Ask Nar Shaddaa Whispers in the Dark: A Scouting Outing

[Corran Velt]

Darkness. Not like nightfall. An unnatural darkness caused by an urban canopy, not unlike a jungle, blocked out most of the natural light from the surface. Only the occasional flick of a spark, walkway guides, or the long forgotten artificial light beaming into the shadows provided and a glimpse of the decay. Some would hazard to call these sub-districts abandoned. Corran knew better. Although he had only been on the Smuggler's Moon once before, Coruscant's lower levels were little different. Beasts, criminals, mutants, and the impoverished all dwelled there. What dwelled here was likely much, much worse.

Kneeling on a cracked duracrete roof of an abandoned building with metal walkways that went further below with another across to an adjacent decrepit roof, the blond ranger was more prepared in equipment than he'd ever been before. He was adorned in the custom-made Sentinel armor. Durasteel torso armor and pauldrons, phrik-alloy gauntlets, and a high-tech helm that encased his entire head. His weaponry included three concussion grenades, a blaster on each hip, an AC280 rifle in hand and the captured vibrosword from the basement of Headquarters. There would be few situations that Corran hadn't come prepared for. As much as a walking armory he was, the mission was to gather intelligence. Finding a path through the urban labyrinth would be no easy task and so it fell to him. A tracker silently pinged as it collected data and mapped their movements.

Thankfully, Lt. Velt wasn't alone. Captain Roland Rook had come with in this descent to the guts of Nar Shaddaa. The Mandalorian's presence by itself was comforting. Roland had shown great prowess and leadership during the anti-grav training gone wrong in the past. If there was anyone besides Bast Emblai that Corran would have picked on this scouting operation, it would be him. Resting the blaster rifle on his knee, Lt. Velt cycled his helmet's vision to low-light and scanned the nearby area. Nothing yet. "Looks like we are alone for now, Captain," Corran reported through the secure commlink between their helmets. To the outside world, the pair would be totally silent. "Ready to set off?"


@Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Roland Rook]

Considering the circumstances, Roland had elected to pull from his armory and even expand on it. Most of his money went towards expenses on his tools of the trade if it didn't get saved. But the man liked his toys. A DC-17x hung from his webbing in the standard blaster configuration. The Captain's cloak that normally adorned his armor wasn't on him today either. A pair of macrobinoculars were held in both hands, raised to his visor to look ahead at what could be waiting for them. His latest and most favorite westar blaster model rested on his hip. After this mission maybe he would get a python. That would be fitting But the small holdout that had served as his backup so far still did the trick well enough. A security spike was added to his kit since things might require some more slicing.

Roland always found himself back on Nar Shaddaa. The planet was the tempting flip side that Coruscant was normally cast in. Bot the Mandalorian saw two worlds, (or in this case moon) that had been plunged into chaos, struggling to overcome their own problems. Part of him wondered if the Free World Alliance could help them even if they would. Nar Shaddaa would forever be Smuggler's Moon.

The man was here for the Eclipse, or rather, to reconnoiter the base where Darmus Onn's program had reported. Roland knew a few things about slicing but mostly he let the tools do the work for him. "The last time I sliced into something it got demolished." He said as he thought back to a life time ago. That hutt's fighting pit had been the possible first sighting of the Arcanist. But today they were hunting a different person of interest. A Sith who had made themselves known personally on Coruscant while the Mandalorian had been on Dathomir.

"We're on Nar Shaddaa...I doubt we're ever alone." There was guaranteed to be ID-21 seeker and surveillance droid, Grim and Grem, were watching the Sector Ranger's flank for additional security. The Captain would be be able to call them to scout ahead or follow along if need be. "When you were on Coruscant, did you lay eyes on this Eclipse guy?" He purposefully didn't answer the Lieutenant's question. It was his way of also making sure Corran was prepared. The macrobinoculars were there if he wanted to have a look. Roland could still swap over to his sniper attachment if he needed to see from a distance.

@TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

At the Mandalorian's vocal doubts about not truly being alone, Corran gripped his rifle with both hands and began slowly scanning their surroundings. Due to the helmet, the looking around seemed precise and methodical. Underneath, the young man gulped with some anxiety. Rumors abounded for was truly dwelt down here. Horror stories on Coruscant, the jewel of the Core Worlds, were enough to unsettle even the stoutest of adventurers. Who knew what things made their home here. Deep down, Lt. Velt hoped it was just really impoverished gangsters. Those he could handle. For anything else...

