Diplomatic Entanglements 1 - Back Alley Brawl

*Our heroes are questioned in a jail cell when fighting breaks out and everyone just goes with it. There's a fake Bota droid being held at gunpoint, Blaine takes charge of the situation, pickpockets a police badge and rocket boots into the gunman holding robo-Bota hostage. Katira picks a peck of pockets (in the dark, passed out person, there's no limit to how low she will go). Callen gets really creeped out by voyeur Bernie and Tek takes his breath away and by breath I mean chair and by takes away I mean does a nearly heroic force push. Droo charges Katira 6000 (I mean 10,000) credits to use the force (force charge). Jawa Jimmy shoots at ankles and is still traumatized by his space battles of long months past. After a grueling battle we find that robo-Bota was a fake and that real-Bota was kidnapped by some sort of Neo-Imperialists wearing MEGA (Make Empire Great Again) hats. Jowkazza finishes Cal's left-over soda and our heroes decide to infiltrate one of the neo-imperial group's outposts hoping to find a lead on Bota and possibly stop the supply chain that is fueling the production of the warhammer super-duper-star-destroyer.*

## **Previously**

*At the afterlife party, drinks were flowing and NPCs were being interacted with at an astonishing clip. As Jawa Jimmy took a moment to relax after freeing himself from the bullies that made up Teemo’s crew, he noticed that Bota Zi was nowhere to be seen, and someone was weaving their way through the party robbing the attendants. A brawl broke out, and several apparent dignitaries were assaulted before the capitol police showed up to question what in the GALAXY was going on, and why there was a Wookiee holding the severed arms of a now dead Clawdite. What could possibly go wrong?*

## **Recap**

### **Police Interrogation**

The group is brought out to the alley behind the Alisandre Hotel by the capitol police and assembled under their guard. After a short wait, the leader of the group closes of a holo call and addresses the assembly. She states that the officers are here to get to the bottom of the disturbance at the hotel, particularly since it is normally such a high end establishment. Statements will be taken from everyone regarding the incident, and they are instructed to wait patiently as the police go about their business. With that, she motions for Callen and Katira to approach for their statements to be taken.

As Katira and Callen are taken to the side, Tek takes a moment to concentrate on life detection as Blaine, Jowkazza, and Jawa Jimmy take a look around. The Quarren thief is still left with the group alongside Taz Solana, Tamiel Cureao, and the corpse of the dismembered Clawdite that Jowkazza still holds the arms to.

Being questioned first, Katira launches into a lengthy story about the night, being sure to focus on how great she looked walking into the life day party, how amazing the night was going, how she won a competition for a starship, and generally anything that comes to mind that might make her look good. Eventually the officer realizes that though they got the night’s story, the Zeltron could keep them here all night. They send her back out, and are able to have a much more direct conversation with Callen before calling Tek over.

> "*Tek’s my name, music’s my game, lightsaber combat is my…*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*…my aspiration.*"
> ― Droo
>
>

> "*Concentration is my… don’t interrupt me!*"
> ― Blaine
>
>

Callen interrupts Tek’s story with a shout of concern over the missing lucky eyeball, and the police are suddenly interested in the theft. The officer in charge sends two of their subordinated back to the hotel to take a look around, then assigns another to pat search all of the detained individuals for any stolen goods. As they begin, Blaine is asked if everyone that they were at the afterlife party at is present, to which the smuggler informs them that there appear to be several people missing.

> "*Where is the rest of your party? This is all we brought from the hotel.*"
> ― Police Officer
>
>

> "*Well, I had my baby mama and my baby. We also had Tek’s hot girlfriend.*"
> ― Blaine
>
>

> "*Hey! Only I can call her that.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Alright. The twi’lek that I find not attractive at all, but Tek finds very attractive.*"
> ― Blaine
>
>

Suddenly, one of the officers hurries over to report that they just finished looking over the security footage from the hotel, and someone appears to be missing. They gesture over to Merrick Kleiner and ask what he knows, to which the slicer asks if they’re referring to Bota Zi. Suddenly the team realizes that Bota is in fact NOT with them, and a slight panic begins to move through the alley. The officers state that everyone can leave with the exception of Jawa Jimmy and Jowkazza, and an argument ensues over the selective release.

