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Star Wars: Interregnum


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OOC: Mia destroyed the data? It's not like she carefully took the time to install the security system so that it would "accidentally" wiped. Also, it doesn't look like anyone else thought about the possibility that maybe the b-wing's owner would take a few precautions so that secret information isn't obtained so easily.

 

IC: Mia quickly fell to the ground. There was not much she could do right now beyond hope that Raltz didn't execute her before she could get her name cleared. She had been a respected officer, there had to be someone she could turn to. It was just a question of who that was.

 

 

IC: Viseria watched as her friend rocketed around the track on her swoop. Nadia was at full speed, shifting gears quickly. She was good. There was no doubting that. Of course she would be, she'd been practicing most of her life.

 

"HEY! YOU THERE!"

 

The Miraluka turned in surprise as she saw two young women entering. One of them was wearing a dirty stormtrooper uniform, the other dressed in the worn clothes of a scavenger. As she looked at them, she could not shake the feeling that something strange was going on, and this was not just a matter of Imperial business.

 

"I'm looking for Nadia Rinlo," the Stormtrooper said.

 

"She's on the track," Viseria said. "She should be off in a second."

 

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the swoop came to a stop and Nadia climbed off. The Twi'lek quickly approached her friend. "How was that?"

 

"Pretty impressive," the Miraluka said. "There's someone here who wants to talk to you."

 

"Really?" Nadia approached the new arrivals. "What do you need from me?"

 

"Nadia Rinlo?"

 

"That's me."

 

"My name is Dak, and this is Evnairis. We're friends of Mia Arkada," the stormtrooper explained. "She's in trouble and you're the only person I can turn to."

 

"What sort of trouble?"

 

"Mutiny," the stormtrooper explained. "Look, we just need somewhere to lay low. I'll explain everything later."

 

"Mia has done a lot for me," Nadia said. "Alright. I'll take you two back to the base. We can get you some food and a bed, plus a change of clothes."

 

"Thank you,"

 

"Okay, now let's get out of here before anyone sees us."

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OOC: It looks like you didn't consider precautions. Mia activated the computer and went through it like there wasn't any such thing as a security system in the Star Wars universe. That's exactly why the Inquisitors aren't happy.

 

IC:

 

"Well, that's a bummer," a dry voice rang out two minutes later as Costa Vespula's eyes roved over the B-wing and Mia Arkada's limp body. "Questioning people when they're asleep has no allure at all."

 

The Zeltron Chief Inquisitor crouched on the balls of her feet to check the local lieutenant's vitals and then stepped over her brusquely to check on the starfighter's systems. After a once-over of the computer and a deep breath, she slung her arm inside the open cockpit and turned to Raltz. She struck a model's pose naturally.

 

"What are we registering on the gross negligence scale here, Sergeant? I grade on a scale from leaving the toilet seat up to the Joint Chiefs onboard the Death Star."

 

-Tyler

SAY IT ONE MORE TIME 

TELL ME WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND

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IC (Raltz Nightwing, B-Wing Crash Site):

 

Raltz straightened, coming to attention. A single snort of amusement emanated from his helmet. "Ma'am. We were engaged by hostile elements after landing, local scavengers. Arkada ignored Imperial rules of engagement by ordering minimal lethal force, and by running off by herself and not leading her troops. She ignored repeated requests for assistance. My squad managed to neutralize a majority of the hostiles, but we did sustain casualties. Her squads more so than mine. She was apparently pursuing a lead with a captured scavenger, found the B-Wing, and tried to retrieve the data herself, despite my warnings not to. Now the craft appears to have shut down. We'd have to examine the datacore and the astromech to fully determine what happened, but I don't have high hopes. Also, she was exhibiting a clear disregard for Inquisitorius protocol, even after I informed her. Her scavenger... 'informant' let's call her, was being escorted back to the shuttle by one of her stormtroopers, but appears to have disappeared. In the direction of the elevators to the upper city, if memory serves. Before they ran, Arkada ordered that she was not to be harmed."

 

The Darktrooper walked over to the Lieutenant's body on the ground. "Overall, on your scale I'd rate this as 'blowing up a core world of pacifists trying to cow a rebellion' level of negligence. Scaled for our use on a matter of setting our goals back while helping the enemy."

The times, they are a-changing...

 

 

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IC:

 

"Well, Raine is still in the Upper City, and Veyura will probably run into them before long," Costa said, patting the inside of the cockpit like it was her own prized vehicle. "If they're not found in six hours and brought in for questioning, I'll call the Governor. See what he thinks of these backwater hicks. Alright, you retrieve the data core, I'll give this little guy a boost out of--"

 

Costa's voice caught in her throat as she turned to the R3 unit. When she spoke again, her voice had lost all trace of its usual friendly purr.

