Avizzi finishes putting his purchase into a pack and glances at the spacer being ejected from the cantina. He looks to Kalus, and for the first time, grins. "I think we've found our watering hole, don't you?" Patting the strap of his rifle, he steps inside the doors.
Taril as she indicated earlier, quite relishes the comforts offered by the Senator's accomodations.
She arranges for some delicacies to be delivered to her quarters, runs a bath then gets some much needed rest.
"I'd say so. Let's get a drink, shall we?"
Ensuring his spiffy new red and black coat with gold accents is on, Kalus adjusts his hat and swaggers into the cantina.
Ensuring his spiffy new red and black coat with gold accents is on, Kalus adjusts his hat and swaggers into the cantina.
Nomi slides the 50 credits she won off the table and into her hand. She inspects a suspicious-looking one with her cybernetic sensor eye-plate. Then she jams them into a pocket and looks for something doughy to eat. She still has to make it to a bunk of some sort tonight.
As Taril laps up the luxury of the palace, Kalus and Avizzi head in to the rough looking cantina for a well earned drink. As they enter they pass a dark haired woman with a cybernetic eye, who gives Kalus a wary look and then slips out onto the street. The place is full of starship crews drinking and laughing, enjoying some time out. In a corner a Sabacc game is in full swing, two Duros, a Sullustan and a Ryn hunched over cards in a smoke haze.
Out on the street Nomi-Rae finds a pop up cafe, selling some questionable meatballs cooked in a doughy pastry that look appetising. Halfway through her meal her commlink chimes with an incoming call. The Senator, requesting a meeting...
He stands up, " So on completion of the mission you'll be payed 2000 credits and the guarantee of more work to follow. Now would you like to meet the rest of the group? "
"Ah...I have missed this."
Striding up to the bar, Kalus gets the bartender's attention and says, "Mug of lum."
Out on the street Nomi-Rae finds a pop up cafe, selling some questionable meatballs cooked in a doughy pastry that look appetising. Halfway through her meal her commlink chimes with an incoming call. The Senator, requesting a meeting...
She looks at her chrono. Somehow she has two of them. She squints. "Kinda early for a meeting."
She finds a cab. It smells like cotton candy.
Nomi doesn't feel well.
Shortly. She meets with the two Senator Organas in their semi-private office. Nomi notes the two blurry outlines of men sitting behind their equally blurry, overlapping desks. She squints them into one, slightly more solid blur and takes a seat in a chair she hopes is really there.
"Nomi-Rae, thanks for coming in. I think I may have found a team you could work with..."
Nomi puts up a hand. The room seems to orbit around it like a star system around its primary. "It's just Nomi now, Senator."
The senator gives her much the same briefing as the others.
"Stop." She puts her hand up again. The room's orbit slows. "Adventure. Excitement. Heh. I crave not these things." Somewhere. Somewhere she's heard that before. Was I in detention?
Senator Organa's form stretches before her eyes as if he were an amoeba undergoing mitosis.
"Listen I appreciate you helping me hide out here, but I'm not a Jedi. I don't do briefings, go on missions. And if I did, they would probably be missions down to the corner liquor store for smokesticks and Jawa-juice. If that's a--BURP!--a problem. Sorry. Well, I can--I can leave." Nomi bluffs.
She stands up a little too quickly. She spins on her heel a bit too forcefully and throws the gravitational equilibrium of the entire semi-private office star system into sudden chaos. "Do you happen to have any bread sticks?" She asks and then falls to lovely plush carpet and then vomits all over it.
Wherever she finds herself it's dark and quiet and warm and kinda moist and smells of bile.
The night passes away, with some resting in the luxury of the palace and others carousing in the city. In the morning each of you are given a wake up call by one of the senators staff, and after you've dressed and had a quick breakfast you're all chauffeured to the city spaceport and back to the Banshee. If anyone asks about the new team member they're told there's been a complication and that you'll meet them aboard the star ship. Once everybody is aboard, Sirona and Crash take the ship out of atmosphere and into the inky blackness of space. Crash is interfacing with the navicomputer, piloting the hyperspace coordinates when a couple of Lambda class shuttles drop out of hyperspace nearby Sirona watches them glide past uneasily, telling the droid to hurry.
