INTERACTIVE Photonovel - Not an update, but worth a look!

[Darth Delicious]

It'd be nice if we ran back into the thug that thumped us in the bar, and managed to slip the transmitter on him. If any troubles are coming our way, he'd be the most deserving of it. 

I also am not ready to think Callie's motive for planting a transmitter on us is a sinister one. She may be keeping tabs on us because we're a punk kid in over our head, and she's trying to keep an eye on us.

-DD

[Quazar]

Well, gang, it's been a little while again, but we finally have an update!

During the last round, we had easily the best participation we've ever had, not only in terms of numbers, but in terms of quality of participation and discussion.  I was delighted with all of the thoughtful and intriguing reponses and I'm sorry it took me so long to get back on track.

Alas, this update is a little bit more "filler" before the big rendezvous.  The primary reason for this is that I'm still putting finishing touches on the more elaborate sets which will debut once we get there.  This one was a little easier (though not as easy as I originally planned) to get done and I didn't want to drag out the wait any longer.

Additionally, the location of the elevator banks complete with map was one I wanted to establish way back before you even got to the bar, but I didn't have time for it then.

We got a lot of replies last time and a lot of discussion about how to proceed.  The votes broke into several camps about what exactly to do with the transmitter.  Here's the breakdown:

First we have the "ditch the tracking device" crowd, which is broken up into two subsets, the "flush it" crowd and the "slip it on a passerby" group.

"Stick it on a Passerby" Voters consisted of:
Findswoman
Smartypants1635
Sith Lord Chaos
Dan Binks
Ashared_Hett
Darth Delicious


DD added it would be nice to slip the device on the Aqualish thug, but that idea, alas, wasn't logically feasible, given your time crunch.

The "Flush It's" were:

CorranHorn
Diddly
Dressel


And, on the other end of the spectrum, we had votes for the
"We trust Callie, keep the transmitter and call her" option.
That group consisted of:

Chewie
Jediknight760071
Vator

And 187_Maul came up with the wholly unique idea to stash the transmitter, then come back for it after the meeting.  That suggestion was echoed by newcomer jedistyle, but, unfortunately, didn't get enough votes to warrant consideration.

Here we go:

















































WHAT NOW?

Inventory:

dirty poncho (worn)


comm link
space helmet
Credit Stick
toolkit
hold-out blaster (worn on belt)
backpack containing -
change of clothes
bottle of booze
control pad for ship
data pad with technical schematics
73 credits
stormtrooper belt (worn) containing:
grappling hook & cord
2 spare ammo clips
1 imperial comm link (off)
binders
ration bar
mini tool kit

[Ryan]

Awesome! I've really been looking forward to a new chapter. I haven't slept in a long time and it is 7 in morning, I have to finsih writing my damn speech get about an hour of speech then go to class tomorrow, or today rather. I hate school. I'll try and comment sometime later today. 

[Quazar]

Wow, that was fast, Ryan!

Anway, a quick note....eagle-eyed players may notice that the actor playing the first transient (on the bench) was replaced in this scene by a different actor (Elan Sleazebaggano, to be precise, though that's not who the character is supposed to be.)

There is no significance to this whatsoever.  The first figure was actually an old "Star Trek III" Klingon and I didn't anticipate anyone wanting to interact with that sleeping guy, he was there strictly for window dressing.  But when the time came to actually put him in the scene, I didn't want to use a Klingon, as I need to keep the wink-wink jokes to a minimum (and we've already had Morn, Dr. Pepper and Bender so far...)

Additionally, there is also no significance to the similarity in coats worn by the bench transient and the drunk guy.  Don't worry, the transmittter didn't accidentally "come back to you" in the coat worn by the drunk.  Note the stains on the second coat - it's not the same one. 

[jedistyle]

i'm glad to see another chapter up, this is the first time i have participated but i really enjoy this interactive photonovel.

1- i would turn on the imperial comlink and listen to whats going out across thier net and if i'd have any reason to panic.

2- i'd prolly crack the drunk on the head with my tool case.( i'd also take all the gear i wanted to keep out of the dead stormies belt and put it on the drunk along with any of the stormies other stuff i had no use for, so when who ever came to open the elevator, prolly accompanied by imperial troops, would find it and blame the drunk for the stormies murder.

3-i'd use my tool kit to either repair and override the elevator controls or open a hatch in the ceiling/ floor and get out of the elevator.

4- depending on the layout of the elevator shaft i'd use the grappling hook from the troopers belt and ascend/descend to the next feisable level.

5- find some sort of maintenance hatch and get out of the elevator shaft, find a small shop and pick up another set of close so the major would be less likely to remember me and try to get to my rendevouz with blondie.

that sounds about right. being trapped in a steel box puts the charecter inb a tight spot! i can't wait to see your more eloborate sets, great job with this project and keep it up!!!

erik

[CHEWIE]

Ha Ha... great addition to the story Lance.  That was quite humorous, and I was a bit worried about looking like a thief.  Great job in making this so life like in realistic situations that you create, especially with the drunk.

In this situation, I don't know what I'd do.  I'd probably give the drunk 5 credits or so to get him to leaver you alone.  Although that's not going to help him with his drinking problem and apparent low life status, you have enough to worry about right now without getting all involved with this drunk.  There is the chance that he's undercover and a contact for you from the rebels, but that is most unlikely.

My solution to this problem would be to get the hell out of the elevator as quickly as possible.  Can you go back to the map area and look to see if there are any other ways to get to your appointment?  Probably not.  Your best bet might be to get on top of the elevator, and use your grappling hook to get up to the level you need to be at.

