Sitting excitedly in the cockpit, Kai was getting ready to drop the Midsummer Comet out of hyperspace. First things first, it was time to let her passengers know they were about to make their decent, and also a fine opportunity to test the ship-wide coms. Clearing her throat, she flipped the coms switch on the control panel.

   “This is the Captain speaking. I am pleased to announce that we will be arriving shortly.” After a pause, she added, “You may want to strap-in, just in case.”

   Her hand on the lever, holding her breath, she gently pushed it up, moments later successfully revealing the desert planet of Jakku. But they weren’t there yet. Before a large grin had finished forming on Kai’s face, a loud explosion rattled the whole ship.

   “Oh no,” Kai had time to mutter to herself before jumping into action.

   Turning on the autopilot, she rushed out of the cockpit to find flames erupting in the corridor that seemed to be coming from the hyperdrive unit. Making her way around the smoke to grab the fire extinguisher on the wall, she nearly collided with Brin and Elis who were running towards the incident.

   “What’s going on?” Elis cried with wide-eyed panic through the blaring sound of the alarms, their volume admittedly still set too high.

   Brin hadn’t stopped to chat. He had taken possession of the fire extinguisher and was heading towards the flames. Before she could protest, Kai remembered that she had stashed a couple of extra extinguishers at the front of the ship. Leaving Brin to handle the first line of defence and ignoring Elis, she speeded back up the corridor. Catching sight of the hatch in the corner of the cockpit, she dived towards it and grabbed two smaller-sized extinguishers. Back in the heat of the action, she could distinguish Brin amidst the smoke, battling the wild flames. Elis, she found flat-backed against the opposite wall, seemingly frozen in place, his eyes fixed on the fire.

   “Here!” Kai yelled, putting one of the extinguishers on the floor and shoving it forcibly towards Elis. It reached his leg and lingered on the floor, untouched, Elis remaining motionless.

   “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kai grumbled in disbelief as she decided to ignore Elis once more to focus on helping her proactive passenger turned firefighter.

   She took hold of the fire extinguisher she was still carrying, aimed at the flames and squeezed the handle hard. Nothing came out. The flames were getting smaller, but this was no time to let them regain momentum. Kai stared at the inanimate object in her hands in dismay and tried again. Still nothing.

“Oh come on!” Kai cursed, thinking about the stern word she’d be having with her peddler friends back on Coruscant.

   She could barely see the remaining flames in the thick smoke and soon felt the cool air of an extinguisher confirming that Brin’s efforts had won over the fire. Kai stood there, bewildered amidst the smoke and the blaring sounds of alarms, when she saw the smoke part and Brin appear, waving his arms frantically to clear the way, glaring at her with furious eyes.

   “Thanks for the assist,” he spat.

   And with that, Kai exploded with laughter.

 

   Brin stood staring at this crazed, reckless captain - scratch that, scrap owner - and was stunned speechless. The damn ship was a bomb waiting to go off, which it nearly had, and all she could do was break into a fit of hysteria. Her folly didn’t last long enough for Brin to have to shake her to her senses, brutally. Kai was back in control and sprinting towards the cockpit. He followed her. If there was going to be another problem, so help him, he was going to be there before it exploded.

Kai switched off the alarms and deactivated the autopilot.

   “You need to seal us in here before we land,” Brin asserted. “There’s no telling the extent of the damage back there.”

   Kai turned to look at him, seemingly about to argue, but instead nodded in agreement.

   “I’ll get Elis,” Brin said. “Don’t do anything,” he added, to which he received a scornful frown from Kai.

   Brin found Elis still in the corridor, now sitting on the floor in a ball, his hands covering his ears. Brin walked up to him and kneeled so that he was at eye level with his shocked companion.

   “Hey,” Brin tried to no avail. “Hey, Elis, we need to get to the cockpit. Who knows what else this piece of junk has in store for us, am I right?”

Elis didn’t move, nor did he seem to acknowledge Brin’s presence at all.

