Ask Starting Somewhere

[Yvon]

Berchest, Calius saj Leeloo​

Calius saj Leeloo, know to tourists as the City of Glowing Crystals. Considered by some to be one of the 20 wonders of the galaxy. Yvon wasn't quite sure what was supposed to be so wonderful about it. It was big, plenty of tall carved crystal buildings towered overhead and shops and buildings lined the crowded streets. The welcoming pamphlet that Yvon had picked up at the spaceport claimed that the city was carved from one giant crystal. Big whoop.

Yvon's eyes scanned the crowded and bustling streets, also carved from the same sea salt crystal. The same beige colored crystal. Yvon didn't see what was so exciting about it, unless everyone just got off to the conformity of it all. There were more people than Yvon was used to, but there were a lot of things they weren't used to. They could deal.

Scoping their nalphone, Yvon plotted a course to what they were really interested in. The industrial hub. Berchest was a huge exporter of tech in the region and Yvon's natural curiosity had them eager to check out what cool tech the planet had to offer them, and they weren't above applying a five finger discount, especially since Yvon had spent the last of their credits on the flight to Berchest. Where better to play their trade than where the coding all happened.

 

[Delos Orden]

Delos Orden, along with another squad of Peacekeepers, had been deployed to this very planet, given the fact that it was independent and it was not a part of the New Republic, their presence was strange to most. In truth, however, they were sent here because the small time security force on the planet wasn't doing much, and thieves, thugs, and other criminals had been frequenting the place, so they had requested support from the New Republic and a few other nations, excluding the Sith Empire. They now have a good enough security force of foreigners and locals to protect the place.

Delos had served for seven long years, including the year when he signed up and was trained. As a member of the New Republic Peacekeepers, he had his somewhat outdated but well maintained blaster pistol, his New Republic Trooper Armor, his Vibro-Knife, and his Code Cylinder for identification. He was currently looking out for criminals, and he had noticed some suspicious behavior from a man known as Yvon. So he kept a close watch on the man.

 

[Barrington]

Calius saj Leeloo, Spaceport.​

Barrington smiled as he turned off his ship's engine. The last time he tried to dock on a spaceport, he fucked it up completely and they kicked him out immediately. When he heard Berchest was a major exporter of tech, he jumped into his ship and flew to Calius saj Leeloo as soon as he could. He grabbed his things, including the newly purchased data pad he bought before he left Coruscant and shoved it into a large shoulder bag. He threw in a PL-50 Stun Grenade and his blaster pistol for safety measures. He grabbed his trench coat, tied the belt around his waist and slung the shoulder bag on, and going around the ship one last time, he made sure that everything that needed to be turned off, was in fact, turned off. With everything in order, he exited his ship down the ramp with a slight bounce to his steps.

Calius saj Leeloo, Industrial Hub.​

Calius was a rather pretty city. Barrington had read all of the stories and the rumours about it. Supposedly the giant salt crystals came from the nearby Leefari Sea and helped Calius saj Leeloo become one of the many wonders of the galaxy. A lot of the information Barrington found, suggested to go to the Sanctum Arcti. But he wasn't interested in that, he needs new tech and he needs it now. It took a while, but he finally made it to the Industrial Hub. The industrial hub surprised him greatly. Rodians and Tunroths flooded the streets, alongside a few Gotals and Bimms. The Tunroths had always fascinated Barrington, and he always had a small crush on a few of them. Just like him, they towered over everyone else. As he passed through the crowds he caught himself glancing more at a Tunroth then what was being sold in the booths and the shops.

He paused in the middle of one of the many crossroads to lit a cigar when he noticed a group of Peacekeepers were making their way through the Hub. The one in the middle seemed to be fixated on something. He followed his eyes and saw what he was looking at. He looked back at the one with the outdated blaster. With his cigarette drying out, he dropped it and stood on it, putting it out. He took a deep breath and when the Peacekeeper wasn't looking at the boy, he made his way over to him. He leaned down and wrapped his arm around the guy's shoulder so the guy could hear him quietly. "Just so you know, there's a Peacekeeper eyeing you up."

