Katreya's ship began to make strange noises and the control panel began lighting up like a Christmas tree. She was an archaeologist, not an engineer or even a fantastic pilot. She'd been good enough to get her license, but that was about it.
"Oh dear..." she said as she looked at the flight console once again, knowing that the ship was not in good condition. She immediately sent out a distress call, but was half afraid the people that had damaged her ship to begin with would come after her. But she also reasoned that if she did nothing, she was as good as dead anyway. She also began shutting down different functions to go wasy on the power aboard ship, trying her best to keep the thing from exploding and scattering her across the space she was in. "Oh god... Oh god..." she panicked, as she saw the warp core begin to breach. "I'm going to die," she said aloud to herself with certainty.
But just then, she felt a tingle over her body, and saw a blue light as it encased her. Suddenly, her ship melted away from view and instead the interior of another ship greeted her. She looked around stunned.
"Welcome aboard," a gruff voice said. "Looked like you could use some help."
Suddenly, the ship rocked at the impact of a nearby explosion.
"Yeah, I guess you really did," the same voice replied.
She turned to see a man, sitting in the pilot seat looking out at what had been her ship. Now it was nothing but stellar dust and debris. She grew pale. He saw her and immediately went to her, grabbing her gently and sitting her down.
"You know its okay. You're okay," he said, his brown eyes looking her over. "Your ship's history, but you're alive." He shrugged, trying to point out the upside.
"I can't believe it... I was almost..." but she couldn't finish the sentence, still in shock.
He sighed. "Well, why don't you just sit back and relax. Take a breather. Then we can figure out what to do with you."
Finally, she looked at his face and took in his rugged features, his graying hair and brown eyes. There was a kindness in his eyes, but also a distance.
"Thank you," she said softly, not knowing what else to say.
"Help yourself to the replicator, though it looks like you could use a stiff drink," he said.
She nodded quietly. As he reset his course, he went to her and pulled out a bottle of liquor from a compartment in the bulkhead. He also pulled cups from another. He poured them both drinks and handed her one.
"By the way, my name's Jack," he replied. "Jack Jordan."
She took a drink from the cup and at first almost coughed, but recovered enough for another sip. She nodded and could feel the welcomed warmth spread through her shocked body and mind.
"I'm Katreya Junipher," she replied finishing the drink.
He immediately poured her another and watched her carefully.
"So who shot up your ship?" he asked curiously, not seeing who would have wanted to attack her or her ship. There had been nothing of value aboard that he could note from his initial scan and there were no pirates around. It didn't quite add up.
She shrugged. "I don't know," she replied, as she set the cup down and pulled off the satchel she'd been wearing across her shoulder that rested against her waist. She sighed. "I don't even know if they were trying to kill me."
He paused for a moment. "Hard to say. I mean, your ship did just explode," he said. "Have any enemies?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Not that I know of, but..."
"But what?" he asked.
"Well, my brother's missing... and well..." she drank the rest of her second drink and her eyes glazed over a bit. "What was I saying?" she asked, her mind getting foggy.
Jack smirked and poured her just a touch more "About your brother," he reminded her.
"Oh yeah..." she said smiling for a moment and then her eyes and face took a serious tone. "He disappeared. I've got to find him." She began drinking from the cup again. "You know, I get his journal... it has his blood on it... I go to his dig site and everything is destroyed... Then some... goon fired at my ship..." she said, indignation finally flashing in her brown eyes.
Jack was amused by her.
"You know, I should have fought back!" she said.
"You had weapons on your ship?" he asked.
"No," she replied and then made a disgruntled face. "Maybe I should have... Maybe..." but her mind started wandering again and her eyes began to half-close.
"I think you might have had enough to drink," he said taking her cup from her before it spilled.
Her brown eyes gazed at him. "Thank you..." With that, she fell over unconscious on the bench.
He shook his head still smiling, finishing the liquor in her cup. He then got up, grabbed a blanket and covered her with it. From a corner, an Australia Shepard raised its head and watched. Jack looked at his tri-colored canine companion and shrugged.
"What do you think, boy?" he asked.
The dog merely put its head back down, ready to go back to sleep.
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