Ask Lothal Linking Lone Wolves

Cadu Leszek

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Lothal Spaceport
"Koroo's Corner" cantina
Afternoon, local time.

The best analogy for bounty hunting that Cadu Leszek had heard - in fact, the only he ever tended to repeat if some poor cantina drunkard posed the inevitable question: "What is bounty hunter really like?" - was that it was like eating cake: the first slice sets off explosions - in your mind and whatever sensory organs you might use for the ingestion of foodstuffs. And the rest of the cake? It'll never truly scratch that itch just the way you need it to. In its original rendition the object of comparison was glitterstim, but after a few unfortunate family events, Cadu had exchanged it with cake and vowed to keep it that way.

Quite simply, the hunt turned trivial. Another puck, another acquisition, another round of tracking, tracing, troubleshooting, another stand-off, and another catch. Failure is not an option in this business, and that at least kept it interesting when endless hours of staring at a monitor, waiting for the little red dot that signified the acquisition's presence in the area, threatened to squeeze the marrow from your bones. Then another haul of credits, another world, another cantina. Another drink.

And another puck.

He sat in a corner booth in a quiet part of the cantina and rolled the puck between his fingers, the creases of his forehead jerking like slaves whipped by a pensive mind. He had positioned himself deliberately closer to a group of spacers than he would have liked so as not to arouse any suspicion. One never knew who was watching, and if bounty hunting taught you anything, it was that anyone can have a bounty placed on their heads. Even the most unseeming individuals might be worth something to someone. There were plenty of bounty hunters who were bounties themselves.

The spacers were cackling at some joke Cadu suspected he wouldn't find amusing. He used to be in such good mood. That was the one thing that had never left him, even at the time when the Guild had made all of their agents as elusive to him as a loth-wolf. But this particular job had stifled his joy. I'm in over my head. I should have bypassed this when I had the chance. But he'd taken the puck and accepted the job.

Cadu took a sip of his beer and rubbed the skin of his cheekbones where his qukuuf were. The octagons were as worn as he felt. They'd lost definition over the years, and colour too. He had never had them drawn up again. Nine faded revenants of a faded past. Cadu sat back and closed his eyes. No use in ruminating on the has beens of life. His guests would be there soon. Besides, there was a job to do, and a list of steps to take in order to do so. First of which was the simplest of them all: convincing three lone wolves to work together as a pack.

And Cadu feared that the wolf he would have the most trouble convincing was himself.

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Aran Brishad

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When Aran first arrived on Lothal three weeks ago, the happenings of Poyl were on his mind at all times. It lived in his fresh memory like it happened the day before. The reality hit hard however. If he wanted to keep on going, he needed to find a job quickly. Otherwise the scum would have victory over him. Aran couldn't allow that to happen.

The outsiders are not allowed to work as the security force, that and recorded history of opposing his superiors was making it perfectly clear he would have no zero luck applying there. Aran tried anyway, with expected result. The rejection was almost instant, as if his application was reviewed by an algorithm and didn’t even reach the eyes of a living being. That or he was flagged in the database, which was probably the case.

There was an abundance of positions available for people with questionable morals and character, the work hazard being working outside of the law. And if Aran would venture into this territory, he was almost certain he wasn’t ever coming back. Starting from lowly muscle, ending up as a murderous villain was the outcome he was expecting. Becoming one of the people he spent third of his life fighting. Another type of failure, this time failing his past self.

Aran could always try to find some work a technician. The prospect wasn’t really thrilling, Aran outlived his fathers’ ambitions long time ago. This plus the backwater identity of Poyl meant that his knowledge about mechanics and robotics was probably not sufficient for the job. He would look like an amateur in comparison to the local professionals. He couldn’t even ride a speeder, not to mention fixing one.

And so Aran decided to play to his strengths, the abilities that would be universal anywhere he would end at, the detective work. This time it meant the investigation, but also collection of individuals in question, the part of the job that, back in the day, he would leave to others. There were no others now, he was self-employed.

Lothal reminded him of home. The vast flatlands outside the city weren't covered in mines and unexploded artillery shells, but Aran couldn't help to be on in high alert whenever he left the urban areas. It didn't happen often, the small time criminals and scum he was chasing down nowadays tend to keep to the city. But when he would eventually leave the city on a hunt, he would have to unwillingly split his concentration between the pursuit, his terrible speeder driving skills and the ground below him in search of danger. A feeling of unease aimed at nothing in particular, Aran hated that.

The message would come in when he was out of town, other hunter like himself were looking for a team-up. A possibility for higher pay was an opportunity he couldn’t pass on. Aran turned his rented groundcar (he blew all his savings for this piece of crap) around with a wobbly manouver and sped in the direction of the Lothal Spaceport.

The cantina wasn’t a place he would have enjoyed in normal circumstances, the intoxicating beverages attracting questionable clientele. Unless people wanted to get hammered before space flight, Aran could actually relate to that. This time the circumstances weren’t normal however. It was time to make business. And he didn’t even know how his content looked like.

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Darro Tane

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It just always had to be cantinas didn't it. He went through the motions to land The Colt as he thought about the meeting before him. He'd received a message from another guild member that wanted to meet and discuss a possible hunt. Darro, as with many hunters, preferred to work alone; but if the credits were good enough he'd hear the man out.

His ship shook as it made contact with earth beneath it and Darro stood and headed toward the exit ramp. He only had his pistols and the gadgets in his bracers for armament and he opted to not bring his helmet, he simply donned his old hat as he walked down the ramp. After he threw a credit chip to the dock worker he asked for quick directions to the cantina he was supposed to meet this other hunter. He gave a curt tip of his hat as a thank you and was off.

Darro took in his surroundings as he walked toward Koroo's Corner. He'd never actually made it out to Lothal before. People tended to eye him warily as he walked and he returned their looks with cold stare of his own. Yeah, this place was just a bit too "civilized" for Darro to be too comfortable. He assumed whatever bounty they were after must have been close to gather a couple low life hunters into the open like this.

