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Futuristic Into an Infinite Darkness (Closed)

xGhoulx

Member
"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."
-Sara Williams.
tenor.gif

Polos is no longer a habitable planet.
Severe solar storms plague their
atmosphere and scar what's left of their cities and forests.
Pluto is safe, run of the mill.
It's a home that's never really felt like a home, but more like a prison.

Romeo Blake is a young pilot, one tasked with transporting goods from Polos to it's smaller moon and surrounding space ports. She never thought being a pilot could be so boring. She was supposed to transverse the cosmos- to help her people find a safe place to live. But instead she's stuck, tethered to a dying planet.

Sami Lahti is a drifter, a con artist looking for his next big con. He grew up despising the shipyards on his home planet, Pluto, where his parents slaved away day after day. It took him everything to ensure he wouldn't end up there himself- including loosing his family. Now, his only concern is looking after himself and putting as much space between him and the Milky Way as possible.

Whoever said the galaxy was big?

-Characters-
 
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Romeo's fingers shake. She watches two deckhands with their heads bent over a computer screen, from the cockpit of a mint condition, 0002 silver space jumper. It is a beautiful ship. One that probably hasn't seen nearly enough of the universe as it should have by now. This is a ship made to travel deep space- sleek in design, meant for speed and efficiency rather than luxury or for transporting cargo. Romeo had never been in a ship like this before- unless virtual demos count. This is certainly a far cry from the bulky cargo carrier she's used to piloting day to day.

Nerves build up in her stomach, like dozens of angry flies, desperate to escape. Yeah, this isn't her ship and yet here she is, sitting in it's cockpit, thinking- no planning on doing something possibly treasonous.... Definitely treasonous.

The ship belongs to her government. It had been made years ago when space travel and trading was still flourishing and possible on Polos. Romeo has no idea how long it's been sitting here, grounded by the solar storms that their government had deemed too dangerous to allow travel past Polos' atmospheric borders. Granted the last planned exposition did go up in flames- literally, Romeo didn't understand how the government could simply do nothing. They had the tools, the ability to leave, and to search for something better. At this point there was nothing to loose- sooner or later they were all going to die anyways, whether from starvation or the solar storms.

She hopes that by the time they realize anything is amiss she'd be well into no man's land. No one would come after her- there wasn't anyone stupid enough. All she had to worry about is being blown into space dust- by either her government or a solar flare. Easy right?

Romeo draws in a breath, schooling her features. Nonchalance. She is meant to be here. She was assigned this mission. She's one of the best pilots her government has. The two deckhands disappear somewhere below her, having finished checking their flight logs and verifying that she would be allowed to leave in the ship. Of course all of their files are forged, with names and dates changed, so she and not another pilot would be going on the mission.

"You may begin your pre-flight diagnostics." The disembodied voice is masculine. It along with some static erupts from a tiny earpiece she wears.

Romeo sighs, relieved, then flicks her wrist, switching on a number of glowing buttons on the ship's dash. One side of her face is washed in red, while the other stays illuminated by the hangar's fluorescent lighting.

The best lies are intertwined with truths. Her government did plan a mission to send this ship and a pilot outside of their atmosphere- not to explore or search for sanctuary, but to locate an old research station that had gone off the grid. Romeo was curious about the station naturally, especially since they'd been planning on going through so much trouble to find it and salvage the data it contained. However, that wasn't her mission. Her mission was to get off this planet and to actually find Polos's salvation. So technically she is only sort of stealing the ship.

"Begin flight diagnostics," Romeo hums, prompting the ship's computer.
 
Sami kept the grip on the duffel bag tight as he walked along the fence of the space port, like most facilities on this god forsaken planet it had seen better days. The ground was dusty, the sand crunching beneath his boots with each step as his eyes scanned the fence for a weakness. He kept his head low as he hoped that he wouldn't get checked for his ID. He had managed to get an overall from one of the engineers of the spaceport and had enough documentation to make it onto the ship,yet he couldn't risk going through the front gate, after all his current ID was not exactly a master forgery, one of the drawbacks if one has to leave faster than planned. A small smile appeared on his face as he finally spotted a rusted segment in the fence, he quickly knelt down and opened the small toolbox he was carrying, taking out a cable cutter and using it to get himself an entrance into the space port itself. It took him a few moments longer than he had anticipated, mostly because he had made the hole too small, but soon he was standing on the inside, carrying his bag and tool box while looking sharp in his uniform. Considering that he had planned all that after nearly getting shot yesterday morning, he was quite proud of himself.

Now the con-man was in his element, he was relaxed and carried himself with what outside observers would describe as purpose. He made sure that the flat cap he wore, at least covered most of his face from the cameras if he passed any. Meanwhile, he himself, kept a not exactly friendly expression on his face as he walked hastily past several ships and employees of the space port. Most of the ships were in miserable shape, the paint flaking off and several had leaks with fuel or hydraulic fluid forming puddles beneath them. He took the small tablet computer out of the toolbox, using the access data of the engineer he had found yesterday to look in. He was amused by the countless erorr reports attached to each of the ships he passed and simply keot his eyes on the small screen, always walkin towards the one ship that had been cleared for leaving the atmosphere, a space jumper, that acording to the data was in pristine condition. Soon enough he saw the silver ship at one of the launch pads, some of the positioning lights already flashing, apparently, the preparations for take-off were already underway.

He calmly walked towards the data bay on the outside of the ship, acknowledging the two security guards that stood near the gangway, smoking. They gave him a nod as he connected the little computer to the ship, acting busy as he tried to think of an excuse.In theory he had forged documents to show him as part of the crew, yet he didn't exactly have high confidence into these forgeries, and of course the ship had to be one of the few models with a maintenance entrance that was barely accessible and attempting to use it without people noticing would be suicide, he mused as he eyed the deckhands from the corner of his eyes. His fingers flew over the screen of his tablet and sure enough, he managed to get an error warning to flash up, he had to calm himself down and swallow his grin as he disconnected the tablet from the ship and closed the data bay again. After a moment a worried and stressed expression appeared on his face as he walked towards the gangway, taking out his hastily forged documents and holding it up for one of the guards to see, as the man appeared to try and get a closer look, Sami lifted up the table, showing the flashing red screen. " Boys I am already late and there someone apparently didn't check the ship properly.....Mind if I get to that? I wouldn't want to delay the launch" his tone was slightly accusing, as if he'd lay the blame for a delayed launch at their feet and sure enough it worked, the guard nodding at him. " God´s speed" the other guard mumbled and he gave them a nod as he entered the ship. He quickly closed the gangway behind him. Now he somehow just had to make sure he wouldn't draw attention until they were on another planet, he had to admit that this place was one of the worst he had visited, apparently, it used to be better but now it was worse than even his home had ever been.

He quickly walked towards one of the ship's terminals, opening up a map of the ship and quickly checking who the pilot was, a frown appeared on his shoulder as the file showed a young woman, yet he had been from what he heard expected an older man,either his memory of the last night was hazy or something was wrong. He may have had a few drinks yesterday, to make the engineer feel safe, but he was quite certain that his memory was correct. He shook his head as he walked off, deeper into the ship, towards one of the crew rooms, according to what he saw it was empty, and sure enough it turned out to be a room where he could store his bag, locking it before grabbing his tablet and making his way towards the bridge of the ship. He had to admit that he wasn't sure why the ship was marked as flying with a skelleton crew. He used a few moments to look over his documents, shaking his head, they were hastily made, but they identified him as an engineer and as part of the crew needed for the mission, of course, a scan of his ID would show it to be false, but he doubted that would be done on the ship. He checked his false ID carrying his picture with the information of the engineer. He repeated the information in his head before he entered the bride, doing his best to seem relatively calm " Captain, Engineer James Wilkins, reporting for duty" he put on a friendly smile and placed his documents on the dashboard, before extending his hand " Apparently they figured that you could need an engineer,I apologise for being so hastily added to your little flight" his tone was friendly, joking and casual, hoping that the captain would at least not be too critical of his documentation until they made it off planet, then he maybe would have to rely on bribery or improvise along the way. He had to admit that this was far riskier than his usual style, yet sadly he had no other choice for now. He looked at the girl,the friendly smile never leaving his face " Are we ready to take off?"
 
"Auxiliary engines are functional.... fuel tank full... C02 sweepers online..." Romeo listens to the monotone drone of the ship's computer as it runs the flight diagnostics. Thus far everything is going to plan; the ship was in pristine condition as she'd been promised and no one had discovered her forgeries. She'd worried there would be more questions asked when she had the crew wiped from the manifest. A one pilot mission may have been impossible to convince someone of years prior, but now it made sense to send as few as possible in order to prevent casualties. At least that's what she hopped the people here believed.

"Blue, connect with the ship's computer, we'll have to disengage the auto-pilot once we leave Polos' atmosphere as well as the ship's tracking," Romeo glances up to watch a little droid- one made to resemble a hummingbird flutter it's metal wings and buzz once around the cabin. She is about the size of one of Romeo's hands and painted various shades of blue. Actual Hummingbirds aren't native to Polos but rather were brought here by traders. They flourished though, growing in numbers and in fondness by their people. But now there weren't many that remained, as planetary conditions became unlivable for them.

At Romeo's command, Blue releases a soft hum before following her orders and connecting to the ship's mainframe via her artificial beak. "Romeo you realize you're breaking countless laws and regulations of the-" Blue's artificial voice buzzes in Romeo's ear, somehow sounding every bit as worried as a human would be.

"I'm aware, as you've mentioned them all before," Romeo smirks feeling more comfortable and confident in the cockpit of the ship now that her little companion and soon accomplice was with her. At least she wouldn't be alone in all this- whatever this led to. Romeo's fingers move deftly over the ship's controls, preparing for take off as the ship's computer neared the end of it's diagnostics. A familiarity falls over her, as it always did once she sat behind the controls of a ship. It felt like home in a way.

Romeo draws in a breath, frowning when the ship's computer stalls and falls quiet before announcing an issue with the oxygen emitters. A soft alarm fills the cockpit, insisting the issue be evaluated before take off. "Blue, see what's up with this error code," Romeo presses her lips together, knowing she'd checked the O2 emitters before and they'd been fine. But she soon stiffens at the sound of the gangway opening. "Shit." Romeo quickly rises from her seat, reaching for some sort of weapon- fearing that they'd discovered her farce.

