“Um…” Mr. Marius mumbles, while adjusting his shirt collar as if he's just a little warm. “Yeah, that would be a good idea.” He reaches into his pocket, pulls out Maya’s datapad, and carefully hands it over to Ailith. “Would you be kind enough to provide Ansic and Gareth a layout of deep storage bay V14 and its surroundings before trying to get any information on Switch? I’d like a couple of prepared”, Mr. Marius grins in Gareth’s direction, “exits in case the negotiations do not go as well as I hope.”
Mr. Marius looks at Corvus and Kael. “On my home world, the only Jedi I had ever heard of were nothing more than alternative healers who ran their own hospice, mostly for the poor. I happen to know that they were also quite valued behind the scenes as mediators to various secret and/or sensitive negotiations. Have either of you received training as either a healer or, better yet, mediator?”
Kael Shrugs at Mr Marius' question and his eyes trail off"Unfortunately as a Youngling raised during the clone wars, the Republic, and therefore the Jedi council placed more value on our lightsaber than our healing or negotiating." There is a tone of bitterness in his voice. He smiles in an attempt to cover it up and turns to his fellow Jedi"But I can't speak for Corvus."
Corvus frowns at Kael's words but her neutral expression quickly returns.
"Our training covers many facets but we were both Padawan. My Master was a skilled negotiator - but I am not him." As she speaks the last sentence, her voice betrays her sadness.
"Our knowledge of the Force always ensures we are more perceptive than the average person - and this is an admirable trait in any negotiations. Plus, those we counsel are never quite sure what we can tell from our use of the Force.
I have a wide range of knowledge that never hurt to check if someone is telling the full truth and therefore may be useful. And I would say that I was above average at treating the injured. As you point out, however, that does not make me a doctor."
"Statement: this unit has been trained in negotiation skills useful to defusing hostile situations before violence is necessary. This unit is also equpped with a translation unit designed to translate over 40 million forms of communication. Conjecture: Perhaps this unit may be of use in resolving situations of a delicate nature?"
Ailith accepts Maya's datapad with a nod and quickly scans through the information already up, looking over the directions to the storage bay and scanning for any map or information on the layout of deep storage bays on the station.
Ailith accepts Maya's datapad with a nod and quickly scans through the information already up, looking over the directions to the storage bay and scanning for any map or information on the layout of deep storage bays on the station.
Ailith's fingers slide over the datapad once she's connected it to one of the nearby information terminals. After a few moments the datapad pops up a warning notifying the user that bay V14 is on a level that is off limits to non-Imperial personnel. With a few keystrokes the datapad begins pulling up more information. Bay V14 is in a section of the station that has been quarantined for over a year and a half, yet no maintenance requests have been made for repairs to that section. Additionally, the terminal reveals that deep storage bay V14 is located along one of the station’s primary exhaust systems, meaning that exhaust conduits should be running right through the storage bay. Ailith ends her session by pulling up a map of V14 but unfortunately the only entrance/exit to V14 is located down an isolated hallway. (The exhaust shafts within V14 lead straight to the station's central reactor core and that approach would expose one to lethal radiation, not to mention that the exhaust shafts were not designed for climbing up/down.)
"Statement: this unit has been trained in negotiation skills useful to defusing hostile situations before violence is necessary. This unit is also equipped with a translation unit designed to translate over 40 million forms of communication. Conjecture: Perhaps this unit may be of use in resolving situations of a delicate nature?"
Mr. Marius turns and looks HK-22 over from head to toe as he thinks back to everything he’s heard HK-22 say...
"Threatening Statement: EAT HOT LASER STUNNING DEATH FLESH POTS!"
"Introductory Statement: this unit is designated HK-22, freelance operations. Query: Where are all you fleshbags going?"
"Statement: Jedi, you look familiar. Query: Did this unit ever stun you and knock you into a ravine?"
"Statement: this unit trained many Jedi in stealth, ambush tactics and small group warfare. This unit finds you familiar. Conjecture: perhaps all fleshy Jedi types look the same?"
