Session export: The Blackguards of Crannix III

“`The Caperion System is silent no more! The buzz of machines, bustling loading docks, and the sound of credits changing hands are now the commonplace choir of Seraph. It is not all well, for the call of growth and success attracts predators…

The Imperial Intelligence has been monitoring an ongoing pattern of pirate activity, just outside the Caperion System. Capitalizing off the recent boom of manufacturing and trade, thousands of tons of raw and processed materials have been intercepted and stolen by these pirates. Calling themselves the Cordin Scythe, they have seemingly mastered hit and run strikes against trade convoys destined for the trade station located at Crannix III.

The pirates have established a pattern in their strikes. Convoys that are hit are always unattended by Imperial escort. The Imperial Navy has established a specialized protocol, which randomizes what convoys are protected by escorting craft. Typically, our Corvettes and Frigates are reserved for this role, but with the increased brazenness of the pirate strikes, the Admiralty has suggested dedicating some of our larger vessels to the routine protection routes. We believe this is unwise. The admiralty would have you believe that a hammer is a suitable tool for every task. Some work requires a more dexterous approach.

Imperial Intelligence has, at the behest of the Vizier, investigated further. Our analysts find it suspicious that the Cordin Scythe has been able to break the Empire’s complex Escort schedule algorithm with such ease. You have been selected by the Director General of Imperial Intelligence, to investigate this matter further.

Your mission is to trail an unguarded convoy to the Crannix Trade Depot, keeping watch for pirate attacks. When they strike, you are to follow the pirates back to their hideout. Once there, you are to infiltrate the facility and bring these criminals to justice. Most importantly, you are to determine how the Cordin Scythe were able to break a complex Imperial Code.

You and your team will be given full access to the resources of Imperial Intelligence. You will be traveling on the ISN Gargoyle, a Special Ops Imperial Escort Carrier. The Gargoyle has a complement of TIE Hunters.

You are to report your findings to the Vizier directly. See that this matter is resolved in a timely fashion…”`

“`You arrive at the bustling shipyards over Myryakur, the 6th planet from Caperion’s Star. You can see the gas giant outside the hangar doors. The surface of the planet roils and churns, a swirling pot of reds, oranges, whites and browns. The occasional flash of lightning reminds you that it is perhaps not as inviting as the beautiful palette of color would suggest.

This is a military installation. Soldiers and officers bustle about, attending to their various and sundry duties. Droids and mechanics work on shuttles and TIE fighters. There is the buzz of hydrospanners, the crackling of welding torches, and the whir of machinery all around you. People and droid alike move with purpose. Beyond the clamor of the hangar, beyond the light blue forcefield the ISN Pilum and ISN Cyclone are docked, taking on replenishment.

Before you, occupying the majority of this hangar bay is the ISN Gargoyle. It is a sleek looking ship, with a pointed prow. It is an Imperial Storm Commando Carrier, from what you can recall. You can’t help but think that it resembles a harpoon or a spear. The last of its 12 TIE Hunters is being loaded into the vessel’s hangar. The Gargoyle’s hangar is small, it can only hold 6 of the craft, suspended on racks on the ceiling, and a single DX-9 Stormtrooper Transport. The other 6 TIES have been hung from external racks at the shift’s aft.

A deck officer shouts orders to his subordinates. Your group is beginning to assemble.

What would you like to do?”`

Two stormtroopers, clad in the classic white armor, with the distinguishing blue paint indicators of the Military Police approach Kah'ri. They raise their weapons, F-11 blaster rifles. “Provide identification and clearance levels.” one barks, behind his helmet. Slight modulation in the voice obscures key indicators of his voice.

The Stormtroopers move closer, putting separation between Kah'ri and the computer terminal. “This is a restricted area. Provide identification and clearance levels.” the first trooper remarks again. The other investigates what Kah'ri has attempted to pull up on the terminal.

“Yes, like the Vizier, from whom I get my orders…Directly.” The Stormtrooper snatches the datapad and checks the credentials. “Surely, a member of Clan Scholae Palatinae understands why we are taking extra precaution, what with the present leaks within the Navy. What is it that you were looking for?”

Kah’ri was able to access all records of the personnel aboard the station. The records are from the Imperial Navy. This is an Imperial Navy facility. There appears to be no reference to the *Gargoyle* being aboard, nor any of her crew.

The Stormtrooper looks Kah'ri up and down. “You have access to be on the station, but your mission program places you on the Gargoyle. You’ll want to find Captain Typhio, or her XO Lieutenant Commander Tosten.” He points across the hangar to the large vessel being loaded.

Kah’ri observes the activity on the flight deck, careful to stay clear of loadlifters and other personnel. An army of droids is loading gear. MSE droids are zipping about on the floor, carrying messages directly between officers. Coordinating them all appears to be an EV Supervisor droid. Looking around further, Kah’ri sees: A grisled Deck-Officer can be seen barking orders at his men as they complete a series of tasks. A group of several TIE Pilots stand with their crew chiefs, observing as their fighters are loaded on board the Gargoyle. Kah’ri notes that no ship’s officers appear to be on the flight deck. From what he can surmise, the vessel is very close to being prepared for departure.

Ellac looks over the Gargoyle, It has two dual turbolaser turrets mounted on the dorsal side, just forward of midships. It has two turbolaser turrets, mounted fore. It also has two laser turrets. He can also see that the Gargoyle has a flight of 12 TIE Hunters. 6 are mounted externally and 6 are in racks in the hangar

“WOAH WOAH WOAH!” A voice calls out. A deck officer passes off a datapad, tucks his own under his arm and runs over to Ellac and Kah'ri. “Credentials, please?”

The Deck Officer has slightly long, curly, red hair. It appears to be shaven on one side and there are **several metallic sutures** that hold the skin closed tight. He has slight freckles on his square and otherwise unremarkable face. He has a very short beard. His breath stinks slightly of stale Corellian Ale. He seems slightly nervous. He carries a sidearm pistol. His rank placard indicates Lieutenant.

The deck officer takes the datapad, scrolling through the information. “My post is to the Shipyard, sir. I’m Navy. This isn’t a Navy Op. I’m just doing my duty here until I can get back with the fleet.” He passes the datapad back. “You’ll want to speak with this vessel’s XO or Captain before I can grant you clearance to board. I’d be happy to inform them of your arrival and request, Sir.”

The officer takes Ellac’s datapad, scans through it. Then passes it back. He looks to Kah'ri, somewhat befuddled. “The bridge of the Gargoyle, sir.”

“Please, wait here a moment, I will notify the command that you’re prepared to board.” He steps aside, touches his hand to his ear mounted communicator and relays a direct message. “Commander Tosten, sir. Two of the team have arrived. Aye, Sir. Conrat and Marru. Aye, Sir. I’ll see them aboard immediately.”

He comes back to the two. “This way, Gentlemen.” He escorts Ellac and Kahri to a hatch on the side of the hull of the vessel. “Permission to come aboard! Lieutenant Kinall, escorting.” He barks at the person standing at the entrance.

“Granted” a reply comes back.

“Yes, Quite. The Empire has taken special interest in these raids. You see, not only do we need to protect our own goods, but establishing a diplomatic or rather, shared business interest, with the Crannix Trade Authority is a powerful diplomatic move in the local sector. Both the Emperor and the Vizier have expressed interest in pushing the Imperial influence outside of the borders of Caperion. Crannix is the perfect place to start exercising that influence. Piracy is bad business for the CTA, afterall.” Lieutenant Commander Tosten said to Rayne, looking through local star-charts.

A security team leads Kah'ri and Ellac to the bridge. The ship’s layout is rather simple. There are not many twisting corridors, the hull is too narrow, they reckon. They enter the bridge, seeing Rayne, Lieutenant Commander Tosten, Captain Sola Typhio, and several other officers. Sykes enters opposite them, nearly simultaneously.

“Indeed, Mr. Jade. Pleasure to have you aboard as well.” Tosten said, nodding. “We are still unclear as to where the Pirates are operating from. They seem to strike at random points along the hyperspace route to Crannix. Along the path from Caperion to Crannix, convoys must make five jumps. One of the perils of the Unknown regions, I am afraid. Hyperspace routes out this way are not well established, each convoy must adjust their course along the way. With so many potential paths, we can’t pin-point the origin of the attacks. But we have narrowed it down to Some potential systems. Varia, Dusamar, Muutra, Garo, Kashi, Tari and the Afash Systems.”

“The Captain will be giving a full briefing when your whole group has assembled. By my count, we are just waiting on one member.” he added

Lieutenant Commander Tosten looks up from the map. “Very well. Afraid there isn’t much to explore, but it is wise to know your environment never the less. Take this access card. We’ll sent send you a message when everyone is ready.” He hands Ellac a small datacard.

Ellac is exploring the Gargoyle. It is a fine ship. The floors are perfectly polished and the bulkhead walls are immaculate. You make your way through the halls of the vessel. There are three decks. Each deck consists of a central corridor, off which there are chambers. The upper deck appears to be mostly officer quarters, a ready room, and the bridge. The middle deck includes accommodations for the crew. The accommodations are spartan, at best. The vessel lightly crewed. You get the sudden impression that this vessel is designed for use by the elite forces of Clan Scholae Palatinae. Only the most skilled would be able to operate such a large ship with so few crew members. You notice that the troopers aboard are Death Troopers, not your ordinary Stormtrooper. These are hard-hitting killers. They are not to be trifled with. There is access to the ship's two largest turrets. There is access to the catwalk above the hangar and it appears that the room closest to this entry is the TIE pilot’s ready room. The third deck is mostly mechanical and ships systems. There is a modest sized cargo bay and access to the Hangar. You familiarize yourselves with the layout of the vessel. Where would you like to go?

“Ah, back so soon, young Master Conrat? I trust you found everything to be in order…” Tosten remarks, passing a datapad off to a junior officer.

“I encourage you not to think of this as a mere tracking mission, sir. Make no mistake about it, this is a hunt. A hunt requires a predator. The Gargoyle fits that bill perfectly. I can think of no ship more fitting, nor a crew more prepared for this task than the Gargoyle and her men.” Tosten said, standing up straight, as if offense was taken in the suggestion that the ship is not up to task.

“*Ahem*Yes, we shall endeavor to do so, Mister Jade…As I had previously stated…once your group is assembled, the Captain will brief you on the mission parameters. I am afraid I can’t say more. Captain Typhio is…Particular.” Tosten says, nodding to Sykes and tossing a side-eyed glance at Rayne.

Tosten looks at Kah'ri. “Yes, we can facilitate. If you’re interested. Ensign Skye.” He calls over his shoulder.

A young woman approaches and salutes. Ensign Skye is the Ship’s Bosun. She’s an able officer, knowledgeable in all aspects of the ship. She is a young Human woman, early 20s, you suspect. She has light brown skin and a head of curly golden hair, pressed flat under her black cap. She wears the white tunic of the ISB, rather than the standard naval gray. Her face is narrow and she has a beauty mark just above the left side of her lips. She is quite attractive in her own right.

“Aye, Sir?” Ensign Skye, says reporting.

“Your report, Ensign.” Tosten orders.

“Aye, Sir. The Gargoyle is ready for departure on your. All systems functioning nominally, Sir.” She reports.

“Excellent, Ensign. That means you have time to spare.” Tosten says.

“Sir?” Skye inquires

“Mister Marru would like to see the ships schematics. Please facilitate his review and assist him with any questions he may have. Report back once he is satisfied.” Tosten says.

“Aye, Sir.” Skye turns her brown eyes to Kah'ri. “This way, Sir. To my terminal.”

Skye escorts Kah'ri to the terminal, enters her credentials and brings up a ship schematic.

“Here you are, Sir. I shall answer any questions you may have.” she says, offering the seat.

“Certainly.” She leans over and taps the screen, moving to the engines. She smells lightly of lavender.

“The Gargoyle is power by three Aurek-Aurek two two eight engines. She’ll cruise at 60 MGLT, but we can push beyond that with effective reactor management. We’ve gotten her up to 81 on previous sprints. Hyperdrive will make .2 past lightspeed” she says, pointing out the engine details.

“Structurally or Tactically, Sir?” she asks

“Aye, Sir. Structurally, this ship is split at the midships by the hangar. Naturally, that puts a vulnerability on the keel of the ship at that point.” She says.

“Tactically, Sir…I’m afraid that’s not my field of expertise, but the primary cannons do have a limited firing arc of 300 degrees, so if something gets in behind the Gargoyle she might have trouble. Anything larger than a frigate…we’re better off running than fighting. Our TIEs may be effective in delaying, but this vessel is not meant to fight cruisers.” she says, raising a finger to tap on her chin.

Skye looks at Ellac, but does not respond. Then turns back to Kah'ri, eying the explorer droid. “Very Well, Sir. Was there anything else I could assist you with?”

Ensign Skye returns to Tosten, reports. Then returns to her station.

“Miss Lap'lamiz. So kind of you to join us…” Comes a stern female voice. “I trust you’re well rested and prepared to be punctual for the rest of this operation.” Captain Typhio says, stepping away from the conn towards the tactical display where the team has assembled.

