SithLore

(Will post the link once it is available again, for now I'm reposting my last post in the thread.)

The captain made his way to the bridge of the Black Star after leaving the Commander to the luxuries of his suite. Stepping onto the bridge he glanced around, it was clear the usual lax mood of the crew wasn't here. Instead it was replaced with an air of seriousness and extreme care due to the presence of the Empire. Ryder updated them on the situation and gave them the coordinates of their mission. Within moments the Black Star jumped into hyperspace and was on its way to the unknown regions.

Ryder dropped into his captains chair and let out a deep sigh before beginning to pet one of his Kath hounds. The bridge itself was set up more like the command center of a war ship rather than that of a freighter. He pulled up a holodisplay of camera footages around the ship giving him eyes on most of the Imperials as well as eyes on his less than legal goods.

~VIP Suite~

LIN straightened up, grabbed the Nabooian wine and began pouring the good Commander a glass of the 21 BBY vintage. The droid took the filled glass and walked it over to the sitting man and placed it on the coffee table in front of him. She proceeded to step back around the couch to stand behind Vassyl, her optical sensors picking up on the most tense spots in his shoulders. Her strong yet soft mechanical hands descended and skillfully set to work.

"My story?" She spoke sheepishly. "Well if you insist." She proceeded to tell him about how she once was a slave to a crime lord on Corellia and was eventually rescued by Ryder and his company. She told him of how she's been so ecstatic to be able to see the galaxy and meet all sorts of interesting individuals. All the while she continued to target the officers tense muscles.

"If you'd like to lay down and remove your uniform I could continue to tell you of my adventures and give you a deep tissue massage," she said, breaking from her story.

LIN's last suggestion caught Vassyl completely off-guard. As a geyser of embarrassment spurted up within the young officer, he hacked and wheezed on the contents of his dumbstruck lungs, turning red in the face as he did so. Doren wasn't one to be found in such a compromising circumstance, and despite the proposed amenities he wasn't about to change his mannerisms in that moment. "That's quite-", the commander began, pausing between light chuffs "alright. Your shoulder work- that is, your work on my shoulders is more than satisfactory". Vassyl repressed the urge to groan in spite of his awkward dialogue, but it couldn't be helped; still, better to make a fool of himself in the present of the droid as opposed to her employer. That said, Doren's harshness soon melted away as the robotic attendant rooted out knots born from battles long since past. So this was the touch of luxury.

No amount of pragmatic rambling would speed the Quasi Imperial-Independent posse to their target, and in light of this fact, Vassyl allowed himself a rare period of leisure. He continued to indulge light conservation with the comfort model, still taking care to periodically enjoy his beverage in regulated amounts. Minutes trickled by, and soon an hour came to pass; Vassyl knew well they would soon complete the jump sequence, and, feeling more refreshed than he had in ages, straightened up and prepared to make his exit. He afforded LIN a cordial bow, and thanked her in earnest for the superior service. As Doren turned to leave, he thought once more about his own metallic compatriot, and considered teasing him with a blind date: he could definitely do worse after all. All joking aside, Vassyl narrowed his gaze as he attempted to make sense of the freighter's floor plan, and started out ahead where he suspected the bridge to be located.

(OOC: Ughh, tfw you totally forgot all the characters you were working with, the language you made up, and how far along the plan of the thread you were in...)

Krussk used his translator to talk to the gold Ssi'ru that was ruler of the colony. Their conversation drifted along many topics of current events across the rest of the galaxy. Content with how stale the military efforts had been aside from the imperial loss of Coruscant and the lack of any details of any planned invasion of this area of the uncharted space, The commander decided to move forward with the deal. Krussk was nervous that he may be used to power whatever tech needed a new battery around here, but the gold leader seemed smart enough to realize Krussk was more valuable bringing more goods into the colony than he would be as a literal part of the colony. Heading back to his ship in tow of his red escort, Krussk began to catalog and offload the supplies, hoping he'd be paid in full and an easy egress would be capable still. Little did he know, but a certain well massaged imperial commander was planning otherwise.

After several hours spent with the wonderful Imperial Commander, LIN bid him farewell as he left. She did in fact enjoy her time with him and was quite glad she was able to make him feel comfortable. Once the door slid closed the droid returned to the kitchen where she pulled a comlink and commed her good master.

Ryder had spent the entire time on the bridge, overviewing files, watching the cameras and of course keeping his bridge crew and two hounds company. The pilot had just notified everyone that they'd be arriving at their intended destination shortly. The captain's hand was gracefully caressing one of his Kath hounds heads when his comlink buzzed.

"Master," LIN's voice came through. "The lovely Commander is on his way to see you, do tell him I had a good time will you."

