STAR WARS: ASHES of the OLD REPUBLIC - Scene 1

[Sezarious]

Jihahna Darut

Jihahna straightened her back, placing her arms behind her in an at-ease position. Her green military cap was placed nearly on her head over the top of her silky, dark navy hair, cut fairly short for practical reasons on Tattooine.

Her face, naturally beautiful did not make any use of makeup as beauty was not a priority to Jihahna. Hygiene however was a priority to her, so her face, body, clothing and equipment was always very clean and well maintained.

She wore a black singlet under her all-temperature coat, a pair of goggles hanging from the front of her chest for sand-(or maybe now snow-)storms.

Under her cloak were a series of brown tight leather straps that fit comfortably around the different parts of her body, holding her tools in the best location she thought appropriate for ease of access, her communicator just to the left of her left breast, her repair kit on the right hand side of her belt, replacement power packs running around the left side of her belt, grappling hook, strapped opposite the communicator, breather and filters strapped behind her.

Sticking out of her left sleeve was a clearly mechanical, 3 digit (2 joints per digit) hand. It looked like it may have originally belonged to an old worker droid of some kind, though any possible previous indications of rust or corrosion had clearly been ground, sandblasted and polished away, any imperfections, filled in with weld and ground back and polished again. Her left leg was the same, jutting out from cargo pants, which were customised, shortened to above knee height on the left side to accommodate the sub-standard prosthetic. On her right foot, she wore thick black lace-up boot, wrapped up tight in cloth strip, originally to keep out the sand.

She stood 5'7" tall, her dark singlet pulling tight around her chest and the rest of her athletic body; she was physically very strong for a woman even though she appeared slim. Her height helped to hide this, her tight and perky physical features often provoking men into catcalling and the such, until she broke their nose if appropriate.

It was different with an employer though, so she ignored the feelings of awkwardness in seeing the dancing girls draped around Sawthawne like jewellery. She had to sell the information she held. If he was a significant enough rival to Jabba, she knew this information would be BIG news. Looking up as a sign of respect, she replied. "Jihahna Darut sir. I have come to you seeking assistance. I believe I have significant information I can provide to you in exchange.

I would also like to add sir, I prefer not to make a habit of betraying my employers; that is sir, it is only because of what I know that I have a bounty on my head, but it was not the reason I left."

Jihahna pauses momentarily, knowing she will likely elicit laughter at her next comment. "I er... left, because I wish to go... straight, therefore, I propose that the less I know about your operations, the better."

Jihahna looks up again, continuing. "In exchange for the information, I would ask for credits and the opportunity to work for you, so I can save up my and buy myself a new identity, upgraded prosthetics, upgrades for my droid here and maybe a ship, after which, we might respectfully part ways."She shifts uncomfortably, "Also, if I could have accommodation in the meantime, that would be everything I could hope for".

Jihahna stops speaking. Holding still, she awaits Sawthawne's reply.

 

[97mg]

2-IB-X

2-IB-X: There was only the occasional routine "beep", "blip" or subtle whirring sound from the droid as Jihahna introduced herself. Anne stayed mostly still, pretending to be dormant, just another worn-out, close to worthless, robotic, simple droid. That's what they needed to think. Oh if only they knew the truth, all hell would break lose...

It was the perfect disguise for a less than perfect companion. Short. Rusty. Out of date. To the casual eye one might think Anne to be "junk", "homebrew", or some blind engineer's failed experiment. Standing a little under five feet tall, the 2-IB-X was as though a miniaturized 2-IB surgical unit. Her head was a dark metallic dome, devoid of jawline or the fancy shaping of her older sisters. Narrow slots were placed like eyes, and beneath lay light and visual sensors which changed color dependent on function. Her arms rotated on two gyroscopic mounts, protruding as two short, thick, squeaky and stained cylinders, ending as detachable four-finger "hands". The legs were rudimentary, but study enough, brick-like stumps which were attached to large, heavy and well-worn "feet".