Captain Typhio is a stern looking woman, tired in the eyes. She is tall and has a commanding presence. Her face is angular and her short black hair is kept a millimeter shorter than Naval Maximum. She has olive skin and a slight scar carved over her lip. She wears the whit tunic of Imperial Intelligence, not the standard grey of the Imperial Navy. Her flat cap is tucked into her belt. She feels like a very serious woman, both feared and respected.

Typhio steps up next to Tosten, passing her datapad to him. “Caf is a beverage that is reserved for downtimes, Miss Lap'lamiz.” She turns to Tosten, “Commander, please make clear to depart. Get the Gargoyle clear of the station while I brief our guests…”

Typhio grits her teeth. “Quite. Thank you, Mister Jade. I will make something abundantly clear… to all of you. This ship and her crew serves the Empire above all. We are not here to accommodate your desires. This is a warship…not a pleasure cruiser. While aboard this vessel you will be held to the same rigorous standards as the crew. Failure to comply will result in a prolonged visit to the Brig. Which, I will note for you, Miss Lap'lamiz…is far less comfortable than your current berth…and Before you go and threaten me…I have served the Empire since long before your Father took the throne, and I shall serve it long after he departs.”

“Now…please pay attention…”. She waves her hand and the lights go dim.

”Welcome aboard the Gargoyle.” she begins, “As I am sure you are all aware, in the most recent months following the unwarranted attack against Ragnath, vultures and other carrion feeders in the local sector have sought to prey upon the Empire’s misfortunes. It took us some time to reestablish the shipping routes out of the Caperion System.”

She directs your attention to the holomap. The map displays the local sector and clearly marks several routes. The Caperion system is present at the center of the map. Several other systems are also present. Indicated on the map are the Crannix system, the Kashi system, the Garo system, the Tari System, and the Afash System. The primary trade route runs from the Caperion System to the Crannix System. There are few other routes that run directly to the other systems. Crannix is clearly a local trade hub.

“Our transport craft have been coming under regular attack from pirates while en route to Crannix Trade Station. There has been no rhyme or reason to these attacks, and the pirates have seemingly been able to avoid the routine Imperial Escorts that we have embedded with the cargo caravans. We suspect there is an intelligence leak within the Imperial Navy. That is where we come in. Our mission is to trail Cargo Convoy Aurek Esk Cresh. As the Gargoyle operates under the umbrella of Imperial Intelligence, its movements are not tracked by the Imperial Navy. Our hope is that we can catch the pirates in the act of a raid. If we do, we are to capture as many of these pirates as we can. These lowlifes would sell out their mothers if they thought they could earn half a credit from it. Once the pirate threat is neutralized, we will continue to escort the convoy to Crannix. Once they have arrived safely, we are to return to Seraph with all of our gathered intelligence to prepare for a strike against the pirate base. In the event there is no contact with the pirates, we are to proceed to Crannix Trade Station and gather whatever intel we can before returning to Seraph. Are there any questions?”

“Enough.” Typhio said, slamming her fist down on the holotable.

“Miss Lap'lamiz, consider yourself under warning. If you had been paying any attention, you would know this is an Intelligence operation. It is our duty to determine where to begin. If we knew where they were, we would send the entirety of the fleet to stop every last seditious breath these scum took.”

“Mr. Jade, your question…Unknown. all we have is hearsay stories from the locals. Most of them are way over inflated. Our analysts have estimated that the total pirate force estimates at no more than one hundred and eighty. Some small snub fighters, a squadron or two, perhaps a Corvette of unknown make and model, and several small freighters. Nothing that a man of your reputation cannot handle.”

“You will have access to the Gargoyle and her complement. In the event any vessels are worth salvage, a team will be dispatched from Seraph for retrieval. Our primary objective is information. Any pirate personnel or assets are considered completely disposable.”

“One more thing. As we are operating under the purview of the Vizier, we are not operating by standard Navy procedure. The Vizier has ordered that my command is to be extended to you, the fine representatives of the Empire, for the duration of this mission. I must admit, that sits uneasy with me, but orders are orders. The Vizier has ordered that each of you occupy an officer role while we are underway. He called it ‘Fast Acumen Reserve Training’ The Vizier informed me it is of the utmost importance that members of the clan be familiar with operations aboard Imperial vessels in the event of future attacks on the Clan. I trust his wisdom, but feel certain he is exercising his sense of humor…nevertheless, I shall assign each of you a junior officer as aide and advisor. There are 6 Officer roles that must be filled. I shall leave the appointment of each role to your discretion.”

You feel a slight lurching and a rise in your stomach. You are certain that the Gargoyle is now underway. Tosten's commands to the other junior officers confirm that suspicion.

Captain Typhio sighs.

“Key word…Junior, Miss Lap'lamiz. You will be assigned to Ensign Vell. Commander Tosten and I will remain on post in an advisory role.”

Ensign Vell approaches the conn. He's a wormy young man, too small for his uniform. He's thin and tall. His face is... forgettable.

“Hello, mi'lady.” He says with a slight bow.

“Vell, for fucks sake…don’t screw this up or I will beat you to death with your own fists.” Tosten says, before coming to parade rest next to the Captain.

Vell swallows a mouthful of saliva and gives himself a silent pep talk.

An officer approaches Sykes. He's a large man, built like a gundark. He has a square head, exacerbated by his squared up crew cut. SubLieutenant Shinn, indicated my his placard and name plate.

“Are you my babysitting job?”

Ensign Skye looks up from her post. “Ahh, Rayne. I’ve heard of you…Rumor has it, you’ve got a keen eye and a quick mind. You have a knack for knowing trouble before it starts. You’d do well at Sensors.”

“Unless Mister Marru needs my help… I’d be glad to assist you at that post.” She adds

“Heh…easy killer. You got some grit. I like that. Will serve you well on the guns. Let’s get down to the weapons deck, I’ll introduce you to the boys and get you warmed up on the string.” Shinn says, slapping a ham hand on Sykes’ shoulder.

“Oh, yes. Well, if you need anything, sensors are just next to your post.” Skye replies.

“Ensign Skye, to Sensors please. Very well, Mr. Marru. To helm with you. Ensign Reen will assist you ” The Captain says.

Ensign Reen comes to Kah'ri's side. He's a young man, of average height with blond hair and blue eyes. He is chewing a piece of gum.

“Come on, lemme show you the ropes. You ever fly before?” He asks

Ensign Vell speaks up. “Ensign Reen is a great pilot. He can crew gum because he earned it getting the Pilum away from Ragnath…Tore up an MC40 in the process. You earn your rewards aboard the Gargoyle…Reen earned his gum.”

“Yeah, what the dweeb said. Good, you can fly a fighter…basically the same thing, but bigger.”

“This way…got one of them I can bum?”

Shinn leads Sykes to the gun deck. When he gets down there, he notices it's hot as hell. The able crewmen are not in regulation uniform, their tunics are tied around their waists. They are covered in carbon scoring. It is loud down here.

“Listen up, shitdicks. This is Sykes. He’s one of us for now. Get him on the forward guns, give him the rundown.” Shinn calls out over the gundeck

“Ain’t quite like that pardner. Every ship is unique. Ol Garg, she don’t take kindly to gentle touch. Gotta be rough with her. She’ll wanna buck otherwise. Come-on, Ill show you the controls.” Reen says, leading Kah'ri to the helm.

Shin shows Sykes how to traverse and elevate the guns. He points to the trigger. “This is the fun button…press it when the screen lights up all red. Ain’t too hard, they let all these fucktards do it. You can manage.”

Vell swallows another mouthful of saliva. “I’m feeling parched too…uhh, chief petty officer Holm, can we get two cafs, please?”. Typhio and Tosten tap notes into their datapads.

Komilia gets her frappucino or whatever

Ensign Skye smiles at Rayne, “I guess I’m with you. Come I’ll show you the sensor readout. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than running in blind.”. She leads Rayne to the sensor station. The readout is clear. Rayne learns she can scan two jumps out with 50% accuracy and 1 jump out at 90%.

“Mister Conrat…I would much prefer that we don’t lose power or explode on this journey, so I would recommend you go to the Quartermaster’s post. To my knowledge, you are the only one who’s familiar with the entire layout of the ship…that will prove helpful in that role.” Typhio says

“I know right? Blowing shit up…I fuckin love this job.” Shinn says with a grin.

“Lieutenant Frenkl-Kadam to the bridge.” Typhio says into her communicator.

Lieutenant Frenkl-Kadam reports to the bridge and gathers Ellac. He's old. Grey white hair. His face is bruised and his eye is swollen nearly shut. He mumbles to himself constantly.

“This way, young man. Don’t ask questions, don’t get in the way.” He says, pulling Ellac to the personnel station.

He takes a swig from a flask, offering it to Ellac.

The liquor within the flask is like jet fuel.

“heehehehhehehe. It’ll put pep on your chest and a hair in your step, kid. You ever been on fire before?” He asks inspecting Ellac closer.

“Good good. So fire don’t scare yah. That’s good. We’ll probably be on fire at least…hrm…twice or thrice today I reckon. as fer your eye…yeah, I thought you only had one…good story I hope? Check this one out…” He lifts his tunic to reveal a huge scar across his gut. “Pissed off Lylek decided it wanted my spleen for a snack.”

“What the…” Vell says aloud.

Vell tears up and goes off to get another cup of Caf.

Tosten and Typhio make additional notes.

Vell returns with a cup of Caf and hands it to Komilia

Skye smiles at this too.

“Look at you…rancors and roboparts…you’ll make a fine quartermaster.” The old veteran shows Ellac how to operate the shields, deploy repair teams and deploy the TIE Pilots.

“How many ex-wives you got?” He asks, flicking again through the fire control sequence

Typhio and Tosten make notes.

“Woulda thought a man of your age would’ve made a mistake worse than falling in a rancor pit once or twice by now. I’m on lucky 6, myself.”

Vell looks at her flabbergasted “whwhwhat?”

“Errm…I mean I’d feel more comfortable with any of the other junior officers at their posts than any of your people.” He said

Tosten smiles and makes a note.

Vell almost visibly shrinks. “Lieutenant Shinn can’t count as high as as many fingers he has. Lieutenant Frenkl-Kadam hasn’t been sober since the battle of Yavin. Ensign Reen is a Cowboy, he relies on gut and not thought. Ensign Skye is the only one who’s remotely competent, but she’s so eager to please her superiors she’ll follow whatever order she’s given.” He says, gulping.

All eyes are on Vell.

He looks up at Tosten and Typhio. They nod at him.

“Commander Tosten is too ambitious for his own good. He’d sell out his own mother if it got him ahead.” He closes his eyes and can’t bear to look at Typhio. “Captain Typhio…She’d be an Admiral is she gave a shit about rules.”

Silence for a second. Vell replies “Acknowledged, weapons. We’re shaking down now. Prepare for the first of our jumps shortly. Will advise.”

Tosten looks pissed.

“To Crannix? Sure. We’ve been running intel sorties there since before the Children of Mortis hit Ragnath. The Vizier has been pressuring us to get as much info as we can. Crannix isn’t a shady place, per se, but, well…It’s not exactly the Corporate Sector either. The trip there is pretty simple…There are a few nebulae, a particularly nasty asteroid field. And, well…The pirates of course. That’s the tough part about being out here in the Unknown. Nothing out here is a straight line. Truth be told, we’re trying to plot that along the way. Don’t worry though, the sensors are good. It’s pretty obvious when there isn’t just open space in front of us.” she said, patting Rayne on the shoulder.

“How’d you get roped into this? You don’t seem like the type to be galivanting about with wannabe Mandalorian duchesses…” She whispers to Rayne.

“Oh, I understand. Especially with the Vizier so hands-on with this one… I sometimes feel like he’s experimenting with us. I apologize for my questioning, I’m Imperial Intelligence after all, gotta get what I can from you. Anyway, I’ll be right here to help you. The princess though…she’s on her own.” Skye said, nearly chuckling.

“That’d be lovely, Ma'am. Sensor sweep is easy, this button, then that button.” Skye says as she leans over and clicks the screen. She gets close. Rayne’s accute senses pick up smells of lavender, rosemary, and lime.

The sensor picks up some very small clouds and spikes of electric build up. The system is reading potential presence of Silicon based lifeforms.

“Ah…mynocks. Nasty little things. Nothing to worry about though. They transit between ion clouds in this area. May get a couple stowaways, but nothing to worry about.” Skye says with a smile.

“That button is a SHIFT key. It’s for making capital letters on the command prompt.” Vell says, confused.

“`The Gargoyle settles for a moment. A hum fills her hull. Reen has deftly moved her on a course with the appropriate nav-buoy. He squeezes the levers that initiate the hyperdrive. In a flash, the white speckles of the Caperion system’s local starfield slip together into long strings of vibrant light. Before you, a field of white transitions to blues and paused before transitioning to the whorling blue field of Hyperspace. The Gargoyle has left the Caperion system.

