Golden Opportunity

[Alysanne Drast]

Alys nodded back as the Rodian gave them all a salute, that was one step done.

"Lead the way."

She didn’t say much when the Muun returned, falling back as the group was lead out. She just observed the Sith, trying to get a feel for them. She hadn’t spent so long with a Sith without things escalating in a very long time, so this was a rather unique opportunity.

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[The Storyteller]

If the Muun was surprised at the fact that the envoys didn't know who they would be meeting next, he didn't show it. "The resistance's representatives," he replied, eyes on the corridor ahead. They walked for a minute or two in silence until they reached a nondescript durasteel door. Producing a card, the Muun scanned it and the door hissed open. He ushered the group inside and the door would hiss shut behind them.

Inside were two people—a man and a woman, both human. They looked as rag-tag as one would expect a pair of rebels to—clothes resembling those of average spacers, tousled hair, and a burning intensity in their eyes. Both sat next to each other on normal wooden chairs, the room around not as lavish as the first chamber had been. This one looked more like an interrogation room than a meeting room—duracrete walls, floor, and ceiling, one, lone bulb dangling from the ceiling to serve as lighting. In front of the rebels were four chairs, one for each other envoys. There was no table here.

"Due to the secrecy of our movement, I hope you understand why we will not be divulging our names," the man began, not bothering with pleasantries. He seemed on edge, but he had good reason to. "I am Octo, and this here is Septo." He motioned toward the woman, who nodded. While the Twi'lek and the Rodian had seemed to be almost rivals, the two rebels seemed like they had spent their entire lives fighting alongside one another.

"I take it you have some funds that would be beneficial to our cause?"

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[Mid Samekh]

The freedom fighters. Mid couldn't comment on them, the Hutts or the political situation at all. He barely had time to read up on it. All he knew was to land the deals they were told to land. So far it started off good. The Jedi told the Muun to lead the way and Mid fell in close behind her. They walked in silence down the hall to the next room. Mid hoped that once this was all wrapped up him, Markov and the two rebels could meet up at a nearby bar for a drink. He had a ton of questions about their faction and the Jedi order.

They came to a sturdy durasteel door and were led inside. Mid was immediately on edge as they stepped inside and both Markov and the Drast would be able to feel it. Mid was usually the one sitting where those two freedom fighters were sitting now. He was not a big fan of rooms like these. He didn't let it show though and gave a nod as he entered. The freedom fighters introduced themselves. 'Septo' and 'Octo'. 'Seven' and 'Eight' if Mid remembered his languages correctly. "A pleasure to meet the both of you." he said politely and took a seat. They immediately got down to business, throwing Mid's sales pitch out the window...or whatever served for ventilation in this room since there weren't any windows. "Since names are clearly not that important, feel free to call me Mid. And yes, we do. One moment." He said and shifted in his seat.

He dug in his cloak's pocket, searching through his personal effects and notes for the holodisk meant for them. Damn he needed to clean his pockets out. He pulled it out and held it up for all to see. "Here we are. But before I just pass it over I have to ask you two for some terms and conditions." Mid pulled his datapad out and opened up a file. It had pages upon pages of fine print and each page held the emblem of the IGBC. "There's a lot of fine print to read over as you might expect, but in my preparation for this meeting I noticed a few things that might stand out to you." he handed them the datapad to read over as he still had the holodisk in his hand. The info in the fine print would show he wasn't lying.

"Firstly, one condition is the use of your real names for them to effectively conduct business with you. Secondly is the location of your base. I don't know what they want with this information, but I expect one of two things. Either its simply for their paper work and to set up an account with you guys...or they might have some deal going on with the Hutts that no one knows about." Mid's face was dead serious and he poured his heart and soul into his speaking. Thank goodness he's a priest. He practically bought his own lie, making sure that His bluff wouldn't be called. Likewise the holodisk was set up to appear as if it was pinging a live location when used. For a group that are so scared to give their names up, something like this might scare them pretty good.

"I'm just the messenger here, but I'd think carefully about dealing with them with conditions like that if I were you guys." Mid finished and held the holodisk slightly out to the secret duo, but his eyes were showing he was on edge. As if he was warning them about the risk.

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[Darth Perilius]

.

Markov followed the Muun beside Mid silently and went into the next room, which contained the next set of reps. These reps titled themselves Octo and Septo, which he cringed when he realized they were rebels. Dark side energy flowed through him as he listened to the pair.

Mid did a majority of the talking before he even got the chance to, so Markov stood in the back as he did the negotiating and terms. The Pureblood had used another holodisk and offered it to the rebels. He watched intently still as they discussed.

