It ain't pretty, but it was home

[ikinai]

Captain Ikinai sat at the controls of her ship, looking out at the expanse of asteroids in front of her. She rubbed the implant next to her eye without thinking, it had been iritating her lately. 'I should just replace it.' She thought to herself. There had to be someone out there with something comparable she could replace it with, right? Instead of going back to the lab, out there, in one of those asteroids?

 

"Stupid prototypes." She muttered under her breath.

 

In unison Corso and Risha asked, "Did you say something?"

 

"Nothing, nothing. Just my stupid implant is acting up again." she said not really paying close attention.

 

It's out there. One of those asteroids, it is there, maybe. Maybe the lab is still there, she told herself. It seemed like eons ago. Test subject number two. That was her designation. Her little sister, not so little anymore, a Major in the Republic armed forces now, was subject number three. The secret lab, run by the Velocity Corporation, was their home for a while as children. Along with the other test subjects. The lab was part of the Czerka Corporation, but was deemed highly unethical in Republic space. They were researching implants that could augment or even enable force abilities, to some degree. That's what the research computers indicated, at least. They would take children, force sensitive and non-force sensitive, and test the implants on them. That's how Captain Ikinai wound up here, at this particular moment.

 

Iki was a non-force sensitive. The first to get implants. The machine parts they added grew with her, into her, became a part of her, and now, one of the older prototypes was failing. She needed it replaced. Sure she could head over to Nar Shaddaa and get something. Or maybe one of the back alley dealers on Corellia, there are some fine craftsman there. But she wanted the original, the one she knows. The one she grew up with. There has to be one still in the lab.

 

Question being, was the lab still there? And is it still empty?

 

Closing her eyes and inhaling sharply, Iki reaches out towards the thruster controls of her freighter. As the ship heads in to the asteroid field she exhales slowly and opens her eyes.

 

"Well, here goes nothing." She says matter of factly.

[ikinai]

The captain piloted her way through the asteroid debris; watching for larger moving objects. Listening to the beeping and buzzing alarms going off as sensors in the cockpit reacted to near ship objects.

 

"Captain, that's an awfully large asteroid, you might want to.." Corso trailed off as he instinctively ducked, as if it would stop an asteroid from smashing into the ship. "Well, that was close."

 

There was an audible scratching noise as Iki came just a little too close to one of the asteroids. In the back of her mind she could hear Guss as if he were in the cabin with the three of them. 'Maybe not so close next time.' She chuckled at the thought of Guss watching. Guss didn't like being around for these types of adventures 'It's too stressful.' He'd say, clutching at his heart as if having a heart attack when he had to be in the cockpit with Iki for trips like this. Just as well she thought, this one is a bit more stressful than other flights through asteroid fields they've had.

 

"Anything on the scanners that looks like a facility?" Iki asked, not taking her eyes off the field in front of her.

 

"Nothing." Risha said. "Wait, fifteen point two degrees to starboard, minus twenty-three on our horizon. Setting vector coordinates."

 

"Shields holding steady at ninety-two percent Captain." Corso chimed in. "Our close call has knocked loose the aft dampener controls though, we may need to get a droid out to repair it before we land."

 

Reflexively flaring her nostrils as the left side of her mouth curled up, a nervous habit she hated. She glances back towards Corso peering at him, her eyes like lasers burning a hole in durasteel. Snapping her head back towards the front she slowly pulled back on the thrusters and moved in close to a larger asteroid. She started messing with a few dials and enlarged the head up display on the front window screen.

 

"Captain?"

 

Iki brought a single finger to her lips as if shushing a class of school children being too noisy in the library. Then points that finger to the display. Something was out there, something that shouldn't be there. Or should it? "I've got a baaad feeling about this." She said.

 

Corso and Risha look at each other, then back to the display. "Captain?" They say together.

[Lunafox]

Yay! You decided to post. Loving Captain Iki's adventure so far, I'm curious where it will lead and if she'll manage to get her upgrade. I also like the way you set the ship's course, with vectors and degrees and everything. It sounded very authentic, I liked it.

