Cannonball Run

[My-rah Jade]

MAKEB

​

In the space orbiting Makeb, there suddenly appeared a ship. A blink and one would have missed it. One second there was nothing, and the next, the most beautiful ship one could ever hope to see in the galaxy. That's how My-Rah saw it at least. My-Rah Jade flipped a few switches and checked her monitors in the cockpit of the Shangri-la as the ship's hyperdrive shut down and the sublight engines took over propulsion, flying the ship along at a still-impressive rate given the ship's size. Sunlight gleamed off the clear transparisteel that surrounded the entire cockpit and made My-Rah squint and dim the windows slightly. It had been a long journey, and she had just woken up. It was about five cups of caff too early for that kind of sunshine in her book.

My-Rah gazed down at the planet below as she performed some final checks to ensure that the hyperdrive hadn't taken any abnormal wear and tear. Makeb was a water world, dotted with numerous, small continents. Word was that electromagnetic interference was bad in many places. She had also heard that many of the cities on the planet were perched on large stone pillars that occurred naturally around the planet.

That's where she was headed. Isotope-5 was what My-Rah was after here. So far, My-Rah didn't have any contacts on Makeb. She wouldn't be able to deal with the refineries directly, at least not yet. She would have to make her first run into one of the major cities and hope that there was someone there she could bribe into packing her ship with the Isotope and letting her mosey along her way without paying for it. It'd be fine. There was almost always someone like that. Grabbing the helm, My-Ray swung the prow of the ship down and kicked the sublight engines up to full power, sending her ship swooping down towards the planet below.

 

[My-rah Jade]

​

My-Rah piloted the Shangri-la through the atmosphere with ease, bringing her into a comfortable cruising altitude above the mountains and valleys of Makeb. In the distance, she could see one of the large pillar-like formations that she had heard about. Those were supposed to be where the cities were located on this planet. Looking at her scanners, she could see that there were several landing beacons active in that location. Definitely a city with a pretty sizable port it seemed. That's where she needed to go.

Suddenly, two smaller craft buzzed overhead of her ship, sending vibrations through the vessel and every bone in her body. They certainly did want to make an entrance, it seemed. Her comms system came to life. "Unidentified... What is that? A Corvette? Send us your identification and state your business!" Boy, they seemed flustered. Probably not used to seeing a ship of this size that wasn't clearly a freighter before. My-Rah pressed the button on her comms board. "Oh, wow! Thanks for calling my ship a corvette! That's high praise! Unfortunately she's not really qualified to be a corvette. More like a brig than anything. But then, the Anaxes War College doesn't recognize 'Brig' as a classification, so... Who knows? Anyway, my identification is sent, you should be receiving it now. The Shangri-la registered out of Worlport on Ord Mantell. She's a freighter boys, no need for alarm. I'm just an independent businesswoman coming in to do some trading and make some purchases at your nearest business port if that's alright?"

A moment passed and then the fighter-pilot's voice came in over the comms again. "Very well, we'll escort you into a trading port, but be prepared to have your ship inspected on arrival. I may buy your story about it being a freighter, but it still seems... peculiar." "Not a problem! Locking on landing beacon now. I'll follow your lead boys. Have a nice day!" It really wasn't a problem. My-Rah's ship was empty right now. That's he issue she was coming here to Makeb to rectify.

 

[My-rah Jade]

My-Rah guided the ship in towards the port city that the fighters had brought her to. As she brought the ship in for a calm, standard (boring) landing, the fighters buzzed overhead once more and flew away. My-Rah could see the inspector with his two armed guards standing at the edge of the landing platform as she lowered the landing gear. No time to ditch anything. Not that she had anything to ditch. But good to know for the future.

As the Shangri-la settled, My-Rah flipped some switches above her head dropping both the boarding lift and the cargo lift. The cargo hold of the Shangri-la couldn't hold as much as some of her peers could, but the entire floor of the hold dropped down as a massive lift to ground level for easy loading which was a major perk for fast loading. And, it looked good on an inspection if the inspector could clearly see the empty cargo hold.

