Blockade Runner: Calan [completed]

[Arya Ravenwing]

Smuggling wasn't fun, but it paid the bills.

Wait, who was she trying to kid? Smuggling was fun. A lot of fun. The dark haired female settled back into the pilot's chair, propping her feet up on the console as the swirls of hyperspace flashed by the bridge. In the co-pilots chair sat a golden droid that went by the designation C-3PO. It was old, out of date, and generally more annoying than it was worth, but Arya Ravenwing liked the company.

Or, maybe she just liked having something around that deserved her constant wrath.

Snugged up tight in the hold of her Chevvette77 freighter, The Wing of the Raven, were several crates of medical supplies and food. Destined for the besieged world of Calan, she was two days into the journey from the Atrivis sector. There was only a few minutes left before her reversion to realspace, and her body tingled with excitement.

Aaron lived for this. The thought made her pause. She hadn't thought about Aaron in weeks.

Boots hit the deck, and Arya strapped herself in as the countdown timer ticked off the last moments of hyperspace. Threepio was silent, mainly because she'd reached behind his head an hour and a half ago and switched him off.

The freighter reverted, and the smuggler toggled the transponder mask. Wing of the Raven became The Dusty Maiden. She flew towards the glittering planet of Calan, and saw her first obstacle, a Seeva class patrol ship. Arya turned to Threepio. "Here goes nothing." She grinned, but then frowned when the droid didn't talk back. "Ah, frell it."

She reached across and switched him on again. "Ah, Mistress Arya, I must say I am still right, flying straight into the maw of the Carshoulis felinoids is suicide!" Golden lighted optical sensors swiveled forward, and the droid took in the sight of the planet looming in front of them. "Oh my! I'm too late."

"Relax, Threepio, there's only about twenty of them." Arya winked at the frantic droid, and added, "Oh, and three captial ships too. Piece of cake."

Threepio's head swiveled back and forth in dismay. "Oh no..." The Wing of the Raven continued to fly slowly towards the planet.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Commander Eidaali adjusted the bill of her cap as the next ship entered the Jairra'Sea'Sea's interdiction zone. The copper-hued 120 meter patrol cutter adjusted its heading to match the incoming Wing of the Raven.

Nodding to her communications officer, Eidaali opened a channel to the freighter.

"jYou arrre enterrrjing a rrressstrrrjicted zone. Commerrrcjial trrrraffjic to Calan hasss been ljimited to Prrrjide-charrrterrred carrrjierrrsss onljy. Otherrr trrravel to Calan jisss sssussspended jindefjinitely."

It was all routine to Eidaali. Ships either gave clearance and passed through, or were turned away. The New Republic responded to these maneuvers through diplomatic channels, and only the most foolhearty of outlaws broke Cizerack trade laws within their own home territories.

Since the trade blockade had begun anew two weeks ago, there had been only two attempts to run it. The first was a Rendili Stardrives freighter, which was fired on until it burned up in the atmosphere. The other was a Sorosuub, which was captured in tact. Eidaali neither heard or cared about the fate of the ship's crew, but given the usual action for such criminality, their deaths were both brutal, and broadcast on public holochannels.

The Pride made it abundantly clear that it didn't take commerce crimes lightly. Thus, it tended to make revenuing missions little more than boring intra-system cruises. Not exactly the fast track to promotion.

Eidalli yawned, and adjusted the hemline of her jacket as if to offset the action.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"jYou arrre enterrrjing a rrressstrrrjicted zone. Commerrrcjial trrrraffjic to Calan hasss been ljimited to Prrrjide-charrrterrred carrrjierrrsss onljy. Otherrr trrravel to Calan jisss sssussspended jindefjinitely." The purring accent of the Cizerack officer crackled over the comm unit.

"Here goes. Either they take this code, or we make a break for hyperspace. Exciting, isn't it?" Arya winked at Threepio, who moaned.

The Artivian who'd paid her (half now, half later as per usual) had provided the smuggler with the codes she'd need to get past the blockade. Arya toggled the comm, "This is the Dusty Maiden, transmitting clearance code now." She pressed the button, and crossed her fingers.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Eidaali waited for her comm officer to receive the ship's name, registry, bill of lading, and clearance code. All except the latter were standard fare for shipping vessels. The latter, of course, courtesy of Cizerack bureaucracy. The tawny-haired comm officer looked back to her superior and nodded once, affirming that the Dusty Maiden did indeed check out, and was a registered charter.

