Damsel in Distress
Soon the two Jedi and two Antarian Rangers were on their way to the Miro Asteroid field. The trip was short, and soon the blurred lines of hyperspace gave way to pinpoint stars. The large cloud of floating rocks that stood before them looked ominous. "Do a quick scan of the area," Dane instructed Traest. Traest did so and cursed as he saw the results. "I'm afraid the pirates are already here. I'm detecting a Marauder-class corvette on the far side of the asteroid field. It seems like they're already looking for the Stellar Damsel, because they've dispatched some Cutlass-9 patrol fighters into the field. The field is vast, so the good news is it could take them weeks to search it completely."
"And what's the bad news?" Master Tabret asked, knowing it was coming.
"The bad news is, with them here, we'll have to observe communications silence to avoid being detected...and so will the Damsel. It could take us weeks to find them," Traest reported somberly.
"Usually agents for Republic Intelligence are pretty savvy, they may have found a way to lead us to them without the pirates noticing," Dane said finally. "See if you can pick up anything faint."
"I'll try," Traest said hopefully. He got a focused look on his face as he worked the sensor controls. "Wait, I think I've got something," he started excitedly. "Yes, yes. I've got a coded distress signal. It's on a very weak frequency, disguised as background radiation. It doesn't look like the pirates have noticed it yet."
"Where is it coming from?" Master Tabret asked.
"From the depths of the field, in that direction," Traest answered. "We'll need to get closer for me to pinpoint it."
Dane started to ease the Eclipse into the asteroid field, making sure to try and stay hidden behind asteroids. He was able to avoid detection as Traest narrowed the location of the signal down to one of the larger asteroids. "There," he said, pointing. "The signal is coming from inside that asteroid." The asteroid was the size of a small city. As Jubali looked out the viewport at the vast chunk of jagged rock drifting in space, she could see several dark craters left by the impacts of smaller rocks. One of the craters looked particularly deep, and Traest spoke up saying, "There, that crater is actually an entrance to a cave."
Though it seemed to Jubali as if fitting the Eclipse into the adit would be tricky, Dane managed the feat with ease. As the ship entered, Jubali could see that the cavern extended deep into the asteroid. Ahead, lit by the glow of Eclipse's exterior ship lights, was the Corellian corvette Stellar Damsel. There were numerous burn scars on her hull and a lot of other visible damage. The remaining lights on the ship flickered on and off sporadically as the heroes approached in their ship. As they drew closer, Traest did a quick sensor scan. "There are still people alive on board, but the Damsel's power readings are weak." Suddenly, the asteroid shuddered and rumbled slightly. Small pieces of rock broke off from the cavern and pelted the Eclipse. From the Damsel, a flock of shadowy forms took wing and fluttered through the darkness toward the Eclipse.
OOC: What does Jubali do/say?
