The scene cuts from Bay 4, wiping open from the center. We see a battered turbolift open up, following the wipe. Inside are a couple of unknown humans, a gungan missing an eyestalk, Hiden wearing his latest headwear, Erska futzing with a datapad, Shalo masking his emotions, and BB making quiet binary noises in the corner.
This is definitely the ghetto of the gigantic Star Destroyer. And considering the Errant Venture is a bit of a shadowport already, few have seen a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Just stepping out of the turbolift greets our protagonists with the sight and sound of a babbling rodian, almost passed out on spice. Hiden looks down the passageway, recalls that their destination is 120 meters aft of turbolift seven, and leads the way. All sorts of examples of the squalor on this level are seen as the camera trucks alongside the group.
We’re gonna try something I picked up from Sersa Victory’s Hunger PbP. I’d like you all to describe something sufficiently slum/ghetto/back-alley that your character notices among the rabble in Black Level. A couple aliens trading small packets surreptitiously, looking around all paranoid, then walking away, pretending the other party doesn’t exist, for example. Once all four of you go, I’ll post the description of Quida’s clinic.
“This ARRI certainly got up to quite a bit,” ERSKA mutters to herself as she futzes with the datapad, not paying attention to the change in environment around her and even falling behind the group for a moment. It’s not until she no longer recognizes any of the feet at the top of her peripheral vision that she finally pauses and looks around.
Most of the nearby conscious beings look away from her golden eyes as she scans the crowd. Spotting a short metallic shine and assuming it to be BB, she hurries towards it as it disappears around a corner, only to stop as she realizes it’s a mech bent over and dragging a mostly unconscious gran across the ground. A womp rat sits perched on the humanoid’s leg, nibbling at a bit of exposed skin. “It may go against every bit of my training to say this, but…ew.”
Erska hops around in circles a few times, both to see over the rabble and get a physical check that all her weapons are still in place. Satisfied with her check and now seeing Hiden’s new headgear, she quickly pushes her way through the crowd back to her group.
Hiden turns his head to take a quick glance at the mech, Gran, Womp Rat scene. He turns away and keeps walking. He’s seen it before, and while it still makes him a bit sick, this is life here, you just keep your head up and move along.
A more retched hive of scum and villainy… the ominous voice over has never been to Deel Komad’s on kids eat free night.
Hiden straighten his fez as he gets ready to walk the football field and a half to the job. The smell of refuse, smoke, desperation, and fried Nar Shaddaa skitters hit his olfactory organ (do Durros have noses?). After a quick mental note to find the vendor and grab a bit if they have some Trandoshan mustard, he walks down the hall with confidence.
Shalo almost looks on wistfully…in a past life, this was the place you went to for some quick information on various trade movements that weren’t strictly legal in the eyes of the Empire.
Of course, now this was the place you went to for some quick information on various trade movements that weren’t strictly legal in the eyes of the Durros flying the ship.
Overall, inscrutability remains key.
Oh hey…is that BBQ they’re selling over there?
Constantly scanning the area’s and hallways as they go, BB may or may not have seen a wookie stimulating himself with a twi’lek dancing girls lekku. BB decided to never become an expert on wookie mating rituals after that display.
Good thing his video recording function was OFF.
Hiden walks up to Quida’s door and rings the bell.
Almost immediately after passing turbolift 8 (which doesn’t look like it’s been used since this was an Imperial ship – the scorch marks and blaster streaks on the doors and walls indicate quite the firefight) the group reaches a wide doorway, with metal accordion-style gates fully opened. There is a bright orange neon sign above it which proclaims “Quida’s”.
Inside, there are about a dozen sickbeds, about half of which are occupied by just as many species. The rodian you assume is Quida is dressed in a dirty smock that was probably once white. His skin is a deep green, almost black, and his eyes sparkle in the darkness of the sickbay.
Hiden’s hand has just left the bell when Quida looks up from the wookiee he’s treating to see the party at the door. After a quick visual scan of the relatively hearty and hale group, he speaks in Basic with a think Rodian accent. “Ah, you must be the group Ravokk promised me.” He glances up at the chronometer, then crinkles his eyes as he looks back at the party. “You’re later than I would have expected. Hm. No matter. Denya! See to Lobarorr here.”
