Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links.

"Ha, those kids are gonna cause a riot if we don't!"
High off the adrenaline rush from the gig he grins "Lets give them something special..."

He steps towards the stage, takes a deep breath in and then lets out a full volume "Aaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyoooooo....." with the double harmonies that only his triple vocal cords can produce.

He struts on to the stage and sings

"Do you want some more of this stuff
Can't let you go till yooou've had enough..."

He grins and starts clapping in time as the others strike up their instruments

"Time to give it just one moooore shot
Then we're f**king off" He speaks "cuz you've had your lot!

This is a song about being young and foolish... WILD N YOUNG!

Running free and running hard
We gotta play by the sabacc cards
Dealing in and dealing out
Sometimes you lose, no need ta shout

It's how it is, it's how we play
Wild and young is how we'll stay
Livin' it up until we're dead
Wild and young is what I said

Take it away Faro let me hear you go

Racing pods in the outer rim
You could lose arm, which is kinda grim
The speeds we go, is the real thrill
Ending up on some Dugs pod grill

It's how it is, it's how we play
Wild and young is how we'll stay
Livin' it up until we're dead
Wild and young is what I said!

It's how it is, it's how we play
Wild and young is how we'll stay
Livin' it up until we're dead
Wild and young is what Eiiiiiiieieieieieiei saaaaaaid...

Thank you and good night"

With that he takes a bow and walks off stage

The crowd is absolutely insane after your encore. They might riot anyway! Your stage Presence is quite effective, so much so that low-key critics have stated that the others could stop playing and nobody would notice so long as frontman Alek was singing.

Your bandmates start to clear off the stage as a Gran announcer walks out to the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the Stardashers!" he says. He tries to continue but is drowned out by screaming. He goes on when they calm down a bit. "They'll be here a few more days if you didn't get enough. Buy your tickets at the..."

In the midst of the crazy crowd of kids, though, someone catches your attention.

Alek looks over and heads toward the attention seeker

He didn't do anything to catch your attention... or you thought he did... not you aren't sure.

It is an old man in a dark brown cloak, his gray hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, simply standing in the audience. Those around him are jumping up and down ecstatically for you and your band. He seems passive.

After seeing the guy just stood amidst the crowd Alek gets changed from his sweaty gig clothes and packs his stuff and says "see ya" to the guys in the band. For some reason he's curious about the guy, usually people like that are agents for the music companies so he wants to go see what he's all about.

He heads out into the crowd saying hi to all the fans that greet him, but makes polite excuses until he reaches the guy with the pony tail 'Hey, hope you enjoyed the show tonight but something tells me you're not really apart of this "crowd"'

Faro gives you a friendly reminder that the band is heading down to a local pub for drinks.

When you head back out to jump into the crowd, the crowd itself begins to surge around you. Excited fans start asking for your autograph and a few young ladies decide to flash you... but your mystery man appears to have gone.

He looks around and seeing the old guy gone he turns his attention to a lovely red twi'lek girl "heya babes, wanna meet my band?" He then heads for the bar where Faro said they were going.

Alek the seducer!

The bar is not far from the venue, a small place called the Turtle's Shell. It takes you longer than it should to get there because of the flocking crowds following you around or trying to get out of the seedy downtown area in this Karkarvan city.

When you get there, the band is already lined up at the bar.

"Took you long enough, Alek!" Faro says, with his own Twi'lek girl on his arm. "Was wondering if you got lost!"

"hahaha, just busy" He winks then calls to the bar keep "Dark Membrosia please". He scans around the bar looking at all the people, for some reason he can't help but look out for signs of trouble brewing.

The barkeep gets you your order. The Turtle's Back is busy tonight- after-parties to your concert- but you don't pick up any immediate signs of trouble when you scan the tables.

"Yeah, yeah, I bet," Faro says, patting you on the back and beckoning you to sit with him. He and Tarinda are sipping on glasses of Flaming Wookiee while B'kleap has four different brightly-colored drinks, one of them fizzing, another burning. "How do you think the show went?"

Alex takes a sip of his drink, grins and relaxes. Then with his arm around Ral'Rais waist sits down with the others.
"There's always room for improvement..." He playfully nudges Tarinda "apart from your drums B'kleap, they were fickin awesome as always!"
He sips his drink again "Nah, we were good as always, in fact I saw some straight dude in the audience watching us and I wondered if he's a Galactimuse talent scout, he'd gone 'fore I could talk to him though.
Anyway, the night is as young as we are so lets celebrate another triumphant performance" He lifts his glass, then turns his attention to the lovely twi'lek hanging off his arm.

There is a cheer from your bandmates as you lift your glasses and drink.

"Really? A talent scout?!" the Twi'lek girl says giddily. "You guys would be WAY big!"

"Big is not even covering it, sweetheart," Faro says. "I..." He looks over your shoulder and loses the color in his face. "Um, Rah, bathroom with me. Now."

"Yeah that's right, my honey we'd b...... Hey what's up Faro?" He says jumping after the disappearing guitarist, he looks around as he follows hot on the heels of his friend

Faro ducks into the men's room and waits for you to get in. He then peeks out the door, motioning for you to the same.

