SWSE Underworld Adventure Team [IC]

[thechosen2nd]

STAR WARS

UNDERWORLD ADVENTURES

http://cs617322.vk.me/v617322541/620d/sfjRZEa2OtM.jpg

You have made your way to a relatively small and quiet shadowport, located on an asteroid in the Chrisphoph system. The smell of stale spice burns your lungs as you walk to the back of a large, musty cantina. A contact of yours, Syler Ancora, requested your presence, hinting that he had a lofty proposition for you, which he promised would pay off mountains of credits, if you were willing to hear him out. The crafty young Twi’lek has a knack for getting the inside scoop on profitable jobs, and he’s never let you down before… So here you are, sitting at a small table with Syler and a few strangers you’ve never met. Once pleasantries have been exchanged and all of your drinks have arrived, Syler leans forward, and begins to talk in a hushed tone.

“Ok, listen. Are you all familiar with the name Chukko Thorr? Yeah, the leader of the Green Talons, that one. I’m sure you all don’t need me tellin’ ya that Chukko’s pirate gang has been wreaking all kinds of havoc on space lanes throughout the Savareen sector over the past few decades. But ya’ may not know that Chukko did more than piracy. He had his hand in everything from smuggling, to slicing, to credit laundering… you name it, Chukko Thorr did it. His network of… associates… and his range of influence spread a lot further than most realize.”

The smug Twi'lek's eyes light up as he leans in even closer.

“Now get ready, ‘cause I’m about to drop another knowledge bomb on ya. Chukko bit the dust a couple standard days ago. Yeah, turns out since the old Rodian has been gettin’ up there in age, his three sons have been having a bit of a power struggle over the past couple years to determine who’s going to inherit the family company. Well apparently one of the sons went crazy under all the pressure or something, because he went and planted a handful of explosive charges on the main reactor of the Green Talons’ flagship and then pulled the switch. (After going off on a rant about family values on the ships intercom…) The blast killed the entire immediate family, as well as many of Chukko Thorr’s closest companions, and most trusted subordinates.”

“You see where I’m going with this? There’s a huge power vacuum in the black market right now. The guy pulling all the strings vanished, and there’s no one to step in and take his place. So now everyone’s vying for power in the aftermath. On the surface everything may seem normal around here, but in the underworld, everyone is going crazy. There’s cargo ships to raid and plunder, there’s smuggling runs to be made, and countless other opportunities to rake in credits… opportunities no one is taking. And that brings us to why we’re here today.”

“I brought you all together for a reason. Ya may not know each other, but you all know me, and I know all of you. And I know that each of you has a unique set of skills, and if we put all of those skills together, we should be able to cut ourselves a decent piece of the pie."

"What do ya say? Are ya interested?"

Link to OoC Thread: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?382303-Underworld-Adventure-Team-OOC&p=18373574)

[Thundercracker]

Taro Bantari

Taro Bantari listened to the story intently. He'd done a number of jobs for the twi'lek already, and they'd paid off decently well. Once Syler finished his tale, he nodded.

"Yeah, I heard something went down," he said.

The human leaned back in his seat, glancing around at the others.

"Don't know about them, but I'm in for the credits," he said, "how much are we talkin', is it a flat fee per job, or a percentage cut?"

[thechosen2nd]

"Trust me, there's plenty of money to be made. If you've ever seen Chukko's palace you know what I mean. We're talkin' about just about every deal that goes through the black market in this entire sector. There's millions of credits to be made. Everyone whose in right now will get an equal cut of the profits for every job we pull. Of course, there are expenses we'll have to cover first... start-up costs, monthly upkeep, an emergency reserve... It's all rather complicated but I've got it all figured out. I'll explain it all in greater depth later if you want, but first I gotta know if you all are in or out."

Cyler looks around the table expectantly.

"Come on, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, what do ya say?"

[Saulk]

Slip leaned back, one leg crossed over the other, arms along the back edge of the booth. He eyed Syler and the others, smiling as he pushed black hair from his forehead.

