ON

Bantha Cockpit

"Ok, Ash," came the voice of Spivak over the comm. "Keep our baby safe." There was a chuckle that might have been heard, or maybe a snicker from one of Joh's companions. "What, she's new to me..." There was a pause. "Anyways, permission to disembark."

"Yea - we will try not to scratch the paint too badly," she laughed a little and rested back in her seat as Stephie came in, "You are clear to seperate when ready." Ash braced the ships thrusters to compensate as the pod moved off.

Stephie had come up to the cockpit to watch & connect up so she could see via the sensors and grinned as she called out, "Try to bring back goodies and we will promise not to ransack much while you are gone."

Spivak did not even say a word and cut the comm link as the audible noise from the rear of the ship could be heard. It wasn't quite the jarring and hissing noise of the escape pod, which was a bad sign. But it was noisy. The retrofit did not allow for much of a smooth docking and undocking of the lander. But with those noises, the lander and half her crew were gone.

Ash turned her head to Stephie, "Could always call Tikkit up here and get a game of Pazaak going. Nothing more for us to do but sit tight and keep an eye on the sensors. I suppose we could also scan some of the wreckage out there for anything else as well?" Spinning her chair round in a full circle she stopped and synced the scanners to her head piece to monitor them.

Stephie nodded, "That sounds like a good idea. Don't want to freak her though so probably should do a normal version. Most of my experiences involved either betting for clothing or holding a small blaster."

"Id rather hold onto both!" she said hitting the comm, "Tikkit were up in the cockpit if your feeling lonely down there?"

Tikkit heard her name over the comms. She poked her head out of a hatch as Wreckage repeated the message. She smiled and headed up to the cockpit. Ash is friendly to her. She crept into the cockpit as only a master thief or a Jawa could muster. "Ash?" She said quietly.

Hearing the steps on the ladder Ash tilted back to look over, "Tikkit, everyone else is off ship in that corvette - wondering if you wanted a game of Pazaak to pass the time a bit with us? Either that or there's plenty of old floating debris about to scan too?" Ash pulled a deck out of her pocket and rested it on the arm of her chair.

"I've never played Pazaak. I have seen to many fights, deaths, and favors given on the Dark Treasure. So these are things I don't wish to bet." Tikkit stated.

Ash thought for a moment as Tikkits wording threw her a bit, "Well how about we play for bolts then?" Ash pulled a box of small bolts out from under the pilots station. "We get equal amounts of these whoever wins them all gets the satisfaction of winning and putting them back in the box. No favours - no fights - and definitely no blasters" Ashes eyes gazed back to Stephie on that comment, "Just a bit of harmless fun while everyone's toddled off."

"I... I guess." Tikkit said very unsure. "I don't know how to play."

"Ah its not that bad. the main objective is to get to as close to a cumulative total of twenty without going over on your cards. There is a deck can you can draw a card on your turn to increase your value. You also get dealt four cards you can use these in place of drawing a card to change the value how you want. You hand cards can be both positive and negative. Once you get to twenty or don't want to risk going over you can stop. All cards are played face up but the cards in your hand are kept secret." Ash paused and took a breath. Maybe she wasn't really explaining it to well. "Typically its best of three and you don't get any new card for your hand dealt to you. Once they are gone they are gone!"

"I... guess." Tikkit said taking a seat.

"You in?" asked Ash to Stephie.

Stephie grinned as she slid into a seat, "Definitely, and that's a good idea for bolts."

Ash divided out the bolts and dealt the cards to everyone getting the game going while starting up some casual conversation. "Thought you two might have ventured over to that ship for a look inside?"

Shrugging, Stephie sighed, "I think our captain was worried I would be trying to drag too much stuff back if I went. Already started squirrelling."

"So long as its valuable or we could use it to patch the hyperdrive up a bit i wouldnt 'a thought it would be a problem?" Ash said in replied turning to Tikket, "Could even have had wreckage hauling a few things back and fourth for you?"

Stephie giggled and shrugged.

"The hyperdrive is fine." Tikkit said. "Now the power core is the issue."

"Hopefully we can get a new one put in there once this business is all done by," Ash commented as she went over the twenty limit loosing her bolts. Her gaze went out of the window looking at the debris field, "Hope we don't run into ghosts out here."

"Ghosts? There are Tuskin Raiders out in the garbage field?" Tikkit asked a little more then concerned.

Ash looked to Tikkit, "Uhhh i mean like spirits or apparitions. The lost souls of the crew and soldiers of these ships. I hope there are no raiders out there"

As if out of nothing, a single alarm would begin going off on the main console in the cockpit. It would be easy to notice from one of the panels that another ship had moved into the sector, headed straight for the Bantha. Weapons were fully charged and she was moving fast.

Hearing the beeping Ash tapped her head set and spun round to the controls, "You gotta be kinding me...."

Shots rang out from the new enemy, slamming into the Bantha's shields and rocking her, making a horrible noise. The ship zoomed past trying to trip Ash up, making a zig-zag pattern after the flyby. This was no simple fighter, it was a small attack vessel, and it would usually be accompanied by a couple others. For now, it appeared to be alone.

~cant stay here~ Ash put the engines to full throttle with her hand as she pulled herself back to her seat from the ship being hit, "Dammit someone get on the gunnery station!" She looked at the sensors and rolled the ship hard over on its back making a dash to duck behind a piece of debris floating by, "and someone get on the comms. Tell the team we are under fire!"

