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

[irishking7777]

Sev's blood ran cold. They weren't even unloaded off the Flash and the manifest was stolen. He trusted Anazider to be smart enough to fake those things, but with the ship being tagged running an Imperial blockade, It wouldn't take long before some dots starting lining up.

"Apparently not." Sev didn't put it past the old man to be running a double bluff, but one way or the other, the trooper needed to find the thief and recover those documents before they left the station.

"I'm guessing a casino like this has plenty of security vids. I'd start by seeing where terminals were being accessed in that time, and prioritize any areas where the vids may have any hiccups on their normal smooth operation." It was obviously a theft of the moment, as even they didn't know they were heading here until they were, so he doubted the thief was fully aware of the value of his information, but if Sev noticed the news stories flashing in the bar, then he'd have to assume the thief did too.

"Tell me where to find Mr. Ziad and the security monitors, and I'll get this cleaned up for you. First installment on our costs."

[Avner]

Trix The Zeltran did not have much to wager as recently she had been down on her luck. In fact she ususally counted on someone else to do most of the gambling, but as the force willed it she knew she was at the table for reasons other than hustling a few better than though merchant sons. She looked at the table and considered before replying to the droid. "I'm in for ten creds." Sliding her chips over she waited to see if the gamble would pan out. Dice Wisdom Save: 1d20+1 (15)+1 Total = 16

[Hound]

Towa For now, things seemed relatively safe. No empire, no Sith, just a room full of drunk space pirates. No one seemed to be batting an eye at Trix's return, Towa decided he would keep one eye on her, just in case, while trying to his best to blend in. The young man began by turning to the disgruntled nearby Falleen. From what he could recall about the species, they were reptilian like Trandoshan, but unlike Trandoshan's, they grew hair and could sweet. Notably, Fallen had powerful pheromone glands for attracting mates. With a friendly smile, Towa raised his glass as a salute to the man, "What's the matter pal? Ya look like a Wookie ran away with yer gal."

[Melchior]

"Normally I don't care much for bounty hunters. Got rules to prevent them from operating within the ship. But I think I'm starting to like you. You have initiative!" Despite the rather stressed look on his face, Denurga managed a wry grin across the desk at Sev. "And who am I to argue when the price is so right? Eh heh heh!"

The old Snivvian leaned back in his chair, obviously thinking things over. One hand scratched at the wispy patch of hair which covered his large chin as his beady eyes narrowed slightly in contemplation. Eventually he seemed to come to a decision.

"Well if you want to find the elusive slicer that's been plaguing my network, I certainly won't deter you. I'll let Ziad know you're coming. He'll fill you in on the details. I'll also tell him to give you the run of the place while you work. You fellows look like you're the sorts who operate best on your own terms. Especially if you're anything like Anazider. Getting the boy to do anything is like herding Starknoffs. Eh heh heh!"

With permission to investigate the issue granted, Sev rose to head off to his task, hopefully before someone managed to put together just what ship they had come in on. As he waved Sev off, the old alien jolted as if having a thought. "Oh, but stay away from the East Wing if you can. There's an ongoing... ownership dispute, as it were, and the situation over there is a bit delicate."

~~~

A few moments later, Sev found himself in the Idiot's' central security room. Unlike nearly every other room on the space station, the security room was devoid of garish ornamentation or flashing lights of any kind. Rather it looked like a fairly standard, professional security detail, the kind that might have been found in any number of organizations across the galaxy. Large banks of computer terminal lined the room and most of the walls were dominated by a multitude of large screens, enabling the security personel to keep tabs on the entire station.

There were a number of people in the room, stationed at various terminal. All of them were dressed in what Sev imagined was the casino's employee uniform. Standing behind the operators was a large bearded Abyssin, also dressed in the security uniform though it seemed a slightly tight fit for the alien's broad frame. The security chief turned to regard Sev when he entered, the large singular eye which dominated his face narrowing slightly as he took in the trooper.

"Security Chief Zia," the Abyssin introduced himself tersely. The alien didn't sound especially happy about the fact that someone from the outside had been brought in, but he didn't seem to be overly hostile either. Which was good because while Ziad might have been only slightly taller than Sev he was considerably broader, and cut a rough, dangerous figure. There was also the fact that his species also had a reputation as violent brutes notoriously difficult to kill. "You the 'contractor' the Boss told me about?"

