A trip to wild space.

[Jak Bexel]

Onboard the BSP Mobile Facility, East Docking Bay

Jak Bexel and his crew of Stretch, Red Eyes, and Riz stood tableau'd before a garish trio of Neimoudians in the cavernous bay. Their celestial robes dragged three feet behind them, and their headdresses cast clawed shadows across the merry band of pirates. Bexel was unsure what he was called here for, only to be given a gift from his new contact on Tattooine. His new contact, who was a brain in a jar and capable of telepathy. Never a dull moment. The Jacket was parked just nearby, with Harold, Mums, and Tessa working on repairs.

"Your services on Tattooine have been keenly observed and appreciated, Our operative within the B'omarr Monks reached out to inform us of your valor in service and her wish to bestow upon you a gift she will no longer need. Before her... transition to a path of enlightenment, she had commissioned this custom GAT-12 Skipray Blastboat. As you can see, pristine. The turmeric finish - impeccable. You will find the interior such satisfying environs for your adventures, and the weapons system has never been used. It's, how do you say..."

"Factory fresh?!" Stretch, the tiny blue child who may have been older than anyone in the room, piped up from the back of the crowd.

"Ah, yes," The lead Neimodian nodded. "Factory fresh. And now it is yours."

The gang watched as he reached into his robes to grandly pull out the access card and deed. Instead, his energy was cut short as he fumbled about, checking each pocket. He made an inaudible remark to the other two fancymen in his gang and they too began checking their pockets. Jak looked at Ellem, Ellem looked at Stretch, Stretch inserted a cigar into his mouth, Red Eyes checked his chrono. Finally, the main Neimoudian recalled his error.

"It was in this pocket."

Relieved, he handed Jak the key and datapad. He nodded graciously and accepted this gift, turning to Red Eyes. "You get to fly her for now -- for now. No smoking behind the wheel, I want at least a month of that new ship smell. You understand?"

His old friend nodded and headed up the ramp to check out their newest addition to the Bexel family. Just then, there was an alert on the comms. Incoming ships, exiting hyperspace. The three fancymen excused themselves and glided out of the room to greet their new guests. Jak could see from the open wall of the bay Alliance and Pirate ships, notably the Nighthawk Gunboat belonging to his friend, Buggie.

"Buggie! Now it's a party," he said to Riz, who said nothing. "Wonder what they're doing here?"

"Apprehending a deserter?" She responded flatly, walking up the ramp to the new Blastboat. He took a moment to consider, and followed her onboard.

[Annan Rainwalker]

Near BSP Mobile Facility
Uncharted sector, Wild Space

♫ Tunna nun nun.... tun nun nuuuun... ♫

Wild, wild Space.

Just like those Banthaboy holomovies - 'The Good, the Bad and the Hutt' came to mind. The nearest sheriff was, perpetually, ninety lightyears away.

Jedi Rainwalker, garbed in his characteristic black cloak, stood in the cockpit of the YT-2000 Mahmudiye Scintillance, his BB-unit Drop on the floor by his right side. He was immersed in the Force, twin black-gloved mechanical hands crossed over his chest as he faced the viewport with his eyes closed. The cockpit's pilot and co-pilot seats were occupied by O.M.5 and Bigweld 2.0, respectively. His aunt, Zulara, was in the Effulgence, that tailed behind them. The cockpit of the Mahmudiye blared with loud music.

♫ Tunna nun nun.... tun nun nuuuun... ♫

<"Someone please stop that music!"> Bigweld 2.0 shouted suddenly from the co-pilot seat.

Jedi Rainwalker stood as he was, like a statue, but his lips parted as he spoke. "Come on, Bigweld. The theme music from 'The Good, the Bad and the Hutt' fits the occasion. We're in the wild, wild Space! 'There are no rules!'"

♫... Tun nuuun nuuuun... ♫

<"And that doesn't worry you?"> Bigweld 2.0 asked, programmed incredulousness lacing his tone.

"'Worry is like a rockin' fathier. It's somethin' to do that don't get you nowhere,'" Ani replied, in a different accent.

Bigweld 2.0's photoreceptor units bore into him unblinkingly. The Jedi simply grinned. Believe it or not, the Jedi had been in and out of this lawless piece of Space for quite a few years now, ever since he first came to the planet Yorann in order to construct his lightsaber and (unintentionally) complete his Jedi Trials, which eventually led to his Knighthood. He had sort of claimed Yaronn as his personal place of retreat, training and meditation, whence he came to spend time or take a break from the warring Galaxy whenever he was able to.

Not this time, though. This time he was nowhere near Yaronn, he was here on a mission. And Bigweld's worried circuits were understandable; he was probably calculating the probability of them lasting out here in the Wild without encountering any hostiles, which was quite likely a mere few decimal places above nil. But the Jedi was not concerned, for he was at peace with the Force. Once again, he was tailing Master Buggie, as a part of a convoy tasked with obtaining some surviving species of fauna from Alderaan, the planet that had been thoroughly eradicated by the Empire decades prior. Annan wasn't even born then; yet, he figured, helping in the preservation of whatever was left behind from a planet that had suffered so much was something he was honoured to be a part of.

