Phantom Dust

[DJDizzy]

As you emerge from your ship onto the grey platform in the refugee sector, you can see the light of the smugglers moon, like a thousand stars glimmering below and above you. The adverts for various products is blinking away in the cold grey facade and a constant stream of various speeders and spaceships can be seen.

For the Force Sensitives you feel a constant flow of life around you, as if someone is constantly giving birth and dying at the same time, the flow seem an everpresent constant on this moon. It is as if the force is there, yet it is not.

On the walkway ahead of you, you see a Toydarian arguing irrately with what appears to be a dark red HK-50 model with what appears to be a modified blaster rifle slung over its shoulder. "Query: These organics seem to have occupied the space where I was supposed to meet with an agent of the hutts, why are they here?" the droid asks "Uhm, I don't know, but if you would just come with me for a moment and then we can find another place for your friends to land" the toydarian responds annoyed.

"Agitated Threat: Hey you, move that scrapheap before I blow it up, I am acting under hutt protection" the droid snaps at you, speaking to no-one in particular. "Clarification: And be quick about it"

[whoiam]

Epona
When my friend gave me that ticket, saying 'go on, take it - I don't need a second ship!' I thought brilliant! My accidental exile was finally over!

Now I find I've just taken joint control of a cargo hauler... where the largest voting bloc in our decision making process is a pair of Mandalorians.

Yay, Mandalorians. I've always wanted to work with them! Ever since... um, well, never. But I'm sure I'll eventually manage to convince myself that I always wanted to work with them. It's a valuable skill, self-delusion.

So, here we are, just looked around our ship for the first time and we find... that our 'landlord' has double-booked his landing pads. And what's worse, it's hard to convince a droid to give way by smiling at him - even if your clothing is really, *really* skimpy.

"We were lead to believe that this landing space was for our usage for the next few days." Epona called out to droid and toydaran alike. "We may have been informed so in error." Nothing like admitting fault to defuse a bully's desire for violence. Well, an organic bully. She was not too sure about this droid. The Jedi Order had a number of warnings out about that series... "If you do have an alternative landing pad available, friend Toydaran, then we would be happy to move to avoid inconveniencing your other customers..."

Her voice had almost dropped into a purr by this point, as she was walking towards the arguing pair... Not out of any real desire to be closer to them, but so that if things went wrong, she'd be in lightsaber range right from the outset.

"And I hope you *do* have an alternative pad available, friend toydaran. Because before the servants of the Hutts and my colleagues fight over this landing pad, I think that our first target would have to be the individual who had convinced us both that this place was free..."

[roll0] - To convince the HK droid that this is the Toydaran's fault
[roll1] - To convince the Toydaran that he'll be the first to die if this comes to blows.

[Narmoth]

A tall (6'2) human male that seems to be only a few years past 20 walks down the walkway.
He's dressed in black silk pants, high boots, and a dark blue trenchcoat with golden lines. The trenchcoat is unbuttoned, revealing a black ornamented red shirt and a belt holding a heavy blaster pistol. A heavy aurodium chain hangs around his neck. He carries a light silver suitcase in his left arm.

The man himself looks drained. He's sickly thin, and his grey eyes, that would be the most handsome part of his face if they shone clear, are dull and uninterested, sliding lazy over his surroundings, gazing through people rather than looking at them.
His black hair hasn't been combed, but falls unruly down to his shoulders, giving a frame to his handsome, emotion deprived face that is ruined by a cruel curving of his lips in an unpleasant smile as he approaches the Toydarian, the droid and the Twi'lek:

"If I'm to judge by the problems, I've clearly gotten to the right ship."

[inirlan]

The way to the ship was extremely crowded and it would have taken over an hour to get there. Keyword "would", as it's surprising how the sight of an armor-clad mandalorian lugging around enough explosives to cripple a capital ship tends to part the crowds like the seas in some cheesy, primitive, religious texts.

Dotak had arrived just soon enough to hear the agument with the droid. He had already seen the - quite cute - Twi'lek, but hadn't seen that tall human before. Probably another co-owner of that rustbucket. Dotak wasn't to sure about what he should do, but in doubt he did what the mandalorians did best in social situations : look mean and dangerous, and scare the crap out of anybody who isn't on your side! Having a big full-auto blaster in your hands, a lot of explosives on you and a besar'gam on your back tends to smooth some annoying social problems after all. So Dotak rolled out his best grumpy, grizzled merc voice, not all that convincing on it's own, but it should help support the Twi'lek's words.

"Hey, s'rry about being late miss, is there a problem?"

Aid another action on both of Epona's Persuasion checks. The GM is free to decide wethever the situationnal modifiers are +0 or +5
1d20+1
1d20+1

ps : forgot the tags! i'll roll them in the OOC

[Vorpalbob]

Having heard some distressing rattles during flight, Mirkeel had dropped into the ship's rank, greasy inner workings to have a look. He was still crawling around when he heard agitated voices outside on the landing pad. He quietly slipped from an external access hatch, keeping himself out of sight of the speakers, and slinks over to one of the ship's landing stabilizers.

Stealth check for sneakery=
[roll0]

If it becomes obvious he was spotted, he will walk out of the shadows and stand just behind and to the side of Epona. Otherwise, he will observe from the stabilizer.

[Z97]

Ryn came out of the ship right when things were getting interesting... well, for him at least. He didn't know enough about his new business partners to guess what they were thinking. It seemed (from what he heard of the conversation) that the droid was threatening to destroy the ship they had just been paid.

He walked up to Ordo after he finished talking and put a firm hand on his shoulder, "Watch out, we may have to shoot first if anything goes south." He unclipped his blaster rifle from his back and patted the barrel for added emphasis. It was then he noticed the Toydarian, "Man, you can always count on the aruetiise to get people into trouble."

[DJDizzy]

"Hey, hey no reason to get hostile and all" the Toydarian says as he noticeses the drawn rifles "Just doin' business as usual" he says as he fluts around nervously on his wings

The droid slings his rifle into his hands, not pointing it at anyone yet. The Toydarian makes a visible "Jump" at the droids behavior obviously uncomfortable at the current situation that consists of him between 2 mandalorians, an obviously independent HK unit, a twi'lek and 2 unknown men

"Amused fact: Do not worry little miss twi'lek, I am quite aware that the villain in all this is the Toydarian organic and if my photoreceptors and logic processor is correct, he did this to gain additional profit" the HK unit says as he readjust the leather strap the rifle is attached to

[whoiam]

Epona

Little miss...? Calm. There is no emotion, there is only peace.

Pieces of the next droid who calls me li... CALM! Calm.

He's doing what I want, anyway.

"Less worried, more irritated. He's wasting my time just as much as he is yours." Turning her gaze back onto the Toydaran she barks out "Landing Pad! Now!" before adding, conversationally, to the HK: "Sometimes they work better with simple commands."

[Narmoth]

The man in the blue trenchcoat looks over the mandalorians, addressing them in BASIC:
"Packing heavy, I see. Are you also co-owners of this thing?"
He then turns to the twi'lek. His cruel smile moves away from his lips, his eyes focusing for the first time, but not in a cruel gaze as one would expect, but rather in the way someone looks back at a distant memory as he asks her in BASIC:
I guess, my lady, you're the one in charge here?

[DJDizzy]

"Agitated Clarification: I don't have time to stand here all day while you exchange idle gossip, so please move that rustbucket of yours before someone gets hurt" he says as he points the rifle at Epona aiming down the sights but not pulling the trigger yet.

"Ehh, im getting out of here, got some business to do down at the swoop pits" the Toydarian says as if trying to evade something.

"Threat: You're going nowhere" the HK unit says as he grabs the arm of the Toydarian without looking at him

"Furious Threat: Now you get them to move their ship and you give me the pad AND my credits back, or else I will blow your wings of your back" the HK unit snaps at the toydarian

"Okay fellas, you will have to move your ship, my little friend here is not in a too good of a mood. Please use landingpad EchoZuluAlpha-7 hope you enjoyed doing business and I wish you a good day" he says as he desperately tries to flut his wings in an effort to get away from the HK unit, but alas the droid is holding on to him

[Narmoth]

As the droid aims at Epona, the man in blue trenchcoat steps between the rifle and Epona. He smiles a challenging smile as he speaks in HUTTESE:
"I'm quite sure your employer hasn't authorized you to shoot at Arcan Trakn, or anyone he's traveling with"

persuasion:1d20+6:
[roll0]

[whoiam]

Epona

A hand on Arcan's shoulder, and a quickly whispered "Leave them to it."

The Jedi would deliberately turn her back on the droid and the Toydaran, and gesture her 'allies' back towards the ship. "Pad EZA-7" she repeated for those standing further from the Toydaran, and then back over her shoulder to the HK droid (as she was walking to the ship's ramp) "Don't worry, we never saw anything."

If the others all walk away as well, we'll be able to handle introductions in the cockpit.

[DJDizzy]

As the droid aims at Epona, the man in blue trenchcoat steps between the rifle and Epona. He smiles a challenging smile as he speaks in HUTTESE:
"I'm quite sure your employer hasn't authorized you to shoot at Arcan Trakn, or anyone he's traveling with"

persuasion:1d20+6:
[roll0]

"Query: Why are you speaking in Huttese? Clarification: I have no intention of shooting you since that would be counterproductive to our little dillemma here, but riddle me this, should I not prepare for the possibility that you might attack me?"

[Narmoth]

Arcan turns around to follow the rest.

[inirlan]

As soon as the droid began to shift his blaster rifle's aim, Dotak reacted with lightening speed and entered a firing position(he braces his blaster), the multiple barrels and the bayonet pointing at the droid. Dotak was quite confident that would be able to shoot a burst into the HK unit's side before it was able to shoot.

He couldn't suppress a sly smile when seeing the stupid Toydarian getting threatened by the droid. Serves him well. However the actions of trench-coat wearing man gave him an interesting theory about the situation. Still in firing position Dotak wispered to Ryn in mandalorian.

"I think that this guy could be the hutt agent the tin-can is looking for, or at least working with him, what do you think?"

[whoiam]

Epona
Form her part, the Twi'lek walks up the freighter's ramp without so much as a backwards glance.

I wish I felt as good about this situation as I look. I'm stepping onto an old, beat-up freighter for the first time, with several strangers behind me, including but not limited to: One massive ego, one HK droid, and two mandalorians. All armed, with the possible exception of the toydaran.

