Sand in places you'd never expect...

[Jingo]

Kaida enjoyed the cool atmosphere of the acer hub and relished in regular baths in refreshing cool water, but even she could only spend so much time languishing about in total comfort. She also dedicated time to preparing on their next mission. She queried Caden about everything he knew about this Shadow character and where they might be able to find him. The sooner they could complete this task, the sooner they could get back to the business of rescuing her sister. She used she ship's connection to the holonet, and tried to drum up additional leads on any other family members and any possible financial resources she might be able to procure from extended family or family friends, being as careful as she knew how to cover her electronic tracks.

Use Computer for the above.

Rolled 1d20+10 : 17 + 10, total 27

Hoping to procure the funds from my newly taken Wealth talent and find additional info on her sister.

[sdrotar]

The Aegis was pretty agile and maneuverable - for its class - thanks to the combat thrusters they installed. They could run, but at some point, he figured, they'd need offense.
After speaking with Logar, Caden scrounged around the Hub and its surrounding for a shipborne weapons dealer. His "Princess" had armaments that were only borderline legal already, but he hoped he could find better.
After all, if they were worried about the Empire's law, they wouldn't be doing Organa's dirty work, and if they were impounded by the Empire, illegal weaponry would be the least of their charges...

[tomcat]

First, the results of the sparring... initiative fell to Brim and he attacked, which was blocked by Farok, who then countered and was blocked. So here is another attack from Brim... we no longer need to roll for initiative.

Brim attacks Farok
16 melee attack +7

Rolled 1d20+7 : 19 + 7, total 26

damage if successful 1d6+5 : 6 + 5, total 11

Brim blocks Farok's attack
DC Farok's attack roll Use the Force +8

Rolled 1d20+8 : 18 + 8, total 26

Okay, we can go back and forth with the spar for awhile, but the game is moving on from the morning workout under the Aegis.



Farok had become a regular face around the Loronar-explorer. He would arrive in the morning and he and Brim would practice their weapon techniques, or he would sit and quietly converse with the Rodian. At times, he would make conversation with the other members of the crew. Kara still found him to be on her wrong side, as he had yet to relinquish the moniker of sweetheart whenever he would speak to her.

It had been a rough couple days for the Corellian. The first night's arrival having gotten drunk at the casino, and the next day sweating it out in her bunk and trying to brush the cobwebs from her mind. It didn't help that her head had been screaming for the better part of the morning. But that was yesterday, now she stood and left her room. She was still queasy, but didn't know if that was still her hangover or if she were hungry. Kara went down to the first deck, having found no one on board, and then down the landing ramp. She immediately heard the clang of Brim and Farok's makeshift weapons.

"Mornin', sweetheart," said Farok grinning behind one of his foul smelling cigars.

Kara rolled her eyes and then regretted making her way outside as the oppressive heat engulfed her.

Caden, Logar, and Kaida had all left the ship earlier that morning after Logar had made contact with the arms dealer. Another meeting had been set up and the trio found themselves, once more at the seedy brothel on the southwest side of Mos Entha. Kaida had given into the men and had entered the place, though she brought her hood up over her head. She had no desire to be seen as any part of the business.

Taxian was in the back room where he conducted all of his contacts, but then led them downstairs, as he had done with Logar two days prior. Once in his storeroom, he opened the large crates and left them for the trio to look through. "Prices are like before, Phoenx," he said to Logar, using the made up name he had been told before. This caused both Caden and Kaida to look over at the soldier with the same look, Phoenix? "Discounts will be offered based on volume."

Caden made his inquiry of ship-grade equipment and upgrades. Gorman smiled. This may be a really good day, he thought. He then went on to explain, "It may take me a few days but I can get you weapon upgrades, booster upgrades, sensor mods, you name it! I have a guy that can get me the materials via Mos Eisley, but delivered here. You'll need to do the installs though... can you handle that?"

The Bestinian thought of Sam... surely between the droid, himself, and if Kara could stay sober long enough, the three of them could get the Aegis upgraded.

"So's whatcha interested in... torpedo launchers? Thrusters? Hyperdrives? Maneuvering jets... those are a great addition to any freighter." Taxian moved over to a manifest and read down it. "Looks like he is also going to have a proton torpedp launcher and some armor plating. So?"

