STARBOX: Episode One: Welcome to Brack Sector/Minos Cluster

[max_vale]

Aboard the Light Freighter Nova Kestrel, as it arrives at the outer edge of the Mestra Star System; Minos Cluster


The past couple of months had been a hectic time for the team of Rebel Alliance Agents after they returned from the 'Scavenger Hunt' mission. While rumors were flying all over the place about the Empire having built a second Death Star Battle Station and the bulk of the Alliance Fleet mustering near Sullust for an upcoming mission to deal with this new threat; the Alliance Intel Operatives were being given medals; being thanked by some of the highest ranking members of the Rebellion and essentially being given the equivalent of a vacation for all of their hard work over the past few years....

In essence, they were given an 'undercover mission' to the Outer Rim Sectors known as the Minos Cluster and Brak Sector where they were to pose as Free Traders and compile information about Imperial forces and activity in these Sectors while also being given (though not in any physical computer records) the coordinates for a Rebel rendezvous point in deep space where they could be met by operatives from an Alliance facility known only as "Oracle Base", which was located somewhere in Brak Sector. As part of this mission; they were encouraged to make contacts with those they believed would ally with or at least do business with the Alliance and they were given 75 tons of rare food stuffs and entertainment devices like holo disks that they could use in trade to get their mission going.

Cal Tak Dornan had done a little work in the Minos Cluster in the past in his Smuggling Days before joining the Rebels, so he knew the Asteroid miners in the Mestra system would enjoy food they couldn't get their Auto-chefs to make and new entertainment was always a big hit with hard working miners. That done, he plotted the course and the Nova Kestrel was soon on its way.

The team of Agents had time to reflect and talk as they came out of hyperspace on the far, fringe edge of the Mestra System; which was needed as the entire system was FULL of ring after ring of asteroids as it was a Solar System that had either had crazy planetary smash-ups or which had never gotten around to forming into planets. In the millions of millions of asteroids, there were numerous mining outposts; all run by the MGM (Mining Guild of Mestra); all profit-oriented and caring little for what the miners did, as long as they did the hard work and kept the Guild operating in the black....

Setting course for Asteroid Outpost 1138 where Cal had made a few deliveries before a couple of years back; long range sensors showed a distant vessel moving slowly in their direction. Due to the distance and the amount of rocks in the system, it was impossible to get an exact picture of what kind of vessel it was; but Tak Dornan knew the odds were that it was a System Patrol Craft; looking to make sure they were on legit business and not smuggling contraband in or out. They wold also likely do a Customs Inspection.....and probably look to get a quiet 'take this and leave us alone' bribe*....


*I'll say the entire crew probably has 6,000 credits if all pooled together; a thousand each.

[kipper]

Now is definitely not the time to do anything suspicious, we should allow the Patrol Craft to approach and see what they want. I'm not sure about paying a bribe however, unless it's negligible. I don't think we have contraband or anything like that on board, so the only thing a bribe might do is speed things along somewhat.

[Rex]

Kit

"Grll..."

"I don't trust them."

[Starbeard]

"No, I don't trust them either. But Professor Jones is right, we can't draw suspicious attention upon ourselves, not right now. If anyone has equipment that might cause… Imperial entanglements… it's best we stow all of that in a smuggling compartment now."

Vale gazes out to the approaching vessel and, when it gets close enough, attempts to sense the crew's intentions and state of mind through Empathy.

[Solo4114]

"Right then. 'Fly casual' it is."

Cal won't take any sudden maneuvers...but will keep a hand lightly resting on the throttle controls just in case. He'll also take a quick look at the shields to make sure they're charged and ready.

[Monsieur Rose]

Zuul

Zuul chuckles at Vale's suggestion. "He'ss not sure if there iss enough room to hide all of hiss stuff." Zull starts mentally listing off all the illegal weapons he has.

"Not to mention the boyss." Zuul flexes and pats his arms.

[Rex]

Kit

Kit will help Zuul hide the weaponry, she will also try and disguise her lightsaber as part of her personal med kit.

[kipper]

If they give us too hard of a time, we can always simply leave and go somewhere else!

[Starbeard]

Kit

Kit will help Zuul hide the weaponry, she will also try and disguise her lightsaber as part of her personal med kit.

Good thinking, Vale does the same.

If they give us too hard of a time, we can always simply leave and go somewhere else!

"Yelsain and Eliad don't seem very far away. Depending on which system he head to, we can offload the food or holos. Adarlon is farther, but it might be easier to conduct all of our trade there at once. Let's sit tight and see how welcome we are."

[ybn1197]

Jackson does a quick pat-down of himself to think if he has anything conspicuous. Content there is nothing too far out of the ordinary, he takes his normal spot and maintains an eye on the engines and shields in case they need to make a hasty retreat.

