East is Up [Jazen]

[Meira]

"We're coming up on the ship, boss." Simone said over the ship comms before clicking them off.

Ylva sat up from where she'd been leaning back in the shuttle's lounge. Across the small table sat two men whose names she could not remember. They were on loan from Lidah, who'd told Ylva they were good with blasters and taking orders, but who weren't exactly essential at the Blind Eye. Ylva promised she'd do her best to return the two in roughly the same shape as they'd been when lent out. In all honesty, Ylva did not expect to even need them, especially if she also had Forte with her. Ylva didn't know the younger man as well as she knew Thel, but it was her understanding that Forte could also use the force, and that was damn handy.

Standing up, Ylva stretched her arms over he head, grabbing onto an overhead pipe and using it to steady herself as she leaned forward, feeling the stretch of muscles in her shoulders. After releasing the pipe, she made her way up to the cockpit, where Simone was guiding the shuttle to come up along side the large freighter. Reaching forward, Ylva flipped a switch and the shuttle cast two beams of light onto the freighter. "Take us around it." Ylva instructed as she looked out the viewport. Ylva didn't know much about space ships, but she imagined that they'd want to know if it was intact or not. Holes in a spaceship were a problem.

"Na'irbe... Raew?" Simone, head tilted sideways, said aloud as they moved along the side of the pale green freighter. Ylva, also tilting her head, shrugged. She didn't recognize the language.

"That'll be the first thing to go." Ylva said. "I was thinking something like the Jolly Giant." She grinned, looking back over her shoulder at Simone, who was frowning at her. "What?"

"It's bad luck to rename a ship." he said, turning his attention back to the task of steering the shuttle around the freighter.

"Don't tell me you're superstitious, Simone." Ylva teased, but the chiseled man remained intent on his steering. "Well, the hull looks intact." she said, changing the subject. "Let's dock up."

Ylva left Simone to his work and returned to the lounge area of the shuttle. There, she bade the two men Lidah had loaned her to check their gear and get ready. "And where'd the other one get off to?" she asked them.

[Jazen]

One of the two men hitched a finger toward the rear of the ship. "He's in the back...said something about having to steady and prepare himself for battle. Must be some kind of ritual he does or something. Odd one him...wears Mando'ade armor but even a hired gun like me can tell it ain't the true stuff. Yet he wears it like it is. But he's sharp as a fiddle, that's for sure. Grabbing his friend, the two headed off to prep their gear, leaving Ylva to find the final member of their crew.

Jazen was sitting cross legged where the man had indicated he'd be, eyes closed and one of those rare times since he donned the identity of Forte that his helmet was off around the people he was about to work with. Locke's words had gotten to him, if a little bit, during that last mission. Forte was essential, no doubt about that. But Forte did not exist without Jazen and so, letting a little of him back into the world wouldn't hurt, right? His helmet sat at his side, his scar worn face, still young and handsome if you could look past the battle wounds, closed and content, deep in meditation.

This was a mission he was more familiar with. Lidah dispatching him to assist someone, probably some form of business she needed attending too. This was what Jazen was used to in her employ; being her sword out in the depths of the galaxy. From what he was aware of, he was there to help Ylva, her pilot Simone and the two men from the Blind Eye, in finding and repurposing a ship. From the sounds of it, it was supposed to be abandoned, hopefully, and they could just up and steal it away. Jazen figured it would not be that easy.

He heard the footsteps of someone approaching and with the lightest of touches in the Force, he felt that person's aura. He'd done so to each of the crewmembers when he got on board, getting a...taste of them, as it were. So he could recognize them at a moment's notice if he had too. This taste belonged to Ylva, the captain, the one leading this charge. He'd felt the return to normal space, felt the ship around them humming with power, the voices down the hall. They had arrived. Without opening his eyes, let alone moving a bit, he spoke to address the leader of the party.

"We're here." He said simply, calm as a whistle. "I wasn't deeply informed of the details of this mission. Perhaps while we're gearing up to dock, you could fill me in proper?" He was ready to go at the drop of a hat; he had been the second they had exited lightspeed. One thing Locke had always taught him; be as ready as you can be at a moments notice. Never knew when things could go bad.

[Meira]

Ylva turned toward the back of the ship as the man gestured and spoke. But then he just... kept talking. Ylva stopped, turning and arching an eyebrow as the man droned on about Forte's activities, his armor, and the man's own impression of Faine's enforcer. She crossed her arms, tapping a foot as she waited for him to stop. When he finally did, he seemed to remember what he was actually supposed to be doing and began to move off the get ready.

