Project Boussh: The Joys of Duct Tape
by Alison Sky

Hobbie sighed as he felt his feet connect with the smooth metal of 
the Pulsar Skate. "Mark another X-Wing for scraps," he muttered to 
himself as the airlocks closed. He could feel the pressurizing of the 
room, and shivered as the heat in the room rose faster than his body. 
Once the light above the door turned green, Mirax rushed in with a 
big blanket. "Hobbie, are you OK?" she asked, wrapping the heavy 
cloth around the pilot's back. 
"I'm fine," Hobbie said dourly. "At least this time I'm not going to 
end up in bacta." 
Mirax smiled. "And there aren't any bugs on this ship to bite you 
either." 
Hobbie groaned as they walked back towards the cockpit. Halfway 
there, a knocking could be heard on a closet door. Mirax and Hobbie 
exchanged glances, then Mirax pulled out her blaster. "Who's in 
there?" she asked. 
A muffled reply came, and Hobbie recognized the tone. Quickly, he 
grabbed the handle and opened the door. Wes fell out of the closet, a 
good amount of duct tape binding his arms and legs together, plus 
another piece across his mouth. He rolled around on the floor to get 
himself upright, and his face was puffy from trying to breathe with 
the duct tape across his mouth. 
"Not again," Hobbie muttered. 
"Are you OK?" Mirax asked.
Wes mumbled some more, and Hobbie reached for the tape and pulled at 
it. Wes let out a loud scream, and Rekla ran to the back of the room 
with her blaster drawn. "I heard a... Wes?!" he stated, looking down at 
the taped pilot. "What are you doing here?" 
"I was getting ready to go off with Kristy, when suddenly that Crowe 
fella snuck up behind me and knocked me over the head."
Rekla's eyes opened wide. "You mean that Russell Crowe is with 
Kristy and the commandos, and they think he's you?" Wes nodded.
"Are all actors as egotistical as Face?!" Mirax stated. "The guy's 
an actor, not a gladiator!" 
"Well, he did play a gladiator once," Hobbie stated while pulled the 
tape away from Wes' arms. "I saw bits of his movie on TV one night at 
the cabin."
"You guys need to get down there and help them before Crowe gets them 
all in trouble." Rekla stated.
"They have Kartan's commandos with them," Mirax stated. "I don't 
think they'll get into too much trouble." 
"Well...thinking about Crowe's affection on Kristy," Hobbie 
stated. "He's just as bad as Wes can be." 
"Hey!" Wes stated, then let out a muffled scream as Hobbie slapped 
another piece of duct tape across his mouth. "You know, I could get 
used to this stuff," Hobbie said, and they laughed as Wes growled at 
his best friend. 
Mirax stood. "Strap in boys. I'll make a quick swing by the Addy and 
drop you two off. You can catch a ride home on the Red Home." 
"Sure thing, Mirax," Hobbie said, standing up. "Come on Tape Boy." 
Wes mumbled under the tape as he reached up to pull it off. Another 
cry of pain echoed through the Pulsar Skate.