Log Date: 4/11/97 Log Cast: Jeralic, Paul Nighman, Fender, Shenner, Zarcane Log Intro: Shenner stayed up a good chunk of the evening waiting for Paul and Jessalyn to return from a private dinner; Paul had promised to come back and rebandage her bruised and blistered hands, but Shenner went to bed with her two friends still out in Coral City. She has awakened the next morning to find Paul back in the barracks, but only Paul, no Jessalyn... and Paul is anxious to meet a contact in the starport who is to take him to Tatooine. Moreover, Paul does not know where Jessalyn is; Shenner is faced with the need to make a decision, and fast, about where she is going to go. General Calhoun has eliminated the possibility of her going to Kashyyyk by having left without her, and now, with Paul about to leave, Shenner is suddenly determined that she _must_ go with him. Thus, after hastily packing their belongings, Shenner and Paul take their leave from the NR base, and head to the starport to meet Paul's contact.... ---------- Calamari Coral City -- Main Spaceport A large docking bay, people of all races bustling between various terminals, the hum of many conversations in different tongues periodically muted by the roaring of a shuttle's engines. Expansive white walls, smooth and cold as washed stone, gleam in the soft light cast by the fixtures in the ceiling. There is the continuous shuffle of cargo being loaded and unloaded and the need to move out of harms way as a cargo lifter passes by you. Occasionally a wisp of salty air tickles your nose but it quickly fades away. A cargo lifter scoots by as it heads toward one of the private docks then disappears north toward the space platform. To the south the shapes and lights of a lively city can be seen. -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => Paul_Nighman => Jeralic => STARFIGHTER: Sienar Lambda Class Shuttle -- Excalibur => Carmen => Shuttle Information Board -=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=- aiting leads to Waiting To Be Linked. ivil leads to Civil Offices - Calamari. leads to Calamari Coral City -- North Coral Avenue. Paul_Nighman Paul Nighman is a tall and lanky Corellian, 6'3" with a lean, rugged, and muscular build. His face sports rugged features and a cleft in his chin. He is generally on the unshaven side - a sort of perpetual five o'clock shadow look - unless he has made a distinct effort to clean himself up. His hair is light brown with gold highlights, and there is one unruly swatch that has the tendency to fall over his brow. His eyes are expressive and hazel in color, with a green sunburst around the pupils. His skin has a naturally tanned look to it and in general he is robust and attractive. He has long muscular arms with scars and nicks crisscrossing them. His hands are smiliarly large and strong, laced with thin scars. His voice is deep, warm, and gravelly. Paul has a fairly basic attire that he tends to wear most of the time. This includes a light beige shirt, unbuttomed to about mid-chest, with breast pockets and the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows. On top of this he frequently wears a brwon leather jacket that has numerous pockets on the inside of it. When he is being less casual, he often wears a medium green vest/jacket with brown trim and black lining. Tan breeches mold his legs and a brown leather belt adorns his waist. He has tall brown leather boots, and only those with the most discerning eyes can tell there is a knife concealed in his right boot. Hanging from the belt and strapped to his left thigh is a blaster holster, equipped with blaster. Shenner(#3773POnACF) To a passing glance, this individual might be summed up as 'young male human', and certainly the walk, stance, and mannerisms seem like those a brash young man would have. But a closer observation might show that while the rust-red hair is boyishly short, there is nevertheless a slight softness to it; that while the lean build and tallish height of about 5'6" might say 'youth', there is nevertheless a slight curve of breast and hip; and, that while the voice is almost tenorishly low, it is still too high to really pass for that of a young man. The face is the clearest signal that this is indeed a young woman, for her features, dominated by large, luminous, and sharply intelligent green eyes, are far too delicate to be male. This human is clad in blandly unobtrusive garb, the kind you might expect any common laborer or traveller to have on: a simple white tunic with a turned-up collar; a heavy, padded vest