Ask Ignite the Spice

[Orenth]

PvP enabled - death disabled​

The drug spice had never been something Byron was interested in as a civilian. He had heard stories and but never tried it and was not keen to at any point in his future either. Both the spice trade and the slave trade were heavily influenced by Kessel's monarchy and the Pyke Syndicate. Today he intended to deal a serious blow to one of the darkest elements of the galaxy. The local monarchy had long turned a blind eye to the open scandalous nature by which they ruled. Of course thee real rulers were the Syndicates.

Today, Byron found himself in a different ship than normal. It was opulent and far fancier than he was used to. The Skipper, was a ship that had changed hands several times recently. A Morganian man noble had owned it for the longest before he then sold it after getting a better ship. The next woman that owned the ship lost it in a game of chance and so it changed hands several times. Eventually it was stolen and then seized by the Sector Rangers. Byron would have felt bad asking Master Grayza for his personal ship and this way the star yacht was now being put to good use.

The knight's eyes were open as was his awareness. His ignorance in the past had led to consequences and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. The spice mine would come into view as the ship lowered in altitude. "Ready?" He looked towards @Drow Venn his partner on this mission. The yacht would come in for a landing at a respectable distance.

To look the part, Byron did not have his lightsaber on him. While separated, the lightsaber pieces would look like ordinary tools a mechanic would wear. But the Knight wasn't a mechanic, not today. Instead on either of his muscled forearms were polished but simple matukai gauntlets. A collar around his neck would appear to be an inactive slave collar with fake led lights and all. Bringing his hands together he cracked his knuckles and centered himself.

The large mine below the landing platform crawled with slaves. A cacophony echoed upward from the sound of hundreds if not thousands of feet. Byron wasn't good at translating and he wasn't sure if Drow was. For this reason they had a protocol droid along for the ride should the 'master' need a translator.

@Fantasy Liver

 

[Drow Venn]

Drow Venn stood, making some finishing touches upon his outfit. He wore the furs that he'd acquired on Nelvaan, hoping to give off the look of a wealthy merchant. The white furs were worn in such a way to conceal Drow's armor underneath but the chestpiece made Drow look fatter than he actually was. The Ishi Tib Jedi supposed it was for the best - a fat merchant would sell this deception better than a skinny one would.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Drow said to Byron, sighing. Deception was not one of Drow's strong suits and he'd spent most of this trip pacing around the ship, rehearsing lines that he thought rich merchants might say. He would much rather play the role of the silent servant but with Drow being a bit older than Byron and him having some fitted furs, he resigned himself to this role. He hoped that the protocol droid could do most of the talking for him.

He hadn't met his fellow Knight before this mission but he rather liked him. The Human Jedi's surly attitude and helpful nature reminded Drow of some of the friendlier mercenaries in his company that he'd been friends with back in the day. He hadn't yet seen the man's combat prowess but, given that the Order had seen fit to send him and the man's impressive physique, Drow figured he wouldn't disappoint.

"Just for the record, you owe me a drink for this little acting gig I'm doing." Drow half-jokingly told Byron as The Skipper touched down upon the landing pad. The protocol droid shuffled over to Drow, her chassis having been painted with a reflective silver to further give the illusion of opulence. The droid belonged to the Order and nomally resided at Yavin IV until she'd been co-opted by the two Knights for this mission. Needless to say, the droid was not amused by this turn of events. As the doors opened up, Drow blinked one last time as a Jedi Knight and stepped onto the landing platform as a rich merchant.

"Hurry it up droid!" he barked, trying his best to get into character.

"Of course, Master!" the protocol droid chirped as she quickened her pace.

 

[Rynn Itera]

Kessel, it wasn't the most cheery of planets that Rynn had ever worked on. He hated the way the smog seemed to fill the filter on his helmet, leaving layers of dust and processed spice to build along his helmet, on top of the way your clothing seemed to linger with the traces of what smelled like burning sulfur. All in all it was one of the worst jobs he had taken since he had embarked across the galaxy to find his own Mandalorian way.