Perception check:
"Statement: total meatbag termination achieved in 45.7 seconds. Conjecture: perhaps if I killed all the alien fleshbags in alphabetic order? Statement: total meatbag termination in 47.3 seconds."
"Statement: this unit is programmed for tracking, apprehension and termination of hostile flesh bags."
His brow scrunches up in a brief look of worry and concern intermingled with just the tiniest amount of horror, “Um, right… Okay… Perhaps you could stand quietly behind our spokesma… person during the negotiations, just in case they needs a… um… translator… OR… in case they have need of someone sturdy with your… um… other considerable talents and training.”
Ailith's small smile disappeared as she poked away at the system, making inquiries about Deep Storage Bay V14, then turned to a frown and a furrowed brow. Finally she sighed and reached into a pocket, pulling out her own data chip and data pad. She took a screen shot of the map she got of storage bay and transferred the chip to her own datapad, nodding to herself as she confirmed the information had transferred safely. Then she looked around the room.
"I have bad news and worse news," she announced. "The bad news is, Storage Bay V14 is in a section of the station that is under quarantine. Has been for over a year and a half. Yet no maintenance requests have been made for that area in that time. The entire section is off limits to all but Imperial personnel. The even worse news is that V14 only has one entrace, and it's quite a ways down an isolated hallway. There is no alternate exit shown here unless we have some rather powerful protection from radiation poisoning - the station's primary exhaust system's conduits run through the bay." Ailith's lekku twitched as she stared at the screen, running possibilities through her mind. With a final twitch of frustration Ailith snapped her head up to look around the room and reached out to hand Maya's datapad back to Marius.
"I don't know, this looks bad to me. I'd like to go out and look into Switch - see if I can pick up any nuggets of information without attracting too much attention. The fact that this is restricted to Imperial personnel makes me suspect our friend is working with Imperials. If that's the case, this meeting could turn very ugly very quickly. If we could get some trooper armor, some of us could disguise ourselves and maybe act as if we belong." She reached up touched her head. "I'll never get a helmet on, of course - but I could come along disguised as...well, as 'diversion'. There are too many variables, though. What do all of you think?" Ailith looked around the room.
Ansic isn't so comfortable with droids anyway, it is hard to share that empathy he has with most beings with the robotic folk, but his mind seems to run much the same way that Marius' does. "HK, you indicated that you are capable of negotiation before violence is necessary, but are the negotiations you are skilled at conducted peacefully?"
The Gran will then look to Ailith and nods his head, considering. "There is another possibility I suppose. Often times criminal elements will pay off law enforcement to leave them be. If that area of the station has been sealed off from normal traffic, but it has been so long that the reasons are clearly fake, then maybe the local agents have been paid off in some way to leave those areas alone? There are sadly many officials which are susceptible to bribery. I do agree with you, though, that moving to learn more about Switch will be to our benefit. Whether the only entrance is guarded by imperials or some criminal element we need to be aware of what is ahead of us. If you have skills at picking up this information, it would be greatly appreciated."
"Reassuring statement: Oh yes, meatbags, this unit is committed to ensuring peace. This unit only resorts to violence when all other avenues have been thoroughly explored and exhausted. This unit simply performs such calculations quicker than fleshy brains allow."
Ailith's lekku twitched as she stared at the screen, running possibilities through her mind. With a final twitch of frustration Ailith snapped her head up to look around the room and reached out to hand Maya's datapad back to Marius.
As Ailith looks up, Mr. Marius blushes and drops his eyes downward. When the datapad enters his vision, he looks back up and while carefully taking it from Ailith, fumbles a smile at her. "Er, um... Thank you."
"I don't know, this looks bad to me. I'd like to go out and look into Switch - see if I can pick up any nuggets of information without attracting too much attention. The fact that this is restricted to Imperial personnel makes me suspect our friend is working with Imperials. If that's the case, this meeting could turn very ugly very quickly. If we could get some trooper armor, some of us could disguise ourselves and maybe act as if we belong." She reached up touched her head. "I'll never get a helmet on, of course - but I could come...
