Chapter One: Operation Dark Thrall

Dec 5, 2016 1:17 pm
For a thousand years the Sith had waited for this moment in time. Military and naval forces assembled in previously unimaginable force, numbers in manpower and fleet strength swollen by the non-stop production of the unrelenting Sith war machine. Advances in navigation tech freed them from the possessive embrace of the Veil, and, combined with the Oracle’s prediction of impending doom for their home world, birthed an all-consuming frenzy of activity permeating the whole of Sith society, driving them furiously onward toward galactic conquest.

Given the nature of Sith society and culture, joining forces with the intention of working together was no small feat. Several centuries of infighting among the Great and minor houses of Akrultos had taught them to be wary and suspicious of one another. The Sith were, of course, a society and culture strangely joined by this common thread of mistrust, fueled by a desire for control in all things. And, while it was their greatest weakness, it was also their greatest strength. Now, due to recent events catapulting all of Sith society on Akrultos toward an immediately stark and decisive future, their aim was to come together as one, a powerful entity united by purpose: the singular pursuit of complete and total domination of the galaxy.

Within this massing of force, your unit, 8th Special Operations, aka ‘Veilpiercer’, was assembled as one of the elite special operations squads meant to be the tip of the spear in the upcoming galactic conflict. As powerful as the combined might of the Sith armed forces was, it still needed to gain a foothold before commencing an all-out assault on the galaxy. And, despite their rapacious hunger for absolute rule over every sentient being in the galaxy, strategic leadership recognized the need to establish a base of power on the galactic stage, appreciating the value of maintaining a low profile while doing so. As such, your team was one of the first sent beyond the Veil, part of a large scale, multi-faceted covert operation meant to silently pave the way for the bulk of the Sith juggernaut. It was the maiden voyage for the Spear of Akrulta and her crew, and expectations were high.

En route to Bonadan, a two week trip through hyperspace, your team had gotten to know one another, or, rather, had gotten the chance to evaluate one another, much like predators circling, searching for weakness. This was, of course, to be expected. For almost all Sith it was very much in their nature to be suspicious and untrusting. However, Sith Strategic Command (STRAT-COM) had made it exceedingly clear that Veilpiercer’s mission was far more important than any petty differences or disputes; as such, aggression and actioned conflict within the group would not be tolerated, and was punishable by military tribunal and death. Or worse.

At this point, Operation Dark Thrall was still in its infancy. Everything was going by the book and according to plan. The trip through hyperspace had been uneventful, despite moments of subtle tension among the crew. Right on schedule, the Spear of Akrulta dropped flawlessly out of hyperspace, just barely outside of planetary orbit. As the Bonadan sun slowly sunk behind the distant horizon, Lexi nonchalantly guided your ship toward Bonadan Spaceport Southeast II, private docking bay 1294-K. Along the way you successfully passed through two full scans by Corporate Sector Authority (CSA) Espos police patrols, without difficulty. The salvaged transponder from your home world’s orbital Graveyard had worked. A wave of relief washed over the ship. So far, so good.


APPROACH TO BONADAN SPACEPORT SOUTHEAST II
http://resource.mmgn.com/Gallery/full/Star-Wars-1313-1-1041428.jpg


It was after you finished docking in bay 1294-K that everything went to hell. Following instructions per your mission directives, you attempted to contact Agent Nartano, code name ‘Flesh Crawler.’ Your attempts to do so were in vain, an absolute failure from the start, as it was immediately apparent that the holo-terminal wasn’t transmitting, or even receiving, for that matter. You could turn it on and power it up, but beyond that, the console mocked you with its useless blue glow. Naturally, Hawke opened it up and took a look. It didn’t take much for him to recognize that the holo-terminal, was, in fact, missing its most vital, and most expensive, component: the intragalactic multi-phasic frequency modulator. Navigating a brief barrage of questions, Hawke made it clear: without that part, there was absolutely nothing he could do to get it working.

Some of you tried your comlinks to contact Flesh Crawler. And, although your comlinks were working just fine, a connection with Flesh Crawler just couldn’t be made. Despite multiple attempts to reach his comm number, it was, without fail, inactive and unregistered; the number simply didn’t exist. It was at this point that feelings of isolation sunk in. In the present circumstance, there was absolutely no way to contact Agent Nartano, or STRAT-COM, for that matter. For now, it seemed, you were on your own.

After some time debating in the holo-terminal chamber regarding potential courses of action, you all came to agreement on one idea: it was, at the very least, worth leaving the ship, if only to take a look around and perhaps find some direction. Moving as one, you cautiously made your way down the boarding ramp, strangers in a strange land, entering the unknown. Uncertainty hung like a thick, enveloping fog in the air, you could feel it draped over you. Beyond the complications establishing contact with Flesh Crawler, something about this moment in time, stretched out and slow as it was, just gnawed on your instincts, setting you on edge.

Forging ahead, you intrepidly made your way to the only door in the room, on the far side of the docking bay. You paused there, listening for a time. Nothing. Complete silence. One by one you passed through the door as it slid open, welcoming you with a mechanical hiss. It was through this portal that you entered 1294-K’s private lounge, a room that provided some small degree of comfort for those waiting to greet arrivals. It was within that you came upon a most grisly, and macabre, scene.

Immediately your eyes were drawn to the bodies. The cold gray walls contained a modest room littered with them, perhaps fifteen in all, cast in the sickly pale glow of substandard lighting. Blood patterns and pools, along with the occasional body part, decorated the floor and furniture. The instruments of death were scattered about, some still clutched by dead hands, as if the weapons still served purpose and there was fight left to be had. All around you lay a stew of carnage. Silent. Motionless.

Opposite from you, beyond the sea of corpses, another door, identical to the one you just came through, waited. Whatever the plan was for your mission, something had gone very, very wrong. Things were, to say the least, off to a bad start.
Dec 5, 2016 2:13 pm
You'd have thought someone would have gotten around to making sure the holotransmitter was working before we left on our high-priority, covert mission. But, no, that would have required actual competence and diligence on the behalf of whoever was in charge of retrofitting our flying junkheap.

Eyeing the carnage before her, Tajanna flicked her left wrist, shifting her Holocostume from projecting a facsimile of civilian spacer wear, back to its default form, a slightly glossy, black bodyglove.

At least it looks like I don't need to keep a cover identity up, for now.

With her ACP Repeater at the ready, Tajanna stepped carefully around the stew of human organs, looking around for any signs of an ambush. Reaching out to the Dark Side of the Force, she attempted to sense the presence of any potential hostiles still alive amongst the sea of corpses, or lying in wait in the adjoining rooms.
OOC:
Tajanna's using her Sense Force power, to "spend one Force Point to sense all living things within short range (including sentient and non-sentient beings)".

Rolls

Sense: Living Beings within Short Range

1 Black Force Point

Dec 5, 2016 2:35 pm
Lissewa immediately covered her mouth with her hand at the sight of the bodies to stifle a scream. This wasn't her first dead body she'd seen nor did she expect it would be her last, but this was just a little much for the young diplomat. Seeing her Sith comrades go immediately into battle readiness and action reminded her of the importance of their mission and what she needed to be doing.

She pulled her own blaster free from it's holster, wishing she could go back for BS-10, her security droid. [i]"No, he would likely flip a gasket if he saw this. This situation requires calm."

She carefully made her way through the room, tiptoeing around the corpses trying to get to the other door. With luck, she would be able to listen through the door and see if there was any commotion outside of this room.
OOC:
Lissewa will make a perception check on the door to listen for sounds on the other side.

Rolls

Perception Check

1 Success

Total: 1 Success

Dec 5, 2016 3:14 pm
You have to be kidding me. The might of Sith Military Command and we can't get one halfway decent tech to do a shakedown to confirm systems functionality? They managed to get us a transponder that positively sailed through security checks. But a holoterminal? Oh no, not that. Not on a mission where you will be light years from command. Blasted bantha fodder red tape. If the Eyes had known that this was happening... her thoughts trailed off as she tightened her grip on the forestock of her SKZ rifle. At least my blaster should be in working order. I spent enough time tearing it down and making sure everything was in pristine condition. Her breath mask hung heavily on her belt, ready for quick deployment at the first sign of toxic air.

As Tajanna stood on the lookout for an ambush and Lissewa picked her way through the carnage toward the door, Lexi scanned the bodies, determining as best she could at a glance if there were any usable weapons or reloads still scattered among the bodies.

