin to ring in Xanthis's ears over comm, as neither droid followed him from the cockpit. "You know your armor isn't built for deep space, right?" The utility droid rumbled back to Xanthis, who shrugged even though he knew the droid would not see the action. "With concentration I should be able to use the Force to survive in the void long enough to make it inside the ship. There's still an atmosphere in there, so I'll be fine after that." There was another pause, and Xanthis could tell that had the droid been human it would probably have sighed. "So, why not simply hard dock like the other ship? By the way, I'm turning off the gravity since you want to be prepared for your little "jump."" By this point, Xanthis had reached the exit to his freighter and was standing with his hands attached to projections to hold himself steady.

"Well Cerven, think about it. That distress signal is being spread on a general channel through the entirety of the void. We can't be the only ones who heard it, now open the door." Taking a deep breath, Xanthis shrouded himself in a thin membrane of Force energy meant to separate himself from the vacuum of space. Once the thin layer of metal separating himself from outer space was removed, he could clearly see the open hangar directly in front of him. Xanthis braced himself only for a moment before leaping out of his freighter and using the muscle motion required to activate the jumpers attached to his armor. Moving directly forward in the vacuum of space, his jumpers served to greatly accelerate his motion. "As I was saying: if...say...a Sith ship happens to wander into this region of space, I don't want my ship sitting like a damned insect on the side of this relic. I'd prefer you to be able to get out of system if necessary, since you're piloting my home."

After a few more moments, Xanthis heard the utility droid actually sigh, a strange sound coming from a being that did not have lungs to use. He recognized it as the sound that Cerven made when he had been proven wrong, and smiled a grim smile behind his helmet. "Let me guess. We're not alone anymore, are we?" The continued silence from Cerven was all the response the Knight needed, though lazer bolts whizzing past were further evidence. "Great. Cerven, Dent, clear out then come back, understood?" A series of beeps and whirs from Dent confirmed that the droids were making preparations for hyperspace, and several moments later Xanthis's freighter was making the jump. The freighter had taken minor damage, but the immediate jump had not given the enemy the chance to truly get a critical strike. Passing through the magnetic field separating the interior of the hangar from the void, Xanthis immediately ceased channeling the Force in the form of a barrier and instead began to send it coursing in waves through his body. Using this energy, he would enhance his movements to acrobatically weave through the ships in the hangar on his way into the ship proper.

 

[Rasputin]

Phel's ship closely followed the (unknowing to him) droid-piloted vessel. He managed to land a few hits on the ship, but before he could blow it out of the sky it jumped to lightspeed. However, not disappointed, Phel grinned. Sure, the Knight would bring his allies, but let them come! By the time they would arrive, Mavrak Phel would be long gone.

Setting his ship to autopilot so that it would glide to dock on its own, Mavrak began to prep for his encounter. If there were survivors, he didn't expect them to be friendly, especially if they found out he wasn't here for a rescue. He clipped on his belt, with two holsters filled with matching blasters dangling on his hips. Then he took his spear and made his way down to the cargo bay, where his battle droid was stored.

CZSD-TAT-47 was it's name, or the closest thing to it. It was a skeletal droid, with three glowing receptors on its head-plate. The green and yellow-lined paint had been scratched and chipped from its time in the desert as well as its age, but it was a reliable model. He had two other models just like it back on Tatooine, and all three had been stolen by the previous owner of Mavrak's castle, whom Mavrak had "inherited" his assets from.

The droid usually came with Mavrak when no one else would. It wasn't a tank, but it served as effect backup. Today, it'd help him with the heavy lifting. If everything went well, then perhaps Mavrak would find extra weaponry to return to Tatooine with. Perhaps he may even be able to find some droids. It was foolhardy, but to Mavrak couldn't resist the opportunity.

After he activated his droid and let it warm up, Mavrak made his way to the docking ring as he heard the comm system notify him of the successful docking. He and his droid made their way through the bridge into the small, narrow docking area near the escape pods and command bridge, separate from the hangar bay.

 

[Andrewza]

Jake's personal fighter moved through hyperspace when the communication console started to beep. A distress call coming from no where really. But it was close. Exiting Hyperspace he made sure to hide him self from those looking for people strong in the force. This was a standard thing for him now, it was best people did not know what he was.


Arriving he spotted and felt it a strong evil from the strange craft. A freighter sat docked to it. But for Jake the current issue was the brief dog fight. A large gunship had just fired on a freighter. There was no way to know who was in the right so Jake hailed on all frequencies. "This is republic fighter Juliet 1 I am responding to your distress beacon. What is the nature of your emergence"

Jake flew towards the strange ship to wear he spotted a docked freighter

 

[OhNoesBunnies]

With all the commotion outside--from the piercing screech of laser canons to the hum of his freighter as it jumped to lightspeed--one would have thought the silence of the hangar bay wouldn't have been so... loud. There wasn't even a hum of power within the hull of the ship. It was just completely dead despite the intermittent distress signal being sent out into the furthest reaches of space. Xanthis would quickly discover that the massive and ancient freighter wasn't the only ship sending the signal. It was coming from all of the ships stuck inside as well, each and every vessel all composed of different materials and of different origins, were transmitting the same distress call. In the unending darkness, Xanthis would be able to see the soft flickers of different colored lights coming from each of the nearby cockpits. Some were green, others red and orange, all part of the communication systems within. It was impossible for any ordinary being to have simply rigged them to go off at the same time like that. At least theoretically.

