2-5, the thugs go first. The Aqualish manages to whack you on the shoulder with the bar, while the gunman blasts at your feet and you have to watch your footing. 6 damage total.
The shove from Rianna is not half bad, getting her a bonus four dice. He stumbles when she uses the Force, and Rianna strikes him across the temple for 10 damage. He crashes down on Nestor's desk, breaking it in half and causing Nestor to scuttle away for some other cover.
----
NESTOR'S OFFICE, Start of Turn 3
Office
Rianna (C11): 2(1A)/20 [MA DW FT] [FA DU AS] (4F)
Gun Thug: 0
----
Rianna is fired upon as she runs down the gunman. His shooting has been consistent, if not spectacular. She takes 3 damage before leaping into the air, Trinity-style, and kicking the gunman into a wall for 12 damage.
He pulls himself out of the wall and shakes himself off, while Rianna lands neatly with a flashy kung fu flourish.
----
NESTOR'S OFFICE, Start of Turn 4
Office
Rianna (C11): 2(1A)/23 [MA DW FA] [FT DU AS] (4F)
Gun Thug: 12
----
Nestor has the droid brought up from the bar while his bouncers limp out of the office. The droid whirs unpleasantly when it sees you.
"IT RETURNS WITHOUT THE PAYMENTS," the droid blares. "THREATENED! THREATENED!"
Nestor produces a remote and clicks a button. The restraining bolt on the droid's chest bleeps and it falls silent.
"Directive 1999, Beegee," Nestor says.
"MEMORY LOGS ACCESSED. PASSWORD?"
"Charice."
"WELCOME, NESTOR. ACCESS FILE."
Nestor selects the name of the file he wants, and the droid produces a hologram of Rand and Vash sitting in a booth, as it did before. It projects it onto the floor in front of you.
"Is that what you were looking for?" Nestor asks.
"Play," Nestor says.
-
Rand is sitting alone when Vash slides into the booth quietly.
"Are our guests secured?" Rand asks.
"Yes," Vash says. "I have them under and secured quietly. They won't escape and they won't be found. Nobody will head out there and they have no way back."
"Very good," Rand says. "And the mercenary. Do we have him under our employ?"
"Yes," Vash says. "Just as you predicted he would. Why do they call him the Rocketeer?"
"You'll see," Rand says with a sneer.
"Alright," Vash says, nonplussed. "So what now?"
"We wait," Rand says. "Rianna will be here within a few days, if Borm delivered your message. If he failed to do so, it only means that Rianna is not worth our time."
"Why didn't we just recruit them both?" Vash asks.
"Borm is too difficult to control," Rand says, sourly. "He is... was... insane."
"I see," Vash says.
"Now, we wait for Rianna to arrive," Rand says. "Once she does, she will go to the Wing Guard for their assistance. They will manage her movements. We'll wait until she parts ways with some of her escorts before ordering the Rocketeer to take them hostage. That will lure her into a fight with him."
"And the point of that is...?" Vash asks.
Rand remains silent for a moment. "I'm telling you what will happen, not why."
Vash scowls.
"In any case," Rand continues, "you will stand guard over the Xi family. If you lose that leverage, you lose any control over Rianna. Wait until she is worn down by the distractions aboard Cloud City... then defeat her and bring her to me."
The message continues.
-
"Do you think you can do that?" Rand asks. "You weren't terribly effective on Ord Coridari..."
"I can defeat her, Master," Vash says. "With your training and your plots to weaken her, I will be more than prepared to handle her when she arrives on the platform."
"Perfect," Rand says. "In the mean time, keep your contact with the Wing Guard as sparse as possible. We do not want anyone knowing that we have men working with us, or Rianna will steer clear of them, and the men we DO have will be eliminated."
"Of course," Vash says. "Is there anything else, Master? I've left the Xis unattended longer than I should..."
"No," Rand says, dismissing Vash with a nod. He sits there for a moment longer, then casts a curious glare in the direction of the holo-cam that recorded the conversation. He senses he is being watched, but the feeling is brief as the recording ends- Beegee shut off his camera.
-
The recording ends.
"Really?" Zalt says. "That is... troubling. We can look into it after we apprehend the Rocketeer."
Zaltus gives you the location and directions to reach it, and the Wing Guard members that went with you to the bar can show you there. They guide you to a maintenance hatch that will let you into the tunnels.
The directions are fairly sound. You are racing through the tunnels when you hear faint blasterfire in the distance.