A Gambler's Tale Part 1: The Heist

[Dmitri]

Doc Love listened to Ryiek. The guy was right. Getting in was one story. Getting out was another. When Balor voiced his opinion filled with paranoia, Doc Love partially felt as though that was probably right. Many of the people in this room were oppurtunists. They wouldn't think twice about betraying each other. Hopefully, Ryiek's threat would keep them in line. His suspicions fell to Dravenkt, noting that the visor momentarily, dimly lit up, probably scanning the inhabitants of the room. He wasn't too concerned. He was a patron of the Galactic Bank so they'd unlikely believe accusations of Doc Love's involvement.

Ryiek was correct when he stated that gettin in was the easy part. Getting out was the hard part. Doc Love formulated a plan.

" 'Captain', might I think I can hire a few criminals to arrive at the Galactic Bank. I'll have them thinking they're there to launder money. When things go to hell, we all go to the same room as these criminals. If we fake a hostage situation during our heist, we can all claim that the criminals were the ones responsible. I can rig a shuttle to leave, so we can pretend that some of them got away, explaining why the criminals don't have all the money stolen. I could doctor a videoclip of these criminals shooting around. If we accuse them of robbing the Galactic Bank, the police, once they have questioned us, will practically usher us to freedom."

Doc Love then remembered about where to store the money. "I'll visit the Galactic Bank as myself. When we're in the vault, I'll store the money in my briefcase. There's a false bottom so it can hold more than what it appears to be able to. Since I'm one of the Bank's patron's, they won't put too much thought into me as a suspect since I'll be robbed too." He grinned. "I must admit that I'm getting the better end of the bargain here, since I'll be able to collect the insurance money from the robbery."

 

[Gambler]

Ryiek laughed. "Now you're over thinking, bud." What had begun as a simple situation seemed to be evolving into a complex scenario with too many variables. That many numbers at once gave him a headache on a good day. When it came to planning a heist, that number crunching was better left for someone with patience. Ryiek, contrary to popular belief, lacked patience. He was reckless and lucky. For any gambler, that was all that counted.

"We aren't bringing anyone else or planning that far into it, and that's that." He gave Lockheart a bland glare. "I'm not sticking around up there waiting for the cops to come with the hope that we can sit through their questioning long enough to set up the other guys. It just ain't happening. Let's just stick with the plan and improvise when the time comes, okay?" he asked.

"If that's all, get out of here. I have some things to take care of before tomorrow, and you guys have stuff to do as well. It's going to be a long night all around. I suggest not wasting anymore time."

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Cassus nodded as Ryeik spoke, acknowledging everything that was said. As the man who flicked dust off Ryeik's shoulder turned and left the room, he smirked at each one of the other crew members. When his smile passed Cassus, all he did was raise his center finger at the man and smile back smugly. After that the "doctor" went through a huge hypothetical scenario that was close to developing an entirely new plan.

"Woah woah woah Doc, we already have a plan. Leave the backup stuff in your head until that one fails.", said Cassus as he got up.

With that, he nodded at Ryeik, turned, and exited the room. He headed back to the spaceport to where he had docked his shuttle to get some rest and prepare his things.

 

[Demiurge]

"So be it. We'll do this your way." Arkon said, getting up from the table in the room. "Besides, its been a while since I've had a change of pace... might do me some good."

At that Arkon's face and physical body changed from that of a Human to a scarred Zabrak with dark blue skin and striking white tattoos over his body. "Yes, this is him." Arkon said, viewing his appearance from a data feed appearing on his HUD from within his helmet.

A Zabrak male by the name of Okour Baalshin, a dock master with ties to an exclusive black market that has one of its few stationary points in the galaxy on Corellia's surface. A discretely placed grin moved its way onto Arkon's "face", as he though about the Zabrak he "took" the face of. Facial recognition processing within the inner proximity of the HUD allowed facial expressions, gestures and other similar motions to be projected upon the holographic face. Because he was so often using his "blank" setting, Arkon sometimes forgot that his facial gestures were being projected.

"In eight hours, then...", Arkon said, taking his leave from the room to the Corellian undercities. Even if he was being led, Arkon never left to any place unprepared. Eight hours, that was how long he had.

 

[Dmitri]

"If that's how you want it, so be it," said Doc Love. He didn't say it out of spite, more matter-of-fact.

Doc Love stood up. He headed for the door. Eight hours was all he had to get ready for the heist.

 

[Gambler]

Midnight was approaching, and with most of his makeshift crew making preparations for the heist, Ryiek had some time to kill. Flipping the fedora onto his head, he gave the remaining men a quick nod before leaving. He buttoned loose shirt cuffs at the door, dismissing the bouncers with a wink. Now that he was free, he had plenty of time to reopen his conversation with Caleb. That thought in mind, he made his way over to the bar.

