http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Coruscant_underworld

It was a normal day in the Gaza district; scoundrels making blackmarket deals, city slickers picking up overnight dates and sabbac players trying to find the latest newbie to take advantage of.

While lepi are a race found all over the galaxy, they are still a relatively rare sight in the Gaza district since they are not native to Coruscant and most non-natives try to keep from going down below. However, a lepi can be seen wearing a hoody, baggy pants, and a pair of headphones.

The lepi is bobbing her head to whatever music must be playing on said headphones as she walks the streets of the district.

(Gonna go for trying to play her as the character I initially envisioned just to see how it turns out)
(Also: Why you are here is up to you, but I figure if we are all down here to track down a baddy who is laying low, that will bring our characters together easier)
This message was last edited by the player at 06:02, Tue 24 Nov 2015.

  Much more common is the sight of someone wearing sunglasses at... Night?  Well in the undercity not like sunlight dictates the practicality of eyewear.

  Either way, the black haired man leaning against a support pillar looks up from his wrist datapad as the Lepi passes, then back to it as he makes a few entries, and the Lepi's song picks up a few extra lyrics.

  Gib Resal recognizes an old acquaintance, but just loudly announcing such might not be what she wants just now, considering why she's down here.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:09, Tue 24 Nov 2015.

A 20-something Shaliz'Na staggers down the street reeking of whiskey, his left sleeve shredded and drenched in blood.  Over his other shoulder is slung a vagabond's backpack.

"Hey there, little bunny.  There are dangerous...  dangerous streets for a pretty girl all alone.  But lucky...  lucky you.  I'll protect you."

He stumbles but keeps himself from falling with a flap of his wings.  When he catches sight of the guy with sunglasses he assumes trouble and prepares for the attack he's expecting any moment now from Gib.

Serenity stops bobbing her head when she gets the added hacked message. She looks around, spots Gib, and just as she is putting two and two together, Nathan hobbles in covered in blood. She takes her headphones off and they rest around her neck.

Serenity says, "I'm a doctor. Lemme have a look at that arm." She goes to check on the arm, regardless of Nathan's response. But in her experience, most people just take her word for it because they want a doctor to be there.

Those few who didn't, she just knocked their lights out, fixed them up and then left them there with a note that said, "You're welcome. Next time, let the doc help you and you won't get punched in the face. Have a nice day. :)"

She isn't ignoring Gib. Just that someone with a wound barely able to walk shows up kind of takes priority.

  Gib meanwhile, is somewhat paranoid of the bleeding drunkard.  But, well, he admits someone who probably has more alcohol than blood left in their body is less worrisome...

  Well, okay.  Less worrisome for the safety of anyone but the bleeding guy.  "I'd listen to her, if I were you."

Nathan blinks in surprise, taken off guard by both the pretty bunny turning out to be helping him instead, and the sunglasses guy showing apparent concern.

"W...  Really?  Well thanks, Dr. Rabbit."

He presents his arm.  Mostly closed wounds look like he got attacked with a beer bottle.  Oddly, (for beings without superpowers or natural regeneration anyway) they're much more healed up than would make sense for fresh blood all over them.

To sunglasses guy he says, "I'll take...  good advice."

Serenity finishes helping Nathan out before saying, "Name's Serenity. So how'd you get in a fight? You sounded drunk when you were approaching..."

She then turns to Gib. "And you look really familiar... I know you from somewhere?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:30, Sat 28 Nov 2015.

  "Well, I suppose you always did stand out more than me."  Because an excitable bunny arresting you for 'being a nerd' made for... odd childhood cops and robbers.

  "You asked me to come, so here I am." While it would save time, he doubts Drunk mc glass shards is who they are looking for.

Nathan gets a far-away look, "'...there is serenity.'"

Serenity finds quite a few bruises and a big lump on the back of Nathan's head.  He figures it'd be rude to ask about Sunglasses' being unfamiliar to whom he claims asked for him, so he keeps that to himself.

"Thank you, Dr. Serenity.  Gang of thugs.  Told them to stop.  They attacked."

He looks embarrassed.

"I made a big mess.  I think...  one might still be alive.  Don't know if I patched him right."

Serenity looks at Nathan and says, "Kindly show me to these thugs. I might be able to give them a second chance at life."

Serenity then looks at Gib and says, "....Gib? I guess I just still imagined that cute pudgy face..." she smirks and opens her arms. "Good to see you again, buddy."

  "He gives the impression there isn't much left of them to stick together for that."

  He'd -.- face at Serenity's comments aimed at him, but that's hard for someone with his condition to do even without the sunglasses.

  Still, hard to turn down bunny hugs-waaait a minute.  "Just so long as there isn't a suplex waiting at the end, pavement isn't as forgiving as a sandbox."

  ...Eh, it would probably be worth it anyways, as he steps up.

Nathan chuckled at the light-hearted exchange between Dr. Bunny and Sunglasses Guy.  He flies over to a nearby small bar.  The lights are on, but the place has been evacuated.  Inside it looks like Chewbacca got his hands on a lightsaber and fought off four thugs.  Two were beheaded with a clean, burning cut, one has a caved-in face, and the last one has a poorly patched-up broken nose.  But he's still breathing.

