EotE: Rogues and Renegades (Invite Only)

[drbraininajar]

EPISODE I: SHADOWS OF THE BLACK SUN (http://starwars.com/play/online-activities/crawl-creator/index.jsp?cs=sudfsfahvq)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4z6Ks6uUiTc/Ud1Sy0UfCWI/AAAAAAAAHhM/tElj8yPl-q4/s630-fcrop64=1,26c20000d70cffff/Coruscant_at_night.jpg

Coruscant. An entire planet consumed by a single sprawling city. Its uppermost levels once gleamed brightly as the center of the Galactic Republic. Since the establishment of the New Order, however, it has taken on the mantle of Imperial Center, and the shining beacon of the Senate Tower has been replaced with the looming spires of the Empire's military and bureaucratic compounds, which cast long shadows over the endless skyline. But though the upper levels may have "changed management", little has changed for the citizens of Coruscant's lower reaches. Here, powerful crime syndicates vie for control of every dark alley and twisting street, and the ever-present specter of the Underworld Police keeps every citizen anxiously glancing over their shoulder. Crime is a way of life down here, and a lucrative if dangerous way to make a living. The Pyke Syndicate, an influential family of spice dealers, have reached out to an unusual group of "freelance troubleshooters" to assist in their latest scheme--you, the crew of the Tachyon Mantra.
The Pykes had heard of your daring exploits through their vast network of contacts throughout the galaxy, and have tasked you with tracking down the mysterious assailant who robbed them of their latest shipment of valuable glitterstim spice. The Pykes know only that the assailant is connected to Black Sun, one of the most powerful crime syndicates in all the galaxy. Any further information will have to be gleaned from Black Sun's own records, which you were sent to extract from one of their many facilities on Coruscant. The plan would have gone off without a hitch--if the building's alarm hadn't been tripped in the process. Now you must escape the compound, and the pursuing Black Sun henchmen, if you are to survive to make any use of the information now downloaded to the datapad of your group's slicer, Sophia.

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080627033230/starwars/images/7/7b/CoruscantTrain2.jpg

Sirens blare and flash through the Black Sun compound as three figures make a mad scramble for their lives. Their destination--a nearby landing pad where their "getaway speeder" is parked. Overlooking the artificial chasm formed between rows of towering mega-skyscrapers, and lit by the neon shimmer of holographic signs, the landing pad is bustling with activity. Droid piloted taxis come and go. People mill about chattering to one another over the whizzing airspeeder traffic in the durasteel canyons that form the city's thoroughfares.

The crowd scatters, evacuating the landing pad as you approach at full speed, Black Sun agents close behind. Blaster bolts scream past your heads as the pursuers fire on you. Just as it looks like you'll make it to the speeder for your no doubt daring escape, a silvery round object arcs over you, and lands in your speeder. The resulting explosion reveals it to be a grenade! The blast incinerates the inner parts of the vehicle, leaving it a charred husk of scorched metal. You all remain unharmed, as you had not yet reached the speeder,but the Black Sun agents have begun taking up positions on the landing pad, intent on putting an end to your interference.

2 Pairs of Black Sun goons. One pair at Short Range from you, one at Medium. You are within Short range of your now wrecked speeder, Medium range to the edge of the semicircular platform. Nearby parked speeders, piles of refuse, and stacks of crates can be used as cover. A couple of droid-piloted taxis hover at the edge of the platform expectantly.

Bad Guy Group A Initiative (Short Range)
Initiative (http://orokos.com/roll/156737): 1eA: 0 (A)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156737)
Bad Guy Group B Initiative (Medium Range)
Initiative (http://orokos.com/roll/156738): 1eA: 2 (S/S)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156738)
Roll Destiny and Initiative....GO!

[Minstrel Wyrm]

When flames bloom from the rental getaway speeder, Keph'ryah makes a grab for the blond slicer and comes to a skidding stop, quickly turning their backs on the explosion. "Kark!" he yells, hurriedly looking around. There goes our deposit ... Then, deciding upon a nearby stack of crates, the lean man in scratched Kiffu Guardian's armour hustles her into the cover they are offering.

"En, find us a replacement! And fast!" he calls out to their Rodian accomplice, before returning fire with his heavy blaster.



Cool (Presence) for Initiative (http://orokos.com/roll/156742): 2eA: 0 (A/A, A/A)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a-a.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156742)

Four Advantages? How was that again, can I use them like those from other combat rolls? If so, I would like to allocate them like this:

2 Advantages: Perform an immediate free Maneuver to get Sophia into cover, as described above. [If not possible, I'll use my standard Maneuver at the first opportunity.]
1 Advantage: Notice a single important point in the conflict.
1 Advantage: Add 1 Boost die to the next active ally's check.


I'll wait with my Action until Initiative order is determined, of course; the Maneuver description was just in case. :smallwink: Oh, and if that one Maneuver should allow for it, I'll join Sophia in that cover; if not, she's the priority.


Correction, as per our OOC exchange just now:

4 Advantages: Move Sophia into the best available cover.

:smallsmile:


And ...
For the Destiny Pool (http://orokos.com/roll/156743): 1eF: 0 (LS/LS)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/f-ls-ls.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156743)

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The blue Rodian is first out the building after his burly Kiffar companion kicks the door open, and he races towards the getaway speeder with blaster in hand.

Just in time for a front-row view of it exploding. Nardi throws one hand up over his eyes as the flash of light illuminates the night. He growls a curse and looks around even as he skitters back to the group, taking cover behind the boxes.

"Soong peetch alay che da!" he says to his companions as large, black eyes settle on the inviting row of airspeeders. "You two cover me, I'm gonna pinch one of the other speeders!"

Destiny (http://orokos.com/roll/156772): 1eF: 0 (LS/LS)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/f-ls-ls.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156772)

Initiative - Cool (http://orokos.com/roll/156771): 2eA+1eP: 4 (S, S/S) (Tr)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-tr.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156771)

I'll use that Triumph to Upgrade my next check, whatever it may be. :smallwink:

[Severance28]

Sophie finds herself getting shoved behind a stack of large crates by the tall Kiffu. She mutters after the Rodian: "I hope he doesn't pick that hovertruck. That would be a nightmare; Santhe Security does all their wiring backwards... still gives me a headache." Pausing for a second, she turns to her larger companion: "How bad is it? Think you can handle a few low-life thugs?" She pulls out and readies her blaster, making sure the stun setting is switched off.

Iniative (http://orokos.com/roll/156785): 2eA: 2 (-, S/S)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156785)Force (http://orokos.com/roll/156786): 1eF: 0 (DS)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/f-ds.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156786)

[Minstrel Wyrm]

"Not really worried about that - but your safety's more important than some 'manly shootout'." Keph'ryah winks at Sophia, a lopsided grin on his tan face.

Crouched down with his back to the crates, he quickly looks out and fires his heavy DC-15s at the two closest Black Sun guards. "Let's give Nardi some cover, but don't get cocky, 'kay?"



All right, if I calculated it correctly, here's a



Ranged (light) attack roll, at Short range (http://orokos.com/roll/156791): 1eA+2eP+1eD+1eS: 3 (S) (S/S, A/A) (Th) (Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/s-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156791)


Advantages and Threats canceled out, so 3 Successes.

Stang, unsure how to read that ... if the first Success is "used up" for making the attack hit it's target, Keph'ryah does 9 damage. If all Successes are added to the damage, he does 10 damage instead.

Now that my uncertainty has been taken care of: 10 damage!

Have at thee, knaves! :smallbiggrin:

[drbraininajar]

No sooner do the closest thugs step out from behind a large pillar to line up their shot than one is slammed full in the chest with a searing blaster bolt, and the the other is grazed, stopping just short of stepping into the line of fire. The surviving thug dives back behind the pillar as his ally bowls over backward in a shower of sparks, a thin trail of smoke curling up from the fallen bruiser.

[Severance28]

Sophia returns Keph'ryah's smile with a straight face, although he would have noticed amusement in her eyes if he hadn't been focusing on the shot. "with you around it's hard not to". She pops out of cover to give the other nearby thug a blast wound.

Shooting a thug (http://orokos.com/roll/156800): 2eA+1eP+1eD+1eS: 5 (S/S, S/S) (S) (Th/Th) (Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/s-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156800)

10 damage, but 3 threats. Don't have my book on me, but I'll take them as strain/ overextending herself (losing cover for this round) unless you have a better idea

As she pegs a thug, she turns back to Keph'ryah and smiles for real: "besides, what shouldn't I be cocky about?"

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The second Nardi hears the Kiffu open up on their pursuers with his rifle, Nardi starts dashing for the line of speeders in a low crouch, blaster still out. His eyes flash from speeder to speeder, a growing sense of dread building in his stomach for several seconds. "Too old, too slow, too big and bulky, cop speeder might be fast and armed, but too risky, and-----is that an XJ-6 painted in Picosecond Pepper?! Oh, that is juuuuuuust right!" He can't help but let out a giddy laugh.

Nardi runs towards the red hot-rod speeder. How could he not pick the XJ-6? I only hope our friends can figure out a way for me to get it back to the Mantra, he thinks, vaulting into the driver's seat. In a flash he's removed the ignition housing and is fingers-deep in the activation panels, clipping and twisting wires and mostly just hoping for the best. "This...is...trickier than that PL-90 i jacked on Cato Neimoidia. But she's three times as fast and only nine-tenths as fancy, aren't you baby?" Nardi chuckles to himself as he works, pausing to run a free hand over the glossy black instrument panels. "Now don't be screaming, wake up nice and easy..."

I'll take 2 Strain to get a second maneuver.

2 Maneuvers to run to the speeder, Action is to hotwire it.

Skullduggery!
2eA+1eP+1eD+1eC: 3 (S, A) (S/S) (Th) (Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/c-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156805)

[drbraininajar]

Threat Resolution:
Severance-Technically just one threat can pull you out of cover temporarily. With three, I can pull you out of cover and give the bad guys a free maneuver...:smallamused: Time to be evil.....

Whiskey-Take 1 strain as the speeder loudly purrs to life, attracting the attention of the remaining thugs.

Despite his attempts at caution, the second closest assailant fares much the same as the first, this time to a blaster fired by a slight blonde girl who, due to her stature, had to half climb up the crate to take her shot, making her an easier target. The second group of thugs see their chance and move forward, taking up positions near their fallen comrades.

Just as they begin sizing up their shots, they hear the signature growl of a high performance engine. One shouts to the other "The Rodian's getting away! Frag these two before we lose him!" He's heard loud and clear, and one pulls out a grenade, lobbing it in the direction of the exposed slicer.

FRAG OUT! (http://orokos.com/roll/156900): 1eP+1eA+2eD: 2 (S/S) (A/A) (Th, Th/Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156900)

Agh, yeowch. 10 damage to our spunky slicer :smalleek: You OK there, Sev?
The grenade sails over Sophie's head, landing directly behind her before it explodes with a concussive burst, pushing her against the crate with the force of a charging Huttball player, nearly stealing the breath from her lungs.

The two then hastily turn their attention to Nardi, tensed up and ready to pounce toward the speeder-jacking Rodian at the slightest opening.

Enemy Threat Resolution:
Wish I could set them back more for you, but 1 strain it is, unless you guys would like to chime in with something else worth one threat.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

The Kiffar throws up his left arm to protect himself against the sudden explosion, but gets rammed against the crates as well. "Blast it!", he grunts. Well said, Captain Obvious ... Looking around for Sophia, he quickly rises and pulls her down from her exposed position half on top of the crate.

"Dammit, lady, that's exactly what I meant with cocky!" Leaning out for a short look, he quickly fires a shot at the golden-eyed Arcona whose intent focus on Nardi made him neglect his cover at the wrong moment.

The aggressive bark-howl of the mean-looking handblaster and the furious shower of sparks as the scarlet bolt of energy hammers into the pillar make the Arcona jerk back hastily. Too hastily - he violently collides with his Balosar pal, and both tumble out from behind their pillar. One to the left, one to the right, both swearing and shaking their heads to clear them.