 

"Sergeant, I'm going to take a Sarir-worthy thrust at it and say that you weren't the one who began dissecting this astro. Would I be correct?"

 

-Tyler

SAY IT ONE MORE TIME 

TELL ME WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND

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IC: So far, so good. Nadia had managed to reach the Vulkars base. The presence of a stormtrooper uniform drew a few looks but nothing huge.

 

"Viseria, show them around and find some new clothes. I'm going to have to speak to Gonzai."

 

OOC:

 

 

 

And as we all know, the Empire has never done anything like that...

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IC (Raltz Nightwing, B-Wing Crash Site):

 

"They only one that has touched the ship is Arkada. Give me some credit, ma'am, even I know that slicing doesn't involve actual cutting." He radioed a quick request for an engineer from the shuttle to bring a fusion cutter. "I think they usually don't. Anyway, she should be coming to soon. The repeater's stun setting is a little bit low so you don't accidentally kill someone with a burst."

The times, they are a-changing...

 

 

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OOC: Great, now I've given everyone the impression that Mia is incompetent. Now I'll have to write flashbacks showing one of her better moments so that her abilities are more clear.

 

IC: Mia groaned as she woke. She hadn't moved, though there seemed to be more people. Raltz had probably told them something to make everyone think his mutiny was justified. Fortunately, she knew not everyone in the empire would agree, she just had to get through this first.

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IC:

 

"Lieutenant Arkada, I'm Chief Inquisitor Costa Vespula, and I," said the Zeltron Force-wielder, "am in a very, very shooty mood. Did you retrieve anything from this astromech droid?"

 

-Tyler

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IC:

 

"Was it broken before you took it out?"

 

The gritted teeth that the words escaped from, as Raltz no doubt knew well, was a sign that Costa was very, very uncharacteristically irked.

 

"Did Sergeant Nightwing impress upon you how important the data you were sent to retrieve was? How classified it was? How this fighter and all of its components should be handled with care before we turned it into slag, not after?"

 

-Tyler

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IC: "The chip was broken when I found it."

 

"He did not. All he said was that we were supposed to reach data from a b-wing's computer and astromech. He refused to say anything else and didn't mention anything about classified information until after I activated the computer."

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IC (Raltz Nightwing, B-Wing Crash Site):

 

Raltz's face was unreadable with his helmet. "It was need-to-know. Forgive me if I didn't think the information necessary to disseminate while we were under fire. Recovering the data was the mission, but I made myself quite clear when I insisted that we actually clear the area of hostiles before proceeding."

The times, they are a-changing...

 

 

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IC: Mia was getting annoyed. It was no shock that Raltz was stubborn and blaming her for everything, but that didn't make it any less infuriating to deal with.

 

"You never said anything before we were under fire either! In fact, you never said anything about being under fire at all. All you said was that we were retrieving information from some b-wing in a junkyard. Nobody said anything about scavengers wanting to kill us. You walk into my outpost unannounced when half my stormtroopers are intoxicated, tell me you want to salvage some fighter craft, and you didn't think to mention that we even had enemies in that area?"

 

Mia paused for a moment to catch her breath before she continued. "This man has performed nothing but insubordination from the moment he arrived at my outpost! All he has done is try to tell his superior officer how to do her job. He does not appear to understand that he is not supposed to issue orders to his C.O., mocked my methods, and now he has decided to turn against me. Raltz, you do realize you are having me arrested for not following orders that were never given which were supposedly issued by someone under my command who failed to provide the information necessary to carry them out properly? All you said was that we were getting the data, and I tried my best to do that. If anything, you're the incompetent one who should be court-martialed for ignoring protocol and attempted mutiny."

 

IC: "What?" Gonzai asked. "A mutiny?"

 

"That's what Dak said," Nadia replied. "Apparently they were on a mission to recover a b-wing and one of her stormtroopers decided to steal command."

 

"That's rough," Gonzai said. "Viseria mentioned that there was a man in the cantina who was trying to find a b-wing. You don't think that has anything to do with this?"

 

Nadia paused. "I don't know," she said.

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IC:

 

"Lieutenant, get a hold of yourself. You've committed several gross acts of negligence, bucked Inquisitorius jurisdiction, and jeopardized a classified operation that could end up spanning a whole sector. If we were on a fortress world, and not some galactic backwater, you would be working garbage disposal for some petty Moff for the rest of your career." The Chief Inquisitor's voice was struggling to bring itself back under control. "But as much as I would like to rule otherwise...no one is going to arrest you."

