PRESENT DAY:

Divatox stood next to Master Kenobi again one year later.  Revan and his followers, including one-third of the Republic Fleet, had left for the Unknown Regions a year ago as well, and no one had heard anything from them since.  Things had been peaceful since then.  Now Divatox and her master were awaiting their next assignment.  Finally the doors to the Council room on Coruscant opened and the Jedi pair were shown in.

"Welcome, Master Kenobi, Padawan Divatox," Master Zez-Kai Ell said in greeting, his thick mustache acting to emphasize his genuine kindness.

"Thank you," Master Kenobi responded.  "How can we be of service?"

"We have recently received word that an ancient ship wreck has been discovered on the Outer Rim world of Bheriz," Master Lonna Vash answered with a calm, but serious demeanor.  "We have reason to believe that there are Sith relics on this ship, and we need you to recover them to ensure they do not fall into the wrong hands."

"It will be more complicated than would at first appear however," Master Kavar warned, his stony face revealing nothing.  "The planetary government has taken control of the ship and the crash site, and are putting the ship up for auction to the highest bidder.  And since Bheriz is outside the Republic, we cannot simply appropriate the site."

"We will be sending you with 20,000 credits to attempt to acquire the ship through the auction," Master Ell said.  "However, you must not reveal that you are acting on behalf of the Council, or the price may be driven up, or inappropriate attention may be drawn to the situation.  While the ideal result will be the acquisition of the ship and the rights to remove it from Bheriz, we must emphasize that you must search the ship and recover any Dark Side items at any cost."

"Understood Masters," Master Kenobi conceded.

"Do you have any further questions about your assignment?" Master Vash queried.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:34, Wed 02 Sept 2020.

"None," Divatox replied.  If they couldn't negotiate a price it was merely a matter of sneaking aboard the ship and removing the dangerous cargo.  Fairly straight forward.

"I have one further question," Master Kenobi spoke up.  "How are we to get to Bheriz?"

"Take public transportation, to make it more difficult to trace you to the Republic or the Jedi," Master Kavar answered.

"Very well, we will report when we have completed our assignment," Master Kenobi said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trip to Bheriz was long, but boring, with only a few stops to calculate hyperspace routes.  As Master Kenobi and Divatox descended the boarding ramp in their nondescript citizen's clothing, they approached a customs officer.  "Good afternoon gentle-beings.  Any imports to declare?" she asked politely.  The Human had long brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and tucked neatly under her uniform cap.

"None," Master Kenobi responded just as politely in his Coruscanti accent.

"Very well.  And what is your purpose in visiting Bheriz?"

"We are here for the auction of the ship," Ensi-Ron said calmly.

"Oh, I see," the customs officer said.  "Well in that case, may I direct you to the Chief Magistrate in the High Court?"

"Please," Master Kenobi responded.

The customs officer gave them directions to the High Court.  "Please enjoy your stay on Bheriz," she concluded.

OOC: Anything Divatox wants to say on the way to the High Court?

Divatox wasn't sure how she was supposed to stay nondescript as a Theelin but she did her best to blend in.

On their way to the High Court, though most beings were Human like Master Kenobi, there were smaller numbers of several other species.  Divatox noticed Twi'leks, Rodians, Weequays, Niktos, and Klatooinians.  Master Kenobi seemed to sense Divatox's worry, but said nothing during their walk.

It did not take long to reach the High Court, and after a brief exchange with the security personnel outside the building, Divatox and her master were ushered in.  Inside it was just as you would expect from a building called the High Court: a large court room.  The magistrate was seated on a raised dais at the front of the room in low conversation with a number of functionaries.  The Bherizians were clearly not hiding their show of force as clearly armed security personnel ringed the room.

There were several other groups milling around the room:
Five middle-aged to older Humans, stuffily dressed standing close to the magistrate's dais, clearly trying to get his attention.

A group of six young non-Humans, barely older than Divatox, dressed very casually, seemed to be heckling the first group.  They had a haughty air about them.

A finely dressed Human male with a droid bodyguard stood nearby arguing with a Hutt that was clearly not in his group.  The Hutt had two thugs, each holding a beast on a leash.   The Hutt and the Human had clearly had dealings with each other in the past as their argument was a lot of name-calling and one-upping.

The final group seemed to be led by a young-looking Human female with dark red hair and skin so pale it almost looked gray.  She was dressed all in black leather-like clothes.  She had a few other non-descript Human males near her.  The woman seemed to glare at everyone, but especially Divatox as her gaze passed over her.

"We need to split up and talk to these groups before the magistrate finishes his conversation," Master Kenobi interrupted Divatox's observations.  "With which group would you like to start?" he asked.

