“But, sir! I’m much better at negotiations or translating than enduring manual labor. Please reconsider!” complains the Tin Man.

Jarren is resigned to the never ending string of complaints from the surly droid at this point, knowing that it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to modify it’s behavior without a programming overhaul. Nonetheless, Coozer asked for their two droid’s help, and the Omwati will be damned if the droid’s whining will save them. Figuring he’ll lower the rear ramp rather than suffer through the comedy of watching the droids navigate the crew door ladder again, he hits the hydraulic control for the rear cargo ramp. With a mechanical hum, the ramp slowly descends. Somewhere out of sight, Ears emits an agitated hiss and scrambles away from the ramp. Once the end meets the baked landing pad, he simply points outside, letting his body language speak to the protocol droid more efficiently than words possibly could.

Y-3P0 dutifully clops down the ramp with its peg leg, stepping into stride with the ASP droid that Ian reactivated moments ago. “Well, A-18, it looks as though we are once again being made to suffer. I need a good oil bath, I can feel this horrible grit wearing my servos. Do you know what sand can do to sensitive system A-18? Pardon me, Mr. Coozer, sir! …” The protocol droid’s voice trails off as it and the worker droid exit the ship and Jarren presses the button to raise the cargo ramp back up.

Ian watches the procession in silent thought before snapping out of it and grabbing the two cylindrical commlinks that had been returned to the comm station next to the crew door. After handing one to Jarren for eavesdropping purposes, he pockets the other after a quick test. Fortunately, the device can be set to keep an open channel, thus making hands-free operation possible, which will be necessary to let Jarren listen in when facing Joko. For now, the human sets it back to two-way communication.

All three are feeling much better now in general. They have a plan, they ate some packaged food that, while somewhat disgusting by human or near-human standards, provides nourishment, and they all took some much-needed sonic showers in the crew quarters. Even Ian looks somewhat more presentable after combing out his back-length black hair, although not much can be done for his ratty six-inch beard since it’s so wiry and unmanageable. Jarren figures he must have been a prisoner for quite some time to let his appearance become so crazed. The thought that Ian might prefer the style never crosses the disciplined Omwati’s mind.

After tucking their blasters in their respective belts and pocketing some sample holos, the three of them head outside, ready to head into town and set the wheels of their plan in motion. Coozer has wheeled his toolbox back into the hangar and is sitting on a disembodied captain’s chair drinking another beverage from his cooler. The two droids stand silently nearby, awaiting instructions.

“You fellas not leaving now?” asks Coozer shaking his head in good-natured mock annoyance. He holds up his hand (the one without the permanently attached drink) anticipating the answer. “Alright, alright. I’ll get to work. And, here I thought I was gonna get a day off. It’s too damn hot for this. Heh! See you boys later on.” With that, he gets up from his comfortable chair and grudgingly starts wheeling the oversize toolbox back out on the pad toward the ship. Dex shrugs.

It’s late morning now, closing in on noon. The system’s two suns are both well clear of the horizon as they stroll down the sandy road toward town after clearing the junk maze in front of Coozer’s port. Today’s forecast – hot, with a large dose of heat.

Mos Taike is bathed in a near shadowless glare as the three approach. None of the citizens are out and about, most likely because of the intensity of the heat and radiation during this time of the day. Ahead on the left is Bo Mercantile, the local supply shop and general store (and permit office). A partially holographic sign on the store’s front wall is flashing static advertisements, the time and the temperature: 11:41, 47 degrees (about 116 F). Talley’s cantina is adjacent to the general store, and finally, the feed store is on the end of the main street on the left, sporting the hearty, ever-present Banthas tied up out front. On the right side are the Mos Taike Farming Supply Co., some other buildings of unknown function, and the Oasis at the end, anchoring the line.

As the three approach the entrance to the Oasis, Jarren posts himself in the narrow alley between the cantina and the building next to it. Ian switches his commlink to hands-free and struts after Dex into the building. [OOC: I assume you want to be outside Rick]

The conditioned air is a blessing to the two humans after being outside in the withering heat. Once again, the first thing that they notice about the dim cantina is the large L-shaped bar and abundance of old corporate mining memorabilia and equipment being used as décor. As though time stood still since leaving yesterday, the large-eyed Rodian bartender the two now know as Joko’s brother, Leem, stands behind the bar, wiping out a glass with a cloth. The rather large, tough-looking human is planted once again at his private stool as if he never left. In the main area, a horned Devornian can be seen in one of the booths, munching on some lunch and reviewing a datapad. In one other booth, a sage-green Twi’Lek head-tail is visible hanging out to the side of the booth. The owner of the tail can’t be seen however, since their body is obscured by the booth’s seat back. Leem looks up as the two humans enter.

“Well, well Dersh. The human and his Wookiee friend are back, “ says the Rodian, trying to keep a straight face, referring to Dex and Ian. The human, Dersh, and a blue, elephant-like alien with a chef hat leaning out the short-order window both laugh loudly at Leem’s joke about Ian being a Wookiee. Dersh pounds the bar in an effort to control his laughter.

“Heehee, ooops” snorts the glassy-eyed Rodian, shrugging as if it was an honest mistake. “What can I do for you?”

[OOC: One minor detail concerns the commlinks. When you set one of them to "hands-free" it is always on. This means that it is permanently in transmit mode. Commlinks work like walkie-talkies, they are half-duplex, therefore, they can only either send or receive at any given time, not both like a telephone.

Here is an example from our game: If Ian turns his commlink to always on, Jarren, who has the other, can hear everything picked up by Ian's commlink. However, should Jarren get into trouble and try to call for help on his commlink, it won't get through because Ian's is still in transmit mode. ]