~~~~~~

"And the Lady wins again," the dealer droid's synthetic voice trilled, over the groans and curses of the other players. As the holographic cards winked out, signalling the end of the current hand, the droid pushed the gathered chips overto join the growing pile sitting in front of the Zeltron.

After rejoining the table, Trix's luck seemed to have hit a good stride. She didn't win every hand, but she won more than she lost, and soon enough she had gathered together Trix gains 100 credits.a sizable sum despite her modest initial bit. Though luck didn't have everything to do with it. Reading people was as important as reading the cards, and it helped that most of the other gamblers were either a few cups too many into their drinks, easily distracted by her charms, or both.

To that end, Trix had managed to fleece all the other gamblers out of their credits, except for one. The blind human had proved almost impossible to read and for whatever reason he always managed to avoid falling into the same pratfalls which caught the other gamblers. He even managed to win a few smaller pots here and there. Unlike every other gambler at the table, he alone had managed to break even, losing nothing to her.

Back at the bar, Towa watched Trix' performance from a distance. So far things seemed to be going well, leaving him with little to do. A brief attempt to start a conversation with the dour looking Falleen seated nearby had gone nowhere. The other man had simply grumbled something sarcastic sounding under his breath and ordered another drink. With nothing else to do, it looked like he was going to be stuck doing nothing while waiting to see if anything happened over at Trix's table.

Or at least that's what he thought until a scruffy looking Cathar roughly pushed her way to the bar, forcing herself between Towa and the Falleen despite the fact that there was plenty of empty counter space elsewhere along the bar. She loudly rapped a finger claw on the bar to gain the bartender's attention, her sharp claws leaving a scratch on the finish. Several other similar marks along the bar indicated that it probably wasn't the first time.

"You know you're not supposed to be here Zale," the bartender replied calmly, though he had the wary look of someone expecting trouble.

The Cathar, Zale, snorted dismissively. "Space that. If you idiots could enforce those rules, we wouldn't be here in the first place. Where's your windbag of a boss anyways?"

