Post by Tuskers on Nov 7, 2012 14:47:31 GMT -5
Tuskers awoke startled.
Looking around himself, he whispers, "Not good." He's wearing pants, but no shirt, nothing on his feet, and no lightsaber.
The room he finds himself in is a small jail cell. The lights are blinking on and off.
Listening, he can hear the sounds of the engines, and they sound sick, almost dying. "Okay, I'm in a starship." He sits up, and walks over to the door. "But am I alone?"
Reaching out with the Force, Tuskers can feel another person down the hall. "There is only one other person here, but this isn't a small ship."
The door poses no barrier to this Grey Jedi, especially with the power disruptions having released the magnetic seal.
He rushes down the hallway to see if the other person is friend or foe. He finds that they are also a prisoner. He quickly opens this door also, and finds a woman lying on the floor.
He whispers her name, "Lyn Minmei..." Her eyes flutter open.
"Wh.." Her voice cracks, "Where am I?"
"I'm not sure, but I do know that we need to get out of here, quickly. Can you stand?"
"I don't know." He helps her to get onto her feet. "I feel numb."
"Come on, we don't have a lot of time." Just then, the sound of the engines stops.
The pair quickly move down the corridor, and out into a larger hallway. Tuskers looks left then right, and turns and starts to run.
"Where are we going?" She struggles to keep up with the running Jedi.
"This is a small frigate. The engines just quit. We're going to the engine room to see if we can restart them. Hopefully we can then maneuver this ship, and escape to someplace safe."
"Why aren't we going to the bridge?" She slows down as she catches up to him at a closed door.
"There is no one else on the ship. We need to save ourselves. This should be quicker." He pauses, and looks at her. "I need you to do something. Look for an escape pod. There should be some nearby. Find them, and then come back. I think we're in deep trouble."
She watches as he does something, and the door opens. She then turns and starts looking around.
Tuskers enters the engine room and looks around quickly. He walks to a nearby control panel, and starts hitting buttons.
"Excuse me?" Minmei taps his shoulder. "I found these, might be useful." She hands him a communicator, and turns and walks away quickly.
"Pretty, and smart too..." He starts hitting buttons again, and this time the engine starts making clicking noises. "Come on computer! Jump start that thing!"
The communicator beeps, then "Sir... We need to get out of here. NOW! The star is too close."
"Frack." He notices that he is sweating. "Okay, Minmei, get back here." He crosses to another panel, this one directly connected to the engine. Placing his hands onto the panel, he concentrates.
A rumbling sound starts deep within the engine, and a large spark comes from a nearby panel. "Keep going..." He closes his eyes. Several lights on the panel turn green, but a few remain red.
"Who are you? What's your name??"
He turns to see her staring at him. "I'm Tuskers, and... Not now." He points to a computer. "Do you know anything about navigation?"
"I know we need to steer away from that star, and soon."
"Don't try to fly straight away from it. Steer at an angle, and we'll pull away a little more slowly, but with less strain on the engines."
“Orbit, right.” She sits at the computer, and brings up a diagram. Tuskers watches for a second, then rushes over to another panel, and starts checking readings. "We have shields, but barely. Enough to keep out some radiation, but we're still going to get a lot hotter."
She is busily punching buttons. "How do you know if I can fly this thing?"
He chuckles, "I don't. I just know that I need to rely on you to start us moving. Anyone can put some throttle on, and push us away from this star, as long as they can read. Once we've got some speed, and we're not going to roast like marshmallows, then we can do some proper navigation. "
"I'll try not to roast us." She sounds smug. "So, why don't you tell me more about yourself while we wait to see if we're going to live through this?"
"Nah, nothing exciting to tell. I'm just a guy. I used to fly a lot. Used to own a bar too. I like coffee."
"And you are some kind of Jedi. Or perhaps Sith?"
"Ouch, was I that obvious?" Tuskers looks over his shoulder at the curious woman. "I am not a Sith, no worries." He walks over to her, and leans over towards her screen. "Increase throttle to twenty-five per cent. I think it'll hold together."
She shakes her head, and then makes the adjustment. "Why are you trying to be mysterious? I know about the Jedi. I'm on your side."
"Minmei, you don't know me, or the..." Something hits the ship, sending Tuskers flying as the gravity fails. She is able to hold onto her chair and console.
