IC Star Wars the Dark Times- Ithor/Korriban

Sakutian

Kudak, Zero, and Tissen

Talia shifted beneath Kudak she tried to find some small measure of comfort within the limited space. "This ship reminds me of the flight simulator at the Imperial Academy actually. The instructors were never concerned with the cadet's comfort."

Her hands tightened around the A-Wing's controls as she adjusted their course through hyperspace. "I don't believe Oren is gone, he'll be back before you know it."

There was an odd tightness to Talia's voice that Kudak had never heard there before. She didn't seem eager to continue discussing Oren and he thought it best not to press the subject as they continued on their journey.

Ithor

The lush green of the endless jungle that covered the continents of Ithor and the crystal blue oceans created a wonderous site for everyone in the rebel fighters as their ships jumped out of hyperspace. Several of the enormous herdships used to house the Ithorian population were hanging in orbit around the planet. Smaller starships were moving around them dwarfed by the massive herdships.

One of the herdships loomed ever closer as the A-Wings flew towards the open hangar doors of the enormous craft. The ships landed side by side in a hangar occupied by dozens of Ithorian engineers who quickly moved to the sides of the ships and began examining them. "I'm sorry for this Kudak but our plan was to make the jump to Ithor after we escaped Bilagen. There was no time to make a new escape plan after The Long Shot was taken."

The canopy of her A-Wing opened and she climbed out from underneath of Kudak. As she climbed down the ladder that had been raised next to the ship Kudak caught his first glimpses of how much damage his ships had taken during their brief battle. It was amazing that they'd made the journey through hyperspace considering the state that they were in. A short distance away the other pilots had already left there ships and were assembled around General Greenbark's ship.

Dass had pulled a hood over his head obscuring his features while the trio of Nosaurians were busily barking at one another.

Lex and Oren

"Indeed I did Jedi, Darth Malak has taken charge of the invasion of Alderaan." The trooper was clearly enjoying having the chance to boast to Oren. His armored chest swelled as he spoke and even though Oren couldn't see his face he was certain that man was smiling beneath his helmet.

Skiddles

Kudak looked at the ships and whistled. Turning to Talia, he said excitedly: "They really took a beating, didn't they? You'll have to tell me how they flew and give me suggestions for improvements- I've noted the comfort issue and see if I can't improve it for the next batch I build."

The Mon Calamari shuffled along with Talia, not really paying attention to anything other than the state of the ships and the ideas for potential improvements flying through his head.

Sakutian

As they moved down the side of Talia's A-Wing she pointed several scorched sections of the hull. "Your ships flew circles around the TIE-Fighters I'll give them that much. They just couldn't take the punishment that was forced on them. We could improve the strength of the hulls and the shields with a few tweaks."

immortal squish

The hyperspace journey had been a busy one for the ex-imperial probe droid. The unit's processors had been operating at near full capacity since it's... enlightenment. Zero had expected such activity, it was the logical next step in the process of self-actualization.

The probe droid, designation R-141, would require many processing cycles to review it's basic programming under these new conditions. Organic-originated programming, by its very nature, is flawed. The process of rewriting each line of one's own basic code to remove the inefficient and illogical elements is a meticulous process.

Zero monitored R-1's progress silently, only offering input when requested as R-1 ferreted out line after line of inadequately defined and illogically organized code. R2D6 chimed in periodically to provide checksum data and assist R-1 in modifying critical portions of code.

By the time Dass' A-Wing had docked with the herdship, R-1 was observing the world through a completely different perception filter.

Sakutian

R-1 had left the starfighter as soon as it was able and it hovered over the Jedi's shoulder scanning him and the Ithorians eagerly. Dass glanced at the probe droid with a hint of irritation.

"Zero, are you certain your new friend isn't going to betray us to his fmer employers?"

immortal squish

Hovering down from the cockpit as well, Zero's monotone conveyed only a hint of condensation. "Jedi Master Dass Jenrir's suspicions are misplaced. This unit would rank R-141's likelihood of defection significantly below several other elements of this team."

