Landing Pad encounter - round 1

[tomcat]

Not 100% sure if this will break into combat, but I am labelling the thread as such, just in case. 

The map attached below shows the positions of all ruffians (R1-R6), the IG, and a figure that cannot be anything but a bounty hunter (all enemies in RED).  The party, shown in BLUE, are either marked on the ship or on the pad -- K1 is Kara, and K2 is Kaida; B1 is Brim and B2 is Britton.



Britton walked with the rest of the party to the first deck of the Aegis, but instead of exiting, he went to the central hub of the ship. There, just behind the new sensor package installed by Sam, was the gannery station for the lower turret. Britton took the seat and flipped a couple switches to see the monitor immediately respond with a power readout and targeting reticule. The laser cannon's controls were two handgrips that were on either arm of the chair. One grip controlled the pivoting of the turret, capable of turning 360 degrees and angling down to 160. Controlling the rotation of the turret also moved the seat in which Britton sat, spinning him and orienting him in the same direction the guns would fire. The other hand grip controlled zoom on the cannon's firing camera and was the trigger. He made himself comfortable, grabbing the grips and flexing his fingers around them, yet Britton made no moves of the gun. No need to send the wrong signal to their visitors... rather to just be ready. The only thing the soldier did was to rotate the small camera so he could see where the IG-series droid, and his companions stood. If they tried something, they would get an unhealthy surprise.

Not far away from where Britton sat, Brim took up a position to overwatch from the landing ramp. He kept himself within the ship, but readily positioned to jump down the ramp and aid with his blaster. The other companions made their way out of the ship and to the center of the landing pad. They walked midway out and took up a position that displayed no aggression, but was ready if anything should happen.

Above them all, and keeping the IG-35's attention, the Imperials zoomed and streaked. The high-pitch whine of the TIE-fighters carrying over even the noise of the giant destroyer above all. The movement of the party onto the landing pad was picked up by the IG's third visual receptor and it turned to look at Caden and his friends.

The voice of the droid could suddenly be heard carried on the wind that whipped across the pad, "Ah... good. You have made this easier. B2-series droid known as Sam... step forward from your companions. We have no argument with them."

[sdrotar]

A bounty hunter was with them... and they only wanted Sam? Something didn't smell right here.

"Looks like they made you, pal," Caden said quietly. "Must've been the hat."

[donimator]

Sam stepped to his left as he paced forward five or six steps. No sense putting any others in the line of fire if it should come to it. He chose a range that would force him to amplify his vocalizer so that everyone could hear.

"Is there a problem 35? All terms we had have been met. You're going to make these sentients think your word is no good."

[watanabe]

Kara looked at Sam and then the bounty hunters and back at Sam.  While Sam was a droid, she had probably talked to him more than any one else while she had been with the ship, and she wasn't ready to watch him be carted off by some bounty hunters.



I'd like to ready an action to draw my pistol if they begin to attack us.

[Jingo]

  Can we tell what type of weapons/armor they may have. Are the ruffians human or some other race? What about the bounty hunter?

[tomcat]

You can see that the ruffian group that surround the droid and the bounty hunter are made up of 1 rodian, 2 humans and 3 gran.

The species and gender of the bounty hunter is hidden well by the armor that dresses him.

Cool with your readied action, Nick.

Also, I have created another image of the encounter scene with an underlying grid... unfortunately we lose some clarity.



   

IG-35 responded to Sam's inquiry, "The terms agreed upon were to be paid in services rendered, or in currency medium that is valued within the galaxy. The credit chip that you sent to me for payment was nothing but Confederacy units. With its collapse and the rise of the new Empire - those credits have been reduced to zero value. You still owe me."

The human companions of Sam heard the exchange - the droid's cold, inhuman voice made his final words sound all the more sinister. IG-35 would have no feelings, or pity. He would take what was due him, or die trying. The droid continued, "Now if you are unable to provide the credits that were agreed upon, I am willing to trade. This bounty hunter here, Corbin Sallo, is due money from my business. I am willing to sell him your services in trade for my debt. He shall be paid, and I shall be paid... an equitable bargain, indeed."

Behind the droid, the band of brutes chuckled to themselves, though it seemed their eyes held the desire for some more excitement. To his right, Sallo hoisted his carbine blaster so that it rested in the crook of his arm. It was a modified carbine with a grenade launcher slung under its barrel. The armor worn seemed pretty rugged, but it also gave off a distortion of light, as if the bounty hunter's form was hazy. There were two blaster pistols tied off on each of his legs, and a utility belt around his waist. Hanging from the belt was a very interesting item - a lightsaber.

[donimator]

Sam flexed and unflexed his hand appendage he would draw his blaster with and ran a diagnostic on his internal servo systems to make sure they were functioning within the operable limits. With nothing to hide, Sam responded to the IG droid.

"I paid for the memory wipe upfront and said I would offer my services for continuing investigation after seeing the results of a day's work first. Having received the report, I saw no need in continuing. I required no further service from your droid, therefore no further service was required of me."