@Arcangel @Stormtrooper

 

[Nor'baal Desilijic]

It had, quite simply, been months since Nor'baal had left Hutt Space for a bit of downtime. This odd little world was his destination of choice, one he had yet to visit and, therefore, ideal for a shopping trip. He had touched down in his yacht a few hours ago and effectively taken over the meagre dock it now occupied - his retinue of thugs and deplorables loitering about the place as was their wont. Nor'baal had quickly found himself born aloft on his palanquin (in effect, his throne, but born on large staves), carried by an extensive collection of indentured servants, a small band leading the way, and no less than six banner bearers on either side of the setup, holding large flags with his insignia. He glowered at his snackqaurium, his pistol nestled behind in and out of sight in case anyone got any funny ideas.

It never did to arrive 'under the radar'.

Flanked by four Gamorreans, each wielding cruel-looking blades and adorned in armour with beskar, 'liberated' from the failed Mandalorian attempt on his lie some time ago, fashioned helmets and bracers, he was accompanied by four lightly armoured Nikto sporting blaster rifles as well. Gently, Nor'baal stroked the back of the head of one of his three Corellian Hounds, which joined him on the gaudy palanquin and nodded along in a superior-looking manner as he was borne through the streets.

The music stopped.

Nor'baal snarled and squinted at the cause of the distraction.

An entire squad of New Republic Peacekeepers was in his way. Understandably, most people moved out of the way of large Hutts being carried around, but Peacekeepers tended to be a little too up themselves for such considerations. <Toupee heee kanshokee bai yatuka dah.> he barked, as a translator droid waddled forward, and intoned "His most cerebral majesty, the excellent and divine, Nor'baal the Hutt, demands you clear the path, at once!" it commanded as Nor'baal harrumphed and reached for his hookah pipe.

 

[Delos Orden]

He noticed the new man whispering in the suspicious man's ear and thought that was out of the ordinary. He decided he should question them. Signaling the other peacekeepers to keep an eye out, he left the squad and went over to the two men, stared them right in the eyes, then said "Alright, so tell me, what's with the suspicious activity you guys have, first I'm keeping an eye on you for suspicious behavior," he pointed at Yvon then continued "Now some guy comes up and whispers in your ear." He then pointed at the other man. "Just know, I have my eyes on you two." He then walked off to deal with the Hutt situation.

As he came upon the Hutt, he immediately snarled at his disgusting form and rude comments, "Sorry, but I'm going to have to search your belongings, unfortunately, the Hutts are known for their criminal activity, so I am afraid you must be searched." He looked at the Peacekeeper captain for approval, and the captain nodded his head acceptingly. Half of the squad moved to search the bags and containers, as well as the Hutt's thugs and other companions.

@Arcangel @Resonance @Nor'baal

 

[Yvon]

Yvon's path through the industrial hub was anything but a straight line, more of a meander. They spent quite a fair bit of time window shopping at the various storefronts that lined the place, not quite having made their way to the factory district of the industrial hub. Yvon even took a moment as they crossed a sparkling crystal bridge overlooking a canyon of yet more crystalline carved streets to snap a selfie, unsmiling but holding up a piece sign. They would edit it for their Switter page later.

In truth Yvon was blissfully ignorant of the Republic peacekeepers eyes on them as they meandered along. What came as more of a shock was when an arm suddenly wrapped around their shoulder. Yvon froze, their posture stiffening at the sudden touch. Two things saved the human from getting instantly face slammed into the crystal roadway. One, their words reached Yvon's ears before they could react violently to the sudden intrusion on their personal space. Two, the sudden blaring of screeching music filling up the entire area as a Hutt palanquin made its way down the crowded roadway.

"Personal space." Yvon said, glancing at the helpful stranger who had touched them. Already on the sidelines, Yvon turned to watch the Hutt go past, giving a nod of thanks to the newcomer who had warned them about the Peacekeeper's presence just as the Peacekeeper walked up to them and started making accusations. Yvon blinked, a blank and clueless stare meeting the peacekeepers helmet visor.

"Me?" Yvon pointed to themselves before glancing at the tall newcomer. As far as Yvon was concerned, they had no clue what actions they had taken that might have been suspicious. That was all of a response the peacekeeper got before the armored man suddenly turned to walk off and confront the Hutt, the peakeeper squad remaining in the Hutt caravan's way.

