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Airlock
More of a storage area for the boarding ramp than anything, this room
provides direct access to the interior of the ship. The ramp forms the
floor of the room once retracted, and a round archway opens out into
the starboard corridor.
Ponda Baba shoves Poe into the airlock.
Evazan climbs in through the hatch. "Quickly, Ponda! All is ready to
take off. To the cockpit!"
Poe moves away from Ponda as they get inside the ship. His face, while
not burning, is tender. "Can you fly us out of here?" He asks as he
moves towards the cockpit.
Evazan wheels on Poe. "I flew her in here, didn't I? You watch
yourself. I have the death penalty in NINE systems! Don't question
me!"
Starboard Corridor
Directly across from the boarding ramp is the access tunnel for the
upper and lower gun turrets, accessible via a ladder bolted to the far
wall of the tunnel. Curving forward, a short tunnel branches off into
the cockpit. The corridor continues forward and opens out into the
main hold. Some of the access panels on the corridor walls are
partially there or have been removed entirely, exposing some of the
interior workings of the ship.
Poe shakes his head to Evazan and holds up his hands, "Look, I'm not
questioning you or anything, just trying to off my assistance. Jeeron
Poe, by the way."
Ponda Baba grunts, jerking his head toward Poe as he stares at the
doctor with glittering black eyes. "Tongue, never stop."
Evazan nods to Ponda. "I noticed. But..." he turns to look at Poe.
"You can fly? Are you good?"
Poe shrugs, "I haven't been in behind the console in over a month, but
I used to be pretty decent." He glances at Baba, but doesn't say
anything.
Evazan grunts. "Fine. We see if you are good enough." He moves toward
the cockpit.
Cockpit
This cramped cockpit looks like a cone with the top shaved off from
the outside. The top half of the cone is sectioned into window panes,
culminating in a semi-circular forward pane. The entire cockpit is one
large console, with the main controls arranged on the forward console
beneath the window. There are four seats here, two at the console and
two behind. A sliding hatchway leads out into the rest of the ship.
Poe moves towards the console. "As soon as they find the officer's
body, they'll be trying to shoot us down."
Evazan straps himself in to the copilot seat. "Fly!" he snaps.
Poe hops into the seat and starts to man the controls.
The ship sways and bumps as it lifts from the surface of the ground.
Poe says, "Lifting off. Destination?"
Ponda Baba settles with a grunt into a chair.
"Tatooine. And if you are worried about them shooting at us, you can
stay!" Evazan says angrily. "Ponda and I are leaving, right, Ponda?"
You feel a sudden jerk as the ship speeds up.
A voice comes across the crackling comm system: "Attention, Death
Shroud - halt and prepare to be boarded!" Through the viewport, a star
destroyer can be seen between the freighter and the asteroid field.
Three TIE fighters drop out of the primary bay and arc toward the
freighter.
Ponda Baba grunts, nodding to Evazan. "Solo," he growls.
Poe shakes his head and just works the controls. "You going to man the
guns? We've got company."
"You worry about flying! Ponda and I worry about guns. Right, Ponda?"
Evazan says.
"Solo," the Aqualish growls, hunkering down in his seat.
Poe continues to work the controls. He doesn't say anything, but it
shows that he's somewhat rusty.
Poe manages to dodge two of the fighters, but the third gets a bead on
the Death Shroud and fires, hitting the shield generator. The ship
lurches from the impact.
A voice comes across the crackling comm system: "I repeat, Death
Shroud - halt and prepare to be boarded!" The TIE fighters maneuver
around to prepare for another sweep of the freighter.
All three TIE fighters evade the Death Shroud's blasts, and continue
herding the freighter toward the waiting star destroyer.
Poe manages to evade two of the three TIEs, but one of them locks onto
the ship and fires again, hitting the power generator. The lights
inside the ship flicker and life support whines as the auxiliaries
struggle to compensate.
Poe mutters under his breath as the lights flicker. His reactions are
starting to pick up, but it's still not enough.
Evazan fails to hit any of his targets, and the TIEs keep edging Death
Shroud toward the menacing wedge of the star destroyer.
Evazan grunts as his shots miss again. "What's the matter with you?"
he barks at Poe. "Not closer! Farther away!" he points at the star
destroyer.
Poe doesn't answer, just concentrates on evasion and flying. He
continues to try his best to maneuver away from the Star Destroyer
while avoiding the fighters.
Poe dodges one of the TIEs, but the other two get locked on, firing
their cannons and hammering the shield generators, causing Death
Shroud to buck violently - first port, then starboard. The shields are
gone.
All three TIE fighters easily dodge the doctor's flailing energy
blasts. The star destroyer looms ahead. And from the primary landing
bay of the great wedge drop *twelve* TIE/In fighters, arcing around to
close the gap and join the first three.
Huffing, staring out through the viewport, Ponda Baba growls: "No
hope."
Evazan turns and looks at Ponda. "I'm sorry Ponda. I tried! At least
you don't die in the mines."
Poe growls, "If we're not dead there is still hope. We didn't die in
the floods, we're not going to die here."
The hyperdrive charge indicator begins to flash. The Death Shroud is
now capable of going into hyperspace.
Poe lets out a woot. "We're clear! Prepare to jump."