After a short while, the vehicle slows blue turns back to white and white back into the vast blackness of space. You’ve arrived at your first jump point. It is open space, between star systems. A vast nothingness. Thanks to Ensign Skye, you are aware there is a substantial flock of mynocks in this area. First Turn Reccomendation: Komilia places her +1 first, Reen attempts to maneuver around the mynocks, Rayne scans the next sector, Sykes blasts some mynocks for fun, and Ellac verify that power readings are normal”`

“You’re one sick sonuvabitch…” Shinn said. “Ship of this size, no harm from the little guys. Hell half the time we come into port we have to quarantine till we can burn em off the hull.” Shinn said. “Ain’t no harm in a little target practice tho…”

The sensor readout was correct, there are large numbers of mynocks floating about here. It is slightly odd to see them in open space, as they usually stick to asteroids and other places of relative shelter. But, in terms of things you can run into in the Unknown Regions, Mynocks are a minor inconvenience and don't pose any real threat. They can, if left unchecked be problematic, but you reckon based on the distance to Crannix your first jump could be measured as without incident.

Vell looks to Komilia for her orders. He protects his head and neck.

Tosten balls up his fists. He looks ready to unleash hell. The Captain puts an arm across his chest, holding him back. He looks at her through gritted teeth. He stands down.

“I’ll drink to that…” Shinn says, taking a swig and passing it back. “Best to wait to light them up until the nerfwrangler at helm gets a better angle. Once we’re clear, light em up.”

In the next system is the wreck of the Waxin Tooth - A Modular Conveyor ship. It's cargo containers have been pilfered and it's hull cracked. It is a shell. A ghost of what can happen in unprotected space. There is not much left to look at, just some hunks of twisted durasteel. You can estimate 2 squadrons of fighters and at least 1 Corvette are responsible for the wreckage. Pirates, undoubtedly.

“well, that’s a fun bit of information…dang pie-rats just leaving bones around, ain’t even take it fer scrap. But hey, if ol Reen can dodge a mynock or two some wreck won’t be nothing. Watch this Kerry!” Reen’s hands dance over the console.

“Reckon I can get her out along this lil flock and Shinn and his maniacs can cull the herd a bit.” Reen adds.

He taps the communication link. “Ey there Shinzo…got ya a window cleaner than a Dantooine meadow, if need some practice blasting!”

The gargoyle maneuvers around the flock of mynock. She's a pretty nimble ship, for being so long. Seeing her at full gallop might ease some concerns about her capabilities or at least give solace that you know you can always run away.

Immolated in a bolt of bright green fire, a dozen mynock are instantly vaporized. A large path is carved through the flock. Several of the batlike creature turn briefly as if to chase the bolts into nothingness. The cloud of the silicon life forms roils around the holes poked through it. The gaps fill in an instant. Death doesn't phase them, they continue on their pursuit of energy to eat, flapping off into the void.

With nothing else but a passing flock of mynocks, the Gargoyle's hyperdrive spools up again. A hum fills the ship and in a blink the familiar tunnel of white blue appears. After a short time, the ship drops from hyperspace back into the calm uncertainty of realspace. You can see, several thousand meters ahead, the fractured skeleton of a Modular Conveyor ship. The proximity warnings do not sound and that makes the sight that much more eerie. Your thought linger for a passing second on the crew of the lost ship. What became of them? What will become of you?

“Aside from the mynocks?” he asked

Typhio hides a smile.

“I am not…you failed to…I just…it’s…” Vell says stammering.

“Not sound…Can’t…understand.” he continues

“Belay that order.” Typhio states plainly. “General Quarters is not an acceptable order here. I will remind you, Duchess, I would expect you to have some understanding of diplomatic implications of taking an aggressive stance outside of the safety of our borders.”

She turns briefly to Tosten, who is still fuming, then turns back. “You may proceed with your action, but we will not be mustering the Marines. They get cranky if they are woken up with nothing to kill.”

Reen leans over to Kah'ri. “Delta-nine? Whatintheheel?” He shakes his head “Just don’t get too close to that wreck, it’s all shrapnel and the guns’ll rip her up like a slow cooked nerf brisket.”

The Waxin Tooth, or rather, what remained of her is torn to ribbons. A fountain of blue plasma fills the area. The Gargoyle is buffetted by the pieces of durasteel and licked by the flame. The shields shimmer, flicker and die.

Frenkl-Kadam looks at Ellac “Who the hell is that even?” He hiccups.

“Weird, I didn’t know Phoenix had a kid…Oh well. Ship’ll be fine kid, don’t worry.” he says scratching his head

Vell looks to Tosten in a panic. Tosten steps forward, stopped again by Typhio’s arm. She steps forward to the Conn. “Miss Lap'lamiz, you are relieved of duty.” She doesn’t even stop to acknowledge a response. “Ensign Skye…Report, Any way around it and keep up with the convoy?”

Skye analyzes the data on the sensor sweep. “Negative, Ma'am. There is a route with lower density that would make for a safer transit, but it may take longer.”

“Plot that course immediately and get it to Mr. Reen. Mr. Reen, review the course. We want tight, Jorvis…Points for around the barrels, not speed.” Typhio orders.

“Aye aye, ma'am.” Reen replies.

“Quartermaster, get your best on those shields. I want the shields up immediately, understood? Get damage teams to action stations. Seal any bulkheads that do not need to be opened.” she adds.

“Mr. Shinn.” she says, depressing a button. “Warm up all cannons. Get your best shots on all cannons…We need to get a new high score and have only one life, understood?”

“Mr. Tosten, you are to aide Ensign Skye. She’s our eyes.” Typhio adds.

Typhio looks back at Ellac who’s departed the bridge, then to Mr Frenkl-Kadam. “No, no. I’ll see he’s locked in a compartment and can’t break nuffin.” Kadam replies, organizing his board and flipping a toggle.

The lights aboard the Gargoyle dim and flip over to a soft amber light.

“All stations report” Typhio says. “Can this be done or do we need alternatives?”

They pause. “Cap…captain…” Vell interjects. “I have an idea…”

She turns and smiles. “Wonderful, Mr. Vell…Enlighten me.”

Vell’s hands run across the holotable in front of him. He’s like a magician, items appearing and disappearing.

She nods. “Odds?”

“456.234566 repeating to 1.” he says

“And without?” she asks.

“3720 to 1.” he replies.

“Good. Make it so.”

The Gargoyle jumps to hyperspace. After a moment it drops back into real space. Asteroids...like a sea of stone before you. Reen, Vell, Skye, Shinn, Frenkl-Kadam, Tosten. You see them dominate this space. They communicate between each other clearly and succinctly. You watch as Reen navigates the Gargoyle through the asteroid belt. There appears to be more laser fire coming from the Gargoyle than she has guns. The whole view screen ahead of you is illuminated by streaks of green laser fire. after several tense minutes, and some aggressive maneuvering, the Gargoyle emerges from the field, unscathed.

“Miss Lap'lamiz. I urge you to consider that as acting CO, you are beholden to the ability of your crew. Before you go assuming their ineptitude, consider for a moment that it is your life in their hands and not the other way around. Trust is not just given out freely. Respect is not given, Duchess, it is earned. It is not weak to rely on others for their knowledge and skill, it is what a civilized person would do. You may reassume the conn, but just know if you ever lay hands on one of these officers again…it shall be the last thing you touch with that hand. Mr Reen, please initiate the next jump…” Typhio says, standing sternly in Komilas face.

The Gargoyle jumps towards the next phase of their journey. The ship dives into the surreal tunnels beneath real space as it enters hyperspace. A moment later it drops back into the field of stars that's become so familiar. Before you, you get your first glimpse of the cargo convoy. Huge hulking vessels, sluggish and slow. Immediately, you notice something is off. Streaks of red laser fire sink into the convoy, from all directions...

“Let the record show, Miss Lap'lamiz has abandoned her post. Miss Skye, talk to me.” The Captain said stepping up to the center of the bridge.

Skye blinked. “Aye, ma'am. Contacts: Hostile. 12 fighters and a Marauder Corvette. Fighters make unknown. Meets the description of our Pirates.”

“Excellent. All hands, Battle stations. Mr. Shinn, it’s hunting time.” She said into the communicator. “Mr. Kadam, get our birds up and flying.” She said, turning again. “Mr. Tosten, please get Mr. Vell his earmuffs, I need him focused.”

The amber lights of the ship switch to red. A claxon sounds. The Gargoyle comes to life

Komilia rushes aboard the DX-9 transport. It is a versatile craft, but it is primarily meant for transporting stormtroopers for boarding actions aboard other ships. It is angular, low poly, even. She opens the loading ramp and climbs aboard. Once inside the vessel, she turns and is met by 30 long shadowy shapes. This vessel is full of Death Trooper Marines, all of whom draw and point their weapons at her.

Back on the Bridge, Typhio is busy leaning over the holotable. Vell, the seemingly inept Ensign is wearing a set of big poofy green earmuffs. He is straight Baby-Driver style ripping through attack plans. Tosten and Typhio review each as he presents then discards one with unacceptable failure rates. Typhio settles on a plan

You guys now know there are 6 R-41 Star chasers and 6 Z-95 headhunters that make up the enemy's squadron. You know that the cargo ships are barely holding on. The Marauder is bearing down on them and they won't last long once she opens up. You are 5kms away. It appears that you've not yet been detected. Rayne's sensor jam has allowed 6 of the TIE Hunters to engage the enemy pilots.

“Excellent, Mr. Marru. Keep her steady.” Typhio says, nodding to Reen.

“Well done Sykes! Keep those guns on the true.” Shinn hollers. “Boys! Get ol’ Sykesy more power from these capacitors! I want him spitting hot plasma non stop.”

You all see the impact against the Marauder's shields. It shimmers a light blue. The impacts are absorbed, but that amount of energy must have depleted some of the energy reserve in the shields. The Marauder ceases firing upon the Convoy as they fix a new solution on the Gargoyle.

“We’re able to squeeze one more shot before capacitor is empty, Sykes. let it fly!”“ Shinn says slapping him on the shoulder

The Shields shimmer again, but the time between the fades of blue is longer this time. The Marauder lines up some shots and fires back. The Gargoyle is buffeted, but the shield have held.

“Mr Conrat” Typhio’s voice comes over the comms. “An update on our TIEs, please.”

The Gargoyle has successfully interrupted the pirate attack. Their guns had all come to bear on her, but now are running silent. The fighters, once tied up in dogfights make a frantic run from the scrum. The Marauder lurches as all power is diverted to the engines. The Corvette turns to starboard. She's trying to run. The pirates are hunters of opportunity, they have no intention of going toe to toe with trained Imperials. Typhio barks orders to bring the Gargoyle about and give chase.

Typhio looks over at Rayne and Skye and gives a little nod. “Mister Jade, when you are ready please…” she says into the comm

The Marauder Corvette shutters. It's shields have dropped, but it's Engines continue to spit blue light into the void. Narrowly avoiding the incoming torpedoes, a hail of laserfire falls on her hull. The vibrant green bolts leaving pocks of carbon scoring. The ion bolts hit, but seemingly dissipate immediately. The injured ship seems to pause for a moment. Suddenly and without warning it accelerates rapidly. The lumbering vessel exceeds its sublight speed, leaving a trail of blue plasma wake as it enters hyperspace. The Marauder is gone, fleeing along an unknown path to an unknown destination. The scrambling pirate Starfighters try to follow. Their Nav-computers are not as quick, it takes time and the pilots are clearly not well trained. They flee, like antelope, from pursuing lions. TIE Hunters scream into the void, turning back to hunt down any remaining fighters.

“Damnit.” Typhio says under her breath.

“Miss Rayne, please continue to assist Miss Skye. I want to know if there is anything we can use in that scan you took. Mister Frenkl-Kadam, I want our birds to pick off anything else that they can. Put these pirates where they belong…The grave. Mr. Tosten, please get Mr. Vell all tactical information on this engagement for analysis. Mr Reen, come about to heading two seven zero.” Typhio said issuing immediate orders.

The officers all replied in sequence “Aye, Captain.”

Frenkl-Kadam issues orders to the fighters.

The TIE Hunters streak through the void. They move together as a unit, like coordinated predators hunting down a wounded mark. The old pirate ships are torn to ribbons. Of the remaining eight ships, six are immolated by the cleansing fire of Imperial lasers. You can almost hear the shrieks of the twin ion engines as they immediately come about and lay sights on the remaining two vessels. They are consumed. The battlefield is now silent, no more laser fire can be seen. There are only the ribbons of z-95s and R-41s floating between you and the convoy. The hulking ships limp off. A communication comes through...

“Captain of Imperial Vessel, this is Captain Horphi of the SCS Ando Blitz. Thank you for your assistance. You got here just in time.” the voice says.

“Captain Horphi, Imperial Vessel Captain responding…Our pleasure. Is there any additional assistance we can provide?” Typhio replies.

“Sure would be great if you could escort us the remainder of the way to Crannix. It’s not far, but we’d feel safer.” the cargo ship captain says.

Typhio turns to Skye, who’s reviewing the Data from the scan. “Ensign Skye, report.”

“Trace data at best, Captain. If it’s properly analyzed we might be able to get something from it, but we don’t have that computing power aboard. Vell might be able to make more of it, but even that will take him time.” Skye says.

“Understood, Ensign. Get me additional scan of the wrecks.” Typhio says.

“Aye.” Skye says running the scan. “Captain, there are some partially intact wrecks out there, but we don’t have space to take them aboard. I’d call in a favor from one of Tosten’s guys in the Navy that we can trust, they can ensure we get further analysis.”

