SWRPF Archive Legacy: The Last Gamble

06.131 ABY

It?s hard to believe it?s been a year today since we left port on Coruscant for the first time with a full crew, and just as hard if not harder to believe how much has happened since then. An Imperial Knight, Sith, former Jedi, and Rogue Imperials. We?ve met them all? many of them within the very first month of operation. Do you know what the likely hood of that happening is? Most gamblers wouldn?t go anywhere near those odds.

I?ll tell you, if there weren?t things I was seriously trying to get done here? among them trying to make sure those who have entrusted their lives to my care find some modicum of success? I would have hung up my coat and my blaster months ago. Between the almost regularly shifting roster of the crew and a string of bad luck that would depress even a Zeltron, we had it rough.

A Hutt tried to get us killed, some little blood-thirsty pests tried to rip apart my ship, Sith Lords on Corulag and over Toydaria tried capture us and the natives on Tatooine wanted our heads on a platter. So you could definitely say it?s been a hard road. Heck, we?re not even allowed back on that blasted sandball because of the botched operation at Arnthout, and that?s certainly saying something. It?s just a good thing Governor Valarian didn?t post a bounty on ours heads, but hey, we got MOST of the people back in one piece. That has to count for something.

Over the past year, a few of our people have been lost in the cross fire, a few have left to find safer work, others have just vanished, and some simply took advantage of my good nature, but I think with the crew we have now, we?re finally on the road to fortune and glory.

After we dropped Col. Veers and his remaining men off on Muunilist, we made our way to Nar Shaddaa and took on some of the best and brightest the galaxy has to offer! Okay, I lie? but they make a serviceable force, none the less. It took a while for everyone to get used to each other, but we?ve finally found at least a little bit of peace and cooperation between the members of our little ragtag band. Well, maybe it?s not quite as quiet as that?but they?re not trying to kill each other any more. That?s a plus. Likewise, we haven?t heard from Krayt?s lackeys in probably eight or nine months, so it would seem we?re safe from them for the time being. I knew staying under the radar was a good idea.

So, here we are, on our way to Malastare to do a job for one of the Gran overlords in Pixelito. If things continue as they have been, it should be a nice, easy job, but I still have this nagging feeling that one day soon, the dam?s going to break and things are going to go back to being as hectic as they were in the beginning. If those days do come soon, at least there?s some comfort in knowing that my liquor cabinet is fully stocked.


-From the Private Log of Jav Boran, Captain of the Fool?s Gamble

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Welcome, friends, to the return of the Legacy: Fool's Gamble series with Legacy: The Last Gamble.This game focuses on the adventures of Captain Jav Boran and his mercenary crew aboard the VT-49 Decimator Fool?s Gamble. Taking place in month six of 131 ABY, exactly one year after the start of the last game, the crew of the Gamble attempts to make their way through the galaxy while trying to avoid Hutts, Bounty Hunters, Sith Lords, Imperials and a host of other dangers that fill the Legacy era.

Think of Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star or Firefly and you'll get a feeling for what this game might be like. Also, if you have any adventures or want anything brought up from your character's past during a storyline, just ask.

We will be adhering to the history established within the 'Star Wars: Legacy' comics, but we will not regularly encounter the characters from the series, though you may never know when a surprise cameo appearance will arise. Rem

 

GM Notice: I currently have other 'obligations' that must be fulfilled before the game begins, but upon conferring with several of the players already, I have decided to post the thread early in order that the public could begin submitting Character Sheets early and I could begin sorting through them. In this way, once I'm ready, the game can begin in short order.

Thus, please be patient with us and the first person to say that the game has to start soon will be shot out of the airlock. Thank you.

 

GM Announcement: Thank you to everyone who submitted a Character Sheet for approval. I am heartened and encouraged by the fabulous turn-out and the creativity and ingenuity our community shows is truly inspiring. Now then, let me fill you in on the process of how I came to my decisions for our current roster. After reviewing each Sheet for originality, synchronicity with established canon, and the quality of the sheet itself, I performed background checks on necessary players for post quality and regularity and brought up my selections with a group of other established players and Game Masters to determine which applicants would show themselves to be regular, consistent and quality players. With my final list determined, I made some hard but necessary cuts to fit with the number of characters needed for the ship and came finally to the list you see here.

For all those that didn?t make the cut this time, do not despair. As these things go, there will undoubtedly be players who will eventually be called away from playing for one reason or another, so there still might be a chance that you that could make it into the game somewhere down the line. Thus, hold onto you Character Sheets for whenever a casting call might go out in the future and be ready!

Now then, on to the list!


