SWSE: The Shadows of War

[Dienekes]

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….

STAR WARS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFvQOc4xS2k&feature=related)

Episode III

THE SHADOWS OF WAR

The galaxy is in a state of turmoil. Open warfare erupts on numerous worlds as the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic fight for dominance each putting all their efforts into annihilating their opponent. After years of fighting the galactic economy has crumbled, poverty and lawlessness plague nearly every planet aligned to either of these two titans.

With the two greatest military of the galaxy tied up numerous crime lords and extremists have taken advantage of the situation and raised armies of their own, hiring mercenaries to protect their interests and extend their reach in the seedy underworlds in the vast galaxy. They alone have created small pockets of economic growth and stability on the backs of spice traders, slavery, and offering protection.

One such crime lord, Narn Teigrits the self-proclaimed King of Alee plans to make his move against the most powerful criminal comity in the galaxy, Hutt Council. Among his forces are Kirima’s Hounds a powerful mercenary company whose members are preparing to finally lash out against the Hutts…

Ispo
The smuggler’s ship drew closer to the planet Alee. A once beautiful planet now marred with the scars of battle. As Ispo made his descent he couldn’t help but worry of what was going to happen to him. He had heard stories of what King Tiegrits did to those that angered him. It was said that the upstart Snivvian had overcome the Hutts by being even more bloodthirsty and brutal than they were.

The ships communicator loudly cracked as a weasely sounding voice came out. “You’re given permission to dock in His Majesties Royal Docking Bay. Section 13B, Docking Codes 003-13.” There was a short pause before the com blared out again. “You have been flagged as a guest of interest, and will be receiving an escort for your… safety.” No sooner had the voice on the com finished talking then two fighters appeared on his monitoring screen. They kept a respectable distance, but the threat was unmistakable.

The ships stayed with Ispo until he had docked, and then blared off leaving only the echo of their engines behind. Gathering his things the Bothan left his ship, as he walked down his exit ramp he saw his next batch of escorts. A mob of mercenaries, an armored Gamorrean whose face was masked by a metal looking mask, a Zabrak carrying both a blaster and a vibroblade, and a rugged looking Duros whose face looked like it was half burned off. “Captain Alkali? You are ordered to follow me.”

So they marched, the Duros leading the way, with the Zabrak and Gamorrean standing to either side of Ispo. They marched in silence until they reached Tiegrits palace. In truth it was a large mansion, and heavily defended. Turrets lined the walkway leading to the front door. Guards and attack droids patrolled every inch of the land dominated by the building. They were stopped no less than three times as they reached the doors, and each time the Duros would show them his orders and whisper some password to the guard. Ispo tried intently to listen in on what the code was, but couldn’t quite make it out.

However all that was different as soon as they entered the building. Never before had Ispo seen such opulence. Every wall was lined with portraits, and in every corner was a sculpture. Filling the halls were scantily clad slaves each nearly as perfect looking as the art they were doing their best to avoid as they cleaned or carried drinks and dishes to the hall. The hall itself was filled with the best of the collection. A fountain stood in the center of the room, with water erupting from the center to fall upon lifelike nude statues of Human, Twi’lek, Codri-Ji, and Zeltron women holding up basins to catch the water. The smells overpowered Ispo, spices, rare dishes, and the finest wine. Tables were stacked with pies, spice, and delicacies. And in the center of it all was unmistakably Tiegrits himself. He was short, even for a Snivvian, and dressed in the finest purple robes. His piglike, beaty eyes scanned the crowds with intensity as though memorizing every detail and planning ways to terminate anyone who stepped out of line. On his lap was the most beautiful woman that Ispo had ever seen, a giggling Zelton whose arm was wrapped around his hairy neck. At his side stood a man dressed darkly with white hair, blood spattered upon his cloths, obviously a man of violence, with blasters on his hips and wearing two gauntlets.

The two were talking quietly until the Snivvian took notice of Ispo. “Ahh the smuggler.” The hog leered. “You cost me a lot of money, and very soon you will have to repay your debt.”

Shuvan

He was still coated in blood as Shuvan stepped off the shuttle. This last assassination had been difficult, a Givin who was supposed to be a living computer. He used to plan out nearly every move for Droji the Hutt, and now one more of King Tiegrit’s adversaries was broken. It had taken Tiegrits months to determine the weak point in Droji’s organization, but as always he had found it. Shuvan’s body ached as he took the last steps down the ramp, the Givin’s damn guards almost had him. But as always he had overcome the obstacle proving once more why he was the King’s favorite. Now all he needed was a couple days of rest.

“Excuse me, Shuvan.” An annoyingly familiar voice called for him. Without turning he knew the scratching caw of Vingear, Tiegrit’s Vosh messenger boy. Turning he gave the overgrown purple bird a look of contempt. “His Majesty asks for your audience immediately,” the bird cawed again, ignoring the look.

There was no use arguing, Shuvan just had to go see what the Snivvian wanted. Acknowledging he received the message Shuvan walked toward the palace as the bird moved on to whatever menial task Tiegrits had given him. The place was still on full alert, as it had been for months. Tiegrits did not take chances with his safety. Silently Shuvan passed by the three check in stations. The men recognized him, and few had the courage to hinder his movement for even a second. As he entered the palace he vaguely noticed that Tiegrits seems to had bought several new paintings that he was displaying near the front door. Judging by the scurrying of slaves and the smell of sanitizers the king was preparing for another of his parties tonight.

He stopped for a moment as he entered the Hall taking note of his surroundings. The hall was filled with Tiegrits finest, his most loyal guards, his most beautiful slaves, and his most expensive art. As Shuvan glanced toward the tables loaded with food, wine, and spice his suspicions were confirmed, another celebration was sure to be on the way, another disgusting displays of excess and hedonism. Moving past the fountain of nudes for the hundredth time Shuvan went to see the King. Tiegrits was short, even for a Snivvian dressed in his finest purple robes, obviously to make an impression. In his lap sat giggling his favorite slave, Thera a Zelton and the most beautiful woman Shuvan had ever seen. Tiegrits eyes moved across the crowd scanning everything, an obvious indication that he was currently high on Spice, again. The dead sadness in Thera’s eyes indicating that she was not.

“Come here, Shuvan my boy.” The pig faced crime lord called. “Another success, and a congratulations are in order. Here have yourself a drink.” Shuvan walked up to take his place at Shuvan’s side. “You must tell me all about it, I heard the details from one of my spies before you even docked. Yes there buzzing over there, buzzing.” He gave his hoggish laugh. “You will be rewarded, but first a drink, and then another mission. Another mission.” Shuvan had found that it was best to just let the pig continue when he rambled while on spice. “You won’t like this one, but you’ll do it. Ahh the smuggler.” Shuvan looked up to see 3 of Tiegrits mercenaries Wahler, Yenrick, and Joinks bring a newcomer into the hall, a Bothan pilot by the looks of him. “You cost me a lot of money, and very soon you will have to repay your debt.”

Thrunk, Dhab, Vek, and Xet

The four mercenaries stood side by side in Captain Morrow’s quarters. Each was taken from their squads and ordered to report directly to the Captain. When asking anyone of what was happening no one seemed to have any idea, or at least any intention of discussing it. Inside Morrow’s quarters was a library of datacrons, diagrams of the planet, readouts and schematics of numerous buildings. In each of them the Captain wrote notes such as: Position for turret. Potential breaker. Choke point, requires explosives. In the center of the room was a large holodeck of the nearby solar system, numerous points being tracked across the black planes of space. As they had entered the room, a stiff old voice was speaking what seemed to Thrunk as gibberish. The rest of the mercenaries figured out it was one of the old works on military strategy going into great detail of the Battle of Thespin and its importance in understanding the new uses thermo-mines may have in the future of warfare.

