Armistice Upside Down

[etiainen]

*Jump procedure finished. No hull damage or impedimentary anomalies detected. Shields intact. No contacts on short-range sensors. Commencing auto-pilot procedure to waypoint three. Cruise engines charging…*

Druce finishes inputting the last commands to make his ship reach the station with as little need of interaction as possible. Hopefully if they avoid Bounty Hunter patrols and Outcasts, it shouldn’t take long to be at the station, possibly on time. He has a lot on his mind, and thinks it would be good for him to talk to someone, so he reckons he might as well go stretch his feet a bit and go check on his companions. He finds Jacob not far down the corridor, sitting at a table with his arms crossed on his chest and his eyes closed. Druce swears he could see a small ray of green light sparkling through a very small opening in his eyelids, so he decides to let him be for a while and moves on to the lower decks to check on Sequoia.

After a few minutes of walking around the lower decks, as he was about to start calling her if she’s there, he finds her sleeping on a couch in one dimly-lit wardroom. He didn’t have the heart to wake her up after what she had been through the last few days, so he just takes a thick plaid blanket from a small bed and he covers her with it to let her rest while there is still time. He then returns to the main control deck into his chair and he closes his eyes for a bit to clear up his mind and focus… He hopes that the whole loophole nonsense can be thrown behind and leave space for negotiations of future cooperation. After all, they’ve got a common enemy the both sides want to eradicate, and that’s a perfect jump-off point… As his mind digs into deeper detail, he hears Jonah’s footsteps, so he stands up to join him.

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*Mooring coordinates received. Synchronizing…*
“Let’s go. Dinnae want ta keep th’ chaps waitin…” he waves his head with a smile to Jonah and Sequoia as he moves towards the hatch.

*Synchronized…Stabilizing air-pressure*
"Nervous, aye?" he patted Sequoia on the back. who nodded in return. Then he looked at Jonah, who caught his eye-contact and also nodded his head slightly.

*Handshake procedure finished. Opening airlock.*
Druce takes one final deep breath before the three of them step out into the first premises of the station, towards the silhouettes that can be seen through the thick steam left over by the airlock pressurization process, hoping they have not been waiting for them for too long

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