Episode 1.0 - The Festival of Great Trade

(OOC: If you haven't read this post, ensure you read it before you reply.)

Dawn came to Svivren with a rosy glow from the hills behind the Wrils Spaceport. With it came the morning breeze that stirred the countryside to life. It looked like it would be a beautiful, early summer day—perfect for the Festival of Great Trade.

Preparations for the festival took days, weeks even. They reconfigured holoprojectors to project decorations throughout the city. Giant banners were hauled out of storage and suspended across the speedways. Cargo speeders had been appropriated and refitted as parade floats. And everyone even remotely involved in trade on the entire planet would be on holiday today.

Smugglers tended to avoid Svivren because of their draconian laws against violence and personal weapons. If a being was caught committing a violent crime they would be executed, immediately, in public for the act. If suspected only, they would probably be executed at the end of their court case. For a smuggler to do business on Svivren involved calculated risks, and low competition. But that just meant more business for the few smugglers that understood how to conduct their trade on Svivren. And for those gutsy few, the rewards were usually worth the risks.

All at once the festival began. The populace erupted from their dwellings as the holoprojectors kicked in, and festive music began to play. It was Svivren at its busiest. Just to add to the chaos, ships from nearby sectors arrived to disgorge their wares in hopes that they too might make a windfall during the festival. The marketplace practically spanned all through the capital of Wrils, but especially from the spaceport to the business district almost 3 kilometers away. Stalls lined the streets, and the crowd was so numerous it was impossible for speeders to stay on the ground. Two klicks to the north of Wrils the parade was organized and began winding its way through the streets, and the skies.

Rexi smiled at the throngs milling about in the street, dressed in their festival finery, relaxed and enjoying the atmosphere. So many suckers, so little time he thought to himself, smile widening as he caught sight of the mark. The water-fat Twi'lek was dressed in silks and surrounded by three gorgeous young women as he made his way down the boulevard. Rexi made a mental note that none of them appeared to be armed before flipping open his comm and calling his partner. "He's on the move, Calli. I'll keep him busy, you get the stuff from his safe. If you think you can handle a simple second-story job, that is."

Without waiting for a reply, Rexi approached the fat tradesman. "Lors? Lors Tarr? Why I haven't seen you since that time on Lothal! You seem to be doing well for yourself! Here, let me buy you a drink and you can tell your old friend Rexi all about how an old tradesman like you managed to turn things around so quickly!"

((Edited to change post as))

Lors Tarr paused in mid-stride to look at the whoever it was that called his name. Once he caught sight of Rexi his lekku twitched in exasperation. The women with him turned as a group toward Rexi; two recognized Rexi and frowned, and the last just looked bored.

"Rexi Chekku, you barvy scoundrel! I hoped that Lothal was the last I'd see of you. It isn't that difficult to make money when there a thief isn't emptying your pockets," an edge of anger ungirded Lors voice as he said that, "Or did you think I wouldn't notice?"

His lekku twitched several times, probably sending messages to the women.

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Tarr's offices are lush and sprawling. There are smaller offices, conference rooms, even what looks like a typical call center on the first floor. All these things are presumably to uphold his image as a legitimate Svivren business man. There are only the most basic security measures on the first floor, and all the electronics in the offices and call center are locked down by the central system they are linked to. The only interior access to the second floor is a single lift in the middle of the building. It does not appear to have a secure keypad, but there is a conspicuous-looking security camera focused upon the lift.

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Meanwhile, at the Thaali Research Institute Dr. Johtot enters by the rear entrance and proceeds directly to her lab. On the way across the building she paused briefly in the lobby just long enough that Valoris should have noticed her, if he was present. Dr. Eliasan is a tall and slender near-human. Her eyes are a dark chocolate color and her hair is dirty blonde. Despite her average appearance her smile dazzles and reinforces the confident, elegant way she carries herself. Her confidence tends a little toward arrogance.

She keyed her comlink and connected with Pepra and Valoris.

"Please meet me in the labs, I have a few tasks for you both before we can leave this morning. I know you really want to know what this is about, and I'll explain once we're in the labs." She smiled briefly to herself.

She deactivated the security lock on the lab and entered. The lights turned on automatically, but Eliasan did not activate any of her equipment. After several minutes of organizing some critical equipment while she waited for both Valoris and Pepra to join her, they both arrived.

She turned to Pepra first and handed him a datapad. "I need you to slice into spaceport security and pull a roster on all the ships currently in port. The dockmaster won't necessarily know, or flag, a ship as a possible smuggler. But depending on who the dockmaster is we probably can infer what ships might be smugglers. I want you to narrow the list to those you think are most likely smugglers and pull whatever you can on their crew roster. This datapad is brand new and not registered or traceable to the labs."

"Valoris, I want you to contact this speeder salesman," she pulled a datachip from her pocket, "and ask if the cargo speeder I reserved is ready. This is a distraction for our opponents, and I have no intent to show up to rent it. My personal speeder is parked outside the building and we'll use that instead."

"I'll explain more when its safe. I need to go to a medical conference to demonstrate my discovery. If I don't, I won't have a chance to get a large enough sponsor to bring my discovery to market. Without a powerful sponsor my discovery, and us too, will be buried by the bacta cartels."

