Kai's Journal #2
[encrypted holojournal, entry two]
Disaster. I found AD-88 lying prone beside the medical supplies, with a cheeky Chadra-Fan standing over him. The stowaway claimed innocence, and muttered something about a bad motivator. The Chadra-Fan's name is Keva, and he seems like he has some useful skills. I took pity on the little guy, because he is clearly running from something. And it's not like we can drop him off anywhere in the middle of hyperspace. In any case, he soon proved his worth…
Two words: Interdictor Cruiser. When we slammed back into realspace, I fell down into my chair when I saw the awesome sight of an Imperial blockade - the cruiser along with at least a full squadron of TIEs patrolling. It took me a second to realize this was just a standard checkpoint along a well-travelled hyperspace route, nothing to fear for law-abiding citizens. I spoke to them politely, we complied to a ship scan, and everything went well. I'm not sure why, perhaps to scan both ships better, but they requested we undock the Headhunter as well, so I hopped in. Apparently my suspicions about the cargo were unfounded, or at least so well hidden that it fooled us and the Imps. They cleared us and we were given the okay to carry on.
And then a second surprise. Just as we powered up to leave the checkpoint, a Skipray Blastboat reverted to realspace behind us. Slee and I accelerated as quickly as we could, recognizing a Black Skull emblazoned on its hull. The Skipray disregarded Imperial orders to stop and fired concussion missiles at the YT-1300 while accelerating hard.
I was trying to review Imperial protocols through my mind to see if we could turn this situation around, without getting into trouble ourselves - I know all about the red tape associated with unwanted Imperial attention. Red tape, or immoral bribes we can't afford to pay. I immediately notified the authorities that this was pirate scum on our heels, and I tossed in a reminder that taking down criminals is always a great way to earn a promotion. One thing that I definitely agree with the Empire on… criminals must be brought to justice. “We'll take that under advisement,” came the reply. Thanks, bureaucracy.
We briefly split up to force the Skipray to choose a target. And then I heard a cheerful squeak over the comms, and the enemy's engines whined and lurched, slowing way down. We gained a bit of distance and two small TIE fighter flight groups flew in close demanding that the newcomers stop for a scan. They fired a warning shot over its bow with no compliance - the Blastboat punched it again, only to suddenly stall out as before. Slenahn shouted encouragement over the comms, and it became clear that our newest little friend was very useful in a pinch. Suddenly the comms went crazy, and I lost contact with Slee - these criminals had a few tricks up their sleeves.
Then luck turned - it appeared as though the Blastboat actually shot down one of the TIEs, and this activated the entire squadron. Now that the Skipray proved itself to be a threat to the Empire, I decided to turn around and give the authorities a hand. After pulling a few tight maneuevers I fired a blast and my sensors noted a bit of damage on his hull. They fired back at me, but my reactions weren't too rusty and deftly evaded the attack.
Another volley of missiles hitting the freighter made me cringe, thinking about damage costs, but it didn't take long for the TIEs to overwhelm the Skipray, ending the skirmish with a few explosions. I didn't take long to dock up and after getting clearance Slenahn calculated a shortcut to Junkfort. Just before we jumped, we received a holomessage from Crim - a belated warning about the “Black Skulls” and notifying us that we'd be delivering the cargo and receiving payment from a Hutt. A Hutt! If he had mentioned that ahead of time, I'd have walked out of the Spitting Unark without a second glance. Thankfully I wrote up a standard Imperial contract, so any backstabbing will at least give us legal recourse. And even if Imperial Law isn't recognized here on the Rim, I still recognize justice and order.
We took the peace and quiet to investigate our cargo again, but it all seemed legit. I don't have a clue why this Black Skull gang is after us. Willing to die to damage us in the face of an entire Imperial squadron with a capital ship seems like madness. Then again, criminals aren't known for their quick thinking - they probably panicked when the TIEs opened fire. In any case, I took a deep breath and tried to relax, realizing things could have been much worse.
Soon we arrived at Junkfort Station. A typical commercial space station, it was clean enough and a lot more civilized than Keyorin. As soon as we arrived Bargos the Hutt's goons started unloading our cargo. In hindsight, we should have locked it up and spoke to them first, but we were still preoccupied with the Black Skull threat stalking us. Once we tracked down C3-P9, he had bad news. No credits available right now, with 2 Gamorreans fingering their axes to back him up. “But lots of creds if you come out to Rorak,” claimed the protocol droid. Yeah, right. But what else to do?
Before we left, we purchased a bit of gear, resupplied, and I borrowed a few credits from Keva. He certainly had more creds than the rest of us combined. I proceeded to the sabacc hall and picked on a few rookie players. There isn't a better sabacc training ground than the University of Alderaan. Pacificists are cooler than anyone, and students, of course, are always looking for diversions. It wasn't hard to read these amateurs. I quickly paid back Keva and pocketed my earnings - 125 creds is not bad for an hour of entertainment! In the meanwhile we did hear some interesting rumours about a Hutt winning a big pot in a recent tournament.
60 hours later we arrived in Rorak. Bargos' sandstone palace loomed up in the craggy desert. Impressive, in a crude and backwater sort of way. I'll have to show my new friends some of the sights in the Core once we get back onto our feet. At times like these I feel a tad out of place.
As I expected, we were given the same runaround - “Lots of credits available once you finish the next job”. Our discourse was interrupted by some savage Gamorreans, which we cautiously watched from cover. After the dust settled the winners grunted something about wanting payment. Deep down I was hoping they would go after the slimy Hutt; there is no honour among these types of criminals. I guess we're not the only ones Bargos owes. I tried to convince the Hutt to play some sabacc, but he wasn't interested. We questioned the Hutt further, but all we heard were blatant lies and toothy grins.
I managed to negotiate some quick repairs for the freighter, and I think we managed to grab a few droid parts that will hopefully get AD-88 back on his feet. So we are off to investigate his newly won Oridium mine for him. I'm not holding my breath for a payment - I just want to get back into neutral space and activate the breach of contract clause. But the mine sounds interesting, maybe an opportunity we can take advantage of…
