Ask Plot Canto-Credits

[Marissa Hesse]

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"One last time, just so we're all clear. The plan." Marissa stood leaning over the table inside their ship looking at Preef, a set of blueprints of Canto Casino spread out across the table in front of her, alongside a half smoked cigara and a damn near finished glass of Corellian whiskey,

"Under the cover of Tarsha Malder and her bodyguard we enter the casino. Let's keep that looking natural until we're near the security doors here" she made a path with her fingers across the map from the entrance to the western side of the hall,

"Once they open to let someone in, we blow the detonator charge. With the power out and the place in darkness, we swing straight down below to the vault hallway beneath the Sea of Cantonica. Once at the Vault door, we wire up the charges and hide in these bulkhead alcoves here, and here" she gestured to a pair of alcoves in the hallway that would shield them from the blast, each with a bulkhead door that kept the water outside

"Inside, one of us gathers the cash while the other gets charges set back in the hall to cut through to the amphibious ship we already parked in the pickup spot. Door is already pressed up against the wall, we just need to cut through the bulkhead, and we can walk straight into the ship, and blast out of here" she finished with a click of her fingers. Picking up her drink once more, she looked at her ally and smiled,

"Any questions?"

* * *
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The day had come.

Under the guise of Tarsha Malder in the outfits they'd managed to acquire and scan their faces in as their own, Marissa and Preef had made it inside the casino. They'd changed up the uniforms a bit to carry what they needed. With a blaster tucked away inside, a blast vest built in, welding putty to burn through the bulkhead to their ship, the detonator for their exterior bomb, and blasting charges to get them through the vault door all hidden away within their clothing they were as set as they could be.

For now, they just had to look natural, and ever so relaxed as they made their way through the casino to their first destination, the security doors. Then it'd be time to hit that detonator and get this show on the road,

"Ready for this?" Marissa asked her partner with a smirk. She was feeling confident.

@Ecclessey @Raydo

 

[Preef Callo]

Truth be told, the suit was a bit of an ill fit after all. Add in the blaster, welding torch and security spike and you got an uncomfortable rodian. Not that it really looked like he had all kinds of equipment with him, because his papers clearly showed he was a few pounds heavier than he looked yesterday and together they had made sure to make it all look as natural as possible. It was still uncomfortable.

"Born ready," Preef grinned and pretended to whisper into a microphone, "Bosslady Malder likes to watch the Sabacc players. We on the move." He tried to come off as more confident than he felt as it was his first casino robbery and all, but he at least picked the first vice well; on their way to the Sabacc tables they'd walk close to those doors and if Marissa "lost" something thereabouts they had an excuse to linger.

Although it seemed smart to play some games and make the guards feel comfortable with them being there, there was also a risk of becoming too memorable. As you never knew who was watching, Preef figured it was best to do this as quick and clean as possible.

Preef felt his heart started to pump fast the closer they got to those security doors and he was anxious for Marissa's signal. Come on, Marissa he thought, Let's go.


@Nightfall

 

[Marissa Hesse]

The main floor was wild with laughter, whoops, and cries of a dozen scumbags who’d just blown their life savings on some silly game of Sabaac. How she rolled her eyes at it all. She knew she wasn’t on top of the pecking order, but she felt good knowing what they were about to do in the middle of it all,

“Oh Kriff, chips, my chips” as they passed close to the door finally Marissa began the little charade, buying them time until the security doors slid open,

“Take a look over there would ya?” She gestured at Preef, sending him closer to the door. They needed to move quick once it happened. If one listened close you might have heard the shake in her voice as she moved behind a pillar to the side, out of view from the closest set, ‘searching’ her pockets for the winnings. But with every pat she kept an eye on the door, and a hand on the detonator.

She was breathing deep, her eyes constantly moving around as if busy, but really she kept an eye on the door. But as shadows appeared behind it, coming it exit she looked up once more at Preef,

“Oh wait” she patted her pocket, as if finding what she was looking for “We’re good” and so it was time to spring.

With one hand in her pocket, she thumbed then detonator button as the security door swung open. A rumble could be heard outside, just beneath the hubbub and commotion of the casino floor before it all plunged into darkness.

Show time.

As the room shot to black she began to make her move, shooting from her position to the security door, making sure she kept position and didn’t lose herself in the dark. Once she and Preef were through, she’d shut it closed behind them and begin their descent beneath the sea of cantonica.

The game was on.

@Ecclessey @Raydo

 

[Preef Callo]

The blast was loud and had a profound impact as the second the lights died every gambler that was down tried to grab a year's wages in chips from the tables. It provided the best imaginable cover for Marissa and Preef, with the latter quickly producing his blaster pistol and shoving it up the throat of the one who had opened the security door. In the darkness the blaster was only visible to Preef and the human as they went through the door and out of sight of the casino floor. "You forget a thousand things every day," the rodian whispered as Marissa locked the door behind them. "Make sure this is one of them." The human nodded anxiously before Preef pulled back the blaster and hit him hard on the head, knocking him unconscious.

