Picking the bones

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

<center>Endor</center>

Layla had cut loose 30 minutes earlier, setting off into hyperspace, and leaving it's intermediate-range shuttle, Black Cat behind, with Cirrsseeto and s'Ilancy on board. The shuttle had taken it's time to traverse the gas giant, and was now moving toward the sanctuary moon.

"Well..."

Cirr squinted at the forward viewer, pointing a wide, clawed finger at what looked like a haze.

"That's ourr salvage, out therre somewherre."

He brushed a tuft of hair over one of his ears, and glanced at s'Ilancy.

"We've got two days before Sanjis makes a rreturrn trrjip. We've only got a thrree ton capacjity onboarrd, so we'll need to make a few trrjips to the Sanctuarry moon and stash anythjing good."

The shuttle moved closer to what remained of the Endor battle zone, in which the Rebels routed the Imperial navy, including the Death Star and the Emperor himself. What had appeared before to be a haze now grew into a cornucopia of shattered starships and random floatsam.

The big Cizerack adjusted in his cramped seat a little, and quirked an eyebrow up.

"You surre about comjing out herre? jI don't exactly wanna stay herre longerr than jI gotta. Even jif the jImperrjials arren't arround to catch us pulljing jillegal salvage, jit's stjill damn spooky. The hajirrs on my neck arre all up."

Cirr made a course adjustment, moving out of the way of a Star Destroyer's conning tower as it twisted slowly through the ether.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

One hand reaching out, s'Il depressed one of the many buttons on the dashboard to pull up a readout of the area.

"I'm sure, O'leh'o. I had let it slip my mind that Sanis has a beautiful tendency to... burrow himself nicely beneath one's skin. It's a might annoying."

She turned a smile to the Cizerack. "Besides. It's nice to take a spell once in a while."

The Lupine leaned forward, looking over the information that had come up while idly commenting, "At least you don't have to worry about waking up with fur."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"jI don't mjind at all. Doesn't everrybody wearr glue solvent forr afterrshave anyway? Now, just make surre Tak doesn't trry to gjive me a second tajil and we'll be stellarr."

He made a funny face, and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the wreckage drift around the shuttle.

"jI have the sensorrs adjusted forr low band. We won't brroadcast as much rradjiatjion, orr do jit as farr as norrmal, but ourr scope jis only what's prretty nearr us."

Cirr dimmed the shuttle lights, and reduced engine output to docking thrust only.

"We won't be able to see trrouble jif jit arrjives, but at least they shouldn't be able to see us ejitherr."

Just then, a grey-hued wedge peered from behind a shattered Corvette. It was a star destroyer that for all intents and purposes seemed somewhat intact. The engines seemed to have suffered critical mass and shattered part of the aft superstructure and conning tower, but the greater portion of the ship was still there.

Cirr found himself staring with an agape mouth.

"Ai'saarra'jeena tai'aa..."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Hmm?"

Focused on the readout, s'Il failed to notice Cirr's expression. A few seconds later she turned to look at him, then followed his eyes to the sight that sat before them.

"Khu'yon o'tu ss'uyeh.. that's big. Been a while since I've seen one of those, fifteen years at least. Looks bigger than the ones I used to see.

"... Are we boarding it?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Of courrse we'rre boarrdjing jit!"

Cirr looked at s'Il as if she'd grown a probuscis on her forehead.

"Untjil now, the closest jI've gotten to one of these jis a schematjics fjile. Thjis'll be the closest jI everr get unless jI'm brrought aboarrd jin bjinderrs one day."

The shuttle began to lazily traverse the floating hulk's axis, advancing toward the ventral side.

"Both the prrjimarry and secondarry bays look mostly jintact. Not only does that mean we can safely dock, but also thejirr small shjip components arre prrobably stjill therre too!"

Cirr was a face full of smiling teeth as he rubbed his big hands together.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"You're like some ss'iyuu on Winter's Eve. It's cute."

She watched as the hull of the massive ship filled the entirety of the viewscreen. Leaning back in her seat, s'Il expelled a long breath.

"No matter the years, it's still a sight to see. Rather daunting, even." She looked down briefly to check her readout. "How're we looking on breathable air?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr shook his head.

"No majin powerr. Both bays and the next two decks up arre harrd vacuum. Can't say forr surre beyond that."

He glanced over his shoulder at a utility locker.

"We've got envjirrosujits wjith two hourrs of oxygen apjiece. jIf we need morre, we can at least get back to the shuttle and use the scrrubberrs herre."

The shuttle continued its lazy glide up into the cavernous main landing bay. From here, Cirr and s'Il could see the inner workings of the flight deck. About a quarter of the TIE and support craft complement seemed to be on board. On the deck proper, cargo seemed to be in a state of disarray.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"What a mess."

The shuttle's light swept through the otherwise pitch black landing bay. A jackboot floated past the viewport, lazily making its' way through the beam of light before disappearing once more into the inky blackness surrounding them. Silence reigned supreme, the vaccuum of space having done its' job. s'Il let her eye wander over the wreckage as it was illuminated. There was death here, she could feel it. Cold, unforgiving death.

She stood then, moving away from her seat. "I'm gonna try to bring up the backups, so we can at least get some emergency lights - enough to see without having to use torches and what's on the shuttle. Maybe gravity, too."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Hang on, lemme look that up."

Cirr pulled a data disk and plugged it into a viewer, sorting through a few hundred technical schematics before coming to rest on one.

"Hmm"

He shined the shuttle's spotlamp 30 degrees starboard, and up into the second level. Leaning toward s'Il, he pointed in the general direction.

"We should be lookjing forr a powerr junctjion behjind that bulkhead. jIf thjings arre sealed off, we'll need to plasma torrch jit."

Cirr got up, and walked to the rear of the craft, opening a large toolbox.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine nodded as she followed Cirr. As he opened his toolbox, s'Il set about pulling down one of the zero-g suits from a bulkhead locker.