Sam had finished bringing the evaporator up and laying it in its metal housing. Once done, he only needed to ratchet the brackets back in place so the large machine would not slip once it was started. There was a tendancy for vibration that could cause the evaporators to turn. Then, when he had it resecured, it would only be a few hours to attach the condenser pipes along its base and to hardwire it to the farmer's solar generator. That was one thing Tatooine had in abundance, solar radiation to provide power.

The droid mechanic was very satisfied with the work and his performance, and the fact that he had come in under the allotted time and would earn his full pay.

[tomcat]

Use Computer for the above.
This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20+10 : 17 + 10, total 27
Hoping to procure the funds from my newly taken Wealth talent and find additional info on her sister.

Hey Jingo, this is good. I haven't forgotten about your wealth. I am going to work it into the story very soon, but I like you RP'ing the new trait into the story.

[tomcat]

Fett looked at the screen and saw that his accounts were increased by the two-hundred and ten-thousand credits that Antturus had promised. The young Mandalorian felt his heart skip a beat. He knew his father's reputation, along with the lucrative business he had created, and the wealth he had amassed. It was just hard to see his own self-worth increased so. There would come a time when he would be able to be independent of aid from the Hutt, although Jabba had never placed a price on said aid. Still, Boba knew that nothing in the galaxy came without a cost. He would feel much more confident when he had the resources that would keep him completely self-supported.

This was a start.

Boba Fett even decided that he had no problem dropping the job, but he would hold that card in his hand for last. After all, the princess from Commenor had made him a pretty wealthy man and all he had had to do was leave her be. Yet, he had no desire to sully his reputation - he was the most feared bounty hunter in all of the galaxy. So for now, he would tell his client that the mark had once more disappeared and it would take time until he could pick up her trail.

But he had work to do. With the large sum of money came another agreement - that he would aid these people in the destruction of the Bando Gora. He donned his helmet and pushed the button to lower Slave I's cargo ramp. He strode off his ship with his armor on, save the jetpack that normally sat upon his shoulders and back. The Mandalorian still looked fearsome with the arm-guantlet weapon arrays and his blaster shouldered.

He moved into the streets of Mos Entha and began to make his way to the small docking bay where the Aegis sat. He figured this was going to be a contentious meeting at best. Hopefully these people would be reasonable, for their own sake.

*******

The crowds moved about the city, as they always had, as if nothing had changed here. Or maybe it was now fear that suppressed them; made them think that there was no other option than to live their lives, serve this new Empire, and make no waves. After all, when the New Order had taken over, the protestors filled the streets. The Royal Family had withdrawn its senators from the new Imperial Senate in defiance of the Emperor.

That was when the star destroyers had come. That was when Imperial Clone Troopers, once proud soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic, commenced a ground and aerial assault that had taken the lives of many Commenor citizens. It was when the Royal house had been destroyed and the new Moff was supplanted. It was when Jalek's life had gotten crazy.

As a prince of the Royal Family, Jalek was trained in various areas of Commenor government, but his primary activity had been with the intelligence division. He had worked within the political realm by creating contacts, working agents, and various other spy assets to ascertain that Commenor would remain a prominent system within the Colonies. All his efforts had failed in preventing his family from being either slain, or dispersed, although it had allowed him to stay alive and on his homeworld.

The message he had received had read urgent, but very little else in regards to details. Jalek knew he was taking a risk by meeting the unknown agent, but all of his personal sources were confirming the contacts legitimacy. He didn't understand, though, why the message to him could not be relayed through other channels. In the end, he agreed to the meet and now looked at his fellow Commenor citizens moving up and down the broad, city boulevard looking as if all had returned to normal. Jalek pulled himself back further into the shadows, looking about as he did for his personal security team. There was one... two... and three more sitting in the open caf patio across the street. He sighed a bit of relief and then stepped out of the alley and started to mingle into the passing business folk going to and from work.

Jalek walked to the end of the block, crossed the busy intersection, and then proceeded into the open caf patio, himself. He took a discreet seat not far from his entourage, but not close either. He did not look around. He sat casually like the years of training had taught him to do. Suddenly a figure sat at his table, "Pontus! Well met." They shook hands and Jalek watched to see how much interest any of the patrons had in them. There was none. A crowd can be the best place to hide, he thought.

