KOTORNATURAL Teaser: Hyperspace Hurling
"I said get us out of here, not crush us into space dust Shayna!”
“Well you never said to get us out in one piece, Hayim,” Shayna retorted back as she tried an evasive maneuver that only the most daring of pilots would attempt in a stock freighter model.
“I swear if you hurt my baby…”
“Stow it Hayim. I’m driving and there’s nothing you can do about it right now.”
Hayim sat back in his seat in the co-pilot’s chair and scowled silently asking for forgiveness from the ship as it took a beating. They had narrowly escaped the world of Cato Neimoidia after a job had left them in a bad fix with several officials of one of the bridge cities. It involved those officials losing a considerable horde of valuables to rival business owners. In retaliation those officials sent their troopers after them to arrest them. Upon arrival at the docks, they open fired, leaving them no choice but to return fire.
Shayna had run into the cockpit to get the engines fired up and give the automated gun a workout. Hayim stayed outside to draw fire and buy some time. It worked in that the gun was hitting the troopers but not so lucky for him. A lucky shot hit him in the arm forcing him to retreat up the ship’s ramp. So now he was sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, now regretting that his sister had taken the wheel. “You don’t have to prove that Dad taught you how to fly,” he muttered.
“He taught us both and it was your idea that we stop at the purse world because there was a remote hint that he had been there,” Shayna retorted. She had five fighters on their tail. They had to make the jump into hyperspace. The problem was that the fighters had a clear shot at them and a blind jump could end their trip real fast.
“Observation: It would be most efficient to blast the meatbags instead of trying to escape.”
Hayim turned to glare at the rust colored HK-47 droid that had been nothing but trouble ever since their older brother insisted that they take him along with the astromech that their father left behind. He replied, “How about I space you out the airlock?”
“Statement: A welcome cruelty. Ah just like Master.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Shayna added. “Plot in a course for anywhere even in the middle of a nest gundarks. We may have to make this one blind.”
Hayim was searching through the navicomputer when T3 beeped. Hayim swerved to glance at the droid and replied, “You don’t have to give me a lecture T3. I know the risks of a blind jump: flying through a star, bouncing too close to a supernova…as if we didn’t have enough problems.”
T3 beeped a reply. HK spoke, “Statement: The Master’s spawn harbors delusions of grandeur thinking he can plot coordinates faster than you.”
“I am NOT delusional you bucket of bolts!” Hayim retorted.
“Statement: Oh yes the Master’s spawn thinks himself a hunter. Obviously not of superior craftsmanship like me.”
Hayim scowled and retorted, “At least I am not an assassin.”
“Statement: If you wish to argue semantics then observe that you are wrong.”
Whatever Hayim was going to say was overrun by a sudden ricking of the ship. Hayim turned to look at Shayna who was busy concentrating on the flying. Looking closer, Hayim thought he saw a flicker of mischief in her eyes. She kept her eyes forward as she said, “Funny how those fighters know when to shoot. Makes me wonder.”
Hayim scowled at his sister. He checked the scanners, “They’re gaining on us sis.”
He was not wrong there. The fighters were assuming a formation and were steadily gaining. They were really on a roll. Looking up ahead he saw several more fighters coming straight at them to cut them off. He knew Shayna saw them and she had that look in her eyes. He said, “I hope you aren’t going to do what I think you are going to.” She better not play chicken with them.
“Observation: I believe the spawn of the Republic Meatbag is going to engage in unadulterated violence. Oh how my processor quiver.”
“Can it HK.” Shayna was intent as she continued to play chicken with the fighters heading towards them. She knew that they were taking direct hits from the fighters and it was confirmed by the alarm sounding. Dad would say to do it no matter what.
“That’s the deflector shield. If you hurt my baby…”
Hayim never finished his remark for Shayna executed a 90-degree downward turn so suddenly that it took the retort out of his mouth. There was an explosion behind them as the ship righted itself. He scanned, “No fighters.” He looked at his sister, “That was one of the most stupidest things you ever did.”
