A quick check of the local directory turns up the name that Rhijans is looking for, one Jektoo Zaerd, listed as "Dealer in fine used and new vehicles.  Rental also available.  Best rates in Ker Zaineer." together with a location, and a handy map showing where that location lays, on the perimeter of the port.  A holoimage attached to the listing displays a rodian with an open, honest (for a rodian) face.  Presumably Jektoo Zaerd.

Reldan leads R2-O0 out of the ship, the little droid whistling cheerfully as it trundles down the ramp, as others go to fetch whatever they feel they might need for the journey.

Rhijans read through the listing, and gave a soft grunt of satisfaction.  "Well, that was easy.  I like easy."  He didn't add, though the perceptive may have read it in his silence, I just don't like TOO easy...

He'd half-expected the alien's suggestion to be someone with a shady front, though this one looked quite legitimate.  "I dunno," Rhijans commented after a moment's perusal.  "A Rodian, making a legitimate go as a vehicle outlet or cargo hauler?  Goes against their cultural background...at least, what I know of it."  He thought of several 'colleagues' who spawned on Rodia...and had it on good authority that, while they may have been a little more enthusiastic in their pursuits, they were representative of the rule, not the exception, for that world.

"I'd like to talk to him," Rhijans offered.  He didn't know if anyone else found the prospect of negotiating with a Rodian to be of any interest...but he was curious.

"I talked to him," Reldan explains, jerking a thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of his astromech droid, "and he used the computer to explain everything to me.  It turns out he can't really tell us how to recognise the contact in Ker Aldas, or give us a name.  The contact is another droid.  It's been programmed to listen for a specific phrase in Binary, which our R2 will send to every droid it meets.  It sends a nonsense reply, again in Binary, to see if it gets the correct nonsensical response.  Then it will lead that droid to the cache."

"It's a password-response thing designed for droids."

"Clever enough," Jihon says. He folds his upper limbs across his chest. His lower arms rest on his hips casually. "It would only be apparant to very diligent observers, yes."

He lifts his head to consider the Rodan situation.

"All races have common traits, but also exceptions against those traits. It will be interesting to see if this Rodan is an exception or not. My personal philosophy dictates that I treat him as an exception and prepare for him to be share the common traits."

Having done nothing to do but refill her flask, Shard is ready soon enough.  She notes Rhijans' pessimism with a twisted smile, nodding her head.  Take whatever gifts the universe offers on an open palm, kiddo...best be sure you'll get the back of its hand sooner or later.  She shrugs her way through the conversation about the rodian; as she does with most things, Shard will take it as it comes.

Most things.  There are still a couple of groups who automatically earn her emnity.  Imperials being one of them, she considers, flipping up her cloak hood and peering out from within its shadows.

"Pretty sneaky," she agrees with the assessment of the droid's espionage skills.  "C'mon.  Let's move.  We have a lot of ground to cover, and until that imperial leaves, this isn't going to be the safest place for us."  Her mouth twitches into a grimace.  "Mind, I'm interested in the why of the visit myself, now."

Stupid.  Don't get sidetracked, Shard.  But she can't help the curiousity.

"Another droid?" Mark repeated. "Does it know what kinda of droid? Another R2 unit, protocol droid? Heck it might even be a taxi droid for all we know."

Mark Jacobs shook his head slowly. "Well we won't get anything with me complaining here. Let's go find that Rodian and get us some transportation. We may need two vehicles unless they have one large enough to carry all of us, including the droid."

Rhijans shrugged.  "I was planning to inquire about a cargo-hauler, myself.  We ARE supposed to be coming back with a load of power converters, after all.  Something that large should have room for a load of people."  He paused for a moment, then continued, "I don't know about room to ride in comfort...but there should be room."

"Right a cargo hauler. But we might need one or two swoops to screen the bigger slower hauler."

Mark looked over the group silently counting. "There's seven of us. That could give us three in the cargo hauler, and two pairs to ride in swoops for support."

"Uh huh, never judge someone on race alone, assumptions like that can really lead you down the wrong bantha trail."

"As for me on a swoop, noohoo thank you. Might as well ask me to run head-first into a solid wall."

She looks down at her little mouse droid.

"And never underestimate a droid. Right, Wheely?"

Wheely breeps and blurps in return.

Rhijans gave Neary a humorless grin.  "I try to avoid taking anyone at face value.  The fact that this Rodian has a legitimate business, that's apparently socially accepted here, already says he's not typical.  Doesn't mean he doesn't still have typical Rodian tendencies, but at the very least, he shows an ability to be circumspect about them in a way most Rodians can't...or won't...manage.  That makes him very unusual."

Again, he paused, looking down and then looking back up again, an inscrutable expression on his features.  "And possibly very dangerous...just, hopefully, to someone other than us."

"Pass on the swoop," Shard laconically declares.  She lets the others talk as they walk, keeping an eye out for anyone shadowing them.  If someone is, hopefully they're not very good...her eyes aren't quite as sharp as they used to be.

"You're right about the droid," she finally states, breaking back to an earlier point in the conversation.  "Could be anything.  Gotta have a talk with the people who set this up when we get back...there's a limit to this cloak and viblade stuff, where it starts to get a little bit too clunky." 

A need for secrecy, she understands.  But if the Imperials catch them, the position of a droid who knows the location of a cache of power converters is probably a lot less important than something the group already knows - the position of their own rebel cell and its command.

The walk across the port passes without incident and, after a brief detour, caused by a wrong turn, the group find themselves standing in front of an open area, filled with a wide variety of vehicles, ranging from low end swoops, through landspeeders in several price categories, cargo skiffs, ground vehicles of various sizes and designs, up to a couple of hovervans.

As they step closer, they spot a rodian standing in the middle of the lot, talking to a human female.  The woman suddenly starts laughing, and slaps the rodian on the back before turning to walk away, calling back over her shoulder, "Thanks Jektoo.  See you next week."

She walks past the group of rebels, grinning and shaking her head.

Moments later, the rodian spots them and hurries over to greet them.  He hesitates, briefly, at the edge of the lot as he catches sight of R2-O0, and then continues forward as he starts to speak in heavily accented Basic.

"Good day, my frients.  Welcome to Zaerd Tranzpoart.  How can I help hyou this vine day?"