---

OOC: Irony of ironies.  In Byron's custom-made d6 system, one cannot spend a force point to add damage dice to an energy weapon such a blaster or a lightsaber.  But one can add dice to their strength damage with a force point.  So in the SW game Nathan was in, he would one-shot bosses by smashing the butt of the lightsaber into their face.

"Nathan intends to knock out boss face with a butt-strike.  Spending force point.  42 damage.

"That's a difference of 18!  You killed the boss in one hit!  But you used the force to kill someone..."

"The intent was to knock him out."

"Fine.  No darkside points for caving a guy's face in while using the force."

Serenity simply gave Gib a bunny hug. No suplexes. She kisses his cheek. "Good to see you again, Gib." she says in a genuine tone. Then turns to Nathan and follows him.

When at the bar scene, Serenity looks around. "..." She goes to the caved-in face man to make sure it just looks worse than it ewww... yeah he's done. She then checks on broken nose man and quickly fixes the patch job, injects the guy with a sedative so he won't wake up from the pain, and sets the guy's nose bone.

Serenity proceeds to loot the bodies, check I.D.'s and take whatever cash the dead dudes had on hand. "As for why I called you, Gib... it had a dual purpose. One, I finally found you again after all these years, so I wanted an excuse to meet up with you. But the other reason is I'm chasing a guy and I figured, based off what I found out about you, that you might wanna tag along and help me."

  Gib doesn't blush, that would be crazy-wait, he is? Oh.

  He takes Serenity collecting her doctor bill in stride.  "I get the feeling you aren't chasing him just because of some debt dodging." "

  He looks over to bird boy, and comments ""I'm assuming they swung first." " and that it was the only swing they got.

  OOC: Sounds about right for The Force morality, yeah.

Bird Boy is a little surprised that his new aquaintences take the grizzly scene in stride much better than the person who made the mess in the first place.  But then, she is a doctor.  And he is a sunglasses guy.

The thugs have a decent amount of money on them, but little in the way of I.D., as one might expect from slum extortionists.

Nathan nods.  "I'm usually thicker skinned.  But today's the anniversary of...  the murder of a loved one.  So I answered their taunts.  They answered with weapons.  Now they're dead.  I'm such a screw-up.  What did master see in me?"

To Serenity he answers, "Thanks for helping.  I owe you one.  Sorry I don't have much to offer in repayment.  Um...  Except maybe advice?  I'll bet these guys' boss is going to try and have you killed for helping me.  Prolly best if you leave this area."

Serenity frowns, looking at the carnage before looking at Nathan. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm here looking for a fugitive and I intend to find him. If this boss somehow figures out you were responsible, he'll go after you. If he goes after me, well... tell you what. Why not stick with Gib and I? Strength in numbers, as they say."

She looks back to Gib. "...assuming you don't mind, that is."

   "They would have to know in the first place." He looks to the scattered limbs and one, unconscious, survivor.  "Or be in any position to know."  Which of course, isn't to say there won't be further people after them for being near the guy.

  "I can handle it for now, though some better details on just who we are dealing with would help.  'Fugitive' doesn't exactly narrow it down around here."

Nathan squirms bashfully.  "There were...  a lot of witnesses.  And the walls have eyes and ears down here.  So I'm sure someone saw you patch me up.  So yeah.  I'll be tagging along.  If for no other reason than to make sure you don't wind up killed just for being kind.  They'll probably attack from behind.  So I'll be bringing up the rear..."

He's sure to leave enough room between him and the others that they won't get caught in the blast radius of any grenades that get lobbed at him.

Serenity nods and looks at Nathan. "OK, sure. But let's play 'get to know you' while we head out. You tell us a bit more about yourself and then we'll share what we're after so you can help us. I'm Serenity. I'm an ex-gangster. Know my way around the streets and can hold my own in a fight. This is Gib, I'll let him describe what he is."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Thu 17 Dec 2015.

  Thermal Detonators are overrated if you can't manage installing a timer on a concussion grenade anyways... We think... it wildly varies from writer to writer whether or not you can blow up an entire fortress just by throwing it down the garbage chute.... what IS it with duct systems in Star Wars?

  "I'm sure Serenity has better overall medical experience, but keep me in mind if lose something they can't glue back on with bacta."   Well, that and the custom barely legal blaster business.

Nathan follows along.  He's a bit surprised by both Serenity and Gib.

"An ex-gangster named Serenity.  Who became a medic.  I wonder if a name change came with the change of occupation.

"And a prosthetics specialist who looks like a bodyguard.  It's a step up from the company I usually keep at least.

"I'm Nathan.  Today's the anniversary of the day when my Jedi teacher gave his tfe to rescue his sorry excuse for an apprentice.  Now I'm just a sorry excuse for a drunken sculptor."

Serenity says, "My parents named me Serenity. It's not a new name for me. I'm ex-gang because... well most of 'em died and the rest scattered. Starfall's my last name too. Me, my dad, my siblings... all of us have some form of shooting star pattern on our fur." she points at her ear. "I've got two m'self. One on the left ear and on on my right leg. Anyway, Gib and I are here tracking down a bad guy by the name of Sharidon Thornrage who's laying low in this area. I'm just about positive he is within a 5 mile radius of here. And I'm also positive he has little choice but to stay put for a bit. So I've got a window of opportunity to catch this guy."

