[Game Thread] Chapter 2 [Outlaws]: Idiot's Array

[Avner]

Trix The Zeltron ran up and gave Towa a big hug. Not exactly the most Jedi thing to do, but it served more than one purpose, throwing off anyone who might suspect them of such. "I... I can't believe it is you!" she said with a smile. "I thought after... and when... " she said finally stopping for a moment to listen to Towa. "No... I haven't seen anyone. I don't know if you heard but Mace sorta... well kicked me out I guess." she explained. "Some such nonsense about not having my heart in it, but now... well things have changed. And somethings haven't if anyone from the old gang is around they've been staying clear of me." she explained. "So we're it??" she asked. "I don't know what you've seen, but... it's gotten really bad. Even places like this."

[Hound]

Towa Towa was surprised by the woman's display of affection, but hugging was a common gesture among the general populace, so Towa acquiesced to the hug, even hiding himself reluctantly enjoying the brief humanoid contact. For a moment, he smiled as he recalled the days of training at the temple. "Trix, as I recall it. You always had heart... The council is... was... rigid, refusing to grow and change. That had always been their greatest flaw, a flaw I fear was the key to their destruction." He paused for a moment, his smile fading. He believed in the Light side of the force, and many of the things the Jedi Code stood for, such as protecting life. Yet even he had issues with their code from time to time. "I do not know if we're it. Seeing you renews my hope that there are others, scattered across the thousands of Star systems of our galaxy. I have a fighter in the docking bay. Seats only two, but I've been using it to System hop and gather information..." Towa's face sank a little as the light in his eyes dimmed, "...I have seen how bad it's getting. The Empire spreads hate and fear while placing all their own mistakes on aliens races. They build their military outposts and factories wherever they want, displacing families from their homes of countless generations. They suck entire planets dry of their resources and leave them in shatters. I've never seen such a fierce and hostile take over of the mineral economy... Doonium has increased in price by more than ten times its cost during the Clone Wars where it had already broken previous sales records. The mines and the people can't keep up. Worst of all... the Empire is engaging in secret slavery. I rescued a freighter of Wookies last month, but the freighter's core was wiped and I couldn't figure out where they were being taken." Towa ran his fingers through his hair, the slight oil build up reminding him it had been days since he'd been anywhere clean enough to have a shower. "I'm not here to fill your head with false hope and empty promises. I'm looking for our friends, but I honestly don't have much of a plan beyond that. Half of me wants to join a Rebel cell and make the Empire hurt. The other half... wants to find as many Jedi and Younglings as possible and then... just fly into unknown space. Set up a new colony. But that feels like giving up."

[Xian]