No sense leaving perfectly functional firearms for the enemies. If we can bolster our own armory on board, we'll be better off in the long run. Never let enemies stay armed.

Rolls

Perception

1 Success

Total: 1 Success

Dec 5, 2016 3:43 pm
My, my, my, take notes boy, this is a beautiful, artistic display of blood sprays.

I don't know what's worse: the mission going FUBAR almost immediately, or the fact that I find myself agreeing with you.

No! This was not the time to be bantering with phantom voices! Bringing his hand up, Hawke knocked the base of his palm against the side of his head a few times to try to focus on the moment.

Now is not the time for lightsabers, and perhaps these weapons will have some useful technology that wasn't in the Graveyard.

Rolls

Perception

1 Success, 1 Advantage

Total: 1 Success, 1 Advantage

Dec 5, 2016 9:45 pm
First the Holoterminal and now this; we’ve been setup? Krosus thinks to himself as he walked slowly through the carnage, trying to spot anything of interest. Perhaps markings or clothing that would identify who these people were and if there was any commonality amongst them. He also glanced up toward the ceilings to check for any surveillance systems. Even with the aid of the force it might be hard to manipulate their way out of this one. The others look like they are preparing for a confrontation and deep down he knows that it might be their only option.

Rolls

Perception

3 Advantage

Total: 3 Advantage

Dec 6, 2016 4:08 pm
Tajanna tapped into the currents of the Force, fueled by her desire for answers. She could feel the darkness as it heeded her call, feeding her senses as she sifted the living from the dead with her mind. All were dead, save for one. Lying crumpled on the floor, near a row of barely cushioned seats, was a Neimoidian, wearing an outfit dominated by pale green colors.

http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.Mc492819694a93be32c39370637b7b9b0o0&w=244&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0

Cautiously, her ACP trained on him, just in case, Tajanna moved closer, kneeling down next to him. She confirmed what she had already detected through the Force: although one of his arms was cleanly cut off at the shoulder, he was still breathing, though a bit labored and shallow.


Lissewa pressed against the door ever so slightly, her ear making contact with the cold gray duraplast. Moments pass as she allows for the chance to hear something, anything. Despite her efforts, as far as she could tell, there was nothing to be heard on the other side of the door.


Lexi and Hawke picked their way through the remains of the dead, searching for anything that might be of use. There was surprisingly little to be found, given the number of corpses. It wasn't difficult to reach the conclusion that the room had already been scavenged and looted. They do, however, find some useful pieces of gear, along with some odds and ends.
OOC:
Hawke pulls a hold out blaster from dead hands, in addition to finding a combat knife and a stimpack.

Lexi similarly pulls a vibroknife from a clutching dead hand, along with finding a spiked baton style club about a meter in length. She also finds an extremely flimsy and cheap looking datapad, notably damaged, cracked, blackened and partially melted.
Krosus moved methodically through the remnants of battle, focusing his attention on finding details that would help bring some kind of understanding to their current predicament. There were no security or monitoring systems in the room, at least none that he could see, anyway. However, as he navigated the assorted corpses, stopping on occasion to kneel and examine them more closely, Krosus noticed a clear and prevalent pattern: the dead seemed to be clothed in a way that separated them into two discernible groups.

One favored pale green colors and was comprised of multiple species, including two Neimoidians (one alive, being examined by Tajanna), a Rodian, a Sullustan, a Devaronian, and a large Gamorrean. Upon closer inspection, varying images and arrangements of an unspecific sentient body, lying face down in a gutter, could be seen as a binding theme in their clothing designs and tattoos.

The other group, 8 Humans, wore colors almost like silver, garments metallic with a sheen to them. Half of them had some unremarkable cybernetics, shiny prosthetic legs, arms, and hands. There was an additional identifier that marked them as a group as well: all of them had a uniform solid metal 'MZ' tatoo grafted into their skin, whether it was very prominently displayed on their wrist, arm, neck, face, or forehead.
Dec 6, 2016 7:27 pm
Great, a vibroknife! I'd meant to pick one up before we left Akrultos, just wasn't able to find the time. Thankfully, this sot was kind enough to die to supply me with one. As for this baton, what in the Divine would I ever need it for. Ugh. Gently, she placed the datapad back where she found it. Ducking to a knee, she slid the vibroknife into her boot, careful not to cut herself.

Lexi walked over to where Tajanna was kneeling next to the Neimoidian. "Do you think he has any useful information to provide, or should we make it appear that this event had no survivors?" she asked the Chiss quietly as she showed her compatriot the spiked bar.
Dec 6, 2016 10:11 pm
"Strange, this is supposed to be one of the largest space ports on the planet. Are there more rooms before the main port?

These thoughts and others swirled in Lissewa's mind when she spotted the others hovering over an almost dead Neimodian, discussing whether he should be allowed to live or not.

Rushing over, she hoped to stop any reckless action by her counterparts. "Information, useful or not, is what we need now. Remember, this was the personal hangar of our friendly neighborhood Flesh Crawler and finding a bunch of recently dead bodies in his waiting area on the day we arrive is simply to convenient to be coincidence. Something is going on here and somebody, namely him, has to tell us what that is."
Dec 6, 2016 11:22 pm
Having heard the twi'lek speak, Hawke looks up from the knife he pulled out of the rodian's back. "You have a strange definition of convenient Gunner #1, but basic point stands. Would be helpful to know if Bug-Eye was victim of gang violence or targeted assault."

While the rest are interrogating the survivor, I should check out the cybernetics implanted in the human corpses, perhaps I can cannibalize them to make some armor enhancements.
OOC:
Hawke uses an untrained Medicine check to stabilize, utilizing his emergency medpack. Adding the knife and hold-out blaster to inventory.
Last edited December 6, 2016 11:23 pm
Dec 6, 2016 11:39 pm
One of them is still alive? "I agree with Lissewa, we need information and we need it now. So we can plan our next actions." Krosus says stomping his way through the carnage to the side of Tajanna and others.
Looking down at the Neimodian he speaks in a calming tone calling upon the force to quell the fears of the alien, so it will be more receptive to their questioning. "You’re going to be ok, medical services are on the way. Can you tell us what happened here?"
OOC:
would like to use the force power influence to improve the aliens reactions to us.
Last edited December 6, 2016 11:42 pm

Rolls

Influence

2 Black Force Points

Dec 6, 2016 11:39 pm
OOC:
Just a reminder, especially for those less experienced in PbP gaming, if you'd like to in this situation, carrying on with conversation is fine (for planning, banter, etc). The amount of in-game time it takes is negligible compared to actions. You don't need to wait for me to post again for your conversations with one another to take place.
Dec 6, 2016 11:42 pm
OOC:
Qucik post: the Nemoidian is unconscious. CCL, we'll keep your force roll for Krosus if the Nemoidian's status changes. :)
Dec 6, 2016 11:56 pm
"He’s blacked out on us." Krosus pulls a stimpack from his utility belt and injects it into the neimodian. "We might need to provide more aid in order to get the information we need."
One way or the other I will get the information needed, even if it has to be ripped from its mind.
Last edited December 6, 2016 11:59 pm
Dec 7, 2016 1:44 am
Tajanna stepped back from the unconscious Neimoidian, allowing those more skilled in the medical arts sufficient room to work.

"How bad does it look? Do you think he'll regain consciousness soon, or should we drop him off in the ship's lounge with Lessi's droid?"

On top of everything else that's gone brilliantly today, our only witness if out cold.

Tajanna, once again, reaches out to the Dark Side of the Force, this time attempting to Foresee any other inopportune complications that may arise.
OOC:
Tajanna's using her Foresee Force power.

Rolls

Foresee: Vague Hints of Events to Come (1 Force Point)

2 White Force Points

Dec 7, 2016 2:58 am
OOC:
If Tajanna wants to use the Light Side points, let me know and I'll flip a Destiny token (required to tap into the Light Side). She'll also have to suffer 1 Conflict and 2 Strain (standard cost for tapping into the Light Side for Dark Side Force users). Your call Tefmon.

For future reference, whenever you want to do this, any of you can just let me know via a simple OOC post in the narrative.
Dec 7, 2016 3:17 am
OOC:
Nah, no Light Side points for me. A Destiny point, one Conflict, and two Strain is a bit stiff for something that isn't life or death. And we're pretty low on Destiny points as it is.
Dec 7, 2016 11:42 am
"As skilled as I am, in this circumstance I think we should take him back to the ship."
Dec 7, 2016 3:11 pm
Bah. The Dark Side of the Force clearly lacks sufficient influence over this planet. I guess it's our job to rectify that, then.

