Episode 1: Murder most foul

[GandalfOfBorg]

If Dan had been drinking something, it would've come out his nose at the mention of him being a Jedi.  Instead he just coughed and looked a little embarassed.  I guess all those times I had been 'lucky' wasn't really luck at all, he thought.  Apparently this request of his friend, Bail, had more to it than he originally thought.  In that moment, the whole of his life changed.  "If such assumptions are true, I would beg that none would reveal it; I don't care to be 66'd as I'm sure none of you would either.  Senator, I would help you if just for that."

[donimator]

Code Select Expand


Voice stress analysis...logged
Scanning for armed targets...logged
Calculating potential success for target elimination...processing

"Dammit, stop thinking that way!" Sam admonished himself as he listened to the Senator's proposal. The sting of the earlier words still tingled his circuitry. Internally he retained so little of the battle droid's programming that he often forgot it formed the core of his existance...until he got into combat - old habits die hard. He logged the Senator's words on the task into memory and initiated a recording to store for later referral.

Sam worked hard to try and mimic the 'human' mannerisms, with the hope of fitting in better. He leaned against objects instead of standing rigid. He turned his head to acknowledge the speaker even though they were clearly in the field of view. He let out an impressed synthesized whistle at the mention of the reward.

Code Select Expand


Number of initial shares in the payment...logged
Calculating potential threat of assignment...processing
Probable number of surviving members to share in payment...logged
Sam smiled.

[tomcat]

Everyone's head turned at the sound of the whistle, coming from the droid. Sam saw that each had a surprised look and the droid tried to show himself more relaxed by leaning forward on a chair and emitting a chuckle. The gesture from the droid, trying to behave as a living thing, was quite awkward and kind of funny. Caden gave a wry smile then turned back to the senator.

Kal's face retained his puzzled look, "You did not know that you had Force talents? Then why would Bail have sent you? Surely he knew my needs?" He shook free his jumbled thoughts, "Very well... still you may be able to ascertain what is needed. I had always heard that those with Force abilities could sense things... things that were not always visible, or yet to happen. Do you have any of these talents, Dan?"

Members of the group suddenly felt as if the 150,000 larians were slipping from their grip.

[GandalfOfBorg]

Dan felt as thought the weight of the entire Jedi legacy was sitting upon his shoulders... a responsibility and standing he wasn't sure he could live up to.  "I have had quite a number of close calls in the past and believe my luck is excessive -- I guess I know why now.  I don't recall experiencing talents such as you describe but if what you say is true, this mission may be the nudge in the right direction."

[tomcat]

Still with an uncertain look on his face, Kal resigned to the fact that he might have made an error. He was going outside his government's investigative organizations, both local and federal. He also knew that none of these folks before him were detectives, or investigators - could they possibly achieve the task requested, and be discreet? After all, this was all to preserve whatever he could of Seelig's honor.

But what did Ranie really know of his mentor? Now clouds of doubt began to shade that idea and the Bakuran senator needed to make a decision. The supposed Force-user seemed to be ready to take on the task... the others, what did they bring? Deniability... that is what they all brought. But they also brought confidentiality. Should the investigation turn up things that could destroy everything that Seelig built, well... none would be the wiser except for the team and himself.

Lastly, as Kal had stated earlier, the presence of a federal investigation could, or would, be reported up the chain of command. That meant it would arrive on the desk of Governor Tieraan at some point, and then the garrison of Imperial Stormtroopers that were planet-side would be reinforced. The Imperials would be into everything; especially if they thought that the murder could in some way wrest control of the Bakuran Repulsorlift Corporation from its sovereign owners. After all, that company and the planet's mineral wealth were all the Imperials wanted out here, otherwise they would never be seen.

Kal sighed. Like it or not, he had started this thing... he had to let it run its course, and hope for the best. "The details of this task have been revealed to you all - and so, like it or not, you will take on the investigation. Here is a datapad that contains all details from the case file that has been collected so far. There are pictures of the murder scene; images of Seelig's body; and addresses of where the murder took place, and where Neja lives. Connections to me will be limited, though I do promise you as much support as is legal. The aid may just come in different ways.

"Any questions? If not, then feel free to rest yourself here for the rest of the day, but by tomorrow I request you get to work."

[Cut]

[OOC: What time is it? Is the day nearly over or do we have the whole day still before us? If we have some daylight left, Kex suggests the following.]

Kex Cahill, feeling eager to take up the challenge and solve the mystery behind this crime, stands and speaks up rather enthusiastically.
"I say we start right away. We should all get up to speed with what facts we have available at hand",  while saying this, he is pointing to the datapad they had just been given, then continues. "And then we should see this young girl, what was her name again..., Neja, right?, that witnessed the murder. She might be our best lead to the case, and she could be in grave danger, if the assassin realizes he left someone alive that saw everything that has happened." He picks up the pad and starts reading the contents.

[OOC: If the day's nearly over, Kex suggests reading all the material available to them (the datapad) and starting out to talk to the lady the first thing in the morning, or even tonight if the group feels up to the task after the long flight.]

[donimator]

When Sam has an opportunity to handle the datapad, he connects to its access port and downloads the data into his personal memory as a backup and to try to analyse the datastreams.

