Kagore feels a flash of anger but supresses it ruthlessly, not wanting to let his emotions get out of hand. "So the other bounty hunter is on his way to the planet as we speak? What type of ship does he fly? How many more men are with him?"
The bounty hunter shrugs. "Dozens? All i know is Parlan issued a sector-wide reward notice for the successful capture of this Adar Talon. Jodo only has 2 others with him at the moment."
Kagore feels a flash of anger but supresses it ruthlessly, not wanting to let his emotions get out of hand. "So the other bounty hunter is on his way to the planet as we speak? What type of ship does he fly? How many more men are with him?"
Gotal listens and does not interfere, Kagore is handling the situation well on his own.
Inwardly he sighs, The Force sometimes eludes my grasp that should have been an easy thing to nudge the mind of this bounty hunter. What I need is a new Master.
"Was there any more specific information about Adar Tallon or where he might be on the planet?" Kagore looked to Gotal thoughtfully as they questioned the bounty hunter. They were going to have a very difficult time searching an entire planet without even knowing what Adar now looked like or why he hasn't contacted the rebellion before now.
Once the hyperdrive accelerator kicks in and the ship is cruising, Rufus leaves the cockpit and joins the others.
"Coordinates are locked in. We're on our way. Did we learn anything else?"
"All I know is we were headed for Mos Eisley, everything else was on a need to know basis and I didn't need to know at the time."
He looks at the three of you cautiously.
"Your gonna let me go when we get there right?"
"We have every intention of letting you go though I think Kagore may be eager to let you go sooner. However, to do so upon our arrival would be unwise would you not agree?"
"We'll drop you off on a remote outpost when everything is done. Its more than you deserve but I won't kill a man in cold blood unlike you bounty hunter scum."
The bounty hunter doesn't say anything else at the last comment.
The ship makes it to it's destination in 1 day as expected per Rufus and twin suns sparkle before you as the star field returns to normal and your ship emerges from hyperspace. These, your nav computer assures you, are Tatoo I and II. Your ship continues closer and a vast planet shines bright as though welcoming you to its parched surface. This is Tatooine, the desert world. Its endless sea of sand blindingly reflects the light of both suns through your ship’s forward viewport.
Rufus kicks in the sublight engines and blinks against the dazzling binary system. Once the viewport polarizes and the spots in his eyes fade, he performs a quick scan to check out the other ships in the system and then contacts Mos Eisley Docking Control for an approach.
Scans show a large number of ships in orbit around the planet, waiting for landing clearance. Many of the ships are armed, none appear to be Imperial though.
Mos Eisley space traffic controller responds to your hail. You hear a male static voice over your comms.
"Please provide ship registration code, previous port and purpose of visit to Mos Eisley."
Kagore whispers to Rufus as he pilots them toward the hive of scum and villainy, "I hope you have a good cover, the bounty hunters might be on the lookout for anyone coming from the place we just left. Or our particular ship. We could pose as bounty hunters perhaps but leave our business vague. It would be an easy enough part to play."
Kagore appears to be fully healed up thanks to the force flowing through his body when you arrive at Tatooine.
Rufus tries to sound bored as he relays, "Transmitting. Alabak's Gold from Bilbringi, here to refuel and resupply."
After a few moments you hear the same voice over the coms.
"You are cleared for landing. Please proceed to Docking Bay 94. Enjoy your stay at Mos Eisley."
"Well now that we are here the question still remains on how to go about finding our man. I think our best bet will be working together, we can watch our backs for these bounty hunters on the trail and try to find a local who might have some info on Adar Tallon."
"Copy that," Rufus responds and then plots the approach.
Swiveling his seat around to Kagore, he leans back in his acceleration chair and thinks. "Sounds good. Though have your credits ready, since I doubt anyone will part with that information for free."
Rufus takes the Alabak's Gold in with the grace of a ballerina and lands next to a an old beat up cloud car.
Mos Eisley Spaceport isn't one large field of runways and docking bays that most of you are use to. Instead, it's a multitude of crater-like launch stations pockmark the wheel-shapped cityscape.