The Bothan Dockmaster, Lo Trey'Lya, spent a few moments telling of the local bars before he got to anything good. Unless you considered dives like The Drunken Jawa bar, Hoiinia Tep Cantina, or The Hydrospanner interesting that is.

"I heard from Madak, over in bay aurek 19, that a Lambda shuttle came in with some high ranking Imperial officers. They don't have more than a token bodyguard with them, but that's more than enough to cause trouble." His fur rippled to underscore the point, stating that they were heavily armed. "But perhaps what Zhur'seca saw is more disturbing. She saw, from a distance mind you, several Falleen exit an unmarked freighter. Might be nothing. Might be really bad."

"Lots of parties like to negotiate deals during the festival. You gentle beings may wish to keep your heads down."

His datapad chirped a notification and he nodded to Wuc'vulog. Without another word he turned and walked off toward the adjacent bay. In the distance a YT-1300 began its graceful descent to bay cresh 11, beside The Turtle.

"Wonderful! I knew the shipment should arrive today, but little did I know that my old friend Rexi was involved." Lors Tarr cheered up immediately, "I didn't think you were involved on Lothal, really, but one can never be too careful. Come! Lets stop by The Hydrospanner and have some drinks. My workers can take care of transporting the goods, and you can fill me in on your adventures."

He set a heavy hand on Rexi's shoulder as he turned in the direction of The Hydrospanner. The disinterested Twi'lek woman moved to the other side of Rexi and looked subtly pleased as she draped herself on his other arm. Her grip was firm and intended to convey something a bit threatening.

"Then we can conclude our business after a game of sabacc. What do you say, old friend?" Lors Tarr smiled in genuine enjoyment. Perhaps today's deal would be highly advantageous.

Tarr commed his facility and informed someone there that the expected shipment had arrived. Moments later, three grav sleds with large, empty crates were guided from the back of his offices by several workers. They looked somewhat tough and headed in the direction of the the Turtle's docking bay.

"Wonderful! Perhaps you'll help me increase my profit margin on those guns," Tarr said with enthusiasm.

Lors and his entourage led the way to the Hydrospanner. The Hydrospanner was a medium sized cantina that primarily catered to blue collar workers. The building is clearly old, as one can tell from the patina on the structure and the wear on the 'crete. Inside, the drink selection is good and cantina has an air of being well maintained and cared for. A few of the regular patrons are in evidence, and there's a lively game of sabacc going on in one corner. Lors Tarr motions toward an empty sabacc table and everyone seats themselves, while Rexi's escort pulled a chair from an empty table to sit next to the rodian. Tarr touched a button and the table's interface flickered to life.

"I think I will go buy us a round of drinks, if you could instruct the table to deal us out."

Without awaiting an answer, Lors got up and waddled off to the bar.

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Meanwhile, three thugs with grav sleds and heavy-duty crates wove way through the crowd. It only took the 5 minutes to reach the tunnel that led toward the Turtle's docking bay. As they passed along the tunnel corridor they approached Wuc'vulog's position. The lead thug nodded to the Twi'lek as he continued down the passageway.

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While Pepra and Khan are busy Dr Eliasan collects several delicate, customized apparatuses and secures them in a carrying case. She then proceeded to open the other side of the case and loaded several vials from a nearby cryogenic storage vault. The case closed with an audible sucking sound and charge indicators lit up. The sound of a portable cooling unit emanated from the case briefly, then stopped.

Then Valoris approached and demanded answers.

"Some... extra-legal agencies are interested in my research. I have the chance to break a cartel that has a stranglehold on the galaxy, and naturally both they and any other organization would want to claim my research for their own." She paused to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and studied Khan's eyes. "In four weeks there's a medical conference in the Tapani sector. Until I am able to publicize my findings there, my disappearance would be easy to arrange and my research could be easily buried, or exploited. You may not need your gun here, but you probably will need it before we get to the conference."

"I will have more time to explain when we are off-world."

Eliasan glanced over her shoulder to look at Pepra. Her brow furrowed a moment as she wondered why he hadn't spoken up yet. "Pepra, are you about done? Is something wrong?"

Rexi programs the autodealer for a three person game and smiles warmly at his escort. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, though I'm sure your used to having men at a disadvantage, but I'm afraid I didn't catch your name earlier."

The Twi'lek woman flipped one of her lekku back over her shoulder and gave Rexi a measuring look. After several seconds she appeared to make up her mind and said, "You can call me Nyree. And yes, I prefer to keep others at a disadvantage." She grinned wickedly and cast a quick glance over at Lors, who was speaking to the bartender, "Even those I'm contracted to."

Lors finished talking with the bartender and made his way back to the table. "So, are we ready to play? The drinks will be along in a moment, I ordered a nice local ale."

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Callista's aim is true, and her timing is good. The can strikes the camera right as it starts to turn aside. Anyone who reviewed the security footage later wouldn't see anything other than a can knocking the camera out of alignment. The path to the lift is now clear, and none of the few personnel on the ground floor have paid her any attention.

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When Wuc'vulog talks to the thugs they nod politely and laugh at the story of the flaming rodents.

"Yah, I know a guy what would pull that. Only, he'd sell 'em on a stick and light 'em up after you buy one. Said they tasted better when crisped up fresh, y'know!" One offered with a chuckle.

(OOC: If you want to distract and divert them, try rolling a charm check with 2 Yellow, 1 Green, and 2 Purple.)

