IC: Praxon
The Billiard Room

The Chiss presented an interesting challenge, one where he typically would’ve acted coy to appeal to his audience’s sensibilities, but that quickly changed when the observation droid bumped into him from behind and slightly angled his shoulders to force an engagement. Praxon, rankled by the droid’s impudence, whirled on the automaton and slapped it away from his personal space.

"Mind your business, droid," he growled under his breath. "I have enough to worry about without you dictating my actions. One has to wonder what your boss hopes to achieve by toying with us." He thrust his index finger at the droid’s photoreceptor, clearly intending to prove a point. "You better believe he’ll be hearing from my lawyer at the end of this."

He glared at the droid a moment longer before turning away, straightening the collar of his jacket in the process. However, by this point, Medb had retreated from the room to investigate other possibilities, essentially eliminating any hopes of fulfilling the promised challenge. That left him alone with Bellorum. He wasn't exactly thrilled to entertain her, but at least she was better than nothing.

"It looks like I don’t have a choice," Praxon muttered as he sauntered over to the billiard table and raised his brow to regard the woman. "I’m not opposed to a game, but let’s raise the stakes a little, shall we?"

He glanced over his shoulder and hooked his thumb at the droid. "I accept your wager, plus 200 extra if you can clear the room of our eavesdropping friends."

TAG: @Lady_Belligerent; @Mitth_Fisto

 

Doctor Bellorum
Billiard Room, Lord Semolurian Divertium’s Mansion near Bespin

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, she was aware that Praxon would’ve rather entertained the red head, the man was too hot for his own good. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes she replied, “Ah, a game within a game? I like that.”

She laid her cue on the table, and slid her fingertips along the felt top until they grazed the cue ball. Her eyes met Praxon’s and she slowly smirked, “I accept your wager.”

Picking it up, she quickly turned on the droid nearest her and began smashing it’s photoreceptors with the ball. Using the Force she slowly backed it towards the doors, and then switched to bash on the droid that annoyed Praxon. “Get out you bloody little beasts, we no longer require your assistance, shoo!’

Tag: @Mitth_Fisto @HanSolo29

 

IC: The Master

Canapes?

He was nearly so distracted he missed One's reply.

"No."

Of course.

The Master actually growled.

"Abner, does your butler'ing mean you're happy to perform dirty work? Like throwing out defective units?"

Unit Three had stepped back towards the door, it cracked it open in preparation for it's subject to follow it out to the Kitchen when it could softly be heard the growing of a noise - droid monotone voices saying No on an endless refrain.

No,no,no,no,no,no -

Brandishing the Dataspike as if a blade, the Master looked alarmed, pointing back that way.

He ignored what Abner replied and stepped after, seeing Two and Six -

Bellorum and Praxon's?

"Come on -"

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto, @darthhelinith, @HanSolo29, @Lady_Belligerent

 

Doctor Bellorum
Billiard Room, Lord Semolurian Divertium’s Mansion near Bespin

“There we are,” Bell said and leaned down to break. “ I do believe I took the first round, no?”

She stopped her shot and looked over to Praxon to ask, “are you feeling lucky? Double or nothing?”

It was typical Bellorum, she didn’t wait for an answer, she just did what she wanted to do because the Dark Lady was used to having things her way.

Eyes still on Praxon, she flipped the cue and so that it faced away from the rack. It was a risky trick, but when it works the results are dazzling.

Aiming carefully to put some backspin on the cue, she followed through with power, smashing the rack to sink four balls.

Bell lifted her palm and summoned the chalk to her hand. “I’m not at all invested in finding a murderer when there’s no pay out. Do you care who knocked off the Lord, Praxon?” Bell asked.

Her next shot was interrupted by the voice of Zaal speaking up from the doorway.
"Don't suppose you two have gotten any evidence as to who may have knocked the old geezer off have you?"

Bellorum squinted briefly at the Lannik and shrugged, “not a clue.” Her answer was abrupt, and in a bored tone. “Do hurry up and find the killer before I exhaust every possible source of entertainment here,” her eyes lingered on Praxon for a moment before taking that next shot.

Tag: @Mitth_Fisto @HanSolo29 @ConservativeJedi321

 

IC: Praxon
The Billiard Room

It was truly a wonder to watch Bellorum achieve the impossible. Not only was she an ace billiard player, sinking shot after shot into the pocket, but she dispensed with the droids with relative ease. Praxon hadn’t gauged her as a Force user, though now that she had revealed her special gift, it only added to her charm.

Was it cheating?

Maybe.