The Kiffar couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh as the saw the Cantina, bustling like so many others in the galaxy. It reminded him why he did most of his drinking alone. He stepped inside and took a look around, most were too busy with their drinks to pay him any notice. It only took a moment for his trained hunter's eye to catch sight of a man that could only be described as, antsy, who sat close to a group of spacers. Darro didn't waste time, he wasn't much for subtly, and approached the man. "You Cadu?" He'd wait for a reply and if confirmed, Darro would sit and place his hat on the table before addressing his fellow Kiffar. "So we still waiting for our third? I'm curious as to what kinda bounty you dragged me out here for friend."

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Cadu Leszek

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Cadu looked up from his drink and stared into a... chest? No, further up there was a face, broad as the chest had been, and stern-looking too. The green markings on his face obviously stood out - Cadu wouldn't have been much of a Kiffar otherwise, although he'd much prefer if it were that way. I wonder: another free spirit? Or a traditionalist? Guess I'll know sooner or later.

Cadu slid on his charm like a trusty, old slipper, and smiled. "I'd go with a 'who's asking?' on the regular, but Lothal's not a place to accidentally guess a name right." He motioned for the man to sit, and as he did, the bounty hunter took another sip of his beer. Seeing as he hasn't suckerpunched me yet, I figure he's the former. Either that, or we're distantly related by blood or honour or some other contrived notion. Cadu didn't recognise which clan the other Kiffar belonged to. It didn't really matter. All that clan kark didn't matter off-planet, not to Cadu, anyway.

Upon the other Kiffar's enquiry, Cadu slipped his hand into a pocket of the duster coat he was wearing on top of a loose tan shirt. "Easy, I'm just going for a datapad," said Cadu, more out habit than because the other bounty hunter had reacted to his motion. Better to communicate extra carefully and clearly than to meet an early death. There were plenty of quickdraws in the Galaxy, and those that were still alive were so not because they thought twice before pulling the trigger.

Cadu's hand emerged, holding a datapad. On its screen, a green dot pulsed on what looked like a low resolution map of the area around Lothal Spaceport. "A local boy, it seems. Accepted the call just before you arrived. Otherwise, it would have been just the two of us, but I suppose it's always smart for two Kiffar to have another being between them. Just in case, you know?" Cadu looked up from the datapad to see whether the Kiffar knew or not. If he gave the impression that he concurred, Cadu would smile whole-heartedly, and if not, he would brush it off as best as he could, trying not to show his annoyance. "As for the bounty," continued Cadu, "I suggest that we wait until Local Boy has arrived. However, you can be sure that it is both challenging and worthwhile - otherwise, I would have just dealt with it one my own." The Kiffar chuckled, eyes still observing the other Kiffar carefully.

"Now," said the bounty hunter and motioned for one of the serving droids, "seeing as you know my name, I guess I should play the host and offer you a drink. I don't like to drink with people I don't know, though." He looked the other Kiffar in the eye: "Who are you? And what's another Kiffar doing this far rimward?"

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Aran Brishad

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Aran greatly disliked waiting for people and running late himself. That’s why in order to be on time he ran the whole length from the spaceports’ south gate to the cantina. The distance was enough for Aran to start breathing harder and for the first drops of sweat to show up on his forehead. He arrived two minutes early, so he gave himself a little time to get composed and cool off, first impressions were always the most important ones and the breathing and sweating could be mistaken for fear by the people he was meeting. That would be unfortunate, to say the least, they were already taking a fair leap of faith, considering his rather short and uneventful bounty hunting career. Aran would spend this short time resting and considering his approach. Certainly the time in the security industry wasn’t something to be ashamed of, but comparing to the experience of others it was almost irrelevant. For this reason Aran decided on a careful conversation manner, speak only when spoken to and listen carefully. Maybe he would be able to get a read on his possible comrades, making this cooperation and his current predicament much clearer.

He entered the cantina right on time, still breathing a little deeper but all other symptoms of fatigue gone without trace. The cantina was filled with people, locals relieving stress after work and foreigners enjoying their break from space travel. It was easy to distinguish members of both groups, they tended to keep to themselves and even when mixed, Aran was on Lothal long enough to spot local cultural mannerisms and behavior, the local accent being a conclusive proof of affiliation. The cantina would be a perfect place for Aran to blend in with planet’s inhabitants, his own Poylarr accent sounding like a drunken sailor speaking mix of basic and incoherent. During his stay on Lothal, Aran would use every minute of his spare time to try to lose this first impression, but still much of it went through the newly learned pronunciations.

The spacers were a mixed bunch, coming from all around the galaxy, some species he would see for the first time in his life. The two individuals however would stand out to him, keeping close enough to the spacer group to not be bothered by the locals, but distant enough to not be dragged into the group’s conversation. Plus they were obviously capable, with their postures confident and their gear able to neutralize a whole security riot squad. Compared to them, Aran looked like he just left the academy, with his armor barely able to stop a slug and a gun that wouldn’t penetrate a paint layer of most common armors. I really need to get myself a blaster, too long I relied on this piece of garbage. I’m not on Poyl anymore, Aran thought glancing down at a holster located under his belt.

Aran began approaching the booth, paying close attention to the both men, trying to get all the information available from their gestures and composure. One of them looked a little melancholic, weird considering the circumstances. He had his guard lowered, but this created an aura of confidence around him, a powerful bargaining technique. The other individual had another thing going on. All about him meant business, from the posture to a strong, challenging gaze. Aran decided he would be sitting next to the latter fellow, he didn’t know how long he would be able to handle these eyes judging his every movement from across the table. As he sat down, trying to hide his drunken Poylarr accent and mustering all his confidence into one sentence, Aran said: “I’ve got your message, sorry for being late.”. For a split second it felt like he interrupted a conversation.


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Fidchell

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Koroo's Corner wasn't The Doctor's usual establishment, but it had it's own charm to it. Rugged, colorful, diverse. Honestly, if he weren't here for another job, the disguised Neti would contemplate infecting the cantina due to the diversity of species that he'd be able to get data on. Not that they mattered much. No, what mattered were the trio in the corner of the Corner.

