Expedient Expeditions - Kiirium Echos, Part II

[Eice Frex]

The boarding house Eice had rented was in a district not far from the spaceport. By Malcraan standards, it was fairly well appointed, although really all that meant was that there was running water, a private refresher and access to a grungy public autochef down the hall. Still, it was a place to work in privacy, and Eice could keep an eye on the street from where she was.

She wasn't sure where they had come from, but Eice had noted the passing of several speeders loaded with Blackrow security troops since she had started keeping track. They seemed to be prowling the streets, obviously searching for something, or someone.

And I bet I know who. She thought bitterly to herself, keying a button on the datapad before her.

The information Henric had pulled from the Blackrow survey ship had proved extremely interesting. Henric had been forced to download most of the ship's logs in a rush to get in and out quickly, but he and Eice had been able to parse out the data afterward, and had managed to find the specific information in the first place.

"So." Eice swiveled around in her seat. "I don't suppose any of you have ever heard of a moon called KN-528?"

The little group - minus Allard, who had had to leave due to sudden business - had assembled in Eice's room, and were gathered around. Eice held up the datapad, which bore the image of a reddish brown moon orbiting a nondescript gas giant.

"Apparently, what Blackrow found is there. It's not a very hospitable place; toxic atmosphere, rough terrain, high radiation... survey team thought it all might be the result of some prehistoric nuclear exchange."

Eice produced a stylus, tapping an icon next to the image. The picture changed to shot taken from the surface, and showed a far-away shot of something large and donut-shaped sticking out of the sand in a forbidding mountain valley.

"It's an old space station, I think. They used to build 'em like that back when artificial gravity was still somewhat expensive to implement. According to the notes, it's been there thousands of years."

Eice took a deep breath, and let it out.

"Guys, they think it's part of Agorander's beacon network."

@Insalius @Minuteman75

 

[Henric Antilles]

Agorander...That was a name that Henric had only heard of in his studies on Alderaan. The superstitious claimed he was still out there somewhere, while others said he was just a myth. He could feel the tug of adventure in his spirit, wanting to know more, especially if it was true that the moon had been a part of Agorander's empire. "This sounds almost like something out of a holovid. Do they have any other information on the place? Or are we going to go find out?" He gave the Tintinna a crooked smile, letting his more rogueish nature filter in to his usual noble stature. "I do hope we go find out. I'm not going to let you go off alone. We either find glory together or we fall together. I'm hoping for the former."

@Minuteman75 @AutoFox

 

[Vilkas]

Vilkas, wearing his brown tribal cloak sat in a chair with arms folded. He listened with interest as Eice relayed the information they aqquired from the recent break-in. A toxic world sounded quite disturbing to someone like him who believed that planets had souls. Not to mention the fact it was caused by advanced weaponry. An entire world poisoned? Spirits preserve us, what horrors aliens can do with their technology.

Even so Vilkas was determined to go. He gave his word to help the little woman with her quest and fully intended to uphold it. The wolfman paused while Henric spoke up. The way Eice spoke, caused him to wonder as he scratched the side of his hair. Subsequently Vilkas asked.

“Pardon my ignorance but who is this Agorander figure you speak of and why would your former employers be interested in his system of beacons?”

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice nodded at Henric's comments and questions, leaning back in her seat. She folded her arms as she replied.

"That, I'm afraid, is the really troubling part. Something happened to the previous expedition... they left several people behind, whether dead or wounded is a bit unclear. Either the moon has some nasty wildlife nobody anticipated, or some of the old station's automatic defenses still work. I admit, I'm a bit skeptical on the latter... but even more-so the former."

She turned to Vilkas, and shrugged.

"My old bosses never do anything without a profit motive. If it's authentic, the station itself could be valuable as an antique... more likely, though, I think there might be information aboard they want. We still don't know all the secrets that ancient starfarers had... if the databanks are intact, there might be lost hyperspace routes, even whole planets that were lost when the beacons were scuttled. Blackrow may want to turn themselves into another Republic Frontier Corporation."

Eice shook her head.

"Sorry, sorry, that didn't really answer your first question. Agorander... well, he was probably the single greatest conqueror in Galactic history, unless you count the Sith, and then only as a whole. He lived way back before the founding of the Republic, back when navicomputers were huge and cripplingly expensive, and most ships didn't have them. Most ships in his day relied on Force-sensitive astrogators, or on networks of beacon stations that could feed a ship hyperspace calculations for each leg of its journey."