Tajanna grimaced at her failure to harness the Dark Side of the Force, and then shrugged nonchalantly in Krosus's direction.

"Do as you wish. Just try to keep him alive. Any information he knows is currently the most mission-critical asset in our possession."

Tajanna then walked over to where Lexi had carelessly discarded the damaged datapad, and knelt down to pick it up, holstering her ACP Repeater. She then looked over the datapad, checking to see if any surviving information could be extracted from it.

Carelessness seems to be the byword for Sith operations these days, with us being sent into the field with a broken holotransmitter, a bar brawl being allowed to break out in our safehouse, and my teammates throwing away potentially vital intelligence.
OOC:
Tajanna's making a Computers check to see if she can retrieve any data from the damaged datapad. Note that, if you deem it relevant, Tajanna also has the Codebreaker talent, which removes one Setback die per rank of Codebreaker from checks made to "break codes or decrypt communications", and additionally downgrades the difficulty of those checks once (and only once, not per rank).

Rolls

Computers (1 Skill, 3 Attribute): Data Recovery

4 Success

Total: 4 Success

Dec 7, 2016 3:22 pm
OOC:
You guys are jumping the gun here; give me a chance to resolve your actions (the stimpack, the medicine check, etc). Some of you have taken actions but aren't waiting for them to be resolved. CCL, I'm going to edit your post ever so slightly to reflect what happens before you pick him up.

In the future, wait for actions to be resolved before moving on. I'm fine with continued conversation among your characters, but you didn't even give the Medpac or the Stimpack a chance to work their magic!
Dec 7, 2016 3:22 pm
OOC:
We're all still working the kinks out, and I know there is a varying degree of experience in this game when it comes to playing Star Wars, or simply doing so in a PbP environment; my first SW PbP experience had a bit of a learning curve so I imagine some of you may have one as well. Please carefully read the latest message in OOC General Chat on how to post your dice rolls and skill checks. If you don't understand how to post skill checks and dice rolls after reading it, please ask me via OOC General or PM. Also, the Library is there as a reference for you. It should be able to answer most, if not all, of your questions about the game.

Below are some friendly reminders:

Meribson, your Medicine check was yours to roll. It still is (I'll roll it for you if you don't do so before I post).
CCL, your Influence Force power has an attached Discipline check (using Rules as Written), and you should have rolled it.
Tefmon, your Foresee power check should have come with a Perception roll (even though you're not using it due to lack of dark side points, your Perception roll should have been attached. This would allow me to fully resolve the Foresee if you had force points to use).
Dec 7, 2016 3:27 pm
OOC:
Also, in general you'll find that I post early in the day, as a means of resolving your actions from the day before. I'll try to be predicatble in this way so you can get used to a pattern. I haven't posted in the narrative yet as I've been addressing how skill checks and such need to be handled. I'll be posting resolutions to your actions in the narrative soon.
Dec 7, 2016 4:04 pm
OOC:
Some rolls for skill checks:

Hawke's Medicine: In addition to healing 5 Wounds and 5 Strain with Krosus' stimpack (they heal both in our game), I'll also allow that the stimpack adds a boost dice to Hawke's Medicine skill check to stabilize the Neimoidian. Essentially Hawke is rolling to heal the Neimoidian's Critical Injury: Missing Arm, and the stimpack facilitates success as part of the procedure.

As a learning point for some of you, one of you could have added another boost dice to the roll via an assist of some kind that made sense (e.g., I help position and prop up the body to assist Hawke). Working together can be useful. More on skilled/unskilled assistance can be found in the Library under the 'Basics'. It can only help your cause.

Krosus' Influence: (this roll will apply and be resolved, as the stimpack was enough to bring the Neimoidian back to consciousness; Hawke's efforts will simply help the Neimoidian be less traumatized and more grateful. Also, as helping the Neimoidian is part of the group's self-interest, it won't count for conflict.).
Tajanna's Computers: Adding difficulty and upgrading one to a red Challenge die due to damage. Your note on codebreaker has been accounted for; if there is encryption, it will be applied.

Tajanna's Computer's check comes out to 3 Success and 2 Threat.

Rolls

Hawke: Medicine

3 Success, 2 Advantage, 3 Failure, 2 Threat

Krosus: Influence

5 Success, 3 Advantage, 1 Failure, 3 Threat

Total: 4 Success

Tajanna: Diffculty dice for Computers on Datapad

1 Failure, 2 Threat

Total: 1 Failure, 2 Threat

Dec 7, 2016 5:58 pm
As Lexi considers making the Neimoidian look like a natural part of the body count and Lissewa looks on, hopeful for the successful revival of the bloodbath's only survivor, Hawke quickly gets to work. Kneeling beside the Neimoidian, pulling out his emergency medpac, he urgently does his best to stabilize him and attend to the severed arm. Meanwhile, Krosus thrusts a stimpack into the unconscious victim's neck. Moments later, their combined efforts have resuscitated the man as he gently stirs, then abruptly seizes for a moment, eyes fluttering open as the stimpack does its work. Based on the damage near the shoulder where the arm is missing, Hawke doesn't think his attempts to treat the grievous injury have helped much, but the victim has been, at the very least, attended to. Which is, as Hawke knows, usually is a good thing, assuming one doesn't make things worse somehow.

Ezeriah sent a note to Dramasailor
The Neimoidian begins quivering, trembling as his body continues to try to ward off shock. He frenetically looks at all of you in turn, edging away on his remaining elbow. As he does so, Krosus presses on him, using the Dark Side to squeeze his mind into a submissive acceptance, "You’re going to be ok, medical services are on the way. Can you tell us what happened here?" He seems to relax a bit as a result of Krosus' manipulations through the force, actually believing that a full medical team is on the way to help him.

Somewhat confused and still dazed, he speaks. "I...w-we...it was...they were jus' there. All of them. Jus' waitin' for us," his head nods, still weak, "l-l...-like they knew. Damn Mech'ers." His eyes grew wide, almost bulging as fear and terror completely overwhelmed his voice. "We w-were fightin'... an' doin' alrgiht... 'til that one jus'... well, he jus' came outta nowhere. Started cuttin' through ev-everyone... DF's, Mech'ers... puttin' 'em down like a whirlwind of death, man!" He trembles as his words trail off, the after effects and trickling remnants of shock combining with a consuming fear. Shaking his head, he begins to sob like a frightened child, crying uncontrollably, escalating in both volume and tears. He rapidly shook his head side to side, frantically, as if he could somehow unsee what he had already seen. He cried out. "It was jus' so unreal, man! Never saw anything like it! Kriffin' unkriffin believable! Krif man! Kriffin' krif!"

Meanwhile, Tejanna focuses her attention on the damaged datapad, picking it up from the silvery dressed corpse where Lexi had left it. It's in a bad way, to be sure, but she manages to coax it back to some momentary degree of usefulness after opening up the circuit panel and making a few minor adjustments, followed by giving it a gentle smack with her hand for good measure when its screen flickered at her. Within seconds of getting a look at the datapad's screen, its light fades out, leaving the screen, and the datapad, dead.

Ezeriah sent a note to Tefmon
OOC:
Meribson, you haven't looked fro cybernetics on corpses yet as you were still attending to the Neimoidian's wounds. Let actions resolve before moving along to other actions; otherwise, it leads to what we currently have with a couple of you doing things out of time.

In the future everyone, wait for the right time for actions. Don't make assumptions. Wait for me to resolve the previous game day and your actions before moving on. I will try to post as early as possible in the current game day to allow you more time to read and post your own character's actions. I adjusted for Krosus, Hawke scavenging for cybernetics just didn't fit as he wouldn't have just walked from the Neimoidian given his reaction and fits, and the only reason Tajanna's decision to check out the datapad works is because she walked away before the efforts to revive the Neimoidian began in earnest. I tried to make it work the best that I could. Again, in the future, when your character has actions, please wait for them to resolve. Things just won't make sense in PbP sometimes when you do so. For example, you can't ask questions or use Influence powers when someone's still unconscious, and doing so looks strange in the narrative (as it is out of time), especially if he never comes to.

