Kalidor Freight: 0419

[Ben Kenobi]

The Galactic Alliance and Jedi Coalition had opened a new offensive campaign against the Sith in the southern range of the Gordian Reach, the Galaxy was ready to see the Sith fall and collapse inward. To see the Sith receive just punishment for the harshness of their campaigns was something that had public support in a large way within Alliance Space. That said, the logistics of managing such a strong spearhead into enemy territory meant the assigned Alliance and Jedi forces would be needed a massive injection of supplies and munitions and therefore the situation was ripe for the entrepreneur interested in making some hefty coin.

Kalidor Freight was not about to disappoint the contract agents of the Alliance and they willingly showed up with not only the assets of Kalidor Freight but also sub-contractors in Outland Mining and other privately held businesses capable of hauling bulk freight. Obtaining bids on the contracts was very simple and only once did the reps at Kalidor need to underbid. In the end they’d managed to seize the contracts for the entirety of the campaign in the Gordian Reach; or at least those contracts currently available at the outset of the offensive. Naturally as time went on and demands grew there would be additional opportunities, but for now it was Kalidor Freight sitting on the lucrative venture.

Though it would certainly not be without danger. The route would be simple enough though rife with potential for ambitious raiders. With the Galactic Alliance having established a temporary distribution hub on Ossus, the freighters would obtain the respective goods from here and travel north across the Prelemian Trade Route to Rhen Var where they’d stop off and make final preparations or pick up any additional escorts as the convoy would then depart to the Galactic Northwest and beyond Alliance Space.

This was where things would likely get dangerous as Imperial Columex was to the Southwest of Rhen Var, so the convoy was almost instantly a significant depth within Imperial Space as soon as they crossed the border. From here the convoy would travel to the North and into the fringes of the Gordian Reach to the awaiting assets of the Galactic Alliance and Jedi Coalition.

Jedi Master Ben Kenobi sat quietly on a loading skiff that itself was loaded to the brim with fifty gallon drums of highly flammable starfighter fuel. The skiff was slowly in the procession of other loading skiffs heading for the two docked BFF-1 Bulk Freighters owned by Kalidor Freight. In his hands was a datapad and he was deep within the process of his second check of the manifest for Kalidor 02 which would be loaded with medical supplies and crate upon crate of rations. While Kalidor 01 would be hauling a more lethal payload of starfighter fuel and oddly enough the personal correspondences of the brave men and women that were currently out there behind enemy lines and forbidden from personal contact with their families due to operational security save for by physically mailed parcels.

OOC:
Shipping
BFF-1 Bulk Freighter ‘Kalidor 01’ - 298 RU
Ben Kenobi & 3 RX-24 Pilot Droids

BFF-1 Bulk Freighter ‘Kalidor 02’ - 298 RU
Asori Spero (NPC) & 3 RX-24 Pilot Droids.

[Ben Kenobi]

#2


He’d physically lost count of how many pallets of barrels and crates that had been loaded and the actual numbers that scrawled across his datapad were a blur. Fortunately he had his droid to double check his numbers, unfortunately he didn’t understand binaric and he had to get the droid to the bridge of the Kalidor 01 to get a translation. He suddenly wished he had picked a companion droid that could speak Galactic Basic…

To his pleasure he was informed that all contents of the freight manifest were accounted for and three quarters of the manifest had been loaded into the twin Kalidor Freighters and they were being secured by the load masters even now. Soon enough, perhaps even within the hour the total manifest would be fully loaded and secured within the confines of the freighters and as Kalidor Freight was the only scheduled convoy to be departing from the Ossus Supply Hub they’d not have to wait for traffic control to clear them. Ben estimated they’d be in high orbit by lunch time and have the first jump underway before it was all done cooking.

Speaking of, he swiveled away from his droid R6 and turned to the terminal, bringing up the lunch menu. It was limited and most of the items were out of stock but there were a few important choices to be made here such as what flavor of seasoning would be going on his hot cup of noodles and what sort of refreshment he’d pick. For now he checked in the box for a poultry seasoning on the noodles and a pair of drinks, one being a nice portion of sweetened tea and the other a hot steaming up of caf to give him that second wind to help him take on the latter part of the day.

[Rane DeCola]

The Steel Rain and Outback 02 dropped out of hyperspace at the appointed coordinates. Rane has not visited Ossus before, and wasn’t planning on staying very long. After transmitting the signal announcing his arrival and guaranteeing that he wouldn’t be intercepted as an enemy, he entered a high orbit while waiting on the Kalidor Freight convoy to make their arrival at the pre-appointed meeting point.

The successful raid on the Sith convoy had kept Rane from being able to link up with Captain Molo to be able to work with the Outback Trading Company, but word out in the space lanes was that there were some well-paying Jedi looking for a couple of escorts for convoy. Although Rane knew it wouldn’t pay as well as his usual run with Outback Trading, some credits were better than no credits at all.

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OOC:
Escort Vessels
Steel Rain - Firespray Patrol Craft - Rane DeCola, (1) RX-24 droid
Outback 02 - StarViper - (1) RX-24 droid.

