Location:  Nar Shaddaa
Time:  *26 hours later*


It was a little over six hours later when Dohr's comm rang and one of the medical centre staff advised him Kyvarr was out of surgery.  Upon arrival back at the clinic he was informed the surgery had gone well, the bone had been fused and the damage repaired.  The surgeon advised Dohr the leg needed to remain immobile in a portable bacta tube for another 12 hours minimum.  In order to facilitate this he was keeping the Cathar sedated.  He agreed to release her into Dohr's care if he continued her sedation for a minimum 12 hours, though 24 would be better.

Kyvarr was moved to the makeshift hospital room on the ship where 2-1B-D3 took over primary care for the unconscious Cathar.  The rest of the Talons promptly returned to the ship and the ship leapt in hyperspace, destination Nar Shaddaa.

The Vertical city lived up to it's name.  It's sprawling cityscape was reminiscent of Coruscant, or to a lesser degree Det Akari.  However when compared to Coruscan't beauty, Nar Shaddaa was clearly the dirtier uglier little sister.  Much of the sprawling urban scape was in disrepute.  Smog hung low over many districts.

Traffic control was a largely different process too.  On Coruscant or Det Akari, a centralised traffic system let arrivals down strict corridors.  Here pilots went where they pleased.  Already the comm system was being bombarded with offers of ship berthing and wares of every single kind, both legal and illegal.  It took A9's processing power to actually make sense of the hundreds of transmission bombarding the ship at all times.  It was chaos incarnate, but somehow it worked.  No ships came close to crashing as they weaved and ducked through the congestion.  No ships attacked another in orbit.

Heigren's fast-talking skills served him well here.  While having never travelled to the Smuggler's Moon, he knew how to deal with shady types and soon arranged them a berth in one of the better areas of the planet.  Definitely not a luxury landing, but nor was it criminal central.  The sort of place a small independant freighter captain might berth.

Customs was non-existant.  After paying a couple of 'officials' the 'landing fees', the ship was left alone.

They had arrived on Nar Shaddaa.



OOC:  Kyvarr, you are now awake.  Assumedly Dohr roused you when you made orbit.  The leg will be a little stiff and sort for a few days but otherwise it's fully functional.
This message was last updated by the GM at 09:06, Sun 08 June 2014.

Kyvarr walked slowly and carefully on her healed leg even though it caused her no pain, just a mild stiffness. She looked at Devon.

"What's the plan sir?"

Devon was stood at the top of the ramp, apparently waiting to tell people exactly what 'the plan' before they got off the ship.

He nodded cheerfully to Kyvarr as the Cather greeted him, and gave her the same answer he was going to give everyone who was planning to get off the ship.
"Simple really - like I said back at the meeting, we're here to lay low, replace stuff we lost back on Det Akari and do some training exercises if we can find any place suitable.  I've got an idea for the first one, but its probably gonna take me a day or two to set up - so in the meantime, you guys can go have fun.  Remember the rules - dont cause too much trouble:  no cops, no gangsters, no Imperials... and check in with Sola on the ship at least once a day.  OK?"

Once everyone had signalled their understanding, Devon picked up a bag that had been on the floor next to him, thumbed the button to lower the ramp and ambled down it with the bag over his shoulder.  As usual, his M4 droid - Sev - drifted along behind him, occasionally chirping quietly to itself.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:34, Fri 13 June 2014.

Cor, having slept and showered thoroughly during the trip between the station and Nar Shaddaa, sounds her typical neutral self as she talks over the speakers.  "Take care on-planet.  I am retaining my battle-droids to maintain security on the ship.  if anyone is looking to save credits, therefore, the Ghtroc is still the cheapest place to sleep each night."

Fiarr who had been about to speak stopped and smiled at Cor's words.  "I was about to ask you about that as Kyvarr and I don't have barely got any credits between us.  Kind of left Det Akari in a hurry."

"I'm heading off into town for a while.  Get a feel for the local rumblings and maybe see if my 'other employer' has anything going on here.  If we're here for two weeks I'm going to need some operating capital."

She handed Devon a slip of flimsi.  "My comm frequency and a holomail address I check regularly.  If you need me back for one of your training exercises just let me know.  Oh, and keep an eye on Kyvarr would you?  I've asked her to rest up but she does tend to enjoy an ale at a cantina, any cantina.  Only problems is, cantinas tend to look a lot worse when she leaves, both the decor and the clientele.  You see, Kyvarr doesn't take well to the advances of groping inebriated males thinking a diminutive Cathar is an easy score!"

Mika looks at Kyvarr and Fiarr.  "Yeah, you guys need some pocket creds, don't you?  How much you figure you'll need?  Oh, and you too." she adds to Dohr.

Remembering her talk with Fiarr on the station, she adds, "It's just there's no need to stir up trouble for all of us, you guys trying to get a few credits to rub together."  She says with a grin.

She's thinking in terms of passing along some hard currency, assuming she's got some way to convert creds from her credit chip.

"I will set up a local private account for both of you, Hammer and Fiarr, with five thousand credits each; if you also need money, Idaya, please let me know."  Cor's even, calm voice is punctuated by tapping, presumably as she does exactly that.  "Try to avoid spending it all in the one day.  If Rian can forward me your comm details I will also set up a secure secondary channel with everyone connected to it.  And of course, Fiarr, nothing stops you returning here to bunk down of a night.  Better security and comfort than you are likely to find for free anywhere on Nar Shaddaa."

"I believe, Mr. Teckla has me covered, but thank you. At least he said so. But I wonder how the locals would react to my current attire and more so, my rifle. If you can lend me a pistol, it might me a bit more inconspicuous." Idaya sounded curious about the planet and its inhabitants, though it was more than likely, the well-organized and lawfulminded officer was not going to like what she saw.

Fiarr was shocked that the Talons were now ready to give them credits as well.  This seemed too good to be true.  She remembered what her instuctors had always taught her about such things.

"Very generous of you.  What are the repayment conditions on these accounts?  Does the interest and repayment rates vary on wether we are employed by your group or not?"

She reserved a chuckle for Idaya's comments.  "You're going to be conspicuous no matter what you wear and what weapon you carry Idaya.  It's got nothing to do with your race or weaponry but your demeanour.  You're clearly military, personally I'd enhance the role.  Keep your armour and a visible weapon.  You'll blend in better as a mercenary looking for work then trying to pass yourself off as a tourist."

"Consider it a calculated risk," Cor responds with a note of sedate humour in her voice. And also a note of approval; Fiarr is clearly used to thinking analytically about people's motives. "If you join the organisation I can recover it from your joining bonus; if you don't then I am sufficiently comfortable that the loss will not cripple my finances. No interest applied, no need to make things more complex."

Heigren sauntered on to the deck.  He wasn't lavishly dressed, having lost most of his clothing in the hotel bombing.  Even so, he was still far from bland.

"Guns, guns, why on Zeltros do you need them.  You don't see me carrying a weapon do you."  He held open his leather jacket to show a skin type silk shirt tucked into equally tight pants.  One had to wonder if they were sprayed on rather then actually worn.  There was no way Heigren could hide any type of blaster or knife on his person.

"Hey Sola, did you set up one of those accounts for Idaya here?  If not I've got a certified credit chip for her."

Once the boring financial things were taken care of he made for the ramp.  "I'm off to have fun.  Anyone want to come along?"  He kept walking as he spoke, only stopping if someone wanted to accompany him.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Thu 12 June 2014.

Mika raises her hands and shakes her head.  "Not me, I got into enough trouble the last time you were looking for a good time."

She'd never been to Nar Shaddaa before, but she'd heard about it.  Heck, the whole galaxy had heard of it, and she didn't like the idea of heading off without a few friendlies to watch her back.  If nothing presented itself, she'd just stick to remaining with the ship.

Dohr shook his head when the credits were mentioned. He was not going to admit to these half-strangers that he was practically broke. Although money meant very little to him, it would have been somewhat embarrasing or at least uncomfortable for the Kel Dorian to say out loud he had very little left on his cred chip. He might be able to reach into a private account from Nar Shaddaa shoul he really need some cash.

 "Thank you for the offer, but I will manage for now. However it seems to me the ship's medical equipment could to with some resupplies. Antibiotics, pain killers and other medication as well as some medkits and pacs. I believe I know just the place to find someone willing to sell us some, but for that I would require some assets or the company of one of you. And I will gladly return to the ship to sleep."

"Don't attack groups of unarmed civilians with a bat and you should be fine!" Heigren called to Mika, hearing her comments as he walked off into town.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:27, Thu 12 June 2014.

"Doctor, I believe that it would be best for you to consult with Ms Carstairs regarding that matter.  If she deems it necessary to resupply I will see to it that sufficient funds are made available."

Devon was stood not far from the bottom of the ramp, talking to someone on his commlink.
"You're booked up? So when are you free?  Next week.  How many of us?"  Devon glanced up for a moment and did a hurried headcount.
"Ten.  Ok.  Brilliant.  I'll come over and sort out payment today.  See you then."

Ending the commcall, Devon looked round at the others as they came down the ramp and rubbed his hands together in anticipation, a broad grin on his face.  Clearly the shipjacker was pleased with himself.
"So guess what?  I just booked us a weeks worth of sim time at a local combat training place.  Lasertag, sim dogfights, firing ranges... you name it!  We'll be able to set up any sorta scenario we want.  Might even be fun!" 

Devon handed each of them a hastily scribbled address.
"You've got a week to kill before we head there though; so go have fun, dont get into any trouble you cant get yourselves out of, check in every day with Sola and be at this address in seven days.  0900 in the morning, ready to shoot each other."

