The ex-padawan was able to wait until the door was clear as the other two crewmembers went over to help the cargo chief with the shipping containers for Elom. When he walked down the main corridor between the two cargo bays and as he approached the door, he ran into a stocky, middle-aged human with a braided copper goatee beard and hair, wearing a cornsilk colored armored flight suit, with slate-blue trim. "What have we here, eh? You cargo off-loaders are supposed to stay outside the ship. Did the cargo master let you past. That incompetent Weequay?" He shook his head in disgust, then narrowed his murky green eyes at Baka. "Did he pay you guys to help so they can get to their alcohol faster, hmm? Tell me the truth, or I'll have words with your boss, eh?"

[Private to GM: That_1_Guy: Farb Slesia - A heavy set middle aged male Human that has short,  wild copper colored hair. He has  a copper shaded, long, braided, gotee beard, with green eyes and reddish cream shaded skin.  He has no unusual marks. He has bad flatulence. Personality: dishonorable, somewhat humble, indulgent, lascivious, hasty, irresolute, skeptical, unkempt, trustworthy, inquisitive, moody, apprehensive, quiet. STR: 13 DEX: 8 CON: 17 INT: 9 WIS: 8 CHA: 8 ( FFG Stats | BR: 3 AG: 4 WL: 1 IN: 2 CU: 1 PR: 1 )]

Thank the Force. Baka fabricates a look of confusion while being addressed by the man.

"I'm sorry. I must've gotten my instructions confused. I'm new, you see. Still getting my bearings. I'll go wait outside."

Before making his way toward the exit, Baka looks the man in the eyes. "Please don't tell my boss. I'm on thin ice as it is, and I really need this..."

  The heavy-set man in the armored flight suit grabbed the former padawan by the scruff of his collar with an iron grip, hard enough to bruise around Baka's collarbone. "Alrighty, then. I'll set you free, since you didn't steal anything at least before I caught you. But if I see you are anyone else from your crew come aboard this ship, it'll be the Maw to pay for your boss, eh. Now, I'm going to have some words with that blasted Weequay about his lax security. Get lost before I change my mind, urchin."

---

OOC: You take 2 strain from the bruising of the irrate crew member. You should have 13 max wounds, and 13 max strain based on a human species and your characteristics.  So you are at 0/13 max wounds, 2/13 strain. Also you have a standard temple issued lightsaber (the one with 6 dmg base). Also you have heavy clothing on, so that should give you 1 soak.

Encumbrance: 1
Hard Points: 5
Rarity: 10 ➲
Price: 9,300
Type: Lightsaber
Categories: Lightsaber
Damage: 6
Range: Engaged
Critical: ωω
Skill: Lightsaber
Qualities: Breach 1, Sunder

This message was last edited by the GM at 18:35, Mon 30 Aug 2021.

It takes everything Baka has in him to not dismember this man where he stands. But the wisdom of his teachers and the subtle influences of the Force serve to keep him calm.

After straightening his collar a little, the young padawan makes an act of scurrying off of and away from the ship and its crew. Now, to figure out the lay of the land, find somewhere to lay low, secure supplies, and contemplate how to move forward...if there is a forward...
This message was last edited by the player at 19:09, Mon 30 Aug 2021.

Baka steps off of the ship's ramp and is immediately assaulted by the cold, frigid atmosphere of Elom. His heavy clothing helps to take the edge off the sting from the wind a little, but it is a far cry from Baka's preference for tropical climates.

The hexagonal design of the docking bay is open on top, allowing for vertical entry and departure...and wind gusts. Droids scurry about, repairing things or transporting parts throughout the bay, while a group of mostly humans stand idle, waiting for their time to help offload the contents of the ship.

Making his way to the main corridor of the spaceport, Baka is grateful to feel the relative heat of the insulated indoors. The enclosed ceiling probably is mostly to thank for this, along with the duracreet walls. Beings fill the area as they travel back and forth from shops and cantinas, going about their business as usual. Music can be heard from more than one establishment and the smell of a dozen or more different types of food wafts through the air. Many of Baka's observations seem to stem from the fact that the whole building is arranged in an open-floor concept, allowing for the shops to be scattered about without the typical confines of walled-in establishments. A few places still maintain the traditional set-up, being enclosed by duracreet walls and having a main and/or back entry/exit. Strangely, the whole area is darker thank a typical spaceport would be. The lights work but seemingly on a low-light setting that casts a sort of ambiance about the corridors and shops.