“Good idea. Tosten, get on the horn to Captain Donell. Have the Typhoon come in and clean up this mess we’ve made. Tell him we’ll owe him drinks. Mr. Kadam. Let our fighters run screen for us, I’m sure they’d appreciate stretching their legs a bit.” Typhio says. She turns back to the conn and speaks to the cargo captain again. “Captain Horphi, it would be our pleasure. You’re doing a great service to the Empire, we’d be glad to assist you.”

“Roger, Imperial Vessel. We’ll send you the coords of our next jump. See you there.”

The Coordinates come through the system. Reen turns the ship and you get the familiar feeling of entering hyperspace; the hum, the brief pause, and the jump into the deep blue.

The Gargoyle jumps to the next position. Before you there is a massive nebula. It's full of deep blues, greens, yellows and reds. It is hauntingly beautiful, especially in the silence of space.

The Nebula is quite beautiful. Actually now that you're looking, it's very beautiful. It almost seems to call you in. Skye taps Rayne on the shoulder

“We should steer clear of that.” she says. “Sure is pretty though.”

“Lieutenant Frenkl-Kadam.” Typhio says, turning to the older man. “Please get our fighters back on board before we make the last jump. Also, please have security escort Miss Lap'lamiz back to the bridge, I would like to discuss her performance.”

Frenkl-Kadam sees to the Orders. A short while later, two tall and gaunt troopers, clad all in black escort Komilia to the bridge at the end of their E-11D blaster carbines. They stand behind her and present her to the Captain.

“Miss Lap'lamiz…I am disappointed in you. You come from such a sharp pedigree, I would have expected that you expressed an iota of humility. You stood on this bridge, berated everyone and plainly made some terrible decisions. You then proceeded to attempt to commandeer a shuttle…Just what exactly were you thinking?”

Typhio stands in front of her. “Miss Lap'lamiz. A leader is nothing if they are not a student first. Even your father…He did not start as an Admiral. He did not start by knowing what to say or what to do. He learned. He observed. He copied those around him that KNEW what they were doing. Your mistake, Komilia, was thinking that in a single day you could come out from the shadow that it took your Father nearly 60 years to make. This was a lesson for you, Miss Lap'lamiz. You have played exactly into the Vizier’s hand. He wanted you to embarrass yourself. He wanted you to embarrass your father. He will have more tests ahead for you. You have made the first step to digging your way out of this…You acknowledge that you don’t know what you’re doing. Quit pretending you do. The Vizier is banking on you continuing to do so. Use those around you to elevate you, Miss Lap'lamiz. Do so by acknowledging their strengths. If you don’t the Vizier will have bested you and will exploit that advantage against you. You don’t want that, trust me. How do you think I ended up here? Now, put those tears away. Mandalorians don’t cry…Value the lesson you’ve learned here. Stay humble and others will look to you to lead, in time. And for Fuck’s Sake…Apologize to Ensign Vell.” Typhio said, turning away rejoining Tosten at the holotable.

Tosten looks at her and hides a smile.

The Deathtroopers remove the binders from Komilia's wrists. Her hands are now free again

Vell hides behind Tosten.

“You may be seated, Miss Lap'lamiz. We’re preparing for arrival at Crannix Station” Typhio says, not lifting her eyes from the table.

The Gargoyle jumps to hyperspace. It has been a long day, but your travel is nearly over. You reflect on what you experienced and prepare for the unknown ahead. In a short time, the ship drops back into real space.

You have arrived at Crannix III. The local space is bustling with coming and going cargo vessels. Over the green and brown terrestrial planet of Crannix III, there is a sizable space station. The planet itself is rather dull and non-descript. There are several sizable cities, roughly comparable to the size of Corcova on Seraph. The planet is temperate and covered with mostly plains and thin forests. The poles are cold, defined by the apparent ice caps. The Imperial Database has some limited information about the Crannix system and their people. Crannix has been populated for at least several thousand years longer than the Caperion system. While it is by no means as mature an economy as the Core worlds, the Crannix system has long been a hub in this region of space. Crannix is one of the few worlds that has a safe route towards Bastion and thus the Core. Being at the very tail end of this hyperspace route has paid dividends and Crannix has remained as one of the last outposts of civilization before entering the unknown regions. Some Sixty years ago, under the oversight of the Galactic Empire, the Crannix Trade Authority was established. Although it was an independent agency, The CTA served to bolster Imperial presence in the area and provide local Imperial garrisons with a means for acquiring all matters of goods. With the Empire long gone and the First Order following suit, the Crannix Trade Authority holds a loose control over the means of trade in the local region. The CTA has found it more profitable to provide a safe means for trade, rather than engage in the trade itself. It bolsters its wealth through tariffs and taxes charged in exchange for the relative safety of its trade ports. This is considered neutral territory for all local governments, the Empire (both galactic and Scholae) has no expressed authority here. The *Gargoyle* cannot land, as it is a warship, it must remain beyond the cargo yard. You must travel aboard a DX-9 to the station.

This is a large civilian station. It has a prominent round disc shape, with a central core. At the center of the disc is the landing platform. It is monitored by the Crannix Trade Authority. The CTA is seen as a fair and impartial trade organization for the local sector, albeit ill equipped against an organized military force. To put it plainly, if the might of the Imperial Navy was to show up to seize the station, there would be very little resistance offered. But, the Empire has no real jurisdiction here. The station is moderately well protected. As you begin your approach, you can see laser cannons on the exterior of the station. You notice they have some local starfighter protection, Cloakshape fighters from what you can tell. They appear to have been heavily modified. The Gargoyle stops short of the station and the crew transmits their presence and information to the CTA officials. You are on the bridge. If asked, any of the crew can give you what information they know about the station. They have been here before. What would you like to do?

“I am afraid that is a rather broad question, Mister Marru. But, I presume you are referring to information on the pirates base of operations. What I would suggest is that you interact with the locals, get them to share their stories about the pirates. While individually the truth of those tales may be dubious, collectively they would allow us to narrow where we search.” Skye says

“Honestly, I need on your best behavior here, Mr. Jade. This is as much a diplomatic mission as it is in defense of Imperial trade. Crannix is a relatively tame system. But if we stir up too much trouble it may not remain so. As for smuggling…It’s hard to tell. With the volume of cargo coming in and out of this station and the lack of serious oversight from the CTA, there is sure to be a large deal going on. The CTA has no interest in stopping these trades. As long as they collect their fee, they support an open market.” Typhio says.

“You all will take the transport to the station. Have a good look around, meet with the locals. Report on abnormal activity and gather what you can about any possible base of operations for these pirates…” Typhio adds.

Typhio turns to Ellac. “in the unlikely event that the Pirates are operating out of this station… Report it to me immediately. If the pirates are here, they are being protected by the CTA…and that is cause for… intervention.”

Vell squeaks and keeps Tosten firmly between himself and Komilia

“The local CTA officials will be helpful. Their jurisdiction extends to the station and the immediate space. As a local trade center, they have a vested interest in assisting us. Piracy is bad business after all. They’ll be limited in what they can do, but they’ll likely vett any information you find and offer up some of their own. You’ll want to speak with Administrator Keeg Lomy or Station Administrator Ar'Tunna. They are the heads of operations…if they don’t know, they’ll get you the people who do.” Typhio says plainly.

“Anything would be better than those.” Tosten says. “Wait here.” He comes back several minutes later a small device for you. He clicks them on. They display small holographic images of Komilia and Sykes. “Don’t let anyone run detailed scans on these. They won’t cut muster. He hands you each a bounty puck. It displays the image of a Pantoran man. You almost think you recognize that person.

Tosten pauses. “It’s…fake.” He shakes his head, disappointed that she couldn’t put the pieces. “You’re arriving to the station on an Imperial vessel, playing as Bounty Hunters…The CTA would assume that you’ve been hired by the Empire. This person would be someone feasible for the Empire to want to track down. Secret holder of the Clan that up and vanishes?”

“He’s not.” Tosten says curtly.

You all make your way off the bridge. You make your way through the corridors of the Gargoyle, down to the Hangar. You make your way onto the DX-9 transport. When not loaded with troopers, it's quite spacious for the 5 of you. The transport lifts off the hangar. The DX-9 is not a fast or luxurious vessel, but you make the short trip over to the station. You can see the wide array of transport vessels, the rows and rows and rows of stored cargo containers. You begin to get the scope of the operation here. This station serves many people and a lot of commodities run through it. The Transport passes through to the middle of the station, where there is a large docking area. The DX-9 sets down and a lift actuates, bringing the DX-9 deep within the station. You see spouts of flames lick the outside of the ship as it is decontaminated; they aren't enough to do any damage to the steel, but living things would have a bad time of it. You hear the actuation of the large lift stop. The DX-9 floats into position and stops. Magnetic docking clamps thump and the vessel shakes slightly. The loading ramp opens. You are now aboard Crannix Station.

“Please prepare for a routine inspection. Any fruits, vegetables, meats or foodstuffs must be presented for inspection. You will be issued a beacon. This beacon is to remain on you at all times. Enjoy your stay and welcome to Crannix.” A voice comes over the loudspeaker.

You all pass through a security checkpoint. They inspect your gear. They do not take your weapons, but issue you stern warnings against deploying them in the station. They issue you a small device, beacon of some sort. You are informed this device must remain on your person for the duration of your stay. You enter a turbolift and are brought up from the hangar to the main level of the station. What would you like to do?

Rayne strolls through the station. The layout of this primary floor is basic. She moves to the right. The first thing she sees is the Cantina. it is a busy place

Freen’s Flux - Cantina is written in aurabesh on the outside. It appears to be the heart of the station. It is the only apparent eatery or recreation on the station. It has neon lights on the outside, the clatter of glasses and the dull din of patrons radiates out from it. It is a very large establishment in terms of square footage. It appears to be broken up into different sections.

Rayne moves past the cantina, passing several administrative buildings, local authority services and the like. One is a Medical facility, the other appears to be some kind of banking institution. She then moves into the Residential area of the station. They are Modest accommodations. You get the impression these are short term residences, like an extended stay hotel for traveling businesspeople. Some rooms near the central area have increased turnover rates. It seems that most people don’t stay on the station long. She strolls past a break in the rooms where there is a large plaza type area, above her to the right she sees the Command Deck. There is a catwalk along the outside. There are many guards posted here. She continues back through the second residential area, past several more service buildings, where she encounters the Markets. They are small kiosks organized in the open space here. She continues around again, she passes some more residences, which appear to be more permanent. The apartments here have decorations on the outside, like people actually live here. Then she enters the Trade Exchange. There is a large clock hanging over the entrance to this section. It reads 12:56. The tradefloor is full of people. There are many small pits a meter or two deep, that traders enter, waiving tickets above their heads and shouting at each other in an unknown language. This seems to be one of the largest single areas in the station. She passes some more residences and is back at the cantina.

another thing to note is that the station is kind of grimy. It's not vile, but...It's seen some wear and tear.

A Service Protocol Droid, A 3P0 droid greets here. It runs through several quick greetings in unknown languages, before Settling on Basic. “Welcome, traveler, to Freen’s Flux, the premiere cantina on Crannix Station. I am Q-4C3, Human-Cyborg Relations, how may I assist you?”

Rayne hears a combination of Jeers and cheers from a room off to her right. The primary bar is U-shaped and sits up on a dias two small steps above the rest of the floor. There are all manner of service droids and lifeforms occupying this place.

Rayne takes a seat at the bar. In a short while a Half-Theelin woman behind the bar comes to serve her.

“Hey there, cutie. I’m Seela. H-B-I-C. What can I get for ya? need a menu?” She smiles and gently touches Rayne’s hand.

“Sure thing. I’d say most everything is good. Sept the Crannix special. Well, unless you’re trying to forget yesterday, tonight and tomorrow, then I’d get that. Me, I stay away from the Gamorrean Ale, it goes straight to my ass.” She slides Rayne a menu.

Drinks; Carbon Freeze, Blurrgfire, Sesid Seltzer, Dagobah Slug Slinger, Gamorrean Ale, Crannix Special. Food: Blue noodles, Yagai Spice dindra, Seasoned enyak bobs over teerlop-zikody.

“If you’re hungry, don’t order the enyak. You’ll just have to trust me on that one.” Seela says with a smile.

“What brings you to Crannix? Selling Ores?” she asks.

Carbon Freeze: Lemony drink with popping bubbles. It is served smoking. Blurrgfire - A cinnamony spicey kind of drink Dagobah Slug Slinger - a slimy drink with a slug in the bottom Gamorrean ale: It's beer, you think. Crannix Special - It could be starship fuel, at least it smells like it.

“One carbon freeze coming up, doll.” She turns around and comes back a moment later with the drink. “Investigating huh? What cha lookin’ for? Cheating boyfriend? I’ll help you find that sleemo.”

Agents of the CTA wear khaki “uniforms” with red stripes along the length of the arm and the leg. These uniforms are not standardized, but generally consistent. Some officers have short sleeves, others long sleeves. All wear a standardized cap with a CTA patch in the center. Officers are typically allowed to carry blasters, but they are not standard issue. There are many types of blasters. DH-17s, E-11s, A280s. The force is rag-tag. However, they do appear somewhat trained in their roles.

The Weequay looks up. “Constable’s Office? What seems to be your concern traveler?”

“First time on the station, huh?” he says.