Another man was sitting in his usual seat when he arrived, looking sourly into his mug and talking softly with Caleb. "Good evening gents," he said as he took the seat next to the newcomer. "Caleb." He spared a nod for the cantina owner. "And you are...?"

"Jack," the man said. His eyes were locked on the mug in front of him, and aside from the quick comment he gave no hint of being part of the conversation. There was a sour cast to his mouth and it twisted when he said his name.

"Ryiek. You come here often?" he asked.

"No," Jack replied. "This is my first time here." He looked up from the mug, coal black eyes sparking death when they met Caleb's.

"That so?" The only noise thereafter was the screech of dry cloth on glass. "Well, why're you here then?" he asked to keep the conversation going.

"I'm looking for someone."

"Oh? Who'd that be?"

"You."

"I'm not too certain about that, pal. There are bound to be plenty of good looking men around here, but I don't swing that way," he said with a rough laugh. The man stared back at him blankly.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what?"

"I heard about your plan and I want in."

"Sorry bud, but you're too late. The window closed an hour ago when no body showed up," he said without pause. "I don't have enough men to pull the heist and I am no going it alone. Not this time at least."

Jack smirked, the first sign of expression on that bland face. "Then who were those men who left before you?"

"Them? Nothing really. Just the last of the dregs, worthless as can be. Not a one of them could hold a pistol and they didn't have the skills I was looking for. I might be able to pull a job off with some bottom feeders, but it won't be pretty and the haul would hardly pay off for the work put into it." He kept the conversation flowing smoothly, the lies racing from his tongue.

"That is true," Jack conceded, "but I'm sure you'll find that my skills more than compensate for any shortcomings evident in the others."

Ryiek was already shaking his head. "I told you, the window shut an hour ago. I couldn't find enough reliable people, and even if you are as good as you say, I don't know enough about you to trust you. I'm not putting my neck on the block with a couple of untried strangers. This heist is off. But maybe next time I'll give you a shout out, alright?"

Jack smiled, a quick baring of teeth. "Fine," he said.

"Better luck next time," Caleb said, his brow crinkling apologetically. "Hey, Jack, why don't you hit the casino up top? First round's on the house, okay?" he asked, holding out a credit chit for the man.

"Sure." Jack walked away from the bar, vanishing into the crowd like smoke.

Ryiek let out a breath. "Well, that could have gone better," he said, only to find Caleb scowling at him. "What?"

"You could have gotten yourself killed is what. Do you have any idea who that guy is?" Ryiek shook his head. "The last time he was here was back when I first started the joint. You know, before I was able to afford the warm atmosphere. Anyway, well, he showed up here looking for a fight.

"He walked up to this one guy and knifed him, just like that. And... you remember what you've heard about this place's history? How I had to have the place renovated to get rid of the stench of blood? Well, that is partially true, because of him." Caleb's eyes were stone.

"What do you mean?" Of course Ryiek had heard those rumors, but he had never believed them. The Armistice was too gentle for anything that dark.

"He started the biggest fight I've ever seen in here, and he killed every single one of them. Killed them, without his hands."

"Huh?"

"Most of them simply exploded. As in, one minute they were closing in on him and the next pop, their heads were gone, replaced by a geyser of blood. Some of them burst into flames, others were snapped in half... some of them had their bones ripped from their bodies..."

"You want me to believe that?" Ryiek asked, laughing, but Caleb didn't share his mirth.

"Yes. Jack is dangerous. He doesn't look it, but there's something unnatural about him. He came in here tonight looking to join your heist, and I was inclined to let him. You're kriffing lucky you didn't set him off!" he growled.

"Well, excuse me for not knowing. But either way, he's gone for now and the crew's all here. We'll be leaving in the morning, so everyone else is out making their preparations."

"Don't you have anything to do?"

"Nah, I figure I'll bring a couple of grenades, my best jacket, this fedora, and some other stuff for shits and giggles," he said.

"You are the laziest bastard I have ever known," Caleb laughed.

"Hey! I might be lazy but I have never been a bastard. My birth was completely legit my friend, and we both know it."

"Hardly."

"Says you."

"Yeah, says me."

"And I'm the bastard." Ryiek smirked dryly.

"Exactly."

"Which is why you're priming me up with the cheap beer right?"

"One of these days I'm going to show you exactly how cheap this beer is, and you won't be laughing when half of your pocket money goes down your greedy gullet to keep that blood flowing in your veins."