The shuttles seem to pay the Banshee no mind, gliding past they head down to Alderaan.
Nomi awakes in a dark room. It smells of bile, but also there's also a backroad smell of disinfectant. It's quiet and you can hear a faint hum of machinery coming from all around. Theirs a faint beep, then another and then a door slides open and light floods into the room silhouetting a thin droid. " You are awake... Do you feel well? You were heavily inebriated and have been unconscious for some time. I was instructed to give you this when you awoke... " the droid holds out a small holo recorder for you to take...
When activated a miniature blue Organa coalesces above the device, frowning. " Nomi, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you this in person, but due to your... illness I didn't have time. My latest intel has warned me that you may have been compromised. Members of Darth Vader's inquisition are on their way to Alderaan or possibly even already here as you listen to this message and it has become clear to me that I can no longer keep you safe on Alderaan. Again I'm sorry but I felt it best to send you off world, for your protection. You are on the Banshee, headed to Felucia with a group of operatives working for me. Now you have a choice, I believe you could use your abilities most constructively working with this group. But I understand that you object to missions, or adventure. If you decide not to help just stay with the ship and you can make your own way after the mission is complete.
As the Banshee glides through hyperspace Sirona's voice comes over the comms from the cockpit. [B]" We've made good time on this trip. We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in about half an hour... "
Watching the Lambda-class shuttles pass by, Kalus shakes his head, then winces slightly. If they have our names and pictures, that's going to be how life goes for some time, he thinks, wishing maybe he'd drunk a tad less.
Turning to the others, he asks, "Does anyone know anything about this new crew member? We were told they'd meet us on the ship, but I have yet to see anyone new. I don't suppose the Senator or an aide told anyone who it is?"
Avizzi, having kept his head clear at the cantina, isn't suffering as the group heads to their new destination. "No, I received no information about our new comrade. I'd hope they're a useful sort, though."
Russel shakes his head in response to Kalus' question, "I am more concerned about having the pilot of this ship named Crash. I mean that can't be a good nickname for pilot of a starship to have right?"
Taril meets the others on the Banshee looking nicely scrubbed , pampered and rested.
She helps Crash and Sirona prep the ship and putters about doing odd jobs here and there as they make their jump.
At Sirona's warning, she joins the others in the common room,leaning a against the bulkhead, "This'll be interesting. Dangerous place, this Felucia, especially since I heard tell that someone was hiding there...someone that was a Jedi!"
Nomi awakes in a dark room. It smells of bile, but also there's also a backroad smell of disinfectant. It's quiet and you can hear a faint hum of machinery coming from all around. Theirs a faint beep, then another and then a door slides open and light floods into the room silhouetting a thin droid. " You are awake..."
Without looking up Nomi waves a hand in front of the figure and mutters into her pillow "I am not awake."
"Do you feel well? You were heavily inebriated and have been unconscious for some time. I was instructed to give you this when you awoke... "
Realizing the visitor is a droid she moans. "Is it something to drink?"
the droid holds out a small holo recorder for you to take...
"This is not a drink." She determines by touch. "Is that an engine I hear?"
"I'm on a ship!" She sits bolt upright and slams her head in the bunk above.
"Ow." Nomi says trying to hold her head together with both hands while balancing the holoprojector on her lap. She flicks it off halfway through tosses it aside. "Bastard could give Palpatine lessons."
Smiling at Russel, Kalus says, "The pilot is Captain O'Keefe. Her droid is named Crash. A bit safer, wouldn't you -"
At the sound of a loud cry of pain, Kalus turns and asks, "What the kriff was that?"
"Not if that Droid is the one handling the light speed calculations..."
He shrugs at Kalus, "Let's check it out". Russel begins walking toward the sound of the bang.
Nomi rolls to the floor then gets to her feet. Her hand goes to her saber hilt. I gotta get off this thing before it jumps to hyperspace.
She rushes to the door and is momentarily surprised to find it unlocked.
She makes her way toward the bridge.
" His nickname is just my little joke... Crash is top of the line. " Okeefe says chuckling.
