Stormy Dun Yells [EM4]

[Ender]

"No clue. Started maybe... six days ago. We thought it was stellar phenomenae, but it hasn't disappated." Dean shook his head, finally looking away from Syzygy.

"Even the debris field isn't normally that active in interference."

[Sharn]

"Mark the locations of the relays for us on the maps and we'll check it."

[Farkas Lowca]

The slicer nods his agreement. "We can find out what's going on with them."

[Ender]

Pulling up the datapad, Dean would note just where the the signals seemed to be getting lost in around the planet. "Holonet being spotty is to be expected, this far out, but interstellar communications shouldn't get garbled as badly as they do. Not without direct interference. Thousands of years of exploration and marking make sure of that."

[Farkas Lowca]

"Yes. I imagine that the Lagrange points around the planet likely have some special equipment to keep interstellar communications relays safe from frequent debris being drawn in. Not uncommon on planets with large rings of any type," Farkas explains. "Those would also be ideal spots for inserting hardware meant to interfere one a large scale. But it could also be something similar like white noise frequencies being used to plug them up."

[Sharn]

"Though the debris ring might have skewed Lagrange points. Unless they've been equipped with thrust to correct their positioning, some of them may have already been swept off into the metal thicket. Either way, they shouldn't be too hard to find. We'll deal with that."

[Syzygy Anion]

"Sounds easy enough." Syzygy nodded.

[Sharn]

"When can I look around the dockyard space?" Sharn asked the captain.

[Ender]

Dean grinned. "Anytime you'd like, like I said, you're welcome here, to explore this partnership." He nodded to Sharn. "As for the relays, I hope it's just stellar junk blocking them off, I'd hate for them to be a sign of something worse."

[Sharn]

"The probability they are something worse is quite high. There is likely an unspecified number of Imperial heavy vessels en route to the system. I share this bit in the spirit of our partnership."

[Ender]

Dean pursed his lips for a moment. "That... would explain a bit." He was thoughtful, contemplating what that could mean. "Hopefully they won't try to cause us any problems here. Though navigating any large vessel through this muck would be pretty much impossible. We should be safe here."

[Sharn]

Sharn nodded. "Unless they are coming for salvage too and have smaller vessels in the flotilla. Even if they have other motivations than resource grab, that one is very likely to be prominent."

[Ender]

Dean pursed his lips. Thinking on the matter. "Piracy tends to get difficult when someone with illusions of the Empire is around. Maybe smuggling will prove profitable." He grinned, and then looked wistfully away.

[Sharn]

"It likely will." Sharn nodded. "The likelihood that the incoming force could impose a full blockade of the system is relatively low. After Jakku, Imperial flotillas of the required size are few and far in between. To my knowledge, most have fled to the Unknown Regions anyway. Selective oppression and terror to facilitate acquisition are more likely tactics."

[Ender]

Dean nodded, listening to Sharn. "Makes sense. We'll have to see what happens, should they arrive." His hands held flat on the table, as caf was brought out and refilled for all involved. "Maybe they will move for a life of peaceful coexistence." He laughed, and shook his head. "Of course, that means they'd have to find us."

[Sharn]

"Were they smart, they would do what you have done: claim what they can hold and bargain from there." Sharn shrugged. "But their cognitive bias will likely make them bite more than they can chew." Sharn took a deep gulp of caf. It was nothing special, but it was caf. Then, he rose."I want to see the drydock."

[Ender]

"Right this way." Dean stood from the table, indicating down a hall. "I know you must be most excited about this." He grinned, looking at the trio, his eyes drawn to Sy for a long moment, before looking back down the hall. "We've got the Factory Ship docked with it, though she doesn't really fit."

[Sharn]

"Everything can be made fitting with the right engineer on the task." Sharn remarked as they moved to business...

/Fade to inspection