Bring the ship in!

"Hold," you order. Kalis raises a questioning eyebrow. "There's no point in destroying the ship," you say. "I want a prisoner to interrogate. And maybe we can sell that fighter at the next starport."

"You continue to surprise me, John." You look down to see Osha smiling at you. This time the smile is different, however. It seems softer, more real, somehow. Ignoring the comment, you instruct the ship AI to commence retrieval operations and you make preparations.

Soon, you are standing in the cargo bay of your ship, with a heavily-armed Kalis by your side and a FT-92M Exor-Class Interceptor in front of you. There is a loud hiss as the fighter's canopy slides open. The pilot, clad in a heavy flight suit and sensor helmet, raises his hands in surrender.

"Just take it slow and no one gets hurt," you say in an authoritative tone. "You may disembark now." A hatch on the hull of the fighter underneath the cockpit swings open as the pilot's seat is slowly lowered to the ground by retractable supports. The pilot gets out of his seat and stands up, hands still raised. "Take off your helmet," you order. You're slightly surprised to see blue skin and long, silver hair as the helmet is lifted. The pilot is a Ranthian woman. An attractive one, at that, but then again all Ranthian women are attractive by common human standards. You turn to Kalis. "Take her to the holding cell. And strip her naked, make sure she doesn't have any weapons hidden on her." The Ranthian looks uncertain as she is led away at gunpoint.

Quickly inspecting the ship, you see that all its primary systems have shut down. If you can get it repaired, it should fetch a decent price at any gray market. You may even keep it for yourself; a fighter could come in handy.

When you return to your quarters, you see Osha sitting at your desk with the holocomputer on. She turns to you as you walk in. "What will you do with her?" she asks.

"With who?"

"The pilot."

"How did you know it was a she?"

Osha shrugs. "If you're going to interrogate her, perhaps you should start soon, before thoughts of escape become troublesome for you."

Hmm, maybe. Or maybe you'd like to do something else while you're here.