Scene 1 - Ishma Port

Tera face lit in a smirk as she slowly backed away from the Jedi. Some might think she was scared, but she was merely looking for more solid ground on which to fight. She could sense the other Jedi easily so she suspected the other Jedi could tell she was present too. Tera called on the Force using it to infuse and enhance her already considerable reflexes and speed. She wasn't sure how much time this Jedi would give her before commencing the almost inevitable fight. She sent a quick force pulse to her partner hoping he would be able to read and tell she might need his assistance.

"Actually...." Relik felt that tingle at the back of his neck. Something he had heard humans call 'the hair on the backs of their necks standing.' The Twi'lek suddenly sparkled with the Force. She was just a Padawan, at best. More likely, she had no formal training. What got Relik's attention however, was the Jedi...and...an extra Sith? The Jedi was close. Relik tossed Rez'ya a glanced and turned, storming through the building and out the front, heading immediately back towards Tera. Opening the door he glared across the courtyard, looking for Tera or the Jedi.

Tera: You had gotten nothing more from the vendor. She was a vendor whose name was readable on her name tag. It was irrelevant. You already knew anything she had to say, and had, at least a minute or two ago, realized that you needed to move on, especially if you were going to figure out how to circumvent the Jedi, figure out what had gotten the Wookie in trouble, or, Force forbid, keep up with Relik. The longer you waited around chitchatting with a Vendor when you should be doing something else the greater risk there was of being caught by a Jedi. You knew they were out and about, and even a poor Force User could detect one or two Sith.

And just then you felt a tug in the Force. As you swiftly turned, you stood about ten meters from another human woman. She was dark skinned and her hair was locked up in dreads. While wearing the robes of a Jedi, her most important aspect was her hand on the hilt of a lightsabre...


Relik: Rez'ya scoffed at your notion of paying her in increments. She was more interested in gathering her things in a traveling sack. "No. I don't know you and I have no reason to trust you. If you want to bribe me you need all the credits. I'm taking the first transport off this rock I can get. So you need to be quick or you need to forget about it." Rez'ya scowled. Once her bag was zipped up she moved past you towards the door.

From there she was on her way out the back.

"What is your name?" she asked the girl politely. "It's just we heard Jedi were on planet and creating havoc with the customs down here. They say a lot of money can be earned in getting passes into the city.....it's just aside from Wookies getting into fights...and racing, not much happening on this side of the fence. You know anything else? How'd that thing with the Wookie start?"

To Rez'ya you probably didn't look threatening. Twi'leks were tall, usually a little taller then humans, which were taller and stockier then Kel Dor. To Rez'ya you probably looked like a lumpy, reddish, goggle eyed alien with a menacing mask that was really nothing more then a breathing device. When Rez'ya spoke, she again used Galactic Basic. This time her words were a little more carefully chosen. "I am not concerned about the wookie's retaliation."

Rez'ya started walking towards the back, presumably where the dancer's locker room was. You weren't really sure. One of the bouncers stood upright when you followed. It was a Gamorean. The piggish looking alien with a snout and beady eyes moved surprisingly fast to intercept you. It had thick muscles on it's shoulders and it's arms were close to as big around as your waist. It was obvious you weren't going to overpower it. However, Rez'ya put a hand on it's shoulder. The Gamorean relaxed and then went back to it's spot guarding the dancer's locker room.

Moving around the corner, Rez'ya touched a few keys on a keypad and opened up the first door on the left. The room was small, square, and had a simple shower, desk with a mirror, and a variety of outfits hanging on a rack. There were several pairs of boots and all manner of make up, lip gloss, and jewelry. She went into the room. "You look dignified enough. Your offer of credits to release your wookie friend might not be a bad idea." Rez'ya's eyes revealed a sense of shrewdness. "Since I am leaving, I'll take credits. Fifteen Hundred credits."

Relik frowned again and looked the Twi'lek up and down. Through his goggles his eyes were impossible to see. "I need you to drop the charges against the wookie." He didn't offer any explanations as to why he needed the charges dropped. "If you're worried about him coming back for revenge, you have nothing to fear. If it's money, I can offer you credits." Relik closed the distance between them and took a look around. He crossed his hands in front of them, letting them rest on the loose belt that held the robe closed to make a slight show of looking non-threatening. She was clearly distressed and he had no interested in getting her wound up more than she already was.

Relik: Rez'ya looked at you with a frown. After the pudgy bartender huffed off, she folded her arms across her bare breasts and leaned heavily on one side, clearly annoyed - at best. Though admittedly she wasn't annoyed with you specifically. Given her situation she had a right to be upset though. "Alright." Rez'ya used Galactic Basic. She didn't speak Kel Dor and you didn't speak Ryl. "I'll listen. What do you want?"

Relik was not used to being ignored. He frowned again and moved closer to The Obese One, this time kicking a chair piece loud enough to be heard. "May I interrupt?" Relik continued to move and didn't wait for an invitation. 'It occurs to me you have a problem." He was addressing the Twi'lek. "I too have a problem, and I believe we can help each other."

