Faction Joining the Kabal - (Rimward Trade League and Battleborn Merc Company)

[Box Mattox]

​

The Gorskin's Captain, Box Mattox, came onto the expansive bridge of the vessel, looking like something the cat coughed up.

Nothing special had happened to him. That was just how he looked every morning. He staggered over to the caf machine at the back of the bridge, collected a steel cup, and inserted it into the receptacle. Detecting the presence of the vessel, the machine began its work.

Some would say- tongue-in-cheek- that the caf machine was the most important piece of equipment on the bridge.

Some would say it without their tongue-in-cheek.

Box stabbed the sugar dispenser with a thick finger, ensuring a hefty deposit into the cup. Then he picked up the steel vessel and ambled over to the command chair. It was empty. The shift officer always vacated it before Box came on duty.

Plopping down into the chair almost hard enough to spill his caf, Box took a long sip of the beverage. It was hot, but not quite scalding. The warmth of the drink seemed to awaken the ship's Captain, like watering a dried out flower and watching it come to life throughout the following day. Except the reaction was much more immediate.

"Report," Box spoke for the first time. It was ship's policy that no one said anything to the Captain before he'd had his caf.

The ship's Commander replied at once, "We're five minutes from Kabal. Lieutenant Freydis has your cultural report." He looked towards the communications officer, whose duties included assembling such details.

"Yes, Sir," Freydis said, her voice light and squeaky, "Kabal is an important world of the Rimward Trade League, in the Miyagil Sector. They have a history of seeking independence, dating back to the Clone Wars. The planet is part of the important Sanrafsix Corridor and the Sharlissian Trade Route. Predominant terrain is Oceanic and Forested or Jungle regions. Notable Flora includes the Arboray tree and notable fauna includes the Kaballian Water Spider."

"I guess I won't be going swimming," Box replied before taking another sip of his caf.

"Shoribus is their capital city," Freydis went on, "the primary language is Kabalian, and the predominate species in the population are Human, Houk, Krish, and Squib, with forty other races also noted in the last published census."

Box grunted, then asked, "Am I going to need a protocol droid for this meeting? Because last I checked, we hadn't replaced Vix yet."

Freydis shook her head, "Basic Galactic Standard is a nearly universal second language among the populace, so you should be fine."

Box nodded, "Good."

Commander Grisdale spoke up, "Um... are you planning to wear that to the meeting? Sir?"

Box looked down at his full suit of battle armor, as if forgetting he had it on. "Why not? They're hiring a merc. I should look... merc-ey."

Grisdale nodded, "Of course."

The Gorskin transited to realspace at that moment, the blue-hued tunnel of hyperspace snapping into the beautiful marble of Kabal.

"Send standard greetings, and get me a Tac Pod prepped," Box ordered, standing up again. "The bridge is yours, Grizzy."

"You know," Grisdale offered, "we could get a shuttle for these sorts of things. It makes people nervous when a tactical dropship lands on their doorstep."

Box waved him off, depositing the now-empty cup on the shelf above the caf machine on his way out. "Clients love this stuff," he insisted, "Very Merc-ey."

Grisdale shook his head, watching the Captain until the door closed behind him.



Aerin Denno

 

[Aerin Denno]

Kabal
Shoribus

“Councilor Denno! We must get you to safety!” the security chief barked. He was a muscled old Houk just on the other side of his prime but not far enough from it to retire yet.

Aerin like to joke that keeping him on was a favor, but she had a lot of respect for Huxley. He was like a second father to her, and he rarely stayed on Kabal when the councilor left on adventures.

“Hux-” she started, but he stopped her mid-sentence.

“No, Councilor, you will not be joining the defense. I need these doors sealed, the AA turrets online, and- why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because,” Aerin said with a giggle, “that’s not an invasion party. It’s Captain Box Mattox from the mercenary group we contacted.”

She stepped over to read the scan that troubled Huxley so badly. Admittedly, it was an odd choice of landing craft, but she’d done her research before offering the marque to him and his company. Box preferred style, and she could hardly argue with that. Aerin patted the Houk on his chest, giving him a reassuring smile.

“Nothing to worry about, Hux,” she told him.

“Now, let’s open a line to that ship. He’ll need clearance to land.”

“Yes ma’am!” a technician called back.

In a brief moment, the comms were open and Aerin’s face would materialize for Box’s crew. She offered a short bow.

“Captain Mattox!” she greeted. “Welcome to Kabal. You’re clear to land when ready, and your shore party will be escorted by our security officers.” She nodded to Huxley in the rear, who gave a stern nod from behind her.

“I look forward to meeting you, and discussing this pirate problem in detail.”

