"It is a welcome change Callum. Better scenery and nobody firing blasters at us. What more could one hope for?"replies Galatea cheerfully, clearly pleased by the fact she is not in a firefight or likely to be in the near future.
Winter moves the carbonite man and box of wine to the cargo space, then opens the crate of 'wine' and begins looking for the contraband.
Winter finds no contraband - it really is a crate of Corellian Ale.
Galatea recharges her blaster carbine after Callum has finished at the re-charging station, saying "I should have thought of that myself Callum. No harm done I guess."
"Umm..." Is Sebbik's only response, the Duros not believing that the woman knows nothing of the man in the carbonite. "Will... uh... will Maya be joining us? We left her back there... ummm... and, well... uh... we might have stirred up a uh... a bit of a hornet's nest with those... with the imperials on the uh.... the station."
Sebbik wanders around as he speaks in his usual, halting cadence. His eyes rove expertly around the cockpit, nodding occasionally as he recognizes this or that bit of modification. He asks about some of them (if Captain O'Keefe is able to put up with his speech habits), though he never looks at her directly when he talks.
Upon landing, the Duros nods at the guardsman's instructions, his eyes on the floor, or the sky, or anywhere there aren't another pair of eyes looking back at him. He fidgets a bit as he waits, adjusting the heavy blaster on his hip from time to time, still trying to get accustomed to its weight on his belt.
Naturally, Jek said on hearing that the [/i]Banshee[/i] had been modified beyond what was immediately apparent. A ship like this is a labour of love. You're lucky to have her,
Being healed, Jek touches at where he had previously been burnt, barely any pain at all. He smiled. If the Chiss only had Bacta like this...
Met by the Alderaanian guard, Jek kept his mouth closed. He had an issue with authority figures, and that issue were the issues that they had with him. He did his best not to offend anyone, and when offered refereshements, he said, Something cold and red, if you don't mind
Got to wonder what the poor man did to deserve this, Jek said to Callum as he pondered their place, due to the man in carbonate, I don't think people are supposed to survive an ordeal like that.
Got to love a pacifist's planet, Jek said, remembering that, technically, he lived in one of those, too, though pacifistic using a different ideology. One that had him exiled. Some of the Galaxy's best art comes from here, and some of the best holodramas, if you ask me. Very classy dramas, if skewed a bit on the romanticist side of things,
"I don't like places like this." remarked Winter to Jek's comment "People in places like this don't have the honest integrity to just shoot each other; They just either hire poisoners or politically destroy someone's livelihood."
"Winter, we could try to find a place where people treat each other with honesty and decency and don't harm each other at all. We could go for instance to... ah ... well maybe we can't."Galatea's voice trails off in volume as she speaks, she sounds disconsolate by the end.
The doors to the Grand Hall open, and in strides a middle-aged man who has a well-kept goatee and is wearing Senatorial robes. Easily recognizable as Bail Organa, he smiles and nods to the servants before turning to you. “Welcome to Alderaan,” he says. “I had hoped we might meet under more pleasant circumstances, but unfortunately the Empire makes almost everything unpleasant. Still, I am glad to see that the . . . difficulties at the spaceport above Brentaal didn’t impede you too much.
“I’ve asked you to join me today because the agents of mine that you rescued seem to think you can be trusted. Since you worked hard to help them, I believe I can put my faith in you as well. I have a task that needs to be completed, but unfortunately my status as a Senator prevents me from taking care of it myself, or even from sending someone directly associated with the Royal Family.
“The planet Felucia was ravaged during the Clone Wars, but once the fighting was over, the Empire set up a permanent facility on the world. Nothing large—just a small garrison where they could keep prisoners out of the way. Some months ago, I was contacted by an Imperial Admiral who was disillusioned with the way the Empire had twisted the once-great Republic, and he began feeding me sensitive information. A little over a week ago, that communication stopped. My agents tell me that the Admiral has been taken to Felucia, where he is being held against his will. I’d like you to learn what has become of him, and rescue him if you can.”