So they waited for nearly a half hour listening to the old scholar drone on, when finally a Barabel soldier entered the room and growled “Attention!” Immediately the four mercenaries stood rigid as Captain Morrow entered. She was a stocky woman of average height. She may have even looked matronly if it wasn’t for the steel behind her eyes. As always Morrow’s grey uniform was perfect and neat. Her status of authority displaying proudly on her chest, as her age was displayed by the wrinkles under her eyes and the greying of her hair to nearly match her uniform. She looked as though she was about to speak, then released the air from her lungs in a sign of exhaustion as she recognized the holocron she had forgotten to turn off. Reach toward her desk she flicked a few switches, and the voice stuttered to a halt. “At ease,” she said in her quiet, high pitched voice. “I apologize for the secrecy, but his majesty believed it was necessary,” Morrow almost spat out the word majesty proving the rumors that had been spread around the camps that the two had been arguing. “Lieutenant, you are dismissed,” she ordered to the Barabel, who nodded and left the room.

“Soldiers, you have been chosen for this mission because the king believes it was necessary but we cannot afford to spare the troops for a full assault. You have been hand-picked by me because I believe the four of you have the best chance of completing the job undetected and getting out alive.” She paused for a moment, mulling over what was best to say. “The king himself wishes to provide you with the orders so we are to be shuttled to his palace. I have you here so I can tell you how to behave. Remember, you are representing the Kirima Hounds, you are representing me. You will be quiet, you will be professional.” She took a step toward the Gamorrean with the silly hat. “Thrunk, you will not challenge anyone in or around the palace to a fight.” She took one more step to glare down at her engineer. “And you will not touch anything. Am I understood?”

[Grotsnot]

Dhab is about to ask whether wireless interfacing counts as "touching," but thinks better of it. With a silent Jawa curse, he salutes.

[Binks]

Thrunk waited a moment to make sure the boss lady was done talking before responding. Grunting and coughing in the odd Gamorrean tongue Thrunk's protocol droid translated.

"Thrunk will be good. Thrunk excited for chance to help!" Thrunk said, remaining at attention to demonstrate that he's taking the situation seriously. Inside his mind raced...or at least as much as it could...as he thought about the chance to visit the palace. Thrunk had heard of the place, multiple times actually, as he had forgotten more than once, but he'd never seen the inside of the fancy looking building. Looking forward to the opportunity Thrunk went over the mental checklist he had been given for good behavior as he waited.

[Andraia]

Ve’caraven was a little bit surprised to be summoned to Captain Murrow’s office. She had thought that she was supposed to be gearing up for another walker mission, but instead her CO had told her to take her bag off the ship and head up to the boss’ office. Her team would be leaving atmosphere right about now. Vek pouted a little bit – she liked her walker –, but wiped the expression off of her face as soon as Murrow walked in. She stood still and listened politely to what the woman had to say.

It definitely felt nice to have been ‘hand picked’ for something as important as this mission seemed to be, but the apparent risk took a bit of the present edge off it. She examined her companions discreetly as the captain addressed them. Although it was a little hard to tell with the jawa, she was pretty sure that she had never worked with any of these people before. That could either mean very good things, or very bad. She would just have to wait and see.

“So… the palace, eh? I hope they have some food out, I’m starving.”

[Odentin]

Shuvan had done his best to clean the blood off of his equipment, but only so much is possible on the shuttle. Though he sighs quietly when approached by the oversized bird, he walks quietly to the palace, as told.

Once alongside the pig king, the echani remains silent. As little as he cared about the leave, he does find himself a little irritated by the loss of it. Oh well. He only truly needs a few hours to recharge, and a chance to clean his equipment. Besides, if he ever showed displeasure with Tiegrits, he would be killed in an instant. Shuvan has no illusions about that.

As the pilot is brought forth, the assassin steps back, to Tiegrits shoulder, and observes the bothan, building a mental profile of his potential combat abilities.

[Dienekes]

Thrunk, Dhab, Vek, and Xet

The Captain nodded in recognition of Thrunk's obedience. Knowing the king, you each will be fed before the mission." She looked at her for soldiers for a second then nodded, seeming to verify her decision in picking them. "Very well, move out." Turning she led the small band of mercs out of her quarters, no sooner did she leave than the Barabel, Lieutenant Tasgar, stepped back to her side handing her several papers.

Captain Morrow walked and read at the same time, passing through the garrison to her private shuttle. Along the way soldiers jumped out of her way, so that she never broke stride nor looked up from the documents she had received until she finished them handed them back to Tasgar and with a quick command, sent the lizard scurrying to complete her orders.

As they reached her shuttle, some of the mercenaries were surprised to find that her private shuttle appeared to just be another shuttle, it was no larger, and no more comfortable than the standard issue shuttle that had dropped them off into hotspots a hundred times before. Even more surprising was the lieutenant patiently waiting for them. As they filed into the shuttle the Captain walked to the back corner, sat herself down, and remained quiet, her hand stroking her chin in a moment of silent contemplation. Within minutes the shuttle was up and moving, gliding effortlessly across the Alee terrain. It took more than an hour for the shuttle to move from the front lines to the majesties home docking bay.

As they touched down, the captain lead them out and moved toward the large mansion that the Snivvian called his palace. The land around it looked like the front lines of a war, not miles away from any fighting as it was. Turrets, attack droids and mercenaries all stood watch and patrolled every inch of the territory. Fences of electro-wire encircled the mansion thrice. At each there was a check in station, each demanding their orders and code which Lieutenant Tasgar provided. By the third station the Captain had had enough, as the guard asked for their code she shouted for the confused Trandoshan to get out of her way, and marched past. The guard stood stunned for a moment, making an interesting sight as the small elder woman marched past ignoring the huge lizard behind her.

Finally they arrived at the entrance to Tiegrit's Palace. As the large doors opened before them, they caught their first glimpse at the splendor inside. It was as different from the exterior as it could be. Every wall was lined with portraits, and in every corner was a sculpture. Filling the halls were scantily clad slaves each nearly as perfect looking as the art they were doing their best to avoid as they cleaned or carried drinks and dishes to the hall. The hall itself was filled with the best of the collection. A fountain stood in the center of the room, with water erupting from the center to fall upon lifelike nude statues of Human, Twi’lek, Codri-Ji, and Zeltron women holding up basins to catch the water. The smells overpowered the mercenaries, spices, rare dishes, and the finest wine. Tables were stacked with pies, spice, and delicacies. And in the center of it all was unmistakably Tiegrits himself.

He sat upon a great throne, which only further emphasized his own miniscule stature. His beaty eyes, switched back and forth from roving across the crowd seemly inspecting each and every individual around him to staring intently at the bothan before him. At his side stood a dark quiet man with white hair and bloody gauntlets. And on the pig-man's lap sat a giggling Zeltron, much taller than him, but as beautiful as her master was ugly.

OOC
I think I gave a long enough wait for Perducci and Boo. If they don't post tomorrow I'll be carrying along with Tiegrits giving the mission. Sorry Odentin I don't have anything for you to write against today, as neither you nor Perducci's character have actually said anything, but as I said tomorrow we'll get the whole shebang going.

[Perducci]

Ispo rolls his eyes at both the comm and his "escort". Part of him want to wail on his controls to see if they can keep up, but his mind tells him its not worth it. After all, he did lose the shipment. It's something he's having trouble accepting...failure isn't much of an option in his line of work.

Mulling it over in his head, Ispo walks down the hallway towards what can only be a fun time. He lights up a smoke as he nears Teigrits. Immediately he puts it out and gives an awkward bow. He notes the killer standing behind his employer and quickly averts his gaze. This one looks like trouble and death. His thoughts wander to the blaster he has under his arm. Probably wouldn't even get it out of the holster...Back to the "king"...

Your Majesty, I expected nothing less. Inwardly, he is cursing this pompous lout. His last mission was complete khuria. That kind of heat should of been briefed. As always, I'm happy to provide my services.

[Andraia]

“They probably won’t have any nyuem stew though. Too bad,” she muttered quietly under her breath as she followed her boss out of the office. It was a short trip from the office to the shuttle, but the ride was almost unbearable.