Fiarr watches as Heigren walked down the ramp, enjoying what she saw.  The skintight pants left little to the imagination.

She nudged Idaya and grinned.  "He may not carry a blaster or blade but that boy is definitely armed and VERY dangerous!"

The Bothan noted the address Rian gave her but did not take the flimsi.  "Understood."

She moved off down the ramp after Heigren.

Devon smirked at Fiarrs comment.
"Tellin' ya - dating service.  All you gotta do is ask."  Treating Idaya and Fiarr to a roguish grin, Devon finished handing out the notes then scooped up his bag and dashed after Heigren.

"Hey hotpants, wait up." he yelled after the Zeltron.  Catching up with Heigren, Devon continued in a more conversational tone.  "Think I could get your help sometime when your sober?  I'm lookin' to spend some money an I've seen you talk - so I figure that if you help me, maybe they'll just gimmie the stuff for free.  Plus if you could organize that party back on Det Akari, helping me find what I'm after should be childs play."

Heigren laughed.  "Have you ever seen me drunk?  It takes a lot to do that."

When Devon makes his request Heigren gets an understanding look in his eyes and gives him a pat on the shoulder.  "Don't worry my friend, with my help you wont pay a credit.  So is it girls, boys, a bot of both or something a little more exotic you're after?  Don't worry I wont tell the others."

"Have we ever seen you drunk?" repeated Devon.  "I'm not sure we've ever seen you sober!"

The shipjacker laughed at Heigrens suggestions.  "OK, I totally deserved that.  But no, I dont need your help finding any boys, girls, or inflatable womprats.  Sorry to disappoint."
The shipjacker chuckled again.
"No, for the first time in forever I am looking to actually buy a ship." he explained. "I kinda like the look of some of the YT series, but it all depends on whats on offer.  And then we're gonna have to go over anything we do find to make sure theres nothing wrong with it that we don't know about."

Turning to the group as a whole, Devon continued.
"Actually, I'd appreciate the help of anyone who knows their transports with that bit, more of us on the job, the better.  But... you guys are on leave.  Its totally up to you."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:37, Sat 14 June 2014.

Mika sighs.  "Well, I do know my way around transports.  I can come long if you want."

PM

"I am not a specialist on transports, but I have a reasonably good knowledge on starship engineering for both starfighters and capital ships, not to mention starship weaponry, so should you need any help, ask and you shall have it", the blue woman said, not in a manner of bragging but as a statement, even though it came out in a bit aristocratic fashion. The offer, however, seemed quite sincere and friendly.

Devon shook his head in response to Mikas comment.  "Actually, come along if you want, you're welcome to." he explained. "We're on leave this week - I plan to hopefully spend a lot of my time buying a ship, and then customizing the hell outta her - or at least as much as I can in a week.  Not everyones idea of a good time, I know.  I'll be glad of the help, but if you guys wanna do your own thing, go ahead - you're on leave."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:05, Sat 14 June 2014.

Heigren shrugged.  "I know nothing about spaceships.  In fact this one is the first one I've ever been on.  I guess if you tell me what you want I can ask around for you.  I can comm you if I find anything."

Devon shrugged and grinned at Heigren.  "I know ships, you know how to talk to people.  Between us we can make this work.  You game?"

Heigren looked at Devon curiously.  "I said if you told me what you're looking for I'll ask around.  I've got a few other things to do so give me the details or message me.  If I hear something I'll let you know."

The Zeltron looked anxious to be off.

"So, we go find a ship and check it out, then we get Vyn to do the dickering on it.  That the plan?"

"Pretty much, yeah."
Devon called up a file on his datapad and then sent it across to Heigrens pad.
"That should give you a good start on the kinda thing I'm after.  I'll owe you one if you can do this for me - hell, I'll owe you several!"

The file - if Heigren should look at it - is very much in engineerspeak... probably not more than one word in ten makes sense to anyone other than Devon and Mika.
Theres a short list of ship models at the top, with YT-1930 topping the list, beneath that, Devon got far more techical:
There's much talk of engine marque, cargo space, system redundancy, reactor yields and many other things that only a complete gearhead could get excited about...

OOC: I'm assuming that Heigren has a datapad!
This message was last edited by the player at 00:05, Mon 16 June 2014.

OOC:  If Heigren's clothes don't have carrying capacity for a knife, there's no way he's got a datapad!  He has his comm and credstick.  Nothing else.

OOC:  well can we just assume that Devon sent the file to some place Heigren is able to collect it?  :)

OOC: You can do that.  Of course all Heigren really needs is the ship's make and model.  Don't need a full technical manual to hunt down a Ghtroc 720.  Just need to know you want a Ghtroc 720!

As requested, here is what Devon is going to be doing with his weeks leave

Devon will be splitting his time roughly evenly between 'buy a ship' related tasks and planning for the following week.  Given that most of the 'training time' related tasks he needs to complete this week are all going to be done via commlink, then I imagine that at least part of the time, Devon will be able to do both at the same time!  One can search ships-for-sale listings and hold a conversation at the same time after all!

What about you guys?

Also:  Edited my previous IC to include an actual ship model.  Dunno why I didnt put one in originally.  But just to be clear - Devon would like a YT-1930 if we can find one :)

Fiarr was gone for the majority of the week and told nobody, not even Kyvarr where she went.  She returned to the ship three time before the meeting time and each time she was dressed very differently.  The first time she was neatly attired in business dress with briefcase, the second time in the coveralls of a maintenance worker with one of the planetary utility companies, the final time in what were definitely gang colours.  Each time she stayed long enough to eat and sleep before heading out again.

At the alotted time, set by Devon, she was onboard ship, ready for whatever exercises they chose to do.

Mika will spend what time is necessary to help out Devon.  The rest of the time is working on two of the blasters that she pulled from the armory to replace the one that she'd left back on Det Akari.  She'll also be looking to purchase improvements to be made to her swoop.

After a little help from anyone who had more skill in locating objects, Kyvarr made a trip of the ship to purchase a new weapon, a BlasTech DT-12 heavy blaster.  The rest of the week she spent modifying the weapon by herself or if Kimy preferred working as a team to fix all three blasters.  She was determined to let her leg heal.  With approval from Dohr she also commenced a weight training and exercise regime at a nearby gym to begin strengthening herself, particularly her leg to full combat performance.  She wanted to be ready for whatever training Rian had installed for them.


OOC:  I assume by working on two blasters, Mika is modding them?

Cor, having ordered the droids to do their Things and having made sure she's grabbed a private comm number for everyone, spends the week in her room on the Ghtroc doing whatever it is she does.

Heigren disappears for the first full Nar Shaddaa day and is seen by nobody.  After about six hours the odd message is sent to various Talons.  They tended towards the obtuse:

'Met a guy who's brother's workmate is dating the secretary of a man who knows a ship dealer.  Will let you know.'

On the second (Nar Shaddaa) day, Heigren made himself available to Devon and anyone else interested to go haggling.

Idaya hangs around with the Talons and whenever back at the ship, she works on her own gear. She seems to know quite a bit about blaster weapons and is also pretty handy with fixing armour. And of course, she is doing her best to tool a firing pin for the blaster cannon of her speeder bike.

Slowly her black flight suit loses all indications of having been the standard issue model of the Chiss Expansionary Defence Force Fleet-Arm. She maintenances her rifle, or Charric as she calls it. Given the chance, she might even dabble with building a pistol-sized sidearm of the same sort as the rifle.

This message was deleted by the player at 07:35, Wed 18 June 2014.

"But of course." Dohr replied to Cor's comment about medical supplies. He would not walk over their chain of command as there apparently was one for certain things. Janine was the group's CMO and naturally had the last say over such things in the Commander's absence. He and the human female got along very well and the Kel Dorian doctor would gladly have another discussion with her. But as Ms. Carstairs seemed to be busy with other things, Dohr thought it would be best to go meet some old 'friends' first.

”Janine if you would not mind, I would gladly see to some other things first. I will be back before well before the nightfall.” He was naturally referring to the Nar Shaddaa night, which according to his chrono, was still quite far away. If all things went smoothly he would be back on the Ghtroc when his internal clock said it was time to sleep. Dohr then made sure Eleven had his comms ID, double checked his hidden weapons and headed out limping into the Vertical City. It had been a while, but despite of the nature of the place, it somehow felt good to be back.

As soon as he got out of the dock and into one of the busier commercial streets, Dohr entered a diner, ordered some food and made a call. ”Rani? Hello. Doctor Veen here. I will be in VC for a day or two and I need some things. Is your shop still standing?… Good. Can we meet in two hours?… Splendid. Now, in the meanwhile I have a list of things you could have a look for in your piles of junk… ok. ok. goods then… I will send it over to your pad right now. See you soon.”

He was in no hurry and finished his meal in peace. A local Rodian street rat had set his eyes on his fancy robe, but as the goggled eyes of the Kel Dorian met his in a long and meaningful stare, the kid decided it wiser to find some other target. Dohr had been to the Sullustan’s workshop/storage a few times before and knew the route well. It would only take him some 30 minutes to reach it, but it was always wise to travel slowly enough to have time to keeps one’s eyes open on Nar Shaddaa and pick some of the safer routes. The pickpockets were the smallest of threats in the place after all. Some others considered it easier to shoot first and rob the corpse afterwards.

Later, Dohr returned to the ship to rest and to talk with Sheila. He found a spot somewhere to set up a workshop for medpac experiment. The doctor did leave the Ghtroc a few times for lengthy periods to do... something.