I keep getting this little voice inside my mind saying I should have my lightsaber out.

No sense backing away now, though. You wanted a way off Nar Shaddaa, this ship is it.

Now all I've got to do is find the cockpit and hope one of the others knows where this other landing pad is...

[Z97]

Ryn had his rifle pointing at the droid as soon as it had it's blaster aiming at the blue Twi'lek. When he sees the man in the blue trenchcoat step in between the droid and the girl, he disapprovingly shakes his head. I'll have to talk to him about the difference between bravery and suicide. But, he smiles inside his helmet when he sees the Twi'lek walk away from the encounter, or maybe from her sudden change from demanding to submissive in a blink of an eye.

"Eh, maybe," Ryn says with indifference to Ordo, "We can ask him about it later. On the ship." He starts backing up toward their ship with a hand on Dotak's shoulder, forcing him to move backwards towards the landing ramps too. Ryn's blaster rifle pointed at the droid the entire time.

[Vorpalbob]

Spinning a hydrospanner around his finger, Mirkeel tries to look confused, as if he didn't know what was happening in front of the ship, he walks out into the light. He follows the others onto the ship.

Once inside, "What in the Outer Regions was that all about?

[DJDizzy]

Arcan make a perception check please

[Narmoth]

perception check:
[roll0]

[DJDizzy]

perception check:
[roll0]

You notice that the HK unit throws a small device at your ship, possibly a homing device before securing its rifle and walking away towards the inner workings of the refugee sector

[Narmoth]

Arcan calls out in BASIC:
"There's some stuff on the ship"
he then walks towards it to examine it closer

(OOC: what kind of check is that?)

[DJDizzy]

A perception check to find the damn thing (DC:20) and then a mechanic check to find out

[whoiam]

Epona

To Mirkeel: "I figured I should at least get a chance to fly in this thing before I had to fight a vicious assassin droid to the death over it."

What's gone wrong outside this time?

Epona stuck her head out the boarding ramp again, hand firmly clamped over her lightsaber hilt, and stared curiously at Arcan. She'd heard the warning, sure, but without having seen the droid throw she had no idea where to look.

[Narmoth]

Rolls:

Perception:
[roll0]
Mechanics
[roll1]


"The droid threw something on the ship, but I can't find it...."

[Vorpalbob]

Here, let me try to find it. Maybe it fell into the inner machinery; this armour is pretty shot up.

Perception [roll0]
Mechanics [roll1]

[EDIT] OOC= Holy ****! Natural 20!

[DJDizzy]

You dont find the device but you manage to spot some loose plasmaconductors that you promptly fix, granting a +10 HP to your ship permanently

[Narmoth]

"I think it's either a bomb or a tracing device....
Arcan starts coughing. He holds a hand in front of his mouth and bends down. When he looks up again, you can see there's blood on the hand.
"If it's a tracer, then it doesn't matter, as the droid heard where we were going anyway, if it's a bomb..
the rest is lost in a new fit of coughing

[inirlan]

Dotak run out of the space ship, if anybody in the crew was able to deal with explosives it was him. He put his hand on Arcan's shoulder and urged him to continue.

"Come on, let's look just one more time."

(in game terms I'm doing an aid another action with Narmoth's perception roll. Frankly, it should be our standard procedure to help each other in our skill rolls)

Perception aid another[roll0]
Mechanics roll[roll1]

[whoiam]

Epona

The Twi'lek's contribution to the search was delayed by her not knowing where to look: Observing her better-placed 'comrades' had solved that little problem for her.

[roll0]

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel sees Arcan coughing up blood, and cautiously approaches. (even though crawling around greasy machinery has never bothered him, organics who are sick freak him out a bit).

"Are you okay? (to others)maybe we should find a doctor for this guy. Arcan, right?

[Narmoth]

"Yes, I'm okay. Or at least well enough. " Arcan snaps. He then proceeds calmer
"But thanks for asking. No point in getting a doctor though."

[Z97]

Ryn walks down the ramp, coming to a stop besides Arcan and the others, "You ever thought about getting prosthetic lungs? It'd be best for you, I think."

He addresses the others, "Anyone think that we should go after that droid? If we can't find what it threw on the ship, the safest alternative is to shut that thing down."

[whoiam]

Epona

"Going by the rumours back in the temple, I'd say that would be quite an idiotic course of action. If it says it's working for the Hutts, it probably is. It is also probably not working alone. The last thing we want is a bunch more of them to start hunting us down for shutting off the first one."

If Epona spotted the device, she'll point it out now. Otherwise, she just trails off into silence.

[Z97]

"Well, miss, if we take it out before it reports back to the Hutts, only the toydarian will know that it had that little encounter with us... and a few well placed blaster shots can fix that problem. Hell, they might even think it went rogue."

Ryn looks toward the ship, "Besides how hard is it to find a little tracking device anyway?"

Perception check (since everybody is doing it)
[roll0]
:smallamused: I knew that would happen somehow

[whoiam]

Epona

"Do you know how many more of them might have been watching this landing pad from a remote vantage point? Do you know if it has an inbuilt comlink? Do you know how many others know it's itiniery for the day and might check back to see if there was anything unusual once it disappears, and end up getting our details from the Toydaran's records? Or the surveilance records of anyone else in the region? This is hardly a covered hangar in the wilderness, after all. Think, please, before you reach for your weapon. Secrets don't stay hidden for long if you leave clues that there's something for others to find." Ferreting out hidden truth was an important enough part of Jedi training that Epona knew that principle, despite not having done any of the in-depth investigation courses.

[Z97]

"Let me put it this way; would you rather have us ambush it, or it ambush us?" He turns back to the others, "What do the rest of you think?"

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel considers for a moment, then says, "Epona has a good point. There are so many things we don't know. My vote would be towards, if anything, capturing the droid and getting it to tell us what it put on our ship. Violence is probably a bad idea at this point.

[Narmoth]

"As I was going to say: if it's a bomb, then it's either on a timer, and we should find it fast, or it's triggered by gravity, and will go of when we reach a certain altitude. The last is more probable, as the explosion could be thought to be an accident. Not that I think that anyone would investigate it either way.
Therefore I vote for letting the droid go, and concentrating on finding the devise. I'd like to sell my share in this thing as a share in a ship, not as scrap metal"

[inirlan]

"Ryn the device he threw is more important right now, it would be better to leave the droid alone for now and if we find explosives we could simply drop them on his rusty ass. And while we are on the subject, I'm a demolition expert so it's better if you let me check that device if we find it."

[DJDizzy]

You find a small round device, the same colour as your ship. There doesn't seem to be any display on it what-so-ever. It is roughly the size of the head of a standard bolt.

[whoiam]

Epona

"There it is!" A quiet cry of triumph as the Twi'lek pointed the round device out to the rest of them. "I'll just stay over here while you examine it," she added - "since I'm about as much of a mechanic as I am a man."

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel looks at the tiny object sceptically. "I don't think its a bomb. Maybe if there were pure baradium in there, it would be enough to put a good hole in the ship."

Mechanics? check to identify the object
[roll0]

[DJDizzy]

Mirkeel looks at the tiny object sceptically. "I don't think its a bomb. Maybe if there were pure baradium in there, it would be enough to put a good hole in the ship."

Mechanics? check to identify the object
[roll0]

Definately not a bomb, it bears some resemblance to a tracking device, although you have never seen an interface this complex before

[Narmoth]

"If you're sure it's not a bomb, put it on another of the ships, but besides our newly assigned pad. "
Arcan starts coughing again, then proceeds
"I doubt if anyone shows, they'll come at once, as they could simply show at the pad without any tracking then."

[inirlan]

Dotak slightly lifted his left hand in a sign to stop the other from approaching the device, before explaining the reason of his geasture in a factual tone.

"Just because it doesn't look like a bomb doesn't mean it isn't one. Believe me, when building bombs experts often try to avoid making it look like one. I'll examine it and remove it if it's safe."

Mechanics check to find out more about the device, possibly remove it if there is no risk and then deactivate it.
[roll0]

[DJDizzy]

Dotak slightly lifted his left hand in a sign to stop the other from approaching the device, before explaining the reason of his geasture in a factual tone.

"Just because it doesn't look like a bomb doesn't mean it isn't one. Believe me, when building bombs experts often try to avoid making it look like one. I'll examine it and remove it if it's safe."

Mechanics check to find out more about the device, possibly remove it if there is no risk and then deactivate it.
[roll0]

This is definately not a bomb, since you dont find ANY trace of explosives what so ever, and it is within almost 100% certainty a tracking and spying device, capable of recording sound made from inside the hull of the ship

[Narmoth]

"So, what did you find out?" Arcan asks in BASIC

[inirlan]

"Okay, it's a tracking device and a bug, that thing is be able to record any sound inside the hull. What would you prefer, that I simply deactivate it or would you like me to tamper with it in order to play a little "prank" to that tin-can, one that it wouldn't forget?"

Said the Mandalorian with a sly tone of voice, matched by his grin inside his helmet.

[Z97]

"What exactly do you have in mind, ner vod?" Ryn asks apprehensively, "We need to get going before something else happens to us."

[inirlan]

"It wanted to spy on us, we give it false information and lure it into a trap or a hopeless situation, and boom, dead droid. I vote for a trash-compactor."

[Narmoth]

Won't that take to much time? Arcan asks, having gotten himself a bit together

[Z97]

"Might be easier to just track it and blow it's ship out of the sky," Ryn says, attempting to scratch his chin through his helmet. "Anyway, I think its about time we got on that ship, and actually take a tour of the thing. Hell, we can even introduce ourselves."

[Narmoth]

"I'll second that, even though I'm intending to sell my share in this one" Arcan points at the ship then proceeds to go inside

[inirlan]

"Okay, I'll disable it and take it apart latter."

[DJDizzy]

As you enter your ship, you see one of the least comfortable ships you have ever been in. It all seems to be made for the efficiency of everything and with no mind paid to comfort. The padding for the chairs is thin and worn almost down. The isolation on some of the cables is stripped off, and sometimes you can see sparks flying. Some of the consoles is held together by meshtape, but to your amazement, it all seems to be working, somehow.

[Narmoth]

Arcan sighs as he looks around:
"This is gone be a tough sell..."

