The ride to Baltimn was uneventful, though it took some rerouting as it lay in a somewhat difficult area of the galaxy to navigate.  Once there, however, Jawn could see the planet was decent enough, with a fairly varied terrain.  They set down in Murmamn City, the capital.

"Daedelos, you and Tate stay with the ship and see what you can pull from the local holonet," Nell said as she unbuckled herself.  "Jawn, you come with me; we'll scout things out in person."

"After you ma'am," Jawn said, taking off his hat and sweeping it towards the landing ramp while bowing.

"It's nice to know there's some gentlemen around here," Nell said, mincing off the ship.

OOC Anything in particular to say before we start the investigation?

OOC: Not in particular.

Roll for Gather Information

OOC: 11 (roll) + 1 (skill mod) = 12.

Jawn was more of a shoot now, ask questions later kind of guy.  Point him in the direction of trouble, and he'd take care of it.  But he kept his eyes open just in case he noticed anything that would give them a lead on the Force users they were seeking.

OOC I suppose you could roll for Aid Another instead.

OOC: If so, my previous roll would be it and since it's above 10 it should succeed, barring any modifiers unbeknownst to me.

Jawn and Nell spent the whole day subtly dropping hints about their true allegiance in an attempt to draw out some information.

"These things take time," Nell explained as they sipped drinks at a cantina.   "Now we just need to wait."

"You know, I'm sort of split on the subject of waiting.  On the one hand, I'm impatient; but on the other, it does have its benefits," Jawn said as he lifted his glass and then took a drink of his usual Johrian whiskey.

"Well, darlin', I hear ya on that."  Nell raised her glass to Jawn.  "Cheers."

Jawn clinked his glass against Nell's and whispered dully, "Cheers."  He finished the whiskey in one swallow.

Despite their best attempts that day, they did not turn up any results.  Nell and Jawn met back up with Daedelos and T8 at the ship.

"Well boys, no luck on our end," Jawn admitted reluctantly.  "Did anything turn up for you?"

T8 twordled an approval.

"Tate was able to track shipments of unusual items to an outpost nearby."

"Well that's great."  Nell patted T8.

"He also noticed a recent visit by that Inquisitor we met recently."

"Please tell me the Inquisitor is now gone," Jawn said, a slight sense of dread settling over him.  "And that he didn't go to the outpost where the unusual shipments went."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:42, Fri 05 Jan 2018.

"He is gone, though he did go to the outpost," Daedelos replied but, upon seeing their concerned expressions, added "it's still receiving shipments, however.  So it should still be intact."

Jawn's face had tightened at the first part of Daedelos' answer, but visibly relaxed after he finished explaining the situation.  "Well then, when do we head out?  We gotta go make contact and make sure that Inquisitor didn't shake them up too much."

"Whenever you're ready," Nell said.

"Well I'm not one to sit on my hands," Jawn said, already heading out.

The crew gathered together to track down a speeder to take to the outside of town.

Jawn scanned the roads as well as looking into any companies that look like they might sell or rent a speeder, as well as asking around.

Jawn easily spotted the two speeder shops that existed in the small settlement.  Both looked to be in competition with the other.

"Well, let's see if we can't use this to our advantage," Jawn thought aloud.  He commed Nell .  "I've got an idea..."

"I'm all ears, darlin'."

Jawn explained to Nell about how they could try playing the two shops off of each other, getting a price from one, taking it to the other to see if they would beat and then continuing to go back and forth.  "So, what do you think?" he asked.

"Oo, I like it."  Nell replied.  "Let's do it."

Jawn decided they should start with the more run down looking shop, hoping to start with the lower price and take it to the higher end one.

Nell walked calmly but stiffly from the first shop.

"Well, that was a disaster."

"Uh oh, what happened?" Jawn inquired, tipping his hat back and then sticking his hands in his pockets with his thumbs through his belt loops.

"They saw right through me," Nell replied.  "Let's try the other shop."

"Awright.  Do you want me to come in with you this time?" Jawn asked.

"Couldn't hurt," Nell replied.  The two entered the other shop and approached the counter where a three-armed alien greeted them.

OOC Roll for aid another in Persuasion.

Jawn tried to give a roguish smile, but he wasn't sure it translated well into the alien's culture.

The alien gave Jawn a surprised look before Nell was able to pull back attention to herself.

"Howdy, darlin'," she said, "we're looking for a speeder to rent.  We tried the one down the street but they just didn't have what we wanted.  I'm sure you'll be more up to the task."