To the initiated, the waist area of the unit was the most interesting. There was the faint outline of hidden compartments, inset storage for surgical tools, and several vents which might open should temperature become a concern. Probably not something that would be needed on this great icy rock.

For all intents and purposes she was clearly a medical droid, but only the deeply initiated would appreciate the vintage aesthetics of the unit. Interesting? Yes. Collectible? Probably Not. Indeed, without a full sense of "self", or the subtlety's of "life", Anne had no understanding of being special or different. She just was. She just wanted everything to work out. Especially if there was time for some gambling later. All this talk of credits had perked her interest... especially combined with the magic word. "Upgrade." Yes, she needed some.

"Beep."

Her head swiveled to look to her master, her illuminated eyes shifted from red to white, her head tilted as though questioning or seeking reassurance.

"Upgrades for my droid here? I find the notion highly acceptable. Beep."

 

[narayan]

Cossa, Tenya, Tie Pilot, Vlaad

[Note: This post was co-created with Shun001]

Tenya: Immediately rushes back into the containment chamber and hurriedly re-attaches the I.V. and other medical equipment to the prisoner.

Meanwhile, Cossa moves near the containment chamber to listen on the conversation.

Tie Pilot: "Thank's doc..." He says nodding appreciatively

Vlaad: Steps over to the table meanwhile looking down at him with the faintest smile."So that was our good captain... lucky for you your arrival perked up his mood somewhat. As you already overheard, my name is Vlaad, a Koorivar. What is your name and homeworld?" He asks calmly.

[Tie Pilot: What do you do? Don't forget to attempt a bluff check if you lie about anything.][/COLOR]

Tie Pilot: Smirks "He's probably a nice guy besides the strangling right?" He says trying to force a laugh out of his bruised ribs. "I am Tie Pilot 165558, Lieutenant Kratz Doan, of Derilyn... or at least I used to be..."

Vlaad: Makes no expression but comments."The captain is an acquired taste... but none of this..." Gestures to the base around you "...would have been possible without his efforts over the years taking risks normal men avoid." He says plainly. "But do not mistake his willingness to keep you alive for weakness. We lost men capturing that freighter. It's important we examine the cargo they died for." He pauses to let his eyes rest on you for a few moments longer, thinking, before he asks. "Are you glad to be marooned here with us? Or would you prefer to return to your navy, given half a chance?" (Sense Motive: = 19)

Kratz Doan: "I only joined the empire to keep my family safe. To be frank it is a relief to escape their clutches... their brainwashing... I would prefer to remain dead to them." He says with earnestness. "If you have no further use for me, blast me between the eyes and end it... I'd prefer that to strangulation."

Vlaad: Looks pleased with your answer, but also warry. "I hope for your sake that is true, but for what its worth I believe you. I will report you as 'cooperative' and recommend your help to the captain. For now, rest."

Kratz Doan: "Don't wait on me to recover, just call me when you need me."

Tenya: Scolds you. "I'll be the judge of that! You need rest and warm fluids for at least another hour."

Vlaad: Bows his head deferentially. "An hour then." He says taking his leave of the infirmary.

Tenya: "I'll give you something to help you rest..." He says reaching for an injector.

Cossa: Speaks up at the open door to the containment chamber. "A moment please doc... I'd like a few words with him."

Tenya: Scowls, clearly put off by all this interference with his medical work. "Make it quick!" He says brushing past the pirate abruptly.

Cossa: Puts a leveling stare on the tie pilot. "Forget any bright ideas you have about escape or a rescue. I didn't save your life so you could get me killed. I'll kill you first if my life is threatened, remember that!"

Kratz Doan: "If the imperials show up I'll be grateful for a quick execution."

Cossa: Nods. "Glad we understand each other..." He says raising his blaster carbine smoothly aiming it at Tenya's back!

[Kratz Doan: Roll initiative!]

