Cursed? What nonsense—Kaz wasn't worried about a stupid pirate joke. He was glad to see Synara again, but not the troublemakers she hung out with. What she needed to do was leave those losers, and stay here with him aboard the Colossus. "I'm not worried about what some ridiculous pirate chanted. Neeku, I'll be fine. There's nothing sillier than being superstitious. The more you say I should be worried, the more I say—no way." He didn't want to hear anything more about his being cursed. Coincidences are just that—coincidences. "We watch ourselves just like we always have."
The Colossus was approaching an asteroid field. Yeager was adamant that they must not run into the Guavian Death Gang. This happened to be their region of space. Kaz took his flyer through the field, but asteroids bombarded it. Sternly, he warned himself. Be more careful. Getting pulverized wasn't on his 'to do' list. Besides, if he did, might it prove that he was truly cursed?
CB warned him about a Death Gang scout ship closing in, but the scout got away because too many asteroids got in the way. "This is serious," Kaz breathed. He and CB narrowly made it back to the Colossus. Kaz's flyer had sustained some damage, but nothing critical. "I tried jamming his signal, but was unsuccessful, which led to his escaping."
Kaz chastised himself for being so gullible, leaving himself wide open for being influenced by the power of suggestion. He visited Mika, but nothing she told him made sense, so he dismissed her illogical ideas. Again, it was time to swing into action. He wasn't afraid; he'd learned several useful tricks from the other aces, Hype Fazon especially.
The Guavian Death gang launched a sneak attack against the Colossus. The station had done nothing to provoke them, yet they came out with weapons blazing. "They won't destroy the station," Doza said.
The Death Gang demanded one million credits, and if payment wasn't made, they would turn everyone over to the First Order. The aces went aloft, Kaz leading the squad. They eagerly took on the Death Gang, needing to distract the contingency so the Colossus could jump to hyperspace. "Don't worry, CB!" Kaz ordered. The Death Gang closed in, and Kaz kept muttering to himself. He knew he could outwit the Guavians. "Aces, let's use the asteroids to our advantage, and take them down!"
The air battle was fierce, but eventually the aces gained the upper hand. Doza reported, "We're almost in the clear!" He advised his aces to return to the Colossus. "Good job," he awarded.
"Looks like you survived," Mika Grey said when she caught up with Kaz, greeting him.
"Like you said, it was all in my head. Nothing that pirate said made bad things happen to me. Synara told me that pirate is nothing more than a loudmouthed bumbler. He's left the gang she's with."
Mika Grey shook her head, muttering aloud as Kaz walked away, well out of earshot. "Superstitious lot, these ace pilots. It's a wonder they survive every time they fly out of here." She headed for the bar, ordered a stiff drink, which Aunt Z brought to her right away. "Ah, at least this station serves decent drinks."