   “It was just a little fire, all good. It happens all the time on starships of this, erm, generation.”

   Still nothing. Right, time for a different approach. Slowly, Brin placed a hand on one of Elis’ shoulders, then the other, moving right in front of him. Elis looked up, slowly.

   “Let’s go to the front. Come on, we’re almost off this thing,” Brin tried again, grabbing Elis and helping him up.

   In the cockpit, Kai was getting ready to take them down.

   “When we breach atmosphere, there might be a little shaking, so hang on,” Kai warned.

   A few slight tremors accompanied their landing, as promised, although thankfully avoiding setting off any more of those blasted alarms.

 

   Kai landed the Comet with a sigh of relief. That was a little more adventure than she had wanted. Nevertheless, they had made port in one piece, a definite success in her books.

   “Gurrgo outpost bids you welcome,” she said turning to her passengers. “Not as smooth as expected, but trips like these make for the best stories, don’t they?”

Brin and Elis exchanged a look.

   “Come on Elis, let’s get out of here,” Brin said, leading the way as both men exited the cockpit.

   “Hold on there,” Kai interrupted, standing up from her captain’s chair. “How are you planning on settling the payment?”

   It was Brin’s turn to laugh. “You think we’re paying you anything after a trip like that?”

   Kai stared at him, confused.

   “What I mean to say,” Brin said, continuing to walk away with Elis, closely followed by Kai, “is that considering the extended amount of disruption experienced over the course of the journey, it seems only right that you extend a gesture to your best customers for the trouble.”

   “Wait, what?” Kai asked, aggravated.

   “Therefore, we accept your gesture and will be keeping our credits,” Brin clarified.

   “Excuse me, that’s not how it works,” Kai interjected, anger rising.

   “We thank you very much for your services and wish you all the best for your future expeditions,” Brin offered, making his way through the main hold.

   “No way,” Kai insisted, following them towards the boarding ramp. “I got you to Jakku, that was the deal. No one said anything about comfort.”

   “It’s not good for business to have a bad reputation, trust me,” Brin said, hitting the switch to lower the ramp, letting in a stream of gleaming light.

   “Are you threatening me? May I remind you that you were nothing more than fugitives back on Coruscant, you and your little friend,” Kai asserted, following the men outside and onto the sandy terrain.

   “You don’t need to be on the higher levels of the Senate to be a big deal in other circles, Captain. Trust me, it’s better this way,” Brin said, continuing to walk away with Elis.

   “And how do you figure I’m going to get off this rock without any credits to fix my ship?” Kai asked after them fiercely.

   Brin turned to face Kai. “There are lots of jobs out here for someone scrap-savvy, I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

   With that, Brin and Elis wandered further into the outpost, leaving Kai with a hyperdrive to fix and nothing to fix it with.

 

   That was one problem solved, Brin thought. Easier than having to dig up 8,000 credits. The crappy state of that ship turned out to come in pretty handy after all.

   “All this action really got my appetite going,” Brin said, stretching his arms out towards the bright blue sky and turning to Elis who was walking slowly besides him, eyes clouded. The guy really needed a break. Maybe some time under the sun enjoying the warm winds would do him good.

   After a moment of silence, Elis nodded. “What now?” He asked.

   That was a good question. They were off Coruscant and on Jakku. Safe, for now. One thing was sure, Brin wasn’t planning on dragging Elis around for much longer. It wasn’t only that Elis was a real pain, Brin just didn’t play nice with others. That’s how it had always been and would remain. Sure, he’d work with a regular contact for a few jobs, but that was it.

   “Let’s eat,” Brin said cheerfully. “It’ll help us think clearer.”

   Just one meal to help Elis out, get him a contact for a new ID, and that would be it. Brin led them amidst the outpost tents to an outdoor cantina and ordered the house special. Both men dug in, enjoying the green humus with its hearty chickpea base and the extra taste of fresh herbs.

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