Day 375 of the Clone Wars.

Coruscant Military Barracks.

Both Drunik Saller and Horachkt were ushered into waiting rooms, both separated from one another. Despite being on different sides of the military base, both rooms had similar features: several plain white chairs lining the perimeter; extremely plain, un-scuffed white walls and floor; a smooth ceiling only marred by a couple bright lights; and a strong cleaner like smell. Additionally, by the door stood a clone trooper, standing silently, gun in hand. Both were kept there a long, nearly unbearable time.

In Horachkt's room, the clone trooper opened the door and called to him, " Trando! We've been summoned to the briefing room. Please, walk there." As Horachkt left the room, the clone trooper followed a couple paces behind him, enough to be out of his power hammer's reach. The clone followed like a sentinel.

As the time came for Drunik to leave, he was approached by the clone. "Sir," the clone began, " the briefing room is now ready for you. Please follow me." The clone turned, and briskly walked towards the room.

The hallways were as bland and boring as the waiting rooms, perhaps more-so with the lack of chairs. The clones moved quickly, keeping conversation to a minimum. They walked in a droid-like fashion towards the room, making sure that Horackt and Drunik were only a few paces away.

Horachkt and Durnik got to the room at nearly identical times, coming from opposite directions. One of the clones opened the door, then gestured for Horachkt and Drunik to enter, and each of them waited outside for them to leave.

Inside the room, the monotonous colour scheme continued. There were three chairs positioned around a table; two on the side facing Drunik and Horachkt, and one on the other side occupied by a Kel Dor. Standing on the left side of the Kel Dor, was yet another clone trooper; though this one had the green markings of a sergeant. As they entered to room, they Jedi stood up.

"Ah gentlemen! Please take a seat." The Kel Dor gestured to the chairs. Not waiting for them to take a seat, he began, " What is discussed here can go no further. If you do, Republic Intelligence would not be pleased." He paused for a moment, then turned to face them. " I am Jedi knight Valum Dio. The assignment you two will be getting will be incredibly dangerous. You have each been selected because you possess a skill-set that we need to successfully do this mission. This is the one time you can choose to leave, and have nothing more to do with this mission. Are you in?" Valum paused, waiting for the others to respond.

(OOC: Well, this took me a while to get up. I'm hoping to be able to post on Thursdays, but that may be difficult with University and all. Valum's name may change, as he is Kamina's character, and he didn't choose the name. This will be open until I can figure out how to limit who can post.)

The door closed behind him and the clone escorts broke off, leaving Horachkt alone in the immaculate white room to wait. Well, almost alone, save for a single clone trooper situated by the door, dressed down and armed with the very same blaster they all seemed to carry. Predictably, he'd been left there to prevent any altercations, and, like every other copy-cut-paste clone, stood virtually motionless and silent as a corpse. "Jetar madle," Horachkt growled at the guard before giving him a toothy sneer. It felt good to finally be able to insult someone without receiving a second order, but he tormented the man no further, for there was nothing he could gain. It was worthless to waste his breath on an equally worthless target.

Disinterested, Horachkt diverted his attention from the trooper and slowly took in the garish room. It looked exactly the same as everything else he'd seen in this place: spotless, reflective floors you could eat off of; clean metal walls and ceilings; ridiculously bright lights which served only to aggravate the already distracting white of everything else. Horachkt hated white, and the thought of having to be completely surrounded by it for any amount of time was nauseating. White was a useless colour, and, according to Horachkt, the only reason it had to exist was to be stained with the blood of those you'd killed.

As the hours slipped by and still nothing was happening, he was growing more and more impatient. What could they possibly be doing anyway, ordering him a pleasure cruise and taking him to Nal Hutta for a night on the town? He chuckled to himself; that would be a far nicer bet. Nevertheless, he was here on a mission of the most personal kind- a dream that would take him to far, far greater satisfactions than he'd ever imagined- and this was no place for scantily-clad dancers or all the booze he could handle.