The only man in the small gaggle of humanoids The Doctor knew by name was Cadu Lezsek, his point of contact. Lezsek was the organizer for the current bounty hunt that was being scrounged together. The man was ex. Sector Ranger, likely to have a grudge against the Sith Eternal. Luckily, or more accurately, as usual, The Doctor was in disguise, this time as a Kubaz with Sand Rot (justifying the full-body suit, including the prosthetic Kubaz nose) named Re Hjibram. Hjibram was a real Kubaz Felder Technologies employee that worked on Tatooine testing armaments. The real Hjibram was typically out of communication for weeks on end, and thus The Doctor could safely use his identity without the farce being uncovered.

Lezsek had been looking for work, and had been easy to recruit. The Doctor had presented himself as seeking Dr. Xavier Fields in order to recover stolen work and bring him back to the company to face charges of corporate espionage. The Doctor sought Fields' work for a multitude of reasons, chief among them his current work with battle droids and weaponry automation. The magic about the situation is that the claims of espionage was real: Dr. Fields had stolen Felder Technologies data and gone to the Sienar Advanced Projects Laboratory on Lothal. Lezsek and his crew just didn't know that it wasn't Felder Technologies that was fitting the bill. The reason for a lowly employee like Hjibram seeking to make the contract was his background of vanishing for long periods of time (in truth to test armaments in the desert without corporate spies trying to steal prototypes), but could be filled with the narrative that Hjibram was actually Felder's point-man for off-the-books operations, such as organizing bounties.

Lezsek and his forming crew wouldn't meet The Doctor yet. The Doctor was in a private hangar in the spaceport, lounging in a Y-45 Armored Transport Hauler, commandeered from a Legionnaire who had perished during the Trinity Crisis, on Nar Shaddaa. No, he was observing the forming team through the eyes of a Dread Virus-infected bartender droid in the cantina, a careful eye so he could recognize any red flags; from his senses into the Force, none of the participants seemed to be Force sensitive (he'd need to mask his darkness if one did arrive).

Lezsek had been informed of "Hjibram's" location, and to meet with the "Kubaz" when his team was ready to go over the specifics of the hunt. Lezsek knew the basics, but not the specifics of Dr. Fields, the laboratory, and the benefits the team may achieve with this hunt. However, there wasn't a major rush for the gang to meet up with Hjibram, as The Doctor had even noted to Lezsek ("five rounds on me, bartender will put it on my tab", the ex. Sector Ranger unaware that controlling the bartender droid meant The Doctor could ensure the beverages were unaccounted for and the scientist never billed) that he and his team could get acquainted first before heading over the Y-45, the Caducous (which ironically was the real name of the ship, christened long before The Doctor had even heard of a Cadu Lezsek). After all, The Doctor was still reviewing some of the finer details of the operation against the Sienar Advanced Projects Laboratory.

Normally, such an operation would be handled by infecting the laboratory with the Dread Virus or an assault by Legionnaires, but the original operatives deigned for the operation either perished on Coruscant during the attack on the Sector Rangers headquarters a week ago or were reassigned to the Ryloth assault. As such, the Doctor needed another avenue to get Dr. Fields. Thankfully, with how shady Sienar operated in the past (and its ancient association with the Empire through the production of TIE fighter prototypes), it would be easy to stir the ex. Sector Ranger and allies against the laboratory; had Sienar not been against partnership months ago, The Doctor would simply approach the laboratory, but that road had been burnt by the Eternal's old cybernetics specialist. With his disguise, and there not being a connection between Fields and the real Hjibram, even Dr. Fields would not be aware of the deceit. Lezsek and crew never would, theoretically, and be paid, so no reason to investigate further.



Misspelling intentional. He is bound to not remember everyone's names perfectly. Decided to post because 1) hadn't realized I wasn't coming into the picture until later and 2) had most of a post written and didn't want to waste it yet, so thought I'd post what I had so far, with modifications for him watching offsite rather than his entrance into Koroo's Corner. Plus it helps provide the narrative/angle I'm going with for this bounty, since the details were purposely vague to allow for user-led direction in the plot.
 

Darro Tane

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Darro noticed that Cadu was the cautious type. Perfectly fine with him, caution helped you live longer in a galaxy where anything could happen. Though he seemed to be pushing it a bit when he went as far as warning Darro that a datapad was being grabbed. Not that Darro wasn't on alert, just figured that if a man wanted to kill him he'd invite him somewhere where the kill would be less noticed. Lothal wasn't some backwater with lawmen that made Hutts look like saints. It was a civilized world. If Cadu made any kind of move he'd be swarmed by local authorities within minutes.

A glance at the datapad confirmed that their third member was almost here and Darro looked at the other man as he made the comment about Kiffars. Guess the man had no way of knowing that Darro wasn't raised on either of the Kiffar home worlds. His parents had taught him a bit of his heritage but it didn't matter much to Darro. The only relic of his people he still had were his qukuuf, the sharp angled lines that ran up his face. He'd finally shrug and sit back in his chair to be as non threating as possible for Cadu's sake. "Look don't much care for the bad blood between our people. Don t even know much about it to be honest. Here to do a job and that means my blaster's pointn' toward the target friend." He'd say last word in the Kiffar to poke fun of the man a bit.

He nodded his agreement that they wait for the 3rd member, didn't want to hear the details twice if he could help it. He accepted the offered drink and took a long sip, eyeing Cadu over the rim of the glass. Boy this man was seriously paranoid of other Kiffar. Hell maybe he had good reason to be. He put his drink aside and met Cadu's eyes with his own. "Names Darro, and as far as what I'm doing? I'm here trying to make a livin' without gettin' the third degree." He sipped his drink again before he continued, "Now I can see you don't trust me for some reason or another. Can't argue if you got reason not to. Look don't care that you're also Kiffar, wasn't raised there. Alls you need to concern yourself with as far as me and mine are concerned, I like credits a hell of a lot more than some clan rivalry nonsense understand?" His voice was even, truly showing he cared nothing for Cadu's concerns.