The man began to speak in a subdued tone, "My Prince, I am not sure if you remember me, but I served in your First Directorate under O'Connel. My name is Verdus." Jalek smiled as he heard O'Connel's name and knew of whom the man spoke. He continued, "I have been working on your request to find your family since you ordered it after the attack. Well... we found one!" He became a bit excited, "A contact working deep cover in a local guild saw a picture of Kaida, sir. News is she is alive and well, although she is being hunted by Vader. He has employed multiple assets, but primarily he has put money up as bounty and those hunter-scum have taken the mark. Anyway, she is now somewhere on the Outer Rim - to assure security for you and her, I will relay the locatin to you via an encrypted holonet message." He suddenly spoke a bit louder, "I need to get back to the office. I will see you at Priva's for dinner."

The two shook hands again. Jalek waited for his cup of caf to be served and then with drink in hand, he stood and left the cafe. He quickly made it back out of the public eye and thirty-five minutes later he was back in a safe house with others from the original Commenor government that had served under his father, Jerrick. He spoke quickly to his aide, "It is true. Kaida is alive and well, but on the run. She will need help. I want to start by getting her resources - that will be the easiest thing. Arrange for a new account out of one of our subsidiaries and funnel credits into it. Once we receive the location, we will organize a meeting, but I want her contacted ASAP and informed that she has the funds available to her. She can use them to find a place to lay low and keep hidden."

The aide wrote the notes on a personal PAD, "Yes, your highness. I will see to it right away."

[donimator]

Sam returned to the Aegis after he was done the work. He left a comm code with Ed should he need any more work or knew someone who did. His first act was to reimburse Caden the four hundred credits he borrowed. Sam felt better at paying it back and was glad to do so. It was a comforting sensation and a sign of his growing sapience.

Sam looked around a bit as he returned. He saw enough 'No Droids' signs to get the hint his kind was not welcome here. Before entering the docking bay he did a circuitous route, almost by habit now, to make sure nothing was out of place.

[watanabe]

Kara had the urge to shoot Farouk with her blaster, then she had the urge to shoot him with the blaster set to stun, then she fought off the urge to play into word games and shook her head and went outside, the heat hit her like a brick and she looked around.  She figured today she would find a Sabaac game, someone needed to lose some credits today, and it might very well be herself.

[tomcat]

I will post a game update tomorrow - for Sam, Kara, and Logar. Otherwise it has gotten real quiet anymore. Does Kaida and Caden want to purchase anything from the weapons marketeer? Let me know.

Kinda leaving it in your hands to build character interaction - maybe stuff about the upcoming mission; maybe talk to Farok to firm up his interest in being part of the team, or your interest in having him; etc.

If you guys do not have anything to RP between one another, I will go ahead and move the game on...

[Jingo]

So did my funds come through then? I may help with purchases if they did. 

[tomcat]

They will soon - Kaida will be contacted soon in narrative. As for funds, the party currently has combined:

28,000 credits in personal assets

35,000 credits from Organa

So, with 63,000 in credits, I think you guys can make a few decisions on what you  would like to purchase.

[Jingo]

  While beefing up the ship is useful, i'd like to see us beef up our personal equipment along the lines of anything that helps us with covert ops missions. We'll eventually be breaking out Kaida's sister, and some serious equipment may come in handy there a well as hunting down this Shade character. So, I ask our arms contact about the following:

• Shadowsuits? The old Arms and Equipment guide for the original SW d20 system had these and they add +10 on stealth checks.
• Other stuff like helmets with HUDs with nightvision, infrared vision, gps tracking and the like.
• Electronic gadgets for computer hacking, bringing down security systems, surveillance, sensors, and the like.
• A used and reprogrammed Droideka that we modified to obey our every whim would be totally sweet. 
• A hidden smuggling compartment to hide all our gear.

[watanabe]

 

There are shadowsuits in Saga edition, look at the Scum and Villainy book for a lot of the good tech and equipment upgrades.

