Episode II: The Gathering Storm IC Thread 2

[RandomLunatic]

"Interesting," Shyar said, "Can you put anything else in that compartment?" She started walking around M2. "If we dress it up as a labor droid, you think they'll store it with the loaders?"

Turning to Kayla, she said, "Yeah, bodies are messy, but it's nice having all the options on the table if you need 'em.

"Speaking of on the table, what can you tell us about these fighters? What makes them so special?" she asked Wizbam.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Gial nooded approvingly when M2's mechanic mentioned the compartment being cloaked.

"A labor droid...that's an excellent idea, if we can make it pass for one. As for the A-Wings...as far as I know, their only strong point is that they're very fast and agile."

[Thundercracker]

"These aren't your average superiority fighters," Wizbam said, "they're new, upgraded models and this is their first deployment. Hundreds of millions of credits worth of research and development went into them."

"And we're gonna confiscate them," he said.

[LazyNinja]

Laaz eyed the newcomers as Kayla introduced them. He was on his second drink before he spoke up.

"Three to six ships, huh?" He nodded toward Gial and Shyar.

"We only have concrete plans to take one, which doesn't leave us with much after we pay Wizbam here his due. Especially if we're splitting our share..." He paused to count heads. "Six ways now."

He turned to the three new women, ignoring the droid. "With a crew of this size, I think we should set our ambitions higher. Any ideas about how to take those other A-wings with us?" He grinned. "Probably can't fit them in the droid, though I guess we could try."

[whoiam]

"What else can you mark the fighters down for? A maintenance shakedown flight, perhaps? Or some other excuse to stick temporary pilots in it? We don't need to be fighter aces to cruise one out to the edge of a gravity well and jump into hyperspace... I can certainly do that with one fighter, and I'm sure there's at least one of you who can do the same with another...?"

[RandomLunatic]

"Well, wait. Don't pilots wear flight suits? With helmets? We wouldn't need replacement pilots as much as just replacing the pilots.

"Not that I've ever flown anything bigger than an airspeeder."

[whoiam]

"That's actually part of the problem. With visual identification of pilots being problematic, pilot identities are generally done by other means - voice print, code words, identity dongles, and so forth. If we're challenged while pretending to be the regular pilots, we'll be in no position to actually fake their identities. Hence the question about a pretense for temporary relief pilots - it seemed an easier con to pull off under scrutiny."

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Hmm...that might be doable. Wizbam, what was the official reason for our transfer, again?"

[Elda]

Jezika snapped from her reverie, feeling a bit embarrassed as she looked up at the others discuss the upcoming task. She considered the plan the others were forming and found herself with her own questions in addition to the ones already being asked.

"And do we know anything about the chain of command there? Who are the people we have to convince to give us access to these ships, and not shoot at us when we leave?"

[Thundercracker]

Wizbam ruffled his feathers and sighed with a low warble.

"Originally, you were supposed to be part of the maintenance crew for the a-wings, but they're bringing their own staff, and there's only three of them," Wizbam said, "so you guys are going to be relief forces sent to the Vigilant. You're just returning from R&R, which is why you'll be on a separate shuttle from the rest of the Alliance forces. You'll have to figure some way to get the a-wings off whatever ship they get sent to, and to a preprogrammed hyperspace point where we'll pick them up. Or just hijack an entire ship."

He pauses, you're not sure if he's serious about the hijacking.

"There are eight capital ships in the task force including the victory class star destroyer Vigilant and interdictor Binder, and about two dozen other minor ships, corvettes and system patrol crafts," Wizbam said, "there's also a GT green zone on the planet."

"Each of the ships has its own command staff, there's a commander on the ground, and the new a-wings are going to have special attention from the three researchers from the Alliance and representatives from Kuat to observe the results. Which do you want to know about?"

[Elda]

Jezika tried to keep her voice calm. She had never done anything this risky in her life before, but it would probably not do her any good to show it. Putting aside such thoughts, she tried to think through the task logically.