Darius Cross Originally Posted by Kelev "I don't think you'll find much 'legitimate' work by slicing into their systems," she said with a click of her tongue as she shot Cross a look, though there was a trace of an amused smile on the Bothan's face. She shook her head, knowing better than to try and dissuade him. "As long as you're careful. The owner here is paranoid and smarter than most. If he notices that you've been going through his files, it'll cause problems." "My dear lady, have so little faith in me? Even if this place actually had some real security that wasn't put together by the lowest bidder or their uncle, they will never know that we were here... call it professional pride." Darius replied with mock hurtfulness as his fingers flew about the keyboard as his fingers did their thing and his customized deck literally hummed as it went through the old ship's systems like it was warm butter. Darius searched through the data to see how many ship were reported with a need for repairs. "And just because what I am doing now is not totally legit, does not mean the work that I will find won't be... I am sure that there are more than enough ships here that could use a fix up." "Skyriwook: I got the ship fully docked and refueling.Rooawar Roaawarr." A wookie roared down the hall to Darius as Kelev went about to do her business. "If you're done playing video games, wanna grab a bite?Rawr Raooor Rawwr Rooo?" "Well Scooby, some of us have to work because we don't get the Wookie discount..." Darius said with a smile to their pilot. While Darius knew that Scooby likely had a real Skyriwook name, but Barnacles seemed to get some hidden enjoyment of the nickname he gave the Wookie and their resident pastor and medic, whom he had nicknamed "Shaggy". Which was ironic since there was nothing shaggy about "Shaggy" as he was cleanly shaven and completely bald. "Figured, if I work a few jobs we can get something other than the dollar menu after we finish up fueling up the Icarus." "Skyriwook: I can get down with that... you owe after that last outing on Jacoba anyway!Roawr Roaaawwr... Roaar Roeer Rewwaer!" Scooby replied enthusiastically. "Ugh... I am never going to live that one down, am I? Alright... I got you covered this time, IF I get these jobs." Darius laughs as he finished up his clean up of his "tool" and cleared the logs of any traces of his activities. Darius had harvested the network administrators' credentials and created some other admin accounts that would look like legitimate traffic and not be caught by the security system in case he needed to get back in and do something in a hurry. "Come on mister Grumpy Chassis, let's go work for a living..." Casper responded with a binary deluge of expletives before finally rolling his eyes... figuratively... and following along after finishes the calibration of the astronav computer. Casper fully expected them to run into trouble. "Binary: I have a bad feeling about this.... Just remember I told you so.Beeep bwooop.... Bwwoop Beep beep Boop." "Casper, you always have a bad feeling about everything... but not going to disagree with on how sketchy this joint is. Which is why I am keeping this handy for close... encounters." Darius said reassuringly as he patted his heavy pistol tucked away in his shoulder holster. "Captain Kelev said get off of the ship... and orders are orders. " "Binary: I am fairly certain that I am going to regret this.Whirl Beep ooo chirp Beep. " OOC and Dicerolls Use Computer Check result - Improve Access (24); Use Computer Check - Hide and mask activity (38)

[Anazider]

Anazider is left gobsmacked as Denurga bluntly reveals the depths (or lack thereof) of Anazider's knowledge, and he doesn't fumble quickly enough for a response before the Snivvian is swaggering away. Then as Sev starts in on Anazider, the captain's eyes continually grow wide in some mixture of incredulity and indignation. By the time the clone trooper is done, the Falleen smuggler is staring at Sev like a bird would a particularly vocal and opinionated worm. Before Anazider can recover himself Sev is tromping away, and the captain is left spluttering at the troopers departing form. Enough of his senses return for him to shout almost-incoherently at Sev's back.

"We ain't in the red! We ain't in the nothin'! There is no we! What part of 'my ship' and 'fark you, get off it!' don't y'all understand?! This is my turf—I practically stole this whole damn heap for the old man! If it weren't for me you'd all be fun-sized chunks floating in standard orbit right now!"

He pauses for a moment as Parien quips and then tap-a-tap-a-taps right on by. Anazider barks a laugh and then points both hands at the old Jedi.

"Blindy McNoEyes here gets it! Kriff me I just... I don't... You mother-Hutt-ers are... You know what? Fark all of you. I'm gonna go drink until I change colors. Put that in your manifolds and ionize it!"

Anazider then storms out of the hangar bay, but since everyone left before he did his stride becomes this awkward angry stomp/trailing stagger so as to head in the same direction while not fully catching up. He breaks for the bar as soon as there's an opening, passing a hugging couple as he goes. Anazider gives the human a "noice" thumbs up as he passes and the Zeltron is unable to see him, and then once he's within the Zeltron's sight but out of the human's view he gives the woman a "you could do better" wink. Without preamble, he slides into the space between Eydis and the young man at the bar and unceremoniously slams the drink before it slides into his surrogate niece's hands. He completely ignores the young man as he turns to Eydis and holds up a finger.

"Fun Uncle rules: One, don't take drinks from strangers; only closed-bottle or when you watch the bartender mix it yourself. Two, don't go off with strangers or alone," Anazider nods towards Kumac as he holds up a second finger, "So that means Fuzzbucket here is your ever-loyal wingman."