At the last moment, just as he thought he could take it no longer, the clone sentinel, suddenly showing legitimate signs of life, opened up the door and called to him "Trando! We've been summoned to the briefing room. Please, walk there."
"Kriffing finally," Horachkt thought darkly as he obeyed the clone's order. He stepped through the door and the clone came in after him, shutting it promptly and following him down through a long white corridor identical in style to that of the waiting room he'd nearly expired in. They walked in silence, neither saying anything to the other, though Horachkt noticed that his escort was always a few paces behind him- just out of reach of his vibro-axe. Horachkt smirked to himself, tempted to whip it out and give it a good swing. It might earn him a blaster shot to the belly, but it would be worth it to get this clone to display a smidgeon of real fear.

At length, they made it to the briefing room, where the Quarren he'd noticed previously had also arrived in the same moment. Everything here was the same except for the Kel Dor at the table and the green-tinged clone soldier at his side. A sergeant, Horachkt thought; he knew it from a pamphlet he'd read somewhere. This Kel Dor- a Jedi at that, of all things- was the real deal. This was where things would finally get straightened out.

"Ah, gentlemen!" The Jedi said, extending a hand in welcome. "Please take a seat." Horachkt gave him a critical look, raising a proverbial eyebrow. Without a word, he stepped over the back of his seat and sat down at its edge, preparing himself for anything.
Without hesitation, the Kel Dor went right to business. "What is discussed here can go no further. If you do, Republic Intelligence would not be pleased." He paused, as though expecting surprise, then continued. "I am Jedi knight Valum Dio. The assignment you two will be getting will be incredibly dangerous. You have each been selected because you possess a skill-set that we need to successfully do this mission. This is the one time you can choose to leave, and have nothing more to do with this mission. Are you in?"

Horachkt listened to what he had to say, his defiant grin growing wider with each word. When he was sure there was nothing left to say, he leaned forward in his seat, rested an arm upon the table, and looked the Jedi straight in the eye.
"I signed up for this thing because it was dangerous- because there are gonna be monsters to gut, sharpie. You think I'm kiddin' about why I'm here?"

The room remained silent, as it had for some time. Only the 'tap tap' of a booted Quarren foot against the floor, expressing, among other things, nervous boredom. It seemed like ages since he and the Clone were left in here, sealed away and set to wait. 'Beurocratic oisk', he thought to himself, starring at his guard with narrow eyes, his heavy lids trying to block out most of the light's glare on his large Saphire orbs. He had tried to talk with the trooper a few times, but the duty-bound fool seemed to have little desire for social niceties. What a shame...

So here Drunik sat, comfortably in this hard chair, one hand twirling a facial tenticle, while the other rested on his belt buckle, in easy reach of the DD6 strapped right next to it at the front of his waist, in an eyeballing contest with a helmeted fool. Sometimes, such as now, he often questioned his decision to get involved with the war. He wasn't a soldier. What did he ever hope to gain? A smile touched his mandables. No, he just hoped to stay out of prison. Times of war were times to avoid such accomidations.

So, smuggler turned republic agent. What a strange thing to think... To work for the same authority he so long avoided. Funny, really. Even to this day, he felt a small jolt of adrenaline every time he saw a pub vessel, or officer.

Suddenly, the trooper moved, to the Quarren's amazement.
"Sir," the clone began, " the briefing room is now ready for you. Please follow me.", and turned to open the door.

Snapping to his feet, and uttering a curse in his native tongue, Drunik stepped lively for the exit.
"Then lets not keep em waiting, eh? My legs are half dead and my stomach is a'growlin', so let's get this show on the road." He declared loudly, shooing the clone onward.

_____________________________________________

".....And thats how I got out of paying Gwall." Drunik was saying as they entered the room, to a silent trooper. Noting the Trandoshan's appearence, he turned to ask his new friend about it, but was hurredly shooed into yet another room. As the door closed, the Quarren was almost sure he heard a sigh of relief from his guard. Frowning, he turned to look into the new room, noting that the decor did little to improve the atmosphere.

"Ah gentlemen! Please take a seat." A Kel Dor said, standing and gesturing to the chairs. Drunik noted the table, 3 chairs, and 3 other sentients, but remained silent as he moved forward. Not waiting for them to take a seat, the creature began, " What is discussed here can go no further. If you do, Republic Intelligence would not be pleased." He paused for a moment, giving ample silence for Drunik's dramatic eyebrow-fold raise. He expected it was customary to allow authority figures dramatic tension, and ample responses.

