“Luffy! The asteroid belt is coming up quick! You guys need to get back to the ship, now!” You shout from your chair on the bridge, gritting your teeth as Jinbei evades the outlying hunks of rock that littered this area of empty space, all while maintaining a close-enough proximity to the Galactic Government’s cruiser.
Easier said than done, but the Fishman was the best damn pilot you’d ever seen.
It was only with Franky at his side, keeping the ship’s power levels from fluctuating too wildly, that you were able to keep within the required distance for the particle jumper to be functional. Keeping it locked on target was difficult when both targets were actively moving.
Your captain’s smiling face grinned from your communication’s screen.
“Shishishi! Don’t worry! If there’s anyone who can get us back on board, it’s you!”
“Thanks for the faith but…just hurry up!”
His confidence in you was inspiring, but right now all you wanted to do was get the rest of the crew who’d particle-beamed onboard the enemy ship to get their asses back to the 1000 Solaris.
Luffy ended his comms, his image disappearing from sight, however, Zoro’s popped up just a moment later. From the way the background bounced and blurred, you could tell he was running.
“Y/N! Where did those two idiots go?” He questioned in a snarl, taking a moment to slash at a Galactic Trooper with his vibro-blade. “I thought we were heading for the engines to disable the hyperdrive?”
Your eyes glances at the schematics for the enemy ship’s real-time interior, three glowing dots highlighting where your companions were. With a sigh, you tapped the one lone dot that had to be the bladesman.
“Zoro! You took another wrong turn!”
Franky gave a heavy sigh, but didn’t look away from his console. “We should rethink letting Zoro go with boarding parties from now on.”
“It was a straight hallway! They were right in front of you! How did you get lost, again?” You directed at the green-haired pirate.
“These ships are built to confuse people!” He replied, irritated that you thought him so stupid.
You shook your head, typing in a few commands for his personal communicator. Even from this distance, it should display. “Just follow the arrows on your wrist. You can at least find your way with that simple guidance, can’t you?”
“Shut up! I’ll find the hyperdrive before Luffy and that shitty cook do.”
And with that proud promise, Zoro ended the transmission. You leaned back in your seat with an exhausted sigh. It wasn’t over yet, but you’d take the moment of respite when you could.
“I knew this was a bad idea…”
“They would have likely detected us anyway.” Jinbei pointed out with a quiet chuckle from his seat at the ship’s helm. “They’ve been itching for a fight for days. Let them get it out of their systems.”
“They’ve always pulled through, Y/N, don’t start doubting them now.” Franky chimed in with a sudden grin, flashing you a wink from beside you.
One after another in quick succession, three additional dots activated on the ship’s schematic, on the other side of the vessel. They must have reactivated the tracking function on their communicators once they no longer needed the stealth.
Your communicator pinged as Usopp’s image appeared in the corner of your screen.
“Y/N, we grabbed the databanks onboard. Robin, Nami, and I are good to beam onboard.”
“Got it, stand by.”
Your finger swipes across the screen, directing back to the particle beamer’s console. You lined up the beam’s targeting reticle at the section of the ship where your three crew mates were located. Extrapolating the distance, width, height, and number of targets would have taken another ages. Especially with an actively moving target, it was nigh impossible.
But you were an expert in all sense of the word. Luffy was right. If there was one person who could safely get them aboard it was you.
“Watch for the spike, Franky.”
“Let’s see it.” He grinned, fingers flexing on the handles for the engine controls.
Satisfied with the calculations, you engaged the beam, hearing the familiar whir as it began revving up it’s power levels. The beam itself wasn’t visible to the naked eye, but the tell-tale sound of vibrating space made you confident that it was indeed working.
The 3 dots that indicated Usopp, Robin, and Nami’s forms on the enemy ship disappeared, and you heard the jump platform above you in the ship activate. 3 onboard. 3 more to go.
You look up as one section of the ship suddenly implodes upon itself, followed by an outward force that shoots half the debris out into the empty void. You immediately ping up Luffy’s communicator, eyes glancing at the three life signs of your companions just in case. Thankfully Zoro seemed to have made his way back with Sanji and Luffy, so you didn’t have to worry about that.
Luffy’s face finally pulled up, the background behind him a flaming mess.
“Y/N! The engines are destroyed. Along with a lot of other important stuff.” He reported confidently, his smile unfitting for the situation, honestly. “You can beam us back on now.”
“Ok, stand by for jump.” You say, fingers working their magic over the console once more, locking targets with their life signs before the entire ship is either engulfed in flames or destroyed from the intense vacuum of space.
Once all life signs of your crew is safely aboard, Luffy reappears in the cockpit to sit at his Captain’s chair, looking remarkable proud of himself for almost having died aboard a half-destroyed ship.
The others trickled in, waiting on Luffy to give further orders.
Nami!“ He called, gaining the orange-haired navigator’s attention. "Where’s the nearest spaceport?”
“That Galactic Government ship made up fly a few clicks off course for our original destination.” She surmised, pulling up her star map on her own wrist communicator. “Now, we’re closer to Gordya Space Station than Xiona.”
“Set a course then, Jinbei!” Luffy commanded, arms crossing as he settled into his chair. “Fighting off those troopers made me hungry. Let’s celebrate with some meat!”
“Aye, Captain!”
“All of you, get some rest! Nice job getting us out of there.” He complimented, watching as most of the crew trickled away to go to their quarters or hit the showers. Sanji and Zoro in particular were looking notable singed around the edges.
After the stress of the battle, and of making sure all your calculations were spot on, you rose from your chair, intent on getting a break. “I’m gonna get a nap in. That whole thing was…exhausting.”
“Shishishi!” Luffy gave a laugh. “Ok then, but wasn’t I right? If there was anyone who could have gotten us off that ship, it was you, Y/N.”
“Yeah, well…” You rubbed the back of your neck, slightly embarrassed at the compliment. “I’m arrogant enough to say I’m damn good at it, I guess.”
“I wouldn’t have a chance of being King of the Space Pirates if it wasn’t for all you guys.” He went on, gesturing to also include Jinbei, Franky, and the others who’d dispersed. “Thanks for being so great.”
“You’re gonna turn Y/N red with all of these compliments. Don’t give them a more inflated ego than they already have.” Franky said with a chuckle.
Irked, you turn to him and dismiss his words. “Next time, I’ll let you deal with the sudden spike in power without tell you. We’ll see how you like it then.”
You leave the room and begin to head to your quarters, Luffy’s amused and lighthearted laughter in your wake. You can’t help but smile to yourself, thinking there was no other man ambitious or crazy enough you’d ever take your chances with in this messed up galaxy.
ns 15.158.61.23da2
