OOC:
Please read the Role Playing Guidelines (http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1485307#post1485307) before you post here.
Anyone's welcome to join.

IC:
Van Lingo's ale mug sat untouched on the table before him. He squinted in the afternoon light as beams of bright orange filtered into the ballroom. Tibanna clouds hung motionlessly outside the viewports.

Cloud City. Who in the worlds would ever want to live here? Of course, the fellow he was waiting for didn't actually live here; it was just a meeting spot. Guess I'd better leave another message...

He pulled out his holocom and dialed Jivva Leea's routing number. "Jivva, it's Lingo again... I'm still waiting in the East Ballroom. If you're in orbit, get your butt down here."

Hopefully, it wouldn't take too much longer for the assassin to show up... Lingo wouldn't be able to do this shipment without him.

OOC: Oh, how I've been waiting for this... Thanks Lingo!

IC: The holocom lit up and hummed airily in the stillness of the dark cabin. No light came except from that of the holocom. The message played, "Jivva, it's Lingo again... I'm still waiting in the East Ballroom. If you're in orbit, get your butt down here."
In an instant, the cabin flew into life, lights activating and computers coming online. Jivva Leea was waiting for this message for days.

He dropped from the ceiling where he had been lying in a sling, idly passing time tweaking his blasters. Lingo had better be ready. When I get down to the surface, that shipment is going to have to move fast. It's going to be rough if we can't move it without being found out. He didn't want to stay long in Cloud City once he and Lingo were ready.

He punched some keys on the navigational controls and the ship began its descent to Cloud City's spaceport. As the ship made its way to dock, Jivva tossed his blasters aside, planning to take only one small, easily concealable holdout blaster with him. He had to be careful.

OOC:
Yeah, man, jump in. Just make sure you read the guidelines first, so this doesn't become one huge jumble.

IC:
Lingo activated the datapad in front of him and scrolled through his ship's remote cargo manifest. The DC-17m rifles which lined the Grim Fandango's holds were high on the Empire's watch list. He'd need his piloting experience and Jivva's killer instinct to get the guns to their destination.

He double-checked the real-time log; they were scheduled to be on Nar Shaddaa within the week, then on to Tatooine, where he'd be paid and the guns would be taken off of his hands.

His client was anonymous, but the shipping request had been routed back to Black Sun headquarters on Coruscant. And although he didn't trust Black Sun's methods, he knew that he'd be paid without any hassle.

His holocomm beeped -- the message was recieved. Good. Now I can get down to business, and tonight we'll be on our way to Nar Shaddaa...

That's if Jivva was willing to participate...

IC: Having landed in a Cloud City hangar and having thrown back a few dubious chemicals to take the final edge off of his spacesickness, Jivva Leea made his way to the East Ballroom. He walked quickly and with purpose; he knew from experience that appearing aimless led to trouble and uncomfortable questioning here. He carefully eyed guard posts as he stepped past them, taking note of all around him. Whatever Lingo needed him for was going to be awfully serious. Leea knew perfectly well that Van Lingo didn’t especially care for him and would only ask for a meeting to discuss moving something of significance. From experience, he also knew that the more significant something was, the more it was worth to transport or escort.

He arrived at the brightly lit ballroom and surveyed the tables. There he was, sitting alone, absorbed by the information appearing on his holocom. Jivva Leea’s hand strayed absentmindedly to his concealed holdout blaster. This set-up had all the markings of a trap. He hated traps. After looking the ballroom’s occupants over several times and mulling possible situations over in his head, the former assassin made up his mind. He walked to Lingo’s table and sat down without saying a word. He kept his hand on his blaster and with his other hand he rapped the table sharply, drawing Lingo’s attention from his holocom. He didn’t bother with small talk.

“What is it?”

IC:
As in most cases, Lingo was startled.

It was a trait that irritated him, but his fairly simple mind was easily distracted, and once again it had led him to a state of surprise.

"Blast you, Leea!" The Corellian smuggler picked up his holocomm from where it had clattered to the floor. "You're lucky that your reputation precedes you. I'd have --"

He cut himself off; sure, he was fast with a blaster, but had a little bit of trouble hitting things. Han Solo had once nicknamed him "Loose Cannon" for the amounts of ammo he consumed in firefights.

"...well, I'd have reacted, anyway. I suppose you want to get down to business."

He outlined the shipment to Jivva: one hundred and fifty DC-17m Old Republic rifles were expected in Mos Espa. The last two shipments had never reached their destination, and now the Empire was well aware that there was a receiving outpost on Tatooine.
Thus, a stop-over on Nar Shaddaa would allow them an opportunity to pick up hyperspace coordinates that would drop them mere kilometers from Tatooine's atmosphere. "And that will keep us fairly safe from capital-class cruisers."

Jivva sat motionless; Lingo still hadn't discussed a price.

"There's no up-front money; we're dealing with Rebels. Upon delivery, I get 15,000 credits -- that includes ship docking and a pay-off for our coordinates. You get 12,000." He held his breath. "And I'll throw in two rifles."