"Well, getting our own pilots aboard the A-wings does seem to be the simplest way of collecting more than one of them. We just have to make sure everyone there lets us leave with them peacefully. If we knew who was in charge there, and keep them from becoming suspicious, things would go a lot more smoothly."

She hesitated for a moment, considering whether or not to reveal her ability before deciding that the task was dangerous enough to justify laying all her cards on the table. "I'm a changeling, and pretty experienced at it too. If there's an opportunity to replace someone important, that could give us another angle. What can you tell us about the Alliance researchers and Kuat representatives? Is there a particular officer supervising the deployment of these special A-wings?"

[Thundercracker]

Wizbam drew a datapad from a deep pocket on his lab coat and plugged it into the holoprojector. He image of a man in his middle years, dressed in an impeccable imperial uniform appeared. His piercing black eyes almost seem to follow you, even though it is a holoprojection.

"That's Inspector Jalan Torr, the task force is his to command," Wizbam said, "I'm sure you've heard of him."
His feathers ruffle, you almost get the idea he's smirking at an inside joke you don't get.

The bird scrolled quickly to another profile. This time it was a Kel-Dor, with the distinctive shape of the head.

"Dr. Henso ilunari," Wizbam said, "supposedly he and a staff of about a dozen are arriving from Kuat Manufacturing to observe the deployment. He's one of their top researchers."

Wizbam is almost scoffing as he says the word top.

"There's no report of the Alliance staff, of course, but I happen to know Dr. James Loaspun was working on a big project recently and I'll wager this was it," Wizbam said, "No idea how many assistants he will be bringing, probably not many."

He says the name like you should know who Loaspun is.

"Now I don't know who is actually going to be in charge of the a-Wing deployment, if they'll have their own flight groups or if they'll integrate into the rest of the wing," Wizbam said, "so some people of interest:

He scrolled quicker through the images.

"Jon Strickner, captain of the Vigilant," he said. Strickner is fit and in his mid-40's, and sports a thin brown and grey mustache.

"Commander Nora White, head of the fighter corps," he said. The image shifted to an attractive blonde woman perhaps in her late 30's. A note which stands out in her bio reads 154 victories.

"There's also this guy," Wizbam said, changing the image again, this time to another imperial uniformed man. This one, however, is thin, almost emaciated, and balding with wispy white hair, "Arinath Fornia, he's head of fighter maintenance, based on the Vigilant but he spends a lot of time shuttling back and forth to one of the escort carriers."

[Hyperbolic sine]

Gial's eyes gleaned when Jezika revealed her true nature. "Oh, excellent, that certainly will prove useful. Toghether with Laaz's mind mojo...yes, yes."

His elation didn't last long, though. "Torr? Really? F***. He could recognise me."

[Thundercracker]

Wizbam looked at Gial.

"Torr's a human, you know you all look the same to them," he said.

"How does he know you?" Kayla asked.

[RandomLunatic]

"Who's Loaspun?" Shyar asked, noticing a distinct gap in the personality list.

[Thundercracker]

"He works in starfighter development for the galactic alliance," Wizbam replied, "he and I go way back. If it is Loaspun, he's got a soft spot for saving lives, which is pretty idiotic for someone who builds machines that kill people, right? But anyway, maybe you can use that to your advantage somehow."

[Hyperbolic sine]

"How does...? Remember when I was locked up before the job on Bespin? He was the one tha- no, wait."

Gial's eyes widened at the realisation he just made an enormous mistake...and what's worse, covering it up with an invented story could have backfired.

"I...might have confused the name." he said, swallowing his pride. "Well, it's better this way, isn't it? Well, let me find something about these people, in case our new friend here has to impersonate someone."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Gather Info (Trace) 31 on each of the people mentioned by Wizbam.

[Elda]

"You're going to look them up? Can I watch?"

Jezika watched intently as Gial began to gather what information he could on the people of interest, trying to memorize anything of interest she saw. Although most of what Gial was doing was foreign to her as she observed the slicer at work, there were moments when she had flashes of insight.