"Talk to me, girl! How bad is it?" Keph'ryah ducks behind the stack of crates again, worried about his companion.



Well, if you say 1 Threat's enough to pull someone out of cover temporarily, I'll happily take you up on it! :smallwink:

They moved into short range, right? Then here's my



Ranged (light) attack roll (http://orokos.com/roll/156930): 1eA+2eP+1eD: 0 (A) (A/A, Tr) (F)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-tr.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156930)


And a really interesting one it seems to be! *blinks* No hit, but I have netted 2 Advantages and my very first Triumph - yay! :smallbiggrin:

All right. Let's see ... there you go:

2 Advantages: Add 1 Setback to the targeted character's next check.
1 Triumph: Negate the targeted enemy's defensive bonuses until the end of the round.

Where Minions are concerned, "targeted enemy" means the whole Minion group, right? Otherwise, I'll change my description!

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The Rodian whoops as the supercharged speeder (loudly) comes to life underneath him, despite being shocked by the wiring a couple times. "Chas kee nyowkee koo chooskoo!" he chuckles as he pats the consoles. Just in time to hear a loud explosion. "Those guys are having a little too much fun with grenades. Bona jai kachu, skocha-kloonkee!" Nardi lines up a shot at their pursuers and pulls the trigger, sending blaster bolts at their foes from a whole different angle.

Aim and shoot.

: 3eA+1eP+1eB+2eD: 1 (A, A, A) (S/A) (A) (-, -)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d--.png (http://orokos.com/roll/156939)
7 damage.

3 Advantage: activate crit! [roll0]: Difficulty of target's next check increases by 1.
2 Advantage: add S to the enemies' next check.

[drbraininajar]

Crits against minion groups mean instant defeat of one minion, whiskeyjack.

The barrage of fire from these data thieves has the two remaining thugs running scared...until one takes a blaster bolt to the brainpan. The other falls backward out of shock, eyes wide with terror. Scrambling to his feet, the heavily wounded Arcona shouts in Huttese "I ain't getting paid enough for this!" before dashing off into the night.

A rare moment of quiet settles over the landing pad. On Coruscant, things are never quiet for long though. Without the shrieks of blaster fire, you can at last hear the whirring sounds of Coruscant traffic and the grind of distant heavy machinery. A pair of fire suppression astromechs come wheeling out of hidden turbolifts in the nearby pillars, setting their sights on what was once your getaway speeder. It's as if the whole area was holding its breath for a moment and now is letting it out again. Your next objective is to decrypt and analyze the data you were able to obtain, which will take something with a little more kick than Sophia's custom datapad. Your contact for the next leg of the mission is Cho'pa'ailor, a Besalisk mechanic working as an informant for your employers. He knows the ins and outs of Coruscant as well as anyone, and the computers at his shop may be powerful enough to let Sophia crack the encryption on this data.

If you're going with Sophia having a decryption rig aboard the ship, you're welcome to use that instead. Just head to the spaceport where you parked and you can contact Chop'pa'ailor from there when you're ready.

[Severance28]

Sophia falls off the crates she was perched on, muttering something very unladylike under her breath. "Don't say I told you..." she starts at the Kiffar, until she's interrupted by a cough. "I'll be fine. Just have to get to the- oh, look at that. Old Nardi got through for us. Help me up will you?" she says, surreptitiously wiping the blood that got on her hand when she coughed off on the nearby crate.

Walking was not that pleasant, but Sophie didn't want Keph'ryah or Nardi to see how bad she felt. She got into the ship, and then shakily pulled out her datapad to review that it wasn't damaged, and the information was at least intact, if still encoded. "Let's get back to the Tachyon Mantra.", she says, stowing the datapad again.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

Keph'ryah doesn't stop to argue, but helps Sophia up and brings her to the airspeeder Nardi had chosen, all the while scanning the area for more Black Sun guards. As soon as all of them are in the speeder, he motions for the Rodian to take them out of there as quickly as possible, then turns back to the slicer.

"And now I ask again: How bad is it? Don't even try to tell me it's only a scratch or somethin'," Keph'ryah growls, turning in his seat towards Sophia and wincing for a moment. "your leather jacket doesn't look that much stronger than my damn armour, and you were closer to the blast."

He reaches around for the medpac fastened to his belt.

[drbraininajar]

At Sophia's current wound level (5/12), the Medicine check would be Average. Healing her to above half her wound threshold through a stimpack or something reduces the check to Easy. You have enough time to attempt this Medicine check before the next encounter.

Merging into the Coruscant traffic, you make your way in the direction of the spaceport. Your new airspeeder purrs like a manka cub, and a quick check of the glove compartment reveals a pair of tinted glasses that, while not exactly sized for a Rodian, are quite stylish.

Unfortunately, you're not out of the woods yet. Traffic slows to a crawl as it nears a massive ray shield array. Several pairs of hovering pylons project force fields between them, forming a vertical line of roadblocks halting traffic. Each one is manned by a pair of Police Droids on blue-painted speeder bikes. They seem to be briefly stopping a few speeders at a time before momentarily lowering the shield to let them pass. You are now caught in one of these lines, like every driver above and below you.

This could be trouble. You have a minute or two to make yourselves look less suspicious before reaching the roadblocks or look around for another way out.

Average Cool or Discipline check from each of you to "fly casual", or Average Perception to look for a way out. If you come up with another plan, lay it out in a post below and we'll figure out what check it is.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

Nardi resists the urge to slam his hands on the wheel in frustration and, he must admit, a cold rock of fear growing in his belly. Instead, he turns on the speeder's broadcast receiver and tries to find some local news, or at least good music. "Two scraped-up humans going through a Coruscant cop checkpoint. With an alien driver. In a boosted hot rod speeder," Nardi grumbles, his antennae twitching agitatedly. "Not good, not good at all. While you're busy bleeding, help me look for a better option than sitting this out." He starts examining the traffic with his big, black, beady eyes and sighs again. "If not, just follow my lead when we get up to the cop stop. And try to hide the blood at least!"

Perception with 2 Assists

2eA+1eP+2eB+2eD: 2 (S/A, A) (S/A) (-, A/A) (Th/Th, Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157066)

Lots of success and a couple leftover Advantages!

[drbraininajar]

Two Successes=two possible ways out. Ether one is a Hard Piloting (Planetary) check.

Ahead of you to the left,a few levels down, there's a narrow tunnel often used by maintenance crews and other service vehicles. It'd be a squeeze, but managing it would deter pursuers. Looking ahead, it also becomes clear that the force field is not continuous. There are small gaps above and below each lane--just wide enough for a speeder or two.

And here's your Advantages :smallwink:
Over the radio, you also catch a local news announcement:
..."In other news, the construction efforts on a new pipeline in the Vendaar Thoroughfare are still underway. Thankfully, the Ministry of Transport has wasted no time in setting up Police Droid detour stations to direct traffic around the construction site. Citizens should be prepared to cooperate with the droids' instructions and have their ident-cards ready..."
Vendaar Thoroughfare? That's just ahead!

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The blue Rodian is clearly getting more and more agitated with every passing second, continuously looking back, up, and down to catch sight of the inevitable Black Sun pursuit. "Should've picked one of those clunkers, at least it'd be, what's the word, unobtrusive. Shoulda pinched an old common model or the cop car, but this one, Nardi, you really just had to pick this one, didn't you?" he mutters. The police droids, the slow-moving traffic (when pursuit must be certain to follow shortly)... "I don't need UUMV, I don't need GTA, and I especially don't need DWA. You know what that is, right Keph? Driving While Alien, capital offense on half the Core Worlds these days," he groans as the traffic edges forward. And the radio report clinches it for him.

"Citizens should be prepared to cooperate with the droids' instructions and have their ident-cards ready..."

"Yeah, nope. Nope nope nope. Not sitting through this thing one more second. You two are human, or human enough, but me? Nope. Keph, you might regret having such a good eye for escape routes today. Just be ready to shoot whatever comes after us. Oh, and both of you? Hold on tight and don't vomit on the leather."

Nardi kicks the speeder's turbofans into high gear for a moment, letting them rev up before he pulls out of the traffic lane in a tight descending turn, aiming for the maintenance tunnel.

Pilot: Planetary to drive this thing. The B is from the speeder's Handling +1.

4eA+1eB+3eD: 2 (A/A, S/A, S, A) (A) (-, Th, Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157077)

Not sure what I can spend those Advantages on...

[drbraininajar]

The Picosecond Pepper sport speeder lets out an almost excited roar as Nardi fires it up and descends into a vertigo-inducing bank turn.

Above, two Police Droids notice the rogue speeder and take off on their hoverbikes to attempt pursuit. "Halt miscreant! You are in violation of Imperial Transport Edict #786737385978557....."

Nardi manages to get inside the tunnel, and as he looks over his shoulder for pursuers, he notices the access corridor's bulkhead slowly closing, creating a groaning, grinding noise as it does. Seems as though you got in here just in time. The question is, will it be enough to keep the bots in blue off your tail?

The closing bulkhead forces a setback die onto the Police Droids' Piloting check to pursue.

Piloting: Will they catch you? (http://orokos.com/roll/157085): 2eA+1eB+3eD+1eS: -1 (-, A/A) (A/A) (Th, Th, F/Th) (-)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/s--.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157085)

The droids make it...just in time to have to suddenly halt their bikes as the bulkhead grinds shut. In your speeder's rearview mirror, you think you see one of them put its fingers up to its head as though talking on a comm.

For now though, you're safe enough. You should have time to lick your wounds and plan your next move. These maintenance tunnels run throughout the city, and as long as you know which direction you need to go, you should be able to get to either the spaceport or Cho'pa'ailor's garage safely...you hope.

[Severance28]

Sophia winces slightly as she settles into the speeder. She's also starting to feel a bit ill. "I'll be fine let's fix yo-" she gets cut off again as she gets attacked by another fit of coughing. She can't hide the blood on her hand this time. With a defeated voice she says: Alright, it's not pretty. I feel like a Bantha on Tuskan holiday, I'm covered in bruises from the impact from when I hit the crate, including a few places where the impact broke the skin. Internal bleeding judging from the blood." she pauses to cough again. "...here, I'd better not let you keep that. We can fix some of the external issues now, and once we get access to Bacta I can deal with the internal... And I'll look at you once my head stops swimming" Sophie says, taking the Medkit after wiping her hands off on a tissue. Sophia then sanitizes her hands from a vial in the kit itself. "Here, hold this topical pain neutralizer while I pull out the..."

Medicine:Medicine (http://orokos.com/roll/157097): 1eP+3eA+2eD+1eS+1eB: 2 (A/A) (-, S, S/A) (F/Th, Th) (Th) (S)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/s-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b-s.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157097)

Net: 2 Successes, no threat
Could be better, could be worse. I'll take it.


When the group approaches the checkpoint, Sophie tries to call Nardi down: "itll be alright, Nardi. Just fly casual. They're just redirecting traffic... Here, I can drive if you're so worried... Nardi? Don't go for it. We'll be fine here. Nardi? NARDI!" as the speeder rapidly drops, the feeling of illness returns to Sophie, and she just manages to get her head off the side before hurling; a mixture of blood and vile that splatters on the car and into the depths below. "gross", she says, wiping off her mouth. "And nice maneuver, Nardi, even if it wasn't the most comfortable. How good a look do you think they got? Should we get back to the ship or try and divert their progress?"

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

Cackling as he sees the doors slam shut behind him, Nardi slows the speeder considerably, taking the twists and turns to do his best and confound any future pursuit. "I'd say divert. The car could have a tracker on it, would need to fry that. This XJ-6 is a fine ride but I won't risk the security of the Mantra for a hot rod. Even a hot rod painted Picosecond Pepper Red."