Turning to look over her shoulder towards the front of the shuttle, she caught sight of more debris flouting through the beam of the craft's light. She blinked, pausing for a few moments before quickly tugging the helmet free.

"Maybe I should ransack the galley instead," she commented lightly, "... possibly find a few preserved foodstuffs."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr made a face, and his ears drooped low.

"We djidn't go thrrough all thjis trrouble forr jImperrjial rratjions. Besjides, my soul shudderrs to thjink of what they would taste ljike. jIf therre's one thjing jI know, nobody jojins the mjiljitarry forr the food."

Cirr pulled out his space suit, and sighed.

"Thjis thjing jis so tjight on me."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il matched her companion's dour expression. "O'leh'o, you're a wonderful mechanic and gearjockey, but a cook you aren't.

"Besides, I'm sure there are some spices and other little culinary treats that the higher ranking officers pulled rank to have onboard, just so's they wouldn't have to stoop to eating the same grits as their soldiers."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr seemed taken aback by her comments.

"jI'm a grreat cook, just ask my motherr. Forrda tongues arre just fjickle."

He began to wiggle ungraciously into his zero g suit, which fought him all the way.

"What's a grrjit?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Having a much easier time with her own suit, s'Il took to helping Cirr pull his on. "It's ground up durrocrete mixed with brake fluid. Or something thereabouts; I never cared for the stuff myself."

A teasing smile barely tugged at the corners of her mouth. "And you should know better, O'leh'o; I'm not your normal forrda."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Thanks."

Cirr flexed and moved about to test the suit. The stiff material creaked and creased but generally allowed him to move freely. Satisfied, he worked his gloves and boots on.

"jI'll just have to set the matterr strrajight some day, and make thrree head Dakodako stew forr everryone."

Cirr palmed a helmet, and pointed to a few things on it.

"Thjis meterr shows yourr prressurre and atmospherre. Check yourr seals beforre we go jinto the lock. Blue button jis the closed cjircujit comm unjit. We can also connect wjith the shuttle, but rrange jis ljimjited."

Cirr popped his helmet on, clicked the seals tight, and pointed again to the meter, then pressed the blue button.

"Seal jis good."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Mimicing Cirr's motions, s'Il made sure her helmet was secured, seals tight before pressing the blue button on her own suit.

"Got it."

Stepping to the side, the Lupine allowed Cirr to do what he needed to do. After all, this was her first time in a situation such as this; she would mostly follow the lead of a salvage veteran. Or at least as much of a salvage veteran that Cirr was.

She depressed the commbutton once more. "After you."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

The airlock was a glorified closet that also served as the shuttle's only entrance and exit. With both doors closed, it was the size of a walk-in closet, allowing for two people and a pallet of equipment.

Cirr shuffled in, followed closely by s'Il. The Cizerack hit a switch on the outer hatch, which closed the door. A light on the wall turned green.

Cirr tapped the comm switch on his helmet, and spoke, his voice crackling through her earpiece.

"We've got a stable seal. Deprressurrjizjing now."

Cirr hit the second button, and the switch turned red. The suits seemed to tighten at the wrists and ankles, and both salvagers ears popped.

"The prressurre shjifts a bjit jin herre. Yawnjing helps."

On cue, Cirr yawned wide, his tapered teeth glinting in the pale yellow light of the airlock.

The light switched green again, and Cirr tapped s'Il on the shoulder, pointing to the outer door as he hit the second switch, to release the external seal.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il had to resist the urge to push away from Cirr and let herself glide through the vaccuum of space. She had done that only once before, many years ago, and the feeling of total weightlessness was something she had intensly enjoyed. But the Lupine kept behind Cirr, knowing that they only had a limited amount of time to pick the bones of the dead and claim what they could.

She looked around at her immediate surroundings, taking everything in with a calm eye. Where Cirr had indicated the power junction to be. She took a step away from the shuttle, one hand still flush against the small craft's outer bulkhead.

"You head for the power junction; I'm going for groceries."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Just don't go too farr off. Therre's a fljight galley somewherre nearrby, but jI don't know exactly wherre."

Cirr took baby steps on the edge of the doorway, and closed his eyes tightly. Zero G wasn't something he really enjoyed. In fact, it was a continuous battle with him. He kept his head up, looking to the ceiling of the star destroyer flight bay, rather than below, and to open space.

He reached for a small knob by the side of the airlock, pulling a hook and a line of high tensile durasteel cable along with him. Without bothering to open the comm, Cirr nervously counted to three, before pushing off in the direction of the light beam, trailing the shuttle's lifeline in his grasp.

The trip to the bay bulkhead seemed to take an eternity. Cirr breathed fast and shallow, fog creeping up on his facemask.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

While Cirr was busy trying to keep from soiling his suit, s'Il pushed off from the deck without a second thought.

It was exactly how she had remembered it to be, the sensation of total freedom - of gliding through space. She headed for the far entrance, an enraptured, almost childlike smile gracing her features as she watched the beam of her torch cut through the dark. It illuminated the occasional floating gadget, and a stormtrooper helmet even floated by.

Reaching the doorway without incident, s'Il reached a hand out to catch herself on the durasteel doorframe. The Lupine was brought to a gentle stop, and she hovered halfway in the entrance corridor. The torchlight shone over utilitarian walls as she swept it from left to right. A brief look back to make sure Cirr was alright was sent over her shoulder, and satisfied that the poor Cizerack was safe, s'Il brought her legs close to her body and placed the soles of her boots against the massive doorframe.

A soft push was all it took, and the Lupine was gliding easily down the hallway and deeper into the darkness of the dead Star Destroyer.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr finally drifted to the bulkhead, giving it a firm bear hug as he tried to convince himself he was on solid footing. After a few seconds to breathe, he went to work, climbing on the superstructure until he went over a catwalk railing. Unfortunately, the bulkhead seal had cut him off from the backup power.

