Rhijans forced himself to take a deep breath, and on the surface, at least, he seemed to calm.  Those who'd been around him a little longer would recognize the assumed calm, a habit developed out of necessity, a way of appearing innocuous to a target that would pick out someone who looked ready for action.

He turned his back to one of the cargo containers, and leaned against it with a nonchalance that he didn't feel, examining the toes of his boots as he let his ears, and situational awareness, play across the surroundings that his eyes would too eagerly survey.

There was no good reason to be so antsy, he reminded himself.  The droid had done exactly what it had been told to do, their contact was still safely anonymous...

One of the nagging annoyances in the back of his mind clarified, and he looked over at Jalt.  "Don't suppose you've seen a bill of lading for this floating around anywhere, have you?  I mean, it's an innocuous enough cargo, but still...if we get stopped, it'd be a welcome relief to have even a forged shipping manifest to show them."

"I was hoping not to having to knock myself out with one of these."

Neary grins and moves up to take control of the sled.

"Thank any way, saves me some walking and time.  Have fun now!"

She begins to lead the sled back towards where the cargo is, trying once more to look inconspicuous just in case.

"I haven't, no."  Reldan Jalt replies as he crouches to examine the cases.

"That's not a problem though.  The Bantha's got a few places that Imperials will never see the inside of.  What is a problem is that power converters and ion condensers aren't the same thing at all."

He stands up and opens one of the crates to take a look inside.

Reldan opens up one of the cargo containers, digs around in the packaging, and pulls out a carton, about fifty centimetres long by ten high and wide.  It bears an image of a metal cylinder, studded with connection points and indicator telltales (most of them glowing a cheerful green, even though the illustrated object is not connected to anything), and the words, "EMCA Products RN-457 Power Converter Module x1 - Handle with care".

From the way he handles the carton, it looks heavy.

A few minutes later, Neary returns with a repulsorlift cargo sled in tow.  The sled is yellow, with garish hazard markings all over it, and has, "Property of Ker Aldas Spaceport.  N^o 178." stencilled in several places on its surface.  It looks to have seen a lot of use.

The controls appear simple enough and, while it clearly has power for the repulsorlift units, it is just as clearly designed to actually be propelled by muscle alone.

Rhijans glanced up from the object Jalt was inspecting as Neary arrived with the sled.  "Well, so much for the manifest," he muttered.  "Wouldn't exactly help us with a mislabeled cargo."  He grimaced slightly.  This was getting complicated, and he didn't like complicated.

Still, he reasoned, ion condensers (whatever they were) were probably a more innocuous item to be shipping than power converters.  At least, I think so...  It stood to reason that power converters would be relatively specific to ship classes...so hauling a cargo of them that was clearly labeled as belonging to a class of ships the Empire would frown on was probably a bad idea.

He started thinking ahead...What's the cover story?  He'd survived as long as he had in a business with a high attrition rate by planning for the contingencies.  "So, just what are ion condensers used for, anyway?" he asked Jalt.  He looked from the sled to the containers, unsure just what the proper protocol for loading these things would be, and not wanting to give up their cover to any surveying eyes by trying to do it wrong.

"Condensing ion would be my guess," Neary says with a teasing smile and moves the sled up to the first of the crates.  "So, let's get these crates onto this here sled and then get out of here.  Unless you are busy enjoying the scenery?"

Reldan Jalt slides the carton back into the crate, chuckling at Neary's explanation.  "I think it's some kind of factory machinery.  Nothing to do with starships, in any case."

He pushes against the crate, testing its weight before attempting to shift it onto the cargo sled.

Rhijans shrugged, after having deadpanned Neary's joke.  It was an obvious answer, and under different circumstances, he might have made the same joke.  And while he wasn't accustomed to having a team to work with, he was very good about not inflicting his stress on those around him.

"Where do you need me?" he asked, and moved according to the directions he received, trying to get the cargo loaded as smoothly as possible.  Part of him was still worried about getting stuck with an extra day's rental fees, and most of the rest of him was just nervous about the proximity of so many Imperials that were apparently on alert for something.  The sooner they left Ker Aldas behind, the happier he'd be.