Vek sat quietly in her seat, legs crossed at the ankles, tapping her foot impatiently as she sent furtive glances towards the cockpit. She had been a bit surprised, and a little disappointed, that their ride was just a typical shuttle, but it hadn’t bothered her unduly. What did bother her was that whoever was piloting it was a ninny. It took them well over an hour to reach the palace, and Vek was sure that any pilot with a lick of sense could have made it there in at least forty-five minutes. Under normal circumstances – that was to say, circumstances that did not involve her boss sitting across the aisle from her – she might have gotten up and expressed her opinion to the pilot, but she held her tongue.

The decorations inside the palace were so ridiculously grandiose that she had to choke back a laugh. The sheer decadence this man seemed to be trying to submerse himself in was, frankly, over the top. He was trying to impress his visitors, but it just made Vek wonder what he was trying to cover up. Entertaining thoughts aside, the palace made Vek a little bit uneasy. She had never been very comfortable with idea of slavery, and the rainbow assortment of women mulling about the room reminded her exactly what kind of people she was working for. She kept quiet as they approached the ‘throne’ and stopped a respectable distance away from the bothan man who Tiegrits already seemed to be engaged in conversation with.

[Binks]

Thrunk remained silent through the flight and walk to the palace. He noted the palaces outer defenses, and nodded approvingly. A proper Gamorrean leader's home would also be well defended, though with fewer automated systems, and so the defenses make Thrunk feel more at home.

Inside, however, Thrunk is thrown for a loop by the number of portraits and sculptures. Thrunk tries to examine them all as he goes past, but the pace is simply too fast for him to do that and keep up, and Thrunk promised to be on his best behavior, which includes not falling behind.

Thrunk ignores the servants, noting their presence but immediately dismissing them as neither threats nor objects of interest. He does his best to avoid bumping into any of them, a task made significantly easier by following the boss lady.

As the group arrives in the throne room Thrunk notes the feast's presence, but dismisses it as not that important right now. Thrunk's stomach wasn't yet rumbling, so he didn't need to eat that much, though he would certainly try some of the delicious smelling food if it was offered. Instead Thrunk focused on the painting, sculpture, and opulence of the room, finally having time to examine a room without having to also walk.

Thrunk notes the King's presence but doesn't dwell on him. Thrunk also notes the warrior at his side and gives the man a slight nod, one warrior to another, before getting back to his admiring of the room.

[Odentin]

Shuvan notes the arrival of Captain Morrow and her team as they enter. He bows his head to her, respectfully, a gesture he has long since ceased affording their "liege."

Captain Morrow is a person the young Echani deeply respects, and one of the few beings alive that know of his connection to the force.

[Grotsnot]

When the group arrives at the shuttle, Dhab spends the first leg of the flight restlessly glancing around for signs of specialness to it. Eventually, finding no evidence, he gets bored and pulls out his datapad and starts jotting down notes on how to "improve" the shuttle. This continues until they reach the palace where the outside display of technology triggers another burst of excited writing, until an glare from Captain Morrow convinces him to put the datapad away.

When they enter the palace, Dhab is immediately struck by the stench of organic decadence. Wrapping his cloak a bit tighter, he is impatient for the party to get their orders and away from this cesspit back to his precious machines.

[Dienekes]

The Snivvian's lips curled into what could pass for a smile. "Good, good, good. It's such a relief meeting a smuggler who knows their place. About half of them swagger in as though they own my own palace, and try talking fast to get out of the debt they owe me. It's such a pity I have to sick Shuvan here on them," he said nodding to the assassin beside him. "It's funny how submissive they become once they loose a few fingers." Suddenly the pig looked up, and rose from his throne. The slave on his lap fell unceremoniously to the floor.

"Ahh, ahh, hear she comes, the lady of the hour. Captain!" The pig called, as surprisingly the assassin helped the slave to her feet. "Thank you," she whispered.
"My king," Captain Morrow nodded her head coldly in submission, she turned to nod to the assassin. "Shuvan, you look well."

"Come, Shuvan, Ispo, and the lady Captain's chosen. We have business to attend to, and then a feast. Yes, I wouldn't want my food to grow cold." The pig-faced crime lord walked from his hall into a separate room. Two of his guard opening the doors for the band as they were expected to follow.

Soon they reached a large room, filled nearly completely with a hologram generator. The king dismissed his guards with a wave of his hand. "First let me thank you all for your service to me," the king began. "Your bravery will be rewarded beyond your imagination,and all your debts will be forgotten." Walking to the large machine he switched it on, and a huge map of a city appeared. "This is your mission, Nor Gathar, the last bastion of Hutt territory on my planet. For years it has been a blight upon Alee, and a place where all my enemies flock, and because it is so well defended I couldn't do anything." Suddenly two of the buildings began to glow a deep red. "Until now. My enemies have made a huge error. Their power is based around the flow of goods, and the storage of their wealth. After years my spies have located where their goods are stored and where their wealth is kept. If you destroy these two points my enemies will be crippled. Unable to pay their mercenaries the defenses will be weak and we can finally end this whole damn business."

[Odentin]

Shuvan extends a hand to Thera, gently helping her to her feet, before turning back to the approaching team.

"As do you, Captain." he says quietly.

Shuvan looks over the captain's team, analyzing the way they hold themselves and assessing their combat potential on instinct. The jawa fascinates him, but he lingers not on the short robed creature. His eyes move over the others, until-

Wait. He locks eyes with the falleen, shocked-though his face betrays nothing. Another Force user. Immediately, he locks his mind off, suppressing his connection to the Force to avoid detection.

Use the Force (Detection): [roll0]
Use the Force (Hiding): [roll1]


He follows the others into the holomap room, bringing up the rear and continuing to observe the others. He listens to the king's plans, thinking about the tactics of it all. A small strike team, as assembled, would be ideal for this kind of job. He wonders about his own involvement, though...

[Binks]

Thrunk does his best to pay attention to the plan but the sight of such a huge holographic map distracts him enough that he doesn't catch most of it. A normal day for Thrunk then, but he does catch that the king wants them to destroy some stuff. Waiting a moment to see if anyone is going to tell him not to speak he decides it would be a good idea to let the king know his skills.

"Thrunk good at destroying stuff." Thrunk says with a halfway decent salute towards the king.

[Grotsnot]

Barring any reprimands from Morrow, Dhab moves to get a closer look at the map, careful not to touch it.
"Sounds exciting. What's the plan? We wouldn't be here if it was as simple as merely destroying the warehouses. You have more than enough firepower outside to level a city block, so what's the catch?"

[Perducci]

Ispo clenches his jaw and wears an awkward smile as the "king" speaks his bit. When the holomap appears, Ispo begins to mentally take notes on the surrounding buildings, the distances between, possible routes to it and so on.

He can already guess his primary role in this mission, so he remains silent as he observes.

[Andraia]

Vek eyed the holomap as she listened silently to the snivvian crime lord spoke. The little jawa had a point; what was their job going to be, exactly? She really only had one skill (well, maybe two), so there really wasn’t much question as to why she was here. Was everyone here a pilot? She looked at the gamorrean who had identified himself as Thrunk. Probably not. The twi’lek glanced up at her CO and their employer before looking back down at the map. A little grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. City driving was her favourite. She wondered how they were going to be getting around, and what kind of transport they would be assigned to get there in the first place.

[Odentin]

"Stealth." Shuvan answers from the back of the room, "An open assault would illicit an immediate counterattack. An attack without apparent source will cripple the enemy, weaken them. Make it much easier to deal the final blow."

[Binks]

Thrunk frowns. "Thrunk not so good at being quiet...but Thrunk try really hard!" he says, clearly determined to be useful.

[Dienekes]

"There's a good man!" The crime lord smirked. "I'm sure you'll perform most admirably Thrunk."