Not for long, at least.

Happy to be working instead of drifting in freefall, Cirr smiled as he hit the welder's dimmer on his mask. He ignited the hand-held plasma torch he'd brought, and began cutting a portal along the frame of the bulkhead seal. It was slow going, with the durasteel being several inches thick. This would take ten minutes or more.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Such a glorious journey through weightlessness - through nothing. Accompanied by only the sound of her own breathing, s'Il pressed on without a second thought. Her torchlight pierced the blackness that had overtaken such a monster of a ship, flitting to and fro, sweeping over everything its' beam touched.

She felt at peace, surrounded by a silence and tranquility she had not known since... well, since she had been but a padawan. Back at the Temple. Back in the gardens. Back during a time in her life that could never be visited. Except for now; now when not a noise could be heard but her own rhythmic breathing. Her mind stretched out then, and she drank in everything her extra-sensory perceptions could take.

Rounding a corner, the Lupine continued on in her trek. A lift door loomed in the distance, but she knew that it was far from being in working order. No matter.

It seemed that no time at all had passed before she was stopped before the double doors. Prying them open proved to be a simple task, and s'Il entered the lift without incident. Another push upwards and she had the ceiling hatch levers in both hands. A jerk, and that too came free. Snaking her body up, she pushed off from the top of the lift and headed up. Up, and ultimately deeper into the belly of the beast.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Ten minutes later and a lot of single-minded patience, and the plasma torch finished its path around the bulkhead seal. The metal jarred free from its mount, and Cirr pushed it inside. From there, the felinoid switched on his personal lamp to navigate in the darkness.

"jI'm jin. Lookjing forr the powerr backup."

A few seconds later, and lights snapped on all around the flight deck area.

"We'rre good. Auxjilljiarry batterrjies arre up. Looks ljike we have a few days of supporrt."

Cirr took a seat at a nearby terminal, and began working the controls. The seared bulkhead he had entered previously snapped shut with a force field.

"jI've sealed the entrry brreach. Rrestorrjing local grravjity and ljife supporrt. Keep yourr gearr on. jIt'll be cold herre forr a whjile."

All around, the sound of hundreds of items, and random debris hitting the ground could be heard.

"Oh yeah, watch yourr head!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She barely had enough time to grab ahold of the ladder that ran up through the lift tube before Cirr restored gravity. The blissfull feeling of weightlessness departed so quickly that her stomach turned for a brief moment, and s'Il was left hanging dangerously before her feet found solid fotting on one of the ladder rungs.

"Jun'ss'u ai'ya, hgwai leh give me a little more warning next time; you know, just incase I'm in a lift tube."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr winced at the string of profanities in his ear.

"Sorry s'jIl."

Still busy trying to bring systems back into nominal status, Cirr kept crunching away at the computer.

"Wherre arre you?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Lift tube 5, almost at level 12."

She looked down.

"Now. Whatever you do, don't activate any of the lifts right now."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"jI don't plan on gojing anywherre."

Cirr cracked his knuckles, and began sorting through the computer, looking through manifest logs and similar documents, hoping to find a good source of bounty.

So far, so good. There were enough tibanna cartridges to power Layla's blaster compliment for months or more. Ordinance as well. Concussion missiles, proton torpedoes, heavy space bombs, rockets, etc. There were even whole delivery systems, but those were few in number.

Cirr panned down the list, and took stock of some engine components, including a heavy grade ion injector. That sort of device helped to top-load the fuel isotope mix on a skipray blastboat. For a Corellian freighter, it would add a significant amount of initial thrust to the power drive.

"We'rre lookjing at a good haul, s'Il. jI may need yourr help when you arre done."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

As Cirr toiled at the computer, a groaning sound could be heard in the ship, as if deck plates and other metal components were shifting slightly. It wasn't cause for alarm, but it was unusual.

Cirr could feel a cold rush of air on his neck, and he whirled about, ears tucked back in shock.

"Djid you feel that?"

It was a silly question the moment he'd asked it. How could she feel something that was inside his zero g suit.

...

Inside his zero g suit?!

Cirr bolted up from his seat, nearly stumbling as he drew a blaster from a belt holster. Once again, his faceplate fogged slightly with the return of panic breaths.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine had just finished pulling herself half through the jimmied door of level 12 when she felt it. It was only slight, like a whisper in the wind or a shadow shifting in the darkness. She paused as Cirr's voice crackled over the commline.

"Djid you feel that?"

A second later and she scrambled the rest of the way onto deck 12 before rolling onto her back. The fleeting feeling was discarded as she answered the Cizerack.

"Feel what, sudden gravity asking my breakfast to make a second appearence?"

The cumbersome nature of her suit gave her a small amount of trouble in getting to her feet, and in between grunts she went on. "Don't start getting skittery."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr allowed it to pass. Must just be the jitters, like she said.

"You should have atmospherre at yourr level. Temperraturre jis rrjisjing. jIt'll be chjilly, but you can rremove yourr helmet at least."

At his level, Cirr waited for O₂ levels and temperature to catch up to the gravity field. It was a hard freeze down here, and would take a while to balance out.

Since he couldn't move any salvage just yet, and was waiting on s'Il, Cirr decided to look around. He paced around the control room, rummaging through random cabinets and drawers. He eventually came upon a holoflimsy entitled "Girls of TIE Wing 322". Smirking cattily, he fell back into his seat and kicked his magnetic boots up on a nearby desktop.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The galley was easy enough to find, and s'Il set her now removed helmet down onto the nearest table. She looked down at the smooth surface. Men had once inhabited these halls, living and breathing. Now though, there was nothing - and what had previously been floating around had since crashed to the deck when Cirr'd restored gravity. Utensils, plates, and a few cups lay strewn about the deck.