of dark grey, with multiple pockets; breeches of a slate-blue hue, tucked into scuffed but serviceable calf-high boots of a neutral tan suede. Over all of this is worn an overlarge brown flight jacket, big enough that it tends to obscure the utility belt at her waist -- and the blaster holster. Jeralic is leaning up against his shuttle, looking rather board as he skims through a datapad Jeralic Jeralic Mandragon is a tall, very thin man who looks like he's seen a lot of action. His face is wrinkled greatly, yet still retains the square firmness that it had when he was a child. Jeralic's hair is a light shade of grey, typically brushed back in proper naval style. He's dressed simply in a grey pullover shirt tucked into a pair of black dress pants. Striding into the Spaceport comes a tall Corellian carrying a satchel case across his torso, a leather jacket in one hand and a large luggage bag in the other. He looks around curiously and then spotting the Excalibur, grins somewhat and heads straight for it, looking over his shoulder to make sure that the young redhead is still with him. Jeralic looks up at the person walking over to him. "Well, either your mistaking me for the local taxi, or your the people Ackbar asked me to pick up?" Fender scratches his head and examines the board. Paul chuckles at Jeralics comment and drops his jacket to offer a hand. "That would be us. Paul Nighman, ready to leave as soon as you are." The young redhead in question, a slim kid with short spiky hair, follows along beside Paul Nighman; she has a carisak slung over one shoulder and is hauling with her, of all things, a guitar case. The kid blinks green eyes at the sight of Jeralic, though. Jeralic nods, putting the datapad into his jacket and shaking his hand. He chuckles, looking over at Shenner. "I believe we've arleady met?" Jeralic looks at you for a moment. Shenner puts in, "Uh, hiya," eyeing the Admiral, slightly dauntedly. Shenner half-smiles. "Yessir." Jeralic smiles. "Please..There's no 'sir' anymore, as of yesterday I officially retired my commission." Fender walks into the civil office. Fender has left. Gesturing with his head Paul replies, "You've already met? Well, this is my companion Shenner ... Shenner .." and then he frowns and looks embarrased and turns to Shen with a look of help-me-out-here-honey, "Shenner?" Zarcane has arrived. Again, the kid blinks, as if taken aback -- and the look she slides Paul all at once is noticeably uncomfortable. But it's also a brief one. She can be seen to subtly square her shoulders and reply steadily, "Shenner'll do." Jeralic nods. "Right. ANways, if you guys would get on board?" Paul nods at Jeralic and picking up his jacket nods to Shen as well. "Okay -Shenner- shall we haul yourselves on board then?" And he heads up the ramp Shenner bobs her head at the former Admiral, and pads after the two men. [Jeralic leads the two into the shuttle....] Cargo Area -- Darklighter This area serves as Cargo Area and makeshift passenger lounge of the Darklighter. Several acceleration couches are built into the walls, along with a number of equipment lockers. The Darklighter was designed for many purposes, including use as an Assault Transport, a Troop Carrier, Cargo Hauler, and Diplomatic Shuttle. This room is a testimony to the versatility of the Lambda Class Shuttle in all of these areas. -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => Jeralic => Paul_Nighman => Cargo Computer: Excalibur -=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=- leads to Calamari Coral City -- Main Spaceport. ore leads to Cockpit -- Darklighter. Shenner enters Cargo Area -- Darklighter Jeralic walks in, nodding towards a place to stow your gear. Paul waits, uncertain where to go. He smiles and says to Jeralic, "Ah, if it's alright with you, I have research in here I need to go over ... I'll just stow in under my bunk?" Shenner tramps onto the ship, then without offering any commentary, simply stows her belongings where their pilot directs. Jeralic says, "Sure..Go ahead. If you guys'll excuse me, I'm gonna go get us up into the air."" Paul nods casually and looks around the ship curiously. Jeralic walks into the cockpit. Jeralic has left. Shenner settles down in one of the acceleration couches, looking restless, one bandaged hand fiddling with the ocarina pendant at her neck. Paul walks the cargo bay idly, but already is itching to look at the rest of the ship. He turns back to Shen curiously. "You gonna stay here, or do you want to check out the ship?" He then looks at his