Part 1: Deliverance

"Nerf-herding bastards." Avox complains. "All clear." He calls on the comm, as if anyone wasn't aware. He hops off the guns and heads towards the cockpit. On the way he calls up to Jack. "Maybe you should practice more." Once he gets to Ada he asks, "Is it just the hyperdrive?"

Ada sets the autopilot to their drop point. "Good work people. Jack, stay put for a spell." Ada says over the intercom. Turning to Avox "As far as I can tell from here. I'd love to go look at the issue directly, but we need to get gone from here in case it's a ruse. I'll relax when we touch down. Stay available just in case. Bohaa, Doc and Savi can start looking at it." With the orders given she turns back to watching the sensors to make sure their would-be killers don't return.

Jack has the triggers held down until he sees the ship escape into hyperspace. He lets out another burst as the light bends and they fade away into an infinitely small point, before he finally lets out a long-held breath and slumps down into the turret seat. "Uuugghh.." He groans, closing his eyes and letting his arms hang down at his sides. He presses the intercom and replies to Ada, "Sure thing. Not goin' anywhere."

As he hears Avox's muffled remarks, Jack's eyes pop open. From every corner in the ship, the crew could hear Jack's muffled shouts from the turret seat, angrily rebuffing Avox's insults with every known expletive in the galaxy.

Doc breathes a sigh of relief as the pirate vessel slips into hyperspace. "Well, that could have gone a lot worse" he says with a small smile.

"Best take a look and see whats wrong with the hyperdrive I suppose" and with that he moves off towards the engineering section, grumbling under his breath about being a doctor not an engineer darn it.

Bohaa types away for a while running a diagnostic on the Horizon Chaser seeing if she can help locate any damaged systems from the attack that she can help point the mechanically minded crew to. "So, was dat a piwate oh did they wan ow secwet cowgo? Maybe someone knew about dis twip of ows"

After getting the Hyperdrive back online Doc turns his attention to the numerous other minor system issues, still grumbling away to himself.

Jack leans back in his seat, kicking on leg up onto the targeting computer and propping the other against the wall. He crosses his arms over his chest, closing his eyes so that he may finish his disturbed rest. After a few moments, he cracks open an eye and plants his fist on the intercom button, "You know, it'd probably be a good idea that we let Chusk know someone was after his cargo. And, y'know, that they knew we were comin'."

"So, who else is looking forward to being planetside?" Jack asks, grinning, even if he's unable to hear them without the intercom, "I'm looking forward to the Raging Rancor, personally; sounds like a real cozy place."

Jack continues to ramble on, unaware of the rest of the crew's hard work, "Still, anything's got to be better than another chain cantina like the Blasted Asteroid. That place is all over the galaxy."

Savi disengages his attention from the sensor read out. The intercom is immediately filled with Jack's musings and Savi found himself smiling inwardly. He was, indeed, looking forward to being planet side. He felt like a third back up hyperdrive system up here.

Although it was possible the pirates were just waiting to ambush any easy target, it would be foolish of them to not act as though they were targeted specifically. People in this line of work tended to live longer lives when they tended a bit toward paranoia. No, their guards should be up until the exchange was made.

The hagler in him couldn't help but begin calculating all the possibilities for change in the upcoming negotiation. Perhaps this cargo was worth more than what was on offer. It was worth keeping in mind if Chuck tries to play any games.

He was doing it again...borrowing trouble. Anticipating every possible avenue and outcome instead of going with the flow of events. He chided himself inwardly and returned his mind to the moment. How could he help the crew in the here and now?...

Avox heads back to his turret at the pilot's behest, allowing some of the other crew members to deal with the ship. He sits in the gunner chair and looks out in to space. Then he hears Jack's musings on the comm. "Planetside huh? I'll only be happy once this job is done without more trouble. Last thing I need is to botch a task from Chusk." He thinks to himself, frowning hard under his helmet.
"I wonder how they are treating Ju? I hope they are at least letting him scavenge. He'll need some amount of money saved up once the debt is off him. He'll be on his feet again."
He waits for Ada to tell them they either are no longer on high alert, or are entering the atmosphere of Dantooine

Responding the Jack's musing, Ada says,"Let's not go worrying Chusk before there's an actual problem. We got through that brier patch. Let's make this drop to our contact in Eronoss, then we can let him know someone may be looking to disrupt his business. We'll win brownie points for making it through the adversity."

Ada plots the final course to the settlement and announces over the comms, "I'm going to call all-clear. Them folks ain't coming back."

"If you say so," Jack responds about waiting to warn Chusk, the uncertainty clear in his tone. He pulls himself out of the turret seat and climbs down the ladder onto the upper deck. It's only a moment later before he's down the lift and onto the main deck proper. He walks down the hallway barefooted, making his way into the cockpit and taking a seat at the co-pilot's chair a few feet from Ada. He doesn't say anything immediately, instead scanning a few readings on the console.

Eventually he speaks up, talking idly while he looks at the details of Dantooine on the scanner, "Doing alright, Ada?"

