"He means have you had any grand adventures to regale us with?"
replies Jace as he works to position the good son the lift.
"Never thought I would be doing this with the rest of my life..." he states grunting.
Just our first job Jarl. Don't worry. I've actually been meaning to ask you all how you feel about, well, jobs under the radar.
Daaneth will pause and make sure their buyer hasn't arrived yet.
There's a sizeable black market here. I'm not talking spice or slavery, He practically spits both of those words out, I'd never take jobs like that, but some of these smuggling runs pay much better than legitimate work and it sticks one to the Empire, which by now I've realized none of us are particularly fond of. Sometimes it's even real simple stuff. One time I smuggled a handful of videos of Twi'lek girls to some fanatical religious colony on a small moon.
He stops moving the cargo and looks at the crew with a serious face. Fialla said we could take whatever jobs we want, so I'm leaving this to group vote. Are we straight and narrow, or willing to push the limits?
We are a nomadic people. Sembia's surface is covered with shallow seas and volcanic islands. There were vast gardens of coral and valuable crystal in the hottest of Sembla's oceans, and these are often targeted by off-world miners. So if my family is still there they would be difficult to locate.
The vurk will simply nod.
The door to the landing bay suddenly pings, and a voice says, "Halfgrin Construction. Here to pick up a delivery."
Use the Force to detect the intentions of people on the other side.
Let's table this conversation for now. At least I've got Vessani's vote.
Daaneth will head over to let Halfgrins men onto the cargo bay,
We've got your stuff all set up to go guys. Tell your employer we said thanks for the business.
"Thanks. Everything looks good. Where do I sign?"
Here you go. Sign here and we're good. Say you guys know if anyone looking to hire and transport crews? Or maybe a good cantina in the area? We've been hoped up in this ship for four days I'm sure we'd all like to see some sights. Maybe get a few drinks.
"If it's cargo transport you're looking for, try the Merchant's Combine. Usually a couple dozen merchants looking for someone to haul goods somewhere. It's about half a klick down the road. For a cantina, the Hyperburst caters to a lot of spacers."
Signing the datapad, the construction crew loads up the crates and gets into their speeder trucks and leaves.
As the construction crew heads away leaving the group alone Jarl turns to Daaneth, "Long as we are not taking slaves I am fine with any cargo we take on board. What is illegal in one sector may be illegal in another, its all in the eye of the beholder I say.
Do we think this ship has enough firepower though if we run into more aggressive crews of spacers?"
"This ship doesn't have enough anything." NT-2B states flatly, "stepping" outside the ship as the crew heads away. He runs some calculations based on what Jarl states about legality. "Some medicines are illegal in some sectors due to how they are made." He muses, applying the soldier's sentiment to his own experiences. "Therefore, I find transport of illegal materials acceptable."
Medicines! You know I'm coming around to this droid business. If they're all like you I may even get one myself one day! Keeps us clean with the people, and we kick the Imperial.
He rubs his chin a bit in concentration. Problem is, I never made contacts with my old crew. I was the get a way guy. Stayed in the boat, and made sure everything was running when we had to scrap. I could put out a word to Teeka, my old captain, to see if she'd share any info, but she's still mad at me so that's unlikely. Any ideas on how to find that kind of work?
Speaking of making contact, Daaneth makes sure to send word to Fialla that the cargo has arrived and to make sure their pay is delivered.
"If your friend does not have any leads," Jeren offers, also adding, "or does not want to share the ones she has, I suppose we could always try the Combine."
"We should, however, also keep in mind the ship probably needs some...," he continues, looking at NT-2B and nodding in agreement, "...well, improvements. We may not be able to afford them at the moment, but we should perhaps see if anyone willing to hire us might be interested in paying not only in credits, but goods as well." He smiles at the droid. "Such as medicine or medical equipment, legal or otherwise."
All solid points boys. Lets head down to the Combine, maybe pick up a passenger or two, make things a bit interesting. If we strike out, I'm sure we can find some trouble and the Hyperburst.
He checks over the cargo bay one more time to make sure everything is gone and nothing was overlooked. Not2bee, remember to keep a listen for any chatter from our friend back in Krai Ven.
Walking down the road to the Merchant's Combine, you see that, while not as busy as some others you've been to, Daplona Spaceport is nonetheless active. You see other crews wandering the walk, customs teams entering docking bays, and maintenance crews moving about. At a glance, you see minimal Imperial presence, for all the planet is a sector capital and sided with the CIS during the Clone Wars.
After a short walk, you come to a large building, with a large sign that reads "Merchant's Combine". Upon entry, your senses are overwhelmed with sounds and smells. It appears that the Combine, in addition to being a place for merchants to hire transport for goods, is also a marketplace, with vendors calling out and advertising food, clothing, comlinks, and other sundries. From what you can see, the place looks to be a maze of kiosks, storefronts, and people. Lots of people.
During the walk, you notice that, despite the lack of visible boots on the ground, there are a lot of security cameras, as well as weapon sensors at various points. You doubt Daplona encouraged their installation.
As they walk towards the Merchant's Combine, Jeren scans the people and the surroundings both. It is a good thing that he does so.