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Tags: Box Mattox | Open​

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[Box Mattox]

​

Box was already seated in one of the Gorskin's Tac Pods by the time the response came up from below. Freydis relayed the signal down to the Pod, and Box looked to the com screen on the console to find a rather beautiful young woman there.

"Captain Mattox!" she greeted. "Welcome to Kabal. You're clear to land when ready, and your shore party will be escorted by our security officers." She nodded to Huxley in the rear, who gave a stern nod from behind her.

"I look forward to meeting you, and discussing this pirate problem in detail."

​

Box smiled, an expression some might say was making a rare visit to his face.

"Thank you, Councilor. No party. Just me. Unless you mean party in the literal sense, in which case I'm pretty sure I can get your sky full of dropships with roughnecks carrying six-packs of Corale."

Grizzy had warned him, from time to time, not to try his humor on clients. But Box just couldn't help himself.

"I'll be down in five. Six, if your atmosphere is thick."

With that, he cut the transmission and launched from the carousel that held the Gorskin's dropships.

​

When he reached the landing zone, he folded up the tac pod's wings and trudged to the rear ramp, lowering it to disembark.

Box was a tall man in full armor... except for his helmet. He was also an armed man, with a heavy blaster pistol at his hip. From his perspective, he was half-naked. But random individuals named Huxley might feel differently about it. A keen eye might note Arkanian heritage in Box's features. Anyone else would just think him old.

"Well," Box looked up at the Houk. There weren't very many beings he had to look up to. "You're a big bastard. I bet you keep the riffraff sorted."

He held out a hand. "Captain Box Mattox. Battleborn Company Commander.

Take me to your leader."





Aerin Denno
@Open

 

[Aerin Denno]

Kabal
Shoribus

Huxley’s head rolled back with boisterous laughter. He clasped Box’s hand and shook it firmly with a brotherhood only two warriors could appreciate.

“And you, my friend, have the bollocks of a gundark. Name’s Hux. Aer- erm, Councilor Denno is waiting inside.”

The chief still wasn’t used to her title, even three years after she’d taken office. To him, she was still the same little Aerin, running around the docks with the other kids. He missed those days sometimes, but he didn’t let the nostalgia make him any less proud of the young woman she’d become.

The walk from the landing pad to the interior chambers was a short one, through warmly-lit halls that wrapped around with a view of the sea through tinted glasteel. The architecture was a strange blend of nautical technology and craftsmanship with trademark Imperial structure, clearly a remnant of Kabal’s history.

When the pair entered the circular office, Aerin turned with a smile on her face and a datapad in her hand. She stepped around the table center of the room and greeted Box with a handshake nearly as impressive as the old Houk’s.

“It’s good to meet you in person, Captain,” she said, gesturing for him to join her by the table. She tapped away at a recessed datapad on its rim, powering it up and revealing it to be a holomap with a projection of the Miyagil sector ready for consideration.

There was a small collection of tiny red blips, which Hux informed were the rough coordinates of pirate attacks throughout the sector. But more concerning than this was the noticeable trend of locales.

“Each attack since the first has been closer and closer to Kabal,” Aerin said grimly. The holoprojection reflected ominously in her sharp brown eyes. Hux shook his head in distress.

“I fear we are their ultimate mark, and that these attacks are probes at our defenses.”

She stowed the map, bringing up scans of starship wreckage taken from the sites. It was clear the pirates were no amateurs. Their knowledge of naval tactics was evident from the precision of their attacks. Engines and hyperdrives destroyed, life support systems sliced.

Aerin sighed.

“A large portion of our defense fleet was mobilized to aid the League along the western front. We have a few flagships and a handful of patrols, but nothing we can spare to handle this now.”

She looked at Box with pleading eyes behind her stoic exterior.

“Can you help us?”

---

Tags: Box Mattox | Open​

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[Box Mattox]

Box knew at once that he liked the big Houk, and it boded well that the Councilor surrounded herself with such people. So he wasn't disappointed when he was brought to Miss Denno's office and got a handshake as firm and hearty as the one he'd taken from that giant of a man.

"It's good to meet you in person, Captain," she said.

"And you, Councilor," he replied, preparing himself for several minutes of uncomfortable socializing before the actual business at hand would be discussed.

But once again, he was pleasantly surprised.

She quickly activated a holographic projection of the sector, and Box lifted his gaze to look at the starscape. As he watched and she talked, blue-white stars began to turn red. Sites where the pirates had done their diabolical work.

Then came close-up scans of the ship wreckage. Freighters and other craft struck hard, and then left to litter the void.

The scene made Box frown, but not just for the obvious reasons.

"These pirates are leaving a lot of money on the table," Box observed aloud, "it's almost like attacking is more important to them than stealing."

His gaze shifted away from the holo-projection back to the Councilor.

"And most of your forces are away?"

That clinched it for him.