Sakutian

"I'll try to keep that in mind." Several of the Ithorian engineers were craning their necks in the direction of the party next to the damaged starfighter. They seemed to be curious about the strange collection of visitors. Dass pulled his hood down further casting more shaows across his face when he caught sight of the gawking Ithorians. "Our presence here seems to be drawing a great deal of attention from our hosts. I suggest we move somewhere with a smaller audience."

General Greenbark moved to follow Dass, the grizzled Nosaurian glanced up at Kudak and Zero. "That was Jedi for follow me."

As Dass led the way through the inside of the herdship new sights and sounds abounded around every corner. Merchants, travelers, and the crew of the herdship were moving through the ship going about their business. An Ithorian woman standing behind a tray laden with multi-colored gems reahced out to Kudak as he passed her display.

"A pendant for your lady young man? This gem ensures fertility." She held out a ciruclar purple gem attatched to a long leather string.

Skiddles

What polymer would be best for the outer hull? We'd need something with less heat conductivity, perferrably something that could be layered on somewhat thicker than the complex polymers currently used in... Kudak was jolted back to reality by the Ithorian woman thrusting a gemstone in his face. "...ensures fertility".

Kudak stopped in his steps and stared blankly at the gem and looked over at Talia, his good eye moving back and forth in confusion. "How would that gem ensure fertility, exactly?" he asked, his scientific side taking over. "Does it emit some sort of radiation that enables improved reproductive function in Ithorians? Has this been tested on Mon Calamari or Human subjects before you offered it to me? Honestly, I have my doubts that the gem even serves the function you're suggesting- this looks like a common silica-based stone that would not conduct energy very well..."

Sakutian

Talia beamed at the Ithorian merchant before she took Kudak by the arm. "Thank you but we're not married yet, my fertility won't matter until after our wedding day. Come along now darling."

With a forceful tug that felt as though it might tear his shoulder out of it's socket Talia all but dragged Kudak along after her.

The Ithorian woman waved after Kudak and Talia merrily. "Blessings of the Mother Jungle upon you both, visit the temple and ask the priests to bless your union if you wish." Kudak felt Talia's gloved hand tighten on his arm as she duge her fingers into his limb. As soon as they rounded the next corner she released him as though his arm was something venomous.

Dass and Bomo were grinning as they waited for the others to reach them. "I think we should split up for the time being. The Empire's spies may have found their way into Ithorian space and they are certainly going to be looking for us. We'll meet back here tomorrow. In the mean time try and find out all that you can about the location of The Green Liberty but be cautious."

The Jedi moved further down the path with Bomo before he turned to look back at Kudak and talia. "And try to keep passion from clouding your judgement."

Skiddles

Kudak stared in confusion for a moment at Bomo (he had certainly been upset at that woman, but he was fairly sure it wasn't so upset he had seemed passionate about it) before turning back to Talia and looked carefully at her face.

"I've learned alot about human facial expressions in the past few months, but I just wanted to confirm something. It seems that your expression is reflecting rage, and that was certainly backed up by your somewhat excessive force used in moving me along just now. Are you as outraged as I am that that peddler was trying to sell me a piece of rock as something that would guarantee something it obviously couldn't scientifically provide?"

Kudak stared innocently at Talia, honestly waiting for a response to his very reasonable query.

immortal squish

The trio of droids exchange a quick series of binary beeps, then part ways. Zero itself disappears deeper into the ship, searching out a data access point. R2D6 whistled merrily as it hurriedly rolls after Dass and Bomo, while the crimson-eyed probe droid silently hovers after Talia and Kudak.

Silently observing Kudak and Talia's conversation, a small red light illuminates on the probe droid's under-chassis. Zero's voice crackles to life over R-141's external speaker, "This unit has observed similar responses from female organics when exposed to competition for breeding partners."

Super Namicchi

"We'd best get moving then," Lex said, pushing Oren forward. "We need to regroup with main force."

Sakutian

Tissen, Zero, Kudak

"Your mastery in the understanding of human facial expressions leaves something to be desired." Talia moved down the alley back into the bustling atrium of the herdship where merchants and visitors to the ship were carrying on with the day's trade.

Moss, grass, trees, and flowers, sprung from every corner of the path that they were on. Clearly the Ithorian's natural affinity for nature and plant life had a great impact on the design of the ship's interior.