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel is quick to put an optimistic spin on the worn condition of the ship.

"At least it will be easy to access the inner workings should any, ah, serious problems arise," he says, pointing to some missing panels.

[Narmoth]

"Don't you think it's more likely that the problems have already arisen, and that's why it was gotten rid of in the first place"
Arcan sits down on what looks to be the cleanest place. He takes out a bloody handkerchief coughs in it several times and then continues:
"My name is Arcan Trakn, and I own a share in this... thing. I intend to sell it as soon as possible, as I have no use of it. When I'm done with my business here, I'm returning back to Coruscant"

[inirlan]

"Dotak Ordo, mandalorian demolition specialist and mercenary, unlike my friend here I'm rather new to the mercenary business, but I'm an expert when it comes to blowing things up."

Dotak then began to examine the workings of the ship in detail. This pile of rusty junk was awefull, he'd begin intensive repair at the first occasion possible.

"You will have a hard time selling this rust-bucket to anyone, not that it's surprising, leave anything in the hands of the aruetiise and, with very few exceptions, you would have been better off burying it in a swamp."

[Z97]

Ryn leans on the sturdiest wall. "Ryn Zarkin, at your service. Mando merc and best shot around... probably," he jokingly says.

He turns to Arcan, "Me and Dotak were promised this as compensation for a job, so good luck trying to sell it."

[Narmoth]

"I don't need to sell more than my share, do I?"

[Vorpalbob]

"I'm Mirkeel, just a travelling pilot and mechanic. Nothing special. I hope to use this ship for a while, at least until I find my fathe- I mean, something better." He looks to Dotak. "We should start getting this thing functional as soon as we can."

As he walks over to begin working, he pauses, and turns to the group as a whole. "So, what are we going to do, now that we are all here?"

Character Switch!

Epona:

As she walks on to the ship, Epona looks with disgust at the broken, dirty mess that is the ship's interior. Maybe we should name the ship "Should Never Have Left the Ground". I hope those two mechanic types know what they're doing.

She settles in a seat, and introduces herself.
"I am Epona, a Jedi. I was trapped on this planet years ago when my master was killed. I am eager to leave this place."

OOC: How am I doing, Epona-wise?

[Narmoth]

Arcan half caughs half laughs
"Maybe you should buy my share then?"

[Z97]

"Maybe she should," Ryn says flatly to Arcan. He turns to face everyone, "Anyway, seems like Coruscant is our first stop, drop off Coughy over there..." He tilts his head towards Arcan, "...and then we can decide what to do next."

[Vorpalbob]

Epona

"Coruscant seems like a good first stop. I should reconnect with the Jedi Council there. *chuckles*They probably think I'm dead. Any objections?

Character switch!

Mirkeel

Mirkeel glances up from his work, hears Ryn's suggestion, and says, "Coruscant sounds good to me."

He mutters to himself, "A thriving starship market on Coruscant, good place to start."

[Narmoth]

"What about starting with moving to the other landing pad in stead. We don't know if it's space worthy yet."

[whoiam]

Epona

"Switching pads sounds a good idea: I am not so close to Coruscant yet that I would fancy making the journey without supplies, repairs, and possibly a different ship altogether."

[Narmoth]

"Good, then there's at least 2 that plans to sell their shares, a bit funny who the two... his words trail of in coughing.
Arcan bends forward with his handkerchief held over his mouth

[whoiam]

Epona

"Do not get me wrong, I am not after money, as such. Just after a craft I am sure will not suddenly eject me into hyperspace."

[Narmoth]

Arcan straightens up again.
His lips are covered in blood and some black oily stuff

"And the need of a ship leads to the need for money. Which means that you're after money. The same as the rest. No need to be shy about it, you're not in the temple."

He smiles a sarcastic, and somewhat unpleasant smile, but you're unsure if it's directed at you or at some inner thoughts, as Arcan stares down on his red and black handkerchief.

[whoiam]

Epona

Oh, so he wants to play, does he? Psychology time.

"Actually, that's an oversimplification, of much the same order as saying that Banthas are much the same as Tauntauns - because they are both non-sapient animals, right? Money occupies a special place in the psychology of most sapient beings due to it's rather unique nature - it posesses no value in and of itself, but rather represents the debt society at large owes to the bearer for services rendered. Debts have a power of their own, and the power imparted by holding the debt of others - monetary or informal - can be intoxicating. In many cases, addictive. Many people who get a real taste of the power that comes from being able to buy anything will do anything to keep that power, increase that power... The hardest thing in the galaxy is to be both powerful and benign. Something you may have noticed, Arcan. Now ownership... ownership is different. Need is different. The love of money... is the closest most non-sensitives will ever get to feeling the lure of the dark side. The way it can twist you... focus everything you are through a progressively darker lense, until you're indistinguishable from the darkness itself..." Blink. Pause. Light laughter. "Sorry, off on a tangent there. But you get the point, I think? A direct desire for money is more sinister than a desire for something of actual value. And more specifically, my wanting a ship that will return me to Coruscant safely is not the same as wanting people, in general, to be in my debt."

At the end of the torrent of words, Epona pauses for a couple of deep, deep breaths. Then adds her post-script. "The Jedi do give some pretty decent courses in practical psychology. It helps with the mind-reading."

[Z97]

"Right, no need to go holier-than-thou on us," Ryn says to Epona with some disdain. "Back to the topic at hand, we can go to the other landing pad and check the ship out to see if it's spaceworthy, I guess, happy?"

Without waiting for any other comment, he gets up and heads towards the cockpit, grumbling the entire way.

[whoiam]

Epona

Blink-blink.

Oooohhhh... he wanted to sell, didn't he?

"Apologies, but this is only an abstract psychology debate, not an attempt to accuse you of being some kind of horrible money-obsessed monster." Back to her feet, a quick bound would bring her level with Ryn. "You'll forgive me my penchant for theoretical debate, won't you?" The voice was sweet, the eyelids fluttering, and a cute little half-smile was on her lips.

Persuasion Check, just in case they're necessary for tugging on a colleague's heartstrings: [roll0]

"I'll tell you what. You accept that applying my generalisations too liberally is a bad idea, and I'll stop fluttering my eyelids and putting on the lost-little-darling voice. Deal?"

It's all very good being able to seduce people, but a horde of salivating suitors behind me would only get in the way. And be really, really awkward when I report back in at the Jedi Temple.

[Narmoth]

Arcan clearly doesn't want to get Epone of the hook so easily, and says, after he wipes the blood from his lips:
"Well that's a nice lecture, if it wasn't for the fact that you want to go back to a place, and forgive it I'm wrong to presume that you want to return to the Jedi Council, that wants to rule by debt of obligation"
This discussion seems to be the first that have stricken a nerve in Arcan. His eyes are no longer dull, but hold a penetrating, merciless gaze

[inirlan]

"Meh, I don't care much about that good and evil crap, and the Jetti's manichean view of the world. Even with that code of yours the facts are there : be it the jedi, the mandalorians, mercenaries, the sith, simple killers, whatever, in the end we kill people, and the fancy ideals behind it won't change that."

Suddenly realizing that his words lacked finesse and that the jedi might understand his words as an insult Dotak quickly adds.

"No offense meant by the way, I just believe that killing someone isn't any more or less morally justifiable just because of the reason, it's how things are, death is a part of the universe just like life is. And if we talk about mundane things close to the dark side you don't get more definitive than the power to choose if an individual will live or die, compared to that the allure of money is nothing."

[whoiam]

Epona

"I suppose that you could cite where the council declared it's desire to rule the galaxy? There is a difference between wishing to keep a thing you do not control safe, and wishing to control it. Indeed, I seem to remember it being mentioned that this was one of the key differences between Jedi and Sith - the difference between protection and control."

Of course, if he's right about the Jedi wanting to control the Republic, than the order would be skirting with something very evil indeed. Thankfully, I am pretty certain he's just bitter and/or prejudiced, or one of the many who cannot see the differences between the two orders. Yes, the Jedi are more prominent now than they have been some times before, but that's natural. We always become more prominent during periods of strife. Then when things calm down again, we fade back into the background...

"I will not argue that a Jedi killing someone is right and good simply because it is a Jedi doing it. I am not quite that naive. Nor would I say that it is wrong for another to do so simply because they are not Jedi. But there are still right and wrong times to kill - when necessity forces your hand, then strike. When anger clouds your vision, then stay your weapon. Of course, life is rarely *that* simple, and the choice between good and evil is really the choice of where you place the dividing lines between those sorts of extremes. Indeed, this is why it is so easy to get the choice wrong. You rarely realise you are making it until it can no longer be changed."

[Z97]

"Alright look," Ryn says tentatively from the edge of the door to the cockpit, "I'm sure this talk won't change any of our opinions, so let's just go to the other landing pad and go get a couple of drinks and cool off."

Jeez, this is practically one step away from a fight. And that won't be good for anybody.

"Anyone want to help me get this rust bucket off the ground? Their first round of drinks will be on me."

[Narmoth]

Arcan get's up:
"I guess I could help..." he then falls over, starting to cough again

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel tentatively helps Arcan up onto a seat, then heads towards the cockpit.
"It looks like you need to rest. I'll drive."

OOC: Do I really need a pilot check?

[DJDizzy]

OOC: Yes you do

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel settles into the pilot seat and glances back into the main hold. Turning to Ryn, he grimaces and says, "Wow, those two are really going at it. Lets hope it doesn't get out of hand."

He powers up the engines and flicks open the ship intercomm. "Testing, testing. Hello ladies and gents, strap in and be ready for a bumpy ride. Now secure any loose articles, and thank you for using 'You'll Probably Die' Spacelanes"

He braces himself for a violent explosion, and lifts the ship off of the landing pad...

Pilot check. Here goes: [roll0]

[Z97]

Ryn, with a sudden boost of adrenalin, jumps in a seat beside Mirkeel and buckles himself in. After making sure he has a clear view of the instruments, he swivels his chair to face Mirkeel and says "I hope you're a good pilot, or this 'ill be the shortest take off of all time."

[whoiam]

Epona

Debate is a dying art. Maybe next time I want to do something fun with this lot, I should strip off and dance in my underwear. That would work perfectly!--Apart from the 'fun' part. Maybe I could read something afterwards to balance that lack out...

