AAFL-8329 - Azure Akcinor Freight Line - #8329

[Annan Rainwalker]

Action V transport Akcinor 049
Orbit of the desert world of Abafar
Abafar system, Sprizen sector

The Jedi stared down at the cargo containers arriving in bulk in the hangars of his Action V freighter, his hands clasped behind his back as he stood on an observation walkway above the bridge. The Quartermaster of Queen Amidala's Revenge had been tasked with Captain Black'lek of ensuring that the Rhydonium shipment presently under his charge reached Captain Torbir and Besh Fleet on Florrum. Pons Ora was one of the rare sources of Rhydonium in this part of the Outer Rim, and so had numerous legitimate business partners. Legitimate business partners that were associates with illegitimate enterprises that flourished in this part of the Outer Rim. A few of those illegitimate enterprises had Blue Star Pirate assets working insidiously in the upper echelons of management. High enough that, when prompted by the Council, those assets could reassign a fuel shipment to an Action V transport not listed on the company's own flight manifest but listed under a shell company, Azure Akcinor Freight Line.

"This isn't right," the Apprentice spoke, and Annan stifled a sigh.

He still hadn't gotten used to his new charge, but the naivety was something he was definitely not used to dealing with. He still couldn't understand if the entire Jedi High Council had gone completely bonkers, assigning a Padawan to him when he was in the frakkin' heart of the underworld. Sometimes he wondered if the Purges weren't just the result of the Jedi's own stupidity.

"Of course it ain't 'right', that's why we're doin' it, Goggles," Ashara teased from Annan's left, leaning with her arms folded against the railing of the observation walkway.

The short, lanky Kel Dor to Annan's right turned his goggled eyes in the direction of the Togruta, pointing one of his four fingers at her in indignation. "Shut up, you dirty pirate!"

Shaarn Ol’om, Annan Rainwalker's first and only Padawan, had inevitably become the new object of the Togruta pirate captain's teasing the moment he had stepped foot aboard Queen Amidala's Revenge.

"The summit of the Jedi path is this, my ardent apprentice: 'never lose your temper'," the elder Jedi interjected, causing the Kel Dor teenager to look up at the taller Firrerreo beside him. "Successful are the serene."

Ashara suddenly blinked at Annan, having never seen this side of Annan Rainwalker. The Firrerreo was always a lazy bum, sleeping in some corner of her ship. For once, he was actually behaving like a Jedi, speaking... words of wisdom, and that was... surreal. The Togruta blinked, before smirking at the Master-Padawan pair. This was fun. A cute youngling and he had a good influence on her torpid Quartermaster.

The Kel Dor paused for a moment, contemplating what Annan had said, before scoffing. "Che, perhaps," Shaarn pointed down towards the viewport, the cargo containers clearly not designated for them nonetheless sailing through space towards their hangar. "But we're stealing from the actual owners of that Rhydonium and taking it to Florrum of all places! This is wrong!"

"Is it? What if I told you that the actual 'owners' of this shipment serve the Galactic Empire? That it would ultimately serve the best interests of the billions of Alliance worlds in the Galactic South, should we ensure that the fuel supply reaches Florrum instead of Bastion?" Annan levelled a calm gaze at his Padawan, who stilled suddenly, not knowing how to respond to that.

"T-That... uh..." Fidgeting, Shaarn looked at the cargo containers, then back up at Annan, who smirked at him, before patting the Kel Dor's salmon-tinged head twice and beginning to walk away.

"Do contemplate on that, Apprentice. We'll talk more about it before our evening meditation," Shaarn's Master called out without turning around, heading down the stairs of the observation walkway.

Left alone, Shaarn began to contemplate, before being pushed playfully from behind by Ashara. "Yeah kiddo, ya'don't've'ta think we're all evil out here. Also, might wanna work on that 'aware of surroundings' mumbo Ani often goes on about."

Shaarn levelled a cute murderous glare towards Ashara, who merely giggled more at his expense.