Crew Roster For The Fool?s Gamble:


GM APPROVED FOR BLEMELISK

Name: Drasius Kuze
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Height: 6'3"
Skin Color: Caucasian
Eye Color: Brown fringed with green
Hair Color: Premature gray
Homeworld: Deralia
Weapons: 6" Vibro Dagger, 12" Ceremonial Cortosis Short Sword, retooled DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol, Whatever else is available.
Possessions: Well-worn Black Armorweave Rifleman's Jacket, Comlink, Datapad
Profession: Soldier, Transporter
Languages: Basic, Huttese, Shyriiwook, many other self-taught languages.
Allignments: Captain Jav Boran
Appearance: Has hair which is long, coming to below his shoulders and is tied back in a ponytail, wears black Armorweave jacket that comes to below his waist, with high collar. Keeps knife in sheath mounted inside left boot, with his pistol in a holster on his thigh. His short sword is concealed upside-down in a sheath strapped to his back under his jacket. Has a black belt, white, black, light gray, and dark gray urban patterned camo pants, and black field boots.
Biography: Drasius Kuze was born on the backwater world of Deralia, in the Outer Rim. He grew up as a very intelligent boy who was generally excited by everything that he did. He began learning languages of the galaxy when he was young, and as a result is fluent in most often-encountered tongues across the galaxy.

He went to college for only about a year before his draft ticket was pulled and he joined the army of his country in fighting a nasty civil war which wrecked his homeworld. He saw and experienced many awful things in combat, but was also noted for his excellence as a soldier and a leader.

When the war was over and his enlistment had expired, he decided to take to the spacelanes and discover the galaxy. It was due to his passion for excitement that he found himself in hotbeds of criminal activity, signing on with mercenary crews or battalions in a quest to sate his desire for justice that had been brewing ever since his Deralian Civil War days.

Eventually he fell in with Jav Boran and was eager to join his crew after receiving a message requesting his participation in a crew Jav was assembling for a new vessel he had obtained.

He stayed with the ship until they were laid over on Tatooine, when he got a comm from a mercenary contractor he had worked with in the past that the war back on Deralia was heating up again and Kuze's mother country was hiring soldiers to crush the opposition before another disastrous war would begin. Drasius the patriot naturally obliged, hast

 

Other Characters:



GM APPROVED FOR CMDRMITTHRAWNURUODO


Name: Artemis Z.M. Veers
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 43
Height: 5'8"
Skin Color: Caucasian
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Light Brown
Homeworld: Bastion
Weapons: Stolen Standard Issue Imperial Sidearm, Merr-Sonn LD-1 Target Blaster Rifle
Possessions: Camo Scout Armor, Field Kit, BlasTech Ramtak, Forged ID Cards and Papers, macrobinoculars, commlink, Modified Tracker Droid ?DeeZee?, datapad
Profession: Former Imperial Army Colonel , Freelance Mercenary, part-time Mechanic
Languages: Basic, Huttesse, Bothan
Alignments: Galactic Empire (Roan Fel's)
Appearance: He wears a Camo Scout Armor when he is not settled down in one place for a while. The armor has a unique property that allows him to blend into any environment while providing medium protection in combat. When he is not wearing his armor, he dresses in a worn pair of blood-striped, military, olive-green pants signifying his days in the Imperial Army; a white shirt underneath a black leather coat and a black, hooded cloak.
Biography: Artemis Veers is a direct descendant of the Imperial Hero, General Maximilian Veers and the Republic Hero, Commander Zevulon Veers. He would technically be the great-great grandson of General Veers. Although his heritage could have given him any command he wanted in the Empire, he chose instead to work for the right and started his career in the army as a Lieutenant. He would gain prestige and rank during the three year war with the Galactic Alliance as a stormtrooper battalion commander. Unlike his ancestor he never got into the armoured transport projects and instead chose a career in stormtroopers and regular infantry.

His family rejoined the Empire shortly after the Yuuzhan Vong War when it became apparent that the Galactic Alliance was turning into Palpatine's Empire. Wishing not to get involved in the Corellian Conflict, his family fled Coruscant to Bastion where Fel's new Empire would accept any refugees with open arms. Having been born and raised on Bastion under the new Empire, Artemis grew up loyal to the Emperor and has sworn an oath to defend the True Empire and its Emperor. A loyalty that had found himself and five of his men separated from the others and their superior, General Oron Jaeger, after a failed mission to gain the loyalties of other legions in the Emperor's name.

He and his surviving unit were desperate for a way back to Bastion that they hitched a ride with the beat up Decimator called the Fool?s Gamble. Not long after they had joined the crew for passage to Muunillist, the small ragtag group of Imperials found themselves and their new companions being chased by the Sith and Krayt?s Empire. But the captain, Jav Boran, was able to elude their pursuers long enough to hide out in the Outer Rim. But their respite didn?t last long once it was revealed that a Hutt Crimelord had attempted to wipe them all out and later getting involved in a war between the Sandpeople and the Jawas of Tatooine. The group was fortunate enough to escape the dustball planet but not before they managed to anger the local governor and essentially become banished from the world. Over the weeks the Fool?s Gamble eventually made it to its destination for the Imperials and it was the last they saw of them again. Had Jav Boran known that Veers and his men were going to be arrested and imprisoned for treason, he might not have dropped them off on the banker?s world.

Veers, although he managed to escape imprisonment, is now on the run with no support or his former command with him. Over the year he?s managed to establish himself as a mercenary for anyone so long as the pay was good and that the target was Krayt?s Empire.



