One of the security droids scans over HM-6T6 and identifies the hypermatter reactor igniter. Surprisingly to all, but particularly Dro-Kar, the security droids cooperate. “ Very well, ” the more rusty of the two buzzes as it steps aside to allow the cadre up the loading ramp. “ Captain Trex is currently located in the cockpit, likely going over some diagnostics. Please proceed. ”

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@Richardbuxton - HM-6T6 knows that the HMRI is needed to jump to lightspeed, but is not required for takeoff. The HMRI can essentially be installed on the fly and the ship can leave the planet's atmosphere safely while the installation is in process.

So what's the plan? Is everyone boarding the ship now or staggered?

So I pretty much vanished off the face of the Earth for a bit, and I apologize. The explanation is that, basically, right when I was coherent enough to resume posting after being sick... my iPhone decided that it was time to throw a giant tantrum. So I couldn't post for a bit.

The good news is that my phone is finally fixed. I understand completely if I've been gone too long and you don't want me back, and I'm really sorry if my tech curse held up the game.

18 minutes ago, The Shy Ion said:

You sure are welcome! It seems we are ready to collect our new ship so good timing. Speaking of which if no one protests then T6 is going straight up the ramp and to the engine bay.

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As I said on the Wayward Stars topic, welcome back! And no way would I want to say farewell when we've only just started.

Also for ship boarding, I imagine we're all going to head in if the droids are amenable to this course of action? If 6T6 is heading in, so too will Lang.

You are a sight for sore eyes, The Shy Ion, welcome back!

I agree, we should board the ship. Perhaps the less combat-capable members to the rear? I don't imagine Captain Trex will welcome us with open arms...

"Beep boop" T6 thanked the two Droids, the same ones he saw earlier when he diagnosed the fault with the Hyper Matter Reactor Ignitor. He followed up with a stream of binary chatter which roughly translated to "your chassis are due for a clean, cut, and polish. See me later and I'll help you out with it"

With that out of the way he assends the ramp headed straight for the Hyper Matter Reactor in what amounts to engineering on these small ships. Unknowingly the walking wall was putting himself right between his new allies and any danger.

Dro-Kar blinks for a moment. It sometimes seems like droids are getting more stupid, although that doesn't seem that logical to the Nikto. After standing there dumbfounded and silent for a few seconds he finally realizes he probably should say something. "Yes. Good. We will do that. Excellent. Have a nice day."

As he walks away he feels like a complete moron. Who in the galaxy tells a droid to have a nice day? After passing the droids he walks purposefully towards the ship. He looks at Lang and 66, and back to the others. "We doing this? This Trax-fellow won't just give us the ship. We will have to shoot him. But we should probably use the stun-setting. He might work for Teemo but that might not be because he had much choice."

He then follows 66 as he ascends on board the strangely shaped ship.

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@The Shy Ion - welcome back! So glad to hear from you! We're all very excited to have you back in the fold, here. Jump right in after you catch up. I believe we're two scenes past where you fell off. Caizu unlocked the docking clamps at the traffic control tower, followed by a shootout in the middle of the street with two squads of Stormtroopers. Now this group of fugitives is about to force their way on this VCX freighter and make a break for it...

I'll get the next post up this afternoon!

“ Remember, whatever you do, never, ever, and I do mean ever, point that kriffing thing at me, ” Trok instructs Caizu, pushing the barrel of the E-11 blaster carbine towards the ground. He lowers his voice to where only the Chiss can hear. “ You’re more likely to shoot one of us with it than you are to hit your target, so try your best not to murder one of our new-found friends. Safer in numbers, you know. ” Without waiting for the reply, Trok lopes over to catch up with the others. The Dug’s gait, powered by his well-muscled arms, creates a certain swagger. “ It’s about time we get out of here, before someone finds that mess we left outside the control tower. ”

The small group of fugitives heads up the loading ramp - HM-6T6, carrying the hypermatter reactor igniter, followed by Dro-Kar, then Lang, with Trok, Caizu, and 41-VEX bringing up the rear.