Deep in thought, Mr. Marius looks from Ailith to the two Jedi. ”Corvus? Kael? Are either of you Engineers or Mechanics? If not, perhaps you’d like to keep Ailith company while she digs up what she can on this ‘Switch’ person? At the very least, I’d envy the chance to stretch your legs. Is anyone else an Engineer or Mechanic? How about you Mr.?” Mr. Marius says as he smiles and steps in front of the human male cleaning his blaster rifle.
"Mechanics are not my thing, but I'd be happy to accompany Ailith."
Corvus smiles at Ailith at this point.
"As would I." Kael states with a smile glancing over at Ailith and Corvus.
I'll wait until Ailith, Corvus, and Kael walk out of the room. Then I'm going to check the datapad for the type of quarantine and the size of the station's primary exhaust system's conduits that run through Storage Bay V14. I will even go so far as to hooking it up to a data port to get the information.
Use Computer check
** spoiler omitted **
Mr. Marius:
Step 1: Find a vacant room next to the same conduit we want to use. Cut a hole in the conduit using some of those fancy plasma torches half the party seems to be carrying around. Slap a patch on/in it with a hatch. Take 20 wielding a seal.
Step 2: Find a used escape pod we can cut up and rebuild inside the conduit. A stripped down escape pod would cost as little at 400 credits.
A. An escape pod is only 4.5-meters to a side and can hold 8 medium creatures. Easily able to carry the entire party and still be within the 8-meter by 8-meter limitation.
B. Yeah, yeah... The person doing it would need to be immune to radiation and have mechanics... But aren't droids immune to radiation? As long as he has mechanics, we can take 20 on putting the escape pod back together inside the conduit.
Step 3: Have the HK-22 fly the escape pod up to the area we might need an emergency exit from. Have him seal to the conduit wall; plant a homing device, and a circular charge... Then wait for if/when we need the emergency exit.
Usage: When or if the need arises, the circular charge goes off. The floor/roof drops to the floor of the escape pod. Everyone jumps in and we leave. As we leave, the fools attacking us get slapped with radiation. When we arrive at our hatch, everyone gets out... And we go on our merry way.
So... Is this something we can actually do in a fairly limited time frame...
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
After getting Rogen's introduction...
While waiting for two or three of the remaining party members to say they are an engineer or mechanic...
And while waiting for Ailith, Corvus, and Kael to... leave, find information about this Switch fellow, and return...
I'm going to try to check to plug my own datapad in and do some online querying myself.
I'll start looking within the various online databases (like Craig's List, Ebay, Freecycle, used car... Er... used starship dealers, etc.) for a bare bones escape pod or two. Shouldn't be too hard to find since I imagine the people I'm getting them from WANT to get rid of them. Might as well start pricing them now.
Gather Information or Use Computer (both are +7):
I’ll also start looking for vacancies that are adjacent to the conduit. Preferably something rentable for a couple of days or maybe a week for pretty cheap.
Gather Information or Use Computer (both are +7):
My goal here is to take this from plan to something executable by the time Ailith, Corvus, and Kael get back.
"Statement: this unit grows weary with planning. Demanding statement: let's get started!"
"Very well, I'll do what I can to find out something about this Switch character," Ailith said, looking at the two Jedi that offered to accompany her. "I would be pleased to have your company, of course."
Ailith put her long coat back on and tugged at it a bit to hide the bulges of weaponry underneath as best she could. The heavy blaster couldn't really be hidden, and she didn't even try. One obvious weapon seemed to be necessary in order for her to be taken seriously here, and Ailith was nothing if not adaptable.
"If you have any suggestions, I will be happy to follow them. Otherwise I thought I'd frequent some of the local drinking and gambling establishments and see if I can gather any local news on Switch - or maybe that closed down section by the deep storage on the station."
Corvus tags along with Aitlith, happy to go wherever she is led. She follows Ailith's lead and looks to see what information she can gather, whilst being aware of her surroundings - especially for any formal security.
Kael follows his new Twilek companion and his old Jedi ally. Making small talk along with the other two in an attempt to find information about Switch, as well as keeping an eye out for any authority, or anyone taking notice of the trio asking about Switch.