> "*We’re gonna need the Wookiee too, since he’s the only one responsible for murder tonight.*"
> ― Police Officer
>
>

> "*Is it really murder if it’s in self defense? This seems like anti-human sentiment.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*What are you talking about self defense? The Wookiee attacked that changeling.*"
> ― Police Officer
>
>

The argument begins to get louder, and suddenly Blaine steals the identification badge from the Coruscant Security Force Officer (Warren) standing nearby. Didinterested, Jowkazza approaches the grumpy old man sitting off in the corner and growls out in Shyriiwook, with his translator droid asking who the man is. He is informed that the elderly gentleman in a puffy coat and warm mittens is Bernard Sanderson, a simple barfly that got caught up in everything. While he may not be particularly invested in anything going on, Bernard does warn Jowkazza that the Clawdites aren’t to be messed around with, motioning to a nearby stairwell as an apparent mercenary steps out onto a raised platform with the figure of Bota Zi being held at gunpoint.

> "*Let the Quarren go and Bota lives. Otherwise you guys can kiss him goodbye.*"
> ― Mercenary
>
>

> "*Go ahead and shoot him!*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Are we free to go? I don’t want to be involved in this.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

The Coruscant Police pause, having already removed the binders from everyone except the Quarren already, then move to take cover. None of the team is convinced by the fake Bota Zi being held hostage, having noted that he has two perfectly functional eyes. In response, Katira takes the Quarren hostage and positions her as a human shield while asking why she seems to be so important, but only receives a threat in response.

### **Alleyway Altercation**

As the group begins to place themselves in preparation for combat, a finely dressed Gamorrean appears to block off their escape through a nearby alley, and a final offer to exchange Bota for the Quarren is issued as the Quarren sprays ink into Katira’s face.

Angry that she now has ink on one of her favorite evening dresses, Katira draws a vibrodagger and stabs the Quarren twice as she continues to use her as a (double wounded) shield, then shouts to the mercenary that they can either kill the faux Bota Zi or the Quarren dies. Jawa Jimmy further emphasizes that no one believes the charade by drawing his ion cannon and firing at the mercenary to stun him.

> "*He’s got Bota right in front of him, so you’ll have to try not to hit him.*"
> ― Luke
>
>

> "*That sounds like a Bota problem.*"
> ― Jawa Jimmy
>
>

Unphased by the turn of events, the mercenary motions to the Gamorrean to move in for the Quarren, then takes two shots - one at Callen, one at Katira - and manages to wound Katira in the alley, causing her to release the Quarren. From the alleyway, the trench coat figure of Blaine Hansom suddenly fires up toward the mercenary, a trail of flame coming from his rocket boots. He slams right into the unprepared gunman, throwing him to the ground and leaving him sprawled out and unconscious.

> "*I’m an undercover police officer. This investigation is under my jurisdiction now.*"
> ― Blaine flashing his stolen Police ID
>
>

On the top of the platform, the suspect Bota Zi is knocked to the ground as the mercenary attempts to use him to stop his fall. Blaine looks up to his old friend, but receives no response to his presence at all.

Down in the alley, the now enraged Gamorrean jumps down from his high ground and rushes the two Coruscant Police standing next to the Quarren. Standing right in the middle of the melee, the Police Lieutenant formerly in charge looks on in horror, her officers laying wounded on the ground, one of her former prisoners (Katira) having just stabbed another prisoner (the Quarren) after being inked in the face.

Adding to the confusion, the intoxicated figure of Callen ignores the blaster fire and other chaos going on around him and storms off toward Bernard Sanderson still sitting to the side. Without a single word, he draws back and punches the old man straight in the face, leaving the man stammering and confused.

> "*I’m kinda confused, I’m a little loose right now… why are you here? Why are you watching all this? Do you know where our eyeball is?!*"
> ― Callen
>
>

> "*Uh, yeah… I saw that. That crazy thing with the tentacles put it in her satchel!*"
> ― Bernard Sanderson
>
>

Callen realizes his mistake and becomes extremely apologetic, though not without attributing some blame to the old man for creepily watching them all night. As he guides Bernard off to the side, several Coruscant Police Officers approach the group warily, their intentions unclear. In the thick of the fighting, Droo reaches out in the force and pulls one of the wounded officers from under the feet of the well dressed Gamorrean, knocking him to the ground.