 

[narayan]

Gria, Jihahna, Sawthawne, 2-IB-X

Sawthawne: Regards Jihahna slightly amused, and confused. "That is a big ask! Why would anyone who wants to 'go straight' even waste my time asking for employment?" The dancing girls at his sides laugh lightly, assuring their boss feels justified. "I have plenty of mercenaries anyway..." He trails off waving his hand.

Gria: Interjects. "Boss! She knows things..."

Sawthawne: Glares at Gria and swiftly interrupts him. "Silence! I was going to deal with you next, but since you forget your place I have lost my patience with you Gria. You should know better than to interrupt me!"

Sensing Sawthawnes displeasure, the guards standing near the door step closer from the shadows, weapons aimed at the offending smugglers back.

Gria: Goes pale, all cockiness draining from his face. "Boss please, I meant no disrespect!"

Sawthawne: "What was the result of your mission?"

Gria: Swallows. "I was swindled! The cargo is gone, Bojay and Luther are both dead..." He says with obvious dread.

Sawthawne: "I see..." He says icily. "And you felt bringing an enemy of Jabba the Hutt into my presence would somehow mitigate this failure?!"

Gria: "Not exactly, I uh... I did manage to get a sweet deal on some other cargo! I spent the remainder of my personal savings!" He says starting to sweat and stammer.

Sawthawne: Leans back. "That is too little... too late. But because you tried so hard to save yourself I will give you a chance to survive the Kill Box!"

Around the audience chamber, all eyes suddenly flick towards the condemned smuggler. Even the card players are distracted by the promise of fresh violence.

Gria: Looks weak in the knees. "Boss please!"

Sawthawne: "Begging will get you nowhere now Gria! I hereby offer a prize of 3,000 credits for the first challenger to bring me your head! If you fight well and survive a few bouts, I may reconsider sparing your life. Guards! Take him away!" He orders.

[Jihahna: Make an Intelligence Check, DC 13, to remember the meaning of 2-IB-X's secret code. If you intend to do any action that can be construed as aggressive or provoking, roll Initiative also and declare your action. Also, while you are on rolz.org, roll up a Fate Pool.]

[2-IB-X: What do you do?]

 

[97mg]

2-IB-X

2-IB-X: As far as droid's processing goes, three thousand wasn't a particularly big number. Actually, it was infinitesimally small. A tiny sum in computational terms. A three and three zeros. One glyph changed it all. One man-made symbol. One construct. The universal sign for the "credit". The raw basis of "transaction". Three thousand credits... well that WAS a big deal. Anne quietly began computing the possible upgrades or servicing she could afford with that kind of dosh. But... but a life? A life was worth a mere three thousand credits? It just didn't translate. There was nothing zeros or ones could do to explain how these living folk placed "value" on each other.

If it was possible for a droid to be sad, then Anne was exactly that. It wasn't real sadness however, just a pre-programmed repulsion to wasted life. A medical droid was going to be useless in a "kill" box scenario.

As Anne and her owner had traveled, they'd got to know each other fairly well. The 2-IB-X unit knew the art of balance, mental and physical healing had to go hand in hand. Anne liked to believe, demonstrated by factual reality, that her owner had benefited from the deal. The old droid got something from their relationship too, secondhand knowledge of "human" experience, pockets of data about actions, reactions and probabilities stored away for later use. It was as close as man and machine could likely become, and now they were in this hell hole, sensor's alerting her to the constantly increasing probabilities of violence. In times like this, constructs of "friendship" mattered even more, especially the unique ones.

Anne had often needed to vocabulate in a different language. Their own language. Secret sounds, which were non-sensical except to Anne and her master. Problem was... would she remember the meaning? Computers might have less memory, but until wiped, every detail was long-term. These living folk though, they tended to forget things.

She quietly spoke to Jihahna, almost pretending to have a glitch.

"Ess, Beep beep beep beep."

