The Great Crew Hunt

"Master, the ship is ready for operation".

ZR-23 was a combat droid that Volar had picked up on a previous visit to Coruscant. It was based off of the old HK assassination models, but that was not Volars area of expertise. He used the droid for its translation programming and it's repair ability. The droid also made a good co-pilot for when Volar was needed on the ground. It did have combat ability, but Volar had never tested it, and did not intend to. Volar was a businessman, not a bloodthirsty mercenary.

"Ok Zar, I will be right with you, stay where you are".

Volar never did fully recover from the destruction of his old vessel, the Regal Star. He had conducted business using other ships, but he had not found one to his liking. So, he began to take high-stakes smuggling jobs from various sources to build up his personal wealth. He had recently signed on with the Galactic Trade Commission in a bid to gain more high-paying contracts. When he had enough credits, he made a personal order for a custom built Lethisk-class armed freighter produced by Arakyd industries. Since it had arrived he had been making several personal tweaks and upgrades to it. He had ordered ZR-23 to make a final few tweaks to the ships core systems to make it more efficient.

Volar entered the hangar bay. It did not take him long to weave through the other vessels and lay his eyes upon his own ship. It was beautiful. ZR-23 saw his master approach and turned to him.

"Master, I have made all the adjustments that you deemed necessary. The ship is now at optimal efficiency and is ready for further operations. It is worth noting, however, that the ship is sadly lacking a name"

Volar patted the droid on the shoulder. "Fantastic job, mate.". He looked up at the ship. It did not take him long to name it. The Regal Star MK II. It seemed fitting.

"This is a new and improved Regal Star, all the charm of the original mixed with high-quality components and systems. I think we should put this ship to the test on it's maiden voyage. We don't want any disappointments down the line, do we?"

"Of course not, Master, and I assure you there is little room to disappoint. ZR-23 paused for a second. Volar turned and gave him a curious look.

"What's wrong Zar? Speak up."

"Well, Master, this ship is designed for a group of users, not a sole individual. ZR-23 began to recite the ship specifications. "Ship Length 34 metres, Maximum atmospheric speed 900km/h". The droid skipped ahead a few specifications. "Armament: Laser Cannons, of which there are two, which are manual turret control, non-usable by the acting pilot. Crew space: Three Humanoids. Passengers: Eight Humanoids."

ZR-23 paused, almost as though the droid was having a breath. "You may not like this, Master, but optimal performance and efficiency of this craft necessitates multiple users. A crew, as you would put it."

Volar paused, giving himself a moment to take this all in. He had a poor history when it came to working with crew. He had partners in the GTC, sure, but they were not likely to turn on him for a handful of credits. He would need to build a crew of outsiders that he could somehow trust.

"Maybe...maybe. We'll see, eh? For now, lets get this beauty off of the ground"

(OOC: Important Note: The RP's I have taken part in so far, such as Death Legion of Krieg and Colonies, take place after this post but BEFORE the hunt for Volars crew)

As the ship left the outer atmosphere, Volar found himself sitting quite comfortably in his pilots seat at the front of the cockpit.

"Well, if nothing else, these guys do build with comfort in mind"

Volar pulled himself up so that he was sitting straight and he began to sign in to his console. It all seemed very high tech. It was much faster loading up and signing in to the console, which could save a valuable few seconds in certain situations where they needed to take off quickly. As he opened up the star map to tap in his intended co-ordinates he found that the system gave him an alert telling him his command was invalid. A look of concern spread over Volars face.

ZR-23 turned to Volar. "I have already input our co-ordinates Master. The jump to lightspeed will occur in a couple of minutes"

Volar slumped back into his chair. He liked tapping in the co-ordinates himself. He felt like it was a kind of freedom for him. He would have to make sure his droid did not do that in future.
A few moments later, the Regal Star entered hyperspace. It would be a while before they would reach Nar Shadaa.

Volar lifted himself from the back of his chair and made his way out of the cockpit, slapping ZR-23 over the back of the head as he passed. The droid turned and looked at him, perplexed, before shrugging it off and going back to its normal routine.