"Shuvan has the right of it. During the start of the war we've attempted a full assault and air raid. Neither were successful, and since then the Hutt's have only increased their defenses," Captain Morrow cut in. "Your mission is to get into the city, destroy these two points and get out. Hounds I chose you four because you seem most likely to fit in with the type of people found in Nor Gathar, another Gamorrean, Twi'lek, and Falleen will be beneath notice. And you, Dhab, will be given the satchel charges to plant in both locations."

"Now of course this information would be useless if this crack team of mercenaries are unable to get into the city. The Hutts are clever enough to recognize the ships of all my normal servants, and mercenaries. Enter the expertise of one until recently unaffiliated smuggler, and we have our in."

"Put simply that is it. However I am expecting your team to meet with numerous difficulties. For instance the points are miles away from the spaceport and each other. After arriving at the city you will need to secure transport, travel to both points that are miles apart, find ways to get inside to guarantee the destruction of the both targets, and make your way back to the spaceport all without getting yourselves killed."

"That's it!" Tiegrits interrupted. "And unless you brave souls have any questions, my feast is getting cold. Any food, drink, room, and slave is yours for the night."

[Grotsnot]

Not sure if this belongs in the OOC thread, but what sort of details does the map give? And what options do we have for transport?

[Odentin]

"Yes, sir. Where do I fit in?"

[Perducci]

I'm the way in. Nnnggh.

Ispo grins as he looks Shuvan in the eyes. Well, by the looks of it, I'd say your job is to keep us alive...more or less.

He turns to the others. I've moved cargo for the Hutts before. Always through middlemen, but my record should be enough to gain us access without too many difficulties. He smirks and tilts his head slightly. Well I do remember a payment agreement going sour...but I'm sure its been forgotten by now.

He extends his arms forward a bit and points his palms upwards while bowing his head and smiling. You name a time and a place and I can handle the in and the out. As for what likens things to go BOOM...that's another's business.

[Odentin]

The assassin returns the gaze, expressionless, "I'm no medic, smuggler."

[Dienekes]

"Because Shuvan, my boy. I needed someone experienced in moving behind enemy lines. I'm sure Morrow's ladies and gentlemen will perform most admirably but they're soldiers. This requires someone who can take out targets quickly and quietly so that the explosives can be planted without a hitch."

OOC The Map
It's a 3D map of the entire city mostly showing the buildings and streets. However major power centers, terminals, and security systems are also located in the larger buildings.

[Andraia]

The green skinned twi’lek raised a painted eyebrow at the smuggler as he described his history with the hutts. “No,” she agreed sarcastically, a little grin pulling at her lips, “that doesn’t sound like it is going to be a problem at all. It's not like hutts are known for their memory, or anything.”

She didn’t say anything as the near-human exchanged words with their mutual employer, but she could not suppress a frown when Tiegrits spoke. I am not a soldier, she thought, a bit petulantly. Sure, she had gotten mixed up in a rather militant organization but, whatever anyone else wanted to think, she was not a soldier. That implied some kind of loyalty to a cause.

Vek turned her gaze back to the city map and started thinking about it more strategically. If the smuggler was going to get them into the city, it was probably going to be her job to get them through it. Vek raised her eyes to look at her boss. “When you say ‘secure transport’, can I take it to mean that we are going to have to figure something out for ourselves? Or do you have something waiting for us?” It didn’t really matter what they got once they got there; odds were, she could drive it.

[Binks]

Thrunk does his best to look interested in the various questions flying back and forth. Most of them go above his head, and the room is awfully distracting, but he tries to look as good as he can, if for no other reason than boss lady told him to.

[Odentin]

Shuvan sighs, but finds it impossible to raise an objection. Unfortunately, infiltration and discretion are his areas of expertise. He nods curtly to the king, "Understood."

[Booboopiggies]

[Sorry for lack of posting, my internet has been rather horrible to me lately. I shall endeavour to post more rapidly.
Xet doesn't actually have anything to say this post, just catching up, but I will be more involved next time.]

Xet had been called in with three others to see Captain Morrow about a secret mission for the King and unlike most of those around her, she decided to hold her tongue and just listen to what was being said. She wasn't the most talkative of people and unless she needed to expressly state something, was unlikely to talk unless directly spoken to, leading to her following behind the rest of the group at a casual pace but watching everything with an analytical glint in her eyes. For the entirety of their travel in the unremarkable shuttle, the Falleen watched the others around her, noticing the Jawa tinkering away on his data pad and the Twi-lek eyeing the pilot with slight disdain.

The flight passed her by peacefully and by the time that they were escorted into the opulent hall, Xet would admit to herself that her curiosity over the situation was slightly peaked and as she always was in a new area, she catalogue all the exits that she noticed on her way past the expensive artifacts and scantily-clad yet beautiful young women. It wasn't long until they were led into the King, and his people's, presence and Xet quickly scanned the people in the room, dismissing some and ranking the threat level of the others.

Standing slightly to the side of the King was someone that caught Xet's eye, literally, for although the Echani's face gave away nothing about what he was thinking, his eyes snapped to hers in a way unlike the way he had appraised the others. He broke eye contact soon enough and refocused his attention to his King but it struck Xet as slightly odd and, without consciously doing it, she scanned the area for anything force sensitive. It was unlikely that anyone she was to meet had the ability but knowing who and who could not manipulate the force was always information worth having.

Use the Force (Detecting) : [roll0]

[I-I don't know what to do for a tie! XD Andraia and I were just saying to each other, "As long as it doesn't tie, we're fine." …. yeah, we jinxed ourselves 8D
If it is a clear cut success or failure, they are both below, if it is some half-way between thing... I can write something up.]

If success: When her built-in force-radar alerted her to the presence of another force user and practically pointed a glowing arrow at the Echani whom she had locked eyes with, it took less than a second for Xet to realize what had caused his slightly unusual reaction to her; apparently he had been passively scanning people as they had come in and detected her own ability to manipulate it. Since she rarely tried to hide her own ability it would have been easy to tell, for anyone worth being called sensitive at least, and in response he had quickly shielded himself. To Xet, his own reaction of hiding told her more about him than just knowing he was force sensitive but without any reason to divulge her newfound information, she tucked the information away for the moment and continued on as if nothing had happened; not even glancing at him a second time to alert him to the fact that she knew.

If failure: Her built-in force-radar didn't detect anything of interest in the immediate area and with a mental shrug of her shoulders, Xet put the odd look that the Echani had given her out of her mind and decided to focus on the task at hand. Her passive check hadn't resulted in her detecting anything at the moment but whenever going into a new area with people around, she was always going to check again, and again.

With any thoughts of the force put out of her mind for the moment, Xet completely focused her mind at the task at hand and absorbed every word that the King said and studied the holographic map intently, taking in as many details as possible and filing them away for potential plotting later. She wasn't the only one studying the map, as most of their soon to be group were doing so, with the exception of Thrunk, whom Xet was pretty sure was light on the intelligence and planning aspects. Hopefully he would prove to be decent hired muscle and able to follow through plans, no matter how sneaky.

[Perducci]

Ispo turns to the Twi'lek. "Secure transportation means we get to throw my true love's neck on the line." He turns to the group. "My ship is reliable. As I said, I can handle the in and the out."

He walks a few paces away from the map and takes in the extravagance. This should be....fun...

[Grotsnot]

"Well gentlebeings, we have a decision to make. We have two targets, two pilots, two sneaks, and, assuming Madam Forcekeen here is as a good a fighter as her Coruscanti zealot brethren, two fighters. So, shall we hit the targets in parallel or one after the other? I don't mind either way, but something we should consider. The second target will be significantly trickier if they're on alert after the first, but sticking together obviously makes our team stronger. Thoughts?"

I don't know how well splitting the party would work, especially in a forum game, but it does seem like our characters are specialized such that it would be a possibility. Boo, I couldn't tell if combat is your thing, so I took the opportunity to slur the Jedi ;)

[Andraia]

True love? She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Men and their ships!