Sebbik stares openly at Bail for a long moment after he speaks, then swallows hard and speaks. "I... um... isn't this a mission for... for a spy that... uh... could break into such a um... facility as that? Or maybe a... umm... small army that could uh... force their way in? How... how do you think that... that... we... uh... that our small group could do it?"
"Seems pretty straightforward. Do you have a location where he is being held? Also, what are you offering in terms of compensation?"
Galatea does not speak, but she is thinking I agree with Sebbik. If I stay quiet and still I should be able to hide that I am as frightened at the prospect as he is. This Organa guy seems to have us mixed up with the Jedi Council. WHAT! I think poor Winter has taken leave of his senses. Not surprising given the stress we have been under. Hopefully he will recover swiftly.
"That is... quite the mission," Callum finally says after some thought. Still, even though he does not ask for any specifics regarding reward and such, unlike Winter, there is an almost unmistakable sense of eagerness behind his words. "Sounds like an adventure."
"As I said, we know the location of the facility on Felucia to send you to. I'm offering each of you 2000 credits and, if things go well, a guarantee of more work in the future. Additionally, if the Admiral has as much information as I believe he does, this could be an excellent chance to strike a blow at the Galactic Empire.”
Senator Organa smiles at Sebbik, "I believe you can do it for several reasons. First, a lone spy would be unable to infiltrate the facility - he would have to pose as a stormtrooper, then hope he gets assigned there. Not a guarantee. A small army would be too noticeable - they would summon reinforcements and the mission would likely fail. However, a small team that successfully grabbed a cargo out from under the Empire's nose on Sel Zonn Station and escaped without suffering significant casualties...I believe you to be far more skilled than you think."
"I have a couple of questions senator. Does our contract of employment include medical and death benefits and superannuation... on reflection just the first two? Second, I have heard of elite agents that serve only the Emperor called Emperor's Hands. Is this Empire's Nose or Emperor's Nose something similar?"
"I have a couple of questions senator. Does our contract of employment include medical and death benefits and superannuation... on reflection just the first two? Second, this Empire's Nose. Is that some kind of agent charged with detecting people like us? Probably an Ortolon."
Winter gives Galatea a look and then asks what is clearly on his mind: "Are you serious?"
Turning to Bale Organa, Winter will say "What kind of resources do you have for us to use on this mission? Also, do you have any people in place that have done any recon of the area? We will need a picture of this general, so that when we are sweeping the complex we can make sure to grab the right man. Finally, what do you want us to do with other prisoners there, if any?"
Senator Organa chuckles at Galatea's joke about the Empire's Nose. "Should you take any injury, we will of course get you patched up quickly. Death benefits can be arranged, provided you give us the name of your next of kin."
To Winter, he says, "I can provide you transport to Felucia and the planet, as well as the coordinates of the facility - other than that, you are on your own. I also don't have anyone on the ground that can help you. You won't be going near any of the major cities, though, and the secret nature of the facility means it is lightly defended. That helps them avoid drawing attention - our knowledge of the facility is our greatest weapon. The Admiral in question is Gilder Varth - I'll make sure you have a holo of him so you can recognize him. I'll leave the decision about what to do with any other prisoners to you - I think I can trust your judgement on this."
"Of course I am serious Winter. This mission promises to be dangerous indeed. Especially if we are confronted by an Ortolon master sleuth among other hazards. I am most re-assured Senator Organa. I will be sure to provide my mother's name and contact details."
What's the problem with subtlety? Jek asked Winter, then said, Blasting folks has its place, don't get me wrong, but the main point here is that people aren't shooting each other, and there's something to be said about that. And succesfully, too. You must have heard all of the problems Mandalore has had with its efforts in pacifism. then he chuckled at what Galatea said on the matter.
Jek nodded his head to Organa, Pleasant circumstances sometimes cannot be had. I'll take what I can get, personally, He smiled, A pleasure to meet you. I've watched a few of your speeches, and they helped me to understand that Galactic politics will never be my forte.
Felucia, Jek hummed, Can't say that that ever made my list of vacation spots, but I've been to worse places. Probably.