stuff and chuckles. "What was I thinking, this isn't a long trip," and he puts his belongings down in the storage compartment shown to him earlier. Shenner smiles half-heartedly to her companion, and just shrugs. "Enh. What's to see on a tiny boat like this?" Paul sits himself down next to Shen. "Guess so," he notes idly. Then spontaeously he murmurs, "I miss the Bolt, where is that Marcus anyway?" Shenner looks over at you, consideringly. Then she asks, "How come... you lent the ship off?" Paul leans back a touch wearily and rubs his eyes. "Well, that's a good question. I met a colleague of mine on Palhani ... he wanted me to hook up with someone at the academy there. When I arrived, he told me that he had some urgent business to attend to that -couldn't- wait, and could I lend him the Bolt for awhile, as there wasn't anything leaving planetside soon enough." He chuckles a bit at the memory. "He actually convinced me that after traveling around in space for nearly seven years, that I need to take a vacation on that dusty planet." His expression then drops into one of concern. "But I've just realized that it's been several weeks now, and no word ... that's not like Marcus at all. I've been so busy, so distracted, that I hadn't realized just how much time has elapsed." His hands beat a fretful rhythm against his thighs. Shenner, on the acceleration couch, hikes one leg up to wrap her arms about it, and eyes you over her knee. "Maybe you oughtta try gettin' him on the HoloNet or somethin'?" Paul stares at his hands. " Yeah, I tried that this morning and that's whats got me worried ... it said that it could not make a connect or he was out of range ... and when I tried to ping Alx for some information, I couldn't reach him either." His expression further drops into one of mild distress. "I mean, Marcus can be kinda absent minded, and he might have shut things down, or gone out of range or something, but that seems strange to me and unlikely." The girl watches you quietly. And then asks, "He didn't tell yah nothin' 'bout why he wanted the ship?" Shaking his head ironically Paul murmurs, "No, he was in such a flurry that morning, and I was just barely awake ... I think I told him yes just so I could get back to sleep. All I recall is that he had an agreement with some planetary goverment to excavate a site for the museum, and that it was all very hush hush and delicate, but I have no idea what planet or even what system." "Oh." Shenner says this only after you're done, and in a small voice. "That's.... rough." Another pause, then, "Hope Alx's okay." Paul nods shortly, his expression becoming even more concerned over the fact that his computer friend might be in trouble than over his colleague friend. "Trouble is, there's really nothing I can do right now ... I mean, I need to start this job, and even if I had a clue where to start, I wouldn't know if I could even get to where they might be ..." His eyes raise to Shen's with an unfamiliar expression of helplessness in them. "I ... I've always had the Bolt before," he murmurs ... "I don't have a clue what to do without it." He blinks and then stares at a bulkhead, trying to clear his mind for the job ahead. The girl stares at you, something of the deliberately distant and casual manner she's kept all morning relaxing a little, softening. "What, a smart guy like you clueless? No way," she tells you, trying for a teasing tone. His gaze remains on the bulkhead for a bit longer before it drops back to Shen. "No really," he replies wryly, "you'd be amazed just how stupid I can be sometimes." He gives her a partial smile, but there's no strength behind it. His eyes drop to her hands and he idly notes, "You know your hands are much better ... you can probably dispense with the bandages tomorrow morning." "Good," Shenner answers, "they itch." She pauses a moment, then offers, "Kinda... wanna play this shell thing you gave me, too." Paul smiles at that glancing from her hands to the ocarina to her face. "I'm glad you like it," he murmurs softly. A voice crackles over an intercom, "Coming to Kashyyk, want to pilot a little?" Paul looks up at the com in surprise and chuckles. "Huh, whaddya think?" he asks Shen. Shenner looks up. "Well, if you're bored," she begins airily. Paul shakes his head. "No, not bored ... but thought maybe you'd like to see how to navigate jumps?" Shenner's voice stays casual as she tells you, "Sure... why not?" But her face brightens rather noticeably in contrast. Paul grins and offers a hand to Shen. "Well alright then." He clicks