ECHOES FROM HOTH: Episode Two: Any Port after an Ice Storm

[max_vale]

One of the Rebel Alliance Rendezvous Points after the Evacuation of Echo Base on Hoth; Deep Space

Soon after blasting off from Hoth and engaging the hyperdrive; the team of Rebel Agents on board the light freighter Outrunner found themselves at one of the Alliance rendezvous points; in the pitch black of deep space. They were there along with numerous small ships and shuttles, a Rebel Frigate, an Alliance Corvette and an old-but-still-game Bulk Cruiser and the next couple of weeks went by rather quickly as the Rebel Task Force leadership took stock of all survivors and what they had and DID NOT HAVE throughout the small flotilla of vessels....

Vale Starcloud had spent some time in a Bacta Tank on the Frigate and was feeling MUCH better, while the rest of the Rebels had received excellent medical care and everyone was in top notch physical shape....though, it could NOT be said that they were in any OTHER kind of excellent shape. The truth was; that though most of the Rebel Alliance personnel who had been on Echo Base; and all of the High Leadership had managed to escape; many friends and colleagues had perished on the Ice World and most of the fuel and arms that the Alliance had stockpiled on the Base had been destroyed or confiscated by the Empire. Of particular concern is the very low amount of Coaxium fuel the Rebels had....this was THE most vital element needed to allow ships to travel through hyperspace. While they had enough for the various small ships to operate for months, they had barely enough for the Capital ships to jump a system or two away.....and in their current situation, a system or two away wasn't going to do any good as there was nothing of interest in any of these systems...a solution was needed to this serious problem....

Coaxium deposits were relatively common in the Core and Inner Rim systems and they were ALL under tight Imperial control; but very few had been found in the Mid-Rim and Outer Rims systems thus far; and beyond that issue....was the issue of how to purchase/obtain stocks of the incredibly expensive fuel....

Professor Clark found himself going down memory lane....struggling with whether or not to mention that he knew of a place that had Coaxium deposits (though the inhabitants had no real interest in the stuff); but he wasn't sure if he wanted to broadcast this fact.

About a decade ago....before the great Civil War tearing the galaxy apart had really gotten going; Clark had been travelling to a conference on ancient antiquities in the Outer Rim when he overheard a drunken thief talking about his latest 'heist' on a previously unknown world one night at a cantina. The thief, a human named Du Mond; had found his Scoutship's hyperdrive having problems with the Coaxium fuel regulator, which broke and let out all the remaining fuel; and the Thief had to resort to finding the nearest planet he could on his backup drive as it only held enough for a single, very short range jump. He found a planet called Thakis; and on Thakis he found a technologically behind race of purple-skinned humanoids named Thakisians. They lived in numerous small states; each with its own Queen; and they still rode animals or traveled in wheeled vehicles pulled by animals and they fought honor-duels with black-powder slug throwers and/or thin swords. Du Mond found that they treated him well...he was not the first 'member of the Sky Peoples Queendom' that had visited Thakis before; and they promised they would treat him well so long at he obeyed their rules. Du Mond had been feasted and treated well and even met one of the Queens, one Nyah Harileth of Azavam; who wore an elaborate necklace made out of Iridium and containing dozens of Fire Crystal gemstones.....

Fire Crystal gemstones were INCREDIBLY rare throughout the Galaxy and were among the most valuable of all gemstones known...but apparently were rather common on Thakis. Iridium, a common metal in most of the rest of the Galaxy however, ONLY arrived on Thakis via meteors, hence them calling it 'Star Metal' and valuing it higher than any other mineral. Du Mond was ALSO amazed to learn that there were numerous Coaxium deposits on Thakis, including a large one in Azavam. He soon promised Queen Harileth that if she would lend him some Coaxium and some Fire Crystals, he would return to the world with a large supply of 'star metal'; and the delighted Queen agreed. Once Du Mond had his ship refueled and a cargo hold full of Fire Crystals, he had one last feast and then left the next morning. The Thief could NOT however resist stealing the Queen's necklace, and his departure was of the 'on the run' kind....

Overhearing all of this, Clark grew furious and confronted the drunk, and soon forced him to hand over the necklace and then turned Du Mond into the authorities (while keeping the necklace so that he could personally return it to Thakis).....though the Professor was chagrined to learn that the cargo hold full of Fire Crystals had ALREADY been stolen by somebody else the drunk Thief must have bragged too before Clark overheard him. Du Mond got a 10 year sentence and Clark personally returned the necklace to a very grateful Queen Harileth.

