The Dusty Nomad doesn't so much drop out of hyperspace so much as just...intentionally trip. For a moment it hangs in space above the shimmering lights of the urban planet, like a senile old man who forgot why he came into this room. Then, with a hair-raising clatter, the sublight engines reluctantly come to life and propel the ship slowly but somewhat steadily into contact range of Gerrenthum's traffic control.

The Wayfarer-class medium freighter was as good as it's name, but not much better.

Inside, the freighter's air scrubbers seems to have succumbed to disrepair, or more likely despair. Motes of dust hang freely in the stale air aboard the ship, often causing an irritating cough that makes the ships equally stale water taste like a fresh Alderaanian spring. Small mercies.

The mood on the ship is mixed. Vic Verno has already worked through the small bit of intoxicants he brought onboard, taking the diminutive but ferocious Ewok's already sizable temper to new levels. His friend and partner in false crime Shishi quietly has the ships broken and battered cleaner droids try to keep up with the mess.

It probably doesn't help that Melonie is constantly proclaiming the grandness of the ship loudly and often to anyone near her.

Meanwhile, Kara Farrhect, errant Archaeologist, is scouring her brain, her notes, and the holonet for any and all information on the artifact known as the Figg Lodestone. Mostly because it potentially holds the key to new worlds that have never been tread upon by sapients before, but also because Melonie keeps asking incessant questions about it and it's easier to make her go away with a small tidbit. Unfortunately, such tidbits are scarce:

• The Lodestone is a chunk of iridescent bismuth about the size of a closed fist.
• It was discovered by Ecclessis Figg, the man who blazed the Lucian Cross, founded the Outer Javin Company, established the combination tibanna mine and resort of Could City, and overall patron saint of explorers.
• It is rumored to have somewhere on it the coordinates to a 'secret' star or star cluster that Figg never revealed, not even to his closest friends and family.
• It is currently in the private collection of one Gruggan the Hutt, a minor (for a Hutt, at least) crime lord.
• Valued by Gruggan's insurance at 300,000 credits, so likely worth 1/4 that price.

As the ship slowly trundles towards the planet, her crew are left with an empty cargo hold, emptier bellies, and depleted credit accounts as they decide: do they attempt to start their lives as smugglers and thieves with a big score? Or do they take the more cautious route and start with smaller jobs and scores?

"We need to hit the scene with a bang," Melonie says excitedly. "A big score to tell the galaxy The Dusty Nomad is here to make waves , take names and kick ass , chew bubblegum and we're out of... wait..." She counts them off, thinking she should have practiced in the mirror one more time. "Make waves, kick ass, chew bubble gum and... yeah, chew bubble gum and kick ass and we're out of bubble gum!"

She finishes in Classic Hero Pose #3, hands on hips, feet shoulder width apart. "We'll never get famous taking small gigs. We have to think big !"

'Eh mizz peppy.... EEEHH!! YO lady!!! Vic shouts from a corner table he slouches in, trying to cut short her grand standing.

You's tellin us we got no job lined up? You better be frelling with me!

Melonie, mid gesture, pauses and grins at his little teddy bear voice and typically cranky words. " So ador- wait, what? No, of course there's a gig, an awesome one. I was getting to it. ....We're gonna steal a fancy rock from a hutt."

Vic face palms himself. A fragging Hutt... Ah jeedo mari and jah'osa... What's the haul? He asks dejectedly.

This women is gonna get my fury ass locked up again...

I thought we's was running cargo?

"It's a.... fancy rock," Melonie says, waving her hands as if she's said 'priceless 100 karat gem'. "Uh... Kara! Why don't you tell Vic what makes it fancy? And we are running cargo. We're running a fancy rock back to its rightful owners."

Is that what the Hutt's gonna think? Hey babe, let's start off with a warm up run, you seem... Uh... New to the game. How about a kiss of alderaanian pickles, or pick up stome mining equipment for kessel if you want risk and danger?

Kara sighed, sliding out of the pilots chair Kara stuck her head out of the cockpit, it had been like this the whole trip. "The Figg Loadstone is an heirloom of the Figg family, it's rumored to have a map to a lost cluster. But a Hutt somehow got their hands on it, it does have significant value as well as being part of the hutt's private collection so there may be other items as well."

"Now stop calling me back here, I need to speak to flight control." Kara turned back into the cockpit, and walked back over to the pilot chair, after she sat down she began to prepare for contact with flight control.

Yo Sheesh, get a loada her! Gotta lotta gumption!!

He changes tone.

So... Mel... That's the purdy name that goes wit dat purdy face right?

Look, I like look'n at dat cute nose and eyes that... If I may be frank, probably put that fig stone thing to shame... Gems themselves if I may be so bold.

Yer just eager I gets all dat. However no need to muck up all dat beauty wit a blaster hole in yer noggin... Kapeesh?

"Pickles! How are we suppose to make a name for ourselves with pickles ?! No, listen, I've got it all figured out." She throws herself into the chair opposite Vic and leans over the table. "So there was this one guy, right? Super, super hot, but worked for the Hutts. Man, that was a bummer... Anyway, he said that Hutts love to show off pretty things, it's a status thing. Of course, he wanted me to go to some sort of party with him... anyway, it might even be out on display! Gruggan barely has more of a name for himself than we do, he can't possibly have that much security. Come on, Vic," she bats her 'gem-like' eyes. "Think of all the good booze a Hutt is likely to have. Shishi! You want to go, right?"