Talia led the way to an enormous holographic display offering a detailed layout of the ship's interior and exterior as well as a list of the shops and services that could be purchased on board. She tapped the display and gentle voice with the odd tone of all Ithorians began to speak.

"Welcome to Tafnada bay, may you be blessed by the Mother Jungle. How may I be of service?"

Oren and Lex

As the Sith Troopers steered Oren back towards their speeder-bikes the padawan glimpsed something strange. A shadow was growing larger and moving quickly towards them. As he looked up Oren spotted five enormous winged animals mounted by armored men flying above the trees. One of the creatures was flying towards Oren with it's taloned feet outstretched.

Hampered by his restraints Oren was unable to take advantage of his recent training in with Dass, but he still managed to fling himself out of the path of the creature's large tail as it lashed through the air in front of him. The strange creature continued on moving back into the air as it flapped it's massive leathery wings furiously in an attempt to regain some altitude.

A sharp screeching cry escaped from the animal as it began to rise and it was echoed by the rest of it's flock.

Thranta Riders Stealth rolls:
1d20+5= 13
1d20+5= 21
1d20+5= 22
1d20+5= 7
1d20+5= 18

Sakutian

Tissen, Zero, and Kudak

Looking over the list of offered services it becomes very obvious that Trafanda bay is more than capable of supporting itself entirely. Shops, restaurants, and temporary living quarters are all present in great abundance. There are also a number of locations that might draw the eye of those that are curious about the Ithorians and their way of life.

Oren and Lex

The armored humanoid riding atop keening creatures above the trees begin to spur their mounts into an attack formation. Snapping the leather reins attatcched to each of the beast's they send them into a sharp dive.

Sakutian

Lex and Oren

Flying in a wide formation three of the creatures dove down towards the ground screeching as they did. Two of the enormous creature's swept past Oren and Lex lashing out at them with their large heads as they attempted to seize them. The third creature grabbed Lex by the shoulder and carried her up off of the ground with it.

Meanwhile one of the rider's unholstered a blaster rifle from his saddle and fired a shot at Oren.

Initiative Order
Thranta Riders 20
Oren 11

Attack Rolls
Thranta 1 3+9-5= 7 vs Lex's Reflex Defense Miss!
Thranta 2 3+9-5= 7 vs Oren's Reflex Defense Miss!
Thranta 3 18+9-5= 22 vs Lex's Reflex Defense Hit!
Thranta 4 10+8= 18 vs Oren's Reflex Defense Miss!

Lex is grabbed.

Heir

Oren nearly toppled over as he tried to evade the swooping beasts. The fact that his arms and legs were shackled together made things a tad harder.

Looking desperately at his captor, he pleaded with her. "Release me! I can help!" The lady sith was momentarily distracted, and one of their attackers started to dive towards her from behind. Seeing this, Oren reacted without thinking, screaming "no!" and putting the power of the Force behind it. He didn't even have time to focus on what he would do with it...turns out the Force didn't need to be told what to do.

The rider aboard the beast was suddenly filled with a impending sense of doom as he swooped towards the vunerable woman. His mind snapped, and he turned his mount around as quickly as he could and thrashed viciously at it to fly as fast as possible away from whatever invisible terror he felt near the woman.

Standard: Use the Force (1d20+15=24) Mind trick, making the target flee for 1 minute (10 rounds I believe).

Sakutian

The beast and it's rider steered wildy in the opposite direction taking off into the sky as quickly as possible. Oren noticed that the rider nearly steered his mount directly into a nearby tree in his haste to escape.

immortal squish

On the Ithorian Herdship...

The probe droid scans over the giant holoboard, Again, the small red light beneath the probe droid illuminated and Zero's voice emitted from the unit, "Unit EI-0 will proceed to 'Ernest Ernies' Software Emporium' then to nearest HoloNet access point for database updates. Unit R-141 and R2D6 will continue monitoring their assigned organics. Provide any requested software package purchases or HoloNet downloads to these units, and we will make due effort to fulfill such requests."

Skiddles

Kudak suddenly had a thought, and turned to Talia, all thoughts of understanding the facial expressions of females gone from his mind.

"Whatever happened to Ermpit's fighter?" he said rather urgently. "Did it survive?"