But at this point, he didn’t particularly care.

He merely stood with his shoulder pressed against the wall, one hand resting casually on the cue stick as he watched her execute another lucky shot. In fact, he was so enthralled by her presence that he failed to notice the diminutive Lannik sulking in the doorway. It wasn’t until the man inquired about the murder that Praxon lifted his chin and scowled.

However, before he could berate the man for intruding, Bellorum intervened, offering her opinion on the fraudulent investigation.

"I like her way of thinking," Praxon noted with a smile, stepping forward to join the conversation. "It’s an elaborate ploy, nothing more. Someone is toying with us, and I have no intentions of playing along." A shadow seemed to pass over his countenance. "Unless they want to deal with my lawyers. I’m more than happy to play that game."

He scoffed lightly, casting a sideways glance at Bellorum. "I may need the credits after the doctor is through showing off." With a sweep of his hand, he indicated the billiard table. "See that? She’s not even giving me a chance to prove myself."

TAG: @Lady_Belligerent; @ConservativeJedi321; @Mitth_Fisto

 

OOC: Little combo with our esteemed GM

IC: Rugel Juhn
Ballroom, the storm

The walk to the Ballroom was mostly silent, except for the sound of the monitoring droid following Juhn. That sound reminded him that they’d all been assigned droids to accompany them yet at least one of the droids was already acting in a peculiar manner. It made him wonder what else was going on in the mansion. His only interactions with others had proved only semi formal, the cloaked ’Master’ and the little Odosius both had revealed a tidbits of information about themselves and what they believed was happening, convincing him to only reveal a little about himself.

He was still considering that as he approached the room he’d told Odosius he’d be heading to next. The doors swung open onto a space that almost made the Professor grimace. He’d been in plenty of these rooms, often to talk up some rich being so that he could assist the University to obtain more funding. Often it was required to wear a full tuxedo, a very confining garment, and drink extremely expensive alcohol, while trying to remain sober enough to speak to the potential funders.

He slowly crossed the large space to the window at the far end. Behind him, the droid followed, with him sure that it was recording all he was doing. He pulled out the small datapad from one pocket, linking it to the systems that controlled the windows. As the programs installed worked through how it might be possible to open the window and catch the scent of the beasts outside or the storm itself, to find out if there was something in it to explain their behavior, he turned to the droid again.

”I’ve spoken to a couple others already, but…is it possible for you to notify me whether any potential murder weapons have been proven not to have done the deed? As well, have my dataspike or the research documents I came here for been located?”

He doubted the droid would be that forthcoming but it had been worth the try to find out.

"Yes." The droid chimed and in a manner answered the question. It powered up it's holoprojector and displayed an image of the dataspike as well as the book it had been found inside, and then the pile of books where that had been found. This answered the final question, as a note had been appended that the fingerprints on the dataspike matched the late Master and Rugel Juhn. As the man's name was attached it seemed available information for the query that had been posited.

The program was continuing to run as Juhn turned to see the projection that the droid had created. His eyes widened and he coughed in his surprise. His long ears flicked back and forth as his eyes narrowed again. ”That is..”

His datapad vibrated, the program having finally overcome the lockdown on the windows. ”That is my dataspike and those are the books our host said he had but hadn’t shown me yet. Please ask the Butler to bring them to me.”

Turning back to the window, he watched the airsquids and the crab gliders making their various assaults on the mansion, continuing the trend he’d seen from the other side of the house. He waited for the droid to do as he’d requested.

ASP Shadow Unit 7 beeped and stepped back to attention as it tried to signal it's fellow unit ASP SU 3.

Then it let out a raspberry noise at the odd situation. Turning it went to the door and opened it. From which the constant refrains of "No. No. No." repeating could be heard growing louder.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Juhn sighed. He glanced back out at the storm, if the droid wasn’t going to get the message where it needed to go then he’d have to do so himself. But first, the storm and the beasts.

”Bring that one in here, the constant sound is beginning to grate.”

The Unit 7 beeped as a holoprojection showed a blue field with the numeral 3 that then went red with a negative "No." before it was replaced by another field showing the wrench with a nut in green indicating the sign for repairs. Then the field disappeared as the unit shook it's head.

Juhn shook his head, having to resettle his spectacles on his nose afterward. ”Then leave it, shut the door as it is becoming an annoyance. After all, it is not your concern, is it? That would be me.” Droids operated on logic and whether this one had a rudimentary AI or not those protocols existed and he was sure the droid would rejoin him.