Rhijans stepped forward, figuring since he was the one who got the name, he should take the role of point-man for the group at this point.  "A colleague of mine said we might be able to rent some vehicles from you?  Got some time-sensitive business in Ker Aldas, and since we can't fly in there, I'm looking for alternatives."  It was more information than he really wanted to give, but he also figured that, with a group this size, he needed to provide some kind of explanation for wanting, potentially, multiple vehicles.

Interesting.  Shard keeps well back, allowing Rihjans to talk with the rodian while she observes.  The small hesitation - why would he pause at the sight of such a common droid?  Unless he knows, she considers.  Is it paranoia to suspect?

No.  There's no room for dismissing concerns on a mission.  There is a reason the man hesitated, and she can't simply assume it has nothing to do with the imperials, the rebellion, and their droid.

Shard takes a deep breath, slowly releasing it.  Her headache distant, her weariness gone, she opens her eyes on a clearer vision of the world about her, seeking anomalies, discrepancies.  Anything that might be a warning of a trap.

Shisskurr too fell into the back ranks of the group, and he noticed that Shard did the same. It was a first-response thing with him. Keep back. Observe the exchange unless otherwise required. He had begun to notice that he and the woman shared a few things in common when it came to typical interaction.

The Rodian approached, paused, approached again. A curious thing, that. Perhaps the Rodian was afraid of droids? Shiss struck that idea instantly. He wouldn't have been able to operate a dealership like this without their usage. So: the Rodian may have recognized their R2 unit.

Beside and a bit ahead of him, Shard sighs. Shisskurr blinked. How many of the rest of their group had noticed the Rodian's pause? Probably the lot of them, he figured.

It was only one Rodian... but Shiss would have had a much shorter career if he'd thrown out his universal suspicions before now. He crossed his arms before his chest and awaited the inevitable exchange.

Jihon grins and waves one of hands as the Rodian approaches. If he caught the other's hesitation, he didn't show any sign of it outwardly. He lets Rhijans do the speaking, since that one took the initiative. He hooks one pair of thumbs in his belt. The other pair, he folds across his chest casually. He listens to the conversation while he looks over the delightful collection of vehicles.

"Yes.  Hyou come to right plates.  All here are for for rents or for sales.  Hyou no get beddar deal in all Ker Zaineer."  He looks at R2-O0 again, "Bud I mest tell hyou, I nod trade for droids.  If hyou want to deal, hyou mest bring credits.  Hyou are still interesded?"

A glance back towards the lot, "Ass-hyu-ming hyou has credits, which of they are hyou wanting?"

Rhijans quirked an eyebrow at the mention of trading the droid.  "No worries, we're dealing strictly credits.  The droid serves an important function in our operation, I'm not ready to part company with him just now."  As Zaerd seemed to assume he was the one in charge, he slipped into the role, hoping that Jalt wouldn't take exception to any talk of Rhijans even considering trading his droid.

"I'm not sure quite how large the cargo we're supposed to be hauling is actually going to end up being, but if you've got one available, a medium-sized cargo hauler."  He paused, and then recalled Jacobs' suggestion.

"And a pair of two-seater swoops.  Some of us don't travel well in confined quarters."  He rolled his eyes in feigned frustration with the idea, but made no indication as to which individuals might prefer the swoops to the cargo hauler.  It was a slim chance, but he didn't want to risk the Rodian deciding to bump his rental prices based on who might be piloting and how he might feel about them.  If he didn't know who was driving, they'd get a relatively honest mid-range quote...and might be able to negotiate down from there.

Silently Mark watched Rhijans. Things were progressing nicely. They would secure transport. Pick up the four containers.

Mark scanned the lot and the surrounding area. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, but he tried to see if anyone was paying particular attention to the group.

rolled 7 using 2 dice with the WEG Classic system with rolls of {Wild}3,4. Perception

Jektoo Zaerd raises one hand and waggles a finger from side to side in front of Rhijan's face, "Can nod let hyou take swoops, except if I make hyou special warn-ing.  Air outside cities is nod good.  Tiny seeds.  Hyou breathe, and hyou die.  Nod good for hyou, nod good for I, nod good for business."

"Can only has swoops if hyou say that oper-at-ors will wear breathmasks whole time, and sign legal waifer."

He turns and gestures towards the two largest vehicles on the lot, "I has two very good cargo trans-ports.  One is Trast A-A5.  Very good.  Maked by Ubrikkian.  Other is AEA-500, maked by Tagge.  Is mining vehicle, but can to carry cargo in ore bay.  A-A5 is faster, and bigger.  Carry twice much cargo of other.  AEA-500 has mining laser, which is also weapon, and has armour.  Both sealed."

"Both costs 300 credits each day.  Both can make go to Ker Aldas and comes back tonight.  Swoops, if hyou wants, costs 50 credits each day."

Rhijans carefully kept his expression schooled.  He knew which transport he would choose, left to his own devices, but he didn't feel it was his place to dictate terms to the rest of the group.  To cover for the pause, he turned to Mark.

"You still want the swoops?  You heard him..."  As he thought about it, the larger transport would probably have plenty of room for everyone.  Of course, that put them all together in one conveniently-sized bundle if anything went wrong.

He looked at the rest of the group.  "Your choice, people.  You can risk the claustrophobia in the transport or getting poisoned flying the swoop.  I was always planning on the transport, myself."  He paused, waiting for a response.  Zaerd's price was well within his own credit supply, so he was satisfied with the option.  "You take a swoop, you pay for it on your own, though.  I'm not risking the balance sheet because you're not comfortable sharing close quarters with everyone."

Not that there was any balance sheet to worry about...presumably, the Alliance would be reimbursing them for anything they spent on official business.  But if he was using 'business' as a cover for this, he reasoned that he'd best sound at least remotely business-like.

"As I said, no swoop for me, not even on a soft surface paradise world, thank you very much."

Three hundred.  At least she doesn't have to pay it alone, which is a very good thing.  She walks over to the Trast A-A5 and starts to look it over.  Not that she is an expert but it felt good nevertheless.  Out of habit she notes any suitable spots to place explosives even though that is not exactly on the agenda.

While the transport is sealed she takes comfort in the fact that she has go her mask along, just in case.

Wheely comes up behind her and bleeps and things like a mouse droid do, triggering a chortle from Neary.

"I don't think so, Wheely.  Beside, you'll be fine inside."

Mark shook his head. "I'll pass on the swoop. Didn't know the air was that bad.

"I'll go in the transport." Shard's driving is iffy at the best of times, and she knows cursed well that at some point during the trip there's going to be alcohol.  Not to mention the whole idea of that wonderful air makes me want to throw up.  At least it's not a hell-world.  She hates those.