"Activating sensors." She glances in his direction, "Are you okay?"
Tuskers is struggling to get a grip on something, as he floats further away. "Don't turn on the gravity yet. I don't want to be on top of the engine, if I can help it."
"No gravity control at this panel. We are going to have to find it."
"Just try to see if anything else is going to crash into us, and get us away from that star."
Another crash is heard, and they can hear air rushing out somewhere. "Hull breach. Bulkhead closing in that area."
Tuskers pushes off of the ceiling, and back in the direction of the doorway. He's floating slowly back over the engine.
An astromech droid flies into the room using its thrusters. It beeps, as if surprised to see them. It then starts heading over to a console.
"No, droid. No. Wait..." The droid stops as it is extending its computer arm to the console. "Not safe. Wait a minute before you do anything."
The droid paused, as if considering the action. Then its arm connected with the computer. The door to the room slammed shut, and the gravity resumed.
Tuskers dropped quickly towards the front edge of the engines. He twisted around, and used the momentum to push off of the engine, making a somersault and twisting to landing right behind the droid.
"One minute, that's all I needed." Tuskers walks away from the droid, and picks up the communicator. "Are you tied into the computer, can you talk to me through this?"
The droid moves its head back and forth to indicate a negative.
Lyn speaks up, "Tuskers, we have a problem. The air in the hall has been compromised. We may not be able to leave this compartment." She looks at the little droid. "He couldn't wait, or we'd be dead."
"Harrumph"
She laughs lightly, "You really shouldn't be so negative. We can get through this."
Tuskers walks over, and looks at the screen. "Well, we are getting further from the sun, but we're far from out of danger. And these engines are barely working."
She begins to punch keys on the computer again. "There is a ship in the docking bay. I cannot access the exact type, but it's fully fueled, and ready to go." She points at an indicator, "See, they never disconnected the fuel line after it finished. Otherwise, I'd have a harder time figuring this out, since the umbilical isn't connected to the computer."
"And we can just walk to the landing bay, and pilot an unknown ship out, and possibly have enough power to break free of this stars gravity well?" He shakes his head. "Better to chance this room, and these engines, then to try to get out there."
She sighs, and settles back into her seat, idly taping the computer.
Tuskers turns back to the main console, and starts scanning through screens of information. “It looks like the heat of the star caused the problems, but how did we end up so close in the first place?”
The astromech roles over, and plugs into the console. After a moment, it projects a hologram of a space battle. The battle is quickly resolved with the escape pods of this vessel getting captured by the opposing ship.
“That must be some kind of violation of intergalactic laws. Leaving prisoners behind while abandoning ship. If they survive, we’ll have to make sure to have our lawyers contact theirs.” Tuskers says this with a straight face.
“What do you mean, if they survive? I thought you were more concerned about our survival?” She stands up and walks over to him, “And don’t change the subject. I asked you about you, since you obviously know who I am.”
“I am Tuskers.” He sighs when he sees that she won’t accept the easy answer. “I have been many things. Most recently, I have been one of many that saved this galaxy, as part of the Grey Jedi.”
“Grey Jedi? I thought they were just a rumor.” She stares at him.
“Sometimes that is true, but that’s very complicated.” He notices a blinking light on the panel. “Well, the air has been restored to the hallway. Should we go check out your shuttle bay, or go to the bridge and try communications?”
"Bridge." She turns and walks over to the door without another word. "And don't think that I'm going to accept that short answer. You are hiding something."
Tuskers smiles behind her back, "And what is a famous singer doing locked up on a doomed frigate?"
"Famous singer? Is that all you know of me?" She stops and glares at him.
"The famous Minmei, who songs and political views helped to shape the new tide of galactic ruling. You hide behind the mask of a singer. But you've made some powerful friends within the New Republic."
"Guilty as charged. And I do know a bit about the Grey. Rumors of powerful women don't usually get past people like me. Kira, Aeron, and Feonix. And I figured they were all just either part of the regular Jedi, or that they were a group of mercenaries, like so many others that popped up after the fall of the Empire."
"The Grey wish to restore order and peace to the Galaxy. Yes, there is evil, but it cannot be allowed to flourish." Tuskers stops at a door, "And here is the bridge. And the light indicates that there is oxygen, so we'll just pop inside and see if anything..."
