[Star Wars Saga Edition] The Dark Times

[Jorgo Mono]

Lieutenant Kravl Gerard sighed in resignation as a massive amount of papers flooded over him, both literally, as there was little room on his desk for anything else, and figuratively, as there was little room in his mind to think of anything else. That was one of the flaws of the Empire, thought the aging Fett clone. It required a vast amount of paperwork to be kept running at top efficiency. Still, he mused, at least it was better then the now-extinct Republic, in which there was no capacity for efficiency no matter what was done.

Gerard shook the thoughts from his mind. He did not have the time to deliberate on various political matters. The Corellia sector was in a state of crisis. Attacks by rebels and dissidents have become all the more common, with three reported bombings that were leaked to the press over the course of the past month, with at least a dozen more that were quickly covered up. With the Moff of the Corellia sector, Fliry Vorru, having a visit to the planet planned to take place in less than a week, Gerard needed to have this rebel problem sorted out. By whatever means necessary.

That is why he sent out a call for mercenaries. The massive amount of brainwashing with which the Stormtrooper Corp was subjugated left their cognitive ability to think and reason independently with much to be desired. This, obviously, impaired their investagative skills. Without a doubt, someone would respond to the summons, and the promise of credits. For the Lieutenant's sake, someone HAD to.

The Imperial Recruiting center on Corellia was a typical example of core Imperial philosophy: It was big, grey, and reveled in false images of the glory of the Empire. Around it, about a dozen or so posters had been stuck to the walls, with glorious pictures of victorious Stormtroopers and vast naval fleets.The door was flanked by a pair of the Empire's finest; contained within their white shell, they paid no mind to anyone entering or leaving the building.

The interior of the building was much of the same. A pair of identical Stormtroopers kept watch in here, the only other creature being a pretty, female, human secretary sitting behind a grey desk. Steel, uncomfortable looking chairs lined the walls, in order to occupy willing recruits while they waited for their request to meet the lieutenant to be processed and accepted.

Gerard waited patiently in his back room, waiting for his adopted daughter to screen the potential mercenaries, and send them back to him, where he would inform them of their mission, and, more importantly to some, the exact nature of their reward...

[Sir Shadow]

Arminius Chet

Chet slouched in his chair, his right arm hanging on the back of the chair next to him with his legs crossed. Lazily, he gazed around the room as he several times before. A datapad flickered between the fingers of his right hand as he passed it between them.

It had been a long flight, but he supposed it would be worth it. With this new job, he had a chance to get some cash--which he needed. It was easy living on the Smuggler's Moon, but he enjoyed it. Tucking the datapad inside his jacket, he crossed his arms and stared down a Trandoshian who was taking far too much interest in him.

[Maerok]

Issimus Zadra

An Ithorian in a dark cape waited outside the recruitment office, admiring all the elaborate displays and marveling over the depictions of the military power of the Empire. He was proud to be continuing his service in a more hands-on approach. The chance to get out and engage in other affairs for the advancement of the Empire could not have come at a better time.

Issimus entered the building when it had felt like the right time and gave a brief nod to each of the guards as he passed them. Once inside, he took a small look around the room before proceeding to the other side with confident strides. With all the distance he had put between him and his identity as an Ithorian, Issimus still felt out of place in the drab locales he was often sent to. Some expenditure of color would have brightened the place up. But aside from acquiring some temporary housing now and again on assignments, that choice had never been his to make.

He drew his hands out from his pockets and set them on the desk. "Hello. I believe you have an offer available that I might be able to assist you with. Well, not you in particular. Though if there were anything I could do to aid in the process..."

[Aemoth]

Verin Catib

Verin double checks his datapad as he walks up to the recruitment center, "Guess this is the place, now all I have to do is find this Gerard".

The large propaganda posters of the Empire fail to even phase Verin as he walks into the building and past the two stormtroopers guarding the door. After he spends several minutes wandering around the base, and even in one case nearly wandering into the barracks he is finally redirected by one of the guards toward the recruitment office. When the door to the office opens and he notices the growing crowd in the room he lets out a soft sigh to himself in defeat. "There goes my plan of forcing his hand, he has more than enough other options to pursue." He pauses for a moment in thought before continuing his conversation with himself, "Well, looks like I might as well make a few credits off him while I'm here."

With that said he moves to take a seat near the human who appears to be having a staring contest with a Trandoshan. "You know it's deadly to stare one of them down, it's like a threat to them." He sits one seat away from Arminius and extends his hand to great the man, "The names Verin, and I take it you're here about the job offer as well?"

[Sir Shadow]

Arminius Chet

Smirking, the man broke off his staring contest and glanced at the guy that sat "next" to him. "I know," he said almost dismissively as he considered the younger man's hand before taking it in a firm shake. "Call me Chet. Yea, it seems the Empire's offer pulled a nice chunk of scum from their hiding places--including me... Not often the Empire makes use of mercenary forces on this scale."