Serenity pauses to face Nathan. "Sorry excuse? I dunno... you at least have the drunken part down. And I'd have to see some of your sculpting to judge that for m'self." She keeps walking. "So why say those things of yourself?"

  "Probably closer to 'you won't wake up with less body parts than you started' than specialist, but that's quite a high bar for around here."

  He does have some tact.  He's not making jokes about how talented he is carving, like at the bar.

  Why yes there is a distinct lack of personal details volunteered, go figure.

"Oh...  Sorry if I sounded rude.  You're um...  I appreciate your patience.  This Thornrage guy must be super terrible.  What'd he do?

"As for why I berate myself...  Master was a good man.  Devoted to protecting life.  Not exactly honoring his memory by putting myself in a situation where I wind up killing people."

He looks to Gib, confused.  "Huh?  So...  your occupation is to refrain from amputating?  Oh I get it.  You're a general surgeon who's good at saving damaged limbs.  Why so cryptic?"

Serenity nods to Nathan. "Acknowledging your failure is the first step to overcoming it."

She stops in her tracks and holds out an arm to the others, peering around a corner. "Zeta thugs..."

DC You Win If you Feel Like It, Zeta is a crime lord who lives in this area. His gang is all about cybernetics and showing how superior such is to organics. They usually just bully non-cyborgs (or poor cyborgs who can't afford better parts) and lord over them. But some of them can get too excited and go overboard, permanently maiming the people they bully. To which they usually say stuff like "now you can see how right we were when you get a robot limb to replace that now-useless one".

   "I just met you, and the only thing I know about you is that your body count makes you feel bad. I'm going to be vague even for me sharing personal information."

  Oh, Zeta Thugs.  Nathan probably won't feel as guilty chopping off their mechanical limbs, then. Convenient.

  "I'm assuming there is more to it than them just standing there. Are they working with Sharidon, or just in the way."

Nathan nods somberly to Serenity.  To Gib's answer he ohs, blushes in embarrassment, and humbly bows in apology, keeping quiet lest the thugs overhear.  He's heard the name Zeta before, but not the details.  Nathan readies his lightsaber and moves forward to take point for the doctors in case things get ugly.

Serenity says, "Wish I knew..."

One of the thugs chuckles and says, "Oh my. My inferior cybernetic audio receptors totally didn't catch any conversations coming from just around the corner. I'm completely unaware of people spying on us."

Serenity facepalms. Then steps out. "Well? Do you have anything to do with Sharidon Thornrage?"

The guy responds with, "Oh! Look! It's a bunny rabbit! Hey... we can test out those cybernetic legs against her barely-standing, wobbly organic legs."

  Could be worse.  Could be leet speak and hammer hands.

  "You grafted untested product?  It's a wonder you didn't get them put on backwards, if you're that trusting with your limbs."

Nathan stows the lightsaber.  These thugs haven't made any threats yet.  He steps out beside Serenity and tries to defuse the bomb Gib dropped.  "Your concern for their welfare is admirable, Doc.  But I get the feeling that they were challenging our champ to a vertical jump contest."

He addresses the thug.  "She's dead set on finding Sharidon ASAP.  I'd bet money she'll agree to your contest if you agree to tell what you know about him."

The thug and his buddies laugh and oooooo at Gib. "He just clowned you, man!" "I know, right?" The guy then looks back to Gib with a broad smile and says, "Haven't tested them against a leppi, dork-face. People rumor nothing jumps as high or as far as a leppi. Ha! Ha!"

Serenity says, "Nonsense. Anyone with half a brain knows that a machine designed for a specific purpose is going to out-do its biological counterpart at that specific function. But my friend here is right: Tell me where Sharidon is and I'll be happy to let you out-jump me and gloat all you like."

The thug laughs. "Let me?! Ha! I can out-jump you any time I want!"

Serenity says, "But you can't make me jump. In which case, you may as well only be bragging that your legs can move."

The thug looks annoyed. "Well... at least she acknowledged machines are superior..."

  Serenity's legs would clearly look better in either case, but Gib has just enough tact to not bring it up.

  "Though I am certainly better off than I was before, I prefer replacement as needed, rather than recreationaly."

Nathan is relieved things haven't gotten violent yet.  But he's looking a little lost.

"Woah.  You replaced your own legs with cybernetics?  Dang, Doc.  That's badass.  What happened?  Speeder accident?"

He looks back to the thugs.  "Even if your mod is well known to be better at jumping than the best athlete of your species when in top condition, there's other angles to look at.  Do they perform better than a leppi athlete?  Even if you allow for the height difference?  That'd be incredible if they can.  So your contest would be fun even though we all already agree cybernetics are better overall."

Thug face says, "....psssssh fine. Sharidon is trying to hide out with the Killwatchers. They apparently "owe him one", so he's cashing that in."

Competion ensues with cyberpunks cheering the guy on. Serenity leaps amazingly high (a good 4.5' into the air without a running start) and amazingly far (about 27 feet). These are olympic athlete levels for normal humans, but jumping is kind of one of the leppi things.

The cybernetics let the thug leap 7' into the air and 35' on the long-jump. He wins by quite a margin, but is sufficiently impressed with the leppi jumping capabilities.

