Open Out of the frying pan...

Elkras Arrieta

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OOC Note: Open to anyone who wants to respond to a distress call, or might have reason to have been shipped off (or stowaway from) Ryloth. Elkras would be unaware of any living beings on this ship besides himself; as a rule, he doesn't smuggle sentients.​

Somewhere in space....

Today, Elkras decided, was one of the less pleasant days he'd experienced in a while. Some bounty hunters had caught up with him on his way out of Ryloth and had caused extensive damage to the Comet as he made a desperate jump to hyperspace. He thought he'd been in the clear, but the hyperdrive had failed and unceremoniously deposited him back in realspace; location unknown. His ship was now running on emergency power, the faint glow of red bulbs bathing the cockpit as he floated adrift somewhere in the galaxy. The only lights on the console was a ticking clock; an estimate for how long he had left before that emergency power ran out, reading less than two hours. The stabilizers were offline, subjecting him to a slow spin as he floated slowly through space with nary a planet nor landmark in sight. At least the life-support systems hadn't been knocked out, the faint hiss of the oxygen scrubbers reminding him that he was still breathing. Things could be worse... he told himself. He wasn't dead yet; thus far his luck had held, and it was time to do a full inspection of his beloved Y2k-series light freighter.

First things first; activate the distress beacon. As much as Elkras hated to admit it, this was one of the times he needed to ask for help. A quick inspection of the engines- which doubled as power generators for the ship- told him that he was going nowhere fast. He could fix them with time, but that was time he didn't have. The hyperdrive looked repairable, but was nothing more than an expensive lump of metal without the power generated from the engines. For some odd reason the holotable worked- who decided that was a critical life support instrument?- but Elkras quickly powered it down to help conserve his scant emergency power reserves.

All in all, it was not looking good for the home team. Maybe his distress call, identifying his ship as the humble freighter Starskipper- one of the half-dozen false identities programmed in by the ships former owner, Zirga the Hutt- would attract a luxury barge or something fun. But if Elkras had only 90 minutes left to live, he wasn't going to spend them idle. He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed his toolbox, and began to work on the port engine; it was the less damaged of the two, and perhaps with some of his trademark luck he could get it working again.
 

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The Bravebird arrived in the area, emerging from hyperspace some time after the distress signal was cast. Aden Archer happened to be sailing through the void when he got a hold of the signal, once it came through, hewould go after it. Aden was pretty altruistic sort of, he doesn't mind helping people out, especially if he would get paid.

Once he and his U-Wing would be in real space, Aden would trust his ship forward with speed. Soon, he could see the ship through his viewport squinting his eyes, soon it would be more clear through the endless void of space. He saw the Corellian-styled freighter floating. Doing a scan real quick, he would see that there is barely any power to the thing. Looks like Aden isn't too late to the rescue.

Do they have comms still on with emergency power? Aden would patch in through the comms and see if they "Attention unidentified freighter, this is Aden Archer, Captain of the Bravebird speaking. Anyone there?" he sent the hail asking, if anyone was still alive. If there is anyone aboard he doesn't mind lending a hand.

Although If there isn't anyone alive though, then probably if there is any cargo worthwhile on the freighter he supposes no one would mind if he would help himself... That's in the worst cast scenario for them though. In the meantime, he would still be proceeding towards the freighter.

@Elkras Arrieta
 

Elkras Arrieta

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"Gah!" Bang! Elkras jumped as the incoming transmission cut through the silence, the message was briefly drowned out by the sound his head make as it clanged against metal. Massaging the rapidly-forming lump on the back of his head, he hurried to the cockpit and jabbed at the comm unit.

"Hello Bravebird, this is Captain Arrieta of the Starskipper speaking" he responded, smiling to himself. Of course, nobody who'd met Elkras would describe him as a Captain- the terms "scoundrel" and "hotshot" came to mind instead- but Elkras had never met an Aden Archer before and there was a first time for everything, right?