As the inspection crew approached the ship, My-Rah descended on the boarding lift. "Well if it isn't the welcome party! Come aboard gentlemen, I've got nothing to hide!"

3 hours later, My-Rah discovered she really didn't have a damned thing to hide. These freaking inspectors seriously had some sort of stick up their asses. They went through everything. Even My-Rah's personal belongings, against her objections. As the team was leaving her ship, My-Rah sat back in her pilot's seat bagging her head against the head rest. So freaking annoying. She had passed, of course. But she had been forced to hand over a bottle of Corellian whiskey that she had been stashing in her personal belongings as it was considered contraband. She hadn't expected them to be THAT thorough. But the time hadn't been a total waste. One of the security officers had told her about some local cantinas where the port staff liked to get their drink on when the inspector wasn't paying attention. Thats where she was heading now, leaving Eskay in charge of the ship. The bars were close to the port, as they always were, and My-Rah chose one of the swankier joints on the street. Walking through the entryway, she scanned the room for any drunk dock officers who looked lonely. It was strategy time.

 

[My-rah Jade]

My-Rah walked through the cantina, a single blaster tucked into her vest away from prying eyes, as opposed to her dual blasters holstered on her hips as she would usually wear. Makeb was slightly more secure than she had been expecting, and she had decided that it would be in her best interest not to be too flashy on this particular outing. She also wore her more flirtatious outfit, with simply a wrap tied around her chest beneath her vest. She caught the eye of a number of passersby. Some pilots, a few dock workers. One admirer, though stood out among the rest. He wore a uniform that marked him as an customs officer, though he wore it unbuttoned. Clearly he had had a few.

My-Rah strolled up to the empty seat at the bar next to him and took a seat, crossing her legs and turning towards the officer. She flagged down the bartender. "Two of whatever this handsome gentleman is having." My-Rah said without taking her eyes off the officer. "What's the occasion?" Said the officer. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" My-Rah smiled. "Well, it just so happens to be your lucky day cutie! I'm stuck here with nothing to do and thought I'd make a new friend! What's your name mister?" My-Rah said smiling at the officer. "Tobias, at your service, miss?" "My-Rah. My name is My-Rah." "Pretty name! So tell me My-Rah, why exactly are you 'stuck here'?" My-Rah leaned back comfortably as the drinks were delivered. "Well, you see, I'm a freight pilot, and my boss sent me all the way here from Ord Mantrell to pick up a shipment of Isotope-5 for his company. But, I got here and was told that all the major suppliers are sending their supplies off world to some big buyer who's name I can't even figure out? No one will sell to me. They almost seem afraid to sell to anyone but this mysterious company. I can't get any intel to try to outbid the competition. Despite the fact that there are lots of different freighters shipping the isotope and coaxium to this mystery-buyer, no one seems to be willing to divulge. I can't find a seller, and I can't find a way to compete with the other buyer, and I can't hologram my boss to tell him or he might drop me from his company. So here I am, stuck, nowhere left to turn, drinking all my money away." As My-Rah said this, she tossed the credits for the drinks on the bar, and dropped a small pile of gold credits on the bar top which she played with with her free hand. Hopefully that would get the officer's attention. As it turned out, officer Tobias had been drinking Corellian whiskey. Go figure.

 

[My-rah Jade]

Officer Tobias certainly did notice the stack of credits My-Rah was jostling on the bar. "Careful now. A pretty little thing like you shouldn't be walking around with all that on your person. Makeb may be a classy place with all the tourist activity that goes on from the core worlds, but you still have to be careful with your money. You're liable to be mobbed by advertisement droids when you leave here trying to get you to spend your money at all sorts of hotels and spas." My-Rah gave a false troubled looked and sighed scooping the credits up and moving to put them away in her pocket once more. "See what I mean. Having all this money is troublesome. I really need to buy product so I can get moving. Sitting still like this can be death for a small-time freighter pilot like me. Plus there's the port fees. I wish I could put this money towards something productive." Officer Tobias moved to catch My-Rah's arm before she could pocket the credits. "Well now hold on just a moment. Maybe I can help you with that."

