This Neck of the Woods [Ketamor]

22nd Hour, 13th Day, 412 NE
Surface of Ketamor, Miral

The drop pod shot through the thin atmosphere like a bullet through paper, thudding into the hard rock of Ketamor. A plume of dust erupted from the ground, suspended in the low gravity. A low hiss signaled the cabin's decompression, and slowly the drop pod's door swung open. Out from its cramped interior stepped a suited man no more extraordinary than the next. Each step he took left his foot imprinted in Ketamor's gray sediment, and he idly wondered just how long they would remain there.

Miral loomed in the distance, its scarred surface slowly rotating. Not even a quarter of a local day would pass by the time he had abandoned this moon. Unless of course he had made a horrible miscalculation and nobody rescued him, in which case he would die. Despite the possibility of suffocation, the lone man took in the breathtaking grandeur that was Miral. Granted each canyon and gully was a warren for pirates, and the yellow-brown surface was completely uninhabitable. Otherwise, it was a lovely place to visit, if not a little backwoods.

Lavrentios turned and stared at the distant ship, each second taking it farther from him. He had not received permission to take the drop pod, strictly, but he was sure the captain would not miss it. By the time the old bastard rerouted his course, they'd be too far from Ketamor to make the trip worth it. Though it wasn't as if the pod was useful to Lav anymore. He stared at the metal cylinder with its tiny window and equally small interior. Twenty minutes of oxygen lost the moment I opened that pod, a shame.

Yet he hadn't careened to Ketamor to stare at planets and die, Lav had a mission. He reached into the drop pod and grabbed the spare oxygen tank, tucked it under his arm, and set forth. The going was slow, for one couldn't run or jump on places with such low gravity. Though the chances were slim, should Lav push up too forcefully he'd break through the atmosphere and surely die. Space is never fun. Ever. One foot after the other, he hiked across the gray surface of Ketamor.


Looming before Lav was the hull of a frigate, probably from Roshoq. Its steel hull rose from the ground like an ugly tumor; it'd be obvious to any that the wreckage was here. He was already lucky Ketamor hadn't passed Grena, for then the soldiers stationed there would have already spotted and seized the crashed vessel. Lav continued to examine the ship's hull, staring at the gouges and holes ripped in it. It was typical of inexperienced captains to come to Analuna without weapons or mercenaries, an often fatal mistake. Lav walked around the wreckage, stepping over various detritus. Whichever gang attacked the ship had been unlucky though, this ship had managed to crash land on Ketamor. Typically the moons of Miral were one of the few places the pirate gangs shied away from, for the Eirenians on Grena had a bloody vendetta against the black market. Lav was not so picky.

Lav gripped the door and yanked hard, yet mechanical locks remained intact. Piss. Occasionally ships had seals that were electrical in nature, thus when the ship was decimated like this one the door would swing wide open. Needless to say they were second rate vessels. Lav punched the metal hatch, ineffectively, and stepped down.

Foiled, Lav continued stalking around the ship. A bolt of inspiration struck him as he saw a gaping hole torn in the hull by the pirate's mass drivers. It was just large enough for him to squeeze through, hopefully. Collecting scrap, Lav slowly built up a pile beneath the hole. Gripping the ragged edges of the opening he pulled himself up and into the wreckage of The Swiftest Steed. I guess she wasn't the fastest after all...

The sound of her own breathing hummed inside the suit as Jette rummaged through the wreckage of the brigate. She had already loaded up a hover wagon to pull her scraps, but there was more that she could make use of. Jette was quite the hoarder.. of body parts that is. They were cybernetic of course, organic parts were awfully perishable.

To find an abandoned ship that was transporting Cerunian goods was a treat, and she was eating her heart out. She thought of all the happy faces on the little boys and girls who would get their arms and legs and eyeballs functioning again when she returned.

