The Crossbone Reavers

"Not happenin', Capt'n. Still losing altitude!"

Blaring warning sirens ran throughout the reddened bulkheads of the Interceptor Frigate, The Ravenous Duchess, the crew jumping from one crew station to the next.

<Big rumbling in engines! Big rumbling. Bigger than Tusken Raider hungry!>

<Medical Station's Bacta is boiling....tis a tad hot down here ol' chap!>

<Howmah gonna ge'ddis woo'chip stew finished wit'awt emergency powahz, Cappi!?>

A lone figure in the captain's chair looked on at the chaos in his ship with an almost detatched sense of calm. Tapping his fingers against each other, his elongated claw-like nails clicking to the touch, the Falleen captain reached over to a button on his command chair.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are currently on a nosedive ride towards the local planet. Would all passengers please be seated into the crash webbings and all crew prepare for landing. Mr. Johweebeh, please secure the reactor so that it does not melt down during our landing procedures. Dr. Hoh-Boh, don't mind the bacta and get as many first aid kits into the inner cargo hold, also I would recommend you get strapped in as well in some webbing. You will no doubt be busy after this. Mr. Cookiee, I am delaying shipboard meals by three hours. Please turn off the ovens and secure the kitchen appliances before we land. You all have ten minutes."

Turning off the shipboard communications, Captain Zhenxou looked up to his bridge crew.

"See if we can get a more conventional landing. Do any of our thrusters still work?"

"Aye, Capt'n. Workin' onnit. You be'er get into some crash webbin' too..."

"Quite. Oh and evacuate the lower decks please. I have a feeling we may lose some of those if we land the way I want to..."

In Orbit over Roon, Marauder class Corvette Kraken's Claw

"Captain Kalamarakia, the Ravenous Duchess is going down in flames."

The Quarren Captain strode forward to the Mon Calamari first mate from his position in front of the viewports and clasped the fellow Aquaraian by the throat with his clawed hand.

<Since when did I order you to crash the ship onto the planet? Zhenxou's treasure is aboard that ship! Take the ship down to their expected crash site!>

Dropping the first mate unceremoniously on the floor, Captain Kalamarakia sat himself into his captain's chair with a slump. True, they did not have any ion cannons nor ion weaponry so disabling the target ship was difficult, but at least they could have destroyed the engines enough to get alongside the interceptor frigate.

---

The Ravenous Duchess Crash Site

"Alright...Mr Warghun, hows the inventory?"

The Wolfman looked up from his crouched position near the ship's hull. They had lost much in terms of supplies but the treasure vault had remained intact and safe from the bouncy landing.

"Its a good thing we invested in those compensators. Looks like even the earthenwares are intact."

"Good. We're marooned on Roon, but I guess here is as good a place as we can hope for an isolated island to hide our treasure in."

The last haul had been most productive, they had successfully raided a convoy of goods from a planet that was sending donations to the Rebels now calling themselves the high and mighty "New Republic". Zhenxou couldn't care less for those idealistic idiots and so had no qualms about taking goodwill gifts from their spendrift purses. The freedom fighters were just as likely to waste it on humanitarian aid or something as much as getting more weapons. Politics bored the Falleen captain.

Unless it was pirate politics. Apparently Captain Kalamarakia had taken offence to getting to the rebel treasure first and so had chased them half way across the void to get at them.

"Mr Head-butt, Mr Warghun. Keep watch over the ship. Hide yourselves in the tree line. I very much doubt the walking band of sea food is going to just let this go. I want fifteen volunteers to help me take the treasure to bury it."

The Ewok chief of security and the Wolfman Quartermaster got the hint and gathered up fifteen of the crew they deemed best for the job. They were each paired up and issued one of seven crates to drag/carry with them. The remaining one was assigned to pathfinder duty and Captain Zhenxou left the beach. The Ravenous Duchess had crashed into a small island and had toppled onto the beaches. The temperature was blistering, mostly due to the moisture from the sea coming at them from the summer temperatures. The remaining twenty or so odd crew left behind picked up what weapons they could get and ran for cover. Pursuit was coming, it was just a matter of time. The last of them covered the tracks as best they could, to make it seem the ship was abandoned or at least unattended on the outside.