From within the cockpit of his slowly-spinning freighter, Elkras tried to get a glimpse of his potential rescuer. At least it didn't look like a pirate; U-Wings were rare ships, and pirate vessels usually had more fearsome names than Bravebird. Regardless, beggars couldn't be choosers. If this was a pirate, he'd have to take his chances.

"Requesting emergency power transfer, both engines are offline and life support systems will only be online for another-" he checked the countdown timer "-twenty-seven minutes."

The power transfer was easier said than done. The simplest way would be for the Bravebird to connect to the docking ring at the aft end of the Comet, but that would be no easy task given the slow spin of the disabled freighter. Elkras doubted that he had enough power to activate the stabilizers for more than a few seconds, and that would quickly burn through what was left of his precious power reserves. Maybe this was a custom U-Wing, with a tractor beam big enough to wrangle a vessel of the same size?

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Yuuta Graves

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One could always find a lost soul somewhere in space.

The thought ran inside Yuuta's head on repeat when he detected a distressed signal. The Death Painting had been floating amidst the stars while the ship's pilot attempted to catch up on some much needed sleep after ticking off some of his daily tasks as an ISC Ranger, the silence broken only by the hum of the light courier's engine a much welcomed reprieve for the exhausted dark-haired male. Perhaps any other person would've brushed the signal off with an unfeeling "Not my damn business", but his conscience would never permit it. He had an oath to fulfill when he was sworn into active duty, and turning away from those who were in need? That was not Yuuta Graves.

And besides, Marizo would be disappointed in him if he stayed his hand. Yuuta was inherently kind, but bearing his beloved wife's disappointment was something he wouldn't wish upon himself.

The light courier soon emerged from hyperspace. Perched on the pilot seat, Yuuta's scans did not come up empty: the ship that sent the distress signal was near, and the Ranger soon caught sight of it. The ship – a freighter of Corellian make, it seemed – however wasn't alone. It looked like another wayfarer had answered the beacon's call. The U-wing was approaching the freighter, and Yuuta contemplated if he should also proceed or stay where he was.

I thought you're here to help? he asked himself rhetorically, rolling his eyes at his sudden indecision.

"Er, attention, unidentified freighter and U-wing," Yuuta began after patching through the other ships' comms. "This is Yuuta Graves, captain of the Death Painting. What's up?"

He was tired, a little sleep-deprived, exquisitely articulate (oh, look, sarcasm! Nice!), and hungry – perhaps he should have introduced himself as a Ranger, with a ship oddly named such as his. But what were the odds that those hearing the name getting alarmed by said ship name? It wasn't as if it sounded like a pirate ship or something... right?

Right?

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"Roger that. I'll help you out." he replied to the captain of the Corellian freighter. Aden was about to have his ship get closer, docking on that thing would be tricky considering it's in a slow spin while it's floating through space. It's not impossible, do-able, but would need a bit of skill or timing. The other ship's engines are down, so the other ship he would imagine to have little or no ability to stop it's spin.

But then Aden noticed another ship on sensors. Aden listened to it's hail. They identified themselves as another captain, of the Death Painting? And asked 'what's up'? Their choice of shipname is... odd. It has 'death' in it's name so they probably don't have any noble intentions if they chose to name their ship with it. And 'Painting' because, reasons? Regardless, they obviously followed the distress signal, aren't likely to have any noble intensions. This galaxy is filled with corsairs and brigands, and although time is ticking for the distressed ship's life support, he will not make himself vulnerable if there is a possible threat here.

The U-Wing pilot would then respond to the newcomer "Captain of the Death Painting, back off and continue your travels elsewhere." Aden probably could have been nicer, but he's uncertain of the other's intentions and if they would just go away, then the breathing room while he rescues the freighter would be much appreciated. Aden would be make sure he'd ready by slightly adjusting course, preparing shields and weapons.

Just in case...