While he was on Thakis, Clark learned their language and customs very well and one of the key aspects of Thakisian culture is their reliance on using duels or challenges to solve disputes. Sometimes, these were to the death....but whatever the stakes, which were always agreed to BEFORE the challenge (usually a sword fight or shooting duel or hand-to-hand melee match); the loser (if alive) ALWAYS paid their debts....usually in the form of some kind of service, usually for a set period of time, such as 3 days or 10 days. With their abundance of Fire Crystals and Coaxium deposits to go along with their relative 'low' technology; Clark had been very worried about the ease with which these people could be swindled or conquered.

However, time passed....nobody else seemed to spread any word about the place and eventually it had retreated to the back of the Professor's mind as events in the Galaxy at large spiraled down further and further towards war....eventually reaching that point and Clark had too many other things going on to worry about the fate of one 'lost' Outer Rim world....

Now however....with the current situation....maybe things had changed....


*All players are in full health and everyone has 2 Force Points
**The primary 'leadership' POC for you guys in this little Flotilla of Ships is Case Officer Lawra Mers of Rebel Intel whom Clark, Zuul and Jackson know from the 'Black Ice' Missions; and Captain Solanzian, the highest ranking Navy Officer and Commanding Officer of the Bulk Cruiser Reslove

[kipper]

Clark decides that the severity of the situation merits the mention of Thakis. However, he as much as he trusts the rebels, he doesn't want the word spread about, as is bound to happen if a general announcement is made.

Instead, he attempts to arrange a private meeting with Mers and Solanzian to discuss an issue of "urgent and pressing nature, which is also of the utmost privacy".

He also mentions to his friends that he knows of a potential location of Coaxium and that they are welcome to join him at the meeting if they so desire.

[Rex]

Kit

Kit will join Clark at the meeting.

[Starbeard]

Vale Starcloud

After leaving the bacta tanks, Vale spends much of his time going through his Jedi mental exercises to calm himself and release the fear and anxiety that is naturally welling up inside of him. A man who is afraid cannot think clearly, he thinks to himself, knowing that in this time of crisis, their little fleet could not afford to make rash and illogical judgments driven by their emotions.

Knowing that whatever Clark has to tell them must be important, he quietly enters the meeting room and waits for the discussion to start.

[ybn1197]

Jackson spends his free time tinkering on the Out Runner, making sure that all the little problems are fixed before they can become major problems. When it comes to the meeting, Jackson will join the others, sitting quietly in the back of the room unless he has something to add to the discussion.

[Monsieur Rose]

Zuul

Zuul is so very glad to be off the iceball named Hoth, that he is in a good mood for weeks. When Clark mentions a meeting with his old case officer, Zuul is happy to join.

After greeting Mers in an appropriately Barabellian way, Zuul stands at attention waiting for Clark to drop some knowledge.

[Solo4114]

Cal

Cal decides to attend the meeting, although he wonders if there will ever be a chance for him to retrieve his ship from Hoth...

[max_vale]

Secure Briefing Room on the Rebel Alliance Bulk Cruiser Resolve; at Alliance Rendezvous Point in Deep Space


Professor Clark let it be known to his fellow teammates that he knew of a place where a rich deposit of Coaxium could be found and asked for Case Officer Lawra Mers and Captain Solanzian to set up a place for a quiet meeting. Pretty soon, a Secure Briefing room was made available and after all of the Rebels had filed in and greetings were exchanged, the 8 people in the room sat down around a table and seven faces turned to the one-time Professor....

"Okay Clark, whatcha got for us?"; as Lawra in her 'it's always about business' tone....


OOC: Figured I'd give you the floor here amigo....if you'd rather I came up with the scene, let me know.

[kipper]

I'm happy just to gloss over the actual conversation, Clark will fill everyone in on all the details, ending with:

"So I hope you can see the delicacy of the situation. It's essential that we send a small detachment of people we can trust. I suggest the party you see before you right now.

"In addition, if we have any Iridium to spare, that would be an invaluable asset to trade for the Coaxium."

[Starbeard]

"We should take stock of how much salvageable iridium we have in the fleet," says Vale. "If we can fashion a necklace to replace the stolen one, that might go a long way in advancing relations with the queen."

[Solo4114]

Cal

Cal listens to Prof. Clark's story and Vale's suggestion, then softly clears his throat and speaks.

"Hang on a tick. I thought the professor returned the original necklace? That just gives us an 'in' with the local authorities. I thought we were offering a trade of irridium for coaxium here, although that raises a few things to think about.

"First, is their coaxium in condition for shipment? Meaning has it actually been extracted and is it in shape for us to transport it? Do they have the necessary equipment to do this, or do we have to bring it in?