A voice broke through the sound of the cantina and Darro turned to see a man that looked much worse for ware. Wait this was there 3rd man? Darro very obviously looked the man over and tried hard not to scoff at the sight. He was practically naked! Though he had the look of somebody that had seen a few scraps in his day, Darro wasn't sure he was ready to tackle what they were about to go up against.

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Cadu Leszek

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Cadu's smile was strained while the other Kiffar spoke. As far as Cadu was concerned, the Kiffar history of clan violence wasn't a joking matter, and to speak their language was as good an endorsement to their violent past as any. The matter was cleared up, however, when the other bounty hunter mentioned the fact that he wasn't born and raised on either of their homeplanets. What a privilege to have been spared the millennia-old violence of a people hell-bent on self-extermination.

"Always a reason not to trust anyone in this galaxy," he said, looking down at his pint where his index finger was running along the rim while he spoke. "Inter-Kiffarian animosity is one of them. The experiences of an uncertain existence make out the rest." He ran a hand absentmindedly through his thick black curls, smacking his lips slightly as if he was savouring the other man's words. They didn't taste like kark, but the overtly karky individuals in the Galaxy made up only a tiny part of the hoard of individual that might doublecross you, or disarm you during the night and sell you to a passing slaver, or cut your throat in your sleep. However, there was nothing about the man, who identified himself as Darro, that suggested intrigue.

Cadu sighed. Part of this operation was for him to learn to cooperate and coexist too. He looked up at the other Kiffar, and chuckled. "I like you, Darro. You seem to have a good head attached to your neck, and a nose for credits right smack in the middle of it. So, too, do I. And you're right, the clan rivalry is nonsense - althought I'm sure that I have more reason to believe so than you." Cadu leaned back against the backrest, his shoulders visibly relaxed. He signalled the serving droid and ordered another round for the two of them, and a third beer to be put on the table for the final guest who would be there shortly.

The droid returned with the drinks just in time to beep angrily at a man who cut right through its intended path and sat down at their table. Cadu waited until he had said his entry line before he answered: "'Better late than dead' is what I always say. I would tell you to take a seat, but the invitation must have been obvious from the expression on my face, although I was actually going for 'slightly surprised'." The Kiffar leaned over and helped the droid unload the drinks from its tray; it scuttered away, a series of beeps mixing with the general cantina chatter. Cadu put a drink in front of each of his two potential companions, and one in front of himself. "I'm Cadu. This man is Darro, I hope the pronunciation is correct. Now, if you just tell us who you are, then we can move past the pleasantries and talk about the real reason we're here."

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Aran Brishad

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It looked like Aran was received exactly as he expected, judging from one man’s expression and the other’s own words. It’s fair to say the first impression went terribly. Aran wasn’t much of a drinker, normally he wouldn’t touch the beer that was being placed before him. However he decided that in order not to antagonize the host, the man in front of him called Cadu, Aran would accept the beverage and take an occasional small sip during the conversation.

“Aran Brishad is the name, ex-security” That was it. Speak only when spoken to. Any elaboration was unnecessary. There will come a time to talk about how Aran could influence the mission, it was not the time. Revealing his cards now would sound as empty platitudes that couldn’t be backed up, and judging from the man’s next to him (apparently the man was called Darro) reaction it wouldn't change much. Aran decided that he will share his insight and capabilities once the mission objectives are presented and he actually knows what he was dealing with. He just hoped that the mission would take place in urban environment, he could certainly show his worth in such a place. If it took place in a jungle… Tough luck, Aran might just as well leave the cantina, no show of prowess was coming. Another thing was, by saying just these six words, he could hide his accent a little bit longer and show these people he wasn’t actually drunk. This impression will happen eventually, when Aran elaborates for longer with more complicated words.

Aran would look at Cadu with patience, awaiting explanation as to what exactly they were doing. Sometimes he would use his peripheral vision to check if Darro was still evaluating him, but he wouldn’t turn his head.

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Cadu Leszek

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Cadu responded to Aran with a nod. "I'm an ex-Sector Ranger myself. I think we've all been an ex-one thing or another, us bounty hunters, before what we do now." The Kiffar took a deep breath, and as he let out the used oxygen he sat back more groundedly than he had before. The anticipation had whipped his muscles into a tense submission before his potential colleagues' arrival. It was a familiar process, one that his body had underwent for years, a behaviour as natural as it is for the nerfs to flee at the sign of predators. The years had taught him not to fight it, but to let it course through him. Inconvenient as it was, it wasn't altogether bad for a man of his profession to be naturally on high alert.

The Kiffar smiled and lifted his beer to the two. "Well, gentlemen, I'm glad you could make it. I'm sure you're just as keen to know what the job entails as as I am to tell you." With those words, Cadu procured a little round device from a pocket in his coat and put it in the middle of the table. The bounty puck flickered blue holographic dust once, twice, and then it projected a still image of a human into the air a few inches above it. "May I present: the Acquisition," said Cadu, chuckling. The man had a lithe figure, a long, narrow face, and a bald pate. He wore a lab coat that would already give the bounty hunters at least an idea of what type of acquisition they were dealing with.

"The bounty is lodged through and sanctioned by the Guild," began Cadu. "We are employed by the Coruscanti corporation Felder Robotics to hunt down and apprehend their former employee, Dr. Xavier Fields. Fields has gone rogue and stolen highly sensitive schematics from the company. There are no references to any military or martial skills on his behalf, but he is, as you can imagine, highly intelligent and not to be underestimated. Wherever he's holing up, I'm sure he has either the manpower or the material to dissuade any unwelcome guests from getting too close."

Cadu leaned over the table on his forearms to get closer to Darro and Aran. "I have to believe that whoever this man is, he is more than capable of dispatching any lone bounty hunter following his scent. My - or, I should say, our employer - specifically asked that a team be put together in order to increase the chance of success. If spooked, Fields is likely to disappear altogether from the view of prying eyes. It has taken a considerable amount of time for the corporation's investigators to acquire enough intel on his whereabouts to confidently lodge the bounty with the Guild. In fact, Felder Robotics has gone so far as to set up a meeting between us and a representative of theirs here, on Lothal, if you should accept the job."