  See Gib, this is what you get for being nonspecific even OOCly. Not like you've been used often enough for them to remember your entire 'LOL species with no eyes gets cyber eyes' gig anyways.  Though it's the price you pay for everyone not instantly knowing you're said species and openly stating it in Empire territory.

  He doesn't bother to correct Nathan either way.  "I wish they merely had a thing against timepieces, but that wouldn't be inconvenient enough."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:24, Fri 05 Feb 2016.

Nathan is surprised the thug knew anything, much less spill it before the contest.  He's very impressed with both Serenity and the thug's cybernetics.  "So now we know just how out-of-the-ballpark better cybernetics are.  Impressive.  I'm thinking flame detailing would be fitting.  And thanks for the tip.  Where would we find them?"

He chuckles at Gib's comment.  "Yeah.  Pretty much."
This message was last updated by the player at 19:08, Mon 08 Feb 2016.

The thug chuckles and says, "Killwatchers have several places. But the one place I know about is that bar&grill down the road."

Sernity nods a thanks and heads in the direction pointed.

 "If you are hiding out, may as well make it the place with a good kitchen I guess."

Nathan bids the thugs farewell and follows Serenity.  He chuckles at Gib's insight and nods.  "Yeah.  That and surround yourself with tough guys who owe you.

"So what's the plan?  Will this guy or his friends recognize you?  I'm wondering if I was wrong about your reasons for wanting to find him if we're going straight for him.  So was your intention to simply deliver a message?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:54, Sat 13 Feb 2016.

Serenity says, "My intention is to bring him to justice. He'll recognize me when he sees me. But I doubt he knows my name."

  "It has been quite some time since I have been around here, though I doubt whether he knows me or not will really matter to his reaction."

Nathan staggers from the answer.

"Woah woah woah!"

He hurries to stand in Serenity's path, but will walk backward if she's dead set on moving forward.

"A little bit of planning can go a long way.  I'm sure this guy deserves what's comin' to him ten times over and all, but we'll be out-numbered if we just kick down the front door.  Likely 10 to 1 or worse.  And something tells me the Killwatchers are probably armed to the teeth.  Wouldn't it be better to come up with a plan that has a better chance of us surviving long enough to bring this guy to justice?"

Serenity says, "We gotta be sure he's there to begin with. Armed to the teeth or no, the Killwatchers aren't going to just fill the place with blaster fire just because I show up. Buut... what did you have in mind?"

  Well, Gib can hardly argue with Nathan's reaction.

  Unless it's to disguise themselves as pizza delivery people.  That would just be silly.

Nathan is relieved Serenity is willing to listen.

"Well we have a couple options.  Disguise is one.  Casing the place from a safe distance is another.  A third is to hire someone to check the place out in your stead.  Otherwise what I expect to happen is for your quarry to recognize you and conclude that me and Gib are your hit-men.  Then all he has to do is scream that we're informants and run.  The Killwatchers blast us and Nimrod gets away in the chaos."

Serenity tail-twitches and thinks on it. "Alright... that all makes sense. I guess while we are trying to figure out ideas that keep us safer, we may as well come up with one or two more. Gib? Any ideas?"

  "Well, we could always see if they didn't skimp on electronic security and then use it to watch them from a safe distance."

Nathan blinks in surprise.

"You're a slicer too?  Wow.  You're sure living up to the 'tough professional with sunglasses' mystique.  Yeah.  Using their own surveillance to spy on 'em would be fantastic.  And with a name like Killwatchers, I'll be sorely disappointed if they don't have surveillance."

Serenity says, "I like that. Let's go with that first and see if we can, in fact, hack into their security system."

*fast forward* Gib discovers they did not, in fact, skimp on security. However, he does discover that he will be able to hack into two cameras without raising alarms.

  "I'm surprised by the first part of that supposed mystique."  Maybe this is why so many people just brood in corners?

  Some computer antics later "Actually reasonable security.  I have two cameras so far, more and they might notice for now."

Nathan isn't sure what Gib means by that, but his high opinion of sunglasses professional man is justified by the swift expert slicing success.  Wanting to contribute, he carefully scrutinizes what the group can see, looking for any way to reduce the danger of getting Serenity her revenge.

"So is now a good time to request we not kill anybody?  ...On purpose at least."

Serenity says, "Pff. I'm a healer, not a killer. I just beat people up when they're being jerks."

Nathan can see there are a lot of people in that restaurant. And lots of people come and go that may or may not be members of the Killwatchers, much less any gang at all.

  Well, it has been some minutes since they saw what was left of the last people Nathan killed. So at least slightly better time than before.

  "Concern for bystanders at the very least."

Nathan is very relieved to hear his allies relent to non-lethal intent and concern for bystanders.  Well, more like it was already their attitudes.  If anything, he's the brutal man out.  He noms some more Emo McMuffins as he wonders if he's going to be a terrible example to them and end up dragging them down to his level.

"Thanks."

He stares some at the vid feed, blinking in surprise.  "Not what I was expecting.  Maybe the eatery is just a front and the real operation is on a different level?"

Serenity says, "Kind of? I mean it's not like the gangs here are all that secretive, but yeah. Very likely the restaurant is, in fact, just a restaurant."

Gib was more trying to use what counts as Tact for him to not bring up Nathan's pile of diced corpses.

"I would not be surprised if both were true.  It is a restaurant with more network security than, well, a restaurant."