I believe Galatea is being completely serious, Jek said to Winter, Though I would correct it to something more grand, like 'The Nostril of Palpatine,
We're going to have to decide who would pose as the stormtrooper. I'm a good liar, but my cover'd be blown if I had to take off my helmet. From what I've seen from Stormtroopers, that might not actually be a problem.
"I never said there was anything wrong with subtlety, it's just that we'll likely hit multiple combats in this situation, and I like to know what resources I have before working on a plan."
Nodding at Jek, Winter says to Galatea "'Under the Emperor's Nose' is a figment of speech, it is not an actual person."
Addressing the group, Winter will say "Okay, so once we hit planetside, we'll need to scout the facility and watch troop movements for a day or so to get their shift rotations down. Once we have that, we can make a plan and go from there."
Nodding at Jek, Winter says to Galatea "'Under the Emperor's Nose' is a figment of speech, it is not an actual person."
"True it is a figure of speech. But under the emperor's nose lies the emperor's mouth, which is an actual body part and is capable of speech. And we don't know that the Empire has not filled the galaxy with elite agents named after every piece of Palpatine's anatomy. Think about the man's bloated ego. Conceivably the Emperor's Kidney is relentlessly scouring the galaxy trying to find us by detecting any trace of our urine, no matter how small."Galatea looks around fearfully.
Sebbik nods at Organa's comforting words, and seems a bit lost at the conversation initiated by Galatea. He chalks it up to humor that is beyond him (a not uncommon occurrence for the young Duros, who doesn't do well at communicating with anyone other than computers and droids) and speaks softly. "If uh... if we can get close enough to the doors without being seen, I um... I might be able to uh... to hack the system and uh... get us in. I uh... I'm not sure if I can... uh... if I can pull off acting like a stormtrooper." He cocks his head and thinks a bit more, and it seems that once he has warmed to his favorite subject, his halting speech clears up a bit. "If I can uh... get into their central computer, I might even be able to pin down the location of their detention area. That could help us once we get inside."
For a moment Callum loses track of the conversation as he stares wide-eyed at the young Neimoidian woman, the Force-sensitive young Neimoidian woman. 'She is not unbalanced, I hope,' he ponders briefly, not wanting to wonder what it could mean in the future were she to be both unbalanced and strong in the Force. Taking a deep breath, he chases such thoughts from his mind. For now.
"I suppose Winter and I could pull off some stormtrooper fashion," he offers, "although I have to say, deception is not necessarily my strong suit."
"You can rest at ease, Galatea. The emperor may have an ego, but I doubt he would have operatives named the Emperor's Kidney or the Emperor's Nose. If nothing else, I imagine it would be quite embarrassing to be called the Emperor's Nose or Kidney - I doubt it would engender loyalty."
"Now, I have affairs of state to attend to. If you would like to take a day to rest and purchase any equipment you feel you may need, please do so. My old friend Captain O'Keefe will be ready to transport you to Felucia."
With that, Senator Organa exits the room, leaving you to plan.
"Good day senator, a pleasure to meet you. And Callum, fortunately I am skilled in deception. I can certainly help disguise you as a stormtrooper if that is your plan."
Sebbik gives an awkward nod as the senator departs, then listens to the others as they make their plans. The duros doesn't have anything to initially offer, as he is more than a little intimidated by their mission and figures he can offer whatever help he can give as the situation arises. He recalls that he was able to help in getting the cargo, which gives him some amount of confidence that he can be of assistance again at some point.
"So, here's my initial idea for what we do when we get to Felucia: We recon the location and then decide on a plan from there. I know we were kind of thrown together and we've done well so far, but perhaps we should take a little bit to get to know each other. I'm more than happy to begin: My name is Winter, and I'm a member of the mercenarie's guild. It doesn't have the clout of the Bounty Hunter's guild, but it is a legitimate organization. I am a trained soldier, so I should be able to offer tactical planning, as well as being a pretty good shot. I can mix it up in hand-to-hand if I need to, but I'm not a melee specialist. Fortunately, we have a couple of those."
"Callum Vorn, Corellian born and raised," Callum re-introduces himself. "My skills have to do mostly with piloting ships and fixing them on occasion, though I think I am a decent mechanic in general. Other than that, I can fire a blaster. Poorly, if our last firefight is any indication." He shrugs. "Though it could have just been bad luck."