In the cockpit, the comm crackles to life, then remains crackly. "This is Gerrenthum Control 364b hailing the...freighter, I guess... Dusty Nomad. Please state your cargo, destination, and purpose of visit. Also, please be aware that there is a very strict littering policy for our landing pads."

Melonie squeaks in umbrage. "Rude! We are not litter!" She pats the nearest bulkhead, "Don't listen to the rude man, darling, you're perfect."

Women that pretty and that clueless are always... Trouble.

Says Vic to Shishi.

"This is Dusty Nomad our cargo hold is empty, our destination is port Eccles where we are going to pick up our cargo. And don't worry about littering, it's only dusty on the inside..."

At this point the dust had become so irritating that Kara would take any difference, even if it was landing in the middle of a planet wide city.

She looked out the window at Gerrenthum, this was probably one if the most populous planets she had been to, if not the most populous, so at least it would be a new experience.

"Copy that, Nomad, " comes the dubious voice on the other end. "Proceed along route Xesh-Three to docking bay 68. Please remember that deviation from this course is a felony offense and could result in the impounding of your vessel and imprisonment of you and all associated crew." There is a slight pause, then "Well, maybe just imprisonment. Either way, stay in your lane, please. Control, out."

"Understood, following route Xesh-Three to docking back 68." Kara turned the ship towards the assigned path and began descending towards the planet.

Kara called over the internal comms "A planet this big should have new filters for this class of ship, we definitely need them." Then turned her attention back to piloting, imprisonment wasn't how she wanted this trip to end.

Melonie crosses her arms, eyes narrowed suspiciously. " Now what are you compla... You know what, it doesn't matter. Look - aaaaa ll I'm saying is we go take a look. See if the stone is on display, find out if the Hutt has anything else worth, you know, looking into and then... make plans from there." She tries to keep her tone convincing, sure she can get them to agree if she can just get them on board enough to check out the stone's location.

Landing always sucked, every... single... time. Shishi didn't like the shaking of reentry, the swooping around that happens in atmosphere. In this bathtub of a freighter, where the gravplates where barely functioning, it was horrible.

"She's got big hopes Vic, perhaps a prize bigger that her abilities, but this is our life now chump... " Shishi murmurs to his grumpy companion, then more to himself "I haven't been on such a populated world in years, I should go find some interesting new leg servos to optimise the triplets, they need some faster acting ones"

Shishi looked out the window the city sprawl looks enticing, the pockets of skyscrapers forming that skyline is so familiar, yet do different. I never thought I would miss a place like this, but now? I have been waiting for this a long time.

"Let's hope someone wants to give us some credits while we're here, we'll need every one of them to get the parts to properly services those dam filters."

Melonie slouches onto the table in disappintment at the lack of excited approval for the such a perfect heist opportunity. Her sulk only last for a second though, before she has an idea.

"A job!" she says, sitting up with a jerk. "We can find a job! Someone hanging around Gruggan will have something for us, I'm sure of it. And we can check out the security while we're there."

"Ahh shizz..." He rubs his hands through the fur on the top of head, knocking his hat off his head. "Listen you still got spunk so of course your clueless, besides if you look so cute everytime you get so upset I'm gonna talk shizz all night long!"

Melonie taps her fingers on the table for a minute, trying to think of a way to tempt her cohorts. "You know... I bet Gruggan has a lot more than the lodestone." She raises her voice so Kara can hear too. "I mean, if he has one artifact, he probably has more! Maybe some experimental tech? Rare whiskeys? Who knows? Not us, that's for sure. Unless we go see."

"Tech hey? Look I'm not saying no, it's just that if we need to run this old Nomad won't get far without us giving it some TLC. The air scrubbers are 6 standard cycles past overhaul, its 5 for the water filtration. The shield generator needs a new activator, the seals on three bulkhead doors are cracked and shrinking. Then there's the Hyperdrive, the reactor needs a whole new circuit board. The fuel has been sitting for at least 9 cycles by the looks of it which corrodes all the lines, dries out the seals on the pump, clogs the injectors... Look, I could spend a couple of months rebuilding this entire ship and still not get rid of that stench in the refresher."

Shishi pauses for a little while, looking around at all the things that need fixing before concluding "Look, some fresh fuel, a couple of new filters, perhaps half a day checking wiring with some proper supplies, and I think this wreck will be more reliable. Not to mention the supplies of food, water and atmosphere need restocking. Honestly it's only a thousand or so worth of fixes to get this thing reliable again."

"Okaaaaaay," Melonie says, "Well, I've only got three hundred, so we need a job. And a Hutt's palace is probably a pretty good place to find a job."

"Hey I think Mel here..."

Vic sidles up to her and puts his arm around her briefly.

"...has it under control right? I bet when we set down she's gonna get it done, just been waiting for the right spot to get those repairs go'n 'eh?"

He turns to Shishi.

"She must just be talking about hard credits... Once we get her to a terminal she'll wire up the necessary funds she's saved up, because I cannot imagine this intelligent creature running off into space with a mere 300 credits... No way, not this one here!"

Vic pokes her and winks.

Melonie blinks at him. "Umm... sure? Of... of course I have more...?" she offers uncertainly.