✵

Transport Vessels:
Action V Transport Akcinor 049 - 320 RU
ATR-6 Assault Transport The Jewel of Jakku - 30 RU

Pilots:
Action V Transport Akcinor 049 - 4x RX-24 Pilot Droids
ATR-6 Assault Transport The Jewel of Jakku - Annan Rainwalker

[Master Buggie]

**Outer Rim Territories**
**Ciutric Sector, N-5**
**Veragi Trade Route, Between Corvis Minor System and Ciutric System**

Buggie surveyed the port side cargo hold of the Action V transport, Outland 02. To some of the galaxy's sentients, the contents of the cargo hold would send a chill through their spine, or spine analog. Rows upon rows of deactivated droids crowded the cargo hold, just as they did on the starboard side's hold. Medical droids, astromech droids, battle droids, and specialized slicer droids of more than a dozen different models were all lined in orderly fashion, each of them having been mag-locked to the deck plating. Their blank, unlit photoreceptors and rigid chassis did leave an unsettling impression, even for someone like Buggie, who practically grew up in the accompaniment of droids since he was a hatchling. If he had completed the hive's standard education along with the rest of his brood, he might have even felt the irresistible urge to get his hands on the droids and tinker.

At that thought, Buggie sealed the cargo hold once more and continued on with his routine maintenance check. His appetite for wrenching on gears and wading through wiring was more than sated through the amount of upkeep the two heavy freighters of Outland Transport required, particularly now that he was on his own. Buggie made his way back to the bridge, his eyes adjusting to the light as he strode in from the dark corridor. Several compartments on the Outland 02 had been sealed since they were more than he could use by himself, and Buggie had not bothered to turn anything more than the dull glowing emergency lights throughout the ship. He had spent so much time onboard the Action V transport that he could navigate his way through its corridors by instinct alone. That is, provided he didn't have any tripping hazards laying around in a dark pathway.

Once Buggie had taken a seat at the pilot's console, he reviewed the navigation plans once more. The two transports he was responsible for were gliding through hyperspace toward the Ciutric system at the moment. In a few hours, Buggie would rendezvous with a convoy group out of the Abafar system at a predetermined set of coordinates. His orders were to hold station until the convoy leader made contact. Of course, this deep in Imperial space, and with a galactic war raging all around them, there was no guarantee that the convoy leader would ever make contact. Failing any contact from the convoy leader by a set deadline, Buggie's orders were to carry on at best possible speed and, with consideration to reasonable fuel consumption, make his way from the Vinsoth system to the Celanon system, which served as the end of the eponymous Celanon Spur. From there, he would ride the Hydian way northeast all the way to the Listehol Run, which was notoriously riddled with slavers. It certainly wasn't the route Buggie would have opted for, having been seasoned by navigating the Salin Corridor for some time. Buggie's transfer to the Logistics Operational Division was still recent, and he wasn't sure if they had been briefed on his exploits prior to this. Buggie knew he was the best freighter captain that the Blue Star Pirates had when it came to infiltrating the Gordian Reach, and somehow, he wasn't confident that his talents in that area of space, which bordered the Salin Corridor, were being recognized.

Let's just hope that the convoy leader makes the rendezvous on time, then... Buggie thought, as he moved on to study the recent happenings on the HoloNet.

---
Transport Vessels:
Action V Transport Outland 01 - 320 RU
Action V Transport Outland 02 - 320 RU

Pilots:
Action V Transport Outland 01 - 4x RX-24 Pilot Droids
Action V Transport Outland 02 - 4x RX-24 Pilot Droids; Master Buggie

[Master Buggie]

**Outer Rim Territories**
**Sprizen Sector, N-5**
**Abafar System, Abafar, Near Orbit**
After an uneventful trip through the Ciutric system and a subsequent crossover from the Veragi Trade Route, the twin haulers of Outland Transport emerged from hyperspace over the Abafar system's primary inhabited planet. The shipboard computer immediately loaded information from the system's navigation buoy regarding Abafar itself, and though it was inhabited, that wasn't saying much. The reason for meeting over the barren world had immediately become obvious to Buggie. There was absolutely no risk of an Imperial patrol detecting his rendezvous with Azure Akcinor Freight Line in this backwater system.