The captain then pulls out a loose credit note and waves it a few times to get the bartender's attention. When the bartender comes over Anazider orders an In some nefarious circles, ordering an Antakarian Fire Dancer was a signal that the customer wanted to purchase information. In this instance, Anazider wants information and also the the really potent mixed drink.Antakarian Fire Dancer.

"Three, anyone tries to steal you you either shoot them and then come find me, or come find me and I'll shoot'm instead. Four, if I get too drunk to make proper word-noises, you are obligated by law to drag me back to the ship and to tuck me into my bunk. Just under the chin and let out a bit around the feet; I don't like my legs tangled in the sheets. Other'n that I don't care what the kriff you do, so have fun. Any questions?"

[Avner]

Trix The Zeltron gives Towa an encouraging smile. "You don't want to fill me with false hope? What kinda.... well our old friends would be rolling over in their graves." she laughed. "You are right things aren't good, so bad I'm even wondering where my place is in the world anymore. Thought I could just ditch the old club and go make a pretty penny for myself, but ... well I feel like I should do something." she explained. "I'd love to kick those bastards in their cargo hold if you know what I mean, but somehow I don't think that's the right play. We need to get the band back together Towa, the galaxys is saralac spit without 'em." she reasoned. She put her fingers on her chin for a moment. "Well... you don't have to beg me.." she said, insinuating that Towa had even asked. "I mean I'm anything but heartless, if you need me I suppose I can fit you in, but I imagine we are going to need a bigger ship."

[Hound]

Towa Towa couldn't help but smile. In a galaxy of darkness, Trix had retrained her humour which is truly amazing. "I missed you too Trix." not that she had said it. "I agree, no matter what we plan to do, we'll need a bigger ship. I just have an escort fighter. Great for dog fights, awful for comfort. Ideally, a ship that can allow my ship to dock and launch freely would be best." Towa paused for a moment, realizing something obvious. "For a ship, we'll need credits... lots of credits and I just pulled you away from a table where you were winning." Letting out a small sigh, he continued, "Sorry about that, Trix. Should we head back to the bar and see if you can get your seat back?"

[Avner]

Trix She let out a laugh. "Well I was playing a different sort of game, but if I can get a seat back at the table it may yield us a ship. Or at least introduce us to someone who has one that suits our purposes. she explains. "Otherwise we may nee"d to assist in removing a less law abiding citizen from his access to a ship. " she followed considering how they could apprehend such a vessel. "First we need to know its there, lets had back to the bar and see what we can find out."

[Melchior]

"Any questions?"

"Uh... yeah. Can I get two more of those?" Eydis asked, pointing to the tall-necked bottle that had been sat down in front of Anazider while the captain had been lecturing the girl. The bartender shot Anazider a flat look, but he dutifully pulled out another pair of bottles. He slid them across the counter top and into the young woman's hands. She took them with a grin.

"C'mon Ku, let's go see if we can find something to do around here," she said, slipping off the stool and handing off one of the bottles to a surprised Kumac. He blinked down at the beverage in his hands, as if uncertain what to do with it. As Eydis began to walk off in the direction of the game tables, the young Selonian spared a concerned glance towards Anazider.

"We will check on you periodically, Captain," he said. After a moment's consideration, he added, "But I do not think it would be a good idea for you to drink yourself into a stupor here."

The bartender raised an eyebrow as he watched the furry alien hurry off in pursuit of his friend, and when he turned to look back at him Anazider thought he might have been able to see the ghost of a smirk on the man's face. Normally, a bartender would have moved on to another customer but he was still standing in front Anazider.

"Usually it's the adult trying to make sure the kids don't drink too much," he remarked, grabbing a nearby rag with which he began cleaning glasses. "Anything else I can get for you?"

Back at the entrance way to the card hall, Old Denurga shook his head. The old Snivvian hadn't reacted at all when Anazider had stomped past them in a huff except to watch his old protegee bee-lined straight for the bar. As he watched the Falleen down the first (of many) drinks from across the room, Denurga gave an exaggerated sigh and turned to offer Sev an apologetic shrug.

