Public The Last Signal

[Lumiya Dara]

I woke to the sound of something scraping violently against metal. For several seconds, I didn't understand where I was. I lay still in the unfamiliar bed, staring into darkness as another deep shudder passed through the ship. The vibration traveled through the mattress and into my bones, followed by a series of muted clanks somewhere beyond the walls. Then the emergency lights flickered. Once. Twice. And then they went dark again.

I sat upright. My heart was already beginning to race. This wasn't the gentle hum of a ship traveling through hyperspace. There was no familiar vibration beneath the floor, no steady thrum of the engines. Instead, the vessel seemed almost unnervingly quiet between each shudder, as though it were struggling simply to remain alive.

"Hello?" My voice sounded strangely small in the darkness. I reached toward the bedside panel and pressed the controls. Nothing happened. I tried again. Still nothing.

The emergency lighting finally flickered back to life, bathing the room in a dim amber glow. I slipped out of bed and crossed toward the door, keeping one hand against the wall when the ship suddenly tilted beneath me. "Whoa..." I caught myself against the frame. That wasn't right. Ships weren't supposed to tilt in space.

I hurried toward the viewport. Outside, there were stars. But they weren't the stars that I recognized. There was no familiar streaking of hyperspace beyond the glass. No distant glow of a nearby system. Just an immense field of darkness dotted with unfamiliar points of light.

And then I saw it. A planet. It occupied an enormous portion of the viewport, far larger than any world should have appeared at this distance. It's surface was shrouded beneath swirling clouds and bands of strange coloration, illuminated faintly by the distant light of it's star. For several moments, I simply stared. I had never seen it before. I wasn't even sure that it was supposed to be there.

A sudden jolt threw me against the wall. Somewhere deep within the ship, an alarm began to sound. I turned toward the door, trying the door controls. They were dead. My stomach tightened. "Open please...." I pressed the control again, harder this time, as though that might somehow convince it to cooperate. It didn't.

Then the realization slowly settled over me. I was locked inside. I stepped back and looked around the small quarters. There wasn't much here that could help. A bed. A small storage compartment. A table bolted to the floor. A viewport. And a door that apparently no longer had any intention of opening.

Another violent tremor shook the ship. This time, something crashed in the corridor outside. "Hello!" I shouted. I hurried to the door and began pounding against it with the palm of my hand. "Is anyone out there?" No response. I struck the door again. "Can anyone hear me?"

The ship groaned around me. I paused, listening. For just a moment, I thought that I had heard something. A voice? Footsteps? Or perhaps simply the ship settling around me. I pressed my ear against the cold durasteel. "Please!" I called again, louder this time. "I'm trapped in here! If anyone can hear me, I could really use some help!"

I stepped back from the door, waiting. The emergency lights flickered. Somewhere beyond my quarters, something metallic gave a long, ominous groan. And beneath it all, almost too faint to notice, came another sound. A warning repeating over the ship's failing intercom. "...gravity well... proximity warning..." Then static swallowed the message.

I stared at the door. Whatever had happened to this ship; we were running out of time.

Tags: OPEN

 

[John Mahporeem]

The MIN Cosmic Crusher had arrived in system approximately 20 minutes ago.

It's mission was relatively straightforward: survey the planet and establish a base of operations for the Mahporeem Imperial Remnant. With the Imperial Remnant's upcoming wars of expansion, Mahporeem was going to need as many resources as it could possibly get, and the further it expanded its reach across the stars, the easier it would be to do so in the long run. That was why the Cosmic Crusher had traveled to this galaxy forsaken corner of space, to do just that.

Initial scans had indicated that the planet possessed an abundance of Tibanna Gas in some way, shape or form, something that Mahporeem was sorely in need of. The more gas it could acquire, the better, and with many Tibanna producing sites currently occupied by "unfriendly powers", having an entire planet's worth for themselves could prove to be a major blessing.

The only problem? The planet was exerting a considerable amount of gravity on the Cosmic Crusher, almost to the that the planet was pulling the ship into its orbit. It took everyone ounce of power the engines had just to keep the ship in place, and efforts to exploit the Tibanna here could prove to be rather difficult due to the pull of the planet's gravity.