"Ma'am, these might be pirates, but they're not pirating now. They're making mercenary raids on economic assets. I'm sure someone is paying them to do it... or else they'd be using Ion weapons to disable these ships.

Those ruined engines and hyperdrives have serious resale value.

Pirates take a lot of chances in order to take ships largely intact. It's their business model. They board ships, load the crew onto escape pods if they're the nice sort. Murder the crew or sell them into slavery if they're the other kind. Then they bring the whole ship back intact, if they can. Sometimes they do just take the cargo and run, but only if they can't nab the whole ship before patrols arrive.

They don't stick around to mix it up with blastboats and corvettes. That juice isn't worth the squeeze for that kind of encounter in most cases. But these guys aren't getting scared off when they see patrols. They just keep closing in despite the likelihood of increased resistance."

Box realized he was running off at the mouth a bit. She wanted a commitment to help, not an analysis of her situation. She'd probably already thought of all this, or her military advisors had.

"Yeah... I think we can help you. Would you rather pay us by time, or by bodies collected and ships destroyed? If bodies, do you want the whole thing, or just heads?"

This is where he might have benefitted from someone reminding him not to be too morbid in front of a client.


Aerin Denno

 

[Aerin Denno]

Kabal
Shoribus

“The latter works just fine,” Hux interjected with a dark chuckle. Aerin smiled at his enthusiasm, but she was clearly less fond of the gruesome reality of pirate hunting.

“We’ll pay per pirate, plus any ships you take either you. And there’s more if you can bring some back in operable conditions - refurb ships are our specialty, and Kabal can use every vessel it can get right now.”

Then, Aerin smirked. It must have meant something tricky, because Huxley was quick to talk her out of whatever it was she’d been thinking with a firm “no way, kid.” Aerin ignored him, eyes fixed on Box.

“I’d like to come with you, Captain. And before you say no, I want you to know that I can handle myself. I joined the Expeditionary Division at 16 and held my own just fine. I’m not a little girl,” she cast a side-eye to Hux, “I’m the Councilor of Kabal.”

A short sigh, then she finished her point.

“I can fly, I can shoot, and if I’m asking you to help my people, I ought to be there to do it with you.”

---

Tags: Box Mattox | Open​

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[Box Mattox]

Box paused for so long a moment that one might have wondered if he'd heard the remark.

But in fact he was weighing the possibilities in his mind.

She was clearly no wilting flower. She hadn't shrunk back at the messier details of pirate hunting. That didn't mean she was competent in battle, of course. But she didn't seem like the sort to lie. Maybe that was foolish of him to think, given that she was a species of politician. But he trusted his gut.

"Well," he said, "that's fine. Just make arrangements so that I get paid even if you bite it out there."

Then he asked, "Do you have your own ship, or are you riding one of ours? And is man-mountain coming?" He looked to Hux, offering a rare smile. "We've got Headhunters if you know how to fly."

The Headhunter was an ancient fighter design, but time hadn't made it less capable or dynamic. Quite the contrary. Modern Headhunters had hyperdrives and nav computers, which the original models had lacked.

"Nothing we've got is cutting-edge. But all of it works, and it can get kicked around without falling to pieces."



Aerin Denno

 

[Aerin Denno]

Kabal
Shoribus

Aerin waited with a neutral expression while Box seemed to mull things over, but when he accepted her request, her face lit up like a Life Day tree.

“I have a ship, the Frontier. She’s an EML 850, and Mr. Man-Mountain’s my co-pilot.” She gave Hux a playful pat on the shoulder, eliciting a humored scoff.

“Don’t worry about us, Captain. We’ll handle ourselves out there, but if something does happen-“

“It won’t,” Hux said flatly.

“If it does, your compensation is safe. Your funds will come from the Kabalian Defense Force either way.”

She looked to Box thoughtfully for a moment. Her eyes held that classic spacer confidence that folks from the Outer Rim all seemed to have. Hope, determination, and a little bit of luck. Aerin stuck her hand out, an eyebrow raised as she awaited an answer.

“Do we have a deal, Captain Mattox?”

---

Tags: Box Mattox | Open​

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[Box Mattox]

​

An EML 850?

That would be a lightly-armed freighter. Not exactly what he'd pick to hunt pirates in.

But then again, he was operating a mercenary company from an old Corpo Personnel Carrier, so who was he to talk?

Box reached out with his gloved hand.

"We have a deal, Miss Denno. Gear's up as soon as you can be ready. I'll let my crew know that we have partners on this gig."

__________________________________________________

HOURS LATER
OUTSIDE THE KABAL SYSTEM​

"Flight Three is Away," Commander Grisdale announced.