" I am Jedi knight Valum Dio. The assignment you two will be getting will be incredibly dangerous. You have each been selected because you possess a skill-set that we need to successfully do this mission. This is the one time you can choose to leave, and have nothing more to do with this mission. Are you in?"

The ex-smuggler's brow knitted. He could guess his role in all of this already. But it didn't mean he liked it... He looked to the Dosh, trying to judge how he liked his new meat shield.

He leaned forward in his seat, rested an arm upon the table, and looked the Jedi straight in the eye.
"I signed up for this thing because it was dangerous- because there are gonna be monsters to gut, sharpie. You think I'm kiddin' about why I'm here?"

Drunik's chin raised slightly. He really should have expected such an answer from one of the reptilian races. Clearing his throat slightly, and adjusting his crimsom jacket, he added in his own nod.

"Aye, I suppose. Violence, bloodshed, dramatic climaxes. Sounds like my gig." He said, doing his best to keep the sarcasm from his wet, gurgled voice. "So what's the job?"

"I signed up for this thing because it was dangerous- because there are gonna be monsters to gut, sharpie. You think I'm kiddin' about why I'm here?" Nodding Valum looked towards the Quarren. "Aye, I suppose. Violence, bloodshed, dramatic climaxes. Sounds like my gig. So what's the job?"
Taking his own seat at the table, Valum began speaking to his two new compatriots. "As you both know the Republic is not in the best state in this war. Our forces continue to be cut off from loyal colonies, and the seperatist General Grevious is cutting through our ranks in every battle. Now, Special Forces Commander General Arligan Zey has called upon us for a reason. We are to be tasked with finding possible stock piles in the Outer Rim that the Republic can use to our advantage. Unfortuanetly we will have to pass through Seperatist space to get to our initial location. We have all been provided fake identities that should pull us through any security we run in to, which hopefully we shouldn't." Pausing for a breath, Valum looked over to the clone before continuing.

"Now I was informed that one of you has a ship that we will be using for this mission. The Republic has agreed to give us as many supplies as the ship can carry. From there on out we will have to garner supplies on our own. The primary objective of this mission is to find loyal colonies for the republic. I am to let you know we are not the only ones pursuing one of these missions. There are other groups with similar objectives. As you may have also notice our third companion here, this is Sergeant Levince. He will be accompaning us in our mission, but will not be following the same objective per se. High Command has asked we do not interfere with what the Sergeant is doing, so I humbly ask you to follow the Republic's Command Protocol and listen to these orders. We are to depart as soon as we possibly can. If there are any questions you can ask me on the way to the ship. Now if the owner of our new vessel could please stand and lead us there." Standing, Valum bows and stretches an arm towards the door.

"As you both know the Republic is not in the best state in this war. Our forces continue to be cut off from loyal colonies, and the seperatist General Grevious is cutting through our ranks in every battle. Now, Special Forces Commander General Arligan Zey has called upon us for a reason. We are to be tasked with finding possible stock piles in the Outer Rim that the Republic can use to our advantage. Unfortuanetly we will have to pass through Seperatist space to get to our initial location. We have all been provided fake identities that should pull us through any security we run in to, which hopefully we shouldn't." Pausing for a breath, Valum looked over to the clone before continuing, giving Drunik time to process this, and smile. So it was a smuggling job. Whaddya know....

"Now I was informed that one of you has a ship that we will be using for this mission. The Republic has agreed to give us as many supplies as the ship can carry. From there on out we will have to garner supplies on our own. The primary objective of this mission is to find loyal colonies for the republic. I am to let you know we are not the only ones pursuing one of these missions. There are other groups with similar objectives. As you may have also notice our third companion here, this is Sergeant Levince. He will be accompaning us in our mission, but will not be following the same objective per se. High Command has asked we do not interfere with what the Sergeant is doing, so I humbly ask you to follow the Republic's Command Protocol and listen to these orders. We are to depart as soon as we possibly can. If there are any questions you can ask me on the way to the ship. Now if the owner of our new vessel could please stand and lead us there." Standing, Valum bows and stretches an arm towards the door. The Quarren eyed him for a few moments, however, before complying. As he started toward the door, his only words were,
"Ya, I got a ship for ya... And it can hold ALOT of supplies..."
He didn't want a Jedi, or a Republic officer on 'The King's Kruise', but a job was a job. And if this one was so important, the reward for completion would be enough to restore his Pursuer back to her former splendor.