on the intercom and replies, "I'd love to pilot, sure." There is brief moment of silence and then a crackle. "Okay, the com is yours, I'll be out for a bit." Paul nods and replies, "On our way," and then smiles down at Shen again. Shenner pauses a fraction of an instant, as if debating something, then, reaches for your hand with her own bandaged one. Letting Jeralic emerge from the cockpit, she follows you into it. You open the door to me cockpit and walk through... Cockpit -- Darklighter The cockpit has space for four people, pilot and co-pilot included. The transparent viewport lets you see the outside, and the lateral wings are partially seen as well. The room has a light-grey monotone color, and the walls are mostly filled with the ship systems' controls. -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => NavComp -=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=- ft leads to Cargo Area -- Darklighter. Paul_Nighman enters the cockpit. Paul_Nighman has arrived. Paul settles himself down and familiarizes himself with the controls and then points out the front at the planet before them. "Okay make yerself comfortable," he mumurs. "That's Kashyyk there, and what I am doing now is asking the buoy for coordinates to our next jump, which is Alpha 3 by the way." He hits a few switches and the computer screen displays coordinates. Paul nods and then toggling a few more switches he murmurs, now I'm taking the coordinates and downloading them into the computer, then the computer will take the coordinates and determine the course and then we can make the jump to hyperspace ... it's takes a few seconds ..." SF-515 comes out of hyperspace Paul_Nighman deletes jump number 5 Shenner looks out the viewport, and for a moment, she doesn't seem to hear you as you tell her what you're doing. "Kashyyyk," she mutters, bemusedly, before snapping her attention back to you again. "Huh... oh... how come we just ain't goin' straight to Tatooine?" Jump #1 on p-8359 copied to Jump #5 Preparing for jump SF-515 engages its hyperdrive and leaves the system The ship makes a high pitch whine and then shudders into hyperdrive. Paul leans back with a smile and then turns his head to Shenner. "Well, in this case, there are certain paths that are recommended that we follow, to avoid asteriod fields and the like. I usually plot a more direct course myself, but the commander has listed here," and he points with one finger, "his planned route, which includes all of these jump points ... it could be that when we power down out of hyperdrive at each point, he has an exchange of information occuring - picking up status reports and the like." He chuckles a little, steepling his fingers. "It's his ship after all, I wouldn't want to deviate from his planned course without permission." At the mention of "his ship" Paul's expression drops again as it brings home once again the fact that he doesn't have his ship. In an effort to shake off the sense of doom, he leans forward to check on their ETA. Shenner plops down in the co-pilot's chair, peering intently at the readouts you indicate to her, and huhs. "Yeah, well. Wouldn't wanna screw up somethin' for an Admiral. Or Ex-Admiral, I guess." That helps distract Paul, and he turns to Shen curiously. "An Admiral? Why would an Admiral be playing shuttle pilot duty," he asks in a puzzled voice. Shenner rolls her shoulders in a shrug. "I met him on the _Alderaan_," she clarifies. "He was an Admiral there. But he said he quit, so... I dunno." SF-515 comes out of hyperspace Paul looks at Shen for awhile and then breathes. "Huh." Settling back in his seat he suddenly starts looking at Shen curiously. "So, how did all that happen anyway? You meeting with Luke and getting onto the Alderaan?" He looks up as the console beeps insistently and then come out of hyperspace. His hands move over the controls to once again pull the coordinates for the next jump. Paul_Nighman deletes jump number 5 As the ship proceeds along its course, Shen glances out the viewport every so often, studying the eerie interplay of color and light that settles down into normal stars as the ship emerges into realspace. The girl then blows out a sigh and says, "Well, see, I was on Etti IV. With Grathix. We were lookin' for General Solo." Jump #1 on nb-1300 copied to Jump #5 Preparing for jump SF-515 engages its hyperdrive and leaves the system Paul leans back as the ship whines and lunges yet again into hyperdrive. "Uh huh," he murmurs, to let her know that he is listening. He leans forward to check their ETA