They were in a rush now and counted down the seconds, so Preef didnt bother to soften his victim's fall and headed straight for the vault hallway in a sprint. Although they didn't expect to encounter anyone until they reached the actual vault, Preef was alert and kept his blaster ready. Marissa had brought him along as muscle and seeing the young rodian's physique it wasn't to throw punches. He was there in case a trigger needed to be pulled.



@Nightfall

 

[Marissa Hesse]

Marissa’s feet thudded against them staircase as she galloped down the way, rushing with all speed to the vault door. They needed to be quick. Eventually they’d be followed, or atleast someone would check on the vault. They wanted to be out of there before they did. And assuming everything went alright they would be.

Coming to the bottom she found herself beneath the Sea of Cantonica. Pulling out her own blaster from her outfit she began to find the pieces of explosives that shed down into the uniform, getting them ready to apply to the door. Emergency lights still kept the hallway here humming, and if you listened close you could hear the throne of the water against the walls and bulkheads around them.

Not that she had long to admire it.

At the end of the hallway the vault door was held by two guards, who were trying to get hold of their C.O. as Marissa rushed down the hall. Once Preef was alongside, she held her blaster high and shot a bolt by their heads to shock them,

"I wouldn't move your hands" she called to them, moving down the hall "Either of you" she looked at the second guard in the eyes before turning to Preef,

"Mind looking after these two?" she asked as she moved to the vault door to wire up the explosives as quick as she could, one step closer to the goal.

@Ecclessey

 

[Preef Callo]

When they reached the vault and the two guards, Preef was a bit surprised by Marissa's actions. Still, he aimed his blaster at the two guards, preventing them from getting their own out of their holsters. "Walk over to me, slowly-" the rodian ordered as he himself took one step forward and put himself right between the two bulkhead alcoves. "-this isn't going to be a good day for you two, but we're gonna make sure this ain't your last ones, together, eh?" he tried to reassure them that things were going to be okay as he gestured with his left that they slowly take out their blasters and drop them in one of the alcoves before stuffing themselves into the other. The alcove was big enough for the both of them, thus the other one would be big enough for Preef and Marissa, leaving no doubts for when they blew up the vault door.

With their blasters on the floor and out of reach, the guards actually looked somewhat reassured. They were dealing with gentlemen robbers and not schutta's that would-

The shots caught them completely off guard and they were dead before they fully realized what was going on. Preef had realized that there just wasn't a scenario in which he could let them go and if he only stunned them they'd most likely drown during the escape. Killing them outright was the more merciful option.

Not really bothered by the fact he had just murdered two low-wage guards, Preef turned his attention to the stairs to make sure they weren't met with any surprises. "Better hurry this up, boss." he muttered through the comms.

Once Marissa gave the signal she was done planting the explosives, the rodian would join his boss in the other alcove to hide from the blast.

@Nightfall

 

[Marissa Hesse]

When she heard the blaster bolts she was nearly finished wiring up the explosives. She wanted to make sure she got it right, and the sweat on her brow right now was testament to that. Too large, and they’d be flooding, not enough and security would get here before they could try again. And while she’s taken some pointers from other syndicate members about it, she wasn’t an old hand.

Still, by the time the bodies hit the floor she turned back at Preef and gave a wave of her hand: they were good to go.

Falling back into the alcoves, Marissa gage one final check before hitting the detonator. A sudden explosion ripped out behind them, smoke and heat before a thud of metal on metal hit the ground.

Keeping her blaster up, she stepped out and through the smoke. As it cleared her eyes suddenly widened to the sight that lay before them. Credits and bullion beyond their wildest dreams,

“Not a bad haul after all” she winked at Callo, a moment of levity well deserved. This was further than anyone else had got in a Canto Bight heist. Most didn’t even make it through the front door. But quickly Marissa snapped back to the task,

“Alright, let’s get the cutting gel on that first bulkhead and load up, we’re getting out of here” she called over to her ally. Stealth wasn’t on the table anymore, speed was what mattered. And with the expectation of footsteps on the stairs behind them at moment, they needed to move.

@Ecclessey

 

[Preef Callo]

The explosion was LOUD, but luckily they didn't built a vault underneath a sea with paper and glue and the only thing that got a hole in it was the vault door. The moment Preef entered he walked over to cart with duffel bags and grabbed one, "Go prepare our exit," the rodian's experience kicked in and he didn't allow himself to admire the vault's contents because he knew they could only grab a fraction of it. Two bags full, if they were lucky and the casino security was slow.. so the fact no one had ever made it this far was a bonus. Security most likely ran around like headless chickens afraid of the thunder and paranoid of clouds.

