12:30, Today: Sidrynn rolled 1 success using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2p 1a 2d ((3(P), 2(P), 1(A), 1(D), 2(D))).

There was a momentary pause before a voice responded.

++Hurry up! The longer this takes the more chance someone sends a distress. Unlock the port airlock and we will dock once you signal all clear.++

Less than a minute later, that felt like a lifetime, Sidrynn made it back to main engineering. Bursting through the doorway he noticed fewer crew than before, but still saw several uniformed crewmembers.

"Bad news," he panted, catching his breath from the sprint. "Sabotage. Raiders. Port airlock." Catching sight of the blood splashes on the front of his cloak, he paled somewhat. "Stopped one," he added.

One of the crewmembers stepped forward.  He was wearing the uniform of a security officer and his hand fell to his blaster at his side.

"Stop right there! Are you saying you attacked the ship and the port airlock? And killed crewmembers?!"

"Other way around. Saboteur destroyed the engines. Stopped him at number four. His comlink," Sidrynn waves the device around, "said the rest were at the port airlock waiting to dock, and attack."

"I'm Tobruk, from the Receding Tide, taking my leave time. I offered to help when we had engine trouble. You really need to do something about this. I'm just engineering."

The guard stared at him for a moment not seeming to understand what he was just told.  He then grabbed a comlink and spoke. "I am going to have to call my supervisor."

He then started talking into the comlink in Huttese.

Nodding, Sidrynn focuses on steadying his breathing as the officer calls for orders. He looks around, noticing expressions of badly hidden worry on the faces of the crewmembers.

Sorry about my lengthy delay there - main compy died and I've been trying to do everything from an old, beat-up laptop. Ordered a new power supply today so hopefully that'll help.

The guard turned off the comlink and looked up at Sidrynn. "Ok, follow me. They want you up on the bridge to talk to the captain."

He then started walking down the corridor and toward the turbolift.

Sidrynn looked around the room, at the remaining crew refusing to meet his glance. Holding the comlink to the side, he seemed to be trying to find someone to take responsibility for the situation, but everyone was engrossed in their work - a few keying in commands on obviously dead terminals.

With a long-suffering sigh, he turned and followed the officer towards the bridge. "Can we at least make it a quick trip, in case someone wants to fake being a conspirator and probe for more data?"

The guard did not respond as he lead Sidrynn to the bridge and up to a closed door. The marking above it indicated it was the Captain's Office.  The guard stood aside and motioned Sidrynn to panel next to the door.  The other crew members did not seem to pay any attention to the non-crewmember on the bridge.

Sidrynn palmed the door chime, and moments later it slid open before him. Catching the faint aroma of cigarra smoke, he carefully stepped inside the door.

"Greetings, Captain. I didn't expect to get to see the bridge on this sightseeing tour. You guys really pull out all the stops."

The captain looked up from his screen at Sidrynn. He was an older human male, probably in his late 50s.  He had a glass of corellian whiskey sitting on his desk next to a lit cigarra.

"So you are the one who got my engines online. They say my engineers were killed. Can you tell me what is going wrong on my ship?"

"Not with certainty. I found two engineers killed with a blaster, and someone cutting holes in your engines with a plasma torch. His comlink," Sidrynn tosses it onto the desk, "says another ship is outside the 'port airlock' for when he was finished."

"Only other piece of information was his last words. 'Howling Tempest'. Doesn't mean anything to me, though."

The captain's face paled a little as hge listened to Sidrynn's story.

"Howling Tempest? They are a band of pirates that operate in this area. They usually only hit cargo or luxury liners. Not a passenger ship like this. I wonder why they attacked us now?"

As he finishes talking the lights flickered and dimmed in his office.

"Now what?!? Someone tell me what is going on!"

"Either you have more valuable cargo than you realized, or one of your passengers is of interest to them."

Sidrynn turned partway to keep an eye on the door, his boots squeaking on the plasteel flooring tile.. "How ready is your crew to repel boarders?"

"Against pirates? Of that type? Not very.  We mainly worry about small unorganized bands or unruly passengers. We are not equipped to handle a full attack from determind pirates."

"Then we're in a real bind. Send a squad to the port airlock to back me up and I'll do what I can. If we broadcast a distress call, they will catch it and know we failed. Can you tight-beam something to a hypercomm relay?"

What am I getting myself into, here? Sidrynn wonders.

The captain shook his head at Sidrynn's request.

"We dropped out of hypserspace in the middle of nowhere. The nearest system is about 25 light years away. And I am not sure it is populated so it might not have a relay."

He sighs. "Well, then I guess there's nothing to do but fight. I won't tell you how to disperse your own guards, but I'd really like some backup at that airlock."

Turning, he strides to the door, palming the release. "And if you haven't heard from us in ten minutes, go ahead and send that distress call."

"I will send a few of the men to the airlock. But we are not really trained soldiers. And if you are not back in ten minutes, I fear we are all doomed."

Whoops, sorry for the delay! I had issues switching between computers and missed this.

The bridge crew stared openly at Sidrynn as he stepped from the Captain's quarters. Giving them all a grim smile, he walked more confidently than he felt back to the central access corridor. He loosened the sleeves of his cloak for better movement.

I'm certainly committed now, he thinks to himself.

He again wraps the recovered comlink in his sleeve, keying the transmit button. "Clear," he speaks gruffly. Tucking it back into a pocket, he doubled his pace towards the airlock. He checked the charge of his blaster; full. Discblades ready to draw.

If I'm going to go, it might as well be with style, he thought. In less time than he'd expected he was at the last junction before the airlock.

Drawing one of his blades, he palmed the release. "And I'm all out of chewstim!" he said to the empty junction.

This part of the ship was quiet. The corridors were empty as most crew and passengers were moved to the far side to avoid any incoming enemies. Things seemed calm and quiet and almost peaceful. The only noise was a faint tapping and a very faint hissing coming from the airlock.

In reply to GameMaster (msg # 87):

Sidrynn walked to the airlock's control panel, studying the readouts to see how much time he had before the pirates swarmed out. The idea of dumping the air mid-cycle crosses his mind, but the unfamiliar system and niggling voice of conscience suggested he give them a chance to surrender and leave, first.

In response to your State of the Game post:

I'm not opposed to moving into another group story. I do want to finish off the pirate ambush here before jumping; whether I finish my business on Rishii and return to the galaxy, or if the new group meets me there, or maybe I get beat up and kidnapped by the pirates, either which way I'm fine with it.

Sidrynn as a character could also use some variety. Most of his life has been spent solo, so learning to work as part of a team would be very helpful - and challenging - for him.

The airlock finished cycling and opened up.  On the other side was a droid and a smiling Twi'lek woman.  She walked forward into the ship and turned to Sidrynn.

"A greeting party of one? For me? I think I should be a little insulted"