STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- The Hunted

"I have no reason not to," Zane says, surprisingly understanding you.

There is nothing extraordinary about the doorway. It slides open and you step through into a living space. The few windows that this tiny building possesses are boarded up, keeping any light from coming in but also keeping out any unwanted prying eyes. Honestly, the place looks abandoned.

There is a battered old table off to one side of the room, but no chairs.

"[You understand Geonosian?]" Eerin asks, surprised.

Eerin casts a look about the place, skeptical at being led to an apparently abandoned building.

"[... so, where are we supposed to sit?]" Eerin asks, looking about for chairs.

Anything else in the room?

"Somewhat," Zane says.

Other than the table and sand that has snuck through cracks in the wall, the room is empty. The table itself looks like it has not been touched in ages.

But there is another door, which Zane gestures to.

"I meant a different table," Zane says. "Sorry. After you?"

Eerin warily steps across the dusty old room towards the door. He inspects this one as well, taking no risks in this unfamiliar situation. If everything is well, he opens it and goes through.

Nothing suspicious about the doorway, you proceed through it and down the flight of stairs that lies beyond, heading beneath the scorching sands of Tatooine. The temperature, while already significantly cooler in this building than the heat of the suns outside, continues to drop the further down the stairs you go.

At the bottom of the stairs is a single room. Unlike the building above, whose adobe walls are crumbled, this room has walls of sturdy metal, albeit slightly corroded. In the center is a squat table, surrounded by chairs. At one end is a holoprojector.

Computers line the far wall behind the holoprojector, and the opposite wall has an arms rack loaded with a variety of heavy weaponry.

"Please, take a seat," Zane requests, waving a hand to the chairs.

(kyle will remember his manners somewhat and shoot Eol an apologetic look when he gets the chance. He meant no insult to Eol with the comment. It's just a pretty shocking thing to see on Tatooine.)
"kyle looks around this latest room with a little surprise. "A command center? This is going to be a very interesting conversation, I can tell." He heads to the table, trying to sit opposite Eerin, so they can watch each others' backs.

Eerin is sure to sit opposite of Kyle, with likewise intentions.

"[Now that we're here...]" Eerin says, implying that he wishes his previous demand to be fulfilled.

Zane, as an act of trust, sets his hard-hitting revolver-blasters on the table. He scoots them slightly out of immediately reach, but not too far.

"So, to business then," Zane says, seating himself. "Kyle Ragnor, you no doubt realize that you are being hunted. Do you know why?"

Kyle does not remove his blaster, but makes a point of keeping his hands in plain sight on the table. "Well, Eerin and I are often hunted, for what are probably obvious reasons since you know who we are. But I'm guessing that this latest effort is something new. You obviouly know, and I'm interested in knowing."

"You can't tell me that bounty hunters fling themselves so openly at you," Zane says. "That display in the cantina? I was watching from a booth. You annihilated them. It'd have to be some great joke for people not to know that you are a phenomenal gunslinger, Kyle."

"Get to the point," the woman says.

"Right. My point is, yes, there is a special reason for the renewed efforts on your life. Kara, if you please..."

The woman, Kara, reaches over and taps a button on the holoprojector. From it appears what you recognize as a bounty contract from the HoloNet... with your name and picture on it.

"Does the Nobog Corporation sound familiar to you?" Zane asks.

Kyle nods to concede the point about bounty hunters not exactly lining up to take him on, and can't help but let a small grin show at the mention of his skill with a blaster. But the grin vanishes and his eyes get hard when he hears that name.
"Yeah, former employer." Kyle responds, his voice even. "We didn't part company in the best of ways." His small grin returns for a moment, then, "Are they behind this?"

"Yup. Despite the immunity that the Empire has offered you, the Nobog Corporation has posted a bounty calling for your capture or your death. So far, most think 'dead' would be easier, in your case. The bounty itself was put up by Roark Hosh..."

Oh, you do not like the sound of that, Kyle. Roark was originally the Chairman of the Corporation, tasked with organizing and promoting the legal fronts. Now that everyone has been executed or jailed for life, though, you're guessing that Roark has taken control. You know very few things about him, but you had the displeasure of meeting him once. He is cold-hearted and extremely creepy.

Eerin, you notice something. You're not mentioned in the bounty.

"Well, that is NOT good. Imet that slime ball once, and I have no desire to again. So why go to all this trouble to get me? Nobody like having a ship taken from them, but c'mon, it's only a modified freighter. It's a damn fine modified freighter, but not worth this kind of vendetta. What else is going on here?"

"We don't have all the pieces, but other than wanting you dead for causing all of the Nobog Corporation's executive members being executed, there might be something on your ship that they want..."

"Oh, that. Well, there's a long story behind that. Eerin, you can tell him, you'll put more into the telling than I will..."

(You are referring to the drugs, right?)

(Yes. GO ahead and tell them everything. They probably know anyways. Might as well trust these people for now, if they wanted us dead we would be.)

(Gotcha.)

Eerin begins speaking slowly, so that Zane can understand as much as possible.

"[As you know, we're smugglers. We get paid to run stuff across the Galaxy, usually illegally. The highest bidders get their stuff run, and of late we've been dealing with the Hutts. Our most recent shipment is a stockpile of various narcotics being brought to a drug lord on Lok. Do you think that is what the Corporation wants? They've always been competing with the Hutts and I'm sure they wouldn't mind taking our shipment and selling it for their own benefit.]"

Zane looks somewhat confused, possibly even speechless.

"What'd he say?" Kara asks.

"He said that they're smuggling drugs for the Hutts," Zane says. "Now, fellas, that's not really what I was..."

"And we're meant to hire them aboard?" Kara says, incredulously. "They want us to recruit from the scum of the Galaxy?"

"[Wait, excuse me]," Eerin interrupts, rising from his chair. "[Scum?]"