Trouble Brewing Chapter 1 - Finally Formos Forms (IC)

Thain listened to Tuth and then turned back to the man. He wanted to see if what the R4 unit provided about Dobah added up with testimony.

"So where is Dobah now, guy?"

Seb easily hefts the heavy blaster, it was cumbersome but then he was a big guy "Thanks Nulyn, think I'll be fine without it for this puppy, but there's always bigger guns." pocketing the bipod Seb calls over to Thain, Tuth and Baybric "So we headin' to the asteroid field the R4 thinks Dobah has headed too?" and not to miss up on more credits as he'd not sent his Ma' a care package in a while "n' that Rodian wench who had the eye for me, she's offerin' 1500 to get a copy of the R4's Astro maps."

The guy waits for the people around him to stop bickering and shakes his head.

"Well shit, we don't know for sure...but that R4 unit might hold some of the answers. Dobah was fiddling with his a lot, trying to find out some information on this new "big thing" he was talking about. So probably that little thing knows where to go..."

Braybric shakes his head,
"How long did we miss him by?"

The guy shakes his head.

"With all the stuff going on....I can't remember. Must have been a good 6 hours or so by now. Long gone and out of here probably..."

Time was running short. Soon enough, Daro Blunt, the leader of this particular cell, would realize that the ones giving him a headache weren't where they were supposed to be. And he'd come back to a warehouse full of dead or incapacitated comrades. It wouldn't be the best plan to stick around. Everyone gathers up what they have found, making sure to get the droid moving as fast as possible.

It was time to head for the spaceport and hopefully off to where Dobah was located. If the R4 unit was accurate, he was located in an asteroid filled area of space not too far from Formos. At least not far if you have a hyperdrive.

Soon enough, and without trouble, you make it back to the ship and hightail it out of Formos for the time being. The Rodian female at the bar would have to wait for her information, it was too risky to try and maneuver back to the cantina...what with all the heat looking for the group.

R4-W9 is able to assist the pilot of the ship to safely drop out of hyperspace within a short distance of the asteroid field. From there, the ship's navigational computer, together with some assistance from R4-W9 can locate the position of a large, slowly drifting asteroid. The droid identifies this rock as the likely location of Bandin Dobah's hideout. This asteroid has been riddled with caverns left by massive space slugs. There seem to be many entrances to the asteroid's interior, and scans show that a number of large caverns have been gnawed out of the rock.

[OOC: Need an Easy (1 Dif Dice) Computers check for more info.]

It wasn't space that Nulyn hated it was the helplessness he felt sitting in a ship. Nulyn wasn't a pilot, mechanic, or anything really all that useful. That was until Tuth showed him how to run the comms and scanners of Fortune's Gambit. Then Nulyn found his calling as a hunter in the great black. He was the eyes and ears of the crew.

As it was Nulyn sat on the other end of the ship manning the comms and scanner console. He listened in and watched his readouts for anything on the asteroid.

Braybric spends the time messing with the R4 unit. Several wires were burnt out, corrosion had to be scraped of the circuit boards ect. It was tedious work and something Braybric did not truly appreciate.

He tosses the tiny tool he was using on the table in frustration and takes a deep breath.

He really wished they had someone more qualified for this......

Thain sat in the cockpit near Tuth. He had a lot on his mind and as such had been oddly contemplative and quite on the trip off planet so far. They had gone in blind and come out with eyes wide open. For all intent and purposes they had kicked complete ass - a total win for them.

But was it a win for Thain's family? The question nagged at him. If only his brother were around... he was the counterweight. He was the perfect lamb to Thain's black sheep. And now, Thain truly felt that blackness.

"Should have shot that gakker before we left," he muttered.

Seb sat on his bunk, his back against the wall at the beds head. He wore a bedraggled knitted hat his ma' had made for him. Diary and pen in hand, an empty look on his face as he gazed at the blank page. What felt like eons passed before he started to slowly scribe.

Dear diary
Things r lookin up. Sweet talked a Rhodian wench and got a deal out of it two. I'm sur she likes me.
We killed some guys and I got me a new lady. DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle and I called her Amelia.
Braybric is cursin over the R4 and were gettin close to Dobah so I betta go.

Closing the diary Seb swings his legs out of the bunk and stands up. Time to get ready as he looks over his gear.

Tuth sat in the pilots seat, his hands dancing over the controls as he ran the ship towards the asteroid

--Keep sensors running if there's something there we want to know about it. Even two bit wanna be crime lords bound to have hos secret asteroid base protected-- the wookie shakes his head it was like they had stumbled into a bad holovid.