Cadu reclined again and finished his beer. "If you accept the job, the deal is this: the bounty is split equally between the three of us. You are obliged to stay and finish the contract before you take on any other bounties of your own. After the bounty is done, we can all go out separate ways again if you so choose."

"And if it's not for you..."
Cadu shrugged his shoulders. "I'll go after him myself. Never stood down from a challenge, and I don't intend to start now." It wasn't bragging. Cadu rarely did so, even if his gregariousness implied otherwise. It was the simple truth. The bounty was lodged, the puck was his - and so was the job. And he would see it done, one way or the other.


"If you have any questions, now is the time. Otherwise, I'd appreciate it if you would elaborate on your respective expertise in the field, so we know which skills we have between us. Please keep it brief. Our meeting with the representative from Felder Robotics is due shortly."

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Aran Brishad

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Luck struck Aran for the first time since he left his home planet. The bounty could just as well have been handpicked for him specifically. The tension in his muscles lessened to almost non-existent as a new wave of confidence emerged from a doubt infested depths of subconsciousness. Now he was sure he could contribute.

“Find me a terminal on-site and I can make our work much easier. I’d need a little bit more information about the place the doctor is holed up in to provide details on how it would influence our mission. In case he managed to manufacture and activate some of the droids from the schematics he stole, I believe I could remedy that if I were to access a proper security station uplink. I used to work on military grade droids as a hobby.” A shadow of sadness would appear on his face after saying these last words and Aran shifted his head to face the bar in an attempt to hide it. After around a second he faced Cadu again with an expression that looked like he was bored, even though he certainly wasn’t. Faking boredom, Aran found, was the easiest way to hide his emotions that would otherwise show his weaknesses.

Aran continued: “Unless you want me to blow everything up, that I did for a living.” Aran believed he provided sufficient information for Cadu to evaluate his input into the team. He was also a good shot and could handle himself in a gunfight but Aran hoped this went without saying, as he wouldn’t be here otherwise. Also Aran doubted that it would impress the men anyway, as they were unmistakably more proficient in these aspects. So he decided to play to his strengths.

Cadu said that they were meeting the company representative later, so Aran decided to leave the specifics of mission parameters for that occasion. He suspected that the Felder Robotics were more interested in the blueprints rather than the man the were supposed to track down. Aran made a mental note of that thought, might be important later. Reminding himself that he was still expressing boredom, Aran said: “I’m in if you would have me.” After that he would turn his face towards Darro in anticipation, no longer looking bored. If Aran was lucky it would be taken as confidence in his skills. By this point his accent was clear to all the listeners, so they could also think he had to much to drink and exacly for this reason he drank his beer reluctanlty, so that the vast opposite impressions could cancel each other out.

@Topher Ridge @Casmer @Dmitri
 
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Darro Tane

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Darro had nothing much to add after Aran arrived so he simply waited for Cadu to give them the briefing. Darro made sure to memorize every detail of this Doctor Fields' face as his fellow Kiffar went over the details of the Job. He'd never heard of whatever company it was that wanted Xavier apprehended, Darro very seldom made it much close to the Core, hell this meeting was the closest he'd been in years. Most of the lowlifes in the galaxy fled to the outer rim to take advantage of the general lawlessness that the rim presented.

He muffled a scoff when Cadu mentioned that their target had little combat experience. If they were called in it was already clear that the man was a serious threat. You didn't hire 3 guild hunters if it was easy. He nodded as Cadu mentioned that this may be there only shot to catch him in the open at all. If they failed the Fields would bunker down hard enough to make a sarlacc jealous. Darro did raise an eyebrow about this meeting with a company rep. Was unusual for a client to meet directly with the hunter when the guild was involved. That was the whole point of the karking guild, to act as a middle man between bounty poster and bounty hunter.

Once Cadu had finished Darro would sit up and listen to Aran give his credentials. Interesting skill set for someone who claimed to be ex-security. He took in the late arrival again as he spoke, and though Darro hadn't paid too close attention he definitely noticed the change in the humans voice. Why he was trying to hide it, the Kiffar had no idea, not like he could judge anybody since he himself had a very distinct backwater twang to his voice. For now Darro's fears that Aran would be dead weight were dissuaded and he gave the man a more respectful nod as he finished.

Finally he sipped his own beer again and spoke up, "I'm down. As far as what I can do? Besides being able to fill folks with a few new holes, I've been tracking critters and people for awhile now. You get me a scent I can track it down. Been known to be a pretty good flier, unless one of you is better I suggest we take my ship, The Colt is built to take a few licks and give'em back." Darro leaned back and finished his beer with one final sip, once he finished he'd look at the 2 men, "I assume the both of you can handle a blaster, but I've got a sniper that can help with overwatch if we need it. So if there's no questions I assume we head to this meeting." He'd wait to see if Cadu had anything to add about his own skills and if not He'd toss a cred chip to the bar droid and get ready to depart with his 2 partners.

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Cadu nodded as he listened to Aran and Darro's elaborations on their skills. One was handy with demolitions and, he assumed, slicing. The other was a tracker and a pilot. Cadu himself was a bit of a jack of all trades, although his years with the Rangers had definitely given him an edge with both piloting and tracking. There was one thing, however, that his time in the Corps had taught him, and taught him well.

"Valuable skills, gentlemen," he said. "I'm sure all of them will come in handy. As for myself, I'm a decent pilot and a brilliant shot. My real expertise is negotiation, though. Not necessarily the most relevant skill in our line of work, I know. All I can say is that words, more often than blaster bolts, have got me out of pinned-down stalemates that had no other apparent solution."

Having said those words, Cadu stood and scooched out of the booth. As he did so, he almost bumped into a serving droid walking past with a tray of drinks for the table with the spacers. "My apologies," chimed the droid. Its gaze seemed to linger on Cadu for a while longer than its programming would resonably demand, before it moved to the spacers' table. Cadu thought he saw a flicker of something in its eyes, but it couldn't have been anything more than maybe some software decay. Many droids in the Outer Rim were still active long after they should have been decommissioned.

