Open Chandrila Totally Legal Travels

[Jules]

"Hey! You can't smoke here."

Jules rolled her eyes, flicking the cigarra stub across the floor. Rules, rules, rules. That was why she hated Chandrila. Every second back there was a risk. A risk of being recognised, a risk of being caught. Normally, she'd avoid the place like... well, like a plague, but when you needed creds, you couldn't be pissy about things. So she gave the starport guard an insincere smile and made do with swearing at him when he turned around.

Fuck you too, cop.

She paced a little in front of the railing, looking out to her ship. It was ready to go, just waiting for the last of the cargo. They hadn't told her what it was and frankly, she didn't care. So long as it didn't explode on the way there, she'd happily take it off their hands for a decent fee. Schemes needed capital, obviously. So did spaceships and fuel. It was getting more and more expensive to keep flying. Fuel, customs fees, keeping that bottle stash stocked up in her cabin...

"Doo-drit?"

Chuck rolled up beside her, sounding customarily chirpy. Jules shrugged, checking the time on her datapad.

"Waiting on the last of the cargo." Typical delay. Another thought popped into Jules's head though. "Might take a passenger or two."

"Driiit-drit droo."

"Yeah buddy, sounds great." Passengers meant credits. But passengers invited scrutiny, so she'd have to balance it well. Nonetheless, she tapped a few keys on her datapad and registered it. Seconds later, the starport directory would list "Captain Rhea" of "The Illustrious" as ready to take passengers.

 

[Xolani Mai]

The Force had a funny way of connecting people. Or, that was always his excuse; Xolani had dried up the last of his borrowed credits, sinking hours and hours and hours into an ultimately fruitless exploration of Chandrilan history and politics. Were he still in the Jedi Order, he would have had a research stipend, or some kind of institutional backing, that would allow him to pursue this. Of course, the Order probably wouldn't support a pointless, endless look into Chandrilan history, either; wanting the freedom to make his own choices was part of why he had left, after all.

Today, his free choices resulted in him being indebted with a spiralling interest rate to the local toughs. He was good for the money - eventually - he just had to...rob Peter to pay Paul. Same story as always. If he could get off world, get another quick stint somewhere with all of his bones still working, the moneylenders would have their credits. Until then, though, he had to avoid them.

The Starport was busy today. And buying tickets at the gate was always so expensive if you flew with a corporate travel line - he would have to find an independent captain who could be persuaded (hopefully) into lending him a trip on credit. Imagine his luck when the Starport directory listed a "Captain Rhea" of "The Illustrious" just as he was looking for a ride.

The Force had a funny way of connecting people.

He followed the directions to the ship, his hood pulled over his head to avoid recognition. On his waist sat his stun pistol and little else - just a basic tool for self defense. As he approached, he hailed the "Captain," and her droid, a small smile forming upon his face.

"Captain...Rhea?" He glanced at his datapad once more to be sure. "I'm seeking passage out of here. I was hoping that 'The Illustrious' would be the right ship for me to ride!" He kept a cheery façade to hide his growing worry that debt collectors would follow him. "So, ah, what do you say? Let's get to getting on out of here, right?" In his rush, he had declined to introduce himself. "Name's Xolani. Friends call me Xo." Please be my friend today, Starship Captain!

He offered a hand to shake, cheery grin still settled on his face.

@Charndley

 

[Jules]

"Doot?"

"Nope."

"Dreet?"

"Nada."

"Doo?"

"You already said two, c'mon Chuck," Jules groaned, staring up at the skies as she waited and waited. And waited. No sign of the rest of her cargo yet, but someone was approaching her. She noticed him coming closer, clutching onto his datapad for dear life. Hood over his head. He was either a private guy, or a Jedi.

Hey, that rhymed! Jeez, you're so bored Jules.

"Yeah, that's right!" she replied, giving him a smile. She spoke in a Coruscanti accent, slightly different from her usual twang. "Captain Rhea, and this here's The Illustrious," she said, moving her hand back towards her ship. It wasn't actually called that, of course, but if he insisted she had several pieces of paperwork that bore that name. Some of them were even legal. "We can take you where you want to go, for sure."

"Deet dreet doo."

"Chuck!" Jules said sharply, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry," she said to Xo, shaking her head, "he's pretty old, doesn't have much in the way of manners. But uh.. there is the matter of payment. I mean, fuel isn't cheap and the docking fees are only going up." She tried to get an apologetic look on her face.

No freeloaders. Pay me or fuck off.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Darius Gal]

"Excuse me, are you headed to Ruusan?"

"'San? Nah, can't ya read we're headed in the opposite direction."

Same story a dozen times over. The spaceport was brimming with ships and captains, but with an entire galaxy full of destinations to pick from, many of them were headed in all different directions, many of which did not come close to approaching Ruusan. Vence sighed and moved on, slightly discouraged. Maybe he should look at the passenger liners, as outrageous as Core Worlds pricing was.

He'd made decent credits on his first ever mission with the Zaa Fenn, and could afford the artificially inflated pricing, but right now he was trying to be frugal with his money. Even taking multiple independent ships to his destination from Coruscant worked out to be cheaper than taking a direct flight on a corporate vessel. All this hassle for another job. If he'd had it his own way, Vence would have stayed on Coruscant, getting to learn the local ropes more. However, he did not have the pull to dictate what he did and did not do. Not yet, at least. As far as this new job went, Vence was not aware of what work awaited him at Ruusan, only that it involved some electrical engineering.

This type of travel was very familiar to him: drifting from one planet to another in constant search of work. Familiarity bred comfort, and that's what kept him from giving in to buying direct passage. It might take some effort, but at the end of the day he would find his way to Ruusan. The next ship, The Illustrious, came into view, and Vence spied another person negotiating with someone who looked like they were in charge of taking on passengers. He settled into line, hands shoved into his pockets, a respectful distance behind Xolani, who had just, in a rambling sort of way, extended their hand for the captain to shake. Anywhere he needs to go? Maybe the eighth time is the charm, he thought.

 

[Cayde Isla]

"Corellia. I have a ship...But, uh, it's on Corellia." Cayde sighed and sheepishly offered up the last of his credits that was still on him. The rest was back on Corellia. It truly was embarrassing how he wound up on Chandrila. The fact of the matter was that Cayde had been kidnapped by pirates who mistook him for a political figure they wanted to ransome. Emryc Thorne...IS. WHITE. Cayde could only laugh at the memory. He didn't want to have gotten in a fight with them, but they were going to kill him because he knew what they were planning to do. Unfortunately- for them, at least -Cayde shot first and managed to crash the ship a ways away from the landing pad he was on right now.

"I trust you can get me there with your fine ship. Let's hope your skills as a pilot are as good as the ship looks." Cayde smiled warmly at the stubborn looking captain. Cayde noticed that two others were seeking passage as well- one of which Cayde could sense the Force. A very strong connection with it at least- and there were no red flags of the Dark Side as well. So instead of skepticism, Cayde wondered who the man was and what his story was with the Force.

He couldn't spot any lightsabers, so he either hid his like Cayde- who kept it in an under pocket in his coat -or he simply didn't have one. To say whether he had any affiliation with the Jedi was unknown to the EX-Jedi Knight. As he contemplated the Force sensitive, he simply smiled and waved at the other two men, his amber eyes almost glowing.

@Fine Dining Set @Clayton @Charndley