"Thanks for that, metaphor man." Ylva said with a chuckle. "But next time, just keep it in your pants. I ain't paying you for your commentary."

Actually... I ain't paying you at all, she thought as she stepped through a doorway into what was typically cargo space. Forte was there, seated and eyes closed. Ylva raised her hand thumb out and pointing back behind her. "W-"

"We're here."

"...Yeah." Ylva replied. She paused, and was about to speak when Forte spoke again. Taking a breath, Ylva waited a little longer after he'd stopped to make sure he was actually done. She opened her mouth but paused, thinking he might start up again. He didn't. "Cerbozz was gonna auction this ship off the other night, before everything went to shit." she said, feeling slightly uncomfortable talking to a man sitting with his eyes closed. She leaned to the side, waving her hand slightly, but then gave up and crossed her arms as she leaned against the door frame.

"Long story short, it's mine now. Don't know what's in it, if it can fly, or really anything else about it. We're here to check it out, make sure it's travel ready, and to take it home. Don't really expect anything more than some dusty panels and maybe a fried nav computer, but Simone can handle that. Faine said you and those other two could be handy though, so here you are."

There really wasn't much more to it than that. Just then, Simone's voice came over to comms to announce that they'd docked and had a good seal. It seemed the other ship didn't have any pressure leaks or hull breaches. Scans showed the ship had maintained atmosphere, so there was also breathable air aboard. They could board in regular gear.

"So uh... c'mon then." Ylva said to Forte, turning and making her way back toward the docking door just off the ship's lounge area. The two other men Lidah had loaned to Ylva were there, each with a blaster rifle slung over a shoulder and held at a low ready. Ylva only had her blaster pistol, holstered on her right thigh, and her two long vibroknives on her belt. If they needed anything else beyond that and what gear Forte carried, then they would just have to come back some other time with more guns. Ylva wasn't about to go sacrificing lives over this damned freighter.

"Alright boys, take us over." she said to the two, slinging a bag of tools over her shoulder. She was no expert at repair, but she knew a thing or two. Hopefully whatever was wrong with the ship was something she could fix... at least long enough to get the thing back to Nar Shaddaa where someone more skilled could tend to it.

"The hell are your names again?" Ylva asked as the one that had swooned over Forte earlier cycled the airlock. That one answered first.

"Orgone, ma'am." he said, looking back over his shoulder at her with a nod as the airlock opened. "Named after my-"

"I don't care." Ylva interrupted, turning her eyes to the other man as they all moved into the airlock.

"...Lawson, ma'am." he replied.

"You see that, Orgone?" Ylva said, pointing at him, and then at Lawson. "He answered the question, and then he stopped. Be like Lawson."

The door to their ship closed behind them, and then the door to the other ship opened. It was dark. The ship seemed to be functioning on a low power setting. Overhead, only about every fourth light was on, leaving patches of darkness between them down the long corridor. Ylva produced a datapad from her bad and quickly flicked through a few screens before stopping on a schematic of this freighter's type. Unless the ship had been dramatically altered, they'd need to head left toward to find the bridge. Simone had docked at the forward airlock, so it wouldn't be much of a trek.

"Take point, boys. She said to Orgone and Lawson. "Watch our backs, Forte." she added.

They moved down the corridor without incident, arriving at the bridge doors only a minute or two later. Ylva had to break the door controls and mess with the wiring to get the doors open, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. As she'd expected, the controls on the bridge were dusty. it had been some time since this ship had seen a crew, it seemed.

"Orgone, Lawson, check the logs." she ordered, sending the two toward the comms station while she found the flight and navigation controls. "Forte, can you do that... thing" -she waved her fingers at the side of her head- "where you know if someone is here or not?" Ylva was no scholar of the force, or what one who could wield it was capable of.

[Jazen]

"Ah. A derelict vessel in good condition and we're here to savage it. I believe I heard something about the auction, although I wasn't around to see it." Through the Force, Jazen felt her discomfort and as such, his eyes opened and turned towards her, those deep eyes studying her. Hopefully that would put her slightly more at ease; it wasn't often he had his helmet off around people he had never met. A tiny little smile quirked at the corner of his lips hearing that Lidah had recommended them and the other two for this job. Which meant Lidah likely expected some kind of trouble, or if she didn't, figured they would be useful in case some did arise.