* * * *

Nell and Jawn left the shop with a luxury speeder for a regular price.

"That was close," Nell said, then elbowed Jawn in the ribs.  "Thanks for the help."

"Yeah, sorry about that.  I'm not sure exactly what happened." Jawn shrugged.  "I guess my charms don't work as well on non-Humans."

Nell laughed.

They met back up with Daedelos and Tate then headed out of the town and to the nearby outpost.  It was a single, three-story tower with the entrance on the second floor, accessible via turbolift.

They parked near by the other vehicles and made their way to the turbolift.  Nell pressed the intercom.

"Welcome to the School of Hidden Wisdom, how may I help you?" asked a mechanical voice.

OOC Did you want to reply or Nell?

OOC' I'll let Nell reply.

"We were just wonderin' if you'd seen someone 'round these parts," Nell said, doing her best to lay on the charm.  "Tall fella, Falleen?"

The door to the turbolift opened.  Nell looked at Jawn and they both entered.  At the second floor they were let out and walked to the building entrance.  It opened when they arrived.  Inside was a handsome, athletic gentleman with short, grey hair.  He was wearing sparring clothing and looked to have just finished a match as he was sweating and breathing heavily.

"You said you were looking for a Falleen?" he asked, though continued on before they could answer.  "There was an Imperial Inquisitor here the other week that was a Falleen but I'm not sure what he was looking for."

OOC Any comment or action?
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:36, Thu 04 May 2023.

Jawn recognized that this person's general story matched up with what they already knew.  But he tried to read the man's body language and intonation to see if he really didn't know why the Inquisitor had come.

The gentleman ran a towel over his face and moved towards nearby table to pour himself a glass of water.

"Yet you stopped whatever it was you were doing to hurry and meet with us," Nell pointed out. 

The man hesitated, then offered some glasses to his guests.  Nell took one but didn't drink.

Jawn was smart enough to know to follow Nell's lead, and similarly took the glass but did not partake of its contents, though he did give their host a grateful smile.  Besides, water wasn't really his preferred liquid substance.

"It's usual that people come looking for an Imperial Inquisitor; most are trying to stay away," the man replied at last.  "I suppose that made the situation seem urgent.  Perhaps you were Imperials trying to catch up with him.  Or informants."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:32, Thu 04 May 2023.

Jawn wasn't sure if he should play into the man's assumptions about them being informants or set at ease those assumptions.  However, he understood that he was more hired gun than mind reader, so he let Nell be the mouthpiece.  However, he did look at her sidelong with a raised eyebrow to show her he did find the man's explanation questionable.

"Of course, darlin'," Nell replied.  The tension seemed to increase in the room as both Nell and the man seemed aware that the other wasn't being completely honest.

"I haven't introduced myself!  How rude of me.  My name is Ephaan Kenzon!" The gentleman extended his hand to them.

"Charmed," Nell replied, shaking his hand.

"Likewise," Jawn added, shaking the man's hand with as tight a grip as he could muster.

"Quite the grip," Ephaan admitted, then paused "I...get the impression there's something quite special about you...Have you ever...seen things before they happen?  Or shown reflexes uncanny for your species?"

Nell raised her eyebrow at Jawn.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:28, Tue 09 May 2023.

"I'm quick on the draw," Jawn replied, flourishing his blaster while being careful not to aim it at Ephaan, "if that's what you mean."  Jawn deftly holstered his weapon. "But other than that, no."

"Are you...absolutely sure?" he asked again.  When Jawn nodded Ephaan continued on.  "Well, I'm afraid you've missed your Inquisitor friend.  He came briefly a few days ago, looking for something.  I don't think he found what he was looking for because he left rather quickly."

"But he came here, to speak to you?" Nell pressed.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Perhaps you should ask him."  Ephaan was clearly getting upset.  "I'm not in the habit of disclosing Imperial business to strangers."

Nell sighed.

"Well, darlin', I'm going to go out on a limb here and tell you somethin'.  We're not with the Empire, we're with the Rebel Alliance.  We're investigating this here Inquisitor after he came poking around after my friend here got himself mixed up in some kind of ritual."  She indicated Jawn.

OOC Wanna add anything about that experience?

“It’s all a bit fuzzy," Jawn admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. “But I do remember them sticking me in a cage over a fire, burning a Hutt in the fire and a lot of chanting.”