 

She turned her head to face the B-wing and rested her forehead against the damaged fighter; the singed metal had long cooled by now, and felt refreshing against her forehead.

 

"Here's what we're going to do. I want two of our two most competent stormtroopers and have them put the datacore and astromech directly into Inquisitor Raine's hands. Have him report back to Insight in one of the Lambdas and let the techies see what they can glean off this. Send down another platoon in his place and have them fortify this area." This junkyard was full of old ships, and the last thing she wanted was a man who could fly anything rigging up something long enough to get him off-planet. "Sarir, I want you after Lieutenant Arkada's squadmate and her scavenger friend. They may know something useful. Veyura, you and I are on pilot-hunting duty. I want every screen of every dockworker, stormie, and beat cop on the planet to be plastered with this guy's face. Sergeant Nightwing..."
 
Costa sighed to herself and lifted up her head with a muttered curse.
 
"Contact the Imperial Governor. You're speaking with my authority. Have him put the word out to planetary defenses that under no circumstances does this guy leave Taris." She paused, for an infinitely small breath, and then added, "He's already killed one Imperial officer."
 
The DD6 that rested against the smooth red skin on her back flew into her grasp, but her hand had never moved. Costa spun on her heel and fired four times, with no pause and no particular patterning, into Mia Arkada's chest. The Chief Inquisitor stepped over to the garrison commander and began rifling through pockets until she retrieved the microchip that was taken from the R3 unit. 
 
She rolled her eyes and sighed wearily. Her left index finger rose and spun, three times.
 
"Let's get it done, Inquisitors."
 
-Tyler
Edited by Key and
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IC: Mia grunted as she semi-consciously listened to the commotion around her. She could feel herself being searched, which seemed a bit extreme. "I could have just given it to her," she thought. She could feel two people lifting her up and carrying her away before she finally lost consciousness.

 

 

IC: "I don't know what's going on here," Gonzai said. "But whatever it is we're in the middle of something big."

 

"What do we do?" Nadia asked.

 

"I don't know," Gonzai said. "For now, we'll let them stay until we have a better idea of what's going on. On the other hand, I don't want to get on the Empire's bad side."

 

At that moment, Dak stepped into the room. She looked very different, now cleaned and dressed in a set of plain clothes. Her brown hair had been brushed, and tied back into a braid.

 

"You look a bit more like a Vulkar now," Gonzai remarked as he looked at her.

 

"That said, I'd like to ask that you and your friend stay in the base as much as possible. If Mia is in as much trouble asyou say, the last thing we need is for you to get spotted coming in or out."

 

"I did act under orders," Dak said. "It's not like I'm a deserter."

 

"Yes, but that might not stop this mutinous trooper from trying to make it look like you're one. In the meantime, I can make a few inquiries and see if anyone has any information on what's happened to Mia. Right now, you could use some rest. Nadia, do you think you could show her to the bedrooms?"

 

"Sure thing," Nadia said. "Come on."

 

The Twi'lek stood, leading the Stormtrooper out of the office.

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IC (Raia Veyura, Taris junkyard)

 

"Understood, Chief," Veyura replied over the comm. "I'll be with you in five."

 

The Umbaran was at that moment zipping across the vast junkyard on a rented speeder bike. It was a pretty little thing, like a slender silver-scaled fish, and it wove nimbly between the hulks that rose up like beached whales above the sea of rusted debris. As her path opened out into a wider, flatter area, she kicked down on the accelerator pedal and the repulsors brightened their electric blue glow, propelling her towards the B-Wing crash site at even greater speed.

 

A smirk tugged at her mouth as she rode. Hearing Costa execute that idiot lieutenant had been just the thing to brighten her day.

 

***

 

The humming whine of repulsors announced Veyura's arrival. The Inquisitor brought her bike to a stop a few metres away from the crashed starfighter, dismounted, and approached Costa and Raltz. Her expression was straight-faced and professional, her glee hidden perfectly.

Edited by Ghosthands

sig_panel_bzprpg.pngsig_panel_profiles.pngsig_panel_flickr.pngsig_panel_steam.pngsig_panel_n7.png

 

 

 

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OOC: Okay, it seems everyone thinks that Mia is an idiot. Now I guess I've got to find some way for her to redeem herself. In the meantime, there isn't much to do with her.