"Count me in. Just the right mix of defying death and making credits."

He paused as the green-coated droid at his side warbled.

"Hash is in too."

[Thundercracker]

Taro Bantari

"Oh, I'm in," Taro said, "just had to make sure I'm gonna get paid, I'm not running a charity here."

[RandomLunatic]

Fezz leaned back, the big Yuzzem taking up most of his side o the table on his own. "Sounds intriguing."

[WindyWillows]

Kai had known Syler for a few years now and he knew that any information that Syler had was good. He certainly remembered hearing that there was a power vacuum left by the rather unexpected deaths of Chukko and company. Anybody with their ear to ground could tell you that much. He tried to see if he could remember anything else about what happened. Do you want rolls to be in this thread or another thread? I was just gonna make a knowledge check (galactic lore or something).

Finally deciding to speak he said, "Ah, why not. I didn't travel all the way here just for a drink."

[Xunthrae]

"Definitely. I'm in." Spark was only half surprised he was offered a spot on this crew. He didn't let many contacts know him, but he is also very skilled at what he does, so is an attractive addition to any team.

[Ganis]

"Utinni." a few moments later a mechanical voice chimes in, "That sounds like a prudent cource for us fine young entrepreneurs." and sips on a blue milk with his bendy straw.

[thechosen2nd]

Syler grins widely.

"I knew I could count on all of you. Okay, I've already got it all planned out..."

Syler takes a few minutes to explain the setup for the organization.

Syler has already provided the start-up cost of procuring a base of operations, a space transport, ground transport, and more. ("Trust me guys, I thought of everything") and he will also be in charge of managing the syndicate's coffers. ("After all, it is my area of expertise. Some of ya may not know this, but back in the day I started off as an honest financial consultant. Don't worry, I'll keep you all in the loop regularly.") You probably already know that Syler has a history of laundering credits and managing large accounts, and that he is the perfect Twi'lek for the job.
You each have primary roles within the organization. Just like the Black Suns have "Vigos" each specialized in various criminal fields, Your each will be "in charge" of a line-of-work essential to the organization. ("Well, maybe 'in charge' isn't the best way to put it. I guess it's more like 'lead consultant.' We're all gonna have to work together for pretty much every job, but some of us know more than others about certain tasks, so we'll refer to the lead consultant's judgement on those jobs.") You have a title befitting of your role, which underlings will use to refer to you. (Once you gain underlings, that is.)

Slip is the Master of Space Crime. He takes the lead on smuggling and piracy related jobs.
Pizip is the Master of Sabotage. Anything job that requires sabotaging stuff involves Pizip. He also doubles as the Quartermaster, managing the gear owned by the organization.
Spark is the Master Slicer. When a job requires disabling security systems, or slicing into a bank account, he's the go-to guy.
Kai is the Master Spy. Tasks such as corporate espionage, extortion, and blackmailing fall into his area of expertise.
Jake, Fezz, and Taro are the Masters of Combat. Obviously an extremely important and overarching area of crime, management of the paramilitary aspect of the organization is split jointly between these three experts, with each of you more specifically managing a discrete area within the paramilitary:

Fezz is the Expert of Overt Forces. Missions such as debt collecting and bodyguarding fall into this branch, when open display of force is beneficial to success.
Taro is the Expert of Covert Forces. Missions relying on subtlety such as providing backup for slicing attacks fall into this branch.
Jake is the Expert of Special Forces, dealing especially in missions with unique circumstances. Missions involving explosives tend to fall into this group.


Essentially, together you form a council of 8 ("including me, of course, since I'm the treasurer, and the whole thing was my idea after all") who will democratically make decisions about the organization in the form of majority-rules votes.
First things first, you'll have to pay off Syler's loan covering the start-up cost. There's also a monthly upkeep cost you'll have to meet to stay profitable. But any money you make on top of that profit margin will be split 10 ways: 10% to each of the 8 council leaders, and 20% to the syndicate's emergency reserves. If you ever decide that you need to liquidate those assets, a majority vote can that can happen.