Tobias grabbed his drink and downed it, then got up and motioned My-Rah to step outside with him. My-Rah obliged, finishing her own drink and following Tobias outside. Tobias waited for her by the door and motioned for her to follow him. "I think I understand your predicament. We wouldn't want people to think that Makeb isn't a friendly and open market trade port for all. I know of the mysterious buyers who you speak of. In truth, I believe all of these pilots are working secretly for the cartels, and the suppliers here on the planet know it. Ever since the new sources of Isotope and Coaxium were found, the Hutts have been calling for all of their forces to descend upon Makeb. The businesses here are desperate to protect their interests on the planet and in an effort to stave off a flat-out Hutt invasion, they are doing business with all sorts of shady types and they are cutting them special, illegal deals to try and appease the Hutts." Tobias and My-Rah rounded a corner. They were just out of sight of the port and the cantina, on a smaller, quieter street. My-Rah was highly aware of her surroundings, thinking perhaps she was being set up for an ambush.

"But I have good news. There is so much Isotope and Coaxium moving around here, and so many illegal deals that remain off the books, it is very easy for someone like me to... make some shipments disappear. I would love to keep some of the product out of the hands of the cartel anyways, otherwise soon they will control this planet through commerce rather than through military force. I could probably fill your holds for, say, 60% of the standard market price if you like?" My-Rah smiled smoothly at Officer Tobias. "Normally I wouldn't accept such a questionable deal, but since I'm stuck without you, I would be happy to accept your help. Normally I would also haggle with you. My boss would be quite angry with me if he found out that I did not do so. But I would be willing to pay, say 50% of market price if you can promise me that we can meet for a drink again? My boss wants me making numerous runs for the product and I would be delighted to... work with you in the future." My-Rah seductively placed her had on Tobias's chest as she said this, while at the same time, pulling a jingling purse off the back of her waist and dropping it in Tobias's hand. The customs officer seemed flustered and surprised by the amount of money suddenly in his hand. Both were My-Rah's intended effects. "Well, I suppose if you are paying cash up front, and you want to do more business in the future, I can do 50%. I think you should certainly work with me for all your future endeavors here on Makeb. I'll make sure all your trips run... smoothly. And maybe we can meet for another drink on your next visit." My-Rah smiled and turned her back on Tobias, sauntering away slowly. Making sure he had a good look. She smiled over her shoulder as she waved goodbye. "That sounds perfect sweetheart. My ship is on platform 57. I'll be sure to let you know when I am coming back for another visit!" My-Rah turned forward and smiled for real. Officer Tobias didn't need to know she was smuggling for the Hutts just like everyone else. He thought he was helping independent business and making himself a tidy little sum on the side. She would keep him thinking that way for as long as she could.

 

[Gunner Stahl]

Talaos City

Dangerous missions were no longer an oddity but rather the general acceptance. Protective detail was growing exceptionally boring and while there were several larger scale events that he had lent a helping hand, the young officer was growing fond of taking special operations from the ISA. And as such, they had once again deployed him to Makeb to make amends for certain wrong-doings. He had been paired with the wookie on a similar mission though this one however, he kept it to himself. He sat on the bench in middle of the day, appearing inconspicuous in civilian gear while his communication device begin to ring. Answering, he spoke in a monotone voice, “Sure, thank you..” was all that was muttered. Closing the device he sighed for a moment, before rising to his full height and going to meet the contact in the eastern markets.

Nightfall came within hours, and this time he stood alone in the living area of a single room apartment. The high towers were luxurious, likely meant for the wealthy of Talaos to separate themselves from the filth. A single duffel bag lay at this feet as he went through it, removing his civilian gear and replacing with his signature Imperial armor.

He also took his armaments, twin carbine blasters, and an aggressor series blaster rifle strapped to his back. Re-confirming his coordinates via comm link, he proceeded into the balcony and slightly gazed over the edge. An uneasy feeling came to his stomach as he looked downwards, several hundred meters as he was on the 27th floor. Attention shifted upwards to a balcony adjacent on the 29th floor, lifting his left wrist up, he engaged the grapple line and shot it towards the stone pillars. Wrapping it secure on his own platform, he slowly tracked through the grapple by hand, hanging upside down as he crawled towards the other balcony.