“We can assure you that all we are doing is messaging and forwarding.. if you follow our terms everything should be fine...” he said with little to no emotion, keeping a serious expression. Markov used his tactics to appeal and convince of their point. They would do what they needed to get them to follow their orders. He hoped the Jedi could potentially follow suit. He kept a serious expression as Mid offered the holodisk.

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[Davis Jan]

Davis hadn't said much so far, for with four negotiators the best trick was usually for that fourth to just keep their jaw shut and look like he agreed, but when the Sith began his tall tale about conditions the pirate couldn't help but laugh "Hahah!" it keep all the way from his belly so full was his joy. Ofcourse the Sith would've tried something this foolish. "By the Force, Mid, why hand them a fake document?" he said it without any hint of false play, for there were no such conditions relayed to the party by the bank and thus Davis easily waved it away as he approached Mid and held out his hand for the holodisk with the credits.

"Seven and Eight," he nodded in their direction, "Name's Davis Jan and let's just say I sympathize with your plight." He still had his hand out towards Mid (@KinkyPrawn) to get him to give him the holodisk with the credits, "Let me assure you that all relevant parties have agreed to accept your desire for secrecy, after all, we're bankrolling you so you have a chance to win." He still smiled now, noting the similarities between these rebels and the state of the Galactic Alliance, including the wish for secrecy, and thoroughly enjoyed the Imperial effort to undermine it.

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[Alysanne Drast]

Alys wondered if the Sith knew what they were playing at, their attempts to break these particular negotiations down. But to think that forged documents would in any way work when the rebels had the final document as well and if she wasn't mistaken the freedom fighters had been sent the actual terms as well. Why else would they agree to them?

As Davis spoke, she just shook her head at the maneuvering and maintained a stern look on her face though she wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the scenario. "Here," She spoke up after Davis had spoken, pulling out a datapad and opening the actual document on it, "I believe this is the real document, the one you should have on your person as well." She addressed the last bits at the freedom fighters. "Rest assured that neither we, nor the banking clans have any intention of forcing you to reveal any secrets you don't want to. The clans are happy to work with you and the profits it will earn them in the long run. They believe in the eventual arrival of those profits because they believe in your cause, and that it will succeed. Forcing such clauses on you would directly hinder their chances of earning their money back." She didn't need to lie, for the truth was simply too obvious to need much convincing.

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[The Storyteller]

The two rebels listened intently to what the Pureblood had to say, eyeing the holopad he brought before them with both curiosity and mild skepticism. They only looked up to glance at each other, sharing a knowing look before gazing back to the Sith. What he said made sense, and it definitely seemed like something a bank would do—or so they thought, but maybe they were just biased.

Then again, they were also biased against Imperials, and they knew it was completely possible that the Sith was just trying to sabotage the meeting so that they would be a disadvantage when it came to the war. Both eyeing the rebel as he spoke up, Octo quirked an eyebrow at the man's outburst but let him talk. What the rebel—and the Jedi—said sounded reasonable and certainly shit on anything the Sith had come up with, but they weren't entirely sure they were convinced.

"And why would the IGBC want to fund us?" he asked skeptically, his face neutral. Septo nodded.

"We're rebels fighting against a Hutt crime lord who pretty much wields absolute control over the planet—the odds are hardly in our favor," she added.

Sure, they wanted the money. But they also didn't want it to come around and bite them in the ass later.

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[Mid Samekh]

Davis' outburst caused Mid to slowly turn his head to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm glad you're enjoying this at least." he quipped, but a frown formed at the man's comment. He wanted to take the man on about his blasphemy but decided against it. Politics and religion never mixed well. Both the Jedi and the rebel tried to undermine him...and they were doing it well. It was taking every ounce of self control to not burst out laughing as well. He had a sneaky suspicion that the meeting with the Hutt might not go that differently than this one.

But he was far from giving up. The freedom fighters gave their opinion on the matter and Mid pointed to them both with wide eyes. "Exactly." he exclaimed. He looked at the two rebels. "They get it." he remarked and turned to look at the two suspicious resistance members. "Let's just ignore all the easily refutable comments they made for a moment and focus on your situation. I don't know if either of you bet on Fathier racing, fights or the like, but one thing remains consistent. Betting for the underdog tends to have a certain lucky charm to it. No offence but in this case you're definitely it. There's no reason as to why the IGBC won't have the same mindset. But one issue remains: They're a bank and a sneaky one at that." his more professional side was kicking in.