As he's running through the details, Syler's comlink beeps, and he quickly checks it.

"Okay, looks like we're out of time. Any questions ya got are gonna have to wait a bit. Let me explain."

“I know an information broker who’s perfect to help get this business up and running. Her name is Verita. Here’s the problem: I’m obviously not the only one who knows this. From what I hear, one of Chukko’s top men from his weapon smuggling operation has gathered a few loyal cronies and is making a bid for a slice of the Green Talons’ domain. Dromo is a lot cleverer than the average Houk, and he knows how useful it would be to have Verita as an informant. Plus, Verita and Dromo have a bit of bad history. Verita was held up in an imperial holding facility a few years back, and had to cough up the name of a few low level thugs for the Imps to arrest in order to talk her way out of jail time. Dromo was one of those names. Verita was way more important to Chukko than a few replaceable thugs, so he didn’t care. Dromo came back after serving his time and made his way up the chain of command without every voicing a complaint… But you can bet he would love to get a bit of revenge for the time he did."

“Anyway, the short of it is Dromo has the means and the motivation to come after Verita, and we need her, so we can’t let him have her.”

“As it turns out, she’s in this very cantina right now. And even more coincidentally, I just got word that Dromo and his men are on their way here right now as well.”

Syler grins slyly.

“Okay, I planned it. I figure if we can knock off Dromo and his men right now, that’s one less thing to worry about biting us in the ass later. Plus, it eliminates some competition. Weapon smuggling can make you a lot of money, and with these guys out of the way, that’s just one more opportunity for you. Am I right?”

[WrathOfLife]

Jake 'Blackheart' Nova

Jake couldn't help but smile under his helmet, this was everything he had being looking for a nice simple pay check and no thinking or moral issues. And to top it off. Free drink.

Leaning over towards who ever was foolish enough to sit closest he whispers through his armors helmet.

"Hear that? I'm special."

Addressing the rest of the group again, Jake questions the current battle plan. "Any idea as to how many there will be or what they look like? Frankly I'd like to be over there, by the door. Shoot them in the back when they come in, lie about fighting honourably afterwards."

[RandomLunatic]

"So we just happen to show up when Dromo comes, bail Verita out, and she owes us big. I like it," Fezz said, grinning a fang-filled smile.

"I guess this would be my department, wouldn't it?" he asked rhetorically. He took a quick look around from his superior vantage point, trying to locate Verita as well as the doors and windows in and out of the place, and quickly throwing together a plan. Syler, Kai, get yourselves as close to Vertia as you can. When it hits the fan, grab her and hustle her out the back way. If you've got any fancy gadgets to cover them or make a distraction, use 'em to help cover their escape," he directed the Jawa. "Taro, Slip, get a table somewhere in that area," pointing to the area of the bar sitting on an invisible line starting at the main entrance and extending towards where Verita sat, and then past that out the other side of the bar. "I'll tell you why in a moment. Jake, you're with me." Then he scrutinized the slicer. "You'll cover the front entrance to keep them from legging it.

"We want to bag them all, so we can't just start blasting as soon as they enter the door. Once they're in far enough, Jake and I will confront them and order them to clear out. I doubt he'll do it, but he should turn around. That's when you two, nodding towards Slip and Taro, "Plug 'em in the back. You guys get Verita out while we start cutting them down. Got it?"

[Thundercracker]

Taro Bantari

"Works for me," Taro said.

He made his way over to the table indicated. Once there, he started to make idle conversation, while discreetly adjusting the grips and settings of his pistols under the table.

"So, your name's Slip? What's your story?" he asked.

[Saulk]

Slip stood and gave a small flourishing salite that was punched up with just a dash of flippancy but softened by a broad smile. "Aye, aye boss - I'll be ready. Come on, Hash."