Nardi looks over at the two crammed into the passenger seat, the slicer wiping her mouth. "At least you didn't spew in the cab," he offers. "And as long as you don't fancy yourself a rocket fuel-drinking Devaronian, that mess shouldn't have hurt the paint. Where to, friends? Best get out of the tunnel before too long. The XJ-6's speed is the redeeming feature we've got right now, but her downside is how recognizable she is. Let's try and find Cho'pa'ailor'...though I'm not about to let this beauty go to a chop shop. Maybe we can get a paint job done."

He turns down the radio and starts off through Coruscant's underbelly.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

"And I'll look at you once my head stops swimming."


Keph'ryah shakes his head in disbelief. "You'll do nothing of the sort. I've been beaten up worse than this, and I was still able to lie about without a handhold." He takes hold of the pain neutralizer and follows Sophia's instructions attentively and carefully.




* * * * *



"Yeah, let's play it cool, Nardi. Sophia's probably right." Nevertheless, Keph'ryah scans the surroundings with a practiced gaze. "Should they start to get suspicious, you could drop us a few levels and to the left, see that maintenance tunnel?"

At the news announcement, he turns his gaze back to their Rodian driver. "Sounds dangerous, but maybe also an alternati― NARDI, NOT RIGHT NOW! Ooooh, kark!"

Hastily, the Kiffar makes sure that Sophia and he himself are strapped in securely before looking back for the pursuers doubtlessly behind them. Two droid cops ... better not shoot them, would only make matters worse. Hm, maybe ... Keph'ryah casts about for potential obstacles to pull down with a few well-aimed shots.

"Could've sworn it was Edict 558, not 557 ..." he mutters drily, then jerks his head around when he hears the grinding of the closing bulkhead. When do I finally learn not to let him drive?! He tries to pull Sophia's head down, but Nardi already dove under the bulkhead, almost slicing off their windscreen!

"You'll be the death of us one day, you crazy Rodian ..." he half groans, half laughs. "One hell of a maneuver, though!" He looks back at the closed bulkhead, then around. "Diversion sounds good, even though we need to find a place for some proper medical treatment for our slicer. Nardi, if you can find a way up, that might be the best option - they'll never expect us to go for the better levels. 'Miscreants' tend to go down to hide."

[Severance28]

"I agree. And part of the reason criminals will travel downwards is because they tend to know the ins and outs; the hiding holes. We don't have that advantage, so it would actually be worse for us to travel downwards, despite the relative greater number of hiding spots... and the XJ-6 will stand out much less up there. Besides, driving one of these babies around the lower levels is just asking for trouble, even without the cops on the lookout."

Turning back to Keph'ryah, Sophia says: "We some time now, I'll take a look at you"

Medicine for Keph'ryah (http://orokos.com/roll/157114): 3eA+1eP+1eD+1eB: -1 (S, A, A/A) (A/A) (F/F) (-)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f-f.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b--.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157114)

Sorry Minstrel, looks like Sophie is still suffering head trauma :smalltongue:

Drbraininajar: anything I can get for 5 advantages?

As Sophie tries to perform diagnostic and bandage Keph'ryah, she can't seem to stop her head from swimming. Despite performing some decent self-treatment, she still felt dizzy. He was right, I should be more careful She keeps trying though; she mutters a few things under her breath, hits Keph'ryah in the forehead with the kit's flashlight while trying to check for a concussion, and wraps a bandage wrong twice in a row before giving up and shrugging apologetically. "Sorry, Keph. I'm going to have to take a rain check on treating you. Good thing is it doesn't look like you're seriously hurt. A few bruises, you'll be sore for a few days, but fine. No concussion, which is good, and lucky. I'm gonna try and relax for a few minutes, if I can." Sophie leans back in her seat and closes her eyes, hoping for a few minutes of peace and quiet.

[drbraininajar]

Sophia's unstable condition makes it hard for her to concentrate on medical duties, but she's gotten a good look at Keph's damage, and was able to at least apply enough bacta to give a standard stimpack a generous kick.

All Medicine checks done by Sophia on Keph this adventure are upgraded once in her favor.

Cho'pa'ailor, or "Chopper" as he's sometimes called, keeps shop in what might be called the "lower middle class" area of Coruscant--dingy short-order diners, dive bars, and tons of machine shops and factories. It's not exactly the Palace District, but it's not exactly Level 1313 either. Chopper's also in good with the Pykes, so he may be of some assistance should you need information or resources.

Rolling a Force Die to decide what spaceport you're in
Spaceport Roulette! (http://orokos.com/roll/157145): 1eF: 0 (DS)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/f-ds.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157145)

The Pykes unfortunately could not get you into one of their "protected" spaceports. Something about "not wanting to tip their hand" or some such cryptic reason. The Mantra set down in a fairly standard commercial spaceport used by cargo freighters and mid-grade passenger shuttles. It has its pickpockets and conmen about, to be sure, but you're unlikely to get mugged at least. The main downside is that if the cops come calling, your employers can't lift a hand to back you up.

Sophia's personal decryption rig aboard the ship should certainly be enough to crack the data. You've been told Chopper's equipment should suffice as well, but you've never seen it in person.

If you want to look for other locations that may have the facilities you need, a Hard Knowledge (Core Worlds) or Knowledge (Underworld) check is what you'll be making.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The Rodian slows his breathing, looking pointedly at a scrawled designation on one of the ferrocrete walls before he revs the speeder into motion again. "I don't plan to take her down too deep and I think I know how to get to Chopper's from here. Can probably arrange for a new paint job for this beauty too, unless you really want to head back to the Mantra first. I'm just thinking, why head all the way back to the port just to turn back around, when the cops might be looking for a red XJ-6. Either way, we need to head somewhere that isn't here, and fast. Those droids could get that hatch opened any time, or come in through the next nearest maintenance entrance."

[Minstrel Wyrm]

"Agreed on heading to greener pastures, but those two droids won't be our only problem," Keph'ryah objects. "They'll be sure to have contacted other cops to try and cut off our escape routes. Not sure how many there are, and whether they'll deem us important enough to cover all of them, but they'll definitely start with the more likely routes we might take."

Surveying the area, he allows Sophia to check his wounds. "As for where to go first - ouch! You almost poked my eye there! - Chopper's probably the best choice," he says, nodding to Nardi.

When their slicer gives up on treating him, Keph'ryah gives her an encouraging smile. "No worries, just take a bacta/painkiller injection from the medpac, and then see that you get a little rest. If Nardi gets too adventurous at the controls, I'll try to wrest them away from him." With a wink, he returns his attention to their surroundings again.



Here, for lack of knowing an exact difficulty, have a preliminary ...


Average Perception (Cunning) roll (http://orokos.com/roll/157221): 1eA+1eP+2eD: 2 (S) (S/A) (Th, Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157221)

... for keeping a watchful eye out. Keph'ryah is especially looking for dangers, but maybe something useful like such a terminal catches his eye?

The threat I'd interpret as Keph Straining his eyes (and ears) to not miss anything important.

[Severance28]

Sophie's eyes flicker open: "Going to sleep is the last thing I want to do with a possible concussion. So if I start snoring, be sure to jab me with something." she says with a smile. "As for the injection, you should take it. It was my fault we were hit in the first place, and I can't even give you proper medical treatment." she turns and leans back in her seat again, clearly still slightly dazed.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

The tall Kiffar nods. "I'll keep you awake, then." He starts to check the contents of the medpac, takes out a hypospray and loads it with the required medicinal fluids. "This, however, is going to take care of the one with the worst condition ..." he murmurs. Before she can even open her eyes again, Keph'ryah applies the hypospray to her instead of himself.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The Rodian starts taking seemingly-random twists and turns in the maintenance corridor, finally pulling up next to a small access panel. "I feel like we're going in circles...or concentric rectangles. Or something. Hey Soph, can you slice this terminal up and find a map of this tunnel? Just to make sure we're going the right way?" He double-checks the speeder's power and fuel levels, loath to just waste energy running around. "I guess it goes without saying, but don't leave a data trail if you can help it," he adds. "Last thing we need is a shootout with hover droids in close quarters like this..."

[Severance28]

Sophie sputters awake: "Ow! I mean, not ow, but that was supposed to be for you." she finishes indignantly. "And now I have to figure out how to patch you up-" she cuts off her sentence as Nardi slows the speeder to a stop near a terminal. "Sure thing" she says. "Although probably without much luck considering my medical track record" she grumbles."Here goes nothing". The slicer pulls out her datapad and starts pulling up lines of nearly incomprehensible letters and numbers.

rolling against average, with a setback to avoid getting traced. Lemme know if I should roll something else.

Slicing for a Map (http://orokos.com/roll/157275): 3eA+1eP+2eD+1eS: 2 (A, S/A, -) (S/A) (-, Th) (Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/s-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157275)
2 success, 1 advantage. Hoping to use that to find a seldom-used and thus probably not guarded exit?

After a a few short minutes, Sophie turns and smiles at her two companions as she climbs back aboard the ship. "Got it. There's a small exit on the north-west side that seems like it hasn't seen service in a while - at least, there is no record of any traffic or maintenance efforts. That seems like a perfect way to give whomever is looking for us the slip. Here-" she says, holding up the datapad to show the map on it, "is where the exit I was telling you is, and here," pointing to another location, "is where we are. It shouldn't be that hard to find our way there. Then we can go find this Cho'pa'ailor."

[drbraininajar]

The maintenance tunnels are all eerily quiet, every drip and clank magnified by the cavernous ferrocrete walls. Most of the crews that use these tunnels must have been diverted to the construction on Vendaar Thoroughfare. Occasionally, a loader droid or astromech trundles by, but none take much notice of you.

The quiet has you thinking of a handful of horror stories you've heard about the "things" that sometimes lurk in these tunnels. Duracrete slugs the size of garbage skiffs, half-feral humanoids lost some decades ago as the city forgot about section after section...and isn't there an urban legend about a dianoga larva flushed down here a hundred years ago that's still growing? The distant gurgle of massive pipes and rumble of titanic machinery aren't helping matters either, and it's making Keph extra wary of danger.

After what seems like hours in the tunnels, you finally hear the muffled sounds of traffic again as you approach the access panel from Sophia's downloaded map. The panel sits open, and as you exit the tunnel you must adjust again to the light.

http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100421214029/starwars/images/c/c2/Underworld.jpg

You're a few levels down from where you started. The sky is till somewhat visible, but you have to get just the right angle to catch it past the looming skyscrapers. Still, you're well above the darkest parts of Coruscant. As long as you're careful, the worst that should happen here is being sold a fake pair of designer solarshades. With the aid of Sophia's map, you find your way easily to Chopper's shop, marked by a holosign depicting a stylized smiling Besalisk leaning on a perturbed-looking Ugnaught. As you pull up and dock the speeder, Chopper himself exits, the very inspiration for the Besalisk on the sign, four-armed greasy coveralls and everything. Still absentmindedly holding a lasersaw in one of his hands and an oversized turbowrench in another, he opens his remaining two arms in welcome.
"My friends, come in come in! I've been waitin' all day for ya!" he bellows in a friendly if boisterous voice.
As he approaches the group, he lowers his voice "Seriously though, where ya been? The boss told me you'd be here an hour ago. I was startin' ta get palpitations." he pulls a greasy washcloth from a pocket with one of his empty hands, blotting away beads of sweat but leaving behind smudges of grease.
Looking around nervously, he continues "Know what, we'll talk inside. Been a lot o'cops out today for some reason." before ushering you inside the shop.