again. "Grathix, uh... found me on Tatooine," Shenner tells you, sounding slightly uncomfortable. ".... muggin' Jawas." He then blinks curiously. "Why did Grathix want to find Solo?" he starts to ask, but when Shen mentions mugging Jawas, his jaw drops in astonishment. "What?!" Shenner stares at a nice, non-unnerving flicker on the control panel before her, and repeats in a sheepish mutter, "Muggin' Jawas." Paul starts to chuckle as the incongrous image of Shenner blindsiding Jawa's strikes him just right. His chuckle grows into guffaws and he grins at her, laughing ever harder as the image gets just funnier all the time. "Damn woman," he chuckles, "you are a constant amazement to me ... do they squeal "Ooootiniii!" when you knock them down?" Although he is laughing, his eyes glint with a certain amount of respect. SF-515 comes out of hyperspace Paul_Nighman deletes jump number 5 Jump #1 on cs-9139 copied to Jump #5 CS-9139 just scanned you Shenner slides you a sidelong glance, and starts to grin as you burst into laughter. "Well, uh.... yeah, they do," she admits, amusement in her voice as well, now. Communication from CS-9139 -- "SF-515 please identify yourself." Paul_Nighman radios, " This is New Republic ship Excalibur en route to Tatooine. Is there a problem? Please identify." to ship cs-9139 Shenner sits up in her chair, frowning, the levity of the moment interrupted by the unexpected hail. Paul looks to Shenner, hold on a sec, got a Calamari cruiser calling us." Communication from CS-9139 -- "Excalibur: this is MCSC Deliverance. We have orders to identify all ships coming through the system. You may proceed. Deliverance out." Paul_Nighman radios, " Affirmative Deliverance. Getting jump coordinates now. Excalibur out." to ship cs-9139 Paul blinks again and then his fingers move rapidly to find their next coordinates. "Well, that was unexpected," he murmurs under his breath. The kid, brow crinkled, just nods, and looks relieved as the communication appears to be innocuous enough. "Yeah." Paul_Nighman deletes jump number 5 Jump #1 on p-3923 copied to Jump #5 Preparing for jump SF-515 engages its hyperdrive and leaves the system Shenner falls quiet for a bit as the ship enters hyperspace again, her attention diverting to simply keeping a close watch on what Paul does, trying to commit it to memory. Paul leans back as the finally get the coordinates, toggling for the ETA. "Yeah, there's nothing worse than running into trouble when you're piloting an unfamilar ship," he murmurs softly. "That was Sluis Van by the way, next stop Sullust." SF-515 comes out of hyperspace Shenner huhs. "Lotta stops." She watches you navigate, nodding once to herself as it begins to make a kind of sense, then mutters, "So anyway. Yeah, I was muggin' Jawas." Paul stifles another snigger ... "and Grathix was impressed with your, uh technique?" "Somethin' like that, yeah," Shenner admits, poking randomly at the arm of the copilot's chair. "Grath... caught me doin' it, see." Paul nods his head and Mm-hmmm's again in response. Paul_Nighman deletes jump number 5 Jump #2 on p-8285 copied to Jump #5 Preparing for jump SF-515 engages its hyperdrive and leaves the system Paul_Nighman says, "Just two more jumps and we should be on Tatooine."" Shenner's face closes off a little at that, and she mutters, "Okay." Paul turns casually and notices the pinched features. He leans over and places a hand on Shenner's sleeve. "We'll find Grathix and get off again just as soon as possible, okay?" he murmurs with a touch of concern in his voice. Shenner looks up, smiling lopsidedly, though it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Sure, pal... sure." Paul gives the girl a measuring look but doesn't push it. "Okay, so what happened after you dazzled Grathix with your Jawa jumping talents?" The hint of grin is back in his voice, but his face is calm and composed, only his eyes glinting a little devilishly. Shenner smirks off out the viewport. "He offered me a job. Come to Etti IV with him and 'frob a shot' at this woman Simone Drake." Then she looks back to you. "Didn't find out till after we got there and were hangin' out a while that he was really lookin' for Solo and was gonna pretend to off Drake as a distraction... so's he could find out where Solo was." She considers, then adds, "Drake's like, in charge of Etti IV, see." SF-515 comes out of hyperspace Paul's widen slightly in surprise at just how deep Shenner was in to this little plot. "Interesting," he intones somberly, reaching forward to pick up their new coordinates. "And