Corran began cycling through his blasters and grenades, checking their charge, sights, and any blemishes that would impede their use in his self-defense. A failure on a pistol or dud grenade could have lethal consequences and he didn't want his body buried on Nar Shaddaa. Or eaten by monsters. Whichever came first. Halfway through checking the scopes and range on his DL-44 blaster, Roland inquired more about their eventual end-target. "Well... not exactly," Corran replied honestly, "I engaged a Sith woman who cut my face with a sword. The one on my back, in fact. Turns out it was dipped in a toxin that paralyzed me and I passed out." The blond ranger decided to leave out the horrible, writhing, unending pain that nearly made him beg for death. Instead he had writhed and fidgeted on the basement floor until rescued by many of his closest friends. Even now, phantom pains more from memory than actual tremors pulsed in his veins. His body would never forget that hurt. "Ranger Onn met him though. Engaged him, I mean," the lieutenant quickly corrected.

'Engaged' was doing a lot of heavy lifting. Darmus and a female Jedi had cut through battle droids, armored troopers, and more. Well, mostly the Jedi. The Eclipse, whoever he was, had mostly done the directing and Darmus had taken the opportunity to infect the Sith datapads with a digital plague. It wasn't what the public would likely consider heroic, but Corran did. That's how they got here. A second chance at justice. Ranger Onn's report supplied a description of the Sith terrorist, but could they shapeshift or something? Hard to know for sure. But that's why they were down here - to gather intel and find out all they could.

@Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Roland Rook]

Making sure his badge was hidden but within easy reach, the Mandalorian looked towards the tunnel they would first travel through. It would lead to another part of the city. It amazed the man how mountains could be built and tunnels retroactively made with time. Checking his personav which had the access point where the original alert had come from not too far away.

The Captain knew that security was more than just blasters and armor. It was awareness and readiness too. "They used Viper droids right? Anything else standout about this Eclipse guy or his associates?"

"Watch for cameras, don't make any long jumps." Gripping the DC-17x in his hands, Roland would recall his droids and reposition to give an internal silent communication to him and Corran on the shared channel.

Markings on walls and just walking a block on Nar Shaddaa could change who 'ran' it. But down in these depths there weren't as many organized parties. The ones that did exist down here were not pleasant. The Captain was thinking about what other enemies could be on Nar Shaddaa. If things went well then there wouldn't be any confrontation today. This was just a scouting mission after all and make sure this Eclipse didn't just stick his datapad into a cyber-cafe. From the looks of things as the two Rangers headed into the lower levels, there wasn't much caf being made by a classy barista in these parts.

@TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

For a few moments Corran didn't say anything. Inside his helmet, blond eyebrows were dented in a physical representation of the young man trying to recollect all the things he witnessed at headquarters during its fall and what was in the reports afterwards. There were more than just Red Sabers there. Finally, over the secure comms, the lieutenant replied, "There were Viper droids. I destroyed one when I first arrived at HQ. Debriefings also mentioned Black Sun armored troopers and roller droids. Ones with shields." What stood out about the Eclipse though or his associates? Besides the hulking armor and threatening speeches? There was at least one thing though. "A mask," the blond ranger said almost quietly, "Masks. Ornate masks that hid their faces. Not practical like ours." The Eternal wore an ornate mask too. Was it a Sith thing? No. The blade-warrior Corran fought didn't wear one. Maybe it was a rank thing.

"Affirmative," came the stoic confirmation of Captain Rook's advice. Avoiding long jumps sounded like something gained from experience. Two droids that silently hovered over to the Mandalorian seemed like things gained from experience too. Wonder what kind of tools they housed in their casings. Shouldering his AC280 rifle, Lt. Velt began their descent. The longer they were down here, the more likely they were to get sighted or worse. The metal railing to the adjacent roof looked like a better option than just going down a walkway into the dark below. Descending through a building provided more cover anyway. With a single gesture of two fingers forward, Corran took point.

One careful step after another, only the most quiet of metal clanks could be heard as ranger boots marched across them. Periodically, Corran's helmet would pan from one shoulder to the other. The low-light vision in this environment provided a lot of visibility and trying to find the safest routes would be the best data to capture. Once on the second roof, the blond ranger would wave his captain over. Like an architect walking out a foundation, Corran would sweep the roof for data purposes and looking for a way down. Fortunately, he stumbled across one. Literally. The toe of his boot hit the lip of an access panel that likely had a ladder that led down into the empty building itself. He only barely stopped himself from falling flat on his chest. "Captain, I think I found entry."

@Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland had been on Dathomir around the simultaneous events of the Headquarter bombing. Things had been somewhat explainable on Coruscant but on the witch world, it was hard to say without expecting accusations of insanity. But the Captain had seen things that had made him question his reality already and learned to keep an open mind. "One thing I've learned is if something looks like its solely decorative, doesn't make it so." The memories of the Bal'demnic Sith Temple came to the Mandalorian and he still found his mind trying to wrap itself around what occurred. "I think the dark side literally taints things, tangibly." This was speculative, because most of the time Roland was either on his own, or not with someone who was just another Ranger without space magic like himself. The last thing he wanted was for one of his Rangers to get hurt by something as avoidable as some cursed looking rock they 'thought' was harmless.

Keeping low and refraining from using his jetboots or magboots move quickly and quietly, the Captain covered Corran to make sure their shared fields of view would alert them if there was a witness to their presence. With their vision modes they didn't need lights and could keep to the shadows more easily. Roland wondered if he should spring for some duraplast covered in scatterweave for these sorts of missions. That would be more practical as well.

The droids would give their own silent alert with their different visual range onto the private channel. Roland knew that if they tripped a security measure, they might not know about it right away. Making their way further in, Roland kept the DC-17x at the ready. The sudden movement and frantic unbalancing of the Lieutenant made Roland watch him recover before presenting the most likely lead. "Osik..." he cursed in a hushed town despite nobody being able to hear him outside of the helmet. "...we don't need the Eclipse finding us."

Checking the access panel to make sure nothing lay in wait further down he gave an order to his droids so one of them would lead down. "We're right ontop of it." Roland knew he could climb down the ladder or just drop and use his jetboots but those weren't as quiet nor as cautious as sending a small droid. "No heat signature, no life, alright Grem, tell us what you see." The bottom of the ladderwell and the immediate area was the only thing that needed to be checked first. If there were traps, hopefully the droid would spring them. It was a Seeker droid after all. That was quite literally its job. Also it didn't hurt to have the ability to remotely slice a door or shock some witless security. But ID-21 knew to not engage.

@TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

Sage advice from someone as experienced and well-travelled as Roland Rook was always worth heeding. Based on their current environment, there wasn't likely to be a lot of 'decorative' looking things to avoid. Mostly rubble, ruin, decay, and shadows. A good note-to-self when inside Sith bases, he guessed. What was that second thing though? The dark side literally taints things? Corran turned his whole head to look over his shoulder at the hilt that protruded from the scabbard on his back. It was a phrik-coated vibroblade that was owned by a Sith killer before he claimed it as his own. Was it tainted? He didn't feel tainted. The whole Light versus Dark aspect of the force those cults prattled on about hadn't affected him a bit. It was that magic they wielded that was the problem.

The young lieutenant had actually already slung his rifle over his shoulder as a volunteer to take point. Instead a little droid fluttered down the entry hatch into the access area below. Captain Rook reported no heat or life were detected. For his own curiosity, Corran cycled through low-light and infrared visual detection as he looked down the ladder from his vantage point above. There didn't seem to be anything. A good omen. The least trouble they found on finding a path to their objective, the better.

After a few moments of the hovering droid not sounding an alarm or getting clawed to bits by some monster, the coast seemed clear enough for organic recon. "Proceeding, sir," Corran stoically announced to his superior as he drew one of his sidearms and began to climb down the ladder one rung at a time. The blond ranger was careful to advance carefully, one foot at a time and always keeping one hand on a rung and the pistol held out to stun anything that rushed him. With patience and attentiveness to silence, Corran would try and get down to the next floor where Grem was scouting. If both feet got to the ground without interruption, he'd immediately get into a kneeling position and scan the immediate surroundings. If clear, he'd motion the Mandalorian to bring up the rear.

@Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland was fine taking point but Corran moved in first. The Mandalorian stayed at the top until the man got all the way to the bottom and had it secured. The droid he had sent would continue to check ahead a little bit just to give them a bit more of an idea of any movement or security measures. They already had studied some of the layout prior to coming. But a place like this could have drastic renovations. The same could be said for Coruscant or any densely populated world.

When it was the Captain's turn to come down, he slung his rifle and did so quietly. His backup, with an ascension attachment, would be easier to maneuver on the way down. The Lieutenant ahead of him would have already let him know if he needed to come in hot but so far everything was still going smoothly.