Slip and the droid took a leisurely walk over to the table, sitting down in a similar position and reaching one hand down to keep on his good gun. He nodded at the droid, who stood ready to trigger the launching of his other sidearm should he need it.

He looked at the man who had spoken and nodded. "That's me. Though I think Master of Space is how I'll be going nowadays. My story isn't much...local kid made good, then made really bad by the Imps. I can fly most anything and if it breaks, Hash can fix it. Speaking of, buddy, check to make sure this table can be flipped over."

The droid chirped something blatantly insolent.

"Because I'm watching the door! Now check it or I'm hiding behind you when there's blaster fire. Oh, and Jaro...was who is going to protect the lovely lady in our plan?"

[WindyWillows]

Kai nods his head in agreement. "Sounds like a solid plan."

[WrathOfLife]

Jake 'Blackheart' Nova

Jake nods along with the plan. "So we are going to go right up him, right up to his face, and threaten to hurt him. Thus we will secure the element of surprise because no one expects a plan that crazy. Its the perfect plan." despite his comments, Jake moves to take his place in the ambush.

[Ganis]

Pizip sits there patiently as everyone scatters to their assignments, sipping his blue milk and munching on some cheesy poofs. The benefits of being mostly unnoticed. Discreetly, he tapes his gun to the underside of the table and flips the switch to enable the grenade launcher before chiming in to everyone's comlinks."I'll throw up a smoke screen between Dromo and Vertia to help you get her away, but I am going to wait till she see him to ensure the gravity of this sinks in before we whisk her away." promptly followed by the sound of a straw hitting the end of the liquid.

[thechosen2nd]

Syler shugs.

"sounds a lot more complicated than what I was thinking... but I guess tactical planning isn't really my thing."

"And in answer to your question Jake, Dromo is a big old Houk, who usually walks around with a massive heavy blaster strapped to his side. I dunno, there isn't really much that stands out about him... He's no uglier than most Houks are, but he isn't any prettier either. He'll probably have a couple of his cronies with him just for extra intimidation, but I doubt he's expecting to meet any resistance. There's probably only 3-4 of 'em, tops. If there were any more I'm sure my contact would have warned me."

Syler turns to Kai and says with a sly smile:

"Alright, Kai, what do you say we go have a conversation with Verita? She's sitting just over there in one of the alcoves on the other side of the bar."

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

A couple of Bith smoking a hookah at the main bar turn their heads as you scatter to set up your plan, but don't appear to give it a second thought, and turn back to their smoking. The bartender gives you a leery eye as he cleans off the counter-top, but he doesn't say anything. It's hard to say if he suspects you're about to cause a ruckus and doesn't like it, or if he just looks like that all of the time. (If you bother to glance around and notice the various stains and blaster burn marks on the walls around the cantina, you might suspect that minor scuffles aren't exactly rare in this cantina.)

http://i.imgur.com/2DTAl2k.jpg

[WindyWillows]

Before everyone starts to get up, Kai quickly adds, "Just so you all know, I have my speeder parked out back. Mr. Fezz over here might have a tough time squeezing in, but we could fit almost everyone if we have to bug out of here real quick. It's the green airspeeder."

Standing up, Kai looks over at Syler. "I think we should at least buy her a drink first," he says with a big grin spread out over his face. Slowly starting to walk over to where Syler pointed to, Kai keys a button on his wrist and he hears the familiar chirp of his comlink. Speaking quietly into it, he says, "Hey, Tex. I need you to start firing up the Arrow. We might need to leave in a hurry." As he walks over, Kai scans the room looking for any potential threats or funny business that might blow the whole thing. [roll0]

[thechosen2nd]

You don't notice anything out of the ordinary or particularly dangerous. Of course, there are some rough looking characters about, but that's hardly out of the ordinary in a cantina on a outer rim planet like this. No one strikes you as suspicious or anything though.