His job was relatively simple, maintain security and monitor the transactions of spice from within the control room that sat within the center of the catacomb tunnels of the spice mines and refinery. If all things went well it could provide him with enough leverage to land himself a spot within the Crimson Dawn, in which he could finally start making some serious credits.

The young Mandalorian could be seen standing within the control room where several maintenance and observation droids worked away at the various controls, while Rynn commanded the central security system, which consisted of control of the facilities many cameras, which could be seen from landing platforms, within the tunnels, and the various rooms in the facility;

The security system also came with access to the facilities many doors and access points, and would allow for the opening and closing of any door from a push of a button. Things had been relatively calm, only a few minor disputes had occurred within the few weeks he had taken this job -- today would hopefully be no different.

"Sir, a Space Yacht is arriving on Platform Section 246." The electronic voice of one of the control droids would hiss from its static placement along the control room.

"Section 246," Rynn would pull up the manifest for today's deliveries, as well as the camera feed on the platform. "Commencing standard procedure, closing the blast door on the platform, prepare the Gatekeeper droid for the proper questioning procedures."

His gloved hands would slide down the manifest until he spotted the ship in question. A small time Ishi Tib Gangster with friends in all of the right places. The request for shipment seemed to be rushed through the official channels, but that's normal. Rynn thought to himself as he put his finger to the broadcast system.

Both @Byron Ryker and @Drow Venn would see the doors of the platform closing before them as they approached. Within the door, a small eye socket would pop out and Rynn's voice could be heard speaking in Huttese. "State your name and official purchase request number."

tag: @Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc had been in the spice trade long enough to where he was a familiar face among Syndicates. He had begun covering his face up a year or so ago, but the agreements remained the same. He was here to pick up a supply of spice today, and he was adorned in Kravos' armor. It was armor from a time long past and virtually unrecognizable to most within the galaxy today that did not explicitly study ancient Sith. The cold helmet hid his face from view, the armor’s dark nature only apparent when touched.

A saber was confined within his robes, and he more or less had free rein to come and go as he pleased. He was along the path one would take directly after arriving on the platform, but he was not focused on who was coming or going. He was in conversation with a worker about shipments and production rates. Nowadays Emryc had someone else doing his runs for him and the schedule was tight.

The spice refineries were segmented off into separate sections instead of all being in one place. Each area had its own cleaning and storage procedures and means for quick disposal in case of a raid or attack from another Syndicate.

Emryc walked alongside the worker as he was told about the quality and consistency of the latest batch. He was contemplating raising the amount of slaves to kick up production output.

@Darasuum @Fantasy Liver @TWD26

 

[Drow Venn]

Drow felt his blood boiling as they started walking across the landing platform. He had a long, long time hunting down slaving rings and he had some most un-Jedi like opinions on slavers and those who benefited from slave labor. To see this many slaves laboring under Pyke oppression made him feel anger and like his previous efforts had been for nothing if new slavers would just take the place of the ones he'd disposed of. He tried his best to calm his mind and put such thoughts aside, letting them drift away into the void. He was here now to free more slaves and such feelings would only be an obstacle to that goal.

Speaking of obstacles, the blast door just shut in front of them and an annoying droid popped up to ask them their business. Drow swallowed hard but maintained a stiff demeanor. Wanting both to talk as little as possible and to preserve the illusion that he was a slimy merchant who thought himself above talking to a droid, Drow nodded to his own droid.

"This is the party of the esteemed Garrinda Sun. Purchase number: SAW28158. Master Sun wishes to pick up his expected shipment of 100 kilograms of spice and discuss future business." the protocol droid said, exactly as she'd been coached to. Garrinda Sun had been an actual sketchy merchant on Drow's homeworld and he figured using a real name would help solidify the deal. Plus, he and Garrinda bore a passing resemblance to each other, though given that all Ishi Tib looked alike to outsiders anyways, Drow doubted if that would even matter.