The door opens, and they take a step backwards. Most of the equipment has melted away. The bridge must have been exposed to space when they were at their closest to the star. Although the ship systems have restored air to the room, it is full of the charred smell of everything that was inside.
Tuskers presses the button to seal the door, and he turns and walks back the other way.
Minmei follows him quietly. As they approach the engine room, she says, “You check on the engines. I’ll head over to the shuttle bay and see what we have available.”
Tuskers turns to reply, but she’s already gone. He thinks back, trying to recall what else he knows about this woman. Minmei was from Alderaan. She had been a very young singing talent, and had been offworld when the Empire attacked and destroyed her planet.
She became one of Mon Mothma’s public relations tools in building the rebellion, and later the New Republic. People sympathized with her messages, and love her musical talent. And her songs and speeches have the right political tone.
The question of why she was in the cell leads Tuskers mind back to why they are both here, and who had them prisoner?
The more that Tuskers thinks about it, the more he realizes that they probably have a lot of common enemies. “Harrumph”
Entering the engine room, Tuskers runs through some settings on the console, then checks the navigation that Minmei had done on the computer. Grabbing the communicator, “Minmei, please give me some good news. We’re running out of time on these dying engines, and...” The room falls silent.
“Tuskers, get yourself down here right away. I’m prepping for liftoff.” He starts moving quickly down the corridor, and stops suddenly at a door near the detention cells.
Opening the door, Tuskers glances around, then he grabs two bins and starts running as fast as the Force will allow him.
As he arrives on the docking bay, he stops short, and shakes his head. “Well, at least we’ll have the speed we’ll need.” He reaches into the bins, and grabs the clothing and equipment, and walks over to the small craft that is waiting.
“You took long enough.” She sees the bundle in his hand. “You found my stuff.”
He shoves the two bundles behind the seat. “No time. We’re drifting quickly into the star, and the navigation computer will still need time to calculate a jump.”
“I know. Hurry up and get in.” She gestures for him to get in first. Once he is seated, she climbs down onto his lap. “Why did this have to be an A-Wing?”
“Better than a TIE. We’d have no chance of...” She hits the button that starts them forward, and he reaches over and toggles the cockpit closed.
“The navigation system is already online, as soon as we can calculate a jump; we’ll be out of here. I’m more worried about the radiation right now. Switch deflectors on double aft. There should be enough power to pull away, unless we’re way to close.”
“Oh, now you are worried. You had time to stop and look for our clothing a minute ago.”
“Actually, I wanted my lightsaber.” He reaches across her to flip a few switches as they are pulling further away from the star. The small display screen shows behind them as the Frigate explodes before reaching the corona of the star.
“Jedi. So smart, but sometimes not so much.” She slaps his hands away. “I’ll take over now. You keep your hands where I can see them.”
He pulls his hands back, and watches her as she plots a course away. "Where are you taking us to?"
"We're actually just going to jump out beyond the fourth planet." She presses the hyperspace button, and a moment goes by before a normal sky returns.
Minmei nudges the control stick, and the ship turns back to face the star, this time as a small point of light in the distance.
Tuskers tries to stay out of the way, but it's hard to do anything when two people are sitting in a one man fighter. He reaches up and begins to massage her shoulders, as she is trying to get the navigation circuits to lock onto their position.
"Why are you doing that?" She asks.
"You are tense. I was hoping to calm you down, make you feel better." He gives a lopsided grin, but she cannot see it. "Should I stop?"
"If you do, I'll kill you." The navigation panel beeps. "Finally, a lock." She studies the screen. "We're a long way from civilization."
Tuskers leans forward, and laughs out loud. "We're home." She turns her face around and looks him in the eyes, the question being written all over her face. Tuskers points at the screen. "Set course for that yellow star, part of that trinary."
She reaches over, takes his hand, and moves it back to her shoulder, then begins the calculations for the jump. "That's a dangerous place to be navigating into."
"Yeah, the computer will worry about it for a few extra minutes. And we may have to turn off the safety overrides."
For the next twenty minutes, Tuskers talks Minmei through the complicated process of jumping into the Gardaji Rift. Finally, Minmei presses the button, and they leave normal space.
Tuskers continues to answer questions about himself, and the Grey Jedi, and she continues to ask questions, and keeps his hands busy massaging the sore spots that occurred during their imprisonment. “Are you with someone?” She asks quietly after the conversation has drifted to a stop.