Within the shop, the sound of power tools and machinery along with the smell of engine grease dominate, as Ugnaughts scramble between piles of speeder parts, disassembled droids, and more than a few unidentifiable gadgets.
"Not much manners on 'em," Chopper notes, as one of his porcine workers nearly trips you waddling toward a junk pile, "but they work hard, they work fast, and they work cheap, he he he. Here, step into my office." Chopper slams a large red button on the back wall, and part of it slides up, revealing a makeshift office. Most of the space is taken up by several computer terminals of differing makes and models strung together with thick cables. Sophia might almost feel nostalgic looking at this setup, as many a budding slicer has had a similar one, strung together out of whatever a punk kid's meager savings could acquire. A closer look at the hardware shows it to be mostly older models, but ones built for heavy duty work. They should have the processing power for the job, if a little more "personality" than Sophia is used to.
Hard Computers check plus two setback die for the age and unfamiliarity of the equipment. Difficulty is before counting in bonuses from talents. Chopper's assistance adds a boost die.
"It ain't much to look at, but it oughta get the job done. I can even lend ya a hand if ya like--or two--or three."Chopper chuckles.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

Nardi follows his partners into the office, staying quiet before they have some privacy. "We had to get around that checkpoint at the Vendaar Thoroughfare. With how things were going, I didn't want to risk actually going through it, we took a back road instead." He looks around the office. "Nice place you got here, I'm sure Soph feels right at home. Hey Chop, any chance we can get a clean-up, wax, and paint job on that speeder I brought in? The Picosecond Pepper red is nice but I was thinking..Graviton Green or something." The Rodian does his best approximation of a grin.

[drbraininajar]

"Sure kid, I can get that worked out for ya. I'll get my top Ugs on it."
Chopper leans his head out the office "door" and barks orders in Huttese, the Ugnaughts responding with a chorus of disgruntled squeals.
"They oughta have it ready for ya in about an hour. Course, I could take her off yer hands now for say...750? More'n a fair price, given all the tracking codes I'm gonna have to file off. Or is this old grease-Wookiee supposed to believe you got that kinda machine at anything other than a five-digit discount?" He says, crossing two arms and chuckling as he wiggles the fingers on another hand for emphasis.

[Severance28]

As Sophie steps into the Besalisk's office, a wave of nostalgia passes over her. "I used to work on a setup like this with my father... must be fifteen years ago now. Every basic process I learned on that old hunk of junk. Never thought I'd be working on something like this again." she finishes with a chuckle. "Even so, she says, turning the rig on and playing around with it, "I could use those three hands. This may look like my father's old setup, but it's got almost none of the same models or software. It would take me at least a day if I had to work everything out from scratch."

Turning to her companions, she says: "I have no real way of knowing how long this will take. Make yourselves comfortable, take care of any business we have here. Oh and Nardi," she says, turning to the Rodian, "Let's keep the XJ-6. It's a real beauty, and we need a speeder, and I am sure between the two of us we can find and eliminate any trace of the uh... seller. Fooling around with computers wasn't the only thing my dad taught me." she says with a smile.

Codebreaker removes one setback, and reduces the difficulty of the check by one. Technical Aptitude reduces the time needed by 25%. The final is a normal check with one setback.

: 3eA+1eP+2eD+1eS+1eB: 3 (S/A, A, A) (S/S) (Th, Th/Th) (F) (S/A)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/s-f.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b-s-a.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157556)

Final 3 successes 1 advantage.

[drbraininajar]

His deal interrupted, Chopper lumbers over to a chair in the office that is almost comically under-sized for him. "Well if you decide it's a little too conspicuous for ya, I always got room in my garage for a classy ride like that. But, I can't say I blame ya. You'd need three pry-bars and a loader droid to get me to let go o' that one he he he."

Taking his seat, which threatened to buckle as he sat down, Chopper cracks both pairs of knuckles before setting to work on four keyboards at once. "Now let's see what we got here. Oooh, fancy. Trinary double-blind encryption--I shoulda set out the good plates for this one he he he." he says in a mocking tone.
"While we're workin', I gotta hear about this heist! The bosses don't let me do field work no more. Think I'm gettin' too old. Bah! Aside from this trick knee o'mine, I bet I could keep up with you three any day. But seriously, how'd it go?"

Just for fun, pick your favorite skill and roll a Hard check with it. Use the results of that roll to narrate a scene from the heist you guys escaped from at the start of the adventure. Sev, when that's done, I'll post up what you and Chopper got from the data.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The Rodian spreads his hands, ready to respond to Chopper, but Sophia beats him to the punch. The Rodian is beaming--or the in-species equivalent--as the slicer lays everything out there. "I couldn't have said it better myself! Sorry, Chop, but we do need a speeder to get around this hive. And it seems like the girl's gotten attached to her, not that I can blame her. Soph has always had superior taste in hardware. So just the paint job for now, if you don't mind."

Nardi wanders out into the shop as Sophia and Chopper start working, taking notice that Keph is keeping a close watch over Sophia--not that trouble is to be expected here, but it's always good to anticipate it. While the Ugnaughts start working on cleaning and painting, Nardi begins the process of doing what he needs to do to scrub the XJ-6 clean of trackers, surveillance taggers, and broadcasting RFID chips.

[Severance28]

Sophie chuckles at the Rodian's compliment, obviously pleased. "Awh shucks, I just didn't want to see you frown Nardi." The truth was though, she really had liked the speeder. Something about vomiting in a rig really gives it sentimental value. That and Sophie had done some playing around with small-time races when she was younger. She appreciates the value of a powerful engine.

Mechanics - From the Heist (http://orokos.com/roll/157673): 1eP+3eA+3eD: -1 (Tr) (S/A, A, S/A) (F/F, F/F, Th/Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-tr.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f-f.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f-f.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157673)

a failure with a triumph... interesting.

"The Heist was going off without a hitch until we hit a double-reenforced with cortosis weave. Security was tight too; no terminals in sight. So of course, I pulled out my trusty little datapad - that one right over there, and I... wait why did it start this program? Oh, I see, an auto- detection blocker. Clever. Switch off this baby's auto features, chopper, we'll have to do this part manually... So yes, I pulled out my datapad and remotely tunneled into the security for the sector, but the cortosis door was on a seperate wiring. Now I was thinking: gosh, it sure is weird how much this door is guarded, I had my reservations about whether this was the correct way to go (not that I told Nardi or Keph that), but now it has to be; why else would they make the door so darn secure? Anyways, while I was working on slicing through the monster, there had to be at least 6 goons coming up both sides of the hallways, and Nardi and Keph here sprung into action: a grenade in one corner, quick gunmanship in the other, and the thugs went down. Now I was still tinkering with - oh, you won't need that program, that's only for quad-layered encryption, which even these guys didn't go for - at around this point, I found the correct security port to tunnel into, and was able to access the door mainframe - but it was locked shut! Manually overridden from the other side, so I... And it turned out, that that door was actually the personal bedroom of the standing captain. I can only imagine what he must be doing to have a remotely secure double-cortosis door to make sure no one walks in on him... Sophie trailed off and finished with a chuckle. Half at the story, and half because it was only partly true.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

"That captain's love of distractions proved to be a good influence on his men, too," Keph'ryah grins, obviously enjoying the memory Sophia's story has brought back. "Not that we knew about him at that point, we had just entered that Black Sun compound, after all. Were sneaking down a corridor when all of a sudden, a Quarren came from a side corridor and nearly bowled us over!"

Keph's grin turns a bit wolfish. "Poor guy was even more surprised than us, so I took the opportunity and pounced. 'You! You call that watchful?!' I snarled at him, driving him step by step back against the wall. 'And what if I had been an intruder, huh? I'd probably be going for my blaster like this,' there I drew my gun, 'put it to your head like this,' set the muzzle to his temple, 'and take you out of your karked misery!' At that point, I was nose to whatever-Quarrens-have with him, glaring into his widened eyes." He laughs.

"You should have seen his trembling tentacles! 'Are we stinking Hutt thugs, you sorry excuse for a guard? Or stoned Pyke spice-heads?'" He winks at Chopper. "'We're Black Sun! So don't ever let me catch you again half-dozing, murglak, or you'll rue that you weren't born a Gamorrean! Now back to your duties, and don't ever draw my attention again!!'" The Kiffar chuckles. "Good thing that about every guard knows the nagging feeling that he could be a bit more watchful yet. And the quiet worry that a superior might catch him. Heh, even took a few notes from a dressing down I've gotten myself in the past - that Quarren turned as chalk-pale as I probably did back then, and he never even dared ask who the hell I was ..."



And here's the roll again, from the OOC thread:



Coercion for Fun and Profit (http://orokos.com/roll/157886): 2eA+1eP+3eD: 2 (S/S, -) (S/S) (F/F, -, -)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f-f.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d--.png (http://orokos.com/roll/157886)

[drbraininajar]

Chopper burst out laughing. "And that little squid-head bought it!? BAHAHAHAHA!" The Besalisk mechanic wipes a tear from his eye, clearly amused by the tales from the heist. "I remember Black Sun's goons bein' made o' sterner stuff than that. Of course, that was before the Imps got their grubby paws on everything. Guess you really can't get good help these days."
As Chopper laughs, the now-decrypted data appears in full on one of the terminals closest to Sophia. Searching it reveals the usual dirty dealings one would associate with the Black Sun: Spice deals, bribes paid, nothing too surprising. There is one thing that stands out though--A payment made to a bounty hunter close to the day of the spice theft. Linked to it is a dossier file for a Nikto bounty hunter named Kaa'to Leeachos. Following the data trail leads you to another linked file--inventory records showing that Black Sun received a large shipment of spice from the bounty hunter. Kaa'to has to be the assailant! But, there's something odd. The amount of spice received from Kaa'to is a few crates short of the amount you were told was stolen. This trail is leading somewhere, but where?
"Whatcha got there, kiddo? You find our mystery ma--" Chopper's wide mouth twists into a worried grimace when he lays eyes on the dossier. "Oh boy. That's...more trouble than I was expectin'." He pulls the rag from his coverall pocket and mops his brow again. "Soon as that Nardi fella gets done in the garage, yer gonna wanna bring him in here. Couple things you might wanna know before you set off."
Chopper lumbers over to his chair again, sinking into it and running his hand down his face, as though he'd just lost a high stakes sabaac game, wearing that same worried grimace the whole time...

[Severance28]

Sophie frowns at the Besalisk's reaction, but before she can say anything he mentions Nardi. "hold down the fort" she says to Keph, and walks out into the garage. From the looks of it, the Rodian is finishing up. He did a good job too: "Did you remember the ventral rear port serials? Sometimes the XJ's will stick them on to prevent this mind of thing. Have to remove the propulsion coverings to even get at them... Oh, and we found something. Not totally sure what it means, it looked like the bounty hunter was just skimming off the top. But if Chopper's face could turn anything but that ruddy tan he would have been white. I want to know what he knows, but it's always good to have a keener eye to watch if he's lying."

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

Nardi looks up as he replaces a lateral panel, having fried out an RFID tag inside. "Ha, I'm no skocha kung, girl. Not my first womp rat rodeo with an XJ-6. But I'll double-check that once we're done, haha, never too careful with top-line buzzers like this one." The Rodian stands upright, wiping his hands down on his trousers. "What'd we get? I'm guessing it's not dinner," he adds with an exaggerated groan.

[Severance28]

"Nah nothing so uh... Physical" she says with an appropriate chuckle, "Aside from the standard deals you'd expect from the black sun, there is also a recording of a payment made to a bounty hunter named Kaa'to Leeachos. He apparently sold them a large amount of spice, but it doesn't quite add up to the amount that we were told was stolen. Have you heard of Kaa'to? Chopper sure seemed to know him"

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

Nardi moves to follow Sophia back into the shop proper even as Ughnaughts move in behind him to continue working on the paint job. "Kaa'to Leeachos? Hmm...Leeachos, Leeachos, where do I know that name? A bounty hunter with a bad enough rep to scare Chopper, huh?" He pauses to think. "You know, I think I might have heard of him..." Nardi starts heading back in. "Let's see what Chopper has to say, maybe I can add to it."


