Winter of the Republic (IC)

[JusticeZero]

The sun hangs in the sky in the exact same place it always is, slowly burning faded shadows into the walls. The wind blows from nightside steadily, as usual, and the water currents push waves against the Rhin Zhin edge from sunside, as always. The smell of seaweed and fish hangs in the air, as always. Some things don't change.

Lines of people stretch out to the edge of the open square from the door of the grocery waiting for purified water and tinned rations, but there are no more bottles and no more cans.

After all. Republic contracts require that the food be packaged at and distributed from an approved facility.

The last of the ships that transport things in have left, leaving only the stockpiles. Somewhere. Everyone is sure there must be stockpiles, but they do not know where they might be, or who might be expected to ration them out. Surely someone must have the Republic contract to distribute food, but there is no sign of them. An edge of anger runs through the people here, watched over by uniformed police in masked helmets with rifles and shields with a Republic logo.

You are in Matuz Square, Sunside Rhin Zhin. Underfoot is a field of rusted metal grating, below which you can see more catwalks and walkways to apartments and utilities below, and even a dim glimpse of the water below that.

[Hazuki]

Bune watches the outrage in Matuz Square with her lip curled and her arms folded. She didn't need to panic. She could live on saltwater and catch enough fish to more than feed herself with her bare hands. But all of this was annoying. Nobody came to the fights, nobody could go about their business, and they were all angry at people whose lack of reliability got them into the current mess. Like that would solve anything.

But she could fix some of this.

The towering Nautolan strode over to the nearest uniformed guard. "Who has a loudspeaker?" She asks, without a hint of malice.

[Dirty Magic]

Nhilsabet slides quietly and inconspicuously through Matuz square. Crowded as it is, she carefully turns her body this way and that, subtle and precise, so as to never contact a soul. She doesn't need to concentrate on the tingly buzz in the back of her head to sense the mood of the crowd. Angry, hungry, frightened, abandoned. She feels for a moment like she finally fits in.

She catches whispers of converstion bourne on the slight salty seabreeze.
"...new Capitol buildings on half the planets in the Republic but they can't divert one asteroid."
"...and my kids can't eat their debates."
"Where are the Jedi? My taxes pay for their temples and training!" "May as well as ask for help from the fish in the sea. At least we can eat them!"

Nhils had been on her way to the 7 for a quick drink or six but about-faced to go back to the plant to discuss the situation with Reo. They have food. Since the last of the cargo ships debarked, their last catch is just sitting half-processed in the plant. And they can get more, at least while Embio's fuel supply holds out. Reo and Amik would certainly be willing to share with the crowds... but there's only so much for so long. Nhils knows people and she knows it won't be long at all before they come to just take what they want.

Not far away, she notices a crowd lined up at a grocery, buzzing with anger that there are no more supplies to be had. A massive figure breaks from the crowd and strides confidently toward one of the Republic security officers. It's that crazy Nautolan, with the... uh... things on the things on her head. 'Bune', that's it. She bumped into the big Nautolan one night at the Seventh Question. She could relate to the the big fish; she feels a little less... alien around her. Nhils settles nonchalantly up against a wall to see what will happen next.

[tigerusthegreat]

Ve sat in a dimly lit corner watching the crowds while mindlessly cleaning his DC-15. The carbine had served him well for many years, and he considered it a parting gift for the trouble his previous boss had handed him. After all, the rich bastard had sought to outfit his team with the best weapons money could buy, and Ve was going to make sure he got his money's worth when he eventually got back to make his reckoning.

He caught sight of Nhilsabet wandering through the crowd, and made a mental note of her. She had not turned nearly into the asset Tolla had been wanting, but it was worth keeping tabs on her. He notes her heading to the side of the market, slightly out of his view. He felt the need to shift positions to keep an eye on her, but elected to keep in his perch. No need to brave the angry crowds yet. One benefit of working for the Hutt was a full belly, as at least one of the many cargo ships had been wholly seized by his forces, with Ve's help of course. He'd not have to worry about restocking his supplied for another two or three days. He snapped a powerpack into the carbine, and checked its charge level. It was just above half. Unfortunately, there were shortages of everything here, and that included powerpacks.

