Jovan Station

[tomcat]

Sam searched through the spacestations open list of data messages - essentially public advertisements - looking for anything that was either elecronically encrypted, or was just strange in content. Perhaps there was something with a hidden meaning in a very plain view. The droid clicked through different key phrases and words, isolating those messages and then eliminating them each in order. There was not much to go on. The messages that were encrypted, or at least encoded, were either beyond his ability to crack, or once broken were useless information. The other isolated messages were also worthless save one. The droid brought it up on the view screen for anyone standing near to read, but he also spoke it out loud.

"Dan, so excited to hear that you were making your way out here this year. I heard you had spent a good amount of time elsewhere and even a chance to see the Core! I will be in on the 19th, so if you are still around, let's have a drink. Hopefully your ship will not have pulled out."

Dan had been one of Sam's keyword searches. The other tidbit was that the 19th was two days away.

Sallo looked at the ship's console and sighed. They had moved again while he was in hyperspace. His ship, the Talon, hung just outside of Alderaan's orbital pull. There was no reason to land the vessel on the planet below with his quarry now far away. He looked at the beacon signal and saw that it now transmitted from Jovan in the Gordian Reach. Roughly an eight-hour jump back to the Outer Rim. Still, the data he had received via his transmitter was over two-hours old, so maybe they were no longer moving. Either way he had to move now, otherwise the chase could go on too long and he knew that others sought the noblewoman.

He turned his chair to face the nav computer and began to punch in the coordinates for his next jump.

Boba Fett was the son of Jango Fett, a bounty hunter of great notoriety. Unfortunately, the young Mandalorian had watched his father die at the Battle of Geonosis by the hand of Mace Windu. That was eight years ago and Boba understood through different sources that Windu had met his own fate soon after by the traitorous Anakin Skywalker, known now as Darth Vader. There were few that knew such things anymore; the Emperor and Vader had quickly silenced most individuals that had been present then. But Boba Fett was his father's son - he had created his own network of information via his name and his growing, ruthless reputation.

In those eight years since the war started, the young man was immediately immersed in his trials by fire - from his own hunt of Windu, being sold into slavery by Aurra Sing to Darth Tyranus for the price of his father's own ship, to his many other exploits once he had escaped the Sith Lord.



The Mandalorian bounty hunter stood there in his dented and marked armor - green, grey, yellow and crimson - looking at the shadow that stood in front of him. Shade spoke, "I understand that you may have access to information that I need."

"What inforamtion is that," Fett's voice did not hide his contempt for the darkside Force-user. He had had enough of them all.

"Looking for a ship called the Aegis that played part in an assassination on Bakura," replied Shade, ignoring Boba's icy demeanor. "I understand that the ship has taken on a Commenor noblewoman that is listed on the Guild's bounties. I am not interested in the woman, just the rest of them."

Behind the Shade stood Hacks. He was wearing his old clone armor and had hoisted his blaster rifle over his right shoulder. The old soldier kept a lookout while his boss and the bounty hunter had their words. Fett looked away from the clone whom he identically resembled and back at the dark jedi, "Yes... I know of this bounty. Not my mark though, and I have no interest in it."

"Again, I am not interested if you are on the hunt... only want to know if you have a potential location for their whereabouts," Shade's voice was becoming aggrivated.

The Mandalorian helmet shook back and forth, "No."

The shadow turned and Hacks moved to follow when Boba Fett called out, "But I can get it. Give me your contact frequency and wait for my signal. The price is the noblewoman. I want her... you can have the rest."

The shaded cloak turned back towards Fett, and with a nod moved on into the busy streets of Boonta.

[Jingo]

Kaida stood behind Sam and re-read the message over his shoulder.

"Good work," she patted his metallic shoulder briefly. "This could be coincidence, of course, but I somehow doubt it. Unless I'm missing something, this seems pretty straightforward. We go for a drink at the local cantina on the 19th, and see who shows up."

While it could still very well be a trap, Kaida was intrigued now. She wanted to know where Senator Organa's loyalties really stood. More importantly, he might have inside information on the whereabouts and status of her parents and siblings. She did not like being in the dark and craved information. He simply had to know something. But they were likely just meeting a contact anyway

She pulled out her blaster pistol, ensured that it was fully charged, and then re-holstered it. She was not going to be taking any chances. She nodded grimly, letting her low cloak drift back into place, easily concealing it from view by folds of opaque fabric. 

She'll stay close to Caden and will go to wherever this meeting takes place. If we'll have a couple of days on our own, she'll check her secure holonet area again for any messages from family.

