Outback Trading Co. - Flight 0519 - Blue Star Pirates

[Rane DeCola]

No risk, no reward... Rane thought to himself.

The HoloNet channel that Rane had typically monitored to pick up on coded messages from the Blue Star Pirates’ command had been eerily quiet since his last escort mission. Without any guidance on specific mission taskings, Rane figured that he would make good, and hopefully profitable, use of his time.

“Medic, set course for Coachelle Prime. I’ve got to go see a rabbit about some carrots.”

Medic beeped questioningly in response.

“Don’t worry Medic. You’ll see when we get there.”

------

***Mid Rim, Terr’skiar Section***
***Coachelle system, Coachelle Prime***
***On the surface, inside “The Burrow”***

Several hours later Rane arrived in orbit above Coachelle Prime. After being cleared to land he brought the Steel Rain down in a monolithic cavern, otherwise known as “The Burrow”, alongside two very familiar Action V transports.

With the Steel Rain secured, Rane opened the docking ramp and noticed several rabbit-like Lepi loading freight onboard the Action V’s.

“Good to see you again Mr. DeCola.”

“Ahh, Captain Molo. Good to see you too. It’s been a while hasn’t it.”

“I’ve managed to keep things in one piece and in all the right places. I see you aren’t doing too bad yourself.”

“No, not too bad at all. You making a trip this month?”

“Might be,” the Captain responded slyly. “I may be looking for some extra help as well to make sure things go smoothly.”

“So happens that I’m available to crew aboard at my usual rate per your terms with management.”

“I was hoping you would offer. Good to have you along again Mr. DeCola.”

------
OOC:

Transport Vessels:
Action V Transport Destitute Spacer - 320 RU
Action V Transport Departed Soul – 320 RU

Pilots:
Action V Transport Destitute Spacer - 3x RX-24 Pilot Droids; Rane DeCola
Action V Transport Departed Soul - 3x RX-24 Pilot Droids

[Derric Starr]

Kessel Rock Trading Compnay always ready to turn a profit no matter who they sold there services to. Starr flew the XJ X-wing in tight formation with Roc piloting his A-wing in near, almost, close to, but not exactly good enough form. He wasn't the best pilot in the galaxy, in fact he was more or less just reaching an average level of skill as long as he didn't have time to think about what he was doing, then he showed signs of natural talent behind the stick. But with each new outing for the KRTC he was improving, not exactly fast but improving at a regular rate.

Level off Roc and hold it steady, you're doing fine. Just some fine touches to your control and you'll be just fine.

Slowly the A-wing leveled off and held steady.

Good keep your feel for that and you'll do just fine, we'll reach the coordinates shortly. BUt until then keep steady and we'll maintain our current course.

They still had some time before reaching the destination of their next assignment for the Kessel Rock Trading Company during which time they maintained a tighter formation then they had after first dropping from hyperspace. Time best spent fine tuning Starr's wing man's piloting skills.


Escort

XJ X-wing - Starr
RX-24 Pilot Droid

A-wing - (NPC Roc)
RX-24 Pilot Droid

[Derric Starr]

T minus seventeen, until we reach our destination Roc, break formation and fall in behind three ship lengths. Alright Roc we'll take this by the numbers at fifteen to go, we'll throttle up for five then pull a half loop dive reverse half loop ascent then level off for the last five. On my mark you go first and I'll follow shortly into my normal position stay on my wing as we go... ready Go!

Both fighters slowed down as they prepared for a full throttle burst of speed to test their ability to maintain a formation. The A-wing took the first position as Roc brought it up to full speed quickly passing the XJ X-wing as Starr maintained the slower speed waiting for the A-wing to reach the perfect distance to begin accelerating to the A-wing's maximum speed. A simple high speed formation with basic flight patterns to ready them for combat in case the need arose along the way.

Ten to arrival Starr throttled down only enough to dive into a tight half loop with Roc on his wing in perfect formation, at the lowest point of the half turn they throttled up almost in unison and ascended continuing their looping patterns back to their initial starting.point.

Alright Roc, well done, we'll keep a slower pace as we near the planet, throttle down your speed and fall in on my wing proper.

This is Kessel Rock Trading Company checking in for escort duty and orders.

[Master Buggie]

Buggie disengaged the hyperdrive and brought his XJ X-Wing out from hyperspace at the coordinates of the rendezvous point. He had been requested to provide escort for a shipment of goods passing through the Terr'skiar Sector, since the twin haulers of Outland Transport had been sidelined in order to undergo repairs. The profitable haul from Sith space a few weeks prior had afforded Buggie and his companion, ex-Antarian Ranger Gary Storm, the opportunity to send the transports in for much-needed repair. As always, maintenance on one system led to unforeseen repairs in other areas, and it was decided that to keep the transports in top shape upon their return, Buggie would bring in a little more income through offering his services on this particular shipment. Convoys-- even ones originating from Galactic Alliance space, such as this one-- were always in need of a couple fighters to provide escort, and protection for valuable shipments was always in short supply. The credits Buggie earned from this job would allow him to keep the repairs on the Outland haulers going, and give him a little more experience in a starfighter, which was something he had been neglecting since his own time with the Galactic Alliance.