Unit 7 closed the door and walked forward. This person was correct, this units present job was to observe and record. Coming to stand facing the man’s left shoulder it resumed its primary function.

Moving closer to the window as the droid rejoined him, Juhn gestured at the display through the transparent material. ”Have you any date about the airsquids or the crab gliders ever being so riled up or attacking the manse so much?” he asked, casually, one and tapping on the datapad in it, just waiting for the droid to be as close to the window as he was.

Stepping forward the droid peered out. Due to a recent memory wipe the droid had no such knowledge. Shrugging it looked out of the glass window. Observing the creatures in question.

Hoping his movement was out of line of sight of the droid’s receptors, Juhn grasped firmly to the coming of the window as, with the fingers on the pad, he ordered the window open on the storm. ”Perhaps a closer look is in order.”

Stepping forward the droid stopped and turned to fully face this eared subject. "No." it stated in the same monotone. Its mission had just been clearly stated: It was to observe this one. Not animals outside.

Smiling at the droid, ”Programming, so simple.” he muttered. Still gripping tightly, he activated the window’s opening mechanism. As the storm began to suck air from the ballroom, he was glad that he’d chosen to wear the thicker but stylish in appearance shoes that he would when walking around a dig site. With a quick, hard thrust, he aimed a kick at the middle of the droid’s torso, intent on knocking it out into the storm outside.

Metal arms grasped for the eared one and missed as it had reached for arms and a foot had been provided as the storm raged! Falling backward from the push and the sucking air it soon found its fall arrested as one metal hand closed on the middle lip of the window frame. With an obstruction detected the window would not close again, not unless one knew the override code which was much more securely encoded than that to prevent a window from opening - odd where some programmers put the emphasis of safety.

Outside an airsquid paused in it's upward flight, it didn't dart down, not yet, but seemed to just hang there, watching.

Juhn could feel the pull as the pressure began to equalize, his long ears bending towards the window. His head flicked back and forth in a slight shake as he saw the droid grasped the window frame. He could see it bobbing in the wind, just holding tight enough to not be drawn out into the storm.

Looking past it, he could hear the howl and surge of the winds, the cries of the airsquids and crab flyers as they darted around the mansion. Dull rumbles sounded as the creatures, in other areas, continued their assault of the floating building but there was a slight lull around the ballroom. His head tilted slightly to the side as he saw one of the large airsquids seemingly watching the events at the windows.

”No…plan survives first contact with the enemy.”* came from him in a wry tone. Lifting his pad, he flipped through audio files. It took a couple moments to find what he wanted, turning the volume of the pad as high as he could, with the roar of the outside wind. What came out from the speaker was a mix of what was supposed to be, something he was now testing if it was, the call of an airsquid to another so as to get the second to join the first as well as what he supposed was the pained cry of what could be airsquid prey, as another of it’s kind attacked it.

The waiting airsquid hearing the cry let off an answering refrain before surging down at attack speeds. Juhn would soon note that the squid wasn't aiming to attack the droid, it was aiming to enter through the open window to find this other airsquid and prey!

It was then just at what surely must have seemed the last second a glider came up from below, a pair of claws pulling on the droid causing its grip to slip. As soon as the hand was out of the way the window closed, causing the attacking airsquid to slam the glider crab and the droid against the window - resounding with the noise of an ominous thundering crack!

A shatter indent was evident at the points of impact, which quickly began to spider out to each other and to the edges of the window. The glider crab lifeless tumbled away with the ASP droid still tangled in its legs, as the airsquid swirled in the air outside, turning again to the closed window it seemed intent now on ramming its way through.

Juhn watched the enraged airsquid for several moments, before he turned off the audio file. He was sure that wouldn’t stop the creature’s actions but it should keep others from immediately joining the first. A small, thin lipped smile was on his face, having seen the droid that had been following him falling away with the dead glider crab.

Turning away from the crazed window, he paced across the ballroom floor. Nearing the door, he muttered, ”Now…should I warn the others or let them discover that they might be sharing the ballroom with an airsquid or not…?” Stepping out of the doors, he closed them behind him, the sound of the creature ramming the glass becoming a dull sound.

”Hmmmm, perhaps the dataspike and paperwork is in the study, need to find them.” he murmured, striding off across the tile of the corridor.

TAGS: @Mitth_Fisto, @ConservativeJedi321, @darthhelinith, @Sinrebirth, @Lady_Belligerent, @adaml83, @HanSolo29

*German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke

 

IC: Abner & The Master
Library

Canapes?

He was nearly so distracted he missed One's reply.

"No."