"Do jyou have anjythjing to declarrre, Dussstjy Majiden?"

Once again, by the book. Though Pride-chartered, the inbound flight was coming from a foreign departure point. Rules of customs prevailed. Eidaali mentally checked off each item in the queue with routine boredom, as her ship ran parallel with the freighter.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Ah, yes I do, Jairra'Sea'Sea, I'm carrying medical supplies and non-perishable food, destined for Calan." Arya avoided looking at 3PO. If a droid could look sick, he would be. Her tongue didn't trip over the name of the patrol ship, but the pronunciation was certainly a human one.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Eidaali punched up the Dusty Maiden's bill of lading, comparing it to her statements. Satisfied, she nodded to the comm officer, who began to transmit a set of coordinates for the freighter to follow.

"We arrre sssendjing dessscent coorrrdjinatesss to the sssurrrface. Forrr jyourrr sssafetjy, pleassse do not devjiate frrrom them. Have a sssafe landjing, and enjojy jyourrr ssstajy."

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Thank you." Arya toggled the comm off, and nodded to the protocol droid. "See? Piece of cake." The Chevvette77 eased through the invisible net around the planet, following the coordinate given. Once she was close enough to the surface, she'd fly below their scanners to her actual destination.

She shook her head, dark hair falling in her eyes. "I told you there was nothing to worry about."

Threepio, for once, was silent.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Parting ways, the Jairra'Sea'Sea returned to its patrol station, beyond Calan's orbit. In the distance, glimmering ships passing via the Hydian Way could be seen making their way toward the worlds of the Pride and beyond. The cluster was a constant congestion of ships and traffic. Beautiful and frustrating all at once.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya pulled the Wing of the Raven up and flew a zig-zag pattern over the countryside. She'd been told that this route would not take her over the Cizerack occupational forces. And, looking out the window and on the scanners it appeared that she'd been informed correctly. Visual contact from the surface would be minimal.

The smuggler located the monastery and eyed the central courtyard. "They want me to put down in that thing? I'll have barely two meters of clearance on either side!" Arya chewed her lip and studied the area. Threepio fumbled with the restraints holding him to the seat.

"I don't want to watch this! Oh, blast my circuits, turn around! We should go back-" With a click the restraints popped off, and Threepio stood up, servos whining almost as much as his voice.

Arya paid him no mind and was already bringing the freighter into the courtyard. Repulsors lowered the ship slowly. "Those monks better not be standing underneath me..."

The droid wailed as he lost his balance, the ship tipped from side to side while the smuggler eased into the monastery. Threepio fell down with a clatter, and Arya growled as the freighter settled on the ground with a clunk. "D'ya mind not getting up before the fasten seatbelt sign is off?" She wriggled out of her restraints and hopped over the protocol droid, hurrying to greet the saffron clad monks that were now pouring out of the monastery.

Threepio waved his arms feebly. "We're doomed. We'll never get off Calan." There wasn't anyone to hear him, however.

***

The monks cleared the hold in record time, and it was two hours later when Arya was scooting back over to where she had been directed to land. Re-entering space, the ship headed back towards the blockade line, this time from the other side. The transponder mask was in place, still claiming the ship to be Dusty Maiden.

Threepio tottered into the cockpit just as the freighter hit a pocket of turbulance. The droid tumbled forward, stiff arms flailing against the console. "Frack, Threepio!" Arya shoved the droid into the co-pilot's seat, but he'd managed to hit the transponder toggle.

The smuggler tucked her hair behind her ears, scanning the console. "Frell!" She switched the toggle back, but they'd been transmitting the correct code for a few seconds. She could only hope the Cizerack had not picked up on it.

Threepio mumbled apologies, his feet waving in the air from where she'd pushed him. His head was stuck between the chair and the bulkhead. Arya cursed again, but she couldn't take the time to fix him... not until they were in hyperspace and she could take her hands off the controls.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Arya's comm crackled to life once again.

"Dussstjy Majiden, thjisss jisss the Cjizerrrack Rrrevenue Patrrrol. We have detected a fluctuatjion jin jyourrr trrransssponderrr sssjyssstem. Arrre jyou jin need of assssssjissstance?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

Assistance? No! She had a flash in her minds eye of her ship being boarded by red coated Cizerack, and shook her head once to clear it. "Ah, no, thanks, I'm doing fine. Minor malfunction, nothing to worry about." Arya checked the console to be sure, "Everything's under control now."