Name: DZ-180 "DeeZee"
Model: DZ Series Tracker Droid
Gender: Male AI
Age: 4
Height: 0.2 meters
Chassis Color: Rusted Chrome
Photoreceptor Color: Red

 

GM NOTICE: Well, not everyone showed up and not everyone could stay, but the meeting was partially successful. If you didn't have a chance, feel free to PM any of your fellow players to discuss character interactions and relationships before the game begins.

With that subject in mind, after some discussion, I've decided to start the game next Sunday, November 30th, to give everyone a chance to get back from and to enjoy their Thanksgiving holidays.

I'll see you all then!

 

Other Characters (Cont.):


GM APPROVED FOR BLUBEAST1237

Name: Yiddim
Species: Kushiban
Gender: Male
Age: 64
Height: 2'1
Eye Color: Red
Hair Color: Varies
Homeworld: Kushibah
Weapons: Dual vibroknives
Possessions: Datapad, Traveller's Bag
Profession: Writer, Painter, and Thrill seeker
Languages: Kushibah, Basic
Allignments: None
Appearance: Oversized robes
Bio: Yiddim was a successful teen painter and won a scholarship to a prestigious college in Brella on Cadomai Prime where he was to study the arts. While he was there, the teachers started to realize that Yiddim was either not trying to succeed or was really falling behind the other students. He graduated, despite this setback, but as predicted by his teachers, after a short moment of fame for his paintings, eventually he was called a has-been, a shadow of his former self. Yiddim took up writing but it wasn't nearly as successful as his height of painting. He left Cadomai, thinking that the planet was to dull and was diminishing his creativity, and has been travelling to multiple, different planets looking for adventures that will inspire him.

 

GM NOTE: I?ve decided, as a Thanksgiving treat, to post our opening a few days earlier for everyone. Feel free to post if you like but don?t be surprised if things don?t really pick up until Sunday. There?s a reason I had picked that day to start?

Just as an aside before we begin, I will be doing combat slightly differently this time around, so please don?t auto-hit NPCs. I?ll be determining the effects of your attacks via die rolls.


IC: Captain Jav Boran
Jungles- Malastare

There?s an old saying that those who ask for trouble will often find it. Seems I just proved that old saying correctly.

Within the past two months I?ve had this creeping feeling...a rather uncomfortable sensation clawing at the back of my mind. It was like that sensation you get when you walk down a dark alley and keep feeling like there?s someone following you, yet every time you look back behind you, no one?s there. I?ve kept all of this to myself and have tried to reign it in, but have no such luck so far. Even so, I figured it was better if the crew didn?t know.

Then, in the past week, I started having dreams? very vivid but very violent nightmares. I can?t recall the specifics now, but I remember that every time I?d have one I?d shoot up in bed, drenched with sweat. Again, I suppressed the urge to even acknowledge these seeming ?premonitions? until shortly before we arrived on planet earlier in the week, when I made a mention in my log of thoughts that the past year of relative peace was too good to be true and that trouble was undoubtedly around the corner. I?m such an idiot?

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Small branches and vines whipped past the Duros? face, the former leaving small welts and cuts on his blue skin, as the worn Flare-S Swoop tore through the unconquered wilds of the Malastare jungle. In his mind, Captain Jav Boran was regretting some of his more recent decisions as he tried to keep his vehicle under control, though he knew in the pit of his stomach that he had done the right thing.

They had arrived on the planet several days before, hired by Overlord Maw Mox, the Gran overseer of the Dug population in the capital of Pixelito. Apparently the Overlord was having trouble with some of his ?employees? (his way of sugar-coating the fact that the Gran had in reality all but enslaved the native Dugs once again, though the Captain had been unaware of this at the time) who were escaping into the jungles, building a resistance against his rule and trying to rally the city?s population to revolt. It was their job, thus, to track down the resistance movement?s base of operation and help lead the Overlord?s forces in assaulting it. It seemed like a simple enough job? at least until several of the Gamble?s crew were ambushed in the jungle and ended up being captured by the Dug resistance while scouting for their base. It was then, through the words of the Dugs to their captives, that the truth of the situation on Malastare was finally revealed. Contacting the Captain, an agreement was bartered that, in exchange for the freedom of his crew, Jav would ensure that the Mercenaries helped in making sure that the Overlord would not find the Dugs? location. It all would have been a good plan, too, if Maw Mox had not been monitoring the Captain?s communications and sent several squads of his men to follow the mercenaries into the jungle.

Thus brought them to their current situation. As Jav had secured the release of his crewmen, the Gran attacked the Dug base. In the chaos of the fighting, the Gamble?s crew managed to ?procure? several old Flare-S Swoops being used by the Gran, doubled up two men to a bike and high-tailed in out of there. They did not get away unseen, though. Now the Gran were on their tales on their remaining swoops and the Dug warriors, believing that the Mercenaries had betrayed their trust, were firing at them from the trees.