[Threeshades]

Alyk Zhaan

Heavy footsteps sounded from the entry door as another figure entered the room. The shape of this new person seemed to completely contradict with the noise her boots made. She was a tall, slim Zabrak woman, her piercing yellow eyes skimming the crowd sitting along the walls as she headed straight for the office door. Her fist slammed against the door twice before she attempted to shout through the closed door: "Hey! Are you the guy who's got all that money for me?! Because I've got the manpower you need to get that job done.", she stops to look around the people gathered in the room before she turns to the room again: "The only one, it seems."

[Reverent-One]

Darsk Sol'ec

Entering just behind the angry Zabrak, Darsk enters with barely a sound, walking lightly in his boots. While he makes no sacrifice of practicality, his clothes indicate an interest in the finer things in life, being notably higher quality than average, impeccably clean and well-fitting. The exception to his outfit is the holster for his carbine, which is well-worn from use. "You'd probably be better off not making such assumptions so quickly, there's often a lot of information hidden below the surface."

[Threeshades]

Alyk Zhaan

Alyk whirls around giving the Bothan a beaming and toothy grin: "Well I don't see anyone making attempts to get a job here. All I see is people sitting around, flirting with lizards and hitting up the secretary for a date.", her fist shoots forward towards Darsk stopping before him with an open hand inviting for a handshake: "You're the first one I see taking some action. 'Name's Alyk, and who might you be?"

[Aemoth]

Verin Catib
Verin turns his attention to the growing noise of the zabrak's boots as she walks into the room. His first impression is one of pure interest as he watches the slender red girl cross the room and bash on the door, something he was secretly wishing that someone would do so he wouldn't have to be the first. With a soft chuckle he lifts his voice so that the zealous zabrak can hear him, "You know, if I'm not mistaken we've formed a line waiting on our turn. You see that Trandoshan has been waiting for a while, not to mention the Ithorian over there, Chet here, and not to myself. What makes you think you can just knock on the door and you'll pass the rest of us in importance?"

[Reverent-One]

Darsk Sol'ec

As he had honestly not been expecting this reaction, Darsk pauses for a second before taking the zabrak's outstretched hand. "Darsk Sol'ec. Pleased to meet you." He made a mental note that this one had was a bit more than a mere common thug. Hearing Verin's comment as well, he answers for Alyk, "Obviously she favors action over inactivity, which is what we hope to be hired for after all. They're not going to want us to simply sit around on our butts."

[Aemoth]

Verin mulls over the Bothan's comment for a moment before standing and joining the zabrak and bothan near the door. Turning to the Bothan he smiles warmly and states, "You do have a point." He waves his hand dismissively before continuing, "However the Empire is run by bureaucrats, kick a door down in the name of 'action' and you'll find yourself being drug away by guards."

[Sir Shadow]

Arminius Chet

"He's right you know, I've already signed in and filled out papers." Chet interjected, not bothering to get up. "I'm just waiting to be called in for my interview. These Imperial keyboard-jockies are all about rules and regulations. If you don't want a troop of stormtroopers being called in here, I'd suggest you calm down and jump through the necessary hoops to get in." There was no cut to his words, just fact.

The woman was definitely a problem, she had the attitude of a raging bantha, but didn't appear to be able to back it up. "These are not 'men of action'," he added in a lower tone, "They don't care about who does the job, just that it gets done... And they hate when somebody tries to break the system."

[Jorgo Mono]

The pretty secretary kept a small, fake smile throughout this episode, only changing posture as her figure moved to the alarm button when the Zabrack banged on the door. Still, the aggressive alien was quickly cooled, so there was no need for a band of Stormtroopers to bust into the room, arresting all in sight.

She reached into a drawer on her desk, and pulled out a stack of durasheets. Setting them on her desk, she called out in a surprisingly forceful voice, that somehow still managed to inject the same false cheerfulness.

"Any who have not yet done so, please fill out these forms. I will process them, and, if everything goes smoothly, the Lieutenant will see you shortly."

The forms contained a myriad of basic information, including but not limited to species, homeworld, age, birth date, and notable skills.

The secretary sat back down after her announcement, and repasted on her face her smile.

[Maerok]

Issimus Zadra

The Ithorian 'frowns' and takes a form. Under skills he lists "Advanced training in intelligence gathering; diplomatic agility; willingness to serve." He wanders to a seat at the side of the room and watches the others with a calm gaze.

[Reverent-One]

Darsk

Letting the discussion drop with the secretary's request, Darsk takes the form and fills it out, listing "Expert shot with pistols and rifle weaponry", "stealth combat", and "battlefield tactics". With that task complete, he merely takes a seat and waits his turn.

[Aemoth]

Verin Catib

With a sigh he lets the discussion drop and grabs a form before returning to his seat to fill it out.

"Let's see... Species? Human. Planet of Origin?" He pauses in thought before striking through the field. "Let's just leave that blank. Age, birth date, and a few more random personal questions. Easy enough to fill out."

