Risk First and foremost
is the risk. Most characters have a level of risk, but blockade running
sometimes runs too high in risk. When one takes on a run, there is
no question that some amount of direct combat will ensue. Many runners
don't know when their last run will be. Some think they will push
it to the limit, whatever
that limit is, then drop out of it before the heat catches up. Others
embark on what seems like a cake run, and are never seen again. For
most runners, this is the hardest part to deal with. They see those
they know leave and most of the time come back. Others are lost to
the void, be it in jail forever or gone.
Everything a blockade runner does is risky. They cannot
take their ships to regular ports, and must land and spend much of
their time in shadowports. That alone is risky as the Empire is always
seeking them out, and sometimes the natives themselves are as dangerous
too. Flying anywhere is a game of total avoidance, for coming across
a customs corvette means you must escape. You can try to spend money
on outfitting your ship with a different engine every trip or two
to change the transponder code, but that costs so much money it is
often financially unreasonable. If you get to a regular port, you
must be careful as you never can be totally sure whether or not
your ship is wanted or you yourself. As a ship, and often as a man,
you are tagged constantly and sought after by the best police forces
the Empire and local governments have to offer.
To most, this all sounds a little too rough for their
taste. But to some, this life appeals to them for a singular reason.
This is where those with a passion for combat and conflict can make
a massive difference, and be among others such as themselves. Few
make a career of it, but it's not too uncommon. Those that do
are usually of the type that don't really interface that well with
the more common elements of society. Seen as people with a deathwish
or as adrenaline junkies, runners have a tendency to get a bad rap.
Quite a few of them are running scared, trying to make that "last
run" that will make them rich forever. Sometimes it comes, more
often it doesn't.
Reward The rewards that
are reaped from blockade running are never small. In fact, most would
agree that runners rank among the highest paid professions in the
underworld. Though there is no average run amount nor is there a way
to easily measure how much a run is worth, the pay mostly runs in
the tens and hundreds of thousands. It is not unusual to come across
those willing to pay half a million credits for a seemingly simple
run. Huge runs where success is terribly unlikely and the prospect
of capture would only
be avoided by luck can pay several million credits. For a good blockade
runner, the cash always flows toward them.
Another reward that a good blockade runner can attain
is status. This goes a long way in terms of getting out of it once
you've had enough. Pirate and privateer groups want you because you've
proved you don't seize up in a pinch. Smuggler groups take interest
in you for your usually superior piloting skills. Racing leagues solicit
you with offers to fly ships and other vehicles for them, a job that
is nothing but fun and money. The Rebellion is always looking for
hotshot pilots like yourself that are willing to fly
outlandishly dangerous missions. Crime lords see you as a valuable
asset if they could only get you on retainer. The list goes on, but
suffice it to say that you are a wanted man in more ways than one.