The Tintinna shook her head.

"I guess in his early years, Agorander wasn't such a bad ruler. He chased out some pretty nasty competitors who were lording it over large parts of the Galaxy back then, and did a lot to spread technology around more evenly. He built the largest hyperspace beacon network the Galaxy had seen up to that point; I've heard people refer to him as having fostered the 'first pan-Galactic age,' whatever that means."

Eice tapped a few buttons on the datapad, and brought up a famous image of Agorander, that found on a toppled statue on a remote world in the Outer Rim. The expression was cold and imperious, but even in stone, betrayed a tremendous level of cunning and intelligence.

"The problem was that he ruled too long. As he got older, he turned himself into a cyborg to extend his life... and putting circuits in your brain is a pretty dicey proposition now, let alone thousands of years ago. They think the implants made him distant, paranoid... he became obsessed with control. He started expanding faster than his existing empire could support, and when his armies protested, he had them replaced with war droids. He was an old school conqueror, too; if you fought him, he liked to make examples of worlds that didn't surrender. The sort of thing where he would kill all a world's males over a certain age and make a pyramid out of their bones, or just sterilize a whole planet with fission bombs until it glowed in the dark."

She closed down the datapad.

"When most of the planets in his empire eventually broke out in open rebellion, Agorander did the equivalent of flipping the game board. His last known act was to propagate a self-destruct command through the hyperspace beacon network, destroying every single one that we know of. That act set interstellar travel and commerce back centuries; it triggered a Galactic dark age that lasted thousands of years. If the network had been preserved, historians think the Republic could have emerged as much as 5,000 years earlier than it did. We still don't know the full extent of the damage the shutdown caused; no complete maps of Agorander's beacon network exist, so no-one knows just how many worlds were simply never rediscovered."

Eice looked seriously at Henric and Vilkas.

"There is a chance, a small chance, that this space station contains such a map. Whoever recovered it would hold the key to discovering Agorander's lost secrets."

She adjusted her glasses.

"So we are absolutely gonna go find it, especially before Blackrow does."

@Insalius @Minuteman75

 

[Henric Antilles]

Henric smiled as Eice gave them their quest. It would be nice to steal something from under the nose of Blackrow, especially if it had to do with Agorander. As he looked over the data they had recovered his mind started to go through it's orderly way and plan what they would need for such an undertaking. They couldn't bring a whole corp of people with them, so it would be them three doing the excavation. They would need a ship big enough for them, as well as any important treasure they could find, and also have enough supplies to last them in case there were an emergency or if the work took extra long. Absently he grabbed his own datapad, starting to put together who he could go to in order to ask for some of these supplies. He had been around the galaxy quite a bit already so he had a few contacts. "Well, we'd better get started on getting our supplies together. I might know a few people where we can get some for a low cost, but do you have a ship big enough for what we need?"

@AutoFox @Minuteman75

 

[Vilkas]

Having growth up in an ancient society that literally strives on stories, Vilkas found captivated by Eice’s tale. A warrior chieftain who overthrew enemies and expanded his domain across the stars. Only to have his soul consumed by the lust of power and body corrupted by machinery. He shares some resemblance to the Ghost Hand of my tribe’s memories. Vilkas thought to himself.

Now it all started to make sense. Anything related to this galactic conqueror including a map is bound to bring about fortune and glory. It seemed to the Nelvaanian that Eice not only wanted to find it but also as a strike against her former employers. This quest means more to the little woman than simply a treasure hunt.

Great Mother I pray she won’t be consumed by the madness that claimed Agorander.

The wolfman silently beseeched his main deity. Done he turned back toward the two and remarked.

“I will make sure our weaponry will be sufficient for the task ahead. It sounds like we’re going to need every advantage.”

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice nodded Henric and Vilkas, waving the deactivated datapad in the air. "I've got the ship under control, I think... another thing about KN-528 I forgot to mention, its environment doesn't play well with repulsorlifts. We'll need a ship that can land without them... plus surface transport for when we get to this place. I don't wanna park our ride out of there too close, in case it's more dangerous than we thought."

Eice keyed on the datapad, tapped a few buttons and watched a data feed scroll past, raising her eyebrows.

