OOC: All right, you two, here's your thread for the bar hopping. FYI, this will get archived when it is over and the group dissolved.

Kala and Krysten enter the turbolift in the penthouse and the first decision has to be made. Which level of the city will they be choosing to visit?

"So, do you know anything about the city?  I've been around enough to pick up the language, but I haven't really heard anything about the best places to get a drink."

[Private to Kala Jorn: Don't know if you have Knowledge Galactic Lore or not.  If you don't, I could always use Gather Info at an information terminal... if they've got those on Ryloth.]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:54, Tue 09 June 2009.

"Once or twice, but I didn't get a chance to explore much. I was kind of young at the time." Kala replied, as she gave a little shrug. "So, you can imagine that I wasn't wandering from cantina to cantina." She finished, as she smiled at the other woman.

Krysten nodded.

"Fair enough.  I can pull up some info on a terminal, or we can just pick the first one we come to and see what happens."

"I always just tend to travel where my feet take me, but we can look up some places." Kala replied, as she nodded to Krysten. "Though, are we thinking of more of the ritzy ones, or more seedy ones, where we'd blend in better, and have the better chance for getting a nice juicy bit of information?"

The doors open to the lobby of the upper level. If the two women decide to head to a lower level, they have only to press the button.

Through a one-way mirrored wall, the lobby itself is visible. It is tastefully decorated in a similar style to the penthouse, although it is not quite as posh.

[Private to Kala Jorn; Krysten Tyner: Please make Perception checks.]

Kala Looked through the one-way mirror, observing the lobby. "Well, I guess we're going down, or where do you think would be the best place for us to start our information gathering evening?"

You rolled 15 using 1d20+9 ((6)). Perception Check

Krysten paused, thinking.

"I don't know.  I almost think I'd rather head down further.  But we do have all night.  It's not unheard of for higher-level movers and shakers to have some real information."

11:09, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 12 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 3. Perception.

The doors remain open unless one of the women closes them. This particular turbolift services only the penthouse.
[Private to Kala Jorn: Kala sees a pair of twi'leks, one Rutian(aqua-skinned) male and one Lethan(red-skinned) female, walking side by side, heads together talking and smiling, obviously flirting. They are being escorted by a trio of other twi'leks who are very obviously bodyguards. This might all have escaped notice, except that the woman's skin tone is the same as Orn's. Kala realizes that this is Orn's daughter, Sinya, of whom they have seen a pair of holos.]

'If your helmet has image recording, see if you can snap a shot of those two twi'leks...' Kala spoke softly to Krysten. She nodded in their general direction, hoping that the other woman would turn, and get an image or two recorded. 'I think this might be a fruitful trip after all...' She finished, as she began to make notes to herself about what the man looked like, mabye Aadun could rustle up some pictures later.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:08, Sat 13 June 2009.

OOC: Since Krysten didn't actually notice the twi'leks in question, Kala might need to point them out a little more specifically in order for her.

Krysten shook her head minutely while turning down the externals on her helmet.

"I haven't had a chance to install a recorder yet," she replied.  "Besides, which twi'leks are you talking about."

Kala nodded in their general direction. She gave a little shrug, as Krysten mentioned that she had no recorder. 'Well, just make sure that you get a good look at the Blue skinned one who's talking to the red skinned one. He's the more important target.'

Krysten found the two twi'leks immediately, though she avoided focusing her entire attention on them.  Sentient beings could often sense when they were being stared at, and there was no reason to draw attention to themselves so soon.

"We can try to overhear some of their conversation, if you like.  I've got a helmet package, and can turn up the external receivers.  But we do need to decide what to do, or we're going to start drawing stares soon."

"No, We'll let them go." Kala replied, as she shrugged a little, and nodded slightly to her associate. "So, where should we start then?" She asked, as she pressed the button to close the lift doors.