A sound behind her made her jump and she spun around in alarm so fast that she fumbled to keep her balance and ended up on her back, heart beating like a automatic gun. The silly little pistol she had acquired shook in her hands, though she tried to look intimidating enough so as not to reveal her fear. The figure was human and she righted herself as he finally acknowledged her presence. She dared not say a word but kicked some of the parts she collected behind her, as if the visitor might try to impede on her treasures.

One moment Lavrentios believed himself to be isolated, though he was prepared for the military's arrival. However the next moment he discovered himself to be in the presence of a decidedly civilian woman. Lav pushed up from the ground, drifting into the air and righting himself as he braced against the wall.

What stood before him was a faintly attractive woman with a pistol directed at him. It shook in her hands, though that meant nothing; Lav happened to be as non-proficient as she was. Behind her he saw what appeared to be a heap of electronics, he couldn't be sure as to their nature. The drop of a pin could shatter the silence like a glass pane.

The core of Lavrentios' being instructed him to prolong the awkward stare down, though survival was another instinct that tugged at him. With reluctance he broke the silence, his voice gruff and modulated. "Salutations miss, you can call me Nim. Now I'm sure there's enough scrap here for the both of us." His palms now lay open to her, a sign of peace. "You don't happen to have a ship, I suppose?"

Not waiting for an answer, Lav unrolled a translucent screen and pressed its power button. A holo display activated, the salvager staring intently at it. His eyes widened as he realized he'd already wasted two and a half hours on Ketamor. "We don't have much time here, I suspect." If this wild hunch was correct, the authorities would arrive in due order.

He immediately forgot about the firearm readied to blow him away, and made toward the ship's cockpit. "Generally I can find some pretty neat electronics up here. Navigation systems... And the like." The strange man was completely distracted as he began to paw at the panel. "Oh, I had forgotten to ask. Who are you?"

Jette blinked twice, lowering her weapon slightly as the shakes wore off. He meant no harm to her at first glance, in fact he appeared to be completely occupied with the task of salvaging, just like her. She watched him climb towards the cockpit and hollered to him.

The oxygen on her suit was also running low, she had almost forgotten to breathe when he startled her. She would have to come back for another trip after refilling the O2 tank. Her feet shifted slightly as she transfered some scrap pieces into the small hovering wagon.

"Yes I have a ship, do you not?"

A worrisome creaking came from the control panel as Lav tried to pry free the navigation system. He'd taken a small pocket drill from his pocket and began removing various screws. It seemed he was having trouble finding the right ones to extract, for he kept pulling at though it continually rebuked him. He tugged, gave a final yank and the little box came free. A cord was also pulled through, hanging from one side of the cubic device. "Oh, it seems I should have unscrewed that beforehand, yes?"

Lavrentios stashed the navigation system, casting acute blue eyes around the ship for his next target. "So I guess this tin can was shipping those things in your cart, and you can have them I say. I for one am not quite sure exactly what they are, so until I find out they remain valueless. In return though, you should let me keep things we salvage off the ship itself. Deal?"

Hand extended, Lav walked up to the fellow salvager to shake on it. "It's now or never, the Eirenians will be here within an hour I bet. I don't know about you, but I'd rather live together than die separately. Oh, and no I don't have a ship. I stole a drop pod to get here." Lav smiled, almost maniacally.

Jette's nostrils flared as she hauled a large electrical panel onto the wagon. He was right their window of opportunity was closing fast. And goddamnit she hadn't nearly collected what she wanted to, this strange person had impeded on her time there. She had completely forgotten about the oxygen.

"Hurry up then" she mumbled, her voice coming through the speaker flatly. She didn't want to share the ship parts she'd salvagaed, the wiring replaced more expensive augmentation wires. But the wiser side of her didn't want to provoke this person. He acted erratically and perhaps it was best to not get on his bad side.

They climbed into the ship quickly and Jette stripped out of her suit like it was a loose skin. The wagon got shoved into a metal cage that held the parts in place while the ship moved. Soon after she had slid into the pilot's seat and powered up the ship, two streaks raced across the sky and entered the atmosphere. She didn't recognize the ships at first, but knew Analuna enough to not stick around for long.