Internal monologues helped to pass the time as the Jedi did what she'd been told - sit down, strapped in, and prepared her mind for the inevitable extraction from under a pile of burning rubble this would all end in...

[DJDizzy]

A little bumpy it is when you ship "gracefully" departs from the landing pad and you fly over the the designated landingpad. While in-flight, you can hear a loud bang and then a sound of something powering down, fortunately, it is not the engines or life support, or landing gear. From what you can see Mirkeel, it is the hyperdrive, it seems to have taken a turn for the worse. As you land on the pad you are greeted by a standard protocol droid "Hello, I am C5294, Czerka Corporation wishes you a happy time here on Nar Shaddaa, moon of oppurtunities, Czerka also wish to extend to you that you must pay a docking fee of 50 credits, lest your vessel be impounded"

[Narmoth]

Arcan seems to finally have gotten his bearings. He tosses a cred chip to the droid:
"I'd better get more than 50 for my share of this junk. But i guess that would require the buyer not to test-drive it"

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel pries his white-knuckled hands off of the controls, having clutched them the entire short flight. He turns slowly to Ryn and says, "I... have flown some real rust-buckets in my time, but that was... just scary." He chuckles nervously and says,"Do you want to drive next time?"

He unbuckles the restraints and quickly walks, almost runs, down the ramp and onto solid ground.

"I hope I never have to fly that again. Now, lets take a look at that hyperdrive."

Mechanics check. [roll0]

[Z97]

Ryn gets out of his seat carefully, "I don't think so, if that banging is any indication, then this thing will blow up the next time someone flies it," he chuckles, "I'm not in the dying mood today."

He causally walks down the ramp and stands next to Arcan, "What's up with the droid?"

[Narmoth]

"We were skimmed. The Toydarian didn't pay for this pad at all but I guess we can't blame the droid for that. " Something in Arcans voice tells that the person who will be blamed for it won't get out of it easily.
Then the light goes out of Arcans eyes, and he reverts to his more uncaring manner of behavior

[whoiam]

Epona
Quietly, as she walks down the ramp: "Shame we didn't think to tell the Droid we worked for the Toydaran. Then we could have gotten him charged the bill."

Epona pressed 10 credits into Arcan's hand as she passed. They had incurred that cost in concert, after all.

It was at the bottom of the ramp that she paused. "I can see a couple of ways ahead from here. Sell the ship and split up, sell the ship and hunt for a replacement together, keep the ship and try to repair the hyperdrive, or keep the ship and try to make some money around Nar Shaddaa so we can buy a new hyperdrive. I've been getting hints that people want to try selling up..."

[Narmoth]

"I guess I could stick around for a new hyper drive. My poison is cheaper here anyway, so I'm not in a hurry to leave" Arcan doesn't really seem to care one way or another

[DJDizzy]

Mirkeel pries his white-knuckled hands off of the controls, having clutched them the entire short flight. He turns slowly to Ryn and says, "I... have flown some real rust-buckets in my time, but that was... just scary." He chuckles nervously and says,"Do you want to drive next time?"

He unbuckles the restraints and quickly walks, almost runs, down the ramp and onto solid ground.

"I hope I never have to fly that again. Now, lets take a look at that hyperdrive."

Mechanics check. [roll0]

The hyperdrive is dead, positively dead.

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel hands ten credits to Arcan as well, then opens an exterior access panel under the dead hyperdrive.

He unbolts the hyperdrive from the rest of the chassis, letting it fall to the ground with a bang. He hauls it over to the edge of the pad. Looking over the side, he checks that nothing is between the pad and the bowels of Nar Shadaa.

Planting his boot solidly on the hyperdrive, he looks to the rest of the group. "Any objections? This thing is deader than a Jawa caught in a barfight."

[whoiam]

Epona
"No, my new friend, I shall defer to your expert judgement. You may toss."

[Z97]

"Go ahead."

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel gives a great heave, and sends the dead, burned-out, just plain gone hyperdrive over the edge of the platform. He stands for a moment and watches the piece of junk fall down into the dark depths of Nar Shaddaa's lowest levels.

He wipes his greasy hands on his flightsuit and closes the access hatch. He sits on a pile of random junk, sighs, and says, "Anyone know a good place to buy a hyperdrive?"

[Narmoth]

"Let me think... After all, I have been a while here on business, but I haven't really paid attention to that kind of shops here. There's more exiting stuff to be bought here" Arcan smiles coldly

[whoiam]

Epona
"How much would it cost to get a new hyperdrive? I apologise, but I am not familiar with spaceship parts costs."

What she was familiar with was her own less than stellar bank balance. If hyperdrives were expensive, and the others were similarly short on money...

[Narmoth]

"Not keen on working the streets for the good of the team, eh?" Arcan smiles, but not unfriendly, showing that it isn't intended as a serious suggestion of earning cash

[whoiam]

Epona
"If we're after cash, I'd probably have better luck dancing for a Hutt. They, at least, have some money to spend on me."

Probably the last thing any of the others would have expected would be for Epona to briefly stick her tongue out at Arcan here - but that's exactly what she did.

"If the cause was important enough I would consider it, but chances are I can earn more with a word or a lightsaber than with a revealing costume."

[Z97]

"I'm going to go for a walk," Ryn calmly says out of nowhere, "While you guys decide on how to make some creds, I'll scout out some prices and maybe get a drink." He starts to walk away from the group, toward the exit of the landing pad, before turning around(but still walking) and asking, "Anybody wanna come along? An extra pair of eyes would go a long way to not get swindled."

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel stands and walks over to Ryn. "I won't be able to negotiate at all well, but I can make sure whatever we are buying actually works."

He stops and turns back. "Maybe we should have one person stay with the ship to guard it- You know what? Anyone stupid enough to try to steal that thing can have the fiery death it will eventually cause."

[Narmoth]

Arcan thinks back at his stay at Nar Shaddaa, trying to remember any shops that could sell hyperdrives.
Knowledge (Galactic Lore):[roll0]

[whoiam]

"I will come as well. I may have no idea what the part we are after looks like or costs, but I always seem to receive discounts when I shop." Taking in a deep breath, Epona puffs out her chest and leans forwards a touch. "I cannot imagine why..." she manages to say - keeping a straight face and an angelic expression for all of three seconds after saying it, before dissolving into a giggling fit. "I consider it a tax on the liable-to-cheat-on-their-partner."

[Narmoth]

"Well, I guess I'll come with you. I would hate to die in here all by myself." something in Arcans voice makes you think that it wasn't said for fun

[DJDizzy]

Arcan thinks back at his stay at Nar Shaddaa, trying to remember any shops that could sell hyperdrives.
Knowledge (Galactic Lore):[roll0]

You have no clue what so ever.

[inirlan]

The mandalorian transfers ten credits to Arcan for the landing fees, before gathering his tools.

"Let me take a look at the hyperdrive, maybe I can salvage it to get something useful. I personally don't like the idea of buying a new hyperdrive for this piece of bantha droppings, even a second-hand hyperdrive would cost as much as the entire ship is worth. I'd rather go to a scrapyard or something and see if I can find parts for the ship, primarily to repair all the problems inside, and honestly I don't want to be in space with this thing without spare parts onboard."

And then Dotak went to the hyperdrive core and began to examine it

Mechanic check [roll0]

[DJDizzy]

The mandalorian transfers ten credits to Arcan for the landing fees, before gathering his tools.

"Let me take a look at the hyperdrive, maybe I can salvage it to get something useful. I personally don't like the idea of buying a new hyperdrive for this piece of bantha droppings, even a second-hand hyperdrive would cost as much as the entire ship is worth. I'd rather go to a scrapyard or something and see if I can find parts for the ship, primarily to repair all the problems inside, and honestly I don't want to be in space with this thing without spare parts onboard."

And then Dotak went to the hyperdrive core and began to examine it

Mechanic check [roll0]

Completely busted, no amount of spare parts could throw this thing together again.

[Narmoth]

"Well, I can't think of a place to buy a hyperdrive, but I can show you around here, since I've spent some time at this moon." he starts coughing again, but quickly get his bearing and continues
"Let's go" he steps out of the ship, straightening the blaster on his belt, and straightening something he's hidden under his right sleeve.

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel follows Arcan.
"Lets move on out."

[DJDizzy]

(Assuming everyone follows)
Arcan leads you across the landingpad and into the dephts of Nar Shaadda, after a small trek, you are no longer able to see the sky, and instead you can see advertisements for cantinas, playing dens, swoop racing and merc recruitment. Truly this is a lawless place where only the fittest survive. This notion hangs on you as you are being led into a local cantina called Blowing Sand, not the biggest one, but there is a couple of Duros Pazaak players and some other clientele, the barkeep is suprisingly, a Jawa.

[whoiam]

"Right, two questions before we start to mingle. First: Anyone here good enough at Pazaak to mix with the Duros? And second: Anyone here speak Jawa? I'm afraid I'm a 'no' on both counts..."

[Narmoth]

"No, most of the customers here don't, so I think we'll be okay. Still, this is a good place to start looking, and it's a good place for me to get my fix."

dm:

Arcan looks for someone to buy death sticks from. I assume that he's bought them here before and know a dealer. If not, it would be kind of stupid to go here

[Z97]

"No one wins at pazaak..." Ryn says somberly, remembering all those years he spent gambling his extra creds away... "Let's just wander around, one of us will find out something sooner or later."

[whoiam]

Epona, listening to their various responses, offers a nod and heads off.

Specifically, she heads off to the bar, where she parks herself on a stool and faces the tender. "Do you have anything non-alcoholic? While I would dearly love a drink, I can't afford to be tipsy when I'm travelling with that lot." A jerk of the head to her dispersing crowd of co-owners. Hopefully, the Jawa spoke enough Basic for her to chat with. It was a lot harder to charm someone who didn't know what you were saying... and getting parts merchants' locations from them was not easy either.

[roll0]Just trying to improve the Jawa's opinion of her;)

[DJDizzy]

The jawa dishes some green liquid up that doesn't look to healthy up to Epona, before returning to cleaning some glasses.