Knowledge Underworld:

1eA+1eP+2eD: 2 (A/A) (S/S) (Th, Th)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/158254)

[drbraininajar]

"Ah good. You're all here." Chopper remarks as the three of you assemble again in the office. "First thing I wanna say is, great job on the heist. Aside from pinpointing the spice thief, you kids got some good dirt on Black Sun. The big guys can do a lot with that, let me tell ya." Chopper half smiles, but it's marred by a worried expression. "but here's what I meant when I said this was trouble."
he rubs the stubble on his flabby chin, figuring out how to put his next sentence. "This Kaa'to guy--he's bad news. Three kilos of attitude in a two kilo crate, and has a reputation for goin' after high risk targets--targets that scare most hunters off." Chopper sighs "Which wasn't so bad when he was on our side. He was workin' for the Pykes, takin' out rival smuggling operations, scarin' off cops, usual heavy duty muscle work. Guess Black Sun made him a better offer." Chopper chuckles halfheartedly before scowling again. "But the fact that the thief's a traitor too is just gonna make the bosses want him 'taken care of' even more. But if you don't mind taking advice from a beat up wrench jockey, I'd say go to the Pyke rep that hired you, give 'em the info, and tell 'em you just want the money for the heist. it won't be the thousand creds apiece for the whole job, but you might be able to talk 'em into 500 apiece if they like the rest of the data. Why's Ol' Chopper telling you this? Well, you're good kids, and I hear you do good work, and I'd like to see you live to do some more. Up to you though. Either way, I'll forward what we dug up to 'the management', and we can go from there."

The rumors Nardi has heard about Kaa'to back this up. A former Hutt enforcer, Kaa'to survived a bombing that killed his Hutt employer, and made his big break by supposedly taking down a rogue Jedi. Bad news indeed.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

Keph'ryah has been leaning to the wall next to the office door, arms folded. Listening attentively, he rubs his chin in thought. "Kaa'to Leeachos, huh? ... No, can't say I've ever heard of him. What details can you tell us about him, Chopper? Species, M.O., preferred armament, known enemies, favourite haunts, IQ or lack thereof, anything of the sort?"



In case Average is enough:


Untrained Knowledge (Underworld) roll: Who the heck is Kaa'to Leeachos? (http://orokos.com/roll/158303): 2eA+2eD: 0 (S, A) (Th/Th, F)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f.png (http://orokos.com/roll/158303)

[drbraininajar]

"All I got's what's on that screen there, and what I've heard. Green Nikto, worked for a small time Hutt, went solo for a while, then got picked up by the Pykes. Now that dirty double-crosser's signed up with Black Sun, as you've seen. Never met him myself, but he's tough and he knows it from what I hear. Likes to think he's a big shot. That attitude of his was probably what led him to turn on us when Black Sun came calling. Thinks he's too good for the Pykes, I'd wager. Think I remember hearing that he was in deep with gambling debts too, which is why he's so quick to follow the cash."

Chopper thinks a minute "As for where to find him, assuming you still want to, I can't say I'll be too much help there. But--I think I can steer you in the right direction." Chopper's four arms set to work, two opening drawers and cabinets, rifling through datapads, and the others furiously typing on the terminals again.
"If he's got pilfered spice on him, he's gonna need to offload it fast, and without a lot of questions. You're lookin' for spice dens outside Black Sun or Pyke territory that have a reputation for keeping quiet. Maybe Kaa'to's even got a dealer he goes to on the regular." Chopper pauses, quickly looking over a datapad before shaking his head and chucking it aside. "If this guy's a gambler, there's only one place he'll go with the kinda money Black Sun paid him." Chopper hands you a small datapad with a holo-advertisement for a sabacc parlor called the Spyder. In bright, garish colors, the ad displays the outline of a Kessel energy spider weaving together strings of credits, sabacc cards, and video-slot machine symbols over the club's name. "The Spyder. Got a reputation for big payouts. Lot of high rollers play sabacc there, and information's on the table just as often as credits. Even if our scale-bellied friend isn't there, you can bet someone there knows where he went--especially if you can win a hand or two of sabacc for it. Watch out though. It's smack in the middle of Black Sun territory, and they got guys playin' there every night I hear." Chopper digs out another datapad, plugging it into the terminal in front of him. "You know, it's almost a blessing that Kaa'to worked for the Pykes. It means we've got a list of aliases he used with the big guys." Chopper downloads the list to the connected datapad, and hands that to you as well.
"Now is there anything I'm forgettin'? Oh! I don't know what kinda weapons he likes, but he's gotta be resupplying here on Coruscant. He flies an old Z95, and without hyperdrive he's not gettin' offworld to go gun shopping."
Taking a deep breath, Chopper finishes with, "That's about all I can do for ya. The rest is all legwork, my friends. Hey. Shake down a couple o' goons for me while you're out there, since I'm guessin' you're not backing out now?"

Now that Sophia has Kaa'to's description, she does remember hearing about a green Nikto bounty hunter with that kind of bad reputation. The hunter was on the trail of one of Sophia's slicer contacts, who went on and on about having to "check everything, not just for bugs, but for traps." Apparently, this hunter had a fondness for explosives.
Feel free to fill in any other details you like when you relay this to the others, Sev!

[Severance28]

"You know, Chop, now that you mention it I do remember hearing something about a green Nikto bounty hunter; one of my... contacts thought he was after her - I think it was Kaa'to. She kept saying how she not only had to check for wires and tracking devices, but explosives too. The Nikto had- and still has- a reputation for blowing things up. My girl evaded him for a while, but the Nikto eventually got her when he blew an entire passenger wing off of a GR-75." Sophia shudders a bit at the memory. She had apparently quite liked her "girl". "He must have killed a dozen people just to get at this one target. From what I've seen, this guy is dangerous - really dangerous. The only reason I think it's a good idea to go after him is because judging from our late speeder, he's already targeting us, and he won't let up until we're dead, regardless of how far we go. No, we're going to have to take him here and now, before we're cornered, and before we've run out of other options - he won't expect it then. What kath hound expects a womp rat to turn and attack while it still has open fields to run to? As womp rats, we have to be careful, we have to be smart. We should do this but," Sophie says, looking seriously at her two companions, "We have to be smart. No running into anything, no rash decisions. We think everything through... can either of you play Sabacc?" she asks with a smile.

Skulduggery for Sabacc?

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The Rodian's face turns a particular shade of pale green as he hears the details about the Nikto verified in gory detail. Already after us, huh? I thought that was some nobody with a frag, but it makes for a good and motivating story. He's snapped from his reverie by Sophia's apparently legit concern about sabacc games and can't help but start chuckling.

"Can anyone play---pffff, watch and learn! I won half the Mantra's upper gun in a sabbacc tournament! We rolling out?"

[Severance28]

Sophia chuckles: "I'm glad someone is confident. But I guess I would be too. Coruscant thugs aren't anything like a good Nar Shadda shark I bet." she says with a wink at Nardi. "And as long as you give the all good on our speeder there, and she's got her paint all realigned, I think we're good to go." turning to Chopper, Sophie says: "Thank you for all of your assistance, Chopper. I would not have been able to navigate those black sun codes without your help" it was probably not true, she thought, she would have been fine, but the sentiment is what mattered. With a smile and a beckon to her companions, Sophie heads out the door. When they are out of earshot of Chopper, she turns to Keph'ryah: "Something on your mind? You've been quiet. Normally you're only this quiet when something is troubling you. Chopper rub you the wrong way?" she asks the last question with feigned joviality, but her eyes indicate her deadly seriousness. Keph has gotten her out of a few tough spots before, and she learned to trust his instincts.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

"No, he hasn't given me reason to be suspicious of him. No more than any Pyke associate - except you two - would give me, merely by that association." Keph'ryah darkly shakes his head. "No, that bounty hunter's bothering me ... can't put my finger on the exact reason, but his love of explosives and lacking sense of scale doesn't hurt either." He scoffs, then continues, "You probably didn't expect to hear something potentially comforting from me right now, but I actually have something of that sort - our blown-up escape speeder shouldn't be counted as proof that the guy is after us. Was a hectic situation, I grant you that, but the speeder was blown up by a farewell present thrown by our pursuers. Remember?"

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

Nardi flicks a friendly, casual salute to Chopper. "Thanks for the paint, Chop. Oh, any idea of this Nikto is a Guildie hunter? Or is he full independent?" Nardi takes a moment to check out the nicer speeders still in the shop as the Ugnaughts seal the Gluon Green job of their brand new speeder - a nice contrast to Nardi's skin tone.

"Hmm, if the Pykes want this guy pretty bad, I wonder if they'd put me up with a decent-sized credstick to play in the Spyder. You know, for info. Leads. Downside is being made by Black Sun, but how many humans can tell one Rodian from another anyway? Eh, I guess most would know the difference between green and blue though..." Nardi chuckles to himself a bit. "And yeah Keph, I was thinking the same thing. Anyway, you got ideas besides letting me snatch Black Sun's purses for intel?"

[Severance28]

Sophie shook her head: "No, no, you guys have it all wrong. That grenade saved our lives. Did you see the blast pattern? Much too large and too damaging to be the work of a normal grenade. Remember, I was hit by one of those things very nearly head on and the worst I got from it was a few scratches. I'd bet you 500 credits that if we could get our hands on that husk for decent analysis, we'd find some extra explosives that were triggered to go off on engine ignition. No chance of that now, though... the Black Sun is sure to have whisked it away to hide evidence of their vandalism. No, he's after us alright. It makes perfect sense. He's only recently been found to be ex-Pyke. He would have had access to all the information about this mission- I would have, anyway, and he could darn well be better than me - he would have known who was going to do the job, and when. It was only a matter of slipping down onto the platform while we were inside. Now it's just a game of who makes the next move. I fully intend it to be us." Sophia nods, fully convicted in her understanding of the situation; for better or worse, true or false, she believes she's being hunted once again.

"The thing we need to do right now, I think, is information gathering. Go to the Spyder, figure out who knows something. Nardi can play the Sabacc tables, and Keph can play the bar scene. I can see if there are any easy target terminals to break entry into. But the most important thing is we don't stir up too much trouble. Kaa'to will know who we are from the Pykes. If he knows we're looking for him too, we lose our only advantage."

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The Rodian slowly turns his head to look at Sophia as she grows more and more fervent about what happened. Even Nardi has to admit, the slicer might have a point. That one frag taking out the whole speeder was suspicious - and if the grenade that hit the (near)-humans was as potent as that one appeared to be, the rest of the team would be splattered across a nine-block radius.

"Good plan. Assignments for everyone! Only problem I see is, I'm not exactly rolling in credits to hit tables where players who know anything will be hanging...eh, I'll work up to it if I need to."

[Minstrel Wyrm]

Keph'ryah shakes his head, unconvinced. "No, I don't believe that. A grenade could have had that effect all of it's own." He raises his hand to forestall an objection from Sophia. "Hear me out. I am not saying that Ka'too definitely does not know about us. But the explosion of the speeder doesn't suffice as proof! Firstly, a grenade blast reaching the fuel cells could shred a speeder of that size. Secondly, we have no way of knowing whether that grenade was of the same sort as the one that hit you and me, Sophia."

The tall Kiffar looks at Sophia, then Nardi, then back at Sophia. "However, if explosives were set off by it, their size, power, and time requirement to install them can help us to narrow down their type quite a fair bit. Enough to possibly track down Ka'too's weapons supplier ... if your assumption is correct." A wry grin crosses Keph's tan face.



For reference, the ...


Hard Ranged (light) roll to cross-question a deceased grenade (http://orokos.com/roll/158621): 1eA+2eP+3eD+2eS: 0 (S) (A/A, Tr) (Th, Th/Th, F) (-, F)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-tr.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/s--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/s-f.png (http://orokos.com/roll/158621)


... I had first posted in the OOC thread.