Vek turned away from the map as well, lifted her gaze back to the smuggler and crossed her arms loosely across her chest (for comfort rather than as any indication of temper). “That is all well and good, but I was referring more to how we were going to get through the city after we got in. These targets are not exactly what I would call walking distance apart. So unless your craft is small enough for city traffic,” she raised an eyebrow again; it could be, for all she knew, although she doubted it, if it was going to be big enough to get all six of them comfortably across the planet, “we’ll probably want something to get around in.” She grinned. “Preferably something fast.”

The twi’lek was surprised when the little jawa spoke. ‘Frocekeen’? Did he mean the falleen? He must have, since she was the only other girl in the party. That was cool with Vek. She had known a few force-sensitive people in her time. They made great pilots. As for splitting the group... “Eh, I see your reasoning, but... I’m not so sure it’s a good idea.” She raised her hands up defensively. “If you guys want to, your call, but I’ll wait in the speeder if you don’t mind. I’m not going neck deep into Hutt waters without the odds stacked well in my favour.”

(( I'll try not to make such long posts anymore x'D . I'm just playing a bit of catch-up. ))

[Odentin]

Shuvan shakes his head, "Splitting up is a bad idea. No matter how stealthy, we will encounter resistance. We will be greatly outnumbered."

[Andraia]

She nodded in Shuvan's direction. "What Snowflake said."

[Perducci]

"I'm in agreement with that. If things turn sour, the more guns blazing on our side the better."

Ispo then leans in intently toward the map and begins to measure things off with his fingers. "Miss, I don't believe its a matter of whether or not I can take her there. More a question of how many gazes you'll want watchin'." He stretches his arms behind his head for a moment and laughs. "Blast it, with a little architectural alteration and some creative parking, I could have you stepping directly from Amira to your destination inside."

He then shrugs his shoulders and re-lights his smoke. He blows a few smoke rings upward, releasing a mellow floral scent into the air. One ring about a meter in diameter floats lazily upwards. "Course I can see the tactical benefits of something a little smaller." As though to put emphasis on his statement, Ispo shoots a quick circle through the middle of the larger one.

[Odentin]

Shuvan stares at Vek as the bothan speaks, half stunned, half murderous...

[Binks]

"Thrunk think maybe we overthinking it. Might be better to see place in person before deciding on plan." Thrunk says, hoping to contribute to the ongoing discussion.

[Dienekes]

"Unfortunately, to give you adequate speeders would mean revealing several of my spies. I'm sure you can understand that I cannot risk the lives of the very people who gave us this information. No, you will have to make do yourselves."

"I agree with Shuvan," Morrow spoke up as the Jawa's translator cracked out the suggestion to split up "This mission will be dangerous enough without separating our forces. I need you all to work together."

Suddenly the pig burst out laughing as the Twi'lek insulted his favored assassin. "Snowflake? Lady, you... heh, Snowflake. What happened to the last man who insulted you Shuvan? It's been so long."

"Enough of this, Xet, Shuvan, I need you two to work together, not insult or try to kill each other."

"Heh heh, Snowflake."

Morrow took a second to glare at the giggling crime lord before continuing. "While I am certain that your piloting expertise is well founded Captain, moving a ship through that city to engage our targets would be suicide. The Hutt's would blast you down. I'm certain, however, that you could stay on the ship in preparation for a quick evacuation."

"No," the crime lord cut in. "Ispo needs to go in with the rest. I don't want him to get any crazy notions that he can leave without the others. Shuvan, make sure that the Bothan stays in your sight."

[Odentin]

Shuvan's lethal gaze finally snaps away from the twi'lek once Captain Morrow speaks. He simply nods his understanding to the Captain.

While he had expected that he would be assigned to watch the pilot, the assassin still allows a smirk to tug at the corners of his lips when his employer decides to inform the mark of this fact. It's always more fun when his target knew he was being watched.

[Andraia]

Vek smiled at Shuvan.

She was about to ask the bothan what kind of ship he piloted when the crime lord burst out laughing. Her smile faltered slightly, but only slightly. Geez, it wasn’t like she meant to hurt his feelings. Tough guy like that, if he couldn’t take a little playful nickname then something was just wrong. Instead of really responding to the accusations she just shrugged and gave the enchani a more apologetic smile. “Hey, we’re all friends here right?” She muttered a bit weekly.

She listened intently to Marrow’s reasons for them obtaining a smaller ship and nodded her agreement. She was about to pop in and explain that she was fine if wanted to stay with the ship, and that she could get them from the spaceport to the sites, when the crime lord beat her to the punch again. This time the twi’lek raised both eyebrows when she turned to look at the smuggler. “What did you do?” She blurted out in an amused tone before she could stop herself.

(( This site has different fonts =D . I never knew! ))

[Perducci]

Ispo smirks and shoots a wink at Shuvan. Flippin' wonderful. A-hole is probably waiting for his chance to kill me.

He lets out a sharp gasp and covers his chest with his right hand.
" Crazy notions? Me??! If I had the dishonor of thinkin' such things I'd not be standin' here."

Inwardly, he curses himself for ever agreeing to work for the ridiculous crime lord. Ain't a profit to be made bein' dead and all.

He turns to Vek and rolls his eyes. "As for what I did...lets just say I pushed Amira a little too hard tryin' to make a quick burn from trouble. Mighta lost my cargo." He stands up straight and looks Tiegrits in the eye. "But I'm a man of my word...be downright uncouth of me if I won't make right on it."

[Dienekes]

"Nice to see you so invested in your work, Ispo. But I've always been a firm believer that you can't completely rule by fear, though it most definitely helps. You will receive a reward upon your return the likes of which you have never before imagined." The short hog did his best to look magnanimous. "That of course goes for all of you, once I become the sole trader in this sector you will ever want again."

"That's all well and good, my king, but first the mission needs to be completed," Morrow cut in. "To recap, Captain Ispo will fly you to Nor Gathar at which point you will commandeer transportation to plant charges at two points: Point A the Hutt's goods containment, Point B their wealth containment. Upon confirming the destruction of these two points you are to return to Ispo's ship and make it back here. Is everything understood?"

[Odentin]

Shuvan nods curtly, "Yes."

[Andraia]

“Loud and clear boss.” Vek acknowledged cheerfully with a playful little two-finger salute at her CO.

[Grotsnot]

"Got it. Any 'spare' parts we happen to come across are fair game, yes?" Dhab says, rubbing his paws together.

[Binks]

"Thrunk understands" Thrunk says with a nod.

[Perducci]

Ispo simply nods.

[Booboopiggies]

Xet stood in the background as the mission was described and then described in even more detail; what little was available. She wouldn't have anything to do with getting them to position but when it came to more in-depth planning, she would definitely have intel to contribute.

"Yes, everything sounds fine." Xet spoke in an almost uninterested voice; it seemed that most everything was just being repeated at this point, and since she had no desire to stay in the distugsing King's presence much longer, getting a move on was preferable.

"I am ready to leave whenever is convenient."

[Dienekes]

"Excellent!" Tiegrits clapped his hand together. "You will leave tomorrow bright and early. And now, if you will excuse me I have more business to take care of. The offer still stands, make yourself comfortable and enjoy the revelry. You all deserve a good night of fun."

With that the Crime Lord walked out of the room and back into his hall, where already a group was forming of impressive looking aliens and droids all clamoring to see the King.

Captain Morrow looked to her mercenaries one last time. "Despite the king's offers you are still to conduct yourselves professionally. Now dismissed."

OOC: Alright, you folks can roleplay amongst yourselves how you're handling the party or talk amongst each other. Tomorrow the ship will be off. Go get into a fight, argue, get drunk, sneer in loathing, or try and figure out how to access Tiegrits' data files.

[Odentin]

Shuvan watches the others leave, then steps up to Captain Morrow and speaks quietly but succinctly, "Captain, I'd like to request the dossiers for my teammates."

[Binks]

Thrunk nods at the boss lady's instruction and heads into the main room, doing his best to look professional...