[WhismurWanders]

The rhythmic flapping of Gutta's wings was suprisingly loud in the square. Everything was tense, and it seemed that everyone was resigned to speaking via grumbling or muted radio chatter. Honestly, he could empathize with the grumblers. He was only here because he thought he had picked up a lead on that Quarran that Voss was looking for, but it had turned up empty. No Quarran, no ship to fly me off planet... His eyes narrowed unconsciously and his mouth turned into a sneer aimed at no one. He was better than this. He was usually able to find people much easier, but this whole evacuation and scrambling for resources was throwing off routines and schedules. Such as that Nautilan fighter from the Seven Questions approaching Republican security.

That particular tidbit pushed some urgency into Gutta's wings. He found a lamp post to land by, eager to be out of the way if a fight started.

[Lentrax]

Leyana leans against the ferrocrete wall of a building, her eyes looking over the crowd. Not much to do while this asteroid thing is coming. And almost all the ships were already gone.

Leyana could understand the panic. No one had a way off planet, or even a way out of this city. And while the asteroid isn't a planet killer, it is big enough to ruin someone's day. A lot of someones, actually. But since Leyana didn't feel like getting herself entangled with the law, she just watched the crowd a credit chit idly rolling across the knuckles of her left hand.

And then she sees Bune push forward. Bantha spit. if that woman starts something with the Republic, they will likely start shooting. Better go see if I can try and smooth things over before they get out of hand...

Leyana pushes herself off the wall, flips the coin off her knuckles with a flick of her wrist, and catches it as she starts to push her own way through the crowd.

[JusticeZero]

The guard looks noticeably edgy at Bune's approach. They too can read the room, and they are on high alert. He holds up an armored hand and gestures back. "Please step back! We are here for your safety!"

But from the new vantage point, you can see Officer Grinnyl, with a bullhorn dangling from her belt where she would normally carry her duty pistol. Officer Grinnyl is... Not one of the good ones, from what you have seen. She's severe, quick to threaten, and not especially fair.

Today, she has a rifle with an expanded power cell strapped to her, so she can spare the space. Still, it's a bit worrying that they came with rifles and expanded cells...

Ve creates a bubble of space too. With tempers high, messing with blaster is hardly a peaceful and diplomatic act.

The owner of the market steps out and tries to lock the door. "All out! Go home! There's nothing left!"

[Hazuki]

"And I'm here to tell everyone how they can purify their water." Bune tells the guard, not stepping back despite the devastating palm technique the guard is using. "It'll save you standing on your feet and yelling all day. So."

[tigerusthegreat]

Sensing the rising tensions in the square, Ve keys his comlink to the frequency of his contact within Tolla's heirarchy. "Entropy to Workstation. Situation in the square is about to boil over. Demon and Floater both on location. Should I shake things up, or leave everything alone?" Ve hoped that his handler would tell him to make things interesting. He started looking around for something to create a distraction.

Since I can Make anything go boom I'm looking around the square for anything that would make a sizable boom with minimal effort.

As a note, for this contact, Ve's callsign is Entropy. The home station is called Workstation. Demon is Nhilsabet and Floater is Gutta

[Dirty Magic]

Nhils remains leaning against her wall, thinking about idiots. People in crowds... more often than not, idiots. People with guns and uniforms... more often than not, idiots. When idiots get into spitting contest, it's the innocents around them that get splashed. Nhils is no hero but she can't just watch that happen.

She sighs and moves trough the crowd toward Bune and the Republic officer, careful to not seem antagonistic to either. She moves gracefully, never bumping against anyone in the jostling, pushing crowd. She's running scenarios in her head as she walks. Maybe she can help convince the guard to let Bune use the megaphone. She's looking for things that are slippery or crunchy or trippy to tangle up the idiot-types if the smarter folk need to evacuate the square. She's trying to spot potential trouble-makers in the crowd.

Really, they're all potential troublemakers.