"If history has shown us anything, it's that rebels can achieve rather unconventional methods of victory. If you guys win, it's potentially a lot of money going back to the IGBC...but if you lose it will spell disaster. Their rates are on average pretty steep with loans. And if you don't pay up when they expect you to you'll have a bunch of very dangerous people breathing down your neck. Even if you achieve victory they will expect you to pay up when they want you to." he looked them dead in the eye with a piercing gaze that showed no hint of a lie.

"See, the IGBC doesn't care about you as a faction or as people. They're not your friend, they're a business. And businesses need to make money. Now as for the "fake document", please turn your attention to page 97, section 14, subsection 12, bullet-point number 7. Clearly states the condition that for anyone to open an account with the IGBC, the use of aliases or illegitimate names are strictly prohibited. Granted they have made exceptions in the past, but you have to keep one thing in mind. They have secret agendas riding on top of each other. As arch priest of the church of the Sith I've had to deal with them and there were some sketchy things in between the lines. Now as for page 104, section 9, subsection 24, paragraph 2, line 3: It states that the 'contracting party' opening the account needs to provide a solid address before an account can be opened. And once again there have been exceptions but the terms behind those exceptions only add more pressure to the party paying back the loan, either through money or other means." Granted the second part was twisting the words a little but the first point was legitimate. The Sacellum almost went broke thanks to that part and the exception they received.

He turned to look at the Jedi. "Sure, master Jedi, the potential profit in the long run for the IGBC is big, but so is the risk both to them and these people. And if either of you have worked with the IGBC in the past you would know just how...shady...they can get." His eyes focused on the freedom fighters once more. "Sure, you don't have to listen to me. Take the deal and open that account...just know that I did warn you of the risk you'll be running and the dangers it entails for your future." he sat back and his eyes darted between the Jedi and the freedom fighters. He knew how sneaky Jedi can be. He was rather curious as to how this day would end. No matter how, though, Mid would most likely break down laughing before it ended.

This was getting better by the minute.

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[Davis Jan]

Davis wasn't sure why the Sith was so determined to continue in referencing his fake document, but the answer to the rebel's question was a lot easier than that three-hour monologue. "Why?" he turned to the Seven and Eight, ignoring everything the Sith had just said. "Because a Hutt is a sneaky bastard who cannot be trusted when it comes to business. A moral government that rules by law is without a doubt the most risk-free long term partner." he said it casually as if they should already have known this, but perhaps Davis just had more unpleasant dealings with Hutts in his choice of career than a rebel usually had. "A successful rebellion makes room for a stable government, which is the solid ground needed for a profiting economic climate. Hutts grow in stagnation and maintain a status quo after creating economic dependence, which is killing for a financial institute like the IGBC."

Davis now sighed and nodded in the direction of the 'Arch Priest of useless church #20345' before shaking his head in disappointment. "The Empire is doing worse than I thought if they have to take a loan from the IGBC, but where he had dealings with them, so have I-" he began, "-I was part of a crew that lost one too many ships to Imperial hunters and more than once we used a loan from the IGBC to buy a new one. We paid it off after a few months of successful business ventures and we parted as satisfied customers."

Which was all true, naturally, for Davis' career as a pirate was long and tested.. it bloody wasn't always successful neither. He didn't feel the need to stress that the document the Sith was referring to was fake, not for a second, or actually third, time.

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[Darth Perilius]

.

Markov continued to listen to the Sith and then the rebuttals of the Rebels. "The IGBC doesn't care about you... What they desire is to make money off of this war and yourselves... It is risky to work them... as Mid has said, they are more shady than you think. If you still decide against our arguments then I can assure that you may be at risk... period," Markov reiterated, standing back as he waited for the Jedi and others to finish. He didn't have much to say at this point, as Mid was saying it before he could. At this point, the entire situation is becoming ever-so entertaining to him, and he was starting to get bored of this foolishness. "Either take our word... or trust the IGBC... Not my choice, but yours..." he said.

He fidgeted as he eyed the Drast Jedi breifly, wondering what she would say about the situation.

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[Alysanne Drast]

Misinformation and distrust, the Sith sure did like to play dirty. at this point it wasn't even subtle, they had simply ignored the accusations of their document being fake, despite the fact that they and the freedom fighters had the actual authentic document in their possession. Sometimes she had to wonder if people planned more than half a step ahead.

"Look," she chimed in once Davis and the two Sith were done speaking, "you came here looking to get this money, your leaders had already weighed up the pros and cons of taking this loan from the banking clans. It's all in here." She waved the datapad, with the authentic agreement on it, in front of everyone. "The clans haven't made any headway here because of the Hutts. The Hutts suck your planet dry and funnel everything into their pockets. You offer the alternative that will provide the stable government for businesses to flourish, wealth to flow in, and commerce to develop across the planet. What do you think will happen once the Hutts fall? You planet will flourish, and as more business flows in and out, your economy will flourish and the banking clans will get a small but steady source of profits."