Ryiek snorted. "Just wait until I get back tomorrow night and you can charge me all you'd like."

"Heh, if I remember correctly, fifteen percent of the total goes to me for being such an amazing contractor."

"Fifteen? I thought we agreed on ten."

"Well, I changed my mind. If I have to deal with Jack after you pull this heist, I want fifteen for security."

"Ha, sure thing. I'll take the extra five out of my own so my crew doesn't bitch."

"That being said, shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

———«»———«»———«»———​

The vault was coming into sight, appearing more akin to a fortified space station than a bank. It was a construct meant to hold against a medieval siege, bulky in a way that belied age. For years on end the Galactic Bank had stood as the uncontested banking power, holding more money than any one man could feasibly spend in a lifetime. It was every thief's dream, and Ryiek was about to live it.

With the deadline fast approaching he had taken the time to acquire a few thermal detonators for "backup," along with a set of silencers for his pistols and enough gamma-burst transmission headsets for the entire crew. The last had been increasingly difficult to get his hands on considering the ongoing war, but Caleb had enough contacts to go around and the well-to-do cantina owner was happy to send them his way. Earlier on in the journey he had taken a few moments to explain why the gamma-burst headsets were important. For one, they were impossible to hack into unless one was linked directly to the source. They were also incredibly difficult to jam with modern technology, which allowed for open communication while they jammed the guards'. Furthermore, they could be used later on to receive signals from the rest of the crew if anything went wrong during or after the heist.

From what he knew of this sort of operation, Ryiek figured that they had all of their bases covered. "Now would be a good time to show me what you've brought and, for those of you who are a bit religious, to pray. If anything goes wrong up here, we're either shit out of luck or pulling out by the seems of our pants," he said with a ready smirk.

"So, everyone ready?" he asked, nodding to the vault on-screen.

 

[Lavi]

Never had Sakari carried as much equipment as he had today. Well, since he was in the military, at least. Not only did he carry one of his preferred heavy blaster pistols, but two heavy blaster pistols. Aside from his usually interface hacking equipment, which is rather small and easily fit inside one of his pockets, he didn't bring anything else.

Although Sakari was uncomfortable with not being able to pilot his Myrkr Rogue, at least his ship wouldn't cause everyone in the galaxy to be hunting for him first. As a smuggler, having a couple bounty hunters after him was more than enough on his plate.

At Ryiek's question, Sakari made a last minute check on his pistols before nodding. It's hard to not be ready when on a smuggling run. A bank heist isn't too different.

 

[Dmitri]

Doc Love was leaning back on his chair when they neared the vault. He straightened up. The heist was going to be difficult and would require his full attention.

Doc Love slid his chair over to a consule and began typing. He accessed nearby security systems in the bank and radar, and inserted a simulation taht would mask what the real input was.

When he had finished, Ryiek asked what everyone had brought. Doc Love tossed a keycard to Ryiek.

"I made that using the template found in my keycard," informed Doc Love. "It's been modified to have the highest clearance I could obtain, which would be the CFO's clearance. That card should unlock any doors you come by, except the CEO's office, which I doubt we need."

Doc Love fished inside his bag and took out datachips. "These chips will mimic the balance in accounts. Once you have taken the credits out of the accounts, these chips will register in the balance as full, hiding our robbery. However, they expire after an hour so you'll need to act fast afterwards if we want to hide this heist as long as possible."

Doc Love put on the gamma-burst transmission headset on. "Security is away from the vault, so I'll head there. It's near the lobby so I'll pretend to deposit some money. While in line, I'll hack the cameras and inserting pre-recorded slides. Just know that if anyone in the Bank goes someplace out of schedule, leaving too early or leaving late, and security realizes this, it'll be out of sync with the films and my slides will be discovered, alerting them."

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Cassus stood silently on board the ship. He had brought with him an array of items, all stored in a large pack he wore on his back. It was unusual for him to carry an inventory of this size with him, but he wanted to be prepared. This would be the biggest payoff of his life.

Inside the pack were several things. A liquid cable dispenser, magnetic climbing rods, a field survival kit, first aid supplies, grenades, and some detonite. On his person he carried his usual outfitting, spare ammo, a comlink, several tools on his belt, and his weapons. He watched as the others came in prepared with their things, it was obvious then what everyones part in the heist was. Cassus decided to speak up and explain some things to the group.

"Ok listen up, there will be dozens of armed guards on this station. Some of them will be well trained, and possibly even retired military. Granted most of them will be rent-a-cops looking for rent money. Don't take a chance, assume each one of them will kill you just as easily as the next.", Cassus paused for a moment. "If we get into anything too thick, stay with the group and don't get seperated. If you fall behind or get lost, I can guarantee none of us will be going back for you, and I'd expect the same from you all. In and out boys.", finished Cassus.