@Arcan, A gentleman of what looks to be Onderon descent nods towards you, you recognize him as one of the dealers

[Narmoth]

Arcan heads straight for him.
He stops next to him. Smiles. Then says:
"Good day. We both know why I'm here, so if you don't mind, let's get down to business"

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel looks a bit lost in the cantina, unsure of what to do. He sits at the bar near Epona. When the bartender walks over, he stutters the name of the drink that had been his father's favourite, "Alderaanian ale, please."

He turns back to the cantina and watches what the others are doing.

[whoiam]

Epona
"Have you ever been to Alderaan?" The Twi'lek certainly hadn't. Rhyloth, Dantooine, Coruscant, Nar Shaddaa. What a place to end up on your first mission.

"I hear tell it's quite a beautiful place, but a little too cold and wet for someone like me to feel happy. All those oceans... almost as bad as Manaan." Another world she'd never visited, but heard about often enough. The Jedi taught their younglings about many of the worlds they were likely to visit. And then didn't let them visit any of them. It was one of the more frustrating aspects of an already weird childhood.

"I would like to see it, though. Coruscant can get a little repetitive after the hundreth giant skyscraper, and Nar Shaddaa looks basically like Coruscant with all the higher levels surgically removed. Be nice to see a biosphere that isn't All City or All Sand." Either Mirkeel, or the atmosphere and situation, were inspiring a less confrontational approach from the Jedi.

Whichever one was affecting her also got the weird liquid the Jawa had served her brought up to her nose for a tentative sniff. Just because it didn't have alcohol in did not mean it would be something she'd want to imbibe...

[Z97]

After much deliberation, Ryn casually walks over to a Duros Pazaak player and sits across from him, quickly taking of his helmet, placing it on the table facing toward the Duros. With a mischievous smile, Ryn asks, "You want to make some quick creds? It'll only take a minute or two."

[Vorpalbob]

"My father had a good friend on Alderaan, a trader in custom ships. He went once or twice a year, but I only went twice. Every time he would return with a few crates of this." He gestures to the drink being placed in front of him. "On special occaisions, and when he finished a ship, he would let me have some."

Mirkeel sips slowly at the drink, and seems lost in thought.

[DJDizzy]

@Arcan, The man smiles a knowing grin "So, how much this time?" before briefly flashing his wares.

@Epona, The liquid smell somewhat edible, mostly. You are not sure if this is watered down or is contaminated or anything.

[Narmoth]

Arcan smiles:
"I'm a modest man, so I can manage with 10 sticks for quite a while. How much?"

[DJDizzy]

After much deliberation, Ryn casually walks over to a Duros Pazaak player and sits across from him, quickly taking of his helmet, placing it on the table facing toward the Duros. With a mischievous smile, Ryn asks, "You want to make some quick creds? It'll only take a minute or two."

"Sure thing, what is the wager" the duros happily said offering a chair to Ryn at the table. He quickly made some small adjustments to a small computer of his "So, what brings you to Nar Shaddaa" He said as he shuffled the cards like a pro

@Arcan "Sure thing buddy, Thatll be 500, or I can give you 20 for 900" The dealer advertised "Best damn product you are going to find on this forsaken rock" he continued as he eyed the small cantina nervously"And cheapest" He added as he shuffled through his bag "You know the routine, creds first, sticks after"

@Epona The liquid smells somewhat edible, although you are not quite sure of the composition of it

@Mirkeel, The jawa dishes something out that potentially COULD be alderaanian ale, but you are not quite sure, and given the dodgy look of this place, you really dont know

[Narmoth]

Arcan thinks for a while
"I would hate to pass up a great bargain, but I'll just use them all up at once if I buy that many" he puts a cred stick with 300 credits and two cred sticks with 100 on each on the table

[whoiam]

Epona
"My father had friends, as well. I wish I could remember who they were."

Okay, so I do remember, vaguely.

"I was only a couple of years old when the Order got me. Not entirely sure how, but... I was not really about to question it."

I really shouldn't be lying to him like that, should I? I do know how they found me. They check the flesh markets on Ryloth regularly. Slave children are easier to persuade they want to be Jedi.

"Well, apart from a couple of tantrums, that kind of thing. We Twi'Leks have a proud warrior tradition of throwing hissy fits when we do not get everything we want. And the Jedi Order is not famous for supplying dolls and fashionable outfits to it's younglings..." Just a touch of laughter at the end of that. It seemed such a long time ago that she'd been a 'normal' child. She'd grown out of it... mostly.

"Of course, there's a reason I'm telling you bits of my life story."

Sniff.

"I want *someone* to have heard the broad strokes of my life, just incase this thing finishes me off..." That was a real laugh after that, followed by a real sip...

[Z97]

Ryn steals a glance at the shuffling cards, but quickly regains his focus and looks back towards the Duros. "Business, actually," Ryn says, not wanting to say more than that to a stranger (especially to a Duros). "I need some information," Ryn leans back in his seat, "You seem like a smart guy... you wouldn't happen to know where I could get a good hyperdrive for cheap, would you?" He gives the Duros a knowing look. "If you do, I can make it worth your while."

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel listens quietly to Epona's story. When she pauses, he begins to speak. "I can't say I've heard of 'warrior traditions' of that sort, but I suspect children are expected to grow out of it." he chuckles. "I did watch my father talk to some of his customers, who were mostly high-up executive types. Those are a sad folk. They lie and cheat to get what they cannot have, behaving like children!"

Mirkeel's rubbery skin flushes red for a moment, then he calms himself.

"I'm sorry. I just can't stand people like that, the ones that know what they are doing is wrong. They watch every shadow, go nowhere without guards. Its as if they believe the entire galaxy is after them, even on a peaceful planet where there are perhaps five deadly weapons spread among a population of five million, and all of those in the hands of law enforcement."

He looks pained when he speaks of the world. He lowers his head and stares into the drink. He lifts the glass and looks at it accusingly. "My father would have had this kriffing waste poured down the sewers," He says when the Jawa is out of earshot.

He lifts the glass to his lips and drains it. Setting it aside on the bar, he clears a spot in front of him and proceeds to disassemble and rebuild his comlink, something he does to calm his mind.

[DJDizzy]

Arcan thinks for a while
"I would hate to pass up a great bargain, but I'll just use them all up at once if I buy that many" he puts a cred stick with 300 credits and two cred sticks with 100 on each on the table

"Heh, your loss" He smiles as he fishes up 10 sticks "Anything else I can help you with today?" He asks, trying to imitate a salesman

@Z97 "Ofcourse I would, but how cheap are we talking here?" he says as he shuffles the cards out. "You start"

[inirlan]

Dotak entered the cantina last, and leaned against the wall, near the entrance, looking mean and dangerous, which you always did inside a beskar'gam. For a while he simply thought about the main mechanical problems inside their new ship and the least expensive way to repair them in an efficient way.

Once that was done he saw that the others were already occupied, so he decided to go to see what kind of merc missions were available

"Anything interesting available?"

[Narmoth]

Arcan smiles, showing that he's just playing along
"Sure: I'd like a hyperdrive, training as a jedi and eternal happines"
he starts coughing. When he stops, he continues
"And my health back, if you can sell it cheap"

[whoiam]

"Oh, you would not have heard of it. Our 'Proud Warrior Tradition' seems, to someone not raised on Ryloth, to be more of a 'Disgusting Barbarian Tradition of Murderering Thy Neighbours anytime you find a Well'. We're not the most level-headed of species, is what I was trying to get at.

I know what you mean, though. About the 'high class' criminals. The ones society thinks are acceptable just because they have a pretty partner to flash at the cameras at social occasions." Slight pause. "Jedi, after all. They do train us to take down the corrupt as well as the obviously evil. We're just expected to concentrate on the latter."

[Z97]

Ryn sighs, "I don't know," he says in a sarcastic voice and shrugs. "Five hundred to two thousand, at least."

When he see's the Duros dealing out the cards, Ryn says "No thanks," putting in his hands up like if the cards carried the plague. "I just quit."

[Vorpalbob]

"We never really had any Jedi on my home planet. There was one guy, the stereotypical wise man who lives in a cave in the mountains, just replace cave with nice house and mountains with small town. He may have been a member of the Jedi or whatever at some point, but he was retired. He wouldn't do much except advise the town council and yell at kids to get off his lawn. Visited my father once or twice. I wasn't sure he could use the Force, I never saw him do so, but he had this aura about him. Kind of wierd."

[whoiam]

With Epona's +17 Use the Force modifier, I'm assuming she doesn't have to roll for a DC 10 'move light object' check.
Taking out (but not igniting) her lightsaber, Epona levitates it a few centimeters above the palm of her right hand. As it spins slowly in the air in front of her, she replies "Stronger than mine, I suppose? Hah... all Jedi, all Sith... all force users, regardless of training or inclination, have something of an aura about them. Takes a lot of effort to hide it, if it's strong enough. It is part of the cost, you see. Every time you draw on the force, you are drawing power from the Galaxy at large. There is always a price for that power. For a Jedi, that price is meditation and devotion. We have to be the good guys, basically. For people less devoted to being brave and selfless... let's just say the cost gets less tedious and more gruesome the more selfish the force user. You don't really want to see what it does to the Sith Lords."

Slight pause.

"I don't really want to see what it does to the Sith Lords. It's something they don't go into too much detail about when you're a youngling. If you take the Sentinel courses they give you more detail, but I'm still too junior..."

[Narmoth]

As Epona levitates her lightsaber, Arcan runs towards her and put's a hand on the lightsaber, pressing it down in Eponas palm.
"This is really not the time or place for this"
and then he grins, blood and something black still covering his lips and chin from his last coughing fit
"Besides: showing of with The Force is on the path to the Dark Side"
he let's her hand go and takes the long cylinders (a person familiar with the use would know them as death sticks) he just bought out of his pocket.
He takes out a black metal box, opens it and starts to put the bought cylinders next to two of the same kind already in the box

[whoiam]

"Actually, showing off with the Force means that the only people I'll have to fight on my way out of here are anyone who specifically wants to get at either me or force-users in general. Do you have any idea how high the kidnap rates are for young female Twi'leks on Nar Shaddaa? If I walk around without a weapon in evidence I may as well be wearing a sandwitch board with 'enslave me!' written on it in fifty million languages..."

Much more quietly, so that probably only Arcan and Mirkeel could hear her, she adds "Plus noone would have even remembered you'd come in here if you hadn't interrupted. My face is always remembered. You *could* have gone unremarked... if you'd left me to it."

