With repairs made and the new module installed on the Chance's Navicomputer, Wayde heads to the bar for a well needed Miller-Time (TM).

Molan's comment about the locals draws a snort from the Rodian. "A pleasure to meet you, Molan," Jileeza replies. "Not much, really. We did witness part of a battle near Solust. Haven't been able to figure out why only one Imperial Destroyer showed up; seems like they would have sent more. The one seemed to be getting pretty beat up."

Mak tries to keep up through Erit's speech. The basic nature of the Force is simple enough to grasp, although it raises other questions that he supposes will be answered in time. And then Erit's way of speaking of the Jedi and Sith is confusing - it sounds as if he mocks the Jedi and has a certain appreciation the Sith, which can't be right, as the Ithorian always acts in a peaceful calm manner, making people mistake him for a Jedi.

"Wait, but aren't the Sith Jedi gone bad? They all use the same Force, right?"

Erit nods.

"You may have heard of the concept of a 'Light' or 'Dark' side of the Force. That, in my studied opinion, is not true. The Force, in itself, is neither; it is a neutral force. What you use it for is your decision; you can use it to help, to heal, to bolster, and to gain wisdom; or you can use it to hurt, to kill, to destroy and manipulate. As for the Sith schism, that is ancient history. I personally consider them a group of their own; they certainly have their own structure, beliefs. Whether Sith are bad and Jedi good can be argued. The vast majority of evidence supports the popular views, of course, but it's not as clear-cut as you'd think. I mean, if the Jedi were so good, why did they recruit people who fell prey to selfish goals? Either their recruitment standards were seriously lacking or they were not as smart as they imagined themselves to be. Choose between stupid and plainly not caring - neither is very flattering..."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Molan says. "I heard three left Kuat and only the one showed up on Sullust. Heh. But I seen something I bet you ain't never seen before." Bak leans close in but pauses before speaking as Wayde walks through the saloon doors.

Wayde does his standard cursory scan of the bar and its patrons before settling on a table* near the entrance. He doesn't acknowledge 'Za.

(*if there is one available, if not he'll sit at the bar)

(Edited by Dieter at 2:08 pm on April 22, 2004)

Jileeza gets an odd, unreadable expression for a moment. "Hmm... How odd. How do you lose something as large as an Imperial Destroyer?... Bet the Imperials are going crazy over that one," she says, a smirk slipping into place on her lips.

As Wayde enters and Molan pauses, Jileeza glances over at the interruption before returning her attention to Molan. "And what might that be, Molan?" she asks, her voice a husky whisper.

"A Jedi - no, really!" he hisses. "Carved up a bunch of gangsters on Nar Shadda with one o' them lightsabers. I saw the whole thing... it looked like this Jedi started a fight with the Filthy Rodians - no offense, that's what the gang was - some blasters came out, and whop whop whop" - Bak's voice accidentally raises - "that guy went to work on 'em. Took out arms, legs, even their leader who was runnin', then just left."

Molan's claim brings a disbelieving look to the Rodian's eye. However, her expression turns to one of anger as he continues the tale. The thought of Rodians getting butchered for no reason - as opposed to getting butchered because the deserved it - pisses her off.

"Bastard!" Jileeza looks at Molan. "You sure he wasn't a Sith? Sounds like their type of shit."

"Looks like I'm not going to be either Jedi or Sith, studying instead," Mak smirks, "the Path of Radow Erit."

Erit shrugs.

"Truth lies in methods, not in goals and ideologies."

Molan's taken aback at 'Za's outburst. "Like I know the difference. That's not the point o' my story, little lady - those thugs had it comin'. I'm tellin' you this because A) these hammerheads don't give a poodoo, you look a little down on your luck, same as me, and C) I can help myself at the same time."

Bak reaches into his jacket, revealing a shoulder holstered blaster as he does so. He produces a crumpled hard copy of what looks like an Imperial bounty notice. He slides it over to Jileeza. The green-skinned visage on the page, though a poor image, is either a Trandoshan or a Falleen. What catches 'Za's eye more than the story or the picture is the bounty.

80,000 credits.

"It's gonna go up, too, I'll bet," Molan says.

Jileeza settles down a bit. "You're right, most don't. I worked with a Sith once, and let me tell you, that was not a pleasant experience."

Regarding the bounty notice, 'Za's eyes go wide. "That's a lot of money for one man. But if he's a Force-user of any stripe, he won't be easy to bring in. You have a plan for doing so?"

"I'm still workin' on that one," Bak replies. "But yer might as well bring yer friend over here in the meantime. When a man walks into an empty joint and don't notice someone like you, his pecker either don't point that way or he's actin' like he don't know you."

"Anyways, I take it that I guessed right about you, and this sorta thing has piqued yer interest?"

Quote:

Quote: from admiralducksauce on 11:00 am on April 23, 2004
"I'm still workin' on that one," Bak replies. "But yer might as well bring yer friend over here in the meantime. When a man walks into an empty joint and don't notice someone like you, his pecker either don't point that way or he's actin' like he don't know you."

"Anyways, I take it that I guessed right about you, and this sorta thing has piqued yer interest?"

Wayde is quick to retort on the bounty hunter's remark as he walks over to the table.

"And maybe some of us just don't like green meat...eh?"

Molan's comment brings a chuckle from Jileeza, and she waves Wayde over. "Yeah, you could say I have some interest in anything with that kind of money behind it."

She looks up at Wayde as he approaches, blowing a kiss in his direction. "And we both know that doesn't apply to you, don't we sweety?"

Wayde grabs an entrance facing chair and sits.

"Hey, it's just a personal preference. I don't play the cross-species-horizontal-hokey-pokey game. I have standards...and while their fairly low based on the average joe, I still have standards..."

Bak, Wayde, and 'Za make small talk for a while until Aurelia comms them that the Chance is ready to go when they are. Aurelia's boosted the shield generators, rigged the engines, and prepared the ship for the installation of a torpedo launcher, if they were to find one.

In the deep Ithorian jungle, Erit and Mak are shaken from their lessons by an uneasy feeling. Danger is on its way.

'Za pauses for a moment to listen to the incoming report, then focusses her gaze on Mr. Bak. "Seems our ship is ready to leave. You're welcome to come along and discuss this with our captain and the rest of the crew."

Jileeza rises, then pauses to see whether Molan seems inclined to come along.

Erit pauses in his instructions.

"Mak, we are about to enter into a situation where mere spiritual strength may not suffice. I trust you are dressed for the occasion?"