Glancing at an alleyway behind them, Yvon would wordlessly give a tug at the tall man's shirt sleeve before slowly backing away from the scene. Whatever confrontation that happened between the Hutt and these New Republic peacekeepers was not something Yvon wanted anything to do with. The helpful stranger could come along.

Yvon slipped into the alleyway while the peacekeeper squads attention was fully affixed on the Hutt, disappearing out of their view without a sound. The alleyway wound and twisted through the backstreets of the industrial sector, taking them well away from the commotion of the peacekeepers and the Hutt retinue. If the tall stranger came along, Yvon would glance over and up at them. "Thanks for the warning. Please keep your hands to yourself." They said with a cold expression that seemed to imply their reaction might be of a different and more violent sort if it happened again. "I'm Yvon. What is your name stranger?" Yvon finished with a very slight smile, the sort that was warm enough but didn't quite travel to their eyes.

@Stormtrooper @Resonance @Nor'baal

 

[Barrington]

Suspicious activity?? Are all Peacekeepers like this? Surely not...right? Barrington felt a tug on his sleeve and watched as the man slipped into a nearby alleyway that he hadn't noticed. He shook his head a few times and rolled his eyes at the Peacekeeper who came up to them as he attempted to deal with the Hutt. "Idiot." He spat on the ground and followed the guy into the alleyway. He hadn't realised how short he was until now, or how short he was to Barrington. He got a good look at the guy before he spoke.

"Barrington." He stepped back and poked his head around the corner and looked towards the Peacekeepers. "I'm going to assume you weren't doing anything suspicious right?" He pulls out his data pad and makes a note of Yvon and the Peacekeepers. He follows Yvon down the alleyway as he pulls out his data pad to make a note of the Peacekeepers and Yvon. He opens up a map of The Industrial Hub and zooms out. "You don't happen to know where they sell ships here by any chance?" He looks at Yvon and as he waits for a response, he memorises the lads face. Barrington has a habit of drawing people he meets. Mostly because he's forgetful at remembering names and faces.

@Stormtrooper @Nor'baal @Arcangel

 

[Yvon]

Yvon glanced at Barrington as he voiced his question, their eyes flicking to the datapad the human produced for a split second. "Was? Wasn't? Didn't seem to matter much to those peacekeeper types. Nothing more suspicious than existing." Yvon sighed before squinting a little suspiciously at the datapad in Barrington's hand. "You're not some kinda cop are you?" Yvon was pretty sure the man wasn't a cop. They hoped he wasn't a cop, already having to avoid the ones they left behind to the Hutt's mercy on the main street.

The alleyway wound to a new street and Yvon's eyes scanned the crowd for any more of the aggressively peacekeepery types before stepping out of the alley. All clear. "No idea, could probably find out." Yvon said neutrally as they scanned the street for a place to duck into. Best to be out of the open for a moment. Yvon's eyes lit up as they spotted a holonet cafe.

"Help you find a shipyard if you buy me a cup of caf." Yvon said with just a hint of feminine wile added to their voice as they looked over at Barrington with their purple hued eyes, blinking just a little bit more than normal like they had seen women do in the holovids. The result was likely awkward, like they had something in their eye. "I'm a bit short on credits," Yvon admitted after a moment, "spent them all getting here, looking to make more... definitely not suspiciously." Yvon finished with a small wink before walking towards the holonet cafe.

@Stormtrooper @Resonance @Nor'baal

 

[Nor'baal Desilijic]

Gently, Nor'baal activated the built-in protections of his throne as the lead Peacekeeper spoke, suggesting that his little cadre of New Republic pawns might wish to 'search' the Hutts caravan. Here, in independent space, the New Republic boasted no authority whatsoever; indeed, their 'search' was little more than an attempted robbery, in the Hutt's eyes, one being carried out brazenly and in public.