(OOC: Sabacc rules are given in the free Under a Black Sun adventure, on page 27. Not particularly mobile friendly.)

"Oh, I'm definitely playing," Nyree winked at Rexi before she shot a look of disdain at Lors, "If only to supplement my paycheck."

"Then I think that makes three of us Rexi. What stakes do you want to play for? Ten credits a hand? Twenty credits a hand?" Lors' lekku twitched with anticipation. These weren't high stakes, but some players would raise stakes or go double-or-nothing when they were in the hole.

When Callista walks out of the lift the first thing she notices is the 15 meter hallway leading to a security desk beside a blast door. A bored-looking, middle-aged female Zabrak is seated behind the desk in a navy blue uniform. A single orange stripe runs down the left arm, and a shoulder patch is on the right shoulder. Several moments after the lift doors opened she lowered the datapad she was reading and set it on the desk, then her eyes flick to the lift. The light is dim, but the guard is illuminated by a display built into her desk.

In addition to the hallway leading to the guard desk, there are two other halls branching out perpendicularly. To the west seem to be offices, to the east seem to be conference rooms. Down the main hallway to the blast door there are no other doors.

(OOC: Roll stealth VS 2 difficulty dice to avoid being seen. )

Dr Eliasan spent several minutes discussing ships with Pepra, and the results of his search. She acknowledged Khan's first comm message and continued her discussion. As she did so she marked the ships on her own datapad for later. Then Pepra's datapad showed an alert. A silent alarm had been triggered somewhere in the systems they were accessing. Rather than take the risk, Eliasan initiated a security wipe on the datapad, wiped it clean of fingerprints, and dropped it down a disposal chute.

Then the comm chimed again.

"We hit a small complication and I'll need to finish something on our way to the spaceport. Keep alert, and you might want to be ready for anything. I'll tell you more in person, I don't know how secure our comms are."

With that Dr Eliasan grabbed the cases she had prepared, and she and Pepra hurried out the back to the speeder. She had Pepra begin loading the speeder while she brought Khan up to speed.

"Valoris, we have the information we need but Pepra tripped an alarm of some kind. Whoever might be paying attention could know what ships we're looking for. I'll have to finish my job posting and message the ships while we're on our way. Lets go."

She hopped into the copilot's seat of the speeder and strapped herself in. Pepra settled himself in the back seat with the cases. Once in motion Eliasan started typing furiously on her datapad--time was of the essence, and she started to sweat.

Wuc'vulog made good conversation but the thugs continued on in spite of his efforts. "You one of the crewmates of the Turtle? Or are you from one of the other ships here? Boss Tarr sent us to unload our latest cargo shipment." The thug who spoke appeared to be the leader.

(OOC: Unless you're going to try something else, they arrive at the ship.)

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The Turtle receives a a private job posting with a direct invitation from a Dr Eliasan. She wishes to travel to the Tapani Sector, departure as soon as possible, in time for a medical conference in 5 weeks. The job lists her and 2 assistants as passengers, some 20 kilos of cargo, and a priority tag. The job posting lists the offered price at 14k credits if on time, 17k credits if early by 4 days.

"Very well, ten credits a hand it is. Nyree, will you join us, or are you just going to watch?" Lors asked with a slight twitch of his lekku. The other two Twi'leks with Tarr also pull up their seats to take positions around the table.

"Oh, I'm playing," she said, "deal me in."

A human barmaid arrived just after Tarr signaled for Rexi to deal, and distributed ales to the party.

(OOC: It's your choice to cheat or not, but I'm assuming you wouldn't be so obvious on the first hand. Roll Cool + 1 Force Die vs 2 difficulty, plus any bonuses you can bring to bear.)

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The Zabrak guard doesn't notice Callista, but also doesn't appear that surprised that the lift was triggered. She rolled her eyes and muttered something about "the engineers couldn't look at that for another few days." With a wave of her badge over a security strip she secured her terminal, then set her datapad back on the desk. She walked down the corridor toward the lift and headed for the conference rooms in the eastern hall. Just after the first set of doors she turned off into the restrooms.

The security desk is cluttered. A brief glance reveals someone's misplaced security card sticking out from under a stack of empty cups. The blast doors open to reveal a sophisticated workshop. There is a bin with credit chits sitting next to a machine with a chit slot in it. On the other side of the room there's a dais with an reclining chair that has heavy restraints. The medical equipment around it looks slightly malicious, and a deactivated surgical droid is leaned against the wall. Heavy shelving lines the back wall. The shelves aren't large, but are sturdy and whatever is on them is draped in a silver cloth that conceals what the device is.

There is a security console inside capable of closing the door, and monitoring any security cameras set up outside.

(OOC: If you want to figure the machines out, it'll be Knowledge: Underworld vss 2 difficulty, plus any searching you might want to do at the same difficulty.)

(OOC: We only established that she was trying to empty Tarr's safe. If you make a perception or vigilance roll versus 3 difficulty you can search-for/notice it. However, if she looks under the cloth she'll figure out that this is an illegal cyber facility (among other things) and find some expensive cybernetic limbs. That'd be obvious if she looks under the cloth, but it depends on how curious she is. Otherwise, go ahead and make the rest up.)

As Valoris takes off in the speeder, another unmarked speeder takes to the air and begins following at a medium distance.