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Elkras Arrieta

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Just as Elkras was preparing himself to be heroically rescued, a skiff appeared and hailed him with a very informal tone. Elkras was instantly on his guard- he'd take his chances with Captain Archer and hope that the pilot would buy the "malfunction" story and not ask too many questions as to what he was hauling- but he very much doubted that his charm would work on someone who dared utter the phrase, "What's up?".

Maybe it was time to deactivate the distress beacon... this one was apparently working a little too well. Of course, he'd been lucky to have had a distress beacon at all, given the history of the Comet. Hutt vessels were infamous for missing critical safety components, and Elkras had spent months before his eventual getaway ensuring that the Comet was more or less up to code. His cargo might not hold up to a determined inspection, but his ship certainly would.

For the time being, though, he had bigger problems to worry about. The Bravebird had abandoned her approach towards the Comet, and was now turning to face the Death Painting.

Guys.... guys.... don't fight over me! Elkras wanted to say. But there wasn't much he could do if the gloves did come off.

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Yuuta Graves

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Back off?

That was a bit rude, Yuuta had to admit, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel offended given his own unceremonious introduction. He could see the U-wing veering slightly off it's course, probably to keep an eye on the Death Painting and for the pilot to defend himself should Yuuta turn out to be a pirate or another unsavory traveler. And while he was neither, the ISC Ranger understood the wariness and need for caution despite his complete lack of ignoble intent.

He could sense uncertainty and suspicion through the Force. Yuuta sighed, feeling exasperated with his own lack of formality in his earlier introduction. Before the pilot of the U-wing could start to feel threatened the dark-haired Ranger reintroduced himself to both captains over the comms, this time with his more appropriate title.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but I can't," said Yuuta calmly. "Do forgive my earlier introduction, and allow me to begin again. I am Yuuta Graves, captain of the Death Painting and a Ranger of the Independent Systems Consortium. To the captain of the freighter, may I ask what your current status is? I would like to provide any assistance you may need in response to the distress signal you have sent."

He would show them his badge, but given their situation the Ranger knew he'd have to do that later. For now, he would stay on standby and wait for either captains' response. And while he didn't exactly know how his reintroduction would affect the situation, Yuuta himself prepared for the worst. He was here to help, not fight over a misunderstanding he had inadvertently created.

"Both captains, can you please identify yourselves? Thank you."

The Ranger would record the exchange, his mind already processing a documentation of the situation at hand.

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Huh, it's a ISC Ranger they said.

Oh. Well that changes things. Aden could keep being skeptical, but it's probably not wise to antagonize him and get on the ISC ranger's bad side. He doesn't want to risk becoming a wanted man in ISC space, especially over a weird first impresssion.

"I apologize Ranger Graves." he said with an earnest voice over the comms. After telling them to back off it would be I'm Captain Aden Archer of the Bravebird. I'm here to help." he would identify himself, and let the other identity themselves. "Their life-support is down, we have little more than twenty minutes." he would hatefully point-out There is some leeway for time, but it shouldn't be wasted with someone's life support being down. With that, Aden would cancel his course to intercept the newcomer and instead start heading back towards the disabled and slowly adrift freighter.

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Elkras Arrieta

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Oh, wonderful. The laid-back Light Courier pilot, Yuuta Graves, was a Ranger. Apparently they were one of the sticklers as well, who were thorough and dedicated to their work. That might pose a problem seeing as Elkras' cargo hold was full of Ryll, a weak yet addictive spice found on Ryloth that was illegal in many areas of the galaxy. The honest jobs just didn't pay well enough...

Brushing aside that worry, Elkrsa opened up his comm channel in response to the Ranger's query. "Ranger Graves, this is Captain Arrieta of the Starskipper. Can confirm there's just over 20 minutes of emergency power remaining. I've requested that Bravebird transfer some power so I can finish up repairs, then I'll be on my merry way."

Hopefully that didn't raise too many questions. Closing off the channel, Elkras checked the timer again as the Comet spun slowly though space. Nineteen minutes and counting...

