USH'S GAME EPISODE I- "AVALAR"- Light Side (Lance Windu, Gundark, Phinney)

The Dug Jemel is spoling for a fight. However, at the sight of Lightsabres his compatriots finally intervene and several of them grab onto him before he gets himself diced; they are not about to lose their finest pilot to some nosy Jedi.

However, the sight of Jedi has caused consternation all around. Of course, you would expect to sense a certain amount of fear when Jedi walk into a pirate stronghold, but from some quarters some of you sense a different sort of fear and nervousness, that of long held-in fears released, as if your presence had been expected for quite some time.

Some people are already moving away, clearly to inform others what they have just seen.

RC, one of the pirate's engineers is approaching you.

"Hi," he says. "I'm O'Brien. That was a brave thing you just did there. I thought Jemel was toast! But... I don;t think I have seen you around here before..."

As for the rest of you, no-one is feeling up to challenging a Jedi, of course, but it's difficult to find people willing to talk to you right now.

"You can call me Talgor, Talgor Rath." RC grinned roughly at the pirate.

Slipping naturally into the role, a skill he'd picked up working in CorSec for 10 years. He turned to face the pirate.

"I heard there was some good pickin's to be had for men with the right, how shall we say, skills... Figured I'd get me some o' those pickin's...."

O'Brien smiles.

"New blood? That will make Pelloran happy. It's not up to me, of course, I just run the repair schedule around here, but I can always put in a good word for you."

O'Brien makes to walk back towards the large amounts of parked pirate ships.

"Why don't you come and have a look around, and see what's what? You see, this is no normal operation. Our people aren't attacking fat, defenceless merchants here. But we do need good pilots. Machines and weapons we can replace forever. Ha! With what we are being paid we could buy ten times as many ships, if we had room for them...

"It's dangerous work, but the pay is good. Very good..."

"Sure," RC smiles, "but I think I would like to meet this Pelloran character. I didn't come here looking to join the 'troops', no matter how well they get paid."

"I may have skills, special skills, that Pelloran can use."

*Walks of beside distancing him self from the others*

O'Brien laughs.

"I'm sorry, friend," he says, 'but we don't know you from a Targan Warg Strangler yet. Pelloran stays up top. No-one gets up there without his or Kuylen's say so. Even I only go up there to talk about new maintenance shipments. I don;t think you';ll be seeing Pelloran for a while... still... what skills do you talk of?"

"Well, that's for Pelloran and I to discuss. Up top you say? I orbit?"

'The top part of the base,' explains O'Brien, 'Near the top of the Volcano. But you aren't cleared to use the cable car up there and you don;t have permission to land up there either. I wouldn;t try; neither Kuylen nor Pelloran tolerate intruders there.'

"Do they ever come down here?"

"Down here? My word no... Kuylen never associates with scum like us. And Pelloran likes to see all his men running around below him doing his bidding, but he doesn't like them to see HIM..."

"Is that so? Well, I guess he won't be wanting any little gifts then?"

'A gift?' asks O'Brien, intrigued. Then he shakes his head. 'That's a dangerous game you are playing. Those two don't like to be messed around with. Though if your gift is a piece of hardware, you could always talk to ME about it... I AM the Chief Engineer here, after all...'

Talking to Gundy* 'I am not sure about this place, i am feeling so much right now, that I am going insane.

Gundark, your wiser, older mind is used to picking up the thtoughts and feelings of a whole cirty of strange people; Phinney is far less used to such an experience. And such hostility towards all of you! No wonder he is overwhelmed.

But now you feel something too. For a few moments, you get a sharp feeling of discomfort... and a feeling of personal danger. You, all of you, are in danger from something... somewhere... guided by the Force, you look up the slope of the volcano to the secure upper levels. That is where the danger comes from... but what it is, you don'; knoiw.

Phinney, you notice Master Gundark look uncomfortable.

What is it Gundy? *Walks off to the distant then goes out of sight*

RC regards O'Brien smiling. "Clearly you are not a man who is easily fooled. I can offer my services as a pilot and bodyguard. Would those be skills you might use?"

"Pilots we need desperately," says O'Brien. "LIke I say, we can fix ships all we like, but people are harder to put together. As for a bodyguard... well, you would need to speak to Hade for that... he is the Head of Security, though he is very loyal to Pelloran. He sometimes comes down here..."

Meanwhile, you ALL feel a sudden wave of fear and terror from somewhere nearby...

RC, you are closest. Someone has recently scared the poo-doo out the people in the Port Landing Authority.

Phinney walks towards it.

There is a certain amount of uproar there. People are looking scared and shaken up, and one particular perosn is being ill on the floor.

And this is staff we are talking about, not visitors.