She eyes the interesting pendant Zaerd wears.  Curious - not the sort of thing one sees every day, certainly not on a used vehicle salesman.  Coughing once to modulate her voice into something a trifle less scratchy, she steps forward and makes a show of peering at the shiny bauble.  "I've never seen a pendant like this before," the older woman murmurs.  "Does it signify anything?"

Jihon raises a hand. "I swoop," he says with a happy grin. "If swoop can carry me, yes?"

He wasn't sure if it would, but anything these fine rebels wanted to avoid sounded like a lot of fun to him.

Jektoo bobs his head cheerfully, "So it comes to a choize for hyou.  One trans-port, or two, and how manys of swoops?"

He pulls a datapad from inside his jacket and starts keying in information.

The rodian stops as Shard questions him, looking puzzled for a moment, until he realises what she's asking.  He holds the medallion up for her to see the design, a planet with two crescent moons positioned so that their horns point towards each other.  "It is symbol of Sect of Greeth.  They teach peace and enlight-tenment to all.  Not manys follow though, or Galaxy would to be beddar plates."

Rhijans quirked an eyebrow in surprise.  A pacifist Rodian? he mused to himself, and then shrugged internally.  The galaxy was a big place, there was room for all sorts of beings.

"I think the Trast should do nicely.  Some of us will probably have to ride in the cargo area, but it's large enough--that shouldn't be a problem.  And one swoop."  He shot an appraising glance over at Jalt.

"That is, assuming you don't want to fly a swoop across the planet too, of course."

He shrugged, and hoped that the cargo wouldn't be too large to haul in the single vehicle.  He wasn't a starship repair specialist, and had no real idea what size power converters would be--or how many of them they were supposed to be picking up.  Rather than worrying himself about it, he reminded himself that Ker Aldas would also have places where one could rent (or beg, borrow, or steal) similar transports...their Alliance contact might even have one already.  He could only do so much with incomplete intel.

Reldan Jalt shrugs as Rhijans does the talking.  Given that they don't know how many power converters they need to bring back, or how they're packed, it makes sense to go for the bigger vehicle.  Even if he would have felt safer in something that could be better defended.

"I might take a swoop, but it depends." he looks at the Rodian, "Do you have any armed swoops?"  It's a long shot, of course, but if there are any dangerous animals on the planet, they might have armed swoops.

"Juzt one swoop with weapon." Jekloo Zaerd confirms, "For that one cost is 70 credits.  Uukablis light swoop.  Fast.  Has two lacer cannons, fire as one.  Hyou want take that?"

"Not many animals on Dateen.  Plant seeds poison them.  Few live though, and can to be dan-ger-ous."

The rodian businessman makes some more entries on his datapad, "Hyou want Trast A-A5, Uukablis swoop, and for he... " he indicates Jihon Mogg, "... best would be Mobquest Zephyr G model.  Can carry slight little more."

"I make special deal for hyou... is just 400 credits all three.  Saves 20 credits.  Hyou will take?"

Interesting.  A religious convert - that might explain Zaerd's outlook on life, rather different than the reputed norm for his race.  Shard isn't one to pigeonhole people based on skin, hair, scales, or horns, but she also knows that reputations tend to play the bell-curve, when they aren't motivated by jealousy.  This Rodian seems to be near one end - in this case, a good thing.  "Interesting," she responds to his explanation. "And good luck with that."  She means it, too - no sarcasm intended.

Peace and enlightenment are fine goals...when they aren't distributed at the tip of a white-hot bar of light.

"Don't mind sitting in the back."  It'll play hell with her back, Shard knows, but better someone with a blaster in the front seat beside the pilot than her.  The little zap-gun she carries would be useless for shooting between vehicles, especially with her own (lack of) skill.  Jalt opts for an armed swoop, Zaerd works out the price.  Shard shrugs.  She could haggle, but the Rebellion will be compensating them for whatever they shell out, and she's not confident enough in the prices to decide if they're being overcharged.

Better to let one of the others handle if, should they so desire.

Rhijans nodded.  "Sounds like a fair enough deal to me."  Truth be told, he had no idea what the going rates were for vehicle rentals, but he also didn't feel there was much time to be dickering over prices.  He was, secretly, relieved that at least one of the vehicles would be armed.  Hand blasters were not always very effective anti-vehicle weapons, though they were better than nothing, but he'd also reasoned that using a mining hauler for a regular cargo run might actually draw more attention that going with a plain, innocuous vehicle.  Sometimes the easiest way to hide is to appear as though there's nothing to hide, he observed to himself.  He'd seen that tactic work several times, both for himself as a hunter and for his targets.

He produced the credits and settled up with Zaerd.  "Everybody get what you need from the ship...might be advisable to get filter masks, all around, but definitely for Mogg and Jalt.  Not planning any stops...but, then again, we weren't planning on landing here in the first place, so..."  He shrugged, letting them fill in the gaps.  One of the reasons he was still here was because he tried to plan for contingencies.  "Let's be ready to go ASAP...I'd like to get there with time to load and get back before we get charged another day's rent on the vehicles."  He sincerely hoped that was the greatest worry they faced, from this point...but he doubted it.

It sounded like his swoop wouldn't have a weapon. He would have preferred one, given a choice, but he found life rarely gave ideal choices from which to be choosing. He nodded his approval. He could still use the swoop to scout or distract or get close to an attacker. His mind swirled with visions of an epic leap from his sweep to an attacking vessel. (It was a fun thought as long as it was only in his imagination. Terrifying, otherwise.)

He patted his pouches. "Have everything. Quite ready."

He fishes his breathmask out of his pouch and readies it.

Mark smiled as plans were made. "I've got a breath mask. If everybody has one, then I can pop the hatch and look around with the macrobinoculars. Or we can let those in the swoops scout for us."

"The sooner we start the sooner we finish.  Got my mask with me."

Neary patted her bag that always and was seen slung over her shoulder and resting against her hip, an old and worn bag that looked older than her.

"Deeh deh du-duh" or words/sounds to that effects comes from Wheely as the little droid zips over to wait at the entrance of the hauler.

