[Salone]

The front hatch to Vera lowered lazily, as if the hydraulics were about to give. A battered figure emerged from the battered ship. Jack Axton coughed, trying to clear the smoke from his lungs. He took a moment to get his breath back, surveying the suspicious crowds before him and speaking to no one in particular.

"Well, we stuck the landing. And got stuck landing. Not the best landing in the universe. But we landed, and that's what matters."

He leaned against the side of the hatch, looking up towards the rest of his ship. It was a banged up wreck, coated in more scorches from batched reentries than it was replacement metal to cover said burns. The actual ship had never been pretty, but it didn't need to be. It was an 03-K64 "Albatross" class transport. The class name had been fitting for the series, as they took a lot of the bird's characteristics. The upfront cockpit dipped down a bit at the front to give full view to the pilot. It was a medium size transport, but appeared squat due to the size of the fuselage. Two small overhung wings protruded from each side, ending in thrusters that seemed almost comically large for the small ship. The end of the ship grew smaller as it progressed, tapering off before flaring up in to a tail section, with a middle fin and twin angled wing portions on either side. The sides of the fuselage bulged at the extreme edges, rounding out before flattening to the bottom part of the ship. And at the moment, the ship was resting on its actual bottom. The landing gears had been lost in Jack's horrid landing, and weren't the only things that would need to be fixed. He certainly had his work cut out for him.

He grinned as he looked away from the top part of his ship. He let out a small chuckle, as if someone had told him a joke.

"Yep, will have to grab that too. Guess I should tell the doc. But what would a note say, Vera? 'Mechanic's dead, details later.'? He's busy doing...doctor things. I'll be back, don't let anyone in unless I would. And that's them who can pay."

With a press of a button he slipped in to the crowd, not bothering to make sure the front hatch raised this time. He melded in to the hustle and bustle to find what all captains need at one point or another: parts, people, and money.

And this time, Jack Axton needed all three.