Her gaze swept over the otherwise empty galley, and s'Il caught sight of the door that led into the kitchens. She grinned to herself. Hopefully she was right, and those in command demanded more taste to their meals than simple cardboard flavoring.

[Evil Spirit]

A child's laughter could barely be heard, possibly from a room adjacent to the galley.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In the silence of the Galley, anything - no matter how faint - was almost earshattering. And so it was with the sudden laughter that reached her ears.

s'Il stopped in her tracks, confusion descending upon her features. A survivor? Here? The Lupine shook her head. It was impossible - this ship had been completely exposed to vaccuum. There was no way anyone could have survived. Which said nothing of the fact that it was a child's laughter she heard. A child on a star destroyer was unheard of.

Turning her head in all directions, she did her best to locate the source of this new sound without having to move from her spot.

A few more seconds passed, and s'Il let her mind open up, searching, feeling with invisible fingers for anything.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"s'jIl? Arre you therre? s'jil?"

Cirr's voice came in on the commlink with a twang of urgency to it.

Down below in the flight deck control center, Cirr was up on his feet, talking at the ceiling. One minute, he'd been asking her about raiding the pantry, and the next, she was gone.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

There was only silence as she stood rooted to her spot. Even her own breathing had gone soft and shallow. The laughter dwindled to nothingness, and s'Il opened her mind further, searching.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Job be damned, Cirr was spooked enough to check up on her. He bolted out of the command deck, and out to the main flight deck, taking the catwalk to the same access hatch that s'Il had taken earlier. According to the specs, it should lead up through a lift shaft two decks to the galley.

[Evil Spirit]

"Let's play hide and seek!"

The pattering of small feet lead to the galley door, which swung ajar slightly.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il nearly jumped from her skin, scrambling backwards at the sound of footfalls, yet the sight of nothing. Her extended senses felt barely a touch, a whisper of the presence she had just been witness to, but it was enough of a touch to significantly startle her.

Grabbing up her helmet, the Lupine stood rooted before slowly starting for the opposite door, away from the direction the voice had gone.

[Evil Spirit]

"One...two...three..."

The child's voice began counting to ten, as one would in the children's game, during which the other children would hide from him.

"four...five...six..."

Something was wrong. The child's voice was still there, but there was another voice in the cadence. One throatier and deeper, laced with ill intent.

"seven...eight...nine..."

Gone was the child's voice entirely. Only the sinister voice remained, twisting over the spoken words like a blackened claw.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

As the voice changed, she felt her blood run cold. She could almost see the malevolence now, plain as day, and her mind recoiled from it. Without a second thought, the Lupine turned on her heel, intent on escape.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

As Cirr made his way through the door into the galley, he was nearly bowled over by s'Il as she began to run away. Stumbling, the Cizerack yanked his helmet off, his breath coming out in an icy puff of steam.

"What the hell?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Reaching out swiftly to catch herself from tumbling to the deck, s'Il latched on to Cirr's arm, pulling him with her with unexpected strength.

"We have to get off this ship," she said almost breathlessly, "Now. Now now."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr's ears quirked up, and his face went blank.

"Uh, what?"

Arm nearly wrenched out of its socket, Cirr went along with the spooked Jedi, albeit extremely grudgingly.

"jI've neverr even seen a salvage thjis rrjich. You mean to tell me that you want to turrn arround and leave jit?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il became frantic, almost desperate to put distance between herself and the voice. Cirr's reluctance was only met with a sharp growl as the Lupine tugged his arm once more.

"There's nothing worth salvaging here," she said quickly, "A'Ra be blessed, it's not safe... "

... and that's when the overhead lights blinked out, shrouding the two in pitch black.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr's eyes glowed blue in the darkness, and he blinked a few times.

"Um, prrobably a blown fuse. Yeah. That's jit."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She froze in the sudden darkness, now wary of taking another step.

"That's no blown fuse, O'leh'o."

Releasing her hold on Cirr, s'Il grabbed for her torch, flicking the light on and pointing it in front of her.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

He made a somewhat annoyed face in the glowing torch light.

"Therre's no way jI'm duckjing out of herre wjithout a ljittle loot to make jit worrth my tjime."

He cocked his head sideways and grinned toothily.

"Besjides, whateverr's got you spooked has to deal wjith me, fjirrst!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The torchlight swept left and right, and s'Il nervously followed its' beam. The voice had stopped counting, stopping at nine, and the longer she stood here in the dark the more her mind seemed to succumb to an unnatural fear that she hadn't known for a long while.

The voice - a voice she had only heard a handful of times, yet would never forget.

"You're mouth is writing checks your psyche won't be able to cash, Son."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

He threw his arms in the air in mock exasperation.

"Okay, how bout we go back down a few levels then?! We'll be closerr to the shuttle at least!"

Unconciously, Cirr paced around the galley, foraging for food as he muttered his annoyances to himself.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"You don't understand," she said through gritted teeth.

"We. Have. To. Leave."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr paused, walked back over to the Lupine, and crossed his arms, a gesture that combined with his stature loomed over her.

"You wanted to come along wjith me. jI let you. jI don't know what's got underr yourr skjin, but you'd betterr get overr jit qujick. Yeah, thjis wrreck jis crreepy, but jit's also a motherr lode."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

There it was again, that same feeling of malevolence that turned the already dark galley just a touch darker.

"O'ami uu todamu khai you're not listening to me."

The Lupine stood up straighter as well, though still dwarfed by the massive Cizerack. "I'm not about to stay here and suss out what's going on, and if you knew what was good for you, you wouldn't either."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Well jI guess mama Taa just rrajised me dumb then."

He then did something unorthodox, and slung an arm around s'Il's waist, and carried her like a piece of luggage.

"jI'm gojing downstajirrs. You can help me wjith the salvage, orr wajit jin the shuttle."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Taken by surprise, s'Il lost her grip on the torch and it clattered to the deck.

