"Yeah, well, I didn't plan on having company in here," Braze huffed, settling down into the pilot's seat as the viewport hatch slid back into place above them.
In short order, the Ashwing lifted off, its engines catching with a sharp, eager whine before it cut up through the air. Braze guided the little starfighter toward its hyperspace ring, docking with a practiced ease before punching in a micro-jump.
The stars stretched thin…
And then snapped back into place just outside a much larger ship, vast enough to make the Ashwing look like a dart skimming toward a fortress.
Braze adjusted their approach, hands moving lightly over the controls as he angled the starfighter toward one of the open bays along the vessel's left side.
"Try not to touch anything important," he called back, a little too casually.
"That rule is for everyone."
The Ashwing crossed the threshold of the open bay and the whole world changed from cold starlight to hangar glare.
Landing lights washed over the canopy as guiding beams caught the little starfighter and drew faint lines across the viewport. Braze eased the craft down with a gentle hand, repulsors whining low beneath them as the Ashwing settled onto the deck. The landing struts kissed durasteel with a muted thump bringing them to a complete stop.
Outside the canopy, a figure awaited...
Above the hangar floor, tucked behind reinforced transparisteel and a narrow bank of control panels, Zane Harlock stood inside the small deck-control booth with his arms folded loose across his chest. The hangar lights cut dull lines across his weathered armor while the Ashwing's approach crawled over the screens in front of him.
The overhead comm crackled to life.
"Unscheduled micro-jump arrival logged. Pilot, remain in your craft until clearance is confirmed."
Braze paused with one hand already reaching for the hatch release....
The hatch slid open with a soft hydraulic sigh, letting the cold metal breath of the hangar spill into the cockpit. Braze rose from his seat and peered down.
The security officer looked at Braze with the tired patience of a man who had watched the entire approach from the control booth and regretted every second of it.
"Harlock," Braze greeted brightly.
Zane did not brighten.
"Boss."
Braze climbed down from the Ashwing, light on his feet, acting as though nothing about this arrival had been unusual.
Zane's gaze shifted from him to the hyperspace ring, then back again.
"You micro-jumped into perimeter space."
"Efficiently," Braze said looking bakc to the girls and offered a hand as if to assist one of them down from the ship to disembark.
"You came in hot, close, and unscheduled."
"I came in clean~"
"You came in like a bantha in a parts locker."
Braze paused.
"...That feels rude," he said, glancing back toward the cockpit as if suddenly remembering he was not alone.
"We have guests, Harlock. Ladies, in fact."
Zane's gaze shifted past him toward the open hatch, then settled back on Braze.
"Then maybe don't bring them in like cargo fired out of a cannon."
Braze huffed looking offended at that.
Chi'no Su
Braze