"See that guy right there?" Faro says. He is pointing to a slim, unhealthy-looking man with pale skin and a dark cloak. He is sitting at a table and looking in your direction. You recognize him as a Nagai- a vampiric warrior people. "That's the enforcer for my dealer, man. How'd he find me here?!"

"Guess you not been payin' what you owe then!" He looks at Faro majorly pissed off, the elation from the night suddenly draining away. "How much do owe and what do you want us to do about it?"

(By the what can Alek do, whilst he can't remember his force training he'd still have raw talent that would naturally come into play when he fights. Also what weapons does he have, I can't imagine even with memory loss that a bad ass like Rah would be willingly totally weaponless!)

Alek carries a concealable pistol for emergencies- even for rock stars, the Galaxy is a tough place- and an equally concealable knife.

"It's gone beyond that, man," Faro says, nervously. "I owe him more than I can ever pay back. We need to lose this guy or... or something, I don't know."

Alek fingers his piece "It's okay mate we'll sort something out..." He grins "...and I was kinda getting bored of this planet, so maybe it's time to work some magic, jump ship, then get you cleaned up!

(How handy are B'Kleap and Tarinda likely to be in a fight?)

B'kleap has been known to fight a brawl or two, and Tarinda has a checkered background as a slave. Faro is useless, though.

Alek goes back out to the others, tells his Twi'lek companion to disappear then informs them of Faro's plight "can you make a scene to casually distract this guy while I blow a new breathing hole in him?" He asks

B'kleap shouts unintelligible banter while Tarinda seems shocked.

"You can't just shoot him up in a bar!" Tarinda says. "It's against the law!"

The Nagai has caught sight of Faro.

Alek replies "so is cutting someone up but tell that to his sacred knives!" He goes to intercept the Nagai and knocks quite hard into his shoulder covering him with Aleks drink and sending him flying "Oops sorry, awfully clumsy of me, can I get you something to make up for it? Here let me help you!" He puts the muzzle of the gun against the Nagais side "nice n easy eh fella, don't wanna make a scene, let's go somewhere and talk"

The Nagai is not at all pleased to find the pistol pressed into his side. Rah, having Gunslinger, is quite the draw.

"You're making mistake," he hisses. "My quarrel is not with you."

"No, but it is with a dear friend of mine which kinda makes it my business!" He smiles pleasantly then goes dead pan "now I know you Nagai are quite the nasty knife fighters and I'm a little trigger happy so if you make any sudden moves I'm gonna make your body go leaky. All I want to do is come to an arrangement regarding my friends 'business'." he nods towards Faro "shall we go outside..."

Suddenly, you feel as though someone is behind you... and you react by twisting away from the Nagai as another one draws a knife on you! He was going to stab you in the back... how did you know that?

It turns out the Nagai brought a few friends and they're not happy that you threatened their leader...

Can gunslinger and 10000Bolts be used in combo? If so that is what he's doing!

As Alek twists away he grabs the first Nagai shoulder, and still with the gun against him spins him into the path of his friends blade and pulls the trigger. As the first falls he fires again and again as required.

They certainly can! I am assuming you also want Eye of the Storm in as your third Gun schtick; feel free to correct me.

Alek should have lost initiative due to ambush, but something got his attention... as such, the Initiative roll is a tie and it goes to him! He relentlessly opens fire into the first Nagai with his holdout pistol. Rah only rolls two successes (thanks to Gunslinger!) on his first shot, then three on his second for a total of 9 damage as a pair of bolts graze the Nagai's side.

The first Nagai whirls out of your grip and draws a large bowie knife. The second already has a pair of wicked serated knives and attacks! He rolls very poorly for only 3 damage to Alek.

A third Nagai gets up from a table on the other side of a restaurant and starts unlocking a carrying case.

----

TURTLE'S BACK BRAWL, Start of Turn 2

Tables

Nagai A (C11): 1/9

Nagai B (C8): 3(1A)/0


Alek (G10): 1(1PR)/3


Bar

Faro: 1/0

Tarinda (C4): 3/0

Bk (C6): 1/0


Other Side of Bar

Nagai C: ?

Because it's close quarters fighting Alek will use D&W to avoid Nagai B's knives whilst continuing to fire at him with 10B. With his other hand swings a chair between himself and Nagai A to keep that blade out of reach. Every couple of shots he'll quickly turn and take another shot at Nagai A over the chair to make him keep his distance.

"Tarinda, B'Kleap; there's another one over there!" He shouts over the din of the escalating fight

Sadly, despite Gunslinger offering excellent combat options, you can't use 10,000 Bolts with Dodge & Weave. Do you want to stick with blasting away or take an unarmed approach to this?

Feel free to have D&W in as your third schtick but inactive, however, if you keep on blasting.

Fair enough, how about using leap to leap over him whilst shooting down on his head? hmm

If not I'll do as you suggest and keep using 10B whilst keeping D&W in reserve for defense when the fight gets too close for effective blaster use. Once the Nagai have gotten too close Alek will resort to tapped SF with D&W

Stylistically, Alek could perform acrobatics. However, Alek doesn't know what Leaping is...