<Nee.> he shook his head, a loud screeching noise coming from one of his Gamorreans, who shoved one of the search party back, as it made an attempt to reach his master possessions. Nor'baal drew his pistol, an RSKF-44 from its position behind his snackquarium, and levelled it at the lead Peacekeeper, @Delos Orden, his guards doing likewise with the rifles and blades. His hounds snapped to attention, all three hopping off the palanquin and beginning to circle the New Republic, wayward enforcers.

<Uba bakang bai mow mi!> he boomed in Huttese, drool forming around his mouth as his tongue lolled around in anger <Tam Ciduepe mee kung. Uba gee nobata babakahekoh wata! Tah doth banbamanu bmola!> he screamed and bellowed, giving the New Republic Peacekeeper one final, fleeting chance to move along, before a bloodbath ensued in the streets.

 

[Delos Orden]

The Captain hated these Hutts, and would just love to gut them, and he was really not caring if he had no authority out here. He didn't like to do the talking, and since Delos Orden was eager to start the fight with these slavers and scumbags, he gave him the command to speak and initiate the firefight. "Shut up, slaver Hutt slime! I don't care if we have authority out here or not, you do not either, so this is a no man's land, and I think the New Republic would be happy to get rid of your fat ass." He signaled for his troops to get to cover, and they all scrambled away behind boxes, walls, and other areas that could protect them from fire, and they quickly each aimed their blasters at a single guard, which would be their target, if necessary.

"You are a member of a criminal organization, and we cannot allow you to continue, so, this is your last chance to leave, or, we can end you right here, right now." The Captain gave a nod of approval as he called for a backup squad, which wouldn't get to them for at least ten more minutes, and since the standard security here weren't really soldiers, they stayed out of it entirely and moved the civilians away from the coming mayhem.

@Nor'baal @Arcangel @Resonance

 

[Barrington]

"Huh. That's okay, I can probably find a seller through Oogle." As the pair continued through the alleyway and out to the side, Yvon said something to him about wanting Caf and being low on credits. He waved his hand as if to lead the way. "Sure, there's a holonet cafe around here somewhere." He stood there for a few seconds, tapping and pinching the screen on his data pad. "Oh, there's one just down-" Before he could finish his sentence he looked up to see Yvon already ahead of him. Barrington sighed and followed him.

They reached the holonet cafe and headed inside. It looked like a typical holonet cafe, except this one had some garish floral wallpaper and heinous red velvet seats with black tables. "Just go find a seat, I'll order for us. What do you want?" He asked Yvon as Barrington got in the queue. This particular cafe seemed to be rather busy. This surprised Barrington quite a bit.

@Stormtrooper @Nor'baal @Arcangel

 

[Nor'baal Desilijic]

"Shut up, slaver Hutt slime!

Nor'baal did not allow the Captain to continue, pulling the trigger on his pistol in two quick motions, sending four blasts firing directly toward the mouthy Captain before he could continue the rest of his rant. <Killee hoohah!> he barked, as his guards engaged the enemy before the command was given by the Captain to go running for cover. Spotting one of the Peacekeepers reaching for a communicator, no doubt to call for back-up (which Nor'baal admittedly was not entirely sure would be possible, as they were not in New Republic space) he pointed with his spare hand and barked a command.

<Momeu, killee.> at once, one of the three attack hounds pounced on the unlucky comm-user, its front paws slamming into the Peacekeeper, as its jaw clamped around the humanoids neck, ending any attempt to call for backup. <Nudd!> he instructed, as his palanquin bearers complied, closing the distance between the Hutt, and the besieged Captain, as their men engaged one another.

The wayward Guard Captain would be his, and his alone.

OOC - General reminder that Nor'baals gear is as listed on his profile, which has not been updated since this thread was joined by the Hutt.

Spoiler: Actions

Nor'baal interrupts Delos, firing two lots of blaster fire at him mid-sentence.
Nor'baals guards engage Delos' Peacekeepers before they can dive fo cover (as this is an interrupt action), enabling NPCs to fight one another whilst PvP happens.
One of Nor'baals dogs interrupts the call for backup made by a Peacekeeper NPC.
Nor'baal orders his palanquin forwards, the closing distance between himself and Delos.

 

[Yvon]

Yvon began to feel instantly at home as they stepped into the dimly lit holonet cafe. Their eyes scanned the room for an available rig, finding a few but settling on one computer in the corner, seat facing the doorway. They seemed almost distracted as Barrington asked about what they wanted.