As the ship's crew plotted their next moves, their scanners picked up an anomaly. They apparently weren't the first to arrive to this planet, as a second ship had been discovered, though it was just floating in space, being slowly pulled into the orbit of the planet. Lifeform scans on the vessel proved inconclusive, and the ship made no attempt to alter its course or flee the Star Destroyer. Whoever owned the or had been aboard it was most likely dead or had abandoned their ship once they had become trapped in the gravity well. Still, maybe it would have answers as to how to mine the planet?

The Cosmic Crusher engaged one of its Q7 Tractor Beam Projectors as it began to pull the unknown vessel into its docking bay, though it had to compete with the planet's gravity pull every step of the way. The process was not clean, and the ship began to turn and vibrate as the tractor beam struggled to pull it into the belly of the Star Destroyer. Still, the tractor beam managed to win out, and after a struggle, the derelict vessel was safely inside the Star Destroyer, where a team was being prepared to search the ship that they had just reeled in.

Who could tell what sort of treasures or secrets it might have lurking within?

TAGS:
Lumiya Dara
Aurelian of Vandemar

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[Lumiya Dara]

The vibration beneath my feet changed. At first, I thought that it was another fluctuation in the ship's failing systems. The transport had been groaning and shuddering for what felt like an eternity, and I had already learned not to trust any sound that it made. But this was different. The entire ship seemed to pull sideways.

I grabbed the edge of the table to steady myself as a low mechanical groan reverberated through the hull. Something outside of the quarters gave a tremendous metallic shriek, followed by a vibration that traveled through the walls and into my hands. "What is happening?"

I hurried back toward the door. Then I heard voices. Faint at first. They were muffled by the durasteel between us, but unmistakably human. "Tractor beam's got us!"

"How long?"

"Don't know. It's fighting the gravity well."

"How the hell did they even find us?"

"I don't know. Doesn't matter now. Get everyone who can still walk to the cargo bay."

I froze. Someone had found us. Relief came first. Someone had actually found us.

Then the second voice spoke. "Are we sure they're coming for the tibanna?"

There was a pause. "They're an Imperial Star Destroyer. What do you think?"

My relief evaporated. I pressed closer to the door, listening.

"We can't let them take it."

"There's not enough of us."

"Then we'll make enough."

Another voice joined them, quieter this time. "What about the passengers?"

"They'll have to stay out of the way."

My stomach tightened. Passengers. They were talking about us. I glanced toward the dead control panel beside my door. Still nothing. Still locked. But I tried the handle anyway. Nothing happened.

The ship lurched again, and I had to catch myself against the wall. Somewhere beyond my quarters, equipment crashed to the floor and someone shouted a curse.

The voices continued. "Get the remaining power cells distributed."

"And the weapons?"

"Whatever still works. Blasters, rifles, anything."

"You seriously want to fight a Star Destroyer?"

"I seriously don't want them taking our cargo."

I closed my eyes for a moment. This wasn't a rescue. Not exactly. The Star Destroyer had found us because of the distress signal, but whatever it's intentions were, the crew clearly didn't trust them. And now I was trapped between them.

I looked around the tiny quarters again. There had to be another way out. There had to be. I knelt beside the small storage compartment and began searching through it, throwing aside the few personal items that had been stored inside. Nothing useful. No tools. No emergency override.

Another violent shudder passed through the ship. Then came a sound I hadn't heard before. A deep metallic clunk. The kind of sound that suggested something had just connected to the hull.

I stopped searching. They were here. I could hear movement beyond my door now. Footsteps. Equipment being dragged across the deck. Voices growing louder as the crew hurried through the corridor. Someone shouted. "Boarding team!"

I backed away from the door. My pulse hammered in my ears. I didn't know who was coming through that door. I didn't know whether they intended to rescue us, arrest us, or simply take whatever they wanted. And I was still trapped inside my quarters with absolutely nowhere to go.

Then something struck the hull outside. Once. Twice. A cutting torch hissed to life. I stared at the door. Whatever happened next, I suspected I was about to find out.

Tag: John Mahporeem

 

[John Mahporeem]

The Cosmic Crusher was able to attach to the unknown vessel with ease, despite the difficulties with the black hole trying to pull them out of position. Still, though they had the unknown vessel securely attached to their hull, they still had to get inside of it, which would prove to be much more difficult. The ship's scanners had indicated there was something on board the ship, and that that something was very much alive or at least capable of movement. Whether the passengers aboard it were organics or droids remained to be seen, though given the ship's condition it was far more likely to be the latter.

