I awoke quickly, and coughed salty water from my mouth. I must have hit the water on my way down. The air was becoming stale and soon I would have trouble breathing, so I waded waist-deep in sea water to the airlock. As soon as I reached it I saw the problem: a hole the size of my head was dented in the side of the cabin. I could only hope that it wouldn't block the door when opening. I pressed the control panel only to find that power must have been lost, even the backups for the controls were no longer operating. I pulled out the emergency casing beside it quickly, looking for the manual control. The water was steadily gaining on me, and would soon be up to my chest. If I were to make it out without drowning I would have to hurry this.

I found the manual release and twisted it, allowing the door to slide open. It stopped for a moment, but a kick to the bottom loosened it enough for me to slide through. When it opened, water rushed in, filling every section of the ship. I made my way out just before it sank to the bottom, and there was no telling how far that could be. I guess there was no alternative but to start swimming, with no way of knowing whether I am moving farther from land or closer. Suddenly, from above came the cry of a gull. I looked up and realized that that must mean that land is nearby. I noted the direction it was travelling and started to swim.

Less than an hour later I arrived on a small, barren shore, covered only with birds and rocks. Still no sign of human life, but I pressed on, walking down the beach. Eventually I saw the outline of a dock ahead, meaning a city must be near. Walking closer I found that it was not a dock at all, but a crash site. Streaks of red and orange in the twisted metal indicated that it was most likely the Defender that was chasing me, it must have followed me in. I moved forward, hoping to find something to salvage, but found nothing but ashes. As I walked away I saw footprints below me, coming from the wreckage. There must have been a survivor.

I followed the prints east, and into a small city. It was too tiny to hold a landing pad, and it definitely couldn't have a shipyard, but it would get me some information on my exact whereabouts. I came across a small tavern. It looked dingy, but safe enough. I walked indoors to find it nearly empty, escept for a sole customer sitting at the bar, being waited by an older man, maybe in his late sixties.

"What brings you to these parts? It's not often we have two strangers in one day," the bartender observed. He was obviously used to only a few regulars, though you wonder what he meant by the other stranger. Could he mean the pirate?

"My shuttle crashed. I need to find a city with a spaceport." I was anxious to leave here as soon as possible. I had no desire to chat with the locals.

"Oh, you would be looking for Underton, then. That's the closest thing to a city around here. About forty kilometers north. You can get a cab most likely, but it will cost you a pretty penny for that distance."

"I don't care, I just need to get out. I'll find my way. Thanks for your help." I walked as quickly as possible out the door. The man at the barstool didn't seem to notice I had ever come in, not tomention that I had left.

I made my way down the road to the taxi service, about two blocks away. I was just about to step in the door when I felt a cold hand fall upon my shoulder and a sharp object press into my back. I knew that feeling from experience, and it felt a lot like a disruptor.

"Not a move," I heard a harsh voice from behind me. "I am not afraid to use this."

"I'm sure you're not." I tried to keep my voice as steady as possible. I didn't want to show any sign of fear to this character. There is a good chance that this could be the pirate who followed me down. "I don't have any money on me," This was a blatant lie, though he probably did not care. If this was the same pirate, revenge would be his only objective. Pirates don't seem to like being outsmarted, even if I did take it as badly as he did.

He pulled me into a dark alleyway, far from any onlookers that might pass by. "I don't want your money, at least not yet. I can have that after I have what I really need from you."

Without warning, I thrust my elbow into his stomach and slammed his right hand into the wall, forcing him to drop the weapon. I pushed him to the ground and kicked him once, disabling him. I grabbed the disruptor from the ground and pointed it at him.

"You are going to run as fast as you can. If you are not out of my sight in ten seconds I am going to have to use this. Tell all of your friends not to mess with Dash Riprock. I can assure you that if they do, they will do it only once." He scurried off down the alley and down the road, not stopping to look back.

I walked back up to the entrance of the taxi service. Hearing the bell ring as I opened the door, a man in weathered clothing came to greet me.

"Yo, me's Benny. Were's we gots to go?" It took a second, but you figured out what he was asking you.

"Yeah, I need to get to Underton. The man at the bar said that was about forty klicks north, how much will that be?" I couldn't wait to get back into space. People here were a bit too casual for me.

"Sure, dat's gonna be one fifty credits." Benny told me, grinning.

"A hundred fifty? You have to be kidding me. I can't afford that kind of money for a ride into town," I was outraged that he would charge that much for such a simple task.