Elsewhere in the force, Tek decides that he should support Callen in his ill conceived interrogation of a mysterious old man. He strides over confidently, and begins to threaten the unsuspecting character to no effect.

> "*You still gonna claim innocence? Like you don’t know anything? We all know who you are.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Of course I am. I have nothing to share with you all. You gonna try to steal my wallet next? I’m just an old man in the streets of Coruscant!*"
> ― Bernard Sanderson
>
>

In a sudden wave of power (28 on 2D6) Tek stretches out his hand, and the elderly gentleman has his chair ripped out from under him and sent flying into the night. Tek assures Callen that he has his back, and the old man threatens to call the “Governor” in on the pair as he shakily rises to his feet. When questioned who he is referencing, Bernard informs Tek that “you don’t become senator without stepping on someone else”. Looking on in shock, Jowkazza notices that the nearby officers show little interest in the bullying of an old man, but appear instead to be preparing to attack Rusty. He places himself in position to attack, but sudden chatter over their communicators seems to change the guards demeanor as they turn and walk away casually.

In the middle of the conflict, Katira manages to wipe the remaining ink from her eyes to find the Gamorrean has fled with the body of the deceased Clawdite, leaving the Quarren behind to bleed out. On top of the building, Blaine rushes to Bota Zi to discover a now non-functional droid in place of his friend. The Police Lieutenant shouts out in frustration, asking why backup is taking so long to arrive and wondering aloud what is going on, and no answers seem to be forthcoming.

Responses finally come in through the Police frequencies, indicating that Cal Omas has been notified and a team is being sent in to assess the situation. As the situation comes to a close Katira approaches Tamiel Cureao and returns his code cylinder, convincing him that she found it on the Quarren. A surprised Tamiel assures Katira that she’ll be rewarded for her actions, and offers his condolences for the blaster wound and ink to the face she received as she carried them out. Nodding, Katira grabs her side in pain and collapses into the unprepared arms of Taz Solana, then tumbles to the ground.

> "*You’ve had a busy night, haven’t you lady?*"
> ― Taz Solana
>
>

> "*It could always get busier…*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*Oh boy… let’s get you cleaned up.*"
> ― Taz Solana
>
>

### **Next Steps**

The group is collected in the alleyway and shuttled to Cal Omas’ offices where they find Al Mosfriday and the Senator waiting. Al informs the group that they have reviewed the security footage from the Alisandre Hotel and it appears that Bota Zi was kidnapped to be used as a bargaining chip by Governor Parnot and the Imperial Remnant. He tosses out a few responses off the top of his head - a direct assault in which they will be outgunned, attempt to cripple their fuel supply line, or a covert assault on Kampe - but is open to suggestions from the group.

> "*You guys have any other proposals that may be viable in this situation?*"
> ― Al Mosfriday
>
>

> "*Yeah, we could dress as a traveling gypsy music group, go to wherever he is being held, and then sneak in.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Let’s just get more of Droo’s droids and use them.*"
> ― Blaine
>
>

To add to the situation, Mosfriday provides additional intel that has been obtained since the group completed their mission on Kampe. The Imperials are collecting and producing large amounts of transparisteel for some unknown cause, and Governor Parnot appears to have joined forces with Natasi Daala after her recent acquisition of the Super Star Destroyer *Night Hammer*.

Uncertain of the best course of action, Katira asks if Droo and Tek can find anything by reaching out into the force, agreeing to pay Droo 10,000cr for any efforts that she would be willing to make when the aspiring Jedi takes slight offense to Katira referring to the force as “magical space wizardry”. Tek and Droo each attempt to concentrate (Tek fails) and search for Bota, managing to determine that the bounty hunter is being loaded onto a ship somewhere on Coruscant and seems to have some knowledge of the people that have kidnapped him.

