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19:03, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Part 15 - Home of the Hutt.

Posted by The ForceFor group 0
Shard
player, 765 posts
Most days, I'm tired.
...or drunk.
Tue 30 Sep 2014
at 12:32
  • msg #202

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

"Move it, move it."  Somehow Shard manages to seem bored.  Inside, her guts are knotting up; whatever serenity she had managed gain had left, and she'd lost her balanced centering somewhere in the elevator.  Now, she just waits for a problem to materialize.  Her pistol she holds loosely in her hand, using it to indicate the path to the ship.

If trouble does start, she's likely to drop it.

"Hey, Rhijans.  It's a pretty sad lot we've got here, but they'll have to do."  Her lips twitch in something resembling a smile.  "Haarmon's been doing a good job wrangling them.  Should be out of here shortly, get our profit margin back up."

The glitter in her eyes is near-hysterical.  Any moment, someone might discover Wakuda is missing.  Any moment, someone might check in on their torturer (albeit less likely than the former).

Any moment, Oomba might have a change of whatever-passes-for-a-heart and decide he wants to keep the money AND the slaves, with a few new additions.
Juragga
player, 363 posts
Wookiee Warrior
Bringing the Boom
Wed 1 Oct 2014
at 04:51
  • msg #203

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Juragga had fallen back to the ramp, and stood with bowcaster in paws, slightly concealed by his poncho, but ready for action.  His teal eyes panned left to right, looking for trouble.
The Force
GM, 546 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Thu 2 Oct 2014
at 16:28
  • msg #204

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Time seems to slow to a crawl, with every moment presenting a hundred opportunities for the whole plan to shatter into a thousand pieces.

And, somehow, that one-in-a-million chance comes out of nowhere, and nothing goes wrong.  The last of the slaves makes it into the hold.  Oomba's minions depart the ship without so much as a backward glance.  Rhijans slaps the control that closes the door and lifts the ramp.

A call to Karja, and the engines, idling until now, start to build power.

And Gundark's Dream starts to lift...

"Where are we going next?" a voice calls out from the sea of anxious faces.  The spokesman and apparent leader.

The ship clears the rim of the compound, skimming past the gun emplacements, before dropping to fly low across the ocean.

Wakuda has questions of her own, "And what will happen to me?  And to Oomba's man?"

The ship pulls up into a sudden, steep climb...
Shard
player, 766 posts
Most days, I'm tired.
...or drunk.
Thu 2 Oct 2014
at 17:44
  • msg #205

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Shard has stood, paralyzed, just inside the door.  Waiting.  It's all out of her hands, out of their hands, the only thing they could possibly add right now would be manning weapon systems.  Pointless, as the crew can handle that just fine.

Then they're off the ground.  In the air.  Slowly moving out of the range of the cannons, she prays.  There'll be ships in orbit.  They need to get past those ships, first.  Then?

She turns and stares in the direction of the first speaker.  "Away from this cursed planet, to start," she replies.  "Keep it down.  Don't jinx it.  I don't want anything to go wrong."  Please, please don't go wrong.

Her lips thin.  "But whatever happens, you're free.  Now.  If any of you have shackles, let's get them off you.  Otherwise, sit down and hang on.  This could still get bumpy."

Her gaze flicks toward Wakuda.  "That goes for you as well.  You're free.  We'll work out where everyone's going to go later.  For now...maybe you'll let us in on who you represent, and why you were there to free the slaves."  She snorts.  "Like us.  Drove our price up, nicely done...and maybe it was.  Oombah was satisfied and didn't backstab us.  Yet."
Rhijans Thanus
player, 732 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Thu 2 Oct 2014
at 18:21
  • msg #206

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

At the question, Rhijans' eyes tightened as his jaw clenched.  Truth be told, he really didn't know where they were going next.  He didn't think it would be wise to head straight back to the base...

He raised his commlink, calling Karja.  "So...do we have some intermediate stop planned?  Given who some of our passengers used to work for, I'm not sure going straight home is a strategically wise choice..."
Haarmon Dak
player, 377 posts
Are you talking to me?
Fri 3 Oct 2014
at 14:07
  • msg #207

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Haarmon was sitting in the corner, trying really hard not to say We made it. He was trying really hard to not even think it. And the best distraction from that internal struggle was the terminal. And more specifically, trawling the planet's defense nets, to see if anyone was (visibly) following them, and/or anything else horrible on its way toward them.