The further he went into the docking bay however, the darker it seemed to become. The exit far behind had appeared to grow dim as if the very shadows were closing off his escape. Eventually, with the assistance of the force, he would surely reach his objective in a timely fashion. A simple door that surprisingly, still appeared to have power. When he neared, a little control panel lit up on the left at waist level with him. Though the symbols were of a long-forgotten language, it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which button opened the door. If he did open it, inside he would discover a secure atmosphere protected with a thin but passable forcefield, wholly designed to contain all the breathable oxygen within the ship. Though, still the ship displayed no signs of having any ACTUAL power. It spoke of sabotage, or something worse. That's perhaps when Xanthis would hear it. The screaming. The clash of a saber... and the unintelligible whispers that seemingly came from all around. Then the sheer presence within the Darkside that was somewhere onboard this vessel.

Mavrak would feel it too, even from within the confines of the docking bridge. The other end was strangely still slowly pressurizing to match his ship. Whether the ancient systems were simply incredibly outdated or if it was to prevent the docking ring from simply blowing out was unknown. He and his droid would simply have to wait before they could get in. However, as they waited, the door behind them sealed shut with a harrowing slam, and the lights within the short docking bridge had started to flicker on and off. That overwhelmingly dark presence within the ship started to grow stronger--no, closer! It was coming quickly and the ancient freighter seemed to groan as it approached Mavrak and his droid. Then the lights completely shut off. They were left in the dark as a chorus of whispers rose up from all around them, soft feminine voices crying out in unintelligible languages with a tone of warning, before they were violently snuffed out but a hushed but powerful "Sssshhhhhhhhh..."

Briefly, she appeared to him. Her gold eyes glimmering in the dark, but a breadth away from his.

Then the lights flicked back on and nothing was in sight. The door to the freighter made a noisy click before it split open down the middle and opened to reveal the dark, abandoned insides of the docking port's adjacent room. The wall ahead was littered with a stray row of blaster fire and there was a corpse below it, a man outfitted with an unknown corporate uniform and a blaster wound to the chest. Her was human, but not ancient like the vessel. His remains were well preserved. Further in was a confusing maze of tunnels and chambers, some worn down with wires hanging out, others pristine as if they'd never been touched. Deeper, still, were the cries of battle. Voices calling out to each other as some sort of battle was being waged. Was that the clashing of a lightsaber?

Outside, beyond the confines of the freighter, the Jedi Starfighter Juliet 1 would recieve and incoming transmission, straight from the freighter itself. "...H-Help us! Help us, please. We're under attack, the Sith are boarding our vessel they--" Static briefly interrupts the transmission, but screams are heard amidst it. "Oh god they're killing us! Please s-save us! PLEASE SAVE US!" Then the transmission cut, but the distress signal was still pinging out to deep space.

@Xanthis Revenas
@ZeroHour
@Andrewza
​

 

[Rasputin]

AMavrak began hearing voices, all talking in unison and in different tongues, yet with the same voice. As this happened, the cold grew around him. He felt something coming. It was strong, too. He hadn't expected whatever the source of that power was to come to him.

Suddenly, the lights around him began to flicker, and then shut down. A pair of bright and pupiless golden eyes appeared before him, surrounded by what Mavrak swore was a dark violet, mostly silhouetted face. In an instant, though, it was gone. The lights flicked back on before Mavrak could even raise his staff in defense. By then, his heart was racing and he was trying to rationalize whatever he saw as a mere flickering light. and what he heard as pipes whistling. Ghosts weren't real, after all.

It took him a moment to recuperate, and while he did a door to his left opened up. As it did, Mavrak caught the view of a corpse. Slowly approaching, he took a gaze at it and, for the first time, took note of how old the vessel really was. He had made some minor mental notes here and there, but it had just now clicked. The corpse hadn't been here long either. It was fresh, with hardly as much as a smell to it. It was as if she'd been killed just a few moments ago. In his ears he began to hear the ringing of battle and that intrigued him. It was unexpected, but it didn't surprise Mavrak. The real question wasn't if there was a battle or not, but whether Mavrak Phel was willing to risk his neck for some scrap.

"Come, 47," ordered Mavrak, "We're leaving."

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

There was a mixture of awe and rising concern as Xanthis made his dash through the hangar bay. He had only approximated the number of vessels in the hangar without actually counting them, but now he could clearly see just how many there truly were. Beyond that, he could also see that there was a startling degree of variance in the designs of the starships. Luxury yachts, dilapidated starfighters, a couple of freighters; there were so many and each one seemed to be different from the next. For all the mystery of the variance and the sheer number of ships however, the most disturbing aspect of the scene was the fact that each and every ship was blaring the distress beacon that he had received...simultaneously.