Tera: The girl happily took your bed. She ran the credits through an automated credit counter, and then plugged the information into a nearby terminal. With the data saved, she then plugged it into a droid who recalculated the odds and what the standard bet should be. "I know that there was some kind of altercation with a Wookie over there." She pointed in the direction of the cantina where Relik went. "And I know there is a big diplomatic thing going on in lower Recona. It has to do with joining the Republic. I heard that some Jedis were coming to oversee it all."


Relik: By being patient and deciphering what you could of the back and forth between the two, the Dancer, Rez'ya, was quitting, because every week something like this happened. Some drunk alien, usually a human, but this time a wookie, didn't know how to take no for an answer. Then, because she was a girl and a Twi'lek, and a dancer on top of that, she was someone who could easily be taken advantage of. However, as had always been the case, the would be groper found out the hard way that not all Twi'lek dancers were someone to mess with. The wookie bruised in both ego and body raged, crippling two bouncers - who were already being seen to by the auto-doc. The furniture was also, obviously, an innocent bystander.

The fat alien who you still couldn't identify blinked through it's three bulbous eyes, and in what you guessed was exasperation, flapped it's two flabby wing-like green arms up and down, clearly upset that Rez'ya was going to quit. It tried to convince her to stay. When that failed, it insisted on charging her for the damage done. Oi. What a mess.

Relik moved closer, being careful not to reveal his nature, and pulled his robe a little closer about him. Looking around Relik picked his way even more carefully than before. Under his goggles his eyes darted left and right. He moved towards the Twi'lek and The Obese One. "What..." The first word was said loud enough to get their attention, "Happened here, and why do I always miss the excitement..." Relik looked up from the remains of a table to the The Obese One and the Twi'lek, making it clear he was addressing them. He kept moving towards them...

Tera moved towards the track. She held out a portion of credits. "That's on this new guy if her turns up. Otherwise on the favourite. You heard anything going on around here?"

The vender gave you the odds. It was not good, a little less then half. There were a few empty spaces for bets, indicating that several of the swoop racers hadn't arrived yet. She had mentioned that some of the riders come at the last minute so that they can swoop in and take the high bets after everyone has already placed theres. It was a little shady.

With a gleeming smile though, she leaned forward and told you that a Twi'lek by the name of Koiel Deel was rumored to be showing up. He was a racer, and a very good one. Some said he was the very best there was. She scoffed, and then added that some suspected he was strong with the Force. It wasn't much, but at least it was something. Then with a smile, she asked if you knew anything about why the police were taking in a Wookie.

Tera smiled pleasantly at the vendor. "Hi there, so what are the best odds you can give me on the 2nd favourite to win?" she normally wouldn't have time for a vendor like this, but knowing a bit more about the lay of the land might help them later "Anything interesting happening?"

Tera: The female Iradonian was young, in her late teens. She was cute, in a pale, spiked headed, Iradonian sort of way. She was top heavy and had a thin, almost waifish appeal to her. She once again, like a programmed droid went into a speech about gambling and betting on the swoop bikes. She was a vender, of course, and like a vendor, she was trying to make credits. It was pretty clear to you that she appearance was what got her the job she had, even if she wasn't that incredibly good at it. You might be able to get some sort of information out of her, but if you were going too, you would need to be more specific and direct about your questioning.

Relik: The music, you found was a pre-recording. The place was a mess. A dancer tried to make credits, but she wasn't doing very well. There was only a small handful of customers and that's because they were very drunk and close to passed out. The only one of them that seemed remotely interesting was a female Mandalorian who was in the process of keying something on a datapad.

You were having some luck, or better yet, you were just in the right place to observe at the right time. A fat alien you weren't familiar with was arguing with a deep violet skinned Twi'lek who was very easy on the eyes, even for a Twi'lek. She was a dancer, you could tell, and it wasn't just because she was topless and in a sheer skirt. It was because of the argument she was having. She was waving around the room at upturned furniture, a pair of broken tables, and a broken window that other servents were still cleaning up. She was also waving a credit chip in her hands...

Relik moved across the area with a steady stride. He turned his head left, then right at movement on either side. Looking for something. Relik approached the cantina, his stride slowing. He was curious as to what the security and the police were discussing, but figured his best shot at getting any information lay inside, where he stood a chance to not draw so much attention to himself. With a sigh, Relik pulled his robe closed, hiding the lightsaber he carried.

Looking around inside the cantina Relik picked his way across the floor, between tables and chairs heading for the closest empty seat near the closest twi'lek dancer. He was still impatiant. His mission was to find out what the Jedi were doing here, and stop them. Talking to Twi'leks and bailing out Wookies had never been a part of the plan, and inside his mask Relik snorted his own disapproval at things. He looked up at the Twi'lek and tried to look friendly...As friendly as you can look with a heavy black, and rather ominous rebreather and goggles on your head.

Tera nodded to Relik indicating for him to move on while she talked to the girl at the race track. Tera decided to approach with a smile on her face.

"Hi there, how can I help you?"