 

IC: Mia Arkada walked along the halls of what was soon to become known as the Death Star. Twenty years in the making; she could still remember when it was just beginning. Now it was only a few months before it would become fully operational. Construction was more or less finished, it was mostly the weapons that were being developed at the moment. Still, this was a big moment for anyone serving in the Empire. She somewhat envied a childhood friend who had been assigned. Mia herself was here on temporary business, though nonetheless important. In front of her, a door opened, and she was approached by a face she had known well. She had never met him before, but everyone knew of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, 

 

"Ah, Lt. Arkada," he said as he approached. "I have heard a lot about you. They say you're an officer who can get things done."

 

"That's right, sir."

 

"Very good," Tarkin said. "I've been told that you are good at finding ways to get information. As you already know, the rebels have been working to steal plans for this battle station. They have managed to obtain several already and we are trying to find out where they are located. We have captured a young and devoted member of the alliance who has been...resistant to us. It was our hope that you might be able to retrieve information on what they have of the plans, and how to recover them."

 

Mia groaned as she woke. She was lying on one of the stiff beds, back at the Outpost. Her limbs were still numb, she felt dizzy, and her vision was blurred; no doubt the result of being shot four times. That seemed a bit extreme; she could have just given them the microchip. It's not like it would have been much use to her anyway. Still, at least she wasn't going to be arrested under false charges, though she obviously needed to improve her standing. For now, she just needed to wait for the aftereffects to wear off.

 

"Lieutenant?" She heard someone calling out. The voice echoed somewhat, and seemed a bit faint. She could make out someone approaching, apparently one of her own stormtroopers. 

 

"Lieutenant? You're awake?"

 

She could see the white uniform; obviously it was not one of Raltz's soldiers.

 

"You're going to be okay, but the side effects will take some time to wear off."

 

That was the last thing Mia heard before she began to lose consciousness once again.

 

IC: Nadia stepped into one of the small dormitories that served as residence for the Vulkars. "It's nothing fancy," she said to Dak. "But it gives you a place to stay."

 

"It should do," Dak said. She sat down on one of the beds. "Something to drink would probably be nice. I don't suppose I can get some water around here?"

 

"I'd try the cafeteria for that, or the washrooms. It shouldn't be too hard to find bottles you can fill."

 

"Thanks," Dak said. "I guess that's all for now."

 

"No problem," Nadia said. "I'll be in the garage if you need me."

 

The Twi'lek stepped out of the room and made her way towards the elevator to the garage. Not much else to do, this was probably a good time to work on her swoop.

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IC (Raltz Nightwing, B-Wing Crash Site):

 

"As you wish, Inquisitor."

 

As he began his tasks, Raltz felt empty. Incompetence infuriated him, but the solution rarely reversed that feeling. He tried to look for any meaning, any lesson, in today's events as he ordered two tech from the shuttle take care of the B-Wing with a fusion cutter. Today was just a senseless waste of life, he reflected as the surviving scavengers were executed. Cauterizing the wound may have done well in the long run, but it didn't exactly feel that great now. His comm trooper patched him through to the Insight to call down a platoon of Terror Troopers. Low presence might cause some problems with local scavengers, but on the other hand could lure their target into a trap if the opportunity presented itself.

 

As the stormtroopers (both local and Inquisitorius) filed into the shuttle, his comm trooper hailed the Imperial administration. As the conversation was still mainly in Raltz's helmet, it seemed rather one-sided to anybody listening in.

 

"... No, I don't want to talk to a Minister, I-... Hello, Minister. I need to speak to the Governer. A military officer... No, not his adjunct, the governer, listen... Good evening, adjunct. Put me through to the Governer, I don't care that he's busy. You tell him that the Chief Inquisitor will requisition anything she **** well wants. Including his yacht. Thank you."

 

The Darktrooper spoke with more experience than his rank spoke of. One would get the impression speaking with people above his station. "Governor, hello. I am speaking to you on behalf of Chief Inquisitor Vespula. During the course of our investigation, we were accompanied by a local garrison. The fugitive we are seeking, a spacer, murdered the garrison officer during an escape where he was aided by local scavenger elements, among other losses. Sadly, none of the bodies we recovered match that of the fugitive. We are searching for a male zabrak, approximately 30 years of age. The Insight will beam you more information. This man is not to leave this planet. I understand that the search for the rogue novatrooper already has planetary defenses on alert, so I trust expanding that to our fugitive will not impact your operations overall. Sergeant Nightwing out."

 

Well, what do you know. He was already feeling better, he noted, as he returned to the Inquisitors (now plural), and the nearly-completed extraction of the datacore and astromech. "Inquisitors," he reported. "The planetary governor has been informed, local troops are going to be pulled out and replaced with a platoon of Terror Troopers from the Insight, which should be able to maintain a spring a trap should our pilot return here."

