Padmé's Knight dropped out of hyperspace.. Right in the path of an
Imperial Star Destroyer.
Dodging port, Ani sent the Knight into a steep climb, carrying his ship out of the plane the ISD occupied. His training had paid off. Though acting quickly, his mind was not panicked or angry.
Strangely the ISD was not firing. No TIE's flew out to challenge him. A data stream ticked past on the conn. Ani switched the feed to audio.
·Unidentified freighter, do not panic. ISD Id Errant Venture captained by Booster Terrik. We are not Imperials. Repeat: cease evasive action. ·
All ISD's were Imperial, weren't they?
·Errant Venture- · Ani sent back, ·Respectfully, I-uh, would like to know what's going on.·
·The Errant Venture is a hyperspace capable trading depot. If your intentions are peaceful, please move to docking bay two. · The voice behind the message was obviously amused.
Ani used his newly honed abilities to search the huge ship. Nothing of the Force indicated anything evil, just the minor duplicity found in any market. Checking his fuel reserves, he decided he couldn't risk another jump. Maybe he could buy fuel.
·Landing in docking bay two. · he sent.
·Approach approved. ·
Ani eased the Knight away from all ion cannons and turbolasers in his path, just to be safe. After making a hesitant landing, he turned off the engines and started making sure all of his supplies were locked and stowed away. That done, he tucked his new lightsaber through the loops on the back of his belt. Riding horizontally, the blade was perfectly hidden by his jacket. Still, Ani knew that to come out of his ship without visible weaponry was sure to cause a close visit by the Venture's security. After rooting around in one of the hidden compartments, Ani strapped a holstered blaster to his side. Ready to go, he opened the hatch and lowered the ramp.
"Hello sir." Greeted the Twi'lek standing at the foot of the settling ramp. "Would you like me to explain the order of things aboard the Errant Venture?"
"All right."
The envoy, as he introduced himself, proceeded to explain the fact that the Venture acted as a brokering agent for various cargo and as a rest stop for passing smugglers. "Most of our guests would prefer to remain discreet, so we only ask for your name and the transponder ID for your ship. That way whenever you return, we'll know you're friendly and invite you right in." The Twi'lek smiled and twitched his long lekk in what Ani knew to be a greeting.
"Call me Ani, and this is Padmé's Knight."
"Welcome Ani. My name is Kilr'aren. How can we help you?"
"Actually, I was wondering if I could buy some fuel. Now that I have a choice, I don't want to risk another jump with the reserves so low. And I was also curious whether I could pay you in services rather than credits, I'm low."
"Sure, we'll go to the front office and see what is available. There's a list of jobs and runs to be done." Kilr'aren said.
"Thank you. At my last job, I ferried things around and fixed any mechanical problems that came up."
"That sounds fine Ani. Welcome aboard. Please, leave your blaster. You won't need it. No one goes armed here."
"Absolutely no one?" After receiving an affirmative answer, Ani sighed and left his blaster inside the hatch. Before leaving the ramp, he securely locked the door with a special lock only accessible by Jedi.
The docking bay was not at all how he had imagined the inside of a Star destroyer to look. Ships of all origins, shapes, sizes and colors were neatly arranged in rows. Other than that there was no precise military decorum. The place was a riot of shouting running, laughing and all sorts of commotion. Sentients from all corners of the galaxy were loading, unloading and just having a good time.
Kilr'aren directed him to the converted control deck they called an office. The transparasteel windows provided an excellent view of the ships and personnel below. "Ani, this is Silijar Haln'lya." Kilr'aren said, introducing the female Bothan behind the desk. "Silijar, this is Ani. He came in on the Padmé's Knight." All of them glanced out the window. Scanning the area around the Knight, they saw that the ship was drawing a sizeable crowd.
"What are they doing to my ship?" Ani calmly asked, grateful for the lock.
"They're looking at it." Silijar smiled reassuringly. "Most smuggler ships are, well- a little rough when it comes to their hull plating. Yours fit together very smoothly and looks to be made of quantum armor. Not a lot of laser burns though. Hasn't seen combat. Good hull, but how fast does she go?"
