Mika looks around, "We'd best move back a bit, one wrecked speeder wouldn't end up that far down without there being other damage.". Mika looks about, trying to figure out if the damage was bloated down into the sub levels or blasted out from below.

She pulls out the comlink.

Flash slowed his bike and rode close to Devon.  He'd let Fiarr ride with him to allow the shipjacker to focus on his work.  "You're the expert Seven.  Where do we go?  I don't like leaving Vyn and the others without transport for too long.  Plus Five may end up needing our help."

Arin did his best to figure out the same thing as Mika. He wasn't exactly a demolitions expert, but possessed the basic knowledge of military demolitions and it might have been just enough to figure out, which way the explosion had occurred. Luckily, they both had repulsorlift vehicles, which ensured, they would not plummet even if the ferrocrete below them would give away.

Kyvarr grumbled to herself.  The Zeltron's excuse for her staying was crap and they both knew it.  However she'd only slow Fiarr and the others down.  Besides, someone really did need to see to security.

First she walked, well limped, the perimeter as best she could, determining all possible weaknesses and entry points.  If any of the civilians was familiar in construction she took them along to help her map any dangerous areas.  Else she relied on her own knowledge of demolitions.

As she walked she also kept her eye open for weapons or anything that could be fashioned into a weapon.  These she stacked in a pile near a chair so once her patrol was done she could sit and prepare their arsenal.  She left able-bodied people to watch any entry points with instructions to call out any who approached.

While it kept her busy, this whole process frustrated her.  She was aggressive by nature, she didn't like playing defence.

Heigren did his best to keep things running smoothly.  He knew nothing about medicine or defence but he did know how to get people to work together.  As such he did what he did best.  Finding out each person's abilities and sending useful people to help Dohr and Kyvarr while keeping the others comfortable.

Fiarr sat on the back of Flash's bike and said nothing.  There was nothing for her to say and she didn't relish eating a mouthful of bugs every time she opened her mouth.

In reply to Allen 'Flash' (msg # 83):

Slowing his bike, Devon looked around for something anything that would suit their needs.
"I know, I know... we're on the clock here.  I would suggest checking the hotels basement garage if I wasnt worried about the whole thing coming down on us."
He pointed down at a largish wrecked speeder.
"Public transport type would be ideal - get lots of people in.  One like that one there would be ideal, only without the rubble sunroof.  Area like this with lots of tourists, there's going to be lots of public transport stops and carparks around.  We check those first."

Speeding up a little, Devon turned a corner.  If memory served, there should be a public taxi rank up ahead.
"Once we find a good candidate, you two stand watch whilst I get to work.  Then we all fly back together."

He called across to Flash's bothan passenger, who's name he hadnt been told.
"I'm hoping you can pilot a speeder?"

Fiarr nodded.  "I imagine most people can pilot a speeder Mister Seven.  They're not exactly complex."

'True.' responded Devon cheerily.  'but it never hurts to check.  what do I call you anyhow? '

Devon slowed his bike again, peering down.
'that one seems in good shape,  lets take a closer look...'

"My name is Fiarr.  She looked at Devon suspiciously.  "Weren't you getting ready to interview us?  How is it you did not know my name?"

Devon jerked a thumb in Flash's direction without looking up from the possibly-worth-stealing speeder he was peering at.

"Ask him - I was out the room dealing with a delivery man for most the conversation."
If Devon had even noticed Fiarrs suspicion, he apparantly didnt care...
This message was last edited by the player at 10:48, Thu 02 Jan 2014.

Like Kyvarr and Vyn, Dohr too had a look around at the cafe or what was left of it. His priorities lied with the injured people, but as he walked around he took in the details of the place itself too. Being a soldier by training he always wanted to know where all possible exits or entrances where, what was the most defendable position and if there was furniture or equipment that could be used in fortifying the place or as improvised weapons.