The Cathar slouched against the bar, completely inconsiderate of Anazider and Towa. As she leaned forward her lowcut top enable the men to make out a glimpse what looked like a tattoo emblazoned just above her right breast, half hidden by her shirt.

~~~~~~

"Alright. Well good luck then." Eydis replied with a small wave when Darius indicated that he wanted to try and talk to the Foreman regardless. Wrangling his temperamental droid as best he could, the young man continued off down the hall in the direction of the docking bays were located in this sector of the station. Casper warbled in discontent, but fell in beside him as they went.

Darius felt the woman and Selonian's eyes on his back as they watched him leave. As he walked away he heard the soft sound of renewed conversation from the two of them, though it was quieter than it had been earlier. Enough so that he couldn't quite make out what was being said, though from the tone of the Selonians hushed whisper it almost sounded like they were arguing about something. Darius was spared from wondering what they were discussing when he heard Eydis voice call out again.

"Ah, wait up!" Turning around, Darius saw Eydis jogging down the hall towards him, a cheerful smile on her face. Her companion looked more apprehensive but followed along anyways. "Do you even know which docking bay it is? Come on, I'll take you. It'll be faster than checking them all at random."

It was clear the young woman's cheerful altruism would not be denied and a few moments later Darius found himself and Casper being led into a large docking bay, and Darius was forced to admit that it probably would have taken him a lot longer to find this place on his own. Unlike the normal bays, which were communal, this ship appeared to have an entire private bay to itself. The ship, an expensive looking luxury yacht, sat in the middle of the bay while a team of mechanics worked around it.

Surprisingly though, it looked as though they were not the only visitors. Standing near the ramp of the ship talking with a man Darius gathered was the foreman was a large, powerfully built alien with thick tendrils hanging from the back of his head whose mismatched, cobbled together armour gave him a rough, dangerous look. As they approached they could not hear exactly what the alien said, but the conversation did not appear to be very cordial.

"And I don't care how much you have, this is a private hangar!" The foreman shouted with impressive bravado considering the alien had a head and likely several dozen kilos on him. "So get out right now, or I'm calling security!"

Apparently deciding that the situation was not worth pushing, the alien relented with a gruff nod. He then turned and walked briskly towards the exit, passing Darius and the others without even a glance. The Foreman watched him go for a moment before his eyes drifted over to the new unexpected guests and his face reddened with renewed anger. "What now?! Who the hell are you?"

[Xian]

Darius Cross "Ah, wait up!" Turning around, Darius saw Eydis jogging down the hall towards him, a cheerful smile on her face. Her companion looked more apprehensive but followed along anyways. "Do you even know which docking bay it is? Come on, I'll take you. It'll be faster than checking them all at random." Darius had felt the pair had been watching them and discussing something when they had parted ways. While he did not hear the exact conversation, Darius had a sneaking feeling that the conversation had been about them which now led to Eydis to chasing them down the hall and offering her assistance. If nothing else, the apprehensive look on her companion's face only served to reinforce this feeling and he looked for those tell tale signs of deception. "How very kind of you... well then who am I to turn down such an offer?" Darius smiled as he saw that the determined girl was dead set on helping him. While he still felt apprehension, Darius decided to roll with it... at the very least to see if he discern what the pair's game was. As Darius followed along through the some what complicated set of hangars to find the foreman (granted that he also had no idea what the foreman exactly looked like) so Eydis and her friend, if nothing else, saved him a ton of time. When they came to the bay, the foreman and another alien seemed to be having a disagreement of sorts and it did not end well apparently as both parties seem to part on poor terms. Well timing was everything and apparently Darius' stunk because the foreman turned on him red-faced and roaring. Originally Posted by Foreman "What now?! Who the hell are you?" "The name is Darius Cross, my good man, and this my astromech, Casper... pleased to meet you." Darius said affably as he offered his hand. Darius wanted to put the foreman at ease and perhaps diffuse some of the emotion from his previous conversation before making his offer. "My astromech and I are pretty good techies and looking for some honest work and pay. This young lady here tells me you are the foreman and so we came to here to see if we could be of service. Not bragging, but if it's mechanical and it's broke, my friend and I can not only fix it, but probably make it run better." OOC and Dicerolls Perception for interaction with Eydis (25) Persuasion with the Foreman (25)

[Avner]

Trix Trix looked across the table at the blind man who had managed to survive her recent swing of luck. Taking a good look at him he seemed as stoic as ever and she wasn't quite sure if she was going to be able to pull this one off. She looked around the table for the Miraluka she had originally come to buddy up to at Towa's request. "Well it looks like I've had a lucky streak. Are you sure you want to stick around to lose the rest of your creds?" Trix asked the blind man judging his response.

[Hound]

Towa Even Towa's durasteel willpower was not strong enough to support his eye-line as his gaze dipped a little too low to examine the fine craftsmanship of the Cathar's inked artwork. Upon realizing his own staring, Towa quickly averted his eyes to something that could get him in far less trouble. To his annoyance, and embarrassment caused his ears to flush visibly pink. The Jedi quickly recalled his teachings and began to focus his mind as he mentally chanted the Jedi code. In a poor attempt to not look suspicious, he glanced around the room trying to be nonchalant so he could check in on Trix. Unfortunately his stare lingered a second or two too long as he tried to figure out how it was going. Hopefully, if someone was observing him, they would simply assume Towa was out looking for some action but was just too chicken to go for it.

[Melchior]

Realizing that his eyes had started to wander Towa hastily averted his gaze away from the cathar's ink and did his best to appear nonchalant, hoping that no one had seen him struggling with his Code at the bar. Still, the tattoos had been attention grabbing, even if he could not quite grab the significance of the design, overlapping circles in red and white.

Towa did his best to ignore the conversation the cathar was having with the bartender - apparently the bartender's boss was indisposed at the moment, something for which the cathar was not especially happy - and focus his attention instead on keeping an eye on Trix. From the looks of it, things seemed to be heating up at the table...