"Black caf is fine, strong please." Yvon said, sparing a quick glance and small smile before wandering away towards the open computer. Settling in, they glanced around for a moment before pulling a pair of devices out from inside of their jumpsuit to sit discreetly on Yvon's lap. A few taps on the signal tracer to get the device started on its scan, set to search for audio/visual signals.

Yvon pulled a thin filament wire from the port scanner, jacking it into the open port of the netcaf console. A login prompt appeared on screen as it detected the new input source. Rubbing their hands together for a moment and acing them together to stretch the tendons, Yvon's fingers settled onto the keyboard and began to type. Yvon promptly bypassed the initial login to set up a shadow user account, easily wiped from existence with every trace of their presence in the network when they were done.

The netcafe's firewall was dismal, a disappointment to the professional slicer, though it mad their job easier. Set up and ready to go, Yvon ran a few search programs at once. Republic Peacekeepers. Public outcry. Hutt presence. Crime statistics. Independent journalism sites. Starship dealerships. Multiple windows scrolled data on the screen as each keyword finder program pinged multiple datapoints that Yvon quickly scanned with their eyes which remained glued to the screen except for the occasional glance up towards the door.

@Nor'baal @Stormtrooper @Resonance

 

[Delos Orden]

He realizes he is outmatched, and signals for his troops to retreat "Suck it, dirtbag, if you want the pleasure of killing me, I won't give it to you!" He fires his blaster pistol at two of the people holding up the palanquin, bringing them down instantly, while he runs off, tipping the fat Hutt over as he slides off his palanquin. His armor protected him pretty well from one of the blasts, but the other went straight into one of his shoulders, disabling the arm. Luckily it was not his blaster's arm.

His troops fall back and begin retreating, yelling at the civilians to fall back, he fires off a few more blasts while he runs, as do his squadmates, a few of his troops were down by now, but so were several of that slug's goons. Currently his squad was sitting at only four troopers.

 

[Delos Orden]

@Nor'baal @Arcangel @Resonance

 

[Nor'baal Desilijic]

As two of his bearers fell to hostile fire, the others moved to compensate as best they could, enabling Nor'baal to mitigate his stumble and slide from the palanquin and onto the ground, firing a shot at the withdrawing Captain to keep him on his toes. He looked around, spotting some of his guards had fallen, taking a number of the peacekeeper's men with him - Nor'baal did not care; he could buy new guards after all.

He levelled his blaster at the other withdrawing troopers, shooting two of them in the back, the final two a little to swift for him to take out as they tailed off after their commander. Shaking his fist at the fleeing New Republic peacekeepers, Nor'baal smirked. His guards, what remained of them - at his counting two of the Nikto had fallen, and one of his hounds had been slain - formed up to protect him should the Captain return.

Looking about him, he noticed several civilians had fallen in the crossfire.

A bad day for the New Republic.

And an opportune time to make haste to a withdrawal. Barking instructions, Nor'baal withdrew, seeking to return to the docking bay where his ship was to be found and leave the planet, and this ugly interruption to his weekend plans, behind him.

Spoiler: TLDR

Fires one shot at Delos.
Downs two fleeing peacekeepers.
Attempts to exit.

 

[Barrington]

"Black caf, extra strong. Got it." The queue was moving rather slowly in the cafe. At least it gave him time to decide on what he wanted. Frappucino? Nah, too sweet. Espresso? Nope, too much caffeine. Dirty chai maybe? That could work. A strange sound caught his attention. He turned around thinking something was going on outside. But everything looked relatively normal....except for the people running out of the alleyway the two walked through. He sighed and rolled his eyes and kept moving.

He finally got to the barista. "One large black caf please. Oh and make it as strong as possible." Barrington nods towards Yvon sitting at the table, typing away frantically. "I'll get a medium Dirty Chai along with two Croissants." The barista nods in agreement. Barrington pays for the goods and wonders over to Yvon. For once, Barrington isn't interested in the lads doing. Besides, he looks like he doesn't want to be disturbed anyway. Eventualy the barista brings over the food and drinks Barrington ordered. He nods at the barista and thanks them. "Black caf, I told them to make it as strong as possible. Oh and a croissant, just in case you're feeling peckish." Barrington moves the caf and the croissant over to Yvon's side of the table and he pulls out his data pad and resumes searching for a shipyard near The Industrial Hub or Calius saj Leeloo in general.