[ikinai]

Yay! You decided to post. Loving Captain Iki's adventure so far, I'm curious where it will lead and if she'll manage to get her upgrade. I also like the way you set the ship's course, with vectors and degrees and everything. It sounded very authentic, I liked it.

 

(thanks, I have a good idea of where it goes, still working out the in-between bits. Now, if only work would stop interrupting my writing time...)

[MishaCantu]

Another new story to read, I always look forward to works from new writers. I am already sympathetic to Ikinai's plight in searching for a suitable replacement for her implant and the dangers she and her crew may face in this endeavor.

 

Darn that pesky work, always getting in the way of game play, or reading or writing, a necessary evil of life, more's the pity.

 

I am looking forward to what awaits your captain and crew.

[frauzet]

When the main char has bad feelings about something, that's usually good for the reader

 

Looking forward to the trouble ahead.

[ikinai]

"That one there the KDY TT-50, what is a T.H.O.R.N. containment ship doing out here? There's an XS freighter, unmarked. What looks to be a Hutt pleasure barge, and if I'm not mistaken the last ship belongs to Jhi H'awa, the bounty hunter." Ikinai mused as she watched the ships maneuver towards the landing bay."

 

"Captain?", Corso said his voice a little shaky. "We've got us a fifth ship just come out of hyperspace on the sensors, looks to be Siener interdictor class, possibly imperial."

 

Iki looked out at the gathering ships. Pondering her next move. "Okay, so we have a light freighter, possibly a smuggler, a bounty hunter, a Hutt, the fortified transport from Hyland, and now an imperial crashes the party? Sounds like a joke, and I'm not liking the punchline. So, a Hutt and his bounty hunter walk into a research facility. The imperial asks, 'What's with the rakghoul?' The Thorn agent says, 'That's not a rakghoul, that's my smuggler!'"

 

"All jokes aside Iki, I don't think it is wise to proceed until they clear out." Risha commented.

 

"Duly noted. But, if we can slip by the imperial cruiser unnoticed we could make it to the back door. Corso, what's the distance to the bottom of the planetoid?"

 

"About ten kilometers, captain. But, don't you mean the other side of the facility, for the back door?"

 

"Well sure, if that's where it was, it's actually at the bottom, so about four kilometers below the facility itself. There is a refuse bay, when Tatakoo and I came back a few years ago we found it when exploring the facility. Course Tata is all busy now with the Repbulic army or whatever, she didn't even answer my holo. The refuse bay was there so that any 'evidence' of what was going on at the facility was disposed of completely. A ship would come and haul away anything left down there. So, it had most of the protections the standard docking bay has, gravity markers, atmosphere, condensers, cameras and such. It's just not as noticeable, and has a different access code, which we sort of changed."

 

"Uh cameras, captain? Won't they see us coming if they are in the facility?"

 

"They would, my good man, if they hadn't been changed to look at the garbage bin instead of the platforms and stairwells. But, that still leaves the imperial vessel, if it sees us, we're probably not going to make it there."

 

"So we wait?"

 

"Risha, Risha, Risha. Since when have I ever been able to wait? Besides, aren't you curious as to what is going on?"

[MishaCantu]

Huh, a confab in space. I love the little joke and the description of the base. The homage to the Brady Bunch made me chuckle, Risha, Risha, Risha (Marsha, Marsha, Marsha). Forgive if that was not the intent, but that's how it hit me.

 

Looking forward to seeing how this backdoor caper turns out.

[ikinai]

Huh, a confab in space. I love the little joke and the description of the base. The homage to the Brady Bunch made me chuckle, Risha, Risha, Risha (Marsha, Marsha, Marsha). Forgive if that was not the intent, but that's how it hit me.

 

Looking forward to seeing how this backdoor caper turns out.