OOC: So, what exactly do I SEE with those two cameras I was able to hack?

Sorry I wasn't specific, but this is from the cameras you were able to hack. Basically, you can see the restaurant from two different angles. One angle lets you see towards the front door, the other lets you see towards the back door. Together, the cameras let you pretty much see the whole restaurant.

"Well I'm stumped.  Most likely, the three of us can't just walk in the front door and ask around without alerting the gang.  Even if we wear disguises, we'll still stick out like sore thumbs.  But the other entrances are likely watched closely too.  Maybe hiring someone else to lure the guy out is the way to go."

  "Well, I suppose it would have been too much to hope they would be hanging out in the publicly visible part of the building.  So whatever plan is opted for, we still do not know for sure if they are in there.  I do have a security drone, though a rooftop access point would help introduce it to their ventilation.  Not exactly a great view if we do not want it alerting them, but still better than nothing/

  He looks back to Nathan "Of course, we're still going to need to come up with a plan like you said, for if they are inside."

Serenity says, "Gib is that "hired guy" your mentioning, Nathan. Unless someone looked into my childhood, nobody here would know he and I have any association. Though I half wonder if I could use their own cover against them... see, most of the people in there are just bystanders who like their food. I could go in there and order and they will be smug about my being unable to see my target. The won't hurt me either, as long as customers can be caught in the crossfire. And if they poison my food, well, I'm a doctor and poison food would make a very bad reputation for a restaurant. They aren't about to go out of business over little ol' me."

Nathan points at his bandages.  "Blasters aren't the only lethal weapon gangs arm themselves with.  Don't think that they'll hesitate to kill in a favorite crowded place.

"I'd rather not fly to the roof to get your security drone where it needs to go if I don't have to, but better that than the two of you putting yourselves in harm's way.  Even if Gib has anonymity on his side, it's still risky to go in there and ask suspicious questions."

Nathan is still surprised the encounter with the cyber gang didn't turn violent when Gib suggested the guy was stupid enough to buy faulty parts.  Maybe The Force is less forgiving of drunken, failure Jedi with foot-in-mouth problems than it is of regular guys.  Or maybe the guy was simply too dense to realize he was being insulted.

"Speaking of arsenals...  Perhaps picking up stun grenades and stun blasters before proceeding would be a wise precaution."

  Gib might suggest to Nathan it's not out to get lackluster force users specifically, if he knew what the guy was thinking.  what why would Gib know that uh no reason.

  "I think Serenity has nonlethal covered."  Broken bones are nonlethal!  "If you can't afford it Nathan, I have a modified holdout I can spare. I do want it back though. I am unfortunately light on explosives due to rush travel needs."

  He thinks for a moment, and says "Perhaps you could just throw the drone, Nathan. Put what training you have to nonlethal use."

Serenity says, "Can't the drone itself fly?"

She then looks at Nathan. ".....you're absolutely right. Stun weapons are ideal for this. Let's go arm ourselves and return later. Still... someone should keep an eye on this place. So for now, we can leave Gib's drone in a hidden spot...." she looks up. "There. On top of one of the street lights. That way our mark won't leave here without us noticing."

See?  You're being helpful, Nathan.
Too bad I spent my money on booze when I should have been spending it on stun weapons.  Now those guys are dead.
They were killers!
Now I'm a killer.
Even Master was a killer by that reasoning.  Self defense isn't wrong.
He was never happy about death.  And he wasn't a drunk who couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"I think that was meant as a tease.  I deserve it.  Good idea, Serenity."

He'll continue to take the rear when the group moves on.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:48, Mon 25 Apr 2016.

"I only had time to fix up a remote, autonomous features are limited to positional correction.  The lamp works well for now"  At Nathan's frowny frown he comments "She meant it honestly.  That or she's gotten much better at sarcasm since we've last talked."

OOC: I'm so used to the mindset of 'FLIGHT COSTS 19 TRILLION CREDITS AND MODIFICATION SLOTS THE SIZE OF A VOLKSWAGON BEETLE UNLESS I TELL YOU TO GO **** yourself!' that my brain completely blocked out the should be duh fact that Drones would, well, fly rather than have good repulsors.

Serenity says, "Who's teasing? What? Look, let's just set up the drone on that street light and have Gib monitor it while we go shop for stun guns."

Once Gib has the drone set in place, Serenity will head off to shop with the two.

"I was referring to Gib's jab about using my training for something non-lethal.  I'm still not sure what else I could have done to help the bar maid that wouldn't end in dead people.  No bouncer.  No authorities.  Maybe I should have been much more aggressive rather than politely ask them to stop hurting her.  If I took off a few hands before they had a chance to arm themselves, maybe they'd still be alive."

Nathan sighs and follows along.  "Thanks for offering to loan me your spare.  Here's hoping I don't make any more lethal decisions today."

  "That pile of corpses deserved it.  However you will never get over your hatred of killing people deserved or otherwise, if you merely complain about it when given the non lethal suggestions you claim to want."

  He still offers the stun capable holdout, regardless.  "Your **** ups are still what many would consider success.  You are alive, scum is dead, and we shall see what the future holds for you."

Serenity says, "Gib's right. You have a better attitude about killing than most. That already puts you a step above the average sentinel with a killing tool. Tell ya what; You seem like a really capable fighter. When we're done this mission, I'll spar you and see how well you do without your fire-blade ignited. Cool?"