Just as the CEC maintenance droid reaches the top of the ramp, HM-6T6 is confronted with a reptilian growl. “ Trespassers on my ship? ” A menacing Trandoshan, standing nearly seven feet tall, rounds a corner to come into view from the airlock. Trex wears a tight fitting, crimson spacesuit that accentuates his gaunt frame. His limbs are long and thin but the alien moves with a languid agility that betrays his size. “ On my property, it is well within my rights to slag the whole lot of you, ” Trex warns. The Trandoshan’s skin is more rough than others of his species, and his scales are a sickly yellow-green color. Three thick fingers wrap tightly around the grip of his heavy blaster pistol. Though the blaster remains in its holster for this moment, Trex seems ready to draw at the first sign of real danger.

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I flipped a destiny point to have Trex confront now... new pool 3D 2L

"Captain Trex, i'm here to fit the Hyper Mater Reactor Igniter. I diagnosed the problem earlier, you probably don't recognise me, ill get the ship hyperspace capable in no time." 66 holds the HMRI out in front of him as he begins to walk right up to the Trandoshan with the intent of going through the ship towards its engine rooms.

"Yeah, uh. We're with him," Dro-Kar finally says. All this deception wasn't his strong suit. And this guy isn't a dumb droid.

"Actually. No, not really. We're getting off this rock and your ship seems like the best way to do that. I started my day killing “Dabross, the Gammorean called the Mutilator in a gladiatorial contest. And just now we blasted down several Stormtroopers that are apparently working with Teemo. If we have to shoot you and yours to get off Tatooine on this ship, we'll do that. But I suggest you don't let it come to that. Walk away."

The Nikto looks at Trex, death in his eyes. He would prefer not to do more killing before getting out of here, but it is an imperfect universe and sometimes beings don't take the hind and need killing.

"Hell, that's about as honest as ya can get," Lang comments, the grimace on his face clear as he blanches as Dro-Kar's forthright way of approaching the matter. But it's better that than dancing around the truth for a time before just getting into a scrap anyway, he figures. Deciding to pitch in, the Mirialan adds, "Better to be alive and without a ship than dead and still without a ship, friend."

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@Kymrel - I like the move! Please go ahead and make a Coercion check opposed to Trex's discipline (2P 1R). You guys have him severely outnumbered, so give yourself two boost dice. Also @waywardgm can assist in this action. I'll flip another destiny point (now 2D 3L) to upgrade the check once. Let's see it!

Dro-Kar is a rather straight-forward kind of fellow. Assuming Lang gives skilled assistance for the check:

Coercion against Trax : 2eA+1eP+2eB+1eD+2eC 1 success, 1 advantage

Well waddayaknow. Both Challenge Dice came up blank. When does that happen, like ever? Incidentally, so did the Boost Dice, so him being outnumbered apparently doesn't phase him at all!

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Color me impressed I'll get the reaction post up in the next couple of hours.

Trex locks eyes with Dro-Kar, seemingly ignoring the lumbering droid and the Mirialan. The Trandoshan calmly assesses the threat of the menacing Nikto, contemplating the unperturbed tone that the alien took while discussing death. The Trandoshan slaver’s gaze is intense. The familiar dilation of the pupils, the heightened adrenaline, the serenity in the stare that only one hired killer would recognize in another. An expert gunman in his own right, even Trex would have little chance to survive a firefight against five armed assailants. I haven’t lived this long by taking unnecessary risks , Trex thinks to himself.

Ever so slowly, Trex eases his hand from the grip of his heavy blaster pistol. “ You fringers are my kind of scum, ” Trex says with what could possibly pass as a smile, though his gaping maw filled with pointed teeth make the Trandoshan look more predatory than anything else.

Trex exits the ship, his reptilian claws grating in an awful screech against the metal loading ramp as he disembarks. “ We both know that Teemo the Hutt isn’t going to like this shipjacking. And no one cheats Teemo and lives. ”

The bounty hunter stares up at the Queen of Scepters, his facial scales quivering in determination. Trex knows all too well the cost of abandoning his starship to this unlikely band of fugitives. “ I will offer you one piece of advice. Run. Run far, far away. ”

"I will be in the engine bay, don't bother me" the monotone delivery from his simple voice replicator shows no inkling of care about the threat just issued by the ships previous owner. His processors though are now assessing all the dangers and risks that they have put themselves into, he certainly isn't calm. That palace is certainly not where I want to end up, run we will then.