"Seems simple enough. Although its rarely ever that simple. I'm not too good at repair, but I know a thing or two in a pinch. I'll assist as best I can in that area if I'm able." Standing, he retrieved his helmet and sealed it over his head, the familiar enclosure encircling him as the helmet linked to the rest of the suit. HUD up, air scrubbers on, display feed, communcations, all settled. His voice was muffled now by the helmet, or rather, altered by the voice modulator that adjusted it. "Lead the way Captain."

Jazen was well equipped. Between the mini rockets in his jetpack, the blasters on his hips, the hidden knives all over his suit, the wrist mounted blaster in the left gauntlet, the punch blade in his right and the hidden surprise at his lower back, he was more than equipped for any form of trouble they might find. The rockets would be useless aboard a ship, unless he found a good clean area to fire one. But that was never an issue he found trouble around. He nodded, very very softly, to both the other members Lidah had sent with them. He knew them by name and reputation and they knew his at least. They were sent here on a job and they'd damn well do it right.

Or Lidah would skin them alive.

He made sure he had all of the other crew locked down in his mind in the Force. Ylva to his side, Orgone, Lawson, Simone the pilot still aboard their ship. If there was to be trouble, at least now he wouldn't be blasting them by accident. He had their Force presence locked down pat, as familiar as a mother's smile in his mind.

As soon as they were aboard, the head lamps on Jazen's helmet kicked to lift, illuminating the darkness in front of him. He already knew there were no dangers immediately, not screaming in the Force at all in that way. No life in their immediate area too. A good enough start. His helmet washed over the corridor to their right as they headed left, which was essentially their backs. "Yes ma'am." He simply said, following in their wake sideways more or less, to keep his senses tuned in that direction.

Once upon the bridge, the other two set about their own tasks, while Ylva had a specific one for Jazen. If she could see his face beneath his helmet, it would be bemused. "Can I...sense if we're the only ones aboard with the Force you mean?" Maybe she could hear the amusement in his tone at that. Casually he reached out, pulling an old cup to him and studying it as he reached out with the Force throughout the vessel around them. Dark, old, abandoned. It had not felt life in such time, the quiet almost as...oh. That was distressing.

"There is no active life aboard this ship, save for us. But...there's a lingering presence. There was life here, not long ago. No idea how long but for me to be able to still get a sense of it, it can't have been that long." He turned his head towards the open bridge door. "And the traces are...cold. Afraid. Terrified. And from what I can tell...that sense is coming from the cargo hold." He asked, turning his helmeted visor towards her."We may find something here we may not like. Should we investigate?"

[Meira]

Orgone and Lawson set into their task. Orgone was, thankfully, silent as he tried to boot up one of the ship's computers. It seemed he was not a total lost cause. Ylva should have known that Lidah wouldn't tolerate an entirely useless employee. She had a habit for taking in strays, for sure, but they did have to make themselves useful.

She was booting up the main computer when Forte clarified her question. She glanced up at him in time to see him float a small cup toward himself. If she was being entirely honest, Ylva would have to admit that she harbored some envy toward the likes of Forte and Thel. Being able to use the force just seemed so... cool.. Though, while she wasn't as familiar with Forte as she was with Thel, she did note that the two seemed to share a kind of brooding nature, each in their own way. Did the force do that to them? She wouldn't want the damn power if it meant taking herself too seriously.

The computer screen flickered to life and Ylva's eyes were drawn back to it after seeing that Forte's own eyes seemed to take on that glazed, focused look. He was apparently doing the thing. The computer automatically began running through various start up protocols, checking systems and generating reports. Consoles to either side of the Zabrak woman blinked to life as well, displaying the results of the checks. Life support, artificial gravity, sublight engines, and main power were all showing up at acceptable levels. There seemed to be some kind of issue with the hyperdrive core, however. Ylva was leaning toward the screen, reading the damage report when Forte spoke again.

"Great." she replied with a sigh. Though she supposed that the ship, ill-gotten as it was, wouldn't be without some drama.

"Ma'am," came Lawson's voice, "I think you'll want to see this."

"Hold on, Forte." Ylva said to the armor clad man, holding up a hand to discourage him from running off toward the cargo hold. "We'll get there soon enough."