Don't you dare stop me. The smuggler kept flying straight, staying on her given route until she needed to evade. Hopefully it wouldn't come down to that. Wing of the Raven was fast, but some of the ships the Pride owned ... well, the two had never been in a race. And never would be either.

The comm toggled off, and she turned to glare at Threepio, who almost looked abashed. "I swear I'll shoot you out of an airlock if they board me."

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

"Jussst to be sssurrre, hold fassst on jyourrr posssjitjion. We arrre sssendjing assssssjissstance."

From the comm operator's tone of voice, the assistance was non negotiable.

[Arya Ravenwing]

She switched the comm back, "Ah, what was that? I didn't copy that Heavy static on your last transmission. Power is fluctuating -" Arya cut the connection, and thumped her fist into the seat. "Frell it!"

Threepio moaned. "They'll melt me down for scrap metal for sure!"

"I hope they do." Arya grimly agreed, keeping her ship on a straight course even as she cut all power to her comm systems. If she stayed as she was, they'd nab her with a tractor beam. The larger ships had to have them. But the smaller...

The smuggler deviated course, instead of staying still, and hit the accellerators. Her sublights flared brightly as the freighter arrowed towards a gap in space between two of the smaller patrol vessels.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

The Laila'Sea'Sea was the nearest ship to the Wing of the Raven, and it began to bank on an intercept course. It wasn't as fast as the smuggler, but at this distance, the patrol frigate didn't need to be. The 120 meter ship locked on to Arya's ship, and extended a tractor beam towards it. The beam contacted Arya's hull, causing the ship to shudder with sudden deceleration.

In the distance, six keerta fightergrapplers dispatched from a nearby Korri galleon.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya was seconds from home free when the tractor beam locked onto the freighter. The ship jolted severely, and the sublights stalled, causing the Wing of the Raven to drift sideways, towards the Laila'Sea'Sea. The smuggler uttered a series of vile curses, and restarted the engines.

Threepio sat heavily in one of the other seats in the cockpit, but Arya didn't waste a glance at the golden droid. The sublights flared, and the freighter shuddered, fighting with the draw of the beam that held it fast.

"Mistress Arya, six Keerta fightergrapplers have launched from the nearest Korri galleon." The droid sounded surprisingly calm, for all of his drama of earlier.

"Great. Frelling great." Arya studied the fighters' positions, and shook her head. "I'll have to risk it."

"Excuse me, but risk what? You can't possibly be thinking about still running?!" Threepio sounded a bit more frantic.

"Don't ask me anymore questions!" Arya snapped at the droid, and dropped out of the chair, pulling off a panel in the console and pulling some wires free. "Do something to distract those frelling Ciz, and get the nav computer working on our jump!" As she spoke, the smuggler was splicing wires to take power from the life support systems, and re-routing it to the sublights.

[Threepio]

Threepio studied the console, and then opened a channel to the Laila'Sea'Sea. He began mewling into the comm as he started the navicomp crunching numbers. He thought that if the freighter started transmitting a Cizerack mating song that it might distract the blockade. The Cizerack were ... advanced ... and the mating song would stir urges in them. Or so he'd heard. Oh dear.

Mistress Arya bumped her head getting back into her chair, and prepared the cargobay to jettison it's contents. He recognized the tactics, but hopefully it would work. Increased power to the sublights might make it possible for the freighter to break free. Once freed, the cargo, or garbage, was jettisoned, giving the tractor beam something new to latch onto. By the time the bigger ship found out the mistake, it would be too late.

He hoped it worked. And after it worked, then there were still those fightergrapplers. And re-routing power back to life support. He thought about the odds, and was about to state them to Mistress Arya, but she punched up the sublights, and the ship felt like it was about to break apart. Not the time to start spouting odds. He'd learned something about dealing with scoundrels and smugglers. They hated being told the odds.

The ship shook, struggling to free itself.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

The Laila'Sea'Sea continued to pull Arya's freighter closer, until the cargo bay opened up to space, sucking out the few remaining contents with a whoosh. The proximity of the debris to the Cizerack patrol caused an instant lock, which accelerated the debris toward the Cizerack vessel, causing Arya's ship to jolt forward with a burst of speed, just as the fightergrapplers overtook the patrol ship's position.

