RolePlay onLine RPoL Logo

, welcome to STAR WARS - Episode IVa - Another Hope (SWd6 2e)

01:33, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Part 17 - In the aftermath.

Posted by The ForceFor group 0
Haarmon Dak
player, 473 posts
Are you talking to me?
Thu 5 Nov 2015
at 22:49
  • msg #38

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Haarmon turns around and shows his team-mates the terminal. So we got these four transports right here. And this one," he points to the screen. "Just came back empty. Sooooooo maybe we ought to go talk to the captain? Sick the Titanium Ally here on them?"

He made a face. That last actually wasn't very funny.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:56, Sat 07 Nov 2015.
Rhijans Thanus
player, 875 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Tue 10 Nov 2015
at 05:06
  • msg #39

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Rhijans scowled at the screen.  "I'm not wildly optimistic about the captain surrendering information about where he dropped his passengers.  Not even sure it will get us where we need to go to get them."

His face twitched, minutely, as thoughts of trying to trace the Colonel from information handed off by a courier pilot ran through his head.  If Kourene took the same kinds of precautions he would, in similar circumstances, Lady Fortuna had only been the first of several transports...in the same way that smugglers would set hyperspace coordinates for the middle of nowhere, then drop out and set a new course.  The more dangerous the cargo, the more often they'd shift courses, to throw off pursuit.

And having the top brass for the Alliance in this sector going to the same place was way up there, in terms of dangerous...

But the alternative seemed to be sitting around, doing nothing.  And while he could bring himself to wait until the optimal moment to act, he was only comfortable with that when he had a definite course of action in mind.  Sitting and doing nothing was...highly undesirable.

"It's worth a try, at least.  Can you get the pilot's name and whereabouts?"
Haarmon Dak
player, 476 posts
Are you talking to me?
Tue 10 Nov 2015
at 17:22
  • msg #40

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Haarmon gave Rhijans a thumbs up and went back to the terminal and back to work. Not too hard to trace someone on the base who was supposed to be there. The whole place was like a forest of electronic breadcrumbs.

He didn't think it would be a problem.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:37, Sun 22 Nov 2015.
The Force
GM, 676 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Thu 12 Nov 2015
at 19:35
  • msg #41

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Haarmon works his magic, and the screen fills with information in a matter of seconds.  A little bit too much information...  One adjusted parameter later, and the data is more manageable.
Haarmon Dak
player, 477 posts
Are you talking to me?
Tue 17 Nov 2015
at 13:24
  • msg #42

Part 17 - In the aftermath

He spun in the chair and nodded his most decisive nod. "Kaldo Ritasa. She's down in the hangar right now waiting at her ship."
x
This message was last edited by the player at 05:37, Sun 22 Nov 2015.
Shard
player, 912 posts
Most days, I'm tired.
...or drunk.
Tue 17 Nov 2015
at 15:57
  • msg #43

Part 17 - In the aftermath

"Outstanding."  Shard smiles, satisfied.  Not only is it success, but they've cut through some of the mire surrounding this situation and gotten to where she can do some good - face to face.  "Let's get started - it gives us something to do beyond sitting around and waiting."

Void.  Waiting.  That's thirsty work, and Shard is desperate to avoid anything of the sort.

"Great work, Haarmon."  Better he doesn't get it in his head that she's sitting and glaring at him all day, every day.  Not the case. "Let's get set and get moving."
Rhijans Thanus
player, 876 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Wed 18 Nov 2015
at 05:35
  • msg #44

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Rhijans nodded.  "Ready when you are," he commented, drily.  He was actually looking forward to going there as a group...it meant he wouldn't necessarily have to do the talking.  He'd been forced to converse with people far more than was his custom, so far today, and it certainly wasn't helping the sense of agitation he was, thus far, fighting down.
Haarmon Dak
player, 479 posts
Are you talking to me?
Wed 18 Nov 2015
at 13:19
  • msg #45

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Haarmon blushed a little a shard's praise. He felt a little strange now, as though unsure exactly what to think of her, or how. Somehow the fact that she was a-freaking-Jedi, added to the fact that, also apparently, he could... whatever they called it... the Force, or whatever, too... and then also that he had actually touched her mind, and her his, made her, at the same time, muddled everything together into a complicated stew of emotion.