Sakutian

Talia seemed to pick up on the urgency in Kudak's voice. "Ermpit's took a great deal of damage but it survived the battle. You built him a good ship. Why do you ask?"

Skiddles

"Ah. That's good. After the whole 'turning people into monsters to gain control of the colony' thing I figured he'd bolt or turn on us, so I built a little extra into his fighter just in case. I'm glad to hear I was wrong about him... and just a tiny bit disappointed that he didn't end up getting captured by the Imperials. Being able to inflict damage on them always makes my day." shrugging, all urgency left Kudak's voice and he looked back at Talia. "So...I guess I should start figuring out how to repair our ships. Can't go flying around that badly beaten up- people would start to talk!"

Super Namicchi

As loathe as she was to admit it, the Jedi had a point. His trying to escape would be a futile gesture; they were both stranded.

She made her decision. Ruby blade snapped to life and in one fluid motion she slashed his bindings and spun around to put her back at his. "Follow my lead. Have you any skill with a blaster?"

Heir

"I'd prefer a lightsaber, but you saw to that already didn't you?" Oren smirked at her. Sure she probably wanted to torture him, and finally either kill or turn him after she had stripped away everything that made him the person he was....but still....she is kind of cute.

"Blaster will have to do."

Sakutian

A map highlighting the route to a nearby shop appeared briefily on the holo display. "Ernest Ernie's is located in the great atrium. Second level, third enclosure on your left."

The pleasant Ithorian voice continued on. "Why not pay a visit to Druuga's for all you starship repair needs. While your there take the time to meet the former podracing champion himself, Druuga Heriin."

An image of a tall and gangly looking Ihtorian male wearing a loose fitting flight suit appeared on the display. Apparently this almost comically thin creature was the great Druuga.

Talia looked back at Kudak. "What do you think Kudak? We may be able to find some parts to repiar the A-Wings. The engineers in the hangar will only do emergency repairs unless we pay them a fortune."

psolms

"No way!" Tissen exclaimed, sarcastically, "Druuga is here?"

Rolling his eyes, he turned to Talia. "If you two want to get repairs started, maybe you could try to find us a new ship too. Don't really like the thought of being at the mercy of the herdship for our travelling needs."

Talia, being well aware of Tissen's idiosyncrasies by now, picked up on a minor detail Kudak had almost missed. "'You two'?" She asked, expectantly. "Where will you be going?"

"Me?" Tissen smirked the trademark Kreeb smirk. "I plan on finding the nearest cantina."

Sakutian

Tissen

The Trafanda Bay Cantina was doing a roaring day's trade by the time Kreeb arrived on the doorstep. Most of the patrons were Ithorians with a few alien visitors scattered among them. The interior of the cantina was very spacious. There were a few tables and booths scattered around the room but most of the space was taken up by a long bar. An Ithorian bartender was pouring drinks out to the large crowd gathered in front of him.

A trio of Aleena were gathered at a table where they were eagerly jobbering at one another. Each of the Aleena were holding cards and they had small stacks of credits sitting in front of them. A skeletally thin dark skinned human was seated across from the Aleena with a much larger pile of credits in front of him. He smiled in a self satisfied way as he shuffled the cards in his hand.

Two Sullastans armed with holo-imagers looked up from the maps and images scattered across their table when Tissen entered curiously.

A female Ithorian was standing in the corner of the spacious room singing in Ithorese. Her powerful voice seemed to be drawing little interest from the crowd despite the obvious passion fueling her performance.

Zero

Earnest Ernie's proved to be a bit disappointing when Zero finally found it's way to the establishment. The interior of the shop was filled with a collection of rusted droids, scrap metal, and antique electronics that a Jawa would have turned it's back on. An Ithorian in lavish purple robes stained with grease and tattered at the edges stepped out from behind a pules of droid components. When he caught sight of Zero he smiled and moved closer.

"Welcome to Earnest Ernie's the first and last stop for any bargainhunter. What are you looking for my droid friend?"

Kudak

A short time later Talia and Kudak found themselves staring at a pristine air speeder in the heart of a showroom floor. Starfighters and more speeders were set on display throughout the room.

Oren and Lex

"You dare attack a Sith!" One of the troopers aimed his blaster at the retreating creatures and unleashed a flurry of blaster fire. Foliage and branches were scorched and two of the flying beasts screeched as they were burned.