You notice that behind the bar there is a door to a back room which says "employee's only" in bold letters, but there is also a neon red "emergency exit" sign above it. There's also another emergency exit right next to the room you had just been sitting in.

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

Syler quips back,
"Knowing Verita, she'll already have one."

The two of you walk over to the other side of the bar, and into a secluded alcove where an attractive young Twi'lek with pale blue skin sits by herself, casually browsing the holonet on a very high-tech looking datapad with one hand, while drinking a tall light green beverage in the other.

"Hello Verita. Got a minute?" Syler says with a smile.

the young Twi'lek looks up and raises an eyebrow.

"...Syler? I haven't seen you since the night you had a few too many rounds of Corellian rum an-

"Ah yes, well that was a long time ago, wasn't it?" Syler quickly cuts her off with a sheepish grin.

Verita leans back and cracks a knowing smile. "A long time indeed. What brings you all the way out here? And who's this handsome bothan you've brought along with you?

Syler seems to regain his composure and puts an arm around Kai's shoulder.

"This here is my good friend Kai Sei'Lya. He's right down your alley Verita, one of the best informants I've ever worked with. And as for why we're here... well, we've got a bit of a proposition for you."

Now it is Syler's turn to crack a knowing smile, as he sits down across from Verita, and gestures for Kai to do the same.

Verita's leans forward and responds with a coy smile:"Oh really? well if it's the same 'proposition' you offered me the last time we spoke, the answer will be the same."

Syler coughs and starts to blush, then buries his face in his drink, leaving Kai to do the talking.

[WindyWillows]

Kai notices the bright red emergency exit signs in the back and makes a mental note of their position. That's where we're going if we have to bug out of here, he thought as he formulated an escape route. Upon reaching the table, Kai was surprised to see that the informant was a rather attractive Twi'lek girl. Kai leans over to Syler and says with a small grin on his face, "Syler, you didn't tell me our informant was so good looking."

After Kai was introduced and it was apparent that Syler was too flustered to speak, Kai took the initiative.
"So as Syler said I've been in the information game for a while. And it has come across both mine and Syler's attention that you've stepped on a few toes in the Green Talons." He paused for a second to gather his thoughts and then continued. "Well as it turns out, we might be able to help you out with those toes you've stepped on..." He flashes her one of his most mischievous and best smiles he can and says, "... For a price of course."

[Ganis]

After a brief pause, Pizip stows his gun back on his hip and leaves a few credits on the table to pay for his drink before he makes his way out to the front exit, multi-tool in hand and muttering nonsensically to himself about thinks being broken.

I took the orange color. Pizip is basically moving out front to be incognito to warn the others, playing the typical part of a jawa with his multi-tool out. Did a double move from the table, so 8 squares. He will be taking 10 on initiative for when combat starts for a total of 16.

[thechosen2nd]

Kai notices the bright red emergency exit signs in the back and makes a mental note of their position. That's where we're going if we have to bug out of here, he thought as he formulated an escape route. Upon reaching the table, Kai was surprised to see that the informant was a rather attractive Twi'lek girl. Kai leans over to Syler and says with a small grin on his face, "Syler, you didn't tell me our informant was so good looking."

After Kai was introduced and it was apparent that Syler was too flustered to speak, Kai took the initiative.
"So as Syler said I've been in the information game for a while. And it has come across both mine and Syler's attention that you've stepped on a few toes in the Green Talons." He paused for a second to gather his thoughts and then continued. "Well as it turns out, we might be able to help you out with those toes you've stepped on..." He flashes her one of his most mischievous and best smiles he can and says, "... For a price of course."

Verita crosses her arms and responds with a wry smile. "Oho, you and Syler are going to play the big frackin' heroes and save me from the mean old pirates, is that it? Well who says I need to be rescued? I'm not some damsel in distress, I can look out for myself. Yeah, I've stepped on some toes here and there, but in our line of work, who hasn't? I'm not worried about it. Sure, I've pissed off a few folks in the Green Talons over the years, but none recently, at least not to my knowledge. And I made it all up to Chukko a long time ago anyways, so it's water under the bridge."