Jihahna - Make an Intelligence Check, DC 13, to remember the meaning of 2-IB-X's secret code. If you intend to do any action that can be construed as aggressive or provoking, roll Initiative also and declare your action. Also, while you are on rolz.org, roll up a Fate Pool. (See Start Here! thread for details)

2-IB-X - Roll up a Fate Pool. (See Start Here! thread for details)

 

[Sezarious]

Jihahna swallowed, her throat dry from the nerves that were beginning to surface. A smoky dark room surrounded by armed guards. A poker faced crime lord.

He would obviously love this information, but he's trying to play his interest down and infer that she will be more a liability to him than a benefit. He is, after all a businessman in addition to a crime lord and he wants to get his information for as little as possible.

She could either completely stand her ground, or give him a little trickle of the information and see if he bites, OR, a third option comes to mind. Her eyes flicked towards Anne as she beeped in her direction. Jihahna knew that Anne did not beep like that unless she was trying to communicate something to her, but what?

Before she has time to process this third option, the words run from her mouth too quickly for her to process them ~This WILL work, I know it will~ She takes a deep breath and steps forward, the calm of her adrenaline kicks in [sblock=Friendship]If you think it appropriate, I'd like for Jihahna to use her 4 fate points to buy 4 skill points in "Friendship", meaning a roll of 1d20+4 and a force point (light side) to add 1d6 to the chance of success. A result of 10+ will change Sawthawne's attitude towards me from unfriendly to indifferent, but 15+ will make him friendly, 20+ will make him helpful. If I get below 15, I would like to use my last fate point for a re-roll, unless I got 14, in which case, using it for a +1 to the roll would suffice. I like to think that If I'm successful, This will increase the chance that Sawthawne agrees to my below proposal, perhaps because he likes my "creative idea" or something. I get the feeling saving Gria might be beneficial.[/sblock]

"Mr Sawthawne, I can see you are an intelligent businessman because already you are trying to play down the significance of my offer. It's only logical for you to do so in order to get the best deal you can.

You would also be able to reasonably foresee why someone who wished to 'go straight' would need to seek employment elsewhere. Running alone is not sufficient when there is a bounty on your head. By the way Gria, how much was it by the way? 3,000? 4,000 credits?"

Gria turns his head slightly confused by where Jihahna is going with this but stammers "6,000, 8,000 if you're returned alive, but I really don't see h-", Jihahna interrupts, "Ah yes, that's right. Sooo, taking this into account, Gria has effectively brought you another shipment that you can profit from in the form of myself."

Jihahna speaks frankly, raising one hand, her mechanical one placed on her hips. "HOWEVER, before you decide, a business proposal; Allow me to go in Grias place for one round in the Kill box as a means of proving my worth to you as a mercenary. I'm a dead woman without your help anyway." She shrugs as she says this, knowing she speaks the truth.

"If I die, Gria goes in the box after me and you get a bounty payment and a nice thank you from Jabba".

Jihahnas eyes narrow with her next words. "If I win however, you take me on as an employee and allow Gria to live. If you allow me supervision over Gria and his ship, maybe I can mop up this cargo issue he caused and maybe even grow him a set of testicles. Look at him, shaking at the knees, that's not entertainment. Me though, I'm an unknown in combat to those who want to place their bets. I'm an ex-merc of Jabba. We're are tough, but look at my prosthetics! What an interesting fight it would be!"

Her voice becomes cheery with her next sentence. "As a result, you gain some of the most valuable spice trade information you could hope to come by this century".

 

[Shun001]

Lt. Kratz Doan the Tie Pilot

[Initative=22][starting at 1/2 vit and wound]

Kratz's greens eyes light up as Cossa raised his blaster to Tenya. "Doc watch out!" he yelled with all he could muster as he reached quickly to a nearby shelf throwing the nearest object.

[improvised weapon attack roll =14 *miss* location 13 gut]

A bed pan came flying towards Cossa's abdomen but the throw was sloppy and merely wizzed by him causing a loud clang as it careened into the bay wall.

~I hope that is enough~ he thought to himself as he wished the doctor who saved his life to have a chance against this lunatic.