Part of her wanted to think of her as almost sacred. Unreal and untouchable. Like a goddess. Or a holovid heroine. But she was also his teammate, and he had a deep respect for her as an actual for-real human being that didn't jive well with all the rest.

Haarmon wasn't good at complex emotions. Even the simple ones tended to mess him up.

He was really glad they had something to do.

"I'm ready, he said.
x
This message was last edited by the player at 05:37, Sun 22 Nov 2015.
The Force
GM, 678 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Thu 19 Nov 2015
at 19:49
  • msg #46

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Everybody gets up to go to the hangar, including You-Why.

"I will come with you, in case you need a translator."

The walk isn't too long, and Lady Fortuna is easy enough to find.  It's just a matter of looking for the dirtiest, most run-down ship in the place.  The pilot, a blonde human in her mid-late forties, and somewhat overweight, is sitting on a crate at the bottom of the ramp, with a tray of junk food on one side of her, and a blaster on the other.

As the group approaches, she squints at them and demands, "You lot the loadin' team?  Took yer time gettin' 'ere."
Shard
player, 917 posts
Most days, I'm tired.
...or drunk.
Mon 23 Nov 2015
at 14:45
  • msg #47

Part 17 - In the aftermath

So it's the entire group - together - that heads for the docks.  Haarmon, to Shard's eye, has come back to more of his 'normal' place.  The flush seems to be par for the course, and Shard finds herself smiling with grim amusement as she marches through the hallways.

It's going to be interesting, approaching him about this thing she has discovered.  Juragga will, no doubt, support Haarmon; he holds people like her former mentor in high respect.  Shard doesn't, but understands the Jedi had good PR.  Rhijans, though...skepticism and outright irritation at the mention of such things.  That part isn't going to be easy.

But their arrival at the bay cuts off such discussion, and they end up face to face with Ritasa.  Or so Shard believes.  "Kaldo Ritasa?" she begins by way of confirmation.  "We're not the loading team you're looking for.  We're here about Colonel Kourene.  Need to speak with him as soon as possible.  You can verify our credentials with security...and probably should."  The lean woman grins.  "We'll wait."
The Force
GM, 679 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Mon 23 Nov 2015
at 18:36
  • msg #48

Part 17 - In the aftermath

"Yep, I'm Kaldo Ritasa, an' I'll take yer word that yer who yer say yer are." the woman replies, focussing on Shard, somehow, in spite of the fact that her left eye seems to be more interested in something a metre or so to Shard's right.  "The rest though, I can't 'elp yer.  No idea where 'e's at."

Further questioning brings forth a tale of a group of freighters taking off with Kourene and his senior staff aboard (and Kourene was never aboard Kaldo Ritasa's Lady Fortuna in any case, but beyond that she doesn't know which one of them he was on).  The freighters rendezvoused on the edge of an asteroid field out in the outer reaches of the system, and all the passengers were transferred to just one of them.

"Then they all scattered, see?  Ships went off in four diff'ren' directions.  If the others was like me, none of them 'ad any instructions fer after the transfer.  Jus' take them 'ere, then go where yer like.  'ell, fer all I know, even the ship what took 'em aboard 'ad no fixed place ter 'ead fer.  Me, I came back 'ere.  Got a contract ter ship out unusable scrap parts, so I 'ad a load ter pick up."
Haarmon Dak
player, 482 posts
Are you talking to me?
Tue 24 Nov 2015
at 00:31
  • msg #49

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Haarmon slumped. He knew Rhijans was right and this was probably a dead end. But man, it sure would have been awesome if they'd gotten it, SWISH, on the first try.

"I don't think there's any way to trace that," he said, somewhat reluctantly, "If I had a week maybe I could code something. But too many variables.

"Do you know what freighter they all transferred to? Or make a guess? Did one of them fly off listing slightly to port or whatever?"
x
Rhijans Thanus
player, 880 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Tue 24 Nov 2015
at 04:21
  • msg #50

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Rhijans' jaw clenched slightly as the explanation was given, and his mind flashed for a moment, trying to sort possibilities.  He had just settled on something and was about to open his mouth to ask when Haarmon put his thoughts to words...more or less.  He turned to look at the youth, with what might just possibly have been a hint of an appreciative gleam in his eyes, before turning back to the captain, expectantly waiting for an answer.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:57, Fri 27 Nov 2015.
Shard
player, 918 posts
Most days, I'm tired.
...or drunk.
Thu 26 Nov 2015
at 12:30
  • msg #51

Part 17 - In the aftermath

"Was a good shot, Haarmon, for one in the dark." She shrugs at Rhijans - tension, there, she's starting to get to know his expressions.  He keeps them hidden, and hidden well, but with time spent together under stress they become a tad more legible.  The bounty-hunter seems content to let Haarmon continue with the questions, as is Juragga; Shard takes that unspoken advice and settles back slightly on her heels.