Buggie spent a few more moments idly flipping through the information on the shipboard computer as he thought to himself how he wouldn't wish the fate of being stranded on Abafar on his worst enemy. Eventually, Buggie's attention shifted toward engaging the sublight engines and reaching the rendezvous coordinates. With the sensors unimpeded by any other traffic in the system, Buggie identified a group of signals in orbit, which he assumed must have been the rest of the convoy he was linking up with.

"Transport Akcinor 049, this is Captain Buggie aboard the Outland 02. I have you on my scanners, maneuvering to rendezvous coordinates now," Buggie announced on a wide-beam transmission, since he had no fear of anyone else intercepting it. If anything, that transmission might make the day of some kid on the surface with a long-range antenna and the dream of stars in their eyes.

Since he was thinking of navigation, Buggie yet again found himself questioning the route that he had been given. He had an uneasy feeling about venturing that far into slaver territory, and he didn't like the idea of straying away from the familiarity that the Salin Corridor provided. Still, it wasn't his call to make, as he wasn't leading this convoy.

Deciding that it was better to ask than assume nothing had changed regarding the route, Buggie once again engaged his comm, "Akcinor 049, this is Outland 02 again. Please send navigational coordinates for the route we're taking. No problems with my navigation computer, I just wish to confirm the route is all."

[Annan Rainwalker]

Gamma-class ATR-6 assault transport The Jewel of Jakku
Orbit of the desert world of Abafar
Abafar system, Sprizen sector

The Apprentice did a double-take the moment he heard the transmission come through.

"B-Buggie..." Sharn turned towards his Master. "Buggie, the Jedi Master?!"

<I thought he was a pirate.> Ashara interjected through the comm.

"Wasn't he a world liberator?"

<Y'know I was on his ship when he was doin' the liberatin'...>

"Yes, yes, yes and yes," Annan cut the two off as he sank into the pilot seat of the Jewel, pressing a finger down on the comms, smirking at the horrified expression on his lanky Kel Dor apprentice's face. Annan smirked at him, unable to resist the urge to tease his new apprentice. "Jedi have different ways of dealing with the nonsense the Council puts us through. The weakest fall to the Dark Side. Others take to piracy," the elder Jedi paused for dramatic effect. "Still others start making babies with Queens of Naboo and then fall to the Dark Side, but that's a story for when you're older."

Shaarn blinked, deathly still. After a good few seconds, he shook his head and tried to reach out to the Force to recenter himself. Two days apprenticed to Annan Rainwalker and he had already begun evaluating his entire life and all the choices he had made thus far.

<This is Captain Ashara Rys aboard Akcinor 049. Acknowledged, Outland 02. Also, hey, hey, hey darlin'! Long time no see! Somebody's been too busy bein' too famous these past few rotations to catch up with ol' friends, ain't he?> Ashara transmitted back through the secure channel. <Your pet Rainwalker's aboard the Jewel. Forwarding you the coordinates, Bugbrains. Stay close and don't get lost. Jumping to hyperspace in T-minus five, four, three...>

Annan quickly went through the preflight protocols, the coordinates of their next jump already encrypted into the navicomputer, before placing a hand on the hyperdrive lever.

"Pet?" he muttered to himself.

The Jewel's sublight engines rolled to life and a quick glance at the flight computer told him Akcinor 049 was also ready to follow.

<... One...>

And with that, the Jewel and the Akcinor were both gone, sailing the azure clouds south-east, towards the Sprizen-Axxilla border.