"I'd say just pick the first cantina we come to on the street and have a drink or two.  We can see where that leads us."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Kala replied, as she hit the button that would take them to one of the lower levels of the city. Probably easier to find information from one of the rougher cantinas anyway.

The lowest level that the turbolift accesses would appear to be a speeder garage. It's much darker down here, although the access to the turbolift is still secure behind several security blast doors.

"Hmm. A little too low... I think." Kala said, as she looked for a button that would take them to the lobby, and an exit into the city that wouldn't require them to have some kind of vehicle already here.

The next entrance up leads to another garage, but they can see outside to a moderately busy street in what is most likely one of the middle levels of the city. While the extremely poor or criminal live on the lowest levels, the wealthy and elite live on the same level as the spaceport, at least. Many of them have abodes high on the sides of the cave that are accessible only by airspeeder.

This level will have an array of mid-priced bars and cantinas and is probably the level on which the mid-range bureaucrats, administrators, and similar find themselves when they have the time and credits.

"Well, This look like a good floor to you Krysten?" Kala asked, as she turned to the other woman. "I'm fine wherever we go really. So, we could exit the building and find an information terminal you could get a few ideas from..."

"Looks like a good one to me."

She leads the way, at least one of her hands always near a pistol.  If or when they find a terminal, Krysten attempts to pull up information on the location of any cantinas within a decent walking distance of the turbolift to their suite.

On the off chance they don't find a terminal, Krysten has a pretty good feel for what cantinas look like across the galaxy, and shouldn't have too much of a problem finding one where they can sit down, have a drink, and maybe get someone drunk and pump them for a bit of info on the local situation.

[Private to The Force: 07:31, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 19 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 10. Gather Information. ]

This section of town doesn't have public access terminals. They're too easy to steal parts from to fence to those in the lower sectors.

However, it isn't very far up the street that Krysten spots a cantina. The sign is a little faded, but she has a good feeling about the place. If it were too showy, it might not be the sort of place they'd be able to find something interesting.

Krysten used her elbow to tap Kala's arm and nodded her head towards a faded sign with a slightly run-down exterior.  But it had that look about it that said it was the kind of place where the alcohol wasn't too watered down, the music was decent and walls weren't covered in too many blaster burns.

When Krysten hit Kala's elbow, she looked over to the other woman, then in the direction she indicated. It looked like a decent place, and the faded sign probably meant that they were trying to attract more of a local crowd who knew about the place.

"Looks good." Kala said, as she began to walk towards the cantina. She stopped for a minute outside, to look at the faded sign before she entered.

The sign outside, which might be a little dingy and hard to see, reads, 'Maux's Cantina'. There's also a smaller sign, 'No Droids'.

Upon entering, the smells of food and alcohol and something else waft over the two women. The place has an inviting feel to it and there are a few sentient beings here even in the afternoon, such as this. The bar island is situated near the entrance so the bartender can double as a bouncer and host during slow shifts. There's a vacant stool by the door which is probably where the bouncer normally sits.

The barkeep, surprisingly, is not twi'lek. He's a Falleen, sporting a long topknot which trails down his back. "Afternoon, ladies," he says as they enter. "What can I get for you?"

"A drink, and a bit of conversation if you don't mind." Kala replied, as she took a seat at the bar. "We've just arrived in port, and figured we'd check around, get an idea of what's going on, you know." She finished, as she smiled.

"You'll find them both here. I can provide the drinks easily enough. And the conversation, too, until the after work crowd arrives. By then, though, there ought to be plenty of folks here and some of them willing to chat with you.

"So, what would you like to drink?"

"Well, What are your specials?" Kala asked, as she smiled at the bartender. "As a bartender, you must hear all sorts of things floating about, I won't ask you to sell anyone out, but is there anything interesting going on in the city?"

"I've got a few kegs of Corellian Spiced Ale that are the closest thing I've got to a special. My distributor told me this very afternoon that there's some sort of interdiction and I won't be able to restock until it lifts. There's always the black market though. Plenty of goods will be moving on Ryloth even if the Imperials implemented a planetary blockade. The twi'leks are just that sort.