"I'll take the six hecklers," Divatox said, hoping their similar age might help.

OOC 2+1=3 Life Science.

"Very well, I'll take the Hutt and his noble adversary," Master Kenobi conceded.  "Race you to see who gets to talk to our dark-clad friend?" Master Kenobi challenged one eyebrow raised in question.

OOC You said to roll to figure out what beast it is.

Jubali gave a genial smile and walked off to join the hecklers.

As Divatox approached the group of young people, she could also hear the older Humans they were heckling.  "But Magistrate, surely this entire process is unnecessary.  We, as academics, clearly have the first claim on the wreck--for scientific purposes!" one of them said, while the magistrate continued to ignore them.

One of the younger group quickly shouted out "Academics, I think you mean 'hackademics'!" He then gave out a brief chuckle.  "Yeah, go back to your classroom!" a young female shouted out.  "Leave the exploring to those who live in the real world!" a third chimed in.

"The real world, hah!" another of the older Humans shot back.  "None of you have even graduated yet!"

OOC: Okay, Divatox you're up.

"Surely a grounded ship would be better served by academics who'd take the necessary time and care to look it over, instead of bumbling about inside," Divatox said, as an aside, to one of the hecklers.

The six young students turned almost as one towards Divatox.  "Oh yeah, well who asked you?" One of them asked venomously.  "Why should it be available to only one group?" another questioned.  "We should open it to all academics, not just those old fogeys!" a third nearly yelled.

"Your visible anger only proves how unprepared you are to handle the delicate task ahead," Divatox replied.  "This boon belongs to those with cooler heads.  Or, you could work together?  Your passion and lived experience with their calm meticulous approach?"

OOC 13+7=20 Persuasion

"Whatever," one of the females said as they all turned away from Divatox.  The young students were no longer slinging hostility towards Divatox, but were now simply ignoring her.

Meanwhile, one of the older academics approached the Padawan.  "I appreciate what you said just now," he began.  "But I'm afraid our delegation's leader, Professor Zerka, is insistent.  We must win this bid, we can't let others conduct this research."

"My associate and I might be able to go in with you on the bid," Divatox suggested.  "I would need to speak with him.  But we would need some compensation in return."

The academic turned to the side and cocked an eyebrow.  "We would appreciate any help winning the bid.  But what sort of compensation are you thinking about?"

"Let me get my associate."

Divatox glided over to Master Kenobi and explained the situation to him.

"Well I'm glad one of us has been able to make progress," Master Kenobi answered.  "I was getting nowhere with the Hutt or his rich rival."  He glanced to the side.  "And I get the feeling our friend in black would not have been so cooperative.  If we help the academics win, we need to make sure we have access to the site and first pick of what we remove from the site.  Would you like me to go with you to talk to them again?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:12, Fri 05 June 2020.

"It would be best, I think, if we looked like we were on the same page."

When Divatox and Ensi-Ron returned, the academic that Divatox had been speaking with had also retrieved Professor Zerka.  "My fellow professor says you two may be willing to help us win the bid on the wreckage site?"

"On certain conditions," Ensi-Ron emphasized.

"And what conditions would those be?" the professor asked.

"Access to the site and first pick of what we remove from the site," Ensi-Ron answered.

"We could surely let you have access to the site for helping us," Professor Zerka conceded.  "But I'm afraid we cannot allow you to remove anything from the site."

Master Kenobi glanced over at Divatox.

OOC: What does Divatox do?

OOC Persuasion (change attitude): 18+7=25

IC "We understand your apprehension with our request," Divatox began, "we want to help you but we need something in return for supporting you."

"Yes, I agree," Professor Zerka said.  "And we are giving you something in return: access to the site, which you wouldn't have if we won on our own."

Divatox looked back at Master Kenobi, unsure what more she could do to change their minds or what they should do instead.

Sensing Divatox's glare, Ensi-Ron chimed in, "Then I'm afraid we'll have to wish you luck and go our separate ways."  Master Kenobi gave the professors a nod and turned around.

Divatox could see in Professor Zerka's eyes that he was a little disappointed, but he made no attempt to change his stance.

"You did well Padawan," Master Kenobi complimented.  "It would have been advantageous if we had been able to work with the professors: we would have been more likely to win the bid.  We could have borne not winning the ship outright and being able to remove it from the planet, but we must be able to remove any Dark Side objects from the ship, and it seems nearly everyone here is intent on keeping everything to themselves."
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:30, Tue 05 Jan 2021.

"Which I understand but it's still frustrating," Divatox lamented.  "Negotiations are always a matter of seeing how your needs overlap, and convincing each other they should when they don't.  I guess I wasn't successful this time."