"Good choice, partner. Let's hope we spend a long time on opposite sides of the galaxy from one another!" Lang says, as he tips his hat to Trex while walking backwards up the ramp and into the interior of the ship. Inside, he heaves a sigh of relief, pleased that they avoided fighting in the docking bay where the vessel could get damaged. He watches Six-Tee-Six stomp off, and decides it's best to leave the huge droid alone as requested.

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Can I please do some sort of check to determine ship layout, looking for either the cockpit or the gunnery areas of the vessel?

The green Nikto watches Trax walk off the ship, keeping a wary eye on him as the ramp closes up. "That went better than I though it would," he comments dryly. "He's smarter than the average Trandoshan, that's for sure. Which is good for us today. We might not like it later. Because he will come for us. But not today."

Dro-Kar looks around, trying to find his way to the cockpit. "We need to secure the cockpit. 66 is headed to the engine room. He should be able to clear out any crew that might remain there. We should clear out the cockpit and take off. Trex might try to lock us down again if we give him the time. And we don't know what kind of firepower Teemo's Imperial friends might have in orbit. We need to get out of here before the fat slug realizes what's happened."

With his newly acquired rifle in his hands he pushes ahead into the ship to the direction he imagines the cockpit might be, wary of any lurking crewmen or other trouble on board the freshly stolen ship.

“ Listen, I know my way around a starship. ” Trok pushes past, following Dro-Kar towards the cockpit located at the nose of the vessel. “ It’s time to blast off. Where do you think you’re going, Horns-for-brains? ” he jokes at the Nikto. “ I’m the best pilot that we’ve got. I’m flying this junker. ”

Trok crosses his muscular legs across his chest before turning around to face the group of unlikely fugitives. His new friends. Quite a ragtag lot you’ve got yourself mixed up with this time, Trok , the Dug thinks to himself. He scans the faces of his new crewmates. A no-good Chiss gambler. A Nikto gun-for-hire. A rusted-up maintenance droid with some bad wiring. A back-world Mirialan with a whiskey problem. “ You’ll do, ” Trok says to Lang with a nod, his fleshy tendrils twitching. “ Where to, Captain Shinqo? ” He then addresses the rest of the crew. “ The rest of you try to make yourself useful. Mittens is installing the HMRI in engineering. Dro-Kar, you seem to be good at shooting sentients, hopefully that holds true out in the void. You man the turret? Hutt Bait, try not to get in everyone else’s way. You got us out of a jam with those computer skills, maybe you operate the sensor bay. ”

“ What about me? ” 41-VEX, the medical droid, asks as it shuffles towards the loading ramp. “ You weren’t going to forget about me, where you? I am quite surprised that I was left in the speeder, so I decided to follow when no one came back to check on me. ”

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@waywardgm @Kymrel @Richardbuxton @The Shy Ion - sincere apologies for the long delay in posting here. Took me much longer than expected to get the ship and everything situated

Everyone should decide exactly where they're going to be for takeoff. Additionally, during space combat, it would be great if one of you would run Trok? It's a lot for me to handle as a novice GM to run a participant as well as the baddies. Any takers?

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VCX-85R

The VCX-85 light freighter was a freighter manufactured by the Corellian Engineering Corporation that saw operation during the final days of the Galactic Republic and the reign of the Galactic Empire. Much like its larger cousin, the VCX-100, the VCX-85 shares its signature diamond-shaped design.

The Ranger (R) model line of starships was created to cater to the pilot in need of a more durable vessel to survive the day to day rugged hardships of the Outer Rim. The VCX-85R is more compact, with only two decks, and the stock freighter comes equipped with a reinforced armor plating to navigate even the most demanding and neglected hyperspace routes.

Silhouette: 4

Speed: 3

Handling: -2

Shields: 1 / - / - / 1

Armor: 3

Hull: 27

System strain: 20

Hull type / class: Freighter / VCX-85R

Manufacturer: Corellian Engineering Corporation

Hyperdrive: Primary – Class 2; Backup – Class 13

Navicomputer: Yes

Sensor Range: Short

Ship’s complement: One pilot, one co-pilot, two gunners

Encumbrance capacity: 140

Consumables: 2 months

Cost / Rarity: 115,000 cr / 5

Customization Points: 5

Weapons: one forward turret-mounted light laser cannon (fire arc: forward; damage 6; critical 3; range [close]), one dorsal turret-mounted medium laser cannon (fire arc: all; damage 6; critical 3; range [close])

Here's the top floor:

And the bottom floor:

After making sure Trex didn't leave any surprises on board, Dro-Kar lets the little Dug prattle on. "I hope you pilot half as good as you talk," he simply says. "I'll see about powering up the dorsal cannon. Just avoid any ships you see and try to jump to hyperspace. Don't care where right now. Just somewhere close. We can figure out where when we are on our way."