Baka steps outside of the spaceport to further investigate, being greeted by the biting winds, cold air, and bright light once again. The spaceport is obviously the largest part of this small town, that Baka now realizes is situated at the foot of a huge mountain. There can't be more than a few thousand beings that call this place home. The spaceport is situated at the end of a long main road that consists of a sand-like path and is flanked on both sides by 2 story buildings that house more shops and, most likely, dwellings. There are a few more parts of the town that aren't immediately visible from the entrance way of the spaceport but Baka gets the idea, more or less, from having seen more than a few different places during his training and travels.

The young Jedi turns around and goes back to the spaceport. There is much to do, but first and foremost is survival. He needs somewhere to stay, and credits to gather supplies. Then it is on to research. What is going on with the galaxy and why have things changed so drastically in such a short period of time?

Looking for somewhere to ask about lodging, Baka realizes there are dozens of places within the walls of the spaceport from which to choose. Considering the options, he decides it better to find somewhere not so conspicuous. But also somewhere not too far away.

Just outside the gianormous building sits a small shop, slightly off of the main road. Unfamiliar with the local language, the script describing its purpose is illegible to Baka, but it seems quiet and calm enough. The building is made of the same duracreet material as the spaceport but looks to be quite a bit older.

Upon entering, Baka realizes that this is an old trinket shop. The small "souvenirs" are hanging from the ceiling, scattered around the main room in a pattern designed to draw attention but not impede traffic. The shelves contain more pieces of, seemingly, hand-made knick knacks and the like.

"Hello. Is anyone in?"

  A short, old adult male Bothan with short, straight burnt-sienna colored mane, hobbled hurriedly out of the back room up to the store counter. The furry humanoid had green shaded eyes and light chocolate colored fur. He was wearing a pale violet coat, with navy colored sleeves and grey pants with numerous pockets. "Greetings, greetings. Welcome to my humble store, traveler. I am Piste Zofio'Ne, the owner, operator, administrator, etc. You get the picture, it's just me."  He says the last bit with a semi-chuckle.

  "What can I interest you in." He paused and squinted one eye as he looked the padawan up and down. "You don't appear to be someone who has a taste for trinkets, no, I don't believe so. I'll wager you must have something to sell, hmm?"

[Private to GM: Piste Zofio'Ne - A short, old adult male Bothan that has very short,  straight burnt-sienna colored mane. He has green shaded eyes and chocolate colored fur. He has no unusual marks. Personality: dishonorable, prideful, very jealous, gluttonous, platonic, generous, somewhat determined, extremely dour, skeptical, violent, unethical, indifferent, moody, chatty. ( FFG Stats | BR: 2 AG: 2 WL: 2 IN: 1 CU: 3 PR: 3 )
]

"Unfortunately, neither...particularly." Baka takes another once over around the shop as he speaks. "As interesting as much of these look, I'm just new here and don't know much about the place. Like where I can make some credits or places to stay. That sort of stuff. Admittedly, I could have asked around at the spaceport, but I'm sure they would have woven some sort of sales pitch or promotion into their explanation and I would rather not go through that at the moment."

The elder Bothan sighed. "Aye, that's just has well. My shop has not had quite the success I had envisioned, the Elomin are not big on collectible items and such. So I wouldn't be able to purchase much at all. I barely have enough to feed myself as it is. I was a traveler and ended up here as well, for reasons that would take longer to explain than you would probably want to hear."

  He again sized up the teenage wayfarer and twitched his nostrils. "Let's start with your name. Then what kind of skills do you have that can earn you a few credits, and perhaps I can help you find some paid work."

Baka doesn't like dealing with beings with secretive pasts. But how can he judge? At the moment, disclosing his true identity as a Jedi could spell disaster. "You can call me Baka. I'm more of a...general laborer. I can do most tasks well and am a quick learner."

  The elder Bothan nodded and gave a slight smile. "Well, Bakka. Nice to meet you. General labor is common enough, I..."

  The elder humanoid was interrupted by a short, thin middle-aged Elomin woman with goldenrod shaded skin and thick horns mixed with short grey hair in a bun on top of her head. She burst through the door, and yelled. "Piste! There you are. Where is my boy? He didn't come back last night. What did you do? He said he was going on a errand for you. Start talking."


  The furry humanoid gulped and his eyes widened. "I assume he just got back and it was late and went straight home. I didn't.. I mean. Uh."

  "Stop making excuses and tell me where you sent him!"