[ http://rimearth.net/wheely_talk1.mp3 ]

Rhijans shrugged.  "Looks like everyone planned ahead.  Personally, I'd prefer to travel with the masks off, and I'm sure the swoops are a lot faster than the transport...they can take up a scouting orbit around us, it'll give them a chance to show off a little bit while they're doing something useful."  Even though the smile never made it to his face, the change in his inflection conveyed an almost teasing take on the concept.  "If they see something that warrants a closer look, then we can pop the hatch and pull out the macrobinocs.  I'm sure our new Rodian friend would prefer that we not coat the interior of his transport with poisonous seed grains, so let's keep the doors shut as much as we can."

"I'd also recommend travelling with commlinks open, but a minimum of chatter and all of it as innocuous as possible.  If something takes anyone by surprise, I want to hear about it right away, but we don't want to advertise why we're going in.  A little light-hearted banter wouldn't go amiss, coming in with two of us on swoops."  He paused for a moment, trying to think if there was anything else he was overlooking.

"Breath mask.  Yeah." Shard shakes her head.  "Would be useful, but I don't actually have one."  She crooks a finger at the vehicles' owner.  "Zaerd, you wouldn't happen to have a breath-mask for a human handy, would you?"  She gives a sour grin. "I'd even pay for it - no throwing in free of charge."

A good philosophy is its own reward, and Shard likes to think that the universe gives back.  But sometimes it needs a boot in the rear end.

Jektoo Zaerd, as it turns out, does have a few breathmasks that he is prepared to sell to people.  Even more surprising, considering his species, is the fact that he is prepared to let them go at a perfectly reasonable price, without any haggling.  He is also able to furnish directions to Ker Aldas, at no charge whatsoever, and seems glad to do so for such discerning customers...

About thirty minutes later, having finalised the deal with the honest rodian, and negotiated the Ker Zaineer traffic, the group find themselves passing through the protective shield that covers the city, and out into Dateen's open air.  A broad strip of ferrocrete stretches out before them, the road to Ker Aldas.  To each side dense forests tower above the road, with a canopy of bluish green foliage.  The air is...

Well... some might say that it would take the flip of a credit to decide if the air is more gas than solid.  Falling leaves, flower petals, seeds drifting along beneath clusters of lightweight filaments, clouds of spores, swarms of small flies.  The visibility here at ground level is somewhat restricted by the sheer density of the airborne biomass.

The road seems to rise slightly, which fits in with what Jektoo Zaerd had told them, that there are several ranges of low mountains which must be crossed on the way to Ker Aldas.  In fact, the peaks of the first range are dimly visible through the crowded atmosphere.

A touch on the throttle, and the transport eases up to its maximum speed of 160 kph, running three metres above the road surface.  The swoops match speed and altitude easily, and the trio of vehicles set off for Ker Aldas...

Still familiarizing himself with the controls of the swoop, for he isn't the best of pilots, Mogg eases in behind the transport and keeps a safe distance. He doesn't want to try anything fancy on this trip, not unless the situation calls for something fancy, and he doesn't think it will. Once he does begin to feel comfortable with the controls, he finds he enjoys the ride.

The first thirty kilometres, or so, of gently rising road are fairly straight, which gives the drivers a chance to (re)familiarise themselves with the controls of their respective vehicles.

Those on the swoops soon find that they are better off spending as much time behind the truck as possible, as it reduces the frequency of stinging 160 kph impacts with airborne particles and lifeforms.  As they climb into the cooler air of the first mountain pass, things improve slightly.

For one thing, the insect swarms become less pervasive.  For another, the road starts to wind through a narrow gorge, forcing the vehicles to slow somewhat, thus reducing the force of any impacts.

After a short while, though, the road emerges from the gorge, and begins the long, straight descent into the broad valley which separates this mountain range from the next one.

And it is at precisely this point that a quartet of swoops drop from the cliffs behind them, and start to accelerate after the rebels' vehicles!

OOC: Anything you do from now on will require dice rolls.

Oblivious the current situation, Shard dozes in the back of the transport, pleased there are at least rudimentary passenger areas just ahead of the load space.  Rolling around in the back of the vehicle as it...

...was that sound coming from outside?

Blinking her eyes clear of a slight hangover-fuddlement, she cranes her neck to peer out the nearest window.  Oh.  Well, isn't that just perfect.  Her voice rises, sharp and hard, filling the passenger area and driver's cabin.  "Company.  Four swoops inbound from the rear, and coming at speed." 

It doesn't seem likely they're travelling salespeople.

"You don't think they're just out for a leisurely drive?" Mark replied. He snickered. The air was thick with all the pollen and bugs.

Mark sat in the gunner's seat. He began to power up the weapon. "Someone check the communications console onboard. We need to know if these guys are solo or if they have support. And I hope they're not Imperials."

Mark keyed the comlink. "We got four swoops closing in on us. Get a visual confirmation if they are Imperials or not."

"If they're Imperials we need to see if we can jam all communications. And take them out." Mark said aloud>

"Knew it wasn't going to be easy.  Oh well, time to see what we can do about these visitors then."

Neary sighs and stirs from where she have been half napping and moves over to peer out the window to see what their new escorts look like.

"Hmm, I could drop them a surprise present if we can just pop the door open for a moment."

She digs into her bag and pulls out something that looks to be a bit on the dangerously explosive side.

"Will do."  Reldan responds to Mark.  With a quick glance over his shoulder, he suddenly cuts back on the throttle, dropping the swoop's speed to a comparative standstill.  It's a risky move, sure, one of the new arrivals might run into him (though he's hoping that they're competent enough to avoid that) or his own swoop might simply fall apart under the stress.

But if it works, he'll be a bit closer to the quartet of new arrivals, and maybe even behind them, which will put them in front of his lasers.

OOC: Reldan Jalt rolled 16 using 3 dice and +2 pips with the WEG Classic system with rolls of {Wild}6(+2),1,5. Swoop driving.

Reldan Jalt drops back for a closer look at the newly arrived swoops.  All four swerve, scattering to avoid a collision.  One of them miscalculates - his swoop clips the bole of a tree and disintegrates in a globe of flame.

The other three swing back onto the road, imitating Jalt's speed reduction, and manage to stay out of his line of fire.

One thing he does manage to spot though, is that they don't look like Imperials.  If anything they look like a typical swoop gang - rogues and outlaws who usually try to make a living from crime.

One of them manages to draw a blaster, and squeezes off a shot at the pilot, but he starts a series of erratic manoeuvres, and the blaster bolt misses entirely...

Rhijans shook his head as he heard Mark wondering about the swoop pilots being Imperials.  Maybe local partisans supporting Imperial forces, he mused to himself.  Imperials would be using armed speeder bikes...or just outright assault speeders...