"You'll have to forgive him. He's always been a bit... prickly, I'm afraid. Eh heh heh!" The Snivvian barked out a wheeze of a laugh and slapped Sev's armoured shoulder, before turning to Parien with a grin. "Well, good sir, I won't hold you from the cards any longer. I hop fortune favours you... but not as much as the house! Eh heh heh!"

Parien nodded and thanked Denurga, but Sev could tell the Jedi seemed unusually distracted by something. Before the trooper could attempt to figure out what might be the matter, Denurga had turned back to him. "That just leaves you, my friend! Now if you'll just follow me to my office, we can discuss that job I mentioned."

~~~~~~

Once he was done getting all the information he wanted - at least for the time being - Darius made his way out of the ship, his surly droid companion following along reluctantly behind. The two of them made their way out of the large hanger the Icarus shared with half a dozen other ships and into the halls of the space station. The shadowport had been cobbled together mostly out of an old CIS Lucrehulk control ship, but one couldn't help but wonder what the original owners might have thought if they could see it now.

Posters and flashing holo-signs in an endless combination of garrish colors seemed to cover every inch of the once-spartan durasteel grey walls, while ceiling mounted speakers pumped soft melodies into the hallways. It was probably meant to come across as inviting, but in the end it just came across as loud and pointlessly ostentatious.

Still, they were safe here, or so Kelev claimed. Whatever could have been said about the proprietor's tastes, they at least didn't have to worry that the Empire's eyes and ears might be anywhere around them.

"We should have stayed where we were."

"I never liked cards. Come on, there's got to be something else we can- Oof!"

Darius watched as a young woman rounded the corner in front of them. She had been looking back to talking to her Selonian companion and so hadn't noticed the droid. Casper let out an indignant squeal of alarm as the girl practically tripped over him and she had to grab onto his dome headpiece to keep from falling to the ground. She looked young; barely into her twenties, if that. One side of her head had been partially shaved off in a style Darius had recognized from the holonet as being fairly popular among young people from the Core Worlds in recent years.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" the girl exclaimed once she had recovered from her near tumble enough to see what she'd done. Darius could hear Casper's servos revving up, no doubt to unleash a tirade against the inconsiderate human but before he could start the girl's eyes widened and she smiled. "I- Oh wow! Is this an R2 unit? I've always loved these little guys!"

[Megiddo]

Parien grinned. "Thank you sir. And Sev, if you need help with that job, let me know. I'm not helpless yet."

He settled in to the card table, focusing his attention on the cards. He had felt the force moving in the place, and he was reasonably sure he knew from where it had emanated, and perhaps from who- he recognized the kid. But he wasn't sure that he wanted to get involved again. The Force kept throwing him together with other Jedi... but there was a price that had been paid recently that was far, far too high. He did not wish to pay it a second time, and he knew it was only a matter of time before Vader arrived. So he settled for reaching out with the force more subtly to monitor them. Meanwhile, he would use his Miraluka sight to cheat at cards.

After all, they needed the money, and it was the least he could do for his friends. He would not win too much, or too regularly; he was not greedy. But he did want to make sure that he was able to pay for food and lodgings.

[Hound]

Towa Towa examined the bar as they re-entered, doing his best to check faces to see who was still there and who was new. For the briefest of moments, Towa felt something as his eyes scrolled over one of the faces, forcing him to pause. He then leaned in and whispered into Trix's ear before heading to the bar to get them some drinks, doing his best to act normal. Towa got his drink and had one sent one over to Trix before finding a seat that allowed him to watch the whole room and most importantly, the entrances and exits.

[Avner]

Trix Trix hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary as she approached the space casino. In fact everything was how she left it, which might have been the problem. When Towa whispered in her ear she seemed to get a glint of understanding as she made her way back to the card table. Looking at the dealer she said with a smile "Looks like this table could use a pretty face, cut me in." as she sat down. A drink came but a moment later and she thanked the waitress with a smile. "See I'm already melting the hearts of strangers." The seat she had taken wasn't an accident. It gave her a good view of the room in case anything odd were to reveal itself. For now though she was interested in this Miraluka Towa had pointed out.