Initiative goes to Alek, who shoots for Two-Knives McGee. Rah's dice pool is trimmed down to 7 dice and he gets successes on three of them for 4 damage (due to Armor). He goes again for 3 more damage there.

B'kleap comes tumbling into Nagai A in a drunken fury, punching him for 5 damage! Tarinda grabs Faro and jumps under a table as people scatter.

Alek takes a scratch for 3 damage from Nagai B and Nagai A swipes Bk for 7 damage with that large knife. Nagai C has hoisted a scoped rifle from that case of his.

----

TURTLE'S BACK BRAWL, Start of Turn 3

Tables

Nagai A (C11): 1/14

Nagai B (C8): 3(1A)/7


Alek (G10): 1/6

Bk (C6): 1/7


Bar

Faro: 1/0 (in cover)

Tarinda (C4): 3/0 (in cover)


Other Side of Bar

Nagai C (G10): 1(1PR)/0

----

Alek use Eye of Storm to avoid the sniper rifle shots and is going to circle the fight round to put nagai two knives in between him and the sniper whilst still blasting with 10B.

Eye of the Storm is currently swapped out. Want to swap it in?

Edit- added in damage totals for last round, totally forgot them.

yeah I'll trade D&W for it

The Nagai get intiative this turn! Big Knife Nagai gets another hit on B'kleap for 7 damage and Two Knives Nagai gets Alek for 4 damage.

Sniper Nagai rolls four successes as he takes a potshot at Faro. His cover is good and takes off two of those but he takes 5 damage as the bolt explodes a bottle on the bar.

Alek strikes back! He nearly misses but Gunslinger saves him for one success, for 3 damage on Nagai B. He then rolls two successes on his follow-up for 4 damage. B'kleap gets two successes for 5 damage on Nagai A.

----

TURTLE'S BACK BRAWL, Start of Turn 4

Tables

Nagai A (C11): 1/19

Nagai B (C8): 3(1A)/14


Alek (G10): 1(1PR)/10

Bk (C6): 1/14


Bar

Faro: 1/9 (in cover)

Tarinda (C4): 3/0 (in cover)


Other Side of Bar

Nagai C (G10): 1(1PR)/0

----

Gonna carry on as before, just out of curiosity what are the chances of Alek instinctively using force push/pull to knock and opponent out of the way?

Very slim; Push/Pull cannot be used on anything bigger than a small object you could hold in your hand.

It is a tie for initiative again, meaning this time it goes to the Nagai. Nagai A is annoyed with the four-armed alien assaulting him and taps Power Attack in return. Your drummer gets a nasty cut for 10 damage across his front and is Knocked Back. Two Knives isn't having much luck against Alek, only hitting for 3 damage- though I gave him 2 points of health back, for I forgot to account for his Armor. Sniper blows away a part of the bar and gets Faro for 4 damage.

Alek keeps shooting at Two Knives, haphazardly spraying his pistol around the bar. Two attacks gets him 6 damage total. B'kleap is busy recoiling from the deep cut he was given.

----

TURTLE'S BACK BRAWL, Start of Turn 5

Tables

Nagai A (C11): 1/19 PA AS]

Nagai B (C8): 3(1A)/18


Alek (G10): 1(1PR)/13

Bk (C6): 1/24


Bar

Faro: 1/9 (in cover)

Tarinda (C4): 3/0 (in cover)


Other Side of Bar

Nagai C (G10): 1(1PR)/0

----

Alek's going to tap GS for better targeting whilst still firing the odd blast at Nagai A

Initiative for the Nagai! Big Knife taps Assault on Bk and bags eight successes for 10 damage. Two Knives keeps steadily chiseling away at you. Sniper nearly takes Faro's head but Tarinda pushes him down.

Alek unexpectedly changes target and puts a laser bolt through Big Knife's throat! That takes care of him and frees up B'kleap to clobber Two Knives. Or try, at least.

----

TURTLE'S BACK BRAWL, Start of Turn 6

Tables

Nagai B (C8): 3(1A)/21


Alek (G10): 1(1PR)/17

Bk (C6): 1/34


Bar

Faro: 1/16 (in cover)

Tarinda (C4): 3/0 (in cover)


Other Side of Bar

Nagai C (G10): 1(1PR)/0

----

If BK is going for 2 knives then Alek will start firing at Nagai C aiming for the his head and the sniper gun he's got.

Can I assume that this needs wrapping up quickly to avoid local law enforcement crews?

You would assume so!

Winning initiative, you are pleased when Bk recovers from his knife wound and smashes Two Knives in the face with two fists, hard enough to drop him.

You turn to fire at the Sniper and rattle him with a spray of lasers. 6 successes is dropped to 5 by his Parry and gets you 7 damage on him, followed up by a second shot for 3 damage.

Sniper realizes that the jig is up and runs along the balcony to a door. He takes a potshot at you and misses.

Call it murder but Alek goes up to the prostrate Nagai two knives and puts a blast into his head "Don't want him coming back to haunt us!"

