The cabbie gave an Ithorian "You're welcome" when thanked.

"Are you sure?" Eyebrow asks, "Huhuh.  Maybe that was the old password.  Huhuh."

Mits sweatdrops.  So may things she wants to say, but manages to keep them to herself.

"Yes.  We're sure.  The password is 'Yellow Shorts.'"

"Oh...  Oooh Kaay."'

He knocks, looking disappointed.  "Visitors."

A butler wearing white gloves unlocks and opens the door.  He presents a couple lockers that have key cards in the locks.

"Please place all weapons, recording devices, etc. in the lockers.  The key cards are for you to keep until you retrieve your items.  There are curtains if you need privacy.  Thank you."

"And if we refuse?"

"Then you will be asked to leave.  Our business is based on mutual trust.  If a visitor cannot trust us to keep their items and persons safe, they any business negotiations will be a waste of our time and theirs."

"'Trust' would mean letting us keep our weapons."

"No, Mam, that would be naiveté."

Mits shrugs and draws a curtain her locker.

Ikia simply puts her light saber in the locker. With the curtain drawn, of course. Then follows the butler dude once everyone is ready.

  Matt eyerolls, removes the power pack, and places his blaster in the locker (he totally keeps the power pack though).  Weapon safety is important!

  He starts to leave, then turns around and tosses his comlink in because you just know somebody would dial a wrong com frequency during the meeting or something.

OOC: File this under "I thought I had posted but RL happened while I was on the previews screen weeks ago whoops".

The office is filled with cigar smoke issuing from the nostrils of a smirking Bothan reclining behind a desk, his large, yellow shoes, larger than half his leg length, are propped up on the desk.  There's a holo-projection of a sour looking Empire law enforcer coming from a holo-com device on the desk.

"So not only would we be making you look good for 'protecting the good citizens' of this world from anarchists and aliens, we'd be making your protesters look like violent and dangerous thugs.  All free of charge.  Consider it my welcoming gift of goodwill to the administration."

"Filthy vermin," the officer answers, "We have no use for your 'gift.'  And I warn you that any illegal activities will be dealt with harshly."

The holo-call ends.  The Bothan looks annoyed.

"Something tells me our services will not be needed after all," Mits surmises.

Ikia asks anyway. "Greetings, sir. We heard you were looking for some helping hands for the protest?" After all, maybe now he is going to pay them to make the imperials' day Hell.

  "Political issues getting in the way of business, I guess." He doubts the Bothan will turn right around and join the protest over this.  There's only one of him, so no 'many Bothan's died to hold this protest' jokes could come of it.

The Bothan curses up a streak in the general direction of the deactivated holo-projector before turning his attention to Matt.

"More like an arrogant imperial blankety-blank who thinks he owns the planet!"

He cranes his neck to see the polite little teddy bear over the edge of his desk.

"Yeah.  My informant tells me that he plans to 'make an example of the protestors.'  Round 'em up as 'plague carriers,' no doubt.  Well I mean to teach him a lesson.  You all will make him look incompetent by disabling his first float, thus halting the entire parade!"

Mittens gasps!  "Stopping a parade!  Fiendish!

"Out of curiosity, what was the original plan?"

The bothan looks annoyed with her.  "Like you could come up with any better on short notice.  The old plan was to have you all dress up as rebels and harass the crowd for supporting the Empire.  But I'm glad he turned me down.  I'd hate to make a blankedy-blank like him look like a hero."

"So how do we get past security and disable a huge float in broad daylight?"

"The floats will go over man-hole covers from time to time.  Security below them will be weak because the tunnels are narrow.  I'll have my mechanic give you a monkey wrench to throw into the float's works."

"Sounds fun!  I'm in!"

Ikia asks, "What is the pay?" for one, she would like compensation so as to afford gear and/or a ticket off this world. For another, if she DIDN'T ask what the pay was, that would look suspicious.

  "Admittedly, the fastest 'better plan' would depend on if your sources had video or audio of his plans.  Turning the parade props into a roaming confession of medical fraud would be a larger PR disaster than it stopping in the middle of the street."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:54, Sat 08 Aug 2015.

"500 for each of you," the Bothan answers Ikea, "And before you think it, No I won't pay a dead or missing merc's 'friends' or 'family' the share they were due.  I've heard of people turning on each other after a mission to try and get a bigger cut."

He answers Dackson, "I wish.  I'll pay good money if any of you can get your hands on damning evidence like that."

"A reliable teammate is worth way more than 500 creds," Mits says, "I doubt you have anything to worry about us turning on each other."

Ikia says, "No need to reassure him of our loyalties to each other. Only that the job will be done. His reassurance comes from his policies; which are born of the depravity of others."

She then looks at the bothan. "Thank you for your time."

Ikia then looks back to her team. "Are you two ready?"

  We can't blame you for using such a cool name instead of Matt's name.  "I'm sure he'll believe it when he sees it."  Maybe.

  He nods to the shortest one, "May as well get this over with." 500 may be pocket change in many regards, but it's definitely more than a Jedi's starting budget.  Which he well knows considering he actually paid for a gun.

"I was born ready!" Mits answers enthusiastically.

The bothan puts on a self-satisfied smile, kicking back in his chair again.

"I like your professionalism.  I'll send a guy with your pay the moment I hear of your success.  If for some reason you have to vanish before he gets to you, log on to the Bothowy Global account 1337 BUCKS, password: D15N3Y.  I hate owing people."

Mits thumbs-ups and heads out.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:02, Thu 13 Aug 2015.

Pocket change or no, Ikia is just happy to have any money in exchange for more or less doing what she would have done anyway.