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Horst Souther

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"Exiting hyperspace."

"Very good Ensign. Bring up shields." Captain Souther issued his commands, as the ISC Carrick dropped out of hyperspace at the location of the distress signal. As the glare of the jump faded, Souther spoke again "Comms, what ships are in the area?"

"We have an unidentified Kathol-class light courier. The freighter, with a distress beacon, and then the ISC Blackbird, as a first responder."

"Very good. Notify the Blackbird to continue with their rescue, and open a channel to the unidentified craft."

"Yes Sir."

Souther straightened up in his seat as the commlink was opened.

"Scrap that Sir. Ranger Graves of the ISC is in the Kathol. Shall I open a link to Captain Aden?"

Souther nodded, and waited for the link to come online.

"This is Captain Souther of the ISC Carrick. The Starskipper is not appearing on our records. How would you like to proceed?"
 
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Yuuta Graves

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The captain of the Bravebird's tune quickly changed after Yuuta had reintroduced himself. Under normal circumstances it would've pulled an amused chuckle from the dark-haired Ranger, but given the current situation he found it prudent to simply let the shift in tone slide. Helping Captain Arrieta of the Starskipper was Yuuta's priority, and it would remain until he was sure that the former had received the aid he sought.

"Hey, it's alright, Captain Aden," he continued, slipping back to informality so as to ease the other two pilots' worry. Asking for further information about their identities could come later once the Bravebird's captain had provided the power Arrieta's ship needed. "I'm at fault for not properly introducing myself earlier. Apologies for that. Please, proceed with your original intent. I'll wait on standby in case either of you need further assistance."

He'd be out of their hair once this was all over. Yuuta was about to ask why Captain Arrieta's ship had ended in such a state when a frigate suddenly dropped out of hyperspace. Charcoal gaze shifted from the new arrival to the Corellian freighter – another response to the Starskipper's distress signal, most likely. It was the only plausible explanation at the moment, given that frigates didn't just jump out of hyperspace somewhere in space for no reason... or so Yuuta liked to think.

"Okay, what's going on here," the Ranger muttered to himself as he continued to watch the newly-arrived frigate. His eyes narrowed briefly, then widened in surprise when he caught sight of the ISC insignia on the Corellian gunship – or were his eyes deceiving him? He really couldn't properly make heads nor tails out of it given his ship's distance from the frigate itself. Should he approach? Should he try to hail them?

Instead of hailing the frigate, Yuuta's attention shifted to the Starskipper instead.

"Captain Arrieta? I think you should turn off your ship's distress beacon now," he told the Starskipper's pilot, equal parts joking and serious. "Keep it up any longer and we're surely gonna have a space party right here instead of a rescue or something."

Maker knew what kind of wayfarer that distress signal might attract next, really.

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He right, this could be a space party. This keeps getting better and better. To be frank Aden is fortunate that of the people who came, it's just them and not actual corsairs and brigands. If they do come, this late to the party he will at least not be alone which is good. Aden would respond to the communications directed at him (@Nor'baal). "Greetings Captain Souther. It is weird that there are no records on the ship indeed. Regardless emergency lifesupport is going out and someone can die. I'm going in. After that you can investigate the freighter if need be? "

It was indeed strange. They are in quite a ways inside ISC space, surely if they landed at a starport the ship's infomation would be in the records. He wasn't the most familiar with ISC spacefarring laws if he had to be honest either, but he wouldn't think about it too much because it's not his worry. To the ranger (@Forsythe Crowholde) he would reply "No worries and roger that" and that's what he would do.

Aden would be approaching the freighter, he can see the docking ring on the aft of it. The ship was adrift and slowly spinning. It would be difficult quite to connect. It would be tricky. The U-Wing pilot knows he doesn't have time to waste, he needs to get it right the first time. He would turn his ship to the right and then pull to where the docking ring would be facing the Bravebird's starboard side.