Location - Aboard the Ghtroc-720, Starboard Cargo Bay
Time - Sunrise (Nar Shaddaa time)

**Five (coruscanti) days later**

The team kept themselves busy in various ways over the week off they had.  Kyvarr and Mika were probably the most productive, having spent most of the time working on a modifying a pair of heavy blasters.  Both women now wore their handiwork in hip or shoulder holsters.  This had been topped off by a night out during the long Nar Shaddaa night time.  They had returned tired, haggard and not speaking a word of their adventures. 

Devon had spent the week in a mix of success and failure.  His plans for the various exercises he had been planning had been most successful.  Between trips to the training centre, conferences with Cor and private planning he had got a lot done.  Sadly, his private venture to purchase a ship had yet to be successful and the shipjacker had returned to his planning.

Dohr had spent most of his time on the ship working on dismantling various medical equipment he'd acquired.  Idaya and Sheila had stayed on board and spent most of their time essentially doing nothing.  They were undoubtedly the most rested of the team.  Flash and Cor had stayed on board as well.  Flash working on security upgrades, Cor keeping entirely to herself, her droids moved about the ship and occasionally left it on some errand.  Fiarr had disappeared for most of the time, returning in various guises and states of disarray.  Heigren was the last turn up.  He'd been missing the entire five days and from the looks of him, it wasn't hard to imagine he probably hadn't slept any of that time!

Now everyone except Cor (who was in holographic presence only) sat around the cargo bay in chairs looking at Devon and waiting for their acting-commander to tell them what he had planned.


OOC:  Feel free to embelish anything you wish while we wait for Devon to get the party started.  Those of you who still have things from your week off to finish please PM me.  Otherwise it's time to kick some simulated butt!

Kyvarr sat comfortable in her chair.  She had her new modified BlasTech DT-12 heavy blaster on her lap as she continued to look it over, checking for any potential problems.  She was looking forward to trying it out on a firing range.  It paid to test new weapons before you had to use them for real.

She sat quietly and waited for Rian to speak.  She'd made sure to get a good eight hours sleep and breakfast before this meeting so she was well rested, fed and ready for whatever tests this team through at her.

Ambling in with a half-eaten sandwich in one hand and a datapad in the other, Devon looks around and raises his eyebrows in mock surprise.
"And no-one got shot, arrested or kidnapped - excellent." he said.

Dropping into a seat, Devon finished his sandwich and consulted his datapad.
"Ok.  So.  Training time.  When I was planning this I was operating on the assumption that at least some of you would turn up hungover, so I figured we'd start things out reasonably easy.  And loud.  Very very loud."
Devon grinned at Kyvarr - he knew she would enjoy this.
"First up is firing range.  We've got a whole morning booked to spend our time blowing stuff up with whatever handheld artillery takes your fancy."
He nodded to the freshly modded pistols that Kyvarr  and Mika were sporting.
"There will be a variety of weapons provided for you to play with... but bring your own toys along too - if you plan to use it for real one day, then bring it along today."

Devon looked round the room.
"We've got transport laid on to get us there so that our collection of hand cannons wont scare any of the natives, it'll be here in twenty minutes.  Questions?"

Fiarr raised a hand.  "As I have a preference for long distance shooting I am wondering if they'll have some dedicated sniper rifles there.  While I have the E-11s we acquired on Det Akari it is more a battlefield weapon, not a true precision instrument.  I would like some hands-on time with an X-45 and even a DXR-6 if they have one."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 22:33, Sat 21 June 2014.

Heigren dozed in his chair and missed all of what Devon had to say during the briefing.

Flash eyed Fiarr in surprise at the mention of the disruptor rifle but said nothing on the subject.  "I'd like some time with the X-45 myself.  I used to have one but lost it on a mission."

He looked to Kyvarr.  "If you'd permit it, I'd love a go at your rotary cannon too.  I bet she kicks serious butt!"

Devon nods in response to Fiarrs question.
"Yeah they got a full range.  And I know the DXR is illegal... but this is Nar Shaddaa - round here 'illegal' usually translates as 'gonna cost you extra' - but with what I've paid it actually means 'thank you, sir.  Please come again'.

Devon waited a few moments, to see if anyone else had any questions.
"OK, after the range we break for lunch and then its lasertag.  I figured that way we can practice shooting at targets that actually shoot back without anyone actually getting killed - we'll be doing some free for all and team vs team missions."

Devon paused again, giving people time to respond.
"We'll be wrapping up around 1900 Coruscant time - so you will have free time if you wanna go out and party or y'know' he glanced sideways at Heigren 'catch up on sleep.  Whatever.'

Sighing, Devon licked his finger then leaned sideways and stuck the wet digit into Heigren's ear.  After the yells of disgust had died down he told the Zeltron:
"I was just telling everyone that I figured a few days of inner contemplation might allow us all to focus, find our centres and meditate on the challenges to come.  So I've booked us into a retreat for wealthy execs.  No booze, no parties, and everyone will get their own cell to sleep in.  You can even take a vow of silence if you want."

The shipjacker managed to keep a straight face for all of half a second before he cracked and the usual grin re-emerged.
"Nah, I'm kiddin - we're goin' down the firing range then playin' laser tag."

This message was last edited by the GM at 01:24, Mon 23 June 2014.

Heigren did not respond the way Devon anticipated.  When the moist digit was placed in his ear the Zeltron merely smiled in his sleep and rolled over slightly, providing easier access to his auditory canal.  "Don't stop." came out in a dreamy murmur.
This message was last updated by the player at 01:40, Mon 23 June 2014.

(Ooc I hates my internet)

Sheila did spend the asked for time with the doc, so he knows what the talons have, even though there is not much on this ship.  She. Will also discuss with him what would be necessary to put a better emergency setup on this ship and give permission for any purchases, (no we can't afford a bacta tank.)

The rest of the week, she was fairly antisocial and spent most of her time reading.

Kyvarr stepped over to the side of the cargo bay and collected the large case that contained Nijel in his dismantled form.  She already had her new pistol in it's holster.  These were the only two personal weapons she wanted to try out.

"Ready to go sir." she said simply.

Mika snorts at Devon's antics in regards to Heigren, right up until the Zeltron mutters his "Don't stop."  At that point, her face takes on an expression of comical disgust.  "Yuck!" is her reasoned response to the situation.

She gives Devon a nod, letting him know that she's ready to head out whenever.

Dohr barely noticed the passing of time as he met an old acquaintance, did some shopping for both himself as well as the mercenary ship and for the last couple of days sat on the floor of the cargo bay hunched over various instruments, vials and ampuls and electronic components. His own bag was resupplied once more and he’d even managed to find an capsule-hotel providing Dorinian atmosphere to spend one “night” in. Doctor Dohr Veen was doing great.

When Devon gathered everyone to the hold, Dohr was already there. A few words and nods of greeting later, the Kel Dor had put his stuff away and was sitting on a makeshift chair like everyone else. Training time… He considered such an opportunity very interesting and worth while. During the last year and a half, Dohr had gotten a few “opportunities” of testing himself in combat situations, but the last time he had had a controlled military exercise was years, even decades ago.

As everyone was listing weapons they wanted to give a try, Dohr thought about for a while. He had no preferences really, but having a go with different types of guns would be good - especially at non-living targets. ”I too would like to try a few weapons in addition to making sure my own are in condition. While I am not too picky, it might be nice to fire off a few… hundred rounds on a repeater. And perhaps, should they have one available… a SoroSuub Firelance or even a BlasTech Firespray to test if they really are as effective in stunning targets as their reputation claims.”

Cor, who has been quiet through the meeting, speaks up.

"Security seems tight enough that the B1 droids can handle it.  Would you like CC9 to accompany you on this training mission, Commander?"

When Heigren didnt react with the anticipated yell and flailing, Devon looked round the room with an expression of surprise to which he added a slight cringe when Heigren murmured encouragement at him.
Carefully extracting his finger, Devon wiped it on the edge of his chair before looking round at the others.
"OK, so what we have learned here is one way you don't want to try and wake up Vyn..."

When people started asking about various guns, Devon flipped through several pages of information on his datapad, occasionally wiping his finger on the chair again.
"I've no idea what specific guns they have... but they DID have an impressive armoury, so I guess you can ask 'em if you wanna try something in particular."

Looking round at the holographic Umbaran, Devon nodded. "Yeah, we want the doombot.  He almost always takes part in ground actions - hell, he's LED one.  SO yeah, I want him along.  Thanks, Sola."

The corellian stood up and stretched.
"OK, transport will be here in..." he paused to check the time on his datapad "fifteen minutes.  Those who aint ready yet, please BE ready.  And can someone wake up our sleeping prince here?"

Devon ambled out to grab his things.

The group all stood ready when the transport, a small speeder bus arrived to collect the ten participants and their gear.  The trip to the training centre was uneventful.

The training centre itself was impressive, covering several city blocks.  Several large building rose amidst outdoor platforms containing drill yards, obstacle course, firing ranges flight pads and much more.  It was certainly the place to come to train a mercenary force maybe even a small army.

After a brief orientation to the facility, the group was lead to one of the many firing ranges.  The range they were led to actually had several sections dedicated to small arms, rifles, precision weapons, even heavy weapons and grenades.  There was even a range suitable for Nijel to be used  The variety of weapons to choose from was as varied as the ranges.

There was a mix of shooting for fun and practice and then Devon had the teams shoot scored sets.  On the standard shooting range, Flash scored highest in pistols and rifles with Dohr, Fiarr and Kyvarr coming a close second, CC9, Devon and Mika also scoring quite highly.