As the team begins to discuss their options, Katira approaches Cal with a personal request. She comments that she is sure that the Senator has read through all the mission debriefs from the expedition to Kampe, and requests that he and Al Mosfriday assign Taz Solana to the upcoming mission, whatever is decided. The pair agree to assign Taz to the mission, but are sure to comment on the fact that the group *also* allowed a group of Uggnaughts to steal their dropship, the *Deep Pocket*, and draw a line when Katira also requests use of Skids McDougal’s Rodian Hunting Rifle.

Blaine points out that they may not be able to find much additional information on Kampe, and it is unlikely that Bota is being held in a location that the Imperial Remnant know is compromised, so the best course of action seems to be to attempt an incursion at one of the likely refueling stations used by the Imperials to gain some intel and move forward from there. Recalling his most recent foray into space, and the near death experience that went along with it, Jawa Jimmy hesitatingly agrees but hopes that the group will spend more time on the ground than in a starship.

After a bit of time reviewing the options available to them, the team finally decides to set out for an Imperial refueling station that the New Republic will provide information on. With a plan in mind, they set out to prepare for their new mission, hoping that somewhere at the end they will manage to rescue their missing ally.

> "*This is a real roundabout way to get Bota back, but… I think this is what he’d want.*"
> ― Blaine
>
>

> "*To go the most roundabout way possible.*"
> ― Jowkazza
>
>

> "*Who knows? Maybe they’ll utilize one of those outposts as a holding cell for Bota as well.*"
> ― Al Mosfriday
>
>

> "*Or a pizza joint…*"
> ― Jowkazza
>
>

## **Featured Characters**

### **Our Heroes**

* Blaine Hansom
* Callen Mutig
* Droo Vos
* Jawa Jimmy
	+ Sparky
* Jowkazza
* Katira Eve
* Roostan Steele
* Tek Krodak

### **NPCs**

* Taz Solana
* Shiri'ani
* Tamiel Cureao
* Merrick Kleiner
* Bernard Sanderson
* Al Mosfriday
* Warren Tanevon, Coruscant Police Force Prefect to the 19th district
* Cal Omas

### **Mentioned**

* Skids McDougal
* Governor Parnot

## **Inventory**

* -10cp to pickpocket Coruscant Officer Warren’s badge (Blaine)
* +Coruscant Police Force Prefect Badge of Warren Tanevon (Blaine)
* -Tamiel Cureao’s code cylinder (Katira)

## **Notes**

* During the “interrogation”, the group realized that they didn’t quite know who had first called for the afterparty to meet at the Alisandre Hotel

## **Quotations**

> "*Ma’am are you drunk?*"
> ― Capitol Police
>
>

> "*You know what, that was the plan later tonight. But you interrupted my time with the beautiful Ms. Taz Solana out there and now, well… I might like some weird stuff, but I’m not into binders.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*Here’s what happened as I remember: Hanging out with my super hot girlfriend Shiri’ani. Opening presents. People start drinking. Then there’s an afterparty. Then lots of talking. Lots of drinking water. Then someone starts pickpocketing us. Someone angers a Wookiee… arms get torn… Wookiees can’t be blamed for ripping arms off. It’s so natural to them. Like an art form.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt, but my friend’s gigantic eyeball is missing. Can we focus?*"
> ― Callen
>
>

> "*How much detail do you want? There was a harp player involved. Do you want to go into the details of which songs this harp player played? How many strings there were on the harp?*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Just to recap… we found the eyeball at the end of last mission. I have it, and even though I have this eyeball, I am still fully in support of you doing this, Callen.*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*You just don’t want to be the most aggro character.*"
> ― Blaine
>
>

> "*I thought we were just going to go to a party and do some people’s taxes, I didn’t sign up for this! I just said let’s get some punch and next thing I know you’re throwing furry fists at a changeling. What’s going on?!*"
> ― MT-D Translator
>
>

> "*It was just the chair that received damage from the force. Gravity and his old, brittle bones did the rest.*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*The third option would just be to uh…*"
> ― Al Mosfriday
>
>

> "*Do nothing?*"
> ― Tek
>
>

> "*Cut our losses?*"
> ― Katira
>
>

> "*Yeah. Cut our losses and let Bota Zi die at the hands of the Imperial Remnant.*"
> ― Al Mosfriday
>
>

Back to top