She takes a sip from her drink and then furrows her brow. "Why are you two coming to me now anyway? I'm guessing this has something to do with Chukko and family getting blown up last week? Sure, now that Chukko's gone maybe one or two of his employees are still holding a grudge, and they might even bother trying to get some vengeance... but I doubt it. Like I said, it's been a long time, and they'll all be too busy dealing with the power struggle to have time to bother with a bit of revenge. Even so, I've been laying low ever since I got the news, just waiting for the dust to settle, and to see who comes out on top, ya know?"

The young Twi'lek casually knocks back the rest of her drink and sets the empty glass down on the table. "In any case, you lovely gentle-beings needn't worry about me, I can look after myself just fine."

[WindyWillows]

Kai flashes another smile. "I never meant to insinuate that you were incapable of handling yourself. I, for one, know that anyone in the information game needs to be able to handle themselve."

He leans in a little closer, resting his forearms on the table. "But perhaps I wasn't clear enough before. So allow me, if you will, to give you a better idea as to our proposition."

He pauses for a moment so he knows he has her full attention. "So here's the deal. We know that you pissed a few people off when you ratted them out to the Imps. One of those people that you pissed off, a Houk by the name of... what was it... Dromo? Yes, I think it was Dromo. You pissed off a Houk by the name of Dromo who as it turns out has recently been released from prison. What is even more coincidental is that he is currently on his way here. Right now. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he walked in the door at this exact moment. That's how close he is."

After pausing for a second to take a drink and to let what he said sink in he continues. "So the way I see it... you've got exactly two choices. You can either agree to help us and we'll take care of Dromo and his boys or you can not help us and we'll leave you alone. Though I don't think Dromo will honor the same agreement. I think that he'd rather just settle the score and be done with it. A bit of a bad business move but I can understand his frustration."

He flashes her another smile. "So what do ya say? Will you help us come out on top when the dust settles? Or are you gonna try your chances with a Houk who has grudge to settle? Your choice."
With that he leans back on the bench and rests one arm on the top of his seat while the other one slides down to his lap (ready to grab his gun in case Dromo comes in too soon).

[thechosen2nd]

Verita scratches one of her lekku.
"Dromo? ... I hadn't really thought about him. But my recollection is that he's been out of jail for quite a while. Besides, he never complained to Chukko, or anyone for that matter about getting ratted, from what I hear. He's a pretty clever guy actually, for a Houk anyway. I think he knows business is business. I really doubt he'd bother to hunt me down just for revenge... But then again, from what I hear, he can be pretty ruthless. Most of his kind are."

She squints her eyes suspiciously at you.
"You say he's on his way here now? How do you know this? I haven't heard anything. My intel says he's still on Rodia trying to sell some merchandise to a small guild of bounty hunters."

Syler finally chimes in.
"You haven't heard anything because your contact is probably working for Dromo now. He's gathered himself quite a following, and can be very... persuasive. Trust me Verita, even if he isn't coming here for revenge, that would mean he's coming here on business. I'm sure he knows you were one of Chukko's top informants, and he also knows he's going to need informants of his own if he wants to step into Chukko's place. You don't want to be stuck working for a violent old Houk who's still bitter about being ratted out. That just isn't a very profitable situation. Now, working for us on the other hand...

Syler leans in close and talks in a hushed tone, just as he did when convincing you all to form this merry band of criminals.

"Kai hasn't even told you the best part Verita. We're starting up a group ourselves, a group to step into the void left by the collapse of Chukko's empire. There's a lot of credits to be made, and we've already got a crew together who can really take advantage of the situation. With the help of you and your network of informants, we'll really be rolling in credits."

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

Those of you who can see the entrance and are paying attention notice a pair of Rodians walk into the cantina. They split up, and appear to casually be looking for someone.