On the sniper range Flash slightly beat out Fiarr in precision but the two shot with completely different mannerisms.  Fiarr was an instrument of calm precision, taking her time, assessing wind and direction.  She kept so still she practically vanished into the ground she rested on.  One could clearly imagine her vanishing into shrubs or shadows as effortlessly and silently as a ghost.

Flash meanwhile was a measure of impatience.  He growled, swore, fidgeted and moved around.  It was clear that while Flash was the slightly better marksman, when it came to being a sniper, Fiarr won out.  Being accurate was only half the job. You also need to get away unseen or your first sniper job would be your last!

The next test was the speed range.  Here targets flipped up and down with great speed and without specific order.  Here Kyvarr ranked highest, closely followed by Devon.  Whilst not quite the most accurate, they had a natural alacrity that made up for precision.

After this the group trialled various heavy weapons.  Here Kyvarr showed her skill.  Despite it's size and inaccuracy, the Cathar showed an uncanny ability to keep a narrow spread of fire with Nijel and the other offered weapons.  Unprepared for the recoil, Heigren was nearly blasted off his feet when he tried to fire Nijel!

After the scoring, the remaining time was spent with people trying any weapon they saw fit, or just sitting and watching the others shoot.  Four hours passed quickly and soon everyone felt the desire to stop for a meal.  If they were on Coruscant right now it would be midday, but on Nar Shaddaa it was barely mid-morning!

The group moved to a large cafeteria and helped themselves from a vast array of food and drink before claiming a table to talk.  Devon glanced at his chrono.  They weren't booked on the laser tag field for an hour so there was time to relax and debrief.



OOC:  A chance to chat over anything before we hit the actual (simulated) combat mission.  Also a chance for debriefing over your shooting on the range.  First real test - laser tag!
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:39, Tue 24 June 2014.

Heigren had slept in the transport on the way to the firing range and had taken a large mug of caf to get moving on arrival.  Any sleep he might have been feeling was certainly thrown away when he tried to fire Nijel.  He was amazed, awed and more than a little turned on by the miniscule Cathar who managed the recoil like there wasn't any.

As he sat eating his lunch he raised his glass.  "While our commander here didn't tell us who scored lowest out there, I'd like to raise my glass and officially acknowledge my standing as "Crappiest Shot in the Team"  I will now accept your accolades."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:33, Tue 24 June 2014.

Mika was pleased with her pistol marksmanship.  Not as good as some, but not bad for the auxiliary who was more focused on keeping the ships flying.  She showed no particular skill with the sniper rifle, but at least she knew which end to point at the target.  But one look at the heavy weapons and she decided to skip out.  The thing was damn near her own size.

When they did some free shooting though, that was the best as she got to unlimbers her newly crafted special and see what it could do.

She was real happy when Devon calls for a meal break.  "Damn fine idea, boss."

When Heigren stands and claims the title of crappiest shooter, she grins and raises her can of jizz-pop in salute.

Fiarr sipped a glass of water as she ate lunch.  When Heigren made his display she stood and raised a glass.  "Do all the ladies out there know you can't shoot straight?" she asked, a wry grin on her face.

She then sat and looked at the Kel Dor opposite her.  "Excellent shooting out there Dohr.  Good to know us ex-officer types can still show the grunts how it's done."  She looked over at Kyvarr, a disappointed look on her face.  "What would your old unit say if they know you were scored equal with a pair of ex-officers?  A doctor and a pilot to boot!  You'd never live it down!"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:10, Tue 24 June 2014.

Kyvarr looked up briefly from the steak she was eating.  The meat covered the plate and she'd had to pile the vegetables on top.  Between bites she grunted.

"Anyone can shoot on a range.  I'll be impressed when the target is shooting back."

She returned to the business of eating.

CC9 looks around at Heigren when he speaks up.

"Metrics have been analysed."  Clearly, as one might expect, CC9 is just as capable of assessing skill as the shooting range's computers would be.  "Your assertion that you rank the lowest is accurate, especially in the area of heavy weaponry.  Idaya has ranked the second-lowest of the team in all areas, though neither the PK droids nor R2-A9 have been tested in this capacity.  Further testing will be added to and compared against existing combat metrics data."

Devon joined in the toast to Heigren, raising his mug of caf in mock salute.
"Congratulations!  One badly aimed no-prize will be mailed to you sooner or later." he said cheerfully.  Privately, Devon was relieved.  So far the day had gone well, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves or at least satisfied with what they were doing.  Given recent events, he'd been hoping for something to improve morale a bit.

"Maybe you're right, Kyvarr; but this afternoon your gonna have to put your money where you mouth is."  Devon gave the Cathar a challenging grin.  "Lasertag time.  A few free for all rounds to warm up and let you all exercise those fantasies of shooting me in the back, then we do some five vs five team missions.  Different scenarios, time limits, that sort of thing.  Red team will be led by Idaya, and Blue by Dohr.  Membership of the teams will change frequntly.  Sometimes you guys will pick, sometimes I'll pick, sometimes I'll get bored and roll a dice."

Anyone who thought back to the interview session would remember that those two had both claimed leadership skills - Devon had clearly decided this afternoon would be their chance to shine.
"After we've done some Red VS Blue matches, I've got something a bit different lined up to round out the day.  We'll all be operating as one team against an opposing ten man team.  We'll be staying as two fire teams - Red and Blue - with Idaya and Dohr retaining command of them.  Red and Blue will have to work together to achieve the objective set for us."

"Shall you be a member of one of the fireteams in the last match, or will you retain the overall command of the squad", Idaya asked Devon. "I simply wish to figure out the chain-of-command before we begin." Yet it didn't sound as if the Chiss was looking to hoard the overall command to herself - she was simply looking to be organized.

"Hmm?" asks Devon, looking up from his munchies.
"Oh - no you and Dohr will be in charge." he says easily  "Up to you guys to make it work."

This message was last edited by the player at 22:00, Wed 25 June 2014.

Kyvarr looked at Fiarr evenly.  "Time to see if you officers can cut it in the mud with real soldiers.  You might get your fur all dirty.  Sure you can handle that and not cry?"

Fiarr made a Bothan hand gesture which was a more refined and sophisticated version of the human 'One finger salute'.  "There was me thinking it was little kittens who didn't like get dirty.  I'll be sure to have a bath and bowl of milk ready afterwards."

Fiarr wasn't fooled by Kyvarr's apparent hostility.  It was a game the pair played.  Ever since meeting on Det Akari they'd made a fast and firm friendship.  Fiarr found it amusing she had developed such a bond to someone so different to herself.  Fiarr was all about silent, one-woman, patient and precision operations.  Kyvarr was a no-holds barred, platoon-strength full-frontal assault kind of girl. Still hard times brought the strangest of people together and the Bothan couldn't imagine a better friend then the Cathar.

Sheila had scored higher than idaya, which surprised her.  She had been firing her blaster pistol and had borrowed a blaster rifle, but after heigren nearly got blasted off his feet with the recoil, she decided not to try Nigel

After some small talk on consumption of good food and drink an announcement comes over Devon's datapad.  He examines it, sees they're laser tag zone is now ready and he quickly herds everyone there.



**THREAD CLOSED - For now!  Report to laser tag!**

**THREAD REOPENED - Report to debrief!**
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:23, Sun 12 Oct 2014.

The debriefing room is the same as it was before.  A lecturn and viewscreen up front with a semicircular table facing it allowing people to talk to each other as well as the presenter.  Various refreshments sat on a side table.

Flash marched into the debriefing room and looked at the selection of drinks and snorted.  He'd grabbed a six-pack from the local bar and dropped them on the table and popped the first bottle.  He was pretty sure the commander wasn't running another sim to day and Flash always enjoyed a drink after vaping the enemy, even simulated ones.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:09, Sun 12 Oct 2014.

Sheila's visit to the frescher took less than four minutes, then she arrived in the breakroom.  Still fuming over her performance, she took a look at the various cold drinks, and took a bottle of the most alcoholic of the corellian ales.  She waved at Flash, threw herself into one of the chairs and took a long pull at the beer.

Kyvarr walked into the room nine minutes later.  She'd clearly showered but had not had time to fully dry and brush her fur.  She gave new meaning to 'bad hair day'.

She moved quickly over to Flash, grabbed a beer from his pack, ripped the top off and drained the beer in one pull.  She sighed in pleasure then took a seat at the table.  She look at Flash and his four remaining beers.

"Hey Forim, they look good.  Mind if I have one?"

Flash scowled and pulled his drinks to himself.  "Sorry Hammer, I don't share drinks with ground pounders, I only drink with pilots."

He held the scowl a few more seconds then grinned and pushed an ale bottle across the table.  "However, given your performance in the sim, I think you have the makings of a damn good stick-jockey."

Fiarr had slipped quietly out of the simulator room and had a quick wash before heading to the debriefing room.  She grinned when Flash made his comment about Kyvarr having the making of a good pilot.  She bit back a stinging remark for once.  The Cathar had done well and it would be better to let her enjoy the idea rather then push her back into old steretypical rivalries between ground and space force.

Heigren shuffled into the room, a half-empty bottle of Corellian Whisky in his hands.  Having been able to drink during the sim he'd been able to get a head start on the others.

"Ho ho, it's the victorious Blue Team I see, minus their fearless leader.  Where are the Red Team?"

He adjusts his voice to that of the Chase 1 captain.  "This one think honourless enemy go commit Seppuku rather then face mighty victors."

He grabbed a plate of food and dropped into a chair.