  Piste stammered. "I.. well, I mean. We had a customer that found some random parts and brought them here yesterday morning. It appeared to be some small components for ancient mining equipment. So, I thought it might be an old mine and we might find some antique mining equipment for our store. The customer said he was out about twenty miles outside of town, near the Nidez gulch when he found the parts. I gave some credits to Bawd to go check it out and see if there was anything else around there. But, just to take a look. He should have came right back."

  The elder Elomin was not happy at all with the Bothan. "You'd better go and find him now, or I'll tell the sheriff you sent a teenager out into the wilds. How did he get there?"

  Piste appeared sheepish. "I gave him my old hover-car, he has his license to drive."

  The old woman's golden face was turning red. "Get him back. Now! Close this worthless junk store and go find my boy."

  The Elomin woman turned to Baka. "This store is closed for now. Perhaps forever if my son doesn't turn up."

"Well, I'm glad I am here to offer my services." Baka smiles as warm has he can. This may be the very opportunity he needs to gather some resources for his next move...whatever that may be. Plus, a lost child is not something a Jedi should turn a blind eye to. Or even a padawan for that matter. Especially not a padawan.

"I am more than happy to find this young man in exchange for whatever you are willing to pay me. I don't mean to try and profit off of your misfortune, but I do have responsibilities to take care of myself..."

  The Bothan nodded to the icognito padawan and glanced at the elder Elomin.  "I will find him. I'll bring him to your house. I am sorry, I didn't think he would do more than take a quick survey for some random items or other places nearby."

  The storekeeper went to the door controls and guided the older woman out. "It isn't too far from the city, you know. So, it should have been relatively safe... but anyway I will bring him back, with this man's help. He probably just wandered too far off the path and got turned around." She started to reply, but the proprietor hit the door button abruptly to close it and engaged the locking mechanism.

   He turned swiftly and moved toward the back room and motioned for the young human to follow. "Come on Baka, time to earn your pay for today, yes. Do you have any weapons? Probably not, you're barely more than a teenager. Have you ever fired an energy weapon, or know how to swing a club? You know, just in case something else went wrong. I can't guarantee there isn't any danger so if you want to back out, now is your chance. I have another hover-car out back. By the Stars, I hope Bawd is okay."

"I can handle a blaster." Baka says, hopefully confidently enough to convince the Bothan. Blasters aren't a Jedi weapon. There's no sophistication or real skill needed to operate them. Just point and shoot. Some are better at pointing than others but that point is irrelevent compared to the skill it takes to wield a lightsaber. All the same, a Jedi in hiding can't just go around swinging a bright blue blade and expect to stay hidden very long.
"I'm ready when you are, boss."

  The merchant paused and grabbed two small light blaster pistols from a locker in the back and handed one to Baka as they went out back. The Bothan climbed into a very old, worn open air landspeeder. The engines spun up quickly though and it sounded like it ran pretty well, but it was only a two seat vehicle. "Get in and let's go find the poor lad."

  The hovercraft appeared to be a clunker, but it handled fairly well and the engine hummed along as they sped out of the town and toward the hills to the west. They travelled twenty miles in only ten minutes, crossing into beige and grey, jagged terrain. The whipping wind was very cold in the open-air vehicle and it felt like icicles were going to form on Baka if they continued any further. But they finally spotted another speeder just a few hundred feet off the main road that was in even worse condition than their current one. It seemed like it was cobbled together from five different rusty junkyards. But there was no sign of the lad that was missing. "That's my second speeder. I'm glad it's alright at least," he murmured, though it so ragged that it would have been hard to tell if it was actually damaged.

---

OOC:   You can try and find the boy's tracks. Make an Average Perception check (2D), with 1 setback (1S) due to the sparse terrain. The Bothan can aid you and that will give you a boost (1B).
 [Private to GM: weapon stats:

Encumbrance: 1
Hard Points: 2
Rarity: 4
Price: 300
Type: Energy Weapon
Categories: Blaster, Blaster Pistol, Pistol, Ranged
Damage: 5
Range: Medium
Critical: (4 adv. to activate)
Skill: Ranged - Light
Qualities: Stun Setting]

This message was last edited by the GM at 04:34, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

   Baka got out of the old speeder and started looking for clues as to where the boy might have gone. There was a lot of animal tracks and wind swept pieces making Elomin tracks hard to spot to the untrained eye. He couldn't make heads or tails out of the scrawls in the mossy pebbles that surrounded this area. But a glint caught the padawan's eye that came from an outcropping ledge off to the west of the road. The thought occurred to the young Jedi-in-training that the boy may have seen the same thing. The Bothan elder couldn't find anything either and threw up his furry hands in frustration. "I can't tell what any of this is, it is just a bunch of scratches and poodoo from Stars knows what. Maybe we just walk around for a bit and see if we can find something else?"

