Open Social Get Me Offworld

[Ezra Kirk Vaughn]

(This thread is open to any Indie Character players that would like to join Ezra on his exodus off Tattooine for the first time. Rebel Alliance characters are also welcome, but I don't quite want Ezra to meet Sith or Jedi yet, for story reasons.)
Mos Eisley, Early Afternoon​

After a long last couple of weeks among the dunes, Ezra spots Mos Eisley in the distance, after cresting a tall sand dune. His pockets were lined with some credits he'd lifted off of a Moisture Farmer, after offering to help him re-calibrate some of his worker droids for next to nothing, but knowing harvest had just passed, Ezra knew the oaf had some considerable credits stashed away somewhere. It was just a matter of finding it - which he had, while the family slept. Not to leave them too high and dry, he left them some of his rations of Wamp Rat meat and desert Beet Roots hidden in their young son's room. He might be a scumbag, but he's not a monster.

With his rifle on his back and and his pistols hidden under his coat, he bee-lines for the nearest Cantina, hoping to dodge any imperial soldiers in the process. He'd make his way with a brisk pace, hoping to look like he had been in the crowd the whole time to the guards stationed around the market. With any modicum of luck, he'd make it in for a drink, and a bed for the night before they've all been bought up. He sits down at the bar, at a seat that may have already been taken, as there was a half-consumed drink on the bar in front of it. Ezra simply swills it down before either of the patrons engaged in their own conversations had time to notice, and slides the glass forward and patiently waits for the bartender to make her way around the bar.

 

[Ezra Kirk Vaughn]

A drink is bought, Credits exchanged, and the wanderer gets up and goes to a corner table facing the spaceport. As he watches ships of various sizes, and shapes, he can't help but wonder what the rest of the galaxy is like. The idea of stealing one crosses his mind, but the most interaction with a craft of any kind was the one time a year or so ago, when he "repossessed" a landspeeder for a desert-dwelling loan-shark, and deciding to keep it, getting him across a stretch of desert before it's power cell had depleted. He reasoned it was probably more prudent to commission a pilot to take him to a world nearby, and show him the ropes on the way. The trick was finding a pilot on their way out that would take on a passenger, and then teach him how to fly. Only problem was, he only had maybe 80 total credits on his person. A moment of quite contemplation passed, as he watched several ships land, he followed along as one made a bee-line for the Cantina.

 

[IG-178]

IG-178 stalked into the Cantina, his photoreceptors glowing with satisfaction. He wore a cloak to partially conceal the menacing stature beneath. He had just completed a job for Droid Gotra and was now on the hunt for a way off the planet. He had heard reports of a space freighter departing soon, and so decided to come to the Cantina to investigate the possibility of securing a ride. His sensors scanned the room, searching for someone who could assist him in his mission. He noticed a human, looking directly in his direction, and so he made his way over to the individual in hopes of finding out more information. Maybe the human would be able to help him find a way off the planet.

 

[Ezra Kirk Vaughn]

Ezra noticed the strange and human-like droid walk in. He was amazed by it's construction, and redirected his posture toward him to indicate his intent. "I don't suppose you drink. Do Droids drink oil? Synthetic or conventional?" he quips, grinning to himself, fully expecting the humor to be lost on the droid. "You don't look like a Droid anyone's built around here. Where d'you hail from? Can you fly a ship? I'm trying to get out of here, myself."

 

[IG-178]

IG-178 stood tall and still as the human spoke, its metal body shifting slightly in response. After a moment, the droid slowly lowered itself into a seated position and responded in a low, metallic voice. "I am unable to consume food or drink - and in any case, I do not need to. I am uncertain of when I was first created, though I do know I have recently been reactivated.”
Leaning in closer to the human, the robot paused for a moment before continuing. "I have been programmed to fly ships to a very high level of proficiency. The issue is, I have no ship to fly. I understand a freighter is preparing to depart soon, but I am not able to gain access on my own. To do so, I will need a human to pose as the owner. However, if this is not possible, there may be other… more direct measures we could take in order to find passage.”

@Gian Greydragon

 

[Ezra Kirk Vaughn]

Ezra nodded, and took a sip of his drink and looked back at the droid, leaning closer, so his speech is lowered a bit, posturing himself in case there are nosy patrons.

"We c'n find a ship and get off this rock together. I've got some travellin' I wanna do, and it appears we're both stuck on this dusty kark-hole of a planet. I seen a ship outside that looked pretty promisin'. It's just a matter of findin' the owner, and ... convincin' 'em to let us board. Or get his ignition key, preferably without gunfire, but I ain't afraid of a fight" he leans back, pointing to the YT-2550 Light Freighter across the dusty road. He downs his drink before ordering another from a barmaid nearby, and turning his attention back to the droid, a wide grin now planted on his face. "So, wha'd'ya think? Think you can fly that thing?"

 

[IG-178]

IG-178 looked over its shoulder, its photoreceptors taking a moment to take in what the human had been looking at before it shifted its attention back to the human. The droid's body shifted slightly as its vocabulator crackled to life and the machine began to speak "All of the YT class freighters have been uploaded to my system," IG-178 continued, "as well as most other craft. I have the specifications for each of the vessels."

The droid paused, surveying the cantina with its sophisticated sensors. After a few moments, it pointed to a large human with a grizzly beard, wearing a tatty flight suit and nursing a drink at the bar. "He keeps looking back at the freighter and checking his watch," the droid said. "I would say with an accuracy of 87% that he is the captain, he looks like a regular here, so I doubt he's planning a heist. He's probably just waiting on someone or something.”

IG’s servomotors whirring as it sat back in the chair, its photoreceptors scanning the human's face. Its vocabulator shifted again, its voice taking on a more friendly tone. "I am IG-178," the droid said, "but you can call me IG if you prefer."

@Gian Greydragon

 

[IG-178]

The human sat and didn’t respond to IG, so it stood up just as the apparent pilot at the bar finished his drink and walked out of the bar. IG moved slowly but with purpose following the man in the flight suit.


IG-178 continued to follow the man onto the dusty streets of Mos Eisley. The man walked briskly, his head down and his shoulders hunched. IG-178 kept a few paces behind, its photoreceptors scanning the man's back.


The man stopped in front of the YT-2550 Light Freighter at the same time IG quickly crouched behind a nearby crate. The pilot took a keycard out of his pocket and swiped it across the door panel. The door hissed open and the man stepped inside.


As soon as the man was inside, IG sprang into action. It ran to the door and slipped inside just as it was closing. The droid quickly scanned the interior of the ship, the interior of the freighter was cramped and cluttered. There were boxes and crates stacked everywhere. The man walked over to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's seat.

The man started the engines, just as IG ran into the cockpit and lunged, its claws extended. The man screamed and tried to fight back, but IG-178 was too fast and too powerful. It wrapped its claws around the man's throat and squeezed. The man's eyes bulged and he gasped for air. He struggled for a few moments, but then his body went limp. IG-178 released its grip and the man slumped over in the pilot's seat.

IG looked around the cockpit. It was alone. It had killed the man and taken control of the freighter. It was free to go wherever it wanted. It sat down in the copilot's seat.

IG powered up the engines and the freighter lifted off the ground. It soared into the sky, leaving Mos Eisley behind. IG-178 didn't know where it was going, it didn't care, it was free.