Several minutes later, amidst conversation and wheels coming off...

(PM)
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:10, Thu 19 Dec 2013.

Mika looks shocked, "He did what?  That one's got no sense at all.  First it's that damn party and then he tries to paint a target on your forehead.  He's got time, he's got credits....  Who knows what sort of trouble he'll stir up next.  Best we get going so we can keep an eye on him.  Are you ready?"

There's a sharp intake of breath over the speakers.

"Oh, shit!"  Cor's voice sounds profoundly, deeply shocked.  "The...  The hotel!  Someone has bombed the hotel!"  There's a sound of hurried tapping.

Over the Talon comms Cor's voice is urgent and tight.  "Talons, report!  Explosion at the hotel!"  She adds something in Umbaran.  [Language unknown: "Wer, peacek stwhin!  Mitaofre penoad!"]

Only a few seconds before Cor told them the hotel had been bombed, Arin seemed slightly woozy if only for a moment. "We better get moving, then. Don't know how much we can do to help, but it doesn't hurt to try. Cor, get all and any droids that could be of assistance on the move." The former Imperial officer seemed to go in to a crisis mode. While he still sounded polite enough, there was a tone in his voice that clearly indicated, he was assuming command for now. "Cor, you'll be our eyes and ears for now. Try to get the others on comm, if possible. We'll head out with Mika."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:02, Thu 19 Dec 2013.

Transmitted via Talon commlink:

*Traffic noises, occasional white noise*
*Roaring sound*
*Wordless yell, screaming in background, deep rumbling noise*
*Static - RAK ME!*
*Static, screaming.*
*Bike engine noise,screaming and rumbling continues - Hold on! - engine noise gets louder*
This message was last edited by the player at 10:21, Thu 19 Dec 2013.

"Yes, Arin, that is what I am doing," Cor replies, sounding distracted, as if in the middle of something and answering the Imperial in a somewhat offhand kind of manner.  "Amongst other things.  CC9 is the only droid capable of helping and he is already there.  Even he will likely be in undue danger."

Then her tone changes again.  "Wait!  It is dangerous to go alone.  Take this!"  The ship ramp lowers and two small droids buzz out, hovering around Mika and Arin.  They are little M4 messenger droids, one with a '5' stencilled on the side and the other with a '10'.

'5' hovers near Arin.  '10' hovers near Mika.

"They can serve as scouts and carry small burdens and secure messages.  They are coded to your private comm channels but cannot speak on the open channels.  Rename them if you wish, they are yours to keep."

Mika heads over to her swoop and jumps on, firing up the motor.  "Arin, let's get going."  She wanted to go check on the others.  What little she could make out from Devon's comm message didn't put her at ease, though at least he was probably not so bad off.  Still, she wasn't going to crash off alone, much as she's tempted.

As the little messenger droid hovers nearby, Mika only goes with, "Thanks."  She'd have to come up with a better name for the droid eventually, having it have the same name as her call sign seems somewhat like a breach in their security or something.  "Ten, stick close."  She's not sure if the droid can keep up with the swoop or not, but if it could not she'd have to lash it to the swoop or leave it to catch up on its own or something.

Back to Arin, "Ready?"  She has to shout to be heard over her own swoop engine.

"Thank you, Cor. Remind me to buy you a nice dress or a droid, which one you prefer more", Arin said. "Five, let's go."

The former Imperial hopped on to his swoop. "Let's be careful, shall we", he said to Mika, before he started the engines and shot off the ground at a good speed. Let's hope the others are okay.

Arin and Mika find security is tightened at the spaceport but they manage to get out after a minute or two of delays.  People are pouring in to the space station looking for a way offworld.  Whatever is happening it's a lot worse than the bombing of one hotel.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:57, Fri 20 Dec 2013.

"Ten, this is Five. From now on, all comms are to be secure. I think, we found a big pile of bantha poodoo and we're heading straight for it. We need to evac our people from this big puddle and start planning for a way out of this mess", came over the Talon comms. "Eleven, can you get a fix on CC and Three?"

The ex-Imperial was shooting through the city at the best possible speed his venerable swoop could offer, which was surprisingly well for such a vehicle. "All stations, this is Five. Report condition and location securely."

Even if Arin didn't think about it at the moment, this was a good chance for him to show his skill and capability at commanding a group of people. And if nothing else, he did sound the part in a manner, any professional officer should.

Mika takes a moment to ensure the commlink is secure.  She doesn't respond to Arin via the comlink though, just giving a raised hand.  He could see her condition and she didn't want to tie up the comms when someone else needs to report in a more timely fashion.