He heads over to the food table to get some snacks, and walks away with an overflowing tray of goodies which he proceeds to eat just fast enough to be impolite, but slow enough that it's clear he's trying to eat professionally.

[Dienekes]

Shuvan
The grey woman stops and gives Shuvan a measured look. "Very well," she responded after a moment mulling over the request. "I will have Lieutenant Tasgar send the files to your room. You will probably not like all that you're going to read, but I guarantee you they will perform admirably." She gave the assassin a nod before exiting the room.

The Next Day
The band is lined up bright and early at Tiegrits' personal docking bay. A few of the king's guards are loading up the cargo hold with 6 satchel charges. Silently each member of the mission is given a wrist mounted computer from a squirrely looking engineer.

Once everything is loaded the king himself arrives on the dock. "Ahh, my brave servants." He walks forward to shake hands with each of them. "The computers you have each received holds the map of Nor Gathar in case you get separated. You all know what you need to do, good luck."

[Odentin]

Shuvan thanks the Captain and follows her into the ballroom. He takes enough food to fill his stomach and takes it with him to his quarters. He cleans himself and his equipment and eats while reading over the information on his teammates, focusing on their abilities and shortcomings.

After a night of meditation, Shuvan arrives at the hangar much earlier than he should, and waits patiently for the others. He thanks the engineer and, once dismissed, makes his way onto the ship...

[Binks]

After stuffing himself on the food Thrunk left the party to get some sleep. Remembering his instructions to be on his best behavior he made sure to arrive on time, looking at the wrist computer with some confusion before shrugging and trying to attach it to his wrist. He has some trouble figuring out how to make it big enough for his oversized wrist, but eventually manages to get it on without making himself look like too much of a fool.

[Booboopiggies]

After being dismissed for the day, Xet spends a few moments gathering a quick dinner together and precedes to eat it politely while studying the map further, before leaving the room silently and retreating to her bedroom. If she were a more outspoken person or not so good at giving nothing away in her face, she thinks to herself that she may not have been able to hold back comments on how positively barbarian slavery is, or how slimy she finds the king.

The next morning Xet finds herself at the docking bay just before their assigned meet time and accepts the wrist mounted computer from the techie with a small nod and "thank you" before attaching it to her left wrist and fiddling with it for a few moments to get herself acquainted with it; most computer-related things aren't her forte but with a bit of time to get acquainted with it, she should be able to use it without problem.

After shaking hands with the King, although she did remove her hand from his as soon as possible without giving offence, Xet follows in Shuvan's path and boards the ship.

[Grotsnot]

Ooooo new toys. Thanks boss!
Dhab then goes onto the ship to play with his new computer.
I want to try and get admin control on it. Not sure if the computer starts at Indifferent or Friendly. Gonna assume Indifferent for now, if it starts Friendly I get +2+Comp'sIntBonus(CIB) to these first rolls.
First, back up the map itself on my datapad. Figure that way if I break it I'm not totally SoL, just won't get any updates on people's positions. Would this be an Access Information check?
Take 10: 10+11-2 = 19

And then the check to improve access rating:
Take 10: 10+11-2 = 19

(All talking from here assumed to be in Jawaese to myself)
If success on Indifferent (Roll1 greater than or equal to Computer's Will):
*chuckle* Now we're getting somewhere...
Try to bump to Helpful:
Take 10: 10+11+CIB = 21+CIB

If success on Friendly or success on 2nd check:
"Bingo! Now what manner of snoops have the bad men put on you?"
Access Information Check to find out what sort of surveillance functionality the watch has, as well as some more specific information on the map program itself. Notable questions:
Size/Zoomability of the map, whether it's 3-dimensional, any annotations, etc?
Party tracking - how do we show up on the map? Blips? Arrows toward each other? How precise is it? What's the range? Does it show anyone besides the other watches?
Is the map reporting our positions to headquarters?
Any extra embedded devices that might be being used to keep tabs on the party - microphones, cameras, holocorders and the like. If there's any way to hack a device to get enemies to show up on the map (kinda like the Dark Knight sonar for example) that would be the next thing I'd try to do. Also to try and make any spying tricks two-way.
Another important feature I'd like to unlock would be being able to broadcast map updates to the rest of the party. If we find a terminal with building schematics the map doesn't come with I want to be able to add them to this and synch it with everyone.

Putting aside the modifications for later, I'm not sure how the rest would break down into Access Information checks or what the information rating would be. For now I'm gonna just do a single General check into what the watch computer can do.
Take 10: 10+11+CIB = 21+CIB

If there's some insane security on these things and either Improve Access check fails by 5+:
Leave ship (access improval takes one full-round action so should have time) and go up to the engineer. Show him the locked-out machine.
(in Basic) "Umm... oops?"

If either results in a standard failure, retry with
[roll0] (if Friendly add 2+CIB)

I think I covered all the cases, but I took a lot of 10s to make things simpler. The ship ride should be conducive to routine checks, but if you want a real roll for anything, or anything clarified or fixed, let me know.

[Andraia]

Like many of the others, Vek spent a few more minutes getting aquatinted with the map before slipping into the main room to get some food. She was starving (she was always starving) and she made a b-line for the ryll spiced meats that she could spell through the whole meeting. After munching down on a few appetizers, Vek wrapped a few things in a flatbread and wandered out with her makeshift sandwich. She didn’t really have any desire to get mixed up in the gluttony and indulgence, but maybe she could find a guard she could challenge to a race.


= = = = = = =

The next morning she tried her best to appear alert despite the sleep-fog hanging over her head. She would much rather have just stayed in bed and told them to frag off, but she knew that her grumpy mood would pass. Morning person, she was not. She took the offered piece of tech with a half-smile and nod, strapping the small device over her non-mechanical right glove. She didn’t want to take the chance that the computer might affect the function of her electrograpple glove (not that she used it much).

[Perducci]

Ispo stays at the party just long enough to grab a quick bite and heads back toward his ship to check up on her and make sure everything is in order. After taking quite a bit of convincing the guards that he wasn't fleeing, he mentally goes through a detailed pre-flight checklist. A few "lucky" old parts of the ship's systems get a little rub and a pep talk.

* * * * *

In the morning as Tiegrits' men come on board Amira, they find Ispo dozing in the cockpit of the Gymsnor-3 Light Freighter. From first glance, it can be seen that the aging transport has seen its prime come and go. Some of the exterior seems to be patched together with parts from other ships. The interior isn't much better.

He wakes with a start causing a butt of his smoke to fall from his beard as he stands. He cracks his knuckles, stands and walks outside for the meeting. "Mornin'..."

He receives his wrist computer and shrugs. Ispo gives a quick nod and shake to his employer and turns to board his ship. "Welcome aboard Amira mind your heads as you enter." He gives a quick tour of the cockpit, engine bay, sleeping area, etc. "Reckin' its about time to do this thing then..."

[Dienekes]

The band walks onto the Amira and takes different seats as the ship lifts off and heads out into the skies, heading toward Nor Gathar.

[Andraia]

Vek eyed the patchwork ship with interest. It looked like something the kid she used to babysit back on Sullust would have built out of scrap parts, but that was all part of the charm. As everybody filed in and buckled down she slipped into the co-pilot’s seat and made herself comfortable. She smiled at Ispo. “So how fast can this baby go?”

[Odentin]

Shuvan hooks the watch computer to his belt, as it would quickly be broken on his wrist.

Once on the ship, he takes a seat and prepares for the trip. He seems slightly more at ease today than he did last night, though he says nothing unless spoken to.

Though his gaze does seem to linger on the jawa and falleen more than on the others.

[Binks]

Thrunk finds a seat that looks like it can support his weight and sits down. He looks around the ship with interest, comparing it to the other starships he's been on, but remains quiet during the trip.

[Dienekes]

After a relatively short flight to the other side of the planet the ship passes through the enveloping blue force fields that the Hutts had encircled the city with. Smoothly the Amira glided down into the landing bay for the city of Nor Gathar, bristling metropolis filled with varied and colorful aliens.