Vibro knife slashed through the glass door as he suddenly burst it open, causing a loud noise with its shattering. Twin blasters came upwards to neutralize two human guards that rushed inwards, well placed shots to their mid-section removing them from opposition.

The tenant of the apartment also came in, but Gunner’s firearm was locked on him first. “Easy there, Lord Tobias…The Empire has been looking for you.”

“I..uhh’’BLAM!

He wasn’t given much of an opportunity to haggle, a single blaster shot entered through his skull and exited through the back. Brain matter and skull shattered all over the wall as the lifeless corpse of Officer Tobias crumpled to the ground. Gunner went over to his body to inspect the fatality of his kill, before opening his comm link once again. “Target neutralized, prepare to advance on exchange point. Remember, eliminate all hostiles..”

MAKEB Spaceport, Hangar 57​

Platform doors slowly opened as well dressed men entered inwards, approximately 4 of them as they dragged two large carts behind them. “Miss Jade..” One of them inquired, “Here are your promised shipments, now if you wouldn’t mind, 50% of the asking price transferred to our private accounts..” He approached closer to her, extending a data pad in her direction.

As he waited, a loud noise could be heard and red blaster fire coming from near the ceiling. A sniper bolt smashed into the front man’s skull, rendering it open and his corpse flying to the side. Data pad slipped from his grip, cackling onto the ground. The three others went for their side arms, but were also brutally executed by sniper fire coming from two separate angles.

Soldiers in black clad armor zip-lined from the ceiling, sniper rifles aimed towards My-rah as they advanced cautiously. Just then, Gunner Stahl in his custom armored entered through the open platform doors. Blaster rifle armed in hand as he removed his battle helmet, a wicked smile on his face as he focused attention on the girl.

“I always knew you’d get yourself into trouble, miss me darling? I think I deserve a kiss..”

@Yuan

 

[Ditch]

Ditch couldn't avoid hearing the boisterous cracks of rifle fire from the nearby hangar bay in the spaceport. He knew just as well as a quarter of the galaxy that the hutts had an open contract on the collection of Coaxium, they had done everything short of amass an army when they set their thugs upon Makeb and to top it off they offer a check to those non-affiliated too.

The Cartel was clearly planning something and Ditch was not a fan of that idea. Any Coaxium he could get his hands on was being turned in to his superiors as the growing imperial war machine needed fuel just as much as the next military.

Ditch hadn't come to Makeb unprepared, in normal circumstances he would standout in a place such as this for sure but with all considered he probably didnt look too far out of the ordinary. Ditch had his armor on covered in his typical compliment of spare tools and weapons. Vibro mounted on his back underneath the backpack, IPR-5 slung on his back and a pair of WESTAR-28's one on his left thigh and the other in a chest holster on his right side.

Ditch calmly approached the opening to the hangar that had been left open, pulling a concussion grenade from his bandoleer and priming it in his right hand as he reached down and removed his WESTAR-28 from his thigh holster. The mandalorian manufactured weapons did not have safety mechanisms, he was now poised to strike and his surroundings outside of the hangar bay seemed clear.

@Yuan @Faded Truth

 

[My-rah Jade]

My-Rah stood by the drop-down floor of the cargo hold of the Shangri-la tapping her foot as she awaited delivery of the promised goods. 25 tons of Isotope-5 was sure to take some time to put together, but she was in a hurry. The tide waited for no woman, and the longer she dawdled here the more likely someone was to come nosing around asking too many questions. She did wish that these backdoor deals wouldn't take so long. It was one of the annoying things about working outside the law. Could never be too careful. But then, obtaining the Isotope legally would have likely required so much paperwork that time would have dragged on even longer, so she supposed she shouldn't complain too much.