[WhismurWanders]

More and more people getting involved, and the shopkeeper simply declaring that he had nothing left was only going to make things more difficult. Gutta hops into the air and hovers over to the far side of the man to attempt to keep him from simply leaving without more details. "Maybe you tell these people where they can get food then." He looks down as if inspecting his fingernails and adds, "Between us, simply saying there's nothing left leads to mob-forming and door-smashing."

[JusticeZero]

The shopkeeper throws up their hands dramatically. "I don't know where to find anything! I've sold everything I could find." They seem earnest about it, and frustrated.
They probably don't know about the new and struggling store in a back alley of the Maze nearby started by a local boy that had asked Gutta advice once for how to get their licences through better, that probably still has a bit of stock on the shelves still.
They certainly aren't aware of the warehouse in Sunside Walby that Gutta remembers receiving a few shipments of food some time back. Come to think of it, that warehouse has been quiet, shouldn't it have been unloaded by now? Maybe it was completely overlooked.

On the back side of the market is a large bottle of pressurized gas, near some oil soaked rags. Might take a little bit of burning to get it up to heat, first.
Acknowledgement from your contact, but no advice yet.

The officer gestures at Officer Grinnyl. "You'd have to ask her. I'm just keeping an eye on things." Grinnyl looks over at Bune with some disgust. Maybe they have a history, maybe she just doesn't like her.

The area is pretty clear of things to trip over. There's a LOT of potential troublemakers. The place is one crazy event away from exploding into... SOMETHING. But Nhils is kind of good at not sticking out, and there's a lot to pay attention to other than her.

Volatility is power. Maybe good, maybe bad.

[Hazuki]

"Okay. Thanks." Bune said to the security guard, then approached Officer Ginyl as casually as she had him. "I want to tell people how to purify their water. It will save you time and them suffering. Please give me your loudspeaker."

[Dirty Magic]

Nhilsabet's insides are crackling. If she were to run down a list of the things in life that made her uncomfortable, this situation would tick off every box except "the word goo". Thugs in uniform, confrontation, angry crowds... She shudders and runs her hand against the tingly spot where the obese blue Twi'lek next to her keeps brushing up against her elbow.

In spite of her discomfort, Nhils settles discretely in near the front of the crowd around Bune and the Republic officer. If trouble starts, she thinks there's a pretty good chance this will be the epicenter. She's ready to try to stop any instigators or at least help clear out the innocents as best she can.

[WhismurWanders]

Gutta nods and lets the shop owner leave, if they wish to. He flaps his wings and hovers his way to where the Nautilan seemed to be negotiating with security forces. He had seen her quite often in the 7 Questions, and she seemed to be taking charge of the situation for the better. He would drop some hints as to where these hungry people could go to her, and let her talk to the disgruntled crowd. Were he a Toydarian attempting to tempt fate, he might ask, What could possibly go wrong?

[tigerusthegreat]

Ve silently watches the situation. He sets the safety and shoulders his carbine and walks slowly to a position with better visibility to the bottle of gas. A blaster shot should heat it up enough to make it explode, but that might not be necessary.

[JusticeZero]

Grinnyl looks over as Bune approaches, startled. Her rifle comes up a bit, in alarm and some unkind instinct. Then, after a moment, she thinks better of it, and the rifle starts to come down again. Distrustful, maybe. Not completely unreasonable.

One moment too late. Someone in the crowd yells out a loud, "Don't shoot!" and then suddenly, the crowd is up in arms and the police are backing away, trying to calm the situation for the moment. This isn't good, not good at all. But it could certainly be a lot worse. Nobody is shooting or throwing anything yet, for one thing.

Anyone close to the officers is probably shoved up close to them by the press of the crowd. Ve, being in back, is completely unwatched in the confusion.

[Dirty Magic]

Nhils lets out a little "Eeep" as the crowd begins to jostle up against her in its growing frenzy.

Nope, she thinks to herself, No, no, no. This is not going end well.

Nhils instinctively steps up close enough for Grinnyl to hear her. She exhales slowly and pushes on the snaky little tingle in her brain, letting it slither from her eyes into Grinnyl's. Slowly, careful she demands "Let the Nautolan use your bullhorn. Help us calm this crowd."