If anything, as part of what your character is doing, in less complex situations you can attach an OOC in the narrative telling me what you would like to do if somethings does happen I'm fine with that, as long as it isn't too complex, as it can help move along the game, avoiding using an entire post for something simple. For example, you might write in OOC at the bottom of you narrative post: "Once I get the bartender's attention, I'd like to ask him 'Have you seen Darth Vader?"; this will be much more effective than me devoting a post to the bartender coming to serve you, and then you're addition of another entire post to ask such a simple question.

Also, regarding your Influence CCL (and for anyone that has the Control power aka 'Jedi Mind Trick'), as a simple clarification: For Influence, Light Side points are used to create positive feelings such as friendliness or kindness, Dark Side points for negative such as fear or hate; both, however, can be used to create neutral responses, such as creating confusion or getting them to believe a simple untruth (a simple lie). In this case CCL, your Dark Side points allow for your the untruth portion (which was your primary aim), but will not convey positive feelings (not that I think you we're going for that, just making sure everyone is aware in general how these mechanics work going forward.
Dec 7, 2016 11:14 pm
Well, they've got the interrogation started time to look for some goodies.

Turning from the stammering alien, he made his way to the humans. Reaching out with his mind, he felt the gears, servos, screws, and wires in the cybernetics. With his hands, he reached out to remove the various cybernetic limbs.
OOC:
The cyborgs are all dead so Hawke is unconcerned with tissue damage, if that is not worth a boost die then just ignore it.

Rolls

Mechanics: remove cybernetics from corpses

5 Success, 3 Advantage

Total: 5 Success, 3 Advantage

Dec 8, 2016 2:09 am
Damn it all to hell. That's not a vibro wound, or even something ripped out. That's a damn lightsaber cut! Lexi's eyes widened as she realized the manner of delimbing the Neimoidian had experienced. Lexi crossed quickly to where Tajanna stood with the datapad. As she got closer, she whispered to the Chiss, "I have a concern about the way our friend there lost his arm. Did you see the state of the wound? The only thing, the ONLY thing, that makes a cut that clean, with no blood sign at all? Lightsaber blades. Search your memory. I think we may be facing something with access to a lightsaber. Her tone carried with it the confidence of someone that has caused many wounds with those same markers.

Out of habit, her hand dropped to the worn, comfortable, cylinder hanging there. She slung the strap of her SKZ over shoulder, ensuring her hands were free to do whatever may need to be done.
Dec 8, 2016 11:32 am
Upon seeing that the Neimoidian was stable, Hawke detached himself from any immediate involvement with the traumatized victim, preferring to go about the bloody task of collecting prosthetic cybernetics from the silvery dressed human group. Looking around at the treasure trove of bodies and metal, he surmised that the salvageable parts included 2 legs, 3 arms, 4 hands, and a forearm, some in better shape than others. With enthusiasm, he immersed himself in the task of removing the shiniest parts from almost cold cold corpses, taking on the semblance of a butcher surgeon as he went about his grim business. Given his absolute disregard for the flesh attached to the limbs, it proved to be even easier than he thought it would be.
OOC:
With Hawke's Mental Tools talent, we'll assume a cutter of some kind. It isn't necessarily the quickest work though, and you ultimately discern that only two of the parts are really worth salvaging, as the rest are of extremely poor quality. In fact, all of the prosthetics are not quite fitted for their owner, which was strange, as cybernetics, attached properly, are custom fitted. Choose and keep any 2 from the list above. Let me know which ones you'd like and where they're going on the ship (I'm assuming you wouldn't keep them on you as your ET is near max and each limb is 3 encumbrance. We'll also assume you store them in some kind of bag, until you get the chance to really clean them...
Meanwhile, Lissewa and Krosus still have a traumatized Neimoidian looking up at them, while Lexi and Tajanna converse about 10 meters away...


Hawke's Mechanics roll comes out to 3 Success and 1 Advantage.

Rolls

Hawke: Mechanics

2 Failure, 2 Threat

Total: 2 Failure, 2 Threat

Hawke: Medicine

5 Success, 3 Failure, 1 Threat

Total: 2 Success, 1 Threat

Dec 8, 2016 11:45 am
Lissewa rolled her eyes at the man as he started losing his cool. "Always with the theatrics."

She bent at the knees and she smiled. She looked him directly in the eyes and placed a hand upon his good shoulder.

In a soft tone, displaying the feelings of compassion and encouragement, she spoke to him.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. Whatever hurt you before, it's gone now, it won't hurt you again. You don't have to be afraid of it. Let's try and keep things simple, okay. Tell me some things that you are sure of and don't confuse you. Will that be okay?"
OOC:
Lissewa will attempt a charm check to try and calm him down and get him to answer some simple questions. Keep in mind her talents. Kill with Kindness will remove any setback. Congenial can downgrade difficulty (I've provided the instances when I would use it in Lissewa's character post.) For expediency, if she succeeds, she will asks questions such as "What is your name?" "Who are the DFs and the Mechers?" "Why were he and his friends coming to this hanger?" "What sort of problems does he have with the Mechers?" "Does he know the person who owns this hanger?" Not necessarily in that order, what ever makes sense from the standpoint of someone trying to draw information slowly out of someone while avoiding the topic of the thing that killed everyone.

Rolls

Charm Roll

4 Success, 2 Advantage

Total: 4 Success, 2 Advantage

Dec 8, 2016 12:35 pm
The Neimoidian survivor is soothed by Lissewa, breathing in deeply, then exhaling with relief, coming to a calm state of sorts. "Calm down, Zhaff," he takes a couple of quick breaths, and then a deep one, "help is on the way." Lissewa moves in just a hair closer, adopting a comforting and reassuring demeanor. She goes about asking him some questions, and he opens up, thankful for the help he's received. He answers the questions, a bit more at ease than he was moments ago.

From his answers, you discern that the 'DF's' in the pale green are the 'Dead Floaters', a gang he belongs to, whereas the 'Mech'ers' is street slang for the humans in silver, the 'Mech-Zecutives'; they are rival street gangs, which were, until now it seemed, at peace. He doesn't know why the Mech-Zecs (more slang) were waiting in ambush. He closes his eyes, and gently shakes his head. "An' I don't know why or where that... that k-killing machine came from. But he came after we had already done some killin' of our own." He starts to shake a little again, the terror creeping back into his mind and body. "Never seen anything like it." He mumbles as his voice trails off, and he begins to sob again, though more controllably, attempting to hide it.

He looks to Krosus, then back to Lissewa. "When's help gonna get here?"

Lissewa's Charm used Congenial to get rid of the Challenge die, and Kill with Kindness to remove one setback (there were two setbacks as the corpses all around are a bit for Zhaff the Neimoidian to overcome). Result: 2 Success, 1 Advantage (I've used the advantage to restore the strain you lost from Congenial Squeeks, as 1 Advantage can't do anything significant narrative-wise.

Rolls

Lissewa: Charm Difficulty

2 Failure, 1 Threat

Total: 2 Failure, 1 Threat

Dec 8, 2016 12:54 pm
Tajanna looked up from the datapad to face Lexi, listening intently.

Good thing she didn't come over a mere moment earlier, or else I might have missed what little information remained on this datapad before it died.

After Lexi finished expounding the details of the Neimoidian's wounds, Tajanna responded, copying Lexi's hushed tone.

"I guess you might have been right about us facing Jedi here after all. Although, this could just as easily be the work of a traitor among the Sith."

Tajanna paused for a second, clearly considering what she should say next.

"Speaking of news, I managed to recover some scraps of intel from this busted datapad. Whoever possessed it in life sent a most telling message before he died."

Tajanna recalled the massage from memory, and changed her tone of voice to indicate that she was quoting another's words.

"Waiting in 1294-K now. Are you sure those DF's will show? Anyway, we'll wait. Like you said, all day if we have to. They'll never know what hit them."
Dec 8, 2016 1:38 pm
A traitor among the Sith? I suppose it absolutely could be. We've not sent that many out, have we? If Flesh Crawler was our only agent here, has he been compromised? Lexi's mind whirled at the possibilities.

"So it was an ambush to get these - DFs - apparently? I don't recall anything from the briefing regarding those initials. As for the other threat, if it is Sith in nature, we are blind to who it may be, if not Flesh Crawler. Either way, we need to move quickly. I can't imagine a bloodbath like this will take very long to attract security forces. Immediately getting into a firefight with CSA forces would be - ill-advised." She said, still in a hushed tone as she looked over her shoulder at the door.
Dec 8, 2016 3:08 pm
Yeah, police trouble might end this mission before it even begins. Especially private military police trouble.