Unconcerned with the Laila'Sea'Sea's failure, the fightergrapplers broke off into three planes of attack, approaching from aft and spreading to ventral, port, and starboard positions. Their double ion cannons charged, ready to bleed Arya's shield banks dry as they chased her.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Lips pressed together with determination, Arya felt herself pressed back into her seat as the sublights flared and the tractor beam lost the Wing of the Raven. One part of her mind wished she had a co-pilot. Or at least a gunner. Threepio was hardly any help at all.

But then, she'd always been too self-sufficient for her own good.

"Mistress Arya, the fightergrapplers -"

"I see 'em." Arya knew that trying to fight would just doom her. "Access the weapons control and send some shots behind us." She felt strangely calm.

Threepio didn't say anything else, but bent over the console in front of him. Arya steadied the steering yoke with her feet and reached behind her seat to grab a breathing mask. She strapped it over her face and buckled herself into her restraints. They didn't have enough power to outrun the smaller fighters, but for now they were still behind and to the sides of the Chevette77 freighter.

The aft gun discharged, a few aimed shots coming near to hitting the fightergrappler that tailed them. One might have glanced off of the shields, but Arya wasn't paying enough attention to be sure. She was too busy flipping switches and flying a randomized pattern that was taking them out of the ring of vessels and towards the hyperjump spot.

Ion shots hammered the ventral, port and aft shields, and she gasped involuntarily, watching the shield banks deplete. "C'mon baby, get us outta here!"

[Threepio]

"I am certainly not your baby, and I don't think we will be getting out of here." Threepio looked over at the navicomp. "We do have a jump planned, however."

His optical sensors turned back towards Mistress Arya, and he saw that she was buckled in. Then it registered what she'd been doing for the last minute. "Inertial dampers - We'll be smashed flat!"

"Buckle in, Goldenrod." Arya growled, and Threepio hastened to comply. Without full power to the inertial dampers, they'd be feeling a lot more than just a few bumps. But if they made the jump to hyperspace without the dampers online...

Why, he'd just be a crumpled bit of tin. Smugglers were some of the most notorious gamblers, and they always seemed to wager their lives. The droid noticed that the ship was already rigged to divert more power to the shields. The power from life support was fueling the sublights, and they would pull ahead of the fighters if their shields could last long enough.

Power to the dampers would be restored when she dialed it back up again. But now she was dialing it down, and strengthening their shields. He wouldn't get motion sickness, but C-3PO felt distinctly uncomfortable. More ion shots ravaged their defences, and the freighter jolted violently with each hit. Arya's face was whiter than normal beneath the breathing mask, her hands tight around the yoke as the freighter pushed for the jump point.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

One fightergrappler swung direct aft, and caught an incidental salvo from the Chevette77's rear cannon. The few shots struck home, causing the ship's drive engine to vent ionized gas, and spin out of control, away from the fight.

The other ships stuck close, spraying blue ion bolts as they tried to close distance with the erratic flight patterns of the freighter. One maneuver caught a felinoid pilot sleeping, and nearly collided with her Keerta, only to have the startled Cizerack bank away at the last moment.

However, the sustained ion attacks were taking their toll, and within a few minutes, Arya's shields buckled. Instead of carrying forward a killing attack, the fightergrapplers continued to close ranks, until the closest one activated its tractor beam emitter, aligning itself so that it slowly approached the freighter's dorsal hull.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya pushed the freighter as fast as it would go, but it wasn't enough. The shields failed, and she dialed the dampers back up, giving Threepio charge of the steering, and herself the job of blasting away the last two fighers.

Weapons charged, and she fired the port blaster cannon, aiming at the emitter on the closest fighter. Once they were free of tractors - "Mistress Arya, we're at the jump point." Threepio's tinny voice sounded distant as she felt everything in connection with the weapons and aiming systems snap into sharp focus.

The cannon shot again, and she readied to slap the button that would take them out of hell.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

And just when they were almost home free...

THUNK

The sole remaining Keerta in hot pursuit drew itself flush against the Chevette's hull, magnetic interlocks holding it tight, as both ships were thrown into light speed.

[Threepio]

"Oh my!" Threepio was pressed into his seat as the starlines stretched and extended around them. "That noise! Oh dear!"