As the boarding team of ARC Troopers prepared to enter the ship, there was a quick debate about the best way to gain entry. Should the team attempt to blow the airlock open, cut through it, or try and slice the door open? Slicing would take too long given how close they were to the black hole and blowing the door open was too risky, the possibility of damage to worrying to ignore. So the ARC Troopers decided to go with the third option of cutting the door open with their arm mounted Door Cutters. This method provided a nice balance between the two, not taking too long nor being over destructive, though they would be providing any potential enemies with time to hide, arm themselves or jettison any contraband they might be carrying aboard.

It took the team a few minutes, but they eventually made it through the door, leading with a G-Web Ultra Heavy Repeating Blaster. It quickly became apparent that the occupants of the vessel were indeed organics, and some of them were carrying equipment that could not be immediately identified. Were they carrying weapons, tools, or something else entirely? Between the pull of the black hole shaking the Star Destroyer docked to the ship and the flickering lights, it was rather difficult to tell.

Cries of "hands up", "get on the ground" and "drop what you're carrying" began echoing through the ship as the team of ARC Troopers marched single file behind the G-Web Ultra Heavy Repeating Blaster. There wasn't a ton of space to move around in as they proceeded down the hallway that connected them to their Star Destroyer, but once they traveled a few more feed it appeared that the ship started to open up just a bit more. For now, no one had yet to fire their weapon, and there was simply to arrest anyone on board and detain them long enough to figure out what they were doing here. That objective, of course, could easily change in a heartbeat depending on what the crew chose to do next...

TAGS:
Lumiya Dara

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[Lumiya Dara]

The cutting sound continued for several moments, harsh and metallic even through the closed door. I stayed where I was, one hand still resting against the useless controls beside the door. I had no idea what was happening beyond it, but I could hear enough to know that whoever had boarded the transport hadn't come here to offer a gentle rescue.

Then came the shouted commands from the corridor.

“Hands up!”

“Get on the ground!”

“Drop what you’re carrying!”

My stomach tightened. I hadn't expected anyone to find us so quickly. The distress signal had been sent because the ship was dying and the rogue planet's gravity was steadily dragging us toward it's surface. I'd assumed that, if anyone came at all, they would be coming to help. But apparently, that had been optimistic.

The sounds outside changed as the crew began moving through the ship. Footsteps hurried along the corridor, accompanied by hurried voices and the occasional clatter of equipment being moved. Someone mentioned the cargo bay, and another voice answered that the Tibanna needed to be secured. Whatever fear the crew might have felt, the valuable cargo had clearly given them something else to worry about.

I remained silent. There was no point calling out now. I was still trapped in my quarters, without my lightsaber, without any idea who had boarded us, and with no weapon of my own. If the people outside were already ordering everyone onto the ground, announcing myself would accomplish very little except making myself another person for them to deal with. So I listened.

Eventually, the crew converged near the cargo bay, and the captain's voice carried more clearly through the corridor. He sounded remarkably composed considering everything that had happened. "Thank you for coming to our aid. This transport is a civilian vessel, not a hostile ship. We've been disabled by the intense gravity of the rogue planet. Our life support is failing, the hyperdrive is offline, and our navigation systems are barely functioning. So if you could help restore the ship's systems, we would be able to leave and continue our journey. Assuming, of course, that the gravity well would actually allow us to escape."

I found myself holding my breath as I listened. That seemed like the sensible thing to say. We were all trapped here. Whatever ship had arrived was apparently close enough to have boarded us, but that didn't necessarily mean either vessel could simply fly away from the rogue planet. If our systems could be restored, perhaps there was still a chance.

But the crew clearly had no intention of simply abandoning the Tibanna. I could hear them securing the cargo and positioning themselves around the bay. And I couldn't entirely blame them. The Tibanna had been valuable enough to make our transport worth finding in the first place, and now that someone else had arrived, it had suddenly become the most obvious thing for everyone to fight over.

I slowly stepped away from the door. For now, I would stay where I was. The captain was talking. The crew was holding their ground. And whoever had boarded the ship had yet to discover that there was still one passenger sitting quietly behind a locked door. I wasn't eager to change that.