[Narmoth]

"Very noble of you then" Arcan smirks
"Except that I'm already well known here." he turns to the bartender
"My usual" in stead of putting away the last cylinder, he leaves it on the table in front of himself
"If you're worried about kidnappings, you should simply pretend to belong to one of the others in the gang" he smiles friendly this time to Epona

[whoiam]

"Oh, that worked fine. In the first week, and when facing morons. When the people coming for you are smart - and Nar Shaddaa has plenty of smart yet unscrupulous people on it - or when you've been stuck on this moon for several months, it becomes harder to pull off. A lot harder. Ultimately, being honest about my career actually reduces the number of people after my Lekku."

[Narmoth]

"Well, it was worth a shot still. But I guess you've really stayed here to long then" Arcan smiles.

[whoiam]

"Far, far too long. Why else do you think I agreed to take part-ownership of that rustbucket? Flying on something that old is still safer than staying on Nar Shaddaa. To my sanity, if not to my person."

[Narmoth]

"Sanity is overrated anyway" Arcan smiles sadly as he dissolves the contents of the cylinder in the drink

[DJDizzy]

Ryn sighs, "I don't know," he says in a sarcastic voice and shrugs. "Five hundred to two thousand, at least."

When he see's the Duros dealing out the cards, Ryn says "No thanks," putting in his hands up like if the cards carried the plague. "I just quit."

"I know a place where you can get a hyperdrive for cheap, go to Ronald's Spaceship Emporium just outside of here" The duros said as he packed his cards back making directions with his hands on where to go "Go out, take a left turn, then go through the first corridor on the right, follow it for about 2 minutes then take a left turn, then another right, take the elevator up 2 floors then you should be there

[Z97]

"Okay..." Ryn says, taking it all in. He wished there was more simple directions to follow, but this is Nar Shaddaa, the most confusing place he's ever been. Ryn gets out of his seat and grabs his helmet on his way up. "Thanks," he says, as he puts his helmet back on and draws a 20 credit chip from a pocket. "For your trouble," Ryn says flatly, before tossing the credits on the table and leaving the Duros by himself.

Looking around for his co-owner's, he spots Mirkeel, Epona, and Arcan at the bar. "Enjoying yourselves?" he says with just a hint of humor in his voice.

[whoiam]

"I've had more fun, I've had less. The life of a Single Female Twi'lek on Nar Shaddaa can be kinda exciting at times. In a bad way. You got a lead?"

[Narmoth]

Arcan offers a faint smile as he drinks up. He stares empty into the air in front of him, totally oblivious of the world around him

[Z97]

"Yeah, a place called 'Ronald's Spaceship Emporium'. Supposedly sells cheap hyperdrives." He pauses. "I think we should go now, before I forget the directions."

[Vorpalbob]

After hearing about the possible new hyperdrive, Mirkeel re-assembles his comlink. The rapid-fire clicking almost overpowers his voice. "As hesitant as I am to trust anyone on this moon, we shouldn't just grab at the first lead. I've been screwed way too many times here. If this 'Ronald' doesn't let at least one of us inspect the hyperdrive beforehand, we should look elsewhere."

He slips his comlink into his pocket, picks his leather bag off the floor, and looks to Ryn. "Lead the way."

[whoiam]

"One moment, and I'll be ready to go." Epona slipped off her stool and headed for the refresher in the back. Probably not the greatest facility in history, but then she only wanted a little privacy to change into a halter top. Like all her clothing, it was a touch old and worn, but it would still serve it's purpose. Hopefully. Knowing her luck she'd probably find Ronald to be a species whose idea of beauty involved inch-thick scales and three horns. Still... statistically, he was likely to be humanoid, which meant the halter top (the most revealing upper body garment she owned) would help.

"The Order has rules about when and how you should use the force to get what you want. It doesn't have any rules about not leaning forwards when you want a discount."

Just a shame you can't get persuasion bonuses for revealing clothing:(

[Narmoth]

Arcan just stares right in front of himself, oblivious to the exchange of words, whe black oil that he sometimes coughs up during his fits runs out of the corner of his mouth and drips down on his expensive, but not extravagant clothing

[Z97]

When everyone is ready, Ryn begins to lead them to 'Ronalds Spaceship Emporium'. Taking a left turn, then going through the first corridor on their right, following it for about 2 minutes then taking a left turn, then taking another right turn, and taking the elevator up 2 floors.

While stepping out of the elevator, Ryn remarks, "This better be the right place, or I'm going to go back and shoot that Duros."

[DJDizzy]

As you enter the big, dingy looking shop, your eyes are greeted to a plethora of parts, swoopbikes, hole and half, ship components, everyday commodities, droids, droid parts, blueprints, ship deeds and what not. A human stands behind the counter and says "Welcome, to my emporium, what can I help you with today?" He smiles as he eyes the twi'lek up and down, clearly taking an interest in her before going on "Whatever your hearts desire, I got it. Cheap and expensive, I have it. Legal and *Ahem*Less-legal, you can have, all for the right price" An astrodroid whizzes about in there, making small repairjobs on various items.

[whoiam]

Experience suggested the best position from which to conduct this sort of experiment was leaning against the front of the counter, arms crossed on the top, taking much of the upper body weight.
"We are looking for a hyperdrive. Suitable for use in a bulk freighter, and in serviceable condition..." True to form, Epona had dropped into a deep, throaty purr. Her lighter, dryer voice seemed to be reserved for people she didn't want staring at her breasts harder than her holster.
"As to legality? The way I see it, you don't have to tell me, and I'm not inclined to ask. Just so long as there won't be a former owner looking for it later..."

[Narmoth]

As you stand in the shop, some of you might start to wonder where Arcan is, as he didn't follow to the shop.
Actually, no one of you can even remember him following the rest out of the cantine

[DJDizzy]

"I got just the thing for you miss" He speaks with an eloquence unusual for someone down here on this level "What credit range are we talking with" He looks straight into the face of Epona, with a charming smile, although he ocassionaly steals glances to her breasts. He punches something in on a machine "Well, I got everything from 1000 to 20000" he says before his voice drops to a low whisper "And, if you are interested, I have some experimental hyperdrives, supposed to go faster than anything, but they have a habit of becoming unstable, very useful for escaping tight situations"

[whoiam]

"Cheapest one you've got, I'm afraid." Something of a wry smile here. "All we're doing is fixing up a bulk freighter for a depressingly legal cargo run. It's all legitimate, and quite boring." A quick glance around at the others, and Epona leaned forwards to whisper something to the shopkeeper.
"But they won't all be legal runs, and trust me: We'll be back to look over your 'special' stock next time we're running something more interesting..."

An audible sigh, followed by "Now we've established that, let's have a look at the cheap, boring part, shall we?"

[DJDizzy]

"Certainly" He says, you notice he takes a cane and walks with a limp "Right this way" He leads you into a quite spacious sideroom, almost like a warehouse. "Say, here we are, the cheap, boring part you were looking for" He points toward a large hyperdrive "Cheapest, most boring thing you will ever find, but it is quite fast" He states "And it can be yours for the low price of 2000 creds"

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel gives the hyperdrive an appraising look. "Just what do you mean by 'fast'? Whats this thing's speed class?"

Mechanics check to get an idea of the thing's power for myself.
[roll0]

[DJDizzy]

"Probably a cut above your standard x3's" He makes a quick inspection of the hyperdrive "I would say, about 30 years old, maybe more"


Check Result: He is not lying, this thing is a modified x3

[Z97]

"30 years old, huh? How do we it'll still work?" Ryn says coldly behind his helmet, breaking his silence since Epona started talking to the guy. "We can't have it break down mid-flight."

[DJDizzy]

"Sure it can break down mid-flight, but that can also happen with a brand new one" He states matter of factly

[whoiam]

"Aaaand in the absense of impossible guarantees, I say we take it. Collection time, gentlemen." From a pocket Epona produced her own credit cylinder - it only had 500 on it, but then if the others could go even shares with her, it would be more than enough....


...Actually, it would be exactly enough. There were only three other people with her.


"...Where's Arcan wandered off to?"

[Z97]

Ryn reaches in a pouch on his leg and grabs a handful of credit chips. "This is all I have. It's 80 or so, I think." He hands them to Epona, and while he is standing by her, whispers "Can't you do one of those Jedi mind tricks and get this thing for free?"

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small 50-credit chip.

"Honestly, this is all I have. I wasn't exactly raking in the in
millions as a star freight pilot. Sorry."

He glances around. "Yeah, where is Arcan? Maybe he's still at the cantina. He seemed in a trance back there."

[whoiam]

An apologetic smile was sent the way of the shopkeeper. "Mind if my associates remain here a few minutes? We seem to have left one behind. Which is something of a problem when we're supposed to be splitting bills evenly."

Since she hadn't taken the hyperdrive from him yet, there should be no opposition to Epona heading back the way she came to pick up her 'crewmate'. Well, none from the shopkeeper, at any rate. There could be any amount of it along the way...

[DJDizzy]

"Knock yourself out" The salesman said as he leaned on a shelf and started to massage his leg

[whoiam]

The journey back to the bar having been (apparently) uneventful, Epona is swiftly back to the cantina and searching for her 'friend'. Hopefully he didn't spend all the hyperdrive money on Death Sticks while she was gone...

[Narmoth]

Epona finds Arcan on the exact same chair as he sat on when she left. He's eyes staring empty in right through her

[whoiam]

Taking the most direct of all possible routes, Epona just takes one of Arcan's arms and starts towing him from the Cantina. She can try waking him later, somewhere more private. For now, she just needs to get him and the contents of his pockets back to the others.

[Narmoth]

As Epona reaches for his arm, she discovers that he has quick drawn a blaster and points it at her, still looking right past her

[whoiam]

Epona's response: Sidestep left, and if the blaster continues tracking her, circle around to behind him while drawing and igniting her lightsaber. She values her anonymity significantly less than she values her torso lacking large smoking holes, after all.

[Narmoth]

Arcan smiles as she sidesteps
"You can never be to careful. Now, are we ready to leave from here, or you just wanted to ask something?" he says oblivious of the passage of time.
He holsters back the blaster in a concealed holster on his shoulder

[whoiam]

Epona waits a heartbeat before switching her lightsaber off as well. "Aww, I was *this* close to slicing your blaster in half..." But she still offers Arcan an arm. "Come on, you lame bantha. We've already picked out our new hyperdrive, and it's time for the collection to meet the bill..."