He was pretty sure he wasn't out-flying them...he definitely wasn't outracing them.  He pulled his heavy blaster and laid it next to his seat.  "Someone want to make use of that?  I'm a little occupied at the moment, and I don't think this is strategically the best time to change drivers..."  He supposed there was a chance it'd actually work in their best interests to bunker down and fight it out with the swoops...but until someone actually gave him some reason to fear they were going to shoot him out of the sky, he was going to rely on just getting there, and hoping that Jalt and Mogg could provide some semblance of escort.  He knew the basics to operate repulsorlifts...but he was nobody's fancy flier.  He'd be more use at the controls of a space transport.

Guess I better work on that, he mused.  If they survived, of course.

Having given her hold-out blaster to Mogg before they left, Shard glances forward at the gun on the seat, one eyebrow raised dubiously.  A heavy blaster - not exactly the sort of long-range weapon suitable for this kind of situation.  A regular blaster would be better...  But beggars can't be choosers - it seems likely the rest of the group has weapons of their own, so she carefully makes her way forward to snag the offering.  "Trust me...I'll give it back."

She hates the things.

Moving to the nearest window, she fits her mask into place.  "Everyone have their masks on?" the older woman shouts across the compartment, unwilling to open the window until she gets an affirmative from all and sundry.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Mon 27 Sept 2010.

Mogg isn't confident the weapon Shard gave him will be of effect, but perhaps it might be enough of a distraction to count. He wouldn't worry much about aiming, except that one of their number flew behind him somewhere, so he turned in his seat and fired.

Rhijans snorted softly to himself at Shard's reassurance.  You better believe you will, he thought, but said nothing.  She didn't seem like the sort to lay claim to someone else's property...at least, not if they were still around to claim it themselves.  And if he wasn't, well, then, it didn't matter much who ended up with his blaster.

He gambled a little bit...flying straight and flat-out at top speed, he figured the vehicle wouldn't be too much trouble while he got his filter mask in place.  He hated the things...hated anything that limited his options for action, really, but like most occasions where such options were demanded, he set his distaste aside since the option of not using it pretty much meant death.  "Good to go," he announced.

Mask in place, Mark pulled his blaster and took position opposite Shard. He opened that window and waited. He needed the swoop to get closer in order for him to get a good shot.

Mark didn't wave the blaster out the window, instead he tried to breathe calmly through the mask and waited.

The transport hurtles along the road through the dense forest, now pursued by three swoops.

Rhijans Thanus concentrates on keeping the vehicle over the road, while Shard borrows his blaster and prepares to defend them from the swoops.  Mark Jacobs moves to the opposite side and takes up a similar position.

In a matter of moments, everybody has their masks on, and it is safe to open a window.

Outside, Reldan Jalt focuses on avoiding blaster fire from one of the attacking swoop riders.  Jihon Mogg attempts to do something a little too clever, twisting around to shoot at a swoop which drops in behind him.  The shot goes wildly astray, and the shift in his centre of gravity almost sends his own swoop into the ground.  Fortunately his assailant seems to be almost as inexperienced as Jihon, and almost flies his own swoop into a tree as he tries to shoot at the besalisk.

Back inside the transport there is a loud bang, and a sudden jolt as blaster fire slams into the hull, without doing any serious damage.

"Well, do we keep it a running gun battle?" Rhijans calls back ovr his shoulder, not daring take his attention from the road.  "Or do you want to bunker down and fight it out?"  Every instinct in him screamed that it was time to turn around and shoot the guy who'd shot at him, but he had to remind himself that he was not the only one involved, here, and someone else could end up losing badly if he gave in to his impulses.

Of course, if it so happened that they agreed with his impulses, then he'd have no qualms whatsoever.

"Keep going. We have a destination to reach." The transport shuddered from a sudden impact, eliciting an angry hiss from the Trandoshan.

"Could go two ways. Either we run into enemy reinforcements, or we throw them off our tails." He turned away from Rhijans to get a better look at their opposition and didn't like what he saw. He was ill-equipped for a gunfight at speed, and his teammates weren't that much better off.

Either massive defense or high-accuracy would win the day, here. For the moment, Shiss put his faith into the accuracy of his comrades and Rhijans' piloting skills. With a deep-throated grumble, he too pushed towards the back of the transport, unholstered his heavy blaster and took aim, ochre eyes blazing.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:45, Mon 04 Oct 2010.

Shard eyes Shisskurr's weapon askance, then turns to take aim out the window.  "Didn't one of you shooters bring a long gun?" she shouts over the turbulence from the open windows.  "In my day, shooters carried blasters or carbines, not these cut-down, rancor-piss-range cannons."  She opens fire with the heavy pistol; not being a shooter herself, she hopes to force the opposition into the fire arc of a more accurate collegue.

"What is it, some kind of compensation issue?"

Dark humor brought a smile to Rhijans' face, unseen by everyone else because of the mask and their focus on the threat behind them.  "Hey, I prefer to do my dirty work up-close-and-personal, so I can make sure I'm not shooting any bystanders that didn't ask for it."  Had he known this was going to turn into a shooting match, he would have requisitioned something more appropriate before they left, but the heavy blaster pistol was an old friend and would probably have been his first resort, anyway.

He muttered something under his breath...impossible to know if it was a prayer or a curse...as blaster bolts sailed past him, adding clouds of scorched road-bed to the mass of dust, debris, and insects that they were sailing through.  He fought down the urge to try and dodge the clouds...more likely that he'd crash the speeder than anything being kicked up would be any greater danger than what was already swirling around them.  The grim smile inspired by Shard's question settled onto his features as a stark grimace.

Reldan pulls the swoop into a tight turn, dropping the speed as he does so, and accelerating back towards the swoop whose pilot is shooting at him.  Just for an instant he has a clear shot, and he takes the opportunity to fire a pair of twin laser blasts at the enemy vehicle.

OOC: I hope I did this right.

Reldan Jalt rolled 27 using 6 dice and +2 pips with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 5,5,6,1,{Wild}4,4. Swoop swerve.
Reldan Jalt rolled 20 using 4 dice and +1 pips with the WEG Classic system with rolls of {Wild}6(+2),4,2,5. Blasting away.

"If you'd prefer," Shiss countered, glancing at Shard, ducking his head a bit as a bright bolt spattered against the rear of the transport. "I could throw myself at them."

