Sifting the Detritus

[Master s'Ilancy]

She followed slightly behind, giving a few last minute orders to KHER as he kept pace.

"Keep your sensors on active sweep, and don't play too fast and loose," A pause as a memory tugged at her, and the Lupine gave a sideways glare to her ship's avatar.

"Not like last time. Understood?"

Yes Ma'am.

"Good. I'd rather not have to pull bits of your extremities from the bulkhead again."

Zem was already halfway up the extended boarding ramp when she stopped, turning to face the spindly droid fully.

"And by everything holy," a hand sliced to the side, palm down to accentuate her words, "... do not forget to keep in contact with the buoy. If something drops into the system, you send word."

This is hardly the first time I've done this, you know.

She made a face, turning away and starting up the ramp.

"I know. But you're also old and forget things," was her parting shot as she fumbled in a pocket for a small case. Stepping up onto the shuttle's main deck, the Lupine grudgingly slapped a palm against the large, protruding button that would close the ramp.

[Siloo Jaska]

"You heard the old timer," Siloo grinned, slapping her helmet back on. Sansa had already done the same, and was in full trot back to her fighter.

"Signal up to Gold and let 'em know about our blue milk run. Shouldn't take long to deal with this."

Hopefully, at least. Captain Jaska hoofed it to her T-70, climbed in, and worked with her droid to fire up the converters.

[Old Zem]

Zem strapped in, warming up his systems as Lok made her way to the cockpit. The old man wore a smile that just wouldn't go away as he listened to the power plant spool, easing the repulsors into action.

"You know, I think I've grown to like that old droid. You pick on him a lot more than you pick on me."

Vymes cast his partner a wink, then gestured to her crash webbing.

"You'd best cinch that snug. I might be in the mood to show off."

And with that, Zem pushed the thrust, the inertia pressing Lok firmly into her seat until the moment the shuttle cleared the bay. Once they had sky below, Zem banked hard into a spinning dive, leaving the surprised X-Wings to reside in his wake...at least for a moment.

Zem's smile got bigger and bigger.

[Master s'Ilancy]

"If you keep on, I'm going to throw up on you," her hands, outstretched, had been placed along the sides of the admittedly confined space of the dual cockpit.

"... again."

There was a moment that followed, that the Lupine could swear her husband dove just a little steeper, pumping as much power into the sublight jets as he could.

"Zem-El!"

Her barked warning was laced with frustration, as she stopped just short of uttering his full name.

[Siloo Jaska]

"Karabast," Siloo's eyes widened as she cleared the bay, getting a windscreen full of the old man's contrails as he burned sky. "The old man's a hot rod. Tuck your stabilizers, we're hot to the deck!"

Captain Jaska powered on to match burn for burn, her T-70's linked engines howled as the scrams fed the atmospheric thrust. Kniving on a dive played hell with the stick, but the veteran pilot kept the juddering to a minimum as they pursued the two Jedi through the hazy smog of the junkyard world.

"R7, scan to the deck. I don't want to become a permanent exhibit here."

As the shuttle continued to bleed altitude, the X-wings played it close. Siloo was smiling ear to ear. She punched an open comm.

"You are a crazy son of a bitch, old timer. Arrest your descent, don't break a hip on the G forces."

[Old Zem]

Zem looked back to s'Il like the Loth cat who swallowed the nuna. Just before she could upchuck or slug him in the shoulder or both, he carefully leveled out the dive. The shaking in the shuttle began to subside, as the Jedi Master replied to his escort.

"I'm just glad I've got an escort who can keep pace. Follow my lead in."

Vymes began to head toward the wreck of an old Lucrehulk class armored transport. The massive ship had split in half, resting partially on a mountain of garbage. The portion of the ship that remained at the summit was dominated by a yawning cargo bay, wrenched open to let in the vestigial sunlight. The gash was also large enough to allow any number of smaller craft entry.

[Master s'Ilancy]

Eyes squeezed shut, the Lupine clenched her jaw as she felt the shuttle level out, then shift into a much more manageable descent. Her stomach still threatened to rebel, but Zem's... kindness, in arresting his dive helped to settle it somewhat.

Cracking a single eye open, she peered at the Lucrehulk as it loomed before them.

All previous thoughts left her in that moment, and in sudden surprise at the sight, she leaned back, both eyes opening fully.

"Is that... "

It'd been a long time since she'd laid eye on one.

"I've not seen one of those in a very long time," she let out in a whisper.

[Old Zem]

"Since Boz Pity." Zem landed on the specifics. The massive cargo ships had a service life that went back before he was born. They'd been a staple of merchant fleets, then the armed battleships of the Trade Federation and Confederacy of Independent systems. Everyone from the Cizerack Pride to the Rebel Alliance had fielded them in service, and if Zem were a betting man, he wagered you could still find a few in the galaxy still in working order.

Finding a spot on the empty bay deck with little detritus to clutter the landing, Zem righted the wings of his shuttle, and eased down on the skids. As he made the pivot, he could see the X-Wings following suit. The Resistance fighters were showing their age, but they still harkened back to the original in the series with their distinct long fuselage and S-foils, which remained closed upon final approach.

Zem began to power down, pausing as he glanced out the cockpit window.

"Company."

A trio of what appeared to be scavvers approached the landing site from a fracture in one of the bulkhead walls. They carried weapons, but didn't appear to be alarmed at their presence.

[Siloo Jaska]

"Watch the ships, Sansa. I'm gonna go in for a closer look."

Captain Jaska was down the debark ladder with a quick slide, pulling her helmet off as soon as boots touched deck. Immediately from the slight angle to the floor, she could tell this wasn't where she wanted to spend a lot of time. It was probably stable enough but resting half a lucrehulk onto a mountain of space garbage was probably a very large Short Term solution. That being said, never let anyone from Raxus Prime be accused of not being resourceful.

Her hand didn't rest on her blaster, but she brushed fingers against the leather pancake holster to know exactly where it was if she needed to. If the locals with guns weren't having anything to do with their new company, they'd likely have those shooters up against shoulders.

[Master s'Ilancy]

Removing herself from the shuttle was a relatively quick affair; the less time she spent in the damn things the better. Moreso when Zem chose to fly. She'd often enough actively avoided him when he took a notion to go out for a spell. Some days she was successful at making herself scarce. Other days she was not so lucky. But, at least she was game about matters when he did corner her. She simply took her medicine, closed her eyes, and clenched her jaw as her husband took them out into space. The larger ships she could handle, but the shuttles? The shuttles presented a much more complicated situation for her gut. And after all the years that had passed, it had not gotten any better. Thankfully it'd not gotten worse, though often enough she accused Zem of actively trying to do just that.

Stepping out into the cavernous bay, the Lupine blinked as she turned a look behiind her, watching as Zem made his way to her.

The small group that'd come out of hiding was a motley bunch, but much in keeping with what she was used to. Zem's network of informants was impressive despite seeming unorganized and a shamble. There was a method to her husband's madness, and she trusted him completely.