Arya still hadn't done anything about the life support, not that it would bother him. Her breathing apparatus would function for about an hour longer, and then she'd have to switch to a fresh one, or re-route the power back from sublights to the life support systems. Threepio fumbled at his restraints as the smuggler popped out of her seat, running for her cabin and the arsenal she kept there.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The distinctive clang of hull on hull came just nanoseconds before she activated the hyperdrive and threw Wing of the Raven into hyperspace. Starlines swirled around the viewscreen, but she was pretty sure she knew what that sound had been. A momentary check of the sensors confirmed it. They had a hitchiker.

Arya threw off her restraints, running as fast as she could for her cabin. She kicked open a long, heavy black box, the lid clunking against the deck plating. Reaching inside she drew out a blaster rifle, her rail gun and extra rail rounds. One in each hand, she listened for the sounds of anything unusual as she jogged back to the cockpit.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

A slowly increasing shower of sparks began to gently fall from the ceiling above Threepio. A few seconds later, it became clear what the sparks were from. The hull was being cut open in a circular section three feet in diameter. To anyone remotely familiar with spook stories from the Carshoulis Cluster, it was the calm before the storm of a Cizerack boarding attack. In less than thirty seconds, the hull plate would fall to the floor with a bang, and two felinoid fighters would drop through the clearing, ready to slaughter Arya and Threepio in any way they could.

[Threepio]

"Mistress Arya? Mistress Arya!" Threepio stood underneath the sparks coming from the ceiling, waving his arms at them. "Hurry! They're cutting through!"

He toppled backwards into the passage that led to the rest of the ship, and Arya shoved him behind her. "Oh dear, oh dear. I'm afraid we've had it this time. We're doo-"

"If you say we're doomed one more time I swear that I'll - Never mind. Just stay outta my way!" Arya knelt down in the doorway to the cockpit, the rail gun locked, loaded, and aimed at the cut point. Threepio turned away, afraid to watch.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The first thing to drop into her ship would get a hole the size of a dinner plate blown into it. Grim faced, Arya could see that the hull would be completely breached in a few seconds.

If only she could be sure it would be enough. She'd never faced two Cizerack Keerta pilots before. She'd never met anyone who had - apparently the survival rate was ...low.

The sparks ceased, and the hull plating began to drop -

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

The first fighter dove through feet-first, and planted his heels across the top of Arya's arm and railgun, throwing smuggler and weapon to opposing sides of the deck.

As both Arya and the male rose to their feet, the shocktrooper drew a wickedly-curved bladed weapon, designed more or less to do horrible things to smugglers.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya gasped, her mask nearly dislodged, but fresh air flowing into the cockpit from the adjoining ship. The rail gun was behind the Cizerack trooper, the blaster rifle in the passage to her left. He was holding something that looked almost like a short scimitar.

The smuggler reached behind her, found a hydrospanner, and brought it in front of her with a yell. Given enough luck, she might be able to catch the blade on the spanner... Arya didn't leave time for luck to catch up with her thoughts, and changed her mind, hurling the hydrospanner at the creature's face. If only she could get to her guns!

[Threepio]

Threepio knew they were doomed already, but especially so because Arya hadn't managed to get a shot off before she was thrown against the bulkheads. He looked at his feet, and the blaster rifle that was lying there.

It was technically against his programming, but he'd been forced to fire weapons before. Reminding himself that this was self defense, the droid awkwardly picked up the heavy weapon, and leveled it at the shocktrooper, clearly framed by the opening into the cockpit.

Threepio held down the trigger, and then dropped the rifle, exclaiming his apologies.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

The soldier did not expect the unorthodox attack, and brought his dagger up a second too late to prevent the hydrospanner from smashing into his face. The force of impact knocked his tactical visor off his face, and sent his unconcious form sprawling over Threepio, despite the droid's wailing protests. Threepio's own shot went by the wayside, and in an instant, both Cizerack and droid alike were incapacitated.

Even as the first felinoid was falling, the second was coming through the opening. This one, female, didn't wear the thicker armor of the male. She wore a pilot's uniform, complete with cap and tinted visor. She quickly drew her pistol, and squeezed off a reflex shot at Arya.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Threepio squawked as the male knocked him over, and the second occupant of the keerta class vessel dropped into the Chevette's cockpit.