Good enough to say so... but Shisskurr was actually contemplating just that, in an off-handed way. He loathed long-ranged battles, but was not unfamiliar with them. Though he felt his energy would be better used in a knock-down, drag-out brawl, he wasn't about to leave his comrades hanging - crappy accuracy or not.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:48, Mon 04 Oct 2010.

Satisfied that he doesn't have to hit the riders, just keep them dodging random shots, Jihon continues to pop off shots at the riders behind him. So far, it seems the best tactic considering his experience on a swoop. He tries to keep the swoop facing forward and continuing in a straight line, only making adjustments if he absolutely must.

Jihon Mogg rolled 11 using 2 dice with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 6,{Wild}5. Shooting.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:19, Mon 04 Oct 2010.

Mark fired a shot from his heavy blaster. He shouted to Shard over the noise of the wind buffering against the window. "Rifles cost credits. I hope this job pays enough for me to get one later. But this is all I have for now. I'm not a walking armory."




Mark Jacobs rolled 26 using 6 dice with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 6,3,{Wild}4,4,4,5. Atk w/Blaster.
Mark Jacobs rolled 13 using 5 dice with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 1,3,2,2,{Wild}5. Damage w/Hvy Blaster

Giving up fiddling with the explosive as things turn a bit chaotic outside - blowing up fellow rebels is not on her agenda - Neary pulls out a small blaster from somewhere and takes a shot in the general direction of the would-be ambushers, aiming more to keep them busy and encouraging them to go home or something than to kill with carefully aimed shots.


15 to hit, 14 potential damage.

While Rhijans Thanus concentrates on keeping the transport moving, Shard uses the weapon she has borrowed from him to fire off a seemingly random shot in the rough direction of the pursuers.  The bolt goes far wide of the target, but it does make the rider duck his head reflexively.

The momentary distraction allows Reldan Jalt to line up on that swoop and use his vehicles built-in weaponry.  Twin energy bolts strike the attacking swoop, which immediately slows down as blue sparks dance across the controls and the rider struggles to control it.

Inside the transport, Shisskurr fires at one of the attackers.  He manages to hit, but the angle is wrong, and the blaster bolt is deflected away, leaving nothing but a scorch mark on the vehicle.

Nobody could be more surprised than Jihon Mogg (with the possible exception of his target) when the besalisk actually manages to score a hit with his borrowed gun.  The blaster bolt ricochets off the swoop's motor, and something burns, causing the swoop to slow suddenly.

Mark Jacobs takes the opportunity to squeeze off a shot at the remaining undamaged swoop.  he succeeds in hitting it, and the vehicle starts to veer erratically, as the rider frantically starts adjusting controls.

Neary also fires at the same target, and its loss of control becomes critical as her blaster takes out a stabiliser vane.  The rider is forced to slow down to a crawl, leaving only two swoops in the chase, both of them damaged and barely able to keep up with the transport.

But at least they seem to have stopped shooting at the transport for the moment.

"But you had to - HA! Nice one, Thanus! - had to get the big gun, didn't you, Jacobs?  Couldn't bear to get the more reasonable, longer-ranged pistol, right?"  Shard laughs - with amusement, not mockery - as she lines up on one of their pursuers, taking careful aim.  Her eyes narrow and she slowly lets out a long breath.

"Well don't feel badly...everyone else did the same."

Her focus narrows down to a single point as she tracks the pursuing swoops.

Not shooting right now...no need to kill anyone...but if they start firing, let's see what this blunderbluss can do.

Rhijans noticed the lack of incoming fire, as well as the momentary lull of outgoing blaster bolts from their own craft.  "We still have our pair on our tail?" he asked, without slowing the speeder at all.  He still didn't dare take his eyes off the road, as he had no idea if someone was about to start shooting again and if they did, he wanted to make sure he was focused on holding his course.

Reldan brings the Swoop back around, not caring about the opposition for the moment.  They seem to have lost a little speed anyway, and will probably start to drop back now.

Instead he wants to concentrate on catching up with the transport, just in case there are any surprises up ahead.  He hunches down, and opens up the throttle.

Reldan Jalt rolled 33 using 7 dice and +2 pips with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 1,6,4,5,5,{Wild}4,6. Swoop piloting.

"I hit one," Jihon cries, waving the holdout pistol in the air. "How does one imagine that?"

Since the pursuers were dropping back, he also leans forward slightly and accelerates, trying to squeeze every last bit of speed from the craft.

Mark closed the window as the other swoops backed off. "Yeah, they backed off." He holstered his blaster.

<blue>"Well let's see if we can make it to the city out any more incidents."

The last of the swoops drop back, giving up the pursuit now that they realise their target is well defended.

Reldan Jalt and Jihon Mogg take up positions alongside the transport, doubtless feeling confident in their ability to fend off any further attacks which might come.

Inside the vehicle, it's just a matter of closing the windows and purging the atmosphere, and the crew and passengers can start taking off their masks.

The trio of vehicle continue along the road to Ker Aldas, which descends into a broad valley before starting to climb again towards the next range of low mountains.  The dense forest continues to each side of the road, and the air is still thick with seeds, pollen, spores and flying creatures.

As they crest the pass over the second range, several large gas filled bladders appear, drifting along on the wind just a short distance overhead.  Long tendrils trail below them, brushing the treetops.

"Oh, now what is this new strangeness?" Rhijans mused aloud.  He grabbed his commlink.

"You two may want to drop in low behind me, catch my slipstream," he commented.  He was pretty sure he could keep the transport below the treetop level, and hopefully any wind blowing around from his passing would blow the dangling tendrils clear so the swoops didn't wind up tangled (or strangled) by the...whatever those were.

Craning his neck to make out what the giant bladders might be, Jihon nods and decides to get behind the transport. If things turned bad in some way, he could be in trouble trying to pilot the swoop creatively.

Jihon Mogg rolled 8 using 4 dice and +1 pips with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 3,1,1,{Wild}2. piloting.

Mark stood next to Rhijans as he piloted the craft. "What do you make of those things? Maybe some sort of air jelly instead of jellyfish."


Mark Jacobs rolled 1 (5 excluding the wild die) using 3 dice with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 3,1,{Wild}1. Knowledge(General)

Whoot on that knowledge check!

