The team finished up at the estate of one of their financiers, Tebora the Muun. Freshly rewarded with the access codes to their new ship, the Archelon, the team proceeded to the docking bay to relish in their new, half-owned starship. The light freighter is a GHTRoc 720. It is an older ship but one that was well-loved by many smugglers and fringers. It wasn't fast but they were generally tough and resilient. The ship was mostly grey with a few green panels here and there and red striping on the cockpit and rear escape pods.
Zavi spent a significant amount of time examining and testing the ship, while Xander gave the computer system and comms the once over. Zavi made sure there was no tracking device on it. After a thorough search, he was fairly certain that one did not exist.
Next they were faced with stocking the vessel. They decided to load it up completely with fuel and a month's worth of consumables for their crew of four. The maiden voyage was a short jaunt to the east and the sunken mesa that hopefully still held the damaged Y-Wing from Renci Tosh. They managed to disconnect and pull the frontal laser cannon array, as well as some random computer parts. The engines and much of the mechanical parts were not a quick salvage. Back at the docking bay in Mos Espa, Xander and Zavi went about attaching the laser cannon to the undercarriage of the cockpit and link the controls to the co-pilot control panel. This would give them a little more firepower than the ship came with: a quad laser turret mounted dorsally above the hull.
Ymira then went about trying to acquire a quick and easy transport contract, at Tebora's suggestion, for them to test the ship in hyperspace. She was initially rebuffed, her young age apparently a detriment to gaining the confidence of the smuggling crowd. Eventually she was approached by a Twilek who offered a minor run to Arda II, sending supplies and sundries. It was not a high paying job, but it was a job, and with minimal risk. The Imperials didn't cast much of an eye toward the Arda system. It was a minor mining location. Nothing of real interest. Technically illegal, but were the details that important?
The Archelon made the trip in four days and entered the Gordian Reach and the Arda system. Coming out of hyperspace, Xander noticed a small vessel on the far side of the system. As they closed in further, it was determined that it was not moving. Worried that it could be trouble, the team avoided it and landed on Arda II and met with their contact: Lissa Kale.
Lissa was the Logistics Coordinator for the mining operation that they were supplying. A contract of regular shipments was agreed upon, giving the crew a potential for a steady, if minor, income. The Archelon was refueled and returned to Tatooine. But not before inspecting the strange sight that met them on their arrival to the system. Moving in closer on their departure, it was determined to be an Imperial Probe Droid. But it was powered down and not working. Not willing to create any additional problems, the probe droid was left to float in the void.
Back on Tatooine, the team went looking for an Astromech Droid and ended up purchasing R5-D12. The crew also picked up a repulsor lift for the cargo loading process. It was an expensive two weeks for the team but they now had their own ship, a measure of independence and the ability to take a wider range of jobs. Roona mentioned it was also a chance for a wider range of trouble to get into.
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It wasn't long before Tebora contacted them with the information needed for their delivery of blaster rifles to Sullust and the Cobalt Laborers' Liberation Front.
The team took the Archelon out on their second voyage, travelling to Sullust with their cargo of blaster rifles. With R5-D12's Astrogation programming, they made the trip in three uneventful days.
The ship comes out of hyperspace and approaches Sullust. Half the planet’s surface is covered with belches of ash and toxic gases from its ever-active volcanos; the enormous factories below can be glimpsed through swirls of smoky atmosphere as twinkling lights nestled between traceries of magma. Sullust is a volcanic world on the inner edge of Outer Rim with a noxious surface of ash, lava, and toxic gases. Breath masks are needed on surface when volcanoes active.
Roona had some knowledge of Sullust having done some scouting work here before and together with information discovered on computer search, explained some of the past of the volatile planet. Sullustan engineering has tamed their hostile environment somewhat. Their cities have shunts that redirect lava to the surface after collecting geothermal energy from it. SoroSuub Corporation, one of the largest companies in the galaxy, is based on Sullust. It does galactic exports but also dominates the local economy as manufacturers, suppliers, and employers. It has lucrative Imperial contracts.