Drunik walked ahead of everyone, not bothering to engage in conversation just yet. Let the lizard and the Kel Dor talk. Drunik's job was clear.....

((Was gonna go all the way to the ship this post, but i wanna introduce my Droid in when that happens, so... ))

"...tasked with finding possible stock piles in the Outer Rim..." 'Yes, the so-called Unknown Regions,' thought Horachkt, nodding slowly. 'Yes, this is where I want to go...' The Jedi before him- Valum, was it?- went on. "We will have to pass through Seperatist space to get to our initial location. We have all been provided fake identities that should pull us through any security we run in to, which hopefully we shouldn't." Now Horachkt frowned, grim-faced. 'Because of course it wouldn't be so easy.' Valum now paused, letting them process the information. Horachkt thought. Evidently, his reason for going along with this mission was only secondary to the prime directive. Not the ideal situation, but it was the only one he had. The careful examination of his situation he'd begun earlier was now in full speed, and he had a question to ask. Before he could open his mouth, however, the Jedi continued.

"Now I was informed that one of you has a ship that we will be using for this mission. The Republic has agreed to give us as many supplies as the ship can carry. From there on out we will have to garner supplies on our own." 'Okay, so I will have plenty of energy.' "The primary objective of this mission is to find loyal colonies for the republic. I am to let you know we are not the only ones pursuing one of these missions. There are other groups with similar objectives." At this, Horachkt chuckled- was the Republic truly so desperate that they were now resorting to one of the most inhospitable regions of space to serve their interests?
"As you may have also notice our third companion here, this is Sergeant Levince. He will be accompaning us in our mission, but will not be following the same objective per se. High Command has asked we do not interfere with what the Sergeant is doing, so I humbly ask you to follow the Republic's Command Protocol and listen to these orders." 'As long as he does not interfere with my interests, I don't care if he lives or dies.' "We are to depart as soon as we possibly can. If there are any questions you can ask me on the way to the ship. Now if the owner of our new vessel could please stand and lead us there."
'Quite the hurry he's in, Horachkt observed. No matter- the sooner he could get out of the horrible white room, the better. Valum now stood up, and the Quarren sitting at the other chair had followed suit. Evidently, the ship was his, as he added shortly after "Ya, I got a ship for ya... And it can hold A LOT of supplies..."
'Well ain't that a fact, Sliplips. 'Long as you don't go messing with me, I'll leave you and your ship alone too.' Part of him chortled to imagine the shorter man having the capability to read his thoughts.

The posse left the room at last, with the Quarren walking ahead of everyone else, unlikely to ask the Jedi any questions. Horachkt took this opportunity to catch up to Valum and grab his attention.
"Look, guy," he hissed. "I'm game to do what we need to do, but I have to know if we'll be landing on any of these planets we're gonna find..." '...'cause I've got beassssts' blood to ssspill."
---

((OOC: Horachkt's thoughts in this game will be communicated through italics unless indicated otherwise [Drunik wouldn't hear his insult ]. Valum's text has been bolded to make it easier to read and keep the dialogues apart.))

"Ya, I got a ship for ya... And it can hold ALOT of supplies..." Valum looked up to the Quarren as he spoke. Nodding, he motioned for Sergeant Levince to follow as he walked out the door after the Quarren. Looking to Levince, he couldn't help but chuckle. "We have quite the team assembled don't we Sergeant?" Moving forward, Valum kept his foot steps in time with the Quarren's ahead of him as to not fall behind, yet not catch up either.

