"Grandfather, are we really letting him go?"
Talia was left in the dockyard, watching Cassian's ship untether. That man was so stubborn that he was already leaving, even though he had no crew.
"When hunger knocks at your door, pride is the first thing that jumps out the window." An old voice came through Talia's earpiece. "Don't worry. He will come running back to us."
....
"One more rejection?"
Cassian's clothes were covered in oil and grease, but he was more immersed on the screen before him.
He was the only person in the entire ship that was flying with no destination in sight. He was not only the commander of the ship, but also the only mechanic in the ship.
Whenever anything broke down, he had to rush there and try to repair it. But no matter how hard he worked, nothing was going for him. The condition of the ship was only growing worse with each passing day.
Three weeks had passed since he left the Star Union. He had already used most of the materials that are in stock and he couldn't even afford to buy more.
Firstly, his ship was one that was custom made by his grandfather. It was already hard to find replacement parts for it, not even counting how old it had grown.
Half the systems of the ship had already fallen apart in the absence of proper maintenance. Except for synthetic food, he had already run out of almost everything worthwhile.
He urgently needed some Imperial Coins for repair. He couldn't care the slightest about his luxury but he didn't want to see this ship be ruined under him.
"Is it the sixth rejection this month? Even the smaller Unions are avoiding me like a plague."
In the last three weeks, he had applied to almost every union. He even applied to the bottom feeding unions and even they had rejected him.
Not a single union gave him a reason behind his rejection. Although he could guess that they were under some external pressure, he couldn't do anything about it.
"Grandfather, is this really the end?"
He sat on the Captain's chair. The grease from his clothes, rubbed off on the chair. His white uniform had already turned dark, to the point that it was impossible to guess its real color.
"Do I really have no choice but to beg them?" he mumbled under his breath.
He looked to the left, noticing the chair that should've belonged to the second in command of the ship.
The chair was empty, but he could see something on it. He could see his younger self, when he was brought here by his grandfather.
He was only five years old at that time, but he still remembered it like it was yesterday when his grandfather was explaining about the ship to him.
His grandfather treated this ship like family. It wasn't wrong to say that the ship was like his second child. He always had a shine in his eyes when he talked about this ship.
Sigh~
After a long sigh, he slapped his cheeks lightly to regain his focus. He had made up his mind.
He didn't love that girl in the first place. The only reason he even held off on breaking the engagement, despite the pathetic compensation, was because he didn't want to give them what they wanted.
They had made his life a living hell. At the end of it, he was supposed to let them get what they wanted?
At least that was his thought when he left that place. But now that his most precious possession was at risk, what use was his self respect?
"Fine. I will give them what they want!"
He activated the comms, and prepared to send a message to Talia's family in the star Union.
Unlike the Modern Ships, his old ship had no digital guide. Even such simpler things had to be performed manually
Bang~
Cassian had just set up the communication, but before he could even send a message, he heard a loud noise. His entire ship trembled, being struck by something powerful.
Cassian almost fell off his chair. He couldn't even regain his senses when all the systems in the ship started showing red.
They hadn't simply hit something in space. Instead, they were actively attacked by a powerful weapon.
With the radar also being broken in the last few weeks, he couldn't even see any other ship coming.
He held onto the chair firmly, and tried activating the shield.
~Error. Unable to deploy shields.
Another blob of red appeared on the screen, followed by the ship trembling once more.
~Warning! Ship hull damaged! Depressurization has been detected in Cargo Bay Three.
Cassian had faced the pirates in the past as well. At that time, he at least had his crew and his ship was in a somewhat decent condition. He could at least put up a fight.
At present, he could do nothing but watch his ship getting attacked.
He tried sending a signal for help, while also trying to contact the attacking ship to see if there was any chance of negotiations.
The negotiations never came. What came was another attack, and even the remaining systems started blacking out, like life support systems in the Medical Bay.
"Is there no possibility for survival?'
There were so many breaches in the ship due to the attacks, that he didn't even know where to start. He could try rushing down to repair at least the shields, but he had already run out of things that could be used.
After one more attack, everything stopped. There were no further attacks even as the ship was brought to an unsalvageable situation with holds all around.
Only the command center was left unharmed. Everything else was in ruins.
He waited for a few moments, but nothing happened. It made him frown.
Did these people not want him dead? But if they were pirates, why would they try to destroy the entire ship that couldn't even fight back when they could take it?
He soon received the answer he was looking for.
An old sounding voice came through his comms.
"Cassian, I was just informed about your signal for help? Are you alright? Fortunately, I was in the nearby star field. I should be able to get there within half an hour. Can you hold on until then?"
Cassian's expressions turned darker when he heard that voice. Everything started making sense. He finally understood why it was happening, and why he wasn't dead yet.
"Ha... Hahaha. These cunning bastards!" He tossed his head up, and burst into laughter. But there was only pure rage in his eyes now.
He hadn't felt this angry even when he was kicked out of the union, or insulted with the pitiful compensation. But this time, they had crossed all limits.