"Thanks, Captain," she tosses out, attending the answers to Haarmon's queries.  Hopefully they will glean fruit more ripe than the previous.
The Force
GM, 680 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Thu 26 Nov 2015
at 18:00
  • msg #52

Part 17 - In the aftermath

"Sure I knows.  All the passengers switched ter Mynock Bait.  But where she went ter after the ships split up is anybody's guess."  She helps herself to a piece of deep fried something, and pops it into her mouth.  "Course, tha's prob'ly the idea... makes 'em 'ard ter track, if they want ter 'ave a secret meetin'."

"So don't tell no one where yer goin', an' only tell the pilot after yer on the ship."


The captain belches loudly.  "'scuse me.  Wish this work crew'd show up.  Sooner I'm away from 'ere, sooner I can be makin' a few credits."
Rhijans Thanus
player, 882 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Fri 27 Nov 2015
at 06:03
  • msg #53

Part 17 - In the aftermath

"Mynock Bait?" Rhijans repeated.  "You know who her captain is?"  He was almost certain, with all the security measures otherwise taken, it was someone on Kourene's 'definitely cleared' list...but it never hurt to make sure.

And there was a chance that Jalt might be able to shed some light on it.  It seemed logical, to him, that Kourene would pick a ship and pilot familiar with the region where the meeting was supposed to happen...and Jalt seemed to be well-connected with regards to the other ships and pilots in the sector's operations.
The Force
GM, 681 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Mon 30 Nov 2015
at 20:09
  • msg #54

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Kaldo Ritasa regards Rhijans with something close to contempt, "Yer doesn't know the skipper of Mynock Bait?  Where yer been livin'?  Ev'ry bugger in the Galaxy's 'eard of Gorto Finn.  'e's famous.  'eld the record fer the Kessel Run fifteen or sixteen years straight 'til some 'ot shot flyboy  took it off 'im."

She snorts, "Could be almost anywhere by now.  Reckon tha's why Kourene  picked Mynock Bait fer this."
Rhijans Thanus
player, 883 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Tue 1 Dec 2015
at 04:38
  • msg #55

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Rhijans gave Ritasa an utterly unfazed look.  "Haven't ever needed to keep track of who set the record for the Kessel Run.  That particular detail has never been relevant to my line of work."  His tone was flat...unapologetic, but not threatening or resentful.  Pure observation.

He turned to You-Why...the droid's recall would be a lot faster than his own attempts at trying to find Finn's name on Kourene's list.  "He one of Kourene's cleared people?" he asked, not particularly concerned about whether or not Ritasa overheard the question.
The Force
GM, 682 posts
These aren't the dice
rolls you're looking for.
Thu 3 Dec 2015
at 17:36
  • msg #56

Part 17 - In the aftermath

You-Why barely thinks at all before he answers Rhijan's question, "I believe so.  For a short time after you brought me here, I was assigned to work with one of the Colonel's aides who had to deal with freighter pilots. many of whom belong to other species.  While he is Human, Captain Finn spoke mostly Bocce, rather than Basic."

"By all accounts he was here fairly often, and was trusted by the Colonel."

Haarmon Dak
player, 485 posts
Are you talking to me?
Thu 3 Dec 2015
at 22:49
  • msg #57

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Haarmon didn't much like the sound of any of that. He'd come across The Mynock Bait and Gorto Finn a couple of times in his years scouring the Nets, but he didn't know anything helpful enough to label actual intel.