Rhijans shrugged.  "Never seen anything like it.  Not real eager to find out whether or not they eat transport speeders or swoops, though.  I figure if we stay below the tendrils, we should be okay...doesn't look to be anything on them that passes for eyes, hopefully they don't see a big tasty morsel they want to reach for."  He paused, turning a calculating eye on them.

"But keep the blasters ready, just in case."

Shard ambles up to the front, fingers itching for her flask, and sets the blaster down beside its owner.  "Only got one shot off, so we don't need to worry much about the power cell..."  Leaning forward, she stares out the window at the gasbags.  They bring back immediate, unpleasant memories.  "Floaters," she mutters.

Clapping a hand on Rhijans' shoulder, she nods along with his thoughts.  "Yeah, keep your distance - lateral if you can.  They look like...something I met on a hellworld, a long, long time ago.  Probably not the same thing, but they're predators - the tentacles give it away.  Float along, silent and invisible - not too many animals think to look up."  She narrows her eyes, struggling to see.  "Don't know if blasters would do any good on them, at least the ones we have.  Unless the gas is explosive.  And if they're like the other floaters I met...no."

"Anyone got a set of macrobinocs?  I'd like to take a closer look without going closer..."

Mark reach for his belt and opened a small compartment. "Here." He pulled out a pair of macrobinoculars.

"Great, great, thanks." Taking the macrobinoculars, Shard squints through them, dialing up the magnification to study the first the gasbag of the nearest creature, then the tentacles, then area connecting the two sections.  "Let's see what we can see," she murmurs.

"It's probably nothing, but the cursed floaters I met beforehad some nasty tricks up their non-existent sleeves."  Her free hand clenches for a moment.  "Like, shooting back."

Rhijans grimaced.  Lateral distance? he mused silently.  Keeping a close eye on the road, and gauging the closing distance to the newly-identified floaters, he replied, "The swoops would be fine getting off the laid-out road here...but I'm not real crazy about testing the repulsors on this thing over unknown terrain.  Not to mention my less-than-stellar driving skills..."

He shook his head, and reminded himself again that he really should learn more about repulsor operation.

The great gas bags drift along on the wind.  The tendrils drag across the treetops, slowing the drift slightly.  The things show no sign that they have any control over their movement.  Nor do they have any obvious sensory apparatus.

"Lucky," Shard mutters.  "They should be fine to fly under.  I don't see any signs of predatory activity, or...other things I was worried about." She chuckles, handing the macrobinoculars back to Jacobs.  "Some of them even have moss growing on them." 

It's a relief.  Got shot at, but that's all.  Nobody choked on the spores, the gasbags aren't serious.  "Only thing we have to worry about is those guys waiting for us with friends when we come back."  Slipping back into pessimism comes all-too easily for Shard.

Mark returned the macrobinoculars to his pouch. "Well let's keep a sharp eye out."

He patted Rhijan's shoulder. "Steady as she goes."

---

One they make it pass the gasbags, Mark will check to see if Rhijan needs a rest from driving. If he doesn't, Mark will take a nap.

With no apparent threat, Rhijans settled for adjusting the hover height of the repulsors so the vehicle was a scant quarter-meter off the roadway.  He did his best to ignore the lump rising in his throat as he kept reminding himself that it only looked like they were actually dragging on the ground.  He'd have actually preferred to fly lower, just for his own sense of security, but given a choice between potentially snagging on one of the gasbags, or potentially plowing into the roadbed, he preferred to take his chances with the gasbags.

He eased off the throttle just a bit, trying to use slower speed to replace some of the peace of mind he was losing over the ride height, and held his course steady.

The convoy makes it past the gas bags with no difficulty.  Which is, perhaps just as well.  As they start their descent from the top of the pass, the lower ground ahead of them looks to be some sort of meeting ground for the huge floating organisms...

And so the journey goes on, a series of low ranges divided by broad valleys, and the road winding its way across them, but generally maintaining the same overall direction.  Gradually the sun swings across the sky, and at about mid-afternoon they encounter a cargo skiff travelling in the opposite direction, loaded down with containers.

A brief exchange of messages as the skiff passes, a question about the weather and road conditions, and then they are gone...

Eventually, after climbing another range, they cross the pass to see the familiar forested lowlands below them.  But this time there is a city down there, protected by an energy field.

Ker Aldas.

"Well, there it is.  Now, if we can just find our contact, load the converters, and make it back through...with no complications...we should have a really good day."  There was an edge to his tone that indicated he was NOT expecting things to go that smoothly.

He called into his commlink, "So, Jalt...does your droid know where we're going?"

"Let's do the obvious things while we're here." Mark replied as Rhijan called to Jalt over the comlink.

"I hope that whoever planned this mission would have the other droid where ours would meet it. They tried to hide the fact by masking it between two droids."

Jihon smiled as the city came into his view. After the rush of the ambush had faded, he had quickly discovered that swoops were not designed with comfort in mind. He had found himself envious of Shard tucked inside the transport with him stuck on the swoop with a tiny pistil for defense. It hadn't been the farest of arrangements, he decided, but he also knew that he had chosen the arrangement, so he had no one to blame. He would remember next time to consider the length of the journey in such decisions.

Though, in thinking about it, the inside of the transport didn't seem to offer much more comfort.

Sometimes, one couldn't avoid misery. The thought made him smile.

"I believe the contact will be hanging round at the port." Reldan replies over the comm, as he shifts his position in the saddle of his swoop.  "They'd be expecting us to come in there, so it makes sense."

"We need to remember, though, that just because we got here safely doesn't mean we're safe.  The place might be swarming with stormtroopers, or something, so we need to be careful."

Rhijans gave a soft snort and rolled his eyes before keying the commlink open.  "Right.  Nobody does anything stupid.  We're just free traders coming in to pick up a cargo."

They should probably not go directly to the starport, Rhijans reasoned.  Two swoops and an empty transport full of people--several of whom are well-armed--would attract all kinds of attention if the Empire had the port blockaded for the security of some VIP.

"There's got to be some kind of cargo transfer center near the starport," he said aloud, raising his voice so that everyone in the transport could hear him and hopefully realize he was addressing them, as well as keeping the commlink open.  "Anyone have any leads on where that would be?  That'd be the most natural place for us to be arriving, in terms of looking innocuous to the Imperials."

"Hang on a moment."  Shard reaches past the two men, popping open the small storage compartment and pulling out a soft-plas map.  "Rental vehicle," she mutters, waving it before opening it.