[Master Buggie]

The twin Action V transports of Outland Transport had recently transported a convoy's worth of unrefined tibanna gas to the Galactic Alliance for processing. This tibanna gas had been skimmed from the atmosphere of Yavin Prime by the Sith, and, thanks to a reliable source of intelligence and the efforts of a Blue Star Pirate raid team, the gas had been surrendered to Buggie and Storm for quite a profitable delivery. Once the tibanna gas had been refined into a liquid state, a new set of cargo containers were loaded onto the twin haulers of Outland Transport for immediate delivery to the Galactic Alliance and Jedi Coalition fleets pressing into the Gordian Reach. While Buggie and Storm had no issues in skirting the Sith patrols on their way out of the Yavin system after the raid, they'd be headed right back into the Reach, and that meant grouping with a convoy and escorts that could protect them on their way to the Alliance and Jedi fleets.

Outland 02 burst from hyperspace over Ossus, a world very much familiar to Buggie, as he at one point served as the headmaster of the Ossus Jedi temple. A feeling of familiarity and nostalgia filled Buggie's mind as he looked out through the viewport at the sphere in the distance. It had disturbed him years ago when the Jedi Coalition quite literally uprooted the temple and relocated it, but the planet still held significance to him, as it was essential in his path to becoming a Jedi.

"Captain Molo of Outback Trading Company seems to have just reverted to realspace as well," Storm observed, studying the scanners.

Buggie broke his gaze from Ossus and confirmed the readings on the shipboard console, "Good. It's nice to have some experience accompanying us as we head back into Sith territory."

---
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

[Derric Starr]

Luck, probably didn't have much to do with it, business was business and Starr was a businessman... er umm slave... well officially he was serving a sentence for some fictional crime which may or may not have some grain of truth to it. Starr was always like that, finding ways to bend the flow of the universe to the ends he had in mind. Yet at the moment he had no ends in mind, so he bent the flow to putting his resources to work while being enslaved. It didn't take long to convince his captors of the benefits of allying themselves with the Galactic Alliance and Jedi Coalition at least on the surface anyway. One galactic power acting as a business partner was a great way to spread their name and influence, let alone the two such intergalactic renowned powers.

The trick was getting them to spring for his private ships to be brought to Kessel and maintained for his use when the need called for it. Stock freighters were good, but in a pitched fight where maneuverability and just plain reliable ships would serve best, Starr wanted to be completely sure of the ships he was working with. So after much haggling and maybe a little persuasion unbecoming of a slave he managed to get the Kessel Rock Trading Company to consent to his request.

As it was he was piloting his own XJ-X wing dusted off from it's time setting in storage with clan Ka'ra, as had the A-wing being piloted by another prisoner from the KRTC Roc. He wasn't much on talking but his piloting skills would suffice for escort duty when the Company needed it. Starr pitched the XJ-X wing into a tight turn and shallow dive as they neared Ossus, Roc did likewise with the A-wing as Starr commed their arrival.

This is Kessel Rock Trading Company, reporting in.

OOC:
Escort Vessel
XJ-X wing (Derric Starr)
RX-24 pilot droid
A-wing (NPC pilot Roc)
RX-24 pilot droid

[Ben Kenobi]

#3

Piping hot just like he enjoyed them. The cup of noodles was made to perfection and complimented by the tea it was really hitting the spot. Such enjoyment didn’t come without cost however as some drips had been cast onto the control panel and if not for his trusty droid squaking at him he would have continued to make a mess of his workstation. Apologetically he retreated from the pilot’s chair to let the droid straighten the mess. Ben took this time to resume his noodle consumption whilst taking the liberty to view the updates on the convoy progression.

At this time Outland Flight had arrived and were set to begin loading operations. Already the loadmasters and flight control suites were accommodating sufficient landing space that the Action Vs could be loaded swiftly. Meanwhile additional escorts were signing in and Ben was very happy to acknowledge them, adding each one to the convoy roster in which he briefly set up a rough flight schedule for them to look at; the route would be a lean one but very intense due to Imperial and Sith proximity.

In other words the escorts ought be on their toes for this foray lest they be found bereft of their duty and the convoys bereft of their cargos! This convoy was vital to the fledgling campaign that was brewing to the South of the Gordian Reach. Without this convoy the Jedi and Alliance Fleets would be hard pressed to keep up the pressure and eventually break through the Sith Wall that was the Reach.

Indeed, with the entire Jedi Coalition spearheading this campaign and with the backing of the entirety of the Galactic Alliance’s Independence Fleet, this was a major undertaking that would see change for the better or for ill. But change was coming regardless.

For the Jedi there was no more a just fight than to take up arms against the evil of the Sith Order and for the Alliance the Sith were terrorists in addition, for each Sith system liberated it meant obtaining a prime position against the Empire. While it was known fact that military operations never went as planned; if the Alliance and Jedi operation maintained its goals and removed the Sith cancer from the Reach, it would effectively quarter the Galactic Empire’s eastern arm. They would be very hard pressed to stop the Alliance from turning back towards the Corporate Sector and seizing world after world.