Now he just needs to connect to the U-Wing's cargo bay door there. Aden would observe as the floating freighter is spinning in order to time his next move. Being very aware of his own ship's speed, size, shape, and maneuverability with his familiarity, he would then have it timed just right, he would then make the connection to the docking ring. "Yes" he muttered aloud.

With the stabilizing presence of the U-Wing attached to the freighter, it would stop it's spinning. He would then open the starboard door on the Bravebird. He would then as the captain of the Starskipper (@SlagathorTheUnknown). "You able to open your docking ring? Or do I need to use a fusion cutter" he asked. With that, Aden would attached the facemask to his flight helmet. He would go ahead and grab a fusion cutter while getting ready anyway, just in case. Aden would also have a starship jumpstarter kit with him too for the emergency transfer, should the ISC captain permit it,
 

Elkras Arrieta

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Elkras fiddled with the distress beacon as yet another ship dropped out of hyperspace, a freakin' capital ship this time. So much for a quick, painless repair. The capital ship- of Corellian make, it seemed- hailed him on the comms. "Keep the distress beacon up any longer and we're surely gonna have a space party right here instead of a rescue or something."

"Workin' on it!" he replied, banging his fist against the cone-shaped beacon, which was still broadcasting distress despite claiming to be off. With a sigh of exasperation, Elkras blasted it with his DL-44; drawing, shooting, and holstering in one smooth movement. He returned his attention to the comms, realizing that he'd forgotten to close the channel. "Uh... it's off now." he said sheepishly, closing the channel this time.

A quick look at the timer: only 16 minutes remaining. Thankfully, the responding ships appeared to sort out who was going to attempt to rescue him, and Bravebird made a cautious approach. Elkras couldn't help but admire the skill of the U-Wing pilot; Captain Archer was good. With just 11 minutes left on the clock, Elkras felt the spin of the ship be arrested as the unmistakable sound of a ship connecting to his docking ring echoes throughout the hull of the Comet.

It wasn't long before Captain Archer's voice buzzed into the cockpit. "No! No, no... no fusion cutters please, I think there's a manual release on my end" Elkras replied, scrambling up and out of his chair. Resorting to fusion cutters would compromise the integrity of his ship and force him to remain linked to the Bravebird until repairs could be made or a transport could be arranged. The Comet was already heavily damaged as it was, its hull warped and scorched by cannon fire; no sense in inviting further repair costs. Besides, once he got an engine up and running he hoped to be able to complete his job.

Fortunately, the manual door controls were easy to find; a wheel about the size of a dinner plate, painted bright red and on the right side of the docking ring. With an exaggerated grunt, he twisted clockwise, opening the doors a few inches.

"That's as far as they'll go!" he lied, waving through the small gap between the two doors at who he presumed was Captain Arden. He'd no reason to be suspicious of this pilot, but one didn't last long in the smuggling business by letting your guard down. "That was some fancy flying, thanks for the rescue! Can you pass the power cord through? And, uh... where are we?"

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Southers face was impassive, as he saw the frieghter was now stable, Souther could commence his own work.

"Power up the forward turbo lasers, and get me a lock on that vessel." the Captain instructed, opening a communications link with the stranded craft. Standing, he looked directly forward as the link opened, broadcasting his name, rank and image directly into the freighter.

"You are in Independent Systems Consortium space, Starskipper. Furthermore, your vessels identification is not appearing on our records. Power down your engines, weapons and shields, and broadcast your transponder codes immediately." Captain Souther commanded, cutting of the audio on his side, so he could open a separate channel to the other ISC ships in the immediate space, without being heard by the Starskipper.