Docking Bay 94 consists of an enormous pit gouged from rocky soil. Stairs leading up into the city, while an entrance ramp provides access for ships with repulsorlift engines. Ships not equipped with repulsorlifts cannot dock in the city, as there is no room to maneuver or land using conventional propulsion units. The shabbily-cut bay is run-down, like the majority of Mos Eisley, its sloping sides crumbling in places.
When the ship touches down a customs officer approaches. The crusty, dust covered male humanoid carries an old-style data pad and blaster pistol.
"Got any Mynocks hiding on your ship? You wouldn’t believe how many Mynocks we’ve had to blast the last few days. Filthy parasites! Some people don’t care what they bring in on the bottom of their ship. What about space mites? I won’t abide any space mites! Might as well check out your holds while I’m here. Open her up!"
Gotal replies to the officer, "Check the outside for Mynocks, I will help you though I doubt we have any".
Gotal looks to Rufus and Kagore and tries to signal to them to stash their prisoner somewhere while he distracts the customs agent.
"Our ship is off-limits. I suggest you mark it cleared inspection." Kagore offers a hand toward the man as if shaking hands.
Rufus rolls his eyes. It's not like they have anything in the ship's holds anyway.
The man looks at Kagore with curious look on his face and see's the credits in his hand.
"This ship is all clear! You have clearance for 5 days. Enjoy your stay."
He pulls out some paper from his sack and hands it Kagore.
"Here is a map of the city. Prefect's dumb idea to present all visitors with such an expensive item."
Rufus looks over Kagore's shoulder at the map. "Paper. How quaint."
He waits for the official to leave. "All right," he says in a low voice underneath the whine of the powering-down engines, "I'd expect some of these bounty hunters to be turning this place upside-down. That's not going to be quiet. Do we want to try to get out ahead of them and search where they haven't, or try to follow after them? Let them do the work for us?"
"We can't rely on them finding Adar before us, he might be killed before we can get to him. We need to figure out where he is and get him off planet before the Relentless arrive. The cantina might be useful but I was thinking about checking out the marketplace and seeing if maybe someone there remembers a man matching Adar's description. Same for the hotels and inns, Adar might have stayed or be staying in one while he is in town." Kagore takes some cloth from the ship and wraps it around the lower part of his face and head hoping to partially obscure his face. The last thing he wants is his name or face to draw unneeded attention their way.
"Shall we split up or stay together? Splitting up is certainly dangerous but we may cover more ground if we do split up. These Bounty Hunters are many and we are few..."
"Where would you go if we split up?"
"Different cantinas, see if anyone has spotted a man with our man's likeness. Using names is probably not wise, that will simply led the Bounty Hunters to us".
"Very well but be careful report back in 3 hours. If you don't check in we will assume you are in need of assistance. I'll take the market and see if anyone there remembers his face."
"I will check the Cantinas, those places tend to be a bit rough for humans..."
"Only for those humans who can't hold their liquor," Rufus quips. "I'll check the hotels, then."
The morning rush is already underway as you exit the docking bay. Humans, numerous Droid models, and aliens of every description move through the crowded streets, concentrating intently on their own business. The pace is hurried for such a backwater world, and not even the blistering heat of the twin suns — not yet full in the sky — can slow it down. Landspeeders roar by, uncomfortably close in these narrow walkways, and swarms of small, rancidsmelling creatures in hooded robes jostle past you. One stops a moment to paw at your shiny blaster. This is Mos Eisley Spaceport, a more wretched hive of scum and villainy you’ll not find elsewhere.
You each head in your own directions to try and find answers...
Kagore - Market
Kagore on your way toward the market you pass by a couple of interesting looking stores. A speedster store, some small creatures called jawa's trying to sell goods and a couple of wolf like aliens selling some general goods.
Rufus - Hotels
Rufus you easily find directions to the Spaceport Hotel Complex and Mos Eisley Inn. The Spaceport Hotel is much closer so you head there first.
The dilapidated inn appears to provide all the comforts that the inner city can offer to weary space travelers — cheap food, semi-private rooms, lumpy beds. The place is crowded. You see a Sullstan at the clerk desk assisting some customers.