"We're in luck, gentlemen... someone is selling an AV8 locally, and I think it's within my credit. Pretty much the ideal ship for the job. Henric, if your contact can get us... I dunno, a couple of SD5s? Something with wheels that can go off-road."

She hopped down from her chair.

"I'll tell you what, though... there are a lot of Blackrow security guys wandering around town. We should probably go and get this stuff together."

@Insalius @Minuteman75

 

[Henric Antilles]

SD5s? Well, if repulsorlifts wouldn't work well, the SD5 WOULD be the way to go. He'd have to practice driving something with wheels, though. That shouldn't take too long. How hard could it be? It wasn't like he'd have to change gears manually, if he remembered right it should be automatic. At least, he hoped he remembered right. "I'm sure I can get what we need. They may not be common, yet they're also not valuable antiques, either. Once we find them, I'm sure I can get them at a decent price. I'm ready to go prepare when you are, milady." Henric gave Eice and elegant bow, as one noble would do to another. This wasn't meant to be sarcastic but to show his respect for the young lady. It also made a good cover for his excitement. It was time for some adventure.

@AutoFox @Minuteman75

 

[Vilkas]

She has the wisdom of a tribal elder and courage of a warrior. Thought Vilkas with silent approval. A great leader must be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. It seems the Tintinna female has those aspects despite her relative small size compared to most around her.

The wolfman nodded at the suggestion they stay together with the Blackrow men persent in the settlement. He pulls on a hood to cover his head and faicial features. Considering the fact he and Allard openly attacked a Blackrow facility and killed several guards they would more than likely hunt for him. “Let us be swift then.” Vilkas said, standing up and inspected his fuel pistols one last time before holstering them again.

@AutoFox @Insalius

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice stowed the datapad with the stolen data in a shoulder bag, grinning. "Great!" She replied. "Let's get going, then!"

-------------------------​

A few minutes later, Eice, Henric and Vilkas were pulling up in front of the gate of a walled area in the spaceport district of Malcraan. The gate was rusty durasteel, and bore the words "GALHOON'S PRE-OWNED STARSHIPS" repeated in several languages. Above the wall, the nosecones, bridge towers and sensor masts of various starships could be seen.

"Well, this is the place..."

Eice hopped down out of the speeder, walking up to the gate. As she approached, a gatekeeper droid popped out, its single photoreceptor regarding the small group before speaking Huttese in a gravely electronic tone. Eice raised her eyebrows, throwing up her hands in a placating gesture.

"Hey hey! Calm down, we're not soliciting, and we're not collecting a debt. We're just here to buy a ship... maybe some other stuff if you've got it."

She turned back to her partners.

"Right guys?"

@Minuteman75 @Insalius

 

[Vilkas]

The canine mercenary stayed close to the party as they approached the decaying metal gate. Looking at the sign Vilkas can only recognize the words in Basic to understand this is the shop they were looking for. When a guard droid suddenly apporched demanding something in Huttese, Vilkas briefly gotten into a fighting stance and reached for his gun holster.

Huttese was one of the most common languages Vilkas heard in his wanderings across the galaxy. It always had a funny sound to the wolfman’s ears. Stowing the curiosity in the back of his mind, the private contractor relaxed from the combat position and listened Eice’s exchange with the walking and talking machine. Once Eice asked them to back up her assurances, Vilkas nodded.

“True.” He answered, backing up the team leader.

@Insalius @AutoFox

 

[Henric Antilles]

Henric nodded, also backing Eice up on her words. "The young lady speaks truly. We wish to purchase from you this day." He took out a few larger credit pieces to show in his hand to the droid, the sight of money usually enough to get any greedy merchant to calm down to talk business. He stood as non-threateningly as he could to make sure the thought of them being there to collect a debt didn't come back into the merchant's head. He was fairly thin and not wearing armor, which usually helped with that look of not being a threat. Oh, he would use the Force to snap the man's neck in an instant if he had to. He didn't want to, though. Bad for business.

@Minuteman75 @AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

The gatekeeper droid seemed to consider for a few seconds, before it said something dismissive in Huttese and retracted into the door. Eice felt a pang of worry that they wouldn't be admitted after all, before there was a buzz from somewhere, and the heavy door rolled aside with a grinding sound. From somewhere inside croaked an organic voice in heavily accented Basic.

"Well, come in, don't give the other vermin the opportunity!!"