Dodging several blaster bolts aimed for their power cells and swerving in time to avo

 

IC: Jasen Jevelan
Malastare

?Hey quick question bug eyes: is there any chance you are going to keep this steady so I can get a good shot in? If you could, that would be just dandy!? Jasen yelled over the whine of the swoop engine. He wasn't even sure if Drevin-Joss had heard him or not. Regardless if the Ongree was letting him get a shot at the pursuing enemy or not, he was doing a good job of getting them to safety. He held on tightly to Drevin-Joss's waist as he twisted his body to fire at the on coming Gran.

?I can't see a damn thing!? Jasen complained as he fired his shots, hoping it would reach its targets. The goggles he had managed to grab on their hasty escape were probably the dirtiest pair of goggles ever to grace this war-ridden galaxy. It was stained with a reddish mud, making it almost impossible to see from. He lifted them up, sitting them on his forehead. Suddenly the Ongree had maneuvered the swoop bike around a sudden length of overgrowth as the Corellian fired his blaster pistol. Over the course of being on the Fool's Gamble for the past ten months, Jasen had come to learn why the ship was named that. Today was another one of those learning experiences.

Jasen glanced over to his left to see the Captain throw a Thermal Detonator back at the Gran. He watched as it managed to one of the pursers. Jasen grinned, ripping his dirty goggles off his head and decided to see if it would hit on those three-eyed freaks that were following them. He aimed, and tossed. He wasn't sure if it managed to hit one of them or not, but continued to fire his blaster anyways.

?Try and lead them into a tree or something, Bugs!? Jasen yelled to his driver, hoping he heard him.

TAG: Drevin-Joss, the rest of the fleeing crew!

 

IC: Gran Bikers
Jungles- Malastare

On the far left of the formation of the eight Gran bikers, the one whose steering vane had been impact by a carefully aimed blaster shot began to sputter smoke and sparks as the bike itself began to careen wildly. It?s piloted worked frantically to bring his vehicle back under control but could let out a pathetic whimper as his bike juked unexpectedly to the left and impacted into a tree. Tree bark and scrap metal sailed through the air around them as the once damaged steering vain flew from the crash site and hit the power cells of the swoop that had been to his right. Much to the Gran?s frustration and protests, his bike began to slow down and landed with a crash in a mud bog.

With only six of Maw Mox?s forces left, two of the six returned fire immediately. One managed to score a hit on the lower right of the torso of one of the humans on the left (Aden Kya) while the other shot missed wildly, going off into the brush.

Several more shots came from the Mercenaries group, more specifically from the human on the right side of their group. The first of his shots the lead bike managed to deftly avoid but the second hit the pilot in the right left, causing the pilot to howl in pain but fire off a shot in retaliation, grazing the left leg of his attacker?s Ongree pilot (Dervin-Joss).

TAG: Swoop Group

 

IC: Tal Falconer

Malastare

Tal was being shot at.
He was piloting a speeder while being shot at.
This was not what he had signed up for.

How he had ended up in the pilot's seat Tal could no longer remember, but it had rapidly proved to be a very bad idea. Now he was doing his best to avoid the blaster bolts that were being shot at him, while (a) not hitting any trees; (b) not getting lost and separated from the group in the process; and (c) not panicking... succeeding on the first two counts, so far, but the third was proving difficult. Although he supposed if he could only have two, those were the two to go with.

Not that his passenger was helping. Aden Kya intimidated Tal under the best of circumstances; these circumstances were far from best, and both their nerves were stretched thin. "Are you actually trying to avoid them, Tal, or just flying in a gorram straight line to make it easier for them to shoot me!" he was yelling.

Tal swallowed, vaguely impressed that Aden had managed to shout that loudly into the wind. "I'm trying!" he shouted back, jinking to the side - and hastily recorrected before they crashed into a tree.

TAG: Sinrebirth, R_Zion, swoop group

 

IC: Gorrk
Gorrk?s Workshop, Fool?s Gamble

In the cool, dim engine room, a sudden flare of light cast a hunched over figure into stark relief. The wild flares of light created by the fusion cutter crashed into the welding shield over the figure?s face, while robes and gloves protected the body and hands from sparks. The ships lights fluctuated wildly overhead as the figure went about its task, fully absorbed in putting the finishing touch on what would be his latest invention.

Gorrk flipped up the faceshield and wiped his grizzled brow with a dirty robe sleeve. Painfully, he straightened into a standing position, groaning with the soreness of old bones as he replaced his fusioncuter in a side-pouch on his backpack. Finally, it was finished? and hopefully without the shorted contact this time.

Gorrk hefted his new walking stick, testing its weight for the second time. His first prototype had been woefully shortsighted since its inception, a problem he blamed ? like most everything else ? on his hyperactive remote assistant Binks. This however was genius. He turned the wide walking stick over in his chubby hands, admiring the fruits of his mental and physical labor.

The walking stick, if one could call it that, had a chassis made from the forearm of large droid. The servos had been removed and internal components stripped and replaced, though Gorrk kept the droid?s hand ? splayed open ? on the bottom for stabilities sake. The top of the elbow had been removed, the joint fused, and Gorrk mounted a tapered handle to it. One couldn?t call the stick very ?balanced? but that wasn?t what the Ugnaught had in mind in the first place.