Ao'la looked around, trying to locate the presence he'd just felt. He looked carefully around at the chicken vendor, the mechanics, and anyone else that was down here. His hand slipped casually into his pocket and closed around his lightsabre. He briefly considered reaching out throught the Force and calling Tajik, but that would surely alert who ever else was using the Force down here to his presence.

He began to stroll casually down along the track, just another early bird come to see the races, while keeping a wary eye out.

Tera & Relik: You both left, headed for the Bantha. As you moved through the large hallways you passed a lounge with a huge open window that looked down below to the swoop track and where the bikes would be. As you passed, a young, female Iridonian saw you... watched you as you were about to ignore her, and then quickly rushed over when you felt the urge to look over your shoulder and see what she was staring at.

And then she gave her speech about coming to see the bikes, and to make a wager... and... you both currently were working on other stuff. As you neared the cantina, you found two of the security outside talking to one of the local police. It seemed like they were going through the final stages of wrapping up a brief investigation that otherwise appeared to be nothing major. You could still hear some kind of music that was neither to your taste nor really dislikable. It was just kind of bland.

Ao'la: You made your way through a series of elevators and small, narrow stairwells down to the swoop track and almost immediately you were bombarded with the sweet scents of food and drink. Several people, particularly the early birds who came from distant worlds were setting up their venders. One human was even offerring roast duck on a stick - something you had never had before, but by the smell and look of it... You were kind of hungry.

There were also the sounds of mechanics working on their bikes. One was loud and boisterous and her voice carried from even twenty or thirty meters away as she whipped her jawas into action. And just then, you felt it. You felt a strong presence in the Force. It wasn't far away, but you're pretty sure you felt it before it felt you...

Relik nodded and behind his mask there was a slight smile. There was no reason they couldn't engage in some mndless fun. If nothing else it would help them blend in a little. Relik turned to Tera and back to Srath. "We can do this for you."

Tera nudged her partner Relik. "I think we can take care of this for you and find out who we need to talk to." The mischeivous look in her eyes told Relik she was planning to have fun in the Banthas rumble.

Tera & Relik: Srath wasn't sure exactly which Twi'lek was the one that leveled the complaint, because they all looked the same to him. It was a joke he tried to laugh at, but instead had it come out as something of a hiss. He did know that the Twi'lek was one of the dancers over at Bantha Rumble. Someone over there would know who it was and would know more about it. The guards here were being uncooperative when it came to releasing the details. They had told Srath that he was a biased party and that information couldn't be revealed to him because it might jeapardize the investigation.

It was political police tape.

Ao'la: Roll me a See Force roll at DC 15 for when you get to the Swoop Track.

Ao'la headed off towards the swoop bike track. He didn't care much for racing in and of itself, but maybe he could dig up some information there. Perhaps he could even masquerade as a vendor and get himself and Tajik out into the city that way. If all else failed there was still the cantina. You could always dig something up there.

Tera nodded "My friend is right. We can take care of this situation for you. For a consideration. A minor one. You have planets to see trades to make profit. We all understand the weight that can put on a merchants mind." She smiled at the Trendoshan "Let us know which Twilek levelled the complaint. We can talk to them and find out what the problem was all about."

Relik looked the Transdoshan up and down and returned the introduction politely. The guard had annoyed him, but he was more than willing to barter for a little cooperation, and a pass. A pass would solve a lot of their problems. "My companion and I can aid you in this. Where can we find the Twi'lek?" Relik still had little patience for chit chat. It got nothing accomplished, and it only delayed his time sensitive mission. "I'll be happy to speak to it on behalf of you and your crew. A simple charge of 750 credits along with the aforementioned items should be sufficient." Relik hoped everyone kept up with him. He was aiming to make the conversation sound less illegal and more like a business conversation to anyone over hearing. They all knew what was at stake, and there was no need to repeat matters already discussed.

Relik & Tera: The Transdoshan introduced himself to Relik. Kel Dor and Transdoshans weren't normally overly friendly towards each other, but they weren't hostile either. The odd part was that a Transdoshan and a Wookie were getting along as Captain and First Mate of the same ship. Transdoshans were known for hunting Wookies on Kashyyyk. With the mention of helping him get the Wookie out of lockdown, Srath was more then happy to trade his pass. However, he noted that such a trade was illegal, and that this was not the time or place to discuss it.

Now, in order to get the Wookie out, three things needed to be done. The Twi'lek pressing charges on him would need to drop them. There would be a 750 credit processing fee to have him released, and the Magistrate would have to approve the orders to have it done. The last part would be the tricky one, since the orders had to come from his terminal in his officer - it had something to do with coded security.

Ao'la: You looked at the map. It was pretty simple and pretty straight forward. There wasn't a whole lot on this part of the starport. Most of it was pretty routine, the sort of thing you'd seen at just about every other starport in the galaxy. There was the lounge, two cantinas, medical facilities and a handful of vendors. There was also a swoop bike track. The next scheduled race was in about a day, so anyone not part of security, one of the race teams, or one of the approved vendors was restricted away from the track to the audience stands.