"Judging by the blaster burns on the vessel's hull, we are dealing with some sort of spacer. They have not cleared AMS quarantine, and must be handled with extreme care. I recommend escort to the nearest system, isolation for an AMS test, and if their transponder doesn't check out an immediate arrest."
[/font]
 
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Yuuta Graves

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"Alright then. Best of luck," the Ranger told the captain of the Bravebird before switching his comms over to the gunship. Yuuta watched the U-wing resume its approach on the Starskipper before shifting his focus on the frigate. Maneuvering the Death Painting so he could get a clear visual on the larger ship, the dark-haired male could only heave a sigh of relief after getting the confirmation that the latter was, indeed, one of the ISC's.

A hail from the frigate had Yuuta nearly jumping from his seat in surprise. Making sure that the other lines were turned off, the Ranger listened intently to the authoritative voice from the other end of the channel, the observation and succeeding command shaking the need for sleep off of his mind. Those were exactly what he was going to do once the Starskipper was good to go, otherwise he wouldn't hang around and possibly shirk his duties as a Ranger. He was grateful for the arrival of the ISC frigate – given his current state he knew he could only provide assistance should the frigate's captain asked him of it.

"Affirmative, sir," he replied, senses turning a little more sharp as he focused on the Force within him. Yuuta then began to reach outwards through the Force, on the lookout for any possible dangers if one ever presented itself. The Ranger hoped, for Arrieta's sake, that the man wasn't a criminal. He wasn't looking forward to making an arrest or even chasing after the Starskipper should it go and bail.

I'm a simple man. I just want this rescue to turn out okay so I can finally go home to my wife. Another quiet sigh, and charcoal gaze returned to the U-wing and the freighter. The Ranger let out a low whistle at Captain Aden's deft piloting skills. Please don't be a criminal or something.

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Aden was giving this person the benefit of the doubt they weren't some sort of criminal or other unsavory person even with the damage on the vessel. He is just helping a fellow spacefarer because that's just what he would do. In his mind, no alarm bells have been sounded off and thus doesn't have any reason to believe there is anything more to this yet.

When the door open, however narrowly, he would nod his head. "Not a problem" Aden would get the capable out and then toss the end at the good captain of the Starskipper. As for where they are... "We are in the middle of nowhere in ISC space, a few parsecs from Ryloth and Shimia.." he said as of a matter-of-factly. "So..., what happened?" Aden was curious as to how the Starskipper got here in this condition. The damage on the ship was pretty extensive, did these people get attacked by pirates or something?

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Elkras Arrieta

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"Thanks!" Elkras caught the cable and plugged it into the power console, breathing a sigh of relief as some nonessential systems flickered back to life. "ISC space, huh?" he mused, turning off the holotable again. "Guess I didn't get very far." He decided that Captain Archer had earned the truth- or most of it.

"I got jumped heading out of Ryloth. Fighting back wasn't an option, so I ran. Took a hit right as I jumped to lightspeed and it knocked out most of my systems, but I guess I went a little ways before dropping back into realspace. I've been floating here ever since, trying to get this engine up and running." Elkras indicated the port engine.

"Anyways, thanks for showing up; thought I was space junk for a while there." Suddenly, Elkras stiffened as a warning tone sounded from the cockpit; his cheerful mood evaporated like a puddle on Tatooine. "Someone's got a lock on my ship with their weapons!" He didn't have to wait long to figure out who, as Captain Souther's authoritative tones rang through the Comet.

Elkras gave Aden his best Can you believe this guy? look and marched to the cockpit. "Listen Captain Southern" he said, deliberately mispronouncing the man's name. "My engines, shields, and weapons are all offline. Thank you for responding to my distress call"- Elkras paused for emphasis- "but Bravebird here is doing a wonderful job of rescuing me so there's really no reason for you to hang around. Thank you."

Elkras muted his microphone, grabbed his toolkit, and headed back to the port engine. His gut was telling him that he needed to get out of here before the Carrick asked too many questions... or his pursuers caught up to him. "Captain Archer?" he said, pressing the button and fully opening the docking ring doors and indicating the port engine. "If you're up to it, I could use another set of hands."