Ylva moved toward where Orgone and Lawson had pulled up to ship's logs. Orgone had a manifest list scrolling across one screen, while Lawson was playing back recordings from the bridge. "It's one of the last recordings, ma'am." Lawson said as he cued it up to the proper place. The scene began normal enough, Ylva supposed. The captain of the ship, a male Twi'lek started the log with date and time as well as their position in space. They were apparently en route to Nal Hutta from Teth. If her memory served correct, Ylva was fairly certain Teth was an agricultural and leisure world for the Hutts. Lawson sped the recording up, skipping ahead until a commotion broke out on the bridge. The ship had come under attack. Pirates, perhaps? The beings wore helmets with face coverings and no identifying insignia on their ragtag assortment of armor. There was no way to recognize who they were. They spoke Huttese, however. Ylva was able to decipher an order to go through the cargo.

"What's on the manifest, Orgone?" Ylva asked, turning her eyes toward the other man.

"Mostly foodstuffs, ma'am. Teth isn't really an industrial world. I went there with my family once when I was- OW!"

Ylva's hand had shot out, palm connecting with the man's cheek with a sharp slap. "Jendeis slua." she growled at him. "If I have to tell you to keep your shit commentary to yourself one more time, I will space your ass." Shoving him out of the way, Ylva moved in front of the console, scrolling through the manifest. It didn't make sense. Nothing on the manifest warranted a pirate attack. It was just basic staple items, not worth the effort to steal.

"Alright, Forte." she said, standing and moving toward the man. "Let's go." she winked at the shorter man. "You too." she said, looking over her shoulder at Lawson and Orgone. "Try not to shoot yourself in the dick, Orgone."

With Forte's assurance that there were no other living beings on the ship, Ylva moved with confidence. The corridors, lit up normally now that the power was restored, were quiet and empty. They passed the airlock that led back to their transport. As they did, Ylva pinged Simone, letting him know he'd be needed to check out the hyperdrive as soon as they were done checking the cargo hold.

They arrived at a lift and Ylva ushered the men inside. After a quick check of her datapad, Ylva selected the correct deck and the lift began to move. As the lift descended, Ylva noticed that this space too was coated in a very fine layer of dust. Reaching out, she ran her finger along the edge of the control panel, then pulled it away. Bringing the finger close to her eyes, Ylva saw that it wasn't so much dust as it was some kind of white powder. Strange.

The lift doors opened and Ylva's mind snapped back to the task at hand. This whole level, as well as two more levels below it, was dedicated to the cargo bay. The lift opened onto a small access corridor, with much of the wall between the corridor and the bay taken up by large transperisteel viewports so that one could see down into the three story space. Ylva imagined that all manner of items could be stored in this space, but she imagined it had originally been designed to haul large machine equipment. It was, however, almost entirely empty. Save for what appeared to be a small crate container in the middle of the space, surrounded by...

"What is that?" Lawson asked, his words coming out just before Ylva was about to voice the same question.

Trying to look closer, Ylva stepped up to the viewport, squinting her eyes down toward what lay on the cargo bay floor. "You sure there's no life?" Ylva asked Forte, though her eyes remained fixed on whatever that thing was. It almost looked like three piles of snow around the crate, but it was difficult to make out any details from three floors up.

[Jazen]

The answer to that question was a simple no, if she had asked it. Both Vance(Thel) and Jazen had a past and that past had come to a sour ending, which in turn led to their current state of mind. As of late though, Jazen had lightened up considerably, although not enough to completely get rid of the aura of menace he could give off if needed. It didn't pay to be a goody good while working in Lidah's line of work...or against her heartless competitors.

"Apologies. But you had to suspect something." A ship doesn't just sit out in space, perfectly fine for all intents and purposes, the crew gone, without there being some kind of foul play. But if the ship was working, save the hyperdrive according to the systems check, then why leave it? Any pirate worth their spit would have taken it, as an additional vessel, or simply to sell for extra funds. It simply didn't make sense...and the lack of any damage also brought forth questions. If something had happened...how had it gone down?

The answer came in the form of the video log and Jazen, his helmet back on, studied it intently. The attackers, their patterns, their methods. Clever in a way; lack of any markings meant identifying them were almost impossible. And no attempt was made to frame another group for the attack either. Which meant this ship had been carrying something worth the discretion. On both sides, according to the manifest log. "Effective. The attack was almost professional, methodical. The crew seems to have been taken down before they even knew it."