Reaching back to his backpack, Gorrk undid the catch and allowed his partner Binks out of the bag. The little remote shot straight up, whistling shrilly and flying in patterns that were sure to set Gorrk?s eye into a twitch-fit if left to continue. Gorrk sized up the shot, hefted his new cane into position, and let a swing fly?

Wiff?

Gorrk scowled as the cane, much slower and heavier than his wrench, missed its mark and Binks, ever the opportunist, ascended to a safe height before slandering his name and ancestry in discordant tones of Binary. The Ugnaught?s scowl soon turned into a nasty sneer however, as he raised the cane so that the end with the splayed hand pointed towards Binks like it was a large blaster rifle, making the remote halt in its ravings for before emitting a sound very reminiscent of a gulp.

Gorrk?s sneer turned to a wide smirk as he pushed one of the cane?s concealed buttons.

A low whirr and a near invisible ripple pulling inward were the remote?s only warnings before it hit, and slowly, inexorably the miniaturized tractor beam drew Binks downward. A litany of curses issued forth from the little sphere as its struggles were to no avail. His trip ended as he pressed up against the hand decorating the bottom of Gorrk?s ?cane?. Gorrk smugly disengaged the tractor beam as he pushed another button, but something went wrong. The hand did not respond, and where it should have closed completely around the irritating little remote it did nothing at all. The little remote zipped out of danger, freed and laughing at him. Gorrk?s eye twitched, and he became so irritated that he forgot himself and fired another tractor beam at the small zipping target, hitting a wall instead.

The cane jerked forward sharply, pulling Gorrk along with it. He landed painfully, face first on the hard, unforgiving engine room floor, groaning as he cut the beam off. Above him, the spritely laughter of his faithful assistant echoed off the durasteel walls and rang in his skull. His eye twitched madly.

Not bothering to pick himself off the floor, Gorrk rolled onto his side and took aim with his cane again, this time hitting the third concealed button. The cane fired off another transparent ripple, this one moving outward and much more violent. The wide repulsor-pressor beam clipped Binks, throwing him into the wall hard enough

 

Zem Stormreever & DeeZee

Enroute to Ord Mantell

<Mr. Stormreever, we have just entered Hyperspace so feel free to move about the ship. The Navcomputer estimates that we have eight hours before we arrive on Ord Mantell, so if you?re hungry or need to relieve yourself, feel free to make use of the mess or the ?fresher.>

Zem glanced up a bit from cleaning his rifle, his hovering tracker droid was nearby checking out some object that interested it almost like a dog sniffing out a potential new toy. "Dee, what did he say?" he asked the droid, his voice electronic sounding even to his own ears as he spoke through the external speakers of his helmet. He hadn't taken his armor off when he came aboard and he didn't plan on taking it off for the duration of this trip either.

The tracker droid spun around on its axis to focus its single optical sensor on him. "I do not know, master. He speaks words my program does not understand."

Zem sighed heavily and went back to his cleaning. "Remind me to upgrade your language package."

"What about my body, master? You promised I could have a new chaise last month," DeeZee whined.

The former Imperial Colonel would have given him a look if he hadn't worn his helmet, but the slight tilt of his head and the slowness of the turn told the droid why he couldn't have a new chaise yet. They had discussed the matter before and he had only promised the droid just so he could get it to stop bugging him about it. He would have upgraded it's chaise long ago but finding an used or unused one that looked better than his current one was difficult and he was also short on funds. He only had a few thousand credits left to his name after the Empire had frozen all of his accounts and that had to stretch from now until he could hire on with an old acquaintance.

TAG: Zion

 

IC: Yiddim
Ord Mantell

Writing a quick reminder to record this incident in the future, Yiddim looked up at Ando before looking back at his datapad. When he had first met Ando, the man seemed to be very dangerous and fearless. However, as this week had progressed, Yiddim had resolved that he had more danger in his pinky then Ando had in his entire anatomy.

Yiddim rolled up his sleeves and tucked his datapad away in his sack. "Trouble, Ando? That was very exciting, in the least. The look on your face when that Zeltron leaped across the table at you was glorious." Seeing his partner's face, Yiddim resolved that he was the only one enjoying himself. Sighing, Yiddim pulled his strap tight across his body. "If you really feel that way, Ando, then its time for us to part ways. I'm not going to pay you extra for more time on this dull planet."

Stepping out of the alley and spotting the bouncers, Yiddim shouted his and Ando's wherabouts then quickly took off down the street. "Good luck to you Ando!"

Tag: Zion

 

IC: Drasius Kuze
Jungles - Malastare

Admittedly, Kuze loved the thrill of blasterfire. As the Gran relentlessly pursued them through the jungle and their blood red blaster bolts began to ozonate the surrounding air, the human smirked lightly as he lowered his head into the onrushing winds, his ponytail whipping in the breeze.