1 Triumph: A hunch - see spoiler below.
1 Threat: Take 1 Strain



It's possible that a grenade of that size could have wrecked the speeder, if the blast had reached a fuel cell or similar component. However, if it was sabotaged, there's only a few types of explosives it could be. The device would have to be small enough to hide in the speeder, powerful enough to blow it up, and easy enough to install in the time it took you to complete the heist. Knowing that might narrow down Kaa'to's weapons supplier, IF your hunch is right...

[Severance28]

Sophie opens her mouth to protest, but falls silent into a slightly annoyed smile at his raised hand. When he finishes, she mutters: "Would have had to been a very lucky shot to hit the fuel cells like that" she shakes her head and clears it of negativity, "But I see you have a point, if we could..." Sophie slaps her forehead, a look of realization on her face, "But of course! We already have a list of supplies shops that'll sell explosives to unlicensed buyers from both the Pykes and the Black Sun. I'd put money on him buying from one of those. All we have to do is... " she trails off in thought and does an about face, running back into Chopper's computer lab. You trust Chopper, right guys?" She says as she leaves. When she enters the shop, Sophia addresses Chopper himself. "Hey! Sorry, I just thought of something, can we run through this Black Sun and the Pykes sales records, looking particularly at small, short short-setup explosives with enough power to trash a speeder?... Cross reference that with his known aliases, thanks for that Chopper...

Epic Movie Heist Hacking Scene (http://orokos.com/roll/158655): 2eP+2eA+3eD+1eC+2eB: 5 (S/S, S) (A/A, S/S) (F, Th, Th) (Th) (S, A/A)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/c-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/b-a-a.png (http://orokos.com/roll/158655)

5 successes, 1 boost. I have a good feeling about this :smallbiggrin:

[drbraininajar]

Over the next hour or so, Sophie, Chopper, and Keph toil away at the terminals in Chopper's office. It isn't long before Sophie takes complete charge of the situation, ordering around the two men like a medic might do to a pair of assistants while performing a delicate surgery. Occasionally, she'll motion Keph or Chopper over to look over a list of data, or set Chopper to work organizing information on another terminal.

The first task is to compile a database of possible dealers. Keph'ryah's experience with a variety of weapons, either in using them or in dealing with criminals who do, helps give the team an idea of what to look for. The ex-Guardian has dealt with Kaa'to's type before, and is able to suggest the types of devices favored by an explosives expert. Sophie's mind races, the terminal screen mirroring her thought processes as documents are quickly bright up only to be discarded. A promising few remain for further study. First, the legitimate dealers. Coruscant's Imperial regulations mean that only a few legal avenues exist for such ordnance--mostly companies that cater specifically to military or law enforcement personnel. Maybe some of them were bribed though? Marked for further study.
Chopper pursues the "third party dealers"--the black market. With the Pykes' resources, and the information gained from the heist on the Black Sun compound, the mechanic puts all four hands into checking against this data, one hand occasionally stopping it's work to bring a Besalisk-sized mug of tapcaf up to Chopper's mouth.
Next, they've got to find out if Kaa'to's been to any one of these places. List of aliases in-hand, Sophie looks into recent transactions while Chopper calls in every favor and contact he can, alternately pleading with and browbeating whoever is on the other line.

Eventually, a picture begins to form. One of Chopper's contacts sighted a green Nikto matching Kaa'to's description meeting with a shady Kubaz (as if there's any other kind) named Zatch Weeks. It isn't long before the data trail reveals Zatch to be a "sales representative" for Zelcomm Corporation. Then the proverbial floodgates swing wide open. Weapons deals all over Coruscant link to Zelcomm, outing it as a front for gunrunners and their like, and wouldn't you know it, they distribute just the explosives Keph told you about.
The trail of credits leads to one man: Coruum Sadia, a high ranking official in Zelcomm's main offices here on Coruscant.
Upon hearing Sadia's name, Chopper laughs derisively. He seems unsurprised by Sadia's involvement, stating that the wealthy Ishi Tib industrialist barely makes his shady dealings secret. Even has a star yacht called "Dirty Money", so Chopper's heard. Supposedly, Sadia takes regular "vacations" aboard the yacht, and Chopper grimaces as he mentions hearing about the "entertainment" allegedly available to guests who join him. "You'd think the weasely little beakface was a Hutt in another life, so I've been told."

You have your next lead: Zelcomm Corporation and Coruum Sadia. Zelcomm isn't hard to find. Just look for the skyscraper with the massive letter Zerek glowing on it. Getting inside will be another matter entirely, and you'll need to get inside to get any more of Sadia's information. You managed to follow the credit trail to him, but that was only thanks to a few well-placed contacts and Sophie's familiarity with "looking into" the bank accounts of the idle rich. Any info that could lead you to Kaa'to's whereabouts is probably on his own private databanks.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The Rodian just stands there watching while Sophia and Keph start bouncing ideas off each other about tracking down the explosives dealer.

"You trust Chopper, right guys?"

"Um...well, we're already here," is Nardi's hardly-enthused response to asking the Pykes for more help on their own job. "You get to that, I'll make some calls."

Nardi pulls out his commlink and scrolls through the list of local contacts, stopping when he comes to Mappo Ghee, a Pyke bookie and fence, and his main contact with the Syndicate on Coruscant. "Eyyy Mappo, you old such-and-such. Wait. Who? Nardi! It's Nardi, you know! Rodian, captain of the---well, you know! Anyway, yeah--oh yeah, without a hitch, my friend. Without. A. Hitch. And that's why I'm calling. Now, see, we got a good lead from those Black Sun sleemo on your guy. And, here's where we get interesting.

"I was calling to see if you could, ah, well here's the thing. We think the guy who hit you is prolly in a Black Sun sabacc den trying to fence your spice, and we got a small window to stop him and get the goods. But chances are any of your regular guys'd be made straight out in that card house. Not old Nardi or his crew though! So I was thinking, maybe I get in there, play a few rounds, get some info on your guy, get a lead to where else he hangs out, melt a few faces if it comes to it. Sound good? Good man, I thought so!

"Trouble is, erm, I can't exactly cover the small blind right now. So I was thinking, if you could front me some creds to buy in, I can play my way up to the big tables where this guy's likely to be playing. Just a little bit, enough to get in and get noticed, and my luck will do the rest. Whatcha say, Mappo? Good way to get info on your mark and scope out those Falleen gaggalak kung where they live. Whaddaya say? Few hundred creds in, who knows how many'll come back out to ya once we plug your leak?"

Charm test to get our Pyke contact to give up some credits so I can afford to play sabacc at the Spyder.

2eA+1eP+2eD: 4 (S/S, S/S) (S/S) (Th/Th, F/F)
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th-th.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f-f.png (http://orokos.com/roll/158697)

I can take the Threat as Strain - this is hardly a comfortable conversation, and Nardi is sweating bullets over this request.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

When they finally have the Zelcomm lead, Keph'ryah falls back into his chair and looks at Sophia, respect clearly written in his eyes. "Whoa. Consider me amazed. Never thought one could track down a lead so quickly on a planet like this!" He grins, a bit exhausted from the concentration and mental seat of the pants flying needed to follow Sophia's lightning work. Hope no one ever asks me how exactly we arrived here ... It all made sense, but blazes if I could retrace it!

[drbraininajar]

Mappo exchanges the usual pleasantries with Nardi, and anyone listening might think the two were old friends catching up. But the two can make no such mistake. This is a business transaction through and through, and soon the two get down to durasteel tacks.

Mappo informs Nardi of the terms of their deal, in the peculiar buzzing lisp common to the Pyke species, who make up most of the Syndicate's management.
"A little venture capital then? You know we've invezzzzted quite a bit in thizz operation azzz it izzz. 'The management' will be expecting zzzzignificant returnzzz. I've heard you're quite the player, but if we wanted to throw money in a hole, we'd strap it to a snitch and feed him to a szzzzarlacc. Thizz iz an interezzzting opportunity though...let me zzzee what I can scrounge up."

The next few moments drag on for what seems like minutes before Mappo returns.
"Well, it seemzz you're lucky. The management hazz seen fit to allot me some...dizzcretionary fundzz, up to three hundred credits' worth. As I said though, they expect returnzzz. At the end of this little venture, you are to pay back what you've borrowed with twenty percent interezzzt. Conzzider it a reminder that you are there azz an employee of the Szzzindicate and not for your own entertainment. "--Well of course I truzzzt you Nardi. I truzzzt that your famouzzz luck will pay big time for the management. 'Play your cardzzzz right' as they say, and you may even come away from thizzz a little richer yourself. A mezzage will appear on your datapad azzzzking you to confirm how much you wizzzh to borrow. Once you zzign off, the creditzzz will be temporarily depozzited to your accountzzzzzzzz. Then we'll zzzsee if you can put your money where you zzznout izz. If not, the management will have to seriouzzly reconsider your future upward mobility in our organizzzzation. Good luck, Nardi."
The comm channel crackles as the call ends unceremoniously. within minutes, a holomail message appears on your datapad, displaying a "standard lending contract", and a space at the bottom to fill in with the loan amount and electronically sign the agreement.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The Rodian starts to read through the long and deliberately-vague Standard Lending Contract as he heads back to the shop office and enters. "We're in business if we want to check out that sabacc den," he says, still flipping through pages on the screen, a slightly-pained look on his face. "You guys find anything else?"

[Severance28]

Sophie leans back in her chair and sighs, worn out from the last hour of intensive information sorting. It wasn't so much that it was particularly difficult work - sorting through names and sales is nothing compared to some encryptions she's dealt with - it was just the toil of doing the work that was exhausting. Still, she can't help but feel a little proud. With a smile she says to the three others in the room: "Coruum Sadia at Zelecomm Corperation. He's behind this mess. If there's any way we'll track down Kaa'to and get him off our backs for good it'll be through this Coruum guy. There's no way we'll get him at Zelecomm, though. That place is a fortress from what I've heard. You'd almost have better luck breaking into the imperial palace than that building." she drifts off in thought for a second, absent-mindedly brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. "No, we'll have to find him when he leaves the building and heads home. It's time for phase two." turning to look at Nardi, Sophia continues seriously: "Are you still willing to gamble for information? Let's try and find out everything we can about this Coruum Sadia. When does he go to work, when does he leave, what is his usual escort, where does he live, all of that stuff. If we get an idea we can work on following him and attempting a capture. I am sure he will have all the information we need. In my experience the filthy rich types like that are cowards. He'll give us whatever we ask with a gun to his head."

Although she delivered the speech with confidence, Sophie can't help but feel a little bad about the plan. She knows it's the only way to ensure her safety, and the safety of her friends, but threatening and capturing a fellow sentient was not something she was very comfortable with. She found herself looking at Keph'ryah. He would do anything to ensure her protection, and that's how she would have to act as well. If there was a possibility she could somehow return to helping the Rebellion once she cleared her name, these small acts of immorality would be ameliorated. Sophie has seen the human-centric view of the empire, and she had to help, for her friends, Nardi and Keph; they would never be accepted fully into imperial society. And for all the other beings oppressed throughout the galactic empire. It was larger than just Sophie, she understood that. A few small evils to end such a greater evil had to be forgiven.

[drbraininajar]

"Whoa whoa whoa, there..." Chopper interjects upon hearing Sophie's plan "You got a lotta nerve there, pipsqueak, I'll give you that. But the management wants this job done 'low profile-like', see, and Coruum's about as high profile as you get. Sure the guy's a top-notch sleaze, but he still runs Zelcomm. Guy with that kinda credits ends up on the wrong end of a blaster, even if it ain't fired, he's gonna start throwing those credits at every bounty hunter he sees. And if you did somehow take him out, oh boy." Chopper shakes his head "You'd have the law on you like mynocks on a power relay. Still, if you could pull it off--" Chopper strokes his chin thoughtfully before shaking his head. "No. No way. Too many ways that could go belly-up. Too many ways it could come back to bite the management. It'd be the Dubrillion Job all over again. Can't let that happen. Not again. Can't let it happen..." Chopper starts muttering to himself, presumably lamenting the debacle resulting from the 'Dubrillion Job', whatever that may have been.

