Loud and obnoxious dug... Mirax found herself hard pressed to think of a dug that didn't fit that description. "Thanks for the info," she replied.  "I'd love to keep playing, but I have a schedule to keep, I'm afraid.  Enjoy your game, fellas."  With that, Mirax stood to leave.  Before she did though, she tossed another 100 credits into the center, as a bonus to whoever won the next hand.  Then she headed off to find the indicated Dug in the podrace section.

In reply to Mirax Bey (msg #110):

[Private to Mirax Bey: You see only one Dug at the pod races and it's the one currently slurring and making everyone uncomfortable, more so than Claire normally could. ;)]

[Private to GM: He had put another 10 credit chip on the bar.]

Kal's face momentarily showed confusion at the information he had received. Perhaps the Dug was Pugwis' co-pilot, as General Madine had stated that Pugwis is a Duros. Kal nodded amiably at the bar keep, and said quietly with a faint smile, "Thanks, you'll get this if you're right" before he walked over toward the indicated Dug.

As luck would have it, by the time Kal got to the Dug, two gorgeous women were flanking him as well. Kal smiled at Mirax and Claire before looking at the Dug. "So, what do we have here, ladies?" Kal asked, gesturing toward their loud and obnoxious friend.

Mi continued to keep to the darker recesses of the bar but moved to support his allies if they should need it.    His eyes kept flicking around the room looking for a response to the others approaching the Dug.  His hands clenched in the heavily padded gloves that he always wore, ready for anything that might happen.


15:11, Today: Mi Truev rolled 21 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 15. perception

[Private to Power of the Darkside: Do you want me to reroll the stealth check also since I'm still trying to be unnoticed?  or just keep using the one I made till I step out of the shadows?]

In reply to Mi Truev (msg #113):

[Private to Mi Truev: I'll keep using the same one until you decide to 'step out'. ]

"That's kind of a tough call.", Claire responded to the Dug's claims.  "A Duro would have the technical mind to handle a four-engine racer.  But a Dug has the reflexes and the gotta-win aggressive attitude.  I'd put money on the Dug, but only if he's in a fast, two-engine racer."

Turning to look back at the two Duros, she tells them a little lie, "That's just what I told Pugwis.  Now that guy owes me money on that bet."  She then watches the two Duros to see their reaction.  If one of them is Pugwis, she hopes he will tip his hand by denying that any such conversation and bet took place.

Mirax, rather than approach immediately as was her original plan, decided to stand back.  It seemed Claire, through sheer luck alone, had managed to find the right person to talk to before them.  Mirax waited with Kal, watching to see if the bounty hunter's gambit worked, and Pugwis stepped forward.

At the mention of Pugwis, the Dug's ears ferret up, "Fraid he's left the esshtablishmment, he did... but if you want yer credshh, hheee's not gona want to shheee you. Hheee's got a job, ya shee, an hhee's not shhtoping fer anything til the cargo getsh in hisssh posssessssion... heeeeeheeee..." The dug waves his mug around Claire's nose to emphasise his punctuation, or his point.

"You want to bet on the next rasshhe?" he finally asks as he turns his attention back at the screen, "bettings bout to shtart again... heeeheee... An my Clan nearly destroyed those bi-podzz... geeeee we're cleaning up..!! Haa!"

Kal smiled at the podrace loving Dug. "Funny you should mention a job, because he's taken a job from my boss, and we're supposed to be leaving with Pugwis quite soon. Can you show us where he's docked so that we can stop wasting valuable time?"

"Sssure you do, and ssso doshh the bounty-hunter chick who says that hhee owes her credzz," the Dug waves airily, his eyes peeled on the vid-screen. "Ahh.. shhhee now? Raashes about to shhtart, if ya wants extra credzzz, ya shhhould bet on Toorrin... number 53... he's in that beatle-bug quad... harrr."

Kal shrugged and kept his voice lowered. "Well, if you don't want to help Pugwis out, that's between you and him. I've enough friends around that I can find where the Black Comet is berthed anyway. Given the short amount of time before we're supposed to board, I think we'd better be on our way."

Unless the Dug has any information he wants to share, Kal is going to find a dark corner where he can put on his hands-free comlink, activate his pocket scrambler, and get someone in RMI working on locating the Black Comet for him. (He will subvocalize so no one around him knows who he's calling or what he's saying)

"Oh!! You must be the Republic agents we're taking with us to..." the inebriated dug suddenly exclaims as he puts two and two together, causing several heads turn in your direction.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:47, Mon 31 Jan 2011.

Kal laughed easily at the mention of 'Republic Agents' before putting an arm around the Dug. "Such a comedian! Yeah, we're apparently riding with you on the Black Comet. And we need to get moving soon, too. How far is it to the hangar?"

Mirax raised an eyebrow at the casual mention of their status as Republic Agents - not because of merely that, but because she had not been described as a Jedi.  Either that hadn't been mentioned, or he purposely left it out.  Either option was amusing, but regardless, what mattered was that they had found their man.  Now though, Mirax just let Kal do the talking - he seemed to have things under control.

"You hear that, Kal?  Even a drunken Dug can spot you out as a Republic Agent.  You must have that kind of look about you.  We'll need to change your looks.  Fortunately, I can help you out there.", says Claire.  When she's finished talking, she cracks her knuckles.  And by cracking her knuckles, she makes the implication that she doesn't intend to change his looks by gentle means.