Of course.

The Master actually growled.

"Abner, does your butler'ing mean you're happy to perform dirty work? Like throwing out defective units?"

Unit Three had stepped back towards the door, it cracked it open in preparation for it's subject to follow it out to the Kitchen when it could softly be heard the growing of a noise - droid monotone voices saying No on an endless refrain.

No,no,no,no,no,no -

Brandishing the Dataspike as if a blade, the Master looked alarmed, pointing back that way.

He ignored what Abner replied and stepped after, seeing Two and Six -

Bellorum and Praxon's?

"Come on -The butler nodded.

"Very good sir."

He left the pink duster on the table and reached down to pick up Unit One, but was distracted by the sound of Two and Six.

Instead, he stood up straight, brushed himself down and followed the Master.

It appeared that all thoughts of the kitchen and lunch had been forgotten.

Unit Three stepped out of the way. Unit One gathered itself from it's position and made to follow the two.

Out in the rounding hallway The Master and the Butler would see Bellorum and Praxon's units - one obviously blinded with shattered photoreceptors and waving a free arm about as the other dragged it along, both now chattering a chorus of no's. They turned and made down the stairs towards what the guests would surely remember as the small hanger bay, and the emergency escape pod doors opposite that they had been instructed to sequester themselves in once they had finished deducing who the killer was and logging it in the escape pods computer.

"They're running!"

The Master pointed at his unit, and then at the other two.

"Stop them!"

Unit One paused in following to look at the black hooded one, “No.”

The Master threw his hands up in the air in utter frustration.

He rolled up his sleeves, feathered arms showing, gloved hands evident, and he stepped forward to the droid.

"I am actually going to rewire you myself if this carries on."

Abner stepped past One, intending to reach forward and grab both units Two and Six suspending them in the air.

Grasping an arm Abner yanked as very few besides a Gamorrean boar can yank. The Unit Two was being pulled back as the other arm of the Butler was shooting forward to Unit Two when - the arm of Unit Two disconnected causing the two droids to fall and tumble down the stairs to the lower level. Which left them in a tumbled heap of straining droid limbs making plaintive beeping noises.

The Master sighed, placed a hand on his forehead. “Sith me.”

“Right,” he said, stepping. “Before my porcine friend removes anymore limbs, perhaps one of you could elucidate?”

Abner blinked, only an eyebrow raised ever so slightly to suggest that he was surprised at how little effort it had taken to remove a limb, which had not been his intent.

Hopefully the droids would be more in mind to cooperate, although...

"Without a protocol droid to translate binary, we may be reaching the limit as to information we can extract from these tea-kettles, sir."

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto

 

Doctor Bellorum
Billiard Room, Lord Semolurian Divertium’s Mansion near Bespin

“Prove yourself?” Bellorum asked playfully. “Would you like the opportunity to prove yourself now? I’ll rack and you break this time.” She said and went to gather the balls.

“Let me know if you’d like any help,” she laughed.

Looking around she thought although the Lord’s billiard room was nice, she probably needed to try and appear as if she wanted to find the murder.

That was when she spotted the droid cowering behind Odosius in the doorway, crossing the room quickly she said to it, “what are you up to? I think you snooping droids know more than you’re telling us about the Lord’s murder.” She growled at the droid so it would know she meant business.

Tag: @Mitth_Fisto @HanSolo29

 

OOC: Fun with ou GM, Sinrebirth, and Helinith

Juhn, the Master, and Abner
Outside The Ballroom

Juhn passed the dancing droid, shaking his head at its antics. Whoever had done so had gotten as creative as he had, if not moreso, in removing the constant watcher from their presence. Which meant they were someone to keep an eye on if he found out which of the guests it was. Getting closer to the stairs he had to sigh.

Stepping closer, another sigh escaped him. That hooded lunatic had his dataspike in his hands. What was more worrisome was the fact that the man was gesticulating with it as though it could actually be a weapon. He walked slowly closer to the man and the butler, until he was as close as he dared for the moment.

Clearing his throat to get their attention, ”I do believe you have something of mine there, in your hands.” he stated, gesturing at the dataspike.

The Master looked at his hands, following the gesture and brandishing the dataspike. "So you confess?"

Glancing at the butler, Juhn shook his head with a snort. ”That cloak must make you deaf or dense.” he muttered, ”You were there when I had it proven that I am not the killer.”

"I am neither and yet both," the Master said, abashed. "But I am prone to dramatic excess over factual replies." His voice was suitably chagrined.

"But if it is yours... how did it become a potential murder weapon, I wonder?"