And where were all the bodies then...

Jazen didn't even flinch when she slapped the other man; clearly she wasn't one for small talk during work. That said, she was welcome to try hitting his armor. It would be her hand that stung afterwards. Didn't take her long after to leave Orgone on the bridge, while ordering Forte and Lawson to join her in checking out the cargo hold. "Yes ma'am." Jazen replied calmly before pulling his blaster and taking point. Something was off here and although it wasn't true beskar, his armor could take a hit a lot easier then either of them could. Plus, he would sense the danger coming ahead of time, an early warning that could make all the difference.

The entire way, guided by Ylva, Jazen reached out with the Force to try and get a better read on this ship. The unease, the strange sensation he was getting, was coming from the cargo hold no doubt about it. But it wasn't life he was reading, merely the absence of it. And though not a warning, the Force sensed something from that place. What, Jazen had no idea. It wasn't a feeling he was used too. Into a lift they went, silence between them, as Ylva no doubt liked, hence why Orgone was left on the bridge. Movement from her caught his eye and he looked to see her running a thin white film of...something between her fingers. "Odd." Was all he said, studying the coating around the lift.


Then they were in the cargo hold and Jazen switched his mind over to searching for trouble. Not that there was any; the place was mostly empty, save a single crate down dead center of the room...and a white substance surrounding it.

Again, the absence of anything the Force answered her question but again, that off feeling was there. Jazen clicked his blaster to life, studying the room below for anything that looked even remotely out of place. "I am positive there is nothing "living" aside from us." He said simply before adding. "But there are other threats that are not living...and although shocking, there are things that are capable of blocking the Force. Or being felt by it. Something about this room is not right, that I can sense. Caution, perhaps?" He didn't say it as if it were obvious, merely making sure that they were on their toes. Taking the lead again, Jazen started making his way into the room below...and wondering where the shoe would drop on them.

[Meira]

Forte confirmed that he did not sense anything other than themselves on the ship. He then qualified his statement. Ylva looked at him, her brow furrowed for a moment. What the hell was sensing shit good for then? She sighed. Apparently the force wasn't as infallible and magical as the stories made it out to be. Just one more fairy tale that one learns isn't true as they grow up. Well, not entirely true, she supposed. They could still move shit with their minds.

They moved through the door into the the hangar proper. They stood on a walkway that ringed the upper walls of the large cargo bay, with catwalks crossing like a grid. To their left, an open lift could take them down to the floor of the bay, and they did just that. The lift made a good deal of noise as they lowered, but ran smoothly otherwise. If there was something on board here... then it probably heard them by now.

Once on the floor of the cargo bay, Ylva moved cautiously toward the strange stuff in the center of the giant room. Nothing moved. There was no sound, aside from their own footsteps. As they came closer, more details became apparent. The white stuff was not snow. It was something more like... fluff? Mold, maybe? It gave off a slight odor, like the almost sweet smell of rotting leaves. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, but Ylva didn't exactly want to go sticking her nose any closer to it if she didn't have to. The crate at the center was open and seemed empty. The only other thing Ylva was able to notice, now that she was closer, was that the white stuff seemed to have some kind of discoloration toward the outer edges of where it sat. Having no idea what the stuff was, she couldn't be sure if that was what it was supposed to look like. But, if she had to guess, it almost looked like some kind of mushroom growth that had run out of nutrients, or water or something.

"Ma'am..."

Ylva looked up to see Lawson had been checking the perimeter of the room. He was by a doorway, leaning down and looking at something on the floor. "Don't touch anything." she said to Forte. She doubted he needed the order, but it just seemed safer to say it out loud. As she approached Lawson, she saw that he was looking at what appeared to be a smear of blood on the ground.

"It's old." he said, standing back upright as she came up next to him. "Dried."

"Where does this go?" she asked, gesturing toward the door with her chin as she consulted her datapad.

"Looks like a maintenance corridor." he replied. He activated the controls, opening the door to show a hallway with pipes and wires covering the walls.

Ylva nodded, confirming the assertion on her schematics. On the ground in the hallway, she saw that there was more dried blood. She tucked her datapad into her bag and pulled out her blaster pistol from its holster. She ordered Lawson to go back to Orgone and wait for further instruction.