Only sure for the ironic hand of Fate was relentless pessimism.
Juragga
player, 364 posts
Wookiee Warrior
Bringing the Boom
Sat 4 Oct 2014
at 02:32
  • msg #208

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArrrrrrgh," Juragga commented as everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

Is there anything to eat?
The Force
GM, 547 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Mon 6 Oct 2014
at 19:51
  • msg #209

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Karja's voice comes back over the link, "I was paid to get you here and get you home.  If you have somewhere you want the... cargo... dropping off, you'd best let me know quick, I'm working up the hyperspace calculations now." 

Wakuda sighs, "Had I known what you were up to, I would have backed out sooner to keep the price down.  As it was, I thought you were slavers, so I tried to keep these people out of your hands.  I represent a group of philanthropists, intent on disrupting the slave trade throughout this sector, and on freeing slaves from their bondage."

"As I'm sure you realise, we often masquerade as slavers and buyers to achieve our goals."


Juraga, meanwhile, appears to have more mundane concerns...
Rhijans Thanus
player, 733 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Tue 7 Oct 2014
at 06:32
  • msg #210

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Rhijans shrugged, inwardly.  The Colonel hadn't really given directions about what to do with the...they weren't slaves anymore, he wasn't sure just what to call them at this point.  As he thought about it, any intermediate stop would be mildly pointless, at best, because if there happened to be an Imperial sympathizer or spy in the lot, they wouldn't have the ability to find out...and he seriously doubted anyone in such a role would just speak up or offer to not go further with the rest of the group.

"No, didn't really have anything in mind," he replied, evenly.  "Just didn't know if the Colonel had suggested something or not.  Guess it becomes his problem, vetting them all to know who can stay and who has to be smuggled out of the sector because they're a security risk.  I know I'm not equipped for the job."

Haarmon might be, maybe...with access to the right network.  But that kind of access was another mission in and of itself, and definitely not something Karja had signed on for, Rhijans was quite certain.  If Kourene had only made 'there and back' arrangements, he wasn't going to second-guess it.  Yet.
Shard
player, 767 posts
Most days, I'm tired.
...or drunk.
Tue 7 Oct 2014
at 12:22
  • msg #211

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

They're further from the planet now, and the hyperspace coordinates are being fed in.  Not long, not long now...and Shard's fingernails, such as they are, bite deeply into her palms.  "Come on," she whispers.  Then breaks into sharp laughter at Juragga's request.

"Don't know, Juragga.  After the jump, we'll go looking for food, for us and for our new friends."  She shoots a quick look at Wakuda.  "Don't worry about it.  Money well-spent, and it's good to know there are more people out there looking to free slaves.  Maybe we can talk with your philanthropists, figure something out.  Pool our efforts, avoid getting ourselves tangled up again."

She raises her voice slightly, going over the comm.  "But I'm with Rhijans.  Let's stick to the plan, get everyone back, then start sorting things out."  If we make it.  "He can work out the details of getting everyone back to their homes, or wherever they want to go."

Probably going to catch some flack from Rhijans for this.  Should have checked in.

Haarmon Dak
player, 378 posts
Are you talking to me?
Wed 8 Oct 2014
at 14:38
  • msg #212

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Haarmon satisfied himself that there was nothing bad going on that he could find and logged out of the terminal. He walked back into the common room to the ensuing conversation.

"I think we're in the clear. If anything's coming to get us, it's off the grid."

After some thought.

"Why don't we drop them off wherever her people were planning to bring them?" said, pointing at Wakuda, whose name he couldn't quite remember. "They must have had a plan, right? I think taking em back with us is maybe not the best. Security breaches and all. But where else we gonna put them? Coruscant?"
Rhijans Thanus
player, 734 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Thu 9 Oct 2014
at 04:30
  • msg #213

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Rhijans had concluded his conversation just in time to catch the tail end of Haarmon's suggestion.  "Not a bad idea...but if we'd taken them from the mines, like we were originally thinking before that damned Ubese entered the equation, they'd have all ended up back at the base with us.  Pretty sure the Colonel's got the means to go through a vetting process...some of them may want to sign on with the Alliance.  Anyone who's spying has been through a helluva lot of effort to be convincing about it...but it's still possible for there to be a deep-cover operative in there.  Given the amount of exposure we've had to them, I'd personally feel more comfortable with someone doing some kind of background check make sure none of them are Imperial, before we turn them loose to roam the sector at will."