"Is that it?" he half-whispered, half-mouthed to his team. "Do we gotta go forward on our own?"
Shard
player, 919 posts
Most days, I'm tired.
...or drunk.
Mon 7 Dec 2015
at 13:09
  • msg #58

Part 17 - In the aftermath

"I think we're stuck," Shard mutters back.  She paces in a circle for a moment, thinking furiously.  "Why in the void did Kourene take off and go so cursed distant, when we're in the middle of this investigation?  It's..."  Not finding words sufficiently strong, she clenches both fists until her nails bite into her palms.  After a moment, the lean woman relaxes.  A hair.  "All right.  I don't think we're going to easily find him.  We could end up tracking Kourene all the way around the galaxy at this rate, and catch up only when he arrives back."

"Maybe we do need to continue this on our own."
Void, but she needs a drink, and that's all the more reason not to. "Might be better to make sure everything is locked up tight here - our 'asset' - and then start looking for the other half of the equation."


UY-3PO
NPC, 37 posts
No, I don't like you
either.
Mon 7 Dec 2015
at 20:32
  • msg #59

Part 17 - In the aftermath

You-Why's head swivels to regard Shard, and the droid says, "Excuse me, but why do we need to continue?  We have, have we not, found the person behind the sabotage in the base, exactly as the Colonel instructed.  That information has been passed on to base security personnel."

"In addition, the supposed perpetrator will be taken into protective custody until the real one returns and is arrested."


He pauses for a moment, before continuing, "As I understand it, the Colonel and his staff have decided to hold meetings off-world, as a security measure.  I am only a protocol droid, but it seems to me that if you have come to an apparent dead-end in locating them, then that is part of the motivation in their leaving the base... that they can not be found, or targeted for sabotage or assassination."

"When they return, you can give the Colonel a full report on your investigation, and he will then consider whether, or not, further action is necessary.  I believe the Ho'Din had a proverb which applies - 'When the path you walk reaches the edge of an ocean, it is time to stop walking, rest, and observe the sunset.'  I never fully understood it myself, mind.  What if the ocean does not afford a view of the sunset?  Or what if you reach it at dawn?"

Juragga
player, 442 posts
Wookiee Warrior
Bringing the Boom
Tue 8 Dec 2015
at 03:02
  • msg #60

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Juragga yodeled a growl after You-Why. Goldenrod has a point, he conveyed.  We don't want to lead the Imperials right to the Colonel.
Rhijans Thanus
player, 884 posts
Just let me do my job and
nobody else gets hurt.
Tue 8 Dec 2015
at 07:03
  • msg #61

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Rhijans thought on the matter for a moment.  The only other option he could think of--asking Jalt for some ideas of which sectors of space might be likely choices--would still leave them with who-knew-how-many further options in the form of planets, planetoids, large asteroids, additional ships, or other potential destinations.

And, technically, they HAD fulfilled Kourene's assignment.  They found the security leak, they'd taken actions to halt the damage...at this point, really, if they were going to look for anyone, they should still be hunting Reise, rather than trying to find Kourene.

"My concern was making sure that the Colonel's off-world excursion wouldn't be compromised by our security breach.  Seems like the Colonel has taken plenty of precautions in that regard, on his own...not much reason to keep chasing that tauntaun.  I'd say our efforts are better served in trying to coordinate with Security to help contain any further damage from the info-leak, rather than trying to hunt the Colonel down."

He looked over at Haarmon...was there a hint of a smile in his eyes?  "I'm sure it would have been quite gratifying to interrupt the Colonel's conference with the news...but it can wait until he gets back...or, if Reise beats him back here, then we can help capture Reise and give him THAT news when he gets back."

Truth be told, if Reise had any notion that someone was onto him, Rhijans actually expected their next assignment to be hunting the pilot down...because he certainly would't be coming back.  But if the information was accurate, and Reise had been operating on his own, then no one would have reported anything to him, and he'd have no reason not to return.  He already had a proven lucrative reason to come back and try to run another hustle on the Alliance.
Haarmon Dak
player, 486 posts
Are you talking to me?
Tue 8 Dec 2015
at 14:44
  • msg #62

Part 17 - In the aftermath

Haarmon's head swiveled from speaker to speaker. He gave the driod an odd look when he started quoting mystical philosophers. And he was about to start snarking off. But then everyone agreed with him. Which pretty much meant he had to take the idea seriously.

"So, what, then, it's just Mi'lar Time?" he said, sourly, mentioning a popular brand of ale that had been on the Nets recently. "Doesn't seem right. Seems like we should be doing... something."

But, in all honesty, he wasn't sure what.
Sign In