Thus, the Scintillance and the Effulgence approached the secret BSP Facility behind the Bandit 01, ready to dock right behind Buggie as soon as he hailed them the clearance codes he would receive from the facility.

And then, a familiar flare in the Force...

[Zechs Merquise]

Zechs followed behind the Effulgence unsure how he was supposed to pronounce that. He was sure it wasn't as difficult as far more complex words, but he had this feeling he best not try. The last thing he needed was to insult some fellow. Besides, it wasn't like he was that creative when it came to giving his ships names.

Nope. The old yet faithful Eta-2 Epyon served him well. Behind him Preventer 1, an older but still new enough XJ X-wing. They'd soon dock and join the others to do the stuff they came here to do. Zechs might even crack one of his patented crowd slaying jokes. Well, to be fair, it wasn't his joke that slayed. It was the hoverbus that hit those fleeing the fair grounds. Etti IV buses were swift but slow to stop. It wasn't a pretty, but this got a lot darker than Zechs had intended his thoughts to. So....

Yeah, Zechs followed along and made his way to the dock. It was going to be a good times. Good times for sure.

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Raiders, let's try to build off of this and get to the convoy in the next post or two.))

It was taking an unusually long time for the clearance codes to be processed, Buggie realized. He knew that the codes were good, so what was the issue?

"Codes received, Bandit 01. Patching you through to the captain," the operator voiced.

That was even more unusual. What Buggie was expecting was for the operator to tell him that clearance had been granted for the Galactic Alliance vessels to dock and collect their prized Alderaanian beast. This was a milk run; a gesture between the Blue Star Pirates to the Galactic Alliance. What could have gone wrong?

"Bandit 01, this is the captain of the Besh-class storage facility," a crisp voice sounded through Buggie's helmet, "Long-range sensors are picking up multiple energy signatures dropping out of hyperspace at the edge of the sector. There is reason to believe our presence may have been compromised."

All the way out here, I'd certainly agree, Buggie thought, but remained silent.

The captain of the storage vessel continued, "We're sitting ducks out here if that's an Imperial patrol. There's very few hyperspace trajectories we can follow from our current position, and if they detect our Cronau signatures, it wouldn't be hard for them to have a Star Destroyer waiting on the other end of our jump. Could you and your Galactic Alliance friends go scout out those unidentified ships?"

Buggie voiced that he would comply and changed the comm frequency over to a broad band, "Group, this is Bandit 01. Change of plans; the storage vessel has picked up on some unidentified signatures dropping out of hyperspace at the edge of the sector. We're in a pinch if that's an Imperial patrol. It's not more than a microjump away to the edge of the sector. Could you tag along for peace of mind?"

[Master Buggie]

((Interception successful. Convoy must jettison cargo or proceed to space battle.))

[Zechs Merquise]

There were worse ways to spend a few hours. The fact it might ruin some Imperial lackey's day just gave the more sour soul of Bob reason to go. Zechs didn't need such emotional drives. An ally had asked nicely for a little help. It was what they were out here to do any way, so what if it went from a less of something to a little more of something else. It was all good.

He pinched his comm. "We have your back." He naturally didn't speak for everyone, but who could refuse such a polite request?

He fiddled with his controls and prepared for the darker encounters than he might normally expect from what was probably just a stray or lost transport that needed pointing in a better direction. The little adjustments were more of a sort of pre-combat ritual than anything real. They eased his mind and gave him a sense of focus. Both were good things. Besides, it never hurt to make sure your blasters were set to "on" and not "light show."

[Jak Bexel]

The entire Bexel Subgang of the Nightshade Division within the Blue Star Pirate faction were packed in tight and enjoying the sights of a brand new, slick as oil and smooth as butter custom GAT-12 when the sirens in the docking bay rang out. Jak was in the thrall of his latest flame when the sirens shattered his nerves. He knew it. The Alliance was finally here with a receipt. Nothing to do now but accept responsibility and totally not take off in his new ship. Then, a familiar voice on the broadband comms:

"Group, this is Bandit 01. Change of plans; the storage vessel has picked up on some unidentified signatures dropping out of hyperspace at the edge of the sector. We're in a pinch if that's an Imperial patrol. It's not more than a microjump away to the edge of the sector. Could you tag along for peace of mind?"

So polite. Riz patted Jak's belly and reminded him to breathe, while the rest of the crew turned to their leader for further instructions. He regarded them with casual bewilderment.

"What are you looking at me for? You know what to do."

And they dispersed, Riz and Mums opting for the GAT-12. The taciturn Weequay made himself comfortable at the weapons station, while Riz pulled up the defense systems. Ellem just kind of spun in a circle around Jak to make her intentions known. Harold led their RX droid into the vessel and scampered off back to the Jacket. Red Eyes set down at the captain's chair and locked eyes with Jak, who -- having had a change of heart -- shook his head and pointed to the airlock.