"I'm not overly familiar with CSA law enforcement protocols, but it is possible that a private dispute on private property may not be their concern. This lounge is still part the private docking bay owned by Flesh Crawler, after all. However, we shouldn't risk our lives, and our mission, on that assumption. It may be prudent to delay further looting and strategizing until we can ascertain whether or not we're safe to operate out of this location."

Tajanna nodded in the direction of the rest of the team, indicating that she thought it was past time to have everyone start moving out.

At least if we all die in a police raid, we'll die satisfied, knowing that we successfully procured plenty of cyborg toes and pocket knives.
Dec 9, 2016 1:51 am
Krosus steps away from the nemodian and moves close to tajanna, before speaking In a hushed voice. "What should we do with this one ?".
this alien might serve a further purpose to us. After all wasn't it lord Krally that said that their is no chance happenings nor coincidence when it comes to the force. We just have to be wise enough to see the opportunity presented.. Krosus thinks to himself.
"I suggest we keep him alive for now and in condition , who knows after some reflection I don't believe it was a coincidence that this alien should still be alive when we chanced upon him.
Dec 9, 2016 2:23 am
Lissewa ignored Zhaff's question, giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder as she stepped away to join her comrades.

She made sure to speak in hushed tones with them so as not to alarm the young ganger. "I believe Krosus is correct here. If nothing else, he may be the only one able to identify this mysterious threat, sith or not."

She folded her arms impatiently. At the very least they needed to get out from all of these corpses. A smell was beginning to fill the small space and she did not find it pleasing.
Dec 9, 2016 3:35 am
As Hawke finished removing one of the cybernetic arms from the organic shoulder that it was attached to, he jerked upright as a thought occurred to him. Turning back to the rest of the crew of the Spear, he waved the cybernetic arm in the air to grab their attention as he called out to them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but do any of you want some of these implants? I'd be willing to assist in installing them, after making some much needed improvements of course."

If any of them accept, I'll have to install some sort of trap within whatever limb they take should they turn from the Progenitor's Path.
Last edited December 9, 2016 3:36 am
Dec 11, 2016 11:49 am
It looks like the group has some choices to make. Feel free to continue since I've got nothing new to add or resolve.
Dec 11, 2016 2:34 pm
Lissewa visibly scrunched her face at the idea of using second hand cybernetics off of some random nobody on this pathetic excuse for a planet. I'd rather cut my own arm off and go around with a stump then use those knock off pieces of junk. I have two perfectly good arms and legs, thank you."

With that, she turned and worked her way back over to Zhaff. "If we're going to keep this guy on our side, we need to get him to a place where he can feel safe and maybe get some real medical help for that arm."

"Help is taking to long to arrive. It isn't safe here. Is there someplace we can take you where we can all be safe and we can get you help?"
Last edited December 11, 2016 2:34 pm
Dec 12, 2016 1:08 pm
Tajanna turned to address Krosus as he shuffled over to her and Lexi's huddle.

"Yeah, alive and contained is good. There's no point killing a harmless, potentially useful asset. At least not until he ceases to be either harmless or useful."

Tajanna then looked out across the room to where Hawke stood, offering to install decapitated cyborg limbs. She raised her voice above a hushed whisper, to respond audibly to his offer.

"I think I'll pass on the cyberware. Unless you've found a functioning brain implant or something plugged into one of those corpses."

And another one joins the strategy meeting. Once Lissi finishes her interrogation, and Hawke finishing hawking second-hand cyberhands, we'll finally be ready to head out.
Dec 12, 2016 2:15 pm
Someone else's used cybergear? No thank you. Lexi thinks quietly as she hears Hawke offering his new "treasures" up.

"Alive and contained is good. What is our immediate course of action? We don't want to be found here, in the state this is all in." Lexi says, still hushed. Turning, she walks over towards Hawke, "Hawke, we have bigger things to concern ourselves with at this point. The Neimoidian's wound, it was caused by a lightsaber blade, or something very near to it. Our chromatic associate over there recovered a bit of information from a busted datapad. This was a setup, by someone. We need to very quickly figure out our security here and then we can make bigger plans for the good of the mission." She says quickly, looking to the engineer for confirmation.
Last edited December 12, 2016 2:15 pm
Dec 12, 2016 10:00 pm
No thanks hawke, let's fix and clean any of them up we can, I t appears that these attachments could have some value on this world. Perhaps we can find a vendor once we venture out that will buy the whole lot. Of course we'll need to keep it discreet as to how we acquired them. Let's get on the move before we are spotted in connection with this carnage. . Krosus moves back over to the alien.

come along my alien friend, let's get you some help? Krosus says helping the alien to his feet.

there are still so many unknowns, perhaps if he could have found the solitude he needed back on the ship, during the voyage, he might have gotten some insight from the force. He would make time to seek guidance as soon as possible.
Last edited December 12, 2016 10:01 pm
Dec 13, 2016 2:04 pm
With the help of Krosus, Zhaff rises to his feet, leaning into him him for support, holding himself up. "Thanks." The stimpack has clearly helped, numbing a bit of the pain, but the Neimoidian is still very weak. Despite his predicament and health, it's easy to see that the look on his face is clearly one of gratitude. Assisted by the lingering effects of Krosus' use of the force on the young Neimoidian's mind, Zhaff really seems to be believe Lissewa's claims about help 'taking too long to arrive.' With his arm draped around Krosus' shoulder, he looks at Lissewa.

"It's no surprise that the med team isn't here yet. Kriff, they might not even come at all. With all the labor riots going on these days, they've been busy." He looks down at the ground, shaking his head in disappointment. With a sigh, he continues. "Kraspen's goin' to hell; some parts of it are already there." Zhaff pauses, momentarily in thought. "Look, as far as safe, we should head to the Espos Station... got a friend who's an Espo. We can trust 'em, good guy, like a brother...knows when to look the other way. He knows the score." A weak smile shows on his face, then he winces from a jolt of pain. "And I can get this arm looked at by the station doc."

He leans heavily on Krosus, then straightens up, or at least he tries. "Maybe we could head to the Runoff. It's a cantina the Dead Floaters run. Usually we're untouchable there." His eyes widen as he casts them about the room, taking in the body count. "Usually. But after what happened here, I gotta think those kriffin' Mech'ers might be coordinatin' on us. Plannin' a hit on the Runoff. Soon, maybe later... maybe they're hittin' it now." He winces again. "No doc there, but I can get somethin' for the pain."

"Look... we came to 1294-K to take down some wealthy types after they docked. It's part of our usual biz. We got a guy in the port who tips us off sometimes for good scores. Y'know, for a cut." He looks past Lissewa toward the rest of the squad. "But I can tell you're nothin' close to an easy score, like some fat merchants or nobles. And Zhaff isn't dumb. I can tell a visit to the cop shop isn't on your list of places to see, but I'm tellin' you we'll be safe there. My guy won't sell us out." Krosus can feel Zhaff's weight becoming more of a burden. "An' I gotta see a doc." He sheepishly looks right at Lissewa, addressing Krosus as well. "Hey... um... you guys got any more stims? I could use another... or two. Yeah, two would really help. Pain's killin' me. Throbbin'."
Dec 13, 2016 11:26 pm
Lissewa adopts a worried look on her face, due in part to the Neimodian's request for stims. "I'm sorry. I wish we could spare some for you but we're pretty much lost without you. If we fill you up with stims, how will you be able to direct us to where we need to go? I know it hurts, but we will get you to the doctor as soon as we can and they'll be able to help you better than we can."

This guy better have something for us to use. Getting a little sick of his voice. Plus it looks like his gang was here to attack us before the Mech'ers and that other person got to them. Probably should avoid any DFer locales. Lissewa turned to her companions and spoke urgently.

"Zhaff needs to get to a doctor quickly. I think we should take him to this Espos station? Should we take the ECUL?"
OOC:
Probably need to make a charm check here. She isn't lying, she really is trying to convince him to be as alert as possible so they can get to their destination as quickly as they can.

Rolls

Charm Roll

4 Success, 3 Advantage, 1 Triumph

Total: 4 Success, 3 Advantage, 1 Triumph

Dec 14, 2016 12:53 am
I agree Lissewa, let’s get to the Espos station as quickly as possible. I will help our friend here to the ECUL.