OOC: Doomgiver, can't you post in the OOC thread and stop cluttering the RPG? It would be appreciated.

IC: 12 grand and 2 DC-17's... why do I need DC-17's? They fetch quite the price, but how would I sell them off? That's beside the point, why is there so much cash in this? The buyer didn't have to tell Lingo that the previous shipments had been intercepted. He's not telling me something...
Jivva Leea gave no answer as he sat and thought the offer through. He tapped the table idly and pondered the deal. It was straightforward enough, easy layover, the only serious action might be in the descent to Mos Espa.

"I'll do it, but I want 13,500 so it splits dead even. Keep the rifles, I've got my own. What do you want me to do first?"

IC:
Lingo was caught speechless. He'd expected a tough bargain, but not so fast.

"Wow, that was a quick negotiation... Done deal."

Suddenly, four armed Cloud City troopers stormed in through the nearest doorway. They rapidly took up vantage points, aiming sawed-off blaster rifles at the two outlaws.

"Blast!" Lingo scooted backward and kicked their table over. His right hand yanked his DL-22 from its holster while his left hand slapped back the safety hammer.

IC: Unbelievable... the one time I don't have enough weaponry to vaporize a Star Destroyer and here I am... As Lingo kicked over the table and slid behind it, Jivva Leea dived over the top and quickly drew his holdout blaster with speed born of decades of training and experience. However, he didn't point it towards the Cloud City guards, it was placed firmly against Lingo's temple. "You knew about this, didn't you scoundrel?" He cursed in ways that would make a Hutt blush. Keeping the blaster held levelly against the Corellian's skull, he raised his voice. "Don't you worry, I've got him. We're coming up slow so you can take him off my hands, hold your fire now," then he added in an undertone to Lingo, "listen to me, you slippery son of a rancor, you'd better be prepared to use that popgun in about five seconds here. We're going to get up and walk towards them, and you're going to keep your hands raised, so stow that blaster in the back of your belt. I've only got this little pea blaster and one stun grenade on me. When we're within about 5 meters of those guards, I'm going to surrender my weapons, and that's including the 'nade. You've got to shoot it, when it goes off, we'll make a dash for it, from here to your ship. I should be able to grab one of their rifles and can clear us from here to there. You've got to hit that 'nade, though. You want to prove to me that this wasn't a trap, you'd better hit it or the first thing I'll do will be to break your bony, little neck."

OOC:
I LOVE this! What a story...this is what character role-playing is all about! Nice spin, F-bomb.

IC:
"Vrelt! You know I didn't set this up!" The gun pressed harder against his temple. He winced; this was not what he had expected. Sure, he'd seen his share of hairy situations, but his prayers had been reserved for the latter part of this mission -- not the beginning.

One of the troopers got impatient. "Bring him out, scum! And keep your free hand where we can see it!"

Lingo took a deep breath. "Okay, Leea, it's your neck, too."

He slowly stood and moved from behind the table, Jivva's gun still digging into his skull. Here goes nothing... If I ever needed a bit of accuracy, it's now.

IC: Jivva Leea took a very deep breath before slowly rising from behind the table, hoping that placing his life in the hands of this Corellian smuggler wouldn't be his final mistake. He pressed the blaster viciously into Lingo's forehead, putting on quite the show of having captured the scoundrel for the guards.

As they slowly advanced towards the guards, the troopers began barking their orders. "Hold it scum, stop right there and don't move! Slide your weapons across the floor! Do it, do it now!" Jivva Leea gritted his teeth hard and slowly lowered the blaster and drew the grenade, placing both items on the floor. He closed his eyes and kicked them across the floor towards the guards.

Unfortunately, Leea kicked them a little harder than he should have. The blaster went skidding out the door, and the grenade...

Stop, come on, stop, right there, in between them all, not out the door, no...

... ground to a halt right in front of the commanding trooper. The Mandalorian breathed a heavy sigh of relief before keying himself up to run. Tightening the muscles in his legs, he yelled, "NOW!"

IC:
Lingo's hand flashed behind him and drew the DL-22 faster than Talon Karrde could make a ryll sale. He pulled the trigger and watched in horror as the bolt struck the guard commander's ankle. Oh, crap.

The guard fell, and everything seemed to slow down. In a matter of seconds, the galaxy had gone to hell for him. Jivva's helmeted head turned its gaze to him, and guards scrambled for cover.

Suddenly, the grenade went off. In his despair, Lingo failed to notice where the commander was falling -- the poor sap hit hard on the grenade's activation trigger.

Smuggler and Mandalorian were thrown backwards through the air.

IC: Caught unaware for the second time in as many minutes, Jivva Leea landed heavily against the wall. Lingo ploughed into a table near him. The assassin swore heavily in Mandalorian as he struggled to his feet, the ballroom wavering back and forth in his dazed state. Recovering as only a Mandalorian could, his daze levelled off, and he took in the new situation.

The troopers were all in varying states of unconsciousness, and it looked as if the commander was dead from being hit at point blank by the stun grenade. He pulled a sidelong glance at Lingo as he reached to flooor. He was lying still, but didn't appear to be harmed.