"Second, are we talking a one-time deal here, or ongoing trade relations? Are we looking to set up a permanent coaxium extraction and processing operation, or just do this on the spot and get gone? If we're going to set up something long-term, we'll need to bring the equipment to do it, people to work the equipment since the locals won't really know how, guards to protect it, probably build our own landing pad so we can load it away from whatever the locals use for a starport, and then bring stuff to camouflage and/or shield the whole operation from prying eyes, especially Imperial ones.

"Third, we should probably assume that Du Monde has already given up any information he has on Thakis, including their coaxium deposits, so we should expect at least some kind of Imperial presence. But who knows who else he told.

"Finally, we're going to need a ship that's capable of moving the coaxium quickly, safely, and -- ideally -- secretly. Even if there's no real Imperial presence at Thakis itself, we should be prepared for some kind of run-in traveling from here to there. Can the Outrunner handle that duty?"

[kipper]

"The last thing we want to do is set up permanent trade relations, the more people who know about the planet the more likely they will be exploited," Clark says. "This should just be a one-off deal."

"However, if the Imperium is already there then the cat's out of the bag, in which case our task should become to keep them off the planet."

[Solo4114]

Cal

"Makes sense. Do the locals have the ability to extract the coaxium and get it into a state where we can safely transport it ourselves?"

[max_vale]

OOC: A couple of quick things here:

1. Yes, Clark returned the original necklace

2. While TECHNICALLY Du Mond was in Imperial custody; it was more like a local system prison as 'BIG IMPERIAL' (i.e. think State prison vs. Federal Prison) wouldn't care about somebody like him and Clark made sure it was for 'grand theft' and 'extortion'; stuff like that, while keeping the specifics of WHERE exactly the theft happened and from whom a secret....which Du Mond was likely to do as well, considering that if he spilled the beans to anyone, they would be a: unlikely to believe a known swindler, thief and con-artist; and b: why blab to people who would just get the info out of you, then leave you to rot while they cashed in

3. The Coaxium (a.k.a. 'plot device' ) can be mined by the locals and loaded onto the Outrunner; where once brought back to the Rebel Fleet, it can readily be processed for use.

Hope that helps.....keep up the posts and I hope everyone has a great holiday and I'll post again this weekend/early next week!

[Starbeard]

Vale Starcloud

"If all of this happened about 10 years ago, that would mean that this Du Mond could have finished his 10 year sentence by now. Does the fleet have any contacts who can locate where Du Mond is currently, or at least determine whether he is still in prison?"

[Rex]

Kit

"Grll growl urgh ..."
Translation for those who speak Wookie

"I think we must assume there will be issue and be prepared with a plan B."

[max_vale]

Secure Briefing Room to the Hangar of the Rebel Alliance Bulk Cruiser Resolve; at Alliance Rendezvous Point in Deep Space


Case Officer Lawra Mers and Captain Solanzian are both quick to eagerly support Clark's idea and they approve of the mission to have the 6 Rebels take the Outrunner to Thakis on this important, one-time cargo run to attempt to load up to 50 tons of coaxium for the Rebel Fleet (the maximum amount of cargo the ship can carry).

There is little Iridium to be found on the Rebel ships in the Battlegroup, but what there is, is quickly brought forth and put into crates and placed in the Outrunner's small cargo hold (about 2 tons worth).

Inquiries are made about anyone on the Rebel ships having any more recent info on Du Mond or any contacts with Law Enforcement in that Sector of space, but unfortunately, in the little time spent gathering gear for the mission, no more current intel is discovered as to the Thief/Con-man's status.

After a quick 'We're all counting on you and May the Force be with you' goodbye from Mers and Solanzian, the Rebel Team board the Outrunner, with Cal at the Helm and Jackson sitting next to him in the Co-pilot's chair and the others in the cramped little 'lounge' section behind the Cockpit as the little freighter flies out of the Hangar Bay, moves a bit beyond the range of the Rebel ships and then shoots into Hyperspace after Cal finishes plotting the course in to the navicomputer with Clark's assistance....

[Starbeard]

Vale Starcloud occupies his time in hyperspace practicing his telekinetic techniques blindfolded.

[Rex]

Kit

Kit will try to get Vale to tech her how to use the light sabre.

[Starbeard]

"The lightsaber is an elegant weapon, from a more enlightened age," Vale lectures from memory. "To wield it requires delicate concentration and mastery of one's own body and mind. Because of this it became the symbol of the Jedi Knights."

Happy to proselytize and increase lay appreciation for his dead mystic order, Vale does his best to instruct Kit on the basics of lightsaber use. He wonders if, one day, he might discover his own protege in the Force.