The Ace of Spades Campaign - Raid on Sterling part 03

Buying Weapons
Mearc explained that one of the duties of Kimberley and her crew had was to purchase enough arms and armour to outfit a unit of 25 men. He gave Kimberley a certified credcard with a balance of 55,000 Credits.
There was, however, one drawback. The laws of the Federation prohibited the export or transportation of military arms with a higher Advancement Level of 8 to backwater systems like Caliburnus. Being a highly skilled smuggler, Kimberley knew of ways to circumvent Federation law and purchase restricted arms via the black market. On a planet as big as Achamandra there would certainly be traders who were more than willing to bend the law for a tidy profit.
However, Kimberley decided they would not break the law on this occasion.
"We play this one strictly by the book," she informed her colleagues. "Now, let's find a reputable arms dealer."

After consulting a directory of gun stores in Cassandra, Kimberley led Gwendoline, Jeanette, Julia and Celeste to the On Target Gun Store. On the way there, they discussed what would be most useful to buy, with Julia and Jeanette offering helpful advice on what would work best for the colonists. Upon entering the store, they were greeted by an attractive, middle-aged woman called Charlotte Fallon, who insisted on being called "Charlie".
"What can I do for you folks?" Charlie asked cheerfully.
"We're looking to make a big sale here and if you do bulk purchase discount that'd be so sweet," Kimberley replied. She was all charm as she flashed Charlie a big smile.
"Can do," Charlie replied. "Let's talk business."
Charlie proved to be extremely knowledgable about guns, ammo and armour and was able to provide the party with all they required.

The deal went like this.
50 Laser Pistols @ 100Cr each = 5,000Cr.
25 Laser Rifles @ 250Cr each = 6,250Cr.
5 Laser Sniper Rifles @ 1,000Cr each = 5,000Cr.
2,500 Laser Pistol Powercells @ 5Cr each = 12,500Cr.
1,250 Laser Rifle Powercells @ 12.5Cr each = 15,625Cr.
250 Laser Sniper Rifle Powercells @ 50Cr each = 12,500Cr.
25 Kevlar Vests @ 100Cr each = 2,500Cr.
That cost 59,375Cr in total.
Kimberley haggled with Charlie and was able to secure a 9% discount, which meant she only paid 54,031.25Cr, which came just under her 55,000Cr budget. The Laser Pistols and Laser Rifles were AL:7, the Laser Sniper Rifles were AL:8 and the Kevlar Vests were only AL:5, so all were perfectly legal to transport to Breuse in the Caliburnus star system.
(Note that as a Smuggler, Kimberley has the Haggle exploit, which grants her a 3d6% discount on any purchase she makes. I rolled a 9 for her. It wasn't her best deal but nor was it her worst. More importantly, she came under budget.)
Kimberley arranged for Charlie to have the shipment delivered to The Ace of Spades later that day. She called Storm on her communicator. The ex-UFP pilot was manning the bridge of the small scout ship.
"Hi, Storm," Kimberley said.
"Kimberley, what's up?" her beautiful, blonde-haired colleague asked cheerily.
"Gather the crew. We have a new mission and I suspect we'll be leaving soon. I'm on my way back with Gwendy, Julia, Jeanette and Celeste."
"Okay. No problem."
"Oh, and Storm..."
"Yes."
"Just one more thing. I'm expecting delivery of a shipment from the On Target Gun Store. Make sure its safely secured if I'm not back before it arrives."
"That's an affirmative."
"Kimberley out."
Next, she called Mearc and told him of the good news. He was delighted.
"That's fantastic, Kimberley," he said with a mixture of joy and relief. "Say, I was wondering when we could leave? I'd like to get back home as soon as possible."
"We can depart later today," Kimberley informed him. "Once the cargo is loaded and I file our flight-plan, which shouldn't take too long, we can leave. Does that sound good?"
"That would be perfect," Mearc confirmed. "We'll see you soon. Many thanks, Kimberley."
Kimberley confirmed that he knew where The Ace of Spades was docked and hung up.
Upon returning to The Ace of Spades, Kimberley logged a flight plan with Cassandra starport control. It was a routine formality that passed without incident. The ship departed from Achamandra later that evening. Their destination was the planet Breuse in the adjacent Saga star sector.