[Hazuki]

For the moment, Bune simply stands tall and grounds her stance as the crowd tries to shove her into the guard. Nhils seems to have taken over trying to negotiate for the loudspeaker, so she'll let her. If that doesn't work, she'll have to think of something else.

[JusticeZero]

Grinnyl brings her hand down and wordlessly hands over the bullhorn, looking around very nervously at the state of the crowd. Attention on the crowd, apparently sharing in the nervousness of the moment. After a couple seconds, she remarks to another police, "I don't like this. Why can't they just send supplies? Just try to keep it calm. We don't need an incident now."

Around her, other police officers look visibly edgy and agitated, hands close to their rifles.

Overhead, a flying video droid roams into vision, hovering overhead and pointing its camera down at the crowd, taking in the scene.

[Hazuki]

"Thanks." Bune says, as she takes the bullhorn, then turns to face the crowd as she starts to address them. "Listen up if you want to not die. Here's how you purify water: Get a container, fill it with seawater. get another container, put it in so it floats. Get a lid that points down and put it on them. Boil it for about twenty minutes. What's in the second container is drinkable water. Food: If you know how to fish, teach. If you don't know, ask somebody who does. Doesn't matter if you suck or if it's just fish from the shallows that taste bad. You can still fish and still eat it. You don't need the Republic to put food in your bellies, haven't for most of your lives and you don't now."

[Dirty Magic]

Nhils is a quite uncomfortable in front of all these people but is still determined to do what she can to help.

"May I?" she asks, nabbing Grinnyl's communicator and calling back to Rayn Fish and Weed. "I think I can help feed some of these people."

"Embio? Are you online? Embio?"

[WhismurWanders]

Gutta speaks up once the crowd has stopped advancing and fingers were removed from triggers. "Well, officers, if you're looking for a way to look like you're still in charge of the situation, there are other places with food the Republic may not know about." He jerks his forehead subtely to the video drone before lowering his voice. "Give you a chance to look like you want these people to not starve."

[JusticeZero]

The crowd quiets to listen to what Bune has to say, for the moment. Crowds can be fickle, though... If they're listening, they're not rioting.

Embio: "I'm here. What's up? We're working on the forecast for contact here. Fishing is going to be awful for a while."

Grinnyl nods at Gutta and steps back a bit out of the front line a little. "I'm listening. What have you got?"

[Dirty Magic]

Nhils edges back a bit from Gutta and Grinnyl. She's ready to help but happy to not be front and center.

[WhismurWanders]

"There's a warehouse in Sunside Walby. Used to be run by a Twi'lek named Zarvan." He pauses and scratches his chin before mumbling, "At least, I think it was Zarvan. Anyways, they received shipments of food a while back. Can't say I've heard of them ever unloading or distributing the food."

[JusticeZero]

The crowd is very calmed, discussing survival tips among themselves, and is no longer seeming unruly at all. The police relax, as the crisis seems averted.

Grinnyl frowns a bit, uncertain. "You know we can't condone looting. I didn't hear you say that." She looks around the scene, very uncomfortable.
On the edge of the line, somebody with good hearing perks up. "There's a full warehouse? HEY EVERYONE! Let's go get us some food!"
Grinnyl drops her head, with an expression Nhils knows well, shoulders dropping in pure doom. No good can come of this...

The crowd starts turning a bit, trying to orient itself, as the eye drone hovers overhead, focusing its big mechanical eye on the police. People mill around slowly and start debating on where food stores might be found in a relaxed way.

[WhismurWanders]

Gutta rolled his eyes and sighed. Great. He found the rarely-seen cop with a conscious. He holds up his hands reassuringly and attempts a different approach. "Listen, no one's talking about looting. Republican security forces would simply requisition and distribute a supply of food in order to keep peace and order while caring for the wellbeing of local citizens. Sounds like something justified with paperwork during a planetary crisis, yes? Because even if you think looting won't solve any problems..." he pauses and gestures to the impatient crowd behind him, "I'm not so sure they'll agree with you. Sure, they're calm now, but we both know this isn't the last of it."

[Hazuki]

Bune, content with what she's done so far, hands the loudspeaker back to the Republic Officer. At least there are a few less people being idiots now.

"Thanks." She says to Nhils. "Surprised it worked."