"I also have some experience with hand to hand combat, but it has been a long time since those lessons. I am sure it will all come back to me eventually though, right? Just like riding a bike."
Sebbik looks interested when Callum speaks up. "You uh... you're a pilot too? I'm umm... well, I'm pretty good myself. Haven't uh... had much chance to really umm... really test myself, you uhh... you know." His gaze shifts away nervously and he shrugs. "I'm also skilled with computers. And droids. Natural uh... natural talent I guess. That's umm... what my uh... my parents said."
"Galatea Rayven, Niemoidian if you have not guessed. I can shoot a blaster, which I seem to be a bit better at than I thought. What I am best at is dealing with people, persuasion, even a bit of deception. I am a competent detective, computer user and I comprehend the intricacies of bureaucratics better than most, perhaps because most people find it too boring even to think about."
"I know I do," Callum quips in answer to Galatea's comment about bureaucracy, accompanying the words with a smile and a wink, before turning to Sebbik.
"Heh... Piloting almost goes hand in hand with being a Corellian. I must admit though, I am not as skilled in it or focused on it as others of my compatriots. I had... other things I was interested in when I was younger." He puts a hand on the duros' shoulder. "As for testing yourself, by all means. I certainly do not mind if it is you behind the wheel when next we get to fly a ship."
"Jek. Captain Jek. Traveller of the space lanes, occasional privateer, and decent-enough pilot, myself," Jek introduced himself, omitting his species, "I've worked with the Hutts for some time, should that ever be of use to us, and I'm pretty handy with a pistol and a blade, at least in my own humble opinion, though he was never humble.
He turned to Sebbik, "Opportunities to test yourself abound, so it would seem," he said, "I for one wasn't nearly so acquainted for shooting at the chinks in Stormtrooper armor at the beginning of the day than I was at the end."
He clapped his hands together, "We seem to be quite the eclectic group. Glad we were all able to be in that right place in the wrong time, together."
The camaraderie shared by the group seems to put Sebbik somewhat at ease, and he actually smiles a bit when Callum puts is hand on the duros' shoulder. "Well uh... let's get to Felucia then, and see what we find. Maybe umm... if there's a computer there I can access the central database and find us a uhh... a way in."
"Okay, now we have at least a basic idea of what each of us likes to do when a fight breaks out and how we'll each contribute. One last question: does anyone have a problem with ambushing people? I've always been of the opinion that if you're in a fair fight, you're doing something wrong."
Sebbik shrugs in answer to Winter's question. "It uh... seems like a good way to not get killed. I umm... I don't know much of anything about fighting, but when I uh... when I hack into a computer I imagine it's much the same. Use stealth when you can." The duros tries a tentative smile as he shrugs again.
"I could not agree more Winter. This group against the Imperial military hardly seems an even fight to me."
No such thing as a fair fight, if I'm in it, Jek said proudly.
With planning more or less dealt with, Callum retires to his quarters. One would think that sleep would come easily to the generally easy-going Corellian, especially given the excitement of the previous days. But it is because of this excitement and what he believes is only the beginning of something more than just an adventure or just a job that makes it difficult for him to rest, rare an occurrence though it is.
After a bit of tossing and turning, he rises from his bed and sits on the floor cross-legged. Palms down and wrists resting on his knees, he sighs and closes his eyes. Another deep breath. It has been a long time since he had done this last and briefly wonders if he even remembers how.
"Just like riding a bike," he mutters softly to himself as he tries to clear his mind. It takes a few moments, but in the end he succeeds. That was the easy part. Now comes the hard one.
Slowly, tentatively, he reaches both inward and outward with his mind. Inward to himself, to his life so far. Outward to the Force, letting it flow through him. And as he does so, memories of a childhood long past begin to rise to the surface once more.
After a night of rest, you regather at the docking bay to hop on board the Banshee and head to Felucia. Captain O'Keefe talks little about her past, keeping most conversation light. She speaks little of her past, although you do find out she is from Brentaal and she has a niece who aspires to follow in her footsteps. She is also fond of her droid co-pilot, an RX-13 pilot droid nicknamed "Crash". Crash is rather curmudgeonly and prefers griping about nearly everything rather than going about his duties.