"I can't say that there's much information I've got that I could share. The best bartenders are like priests; whatever you tell them is between you and whatever gods you worship. I've got a reputation. Now, if someone later on has been in their cups a little too much, you're welcome to ply them for information. I can't stop the patrons from talking to pretty ladies," he tells her with a wink.

"Well, then I'll take a Corellian Ale." Kala said. "I had seen the Vindicators as I was flying into the city, but now they're blockading it? That seems like an odd move. Have they made a formal announcement, or simply set up shop and are beginning to harass the locals?"

"Vindicators? Are those capital ships of some sort? I've never been much for space travel. It gets me from place to place, but I prefer to do it in a passenger liner where I don't have to see all that blackness," he tells her with a shudder.

"I don't know that there's an official blockade, just that the distributor can't ship anything in for the next few days at least. It may just be on alcohol or food supplies. The head clan does that from time to time to ensure they're getting their proper taxes."

"Well, that's what I heard someone on the ship call them. I couldn't be sure myself." Kala replied, as she shrugged at the bartender. "Though the empire is everywhere, I don't have enough time to check and see what kind of vessels they're using. They usually broadcast it to your ship before they tractor beam you in for inspection anyway." She finished with a small sigh.

"Though, the real question is why are they here? This isn't a vital world to them, right?"

On firmer ground, the bartender smiles and nods in agreement, "Ryloth is further from the Core than Tatooine, even. The Hutts do a lot of business here and for years, it's been treated almost as part of Huttspace. The only thing that comes from this planet is ryll spice, and Ryloth isn't the only source. The Empire taxes it heavily."

He shrugs as he wipes down the bar counter. "There are outposts of some companies, like Sienar. I think they've got a Research & Design facility here in Kala'uun and they ship some high end private components this way, but nothing too major. It's well known that Ryloth is a major smuggling center. A lot of people harvesting ryll don't want to pay Imperial taxes on it. Being on the Corellian Run and the Death Wind Corridor makes the planet a great place for picking up and offloading illegal goods.

"The Empire could just be cracking down on a smuggling ring, for all I know."

Krysten sets her helmet on the bar beside her and holds up two fingers when Kala asks for a spiced ale.

"Have you anything else about why the Empire might be here?  Is the government making noises that the Emperor might not want to hear?"

The bartender gives Krysten's questions serious consideration before answering. "Nothing I know. The government, for the most part, is pleased with the slave trade and the spice trade and the extras they make from smuggling. I mean, the Empire has the human supremacy movement, but what do twi'leks really care? They'll end up in the bureaucracy somehow. They're kind of insidious like that."

As the afternoon crowd started to turn into the evening crowd just getting off work, Krysten finished off the one drink before replacing her helmet, allowing Kala to project the image of a delegate with a Mando bodyguard.  She still maintained a watch for anyone who might be looking to soften the day's stress of working for the government with a couple of drinks.  She was hoping Kala and herself were in the right area were some of the mid- to low-level government employees would go to get a drink after a long day and be willing to let loose the stress of the day over a drink or two.

[Private to The Force: 16:14, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 28 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 19. Perception. ]

About half an hour after they first enter the cantina, a few after work types start trickling into the place. Krysten spots a likely pair of potential bureaucrats who come in together and head straight to a booth, acting as if they come here often. They order drinks immediately and start talking.

Kala had spent her time making small talk with Krysten, waiting for more customers to funnel into the bar. As she watched the place start to fill up, she kept an eye on some of the people there. "So, who do you think looks good to talk to?" She whispered to Krysten.

Krysten turned down the externals on her helmet and nodded almost imperceptibly towards the two that were sitting in a booth, looking like they were lost in discussion.

"I think those two would make decent candidates.  It'll be all you, though, unless you need some muscle backup."

"Yeah, we'll see if we can get anything out of them..." Kala replied, as she nodded to Krysten, and began to make her way across the now more crowded bar, to where the two men were seated.