Moving deeper beyond the ladder's immediate landing. The spherical surveillance droid that had also stayed with Roland would be ordered to stay put for the time being. The Mandalorian planned to summon the droid if need be or at the very least, let them know about someone coming up on their tail a little early. With Corran waiting for him, Roland didn't holster his pistol just yet. This could turn into tunnel fighting quick if they weren't careful. I better not end up having to blind a dianoga today. Trash compactors are scary.

@TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

An enclosed helmet was taking some getting use to. Every time Corran wanted to check his angles, his eyes would swivel only to find duraplast in the way. How did Mandalorians live in these things? When Roland landed off the latter, the blond ranger took a moment to turn his entire head to look back on his superior officer. So far so good. Corran holstered his pistol and returned to making his rifle the primary weapon. More firepower and the scope was nice. A two-finger signal gestured forward into the guts of the abandoned building. "Proceeding, sir."

Measured step by measured step, the lieutenant would lead further in the guts of the abandoned building. Much of its walls and rooms were caked in decay. Dust or ash seemed to touch everything. There was an ancient feel about it. Doorways were jammed open, some windows busted out. Furniture was decrepit and in some cases just piles of materials. Corran couldn't make out the original purpose of this place. A hotel? Apartments? An office space? Did people on the Smuggler's Moon use offices? A long hallway eventually led to a stairwell that snaked around and around until it hit a ground floor below. "I found our ticket down, Captain," the young man reported. If it all checked out, it seems the Sector Rangers had found a pretty safe and covered way to reach the same elevation where the malware pinged its location.

The barrel of a rifle slowly paned over the stairwell as Corran waited for Roland to catch up along with his droids. He was beginning to feel underequipped, despite the armor that had cost him and arm and a leg to acquire. The rifle would check the ceiling of the stairwell along with the corners of the entryway. Being precise in this situation was better than being surprised. If the descending pair were able to see a threat before it saw them, they'd be able to avoid it and maintain their stealth. Once all were stacked up, Corran would begin the descent, taking one careful step at a time, always panning with his rifle, until they hit the ground floor.

@Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Roland Rook]

There continued to be no signs of possible contacts. There was no alarms or detection as far as they could see so far. It wasn't just the fact they were in the lower levels, but that didn't stop him from wondering what they would fin there. The lieutenant was ahead of him and taking point. "Got your back." He said before they began heading down the stairs.

The man changed to infrared and stayed in the vision mode. There were outlets for lights and holoprojectors for utility signage. At one point in time this place had possibly seen more foot traffic in the past but it had been built over. It being an older area, he kept his eyes checking for signs of disturbances or movement. The signs of activity that had brought them here had been electronic rather than physical. There were still heating and cooling sections that showed up in the background but no clear organic signatures.

Moving down the stairwell after Corran he made sure to cover the man's blind spots as he led the way down. Down here he wanted to make sure his boots were set for combat maneuvers. The droids that stayed with them followed the ceiling and remained a few centimeters bellow it to keep out of immediate line of sight, should anybody try sneaking up on the ranger duo. Otherwise they would maintain a consistent spacing.

@TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

After a methodical and careful descent down the dimly lit stairwell, Corran placed his boot down on soil. Well, not really soil but solid ground. Only one exit presented itself and it came in the shape of a completely open doorway that had long had its door blown or broken open. A small hallway opened up to a dusty and decrepit lobby. Large, shattered windows let blue luminescent light from outside filter in to illuminate the dust and dirt of a long abandoned front desk and lounge area. Before taking a single inch forward, Corran panned the area with his thermal vision and iron sights.

If nothing stood out as dangerous or requiring immediate attention, the ranger lieutenant would gesture that was he proceeding and confirm it vocally over their silent commlink, "Hit ground floor, proceeding." Only the sounds of measured footfalls would possibly indicate the Sector Rangers were even there and that wasn't much. Once out of the stairwell and Roland able to cover him again, Corran would pull up his HUD to locate where their next direction would be. A blank map with a red blip that flickered rhythmically indicated where Darmus' code was signaling from. Based on current readings, the two rangers had made it to the same level as the blip. Meaning they didn't need to descend or climb any further. This was it. The Sith base was here. They just had to fill out the blank map to it.