did you know that you going to ice this Simone Drake?" he asks her casually. Paul_Nighman deletes jump number 5 The kid shakes her head, mutely. Jump #2 on nb-3800 copied to Jump #5 Preparing for jump SF-515 engages its hyperdrive and leaves the system Paul stares at the console, but doesn't mention that they are heading to their last jump point, Tatooine. Instead he merely toggles the ETA and then turns back to Shen to hear the rest of her story. Shenner finally says, "Anyhow... we were gonna stage this pretend offing, see. But, well, everything just kinda got turned upsidedown when I ran into Luke." She grins a bit, looking, for just an instant... awed. "Saw him havin' a fight with his lightsaber, see..." Paul grins at that for a minute, having never seen a lightsaber in action himself. Somehow he finds the image of Luke wielding one to be incongruous, as if he couldn't imagine Luke hurting a fly, let alone slicing someone up with a lightsaber. "That must have drawn a lot of attention." Shenner murmurs, "Yeah. I was jammin' at this cafe at the time, see, me and a few others. Outdoor cafe. We saw this fight start up out on the street, and, well, everybody started takin' off. I was gonna run, too..." She smirks. "But I forgot my guitar." Paul chuckles, "Heaven forbid, so you risked life and limb and went back for it?" Shenner doesn't _quite_ look at you, nor does she quite answer the question. She _does_ tell you, "Uh, well, I went back for it... and Luke was actin' funny, just kinda standin' there in the street with a hand to his head, and I heard him go, 'Han!' So I, uh, stopped." Paul's eyes are riveted on Shen and he nods, becoming interested in her story. "Go on, what did you do next?" SF-515 comes out of hyperspace Shenner breathes out a sigh, then tells you, "Well, uh. I thought, 'Hey, does he mean Han Solo?' and went to go check him out, and then, uh, I kinda got grabbed." Paul settles them into a standard orbit around Tatooine, not willing to interrupt Shen's story. "Grabbed? By whom?" Autopilot set SF-515 moves to 83,298,219 and continues to move SF-515 moves to 34,287,219 and continues to move SF-515 moves to -15,275,219 and continues to move SF-515 moves to -64,263,218 and continues to move SF-515 moves to -113,252,218 and continues to move SF-515 moves to -162,240,217 and continues to move SF-515 moves to -193,233,217 and slows to a stop "I never really saw him," Shen tells you, "but I heard him. He grabbed me from behind... told me to get away from Luke. Guess I didn't move fast enough. Luke woke up, though, whipped out his lightsaber again... and whatever it was, well, it ran off." "Jeez," Paul mumurs under his breath, "Shen you coulda gotten hurt ... so then what?" The kid pokes at the arm of her chair again, and says sheepishly, "Well, Luke scared the creature off and then he asked me if I'd come with him 'cause he was afraid it'd come back, and, uh, kill me. So I said yeah, and he took me up to the _Alderaan_." SF-515 has landed on p-1324 "The Alderaan, huh?" Paul murmurs. "So what made you go with Luke in the first place, I mean, you didn't know him or anything, so why would you go to some ship with a man you don't even know?" His voice isn't critical, merely curious. Shenner doesn't answer that immediately. But when she does, her tone has turned musing, a trifle uncertain, as though she wasn't quite certain of that before and isn't quite sure even now. "Well.... I wasn't too thrilled about that thing comin' after me again... for one thing. And Luke'd said somethin' about Han, for another thing, and I guess I kinda didn't wanna give up that fast on a lead. And for a third..." She looks suddenly embarrassed, as she mumbles, "Well, see, he had a lightsaber, and, uhm...." "Well, I can see number one and number two, but what is the deal with the lightsaber?" Paul asks curiously, "I mean, sure it's a fancy weapon, but it is still just a weapon." Shenner blushes -- not much, but still, she _is_ blushing -- and mumbles, "Well, it meant he was a Jedi, so, uh..." Her voice drops down almost to an inaudible level. "Guess I, uh, just kinda decided he was a good guy, so it was okay." She looks away to something else nice and unthreatening, even as she fidgets with the ocarina pendant. Paul swivels his chair around and leans forward, his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. "In other words, total impulse, huh?" he murmurs with a grin on his lips. "Lucky for you it was Luke and not Alora ... she's got a lightsaber too you know. Guess you have good instincts, if