ANH. Jabba The Hutt's Palace and the sarlacc pit, Tatooine. Rescue.

[random_xtras]

Kia glances around without turning her head as she walks between Random and the disguised bot who is herding them into this big, stinky, sandy, shady place at gunpoint. The place is loud, smells disgusting, and Random didn't want her seeing what was going on in here, so she's trying not to see too much as she looks for friends, and she's pouting really hard to show that she doesn't want to be here and doesn't like this restraining bolt. She hopes she's a good actor, because she's really so excited that it's all she can do not to be jumping up and down right now, or running back the way they came to poke that brain in a jar that she saw walking past.

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[random_xtras]

Kia stands tall now. As tall as a little Astrotech femme can stand. These aren't the same guards, her friends aren't hiding in them, and she's not sure if she should try talking to them with the trick Hot Shot taught her. She's jittery and nervous, but remembering that everything's going to turn out in the end. She and Random are let out into the space in front of the cells, and she's got just enough time to look at the three cells before Hot Shot's dragged out in a similar way to Jetfire, only on his back. That nearly makes her want to cry with sympathy, but then she sees his intent and calm expression, and remembers again that they have this.

She looks up at Random as she's prodded toward the opening in the dingybright metal corridor that leads to the stairs.

[astrotechmech]

Seeing both Jetfire and Hot Shot dragged out makes Random nervous, but he hopes if he and Kia keep walking they won't be bothered on the way. He forces himself to take a deep breath before they continue.

[random_xtras]

Hot Shot's got stasis cuffs on his wrists and his ankles, and his head is now bump bumping up the spiral stairs ahead of her. The stairwell is shadowy, with more brightness at the top, and a shove from behind just made her stumble and smack Hot Shot in the face.

...And he just winked at her. She knows what Random will be doing. She doesn't need to look at him this time.

[astrotechmech]

Random is worrying a bit too much about catching himself and her after getting shoved. He did not want to give these people a reason to separate them.

The prisoners eventually make it to the top of the stairs, which bring them to Jabba's main audience chamber on the sail barge.

Random hears maniacal laughter before he sees its owner, the laughter chorused by Jabba's other guests when they see how the prisoners are being escorted in. He briefly sees the masked bot forcing Jetfire to his feet in his glance around the room before finally seeing what happened to Arcee and their ugly host himself. Random puts a protective arm around Kia as they're brought before him.

[random_xtras]

Hot Shot grunts as the droids haul him up and hang him by his scruffbar, but his expression remains calm and slightly amused as he glances toward where Arcee is strapped to the wall near Jabba's dais. She gives him a calm and slightly amused stink eye in return, then glances toward where the Astrotechs huddle together before turning her attention to Jetfire, who is hunched over and acting like he's going to be sick and is too ill to care.

Jabba stuffs a kicking frog into his mouth, then burps and licks his lips before speaking in a voice that sounds as fat and slimy as he is-a verbal version of his stink. And a small black Protocol Droid steps forward to translate.

"Now, you will provide sport. And then you will have the honour of being slowly corroded inside the digestive system of the sarlacc for a thousand years."

Kia is now giving that droid a very funny look as she wonders why he translated that THAT way.

[astrotechmech]

Random winces sympathetically when he sees how they're holding Hot Shot up and tightens his grip on Kia at the "verdict." . . . He hopes they can get out of here before they become that thing's dinner.

He then blinks distractedly when he thinks he sees something darting in the shadows. Over there, by Hot Shot and some of Jabba's groupies?

[random_xtras]

There's a lull of thrilled horror at the verdict as the assembled guests wait for signs of terror from the captives and one or two of them leer at Kia.

Then Hot Shot chuckles quietly. "You should have bargained, Jabba."

Jabba snorts and opens his mouth to speak, but he just got a face full of booster fire as Jetfire leapt into the air and blasted him with both feet. The little black droid, meanwhile, jumps up to set Arcee loose, and Hot Shot spits out a key and uses his fingers to unlock the cuffs that were SUPPOSED to be keeping him from moving.

[astrotechmech]

Cyclonus' insane cackling suddenly dies off once he realizes that several things just happened that shouldn't have. "What!?!"

Cyclonus growls and brings up his guns to fire towards Jetfire and Hot Shot and then gets a wicked smirk as he aims towards the astrotechs instead.

"Oh no, you don't!" a familiar voice shouts as Cyclonus is suddenly hit by Imperial armor pieces?

The masked bot suddenly changes size, shape, and color and gains a shield in his hand as he runs and rams into Cyclonus. "Not on my--watch!" And an orange and navy blue blur follows the bash with a punch to the face that knocks Cyclonus to the ground.

[random_xtras]

"Let me go! Let go!" Kia wrenches away from Random and jams both her hands into subspace. A grunt, a heave, and suddenly big red gun is sailing toward where Jetfire's punching in what's left of Jabba's face as Arcee grapples with a huge fat angry dancing girl.

Jetfire grabs the gun, and suddenly instead of a party room everyone that didn't just get blown through the wall is now on a veranda with one open side!

Hot Shot's battling organic guards and Jabba groupies brave enough to attack him, the Star Saber singing through the air.