"Eh. She goes pretty good. Got a lot of quirks though. Some systems are high maintenance."
"Well hyperspace can be pretty boring if you don't have anything to do. What can I do for you?"
Kilr'aren spoke up. "Ani needs a job to pay off a cache of fuel we're selling him."
"All right Ani." Silijar started calling up menus on the terminal in front of her. "What can you do?"
"I'm a fair pilot and I'm not too bad at fixing things. I did some repair work at my last job."
"Well, let's see what's available." Looking at all the menus she'd called up, there were only a couple jobs that would match the price of the fuel. "Did you want an assignment to cover just the cost of the fuel or would you be willing to have the sum detracted from what we'd pay you for a larger job?"
"It would depend on the job. There are some things I won't do. As well as some places I won't go."
Such an adamant statement didn't seem to faze the Bothan a bit.
"Most people are like that. We won't ask who you're running from."
"Who said-?"
"No one. Most smugglers are on the run from security on at least one world."
Ani nodded in understanding. This was a smugglers hideout. That's why they'd mistaken him for one.
"Well, there's a run to."
"Excuse me Silijar? I'd rather not smuggle anything, if you don't mind. I want to stay off the radar."
"Well, if you do it right, no one would know anything had happened." She smiled. "No problem, though. Let's see." She scrolled down the list. "There is a legitimate shipment to be delivered to Corellia. No contraband, just parts. We would send a courier that the recipient would recognize; you would just fly them there. Since you would be already be on Corellia, would you mind picking up some errands for us. It would save us time and earn you a bonus."
"Corellia, I can do that. It's about a day in hyperspace. What's the cargo and what's the errand?"
"A hyperdrive regulator with databanks. We have a list of items to be picked up. I'll print out a flim."
"This buyer cannot get a hyperdrive in-system? I was under the impression that there was a depot of spare parts in that area." Ani felt the Force running through and around the lady.
"It's not illegal."
She wasn't lying. But of course, someone could have lied to her. "Okay, but I say where the ship goes and when and what comes aboard. Agreed?"
"No problem. There's a courier that goes with the cargo. He'll come back with you and you'll get paid. Give us the day to prepare things." Glancing at the Twi'lek she said, "Kilr'aren, can you take Ani to meet Gilad? He should be on emerald level." As he nodded, the Twi'lek twitched one of his brain tails eloquently. Silijar turned back to Ani. "Gilad is the courier that's going with you. Good flying."
Kilr'aren led Ani to a turbolift and it started to rise to Emerald level. On the way, Kilr'aren explained that there were several decks in the huge ship with areas sectioned off for commercial businesses. Each section had casinos, shops, tapcafes, cantinas, hotels and the like catering to different classes of clientele. The most expensive shops were at Diamond level, the least at Brown. In other areas of the decks were maintenance, utility and crew quarters. Below Brown was storage, docking bays, and places to buy ship supplies. Visitors had free reign of the commercial areas of the decks but needed passes to access anything else.
Pilots and other regulars would spend downtime in the casinos or at the sabbacc tables trying to break the bank.
Getting off the turbolift Ani got his first taste of life on the Errant Venture. First off, it was crowded and loud. Some popular tune floated out of one of the open doors. The whole place was a riot of color layered on over the stark Imperial white. Ironically, being 'Emerald level', the only thing that was solid green was the hatch to the turbolift.
Most of the noise came from the sets of casinos and ristorantes directly off the turbolift. Kilr'aren took Ani further back down the hall and around a corner. It got progressively quieter as they walked. Rooms were available for rent in the area they were passing through. Finally, in the last turn of the hall, along a hushed corridor, were small convenience shops selling decently priced clothing, food, flims, holo-paraphernalia; and also a couple small pubs. In one of these was where Gilad hung out.
"This is amazing. And every deck has a setup like this? How long has the Venture been in operation?" Ani asked, curious.
"Booster got it as spoils of war after helping Rogue Squadron defeat Isard at Thyferra." Kilr'aren explained.