Tuskers touches her hand. “Why yes. I seem to be with you at the moment.” She smiles at his lame joke, and he answers without further prompting, “No, there have been a few others that I was in love with in the past, but I’m alone now.” He pauses for a second, “I have been for about ten years.”
She closes her eyes, and leans back against him, “Well, if you are smart, that could change soon.” She seems to be asleep.
Tuskers whispers to himself, “You're a gamble, you've got nothing left to lose. You think you've got me in the back of your pocket, you do.”
“Sweet,” A small smile blossoms on her lips. “But try to rest. We’ve got at least two hours until arrival.” Tuskers looks at the life support panel for a moment, then closes his eyes.
Sometime later, the navigation panel beeps, and Minmei pulls the lever bringing them back into normal space. “Okay, we’re here. Now…” The sight of the three stars, and the dance of the solar debris winding around the stars takes her breath away for a moment.
“Yeah, I feel the same way every time I stop and look.” Tuskers grins and squeezes her slightly. “Now, we’re heading for a planet near the yellow…” But he is interrupted by the communications panel lighting up and beeping.
Minmei hits a button, and a protocol droid can be heard through the small speaker. “Approaching A-wing, please identify yourself.” A growl can be heard in the background, then the protocol droid continues, “Oh, my. We have locked weapons on you, and you should cut your engines immediately.”
Tuskers speaks, shaking his head, “Red, tell Faath that that old freighter of his will never catch this ship.”
“Master Tuskers? It is so pleasant to hear you functioning. We’ve been so concerned since you disappeared.” More growling comes over the small speaker, and then the droid is speaking again, “And Master Faath is pleased to hear from you again. Although he is understandably curious about your current ship. And he is also asking why you have two people in a one man fighter?”
“Never mind that Red, do you have a docking port, or another ship nearby that we can land? We’re almost out of oxygen.” Minmei looks at him with alarm in her expression, then turns to look at the life support panel, which has a few red lights on it.
“Master Tuskers, we do not have a docking port, however there are three vessels on patrol, if you wish to land, we’ll lead you in and get you priority clearance.”
Tuskers looks at Minmei, then points in the direction of the ship which passes them.
Minmei starts to steer the ship, and frowns at him, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You are such a good pilot, I figured you already knew. Or, you didn’t, and I didn’t want to panic you.” He pauses for a moment, then continues, “Plus, I’ve been in a trance since we took off… I’m only breathing once in a while, to conserve.”
“Well, there wasn’t much of a choice. Two people sharing a one person fighter, and with nowhere else to fly to within distance.” She stares at him, “I’ll forgive you, this time.”
“This time? Do you plan on being locked up, thrown into a star, and barely escaping with me a second time?” Tuskers gives her a lop sided grin, then nods points ahead. “There she is. One Sekot Star Destroyer.”
Minmei turns her attention ahead, and then glances back at him, and back towards the ship ahead. “What in the world is that?”
“It’s not your standard Kuat Star Destroyer. That ship is mostly grown from the planet below. I’ll show you sometime how that works.”
“Is it alive?” Minmei asks quietly.
“Not exactly.” Tuskers hesitates, “There are ships which are grown that seem living just like a pet or companion. Then, there are these larger ships, which grow more like plants do, so while they are alive, and can be talked to through the Force, they are not bonded and responsive like the smaller vessels.”
“And you have one of these of your own?”
“Meli. Yes. She’s unique amongst the vessels produced in the last generation. Mostly because I spent about ten years living in her, so that time grew my bond with her almost to the point where she is like one of my hands.” Tuskers glances around the visible stars. “I do hope that she’s okay.” He notices Minmei glancing in his direction, “Even the Force cannot let me reach her from too far of a distance, or if she’s in hyperspace. I had hoped for a quick rescue once we woke up on that ship, as it was pretty obvious that we needed help. Meli is just too far out of range.”
The communicator panel beeps, “Master Tuskers, you are clear to land, we’ll circle and land after you.”
“Red really is a good protocol droid. Still, I’m glad that I gave him to Faath. The Wookie needed him much more than I did.”
(Okay, not my best story, but I was reminded of Lyn Minmei of Robotech, and thought that she’d be a great character to cross over to interact with Tuskers.)