 

(oh most definitely, I can't help but throw in some odd references And soon it will see more action. I've been trying to learn better pacing in my writing. But we will soon have an interlude with HK-51, what could possibly go wrong there?)

[Lunafox]

I do love Captain Iki's composure. Love the way she keeps her cool, and the line about that situation sounding like a joke and her not liking the punchline was awesome. ^^

[ikinai]

"Okay, so you remember that delivery we made on Dantooine a while back?" Ikinai turned towards her shipmates and asked.

 

"The Corellian Crystal set?" Corso asked.

 

"You mean the Nexu cubs?" Risha added.

 

"Or the official ball from the Galactic Huttball championships?"

 

"No. No, and, is that really what we were delivering? That Jedi is an odd fellow. So, when we were delivering the Yavin artifacts to the enclave. Remember how we got by the planetary defense ships? We should be able to modify the tracking system again to show us a few kilometers out of sync. Of course that means we'll be flying blind, into a small hole, on a tumbling planetoid in an asteroid field with thousands of pieces of moving debris. But, they'll be chasing a phantom ship. For a little while, until they figure it out, and hope they don't have ion trail analysis equipment."

 

The crew started on rewiring the ships holo terminal to project a short distance the ships coordinates. Effectively changing the ships location on any scanners that another ship would be looking at. The downside being, the ship coordinate system is off by several kilometers, necessitating the pilot use visual clues of where to fly. Even in the most clear of skies, a daunting task to land blind.

 

The team checked each others work to make sure it was operating as intended. Double checking the wiring, the scanning software, rebooting systems to enable the projection, Iki declared everything in place. Taking a deep breath she starts the short range drives up, ready for the quick trip to the facility.

 

Ten kilometers, even as fast as a starship can travel, is a remarkably long distance when navigating by sight in an asteroid field. Especially with all the alarms sounding as the instruments are scanning the field of travel from several kilometers out of view. Luckily, being in an asteroid field also allows a small ship such as an XS freighter to fly through unnoticed by the naked eye, particularly when looking in the wrong direction.

 

"Send the entry code on the sub-space frequency of ten dot six six seven." Ikinai barked out the order.

 

Corso typed into the sub space transceiver, "Aye Captain, ten dot six six seven, code clearance request sent and received. Garbage bay doors opening."

 

"Killing sub light engines. Initiating landing procedures. End holo transmission. Send sub space request for facility doors be closed." The ship landed in the bay, skittering across the bay slightly. Iki shutdown the systems, leaving just the life support systems operating on the ship. "Alright, we set the life support systems offline in this section, so that it didn't look operational. We'll need to take life support with us. Gravity markers should still be working though, just no air."

 

"Let's get the system rewired before we leave the ship, just in case we need to leave in a hurry." Risha said as she pulled a hydrospanner from the toolbox.

 

"An excellent idea, I'll get HK out to patrol the perimeter, just in case." The captain made her way to the storage quarters of the ship, finding the droids awaiting her commands. "HK, I need you to patrol the area, make sure there are no hostiles in the area. Be discrete."

 

"Query: Master, with what prejudice should I execute your orders?"

 

Ikinai raised an eyebrow and with a rye smile, "Extreme."

 

"Captain Ikinai, what should I do?" See-too asked.

 

"After we leave, lock the doors, keep the engines warm, and hope you don't get discovered."

 

With what could only be considered a robotic sigh, See-too said, "That's comforting Captain."

[Lunafox]

I'm really liking the adventures of Captain Iki, she's a clever cookie. And the droid reactions at the end, especially C2 were cute.

[MishaCantu]

I second what Luna said. Capt. Iki does have a few tricks up her sleeve. I liked the details that went into making their 'ghost' ship, nice touch and sneaky. Yay, some HK love, don't see much of that.

 

Waiting for more.

Edited October 4, 2016 by MishaCantu

[ikinai]

Sliding the bolt out and back in to place where the weapon charge pack is held to ensure proper insertion of the weapons power core, HK hummed to himself while checking his weapon. An odd quirk he picked up being on this new crew. He almost seemed giddy with the thought of being allowed to use his skills of execution and assassination.