[Annan Rainwalker]

Hyperspace
Salin Corridor, en route to the Vorzyd sector

Captain Buggie's worries should prove to be unfounded, as the Salin Corridor was a tried and tested hyperlane whose merits the Blue Star Pirates would not soon forget. Abafar was quite near Salin itself, and their first jump had taken them onto the Corridor at Vinsoth. Now, they were sailing all the way down til they would exit hyperspace in the Vorzyd sector, a considerably long journey but nonetheless a safe one. From thence, it was a short trek galactic northwards up the Perlemian to Allied Tion, and then via the Shaitlin Tunnels straight home to Admiral Mertaal's fleet. It was true that they were a bit too close to slaver space, something which made Ashara particularly uncomfortable considering her origins, but that was still not more than a nuisance in the grand scheme of things.

It took quite a while, but soon enough, Annan was shaken awake in his seat by his Apprentice. "Master, we're almost at the first reversion point."

Annan grunted before yawning himself into wakefulness, revealing sharp fangs. Checking the flight computer to make sure Ashara and Akcinor 049 were still right next to them and Captain Buggie's vessels not too far behind either, Annan awaited the right moment, a gentle probe in the Force coming back with the reassurance that it was safe to revert.

A light bleep in the navicomputer alerted Annan that it was time, and awaited Captain Ashara's transmission.

<Captain Ashara Rys to all convoy vehicles,> came the transmission, not but a moment later. <Jump out, jump right back in. We ain't got no time fer sightseein'!"

The Jewel of Jakku and Akcinor 049 both emerged from hyperspace and Annan couldn't help but let out a whistle.

"Whoa," his Kel Dor apprentice muttered to himself, the two Jedi equally mesmerized by the beautiful lights emanating from the eleven systems that made up the nearby Vorzyd Cluster, as they lit up the cockpit of the Jewel.

<There's a reason I said no sightseein'!> Ashara's voice cut through the comms. <I wanted to be taken here for my honeymoon too, but right now, we got more pressin' matters to attend to!>

Shaking his head with a kind smile on his face, Annan nonetheless breathed in and out, touching the Force fueled by the ambient natural lights and life present in of this pristine part of the Outer Rim Territories. With a glance and a nod towards his Padawan, the Apprentice too closed his eyes and began to do the same. Still, the Master and Apprentice duo continued to follow Ashara's instructions, Annan logging in their next coordinates. The convoy was gone as soon as it had come.

[Master Buggie]

**Outer Rim Territories, Tion Cluster**
**Allied Tion Sector, S-6**
**Edge of Lianna System**
Buggie was satisfied to find that the convoy had changed its route from the original plan that he had been given. Once Ashara had confirmed that the convoy would be traveling the Salin Corridor, a burden upon his senses seemed to release and he had a much easier time assuming a jovial attitude toward the Togruta and her unexpected Firrerreo companion, Jedi Rainwalker. Buggie had hardly gotten a word in, though, before Ashara jumped her escort craft into hyperspace, and she proved to be all business for the rest of the journey. The convoy had hardly reverted to realspace within the Vorzyd Cluster before Buggie's navigation computer received a ping, signaling that the next jump had been confirmed by the convoy leader. The Vorzyd Cluster did have spectacular viewing potential, due to the brightness of the celestial objects within, but Buggie couldn't help but immediately compare it to The Cometwash within the Gordian Reach, which he had slipped in and out of several times in the preceding months. Buggie knew that The Cometwash served a tactical purpose for the Blue Star Pirates, and sitting idly while watching the comets glimmer through space was the exact trap that the pirates were so successfully preying upon. Still, as Ashara once more jumped to lightspeed, Buggie couldn't help but feel that the Vorzyd Cluster, for all its appeal at this distance, paled in comparison.

The convoy continued on along the relative safety of the Perlemian Trade Route, until it reached its next junction within the Lianna system. Once all of the convoy craft had dropped out of hyperspace, a feeling of unease hit Buggie, and he was certain that his Jedi companion had sensed it too.

