Travelers

Chapter 38 - The Current System

Jacob was cleaning his blaster after going for a walk that included a large amount of shooting at tree branches and large, dangling leaves on the forest world, the name of which he didn't actually know. It wasn't the tiny and finger cramping pistol that Richard had given him, but a better, more balanced blaster given to him by Sabine when she saw the tiny pistol that he was using. He checked every inch of the black and silver pistol, making sure it shined when light struck it. He was just finishing when an alarm blared and his hand slipped, making a streak along the side of the blaster. He quickly rubbed out the streak then ran into the hall, holstering it on his belt.

When he reached the center of the excitement, the hangar, he saw what was the cause of the ruckus. A ship had made a form of emergency landing that was more crash and less land in the hangar, barely missing any of the others ships, which would have been impossible if the Ghost had still been sitting in the hangar. Luckily, Hera and her crew had taken off for their next mission just earlier that day, leaving the gaping space where the seemingly untouched ship now rested, save for the scratches on the bottom from sliding into the hangar, mirroring the channels now dug into the stone floor.

Only one crew member of the light freighter stumbled out when the ramp fell, but something was wrong with him. He collapsed onto the ground when he reached the bottom of the ramp, shaking wildly. Jacob didn't know what could cause this, but there were plenty of things in this galaxy that could cause something like that, and other galaxies once he considered other possibilities. If members of Star Command were present already, there was a possibility other things could also have leaked through thanks to Richard. As soon as this thought occurred to him, he realized it was actually quite likely.

A medical team rushed into the hangar and helped the convulsing man onto a stretcher. Jacob noticed that his skin seemed to have a glow radiating beneath it, a faint blue energy. Jacob meandered forward, not exactly sure on his path as many of the other rebels returned to their jobs, which he had yet to be given, as well as the other travelers. He reached the scene and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. He continued looking around, boarding the ship as Cat and Richard arrived as well, and they all made the same search that he had just made.

"There's nothing too suspicious here, but maybe further in the ship. Should I look?" Jacob called down to them. Richard shook his head, but Cat continued to stare at the ground in the path the man had taken. Jacob noticed her curious look and walked down the ramp to crouch next to her. Their elbows brushed when he crouched and she scooted away to give him a little more space. He didn't see what she had seen that made her so focused until she pointed straight to it. It was the glow that had been beneath the man's skin, but now the floor ever so faintly glowed with that same energy, but it was quickly fading.

"I don't think a creature or person did this," Cat noted, catching Jacob's attention immediately. He had to agree with her, but Richard still looked at the ship with hesitation. Mal and her brother walked up to them along with one of their rebel friends, Marcus Kintel, who was a light skinned human with a mop of dark hair, looking only a year or two older than all of them. He was younger than most of the rebels and a little more "rebellious". He seemed to know more about the galaxies many wonders than anyone else, as, and it was one of Jacob really respected the guy, he was something of a nerd. Before any of them said anything, Jacob walked back up the ramp and hit the button to open the door to the ship.

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Cat followed after the others, who followed Jacob onto the ship, though Marcus stayed behind. As she had suspected, there was no sign of anything hostile, like an animal or enemy, and the ship clearly had no power. She moved to the engineering area and ducked into the panels, fidgeting with several of the components of the ship until suddenly the ships internal lights flickered on. They now had some power, and Mal walked to the bridge of the light freighter. Cat finished up the minor repairs that needed to be made, then followed the others. Mal was checking the navigation coordinates, looking where they had been, and what system could have possibly housed whatever caused this. Cat knew about the little bits of information and what they meant. It came with her gift. Jacob entered the bridge, accidentally bumping into her on the way, though she was beginning to suspect that it might not be accidental.