Mika had been delayed, trying to find her favorite flavor of fizzy pop.  She had to settle for Manu flavor though.  Still, it wasn't bad.  Walking into the room, she catches Heigren's comment.  "Bless you.". She responds to the term seppuku.  "You should see Dohr about that cold."

She gives a nod to the rest.  "good job you guys.  Sorry we didn't give you a better run for you creds."

Heigren grins and changes his voice to that of the Freighter captain.  "Awww now.  Don't fret about that wee lassie.  Nah, have yourself a wee sip of my highland whiskey here."

He pours a generous shot into a glass then pushes it across the table to Mika.

Idaya walked in, looking as calm as ever. "Well flown, Blue Team", she complimented them and leaving it at that. She wanted to wait for Devon before making any comments on whether the scenario was unbalanced or not.

CC9 stalks in and stands wordlessly by a wall.

Fiarr nodded as Mika then Idaya walked in.

"So how were things on Red Team?  I must admit when I realised you guys had three corvettes I thought 'We are soooooo dead.'  Then when I remembered Idaya here was a corvette captain I thought 'We are soooooo totally completely absolutely dead!'  No idea how we survived that, especially flying old Headhunters."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:48, Tue 14 Oct 2014.

Dohr was the last to arrive into the debriefing room. He too had visited a refresher suited for his kind. Standing under a freezing cold shower, the Kel Dor had cleared his mind of the anxiety, excitement and confusion of the battle while taking in deep breaths of the Dorinian atmosphere. Like always the gas mixture had had an industrial, metallic ting to it. And like always Dohr had been somewhat surprised to taste it even after all these years as it had really been a long, long time since he'd last visited the homeworld. When fully relaxed, the former major of the Dorinian Armed Forces had gone through the short and hectic space battle in his mind. He had not been the commander this time, but he wondered if something could have been done differently. Should he have done something another way? Having very little experience of ship to ship battles it was really hard for him to say.

Stepping through the doorway to the room, Dohr was sure he would soon find out. He was actually looking forward to it. The day had been filled with a number of exercises and he had enjoyed it immensely, but the doctor knew it would and could not last. They were not here just for fun. Perhaps their assessment was now over and Dohr and Idaya would soon hear whether they would be accepted into the group of mercenaries or not. The Kel Dor gave everyone present a customary bow and limped to the refreshments table to grab a non-alcoholic drink.

Obviously he'd missed everything of the conversation before Fiarr's question and repeated the complements given by Idaya and Mika. "I would like to congratulate the Blue team on your victory. Clearly we were not on your level in this battle. But despite of that or perhaps due to it, I personally found the simulation so fascinating I completely forgot it was virtual and none of our crew members' lives were really in danger. I would like to think it was my excitement that made me shoot so poorly rather than my lack of skill…" The Doc was certainly smiling behind his mask and perhaps the others had already learned to recognize some of his expressions to see it too.

Dohr turned to bow to Fiarr. "We were overwhelmed by your superior skills, Fiarr. We fought as well as we could, but obviously that was not enough today. I can only hope the good people of the freighters along with their indecent, blabbering captains lived to see another day…" With the last remark the Kel Dor gave a theatrical and certainly exaggerated bow to Vyn.

Kyvarr snorted at Dohr's comments to Fiarr.  "Don't tell her that Sir.  She'll believe you actually mean that and we'll never hear the end of her bragging.  We'll end up needing a hoversled to carry her ego around."

Heigren grins and pours two more very large shots of whisky and hands one to Dohr and Idaya as well as one for anyone he'd missed or needed a refill.  The Kel Dor's he of course pours into an appropriate receptacle.  He ignores people who decline and hands them a drink anyway.  He decides not to offer CC9 one even though the whisky was probably strong enough to power his circuits.

"Well now we're all on the same team once more.  Personally I didn't know who to root for as I had a vested interest in both sides winning.  Lucky I wasn't running a pool!"

He raised his cup.  "Before Sola and Rian arrive to spoil our fun, I'd like to raise a toast to you all.  Some of us have only know each other a short time but we've already shown when the chips are down this group can open a serious can of whoop-ass.  I salute you all."

He drains his cup in one pull.

Mika catches a whiff of the brew that Heigren slides over and she quickly slides it further away from her, not back towards Heigren, just further away.  "No thanks, I'll stick with this."  She brandishes her fizz pop.

"Oh, I'm not that bad, am I?"  said Devon from the doorway, sounding mock hurt.  Ambling in, Devon helped himself to Mikas unwanted whiskey and joined in the toast without hesitation.

Swallowing, Devon regarded the whiskey bottle thoughtfully.
"Nice." he said.  "Not Whynn's Reserve, but very nice."

"Our fearless leader has arrived." Flash said sarcastically.  "Dohr was just telling us how there was no way Red Team could keep up with Blue Team's sheer overwhelming awsomeness.  Or something like that."

Dohr salutes Flash with his whisky. "Something like that."

An M4 droid floats in and projects an image of Cor into a nearby chair.  She's in a casual pose and a casual outfit drinking a casual drink.

"Yes," she agrees, "something like that.  Are we all present?"

Heigren looked around.  "I think we're all here.  Only you and R2-A9 are missing best I can tell."

"R2-A9 has returned to the ship," Cor says smoothly, "but is logged in and receiving feeds via CC9 if anyone feels the need to ask him anything."

Devon made a rude gesture in Flashs direction in response to his 'fearless leader' taunt before settling himself into a chair, and sipped appreciatively at his whiskey.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking.
"OK, lets get this over with.  So Blue team won, but how do people think the sim went?"

OOC:  ok so its hardly deathless prose, but I am too tired for more right now :)
This message was last edited by the player at 01:00, Thu 16 Oct 2014.

"I think it was pretty damn bad, our team. Got killed.". She raises a hand, palm outwards.  "Just here me out a second.  I'm not complaining about the quality of e sim or the battle.  I'm not even complaining that we got our butts kicked.  But at some point, I ink it's better to cut losses and live to fit another day then to keep taking a pounding until we're blasted to bits."

Fiarr raised an eyebrow at Mika's comment.  "So are you suggesting Red Team should have surrended?  Or retreated?"

Mika shrugs, "No, I'm not saying we should have retreated or surrendered, but I am suggesting that it should have been considered there towards the end.  And for all I know, Idaya did consider it though it certainly wasn't apparent to me if she did."

"I'm confused Kimy.  If you don't think Red Team should have retreated or surrendered then how would you of 'cut losses'?  What would you have done if in command?"

"While I am interested in the answer to that as well, and it may help to hear how Kimy would have dealt with it, her performance was not under direct review."  Cor turns to nod her head at each of the potential recruits in turn.  "I would suggest, Commander, that we may wish to ask a different question: namely, how Idaya thinks the simulation went - from Red Team's viewpoint, of course - in respect of the sim's difficulty, the team's performance and her own command."

"Of course."  Fiarr replied.  "I was just interested in her thoughts as she was on the bridge and I wasn't"

Mika let's out a long breath.  "Let me try again.  I'm not saying staying to fight was the right decision and I'm not saying that retreat or surrender was the right decision.  What I'm saying is that it should be an option that's considered and I'm curious if Idaya gave it due consideration.  Had I been in command and it had been real, I probably would either fall back for repairs or maybe retreat."

Sheila came out of her funk to listen, having retrieved a second and third ale and a couple of sandwiches with chips.  As far as she was concerned, the corvettes should have won.  On the other hand, she'd seen the Talons win things they shouldn't have. So she did want to hear what was going on inside the corvettes.

Kyvarr looked at Idaya expectantly.  She was bound to explain her plans now asked.  The Cather didn't doubt she'd had numerous strategies.  She was a military corvette captain after all, the sim had probably seemed routine.  Kyvarr was still surprised how successful the Blue Team had been, especially with amateurs like herself flying.

Seeing that Idaya hadn't spoken up yet, Fiarr continued to question Mika who was the only one who seemed to be offering any information.  "Kimi, how would you have retreated or fallen back?  Our ship were faster than your corvettes and definitely your freighters.  We weren't about to give up the fight."

Cor sighs quietly and taps at a keyboard for a few seconds before drinking some more of her super-strong space-coffee.

"Two reasons, I refused the offer to surrender were as follows. First of all, ceasing to fire would have meant also ceasing to fire on the torpedoes that were still tracking for our ship. It would have meant a suicide. Second reason was - I do not know if any of you have experience in fighting pirates like I do - the pirates can talk prettily and promise you things, but can you trust their word? Maybe on the day, Csilla turns in to a tropical planet." To most if not to all of them, the referrence was very much lost as none of the probably knew, Csilla was covered in ice.

"The downfall of the corvettes was the abundance of anti-ship ordnance available to the pirates as well as the lack of anti-fighter batteries on the corvettes' side. I would have preferred a rather indirect route to our destination, if I had the choice, but I must compliment the 'pirates' on their cunning ploy to deploy in to the middle of the convoy. It was a very good tactic. Had the missiles and torpedoes not kept us occupied, though, we would have made short work of your fighters from close proximity."

Sheila actually smirked a little.  "I think that was the point of the torps and missiles."  She thought they still should have made not quite so short work of the fighters, but she didn't say that out loud.

"Pirates?"  Fiarr looked at Idaya with surprise.  "We weren't the pirates in that scenario Idaya, you were!"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:18, Sun 19 Oct 2014.

"At the point a surrender was ordered, Idaya, Blue Team had already reduced us to near-scrap.  It would have been far easier for them to simply destroy us without offer of any kind.  As it is your refusal to surrender resulted in the loss of 148 lives," Cor points out, "not including any lost on the freighters.  Total financial loss would have been over 7.5 million credits."