Well, at least, he's ok...

Jivva Leea wasted no time, he saw one of the sawed-off blaster rifles on the floor and quickly snatched it up. Phew, we've got some protection now... He didn't feel so naked with a rifle in his hands. He sprinted across the ballroom to where two of the unconscious troopers lay. He cracked both of them with the butt of the rifle and began to strip them of their Cloud City armor. Finishing with his work, he looked back at Lingo across the now abandoned and still smoking room, he was starting to stir. As he began to rise, Leea tossed a uniform at him.

"Get dressed quickly, reinforcements are going to arrive any second." He pulled on the armor and headed towards the door with rifle in hand. They'd dodged that bullet...

IC:
As Lingo tested his legs, a uniform slapped him in the face. He peeled it off and recognized it as one of the Cloud City guards'.

"I can't wear this!" But Jivva was busy watching the door.

He put on the uniform -- feeling somewhat ridiculous -- and fumbled his way back to his DL-22 pistol. Hello again, baby. Did you miss me?

He heard a noise, and turned his collar inside out: a small comlink was attached at his throat. I wonder if he could tap in to the frequency...?

"Hey, Jivva..." He trotted over and stuck the comlink in the assassin's face. "It's for you."

IC: A crafty smile flitted across Jivva Leea's face as he examined the comlink thrust in front of him by the Corellian. He took in his hands as it crackled with static and assorted chatter. Millions of ideas flew through his highly trained mind at lightspeed. This will do nicely...

Activating the link and transponder, Jivva Leea spoke into the link. "Hail me City Guard Center, over." A painful silence followed broken only by static crackles. A few seconds passed with Leea curiously looking at the link.

"Guard Patrol 004A, this is Guard Control, we read you, over." Another smile breaking across his face, Jivva Leea replied.

"Guard Control, we've got a situation. The Corellian smuggler and Mandalorian assassin put up some resistance. Our patrol Captain is dead, and two are unconscious. Both targets neutralized. The rest of patrol 004A will be en route to examine the smuggler's ship, requesting permission to leave current site, over."

The link crackled back. "We copy 004A, that's an affirmative, permission granted, report on what you find within the next few hours."

Leea replied, "Copy that Guard Control, over and out." He turned to Lingo. "There, we should be able to get to your ship without further incident, but I want to stop off at mine and make sure I pick up my rifle. Let's go." He turned and headed out of the East Ballroom.

However, he was unaware of the activity in the Guard Control Center. "Sir," a communications officer reported to his superior, "I've just finished communicating with Patrol 004A, and there's a problem. Half the unit was neutralized, and the healthies report neutralization of two targets. Wasn't there only one, a Corellian smuggler?"

The officer looked and him and nodded. "That's correct."

"The healthies reported neutralizing a Mandalorian assassin, as well. That's rather inconsistent, isn't it, sir?"

"Yes, it is, dispatch patrol units 1015R and 8832V to the Corellian's ship to detain those two patrolmen and investigate the problem."

IC:
As they got off of the lift, Lingo and Jivva ran into some resistance -- apparently, Cloud City Control wasn't as stupid as they thought they'd be.

Lingo layed down cover fire, letting his hired assassin do the dirty work.

IC: Jivva Leea stepped off of the lift and after putting one foot out the door and nearly having it blown off, he fell flat to the ground and drew his stolen blaster rifle. Lingo DEFINITELY set this up...

He drew a bead on several of the guards and dropped them with shots to the head. Ducking back behind the door, he peeked around the corner and caught a quick head count. He turned to Lingo and mouthed the words, "one dozen."

The assassin shook his head, he'd been in tighter spots in worse places, with tougher odds, but he was usually equipped and prepared for it. He fired around the door and caught another guard in the abdomen. He didn't have time for this.

"Lingo, hit the lift, we'll go back the other way, and head towards my ship. There we can fly around to the other end of this docking bay and come in behind them."

IC:
As he punched in the lift coordinates, Lingo felt Jivva's stare. What a way to convince a guy...

"Look, you know I had nothing to do with this, right?"

The lift stopped. The doors opened to a quite hall, and Lingo rushed out into it, holding his face to the ceiling. No blaster fire! Yes!

They made their way toward Jivva's ship without trouble. Once outside, several cloudcars buzzed the area, but none seemed particularly interested. Lingo looked as his proposed partner. "I guess we'd better take off before someone gets on that lift behind us..."

IC: "Lingo, keep a watch here." Jivva Leea ran into his ship, leaving the Corellian to watch for guards. That bastard is going to shoot me in the back for sure... Let's see how he deals with this...

He jogged down the corridor to his cabin and threw his rifle over his shoulder and grabbed his blasters. Half expecting to turn around to the smuggler pointing a gun at his back and pleasantly surprised that he wasn't, Jivva Leea continued on to his weapon locker. Withdrawing several explosives he moved quickly to place them around key parts of his ship.