Nathan was going to counter with "Why would I want to get over hating killing?" but stops himself when he remembers his master's warnings about hate.  He takes a breath to try and Zen his conflicting feelings into settling down, recalling poems about lotus flowers and whatnot.

"You're both very kind.  Thank you.  A spar sounds like a great way to undwind.  In the meantime, I'd like to play some music on my flute."

If no one objects, he'll play a flute that looks like a peace pipe.

  GIB RESAL HATES FUN!-Wait no, that's Gib Krej (no relation)

"Yes, I assume Nathan wouldn't demand live fire combat like some I have met."

  Get it? Because of the fire-we'll stop now.

Serenity turns an ear, listening to the music. After a bit, around the time the trio get to a gun shop, Serenity says with a smile, "Nice music, Nathan. Maybe if you played music when people start being jerks, they would get distracted. And if they are music lovers, they will forget all about the focus of their jerkliness."

She doesn't look like she is joking about that. The shopkeeper is absolutely normal. He has standard prices, doesn't haggle, and even has standard forms to fill when purchasing a gun.

Nathan nods to Gib.  He wonders about what kind of nasty company Gib keeps, but then remembers he's hardly one to talk...  So he decides against asking about that.

To Serenity he gives an elaborate entertainer's bow with a big smile.  "Thank you!  I'll keep that in mind."

He does at least stop playing for the store.  Playing a flute in a weapons store would be... weird.

Don't worry Nathan, your poor taste in hanging out with someone like Gib is counterbalanced by hanging out with someone like Serenity.

"Despite the nickname, the Merr-Sonn Model 434 does have a stun setting."

DeathHammer™ Now with extra Deathless action!

OOC: Highly situationally appropriate flute playing.
https://youtu.be/_c_ufaxeSTs?t=1m5s

Serenity giggles and says, "Oh right. The Death Hammer. To be fair, I have several Death Hammers of my own, but I choose not to kill with them." she holds up her dukes with a confident smirk and punches at the air.

Serenity gets to weapon buying. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to teach me how to play a flute?"

"Good pick, Gib."

Nathan tries not to let it show that he's like a kid in a candy store.  He was always enamored with neato weapon designs and even sketched several of his own.  He smirks and chuckles at the bunny comparing her fists to the Deathhammer.  Her request takes him by surprise, though.

"Sure!  I'd love to.  I'm decent at a few others if you're interested.  You especially like the flute?  Or is there something else you're more eager to learn?"

  Hopefully teaching Serenity artistic hobbies later, will help keep Nathan's mind off all the shooting and slicing of people in the more immediate future.

Serenity taps her cheek. "....I like lots of instruments, really. But the flute is portable. I really like how the dulcimer sounds, but it isn't the most portable thing. Portability is key so I can have the instrument on hand at all times. Why, do you know other instruments? Do you have recommendations?"

Nathan will likely be far less emo about killing dirt-bags trying to kill Gib and Serenity than he is about the ones who tried to kill Nathan.  But music will definitely be a welcome break from all the violence, yes.

"Dulcimer!  Now there's an interesting instrument.  I dabble in a lot of instruments.  Decent enough that I might make for a passable elementary school music teacher."

He pulls up his keyboard app on his datapad, sets it to dulcimer, then plays a simple tune.  "This would by my recommendation for both variety and portability.  But nothing beats the real deal.  So it'd be worth it to get a folding dulcimer.

"Sorry to say, I don't know enough to give lessons on one, though.  And believe me, it's worth it to get real lessons.  It takes ten times as long to learn self-taught, and you're likely to develop bad habits that'll be hard to un-learn when you get good enough to realize why you don't sound as good as the pros.  Dabbling a little is fine, but if you find you're loving it, I'll be happy to help shopping for a teacher."

Nathan's enthusiasm for the topic is showing in his body language.

  Let's see, how best to not derail Nathan's temprarily improved mood?... Ah, right.  Don't say anything, double check security feed.

Serenity ponders. "Which instruments do you know?"

Nathan would happily share his love for the arts with Gib if he showed interest, but he's guessing Gib's silence means he's not interested.  He blushes at Serenity's question and bashfully rubs behind his head.  On the one hand, Nathan is proud of his versatility.  On the other, he doesn't want to sound like a braggart.

"Two reasonably well: voice and flute.  But if being able to play 'Twinkle Little Star' counts, then the list is kinda long."

He smiles and pulls up a recording of him jamming "Twinkle Little Star" on an electric sitar.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuOnoAvx0xI

(( I didn't know I'd find a vid of this very thing.  Go fig. ))

  Gib spent his artistic points on blaster documentaries and repulsor boarding (And lost the last competition he entered to a constantly laughing guy).

  "Still sounds better than most trying to do it."

Serenity says, "Can someone even be taught how to sing? I'd think that's like teaching a piece of wood how to be a flute..."

Dude!  No way!  I like, got second place.  Hah.  Oh wait.  Like, totally different sunglasses dude.  My bad!  Hahahahah!

Nathan smiles proudly and bows.  "Thanks!  So you've got a discerning ear, then.  It's not many who can tell the difference between one amateur and another."