[Telcontar]

  I am not really sure what direction we are supposed to be moving in. Other than getting gear are we looking for clues on Tantoonie for the shadow or what?

[tomcat]

Hey Tom, I understand. I guess I am leaving you guys with nothing to work with. I will have a new post up here shortly, going to lunch with my wife first. My ultimate goal was for the PC's to interact a bit with idle whatever - they have never met you and except for Brim (a NPC), I was hoping that conversation would occur to build a character relation. It also would have been a means to organize the upcoming mission, which no one knows much about - and would have created reason for you to want to leave Tatooine on this fool-hardy chase. And to answer your question, there is little in the way of clues on Tatooine.

No big deal. I will get more up today and I apologize for the slow pace.

To Kaida and Logar, yes - I will have availability of your shopping lists up when I post later. I am compiling stuff that Taxian may be able to retrieve and what it will cost.

Sam and Kara, I will have some nuggets for you too in my next post for you to RP off of.

Thanks again, and sorry for the delays - my wife's birthday was Friday and we took a four day weekend.

[tomcat]

Kara moved past the dueling warriors, smirking as she did. It was much too hot for that kind of activity and besides, there was nothing better than a blaster on your side. She started down the circular passage tunnel that led out of the docking bay and onto the street of Mos Entha. She looked left and then right to decide, which was the best way to go to find a good game in this town. She had gone left a few nights before and so she turned right.

Behind her, Sam was making his circuit of the docking bay and saw Kara exit the passage. His tracking software automatically began to lock in on her and any potential threat zones to her position. As much as the droid tried to supress the B2 programming within, it was difficult. As his eyes worked in tandem with his internal software, he locked onto a recognized threat approaching in the direction that Kara was walking. The woman had her head down, and did not seem to notice him. Sam's memory recognized the familiar pattern of the green and red Mandalorian armor of the bounty hunter they had engaged on Jovan Station a number of weeks past.

Kara was checking her belt under her overcoat that she wore to assure that her credits were secure and the pouch in which they sat could not be easily snatched from her person. She pulled tight and tugged at it with her other hand to rest her mind at ease. Kara looked up to see where she was going, only to see an ugly Weequay face directly in front of hers.  The face she saw made her cringe.

"We heard you were in town, Corellian!" said Weevil Tug. His rugged, leather skin a mean grimace. Behind him as always, and standing in the shadows of an alley was Tug's partner, a Trandoshan named Drissst. The reptilian thug was cradling a nasty looking weapon. Kara felt the weight of her own blaster hanging on her hip, but she was unsure what good it could do her at the moment. Tug continued, "Do ya know it took us almost all day yesterday to travel here from Mos Eisley and then find where you were. You shouldn't go making scenes in local pubs when you are here, Sala. But you were never too bright, were ya? And the booze and drugs always seem to get the better of ya. Anyway, I want my money - you are either going to pay me, or I am going to feed both of your hands to Drissst." A hissing laugh came from the shadows.

Sam could see that Kara was now engaged in what looked like a heated conversation. The target had come out of nowhere. Probably from an alley, he surmised.

In the basement warehouse of the brothel, Gorman Taxian was grinning ear to ear while his new customers read off the items that they might be interested in. He began to look down other manifests from other providers to see what he could bring in, what it would cost, and how long it would take.



For Sam and Kara, you guys can give me initiative rolls and any RP'ing that you want too. Nick, I know you have never given me any of Kara's enemies and only mentioned her one time presence on Tatooine, but I figured she seems the type to get herself in a lot of trouble.

So, meet Weevil Tug, a gambler, murderer-for-hire, and all around bad seed. I hesitate to call him an assassin as he has no finesse, he's more of a kneebreaker or alley killer, along with his Trandoshan friend. When you met him is not such a big deal, but feel free to respond however you want. Kara can adamantly deny owing him anything; she can be unsure if she got in trouble during a drunken blackout; or she can know about what he is talking and deal with it in her way. You RP this how you want.

Don, Sam is down the street from Kara, who has his back to him and faces Weevil Tug. Boba Fett is further down the street making his way towards Docking Bay 61, where the Aegis is parked.

Shopping list in next post for Kaida, Caden, and Logar... just don't want to have anything catastrophic happen and loose what I have typed, while I post the list.