It doesn't take long to load the sled, and even less time to adjust the lift modules.  Then it's just a matter of pushing it along.  With no surface friction to contend with, it moves easily, gliding through the tunnels.

The two droids follow behind, engaged in some sort of deep and meaningful conversation.

All seems to be going smoothly.

To smoothly.

As they ascend the ramp, the rebels discover the worrying sight of a squad of stormtroopers questioning people in the main area of the building.  And they are currently just a few metres from where the transport and the swoops are parked.

Rhijans grimaced and rubbed his forehead.  He knew things had been going too smoothly...

"Hold back a little bit...I'm going to go see if they're asking about us or just asking about," he muttered, and stepped ahead of the group, increasing his pace to a not-quite-strident pace to put some room between him and the sled.  Just in case...

His mind raced to come up with some cover story, just in case their transport was the focus of the questions being asked...and within moments he had something.  It wouldn't necessarily keep them out of trouble, but it should be plausible enough to get him past any inquiries with little more than a scolding and a note on his record.  In his business, notes on records were merely a sign that you were working...a lot of his kind tended to straddle the line between lawful and illegal, and most of the time, the Empire didn't quite turn a blind eye...but definitely gave a more liberal interpretation of 'legal' than many others would get.

He slowed down as he approached the group of stormtroopers, trying to get some kind of handle on what kind of questions they were asking.  There was no need to give up any information about himself, if they were just asking around.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:34, Tue 14 Dec 2010.

"Be my guest, Rhijans.  Just try not to get too close if they are indeed looking for us," Neary says quietly and holds back with the sled while she awaits any further report or development.

Rhijans gets closer to the stormtroopers, and one of them glances in his direction, briefly, before returning his attention to where a human male and female are being questioned by his lieutenant.

"No sir." replies the man, "We haven't seen anybody matching that description."

The woman nods, "Hardly seen any aliens all day.  Seems like they're mostly staying out of sight, for some reason."

"Be sure to find the nearest squad and report it immediately, if you do see her." the lieutenant instructs them, "Do not approach her yourself."

Rhijans gave an invisible sigh of relief.  The troopers were after some alien 'she'...and in Imperial circles, even though both Neary and he were not 'standard' humans, they were generally regarded as 'human' in general parlance.  Didn't seem as though they were the target of the inquiry.

He turned back to Jalt and Neary, waving them forward with a nod toward the transport.  In the off-chance that they did, somehow, draw the troopers' attention, Rhijans could always make the claim that they were just hired workers to avoid any closer scrutiny.

Watching Rhijans as he went ahead Neary glances sideways at Jalt and then starts to move forward again.  Hopefully they will get out of here no problem but she can only assume they aren't the rebels these troopers are looking for.

Nevertheless she pulls her hood up again, knowing that while the troopers might ignore her sometimes her looks, combined with the reputation her race have got, causes some men to "want to get to know her".  It is hard sometimes to not leave an exploding item in their pants just for the heck of it.

The team move forward, towards their vehicle, followed now by just one droid.  R2-O0's contact seems to have gotten lost somewhere.  They pass the troopers, still hauling their consignment of contraband starfighter parts with them.  The troopers turn away from the people they are questioning, and catch sight of the rebels, now only a couple of metres from their transport.

"You there, with the cargo sled.  Stop where you are."

So close, and yet so far...
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:33, Mon 20 Dec 2010.

Rhijans halted in his tracks, and turned to face the troopers.  "Yes, sir," he replied, in an even tone.  "Anything we can do to help?"  The weight of his IPKC registration in his vest pocket was reassuring, but he wasn't going to bother with it unless and until someone demanded it.  Thus far, it just looked like routine questions were being asked...about something that probably wasn't routine, granted, but nobody else in the cargo area had been singled out for extraordinary attention.

He'd keep his fingers crossed that they would prove no different.  Just in case, however, he started marking in his mind the number and location of Imperial troops in the area.  He certainly didn't want to try fighting their way out of here...but if it could be done quickly enough to stop anyone from calling reinforcements, he wasn't totally averse to the idea, either.

Neary sighs, but it is not really noticeable.  Figures that they will not get away without at least having been harassed by the stormies.  Regular and predictable as clockwork, those white troopers.