Edited by Keeper of Kraata

The times, they are a-changing...

 

 

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IC: Private Ordo groaned as she woke. There were a few other stormtroopers present. She looked at them nervously. Mia was nowhere to be found.

 

"You're awake," the acting C.O. said as he approached her.

 

"Where is everyone?"

 

The C.O. looked at Ordo. He took a seat next to her. 

 

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. While you were out, a platoon of dark troopers arrived and took a bunch of the staff on a salvage mission. I don't know everything that happened but it didn't turn out well. A lot of our own were killed, and one is MIA."

 

"What about Mia?"

 

The C.O. took a deep breath. "She's stable."  He finally said. "She took four shots to the chest. She's lucky to have even survived long enough to receive medical assistance. She's been slipping in and out of consciousness."

 

 

***

 

Once gain, Mia slowly began to open her eyes, but she quickly realized she was submerged in something. She couldn't speak, a large mask kept her breathing. Obviously, she had been placed into a tank of bacta, possibly kolto. Either way, she felt disorientation, confusion, and dizzyness. 

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IC:

 

"Good job, Sergeant. I want you coordinating the trap from nearby. I'll have Insight coordinate things with all the major spaceports on this portion of the planet." She was quiet for a moment. "We have to assume he's going to try and weave past any checkpoints anyway. We're going to need to clamp down on him before he gets lost in the underworld."

 

She turned to Veyura, who was glancing between Lieutenant Arkada's dead body and the B-wing idly. Costa let out a low breath and pinched the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger.

 

"Surprise, surprise. Wherever there's a summary execution, Raia Veyura's on the scene, breathing heavy. Hey."

 

-Tyler

SAY IT ONE MORE TIME 

TELL ME WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND

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[Sue, The Stray Tach, Lower Reaches]


Sue wordlessly took the man's money and dumped his glass in the sink to wash later.  Business was picking up for the night, and she was soon occupied with another order of Uj cake and several dozen sonic screwdrivers.  


When she finished with more immediate orders, she went back to battering up a couple chyntuck for frying and then started on the meat pie that would be her own dinner.  She was briefly occupied with another few cocktails before she noticed the mandalorian from earlier was still there, his glass now empty.


He hadn’t said anything, but Sue felt bad for not noticing earlier.  She had been allowing that cold feeling related the man who had ordered the doubleshot of brandy earlier distract her.

 

“Hey,” said TK, as Sue leaned on the counter, tossing a ball of dough between her hands.  “Sorry I didn’t notice you earlier.  Need anything else?  Something stronger?”

Edited by Mel

There's a dozen selves inside you, trying to be the one to run the dials

[BZPRPG Profiles]

Hatchi - Talli - Ranok - Lucira - FerellisMorie - Fanai - Akiyo - Yukie - Shuuan - Ilykaed - Pradhai - Ipsudir

And some aren't even on your side.

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between Lieutenant Arkada's dead body and the B-wing idly.

 

OOC: Um... no. Mia's not dead. You have no right to kill off my characters without my permission. Did you not see the rules:

 

Your characters are your own and others' are their own, express permission is required by a player before anything drastic is done to their character.

 

In other words, you can fire the shot, but you can't say if she's dead or not. Only I can make that call. And don't tell me it's because of the "Keep it classy rule" because that could have easily been avoided without a Deus Ex Machina. All you had to do was not write that Mia was shot. Besides, I've already established that she was taken away, so her body isn't even still there.

 

That said, one doesn't exactly get up and walk away from four bullets to the chest, so Mia's role might be reduced for a little while.

 

IC: Mia looked around. She felt soothed, as one could expect from being submerged in a bacta tank, but that didn't stop her from remembering what had happened. She was starting to come to her senses, though she had no idea when she was going to come out. From the looks of it, she'd been through surgery already. Through the glass she could see she was in some kind of medbay. She had been shot four times. That was the last thing she could remember, followed by a pair of stormtroopers picking her up. She was probably in the medbay of the outpost. 

Edited by Atton Rand
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OOC: I thought I helped write the rules, seeing as I was an RPG judge and helped write the rules and game from day one, but I might have just been banging my head against the wall like a shock victim that week so it's really all a big blur.

 

I'm not gonna pretend that killing Mia like that wasn't a cold move, so there's no point in trying to guilt me into thinking I did anything wrong here. From my point of view, I didn't - and from the standpoint of the faction you chose to roll with - nothing wrong was done either. Considering that the OT is full of dark side users killing inept Academy graduates and hiring replacements at the drop of a hat, nothing about this is out of character for the setting or the particular scenario. Between antagonizing an Inquisitorius operative, setting back an operation to the point where resources have to go into orbit to try and salvage things, and sending off stormtroopers and a witness the Inquisitorius would want their hands on, Mia's conduct and attitude gave Costa - the Chief Inquisitor of the force she's been subverting, willfully or accidentally, and someone who's been foreshadowed since the back of the last page to be weighing the decision to shoot Mia - ample reason to do so. 

