Chapter One
Finally, got the first chapter up!
I hope all is okay with it!
The atmosphere was relatively quiet on the Ghost. Only the mild humming sound of the engines thrusting the small freighter through the endless depths of space was to be heard. Most of the crew had retired to their bunks. All except their captain, Hera Syndulla. She had opted to stay in the cockpit due to a sudden, unexpected detection on the Ghost's radar. She decided somebody ought to keep a watch just in case it was indeed a surprise attack from the Empire. That, or they had accidentally crossed paths, and her ship was now being monitored. It was a mystery though because the radar had picked up a signal for only a few seconds before it fell silent once again. Although it was an unusual detection, it didn't really concern Hera, seeing as she was unable to pick up anything again once the signal vanished.
Her lover, Jedi Knight, Kanan Jarrus had offered to stay with her after hearing the radar spike. But she insisted that he go and grab a couple of hours of sleep in the event he may be needed later. This of course resulted in a mild dispute between the two.
"You can't know the size of the threat if you really did detect something significant out there!" he argued. "We could have TIE fighters on us any minute for all we know; they might have a way to camouflage themselves from detection!"
"I understand your concern Kanan, but honestly, I'll be fine. I think it might have just been a slight glitch in the system. I promise you I've double-checked our surroundings. And there is absolutely nothing approaching or holding at a distance from the Ghost. And you know that we always need everyone as alert as possible should an attack occur. Please, just go and rest for a bit; after all, I've got Chopper on hand to wake you should we turn out to have any trouble!"
The mischievous droid positioned at the side of the cockpit made a series of beeping noises, extended his spark projector, and crackled a small bolt of electricity. A steady pulse of beeping indicated his amusement over his threat.
"Maybe not quite that shocking of a wake-up!" Hera chuckled.
"I'm pretty certain I don't need your assistance, Chop!" growled Kanan.
The droid retracted his arm and beeped a hurried response.
"Now, now Chop, there's no need for that sort of language!" scolded Hera.
Walking forward, Kanan lifted his hands into a surrendering style pose.
"Look, Hera, would it be such a crime if I rested up in here for a while? I mean, it's hard enough to relax back there as it is; Zeb's snoring is enough to keep even Sabine awake behind two closed doors! Goodness knows how poor old Ezra gets by!"
Hera let out a sigh which noticeably held an element of a giggle.
"Well, I guess I can't blame you there! Go on, take a seat, if you do promise to rest for a bit!" she answered.
"Don't worry, I promise, thanks Hera," Kanan replied, sitting himself down.
"So, how's the Jedi training getting on with Ezra?" she inquired to commence a casual conversation.
"Slow and stressful, to be honest!" came his blunt response. "The kid's progress is being prevented through his lack of true faith in the force. I think he is just telling me what I want to hear at the moment; he isn't quite seeing what he's capable of!"
"Just give him time; his time will come," Hera replied.
"I know, he'll get there in the end!" he sighed.
All of a sudden, another signal appeared on the radar screen; a slowly accelerating beeping through each scan showed the incredible speed of its approach towards the Ghost. Alarmed, Hera immediately set about trying to pinpoint the scattered signal. Kanan, however, stood up from his chair and peered out into space, trying to set eyes on the source.
"You see anything out there?" she asked.
"No," he replied. "You think it could be anything Imperial related?"
"I don't think so; from what I can make out, this appears to be a rather small craft. I wouldn't have thought the Imperial Forces would send a lone fighter to such a solitary area of space to attack an armed freighter ship."
She suddenly turned to face her loyal droid. "Quickly, Chopper, switch the shields on! They might not offer total protection, but we best prepare for the worst!"
Chopper beeped a short response and immediately began activating the system with his computer probe. Once complete, he beeped a confirmation.
Even with her steady persona and intact focus, Kanan couldn't help but notice a slight hint of apprehensiveness in her voice. He walked over to Hera's screen to watch the unidentified craft's approach for himself. Hera decided to speed up the scanning, further proving that whatever craft they had picked up; was approaching faster than they could comprehend. Additionally, it was heading directly towards them, straight on.
"How far away is it?" Kanan said.
"Hold on… Wait… It says about only a mile!"
"Can we change course? Try and shake it?"
"I could, but it's kind of hard when you can't see where the threat is approaching from!"
The closing distance caused them to simultaneously glance up out of the cockpit window. For the first time, they laid eyes on the signal source. Dead ahead of the Ghost was a glistening sparkle of light that was growing brighter by the second. It appeared to flicker as if flames were engulfing the object. Kanan and Hera lifted their hands, protecting their eyes from the brightness.
A screeching noise suddenly echoed through the cockpit. It sounded like a wheezing pulse with the similarities of a worn-out braking system.
Kanan was about to order Hera to move the Ghost out of the way. However, neither of them had enough time to think over any further decisions or actions. The light vanished within the blink of an eye.
For a couple of seconds, the two rebels were contemplating the possibility of disintegration or teleportation that had caused the disappearance.
Those were only seconds, though, as the Ghost unexpected took a violent jolt, which caught Hera off guard, and sent Kanan flying off to the side of the cockpit. He had managed to steady himself, whilst she had begun to battle with the yoke and bring the Ghost back under control.
A gust of wind suddenly blew through the opening leading to the cargo bay after the jolt. In addition to this, that same screeching sound was heard whilst the breeze was at its most powerful. It settled down within seconds.