[max_vale]

Aboard the Light Freighter Nova Kestrel, heart of the Mestra Star System en route to Outpost 1138; Minos Cluster


As Cal and Jackson flew the Nova Kestrel into the Mestra Star System towards Mining Outpost 1138 and were IMMEDIATELY at full attention due to the massive amount of asteroids in the system in the cockpit; the others on board the ship were busy putting a significant amount of illegal weapons into the 'Smuggler's Hold' hidden compartment in thier vessel's starboard storage cargo bay. Though difficult to make out through the massive amount of moving rock, the sensor contact steadily got closer and closer to them and a comms message came thru from this contact....

"Unknown vessel, this is MGM (Mestra Guild of Miners) Customs Cutter Inspector; please identify yourself and state your business. If your business lies within this Star System, prepare for Customs Inspection; over."

It's clear the vessel is expecting a reply. While the readout isn't great; Jackson can tell the vessel is about 80 meters long, sturdily made with thick armor and appears to have several weapons turrets. Both Jackson and Cal know that Customs Cutters tend to be fast, well armored and well armed, while not necessarily maneuverable.....

[Solo4114]

Cal: "Alright, folks. What's our plan here? We heaving to, or making a run for it?"

Side question: how well-shielded/hidden are the smuggling compartments? Like, how hard would our illicit cargo be to detect if we were to heave to?

[kipper]

I think if we're going to deal with the miners we'll need to deal with the Customs Cutter sooner or later (even if we evade them now, we'll still need to get out of the system later).

I think we should reply that we're a trading vessel and we're looking to do business with Outpost 1138. Let them approach and see what they do/say. If they attempt extortion, we should just laugh at them (or maybe keep a straight face while we try not to laugh at them depending on how strong they seem).

[Rex]

Kit

"Grll..."

"I am OK trying to deal with the customs, but we should be wary, in case its an Imperial trap."

[Starbeard]

Vale

"Yes, let's be wary. Right now we have no reason not to comply, but that may change once they board. I will try to determine what their motives are…"

As the MGM vessel approaches, and as they board, he will use Sense Emotions to get a read on how they feel about the party and what they expect to get out of this inspection.

[max_vale]

Aboard the Light Freighter Nova Kestrel, heart of the Mestra Star System en route to Outpost 1138; Minos Cluster


In the asteroid-strewn Mestra Star System in the Minos Cluster Sector; Cal Tak Dornan identified his group as the Light Frieghter Nova Kestrel, making a trading run to Outpost 1138 to the Mestra Guild of Miners Customs Cutter Inspector and per their orders, he stopped the ship and prepared to be boarded, as his Rebel compatriots hid a bunch of weapons in the Smuggling Compartment hidden in the Starboard Cargo Bay. Shortly thereafter, a boarding tube between the two vessels was established and soon the airlock was being opened....

As the MGM vessel drew close, Jackson got a good read on it, it was quite well armored and heavily shielded and boasted a weapons array of 2 Heavy Laser Cannons mounted forward; another Heavy laser mounted to both Port and Starboard sides and two Twin Medium Laser Turrets mounted Dorsally and Ventrally.....meaning the Inspector could bring a whopping 6 cannons to bear forward and 5 to either side and 4 aft....meaning the Nova Kestrel had little chance if a fight broke out. The Cutter was also quite fast.....likely faster than the Ghtroc Freighter....about the only advantage the Alliance Team had was that they could almost certainly out-turn the big, heavy vessel....

As his companions studied sensors or hid weapons, Vale Starcloud closed his eyes and stretched out with the Force, attempting to determine the feelings of the crewmen on board the other vessel with his Empathy ability. He could detect feelings of Caution, some Fear, some Anger, some Excitement, but mostly, it was Greed......

The sounds of the seal being made echoed throughout the ship's interior and then the light sequence cycled through and a few moments later the airlock hatch was open and soon, five people had dropped down through the hatch. Four were human and one was an unfamiliar to all but Cal alien; a member of the furry and large-earned humanoid race known as 'Glitzens', native to this Sector. All were in a blue and gray uniforms and all were carrying Heavy Blaster Pistols; three of the humans and the Glitzens had these blasters in hand and pointed them at the Rebels, though they had enough discipline to NOT have their fingers on the triggers. The last human had his weapon holstered and he had a slightly more elbaorate uniform, slicked back hair and a smirk and gleam in his eyes. CLEARLY, this was the one in charge....