The ship hums loudly as it enters into hyperspace.
Evazan sighs, and settles back in his seat.
Ponda Baba pulls a clawed hand away from his skewered gut wound. His
prison uniform is all wet with blood. He grunts, sits forward, then
leans over to the right, thumping against the bulkhead.
Poe glances at the astrogator. "We'll be at Tatooine in around ten
minutes. Will we be safe there? If I remember right, the Impies used
to patrol that area every so often."
"We will be safe there," Evazan says. "Jabba rules Tatooine. No
imperials there now, they left a few days ago." He turns and looks at
Ponda Baba. "Ponda! I forgot you are wounded." He unstraps himself
from his seat, and moves to attend the Aqualish.
Ponda Baba doesn't respond. He remains inert, hunched against the
bulkhead.
Poe glances back at Ponda. "Can you help him?" He seems concerned,
slightly.
The ship reverberates as it drops out of hyperspace.
Evazan nods, and wraps Ponda's arm around his shoulder, pulling him up
and back toward the main hold. "I'll see what I can do for him, but he
needs bacta."
Poe nods and goes back to piloting.
The ship hums loudly as it enters into hyperspace.
The ship reverberates as it drops out of hyperspace.
Ponda Baba coughs, grunts, groggily regaining consciousness as he's
heaved up by the doctor. He bellows: "No!" And then pushes himself
away, falling on his back.
Poe says, "We'll be landing in less than a minute."
You feel the ship begin to slow.
Evazan looks at Ponda in surprise. "What's wrong, Ponda? I can help
you. Give you one of my special treatments." There's something about
the way Evazan says "special" that seems a little unsettling.
Poe frowns at the conversation, but just says, "Prepare for descent."
The ship shudders as the retrojets engage and the ship begins its
descent.
The ship rotates slowly and fires braking thrusters as its struts
touch down.
Ponda Baba growls weakly, waving a clawed hand at the doctor. "No
treat..." He drags himself up to his elbows, shuffling back toward the
bulkhead so he can sit with his back against it. "No treat..." He
grunts, gets up on his feet in a crouch, draping his bloodied, clawed
hands over his knees. And then he falls forward - THUMP! - face first
on the deck, arms at his sides.
Poe stands up from the console. "What's the matter with him?" He looks
from the Doctor to the falled Aqualish.
Evazan pulls Ponda around onto his back, and presses his hand against
the wound. He pulls it away, soaked with blood. He sniffs his hand,
and then licks some of the blood off his fingers. "I can't imagine,"
he says.
Poe frowns, "Is there a bacta tank on Tatooine?"
Ponda Baba reaches out with a clawed hand, clutching the doctor's
wrist. When he speaks, it's in a hoarse whisper. "Solo. Kill him. For
me." And then, the clawed hand releases Evazan's wrist and falls
lifeless to the deck.
Evazan frowns, although it's hard to tell with his twisted and scarred
mouth. "Not sure," he says. "But Jabba can help. I will hire a speeder
and bring him to Jabba..." He looks down at Ponda as he speaks, and
then he checks the Aqualish for a pulse. "He is dead," he says. "Dead!
Oh, Ponda..." he bends over the Aqualish's body and weeps. "I repaid
my debt, Ponda. And I will do it. I will find him and kill him for
you."
Poe frowns and walks over, looking down at the dead Aqualish. He
doesn't have anything to say. They were never friends, but the
Aqualish did help the pilot escape. And Ponda didn't kill him or eat
his tongue, if that counts for something.
Evazan looks at Ponda's body. "Must get you to the laboratory, Ponda...yes..."
he mutters softly. Then he turns and looks at Poe. "You are hurt, yes?
I can treat you. I am Dr. Evazan. I'll fix you up nice. Good as new.
/Better/ than new." He looks down at Ponda. "He was strong. He was
tough. You want to be as strong as Ponda Baba, maybe? Dr. Evazan can
make it so."
Poe blinks at the doctor. "As strong as Ponda? What do you mean by
that?"
Evazan smiles, a gruesome sight with his scarred face. "As strong as
Ponda!" He looks down at the fallen Aqualish's body. "His arms are
strong! Very strong! I can give them to you, yes! Better than your own
arms. Stronger!"
Poe shudders and shakes his head. "I'm happy with my own arms. Thanks
for the offer though."
Evazan is clearly disappointed. "You are sure? Yes?" He sighs. "Then I
will take Ponda back to my lab," he says, leaving unstated why he
would want to do that. "As for you...imperials will have tracked us
here. Soon they find this ship. I will destroy it. You should go.
Leave Tatooine if you can. They will soon look here."
Poe shudders again, then nods. "I will. I'll hitch a ride to Bespin
for now. Then maybe head out to Nar Shadda." He adds, "Thanks for
taking me a long."
Evazan nods, but continues to look at Ponda Baba's body, a look of
mounting expectation spreading on what remains of his face.
Poe turns towards the exit and starts to walk out. "If you ever need a
favor, you can try and track me down. Not sure where I'll be though."
Evazan nods. "I will remember. And if you change your mind about
Ponda's arms, I should have them for a while. Not forever, though. I
will find another taker."
Poe nods his head, but doesn't answer. He just heads out. |