Eice walked into the used starship yard, which to her eyes looked more like a scrap yard. Ships of every make, model and vintage littered the bare earth lot, most of them of dubious spaceworthiness. As her to companions followed her inside, the door slid shut again on badly oiled rollers, closing with a clan.

"Well!"

There was a whine of turbines, and a hover-palette came into view around the sagging wreck of an old corvette. The palette was a veritable antique, not a repulsorlift model but a ground-effect vehicle that floated on a cushion of air. It kicked up a cloud of dust that made Eice cough, but the palette was fitted with an electrostatic repeller, and the passenger sat in a dust-free bubble.

"What can I do you for."

The passenger of the palette was a Hutt, but not the sort of Hutt most of the group would have been used to seeing. He sat beneath an improvised sun-shade - essential on a world such as this - and wore a heavy synthleather apron fronted with an array of tools and small mechanical devices. Pushed up on his brow was a pair of welding goggles. Most striking was his physique; like most Hutts he was massive, but unlike them, most of his mottled grey bulk did not appear to be flab, but muscle. In one hand he held a datapad.

"But I'm just going to say, if you're from Blackrow, I'm not selling you any more stuff until that check clears, doo lo?"

Eice found herself grinning in spite of herself, nodding to the Hutt.

"Well we're definitely not with them. We're just here to buy a certain ship you had listed on the local tradenet."

The Tintinna looked around.

"We understand you've got an AV8 for sale, for 5,000 credits. Is she spaceworthy?"

The Hutt sat back on his palette, giving the low chuckle his kind was famous for. He crossed his arms over his apron, regarding the little Tintinna.

"Well, little one, you get straight to the point don't you. Were I still one to keep an entourage... well, never mind."

The Hutt manipulated some controls, and the palette rose in a swirl of dust. It turned around, revealing a bench seat on the back portion the Hutt did not occupy, which the scrapyard's owner jabbed a thumb at over his shoulder.

"Climb aboard! I will take you to the ship, and we can discuss things."

Once everyone was seated, the turbines whined, and the palette rotated, hovering off between the rows of starships.

"So!" Boomed the hutt as they traveled. "I believe you said there might be other things you wanted, correct?"

@Insalius @Minuteman75

 

[Vilkas]

From Vilkas’ personal experience Hutts commanded great and terrible power in the galaxy. With such influence they were even waging open warfare with the Republic. Yet cruel and cunning as they were, the giant worms always gave Vilkas the impression of having lazy corrupt souls. So to see the Hutt owner sitting on his palette with more muscled form caused the Nelvaanian’s dark eyes to widen briefly.

The heavens and it’s inhabitants never cease to amaze me.

Watching and listening to the exchange between Eice and the sluggish dealer Vilkas trailed behind them, entering the palette. Calling throug the hovering noise of the moving machine, the Hutt asked if they needed other equipment. Subsequently Vilkas replied.

“Yes, a set of SD5s in fact.”

 

[Henric Antilles]

Henric was glad this Hutt was willing to work with them. If he could supply the SD5s as well, all the better. His contact that had the others owed him a favor, so while it may be a bit more expensive out of pocket if he could retain that favor that might be worth a bit more. He had his own credits ready in case they were needed, silently waiting for Eice or Vilkas' request for them. He didn't want to seem overly generous, hence his reticence. Besides, it seemed like the two of them had these negotiations in hand. For once he could just stand around looking pretty.

@Minuteman75 @AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

As they traveled along, the Hutt let out a chuckle at Vilkas' remark. The great slug turned the hover-palette down an avenue between parked starships, nodding.

"Groundcars! That is an unusual request... but it is possible I may have some to spare. I do wonder if perhaps you might be tangled up in this Blackrow business."

Eice, having been staring around at the rows of mostly dilapidated starships, looked up at the Hutt with sudden suspicion.

"What makes you say that?" She said guardedly.

The Hutt chuckled again, and Eice remarked that the sound was not nearly so menacing as other Hutts she had known.

"Oh don't act so surprised, little one! You are not the first to view my humble wares today. Some humans from Blackrow came this morning, insulted me with their offers and took away parts for some of their craft. They convinced me to take a check, we shall see how that turns out..."

The Hutt looked over his shoulder at Eice and company.

"The things they wanted were... well suited to certain environmental conditions. And you seem to be looking for the same sorts of things. This may be coincidence, but I think not."