"Gangway opening.... Gangway closed and sealed." The ship announces moments apart.

Her hand eventually settles on the handle of her gun, currently nestled in a black holster attached to her thigh. She wouldn't use it unless she had to- it was never a wise idea to fire any sort of weapon inside a ship. Her ears strain, listening to the sound of whoever had boarded the ship move around, slowly making their way to her. It only sounded like one pair of boots, so that at least comforted her. Still, who could it be?

She spares a quick glance at Blue, who had also stilled in order to assess the situation. When the man finally appears at the entrance to the ship's cockpit, Romeo looks him over. No weapon as far as she could tell. He looked a bit raggedy and young- not that she could really judge on account of the later.

James Wilkins. Head engineer at age twenty-seven.

Romeo frowns down at the ID and other documentation he hands over, stating that the man standing before her would be joining the flight. Why would they make a change like this last minute? No one else was supposed to be on this flight besides her- she'd made sure of it. How was she supposed to ditch the fake mission, kill him? Romeo clenches her jaw and glances up at the man. He would certainly make things more difficult, but at this point it's not like she could kick him off, that would only draw more attention to this hazardously put together mission as it is.

"Romeo Blake, I'm your pilot," She replies coldly. "How did you get on this ship?" She inquires, folding her arms in front of her and pointedly not shaking his offered hand. She wears a light gray jumper suit, that had Polos' crest stamped on it's front as well as her status as a pilot embellished beside it. Over the jumper she has on a worn, black leather jacket, which matches the black boots on her feet.

"The O2 emitter error code has been resolved- just a bug in the system it appears," Blue announces somewhat uncertainly. "We're ready for take-off."
 
Sami watched as the young woman frowned at his documentation and for a moment thought that he was caught, that the girl had spotted the fake, the only thing her face gave away that she was asking herself some questions right now, for now, though his ruse seemed to work at least. He kept his hand extended for a moment, only as she began to speak did he take his hand back, a small smile on his lips, apparently the pilot was anything but a fan of someone joining the flight. He listened to her with one ear as he looked around the bridge- he took in the state of the ship, wondering why the hell a ship like this appeared as if it had never been used.

It took him a moment to spot the little drone at the ships main terminal, his smile dropped for a moment at that sight. Thanks to his line of work he had developed a certain dislike for small drones, they might be useful for most others, but for him, drones made every job harder. After all getting past human guards can be relatively easy with some quick thinking or patience, drones, on the other hand, tended to be more bothersome to get by, it remained to see if this drone would be a problem. His eyes left the small drone, sweeping the bridge again and just like that the small smile returned to his lips.

He looked at her and eyed her top to bottom as he walked towards one of the terminals,apparently the communication terminal, sitting down in the chair that belonged to it, he calmly zipped up the top of his overall, revealing a dark blue long sleeved shirt as he slid a hand beneath his overall, checking the inside pocket to make sure the disc and the five gold coins were still there. It may not sound like much, but the disc contained data he could sell and gold coins were as valuable as ever, as it turned out, even if humanity could leave its home planet behind, it couldn't do the same with its fascination with gold. It was still the best currency to use if one wanted to make purchases of questionable legality.

These few things, or more precisely their origin were the reason he had to leave Polos so hastily, although it was not like he had enjoyed his stay here, it was one of the few planets that seemed to be an even worse place to be than his former home of Pluto. Only after checking on these things he focused on the pilot again. He had to admit that he was not sure why a pilot so young was chosen for what he understood to be an extremely risky flight. He would have cracked a joke about it, but seeing how the girl was very tense and already not a fan of his presence, he chose to keep the joke to himself. "Well I assume the same way you did,showing my ID to the guards at the gangway, though I have to admit that that was after I took the liberty of running a manual check up of your ship, I mean obviously you have your droid,but if my life relies on a ship then I always like to make the final check myself," his voice was calm,though he made sure to add just a bit of arrogance to it.

He looked towards the android, rolling his eyes for a moment as if to suggest that this was a useless question. "Oh yes I forgot to inform you about that bug, quite a common one with old firmware like in this ship," he said before his eyes switched between her and the robot. "Well what are you waiting for? I mean you already rushed through the damn checks, missing a bug," he turned around in the chair activating the console for a moment as he grabbed an ear piece belonging to it. Moments later the voice of a man from the air traffic control popped up in his ear piece as he calmly informed the tower that their ship was ready to take off.

The tower in return didn't offer much in return, only commenting that it was not as if the path to orbit was busy and that they were clear to take off. "Well Miss Blake, I hope you will be good enough to get us through the damn sun storms." He leaned back in the chair as the Droid initiated the takeoff.

The deckhands from earlier were seen running off as the engines caused the dust beneath the ship to fill the air around them, probably already making the ship look a lot dirtier than when he had come on board. As the real flight towards orbit and with that towards the chance of either being burned to crisps or somehow being found out began, Sami leaned back in the chair, his face relaxed as every other muscle in his body tensed up.

In his mind he was busy, going through options of what to do with the pilot, after all, he was dependent on her at least until they reached a planet, from there he'd have to somehow desert. Considering that most likely a rather loyal, which in his mind tended to mean single minded, pilot had been chosen for this mission, deserting would be easier said than done, that was, of course, hoping that no camera had spotted him and that they wouldn't simply radio the ship, if that would be the case he'd most likely be in a lot of trouble, seeing as there was no simple way to prevent the android or pilot from witnessing that radio broadcast.

As the ship accelerated constantly he mumbled, "Godspeed".
 
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Her lip curls ever so slightly at his smart remark to her question, but Romeo bites her tongue, choosing not to dignify a response. She has a job to do presently; she'd just have to deal with this engineer later. "Latch yourself in, it's going to be quite the ride," Romeo mutters slipping back into the pilot's seat. Her eyes dance over the flickering screens before her and the tiny holograms that would aide her in piloting the ship. "Oh, and I'll expect you to obtain my permission before doing anymore maintenance on the ship," She adds, maybe with a touch of accusation in her voice in regards to the error code. She didn't actually think he had anything to do with it, she is just annoyed he's here.

Outside the ship, technicians hurry about, moving away from the ship now that the time for take off had arrived. Orange lights flash before them, illuminating the path they'd need to take to exit the hangar. They'd been cleared to start the engines and then after that they'd be soaring toward the stars. There was no need to worry about other ships in the sky, the only thing standing between them and space is the weather and after getting this far she isn't going to let that stop her.

Romeo feels a smile touch her lips. Finally her day has come- once again she'll be flying among the stars.

"Blue, engines start," Romeo rolls her shoulders before relaxing back in her seat. The engines are immediately loud and powerful within the confines of the hangar. However, before long they'd become silent, less than a whisper in space. Dust that had once been dormant on the surfaces surrounding them swirl up around the ship, displaced by the roar of the engines.

"The atmosphere is being it's temperamental self- there's an incoming storm to the east... I will activate the shields at take off. Everything is ready when you are Romeo," Blue announces through he ship's speakers.

Without a word, Romeo initiates take off- flipping a number of switches then taking hold of the ship's control wheel. She barely has to touch the controls before the ship is shooting forward, glad to be free of the confines that had held it for so long. The force of it pushes her back against her seat. A slight shudder goes through the ship as it gains speed and for a brief moment vertigo tugs at her belly. Bright sunlight flashes into the cockpit when they exit the hangar. It warms Romeo's face. Adrenaline pumps through her veins, bringing her on the verge of the high she'd been chasing all her life. Freedom- they race towards it.
 
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Sami is calmly latching himself in, sure as hell not doubting that this was a good piece of advice by the young pilot. He takes deep breaths as he did his best to calm himself down. While he had no problems with normal flights into space, he was quite a bit more nervous this time. He knew about the solar storms and he knew the survival rates, further more the young pilot added another problem to his plan, even if they managed to leave this useless planet full of dirt behind. He looked at her with a friendly expression and did a mock salute " Yes ma'am, id never do something without my captain's approval" he joked lightly before simply nodding " In all seriousness, I am here to help and so don't worry I´ll play nice." he looked at her with a friendly expression as in his mind he wondered if she already had a clue that he was to blame for the bug, he decided that most likely she was just messing with him,after all she seemed like the kind of woman that would not tolerate him seriously messing with the ship or the mission.

He calms down as the engines start, sending vibrations through the ships, somehow he really had managed to get a chance to leave this planet again. He had been stuck on her for way too long. Now he could not do anything but enjoy the view as it all lay in the hands of the pilot. He turned slightly to watch her, shaking his head as he saw the smile on her lips, the girl seemed to be anything but worried, he assumed that this was at least a good sign.

The Android lets out a warning about the atmosphere, but that seemed more like a formal thing between the pilot and the tin can. Sami relaxed in his chair assuming that there would be a few moments of calm before they took off, possibly heading into their doom. Yet apparently he had misjudged Romeo. Without a warning, the ships shoots forward and Sami is pressed back into his seat as they accelerate towards the stars, getting closer to escape velocity with each moment. As they soared through the air a strange calm washed over the young man, no matter what happened now, at least he wouldn't die on Polos shot by some thugs. He had the chance to once again get away from a mess he had created and if the stars aligned he'd soon be back to roaming the galaxy once more. No debts to pay, no favors owed to anyone, after this he once again had the chance to be a free man.

The only two things standing between him and his freedom were the temperament of the local star and of course the young pilot Romeo Blake.
But somehow Sami would deal with it, in the end, he knew that he'd somehow manage it and so he leaned back and watched them fly towards the dangerous atmosphere with a smile on his face.
 
"Disengage auto pilot- I don't trust them to get us out of Polo's atmosphere," Romeo instructs Blue. She'd planned on leaving it active until later, but with so many unplanned variables (namely her unwanted passenger) showing up last minute, she is on edge.

Romeo clenches her jaw when the ship shifts slightly beneath her hands- now free to her will. She grips the control wheel, holding their course steady. Take off and landing is the hardest part in any flight. Not to mention the most dangerous. Their odds of crashing are currently at their highest- especially with the impending storm. "Come on," she murmurs, mentally coaxing the ship. The ship's hangar has turned into a small box below them, the engineers and other pilots no more than little specks on the ground. There really isn't that much farther to go.

No Man's land. That was her goal.