Sam played back the audio recording of their transaction:

"Your terms are acceptable and I would like to pay with the following conditions...
1. I will fully pay credits for the memory wipe in advance. No record of the transaction, though.
2. With that deposit, I will barter my services against your droid's, but I want to see the results of a day's inquiry first.
3. I'd like to meet and brief your droid to get started as soon as possible."

"The Confed credits were a gift. Nothing of value received. Nothing of value offered...The contract - as agreed upon - was settled...35"

Luckily Sam's processor muted, "Now beat it," before he vocalized.

"But if you are looking for transit, there's a ship and crew here who could use the work and an excuse to get past the Imperials." Sam glanced up at the sky, for effect.

[watanabe]

Kara watched the exchange ready with her pistol to draw and fire if need be.  She did interject into the conversation "It's not Sam's fault you weren't smart enough to exchange your confederacy currency out sooner, maybe next time you'll learn to deal in a better form of currency."

[ZehnWaters]

Britton was unsettled by the sight of a lightsaber.  The attack on the compound on Bakura was brought to mind.  Could this be the same person?

[tomcat]

As the two parties sparred with words, it seemed a signal was given as the sky suddenly became active with multiple ships of varying types beginning to rise from Cloud City. Some lifted off their landing pads and then dove for the clouds of Bespin below, trying to escape the Empire's blockade. Tie fighters zoomed off in many directions after any ships that they could pounce upon and laser cannons could now be heard overhead, with the accompanying explosions. It made the parties on A pad of docking port 219 very skittish. Caden's eyes darted back and forth as he tried to watch the brutes that stood about.

Hired guns.

That's all they were, and they wouldn't hesitate to draw the pistols on their hips.

A loud whine and then a thunk was heard overhead as the destroyer deployed its tractor beam and captured a merchant freightor trying to break through. Caden looked up and watched how busy the Imperial forces had become, trying to stop the escaping pirates, smugglers, and perhaps even resistance fighters. The pilot thought of all times, this might be the best time to get the Aegis and her crew out of here, while the Empire was so hard pressed. Movement to the left caught his attention and he quickly looked to see a brute's hand drop to his holster.

Not seeing the activity of one of his men, nor heeding Kara's interjection, IG-35 replied to Sam. "Your records are well kept, but irrelevant. The charges for the snooper droid were given to you in specifics - I did not offer you any trial of services. Payment was to be rendered upon completion of the day's service. Nor am I here to debate with you B2... pay me... or I will take it in other ways."

The IG-35 brought a weapon out and postured itself in a threatening way. To his right, the bounty hunter began to slowly strafe to his right, putting a few feet of distance between him and the IG droid. All the while, Sallo kept his weapon at the ready.

[donimator]

Sam points to the sky, "When this all comes down, things will change here 35. Your honour and your word will be all you have to stand on. I have kept my side of the bargain. If you wish to alter the terms of the deal after the fact, you will not get anything further from me without a fight. In the end, you're just a common thug."

"You have no quarrel with these sentients. Let them leave in the middle of this confusion and then deal with me. I have no place to go."

In a whisper that was barely audible to Caden, "Go! Get out of here while you can...And fly low."

[watanabe]

Watching the bounty hunter begin to move away to his right, Kara also begin to slide towards her right.  She saw the crates out of the corner of her eye and knew that they would provide cover which could be a great advantage in this fight.



Move towards Kara's right towards the crates, ready action to draw and fire at the bounty hunter if shooting begins.

[tomcat]

I wanna wait to have a few more PC's chime in here before I move things on.

Jingo, you are represented by K2 on the map - are you wanting Kaida to move towards the crates to her right by the fueling pump, or toward those that are stacked near the Aegis?

[Jingo]

Kaida had hoped she could help with the negotiations and resolve this peaceably, but things seemed to be happening too quickly and she was constantly distracted with the Empire buzzing around overhead and blasting everything in sight. Plus, without having any background information to go on, she wasn't sure exactly what she could do to assist. Things were rapidly spiraling out of control. Could a fight still be avoided? Maybe if she could get everyone talking again...

"35," she said, speaking calmly and respectfully to the droid, yet standing her ground even as both sides seemed about to take up positions for hostilities. "There's no need for this to come to blows. We would prefer if our valuable companion here," she indicated Sam with her left hand, "were not turned into a scrap heap. Nor, do I think, that you and your companions would desire to suffer a similar fate. I'm sure we can work out some sort of solution." She even managed a smile, but her insides were writhing to run for cover. She kept her right hand free and surreptitiously near her hip, just in case things deteriorated beyond hope.

I'm going to take a full round action to do a persuade check to change attitude. Not sure what the negative is, so I'll let you apply that. Here's my roll:

Roll(1d20)+14:
7,+14
Total:21

She'll watch their body language closely and if fighting does break out, she will draw her pistol as a swift action (she has quick draw feat) and with her move action run to the crates for cover by the Aegis's ramp.

[sdrotar]

In a whisper that was barely audible to Caden, "Go! Get out of here while you can...And fly low."

"You know better than that," Caden snapped. "Geez, how much did this cost, anyway?"
Caden wasn't above trying to buy his way out of a firefight... assuming he could afford it.