The butler stepped forward, as stoic as ever, the ASP arm now tucked neatly under his arm.
"It is possible it was tidied away by a cleaning droid."
The disdain in his voice was evident.

The Master huffed. "Then if so, that cleaning droid has the blood in its databanks."

He waved the dataspike, looked closer for identifying features. "And you know this is yours, how?"

”Because…” Juhn glanced back in the general direction of the Ballroom, ”...prior to an unfortunate accident, my shadow of a droid related to me that it was mine. As well as gave me data of the research materials that were with it when it was found, materials our deceased host was to provide me.”

”Not to mention…” a half smile crossed his face as he gestured at the spike, ”if you look at the base, there is a small, calligraphic RJ etched into it, my initials of course.”

"An unfortunate accident," the Master actual scoffed, before turning the spike and looking even closer. "What would that accident be?"

"For an 'innocent sentient' you are full of coincidences, aren't you?"

He indicated his porcine colleague. "Shall I have my comrade here shake it out of you a bit more clearly?"

Peering over at the mentioned sentient over the rim of his spectacle, Juhn chuckled. ”Based on the hardworking Butler’s expression I’d say you’ve made him just as much of a boon companion as you did me.” he quipped before turning back to the Master.

”As to my observer…unfortunately the failsafes on the windows of the Ballroom failed and an airsquid…” his eyes glazed as he turned off on a tangent, ”Interesting creatures, and seem to hold a grudge against the mansion, did you know they’ve been attacking it all morning, under the cover of the storm?”

"The Airsquid are a common nuisance at this altitude, Sir. They tend to become more daring during the breeding season and have frequently attempted to nest on the roof in the past."
The butler adjusted his monocle slightly, his face souring at the memory. The mess.
"There are those groups who enjoy a regular though limited income from hunting them with modified craft, and the late master would send them a gratuity once a year on Life day, though I rather suspect they have been grounded by the storm. Sir mentioned the ballroom windows?"

Realizing he’d fallen off topic slightly, Juhn’s ears twitched. He turned to the Butler. ”Yes…one of them opened while I was in the Ballroom. I guess the pressure differential caused the air to somewhat evacuate the room, with the unfortunate side effect of my droid being swept out of the window.”

Holding out one hand towards the Master, ”The dataspike, if your eyes are not sharp enough I can show you exactly where my initials are engraved.”

The two monitoring droids stepped further to the sides of the grouping. The missing one of their number as well as the butler casually holding onto another damaged unit's arm was most distressing. At the mention of how the third missing from this grouping of observed individuals the two let out a low moan. From the bottom of the stairs a whirring noise sounded, and if those present were to look down they would see that the two ASPs at the bottom of the stairs had cables attached to them that were quickly drawn taunt before the pair was rapidly dragged down the hall and out of sight.

"Hey!" The Master turned after the droids, lightly tossing the Dataspike to Abner and heading after them at a sprint -

Juhn spun as the cloaked one tossed his dataspike to the Butler, almost spinning more as the man took off after the droids that had been nearby, observing. ”I’m beginning to truly dislike that man.” he muttered.

He’d not seen all the cloaked one had, ”Please return my property.” he said to Abner, ”I will secure it and then we can find out what that crazy man is doing.”

The butler handed it over in a gloved hand- there was no reason to keep hold of it.
"Sir will appreciate it would be unprofessional to comment on the actions of any guest." He stated simply.
For a moment, he was torn between following the trail and heading back upstairs to check the ballroom was secure, but, since the late master's demise, there really was little rationale any more beyond his own tired sense of duty.
He turned neatly on his heel to follow The Master.

Coming down the rest of the stairs the duo leading the charge would be a low level treaded service or maintenance droid sitting in front of a space of wall at the far end of the hall. It was retracting the tow cables applied to the two ASP units and was actively drawing them towards it. What might strike those present, the butler especially, is that the open section of wall that the droid was sitting in front of - was normally a solid wall without any opening. The droid seeing them backed up while actively reeling the ASP in so that it was back behind the wall in whatever hall was behind it.

Having taken his dataspike from the butler, Juhn held in a snort at the comment. Tucking it away in a sleeve inside his top, he saw the large figure heading after the cloaked one. Sighing that yet another mystery of the place was being revealed, he paused as he tried to decide whether to see what was revealed or if he should just continue his own inquiries. The decision was swiftly made and he turned, adjusting his spectacles, following the pair, to see what was happening with the droids.

