[IC] Star Wars Saga Edition: Storm Commando Raid

[Varshanka]

Moving towards the shuttle he pulled two of the squad with him, and directed the other two to stay and back up Corporal Tavitri. Moving to the shuttle he kept an eye out for trip wires and sensor’s.
Climbing on crates he looked through the windows and into the cockpit. With no one visible he continued on towards the loading ramp and joined Strhar, giving him a thumbs up he pulled his blaster and tapped the ramp controls, but nothing happened. Shrugging he stepped back, just incase his partner had a code.

@Shovel,
@Lurking Krog

[rush99999]

Vanovar's smile lessened slightly when Vinca responded to his words by slipping briefly into Rodese and then returning to Huttese. The Inquisitor didn't need perfect command of language to know mockery when he heard it. And when Klara fumbled her role in the proceedings, Vanovar's mood soured even further. Vanovar's already clenched teeth began grinding together behind his strained smile as the areas of his cheeks that lay to either side of his nose began to tremor slightly.

After a moment, Vanovar took a breath and massaged his cheeks in the way one might massage ones temples in a time of great consternation. Now was not the time for rash action. Vinca was a possible Rebel or Rebel associate. And while there wasn't anyone of note in the surrounding area, there was the distinct possibility that there were a maximum of 15 passengers in the Rodian's freighter ready to come running at the first sign of trouble. And so Vanovar silenced the reckless demands of his impulses for a moment and listened instead to the much more level-headed assessment of the Force.

OOC

Vanovar uses Search Your Feelings. He rolls a 24 to determine if violence against Vinca will yield favorable or unfavorable results within the immediate future.

[Varshanka]

Stepping back and looking at his partner for a code Twitch looked at the crates laying around. One checking to see what they might be holding based on the markings on the outsides, and two checking to see if anything close by had what could be a code scratched into them.

He wasn’t really hopeful, but damned it never hurt to look right?

After trying a swing at the computer pad himself his eyes shot up and he pulled the blaster to the ready. Shit was about to get serious. Like who puts a one try setting on the alarm???? Smugglers that's who!!! Like seriously, this was why he stayed back and shot people from range.

@Lurking Krog

[mattmanganon]

@Varshanka@Lurking Krog

As Twitch put in a 6 digit code, there was a sudden beeping from around him. Pulling his blaster and looking around, little did he know that there was a small security camera linked to a slave circuit that also happened to be linked to the ships auto-defenses. As the circuit saw the gun being pulled, that was its time to give off a couple of warning shots. A fairly small (By starship standards) Defense gun descended and the shields around the ship automatically raised. The defense gun began shooting wildly around Twitch, None of the bolts actually hitting him, but hopefully enough to scare him off.

The legality of systems like this was... Dubious... But generally the courts didn't care, partially because they were a combination of 3 other perfectly legal systems, but primarily because they only hurt people doing what they shouldn't have been in the first place.

[rush99999]

Vanovar took another steadying breath when his search revealed that violence would not serve him well here. As much as he wanted to punish the Rodian for his mockery, Vanovar knew that shaping Vinca's malleable loyalty into something that would better suit his needs was the better option. The Inquisitor consoled himself with the thought that he could visit his vengeance upon the mouthy merchant later. Pleasant thoughts of unpleasant ends allowed Vanovar to relax his smile and unclench his teeth before speaking once again. "Looks like subtlety is no longer an option." Vanovar said as the coat that the Inquisitor had been wearing slipped off his shoulders despite the fact that Vanovar had not moved in any way to make it do so. "Not that I mind really. Audacity has always been much more entertaining."

Once the coat had fully fallen away, revealing the Inquisitorius lightsaber dangling off his hip, Vanovar raised one of his hands. A moment later, the coat had floated collar first into Vanovar's grasp. The Inquisitor raised his other hand then, causing a pocket on the coat to open and an Inquisitorius ID to float out and move to Vanovar's hand. "Vanovar Pythis. Inquisitor Vanovar Pythis." Vanovar finally introduced himself while displaying his ID to Vinca. "In case you don't know what that means, it means the rebel presence on Hasiki is about to disappear. If you aren't associating with anyone you shouldn't be, you have nothing to fear from me. If you are though, this would be your final opportunity to reconsider which side you are on. In which case, I would suggest you choose wisely. As you would have much to gain from making the right decision."

OOC

Vanovar makes a Persuasion roll of 13 to change Vinca's attitude. He also spends a Force Point to add 1 to the roll for a total of 14.

[MacabreMoth]

'I ought to shoot this Rodian.'

There were a litany of reasons why that was absolutely not the case, but it was moments like these that reminded Klara why she took up piloting over a cushy political office: a proton torpedo dealt with annoyances a lot more effectively than a strongly-worded letter. Without visibly losing her composure, she plucked her military ID off the countertop. It was always best to look at silver linings: now she didn't have to play pretend.