He'd apparently missed Shard's commentary about him...or didn't deign to acknowledge it with a comment.  He did, however, turn a calculating eye on the...survivors?  It was as good a title as any, he supposed.  If anyone started showing any sign of abnormal behavior, he wanted to catch it early.
The Force
GM, 548 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Thu 9 Oct 2014
at 20:48
  • msg #214

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

A few moments later, the ship lurches and the lights flicker, and there is the unmistakable sensation of acceleration to lightspeed and beyond...

"Sorry.  Didn't want to hang about any longer, just in case.  We're out of there now, and on the way home."

Wakuda looks at Haarmon, "That could be a good idea.  We had planned to pay Oomba to deliver them to Altomen.  It's a busy port, so we thought that we could arrange transport to just about anywhere from there."

"I'm afraid we hadn't considered the possibility that there might be spies hidden among the slaves.  Do you think taht's a possibility?"


The newly liberated slaves are, meanwhile, making themselves as comfortable as possible in the cavernous hold of the ship...
Rhijans Thanus
player, 735 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Fri 10 Oct 2014
at 02:27
  • msg #215

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Rhijans shrugged, still watching them all with a clinical eye.  "Depends on how desperate Sector Command is feeling...or how inventive ISB is getting.  While I'm sure that the Empire would expect the Alliance to look for new recruits in a group of liberated slaves, I'm not sure that Imperial arrogance would allow them to foresee the possibility of a bunch of slaves being liberated from an Imperial installation."

Before Wakuda could ask, he turned and looked at her.  "Yes, they were.  Unfortunately, the individual piloting the ship they were all put on decided he wanted to make a little spending money and took them to Oomba.  We came out to correct that particular oversight."

He looked at the others in the group and let out something that might almost have been a sigh, had it been greater in magnitude.  "At least the Ubese wasn't present when we showed up.  That could have been...awkward."
Haarmon Dak
player, 381 posts
Are you talking to me?
Mon 13 Oct 2014
at 03:54
  • msg #216

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

"It's not even spies you gotta worry about," Haarmon said, "It's opportunists. I don't think IBS has anyone squirreled away in our little batch of domestic staff, there. But that's not to say that any one of them won't sell us out for a few credits. Or that the boys in black won't squeeze something out of them in a dimly lit room somewhere."

He paused. Swallowed. Visions of the torture droid flitted through his brain. He shook his head to clear them. He wasn't a drinking man, but he thought there was a dingy bar and a few tankards of cheap ale waiting for him the moment they were done here.

"I think we should keep them as far from us, from base, as we can. I don't want to seem cold-hearted or anything, but we did our part. They're someone else's problem now."
Rhijans Thanus
player, 736 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Mon 13 Oct 2014
at 07:14
  • msg #217

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Rhijans gave Haarmon an inscrutable look, and seemed, for just a moment, to be debating with himself.  "Yeah, they are someone else's problem now...the guy who sent us to go get them.  I don't know about you, but I have pretty much no experience in liberating former Imperial slaves, so I don't know what to look for.  And while I'm not sure the Colonel is any more experienced at it than I am, I'm sure he's got access to personnel who are.  If he doesn't know the right questions to ask and the right things to look for, he can find someone who does know it."

He probably would have been more reassuring if he'd sounded confident, rather than resigned...his inherent sense of caution agreed with Haarmon.  But he also had no reason to doubt Kourene...and a sense akin to professional obligation, since the man had sent them...essentially, hired them...to carry out the mission.  And his instructions had been, as Rhijans interpreted them, 'get the slaves and return them here.'

Professional ethics overruled personal caution...at least, this time.
The Force
GM, 549 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Mon 13 Oct 2014
at 17:57
  • msg #218

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

After a few moments of discussion, the door to the crew section of the ship opens, and Karja steps through.  She makes her way along the catwalk, stopping twice to look down at the liberated slaves on the hold deck, and eventually reaches the group in the workshop-turned-makeshift-passenger-accomodation.