"Keep an eye on that storm, Blue." Romeo lifts one of her hands from the wheel in order to flip a glowing red and blue switch on the control panel. The cockpit dims as a secondary screen moves over the front window, dimming the planet's gray sunlight. Romeo frowns eyeing some dark clouds now filling the sky. They pressed out the sun, yet still seemed to shimmer a pretty purple and blue from within.

Blue's artificial wings flutter, making a soft tinkering sound. "Shields are active and at one hundred percent... the storm is still a few kilometers to the east... wait... no, it's- how can that be-"

"Blue?" Romeo glances over at her small companion, feeling the slightest tug of panic in her chest. "What?"

The problem and source of Blue's astonishment becomes quickly apparent however, when a flash of unsteady light darts in front of their ship. The storm isn't as far off as Blue had led them to believe. The solar flare is a bright coil of orange and yellow- a lightening bolt, only far more deadly and unpredictable. Romeo swears, jerking the wheel downward, causing the ship to dive, so they would miss the string of fire. It's surrounding energy still hits them, sending a shudder through the ship and causing the engine to balk briefly. The flare doesn't immediately dissipate behind them, it whips and uncoils, looking like a miniature tornado made of sun energy.

"Shields have lowered fifteen percent."

Just as quickly as the first had appeared another darts across the sky, forming somewhere amongst the charged clouds and ending where Romeo couldn't see. The cockpit is bathed in shades of orange and purple, and it warms slightly- the ships temperature regulator confused by the extreme temperature spikes outside. Romeo takes a hard bank to the left, keeping clear of the flare and almost flying right into another. A shrill alarm sounds from somewhere in the ship, a warning they were about to die probably.

Romeo swears, ignoring the alarm. They wouldn't even have to be hit directly by one of them- simply being grazed by it would destroy the ship. "Turn on the ship's boosters, the faster we can get though the storm the more likely we survive.... Is there anyway for you to calculate the flares?"

"No none... But our chances of survival- only twenty percent. Romeo we'd have more luck flying through an asteroid field."

"Just do it!"

The sky had been drab and gray, when they'd taken off, but now it is a frenzy of color. Some people used to think the solar storms were beautiful, given that the flares they produced were so colorful and lovely from far away. They thought the flares were like children's kites, moving gently through the breeze. However, that is the key to their beauty- distance. Once one got too close, their awe quickly became terror. In reality, the coils of sun energy twisted and growled, angry and not at all innocent. They darted across the sky and sometimes reached far enough below so that they left a scorched marks upon the ground. They destroyed everything they touched.

There weren't many left on Polo's who still believed the storms were beautiful.

When Blue activates the anterior thrusters, the ship shoots forward, moving fast enough to make the coils of light outside to blur. According to most, there weren't any successful tactics to piloting through a solar storm. If you were unlucky enough to find yourself in one, then you were already dead. However, most tended to take their time, thinking that they could more easily out maneuver the storm by going slower. They only ever got struck from behind or flew right into a flare while avoiding another.

"Prepare to jump, choose any coordinates." Romeo's plan is probably mad, but according to most they were already dead.

"We're still in Polo's atmosphere!? And the storm!? Romeo what-"

"Jump in ten seconds.... nine... eight..."

"There aren't any pre-checked coordinates!"

"Seven..." Romeo squares her shoulders, determination settling in her features.

"Except for the research station..."

"Six..." Looks like she would be going to the old station after all- she supposes that would work in her favor, it would be a good place to ditch the mechanic. She'd leave him a radio and rations, enough for a few days at least until someone else came and got him.

"Coordinates set... jump initiating..."

"Five... Four... Three..." Solar flares surrounded them at this point. Nothing besides their churning and powerful light left to see in the sky. Without looking at the ship's small hologram, Romeo couldn't be sure how close they even were to exiting the atmosphere.

"Romeo, watch out!" A pretty blue and purple flare materializes directly in front of them.

"Two... One."
 
Sami had been holding on tight, he hated it but once he had entered the damn ship, his life had been handed over to the pilot and her skills. For some blissful seconds, he actually thought they would manage to get out before the storm would reach them, that for once in his life there would be no bad roll of the dice and for once Sami would get out of a sticky situation without even more problems. Off course that little hope was crushed as the light of the first flare lit up the cockpit. For a moment he thought that they had been hit directly and were dead, but this time the shield and the pilot saved their asses and all he could do was holding on tight and watch the light show that came included with the trip as the shield flickered in and out of view for human eyes, each flare making the energy of the life-saving field dwindle.

The harsh maneuvers almost made him puke, barely able to hold on as his pilot and her android practically threw the ship around, using whatever thrusters they could to dodge the flares. He had witnessed many things and he could safely say that not much scared him, but the flares shooting by them only meters away from the ship scared him, there was no fire pattern or logic, either they'd die or live and it all depended on a young girl he barely knew and their luck. Knowing his luck he already prepared to die, barely even able to hear the girl and her countdown.

As the blue light of the flare lit up the cockpit once more he had already made his peace with the world and closed his eyes, waiting for the flare to burn them. Yet he never felt the horrific pain associated with that, and even with his eyes closed, he could tell that the flares light was gone. Sweat had formed on his forehead as he slowly opened his eyes, his breathing heavy as he wondered what had happened, only to see the cockpit as it was before the storm, illuminated by artificial light and even Romeo and her android were still there. As he looked out of the cockpit he saw why apparently his pilot had been insane enough to actually do a jump while in a solar storm and they had even made it.

There it was, floating in space, far away from the violent storms of Polos. The research station was built into a rather large asteroid or depending on classification, dwarf planet. Huge solar sails that once must have powered it, were now shredded, the remains still floating in space around the station. The station itself was hard to spot, built out of grey metal into the grey surface of the rock. The only easily spottable parts were the few remaining windows reflecting the light of the distant star. Most of the windows were smashed by now, most likely the result of asteroid showers. The power and with it the protective shield must have been gone for quite some time, even if there still seemed to be a bit of power left, seeing how some of the positioning lights were still working, so at least the reactor had not gone haywire.

Sami finally shook his head shaking himself free from the eerie image of the abandoned station as he grabbed his tablet. He looked at the pilot and at moments like these, he regretted not carrying a weapon with him. "So what now?" he asked, breaking the silence that had befallen the cockpit. He could only hope that the pilot would let her guard down for a moment or that the android would disconnect from the ship so he could control, sadly, for now, he had no option but to keep playing along and hope the pilot would not figure out who he really was.
 
Romeo gasps. Black dots dance in front of her vision. She gulps in lungs full of air, trying to catch her breath. Beads of sweat gather at her temples and her heart hammers in her chest. They'd done it. She'd done it. Survived the solar flares. The realization is slow and heady. When she'd initiated the jump, she had no idea whether or not they'd actually survive or end up smashing into a flare. The move had been absolutely reckless, suicidal even. A slow grin spreads over her lips as she tips her head to where Blue is hovering in the artificial air. Various words- mostly expletives rise to her lips but none find their way out, she is in shock truly and bubbling over with adrenaline.

Romeo blinks finally and leans forward to peer out the slightly blackened window before her. Nothing but endless space and a thousand far away stars stand before her. It is beautiful, breathtaking. It had been so long since she'd bee this close to the stars. Then there was the research station- it had been made to be state of the art in its time, but after years of abandonment it was in absolute disrepair. To say the least. "Hmm," she hums leaning back in her seat again so the seat restraints would stop digging into her shoulders and neck. It likely wasn't anything like she'd remembered.

She knew without asking Blue or reviewing the ship herself that it had sustained some damage during take off- they would need to go to the station after all, if only to make repairs. Plus it would be a great place to ditch her unwelcome companion. Romeo draws in another breath, telling her still frantically beating heart to settle. She needed to focus again. Given the stations condition, it may make connecting the ship to it's terminal difficult- if there was still a terminal to attach to. Romeo drums her fingers once over the arm of her chair.

"Blue... see if you can connect to the station. Find any signs of life." Romeo takes hold of the ship's steering again, ignoring the engineer's question behind her while piloting the ship closer to the floating rock. From here it seemed it still held power- with any luck the CO2 scrubbers were still functional. With the broken window however, they'd still need to wear masks and protective suits.

"I'm surprised it's still functional at all," Blue mutters, in her high-pitched artificial voice.

The cockpit grows silent again while Blue works, Romeo circles the station before finding the terminal. To think people used to live here- that her parents used to work here was almost unthinkable. It really had been another time.

"There's still power- as I'm sure you've deducted. Not much of it, but enough for the station to remain on standby. We should be able to connect, but I would put on your protective suiting. The place isn't exactly... safe for human life anymore." Blue flutters her wings, moving closer to the window. "I found a log of supplies left on the station, but I can't say how accurate it is... the ship will need some repairs- only minor..."

"I'm sure our engineer can handle those," Romeo quips, not intending to leave them to him- as she didn't trust him, or would she trust anyone with her ship's repairs, not when she could do them herself. After a brief pause. she tips her head side to side, loosening her muscles. "Lets do this." Then without flourish she slowly brings the ship closer to the station, preparing to dock. She'd landed in far more difficult place before, so once Blue was able to rouse the station's terminal to life, it was easy to get close enough for the two to connect and create a sealed tunnel between. The ship rocks slightly upon contact, but otherwise it was a smooth landing, one she is proud of.

One problem, dealt with and about fifty more to go. That being said, Romeo releases her seat restraints and stands. She glances back at her passenger. "I'll need your help gathering what we need..." She tips her head toward the back of the ship, "I'm assuming you've had some experience with space walking?" Romeo arches a brow before moving ahead, not really waiting for his answer, only expecting him to follow. They wouldn't exactly be space walking, they'd need better suits for that, but she hoped he wouldn't be a complete novice.
 
Sami had remained silent as they circled the abandoned station, thinking of what just had happened, he was certainly willing to call this the most reckless jump he had experienced, but even he had to admit that the bloody pilot had done a good job of getting them through the flares. It was a shame that she a military pilot, her skills certainly would be useful to get around, he certainly could get used to this over his usual kind of ships, alas that wasn't meant to be it seemed and hed have to get rid of her somehow, hopefully the station would provide an option to simply leave her,at least with some chance of survival, he probably owed her that much.