 

"Declaration: Thank the Maker for this weapon, may it serve me well. May it shoot true and with precision."

 

The droid picked up a few more charge packs, just in case, and made his way to the bridge. As he was passing by the quarters where Akaavi usually was, he noticed a blade, short, but perfect for a concealed attack from the shadows.

 

HK entered the room and took the blade into his hand, "Justification: Akaavi is not here and will have no need for this old blade, whereas I have a great need for it." Stuffing the Ceremonial Blade of the Spar Clan into his side compartment, he continued on towards the bridge.

 

"Proclamation: Masters, I will now begin my patrol."

 

Captain Ikinai waved a hand towards HK as she peered down at the navigation console she had taken apart. Taking this as a dismissed gesture, the droid turned to leave the ship. Turning back towards the group working on the rewiring project, "Query: Captain? Is there anything I should pay particular attention to?"

 

"If it moves, and isn't one of us, take it out." Iki said, then looking up briefly added, "As quietly as possible."

 

"Resignation: Of course, Captain."

 

HK made his way to the docking bay, the airlock hissing closed behind him as he silently moved into the dark shadows. Lights flickered in a small alcove off to the side of the bay. A small terminal, covered in silt and debris tried to project through the dust covering it's projector. Making his way in that direction, he cautiously checked the terminal for any transmitting frequencies that may be open. The terminal appears to have recently been activated, but there were no markings in the dust to indicate it had been turned on from the alcove.

 

The droid decided it best to leave it as is, so as not to alarm whomever, or whatever, had turned it on. Making his way around the perimeter of the docking bay, taking note of cameras and direction of view, he surveyed the surroundings. Scanning for heat signatures, as well as droid activities, HK made his way to the stairwell.

 

"Report: Master, I have encountered no resistance as yet, womprats, a mynock and possible droid activity has been detected. I will investigate the droid further."

 

There was a small room detected behind the stairwell, with no visible path to it. This is where the droid appeared to be. "Investigation: The schematics provided by Captain Ikinai, show no entry into that room, and yet, there appears to be a droid and terminal equipment inside."

 

Searching the stairwell, looking for a vent or pathway, HK meticulously investigated every crack for a possible entry way.

 

"Summation: I believe there to be a secret panel in one of the light junction boxes. A short frequency data burst is repeating. I will need to hijack the signal and change the frequency, perhaps this will open the door."

 

Following the data stream to one of the lights flickering in the stairwell, HK deftly opened the casing. A small clamp emerged from a fingertip attaching itself to the wire that was not attached to the light, HK began decoding the signal. "Exclamation: Got you, HK one, data stream zero."

 

A soft whir sounded from below behind the stairs. Dust puffed out as the old air hidden behind the closed door rushed out in to the cold. The hinges squealed and creaked as decades of being unused suddenly was reversed. Light filtered out from the room. The terminal was clean and definitely had recently been used. The light spilled out into the darkened hallway with its bluish tint.

 

HK quickly entered the doorway with his rifle trained on the terminal keyboard. A slight scratching sound could be heard from around the corner, like a metal chair being dragged across the floor in short bursts. A worn metal hand reached out towards the keyboard. A shot. The droids hand fell to the floor.

 

"Interrogation: Who are you, and why are you locked in this room?"

 

The other droid stood motionless as it looked down at its hand clanking on the floor under the terminal. Snapping out of shock, the droid looked up at HK. "By the Maker. You took my arm." The vocabulator warbling as if the droid hadn't said anything for some time.

 

"Insistence: What is your designation and function?"

 

As if noticing the weapon trained on its head for the first time, the droid replied. "I am, was, an HR-14. I recovered things for my masters."

 

With a somewhat pitiful stare, HK pressed forward, pushing the HR unit back, nearly causing it to fall as it's leg was somewhat out of repair.