Volar made his way through the ship, his hand brushing the wall as he went. First he inspected the bunks. There were eight in one room and two in another. One room for crew, the other for passengers. He then passed by the Pilots personal quarters. He made sure this one was big enough for a double-bunk. Breaking the ladies hearts and all that jazz.

Volar climbed into the upper laser turret. The turret seemed almost detached from the ship. The gunners seat was in a sphere, and the entire thing moved with the turret. Volar found great entertainment in this. He began swinging the turret from side to side, up and down, nearly flinging himself out of it in the process.

"Master!". Volar tried to stop instantly, which didn't quite work and resulted in him headbutting the turret.
"It is to my understanding that breaking the ship shortly following its purchase is not a sound financial strategy Master. Besides, we are traveling at very high speed through differing levels of fractured pressure. One wrong move will cause that turret to resemble a low-budget escape pod, with one lifeless body inside it. I would oh so hate to see that eventuality, Master."

Volar slowly climbed out of the turret back into the main body of the ship. He was feeling quite nauseous. Volar decided that it would probably be best to lie down until they reached their destination...

Volar was woken by a sudden thud. The ship had shaken. They must have just dropped out of hyperspace. Volar got up and slowly made his way towards the cockpit. When he got there, he saw ZR-23 in his usual working position. Out of the front screen he could see that the ship was flying closer to the moon of Nar Shadaa.

"So, tell me about my target again. Who is she and why do we want her on this ship?"

ZR-23 immediately stopped what he was doing and turned to Volar. He began accessing his internal data storage drives, searching for the correct file.

"Accessing file, stand by. File retrieved. The target is a Miss Dania Fhor. Age: 25, same age as my Master, in fact. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Green. Height: 5"8. Planet of Origin: Coruscant, again, same as my Master. Noticeable features: A small scar running from below right eye down to mid-cheek. A feature gained during vibro-blade combat."

Volar nodded, and simply listened in silence as the droid continued reading through the file.

"Current occupation: Mercenary. She is known to frequent one particular cantina not far from the north-sector spaceport. Known to have a short temper. Approach with caution."

Volar nodded in the droids direction then sat down in the Pilots seat. It had been a while since he had visited Nar Shadaa. Volar had many contacts on the smugglers moon, but during his time there before he joined the GTC he had also made a few enemies. Mainly jealousy, what with a handsome human taking all the poor aliens work.

The Regal Star slowly descended into the atmosphere. Normally Volar would take it to the extreme and make a near-nosedive descent as a bit of fun. however, on planets such as this, it would be suicidal. There was way too much air traffic for that kind of behaviour to be feasible.

"Regal Star, this is ground control. Please state your intentions/i]"

Volar tapped into his console and activated the comm. This is Volar Odias, pilot of the [i]Regal star requesting permission to land.

"Roger that. Proceed to hangar bay two on the North-sector."

Volar followed the instructions and proceeded to lower the ship into hangar bay two. Upon touching down, Volar lifted himself from the pilots seat and grabbed his blaster and vibro-blade. He walked down the loading ramp and to his surprise was met with the local joke that was law enforcement.

"Volar, nice to see you again. We are running a routine inspection of your ship. We wouldn't want you smuggling anything illegal to our fair moon now would we?"

The men boarded his ship and began to search. Volar knew they wouldn't find anything. They were a pathetic bunch. He looked over his shoulder as he left "Have fun, boys!"

Volar waited outside the entrance to the space-port while he waited for ZR-23 to catch up after seeing off the 'law enforcement'. Volar took the time to just relax and take in his surroundings. The Smugglers Moon had not changed one bit since he last visited its dark, dirty streets. In one alley would be a mugging, the next, some small-time slimeball purchasing his next batch of DeathSticks.

The air was also the same. Dirt. Filth. Anything you would expect of a settlement like this. You could taste the dirt in the air. It was good to be 'home'.
ZR-23 eventually caught up with his master, blaster rifle in hand.

"Woah, Zar! I don't think that will be necessary"

"Notification: Master, perhaps you are unaware of the dangers of certain individuals and groups on this planet? Statistics show that-"

"Yes, yes, I get it. Fine, you can bring your toy. But don't go waving it in anybody's face, the people of this place are hostile enough without that."