"Oh!" She exclaimed as she watched Gial move from one computer system to another. "You know how you looked up that guy in the ministry database and it wasn't that fruitful? What if you cross-reference his associates that you identified here?"

Spoiler: ooc

Show

Skilled Advisor +5 for 36 Gial's Gather Info (Trade) roll

[Thundercracker]

The only person Gial is able to find additional information for is Loaspun. Wizbam's files appear to be a dump from an imperial database, so they are fairly comprehensive.

Apparently Loaspun acted as a consultant for the royal family of Mrlssi before lending his efforts to the Galactic Alliance in the war against Krayt and his One Sith. He was apparently at one point reprimanded for sharing classified information with a girlfriend who did not have security clearance.

[Thundercracker]

Kayla's comlink beeped, and she looked at her datapad as a few messages came through.

"When is your contact arriving with the ID's?" Kayla asked.

"He'll be here tonight," Wizbam replied, with an absent wave, "then they're off to the task force on he morning."

"Double check," Kayla said.

The Zeltron looked to Gial, Laaz, and Shyar.

"You're not to leave the property," she said, "and no electronic communication either. The Kalatar have put out requests for information on your whereabouts, but they haven't gone through official channels."

Krandaar, let out a low growl and said a few words in shryiwook.

Spoiler

Show

They don't want everyone to know.

"The blackout and movement restriction goes for the rest of you as well," Kayla added, "there is food in the kitchen, a shooting range out back, and a gym in the basement. Bedrooms are upstairs. Wizbam and I will be around to answer any questions, but try to get some rest as well."

"While you're on the job, we'll try to sort out what's going on with the Kalatar," she said, "if there's anything you want to tell us, we can speak in private."

[RandomLunatic]

"Well damnit, if I'd known I was going to be under house arrest, I would've brought a change of clothes," Shyar grumbled, then went upstairs to stake out a room.

Later
Shyar discreetly got together with Laaz and Gial. "You think we should tell Kayla where we stashed the good in case the job goes on a while? It'd be a shame to go through all that work and lose it."

Even later
Shyar approached Kraandar. "I've never seen you carrying a weapon. I have a fondness for martial arts myself. Would you like to spar sometime? The crew I'm with, you take away their blasters and they couldn't fight their way out of a soggy paper bag."

[Thundercracker]

Shyar:

Krandaar is lounging on a couch when you approach him. He whuffles a little bit at your joke about the rest of the crew, then says something that sounds like "Ar-warh-Rar-rar, mmm?". He doesn't get up.

Spoiler

Show

Anybody speak wookie?

[LazyNinja]

Laaz raised an eyebrow at the news of their internment. "Well, if we're stuck here, maybe you can send someone out with a shopping list? Gial's mentioned some quick-fusing restraining bolts that would be handy on the job. Say, a dozen or so?"

With his request made, Laaz followed Shyar upstairs and took a different room, then headed to the basement to practice saber forms. After washing up, he joined Gial in answering Shyar's quiet summons.

"What exactly is the nature of our relationship with the Syndicate?" Laaz asked Gial. "Do they get a cut of everything we take in, or just the jobs they assign us? What I mean is, do we keep the whole score if we keep it quiet? Because if we have to pay Kayla anyway, let's just have them pick up the stash while we're away, maybe even fence it for us. It's a massive haul, so I'd be happy with a 50 percent take if they handle it from here. If it's all ours, though, it'll be worth the effort to handle it all ourselves."

[Thundercracker]

When received a message from Kayla not long after the meeting: "yes, at your discretion."

[whoiam]

While the others had gone off to claim rooms, Wyn had just picked a seat and switched into low-power mode. Or, as it would have appeared to anyone else, just sat there staring blankly off into space. Replica Droids often seemed a little off when they aren't deliberately trying to fool people, mainly because of the odd few droid-ish mannerisms showing through...