When Captain Zhenxou returned, as expected, alone with only a few scrapes to show for his simple ordeal of burying his treasure and killing his men in proper Pirate fashion, he found an unusual sight of a Mantellan standoff.

"Mr Warghun! Status report, if you will."

Despite the dangerous circumstances, the Wolfman stood to mock attention and waved in the general direction of Captain Kalamarakia's men. Like their Quarren overlord, the crew of the Kraken's Claw was mostly composed of the more aquatic members of Galactic sentiency. They seemed uneasy about all the sand on the beach and while the moisture from the sea was refreshing to them no doubt, the hot, dry air coming down from the rest of the island was stifling their stamina.

"As you can see, Cap'ain. A classical stand-off. They there want your treasure. We don't have 'em."

"Those fifteen men dead on my crates would have been useful right about now."

Defensively raising his hands as if pushing an imaginary figure away from his face, Warghun made a facial expression of hurt.

"Now now, Cap'ain. We did down ten of them numbers while you were off doing your thing. But they do still have us outnumbered two to one."

Barking a single "Ha!" into his Quartermaster's face, the Falleen captain fixed the tilt on his hat, tightened his belt, tapped the hilt of his vibrorapier and while thanking his chief of security took the Power cane the Ewok offered to him. Without skipping a beat, he stepped forward into the beach from the shadow of the forest without a single weapon drawn. Behind him, his crew stepped forward and fell in line behind their leader.

"Captain Kalamarakia! A pleasure seeing you visit my humble resort! Parley?"

The Quarren looked just about ready to explode with anger at the Falleen captain's humour but stopped short of ordering his men to fire. They were both villains of the most heinous kind and such ilk were ruled by courtesy of equal infamy. Of course, both did not have any notion of loyalty to conducting a Parley, and neither was such opportunities for the cessation of hostilities in any code of conduct. Generally peace came through the barrel of a blaster.

<Captain Zhenxou. Terribly sorry to drop in unannounced. Please, don't mind me and my crew, we were just inspecting your ship. It looks a tad worn for wear no?>

The two captains approached at the head of their respective men until they were about three meters apart. They both declined to shake hands or show any such fraternal cordiality.

"Quite the beating she has taken. I was about to convert it into a resort hotel actually. I believe I have you and your wonderful ship to thank for this renovation works."

Raising his hand in a halting gesture, the Quarren smiled a toothy grin equivalent in their people's body language imitating a more near-human expression.

<No need for thanks, I believe it was a profound improve...>

Kalamarakia never got to finish the phrase, a small ball bearing shooting out from a pistol that leapt into Zhenxou's hand exploded a meter away from his face and splattered the former Pirate captain's brains over his crew. Kalamarakia's own main hand clutching a DT-57 superheavy blaster pistol. The stunned crew of the Kraken's Claw looked between the pile of minced flesh and the Falleen captain as if not sure what to do for a moment. Keeping them off balance was the key here to their very survival.

"By right of conquest I claim Kalamarakia's gun and his ship! Any dissenters?!"

---

A Few Hours Later, Roon Orbit
Marauder class Corvetter Kraken's Claw, now renamed the Kraken's Head
Captain's Quarters

The Kraken's Head, Captain's Log,
Entry 1, Captain Zhenxou writing

Today marked a day of firsts for me. This day marked the first time I was ever shot down by the former Captain Kalamarakia. Today marked the first time I was ever marooned on Roon. Today marked the first time I ever buried treasure on a dry tropical island. Today marked the first day I establish myself as the captain of this fine...if smelly ship.

But today also marked the last day I will ever ask a crew of buccaneers if there were any dissentors. I will be wrapped in plasters and bacta patches for at least three weeks...or so Doctor Hoh-Boh tells me. How was I supposed to know the First Mate would take offence to me offering them roast Calamari?!