He shot a glance to Thain a bit worried, it was uncharacteristic of the zabrak to be quiet

--I don't know the ins and outs of your situation but, I don't think killing him was gonna help us any - Dobah's the payday and sure we still have the cargo and it's not like we got the contact killed. We can arrange another drop for the weapons and the credits should give us some breathing room--

Sent from Topic'it App

"But it might have made me feel better. They're all scum, that lot. You see what they did with Throt? Don't get me wrong - he had it coming - but that lot would do that to anyone for a handful of credits and a free drink. And blast it, what if they think we got the contact killed? No telling how they are going to play it."

He turned away, staring out into the deep of space. Then, as though it were all good, turned back and smiled to Tuth and patted his shoulder.

"More credits and breathing room sounds nice though."

The readouts started to give Nulyn the lay of the land so to speak.

"I've got life forms in two of the caverns in the asteroid. Large metallic readings as well in the caverns. Probably spacecraft. One heat source on the asteroid proper. Definitely a spacecraft on standby. One smaller metallic object orbiting the asteroid. I'd bet it's a sentry droid."

Nulyn booted up the jamming module and began the fun work of electronic warfare, "Going to try and jam that little guy so he can't talk to his friends."

He sighted in the sentry droid and started broadcasting a narrow spectrum to isolate its communication abilities.

Tuth doesn't wait for anything else, he knew that he could get the spacecraft through undetected. Hell, he'd done it before in tougher conditions and he'd do it many more times before leaving the galaxy. Quickly and efficiently, he pushes the ship into the narrow caverns, which appear to have been made by space slugs. Tuth can see that this won't exactly be a walk in the park, but in effect he maneuvers gracefully through the cave system, bringing the vessel into the first cavern.

In this cavern, there is a small one person spacecraft that looks as though it has been abandoned for some time. There is enough room to bring the ship down and inspect the ship or there is an exit from this cavern to the left or right.

Seb crowds into the cockpit and peers out of the main windscreen, he noted how the small craft looked abandoned "Perhaps this is a back way out, escape route." he said to no one in particular. Left or right looked the same to him. "Lets keep going yeah, the longer we hang around the greater chance of detection."

Tuth nods

--Definatley no time for salvage, once we clear this place out we can look back-- the wookie looks between the two passages and grunts

--Left--

Tuth takes the controls and maneuvers the Fortune's Gambit down the left tunnel, making sure to carefully avoid the slimy ichor that coats the walls of the caverns. Tuth knew it couldn't be good for the ship. Slowly, the ship makes its way into the next cavern. It is nearly pitch black inside of this specific area of the asteroid.

But quickly it appears that you are not alone in the cavern.

Sensors pick up small life forms approaching the ship seemingly from the front wall.

Mynocks.

They'd be attaching their suckers to the ship as quickly as they could, sucking the energy from the cables and wiring. Anyone who had encountered them before knew they were a nuisance and something that would slow down the mission. Tuth punches it quickly through the rest of the cavern, sliding the ship into the next tunnel with almost no room to spare on either side. The jolt knocks everyone back in their seats a bit, but it has kept the mynocks off the ship.

Tuth tunes it down as you go around a curve and make your way towards the final cavern.

The vessel comes into full view as the Fortune's Gambit enters. It is not unlike your own starship and from simple logic, it appears you have found Bandon Dobah's ship. Sensors pick up signs of life inside the vessel, 5 to be precise, but none outside. The jamming of the sentry droid had obviously done the trick. You are not expected.


But it wouldn't take long for them to rouse themselves.

Tuth leans back smugly in his seat as he slips the ship into position

--Although I would love to admire my handiwork somemore we have the element of surprise, so lets go visit the wouldbe kingpin eh?--

Sent from Topic'it App

"Never let it be said that you aren't a fine pilot, my furry friend. Well done."

Thain looked out across at the next ship with, if he were being completely honest with himself, a bit of anxiety.

"Let's go get the sonnuvabitch."

Seb looks greedily at the rival ship through the view port. "Ship like that must be worth quite a bit, eh." A brief daydream of bathing in credits crossed his mind "Err, what do we do if their ramp is up?"

Seb plasters his face up against the view port to try and get a better view of the ship.

When the sudden acceleration had knocked him back into the seat, he decided a change of venue was absolutely necessary.

He arrives as they see the enemy ship slip into view.

"should we fire and knock out the engines or guns or something?"

That would destroy the stealth approach inside the ship, but for some reason, he though stealth options would be shot at this point anyway.

That Braybric was a smart cookie, Seb nods in agreement. "Yeah, lets blast em' out of the sky! err... land!". The cogs of Sebs mind turns "but only shoot it a little bit yeah, think of the salvage."