"Confused Correction: Master, this is not a toy, it is a highly-"

"I know!"

The pair made their way towards the local cantina. It was the only cantina of any 'class' to be found for miles. If Dania were to be found anywhere, it would be there. As Volar made his way in his eyes met near-darkness and had to adjust to the dimy lit bar area. Around the cantina Volar could make out the typical sort of shady character that you would expect in these places.

Volar inspected the bar and his eyes fixed on the back of a woman with what Volar could make out to be a vibroblade on her back and a blaster on her thigh. Odds are, she would have weapons stashed elsewhere out of sight. These were to warn off 'predators'. Volar approached the bar and ordered two drinks.

"Well, aren't you precious?. She turned around and looked Volar up and down. "By the looks of things you are no gangster, and certainly not any form of 'law enforcement'. So, who might you be?"

Volar smiled and extended his hand. "The name's Volar Odias. I'm looking for some able-bodied crew for my ship. I have heard great things about you miss Dania Fhor. Fancy getting away from this dump?"

Dania looked at Volars outstretched hand but did not shake it. She looked at him and smiled again. "You certainly are a cute one, aren't you? Well, sorry to crush your dreams pal, but it takes more than tall stories of galactic travel on your little pirate cruiser to woo me into climbing into your bunk."

Volar frowned slightly as Dania got up and walked away from the bar. She stopped and began to speak over her shoulder. "But don't worry handsome, you'll find your space-gal sure enough, just keep looking". She smiled again and left the cantina.

Volar simply sat and reflected on the conversation. Not quite what he expected. He downed his drink and leaned against the bar.

"Explanation: My understanding of Human behavior is limited at best, Master, but I have concluded that the answer to your question was negative, although it seems strange for a droid such as I for-"

"Save it, Zar!". Volar got up and made his way out of the cantina back out onto the street.

The staunch jet fumes emanating from the nearby space=port hit Volar as he left the Cantina and made his way back out onto the main street. ZR-23 followed close behind.

Volar simply stood and took in the atmosphere. This was the first time he had visited Nar Shadaa without any business intentions regarding the GTC for a couple of years now. They were actually near the other side of the Smugglers Moon from the GTC base here. To Volar this was fairly unfamiliar territory, aside from the few occasions he had to travel to this spaceport on a couple of smuggling runs.

ZR-23 turned around, and stood stiff for a few moments. Volar turned to him and was puzzled by this behaviour. He could hear a whir coming from the inside of the droids head. Zr-23 then turned to Volar.

"Report: Master, if my reception calibrators are correct, I have detected a series of shouts and cries in the alleys nearby. The pitch suggests initial anger, followed by pain"

"Typical sounds to hear in a place such as this.". Volar looked at the droid in a curious fashion. "What is it that has sparked your interest?"

"Clarification: If my sensors are correct, Master, one of the cries matched the pitch of voice of your contact, Dania"

Volar frowned. That woman looked tough when he met her, a woman perfectly capable of looking after herself in this harsh climate. If she was in trouble, something was wrong. Volar darted towards the gap between two nearby buildings in an effort to reach the heart of the twisting alleyways of this sector.

A few minutes later, Volar stopped and listened. Something was happening around the corner. As he peered around, he could make out the figure of Dania, with a vibro-blade in her hand, surrounded by the 'security personnel' that Volar had encountered earlier when he landed in the hangar bay of the space port. By Danias' feet were two corpses, which Volar assumed to be a couple of security thugs who got a little over ambitious.

Another thug charged at Dania, who then parried the incoming blow. The thug tried to make another sweep, but he was met by a blade to the chest, and he collapsed to the floor. Two more thugs charged at Dania. She parried the first blow, but the second sliced across her arm, forcing her to drop the blade. She fell to her knees, clutching her wounded arm. The thugs laughed, and prepared to make the kill. As the thus was about to make the killing blow, his chest was hit by a blaster bolt. His friend was hit by a second.