Kal's jovial facade didn't falter, but he briefly wondered exactly what this nameless bounty hunter knew about his skill with disguises. He winked at Claire, and then fixed her with a meaningful look, smile never wavering, "I love you too, babydoll. What say we blow this joint, yeah? I think a couple of wagging tongues may have made this...general area...slightly more dangerous than it otherwise could have been."

Kal gestured for the exit, and tried to herd the group towards it so that they could get to Pugwis and the hanger quickly. And avoid any unfortunate entanglements.

The Dug grumbles as Kal waves towards the door. "Hey now... just one nanosecond... there's no rush, our flight permit has us leaving at 0900 standard hours tomorrow morning. Besides, I'm making a killing at these races. Sit, relax... get some fun time while you can... place some bets... have a few drinks..." he says as he waves over one of the serving girls.

Kal's normally well-controlled features betrayed some surprise at the Dug's suggested timing. He shook his head, "Negative, negative, we were instructed to leave under the cover of darkness tonight. And I'm pretty sure I can get your permitted exit window adjusted to an earlier time."  Kal took a look at the podracing screen and the inebriated Dug. "But I'm guessing you've already got some money riding on this race, so I think we can wait for one more to finish before we leave. Which racer are you wagering on, and what sort of odds are you getting?"

"Put the fists away, butch, he's cooperating," Mirax said to Claire, letting Kal deal with the Dug and the issue of waiting until the next day.  Crossing her arms, she made it appear that she was in a hurry, which was true.  It was her best input to the conversation, considering if she spoke up, she would only be repeating what Kal said.

Claire opens her fists.  Apparently, no one had gotten her sense of humor.  So she lights upon some other statement that perks her sense of humor.  If anyone, she had expected the Dug to appreciate her sense of humor.  "Blow this joint?  I'm sorry.  I hadn't expected this jig would require explosives, otherwise I would have brought some.  Besides, wagging tongues is hardly a reason, I think, to blow a place up.  Now if there was more danger than wagging tongues... Well then explosives would be an extreme option... To a different bounty hunter.  I usually take jobs where I have to bring the mark in alive, not in tiny smoldering pieces.", she replies to Kal.

The dug thanks you and tells you that he's betting on his clan member Toorrin... number 53 before turning to whisper in the serving girl's ear, giving her a few hundred credits in the process. She smiles and hurries off, "NEXT ROUND'S ON ME FELLAS!" The mood in the Rodian's Kiss lightens up considerably as ale flows to every table.

During the next annoying hour, the party witnesses an odd event. In the middle of a story, the Dug is interrupted by a very soft spoken Trandoshan who plies him with questions.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:33, Fri 04 Feb 2011.

The normally unflappable Kal is both peeved and nervous at the delay. He'd like to wring the Dug's neck, but instead smiled at him. "If you're betting on number 53 then I'll join you. I'll root with you for your...clansmember. Surely it will be invigorating." Kal smiled and plopped himself right down next the Dug and asked various question about the sentient he was now backing with his credits.

Mirax was not so open, nor was she so intent on keeping their schedule.  While she didn't join in the gambling, she did order herself a drink.  Despite the implications of her nature as a Jedi, Mirax was quite good at holding her liquor, partially due to how much she enjoyed it to begin with.  So, drink in hand, Mirax took a seat nearby, leaning back so she had a good view of the races.  She had often wondered what it would be like to fly a podracer... perhaps she would have to try it someday.  So enraptured with her drink and the races, Mirax did not notice the trandoshan.

Although Claire takes a professonal's interest in all sorts of sports betting, it isn't something she herself bets on.  Watching the sport and hedging your own bets is one thing.  Laying down Credits in a wager is quite another.  She has seen too many people bet their lives away... literally.  Too often she has been hired to collect on bets, and though enforcing for loan sharks and bookies is a disrespectful way for a bountyhunter to make a living, it does bring in the Creds when things are tight.

Though Claire's interest in Podracing is transitory at best.  She acts interested because the Dug is interested.  The sport had speed, and usually messy crashes.  But it lacked the intentional violence of Dosh Battle Ball; sometimes referred to as a "droid demolition derby".  That of course was an inadequate way to describe it.  How Claire wished for the good old days before droids were invented.  The stadium floors used to be drenched in blood.  But the fatality rate was a little too high for a sport that would be considered legal under Republic law.

The Transdoshan face is something Claire does notice.  To her it is nice to see a "familiar" face.  Having grown up on the Dosh homeworld, she feels out of place as evident by her misinterpretations of Kal's figures of speech.  So Claire listens intently to the Transdoshan welcoming any chance to hear her native Dosh spoken.

In reply to Claire de la Croix (msg #133):

[Private to Claire de la Croix: The Dosh asks the dug if he'd be willing to take another 1-ton "shipment" to Koshibal for "the buyer", but the dug vehemently refuses, claiming that it's too risky to work for "your boss" and that "Pugwis will never do that again." Despite much protests and pleading.] After what seems to be a small heated exchange, the dug waves off the Trandoshan, who pulls up a bar-stool, orders a strong drink, and sits there, looking dejected.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:54, Sun 06 Feb 2011.