SOS

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Byter sat down in the pilot' seat, his left arm giving him trouble again. Dang it, always happened when those freaking troopers caught him in the act, his arm having that faint throb from that one wound a few years back. But now, he was in some serious Rancor dung. The Bantha Spit, his ship, was barely able to get off-planet before it started stalling. Then, the hyper-drive went out as did his main engine. He had been trying to fix it, but almost combusted instead. He sighed and leaned back, his old clothing feeling very scratchy and his need for Churban Brandy was giving him a headache.

Looks like there was no other option. He looked at the vast array of buttons, switches and knobs that controlled his old YK-1930 Transport and scratched his chin. Which button opened the coms network again? He sighed and flicked a light blue switch near the steering rods. "This Captain..... James Smith of the YK-1930 Class Freighter Bantha Spit, hailing all other ships. I've seen to run into a bit of trouble with my engines. Anyone out there able to respond to my SOS?"

He switched off the mic and sat back, waiting. Then, right out of the blue, the radio crackled to life and a voice spoke.

(The voice would be whoever responds.)

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Melly paced back an forth like a caged animal. She was quiet an deep in thought. An array of mental maps were spread across the room as she picked out the worst and least known traveling routes. The ship that she was aboard was stolen, but was lightyears away from anyone who knew about it. After all the person who 'owned' this ship had stolen it long before she got her hands on it. She didn't have any plans to keep it. It was just for getting from point A to point B and so on. The trick was to get there without being followed, arrested, or killed. The life of a smuggler was a risky one. At least when the pickings were weak. She took what she got. Tommorrow she'd call herself a bounty hunter if the need arose for one.

Suddenly the radio went off, causing Melly to jump. A message had been picked up and blurted loudly through the freighter. It was clearly a call for help, but from whom? There shouldn't have been any other ships in the area. Her eyes narrowed as she approached the communication device. "James Smith? Really?" Whoever it was, they were obviously using a false name. Clever.

She had a mind to ignore the SOS and continue on. It may have very well been a trap and she was in no position to deal with the authorities. However, it could also be a real plead for help. Just because she did what she did didn't mean she was a barbarian. Against her better judgement she responded: "What's your position, Captain Smith?" Her voice sounded irritable, but the tone was most likely lost through the static.

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Byter gave a small smile. Someone responded. But, for what he was planning, they just fell for the bait. After all, might as well use this as a golden oppurtunity to grab a little extra dough. Or a new ship. "Thirty two klicks from the Anoat Belt, engines have failed as well as hyperspeed generators and back-up thrusters."

He clicked off his Ship com and prepped the ship for boarding. Then, he sat back and waited. He gave a slight cough and got out of his seat, walking out into the circular main area and ran down the small hallway to the main engines.

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About two klick's away a floating Scorch waited silenty. He saw a broken down piece of crap ship, and heard the broadcast system going.
"Huh...Well I'm not busy anyway's...Not like I have anyhting really to do..." So, Scorch decided to use the remaining fuel to fly over to the distant ship, hoping his jetpack had enough fuel for him to get there before his life support system went down.
"Man...I hope they have some good food, I'm starving...." Scorch muttered, his blaster rifle in one hand, and his other hand on the pack strap to hold it to him and propeling him forward.

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Melly narrowed her eyes. This was probably the first-and last time-she was going to pick up a stray. With the coordinates in mind she pushed the ship forward. It didn't take long before the wrecked ship came into veiw. "No wonder you're stuck out here." She shook her head, losing a bit of faith in humanity.

Her hand trailed over her weapon, a blue bladed lightsaber. Mel had an uneasy feeling about this. Then again, she always did. "Alright Captain Smith," She put emphasis on his name, bringing her freighter in close to his ship. "welcome aboard." She spoke to herself, rather than into the radio. Something however caught her attention, just catching it from the corner of her eye. She'd thought she'd seen something heading towards the stalled ship...but wasn't entirely sure as it had moved out of her veiw.

Melly shrugged it off and turned away from the controls. She needed to be there when the stranger boarded. With her lightsaber in hand, she left the cockpit.

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Byter walked around the corner to his airlock and pressed a few buttons, not trusting the automated clamp. He let the code go through the main network and the process was complete. He pressed another button, the doors unpressurizing to form a very slight hallway to each ship.

Then, the door opened and he glimpsed the dim interior of the ship just as the pilot came into view. Wait, what? It was a woman......... this was going to make this much harder. "Hi. Uh, the engines back here and I think there's a toolbox or something right by it. So, uh, welcome."

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"I'm not here to fix your ship." She replied to him quickly. Melly didn't have the time or knowledge to mess with it. "There's no fixing this...ship..." She was reluctant to even call it that. With one glance around the room she turned back to him. "Are you the stray?" Her grip on her lightsaber tightened. "Don't try anything stupid. I have no problem slicing you into ribbons." It was meant to be more of a warning. She wouldnt actually harm him unless he gave her a reason to. He looked just a couple years older than her. She could take him.

Still, curiosity was poking at her. "Why...did you try to fly this thing out here? You do realize that it couldn't possibly make one trip. I'm shocked you even got off a planet." Melly took a step closer and peered at him as if he was crazy.

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Byter watched as she tightened her grip on that stick in her hand. Was that some sort of tool? Or weapon? He gave a small sigh. "I had a really bad business deal and didn't have time to make the necessary repairs."

He turned and walked down his hallway. "This baby isn't much, but it's got a little sentimental value with me. As many times as I try, it still breaks down. Maybe this is her last trip. Maybe not. I've seen her in worse shape. All I need is to get her to a good mechanic and you--"

He whipped out one of his blasters, it already warm in his hand. "--Are going to take me there."