"Ouch."  Heigren blurted out before he thought before it.  He shrugged apologetically and focused on a plate of food he'd collected.

"So, Miss Numen, how would you have handled the whole fight, then? You are eager to point out faults in my decissions, but what would you have done, had you been sitting in the captain's chair?" Idaya kept her face and tone calm, when she asked the question. She clearly wasn't going to be provoked.

"As my performance is not under review, Idaya," Cor states evenly, "that question is irrelevant and will not be entertained unless the Commander orders it.  Your performance, however, is under review.  This is not an idle conversation about a flight combat simulator, it is an examination of your methods, abilities and motives.

"You seem to state primarily that you did not surrender to Blue Team because pirates cannot be trusted, yet the message Blue Team actually sent during the sim - that the freighters were carrying stolen cargo - and Miss Melan'nel's statement immediately prior to yours clearly indicate that they believed that Red Team were pirates."  Cor leans forward slightly.  "Did that fact escape your attention or is there a reason you dismissed it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:27, Sun 19 Oct 2014.

Kyvarr was startled Idaya's outburst but did her best to keep the surprise off her face.  She wasn't surprised the bosses were riding Idaya hard.  Her own CO's used to always point out her mistakes, real or not.  She imagined Idaya had to of dealt with the same.  So Idaya's retort took her by surprise.  Perhaps the Chiss was tired.  They all were.

"According to our briefing, we were members of Sirius Self-Defence Forces, which would rather suggest legitimacy rather than being pirates. Our mission was to protect freighters carrying medical supplies to Sirius IV, supplies that were purely humanitarian in nature and were mentioned to fetch a good price in the black market, which would make a pirate attack a distinct possibility. Am I wrong? If so, remind me of what was the actual mission.

What comes to operating capital ships, there was very little we could do but fire at the number of warheads presented. With slowly tracking turbolasers it was somewhat surprising, we even managed to shoot a few of them down and had it not been for our pilot, our fight would have been over even sooner. If you have suggestions on how I should have handled the tactical side of the battle, I welcome suggestions. However, while one must learn of one's mistakes, hindsight is simply guessing, how things would have gone if one had done this instead of that. One can not know for certain.

You are also accusing me of getting 148 virtual crewmembers killed and losing three corvettes and six freighters. While it is true, we could maybe have saved one corvette, but that is if the opposing force had really gone through with their promise to let us go and their torpedoes, still tracking, had not struck us. Even then, we would have lost two corvettes and six freighters, which would have meant the death toll to be roughly at 80.

Commanding a fleet of ships isn't easy. I do not know if anyone of you truly has the experience in large scale fleet operations, but I can assure you, flying fighters is far different, even in a squadron. In a real situation, I would have had real commanders running the two other ships, capable of making their own tactical decissions without myself having to give the orders for them all the time. We would most likely have had enough crew to man all the batteries at once, so we could have made our fire bear at all directions at once. The Chiss corvettes have a broader spectrum of weaponry - not just turbolasers but anti-fighter weaponry as well. These are simply facts. And yet considering the disadvantages we had, we did reasonably well, even if we lost. Of course, this may differ from each point of view, depending on what your emphasis is."

Her tone still calm, Idaya sounded like she was teaching young cadets in tactics.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:24, Sun 19 Oct 2014.

"You are very quick to 'state facts' after summarily branding my statements as accusatory.  Your decisions resulted in the deaths of 148 or more crew members, over seven and a half million credits' worth of equipment and more in cargo.  Plus two droids.  Simulated, yes, but those were the losses.  Those are facts.  I am asking you to explain your decisions.

"As for your opinion of Red Team's performance, I acknowledge readily that lack of familiarity with a particular form of craft is a legitimate factor to take into account.  Having said that, Blue Team destroyed three heavily-armed corvettes and achieved their goals with the loss of one single fighter, designated Blue 5.  I would put it to you that Red Team did not just fail; we failed spectacularly."  Cor nods her head slightly to indicate Idaya.  "Part of that was due to the simulation parameters, part of it was due to skill on Blue Team's behalf but part of it is also due to Red Team's performance - including yours.

"You have taken the time to restate the mission as it was given to us," Cor remarks, "but have ignored my question entirely.  Evidence came to light that the mission parameters may have been wrong, a factor that is hardly unique to this simulation.  What is your reasoning for disregarding this, or did you simply miss the implication during the fight?"
This message was last edited by the player at 08:07, Sun 19 Oct 2014.

"I can understand your confusion about the mission brief,"  Heigren interjected,  "And I got BOTH mission briefings as I was playing characters on both teams."

"I got Red Team's first and it was just like you said.  Military convoy running a blockade to bring urgent medical supplies to a planet under siege.  Very noble.  Then I got the Blue Team's brief.  They were a corporate security team sent to recover medical supplies stolen from them!"

"It confused me for a minute, which isn't a good thing since I'm supposed to be master of the con.  Then I got it.  Nobody told the Red Team WHERE the supplies came from.  Idaya you had no reason to question.  But I get it now.  A planet under blockade, supplies are needed and expensive.  What if the cargo was obtained through. . .shady means.  The military crew wouldn't know any better.  It's likely the freighter crew didn't know any better.  But it creates the perfect quandry.  Red Team thinks Blue Team are pirates and Blue Team think Red Teams are thieves."

He bowed to Devon.  "My compliments on your deception.  It was well played."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:36, Sun 19 Oct 2014.

"It might have something to do with your statements sounding, if not being very much accusatory, Miss Numen. The fact is, the fight would have been over even faster, if I had not chosen to have the batteries fire on the warheads rather than the fighters. I did what could be done with the resources given to me. If you have ideas on how the mission could have been accomplished without loss of life, then I would very much welcome your thoughts on the matter.

I sent the freighters out of the way, so they would not come under stray shots from us or the enemy. I worked with what information I had and disregarded the enemy communications as propaganda, because there was nothing in my knowledge that would have indicated anything else. Or perhaps disregard would be a wrong term - I did not react to it as anything but a ploy. And as Vyn said, both teams had a reason to believe, the other one was simply pirates."

"Very well, if that is the position you intend to maintain, your statements have been noted," Cor says in a tone that is light and unconcerned.  "Moving on.  Doctor Veen, what were your thoughts on the performance of Red Team and, in particular, your own actions?"

Devon nodded agreement with Cor's reply to Idaya; he had been silent ever since getting the debrief started, though he had made a great many notes on his datapad.

The shipjacker acknowledged Heigrens complement with a grin - Heigren complementing someone on a well-run con seemed to be on a par with the Empire complimenting your ability to oppress the masses - you knew you were doing it right.

Now Devon gave his attention to Dohr and waited for the good doctor to speak.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:55, Sun 19 Oct 2014.

Dohr knew it would hit him before it did. He would have to comment on Iday's work. His actions had been under scrutiny during the simulation and would be after it. And even though he had not been given specific task by Rian or Sola, they’d still expected him to participate to the best of his abilities in whatever role he would be assigned to. And so he had. Idaya had made him a gunner and perhaps wisely so, although his skills had proven to be even worse than he’d initially imagined himself. He did not feel overly comfortable about evaluating the performance of another applicant, but it was what was required of him so he would comply.

Nodding to Cor’s hologram image and to Devon, Dohr stood up and leaned on his cane. ”I am sure everyone agrees with me that the overall performance of team Red was not as good as the original setup of the exercise would have let us assume. I am no expert in ship to ship battles, but I still was taken by surprise by the sheer strength of Blue team’s attack. Their supply of missiles seemed endless. And in my opinion Blue team strategy was excellent. The initial hit came from multiple directions at the same time. Having only three ships surely limited our possibilities of responding to the ambush. Or that was the picture I had in my mind. Being an army officer; a ground force soldier, my understanding of three dimensional battles in space is somewhat limited.”

The Doc took a sip of his whisky and spend a customary couple of seconds to reconsider his next words. ”However… In my experience of mass combat situations or war, when being attacked from practically all sides, the defending party has two options: It must assume an unbreachable defense formation using whatever means and cover possible… or break through the enemy forces at their weakest point like a wedge. Of course in space there is very little or none whatsoever cover available, but on Dorin the commanders of our armored units have been trained in a maneuver called the Pilgrim’s defense. Do not ask me where the name comes from, but basically it means the defending units will form a ring or triangle giving cover to each other as well any non-armored troops in the middle. Then when the opportunity presents itself, they will charge at the weak spot and break through to the other side to continue the fight from a more... advantageous position.”

”I am sure you’ve already grown tired of me saying this… But as I do not fully comprehend the niceties of space combat, I cannot say if a “Pilgrim’s defense” would have made any difference in our situation or not. It would certainly have left our… proteges without cover...”

Another sip later, the Kel Dor looked directly at Devon. ”My personal performance… My role was not one hundred percent clear to me. Yes, I was appointed as a gunner and that is what I concentrated on. However as the commander of the Red team, Idaya also said I was to take her place, should she fall. Not a direct nominations as the Executive Officer of the vessel, but a position with similar responsibilities nevertheless. Naturally I should have asked for clearance from my commanding officer, but the heat of the battle was too tense for me to concentrate on such a secondary issue. So… As a gunner I did not succeed. I barely hit anything during the whole simulation even with the help of the sensory data Idaya fed me. As an XO I possibly did even worse. I could and maybe should have questioned some of the Commander’s orders, particularly the last one. Sometimes it is better to give up; to admit defeat and live to see another day… But in the end, I am not competent to question a commander of a capital ship in the midst of a space battle. I felt all I could do was to voice my concerns.”