She remains under her hood and simply stands there, allowing "Mr. Grey" to deal with them.  But in case things go sour she prepares herself mentally to help diminish the amount of troops on this planet.

The stormtrooper glances at Jihon Mogg, his expression, of course, completely unreadable.  Then he looks back to Rhijan, "Have you seen any aliens anywhere around here today?  Where searching for a twi'lek female, a dangerous criminal."

The other troopers fan out a little, while still keeping a careful watch on the people they are questioning.  As usual, their blasters are not quite pointing at anybody...

Rhijans grinned slightly, nodding back at Mogg.  "You mean, aside from the one I'm travelling with?  No...especially not a Twi'lek.  Think I'd remember seeing that."  He made a mental note...Twi'lek...drawing all kinds of Imperial attention...either incredibly dangerous, or just incredibly dangerous to the Empire.  Either way, he didn't plan on calling the troops if he saw her.  If it was the latter, there were people he knew who would really want to see her.

And if it was the former?  Well...he didn't have time to get involved in a side venture.  Especially if he didn't know, for sure, someone was willing to pay for delivery.  Best to stay focused on the task at hand.

None of this showed on his face, however, as he shrugged.  "I'll keep my eyes open, though."  Don't overplay it, he reminded himself.  In this part of the city, he was quite certain stormtroopers were accustomed to grudging cooperation.  They interfered with business.

"If you do see her, be sure to find the nearest squad and report it immediately." the trooper replies, after giving Jihon Mogg another quick once-over, probably measuring him up against the description of the dangerous twi'lek criminal that he's hunting for.

"You can go about your business."  And he turns away, directing his squad towards a group of humans making their way across the chamber.

Rhijans nodded, and continued toward the transport with a gesture to the others to accompany him, waiting for the troopers to move off in some other direction before saying anything to the rest of the group.

"Let's get these things loaded and get the hell out of town before anyone decides they want to make an inspection of our cargo.  If they're out asking around after a specific individual, down here, it's only a matter of time until they either find her, or start looking more actively.  If they get to the point of closer scrutiny, I'd rather be one of those 'we shoulda checked them' statistics.  Might be able to come up with some story about why our ion condenser containers have power converters, but I really don't feel like finding out if they'll buy it."

He stepped up to the transport and yanked the door open to facilitate loading.

"Aw, spoilsport."

Neary taunts Rhijans in a playful manner as she assists in getting the cargo moved.

Such a relief and such a disappointment to not be wanted by the troopers.  They will have to give the Empire a reason to look for them, it seems.  But not here and now, wouldn't want to take attention away from their current hunt.

The rebels start moving the cargo into the transport, though Rhijans pauses briefly to speak to somebody over the commlink.

In a matter of minutes the containers are aboard, and the vehicle is powering up ready to move out.  Reldan and Jihon Mogg move across to the two swoops and start their preparations for departure.

The stormtroopers seem to be keeping themselves busy questioning people on the far side of the area, and don't show the slightest sign that they have any intention of investigating the transport and its crew any further.

This is good, Jihon thinks to himself. He is careful with the controls, knowing how dangerous the swoops can be, but he has a little more confidence now that he has a few hours time with the vehicle--including a combat.

The transport seemed ready to go, and its cargo was on board and ready. Everything seemed in order, so there was nothing to worry about--which is why he couldn't shake feeling a little worried. He scratched at his brow-ridge as he looked around, wondering if they had forgotten anything.

Rhijans settled back into the driver's seat of the transport.  Even after several hours there, it still felt foreign to him, but he knew he didn't have time to dwell on it at the moment.

"Call those guys and see if they're ready to go, yet.  I want to make tracks out of town before the troopers decide to start searching vehicles, instead of just asking questions."  There was a low thrum as the repulsors powered up, and he began navigating slowly toward the exit.  The trick, he told himself, was to be just cautious enough...driving too tentatively would draw attention, but so would actually hitting someone.

And he also didn't want to wind up outside, sitting and waiting for the others to get back.  That would DEFINITELY attract attention...better to be too slow in here, or maybe pull off just at the edge of the cargo transfer yard and wait.

But if their luck held, he wouldn't need to wait at all, just pause long enough for everyone to climb in.  Preferably when the troops were looking some other direction, so they didn't ask about the three newcomers.