"Thank you for the notice LIN," Ryder replied, a smile of amusement crossing his face. "And I'll be sure to let him know." He immediately shut off his camera displays.

"Thanks dear," the droid responded. "Have fun on your trip." And with that they closed the comm.

A few moments passed between the call and the Commander stepping onto the bridge. Ryder stood up as Doren walked in, one of the hounds turned and let out a low growl before Ryder motioned for it to settle.

"Commander," Ryder greeted, "you're just in time, we should dropping out of hyperspace any second now." The Captain lead Doren to the holotable that was in the center of the bridge. "Oh, LIN said you were a most wonderful guest and she looks forward to next time."

"Exiting hyperspace now," the young pilot announced.

The Action V dropped back into real space at the designated location, a world coming into view. Within mere seconds the vessel's scanners started receiving data. The holotable that the two men stood by came to life, a holographic image of the planet appeared as well as expanding folders of the information that was quickly being collected.

"Alright Commander Vassyl, what's our angle?"

Vassyl afforded Ryder a conservative grin in light of his first remark, and answered back, "The feeling is mutual; you're lucky to have such capable staff under you Captain". With his moment of pleasantries fading into realspace, Doren's steely gaze zeroed in on the main viewport, now bent back into a disaffected grimace. He saw the unidentified vessel that lay ahead first, and the outline of a small forested moon situated behind it. Oh, what the Commander would not give to swat the interlopers away and grasp the system with a single cosmic hand. Alas, this was a delicate situation, and steps needed taking before the prize could be won. And indeed, that prize would return to the Empire, where it so rightfully belonged. His senses relapsing to the reality at hand, Vassyl began to study the unknown spacecraft with an unrestricted scrutiny. It was freighter, he wagered, based more on details than size.

In terms of capacity, the vessel itself probably would have classified as a small frigate, were it not for its lack of weapons. Visible weapons anyways. Whoever this was, there was no indication worthy of confidence or distrust; that said, the galaxy was seldom found to be transparent in its inhabitants. Strolling closer to the main viewscreen, the commander intensified his investigation, glaring at each minute detail as if to melt the very hull with sight alone. Finally, the young officer spotted what appeared to be a color standard upon the lower portside hangar. Whatever it had once represented, much of the paint's exterior had been seemingly worn, or forcefully etched from the surface. A trace of yellow, a hint of blue, and then- clarity. Tensing up, Doren's motor functions all but left him in a sharp moment of shock and fear. "The Imperium", he half-muttered, half-whispered aloud.

Spinning about with an unholy squeak from his boots, Vassyl locked eyes with Ryder, and in low, soft voice began, "It would appear we have some unwanted guests after all Captain; I trust you're familiar with the Ssi-Ruuvi?". The question, in Doren's mind, was not insulting so much as it was rhetorical. Someone as experienced and well-traveled as Ryder would have doubtless heard the horror stories of the saurian conquerors of the Unknown Regions that once threatened to overtake so much as a fifth of the Southern Galactic Reach. Even with the Warden a microjump away, there was no telling what sort of allies the reptilian warriors had lurking about, or any arms they'd yet to unveil. Caution was tantamount. Despite the mounting unrest of the situation, Vassyl maintained what calm he could. Throughout his revelation, there was one single truth that gave him hope: the system they sought, in all likelihood, had remained relatively untouched.

The Ssi-Ruuk were known by many pronounced traits, but religious liberalism wasn't among their fierce accolades. Doren had studied their culture marginally well at some time or other, and one detail that did not escape him was the species' extreme fear of a sacrilegious death. Only a consecrated world could host the soul a Ssi-Ruu, and the ritual of purification was both excessively long and complicated to the point of convulsion. If the lizardfolk had gone planetside, it would no doubt be over short visits for resources, such as to avoid any potential dangers. Which meant, Vassyl inferred, the ship was likely the lone sentinel for their enterprise. And, if it could be captured, it could be silenced. No one would hear a peep about any foreign parties, much less an Imperial presence. A weak smile spread across Doren's face, otherwise concealed by a jet-black glove. It had been some time since his last boarding party.

Approaching nearer to Ryder, the Commander renewed their discussion, adding, "So far they know nothing of our unique arrangement: I think we best keep it that way. At the same time, we need a way onboard that ship". Doren paused, diving back into the recesses of deeper thought, before snapping his fingers in witty excitement. With a more jovial complexion, Vassyl refocused his attention on the good captain, and continued with a smirk, "You're a businessman by trade; perhaps if you were to offer a presentation of some of your choice wares, they might see fit to invite some of our retinue onboard yes?". The Commander ceased his speech at that moment, and allowed Ryder to collect himself and his own mental conceits. It wasn't an ideal scenario, but the Captain was hardly a non-combatant. Stealth could win the day, if well executed. Stealth, a commodity of which Doren was certain Ryder held an excess.