@Sreeya @TWD26 @Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

THEME​

Sell the performance and I'll buy you a whole bottle. He thought as they descended the ramp of the Skipper. The luxury vessel was settled on the landing platform that overlooked the mine itself. Looking out from the viewport, Byron could see the doors close before even the landing ramp of the ship finished extending. Well they're not complacent

The trio of servant, droid and master made their way to the door where they were promptly questioned by the gate droid. The protocol droid did its job translating as far as Byron understood. The undercover Jedi remained quiet but aware of any changes in the Force. The brawny man didn't have to say much for his part in this mission.

@Fantasy Liver @TWD26 @Sreeya

 

[Rynn Itera]

Rynn focused on the scene before them, it did seem strange that such an esteemed gangster would show up with just a droid and what appeared to be a mechanic. But, judging on their choice of transportation, the young Mando could only assume they were about to enjoy a party of sorts.

Itera would press the controls on the gate-keeper, sending the eyeball back into the door, and with it the iron doors would begin to grumble as they slowly opened revealing a large mixture of cavern and metal. "Garrinda Sun and company, your shipment of Bliss Starfume is..." The Mando would look down for a moment to look at the manifest, "Currently being processed in refinery number four. Please step forward and into the facility."

If the two complied, the doors would slowly close behind them, hiding what natural light came with it. To the Jedi the facility would appear dirty and the lights were dimly lit. Red blinking lights could be seen in the corner of the room, directly facing the door the two Jedi entered would be the viewport of the control room. On the left was another spaceport grade blast door that was closed -- leading to another platform for other customers, it was closed as well.

To the right was one standard blast door that would lead into the facility proper and where the spice was no doubt being processed, and other more important customers could be seen. "Please smile, you are on camera." Rynn would say through the speakers of the room, "Your order should be delivered to you shortly, my processing teams say they are loading it from the refinery now."

"As for future business, I'm afraid you will need to bring that up with your fixer. There are no official members present within the facility. While you wait, is there anything else I can help you with?" Rynn would flip the switch off with a sigh, he was expecting this small time gangster to chew him out, it's always the little ones with the biggest attitude.

tag: @Sreeya @Darasuum @Fantasy Liver

 

[Emryc Thorne]

“Then it sounds like additional bodies are needed,” Emryc said curtly as the worker explained the production rates. He glanced over at some of the slaves, displeased with how old and slow some of them were. Clearly some of them needed to be purged and replaced, but Emryc didn’t make those calls.

From the vantage point of the two that just entered the facility, Emryc was beyond the doors to their right.

“Take me to the refineries,” He said before the worker nodded and began to lead him. Emryc strode away from the entrance, lazily walking towards refinery number two. He looked down at his datapad briefly, “Did you get the materials we discussed from Ryloth?” He called out to the worker as they walked. Emryc would still be fully visible to those that entered, not having entered the refinery just yet.

@Darasuum @Fantasy Liver @TWD26

 

[Drow Venn]

And another complication.

Drow sighed. While just simply buying 100 kilos of spice and jetting away would have been a fine prize for a lot of enterprising individuals (including Drow back in the day), for this mission it simply wouldn't do. The Ishi Tib Jedi turned to the protocol droid who predictably said nothing. Droids never were much good for improvising. Drow sighed again.

Welp. Here goes nothing.

"Impudence! I came to discuss selling off some of my surplus slaves and, from the looks of this diseased lot you have here, you desperately need them! I certainly won't be put on hold by the likes of you!" Drow sneered, doing his best impression of all the indignant rich people who had hired him in the past before and channeling his actual disgust for these people into his sneer.

"I brought this one along to give as a gift to the Pykes to showcase just how good my stock is. But if that gift isn't appreciated, I could certainly sell my slaves somewhere else! Mayhaps I can buy my spice from somewhere else too if my time isn't respected here!" Drow said gesturing to Byron, hating that there were people in the galaxy that actually spoke like that.

@Sreeya @TWD26 @Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

It sounded all like jawa to Byron. His eyes looked at the door with his head slightly bowed to naturally have an averted gaze. But his eyes would widen a bit at seeing a Mandalorian. At least he was pretty sure it was a Mandalorian. The armor looked to be real and he had heard of them being mainly employed by criminal elements these days. And another complication. He thought to himself but would follow Drow either way. He gave a slight flinch to add to the act when the disguised Jedi began shouting.

