USH'S STAR WARS GAME- CAMPAIGN II POST EPISODE V RENEGADE INTERLUDE- Payday

"Well they would like to but that's not as easy as it sounds. Like I said, the average merchant has no use for the stuff and as it is hazardous to contain, few will take it for re-sale. They could try the commodities market... but they all use republic credits. Rather useless to them. So they've tried to barter for goods and technology- but the sales are sporadic and they were getting far less than the market value, not having many interested people to choose from. Their economy could not take it; the world has been poverty stricken for some while."

"Where does the Servalo Corporation come into this?" Xeth asks.

"They are the new buyers," says Kessler. "Servalo is moving into some new heavy industry concerns and Hoffman's Gas will do them nicely. Furthermore, they can pay the Kovanians in something of actual value to them."

"They're paying them in gold aren't they," Wentar says, satisfied to hear for once that not every corporation is out to screw people over. "The pirates are hitting the gold transports meant for the Kovanians, I assume."

"No," says Kessler, "but close. Indeed, Servalo is playing in gold. Now,the Tan Ke have had an eye on Zerok's gold for a while now but they have had few opportunities to get at it.

"However, Servalo's stock value is very much invested into their own ggld and they have made as much of an effort to protect it in space as they do on the ground. Any pirates attacking the freighters would have a considerable fight on their hands."

"I see. So the pirates are raiding the Kovanians after the trade has been complete and the Servalo ships have cleared off, right?"

"That's pretty much it. See, Servalo's contract is rather explicit. All they have to do is deliver the gold to theplanet. And that means the starport, which is a small affair that Servalo built themselves.

"So, Servalo dumps the gold there and that's that. The Kovanians are trying to move it to their main settlement by convoy... and it is there the pirates attack. None of the convoys has got through."

"And that's the heart of the matter... We're needed to teach those pirates a strong enough lesson that ends with them never coming back," Wentar says. "Though I'm curious why wasn't the starport set up inside the main settlement? How do the pirates know when the shipments are being moved?"

"Servalo literally owns the starport and the land around it as part of the contract. They don't want it mixed up with the main settlement, and if you are asking 'wouldn't it be easier to deliver the gold that way'- the answer is, Servalo doesn't care. They know this way that the Tan Ke won't bother them; they will just bother the Kovanians. They've given the Tan Ke a weak spot somewhere else, so now the pirates do not even bother trying to attack Servalo. And as, by contract, by the time the pirates steal the gold it has already been used to pay for the Gas, Servalo isn't losing anything to the pirates. It's rather clever, really."

"That... " Wentar shakes his head, re thinking his previous opinion of Servalo. "I'll give them points for knowing what they're doing... How are the pirates attacking the convoys? Are there any reports about the attacks we can go over?"

"The convoy is all land vehicles; the pirates are attacking with vehicles of their own. They kill anyone who resists, load up the gold and speed away; there are large parts of the world that they can hide in. I am less sure when and how they are shifting it off-world.

"The hardest part is loading and moving off the gold. Gold is very heavy and it is in large quantities; it is a serious effort on their part."

"They'd probably be very exposed when shifting the gold from the convoy to their own vehicles," Wentar glances at Xeth. "Perhaps something we could exploit."

Wentar turns his attention back to Kessler. "Have the Kovanians sent scouts to track down the pirates after they raid the convoys?"

"Not with any luck. Meanwhile, my pitch is for you to protect the convoy, not ambush the pirates. Preferably there would be no fight at all."

"Indeed!" Wentar says. "Sorry about the slight misunderstanding.

"I too would prefer things to be handled without resorting to violence. Unfortunately the sight of a lightsaber doesn't scare pirates off as often as you'd think," Wentar shrugs. "In any case you've convinced me that this issue requires our attention.

"Xeth, Tillula where do you two stand?"

"Well, I'm right here," I reply, nodding toward the ground.

I smile at Wentar.

______________

Is it just the 3 of us?

I believe so.

---

"The Kovanians need protecting," Xeth says. "But I don't really see the problem if some of these pirates decide they're going to get themselves into a position to be harmed. They're preying on the weak and need to be shown that that is not okay. Not on our watch."

"Nonetheless," says Kessler, "whilst they are not playing by the law- and indeed, there's very little law out there- we probably should. Guarding the convoy and responding with force if attacked is some thing; deliberately letting the convoy get sacked and then attacking the pirates as they are busy loading probably looks bad in a courtroom.

"You can see the legal bind the Kovanians are in though. They have no legal recourse- the Servalo are, very purposefully, breaking no law. As for the Tan Ke... well. I wish we lived in a galaxy where we had enough strength to destroy piracy forever, but we all know that is not so. I know you guys were recently involved in an operation to cut down one of the pirate clans, and good work it was too, but even that did not get done until they shifted and started attacking areas closer to galactic centre. The Jedi just don't have the numbers or resources to tackle piracy galaxy-wide and the political will at Coruscant does not exist to give them the needed resources. Look around the galaxy and you will find dozens or hundreds of people like the Kovanians blighted by pirates. With no political power or anyone to speak for it, Kovanis is a long way down the list. They'll be bankrupt by the time anyone comes to help."

"We're happy to provide the assistance," I say, entering the conversation. "Problems like these are a big reason we do what we do. Xeth's been at it longer than most, but we all share similar outlooks on this kind of injustice."

And hell, I think to myself...if they're not bankrupt yet it means we won't go home empty-handed.

(As a side note to Craft- even Wentar's excapades fighting the Srum years ago did not lead to the destruction of the Kylugo Srum as a clan. It only pushes them out to the edges of Republic space.)

(Indeed! I am glad to hear the Srum do live on after Wentar takes them down a couple of notches. They might be useful for future characters some time. 😛)

Wentar just smiles back at Tillula's joke.

"And it's for reasons like that that I am here and not still with the Order," Wentar says to Kessler with a shrug. "How soon do you need us on Kovanis?"