Private Candleflames in the Dark

[William Thule]

“Follow me,” Will said with a nod.

He did not sense a trap this time, but it would not do well to be complacent. Especially as the communication warned of pirates.

They simply might not have arrived yet. But judging by the damage to this ship’s exterior, Will suspected something else. Sometimes pirates would attack a ship, plunder the hold, then leave the survivors floating in the void to die slowly. Marooned.

He expected this crew was marooned. On entering the frigate, he didn’t see the same sort of devastation they’d seen on the imperial warship. The halls were intact. Everything seemed… normal.

“Last time you were not caught off guard,” he said, finally replying to their earlier conversation, “and you did not embarrass yourself. On the contrary, you saved my life. Remember that, Knight Demir.”

A smile touched the corner of his mouth at the use of formalities after so long together on the ship.

Ahead, three people approached all in civilian crew attire.

“Thank the stars, a rescue,” said the short one in the lead who best resembled what William had always imagined an angry Union foreman to resemble.

Andromeda Demir

 

[Andromeda Demir]

​

It had been easy to forget about William's injury. He had bounced back in a big way, with training even more robust than it had been. The reminder was a glacial cage around her chest. She wanted to reach over and squeeze his hand out of sheer appreciation that he was alive. But she was Knight Demir in this particular movement, so she contented herself with an affectionate brush of her mind against his in the Force and a tight, confident smile.

"Right you are, Master Thule," she answered. "And I'll do it again, if I have to. That's not a challenge."

A trio of crewmen approached. Andromeda glanced at William, whose silence she took as a silent invitation for her to interact with them. "Yes," she confirmed. "We're here to help. My name is Andromeda, I'm a Jedi Knight. This is Master Thule." She gestured between them briefly. "Can you tell us what happened? Your distress signal mentioned probable piracy."

"Yes-yes," the angry Union foreman-looking fellow said, nodding urgently. "They were here. The ship took some damage in the fighting, so they just took all the valuables they could carry." He gulped, dabbed his sweaty brow with his sleeve.

"Was anyone injured?" Andromeda asked. "Are there others on board?"

"Oh yes-yes, Knight Andromeda," he answered, nodding again -- or perhaps he hadn't stopped nodding from the first time, Andromeda couldn't decide. "A few more crewmen, unaccounted for. A dozen or so civilians. A few injuries. We weren't sure -- we still don't know -- "

"The pirates are gone?" Andromeda asked, reaching into the Force to see what she could feel. In the immediate vicinity, she sensed only frightened, scattered minds, not the dangerous duplicity of a trap. She glanced at William, quirked a brow in an unspoken question. Did he sense the same?

"Mm, yes-yes." The crewman dabbed again. "Far as we know. But our systems are damaged. We're still trying to get the main power onboard. Auxiliary power is only good for the emergency lights and life support. Long-range sensors are down."

Andy nodded and turned to regard William. "I could possibly help with the power systems. I did a bit of that during my work with the Service Corps. I also dabbled in first aid. What do you think? Divide and conquer?"

William Thule​