As the enemy were no doubt gaining on and outnumbering the crew of the Gamble, Jav was the first to act, dropping the speed of his swoop, and Kuze quickly whipped his head to the right, watching as the Duros produced a thermal detonator and released it into the group of approaching enemies. It wasn't long until the concussion of the orb's explosion rang out, no doubt shattering at least one of the bad guys' bikes. Nice one, cap, he thought.

The crew, seemingly spurred on by their captain's move, started to return fire a little more accurately than they had been before, with the reports of more wrecking Gran swoops shattering the calm of the surrounding growth.

Such retaliation wasn't without its consequences however, as the enemies returned fire even more determined - Drasius glanced to his side to see two of his comrades, Aden and Dervin-Joss, as they were both struck by hostile fire. Kuze blinked in surprise, but realized that from his swoop's close position to them, he had to take action. One wounded pilot and a wounded piggyback rider reduced the combat effectiveness of a two-man swoop team by basically a hundred percent, because the remaining focus of that team would be to just get wherever they were trying to go in one piece. In this case, they had to get to their ship to escape a planet that wanted their heads, not that that particular situation was entirely alien.

In keeping with the smooth way he liked to pilot swoops at high speeds, Kuze loosened his grip even more on the control handles of the bike, gently easing off the throttle just enough to lag slightly behind the two swoops of his fellows. Leaning slowly to the right, he strafed the bike so that he began to form behind and between both Falconer and Kya, and Jason and Dervin's bikes. He realized he had just put both himself and his Yuuzhan Vong passenger in much greater danger, and had to act fast.

Reaching one hand to the collar of his jacket and temporarily removing his other from the control sticks, he whipped off his billowing black coat, trailing it beside the bike with his right hand as the moss and methane fog-covered ground sped by mere feet below.

"Hey Derv! Tal! High-tail it!" Kuze screeched against the wind in his face.

Glancing back over his shoulder and past the hulking Dow, he lifted his right arm with jacket as best he could, reaching with his other hand and unholstering his DL-44, effectively piloting the swoop with his left elbow. "Give this to Mox for me!" he screamed back at the tailing Gran, although they probably didn't hear him. With one swift motion and aiming the jacket as best he could, he released his grip, and the dense ArmorWeave coat appeared to hang in the dank air, right in the path of some of the oncoming swoops.

Re-seating his hand on the right control stick once more, he squeezed off a few high-powered rounds to distract the pursuers, hopefully just enough distraction to keep at least one from avoiding the jacket, and buying his wounded friends enough time to widen the gap.

Drasius talked over his shoulder toward Dow, "Thing never fit right anyway," then purposefully nudged his passenger with the butt of his blaster, "I know you hate it, but use it." He pushed his adrenaline aside long enough to add jokingly, "I won't tell Yun-Yuuzhan."

TAG: Sinrebirth, DarthXan318, Bad_Feeling_Haver, JediDingo, Mango_Salsa, R_Zion, Other Swooperz

 

GM OOC: Just so there aren?t any misunderstandings, when a hit is registered on a certain area of the body, I?m just going to tell you where and then you can respond in your next post whether it hit armor or is an actual hit to the body. However, I?ll let you know in the post if an enemy is using a weapon that can pierce armor.


IC: Gran Bikers
Jungles- Malastare

The sight of the maneuver the one Mercenary seemed to be trying to execute surprised the leader biker. It was almost as if the one was trying to protect the injured. Weren?t all Mercenaries simply credit-obsessed barbarians out for their own skin? Either way, he didn?t have time to take into consideration the deeper meaning behind these actions as the Mercenary in question began to take action.

Four blaster shot rang out from his weapon. Two shots completely missed his men, though one had come close to impacting on the fuselage of one of the Swoops to the left. However, the last two, much to his dread, managed to strike him in the torso. One only hit the body armor over his chest but the other managed to pierce the weak point near his shoulder. For the second time in as short an amount of time as it was, the lead Gran let out a howl as he clutched his shoulder, but, in giving in to this almost reflexive action, released control of his bike long enough to begin to veer off course. With his remaining arm, he attempted to regain control of his Swoop, but it was too late. In a flash of light and burning flame, he collided with the Swooper directly to his left, steering vains entangling and both bikes flipping nearly three times before crashing into a rock. Neither could have survived.

Now, there were only four, but they were now more focused and determined than ever to bring in their prey. When one of the Mercenaries? jackets came billowing towards them through the air, the managed to avoid it with ease and began to return fire. Two of their shots completely missed, but not so with the final two. One grazed the left shoulder of the Mercenary who had just dropped his jacket (Drasius Kuze) while the other grazed the Ongree (Dervin-Joss) in the left lower side as they attempted to escape.

TAG: Swoopers

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IC: Ando Risant and Mantellian Savrip Bouncers
The Lady Fate Casino- Worlport- Ord Mandtell

?Damn you, Yiddim!? the Saccorian gambler shouted as the diminutive Kushiban ran out into the street. He would have pursued him just simply to punt the fuzzy little chakaar across the city with one swift kick. However, the return of the Lady Fate?s hulking bouncers man short work of that plan. Now it was time to turn tail and run for his life if he wanted to have to run back to.