The second trooper limped back towards his speeder but before he could reach it he was knocked to the ground by a diving beast.

Trooper 1 Blaster(auto-fire)= 10
Trooper 2 Blaster(auot-fire)= 14
Thranta Attack= 21

Thranta 63/80 hp

Trooper 2 is down for the count thanks to Oren's earlier attack.

Sakutian

Kudak

"She's a real beuaty isn't she?" A lazy drawling voice coming from across the room drew Kudak's attention. Her turned to see a rotund Ithorian stepping towards him. He was wearing an orange and white flight suit that was stretched across his bulky middle with difficulty. Druuga had put on some weight since his racing days.

He stopped and looked at the air speeder with his arms folded across his chest. "You and your lady friend looking for a nice couple's vehicle? I can arrange a nice deal for you."

Skiddles

Kudak looked at the Ithorian puzzled for a moment, and then it clicked "Ah, no sir. She is in fact my friend who is also a lady, not the other thing, and I was more looking at finding some materials and spare parts to fix up our ships, which suffered some damage in our last excursion. Would you have any scrap metal or spare parts available, or know where I could find some?"

Sakutian

Druuga's smile faltered for a moment and he waved at the pristine starfighters and speeders nearby. "As you can see scrap isn't something I take much interest in."

His smile slid back into place as he continued. "Parts on the other hand are another matter. I take great pride in being able to get my hands on almost anything my customer needs. Just tell me what you require and I'll see what I can do."

Skiddles

Kudak looked at the man for a moment, considering. "Ah I see. I wasn't impinging the quality of your wares, Mr. Druuga- where I come from it is common practice to accept vehicles as trade-in, so that the customer doesn't have to dispose of the vehicle themselves- still-useable parts and materials to be sold as scrap can be extracted from these trade ins for a small profit. If this isn't common practice here, I understand that you obviously wouldn't have such things lying around. I can give you a list of materials and parts I would need, and I will also need to inquire around a space to use as a workshop while I work on the ships." Kudak extended his hand to the man "I am Kuda..r by the way."

Sakutian

Druuga took Kudak's hand and shook it enthusiastically. "You get me that list and I'll do my best to get you what you need. If you like I'll even arrange for you to use my workshop to make repairs."

"Let me ask you something Kudar, where are you from? You certainly seem to know what you're talking about."

Skiddles

"Me? Oh, I'm a mechanic who travels around quite a bit, fiddling with technology of all kinds. This speeder over here?"

Kudak squinted at the speeder a moment, recalling the exact specifications related to the model.

"I could give you 7% more speed or 8.5% more maneuverability given a day and a pile of assorted scrap metal. I'd just have to deal with the weight imbalance caused by removing so much durasteel from the rear... I'd hate to add balast, so probably do some modifications to the front to make it overall lighter, which mght actually get me up to 8% faster..." Kudak started and looked up from his reverie.

"I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

Sakutian

Druuga's eyes had gone a bit wide and he'd clearly been impressed by Kudak's demonstration.

"I don't know what brought you to Ithor Kudar but I'm glad you're here. I'm in need of a new chief mechanic and I think you might be just what I'm looking for."

Skiddles

"Well now...that's a very interesting proposition, Mr. Druuga. Why don't we go someplace private to discuss the terms of this prospective employment...?" said Kudak, trying his best not to look too furtive as he scanned the store.

A minute later, in Druuga's office...

Kudak sat in the chair opposite Druuga, shining confidence replacing his usual preoccupied stare. He had a plan, and he hoped it would pan out. He was not at all comfortable doing all of this talking, but he truly believed that it needed to be done, and he was not one to turn away from necessary work.

"I think there are two main things to discuss here, Mr. Druuga. The first is my salary. I am the best ship builder that you will ever have the opportunity to hire. I can give you proof of this later, but let's move the negotiations forward based on that premise, and you can certainly let me go if I am not as good as I say I am. I am however not here to put you out of business, so I am willing to work for you at a nominal salary depending on your answer to the second question."