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"Fire." Horst issues the command, his harsh tone cutting across the bridge, as a gunnery officer complied, a brilliant beam of shot careening mere yards from the bow of the freighter, by way of a warning shot.

"Cleared just shy of the bow Captain."

Horst remained impassive in his expression, as he opened the commlink to the ship once more "You will comply with the request, transmit your transponder codes immediately." he clipped the comm offline and addressed his bridge crew "Prepare to bring that vessel in, by force if needed."
 

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Ah, so they got caught up in something above Ryloth. ISC space is normally secure, so they must have really had something out for him. Aden listened and nodded as he listened to his story. But then the other pilot said that someone had a lock on his ship. Pirates? And then the other's responses made it pretty clear who exactly had a lock on them. The ISC frigate.

And hearing the tone that the Starskipper's captain replied with, Aden grimaced beneath his helmet. The other asked said he could use another set of hands and then before too long Aden from his comlink would get the voice of his panicked astro droid warning him that the frigate has just fired a warning shot close towards the Starskipper. Woah. Aden interally thought.

Aden would look at Arrieta. The U-Wing pilot was a nice person, he tried to word what he would say next the best way as possible. "Sorry, man. Really a bad time" he would glance upwards briefly. Aden helped him get his life support working again, so he won't die. Although normally he would be ok to help him with repairing his ship's other system, he doesn't want to be anywhere in the middle between ISC warships and things they are shooting at. Being in the ISC's way would be bad for his health.

He doesn't like to just leave someone, but in this case he needs to. Aden would disconnect his side of the cable of his ship. "Good luck" he said to the other captain, he meant that as he seems like a fine person. Hopefully for his sake he obeys the ISC to make it easy for himself. He would then close the door behind him as he would make towards the helm of the Bravebird. With that, Aden would rush to the seat and move to disconnect from the Starskipper and then fly away.

While he's here he would then relay to the ISC vessels. "This is the Bravebird, we are disconnecting from the Starskipper now that rescue is complete." He would let them know so they don't fire upon him. Aden just wants to get out of here quickly, if possible.

@SlagathorTheUnknown @Nor'baal @Forsythe Crowholde
 

Yuuta Graves

Character
Consortium
Rank
Ranger

Character Profile
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OOC
Forsythe Crowholde
Joined
May 27, 2021
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Yuuta was jolted from his seat by the warning shot fired by the frigate, charcoal eyes widening as they followed the shot's trajectory as best he could. He was oblivious to the exchange between the captains of the Starskipper and the ISC Carrick – had Arrieta said something that prompted Souther to fire a warning shot? Perhaps there might have been non-compliance on the former's part?

Whatever the reason might be the Ranger was prepared to activate the shields of the Death Painting, just in case Arrieta did turn out to be a criminal and decided that he would have a better shot at the light courier than the frigate. At the same time he reached out further through the Force, beads of sweat forming upon his brow when he felt snatches of emotions from the Starskipper. A touch of apprehension, the need to flee, lapped at Yuuta's senses. The Starskipper remained adrift, and its shields and weapons remained offline. From the way it just floated right there proved that the freighter's engines were still offline as well.

Flipping his comms on and making sure that the ISC channel was muted, Yuuta reached out to Arrieta.

"Hey, Captain," the Ranger began cautiously. "Why did the frigate fire a warning shot just now? Did you... er... piss off Souther or something?"

Just then he received a ping from the Bravebird, with Captain Aden announcing that he had done what he could for the Starskipper and it's pilot. Aden's voice was calm and even, but Yuuta could tell that the man clearly didn't want to be caught further into the current situation as it slowly deteriorated, what with the frigate's warning shot coming in to the picture, let alone an ISC frigate answering a distress call. Given that they were in ISC space the frigate's appearance would be expected. Yuuta just didn't count on a rescue mission turning out into potential arrest should Souther not get what he wanted from Arrieta.

@SlagathorTheUnknown @Nor'baal @The Good Doctor
 
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