Arya dove at the female's legs, the Cizerack's shot creasing her shoulder with a painful line. The pilot fell backwards, and Arya punched her in the face, stretching for the rail gun that was almost within her grasp.

Outside the two ships the calm fury of hyperspace still swirled around them.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

"Aaagh!"

The female tumbled backward, knocking her cap and visor free. Quickly situating herself, she bore Arya's stout punch full on the jaw, a defiant grimace on her face. She reached out, tracing Arya's own flailing arm, but intercepting her at the wrist. The felinoid latched on with her claws, applying painful pressure to wrench Arya's hand away from the rail gun she clammored for.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The smuggler winced painfully, her arm being pried away from her objective. Blue eyes met blue eyes, and Arya scowled, bringing her left hand down in an open handed slap against the felinoid's ear.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Shrieking, the pilot loosened her grip on Arya's arm, and curled up, driving both feet into the smuggler's midsection as she scurried to regain her feet. Crawling to her own sidearm, the pilot reached out for it, and whirled around towards Arya, ready to fire again.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Wrist released, Arya grabbed the railgun, and twisted onto her butt, drawing and aiming her secondary weapon as the Cizerack female whirled around. With a flash of discharged energy the blaster from her shoulder holster shot the female's blaster out of her hand. Arya held the railgun with her left hand, pointing it at the male who was beginning to stir, while keeping the female dead centered to her blaster.

"Now, thanks for dropping in, but I really don't have time for visitors."

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Glaring defiantly at Arya, the officer glanced sidelong at her companion, and quickly returned her attention to Arya.

"jYou mjight be able to kjill one of usss, but the otherrr wjill get to jyou jin a rrrusssh."

On cue, her claws lengthened from the fleshy tips of her fingers. Her lithe body tensed, but she remained still, as did her subordinate, after he displaced Threepio while standing.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The female's claw's lengthened, and Arya fought a sigh. She hated dramatics. Her second sight had helped her aim both weapons at once, and she squeezed the triggers.

With a crack-bang the railgun discharged, the high-powered round hurtling at the male. With any luck she'd caught him dead-center and blown a hole through him and his armour. Or perhaps severed a limb. The blaster bolt dazzled the eyes as it centered on the female's unprotected chest.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Arya's snap shooting was unerring at this range. Both Cizerack dropped to the floor in unison; holes smoking through the center of their chests.

[Threepio]

Threepio was lying on the deck, head propped awkwardly against the bulkhead. His visual receptors recorded the desperate battle between the pilot of the fightergrappler and Mistress Arya, and Arya seemed to be getting the upper hand...

A growl above him caused him to notice that the great weight of the Cizerack on top of him was shifting. "Oh, no, don't get up. Please, I'm not ready to die!" Threepio's squawk was unnoticed by the three other occupants of the freighter. And then, it was all over.

The male, in the shiny red armour, fell backwards against Threepio with a sigh, as the whine of the highpowered round punctured the bulkhead above the droid's head. Blood splashed everywhere, to Threepio's dismay. "Help! Help! I'm trapped - get off me you big lunk!"

Irrational response, yes, as the male was obviously dead already. Threepio waved his arms a bit, trying to get Arya's attention.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Nngh!" Arya pushed herself up off her rear, the high pitched voice of her droid failing to punch through her consciousness. She'd just killed two Cizerack. Granted, it was either them or her, but the Pride wasn't likely to forget. They only had a false transponder signal (including falsified pilot records, cargo, and destination) to go off of, but with their expertise it might be just a matter of time before they put two and two together and got her name.

And then . . . with two murders under her belt, and blockade running and smuggling charges . . . it was a short trip to the dinner pit. Arya holstered her weapons, and bent over the female, checking her vitals.

[Threepio]

C-3PO was still quite helpless on the deck plating, pinned under the dead Cizerack soldier. Mistress Arya was checking the pilot's neck, and Threepio spoke up helpfully, "The chances of anyone surviving a blaster bolt from such a close range is exactly one in twenty-three millions. I'm quite certain she is dead. Good work?"

He pushed at the Cizerack, managing to shove the body a few inches, his servos complaining. Mistress Arya picked up the female under the armpits, the blond head of the pilot sagging against her red uniformed shoulders. She didn't speak a word, only grunted and dragged the pilot over Threepio and the other Cizerack, and down the hall.

Threepio waved his arms from his position on the ground. "Wait! What about meee?"