"Outland 02 to The Jewel of Jakku... Do you sense that, Jedi Rainwalker? I feel... pain... suffering. It's faint, but... potent," Buggie mused, lost in his senses.

Despite what he was feeling, the navigation computer alerted him all the same that the coordinates had been verified by the convoy leader. It was time to move on. There was not much that this convoy could do right now to help alleviate the suffering that Buggie was sensing, but perhaps the matériel goods that the convoy was carrying could do some good down the line, provided that they arrived safely. For now, lingering endangered that.

[Annan Rainwalker]

Hyperspace
Allied Tion sector, Greater Tion
Tion Cluster, Outer Rim Territories

Eyes closed, Annan sighed deeply. He had already been steeling his nerves so as not to feel the full brunt of the fuming darkness, but here it was, an assault upon his senses. It did not entirely help that both of his companions voiced their concerns about it too.

"Master!" Shaarn gasped, his inexperience in the Force causing him to react far too strongly to the furious void in the galactic south-west from their current coordinates. "I sense... i-it's so vile..." his Padawan murmured, voice trembling.

Almost immediately, Master Buggie's voice echoed through the comms. "Outland 02 to The Jewel of Jakku... Do you sense that, Jedi Rainwalker? I feel... pain... suffering. It's faint, but... potent."

"Indeed I do," Jedi Rainwalker said, inhaling in and out, attempting to recenter himself in the Force and calm his being. "No doubt, what we are feeling are the repercussions of our failure on Rhen Var. The Dark Side grows stronger around Tion..."

Yet, there was nothing that could be done. Not immediately, in any case. Through Force, Annan had been disclosed to an unveiling. He had seen the possible consequences that his actions could lead to, and that future was more important in the grand scheme of things. That's why he had to ensure that these shipments reached Florrum safely. It was imperative to the grand plan set in motion.

"If ya'll are done with yer mystical mumbo," Ashara's interjected from aboard the Akcinor 049. "We're entering the Tunnels in Trill-minus ten and counting down."

And so, their journey would eventually come to the end as the convoys safely managed to enter the Shaitlin Tunnels. From there, it was a convoluted and difficult to trace, yet navigationally simple path, safely down to the Ohnaka Gang's stronghold world of Florrum. Leave to to Admiral Mertaal to commandeer an entire planet, right? Yet, Jedi Rainwalker knew through the Unveiling in the Force, it was from Florrum that all things were to be set in motion.

[Master Buggie]

**Outer Rim Territories**
**Sertar Sector, R-5**
**Shaltin Tunnels, Hyperspace**

The Outland 02's navigation computer reported that the convoy would be dropping out of lightspeed to its final destination within moments. As the shipboard computer beeped to signal the countdown, Buggie settled into the pilot's seat once more. The R1-series astromech droid that was plugged into the heavy transport's systems would drop the vessel and its twin out of lightspeed simultaneously, all Buggie had to do was to be ready to take control of the sublight navigation. As the stars slammed from streaks of light to luminous pinpricks against the backdrop of space, Buggie scoffed for a moment upon beholding Florrum.

Buggie ventured to guess that Florrum had never seen so many ships in its orbit at one time. Just through visual scanning alone, Buggie could see a queue of other transport vessels gathered in orbit that stretched out from the planet's atmosphere. While that meant it would be some time before Buggie and the rest of the convoy were brought in on their final approach, it was incredible to see the assorted transport ships gathered in one place with holds presumably filled with all matter of wares. It reminded him somewhat of the massive undertaking that led to him attaining the title of Jedi Master, as the Jedi Coalition came together to restore the temple on Ossus. Florrum was no Ossus, that much was certain, but he was happy to play a part in whatever plans the Blue Star Pirates had for it all the same. Buggie locked in a course to the queue that had formed and decided to pull up the latest HoloNet headlines on the shipboard computer, as was customary after a long flight. It was time to reconnect to the galaxy and make note of the happenings and the chatter along the hyperlanes so that he could be prepared the next time he was called upon to deliver a shipment of goods.