"Oh yeah, I remember someone mentioning that. That was only about a year ago, right? How did all this get set up so quickly?"
"Booster is very well connected."
They stepped through the sliding door into a dimly lit lounge. Kilr'aren glanced around, peering into dark corners and along all the couches and tables. Finally he strode over to a man deep in a recent edition of a flimcast. The man was so intent on the news that he didn't even notice their approach until the Twi'lek pulled up a chair for Ani to sit in before sitting down himself.
"Greetings Gilad! Silijar found a ship and pilot for you. Is it alright if you go tomorrow?"
The man called Gilad looked up, annoyed. "You couldn't wait to interrupt me? I was doing something."
"There'll be plenty of time to read on the trip to Corellia. I want you to meet Ani."
Gilad turned his accusing stare to Ani. "You're new."
Okay, let's skip the pleasantries. "Yes, I just arrived. Good to meet you." Ani extended his hand in the ancient greeting.
Gilad ignored it, looking back at Kilr'aren. "You trust this job to a rookie?"
"I was told that there was no smuggling involved." Now it was Ani's turn to stare at Kilr'aren.
"There isn't. It's just that the shipment is to Corellia, and the Dikat is still loyal to the Empire. Any ships suspected of Republic or smuggling affiliations are impounded and its crew detained." Kilr'aren spoke quietly and calmly, as if flying into an Imp stronghold was an everyday occurrence. Well, he worked with smugglers, it probably was.
"There's a lot of fancy flying involved, ships need permits and pilots are questioned by the Imperial patrol. If we were smuggling we could bypass all that."
"I will not have my ship blown apart for 'invasion without a permit'. I put too much work into her."
Gilad turned to look Ani squarely in the face. "You are an unknown quanity. By flying with you I risk my freedom and Booster's property. I don't know how you act under pressure, if you have a record or if you know a hyperdrive from a holoprojector. I don't trust you."
"Is this an urgent delivery?" Ani asked calmly. It would do him no good to get offended by the other man's rudeness. Kilr'aren twitched a lekk. Glancing at Gilad, Ani spoke, the barest hint of amusement on his face. "Then, we have no choice, do we?"
Dodging port, Ani sent the Knight into a steep climb, carrying his ship out of the plane the ISD occupied. His training had paid off. Though acting quickly, his mind was not panicked or angry.
Strangely the ISD was not firing. No TIE's flew out to challenge him. A data stream ticked past on the conn. Ani switched the feed to audio.
·Unidentified freighter, do not panic. ISD Id Errant Venture captained by Booster Terrik. We are not Imperials. Repeat: cease evasive action. ·
All ISD's were Imperial, weren't they?
·Errant Venture- · Ani sent back, ·Respectfully, I-uh, would like to know what's going on.·
·The Errant Venture is a hyperspace capable trading depot. If your intentions are peaceful, please move to docking bay two. · The voice behind the message was obviously amused.
Ani used his newly honed abilities to search the huge ship. Nothing of the Force indicated anything evil, just the minor duplicity found in any market. Checking his fuel reserves, he decided he couldn't risk another jump. Maybe he could buy fuel.
·Landing in docking bay two. · he sent.
·Approach approved. ·
Ani eased the Knight away from all ion cannons and turbolasers in his path, just to be safe. After making a hesitant landing, he turned off the engines and started making sure all of his supplies were locked and stowed away. That done, he tucked his new lightsaber through the loops on the back of his belt. Riding horizontally, the blade was perfectly hidden by his jacket. Still, Ani knew that to come out of his ship without visible weaponry was sure to cause a close visit by the Venture's security. After rooting around in one of the hidden compartments, Ani strapped a holstered blaster to his side. Ready to go, he opened the hatch and lowered the ramp.
"Hello sir." Greeted the Twi'lek standing at the foot of the settling ramp. "Would you like me to explain the order of things aboard the Errant Venture?"
"All right."
The envoy, as he introduced himself, proceeded to explain the fact that the Venture acted as a brokering agent for various cargo and as a rest stop for passing smugglers. "Most of our guests would prefer to remain discreet, so we only ask for your name and the transponder ID for your ship. That way whenever you return, we'll know you're friendly and invite you right in." The Twi'lek smiled and twitched his long lekk in what Ani knew to be a greeting.
