Outbound Flight II: Episode I - The Adventure Begins

After several months of refit works, council support and crew assignment, One of the largest vessels in the Galactic Republic fleet sat waiting in orbit, attached to a specially constructed docking station. The Outbound Flight II was a masterpiece of engineering and exploration technology, equipped to carry 20,000 passengers from the heart of the Republic to the very outskirts of the galaxy itself, and beyond should they succeed.
For now though, the Mighty vessel sat docked, as it awaited it's passengers to board it, while news crews from all over the Galaxy broadcast the interviews and final political ceremonies to christen the vessel and send it forth on it's great mission into the far reaches of space

High above the planet Coruscant, Durnhold stood in the atrium of the large docking station that had been built specifically for the occasion. Hoards of people milled around as they made their way onto the mighty vessel that was the Outbound Flight II, making their way through heavily secure checkpoints, where identification was checked. Durnhold faced the camera as people were guided around the small news group
=Durnhold=
Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Durnhold of RHBC news coming to you today live from Coruscant, where the final moments of the official launch of the Outbound Flight II are under-way. It has been many years since a daring project such as this was last attempted, with the first Outbound Flight mysteriously disappearing into the depths of the Unknown Regions. But today holds new hope for Republic exploration of this galaxy we all inhabit as the Outbound Flight II rises like a phoenix out of the ashes of it's predecessor. From the moment of it's inception, the small group of Councillors assigned to it's construction reviewed every aspect and detail of the original Flight, analysing it's past failings and working towards combating them. Here to discuss these changes with me is Senator Darek Stormborn, welcome to the show Senator. So would you be kind enough to walk us through the process you undertook in reinventing the Outbound Flight II?

=Senator Darek Stormborn=
Thank you, It's a pleasure to be here. When we were first tasked with the Outbound Flight II project, One of the first changes that was made, was the use of a refitted Viscount-class Star Defender over the original clustered design of six Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers around a central fuselage. This made a lot more sense from a couple different angles, financially we spent less buying a single ship and refitting areas of it, and safety wise the Viscount has more weapons and is more manoeuvrable then six ships strapped together...

=Durnhold=
Safety was a big concern for your team wasn't it? Especially considering the disappearance of the last Outbound Flight...

=Senator Darek Stormborn=
Exactly, Which is on top of a list of reasons that the Outbound Flight II will be accompanied by it's own small fleet, consisting of three classes of new capital ships and several wings of star fighters. This allows the Outbound Flight II to both defend itself and any colonies set up once it breaks free of the galactic edge. In fact the Akbar-class Carrier-Cruiser is currently orbiting just above us.
Darek pointed up through the sky light of the atrium, to where the Akbar-class Carrier-Cruiser was currently floating above the docking station. Next to the Viscount-class Star Defender, the Akbar-class Carrier-Cruiser looked like a dwarf, which was no surprise considering 17 Akbars could fit the entire length of the Viscount. The cameraman briefly panned up and then back down to Durnhold and Senator Darek
=Durnhold=
On the point of security measures, there has been talk among some passengers of an internal security force known as The Five, their goal to protect those on board and ensure the Outbound Flight II continues on its mission. Would you care to comment on them?

=Senator Darek Stormborn=
Well I can't really add much more onto what you have already said. They are indeed an elite task force that us Senators have collectively placed our trust in to maintain peace and order aboard the mission. They will be working with all levels of military command to apprehend any criminals and stop potential saboteurs that may get aboard, after all no security system is perfect, which is where The Five come in. It is for this reason their identities will remain undisclosed.

=Durnhold=
Understandable. So Senator could you give us a brief overview of the refits regarding the new cabin set ups?

=Senator Darek Stormborn=
Of course. As you know, we did some extensive refitting of areas of the Viscount, which included the addition of several more cabin areas where hangar bays once were. The new set up now provides sleeping quarters ranging from a single person up to families of six people. Although this does offer a slightly halved passenger capacity over the original flight, we felt it allowed us a little more breathing space where other costs were concerned.

=Durnhold=
Well it appears to have paid off well for you. Well I shan't hold you up any longer Senator, after all I believe there is still much left for you to do before the launch. Thank you for your time.

=Senator Darek Stormborn=
And thank you Durnhold.
Senator Darek then rejoined his security team as they guided him through the atrium to where he was needed next. Durnhold turned back to the camera as he got word from his producer the Jedi interview was under-way
=Durnhold=
Ladies and gentlemen, we now cross to Roseline, who is currently with the small group of Jedi who are to accompany the Outbound Flight II on it's mission of exploration....
Roseline smiled at the camera as she stood with the 6 Jedi that were accompanying the Outbound Flight II. They were standing in a clearing near to one of the entrance gates to the Outbound Flight II, a section of the ship's side taking up the entire view port, while guards were off to the side checking boarding information
=Roseline=
Thank you Durnhold. I am here, on this momentous day, with the ever charming Jedi Master Nathaniel Taylor and Jedi Knights Timothy Drake, Mellina Taradan, Damon Garret, Lilliana Boreas and Jack Knight. It's a pleasure to have you on the show Master Taylor.

=Jedi Master Nathaniel Taylor=
It's a pleasure to be here ma'am.

=Roseline=
So you're about to join thousands of other colonists as they set forth on a journey out into the galaxy. So how does it feel? After all you may never see your fellow Jedi for many years...

=Jedi Master Nathaniel Taylor=
It's an extreme honour to have been chosen by the Jedi Council to go on this mission. It is also an exciting chance to see things we may not have had the chance to see before and to lend a hand towards galactic peace. Whilst there is every chance we may not see our fellow Jedi for many years, we have each other to keep each other company and train against. These 5 Jedi Knights are some of the most respected and strongest Jedi I could ever hope to have along with me.

=Roseline=
So I'm sure you are well aware that the original Outbound Flight project was headed by a Jedi back in it's day. Where as this time around, the Jedi have only been brought in on the project as passengers, with very little command over all. What's your view on this?

=Jedi Master Nathaniel Taylor=
I think it's been a good idea personally. Sure there are some who would view it as insulting, but this way you get the perspective of far more people working on the idea and there is far less chance someone could exploit this for their own ends. On top of that, we have far more time to relax and ready ourselves for our part of the journey when the Flight arrives to the galaxy's edge.

=Roseline=
Well it's been a pleasure talking to you Master Taylor. Back to you Durnhold
Durnhold nodded at the camera as it's light went on indicating it's attention was on him again as he now stood near a main stage area that had been set up with the Outbound Flight II visible in a window behind it
=Durnhold=
Thank you Roseline. Well Ladies and Gentlemen, things are really starting to get moving around here in preparation for the Official Launch Ceremony, which will be starting very soon. We will be right back after this short commercial break.

Obadiah finished unpacking the last of the boxes of stock for the first leg of the Flight's journey, after which he would dive into the stock he had sitting in a locker. He turned to the TV as the news crossed to a break, feeling that this trip would be the fresh start he had always been looking for, a chance to start again and embark upon a successful venture with his father's card game.

He glanced down from the TV to the main display case, where on display was the three Whill High Shaman beast cards, of which only one copy of each was ever created, all of which were apart of his champion deck which was also on display in the same case. People from all over the galaxy had tried to defeat his champion deck, but none had ever been successful, no matter in which way they had constructed their decks.

As he returned his attention to the TV, he wondered if anyone on this journey would find a way to defeat him, or even what the competition would be like, given there was a few thousand people on board. He kept watching the TV as various ads were played, advertising various products from people who were sponsoring the live news coverage of the Outbound Flight II launch
=Obadiah Traevis=
Perhaps I should have paid to get an ad during this coverage...