Moving from person to person, the doctor made quick assessments of the seriousness of their injuries and mentally sorted the people in his head into the order in which he would a look at them. Being alone and without a nurse to assist him and with nonexistent medical supplies, Dohr would have to move back and forth from patient to patient until at least the most serious cases had been stabilized. It would not be easy, but he was used to it. Yet he couldn't help hoping that there would be no need to defend the cafeteria against anyone and that the Akarian EMS would arrive soon to take over.

As he noticed the Cathar doing what he would have done too had there not been wounded people around, Dohr stood up to catch her attention and limped a few steps to get closer. The Kel Dor reached into his robe and pulled out a Malaxan flechette pistol and then a couple of clips too. The doctor offered the weapon to Kyvarr and nodded: "Let us hope these we will not need these. But as I will be preoccupied by the injured ones, the FWG-5 will be a lot more useful in your hands." Of course Dohr was putting a lot of trust in the hands of a stranger by giving up his only weapon, but he had a good feeling about the woman and his feelings were more often right than wrong. She might be aggressive by nature, but the Kel-Dor believed she had a sense of honor to her.

It takes Devon's team a few blocks before they get to a place more or less free of wreckage.  Finally they spot a large pile-up between six ground-level speeders.  All of them are ruined wrecks, with more than a few bodies strewn about the locale, but that isn't what catches Devon's eye.  Right up against the pile-up he has spotted a goodly-sized speeder truck, unable to reverse due to a sport speeder that's run up its backside.  The owner of the truck has, very obviously, abandoned the vehicle but it looks like the crash hasn't done more than bend its fenders.  Devon's pretty sure if they can drag the damaged remains of the sport speeder away from the truck's back end they can reverse it enough to get it around the pile-up.

---

Back at the café the atmosphere is one of anticipation.  Several of the civilians have tried their personal comms but none of them seem to work.

"Towers must be out," says one doubtfully, "or there's so many people trying to call each other that the system's jammed."

"Could be both," another offers.

"Why aren't emergency services here yet?  This is the biggest hotel in Akari City!"  The first civilian, a human male in a slightly torn but very expensive business suit, sounds angry and frustrated.  "Surely they've got to come here soon."

"If they can," the second adds, a female Twi'lek with yellow skin and a tiger-stripe pattern down her lekku.  Her clothing is casual street-wear, not gang gear but certainly going-out-for-lunch clothes.  "This could be going on all over the city."

Dohr assesses the civilians.  Every one of them has minor abrasions and thumping headaches but there are few major injuries.  The structure of the café seems surprisingly intact and that has cushioned much of the impact from above.  Should anyone else turn up, though, that could be a different story.

The Twi'lek straightens her shoulders.  "We need to find other survivors.  There could be people a couple of doors down and we'd never know.  I'd scout it out from the air but my speeder bike was in the hotel when it..."  She can't bring herself to finish the sentence.  The devastation and loss of life is staggering.  Hundreds of thousands of people must be dead in this city block alone.

---

The two droids hover around the huge hole which, Mika gets the feeling, has probably been caused by peripheral explosions from the substructure of the hotel collapsing.  It's not the only major sinkhole in the area but it is one of the biggest - and considering how big the hotel's infrastructure was it's a little surprising that there aren't more.  Still, one must count one's blessings.


A 'blip' appears on Mika's datapad.  It's located in the hole about three levels down.  One of the droids - Arin's - hovers down near the blip with its flashlight shining on something metal, smoking and twisted.

"Okay, I'm going to see f I can maneuver down there."

She edges the swoop over the sinkhole and slowly circles downwards.

As soon as Mika's swoop nears the point where it crosses over the edge of the hole a section of the road starts to crumble, threatening to bring down a shower of plascrete and drop the bottom out from under her vehicle.

[ Reflex save please, Mika. ]

Fiarr examined the truck and assumed it was Devon's target.  It was the most intact vehicle they'd seen so far.

"So how do we do this?"

