Jessa manages to palm the EMP disruptor and two emergency repair patches without leaving any indication that they were ever there. She notices a few restraining bolts in the workshop, as well.
Spoiler:
Still time to swipe another item if you'd like. Restraining bolts are same difficulty as the patches, although everything gets both the DP upgrade and a now.
Meanwhile...
Nosaurian Clerk
[The Nosaurian scans the document for a moment.]
"OK, let's have a look. Ah, right! You're the Blueshift Echoes! Part of the entertainment. Whew, I thought I was going to have to go through the whole rigmarole, what's-the-password, speakeasy thing. Right… so we've got Meshel Kevon, Targus Jhonez, Voron Forr, Jessa Biela, and somebody named Gheise."
[He looks back to Gheise, Raysel, Voron, and Meshel.]
"There's only four of you. Where's the fifth Echo?"
Targus notices Jessa's quick fingered grabs, but says nothing, as he is lost in thought about what is going on. The lack of droids is bothering him as well. BD-BD's warning is well put as he thinks about it. "Jessa I'm gonna deffer to your judgement on this, more you scene than mine. BD has a bad feeling about things and I kinda feel the same way. But at the same time I want to know more. And what is up with those monitors? A hidden basement maybe? But why the vids of the same area? Or is it three different vids? And we have a gig to get to."
"My best guess is that it is a pit fighting arena....for droids. Battle to the death. BD better start helping us out because if WE can't leave here, then neither does HE!"
"But at the same time.....Let's get out of here. It's not worth our time anymore."
Spoiler:
Jess tries to make a Coercion roll vs BD. Not knowing the difficulty or boost/boosts that may apply, the GM can roll that. Jessa removes a Setback die for Coercion.
As he scans the three monitors, Targus notices that they seem to be three views of the same general area. Jessa's guess seems as good as any: The place looks like some sort of pit with planks of wood around the perimeter. Another monitor shows a Duros with a blowtorch hunched over an astromech droid. Other deactivated droids sit around him in various states of disassembly. A third monitor is fixed on what seems to be a door.
Suddenly there's some movement on the monitor with the door. The little Nosaurian appears. He exits camera view but reappears on the screen with the Duros. There's no sound.
Spoiler:
Figuring out how to turn on the sound is an Easy Computers check upgraded with a DP () and with a for feeling rushed.
Gaise looks at the gatekeeper and then addresses the female Nosaurian, "Actually we are three of us are members of the band and this is our makeup stylist and costumer, the only person I trust to do the job honestly. Our other two members, a Twilek woman and a young Zabrak, got held up but will be along shortly."
Targus looks at the Duros, a sudden realization coming to him. "I knew the name seemed familiar, hi Hazz. Yes I used to work for Ruffus and still do some work for Siem on my off time from the Echoes. How have you been? Missed you at Ruffus' funeral. So, what's going on with opening night?"
[Hazz reaches up and flips a switch. The alarm stops.]
”Ah, you know. Just making ends meet. Owner of this club needed a droid tech, someone who wasn't involved with Industrial Automaton. Club opens tonight, underground droid fights, rich twits, betting, you know how it is. So what happened with this alarm?”
“Got me bud.”Meshel says giving the direction of the alarm an honest confused look. Seeing the blaster he raises his hands showing them empty and non-threatening.
“Great, first Raysel’s kit gets nicked, then someone tries ta steal our droids, now this. Ghaise, I’m startin’ ta get the feeling this just ain’t our night. ”
[The clerk keeps the blaster in view but picks up a comlink. There's a brief conversation in a language of whistles, clicks, and trills.]
"Lothio's on his way to escort you inside."
Spoiler:
= no time to ask questions!
[The clerk presses a button under the counter. The sound of servos churning rattles a wall of washing machines lining the wall at the far left of the shop. One of the larger machines hisses, and the front loading door opens.]
Lothio
[A white-scaled Nosaurian is there holding what appears to be a vibrospear.]