He holsters his pistol as he looks around to his mates "Come on, time we disappeared before Sniper guy comes back with more friends..."

He then goes over to Faro and Tarinda up "You owe me big time Faro!!!" He mutters as he helps them up. "I think the nearest spaceport would be a good option right now, come on B."

He turns to leave

Sniper gets away through the doorway as you preoccupy yourself with blasting the Nagai with two knives to make sure he doesn't trouble you ever again.

Follow him comes a thought. It is not your own.

alek can't explain why but he needs to go after the nagai "come on you 3, let's stop him getting away!" He goes off in hot pursuit of the sniper

You bound up the stairs and through the doorway where the sniper went. Your bandmates have different ideas and do not follow.

The door is marked EMPLOYEES ONLY and leads to a hallway. The sniper is at the end, running for a window.

Can I go out on a limb here and try to instinctively use the force...? Basically with a highly emotional discharge I'm hoping Alek will be able to either cause the Nagai to stumble or trip over nothing in order for him to catch up

Alek, determined to get the Nagai reaches out as if to grab him and shouts "STOP!!!"

If this works he'll kick the Nagai in the head to stun him

You reach out and... nothing happens. The Nagai reaches the window and jumps through, smashing the glass and falling out of your sight.

You hear a snap-hiss and see a brief green light reflect against the broken glass. There is a scream and a violent hum, then nothing.

"Damn!" He can't understand it but he almost feels like something should have happened. With his weapon drawn he runs to the window and carefully looks out

The drop from the window is nowhere near lethal, yet you are now looking down upon the unmoving body of the Nagai. His sniper rifle lies nearby and is cut in two... as is the Nagai.

The wound smoulders dimly and seems familiar... but you can't place it. What you are more concerned with is that there is nobody out here but the corpse.

"Hello!" He shouts down "Is there anybody there?"

Can he sense anything dangerous?

He has a good look around then leaps out way past the nagai's remains, rolls and comes up with his gun out and looks around

You land cleanly by the Nagai's body. Swiveling around to check your environment, you initially see movement in the shadows of the alleyway you have landed in.

The older man that you saw in the audience steps toward you. Up-close you can see that he is not very old, and his hair is flecked with streaks of red that has not yet gone gray. He wears a heavy overcoat the color of mud. Green eyes pierce into you. There is a cylindrical object in his hand.

"You need to run," he says. "The Bureau will be here any moment."

Alek levels his gun at him, the object in his hand seems strangely familiar but he can't think why. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?" He looks around "and who the hell is the Bureau?"

He is unphased by the pistol you raise at him.

"Who I am is not important," the man says, "and they are your enemy! You must get out of here! If you don't, they'll take you."

Do I feel like I can trust this person?

"Okay then, you seem to know about these bureaupeople, where do you suggest I go?"

He looks for a way back to the main street

You don't feel anything wrong, at least. Not with him.

"Anywhere," the man says, looking over your shoulder and then behind him. "Go!"

With that, he turns and runs himself, becoming a blur as he dashes down the alleyway and disappears into the night ahead of you.

"Wha... the foooook" he says as the guy blurs. He swallows and decides he'd best make tracks as advised so heads for the for the nearest main street with lots of people on then, gets the first taxi/shuttle bus to take him to the nearest starport.

Nearest main street would be the opposite direction of the older man. You take off at a run and arrive there shortly, only to be horribly displeased with the sight of speeders with sirens racing up to Turtle's Back. You hold your breath until they pass; they don't bother with the alleyway just yet.

You slip into the gathering crowd trying to get a peep at what is going on at the bar, passing your Intrusion check to do so quietly.

After blending in to the crowd he makes his way to the spaceport

At this time of night the number of people on the streets is low, but Alek manages to remain inconspicuous as he drifts away from the Turtle's Back and toward the starport.

You reach the starport without trouble. There aren't many people around as you approach the docking bay where the band's touring ship is parked.

You notice a trio of men standing at the entrance.

Alek gets his pistol out and hides it behind his back as he casually walks in "Yo, can I help you guys?" He looks around for his band mates and other possible nasties.

(What sort of feeling is he getting from these people?)

There is no sign of your friends. Before you are two Karkarvan security guards in standard black uniforms- average grunts, you'd say, by the look of them. The third man is pale and thin, wearing a gray uniform with a peaked cap. All have pistols strapped their sides.

The gray uniformed man smiles. He makes you uncomfortable.

"Are you Alek?" he asks pleasantly.

Using all the persuasion at his disposal Alek smiles and says "No, as a matter of fact I've come here hoping to see him about some personal business before he leaves!" He reveals the pistol in a relaxed manner "If you get what I mean."

He looks at them a bit sterner

"Now if you gents don't mind would you enlighten me as to your business with him, after all this could perhaps be of mutual benefit to us!"

The Karkarvan guards draw their pistols when you show off yours. The man in gray just laughs and gestures for them to lower their weapons. They do so.

"Charming but untrue," the man says.

"Is this your man?" a guard asks.