"Don't know if this thing has it listed, but it's a good start...yeah, place will be lousy with security.  I guess we just have to make do." She chuckles. "Despite all the massive blasters everyone is carting about.  One time, we were out with a guy who insisted on lugging around a repeator - a light one, but still.  Massive fellow, from Twix three.  Poor Garan.  He came to a bad end, but at least he got a chance to use that monstrosity...."

As she rambles, Shard searches the port for any sign of a common loading dock.

As with Ker Zaineer, the space port at Ker Aldas lays close to the edge of the city, about a third of the way around the perimeter from where the road enters the city, and is covered by an energy barrier which keeps out the vast majority of the local seeds and spores, while allowing ships to pass through with a minimum of inconvenience.

As if to confirm that latter point, a ship takes off as they watch, climbing rapidly into the sky.  A quick check with the macrobinoculars reveals it to be an Lambda class shuttle.  A sure sign, if one were needed, that Imperials are about.

Shard studies the map carefully as the vehicle starts the descent towards the city.

"Yeah, I got one," Shard mutters, spreading the soft-plas map over the dash.  "See here -"  Her index finger indicates a spot on the edge of the port.  "That's a customs area.  So we're golden if we find that." She scratches her head for a moment, and the finger wavers over the map before steadying.  "Near as I can tell, we're about here."

Leaning back, she peers out the windows. "Assuming I have the map right-side up with regards to us, of course."

Rhijans boosted the speeder's altitude to its maximum and dropped the speed just a little bit before glancing at the map.  If something goes wrong, I want the most time possible to react to it, he told himself.

He checked around the perimeter of the map, for an indication of the road they were currently travelling.  With only two starports on the planet, there couldn't be that many major thoroughfares running around, especially with such a hostile atmosphere.

"Looks right to me," he ventured.  "How's your navigation?  Once we get into the city, I'm not exactly going to have time to look at the map."

The little convoy enters the city.  Everybody experiences a brief tingling and a scratchiness across their whole body as they pass through the energy barrier, and then they are inside, and the air is clear again.

The streets, however, are crowded.  Traffic forces them to slow down considerably, as they wend their way through the city towards the space port.  There are a few stormtroopers about, but they don't seem to be stopping traffic or pedestrians, though the latter do seem to be going out of their way to avoid the troopers, where possible.

A tall structure is ahead of them, holodisplays indicating that it is a medical facility.  A quick check of the map indicates that there is such a building close to their destination, so it looks like they're heading in the right direction...

Unfortunately there seem to be a lot more 'troopers near the medical structure, and they seem to be directing traffic away from it.

This message was deleted by the player at 01:14, Thu 04 Nov 2010.

As the three vehicles get close to the medical centre, on their way to the cargo terminal, a squad of stormtroopers step out into the road and flags them down.  Though the Imperial troops are all obviously armed, their blasters aren't actually pointed at anybody, or anything.

The one who had signalled them to stop approaches the transport...

The Trandoshan made a noise, a hissing-spitting grumble that felt more agitated than it sounded. It sounded murderous.

He blinked once as he heard the all-too-familiar sound of a muffled Imperial voice over a helmeted commlink. "Nngh. Hope we have a good cover story."

Rhijans shrugged.  "Of course we do.  We were supposed to pick up a shipment and had to divert due to the spaceport closure.  They don't need to know who we were shipping for..."

He was curious to see what the reaction to him would be.  Depending on just where in the Empire various individuals originated, he'd noticed that he either got standard treatment (being humanoid), or disdain (being gray-skinned, and therefore not 'truly' human).  But he slowed the speeder to a halt.  Last he checked, his IPKC license was still valid, so he had little to lose.

Following the transport on his swoop, Jihon paused behind it and waited, curious to see what the storm troopers wanted with them. He smiled at the irony if they were to need a ride to the port.

Mark stayed in his seat. He tried to look uninterested in this security checkpoint. But he was wound up tight inside.

The trooper approaches the transport, and signals for somebody to open a window.  Behind him the rest of the squad simply waits.

"You can't come through this way.  You'll have to go around."  He indicates that Rhijans should take a left turn, "Go that way for two grids, then continue to your destination."

A quick check of the map indicates that it might be just possible to follow the directions they have just been given, and still get to their intended destination, provided the exclusion zone does not include the gate to the cargo terminal.

Rhijans nodded to the stormtrooper.  "Left two grids and on around...got it."  Without further comment, he moved the transport off in the indicated direction.  As far as he was concerned, part of their mission was to avoid Imperial attention...though it might not hurt to look for a little information.  Once he was on a straight course again, he grabbed his commlink.

"Hey, Jalt...Mogg...how do you guys feel about doing a little hot-shotting on those swoops?  Get enough altitude to maybe see what's going on that we're supposed to miss?"  He figured odds were good that someone would come investigate right away...but two swoops playing tag with each other would get a much less hostile response than a lone craft.  Might even just be overlooked in the chaos, if they were lucky...

Jihon sits upright and cranes his neck to see where the Stormtrooper is gesturing. From the look of it, they're being diverted, but he isn't sure how far off course they're to go. All he can do is try to stay close to the transport. The others will probably update him as soon as they can.

"You might let a few of us out. We can ask a few questions and meet up with you later." Mark smiled and looked around the transport.

"Who is interested?"

"I'm game, Jacobs," Shard notes.  The trip has been rather stressful, and she's tired of sitting on her rear.  Shooting a gun out the window hadn't helped that, not at all.  "They sure don't need everyone to hunt for the droid, and it'd be a good idea to get the lay of the land."

Definitely a good idea.  Too many ops had been spoiled in the past due to assumptions.

"Afraid my ride won't go over about ten metres off the ground." Reldan Jalt rplies over the comms, "So I don't think it'll be much use for that sort of recon."

Privately, he isn't so sure they should be talking on an open channel about recon missions and the like in a city that's swarming with Impies.  He pulls the swoop around to follow the transport, giving the stormtrooper a wave and a cheerful grin as he swings past.  Anything to look like he has nothing to hide.

Rhijans waited until his detour had taken him out of line-of-sight from the stormtrooper who'd given them the instructions, and eased the speeder to one side of the street.  "Have fun window-shopping," he commented drily, but a hint of a smile was on his face.  "If you decide to pick anything up, make sure it isn't going to take up too much space...or time.  I don't want to get saddled with another day's rental on this thing."

Shiss turned his eyes to Mark. "Sounds like my type of work."

He prepared himself accordingly and moved to follow Shard and Mark on their way into the city.