"Twitter, do me a favor and run a continuous systems check on the ship," Buggie instructed his astromech droid, "This thing has gathered too much dust."

It was true, Buggie had not flown an XJ X-Wing in quite some time, and the ship he had brought with him when he joined the Blue Star Pirates had sat idle for nearly his entire tenure with the organization. As a result, Buggie deemed it wise to make sure it was fully operational, especially since he wasn't sure he could rely on his wingman, Liroi Jynkyns, to cover for him if he ran into a system failure. The gung-ho pilot had the bad habit of disappearing into a string of continuous dogfights when raiders appeared on the scanners.

"Mantis reporting in," Buggie reported, referring to himself by his callsign, which was a callback to his days with the Emerald Knights, "Standing by for departure."

[Ben Kenobi]

Breaking away from hyperspace and back into the cold depths of real space came a pair of BFF-1 Bulk Freighters with the standard paint iconography of Kalidor Freight, which ironically was just an old faded silhouette shade of a kalidor with its wings raised in flight. Simple yet effective. Ben looked out the viewport as he dialed in the flight path and set the autopilot to ferry the lead freighter in to the loading docks located on the surface of Coachelle Prime. Once accomplished he took better stock in his surroundings and noted the presence of other movement on the scanners but none that brought forth any immediate alarm.
Subcontractor work usually fit well into the prerogative of Kalidor Freight, there was often quite a bit of work for a pair of Bulk Freighters in today’s era and the hauling business had seen plenty of action as of late. As things looked the contracts would only continue into the near and far future and for that Ben was satisfied.

This was one such operation where Kalidor Freight had been subcontracted by Outback Trading Co. to conduct the transit of goods through potential hostile areas, or at least areas that could be deemed. Not one to baulk at a job because it could be dangerous, Ben agreed to the terms and supposed that the funds gained here could be used to further the causes of the Jedi Coalition’s efforts that were ongoing within the Gordian Reach. While not a full on philanthropist, Kenobi was known for utilizing his own assets for the betterment of Jedi operations and the people that were to be effected by them. That and Kalidor Freight had its own expenses too such as fuel, maintenance, expensive software updates, and the like. That type of funding needed to come from somewhere and these off-jobs tended to provide plenty of currency for exactly that.

Closing in, the pair of freighters were now well within communications range and so Ben opened up a live channel. “This is Kalidor 01 of Kalidor Freight, we’re coming in to receive our payloads. Awaiting clearance and flight path.” Switching off the unit he then began bringing up the local weather reports, it would be wise of him to know what kind of weather he was about to fly into. Be it a hurricane or calm clear skies, preparedness was the watchword of success.

OOC: Shipping

BFF-1 Bulk Freighter Kalidor 01 - 298 RU
RX-24 Pilot Droid x3, Ben Kenobi

BFF-1 Bulk Freighter Kalidor 02 - 298 RU
RX-24 Pilot Droid x3, Asori Spero (NPC)

[Rane DeCola]

With the convoy assembled, Rane walked over to the lead Lepi in charge of loading up the convoy’s freighters.

“Eh Bugs, how much longer to get the rest of this stuff loaded up?”

“What’s it to ya Doc? I’ve got all day and seven more ships behind yours.”

“I don’t care how many more ships you’ve got to load. Get Outback’s ships loaded up and maybe there will be a little something extra in it for you and the rest of your crew here.”

“Listen, if you don’t like the speed at which things are getting done around here then find yourself another set of dock workers. I mean the way I run this thing you’d think I knew something about it.”

Rane wasn’t certain if Bugs was running the operation or his mouth more at this point. Regardless, the convoy’s escorts had checked in and he needed to get on this show on the road.

-----

The morning dragged on into the afternoon and soon the afternoon had turned into evening. At this point, Rane’s patience had been worn thin by the slow working group of Lepi. As he paced aboard the Destitute Spacer, he decided to head back down to the loading ramp to see if things couldn’t be hurried along.

“What the… Where in the Sith did they all freaking go?” he muttered to himself.

Heading down the loading ramp, Rane looked around the giant docking bay only to notice that another freighter had landed and the crew that had previously been loading the transport seemed to have shifted their attention to the newly arrived vessel.

As Rane crossed the docking bay toward the enormous Class VI bulk freighter, a familiar, but unpleasant smell, began wafting through the docking bay.

“RANE!!!! RANE DECOLA!!! Haha, when it rains, it pours!!! Haha!!”

Hearing the overused phrase called out loudly enough to be heard throughout the entire docking bay, Rane knew immediately who had arrived.

“Marbles my friend! Good to see you. What brings you to Coachelle?”