"Forte." she called over her shoulder. "With me." She stepped into the hall and waited for the man. According to the schematics, this corridor led the length of most of the ship from the main cargohold at the front of the ship, past the various maintenance and life support sections, and ended at the engine room at the back. They'd follow this blood trail and see where it led. If it didn't get them any more answers, then they'd see if they could fix the engines and bring the ship back. They could get their answers later, when in safer space.

[Jazen]

Jazen's hand hovered over his blaster, one of them, on his right hip, as they approached the box. But while everyone else's attentions were towards it, Jazen's were more outlying, focused on every corner that held a shadow, every corner that could hide a surprise. He was feeling for danger, trying to sense out an incoming threat before it came down right on top of them. The vibe that something was off was heavy in the air still and Jazen felt it there, in every fiber of his being, like little needles. It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed but it had kept him alive in all these years.

Nothing happened when they arrived though and he stood there with Ylva, studying the white powder. It didn't seem dangerous and Ylva examined it fairly closely. No readings of danger coming from his wrist, which had a scanner for dangerous emissions. When she went to see what Lawson had found, Jazen casually used the Force to lift some of the powder up and studied it closely without touching it.

"Interesting." He mused quietly before Ylva called him over. Giving the white fluff one more look, he joined her and Lawson and spied what the man had found. Eyes tracking the trail from the wall, to the floor, and beyond. "Foreboding." Was all he said, already keying on the woman's dislike for excessive banter. Nodding to Lawson, who went back to securing the room, Jazen followed in her wake, through the silence of the ship, down a long corridor that went all the way to the engine room. The blood trail went all the way there, sporadic in some places, thicker in others. Likely from when he paused as his, or hers, life blood dripped out of them. No signs of anyone trailing him either, which meant either no one followed them or covered their tracks.

Soon enough they found where their wayward bleeder finally collapsed. It was hard to tell the gender, because the body looked extremely dried up. A closer look would likely reveal it, but for now, Jazen's attention was on two key areas. The first was obviously the wound that had been the cause of death. It was a very serious wound, and it was a miracle whoever this was had made it this far before finally succumbing to it. "Tough one. That's quite a walk for a wound this serious. I would know." He squatted down, studying it, then drifted his eyes to something clenched tightly in the corpse's hand. "What is that? It looks familiar, but I don't recognize it off the bat. Stand out to you?"

Now things were getting way stranger, but at least now they had a sign of /someone/ on the ship. Dead as they may be, it was a start. Now the question was...was all that was left was bodies? Or was the source still nearby?

[Meira]

The ship was eerily quiet as they walked, following the trail of blood down the long corridor. Ylva had never been a fan of ships, or space travel in general. The idea of absolutely jack shit being just on the other side of the walls around her was unnerving. The recent debacle that was their assault on that space station had, surprisingly, lessened the effects of Ylva's phobia though. It seemed contradictory, but almost dying in space somehow made the prospect less scary. Ylva chalked it up to her anxiety being more about the unknown than the void itself. A little experience and the fear diminished. If her plans for this ship came to fruition, Ylva would be back to her usual mindset of invulnerability in no time. That is, if they could get all this weird shit sorted out.

The trail led them all the way back to the engine room where they found the being that had left it all. Ylva circled around the being. It was human, or near enough; Ylva saw no features that popped out as some other species. But it was so shriveled that it was too difficult to distinguish anything else about it. Forte got a confirming grunt in reply to his commentary on the wound and the being's long, bug futile, struggle to survive it. When he pointed out the object in the beings hands, Ylva had to circle around and then squat down to get a better look.

At first, Ylva thought that it was a large datapad, but it was too thick. The rectangular object was about a foot long, half as wide, and maybe about four inches deep. Not wanting to touch the body, Ylva used her blaster to gently nudge the being's arm until it opened up a bit. carefully, she slid the object out of its grasp and turned it over in her hands. It was... a box? There was a seam that ran down the center of one of the flat faces, as if it might open there, somehow, but Ylva could find no obvious way to do it. It was all black, and completely smooth, save for very delicate, almost imperceptible, carvings into the face with the seam. The carvings depicted some kind of tree, but with sharper angles than any kind Ylva had seen. She was no expert, however, so what did she know?

When she dislodged the strange object, something else feel from the body. Looking down, Ylva saw that it was a power coupling. She scooped it up and tossed it to Forte. "I bet they were trying to fix the hyperdrive." Ylva said. She rose, holding the strange box close to her torso as she led Forte over to the hyperdrive engine. Holstering her blaster, Ylva lifted a panel with her free hand. There were several signs of tinkering evidenced by newer and cleaner parts interspersed among the older and more worn bits. And, sure enough, there was an empty spot where a coupling should be. "Get that in there, will ya?" she asked Forte, and then turned her attention to her comm.