He glanced to his right as he heard the heavy set footsteps of the Trandoshan come up beside him. Look, guy, I'm game to do what we need to do, but I have to know if we'll be landing on any of these planets we're gonna find..." Continuing at his pace, he looked up to the Trandoshan's face as best he could. "I can not garuntee we will land on every planet that we come across. If there are possible allies to be found we will be sure to land so we can talk to whichever leaders we may need to for support. Other then that I can not tell you much more."
A few minutes later as they arrived at the hangar, Valum stepped forward to talk to the clones loading their supplies on to the Quarren's ship. "Excuse me privates, where can I find the Loadmaster?" One of the clones looked to Valum as he walked by with a crate of rations. "Jigsaw's over there sir, talking with Sarge." Valum nodded as he walked towards the Sergeant and Jigsaw. "Sergeant, Loadmaster Jigsaw. Have the preparations been completed?" "Yes sir, we just have a couple of smaller ration and medical supply crates to put in the cargo hold and everything will be ready for departure." Putting his hand on the clone's shoulder, Valum gave what was considered a smile among Kel Dor. "Very good, I will have my team ready to board as soon as your troopers are done. Job well done men!"
Walking back to the party Valum greeted them with open arms. "Preparations are almost complete and we can board this ship and proceed with our mission. If there are any questions feel free to ask me now or onboard." Stepping aside, he motioned for the Quarren to board his ship first.

[OOC] ((I was asked by Sadaar to get us to the ship to help speed things up. Feel free to post anything if you talked during our walk to the ship!))

The sight beyond the opening doors of the Hanger Bay drewa dark, wrinkled frown across Drunik's face. A look that, though matching no human expression, easily revealed an anger and annoyance that spoke volumes. Before him, his ship seemed a loading unit. Republic soldiers flitted in and out, carrying crates of gods knew what. Sweat formed on the Quarren's already moist forehead. He deeply hoped they didn't check anysecret hatches....

His mind running the situation over, however, he calmed quickly. This was the career he chose... For now.

"Excuse me privates, where can I find the Loadmaster?" He heard as the Jedi moved past Drunik, not noticing his dark mood. One of the clones looked to Valum as he walked by with a crate of rations. "Jigsaw's over there sir, talking with Sarge." Valum nodded as he walked towards the Sergeant and Jigsaw, Drunik moving to follow, his mandibles clicking. "Sergeant, Loadmaster Jigsaw. Have the preparations been completed?"

"Yes sir, we just have a couple of smaller ration and medical supply crates to put in the cargo hold and everything will be ready for departure." Putting his hand on the clone's shoulder, Valum gave what was considered a smile among Kel Dor. "Very good, I will have my team ready to board as soon as your troopers are done. Job well done men!"

Walking back to the party, Valum greeted them with open arms. "Preparations are almost complete and we can board this ship and proceed with our mission. If there are any questions feel free to ask me now or onboard." Stepping aside, he motioned for the Quarren to board his ship first.

Drunik offered a small frown, wondering briefly if these beings even knew a quarren expression when they saw it. As he led the way up the boarding ramp, electronic yelling could be heard, soon revealing a silvery droid, it's arms flailing as he directed the last of the crate carriers to it's chosen place. It seemed the soldiers had caused it a good bit of annoyance.

"...You fool, over here! 3 centimeters to the left!" It was calling out as Drunik appeared from behind, delivering a hard slap to the durasteel chassis.

"Leave the bucket heads... get our heading set in" the scoundrel demands, slipping the droid a small datadisk.
"This is the King's Kruise," He shouted to those behind him. "This ship shall be treated with the utmost respect, is that understood?!". Around him, the rusty interior of the ship seemed to argue his point. There was nothing grand about this vessel aside from the name. "She may not look like much, but she will get us where we need to go, that I promise."

As if the point wasn't made, GD flipped his pistol in his hand. "We play by the master's rules." He confirmed, closing the boarding ramp with a slam of his metal fist, his glowing green eyes never leaving the Trandoshan.
"IF there are any easily sick passengers, please leave. " the droid asked, immediately leading folks to their rooms while Drunik followed, informing the droid, "Your gonna get us there. we will take the rest..."

"I can not guarantee we will land on every planet that we come across. If there are possible allies to be found we will be sure to land so we can talk to whichever leaders we may need to for support. Other then that I can not tell you much more."

Valum's response was sour to the displeased ears of Horachkt, who growled openly before falling behind the Jedi to think. So they weren't going to land on many planets- but few, he supposed, were better than none. He had to get there, to the Unknown Regions- there was no alternative- and if this was to be his only possible route, then he had to settle with what he could get. The irritation of having to spend such close quarters with outsiders for months- or possibly even years- was certainly not his preference, and he planned to spend as little time with them as necessary, even if negotiations had to be made.