[Narmoth]

"I see...." he smiles a rare smile as he takes her hand
"It always comes down to money with you girls."

He follows Epona wherever she leads him

[whoiam]

Bringing Arcan up to speed en route: "Right now, what it comes down to is this: We need 2000 credits for our new hyperdrive. I've only got so much cleavage to flash, so we're going to need to get somewhere close to the price, at least. I've got about 550 to spare, which would be fine if Ryn and Mirkeel weren't contributing about 130 between them. So I just hope either you or Dotak has been saving up recently, that's all."

[Narmoth]

"You should try to sleep with the seller"
he smiles as he gives her two cred sticks with 500 credits on each

[whoiam]

"Ooh, yes. I'm sure the Jedi Council will love to see me make my triumphal return to Coruscant with my Master dead, my mission both unfulfilled and completely forgotten, and pregnant with a bastard Human-Twi'Lekk Hybrid baby. Besides, he'd be disappointed. It's not a skill you get to practice much as a Jedi Youngling, you know..."

[Narmoth]

"Actually, I don't. But I'd pay good money to see you try" he seems to be in a better mood after having taken the drug

[whoiam]

"I'm sure you would - you should see some of the dancing contracts I've turned down since I've been on Nar Shaddaa..."

That particular conversation will probably have to wait, because they've arrived back at the store, and Epona now has the 2000 credits required (Thanks, Dotak! You're a real pal! And yes, I will keep the change;))for her purchase. So, she saunters over to the shopkeeper and nearly purrs "Crisis averted, friend. And this" handing over the requested 2000 "is for you. For the hyperdrive, I mean. I'm not just handing over money because I love that warm fuzzy feeling that comes from consigning myself to sleeping in a gutter for the next month..." Followed by a somewhat understated grin.

[Narmoth]

"I think that would be most fitting name for the spacecraft" Arcan points out sarcastically.
He appears now to be calm, his eyes actively scanning his surroundings for threats and his back straight and shoulders lowered, very unlike the man they first met just awhile back

[Z97]

"It certainly would fit the description," Ryn says with a hint of sadness in his voice. He turns to the shopkeeper and asks, "So how are we going to get that thing to our ship? You got a speeder or something we could take?"

[DJDizzy]

"Sure, I'll have it brought to your ship, you can go with it if you like, although it might be a crampy fit inside the transporter" The shopkeeper says as his face lights up as he sees the creds

[Narmoth]

"I'm sure it will be enough if some of us go with it, and the rest travel otherwise."

[whoiam]

"I will go with the hyperdrive: my reward for playing 'Fetch the zoned-out crewmember'. I'll see the rest of you back at the ship." A cheeky grin as Epona turned back to the merchant. "Lead the way."

[Narmoth]

Arcan whispers smiling in Eponas ear:

"Reward? Or excuse to get some private time with the merchant?"

[whoiam]

With a sweet, sweet smile, Epona whispers back
Go hump a Rancor. as she turns away. She'd been honest about her reasons for wanting to go with the hyperdrive - it meant she didn't have to walk back to the ship, and it increased the chances the hyperdrive would actually get there. She'd left the second reason unsaid, though. If this vendor was reliable, there was no need to make him think of her as overly suspicious.

[Narmoth]

"I believe that is an answer in itself..." Arcan continues to smile as he exits the shop

[Z97]

"See you back at the ship... and don't take to long with that hyperdrive," Ryn says to Epona, before following Arcan out of the shop.

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel adjusts his belt and follows Epona and the merchant.
"I'll get the thing installed once we're there."

More quietly, he mutters,"Providing the kriffing thing is compatible."

[Narmoth]

When Epona is out of hearing range, Arcan smiles "So,are we heading straight back, or should we detour for some entertainment? I know of a rather nice strip-club close by..."

[Z97]

Ryn stares at Arcan for a few seconds, trying to discern if he's being serious or not. Judging by what Arcan has said and done in the past, this would probably fit, he decides. "You know," Ryn says semi-sarcastic, "I would love to, but I'm fresh out of credits. Besides we wouldn't want Mirkeel and the jedi to ditch us after we shelled out for that hyperdrive."

[Narmoth]

"To bad..." Arcan shrugs uncaring
"I just doubt you can get the jedi to join on such a trip, so this was the perfect opportunity. Besides, it will take some time to get the drive fixed...."

[Z97]

"Eh, you can go if you want to, but I would rather be safe then sorry."

[Narmoth]

"And exactly what is it that you're afraid of?" Arcan starts walking towards the landing pad where their ship is
"The pole? Or the dancers?"

[DJDizzy]

"Hey, take this drive out to to the transporter, passcode EZA-78" The salesman shouts to one of the droids who dutifully picks up the drive and starts to walk towards a door. You emerge into a small docklike place, where a transport is standing by with the droid loading the drive onto it. "After you" He says to Epona as he takes her hand as places a small kiss upon it. "Please take my seat in the front" He gets in the back of the transporter with the drive and tries to make himself as comfortable as possible

[Z97]

Ryn follows a few steps behind Arcan, "Who says I'm afraid of anything. I just don't want to spend any more time on this planet than I have to."

[whoiam]

Epona flashes the merchant an additional smile at the rather.... unexpected gesture. But his heading for the back of the transporter and sending her to the seat at the front meant she'd have no chance to question him about it...

[roll0]

So she spurns his kind offer of the front seat, and instead joins him in the back. "That isn't the kind of body language I'd expect to run into on Nar Shaddaa... More what I'd expect back on Coruscant. At least a mile up."

[DJDizzy]

The salesman punches in something on a console in the wall and the transporter lurches upwards and away towards your ship. "Where are my manners, my name is Jericho Phoenix" He makes a gracious bow, as gracious as you can do given the current circumstances. "Might I trouble you for your name miss?"


(Mirkeel, I assume you sit in the front, since it's the only available space left)

[whoiam]

"Epona Rhi. Of Rhyloth originally, but mainly of Coruscant. You know how it goes: The clan comes out second best in a territorial dispute, and suddenly you're a two year old trying to understand what a slave trader is. Thankfully, I did not remain a slave for long." Dropping from 'conversational' tones into 'conspiratorial', she adds "It would have played havoc with my scalp..."

[DJDizzy]

"Pleased to meet you miss Rhi" He courtesly says before leaning back against the transporter wall "I think I still have a place on Coruscant, on the upper levels. Don't know if they condemned it and sold it to someone else, but it sure would be nice to see it again" he muses "Tell me, I give you back your 2000 credits, and you take me to Coruscant, I've been itching to get off this rock for quite some time, but I'm no experienced spacer, just a salesman" He looks you in your eyes, a serious look in his. You can feel that he is not lying.

[whoiam]

"I would have to ask you for one more detail before agreeing to anything like that. Why did you leave? I... feel compelled to warn you, unless you can go back legitimately, I cannot take you. I cannot smuggle you past customs or immigration or the like..."

[DJDizzy]

"I needed a change of pace and setting, I mean Coruscant is nice and all, but all that sacking that happened, I felt it was time for something new. And don't worry, if I would be a smuggler, I wouldn't be telling you this would I?"

[Narmoth]

Arcan leads the rest back to their ship

[whoiam]

"No promises. We all own equal shares in the ship: I can't exactly order the others to do anything. But if they agree to take you along, I'll be voting yes as well."

[DJDizzy]

The transport touched down near the ship where the others stood waiting and Jericho immediately started to order the droid to install the drive. "So, how does this sound, I give you 2000 creds, and you take me with you?" He says as he jumps off the transporter

[Z97]

Ryn speaks up, a bit taken back by the sudden surprise, "What? Take you with us? We don't even know where we're going." He rubs the bottom of his helmet thoughtfully, "Although it would be nice to get the creds back."

"Where do you want to go?"

[Narmoth]

"I think it would be far more interesting to sell this ship to you in that case..." Arcan doesn't seem to care one way or the other though

[whoiam]

"Sell the ship for the price of its new hyperdrive? That does not seem the smartest of choices to me. Still, if you want to sell your portion of it, I'm sure you'll enjoy life on Nar Shaddaa.

I'm bound to Coruscant, myself, and it turns out Coruscant is where our friendly neighbourhood parts merchant wants to go as well. Now, do you want to put it to a vote, or can we just take our credits back and prep the ship for launch?"

[Narmoth]

"Since when was it decided that we're going anywhere?" Arcan frowns

[whoiam]

"Unless you've got a better idea, as judged by the majority of those of us holding a stake in this ship, then we are. So, what do you propose as an alternative to getting out of this hellpit *and* getting our two thousand credits back?"

[Narmoth]

"Hellpit?" Arcan smiles
"I wouldn't say this place is that bad... his eyes are dull rather than bright again, and his voice becomes more flat with each word he says
I don't know about the rest, but I don't prefer any place better than another.
Coruscant or this, as you call it, "Hellpit", is of no consequence for me..."

[DJDizzy]

"Well, I am not to bothered about the destination really, although coruscant would be nice." Jericho replies "Ah, but let me introduce myself: Jericho Phoenix at your service"

[Z97]

"Ryn Zarkin," Ryn says nonchalantly, "We can leave whenever you're ready. Preferably sooner than later. I'm getting kind of sick of this rock."

[Narmoth]

Arcan get's serious, his eyes flashing up:
"Now, that offer I would vote to decline! A passenger who we don't know anything about and who doesn't care where to go is not something we will like aboard." he turns to Jericho
"So,who's after you then? The hutts?"

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel jolts a bit, seeming to wake up after falling asleep for a while. He looks suspiciously at the merchant and says, "I agree. Before we give someone an intergalactic ride, I would like to know at least something.

He walks over to the hyperdrive and prepares it for installation, but stays close to the group so he can hear what goes on.

[Narmoth]

gm only:

Mind trick: suggestion
Use the Force [roll0]

Arcans eyes become alive again, showing at once both interest and intelligence
"You should tell us exactly why you want to leave the planet, if there's anyone after you and what threat you are under, or we will not be able to protect you"

the last words are said with a strange undertone, as if Arcan is in great pain, but tries not to show it

[DJDizzy]

Jericho gives you a slight smile "I simply need a change of pace, I mean, Nar Shaddaa has been nice to me, but she grows a bit old after a while" he fishes up 2 credsticks of 1000 each. "So, are you going to take them or leave them?" he queries as he presents the 2 sticks to you. "And who says I need protection?"