Abner paused in his tracks, frowning.
"I was not aware there was a service corridor here."
He sprinted forwards suddenly, determined to place himself in the gap and prevent the hidden wall from closing before they reached it.

The Master saw the wall closing, glanced over and saw Abner lunging forward, and made a split second decision that the Gamorrean would be better placed to keep the door open -

The hidden wall was closing, its metal slab gliding silently across the opening when Abner just got his body between it and the frame in an attempt to stop the door from closing. Only it didn't stop moving! The droids were now out of sight, as Abner would feel the pressure mounting on the door slowly but surely kept ramping up the strength behind it to close.

Just as Abner would be sure it was going to crush him the door gave a single mournful tone as the edge of the door pulsed red as it opened once more. As soon as Abner moved out of the way, in or out, the door would pulse red again before starting to close all over again - except now if Abner stepped back in front of it it would open again. For whatever odd reason the door would not respond the same to anyone else, restarting it's test of strength all over again.

The Master watched the interplay and looked back at Juhn.

"Um, ideas?"

The boar grunted in satisfaction as the door released from his girth and immediately stopped and straightened his uniform. There was now a greasy mark on his waistcoat- he regarded it with some disdain- though he knew better than to try and rub it off.
That would require baking soda.

He flexed and rolled his shoulders, before placing an arm firmly across the doorway, challenging it to close on him again and nodding wordlessly to The Master and Professor to pass through.

”Ideas?!?” he asked, having witnessed the feat of strength that the Butler had used to open the door wider and then had seen it start to close again. ”My idea is that I’m glad that the Butler is willing to keep the door open for us.” he said, a touch nervous as he knew that he’d never have the strength to fight the door. Walking over to it, he ducked under the arm, nodding in thanks to the large butler as he passed through the doorway.

The service corridor was cramped, dark with absolutely minimal lighting, but it was smooth. Everything was behind a clear glass holding cables and items back allowing a smooth smoky glass hallway. The Master and possibly Juhn would recognize the dark tint of the glass to hint that it was one way glass, why have it looking at the cables and pipes of this place though? Shortly the hall ended in a T-junction with a choice of right which would parallel the hanger, or left where they could still hear the sounds of the dragged droids. It was at this point that the hidden door they entered through, and source of most of their light, would close. Leaving them with a choice to make. Push further in, venture away, or see if the way back was truly blocked to them.

The butler stood at the beginning of the corridor, his brow furrowed.
He was trying to figure out how this corridor lined up with the floorplan above- whether it was crossing back on the way they had already come, or whether it was heading into an entirely different part of the complex. The lack of light was not helping matters, but perhaps more clues would help.

Without anything to use as a light, he used one arm to feel along the wall as he walked, reaching the t-junction, before stopping and silently waiting for his companions.

The Master caught up, slowly, but then wondered, checking his own sense of direction. Which admittedly was crummy, but he was pretty sure...

He pointed one way. "The hangar is that way."

"The droids went that way."

He looked at the others.

"Bye."

He ran towards the hangar.

Juhn was just as slow as the cloaked one in reaching the Butler. When the cloaked one took off he shook his head, seems that that one wasn’t as much interested in figuring out the truth as he was doing whatever he wanted.

Reaching to his back pocket he brought out a couple small leads, attaching them to the ends of the arms of his spectacles. Touching the corner of them, a green glow formed between the glass and his eyes. He nodded at the Butler, ”Guess he doesn’t want to know the truth. But, if you would like some assistance, I truly want to know what’s happening here.”

TAGS: @Mitth_Fisto, @darthhelinith, @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Praxon
The Billiard Room

A hint of a smirk flitted across Praxon’s lips, though he did not move to accept the cue from Bellorum’s proffered hand. At this point, he was done playing games, including the billiard contest, the droids, and everything else related to the investigation. He was more inclined to relax and merely watch the chaos unfold around him.

Ultimately, his reply reflected those sentiments.

"That’s not necessary," he murmured as he held up a hand to forestall her protests. "Let’s call it a draw, and I’ll cover any restitutions. I think that’s a fair deal, right?"

He trailed off, his attention momentarily drawn to the Ambassador and the flurry of droids hovering near the entrance. It was evident they were still trying to find the killer, which brought a scowl to his features. It was time to move on.

Pushing away from the table, Praxon gestured amicably toward Bellorum. "How about a bite to eat? I’m starved."

TAG: @Lady_Belligerent: @ConservativeJedi321; @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: The Master and GM c-c-c-combo!

The confidence of a dead end.

Darkness.

A wrong turn.

Darkness.

Three lefts make a right!