Looking around himself, he whispers, "Not good." He's wearing pants, but no shirt, nothing on his feet, and no lightsaber.
The room he finds himself in is a small jail cell. The lights are blinking on and off.
Listening, he can hear the sounds of the engines, and they sound sick, almost dying. "Okay, I'm in a starship." He sits up, and walks over to the door. "But am I alone?"
Reaching out with the Force, Tuskers can feel another person down the hall. "There is only one other person here, but this isn't a small ship."
The door poses no barrier to this Grey Jedi, especially with the power disruptions having released the magnetic seal.
He rushes down the hallway to see if the other person is friend or foe. He finds that they are also a prisoner. He quickly opens this door also, and finds a woman lying on the floor.
He whispers her name, "Lyn Minmei..." Her eyes flutter open.
"Wh.." Her voice cracks, "Where am I?"
"I'm not sure, but I do know that we need to get out of here, quickly. Can you stand?"
"I don't know." He helps her to get onto her feet. "I feel numb."
"Come on, we don't have a lot of time." Just then, the sound of the engines stops.
The pair quickly move down the corridor, and out into a larger hallway. Tuskers looks left then right, and turns and starts to run.
"Where are we going?" She struggles to keep up with the running Jedi.
"This is a small frigate. The engines just quit. We're going to the engine room to see if we can restart them. Hopefully we can then maneuver this ship, and escape to someplace safe."
"Why aren't we going to the bridge?" She slows down as she catches up to him at a closed door.
"There is no one else on the ship. We need to save ourselves. This should be quicker." He pauses, and looks at her. "I need you to do something. Look for an escape pod. There should be some nearby. Find them, and then come back. I think we're in deep trouble."
She watches as he does something, and the door opens. She then turns and starts looking around.
Tuskers enters the engine room and looks around quickly. He walks to a nearby control panel, and starts hitting buttons.
"Excuse me?" Minmei taps his shoulder. "I found these, might be useful." She hands him a communicator, and turns and walks away quickly.
"Pretty, and smart too..." He starts hitting buttons again, and this time the engine starts making clicking noises. "Come on computer! Jump start that thing!"
The communicator beeps, then "Sir... We need to get out of here. NOW! The star is too close."
"Frack." He notices that he is sweating. "Okay, Minmei, get back here." He crosses to another panel, this one directly connected to the engine. Placing his hands onto the panel, he concentrates.
A rumbling sound starts deep within the engine, and a large spark comes from a nearby panel. "Keep going..." He closes his eyes. Several lights on the panel turn green, but a few remain red.
"Who are you? What's your name??"
He turns to see her staring at him. "I'm Tuskers, and... Not now." He points to a computer. "Do you know anything about navigation?"
"I know we need to steer away from that star, and soon."
"Don't try to fly straight away from it. Steer at an angle, and we'll pull away a little more slowly, but with less strain on the engines."
“Orbit, right.” She sits at the computer, and brings up a diagram. Tuskers watches for a second, then rushes over to another panel, and starts checking readings. "We have shields, but barely. Enough to keep out some radiation, but we're still going to get a lot hotter."
She is busily punching buttons. "How do you know if I can fly this thing?"
He chuckles, "I don't. I just know that I need to rely on you to start us moving. Anyone can put some throttle on, and push us away from this star, as long as they can read. Once we've got some speed, and we're not going to roast like marshmallows, then we can do some proper navigation. "
"I'll try not to roast us." She sounds smug. "So, why don't you tell me more about yourself while we wait to see if we're going to live through this?"
"Nah, nothing exciting to tell. I'm just a guy. I used to fly a lot. Used to own a bar too. I like coffee."
"And you are some kind of Jedi. Or perhaps Sith?"
"Ouch, was I that obvious?" Tuskers looks over his shoulder at the curious woman. "I am not a Sith, no worries." He walks over to her, and leans over towards her screen. "Increase throttle to twenty-five per cent. I think it'll hold together."
She shakes her head, and then makes the adjustment. "Why are you trying to be mysterious? I know about the Jedi. I'm on your side."
"Minmei, you don't know me, or the..." Something hits the ship, sending Tuskers flying as the gravity fails. She is able to hold onto her chair and console.
"Activating sensors." She glances in his direction, "Are you okay?"