Presently, Valum returned to the group, his arms outstretched. Apparently some time had elapsed while Horachkt was in thought, and he trotted forward to hear what Valum had to say.
"Preparations are almost complete and we can board this ship and proceed with our mission. If there are any questions, feel free to ask me now or onboard."

Horachkt had no further questions, and was still stewing over his situation. He looked up and examined the ship: it was an enforcement vessel of some sort, the exact type and make unfamiliar. In truth, he had no honest idea how spaceships differed from one another beyond the very basics, and he didn't really care to learn. 'Some hunk o' junk,' he thought, before his concentration was broken by a loud and very sudden disturbance aboard the vessel.

"...You fool, over here! 3 centimeters to the left!"
A droid, silver in colour and arms flailing, had come running out of nowhere in what seemed to be a most exasperated frenzy. Horachkt snorted at the unexpected display as the quarren, its owner and the apparent pilot of the ship itself, stepped forward to intervene. 'Sliplips is regular jack of all trades, then,' he joshed. 'Must be a certified counsellor, too.'
When they boarded the enforcer the quarren turned to them and shouted, "This is the King's Kruise. This ship shall be treated with the utmost respect, is that understood?! She may not look like much, but she will get us where we need to go, that I promise."
'Well, he's got that right.' True to word, the interior of the ship could have looked better. Horachkt scratched a bit of rust off of the edge of the door; then, wiping clean his claw, he noticed that the silver droid, with no question, was staring intently at him. It was unnerving- he never moved his eyes... and it was starting to anger him.
"We play by the master's rules," it said, as though stressing the point of its obvious distrust. "IF there are any easily sick passengers, please leave."

Horachkt growled again, more deeply this time, and he turned and bustled past it to find a room. 'That tears it. There is no way in hell I am leaving my room.'

Ya, I got a ship for ya... And it can hold ALOT of supplies..." Valum looked up to the Quarren as he spoke. Nodding, he motioned for Sergeant Levince to follow as he walked out the door after the Quarren. Looking to Levince, he couldn't help but chuckle. "We have quite the team assembled don't we Sergeant?" Moving forward, Valum kept his foot steps in time with the Quarren's ahead of him as to not fall behind, yet not catch up either.
Sergeant Levince glanced at Valum. "I guess you could say that," he carefully replied. As the they group entered, and began to discuss among themselves and troopers in the hangar, Levince walked over to a different trooper. After a brief discussion, the trooper gave Levince a hand trolley with several boxes on it. They said their goodbyes, then parted ways. Levince quickly moved up the loading ramp, catching the end of GD-99's speech.

As if the point wasn't made, GD flipped his pistol in his hand. "We play by the master's rules." He confirmed, closing the boarding ramp with a slam of his metal fist, his glowing green eyes never leaving the Trandoshan.
"IF there are any easily sick passengers, please leave. " the droid asked, immediately leading folks to their rooms while Drunik followed, informing the droid, "Your gonna get us there. we will take the rest..."
Remaining silent for the whole speech, Levince entered his room, very quickly closing the door behind him. Once the party concluded discussions, Drunik and GD-99 quickly took off from the runway, and lifted into the Coruscant sky. As they left, none of the defensive fleet made any attempts to contact the King's Kruise, letting them past without incident. The jump to light speed went on without a hitch.

It was a three day flight to get to Gannaria. Gannaria itself was of little importance; it was a small, spice generating hub, with more ties to the Hutts and other criminal factions than the war.

On the three day flight, nothing occurred to hamper their progress. The King's Kruise was not a large ship, and it was hard to avoid contact with one another. Levince spent much of the time in his room; though, even he came out a couple times. Never once was he seen without his full gear on.

Once they got to Gannaria, Drunik and GD-99 swiftly moved towards to the end of it's gravitational field, and began to calculate the jump to hyperspace, which would take them into the unknown regions. While doing so, a single Munificent Class Frigate approached them. Quickly, the droid officer on the ship contacted them, mechanically saying, "Attention unidentified Pursuer Class enforcement ship! This is Frigate 72 Delta 89b. Please state designation and purpose in this sector!" The King's Kruiser's sensors displayed that the Frigate had locked weapons on them, but had yet to fire.


(OOC: I'll throw something in the Q&A about the fake identities and info provided. Not that you have to use it though.)