"What, you wants to walk? You can't find no other taxis around here at leasts twenty kilometers. You's ain't gots no other choices." We both knew that he was right. He had no competition and the bastard could charge whatever he wanted.

"Whatever, just hurry up. When can we leave?" There was no point in arguing with this guy.

"Right now if yous wants. I ain't gettin' no other customers todays. I nevers do. Le's go." I followed him back to the garage where two taxis laid. They were once checkered, or so it appears, but the paint was so faded now that you could not tell. Benny pointed to the door on the passenger side, so I got in. Once inside, I noticed that there were no keys.

"How are you going to start that up?" I asked, puzzled.

The driver hit the dashboard with his fist and nothing happened. He tried it again and it roared to life, quite vigorously for a car of this age. The car shook slightly as it reached cruising height, that being about two and a half meters, and took off. Traffic was not an issue in this town. We didn't see a single car on the road other than our own. I guess I'm glad I didn't try to hitchhike, I might have made it there before I got a ride.

"So what's yours story? What you doin' here?" Benny asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Had to make a crash landing. Engines blew out." I tried to make this as brief as possible.

"Damn, boy. What'd you do to make dem do dat?" This man was obviously not going to shut up. I guess I'd have to humor him.

"Pirates."

"In dees parts? That ain't too common. Usually deys stays out of da cores."

"I don't know." So I lied. I didn't really want to talk.

"Oh. Well here we is. Underton. It ain't much, but it's gotta pad and all. 'Sat were you want dropped off?"

"Sounds good." Longest damned five minutes I had ever had.

He dropped me off at the entrance, and I paid him in cash. Once he had his hands on the money he took off as fast as he could, not even bothering with a goodbye. I guess it's just as well, though. Underton was actually a fairly large city. It wasn't huge, but it was worlds better than the hell hole I came here from. I walked into the air-conditioned spaceport and made my way over to the shipyard. I looked through my wallet to find just over ninety thousand in there. It's not much, but it will have to do. I walked up to the head clerk at the shipyard counter.

"What have you got for under ninety grand?" I asked casually, hoping I could get a good deal on this.

"Let's see, do you have a trade in?" I shook my head. "I guess not..." he looked down at the display panel and read off the list. "You could go for a shuttlecraft, that would be about ten grand, um... you could get a Scoutship, let's see... I think that's it. Not much you can do, eh?" The clerk grinned.

"Scoutship you say? I guess that's my only choice. Sign me up. Oh, and load it with some medical supplies. I need to buy them while I can get them cheap. As much as I can afford."

"That shouldn't take very long, you can't afford much." Yeah, go ahead and smile now, asshole, I thought. You won't think it's so funny when you're the one who's flat broke.

The man told me when it was ready and motioned for me to walk out to the landing pad. When I was out there I found my ship waiting for me. Damn, it felt good to own something other than a cardboard box with wings. And some weaponry too. I crawled inside, admiring the extra room. I could finally stretch my legs a bit. This was the life.

Suddenly I got a transmission from the landing tower. "Cleared for takeoff. You may proceed." I gave the command to start the takeoff cycle on the control panel and lifted off. It felt good to bein the air again, even if I had only been grounded for a short while. With a whoosh the atmospheric engines kicked in and brought me into a low orbit where my thrusters kicked in with a shudder.

I looked at my map and tried to decide where to head to next. I needed to take a few missions and earn back some money, but I also needed to sell these medical goods somewhere. I guess Zaphod should be fine, I'm pretty sure they will buy my cargo at Beeblebrox. I'll have to look around. I selected Zaphod on the map and engaged my hyperdrive. I admired the smoothness of the entrance. Much better than that infernal shuttle.

I slept the day out, not a problem. I had bad a busy time on New Istanbul, between vengeful pirates and annoying cabbies. When I arrived in Zaphod I found that there was not a ship here. Very odd, Zaphod was usually bustling with Rebel and commerical activity. My short range scanners soon discovered many tons of wreckage. It would take nearly a dozen destroyed ships to do this. I decided I should land on Beeblebrox and check things out for myself. I mustn't be too forceful, though, for although a Scoutship is better than a shuttle, it was certainly no Kestrel either. I must approach the situation with much caution.

The red alert warning broke my train of thought as two large red dots appeared on my scanners. This was already too much. The sound of missiles being fired shattered all remaining hope of my survival. I didn't have time to jump, so I turned around and started heading for the planet. I would have to make sure that I did not crash this time...

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