Darkness.

He couldn't precisely turn left.

Darkness.

Wall, wall, wall.

Darkness.

Pat, pat, pat.

Darkness.

Thrusting out with senses invisible.

Darkness.

Trip.

Ouch.

Darkness.

That was his literal own foot he'd tripped over.

Left foot, of course.

Darkness.

He stood, gingerly, pulled his hood back up, briefly thankful for the shadows that had hidden his True face.

A stretch of his arms; a yawn.

Darkness.

Bunched fists on hips.

A deep breath.

Darkness.

"Hellooooooooo!"

"Yes?" Came the sudden reply from Unit One that had made its way slowly down the hall following after it's charge. The soft whirring of the servos having been lost to the moment.

"Oh there you are," he said, looking back and relying upon what little light its photoreceptors created. "I thought we'd broken up."

He waved a hand; couldn't see it, in the dark, but went on. "I don't suppose you can explain an endlessly black, black corridor like this?"

"No." The unit replied before it's photoreceptors flashed to a higher output, whereby they functioned like mini-torches or flashlights in the dark hall. With their illumination added for the benefit of Unit Ones charge it looked pointedly at the panel at waist height at the end of the hall. Upon that panel were two buttons, and a code cylinder plug. On one side, the Hanger side of the wall there was an obvious crease and through the darkened one way panels with the added light The Master would be able to make out what seemed to be a small storage room with another door.

"Always no," he said, sounding rueful. The illumination helped, though. He saw left and right. A code cylinder plug...

He pat himself down, looked to the droid. "Thoughts?"

Then he absently toed open the unlocked room door.

Unit One stepped forward, "Yes." it softly stated as it reached past The Master and pressed the left door button. The code cylinder plug slot blinked twice. Unit One then pressed the right door button - at which point the entry to the storage room popped open.

Well, open was a generous term. There was a gap, which if The Master turned himself sideways and squeezed he should just be able to shimmy into the storage room. The ASP unit looked at the opening as it stepped back and then calculated its own dimensions. "No." it simply stated and waved back up the corridor they had come down.

"No?"

He snorted.

"I don't know the word."

He pushed himself to so shimmy -

The ASP Unit One made a halting motion but did nothing to impede the leaving of the one it was supposed to observe. It watched instead through the one way panels as the dark robed one entered the small supply closet filled with odd bits and parts. Most bins seemed freshly stocked and full of spare parts, especially the power converters and filters there seemed to be extras that didn't fit the shelves stacked on the ground. One more door awaited whether he would continue into the hanger or not.

A low noise was just audible, a soft rumble coming from somewhere just beyond. Was the storm picking up?

The Master was unimpressed by the room.

Where was his secret?

His surprise.

Grumbling, he found the one more door, and pressed upon it with two hands, a full shove to let out his excess energy -

The Master gave his great heave, shoved with all the might and frustration of his day. The door rattled and shook, but did not budge. Looking down, he would see what the handle had a small stencil above it, saying in basic slide to left.

Along with the noise beyond he would note the unintelligible noise of a droids binary beeping.

Of course you had to slide the door, not push it.

Glowering, he went to slide the door - carefully, so he could peek first rather than overcommit as he had a second ago -

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: Abner and Juhn
The hidden tunnels

The green light in Juhn’s eyes, from his spectacles, flared slightly as the glow of light came from down the hallway. Narrowing his eyes as the glasses compensated, he tried to make out what it was. Strange sounds were not something, he supposed, uncommon in such places but the sounds of dragging had become muted.

Another sound, however, had begun to make itself heard. He glanced over at the butler, ”Is that…whistling?”

The gamorrean hadn't, in truth, been quite sure which way to go- the hangar had been tempting but finding the unknown in halls you had walked year after year after year aft-

The train of thought was interrupted but the whistle.

His ears twitched at the sound and he almost grunted an affirmative before correcting himself.

"I believe so."

He sniffed the air, trying to make out any sort of scent he could recognize, smell appeared to be more useful than sight for the time being.

Yes, that was indeed whistling, singing out an odd tune, the smell on the air though. That was different. There was the lubricants, cleaners, oils - fresh and singed, and all the smells of artificial construction with just a hint of the familiar asteroid this was all built into and used as a floating mansion. There was another smell, one that took the Gamorrean butler back, for some reason it was reminding him of the times he had been in Cloud City with his master when the Air Rodeo was passing through? He couldn't put his porcine finger on what it was the smell reminded him of from that time, but he remembered the hall when they had always returned had been extra dirty after those visits when the mansion was left unattended for automated deliveries.