--Don't think it's the best idea. Those engines go critical they might take us with them. Might be better to just hit them hard and fast. And if we are on-board their ship anyway they can't exactly bug out--

Sent from Topic'it App

Seb wasn't so sure although he knew little about starships "... and if their ramp is up do we knock?"

Readouts began to show that there was movement from the lifeforms inside of the ship. The enemy ship and all its combatants now knew that the Fortune's Gambit was here. And since the sentry droid hadn't informed Dobah that a vessel was coming, nor that it was Daro's, they were surely preparing themselves for a bit of a fight.

From what you can tell, the ramps of the ship are still down. While most of the lifeforms were moving, apparently, no one was keeping track of the cockpit.

It was now or never. Wouldn't be good to let them get too prepared...

"hmmm, Whatever we do, we better do it fast." he said cynically.

The landing from Tuth is as quick as he can make it in the circumstances, setting down the ship with the ease of a trained pilot. Upon getting closer, you can see all manner of crates and mess fill the area in front of the ship. Makeshift tables and chairs have been set up all around, but they are obviously not in use at the current moment. The ramp is down at the current moment, but it remains eerily quiet all around you as you offload from your own ramp.

Silence fills the space around you. An uncomfortable silence.

Seb goes down the ramp of the Fortune's Gambit first, his newly acquired heavy blast rifle in his hands. Did things seem to quiet? His nerves on edge he dashes to a forward position and takes cover behind a crate covering the enemy ramp.

"Clear, go go!" he says quietly over comms "get cover, then I'll go for their ramp."

Braybric moves forward in a running crouch. His blaster pistol was held forward in a two handed grip. Down the ramp and towards some flanking cover he went.

Nulyn stayed on the ramp of Fortune's Gambit providing overwatch for the advancing members. Back here he could use the range of his blaster and his skills of long ranged combat to their advantage.

The silence lasts for a few scant moments longer as the crew sets themselves up strategically, knowing deep down that this was so obviously an ambush. They wouldn't be fooled this time around. As the seconds tick by, movement can be seen from behind various smuggling crates that line the front of Dobah's ship. Looked as though they weren't very good at setting up ambushes in the first place...or the crew of the Fortune's Gambit had come upon them and caught them unprepared.

In any case, the silence breaks eventually. A commanding voice in the Basic tongue booms out throughout the cavern, with the faint hints of Aqualish hanging onto the end of sentences.

"Seems all of you have ended up in the wrong place. If you need directions, I can happily point you out of here and on your way. Otherwise, I might start to think you have some other reason for interrupting my free time here. And I don't much care for being interrupted."

Braybric holds the blaster up and close to his face.

Dialogue? Now was the time for Thain to take the spotlight, and when he does, Braybric would try and take some cover closer to the front.

"D-Do-Dobah? That you, boss? We jus' come from Daro's place! It's all shot to the void and back. Someone got in there and did damage. We grabbed the droid and came out personally to deliver it to you for safe keeps! We did good, eh, boss?" He tried to sound as pathetic and sycophantic as he could muster back behind his cover. He kept his blaster close. If this worked, they might catch them all dead to rights.

Braybric smiled.

The feint was a clever one, Thain was always good with that on your feet stuff.

The tension was beginning to build in the air as the silence after Thain's clever attempt grew longer and longer. Had it worked? Had he actually believed them?

The original voice clears his throat loudly and finally replies to everyone.

"Interesting...very very interesting...seeing as that ain't Daro's ship. And Daro's supposed ta be the one coming back. Not sendin' no one. And who the hell are you anyway? I ain't ever seen or heard of any of you. Nah, you guys must be the ones Daro been having some trouble with down on Formos. Must be the ones that been snoopin' into our operation. Bet you want that bounty, huh? It is an impressive one. But hey, I am a nice smuggler. The offer still stands. Get out now...or get turned to ash."

Seb had been listening to the echoing voice as Thain and Dobah conversed, he was sure their target was hidden behind some cover at the bottom of the other ships ramp. He needed little encouragement and before any was even given any Seb had fished out one of his new stun grenades, primed it and lobbed it over to where he thought Dobah was hiding. it was a long throw, but he had a good throwing arm.

There was no warning and Seb liked getting whatever advantage he could.

Braybric was hoot on his heels, rising from his crouch to fire over the cover towards the stun target. He takes a quick and and fires off a blast from his pistol.

The incandescent red beam streaks a path towards the target.

The grenade explodes in a flash of blinding light, the lucky throw had done the trick. Dobah staggers out of his hiding place and into plain sight. His first mate staggers the other way and now they are both known targets.

The fight was on.

+IC Closed+