((OOC: Valoris Khan, roll Piloting (Planetary) with 3 green, 2 purple, and 2 black dice. Green represents your relevant attribute with 0 levels of training, 2 purple is average difficulty for flying to the spaceport, and 2 black setback dice for trying to hurry during an extremely crowded event. If you wish to outrun or engage the speeder we need to roll for initiative.)

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Callista finds the safe built into the wall near the strange credit-chit machine. The safe itself is disguised as part of a computer terminal that looks like it controls the machine, or perhaps is supposed to look that way. The face plate for the keypad flips outward to reveal mechanical tumblers and levers.

((OOC: Skulduggery to lockpick is Hard (3) difficulty with 1 setback due to the previous threat; you still have LP and 1 boost die you haven't used yet.))

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The cards mistreated Rexi initially, then flipped at the last second to enable him to break-even. However Nyree was unlucky and lost the first hand to Tarr, who neatly cleaned out the other players on this hand.

"So Rexi, you seem to have had a little trouble this go around. I don't remember you playing this conservatively back on Lothal. I seem to remember you ... out for the big stakes." Tarr grinned. "Are you down on your luck, or just bored enough to humor me?"

Nyree impatiently jabs at the autodealer and triggers a new hand. "I never humor you, Tarr," she bristled.

((OOC: Same rolls, unless you spend an LP to upgrade.)

An Devaronian dressed in an expensive, immaculate suit rounded a corner in the spaceport tunnels. When he spotted Wuc'vulog a glimmer of recognition crossed his dainty features. The man took a moment to rub some invisible creases out of his sport coat before he walked to Wuc'vulog. With a glance he checked their surroundings to ensure that they were out of anyone else's earshot.

"Excuse me, but do you happen to know where the weapon shop is?" He leaned a little closer, "I seem to have gotten turned around, and thought you might be able to help."

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While trying to open the safe, Callista's lack of tools hampered her ability to open it. Seemingly by luck, she avoided a clever little alarm wired into the false terminal that could have tied into the building's security. Upon closer examination it became obvious that the mechanical parts of the locking mechanism were a clever decoy, clearly designed to lure an unobservant thief into tripping an alarm. But when she moved to notice those details Callista accidentally set her hand on the edge of the bin on the workstation. The bin of credits flipped off the workstation, flinging its credit chits in a wide arc around Callista. A metallic rain of light metal chits pattered across the 'crete floor even as the bin landed with a loud clatter.

(OOC: We made a mistake calculating your skill pool: Skulduggery is already 2y/1g so upgrading would make that 3y. You can reattempt without the boost/setback at the same difficulty, but threats will make it take longer. If you opt not to, keep the destiny point. And... that might've been loud enough for the guard to hear if she has returned.)

(OOC: Rexi's dark side pip means 0 success, 1 threat. Take 1 stress. For Nyree, 2 threat means she gets a setback die.)

Tarr played the hand, successfully bluffing Nyree while Rexi's card misbehaved and prevented him from playing anything useful. Tarr once again took the pot. He smiled and started the next hand.

"I can see that, the cards don't favor you today." Lors shrugged dismissively. "You know me, Rexi, I find various things to do. The problem isn't so much what I do, but the beings I come into contact with when I do them. It's always a good thing to have talented help."

Tarr winked at Nyree. But instead of making her more angry, the comment had the effect of making her become deadly earnest as she focused upon Tarr. It was fairly obvious that he was walking a line, but the nature of that line was unanswered and unhinted at. Nyree's eyes scanned the bar, but she apparently didn't see anything and relaxed.

"Anyway, down to business. Did you fellows have any trouble securing the shipment, or in delivery?" A lekku twitched tentatively, and Lors tilted his head slightly. "Assuming my laborers report that everything is in order, then we can make the agreed upon payment. Then I suppose you'll be off again."

(OOC: See this post for the chase mechanics and a brief change to how we're going things. It should simplify matters a bit. Lets track most of the details for this one in the OOC thread.)

Dr. Eliasan put in a call to the Turtle once she was in the speeder. Things were cramped, but that was the problem with fitting 3 people into a speeder for 2. Captain Rand responded promptly, but sounded as if he were tired and out of breath. The negotiations were simple, and they could leave once the Turtle had unloaded its cargo.

"Ok, we have transportation once we make it to the spaceport. Pepra, remove our job listing." Eliasan stowed her comlink out of the way and activated the copilot controls. "Let me help you, Khan, and perhaps we can lose our tail."

Eliasan had little skill with piloting, but so far the traffic and Khan's piloting had sufficed. Their tail had trouble keeping up and was now at medium range. In a last-minute-genius moment, Eliasan remembered that as a corporate vehicle the top speed was reduced by a governor in the system. In a few moments she disabled it and freed the speeder to reach its top speed, though that wasn't particularly impressive.

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Back at the Turtle, Rand watch the process of unloading the cargo. Tarr's thugs had some clever crates that could resist scanning, had a false bottom, and even had some false cargo to fill the top with—just to make the crate look innocuous. It was a tidy little job, and was completed in about a half hour. Once they had completed the task, they loaded their cargo lifters and were on their way.

Then Rand handled the call from Dr. Eliasan. He checked to ensure that their stores were topped off, and then made ready to take off.