Ada keeps focused on her scanners without looking up at Jack. She let's out a prolonged sigh, then says,"Hard to say Jack. Chusk isn't the kind of clients I want to be working for. I'd rather not be getting shot at when I'm supposed to be making a simple cargo run.

Sitting at the sensor console, Savi overhears the burgeoning conversation between Jack and Ada. Despite his better judgement, he is unable to guard his tongue. "This isn't a simple cargo run."

As the two turn their attention to him, Savi continues. "I said it at the time and was shouted down, but I'll say it again. When you take on a cargo without knowing what it is, you can't be surprised when things go sideways."

Savi could tell by their expressions that they didn't want to hear it, but he had to get it out for once and for all. "If those containers prove to be filled with drugged sentients in deep cryo we are unwittingly delivering into slavery..." he let the statement trail off.

"I just want to hear you say we aren't dumb enough or desperate enough to let this become a habit. I don't like being played for a fool."

Overhearing the conversation whilst wrapping up the repairs Doc Pipes up "Well there are ways to get a better idea of what's in the crates without opening them. I could always use some of the diagnostic gear in my medkit to see if I can get a better idea of what we're dealing with" he shrugs "Up to you guys though, personally I'm all for getting this job done as quickly as we can without risking any further.....complications."

Jack nods at Ada's reply, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the low ceiling of the cockpit. He quirks a brow when he hears Savi's interjection, opening one eye and glancing sideways at him. "Savi, we're criminals. This is the kind of work that we do. The galaxy isn't exactly overflowing with goodwill projects that need some lowly scoundrels with a ship," Jack explains. "We are not in a position to be overly choosy 'bout what jobs we take."

Jack can't help but glance at Ada, feeling a pang of guilt in knowing that, when it comes to her and Doc, he's at fault for putting them in this situation. He inhales slowly through his nose, exhaling sharply as he replies calmly to Doc, "No one needs to scan the crates. No one needs to concern themselves about what's in them, because we are past that point. So, as you said, Doc, lets just get the job done quick."

Savi allowed his frustration to play across his brow for the briefest of moments. It wasn't often his composure could be threatened, but Jack had a way at times. This time, Savi was unsure whether the young scoundrel was being naive or simply trying to wind him up for his own amusement. Either way, he couldn't leave it alone.

"If you think my issue is with breaking the law, you haven't been paying attention. As I said when I joined up, as long as we don't run slaves or hurt younglings, I'm on board for just about anything." He took a beat and composed his breath before continuing. The last thing he intended was to start a heated debate. But a few things needed to be made clear or this wasn't going to work.

He fixed Jack with his best 'I'm not your enemy' look and continued calmly, "There is an inherent problem with taking on cargo we haven't vetted. Beyond the obvious issues around ship safety, if we become known for those kinds of loose practices it is not a matter of "if" but of "when" someone will use that habit to make some easy credits at our expense."

"You're an experienced man. I know you know what I'm talking about. I take your point that we don't have the luxury to be picky, but if we aren't cautious at all, we will be dead sooner rather than later. And if it is going to be the regular practice of this crew to trust blindly, which is what we're doing by not caring about the contents of our hold, then please tell me now so I can finish this run with you, take my share, and part ways amicably."

With that said, Savi sits back and awaits the crew's response. In the short time they've been together, he has already come to care about these people. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to leave the ship, especially not on Dantooine of all places. But a crew that doesn't care to check what's in their hold is not one that is long for this galaxy. Savi didn't fear the end, but he was absolutely determined his wasn't going to be a stupid death.

Jack leans back in his chair once again, closing his eyes and rubbing at them with his thumb and forefinger. "What I mean is that this is how things go when you are a criminal and take jobs from other criminals. We distrust our bosses just as much as they distrust us. Frankly, I'd be more concerned if Chusk told us every detail of his transaction."

He takes a deep breath, turning in his chair to look Savi calmly in the eye, "I'm not blindly trusting Chusk; in fact, I doubt anyone here is. I don't trust him, or any of our typical contacts, more than I trust a fire to not burn me if I touched it. Unfortunately, due to our lifestyle, chosen or otherwise, we have to stick close to that fire. Doesn't mean I trust it; You aren't going to see me at this exchange without pistols at my hip."

"Distrust and risk is the job, Savi. It's every job. We get paid based on how far we take the cargo, the space it takes up in our hold, and the fact that we'll be in trouble if we're caught with it; not based on what's in it. No one would hire us if they didn't make easy credits at our expense. But, if we didn't take the job, someone else would've, and that would be lost food-on-the-table, lost ship repairs, lost fuel, and personal expenses, like paying off old debts." Jack looks all too serious when he speaks about a lack of credits, his face a grave mask that depicts a subtle sense of fear. "If we can't afford to eat; if we can't afford to take off, then we can't do any work. So we have to take jobs, whether we like the terms or not, if there aren't others to take at the time."

"I don't care what's in the crates because it isn't my place to know. We treat it as dangerous as could be and assume that Chusk told us what we need to know; He needs us to succeed as much as we need him to pay us for it."