"Keep in mind," he says in a low voice, quickening his pace to move next to Daaneth, "that the place is under scrutiny. There may be no Imperials walking about, but there are more than enough security cameras in their place. Not to mention weapon sensors to complement them."
He smiles thinly. "I hardly think it was Daplona that encouraged their installation, all things considered."
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"What a lovely place," Vessani said to his companions as they walked along the pathways. "And the smells are exotic, to put it mildly..." Shaking his head, he glanced around the Combine as they entered. He whistled at the busy area, people rushing to and fro on business. It was almost like a battleground, all the motion and sound.
Vessani shook his head as he spotted the various security devices around the Combine. That was just bad for business, in his mind. It kept people from conducting real business and reduced them to basically just making contacts. Which, of course, is still useful. He just shrugged. Wasn't his problem yet.
"Thanks for the heads up Jeren. I knew something was up but I couldn't quite pin it down." He ducked a merchant spraying something misty in the air and glared at another one selling imitation Togruta headpieces.
"I've got a bad feeling about this. Let's look around here for some info. Spread up but stay in sight of at least two other crew members. If you find anyone who works on ships let me know ASAP. I can probably haggle the price a bit, maybe get us off this rock sooner."
Perception check
The vurk notices the security and the cameras but acts as if he does not. He will walk with his companions.
Perception
You also hear that those looking for transport jobs should check the listing for the central kiosk.
Let me know what you want to buy.
You walk through the market, simply taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. As you pass by one stall selling trinkets, you hear a low voice saying, "Yes, it's genuine. No one else on the planet can sell you a collector's item like this. A Jedi even used it during the Clone Wars."
Perhaps the Force has guided you to this point?
Perception
perception check.
Contacting the group via his comlinks hell start looking for them. Looks like I failed to follow my own advice guys, I'll start making my way back to you. I'm told transport missions will be listed on the central Kiosk, if you boys run into one of them before I do, give it a once over and see about potential employers.
Daaneth shakes his head and laughs at himself. Togruta don't typically get seperate from their pack, and here he was, by himself.
Jarl is likely with Not2bee, so they'll be the easiest to find.
"Of course, Warrior Poet. I would be happy to. Cloaked Wisdom was correct, though. If the security systems in the open are any indication, there may be quite a bit within the terminals as well. Still, I shall endeavour to do my best. Keep an eye out in case of trouble."
As the group separates within reason, Jeren moves about the market, checking back from time to time to make sure than he can still see his companions. It takes him a few minutes, but he does manage to locate a merchant that seems to be selling mostly survival gear among other knicks and knacks. Acting the interested customer, he takes a little time browsing the items on display before addressing the owner himself.
"Good day," he says with a smile. "How is business? Hopefully doing well despite what I am sure are... new circumstances." Although he does not actually come out and say it, it is more than a little obvious he is referring to the various surveillance and security systems.
"I am looking for an aquata breather," he continues, giving the merchant a minute or two to comment on his previous remark if he so chooses. "Also, if you have a survival knife I can exchange my own knife for, that would also be great. I would of course pay the difference."
Looking slightly confused, the Toydarian says, "There is nothing new here. I don't know what you're talking about. As for supplies, I have an excellent selection for you to consider." Flying over to one side of his table, he says, "I have a wide variety of survival knives. Ciutric IV has some places where people like to go camping and such, but I don't quite understand wanting to leave civilization to sleep in a tent." He chuckles at his comment and shows you what really is quite a variety of survival knives.
The console has a standard interface, and is designed to be used by spacers to look up possible cargos. You find a list of a dozen merchants asking to transport various luxury goods, from sunfruit liqueur to exotic furs. As you look at the list, Daaneth walks up.
As you get to the information kiosk, you find Jarl and the droid have already beaten you there.
" Well, you guys weren't that hard to find! Anything interesting? Everyone I talked to just told me to check here for jobs. Couldn't find anything under the radar." He shrugs at the last bit.
"Suppose there's nothing wrong with taking another legitimate job in the meantime."
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"This seems adequate," he says with a friendly enough expression. 'No reason to seem too eager, I suppose,' he thinks to himself. 'No reason to even be too eager truthfully. As long as it does the job.'
The vurk will go and see what is going on as he spies the hilt.
** spoiler omitted **
[ooc]Yes, it should have. Typed the wrong name.
"I found merchants asking for a lot of things that we don't have. Certainly we could make a trip of going to get some of these things and bringing them back. But of course there will always be the risk of someone else beating us to it."
"I could also check for potentially cheap items that we could buy and sell elsewhere, but of course it is a gamble where they will be useful. Wrapped Hands loved playing those kinds of games. Unfortunately, we lack any kind of reputation at current."
"Perhaps I should look specifically for a transport run, where the arrangements have all already been made, similar to this job? Ordinarily I would have simply run all of these simulations, but to describe this technology as difficult would be an understatement."
Daaneth sighs a bit at the droids tiring conversational skills, but he knows he means well. He looks around to see if he can spot the rest of his crew.
The vurk will use the force to search his feelings as to what to do
Hand on his chin, he appears to think on it for a few moments, his eyes moving from the breather to the knife to other knives. "How about this? The aquata breather and the knife for... say, 400 credits and my knife? It has barely seen any use as you can see for yourself. I am sure you will sell it in no time and make a profit as well. How does that sound?"