As Callista settles in for her second try, she gets lucky and realizes that this is a safe that she's cracked before. Not only that, but whoever set the safe up only changed one digit of the original pin. Faster than you can say "Jabba's your uncle" she has the safe open.

The safe contains:

- 2,000 credits
- several data chips
- a holo-messenger
- a blaster energy-dampener


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(OOC: Poor Rexi, this is brutal: 2 darkside makes it 4 failure and 3 threat! The next check will be upgraded difficulty at 1r 2p. Suffer 1 more strain. Unless you demand an opportunity to recoup your losses, take a loss of 50 credits.)

"As you say, it is good that you all are resourceful," Lors nodded—and promptly claimed the entire pot.

"The cargo is in order, boss," Tarr's comlink crackled to life, "and has been offloaded. We're guiding the load lifters back to the warehouse now."

"Well Rexi, I believe that just about concludes our business." Lors eyes flicked back up from the comlink and he smiled. He glanced at Nyree and nodded. She placed her handbag on the table, removed a smallish sealed container and handed it to Rexi. "This is our agreed upon payment. And with that, I do believe our contract is complete."

"It was good to see you again. Do return and visit me sometime," Lors smiled, then laughed, "and I can beat you at Sabaac again!"

As Valoris slams the accelerator and tries to escape through the mass of vehicles, the pursuing vehicle manages to maintain their distance in spite of the traffic. It's too tight between the landspeeders all around for either vehicle to do much. Once Eliasan finishes settling in, though, things change for the better.

"There, Valoris, between those two large cargo speeders!" She gestures to the port side.

(OOC: Distance is the same, but Valoris' next check is now a base difficulty of 1 purple die, and he also gets 1 blue boost die.)

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Lors Tarr walked Rexi to the door. "An old card shark indeed," he chuckled, "but, it's better to be lucky at something than unlucky in our lines of business. Till the next time, Rexi."

Nyree doesn't respond when Rexi speaks to her, but watches him impassively.

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The Devaronian smiled and nodded appreciatively. "Actually, I'm just a broker. I'm not really looking for transport, but I'd heard that some people in the docks today might have some exotic merchandise." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Svivren isn't nearly as peaceful as they say."

He leaned back and glanced back down at his suit. "Yes, I don't need to resort to 'rough stuff' as you put it to get what I need. If I'm looking for something very specific, and you manage to find it—would you be willing to sell it to me for a fair sum? You may call me Max."

He hands Wuc'vulog a card with his contact information. The card merely states his name, Max, and his job, Broker, in the plainest and least ornamented style Wuc'vulog's ever seen.

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Rand keyed the ship's comlink to all crew. "Attention all hands, we have our next delivery en route and should depart as soon as it is stowed. Please wrap up your business and return within half an hour."

(OOC: Once again, your difficulty is only 1 purple die but no bonus from Eliasan. You can have 2 bonus dice from your 4 advantage earlier though. The pursuing vehicle is now at Long range; 1 more net success vss their results and you escape.)

Khan's speeder had trouble fitting between the large cargo speeders and got scraped up a bit in the attempt. But the pursuing vehicle struggled to keep pace as several speeder bikes cut it off as they entered the roadway. In the sudden snarl of unexpected traffic, their pilot has to focus more on how they will get through the traffic than keeping up with Khan.

At the same time, Eliasan continues to copilot and point out another gap in the traffic. They can just barely make it, but if they do they could lose the pursuit completely.

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Max nods knowingly at Wuc'vulog's comment about joining the crowd. "Yes, it would be wise. Out here with the crowd recording devices are much less... precise." He reaches into the breast pocket of his suit and pulls out a very thin datapad and keys up a schematic.

"I don't know precisely what it looks like in reality, but this is a component of one of the first disruptor rifles. It is a highly specialized proton pump that is used to amplify the power drawn from the power cell to extremely dangerous levels. It was deemed lost, but I recently discovered that it was stolen from a private collection. We wish to acquire and study it. Later replacements of the component were much smaller, and therefore less powerful." He shrugged. "That's what I know. My client is willing to pay in excess of forty thousand credits for this component."

(OOC: I'm going to rule the chase over. Khan, Eliasan, and Pepra have a several minute head-start into the spaceport.)

As they squeezed between the speeders Eliasan risked a look back over her shoulder. The cargo speeders had moved closer together and forced their pursuit to take an alternate route. The spaceport was just ahead so it was obvious where they were going, but with luck they would be able to escape within the spaceport and evade pursuit.

"Looks like they had to break off and find a different route. I think we have a few minutes before they can catch up with us," she said.

Max reluctantly hands over the datapad. The only personal data it appears to have is that schematic.

"I believe the proton pump was stolen from Bpfassh. There is an influential person, probably a Black Sun stooge, there who has a private collection. If I recall, he owns and operates a local museum of sorts—probably where his private collection gets its goodies from. Be extremely careful about entrusting this information to your crew," Max frowned and lowered his voice, "It would take little effort for an artifact like this to turn crewmates against each other. I would entrust it to no more than one other being, personally."

"Good luck, notify me if you find it." Max waved and walked off into the crowd.

(OOC: Make a perception check at no difficulty.)

Wuc'vulog notices a lone tie fighter in the distance following a road to the spaceport. As Wuc'vulog watches, another two tie fighters criss-cross the path of the first tie. Then a fourth is visible between buildings following another road with access to the spaceport, going the opposite direction. Engines howl as directly overhead, and a fifth tie fighter flies directly overhead only to line up on a road and follow it. They're probably scanning for something, or someone.