Nathan blinks in some surprise at Serenity's poetic metaphor.  "That's a pretty profound metaphor, Serenity.  Inspiring!"

He takes notes for later.  "Voice is a very unique instrument in many ways, but it still shares a lot in common with all the others.  Practice improves how good you sound, for example."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:14, Thu 16 June 2016.

  "A lot of amateurs suck.  Some merely think they do." Blunt, if true.

Serenity says, "....teach me to sing then? Er... after the mission, of course. We got everything we need?"

When the team is ready, Serenity heads back to the restaurant with them. She takes a deep breath. "Alright. So how do we do this? We have a restaurant front, a back door, people who *probably* won't use live fire in their own restaurant, but probably will once we get past the back door. Any and all ideas welcome."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:14, Sat 18 June 2016.

Nathan blushes, rubbing behind his head.  "True 'nuff."

He nods to Serenity's request for singing lessons.  "I'm no pro, but I'll be happy to help get you started at least."

At the destination, Nathan considers the question.  "I was thinking we should smoke them out.  If we have Gib's drone drop a smoke grenade in front of the air intake, it won't be long before the fire alarms trigger.  The people who have any sense will exit the building.  If your baddie is among them we toss a glop grenade to keep him from getting away.  If not, we go in, only with fewer people to worry about inside.  If we hit a costume shop and pick up fireman costumes, there's a chance no one will resist us looking for where Nimrod is hiding."

  "The sad part is when the worst part of a plan is 'Why would the fire services bother coming out here'.  Though how confident are you firing through a disagreeable, panicking crowd if needed?"  It could work, primary concerns being how poorly opening up with assaulting bystanders could make them look.  The criminals being more sympathetic to witnesses was not a fun prospect.

  Still would be more efficient than opening fire directly though.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:56, Mon 11 July 2016.

Serenity looks at Nathan. "....you're a genius! Why didn't I think of that? Yes! Let's go get those firemen costumes now."

Serenity gives Gib a mischievous look and says, "Good thinking, Gib, but we got stun guns for that very reason, so firing into the panicking crowd is no longer an issue. And quick-response firemen are a contingent that isn't unheard of for a gang to keep on hand if they have an actual building or business.... so let's smoke 'em out."

"It is sad, yes."

As Nathan collects his thoughts to answer the shooting panicked crowd he blushes from Serenity's compliments.

"I er...  um...  Thank you.  Yeah...  That.

"We should probably try to keep the violence to a minimum if possible.  Even with non-lethal weapons in our hands, the gang won't be so gentle.  If things look like they're getting out of hand, allow me to draw their fire and lead them on a wild goose chase while you escape.  I'm pretty good at frustrating pursuers."

He wiggles his wings to indicate the reason why.

  Well, at least Gib will have no problems shooting through the obscurement, hardly an old trick for him at this point.

  "I'd rather you not get shot at in the first place, Nathan. But life is full of disappointments I guess." Well, he's TRYING to sound considerate.

Firemen suits are had and it turns out to be a doubly-useful disguise since helmets with visors are part of the suit, making Serenity unrecognizable.

The ruse is successful and the bad guy is flushed out only to be knocked out by Serenity and scarfed away into the fake fireman vehicle during the chaos.

As Serenity drives off in the vehicle, she takes her helmet off, looks a bit overly excited and yells, "Woooohooo!"

What look like police cars begin chasing. Serenity grins all the more.

Nathan chuckled grimly and nods to Gib.  "Yeah.  Sure is.  Feeling's mutual at least."

During the kidnapping, he's very relieved that nobody who matters got hurt.  But high-speed chase was certainly not something he wanted to happen.

"I'm guessing the smile is because you enjoy a car chase with what passes for law enforcement.  Not because these are friends of yours.  So I'm going to create a smoke screen."

Unless the others object, Nathan opens the window, pulls the pin from a smoke grenade, then hangs his arm out to make a big trail of smoke behind the vehicle.

"Gib.  If you would be so kind.  Toss a glob grenade at 'em.  If we time it right, that'll really muck up their visibility."

  It is much harder do to do things like shoot out tires in a society that often prefers floating and flying.

  Throwing the glop grenade without looking would be cooler, but Gib checks where he's throwing first without bring particularly bothered by the smoke anyways.  Trusting your instincts was nice, but a second opinion often helped.

Nathan's guess concerning Serenity gets a nod and a wink from her. The smokescreen and glop do the trick and soon the group loses the authorities before they are able to ditch the vehicle and make their getaway. "I have a vehicle set up not far from here for us to get away in. Let's get moving."

The trio and their prisoner are able to make it to the vehicle without a hitch and Serenity takes off, heading for the surface area of the world. "Thanks a bunch for your help, guys. It is clear I couldn't have done it without both of you."

"Nice shot, Gib!"

Nathan exhales in relief when the team makes its get-away.  "You're welcome, Serenity.  Thank you for the patch-up.  Real glad that unpleasantness is behind us without serious injury or worse as a result."

He stares at the unconscious villain, wondering what terrible things he's done.  After checking him for hidden blades or whatever else could be used to escape, he hums a soothing song to calm down.

  "Thank you, Nathan." The slightly less depressed than before guy might be upset if he took the compliment without comment.

  "The job isn't over until you are no longer lugging them around.  But as for the actual retrieval Serenity, yes."

