A green planet hung in the sky amid endless stars. On rapid approach was a starship, long and flat, with a saucer-shaped front end segmented into rectangular cargo compartments behind it, until the blocky engine pumped bright light into space. A pair of turreted blaster cannons fired out in all directions as three much smaller ships, starfighters, circled and stung at it like raptor-wasps. Two well-placed shots tore one of the fighters apart, leaving a streak of debris in the space where it had been. The deflector shields' thin barrier glowed and warbled, eventually giving out entirely. The starfighters fired on the ship's engine, bringing the vessel slowing to a stop, and then they backed off, returning to their larger cruiser, waiting patiently out of weapons range. The battle was over. From the distance, another vessel, this one shaped like a triangle with two prongs at the front approached. It was more than double the size of the freighter it latched onto, and painted in red and black, rather than the Imperial White a Customs corvette comes in.

"Captain Vangar! We've secured the freighter, but lost one of our fighters in the scuffle." A thick growl responded to the crewman, a sound like blood burbling up from a throat.

"They dared to shoot down onna my ships? These spineless worms need to be taught some respect." There was a moment of introspective breathing, of a heavy claw tapping against the plated scales on the side of the captain's reptilian face. Then he came to a decision. "Space everyone but the cargo crew. They get the honor of detaching the cargo for us. Then we'll let 'em go."

"Aye, sir!"

In a few short minutes, small shapes floated away from the Space Master freighter, the extraneous members of the crew. A few minutes more, and the cargo pods of the freighter were attached to the corvette. The larger ship detached. Both ships drifted apart. Vangar's mouth tilted upward in a toothy grin. The corvette's many blaster turrets glowed green with turbolaser fire, chewing the freighter into little chunks of hull. When it was over, the corvette turned away from the planet below and sped off into hyperspace, leaving just bodies, debris, and a pirate cruiser waiting for another victim.

---

Down on the planet, things have gone poorly. Officer Bryce Fines, with permission from Police Chief Dempsey, had freed Captain Jalmac's jailed crewmembers as a token of goodwill and a down payment on transit offworld. The three of them had gone to meet with the captain, only to find he'd sold his crew to the Fines family as slaves! They'd barely made it away from the hired muscle the family employed and into a nearby pub. Those thugs were still hot on their heels.

A bar on the left side of the room sat a few patrons, with a bar droid and a duros woman serving drinks. To the right were round booths for seating groups, a few with two or three people of various sorts in them. On the wide floor were a few sound tables, big enough to seat two or three, evidenced by the two at one table and three at another, leaving a couple more empty. At the far end was a stage with a band of three rodians playing a song involving a quiet melody and a steady chirping beat. A few eyes, including the organic bartender, turned to face the three who just barged in, while most of the patrons ignored them.

On the other side of the bar was one doorway, and another over near the stage. Near that back door was another non-human, carefully watching some display as she bobbed her head to the music. If the wires leading from her control panel were any indication, she was the band's sound person. She was also right in the way of the doorway behind her.

There were only a few seconds before the family's enforcers came in looking for them. Not long to decide what to do.

[Welcome to the game! Bryce, Bril, and Iaarkahr, you now have the situation as it's been displayed. If you have questions, let me have them. If not, let me know what you're planning and we'll go from there.]

"What was that!?" Bril said in between a pair of deep breaths as he tried to regain his composure from their narrow escape. His eyes darted around the pub looking for any way the trio could slip out unnoticed. Spotting the two doors, Bril's face scrunched up and he mentally weighed when door was more likely to keep him out of the slaver's hands. Before comming to a decision, Bril's rattled mind wandered to how ridiculous the situation was. Looking back Bril was somehow actually wishing he'd turned down Bryce's deal and stayed in his holding cell.

Wasting time on hindsight was only going to get him captured again so Bril turned to his two companions, "Getting trapped in a back room is a sure fire way to end up in a slave collar. Any ideas? This is your turf Fines!" The twi'lek did little to mask the fear and desperation in his voice.

OOC: Did we get our gear back? Bril doesn't want to blast his way out of here but it's nice to have a blaster as a last resort.

[You've got all your gear, though the situation with your weapons is up to Bryce. He can have given them back to you or be holding them still. Would be kinda funny to see him with a vibroaxe strapped to his back, honestly...]

"uughghhhgh uugggh uughguughhhghghghhhgh huurh aarrragghuuhw.  aaahnruh raaaaaahhgh wrrhw huuguughghg huuguughghg huuguughghg awwgggghhh raaaaaahhgh huuguughghg."  The burly wookiee comments as he surveys the room, considering at his options.  His demeanor clearly suggests he isn't fond of any of them.  "aarrragghuuhw huuguughghg uughguughhhghghghhhgh aaahnruh, aarrragghuuhw raaaaaahhgh aarrragghuuhw wrrhw raaaaaahhgh uughguughhhghghghhhgh uugggh uughguughhhghghghhhgh aaahnruh." he remarks, feeling for the haft of his vibro-axe, more to reassure himself it's still there.