This is troubling news about an ambush being set for us. That means someone on this world knows who we are possibly. On the other hand it appears that flesh crawler or one of the other Sith was watching out for us, but why didn't they stay long enough to meet with us. It's now paramount that we get in touch with our contact.

As Krosus passes by Hawke with Zhaff still clinging on, he speaks over at the armored butcher. If you had the parts, do you think you could repair or build what we need to get the holo-terminal working? Also we might need to sell some of this stuff in order to acquire what we need. That might include some of their weapons as well.
OOC:
I would like to get Zhaff to the ECUL so we can leave this grisly scene behind. The only question is, who’s driving? If this is ok with everyone? This is my first time playing any play by post game so i’m not sure about a lot of things, so just give me a nudge if I take things too far or go out of bounds please.
Last edited December 14, 2016 1:03 am
Dec 14, 2016 1:55 am
"If you're asking whether I can cobble something together with which to fix the comm from these spare parts? I rather doubt it. If you intend to sell these for scrap and use the funds to buy something vaguely comm related? Possibly. I'll stick these in Engineering to play with later, be right back."

With that, a little disappointed that no one was gullible enough to take his offer, Hawke grabbed his salvage and stood up to store it on the ship.

This mission is getting more and more complicated. At least it won't be boring.
Dec 14, 2016 7:47 am
Well, it looks like we're finally going to be moving out. About time.

Tajanna followed the rest of the group back into the ship, turning to face Lissi on the way.

"Hey Lissi, where do you have all of your extra gear stored? We might as well throw all of it in the ECUL before we go.
Dec 14, 2016 2:08 pm
As Krosus helps the weakened Neimoidian on to the Spear of Akrulta, Zhaff stops them both at the top of the boarding ramp. "Thanks for helping me up, but I think I've got it from here." He lets go of Krosus and takes a step away, straightening up as he does so. "I think I'll be alright."
OOC:
See OOC General Chat on preparing to leave the Spear and moving on toward whatever destination you agree upon.
Lissewa's Charm came out to 4 Success, 1 Advantage, with a Triumph. The Charm attempt wasn't so much needed as it was simply beneficial. For the Triumph, let's have Zhaff toughen up a bit and stop leaning on Krosus, reflecting Lissewa's words providing some motivation for Zhaff to do so. I was going to have him gimp along and be a burden until proper medical care was received...

Rolls

Lissewa: Charm Difficulty

2 Threat

Total: 2 Threat

Dec 14, 2016 10:48 pm
I've got my go kit all set, if the rest of you want to finish making your preparations for the trip, I'll get the ECUL prepped and ready to go so we can depart quickly. Lexi said to the others as she headed to the cargo hold where the ECUL is parked.

As she settled into the pilot's seat, she left the canopy open as she started running a few quick diagnostics checks.

Messy Lexi. We've got an alien that wants us to drop him at a cop shop after he was assaulted in the private lounge of the hangar where we are docked. It's a massive measure of trust to let him into the shop alone. Although, I suppose we don't have much choice. Perhaps having Lissewa along is better than I originally thought. If we get into a spot, she may be able to sweet talk us out of it without giving up the mission. Perhaps. She shook her head as she finished going through her standard start up checklist. First trip out of hyper. Always good to do a full checklist. Don't want to find ourselves trying to run and having a component fail then!
Dec 15, 2016 3:06 am
Tajanna walked up to the ECUL after Lexi, going around the side and hopping into the front passenger seat beside her.

I wish we could all bring our full armament for our first trip out. I guess avoiding a firefight with local security forces is better than having a slightly better chance of winning one.

"Everything primed and ready to go, Lexi?"
Dec 15, 2016 3:24 am
"So far Tajanna, yes, it looks like the checklist is coming back green. Just a few more bits to crosscheck. I have no desire to have THIS go sideways as well. It's been a rough enough first approach. I'm not sure the approach your teachers had with you, mine had a maxim. Usually trotted out to make sure we were planning well in advance, staying sharp. 'No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.'" She said, her eyes still taking in readouts and checklist items. Pulling her eyes off her work for a moment, she looked to her Chiss compatriot. "I don't trust this Zhaff. I don't like that we're marching right into the teeth of the Espo force here. Would that I could peer through the veil of time to see the future, as the Progenitor did, or even as some trainees back - home - did. At least then I could be better prepared and more confident in our steps now that we are off book." Lexi quipped, not out of fear, but fury at a plan gone awry.
Dec 15, 2016 2:27 pm
Having made your preparations, Lexi fires up the ECUL as the hangar bay doors slowly open, revealing the Kraspen skyline, illuminated in the dark of night. Immediately the stench of the Bonadan air assails your senses as Lexi closes the canopy, just in time to prevent you from gagging. As you look outward on the city, waiting for the transport elevator to reach your hangar bay, you can't help but notice the layer of choking pollution and smog completely blotting out the the skyline toward the upper levels of some of the taller buildings in the distance. Speeders, both land and air, go about making their way to destinations, jammed up in spots here and there as far as the eye can see. Everywhere you look is choking decay.

A sykscraper, less than 10 kilometers away, is completely consumed by a conflagration of flame, hopelessly intent on burning to the ground. "Labor riots. Gets worse every day," Zhaff mentions offhandedly. Kraspen is clearly polluted and suffering to a staggering degree, much worse than you had ever imagined based on the mission details from STRAT-COM.

The transport elevator arrives, and, after descending a couple hundred meters past multiple hangar bays, Lexi follows Zhaff's directions, guiding the ECUL through the urban sprawl toward the Espos station. At one point you have to stop, the road ahead clogged with rioting civilians, perhaps a hundred of them, going toe to toe with a few dozen Espos forces. An Espo on the outskirts of the chaos is really laying into a civilian, repeatedly striking the downed woman, over and over with his baton. Zhaff shakes his head. "This kinda stuff happens all the time now. Corp's are tighter than ever with the creds. They control everything: wages, prices, laws. Kriffin' everything." A dozen or so baton strikes later, the Espo, satisfied with his work, looks up and notices you as he wipes the baton off on his leg. "We should go."

You take a detour suggested by Zhaff, going off the main road, picking your way carefully through alleys and side streets both industrial and residential. Along the way, you navigate around couple of similar brawls on a smaller scale. Zhaff watches in dismay. "We're almost there." Heading down a residential side street, you pass by a smaller apartment complex, perhaps a few dozen homes within, people moving in and out, apparently looting. "Now this," Zhaff begins, a degree of surprise in his voice, "this is new. Only the second time I've seen it. Neighbors robbin' neighbors. See, they're too afraid of stealin' from the corp's biz, so they steal from each other." Nowhere is an Espo to be seen as you watch two Twi'lek men drag another Twi'lek into the street by his head tentacles. Three blaster shots later and the aggressors head back in. "Espos won't come. They're too busy protecting the corp's." The young Neimoidian sighs. "This stuff is happenin' all over the planet. Bonadan just ain't what it used to be. No place to live. People are tryin' to get off world too, but the corp's just won't let 'em go. Gotta keep their 'workforce', y'know. more like slaves."

As you get closer to the Espos Station tower, the violence and destruction drops off rapidly. It's almost as if you're in a different city entirely. Finally, after about an hour of travel from the spaceport, Lexi brings the ECUL to a stop near the curb by the Espos station, which has a squad of 8 Espos stationed outside the main entrance. Zhaff pauses, about to exit through the rear door.

"Well, here we are. I just wanna say thanks for doin' this. Y'know. You guys didn't have to patch me up, or bring me here. And I appreciate it. I do. I owe you one. I would have died without you." He visibly shudders and looks out the window toward the Espos tower as four airspeeders take off from a mid level hangar, Espos lights flashing red and yellow. "Look, you guys know I was there to rob you. But you were supposed to be merchants or traders, or somethin' like that. And I'm guessin' you might want answers. So, if you want, I can set you up to meet my guy. Just say the word, and it's done."
OOC:
None of you clarified whether or not you wanted to meet Zhaff's Espo contact, so he's officially asking. I try not to make assumptions as to what you'll choose to do, while also allowing multiple paths to success, or failure. I'm not sure what everyone's RPG experience is like, but I'm not going to try to keep you on a path and follow 'my' story (aka as keeping you 'on the rails', as some GM's are prone to do). My goal is to make a galaxy for you to game in as you like.

