The Droid straightened slightly at the barked word and regarded the Clone trooper before she spoke. "Of course, Sir."

   She followed the line of where the Trooper was pointing and saw the stun cuffs. With her usual trademarked shuffle, she made her way over to where they were and picked them up, giving them a cursory glance before she turned and moved to where the bodyguard was.

   When she arrived at where the bodyguard was, she uttered a quick "Excuse me, Sir." before she reached for the wrists and crossing them, then slid the binders over and watched them click closed.

   The shouting of the Human drew her attention and she turned the singular crimson sensor in the bearded man's direction. "Oh, dear ..."

Den nervously looks around the room, expecting to see more droids to show up. "Well, we can sort this out later. We still haven't figured out if there's another way out of here. Do you know of another way out of this wretched place?"

  The old Chadra-fan replied to Den in a squeaky voice, as he pointed to the opening, "That's what we were working.." He was interrupted by the bearded human again. "I said, SHUT UP! Both of you!"

  The Bith woman interjected, "Stop it, Flaist. The general has been defeated. There is no reason not to cooperate."

  The man shook his head violently. "So what, we still have a ship out there with more Separatist droids and men. This is only temporary. Do your duty and keep quiet."

Leaving the lightsaber at his belt, the Miraluka spread his arms wide to show he meant no harm as he approached, the ends of the purple cloth that was tied around the space where his eyes should be swaying as he did so.

"She is correct, the General has been defeated," Tarrin began.  "And his bodyguard has been apprehended and will be brought to the courts to face his crimes."

Gesturing to his robes and the lightsaber hilt attached to his belt, he continued.  "We are Jedi.  I see that you are aware that there was a ship with Separatist droids outside.  What you may not be aware of is the fact that we destroyed quite a few of them on our way into these caves, and that we are not alone.  We have a full contingent of clone troopers and a gunship at the very least with us at this point in time.  I doubt there is much more the Separatists can do for you currently."

Turning his head in a motion that seemed to symbolize the face that he would be glancing at the human if he had eyes, Tarrin opened his palm facing upward in a questioning gesture.

"I commend you for your loyalty, Flaist, was it?" he said with a warm smile.  "But it seems that there will be no help coming.  However, we are not conquerors.  We simply came to withdraw with the General.  We are not going to take your hard-earned credits from you.  But, surely you can help us to the exit and a small amount of information?  We have done no wrong by you, and the sooner we leave the safer you will likely be.  Of course, you are also welcome to come back to Republic Space with us or tell us your circumstances if you wish.  It is the mission of the Jedi to give aid to everyone we can."

---

02:45, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 4 successes, 3 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3A 1P 1B 2D 1S with rolls of 4(A), 7(A), 2(A), 8(P), 5(B), 6(D), 2(D), 2(S).  Charm check.

Finally, revenge for that crappy Charm roll before!  I'll use the 4 successes to have these NPCs accompany us for a bit to give us their aid.  And 3 advantages to even make Flaist come around?  Or whatever else you think they would be good to be used for!

 

   The bearded human seemed to seethe at the Miraluka's words at first, but then the fact that they had a gunship and walked through the whole complex dawned on him.

   The Bith woman added, "That's why we couldn't get a signal through. I knew there was enough boosted power that we should have been able to contact them through this shaft at least. They would have responded. What they say must be true, my comm is picking up faint signals much farther away and not our ship."

Flaist's mood went from angry and defiant to one of sullen defeat.  He didn't say a word, but sat back down, his head in his hands.



  The bearded human looked up at the last part, and gave a weak nod to acknowledge the praise, but kept quiet.



   The human Separatist tech said nothing  further and remained sitting. He was deflated and non-responsive. The other two were much more amicable. "We will help you exit. That is what we were working on. The shaft behind us, we believe, was an ancient turbolift of some type. There is a scrap of rusty metal and debris below that is probably the original lift platform. It appeared to have used some metallic cables to lift to the surface using some type of motor, we presume. But there isn't enough left of the motor to get working even if we had the knowledge. There is a door at the top that we can probably pry open, but it is seventy to eighty meters to the topside door and we only have fifty meters of synthe-rope and no way to get it up without climbing up the cables. I prefer that to risking running into more of the predatory reptiles that appear to roam the tunnels around here."