“Alright…Let me give you a little run-down before you get yourself into trouble.” he says, looking quickly at Sykes. “You were given a beacon. That beacon must remain on you at all times. No exceptions. Crannix is a trade depot. We do trade here. Whatever crimes you have committed in other systems, that’s not our business. Your guild has no authority here. You can track your quarry, but you cannot apprehend on the station. Don’t go causing trouble, won’t be any trouble.”

“Who’s this man you’re looking for?” he asks

“Fraudlent trade, skipping CTA fees, theft, Violent acts against other travelers. In that order.” he says.

“Haven’t seen many rogue Imperials round these parts. For the most part, that lot is above board and professional. They move alot of cargo. They reckon to tell you this blue…berry…is connected to their convoys being hit?” he asks. “Ah shucks, nevermind, you Bounty Hunters don’t share no winformation no how.”

“Damn Cordin Scythe. Pirate outfit round these parts. I reckon about 6 months ago they started hitting convoys making their way to Crannix. Started small, Light Freighters, couple hunnit tons a pop. Have since graduated to hitting full bulk carriers. Every couple days one of the Caperion ships shows up, they’ve been escorting their convoys. Couple big warships I’ve seen. They must take the loses very seriously. Ain’t a local government round these parts that can bring the might to bring down even a rag-tag group. Course, CTA can’t get involved…Pirates are working outside our jurisdiction. They always hit convoys in transit, never at the station. Damnedest thing.” the Weequay says, scratching his head.

“Well, I reckon the CTA defends the station well enough, we’re organized, we aren’t rich…But we’re trained. We got good pilots…Think they’d just rather take the easy pickins. Wouldn’t you?” he says.

“I literally just told you what I thought. Listen…Just don’t cause no fuss, won’t be no fuss.” He says, confused that Komilia would ask him again for an opinion he just gave.

“You could try to find Commandant Midell. She might be able to get you in to see the Station Commander. She’s got trust issues though, you’ll have to prove yourselves before she gives you anything. Real rancor of a woman she is. She’s up in the command deck right now, but ain’t no Travelers just allowed to go up there. Reckon you might be able to catch her at the Cantina after the End-Session bell. She’s always playing sabacc up there at night. Heard she’s be run alot of Cuur up.” he says.

You infer from this statement that Cuur is the local currency

He looks at the coin and passes it back. “I don’t know how they do things in Caperion…But here we don’t bribe law enforcement.”

He walks off and continues his rounds.

Ellac and Kah'ri make their way to the market. They pass through the Trade Exchange on the way. It appears to be a large area designed specifically for those who buy and sell cargo. There appears to be very clear rules for trading, but you're not sure how it works. Everyone is speaking in a language you do not understand. You pass through and go on to the market. There are many people in the market. It is full of various vendors selling an array of goods. What would you like to do?

“HOT SKRINDO! CRANNIX CRUNCH'EMS! Get ‘em here! HOT AND FRESH!” a barker calls

You see stalls for foodstuffs, toiletries, clothing. The best way to describe this market is like one of those HUGE Trucker rest areas with the big giftshops off the freeway. There is all kinds of stuff here.

You see a Rodian woman. She offers up some clothing.

“What you look for? Klee Krip helps. Best deal. Good deal.” she asks

“You want Krongbing, Klee Krip has. Look look here…” She offers up a flightsuit.

The Flightsuit is branded with Crinkly Calvin Crannix's dumb stupid face.

“Yes, Klee Krip has rare. You look this!” She holds up another item of clothing. “This you like. This best. Very fine super fit. Best for you…Good deal.”

She offers up a set of clothing that looks quite nice.

Ellac looks around. There are many merchants here. There is a small stand where they are selling snacks, they smell like those candied almonds at the mall. There is a clothier, where Kah'ri is. There is a small weapons stand, with very slim pickings. There is a fruit vendor. There is a meat vendor. There is a pharmacy style vendor, medpacks stims and the like. There is what appears to be an oddities stall, tucked in the back

“Good, good. Klee Krip sell. 600 Cuurs. You give money, I tell about pirate.” the rodian replies.

The Rodian smiles, you think, it’s hard to tell. “This is 200 Imperial Credits.”

She places the money in her breast pocket and hands over the garment. It is a tunic, with some gold embroidery. She looks at Kah'ri. “What want know? Pirate comes six months back. Never strike at station always on path. This is bad, bad. Pirate mean less trade, less trade, less fine clothes sold.”

“They no steal me. They take big good, much money. No interest clothes or choose. Only Ores and big goods.” she says.

“Yes yes, Klee Krip is me. You come back, bring friends!” She smiles, again, you think.

A Nikto leans on the counter. “What cha want?”

“Yeah, Sure have. Practically everybody knows…You new here? Where you from?” he asks.

“Riiight…I’m sure you are… Listen, I don’t give a shit where you are actually from. Not my business, my business is here. And nobody around here is too scared to talk about it. These Pirates are bad business…Hell, it’s all people talk about. We’ve petitioned Administrator Lomy 8 times to declare extenuating circumstances and hunt them down. The damn CTA keeps saying they cannot interfere in other systems. Wish the goddamn Empire in Caperion would just send their Destroyers so we could get back to normal.” he says.

“Me personally? I don’t move enough product to be a major target. Besides, my Kersha is faster than some busted up fighers. They tend to stick to the bulk freighters, scoop up tons of loot and take it off somewheres.” he replies.

“The fuck is that guy’s problem…” he mutters to himself.

“`Rayne has spent some time observing and chatting with the bartender, Seela. Seela is a sweet girl, attentive and a good listener. She’s pretty too. It’s no wonder all the men in the cantina share everything with her. She’s tight lipped, but a good ear for unloading some burdens. She has alot of information. She has shared the Following with Rayne: The Cantina is the only place for fun on this station. It is owned by Freen, a Gand who often walks around asking people how their experience is. Freen needs a new menu for the cantina. Word has gotten out about the Enyak Bobs. Freen may have more specific details about pirates…but, he never gives anything for free.

The Trading floor is a wild place. It is only open from 0900 to 1700 (9 to 5) every day. All trading must be done on this floor or it is considered illegal. The CTA takes 2.5% of each trade as commission. These are the people hardest hit by the pirates, the commodities traders. People tend not to stay long on the station. Everyone knows about the Pirates. The Pirates are targeting high value shipments. The Pirates call themselves the Corden Scythe. They all have a tattoo of a Scythe on their wrists and their ships always have the symbol painted on them. The CTA is telling people they cannot violate neutrality, but the reality is…They just don’t have the resources.

Commandant Midell leads the local security force, she’d like to change that. Administrator Lomy and Station Commander Ar’tunna don’t let her use more force. She’s a tough woman with a bit of a gambling problem. In the last month there have been some strange things going on at the station. There have been some brown outs. There have been three busts for illegal trading. Midell, the Commandant, has lost ALOT of money in the last month. There’s a young woman that’s been taking lots of people for cash at night in sabacc games. If you find Midell and help her sort out some of the chaos that’s come up on the station…She’ll give you everything she knows about the pirates. She’d know more than just about anyone.

There IS a criminal element here. They are not Pirates, just opportunists. Criminals know criminal shit though. May be useful. You’d wanna find Grub. He runs the local gang.

One of the dockworkers, a regular at the bar, has been in hospital with a mysterious illness. The station security thinks there is more to it than just a sickness.

On a personal note: Seela has a stalker. He’s a trader that just doesn’t get that she’s that flirty with everyone. He makes her feel unsafe and wishes he would stop. She doesn’t want him hurt, but just to get the message that she’s not into him. She’d give you something that might help her if you sort him out.”`

“Seeeeeeelalalalalal” a young woman’s voice comes from behind Rayne.

“Seels, I would like another bubbly fizzum, please Toots.” she says slurring her words.

“Jeez, Poppy…Take it easy, hun. The traders are still on the floor, how are you gonna run them dry when you’re already soaking?” Seela says.

The young woman stumbles into the chair next to Rayne.

Rayne recognizes her instantly.

The girl has jet black hair, save for a streak of teal that hangs over her face. She has a nose ring. She's wearing mostly black with dark green accents. When she glances over at Rayne she notices the girl's eyes.

This is Jasmine. Hoodrat, Jr. Right hand of Thran.

Jasmine does not yet recognize disguised Rayne

The young drunk woman turns to Rayne, “The name is Poppy Tucold…Only thingk that loves me more dan the boys is da cardsss. Pleased to make your meet.”

“Poppy, babes. Have some water.” Seela says, filling up a cup.

“Pure Sabacc, Aver-ray Bay-bay. Can’t lose.” she laughs, grabbing the glass of water prepared for her.

Jasmine’s face goes pale. In an instant she seems to sober up. Rayne can see her eyes dart to the door and back to Rayne, then back to the door.

Jasmine quietly sits down next to Rayne and sips her water. “Don’t tell him, please.”

“Stitches.” she said, slightly hanging her head.

“Not here. We’ll go to my room and talk.” she replies.

The Arcona officer looks at Ellac. “They’ve been hitting convoys for months now. Rumors are flying today. Trade floor is saying the Imps mopped up a bunch of them. Don’t know if it is true or not. Bout time someone stepped in if you asked me…Though, I suspect with how often they’ve been targeting the Imps shipments, they were bound to step in eventually. Why so curious?” His big golden eyes narrow

“Most of these systems are selling foodstuffs. Grain. Fish eggs and stuff. Not high value product. Since the Empire has started trading here, we’re seeing ores…hell, refined metals…Processed goods. Repulsors and shit coming through. High value stuff. What the hell are pirates going to do with 10,000 of fish eggs? Stolen electronics…that I bet they can get a big payday for on the black market.” he says.

“The Empire is a big player in these parts…Makes sense to me to go after the money.” he adds

“Sure. The convoys they hit are always unprotected…Though, I suspect you already knew that…Large trades? Listen man, I just work here. I don’t keep track of who is trading what, where, and to whom. You may want to talk to the Floorboss on the Exchange. Rodian called Feevo. Feevo Reevo. What a dumb name. Little guy, how he made floorboss I’ll never know. Catch him after the Day-Session ends at the cantina. Don’t go fuckin’ around with him on the Exchange floor. He’ll call us, it’s paperwork and all that. Real headache. Or you could talk to that prick Albus. He’s always spouting off at the mouth about all the deals he’s closing.” he says

“He’s probably on the Exchange floor. I can’t really give you his present whereabouts. But, you’re likely to find him at the Cantina after the session ends. There’s fuck all else to do on this station.”

“such is the way of the Galaxy…Well, at least that’s certainly the case here on the station.” he says

“Hot Skrindo! Crannix Crunch'ems!” A barker calls out.

Crinkly Calvin Crannix's dumb stupid very punchable face is all over the place.

There are an array of foods here. Some passable fruits and veg. Some grilled meats. A little dumpling kind of stand. There are Crannix Crunch'ems, a kind of candied nut. There is Hot Skrindo. You aren't sure what it is. It smells kinda good though.

“Hot Skrindo. Ees good. Hot and Skrindo. Good for your humours.”

it is apparent that basic is not this man's first language. He's a Twi'lek man. Pale green and wirey thin.

“Insides. insides.” He points to his gut

He looks at Komilia more puzzles than before. “Crunch'ems?” He asks quizzically

“Yummy. You eat. Good.”

“Good good, yes. two Cuur.” He holds up two fingers

He takes and grins, putting the credit into his pocket. He gets the Hot Skrindo and puts it in a wax paper wrap.

He hands it over. “Try. Try. You like. You like.”

the snack is somewhat like a slab of pork belly. It's slightly crispy on the edges and soft inside. The fat melts in your mouth, it's creamy and sweet. It tastes of honey, cardamom and clove. Komilia's mouth tingles. a slight heat builds.

Komilia sees all manner of stuff here. Clothes, some tools and weapons, some household items, at every stall she sees some iteration of Crinkly Calvin Crannix's ugly annoying face. Including little plushies.

The vendor approaches, a zabrak woman. She has pale brown skin. “You like him? Only 10 Cuur.”

“Hey… you’re Mandalorians aren’t you…” She adds

“Oh…didn’t mean nothing by it. Just heard your kind is fierce warriors. What brings you to Crannix? You here to fight Corden Scythe?”

“well, rumors mostly. Showed up striking convoys bout 6 months back. Started small, YTs and the like…decided they wanted more. Hitting bulk freighters now. Word is they have a special liking for Imp convoys. Makes sense to hit the rich ones to me. But since then, people are worried the Imps might come in and take over. Though, I suppose that ain’t so bad a thing. Maybe we can make some credits and get decent jobs.”

“I mean don’t have any manifests…but all I’ve heard is they’re nicking what the Imps are sending. what they are doing with the goods, I don’t know. Just with these pirates around and all the oddness of late…people worried the CTA is losing their business. We like it here alright enough. It’s safe. But if they can’t sort out this pirate matter, who knows who might move in on the CTA.”

“Listen…you gonna buy that Calvin or…what?” She adds

“Talk to the CTA admins. They will know what to do. They just don’t have the balls to do it.”. She looks at the credits. “You want change in Cuur?”

“ah shit. I was hoping your daughter liked it so much you’d just say keep it.” She turns to her register and hands you back 48 Cuur

“Hey now, I’m an honest merchant…i don’t know anything about those.” She says loudly “Keep your voice down…You’ll wanna find Grub. You can find him at the Cantina…after 1900. Devaronian. Tell him Lex sent you.”. She whispers. “Thank you for your purchase. Have a great day!”

