The Melting Pot

[Hiro]

Scraping herself off the floor with feet up in the air, Rikva jumped back right side up. "Y-yeah, I'm fine." Now with a little more, or rather less, chaos to deal with, Rikva could see more of the outpost. "Coo-l."

 

[Outlander]

"It works." Tala commented. "We usually use this one as a layover for our members, as well as other various minor functions." She walked along the overhand, passing into another room. This one was filled with chairs of various sizes, and a Screen on the wall. "This is our loung area. It should work for the Doctor's purposes."

 

[Luno Palono]

Luno followed Tala to the other room. He already felt much more comfortable now that they were out of the desert heat. Yes, this'll do perfectly. Well, not perfectly. But, it's a good start. Thank the girl and then we can get down to business. Luno looked around, selecting a chair opposite the door to gently lower himself into. Also, apologize for the mess I am undoubtedly making on this chair with my dirty coat. He crossed his arms in his lap as he waited for the ladies to settle in.

Ufie followed Luno across the room, stopping to stand next to the Doctor. "Doctor Palono thanks you, Miss Tala. He is much more satisfied with this location than the last. Also, he presents any apology as to the transfer of any ill-favored particles from his clothing onto your furniture."

 

[Outlander]

Shr shrugged the comment off. "It's not a big deal." She sat down a chair facing the Doctor, stretching her arms out. "So, what's this job?"

 

[Hiro]

Rikva delicately sat down in a chair more in the middle of either of them. This base is nice. Somewhat. Something about it is different, though. I'll have to ask what kind of members are here.

 

[Luno Palono]

Luno's head listed slightly backwards as he thought. Now, of course, we can't tell them all the details. Just the basics, things they would need to know. The type of work they'll be doing, mostly. That's what's important, right? Be ready, though. I may halt you if I think you are revealing too much. Beyond that, however, you can simply speak.

Ufie nodded to Luno before placing a hand on the bottom of his head, checking to make sure his voicebox was still operating efficiently. "Miss Tala, Doctor Palono has instructed me to tell you about the mission. It contains two separate parts. The first is something Doctor Palono could handle on his own, provided he has a distraction. The second is the distraction, but also a vital part of the mission. We need to kidnap several beings from a secure location. Due to our less-than equipped selves and lack of expertise in this kind of thing, we thought recruiting mercenaries might be the best course of action."

 

[Hiro]

((If the mission is accepted and they go somewhere public, I might introduce my currently being made character. Because complications are always the best <3))
Rikva listened in. As a conversation for mercenary business, Rikva was not fit in for this. Why was she invited? "S-so, if I was inv-ited here, d-do I have a part in this?"

 

[Outlander]

"So, you want us to help you in some less than legitimate business dealings?" She summarized. Turning to Rivka, she added. "If the good doctor says you are."

 

[Luno Palono]

I suppose that sums things up nicely enough. Luno peered at Tala, trying to gauge her response. Oh, I suppose I should come up with a good explanation for why we the albino is here. Something tells me the truth wouldn't bring us into an ideal negotiating position...Respond to them while I think of something, Ufie. Luno began to thoughtfully stroke his chin. Ufie glanced back and forth between Tala and Rikva.

"Miss Tala, Doctor Palono approves of your summary of the mission." The pit droid casually leaned against Luno's chair. "Doctor Palono....will address you shortly, Miss Rikva. Is this something you would be capable of aiding us with, Miss Tala? Or, if this is not your area of specialty, can you recommend someone for the job?" Ufie casually waved his hand through the air as he spoke, trying to appear nonchalant.

 

[Outlander]

'Nah, we can do the job." She said. "The problem here is that I need to know who you're abducting."

 

[Luno Palono]

Ufie glanced towards Luno, who was still deep in thought trying to come up with his reasoning for bringing Rikva along. "Doctor?" he asked nervously, glancing back and forth between Luno and Tala. After several moments of unresponsiveness from Luno, Ufie let out a mechanical sigh and turned back to Tala. "Doctor Palono has selected...unique targets. We are not sure of their names, or even if they have any."

The droid stepped forward, his arms drooping to the side. "He wants to kidnap clones from the Kamino cloning facilities. In order to-" Luno suddenly snapped out of his stupor and abruptly kicked Ufie in the back of the head, knocking the droid onto its face and silencing it.

Why didn't you wait for me before responding?! His head swirled with anger as he glared at the droid. Sometimes you are so delicate and other times you just run your mouth like some kind of malfunctioning protocol droid! Get back on your feet!

Ufie slowly pushed himself up, standing and rubbing the back of his head, checking for dents. "Doctor, please try to be a bit more gentle. How often must we have this discussion?"

 

[Outlander]

She watched the antics with amusement. "To what?" She asked.

 

[Luno Palono]

Ugh. Wonderful. Luno leaned back in his chair, leaning his head as far back as it would go. Tell her it has something to do with industrial espionage or something. And tell the albino I have a special mission that she is perfectly suited for. He closed his eyes, listening intently to the conversation.

"Right," Ufie continued gingerly rubbing the back of his head. "In order to examine the clones. Doctor Palono wants to discover some details of their specific cloning process that he can only get by giving the clones a...thorough...look-over." The droid took a measured step away from Luno before addressing Rikva. "Miss Rikva, Doctor Palono believes you are suited for helping with a specific part of the operation."

 

[Outlander]

Tala leaned back in her seat, chewing her lip. This mission sounded pretty sketchy. "What stage are the clones in?"

 

[Hiro]

Snowflake leaned forward. She's never been in a special part of the operation before. "Like what?"

 

[Luno Palono]

What's reasonable? Hmm.. Luno began to drum his fingers on the arm of the chair as he thought. Keep baiting the albino. She seems interested. Tell her...it's extra secret. Yes, we'll compartmentalize the information to avoid a critical failure. That'll do well. If he could smile, a large grin would have broken out across Luno's face. Tell Tala...what would she go for? I can't very well tell her I have no idea, I'm sure that will turn her off from the mission. Tell her they are a few years into their growth cycle.

Ufie finally stopped rubbing his head, satisfied that no new dent has appeared. "The clones are a few years into their growth cycle; biologically about seven years aged, Miss Tala." He turned back to Rikva, leaning forward and putting a hand to his face as if he whispering something. "Doctor Palono will let you know more details in a bit. He doesn't want to risk compromising the entirety of the mission by giving everyone all the information."

 

[Hiro]

Rikva nodded enthusiastically. A secret mission! "C-can I tell my friend Cormick I'm on a mission t-that's secret?"

 

[Outlander]

"I'm not in the business of kidnapping children, Doctor." She said, a cold look crossing her face.

 

[Luno Palono]

Luno jerked up in his seat, his eyes jolting open. Damn, I guessed wrong! I was hoping saying that they were younger would pass along the idea that the job would be easy. I did not take into account any ethical rejection. He scratched his head, looking Tala in the eyes. I think we are losing her! Quick, say something to keep her interest!

Ufie stepped forward, towards Tala. He held his hands out toward her, palm down, as if to calm her. "Miss Tala, I assure you, these are not children. They are only clones."

 

[Hiro]

Rikva has had a past of a mandolorian trying to kill her when she was ten. Damn straight Luno was losing. "Doctor, what business do you have with these children?"