[BrianM]

Brim listened intently as Sam read the message to the crew. "I suggest we check out the cantina before the meeting, so we know the locale. We'll definitely need watchers in the crowd during the meeting, so we don't expose the entire group to whoever shows up, and we can see if there are any unexpected arrivals."

After a thoughtful pause, the Rodian added, "Two days is a long time to wait around here. Let's not stray too far in case we have to leave in a hurry."

[watanabe]

Kara patted her pocket to make sure her blaster was hidden away in her concealed holster.  She then turned the corner while flipping a credit coin.  Quickly she stopped and hid away in a box of crates.  She had the feeling the group would get in trouble on the station, and this time she would be there ready when something happen... and would also show them she could be dependable... some of the time.



Stealth +11

=

Rolled 1d20+11 : 5 + 11, total 16

[tomcat]

Okay, wanna get you guys some info outside of game narrative. Also, Nick - who are you hiding from? Your fellow PC's or are you just slipping away from all those that might be looking?

Now to basic info:

Jovan Station - in canon, it was huge - big enough to dock 6 Star Destroyers. In our game, it will look like the picture I gave you guys in the prior thread, and is a smaller station. It is a waypoint for travelers, starships, and those that are on the fringe. This said, it is broken up into three sections:

Resort - The resort level is along the upper tiers of the station. Here is the primary location for all well-to-do, or legitimate travelers. There are restaurants, casinos, shopping malls, and hotels on this level and service is upscale and at times a premium. This said, there are establishments of different types that tailor to the rich and the poor. The center of this section is where the premium establishments are and along with this is a higher degree of civil service, police, and Imperial presence. As you go away from the center, services become cheaper, but so does the product - and contraband and illicit items are more common place.

Docks - Below the Resort portion of Jovan lies the docks. Massive docking bays and cargo warehouses circle the entire station here. Workers and travelers alike fill these bays serving many functions: Dockmasters; Maintenance service bays for vessels; Cargo brokers that buy and sell goods for transfer through Jovan; Warehouse service bays to store goods and vessels.

Civs - The Civs (short for civillians) area is where the bulk of the residents of Jovan live. Here you will find apartments, shopping areas, grocers, trade markets, service stations, and every other form of business that supports a population of people. The inhabitants are not primarily human but the ratio has grown rapidly with the takeover of the Empire and the subjugation of many non-human races.

Below the Civs is where the stations massive reactors and other operating machinery sits that keeps the station habitable. These areas are taken care of by the residents that live in the Civs that are employees of the Jovan Station management.


Docking time - The Aegis will be docked for three days minimum. It will cost:

Docking fee: 30 credits / day = 90
Refueling fee: 150 credits
Re-stocking fee: 150 credits (this number will be doubled if the party does not eat outside of the ship)

Total of 390 credits - let me know who is going to pay for it please.

If there is anything else you want to know about Jovan, let me know. Otherwise, we can go back to narratives and dialogues.

[watanabe]

  hoping to hid from the group and those who might be watching for us. 

[ZehnWaters]

Britton stuck close to Kaida, keeping his weapons ready; his twin swords strapped to his back and his blaster in its holster.  He made sure to keep his eyes open.

Do I need to roll any Perception checks?

[Jingo]

Here's my stealth roll for concealing my blaster if you need it.

Rolled 1d20+11 : 3 + 11, total 14

[donimator]

As had become almost routine, Sam scoured the public datanet for station information and assembled and analysed the mapping into a model. He compared it from level to level and tried to fill in the hidden spaces and determine where the utility shafts might lie...where one might have space to duck and hide if necessary. Caution and preparedness were traits he was quickly adopting.

[tomcat]

First, I have deducted the cost of the stay out of Caden's wallet - seems he has a lot of kids to feed! 

Next, if any of the PC's would like to roll a Perception to Kara's Stealth roll of 16 then you will see her slip away. If not, then you do not see her go and will later just realize she is not there.

For the general public, I am going to roll -

Eyes that might be looking...
DC 16 Perception +5
-------------------------

Rolled 1d20+5 : 3 + 5, total 8

It will depend on the level of success for me to determine how much interest is shown Kara when she slips away, but that will be stuff behind the DM screen. 

To Jingo, I will keep the 14 stealth result for any future Perception tests made by an NPC.

To Zehn, you are welcome to give me a Perception test and define it (i.e. I am just keeping an eye out as we walk around) and I will use whatever the test result as a DC for anyone that tries to ambush in the near future.

[ZehnWaters]

Britton was definitely keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.  No more ambushes by Bounty Hunters, mysterious lightsaberists or anybody else.

