The
Mud Duck had remained solemnly quiet since leaving Somov Rit, carrying the weight of the harrowing ordeal three Jedi had endured beneath the fearsome brutality of
Karkosuchus
. The usual clatter of movement and noise aboard the freighter had thinned to something restrained, almost as if the crew had become reluctant to disturb the wounded silence left in the wake of such violence.
Somewhere deeper within the freighter, behind sealed medical doors, an injured Braze floated unconscious beneath pale blue fluid while monitors maintained their vigil around the bacta tank and it's inhabitant.
Getting him into the tank had taken priority over nearly everything else. The
Mud Duck was already overdue for some much-needed repairs after the incident on New Cov, where a terrifying, scarcely understood entity had torn through portions of her systems with unsettling purpose and ease. A propulsion relay had been ripped free, inventories corrupted, and several subsystems left behaving strangely enough to suggest the obvious damage had only been meant to distract from whatever other alterations it had buried deeper within the ship.
They had not had time to complete a proper diagnostic sweep before Braze insisted they make for Somov Rit to answer the distress call, leaving much of the
Mud Duck's lingering damage to be dealt with later.
Repairs could wait, the blasted inventory could wait, and whatever surreptitious damage that terrifying entity had buried somewhere inside the
Mud Duck's systems would have to wait with them. They only needed to get clear. Kip had barely settled into the course when the navigation board began rewriting figures beneath his hands, their arrival coordinates drifting farther from anything he had originally entered.
Kip — Chadra-Fan: "…Captain?"
The stars snapped back into points of light and the
Mud Duck plunged into realspace amid a formation of warships. Engine signatures crowded tactical as proximity warnings erupted across the bridge, yet Vesperis had scarcely risen from the command chair before every primary display failed. The engines wound down into a long mechanical groan, ventilation faltered, and several heavy seconds passed beneath dead consoles before the emergency bus engaged with a hard electrical thump. Dim red illumination washed across the deck as essential systems returned piecemeal: life support, communications, medical, and some limited sensors.
Vesperis was already reading what remained of tactical.
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "Status."
Fizz worked rapidly through the engineering board as fast as he could.
Fizz — Squib: "Primary grid collapsed on emergence. Emergency bus caught Medical and life support. Propulsion's gone, shields are cycling badly, and half the board still thinks we're in hyperspace."
Kip stared between the crippled navigation display and the warships filling the canopy with rising unease.
Kip — Chadra-Fan: "These aren't my coordinates."
Harlock had already left his station, studying the fleet through tactical as contacts resolved around them. His attention moved over ranges, firing arcs, nearby hulls, and the diminishing number of useful options with the practiced familiarity of someone accustomed to deciding how much violence a situation could survive.
Zane Harlock — Queequeg: "Doesn't matter how we got here... We're sitting duck and dead inside somebody else's fleet."
Several new contacts separated from one of the nearby vessels as Ion torpedoes were sent their way.
Zane Harlock — Queequeg: "Give me power to internal security. We seal the choke points, arm the compartments around Medical, and make boarding us expensive."
Vesperis studied the tactical projection for another second, weighing one disabled freighter against the military tonnage surrounding them, then looked toward Harlock.
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "And how many people aboard do you intend to spend proving we can make it expensive?"
Zane's jaw tightened.
Zane Harlock — Queequeg: "I intend to keep them away from Braze."
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "So do I; Though I am thoroughly uninterested in getting anyone aboard killed playing hero when we have no idea what they want."
The first ion strike rolled through the hull beneath a shimmering veil of blue-white static, washing across the emergency displays just as several power systems had begun to struggle back online. The
Mud Duck 's systems bucked beneath them, consoles flickering dark once more while the emergency grid strained to hold. Vesperis caught the edge of the command console with one hand, steadying himself as his eyes remained fixed on Harlock.
Zane Harlock — Queequeg: "You trust them enough to parley?"
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "No; I trust basic arithmetic."
His gaze returned to the fleet surrounding them with a dour look.
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "We parley first. If they wanted us dead, they had the firepower to arrange it already. Grax, seeif you can open a channel and hail them."
Harlock looked again toward the tactical display, irritation visible in the set of his mouth even as the Captain's logic started to settled in.
Zane Harlock — Queequeg: "And when talking stops working?"
Vesperis finally looked back at him.
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "Then I expect you to become extremely inconvenient."
That earned the faintest shift from Harlock before his attention turned toward the ship itself.
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "Defensive posture only... Preserve Medical, life support and emergency power. Sensitive compartments stay sealed. Nobody fires."
PRIVATE CREW COMMS
Zane Harlock — Queequeg: "Phoenix Crew, lockdown protocol. Sensitive compartments sealed. Medical stays isolated. Give our guests one route through the ship and make sure it leads exactly where we want them."
Grax worked the communications array as another warning appeared across his board.
Grax Tolwin — Ugnaught: "Two tractor locks... They're drawing us in."
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "Send the hail."
Harlock checked his sidearm and returned it to its holster.
Zane Harlock — Queequeg: "I still hate this plan."
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "I'll allow it,"
Fresh alarms rolled across the emergency grid as heat began spreading through the upper hull schematic. Fizz enlarged the section while Harlock turned toward the hatch.
Fizz — Squib: "Boarding breach in our Upper hull."
Vesperis watched the glowing patch widen across the display with a frown.
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "Zane."
Harlock paused.
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "Parley."
For a moment, Zane merely looked back at him before giving a curt nod.
Zane Harlock — Queequeg: "Parley."
The
Mud Duck settled deeper into emergency power as the tractor beams drew her closer, red light washing across the bridge while the crew quietly closed in around Medical and waited to see what came through the hull.
Grax Tolwin — Ugnaught: "Channel's open. They're receiving."
Captain Atticus Vesperis: "This is Captain Vesperis of the Mud Duck. We are prepared to parley." 