He swiped some sweat from his forehead as he ignored how she mentioned him and the repairs, instead of disengaging the seat restraints as he stood up.grabbing his tablet. He had done enough work in zero and microgravity back on Pluto, unlike many, he never had disliked working in space, wearing the suits, for some, it was a claustrophobic experience, but he liked the calmness of it, everything was quiet and he could focus on work and allow his mind to relax. Of course, he`d die before he told her that many details and instead simply nodded, muttering a simple " I can handle myself in space. Ill get into a suit and wait for you at the docking tunnel."

With that he left the bridge, his steps echoing from the metal walls of the ship, the light illuminating the hallways,making them seem even brighter than one would want, almost like a hospital. Soon enough he found the locker room, only needing a minute or two more to find a suit his size. He smiled as he felt the thick, artificial fabric in his hand, moving his thumbs over it, noticing how it was reinforced at quite a few places, unlike the suits he had worn this one was a military grade suit,made to withstand all kinds of punishment,the material most likely even able to seal punctures by itself, after all the military was always paranoid about not only natural dangers but also ABC attacks. Quitting his gawking he began to dress, soon wearing the suit and stepping into the heavy metal boots, electromagnetic, like most boots for spacewalks, after all, it can come quite handy to attach yourself to any hull or metal object.Lastly, he put on the helmet, it was mostly metal, a built-in radio to communicate with the rest of the crew, torches were on either side of it and the crimson visor on eye level seemed to be fitted with infrared and thermal vision modes, certainly could prove useful in the long run. Before he left he grabbed done of the toolboxes, stored in the locker that must have been used by a previous engineer, maybe hed need it, it also helped keep his cover up for now and of course if it came to the worst a hammer could be a useful weapon.

Soon he was waiting in front of the airlock that would lead them to the station, pouring over his tablet as he was trying to find a map of the bloody station, so far being unsuccessful. Sadly he had also begun to worry about the thread of the station still having security checks, while his papers were good enough to pass an eye test, even in the most optimistic of cases,even an outdated machine could detect it as a bad forgery, as long as it knew to check for watermarks, holograms or code-embedded signatures.Sadly, for now, he could do nothing more than wait for the pilot and see what would happen. He activated his radio, testing it for a moment as it cracked to life, searching the frequencies " Wilkins here... Blake I'm ready at the airlock, just waiting for my captain now" he had to get at least a slight tease in as payback for the bridge, he almost used his real name but corrected himself at the last second,he still needed his cover identity after all.
 
Romeo leads the way through the bowls of the ship, to a small room where the protective space suiting was stored, along with other spare clothes and miscellaneous supplies. Her long hair falls over her shoulder as she slips into one of the heavy suits. Thankfully the ship had been stocked with a women's size. She couldn't made due with a larger one, but the better these things fit the better off you were. "Once we board, Blue with run some more diagnostics- make sure there aren't any bio hazards and such. Then we'll collect the supplies we need and repair the ship." Romeo tugs her hair into a messy bun at the base of her neck then slips on her helmet. It's an older model and heavier than what she's used to, but as long as she can breath once they leave the ship then she's happy. "Mic check," she says automatically, waiting for the engineers static response, through the helmet's speakers. When there isn't one she adjusts the frequency- and just in time to hear him.

A rush of giddiness runs through Romeo as she meets the engineer at the air lock and stands before it. The euphoric feeling diminishes any nervousness she feels about her mission. "Are you ready?" She glances at his tablet then at him, this time actually waiting for his response. Granted she was planning on ditching him here, she was being professional and didn't want to accidentally kill him. Once he does give his assent, Romeo gives the command for the air lock to open. She shifts on her feet, when the door hisses revealing the small tunnel between them and the station. As soon as they begin moving through the tunnel the gravity lessens somewhat- the stations power probably not strong enough to ensure stable gravity here. This may taken longer than she'd like if they were going to be floating everywhere inside. When they reach the air lock room on the other side, another door falls shut behind them, temporarily closing off the tunnel so they could enter the station.

"Identification code please." The artificial voice originates from the station. It was still secure and since Blue wasn't actually supposed to be here, she didn't have the proper codes.

"Blue."

"On it," she hums, floating up to a wall port and plugging in. It only takes her a couple of minutes before the door's release with a hiss and they're let inside.

"Impressive," Romeo complements, flashing the android a smile as she moves inside her old home. She expects a jolt of familiarity from the white-wash walls and tiles flooring. But there isn't any. She'd either been too young when she was here or it had been too many long years since. Lights overhead flicker to life overhead, illuminating the station in dull fluorescence. From the inside it still looked brand new. The surfaces were shiny and free of any debris. She could imagine her parent's working here. Her mother would be in the main lab at the center of the research station, while her father hid away in the communications area, reporting to their superiors on Polos. Somewhere she would have been running around, learning to read, watching the stars, wondering what it was like living on their planet.

Romeo pauses beside a window set into the wall of the hallway. She stares down at Polos. It's atmosphere looked muddy even from here- covered in ugly dark clouds and spotted with streaks of light, that almost resembled falling stars from here. It was only the flares though, continuing their destructive barrage against her planet. Their people weren't exactly sure what caused them. Some scientists claimed that pollution had made the atmosphere unbalanced, which resulted in the flares, others said that their sun was simply deteriorating along with Polos. Although there really wasn't much prof of either being true. Those with less scientific approaches believed Polo's was simply coming to an end- that the planet was being cleansed, so that life may start again without all the disease that had since taken over. Romeo didn't know which hypothesis she believed in- maybe neither.

"Do you think we'll actually be able to find a solution, Ro?" Blue hovers somewhere to the left of Romeo's helmet.

Romeo doesn't answer her tiny companions question right away. She watches the swirling clouds on Polo's, trying to catch a glimpse of the earth below. When she finally does, blackened earth stares back up at her. No vegetation. No Life. I saddens her, but also renews her resolve. "We have to," she murmurs, finally turning away. If they didn't find a solution, then her people would die along with the planet. She only hoped that if, no when, they found that solution there would still be something left for them to save. "Come on, lets do some exploring."
 
He looked at her, the visors not betraying any emotions as they enter the small tunnel between the ship and the station, he simply nodded his head at her, the lower gravity already slowed them down a bit which would only be an annoyance in the long run once he had to get back to the ship, of course he also still needed to figure out how to get rid of the droid and the captain, but alas that would have to wait as they came to stand in front of the final heavy door separating them from the station. He activated the magnets in the boots locking him to the ground as the artificial voice originated out from some speakers in the hallway, he crossed his arms in front of him and looked at Romeo, more than happy that this was her task, else he would be in deep shit, after all hacking such a system was already hard enough, doing it with an audience that had to take your access fora legal one would be nearly impossible and he never planned on ending up dead in an airlock because an overly eager pilot spotted a mistake of his.


He raised an eyebrow as the droid took care of the access, taking note of the time it needed to get the door to open for them. He didn't want to make any rushed call, but at least to him it certainly seemed as if he wasn't the only one missing access codes. Sami watched the interior come alive, most of the lights still working and so he quietly walked inside, the only sound the heavy metallic thuds of their boots, floating might be quicker but he wanted to take his time, it was rare for an installation like this to be abandoned and to some extent it felt like a silent witness of when that god damn planet that even now ruined the view from the window, in his opinion at least, still had a proper presence in space and its people still thought they would best the mood swings of their star. As it turned out they could not, at least their space station could not.

He saw the droid and the pilot at the window but didn't question it, instead, walking ahead to what must have been at its time quote the precious reception area, beginning to boot up the main terminals at the desk there, or at least what would still function. He frowned as he looked at the many screens...Life support, check...artificial gravity, damaged.... reactor, stable.... shields, no reaction...defence systems, no reaction. He looked at the consoles, frowning, the defence system showed no reaction but the controls betrayed that for its time it was quite powerful, at least the pilot wouldn't be able to shoot him down once he took off, maybe shed even be able to get some equipment to work and live comfortably until the rescue crew would arrive, that version certainly sounded nicer in his head than having to plan out the worst case.

Sadly, beneath them, the view of Polos changed for the first time in many years, the dark, muddy atmosphere was pierced by several objects, 3 as the warning on the console informed Sami who didn't witness it from the window. The 3 ships belonged to the planetary defence force, they were their finest assets, the 3 heavy cruisers. They were only used if it was necessary since a stray solar flare could cripple a ship for months if not longer, but here they were piercing the atmosphere and aimed squarely at them, it all looked so slow and elegant in space or on the radar screen, yet there were 3 machines of war heading towards them at several thousand metres per second. Sami activated the radio, trying to sound calm. " Captain did you call for backup?" as he talked he was already packing up, a group like this was dispatched to kill and not to catch, either he would leave or he would die as the space station is incinerated. He was already walking towards the airlock when the screens on the walls jumped to live, at first, he wanted to ignore them, he was planning on getting to the ship and hoping to get out of here before he would die after all, but then he saw the screen. A big red warning scrolled across first, warning about dangerous criminals and informing security personnel they were to be killed. He raised an eyebrow at the word they and hesitated for a moment. His image showed up, his real name beneath it and weirdly calling him an accomplice in high treason. Then the second picture showed up, his " captain" her name had been real but the bloody girl had deserted and the text treated her as a traitor, making it clear that neither of them was expected to do anything but die in a big explosion. Now he was in a full-on sprint, the girl had been closer to the airlock and all he could do was run and hope that he would get there first or at least that the girl would not do what he had planned to do. He activated the radio. " Get to the airlock and don’t dare leaving" he shouted, out of breaths lightly, running in the suit with mag boots was something that never got easier, but he had to try and moments later he rounded the corner to the airlock, not sure what to expect as the 3 cruisers were visible from the window even some of the ships customized regalia was already visible.
 
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"Blue will you connect to the ship again and see if you gleam anymore information about what is left here?" Romeo reaches up and taps the android as she flutters in the air. "I'm going to the main control hub."

Romeo's heavy boots make faint thudding sounds as she moves further down the hallway leaving Blue as she connects to a wall circuit. Loose pieces of paper lay on the floor- old documents that didn't yield anything important, given they'd been left behind. She lets her thoughts stray away for a moment, taking in the station around her. A window she passes is cracked, fracturing the image of space beyond. While walking a sudden sense of de-ja-vu tugs at her thoughts. She remembers walking this hallway before- many times before. Romeo draws in a breath when she enters the living quarters. It wasn't anything fancy and without prior knowledge of the layout of the ship one wouldn't even know that's what this was. From the outside they were just anonymous doors branching from the circular hallway, storage closets possibly.