Fortunately for their merchant friend, Inquisitor Pythis caught on faster than her ability to decide whether she wanted to deal with the paperwork for discharging a blaster pistol into a suspect (and the added hassle of digging through the ship's flight and communications records). There was a silent appreciation for the man's sense of theatrics. A subtle show of force was very tasteful, but she wagered the Rodian didn't have the same respect for the aesthetic value of understatement.

"Let's not play too coy now that we're all being honest," Klara piped up. "Mr. Rumen, you look like a reasonable Rodian. I'm sure you understand a reward for assistance leading to a major arrest and a bit of bureaucratic quid pro quo--some wheels greased, some red tape cut, some looks-the-other-way, et cetera--goes a long way in your line of work."

She shrugged.

"Or we could simply waste everyone's time on the song-and-dance of official inquests, paperwork inspections, and freighters impounded under reasonable suspicion."

OOC

Klara uses Aid Another augmented by Rapport, Persuasion 23 vs DC 10 -> Success.

Vanovar adds +4 (Insight Bonus) to his roll for a total of 18.

[mattmanganon]

@Shovel

As Tavitri knocked at the door, there was the sound of clacking from within, before an old R-Series Protocol Droid opened the door. "Greetings, officer." It began in a low, dull, monotoned voice. "I am afraid that Lady Vancil is not here at the moment. But i can take a message if you require to speak with her." The alarm and blaster sounds then began ringing through the streets. "By the maker!" It said in a raised, yet still dull tone, "There appear to be vandals attempting to steal the master's shuttle, i should call the..." It then looked Tavitri up and down. "Oh good, you're here!" If Tavitri didn't know any better, he might think this droid was being sarcastic. But the R-Series was known for being rather dull and unintersting, it's why they were so cheap as far as Protocol droids went. "Please save the master's ship from those ruffians!"

@rush99999@MacabreMoth

Vinca looked the two up and down as they began talking about inquests, inspections, impounds and audits for his stock. "Wow, wow, wow there my good friends, we don't need to get anything like that involved. Vinca's business is ALL above board and Vinca is all about helping serve is beloved and benevolent Empire." He laughed in Huttese. "You tell Vinca how best he can serve Empire and maybe make some of the beurocratic nonsense that serves no one, least of all Vinca, go away and Vinca will tell you anything. Especially if it helps to rid the great Empire of stinky Rebels." He said, continuing his used car salesman routine of playing innocent.

[Lurking Krog]

Ian started to reach for Reanar's and to stop him from touching the control panel on the ship. Before he could the scout marksman had already tested a code and set an alarm off in the ship. Next thing Strhar knew the ship's weapons system activated and fired a few shots at Reanar. Quickly he moved to cover to avoid possibly getting shot.

"Put your blaster away Reanar and get behind something." He shouted, at first it was reflexively in Mandoa. The second time he shouted it in basic. When he had a moment he peered around his position in cover to the control panel to see if it could still be accessed or if the shielding kept it from being further tampered with.

OOC

Rolled a 21 total for perception.

[Varshanka]

"Put your blaster away Reanar and get behind something." Ian shouted.

Like NO SHIT!!! Reanar thought as he ran for cover, but fuck that about putting his weapon away. If smugglers came from the ship he’d just be pulling it out again anyways.

Peeking around the corner he watched the ship, and the area around him just in case. He couldn’t see the pad, and was to far away to touch it anyways.

[rush99999]

From the looks of things, their combined efforts had yielded success. However, Vanovar couldn't say that for certain, since the Rodian was still using Huttese. After going through all of that effort to look impressive though, the Inquisitor didn't enjoy the thought of voicing a reminder of his lacking grasp on alien languages. Fortunately for Vanovar, speaking wasn't as mandatory for him as it was for others. Glancing over at Klara, Vanovar reached out with the Force to establish a telepathic link to her mind. Provided he was allowed to do so, Vanovar would then send a single word through the link.

'Translation?'

[mattmanganon]

@Lurking Krog@Varshanka

As Ian looked out to get a look at the ship. The blaster turret seemed to scan back and forth one last time, before retracting into the ship and the shield dropped again. The defense turret was most likely set to scare rather than kill. Having a security system that shot wildly was one thing, but actually killing people was another thing, one the courts didn't usually approve of too much.

[Varshanka]

@mattmanganon@Lurking Krog

Looking over at Ian, Raenar tapped across the commlink. “So, that’s done. And we’re alive. Sorry. Figured it would have an easy access code. Or at least more than one attempt. Has to be a number he knows and uses well, and often.”
“Only a smuggler would have it set that tight. One failure and get shot at? Gotta be on the raight trail.”

[MacabreMoth]

Klara's eyes narrowed, lips turning up just a touch. The bug-eyed bastard was changing his tune now, wasn't he? It simply went to show that negotiations, like everything in life, was much more fun when you could throw your weight around. Best not to get caught up in the satisfaction, though. Smugglers and politicos were cut from the same, crafty cloth. A healthy level of suspicion was important, especially when he was being so cooperative now.