The sensors both men had operating had filled out the map to this point with notable accuracy. No one following their electronic footsteps would have any trouble. An archway that once held a set of double doors opened up to the debris and land beyond. One door still clung to life at an ajar angle. Lieutenant Velt would take a position near this doorway, rifle at his shoulder, but concealed from the outside. "Sir, we have reached the same depth as the sensor ping," he reported to the Mandalorian, "It's not to far from our current position." It was both exciting and intimidating to be so close to what could be a terrorist stronghold. Had they abandoned it or was it going to be ripe for pay-back?

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

"Alright..." His gravely voice paused as his visor looked the area over. It had not seen a lot of activity it seemed in awhile. Checking with the droids he had them both run active sonar, radar and motion detection. With both the seeker and the P-0C, it had some redundancy. The man's eyes scanned for any signs of recent activity.

The Captain expected there to be some sort of representation or perhaps some physical security measure. Just because he didn't see it didn't mean there wasn't one. Later the two droids would be able to provide their location. Roland didn't want the holoprojector to display their current location for clarification. If droids detected an anomaly they knew to alert the Mandalorian and give him the information.

"Where the hell are they?" Hee muttered to himself if none came. "Gremlin. Locate a terminal, don't connect." He said to the ID-21 seeker droid. Some ports were accessible at differing heights for machines like mouse droids or astromechs. The automaton floated forward and into the building, past the doors. A chirp would eventually come back, confirming the locations of a terminal behind the desk with power running to it.

@TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

Everything seemed quiet. Too quiet. They had meticulously made their way down to this long abandoned level of the Smuggler's Moon and had been mostly undisturbed. Now at one of the lowest levels, Corran had figured they would run into rats, mutants, or Sith droids by now. Nothing, not even a scurrying insect, had made itself known. It was... unsettling. The Jedi had been met with immense resistance during their assault on Sullust. He had expected similar defenses but so far only the silence of decay greeted them.

One of Roland's droids hovered silently; floating to the dust-covered main desk in the lobby. Not being much of a robot expert, Corran wondered what those little bots were capable of. Surely they were loaded to bear with weaponry. Mandalorians didn't carry anything if it couldn't be used in combat. At least, that's what the rumors told him when the blond ranger plied the space lanes. Once the seeker droid disappeared behind the abandoned desk, Lieutenant Velt returned his gaze to the ground beyond the doors he took cover behind.

Beyond the double doors lay something of a courtyard, a space of debris and duracrete with other skeletal buildings along the rim. Junk of every kind piled up except for three routes that remained passable. One led to the right, looking like a sidewalk or roadway, while that path continued to the left. The third route was space left clear directly across from the lobby where the pair of rangers hunkered down. It was an alleyway with an urban building leaning onto its neighbor, creating a decrepit archway into the darkness. Everything 'outside' was cast in an faint, eerie blue cast by bio-luminescent algae or fungi that grew beneath a leaky sewer pipe above. The ping, on Corran's sensor map, beeped off to the right. By the measurements, it was likely a little ways by foot.

"No threats detected by visuals, Captain," Lieutenant Velt announced through their secure commlink, "Anything picked up by sensors?" Just because something couldn't be seen doesn't mean it wasn't there. Especially when dealing with the secretive Sith. Corran rested the butt of his rifle to his shoulder and knelt down, shoulder against the door, in a stable firing position. Just in case.

@Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Roland Rook]

"Plug in and start downloading." Roland commanded one of the droids. The Captain didn't want to spend anymore time here than they needed to. The ID-21 Seeker droid would float closer to the desk and disengage its repulsors as the multijointed manipulators gripped the desk. The droid would interface with the terminal and would havet the information they were after.

@TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[The Gatekeeper]

It was was not quiet in the underdark. Few living things drifted through the decrepit depths of Nar Shaddaa's lower levels, fewer still after the infected dead had begun to walk. Only the most vile or desperate beings delved into the dripping bones, or perhaps worse still, those who would hide within them.

But there was sound, even so. Footsteps, boots on rotting metal that creaked and groaned beneath the weight of moving life. The drip, drip, drip of foul fluids from strained pipes all around. Hissing and rattling from ancient and poorly kept atmospheric processors, vents struggling to purify the toxic air this close to the surface. The underdark was not a place most would go.

The underdark was a place where the living came to die.

Neither Ranger found any opposition on their way down, barely a trace anyone had even been there at all. Dust and filth, lined everything, slime molds and algae casting the little strangle light. Glass cracked beneath their feet as they entered the lobby, every noise they made echoing in still silence. They appeared to be alone as they swept the room, and as the seeker droid approached the desk.