Satisfied that the explosives would demolish his vessel but that their blast radii would fail to reach one central ventilation shaft, the one in which he had concealed himself, Jivva Leea detonated the charges. His ship erupted in a fiery explosion that rocked the entire hangar and threw the Corellian to his back. I wonder how much he cares... or whether I'll just have to put him out of my misery.

OOC:
*pant,pant* Sorry I'm late... Sunday = church day.
Haven't we hit page 2 yet?!

IC:
Holy crap... The smuggler stood shakily to his feet. Can a guy get some solid footing around here?

He brushed the debris off of his favorite dewback-hide jacket and yelled for Jivva. "I'm gonna kill you when we get to Tatooine!"

He looked all around, but didn't see the assassin anywhere. A hand clapped down on his shoulder, and he spun. Fortunately for the point-black assassin, Lingo had dropped his rifle in the blast.
Jivva said something to him, but no audible sound came out; Lingo suddenly realized that he'd lost most of his hearing.

"What?!' he yelled. "You're gonna have to speak up!"

OOC: No problem, I'm patient.

IC: Jivva Leea punched Van Lingo hard in the mouth and placed a finger on his other hand to his lips. "Shut up," he mouthed slowly, so that the shell-shocked smuggler could understand him. "We need to be quiet," he continued. That didn't go as planned, he might still have something up his slimy little sleeve...

He wasn't entirely satisfied that Lingo hadn't set him up, and he was determined to find out. But, as nervous as he was about that, he knew it wasn't the time or the place.

He pulled Lingo's sleeve and gestured that they should charter an air speeder to take them to Lingo's hangar from the outside. He headed out.

IC:
Reeling from the sucker-punch, Lingo spotted the rifle he had dropped. He held up his hands and nodded at Jivva's gesture to be quiet, then retireved the lost weapon.

Jivva yanked on his sleeve and signaled that they should get an airspeeder. Then he left.

Lingo considered: getting to his ship was priority number one, keeping the assassin on the job was number two. He finally conceded that following Jivva was the only way to accomplish both,

As rough as Jivva Leea was, he was exactly what Lingo had hoped for. And it would pay off if the Empire ever got a hold of the Grim Fandango, because nobody boarded her. Ever.

He followed the Mandalorian, watching his feet to make sure he wasn't running on anything that made extra noise. He hoped they were headed to the street, unless Jivva knew a charter service number by heart.

IC: Occasionally glancing back over his shoulder to make sure that the nearly deaf Corellian was still following him, Jivva Leea pulled out his holocom and dialed a few little known routing numbers. He monitored the newly opened and practically undiscovered channel while keeping half of his attention on autopilot, heading towards the Cloud City streets. He knew a small, private speeder rental that had always proven reliable in the past. He'd head there, get a speeder, get around to Lingo's ship, get away from Cloud City, and then plan from there. As he payed close attention to his holocom, he began letting part of his mind plan ahead.

I can't dump Lingo now, if I do, he'll probably go straight to the Imps and put them on my tail, and this is way to big of a payday to miss. But if this is all a ploy... It's too elaborate for that, he doesn't think that far ahead... How well do I know him... Let's see, there was Yatharra, he proved... unreliable at best. There was the breakout, he was resourceful and sneaky, I don't like that, he thought awfully far ahead there... And now there is now... The ballroom, the hangar, this is all too coincidental... I'd better-

His thinking broke off abruptly as he heard something on his holocom that caught his full attention. He had been monitoring Imperial security channels that he'd cracked codes for a while ago and was completely caught off guard by what he had heard. His feet stopped carrying him forward and his jaw dropped as he turned to look at Lingo. The Imperial First Forward Fleet was headed for Cloud City.

He's told them I'm here, that dirty, stinking...

Jivva Leea drew a blaster and whirled upon the Corellian knocking him to the ground and levelling the blaster at his head.

"You've got about ten seconds to convince me to not splatter your conniving little cerebrum all over the street!" he yelled loud enough for him to hear. All across the street people were turning to see the scene, many screaming and dropping to the ground at the sight of the Mandalorian's blaster.

IC:
Lingo looked up at the faceless helmet. "Go ahead and shoot, Leea. I'm sick of this tirade."

The helmet didn't move. Neither did the gun.

Lingo stood to his feet. "Go ahead, call my bluff. But before you do, I'll tell you straight up that I'm holding full hand of crap. How you bet now will determine whether we split the pot or let the Imperials have it.
"So shoot now. Otherwise, let's get to my ship and get off of this rock. I'm sick of orange."

IC: Tempted as he was to pull the trigger and splatter little pieces of Lingo's skull up and down the street, Leea grabbed him roughly and pushed him down the street. Jivva Leea did not want the Corellian behind him anymore.

"Keep walking, there's a charter firm just a little further up the street."

Even if we do get a speeder and get into Lingo's hangar and ship, how do we get away from here with an entire Imperial battle group headed this way? This doesn't look good...

IC:
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Lingo muttered. The airspeeder charters were more expensive than even he'd have thought. "Between this and your fee, Leea, I'll be lucky to break even."

