Storm Runner (Kera's Story)
[Private to Kera Skirata: Very well. I will roll some things for you.]
Alez ignored her as they slipped into the dark clouds. There was a little turbulence, but nothing too serious. Then she saw Alez reduce power to the stabilizers slightly while trying to hide that he was reducing power. The ride immediately got rougher, and Alez jerked the controls to violently toss the shuttle off course.
"Toprawa ... We've been hit! Shuttle GW-044 reporting a thruster malfunction, possibly lightning. We can clear orbit, but I'm going to have to set down somewhere close. Requesting permission to land at Orbital Four," Alez said into the comlink with some urgency.
Kera could tell he was faking the 'accident.' She also knew that Orbital Four, a small refueling platform, was closed while it's infrastructure was being updated.
"Very well, GW-044. Are you declaring an emergency?" the operator asked.
"No. We're fine here, now. I'll land and make on site repairs before continuing on to you," Alez said hastily. "Shuttle out."
Settling back into his seat as they broke orbit. He glanced her way as they approached Orbital Four. "Nothing to worry about. I'm sure I can fix it," he said.
The platform was designed to refuel spacecraft without needing to land, but there were still eight circular platforms with magnetic shields where ships could touchdown and disembark. There was a freighter on another pad, but the lack of activity made the platform seem like a ghost town. Alez brought the shuttle down to a pad, raised the wings and landed.
"Come help me check the thrusters," Alez instructed. Once outside, he directed her to check the right side while he checked the left. As she expected, she didn't see any damage.
The hiss of a blast door caught her attention, and she saw a human woman, a Zabrak, and a Rodian entering the landing pad. They all wore rough shod spacer gear, and the Rodian carried a rifle in both hands while the others had blasters drawn.