"I get the Jacket? Even better," Red Eyes muttered and stomped past the crew. "I'd hate to dent her on the first voyage. Now you can blame yourself!"

Engines online, turbines up to speed, the ships were ready to move out. They hovered in unison, rotating towards the open mouth of space and blasted out towards this office mixer of a convoy. Jak then proceeded to open a secure comm with his friend and recuiter: "Bandit 01, this is the crew of the Nice Jacket. We got two ships in this docking bay that would love to join you."

[Neive Undant]

Neive looked at his communicator as the pirate's voice came over the comm on his interceptor. He diverted some power to his weapons systems, in case the group was hostile. then, he moved his ship to an escort position near the pirate vessel, lowering his thrusters' power until it would be safe for the ship to make the jump to light speed. Until then, the power from the thrusters went into his main weapons. Meanwhile, his pilot droid moved his other ship, a Trilon Aggressor, into the same position on the other side of the ship, putting power into the weapons as well in case they were needed. Neive sent a signal to his boss for the moment, Zechs.
"My ships are going into escort formation. We'll scout for any ships coming out of hyperspace as we move and report anything immediately."

[Annan Rainwalker]

Near BSP Mobile Facility
Uncharted sector, Wild Space

Jedi Rainwalker opened his closed eyes, trying to maintain his connection the Force while simultaneously focusing on the task at hand. He heard Master Buggie's transmission, followed quickly by his Aunt's, who was transmitting from the Effulgence: <"Sure thing, Mister Mandibles, we're right behind ya!">

A black-gloved, mechanical hand found it's way promptly onto Ani's face. He quickly contacted his Aunt on the private comm, "Zula!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the cockpit of the Scintillance. The Jedi blinked, before sighing and beginning a series of quick inhales and exhales, "Breathe, just breathe, just breathe... anger is the path to the Dark Side... Zulara Rainwalker! What do you think you're doing, calling a Jedi Master names like that!?"

Over on the YT-1300 Effulgence, Zulara smirked, as she programmed the navicomputer to make the desired microjump,
"I'm your Aunt, your elder, so don't chide me, nephew. I am not a Jedi. I can call that invertebrate over there what I want," she grinned. "I happen to find his mandibles cute, mmhkay? I like the funny sound they make when they click. So, shut it."

Jedi Rainwalker almost fell down. It was only due to his connection to the Force, and his repeated respirations, that he did not, in fact, faint due to the intensity of his shock and embarrassment. He regained his composure quickly, turning his attention over to Bigweld 2.0, who was, once again, staring at him with unblinking photoreceptor units.

He was not moving at all. Just staring at him.

"Now, what's the matter with you?" Ani sounded desperate.

"This is a bad idea," Bigweld 2.0 said, in the most adamant tone any droid could ever vocabulate, <"I calculate a 95.12% probability of encountering hostiles; 61.23% probability of those hostiles being Imperial, an 11.00% chance of them being from the Sith Praxeum, and a 27.77% chance of them being lawless, utterly insapient, possibility metal-eating, and preferably cannibalistic never-before-chartered-nor-encountered alien species indigenous to the Wild Space systems.">

<"It is a rad idea, rad idea, rad idea-- Lord Poggle!"> O.M.5 spoke up, his glitchy vocabulator replacing 'bad' with 'rad'. Still, the fear was palpable in the little RX-unit's voice, as his three limbs twisted around his body in the pilot seat of the Scintillance.

Jedi Rainwalker sighed, closing his eyes and beginning to micro-meditate upon the Force.

After a few seconds, he opened them, his green orbs possessing a faraway look. He clasped his hands behind his back, looking outside through the viewport, before pressing a button on the comm. "We're with you, Master Buggie. Also, please excuse my Aunt. Grandpa did a poor job when it came to teaching her manners."

<"Don't make me spank you!">

[Master Buggie]

"We've got a straggler, Bandit Lead. Better repeat the orders," Buggie's wingman commed, just before he triggered his hyperdrive.

A quick glance to his scanners confirmed the message; it appeared that the Galactic Alliance Trilon Aggressor and Eta-2 light interceptor were forming up on the Blue Star holding vessel. Buggie breathed a sigh and activated the party-wide comm channel again.

"Would the Alliance leader please get all of his ships in formation?" he asked, "Tell them to check their navicomputer for the coordinates. We're leaving the area to go run a close scan on the signals that were picked up on the long-range scanners."

Buggie ignored the pet name that Jedi Rainwalker's aunt had apparently bestowed upon him and tried not to think more on the combat-ready state of the Galactic Alliance tag-alongs. As the party came into formation, Buggie once more readied his vessel to enter hyperspace, and signaled that the rest of the group jump on his mark. There was no telling what would be waiting on the other end of the jump, so he supposed it was good that at least one of the Galactic Alliance pilots was jumping with weapons at the ready. As his chitinous fingers closed around the hyperdrive initiator, Buggie activated the hyperdrive and sent his Nighthawk Gunboat into lightspeed to the edge of the Gradilis sector.