[Narmoth]

"You, when you said you weren't worried about the destination." Arcan states coldly

[whoiam]

"Or it could be wanderlust, but you do not strike me as the type..."
GM:[roll0]
Trying to establish a telepathic connection with his mind. Then trying to get a feeling of how truthful he's being. No rooting around for specific memories or anything. Just trying to port over 'Zone of Truth';)

"Honestly, I was happier when you lead me to believe you wanted to return to Coruscant. There are more legitimate reasons for wanting to *be* somewhere than for wanting to be *away* from somewhere..."

[Narmoth]

Arcan turns to the rest
"I'd check the hyperdrive once more, just to be sure no one has sabotaged it. And most likely, we'll have to check the ship as well" he says in a serious and calm voice

[DJDizzy]

"Sure, there are more legitimate reasons, but there are also more legitimate reasons for as to what a Jedi is doing on Nar Shaddaar other than "being" stuck here, right?"

[Narmoth]

"But that's not really your concern, is it?" Arcan frowns
"I don't see why I should explain myself to you. Or anyone else of us should for that matter."
he positions himself right in front of Jericho

Mind Trick again (nothing in the rules that say that I can't try again)
[roll0]

His arms twitch slightly as he almost whisper
"Tell the truth of why you want to leave Nar-Shada with us."

[Narmoth]

Arcan draws his heavy blaster pistol and points it at Jericho
"I think all is clear: I'm not going anywhere with you, and I suggest the rest follow my example!"

[whoiam]

Quick draw and ignite the saber. "Finally, I'll have that blaster in two!"

[roll0] A little joke to try and lighten the pair's mood.

Unless either of them reacts quickly enough to stop her, Epona will move between the two of them. "You're being unfair, Arcan. For two reasons: Firstly, because you aren't very forthcoming yourself. Secondly, because he's being truthful, albeit evasive." Then on to Jericho. "There are more legitimate reasons than just being stuck here, but being stuck here is *my* reason. If there are other Jedi here, their reasons may be different." Little point in trying to hide her affiliation when she's got her lightsaber out.

[Narmoth]

"He's a telepath" Arcan says coldly
"And don't think that I can't move faster than you, Epona. And I can block your lightsaber as well, although I would prefer that it doesn't come to that" he smiles a faint smile

[whoiam]

"Why do you think he's a telepath? Because you were so suspicious you thought he was referring to you when he was throwing my words back at me? You kept your Jedi training secret just as he did. I guessed when I saw you in something remarkably like a Jedi trance back in the cantina. I'm not even sure he knew about you - but he knew about me. Probably because he can see the lump of my lightsabers under my clothing. Flowing robes these aren't. Possibly he spotted it in my gait - Jedi are trained to move a certain way, after all. You can watch for it if you know what you're looking for. Yes, I think he's had training just as the two of us have. But that doesn't make him less trustworthy then you are."

[Narmoth]

Arcan starts laughing
"So you think I was in a Jedi trance back there? Well, that's just precious. If drug induced hallucinations was all there was to be a Jedi, I could very well be one." he continues to follow Jericho with the blaster
"But the reason why I think he's a telepath is because he talked to me inside my head, and I'm completely clean at present."

[whoiam]

"I cannot speak as to what was happening inside what passes for your mind, but I can speak as to the reaction of your body and the way it reactivated when 'threatened'. Very familiar. But we're still back to where we were before. I got the same impression that you did about his training. But that still makes him no less reliable than you are. And he, at least, hasn't tried using a mind trick around me... yet. So, you know what? If you are willing to be more open and honest than he is, I'll leave him and the credits behind. Otherwise, we're no worse off with him then we are with you, and may as well take the pair of you."

[Narmoth]

Arcan smighs rather disappointed "Good point, except for the fact that there's nothing for you to ask that would change your perception of my reliability. At least nothing that should change it."
he puts down his silver suitcase and sits down on it, still following Jericho with his blaster

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel whips out two blasters, but is unsure who to point them at. He has almost no experience dealing with Jedi, Epona being the only one he has had a conversation with (to his knowledge). All this talk of mind-reading and telepathy and hidden Jedi training has him seriously doubting who is on his side. He moves slightly to cover Epona, as she seems the most trustworthy. He doesn't really want anyone hurt, so he switches both blasters to stun.

[Z97]

Ryn steps back from the ensuing ruckus, drawing his heavy blaster pistol in the process and pointing it at Mirkeel. "Stay right there Duros, let's see where this goes before we all start shooting." Freakin' jedi, always having to bring their kind of trouble wherever they go.

[DJDizzy]

"I'm crippled, what do you think I can do to you?" He says as he grips his cane tighter

[Narmoth]

"Bleed on me as you die?" Arcan asks hopefully
"What you could do to them is a completely different matter..." he pulls out a new handkerchief and covers his mouth

[whoiam]

"That's a bad question, Jericho. A better one is what are you likely to do to us? To which the answer is, I think, 'almost nothing'. Why do I think that? Well, telepathy is part of the job, and I'm *good* at it. I haven't tried it on Arcan yet because I suspect I'd be seeing the world wonky for days if I did ever make it inside his mind."

Pause for breath, and a quick glance around the others to try and judge their mood.

"So, it comes to this. I, as a Jedi, will vouch for Jericho. I want to go to Coruscant, and I want to take Jericho and the money from the hyperdrive with me. Arcan disagrees, since he expects more evidence than he himself would be willing to provide in Jericho's place. So it is up to you, Ryn and Mirkeel. Do we take him or leave him?"

[Narmoth]

"I'm willing to....
provide more information ....if you decide to leave Jericho here...
But only to those ...
who I will travel with" his voice trails of several times as the handkerchief turns black

[Z97]

"I don't think so man, we need those creds he's offering," Ryn says, shifting his blaster pistol to now point at Arcan. He quietly thumbs the stun switch on. "You're in no position to argue about it either."

[Narmoth]

Arcan doesn't move in anyway to respond to Ryns threat, the gun still pointing at Jericho, but his eyes flash up as he speaks coldly
"Ryn, you will either shoot right now or lower the gun..." he coughs again
"Waiting is a serious mistake that I hope you'll never do again."

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel lowers his blasters, but keeps them ready. The pale skin in his head flushes purple with stress. He surveys the situation around him, and makes his decision. He holsters the smaller of the two blasters, and steps forward.

"I'm with Epona on this one. As suspicious as I am of Jericho here, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt." He takes a deep breath, and his skin flushes deep purple again.

[whoiam]

"Three on one, Arcan. You can stay behind if you want, but we're taking the ship and we're taking Jericho with us." Notably, although Epona gestures the others towards the ramp, she's yet to move herself. That is because she is still playing fireblock for Jericho.

[Z97]

"Epona's right Arcan, put the blaster down and maybe you can come with us," Ryn says monotone, sweeping his free arm to emphasize the others. "If I were you, I'd make that choice quickly." He plays with the stun switch, switching the stun setting on and off, on off, on off.

[Narmoth]

Arcan rises up and walks rather unsteadt right up to the muzzle Ryns blaster and almost whispers
"Then I suggest you buy me out. As I have less and less desire to go with you anywhere. "
he turns to the rest
"The craft isn't worth much: I'd say about 12.000 credits not counting the new hyperdrive. 10.250 credits and you can take it where you want with who you want."

[whoiam]

"Check your maths, Arcan. We don't need to buy you out. A seventy-five percent stake in this ship wants to fly and noone ever said we needed a unanimous agreement. True, we'd owe you a quarter of whatever the ship earned until we bought you out, but giving you five hundred of his credits and leaving you until and unless we get back seems fair enough to *me*." Certainly she wasn't going to let Arcan's hissy fit keep her on planet much longer.

"And if your estimate's accurate, than we'd have to pay 4,000 credits to buy you out, not 10.2. Since you're a minority holding, there's nothing forcing us to pay until you accept a fair price."

[Narmoth]

"Hm... Indeed I counted wrong. 2000 and my share of the hyperdrive would actually be the right price. As I remember, I gave you 1000 credits to pay for it, so that will be 3000 credits to get rid of me."

(OOC: counted the others shares in stead of Arcans yesterday)

[DJDizzy]

"Why don't you just leave him here, if he doesn't want to fly with me, and you want to fly with me, I don't see the big problem" Jericho interjects

[whoiam]

"Well, MY big problem is that Arcan's still got his blaster out, and if I move out of the way or turn my lightsaber off, there's a decent chance he'll shoot you. Probably just to annoy me. So if you, Ryn and Mirkeel would care to board before me..."

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel walks up the ramp into the main hold, then drops to the side. He taps the floor a few more times to make it sound like he is walking away, then he crawls to the top of the ramp.

Stealth [roll0]

He readies his blaster, preparing to fire (on Stun) the first person who attacks.

He hopes he doesn't have to.

[Z97]

Ryn sighs wearily and holsters his blaster. He motions for Jericho to follow him. "Come on. Let's go." He leads Jericho to the ship, passing a prone Mirkeel on the way up the loading ramp. Standing in the cargo hold, he says to Jericho, "Sorry for that mess out there, we just met him." He quickly adds, "But why do you really want to go? I mean... you're running a business. Why just pack up and leave it all behind?"

Persuasion?
[roll0]

[whoiam]

With the others moving, Epona keeps herself between Arcan and Jericho, until Jericho is finally on the boarding ramp.

"Just the two of us left, eh, Arcan? Well, I'm going. You can come along if you want... otherwise, I'll come back for you. Assuming Jericho doesn't turn out to be a remote controlled bomb droid or the like..."

Epona isn't turning her back on Arcan, but she is backing, slowly, up the boarding ramp.

[Narmoth]

Arcan sheathes the gun as soon as he can't see Jericho anymore
"I don't think we'll see each other again."
he takes the suitcase up and starts walking the other way

[Vorpalbob]

Mirkeel keeps watching Arcan for a few moments until he is out of sight, then holsters his blaster and stands up. He looks to the others.

"I doubt that is the last we will see of him."
He sighs, and his skin returns to its normal pale blue.
"Anyone care to help me with this hyperdrive?"