For a moment her fear was forgotten as he began carting her from the galley. "This is undignified - I'm almost 20 years your senior, and you carry me around like some sack of b'yraks."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"jIf jI werre dojing that, you'd be overr my shoulderr."

Cirr paused, and let her words settle in. She was right. Sass talk aside, Cirr was hard-wired to respect his elders, especially those without Y chromosomes. Some things were tough to let go of.

Cirr eased her back to her feet, but still kept a wide frown on his face, as he left the galley to climb down the lift again. He paused, scooping up his helmet in one hand.

"Gjive me ten mjinutes. That's all."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Back on her own two feet, s'Il squared her shoulders as Cirr started down the liftshaft.

She watched him descend the ladder. "Ten minutes. No more no less."

Without waiting an answer, she turned on her heel and headed back for the galley to retrieve her dropped light and helmet.

[Evil Spirit]

"You know that if he gets his way, you will be in mortal danger."

The hairs on s'Il's neck began to stand on end.

"If he will not listen to your words, then use actions instead."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She flattened herself against the wall, the reemergence of the voice reverberating around her like a living pulse.

She didn't answer right away, instead trying to calm her nerves.

"Jhunu se sawa shung tashi," s'Il whispered to herself, "Who are you... "

[Evil Spirit]

"I'm the one who will make you fear no longer."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine slowly knelt down, fingers searching for her dropped torch.

"You got a mighty funny way of going about that," she managed to get out. s'Il felt her breath catch in her throat, but she fought the fear doggedly. Whatever this thing was had gotten her rattled before, but she was determined to not let that happen again. "Now how's about you go on about your business, and I'll go on about mine."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Sa'tai'lalla'ei who arre you talkjing to? Let's shake a leg!"

Cirr bit down on his utility lamp as he descended back to the flight control deck.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Hand closing around the light, s'Il swiftly rose to her feet once more. Now to get back her helmet.

Her heart sank as she realized that it still sat on the opposite side of the galley, where she'd first come in.

"Never-you-mind what I'm doing," she yelled back at Cirr, "you're losing the time you insisted on having."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr continued down the ladder, shivering as the colder air below hit his unprotected face.

"Colderr down herre."

At last back at the flight deck, he hopped to solid ground with two feet, and went to work, reading an ordinance and equipment manifest for support craft.

"Therre should be an antjigrrav pallette arround herre somewherre."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Still motionless, s'Il eyeballed her helmet with a small trace of trepidation. Edging a foot out then, she slowly started off.

Keeping the helmet in sight, the Lupine let out the slightest of growls. "Fifteen years of peace and quiet. Fifteen years. I could have done with another fifteen before this crap started happening... "

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Found jit!"

Cirr yelled from a nearby utility room, as he tugged a hovering slab behind him. He paused, and shuffled into an adjacent weapons locker.

"Hey! jI found some heavy rrepeaterrs. That'll keep the captajin happy."

The Cizerack slid a few long crates onto the far end of the pallette, and moved on.

"Therre's a pajirr of jion rrecombjinatorrs on the fljight deck, not farr frrom us. They'rre about the sjize of beerr kegs. Want at least one of those, jif not both."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il was halfway across the galley.

She blinked, one hand clutching the torchlight tightly in a white-knuckled grip.

[Evil Spirit]

"Where are you going, friend?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She ground her back teeth.

"I'm... "

The Lupine paused, unsure for a moment before continuing, "I'm getting that what's mine.

"I suppose you have something else in mind... ?"

[Evil Spirit]

"Hehehehehehe"

The sound was mocking and patronizing. An echoing laugh that a parent might have for a dim child with an incomplete view of the world."

"Take from here as you wish. I cannot stop you. Why would I dare?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il cringed at the sound of the laugh all around her. "All I want is my helmet."

She'd heard stories of Force spirits; it was true that they couldn't directly do anything to a person, but they could influence a mind to do terrible things. And from what she could sense, she and Cirr had stumbled across just such a thing.

Almost there...

"After I get it, I'm going to leave you be. And I'd certainly 'preciate it if you extended that same courtesy towards my own self."

[Evil Spirit]

"Such short sightedness. You and your feline friend can pillage this insignificant starship of its material spoils. Your true riches are the words of wisdom I give you, my Jedi friend."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her hand fell upon the helmet, plucking it from its' resting place. But beyond that, the Lupine made no move to backtrack.

"I find it funny to be offered words of wisdom from a dead man."

Curiosity overtook rationale, and s'Il turned her torchlight around the room.

[Evil Spirit]

"My words live beyond the will of my flesh. Do I then live forever?"

The temperature dropped again in the galley.

"This, and many greater gifts I offer you."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The biting cold drove just a little bit deeper through her exposed skin, and she involuntarily shivered.

"I don't aspire to greatness," she mumbled, moving then to turn. The doorway couldn't have been farther away than it seemed right now. She put one foot forward.

"I aspire to be left alone. Nothing you could offer would make me desire otherwise."

Perhaps it was the beginnings of irritation settling within her mind, but s'Il found herself speaking anyway. "Arrogant words from an ethereal throwback are nothing but.

"I think you best go back to talking at the bulkheads."

[Evil Spirit]

"Whatever you aspire to, is meaningless without the power to achieve it."

The voice paused, and seemed to speak from another direction.

"You have been pursued for years by those who wish to harm you. You need not run any longer, if you can make them stop."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The voice's change in direction was a little startling, and s'Il jumped - if only slightly. She slowed her already snail's pace to a stop.

She paused in her thoughts, lowering her head to stare at the deck.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr grunted, shoving the last ion recombinator off of the repulsorsled and into the shuttle airlock, where he sealed the outer hatch. With those and the repeaters locked up, he still had a bit more to look for.