<I don't like being trapped.  We need to find another way out of here, quickly.>

<They'll be here soon, we should find someplace less crowded to make a stand.>

I can modify this slightly if we don't have our weapons...

[Retcon time! Bryce is not present, you two have been separated from him during the escape! Further retcons may include adding people to the story of your escape and meeting up with them later. For now, we're going with the assumption that you have your weapons handy. Go ahead and take whatever action you deem necessary, but remember that you may not have time to leave before your pursuers arrive. That doesn't mean you can't try!]

Iaarkahr looked around and realized that during the chase he and Brilk had somehow gotten separated from the others.  There was no time to worry about them now, however, if they were to escape their own capture.  They were just too conspicuous to hide in a booth and play innocent so their options were either running or fighting.  He gestures towards the door on the other side of the bar and tilts his head, indicating that he thought that was their best escape option before he starts moving in that general direction.

Bril had been talking to someone that wasn't there. His mouth began moving trying to form some semblance of a plan but his mind was blank and no sound came out. Seeing his only remaining companion gesture toward the unblocked door and start moving, Bril stuttered, "W-wait! I think the o-other... Ah screw it, just don't leave me."

Even though the obstructed door struck him as a more likely escape route, Bril decided he'd rather be trapped with a wookie at his side than lost alone on Tarawa and began to hurry after Iaarkahr.

The pair headed for the door on the other side of the bar.

[Turn to page 24. Wait, wrong game format.]

A few more of the patrons looked their way, and the bartender leaned over the bar to shout at them, but didn't manage it before they disappeared through the doorway and wound up in what appeared to be a break room; a few chairs sat around a sturdy metal table, on which sat a disposable tray of food carrying half a blue sandwich. In one corner was a cheap and rather old holo-terminal, switched off at the moment, and the wall to the left had a door that probably led back toward the bar itself.

It's that door the duros woman comes through, carrying a spread-gun she raises toward the two, mostly the wookiee.

"Alright, that's enough of that. We don't serve drunks in here, so move on until you can behave yourselves."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Bril threw his hands up at the sight of the spread-gun and took a step sideways to put himself in between it and Iaarkahr, "We were just looking for the backdoor. Pazaak deck on the table, the wrong people have decided we're in a bit of trouble with them and they're right on our tail. Point us out the back and we'll be happy to leave before they've got the chance to turn your bar into a shooting gallery."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:45, Sun 28 Oct 2018.

[Now's a good time to get some dice going! Brilk'airn, you're going to make an opposed roll. I'll let you choose between Charm (for trying to nice-talk your way out of this) or Negotiate (for that whole "we get escape, you get no fights in your bar" offer).

By way of tutorial for those not versed in the system, here's the way this works. Bril is going to take the higher of his Characteristic (Presence, in this case) or Skill (Charm or Negotiation, his choice), and that's how many Green Ability dice he gets in his pool. Then the lower of those two numbers will be how many of those dice are swapped out for Yellow Proficiency dice. To that, he's going to include two Purple Difficulty dice (the bartender's Presence). The bartender has no Cool skill, so neither of those dice get upgraded. There will be no Blue Boost or Black Setback dice for this roll.

Then that gets plugged into the Die Roller using the number of dice and the letter of the dice according to their proper name (Ability, Proficiency, Difficulty, Challenge, Boost, Setback). I'm gonna assume Bril wants to roll his 1 Charm instead of his 0 Negotiation, so it'd look like this:

2A, 1P, 2D

Then we'll take a look at the results and see how you did. :D]

Not too shabby!


05:10, Today: Brilk'airn rolled 1 success, 2 advantages using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P 2D.

[Success and two advantages! There are a number of uses you can give those, with the default being to remove 1 Strain each. Since neither of you has Strain right now, I'll let Iaarkahr have two Blue Boost dice to his next roll, or let Brilk'airn have one Blue Boost die to his next roll. And in the meantime...]

The woman gave the intruders a skeptical look, and was clearly going to speak before being interrupted by loudly tromping footfalls at the front door. They were audible even over the music and chatter, and from the next room over. Sounded like several large bipeds. The bartender backed out of the storage room and vanished back to the bar. The pair could hear what was going on, if a little muffled.

"What can I get you?" There was some snorting, obviously gamorreans, and then the duros's voice again.

"Yeah, they came in here. Ran out the back before I could stop them. If you hurry, you can still catch 'em." There was some more porcine chatter, then the tromping headed for the back of the bar. There was some shuffling, a muffled "Hey!" presumably from the sound operator who'd been sitting by that door, and then they were gone.

The bartender came in again, unarmed this time.

"Head out the front and try not to get yourselves killed, alright? And maybe don't wreck any bars."

Iaarkahr was about to get extremely irritated at the Duros who dared point a weapon at him, at least until he learned she was about to cover for them.  While he was never one to shirk from a fight, he was at least relieved to learn he wasn't about to trash a bar while defending himself from goons.  This time, at least.  They weren't free yet but it looked like they were one step closer.

