[IC] Star Wars - Interlude IV: The Detritus of Destiny

[KahlessNestor]

Arsinoe Anjuliz

Coyn/Ah’Kra/Duty Free shop

“No, I am not mawkin’ drunk. Do NOT let anyone see you from outside. I will be there in a moment to explain,” Mack said over the comm.

“Well, there’s kind of a big display window, but okay,” Arsinoe replied. What was Mack’s problem?

Noe moved around one of the shelves in the middle of the shop, stopping out of sight of the window and waited.

[sblock=Action]
Stealth roll to hide out of sight: 3A
[/sblock]

 

[Leif]

Krallatan, Wookiee Mechanic / Pilot

Krallatan whined plaintively into the com link a groan that Mack understood to mean, [color]"Belay that for me, I'll fire up the Sarlacc and have her all set to haul a$$ when you get here."[/color]

 

[Forged Fury]

Session 1/Scene 1: Ah'Kra Spaceport

Krallatan started his pre-flight checks but paused when he heard the familiar voice of Rumko Wun coming from the holo receiver. Sticking his head in, he saw G8R in front of the machine, adjusting the calibration for a higher fidelity replay of the message the aqualish had sent. Rumko's preference was to send pre-recorded, rather than live, holo-messages since they were significantly less expensive. Most of the crew figured it was because Rumko was cheap, although G8R considered it frugal. After a few seconds of adjusting, the message came through relatively clearly on the Sarlacc' antiquated projector.



<<Well, hello there boys and girl! I hope you're all still alive and managed tah' score a few valuables from that old pirate base. Rumko's not paying you to slouch around, you know? Listen up, I figure you've still got room in that cargo hold of yours. I been hearin' things... hearin' about a big fight between the Imps and Rebs with lots of scrap to salvage. The coordinates are attached to this message. I paid good money for 'em, so head there before coming home and see what you can score. Early mynock gets the power cable, and all that...>>

---

Mack made his way through the concentric circular halls of Ah'kra spaceport. They were a dull, lifeless grey with no windows to the outside. The artificial lighting, in particular, made everything seem the same. He would have been utterly lost except for the fortune of spotting a map of the facility and committing the general layout to memory. Keeping back, he trailed the group of rodians for a short time. They were definitely following someone as he noted a standard surveillance practice of swapping out tails every few turns. They seemed to be focused on their prey; the rebel soldier was confident they hadn't noticed him. He thought he was going to lose them when they took a repulsorlift down to a lower level, but he spotted a set of stairs next to it and took them down, catching sight of one of the rodians walking the hall on the next level down. Continuing his own surveillance, Mack realized he was in the duty-free retail area of the spaceport, and likely close to Arsinoe. Pulling out his commlink, he sent her a message. Spotting an open area cafe nearby, the man ducked in and observed the rodians meeting up and setting up a loose observation net around a confectionery shop. Recalling the layout of the spaceport map, Mack realized that there was likely a back door leading out from the shop into utility corridors out of sight of the retail area.

 

[gribble]

LE-G8R-VO

As Rumko Wun's holotransmission disappeared, LE-G8R-VO's internal comm unit chirped and it received a hurried message from Mack: “Kralla, Gater, we have a situation. Gear up and be ready to either come to my location, or to receive armed visitors. I am not sure yet which.”

A quick calculation of assessed losses to Master Rumko from a slight additional delay in arriving at the salvage location versus potential damage to Mack and the human female came out heavily in favour of ensuring the fellow crewmembers safety before departure.

"Acknowledged. Ready and awaiting further advice" was its simple reply, as it began to cycle through the verification processes for its weaponry and combat subroutines while advancing toward the entry ramp of the Sarlacc.

 

[perrinmiller]

Mack Granger

Mack Granger did not find a suitable distraction and figured it was better that he get inside with Arsinoe before she walked into the trap or gave it away. He blended in with the rest of the pedestrian traffic and did not look directly at the Rodians while he passed in front of the shop, slipping inside quickly taking advantage of a screen of a few shoppers passing by.