@Arcangel @Stormtrooper @Nor'baal

 

[Yvon]

Yvon was still tapping away at their keyboards as Barrington joined them. The caf went ignored for a few moments as they scanned news articles and forum posts, discerning public sentiment and outrage about the New Republic presence on the planet, as well as some interesting tidbits about other cases of Republic overreach. Finally, the scent of caf hit Yvon's nose and they took a small moment to glance away from the screen.

"Thanks." Yvon said before sipping at the caf, the bitter darkness fueling their soul as they turned their attention back to the screen. The croissant remained untouched for the moment but not outside presence of mind. Suppressing the rumble of their stomach, Yvon continued the quest for knowledge, saving articles and references to the hard drive of their port scanner. Fingers on keys continued to tap away until a beep from the signal tracer drew Yvon's attention.

The signal wave of the cities street cams had been identified by the device, and Yvon set the machine to start isolating it from the background chatter of the various devices that buzzed about. This was time consuming work, but well worth it in the end as Yvon imagined the outrage over tidbits of footage with a proper message behind it. Their attention was drawn to a different window as a search pinged completion, identifying three different ship dealers in the area.

"Here." Yvon said after scribbling the names of the dealerships on a napkin and passing it to Barrington, not willing to tear their attention away from the screen for more time than necessary. There were of course more than three starship dealers in the region, but Yvon's search program had parsed the list down based on customer satisfaction, price, and quality. "Look these three up." They finished as they continued to tap away at the keyboard, deleting that instance of the search program to divert database speed to the other searches they had running.

@Stormtrooper @Nor'baal @Resonance

 

[Barrington]

Taking Yvon's napkin, Barrington quickly opened three new tabs on his data pad and began searching for dealers. His T-6 Shuttle is a good ship, but he needs something with a little more oomph...and a little more room for his toys and clothes. It took him a while, but eventually he narrowed his options down to a dealership on the outskirts of The Industrial Hub. Unfortunately for him, it was on the other side of Hub from where they were now.

His data pad suddenly pinged, and to his surprise, a new tabloid had been posted about the idiotic peacekeepers they had just encountered; he sighed loudly and passed his data pad to Yvon, rolling his eyes. He finished draining the last of his drink, and munched on the painfully dry croissant. "Find anything interesting?" He nods towards Yvon's screen.

@Arcangel @Nor'baal @Stormtrooper

 

[Yvon]

Yvon's eyes brightened momentarily as the signal tracer completed its job, isolating the street camera signals from the rest of the net chatter that radiated across the city. A ping on the screen drew their attention for a moment as a fresh article scrolled past the feed. A news site was already covering the earlier incident. Yvon scowled for a moment. Of course the press already had access to the audio.

"Hmm?" Yvon replied to Barrington after a few too many moments of scanning the screen after he spoke, glancing over. "Oh, yeah. Looks like there was an incident between those fuckhead peacekeepers and the Hutt. Apparently some people died." Yvon stopped for a moment, staring off into the space past Barrington's head as they thought.

"They don't have video though." Yvon muttered more to themselves than anything as they turned back to the screen, downloading coordinates from the signal tracer to their nalphone. Accessing them remotely might be difficult to pull off from the holonet cafe's crudware. Which meant work...

Yvon leaned their head back against the top of their chair for a moment with a groan, staring at the ceiling as they blew a lock of hair from their face. How could they... Yvon glanced over at Barrington who was nibbling on his croissant like it was a brick of plaster. "Hey. How good are you at climbing?" Yvon asked the horizontal Barrington before righting their head to look at him correctly. "We could make some good creds off the security footage of what happened if we scoop it before the media gets full access." Yvon finished as they reached for their own croissant and took a bite, coming to the conclusion that the net cafe sucked for selling day old bread.

@Resonance @Nor'baal @Stormtrooper