Preef didn't take any of the auridium that casino coins on Canto Bight were made from as their rarity made them too easily to trace once he and Marissa started spending. Instead he took the largest credit chips he could find and bullion that was less rare than auridium, but still worth a fortune each. It took him slightly more than a minute to fill one bag and drop it near the alcove before heading back in and starting to fill a second.

By now he was definitely feeling rushed as he simply stuffed all kinds of credits in the bag while looking around for something more valuable than a lightsaber. "That's it!" a suddenly enthusiastic Preef cried as he spotted a genuine masterpiece by Shiva Madala; "Smiling Girl in Front of Nabooan Landscape". Determined he rushed towards it and cut it from its frame, decreasing its value by a fifth, rolled it up and stuffed it in the bag. If he presented that to the leader of the Crimson Dawn... oh boy!

"Bosslady its time!" Preef said as he exited the vault with that second duffel bag strapped watertight to his body and aiming his blaster towards the stairs. "Take the bag," he pointed at that first duffelbag, "and let's swim."



@Nightfall

 

[Marissa Hesse]

Well she wasn’t about to question it. As Preef ran inside the vault, she crossed over and moved over to the bulkhead nearby, coughing from the smoke as she knelt down in front of it.

From her jacket she revealed the last piece of the puzzle for today: welding putty.

Rolling it out in strips between her palms, she was working hard and fast to get things into the right shapes, but the sweat on her fingers made it harder than expected. Still, she had practiced getting these actions down, and once Preef was back out with the bags, the putty was already burning bright through the metal.

Keeping her blaster pointed at the stairs like her partner, the whish of the burning sparked in her ear. It was a good thing then that, as footsteps started to sound at the end of the hall, the whishing stopped.

Only to replaced by the thud of a door and the rush of water flooding through it,

“Aye, aye captain” she said with a smirk in reply.

This was one part that was harder to plan for, the amphibious ship they’d stolen was parked right outside, but the force of the water and the weight of bags made moving to it a hell of a lot harder. And with a last glimpse of the vault, Marissa threw her head underwater and powered as fast as she could to the vessel.

Water soaked every part of her body, through her clothes, into her skin, the waters dark and freezing this deep down. But as soon as she smacked against the side of the ship her hand slapped against the door control, sliding open with a start as she waved Preef through to the pressurised chamber within. Just one last flight till freedom.

@Ecclessey

 

[Preef Callo]

Preef smirked as he heard the panicked cries coming from upstairs as the security guards were met with a torrent of water. Marissa and he had been standing in a more tactical spot and with his blaster now holstered, Preef stayed close to the walls before dipping out into the sea. As a rodian he was more at home in water than even a competitive human swimmer would be. But while the duffel bags were water-resistant his clothes weren't and slowed him down as he pushed himself off against the building and towards their escape vehicle.

Preef was wet, cold and quickly getting tired, but he also couldn't be any happier. They'd made it. For all the casino knew there was a big explosion and then water rushing in later as if a crack in the wall caused by the explosion finally gave in. If they suspected the two of them to have been inside, they'd almost certainly expect them to have drowned.. cast out into the depths of the sea until their lifeless soaked bodies were eaten by the deep sea monsters of Cantonica.

Following Marissa through the pressure chamber, Preef couldn't get rid of his wide smile even if he tried. "We done it, boss!" Once inside the vehicle proper he dropped the heavy bag on the couch and continued to the cockpit. "We make some miles underwater and then lift off, I'll set Shaddaa as destination."

He couldn't wait to tell Kholvar and then the dancers at the Moist Mirakula. Mostly, he was thinking of what to do with that painting...

@Nightfall

 

[Marissa Hesse]

As the bay door closed behind her and Preef’s face lit up, Marissa couldn’t help but do the same. Wiping her soaked hair back slick on her forehead, she let the rodian run up to the cockpit and get the engine spinning up, all the while her own pearly whites were bared to the world.

They’d actually, bloody done it.

When she had first pitched it she had to admit, it felt ridiculous, but doable. As each piece of the puzzle slotted together as they went though her confidence grew. And while acquaintances had come and gone in the preparation, between her and Callo they’d pulled the damned thing off.

If her parents could see her now, what would they think of her? A vile, corrupted thing no doubt, with a life spiraling out of control. Too bad then that, for Marissa, things felt completely opposite. This was her ticket up the ziggurat, and a handy little credit safety net if things ever went awry once more. She’d been around the galaxy enough now to know they always would,

“A job well done, Callo” she called back at him as she moved around the back of the ship, turning off non-essential power to help keep them untracked until they’d got the hyperspace route locked in. Taking a seat on the couch as she threw off her dripping disguise, she sat her arm over one of the credit laden duffel bags, she spoke quietly to herself, now quite content,

“A job well done”

@Ecclessey

/EndThread