Weapons fire lobbed over the side of the freighter as Ash tugged the controls hard pulling the throttle back trying to cause the other ship to overshoot them "and contact that ship see if you can find out why these poeple are attacking us!"

"I can repair it, but I don't know what I'm doing otherwise." Tikkit said trying to figure out where she should be.

Stephie nodded as she used her wrist connection to connect to the transmitters, "Aye, trying. but getting no responses from them. They just aren't answering."

Ash looked round behind her, "Keep trying." Her gaze then fell on Tikkit, "The gunnery station is there! Use the control column to move our guns to line up with the red target and pull the trigger to fire." It was a bit of a simplistic explanation but she didn't have much time to elaborate any more as the ship following them match her manoeuvrers. Trying to shake them she pulled up on the controls and rolled the ship to the right, then off to the left doing her best to avoid their targeting scanners.

Tag Stephie, Tikkit

The fighter was quickly joined by one other, so only two in this formation and they swung around for another attack run as the Bantha slowly crept around. They fired a volley of blaster shots again as they sped by, only a couple hitting this time.

Niobe dropped in behind the pair of fighters, his systems already cycling through targeting locks. Although his fighter wasn't armed to the teeth it was amazingly quick and agile, allowing him to outmaneuver a lot of other fighters out there. He took a deep breath and cleared his mind, focusing on the task at hand. He depressed the trigger on his stick and a stream of angry red bolts lanced from the Delta 7's weapons ports, flashing bright against the second craft's shields. This caused the craft to peel off as Niobe shot through them, angling around in a bank that pressed him back in his seat.

Looking at her controls Ash seen the other ship blipping out of what seemed to be nowhere. Continuing with a set of hard evasive manoeuvrers Ash was surprised as the unknown ships started to open fire on each other, "What the hell have we walked into here?"

TAG Stephie, Tikkit

He jammed the throttle forward and pulled the ship into a loop as a barrage of weapons fire came at him from behind. He put the ship into a spin, avoiding the incoming hail of fire. Yanking his stick to the left he shot towards the Bantha, unleashing a burst of fire that splashed against the other craft going after it. He toggled over to the general hailing frequencies.

Seeing the other craft close Ash pulled the throttle back and jinked hard left and pulled in behind it giving the Bantha a clear line of fire, "Blast him!"

TAG Stephie, Tikkit

"What did you do to make these guys mad? Clearly, I wasn't the only one hired to get that freighter back," Niobe said. "And they want it back in one piece. Do you have anyone on that ship that can actually shoot?"

~Freighter back...~ Ash looked to the other two, "Mute the channel."

Tikkit only shook her head and headed for the weapon control panel.

TAG Stephie

"Is... he talking about the Bantha?" She looked puzzled, "We should probably play along. I don't fancy trying to fight three people off of us." A shot flew past over the cockpit as Ash wrestled with the lumbering ship trying to minimise their time in the line of fire, "Ill leave the comm to you!" Looking at her scanner she tried as best to coordinate with the fighter that was aiding them.

Within moments Tikkit figured out the console. Then she just started to fire at the first fighter that came close. A few of her shots hit home and blow out one of the engines. "Now I hope I'm shooting the right one."

Niobe rolled his fighter to port, allowing him to avoid a barrage of fire from the undamaged fighter. The freighter began to unleash her own weapons now, already having scored a direct hit on one of the attacking fighters. It was limping along, trying to evade the incoming attacks. Niobe jammed his throttle forward and hurtled towards it, bringing his ship's weapons to bare. He drepresed the trigger, sending several bursts of weapons fire at the damaged ship. The first two bursts tore through the ship's already weakened shields. The third hit the engines and the fourth the fuel cells. The ship exploded in a flash of debris and flame.

The explosion from the other ship was just off to port and Ash caught a glimpse of it in her periphery, "Definitely the right one... finish him off before he pulls out of out weapons range." The loss of the other ship must have impacted this one as it accelerated away from the Bantha. Even at full power there was no way she could match it for speed and acceleration. Ashes concern was that it might be calling for more friends to show up and - for the moment - they had been lucky with some help popping out.

"Don't bother," Niobe said, over the com channel. "I've got him."

He shot past the freighter to gain a target lock on the fleeing fighter. It didn't take him long to get within range and he sent a hail of blaster fire it's way, chewing through the ship's aft shields in just a few moments. A second volley reduced the fighter to scrap, same as the first. Niobe pulled the ship around and angled it back towards the freighter. Although he didn't cycle on a target lock he did keep his weapons hot.

TAG Tikkit, Stephie, Niobe

OFF

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OOC-Chris: Ok, so in this JP, you guys are basically going to give the ok to let the lander detach and then you can maybe have a chat. Might get Tikkit some social exposure too. ;) But part way through, I will jump in. We're not alone out here.

OOC-Adam: OH NOOOOOO!!! i promised no blaster burns on the hull :D

OOC-Adam: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Pazaak/Legends YAY for Pazaak *felt very cheated in knights of the old republic games*

OOC-Adam: Im going to presume that Stephie is probably going to win the Pazaak being a season gambler ;)

OOC-Stephie: Well, there are three types of gamblers.. good ones, new players and the ones that are continually broke coz they aren't very good. Stephie fits in the last bracket because she has no poker face.

OOC-Adam: oh nooo! time to try get that blank face ready

OOC-Stephie: Sorry, been really busy.