The Cizerack grabbed the lifeline again, and pulled himself back to the flight deck, towing the sled along behind him. Once he made it back to the deck, he pulled out the manifest datapad, and continued his five-fingered discount shopping.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Shaking herself from the dredges of her mind, the Lupine once more stepped forward. Helmet grasped firmly in one hand and the torch in the other, s'Il set her jaw.

"Only words."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr made his way to a side hangar, in which a half dozen assault shuttles were berthed. Poking among the parked ships, he noticed that one of the vessels had an accessory blister beneath the cockpit, which was a non-standard addition. Quirking an eyebrow, he quickly went to work with a powered screwdriver, working at the sealbolts that held the blister housing fast to the primary hull.

"You still with me, s'jIl?" He asked through his helmet commlink.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Cirr's voice crackled over the comm in her helmet, tinny and slightly distorted. She waiting a few moments, covering precious distance towards the door before answering - a chore which involved lifting the helmet up so that it would pick up her voice.

"I am. I'm on my way back to the hangar. Just... trying to get out of the galley, is all."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Good. jI thjink jI...nnnngh...."

Cirr strained mid-sentence as he worked some of the electronics free from the blister housing.

"...found a rreconajissance sensorr sujite. jI'll have to rrun a djiagnostjic, but jif jI am corrrect, thjis should double ourr effectjive scan rrange."

He made a face, and pulled hard at a support strut, bending a small beam of metal backwards.

"Of courrse, whoeverr put thjis thjing jin herre was prretty anal about jit."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Lovely," was her only absent-minded reply, "you have fun with that."

Out of instinct, the Lpine swept her torchlight behind her. Stupid, you can't see spirits. Why even bother?

It was strange how tendencies took over the better part of logical thinking. In talking with the presence, she had come to think of it as having standing space, so to speak. Of course this wasn't the case - it was a presence, and nothing more. s'Il blinked in agitation. Why is this even an issue?

Something was under her boot, and she lifted her foot to shine the light on whatever it was she'd stepped on. It was a deck of Sabacc cards. Kneeling, she delicately plucked one from the scattered pile.

Two of Masters.

Frowning, s'Il turned it over to check its' face.

The Evil One.

"I'm going mad," she muttered to herself.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Arre you comjing down herre? You'rre takjing forreverr."

With a grunt, the main support finally came free, and Cirr wrapped his arms around the sensor suite's frame, pulling it from the ship's hull gently.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il gave no answer, no acknowledgement that she'd heard his voice over the comm. She merely kept hold of the card, staring it it for a few more moments.

Two. Master suit. Face of The Evil One.

Fleeting thoughts of its' possible significance rushed through her mind, but she pushed them away. But still; She tucked it down her neckline for the sake of... something. Perhaps a reminder of what had was happening in the here and now.

The rest of the cards were left where they'd fallen, and she started off again.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr wimpered, shuffling backwards uneasily as he guided the large sensor equipment bundle toward the static line that connected the deck back to the shuttle. This was a tricky and cumbersome piece of equipment to maneuver. Without a second set of hands, it could slip away from him in the zero gravity and tumble out of the hangar bay, or crash into something halfway across from his ship.

He grasped the cable with one hand, tried not to look down toward the void, and began to pull at the equipment bundle with his other hand. It slowly began to float behind him. As he crawled along the wire, he kept a hand steady should it stray from his approach.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The doorway was six feet away now. It seemed like an eternity to get this far, especially for the size of the galley in the first place.

s'Il kept her torch facing forward, illuminating the corridor beyond the door. A few more steps and she was in the hallway. Her pace now faster, the Lupine headed for the lift tube.

She'd had enough of this place.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Frrell!"

An unsteady leg kicked out and gave the sensor suite a nudge. Gritting his teeth, Cirr stretched from his precarious grasp on the line. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a bit of hurtling space debris that was moving pretty fast.

"Wajit...that's not space debrrjis...."

As he looked back to the sensor suite, he found that it had now drifted past his grasp, much to his horror.

"Oh no!"

The equipment continued to slowly drift away from him, an inch at a time.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She'd made quick work of descending the lift-tube, pulling on and sealing her helmet in the process.

The first thing she saw upon entering the hangar was the shuttle, and the fact that i was still powered down. Tracking along the static line that was attached to the shuttle, she caught sight of Cirr, frantically reaching his arms out for his salvaged equipment that'd broken free somehow.

Her voice came out suddenly over the comm, strangely deadpan as she simply watched his wild display of waving arms. "What are you doing?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"What am jI dojing? What arre YOU dojing?!"

Cirr fidgeted on the static line like a hooked fish, giving up the impotent action of reaching for the sensor equipment, which floated beyond his grasp.

"Dammjit. And that was a grreat fjind!" He protested mournfully, as he slowly meandered back to the hangar deck.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'm sure it was."

s'Il pushed off from her anchor point, letting herself drift out to the shuttle they'd arrived in. It was serene; a far cry from the claustrophobia of the galley, and she gladly began the task of mentally washing herself of the events previously.

"Come on, let's get the shuttle prepped. I don't want to be here a second longer."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"But..."

Cirr's eyes slid from s'Il, to the sensor pod, and back.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Cocking a brow, s'Il let a short silence hang in the air; at least until she'd reached the hull of the shuttle. With a solid hold on the static line, she planted her feet on the outer bulkhead and leaned back as far as she could, craning her neck to catch sight of Cirr's ever-so-slowly wandering find.

She closed her eyes then, reaching out through the Force and using her atrophied skills as best she could. It took a fair amount of concentration, but gradually the sensor pod began to arc around, as if pulled by a tether cord off its' original path and toward the shuttle.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr sighed heavily, gently catching the pod as it moved back toward the line.

"You'rre a ljifesaverr, you know that?"

Ever-so carefully, Cirr followed up s'Il's lead up the static line, until he was back in the airlock along with her. With the sensor pod drug in, alongside the ion converters and spare blaster crates, it was a tight fit.