Sullust is a source of fuel for the Imperial military and essential mining and manufacturing center for the Empire. Sullustans, however, don’t count as Imperial citizens due to their planet’s vassal status. It was on the side of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. For years, Sullust remained relatively peaceful as workers accepted the stability offered under the Empire’s reign. However, the Cobalt Laborers’ Reformation Front steadily began to increase in numbers, sending letters to the Impeial governor demanding better working conditions and increased local autonomy. In response, the Empire detained roughly eighty percent of those in the organization and those it deemed most radical. Stan Tevv, former Galactic Senator, became SoroSuub CEO following the Battle of Yavin.
As the Archelon approached Pinyumb, the comms tower contacted the team. "State the nature of your business in Pinyumb and transmit your crew
identifications." Xander quickly responded, sending down the ship information and crew registrations.
"Responding with flight path and docking permit," came the eventual response. "Cleared for three-day tourist/work visa. Should you choose to remain longer, you’ll need to renew your visa."
The black swirling face of Sullust takes up more and more of the view as the Archelon angles towards the surface. The ship emerges from the ash cloud, headed directly for a yawning opening in the planet’s surface. There’s a magnetic shield across the entry, presumably to maintain the integrity of the atmosphere within: the ship passes through without incident. Inside, lights on each side of the tunnel guide deeper into the planet’s crust. Other craft fly alongside, both coming and going. The intake tunnel opens up into a hangar with the assigned berth.
One the ground, it’s just crews loading and unloading, no one paying any special attention to the team. The few guards standing around near the exits are wearing corporate uniforms, not stormtrooper armor. If there’s an Imperial presence here, it is light. However, Ymira is worried that they might have attracted the attention of local security.
Two guards (human and Sullustan) give the crew a bored once-over as they approach the lift. The lift itself is a wonder. Its walls are transparisteel, giving a full view of the city as they’re lowered down to ground level. Pinyumb is built in a vast underground cavern, and its artificial towers rise like stalagmites, the tallest of them actually supporting the cave ceiling. The lights of the residences within glimmer in the perpetual twilight, their reflections sparkling like stars from the obsidian crystals overhead. Some kind of duskwinged creatures wheel in the shadowy heights.
Stepping off the lift, it is into a commercial district. Neon signs and flashing holos advertise shops and services to the foot traffic and speeders weaving among the towers. The address for Aadlan Myder is in the residential area and the team takes a transport to the given address.
A Sullustan woman answers at the apartment. There is a milky film over her black eyes; this is a Sullustan crying. Beyond her the team can see that there is a group of Sullustans here, a whole family supporting each other emotionally. The woman, named Nuev, asks if they have come to say goodbye to Aadlan, but she is too upset to talk further. A younger Sullustan woman who introduces herself as Zien animatedly clarifies that Aadlan is not leaving or sick, he is being murdered. The present tense of this situation is surprising to the team!
Zien claims the Cobalt Front is indirectly responsible for this emergency. SoroSuub is calling it an accident, but there is a saying on Sullust, "Accidents can happen to anyone, but they always happen to troublemakers.” There are those who think her father fits that description.
Zien explains the current situation. "My father and his entire crew were trapped inside a side tunnel when a magma vent diverted behind them. They don’t have the equipment they’d need to get out, and all SoroSuub will say is that ‘rescue efforts are continuing.’ But my father says there’s been no contact at all from his superiors. Sometimes his comm signal still gets through to us, but they’re going to die of thirst down there."
Xander asks what is needed to get them out. "Massive earth-movers, industrial grade lava dams, and the kind of specialized expertise required to reroute an active magma flow without melting the whole passage and drowning the miners in fire. Only SoroSuub could do it. But they won’t." The teenager continues, "They do have filtration masks, so toxins aren’t an issue. And there are vents to the surface. But they have no climbing gear and if they did, they’d just be stranded on the surface."
Ymira asks about a ship based rescue. "Volcanoes are constantly spewing ash and gases and sometimes magma. Visibility is near zero and lava geysers are completely unpredictable. But you look like you could handle that," Zien answers. "The ship is only part of the solution. It will take climbing gear to then reach them and get them out." Zien looks at the crew hopefully now.