 

"Declaration: A hunter recovery droid, your series was discontinued nearly thirty years ago. Query: Did you alert the organics in the facility?"

 

"Of...of course not." The HR unit responded. In a split second the sound of another shot, the HR units head rolling to the back of the room, the arm holding a stun shot flails back to the side of the now headless unit.

 

"HK? What's with all the shooting? I said quietly!" The sounds of the captain filled the droids auditory sensors.

 

Off to the side a holoprojector comes on, "Droid? HR? You there? What's going on?"

 

"Response: Captain, prepare for company."

Edited October 6, 2016 by ikinai

[MishaCantu]

What a delightful chapter. I loved the part about HK humming a little tune, but I can actually see him doing that. You do seem to have a good grip on his character and his voice. Good job.

 

I especially liked the following line.

 

"Exclamation: Got you, HK one, data stream zero."

 

Excited to find out who's on the other side of the holo.

[ikinai]

The flickering holo transmission cast shadows in the dingy room at odd angles on the wall. HKs shadow danced across the wall like a Twi'lek childrens puppet play. Turning his head towards the terminal projector HK raised the butt of his rifle in a motion to strike the projector.

 

The person on the other end, more frantically speaking, hailed HK, "You there, what business do you have in this facility? What have you done to my droid?"

 

"Clarification: I have done nothing to your droid, 'master'." HK stated. "Aside: That it didn't deserve."

 

"This is Overseer Lithern, I am the duly appointed overseer of this facility from Czerka Corporation, you are in violation of ordinance two thirty-five dot vee section twelve sub section e, of the Treaty of Coruscant and the sovereignty of said entity, Czerka Corporation, to operate freely without Republic oversight in this sector of the galaxy. I would kindly request you stay put until my security detail, Darth Androma, arrives. She will escort you to the offices."

 

HK slammed the butt of his rifle into the holoterminal. "Recitation: I will kindly end this call."

 

The droid made his way to the stairwell, he could hear doors opening far up the shaft housing the stairs. Silently moving through the shadows, HK made his way upwards. The door quickly closed and a light whirring could be heard in the walls as the ventilation pushed oxygen slowly into the area. A few flights up, HK noticed a small hole that appeared to be a womprat den. Glancing up the stairwell and back at the den he quickly slid into the hole.

 

"Declaration: Being a droid is magnificent, and now we wait."

 

HK could hear the group coming down the stairs, the footsteps of the troopers escorting the sith lord stopping just around the corner from where HK was hiding.

 

"Leftenant Harrow, take the private and check out the landing. Something feels off." Darth Androma quietly said to the imperial shock troops with her.

 

The lieutenant motioned the private to take a position towards the next flight of stairs, indicating he should look back towards the other side of the wall just around the corner. The privates modified K-56 special operations disruptor in position as he pivoted back towards the wall. He drew his weapon ready, pointing it into the hole where HK had entered.

 

"Sir. We've got movement." The private said.

 

"Light 'em up with a few rounds, mate." Harrow instructed. After a few shots into the hole, Lieutenant Harrow peered in, shining his attached torch around the den.

 

"Looks to go a fair bit of a ways into the asteroid, Sir." Harrow said to Darth Androma. Pulling out a half blasted womprat. "Womprats, Sir."

 

Darth Androma looked at the private, then back at the hole in the wall, "You look to be fairly small for an IST, into the hole SG866, find me what went down there."

 

The two guards looked at each other then to the sith lord. Lieutenant Harrow nodded towards the hole with a bit of a shrug, "Do what you signed up for, mate."

 

In a dark recess, just out of view, HK pulled Akaavis blade out, readying himself for a close attack.

[Lunafox]

I do love your take on HK and look forward to the next part!

[frauzet]

I second Luna. Your HK makes me smile. Looking forward to the next part.

[ikinai]

Thanks

 

Honest, I'm still here, kind of, stupid work, then next week jury duty, then VACATION for Halloween, but after that, more story to come

Edited October 20, 2016 by ikinai