"Well, that's not bad forr a shorrt rrun at all. Maybe you'rre lucky afterr all!"

The atmosphere regulated, and the light turned green again, allowing both Lupine and Cizerack to remove their helmets and breathe freely once more.

Cirr paused before leaving the lock, and looked at s'Il. She looked a mess.

"Sai'aarra'mei arre you okay?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'll be okay once we get out of here," she answered stiffly, beginning the arduous task of removing her suit. As she pulled the neckline free, the card she'd taken dropped to the deck. A swft move and she covered it with her boot, intent on retrieving it after Cirr had gone to begin the startup sequence.

Her back turned to him now, s'Il pulled open clasps and seals.

"I'll be ok."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Okay, jif you say so."

Cirr shrugged it off, and began the arduous task of wriggling out of his suit, managing to look about as undignified as he did when he first put it on.

A minute later and he stumbled out of the airlock, falling out of his coveralls with a thud. Sighing, he kicked the rest of the suit off, and crawled to the front of the ship, where he began the power-up sequence.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Unlike Cirr, s'Il had only to slip her suit from her frame; it was much easier due to her build. The suit fully cast off, the Lupine lifted her boot, kneeling to retrieve the card. She stared at it for a few seconds before standing, turning, and heading from the airlock and toward the front of the shuttle in Cirr's wake.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Majin powerr onljine, wjithdrrawjing statjic ljine."

There it was again!

"Djid you see that?"

Cirr winced, leaning forward toward the viewport. Out in the distance, a tiny speck could be seen, moving slightly faster than the rest of the floatsom around it.

Curious, Cirr engaged the maneuvering jets, and the shuttle slowly slid down the hangar maw, and away from the star destroyer.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Coming up behind Cirr, s'Il slid the card into the back pocket of her trousers while in the same motion following his line of sight. Whatever it was that he saw she couldn't make out, and she shrugged, lowering herself into the copilot's seat.

"Can't say as I did, sorry.

"What was it."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr glanced to her and shrugged.

"Beats me. Too farr out forr ourr passjive sensorrs."

His eyes sharpened, and focused near what looked like a shattered Nebulon frigate.

"Therre. See jit?"

A small dark grey speck moved from left to right behind the debris field...and then changed direction. Cirr's ears flopped low to each side.

"Um..."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She only barely caught sight of what he was looking at. Her eye narrowed. All manner of thoughts as to what it could be jumped to the forefront of her mind, and s'Il leaned back in her seat. She opted for a more practical explanation.

"Probably just a recon drone for some other salvage group."

A moment of though, then she added almost teasingly, "Or a weather droid."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, unappreciative of s'Il's baiting.

"Orr an jImperrjial fjighterr?" He commented darkly.

He looked around the debris field as they slowly drifted through it. The speck disappeared behind Endor's sanctuary moon.

"Orr maybe jI'm just bejing parranojid."

Sighing, he shook his head slightly.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Well, whatever's damaging your calm right now is probably nothing."

s'Il let herself finally relax; away from the star destroyer, and away from the presence.

"Least you made out with more'n a few new things to tinker with."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr instantly perked up.

"Te'ssaala' djid jI everr. Those jion converrterrs wjill trrjiple powerr deljiverry to the engjines jin a qujick burrst. Of courrse, that's assumjing jI don't loop them overr themselves to crreate a sympathetjic pulse, whjich can do the same wjith less fuel requjirrements. jI'll have to tjime the jisotope rrecycljing patterns on each to staggerr at djifferrent tjimings, but jI should be able to do that wjith any basjic drrojid motjivatorr unjit actjing as a dedjicated swjitch contrrolljing fuel deljiverry tjimjing. That parrt of jit jis sjimple as meat pjie and jI can even use the rremajinjing prrocessjing powerr forr a rredundant layerr of navjigatjional contrrol!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Only a blank stare was afforded the Cizerack as her mouth opened to reply, but nothing came forth. s'Il blinked.

"By A'Ra, you speak in tongues, son."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr shrugged sheepishly.

"jI get a bjit excjitable when jit comes to upgrrades. jIt's a welcome change of pace frrom just havjing to rrun about and fjix whateverr brreaks. jI get to trreat my baby rrjight."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il paused, thinking on Cirr's words before giving him a sidelong look that conveyed not a little concern.

"... and just how often do things break on Sanis' ship?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Often enough to keep me busy." He replied matter-of-factly.

Movement from the corona of the Sanctuary moon once again caught Cirr's attention, and he looked back to the edge of the moon.

"jIs that the same one? jIt looks ljike jit's comjing back."

From behind the speck a light grey wedge of durasteel slipped silently in the great distance beyond, coming from behind the moon as well.

"Oh frrell!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Turning an annoyed look to try and spot Cirr's little mystery speck, the Lupine froze in her seat. Involuntarily, her fingers tightened on the armrests of her chair.

"That's just more wreckage, right?"

Her voice was almost a whisper, as if she was afraid to disturb the hulk that was coming into view and she didn't even turn to look at her companioin, "... right?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Within a few more seconds, her question was answered, as form of a fully functional Imperial Star Destroyer eased into view, its three distinctive large ion engines glowing white.

"Therre's no guarrantee they've spotted us. We've been rrunnjing mjinjimal systems sjince we left the wrreck. We should be able to sneak away thrrough the debrrjis fjield."

The felinoid sucked on his lower lip as he looked about.

"That jis, jif those TIE fjighterrs don't get close enough to take a look.

Frrell, what jis an jImperrjial battleshjip dojing out herre?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il let out a breath. "Probably the same thing we're doing; picking the bones."

Another lull in the conversation, and she took the time to stare at the Imperial ship without hiding any of the apprehension she was feeling. Just the sight was enough to unsettle a person, and the Lupine found herself frowning.