Use Computer skill (+7) if needed to override any security
d20+7 = 13 +7 = 20

Although he has no real forensic skills, Sam attempts to review the downloaded data (if successful) to try and confirm that it is original and untampered.

[sdrotar]

"And then we should see this young girl, what was her name again..., Neja, right?, that witnessed the murder. She might be our best lead to the case, and she could be in grave danger, if the assassin realizes he left someone alive that saw everything that has happened."

"I can handle that," Caden said, gazing absent-mindedly at the datapad. "I'm sure she's thought of the same thing, Kex - I'd bet I can find out what she knows."

"After all," he said, "she'll probably want to get in touch with somebody she can trust."

[BrianM]

[OOC - sorry about the lack of posts in recent days - I've be laid up with migraines over the weekend and I've just returned to work - I'll catch up with the game this evening - Cheers, Brian/Brim]

[sdrotar]

[OOC - sorry about the lack of posts in recent days - I've be laid up with migraines over the weekend and I've just returned to work - I'll catch up with the game this evening - Cheers, Brian/Brim]

OOC: Migraines suck. That is all.

[tomcat]

[OOC:] You may all ask me questions regarding what you find/see on the datapad. The unit is a ROM type device with a display screen. It will show images taken by the police investigators. It has detailed all forensic evidence found at the scene. It has Neja's address... etc.

Questions can be derived from the opening cutaway scene that started our adventure, but understand that I will derive the details known based on what forensics were able to find. [What I mean here is, you know that Seelig was tied to the window frame based on the story, that detail will be in the datapad... from there you can ask, How were his hands tied? How big was the hole in his torso, and what kind of weapon would achieve that? etc.]

Sam now has all the data recorded into his own memory system - and Sam finds the data original and untampered.

You all may ask me any question you would like, either in character or OOC, regarding information that might be available on the datapad. I will make a Gather Information roll for you to determine what you pull from the datapad. You will get an affinity bonus of 1/2 your Use Computer skill to add to the roll (rounding down).

If you all RP your questions, I may allow an additional affinity bonus to any one character's roll for the team putting their thoughts together.

Lastly, I understand that none of your PC's are detectives, or have ever done this kind of task... but that is the point. Kal wanted to be as anonymous as possible with his inside investigation... he can only hope that the team does not blunder badly and reveal itself and its search. And if it does, well, he can deny it all.  

[sdrotar]

"This was a high-profile hit job - designed to be visible," Caden thought out loud. "I guess the first question would be, who would want to kill this man? He obviously had power - and probably wealth - but did he have any enemies who would benefit from his death?

Caden looked to Kal, knowing that if this... holy man had been sleeping with a... consort, he probably had another part of his life that wasn't part of his public persona. If they could get the name of an unofficial contact, it would give them a more approachable lead to follow.

***

OOC: Later, when the group is talking amongst themselves...

"Sam, you're the weapons expert," Caden said. "Whatever the killers used left a mess. I haven't seen anything like it before - thankfully." His stomach churned a bit at the memory of the photo. "Do you know what kind of weapon could cause that kind of damage? Certainly, it can't be legal."

Caden looked at the pad, intending to speak with Neja as soon as possible. People, he could deal with. Bloody messes, not so much.

[tomcat]

[OOC:] I have created a sticky-ed topic called Data Journal, for you guys to enter posts of clues, suspects, or whatever you want to keep tabs on as you pursue the investigation.

[BrianM]

Peeking at the datapad images over the shoulders of the others (Brim liked to stick to the back of the crowd most of the time), the Rodian seemed quite distressed. He had seen plenty of death in his time, but this ritualistic display was more gruesome than he had ever witnessed before.

"The murderer wanted this death to be horrifying and visible for all to see. We must not just look for those who would profit from killing the Senator, but who would profit from destroying his public name."

Brim seemed thoughtful for a moment. "It appears as if he has been sacrificed ... It is obvious by his company that the Senator was not as virtuous as his public image would indicate. We must keep our minds open to the possibility that the Senator was involved with something or someone much more sinister than just a consort. The young girl will likely know more about this 'other' side of his life. She is unlikely to trust us if I am there ... this seems to be the way of our new 'empire'. Perhaps I will go instead to view the scene of the murder."

The Rodian looked at Dan ... the Jedi often had great insight into things like this, but this one was not yet trained. He might never be for that matter. Brim's thoughts drifted back to the friends he had made from the Academy. They were all dead. Maybe it was not a good thing that Dan's legacy had been revealed to him at this time, when he was perhaps unprepared for what it might bring.

[GandalfOfBorg]

"Well let's see what we've got so far..." said Dan absentmindedly.  "The murder was put on display ritualisticly.  They left a witness, maybe intentionally.  It appears to be to destroy something the Senator represented publicly.  So I guess we are left with the following questions:"

"Who had motive professionally and the means?"
"Who had motive personally and the means?"
"Is the girl involved beyond being a witness?"

"Then there is also the leads of the girl and the wound, which could lead to a weapon."

OOC: Was it determined how the killers got in?
Gather Info - Roll(1d20)+2: 13,+2 Total:15