Really Hazz? Droid fights? I thought you better than that." Targus says, a note of disdain in his voice. He has never agreed with droid fights and always thought of them more as friends. Genius was a good example of that dumber than Hutt slime, but he was still a friend. "What club is this anyway? We're supposed to have gig around here somewhere, our friends are at the laundromat around the corner waiting." He states completely ignoring the alarm question.
[Hazz starts fiddling with a datapad jacked into the monitors.]
”Hey, easy. You know how tough it is out there. Better droid fights than alien fights. Way things are going with the City Council it may be you and me in the ring before long….”
[One of the monitors now mirrors the display on the Duros's pad.]
"The fights are for this Club Flutterplume. They've got all sorts of casino games in there, too. Opens tonight. You playing this place tonight? Makes us coworkers, I guess. I can let you through here. The secret laundromat entrance is mostly for patrons.”
[The screen flickers.]
"OK, just a moment and the screen should show me who messed with the system….”
”You old devil! Eavesdropping. Don't blame you with how messed up things are. Hope you didn't hear me badmouth this place too much. Don't know much about Flutterplume, actually. Just that the owner—this Gozer guy—hates droids. Guess it has something to do with his family owning IA. So, uh, yeah. I'm not sure you should bring these two droids in with you. Not unless you want them to be put in the ring against a Nubian businessman who's an angry drunk?”
[You follow Lothio down a narrow passage that runs behind the stage. The alarm continues to sound.]
"The Corragut gangs say this quarter is theirs, but we haven't had trouble—until tonight. It's a poor neighborhood, but Engothian Gozer's not a man to cross. The 'guts know that."
[The mention of Corraguts doesn't surprise you. You know of the hulking, furred aliens. There have been gang problems with them in recent years after Corragut refugees have flooded Nubia and met resistance from local Nubian employers.]
Taking to Hazz's warning, Jessa sees an opportunity to extradite herself from this situation. "You know what...let's just forget about those droids for the time-being and move along to the Flutterplume Club. After all, they're ONLY droids. Ha-ha-ha... We can deal with the droids later. Right now, we're late and I'm excited to see the club! That's what we came here for anyways!"
"BD, Genius.....you'd better wait somewhere else. Maybe OOM can escort you back home?"
"Sure, sure. If it's the three droids I think it is, I've only really started tinkering with one of 'em. We can talk about it another time.”
[He gives BD-BD and Genius a once-over.]
"So what do we do with these two? Sure you don't want to 'donate' them to the pits, Targus? I'd consider it a favor. Maybe I can convince some of the other techs you owe money to to lay off a bit.”
Spoiler:
Targus can lower his Obligation: Debt by 2 if he agrees to part with Genius.
Targus didn't even give the offer a moment's thought. "First of all, even if I wanted to sell either one of them I wouldn't do it for a droid fight. Second BD is owned by the band as a whole. And lastly both droids are my friends and one doesn't sell friends, plus I have plans for Genius here." He finishes with a Pat on the smaller droid's head.
"It's too bad, really. I could really see the the astromech getting some good play in the pits. The pit droid? Good for folks who want to let off some steam for a few hundred creds. Got pit droid parts all over the place down there.”
Genius
[Bleeeet!]
Spoiler:
"No thanks!"
Hazz
"So if you won't part with your droids here, they should probably head back home. Once they're off, I'll take you inside.”
"Well, Hazz, you know our group and how famous wee are and how famous we're going to become. Surely you can find a way to sneak these two droid assistants into our dressing room, can't you?"
[Genius's frame jerks like a monkey-lizard with its tail in a power coupling. The droid emits a shrill squeal. His frame collapses together and folds, making him only a few centimeters tall, mostly all head. Looks like Jessa's plea to Hazz scared the little droid senseless.]
Spoiler:
Genius takes 4 Strain damage. As a minion, the damage affects Wounds, putting him at double his Wound Threshold. He's out until Targus can attend to him.
Hazz
[Hazz stares at the pile of droid for a beat.]
"Hey, lady, you don't have to tell me twice. Your droid's not going to do you much good like that, anyway.”
[He heads toward the door opposite the one you came in.]
"If anybody asks, your other droid's… uh… Tell 'em… Tell 'em you're doing a little side work for the pits, Targ.”