For the past fifteen minutes, the Gorskin had been launching flights of Headhunter starfighters. It was all part of a simple scouting expedition. The idea was that the pirates probably had a base nearby, probably just a couple of jumps from Kabal. For speedy hit and run attacks, as well as versatility of operation, the pirates would want to be close. This would allow them to flee back to a mother ship or request reinforcements on short notice.

Fortunately, the Headhunters in Box's starfighter squadron had navcomputers and hyperdrives, allowing them to calculate and take the jumps needed to scout all of the adjacent star systems. Then all of the star systems adjacent to those star systems. It amounted to a nearly 12 light-year envelope, which they'd have intelligence on before the day was out.

The Headhunters were on strict orders to report back the minute they spotted something. Then the Gorskin could make an effective plan of attack, depending on what was discovered.

Flying in formation with the Gorskin was the Frontier, Denno's freighter. It was not a particularly well-armed ship, but it had laser cannons and could kill starfighters if push came to shove. Maybe there were some concussion missile launchers hidden in there, too. He hadn't been rude enough to turn the Gorskin's scanners upon an allied vessel.

"That's all of them," Box commented, "now we wait."

That was the hard part of any scouting expedition: A whole lot of nothing, for a very long time.

Then everything tended to happen all at once.




Aerin Denno

 

[Aerin Denno]

League Space
Near Kabal System

Councilor Denno was well aware of the risks, but this wasn’t her first time bringing the Frontier against an enemy force, either. She wasn’t sure if other League Councilors were as ‘active in the field’ as she liked to be, but Arron had made quite the reputation for herself - and the Kabalian intended to show Mattox exactly what she was made of.

"That's all of them," Box commented, "now we wait."

Aerin nodded, looking to Huxley with determination in her eyes. No matter how old she’d gotten since he first met her, there was always that fire. A spark.

“We’re in position, Captain. Ready when-“

As if on cue, a concussion missile zipped through the formation from the rear. Hux’s alien reflexes were quick, sending his hands for the controls as soon as he saw the projectile ping on their scanner. The Frontier angled at an awkward position, dodging the missile and letting it pass to explode beyond any noticeable area of affect.

“Ready now,” Aerin corrected, hopping from the copilot seat and marching with fury to the turret.

She was pissed, and that made her a much better gunner than pilot. These pirates would regret kicking Kabal while she’s down.

---

Tags: Box Mattox | Open​

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[Box Mattox]

League Space
Near Kabal System

​

"Twenty-Four Tie/ln-Fighters just Jumped in and are on an intercept course," Grisdale said with a note of urgency in his voice.

Box Mattox turned to look at his executive officer.

"What do you mean twenty-four tie-fighters just jumped in? Tie Fighters don't have hyperspace capability."

Grisdale shrugged, "Yeah, they don't have missile launchers, either. But here they come."

Box turned back to the massive viewport of the Gorskin's bridge as a barrage of missiles came roaring at them from the starscape. The ship shuddered slightly as a dozen explosions peppered the forward shield.

Grisdale conveyed reports from the bridge officers, "Forward shields down ten percent."

Box frowned. It wasn't unheard of for pirates to buy surplus tie-fighters in bulk and then give them upgrades. Hyperspace drives were smaller than ever before, and could be installed in tiny spaceframes. Nav-computers could be substituted with droid brains tied into a starfighter's electronics systems. And aftermarket missile-mounts were available throughout the galaxy.

The mods were all cheap, ugly... and effective.

"Recall the Headhunters. Looks like while we were out looking for trouble, trouble was coming here looking for us."

Another barrage of missiles struck the shields of the Gorskin.

"Forward shields down twenty-percent," Grisdale announced. Then, with slight alarm, "We can't send the recall signal to the Headhunters. Long-Range com frequencies are jammed. We only have in-system communications."

Box grunted, "Well, either these pirates are very good at this, or we Battleborn are very bad at this."

"No comment, Sir," Grisdale replied with a smirk that would have been called insubordinate in any other service.

"Open up our launchers," Box ordered, a smirk of his own touching his features, "give them a taste of their own medicine. I'm heading down to a Tac Pod."

Grisdale piped up, "Sir, those Tac Pods aren't starfighters. You'd be much safer here."

"No Chit," Box said as he stalked off the bridge, "The bridge is yours, Gris."

Grisdale sighed, and turned to face the viewport. "Do we have target locks?"

"Locks are affirmative, Sir," Called out the tac officer.

"FIRE!"

As Box descended the lift to the Tac Pod carousel, fifteen missiles poured out of the Gorskin, on an intercept course for the attacking Ties.

Grisdale smiled with satisfaction until a new announcement came from the tac officer.

"Capital Ship just jumped in! It's a Quasar-Fire Class Cruiser-Carrier. They're launching twenty-four more fighters!"

Grisdale sighed. "Chit."







Aerin Denno