She heads out with the other two and says, "Less guarded. Meaning the sewers are still guarded. And considering how few people actually wander the sewers, they will likely shoot first and ask questions later. But we don't know if these are just hired help trying to make money or if they are part of a conspiracy. So stun settings in this case."

And this is why Ikia has a phaser. Distance and stun. Sure, she has a stun saber, but why get in close and lose surprise and cover when you can just shoot from the darkness at a distance? Oh right. Accuracy. Well.. this is a case she may prefer distance.

  "You have no idea how nice that is to hear these days." Yaaay actual profesionalism.

  Force Stun may be one of the selection of force powers Matt knows, but yes a blaster is much more practical.  Plus they are in the sad situation where shooting somebody in the face attracts less unwanted attention.

  "It does make 'shoot first' less of a moral quandary, yes."

On the way out, the group is given a schematic of the sewers, along with an overlay of the parade rout and schedule.

Once outside, Mittens begins a hand puppet dialogue.

"'Murderdeathkill should always be your first choice, my pupil,' Flashback Darksider instructs.

"Flashback Mittens then asks, 'Then why do we carry around a melee weapon?  Wouldn't a  rocket launcher be more murderdea.'ZAP!  'Hold your tongue, fool!!  Do not question the millennia-established ways of your betters!'

"Later, Flashback Jedi Master says, 'Killing should always be a last resort.'

"Flashback Mittens comments, 'Props for being opposite of Jerkface McDarkside.  Mmmm, I like Jerkside McDarkface better.  But why do Jedi carry around lethal melee weapons instead of stun blasters?'

"'Many reasons.  Primarily because the ability to use The Force to improve the effectiveness of any weapon outside a lightsaber is extremely rare.  In your case...  I really should look into getting you some stun options for your trial.

"'Yay!  An actual answer!'"

Mits stops hand puppeting.  "What Mittens didn't admit was that she really likes lightsabers regardless of their practicality."

Ikia says, "It's also impossible to deflect blaster bolts with a blaster without frying the blaster you're holding. Do not forget the lightsaber serves as a shield as well as a weapon. And yes... the darkside offers power quickly. But the lightside offers answers and, if you are patient, you wind up with the same level of capability and skill as a darksider anyway. After all; everyone hits a roof some time."

  "Their opinions are probably skewed by the fact the time they are your teacher, they are basically immune to conventional weapons.  Same for most Jedi."

  He sighs "I'd prefer some of those crystals that turn your saber into Ions. But I guess those are a bit harder to make while on the run from the Empire."  Stun: = Stun vs living, useless vs bots.  Ion: = Stun Vs living, Super Effective on bots.

  The Darkside only offers power quickly if you are an NPC, but that's way too meta for Matt to articulate or grasp.

"Offers, quick power," Mits emphasizes, "But the reality is that the offer is a lie.  If you survive the introductory trial, there's weeks of stewing in a bacta tank afterward.  Then they might deign to carve a moment out of their busy schedule of harassing bureaucrats to teach you the tenants of the Sith Code, which is a bunch of nonsense, by the way, 'if you're lucky.'  But teach a power?  NooOOoo.  'Only after you've proven your worth.'  Which is a trap.  They'll kill you if they think you're improving faster than them.

"So no.  Opposite is true.  I got way more powerful way faster with the Jedi than I ever did with the Dumb Side.  But thanks for defending the usefulness of a lightsaber to a lightsaber fan."

She ear-wiggles at Matt's point.  "Oooh that sounds neat!"

A cab is eventually found that takes the group to where they need to start then drives off.

Ikia sits in the cab with her hands on her lap. "Truly, I am happy you are with us, Mittens. Rather than with the dark side. Both for your sake, and mine. If the dark side had your common sense on their side, they would be far more dangerous."

She then looks at Matt. "That's a thought. Firkaan crystals are common, relatively speaking. If you would like, Matt, when we get off this planet, we can go hunt for some and make ourselves some ion sabers for alternate use."

  "Honestly, as terrible as it sounds it seems like so many Jedi dying made him reevaluate the usual Jedi training policies to something useful, in your teacher's case."

  Then it's cab ride time wheeeee.  "It would definitly help against droids built specifically for tanking weapon energy, at least."  Though he wonders if he'd be able to make or get his hands on one of those 'deflect/block better, the crystal makes you do this better because-' crystals.

OOC:  Alas, half remembered rules mean I was TOTALLY WRONG.  The Ion rules are basically word for word identical to the Stun rules... with "except this" thrown in the middle.

I did remember right the 'turns to fire and lights things on fire' crystal wasn't darkside though... Though it's also high rare "on the irradiated surface of barbal" or whatever

Mits blushes from Ikea's compliment.

"Never been accused of having so much common sense as to alter the balance of power between light and dark."

She shrugs to Matt's comment.  "I guess that's technically accurate.  Master told me that he did predict a 'terrible, dark tragedy at the Jedi HQ.'  His warnings were 'taken under advisement.'  But he kept his student away from the place in spite of curricular requirements to the contrary.  He and student survived the purge."

The group finds the utility access in the nearby dark alley.  It is locked, of course.

Ikia glances to Matt. "Everything a Jedi Master teaches you is useful, Matt. I think what you mean is that he switched to the summarized version of the lessons he was going to teach her."

Upon seeing the lock, Ikia says, "Unless you bunch have a key to unlocking this..."

She activates her lightsaber. "We do not have the time for wrestling with a lock."

  "Well, if it takes me longer than a minute yes we should just slice it open." Look, we're actually glad this is shifting over to Free Form but his player already shoehorned Mechanics skill onto his build so may as well give it a token attempt at usage.

Feel free to roll it.