Provided his two companions didn't have any other questions, Cadu would quickly finish his drink and say: "We better get to it. Our contact is waiting in a private hangar not far from here. And no mentioning the fact that we've only just met; I promised our employer that I already knew just the right individuals for the job." Cadu winked at the two. "Which I suppose I do, am I right?" Although his tone was light, within Cadu there was still some doubt about the two bounty hunters he would now have to work with. And although he told himself that Darro was not involved in any clan business - which was the vibe the man gave off, too - Cadu couldn't help but be a little on guard still. Not enough to give it off, but enough that he couldn't quite relax. Which, he supposed, you never truly could when other bounty hunters were around. Part of the job, he thought. Part of the kriffing job.

With that, he would swivel and walk towards the cantina's exit, judging that Aran and Darro would follow suit.

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"Hjibram" closed down the monitoring station (replacing the settings to show recordings of the Sienar Laboratory when next turned on; code needed to activate the Dread Virus viewing, after all) when the bartender demonstrated the new crew's departure. And it was a new crew. The Doctor was only minutely vexed to learn that his investigation hadn't bee as thorough as desired, since he had believed the tale that Lezsek already had a crew. Still, if the self-boastings were to be believed, the new members had some decent skills. The forge of experience would determine if their unity was strong enough to succeed or crumble into a melted deformity, bound to break.

He was waiting for them in the hangar, a scanner in hand as he inspected the thrusters. A maintenance inspection had already been performed on the Y-45, but they didn't know that; it would seem suspicious after all if their client was strangely already outside waiting for them; this gave a cover and a reasonable justification for cessation when the party arrived. A Dread Virus-infected astromech droid, C4, was plugged into a port by the bow, performing some diagnostics. The Caducous wasn't the prettiest ship, but it would do; in hindsight, they never did determine whose ship would be used. Something to decide on soon.

Cadu Lezsek was the first to exit the entryway into the hangar, followed by Aran Brishade and Darro Tane. The Neti was pleased that among the new recruits was a Sector Ranger. When he had hired Cadu, he had banked on the other parts of his crew being ex. Sector Rangers as well, to use the hatred Coruscant built to fuel the mission against Sienar Advanced Projects Laboratory. While the team wasn't as advertise (his fault for not reading the asterisk), it could still fan some hate here.

The supposed Sandrot-afflicted Felder employee continued his scan for a few seconds. His detection of the trio had been through the Force. The supposed Kubaz waited until he heard an audible footstep before turning to face his audience. Giving a shallow wave to Cadu, the client turned off his scanner, disposing it on a latch on his utility belt. "Ah, the illustrious crew has arrived. The name's Re Hjibram, and I work for Felder Technologies; I deal with, let's just say, 'repo' work." Those in the bounty hunting business knew the vague wording, to illustrate indirectly how they organized bounties for stolen property and hunting either traitors or enemies. "Normally, with stolen data, we simply contact the authorities or I go after them myself. However, after looking into it for a bit, I persuaded my superiors to contact your Guild. Just so we're on the same page, and you don't think I'm gonna use you and steal the dough, I get paid by my company, a commission for a job well done. The payment that's going through your Guild is not through me-" Not true. He was footing the bill; they didn't know that though. "-so your pay is safe from me. Cadu Lezsek can attest to that." The Neti would be oblivious if Cadu were to show any signs of, well, anything to his name being pronounced wrong.

The "Felder Robotics employee" looked over his shoulder to shout, "C4, get your lazy rust bucket over here!" C4 unplugged from the port and rolled over. As rehearsed, the astromech lit up a hologram of Xavier Fields. The Doctor knew Cadu had gone over the basics, but 'Hjibram' did not. "The target today is our new best friend, Doc Xavier Fields. A prodigy in robotics. Guy was well paid, but got greedy and left. I personally don't care if a guy wants to try his luck with another company, but the scruffy-looking nerf herder did a no-no and decided to steal some data when he left, and our company can't allow our competitors to steal from us." Assessing the trio one-at-a-time, to read how serious they were treating this case. Finding nothing alarming, he trudged on. "Again, normally cases like this is easy. Grab Mr. Hair Commercial and bring him back in style." To emphasize his point, he love-smacked the Caducous' landing gear.

The Neti gave a nod toward the astromech and C4 changed the hologram to show a facility evidently in the outlands of Lothal. "Welcome to Fields' new beach house: the Sienar Advanced Projects Laboratory. The Lab is a subsidiary of the bigger Sienar corp, but has its own history and clients. In the past, this bad boy was responsible for the creation of some advanced TIE fighters. Rumors are they designed new ones, and I can think of only one group that may want more." He left it up to the triad's imagination to fill in the blank. Ironically, the Laboratory had built some TIE fighters, but it had been for a space battle reenactment. Not that the data would really illustrate that point well; after all, who's to say it wasn't a cover? "The data Fields stole centered around automation of ships, both fighters and bigger. Automating an entire ship has been proven difficult, but can be done through droids replacing people in the ship; the CIS is famous for it." Again, The Doctor left breadcrumbs for the triad to come to some erroneous conclusions. After all, who would want the people who attacked their headquarters to have an armada of droid-piloted TIE fighters? "I can't say with certainty what they're doing, but I have my suspicions." And there it was, his excuse if anything legitimate was located; he could shrug off any accusations he was trying to egg them on by saying he was only guessing. It would also make sense that a Felder Robotics would have reservations about a laboratory supposedly, possibly, with ties with the Sith Eternal. After all, Felder Robotics was on Coruscant too and could have been damaged in the attack (it wasn't; the Doctor checked).

The client scratched at the leather covered neck, growling, "Blasted Sandrot; knew I should have used better protection." Shaking his head slightly as if to shed off the distraction (despite it sowing the reason why he was covered head-to-toe), he turned his attention back to the bounty hunters. "Any questions before I go on?"
 

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Darro would simply nod as Cadu stood, he appreciated being appreciated but he was ready to get on with the task at hand. He simply followed Cadu as the trio made their way back out into the bustling streets of Lothal. He didn't much care that they were going in lying to the client, hell the client probably had some dirty secrets of their own. It was the nature of the job, one seldom met a reputable person who was out to hire a bounty hunter.