As My-Rah tapped her foot, she noticed a group of men come through the doors of the large hangar with large canisters of some sort in tow on a lift. Finally, her product had arrived. Unfortunately, she did not see officer Tobias amongst the group of men, and she had a feeling she knew what that meant. As the men reached her the leading figure reached out to her with a data pad and asked her to transfer half of the credits she had promised to their 'private accounts'. Yep, that sounded about right. Tobias had sent his goons to collect their share of the bounty. She had already bribed the officer, now in order to get the goods she would have to bribe the rest of them, and she was willing to bet that they would turn around and give a portion of what she paid them back to Tobias as some sort of 'finder's fee'. Great. They were using her. This was flat out extortion. Not that she could do anything about it, seeing as how she was breaking the law herself.

My-Rah flashed a fake smile at the men. "Why of course! If I can just inspect the goods real quick and-" Suddenly, the crack of blaster fire broke the air and the leading man collapsed in front of My-Rah. Her hands instinctively flew to her thighs and drew her twin Merr Sonn Blaster Pistols, but she hadn't seen where the shot came from, and as she drew her weapons, more shots rained down to strike the other men. There was more than one shooter, that much was clear, and My-Rah dove and rolled behind the canisters of Isotope. She didn't know much about the chemical other than it was used for electronics like data pads. She hoped it wasn't flammable.

Peeking quickly over the canisters, My-Rah saw black-armored men descend from the ceiling and advance on her position with blaster rifles drawn. That armor! They were Imperial soldiers!? "Shit!" My-Rah whispered to herself. Were they here for her? She had managed to avoid any Imperial entanglements since her dishonorable discharge at the end of the war. She was not pleased to see the troopers closing in on her all of a sudden like this. Before a gunfight could ensue, though, another imperial soldier strode through the hangar doors. The man's armor was a bit more distinguishable from the rest of the soldiers, and he carried himself with more than a little swagger in his step. As the man approached he removed his helmet. My-Rah recognized the face instantly. "Shit." She muttered to herself again.

My-Rah stood up, raising her hands, her blasters dangling from her fingers harmlessly, showing that she wasn't looking for a fight. "Gunner! Wow, how long has it been!? You're looking good. I'd have thought you'd have died taking a blaster bolt for one of your dark lords by now, but here you are. And you ought to know better than to get cheeky with me. Just cause I shake my ass at a few customs officials to get my way doesn't mean I'm any easier than I used to be, got it?" Back in the day, when My-Rah had been a pilot in the Imperial Navy, Gunner's outfit had been stationed on the corvette she had served on for several missions. She recalled he had always been a bit of a flirt. Funny, and yet annoying at the same time. My-Rah noticed that Gunner hadn't bothered to close the hangar door behind him. Troublesome. That could invite unwanted attention.

@Rimrald @Faded Truth

 

[Gunner Stahl]

Gunner chuckled as he approached her, standing just a few feet away as his hand went up to affectionately tickle the underside of her chin. "Always resisting huh? Even after all those long nights in flight school" He winked and was prepared to continue the conversation when the sudden movement of the other soldiers towards the newcommer's arrival startled him as well. The lieutenant quickly turned and pointed his blaster rifle towards Ditch. Considering that his weapon had already been held where as Ditch would have likely had to raise it, hopefully gave him the quicker targeting on his opponent. Rifle held steady, aimed at Ditch's chest, the other two soldiers also with their weapons ready.

Gunner lofted a brow, "Lieutenant Ordo?" Recognizing him from the academy, "What the hell are you doing on Makeb? My debriefing didn't notify me of assistance on this operation.." A wicked grin came across his face, "You must be here on external contract..." Keeping his rifle and eyesight still aimed on Ordo, Gunner spoke in a softer voice towards My-Rah, "Start up your ship love, let me handle this.."

"Get the other shipment boys.." He spoke, eyes still on Ordo. They would shift their aim off Ditch and exited the hangar through the open doors, leaving only the three individuals remaining inside.

"Glad to see you went with the right choice and decided on foreign legion. It's quite the thrill if you seek the right deployments. Been on anything fun lately?" He asked honestly, it almost seemed as if they were making conversation, at stand still however, considering blasters were drawn and aimed.

