Crowned Smuggler

Crowned Smuggler is a major Story Vignette. It appears in the Second Founding Era or later. The story will trigger when the Captain lands on a planet with a smuggler or fixer contact. They can be of any faction. It is not necessary to speak with the contact to trigger the story. It is a major Vignette which involves multiple missions and will result in that contact becoming a Smuggler Prince/ss. This is generally favorable but will change the services the contact offers.

Synopsis
Smuggler Princes are made not born and the process isn't pretty. It's equal parts, ambition, manipulation, intrigue and sometimes flat-out murder, but if you can stomach it, earning your contact an upgrade will ensure they owe you big-time for a long time to come. Accomplishing it won't be easy, but it will allow a Captain who's paying attention a look behind the curtain at what drives the rumors that wrack the quadrants and how they fit into a complex web of contact rivalry. To "Crown" your contact you'll be doing a five missions that generally fit the smuggler profile and have the opportunity to work your own side-hustle at the same time.

Walkthrough
 Reveal/Hide SPOILERS Introduction Missions Resolution
 * On landing on the smuggler or fixer's planet the vignette will trigger automatically. You'll automatically begin a conversation with the contact about his or her plans and have an opportunity to interact with them a bit and accept or refuse to be part of their scheme.
 * When you accept, the contact will explain the basic trajectory of their plans and the missions they need you to accomplish. He or she will also give you advance notice of upcoming shortage rumors in nearby quadrants. This will give you the opportunity to stockpile relevant goods on nearby wild zones in order to sell them into the rumor at the right time. Doing this can significantly increase the reward for this series of missions.
 * Once accepting to participate in their plan, you will have 12 years to accomplish them.
 * The contact will begin offering you missions, through their mission screen, related to their plan. In total it will be necessary accept and complete 5 of their missions.
 * The initial missions will be large stockpile missions for relatively easy to find commodities; vudka and raw spice. It is necessary to complete these two missions (notable for the book icon next to them in the missions screen) to accomplish this Vignette.
 * It is possible to accept and accomplish multiple missions at the same time.
 * The contact will quickly start giving different types of mission including kill missions that involve multi-stop searches and crew combat and bribery missions that are essentially like diplomat tour missions with multiple stops.
 * Returning to the contact while running his or her missions doesn't give any additional dialogue except for one line about him being patient.
 * When you have accomplished five missions including the two "story book" missions you will find a new dialogue option with the contact.
 * You will have a short dialogue with the contact and they will be upgraded to a Smuggler Prince/ss contact.
 * The shortages you were given advance warning about will start.