“Some fresh crap.”

-----

It didn’t take Rane long to get things worked out with Marbles, and once the Iotran had found out that Bugs and his crew had left Outback’s convoy high and dry as far as a loading crew, he denied them access to his ship and threatened to ban the use of droids to offload the highly prized load of manure that he was hauling for a wealthy Lepi carrot farmer.

After several more hours, Outback’s ship’s were finally ready to depart.

“I don’t know how you talked that Iotran into getting the crew to load our ships up so quickly, but you probably saved us another three days planetside,” Captain Molo exclaimed.

“Ahh, don’t worry about it Captain. Marbles and I go way back. I figured he owed me a favor and I decided to call this one in for us. Besides, we’ve got to make up some time. Management won’t be pleased if we miss our scheduled delivery.”

With that Rane signaled the rest of the convoy. It was time to be on their way.

[Derric Starr]

Roc bring it in close we'll go along side the haulers and run a quick sweep of the area before the jump to hyperspace.

Both fighters pulled from their idling orbit and swung into a loose patrol around the freighters as they capital class ships slowly began to form up as a convoy for the jump to hyperspace. As with all slow organized checks of convoys it was dull uneventful and a great way to waste the time between the jump to hyperspace and the agonizing wait form the convoy to finish getting ready.

They made two full circuits around the slowly forming convoy as the time between prep and departure passed by. As was their luck of late nothing was out of the ordinary as they settled into a proper escort position.The signal finally came through to make the jump to hyperspace along the provided coordinates. Starr looked around one last time, was it an uneasy feeling creeping into his mind or just the lazing stars in the distance that unsettled him.

[Derric Starr]

There was plenty of time to relax and think as the lack of things to do plagued the mind through the hyperspace. It was times like these stuck in a fighters cockpit that Starr missed the luxury of freighters and larger ships in which he could stretch out and enjoy the trip in more comfortable circumstances, or at the very least a better position.

Well it was the cost of living day to day in the galaxy he supposed as the time slid by. Kessel Rock Trading Company was slowly working on an outward expansion from Kessel. Each new job was a chance to expand their influence and reputation across the galaxy, with legitimate governments and of course the lesser respectable sort as well would take risk to hire them out if they could persuade them with just the means and approach. That was the thing though how to get that close to them from the inside where he was being kept are arms reach just close enough to kick but not close enough to be trusted.

Well they were thoughts for another time as the warning alarm sounded for the the trip through hyperspace to soon come to an end.

OOC Post 4:

[Master Buggie]

Along with the other escort craft and the freighters, Buggie's starfighter jumped to hyperspace. It was not long after the cockpit viewport had opaqued that Buggie remembered just why he preferred to fly a light freighter or, at the smallest, his own Helix-class light interceptor. The cockpit was cramped, and he was stuck here for hours as the convoy made it to the first waypoint along their route. Fortunately, if he needed to relieve himself he had the standard bladder system rigged up. While it was convenient for long journeys, this detail was honestly the most unpleasant part of flying a fighter. Buggie yearned for all of the comforts a refresher could provide.

Some Jedi Master I am, spoiled by such comforts, Buggie mused. his mandibles quietly clacking behind his flight helmet.

As the cockpit seemed to grow more cramped by the moment, Buggie took his glove off and fished out a small holoprojector from his utility belt. As he activated it, the device came to life in his palm, and he then positioned it on the starfighter's console at a comfortable eye level. He had loaded a series of holodramas on the device and intended to pass his time in the small, dark cockpit like he would in any of the galaxy's theaters.

Satisfied, Buggie murmured, "Yeah, I really am spoiled."

[Master Buggie]

"Now how the kriff did she just forget about the Iron Fleet?" Buggie voiced in disbelief at the holodrama, clearly critical of the showmakers' writing.

Buggie was no writer, and he'd be the first to admit it, but there was an argument to be made about coherent storytelling. Buggie himself had been in a number of performances, both live and on holo, so his observations were based on his experiences. He nearly continued to rant before he caught himself and stopped. Buggie, despite his background, was not one to consume media and stay in tune with the galaxy's latest holos. The desire to sit on a reclining chair and zone out in front of the holoprojector was a foreign concept to the Verpine, and what little inclination Buggie had toward such activity ceased to exist once he had begun his training. There simply wasn't the time for it, and his continued training served a higher purpose.

In all, it was easy to understand when one considered that Buggie was occasionally crossing blades with the Sith or ducking the Empire's grasp. There were more important things going on in his life.

"What do you think, Tweets? Should I give it a rest?" Buggie asked his astromech droid.

He didn't bother reading the translation; the ship's ambient audio system reported the affirmative chirps and that was enough for him. As Buggie reached up and deactivated the holoprojector, he glanced at the countdown timer. The convoy would be emerging from hyperspace soon enough, as it was. Once Buggie had returned the holoprojector to his utility belt, he began making preparations for the reversion to realspace.