~~~

While many of the other gamblers grumbled in disgruntlement in response to Trix's boasts about her luck, the blind man remained as stoic and as calm as he had all night. He simply offered her a small smile, as his hand played quietly with his chips.

"Fortune is a fickle mistress, but I think I feel some luck heading my own way," he said softly, the most words the man had spoken at one time since she'd sat down. He finished toying with the edge of his chips before tossing his wager into the center of the table. "100 creds."

The bet prompted another round of grumbling from around the table as many of the gamblers were unwilling to risk any more money and took the opportunity to bow out. Still, a fair number stayed and the pile of chips in front of the dealer grew as the betting worked its way around to Trix again. Staying in would mean risking everything she'd managed to win so far but if her luck held, If you're willing to use less-than-honest means, a Stealth (Sleight of Hand) and/or Use the Force check could grant a bonus to the Wisdom check. Of course, if you're caught cheating...she could very well walk away with a much larger prize.

~~~~~~

Hoping to make a good impression, Darius reached his hand out to offer a polite handshake. The foreman did not take it, instead simply scowling at Darius for several moments until the younger man awkwardly lowered his hand back to his side.

"There are proper channels t'go through to get a job interview, Boy," the man snap after Darius had presented his case. "An' trespassing into a private hanger to interupt me and my boys when we're trying to get a job done isn't one of them."

"Ah, he's with us though." The foreman's irate gaze turned to glare towards the interruption. Eydis quickly barreled on, not giving the man a chance to start another tirade. "This is our hangar, after all, so it's not really trespassing if we let him in."

"Be that as it may, lass, that's not really the point," the Foreman growled, though Darius could tell that he was at least trying not to yell at the girl. Most likely he was trying to maintain some degree of civility for a customer who apparently was affluent or influential enough to warrant a private hangar. "I don't need another mechanics on my staff and I don't have the time to waste dealing with some random spacer, no matter how good he thinks he is."

"Ah but boss, weren't you just complaining earlier about how short-staffed we are?" one of the nearby mechanics pointed out oblivious to the sour look growing on his boss' face.

"That's right," another one piped up to add his voice to the conversation. "Especially after Sanjeev-"

"Shut it!" the Foreman snapped, whirling around to glare at his offending subordinates. "I don't pay you to gab!" As the mechanics hurriedly scattered to rush back to their jobs, the foreman ran a hand down his face, grumbling exasperatedly under his breathe, "...space the lot of them..."

Finally though, he turned back to glare at Darius.

"Fine. You think yer the galaxy's gift to machines? We'll see how good you really are." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to the ship behind him. "The computer systems are on the fritz. Wiring is a mess. Sort it out. Do a good job, an' maybe we'll see about finding more work for ya. An' if I see you touching anything else before that's done, I'll throw you and yer damn droid out the airlock."

[Avner]

Trix If there was one thing that Trix had learned over the years it was not to quit when you were ahead, which was probably why she was in a mess more often than not. Either way the temptation of a big payout was too much for the Zeltran as she pushed the credits towards the center of the table. "Don't be so sure that it is your luck your are feeling." Trix said. She tried to tap into the force to aid her in her luck and perhaps till fortune in her favor as she reached to draw a card. Looking around spooked for but a moment she took a deep breath and looked at her cards one more time. Deciding her own luck was enough she attempted to call the hand. OOC Force Check 10 Wisdom Save 18

[Hound]

Towa Where have I seen that symbol before? It seems familiar, maybe even dangerous, but I can't place it. Towa pondered the origin of the ink as he did his best to keep an Eye on Trix. In truth, he had no doubt the woman could easily take care of herself. After all, she'd survived this long without him. If he were to suddenly think she needed his aide for every little thing would insulting to her obvious skill so he was admittedly a little more relaxed than he probably should have been. Still, relaxed and unobservant were two very different things. One lowered your stress, the other got you dead. OOC Dice Perception: 1d20+14 (11)+14 Total = 25 Dice Use the Force: 1d20+18 (17)+18 Total = 35