”Now do not get me wrong. I am not trying to defend myself and blame another. It is simply my view of the events that just took place. To me it seemed the Blue team was too heavily armed for us to be able to take them out.”

Kyvarr nodded.  "We have a similar strategy.  Roughly translated it's called Jorgan's Lance."

Mika focuses on listening, her own queries of Idaya's decisions left off.  She'd just wanted to know if Idaya had considered the retreat or surrender option and if so, her thoughts of why they were unacceptable and Idaya had already addressed that.  The rest, well it seemed the simulation wasn't the only attack Idaya was to suffer.  For the former military types, maybe that's how things were done, but it seemed a bit too much to a former swoop punk like her.

Flash sat quietly, refusing to let his rising anger show.  This was Devon's show.  But he didn't know how long he could bite his tongue.  He bit into some food instead.

Cor seems satisfied by Dohr's assessment and nods once, giving him a smile.  Her fingers continue tapping as she does so, not bothering to look down in order to type.

"Very well, Doctor Veen.  Your comments have been noted."  Then she looks over at Devon.  "I believe I have done assessing Red Team, Commander.  Is there anything you would add before you begin assessing Blue Team?"

Devon grinned slightly at Dohrs comment about the supply of torpedoes seeming endless.
"You know we were out of ammo before the end, right?  That volley that missed twice - that was our last shot at a barrage."


"Kimy and Sola did good work in their attempts to save the ship - chasing after the missiles was a good move, gave the gunners more time to fire... and gave Sola more time to shore up the shields.  Speaking of which, redirecting all shield power to oppose that barrage probably saved Red 1 from being destroyed instantly when the torpedoes did finally hit."


Devon paused and rubbed at his eyes tiredly before he continued.
"I'm really not sure where to start with Blue team... I mean, I was leading the team - I figure that skews my perspective a bit.  So how do you guys think Blue team did?"

Fiarr thought a while before answering.  "I must say I was impressed Rian.  Not because we won, but the way you and the team seem to effortlessly change tactics and plans in a battle.  When I flew with the Bothan Defence Force we had a saying "Plan the flight then fly the plan."  We were taught not following the predetermined plan was disastrous.  You proved that theory wrong.  In fact you were modifying the strategy so often I don't think the Red team had time to adapt.  I mean one minute I'm part of a recon flight, then I'm playing chicken with freighters, then I'm setting up fake targeting locks then suddenly I'm leading a flight of six while Forim tries to scrape paint off the corvette's belly!  It was a wild ride."

Cor nods to Devon in acknowledgement of his kind words, a raised eyebrow betraying the fact that she didn't expect him to mention her.  He eyes flick to something not shown in the hologram - presumably a screen - and she smiles a small smile.

"Yes, Forim is quite fond of meeting challenges head-on.  That he always comes out alive is a testament to his skill."  Glancing at Devon again she says airily, "Commander, do you think you might spare CC9's presence for the rest of the debriefing?  I have a task for him and can keep him in-the-loop by linking him to my M4's vidfeed."

Seeing Devon looking for debriefing from the Blue Team, Kyvarr spoke up.  "Sir, Blue team appeared to execute your orders with precision and skill.  Of course I was too busy trying to fly my ship to do anything more then just fly straight sir."

Mika looks over at Devon.  "Hugging the missiles tails, well as much as a cap ship can, was Idaya's order, I just tried to follow it."

Idaya gave a slight nod at Mika, who could have easily taken the credit for the idea but chose not to. It seemed, she appreciated the notion.

"I must commend the Blue team on a fight well fought. I am afraid, your initial barrages made it quite difficult to respond in kind, but only a few more seconds and I believe Mr. Cloudrider would have met his fate at the end of a turbolaser induced fireball. At least virtually, that is. The last transmission gave your position away reasonably well, so you were already in our sights. And I believe you conducted what we call 'Hammer and Anvil' - firing on a capital ship from both sides of the bow in an angle, making it impossible to dodge all the ordnance."

Flash snorted, unable to control himself.  "So you knew which ship was the commander's?  Big deal.  You'd already lost.  Would killing the Blue Team Leader have made up for getting every member of your own crew killed?  Or did you believe killing him would somehow make the rest of us flee in terror?"

"It was similar to a tactic called the claw punch, used in our military."  Kyvarr offered, trying to deflect Flash's comments.  "A modified form of pincer maneuver, the army splits into three main groups.  Two high speed units of tanks and fast walkers attack from the flanks of a mobile enemy to harrass and contain them while the main force of heavy walkers and artillery attacks from either the front or rear.  Goal is to keep the enemy massed together to give the artillery an easier time to inflict damage."

The Cathar didn't really think the group wanted a tactics lesson but she was worried about the direction the conversation seemed to be heading.

Sheila sank back into her chair.  She knew what she'd done wrong, she'd managed to lose sight of what the team was doing, ending up in the wrong place and  missing chances to shoot, but otherwise, she thought blue team had done well, she was just surprised that the corvettes had had so much trouble.  But they were, from what the others were saying, weaker than she would have expected them to be.  She started on the third bottle, morosely waiting for Devon to call her out of her failures.

Idaya looked at Flash in a calm manner. "And what would you have done, Mr. Forim, if you were in my stead? Surrendered with torpedoes still homing for you? I am not sure whether the unbalance in the strengths between the two tems were on purpose or accidental, but I would very much like to hear any suggestions of what I could have done differently - if for nothing else, to educate me in capital ship tactics."

Flash moved to respond then looked over at Devon and Cor.  Nodding he tried to appear indifferent, though it was obvious he wasn't.

"That's up to them."  He said gesturing to Cor and Devon.  "It's their debrief."  His tone suggested he'd like nothing more then to give Idaya a 'lesson'.

For his part, Devon had no intention of starting into that particular debate again.
"You guys wanna take that up later?  Be my guest.  Yeah, Sola - Send CC9 off if you want." Devon turned his attention back to Fiarr and Kyvar.

He grinned at the Bothans comments about changing tactics.
"Its the way we've always operated - we always have a plan when we go in.. but I don't think we've ever had a mission that went totally according to that plan."  he shrugged.  "Life throws you curveballs?  Adapt.  Improvise."

Fiddling with his datapad, Devon turned to Kyvarr.
"Dont sell yourself short," he told her "OK, so you got no formal training for fighters - but you did fine given that you'd never flown one before today. You're probably better off talking to someone with actual formal training on fighters - someone like the Boss - but I'm thinking if you put the time in for some training, you'd be a pretty damn good pilot.  Maybe not up to Forims level - but I'm fairly sure he poisons anyone who looks like they might be in a position to challange his spot as top dog."

Finishing his whiskey off, Devon set the empty glass down.
"OK, I'm running outta stuff to say; an' I'm betting you're all tired of listening to me anyhow.  Anyone got anything else they wanna say before we wrap this up?"

CC9 shifts slightly.  "Orders received."  Then he turns and stomps out without another word.

"Nothing more from myself," Cor says, directing the comment to Devon.  "I believe I have collated the information I required.  I have run both simulation recordings past CC9 to take advantage of his tactics programming and he will have a report for me soon; I will send it on to you, Commander, when I have it.  I myself will likely spend the next few hours tinkering with a beverage dispenser machine, in the unlikely event that I am needed for anything."

Heigren looked up expectantly.  "So we're done here?"  The Zeltron was bored with the debriefing and was eager to see the sights.

Kyvarr shook her head.  "No questions sir."

Sheila relaxed, but she was still bothered. She sighed and then spoke up.  "Kyvarr.  If you want, I can start your training and the commander can take over once he's back. We'll have to buy some more time here, but if you want. . "":

Kyvarr was pleasantly surprised by the offer.  "Thank you ma'am.  I'd like that."

Dohr had been sitting quietly in the back after he’d given his view on how the simulation went. At first it seemed there would be another argument between Idaya and some of the mercs, but the doctor was happy to see both sides were wise enough to let it go. Another clash would have been pointless and would’ve served no one.

The Kel Dor emptied his glass quietly and nodded to Devon and Cor’s image. ”I would like to thank you all for a very interesting and refreshing afternoon. No matter how things will go from now, I am grateful that you have given us an opportunity to try and show you what we are capable of. Not forgetting the ride off Akari of course.”

Flash raised his glass to Dohr.  "You've more then paid it back Doc.  You patched up Janine for us after the race and like the others you carried your own weight as we fought our way off planet."

"All except me of course.  I just stood back and let you guys do all the work.  Kind of like what I've done in these sims.  Heh, if anyone is on the 'do not employ' list Dohr it would most likely be me!"

"Everyone has their talents, Mr Teckla," Cor comments lightly, before her hologram winks out of existence.  Her M4 droid hovers over to the doorway and vanishes around the corner.

Mika glances over a Devon.  "So, what's the plan from here out?  We got any more sims on the schedule or what?  I guess there's still some decisions to be made about who we want to put on the payroll.  Oh, and how long you figure we'll stick around Nar Shaddaa?"

Devon shrugged in response to Mika's questions.
"Well, we got this place booked for the next few days, but theres nothing planned for tomorrow - you can come in and use any of the facilities you want.  Run sims, try out guns, beat each other up in the melee arenas, paint a target on Forims back and chase him through the laser tag range.  Whatever you want.  Or dont come in if you dont want to - take the day to do your own things.  Your call."

The shipjacker sighed, he looked tired.
"As to how much longer we're gonna be on Nar Shaddaa?  Well, unless we got some pressin' reason to move on, I figure we stay here till the Boss gets back in touch."