they always serve you so well, you should listen to them carefully." Shenner mutters uneasily, "I ran into Alora on Etti IV, too." Paul frowns a little at that. "Did she hurt you?" he asks in a suspicious voice, and there sounds like a hint of "and if she did, I'll have to rip her arm off" in his voice. Shenner looks over at you and quickly shakes her head. "No.... just.... scared me. Offered me money to leave the planet with her. I told her no." Then she admits, "Scared the hell outta me when she showed up on Palanhi, too." Paul nods. "Yeah, she and I didn't get along too well either," he murmurs in rememberance. Shenner heaves out another sigh, then smiles weakly. "So anyway.... anything else you wanna hear about?" Paul leans back and absently toggles a switch, bringing the ship into a landing pattern. He looks back and thinks for a moment, "So how did you like the _Alderaan_? And what about your job with Grathix?" "It was really crowded, the _Alderaan_," the girl says musingly. "Met Jessalyn there. And, uhm... General Calhoun. And Princess Leia. And the Admiral. They, uh, let me call Grathix, though they hadda check him out before they'd let him land... so I had to wait a coupla days." Shen's tone darkens, unaccountably. Paul cocks his head to one side and idly flips another switch, casting a side glance at a screen and choosing another set of coordinates. "Was that a problem?" he queries her. Shenner scowls for no apparent reason, at least not until she answers you with, "Well, just... ran into a problem with this pilot I'd also bumped into on Etti IV. He wasn't an NR guy, he was with the Caspar folks... y'know who they are?" Paul watches the play of emotions on the girls face curiously, "Vaguely, yeah." Shenner smirks a bit, though not at you. "Well, seems one of their pilots wigged out. He saw me on Etti IV, see. Knew I was a girl.... but up on the _Alderaan_ when he ran into me again he got it into his head that he was gonna be my new boss, and threatened me." She is still scowling, though she attempts to look indifferent as she shrugs where she sits. "General Calhoun says he had some kinda problem with his mind, multiple personality disorder or somethin'." Leaning back in his seat, Paul takes another look at the sensors and realizes that it's time to finish landing. "Shen, you have been one very busy woman," he murmurs to her. "Okay, hold on, we're gonna land now," and he returns his attention to the controls before him. Shenner smirks, and murmurs, "Yeah, my schedule's just been jam-packed..." She straightens as you speak of landing, and watches your actions, her gaze veiled. The ship lands readily enough, and Paul looks about the cockpit, checking various systems and shutting off other ones. Leaning over to the intercom he informs the ex-Admiral that they have landed on Tatooine and receives thanks for a smooth trip. He finishes a last minute check and then swivels his chair around again and says, "Okay, well I guess that you and I should talk about what is going on from here on out." He idly bites his lip as he leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees again, and rubbing his hands together. Shenner turns to you, and nods, gravely, eyes slightly narrowed. "Okay..." He regards Shen steadily and replies, "There is a lot going on right now, Luke and a lot of the other people from the Black Dragon are here looking for Solo ... and then seperate from that is me going to meet with Grathix. Luke and I agreed that we are officially not working together, so I need you to stay sharp and you shouldn't acknowledge that you know Luke or Lando, or anyone else from the Black Dragon." Shenner frowns, but nods, tautly. "Okay." He frowns and stares at the ground for a moment. "Now, I need to find Grathix and see if I can't get him to hire me on after all, since he seemed pretty interested in what I knew. Hopefully it will just be that simple, we find him, we get set up, and then we're off to Mandalore to run this assignment. A few complications are, Luke and Lando seem to be working at cross purposes. Lando thinks that he is coming with me, but I don't think that's a good idea. He's too high brow, he'll attract attention. I get the feeling from Luke that we need to be low key about this, and I agree." Smirking at the assessment of Lando, Shenner just nods, and says brusquely, "Well, I ain't got no problems there. Low key I can do." Jeralic enters the cockpit. Jeralic has arrived. Jeralic enters Cockpit -- Darklighter Jeralic walks forward, carrying some supplies. Jeralic drops