"What's happened, Hera? Has the hull been breached or something?"
"Not according to the Ghost's life support systems," she said. "Oxygen levels haven't fallen, and there are no reported signs of damage to the ship."
She was unexpectedly cut short when a loud banging noise, followed by what sounded like the smashing of glass erupted from the cargo bay.
Kanan and Hera were silent for a moment. Unsure of what to make out of the mysterious circumstances. Both staring at the ladder opening down to the lower level.
Hera broke that silence. "I think there's something or somebody down there, love!"
She quickly spun back around and activated the close circuit camera system around the Ghost. A few small screens on the wall immediately lit up, one of which gave a wide view of the cargo bay.
She then rose from her chair. "I suppose we best have a look at what it is then!"
They walked across the cockpit to examine the feed. It was baffling how anything might have possibly entered a sealed ship without causing any damage upon entry. They didn't quite know what to guess might have entered the Ghost.
However, when they saw the intrusive object pushed at the back of the room, their fear turned into complete confusion. And Kanan was about to voice his confusion; were it not for the abrupt entry of Ezra and Zeb into the cockpit.
"What the bloody hell hit the ship!" Zeb groaned with a still rather, groggy manner. "It threw me out of my bunk!"
"And what was that horrible noise?" Ezra continued for him. "My ears are ringing!"
"You'd best come and see then," Kanan said, pointing to the monitor screen. "Although I'm sure neither of you will make any more sense of it than us!"
The pair came over and inspected the screen. Both looked at the Kanan and Hera with confused expressions.
"What's that box thing?" Ezra said.
"Beats me," Hera replied.
She crossed her arms. "But we're never going to find out, standing around up here. We'd better go down there and see for ourselves."
"Agreed," Kanan said. "Although I don't think we should face a potential intruder unarmed!"
He addressed Ezra and Zeb.
"Zeb, you'd better go and get your rifle. Ezra, you don't have to come, but I'd think it wise to keep your lightsaber on you."
"You think I'm going to miss this? Think again, Kanan, I spit in danger's face!"
Kanan cracked into a half-smile. "You got guts kid. I'll give you that!"
Sabine arrived in the cockpit moments later. And, although confused by the hastily operating atmosphere, was soon briefed on what had happened. Like Ezra, she too insisted on seeing the mysterious object. She quickly returned to her room to retrieve her blasters.
Soon enough, the whole crew was gathered in the cockpit.
"No change to that object so far?" Zeb asked.
"None so far," Kanan replied. "It's just remained silent since it appeared."
He quickly tilted his head to the side slightly, giving the signal for them to descent into the cargo bay.
"C'mon, let's get down there!"
One by one, they climbed down the ladder into the lower level.
The collected crates down there had been either severely damaged or pushed against the walls. The crew soon gathered together about ten feet from the object. Now they could assess it; properly.
It was a tallish blue box, with smashed windows on each side, leaving glass all over the floor. A bright white light was carefully flashing on the roof. Although, what caught the crew's notice was the small panel of writing above the narrow doors. 'POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX', it read. White smoke was seeping through the windows and beginning to pollute the cargo bay.
"So what do we do now?" Ezra said.
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was still passed out against the console's guard rail. The room was becoming more unbreathable by the second.
All of a sudden, he was brought around when a horrible, high-pitched, synthesised version of 'Rule Britannia' came piping through the console's speakers. She was waking him up.
He put his hands to his ears, coughing as he did so. "All right, all right, I'm awake. TURN THAT RACKET OFF!" he yelled.
It ceased once he stumbled to his feet. He immediately felt an attack of agony through his body. Falling forward, he groaned as he tried to stable himself on the rail. Why hadn't his regeneration happened yet? He could still see the odd glow from his veins, but something was preventing the repair. If he didn't find out what, he was done for!
But he quickly realised that he wouldn't have any chance to regenerate once he had succumbed to the toxic fumes the TARDIS was releasing in the smoke. Hurriedly, he glanced around the room.
Through the thickness of the smoke, he could make out the glow of the illuminated words above the doors. Before he dashed for them, though, he risked the chance of burning himself and processed the shut-down protocol on the console. The TARDIS's lights began to fade. The meltdown had been prevented.
Immediately, the Doctor went for the doors before he lost the last of the light. He stumbled along the way and fell against them. Feeling for the lock, he unlatched it and tore the door open. He staggered forward and inhaled a lungful of clean air.
When he opened his eyes, however, he noticed he wasn't alone. He had company.
Ahead of him was a group of five; a couple were alien, the others were human.
His friendly demeanour resurfaced, and the Doctor broke out into a smile and raised a hand to wave a greeting. There came no reaction from the group.
"Hello there!" he said. "Sorry to burst in on you like this, I'm the… I'm the…"
A weakness suddenly took him over. He felt faint, nauseous. He felt his balance give way and fell back against the doors of the TARDIS. He had passed out again.
The Ghost crew were perplexed by his performance. Understandably as well. A human male had entered their ship in a small, damaged blue box and greeted them as if it was a casual visitation. They had to find out more about him.
"Perhaps we ought to move him away from that burning box of his?" Hera suggested.
Hello all! Well, that's the first chapter out of the way!
I hope it was alright, I felt this is quite a hard subject to write about...
I may not be as fast with the following chapters, as I still have planning to do.
See you round!