And the smell had softly been in those dirty halls then as well.

And as all these smells were neatly sorted and categorized by Abner's olfactory system, a most puzzled look came across his face.

The... postal system?

"Forgive my forwardness but I believe this may be a tunnel connected to the operation of the automated delivery sorting system."

Well, maybe that made sense. While he'd never seen it in operation, it would have to have been hidden somewhere. He sniffed the air again, and his neurons confirmed it. However among the general scents of oil and machine, they seemed unable to confirm whether or not the source of the whistling was of any particular species.

"At the moment I believe the whistle is not from anything living," he murmured to his companion "though the scent of oil is confusing matters."

He shuffled forward slowly, continuing to sniff the air.

Juhn sniffed the air, ”Hmmm, oils and mechanical scents are certainly there but something reminds me, is similar to the airsquids.” he repiled. He peered as deeply into the corridor as his spectacles would allow, ”Whatever it is, perhaps we should also make whoever is making that horrible din cease doing so and then we can focus better on what might be down here.” As he spoke he moved, mimicking the slow pace of the Butler.

Slowly.

Softly.

Slowly.

Surely.

They crept ever closer to the sound, down the narrow secret service hall. At a bend they found a doorway that opened at their presence near it in a fast motion. The blinding light of what was beyond dazzled their eyes as the whistling became very loud, and then became very silent.

When they adjusted and could see they would see living eyes staring back at them with yellow iris' and wearing nothing but body paint and an apron.



"Did you make this mess?" the male merely asked from his place behind a table that had the most injured of the pair of ASP droids laid out upon it. Although perhaps what would be more interesting to them was the rest of the room. Tanks and pools were strewn about with walls poorly lit and amorphous masses inside all lending a feeling of size and grandeur beyond what surely was actually present.



The butler had prided himself in the past for always maintaining his composure, but this was too much for even him.

Abner stared.

He couldn't believe that such an area could exist and his eyes searched for some sort of purpose to this place, trying to figure out what function it served.

It took a few moments for Juhn’s eyes to adjust. He was still blinking when the being that was coming into focus spoke. His ears flattened against his skull, eyes widening, as he looked around the room. ”Well……..I didn’t expect this.”

Shaking his head, he turned back to the creature, whatever it was. ”Hmmm…unless you retrieved that from the air squids, and I’d like to know how if you did, neither of those was the one following me.” he replied, his academic curiosity starting to get the better of him.

Unit 3 stepped forward, the one that had been assigned to the butler. "No." it calmly stated to the being ahead of them that was listed as a blank ADMIN - although as soon as the droid looked away and back again, it shuddered. As if seeing this room for the first time, again. A auto-recursive subroutine was activated in this room. Nothing said or done here would be stored nor recorded.

The being simply grunted as he set about using tools to partially dismantle the ASP unit splayed on his table and toss aside the bits that couldn't be used. "Not that one." he muttered as he started tapping on a datapad, "You shouldn't be here. Making a fine mess of things." he said without focusing on either of them as he shook his head.

At the mention of air squid, Abner faculties returned to him, and with it, his professional air, though he didn't allow himself dwell too long on the thought of air squid inside the mansion.

It was a distressing one.

"If I may ask, what function does this place serve?"

He was more concerned with how long this place had been here, had his deceased master known of it, and how it had remained hidden under his nose for so long. But those questions seemed too brusque, even now.

Juhn’s ears flicked, listening to what the Butler was saying but his interest was peaked by everything that was here. He began to slowly wander around the chamber, fingers touching where he thought it wouldn’t cause issue with whatever the being here was doing. He hoped he still had memory open on the recording function of his spectacles because this would be something worth studying in private, later. Completing a circuit of the chamber he returned to standing by the Butlers side. ”I’ve seen hidden research and repair facilities before but I’d have to agree, why does a manse such as this need one?”

TAGS: @Mitth_Fisto, @darthhelinith, @Sinrebirth

 

Doctor Bellorum
Kitchen, Lord Semolurian Divertium’s Mansion near Bespin

Leaving the billiards room was easy, Bell was done with the droids hovering around, and the room was getting too crowded.

The kitchen was a trove of snacks, the cookie jar seemed like a wise place to start, but inside was only cookies. Bell grabbed one, broke it in half, offering Praxon the other half. She was careful to look closely inside just in case any clues were hidden.

“Want to check the cooling cabinet?” She asked Praxon. “I’ll make tea,”

Tag: @Mitth_Fisto @HanSolo29