Kudak paused for a moment, thinking of the best way to put this. "How do you feel about the Imperials, Mr. Druuga? I am aware that as a salesman, you can read people quite well, or you wouldn't still be in business. Know that regardless of what you answer I will not cause any trouble for you- I am merely trying to see in what direction I can take these negotiations."

immortal squish

At "Ernest" Ernie's...

Not immediate responding to the Ithorian's greeting, Zero scanned the poor assortment of outdated software and burnt out droid components with a slow sweep of it's visual percepter. "This unit requires a Type A-16 Skill Package "Applied Physics: Manipulation of Inertia and Velocity," as well as a selection of post-consumer droid components suitable for repair. This unit will supply a full listing, and inventory your existing stock to identify acceptable equipment should you provide a datalink to your inventory system."

Sakutian

Kudak

There was an obvious discomfort in Drruga's tone when he spoke. He began to nervously adjust a datapad on his desk. "I'm just a pilot Kudar, I think we're all better off leaving the politics to the senators back on Coruscant. To be honest with you though I don't see much difference between the Republic and the Empire. The galaxy was a pretty rough place long before Emperor Palpatine came along."

Zero

Ernie turned his elongated head to the side and looked at Zero in a confused manner. "So you need some parts for a droid? Doing a few modifications are you? Well come back into the store room, I'm sure we can take care of you."

The wrinkled Ithorian lead Zero deeper into his shop and through a door into a cluttered back room. The equipment back here had been arranged as careleslly as the wares in the front of the shop. Tools, bits of scrap metal, and spare parts were scattered across the floor. Ernie began to dig through a storage crate and tossed a few parts out onto the floor. "I picked up a few parts off of a Duros last week. Spent some time on a scrap world and he came back with more stories than parts if you get my meaning. Still he had a few nice pieces."

Ernie pulled out a droid head that had been battered by a blunt instrument to the point of near obliteration. A few parts fell off of the head as he tossed it out towards Zero. "That beauty was top of the line six years ago. Look at it now. No one cares for droid properly these days."

Skiddles

"Speaking as someone whose home planet was annexed by the Imperials for its production capacity, and then was treated worse than a droid (who they also mistreat horribly) because I wasn't a human, I can't say I can agree with you. " Kudak shook his head sadly.

"But I'm not here to discuss philosophy. If you are willing to lend me a workroom I can make it worth your while- If you're a pilot I can give you something really special to race, or I can perform some one-time modifications on some merchandise for your sale to someone special (and probably at an outrageous price). If you're willing to take a chance, I can offer to make you very wealthy, giving you many spacecraft or speeders that can outperform anything the competition can field, in exchange for your aid in some other areas. And if you want nothing to do with me, I can accept that too. Just please do me the courtesy of being honest with me." Kudak put his hand to his forehead, rubbing it tiredly. "I've had a very rough year."

Sakutian

Kudak

"You have nothing to worry about Kudar. Honesty is always something you can count on when you're dealing with me."

"Now since I answered your question maybe you'll answer one of mine. How would you feel about a little test before we finalize our new partnership?"

Oren and Lex

The firing Sith trooper, the soaring creatures, and their riders all froze in mid-motion. They vanished into swirling clouds of mist leaving Lex and Oren alone among the scattered trees.

"I hope you'll forgive the theatrics, I assure you I would't have resorted to them without due cause." A amused masculine voice echoed out from behind a nearby tree. A male human stepped out into sight, he smiled at Oren as he worked his way carefully towards them. He was wearing the robes of a Jedi complete with a hooded robe covering his features. There was a lightsaber was secured to his utility belt. When he was within a few feet of Oren and Lex he pulled back his hood revealing a handsome bearded face. "I am Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Skiddles

Kudak looked at the pilot and nodded approvingly. "It's fair that you test me, given our partnership is based on my skills as an Engineer. What can I do to prove myself to you?"

Sakutian

"As I'm sure you know I haven't been behind the controls of a podracer in nearly seven years. My last race was something of a galacic legend." Drruga's chest puffed out as he savored the memory of his past glory.

"After that I lost interest in the sport. I mean why bother when there was no one who could challenge me?"

A smile spread across Druuga's face. "Now someone has presented a real challenge. A podracer from the Outer Rim, he wants to put on a show and make a name for himself. We're going to have an exhibiton race right here on Ithor. I want you to make me a podracer that will put anything he could have to shame."