In the future, I'm unlikely to mention the following, but from the space port hangar you had three decent options to explore: The Espos station, The Runoff, and Space Port administration (if you figure out who the DF's contact is there). Perhaps some of you considered all of those options, but I want to make sure players of all experience levels and backgrounds are aware of the varying degrees of possibility in our game. It's not a threat, but a promise: I'm not going to hold your hand and guide you toward success.
Dec 15, 2016 5:40 pm
Lissewa watches with some degree of horror at the events transpiring around her as they made their way through the city. Not at the brutality of the Espos or the violent looting but at the sheer chaos itself, caused primarily by un-obedient citizenry. This sort of thing would never fly on Akrultos. She was a bit unsure of her position in this operation, even had some doubts as to the whole invasion. But it was clear that this planet and likely many others needed the guiding hand of the Sith. Order could be restored to the galaxy and clearly that was her mission.

When they arrived at the Espos station, she grew a little less concerned. Things were much more orderly here, just as they should be.

Not wanting to squander their time spent cultivating this contact, Lissewa turned in her seat to face Zhaff.

"We really need all the help we can get. I think you can provide that as can your contact. If you can, keep in contact with us. I'd like to know if you get the medical care you need and maybe we will be able to help each othet."
Dec 15, 2016 6:38 pm
Zhaff nods and exchanges com numbers with Lissewa. "There's a cantina a few blocks down," he points past the Espos station, opposite the direction from which you came. "Called the Charitable Charlatan. Locals just call it CC's. I'll tell my guy to meet you there. Besides, you don't wanna hang out here too long anyway." Zhaff nods toward the squad of Espos guarding the station entrance. "They'll get curious."

Zhaff waits, hand on the rear door, anticipating that some of you might have something to add before he leaves.
Dec 15, 2016 10:28 pm
Zhaff, could you recommend a place that might have a good assortment of parts or communication equipment for a reasonable price? We had an accident with ours and need to get it working again.

These riots are of most interest, they could work to our advantage nicely. Who knows perhaps our contact has already begun paving the road of conquest for us with this uprising. If not, then we can manipulate it to our own cause. There are defiantly lots of questions to be asked; hopefully Zhaffs contact will provide the knowledge sought. Like who are the leaders of the uprising and areas they are known to hang out in. Lots of possibilities to think about and plan for.

Take care of your- self Zhaff, we look forward to meeting your contact. We have lots of questions as you have already noticed. Krosus gives Zhaff his comlink code as well.
Dec 15, 2016 11:07 pm
Zhaff turns toward Krosus. "The riots have caused the corp's to shut down most businesses. Food is scarce... people are starving, although the corp's have food centers here and there, charging triple prices." He looks toward the skyline, lit up by the inferno kilometers away, which seems to have spread to another tower. "Bastards."

Lost in thought for a moment, he comes to. "There's a pawn shop down the street from CC's, 'Shank's Pre-Owned'. Corp' free, private biz, family run. Always open, day and night. Decent prices, but Shank'll try to screw-gouge you sometimes, especially if you're new. Tell 'em Zhaff sent you. Besides that, there's a tech store back towards the spaceport aways, through the chaos. About 20 blocks. Called 'MechTronics'. It's closed though, no doubt sealed up real tight by corp' security." He smiles. "But I figure you guys might not care about something like that. Careful though, don't say I didn't warn you." As an afterthought, Zhaff mentions the coordinates of the locations, allowing those of you with datapads or access to the ECUL's navcomputer to record them.
Dec 16, 2016 12:53 am
Humming to himself in thought, Hawke mentally deliberated before turning to the rest of the crew, "I'll check out the pawn shop, see if there's a part we could use. Anyone want to come with me?"

Why are you seeking out their company?

If this one-armed freak decides to sick some buddies on us, I'd rather not have to deal with a numerically superior force without having prepared the field of engagement beforehand. That simple enough for you?

Fair enough, but watch your tone with me boy. I have more power over you than you realize.
Last edited December 16, 2016 12:54 am
Dec 16, 2016 2:06 am
"Zhaff, how long will your - associate - be before we can meet them?" Lexi asked as she keyed the information about both Shank's and MechTronics into the ECUL's navcomputer.

I don't fancy waiting for hours on a person we don't know, that is affiliated with law enforcement, in an area we are unfamiliar with and is unscouted. Perhaps it would be better if I went with Hawke to see about getting parts to fix the Spear? At least shuttle people around. If things get grim, I'm better off in the ECUL than out of it in the press of the street. As she mulled over these thoughts waiting on Zhaff's answer to her question, another disturbing thought sprang into her mind.

He said they were told to rob the people that showed up at that docking station. Flesh Crawler secured that station expressly for us to come in under a civilian transponder. Now, two apparently warring factions lie dead in the private lounge with lightsaber wounds? Is it possible that Flesh Crawler has defected or is he attempting to test the new recruits? Has he gone native? Yes, I think a quick trip with Hawke may allow some of these ideas to bounce around.

"Regardless Zhaff, Hawke, I will accompany you to the pawn shop if the others will be awaiting this 'guy' of Zhaff's to appear." Lexi said, settling her mind.
Dec 16, 2016 2:11 am
Tajanna poked her head back into the rear seating compartment, smirking in Hawke's direction.

"Sure, Engineer, I'll come shake down the local pawn shop with you. I have some familiarity with similar establishments on Akrultos; it'd be nice to inspect the corresponding legitimate businesses on our future territory, see if they're up to snuff with Sith standards."

Finally, a chance to actually progress with our mission. And Hawke might need a chaperone if we want to continue avoiding Espos attention.
Dec 16, 2016 3:52 am
Zhaff's attention shifted incredulously past the passenger section toward the cockpit, coming to a rest on Tajanna. His tone shifted, puzzling as he quoted what she had just said to Hawke. "Your future territory?" His eyes shifted around the ECUL, calculating. The brief silence quickly became awkward, then abated just as quickly."What? you guys work for some big time execs or something?" Another quick sweeping glance around the ECUL, sizing you up. Zhaff's face evolved from uncertainty to a grin. "Ahhh. Of course... hostile takeover! Execs couldn't negotiate, so they bring you in." He holds his hands up, submissive, palms facing you. "Look, I didn't hear anything, and don't wanna know. Whatever's your biz is your biz." He opens the rear door and slides out, putting his one arm to good use.

Leaning in, hunched under the rear door, Zhaff answers Lexi as the Kraspen stench wafts in, suffocating. "My guy should be able to meet you at CC's in about an hour. Until then, well... it's an alright place. Relax, have a drink. They mix a good Kraspen Death Wind there." He looks toward the Espos station main entrance again. "Alright, well, I'm gonna get going. If you need anything, you've got my com." And with that, Zhaff closes the back door and hustles into the Espos Station tower.
OOC:
So far I've got Hawke, Lexi, and Tajanna going to Shank's Pre-Owned pawn shop, which is less than a minute's walk down the street from Charitable Charlatan's cantina. If CCL and Squeeks can confirm where they'd like to go by Monday 12:00 PM GMT, we can move on from here without delay. Just leave a short note in OOC General.

However, if you feel the need to strategize or plan, that's fine too.
Dec 16, 2016 4:15 am
Lissewa watched Zhaff hobble away, eyeing him closely. When he was out of ear shot she shot a glare at Tajanna. "Seriously? Talking about the operation in front of the natives. And here I thought I was the one that didn't have any covert military training.

Shaking her head, she folded her arms into her seat, crossing her legs.

"I suppose I'll have to go and scope out the meeting place so we can be prepared for when the contact shows up. I trust you all won't be blabbing our super secret mission to anyone else, yes?"
Dec 19, 2016 1:21 pm
The ECUL's power core hums as Lexi pulls it out from a parked position, guiding it down the street. As you move along, it's glaringly apparent just how quiet and still it is in this area. Besides the Espos station guards you saw before, you haven't seen a single person or any traffic since arriving at the Espos tower. Kraspen is clearly in a state of chaos, and so far you've been able to discern that the streets are either bustling with traffic (as they were closer to the spaceport), intensely alive with conflict and aggression, or absolutely dead and abandoned. You assume that, in the latter case, people are trying to keep indoors and stay safe.