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Approaching the area from where he had heard the shout, one of the Mantellian Savrip Bouncers grunted in annoyance as he saw a small cloaked figure come running out of the alley. With enough distance between them, the Bouncer trundled at full speed and stood like a mighty wall in the way of the little creature, who at the time was looking backwards as he ran and collided hard with the Savrip?s knees. Reaching down as the little creature tried to regain its composure, he lifted it up to eye level and growled in broken, ?I b?lieve my ?ployer would like to ?ave a discuss?in with you??

TAG: BlueBeast1237

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GM OOC: For those of you who are wondering, I have been using dice rolls to determine who gets hit in the Gran fight, but it just so happens that the die seem to like to target those directly involved in recent actions. I?m starting to feel sorry for poor Dervin, though. He hasn't done anything yet and this is the second time he's been grazed.

 

IC: Zhaelor'dau
Jungles, Malastare

"I know you hate it, but use it." Zhaelor'dau's Human pilot asked, adding jokingly, "I won't tell Yun-Yuuzhan."

Zhaelor'dau almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea that someone other than the Supreme Overlord, let alone a non-Yuuzhan Vong, could "tell" the Cosmic Lord anything. But at least Drasius wasn't trying to be offensive--(well, Zhaelor'dau thought he wasn't)-- unlike so many other sentients he had encountered in this galaxy. And he somewhat admired the cleverness of using a coat as ammunition. But the notion was fleeting, and Zhaelor'dau returned his mind to the situation.

Zhaelor'dau took a beat to look at the blaster and think. He preferred to use his nang hul over blasters, and he was still wearing his bandoleer with 15 of them. But he had to use them judiciously, since he had only the ten razor bugs and five snap bugs, and could not replace them without the facilities of a Shaper laboratory, and the chances of finding one of those were next to nothing. This was one of the few situations in which, were he to throw a nang hul, it probably would not return. Normally nang hul coul dislodge tehmselves from their targets and return to the weilder for repaeated uses, but the speeder bikes were going too fast for the nang hul to track Zhaelor'dau down again. He was very reluctant to use them now. Well, if the Yun'o hadn't already damned him for flying in starships and riding this speeder bike that was probably powered by some sort of combustion, they couldn't hold using a blaster against him. In fact, he had already used a blaster once or twice in his travels. Still, when he got the chance he would have to scar himself in penance. It briefly occurred to him that he was running out of space on his left arm for the scars. He gripped the bike tightly with his legs, preparing for to let go of Drasius' waist with his one arm and take the blaster.

Just as Zhaelor'dau reached for the blaster, a blaster bolt from one of the Gran grazed Drasius' opposite shoulder. He nearly fumbled the DL-44, but Zhaelor'dau snatched it just in time. He quickly took aim as best he could. He guessed if he could aim thrown nang hul he could aim a blaster, but he could only hope that was true. He had little experience with blasters, but they had never seemed too hard to use: just point the front at the thing you want to hit and pull the trigger. Well, all he could do was try his best. Zhaelor'dau took aim as steadily as he could and squeezed off a couple rounds.

TAG: R_Zion, Swoopers

 

IC: Gran Bikers
Jungles- Malastare

The three shots from the Yuuzhan Vong flew wildly through the air, one missing the mark entirely but two hitting their target. One had pierced one of the Swoop?s engines, causing it to sputter and begin to spew acrid black smoke, though it still continued to run, while the other hit one of the four remaining Grans in the leg, leaving a smoking black hole in its wake.

All the while, the Duros leading the Mercenaries had chucked another thermal detonator (from the explosion that the last had made it was more than likely a Class-E), though this one failed to hit any of them squarely. Its shockwave and debris from the explosion, however, sent the four remaining Swoops swerving about, temporarily out of control. With firms hands and quick reflexes, they soon caught themselves and continued their pursuit, each of them firing off one shot.

While one of their shots soared wildly out of control and left a charred patch in the moss on one of the nearby trees, the remaining three were far more accurate. Once again, the Ongree (Dervin-Joss) received a glancing blow, just above where he had been hit before, this time just beneath the rib cage. The Calian (Tal Falconer) and the human that had thrown his jacket (Drasius Kuze) received direct hits, the former in the upper right arm and the latter in the shoulder blade beneath where the last shot had grazed.

TAG: The Swoop Group

GM OOC: Dang? it seems the die doesn?t like some of you. Kraid and the Captain are actually targetable for those of you that are wondering, but they just haven?t come up yet. Not to worry, though? I won?t let any of you die in the opening scenario.

Well, at least it shows you guys that this ship is called the Fool's Gamble for a reason and I guess it's a plus that our medic will have something to do when we get back.