He grabbed his grappling whip off his belt as well, knowing that if she went for a weapon, he would have to use his whip to grab it before she could use it. He gave a small clearing of his throat. "Sorry 'bout this. Smuggler's gotta do what a smuggler's gotta do, even if it is for this piece of crap machine."

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Melly growled and took a step back at his comment. She knew it! "It's a trap!" She scowled to herself. Should have known better.

The girl activated her lightsaber and held it in front of her defensively. "I don't think so." She replied. "I'll be leaving now, if you don't mind." She took a few steps back and observed his body language. He had a plan--it was written all over his face. What were his motives? The blaster didn't phase her. She knew she could block his attacks. Unless she didn't have her weapon. Without it she feared the worst. There was always the force but it was unreliable. A blaster lay idle on her freighter, but she didn't think to bring it along.

"While I agree with that, I refuse to be your puppet in whatever you're planning. Stand down, and we won't have a problem.."

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With a small shock of surprise, he blinked. A lightsaber? She had a bloody lightsaber? Only jedi could use those! Crap, he didn't know he was messing with a fricking jedi!

He reufused to stand down as she said. "Stand down? What are you, a soldier?"

The smuggler couldn't tell. First off, she had a lightsaber, spoke like a trooper, and agreed with him about the smuggler's code. What the heck was she? He shook his head, then got back to business. His grappling whip came to life and flew at her, but not at her specifically. The cord wrapped around the hilt of the weapon and he pulled, letting it come to him. Her grip was obviously not that good as it came to him. Now, it was flying at him. Crap. He ducked, but it still grazed his cheek. A thin line of blood was now dripping off his face. He scrambled to his feet and chut it off. He turned back to her, feeling the weight of it in his hand. "I don't want to do this, but you force my hand. All I want is to get to Tatoiine with this ship and without any trouble. Seriously, that's all I want. I don't have enough credits to buy a better ship, so all I can do is repair this one."

He felt a small lump rise in his throat. "I can't afford to stay in one place for too long."

He kept his blaster trained on her. He had no desire to kill anyone and really didn't want to do this at all. But, fate forced his hand. Without anywhere else to go, he was probably going to die here in space. His face hardened. "Get to your cockpit, now."

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She was all of the above.

Melly winced as the only thing keeping her apart from him was whipped right out of her hand. "No!" Her hands clenched tightly into fists. A smirk appeared on her face as his cheek was sliced. A small, small victory.

"Tatoiine?" She echoed. She wasn't heading anywhere near there. "Damnit, that takes me way off course! It's too far!" She argued with him, her hands raising up and folding behind her head. She wasn't sure if he was planning to shoot her and didn't want to set him off. There was no way to defend herself if he decided to fire. Melly cursed in her head, regretting the decision to pick this guy up. "I didn't force you to do anything..." Her voice muttered.

She turned at his command and slowly made her way back to her freighter. She would do what he wanted, for now. "You'll regret this."

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He already was. She reminded him so much of Kayla, just the wya that she carried herself and her personality. The obvious similarity was staring him right in the face. He cleared his throat as he followed her with a blaster trained on her back.

He ducked under the entrance, knowing that she probably had some kind of weapon in there, but he was ready for it. "Now, I know that this ship probably has hyperdrive, so it shouldn't take that long to get to Tatoinne if you just use that. Then, I'll be out of your hair."

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He didn't understand. "This ship can't be seen!" Melly responded. "Not by anyone, and landing it on a planet is the WORST way to stay hidden. I was using routes that are least known...if I go off course then I won't be able to get back!" She turned around to face him. Her expression was pleading him not to take the ship. For once she actually looked worried.

He was close enough where she could tackle him and wrestle the blaster an lightsaber from his person. But that was way too risky. Once more she turned away from him and headed for the cockpit. Her blaster rested on one of the seats and she could easily get to it; provided she got there first. Which she did. With the male aiming the gun at her back, she would be the first to step into the small place. Her body tensed up as adrenaline rushed through her. Her next move could be a deadly one.

As they entered the cockpit she lunged forward and reached out to grab the gun. Melly would not hesitate to shoot, or kill him this time. In fact she planned on it. There would be no mercy for someone who held her at gunpoint. If the girl succeeded she'd drag his body back into his scrap metal of a ship and leave him to the cold emptiness of space. "Good Night, Stray..." 'Stray', being his unofficial nickname.

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Byter already knew what was coming when he heard the words and automatically ducked. Great, now she had a weapon. Without hesitation, he fired back, but he wasn't in an open space. The bolt simmered into the wall plates. He mentally cursed and bit his tongue as he rolled behind a nearby corner. He knew how to use guns. After all, when you had one of the best imperial guards seen as one of your teachers, you knew how to use guns. But, he was terrible with rifles. He grabbed the other blaster off his belt and loaded a power core. He gave a small sigh, then let of three shots in quick succession. One of them, hit a wall panel, the next a control panel.

The other one was heading for the cockpit window. His face turned to one filled with horror. Crap.





This was why he hated cramped spaces.

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Melly was able to dodge most of his attacks. She too ducked behind a seat and fired at the corner he was hiding behind. Her dark blue eyes watched as the first two shots damaged the wall and control panel. The third however, caused her to jump from her barrier. "NO!" She screamed, holding a palm out instinctively. The force was used to redirect the shot into the side of the ship. If that had hit its original target, they both would have been dead. Melly had just saved both their lives.

The turn of events irritated her greatly. She would no longer risk firing at him in fear that she wouldn't be able to save them a second time. She was force sensitive, but not a user. She knew very little of the power. "GET OFF MY SHIP!" Melly screamed at him, her face turning red. "Before you kill us both! Do you know what could have happened?" She stormed towards him. The concern for the rest of the damage was at the back of her mind. "Now I regret this! Should have just left you there! One less smuggler to compete with!"