Devon stood up and stretched.
"Anyhow, I figure we're done for today.  Made you guys sit here an' be serious long enough.  Go an' have some fun."
Still looking tired, Devon trailed from the room; his M4 humming along behind him.

"Have fun?  That's one order I'll happily obey.  I'm off, you all know how to find me."

The Zeltron was first out the door!

Flash stood.  "Got a few things to do myself.  Remember guys, drinks tonight.  If anyone finds a good bar let me know.  First round for Blue Team is on me."

Released from their 'official duties', the Talons begin filtering out, ready to enjoy shore leave, well their second attempt at shore leave.

OOC:  Okay guys.  You've got at least a week to yourselves so let me know what you plan to do with it ASAP.  Nar Shaddaa has next to no rules so there's not much you can't achieve here.  This is a good time to catch up on Craft or Profession skills, go shopping for that certain something, customise something, etc.

Idaya stopped Dohr on the way out. "So, what would be the plan, Doctor?"

While the group still has access to the training facility, Kyvarr makes full use of the facilities.  While not training with Sheila she puts in extra time on flight sims.  She also hones her unarmed combat with any experts willing to spar with her.

When their time is up, Kyvarr works on modding Nijel as well as helping anyone who needs help with their own mods.  She also takes time to look through the cockpit of the ship, learning the various controls.  She had a feeling that learning to fly would increase her job prospects so she was determined to show an interest.

She would also offer to go with anyone who might need a little inconspicuous muscle in their dealings.

Fiarr says little about her plans.  Merely packs a large bag, leaves a holomail address to leave messages for her should she be needed then disappears into the city.

Devon could be relied on to turn up at the training centre most mornings - sometimes looking hungover - and took part in more than a couple of the sims that Kyvarr and Sheila set up.

Beyond that, Devon set up some sims of his own - working his way through a sizeable list of different craft from one man fighters up to freighters, transports and even some craft so large they were a struggle to fly single handed.  To those who knew Devons speciality as a Shipjacker, it was obvious he was checking his familiarity with controls and handling of as many common ships as possible.

Most afternoon Devon could either be found aboard the Ghtroc, working on his swoop bike or sat in a cantina near where the ship was docked, working through lists on his datapad and making comm calls.

Idaya, with the simulation center at their disposal, decided to re-enact some battles she had fought in the Chiss fleet and took along anyone willing to join her for a round or two of capital ship operations.

Mika is impressed that so many want to hone their martial skills in the sims, but she opts not to play with them.  Instead, she's got weapons and a swoop to upgrade.

She stops by to grab some food fit for a young swoop punk to chow down on, a case of fizzpops, a couple of orders of fried tubers with glackow sauce, a nerf burger with a side of hubba chips and a frozen container of denta bean ice cream with bama bar crumbles.

Kyvarr agrees to join Idaya on some of the capital ship exercises.  While it seemed unlikely a group this small would have access to capital ships, Rian had made them practice such sims which meant they were worth doing.

SHeila actually spends the vast majority of her time training.  She will spend up to four hours a day with Kyvarr, then at least 4 more on her own, with the different types of fighters, or with idaya on some of her capital ship sims.  Then another 4 on the hand to hand combat, and finally, time on the shooting range, going through target practice and through the sims with various guns. She starts every day at 6am equivalent with a workout at the hotel gym. She will take one afternoon and evening off, replace her lost normal clothes, go to a couple holos, buy some books, go to a medium rate bar, get picked up, get home late, and show up the next morning at the simulation center right on schedule after working out.  Honestly, fairly boring.

Having a lot of free time on his hands, Dohr felt somewhat confused. He couldn't really remember exactly when he'd last been in the same situation. Even on Det Akari where he'd had his own clinic to run, there really hadn't been too many possibilities to relax or do something else than work, gather supplies and work more. Now he wasn't sure what he should do.

As some of the group was taking on more exercises, Dohr thought it would be good for him to participate in some as well. He's concentrating mostly on shooting with all kinds of different weapons at the range, but takes part in Idaya's capital ship simulations to learn more of the space battle tactics. When not at the training centre or at the ship resting, the doctor wanders around the better and safer parts of Nar Shaddaa looking for more information about the sector. He also digs into some of his previously gathered resources for some creds to buy himself a few new, top quality outfits.

Naturally should some need arise for his medical skills, Dohr will be available.

While she is playing capital ship with Idaya one time, Sheila will ask a question.  'THese are refights of battles you've already done.  Have you changed anything this time through?  Done anything different?  Any why?  I'm just curious."

"They are battles I have fought, unchanged in the original setup. I thought, you might understand me a bit better if you saw them and see, how different capital ship warfare is from flying a fighter. In a solo fighter, you need to rely only on yourself. In a fighter squadron you rely partially on your wingman and the others, but aboard a capital ship, everyone relies on the rest of the crew - captain relies on them all first and foremost."

Keeping her tone light.  "Just to make sure I understand you correctly.  You are not evaluating what you did during the battles, you're not actually training, you're showing us your resume?"

"You misunderstood me. One can learn from past missions and the others can learn about them as well. But I am also showing you what I have done in the past and how I do things."

"What are you doing now?  Training yourself or trying to train me?" Sheila watched the battle continuing on the viewscreen.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:45, Fri 07 Nov 2014.

"Both, I hope."

"So are the sims we're doing complete recreations of the battles you fought, or are you doing things differently than you did the first time?"  Sheila had to make sure she had this right.  Were they doing a textbook study using a sim, with the battle going exactly as it had the first time around, or were they exploring other tactics and techniques the might have been used to better effect.

"What I try to create here is an opportunity to learn from my own mistakes and allow you to make your own in order for you to learn. Without finding one's own mistakes, with or without the help of others, there is no learning and advancement."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:15, Fri 07 Nov 2014.

In reply to Idaya (msg # 165):

"i'm not familiar with these particular battles.  Is this how the battle actually went, like an animated textbook?"

"The one we just fought ended slightly differently, the pirates fleeing with most of their crafts intact. This time, they did not."

Mika sits back at the ship, occasionally taking a long enough break from upgrading her blaster to take a pull on a can of fizzpop and maybe nibble on a hubba chip or gnaw on a long cold fried tuber.

Time passes as the various Talons and Talon-hopefuls go about their pursuits.  Much time is spent at the training centre over the first few days as Devon had only paid for a few extra days.  Then people went their own seperate ways.

Some spent their time primarily on the ship.  Cor, Mika and Kyvarr spend the majority of the time working on their pet projects.  Some relaxed and took in the sights.  Some like Heigren and Fiarr weren't seen at all!  Devon spent some of his time trolling shipyards with Heigren then inspecting various models with Mika until he finally narrowed it down to a few ships.


A week passed quickly.  Given the much longer rotation of Nar Shaddaa only a few days passed before a standard Coruscant week went by.  The long days and various projects through everyone's sense of time off.  More Nar Shaddaa days passed and before long two weeks had gone by and still Devon had not ended shore leave.


OOC:  Mika, Kyvarr, you've had time to complete all your requested work.

In reply to Idaya (msg # 167):

"Ok". Sheila nodded.

OOC: Just a reminder that the Talons have over a week of shore leave so if you want to get anything specific done (crafting, shopping, professions, etc) now is the time.  The new mission should be coming out soon.  Mika and Kyvarr your time is all used up, rest of you could fit more in if you wish.

Sheila pays for extra time at the 'club.'   for training, anyone who want s join her for hand to hand combat training, and range training is welcome to.  She spends all her time there except that one afternoon and evening previously mentioned.

After almost a week of searching with help from Heigren and inspections with help from Mika, Devon finally made a choice.  Negotiations took place, credit ratings were checked and paperwork signed.  Finally, the dealer handed over the start-up codes and bowed himself out of the hanger.

Stood between Mika and Heigren, Devon stared up at the ship in front of him and grinned.  He hadnt had to steal this one - there was something to said for acquiring stuff without getting shot at.  His grin spread.   He nudged Mika.
"Aint that a sight?  A Kuat Systems Engineering Firespray-31 and she's all mine." The shipjacker rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation.
"Cor's gettin' me an R2 to act as co-pilot, but that wont arrive for a day or two.  Gonna have to manage on my own till then." His tone of voice indicated that he wouldn't find that much of a hardship.

Tapping the passcode in, Devon watched as the ramp descended smoothly; then turned to Heigren and Mika.
"Thanks for all your help with this, both of you - I owe you guys."
Before either could reply, the Corellian span and hurried up the ramp - eager to get started.
"I've hired the docking bay next to the Ghtroc." he called back to them  "It's not a long flight - get aboard if you want a ride back."
Dropping into the pilots seat, Devon ran his fingers gently over the controls and stared for a few moments.
She's all mine. he told himself again.

Devon started preflight checks and generally played with the ships computer whilst he waited for the others to board.  Remembering what his normal line of work was, professional paranoia made Devon change the start-up codes and other passwords that the dealer had given him.  Turning his head, Devon yelled back to his passengers:
"I'm closin' the ramp now, you guys ready?"

Mika was glad for the chance to help out Devon.  She'd done great work on her blasters and swoop, but having a reason to get out of the ship was good too, though she couldn't really call it getting fresh air on Nar Shaddaa.

"Damn fine looking ship."  She says to Devon.  She'd given it a fairly thorough once over and it seemed ship-shape, but the design of the ship was still weird to her, the way it lands on it's back instead it's bottom and a cockpit in what she could only call the nose cone.  She didn't love the ship, but it was Devon's ship, not hers.

Strapping herself down, she gives Devon the okay sign.  "I'm as ready as I'm going to be."