 

And if you're telling me that you could sidestep four plasma discharges leveled at your chest and stomach from a few feet away, fired by a trained Force user, I seriously want to take you with me the next time I run an obstacle course.

 

You can do whatever you want with your small platoon of NPCs. Lord knows you have even as the mission unfolds before everyone else's very eyes, so it's not like the status quo will actually be changing any.

 

But everyone else is going to treat Mia like a corpse on the ground, and use her death as a cover story for why they want Rav arrested.

 

IC:

 

"C'mon. I think it might be time to jet out of this place. Want to roll some dice?"

 

-Tyler

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IC:

 

Dissonance is defined as 'a tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements'. Cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, performs an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs, ideas, or values, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values. In this sense, even as Liare experienced cognitive dissonance he was himself dissonant. Neither state of being was anything new. 

 

They'd caught him late, all things considered. A little Force sensitive kid they found in the Outer Rim, and one that had led them on a chase throughout the galaxy in his desperation to escape. That kid was a young man by the time they caught him. One who'd stayed alive long enough to put a name to the boogeyman that dogged his footsteps, to understand what he was, what they were, and know in the deepest part of his instincts what he'd be if they caught him. What they'd make him into. Old enough to swear he'd never let that happen. And now that he was what he said he'd never be, he was old enough to see the shades of gray that come with being an idealist trapped in an inescapable situation. He wasn't a good guy, and he didn't really pretend to be. But he had his principles. He understood, even if it didn't sit well with him, why the Lieutenant had to die. He understood why Costa decided to do it herself. And he understood why he was headed to complete the mission he was.

 

And he understood why he was heading into it with his hand off his lightsaber, his blaster holstered, and his hands where people could see them.

 

Records indicated that the only Stormtrooper unaccounted for out of the group Lt. Arkada took with her was one "Dak". A scavenger, too, by the information Raltz had passed along. They'd escaped into the Lower City from the scrapyard, and gone to ground. Liare, having once been that little kid, knew that when you needed to hide there were only a few people you could turn to. And as it happened he knew exactly where to find them. That conversation at the bar had been pretty helpful. The late Arkada had been working with the Vulkars. The Vulkars were one of the few people with the means to hide a pair of people on the run from the authorities.

 

Which is why the "it" he was headed into was the Vulkar base. Gonzai was who he'd need to speak to, he knew, which was why he headed exactly where the gang member at the bar had described, and addressed the first person he saw calmly and quietly.

 

"I'm here," He began, letting his hands rest easily at his sides. "About a Stormtrooper and a scavenger. No one else. I'd like to keep it that way, but if you try to help them escape or stop me from finding them that won't be an option."

"So let's please make this easy."

fK5oqYf.jpg

 

On this eve, the thirtieth anniversary of that first colony, many are left to wonder; is the world fast approaching a breaking point?

 

 

  Breaking Point: An OTC Mecha RPG

 

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OOC: Okay, this is a bit of an emotional shock. I'm currently speaking to Key and about what happened and hopefully at the very least we can figure out the best way to move on, but for now, I guess I'll focus on what I still have.

 

IC: "A stormtrooper and a scavenger?" The Vulkar replied. "I don't know much, but earlier today there was a woman in a stormtrooper outfit who arrived at the base. I never got her name, but I heard that she was in trouble. Something about a mutiny against one of her officers."

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IC:

"Can you tell me where they are?" Liare asked, casually injecting a faint degree of suggestion into his speech using the Force. His right hand made a faint, slightly waving gesture at his side even though he wasn't exerting very much pressure. "It's very critical that I speak with them quickly."

fK5oqYf.jpg

 

On this eve, the thirtieth anniversary of that first colony, many are left to wonder; is the world fast approaching a breaking point?

 

 

  Breaking Point: An OTC Mecha RPG

 

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OOC: Of course there'd be a mind trick.

 

IC: "The Stormtrooper was redressed. I will take you to her."

 

***

 

Dak surprised as she was shaken awake. She saw a member of the Vulkars in front of her; not one she knew.

 

"There's someone to see you," the Vulkar said. Dak looked in surprise at the new arrival. She did not recognize the man at the door, but she had a bad feeling.