Meanwhile she keeps pace with Arin and tries to get a handle on things, what happened, what caused it and how wide spread it is.

"You do realise that 'poodoo' translates to fodder, yes?" Cor asks mildly over the comms.  "It means 'food', not 'fecal matter'."  Before an answer can come through Cor adds, "Reports are coming in from across the city.  Several large buildings have been destroyed and there is gang warfare in the streets, particularly the Western District.  Law enforcement has been seen firing on both gang members and civilians."

<Copied from other thread>

He clicked on his comm.  "Five, Two.  We have minimal injuries but our swoops are damaged.  We'll check out at the hotel, but you need to locate Three and CC9.  Eleven, is there any way to track their comms?  Everyone report in at five minutely intervals."

"CC9's system tracker is offline," Cor says shortly, "which means he is destroyed, deactivated or the signal is being blocked.  Considering the interference in the area I suspect the last.  I will advise if the situation changes."

"Eleven, Five. Can you give me any kind of an estimate, where CC and Three were, when they went off the grid? Or at least probable trajectory? If you can, we'll deploy the droids to scout for us and start a search pattern of our own." Arin sounded more serious than usual. It might have had to do with the fact, Sheila was the person in the Talons, he knew from before the Talons. He slowed the swoop in to a crawl slowly enough to give Mika a chance to do so as well without breaking hard.

"Two, can you still limp back to the ship or do you need assistance?" If the answer was no, then they'd need to get a vehicle to haul their personnel and the damaged swoops back to the ship. "Also, I suggest getting out of sight, in case the local law enforcement shows up."

Mika glances over at Arin now that they've slowed to a crawl.  "They've got to be pretty close to a straight line between the hanger and the hotel, at least I'd think so."

She thumbs her comlink, "Three, ten here.  You reading us?"

Glancing around, the enormity of the destruction is makes itself felt.  "What the hell caused all this?"  She asks in Arin's direction, struggling to keep the shock down to a manageable level.  There were things needing doing, and standing around gaping wasn't going to do nobody no good.

"Two, that was my plan. Just asking, so I know, what to do after we've gotten CC and Three. Try to get back to the ship in one piece."

Arin looked over to Mika. "I have not even the faintest idea, but whatever it is, we want to get offworld as soon as we've got our people gathered. Now, let's send the droids out and see if they can serve as our eyes out", he yelled across the gap between the swoops. He beckoned at his small droid to get in close. "I need you to find unit CC-9 and the organic unit number Three. When you find them, observe and report. I will advice you further then."

Mika waves her own droid over, "Ten," she was going to have to get the droids' name changed or this was just going to get complicated.  "Get up and see scan for a wrecked cab with a human and a battle droid as passengers."

To Arin, "Head straight for the hotel or do we want to shift to one side or another?  I think it best we not split up."

"We stick together. Are you armed?" Arin seemed adamant about not splitting up right now. "We find them, get them out and regroup at the ship. Once we're there, we figure out if the others still need our assistance to get to the ship." It wasn't exactly much of a plan, but the situation was constantly in motion and they needed to get things moving.

The two droids hover about the Talons briefly as they receive their orders.  Then they both buzz off on their way.

"....in?  Is any...
...can't see.  Droid's down.  Major...
...taxi's completely ruined.  I think w-..."

More static and then the comms go dead.

Hopefully that's enough for Cor to trace the signal.

<NPC'd>
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:35, Sat 21 Dec 2013.

"Arin, we'll need to continue on towards the hotel and then flair off to the sides.  You ready to move forward?". She considers the data pad information, holding the pad so that Arin can look as well.

Arin slid closer to Mika's bike in order to see the datapad for the information Cor was sending and made a mental note of getting one for himself as well. Upon seeing the data, he nodded. "No time to waste, then. We'll find them." He accelerated the swoop in to a dive towards the estimated location at the best possible speed.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:20, Sun 22 Dec 2013.

It's a shaky trip but before too long the pair reach the hotel site.  The location Cor has sent seems easy enough to find.

They've seen more than a few emergencies on the way.  The skyline of the district has completely changed - some of the tallest buildings have been torn down with explosives, the dead and injured litter the streets, smashed speeders and roaming gangs can be seen all over.  Even now the looting has started and what was a panicked populace looks to be turning riotous.

<Arin, Mika, head to the Grand Hotel thread, if you please.>

Back in the hangar, Things Happen.