To know the successes of said campaigns relied on the efforts of private organizations and so few people would unnerve Alliance Command… but the wheels of private contracts oft spun far more swift than the gears of bureaucracy and that was exactly what those vanguard forces spearheading this campaign needed. Speed and efficiency.

[Neive Undant]

“Sir. Interceptor Firefly moving into position, will converge at rendezvous point as ordered.”

Prazutis thought much about the information he had acquired on Cerea. Not only did he have what he needed from their defensive detail in orbit, but while looking through message logs, something about moving freight in bulk near the Gordian Reach has come up. It was only a tidbit of information to go on, but it was better than nothing, Prazutis thought to himself. And so, on he went towards Vjun to prepare in case this information held any kind of truth to it. Better to prepare and no shipment comes through than to let them pass and let the Alliance keep a huge supply of resources that could be used against the Empire, or the Sith either...

“Acknowledged. Moving out of hyperspace now. We should have reinforcements arrive soon enough, for now hold out at the rendezvous point.” Prazutis spoke to the pilot droid from his own Z-95 headhunter. He wasn’t usually adamant about speed attacks, but after talking over this information with a few other imperial names, he supposed he could be the distraction with his ships’ speed while the heavy hitting ships could focus on hammering the transports.

(OOC:

Intercepting:

Z-95 headhunter
Neive Undant(Prazutis)
ETA 2-class interceptor
Pilot droid
)

[Derric Starr]

Starr eyed the flight plan as he kept his XJ X-Wing in a snuggle lunar-like orbit awaiting the time for the convey to be under way. It was just another typical escort job. How many countless times had he done this very thing, fought throughout the galaxy in space or on land. Guard duty was guard duty, only in space it meant larger areas to protect per escort. And teamwork was essential.

Roc, we'll be working as a unit, I''l take point you'll be my wing man for this trip.

Roc brought the A-wing into position alongside Starr's XJ X-wing in response as he rarely if ever spoke.

It's always fifty-fifty out here riding escort. Sometimes the only thing you see is stardust and it's a simple relaxing jaunt through space, other times it's a shootout and you're lucky to make it out alive let alone with your cargo intact. Let's get in some basic flight maneuvers before we get under way. Might as well work on getting in sync now.

[Jom Etro]

As the Imperial Light Carrier became a simple speck in the darkness of space, Etro keyed his thrusters into a dormant state and commed Imperial communications.

“This is Beta 1, preparing to converge on the rendezvous point.”

He waited a few moments until a man’s voice fought back the silence.

“Received. You are clear to continue to the rendezvous point.”

At the sound of his clearance, Jom keyed his thrusters and activated the TIE Bomber’s offensive systems. They would have to be used at a moments notice.

Imperial intelligence had picked up signs of a rather large shipment that was to pass right through Imperial territory. His mission, as well as that of the rest of the attack group, was to take it by force from those who would oppose the Empire.

As Jom soared through space, he made sure that every system was functioning as it should. It would be unfortunate to find that his bomber wasn’t fully operational in the heat of battle.

OOC:

Intercepting:

TIE Bomber- Jom Etro

[Professor Mors]

Ah. To partake of a simple contraband sting. At one time, Doren might have dreaded sallying forth to brave the vacuum in the cramped quarters of an interceptor. Still, looking back on other the battles and conflicts of his career, the young officer found a strange bit of contentment in the monotonous exercise. Brigands did not change, and seldom did their tactics. The stage might differ, the parties involve could vary, but at the end of the day, the dialogue remained consistent. There was peace to be found in consistency: there was refuge to be found in repetition and practice, even if it was fleeting at best. The Eshan Debacle had left Vassyl a tired and weary man. Despite the sleep he’d managed to acquire, and the night endless stream of caf, such work took its toll on the Captain’s spirit. He had missed the eternal midnight of space, and blanketing quiet of the infinite.

Doren tightened and loosed his grasp over the missileboat’s main throttle, and took a moment to appreciate the new upholstery and refurbished panels that dotted the interior of the cockpit. The grip felt good, and having a fresh set of mechanical innards greatly improved the Captain’s mood. It was only a month or so prior that Doren had been bobbing and weaving above Moraband, pressuring the SLAM drive to its very limits. At that time, Vassyl had practically lost three meals worth of stomach content from the g-forces alone: and, all good intentions aside, bleach and polish would only got so far. The overhaul was as much as cleansing exercise as it was a pat on the shoulder for a campaign well-fought, all outcomes aside. Now, there was a new trail to blaze- fresh dissidents that had yet to feel the cold durasteel hand of the Imperial war machine. Easing the yoke forward, Doren slowly spooled the main drive engine, and began to pick up speed. For a moment, the pulse of the reactor strummed in unison with the Captain’s own heart, as the chassis lurched forward, and Vassyl headed off to the next quadrant.

Raiding:

XM-1 Missileboat Proudclad - Doren Vassyl
ATR-6 Assault Shuttle - RX-24 pilot droid x2
Flight Simulator in use