He couldn't help but notice that Cadu was still a bit cagey around his fellow Kiffar. It honestly kind of made him happy that his parents had raised him outside of the typical Kiffar clan nonsense. He didn't bring it up, but he would just hope that it wouldn't affect the man's judgement, or more importantly, his trigger finger once they were in the thick of it.

True to Cadu's word the hanger was a thankfully short walk from the cantina. As they stepped inside they were met with a typical star ship hangar, with a typical star ship and a very atypical individual. The client, a Kubaz from the look of him...at least that what he came off as, was covered head to toe and in some kind of protective suit. He gave his name to trio and then just went off. Seemed he liked to hear himself talk. Darro would simply cross his arms and listen to the briefing. He came to more attention once Re came to the new information about the Lab. He'd move a bit closer to get a proper look at the building, The Kiffar would make sure to take in the details of the terrain surrounding the building. It was evident that a sneaky approach would be difficult as the building was situated smack dab in the middle of one of Lothal's many open prairies.

Re continued and Darro looked up as he mentioned who might be interested in TIE fighters. The new Sith would probably want them. That seemed too easy for Darro's liking but after what happened on Nar Shaddaa, maybe the Sith were ramping up to full scale war, and not simple acts of terror.

He nodded as Re finally asked for questions and he rubbed his chin before speaking, "Yeah heard that sandrot can be a pain, I'm assuming that's what's with the get up. How long you had it?" he eyed the man a bit closer then. He'd seen the disease himself though was generally smart enough to not spend too long out in the dessert. So far the man hadn't coughed...not once. As far as Darro had experience that was one of the main symptoms of the disease. Unless Re was taking very strong medicine he should've coughed at least a few times during that long winded briefing. He'd asked in an even tone as if just making simple conversation, but he was very curious to hear the response. "Other than you're current predicament, I don't see many ways to catch'em unawares seein' as how there isn't much cover out there. How's you suppose we get close without spooking the good doctor?"

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Aran Brishad

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Negotiation skills, huh? Quite surprising for a tough looking guy like that., Aran remarked internally as the group stood up end began their exit from the cantina. He again made a mental note to not underestimate the two men, there might be more surprising talents in their sleeves. How he felt about lying to the employer? His mind was shadowed with concern, finally starting off his bounty hunting career with a big case (I might need to force myself to change the terminology – Aran noted to himself) and all begins with a blindside. He wasn’t sure how things worked in the Guild he was a fresh member of but if he got (again) flagged in the databases, this time for lying to the first big employer… Aran was afraid if that was how careers in this business ended.

Aran felt a little relieved when they left the establishment, it added more confidence to his steps and waved some of the concerns away. He decided that he wasn’t comfortable with lying after all, omitting the truth however was his standard practice. Speak only when spoken to was turning out to be a mantra of the day. During the brief walk to the hangar Aran was sure to stay close to his new compatriots, even though he sometimes would get distracted by seeing a particularly weird looking alien (to Aran) individuals, which the spaceport was full of.

Such an individual greeted them at the meeting spot and Aran, without a clue what Kubaz were or what Sand Rot was, was a little distracted, sometimes straight down staring at the talking environmental suit, which had to be assumed, contained a most hideous creature. He imagined all kind of disfigurements that could enveloped the human skin, which apparently included a weird, long nose. Hideous indeed. The images distracted him so much that everything up until the facility plans were brought up went right by him. The hologram woke Aran to the present again. He began studying the layout of the laboratory, lowering his posture so that his eyes were about thirty centimeters from the image. He still gave the Kubaz nervous glances from time to time as the employer went over the details of the task. Aran actually appreciated the huge amount of information Re placed before him when he went off a tangent, one could never tell when some basic facts would turn out to be useful.

Aran would patiently wait for the questions of Darro to be answered. When his turn came to ask questions Aran said: “I can slice the entrance to the compound if we find a port outside, shouldn’t be difficult. I could probably do it for every doorway inside too. I suggest we avoid the big room here. We could get overwhelmed by enemies in an instant in this position, too many angles. We should go the alternate route through mess hall and staff quarters here”. During his statements Aran pointed to the huge room which easily took up a third of the facility, Aran assumed it was used as a TIE fighter hangar back when the lab was operational. Then he would point to the area linked with narrow corridors which connected the kitchen, mess hall and staff rooms. Both paths led to the machine shop and R&D laboratory on the far end of the compound, which Aran assumed is where the target would probably be located at. If stealth wasn’t an option, and Aran suspected that this was the more probable case Aran would add “We could also go on more time saving option and blow every passage up with breathing charges. We would need about ten of them, two per doorway, assuming we take the path I showed here.”

So far, Aran was mostly addressing his companions, occasionally glancing at the employer looking for approval from the expressionless suited figure, not finding it of course since the face was covered with layers of textiles and rubber. However the next part was meant almost exclusively for the Kubaz and Aran stood up, almost at attention to address the employer. “I assume the company is willing to protect these schematics at all cost so I suggest we fry every terminal and server in there. Alternatively I could take four demolition charges and blow the whole facility up just to be sure. I would need a repulsor cart to carry the explosives though, provided we are even able to acquire them here, on Lothal.” Aran wasn’t sure about the legality of these munitions, back on Poyl he handled devices like that every day, but still it was a military ordnance.

Even though nothing Aran said ended in a question mark, he hoped that his insight would be of value and concerns appreciated. As Aran understood bounty hunting meant acquisition of living (or dead) targets, but the mission was a sensitive one. The most important thing here was protecting the intellectual property of Felder Technologies, and they could just as well get paid extra to guarantee its safety.
 