A young human girl, no older than 15, hurries to the wookiee and continues to stitch up a wound in his arm. Her golden locks don’t necessarily match her dark almond eyes, but hey, this is Star Wars. Quida waves the group back to a curtain past the beds, then ushers the party through the makeshift doorway.
His “office” is practically just a tiny alcove, barely able to fit four humanoids and a small droid. Quida takes a furtive glance out the curtain, then sweeps it shut before opening a medicine cabinet on the wall. “Of course, it goes without saying… but I’ll bring it up anyway. With the exception of what’s necessary to complete the task I’m putting before you, this information must not leave this room.” He pulls a data cylinder out of the cabinet. “I need data. CorusCore has it. It’s going to be in a data cylinder identical to this, but probably with a red id band around the head. Any questions?”
OOC: Is CorusCore a person or a place? And would a red id band be a unique marker? Would accessing the data cylinder be recorded?
OOC: CorusCore is a company. Based in Coruscant, specializing in biochem.
The red id band may not be unique, but the data cylinder itself might as well be – Quida’s example has a blue band, but the thickness and material of the rings comprising it are something of a signature.
Also… you don’t know if accessing the data cylinder would be recorded. Feel free to step out of OOC to find out.
BB is parked silently behind the others, silently recording the conversation. He pipes up: “More information needed, where in CorusCore is sister device located?”
“Indeed, where in CorusCore is the data cylinder? What is the ID marker? (OCC: you can just say yes to the last question) And how much are you willing to pay for it?”
Quida looks down his snout at the data cylinder for a moment before answering.
“Oh, of course, you probably don’t know the Venture like a local. There are two CorusCore annexes on the ship – a storage facility on blue level and a research lab on diamond level. I’m not sure which you’re going to find the cylinder in.” He pauses again, notes BB’s presence briefly, then puts the cylinder back in the cabinet under the assumption the droid has memorized its appearance.
“As for payment, well. I’m not very good at these things. My brother is fantastic at the whole barter thing… Was. He got spaced. Maybe… maybe he wasn’t better. Well. This task is certainly worth more than the favor Ravokk owed me. I will have to think about it, and I’m sure we’ll come to an agreement before you give me the data.”
OOC: I swear to God I need an excuse to do the “May I see the storage facility, Dr. Venkman” routine. When we get there, I’m on it.
“Mr. Quida, I like you. If I can offer you some advice for future negotiations, you are in a much weaker position for negotiation when you don’t have a price in mind. People who work for you tend to be a be nervous when working without a price, as they don’t want to be screwed over. Also you could be taken advantage of by unscrupulous people claiming extra expenses after the job.
“But I’m willing to overlook this. I will need a 2,000 credit retainer until we conclude the negotiations.” (OOC Persuasion +8)
The rodian’s eyes actually turn briefly red before responding. “Mister Gosek. I may not be the underworld savant Ravokk is, nor am I the foolhardy bastard my brother was. But I was also not born yesterday. You will have your retainer, and it will be five hundred credits, no more.”
Quida pulls a credchip from an inside pocket of his lab coat, sets it using an interface in the wall of the alcove, then hands it to Hiden. He looks at every member of the assembled party, and sighs before continuing. “If you need anything else to get the job done, let me or my assistant Denya know. I need this data, but I have my hands full here.”
Persuasion roll was a (12) total – not quite enough to bust a trained medic’s Will defense.
Erska remains in the back while Hiden attempts to “negotiate” with the doctor. She keeps her eyes focused on the curtain, making sure nobody is planning on trying to interfere with their planning.
OOC: Not much she can contribute to this, but bumping to help keep it alive
Quida, seeing that he’s needed in the other side of the room, and having little business left to conduct with the party, basically just brushes past everyone.
You have the locations of two CorusCore facilities, 500 credits, and a nose full of sickbay scent (assuming you have a nose).