the duffel into the corner. "In case I haven't mentioned it, I hate this miserable excuse for a planet." Shenner turns from where she sits in the copilot's chair, and abruptly issues a small bark of laughter. "That makes two of us, si -- er, uh, pal." Paul looks up suddenly at the ex-Admiral and then grins in response, "Yeah, it's pretty horrible." he replies to the both of you. Jeralic nods. "I sear to bloody hell that I nearly got shot on the way back here. Anybody given any second looks at our shuttle?" Paul shrugs and shakes head. "Not that I've noticed." Jeralic nods. "Good. I shoulda used my brain and had the decals changed 'fore we took off." Paul chuckles. "I'll have to remember to sneak out sereptiously while no one is looking." Jeralic says, "Why's that?" He chuckles again. "So they dont' associate me and Shen with the NR, no offense, but as an Independent shipper, it doesn't do for me to have too many connections on way or the other." He smiles politely. "Besides, we're on something of an uncover mission." Jeralic laughs. "Hmm..Maybe I'd better not step outisde the ship again then." Shenner looks between the two men, quirking an eyebrow, listening. Jeralic yawns sitting down. "So. What is it wer'e going to go dig up, anyways?" Paul in response stands and stretches. "We're off to dig up a fellow by the name of Grathix," he replies wryly. Jeralic says, "Oh? And what about your owkr?" "Part o' that," Shenner puts in, not getting up yet, but obviously poised to do so. Jeralic says, "So, waht is it we are going to go dig up? where?" Paul blinks at Jeralic in surprise. "So Luke told you?" he asks, just a touch warily. Jeralic blinks. "Told me what? He told me you were an archeologist, that's all.." Paul nods thoughtfully and smiles. "Well once we find Grathix, I'll have a better idea of what it is that we're after - could just be a hoax for all we know ... many claims are" Jeralic nods. "Right. Well, Ackbar told me to let you keep using the shuttle as long as you need, so it looks like I'm in for the duration. Needed something to do with my retirement anyways." Considering the man thoughtfully, Paul notes, "Alright, that sounds good to me, if you are free and available. I may need a shuttle to Mandalore, and then again, I may end up with a different ride, but either way, I'll contact you to let you know." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a comlink. "Do you have a frequency that I can tune this to so I can keep in touch?" Jeralic blinks. Blinks again. "Woah, wait a minute here. You're going to Mandalore?" Shenner watches both men, still, her gaze steady, considering. She puts in, "That's where Grath wants Paul to go look for this thing." Paul pauses and frowns. "Ah, that is most likely the plan," he murmurs cautiously, flashing Shen a quick look to not say -too- much. Jeralic sighs. "I said I wanted my retirement to be interesting, not deadly." Paul frowns and then replies, "We should have special dispensation, I should think," in Mandolorian. He smiles a little then. Shenner eyes Paul back, but seems to at least get his flashed glance. But Jeralic's words make her start -- and Paul's further words make her start more. Then she snickers, sounding amazed. Jeralic hmmms. "Son. I spent my first years fighting the Mandalorians as a helm officer aboard a Victory class, but I never did manage to learn the language." Paul gives Jeralic a respectful nod. "I said," he translates, "that I believe that we will have special dispensation ... as it turns out, the person that we seek is of Mandalore, so I believe that if he wants to hire me, that he would prefer me to be able to actually enact my services." He pauses and considers that for a moment. "At least I certainly hope so." Paul then turns to Jeralic again, holding the comlink. "So, as we do have a job to do, Shenner and I should go soon, but I would appreciate coordinates that I can reach you at, in case things should go badly, or if plans should change?" Jeralic nods. "You can reach me right here. I stay with the ship, until it reenter New Republic spcae." Paul nods and turns to the ships computer, pulling the frequency from the terminal there and setting his comlink. He tests it briefly to make sure that it is working properly and then turns to Shen. "You ready to lead me to Grathix?" Shenner looks to Paul, and nods, steadily enough, though perhaps, knowing her as Paul does, he might notice that as she departs the cockpit... ready to head out into Mos Eisley.... the kid's expression is far less than thrilled. [End log.]