After several days of hyperspace travel, Crash reports that you are about to come out of hyperspace. As the blue tunnel of hyperspace fades away and the pinpoints of stars fill the windows of the cockpit, you get a brief glimpse of the planet Felucia hanging just below your ship. Almost instantly your eyes are drawn to the dagger-shaped starship looming ahead of you—an Imperial Star Destroyer.
“Hold on,” Captain Okeefe says, “We’re in for a bumpy ride.” With that, the captain slams the control stick forward, sending the ship tumbling rapidly into the atmosphere of the planet. As the Banshee passes through the thin cloud layer, you get a good look at the fungal swamps and jungles of Felucia, where towering mushrooms reach up into the air like skyscrapers. It would be beautiful if it weren’t rushing up at you so quickly. Eventually, Captain Okeefe pulls the ship out of its dive, a move accompanied by the sounds of metal shearing from somewhere in the rear of the ship. The transport lurches, nearly throwing each of you to the ground, and dips sickeningly down toward the fungal canopy. Another massive bump jostles the ship before the captain brings the vessel to a screeching halt, resting deep within the mushroom jungles.
Though normally meek and uncommunicative in general, Sebbik begins to open up during the journey through hyperspace - perhaps due in part to his growing familiarity with the others and the fact he has a deep and abiding interest in spaceships. He asks many questions, makes several observations and even a few suggestions that might very well be driving his companions mad. He also speaks at length of what he knows about the planet Felucia.
When the Banshee comes out of hyperspace and the star destroyer appears just ahead, Sebbik gasps in shock. Are they waiting for them? Does the Empire know of their plans? Then Captain Okeefe speaks her warning and suddenly the ship dives at a sickening angle of descent.
The duros reaches out to grab something stable, but a moment too late! Sebbik pitches forward and he only barely manages to keep from sliding face-first into the metal hull of the bridge as he stumbles forward several feet, finally managing to grab a console as he hangs on for dear life. And... was Crash smiling? Sebbik was aware that some droids, especially the more advanced versions, are able to feel and exhibit true emotions, but surely...
Another bump rocks the ship and the thought flees his mind as Sebbik concentrates on remaining upright, though the duros is still able to appreciate the exotic beauty of the jungle planet despite their precarious situation. A moment later they land safely and Sebbik stands up straight, moving toward the nearest viewing port where he gazes up at the sky in the direction of the Imperial destroyer. "Do... uh... do you think they were waiting for us?" He whispers as though afraid of being overheard somehow.
Jek rarely stayed in one place for too long during the trip, making it his business to speak to everyone on the ship, as he figured that it might come to it that his life would end up in their hands, somehow.
Jek immediately filled with resignation as he saw the Imperial ship. He was confident in the abilities of the pilot, of course, but it was also a damned big ship, with a lot of guns. Bumpy ride, Jek repeated to himself after Okeefe, asking himself why he heard that phrase so many times. He figured it was just bad luck, that he would wind up in so many bumpy rides as he had in life.
When they hit the planet, Jek picked himself up off the ground, quickly, so as to avoid anyone actually noticing that he had fallen, and said, Another happy landing, He then payed heed to the planet he was on, the exotic beauty of it, and asked, Do you all think I should have invested in more bug spray?
Galatea is quite friendly and talkative during the journey, discussing with Sebbik what she knows of the planet Fellucia. When she spies the Imperial Star Destroyer she does not speak just goes pale, rather an achievement for a Niemodian.
When the pilot announces a bumby ride, Galatea relies "Just get us away from that thing, I will take plenty of bumpy!"
During the descent, Galatea actually falls to the deck, getting up merely bruised and looking stoic.
A moment later they land safely and Sebbik stands up straight, moving toward the nearest viewing port where he gazes up at the sky in the direction of the Imperial destroyer. "Do... uh... do you think they were waiting for us?" He whispers as though afraid of being overheard somehow.
"I don't think so. It is just stationed here I think." Galatea replies, looking somewhat nervous nonetheless.