Once inside he stayed out of the line of sight through the large display window and said, “Noe, you have some of those pesky admirers that you just don’t want to meet. They are outside and waiting for you come out so they can unpleasantly hound for perhaps more than a mere autograph.”

He did not speak plainly in front of the shopkeeper, and hoped the woman understood. Glancing around he visually noted the way to head from inside to the rear exit and spoke to the shopkeeper, “We have some beings outside that I want to send some chocolate to. Once piece each and few extra credits if you take it out to them yourself. They are on duty and would get in trouble if they came in here. Yet they do so love their chocolate.”

With only one of the other crew members prepared to come to him and Noe’s rescue, Mack was opting for an evasive solution instead.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Arsinoe Anjuliz

Coyn/Ah’Kra/Duty Free shop

Arsinoe nearly pulled her knife and shoved it in Mack’s gut when he came around the corner.

“Frack it, Mack!” she exclaimed. “You scared me!” She took a breath to steady herself, seeing the seriousness in his eyes. He wasn’t joking with her. “Okay, what are we going to do?”

Mack went and talked to the shopkeeper, ordering chocolates. “Distraction?” Noe wondered, remaining near Mack now that he was here.

 

[Forged Fury]

Session 1/Scene 1: Ah'Kra Spaceport

The small chadra-fan behind the counter wrinkled its nose, the tips of its ears curling as Mack explained what he wanted. After a few seconds pause, with eyes darting briefly to the credits in the human's hand, the small creature nodded and asked, "Which beings are they?" As Mack described the rodians and their positions, Arsinoe belatedly realized that she had noticed at least one rodian in the corridors of the spaceport during most of her trip from the bar to the duty-free zone. Maybe Mack wasn't so paranoid after all...

Gathering up a basket of chocolates, the little chadra-fan headed out the doorway and into the promenade, making a bee-line for the closest rodian. Attempting their best to watch the proceedings while remaining unobserved, they caught sight of the chadra-fan offer one of the rodians a chocolate. The other rodians seemed to all be looking at the odd event going down between their partner and the bat-like alien rather than paying attention to the shop. The two saw the rodian slap the chocolate away as it drew its blaster pistol and turned toward the chocolate shop. Pointing towards the door, it yelled in distorted Basic, "Get in there!"​ The chadra-fan simply cringed where it was, possibly regretting its most recent life choices.

 

[perrinmiller]

Mack Granger

Mack stuck by the door, to covertly observe the Chadra-fan deliver his present. He explained, “You had some Rodian thugs following you from the cantina. They are staked outside. Check the back way out of here, their positions left us that way out of here.”

“It would be a shame to let this place get all shot up, so head back to the ship.”

He had a hard expression and unslung his blaster after seeing the unfortunate chocolatier get abused by the Rodian. He wondered if the bat-like being was going to call the authorities right away.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Arsinoe Anjuliz

Coyn/Ah’Kra/Duty Free shop

“Rodians?” Arsinoe said in disbelief, but she stood on tiptoes behind Mack, her hands resting on his back, to peer over his shoulder. Yes, that Rodian looked familiar...she thought. They kind of all looked the same to her, not having seen a lot of them “What could they want?” she frowned.

Mack told her to check the back way, so she scurried around the counter and checked the door. “It’s unlocked,” she told Mack, and then peered down the utility corridor. “Looks clear. I think there’s a service lift at the end.” Standing in the back doorway, she motioned Mack over. “You really don’t want me trying to shoot a blaster,” she reminded him. Yes, she had basic training, as most wealthy nobles did, but she was nowhere near Mack’s level, or likely the level of those Rodians.

 

[Leif]

Krallatan, Wookiee Mechanic / Pilot

OOC: How is Krallatan progressing with getting the Second-Hand Sarlacc ready to haul butt out of here as soon as everyone boards? He will also shift some extra deflector power from the front and top of the ship to the rear and bottom deflectors, just in case we take fire on the way out.

[I have no in-game basis for this action, but I'm currently reading Star Wars and that's mentioned in the book, so I figured it was worth a shot.]