Tag: John Mahporeem

 

[John Mahporeem]

"Thank you for coming to our aid. This transport is a civilian vessel, not a hostile ship. We've been disabled by the intense gravity of the rogue planet. Our life support is failing, the hyperdrive is offline, and our navigation systems are barely functioning. So if you could help restore the ship's systems, we would be able to leave and continue our journey. Assuming, of course, that the gravity well would actually allow us to escape."

"A civilian vessel, you say? Sure, and my uncle is the emperor of Courscant", the unamused ARC Trooper said in response to the Captain's ludicrous claims. Any ship this far out was here for a reason, with the odds of them having arrived here accidentally highly improbable. Plus, the soldiers on board hadn't been born yesterday. They were Imperials, and there were many out there who were rather mininformed about the nature of the Mahporeem Imperial Remnant. Why, such individuals might even feel the need to lie or conceal the true nature of their activities to the Imperials authorities asking about them!

"LET'S GO!"

The ARC Trooper unceremoniously arrested the Captain, and rather soon most of the crew were in Stuncuffs of their own, to be taken away and deeper into the interior of the Imperial Star Destroyer for processing and questioning. The fact that they hadn't killed anyone or tried to fight back was one of the reasons that they were all still breathing at this point, but whether or not that remained the case was still yet to be seen.

"Vantyl! Deojay! You two stay with the ship, I want it searched from top to bottom! Anything you find, information, supplies, cargo manifests, whatever, you secure it and bring it to my personal attention. Leave no part of this ship unsearched or unsecured. Am I understood?"

"Sir yes sir!", the two trooper replied in unison.

It took a couple more minutes for everyone else to clear out, especially considering they had to maneuver the rather unwieldy G-Web Ultra Heavy Repeating Blaster back off the ship and back onto the Star Destroyer. Eventually though, and eerie silence settled over the once bustling ship, which was now empty except for Lumiya Dara and the two troopers that had stayed behind to search the vessel for any clues as to what it was doing here. One of them went to check out the cargo bay, and the other soon encountered the locked door that Lumiya was hiding behind.

"Open up! Come out with you hands up!", the trooper yelled at the locked door. He then began banging on it, to no avail. Frustrated, he took out his own Door Cutters as he began to attempt getting through the obstruction before him...

TAGS:
Lumiya Dara

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[Lumiya Dara]

The cutting sound grew louder, the vibration of the tool carrying through the door and into the walls around me. I glanced toward the small collection of medical supplies I'd gathered and made my decision. There was no point trying to hide. Whoever was outside clearly intended to come in, and I had no lightsaber, no weapon, and no reason to make them think that I was a threat.

Instead, I quickly gathered my medkit and the supplies I'd brought with me, fitting everything into a satchel before slipping it over my shoulder. If they were going to take me somewhere, at least I would have the means to help someone if they needed it. I wasn't particularly confident that that would be appreciated, given how things had gone so far, but I wasn't about to leave my medical supplies behind.

The cutter finally broke through with a shower of sparks, and I immediately raised both hands where they could see them. "I'm not armed," I said, keeping my voice calm. "I'm a medic." I took a small step back from the damaged doorway, making it very clear that I wasn't going to approach them. "I was trapped in here because the ship's systems failed. The door controls stopped working, along with most of the rest of the ship. That's why I couldn't come out when you were calling for people."

My eyes moved between the trooper and the weapon in his hands, but I made no attempt to reach for anything. "And the Captain was telling the truth. We weren't hiding anything. We really are trapped here." I hesitated for only a moment before adding the part that seemed considerably more important than whether they believed me. "The rogue planet's gravity is still pulling us towards it. Our hyperdrive is offline, life support is failing, and the navigation systems aren't functioning properly." My voice remained quiet, but there was a little more urgency in it now. "Your ship managed to reach us, but that doesn't mean you're going to be able to leave again." I swallowed, watching the trooper carefully. "If you don't get out of the planet's orbit soon, you could end up trapped here too."

I wasn't angry with them for arresting the Captain, even though I didn't understand why they had done it. I simply wanted them to understand the danger before it became too late. "I don't know why you thought the Captain was lying," I added softly, "but he wasn't...."

Tag: John Mahporeem