"Yes," the man replies.

He smiles "ha well, worth a try!" He keeps the pistol handy but lowered and pointing the ground in an un-threatening manner "Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"Give me the pistol and we can discuss that," the man in gray says. "I promise no harm will come to you."

He holds out his hand.

"Huh, yeah, born yesterday I was!" He levels the pistol at him again "How about I shoot your goons, break your arms, then pick your nose with the bones till you tell me what you want?"

The guards shift uncomfortably at the remark, but the uniformed man maintains his smile.

"A poor course of action, if you ask me," he says. He looks past you... and you become aware of the looming figure behind you. It stands just outside of the light encircling you and the guards and the man.

"Hand me your pistol or my associate will take it from you. Last warning. You can trust me."

Rah steps sideways to create a greater field of vision in order to keep and eye on his current targets and to bring in the 'looming' one into view.

"heheh, sorry; threats never did inspire trust in me! Tell me what you want and I'll consider coming peacefully. If not your associate can try to disarm me but I can assure you that you will lose some men this day if he does!"

He places his feet in a firm but ready-to-move stance. The gun trained on the nearest guard, the other hand is held out towards the new guy to maintain space.

The figure does not appear to be a guy, per se. He takes a step into the light, revealing a squat hairy body with a porcine face, snaggled with teeth and lined with scars. In his hand is something that looks like a whip's handle, but no whip.

"I can pardon the murders you just performed in that pub," the man says. "I need your help finding someone."

"okaaay then..." he shrugs and relaxes, the pistol lowers towards the floor but stays out "Why didn't you just say so? Why me? And what could a lowly singer in a band possibly do to help find your man?"

"Questions that will be answered," the man says. "I am Agent Sri S'Nar of the Bureau of Undesirables and Immigration."

He offers his hand.

"My associate is Captain Rauk of the Osokan Hunter's Guild."

Something about both organizations sounds familiar to you, somehow. How is Rah's Savoir-Faire score?

Hmmm, he doesn't really have one per se but perhaps if you combine his intelligence and perception with a little bit of his lucky merit he might get the gist of things.

Personally though I think another fight is in order but that's just me and besides tackling an osokan without a sabre would be a might foolish...

Neither group you can remember anything about, then. You feel like you knew at some point.

Your instincts about taking on an Osokan with a blaster ring true. The porcine creature looks stocky enough to take a shot and keep going. Additionally, he is wearing specially-fitted blast armor.

"I request that you accompany us to the Bureau's Headquarters here on Karkarvos," Agent S'Nar says. "I will arrange for your friends to be transferred there. No doubt they have been apprehended by now. They will of be no use to me but I'm sure their well-being is very much in your interest, yes?"

He smiles unpleasantly.

Rah looks at the Osokan and sizes him up with a snear "Maybe later babes..." He turns back to Sri, holsters the pistol in his jacket and smiles as he raises his open hands and shrugs "Guess we'd better move then, however the pistol stays safe with me!"

"Fair enough."

S'Nar has a speeder that he took to get to your docking bay, and now all five of you pile into it. The Osokan is wary of you the entire drive over to the Bureau Headquarters, a tall black building amongst the squat structures of Karkarvos. Upon arrival, you notice more Osokans standing guard alongside generic Karkarvan security.

"So then, why me? What do I have that will help you find this guy you're looking for?" He asks as they travel.

"Nice place you've got here, feels cozy..."

"Patience," S'Nar says to you.

"His kind doesn't have patience," the Osokan says in a low rumbling voice. S'Nar shoots him a glare.

"Ooh the big ass beauty can string some words together, mommy must be sooo proud!"

He sits back and looks at the building as they approach, mainly searching for possible escape routes should he need them.

Rauk snarls and reaches for a leather sheath on his back but S'Nar stops him.

It becomes apparent quickly that the Headquarters is awfully short on window. S'Nar walks you in past the guards at the front. They salute him and the Osokan Captain. Past the front door is a reception area that is one part dreary government office and one part (what will one day be known as) Imperial decor, like that of the Death Star. Polished black floors, gray walls, white lights in vertical patterns.

"What do you know about the Jedi Order?" S'Nar asks as you walk.

"The Jedi? Aren't they a bunch of meditating hippy-do-gooders?" He laughs "Honestly though I can't say as I've ever been unfortunate enough to have any dealings with them. Bad boy that I am, I'm way below their radar!"

He can't help thinking he should know more though...

S'Nar frowns.

"Your knowledge of them is surprisingly limited. Do you know of the energy field that they serve?"

"Ha!" He starts to sing

"The elusive all powerful Force,
Binding the universe together.
Be good, be strong, stay on course
Or lose yourself forever!

An energy field, all so vast,
A resource always there.
Giving strength in which to last,
So all of you beware

Make not an enemy of the Sith
And nor the Jedi too
The stories really are not myth
It will be your death you pursue..."

He shrugs, "apart from a couple of other songs that's all I know really"

S'Nar is mildly amused by your song, and several around the office seem to have stopped what they were doing to listen to you. As soon as you finish, they return to their tasks.