Going to start working in rounds now, so no more than 1 full round per post. You may as well roll initiative now as well.

Jake, Niko, and Slip still need to place themselves on the map, and pick a color for their piece. I'm assuming according to Fezz's plan that Jake will be adjacent to Fezz on the other side of the table, Slip will be with Taro, and Niko will be somewhere near the entrance?

The two green dots are the rodians.

[WindyWillows]

"But before we can start rolling in the credits, we need to know if you're in or out. Cause that's going to determine what happens in the next few moments."

At this point, Kai has his hand on his blaster pistol and is preparing himself for trouble.

Initiative: 1d20+10
Perception (To make sure nothing sneaks up on him): 1d20+8
Edit: It's giving me some trouble with my rolls so I'm just gonna redo them in a new post.

[WindyWillows]

Initiative Roll: [roll0]
Perception Roll (to avoid being surprised by anybody): [roll1]

[WrathOfLife]

Jake 'Blackheart' Nova

Jake moves in to position carefully. Trying to look as fearsome as possible next to the huge hulking creature called Fezz.

He quickly double checks his rifle and then mutters to Fezz "Do you know what they look like? Cos my plan is just to shoot anyone shooting at me. Or anyone who has a gun. Or who looks at me funny.


[roll0] init

[RandomLunatic]

"If more than one Houk comes in here with a bunch of goons and a mission, I'll eat my hat," Fezz said, watching the Rodians nose around with the corner of his vision.

(([roll0]
[roll1]))

[thechosen2nd]

Verita notices your hand heading for your blaster and puts up her hands in mock fear.
"Easy there, bothan. No need to go reaching for your gun all of a sudden. What, are you gonna shoot me if I say no?" she says with a smile.

She powers down her data pad and puts it away in a small satchel, and pulls a handful of credits out of her pocket to pay her bar tab.
"Hmmm... it's an intriguing plan guys, but are you sure you've thought it all the way through? This is a very dangerous game you're getting involved in, with a lot of pieces. You won't be the only one trying to profit off of Chukko's demise, ya know. There will be a ton of others out there fighting for a slice of the pie. And the bigger a slice you cut out for yourself, the bigger a target you become to everyone else..." Verita looks up from counting out her credits and her eyes meet Syler's. Behind her overall air of confidence, you can see that she's at least a little concerned about Syler's well-being.

Syler smiles and responds with panache. "Of course I thought it through, we've got the perfect plan. Besides, you know me, life wouldn't be worth living without a little bit of excitement here and there, am I right?"

His last comment and excessive bravado is met with a wide smile from Verita.

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

A few moments after the Rodians walked through the door, A large Houk, flanked by two more Rodians, enter the cantina. The first two Rodians continue to move through the room as though they are looking for someone, while the Houk and his two compatriots head towards the bar.

Remember Kai, you can't see the door, so you would have no idea about anyone coming in or out. You'll have to count on your teammates giving you a heads up through your comlink. Do feel free to use a readied action though. e.g. "Kai is preparing himself for trouble, and as soon as he hears any news on the comlink about Chukko approaching Kai will grab his blaster.

(We're still not going in turns by initiative at this point btw, still just going by posting order, but if you make any actions now, you can't act again until after the Houk/Rodians do.)

[WindyWillows]

Kai chuckles slightly at her mocking and says, "Oh no, this isn't for you. I have other less violent ways to make people say yes. I prefer to persuade people rather than coerce them. They're much less likely to turn on you if try to persuade them." He removes his hand from the blaster but still keeps it close.

"No, it's more the fact that I don't care for surprises that I'm not prepared for so I always keep this..." He nods down to his blaster. "...very, VERY close at hand."

After hearing Verita and Syler's exchange, he adds: "This wouldn't be the first time that either Syler or myself have gotten into dangerous situations and I hardly doubt our associates haven't gotten into their fair share of scrapes either. We know the risks but we feel that the potential payout vastly outweighs the risks. So whadda ya say? You in?."