Ro passes the first couple doors before finally stopping in front of one that had a small smudge of orange paint near the silver handle. The remnants of a childhood art project. She reaches out letting her gloved hand brush over the handle somehow knowing it had been her families. It was stupid. This longing to go inside. To see if anything of her parents or of her younger self remained. It was highly unlikely, she knew this, but still... She grasps the handle, about to push the door open when the unexpected crackle of her headpiece causes her to start. Romeo frowns, stepping back and glancing back down the hallway. What was that? For a moment she'd forgotten about her companion, not smart considering she needed to figure out how to get rid of him.

"ROMEO! There are three defense ships approaching!" Blue screaches, suddenly buzzing close to Romeo's viser.

Romeo starts, the tiny droids appearance so unexpected that it takes her a moment to register what she'd said.

"Shit."

They should have had more time than this, an hour at least before Polo's military would discover what she'd done and be able to put together a recovery team. Something wasn't right. What had tipped them off so soon? Romeo begins jogging back down the way she'd come, leaving the living quarters and her old room behind, forgotten, again. "Are you sure they're coming here?" The question is laced with doubt and the slightest bit of hope. Of course they were coming here, Polo's didn't send out random ships to space- not anymore. Her breaking the law in order to be here was proof enough of that.

"Yes, they're only moments away from docking. They sent out a broadcast- They're calling you and the engeneer fugitives, wanted for treason." Blue pauses, "But they're calling him a different name... oh no Romeo, their orders are to kill on site!"

Romeo pants, her breath fogging up the visor on her helmet as she races down the hallway. Her mind was spinning, trying to formulate some sort of plan. There would be no talking her way out of this, not with their kill order. That meant that their lives and their mission meant them getting back to the stolen ship and getting away once more. There was also the engineer issue- he'd also lied about who he was. What were his motives for being here? Was he some sort of sleeper officer? No, Blue had said he was wanted as well. Romeo growls, her panic and frustration threatening to overwhelm. One thing at a time. She skids to a stop briefly beside a locker of sorts that was built into the wall. She'd passed it before without a thought. A silver decal of a gun reflected off of it's surface. Perfect.

"They're going to the secondary docking station- it's on the other side of the station. It'll buy us five minutes, maybe." Blue shoots ahead of Romeo, disappearing to prepare their ship for take off.

Five minutes. It would take a miracle to get their damaged ship flying in that amount of time. When Romeo skids around the last bend leading to the ship, her eyes lighten on the engineer, who was also running for the air lock. Romeo frowns her gloved fingers tightening around the handle of the small handgun in her palm. She wants to confront him, but first she ducks into the air lock, keeping the gun shielded behind her body from view. His interrogation would need to wait.

Her pulse jumps at her neck as she waits for the air to dissolve allowing the bridge between the station and ship to open. Romeo clenches her jaw leveling her gaze on the engineer. "Who are you?" She asks, sounding far calmer than she felt. The whoosh of air sounds around them before the emptiness of space swallows them and the bridge door opens. Romeo shifts around blocking the entrance in order to face him. She raises the gun, leveling it on his chest. "I want the truth."
 
The inside of his visor was slightly foggy as he forced his breathing to calm down, the air around them being vented into the void, all of a sudden there was no more sound, except the voice of the Pilot cracking ever so slightly as he heard her over the radio. He looked at her closely, trying to figure her out, he never liked a gun being aimed at him, but despite everything the Pilot, Romeo as far as he remembered, did not seem like the shoot first type, so maybe there was still a chance to get his ass out of this situation, of course then the question would be if they'd get away from the little ships wanting to murder both of them. His eyes ever so briefly left her as he noticed the troop transports detached from the heavy cruisers moving towards the secondary airlock. He shook his head and once more focused on the pilot, the girl must be crazy, she knew how little time they had and here she was asking questions, it seemed he had to indulge her.

"I am Sami, I mean you already read that" his voice was calm, with the slightest hint of annoyance, as if he had simply missed the subway on his way to work or some other mild inconvenience was bothering him. " The part about being an engineer is true by the way and you will need me to keep that little thing running, at least if you want to get away from them. Your droid is a nice toy but he won't be able to fix the engine once it goes haywire because you pushed it too far. " He talked fast, as usual, most conmen did and when they had to sell something to someone, in that case, he had the advantage of selling the truth but he had to hope the bloody Pilot was smart enough to see it, maybe there was hope seeing as he still had no bullet in his chest. His internal clock was ticking down and he floated a meter or so closer to the door, knowing that he could end up dead but he had to remind her of the time pressure, else both of them would die either way. " I planned to hitch a ride off the planet after I finished my work " he did not plan to tell her what he stole for now and instead continued. " I figured could leave you here and they would rescue you eventually, but sadly it looks like both of us planned something along those lines, but at least we have the time to make amends." he joked, his black humour shining through even now, it was still the best way to keep him calm. "I will play nice for now and you'll do the same, both of us know that, so how about you get to ask questions once we are out of the reach of their heavy artillery and then we can figure the rest out?" he did not wait for an answer as he vented some of his air to push him to the ship.


He looked out from one of the viewports as he floated towards the ship, not sure if he would be shot or not, but at least he could enjoy the view of space as he waited for the uncertainty to lift, he only dared to breathe again as his mag boots pulled him down onto what for now was "their" ship. He turned ever so briefly and shook his head, the thought of locking her out of the ship crossed his mind as his hand hovered over the control panel, but he quickly pulled it bag and began to walk into the ship, his radio cracking alive once more. " I will keep the engine running, no clue how long it will work or if this thing ever has been tested at full speed, but for the sake of our hides, just get flying instead of asking me questions." He made his way towards the engine bay, not getting rid of the space suit he was wearing, only taking off the helmet as he did not want to waste time, such a quick start was always dangerous, but surrounded by enemies with a ship that had not flown in ages it was much riskier. The hum of the magnetic fields keeping the pressure up for the fusion reactor filled the engine bay as he sat down, in theory, he could have sat down at the bridge but up there he only would have gotten parts of the picture, where he could control every aspect of the engine. As he sat down in the chair he had to admit that the ship indeed was the closest thing to modern that Polos could muster. " Well you got power and it should keep up an even output for some time" he mumbled over the ships communication system, pulling up different screens,pressure maps, graphs,fuel charts and more, he could not take all of them in at one time, no human could, there was a reason after all that usually there was a crew down here but he had to keep an eye on it, it did not need to run perfectly, it just needed to provide the speed to get them away from the heavy cruisers. Now he could do no more than trust Romeo, considering her status as a traitor he could not help but wonder if it was wise to do so.
 
Romeo's fingers tighten around the gun, indecision clouding her thoughts. He was a defector, same as her. But what if he was lying about that too? How could she trust him, when he's done nothing but lie so far? The gun wavers in her hand, lowering ever so slightly. She didn't want to shoot him- which must have been obvious since he didn't seem overly concerned about her having a gun pointed at his chest. Or he was simply more worried about their unexpected military company closing in. She had to kind of agree with him. A truce then. Her eyes flicker to Blue who hover's over her shoulder. The android doesn't say anything, which meant she didn't oppose the idea. It's not like the two of them had been entirely truthful up until this point either.

"Ro, they're docking..." Blue finally announces, apparently keeping logs on the cruiser's and their personnel.

Romeo opens her mouth, but doesn't say anything as the engineer brushes past her- or flies past her rather. She closes her eyes briefly, shutting down the multitude of questions forming about him and his purpose for being here. It didn't matter now, what mattered was getting away from here- as he'd stated. "Okay, let's go." She swivels around, stashing the gun away and following after Sami.

"Blue, do what you can to help him patch the ship. The ride is probably going to be rough, but I'm hoping she'll be able to make another jump," Romeo leaves the engineer to do his work and finds herself back in the cockpit. Lights flash lazily on the control board, noting warnings that she should be attending before taking off again- all of which she is going to ignore. They had power, that's what counted at this point.

"The soldiers are trying to make contact over the comms. They've boarded the station...." Blue pauses a moment, "They're instructing us to shut off the ship's power and to exit. We'll be shot down if not..."

Romeo yanks off her helmet and lets it drop to the floor with a thud. Her brow draws together, half listening to Blue and half trying to get this ship flying. The government was awfully angry about them stealing the ship- almost too much so. Romeo was surprised they were going through so much trouble to stop them. Was the risk they were taking coming here really worth it? Nothing about this was making sense. She shakes her head. "What do the shields look like?" She asks, while running the protocols to disconnect the ship from the station. A warning buzz chastises her for not doing so properly, but a simple flip of a switch disables it. The ship hums as a surge of power is returned to it from the gate and they are separated. It drifts forward slowly, coaxed by gravity. "Looking good... looking good..." Then suddenly the ship jerks, as if being tugged back by something. They were still connected?

"They're at the bridge door.... Romeo we need to LEAVE NOW!"

"What's holding us back?" Romeo swears, her eyes darting over the control panel. Then she hops up from the pilot's seat and races to the back of the ship. Her mental boots crashing and clanking over the flooring. "Engineer!" She shouts at the same time that the ship announces, "Manuel disengagement required."

"They're trying to keep us in place, I'm sorry I should have seen it coming," Blue chirps, flustered.
 
The pilot's words were only greeted with a barrage of curse words as he rose from his station, trying to set it up for the jump as well as he could before he grabbed the helmet, cursing once more as he fumbled through the attachment process, the hud soon coming alive once more. Finally he was moving towards the connection once more, his radio coming alive as he asked for the android, he may need him since he only carried a small multitool and a welter from the toolbox, furthermore the android would give the soldiers to shoot at that wasn't his body,at least for a second or so, he was not exactly the biggest fan of using an android as potential cannon fodder but if it came down to it he would choose his own life every time.

He relaxed his breathing as he opened the ship's airlock, leaving it open after heaving sealed the door of the adjacent hallway, he could not risk being caught without an entry once he decoupled the ship from the station, the Android or the pilot may shut him out after all. The silence soon swallowed him as his eyes darted around the loose connection, frowning as he saw one of the docking arms of the station still attached to the bloody ship. His magnetic boots attached him to the hull as he made his way up there, dimly aware of the flashing lights dancing over the polished ships hull, an alarm on a space station at least always guaranteed a good light show, he had seen them often enough, maybe been the reason for one or two even, at the memory a confident smile appeared on his face as he told himself, no, knew that he could do it. After all, pessimism could also be applied once the soldiers had gotten to them.