"Yes... well, our problem is not with the Jedi or the Sith, but with Dark Jedi. Students of the Force that have gone astray. Most often they are lowly criminals trying to make a living on the fringes of space. Others are very dangerous."

You enter a lift with S'Nar and the Osokan Captain, rising up several floors.

"So what does that have to do with me, a singer in a second rate band playing second rate music in second rate clubs on a second rate world?"

(I take it he can start feeling edgy about all this?)

Yes. You cannot place it but this is all very uncomfortable.

"More than you know," S'Nar says. "This brand of criminal is very rare in the grand scheme of things but they have a tendency to make their presence in the Galaxy known. Do you know of the planet Malastare?"

You do, Alek. It is one of the founding worlds of the Republic, home to the three-eyed Grans and the hand-footed Dugs. But... you feel like you know more. You have never been there, you know that with certainty.

"I know of Malastare, they have one of the premier pod racing circuits there. Can't say as I've ever been, though our agent was working on getting the Stardashers some gigs there." He looks sternly at S'Nar "However you're you still haven't told me how I'm involved in all this!"

"All in good time," S'Nar says as the lift comes to a stop. He steps out and you are walking down a wide hallway together. Here things are less sterile and mildly more luxurious; Republic red carpets and walls, comfy chairs, low-light lamps, a few alien art pieces.

"There was an event on Malastare, four years ago. A dreadful three-sided shoot-out between the Jedi Knights and Malastare police units, businessman Kir Ascar and his private security detail, and a group of Dark Jedi and a force of mercenaries under their employ. It was a disastrous battle and a tremendous problem for the Republic. The Jedi did not actually stop this group; in fact, they escaped, after slaughtering many Republic personnel on a founding Republic world. Can you see how this was an embarassment?"

"I've always gone for independence so don't really pay much attention to politics." He looks around "Still doesn't tell me what this is all about"

"This is about that incident," S'Nar says. "The Massacre on Malastare."

He arrives at an open office at the end of the hallway. It has a great round window looking out over the squat Karkarvan city, with the distinct spiderwebbed framing. He steps behind a black onyx desk and gestures for you to sit on the other side.

"We think that one of the Dark Jedi present may be trying to reach you, Mr. Alek."

Alek thinks about the enigmatic guy he met earlier and decides to stay quiet about for it now.

"Sorry I know nothing of the Massacre of Malastare, and I know even less of why the Jedi would be trying to make contact with me!" He looks around again. "Now if you don't mind I would like to leave this forsaken hole and get to my next contract on kashyyyk".

"Dark Jedi," S'Nar corrects. "His name is Takuan Soho, and he is VERY dangerous, and very powerful."

You are displeased to see that the hologram S'Nar produces is of your enigmatic older man.

"We've spoken with your manager and postponed your concerts in the interest of your safety," S'Nar says. "We believe it would be best for you to stay on Karkarvos until this man has been apprehended. Will you inform us if you see him? Your assistance to us is of great importance to you, I feel. We can erase what happened tonight, and the Nagai you killed in the bar. The scene has already been cleaned up, in fact. But the evidence has been collected. We can match the energy residue of their wounds to the power signature of your blaster, Mr. Alek."

The Osokan Captain snickers.

"So what you're saying is that I'm to hang around and then tell you if this Takwan Sohoh guy makes contact with me?" He shrugs "Okay then but I'll need a credit advance to see me through till I make my next concert!"

S'Nar's mouth turns down at the corners for a brief moment.

"If you deem it necessary then the Bureau is willing to provide you and your bandmates the funds," S'Nar says. "So long as Takuan is found and arrested. There is a monetary reward for his capture or information leading to it."

"H'kay then Mr Sneer sir, give me your card and I'll be staying in the black star inn near the club I just played at!" He turns to leave "I'll call you if I see anything..."

For some reason he assumes that he'll either be followed or they'll try and plant some sort of tracing bug on him.

Indeed, S'Nar does not want you to leave until he has attached a tracking device to your wrist as part of a bracelet.

"Should anything happen to you, we will know where you are," S'Nar insists.

He holds it up to the light "Niiiice..." 'First thing is get this off at the earliest opportunity' he thinks to himself. He winks at the Osokan guard and then heads out

"Remember, Alek," S'Nar says. "He is very dangerous. Do not underestimate him."

You take your leave of the Bureau headquarters, meaning you are (relatively) free to carry on to the Black Star Inn. It is close to the starport and moderately cheap. You return to find your room as you left it. Your battered bantha-leather suitcase is on your bed.

I guess its time to make an Observation roll...

Call him suspicious but Alek is going to go through the room and his suitcase very carefully looking for any bugs that may have been planted all the while keeping his thoughts to himself.

After this he's going to head out to see if he can find someone who might be able to release the tracking bracelet.

Do you have Fix-It?

You don't see anything suspicious about your hotel room, Alek. Nothing is out of place. You start to ruffle through your suitcase... but grow disinterested before you get through it. It happens every time; you usually just grab something off the top instead of digging through it.

yep Fix-It level 1

Then you pop it off no problem!