Above the searching tie fighters Wuc'vulog spots not one, but two Sentinel transports on hot approach to the spaceport.

Large holonet screens in the spaceport show the Imperial logo and begin booming an Imperial tune in preparation for an announcement.

As the fanfare reaches its peak, it suddenly drops to the background as the familiar face of an Imperial Officer shows on every screen tuned to the holonet. Her face is set in stone as she speaks, "Despite repeated warnings to the against it, the planetary government of Svivren has attempted to maintain neutrality while hosting and supplying a cell of rebels. The sector governor's leniency is at an end. I hereby declare Svivren under Imperial interdict in the name of the Emperor.

"The only craft that will be permitted to leave are those inspected and approved by our personnel. Resist and you will be detained for later interrogation. Flee, and you will be destroyed. The Imperial Star Destroyer Retaliator will be in orbit for quite some time while we impose order. The corvettes Swift and Harasser will be more than happy to use your craft for target practice.

"By command of the Emperor and his sector governor, this is captain Scoria of the Retaliator."

The tie fighters swiftly cease their search and begin flying in two formations, of two and three fighters, around the spaceport. The two shuttles begin their final approach and their ramps start to extend, revealing stormtroopers as they prepare to leap to the ground.

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Dr Eliasan swiftly grabs her luggage and and hurries with Khan toward the Turtle's docking bay. Just a bay or two from the Turtle, an Imperial Officer steps out into the corridor ahead of them. When his eyes rest on Valoris a look of puzzlement, then shocked recognition crosses his face.

"You? How?!" he points at Valoris, "You're supposed to be dead!"

(OOC: You got an Imperial encounter thanks to rolling your obligation, Valoris. What do you want to do?)

(OOC: Slicing difficulty for both is daunting, at 4 purple dice; great time to use some of your unique talents. Also, quick "story poke" for Wuc'vulog to move the plot along on that side.)

Wuc'vulog notices some noise coming over the comlink when it ceases. It sounded like a very quiet, muffled clicking, scraping, and an occasional breath. Then it comes to mind that he hasn't heard from Rand for awhile, and Rand has a heart condition of some sort.

The officer sneers and takes a half step backward. "Oh yes, I've got you—traitor. My unit was nearly executed when you escaped. The only reason we were spared was because our superiors thought you'd died." He took a full step backward and grabbed his comlink from his belt, "Troopers to bay Besh 11, I have cornered a known traitor to the Empire!"

With a look of smugness, and eager anticipation, the officer puts the comlink back on his belt and moves to draw his pistol.

"Got you? You're not escaping this time, trooper. This time you face justice."

(OOC: If you're going to attempt to cold-cock him, make a Brawl check versus 2 purple. Otherwise, explain to me in the OOC thread, because we might need to kick into INITIATIVE-mode. Also, I think you still have the stun carbine with you but using that will take initiative.)

-----------------------------------

Because he had reacted quickly, Wuc'vulog saved Rand's life. The pilot was in stable condition, but was clearly in no shape the pilot the Turtle. In spite of Wuc'vulog's skill Glen would probably need to spend some extended treatment time in a medical facility to fully recover.

-----------------------------------

The troop carriers land in bays on opposite sides of the spaceport and disgorge fifty troops apiece. The troopers pair off into squads of two troopers, then fan out to take as many bays as they can. Scarcely were the landing craft empty before they took off again and departed in haste.

-----------------------------------

(OOC: Seven/Mado, I don't know how you guys want to enter your characters into the other scenes, so I'll leave that to your discretion. If you want me to help set something up, just post in the OOC thread and we'll hash it out.)

(OOC: Your attack deals 4 damage and temporarily disorients the officer; it's your choice to deal the damage as wound or stun points. You have 3 rounds of disoriented, which I'll apply to a chase if you want to try and escape. Or you can go to initiative and try to finish him before troops arrive. Or even something I didn't anticipate, even. ;) )

The officer's face betrays his pain as Khan blow lands. He temporarily drops to the floor with a grunt, then scrambles back to his feet. "You always did fight dishonorably."

I'm dealing the damage as wounds.

"And yet here I am. Still alive."

Sliding off his left bracer, Khan pulls out his holdout blaster and points it at the officer's head.

"Give Master Valoris Merin my regards scumbag."

Seven checks behind him as he rounds a corner, jogging for the Turtle when he almost runs into the back of an Imperial officer that has a blaster leveled at his chest by a tough looking fringer with a military bearing.

Seven suddenly feels like the blaster hidden in his leg compartment isn't nearly close enough.

"Uh, fellas, innocent bystander here...don't want to get caught in the crossfire..."

(OOC: Oh dear, this will probably hurt. Initiative slots are: NPC, PC, PC. Negotiate/plan among yourselves in the OOC thread or by PM to plan who goes first.)

The officer staggers out of melee range, firing has he heads down the corridor to the next docking bay. Many of his shots hit Valoris as he retreats, almost as-if the blow to his head was nothing. Snarling in victory, he says, "There won't be a 'next time' today, Valoris."

(OOC: Disorient 1/3, and he's still standing. Valoris takes 11 damage before soak, so take 6 wounds. Also, the officer has Adversary 1 so upgrade your difficulty against him once.)