He soon was close to the docking arm frowning at what he saw, it was fully docked and the mechanics, as well as its controls, had been shut down, someone must have known what he was doing to waste his time. " Any way you can delay them? Weld the door or something? " he asked over the radio hoping for good news from either the Android or the pilot as he pondered his own problem, the arm was old but bloody well made and getting through that with his little welter would take a lot more time than they had. He smirked as he saw another option.

The welting torch flickered to life with a bright plasma beam between the end points of the rod, its light bright like a sun before he pointed it at the docking port of the ship, the hull hopefully would stay more or less intact as he began cutting into the cylindrical port. It was far from precise, more like a butchers work than a surgeons, but it was effective. " Give me 2 more minutes and if there are any hull breaches just seal the area" he whispered as he knew their time was running out. He began to get nervous, the cuts were rough and uneven before but now he was just trying to get through the hull, ignoring sparks as he cut a few auxiliary wires, yet after 1 minute and 48 seconds, the port was cut loose, loosely levitating in a now gaping crater on the ships hull. He wanted to celebrate but the fact that he already saw soldiers on the other side of the station's airlock prevented that as he switched off his mag-boots, screaming at the pilot to get going, as he was pulling and slinging himself towards the entry to the ship. He lay in the still open airlock of the ship as it began to close, his eyes closing as he counted each heartbeat, wondering if the ship would begin moving or if a 30-year-old docking arm as to end his life.
 
Romeo clenches her jaw watching the engineer from a small port window as he works to disconnects the ship from the station. She scoffs at his request.
"What do I look like a magician?" She snaps through the ear piece. It's not like this luxury ship came with mounted guns, much less equipment to wield with. All she could do is wait and hope that whatever he did worked. Sweat gathers on her brow, making the loose strands of hair that had come undone from her pony tail plaster to her face. "Come on..." She murmurs, watching as sparks flew up away from the welding torch. Before he's done cutting through the docking port she swivels away, moving back to the cockpit.

"Blue get his ass back inside!" She yells back, her thoughts already on piloting what was left of this hunk of metal away from here.

When she drops into the pilot seat, there were even more flashing lights and tiny alarms sounding than before. Romeo breathes out a nervous laugh. She'd find out now whether her training would pay off or not. She sends up a silent prayer to the stars. It wouldn't hurt she figures, they needed all the help they could get. Romeo fires up the anterior thrusters, unsure whether the engineer was actually safely back inside or not. If he wasn't at this point he'd be fried by the thrusters but he'd just as likely to be shot by soldiers. So she'd probably be doing him a favor.

"Go," She breathes as the ship shoots forward, snapping her head back against the seat. Almost immediately there's a ship following behind them, a pilot that had probably been left behind when the other's had boarded the station just in case the fugitives were stupid enough to try and run. The ship heaves when the pilot behind them opens fire. The hit is absorbed by their shields, but those were quickly fading. Romeo's hands move frantically over the control board, switching off the ship's unessential functions to put as much power into the thrusters as possible. They shoot forward again with the extra energy, but it still wouldn't be enough.

"Fuel leak. Recommended course of action, land immediately for repair." The ship's communication system sounds joyful with it's announcement, like it was pleased with the karma unfolding.

Romeo swears, making a jump with a fuel leak was absolutely insane. What choice did they have though? She glances out the side window, trying to glimpse the ship trailing them. A beam of red is fired towards them and she quickly banks the ship to the right narrowly avoiding it. Stuck between an asteroid and a black hole.

She jumps.

The ship rocks unsteady as it zips through space at jump speed. Star's blur in her vision becoming dizzying streaks of white light. Romeo breathes in short gasps of air. She hadn't set any coordinates, but the ship seemed to have picked a random planet in the distance it was trying to reach. That may have been Blue however. As it was, it didn't look like they were going to make it. The fuel levels were dropping radically. In moments they'd have nothing but fumes. Romeo straps herself into the seat, the loud clicks from the locks a menial comfort.

"Fuel level's at critical level. Disengaging jump speed." The ship chirps happily.

"No! no, no..." Romeo yells, getting thrown to the side when they fall out of the jump and the ship buckles. Something immediately hits one of the wings making them spin. Asteroids? Hundreds of large pieces of rock fill her vision. All float lazily in space, a sure deathtrap. The ship definitely didn't have enough fuel left for her to maneuver through them. Panic constricts her throat freezing her in place. She didn't know what to do. All she could do was stare out the blackened window before her and watch as the asteroids grew closer and closer. She closes her eyes when something hits them from above, rocking the ship.

"Shields no longer functional." The ship's artificial voice barely registers in her ears.

She'd failed. She'd failed everyone. Her parents, her people, Blue... herself. Even that stupid engineer. A hot tear runs over her flushed cheeks. At least she would die here in space, surrounded by the stars.

"Anyone alive in there? Ya'll are crazy trying to fly like that!" The accented masculine voice startles Romeo when it sounds over the speakers. "Hello? We've gotta hold of ya, don't worry."

She opens her eyes frowning. It hadn't been an asteroid that had hit them, it was another ship grabbing them.
 
Sami felt the acceleration immediately as he began to slide around on the ground, he cursed himself for not having expected that as he activated the mag boots to at least not be thrown around like a bloody piece of cargo. At least the girl seemed to be a capable pilot, he had done his part and now it was her turn, and if she was good enough the two would hopefully live to see another space station, preferably without a firing squad waiting for them. A smile was beginning to form on his face when the impact of the shots shakes him. He gets on his tablet, knowing that he wasn't able to fix it right now but he at least wanted to know what would end up killing them, right now his guess was on a second hit igniting their fuel. He wished he would be able to talk some sense into the girl but right now all he could do is make his way towards one of the bays housing a seat to strap in, they would have to jump, it may not be smart, they may die but it at least had a slight chance and a jump was hard to track for their friends on the outside and so he strapped himself in, doing his best to empty his lungs as the sudden acceleration would knock it out of him anyways, he may love the serenity of space but he hated every single jump.

His eyes were closed, he was not in the engine bay or on the bridge so he sadly could not provide much help, not like he could either way, the ship was geared to be operated by a crew and frankly to operate a ship like that with one person and an android like the pilot had intended sounded asinine to him, hell even with a second person there would be some changes that had to be made. She had aimed a gun at him and he still was unsure as of what to make of her, though that ranked quite a bit below the escape in his list of priorities. He was a pragmatic person and for now, she and this ship were his best option, the rest would have to be sorted out, hopefully without any weapons involved.
The possible modifications of the ship would have provided a lovely distraction about the jump they were in, but he was rudely thrown out of these thoughts when they came to a sudden stop, sending him flying forward until the seatbelts caught him. He groaned audibly as he got up, leaving the helmet and his tools at the seat before he moved towards the bridge with quick steps, he thought about turning off the mag boots as they were rather cumbersome inside the ship, but the spin of the ship nearly send him flying and therefore made it clear that he was supposed to keep them on.

He reached the bridge, the door opening with a quiet sound, the android still flying around, he knew well what the state of the ship meant and the view outside of the window also made it clear that the chances of a happy end were slim, no shields in an asteroid field usually meant that the hull would look like swiss cheese within days. After a moment he spotted the girl in her seat, a tear running down her cheek, making him hold back a sarcastic comment, the shipyards tended to install someone with a certain amount of gallow humour, but he felt like it would not exactly lighten the mood. Luckily the little pause this train of thought caused was enough to change their situation as the man's voice rang through the bridge. Sure enough, the ship began to move as the ship above them began to move them around as if they were some piece of furniture during a move. For a moment Sami was unsure of what was going on, but soon the sight of the asteroid field was replaced by a huge, mechanical beast. The station filled the whole viewport, the outer hull full of scratches dents, exhaust ports and docking stations, they had run into a mining operation. A look on the radar seemed to make it clear, he had assumed the many targets had been asteroids but at least some of them were mining ships. The station in the distance roared to live, some of its thrusters firing off to adjust its position in some gas planets orbit. He knew these rigs, they were slow-moving behemoths, practically travelling civilizations. They were owned by conglomerates and constantly trawling through the far reaches of civilised space. Many of the people living there would never leave it seeing as these things never returned to a port, the only contact with other people was when big freighters delivered what could not be produced on the rig and to pick up whatever the rig had mined. The station certainly showed its age, the different modules being of varying age and quality, undoubtedly produced and added whenever it came within jump distance to a shipyard, though he doubted the structure was able to execute a proper jump at best these behemoths could execute short hops though many still lacked even that capability at all, being generational vessels that even developed their own culture and customs.

Sami was torn out of his thoughts as the same voice spoke up again. "If you are injured, just hold on for a few moments." they were being ferried towards one of the many docking stations and the engineer could not help but grin from ear to ear as he looked at Romeo. " That was a bloody good jump" he shook his head as he sat down at one of the consoles, bringing up a damage report, glancing over it before he once more looked at the pilot. These rigs may be isolated but this situation would still raise a few questions. "What do we tell our new friends?" he still remembered the gun she had pointed at him but he was certain that there would be a lot more guns pointed at both of them if the truth would come out, after all, no one liked thieves, especially not if a whole populace lived off mining rare materials. The room lit up as the lights of the rig seemed like a sun from up close, making it hard to focus on the screen in front of him, he would have to asses the damage in greater detail later on but at least it seemed like this ship would need thorough repairs and he may be able to use that as his ticket off this rig, at least if they managed to get on board without any handcuffs. " I think they are awaiting your response, captain," he said, grin still on his face as he knew that for now, they would have to postpone their discussion about faked credentials and his actual identity to a later time, hopefully, a more private one.
 
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Romeo sits in utter disbelief, unable to move, unable to answer the disembodied voice. There was someone actually out here? Her ears are ringing and her heart is pounding like mad in her chest, maybe she'd just imagined the voice... Romeo blinks when the hulking ship that has hold of them comes into view. It looks like some sort of creature born out of the asteroids surrounding it. A mechanical space whale, dotted with dings and scrapes. At first glance she would have assumed the ship was ancient, however it was pieced together with various materials old and new alike. It was impossible to tell how long it had been here- since its conception perhaps. She squints when it's bright lights, fill the cockpit a moment until their ship's rotated away from them.