Before they knew it the ship ascended in the opposite direction and broke free of the planet's gravity.

"What are you collecting parts? How did you even hear about that location?" Jette lacked considerable social tact, sometimes she wondered herself what that was all about, but right now she was more interested in whom she was sharing a ship with at the moment. She wasn't open for free loading.

Like a tornado suddenly descending from a crystal sky, Lav's demeanor rapidly switched. His blithe smile switched to a scowl as his new comrade made to leave. He displayed a rude gesture, and his voice broadcasted a little more growly than civil. "Hey hey, I'm not finished and you're my ticket off this rock. Give me a few more minutes, woman."

But apparently Jette would have nothing of the sort, for she made to leave. Lav ripped a fistful of wiring from an opened panel, probably ruining both completely, and took off after her. The man's expression was flat, it appeared as if he'd already relinquished his anger. He stood beside her as the gangplank descended to the dusty surface, and scratched his head and wondered why he hadn't noticed that before. "Huh..."

The silence stretched as the pair marched toward Jette's ship. Truthfully Lav was glad he'd found her. Not only was she pretty, but she was an easy ride. Although nearly anything was more convenient than being arrested and stealing back salvage from the military. I didn't think this through that much.

Finally Jette and Lav arrived at the ship, naught but a junk ready to sail the great ocean of space. He stared out the viewing port as Jette secured her cargo and readied to fly, watching the exhaust trails stream across the black sky. They billowed and lingered in the thin atmosphere, though Lav did not stay to watch them.

He turned to Jette, "I believe the EAF are here, let's get our plunder out of here ma'am." Casually he plopped in the co-pilots seat and stared at the various computers beneath her primary viewing port. "Oh, I scavenge because I need plunder from somewhere. It's not really my job, but credits are credits are they not?" He turned a knob. "I saw that ship headed toward Eiren without any mercenaries, that's a death wish around here. A wallowing boat like her can neither flee nor fight. The only tricky part was spotting where she crashed, that was luck." Something in the back of the ship began to rattle and screech, and Lav quickly turned the dial back to where it was. The noise died down.

"Now what about you, missy? What's a calico like you doing out in the big open?"

Jette flipped the switches on the control panel, making them call out in a symphony. Green light from the console flared across her face, making her look alien. Her eyes bulged briefly as he began fiddling with knobs he clearly knew nothing about, but she ignored the behavior and continued to steer the ship along the surface of the planet at a slow incline until they popped through the atmosphere and into orbit. The engines spat fire as they were flung into space, the gravitational force of Ketamor leaving their bodies.

Without looking at him she spoke up, “I have a shipment that needs delivering, medical supplies to a colony nearby. I can take you as far as the settlement, then I’ll be going on my own way. Business – you understand I’m sure.” She pursed her lips as her fingers drummed buttons to key in coordinates to the moon. It would take them a couple hours to get there.

Her mood had been sullen all day, but having someone around for once was a welcome change. Maybe things weren’t so gloomy in the universe afterall. So long as this ‘Nim’ didn’t try any funny stuff.

“Let’s see what the cat dragged in hmm?” She broke the silence between them and with an almost complete 180 flip of her mood, she rose from the pilots seat and sauntered to the back of the ship where her new treasures laid in wait. She brushed the hair away that fell across her face as she rummaged through the pile of parts. Grabbing a strange looking tool, Jette pried open the remains of a droid arm and carefully removed the circuit panels and wiring. The shell was tossed into what looked like a junk pile. A larger piece fell to the floor with a loud crash and she sat upon it, yanking at the panel cover until it gave way with a cracking sigh.

“We’ll arrive in two hours Nim, you’d best claim your share now.” She finally looked up from her work and met his eyes with a stone cold gaze, “you try to take anything I really need though and you'll be getting cozy with the airlock.”