'How is that possible?'

Even assuming that one could figure out the communications devices for the myriad of ships to the degree of sending out a signal from each one, how was it possible that all of them were doing so at the same time? Was there a small army of individuals in this relic attempting to lure people like him to their demise? Another thing that occurred to Xanthis while he made his way through the hangar was that he was perceiving something unusual for a Miraluka: darkness. He could almost physically see the darkness coiling around him, something that would have frightened the Luka Sene had they been here instead of ensconced in their universities on Alpheridies. He was no Luka Sene however, and so he would press onward regardless of the darkness.

'If anything, the darkness is nothing to me but an old friend left forgotten anyway. Fear is for the weak,' Xanthis thought to himself as he finally reached the end of the hangar and came to a control panel. The alien symbols that moved sporadically across the panel gave the Jedi a moment of pause, but with a relieved sigh he realized that there was one symbol that seemed more prevalent than the rest. Pressing a hand to it, he was unsurprised to see the doorway open to reveal the innards of the relic vessel. What would surprise him would be the noise that he heard when he crossed the threshold. Wasting only a moment on the reflection of how silent everything had been till now, Xanthis would unclip a single lightsaber from his belt. Whispers. Screams. Lightsaber clashes. He heard it all, but his Force-enhanced sight did not inform him of what it was that created the sounds. Finally, a wave of Dark Side energy poured from all around and yet from one point in particular aboard the relic and it was then that Xanthis's purpose became clear. He was going to find whatever was causing these manifestations, even if he had no particular clue what to do with it once he found it. 'First thing's first. Gotta find out who's fighting and where in the Void they might be.' The whispers would be his company for the moment as he sprinted down the corridor, seeking the source of the sounds of conflict.

 

[AutoFox]

The players were arriving, singly or in groups.
There are things in the Galaxy, old things, forgotten things, things that ought to stay buried beyond the reach of sentient memory. Unfortunately, the restless forgotten crave what they do not have; they wait, in dark, lonely corners of space, snaring the attention of those who stray near, of those who let their curiosity get the better of them.
Things out of time, fascinating and terrifying.
Often, they were found by beings who wandered alone. The hangar bays and external docking rings of the obelisk were a testament to this law of the universe; lone ships, small groups, beings who fell into the trap with no-one to help them. The hulks of their vessels and the husks of their bodies lay in testament to their lonely ends.
But every law can be broken.
In so little time, so many new and curious minds had come to find the obelisk. Drawn by the wails of the dead, they faced the horrors that lurked aboard...
And now came one more.

Triter Zonne jabbed at the comm unit of his tiny pinnace, his ears partially slicked back in apprehension as his transceiver sorted through the dozens of blaring distress calls which had suddenly lit up control board like a Wookiee Life Day tree. Th subspace direction finder was trying to home in on their source, and it had found it, a single, slowly moving point at the edge of a local formation known as the Ghost Nebula.
It made the Amaran's neck fur stand on end.
"Attention... anyone. This is the courier Scrimshaw responding to all distress calls from the edge of the Ghost Nebula. Please respond!"
There was the hiss of interference, and the gibberish loop of automated distress signals.
Triter had always been sensitive. Once or twice, someone had suggested that the young pilot had a touch of the Force, but the Amaran had been hesitant to buy into the idea. Whatever it was, it gave him a kind of intuition, and what it told him now was that something was very, very wrong.
The worst part was that all the distress calls had come at the exact same time. Triter could understand if they had come staggered; maybe a large group of ships traveling in a convoy had run into some stellar hazard near the nebula. But they had come simultaneously. Even drone barges could not have executed something like that.
Triter had half a mind to turn and run.
Truth be told, the former pirate was not even sure why he had come to this region of space; he had been wandering somewhat aimlessly for months, it was true, but the Ghost Nebula was remote even for him. There were few inhabited planets in the area that he knew of, and pickings even for a pirate were slim...
Why had he come here?
The beep of the sensor display brought him back to reality.
Something had come onto the screens; it was massive, a ship of some kind, sliding out of the unknown. On the comm board, the direction finders had fixed themselves firmly in its direction.
Triter stared.
Are all the signals coming from there?
Moving as if on their own, the Amaran's hands closed on the controls of the tiny pinnace, shifting its course to intercept the massive, obelisk-shaped vessel. As he closed, Triter continued to listen to the unintelligible chatter coming from the speakers.
Was it his imagination, or could he now pick out responding voices against the jumbled distress calls?
Another light on his instrument board flashed for his attention.
"And now someone's giving me a landing beacon." Triter muttered to himself, seemingly unable to help himself as he set up his approach. "I should turn and run right now..."
But he did not...

@Xanthis Revenas
@ZeroHour
@Andrewza
@OhNoesBunnies