When the loud cry is heard she calls after Kalus and Russel. " Hey, it's alright just the other passenger wake up. Probably has a wicked hang over, from what Organa told me. "
Nomi dashes around a corridor in the somewhat unfamiliar starship, the droid following but quickly falling behind " Ma'am, I think it would be best if you'd take a seat back in the medical bay. I'll get the Captain to come see you. "
As Nomi rounds the corner at the end of the corridor she almost runs into Kalus and Russel coming the other way.
Russel smiles as he sees Nomi, "Hey, are you ok? Welcome to the crew."
Gotta- Gotta get off this ship before-!! "I've got a bad feeling about-"
"Ugh, sorry about that stranger. I hope that wasn't new."
Russel steps back avoiding the worst of the burst though his boots will need to be cleaned, he shrugs, "Worry not, I am too poor for anything new at the moment, feel better?"
Captain Okeefe comes up behind Kalus and Russel. " Ah you're up, you've been out for more than a day! Uh, Crash, can you er, clean that up? " she says pulling a face. " Everyone should strap in, we're about to come out of hyperspace and there's a slight chance there could be some imps patrolling. "
Okeefe moves back through the ships lounge " Taril you're in the copilots seat... "
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 the sensor board in front of Taril lights up. Everyone's eyes are drawn to the dagger-shaped starship looming ahead of the Banshee—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.
" Ugh, is everyone in one piece? " Sirona asks, extracting herself from the pilots seat.
Avizzi had let the others go check on the new arrival, choosing instead to remain in the main cabin and wait for the landing. When that came, he did his best to hold on and avoid tumbling about, but the final impact did cause him to fall to one knee, stabilizing himself with his hands.
Once everything comes to a rest, he stands up and pulls on his new poncho. "Quite a start to our simple operation," he comments.
Quickly dancing out of the way as the woman is sick, Kalus eyes her and thinks, She's supposed to help us? She looks so sick, I can't believe she's be of any use. "Don't worry about it. You didn't get anything," Kalus says as he checks his fancy coat.
Grabbing on to the bulkhead to stabilize himself as they crash, Kalus assumes a stabilized position before the ship crashes down. Feeling a little bruised, he says, "I've certainly crashed worse. How close are we to the target?"
Sirona pulls up a screen and reviews some sensor data from the ships records.
" looks like roughly 30 clicks... Maybe a days hike to the north east. " she slots a data card into the ships computer saves the relevant data and then passes the card to Kalus so he can load it on a datapad. Standing up she starts out of the cockpit. " Crash, are you alright? We'd better go out and check out the hull. "
As the Captain opens the boarding ramp a rush of thick humid air enters the ship. Giant mushroom stalks stretch up into the sky, towering overhead, their overhanging edges creating a canopy that blocks out much of the planet’s sunlight. Every step on Felucian soil turns up insects and other fungi just beneath the surface. The noise of the jungle is loud and alien, full of the sounds of a hundred insects and animals moving through the mushroom swamps, all part of a living and vibrant ecosystem.
After a little while the Captain meets everyone in the lounge of the ship wiping sweat from her forehead with a rag. " Well, we should be able to get the Banshee operational again, patch the hull up and clear the swamp gunk out of the engines... It's going take some time though, at least a day. Probably longer... "
Taril rushed to the co-pilot's seat to assist O'Keefe as the ship transitioned back into normal space.
Her eyes widened as the huge Star Destroyer filled the space before the ship, but she her hand calmly reached out and made adjustments to help the Captain pilot the ship.
As the ship careened down towards Felucia, she mutters "Uh, oh" when the sound of screeching metal indicated the ship had given up some of itself to the fungal world.
Streching her neck, she joins the others once the ship had stopped .
Seeing the new-comer , she holds out her hand, "Hi, I'm Taril Sha."
"Day's hike to the hunting grounds, which means a day back. Would it take you more than two days to have the ship running?" The togruta looks to O'Keefe expectantly, his mind already working through plans for this outing.
Russel shrugs at the Captain, "We are going to need time to complete the mission but it would be good to have the ship ready in case we need to make a quick getaway..."