Other ships soon catch her attention, difficult to pick out amongst the lazy asteroids but there, flying between them or stationed on them. They'd somehow managed to jump right into a mining field. The absolute sheet dumb luck. Romeo laughs. They'd managed to survive two impossible jumps in one day.

"The ship was heavily damaged during our encounter at the space station- I'd advice we accept their help and make immediate repairs. I'm still trying to pinpoint where we are... somewhere in the Vesta quadrant," Blue buzzes, flying somewhere near Romeo's ear.

Romeo nods her head slowly then winces reaching back to prod at a tender spot behind her head. What do they tell them? She bites her lower lip, knowing the truth wouldn't get them very far. Even if these people lived in the middle of no where, they wouldn't want to help a thief and a stowaway- whose possible crimes Romeo had yet to uncover. She glances over at the engineer, not immediately answering his question. Again she would have to decide whether or not to trust him. He could in theory throw her under the proverbial buss, but she has a feeling he wanted to remain as anonymous as she did. Romeo still has Blue by her side at least, she could count on the droid to stick with her.

Clearing her throat Romeo leans forward and presses a small yellow button that would allow her to communicate with the other ship. "No one requires medical attention, our ship however is in need of repairs."

"Well that much I can see. I don't know how that thing got out here," the voice laughs. "We'll have you safe and sound at the docking station in just a sec."

Romeo breathes out a sigh then drums her fingers over the control board in front of her. With a ship as nice as the one they were in, whatever lie they told would need to be a good one. Or at least veiled in partial truths. "We tell them that we're from Polos. Everything in here is stamped with the planet's logos anyways." She flickers her hand absently to her uniform and the logo stitched over her heart. "We were sent to seek refuge for our people, but things went wrong during our departure. Our droid calculated our coordinates wrong and we ended up here." Romeo shrugs, it was more or less the truth, minus a couple details.

"Docking now," the voice announces.

A low whine fills the ship followed by a violent rock, which causes Romeo to nearly fall out of her seat. But then with a gentle hum the ship settles, now attached to their docking system. The rush of air from the air lock brings Romeo to her feet. She draws in a breath, peering once more at the engineer before turning toward their saviors.

"Hopefully they aren't cannibals," Blue mutters.

Romeo spares a glare for the droid, "like you'd have to worry if they were."
 
Sami let out a deep breath nodding at her words even if his face may betray the fact that the young man's thoughts were already somewhere else, namely with the damage tot he ship and how much the repairs would end up costing, and even more importantly if he would be able to count on the pilot to get him off this station, maybe even without landing them in another asteroid field. The droids words finally manage to bring his mind back to the reality off the bridge, a grin spreading on his face, the little machine at least had some humour. "Rest be assured even cannibals know how to gut an android for spare parts," he added to the little chatter before moving towards the door, only stopping to take one last glance out of the window, taking in the station and all the little buzzing lights, it may not be a place he would call home, but at least this place was alive unlike Pollos, he had only been there a few months and had already worried he would die there, thinking about he probably owed the pilot a drink for the lucky jump, but that could wait. He straightened himself, the grin leaving his face for a brief moment. "Ready to meet our saviours and charm them with your story?"

The air rush off air sadly cut this conversation short, even if he would have loved to joke a bit longer, the story she had come up with seemed to be at least believable and now the two of them would have to sell it. The smug grin vanished from his face as he straightened his posture, after all, it would help if he at least seemed somewhat like an engineer capable and trustworthy enough to be a part of such an important mission. He looked at Romeo and took one last deep breath as he opened the door. "Well, I don't think we should keep them waiting, captain" he flashed one last smile and stepped out of the bridge and began to make his way towards their welcoming committee, if the two of them were to survive this there were quite a few topics that had to be cleared up, among them the question if he could trust her to keep her mouth shut on him, if that was to be the case an arrangement may be possible, after all the two of them had already stolen a ship together and she was a capable pilot, which could be very useful considering how far away from the more civilized parts of the galaxy they were. He decided to worry about all of that later on as for now there was still the possibility that the two of them would be shot as soon as the heavy steel doors slid open.

As always the moment of truth came way too quickly, the doors coming apart once the two were ready, the droid buzzing around them. His body tensed up for a brief moment as his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, yet as his eyes adjusted and even more importantly they were not shot at, he was finally able to take in the docking bay they were now attached to. To his surprise it was a lot cleaner and more organised than the outside appearance of this space whale made one assume, he counted at least 6 other airlocks, assuming that those were for smaller mining ships to either switch out their crew, have maintenance down and so on, his first instinct was to move down the ramp to explore, sadly it seemed that would have to wait as his eyes landed on about 6 people at the foot end of the ramp, 4 of them armed with assault rifles and wearing heavy armour that sadly obscured their features, another one furiously wiping his hands into a rag while whispering into the ear of the non-human woman next to him. The armed guards seemed more bored than anything, which to him was a good sign, even amongst them counted 2 non humans, one fo them being easy to spot, standing at maybe 5"5 while also being broad as a cupboard, seeming more like a tank on legs than anything else, the second non- human took Sami a tad longer to spot as the only difference from a taller human he could spot under the heavy armour was the fact that the gloves only had 3 long fingers. His attention landed back on the non human woman as she began to walk up the ramp, clipboard in hand, only now did he take a closer look at her, her appearance certainly was striking with a slender built and light blue skin while she easily stood at 7 feet, making the engineer feel smaller the closer she got. Soon enough Sami had to crank his neck back a bit to look up at her as the woman stood before the pilot and himself, cold blue eyes digging into her digital support before she spoke, her voice surprisingly warm. "Welcome aboard.." she looked at the two of them as if for a moment trying to figure out who the captain was before her eyes came to rest on Romeo. "It is good to see that there is no one hurt...." She looked at the ship behind them and then at her clipboard once more. "Sadly it seems you will be forced to stay docked for some time, you came close to killing yourself with that jump" while her voice was still warm, there was a hint of judgement in it as well. "Would you be so kind as to follow me to my office? I know you must be exhausted and concerned about your ship, but your arrival did cause a few questions. So if you would be so kind to accompany me to my office?" she moved her arm, indicating towards a building at the end of the docking station, the building seemed to loom over all the docking stations, like a giant gatekeeper for the rest of the station. It seemed clear that she would not take no for an answer, yet she at least remained friendly, as friendly as a person with 4 armed guards could be. She turned around, motioning for the two fo them to follow her.

Sami meanwhile took a look at Romeo, shrugging ever so slightly, for now, he certainly intended to follow her lead, this station appeared to be a lot better run than he had expected which could mean a bit of trouble for them, the greeting certainly had not been the warmest he had received, luckily the docking bay seemed to be home not only to ships, droids and cargo but also to quite a few bars whos neon signs dotted the high walls. After all this, he was longing for a drink to soothe his mind, and maybe a few hours to see what data had been so valuable to the pilots home that he had become just as sought after as a traitorous pilot. All of these plans sadly relied on the two of them getting through their little questioning without blowing their cover, though the pilot seemed bright enough, so hopefully, they would be able to handle the situation with only a few lies and maybe a small bribe.
 
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Romeo breathes out a soft laugh, releasing some of the tension that had begun building in her muscles. She shoots the engineer a bemused look, so he wasn't just a condescending smart ass. Her attention quickly diverts to the door however, as she mentally prepares herself for whatever lay beyond. Loose strands of Romeo's hair brush her cheeks when the door finally swishes open, letting in a rush of cold sterile air. It smells vaguely like rotten eggs, probably from whatever they used to drill into the asteroids- or the crew had a very unfortunate diet.

"I doubt people living out here are easily charmed by pretty words," Romeo mutters as she moves forward to meet the group just inside the docking station.

The inside of the station is basic in design, meant to do one job and do it well, but it's far cleaner than she would have expected. Her eyes flicker over the party waiting for them. The guns were a concerning sight, but a necessary one on their part. No doubt they'd had plenty of run-ins with pirates and other such criminals. They didn't immediately shoot them or aim their guns at them for that matter, which tells Romeo they were just being precautionary.

Their leader- a looming Ghaid, stands just ahead of the welcoming party and is the one that eventually strides easily up to them. Her skin is light blue and as she gets closer Romeo can pick out darker strains of blue running up her arms- veins. She'd heard that Ghaid's blood really was blue unlike human's whose blood only appeared as such from beneath the skin. Romeo cranes her head back to look at her, finding the woman's height both impressive and annoying. It made Romeo who barely stood over 5'4" feel minuscule. She remains quiet while the women's icy blue eyes flicker over them, quick and assertive.

"Thank you," Romeo inclines her head politely, thinking the Ghiad's voice sounded like bubbling water. "Without your help we surely would have perished in the asteroid field. We will corporate fully and answer any questions you may have." What did her voice sound like? Static over a speaker probably.

Romeo digs her nails into the palms of her hands, quieting her ridiculous thoughts. She glances quickly at the engineer then Blue, before following after the Ghaid's long stride.

"How does she keep from bumping her head on the doorways?" Blue whispers in Romeo's ear as they move down the corridor away from their ship.

Romeo merely shrugs, distracted by the sight of the flickering bar signs. She forgets that the people not only worked here, but it was also their home. It may be their only home- she can't imagine people came and went very often from here. It would be a curious place to explore, should they be allowed to.

"I'm sure it comes as no surprise that we don't get many unexpected visitors here," the Ghiad says, motioning them through the arching doorway to her office. "Our mining operation isn't exactly in the hub of the universe."

Romeo notices that she does dip her head slightly before following them through the doorway, but inside the ceilings had been made tall, probably with Ghaid's height in mind. The guards file through next, positioning themselves at the back of the room along a floor to ceiling bookcase that was stuffed with books of various languages. The Ghaid's desk is tall and made of dark metal, on it sits large stakes of paperwork and a wrinkled map. There's also a flat disk with a levitating chunk of asteroid hovering over it. The rock sparkles faintly in the overhead lights.

"Now," the Ghiad begins, taking a seat behind the desk. "My name is Idelle, I'm in charge of running not only this mining operation but the community we have here. Your ship is from Pollos, as are you I would assume from your uniform. Interesting, since from what I hear, it's nearly impossible to leave the planet."