 

"We had to redress her," the Vulkar explained. "She was afraid the rogue troopers would come after her."

 

The Vulkar then stepped out of the room, leaving the two together.

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IC:

The Inquisitor crossed his arms across his chest calmly, regarding the Stormtrooper through an impassive mask. He wasn't concerned about what the 'trooper might do; she wouldn't be a match for an Inquisitor with her armor, and without it she was even less of a threat. Still there was one person unaccounted for, and he'd need to make sure the scavenger didn't escape either.

 

"Where's the scavenger, Dak?"

fK5oqYf.jpg

 

On this eve, the thirtieth anniversary of that first colony, many are left to wonder; is the world fast approaching a breaking point?

 

 

  Breaking Point: An OTC Mecha RPG

 

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Sent Fahl-The Stray Tach

 

IC: Sen had been deep in thought when the bartender called out to him. The spacer who had come through earlier had a faint chill hovering around him for some reason. Enough for the archeologist to keep his mouth shut and try to fade into the background.

 

He blinked at the sound of the translator droid, the glass in front of him was in fact empty.

 

"I don't feel like passing out just yet." Came the amused reply. "How about something flavorful and some food, my stomach is reminding me that it's been a while since I last ate."

"I serve the weak. I serve the helpless. I am their sword and their shield. If you want to strike at them, you must go through me, and I am not so easily moved."

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[Sue, The Stray Tach, Lower Reaches]


Sue grunted in assent.  “Sure thing,”  TK translated.


Sue stuck the chyntuck in the fryer.  It would take a while for them to blossom into fried flowers.  In the meantime, she ladled up some dumpling soup, and put a couple herbed breadsticks on the side.
 

She poured out some strong, hot shig and added a generous splash of tihaar, then took the entire ensemble over to where Sen sat.


“Tell you what,” said the droid, as she placed the meal in front of him with a warm growl.  “I’m making up some factryn meat pie.  Was going to save it for myself, but if you’re still here when it’s out, you want a slice?  It’s pretty flavorful, though not so much that you’ll regret it.”

There's a dozen selves inside you, trying to be the one to run the dials

[BZPRPG Profiles]

Hatchi - Talli - Ranok - Lucira - FerellisMorie - Fanai - Akiyo - Yukie - Shuuan - Ilykaed - Pradhai - Ipsudir

And some aren't even on your side.

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IC: Dak reluctantly led the new arrival towards the elevator. So far, it had just gone from bad to worse. Her first real combat action, and she had failed. Not only had she proven ineffective on the battlefield, but she couldn't even follow the order to keep someone safe. That was all she had to do. Raltz had probably told everyone that she deserted as well. That wouldn't do much good.

 

Still, there was little she could do now that she had been found. If she was lucky, she might get a fair trial. Otherwise, things were just going to go bad very quickly. She led Liare into the elevator, and set it to move up.

 

***

 

Evnairis was busy assisting Viseria on her swoop repairs. So far, she was learning quickly, though she still didn't seem to fully understand that Viseria wasn't actually blind. That was when she stopped.

 

Nadia was just stepping into the room when she saw her friend's unease.

 

"He's here," Viseria muttered. "I can feel him coming."

 

The Twi'lek turned toward the elevator. There wasn't much that could be done now. They had tried to do the right thing, but even Nadia Rinlo wasn't reckless enough to start a fight she knew she couldn't win.

 

The door opened. Evnairis looked up to see Dak, who tried to remain her composure despite the tears visible on her face.

 

"I'm sorry," 

 

That was all Dak could say. It was difficult not to cry. Everything she had done and yet she still failed.

 

"I'm so sorry."

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IC:

The process of finding both the Stormtrooper and the scavenger, ultimately, had been far easier than he expected. No armed resistance, and not even token resistance to divulging the information he needed. Not that either one would have been successful, given that neither could withstand the Force, but he had expected some modicum of resistance. Less surprising, however, was the behavior of everyone present as the situation sank in. Liare regretted, at least a little, that his previous contacts had to be there to witness it. But there was nothing to be done about it.

 

A hand on Dak's shoulder, and the faintest of pushes, made it pretty clear that she was to step out of the elevator. The human Inquisitor followed suit, pressing the button to close the elevator doors with the faintest application of a Force push. A few more steps took him towards Evnaris, roughly equidistant between the Stormtrooper and the Scavenger, and he turned slightly to be able to keep all of them in his sight.

 

"My superiors have ordered me to track down the two of you." His eyes shifted between Dak and Evnaris, while his hand slipped into his coat to pull something out. Rather than, perhaps, the weapon that they might have expected he produced a datapad held loosely in his right hand. "They didn't say a word about what I had to do with you, once I get what you know."

