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Message: <blockquote data-quote="humble minion" data-source="post: 1043648" data-attributes="member: 5948">Kael SloanThings are tough.  You knew that life away from Pax Tharkas[1] would be hard, but you?e still not used to being unable to afford a place to stay and decent food, especially once you've paid upkeep on the Phoenix.  Starfighters are very, very expensive pieces of kit.  It?s been nearly a year now, since your world came crashing down around your ears and you left Pax Tharkas behind.  In that time, you?ve had exactly one big job - a contract to land a freelance computer slicer in the grounds of a heavily secured mansion, and to give him enough time to crack the system and grab all the financial records he could, for evidence in a corruption case.  That was pretty hairy, especially when the wealthy occupant called in the (bribed, obviously) local security forces.  You got out, but you left a smoking trail of wreckage behind you and are in absolutely no hurry to go back to Adoola Prime any time soon.  The pay was good, though.  But other than that, it's been bit jobs.  Flying escort for nervous local dignitaries or rich travellers who are paranoid enough about life towards the Rim that they will shell out the credits for a bit of extra security.  Assisting in pirate-hunting missions commissioned by victims.  Taxi for rich idiots who think that touching down in an unmarked starfighter will make them look more important than they really are.  Nothing much.  Your main problem is your reputation.  Your one big success story has been at least partially on the side of law and order, which definitely wasn't a big help in getting the lucrative contracts offered by the more shady elements in the mercenary marketplace.  In fact, your entire background as a Pax Tharkan, a citizen of a planet known for its harsh dealings with smugglers and the like, have made things very difficult.  You?ve had cause to use your fists and blaster more than once, in grimy little bars on out-of-the-way planets.You do have some advantages.  There are few mercenaries around who both own and operate single starfighters.  Small freighters are much more versatile, and comfortable for long trips, so many minor operators prefer them.  A couple of the bigger outfits, like the Red Hands, and Khooramash, do use fighters, but some clients like to restrict word of their activities to as few people as possible.  You, with your single, powerful ship and low profile in the freelance community, do have something to offer.At least that's what Erran Jor seems to think.  You were drifting toward Naboo, where you had heard that the local starfighter force had been wiped out and there might be openings for some good pilots in the short term.  Erran met up with you one hyperspace jump out, at Grumo's place on the asteroid station in the Kargol Sag belt.  His proposal was simple.  A Trade Federation battleship had gone down during the battle of Naboo, and crashed into shallow water.  Due to the chaos on the planet in the wake of the invasion, nobody had even thought about beginning salvage operations yet.  What Erran wanted to do was to infiltrate the wreck and download the computer core.  The information on trade routes and marketing strategies would be priceless to the right bidder.  He showed you a shadily-acquired decryption key that would allow him to bypass what was less of the ship's data security.  Your job - get him in, back him up while he did the job, then get him out.  Your cut: 10% of the sale price of the memory core. That is enough to run the Phoenix for a long, long time.  You didn?t have to be asked twice.[1]  The name of this planet is not my fault!  Blame Kael's player, not me!  He came up with it!------------------------------------------Kael started as a Soldier 7, with emphasis on starship piloting.  He started with a starfighter - the Kyrillian Phoenix - an experimental model from his home planet that he was trialling at the time of his somewhat abrupt departure.  Pax Tharkas is a lush world way out on the Rim, a Republic member that is run by a relatively enlightened military autocracy, although beneath the orderly surface there is a considerable organised criminal element.</blockquote>

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