“Yeah and your ‘baby’ is okay for the most part. Force Hayim, it’s just a ship.”
“Just a ship? This is a ChevI-67, a work of art.” Hayim looked wounded that his sister would be so callous about the ship that their father had bought on a whim and had left them. “Besides it’s the only thing that’ll get us to where we need to go to find Dad.”
A hard shudder ran through the ship. “Dammit! I thought we had gotten them all,” Shayna said as she reverted back to evasive maneuvers. “They must be really pissed that we ‘lost’ their treasure.”
“Can’t blame them seeing as how they are some of the wealthiest officials. And we did melt it down to vanquish that creature demon.”
“Statement: Ah yes, the wonderful display of carnage.”
Another boom sounded and the ship rocked violently. Hayim reported, “Direct hit. Sis if you can make a blind jump better make it now otherwise we’re space dust.”
Shayna grumbled trying to think about what to do. They would be space dust anyway if she made a blind jump and got them killed. She tried to think about what she could do when some coordinates came to mind. She punched them in rapidly. “Here goes nothing.”
The ship launched into hyperspace just as it was hit upon by the enemy ship. It felt like a kid shaking a toy around, the way how the ship rocked. There were nasty creaking noises as it flew through hyperspace. T3 was beeping something about hull integrity while Shayna was worried about keeping the ship steady. “I know T3. I know,” Shayna said. “We have a leak in the hyperdrive and I have overloads in several systems.”
“At this rate, we could be hurled out of hyperspace and into something else or stop dead like when space pirates attack the ships on the lanes,” Hayim replied.
“Well thank you for being so helpful.”
“Just doing my part.”
Shayna scowled as a warning light went on. “Great. Hold on, this could be rough.”
“I know don’t hurt Chevy.”
The ship shuddered violently and parts were creaking. Some bits of the hull broke off but T3 managed to activate emergency lockdowns of the affected areas. Shayna was trying desperately to hold on when something happened. It was as if someone or something took over the ship and helds its course. Shayna said nothing but kept her hands on the stick. She felt something was there. Then, as if it could not hold out much longer, the ship violently thrust itself out of hyperspace into normal space as if it were a ball. It hurtled through space for some distance and then slowly garnered to a stop till it was drifting.
Red lights filled the cockpit with their blinking. Hayim sat up in his seat and looked around. The smell of smoke filled his nostrils from the panels that had been sparking. T3 looked like he was fine and HK, well, it looked like the droid got tossed around a bit. Hayim gave a slight smile at that since he had little to no love for the droid. He then looked at the pilot’s seat to check on his sister.
Shayna was leaning heavily on the panel and her eyes were closed. For a minute Hayim thought that she was dead but then she opened them and slowly sat up. There was a thin line of blood running down her left temple and there was plenty of dirt smudged all over her face. Hayim asked, “You all right?”
“Yeah, just a minor headache. You?”
“Just peachy. Droids are okay too.”
“And your baby is more or less in one piece.”
Hayim scowled, “If you mean a few hull breaches as being in one piece…”
“Hey, we’re alive and that’s important,” Shayna countered, “Besides we need to find out where we are and find a planet where we can make some repairs.”
“Right. T3 can you scan for a planet?”
T3 warbled a reply and got to work. Hayim checked the systems of the ship before saying, “That was some fancy flying you did through hyperspace. Never knew you’ve been practicing.”
Shayna grew quiet and then said, “Hayim, that wasn’t me.”
Hayim looked at his sister and then something caught his eye. “You wanna run that by me again?”
“It wasn’t me. It was like someone else was piloting the ship.”
Hayim didn’t say anything for T3 warbled stating that there was an unnamed planet nearby and there were life signs on the surface. “Well there’s a planet. Now maybe once we land you can tell me how it was not you flying Chevy.”
Shayna turned her right wrist to reveal the underside. The tattoo that she had since she was a baby was making a strange glow. Hayim peered at it and felt alarm. Dad said that something was up with the tat. What if it’s the thing that took mom?
Out loud he said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”