OOC: The 3 advantages were seeing a glint of something near the craggy outcropping and figured the boy might have followed the same clue.

After a moment of thought, Baka points toward the glint.

"Well. Maybe our friend followed that. I mean, it's the only thing that stands out."

  Piste squinted his greenish eyes toward the direction the young human indicated. He stared for several seconds, "I don't... oh, wait. Yes. I see something. I thought it was just dew or something to that effect. You have very keen eyes, or mine are just getting old. Perhaps you should check it out. I'm going to walk around to that clump of mossy boulders to the right of the outcropping. Perhaps climb up to get a better vantage point. Shout out if you need help."

Baka makes his way toward the glint, giving Piste a nonchalant nod as he does so. "Will do. I'm sure we'll find something soon."

The glint was a very old piece of equipment with a reflective surface, which is not recognizable by itself. But it is likely mining equipment, if the old Bothan was correct. Once the padawan arrived at the spot he saw there was a rift between two rock formations forming a path that goes deeper into the cliffside, and dropped down in elevation up ahead around a bend. Following the bend took him down further and into a narrow cave opening.

A Jedi’s job is never done, it seems. Even in my situation, somehow.
Baka thinks to himself as he starts down the path toward the cave.
“I think I may have found something, here.” He shouts back toward where Piste is climbing boulders.
 No, not somehow. The Force guides me. I must need to be here for some reason. We’ll find out soon enough.

  The Bothan shouted back,   "Hold tight, I'm on my way young one." Piste hurried over to the path and stopped a good fifteen feet away, staring wide-eyed at the cave entrance. His faced paled as he eyed the opening. "Well, you go ahead and see if you can spot him, but don't go far. I'll stay right here and... make sure you have a safe place to exit." He pulled out his pistol and held it shakily.  "You'll probably need his. Be careful," he exclaimed as he tossed a glow rod toward the padawan.

Baka catches the glow rod and turns to head into the cave with caution, keeping an eye out for the unexpected.

It's pretty obvious that Piste is not built for dangerous situations. His hesitation to follow and shaky hands betray a much more docile existence, which is no problem. Some beings are just better suited for other things.

"Alright. I'll give a holler if I find anything and you should do the same." Baka knows that it is more likely that the Bothan will need help before he does...

But is that arrogance? No. Just confidence and knowing a non-combatant when you see one. Right?

  The older Bothan gave the teenage human a nod of acceptance, as he entered the cave. The glow rod helped illuminate the area, but there was some additional green-hued light given off from some lichen along the walls of the underground cave that allowed some dim lighting. By searching around with the glow rod, Baka could tell there wasn't anything other than boulders and rocks in this cavern, which seemed about a hundred square feet or so in more in rough diameter, though it was not round but somewhat elliptical, albeit craggy and uneven. There were three additional tunnels, besides the entrance. Two of them were across from the entrance, and one of them was to the left of the entrance. The one to the left was larger, about twice the height of a typical human and half about six feet wide. The other two were more or less about seven feet high and only five feet wide.

---

OOC: You can roll a perception check to see if you notice anything more about this area. It will be an average 2D check with 1S due to the darkness outside of your glow rod.

  Baka wandered around the area, but the uneven ground and the darkness, offset only a little by small patches of glowing lichen, made it difficult to see anything notable in this particular cave.  A sweep of the area did not yield any clues to where the boy may have wandered, or if he was in here at all. 

  The teenager was unsure of where to go and was ready to just pick a tunnel at random, when he stumbled on a loose rock that tumbled down into a crack that echoed loudly. Suddenly there was a feline growl heard in the distance, though he couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. Shortly after there was a voice, calling out. A youthful, humanoid voice in an unfamiliar language, but the tone was one of fear and distress. When you don't respond in the language he yells out in basic, "help me please. It's trying to eat me."

---

OOC: Failure just means you will have to pick a tunnel at random. Eventually you will reach the correct tunnel by process of elimination so you only really just lose some time. So by two failures you go down two of the similar tunnels a fair ways, and back track as the feline sounds recede.  So you make it to the correct tunnel due to the feline growling noise. You can really pick any of the tunnels, though the final one will start to show signs of a mine shaft though the lichen has taken over so it is hard to tell at first. But you will see some old mining drills, carts, etc. when you finally make it to the tunnel. Then we'll deal with initiative. It'll be cool imitative, because you are expecting trouble from the feline.