[Severance28]

Sophie shakes her head vigorously. "I didn't get to where I am today by losing my nerve". Although, she can't help thinking, I am also exiled from the rebellion and on the run from imperial law, so maybe that attitude needs adjustment. Luckily (or perhaps unfortunately), that was not the dominant part of her brain, so she continued: "Now is the time where we can get this bounty hunter off our backs, and complete the job in the process. If we simply eliminate this guy, there will be more to follow. This Coruum Sadia will have received our names, and he by no doubt knows we're looking for him - Kaa'to would have access to everything about this mission, and Coruum is the obvious end to the path we are on. Given that we both know that our party must come in contact with his party before the day is over, the only way to gain an advantage is to utilize our element of surprise. When we strike, we strike hard, and fast, and perhaps a little foolhardy. It will be the least expected, and thus the most effective course of action." Sophie then looks carefully at Chopper. "If this does go belly-up, you will be the second to know, after ourselves. Coruum and Kaa'to will also know about you, since you were in the job's dossier. I recommend laying low for the next few days, and packing a bag of the things you couldn't live without, if the time comes for your immediate evacuation. But," she continues with an arrogant grin: "that is only for precaution's sake. The probability of this failing has to be astronomically small, considering our track record" she finishes with a smile at those around her, but Sophia can't help feel a little worried. This was dangerous, this very well could end up very badly for all of them. She was still getting used to being on a team. If she made a mistake with her planning, or the suggestions she gave, or a wrong move, it wouldn't be bad for just her, but it would jeopardize the lives of her friends as well.

[drbraininajar]

Chopper is taken aback by Sophie's response. He blinks a few times, stunned, then begins chuckling to himself. "He..heheh..hehahahaha..You know, you remind me of this little Devaronian I used to know. She was always pickin' fights with the biggest guy in the room too. Also had a bad habit o' not listening to sense." Chopper turns to Keph and Nardi. "Don't suppose you guys could back me up here? Nah, I bet you couldn't. Just like Kalali..." Chopper chuckles slightly again before continuing.
"Look, you're probably right about gettin' the drop on Coruum. But if he's feelin' jumpy, you'll catch all nine Corellian Hells trying to get him alone." Chopper pauses in thought for a few seconds, resting one pair of hands on his waist while crossing the other pair of arms and looking off into the distance. He then takes one hand off his waist and wags his finger, clearly on to something. "...But with a good scam, you could tapdance right up to him and steal everything but his undershorts before he knew what was up. If I had the Dubrillion Job to do over again, that's the one thing I would've done different. We coulda been in and out before...before it even had the chance to go wrong. Though I'd do your dirt diggin' first either way. And whatever you're gonna do, I'd get on it fast, before the trail gets cold or the Black Sun starts turnin' up the heat."

[Severance28]

Sophie smiles at Chopper, bowing slightly "Thank you for the advice. I am sure given some time and some more information we can come up with a good scam. My friend Nardi here" she says, gesturing, "comes up with stuff you wouldn't believe if I did tell you." Smiling again, she says to the group: "what do you guys say we hit up that den? I could use some excitement. Thanks again, Chopper."

I am ready to move on to the Sabacc den whenever you guys are ready

[Minstrel Wyrm]

Blinking, Keph'ryah looks at Sophia, then Chopper, then Nardi, then back at the slicer again. "Now wait a karked second ... where does all that come from? Have I missed half of our findings somehow?" He shakes his head in disbelief. "That Sadia guy is Kaa'to's boss? The one responsible for the theft of the spice shipment? I thought we had been following the trail to where Kaa'to bought his explosives, nothing more!"

He folds his arms stubbornly. "Granted, your brain gives a number of older computer models a run for their money, but aren't you jumping to conclusions there, Sophia? Run that by me again, and slowly, okay?"

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

Nardi listens as Chopper adds in his advice to the back-and-forth between Sophia and the rest of the team. "I think we should scope out that corp, one way or another. Directly messing with the big bantha is prrrrrrrobably more trouble than we're getting paid to deal with, you know. We don't need to get in his face to get his info. But I think playing a few games on info-brokering is a safer idea...never thought I'd say that, hahahaha."

[Severance28]

Sophie takes a deep breath to slow her racing heart before answering: "You're right, of course, Keph. I use the term 'boss' perhaps a little too loosely. My only concern is that bounty hunters - while not all of them as competent or as powerful as Kaa'to - are a credit for twelve. If Kaa'to wants us dead, by extension the black sun probably does too. If that is the case, the only way to deal with it is not going after Kaa'to directly, those small thugs usually don't know much past who they're about to kill, but to go after someone higher up. Someone like Sadia who can give us a name, and might even be directly responsible. My guess is that he has some direct involvement with the Black Sun - the Pykes didn't seem to deal with him from the data we looked through (although frankly I could have missed that given I wasn't looking for it)." She tilts her head at Keph'ryah, and then turns and nods at Nardi: "I do, however, see the value in not rushing head first into anything before we know that it won't break our skulls. Let's head to that Den. If my hunches are correct, we'll be wanting to give this Coruum a visit. If not, you guys can both count me relieved." she finishes with a wink.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

Keph'ryah smiles and nods. "Me, too. I would be wary of assuming deeper Black Sun ties off the bat, but the danger is definitely there." He pauses for a moment, sorting his thoughts. "My suspicion is that Kaa'to went renegade on his own, though potentially with the intention of defecting to Black Sun. I'm not too sure that Black Sun itself is keen on having us make the Last Jump - so far, it might still be a matter just between him and us. And the Pykes, of course; after all, we're their means of getting at Kaa'to."

He gnaws his lower lip, still thoughtful. "Of course, Black Sun could decide that the Nikto is interesting enough as an asset to protect him from us, so we really should be on our guard. Then again, how much is a bounty hunter worth who needs protection from three off-worlders without much of a reputation?" Keph winks at his companions, then nods towards the exit. "Let's go and have a look at that den! The more different sources of information, the better."

[Severance28]

"Right behind you Keph" Sophie says, following him out the door. When she reaches the newly painted speeder, she whistles appreciatively at it. "Wow! I can hardly recognize her." She smiles at Nardi: "What do you say? Shall we take her for a drive?"

[drbraininajar]

Sophie isn't kidding about the speeder's makeover. the vehicle is now a deep verdant color, green as the jungle treetops of Rodia. As a pair of Ugnaughts run final inspections, a third waddles up to Nardi, jangling an activator key for the "new and improved" speeder. In the porcine creature's other hand is a datapad containing the issue of payment. The Pykes have agreed to pay the cost of the paintjob and tuning, but it's coming out of your reward in the amount of 200 credits.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

Nardi pulls a face at the invoice. "These guys are just gonna quarter and tenth us out of our whole fee," the Rodian mutters, snatching the ignition key and vaulting into the driver's seat. He turns to his companions as he kicks in the repulsors, raising the car up into the air. "Alright, where to? Your corporate HQ? Or the sabacc den? With the cards...I need to be up. And I mean up. The Pykes are gonna loan me enough to get in, but the interest rate is...what you'd expect from them. I don't ming snooping around your Z-whatsit first though. Kinda early in the evening for the real card kids to be out."

[Minstrel Wyrm]

Keph'ryah waits for Sophia to enter the repulsor craft first, meanwhile keeping an eye on the surroundings. "Definitely not the Zelcomm HQ yet. Let's fish around for more information first - at the Den, for example." Turning around to Nardi, he looks the Rodian up and down.

"You don't merely need to be up, pal, you also have to look the part. How about we use the time to prepare for the evening? Dress you up - while we're at it, dress all of us up. You might look wealthier with a personal bodyguard - and Sophie could play the part of your 'Lady Luck' ..." He quickly steps out of Sophia's reach, flashing her a roguish grin.

[Severance28]

Sophie's eyes flash angrily for a moment before she realizes Kephryah is joking. She indignantly flicks her hair out of her face: "Why you little... You don't know how good I'd look - no, no, you know what? Fine. I am not even going to answer you. I am not going to give you that satisfaction." Sophia crosses her arms and looks off in any other direction for a moment, looking a little tense, before lunging after Keph: "Come back here! I'll show you what happens when your luck runs out!"

When that settles, she says:"I think that getting new clothes is a good idea, although it would probably be better if we dressed as professionals and not some pimped out... Twi'lek" she takes a deep breath. Too far, Sophie. She shakes herself out of it, and turns to look at Nardi: "You know, you don't always have to drive us everywhere. I can always take over for a little if you're tired of chauffeuring us around" she smiles sweetly.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

Nardi pilots the beauty of a speeder off into the lower-level traffic lanes. "Now now don't you worry, I'm not going to get tired of driving around you lovelies in a stellar car like this," he laughs. "Okay, to the card den it is. Hold on to your lekku, we're going in deep Black Sun territory."

Nardi pauses a moment to look down at himself and sighs. "Of course, we might want to look the part a little more. And I think I know just the place..."

Streetwist
2eA+1eP+2eD 2 successes
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/161890)

[Minstrel Wyrm]

At Nardi's comment about lekku, Keph'ryah quickly turns to the blond slicer. "Don't strangle the driver!" he calls out, possibly only half-jokingly.

Then he becomes serious. "Sorry for the joke earlier, of course I wouldn't really suggest that kind of outfit to a lady." He offers Sophie a stubble-framed smile and holds up a hand. "Don't kill me now, but the basic idea may actually be worth considering. Hiding brains under beauty does work astonishingly well on males." His smile becomes lopsided. "Trust me, I'm sort of a ... natural expert on that."

Earnest again, Keph'ryah continues, "Not sure if I'm alone in that, but when I picture a high roller, I don't see sleaze, but style. A real Lady Luck at his side would be wearing a classy evening gown."

He shrugs, a mischievous spark returning to his eyes. "Of course, I could also leave the bodyguard role to you, if you prefer. Haven't ever worn an evening gown, maybe it would suit me?"

[drbraininajar]

Disguises in hand, your next destination is the Spyder sabacc parlor, deep in Black Sun territory. Following the directions on the holo-ad Chopper gave you, you find yourselves descending through one of Coruscant's mammoth ventilation shafts. Each of these colossal openings is large enough to drive a starship through, and are the primary way to get from the city above to the city below. You descend for what feels like a dozen or so kilometers before exiting into a sprawling cavern of duractrete and durasteel stretching in every direction farther than you can see. Your eyes strain to catch much beyond the enormous spotlight cast by the shaft's opening. As you pass beyond this ring of illumination, your eyes slowly adjust to the gloom. You have now truly entered Coruscant's infamous Underworld.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Odo9_oElvas/UkO5EAXuL5I/AAAAAAAACqw/86wmioujNiA/s1600/6-sanitizedjpg-883973.jpg

Stretching out below you, a glittering carpet of holosigns and street lights serve as the only illumination for this "city beneath the city". What one would call skyscrapers, were you not underground, reach up from below even as reversed versions of them hang from above, the artificial stalactites and stalagmites of this cavernous underworld. In the farthest distance, you can almost detect the curvature of the ceiling, giving the impression that you have been trapped under a planet-sized dome.