The speeder that they had hired sat patiently on the lot, its repulsors whirring. Lingo paid the attendant and climbed aboard, Jivva right behind.

The speeder lifted off in a cloud of orange dust and soared toward the East Platform. Once in the air, the Corellian finally relaxed. "When we get to hyperspace, I'm locking myself in my bunk and taking a nice, long shower."

The comment captured the pilot's attention who looked at his passengers for the first time: a battered, disheveled smuggler and a stiff, blast-burned Mandalorian.
He reached to flip the comm, but stopped as cold steel tickled his neck.

Lingo grinned from behind. "Sorry, pal, but just take us to the platform."

IC: Kicking his feet up on the seat in front of him, Jivva Leea removed his helmet and smiled at the sight of Lingo holding a blaster against the speeder pilot. He laughed as the air whipped at his face, a rare thing for him to do. Between the action he had seen today and the lump of cash in store for him tomorrow, he was feeling quite exhilirated. The euphoria was short lived however.

He knew that in a minute or so he'd have to be ready to combat whatever was in store for them on Lingo's platform. He replaced his helmet and readied his blaster rifle.

... and after that there's still the Imperials to deal with...

He wasn't as worried about it as he had been before. He knew that Lingo was a capable pilot and that The Grim Fandango was a more than capable ship. He figured on being able to outmaneuver anything the Imperials brought to bear outside the atmosphere. However, when a blaster bolt sped past the speeder, his attention came back to the Cloud City guards waiting on the platform below.

He leaned over the edge of the speeder and trained his scope on a guard, nailing him in the head with a well-aimed shot. He continued firing at a leisurely pace, bringing down several guards.

The speeder pilot began to veer off course, but quickly corrected his actions as Lingo pressed the barrel of his blaster even deeper into his neck. The speeder began its descent to the platform.

Here we go...

IC:
"I'm not setting 'er down! You fools are stuck in here!" The pilot was being very uncooperative.

"Do it or I shoot!" Lingo yelled above the blaster fire and wind.

"Then you can kill me and die in the crash, smuggler scum!"

Lingo thought frantically as Jivva assaulted the waiting guards. This is getting old...

"Jivva!" he called, "Get ready to jump!"

He knew that if they could get on top of the ship without breaking their legs, he could get them inside via the upper docking hatch.

"Last chance," he told the pilot, but the doomed man was determined to take down the mercenaries with him.

Lingo hit the man with the butt of his gun, and the craft dropped rapidly. Jivva held on miraculously as the speeder nosedived toward the permacrete.

"Come on, Jivva, jump!" Lingo held his breath and dove from the sinking speeder. A good half-dozen-meter drop, he hit the Grim Fandango's hull rolling and sprawled out with his hands covering his neck.

OOC: Very nice...

IC: Slinging his rifle over his back and desperately trying to steady himself on the diving speeder, Jivva Leea trusted to blind luck, closed his eyes tight, and leapt from the craft. Instinct told him to curl up in a ball to minimize damage upon impact, but for some reason he only seemed to be capable of falling like a log. He heard a distinct creature-on-metal thud and assumed that Lingo had successfully landed on the ship. He gingerly opened his eyes to see where he was falling.

Not good...

He slammed very solidly into the permacrete of the landing platform, surrounded by a hail of blaster fire. He hit hard, but was seemingly undamaged aside from being very sore.

At least they're really bad shots...

He quickly rolled onto his feet and ran to the ship. "Lingo open up the docking ramp! Open it up!" He turned and fired a few shots towards the Cloud City guards, but kept sprinting towards the ship, bellowing at the top of his lungs. "LINGO, OPEN THE SHIP!"

IC:
Crap, crap, crap! Lingo dropped down into the ship, ignoring the small lift that was rising to meet him. He rolled to the side and landed hard on the deck. Blast, we're going to be nursing broken ribs all the way to Nar Shaddaa...

He dashed to the main ramp and slapped the switch. Nothing happened.

"C'mon, c'mon!" He punched it again. Nothing.

Finally, he hauled back and kicked the door. Creaky servos and gunky hydraulics finally jumped to life and opened the ramp. "Get in here!"

IC: Dashing full tilt for The Grim Fandango, Jivva Leea fired the occasional shot over his shoulder back at the Cloud City Security forces. He reached the ship, saw that the docking ramp wasn't open, and then exploded in anger.

That dirty, slimy, conniving, rancor-rutting, double-dealing... He's left me out here to die...

"You dirty, slimy, conniving, rancor-rutting, double-dealing nerfherder, open that ramp!!"

He dived behind a repulsor lift and used it for cover. "If you don't open that blasted thing, I'll vaporize your entire bantha-loving ship!"

He threw off his rifle and hit the maximum charge dial on it with one hand, firing back at the guards with a blaster in his free hand. He grabbed the rifle and aimed it at the door, shouting, "Last chance, partner!"

At the precise moment he had planned on firing, the door whirred and reluctantly opened. There was Van Lingo above on the ramp. "Get in here," he said.