Nominated looks up from being sick (and then almost sick again as the Banshee decanted from hyperspace and made its dive planetside).
"Ugh. Better."
Seeing the new-comer , she holds out her hand, "Hi, I'm Taril Sha."
"Ugh. No names. It just breeds attachment." Nomi says to herself as much as anyone else.
She makes to shake hands and notices there's still sick on hers. She tucks it behind her back, smiles vaguely and says: "Nomi. Call me Nomi."
"Well whatever it is we're here for it's a sure bet the Empire knows we're here for it as well. Let's get going and get this over with, shall we?"
Taril's hand remains suspended in the air for a moment, before the Twi'lek pulls it back with wry smile on her face.
Shrugging, she turns to the others, saying in agreement with the newcomer, "She's right, the sooner we get this Admiral the sooner we can go. Oh, and keep an eye out for that Jedi I heard about, he...or she... might be able to help."
She then rushes to her quarters and grabs her gear...
Changing his fancy coat for the camouflage one he purchased, and grimacing as he leaves his hat on the ship, Kalus steps out of the ship and onto the surface of Felucia. The life of the planet seems to hum as he walks a short distance, but the look of disgruntlement on his face says he is incredibly displeased with the situation.
Turning to Captain O'Keefe, he says, "Do your best. If we end up having to make a quick escape back here, maybe we can steal a speeder or something from the Imps."
Looking at their newcomer, he says, "Names may breed attachment, but we'll need to call each other something, Nomi. I'm Kalus."
As Taril talks about help from the Jedi, he groans and says, "Or, we can keep an eye out for the Jedi so we can avoid them and don't have to deal with them walking around, staring down their nose at us, and telling us what to do. They sounds much more pleasant than asking them for help."
Kalus? Nomi's thoughts waft back to stories about the frightening Clone Wars mercenary bounty hunter Callas Grinch.
As Taril talks about help from the Jedi, he groans and says, "Or, we can keep an eye out for the Jedi so we can avoid them and don't have to deal with them walking around, staring down their nose at us, and telling us what to do. They sounds much more pleasant than asking them for help."
"Probably best to avoid the Jedi altogether. Nothing but trouble. Anyone got a spare blaster? And a cup of caf."
"Jedi huh? I never saw one before and after what the Empire did to them I doubt I ever will. Let's get moving and get this over with".
"Agreed--the fewer outsiders and changes to this mission, the better." Avizzi also moves outside, taking in the natural surroundings. Good to be closer to home. Glancing to Nomi, he flicks the safety off on his rifle. "You can call me Avizzi. I have a pistol if you need, but it isn't a blaster."
" Uh, yeah we should have the hull air tight and the engines operational in a day or two... " the Captain says, inspecting some cooling pipes behind a nearby access panel. " Ah, you should take some ration packs from the ships stores. "
Sirona and Crash get some survival supplies out from the ships storage, even managing to find a spare light blaster pistol for Nomi to borrow, and you all begin a long slog through the marshy, fungal terrain.
Thanking Captain O'Keefe for the supplies, Kalus sets out with the others, letting Avizzi take the lead since he seems more comfortable in this environment.
As they trudge through the muck and fungus, Kalus maintains a look of disgruntlement, occasionally muttering under his breath about the ground, fungus, his feet, and everything else associated with their trek through the forest.
Avizzi keeps his slugthrower when the the crew find a spare blaster for Nomi, and begins moving out into the terrain, trying to retain stealth himself while still leading the way for the others. It's quite obvious to look at him that he's comfortable here, though--he moves with confidence and ease, occasionally slipping out of view in his flickering camouflage before turning around to make sure the others are with him.
"Agreed--the fewer outsiders and changes to this mission, the better." Avizzi also moves outside, taking in the natural surroundings. Good to be closer to home. Glancing to Nomi, he flicks the safety off on his rifle. "You can call me Avizzi. I have a pistol if you need, but it isn't a blaster."
"Wow. Well, that's certainly uncivilized." She says looking at the (she would guess) kit-bashed weapon as one might look at a mummified hand.