"Out of sheer, perverse curiosity, how well known are and Sanis with these folks?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Well, we've blasted away frrom ourr sharre of local magjistrrates, but that's harrdly morre than a slap on the wrrjist. Everry otherr perrson on the Outerr Rrjim prrobably has a storry about stubbjing jImperrjial toes."

His ears drooped, telegraphing his worry as clearly as s'Il's.

"Of courrse, we arre morre orr less rred-handed jin the mjiddle of jillegal salvage on jImperrjial warrshjips, and then therre's the small jissue of you bejing a Jedji. All thjings consjiderred, we'rre evenly humped jif they pjinch us herre."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine scowled.

It'd been so long since she had been in a situation like this. Sith were one thing, but a beast such as this was an entirely new set of problems that she had no time to acclimate herself to properly. Or in a fashionable length of time, at any rate. As in, less than a minute.

"Well," she offered quietly, "maybe they'll stay their course - if we're lucky."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"And we'll stay ourrs, and nobody wjill be the wjiserr....hopefully."

Cirr's large hands wrapped tightly around the controls of the shuttle as he watched one TIE moving towards a cluster of wreckage, and another TIE moving from another one.

"Way jI see jit, we've got thrree optjions.

One, we crreep out to the edge of the debrrjis fjield, and gun jit forr the nearrest system once clearr.

Two, we land on the Sanctuarry moon, lay low, and wajit forr the Empjirre to get tjirred and move on.

Thrree, we go back to the derreljict and hjide therre."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il let her scowl deepen. This was only going from bad to worse, and her body seemed to slouch in the copilot's seat. Not exactly becoming of her, but there were times when there was no other way to conduct oneself.

"They've probably got patrols and sensor bouys set up around the perimeter, so it might not be the best idea to try and float out. As for the moon, that's most likely just suicide. From what I've been told of what happened here, and what I know of Imperials, they'll be crawling over that moon trying to reclaim whatever destroyed piece of something they think is worth their time.

"And, well... "

She trailed off, letting her good eye track nervously back toward the derelict they just came from.

"Can't we just clamp the shuttle to the underside of its' hull? Then we wouldn't have to actually go back inside."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"We could...forr a whjile at least."

Cirr looked at the derelict intently, and frowned.

"Trrouble jis, thjis boat doesn't have a fully autonomous atmospherrjic scrrubberr. jIt'll rreclajim brreathable ajirr, but only forr a day orr so, and as long as we majintajin powerr.

So that optjion jis only good so farr as the Empjirre jisn't terrjibly patjient about bejing out herre."

He grimaced, and continued.

"jI ljike optjion two betterr. That moon jis coverred jin heavy, old grrowth forrest. jIf we could rreach jit, jI thjink we could manage to lay low. Then agajin, we'd need to mask the shuttle somehow agajinst any metal-detectjing sensorrs."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"You've been ducking under noses for longer than I have, so I'll trust your judgement on this."

Expelling a long breath, s'Il relegated herself to siting quietly, letting Cirr do what he had mostly likely done many times over. With this though, a thought occurred to her and she turned to look at him.

"Speaking of, how many times have you done this sort of thing...

"... successfully?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr smiled sheepishly.

"Neverr."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Without so much as an eye tick, s'Il stared at Cirr before replying in deadpan seriousness, "If you get me killed, I will kill you back. Understood?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Well, that's only naturral jI suppose."

With great ease, the Cizerack angled the control vector downward, and the shuttle yawed ever so slightly towards Endor's moon.

"jI want to drrjift a bjit, so that we arre on the otherr sjide of the moon when we enterr the atmospherre. jI can be as slow as jI ljike out herre, but once we hjit atmo, we're gojing to pjick up a lot of heat, and a lot of speed.

That, and jI don't want to have to worry about shakjing any fjighterrs. jI'm not nearr the pjilot that Sanjis jis, and thjis boat jisn't dojing me any favorrs ejitherr."

The Black Cat pulled away from some nearby debris, moving further along the path of the Sanctuary moon's orbit as it skirted the battle zone.

"jI'm huggjing the thjickerr debrrjis fjields. All thjis blasted durasteel mjight act ljike chaff to any fjighterrs flyjing by. Then agajin, jit mjight be a bumpy rrjide."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Well do what you have to."

Leaning back in her seat, she let Cirr do what he needed to do.

" 'Mama Taa' might have raised you stupid when dealing with Force spirits," she remarked idly, not really thinking, "but I sure hope she taught you the importance of not getting picked up by Imperials.

"Course, you might have come to that conclusion on your own through experience."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

The sound of tiny pieces of schrapnel popping and scraping against the shuttle's hull could occasionally be heard, as Cirr continued his course.

"Lets just say jI've hearrd too many storrjies."

Out of nowhere, the distinctive profile of a TIE fighter roared into view, flying over and past the shuttle at a good clip.

"Holy frrell!!"

Cirr fought his hands to avoid changing course on reflex. The TIE continued on its way, heading to who knew where.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

To say their current situation was nervewracking would be probably the biggest understatement ever uttered. The sounds of debris hitting the hull now coupled with the TIE's sudden appearence was almost enough to make one forget their bodily functions.

As it was, s'Il found herself putting a hand over her chest in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"I know I'm old, but I'm by no means a candidate for a heart attack - at least I hope."

A pause.

"You don't think the pilot of that thing got a good look at us, do you? I mean, is it common for intact shuttles to be floating around a graveyard like this?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"We'rre prretty small forr the junk that's floatjing arround herre. Wjith ourr systems rrunnjing mjinjimally, jit's possjible forr them to mjiss us."

Cirr kept his eyes on the fighter until it was out of view again.

"Of courrse, he could be gojing back to the destrroyerr forr rejinforrcements, so don't quote me orr anythjing, what do jI know."

By now, the star destroyer they had seen before was no longer visible to them. The moon was slowly coming between the shuttle and the Imperial capital ship.

"jI'm gjivjing jit anotherr mjinute beforre rre-entrry."