Romeo draws in a breath, clasping her hands behind her back. "You are correct. We were assigned by our government the task of seeking a refuge planet for the people of Pollos. As you know for some time our atmosphere has been plagued by solar storms, which made it impossible for anyone to leave or enter the planet, thus destroying our trade economy. Over the past few years however the storms have gotten worse and our planetary conditions are quickly becoming unlivable." She glances away, thinking about home and everyone still there- in constant danger, not only from the storms but also starvation. People were beginning to turn on one another, as their hopelessness and fear overtook them. If something wasn't done and soon, then it may be themselves that destroy one another rather than the storms.
 
Sami let the pilot do the talking, he had long ago learned that sometimes silence was the best move for one, especially if several, rather unfriendly people had guns, even vaguely, pointed towards you and didn't ask you for anything. That and seeing as he was supposed to just be the engineer it probably would just risk poking more holes into their already flimsy story. So he did what any good soldier of Pollos would do and followed his captain down the ramp, the Ghiad leading the way with the rest of the welcoming party spread out around them. No one of them came anywhere close to them or spoke a word, but their fingers on the triggers of their guns still made it clear that they weren't there for a friendly chat. Yet he could not hide a smile at the androids questioning, hoping the tall woman had not heard it, though if Sami would ever find himself drinking with a Ghiad he certainly would ask about that.

The way past the bar signs was briefer than Sami would have liked, after all, if he was stuck here he would have to know which establishment to visit, assuming they weren't thrown into the local prison to be picked up by their friends from the space station. Sadly that question would be answered in a few moments, he mused as they walked into the Ghiad´s office. The building's facade had been simple, like any customs office he had seen, though her personal office at least did show hinds of personality, which usually was a good sign if a customs agent was to question one. He spotted one or two private pictures on the shelves along with a few posters about contraband lining the wall, sadly he could not do more than take in the scenery as he had to rely on the pilot to talk their way out of this.

He was only half listening to the conversation, taking notes of some important tidbits like the woman's name while also listening for any cue for him to either jump in or to try and spin up a different story. Though to his surprise the pilot did a good job selling their story, it certainly was not the greatest sales pitch he had ever seen but it wasn't as if they had a lot to work with. As she told their cover story he did start to listen carefully, taking note of the details to make sure he could tell it to anyone that asked, after all, it would be rather awkward if 2 crew members of the ship had different stories about their mission and how they ended up here.

Yet as Romeo's voice died down in the brightly lit office his focus shifted to Idelle, searching for any clue in her body language or facial expression, yet her face remained unreadable, her eyes switching between the two humans while she leaned against the desk. Sami could not help but notice that it had been built to her scale, he could only be glad that she did not make them sit in front of it as that would make the pair look like children about to receive a stern talk by their father. Her lips, a slightly darker shade of blue compared to the rest of her skin, finally parted to speak once more, her voice still unusually warm for a woman that could easily play the role of an ice queen. " I am sorry to hear the state of your planet has become worse and I am genuinely sorry that your leaders did not see the need to evacuate sooner." In Samis eyes the woman seemed genuinely sorry, even if he could not shake the feeling that she was also placing blame on the planet's leadership, which frankly was fine by him, it definitely had not been the best-run place he had seen, yet his musings were cut short as Idelle continued, her voice as warm as it had always been, yet filled with an authority that had only been a slight implication earlier. " First off, I think it is quite clear that we will not accept your planets populace, we are a mining operation and not a floating asylum, secondly, as I said I do feel sorry for your people but my duty lies with his ship, its people and the conglomerate that built it and hired me, therefore I have to ask how you intend to fix your ship, how long it will take and of course how you will pay not only for whatever parts you need but also for the time our mining ship lost bringing you and of course the docking station you are taking away for the time of your stay?" the warmness was gone as she talked pure business, her eyes now cold as the ice they had reminded Sami off, she looked at Romeo, clearing expecting answers and Sami could only hand the Tablet to Romeo with the preliminary damage report open, he would have loved to speak but Idelle seemed to be used to talking to the captain of a ship and not its crew. Yet the Ghiad raised her hand, signalling them to wait with their answer as she added one more thing, with two cards, IDs if Sami had to guess, falling out of a 3D printer on her desk, handing both of them to Romeo." These provide a licence to stay in the docking bay, after all, I would not want to have to look for you two in the depths of the station where you risk the chance of slowing down our operation even more. I think it would be polite of you to stay available if needed, as you have seen our little harbour is quite welcoming." Sami could not help but be impressed at how quickly the Ghiad could switch tones, her inquisitive eyes still on Romeo, obviously not willing to dismiss them until she had at least gotten a preliminary report. Once more Sami could only stand by and watch, telling himself that drinks would definitely be on him once they made it out of here, it began to feel as if he would need a little talk with the pilot sooner rather than later, at least if they wanted to get off this station without being bound for prison on Pollos.
 
Romeo balks when Idelle asks how they would pay for the ships repairs, her relief at having their cover story accepted short lived. Of course the Ghiad's request was a reasonable one, they had after all interfered with their mining operation and would need their assistance in repairing the damaged ship, however they had no way of paying them. She swallows, silently accepting the tablet from the engineer. Her eyes flicker over the damage report he'd pieced together thus far- things weren't good, but the ship wasn't a lost cause either. Romeo bites the inside of her cheek, pretending to pour over the report while her mind spun, trying to buy them time. Romeo had some credit's saved, but not nearly enough to cover the repairs needed.

She clears her throat, passing the tablet back to the engineer. Romeo hopes he has the good sense to turn it off before anyone else has a chance to look at it. Her gaze returns to the Ghiad, all poker face- or at least she hopes as much. "At present my crew has yet to complete a full damage report. However, once it is completed I will contact Pollos and they will send you the credits needed to repair our ship and compensate you for your troubles."

Romeo holds her breath, waiting for Idelle's response. Should the Ghiad desire it, she could have them tossed in cells or out to space, maybe even shackled and put to work. Behind them Romeo hears one of the guard's shift, restless.

But the Ghiad nods once, brisk. "I'll give you until tomorrow morning's work alarm to complete your report, which I'd like a copy of." Her blue eyes shift to the engineer. Romeo realizes she didn't have any eye lashes or eyebrows. "Is that amount of time sufficient?" The question seems to be mostly out of social politeness, because her tone indicates that it had better be.

"It should be more than sufficient. Thank you," Romeo cuts in. She inclines her head again and accepts the ID's from Idelle. "We'll be sure to stay out of your and your worker's way."

Idelle waves her hand toward's the door, dismissing them. "Very well. Lincent will escort you back to the docking bay and inform you of your ID's parameters." She takes a seat at her desk, her gaze falling on the stack of papers in front of her, already moving on to the next task at hand.

Romeo grips the small plastic ID, feeling it's sharp edges pressing painfully into her hand. The line of guards that had been standing behind them quickly file out the door, the sound of the boots hitting the ground the only sound in the room. One stays behind, Lincent, waiting just outside the door. His heavy armor looks slightly battered and dirty, but bits of it still gleam beneath the overhead lights. He lifts his hand, which had three long fingers and signals down the hallway, muttering something in another language.

Romeo follows rigidly, sweat running down her back. They were okay, for now at least, but they would have to figure something out before that alarm bell sounded in the morning.
 
He turned off the tablet's screen as soon as she handed it back to him, feeling like the guards around them would become just a little bit too curious otherwise, these repairs would not be cheap and frankly he doubted that the pilot would be able to afford them on her own, the problem, of course being that neither could he. The ship would need the two of them to pool their resources, at least if they wanted to have a realistic shot at keeping it operational, he simply made a mental note to keep this in mind for their talk later on, for now the engineer had to keep his focus on what was happening in the room, else there may be would not be any point in musings about the ship. His shift in focus had been just in time as he felt the cold eyes on him, holding her gaze for a moment before offering a brief firm nod, he had dealt with enough people like this, no point in arguing for more time or being friendly, the only thing that interested her was the report and he would deliver that, even if the report would not be completely truthful.

The Ghiad luckily seemed to be satisfied with the situation so far, handing the IDs to his "captain", he looked around the office one last time, hoping the next visit would be on friendlier terms before he followed the guard and Romeo, his mind already circling around the damage report while they were lead outside while also receiving a few warning words about not causing any further problems. Sami waited for the guard to leave before smiling at the young girl " Well done, now we just have to somehow make her believe we can afford the repair" he joked sarcastically as he extended his hand, impressed that the two of them had managed to not only avoid imprisonment but even attained an ID.

His eyes wandered over the busy port, mining ships constantly arriving and leaving, crowds moving from and to their ships, it took him a few moments to spot what he was looking for, smirking at the pilot and her android as he spotted the sign he had been looking for. "Now, I do think I owe you a drink or two and there is also the matter of you threatening me and possibly stranding em on that godforsaken station, so would you be so kind to accompany me to the bar?" The two of them may not have gotten off to a good start but at least until the Ghiad had been satisfied they had to make it work and talking over this in a bar seemed preferable to a situation where she could easily hold him at gunpoint once more.
Instead of waiting for a response, he started walking, hoping that the pilot would cooperate, the walk was short, only a few metres, yet it took longer than expected as a crowd walking towards the ship got in the way, the engineer eventually managed to get through, the door to the bar opening almost silently giving away a sight that made him feel right at home. The bar was dark, only sparingly illuminated with most of its patrons preferring the shade, either because they have had enough artificial lights shining at them at work or simply because they valued their privacy. The central bar itself was well lit with two barkeepers working to satisfy the rather drunken folks sitting there, both of the barkeepers were humans, an older woman and a young man as far as he could tell. The patrons, on the other hand, were a wild mix of species, some from the core systems, some from the edges and a few from places no one could pronounce.

Sami moved towards one of the more secluded tables, only a sleeping drunkard sitting in the same area, ordering two beers in passing before he sat down, ordering his thoughts for the upcoming talk, there were many questions left to answer and he had a feeling that he would have to answer most of them, after all, he could imagine why someone would desert the navy of Polos, the place was hopeless. He waited for the drinks to arrive, silently toasting towards the pilot before taking a big sip. "Seeing as you did a good job getting us out of there, I guess I do owe you some answers, so feel free to ask away.." he mumbled, quite obviously not keen on itas his eyes flicked from patron to patron, showing a hint at his nervousness as it would come to explaining himself.
 

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