Reflex roll

23:33, Today: Mika Trake rolled 11 using 1d20+6. Reflex roll

Heigren listened to Corr's dire news then called Kyvarr and Dohr to a quiet corner.

"Just got an update.  This situation is much more than a terrorist bombing.  Apparently gangs are attacking law enforcement and dismantling government infrastructure but leaving civilians alone.  Our person on communications suspects we might be in the middle of a revolution aiming to topple the government!"

With a series of echoing cracks the pavement gives way under Mika's bike.  The drop isn't even close to the swoop's maximum altitude but the repulsors, needing a few moments to power up, aren't designed for VTOL.  The woman pulls her body weight around as she tries to circle about, avoiding the worst of the drop, but her swoop's model isn't known for ease of handling; the tailgate clips a broken support pillar and the bike spins off into the level down.

The sound of screeching metal can be heard as Mika vanishes from Arin's view.

[ Mika: you're now in the Understreets thread. ]

"Sithspawn", the ex-Imperial cursed as he saw his wingman crash for not the first but the second time in a few days with her swoop. "Ten, are you alright? Do you copy?" It was probably in vain to call for her - if the structures stopped the communications, she would not be able to respond.

"M4-Five, Ten just crashed somewhere down there. Get to her and see if she is okay." It was the quickest and easiest way to figure things out. "Once you find her, transmit back to me. If I do not reply, get in to your current position and re-transmit. And if you can get in touch with her, use M4-Ten as a relay station at the hole."

At the worst case, Arin had now two persons and a droid to save from the depth - at best, Mika would simply emerge with slightly scratched paintjob on her swoop and they could carry on looking for Sheila and CC9.

"Eleven, can you figure out if there is some kind of a tunnel system running below the streets near the hotel? If the M4's are equiped with some kind of a projection system, I would need a map for it. We might have found Three and CC, but Ten just went down a hole and I want to know what to expect, so I don't get myself killed or unable to help them, if I follow."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:33, Fri 03 Jan 2014.

"Five, if you go down there we may lose comms.  What do you want the rest of us to do in the meantime?".  Arin was clearly trying to lead and Flash was happy to let him do so.  Someone had to.  Why did Mark have to leave the same damn day.

The last thought hit him like a blaster on maximum stun.  What if it wasn't just buildings that had been hit?  What if space transports had been attacked as well?  He didn't have time to consider it right now so he didn't share his concerns with anyone.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:51, Fri 03 Jan 2014.

"Five, this is. . ."  It occurred to Heigren he didn't have a number!  ". . .Vyn.  We have eight civilians in our aid post and expecting more.  We have scouts out searching for survivors.  Do we bring them all with us?"

Devon gave the other two a disbelieving look.  "We're stuck in the middle of a revolution?  Today just keeps getting better and better." he hesitated for a moment.  "Uhhh.... Ok, I'm going to take a look how easy that thing is going to be to start - Fiarr, can you stand lookout for me?"

Guiding his bike downward, Devon landed in a spot that would be well out of harms way once they started shifting wreckage and - hopefully - moving vehicles.

"Two - can you scout round?  There might still be people alive in some of these wrecks, and my conscience says I want to be able to sleep tonight, knowing that we checked."

Pulling his toolkit out of the bikes tiny cargo space, Devon jogged over to their chosen truck.  Before setting to work he spent a moment peering in through the windows - making sure there was no-one injured inside, or hiding behind a seat full of panic and with a weapon.

Satisfied that the vehicle was empty, Devon set to work.
"I know this model..." he said conversationally "Lost count of how many I've jacked before now.  Unless we hit a snag, should be easy..."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:37, Fri 03 Jan 2014.

Without hesitation the M4 droid buzzes away from Arin and into the hole.

Fiarr nodded jumped down and took up a position where she could watch the street.  She surreptitiously checked the bulge under her arm to ensure her blaster was there if needed.

"Mister Seven, should I take your bike and watch from above?  Much easier to spot incoming threats from altitude."