   "We would seek asylum in the Republic, if there was some way to get our families out first. They have implied reprisals against them, should we leave our posts. It may have been an idle threat, but I'm not so sure. We will cooperate as much as we can, at least Daalub and I.  We will remain prisoners until we can find a way to get our families out."

Den looks to the others and speaks without considering the other's opinions. "I think we can help with that. You're already risking your lives to help us, I think the least we could do is help your families off world."

  The Bith woman blinked her large black eyes at the young human. “That is a bold proclamation, coming from someone younger than me. I do believe you are sincere in your promise, but I’m not sure how you can clear that with your superiors. The Holonews shows that resources in the Republic are severely limited, compared to that of the endless streams of droids the Separatists seem to throw at them. But, I believe the news, that we are allowed to see at least, may be censored. So it might not be the accurate picture of the war. As I said, I will do what I can to help. First, we have the General’s files with us in a encrypted, locked case and the Togruta’s belongings in a satchel. We do not have the codes to unlock Toggus's case though. We will hand them over and help you find your way out, as best we can.”

Jini approaches the technicians, stepping a little closer than Den. "I think it would be best if we take you in as prisoners of war, for now. Hopefully that will limit reprisals against your families," she says. "Once we get in contact with our leadership I am sure they will agree that your cooperation will allow us to be quite lenient. I am not sure you have an accurate picture of how the war is progressing from your news, but I can't at this moment make any promises regarding your families. All I can hope for is a quick resolution to the war."

She hands Den the satchel. "Could you please give this to our new friend back there?" she asks him, sensing that the Bith woman seems uncomfortable having a young man like Den in charge of her fate.

"I will take the encrypted files too, if you don't mind. I'll leave it to the specialists to crack the encryption later," she says, accepting the case from the Bith. "I would also ask you to put down any weapons you might have. If we find you are hiding weapons on you or in your equipment we will need to reconsider the terms of your captivity."

"If the turbolift is inoperable we may be forced to take the longer route out since we have an injured companion. Climbing up the cables without specialized equipment seems a little too risky. But have no fear, there is nothing down here that a group of Jedi can't handle," she says, trying to sound more confident than she really is.

Den blushes a little, being brash at suggesting that they run out and save their families. He looks down at his boots, a little downtrodden. He thought that it was a Jedi's duty to help those in need, but perhaps it was an overextension, in this case.

The padawan weakly takes the satchel when it's handed to him and a barely audible "Ok." is spoken. He doesn't hear the rest of Jini's words as he heads over to the new jedi. He holds out the bag to her, looking up at her. "This is yours, I think."

  The Bith woman responded again to Jini, "We don't have any weapons, just tools and stuff."

  She turned to Tarrin and added. "We can possibly help you contact your ship. You said, I think that you had something in the area. Maybe you can contact them? Perhaps they can get us out through the topside entrance. I am worried about those predators. I've never been so scared in my life when that thing attacked. It tore through those droids like they were nothing. If we had half the troops there, we would have been in serious trouble."

The young Togruta looks at Den when he hands her a satchel with confusion, before opening the bag and finding her lightsaber and some of the gear she had on her when she surrendered to the separatists. "Oh, thank you, thank you so much," she says with a smile as she wraps the functional but well-worn utility belt around her slim waist. "I'm Raana, by the way. Raana De'Fenn. I think I may have seen some of you in the temple, but I've been out and about with my master for a while now," she says, the smile vanishing from her face as she mentions her master.

She decides this is not the time to dwell on the past, when her survival at the present is in doubt. She examines her lightsaber, turning it on briefly to make sure it works. The blue-white blade of the weapon makes a hiss as it appears, and again when it is extinguished. Feeling relieved to have her weapon back, she clips it onto her belt and takes another look on her surroundings. "I suppose we had better see about getting out of here, right?" she asks no one in particular.