The Amira was guided to a platform already near full with spaceships. To the left was a large storage ship, and just ahead was a lavish Hutt pleasure barge. Droids and dock hands were busy pulling lose durasteel plates and fixing up the wiring of numerous ships, while different aliens of varying importance tried to conduct business.

As the group walk down off of the Amira's ramp they see the Hutt leave her pleasure barge, a huge slug that only can be called feminine in the lathering of color make-up bubbling and peeling off her face. Around her slaves fanned and catered to her every whims.

Around her, salesmen where offering up whatever they had from liquified toad soups to spice. Beyond her were more sellers and creatures moved about on a busy street as speeders flashed past.

OOC: Alright, the two points are north (money) and southwest(goods) of your current position. Who's holding onto the 6 charges? Where are you of to next? Also, sorry Grotsnot forgot about your post. You unlock the signal that is being sent from each wrist map so your map too can locate all others also wearing the wrist map but no other functions. Also for organizations sake, can you please use spoiler tags [spoiler][/spoiler ] around the different possible outcomes.

[Perducci]

Ispo smiles at Vek's comment and chuckles. "Fast as I tell her I s'pose."

He kicks backs and relaxes most of the flight. Nothing fancy. During the flight he points out some of the custom work he's done with the controls and what button does what to familiarize his copilot... just in case. He eases her down in the port and yells back to the passengers.

"We're here. Git your bells on...time for some business."

[Binks]

Thrunk looks confused by Ispo's comment and glances around to see if there are any bells nearby. He shrugs it off after a moment and heads down the ramp, taking in the scene around him before looking back at the others for instructions.

Anyone got any good reason we should head to one over the other? Flip a coin?

[Odentin]

Shuvan follows the others out, and watches with inner disgust as the hutt leaves "her" pleasure craft. He looks to the others, and speaks quietly, choosing his words with incredible care, "We need to find lodgings before we do any kind of sight-seeing, and we need to do that before our business meetings."

Hopefully the others understand what he is trying to convey...

1. Set up a base of operations and procure transport.
2. Scout the areas to get a feel for the targets.
3. Strike.

[Andraia]

Vek listened to the other pilot attentively, learning the ins and outs of his craft. She was always happy to learn how to fly something new; although she had flown very similar ships back in her days running cargo in the middle rim. She gave the bothan assistance where it was useful, but otherwise stayed out of the way. When they landed at their destination she waited for the others to get off before she did. She strode up alongside the assassin and nodded as he made his suggestions.

“And find ourselves a something to get around in, yeah?” She said brightly, almost about to nudge her pale-skinned teammate lightly with her elbow, before thinking better of it. For some reason she thought that any unwarranted physical contact would end with the offending limb being removed, painfully. “There should be someplace we could find to stay not too far away. Any ideas?”

Would a gather information check be useful at this point? To see if I can find a place for us to stay by talking to some of the merchants/people wandering around?
If so: (take ten) + 12 = 22

[Dienekes]

Vek glances through the map for a moment until she comes across a suitable location. Around a mile away from the spaceport she finds appropriate lodgings, and several miles from that she sees slums where they could stay for free but without comforts.

OOC:
For the record Gather Information checks take 1d6 hours normally and representing things more like bribing, spying, and talking to informants. While this could be accomplished by just looking at the map and asking for directions. I'm not penalizing you at all, just noting what the skill is supposed to be used for, for future reference.

[Perducci]

After following the others to whatever spot is decided, Ispo decides that he's going to try to work his contacts and try to gain any info he can while the others are setting up. He quickly informs the others of his intentions and sets off to the closest watering hole.

Inside he'll ask about possible jobs, shipments, security in the area, etc. All the while swapping stories with the others about who is the best or fastest or most cunning. He keeps his ears perked for any rumors flying around involving the targets.

Gather info-
[roll0]

[Dienekes]

Ispo
Ispo makes his way to a seedy bar filled with the normal miscreants associated with workers at a Hutt controlled city around mid-day. A recording holo was blasting out loud almost overpowering music. A split nosed alien was laughing at a dug who was furiously waving around his drink. Near the corner was a smaller Hutt, high on death sticks, and numerous inhabitants already appeared drunk despite how early in the day it was. A high pitched squeal rang out for a brief minute that nearly cut through the loud music.

Looking over his potential targets Ispo heads toward a mildly drunk looking Thakwaash. The 3 meter tall humanoid loomed over the rest of the bar, his head bouncing along to the music as it took drink after drink. Ispo bought the giant pilot a drink and began feeling for information. They talked for a moment about smuggling until Ispo picks up all he thinks he can learn from him, before the giant staggers off out of the bar, lucky that Thakwaash seemed to have a fairly friendly and talkative dominant personality.

Ispo went about asking a few more questions on how to move product to various other miscreants before feeling he had all the information he was likely to get.

Costs: 50 credits
Information gained: The goods are kept in pens near the main market. Generally high profit stolen goods, spice, and slaves are all kept in those pens. They're relatively easy to access provided you have a reason, such as a smuggler or sellers trying to store their wares for a few days, or even months. There are a few checkpoints and guards that need to be passed but so long as the business is real, and the right palms are greased it shouldn't be a problem. Also, the location doubles as a slave training station though that costs quite a bit more than just storing goods.
The whole process takes 4 hours.

[Andraia]

Vek shares this information with her party members.

(( Urhurhurhur. Lame post is lame, sorry y’all xD . ))

[Odentin]

Shuvan nods, "The slums should be fine."

[Dienekes]

The group decided to live in out in the slums and headed that way. They set up a perimeter while Ispo goes gathering information. Several hours later he returns stinking of cheap alcohol and muck.

[Odentin]

((Thank you.))

As soon as the perimeter is set up, Shuvan departs. He travels on foot to each of the target buildings. He spends a while near each, observing the movements of the guards, as well as possible routes to and from. All the while, he attempts to remain inconspicuous.

Once he returns, he reveals his findings to the group. Unless he gets back after they're all asleep, in which case he meditates for the night and tells them in the morning...

Stealth: [roll0]
Perception: [roll1]

[Dienekes]

Shuvan
Following his map Shuvan makes it first to the crime lords credit storage. Unfortunately he does not find anything particularly useful. The building is large, and the only entrance he sees has two men standing in front of it. They appeared to just be talking, but Shuvan could tell by their stance and demeanor that they were guards.

He stayed in front of that building for another hour but didn't find anything useful. He headed over to the second marker and passed through a large market to get to it. The market was bristling with activity as hundreds of people passed from vendor to vendor. It would be easy to lose someone in such a crowd.

Going further he followed a furniture salesman down to the storage rooms. He saw one checkpoint before entering the building and could not make it any further. As he left he thought he heard a muffled scream, but no one else seemed to take notice.

Shuvan and Ispo would arrive at around the same time early afternoon.

[Andraia]

As the boys all split off in different directions with hardly so much as a 'by your leave', Vek turns to her falleen teammate whom she had not spoken to at all yet. "How about we hit a bar somewhere, have a few drinks, and see if we can't con some poor sucker out of his speeder?"

[Binks]

Thrunk, seeing everyone else depart, decides to setup the perimeter and guard it himself, not being that skilled in communication or information gathering, but being an expert among Gamorreans in static defenses. He keeps an eye out for anyone that might be paying too much attention to his little carved out piece of territory.

I don't expect to spot anything, but would kick myself if I didn't try. Perception to see if anyone's watching/following any of the others as they leave/return or is casing our area. [roll0]

[Dienekes]

Thrunk does not see anything when everyone leaves, though this may change upon their return.

[Odentin]

Shuvan of course makes sure he isn't followed before heading back to the hideout...

[roll0] Perception

[Grotsnot]

I suppose while the others are gone Dhab will just prepare the camp for working on machines since I bungled the real-time to do anything interesting. So I guess just try to clear an area for vehicle(s) and try to scavenge a workbench and 'net connection in our slums zone.