Tempted to shoot the smuggler, Jivva Leea thanked various entities that the Corellian had decided not to kill him or leave him for dead just yet. Firing the rifle charge over his shoulder and smiling his patent grim smile, he ran up the ramp to a chorus of explosions, swearing, and painful cries from the guards.

Goodbye, Cloud City...

He turned to Lingo as the ramp slowly closed. "Remind never to go back there as long as I live," Jivva said. He slumped down, his back against the wall.

Hello, traitorous smuggler... How do you do, massive Imperial fleet...

He sighed and levelled his blaster at the Corellian for the third time that day. "Back to the tirade," he said.

Name: Javil Gueros
Occupation: Cloud City Security Gaurd
Age: 29
Home Planet: Nar Shaddaa
Bio: Javil was born on Nar Shaddaa, but his family moved away from there when he was only three. They had lived in could city ever since. He was on the Cloud City Special Forces Unit, but he was demoted for the suspucted murder of a rich banker, but there was not enough evidence to convict him, so they simply demoted him.
Equipment: Standard-issue blaster pistol and rifle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Javil got up slowly. He could barely belive he was alive, let alone still able to walk.
ughh... Even the Special Forces wasn't this rough on you... He looked at the black-charred spot on the street, now mixed in with the red blood of the security gaurds, and sighed. I guess I should follow them...

He stood up and ran to get in one of the Cloud City cars. He pressed the ignition. It stalled. C'mon, c'mon! Start start start! He pounded the dashboard untill the engine thrummed to life.Yes! He put full power to engines and went in pursuit of The Grim Fandango .

OOC:
Good timing, slapshot.

IC:
"What are you going to do, shoot me on my own ship?" Lingo sneered. "Trust me, bub, you couldn't get the Fandango within a five parsecs of an Imp fleet, and you know it."

Suddenly, the cockpit alarms went off. Lingo trotted back down the gangway to see what it was. "Someone's chasing us in a cloud car. I can't tell if there are more than one..."

He powered up the gun turrets. They're not quads, but they pack a punch, expecially against unshielded cloud cars.

OOC: Welcome, slapshot. One thing, use a word program to check your posts, before you put them up. It makes everything more enjoyable for everyone. Thanks, I know that I'm really anal about things like that.
Lingo, did you notice about the fleet? I took into account that Nal Hutta took place right before The Empire Strikes Back, and figured in the time difference between the two as the time when the Imperial fleet follows Han Solo to Cloud City. Just a thing, it was to keep me in character, all paranoid of being sold out.



IC: Jivva Leea waved the blaster at thin air as Lingo ran to the turret controls. He sighed and slumped his shoulders. His hand dropped the blaster to the deck and flew to his abdomen as the first spasms of flight sickness took hold.

He gulped back vomit. "Lingo, leave the Cloud Car. It can't follow us out of the atmosphere. If we need to, I'll take the turret, you worry about getting us past the Imperial fleet. It's not as if he stands a chance of boarding us in that flying rat trap, especially on my watch."

He leaned heavily against the wall and struggled to his feet. He heaved a little as he removed his helmet and steadied himself.

Come on, Jivva... Hold on, the ride is only going to get rougher... You can be as sick as you want when you get past the Imperials...

He took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled slowly through his mouth. Grabbing his blaster from the floor and holstering it, he headed to the turret bay.

OCC: Will do F-Bomb. Hope this post is better... I don't want to screw up the awesome story you got going here.

IC: Javil turned the yoke hard to the left. The turbolaser shot just missed him. "Great..." Getting seen was not in his plans. Neither was getting shot at.

He sighed and turned the thrusters to maximum. He wouldn't be able to follow The Grim Fandango out of the atmosphere, so his only hope was to try and board the ship.

More turbolaser shots whizzed through the air. Javil turned and twirled through the air. " Well, at least I know five years of training are finally paying off.

Shots were still coming, and he wasn't going to be able to dodge them all. The cloud car shook violently. "Dang It!" The right side of the car had been hit.

Whoever's in that turret knows what he's doing... Javil cursed silently and continued his pursuit of The Grim Fandango .

OOC:
Good thinking, F-bomb. You have to have a blockade run! But let's save the big one for later -- Doomgiver wants in, and I think Nar Shaddaa would be a great spot for anyone to jump on. Let's just buzz past this fleet.
Side note: this cloud car thing is gonna be tricky... slapshot, do you plan on jumping aboard, or do you want the story to split temporarily?

IC:
Lingo looked in horror at his holocam screen. He punched the intercom control. "Don't you hurl on my deck!"

Then, for spite, he yanked on the flight stick and pulled the Fandango into a vertical climb.

OCC: I was planning on getting shot out of the air and then Doomgiver come in to help, but I'm fine if he doesn't.

IC: A turbolaser shot hit the hull of the small cloud car. It shook violently. Dang these smugglers! They're gonna kill me if I don't fall back... And I don't exactly want to die right now...

Javil turned back to Cloud City in disgust. He would have to continue his pursuit later, and in a different vehicle. He would use his Z-95 Headhunter. But for now he had to figure out where they were going. He sat in the bar, thinking of a way to follow the elusive pair.