The Bith makes a good point. If the gunship can land above the lift entrance the clones can lower ropes and haul them up much faster and safer than hiking through the tunnels again with those beasts they passed.

"That doesn't sound half bad. K1, can you contact the gunship, get them the coordinates and ask them to uncover the turbolift shaft and prepare to haul us up?" she asks the droid. "I wasn't really looking forward to the hike back, all things considered," she confesses to Tarrin.

Den smiles a little upon her introduction. "I'm Den. You probably saw me in the libraries. I didn't get out much." He nods in agreement about getting out of this place.

   The Protocol Droid turned from where she was looking, her singular sensor moving from where she had been keeping an eye on the bearded man as the Clone Sergeant had ordered. The crimson sensor turned to regard the Jedi dispassionately and her soft, feminine voice could be heard. "Of course, Master Rellri." she replied.

  She straightened and moved a hand to the side of her head as she opened a channel to the nearby Gunship. "Master Rhezzik, this is K1T1 with the Jedi on the surface. Master Rellri is asking if you can bring your ship to these coordinates and find a way - perhaps with your weapons - that you might be able to uncover the turbolift shaft above us and manage a way to haul us up from this place?"

OOC: Assuming K1 is okay with it, using her device she is able to get the signal through..  Feel free to add dialogue in response to the Biths comments

---

The Bith woman heard the automaton trying to contact someone and walked over to the droid before he attempted contact. "Hi, K1, is it? I am Iejita. Normal comm devices won't get through, but I've created a signal boost by using the power of the hoversled as a conduit. Connect to 1138-414 frequency channel and you can use my device to connect."

    K1 straightened and moved a hand to the side of her head as she opened a channel to the nearby Gunship. "Master Rhezzik, this is K1T1 with the Jedi on the surface. Master Rellri is asking if you can bring your ship to these coordinates and find a way - perhaps with your weapons - that you might be able to uncover the turbolift shaft above us and manage a way to haul us up from this place?"

   Tylen responded over the radio. "I have been trying to get a hold of you for the last twenty minutes or so and couldn't get through. Let me isolate your signal and try and locate where you are. But we have bigger problems now. The transport ship that came to support you, at least that is what I assume since it shot down the Vulture droids, was spotted by planetary sensors and they sent patrol fighters out to investigate. There was a battle and your ship had to leave the planet. They probably could have downed most of the patrol, but chose not to attack and kept on the defensive and escaped. They contacted me and left me a message for you. 'Enemy ship disabled, but not destroyed. We opted to avoid attacks against the planetary forces. Enemy reinforcements likely incoming. Bunker down, if you get this message. We will return in a few hours and attempt contact again.'  They also asked me to assist and offered additional compensation. I had to move the ship when the patrols came by and headed to the mining colony as a cover. I am there now. I left the ship ready to depart, I will be there soon and do what I can. But, if I'm picked up on scanners, they may send out patrols. Stay in contact."

   The Protocol Droid listened to the message and acknowledged receipt of the information. "Message received and understood, will remain on this frequency to keep in contact."

   "Oh my," she said as she turned in the direction of the Master Jedi and her students. "It appears that our transportation was attacked by a patrol and forced to leave the planet. They report that their opponent was damaged in the attack, but still functional ... "

   "Tylen," K1 continued, "The person I'm corresponding with, has implied that more people are coming  - reinforcements - and that we should 'bunker down' for the moment and they will return in a few hours to make another attempt at contact. They had to move when a patrol came near and are using the mining colony as cover, but may have to leave if they are spotted again."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:32, Thu 26 Apr 2018.

Raana smiles back at Den. "That would explain why I didn't remember the name, I used to avoid the archives like the room was on fire," she says with a cheeky grin. "Perhaps you can tell me what's going on here, why you are here and where we are, but right now I think I hear something about us leaving this place and I don't want to slow us down."