There had been little activity for the first leg of the flight from Coruscant, with most of the 'crew' hiding away in their respective quarters, leaving Drunik and GeeDee to their work. Occasionally, someone would make themselves present, only to again shuffle off. GeeDee himself loved those moments, giving him the opportunity to throw out some snarky comment or sarcastic reply. But Drunik had expected a little more interaction. Three days, and all he knew about his companions was that he now traveled with a Jedi, and two trigger-happy soldiers. He wasn't even sure any of them liked a good game of Pazaak... And that was bothersome indeed...

But finally, they reached Gannaria, their first check point. though they wouldn't be stopping, it was always nice to see a planet, or a station. hell, anything that wasn't just blank space. The Quarren watched said world for a good amount of time, dearly wanting to stop... but they had orders.

"GeeDee, take us around, and prep us for another jump..." He growled glumly, resting back in his chair.

"Um, Dru... We may have a-" GeeDee began, his glowing eyes starring at the scanners. But he was cut short as the comm unit sounded.

"Attention unidentified Pursuer Class enforcement ship! This is Frigate 72 Delta 89b. Please state designation and purpose in this sector!" It called, making Drunik bolt upright. Looking to GeeDee, the droid simply nodded.

"It is a Munificent Class Frigate, boss... And weapons are hot and locked on us..."

The Scoundrel groaned. This wasn't exactly unexpected, but he had hoped to avoid it. "Don't suppose the Hyperdrive is ready..."

"You are a master prophet, indeed, sir..." The droid growled back. It was obvious the hyperdrive wasn't ready yet. They had only been here a moment...

"Ya, ya, shut it, you stupid gearbox, before i scrap you for a new model." Drunik said with a small grin, before pressing the comm to the crew. "We got company. Ima try to get us out of here... Stay tight.."

Switching the channel to the Frigate, Drunik rummaged through the items piled on his console.

"72 Delta 89b, this is the Miraculous (GF-17, Gannarian Patrol) of the Confederate Police Force. Captain Aryg speaking. We are on the search for Republic spies. Cargo, my crew, armor and equipment." He speaks, sounding ALMOST professional... "We are on a bit of a time crunch, Delta, so if we could wrap this up..."

It had been three days so far, and Horachkt was on the edge. Even before he'd signed up, he knew he didn't like life on a spaceship at all, no matter how luxurious or well-furnished it was. It was cramped and stifling- the spaces themselves were obviously not built for a creature of his bulk. Perhaps it was fortunate enough that he'd even been able to reserve personal quarters at all, but he was far too self-absorbed to care about that at present. What he really wanted was a decent meal and for everybody else to just disappear themselves, particularly that irritating droid who never seemed to take his eye off him.

Lounging back on the thin mattress he'd made do with for sleep, he daydreamed in longing for the thrill of the hunt, as he'd done for the last three days; there, he was the one in control of his environment, exerting himself on everything he could. There, he was the master of his gun, of his tracks, of his space, of his game. Here, he was master of nothing except his temper, which he allowed to disobey him. Indeed, he was thoroughly displeased; he was certain that if the situation had been any other way, he'd consider stealing an escape pod and jettisoning away. However, although this thought had, many times, crossed his mind, he knew he could never go through with it; the prize which lay beyond the ship's metal hull in the Unknown Regions was far too grand to waste for mere instant gratification.

Without knowledge of anything that was going on in the cockpit, where a critical negotiation was currently taking place, Horachkt stood from his bed and trudged out from his quarters in search of something vaguely better to do. Perhaps he would fritter some time in the cargo bay. As he walked, he strolled past the King's Kruise's main fixed armaments, barely giving them a second thought...

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((OOC: I've been bad with being late, and apologize through and through... but I will try not to let it happen again. Game on!))

A few vulture droids flew off the frigate, passing heart-wrenchingly close to the King's Kruise; however, non of them fired. The frigate slowly edged closer to the much smaller ship.

"72 Delta 89b, this is the Miraculous (GF-17, Gannarian Patrol) of the Confederate Police Force. Captain Aryg speaking. We are on the search for Republic spies. Cargo, my crew, armor and equipment." He speaks, sounding ALMOST professional... "We are on a bit of a time crunch, Delta, so if we could wrap this up..."
There was a pause on the other end of the comlink. After a few moments, the droid came back on. "Verifying designation, please stand by." The droid went silent after that.