It came faster than expected. The betrayal... It all seemed to be going so well, then before the box he was carrying could even be dropped Krussk was clubbed in the back of the head. Fainting lights danced before his eyes as he was dragged deep down into the bowels of the mothership. The translator beeping information from the fragmented conversation accentuated the spotty levels of consciousness. All Krussk could figure out was another ship had arrived and he was probably blamed for bringing them, whoever they are. This day just went belly up.

Ssi-Ruuk, a dangerous reptilian race indeed. In Ryder’s past life he’d run into a pair, they proved to be deadly combatants. Ryder twitched at the squeak caused by Doren’s spin to address him. “I have,” the Captain replied as he continued to watch the Imperial wrestle with his thoughts.

The Command continued to pace around the bridge, in some ways the spectacle amused Ryder. As Doren stepped closer and explained his idea all Ryder could do was nod. He stepped forward to the holotable that centered the bridge. He input several commands before finally speaking.

“Hail the vessel,” he spoke towards his comms Officer. “I’ve set the vessel’s transponders to the Wayward Banker. And Commander, step back.” The crew knew that meant they were now acting as a Muun trading company. Ryder continued by activating the holographic disguise matrix set up on his belt. Taking over the position of Ryder stood a tall and lean Muun, wearing traditional fine robes of it’s race. As he prepared for the coming interaction a silver and gold protocol droid stepped forward to be his translator.

“Greetings” his voice came out nasally like that of the race he appeared to be. This was of course thanks to a small voice modulator built in with the disguise matrix. “I am a representative of Muunitions Trading Corporation, come far to find the perfect trading partners!” The protocol droid was translating as he spoke. “If you would allow us but a minute of your time we could show you a fraction of what we have to offer.” He gestured his lengthily fingered hands as though to show them wares. “Weapons, armors, materials from across the galaxy, if we don’t have it we can get it!”

Doren nodded silently in light of the Captain's command. Soon after, he stepped back several paces before comfortably leaning behind a support beam that jutted out from the main bridge wall-section. Safely removed from the sight of the probing transmission camera, Vassyl kept a wary eye on the now-transformed Ryder. From what Doren could tell of his accent and posture, the man was hardly a journeyman actor. The trickery of privateers was a league all its own, and despite his less-enjoyable run-ins with previous independent traders, the Commander could not help but admire the ingenuity they employed to achieve their objectives. In light of his inner musings, a wave of seriousness washed over Vassyl once more as he considered the believability of Ryder's tableau. How familiar would these creatures be with Muun economics? Were their trading practices compatible, or hopelessly asymmetric? If the Ssi-Ruu suddenly attacked, it would make Doren political clout far simpler, but would stand to put the Captain's non-combatants at risk. Either way, it was a slippery slope with no bottom in sight. Biting the tip of thumb, Vassyl watched on with heated anticipation, anxious to receive an amicable outcome for their little ruse.

The machine was the stuff of nightmares. A torture beyond imagining as bit by bit organic matter was reassembled into bio-mechanical components. As Krussk was set besides the machine, he understood it was an intimidation tactic rather than the preferred outcome. Still swimming mentally, the auto-translation seemed slightly garbled, or that may have had more to do with how excited the ssi-ruu were in their talking, well shouting really. The ship was claiming over coms to be Muun, more specifically Muun weapons dealers. Krussk definitely didn't know these people, and most certainly people of this persuasion wouldn't be following Krussk. This left three options. In the first, Krussk was followed and the tail is lying. In the second Krussk was not followed and the ship is lying. And the final option, Krussk was not followed and the ship is telling the truth. However the truth was formed, Krussk had no allegiance to these people. If they were actually innocent weapons traders, they appear to be awfully foolish to attempt dealings like this. The Ssi-Ruuk as a species wouldn't care for inner galaxy weapons by comparison to their own, just raw materials for their own manufacture. Potentially if the offshoot colony we're particularly desperate, a hasty deal could be made, but this colony was in the middle of terraforming a planet, and is thusly not at all desperate for weapons. Deciding on a course of action, Krussk began to relay to his captors how this was a trap. Hopefully they'll believe him enough to let him go...

Ryder took a deep breath as the comms remained silent. His mind raced trying to remember what he’d learned about these aliens last time he encountered them. Biomatter, their tech ran off living creatures! Now he just needed to spin it.

“Or maybe you’re looking for something more... living.” The Muun spoke breaking the silence. “Perhaps you’d want some of our exotic beast or even some... slaves?” All they needed to do was strike a bargain that allowed them to bring their teams over to the alien vessel. Hopefully the Ssi-ruu would respond in some matter soon.