The palette came to a stop.

"Anyway, here we are!"

Eice looked up from her seat at the saucer-shaped fuselage of the AV8, resting on its landing assembly. The exterior was hardly brand new, but it did not appear too shabby compared to some of the ships around it. The Tintinna hopped down onto the dirt, looked up at it.

"Why don't you three take a look at the ship, I believe the hatch is unlocked. In the meantime, I will go and fetch my stock of SD5s for your examination."

Before Eice could reply, the palette had lifted off again in another cloud of dust, and skimmed away. Coughing, the Tintinna waved the dust away from herself, lamenting that her fur would be full of the stuff by the time she left the planet.

She looked at her friends, and then up at the ship.

"Well... I suppose we should go aboard?"

@Insalius @Minuteman75

 

[Vilkas]

The Hutt is proving to be reasonable dealer...so far. Of course experience had taught Vilkas to be careful to whom one can trust. Even poison can taste sweet until it brings death. He silently reminded himself.

The canine mercenary watched Eice continued to speak with the dealer. It appears Blackrow came first. We must be swift with our business then. When they appeared to their destination and got off the hover machine, Vilkas took a good look at the AV8 vessel.

“Furcsa alak.” Said Vilkas outloud in his native tongue, examining saucer frame. After the Hutt and Eice remarking they should go inside, the Wolfman replied. “You and Henric go on ahead I’ll keep watch out here just in case.”

@AutoFox @Insalius

 

[Henric Antilles]

Once the Hutt explained how Blackrow was involved, Henric silently went on alert in case the slug decided to try to betray them. Unfortunately it was the nice ones that were the easiest to lull others into traps. He kept his guard up, though he looked like he was still relaxed outwardly, as Eice and the Hutt talked about how Blackrow had wanted the same things they had come for. When they got to the ship he was more than glad to look things over with Eice. He could tell Vilkas was also on edge and trusted him to keep watch on the entrance. He gestured for Eice to go first, though he was ready with his blaster or dagger at the first sign of an attack. Of course, he also had the Force ready at a moment's notice as well.

@AutoFox @Minuteman75

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice nodded toward Vilkas, looking back up at the saucer. It wasn't in perfect shape - Eice had expected some exaggeration in the ad's description of its condition - but the Tintinna had developed a keen eye for such things. It indeed looked spaceworthy, if a little old and worn.

"Here goes..."

Eice reached out and keyed the ramp, which folded down with a shudder of old machinery. The Tintinna climbed up inside, looking around.

"I'm gonna go up to the cockpit, see what's what." She called to Henric. "If you could have a look at the other compartments, that would be great."

The young pilot began climbing the spiral staircase which led up to the domed cockpit of the little freighter, which was located at the dorsal center of the saucer-like fuselage. After a brief struggle with a manual hatch, she climbed inside, looking around at the dusty, sun-bleached controls.

"Oh gods it's hot!!"

The cockpit, beneath its transparisteel dome, had been baking all day in the desert sun. Blindly, Eice reached for the ship's climate controls; after turning on main power, she breathed a sigh of relief as frosty air blasted out of the vents, bringing relief.

It was a moment before she quirked an ear, hearing a beeping sound coming from a nearby control panel. She walked over to the ship's sensor station, peering at a screen which was showing a pair of blips.

Her eyes widened as she saw the blips turn red, indicating active weapons.

"Oh karabast!"

Eice leaned down through the open cockpit hatch, hoping her voice carried to Vilkas standing sentry outside.

"Vilkas! Watch out! We've got incoming!!"

@Insalius @Minuteman75

 

[Vilkas]

The Nelvanian mercenary stood alone in front of the saucer ship. Still gripping the blaster repeater Vilkas let his eyes glanced from the left side of the junkyard to the opposite. Despite appearances Vilkas couldn’t shake off the a bad feeling he held. The Hutt had been pretty generous for someone of his species’ reputation. Spirits are uneasy here.

Moments later he detected slight movement in the hill of decay. Soon Vilkas heard Eice’s warning, confirming his suspicions. Without a further thought the wolfman dive for cover as red blaster bolts erupted all around him by unknown assailants. Vilkas found shelter behind a broken engine the size of mid size speeder next to the parked ship as enemy fire continued.

Grunting with frustration, Vilkas lifted himself briefly and answered back with a short three burst before going down again.