@Fantasy Liver @TWD26 @Sreeya continued
theme

 

[Rynn Itera]

Rynn rolled his eyes beneath his helm, he could see the two through the viewport -- it seemed the human wasn't having any of what his gangster boss was cooking up. The talk was pompous and filled with a bit of an arrogance, on the streets no doubt it'd get him knocked out, but this was a reputable business with a reputation.

Clicking his fingers against the communicator, Rynn would broadcast to the three goofs in the lobby below, "Sir this is a spice refinery, any deals or negotiations on slave exchanges will not be taking place here. As I mentioned prior you are going to have to bring that up with your fixer, who will negotiate such things."

The Mandalorian grumbled beneath his helm as he flicked open the door to the platform that the two Jedi had just come from. "I'm going to ask you both to head to your ship. Once inside, we will have the cargo loaded onto your ship. For your safety and the safety of Pyke slaves."

The Mandalorian leaned back in his chair as he looked to the control panel and flicked off the comms for now, "There's always one pompous nerf-herder."

tag: @Sreeya @Darasuum @Fantasy Liver

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc’s sensitive ears could pick up the yelling even from where he stood. He lifted up a finger to hush the worker to listen, making out what appeared to sound like a whining customer. The Sith turned to look in the direction of the exit when the worker next to him had the message relayed.

“A moment, please,” Emryc nodded in response, letting the worker go. He made his way over to refinery four, gathering up the load of the 100kgs of spice requested.

The Sith strode back towards the exit, the yelling having piqued his curiosity. Even then, he was only killing time until the worker returned to give him the spice he asked. It would only take moments for the spice to be prepared for the two men that arrived up front and two big carts were rolled out towards their ship.

The worker commed Rynn, “Their shipment is ready to go. Confirm payment and we're good,” He said as the cargo was pushed through towards the platform.

@Darasuum @TWD26 @Fantasy Liver

 

[Drow Venn]

Okay. This was happening. It was so odd - Drow was completely comfortable in the heat of combat but the actual buildup to it made him so nervous. He much preferred a straight fight to all this sneaking around and subterfuge.

"Oh, I can't wait to see you punished for this." Drow said, jerking an accusatory finger up towards the observation booth "If you value your employment or your life, I'd suggest getting your overseer up here right now to take a look at this specimen. Otherwise, call security because Garrindan Sun does not get ordered about by the likes of you!"

He was counting on the man's self-preservation attitude and the Pykes' known fondness for slaves to win through to the Mandalorian up in the observation. Speaking of the Mandalorian, Drow couldn't actually believe he was talking to one right now. Not because of their legendary status - Drow had seen one in action before during his time as a mercenary. But, rather, he couldn't believe how far the Mandalorians had fallen to have them be a glorified administrative assistant. Well, if there was hope for his own redemption, maybe there was still hope for that of the Mandalorians...

@Sreeya @TWD26 @Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

The pit in Byron's stomach returned. Both of his hands curled into tightened fists. They remained that way for a moment until relaxing slightly. The Mandalorian sounded like the old Devaronian man who worked at the Contruum Department of Vehicles and took forever to dispense licenses. But this Mandalorian was probably half as pleasant.

With his senses reaching outward he knew someone was coming. The blastdoors to the right opened and showed two carts with what was likely their spice. Byron's hand relaxed a bit more. He knew machines well and that went both for getting them to run and to stop. The 'couldn't be bothered' attitude told Byron the Mandalorian was hardly paying attention, so seeing some fidgety fingers over some cameras would hardly trigger any reactions. What the fake servant was really doing, was trying to disable the lead cart's movement and giving the Jedi an opportunity.

What it would result in would be the lead cart's repulsor sparking and then dying. The cart's nose would come slamming into the deck and come to a screeching halt whilst in the middle of the blast door, preventing it from closing fully. That works too.

@Fantasy Liver @TWD26 @Sreeya continued
theme

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Making death threats was certainly not the way to get into the facility and the man would get exactly as requested. Emryc turned to see the cart jam in the doors after hearing said threats and aggressions. He watched two slaves run over and help the workers shove the cart through and he applied his own use of the Force, the cart sliding forward easily. Slaves always looked for ways to curry favor. The door slid shut as soon as it was through and Emryc kept striding towards the door.