The officer is prepared for Valoris this time and as the blow lands he partially blocks it with his left arm. With his right arm the officer jabs his blaster right in Khan's gut. "You're getting old, Khan, in your prime a blow like that would have knocked me out," he sneered. Then a second voice snapped him out of his gloating. What was a Gank, of all beings, doing pointing a blaster at an Imperial officer? Then the blaster bolt slammed into him, and ended all thoughts of indignation.

With a pained grunt, the officer turned on his heel and sprinted away from both beings, away from the Turtle's bay. "Troopers, arrest them both!" He shouted to someone around the corner. Two white-clad stormtroopers appear around the bend at a run with their blasters leveled.

(OOC:

Initiative is now NPC (officer), PC, PC, NPC (troopers); Kenny, I forgot to mention that initiative is open with no fixed order in EotE, so discuss who goes first with Thrakazog.

Range Bands:

  Short: Officer (very wounded; adversary +1 upgrade)
  Medium: 2x Stormtroopers (unharmed; will engage on their turn)
  Long: none?

(OOC: You usually use a destiny point before your roll to upgrade the die pool. In your case this would swap 1 green die for a yellow. I wonder why I didn't think of this before, but I think you need to read these pages of the free Under a Black Sun adventure: 4 - 10 for dice pool and basic mechanics, and 12 for destiny points; any of the first 12 pages are highly relevant. Since you don't own the core rulebook, or didn't last I checked, please read those pages, edit your post and add a new roll with the destiny point [should you choose to spend it].)

Khan's blaster bolt strikes the officer in the between his shoulder blades. With a cry he pitches forward and collapses at the feet of the advancing troopers. Smoke slowly rises from the back of his uniform as he lies still on the hard duracrete floor.

(OOC: Still your turn Thrakazog. I figured it'd be good to resolve the damage on the officer.)

(OOC: Not a problem. Also, I consider the movement to consist of 1 maneuver.)

The load lifter careens down the corridor and lists to its left side as its internal repulsor lifts begin to short out. It slams into the leftmost trooper just as it explodes, showering the other trooper with debris even as he's slammed against the wall. He moans, and you can just hear the comlink activate from that range.

"Send reinforcements to bay Besh 11. A rebel human and gank have killed TK-32201 and LR-893."

The trooper then crawls to his blaster and fires at Seven.

(OOC: Hit, total 10 damage; you take 6 wounds. I'm going to rule that this trooper is incapacitated and cannot pursue if you book it down the corridor. Just don't forget to take the good doctor with you.)

Valoris, Seven, and Doctor Eliasan sprint down the corridor for a short distance, before reaching the Turtle's docking bay. No stormtroopers are in sight at the moment.

(OOC: At last, one unified party!)

Eliasan finished stowing her equipment in the cargo hold, then straightened with a start. She hurried off in search of Khan, and found him with everyone else.

"Valoris, did you notice where Pepra got off to? He was right behind us—"

No sooner did the words leave her mouth than Pepra appeared on the monitors, running full tilt from the corridor toward the ship. Four stormtroopers burst out from the corridor behind, and let loose with a barrage of stun blasts. The troopers swiftly blasted Pepra into unconsciousness, and took aim at the Turtle. Their sergeant braced a heavy repeating blaster and took aim.

"Unidentified vessel. Power down your engines or we will open fire!"

(OOC: spending a darkside point... 7L /3D)

OOC: Seven will unbuckle and move to the ramp on his turn.

OOC:

I think it's hilarious that the stormtroopers are better at handling surprise, rather than a reasoned attack. Maybe that's the cause of the "stormtrooper effect"?

Initiative Slots:

PC
PC
PC
PC
NPC

Make sure to discuss initiative slots in the OOC thread. It might make sense for Khan to make his turn last, so the others can clear a path before he's gunned down.

Wuc'vulog's first shot was dead accurate, which struck the first trooper in his chest. That trooper was knocked off his feet and didn't stir once. The two other troopers scattered and were just as quickly cut down.

Meanwhile, the stormtrooper sergeant finishes unslinging his light repeating blaster and takes cover from Wuc'vulog's devastating fire.

(OOC: Next! Assume the sergeant has near total cover from the ventral turret (3 black) but only minor cover from the loading ramp and Pepra's position (1 black))

The stormtrooper sergeant hunkers down behind the crates and shifts out of the incoming fire. He is pinned completely, but spots his opportunity to shoot Valoris. The sergeant takes his time and aims carefully before unloading with his light repeater. Blast after blast hits the clone trooper, crippling his left arm, till the damage is so great that he drops unconscious.

(OOC: Yow! 15 damage vs 5 soak (-1 for pierce) is 11 wounds for Khan. He is now at 17 wounds and is incapacitated, plus takes a critical hit. Khan's left arm is now crippled until the wound is successfully healed (by Wuc'vulog or Eliasan) or replaced (by cybernetics)...)

"He's ducked behind those crates, I'll wait for his head to pop up and then... frag that, duck!" Wuc'vulog squeezes his whole body against the turrent and aims at the center of the sergeant's cover.

---

Taking strain for two maneuvers: Brace and Aim.