She accepts the blaster, a glowrod (AKA flashlight), and some food and a canteen of water from the ship's stores.
Taril grabs a couple extra ration packs, eyeing the looming mushrooms that surround the ship.
She really doesn't enjoy their trek, being a city-girl through and through, occasionally jumping out of the way of a large insect, or reaching out for balance, only to bring her hand up from a mushroom, covered in glowing slime.
As with most of the others, Russel looks uncomfortable at best treking through this planet, he mutter sunder his breath, "This is a damn far way from Bothawui..." Other than his brief muttered comment he makes his way without complaint but without much enthusiasm either.
Survival:
Survival:
Survival:
Survival:
Survival:
Survival:
As the party begins the long slog through the jungle of over large mushrooms, lichen and other fungal growths it quickly becomes apparent who is accustomed to such a landscape and who is not. Avizzi feeling comfortable, takes point and begins to lead you all along a twisting path. The first hour of the trip goes smoothly and its seems you're all making good progress but during the 2nd hour the path leads into a large patch of florescent pink fungus that has bright green pods growing from them. Avizzi recognises them and throwing a stone into the large patch shows everyone why it would be to dangerous to cross. The stone hits a couple of pods which explode violently...
The group has to backtrack a fair way before finding another path that looks viable, trekking down this path leads to a large swampy area. Avizzi is about to start crossing the area sticking to the sparse drier areas when Nomi recognises the smell of acid...
After a bit of discussion it's decided the acid swamp would be to dangerous to cross and the group starts circling around it. Once around the swamp Avizzi starts blazing a trail again and the group starts to make good time again.
In the fifth hour of traversing the jungle everyone is starting to get rather weary, and rather sick of some small biting insects you've run into a couple of times when the group comes across a field of decaying mushrooms. The area stinks even worse than the rest of the jungle and Russel notices that the ground feels a little unstable and after a bit more discussion and testing the stability of the ground the group decides to circle this area as well.
The afternoon is getting on when Avizzi finds another path and the party starts to make good time again. After about six hours of walking all up Avizzi estimates the group has made about four and a half hours of actual progress towards the Imperial base when the thick jungle parts into another wide swampy area this time there are no pools of acid however and it looks reasonable safe to cross. A faint mist hangs over the area and the cacophony of noise made by the insects and other wildlife makes it almost impossible to hear the sound of your own feet sloshing through the shallow water. Narrow islands poke out of the swamp here and there, looking like giant stepping stones.
Tall and muscular, these bipedal beings seem to be a members of the native Felucian species. A long, slender form of a rancor’s jawbone juts down from each Felucian’s right hand, and their bodies are barely covered by a leafy loincloth. A tangle of tendrils around their faces makes it impossible to see thier eyes, and the mud and other foliage plastered to their bodies camouflages them against the backdrop of the swamp.
Avizzi continues to forge ahead, rifle in hand. Safer to travel with the occasional discomfort and need to sling it back around than to keep it stowed and have to draw it once danger strikes.
Great, now I'm getting swampy water in my boot? This is just kriffing fantastic. I can't wait to get back to civilization.
Completely miserable in their trek, Kalus is only paying attention to where Avizzi steps, and not to his surroundings.
Russel keeps an eye on the area not knowing what to expect next.
Perception
Great, now the whole jungle is clicking louder than the dang Togruta. All day, click click click. Like a noisy chronometer. Note to self: Never walk into a noisy jungle with a clicking Togruta and a hang-over.
Did that thick bit of shrubby fungus just blink? Is that one holding a club made from some huge predator's jawbone? Is that four of them or am I still seeing double. Kriff, I gotta give up the juice.
"Hold up." Nomi stops raises a barring arm and nods toward the shrubbery. "Company."
"What?" Avizzi turns back to face Nomi, but he does drop into a half-crouch and lowers his voice to a just-audible hiss. "Company? I would have noticed--"
Weary beyond belief and so tired of mushrooms and fungus, Taril slides and slips her way to the edge of the swamp, only to actually run into Nomi's arm.
"What? Why'd you do that?" she asks, before following Nomi's pointed arm , "Who's that? Anybody speak mushroom?"