"Sorry we jumped so quickly, I wanted to get us away from there before Oomba decided to hold us to ransom or something.  If you want to change destination, I can drop us out and plot a new course, before going on to the original one.  But only the once... I'm not going to run all around the galaxy like some sort of passenger cruiser."

"Altomen." Wakuda says, with a certain degree of conviction, and gets a dirty look from Karja.

"Who's this?  Why does she think she's in charge?"

Rhijans Thanus
player, 737 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Tue 14 Oct 2014
at 06:51
  • msg #219

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Rhijans shrugged.  He'd said his peace on the subject, but someone had other ideas.  He'd leave the final decision to be made by others.  After all, he wasn't in command, here...he wasn't really certain that anyone was, formally.

"She was there for the same thing we were, just for different people.  Might be worth taking the suggestion...they were apparently already geared up to have this many new people show up, and I'm not altogether certain that we were.  I'm under the impression the Colonel wanted us to bring them back there, but nobody seems to recall any specific order to that effect, so..."  He shrugged, and looked at the others.
Shard
player, 769 posts
Most days, I'm tired.
...or drunk.
Tue 14 Oct 2014
at 13:08
  • msg #220

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

"I think we're better off taking them back with us," Shard states, meandering back to the group from her musings.  "I don't want to have another situation like the last one.  Before we turn anyone over to 'liberators', I want to be sure of who we're dealing with."  She cocks an eyebrow at Wakuda.  "Just because you're on the level doesn't mean your bosses will be.  If you want us to just drop off these people -" she doesn't use the word slaves, no "- with you, we'll need more information.  Lots more."

Her lips twist into a grimace.  "Last time we trusted someone - someone whose life we saved, sound familiar? - he took these people and dumped them off on Oomba to make a profit.  That is not happening again."

She shoots a quick glance at Haarmon.  "If that Ubese had been there, it would have turned bad, yes.  Lucky for us he wasn't." Lucky for him as well...would have made sure he went down before we did.

With that, Shard blows out a long breath, nodding her head.  "Now, maybe the Colonel will check things out and decide Wakuda's employers are on the level, in which case everything's good.  But I'm sure you can understand -" this to Wakuda "- that we can't just turn them over to anyone.  Not after last time.  Secondly?  Haarmon has a good point."  Again.  Has been happening a lot, recently.  "We need to find a way to contain potential information leaks, first."

Then Shard rubs her forehead - there's a dull pain forming there, mostly due to stress but partly due to guilt.  "And Rhijans?  I screwed up.  Should have reported in to you through comm, let you know something of what was going on.  It's my fault, not Haarmon's - I was worried about interception, but that's not the whole truth.  Part of it was I was flying by the seat of my pants, and maybe..."  She sighs.  "Maybe I didn't want someone telling me it was a bad idea."

She spreads her hands wide.  "It could have gone badly, and success is no excuse.  I'm sorry.  That put us all in danger, and next time I'll make sure to consult."
Juragga
player, 366 posts
Wookiee Warrior
Bringing the Boom
Tue 14 Oct 2014
at 15:11
  • msg #221

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Juragga bared his fangs at mention of the Urbese.  He rumbled a low note of disappointment that he hadn't been there.  He would have enjoyed educating him about what Wookiees did to traitors and slavers.

At Shard's apology, he simply shrugged.  To his view, the Jedi had done well and he didn't find it his place to question her judgement.
Rhijans Thanus
player, 738 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Wed 15 Oct 2014
at 07:52
  • msg #222

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Rhijans gave the slightest hint of a dry chuckle, and an almost-half-grin.  "Flying by the seat of your pants?" he repeated...and, remarkably, there was no mistaking the humor he found in the statement.

"Have we ever done anything else, really?" he asked, still amused, and followed it up with a shrug.  "We...all of us...were making it up as we went along, down there, and while I would have appreciated knowing where you were and what you were doing, the only truly disconcerting thing was having no idea if you were even still alive, much less operating on your own volition as opposed to being tucked away in one of Oomba's pens."

