Sitting cross-legged, Qui-Gon leant against a wall in the Fahren's cockpit. A shower of sparks cascaded through the bulkhead doors as the Armistice's crew worked to free him. It had occurred to Qui-Gon that he could have used his lightsabre but the work had already begun and he still wasn't sure of the extent of the damage to the Fahren's systems. It was easier to leave the task to others. Occasionally, a stocky Kuhd in blue overalls would appear outside the viewscreen to wave encouragingly at him. Qui-Gon waved back serenely, going over the sequence of events in his head. Had there been a mechanical failure or had something more sinister happened? Uncharacteristically, Qui-Gon's first instinct was to suspect foul play.
The bulkhead door crashed to the ground, revealing the four Kuhd workers who had come to his rescue. All were dressed in the same blue overalls.
"Hello," said one, tongue flickering out to tap the end of his nose. "You are lucky man."
"I would not be so fortunate if you had not stopped to help," smiled Qui-Gon, pulling himself to his feet. "My name is Qui-Gon Jinn."
"Poppi," said the Kuhd, extending a calloused hand for Qui-Gon to shake.
Poppi glanced around the cockpit as they shook, only half his attention on Qui-Gon.
"You are going Canemone station?" asked Poppi.
"Yes," said Qui-Gon. "We are expected."
"We?" hesitated Poppi. "There were others?"
With a start, Qui-Gon realised why Poppi was hesitant.
"There were no casualties, fortunately," said Qui-Gon. "But there were two others onboard. I believe they were in the sleeping cabin."
Poppi looked at Qui-Gon sadly, "I'm afraid cabin failed to seal. The room depressurised."
It was Qui-Gon's turn to hesitate, "Are you certain?"
Poppi nodded.
"I will come and see for myself," said Qui-Gon briskly, striding past Poppi.
He checked at the sight of the Fahren's cargo bay, illuminated by several lights that the Armistice's crew had brought along to help them work at opening the cockpit door. Although not as well lit as it normally was, Qui-Gon was able to see that the entire room was eerily empty, as anything not bolted down had been sucked out into space. The floor was dented outwards and the walls were bowed and scored by debris. A massive hole had been ripped in the roof of the ship, the hull of the Armistice visible through it. At the front of the bay the damage seemed to have been channelled upwards and outwards, with the walls mostly intact. However, at the rear at the cargo bay the blast had been lower and the cabin door was completely blown apart. Parts of the wall were still standing but the door frame itself was missing, blasted into the sleeping cabin behind.
The Kuhd watched nervously as Qui-Gon crossed the cargo bay with smooth strides. He paused at the entrance to the sleeping cabin, looking at the room in silence. The lights of the cargo bay reached past him to illuminate the scene before him. The flames had died before reaching the room. Metal and debris from the cargo bay littered the floor. The bedding from one of the bunks had been speared rather dramatically to the central column. Shrapnel had given the column (and its two middle bunks) the appearance of a cheese grater.
"We did not want to disturb...," said Poppi quietly, at Qui-Gon's shoulder. "In case there were bodies."
The bunks on the right of the cabin (including Qui-Gon's own) had been stripped of their bedding in the sudden de-pressurisation of the cabin. At first Qui-Gon assumed that the bunks on the left side of the room had been filled or blocked off with debris. At a second glance, he realised that both bunks had been sealed with an opaque screen. The screen sealing off the lower bunk had been cracked by the impact of the cabin's missing doorframe. The screen of the top bunk had been frosted over by condensation after the sudden re-pressurisation of the cabin. Qui-Gon stepped gingerly over the debris to the top bunk and wiped at the condensation with his sleeve.
The light was poor, and Qui-Gon's own reflection made it difficult to see through the screen. Yet there was a clear hand, attached to a forearm in a white tunic. Qui-Gon cleared a little more of the condensation until he could see that the hand was pinned against the screen by an ankle in a long leather boot. Qui-Gon tapped on the screen and the hand on the inside tapped back in silence. Qui-Gon smiled to himself, turning to Poppi who had come to stand beside him.
"Sound proof screen," explained Qui-Gon.
"Oh," said Poppi, looking sheepish.
"I didn't know we had screens, though," said Qui-Gon. "I don't know how to open them."
"Oh!" said Poppi, more enthusiastically. "We can help with that."
The Kudh cheered up considerably and headed towards the cargo bay to get help. Qui-Gon busied himself with clearing off the rest of the condensation. Behind him, Kuhd workers were bringing in artificial lights to the cabin. Ben's face appeared, pressed uncomfortably against Emalda's knee. Ben looked tired but returned Qui-Gon's smile easily enough. Emalda's head was out of sight in a corner of the bunk but the twitching of her fingers reassured Qui-Gon that she was alive. It was a good thing that both of them were far smaller than Qui-Gon, who struggled to fit into a bunk by himself.
Poppi appeared briskly at Qui-Gon's side.
"Not long," said Poppi.
Another Kuhd in overalls appeared at the cabin entrance, tripping noisily on a piece of debris and nearly dropping the incendiary torch he was carrying.
"No, no, no," snapped Poppi irritably, flapping his hands. "Get the other torch. Do you want to burn the people?"
The other Kuhd's tongue flickered out nervously before he turned and scurried back out of the room. Poppi turned to Qui-Gon, rolling his eyes and settling his hands on his waist.
"New apprentice," explained Poppi.
"I know the feeling," Qui-Gon assured him. "I'm sure he'll improve with time."
"Hmm," said Poppi. "But will I be strangling him before then?"
"Students teach their teachers patience."
While nodding in agreement, Poppi glanced at Ben and Emalda for the first time since Qui-Gon had cleared the rest of the condensation.
"Your two friends don't have lot of room," said Poppi. "Why the two in one bunk?"
"All the other screens were either damaged or failed to activate," said Qui-Gon, avoiding the question. "They had few other options."
Poppi's tongue flickered out to taste Qui-Gon's smell before snapping back inside his mouth as if scorched.
"So, you have something flammable in cargo bay?" asked Poppi hurriedly, changing the subject. "Is a big, big hole."
"No," said Qui-Gon. "I don't think this was an accident."
"If you come from Wefhuk, you should contact Wefhuk Investigative Service," said Poppi. "They can find out who is playing foul with your ship."
Qui-Gon smiled grimly, "You can be certain I will be talking to them the moment I return to Wefhuk."
"One of their starfighters dropped out of hyperspace just after we pulled you onboard," said Poppi. "Maybe you can talk to that officer?"
Qui-Gon fell silent, stepping aside as Poppi's new apprentice returned with a safer torch to cut open the screen. Poppi started off giving his apprentice directions but soon worriedly took over the task himself. Qui-Gon waited uneasily, determined to get to the bottom of the explosion.