He hadn’t picked up on the use of the Force from the other side, the effort far too subtle, but then so was his. He turned to the other workers around him, “Lock down the facility,” He said quietly, eyes narrowing beneath the helmet.

Emryc grabbed a comm off another worker, speaking into the main channel that would reach the Mando in the control room, “What’s going on? They have their spice, tell them to leave.”

@Darasuum @TWD26 @Fantasy Liver

 

[Rynn Itera]

This day just kept getting better, Rynn was ready for it to be over. The Mandalorian would look up from the control panel to see the Ishi Tib had begun to make threats towards the Mandalorian, it seemed he couldn't quite understand basic, there was no management here besides himself. To make matters worse, the cart had gotten stuck and began to spark.

Damn Maintenance, just what we needed. He cursed under his helm, but it seemed the situation resolved itself rather quickly, the more prestigious of customers seemed to have aided in pushing the cart out into the lobby waiting area where the two miscreants were waiting. The door to the production facility shut once more.

His hand would quickly press the silent alarm on the control panel, which sent all of the doors inside the actual production facility to shut and seal. An emergency beacon was also called out, signaling for potential backup via an offsite reaction team. Though that option would take time.

Rynn could clearly see that the spice had entered the lobby waiting area where the two of them stood, they had their product, and the Pykes were willing to overlook this act of pointless aggression just this once. "Threatening a Galactic Network of Syndicates is foolish," he'd say through the broadcast speakers. "You have your spice, I'm transferring the credits from the provided account now. Leave the property at once." With a click of a button on his manifest, the credit transfer would begin to take place -- sealing the deal.

The Mandalorian checked the cameras, confirming that the doors in the facility had been shut and lockdown procedures had begun. Hopefully these blokes weren't as idiotic as they appeared. For extra measure, Rynn would push a message through the security comms of the facility, "Possible spiced up addicts threatening to attack. Internal Security Team prepare a defense around the production entrance door, stand by for the offsite reactionary team."

This was going to be a headache of meetings and holo-papers regardless of what happened -- What a drag.

tag: @Darasuum @Fantasy Liver @Sreeya

 

[Orenth]

THEME​

After the cart came to a stop the man was able to get a good look at what was beyond the blast door. A singular dark cloaked figure was beyond the second cart still to come through the blast door. Further down, the turbo lift they needed to get up to the control level He turned to walk towards the fallen cart he had damaged. The slaves that came running to move the box would see his hands up to disuade them. "Leave it." His voice came as a warning, speaking for the first time since entering the structure.

The Knight would rapidly throw up both open hands and thrust the palms down the hallway the carts had been coming from. The spice, carts and all would be thrown back down the hall towards the dark clad being and beyond. The slaves would be out of the way and on this side of the door with Drow. But anybody on the receiving end would get knocked hard as the impact protected containers and their cargo would be sent flying at high velocity. Even if they were stopped or slowed, they would provide a decent moment of cover and obscure their view. (@Sreeya )

The Mandalorian didn't respond from the Ishi Tib's actions as far as Byron could tell at this point. But his gut had told him to act. Maybe it was the Force but he had come here to free slaves and not just make off like a mediocre spice thief. There were others on the planet making their moves as well and security was probably only going to get tighter after this. The second cart still had to come through and the door would have remained open for a fair window anyways. At least this way, Byron would get to be on the other side and be one step closer to the control room than they had before as well as the refineries. Sprinting across the distance remaining with the force aiding his travel, both arms held up in a cross in front of him as he ran forward in a guarded X manner.

Either gauntleted hand was now active, their fingers arched to open or close with each likelyhood. The sleeves that had been around his arms were shredded away as the field of the gauntlets sent them rippling away from his wrists. He didn't need sword to save nor be a knight.

@Fantasy Liver @TWD26 @Sreeya

 

[Drow Venn]

Drow rolled his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time today. The illusion had served its course but it seemed time to shed it. Rynn (@TWD26 ) would find transferring the credits from the dummy account the Jedi provided quite difficult considering it didn't actually exist.