Fiery death pours from the Turtle's ventral turret and obliterates the crates and the storm trooper sergeant. By the time the smoke clears, nothing else is visible save a heavily charred corpse and wrecked, shouldering crates. The air is acrid with smoke from whatever was in those crates.

(OOC: combat ends, the party is victorious!)

The automated launch systems at the space port control center grant authorization for the Turtle to launch. The hangar doors retract to reveal open sky, and the occasional tie fighter zipping by. No storm troopers have appeared in the bay yet, though it's only a matter of time.

Seven puts Khan down on a cot and straps him in. "Hey, does anyone have a medkit...and know how to use it?"

Dr Eliasan walks into the room behind Seven, clearly struggling to carry her traveling case. It was large and unwieldy, not heavy. She set it down at the foot of the cot with a thunk.

"Yes, I believe I have something better than a medkit here. I'm not merely a researcher, but a doctor as well." She knelt by her case and unlocked it. With a hiss and a puff of evaporating nitrogen, she quickly withdrew a familiar looking bacta applicator and something that didn't look at all like bacta. "Assuming that we don't have any Imperial trouble before we jump, I'll could use some help if anyone else is medically trained. That arm worries me."

Thinking better of using the applicator first, she set it aside and went to an external compartment on the case. With a tap to an external latch, the outside of the case opened to reveal a small medical kit. She withdrew a stimpack and stuck it in her pocket. Eliasan removed Khan's helmet and moved the neckguard aside before she injected him with the stimpack.

She leaned over him and slapped his cheeks gently, saying, "Valoris! Are you still with me?"

(OOC: A stimpack restores 5 wounds, so Valoris is now under his wound threshold [at 12 wounds] and may regain consciousness.)

Two TIE Fighters break from the patrol around the space port, and fall into escort, or pursuit, position. After a few moments of tense silence, the Turtle receives a comm ping and orders to fly directly to the Harasser for scanning. There is also a terse reminder that any attempt to flee and they will be fired upon.

It looks like the comm codes have held up.

As the Turtle approaches the Harasser the scale of the corvette is immediately apparent. The Turtle is roughly 35 meters long, but beside the Raider-class corvette it is a fifth the length of the larger vessel. There was nearly no comparison: the Raider-class corvette was designed to handle fighters and similar scale vessels. The Turtle was a smugglers dream—but it wasn't a warship, just a heavily modified light freighter.

"Hold your present course and prepare for scanning," the officer ordered, his voice slightly tinny due to the comms, "If you deviate course we will open fire."

As the Turtle flew into the Harasser's sensor range sensor alerts pinged in the cockpit. They were being scanned, and thoroughly so. The scan went on for several minutes before ceasing suddenly. No other freighters appeared on the sensors, at least on this side of the planet. With a crackle the comm channel opened once more.

"You are clear to proceed, Turtle. You may jump when ready."

(OOC: Make an Astrogation (Int) check at easy [1p] difficulty to plot your course. Anyone can technically do this.)

The Turtle jumps to hyperspace without even a stutter. The ship settles in to the jump, and soon the familiar sounds of the jump drive are low and steady.

By the time Seven returns to the medical bay, Pepra is blinking furiously under the bright light that Dr Eliasan has set up. Clearly unused to a ship's medical bay, she has been configuring the bay to her satisfaction. At least, as much as a ship's medbay could be reconfigured. Surgical implements were out on the table, as were an anesthetic patch, the hyposprayer she got out first, and just about any other tool the medbay and her own gear could provide.

With a bit of a glare at Valoris, she walks to the intercom, "Yes, only I'm more of a researcher and less than a surgeon. You'll be lucky to have use of that arm when I'm through. I can develop hyposprayers and stimulants, but surgery on a crippling wound like yours ... that takes a lot of training."

She punches the intercom, and the concern is plain in her voice, "Valoris' wound is quite bad and I'm not a skilled surgeon. Is there anyone with medical experience on board who can at least help me?"

"What happened?" Comes a moan from the other bed as Pepra sits upright, shakily, "I feel like a gundark hugged my skull!"

Eliasan breathed a sigh of relief and moved aside to allow Wuc'vulog room beside Khan. "Yes, his arm is very bad and with my skill I'm worried that he'll lose it. I'm glad you're here."

Now, with a trained surgeon, Eliasan set the operation in motion. She quickly put on sterile gloves and injected Khan with an anesthetic. It would be more merciful for him if he wasn't awake for what was coming...

Several hours later the surgery was completed. The injury was quite deep, but the speed at which they were able to treat it allowed Wuc'vulog and Eliasan to save the use of that limb. It would have quite the scar, but would still be functional with no penalties to its use.

"Doctor," Eliansan said respectfully, and handed a mild stimulant patch to Wuc'vulog. "Thank you for your work. Valoris won't admit it, I'm certain, but I think he feels the effects of his advanced aging more each year."

(OOC: Valoris regains 5 wounds and no longer has a crit! Also, since everyone has had a breather everyone recovers all their stress points.)

Dr Eliasan nodded to everyone. "Yes, I'm paying for travel to the Tapani sector. I'm offering 14k for transport if we're on time, and 17k if we're early. The reason my offered price is so high, is because I expect the bacta cartel to try and interfere. That's also why I hired Valoris, as I expect them to attempt to either steal my research or assassinate me. But its far harder for them to track a ship through the galaxy, than a woman on a planet. Pepra helped protect me from tracking and keep my data secure."