As he looks for a way to get to the dorsal cannon he realizes he hasn't really thought too much about where they'll go from here. If he's being perfectly honest with himself he never really though he would have made it past the Gammorean pit-fighter, let alone off-world. But they aren't out yet.

He finally finds the stairs to the turret, finding it surprisingly roomy, easily accommodating his bulk. He puts on a headset and powers up the gun. "Let's ride. If you hear me shooting don't panic. I may need to practice a bit and Teemo's palace is coming right up. If I'm really lucky I'll hit the fat slug by accident. A happy accident."

"Capt... Wait, what?" Lang does a double take as the Dug addresses him. "Surely there are better candidates n'me aboard?" But Trok is already moving, and so is Dro-Kar, and then Vex. "Well, fine. I guess I can tell you all not to crash into things and to please shoot the bad guys." Of course they don't hear this, they're all doing their jobs already. That's the right way to go about it when you're in a hurry and on the run; again, in some of their cases.

Hurrying after Trok, who the Mirialan assumes knows where the cockpit is, Lang takes in what he can of the ship as he moves. It's not one he's familiar with, but it's plenty pretty and clearly something to be admired.

you did a really nice job on the floor plans Aurin, is the ramp up into the central cargo hold the main entrance? Or are we all using a ramp up to a docking ring?

The crew of the Queen of Scepters scrambles to their newfound positions aboard the VCX-85R freighter – Trok and Caizu in the main cockpit, with the Dug piloting the ship and the Chiss operating the sensors console, Dro-Kar and Lang as the two gunners, with the Green Nikto seated in the dorsal laser cannon turret and the Mirialan at the nose turret gunner station, and HM-6T6 cloistered in the engineering bay.

The Queen of Scepters thrums loudly as its engines power up just as everyone reaches their destination, providing little time to explore the vessel. The Queen lifts through the hangar bay doors and into the bright sunlight of the Tatooine sky. Soon, Mos Shuuta vanishes as the VCX freighter races out over the Dune Sea and climbs towards outer space.

Suddenly, an alert klaxon blares! Just as the Queen of Scepters is cresting Tatooine’s atmosphere, several spherical starfighters with distinctive hexagonal wing assemblies appear on the ship’s scanners. “TIE Fighters!” Caizu yelps, her fingers quick at work on the co-pilot’s console. The starfighters shoot past, laser cannons blazing. Sparks fly in the cockpit as the ship jostles from the impact from the laser fire.

“We’re not clear from the planet’s gravity well,” Trok growls over the comm system. “And we can’t jump to lightspeed without that hyperspace reactor igniter installed. Hunker down – we’ll need to deal with these TIE fighters first.”

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@Richardbuxton - that wasn't my work, that was the work of Thompson Peters that I yoinked off of the internet. But I agree, he did a wonderful job The loading ramp opens from the front of the vessel, below the nose. Alternatively, one can set up a removable ramp that connects to a docking ring.

@Kymrel and @waywardgm - you two didn't get enough time to do a thorough job exploring, just enough time to get in the seats and strap in before Trok started taking off. You didn't run into any traps along the way, however...

The Queen of Scepters takes two system strain from the glancing blow from the TIE fighters. @Richardbuxton - given that you are filling the engineering role, can you please keep track of the ship (HT, SS, potential future upgrades, etc.)?

@The Shy Ion - Hi Shy! Are you around? If so, do you want to run Trok for this encounter?

There are four TIES in two minion groups, and both minion groups are at close range.

Oh, crap! I guess it's initiative time! Vigilance for Dro-Kar:

Vigilance for initiative : 2eA+1eP 2 successes

Meh, not terrible, but could have been better.

Also, because I'm feeling thick, is that four TIEs in two minion groups of two?