Tuskers is struggling to get a grip on something, as he floats further away. "Don't turn on the gravity yet. I don't want to be on top of the engine, if I can help it."
"No gravity control at this panel. We are going to have to find it."
"Just try to see if anything else is going to crash into us, and get us away from that star."
Another crash is heard, and they can hear air rushing out somewhere. "Hull breach. Bulkhead closing in that area."
Tuskers pushes off of the ceiling, and back in the direction of the doorway. He's floating slowly back over the engine.
An astromech droid flies into the room using its thrusters. It beeps, as if surprised to see them. It then starts heading over to a console.
"No, droid. No. Wait..." The droid stops as it is extending its computer arm to the console. "Not safe. Wait a minute before you do anything."
The droid paused, as if considering the action. Then its arm connected with the computer. The door to the room slammed shut, and the gravity resumed.
Tuskers dropped quickly towards the front edge of the engines. He twisted around, and used the momentum to push off of the engine, making a somersault and twisting to landing right behind the droid.
"One minute, that's all I needed." Tuskers walks away from the droid, and picks up the communicator. "Are you tied into the computer, can you talk to me through this?"
The droid moves its head back and forth to indicate a negative.
Lyn speaks up, "Tuskers, we have a problem. The air in the hall has been compromised. We may not be able to leave this compartment." She looks at the little droid. "He couldn't wait, or we'd be dead."
"Harrumph"
She laughs lightly, "You really shouldn't be so negative. We can get through this."
Tuskers walks over, and looks at the screen. "Well, we are getting further from the sun, but we're far from out of danger. And these engines are barely working."
She begins to punch keys on the computer again. "There is a ship in the docking bay. I cannot access the exact type, but it's fully fueled, and ready to go." She points at an indicator, "See, they never disconnected the fuel line after it finished. Otherwise, I'd have a harder time figuring this out, since the umbilical isn't connected to the computer."
"And we can just walk to the landing bay, and pilot an unknown ship out, and possibly have enough power to break free of this stars gravity well?" He shakes his head. "Better to chance this room, and these engines, then to try to get out there."
She sighs, and settles back into her seat, idly taping the computer.
Tuskers turns back to the main console, and starts scanning through screens of information. “It looks like the heat of the star caused the problems, but how did we end up so close in the first place?”
The astromech roles over, and plugs into the console. After a moment, it projects a hologram of a space battle. The battle is quickly resolved with the escape pods of this vessel getting captured by the opposing ship.
“That must be some kind of violation of intergalactic laws. Leaving prisoners behind while abandoning ship. If they survive, we’ll have to make sure to have our lawyers contact theirs.” Tuskers says this with a straight face.
“What do you mean, if they survive? I thought you were more concerned about our survival?” She stands up and walks over to him, “And don’t change the subject. I asked you about you, since you obviously know who I am.”
“I am Tuskers.” He sighs when he sees that she won’t accept the easy answer. “I have been many things. Most recently, I have been one of many that saved this galaxy, as part of the Grey Jedi.”
“Grey Jedi? I thought they were just a rumor.” She stares at him.
“Sometimes that is true, but that’s very complicated.” He notices a blinking light on the panel. “Well, the air has been restored to the hallway. Should we go check out your shuttle bay, or go to the bridge and try communications?”
"Bridge." She turns and walks over to the door without another word. "And don't think that I'm going to accept that short answer. You are hiding something."
Tuskers smiles behind her back, "And what is a famous singer doing locked up on a doomed frigate?"
"Famous singer? Is that all you know of me?" She stops and glares at him.
"The famous Minmei, who songs and political views helped to shape the new tide of galactic ruling. You hide behind the mask of a singer. But you've made some powerful friends within the New Republic."
"Guilty as charged. And I do know a bit about the Grey. Rumors of powerful women don't usually get past people like me. Kira, Aeron, and Feonix. And I figured they were all just either part of the regular Jedi, or that they were a group of mercenaries, like so many others that popped up after the fall of the Empire."
"The Grey wish to restore order and peace to the Galaxy. Yes, there is evil, but it cannot be allowed to flourish." Tuskers stops at a door, "And here is the bridge. And the light indicates that there is oxygen, so we'll just pop inside and see if anything..."
The door opens, and they take a step backwards. Most of the equipment has melted away. The bridge must have been exposed to space when they were at their closest to the star. Although the ship systems have restored air to the room, it is full of the charred smell of everything that was inside.