[Dienekes]

Hours later the group reconvenes at their hideout. Thrunk stands vigilant watching for intruders, luckily he does not see anyone following anyone or hiding away in the shadows.

[Odentin]

Once everyone has gathered, Shuvan recounts his observations to the group, "The goods storage is more heavily defended, and should be our first target. The market will be a good place to lose pursuers, though we should have a second speeder in the market to use to make it to the credit storage."

[Andraia]

"Well, hello to you too." Vek greets her snowy-haired companion sarcastically.

[Dienekes]

Thrunk started to grab his axe tighter and prepared for a fight as two speeders started to head straight toward their little hiding spot. It was only a half a second's realization that the girls had returned that stopped him from throwing the axe at the nearest one as the twi'lek and falleen hopped out of their captured vehicles.

Once everyone returned they discussed their plans for a short time, thanks to Shuvan's reconnaissance they agreed to make their move on the goods storage.

Following the map they headed toward the marketplace, parking a short distance away they made their way through the crowd of aliens shouting and peddling their wares to anyone who would listen. Several hutts moved from vender to vender having their slaves handle all the transactions to acquire whatever they pleasured.

After they made it to the other side they finally saw the storage checkpoints. Split by a vibro-fence a tough looking Gamorrean stood watched to see the papers of everyone who entered the underground storage facility. A line was formed from the Gamorrean, filled with a human spice trader who had workers moving a speeder full of the expensive drug, a Gektl egg trader whose designs were some of the finest paintings that could be expected, and a Gand slaver standing before a line of half starved Twi'leks in ragged clothing, each tied together by a long piece of rope.


OOC
A bit about my GMing style. I'm not going to spoon feed you a way to enter, I expect you guys to plan out how to go about your business. But this is the bare-bones information I feel is necessary to do that. Do not be afraid to ask further questions here or PM me, or make a few perception or knowledge checks to get anything further. I've left some puzzle pieces that make sense in my mind, but since you're not me, and don't know what I'm planning, you might miss them or come up with something completely different than I expected. It's all cool.

I feel the need to make some explanations for the jumps here. Shuvan said that the goods storage is more heavily fortified and that they should go there first. Since no one objected I just put you on that road. Sorry if you had different plans, but I am trying to jump start this thing again.

Also on the speeders, Vek exclaimed the desire to acquire them while everyone was out (and I actually had a mini-mission based around it), however again after the months delay I don't want to push getting to the actual mission any further back. So instead I am cutting the potential villain/ally you could have gained completely from the story and just rolled to see what you acquired. Lucky for you buggers I finally rolled decently, so two very nice speeders became yours.

As for the missing characters, Xet drove one of the two stolen landspeeders in, and Ispo will drive one of them along with Vek to get to the marketplace. From this point on, Ispo and Vek are becoming an NPC. Now I despise DMPCs and am already planning a way to phase them out of the game. For the rest of this part of the adventure they will be back guarding the speeders.

Again I apologize for taking such shortcuts, but I felt it was necessary with the current circumstances. I will try not to railroad you folks in such a way again.

[Binks]

Thrunk looks around the area as the group arrives at the storage center. Spotting the Gamorrean guard Thrunk sizes him up, hoping he can give some useful insight on the guard's attitude.

Yay, it's back. Perception on the Gamorrean to see if Thrunk can learn anything about him? Clan, level of boredness, etc.
Perception: [roll0]

[Dienekes]

The Gamorrean looks bored, definitely bored. But despite the fact he is still doing his job very well. Making sure to look through the documentation and identify them before letting anyone pass. He just stops and sighs after each trader and looks forlornly at his pike. You can't make out any further information about him.

[Odentin]

Shuvan observes the area for a long moment, looking for surveillance devices or anything else that would prevent them from merely killing the guard. If there are, he instead looks for a weak point in the vibro fence that the might exploit in some way...

Perception: [roll0]

Edit: Or not.

[Dienekes]

Shuvan sees nothing that would prevent the killing of the guard outside the obvious, such as the crowd trying to get in, and more people moving about within the structure.

[Binks]

Thrunk grunts quietly, his speech translated to "Guard out front doing job good. Looking hard at papers. Hard to get past...Thrunk could try distract?"

[Odentin]

Shuvan wonders briefly if either of the gammoreans are female, then goes back to scanning the crowd, looking for anyone that someone in their group could pass for easily enough...

Try this again..

Perception: [roll0]

Edit: Really? This dice gen just doesn't want me to be anything but blind...

[Dienekes]

Shuvan sees mostly brutes and movers along with the actual traders. There are a few humans driving the speeders carrying the spice, the Gektl had mostly other Gektl handling his fragile eggs, the Gand slaver had an odd assortment of aliens as his slave holders, you see one of them is a Gamorrean, and the rest are all the Twi'lek slaves.

[Odentin]

Shuvan shakes his head, "We need a set of those papers, and identification to match."

[Binks]

"Maybe we make distraction, lure guard away, slip past? Or steal papers, make copies? Thrunk not really good at sneaky stuff..."

[Andraia]

“Well, you’re the boss-man, Snowy.” Vek joked lightly as she inspected Vana for damage. She was in pristine condition, no surprise, but it was something of a nervous habit. The twi’lek would have much rather have waited with the speeders, but for some reason they thought that there should be one semi-competent fighter left behind… slightly annoyed, Vek took her own turn at trying to spot another possible way into the building. “If its forgeries we need, I might be able to find something. I know people.”

Rolling a spot check, just for the sake of it. [roll0]

[Odentin]

"If it was just me, it wouldn't he a problem."

He sighs softly, thinking to himself a moment, "If you can get some forgeries, then that will make this much easier."

[Andraia]

Vek raised one painted eyebrow and slipped Vana back into her concealed holster. “I’ll see what I can find.”

The twi'lek slipped away from the group quietly and went to put in some calls to a few of her underworld contacts.

I assume now would be a good time for a gather information check. (I am a bit out of touch with this system.)
[roll0] / [roll1]

The description of the friends in low places feat says you can use a gather information to get a licence for a restricted or military object. Could it also be used to get a licence for access to restricted or military location?

[Andraia]

Vek raised one painted eyebrow and slipped Vana back into her concealed holster. “I’ll see what I can find.”

The twi'lek slipped away from the group quietly and went to put in some calls to a few of her underworld contacts.

I assume now would be a good time for a gather information check. (I am a bit out of touch with this system.)
[roll0] / [roll1]

The description of the friends in low places feat says you can use a gather information to get a licence for a restricted or military object. Could it also be used to get a licence for access to restricted or military location?

[Andraia]

Vek raised one painted eyebrow and slipped Vana back into her concealed holster. “I’ll see what I can find.”

The twi'lek slipped away from the group quietly and went to put in some calls to a few of her underworld contacts.

I assume now would be a good time for a gather information check. (I am a bit out of touch with this system.)
[roll0] / [roll1]

The description of the friends in low places feat says you can use a gather information to get a licence for a restricted or military object. Could it also be used to get a licence for access to restricted or military location?

[Dienekes]

Vek
I'll allow it, but you'll have to roleplay for it though. You know a forger on planet who might be able to give you the necessary files. He's a Caamasi named Elgose, and you know his holo-number.

Also, would you mind posting your character sheet in the OOC thread, I can't seem to find yours.

[Andraia]

OOC
Good, I was hoping I would get to RP for it XD .

Sorry about the three hundred copies of that post x____x . Freakin' 503 errors. Christmas. I think
I have just about had it with this site. I think I get errors more often than I get loads. Seriously man.

But yeah, Vek's profile has always been linked in the second post of the OOC thread ^____^;; .

I'm responding here rather than in the OOC thread because it seemed appropriate.

[Odentin]

Shuvan watches the pilot wander off, then turns back to the gate. If the complex weren't underground, he might attempt to move inside on his own and clear the way, but as things are...not really viable.