Owing Favors

[Toaster]

Jacob had slumped into the pilot's seat, breathing hard. The digital readout on the dashboard displayed an inconveniently small amount of oxygen still being in the ship. Enough for just about another thirty minutes, to be exact.

Well. That's that then, he thought. Survived the war just to suffocate in the middle of nowhere.

Slowly, he turned towards the scanner display. It was still blank, except for hundreds of asteroids and the station that shadowed the Griffin. Jacob sighed. He ran his tongue over his lips. His mouth was parched. He glanced over to the empty canister he had thrown into a corner of the cockpit. Screw you, he thought.

Suddenly, something caught his attention. A little light had flashed on the scanner screen. He leaned toward it, hoping to make out what it was the next time it appeared. A moment later, it blinked again. Something was incoming. And it wasn't an asteroid. From behind a particularly large rock, a ship shot towards Junction Wreck.

What the hell, Jacob thought as he recognized the rough shape of a Bactrian freighter. So before I die, I get pirated?

Suddenly, a burst of static erupted from the communication system, followed by a short message.

"James? Umm... Are you still breathing in there?"

James? Oh.

Jacob chuckled, then coughed violently. He flicked a switch on the dashboard, opening a frequency to the newly arrived craft just as it bathed him and his ship in dazzling light.

"No, James' not breathing," he whispered, squinting. "But Jacob is."

---

Olivia Sable