Just another day in business.

[Corran Vellar]

~Dantooine~

An Action V, Black Star, and Bulk Freighter, Solar Anomaly, of Black Star Systems sat in low orbit around the peaceful world of Dantooine. They were loading up the last of their cargo from Red Comet, another mining company that was owned by one of Ryder's good friends. The two freighters were helping fill an order to Kuat for them.

Ryder strolled onto the bridge of the Action V. "Status report," he asked aloud to his crew.

"Last of the supplies just got loaded onto the Solar Anomaly," one of the young bridge crew replied.

"Good, let's prepare to set off." Ryder took a seat in his command chair. He input a command into the armrest computer which activated the comms. "Black Star and Solar Anomaly are ready for departure. All escorts check in and prepare for hyperspace jump."

Transport:
Action V
Bulk Freighter

[Professor Mors]

[Rodger that Black Star; Proudclad and Firefist will form up on your starboard side and await the launch signal], Doren commed from within the dim confines of the XM-1. Normally, the Captain might have been excited to test drive his newest fighter yet again; however, their destination was a major, if not the major drop-off within Imperial space. Despite its numerous, nigh uncountable defenses, Vassyl would be remiss to claim that Kuat was totally airtight. And, given the obstacles within the system proper, shrewder skirmishers would be certain to strike out long before the convoy could request any nearby aid. Such was the danger and challenge of this particular shipment. From Dantooine, the Ryder and his cohort would cautiously zig-zag from starzone to starzone, taking care to avoid any uncharted areas. Hence, the task fell to Doren not only to keep up, but also dissuade confrontation if it should indeed arise. Having only recently taken the helm of his missile boat, the young Captain earnestly hoped for an uneventful journey.

OOC:

Escorting:
XM-1 Missile Boat Proudclad, Doren Vassyl, RX-24 Pilot Droid
XG-1 Starwing Assault Gunboat Firefist, Walkko Frass (RX-24 Pilot Droid x2)

[Jade Rancorfang]

I wonder if stablishing a routine is a good or bad thing, Jade thought. On one hand, I have a working business and someone that takes charge of the tough decisions, but on the other being a lackey is far from my ideal job. Sighing, the dathomiri set the issue aside. After all, that was the way of the world, and she didn't want to be late to the latest shipment. The last one had been quite peaceful, but one never knew when misfortune could strike, and her Boss's business was important, she gathered.

-Pierce, how is the new life support working?

-Quite well, my sensors read. Maybe you forgot to revise them and they're actually reading toxic gas, though. Only one way to know, I guess.

-Let's hope it works, cause it's napping time and I don't want to die on my sleep.

Smelling the plants in the air, she knew it was finally done. A lot of time and resources had went into creating that artificial forest on board of her ship, but the Gorgon finally smelled like the wild. It also added plenty of green to the rather dull interior of the ship, which was welcomed even if it took away most of the empty space. One only needed so much space to live after all, and since she was living alone she didn't mind the bathroom, the living room and the kitchen being in the same space, as long as it didn't mean mixing its functions.

[Corran Vellar]

All the escorts checked in and gave the all clear. Each of them linked nav-computers with the Black Star as it's crew input the coordinates for their hyperspace jump. A few moments later the convoy disappeared into the maelstrom heading for their first checkpoint.

Ryder leaned back in his command chair, one of his Kath hounds nudged his hand to be pet. These shipments were the few times he really got to spend time with his pair of Dantooine pets. "Hope you enjoyed some time back in your home, Kyber," Ryder muttered to the creature as he began scratching it's head. "Got a long trip ahead of us." He could only hope that it would be a safe one at that.

[Jade Rancorfang]

Jade shuffled the deck of cards, laughing. She had jus won all the salary Pierce has managed to get from her in a couple of rounds. One would think that not having a face and being able to flawlessly count the cards would give him an edge, but the machine was really bad at accounting for or taking risks.

-You know, we should play this more often.

-How could you know that?! I didn't, and I'm sure you can't see the odds as I do.

-It's called "bluffing", and you're remarcably bad at it.

-Bluffing can get you killed out there, you know?

-Can droids get PTSD?

-That's actually a quite good question...

-...from losing games?

-...

-What?

-I hate you so much

[Professor Mors]

Doren remained silent as various comm chatter echoed throughout the interior of the Proudclad. The Captain himself paid it little mind, as he found himself wrapped up in a very intense game of holochess. This game AI wasn't pulling any punches, and if Vassyl didn't pull off something soon, he would meet a checkmate in less than six moves. Playing against computers was not nearly so thrilling as human opponents, not necessarily due to difficulty, but rather the lack of biotic spontaneity that accompanied living competitors. Nonetheless, the uphill strategic dilemma was good for Doren's nerves, and his mettle as a tactician. Finally committing to his next move, Vassyl hissed with displeasure as his foe artfully performed a defensive counter. Going the direct route clearly wasn't going to work here. The beeping of a timer sent Doren's eyes up and out the viewscreen, as he carefully scanned the black abyss that shone before him. No face had yet reared its head, and as the Captain cautiously continued his virtual assault, he sincerely the situation would remain innocuous.

[Corran Vellar]

After the third transition between real space and hyperspace the crew began to relax, they were much deeper into the core worlds now which meant more Imperial patrols. Ryder even found himself turning on some music as he pet one of his hounds. He couldn't help but wonder why the BSP had been quiet of late. They couldn't still be reeling from their last failed attempt?

Shrugging off the thought he turned his attention to a set of dossier that he was suppose to go through. A list of potential members of the Pirates he now worked to hunt down. Picking up the first data pad up he began to read.

[Professor Mors]

Seven moves. That damnable AI had kept him in check for seven moves. It was moments like these that led Doren to ponder the various tirades of his droid lieutenant. Though some things were impossible to code, strategy was not foreign to the tenaciously mechanical mind of a droid. So far it had seen, or rather picked apart every move Vassyl had made, taking into account every conceivable exit. The celestial gases of the core, wondrous as they were, utterly failed to tear the Captain's attention away from his grudgematch. Indeed, the beeping of the hyperspace computer only succeeded in rousing a disaffected snort in the young officer, who was otherwise drowning in mental frustration. The larger theater of galactic conquest was but a glimmer in the back of Vassyl's mind, the host of his cognitive faculties continually closing in on what he trusted would be a palpable, virtual out. Hovering his index finger over an unoccupied space on the digital board, Doren chanced to peer out the main viewport once more, before gritting his teeth and committing to his next stratagem.

[Jade Rancorfang]

A bunch of droid talk came from the comms in Doren's ship. His droid answered quickly, and after a few more exchanges the radio went quiet. Jade looked at the game's reconstruction in her own screen. Smirking, she checked a couple of things in her archives and started adding planned moves to the board. Then, she sent them back to the Captain's vessel.

-Hey, try this. This brand's AI has a loophole where it fails to counter a trandoshan blockade in the right side of the board. Funny how low quality standards really are, right?

[Corran Vellar]

The light music was interrupted by the loud beeping tone that alerted the crew to real space reentry. Ryder stirred from a light slumber he fallen into while reading. He looked up just in time to for the pilot of the Black Star to pull them out of hyperspace. The view port flashed and suddenly the large world of Kuat took over. It's large durasteel ring space station contrasting the green and blue of the world it orbited. Thousands of ships ranging from the devastating Imperial Star Destroyers to simple freight ships swarmed to and from the station.

"Captain, we've gotten out docking coordinates," the comms officer spoke.

"Good," Ryder replied. "Bring us in." He let a smile cross his face, another successful shipment.