Coolio!

He pops the tracker into his pocket 'May as well leave a bit of a trail for them to play with...' he thinks to himself as he heads out of the room "Time for a quick drink I think!" he muses aloud.

Alek will head out to the nearest bar where he last saw the mysterious guy 'I need to find out what the hell is going on!'

As he exits the hotel he leaves a message for his band mates to meet him later at one of the cafes they've been using.

The nearest bar where you saw your mystery man is blocked off; the police are cleaning up the mess you made!

You raise Faro on your comlink as you leave your room.

"Rah, where the hell did you go?" Faro asks. "We're in the hotel lounge, meet us there."

"I got held up by some law enforcement guy about the bust-up in the bar. Where are you and who in the Outer Systems is Rah?" Alek asks curiously

"Rah? What?" Faro says.

He is in the hotel lounge as mentioned.

He goes down to meet Faro "I thought you called me Rah, maybe you were clearing your throat but I'm not sure why but Rah seems to ring a bell to me..." He shrugs it off "What're you drinking? It's on the local law enforcement guys!" He says with a grin

After they get their drinks he asks "So where'd you and the guys get to after I split off after that last dude out for your skin?"

"No..." Faro says. "I said 'Alek.' We got picked up by the police but they let us go. We just came back here. Where were you?"

Originally posted by REXXXX
The nearest bar where you saw your mystery man is blocked off; the police are cleaning up the mess you made!

You raise Faro on your comlink as you leave your room.

"Rah, where the hell did you go?" Faro asks. "We're in the hotel lounge, meet us there."

(So tell me, was this a deliberate slip)

"Ah man, some guy named S'Nar from some government agency picked me up at the spaceport and started asking questions about jedi as if I'm gonna anything about them!" He decides to keep quiet about them mysterious guy.
"Have you heard anymore about you debt collectors?"

(Maybe!)

"No," Faro says. "All clear, seems like. Sorry, guys, I should've told you."

B'kleap jitters on about how he smashed one in th face. Tarinda stays quiet.

Alek shrugs "Bantha fodder happens!" He sips his drink and keeps a cautious eye out for his new mysterious friend.

"We gonna do anymore gigs around here while we wait for this S'Nar geezer to sort his mess out?"

"Might as well," Tarinda contributes. "If Faro is sure that the Knives are going to have more friends...?"

"No, we're good," Faro says. "Gigs sound good. Maybe some dives, small time stuff. Go back to our roots."

"Fine I'll see what the agent can organise." He gets up and wanders over to hotel reception to use the holonet to get in touch with their agent, smiling nicely at some girls waiting to book in

Your agent, a life-in-the-fast-lane sort of guy named Harper, can get you some shows on Karkarvos for the next few nights, if need be.

He wants to know what kind of booking you want- dive bars, small venues, large venues?

"Ah frell it, lets do some dive bars. They're always more busier and a little bit more fun" He hoping to get the strangers attention so he can talk to him again.

Dive bars it is! Your band thinks that sounds like a good plan- extra cash, less effort, smaller crowd, and fun!

You are doing your show the next night. Anything you want to do between now and then?

"Right guys, after that little skirmish earlier I'd best get my blaster charged!" He heads out of the bar towards the tech district in order to get the power cell charged. As he goes he slips the tracking bracelet to Faro "Here, look after this for me and don't lose it!"

It can be assumed that your blaster recharges or you have additional blaster packs as ammo is not an issue in-game. Did you still wish to leave the hotel?

yep, he wants to take a look around, guess I'm going to have to take a perception roll to make sure I'm not being followed, or to lead them a merry chase if I am

Observation check says... if there is anyone following you, you don't see them.

Rah heads downtown to scout the area. There is a blaster shop, of course, and it s in this neighborhood that the dive bar you are playing at is. All sorts of neat things. Anything you are looking for in particular?

He would like some kind of bug scanner for his own room and some bugs that he can plant in the other guys rooms as he feels a bit suspicious that he is being set up for something. He's also trying to find the mysteriously alluring stranger

No sign of your stranger anywhere. You have a feeling he does not want to be found.

Tapping equipment is very specific and you are unsure how the Karkarvans feel about that sort of thing. Anything you get will be consumer-level quality only. Observation to find an appropriate techshop unless you have a pitch for doing so.

He does have a basic observation of 1. He's also feeling quite paranoid because he was picked up and they weren't...

After getting some simple audio surveillance gear and a recording device he heads back to the hotel, sneaks past his mates and using intrusion and fix-it sets the equipment up in their rooms, then to his room to set the recorder going. He then sneaks back out of the hotel and heads to a diner to grab some food hoping his equipment will get something while they think he's out.

Your bandmates WERE picked up. Just not by the Bureau like you were.

But consider it done! It is of course getting very late at this point; your bandmates go to sleep while you are out and say little. You DO catch Faro and Tarinda sharing a bed (you always knew they were shacking up together!) but no 'spying on Rah' conspiracy chats.