Tuskers presses the button to seal the door, and he turns and walks back the other way.
Minmei follows him quietly. As they approach the engine room, she says, “You check on the engines. I’ll head over to the shuttle bay and see what we have available.”
Tuskers turns to reply, but she’s already gone. He thinks back, trying to recall what else he knows about this woman. Minmei was from Alderaan. She had been a very young singing talent, and had been offworld when the Empire attacked and destroyed her planet.
She became one of Mon Mothma’s public relations tools in building the rebellion, and later the New Republic. People sympathized with her messages, and love her musical talent. And her songs and speeches have the right political tone.
The question of why she was in the cell leads Tuskers mind back to why they are both here, and who had them prisoner?
The more that Tuskers thinks about it, the more he realizes that they probably have a lot of common enemies. “Harrumph”
Entering the engine room, Tuskers runs through some settings on the console, then checks the navigation that Minmei had done on the computer. Grabbing the communicator, “Minmei, please give me some good news. We’re running out of time on these dying engines, and...” The room falls silent.
“Tuskers, get yourself down here right away. I’m prepping for liftoff.” He starts moving quickly down the corridor, and stops suddenly at a door near the detention cells.
Opening the door, Tuskers glances around, then he grabs two bins and starts running as fast as the Force will allow him.
As he arrives on the docking bay, he stops short, and shakes his head. “Well, at least we’ll have the speed we’ll need.” He reaches into the bins, and grabs the clothing and equipment, and walks over to the small craft that is waiting.
“You took long enough.” She sees the bundle in his hand. “You found my stuff.”
He shoves the two bundles behind the seat. “No time. We’re drifting quickly into the star, and the navigation computer will still need time to calculate a jump.”
“I know. Hurry up and get in.” She gestures for him to get in first. Once he is seated, she climbs down onto his lap. “Why did this have to be an A-Wing?”
“Better than a TIE. We’d have no chance of...” She hits the button that starts them forward, and he reaches over and toggles the cockpit closed.
“The navigation system is already online, as soon as we can calculate a jump; we’ll be out of here. I’m more worried about the radiation right now. Switch deflectors on double aft. There should be enough power to pull away, unless we’re way to close.”
“Oh, now you are worried. You had time to stop and look for our clothing a minute ago.”
“Actually, I wanted my lightsaber.” He reaches across her to flip a few switches as they are pulling further away from the star. The small display screen shows behind them as the Frigate explodes before reaching the corona of the star.
“Jedi. So smart, but sometimes not so much.” She slaps his hands away. “I’ll take over now. You keep your hands where I can see them.”
He pulls his hands back, and watches her as she plots a course away. "Where are you taking us to?"
"We're actually just going to jump out beyond the fourth planet." She presses the hyperspace button, and a moment goes by before a normal sky returns.
Minmei nudges the control stick, and the ship turns back to face the star, this time as a small point of light in the distance.
Tuskers tries to stay out of the way, but it's hard to do anything when two people are sitting in a one man fighter. He reaches up and begins to massage her shoulders, as she is trying to get the navigation circuits to lock onto their position.
"Why are you doing that?" She asks.
"You are tense. I was hoping to calm you down, make you feel better." He gives a lopsided grin, but she cannot see it. "Should I stop?"
"If you do, I'll kill you." The navigation panel beeps. "Finally, a lock." She studies the screen. "We're a long way from civilization."
Tuskers leans forward, and laughs out loud. "We're home." She turns her face around and looks him in the eyes, the question being written all over her face. Tuskers points at the screen. "Set course for that yellow star, part of that trinary."
She reaches over, takes his hand, and moves it back to her shoulder, then begins the calculations for the jump. "That's a dangerous place to be navigating into."
"Yeah, the computer will worry about it for a few extra minutes. And we may have to turn off the safety overrides."
For the next twenty minutes, Tuskers talks Minmei through the complicated process of jumping into the Gardaji Rift. Finally, Minmei presses the button, and they leave normal space.
Tuskers continues to answer questions about himself, and the Grey Jedi, and she continues to ask questions, and keeps his hands busy massaging the sore spots that occurred during their imprisonment. “Are you with someone?” She asks quietly after the conversation has drifted to a stop.