It was at least two minutes before the droid said anything again. "Captain Aryg, your designation has been cleared. Continue on your mission with utmost haste." The droid said flatly. A few moments passed, and the droid said one last thing, "And command has told me to inform you that if you need any assistance, to feel free to contact us, and a battalion will be sent as soon as possible." With that, the droid officer terminated the comlink call. Slowly, the Munificent Class Frigate rotated back around, and began to head back towards Gannaria.

Drunik and GeeDee were able to plot the coordinates to their next jump with ease. Unlike the last hyperspace jumps, this one took merely an hour to finish. Once done, the they were out in the Unknown Regions. A quick scan around showed three different systems; although, the type of planets in them was unknown. However, emanating from slightly west of Galactic North was a faint signal. Further analysis revealed it was a much older signal, at least a couple of thousand years old. How it was still broadcasting was a mystery. It could be worth investigating though. Or, it could be a pointless waste of time, since it was a signal from years ago.

(OOC: Sorry about the delay, labs and midterms are killing me. Hopefully, I'll be able to speed up my post rate next semester.)

As the group followed the Quarren on to his ship, Valum looked over to Levince as he walked to a different trooper. Turning to the ship, he walked up the boarding ramp to catch the Quarren's speech. "This is the King's Kruise, this ship shall be treated with the utmost respect, is that understood?!" "She may not look like much, but she will get us where we need to go, that I promise." Valum looked to the Quarren as he walked away from the group, not paying much attention to the droid's snide comments. Once the droid stopped talking he followed the group as they were led to their rooms.
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Three days passed on board the King's Kruise, and in those three days Valum learned very little about the ones he was travelling with. He knew enough about Sergeant Levince, he was a special clone with a special mission, and Valum was not to interfere. The Trandoshan was big, bulky, and obviously had a temper. Valum did not see much of him when he wandered the ship, which he didn't mind. The Quarren pilot on the other hand he almost always saw in the cockpit with the uppity droid. As much as he wanted to talk with crew of the ship, he couldn't bring himself to cram in to the tiny cockpit.

The most interesting thing to happen was on the third day when they exited hyper space. As he was wandering the ship he heard the pilot's voice come over the comms. "We got company. Ima try to get us out of here... Stay tight.." Valum made his way to the cockpit to listen in on the conversation between the droid and the Quarren.

"72 Delta 89b, this is the Miraculous of the Confederate Police Force. Captain Aryg speaking. We are on the search for Republic spies. Cargo, my crew, armor and equipment." He speaks, sounding ALMOST professional... "We are on a bit of a time crunch, Delta, so if we could wrap this up..."

"Verifying designation, please stand by."
"Captain Aryg, your designation has been cleared. Continue on your mission with utmost haste."
Once he heard the all clear, Valum stepped closer to the Quarren and his droid. "Well it appears we passed the first hurdle in this mission. Shall we be on our way men?"

"Well it appears we passed the first hurdle in this mission. Shall we be on our way men?" Drunik heard over his shoulder, cocking his head to the side, the pale tentacles curling a bit as he did so.

"Aye, Master Jedi. No sweat. Seems them I.D.'s came in handy though." He gurgled merrily, to which his metallic companion added, "And offered fodder, it seems. We may find a nice place for them to get bent in..."

If it was a joke was impossible to distinguish, but the Quarren seemed to pay it no mind. He turned back to Valum, his mandibles twitching. "Now the real games begin though, eh? One hour out. Better let our fellow crew members know to lock and load."

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Assumable later
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The jump from hyperspace brought a shiver to the Quarren. To leave the charted regions seemed somehow... wrong. Shaking his head, he looked to DeeBee, who was already going to town on the computers.

"Looks like we have three systems on track... Unknown condit-, wait... Boss, i am picking up a signal... It's faint, but... looks like another system. Very old.... " He looks to Drunik, who looks over his shoulder.

"Master Jedi, Sergeant... I ain't the navigator on this job, which way?" He called, blinking his milky eyes slowly.

The expected addition of metallic speech came immediately, adding, "I would like to see the ancient sector, if you please...." It's yellow eyes also appeared, watching those assembled...