There is a moment of silence as Needa surveys Xanatos through the gloom, narrowing his eyes.

"So, I take it you are not the one responsible for my abduction?"

"And I take it the Stratocracy is not the one responsible for mine," Xanatos agrees, testing the strength of the medical table.

Needa follows suit, also bracing himself against the table support as he attempts to break free.

"You don't have some Jedi power that might help in getting us out of this predicament?" he queries with a wince as the cuffs jam tight against his gloved wrists.

OOC: Lorth Needa rolled 9 using 1d20+1. Escape Artist.

"I would point to the neural disruptor around my neck, but as you can see..." Xanatos says dryly with another tug at the table, "So no, I am not resorting to the normal human being way of getting out of stun-cuffs by choice."

OOC: Xanatos rolled 18 using 1d20+1. Strength.

Needa glances at the device on the other's neck, raising his eyebrows in comprehension. He then proceeds to time a tug of his own tug with Xanatos'.

OOC: Lorth Needa rolled 12 using 1d20. Strength.

The table gives a low groan as the combined force of the two men is enough to rip its legs free from the floor, contorting the table by just enough of an angle so as to allow the men to slip their cuffed hands from under the legs and free them from their position.

"Careful!" hisses Needa as he uses the back of his head to stop a broken hydrospanner from rolling off the edge of the table.

This being achieved, he rises stiffly and with some difficulty slips his cuffed hands about his feet so that they are in front of him. He pauses for a moment, listening for any sound of the guards outside, and after a moment, satisfied, he examines the table, scooping up an old hydrowrench as a weapon.

OOC: Lorth Needa rolled 20 using 1d20+8. Reflex.

Xanatos slips his own cuffed arms nimbly about his legs before raising them to fiddle with the disruptor about his neck. After a moment or two it gives a low beep and deactivates with a hiss.

"Much better," says the CEO, stretching his neck back and forth.

Needa gives a satisfied nod.

"I saw three guards in the corridor outside while they were escorting me in here," he informs Xanatos in a low voice, "A rodian and two weequay. If those two who dragged me in here decided to hang around then we are looking at five. Local ruffians by the look of them, but all armed with blasters."

"You do realise I am a simple, unarmed businessman, since Jedi powers are illegal these days, and that it is your job, as the soldier, to see to it that I am not harmed?" Xanatos points out, narrowing his eyes at the optimistic assumptions implicit in Needa's summary here.

"And if I had a squad of stormtroopers I would be more than happy to do so," Needa replies thinly, "As it is, I am cuffed and armed with a rusty hydrowrench. I would suggest that your sorcerer's powers might be more useful in a situation such as this. And they are not illegal," he adds after a moment, "Only regulated."

"A convenient distinction," Xanatos replies dryly, "Well, illegal or not, my 'sorcerous powers' are not going to stop any of those five thugs from shooting me in the chest, you do realise? Still, I suppose I can concede your point. In which case, if I will be doing the fighting, you can assist me to find a second..." Xanatos' gaze lingers on the rusty hydrowrench in Needa's hand, "...weapon. We will call it a weapon."

Needa follows his gaze to the would-be weapon, before offering it to Xanatos. Having done this, he selects the next least rusty tool from the table.

"We only need to defeat the thugs outside," he says reasonably, "After that there should be plenty of blasters to go around."

"True," Xanatos allows as he gives the spanner an experimental swing, "Though not all of us consider taking five-to-two odds while cuffed an 'only'. Can you get the door open? Always assuming our erstwhile captors remembered to lock it in the first place..."

The question is answered as Needa approaches the door, which gives an unhealthy rumble and slides open automatically. The two weequay and the rodian that the Captain spoke of are all seated on the floor of the corridor outside, pazaak cards and credit chips scattered on the floor between them. There is no sign of the pair who escorted Needa to the room. The three guards glance up in surprise as the door opens, scrambling to rise and draw their blasters.

OOC: Lorth Needa rolled 17 using 1d20+1. Initiative.
Xanatos rolled 14 using 1d20+3. Initiative.
Thugs rolled 4 using 1d20. Initiative.

Needa hurries toward the rodian, attempting to swing his hydrowrench into the ruffian's head. The rodian manages to dodge out of the way as Needa stumbles forward, scattering cards and credits across the floor.

"I see my taxpayer credits are being put to good use training the Stratocratic Military Academy's finest," Xanatos says snidely as he stretches out both cuffed hands to make a choking gesture at the nearest weequay, who's blaster falls from his grasp as he clutches at his throat, gasping helplessly as he slumps forward to one knee.

OOC: Xanatos used Force Choke on Weequay Thug.
Weequay Thug rolled 6 using 1d20+4. Fortitude.
Xanatos dealt 11 points of wound damage to Weequay Thug.

The other weequay's eyes have widened at Xanatos as he quickly raises his blaster to fire a wild blast which strikes the corridor a few meters from the CEO. The rodian fires a blast at Needa who hastily ducks as he scrambles forward to scoop up the choking weequay's weapon.

"I'm a naval officer, not a death trooper," Needa shoots back through gritted teeth as he raises the blaster to fire a hasty blast which strikes the rodian in the shoulder, sending him staggering backwards with a cry.

OOC: Lorth Needa dealt 9 points of wound damage to Rodian Thug.

Xanatos makes an unimpressed noise, tightening his left hand into a fist, before releasing it to allow the choking weequay to collapse unconscious to the floor. He then turns his attention to the remaining weequay with a menacing glare.

"If you want to live then now is the time to be producing the activation chip for these stun-cuffs."

OOC: Xanatos rolled 18 using 1d20+11. Intimidate.

The weequay doesn't seem to understand basic, but he understands enough to know that he doesn't want to end up like his unconscious companion, and holds his fire, glancing at the rodian, though he keeps his weapon aimed in Xanatos' direction.

The rodian, gasping haggedly and clutching his injured shoulder, doesn't take much convincing.

"We no have activation chip," he wheezes in broken Basic, "Korga have it."

OOC: Thugs rolled 11 using 1d20+2. Resist Intimidate.

"Who is Korga?" Xanatos demands coldly.

"Korga is boss," the rodian continues to wheeze, jerking his blaster up the corridor, "He in control room."

"Where are we?" Needa adds, his blaster still trained on the rodian, "How do we get off this facility?"

The rodian glances at the weequay, then at the unconscious form of their third companion.

"We on Kessel," he says, "Old mining facility. We have hanger on Level Two down turbolift."