"We should wait a few minutes and then head out the front door.  Probably our best chance at escape."  Iaarkahr comments towards Bril, "We aren't out of this just yet." as he keeps a tight grip on his vibro-axe.

Before...

The latest class of Jedi padawans stood before the Republic Senate for review.  From the sound of the thunderous applause, it seemed that they met with enthusiastic approval.

Chancellor Palpatine addressed the young students, "You are each one in a billion souls, never forgot how much of a gift you are to all of the others in this magnificent Galaxy."

Her Mistress had later told her that those words were to make Amaya realize what a tremendous responsibility she had.  But, sometimes when alone, those words had made Amaya feel special, perhaps even superior.

Now...

Amaya's jawa disguise had worked well enough.  She was not recognized by the pursuers and maybe not by her friends.  Spot seemed to just a hump on her back under the itchy robe.  Seeing Bril and Iaarkahr, she moved into the light and lowered her hood to reveal her glowing robotic eyes but otherwise human face...
This message was last edited by the player at 04:09, Tue 13 Nov 2018.

"Yeah, I think you're right, Kahr." Bril rubbed his forehead in thought as he spoke, his eyes fixed on the front entrance. It wasn't till Amaya approached the duo in her Jawa costume that Bril's attention was pulled away from the exit they'd be taking.

Sighing in relief, Bril grinned and said "Glad to see you got out too, Amaya. It got hairy back there, sorry we got separated."

Slipping a few credits out of his pocket, Bril found a gap at the bar and slapped the money down on the bar as a tip. Despite not ordering a drink the service here had been exceptional. Making his way back to his companions, Bril looked to Iaarkahr and spoke, "I'll follow you out when you think we've waited long enough, I trust you judgement more than mine in this kinda situation."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:56, Tue 13 Nov 2018.

Iaarkahr was happy to discover one more of their crew had escaped capture for the moment.  "Good to see you, Amaya!" he exclaims, "But we aren't out of this yet."

He then stalls for about five minutes in hopes that the Gamorreans had moved on sufficiently, then pokes his nose out the front door to assess the situation.

Amaya hugged them both, "It is good to see you both."  Spot the porvir simply allowed himself to be petted.

<b>OOC:  Just a quick post to get back on track.  Amaya will follow her friends instructions.</b>

The other patrons kept a wary eye on the group, as anyone would with such a disruption to the evening's plans, but otherwise didn't seem too ruffled. The band just kept on playing, though at least one of the members was casting frowns (such as rodians can frown) at the loud not-quite-patrons. The bartender, meanwhile, came back to the bar and scooped up the tip Brilk'airn had left with a practiced motion. Her red eyes focused on Amaya.

"Amaya, you know these troublemakers? Look, you three gotta get outta here. Those thugs were ready to break people, not to kill. That can't be good. I hear there's a starship in port right now fast enough to slip past the pirates. Maybe you can book passage with them."

From Iaar's glance, it looked like the coast was clear.

---

Not far off, a pair of gamorreans marched past a chipstore, grunting restlessly with each step. One glanced inside for a moment as he walked by, totally disinterested in a place meant purely for... reading.

When they were gone, Vol found that he'd been totally unnoticed. Now all he needed was to find the rest of his team.

"We know, we know." Bril sighed and looked at Iaarkahr for confirmation, "I suppose the ports as good a place."

It was clear the little welcome they'd had was overstayed and Bril began to head for the bar's entrance before abruptly stopping. Turning back to the bartender, Bril pointed back and forth with his hands and asked, "Which uh... which way is the port from here?" 

The bartender leaned forward on the bar and pointed to the front door, then started gesturing from there.

"Out this door, turn left. Head down the street and hang a left at Delta Avenue, then just follow the signs. It's a few miles up, but not too far. Oh, uh. And don't get caught leavin' this place or I'll be on the hook. Didn't, uh. Didn't think about that."

"Let's go!" Amaya said, taking a step to leave.  Humans could be impetuous, especially adolescent humans.  At the bartender's warning, she said, "Oh." and pulled the Jawa hood over head so that only the glowing eyes were visible.

OOC: Amaya is eager to get the team together but will take the advice of her elders like all teens (a bit grudgingly).

Iaarhkahr nodded at the bartender's advice except that Wookiees carrying giant axes tended to stand out.  Still, he was eager to put as much distance between himself and his pursuers as possible.  A confrontation was still possible before they were out of danger.

He stepped out the door and turned left, nodding to his friends, "Let's go."

"Left at Delta..." Bril muttered along to the bartender's directions to help commit them to memory, "Got it! Thanks again, if they spot us leaving I doubt they'd waste the chance on coming after you but if they do just tell'em you recognized us from their descriptions and kicked us out. Worse case scenario and we're asked about it and we'll tell them the same. It's the least we can, uh... Hey!"

Mid sentence, Bril realized that he other companion's had stepped out of the bar already and quickly scuttled out after them, "D-don't go with out me!"