As soon as Byron (@Darasuum ) sprang into action, Drow followed suit, sprinting after his fellow Jedi and drawing his lightsaber in one hand and his stun pistol in the other in one fluid motion.

"We're here to free you. Help your brothers if you can!" Drow called out to the slaves quickly, trusting that the protocol droid could fill them in on any missing details. Hopefully there were enough improvised weapons in that room for the slaves to defend themselves with.

As Drow followed Byron right on his heels, he fired off a couple of stun blasts towards the cloaked figure (@Sreeya ) down the hallway while igniting his yellow saber. Dodging both those and the flung carts would be tricky for just some overseer. And as far as Drow knew, that's all the figure was...

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc could certainly sense the Force rippling through the men on the other side of the door. He sighed beneath the helmet, watching things play out before him. He watched the carts abruptly sail through the air at him, and he pivoted on one foot to avoid it. The workers next to him weren’t so lucky, but Emryc wasn’t concerned.

Jedi sure were violent these days. He could see the second man drawing a blaster and point it towards him. The first man posing as a slave had used several instances of the Force and had barged in, the second man following through with bolts through a doorway. The Force coiled around the first man and Emryc casually shifted the man to the side, directly in the path of the stun bolts at point blank to land on his back. The second man being on the first man’s heels and the first man already engaging with the Force meant there was virtually no way to avoid the single effort from the Sith as powerful as a Lord. Emryc stood behind another slave just in case.

The slaves didn't move a muscle from the protocol droid's words, fully aware of their electronic collars that served as more than mere decoration.

“Stop this or the slaves die,” Emryc said smoothly, “Need I remind you that their collars are controlled by a charge and the means to kill them all exists,” He was almost bored with the situation, "Drop your weapons and surrender," A sadistic grin played beneath the helmet, “Or fight and have their bodies provide us a nice backdrop. Really, I'm fine with either.”

The command room had the means of controlling the collars. Emryc made sure his words carried through the comlink for the Mando to hear.

If the men didn’t stop their advance, the collars would all be supercharged to result in mass deaths. Emryc would be on the defense for any further stupidity the Jedi had to display.

@Fantasy Liver @TWD26 @Darasuum

 

[Rynn Itera]

Things only continued to escalate, a lot of criminals were a few bolts short of having functioning processing units, but these guys were on a whole other level. Through the feed he saw the two of them push towards the refinery door as it was closing, their speed was almost supernatural to the Mandalorian -- Jedai Sorcerers, they never should have come here.

The camera feed quickly cut to inside the first hallway of the refinery, the internal security team had just made their way into the area with blasters drawn. There were only four of them, but they stood in the back watching as the powerful Sith pulled the first Jedi into his friend's stun shots.

That was when Emryc's call went through the private channels, the two happened to be reading each other's minds. Most of the slaves here were aging and were bound to be replaced, his time spent with Nara had also taught him a thing or two about Jedi and their overdriving need for empathy and saving the common man.

His gloved hands would begin to charge up the collars, causing a buzzing sound to be heard within the slave collars, the slaves visible in the fight could be seen wincing with panic filling their eyes.

"A Jedi once told me, they're life is a sacrifice for the greater good. Are you not bound by your Sorcerer Creed? Surrender or the Slaves will be exterminated and you will be the ones to blame." The Mando's voice blasted through the speakers within the refinery.

Even though the door that lead into the lobby had closed, trapping the two Jedi inside the Locked Down Refinery with the Sith and Security team, Rynn wanted to make sure there were no loose ends. He would press the button that began closing the platform door that lead to their shuttle. Even if they managed to make it into the Lobby, they would have another obstacle to overcome.

"Refinery Control, this is the Reaction Team," a voice blared through the control communicator as a blue hologram flickered into display. "We're approaching the platform site from the North, ETA ten minutes." With the emergency reinforcements coming soon, Rynn was beginning to feel confident in the situation.

tag: @Sreeya @Fantasy Liver @Darasuum