....Much later, however, her waiting led to her being present for Shyar's attempt to talk with Krandaar. "He thinks it might be a bad idea, " Wyn translated, resisting the urge to gloat about how much better her aftermarket translation database is than the stock one she'd originally been fitted with. "To tire you out the night before a big mission."

[RandomLunatic]

"What exactly is the nature of our relationship with the Syndicate?" Laaz asked Gial. "Do they get a cut of everything we take in, or just the jobs they assign us? What I mean is, do we keep the whole score if we keep it quiet? Because if we have to pay Kayla anyway, let's just have them pick up the stash while we're away, maybe even fence it for us. It's a massive haul, so I'd be happy with a 50 percent take if they handle it from here. If it's all ours, though, it'll be worth the effort to handle it all ourselves."

"It's not a Syndicate job, and we cleared it, so we shouldn't owe on it. I'm sure she'd be glad to take it off our hands for a sizable percentage, but even 10% of that paycheck is going to be more than I've ever been paid at once before, so I'm not in a hurry to give any of it away. Just have her keep an eye on it while we're gone. How long was it? Two weeks before it'd become chancy?"

....Much later, however, her waiting led to her being present for Shyar's attempt to talk with Krandaar. "He thinks it might be a bad idea, " Wyn translated, resisting the urge to gloat about how much better her aftermarket translation database is than the stock one she'd originally been fitted with. "To tire you out the night before a big mission."

"Thanks, I don't speak Wookiee," Shyar admitted. Turning back to said Wookiee, "You heard Kayla, I have nothing else to do. I can sleep it off on the shuttle.

Unless you're afraid," she goaded.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"What exactly is the nature of our relationship with the Syndicate?" Laaz asked Gial. "Do they get a cut of everything we take in, or just the jobs they assign us? What I mean is, do we keep the whole score if we keep it quiet? Because if we have to pay Kayla anyway, let's just have them pick up the stash while we're away, maybe even fence it for us. It's a massive haul, so I'd be happy with a 50 percent take if they handle it from here. If it's all ours, though, it'll be worth the effort to handle it all ourselves."

"It's not a Syndicate job, and we cleared it, so we shouldn't owe on it. I'm sure she'd be glad to take it off our hands for a sizable percentage, but even 10% of that paycheck is going to be more than I've ever been paid at once before, so I'm not in a hurry to give any of it away. Just have her keep an eye on it while we're gone. How long was it? Two weeks before it'd become chancy?"

"Hmm. Well, the one with big ties to the Syndicate was Mikael. I...enjoy the protection being affiliated with them grants, but I'm pretty sure all of us could still be considered freelances. External contractors." Gial mused. "Point is...if they don't ask, no need to go out of our way to profit less."

"Anyway, for now we shouldn't say anything regardless. I don't want Wizbam to know, and if you're worried the tracker won't work we can just send Marren to check twice a week or something."

[LazyNinja]

Laaz smirked. "Just what I wanted to hear." He nodded to Gial and Shyar as he walked out of the room, then headed downstairs to grab a bite to eat and watch old holos.

He perked up a while later as Shyar and the Wookiee bantered. "Fisticuffs?" he said, as Shyar threw down her gauntlet. "Maybe we should make this more interesting. I've got a hundred credits on the lovely lady. Any takers?" He paused for a moment, then looked pointedly at Shyar. "No betting against yourself," he said, leveling an accusatory finger. "Or dives!" he laughed, after another thought.

[Thundercracker]

Shyar (and anyone else who wishes to be present):

Krandaar whuffs, but he doesn't appear to really care much about your taunt. He gets up and leads the way to the basement, where there is a wrestling mat, weights, fresher, and various aerobic apparatuses.

[Deadguy]

"Ain't that the pits..." Mouse crossed her arms and pouted at the news of being locked down.

The droid have a few whirs and blips, speaking to her in binary and she immediately seemed to cheer up. "Hey... um.. Whiz? You have anything weapons or bombs or... boom'y stuff I can play with?"

Her eyes seemed to go slightly manic at the prospect before settling down again. "It's all for M2, of course."

The droid gonked loudly in doubt.