"Call me Ani, and this is Padmé's Knight."
"Welcome Ani. My name is Kilr'aren. How can we help you?"
"Actually, I was wondering if I could buy some fuel. Now that I have a choice, I don't want to risk another jump with the reserves so low. And I was also curious whether I could pay you in services rather than credits, I'm low."
"Sure, we'll go to the front office and see what is available. There's a list of jobs and runs to be done." Kilr'aren said.
"Thank you. At my last job, I ferried things around and fixed any mechanical problems that came up."
"That sounds fine Ani. Welcome aboard. Please, leave your blaster. You won't need it. No one goes armed here."
"Absolutely no one?" After receiving an affirmative answer, Ani sighed and left his blaster inside the hatch. Before leaving the ramp, he securely locked the door with a special lock only accessible by Jedi.
The docking bay was not at all how he had imagined the inside of a Star destroyer to look. Ships of all origins, shapes, sizes and colors were neatly arranged in rows. Other than that there was no precise military decorum. The place was a riot of shouting running, laughing and all sorts of commotion. Sentients from all corners of the galaxy were loading, unloading and just having a good time.
Kilr'aren directed him to the converted control deck they called an office. The transparasteel windows provided an excellent view of the ships and personnel below. "Ani, this is Silijar Haln'lya." Kilr'aren said, introducing the female Bothan behind the desk. "Silijar, this is Ani. He came in on the Padmé's Knight." All of them glanced out the window. Scanning the area around the Knight, they saw that the ship was drawing a sizeable crowd.
"What are they doing to my ship?" Ani calmly asked, grateful for the lock.
"They're looking at it." Silijar smiled reassuringly. "Most smuggler ships are, well- a little rough when it comes to their hull plating. Yours fit together very smoothly and looks to be made of quantum armor. Not a lot of laser burns though. Hasn't seen combat. Good hull, but how fast does she go?"
"Eh. She goes pretty good. Got a lot of quirks though. Some systems are high maintenance."
"Well hyperspace can be pretty boring if you don't have anything to do. What can I do for you?"
Kilr'aren spoke up. "Ani needs a job to pay off a cache of fuel we're selling him."
"All right Ani." Silijar started calling up menus on the terminal in front of her. "What can you do?"
"I'm a fair pilot and I'm not too bad at fixing things. I did some repair work at my last job."
"Well, let's see what's available." Looking at all the menus she'd called up, there were only a couple jobs that would match the price of the fuel. "Did you want an assignment to cover just the cost of the fuel or would you be willing to have the sum detracted from what we'd pay you for a larger job?"
"It would depend on the job. There are some things I won't do. As well as some places I won't go."
Such an adamant statement didn't seem to faze the Bothan a bit.
"Most people are like that. We won't ask who you're running from."
"Who said-?"
"No one. Most smugglers are on the run from security on at least one world."
Ani nodded in understanding. This was a smugglers hideout. That's why they'd mistaken him for one.
"Well, there's a run to."
"Excuse me Silijar? I'd rather not smuggle anything, if you don't mind. I want to stay off the radar."
"Well, if you do it right, no one would know anything had happened." She smiled. "No problem, though. Let's see." She scrolled down the list. "There is a legitimate shipment to be delivered to Corellia. No contraband, just parts. We would send a courier that the recipient would recognize; you would just fly them there. Since you would be already be on Corellia, would you mind picking up some errands for us. It would save us time and earn you a bonus."
"Corellia, I can do that. It's about a day in hyperspace. What's the cargo and what's the errand?"
"A hyperdrive regulator with databanks. We have a list of items to be picked up. I'll print out a flim."
"This buyer cannot get a hyperdrive in-system? I was under the impression that there was a depot of spare parts in that area." Ani felt the Force running through and around the lady.
"It's not illegal."
She wasn't lying. But of course, someone could have lied to her. "Okay, but I say where the ship goes and when and what comes aboard. Agreed?"