It was fairly logical, and she knew it was this logic that had convinced them to come here, but she also knew that the Sith's lies might have sowed seeds of doubt, doubt born out of fear. And fear was a powerful drug. So she would take away the fear.

"You want this deal, but you fear for your secrecy, you worry the Empire's lies might be true. But you aren't signing any deal with them, the banking clans will provide you the funds, and it is their word you need to worry about. One call is all it will take to confirm the validity of these claims. Agree to this deal contingent on us personally establishing contact between you and the banking clans, you hear from them that nothing has changed and you take their money without revealing anything. But if they back up what these gentlemen have to say, well then you can go back to fighting as you currently are, without the backing of the clans. The thing about lies is, you just need to look a little deeper for them to fall apart."

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[The Storyteller]

What was interesting out of this entire situation was how the four people standing before them were envoys of the IGBC, sent by the Muuns themselves to represent them. However, the only ones actually acting as envoys were the Jedi and the rebel man, with the Sith seemingly acting on their own interests. Why would they bash a banking clan that they are meant to be representing, if not because they had their own plans. That, and also Septo and Octo could not help but sympathize with the Jedi—they were, after all, resistance fighters, and Jedi were a beacon of hope for them.

It was shady. It could spell disaster if they fekked up at any point along the way. And yet, they felt strangely at ease with the situation. The odds had never been in their favor and yet they'd figured their way out of many other—more difficult—problems. Why was now any different?

"Fine," he replied at last, with his companion nodding along. They were on the same page. "But if this backfires, it'll be your door we knock on, Jedi." The two rose from their seats, eyeing the Sith before turning to all, Septo waving goodbye. Without another word—because there was nothing left to say, really—the two walked out, the door opening as the Muun poked his head in.

"You've all had an eventful day," he remarked once the resistance fighters were out of earshot. "One more meeting and we're done."

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[Mid Samekh]

Mid's face was neutral and his emotions were masked from both Markov and the Jedi. But inside he was both rather annoyed and very amused. The freedom fighters decided to agree to the deal and took their leave. The man eyed Mid and Markov, which simply received a neutral expression from Mid.

Mid rose as the Muun spoke to them. "Alright, let's get going." he said calmly. He turned to the Jedi and held his arm out towards the door. "After you, master Jedi." he said politely. While she wouldn't be sensing anything from him, his eyes would tell enough. He was holding back his laughter and if he had to guess these rebels would be trying the same thing if not something similar. This was like a game. A game he was quite enjoying.

He waited for her to walk out first, like the gentleman he is, then he would fall in behind her.

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[Davis Jan]

Happy that the Imperial efforts to sabotage the deal with the rebels was thwarted, Davis was actually glad to see the Muun again. "Alright, let's give the Hutt some creds and go get lunch." he said with an unmistaken grin on his face, "I'm hungry."

Ofcourse, now that it was some time ago since he had either fluids or foodstuffs, Davis' hangover was beginning to take a hold again, fighting his body fiercely to resist its natural process of eliminating the alcohol and spice in his body.

The pirate was happy that they saved the Hutt for last, since this was probably the company he was most familiar with, having grown up on the elusive Atlas, a planet ruled by pirates with Hutt-like deviousness around every corner.

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[Darth Perilius]

.

The tenseness of the room was increasing as the pair of rebels looked upon the Jedi and Sith, trying to decide what to do. Eventually in the silence, they decided against the Sith, which annoyed Markov, but he kept his expression neutral. The glance that the rebels amused the crusader, but soon enough the Muun returned to guide them to the final meeting. One more meeting and then they were done working with the Jedi and Rebels, and then they can go back at attacking eachother.

The Rebel commented on lunch as Markov followed behind Mid,”Perhaps we could get some lunch afterwards, but I have other things to attend to as well...” he sighed, a little annoyed at the meetings in general. He just wanted to get done with this stuff now so he could get back to his agenda.

The Hutt was the last person they’d be meeting with in the meetings, and he hoped it could go optimally for the group, especially himself and his comrade.

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[Alysanne Drast]

Alys would give the freedom fighters whatever assurances they needed to commit to the deal before they left. Not becuase she wants to beat the sith or get the win, but becuase she knew that helping the freedom fighters was the right thing to do. She didn't really give much thought to the very evident irritation radiating from the two Sith, and nodded when the Muun returned to escort them to the next meeting.

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