Perception: 16+8 = 24
Does this also count for noticing Kara slipping away?

[tomcat]

An 8?! No one really cares that you guys are even here.



With the local schematics downloaded into his memory, Sam disconnected from the Aegis' computer system and from there the holonet. The droid had also registered all information on local restaurants and bars. He ran an algorithm that began to exclude all the businesses that did not include certain criteria - out of the way, non-local hang out, etc. His goal was to compile a list of locations that they could check out in advance of a potential meeting with Dan's acquaintance.

Caden spoke, "All right Brim, sounds like a good idea. Let's stick together, though." He wrapped his belt and holster around his waist and then snugged his blaster into its place. Quickly strapping the base of the holster to his calf, Caden moved to the stairs that took them to the Aegis' lower deck and landing ramp.

The group stepped out into a huge landing bay. The massive entrance was open to space save for the incredibly powerful environmental shield that kept the atmosphere of Jovan station contained. They all could see out into space at the stars twinkling in the distance. Around them, the bay was bustling with activity and noise. Mechanics, droids, pilots, and travelers all milled about in directions and business that pertained to themselves. It was chilly in the hangar and it smelled of exhaust and fuel. Brim counted at least five other freighters that were berthed here along with several other smaller vessels and still the bay appeared as if it could land more.

The party crowded around, staring, until Sam and Caden began to move in the direction of the first potential meeting place - a bar called Jovan Nights. Only Kara moved in a different direction as she quickly ducked behind some crates and then when clear, went off on her own.

It took fifteen minutes and quite a bit of walking to arrive at the restaurant. The companions had to leave the section of Jovan known as the Docks, and ascend a number of levels into the Resort. Although enclosed in a space station, the area called the Resort appeared as Coruscant did with large buildings and wide avenues. Vehicles moved down streets and pedestrians strolled the sidewalks. Business storefronts flashed with neon, the smell of food and sounds of music ebbed from the local restaurants, and apartments and hotels could be seen rising throughout. Caden lost all feeling that he was in an artificial environment and felt he strolled the streets of a wonderful city at night.

With all the buildings and other superstructure came alleys and passages that disappeared into darkness. As they passed each, Sam made a careful look down each to assure they hid no dangers. He saw many different shapes with his thermal views, and each time he increased his readiness state.

Finally, turning a corner, Jovan Nights appeared. The bar/restaurant was on the corner of a busy intersection and it looked like it was four stories. Lights flashed from windows on the third level and music could be faintly heard. The lower two levels appeared to be for eating. Caden looked over his shoulder, "You guys wanna go and get a more close-up view?" The pilot was kind of hungry and thought a meal might not be a bad thing.

Kara had quickly made her way from the others once she had dashed behind the crates. She had some things she needed to do and it wouldn't help to have Caden and friends with her. She exited the landing bay where the Aegis sat and entered a large boulevard of moving maintenance vehicles and fuel bowsers. Across the busy road she saw individual maintenance bays that had crafts of different sizes being worked on. Specialized droids and mechanics worked like ants crawling under and over the vessels. Kara also was able to make out a few storage bays. She was certain that they were probably full with the space stations wares, along with that of traders and merchants. The station was a stop over point for many travelers and so trading and selling would be quite lucrative - what a great thing to be able to purchase the current fashions of Coruscant clear out here in the Outer Rim.

These places were condusive for other trades and purchases as well - kinds that did not make it in the public forum. Kara was certain that amongst the warehouse loaders, maintenance crews, or any other person that worked on the peripheree, that she would find her score. She turned to the left to follow down the boulevard and almost ran into the white, hard-shelled chest plate of a stormtrooper. The Imperial soldier spoke sternly, "Careful where you are going!"

[tomcat]

Hey Gregg, yea, you can use that perception roll for seeing Kara dash off.

[sdrotar]

Caden had become convinced that the best thing to do was simply to act like they belonged here. They probably weren't even the only people on the run in this station, anyway. It seemed that they could effectively hide in plain sight, which was fine with him.

"Let's eat," he said. "If nothing else, we'll get a lay of the land in there just in case."

He planned to keep an ear on the crowd inside - their credit stash was fading fast, and Caden was keen to pick up some sort of quick job that could replenish it before this... free taxi service he was running all of sudden broke him.

[watanabe]

Kara looked at the stormtrooper and nodded.

"Sorry sir, I was just lost in thought as I was walking." she said and lowered her head and continued in the same direction she was heading while keeping her cool.

'Frack me!' She told herself. 'Why the kriffing hell are there stormies on this station.  Something stinks and it is not the second hand waste management system they are running.'