Perception
Gather Info
Despite the fact that storage bay V14 is in a quarantined zone, a large number of aliens are often seen going into that zone. Rumor has it that the aliens operate some kind of criminal organization out of that section of the station, and that a contingent of Gamorreans is always on guard near the deep storage bay. Switch appears to be the leader of this criminal organization and is whispered to have many contacts in the criminal underworld outside the station that placed him in his position of power. Further investigation and the sliding of credits reveals that since the quarantine was put into place, the station manager has been taking bribes to keep it that way. The bribes are delivered to the manager on a monthly basis by an unsavory-looking Twi’lek, and though the Empire doesn’t like it, the local security forces ensure that Imperials never get too close to the quarantined areas.
No one you question however is willing to tell you any details about what Switch looks like or who he/she may be. Only that Switch's information is always trustworthy and worth the price.
Mr. Marius:
Gareth squeezes into an unoccupied corner of the room and begins checking over his equiptment. "Does anyone here have skills as a slicer?" he asks. "The Imps are looking for us I'm sure, so where ever we go, we need to blind the sensors."
After the initial questioning he will converge once more with Corvus and Ailith."I suggest we try to find out more about the unsavory Twilek that was mentioned. Perhaps if we talk with him we could get a little more information on who he's working for."
Gather info
After the initial questioning he will converge once more with Corvus and Ailith."I suggest we try to find out more about the unsavory Twilek that was mentioned. Perhaps if we talk with him we could get a little more information on who he's working for."
Gather info
1d20+2
Corvus appears a little lost. She was used to her Master asking her advice from time to time, but this is the first time she's been in such a situation where she is expected to take part of the lead.
She breathes deeply and her body stiffens noticeably. "Agreed. I don't want to go back to the others with what we have so far. There's a lot more to be found out if we just ask the right questions."
Mr. Marius:
** spoiler omitted **
Mr. Marius:
Corvus/Kael:
No one that you talk to has any information on the Twilek other than that he delivers bribe money to the station manager.
I’ll copy Plan C into Maya's datapad and copy the contents of her datapad into my own. I’ll swap out datapads and leave hers searching for any other escape pods available and for any low use rooms (like supply closets, warehouses, etc) adjacent to the conduit.
I’ll use a force point for this too.
Now, let's see if someone takes the bait.
Leaving the datapad plugged in, I stand and stretch.
“So much for Plan C. It’d require at least one Mechanic and a droid, and probably someone good with Demolitions. I think that leaves us short one Mechanic. Oh how I would have loved to have recorded their faces as we made our getaway.”
“Anyways… Gareth, would you care to accompany me to my quarters? I have a few possessions to pick up in case some one else becomes injured.”
I walk out of the room, waiting long enough to find out Gareth's decision and then walk back to my room.
Gareth nods his agreement and stands to join Mr.Marius. Automatically he assumes a postition three steps behind the medic.
As the others fan out to each take on their jobs, Ansic suddenly finds himself left alone with the droid and their new host. He will glance at HK and give a bit of an uncomfortable clearing of his throat before looking at the woman again. "So, Maya, can you tell us anymore about this situation we find ourselves in? You mentioned trying to get us some sort of way out of here. Can you give a bit more detail, so we know just what our escape plan may be?"
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Hello all
Long time no see. I wanted to make a formal apology for my absence.
Things were terribly hectic for me over the holidays and after that I ended up having some computer problems and apart from that I've simply neglected my pbp responsibilities.
I had tons of fun in this game and it makes me proud to participate in a game that included such great roleplayers.
If you'd have me I'd love to come back as Kael.
If you decline than I certainly understand and I wish you all happy gaming.
-MM
Hello all
Long time no see. I wanted to make a formal apology for my absence.
Things were terribly hectic for me over the holidays and after that I ended up having some computer problems and apart from that I've simply neglected my pbp responsibilities.
I had tons of fun in this game and it makes me proud to participate in a game that included such great roleplayers.
If you'd have me I'd love to come back as Kael.
If you decline than I certainly understand and I wish you all happy gaming.-MM
Kael - we haven't heard from the GM since before Christmas, so there may not be a game to come back to.