Suddenly, Klara jolted.

Karabast! What the hell was that? It was like getting a knock on the door, but mentally. It took her a second to register what had just happened: Jedi witchery. Would it kill for him to have given a more thorough warning? Useful as speech without speaking was, she didn't know how to feel about one of her teammates rooting around in her mind with occult powers. Mostly, it was yuck, but she let it pass this time.

The question was valid, though. Vinca wanted to speak Huttese the whole time, which was inconvenient enough for her to know it was likely one of his only options. Had he known how to speak Basic as opposed to simply listening to it, he probably would've done it already. "Well Mr. Rumen, it's great to see that you're deciding to answer some of our questions," Klara repeated for Vanovar's sake in her best cheerful officer voice. "I'm sure we're all glad that an upstanding citizen like yourself is willing to contribute to the well-being of our dear Empire. I suppose you can start by telling us about how you get your 'high quality' merchandise."

[mattmanganon]

@MacabreMoth Vinca nodded furiously as he realized that he was over a barrel. "Of course. Vinca gets his stuff from a man going by name of "Fulcrum" Vinca doesn't know where Fulcrum gets his stuff from. Vinca doesn't WANT to know where Fulcrum gets his stuff from. Vinca just wants to get merchandise for cheap and then move on. He usually delivers his stuff in a YT-2000 freighter, the meeting point is on one of the moons of Pengalan (DM Note: Pengalan is the nearest habited system. Less than a parsec away.)" He said, looking far more terrified than before.

[Lurking Krog]

@Varshanka@Shovel

Once the system deactivated, Ian relaxed some. "Yeah that's done for now. I agree that someone who wasn't trying to hide something would not have the system set that tight.

Corporal Tavitri any luck up there?" He asked over the comms before slowly approaching the controls to see if the ship was completely locked down.

[mattmanganon]

Woops, ignore. Supposed to be in the OOC.

[MacabreMoth]

Huh. That was... surprisingly insightful and straightforward. Almost all of the six core questions were answered in a single sentence. Klara was almost impressed! Sadly, that missing 'when' was quite salient, but she had her own suspicions: "Let me guess: this guy calls you for pick up?"

While Vinca sat on that question, Klara translated the conversation so far on Vanovar's behalf. "...I asked him for a time, but..." She shrugged. She wasn't very hopeful. Worst came to worst, they'd just have to stake out an entire system or cross reference notes from other leads, but maybe the Rodian would show his hand and give them a heads up. "Does Mr. Inquisitor have anything he wishes to inquire?"

[rush99999]

"Hmm..." Vanovar pondered Klara's question for a moment. At first, part of him wanted to just declare that Vinca had outlived his usefulness and act accordingly from there. But that initial idea was set aside pretty quickly when a few more uses for Vinca came to mind. Namely hitching a ride with Vinca the next time he went to meet this Fulcrum character and crash the party. But before committing to that idea, Vanovar had to be sure that Fulcrum was the guy they were looking for. "I do have one inquiry." The Inquisitor said as he recalled a detail that he had picked up when reading reports with Klara. Vanovar turned his gaze on Vinca before continuing. "During your meetings with Fulcrum, have you ever seen him wearing White Duraplast plating over a Navy-Blue space suit?"

[mattmanganon]

@MacabreMoth@rush99999

Vinca continued to seem eager to help his beloved empire, seeming to believe that helping his beloved empire was the only way to continue to breathe within it. "Oh, Vinca has never seen Mr Fulcrum. Mr Fulcrum only uses symbol communicate. Then, he has BIG loader droid move the goods to my ship and i leave. Vinca figures that the less Vinca knows, the better." He groaned. He then took out a holo-communicator he had and showed The symbol he was talking about "If there is a reward for capture of Mr Fulcrum, Vinca will happily set up a meeting."

@Lurking Krog

As Ian called up to Tavitri, he would see the R-Series droid come slowly waddling down to the ship. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, the master will be most upset if those pesky scrappers have been at her ship again." He moaned in his monotonous voice. "Leave the area immediately. The authorities have been called and are on their way you ruffians!" It shook its fist angrily at Ian, not quite seeing him behind the boxes.

[MacabreMoth]

Vinca showed off an unfamiliar symbol. The Rebel Alliance's symbol was red. This one was blue. He could've been trying to take them for fools, but Vinca seemed too excited for profits for that to be the case. If she could not trust a smuggler's character, she could trust his greed. Besides, Klara wasn't the type to judge an organization by the color of their symbol; she would judge them by their activities, which was highly illegal and demanded immediate suppression.

"I'm sure we can arrange for a suitable reward, assuming Mr. or Ms. Fulcrum ends up in our custody." ...Or ashes floating in space, but Klara figured her compatriots would certainly prefer the former to the latter. "Of course, there's a commensurate penalty for wasting Imperial resources, so do keep that in mind."

"We will have to regroup with the rest of our outfit to coordinate before proceeding, but we'll be sure to contact you when we've made the preparations."