OCC: Doomgiver, this is where you come in if you want to side with me.

OOC: Slapshot: Doomgiver isn't climbing on board until Nar Shaddaa. Lingo: Let's buzz!

IC: One hand covering his mouth, one hand clutching the turret control, Jivva Leea was enjoying himself. He squeezed off a final few rounds at the now fleeing Cloud Car, puzzled as to why anyone would want to follow them in such a small, unarmed vehicle. He fired one last blast at the tiny speck that was the car.

Serves the dumb son of a taun taun right...

"Don't you hurl on my deck!" The intercom speaker blared Lingo's voice at high volume in front of the Mandalorian.

Oh, he's got a lot of nerve... See how much he has with my blaster up his--

His thought broke off as the ship took a drastic climb upwards. His hands flew to his stomach, and his eyes flew shut.

The assassin roared in his stentorian voice, "Lingo! You sadistic little core-slime, when I'm done with you..." However, he never finished his threat. As he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of the Imperial blockade. Star Destroyers, TIE fighters and interceptors, and the feared Super Star Destroyer, the vessel that Jivva Leea had once called home when he was First Assassin in the Imperial Army. He stared at the fearsome fleet, and ignoring Lingo's admonishment, let the contents of his stomach splatter across the deck.

When we get to Nar Shaddaa, I'm renegotiating my fee...

OOC:
Here we go...

IC:
Corellian YT-1300s were never known as the most maneuverable freighters in the galaxy. But somehow, Lingo -- with the help of some friends back at Smuggler's Run -- had turned the clunky ship into quite an opinion-defying toy.

He turned up the sublight engines with one hand and started the hyperdrive navigator with the other. TIEs and Lambda-class cruisers streaked by as he aimed for the port edge of the blockade.
Han Solo had taught him the trick -- since the cockpit was on the starboard side of the Grim Fandango, running to the port would keep the blockade in full view.

"Hold on! Stay in the turret!" Lingo knew that even though the hyperspace coordinates would be ready, the computer wouldn't allow a jump until the Imperial fleet was farther away. If he timed it right, however, he could pull the levers and jump through the fleet.

"This might be a little rough, Jivva!" And with a sadistic laugh, the smuggler yanked back the hyperdrive levers. The ship shuddered violently -- her sublights cutting out automatically -- and shot through the fleet. Starlines blended with grey as they flew past the Imperial Star Destroyers at 0.5 past lightspeed.

IC: A smile came over Javil's face. He knew how to follow them. He walked to the Cloud City Security Center. He pointed to a computer in the corner of the room, and said, " I need the recording of a conversation in the East Ballroom, and I need it now.

"I thought them bugging every room was a bad idea, that these guys were parinoid. Now I can see a use for it..."

Javil listened carefully. He heard Lingo's voice outlining the plan of using Nar Shaddaa as a stopping point and then proceeding on to Tatooine. He smiled again, and started walking towards his Z-95.

OOC: Nice, slapshot.

IC: Jivva Leea hauled himself unsteadily back into the gunner's chair, trying desperately to get his shaking hands back onto the controls. Finally pulling himself into the chair, he bellowed at Lingo again.

"A little warning next time, core-slime!" When my life isn't riding on his flying skills, I'm going to beat him like a tach...

He looked ahead out of the gunner bay; Star Destroyers whipped by as the ship hit lightspeed. That is one crazy Corellian...

Seeing that the ship had bypassed the fleet in probably record time, Jivva Leea groaned and stood up, testing his shaky space legs. He leaned heavily on the corridor as he made his way to the cockpit. He was making good progress until the the ship rocked violently to one side and he was thrown to the floor.

That can't be good...

"Lingo, what's going on?"

IC:
"Don't worry, darling, that was just the sublights. Right now, we're safe. But if I can't fix them -- and I can't -- we'll be stuck without engines above Nar Shaddaa. I suggest you get used to that turret."

Hyperspace swirled around the ship as she blasted her way through space toward the Smuggler's Moon.

OOC edit: Finally, two pages!

IC: As Javil's Z-95 Headhunter ripped through hyperspace, he sat there thinking. " I can't pin it but I know I've seen that guy before..." Van Lingo's face was burned into his memory, somehow, someway. He couldn't quite figure out where he had seen him, but he knew he had.

Javil sat there for a while longer, reminiscing of other, happier days. Suddenly, the warning light started blinking. A loud sound rent the air, it was like a high pitched squeal. Red light filled the cockpit as Javil pulled the Headhunter out of hyperspace.

Javil pulled back on the yoke just in time to avoid a fast moving object. "What the heck was that???" He pushed the other way on the yoke to avoid another one, but this time only by a hairsbreadth.

Huge pieces of metal were drifting through the air, some quickly, some slowly. Javil could recognize the Rebellions colors on some of the pieces. He looked behind him just in time to see an Interdictor Cruiser ready to jump into hyperspace. He breathed a sigh of relief that they had not seen him. He looked back one more time, and just before the cruiser jumped, he saw the name written on the side. " The Empire's Thumb". It hit him hard.

Javil put in the hyperspace co-ordinates to Nar Shaddaa again. His mind went back to Lingo. He had seen him. He was sure he had, and now he knew where. They had escaped together on that very same crusier, nine years ago!

OOC: *Bad soap opera music* Dun dun DUN!! Nice slapshot, but to clarify so everyone is on the same page, Jivva Leea was imprisoned and Van Lingo broke him out for reasons yet unknown.

IC: Toying idly with his blaster rifle, Jivva Leea pondered his position as he sat in the corridor.

Spacesick, no sublight engines above the crime capitol of the known universe, Imperial ships watching for DC-17m rifles, his ride carrying DC-17m rifles, a potentially backstabbing Corellian... Just great... Maybe it's time Mr. Lingo and I had a little chat...

He grabbed onto the wall and pulled himself to his feet and walked into the cockpit. He threw himself down in the co-pilot's chair and fidgeted with a vibroblade. The Corellian was obviously absorbed with something on the instrument panel in front of him as he had been in the ballroom.

The Mandalorian stood up and strode behind the pilot's seat. Kicking the chair around, he spun Lingo around to face him.

"We never finished the tirade. Why should I trust you? I think I'd be best off if I shot you and jettisoned your conniving carcass into deep space. So why shouldn't get rid of you and save my hide right now?"

IC:
"I think I'd be best off if I shot you and jettisoned your conniving carcass into deep space. So why shouldn't get rid of you and save my hide right now?" the Mandalorian demanded.

Lingo's eyes fell to his lap, where his blaster sat with its safety off. He smirked. "The only reason for anything worth doing in this galaxy: money."

He propped his boots up on Jivva's knees. "Look, I don't want to sit on these rifles any more than you do. But this shipment could bring in enough credits to permanently dock the Fandango and open up a bar."

Jivva slapped Lingo's feet to the floor. Lingo laughed. "When the credits come in, we'll be richer than Boba Fett. You want to argue? I'll jump in one of those escape pods." He leaned in close to make sure to irritate the Mandalorian. "But you can't land this ship without me, and I probably can't survive Nar Shaddaa without you."

He leaned back in his chair again. "At least, not since they're Hutt rifles -- and they're stolen."

OOC: Alright, since i used my character for the killer outside, i'll make a new one. And i will be your contact, as Vanlingo suggested.

IC: The fandango's computer bleeped. Van Lingo received a Hyperspace message. A scrambled image appeared on the screen. 'Greetings, Van Lingo. I called to let you know where to meet me. Go to the Drunken Krayt Cantina and ask for 'Redeye'. That is, if you're still willing to cooperate?' Transmission ended.

IC: Javil's Z-95 pulled out of hyperspace. The ship drifted idley until it flew into orbit. There, he waited.

Half-way around the planet, Javil saw what he was looking for. The Grim Fandango was floating in space, unmoving. He quickly scrambled to get his communicator warmed up.

The ship hadn't been used in such a long time, that it took a minute to get the communicator to work. When it did, he spoke rapidly. "Grim Fandango , this is Javil Gueros. I wish to board. Please respond."

Javil sat back and waited for an answer.

IC: Two messages bleeped in as many seconds, as sensor alarms began ringing in the cockpit. Jivva Leea scrambled to see what the alarm was about. A Z-95 Headhunter out there, eh?

"Grim Fandango, this is Javil Gueros. I wish to board. Please respond," came the message as Lingo activated the comm.

The Mandalorian charged his rifle and said to Lingo, "I can't see how it would hurt, I'm here." Lingo didn't answer, he seemed preoccupied with the the other message. It didn't matter; it came as no shock. Nothing did, not even the news that he was assisting in toting around rifles stolen from a Hutt. Sure, he felt real safe at the moment, but he was not at all shocked.

He headed off to the hatch and prepared to greet this Javil Gueros in the best way he knew how.

IC: Javil's Z-95 pulled in next to The Grim Fandango. He landed and went to the door. "I wonder what kind of greeting I'm gonna get..," he thought.

The door panel turned green and whizzed open. What he saw made him want to run away. Far away.

There was a fully-armed Mandalorian standing there, with blasters pointed at Javil. He shuddered.

Javil decided he would try to talk his way out. "Ummm... hey there." The Mandalorian didn't move. "Do you know where Van Lingo is?"

IC: Jivva Leea didn't answer the boarder.

"On your knees, city boy. Hands where I can see them. What do you want with this ship? You'd better have a good answer; it's been a really bad day," he snapped. He didn't like the look of this Javil Gueros, nor did he like the fact that he'd followed them from Cloud City.

Well, I could just kill him... No one would ever know...

IC: Javil did as the Mandalorian commanded him. "Umm... I'm looking for Van Lingo. I must speak with him. I must know where he is. (and seriously, VanLingo where are you?) And who knows? Maybe I can help you out."

The Mandalorian didn't answer right away. Javil's hand strayed to the blaster in his belt. "Dang, I hope I don't have to use this. This guy would lick me in a fight."