Volar charged, blaster in hand, with ZR-23 firing covering blasts from behind. The thugs were forced to take cover. Dania dropped into a prone position and began to wriggle away into a nearby ditch. The firefight raged on for a few minutes, before the thugs realized they were out-matched, and began to flee.

Volar ran over to Dania and pulled her up, and she gave out a small cry of pain. "They are gone now, but they will be back, in greater numbers. I have some medical supplies in my ship, but we must leave. Now!"

Dania simply nodded as Volar practically dragged her away from the scene, his running was a faster pace than hers. As they made their way back out onto the main street, blaster fire opened around them. The 'security forces' had re-grouped and met with reinforcements and were pursuing the group.

As they entered the hangar bay the blaster fire intensified. There were more and more thugs arriving by the minute. The group had to escape, and fast. Soon the Regal Star was in clear view. Volar, with Danias arm gripping his shoulder around his neck, lifted his way up the loading ramp dumped Dania on one of the medical bunks. He then made his way to the cockpit, as ZR-23 entered the ship.

The ship began to take off, and Volar took an action that he would live to regret in future. Before he left, he swerved the ship around and let off a couple of missiles directly into the hangar bay, killing many of the thugs and decimating the infrastructure of the bay, causing it to cave in as he left.

The Regal Star soared out into the atmosphere and broke through the air barrier into space. Volar figured it would be best to stay out of the system for a while, and tapped in co-ordinates for another sector before the ship jumped to lightspeed.

Dania sat in the medical room sewing up the wound she had received during the fight on Nar Shadaa. She did not know what to make of the situation. She did not know who this Volar Odias really was. She did not know why he would want to help her, or why he had taken her off-world. Whatever the case, she was stuck with her fate now, and would have to deal with it. She finished closing the wound, and re-fitted her shirt and jacket. Just as she did so ZR-23 entered the room.

"Welcoming Statement: Hello Miss Dania. It is good to see you have managed to fix your wound. I do so hope you are enjoying your time aboard the Regal Star."

Dania looked up at the droid and smiled. "It certainly is a nice ship. Your Master must do very well for himself." She paused. "What does your master do exactly?"

"Informative response: Master Volar Odias is a private contractor for a certain Galactic company that allows him to undertake specialist smuggling and other business contracts. If you need any other information, It would probably be best to ask the Master himself"

Dania nodded as the droid left the room. "I wonder what he wants from me".

She slowly got up, clutching her arm, and left the room in the direction of the cockpit. As she made her way through the ship, she looked around at its interior. It really is a nice ship. She approached the entrance to the cockpit.

Volar was sleeping in the pilots seat. He did not to go sleep in his own quarters, he allowed Dania to rest there instead. He preferred to sleep in the pilots seat anyways. It oddly seemed much more comfortable, he always woke up better rested than if he slept in a bunk.

His eyes opened. He could feel that he was being watched. He looked around and saw Dania standing in the doorway, one arm supporting the other.

"Hi". She smiled to Volar, then proceeded to move across to sit in the co-pilots seat.

"Hello. How are you holding up?" Volar looked to Danias arm, in the rough area of where the wound was.

"Oh, it's fine. A little stiff, but nothing to worry about."

They both sat silent for a few moments. The atmosphere was an awkward one. Volar had saved this woman's life, without knowing anything about her sense of character, or why she was in trouble in the first place. She was now aboard his ship, and as far as he could tell, she could turn on him. Dania felt the same way towards Volar. For all she knew he was taking her to be sold off to a Hutt for a nice profit.

Dania decided to break the silence. "So. Why exactly, if I may ask, did you decide to help me?"

Volar looked back around at her. "Because, Dania, you have a strong reputation. You have intellect, and you have finesse. You are well known for your skills with a blade and also with a blaster rifle. You are the kind of woman that anyone would want on their side, rather than the enemies. And so I must ask. Will you join me, as a business partner and crew member?"

Dania paused and looked away. She spent a few moments reflecting on what Volar has just asked of her. "I...I need to think about it". With that Dania rose from her chair and left the cockpit.

Volar sat in silence for a few moments then shrugged. She'd come around, for sure. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes...