Babylon 5: Outrageous Fortune

Sarhat sighs. Obviously the pak'ma'ra didn't get his not-so-subtle hint that they were going to find The Black Nebula and their contact.

"Well since I don't drink I don't really have any preferance. The girl just wanted to see the town. I think I heard someone mention Black Nebula or something. See if you can find where such a place is."

"Oh, sure my friend, take a look." the pak'ma'ra says, opening another window on the screen, showing the location and various informations about The Black Nebula.

The vidscreen shows images of a lively bar, shots of a gaming pit, stage with musicians, holo-dancers and a long curving bar. All lit with bright neon.
"The Black Nebula. For a great time in Tribon. Find us in sector G-24, Middle Tier. Touch here for a map. Touch here to send us a message. See you soon!" says the cheesy voice-over and marquee message.

OOC: Assuming that you'll all head there, I'll upload the next post shortly. I see from the OOC forum that Jemal is having sporadic access so I'll assume Kevin tags along, being Ranger-y.

Several transport tubes and shuttle rides later you reach G-24, in Middle Tier. This section of Tribon is a huge cavern blasted from the planet's rock. Tubeways criss-cross above you, between massive support struts and a dizzying array of structures built atop each other with no obvious rhyme or reason, like a coral excresence made of steel, stone, glass and neon. No less densely populated than the Downport, the "street" bustles with sentient life and the air feels dead and smoky.

The Black Nebula is located in a spur of rock that juts out from one of the cavern walls. It has been dug into and shored up with metal gantries to form a sort of natural multi-storey building, and the Nebula is on the ground floor.

Inside, the club is fitted out in expensive style, a dark ceiling studded with starlights, a huge curving neon-rimmed bar that imitates the rock spur that the Nebula is carved from. The club is at about half capacity with patrons of all species enjoying the show - music performed by a human woman backed by a grome band. Holographic dancers gyrate atop podium-projectors. Beyond you see a gaming area with all manner of gambling on offer. Hulking balosian bouncers guard the door. Several vending machines around the walls offer "Quality Oxygen" for a price.

Working behind the bar you spot a male abbai, matching the description of Traven, your contact who is supposed to know how you can get your hands on some Tal-kon'sha technology.


OOC: The pic is from the original adventure, where Traven is a mutant human with a fishlike appearance. I figured an Abbai was close enough...

Balosians are kind of the Gammorean Guard of B5. I've not found any official depiction of them apart from being tough and often employed as thugs, so I'm assuming them to be the hulking alien types often shown in Season One. If you have access to the shows, there are some guarding n'grath's room in Soul Hunter, and a similar species is rented out to G'kar by n'grath as a bodyguard in Parliament of Dreams. Possibly one tries to throw Sinclair and Londo out of Ock's bar in Born to the Purple, I can't recall what that one looked like. Basically, big, bulky and with a sort of rhino-horn effect on the nose. That's your balosian.

"You Traven 'Gills'?" Sarhat asks the bartender from under his hood as he approaches the bar.

[sblock=OOC]So in first post you said our contact was named 'Gills' and later 'Traven'. I guess it was just a blurp on your part but I sneakily added them up to make Gills a nickname .[/sblock]

The Abbai looks over and gives a human-style smile.

"That's me, friend" he says. "Traven by name, but most people call me 'Gills'". He glances over the group. "So, two humans, a minbari and a pak'ma'ra walk into a bar, and the barman says 'you must be the group from the ISA'. Come into the office, we've got a lot to discuss."

OOC: Oops, you're right Blackrat. That is indeed the case that Traven is his real name and Gills is a nickname, I'd forgotten which version I'd already used

Vurk follows the others, but also takes a look across the bar, if they are watched by someone suspicious.
ooc: Only +2, or can I use investigate. Not that much familiar with B5 skills.

Ashley nods at 'Gills' and follows him back behind the bar to his office. She sighs inwardly and performs the delicate tight-rope act that is a low level scan once again. Just enough concentration to pick up the 'surface' thoughts...but without slipping over into something more invasive. It wasn't always easy, but for Ash it was very practiced.

She had to admit though, the part of all this that was pushing through the ennui was the prospect of using other skills; not just being a mind-monkey.

But who's fault is that? I could have done anything. Instead I went back to what I knew.

In a bit of a funk, though strenuously keeping it off her face, Ash takes a seat in his office and lets someone else introduce her.

Walking Dad said:

Vurk follows the others, but also takes a look across the bar, if they are watched by someone suspicious.
ooc: Only +2, or can I use investigate. Not that much familiar with B5 skills.

Click to expand...

OOC: For "Spot" checks, use the Notice skill (or Wis). Investigate covers Search, as well as more forensic types of investigation.

Vurk scans his gaze around the bar. As far as he can tell, none of the assorted aliens present are paying the group much attention.

Shayuri said:

Ashley nods at 'Gills' and follows him back behind the bar to his office. She sighs inwardly and performs the delicate tight-rope act that is a low level scan once again. Just enough concentration to pick up the 'surface' thoughts...but without slipping over into something more invasive. It wasn't always easy, but for Ash it was very practiced.

Click to expand...

[SBLOCK="Ashley"]
Most surface thoughts of the bar patrons are either concerned with the band on stage, trivial daily matters or too alien to comprehend. However, somebody, somewhere (and it feels like a non-human mind) is thinking "Strangers, talking to Gills. Wonder if it's about Alexis? Better watch them."
[/SBLOCK]