 

[narayan]

Gria, Jihahna, Sawthawne, 2-IB-X

[sblock=Friendship] So be it, I will allow you to spend your Fate Points on skill ranks in Friendship. I will roll your Friendship check and the added Force Point with your Fate Pool on rolz.org[/sblock]

Jihahna: (Fate Pool Friendship Check, + Force Point, + Fate Point: = 15, Attitude changed to Friendly)

As soon as Jihahna stopped speaking all eyes were on the crime lord. A battle of persuasion vs intimidation was taking place, as tangible as the smoky air that filled the room. Sawthawne prolonged the suspense for a couple moments, staring at her and Gria with calculated detachment... but clearly there was something extraordinary about Jihahna's willpower. Her words influenced him more than anyone expected.

Sawthawne: Half-smiled. "I like this mercenary! Take note Gria, learn something from her!"

Murmurs and laughter followed his response in the audience room. This was getting interesting.

Sawthawne: -Speaks to Jihahna- "If you survive the kill box I will spare Gria and find a place for you in my organization that pays well. I won't promise you control of his ship just yet, but if your information proves valuable its not out of the question..." Sawthawne taps an intercom control on his couch. "Fess!"

The big trandoshan immediately appears in the audience room's entryway.

Sawthawne: "We have one for the Kill Box!" Fess instinctively reaches for Gria but Sawthawne interrupts. "Not him! The mercenary, she volunteered."

Fess: Looks surprised. "Volunteered?!"

Sawthawne: "That's right. She's taking Gria's place. It's an audition of sorts. One bout only. Challenger wins a purse of 3,000 credits if they can take her down. If not... she joins us and Gria lives."

Fess: Looks to Jihahna, intrigued. "Very well, after you..." He says stepping aside for you to approach the kill box.

[Jihahna, 2-IB-X: What do you do? There will be a bit of preamble before the bout in the kill box actually begins. Pomp and announcements heighten the entertainment value and give patrons time to make bets.]

 

[narayan]

Cossa, Kratz, Tenya

<Start of Combat>
__________________________________________

<Start of Surprise Round>

The order of initiative is:

(22) Kratz
(7) Cossa
_________________________________________

[Initative=22][starting at 1/2 vit and wound]

Kratz's greens eyes light up as Cossa raised his blaster to Tenya. "Doc watch out!" he yelled with all he could muster as he reached quickly to a nearby shelf throwing the nearest object.

[improvised weapon attack roll =14 *miss* location 13 gut]

A bed pan came flying towards Cossa's abdomen but the throw was sloppy and merely wizzed by him causing a loud clang as it careened into the bay wall.

~I hope that is enough~ he thought to himself as he wished the doctor who saved his life to have a chance against this lunatic.

Your shout and flying bedpan do nothing to prevent the pirate from firing his carbine, but it does warn the doctor enough to prevent a complete surprise attack.

Cossa: (Attack with Blaster Carbine: =16, Hit)(Location: Right Leg)(Damage: = 12)

Cossa's blast hits Tenya on the side of his right leg as he turns at the sound of the tie pilots shout. He cries out in shock and pain as the blaster puts a hot burn on his leg, but the doctor does not appear seriously wounded...yet.

<End of Surprise Round>

As Tenya is now entitled to an initiative roll as an additional combatant, all combatants must re-roll initiative for round 1.

[Kratz: Declare actions and roll initiative for round 1]

_______________________________________________

<Start of Round 1>

Bleeding Damage ( * )
Fire Damage ( # )
Cold Damage ( @ )
Force Damage ( ^ )
Poison Damage ( ! )

The order of initiative is:

(23) Kratz
(20) Cossa
(12) Tenya (-12)
_________________________________________

 

[Shun001]

Lt. Kratz Doan

Kratz quickly jumps out of bed and reaches for the operating tray and grabs a scalpel

"What the hell are you trying to achieve by shooting doc!" He yells while ripping the IV and monitoring equipment off his body for the second time. [-1 vitality] and assuming an imperial knife fighting stance.