He had never done anything largely illegal in his career, but he tried to play it off as if he had done this sort of thing before, and did it rather well. With that said, he put on his helmet, sealed the internal atmosphere, and loaded and cocked his rifle, the clink putting a definitive end to his explanation.

 

[Dread]

Most of what Balor had set out to do he had gotten done. A few loose ends hadn't got tied up, but that's all he could of wished for. A 'few' was better then a lot.

He had joined the group with a grey cloak, it's cuffs, collar and edges lined in a dimmed black, it was hard to tell where the grey ended and the black started. It was age warn, and something like a traditional robe with some kind of meaning behind it. It wouldn't be abnormal to see a person in robes, especially a traveler. What was more interesting was what was hidden beneath them. Several layers of monomolecular plates made of quadruple reinforced durasteel, with some element of cortosis, protected his body. Over top of his face he wore a zersium mask with a tricopper outer face, it was black, a tasteful shape, with a few etches of a alien language across it. The ensemble was mostly for heat resistance, made for flexibility. Nothing was heavy. Balor didn't work well with 'heavy' with his body type.

Expecting the worse, he had two concealed knives, that were just that...concealed. Made for quick access if he needed them. A heavy blaster pistol, assorted tools and weapons in his belt, tight to his thin waist.

He listened to Cassus, giving a mocking chuckle as the man finished talking. Beneath his mask, Balor flashed the man a smile and nodded in his direction.

 

[Dravenkt]

With the crew assembled Dravenkt began to prepare for his own battle. His plan was simple. Let the heist go as far as it could and then, when the credits were stolen and the crew were escaping he would strike. The leader, Ryiek, would be his first target as he was bot hthe most valuble and also the man with the plan. Remove him and the rest would scatter like rats. Easier to hunt down.

Dravenkt applied the last of his armor, enclosed in it's steel frame he watched the viser light up with it's numerous displays. He took the oppertunity to go through his weapons, checking them one more time. The heavy duty blaster strapped into his leg holster was an old but reliable piece and wouldn't need a second check, but the blaster rifle was new. It was a black market piece with a small, illegal modification to the power output to make it fire bigger shots. The weapon handled well and was fairly lightweight for an onject of it's size. Dravenkt lifted his right hand and closed it sharply into a vist. The vibro blade concealed in his gauntlet snapped out with a satisfying hiss sound. Taking a few practise swings he nodded before loosening his grip and withdrawing the blade into it's sheath. He had other itemss, the comm equipment Ryiek had provided, high end stuff. A few thermal detonaters, a combat knife in his boot. A pair of flash grenades dangling from his belt and last but not least a stun baton lashed onto his chest. Bounties were generally worth more alive anyway.

Cassus gave the group a prep breifing while he prepared and Dravenkt listened, half-interested. He would be slightly more dangerous than some of the others. Probably better to pick him off from good cover, or stab him in the back with his punch gauntlet. Pierce his armour an inch to the left of the spine and twist, kill him off before he could respond. It would probably cut his bounty in half but it removed a difficult problem before it became a problem.

When he was satisfied with his equipment Dravenkt padded up to the vid-screen displaying the vault and silently studied it, waiting for the rest of the crew to green-light and the heist to begin.

 

[Demiurge]

Arkon fitted his equipment onto himself as he and the others approached the vault. He knew some had made provisions for the group, but that was more than he could do. Usually temporary partnerships were built on trust toward a common goal, but Arkon didn't trust anyone here any further than he could throw them... probably even less so, in fact. He didn't get where he was today, survive as long as he had, by trusting in other by good faith. The very concept didn't exist. Arkon was prepared for the worst, for if things went south, he needed to supply himself an escape plan.

On his left wrist, Arkon fitted a shadow caster, tightened and shrouded beneath his sleeve. His right wrist held a somewhat bulky portable universal jammer, modified with electromagnetic signature countermeasures. Over his "hands", Arkon placed black gloves in-fitted with false touch pads, and he had his helmet's program ready with a false eye program. He carried a security blade around his acoustic suppression belt, and of course, his personal data holocron. Arkon was willing to go along with Ryiek's plot, but once there, he had other plans that would take priority, and Arkon had very, very special plans. Being positioned within the biggest vault in the galaxy was too precious of an opportunity to pass for just a raid, no matter the payoff.

"Yeah," Arkon said, returning to the face of the Human male with reddish brown hair and holding his transparent data holocron in his hand, "I'm ready."