"Orgone, Lawson." she said into the comm. "Get some kind of containment thing on that shit in the cargo hold. Don't touch it. We'll figure out what it is when we get back." She waited to hear them confirm their orders and then called up Simone.

"Simone, bring a cleaning kit and get down to the engine room. Forte is fixing up our engine problem. Once you've swept up, you and the wonder twins get this big bitch back home. Forte and I will take the transport." Once Simone confirmed, she pocketed the comm and turned back to Forte.

"He must have survived the ship's attack." she mused, both hands now holding the strange box close to her chest. "We'll get our answers when we're back home. Let's go." She turned toward the door and led the way back to a lift that would take them back up to the level where their transport ship was docked.

[Jazen]

The being's arm made a rather loud crack as her nudging jarred the box loose, Jazen's eyes watching the shadows as much as he was using the Force to sense for incoming threats. The lack of life on this ship was disturbing, almost as much as the eerie scene before them that they had found. He really didn't like it and if not for the fact that he was expected to do a good job here, for his rep and for the Blind Eye, he might have suggested leaving as soon as possible. This ship...there was something off about it and he hoped that taking it in and restoring it would cleanse that sense from it. Otherwise, well, a cursed ship is never good.

It was because he was using the Force to sense for danger that something caught his attention.

The box. He could sense it in the Force, could feel that it was there but...that's it. All things generated the Force, down to the smallest of beings. But the box...there was nothing. No outward flow of energy, no tingle that some Jedi would be able to use to see the objects past or present. It was there, but it wasn't. That alarmed him more then anything else and he felt an honest to god shiver down his spine. "Careful with that...its doing something that most things cannot do. Existing without creating its own Force presence. I recommend we don't play with it anymore then necessary...till its in a controlled environment."

Not that he expected her too, but sometimes people get mesmerized and act without thinking. Catching the device, he looked into the space she had revealed and with a simple touch of the Force, the device floated easily into place and locked with a click, lights and whistles indicating that the device was fixing the void that powered the ship. He could hear the ship rattle to life as power, once gone, was now quickly filling back every inch.

As her orders were given, Jazen joined her as they made their way back to a life. The way she cradled the box to her chest worried him. "We should be careful with that. What happened here could be biological in nature and it could have traces on that box. Perhaps it might be best if I float it back, until we can examine it proper and make sure we didn't bring anything else aboard with us. Of course, I leave the choice to you Captain." There were no danger warnings going off inside his head, but he'd never gotten them when he was about to get a cold or flu.

Force hope that whatever this was didn't carry something that wouldn't give warning till it was too late. He sealed his helmet proper as they entered the lift, then braced as it rose with far more efficiently then before. "What's the final plan Captain?"

[Meira]

"Yeah, yeah." she said as Forte gave his warning about the box. She wasn't worried about it. What she was worried about was that pile of who knew what in the cargo hold. If anything on this ship was dangerous, it was that. The box was probably just some kind of container for personal valuables. That would explain why their mystery being had clung to it even as they died. People always tried to hold onto their prized possessions, especially as they died. Never mind that it was a futile gesture. Ylva doubted she'd be immune to the impulse.

"Perhaps it might be best if I float it back..."

"No." she said, perhaps a little too quickly.

She squeezed the box closer to herself, eyes looking straight ahead as the lift brought them back up to the main deck. Simone stood on the other side of the doors, holding a large duffel bag in one hand and a metal case in the other. He looked his boss over with a quick, discerning eye. His brows furrowed, but Ylva stepped forward and spoke before he had a chance to say anything.

"Take whatever samples you need, safely." she emphasized the last word with a hard stare. "Full gear, Simone. Don't take any risks. Space the rest." Simone nodded and traded places with her and Forte. As the doors closed, Ylva turned and marched back to the airlock that connected to their transport.

"The plan?" she asked, as they moved through into their original ship. "Manifest Destiny." she said, with a wry smile. "The Jolly Janitors are expanding, Forte. Ships need cleaning too!" Moving toward the cockpit, Ylva set into the tasks of uncoupling from the larger ship and setting the autopilot to take them back home.