Nam Jo engaged the hyperdrive and the Nautolan Star lurched for a moment, and then began hurdling through hyperspace.
The journey from Thessp to Starforge Station would only take a day, relatively short compared to some of the longer runs a smuggling crew might make. But, hyperspace was always uneventful.
"Ugh, this is so boring!" Is the way Quin chose to express it - multiple times.
Fortunately, ZED was prepared, and chose this day to help the rest of the crew prepare for the meeting with the smuggling lord Icaron. He set up a make-shift conference table in the port side cargo hold and gathered them all around for one of their meals.
"As you all know" the droid began in his usual droll voice, "we are on our way to Starforge Station to meet with the smuggling lord Icaron."
A holoprojector beam shot from his chest and landed on the table in front of him. The image he was showing them was of an asteroid, moving through space, with a star port built into the side of it. Next to that, was the image of a near human man, hair pulled back behind his head with a well-groomed goatee on his chin. He wore a perfectly pressed suit.
"I assume we're all familiar with Starforge Station, so no need to go over it in any detail. If there are questions, please ask after we've finished the meeting."
He zoomed in on the man.
"This is Icaron. His smuggling organization is large, well-run, and prepared to take on a variety of different jobs. Small and large. Dangerous and mundane. Whatever the situation calls for, you can bet he has a ship that can handle it.
"He has asked us, specifically captain Jo, to meet with him for reasons unknown. I've checked all of our records, and none of us seem to have had any interaction with him, or any of his close associates, so we have no reason to believe this is some kind of set-up. I've looked into his past, and it seems that when he intends to do harm to someone, he lets them know well beforehand, so this meeting is likely either a business as usual type meeting, or it could be that warning. Either way, no reason to believe there is imminent danger to any of us on the part of Icaron.
"The most important thing for this meeting is appearance. Icaron is famous for his meticulous nature, and has several times called off jobs because his crew of the people he was working with seemed unprepared or sloppy. If we are to make a good impression on him, we all need to be at our best."
He changed the focus of the projection to the third sublevel of the station, and a circle of blue surrounded a particular location.
"This is where we'll be meeting him. I'll be going, along with Captain Jo, Mr. Pearce, and Ms. Serrah. Mr. Lennik and Ms. Quin will stay behind with the ship-"
"Aw, man! I wanted to get out and see Starforge, captain!" Quin interrupted.
"-but will have time afterward to conduct any business they might need to."
"Oh, sorry."
"We have about twelve hours before we reach the star port. I suggest we rest up. Any questions?"