You sleep in late the next day after your outing to the diner. You have a few hours until your show, which you spend gathering your equipment and recovering from hangovers. The dive bar that your manager booked is called Di Varinuvi Ee'r'a, some Old Karkarvan term. The place is definitely on the down-low; dark and smokey, private booths, shifty patrons. You like it.

Faro comes up to you while you are testing the mic.

"Hey, man," Faro says. "Question. Why'd you bring your suitcase?"

That's odd... you left it at the hotel.

He looks around "Erm... I didn't, or at least don't remember bringing it..." He looks around again then walks over to it looking for any suspicious modification to it that might indicate a booby trap. "Hey Faro, you still got that bracelet I gave you yesterday?" Either way he plays it cool and gets ready for the gig by warming his triple set of vocal chords up with some complex harmonies.

The suitcase is just off-stage. You don't remember putting it there... nothing suspicious about how it looks... you don't really want to think about it... why do you always get so distracted when looking at your suitcase?

Faro produces the bracelet.

"Yeah, why?" he asks.

Is there anything in the suitcase that Alek couldn't manage without?

He shrugs at Faro "Just wanna have some fun is all!" He wanders down into the crowd and slips the bracelet into someones pocket while they're not looking then heads back to start the show.

He walks on singing a single pure note, then joins it with a harmony, then finishes with the final note making a soulful minor chord. As the band strike up he shouts "Good evening!" then throws himself into the song.

No... just your average gear, really. Clothes and any other personal belongings.

It is Intrusion to slip the bracelet into someone's pocket without their notice. Something you are good at! Consider it placed.

The crowd is not quite as huge as the previous night but there is quite at turn-out for a short-notice show. The Karkarvans must really like your stuff!

Sure enough, a little past halfway, you notice your stranger seated in a booth in the back watching intently.

Ah nothing that he can't afford to lose if necessary...

Alek pretends not to notice him and continues to bellow out the songs as only he can, after the stress of the last couple of days he really gives it his all throwing every ounce of emotion in the music as he can.

You have always had a stage presence no matter where you have performed, Alek. Your audience is entranced and mirrors your mood, beginning to act rowdy and borderline violent. There is loud applause for a dive bar and even the Stranger claps for your performance.

"Good show, man," Faro says to you.

"yeah" Alek says a bit distracted as he tries to make his way through the crowd to the stranger.
"hey, hi, can we talk some place?" he asks the guy

Faro watches you go, then shrugs and heads offstage.

"Besides here?" the man asks.

"I dunno if its safe!" He looks around the continues "Some guy from some local government bureau picked me up and was asking if I knew you" he looks around again "something tells me you're more my kinda scum than he is... So who are you?"

"It's not local," the man corrects. "My name is Takuan Soho. Do you remember that name? Do you remember me?"

"No, I get a strange feeling that I should know you but I don't remember anything of my life before waking up in a med unit some months ago!" He still looks around suspiciously, then squares up Takuan "what is this all about? Do you know something about my past? Can you make sense of the meaningless flashbacks I have in my dreams?"

Whoa! You haven't been having any flashbacks.

Your past is indeed hazy, though; the hospital you awoke couldn't tell what had happened to you.

"I do," Takuan says. "At least in part."

(Yeah, sorry 'flashbacks' is too strong a term, but you did say Alek had a strange feeling when he first met the guy, so I was trying to play with that thought.)

"So what about it?" He starts to look urgent "I want to know what this is all about!"

"I can't tell you everything now," Takuan says. "It's not safe here."

Alek relaxes a bit "Okay, when, where and what do you want me to
tell that bureau guy? He's looking for you and will want a report soon!"

"You'll tell him nothing," Takuan says. "If all goes well, you'll never see him again."

He smiles "Right, okay then, if he pulls me in again I'll foist him off with a load of bantha poodoo!" Again he looks around "But for now I've got audiences to please..." He starts to turn away "Don't be a stranger."

You try to get up, but Takuan reaches out and grabs your wrist.

"No," he says. "This isn't your life that you're living. You need to put this behind you."

He stops mid stand and says "Who the whaa!" as stares down at Takuan "What the frell you talking about man?"

"I mean, this isn't who you are. It is only what you would be."

Takuan looks to the door, and you follow his gaze; a pair of those piggish aliens working for the Bureau have entered the bar.

"We need to leave. Go get your things."

Alek looks up "Ah the mean looking dudes return..." He shows Takuan his blaster "Got all I need here, lets go!" He follows Takuan lead "So what would I be, if not a singer in a band?" He asks as they make to leave.

"No," Takuan says. "You NEED that case. Retrieve it, and then we can leave quietly. Blasters have no meaning for Osokans."

"Oookaay..." He replies, as he runs for the case. He grabs hold of Faro and quickly says "Gotta split, been a blast, you take care!" He then swings the bag over his shoulder and looks and heads for Takuan.

Well now, the Osokans have moved between you and the stage...

(Now how did I know that would happen... doh)

"Hmm, that screws things up a bit unless you have any ideas!" He asks Takuan.
Given the bar is pretty crowded, is there any way he can sneak through the audience and get around them to the stage?

That will be Strength + Intrusion, pushing your way through unnoticed.