“Thanks again! Don’t eat the Enyak Bobs!” She goes about her business

Sykes and Komilia walk in relative silence. They enter the cantina and are promptly greeted by the Protocol droid that greets at the door. Sykes pushes past and walks into the bar, Komilia follows. Sykes assesses they situation. He sees Rayne sitting with a young woman, talking to the Theelin bartender. They take a seat at the other end bar. Ellac and Kah'ri follow a short time later. They take a seat at the tables off to the left of the entrance. It is quiet at this time of day. There are patrons here, but this place is not packed.

“Mandos, 9 o'clock.” Jasmine says.

“I’ll be back in a minute babes. Don’t go anywhere!” Seela says. She does the fingers to eyes then points to Jasmine, indicating for Rayne to watch “Poppy”

Seela approaches Sykes. “Hey there handsome, what can I get you? Need a menu?” she touches Sykes’ hand

“Sure thing. Coming right up. How about you, beautiful?” She says looking at Komilia.

Jasmine looks shocked. “His hand picked team includes a Jade and Little Miss "I have everything except two braincells?” He doing this to test me. I’m not a knight anymore but always with the trials!“

“Ugh. I knew you’d say something like that. I know about her. What about him…Is he a cos-player too? or is he real Mando?” she asked Rayne.

“Gah, ok. Whose the other mooks? The ones being obvious at the table?” she asked, craning her head towards Ellac and Kah'ri.

Seela waves, indicating his drinks are on the bar. One shot of whiskey and one ale. She brought Komilia a glass of lemonade.

“Got it. We should regroup with them. I’m sure word is already traveling around the station about the weird newbies. Guess we should get down to business, eh? We gotta help Seela though. She promised that if I got someone to help, she’d delete my tab.” Jasmine says.

“Nice armor.” she says.

“But while we’re here…call me Poppy. Poppy Tucold. Professional gambler extraordinare.”

“I might be…depends.” she replies.

She sighs. “You were supposed to say…"Depends on what?” then I would say “How much money in your coin purse? Alot…I’ve never played Sabacc before. Nothing…Yeah, that’s me.” It was gonna be really cool. Anyway… I can get you at the table with Midell, alright. She’s intent on catching me. I’ve got an angle to get that old sow keen on someone, it’ll work sure thing.“

“Eww, dude. No.” She says. “Midell is a fuckin’ rancor. I mean keen as someone she doesn’t hate. Old bitch hasn’t really got any friends here. Catch me up, she may let you up into the command deck.”

“Let me break it down. When she comes stomping down here to try and win her money back for the seventeenth night in a row…new player at the table. They play, we get in a big pot…They knock me out. You play one on one with Midell and let her win some money back. Say good game and all that, buy her a drink…she might warm on that.”

“Yeah, sure thing, dolly.” She passes over the menu. She’s called away by another patron. “Be back to get that order in a minute.”

Menu reads: Blue noodles - Very Yum! , Yagai Spice dindra - Full and Hearty!, Seasoned enyak bobs over teerlop-zikody - Refined and fancy!

There is nothing on the other side.

“She won’t be round till after the end-session bell. So we have a few hours. We could stop at my room, and I can help you with your beacons. Go help Seela, then come back right as the rush is starting. We’ll want a crowd around the sabacc table before Marchin’ Midell shows up.”

Seela returns. “Decide on anything, hun?”

“You sure?” Seela asked.

“I’d maybe get the noodles instead, love. They’re better for you.” she said with a smile.

“Uhh…They are uhhh…blue…Cyanish.” she says

“Ummm, sure.” She walks off.

She returns a moment later. “I’m sorry, darlin’ we only have the cyan ones.”

“Fresh? honey…You don’t spend much time on stations do you?”

“Honey, the food is called dindra. Yagai are a people.”

“the Dindra is real spicy too. Just to warn you.”

“you sure, honey?” Seela said, touching her hand.

“Honey, ignore them, you can get what you want. Sorry our options are so limited. Freen is looking to add more to the menu, just don’t have many people with good taste here I guess.”

“I’ll tell them not to make it too spicy, how’s that?”

Seela puts in the order for the Dindra. She makes notes "Mild, please."

Jasmine chuckles at Sykes.

“Uhhh, I guess…Though I don’t really get paid…come to think of it…” Jasmine says.

“…” Jasmine blinks and turns to Rayne “Is this bitch serious?”

“We’ve met 9 times you dumb heffer!” Jasmine yells

“Imma do it…” Jasmine goes for her boot. “Imma cut this bitch.”

Jasmine draws a Sith Dagger from her boot

“POPPY! HEY! POPP! YOU KNOW THE RULES!” Seela screams across the bar “PUT THE BLADE AWAY. TAKE IT OFF STATION.”

Jasmine takes a deep breath. “Rayne…She’s just going to forget again…Next time, I’m gonna make sure she remembers.” She stuffs the blade back into her boot. “Sorry Seela! Just got excited.”

“I swear…Rayne…One day, I will be strong enough and I will kill him myself. This will be the first reason. He’s ON THE LIST NOW! Seela, Love, one Fizzly Sipler, please.” Jasmine says.

“And I’ll behave…probably.” she adds.

Seela brings the drink. “Poppy” downs it. “Come on, let’s go to my berth and break your beacons. I mean, spoof your beacons.”

“You got a special order dumbnuts, they’re gonna spit in it.” Jasmine said.

“I don’t eat here.” Seela says.

“Finally…Someone reasonable.” Jasmine said. “Come on dipshits! We’re rolling out!” She yells at Kah'ri and Ellac.

Jasmine strides past Komilia and looks at Sykes <<Too bad they don’t make a muzzle for a mouth that large>> she says in Mando'a.

“This way, come on. Rayne you’re up front with me.” Jasmine says, zig-zag walking out of the cantina

“Take it off station. Off station…Once were there, blamo, right in the spleen.” Jasmine says to herself. She wanders towards the residential district muttering to herself singing a little tune “And really bad eggs, deedilly dee.” she says clearly.

Jasmine leads you to the residential district. She leads you about half way and then into one of the room blocks. They are like a hotel floor, there are several rooms sequestered off the main hall and she leads you into her room. The place is a mess. There are stacks of coins everywhere and all manner of electronics. There are lots of strange items around too.

“Buddy! I’m home. Where are you?” she says as she lets you all in.

A BD droid appears. He’s got a little streak of teal on his head.

It buzzes and whirs at her.

“Yeah, dude. I know. ” she replies.

It beeps and shakes.

“What, no dude…They aren’t robbing us. They are the B-team my dad sent.”

“Make yourselves at home.” She says, pointing around at the mess. “One at a time come over here so Buddy can spoof your beacons.”

She gives the droid the beacon. It does some adjustments, sparks fly. In a minute or two she hands it back. “Easy. Now you’re visibly invisible.”

“We’ve met before…Nine times. Just hand it to Buddy, he does all this kinda stuff.” Jasmine pushes away her hand. She starts digging through the piles of stuff.

“Try? Don’t try. Do. Frak. You’re like the shittiest Aristocrat ever. All they do is remember people. Knowing people is how all you noble types live.” Jasmine says.

“Cold Skrindo anyone?” She says lifting a paper wrap of the treat from the Market.

Jasmine takes a bite, with a mouthful of cold skrindo says “Weird how you were on the run and had to be on your own and yet here you are so inept…Almost like daddy bought you a run-away vacation.”

“Have you tried giving them a reason to like you?” She says, picking up a bandolier of grenades. <<Think fast old man>> she says in Mando'a. She tosses it to Sykes

Jasmine flies through the piles of stuff, tossing things over her shoulder as she doesn’t need them “So a few weeks back, Buddy and I found a way to get the beacons to read active, but not transmit location. Had to grease a couple CTA guards to get them to not run anomalies up the chain. But, credits go far here so no big loss. Hey, do you guys wanna go down into the maintenance decks? There are a bunch of cool levers and shit down there. We could go down to the secure cargo hold too. Gotta watch out for the lifter droids down there, but there’s all sorts of cool shit.” She stands up and tossed a pouch of data spikes to Kah'ri. She also tossed a small personal shield to Ellac.

“Geez, what happened to you?” She says giving Ellac a thorough once over. “Anyway…the guy that’s been stalking Seela. He’s CTA. He’s the type of dude-bro that talks about how good he was at lasball in high school.”

“It started about 2 weeks ago. Brought her flowers and Crunch'ems at work. Innocent enough. But then he started waiting outside the Cantina for her to get off work. Rumor is is used his access card to get into her room, left her one of those stupid plushies in her bed. What a creep.” She digs through more piles of what appears to be trash, broken pcbs and wire. She grabs a droid arm and starts waiving it around. “One of you could probably leave a memory in his head, right? Thran does that shit all the time. He made one of the ACE warehouse guys think that he was the Queen of Naboo once. Hilarious.”

“hrmmm” She looked at Rayne for a second, positing what to give her. “There is some furniture in here somewhere…”

“Oh! I know.” She dives under the bed and you can see her feet kicking. She appears a moment later and hands Rayne a small device. It is a personal cloaking device, it only has 3 charges.

“Ah shit…Polly prissy pants. Nearly forgot to give you something. Give me your helmet.”

Jasmine pushes over a stack of credits and gathers a very small device. She whistles. “Come on. Haven’t got time to wait till after cucumber sandwiches.”

Jasmine picks up a little welder and tacks the device to her helmet. “Buddy, calibrate the thermal on this.” She sets the helmet down in front of the droid. She then ducks under the desk and pops back up a moment later. She tossed two cryoban grenades at Komilia.

“Right…so after we spook Geoffield Spyke, creepo, extraordinare…we go back to the Cantina. Blamo, party on. There’s about 5 people that have the details we need to pin down Corden Scythe, we got multiple angles. Sounds like we wanna run the old "Bigger Fish” scam on old Cement boots Midell. Is that the plan?“ She asks.

“Okay…not all at once!” She says, scooping up a small device from the floor. “Do you guys like…have questions or something?”

“Ha! Gotta watch out in the Market. Exchange is about 5.8 Cuur to Imperial credits.”

“Wait…what did you pay?”

“Hope the info was worth it, cause that ugly…” She grabs the shirt and looks at the tag. “Fake…Fabritech shirt is worth about 50 credits.”

Kahri sees the tag. It reads "FarbieTuch" in Fabritech font.

“Riiight. And did you come up with anything valuable in your journey? I’m not taking about handbags and overcoats either.” She says, popping back a little vial of stim.

<<It’s a trophy from a Baroness I left dead in an alley. Don’t worry about getting sucked into space, your brain is just as empty and youve made it this far.>> Jasmine replies in Huttese, before turning back to Kah'ri. “Looking for Albus and Feevo, eh…They mihht have more information. The traders don’t share everything with the CTA…their credits keep the cops quiet. What do you think that coward Reevo or that slimer Albus have?”

“Yeah, I thought that at first too. Ran the numbers two days back. Narrowed it down to 4 systems from 8. Kashi, Garo, Tari and Afash. I still think think those guys are up to something, tho. Rumor is Albus is in over his head on a bad trade of onwa melons. He could be that desperate. Doesn’t explain the naval leak tho. The pirates always hit unguarded convoys.”

“Reevo…that dork has no reason being Floor boss. No idea how the CTA validated that green calculator as the head of their trade arm. It’s fishy. But he’ll, could just be old fashioned nepotism.”

“I know, Right? I got bored after two days. Keeping myself occupied…and you know the rules…Finders Keepers, losers get their shit taken. Here…check this out!” She holds up a cape clasp that is shaped like some strange animal. It’s mouth opens when she squeeze it. The teeth seem to hold the cape closed.

“Rawr rawr rawr” she opens the mouth repeatedly.

“yeah, there is all kinds of cool shit down on the secure cargo deck. Maybe we can check that out later. I like to go down there and swap the cargo manifests. Really pisses the traders off.” She replies.

“The droids down there as nasty though, so you gotta be sneaky. But yeah, good fun. One time I saw a grimp fall in some kinda chemical bath down there…was brutal.” She says.

“anyway, it’s better to go down there after end-session bell. Some new stuff came in yesterday, so we can check that out.”

“Soooo…like…any more questions? Or…can we…” She whistles and moves her fingers like a little walking man

“Oh yeah…it’s all spooky and darkness and steam and thumping sounds. There is some kinda animals down there. I think they’re causing the brownouts. I’ll take credit for alot of the rumors flying around, but that one ain’t me. I wouldn’t even need Kevin to clear me.” She says

“Shut up, do not.” She says, hiding he bright eyes.

“If I know Midell, after you get in with her she’ll make you go down there and get the little goblins. Then she might introduce you to Ar'Tunna.”

“One eye over here is quiet. What’s your deal, pal?” She says inadvertently squinting one eye at Ellac.

“You all talk too much.” Sykes said, lighting another cigarette. “Are we going to do this?”

“Yes. What he said.” Jasmine added. “We’ll have to find Bdryr first, to see if Geoffield is in his apartment…And swipe the access card. Leave that to me. We’ll sort out what comes next on the way out. If we get separated, meet at the cantina.” she said, passing Sykes a stim vial. <<It’s not your poison, but it’ll take the edge off, old man>> she says in Mando'a.

