Roka's eyes widened as the doctor stepped closer to him, shoving him up against the wall and grabbing at his face. Roka growled and pushed back against the taller man, though it was of little use in his current state. The Balosar's lip curled in a snarl as he watched the doctor carefully, his words piercing even through the ringing in Roka's ears. He didn't even need his emotional senses to know what was going through Doc's mind; smugness, superiority, self-righteousness. He'd never been through something like this, never had to deal with the kind of anguish and pain that grew stronger and sharper with every light-year they'd gotten closer to the Graveyard! Finally, Marr let him go and sauntered away, leaving the sickly scent of pretention in his wake. Roka spat behind his back, finally releasing the white-knuckled grip he'd taken on one of his blasters and stalking after the doctor.

Walking up to his ship, Roka rolled his eyes as he heard Marr beginning to lecture young Bast. Pushing past the two, Roka cleared his throat, interrupting the doctor's reverie. [color=92278f]"By all means friend, be impressed."[/color] He said, motioning to the hallways ringing the ship's saucer-like design. [color=92278f]"The miracle of space flight and hyperdrive technology are feats of engineering, on par with the, what was it? 'Vast, interconnected biological arrays'? We built this. People like you and me, Bast. We can make miracles happen."[/color] Roka allowed himself a smirk at the thought that maybe, just maybe he could get under the doctor's skin a bit, before focusing his attention on Bast. [color=92278f]"We'll be launching in a few minutes. What I'd like you to do is to go pick a turret; there's one on top and one on bottom. You'll be a second set of eyes, mostly. Check the displays, figure out how the guns work; it's pretty simple. Don't shoot anything unless you hear from me first though. If you see anything interesting, just call me using the comm."[/color] The stowaway boy looked to the side,seeming to take little interest, but Roka knew better. As soon as his back was turned, the kid would scamper off to the turret like a bolt shot from a blaster.

Roka motioned Marr to follow him towards the cockpit, rubbing his temples with one hand. This would be a long flight. [color=92278f]"Cockpit's cramped. That's about the only drawback to the 2K."[/color] He said, stepping into the narrow cockpit. Blinking lights and flashing consoles covered whatever wasn't being taken up be the plasteel viewscreen at the front-center of the ship. Roka deftly skipped around the co-pilot chair and settled into the slightly sunken Captain's chair in front. He let out a slow sigh as he tried to collect himself. The flashing buttons sparkled like miniature supernovas to his eyes, and the beeping consoles began to meld together to form a soothing symphony. [color=92278f]"You sit behind me, there."[/color] He said motioning to the co-pilots chair. [color=92278f]"Keep an eye on the sensors, let me know if you see something interesting."[/color] Roka said before getting to work decoupling from the mothership. A few moment later [i]The Steadfast[/i] was adrift, her engines powering up and taking her smoothly through the desolate wasteland that was once one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy. Everything in perspective. Maybe this wouldn't be a horrible trip.

[center][b]SOME TIME LATER[/b][/center]

This was a horrible trip. The headache was back. Stick had worn off. Cockpit was hot and cramped, Doc's knees kept sticking into Roka's back. The Balosar kept mulling over the events of the day in his mind, dwelling on the altercation outside his ship for longer than was good for him. He was starting to get his senses back, he could tell from the overwhelming feeling of pomp and boredom from behind him. Now was as good a time as any. [color=92278f]"I wanted to wait till the kid wasn't around, it doesn't concern him."[/color] Roka said, a cold edge seeping into his voice as he looked over the new sensor readings coming in. [color=92278f]"Keep your hands off me unless I need stitching up. What you did out there was over the line, and you're lucky I didn't shoot your pompous ass."[/color] He said, his voice picking up speed as he felt his own emotions starting to flare. [color=92278f]"You don't know me, you don't know what it's like for me to be in this graveyard. I can respect you wanting to be safe, but I promise you that without those Sticks, you'd be in a lot more danger. You want a clear-headed pilot, there you go. You might not like it, but I'm working it down to a science, I know exactly how much I can take and still function in order to not be crippled with dread every waking moment."[/color] The last part said through clenched teeth, Roka bit his tongue for letting slip details he'd rather keep hidden.

Fortunately, it seemed the Graveyard was on his side; his consoles lighting up with signs of energy, mass, even life signs. Roka eased up on the ship's throttle, pulling alongside a larger asteroid. [color=92278f]"Anyway. Something coming up here. A ship maybe, but no engine readings. I'm gonna try and get some more readings before going in for a visual."[/color] He said, feeling torn between wanting to continue his diatribe and wanting to drop it completely...

[@Almosegosum] ((I moved us ahead a little bit, if you'd like to pull it back just let me know and I'll fix it! Also up to you how to continue, if you want to get into a discussion or move on.))