Beneath the city, only artificial light illuminates the darkness, and as you fly lower in your airspeeder, dipping beneath the "skyline", more of the sprawling undercity is obscured. The effect is that of a world shrouded in perpetual night, with the lights of the reverse skyscrapers above forming a bizarre multicolored starfield. Pockets of more densely clustered lights indicate the many "entertainment districts" scattered throughout the Underworld. It is to one of these bustling areas you must now go. Here, perpetual night means perpetual nightlife, with all the delights and dangers that entails.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w1trNeIulM0/Uk7UF3p6yFI/AAAAAAAAWVA/_23zVxW-xBA/s1600/starwarsconceptart-0002.jpg

You won't be sticking to the main thoroughfare though, with it's glitzy casinos and debaucherous nightclubs. Switching the speeder to hug the ground, you search for the alley that will take you to the Spyder. All around you beings of every shape and size drink, laugh, and seek their long night's entertainment.
You eventually find the alley, just past a holosign of a sultry Zeltron woman lounging on a pile of credits. Snaking down the alley, you finally emerge in a cramped courtyard, almost completely hidden by the taller buildings around it. The crowd of revelers is muffled from here, and the glow of the bright lights is only a shifting aura outlining the tops of the nearby structures. In the center of this tiny courtyard, a statue of a Twi'lek female in a long black dress and high heeled boots overlooks the scene, leaning with its arms crossed against an oversized lightpole and grinning mischievously. A placard at her feet says "Palara's Corner". Its safe to say this statue must be of this Palara. Sandwiched between two lively nightclubs, in a comparatively needle-thin structure, is the entrance to the Spyder, its trademark golden Kessel spider insignia dangling over the doorway in an invitingly sinister way.

http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130523085927/starwars/images/4/4a/Coruscant_Underworld_concept_art.jpg


I rolled Obligation again, since we've entered a new phase of the adventure. And Sophie's number is up! Dutybound to the Rebellion. You know the drill. Sophie reduces her strain by 2, Nardi and Keph reduce theirs by 1.
It occurs to Sophie that, as much money and dirty secrets as must pass through here daily, maybe there are a few hidden around that could help her friends in the Rebellion, or at least incriminate a few Imperials....

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The Rodian emerges from the clothing store wearing a slick black outfit with metallic threading that subtly catches the light. Tight, showing off his physique, with a holster low on his hip - the perfect outfit to look good in this dirty, glitzy, dangerous level of the city-world.

"Whatcha think?" he slowly spins. "Anyway, let's make some money!" He vaults back into the speeder and they take off.

Nardi pulls into a nearby speeder lot, locking the vehicle up tight and throwing a glare at the Gammorrean parking attendant. "Anything happens to my beauty there, and we'll be having pork roast, sweets patogga," he says darkly before flipping the pig a couple creds for effect. As they approach the entrance to the Spyder, Nardi pulls out his commlink and, with a disgusted noise, accepts the Pyke loan. "This is either gonna go real good or real bad..." he mutters as he pushes open the door.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

Keph'ryah was already leaning against the speeder when Nardi comes out - small wonder, as he had an easier time finding the right clothes. An elegant suit, black and dark gray, in a no-nonsense Brentaal business cut was his choice. Subtle shoulder pads broaden his lean silhouette, and his blaster has found a new home underneath the jacket. Wrap-around sunshades hide his eyes, their chrome flash coating showing only reflections of his surroundings.

"Niice, Nardi - you look like a million credits," he retorts with a grin when Nardi shows off his new outfit. Then he verbally shifts gear, dropping his voice to a lower, measured tone. "Ready when you are, boss." He stands aside to let Nardi and Sophie enter the speeder before joining them.


He decided against wearing his armour underneath the evening wear. Looks better this way. More bodyguard-y. :smallwink:

[drbraininajar]

As Nardi and Keph enter the Spyder, one of their group is seemingly missing, and has been since the snaking alleyway that brought them here. Sophie, in a flash of inspiration, decided to sneak off down the twisting alleyways, explaining that she had a plan.
"I'll see if I can sneak around back and find a network access port. I'll be a lot more help out of sight with a datapad in hand than I would be traipsing around in heels as Nardi's pretend arm candy."
Despite any protest, Sophie assured you all she'd be fine before disappearing into the shadows. Now, as you head through the sliding double doors marking the entrance to the casino, your commlinks chirp, signaling a call. It's Sophie.
"Hey guys!" she says cheerily. "Looks like I was right. There's an access port around back with the other utility and maintenance stuff--ugh, including the sewage hatch. On the bright side, I can get into their security feed from here, and maybe a couple other things if I'm careful." After a few moments, she chuckles. "Yup. Say hi to the holocams, boys. You are officially on Channel Sophie. Hmmm, looks like there's a couple feeds I can't quite crack. I've got the main gaming floor though. Good luck in there guys. Oh, and Keph--try to keep Nardi's blue behind out of trouble. I know it's a daunting task, but we're in enemy territory here. Oh, and one more thing. From here on in, I'll need to concentrate to keep my signature cloaked. Probably won't be too chatty, but if you need some shenanigans perpetrated, I'll see what I can do. Catch you later."
The comm channel clicks off, and you can survey the scene.
From the double doors, a short set of stairs brings you down to the gaming floor. The room is roughly a long hexagon, with a similarly shaped bar in the center, frantically tended by a Troig, his four arms mixing and pouring feverishly, sliding drinks to seated patrons or to waiters, while his twin heads shout table numbers to the waiters and make small talk with the patrons. Along the left and right walls are video slot and pazaak machines, and directly before you are seven sabacc tables, their gaming surface painted a metallic green. Further back, five similar tables fill the back section of the room, save for a small raised area, shaded by red curtains gathered back at either side. It looks like there are three or four more tables back there, but it's hard to be sure. Patrons mill abut between the video machines or tables and the bar, and waiters scurry about in black uniforms with the Spyder logo. The smell of tabac smoke fills the air, and the murmur of hushed conversation mixes with the clinking of glasses and the electronic sounds of the video machines. Occasionally an exclamation of triumph or groan of despair punctuates the low murmur, signaling that someone's luck has gone very good or very bad.

At the bottom of the short entrance stairs, several signs sit in front of you. One is an announcement board of sorts, lining out special events over the next few days, a second is a menu of sorts detailing the bar's specials today, and a third features a rough map of the room, noting the buy-in amount for the three sets of visible tables.
Green Tables: 25 credit buy-in
Blue Tables: 50 credit buy-in
Red Tables: 100 credit buy-in
You note that the tables at the back of the gaming floor are in fact a metallic blue, which means the red tables must be the ones in the curtained area. There are also a number of doors along the back wall on either side of the curtained area.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p176/arcadeus88/spyderbar.jpg
Here's a rough map I whipped up of the room. You guys entered from the left of the map here. The colored circles are the tables, the purple areas on either side are the video slot machines, and the colored parts of the outer walls are doors. From the entrance to the back wall is Medium Range. Up to halfway across the room is Short Range, as is the width of the room.
Further details available on an Average Perception check.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nardi

The blue Rodian clears the doors with the confident stride of a card-pro, big black eyes flitting around the room and taking in both crowd and layout. Wearing his fancy clothes but with the well-worn blaster still strapped low on one hip, he fits the look for a criminal looking to drink and score.

Nardi takes a moment to peruse the drink list. He takes a moment to look across the room and then heads over towards the blue tables. Seems like the right place to start, he thinks.

[drbraininajar]

Nardi finds a seat at one of the blue-tinged tables near the bar. Even a cursory glance shows a world of difference between these and the green tables near the entrance. Whereas the green tables seemed surrounded by hired thugs and local carousers out for a good time, the back tables here seem more geared toward the "regulars", with quick access to the bar and private rooms, and separated from the front area by the entire length of the video slots.

The players themselves alternate between steely glares and nonchalant confidence. Around Nardi's table alone are:
-A svelte Falleen male decked out in a bright purple shirt and tight black pants, topped with a a small brimmed hat tipped slightly askew by the short topknot on his head. His serpentine features exude an air of charisma and confidence. He's claimed the seat closest to the bar, and occasionally tips his chair back with one foot against the table to grab his glass from the bar and take a sip.

-A female Zeltron dressed in a deliberately skimpy imitation of a swoop racer's outfit, basically a bright yellow halter and hot pants with racing stripes, along with a pair of goggles perched on her brow to hold back voluminous black hair, and high heeled blue knee-boots. A jacket of the same blue is draped over the back of her chair. She seems to have a perpetual scheming smirk on her hot-pink face, and she shoots Nardi a quick wink and raised eyebrow as he sits down.

-A corpulent male Twi'lek in a puffy, open shirt and baggy pants, wearing tacky gold jewelry and wraparound shades. He's talking loudly and laughing raucously, waving an expensive tabac cigar around. This guy is definitely a regular, addressing the barkeep and several waiters by name.

-A lanky, dark-skinned human female with a metallic patch over one eye, wearing brown coveralls and heavy boots. Looks like a spacer, maybe Corellian. She hasn't said much, but seems impatient for the next game to start, sitting with her arms crossed and constantly checking the time on her wrist-chronometer. Attempts at conversation with her are met with harsh glares.

A small droid, about the size of Nardi's head, sits in the middle of the table, shuffling the cards for the next game. When the Rodian sits down, it asks in a pleasant electronic voice "Will you be joining the game? Please deposit fifty credits in the slot in front of you. We accept credit chips and electronic transfer."

The game is 3 hands, the first at Average difficulty. Please refer to the sabacc rules here:
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p176/arcadeus88/Sabacc.jpg
Short version: Average Cool check plus one Force Die. Each uncancelled Success wins you the wager amount back (in this case 50 credits). I'll be using that chart for advantage/triumph/threat/despair, but other interesting things could happen. Cheating is the same check, but using another appropriate skill (Skulduggery or Computers, for example), and is upgraded against you once.
Yes, you could ask Sophie to cheat for you, and if she agrees it'll be her Computers skill used, but the check is upgraded against you twice, once for cheating and once for calling on Sophie.
From what Nardi has gathered, any information dealing is typically done after the game is over, allowing the winners to bargain their earnings for juicy intel, and the losers to try and make some of their bet back.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

Since entering the Spyder, Keph'ryah has been keeping a step back and to the right of his Rodian "boss", surveying the scenery and keeping his eyes out for any dangers. He follows Nardi to the blue table, but remains standing behind his companion.

A Falleen and a Zeltron ... great. If that dark-skinned human turns out to be from Lorrd, the gambler's nightmare should be perfect! Keph'ryah takes care to keep his face neutral, however, and leaves any talking to Nardi - as he should, considering the role he's playing.



Trying to keep an eye out for details of interest in the casino upon entering, here's a roll of the trusty bodyguard. You won't believe how perceptive he turned out to be!



Average Perception roll, for casino details (http://orokos.com/roll/173813): 1eA+1eP+2eD 0 successes
http://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a--.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-a.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f.pnghttp://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-th.png (http://orokos.com/roll/173813)


... because I don't, either. :smallconfused:

*sigh*

[drbraininajar]

Keph notices nothing unusual, though the lights and sounds of the video slots and the hum of conversation make it difficult anyway. Not to mention the fact that looking for suspicious characters in a place like this is only slightly less difficult than locating an astromech droid in a waste-bin factory. In fact, it's not until you feel a hand on your shoulder that you turn around to see a human woman with dreadlocked hair, wearing a long red coat. Her expression is anxious as she says "I hate to bug ya, but you gotta help! These two laserbrains are fighting outside and the bouncers won't lift a finger! You look tough. Mind helping a gal in trouble?" She forces a nervous smile as she says the last part.

-------------------------------

Meanwhile, in a nearby alley, Sophie is patched into the Spyder's computer network, able to see through the casino's security cameras. The alley lacks any of the glitz and glamor of the neighboring streets, and in fact seems to be where all the grime gets swept into. The various panels and control boxes, one of which Sophie's datapad is plugged into, are mainly for maintenance crews. It was little trouble to gain access to both the front door camera and those over the gaming floor. There are three other cameras, but their feeds are proving more difficult to crack.
Sophie has heard rumors that certain Imperial officers like to come to this club after hours, both to unwind and to gather intel on the Coruscant underworld. Cornering these individuals could prove useful to the Rebellion, especially if they can be tricked into gambling away valuable information.

[Minstrel Wyrm]

Keph'ryah manages to keep his face expressionless when he turns to Nardi, but underneath the facade, he's torn. "Boss?" he asks in a quiet tone, counting on Nardi having heard the woman's words.