[IC] Star Wars: Of Spice and Men

fadingathedges

The Wide Berth hung silent in space, making final preparations to jump as the tugs and loading droids completed the stowage of ore in the ship's lower holds. A full 20,000 metric tons worth of space were still dedicated to bulk mineral transport. The upper half of the ship's decks were teeming with passengers - half and again as many sentients as could comfortably fit the old Action III's capacity had the ship been outfitted to carry passengers on all decks. Migrant workers, travelers, and beings of all types seeking to disappear from one point on the outer rim and appear at another found the Berth an affordable, if pungent solution.

It was a good setup as far as Captain Treio Boonka was concerned - cramped, but profitable. Boonka, a shrewd Duro hailing from the mid rim, had a few simple rules that kept things running. He ran Berth with as loose a hand as he could, finding that skimming gently from the microcosm of establishments which sprung up to support his passengers to be the smoothest route to easy credits. He didn't ask questions. Whenever possible, he didn't answer questions. He knew when to cut his losses - and how... but most of all, he was very, very good at finding what motivated people. Above all else, this was why The Wide Berth still sails.

This was the way it had been for years.


In the starfield to the ship's fore, a pinpoint of light blinked momentarily as a small transport dropped out of hyperspace. Boonka's cheek twitched. A mining belt in the middle of deadspace was an odd place for an unscheduled rendezvous.

"Captain, we're being hailed... and requested... the pilot is requesting a bay to dock in, sir."
"Tell him we're full up, and he'd be best off heading for Nimban if he's short on supplies. I don't want-"
"Sir, this craft is a small luxury yacht apparently belonging to the Anobis Mining Consortium. They own rights to over 30% of the ore in this belt... and our hold."

Boonka's cheek twitched again. Opportunity? Trouble? Both? He winced. Inspection?

"Our commission with them seems to paid up to date, I don't know why there would be any sort-"
"Alright, let him aboard. Pressurize G-63 and route the rock that was scheduled there for... damn it... just jettison it. I swear, it's like throwing cold cred into the star ocean. Get someone to meet him on the deck. Find out what the blazes he wants, how long he's going to be on board, and get him on his way. And charge him for whatever he's costing us. And more. And keep him away from me. We jump on schedule."

Xam El Barin sighed, relieved, as the ANM-03 settled to the deck inside the massive cargo ship and began her power down sequence. Structurally, the ship was in good shape - near perfect in fact. Until recently the craft was used almost exclusively as a touring vessel, a mobile meeting place making short jumps to Anobis Mining Consortium holdings and excavation sites with a retinue of prospective clients and a stocked bar.

The nav computer was another matter entirely. In it's limited role the system had never been serviced or maintained, and it had failed. The only potential hyperspace destinations Xam had to work with were those hard-wired into the system memory. This consisted of a short list of mining sites, remote offworld corporate holdings, and Xam's point of origin: the planet Anobis. Finding this dreg-hauler (privately owned ships commissioned to pick up & sell the scraps after large ore haulers could not be bothered for a partial load) was a brilliant stroke of luck after 5 weeks of jumping to nothing - and perhaps the only thing that saved Xam from having to return to Anobis empty handed and swallow his pride.

Outside the ship, Xam could see a lanky human approach across the otherwise deserted hangar. The man wore a creased grey uniform unbuttoned at the collar and carried a datapad, which he consulted as he examined the ANM and waited for Xam to disembark.

Xam: In addition to the whole what do I want to do with myself? aspect of your newfound travels and freedom, you are in dire need of a new Nav Computer - the whole component is fried, a repair will not do - and supplies for your ship.
In case, for no particular reason, it should matter: the fact that your ship is very distinct and traceable is also a concern in the back of your mind.

Your equipment looks fine, but add an additional 3,000 credits.

If you have questions etc you can PM me. The OOC will go up later this weekish.

Maximus

Swallowing his nervousness, Xam schooled his face into an neutral expression. Lowering the ramp, he walked down and walked up to the human waiting near the ship. He quickly walked up and presented himself to the technician.

I'm wondering if I bluff or play it straight.

fadingathedges

Xam walked down the lowering ramp as it hissed down. The chill of the vacuum which had just been filled still remained in the small hangar, and Xam could see his breath in the cold air.

The man looked up from his datapad as Xam approached, and offered his hand in greeting.
"Welcome aboard," the man said with a forced smile, "it's always a pleasure" he lied "to have a visitor from one of our business partners."

"My name is, uh - " he consulted the badge on his rumbled uniform "Lieutenant? Yes, lieutenant Cibiri. You'll have to forgive me, I know it's policy and all but we don't get much use for official ranks out here. 'Cept for the Captain of course - who happens to be a very bust man. As such, I'm at your disposal to answer any questions you might have and the like." Cibiri paused a moment. "So you're from A.M.C.? I didn't catch your name, did I? What brings you to The Wide Berth?"

Maximus

Here we go

Smiling, Xam said "Necessity is the only reason I'm here, Lieutenant. I'm on a personal assignment by a member of the board. The ship's nav computer has died and I require it to be either repaired or replaced as soon as possible, so I can continue my mission."

fadingathedges

Cibiri's eyebrows raised.
"Unfortunately we don't stock nav computers for your class of ship - not standard, anyhow. I'm sure we have some parts that might help, and we could provide a tech to assist you of course... hmm, this is troubling."
Cibiri frowned as he tapped through his datapad, "It seems Baudo used an off-grade military navcomp in your model of star yacht - a smaller system, something about saving space for a deluxe caf machine?" He seemed to stifle a smirk.
"The bottom line is you're looking for something hard to find, and replacement parts from a standard nav aren't likely going to fit."

Cibiri sighed and scratched his head.
"Worst case scenario, you can land and get what you need somewhere along our route ahead, but I'm afraid that won't be anytime soon, nor cheap. Oh, right - before I forget, this hangar will run you the standard rate, bill to be paid at each leg of the journey for which you stay on. Assuming your depart at the next stop, we're talking around 4,000 credits, give or take." He smiled politely. "We don't expect that will be a problem for you, of course. As for your system, your best luck would be to check with the other passengers. You might be surprised to find the level of commerce that occurs on our passenger decks. I can't direct you anywhere specific I'm afraid, but a man of your means should have no difficulty finding what he requires, if it is to be found at all."

Cibiri draws a slow breath. "As to your assignment - is that something that involves the Berth, sir, or were you just passing through? That is to say - if there is anything I can do to... expedite your depa-" he amends quickly, "your success... I would be glad to assist."

For clarity - The Wide Berth is not owned by Anobis Mining, they are an independent freighter who hire out to clean up the scraps after Anobis (and other companies') larger haulers have moved the majority of a location's resources. You can't exactly give them orders but it is in their interests to stay on the good side of anyone representing AMC. Also: You can use Invisible Castle and roll a Persuasion or Deception check at your discretion - basically if you want to get more out of him than he seems to be willing to offer on any given point.

Maximus

Smiling, Xam said, "I know what you meant Lieutenant. I'm sure your Captain wants me off his ship as soon as possible. Any help that you or any of the crew can give will be appreciated. That said, I should head to the passenger compartment to find someone able to help me. Which way is it?"

Sorry about the lateness, I was dealing with someone trying to break into my house and things got a little hectic.
I'm just going to see what I can find in the passenger compartment right now. Let me know if I'm doing anything wrong.

fadingathedges

Sorry it has taken so long to post.

My workplace has installed a firewall from hell, thus my disappearance. ;/ I was determined not to let my game fall into the falls-apart-before-page-two bin with so many others, but I cannot reliably post without access at my work >.< Sorry all, that's a wrap..... for now!