The humor faded, into something...hard to describe, exactly, but there was a warmth there that was more than the standard 'professional mask' that he wore as his typical expression.

"You did good down there...both of you."
The Force
GM, 550 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Thu 16 Oct 2014
at 17:07
  • msg #223

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Wakuda nods her head, and lets out a loud sigh, "Very well.  Under the circumstances, I can see you point of view, and understand it.  I'll drop the idea of Altomen and go with your plan."

"My only request is that you speak to your... Colonel, was it?... and ask him to arrange transport for me when this is over, even if for nobody else.  I have a family and friends I'd quite like to see again."


Karja relaxes visibly at that, "That's that settled then.  I'll take you straight home.  I just hope that Oomba doesn't start thinking that somebody pulled a fast one on him.  Hutts can be unpredictable about that sort of thing."

"I'll head back up to the bridge, and I'll make sure that my people know not to mention our destination on this side of the bulkhead, just in case the Colonel would like to keep it secret."

Haarmon Dak
player, 382 posts
Are you talking to me?
Fri 17 Oct 2014
at 01:59
  • msg #224

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Haarmon shrugged. He still thought it was a bad idea. The Colonel knew what he was doing, sure, but like a lot of the Rebel brass, he could be surprisingly idealistic about the level of support he could expect from the civvies.

But it was out of his hands.

"No reason to think Oomba'll get his slime in a knot," he said, "We didn't pull a fast one. He had slaves for sale. We gave him fair retail price. What's it to him where we take them or what we do with them?"

He turns to the woman he and Shard took out of the Hutt's headquarters. "So," he said, "Is someone going to tell me who this is? And why we had to go..." he shuddered at the thought of the torture room, "...places... and get her?"
Shard
player, 770 posts
Most days, I'm tired.
...or drunk.
Mon 20 Oct 2014
at 12:56
  • msg #225

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Juragga's disregard for her reckless behavior is heartening.  It's good to know such things can be forgiven.  Likewise for Rhijans, and Shard finds herself mildly embarassed by his praise.  It's a good feeling; she hasn't been part of a solid team in a long time. "Good to know." A wave of the hand and a mildly bemused smile follow.  "Even if I don't really wear pants."  There's that, as well.

Everything worked out.  Her team is well, and even pleased (mostly; Haarmon doesn't look 100% convinced).  And for once, she didn't have to kill anyone.

"I can assure you that keeping out of Oomba's pens was at the forefront of my mind."

She cocks an eyebrow at Wakuda's request. "I don't have any trouble with that.  As for talking with the Colonel?  I suspect he'll want to talk to you, as well - politely.  We'd probably be interested in your group of philanthropists."  Then Shard nods at Haarmon's comment.  "I agree, Haarmon.  Though it's possible Oomba might be a little torqued at losing his new playtoy, the guard he planned on disciplining, and having to spring for a new torture droid."

It's an ugly memory, and she shakes it off.

"Right.  Haarmon, this is Wakuda.  She was our competition in the bidding war, only she's not a slaver.  Turns out she was hired to get the slaves so she could free them.  Plenty of irony to go around, there.  Anyway, she ticked off Oomba - not hard with a Hutt - and he used that excuse to grab her and have her dragged off for...void knows what."  Shard makes a disgusted moue.  "No way I was going to leave her to that."
Rhijans Thanus
player, 739 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Tue 21 Oct 2014
at 05:44
  • msg #226

Re: Part 15 - Home of the Hutt

Rhijans sighed and shrugged.  "All we can hope is that Oomba doesn't somehow connect anything that happened with us."  Apparently, there was a LOT more that happened down in the Hutt's dungeons than just releasing the slaves and retrieving Wakuda, however...

"At any rate, we'll have to hope that we don't cross paths with him again.  And if we do, figure out some way to blame the Empire for what happened.  If we can get the Hutts and the Imperials going after each other, life will become a lot easier out here for the rest of us..."

There was a good chance it wouldn't, actually, because the two forces would be more active about going after each other and thus more vigilant about anyone unexpected coming across their threshold.  But it would also split suspicions about any actions taken against either side...anti-Imperial actions could be just another Alliance attack...or it could be the Hutts trying to get a leg up...

That was all hypothetical, however.  For now, their best bet was to avoid notice, altogether.
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