 

[Quazar]

Actually, level 78, the location of the rendezvous, is far BELOW your current position.

I will try to post a map of the station tonight with the various locations visited so far indicated on it (ship, quarters, commerce level) as well as the location of the redezvous.

[Diddly]

Woohoo! A new update! Very nice additions to the story. I surely thought we were going to jail!

I'd simply refuse to talk to the drunk and get off the elevator ASAP. If the drunk keeps harassing me, I'd still ignore him unless he got physical. Then, I'd knock his lights out!

[Quazar]

For those who advocate possibly leaving the elevator, I am just going to point out that there are multiple teams of stormtroopers just outside the door who you are very eager to avoid.

Just FYI...!

The decisions, of course, are always up to you...

[findswoman]

Wowzers!  An update!  Most fabulous, Lance!  Very fine work!   And what a stroke of luck that we were able thus to evade the objectionable Wolfell!

So this transient fellow wants a drink, eh?  How convenient it is that we have that "bottle of booze" still in our inventory!  Why not give it to him?  He seems to be familiar with "the sewers"; he may well know an alternate route.  You could offer him the bottle on condition that he tells you how to get there: "Look, if you can tell (or show) me how to get down to level 78 (or wherever), I'll give you something to drink."  Or some such.  You can even get it out and wave it around a little, "dangle the carrot" so to speak.  In any case, if needs be, you still have your blaster or your toolkit on hand if things get violent. 

What say y'all?

... the Findswoman

[Darth Delicious]

I'm thinking the same as Findswoman. As transients are usually ignored by even the authorities, this annoying drunk probably knows a few things about the "back alleys" of the space station, so to speak.

I'm also in favor of maybe checking out the ship again, once we meet with what's her name. Our disguise should keep the thugs in the docking bay from recognizing us, and maybe we can get on the ship and look around a bit.


-DD

[Quazar]

Just a small heads up....if anyone's interested, I have updated my personal website with all of the latest scenes from the story.

So if anyone wants to look back on or revisit or get caught up with older scenes without slogging through the thread and the various comments, the entire story can be seen HERE

[Ryan]

Now that I'm caught up on sleep it';s about time I post my thoughts here.

I was coming to the same conclusion as Findswoman and DD, I'd offer the drunk guy a few credits to tell me another way down to level 78. We are going to have to get out of the elevator somehow so I think that after he gives me what information he has (if has any) I'd offer him the bottle of booze to go make one hell of a distraction, I'd  give him the empty stormtrooper belt, and have him go act like a drunk idiot and go mess with those privaste security guys. That should distract them both and we should be able to slip into that other elevator (which I'm assuming still works.) I've got another idea if that elevator is off limits, too.

[Quazar]

As promised, here are a couple of diagrams showing the various locations we've been so far and their relation to each other.





The Commerce Level, your current position, is technically Level 1, but, as you can see in the second map, it is NOT the highest level on the station.  The upper levels, which are restricted (hence the two guards outside the elevators to them) are not numbered in the conventional way.  The second, top view image better shows the upper portions of the station.  The building-like structures in the center are considered part of that restricted upper area.

Level 29 is where your uncle's quarters are and Level 40 is where the ship is (as well as many other hangars).  Though there was a reference to the ship being in "Bay D- 37", the 37 was not meant to reflect the level the hangar is on, but just the number of the hangar on Level 40.

Level 78, your destination, is far below you, towards the bottom of the station.

As such, the other set of elevators, (the ones with the guards) will not take you there, they go up only.

It seems like a consensus of opinion has begun to emerge about the next move, but hopefully we can get a little more input before the next chapter.  I know this isn't the most exciting update to reply to, the next ones will be better.....

[Quazar]

Just thought I'd pop in to post the other replies from FFURG before I put up the update:

Newcomer NoMercyJoe had this to say:

If we did offer him a drink for some intel on how to get to 78 we would be golden.I don't think a poor (hobo) man could attack someone (well not very good anyway.)He's probaly drunk aleady spent all his money on booze and now wants some more 

CorranHorn is also on board with the plan and posted this reply:

I hafta agree with Findswoman that the drunk could be the key to get us where we want to go. Offer him the booze to show us the way to level 78. We just need to keep in mind not to let him follow us too far when we get to lvl 78, because if he hears or sees something, in his drunken stupor he could say the wrong thing to the Imps. We could also use that to our advantage while travelling with him to 78, if we run into anyone who gets in our way, let them deal with the drunk and we can hightail to safer ground.

And The Spectre also chimed in...

I agree with Findswoman. Offer to give the drunkard some booze in exchange for showing us a way down to the desired level. He appears too drunk to be a real threat and may actually be an asset if he is familiar with the lower levels.

A little out-of-the-box thinking here, but he might actually be a rebel agent in disguise. Our disguise is not exactly the best one ever seen and Callie may have sent him to lead us to our rendevous. I trust her and believe her to be a Rebel or at least a sympathizer to the cause. She may have that Stormie armor and other weapons to give them to the Rebels or to stash it for them. If her office is so well hidden that it's entrance is almost invisible, she may even be running a Rebel safehouse out of her bar.

So it looks like defininte consensus has emerged.  As always, though, I will try to incorporate as many elements of the replies as possible, if there are no direct contradictions.

Thanks very much for the great responses, it's terrific to have so many returning veterans and newcomers!

Stay tuned....