 

"So I'm going to ask what you know. You're going to answer, and I'll know if you lie. I'm going to record it. And then while I bring this information back to my bosses, you two are going to disappear and there's nothing I can do about it." His voice wasn't kind, flat at best, but it wasn't a threat; it was a loophole. One he'd decided to follow through with. "Neither of you want to die, and I don't particularly want to kill you. Or take you back to the Insight, where you'll wish you were dead. This is your one way out."

"Clear?"

 

IC:

 

"But we didn't get a new mission."

Edited by Peele

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On this eve, the thirtieth anniversary of that first colony, many are left to wonder; is the world fast approaching a breaking point?

 

 

  Breaking Point: An OTC Mecha RPG

 

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IC: Dak paused. She was still trying to hold in her crying. There was a small amount of relief that came from her realizing that she was not to be arrested, and that she could still keep Evnairis safe.

 

"Yes," Dak finally said. "I understand, though I can't tell you much."

 

Nadia could not do much more than listen. She had a mix of feelings. On the one hand, given the recent events, Viseria's distrust might not have been entirely unfounded. On the other, it seemed like there could be far worse. At least this guy seemed like he wasn't going to do any worse than needed.

 

"When we were attacked, Mia and I got separated from the others in our unit. We moved as much as we could, trying to avoid the shooting. We found Evnairis after escaping a wrecked freighter, and Mia promised her fair treatment if she co-operated. That was why she issued the order for the other scavengers to be taken alive."

 

"I didn't know anything," Evnairis said. "Just before the shooting started one of my team mentioned finding a b-wing on the comms. I just led them into the general area."

 

"Mia was the one who really did the investigation," Dak continued. "She tried to gather the data, but there didn't seem to be much. Just a few star charts and maintenance logs. Then Raltz told her the information was confidential and the computer broke down. She told me to escort Evnairis back to the shuttle, and on the way I saw Raltz jumppacking towards Mia. The last thing I heard was her giving me the order to get Evnairis out. The Vulkars seemed the only people I could turn to once we were out the junkyard, and then you showed up. Mia said she would try to get the astromech droid, but I don't know if she found anything useful on the computer."

 

Dak paused. She remained unsure of what to think. She was telling the truth, at least as much as she understood it, but would this man believe her? While it was true she hadn't actually done anything wrong, it also seemed clear right now that few of her superiors would agree. 

 

Viseria remained understandably tense, though she still tried to keep her distance. Liare might not have been quite as bad as she initially thought, but that didn't mean she was ready to trust him. There wasn't exactly much she could do anyway beyond attempt to use her vibroblade, and she had a feeling that wouldn't end well. Nadia could hardly do much either, beyond try not to get in the way. If this man kept his word, that just meant they had to figure out how the two women were to "disappear." Finding fake documentation wouldn't be too hard, and they could be set up as members of the Vulkar gang... but what if someone recognized them? They'd have to worry about that later. From their earlier conversation, he may have wanted to talk to Gonzai, but hopefully then they could be done with him.

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IC:

Liare listened carefully, datapad held up to ensure it could capture everything they said. All of the details were consistent with what he already knew, and with what had been said earlier. He hadn't expected very much in the way of new information, but there were some useful pieces to be had. No indication that they were lying, and his gut agreed. They had no reason to be honest. Especially since they didn't know about what had occurred in the scrapyard after their departure. The two Vulkars were mistrustful, it was impossible to miss, but they weren't intervening. That was good enough.

 

"I appreciate your cooperation. That should be everything." The recording shut off and saved, the Inquisitor slipped the pad back into his coat and looked briefly at the pair again. "You're going to hear some unpleasant things in the news. Lay low. The Insight should be gone in a few days, as soon as we have what we came for. People won't care so much once we're gone."

 

"Best of luck to you."

fK5oqYf.jpg

 

On this eve, the thirtieth anniversary of that first colony, many are left to wonder; is the world fast approaching a breaking point?

 

 

  Breaking Point: An OTC Mecha RPG

 

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IC:

 

"I don't give a ."

 

Reo, smoothing out any creases in his Imperial uniform, stood and moved out of their assigned room and to the elevator, Skri moving single file behind him. Only when they were safe in the elevator, moving down, did Reo speak again.

 

"Did you hear that officer next door? A huge chunk of the garrison was ambushed. Last thing we want is to be here when new recruits or higher ups arrive. Ergo" - Skri briefly had her side squeezed - "dice."

 

-Tyler

SAY IT ONE MORE TIME 

TELL ME WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND

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