"No problem. There's a courier that goes with the cargo. He'll come back with you and you'll get paid. Give us the day to prepare things." Glancing at the Twi'lek she said, "Kilr'aren, can you take Ani to meet Gilad? He should be on emerald level." As he nodded, the Twi'lek twitched one of his brain tails eloquently. Silijar turned back to Ani. "Gilad is the courier that's going with you. Good flying."
Kilr'aren led Ani to a turbolift and it started to rise to Emerald level. On the way, Kilr'aren explained that there were several decks in the huge ship with areas sectioned off for commercial businesses. Each section had casinos, shops, tapcafes, cantinas, hotels and the like catering to different classes of clientele. The most expensive shops were at Diamond level, the least at Brown. In other areas of the decks were maintenance, utility and crew quarters. Below Brown was storage, docking bays, and places to buy ship supplies. Visitors had free reign of the commercial areas of the decks but needed passes to access anything else.
Pilots and other regulars would spend downtime in the casinos or at the sabbacc tables trying to break the bank.
Getting off the turbolift Ani got his first taste of life on the Errant Venture. First off, it was crowded and loud. Some popular tune floated out of one of the open doors. The whole place was a riot of color layered on over the stark Imperial white. Ironically, being 'Emerald level', the only thing that was solid green was the hatch to the turbolift.
Most of the noise came from the sets of casinos and ristorantes directly off the turbolift. Kilr'aren took Ani further back down the hall and around a corner. It got progressively quieter as they walked. Rooms were available for rent in the area they were passing through. Finally, in the last turn of the hall, along a hushed corridor, were small convenience shops selling decently priced clothing, food, flims, holo-paraphernalia; and also a couple small pubs. In one of these was where Gilad hung out.
"This is amazing. And every deck has a setup like this? How long has the Venture been in operation?" Ani asked, curious.
"Booster got it as spoils of war after helping Rogue Squadron defeat Isard at Thyferra." Kilr'aren explained.
"Oh yeah, I remember someone mentioning that. That was only about a year ago, right? How did all this get set up so quickly?"
"Booster is very well connected."
They stepped through the sliding door into a dimly lit lounge. Kilr'aren glanced around, peering into dark corners and along all the couches and tables. Finally he strode over to a man deep in a recent edition of a flimcast. The man was so intent on the news that he didn't even notice their approach until the Twi'lek pulled up a chair for Ani to sit in before sitting down himself.
"Greetings Gilad! Silijar found a ship and pilot for you. Is it alright if you go tomorrow?"
The man called Gilad looked up, annoyed. "You couldn't wait to interrupt me? I was doing something."
"There'll be plenty of time to read on the trip to Corellia. I want you to meet Ani."
Gilad turned his accusing stare to Ani. "You're new."
Okay, let's skip the pleasantries. "Yes, I just arrived. Good to meet you." Ani extended his hand in the ancient greeting.
Gilad ignored it, looking back at Kilr'aren. "You trust this job to a rookie?"
"I was told that there was no smuggling involved." Now it was Ani's turn to stare at Kilr'aren.
"There isn't. It's just that the shipment is to Corellia, and the Dikat is still loyal to the Empire. Any ships suspected of Republic or smuggling affiliations are impounded and its crew detained." Kilr'aren spoke quietly and calmly, as if flying into an Imp stronghold was an everyday occurrence. Well, he worked with smugglers, it probably was.
"There's a lot of fancy flying involved, ships need permits and pilots are questioned by the Imperial patrol. If we were smuggling we could bypass all that."
"I will not have my ship blown apart for 'invasion without a permit'. I put too much work into her."
Gilad turned to look Ani squarely in the face. "You are an unknown quanity. By flying with you I risk my freedom and Booster's property. I don't know how you act under pressure, if you have a record or if you know a hyperdrive from a holoprojector. I don't trust you."
"Is this an urgent delivery?" Ani asked calmly. It would do him no good to get offended by the other man's rudeness. Kilr'aren twitched a lekk. Glancing at Gilad, Ani spoke, the barest hint of amusement on his face. "Then, we have no choice, do we?"