[Dirty Magic]

As the thrum of the crowd modulates down from hysteria, Nhils quietly addresses the Nautolan and Toydarian that have been helping calm the situation.

"Hey... you guys see that drone that's buzzing around? It seems like we've calmed the crowd but... I dunno..." She subtly indicates the drone, in the way you point out that guy in the crowd that will obviously thump anyone that points him out.

"It makes me think of this stint I did on this little mining colony, Murphy 8-3. They had this new Repulsorlift craft, The Special, that everyone was excited about. Turns out it was really designed for corrupt crowd control and surveillance. Someone's watching this. What do you guys think?"

[Hazuki]

Bune gazes up at the camera droid and shrugs. "I might be able to tackle it out of the sky. Find out who owns it once we have it."

[Dirty Magic]

Nhils surveys the crowd with an eye that is as practiced at being poked by hostile fingers as it is at making observations. She frowns a little, convincing herself that the slight decline in murderous intent will be as short-lived as a brinkfish in a barrel full of hammer-crabs.

"Embio?" she asks into the communicator she quietly requisitioned. "Can you have a quick chat with Amik and Reo? I'm in Matuz Square. There's a crowd of hungry people here and I'm pretty sure they'll tear this place up if they don't get some hope soon. Is that final catch processed? Can we hook these folks up with something to eat?"

[JusticeZero]

This part of the city is close in, one and two story buildings over the surface level. The city tends to sprawl rather than build up, more township raft units are relatively cheap. There are awnings and roofs nearby, but above deck is the nice airy part. Most of the nitty gritty is down below, on subways and deep basements.

There's a couple levels below connected by walkways. The square is a one block park, just open surface in front of the grocery. Some landscaping was intended, maybe even planned, but never actually built.

Embio replies: "<Sure, Boss! We have a catch ready to go, but boss, the projections are that we won't be able to get another catch in for awhile. Contact is going to wreck the catch for awhile. Are you sure? We can get it ready to unload if you need.>"

[Hazuki]

Bune whistles over her lingering announcer droid. "Up here." She instructs the hulking hover droid, as she climbs to the rooftop nearest the one that's spying on the crowd. "Over there." She instructs, as the droid hovers over to a spot to serve as a stepping stone for her leap at the camera droid. Then, she charges, and leaps with a little boost given by the droid to tackle the spy out of the sky.

Forceful!

[roll0] +3

[Hazuki]

Bune finds her droid unprepared for her sudden weight, a little dip in her stepping stone, and herself only just managing to grab the camera droid by its lower-most parts. The camera swivels angrily on her as it suddenly starts careening to the ground, but a boost of its repulsor lifts carries the both of them towards the nearest building. Her shins bounce off of the edge of the roof and she grunts, coiling herself up so as not to collide with the next obstacle, only to be torn through some shrubbery along with the droid she's tightly clinging to.

[Dirty Magic]

"Yeah, Embio," Nhils says into the communicator. "You should drop whatever's sitting there processed at Matuz Square. It'll just rot on the processing floor anyway and these folks could stand to see people helping people."

She addresses the crowd. "Hey everyone... I've got a truck of food on the way you can share. Some seaweed and some brink. Nothing fancy but it'll fill your bellies for the moment!" She speaks loudly, in kind and sincere tones. But really her head is swimming slightly standing in front of all these people.

[JusticeZero]

Oooh, food. Instant attention-getter! The crowd cheers at their new hero! Everything here is pretty much at peace now.

The eye droid carries Bune between a couple of buildings, crashing and banging her comically against things and buzzing and beeping angrily at her. The camera creaks and wobbles on its mounting, barely hanging on as the joints strain. The edge of a registration plate digs into the side of her hand - if only he could get a good look at that, Gutta could pin down all kinds of information on this intruder!

[Dirty Magic]

Nhils is happy that the crowd is happy and slides quietly in with them so she's not quite so front and center. She flushes a little, in a way only another Devaronian might spot, as this and that member of the crowd grab her hand to shake it, or clap her on the shoulder with a question or exhortation.

Nhils is happy that the crowd is happy but she's not thrilled with all the attention.