 

breaks up Zion's double post while waiting for a reply to his post

 

IC: Gizka
The Dusty Dowager-Hyperspace en route to Ord Mantell

Compared to the air ducts, the corridors of the ship itself were so huge. Wow! What kind of creatures must live here? the young Gizka wondered as it hopped over the duct grate that it had pushed out. Sniffing the air, it was tantalized by all the strange and curious scents that wafted through the ship and followed a particularly interesting one towards a large compartment at the end of the corridor. Inside were long leather benches, stained, beaten and torn, and upon one sat a towering creature that almost seemed to blend in with the rest of his surroundings. He was frightening and hard to see at times, but he seemed to be the source of the scent that he had picked up. Thus, with much trepidation the tiny Gizka let out a croak and hopped forward towards the giant.

TAG: CmdrMitthrawnuruodo

 

Kraid Tynne
jungles, Malastare

He should've stayed on the ship.

At least that's what Kraid thought and what he told the Cap'n several times before he was ordered to join the ground party. And what a party it turned out to be.

Unlike his other companions riding shotgun, Kraid was too preoccupied with not falling off the swoop while trying to reach his comm in his leg pocket. He didn't bother shooting back at the whole planet which was apparently after them now. His carbine required two hands if he wanted to hit something, and since he needed at the very least one hand on the Cap'n if he didn't want to become the fastest Kuati skipping across the jungle floor of Malastare he left his carbine strapped across his back.

He... should've... stayed... "That mudcrutch Gorrk probably ripped it all apart anyway," he muttered into the wind.

The brief moment of vehicular stability that occurred when the Cap'n lobbed the second detonator allowed him to dive his hand into his leg pocket and produce the comm attached to a palm-sized datapad. He wrapped his free arm a bit tighter around the Cap'n's waist - "Why do they never put a kriffin' second set of handles on these things," he found himself swearing aloud - and tried to hail the Gamble.

"Gamble, ground party! Immediate pickup right - right here!" Kraid mashed his thumb on the datapad the few times. "Here's our track! We're scramming on swoops and the natives are restless, so karkin' floor it!"

TAG: swoop group, gamble group

 

IC: Yiddim
Ord Mantell

Silently cursing his stature, Yiddim contemplated hastily his options. It wasn't long before he realized that he didn't have many to choose from. Either he took whatever punishment there was for being an accomplice to cheating, which on this planet could possibly mean anything, or he could fight and run. It wasn't which one was safer, or rather it was, because Yiddim would choose the one that was most dangerous and that, most definitely, was running.

With lightning speed, Yiddim unravelled his robe and slipped out onto the ground. He rolled into a ball as he hit the ground, arming himself with his vibroblades as he stood up. The savrip was indeed gigantic and Yiddim fully appreciated it as he looked up into its face. Of course, He thought of it as "it" because maybe it was his ignorance with species, but it was hard to tell what sex the savrip was.

Shaking his head, Yiddim made himself focus. He tightened his grip on his vibroblades, but scurried down the alley that he and Ando had been hiding in not mere moments ago. Knowing he would be pursued, Yiddim knowingly circled around a building and back towards the Lady Luck. He would meet with their boss, but he would need some bargaining chips if he would come out on the other side, if there was one, in the green and on a positive note.

Tag: Zion

 

IC: Dervin-Joss
Malastare

It was funny. There were those who could toss off quips in the middle of a troublesome situation, and those who couldn't. Dervin-Joss could banter with the best of them in a card game. He could even talk his way out of fight if his wits were about him and the other person had been drinking. And it's not like he hadn't been in a scrape or two in the past. That sort of thing just follows a person when they frequent certain establishments. But when push came to scream, Dervin-Joss just couldn't seem to find the snappy rejoinder.

What he wanted to say was, "Hey yourself, you pink-skinned poster boy for Empirical eugenics. If you think you can do better, why the hell don't you drive?"

What came out, though, was, "Ah, crap."

Jasen said a few other things as well, and some part of Dervin-Joss' brain told him to file those comments away so that he could reference them at a later time, say, when they weren't being shot at, to see if any of them were important. At the moment, though, the Ongree's entire attention was focused on trying to drive and not die.

Which was when the first blaster bolt his his leg.

"Ah, good," yelled Dervin-Joss. "Just what I was hoping for. Say, Jasen, I don't mean to trouble you, but if you don't mind, could you possibly shoot a little straighter, perhaps thin the enemy herd a bit? There's a good fellow."

Yes, that's what the Ongree would have liked to have said. What came out though, was "w-Waaaauuuuugggh!" The swoop banked left, hard, and Dervin-Joss felt Jasen's grip tighten around his waist. He thought he could feel the man's breath on the back of his neck, and was slightly creeped out, when he realized that it was just another blaster bolt, trying to fry his eyestalks off.

"Fmeh," muttered the Ongree, leveling out the swoop and trying to ignore the fact that his leg was probably melted beyond repair and that he was about to die here, far away from the money and fame he had hoped to attain.

Then the second blster bolt hit him in the side, and he realized that his leg was probably fine, at least compared to the kidney failure he was likely about to experience. And finally, the words came, streaming back on the wind, born aloft by the hopes and dreams of the Ongree who continued to try to escape, if only so that he could damn the man sitting behind him with his last breath.

"Will you please shoot them?"

"BLARG!" yelled Dervin-Joss.

TAG: JediDingo, other Swoopers