[Xian]

Darius Cross Originally Posted by Girl "Oh! I'm sorry!" the girl exclaimed once she had recovered from her near tumble enough to see what she'd done. Darius could hear Casper's servos revving up, no doubt to unleash a tirade against the inconsiderate human but before he could start the girl's eyes widened and she smiled. "I- Oh wow! Is this an R2 unit? I've always loved these little guys!" "Binary: You half-witted Son of Hu.... wait a minute, what? Cross it looks like we finally met someone who truly appreciates... make sure you take notes.Beeep bwooop.... Bwwoop Beep? Beep Bop pideBoop." "Whatever, you rust bucket. Careful, young lady... the droid leaks." Darius said as the jab about "leaking" elicits a verbal barrage of an ADHD Gungan with Tourette's from Casper. "I do apologize, these old R2 units are bit excitable in their old age. Hello, my name is Darius and this is Casper, my.... sidekick... and we are on our way to the foreman to see if he has any work for us. Not to pat ourselves on teh back too much, but my droid and I are probably the best tech specialists in the entire quadrant, if not sector. If its broken, we can fix it!" "Binary: I am fairly certain that I am going to regret this. Again.Whirl Beep ooo chirp Beep. " OOC and Dicerolls Onward!

[irishking7777]

"I'm glad to hear his mood terminal and not just an issue with me," Sev responded to Denurga regarding his comment on the old captain.

"Bright-eyes, I'll let you know. Just trying to get us moving again ASAP. Al-" Sev stopped himself from blurting her name. The temptation to turn in a wounded Jedi might be more than Denurga could resist. "I'll be in contact."

Sev watched a moment as his associates filtered through the casino to various tables and bars. He cursed under his breath for not installing that facial recognition software into his helmet, but it was that or travel to Corellia. There were too many people here for his liking, and as far as he was concerned, their cover was already blown, it was just a question if they could be mobile again before Vader showed up again.

"Lead the way Denurga. I'm here to pay-off debts, not find more of them."

[Melchior]

"Eh heh. Well let's see what we can do to make sure we both get what we want," Denurga chuckled to himself as he waved for Sev to follow, perhaps amused by the trooper's no nonsense attitude. The old Snivian led the two of them out of the card hall and through the halls. They took a fairly straightforward path, though the flashing holograms and garish decorations that seemed to be plastered on every available surface was starting to hurt Sev's eyes.

Sev knew enough about the interior of these old Lucrehulk ships that he wasn't worried about getting lost, though it was still a little disorienting. Rather than stand out, it all seemed to blend together into a heavy noise that actually made it harder to keep track of where the were going. Eventually though they left the public sectors and moved into the 'employee's only' section of the ship and the ostentatious displays gave way to more subdued decorations.

They reached Denurga's office, and the old Snivian waved Sev inside with a grin. It was smaller than the trooper might have expected though the walls were covered with images and holoprojectors which displayed still images. Denurga unveiling a new gambling hall. Denurga tossing dice at one of his tables. Denurga in a dramatic pose, standing in front of the captain's chair in the bridge. Denurga shaking hands with several wealthy looking patrons, a wide smile on his face. The common theme of all the images was fairly clear.

"Have a seat!" The Snivvian moved around his desk, which was loaded with datapads. "Can I get you a drink of anything?" The old alien raised an eyebrow as he looked into the mask of Sev's helmet, his grin growing a fraction wider. He hit a button on

"Cissy, be a dear and bring in two Gizer ales. And another for my friend! Eh heh heh!"

"Yes sir," a feminine voice dutifully responded over the comm. "Also sir, I regret to inform you that there was network breach while you were away."

The old Snivvian groaned softly, though Sev noticed he didn't seem surprised. He grumbled something in his species language under his breath. "You caught them this time at least, right?"

"I'm sorry, sir. Master Ziad was unable to trace the perpetrator. The slicer covered their tracks too well. He was able to confirm that the only thing taken was copy of the recent ship manifests."

Denurga's brow furrowed in confusion as he silently mulled that over. With a sigh he pressed the comm button again, "Tell Ziad to ramp up security. I'm paying him to stop this nonsense. I'm sick of people thinking they can just dig around in our files. And get me those drinks. I could use them more than ever now."

"Yes sir."

The comm went silent, and Denurga let out a sound that was a half-sigh, half-groan. "Honestly, can't a man just run an honest business these days?"