The group makes their way out of her very messy room and back to the station promenade. They follow her towards the market. Many people, particularly guards smile at her and wave. A few stop her. They all refer to her as "Poppy". The guards seem particularly keen on her. She asks them questions in a language you all don't understand. After a short while, she finds a tall orange furred alien, you're not sure what his species is. She speaks with him a for a short while. She gives him a hug. She turns back to the group, grinning. You continue to follow her through the market. The keen eyed among you see her swipe a piece of fruit. She leads you to the apartment block you are looking for.

“Welp, this is it. Bdryr says the creep is in here. Apartment 6. He’s on the nightshift. So he should be sleeping. Why don’t you go in there and set him straight. I’ll keep watch out here. Remember…don’t kill him.” Jasmine says, swiping an access card. the door in front of you opens.

Sykes grumbles and heads inside. He says his pistol and looks for the appropriate door.

Sykes is unable to locate Apartment 6. He posts up outside one of the doors. Taking his best guess at which one is #6

Each apartment block has one door to the main promenade. This is where you stand. Inside each block are 10 apartments. **thank you to Rayne for asking for clarification**

you know Geoffield is a human man, late 20s. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. He's 6'2" and pretty muscular, but has a bit of a gut. He also often skips leg day.

Apartment 6 stands out to your senses. It is a place that is dark, full of anger and bad intentions. You're familiar with the dark side, but this is not as pure. This is like a watered down version. You can sense the entity that is probably causing that. He is still, sleeping probably. You can pinpoint where he is and approach the door to apt 6. What would you like to do?

“the fuck are they doing in there…” Jasmine says to herself from her lookout position

the door clunks and is now firmly locked.

You hear yelling and pounding and clattering inside the apartment. You can hear Geoffield screaming "No get away! Get away! I don't love you! Stay back!"

“You dipshits just gonna stand at the crime scene?” Jasmine called from the exterior door. She whistles a little ‘whit whit’ sounds. “Come on, let’s go…Job’s done.”

“Good. Let’s go.” She ushers you all out, peering into the apartment block before closing it off. She leads you back to the Cantina. You can see the clock reads 16:31.

“Ok, so phase two….Which one of you is gonna be the bigger fish?

“Wait…let me backtrack…Can any of you actually play Sabacc?” she asks.

“Right…So…that leave…Rayne, Sykes, and You, Kah'ri…Hey, you copy my dad’s looks…can you copy his sleight of hand?” she says.

“Uhhh…Except I have his genes, dingbat. Anyway…Raaaaaaaaayne. Cards? Yes? No? Maybe? It won’t be like Cantonica again, I swear it.” she says.

“Cool. One eye and Mr serious. Why don’t you guys see if you can find Albus and see if that dirtbag knows anything. He’s the biggest asshole in this place, you won’t be able to miss him. Polly Prissy Pants and Sykes…I don’t know. Look for Grub. Nobody’ll care if he gets mutilated in some horrible fashion.” Jasmine says. “Sound good? Objections?”

Jasmine leads you all back to the Cantina, weaving through the growing crowds. People call out to her along the way "Hey Poppy!" "Yo, Poppy!". You notice that the guards seem to be quite fond of her, which is surprising based on what you have seen she's been up to. After a short time you come back to the cantina, the clock reads 16:31, just enough time before the end of the session and the crowds begin to amass. You enter and are greeted again by the protocol droid who is manning the door. You all approach Seela to tell her the good news that you've solved her "problem". What would you like to tell her?

“So…Goeffield will leave me alone now? That’s great! First round is on me!” Seels says, before pouring all the drinks. She comes over to Kah'ri, sure to touch his hand while setting down the blurrgfire he ordered.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am…Poppy’s friend was telling me what you all were looking for. I have something that might help… Someone left it here one night. Before you ask, no…I don’t know who.” She says, passing over a datachip to Kah'ri.

She pours Sykes another shot and looks deep into his eyes. “Sure is nice to know that there’s some kind people left in this sector…” She says in a soft voice.

“Kind…but also strong.” She giggles.

Kahri has a data chip. It has a purple symbol of a Scythe on it.

You all notice a little Gand stopping at each group of patrons. They are talking to each group and seem to be making their way closer towards you.

The Gand is Freen. The owner.He's asking people about their meals and asking for feedback. He seems to be kind of desperately asking people to help him with the menu. He is looking for someone with taste to help him replace the Enyak Bobs.

Freen sees her. Finishes with the table he's at and waddles over to her.

“Hello. This one is Freen. Pleased to meet. Welcome welcome welcome. All is good?”

“This one gives much information…sweet, yes. Like Nectar to Freen. Enyak bobs. But these ones none like to eat except Freen. You know good foods?” He asks

“Yes. You do. You help Freen with make new foods. Freen will not hate you. Freen will love you.”

“Yes, Yes. You help be A number 1 customer.”. Freen grabs her hand. “Come come, Freen takes you to make new foods.”

“Yes, yes. A number 1.” He says.

“We make a new food that has tastes of good for people here. They are not liking Gand favorites. This saddens this one. but business is for customers, not owners. This one,” he points to Komilia “ will make tasty foods. Yum! People will like. People will eat.”

“Freen has all ingredients. Y This one uses it’s taste to make new foods for Freen. Does this one understand?”

“this one will make one of each. Make nice food. Freen records recipe, Freen taste. If good, prizes for A number 1 customer. ”

“This one can make as much good foods as this one wants.”

Freen tries the Sandwich. You think you see tears in his multi segmented eyes.

“This one has skill. Again! This one makes more!”

“This foods is not as nice. Try another! Yes yes this one tries again!”

The droid projects a series of numbers and a map. You are familiar with the map, it's similar to the one you saw on the Gargoyle. The data contains 1/3rd of the coordinates to the Pirate Base. You can't pin down which system it's in, but you know that this eliminates the Afash System.

“This is good foods for Humans and others, This does not please Freen as a Gand, but this will be many liked.” He says.

“This great. A number 1 customer! You have free foods and can take this. Freen finds and Seela says you are Imperial. You do good. Good food. Good hunt pirates. Good bring people back to Freen. Take…take!” Freen smiles and hands Komilia a datachip with a small purple scythe on it.

Komilia sees a star map. Like the map on the Gargoyle. It gives 1/3rd of the coordinates of the pirate Base. You can't tell specifically which system it is. But you know it's not the Tari system.

Kah'ri scopes the whole place. It is getting busier here. It appears to be end of session. He spots 4 or five people of interest. One is a Devaronian man, with a devilish grina and long knotted horns. He sits in the back of the Cantina. This is Grub. The second is a loud human man, who's cheering with friends and high fiving people as he tells a story. He has a white polo style shirt on. This is Albus. There is a Rodian man. He's small. He sits by himself reviewing a data pad. This is Feevo Reevo. And the last person is a Klatoonian ne'erdowell. You don't know him. But he seems imposing.

Midell is not here yet, but you know she shows up after the main rush.

Meanwhile, Rayne and Jasmine have gone to the back room on the left side of the Cantina. This is a private card room. There is a service droid, a small beaten up astromech, and several tables for playing cards. Two games have already started. "Poppy" or Jasmine and Rayne sit down and start playing Sabacc. It's an outrim variant, not too dissimilar from standard, but there is a "Hold'em" aspect. Where each player can use a community card instead of their own if they choose. They play a few rounds, and Jasmine starts accumulating a large amount of chips. She's also stacking the deck, allowing Rayne to accumulate a large number of chips. They are waiting till Midell shows up to start exchanging real blows.

“Twenty Two.” Poppy says with a smile, the crowd oohs and ahhs. “Go on then, what you got?”

And alien grunts and tosses in his cards.

“Whaaa…That’s…Ok, then. We’ve got a player.” Poppy replies, feigning shock.

“You best be careful, Pop. This traveler will leave the station with all your money.” a large Orange Furred alien says.

Poppy curses something in a language you don’t understand. The large alien laugh. And says something back in the same language. Another alien of the same species laughs with him. They sound like they are whooping when they laugh. “Ha. Ha.” She says, crossing her arms. “Just deal it up, the night is young!”

Word starts to travel around the cantina that Poppy is down bad against a newcomer. It doesn't take long for Midell to show up. Midell is a stout woman, with a short crew cut. She's gruff. As soon as she enters the card room, the guards playing cards all pack up one by one. It doesn't take long before they are all gone. She sits down at the table with Jasmine and Rayne.

“Come to give me more money, Mira?” Poppy says.

“By the look of your stack, you’re giving it all away. Gonna take my chances playing against someone who’s not a sneak, a thief, and a cheat.” Midell says.

“Ooooh, big talk. You got any proof to back that up? Being salty about losing doesn’t count as proof by the way.” Poppy says.

“Shut your mouth, runt. I’ll catch you one day and you’ll regret it. Deal it up.” Midell says, looking over to Rayne. “Who are you?” she says.

Mira Midell is ex-military. You notice when you see her biceps. She has a prominent tattoo that reads "Freedom Fighter" There are small little Stormtrooper helmets that have been crossed out below it. By your count...87. She is ex-Resistance. You also notice that the guards seem to scoff at her. They are not afraid of her. They don't like her for another reason. You can see also that her finger used to bear a wedding band, but she doesn't wear the ring right now. You suspect she gambled it and lost to Jasmine.

“Commandant Mira Midell. I run the guards here. Don’t try anything funny.” She half takes Rayne’s hand and squeezes very tightly, trying to show dominance.

“Deal the cards, you little snake.” She says to Jasmine.

Jasmine hides a smirk and shuffles up.

She deals the cards and you play the round. Midell has just folded. It’s down to Rayne and Jasmine. “Negative Twenty-three…Pure Sabacc, bay-bay!!! Read em and weep!” Jasmine stands up to rake in the pots.

“What?! No! That’s not possible!” Jasmine tries to put on a grand performance, but it’s not as grand as she would like. She hides it under the guise of being so angry. She throws her cards on the table and storms off.

“HA! The little shit deserves it. Coming around here flaunting all those Imperial credits…Glad someone put her in her place.” Midell says.

Rayne and Midell play on for a while. Midell seems in decent spirits knowing Poppy has lost. She starts to brag about having access to the whole station as her chip stack rises.

“Where you from?” Midell said squinting.

“Tari, eh? Heard about your shipment of grains. Sorry that happened. Why don’t you come by the command deck tomorrow and I’ll see if there is anything I can do to help.” She said, almost, for a flash of a second, smiling. “Twenty.” She says turning over her cards.

“HA! Yes! Looks like my luck has finally turned!” Midell hollers

“You sure can!” She says and walks to the bar with Rayne.

You order drinks and Seela makes them. While Rayne is chatting with Midell, the shots appear on the counter. A very angry looking Poppy approaches.

“You brought in a ringer, Midell! I’m on to you!” Poppy yells bumping into Midell. Jasmine has switched Midell’s drink. Midell does not notice.

“GODDAMNIT POPPY. THAT’S TWICE TODAY! TAKE IT OFF THE STATION!” Seela shouts.

“My bad. My bad. I’m walking away…But I’ve got my eyes on you two.” she says.

Rayne notices Jasmine/Poppy slip something into her pocket as she storms off

Midell puts her shot back. Her eyes go kind of glassy.

“Do I know you, Brah?” he asks.

“Oh, we got a big man here big man with big talk. How much money did you make last session brah? Cause I’ll tell you…I made four hundred thousand Cuur. I bet you haven’t even seen that much money in your life! I snap necks and cash checks. All day every day, baby.” Albus says.

One of his minions Raises a hand for a high five “Hell yeah, brah. You’re a stone cold closer.” Albus gives him high five.

“Whatever, brah. That’s just haters hating. You know what we do to haters? Block ‘em out.” He tips down a pair of sunglasses and sips his brewski.

“What does he mean by that Albus?” One dudebro says

“Shut your mouth SteveDave.” Albus snaps

“Who the fuck do you think you are, Brah?” Albus says, poking a finger at Ellac.

“Listen here, Robo-bitch. I don’t know where you’re getting your information from…But you don’t know a thing about me. So step off, Brah.” Albus says

“Albus, you said you made bank on that deal, Brah.” one dudebro says. “Yeah, brah, tell this dude what’s right, brah.” another says “Yeah Albus! Tell this dude what’s up.” the third chirps

“Who the fuck are you? Like what is a little girl doing in here…Shouldn’t you be at home playing with dollys?” Albus says, laughing

“Listen up, Albus. We’ve been through this before. Same shit with Poppy last week. You can’t just say stuff like that. Next time I catch you, you’re going to the brig.” the officer says. “Why don’t you two leave Albus alone.”

“What the fuck, brah! This girl comes over her and starts trying to blackmail me. Uncool, brah. Uncool. Now she’s spitting on me brah?”

He takes a step back, avoiding contact. Leading her away from the table.

<<SHE DOESN"T DESERVE THAT ARMOR. FUCKING DISHONORABLE!>> “Poppy” yells in Mando'a across the bar.

“Poppy, keep it down love. Or I’ll have to cut you off again.” Seela says.

“Albus? Good people? You’re new here, aren’t you…”

“Listen man…Whatever…I am off the clock. I can’t stop you. Just, don’t cause any trouble.” the officer says.