The Mon-Calamari Jedi Knight thinks for a moment. "Very well," she says to K1, and then raises her voice so as to be heard by everyone. "Let's get ready to head out. Check out the lift shafts and make sure we can see if Tylen can find a way to get a rope lowered. Let's be ready when that happens. I want Tarrin and Den up first and Boss after that to hold the top side if there is trouble. I'll be the last one out," she says.

She examines the dark side artifact the general had been using before tucking it into her belt. Further examinations will have to wait until she gets to Coruscant.

"We're on the Bissian system. We came to subdue the general." Den bobs his head in the direction of the lifeless body. "Unfortunately, there was not a peaceful solution to the issue, as you can see." He slides his hands into his pants' pockets. "Jini and K1 are working on figuring out on how to get us out, so I have a feeling that we'll be fine." He pauses a moment. "Do you even know how you got here? Or what happened?"

"I'm not even sure I've heard of the Bissian system, but I will be glad to get out of here," Raana admits. "And sadly I don't think I can remember anything useful. I was kept sedated after surrendering to the general. I really want to know what he was trying to do though, since I had the most horrible visions of the dark side while I was in that medically induced coma."

  Boss heard the transmission and was already taking action, helping the wounded clone get up from the steps. "Jedi Kalyx,  could you please secure the prisoner. We need to get him into the hidden room with the shaft. I'll help Charlie. Grab his repeating blaster also, I can't carry him and that huge gun."

 The reptilian Jedi grunted an acknowledgement and guided the prisoner into the room with the others. Once they were all inside he closed the stone door to the sanctuary.

  Boss examined the portal as he pulled the rifle off of his back and commented. "I hope that will keep them out for a while and they weren't given the information about this room and the hidden latch. I will see if we can hurry this along."

  The clone headed toward the shaft and clipped the glow rod to his rifle barrel. He began firing up toward the door at the top, right side of the shaft.

The clone Sergeant continued to fire a steady stream of red plasma up toward the door, setting the shaft glowing in pulses or red light along with the yellowish light of his attached glow rod. He blasted through a hole in the weak metal and surrounding rock, as dust and debris rained down in the shaft. Large wisps of dust came wafting out of the shaft opening into the room where the rest of the group and their prisoners were waiting.

   CT-4805 received word on his comm through K1's connection to the Shrieking Acklay.  Tylen noted,  [["I am close to your coordinates. I see smoke and some red blaster fire coming from behind an overhang on a hilltop. There is a flat area there that will be kind of tight, but I can land and use my cargo hold wench and lower it down to you. It has magnetic clamps and straps so you can attach it easily."]]

The clone leader stopped firing his rifle and switched his helmet comm to external speakers. "Our ride has arrived, he is lowering down a wench to us now. Get ready to move out. I suggest we use that hover sled so we can get two people out at a time."

---

OOC:  triumph used for Tylen having a convenient place to land

http://orokos.com/roll/619124 Shooting at lift door : 2eP+1eA+1eD+1eC+1eB+1eS 1 success, 1 Triumph

http://orokos.com/roll/619124

Knowing that Jini wants him and Tarrin to be out first, Den gives Raana a small smile and a nod as he moves into position to escape. "Are we climbing or are we being pulled out?" He asks, approaching the Jedi Knight.

Jini breathes a sigh of relief when she hears that the ship has landed and they seem to be about to get out of here. "Use the winch, latch it on to the hover sled with Boss and use that to get safely up. I'll hold the fort down here, you and Tarrin need to be the first up to secure the site up there," she says. "Now let's get the hell out of here," she adds, somewhat uncharacteristically. The events of the day have clearly taken a toll on the Jedi Knight.

   The others might not have picked it up immediately, but the 3P0 Droid noticed the change in the Jedi's voice and recognized the exertion that Rellri used to speak. She was not a medical Droid, but she was programmed to notice the small, subtle shifts in the speech patterns of organic beings and picked up the clues that indicated the Jedi was more fatigued than she might be letting on.

  "Mistress Relliri," she began as she walked closer and spoke quietly, not wishing to alarm the others or alert their prisoners that anything was amiss. "Might I advise caution ... your actions would seem to have left you more drained than you might have realised. I would not wish to see anything untoward happen to you ..."