With a few notes made across the form Verin stands and checks over it once more before walking back up to the secretary. Hopefully this is what you're looking for, and if it is not..." He smiles confidently to the secretary, "Well I highly doubt you won't find something you're looking for in there."

[Threeshades]

Alyk Zhaan

For a moment Alyk just stares at the pile of empty forms before she takes one and fills it out right on the secretary's desk.

"Notable skills...? Let's see... expert marksmanship with side arms... electronically, mechanically and medically adept and skilled pilot.... also good at mutilating big fat ugly toadslugs....", she reads out to herself while writing everything down on the sheet.

[Aemoth]

Verin turns away from the secretary and walks over to one of the harsh looking metal chairs. ”Well, I guess that means we get to wait until the paper work is processed.” He sits in one chair and tries to find a way to kick his feet up in another, after a few moments of failing to move the chair or find a comfortable position he gives up. ”So, does anyone have any stories or ideas to pass the time? If I’ve learned anything in my time it’s that beaurocracy is slow and we need to find something to help dull the pain of waiting in silence.”

[Maerok]

"Well I do not have much that I am allowed to tell you. But if you would like, you could provide some kind of story. I like stories."

[Aemoth]

"Well aren't you just a load of fun! Lets' see. . . story time. . ." He chuckles as a story comes to mind. "Have you ever been to Nar Shadaa? There is this one bar called Delena's, or Delina's, I cant remember. Well anyways, it's run by a Faleen and a set of lethan Twi'lek twins. It's a huge place with the locals and very well protected from visitors. I say this because I nearly lost an arm trying to get in." He pauses to rub his right shoulder dramatically. "See they've got a team of Ubese guards on the payroll and they've been told only a select group of locals have access, and I obviously wasn't one of them. When I tried to walk in I was jumped by two of the guards and drug back outside. Took one of them out but the other one got my arm wrapped around my back just as one of the lethan twins stepped outside for a smoke. She noticed the one Ubese on the ground and then looked toward myself and his friend and with a simple hand gesture the second Ubese stopped and patted me on the shoulder." He stops to laugh, "Most awkward fight I've been in. The lethan found an interest in me and after helping the Ubese get his friend back inside she showed me around the place. Unfortunately, I swore not to disclose any information about the insides of the bar, but I can say there is nothing like a lethan who has found an interest in you." He ends his story with a huge grin on his face.

[Jorgo Mono]

The secretary's wide, fake smile was replaced by a small, real one, as the man finished his story. She managed to deal with the rapid influx of late applications with the calmness and organizational skills she had developed from her job. "Thank you for your cooperation. If everything is in order, Lieutenant Kravl should be ready to meet to all in a few short minutes." She told the crowd, reassuming her falsely cheery attitude.

All, the while, Task Solborne, otherwise known as IST-091-0231, scanned the room once again, double-checking for any complications with his plan. After confirming that, indeed, no one in the room was allied to the Trandoshan, he decided it was time to execute the order for the take down. What a fool this lizard was, did he hope to join the Empire, thinking that they did not scan their own ranks for traitors and spies? Such naivety most often leads to a swift death in the Galaxy.

"We got him. Drakrha is in the recruitment center. Looks like he has a blaster pistol and a virbosword. Set your blasters to stun, and standby as backup. I think we can take him." Task whispered into his internal comlink hastily. He turned toward his fellow Stormtrooper in the room and nodded. The two simultaniously raised their carbines at the Trandoshan, and the words "Halt citizen! You are under arrest, in the name of the Galactic Empire!" echoed throughout the room.

The secretary, having no forward knowledge of this operation, and, being unused to violence in her strict, regimental life, promptly ran screaming out of the room, utilizing one of the two doors behind her desk that no doubt led deeper into the base.

Drakrha knew something was wrong as soon as the Stormtrooper nodded to his companion. In an instant, he knew he had been caught. However, he had no intention of going down, with or without a fight. He could easily take these to novice troopers, but if the remaining population of the room decided to help the Empire in the hopes some reward or something, then...then, he might have a problem.

The Trandoshan leapt up from his seat, and drew his blaster pistol from its holster. He screamed a curse in his native tongue, and aimed at one of the troopers.

[Reverent-One]

Let's get this game a-rolling.
Initiative-[roll0]

Surprised at the sudden chaos, Darsk still draws his blaster instantly, his reflexes no failing him yet. Once he understands what's going on, he shakes his head sadly, thinking what a fool the trandoshen is. If he went quietly, he might have had a chance at surviving, but picking a fight in room of heavily armed mercenaries who would jump at the chance to impress their perspective employer? He was as good as dead.

[Sir Shadow]

Chet looked out the corner of his eye at the Trandoshian, not bother to get up. Although it was partly due to disinterest, it also had a touch of practicality. If he stood he would put himself between the beastly alien and the guards, and he did not feel like being caught in the cross-fire.


[roll0]

[Aemoth]

Verin stands and in one fluid motion he draws his blaster rifle from under his cloak.

"I'm game for a little fun, maybe we can have lizard kabobs later."

[roll0]