Gotal - Cantina
The Cantina is not hard to find. It's located in the oldest section of Mos Eisley. The building lies partially underground to provide some protection from the heat. The dim interior, combined with the brilliantly lit entrance, gives those within the cantina the distinct advantage of seeing newcomers before they see them.
The Cantina is very crowded. There are one-eyed creatures and thousand-eyed, creatures with scales, creatures with fur, and some with skin that seems to ripple and change consistency from moment to moment. Tentacles, claws, and hands wrap around drinking utensils of various sizes and shapes. A steady babble of human and alien tongues fill the room with noise.
The din of the crowd covers the common room like a thick blanket. But above the noise a catchy, infectious beat plays. It is a swinging, upbeat tune, and the alien band belts it out loudly. The bar itself is stocked with many odd-shaped flasks, bottles, beakers, and tubes overflowing with strange and familiar liquids. The bartender is a tall, overweight human who wears a gruff expression.
Kagore will check every place he can in the market but he'll start with the speeder store on the off chance Adar needed transport to or from somewhere. He heads in and strikes up a conversation with the shop owner trying to hint that he is looking for someone by Adar's description that might have been buying or selling.
Gotal will head to the bartender and order whatever the local fare is.
"Barkeep, I was informed that I could find a man out here in Mos Eisley who owed me some credits". Gotal drops the description of Adar.
"Seen a human that looks similar? If not, know anyone around here who pays attention to such things?"
Rufus wanders into the lobby and glances around for signs of security cameras and anything that looks like a log book. Then he waits for the sullustan to finish with the customers.
He leans in once the sullustan has turned his attention to him. "Say, I was wondering if you could do me a solid? I'm almost 100 percent convinced my girl's been meeting up with some guy here. I'm hoping to, you know, get the proof? So I can end it for sure? Can I get a look at your camera footage?"
To sweeten the pot, he shows the clerk a 50-credit chip
Kagore - Market
Your first stop is the speedster store. You see a sign outside "Spaceport Speeders". A quick look and you see it is a repulsor vehicle shop that rents, sells, and buys landspeeders and airspeeders. There are currently only 2 landspeeders avilable, an old Mobquet A-1 and a rebuilt Ubrikkian
When you poke your head in you see three bumbling, rather inept-looking bounty hunters haggle with the shop owner over one of the landspeeders, the old Mobquet.
Gotal - Cantina
The barkeep takes the credits and drops a drink in front of Gotal. It's a vile looking thing and probably taste as bad as it look but the locals seem to like it. He just grunts and walks away from your question.
You can't believe how many people are in this cantina. It's very overcrowded at the moment like there has been a huge influx of visitors lately.
A lobster headed alien sees the drink in front of you and moves up close and he speaks in a raspy voice. "I challenge this newcomer to a Lumguzzling contest!"
The other patrons near you cheer and shout! "Lum! Lum! Lum!"
"Lumguzzling eh? What should I receive should I win such a contest?"
Gotal - Cantina
There are plenty of camera in this particular spaceport hotel.
The Sulstan looks at Rufus with wide eyes and grabs the credits quickly. "You trying to get me fired or worse?" he whispers. "No one but security allowed in the room with the camera." he kind of motions his head toward a door.
A quick look you can easily spot where this "room" is based. There are no security guards outside it at the moment.
"It's 50 credits a night to stay here sir." the Sulstan says to you waiting for a response.
Gotal - Cantina
The lobster head laughs loudly. "A wager then! If you beat me I pay you 50 credits and you drink the Lum for free. If you loose you pay me 25 credits but don't worry about my Lum I drink it regardless!"
The crowd near you goes a bit wild at the challenge.
Rufus nods. "All right."
He looks for a chance to slip into the security room while going through the motions of getting a room for the night.
Kagore will listen and watch the bounty hunter from a short distance away, pretending to be inspecting the other speeder.
Rufus - Hotels
The Sulustan doesn't say anything to you as you move away.
Kagore - Market
You can hear the Bounty Hunters trying to get a lower price on the speedster but the sales man is pushing hard as there are only these left and they are in very high demand with the influx of the others here.
The one female bounty hunter notices you and greets you with a chilling smile but doesn't say anything as she goes back to negotiations.