"Greetings and welcome to the Mestra System. I am Inspector Lieutenant Briggins of MGM and I have already noted that your vessel is rather WELL ARMED for a simple trading vessel. A Heavy Laser Turret on TOP of the Twin Light Lasers above the cockpit AND a Proton Torpedo Tube? Seems rather......extreme....for a means of Protection, don't you think?"; he asked the group at large, the oiliness in his voice nearly washing over the others. "I wouldn't find a similar amount of.....EXCESSIVE ABUNDANCE....in your personal weapons supply if my men and I THROUGHLY search this vessel would I? Because if we WERE to find personal weapons that match the......EXTRA-LEGAL.....nature of your ship's weapons; I'm afraid we'd have to detain you while we reported these infractions in to the Empire and impound your vessel and its cargo. However, that certainly sounds like a LOT of busy work, doesn't it boys?", he asked his thugs-in-a-uniform companions to which they just grinned and replied in the affirmative while keeping weapons leveled at the Alliance Agents. "It's interesting to speculate.....what might someone.....PART WITH.....to keep from being handed over to the Imperial authorities, I wonder?", he finished with a hand out as he looked over each Rebel in turn.....

[Monsieur Rose]

Zuul

Zuul squints hard at the speaker, trying to understand him. "You talk funny. Fast then slow, normal then loud. Are you okay?"

He looks down at the offered hand then back to his companions. "He seemss friendly." Zuul moves forward to shake the Inspector's hand. "He...iss...called...Zuul. Nice...TO MEET...you."

[kipper]

"So, what are we talking here?" Clark says to Lt. Briggins. "We're already working on tight margins, if it's not worth our while we won't be back, and then we'll both earn fewer credits."

(Trying to use Persuasion to pay the minimal bribe. Zuul's intimidating presence should help here too!)

[Starbeard]

Vale tries to look confident and unintimidated, keeping his sense emotion up on Briggins so that he can give a warning to the others with his eyes that things are safe or about to go down.

[max_vale]

Aboard the Light Freighter Nova Kestrel, heart of the Mestra Star System en route to Outpost 1138; Minos Cluster


Aboard the Light Freighter Nova Kestrel, currently docked with a larger and more powerful Customs Cutter named Inspector, and awkward stand off between members of the Mestra Guild of Miners and the crew of the Ghtroc Freighter ended on a.....non violent note...

Inspector Lieutenant Briggins' face went thru a rapid range of emotions as the large, scary-yet-surprisingly-charming Barabel Zuul* stepped forward and took his hand. At first his face went white with fear, then confusion, then bemusement and finally he just shook the large hand held in front of him with its scary claws and kind of awkwardly looked around Zuul's bulk to Clark and said, "Well.....uh.....let's say a thousand credit donation to the MGM family fund in case of accidents?" When the stubborn Professor sighed and agreed and nodded to Jackson who dug into the ship's safe to retrieve the funds before passing them to the greedy "officer" and a few minutes later the Cutter and the Nova Kestrel were going their separate ways....

A short time later, they were landing in the cramped docking bay of Asteroid Outpost 1138 with Cal Tak Dornan showing off his piloting skills by landing the Ghtroc 720 freighter carefully in a small bay made even more cramped by the presence of an Ore Barge and a couple of Shuttles occupying it. After setting down and a quick talk with the Hangar Deck Controller for landing and refueling costs**, they were soon making their way into the warren of tunnels carved out for the rock of the large Asteroid that was home to the Outpost and soon enough the group split into two sections.....

Vale, Kit and Jackson made their way to the central lounge/cafteria of the Outpost to get a quick meal and take a rest while Cal, Clark and Zuul went to meet with the Trade Commission Representative to see about making a deal for their cargo and perhaps taking on some new cargo for future dealings....

The Trade Commission Rep. was a cute brunette female human named Allysin who flashed beautiful big brown eyes and a smile while wheeling and dealing with Cal, Professor Clark and Zuul; leading things off with an offer of 1500 credits per ton of Foodstuffs (there are 50 tons of Foodstuffs on board the Kestrel) and 5,000 credits per ton of Entertainment products (there are 23 tons aboard Ship). The Rebels know that a 'typical' price for these goods is about 1800 per Ton of Foodstuffs and 5600 per ton of Entertainment. In addition, there are over 80 tons of Metals and 40 tons of Minerals they could make deals for as goods to take FROM the Outpost if they so desire***.....

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria/lounge, Vale, Jackson and Kit are immediately impressed by a human male singer on a make-shift stage who a miner names, "Nino Rikazzian" who is backed by a small band and whose excellent voice sings ballads of hope and struggles against oppression. Most of the miners are enraptured by the performance, though some just eat and drink....especially the latter.

One of the rather inebriated miners at one point stagers over to the newcomers and with a hiccup, asks; "Shey.....arsht you guys the newhst zhip crew?"


*With a PER of 3D+2, Zuul is actually the most naturally charismatic member of the party

**Clark, being a smart guy, realizes Zuul's charm/intimidation factor and brings him along to make the 'money arrangements' with Cal as the POC. In game terms, these are going to be PER skills involved like Bargain...which Clark has at 4D and/or Persuasion rolls.

***Like above, essentially somebody makes the call to be the one whose skill roll is used, compared to the Buyer/Seller (Allysin in this case) roll and we go from there. Let me know who and if any Force Points are spent. Thanks!