Tuskers touches her hand. “Why yes. I seem to be with you at the moment.” She smiles at his lame joke, and he answers without further prompting, “No, there have been a few others that I was in love with in the past, but I’m alone now.” He pauses for a second, “I have been for about ten years.”
She closes her eyes, and leans back against him, “Well, if you are smart, that could change soon.” She seems to be asleep.
Tuskers whispers to himself, “You're a gamble, you've got nothing left to lose. You think you've got me in the back of your pocket, you do.”
“Sweet,” A small smile blossoms on her lips. “But try to rest. We’ve got at least two hours until arrival.” Tuskers looks at the life support panel for a moment, then closes his eyes.
Sometime later, the navigation panel beeps, and Minmei pulls the lever bringing them back into normal space. “Okay, we’re here. Now…” The sight of the three stars, and the dance of the solar debris winding around the stars takes her breath away for a moment.
“Yeah, I feel the same way every time I stop and look.” Tuskers grins and squeezes her slightly. “Now, we’re heading for a planet near the yellow…” But he is interrupted by the communications panel lighting up and beeping.
Minmei hits a button, and a protocol droid can be heard through the small speaker. “Approaching A-wing, please identify yourself.” A growl can be heard in the background, then the protocol droid continues, “Oh, my. We have locked weapons on you, and you should cut your engines immediately.”
Tuskers speaks, shaking his head, “Red, tell Faath that that old freighter of his will never catch this ship.”
“Master Tuskers? It is so pleasant to hear you functioning. We’ve been so concerned since you disappeared.” More growling comes over the small speaker, and then the droid is speaking again, “And Master Faath is pleased to hear from you again. Although he is understandably curious about your current ship. And he is also asking why you have two people in a one man fighter?”
“Never mind that Red, do you have a docking port, or another ship nearby that we can land? We’re almost out of oxygen.” Minmei looks at him with alarm in her expression, then turns to look at the life support panel, which has a few red lights on it.
“Master Tuskers, we do not have a docking port, however there are three vessels on patrol, if you wish to land, we’ll lead you in and get you priority clearance.”
Tuskers looks at Minmei, then points in the direction of the ship which passes them.
Minmei starts to steer the ship, and frowns at him, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You are such a good pilot, I figured you already knew. Or, you didn’t, and I didn’t want to panic you.” He pauses for a moment, then continues, “Plus, I’ve been in a trance since we took off… I’m only breathing once in a while, to conserve.”
“Well, there wasn’t much of a choice. Two people sharing a one person fighter, and with nowhere else to fly to within distance.” She stares at him, “I’ll forgive you, this time.”
“This time? Do you plan on being locked up, thrown into a star, and barely escaping with me a second time?” Tuskers gives her a lop sided grin, then nods points ahead. “There she is. One Sekot Star Destroyer.”
Minmei turns her attention ahead, and then glances back at him, and back towards the ship ahead. “What in the world is that?”
“It’s not your standard Kuat Star Destroyer. That ship is mostly grown from the planet below. I’ll show you sometime how that works.”
“Is it alive?” Minmei asks quietly.
“Not exactly.” Tuskers hesitates, “There are ships which are grown that seem living just like a pet or companion. Then, there are these larger ships, which grow more like plants do, so while they are alive, and can be talked to through the Force, they are not bonded and responsive like the smaller vessels.”
“And you have one of these of your own?”
“Meli. Yes. She’s unique amongst the vessels produced in the last generation. Mostly because I spent about ten years living in her, so that time grew my bond with her almost to the point where she is like one of my hands.” Tuskers glances around the visible stars. “I do hope that she’s okay.” He notices Minmei glancing in his direction, “Even the Force cannot let me reach her from too far of a distance, or if she’s in hyperspace. I had hoped for a quick rescue once we woke up on that ship, as it was pretty obvious that we needed help. Meli is just too far out of range.”
The communicator panel beeps, “Master Tuskers, you are clear to land, we’ll circle and land after you.”
“Red really is a good protocol droid. Still, I’m glad that I gave him to Faath. The Wookie needed him much more than I did.”
(Okay, not my best story, but I was reminded of Lyn Minmei of Robotech, and thought that she’d be a great character to cross over to interact with Tuskers.)
It is crazy perhaps, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. 
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)checking the site..realizing no one's here and leaves