Serenity nods. "Sure. But it'll take a couple days to get to the drop-off point. We gotta feed him and clean up after him in the meantime. And I have things to help him occupy his mind... I won't bore someone to death. Makes for brilliant escape attempts. But other than that... what do you guys wanna do?"

Nathan does apprecaite the acknowedgement, yes.  Otherwise, it would've been like offering a fist bump and being left hanging.  OK probably not quite that bad.  He chuckles at the bit about lugging the badguy around.

Nathan double-takes.  "Days?!  Yeesh.  Where are we taking him, the Outer Rim?"

He thinks about the jaded bit about the proper handling of prisoners and realizes that this girl must be a bounty hunter of some kind.

"I guess I'd like to spend the time getting to know you guys.  Like what sorts of things you enjoy doing."

When you're not kidnapping people or insulting dangerous cyborgs.

  "Some decent food we did not have to make ourselves would be good, before the trip." It's hard to stop for take out mid hyperjump.

  He looks over to Nathan, and comments "I am surprisingly boring most of the time."

Serenity hrms. "Decent food. Alright. I had some pretty decent rations stowed away and some food stuffs in the fridge. But if you're feeling like restaurant food, we can make the nearest space-burgers our first jump and then jump from there. Makes us harder to follow anyway."

Serenity then looks at Nathan. "The guy wanted to get as FAR away as possible from where he's wanted. We're lucky he didn't make it a week's travel."

She puts in the coordinates for the nearest space burger, leans back, and taps her cheek in thought. "What I enjoy doing... Lessee... beating up jerks. Reading. Research. Saving lives. And I guess patching up people falls under that, but my desire to rescue people from the jaws of death are why I learned a thing or two about doctoring. Well... that and my dad's a doctor."

Nathan's not quite sure what to make of Gib's answer.  Then it dawns on him.  Maybe he's not the only one here with a low opinion of himself.

"Heh.  That's a good thing.  Especially when compared to this guy."

Hi!  I'm an interesting person!  Wanted for killing random strangers on a whim.  I don't like you...  *Gets chopped up by a Jedi*

Hi.  I'm a boring person.  So boring that both the interesting person and the Jedi ignored me.

"So long as your being bored with yourself doesn't lead you to do something self-destructive."

...Like agree to becoming a Jedi's apprentice.

Nathan shrugs to the burger suggestion.  "Sounds yummy.  I'm fine with cooking for us whenever.  Say uh...  Does bad food also make for brilliant escape attempts?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:27, Tue 16 Aug 2016.

  The 'did not have to make themselves' part was important, yes.  Principle of the matter.

  "I am hardly going to give myself giant hammers for hands and speaking in outlandish slang, if that's what you are worried about."

Serenity looks at Gib and says, "You're not? Huh..." and does an amazing job at hiding whether she is being sarcastic or not.

Serenity then looks at Nathan. "Bad food? I guess that depends. If you ate bad food on purpose in order to throw up so the guard comes in to check on you and you steal his key, that's one thought. If you sneak bad food to your captors and they are too sick to stop you from escaping, that's another thought. But it wouldn't be my first weapon of choice for escape. But don't worry about it... I'm medically competent enough to treat us for food poisoning or general illness. And I know a few preventative measures! Why? You paranoid about food you don't cook?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:05, Tue 16 Aug 2016.

Nathan chuckles and shakes his head.  "Nothing so specific.  Was thinking along the lines of those people who take up pod racing, or any number of lethal pastimes, when bored with their lives."

Let's go rail surfing in a tropical storm!  And upload a video of our idiocy to Youtube!

To Serenity, Nathan answers, "Nah, just worried about blaming myself for an escape because the prisoner doesn't like the way I scrambled his eggs.  I'm no culinary artist..."

  "My more reckless pursuits are because I happen to be decent at them, when not in it to do those I know a favor."

  After a moment, he adds "You were going to feed the prisoner? I knew I was forgetting something." We think he's trying to make a joke. But, who knows with these characters sometimes.
This message was last updated by the player at 06:13, Sat 20 Aug 2016.

Serenity says, "Tsh... then leave the prisoner feeding to me. So when he escapes from *my* bad cooking, you can blame me instead. And if you don't blame me for something you'd blame yourself for, then you need to kick your blame in the nuts and remind it to stop being a hypocrite."

She looks at Gib. "Oh yeah... Feeding him means more money. Twice the money, in fact. Forgot to mention he is wanted dead or alive, but alive pays twice as much as dead."

Nathan doubts that carving up thugs with more panache than a less artistic Jedi counts as being "good at it" for him, so he can't really empathize with Gib on that front.

"Uh...  yeah?  Why would we not feed him..."

He sweatdrops at Serenity's strange reassurance.

"I'll be sure to do that, Serenity."

And now his suspicions of Doc being a bounty hunter are confirmed.  "Must be quite the bounty.  What'd he do?"

  "A real professional doesn't need to be reminded not to disintegrate the bounty, and all that."  Though it can be grimly satisfying to frequently remind someone you don't get paid if they are dead, while clearly not going out of your way to avoid that.

Serenity says, "Pretty much any bad thing you can think of. But the reason he has a bounty is mostly because he made the mistake of ripping a lot of money from someone highly influential. Because in the end, nobody cares about justice unless there is money involved."