"Hello there." She said, in her nicest voice. "Would it be a terrible inconvienence if we joined you?"

"Please, sit down," the first says.

"Yeah, not a problem. Join us," agrees the second. "Would you ladies care for a drink?"

"Thank you." Kala replied, as she took a seat. Krysten could choose if she wanted to stand or sit, depending on how she was feeling. "Sure, I could go for a drink right about now... So, how are you gentlemen today?"

"Pretty good, I guess. A little bit of a headache, but not too bad," says the second, echoed similarly by the first.

"How're you ladies? Never seen you in here before, and I'd definitely recognize two such... distinctive individuals."

"I'm a pilot actually." Kala said, as she nodded to the two men. "I just arrived in system, and docked. Though the appearance of the Imperial vesses is a little... un-nerving." She ponders for a second and gave a shrug.

"Have they announced their intentions here, or is it more of a tax collection mission?" She asked, curious to see what, if anything the men had heard.

"Intentions to cause nightmares, you mean," the first says.

"Of the paperwork sort, at any rate. They're going through immigration records and passenger manifests down in the space port, making us dig out old data files and records from the last ten years. I've seen more flimsiplast the last few days than I ever want to see again. But you don't want to hear about that, surely. Let's talk about something fun. What are you doing here in Kala'uun?"

"Just finishing dropping off some cargo." Kala replied, as she smiled at the two men. "I thought it'd be a nice, easy run, drop the good off, handle business, then leave." She finished, as she sighed a little. "But those ships up there are going to make that kind of difficult. They're always poking around in non-human business... I'm sure I'll get a suprise inspection that might cost me a good bit of credits."

"Yeah, probably. They're being particularly difficult about everything. I bet no one gets off world without an inspection. But they'll have to do something, because those two ships aren't enough to get every vessel out of even Kala'uun. They'll have to be selective."

"Though, them digging through the records from the last ten years seems... odd." Kala replied, as she shrugged slightly. "Do you have any idea what they were looking for? Going back that far seems odd, unless they were looking for something or someone in particular."

He shakes his head. "No idea what they're trying to find. We asked, because it would help if we knew and didn't have to have someone standing over our shoulders, but it's a matter of security clearances."

"It always is." Kala replied. "Though, for a simple matter of getting information, ships of that caliber are a little much..." She finished, as she gave a sigh.

"Though, ten years ago would be during the clone wars... I wonder who, or what they're looking for?" She said, as she pondered that herself.

"Something big, I guess. Those ships and all the personnel here on the ground aren't cheap. I don't know what or who the Empire could want so badly."

Krysten had let Kala sit down while she stood slightly to the rear of the booth, partially covering Kala with her body but keeping the two businessmen in view while at the same time keeping a panoramic view of the rest of the cantina within an easy turn of her head.  She played the part of a bodyguard Mando as perfectly as she could manage, which was pretty decent, considering she was a bodyguard Mando.

That didn't mean she didn't pay attention to the conversation though, and when offered a drink, she simply held up one hand, palm out in the universal sign of a polite turn-down of an offer.

"Well, either way, it certianally does make things interesting." Kala said, as she offered a shrug. "I'm sure if someone was able to find out what they were seeking and acquire the item for them, there'd be a handsome reward. Though, if it's rather big or dangerous, the risk would be pretty bad."

Kala smiled. "Still though. Someone of importance must be on those ships. Generally, cruisers are part of a battlegroup right? To seperate two of them for another mission would take some major pull..."

The second man shrugs. "I would assume there's someone important, but I don't know who. All they ever talk about is some inquisitive guy. I guess he's curious or something, though they seem scared of him."

"An inquisitive guy?" Kala asked. A moment later, something dawned on her, something that her master had warned her about in one of his messages. "Well, I'd hate to be the underlings of the inquisitive guy... Don't want to live in fear of what happens if you screw up, right?"