~~~~~~

After Sev had left to see about work and Anazider had stormed off to the bar to most likely drink himself into a coma, Parien ambled through the card hall. The blind man drew a few curious glances from some of the other gamblers as he passed but most people were far more interested in their own affairs. Eventually, the Miraluka found his way to an open table and plopped himself down into one of the available seats. The gamblers already there looked over at the new arrival, scoping out the potential competition.

"Greetings Sir. I am DLR-8. This table is designated for Riftwalker Sabacc. I will be happy to deal you in," the dealer droid chirped, welcoming Parien to the table. One of the other gamblers let out a disdainful scoff.

"How's the old man gonna play? He can't see the cards!"

"The Idiot's Array does not discriminate against our clientele on the grounds of disabilities, physical or mental," the droid responded. The man who had spoken up rolled his eyes, but he didn't try to argue the point. No doubt he thought Parien would just make for an easier mark. As the droid collected the cards from the previous round, Parien settled down in his seat, ready to make some money. Before the next hand could start however another figure joined them and Parien watched as the pretty Zeltron he'd seen earlier took one of the empty seats across the table from him.

"Greetings Madam," The droid welcomed Trix back to the table with the same politeness it treated everybody. A moment later, the cards were being laid out in front of them all. Gambling in SAGA is done via a flat Wisdom check. In your post, indicate how much you are willing to wager, and include the check."Place your wagers, please."

Across the hall, Towa settled back down on to the bar, taking a seat near a disgruntled looking Falleen which allowed him to easily watch Trix's table from across the room.

~~~~~~

From the look on the girl's face as she struggled to bite back her laughter, Darius suspected that she was fully capable of understanding what Casper was saying as the astromech went off on its tirade against what the droid perceived to be his 'disrespect'.

"Ah... well, that's okay. Lots of droids have that... problem. Maybe he just needs an oil filter replacement," she giggled, patting Casper on the dome. The Selonian just blinked in confusion, clearly ignorant though the durry alien did shoot a wary look towards the droid. To be fair, anybody could have guessed that whatever Casper was saying was probably not polite just from the droid's agitated tone.

"I'm Eydis. This is Kumac," the girl said with a smile. The Selonian nodded in greeting, but kept quiet. "And I'm not so sure that boast means anything. I heard that this sector is basically empty," she added with a wry grin. "But... uh... I think the Foreman was back there with the team looking over our ship. He might be too busy to talk with you."

[Xian]

Darius Cross "I'm Eydis. This is Kumac," the girl said with a smile. The Selonian nodded in greeting, but kept quiet. "And I'm not so sure that boast means anything. I heard that this sector is basically empty," she added with a wry grin. "Well I supposed you have got a point there. Let's just say then, if this sector had people in it, we would be best. Pleased to meet you both, Eydis and Kumac." Darius smiled at the comment. Darius had never seen or interacted with a Solenian before... Kumac looked like a bipedal cat-badger and Darius wondered if he/she had the same kind of temperament. "But... uh... I think the Foreman was back there with the team looking over our ship. He might be too busy to talk with you." "Well, I guess I better at least go give it a try." Darius said with a laugh as he moved out in the direction that Eydis indicated. "Well, your friend, Kumac, probably has the right idea in that you shouldn't talk to stranger... who knows what kind of scoundrels are matriculating around here. Take care and appreciate the tip." "Come Mr. Grumpy bolts, lets go see if we an earn ourselves an honest wage so we can feed Scooby." OOC and Dicerolls Onward!