Lexi parks the ECUL at the end of the street just a few blocks down from the Espos tower, coming to a dead end by what looks like a singular bus type transport terminal across the street to your left. The navcomputer informs you that your destinations are further ahead, a block beyond where the street connects to something more like an alley, wide enough only for foot traffic and poorly illuminated for the most part. A neon sign posted near the alley entrance reads: 'RESIDENTIAL AREA, NO VEHICLES BEYOND THIS POINT'.

Ahead, on the right side of the alley, you see a glowing orange sign nonchalantly proclaiming 'Charitable Charlatan's.' Further down to the left, just before an intersection, you see a neon sign that simply says 'Open.'
OOC:
This seemed like a good place to let the group move ahead from, rather than just drop you in CC's and Shank's.
Dec 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Tajanna snorted in Lissi's direction.

"I thought that acclimating the populace to the idea of a regime change would make our lives easier in the long run. But if you're worried that overinforming crippled Neimoidian lowlifes will endanger our mission, I'll try to not mention anything to them in the future."

With that, Tajanna opened the front passenger door, taking in a breath of not-so-fresh air.

You would've thought that STRAT-COM would've told us about the abyssmal atmospheric conditions before we packed our bags and left.

Tajanna poked her head back inside the ECUL, turning to face Lissi.

"Hey, Lissi. You wouldn't mind if I borrowed a respirator from your survival kit, would ya? I'll give it back once I acquire my own from our friendly neighborhood pawnbroker."
Dec 19, 2016 8:09 pm
Lexi pulled on her breathing mask as she made her preparations to head to the pawn shop. Securing the ship, doing what was possible to prevent unauthorized access.

"Normally, yes Tajanna you'd be right. Remember that this is Shroud Class though. There is to be no leak of information to anyone. By rights, Zhaff should be eliminated as he has more information than is acceptable." She said through the respirator as she climbed out of the ECUL.

She accused ME of not reading our briefing? Progenitor help us all.
Last edited December 19, 2016 8:09 pm
Dec 19, 2016 9:49 pm
Tajanna turned slightly to face Lexi, still waiting for Lissi's reply to her question.

"Zhaff is the closest thing we have to a friendly contact, given that we have yet to make contact with Flesh Crawler. I'd advise against terminating him at the moment."

Tajanna paused for a moment, considering what Zhaff had inferred from her momentary slip of the tongue.

"And besides, for dealing with certain assets, a hostile takeover team from a rival corporation is as good a cover as any. It's pretty close to what we're actually doing here, so it explains away most of our activities and armament, and it doesn't reveal that there's anything out of the ordinary going on."

Shoud-class operation my ass. We can't just pretend to be tourists with a ship full of blaster rifles, and an unhealthy interest in the specifics on local security forces and political actors. Any assets we utilize will expect some explanation for our activities, and the closer that explanation is to the truth, the more believable and maintainable that explanation is.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to check if Zhaff might cause any problems. Let's see if the Dark Side deigns to provide me some useful foresight this time.
OOC:
Tajanna is going to attempt to use her Foresee power (again), with the intent of looking for any problems that Zhaff's knowledge might cause. Of course, the Dark Side may provide visions of completely different content. Also, I did try to use Foresee last session, and failed, but I'm pretty sure that enough has changed that I would be allowed to attempt Foreseeing again. If not, disregard my Foresee attempt.

Rolls

Foresee: Basic Power (1 Force Point to Activate)

2 White Force Points

Dec 19, 2016 11:00 pm
That slip of the tongue could lead to a blaster bolt in our backs. The less attention we draw to ourselves the better. What would lord Krawley have said about our situation? He would have instructed us to keep our plans as dark as the night. The fallacy of any invading army is foreknowledge. So in short words secrecy and deception are our allies. Even any allies we acquire must be oblivious as to our true purpose. Technically you did misguide our alien friend, but there was too much of the truth behind it. I might have to alter his perception a bit, if he and his contact try to probe too deeply into our business. Now, let’s see what we can acquire from this shop, we need more information about the situation here quickly, before we end up in the middle of a fire fight.

Perhaps the flow of the dark side led to the slip up. With all of the chaos and strong emotions around, it would be easy to allow oneself to get caught up in its torrent. If the dark side was guiding them, then what happened would lead them to victory? He would have to meditate on this further.
OOC:
Sorry if this sounds like Krosus is coming off like a jack ass, but he does have an arrogant streak. Upon entering the shop, he would like to find the clerk and negotiate with him. If the clerk doesn’t seem very welcoming or wants to much for the equipment we need I would like to use my influence ability to either improve our relations or to mind trick the clerk into giving us the parts. Of course if the later happens it needs to be within reason, I won't try it in front of a lot of people.

Rolls

Negotiation

5 Success, 1 Advantage

Total: 5 Success, 1 Advantage

force power influence

1 White Force Point, 1 Black Force Point

Dec 19, 2016 11:53 pm
OOC:
CCL, as far as your plans, that's a little too complicated on the planning ahead. I moved a long paste to the OOC for the sake of keeping the narrative flowing and less clunky looking.
Dec 20, 2016 1:10 am
And here I thought this would be boring.

By the Progenitor, will you shut up for once in my life?

Frowning behind his helmet, Hawke exited the group's transport and took a deep breath, a smirk finding its way across his face.

"Don't you just love planet-side air?" While his helmet prevented the possibility of wearing a breath mask, his cybernetics had that little problem taken care of.

Now, to find some comm parts and any other little goodies worth sending back home.

Humming a tune that he heard from...somewhere, Hawke made his way to the pawn shop, eyes and ears alert for any potential threat.
OOC:
The tune that Hawke's humming is the Imperial March, and once he's in the pawn shop Hawke's going to look at anything and everything in the pawn shop, trying to determine if anything there is worth sending back or keeping.
Last edited December 20, 2016 2:53 am

Rolls

Perception for potential threats

2 Success, 1 Advantage

Total: 2 Success, 1 Advantage

Dec 20, 2016 2:05 am
Lissewa handed the 2nd of the respirators from the survival kit to Tajanna, taking the other for herself. She smirked at her, glad to hear that the others were on her side with her last comment.

"Just make sure you bring this one back, not much of a survival kit without it."

I should make sure to keep us all on the same side, though

"And no worries Taj. We will have our moment to come out into the open. I believe it will be necessary to acquire the allegiance of those in charge here. But let us just make sure we are prepared for that moment and that will require a measure of restraint until that time.

After Tajanna took the respirator, Lissewa slipped away to the cantina, intent on casing the area for dangers and advantages.
Dec 20, 2016 1:51 pm
OOC:
Those of you not wearing Breath Masks (aka Respirators) receive a setback dice to all checks when breathing the wonderful Bonadan air. (Krosus is effected) However, this can be overcome with a mandatory successful Resilience check against (1 purple and 2 red) attached to every skill check you make. Yes, it really is that bad, with overwhelming pollution from corporations that could care less about the environment, combining with a dead ecological system no longer capable of cleaning the air.
As you make your way into the cramped confines of the alley, about 3 meters wide, the sound of distant sirens blaring in harsh intermittent buzzes grows louder, reaching an uncomfortable and piercing volume as two Espos air speeders fly past, about 10 stories up. You pause, watching as they come to a halt near the entrance to the Espos tower, descending to about 5 meters above the pavement, hovering. The squad of Espos outside the entrance move closer to the air speeders, seemingly in anticipation.

Suddenly, the larger transport air speeder opens up the rear door and three people are pushed out one at a time by a pair of Espos. They hit the pavement hard, clearly bound at the wrists judging by how they land. Two of them are motionless as one of them tries to stand up, getting to one knee as the squad of Espos moves in. The first strike to the head puts him down, and the Espos continue their assault by giving all three of the drop-offs a good beating via boot, baton, and stun prod, insurance to keep them down. Mercilessly efficient and brutal, their work is finished in moments. One of the Espos waves up at the Espo waving out the back of the transport speeder, who then closes the doors. Almost as quickly as they came, the air speeders take off at high speed. The motionless drop-offs are dragged into the Espos tower. Everything is still and quiet again, almost as if nothing happened.

Turning back into the alley, the five you reach the entrance to Charitable Charlantan's. Lissewa acknowledges the group with a look as she separates, opens the door, and enters.
OOC:
From here on out, all of you will have to follow the appropriate story threads in the Operation Dark Thrall forums and sub forums. You shouldn't be able to see forums that you can't access story wise, and please let me know if you do. Keeping your stories separate when the group is separate will help keep tension and a degree of mystery that adds greatly to the game.

Rolls

Secret Roll

Thread locked