"Beware!" came a sudden shout from an alley joined by the rustling of cloth and scuffing of bare and filthy feet on metal. A ragged old man lurched from the darkness, stumbling on limbs twisted by time and hard labour. His face gaunt as it came into the blue light, layered in dirt and grime. His eyes were wide and rotting teeth grit tight, and he leaned on a wall to support his weight.

"The sign, the sign..." he muttered from where he was, voice carrying well off the walls and eyes toward the ground. "Yellow it is, yellow and yellow again. Lost, lost and strange." The man's head whipped up again toward the two, body sliding slowly down the wall toward the ground as he spoke in a loud and strained whisper.

"But stranger still. Stranger, you see? Do not look!"

He fell to the ground, muttering again in a voice too soft to hear. There he stayed, shaking slowly back and forth in ruined rags. Nothing stopped the two Rangers from acquiring what they were looking for.

Three seemed to be alone in the underdark.

@Darasuum @TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Behind unflinching, armored transparisteel slits, blue eyes steadily scanned the decaying guts of the Smuggler's Moon. Rancid molds, refuse, and debris. Liquids of unknowable toxicity and filth. Infrastructure of every kind forgotten, rusting, and vacant. Depths so abandoned that even hope would not tread here. No wonder the Sith nested in this place; among the corruption, slime, and darkness. A perfect metaphor for what Corran thought of them. Despite the inherent hazards of being in this underdark, the fireteam of rangers had not encountered must resistance. Only the sounds of the environment and their own bootfalls. For that, he was at least thankful.

That 'tranquility' came to an abrupt end when the dreg of a sentient being exposed itself to the dimmest light. Lieutenant Velt's blaster rifle pivoted like a magnet to the newcomer. "Contact," he monotoned through their internal commlink system. "Civilian." While the barrel of the weapon followed the stumbling elder's movements, Corran's finger stayed firm on the trigger-guard. Their mission was to capture blueprints, floorplans, and layouts. Engaging without necessity was out of the question. He need only to stay alert and track the venerable beings movements.

Eyebrows furrowed beneath the duraplast helmet that shielded the blond ranger's face. The things this wandering derelict was saying. Were they just the ramblings of a mad man or something more? A sign. Yellow. A lost yellow sign? A stranger in yellow? No, no... a strange yellow sign. Corran's jaw shifted from one side to the other even as his eyes unblinkingly tracked the old man. He was never good at brain teasers.

After the crazed elder fell to the ground in a show of ragged weakness, Lieutenant Velt reported the change in status to his superior, "Contact fell. Situation unchanged." The blaster rifle remained firmly pointed at the man, more so out of training habit than expecting any real sudden rise in violence. "ETA on download, sir?" Corran requested. He was eager to activate their EXFIL plan and get out of here.


@Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland didn't pause at the unpleasantness of their surroundings. The Mandalorian was reminded of past years having to deal with this sort of habitat regularly. The droid didn't stop in its process, doing as the Captain ordered even as the strange man came into view of Corran with a warning.

The Captain turned his head to the side but still faced towards the lobby desk where his droid worked. His blaster raised a little and ready to be brought back around as Corran called out the individual. Roland took the 'civilian' comment with a grain of salt. Civilian was just galactic citizen, and any of those could have a weapon on them like any other. Not to mention the fact there was an absence of other beings down here so far was creeping him out.

The voice echoed from the elderly man enough for Roland to get some of what he said. We may be underground but I don't live under a hill and speak in riddles? He trusted the Lieutenant to do the responsible thing and continued to cover the inside lobby area. "Aaany second now."

There was still nothing to get worked up about except the strange old man. Making a mental note, Roland wanted to talk to decerped being that matched their surroundings. It was not a lot, but technically they could still canvas the residents even if they were some hobo. It was often the most unassuming that had the most to tell. Well, resident. Singular. Roland mentally corrected himself as he waited to hear the chirp and resurfacing of his the Seeker droid.

"Grim, get ready to shine a light on anything that's not us." He ordered the surveillance droid that hovered close to the ceiling between the Lieutenant and Captain. It remained out of view from the stranger for the time being and would continue its spacing with Roland along with previous directions. The Mandalorian didn't use flashlights on his weapons or on his armor. The order would also let Corran know to be aware of the bright light. Roland the infrared were enough to compensate for that. A body-light said 'here I am. Attack me to make it dark again' and even when wearing armor it wasn't pleasant getting shot, stabbed or thrown. For Roland, it was much wiser to have a separate source of light in case someone wanted to knock out lights with a blaster bolt or force zap.

@TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime