The Taris Event Chapter 3

[Cuspar]

Haha. Make no mistake, Mr. Tsont'Ar isn't involved in the cosmetic component of our business. I made friends with Mr. Tsont'Ar and we've found surprising areas of overlap in our businesses. His involvement is simply one of mutual benefit. As Aderbrent grows, we hope to foster relationships with men of power in all spheres - that's how business empires are built. Hence our involvement with Ro'Talth. Regardless of what you're implying, surely you know that it is better to be on Nolan's side than not.

Let's say you chose to help us. Here's how I see it happening. You find us a lead on Tordassium. We get the hell off Tattooine and begin shipping Tordassium. We start wiring you 20% of the profit as soon as we're paid. We'll sign a contract as to that. If you need help getting to where you want to retire, we facilitate that by ourselves, or possibly with Tsont'Ar's help. You fish until you die of old age.

Why do you think Ro'Talth was with us? Credits. Credits. And credits. That's why he brought us to you. He needed YOU to make him credits. And that's why this deal just got substantially better for you. But hey - you say "no" and we do nothing but shake hands and leave. You were our first contact - not our only one. It's your call. Slog away on Tattooine making ends meet.

Make no mistake though. A year from now, when you hear about what could have been, and you come calling... 20% will be a dream. The deal is off the table as soon as you say no.

Deception: 20 + 7=27. [ I have a screenshot to prove this roll. WOTC loves me I guess...]
persuasion: 9 + 12=21
Syric - anything to add?

[Whiteness]

"Now listen Kitani, I was there for this "shoot-out" outside your office. If you remember there were two of us and one of Ro'Talth. We could have easily taken him out there but that was not what went down. The man that came with us tried to stun Ro'talth to provoke him, to what ends I'm still not sure, now if you heard what happened you should have heard how I shot the man that shot the Twi'Lek, and as you can see that man is not with us. He was hired to escort us and was not happy with the terms once he found out the profit margins we were looking at. I don't believe he had anything to do with Ro's death, but if he did that has nothing to do with Aderbrent or our business proposal. As to your second scenario, I just explained that there was no 'weapons malfunction' and I don't know what happened with Kunga. We were on Bryx to deliver a shipment of dewbacks, we have all the paperwork for you to verify it, we were on our way out when Ro'Talth and his woman pulled up in their speeder looking for transport leaving immediately. It was on our way back to Tatooine that we were discussing our business venture that your name came up. He offered to connect us as payment for getting him off the planet. We didn't ask many questions because it was a good deal for everyone. The only reason my associate here dropped Tsont'Ar's name is because he is known to be an influentual member of society here and Cuspar happens to share his taste for the finer things in life, kindred spirits if you will. He is no fool and understands the profits there are to be had with this venture. The only thing we need is someone like you, with your information and connection. As I said before, time is of the essance if we are to market our product before our competitors.

Now can we get back to business?


[ooc- sorry got interrupted by nonsleeping child]

[Whiteness]

Deception Roll(1d20)+8: 11,+8 Total:19

Persuasion Roll(1d20)+8:10,+8 Total:18


[ooc - I hope my post matches up with Cuspar's, I've been writing it over the last hour and wasn't about to go back and edit that mess]

[Blackferne]

Kitani sits there looking at Cuspar then Syric then Cuspar again in silence for a few moments. "Okay" He pauses mouth still open indicating he isn't done yet "Okay here is the thing. I want money, I want to retire. I've been working too long to have this fucked up and end up in a dumpster. My head says you guys are telling me the truth, but my gut is telling me something isn't quite right. Here is what I want. Agree to it and I'm in, don't agree I walk. I want 15% not 20%, so you guys keep a larger cut long term, but in exchange for that other 5% you have to pay 50k upfront AND your man Tsont'Ar helps me relocate under a new identity to some tropical fishing village. That's what I want."

[Whiteness]

Listen, we want to work with you on this, but I'm thinking 50K up front is a little too steep, at least all at once. Let's start with the 10K and if the information is good we can discuss a timetable for the remainder. This is just business, and it has to be good for both sides. It will take some time to get the profits coming in with the initial costs to get this stuff processed.

[Blackferne]

Listen, we want to work with you on this, but I'm thinking 50K up front is a little too steep, at least all at once. Let's start with the 10K and if the information is good we can discuss a timetable for the remainder. This is just business, and it has to be good for both sides. It will take some time to get the profits coming in with the initial costs to get this stuff processed.

"How about 25k now, 25k when the lead is established, 15% of future profits. Remember I'm taking a risk here."

[Gandolfini]

After checking into the hotel, Slick and Jax are sitting the restaurant. Jax is in the middle of eating his nuna fillets with a lemon-butter reduction sauce and some local tuber. He has a thoughtful expression on his face as he consumes his meal.

”Slick, I have been operating under the assumption that Ra’Wen was only Ro’Talth’s lover but what if she was a bit more of a player? What if she was actually a Sith agent sent to get close to Ro’Talth?” Jax takes another bite of the nuna.

”This nuna is really good. Now where was I? Oh yeah. Ra’Wen, Sith Agent.” Jax spears a tuber and pops it in his mouth. After chewing for a moment, he get a sour look on his face as he forces himself to swallow. ”The tubers are disgusting though.” Jax renews his attack on the nuna.

”Now, let’s say she is a Sith Agent. Perhaps she turned Ro’Talth into working for the Sith. Then why would they stage his death and not hers as well. Let’s assume it was to throw this motley band off Ro’Talth’s trail. Even so, why would she let him send a message to the band if the Sith wanted him to appear dead. That just doesn’t make sense.”

”But what if Ro’Talth really is dead? How did he die? Well the obvious choice is that Ra’Wen killed him but why would she do that? I can only guess it is because he didn’t have any value. Then what value had he lost?” Jax takes another bite and chews pensively. Then his expression brightens as he finishes.

”He didn’t have access to the band. He was splitting off and running away. Before Ra’Wen was right there and knew every move the group was making but now she was out because Ro’Talth had left. The Sith already had all the information that Ro’Talth could provide so why leave him alive as a loose end. So why would she send the message to the group?”

Jax takes a drink of his water and says “So the group would chase after Ro’Talth or at least keep looking out for him. Anything that would distract from the group’s purpose would be an advantage. And if the Sith decided to hinder the group, the group would blameRo’Talth.”

”Of course this is just a theory but there are a couple of things we can check to verify it. First do you know how long Ra’Wen was in the play onf Bryx? Second, we should check examine the body and talk to the local investigator.”

[Blackferne]

Slick chirps back at Jax "Well I don't know the details of Ra'Wen's biography, but the next chance I get to a computer terminal I will pull up information from public records and see if I can get a history of her employment at the theater on Bryx. But one thing to consider is that if Ra'Wen was a Sith agent and they wanted to get Ro'Talth back on Bryx, why not just take him then? She no doubt would have had previous knowledge of their arrival and could have called in sick to the show and had Ro'Talth come to her villa instead to be picked up. I could be wrong, but if she was a Sith Agent it seems for the stated goals there would have been more logical ways to secure or eliminate Ro'Talth."

[Gandolfini]

@Slick

She might have known when the Sith were coming but not when they would arrive, hypersace travel being what it is. It seems like she couldn't take him by herself and so she had to wait until the Sith arrived. Then, it seems strange that they fled to the villa instead of Kunga's stronghold which would have better defenses. Perhaps the Sith meant to neutralize Kunga and then use Ra'Wen to convince Ro'Talth to work with them. Perhaps the battle droids were meant to keep Ro'Talth and Ra'Wen safe from the Ro'Talth's bodyguards that actually worked for Kunga. And the only reason it didn't work is that the band was there at the villa. Making lemonade from lemons, Ra'Wen embedded herself to watch the group.

[Blackferne]

@ Jax

"Those are valid points master. While you sleep tonight I'll go to a public terminal and do research on Ra'Wen. Right now you have a theory with circumstantial evidence. Maybe once we get a better picture of her past we can properly weigh the facts and get a clearer picture on her role if any."

[Gandolfini]

@ Jax

"Those are valid points master. While you sleep tonight I'll go to a public terminal and do research on Ra'Wen. Right now you have a theory with circumstantial evidence. Maybe once we get a better picture of her past we can properly weigh the facts and get a clearer picture on her role if any."

"That is an excellent idea. If you find something suspicious, we can look at the body and talk to the investigator tomorrow. And on that note, I will go to sleep."

Jax heads to his room and goes to sleep, trusting in the faithful Slick to perform his duties.

[Whiteness]

"How about 25k now, 25k when the lead is established, 15% of future profits. Remember I'm taking a risk here."

Kitani, I don't think you understand, the point is you're not taking a risk. This is a simple, yet lucrative, business venture...once estabilshed of course. The only risk you take is the risk of losing out on a lot of credits. We can do the 10K credits in three days as discussed previously, unfortunately our finance guy had to leave suddenly due to a family crisis, but we expect him back soon. Once he's back we'd be in a better position to renegotiate terms. If you want your fisherman's retirement package, you need to be reasonable, otherwise we'll be forced to find someone else to get the information we need, and as I've already stressed, time is of the essence. We don't have time to find a replacement for you, but if you're going to overcharge us for information that's what we'll have to do. I'm sure there are others that would be more interested in the deal we're offering, but I don't like to change partners once I start dancing.

[Blackferne]

"Then I guess you need to find someone else. You say there is no risk, but I have this nagging feeling that something isn't right here." He starts to get up and motions to the security guys he brought to follow him.

[Whiteness]

"Then I guess you need to find someone else. You say there is no risk, but I have this nagging feeling that something isn't right here." He starts to get up and motions to the security guys he brought to follow him.

Kitani, for someone who is so convinced that we orchestrated a killing and a coverup in broad daylight, do you really want to walk away from us and leave us with a negative impression of you? Do you think that is the smart decision to make?

[Whiteness]

You're already involved with us, so let's keep that involvement a happy and profitable one, what do you say?

[Furiel]

"Let him go Syric, apparenlty he doesn't want to retire anytime soon like he claims to. We have other options, let's focus our energy on them. We'll finish dinner then decide who we want to talk to next."

[Whiteness]

"You're right Eli, we do have bigger fish to fry. I apologize Kitani, and wish you many years here in your quaint desert home"

[Blackferne]

"I don't take kindly to threats of violence sir." Kitani walks out with his security.

[Furiel]

"Five years from now when we're relaxing on our private resort planet maybe we can take a moment to send a thank you gift to old Kit here for walking away when he did, I'm sure we'll be able to get a much better deal with one of the others.

Good night Kitani, thank you for your time."

[Whiteness]

"I don't take kindly to threats of violence sir." Kitani walks out with his security.

"Well, you don't take kindly to promises of credits either!" Syric calls out after him

Syric opens his comlink, Fandango, Bulwark, So Leet, what's your status? Kitani was a chickenshit who got scared off by Ro'Talths supposed death

Looking at Cuspar and Eli, All right, on to plan B I guess. I think we need refill our coffers, and while we're doing that see if we can track down P'Sont's kids and get a lead on his wearabouts.

[Blackferne]

@ Syric

"I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Should I follow Kitani?" Fandango says

[Furiel]

"Plan B I believe is dinner"

Eli's stomach growls rather loudly

"Then we start making arrangements to head to Ord Mantell tomorrow after meeting with Tsont'Ar. Ro said he had a mineral contact there as well, and while we may not be able to get a direct introduction to him I'm sure we can find him with a little asking around. Maybe we detour to Bothuwai on the way to pick up Klak and Dood as well if we can find some lucrative cargo headed there as well.

I'm not that comfortable with the P'Sont angle by trying to get to him through his family. There's too much that could go wrong going down that road so I'd prefer we leave that as an option of last resort."

[Whiteness]

"Fandango, why don't you come to the tavern and meet us" Syric looks to his dining companions for any objection.

If we're looking at going to Ord Mantell we should see what we can research about it before we leave so we can hit the ground running. I don't know if Ro had a specific contact there, I think it was just one of the logical mining sites for the isotope, but I could be forgetting something. I do agree we should probably pick up those two before we end up on the other side of the galaxy.

I would like to press the P'Sont angle though, but nothing sinister. Just track down the kids, tell them we're looking for their old man because we have a job for him or something. You know, just see if he's checked in recently.


[ooc - I'm assuming the kids aren't children because of P'Sonts age, but if I'm wrong I won't push the P'sont angle]

[Whiteness]

Syric calls a waiter over so Eli and Cuspar can order food. Syric had eaten a modest meal after arriving early.

Cuspar, I think you should check in with Fossar about any jobs to Bothuwai. Eli's right, we're going to want those two back with us.

[Blackferne]

Fandango walks into the open air tavern sits down next to Cuspar and orders a Quarranese Ale.