The two soldiers returned, pushing heavy carts with goods covered by dense cloth, Isotope-5 and coaxium inside. "The empire will thank us dearly for our services.." The three carts were slowly pushed up the ramp onto Jade's awaiting ship, two soldiers remaining in the cargo hold to watch the shipment while Gunner still had his rifle focused on Ordo. Left hand left the underside of the rifle and went to the side pocket, withdrawing a data pad and hurling it towards Ditch. "Catch!" He said, hand quickly rising back up to the the rifle as he spoke. "Make good use of that information, if it falls in the wrong hands, Supreme commander will personally have you castrated. Buy yourself something nice and shiny." He back peddled up the ramp and into the ship until he was no longer in view.


// Exit Thread

@Rimrald @Yuan

 

[Ditch]

Keeping his weapon up as he moved into the hangar Ditch would recognize the uniforms of the troopers immediately which would only serve to strengthen his confusion and suspicion until he saw the man in charge. Putting the concussion grenade back into his bandoleer he kept his blaster aimed as the group turned on him "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes, and i've been doing a fair share of peace keeping on Mandalore as you could expect" he said with a chuckle gesturing to his armor.

Suddenly a datapad came in his direction lofted in the air, catching it he would simply look to the woman who had not entered the ship yet, assuming it was hers from the previous interaction "Excuse me miss, before you go could you inform me what's on this?" His thick Mandalorian accent was clear in his speech and even more accentuated without his helmet on as this current situation. With a heartfelt smile he said "I just don't want to go getting myself killed if this is some sort of black book" lowering his weapon as the last of the imperial soldiers entered the ship he would await her response if he was to get one from her and then make his way back from whence he came to figure out his plan of action and further extrapolate what was on this datapad. //exit thread

@Yuan

 

[My-rah Jade]

My-Rah glanced back and forth between the two Imperial officers, lowering her pistols, but keeping them in her hands rather than holstering them. The air seemed tense between the two imperials, though they seemed to know each other. "Clearly things in the Empire haven't changed. Still cutting each other's throats and feeding each other to the wolves for a promotion." My-Rah slowly backed towards the lift that would raise her up into the central fuselage of the ship where she could get to the cockpit. "Glad I chose another line of work. Doesn't make for very nice office parties."

As My-Rah stepped onto the lift and was about to hit the button to retract it, the new Imperial Officer, who's name appeared to be Ordo, asked her about the data pad Gunner had tossed him. "I couldn't really say. They apparently weren't here for me. But, given who they were after, I would assume it contains information on the crooked customs official I was working with. Could be worth something if you turned it in to the authorities. Or you could try to claim the contraband for the Empire. Or you could get smart and fence the goods to the Hutts yourself and embezzle the money for yourself. Up to you."

My-Rah hit the button and the lift rose up into the ship's main consul area. Swinging over the railing, My-Rah slid into the main pilot's seat and flipped some switches, igniting the engines. Taking the controls, the Shangri-la slowly rose off the docking platform. Flipping another switch and pressing a few buttons, the cargo platform rose up into the bowels of the ship and the cargo bay doors closed as the roof of the hangar opened. Before the hangar was even fully opened, the Shangri-la rose out of the hangar and into the sky above.

Later:

After kicking Gunner and his cronies off her ship with their portion of the goods, My-Rah guided her ship out of Makeb orbit and set the coordinates for her hyperspace jump to Nal Hutta. It had been an interesting job, to be sure. Unfortunate that she had lost her contact on Makeb. However, it was interesting to know that Gunner was still alive and active in the Imperial special forces. She trusted him about as far as she could throw him, but perhaps she could use him as a contact to get her into Imperial-controlled space? If there was one thing you could count on, it was the greed of an Imperial soldier. She was willing to bet if he thought their interaction would be profitable for himself, he'd be willing to play ball. Punching in the coordinates, My-Rah engaged the hyperdrive. The Shangri-La blasted out of Makeb space, heading for Hutt territory.

// Exit Thread