“Two rules of this station. You need to get physical…you take it off the station. Two…Don’t make bad trades.”

He looks at the coins. “Goddamn travelers. Keep your coins.”

“Just don’t cause trouble, asshat.”

The guard walks away.

“Brah…You just accused me of a very serious crime. Uncool. Very uncool. You really think an Alpha like me would go after some little girl like you? Cha, you wish.” Albus says.

“Yeah, Albus makes so much cash, he can date any chick he wants.” dudebro 2 says.

“Except Seela.” dudebro 3 says.

“Shut your mouth, Kyle.” Albus snaps.

“Sorry Albus.” Kyle seems to shrink in his place.

“Kyle…Shut your mouth.” Albus says again

“Sorry Al…” Kyle begins.

“GODDAMN, BRAH. ARE YOU A TOTAL LASERBRAIN!? GO GET ME ANOTHER DRINK!” Albus yells.

Kyle stands up. “ALL OF YOU! This dumbass will fuck it up if he goes alone.” Albus says. All dudebros stand and leave.

“Sit down, Robo-bitch.” Albus says.

Albus leans in. “Who the fuck told you about the melon deal?”

“Perhaps we can come to a deal, then…Ok…Lets open the bidding table…Your offer?”

“Counter offer…You help me sort out a little misfiling of goods on the Cargo decks…I’ll give you the information you want.” Albus says.

“Simple…You go down into the secure cargo, you plug in this datachip…Then, there’s some unclaimed goods in hold #4…You just slip in there, test the goods…make sure they work…and put this data in the manifest. Giving me ownership of the goods. Then you come back…I tell you what I know.” Albus says

“Listen, brah…Keep your commentary to yourself. Do we have an deal?” He extends a hand to shake.

<<What the hell would I want with robo-bitch’s arm?>> he replies

“Forget it. Your sister is just being a cu- Forget it man. Do we have a deal?” Albus says.

<<I don’t deal with women. Bitches be crazy and their little brains aren’t built to make deals. You’ve got nothing I want, so go be useful and make me a sandwich.>> he replies.

“Listen, bro…You right to be dealing with me. I fly a J-Type Nubian, Brah. I got stacks on stacks. Maybe you play this right I’ll help you get fat cash and bitches too.” Albus shakes his hand.

“Cya later brah!” Albus says, smirking

Sykes has been watching and observing the crowd. He's taken particular interest in the Devaronian in the back of the room. The vendor in the Market told him to find Grub. A gnawing had been sitting in his stomach for some time. Beyond his hunger for "soup" an insatiable thirst was growing. Deathsticks. It had been a number of hours since he'd gotten his last fix. His skin was crawling. The Stims Jasmine had given him did help, but it was like a single drop of water on the lips when stuck in the desert. After a few drinks he stands and approaches Grub.

“You. You Grub?” Sykes grunts.

“Depends…who wants to know?” Grub asks.

“Deathsticks. You got any?” Sykes asks.

Grub looks Sykes up and down. “I have many things, but they’ll cost you.”

“How much?” Sykes asks

“100 Cuur. A piece.” Grub says.

Sykes grunts “Ten.” he runs some quick math in his head and gives Grub <:credit:896304233937260574>200. “The extra 160 is a gift.”

“Gifts are nice. Around here, if you recieve a gift it is customary to give one in return. What can I gift you?” Grub says.

“Information. Corden Scythe. What do you know?” Sykes asks.

“I don’t deal with them myself. I have principles, after all. But…My people tell me there is more to it that what we’re being told.” Grub says.

Sykes leans in. Tapping his beskar armor. “Like what?”

“Easy, Killer…Listen…The CTA won’t step in cause there is internal pressures. Some big trader keeps threatening to pull business if they do. And its not that Albus fuck, he’s just chasing dollar bills. Someone bigger, smarter, more subtle. Other admins are stepping in and agreeing. See old Marching Midell. Ex-Resistance. She’s actively stopping the CTA from stepping in. Hates the Imps so much she’d scuttle the station rather than see them trade here. The pirates aren’t working alone either. There is some other actors in this. Someone pressuring them. Someone brokering all their deals. I don’t know more than that. I don’t know where the pirates operate from. Like I said, I don’t deal with them. I know it’s the first planet in the system.” Grub says.

“Thanks.” Sykes hits his deathstick and goes back to the bar.

Feevo Reevo tip tap types away on his datapad.

Feevo looks up from his datapad. “The trade day is over. Please, any complaints are to be lodged with the CTA Trade office.”

Feevo is small, wiry, even for a Rodian. As you speak to him he seems to shrink. He flips his datapad.

“Who might you be?”

His proboscis flicks. “What do you want? I have no coin to be robbed.”

“You may do as you please.” Feevo says.

Feevo brings his datapad close to his chest

His black eyes flick back and forth. “What do you want…No one offers me anything without wanting something…”

“Ok…I’m listening. How can I help you?”

He looks, still listening to Kah'ri.

“I am not hungry and I have alot of work to do…” Feevo says.

He eyes you. “I am good. Tell me what is your mission?”

“I see…And who has sent you?”

“Interesting… You expect information but will not give it. Very well, I will assist you if you assist me.

“We take illegal trades very seriously here…There has been cargo coming to the station which has never come to sale. It appears in the cargo yards…then leaves with different people than those that brought it. I have a suspect…They are staying in Apartment 2133. They have twice now brought cargo that has left with others…I think this is an unsanctioned trading ring. They seem to be trading after Hours. Apprehend them…” he says.

“If I had that I would have reported it to the CTA. All I know is suspicious activity in Apartment 2133 that and the cargo record tying it to that room. They won’t just jump at no evidence.” Feevo Reevo says, quite irritated.

“If you come back before 00:00 I’ll be here. If not, you can find me in the Trade Exchange in the morning. I’m not in the habit of giving strangers my home address.”

“Yeah, sure. Easy.” she says.

Sykes approaches. “Midell is in on this. She has more information than she’s playing. Ex-Resistance. She’s allowing the pirates to hit our convoys.”

“Oh, don’t worry about her…” Jasmine says with a smile. “She’s gonna have a bad morning…”

“So, we’re going to actually help Captain Douchenozzle?” Jasmine says. “Whatever…it’s your mission.”

Jasmine hops down from her stool. She is also a bit wobbly. Seela looks at her "Poppy, be careful tonight." She leads you out of the cantina and towards an office near the center of the station. The door reads 'Restricted'. She swipes a badge. The door opens. You all enter. Rayne notices that the guards see "Poppy", but they don't stop her one even seems to nod to her. You all board the Turbolift.

“Ok ladies…There are a bunch of droids down here. They’re real ornery. They only speak Sy Bisti and droidspeak…Don’t bother, they won’t comply anyway. If they come at you, put them down. The repair droids come through at night and patch everything up. I’d tell you all to sneak…But…” She sighs. “Just don’t die.”

The turbolift doors open. You are on the Secure Cargo deck. It is a massive cavernous room full of cargo containers. Large lifter droids are the only beings in this room. Cargo containers enter via one large port in the wall, connected to the Docks, where you landed, and the outer ring docks of the station. Containers exit through another port opposite of it.

Kah'ri looks around. There are several large droids stomping about. They have large a yellow chassis. They are moving containers. They don't seem to notice you yet. You also see that this area is monitored by cameras. There are red lights above the cameras. They are off.

“Where? No. What…Kinda. They use a classification system down here. The first digit always dictates what type of container it’s in. 473 is a type 4 container. That’s the medium rectangle ones. 73…That’s just on the side of them. The droids use some kind of system to store them, but I can’t figure it out. Rogers don’t make no damn sense sometimes.” Jasmine pauses, realizing the words coming out of her mouth sound like someone else.

The BD droid starts to hack in to the system. Very shortly afterwards it beeps and hoots repeatedly. The lights in the cargo bay turn off. In the darkness you hear the stomping of the large droids stop. Suddenly, the stomping unites in one sound. It is getting closer.

“Goddamnit…"Jasmine says. Her blood red lightsaber ignites.

The emergency lights activate. There is a dull amber light in this room. It's not pitch black like it was, but it is darker in here.

“Let’s do this…” she says.

“Yes, lets scream and let the droids know exactly where we are.” Jasmine says, rolling her eyes.

Five large robots march towards you. Their servos grind and hiss as they march. Two appear to your right and three appear to your left. They are slow marching, but large. They stand about 9 feet tall. They have blocked your path deeper into the cargo hold. You can hear that more are coming.

The droid is faster than it looks. It's spins quickly out of the path of the blades. Kah'ri narrowly misses the large cylindrical body as he strikes. The droid squares up to attack Kah'ri next.

The Droid near Ellac and Kah'ri shakes and rattles. It fizzles and falls over

Sykes stabs the droid high. It sparks and shakes. Jasmine slides on one knee, taking out the metal legs. It falls to the floor and deactivates

The Droids are consumed by flames. The intensity of the fire begins to melt their loose wiring. The spark and shriek as the fire licks their metal torsos. The droids collapse, twitching and scored by the inky black of carbon.

The droid freezes. It sparks and falls over with a clang. You hear the sound of stomping steps approaching they are getting close now.

Two droids close in on Sykes. The raise their big lifting arms above their heads and smash down on him. The metal bounces off his beskar'gam, but the impact was certainly felt inside the tough armor.

A Third droid rushes at Jasmine, locking her in its lifting arms. It lifts her way up in the air, preparing to slam her down to the floor as it rushes past the other Force Users.

The Droids marching towards Kah'ri and Ellac cock back, tossing a large metal box at them. It bounces on the floor just ahead of them, then over there heads. Clattering harmlessly to the ground behind them. You hear more stomping coming up behind you now

The Droids extend their arms and climb to the top of the moving container, avoiding being crushed. They look down at Kah'ri and Ellac and continue their forward march

The small darts impact the droids. They seem to have no effect. The have not hit any vital parts.

The arrow of raw energy pierced the droid. It shudders and crumples. Jasmine rolls free from it's clutches.

Jasmine rolled to her feet, extending her hand towards Sykes. Her mind flashed to practices in the garden, a stern instructor forcing perfection in her execution of the technique. Her mind narrowed. Her vision focused, like a bird of prey scoping a rabbit in the bush. Her target was small, no larger than an apple. It ripped free of the belt, tumbling to the floor and rolling away from her ally. It rolled towards the back ranks of the makeshift droid security force. The single red light, blinking. She waited a four count. The light blinked faster. A sudden eruption and concussive blast consumed the back rank.

Three of the droids are immediately torn to pieces. The other two are shoved by the concussive force and they are unsteady.

Komilia backpedals keeping her blaster leveled. Her training with her Mandalorian tutor would serve her well in the heat of battle. With her free hand she reached to her waist, flicking on the Thermal Imploder. She tossed it. She had timed the throw perfectly, letting the explosive cook in her hand a moment before release. The device landed at the feet of the droids. There was a brief moment of stillness. Then all at once the droids were drawn towards the device before being crumpled under it's massive release of energy.

The Droids on the crate above Kah'ri and Ellac leap down, smashing downwards with their large metallic arms. Both are bludgeoned, but remain conscious. These droids, while powerful, are not designed for combat. The Force user's acute senses were able to minimize the blow. The droids begin to march towards them

The Two droids facing Sykes swing their clumsy arms. Being off balance from the explosion, they cannot find purchase on their target. They stabilize themselves and prepare for another smash attack.

The Two droids in front of Ellac fall to pieces and collapse to the floor.

The droid crumples to the floor

The droid falls to the floor in two parts.

Jasmine leaps into action. She sprints at the nearest droid, slashing across it’s mid-section with her lightsaber.

The droid falls into two parts.

The bolt passes through the optical receptor of the droid. It fizzles and sparks before collapsing.

You all hear silence for a moment, then the stomping of droids on the other side of the containers from where you are. They don't seem smart enough to know to climb over to get you. They resume working.

you see containers 456 and 481. They seem to having markings on the outside indicating the governments that sponsored the goods being sent. Container 481 has the markings of the Empire on it.

This is containers 433 and 404. On container 404 the words Not Found have been painted. You see the symbols of other local sector governments.

Komilia searches the manifest records. The containers seem to be in numerical order in the hold manifest. They've been given a long serial code. That code seems like random letters and numbers.

Komilia can see that the crate up there is also marked 420. On the side, Fresh Produce, has been painted.

“You might. It’ll help you be not such a tight ass.” Jasmine says to herself.

The droid head activates. A single glowing red eye stares at Komilia.

It beeps and whistles. It sounds mad.

the droid warbles and makes grinding sounds

Container 473 is marked with a symbol that is different than the others you've seen. There is a manifest pad attached to it.

<<Put me down, Meatbag. I’ll consume your lower extremities!>> The droid says in a language you don’t know

Jasmine laughs to herself

The droid goes to work. The door opens seconds later. There are crates inside. One is open. Inside, hidden in a sticky grease like material are weapons. Loads and loads on A280 blaster rifles

“Holy…shit.” Jasmine says. As she looks around.

Jasmine picks up a datapad from the ground passing it to Rayne.

The data pad has a message. It reads "Reaper 7, when you rtb, the Commodore wants to discuss a solution to the Porg problem. These should help. -S."

“I can’t believe it…Moby Dickless is actually doing something not wholly selfish…” Jasmine said.