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Cadu Leszek

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Cadu and his two new companions arrived at the hangar just in time to be greeted personally by their contact outside a large Y-45 hauler that the bounty hunter assumed was his. Re Hjibram looked exactly like the hologram Cadu had been forwarded by the Guild, yet there was something very different about it too. The Kubaz was wrapped and wreathed in garments altogether impractical, the type of attire worn by the religious cults of the Galaxy - those who subscribe to an idea of a mystical Force, Runtel Priests, and what have you. Perhaps a nomad traveling desert planets might wear something similar, but an employee of a Coruscanti technology firm? Kriff it, Cadu thought. So the latest fashion has taken a turn for the worse in the Core. None of my business.

"Mr Hjibram," Cadu said. He nodded respectfully and proceeded to briefly introduce Darro and Aran. Afterwards, he let the Kubaz do the talking. Some contacts needed a bit of prodding - not everyone felt calm in the presence of bounty hunters. Hjibram, however, seemed right at home; another curiosity, had it not been for the fact that Doctor Fields was most likely not Felder Robotics' first bounty lodgment. Cadu suspected that Hjibram was the company's regular face to the public in matters like these.

Cadu listened to the briefing, nodding along to the points Hjibram made. Most of them he was already aware of, but the plans for the Sienar Laboratory were new to him. It looked like a damned secure compound, not a place to simply assault head on. If they played their cards wrong, they could find themselves facing down not only Sienar security forces, but also whatever robotic safety measures the laboratory's employees or Doctor Fields himself had created.

The bounty hunter listened to both of his companion's questions and waited for Hjibram to answer them before he spoke: "Given the exposed position and the level of security at the laboratory, I think an overt assault is out of the question. If we can infiltrate the lab and position ourselves close to the Doctor before we move on him, that would be good; a stealthy retrieval with minimal detection or detection only after we've already lifted the Doctor would be ideal." Cadu turned to the Kubaz. "Mr Hjibram, it sounds like you've researched the Doctor's current location thoroughly. How well acquainted are you with the ins and outs of their security protocols? As in: who comes and goes, what external agencies are used as security consultants, and so on?" Before the Kubaz would answer the question, Cadu look at Darro and Aran, eyebrows lifted. "And how good are your acting skills, fellas?"

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The Doctor traded pleasantries with Cadu.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed at Darro, not that he would likely be able to tell through the mask. The Neti had banked on sandrot being known vaguely, but the mercenary's words suggested he may know about it in more detail. The Sith alchemist smacked himself mentally; he was a virologist for Force's sake, he should have committed whole-heartedly to the bit. "Had it for about a couple week. I could barely talk until a couple days ago. Not sure what the docs cooked up in their lab, but it helped my throat a lot but skin's still a papyrus. This suit's been helping, but still not helping my skin. Probably should see someone once this is over; shouldn't take this long." Re Hjibram flapped his hand in a dismissive wave. "But that's not important for this." Hopefully he soothed any suspicions, though wasn't guaranteed. The Neti didn't sense any suspicions from Aran, only disgust. Did the man suspect him a Sith or some other bias? Without invading the mind, which couldn't exactly be done subtly, he wouldn't be able to tell.

Regarding Darro's inquiry, he simply shrugged. "I can't think of any way we can simply walk up to them without rousing suspicion. It's what I pay you for." The Doctor hoped this more flippant attitude would help sell his cover. He was impressed with Aran's suggestion. "I think I've got six breathing charges, or at least something we can rig as such." Trade secret: they were leftovers from the Sector Rangers headquarters bombing. The Doctor paused at the destruction of the servers, either electronically or physically. The Doctor had hoped to acquire the data, but was trapped in a corner. Felder Robotics would have a copy of any data stolen, why would they need to reclaim it when it would be better to destroy it? He'd have to accept the loss. Dr. Fields was worth more than the data. "I don't care what you do to the facility as long as we get Dr. Fields. Sienar don't sign the checks."

Lezsek was the voice of reason, scratching out a direct approach. It was logical, even if less fun. But The Doctor was fine with accepting successful mission over a cool-looking one. He did have a brief flash of caution race through him when Cadu referred to Fields as the Doctor, thinking his cover was blown, but that semi-conscious reaction was quickly supressed, only possibly a micro-expression in body-language noticeable, but the timing impossible to deduce what may have triggered it on the small chance detected. The Doctor inserted his finger into the hologram where the schematics noted the placement of fuel. "The only difference between this and the facility that I can figure, is the fuel tanks are on the opposite corner of this room, the furthest from the rest of the building; some fire regulation or something, or so the memo I intercepted. Not sure if there are any other deviations, honestly, since this is two years old, and doesn't include any toys Dr. Fields may be working on. His specialty is battle droids, so we could expect some, but it's only been a couple weeks since Dr. Fields fled Coruscant; they wouldn't have the time to build too many so far. Honestly, my biggest concern are the TIE fighters, if they have any; they could hinder our escape. Whatever we do, we'll want to take out those babies."

The 'Kubaz' paused, tapping where its lips should be. Addressing Cadu, "Regarding their security, not as thorough as I'd like. After two weeks normally I'd have more intel gathered by this point, but treatments ate chunks of my time." Well, in reality setbacks from the Trinity Crises lost him necessary people who would have done these jobs. Again, not that they'd need to know. In his imagination, towards Cadu's inquiry about acting skills, he questioned back in his imagination, "you tell me, I'm secretly a Sith who's been lying to you since the get-go, you tell me how my acting skills are?" However, he'd never vocalize that. "For security, they pretty much run their own, typically droids, a couple fleshies to manage. Lothal hasn't seen much action since the Rebellion, so they haven't had to worry about attacks for decades. Some employees live on-site, Dr. Fields for example always stays there, but roughly 3/4ths live nearby, many in what used to be Tarkintown."

Inspiration struck. "My acting skills are alright, but if they do any thorough scans they'll be able to pin me as a Felder Robotics employee. So I can't enter directly, though I don't mind being an escape ride. Just a random thought: the spaceport impounds ships that are left for a month. We could 'commandeer' one of them and crash it near the Lab; they'd probably investigate, and try to help. Of course they'd try to send a message to town, but we can either intercept it or block it. They let us inside hopefully to give us aid, and we could have a second party come in pretending to be the medical team dispatched by the locals. But this is your guys' show so you may have something better." He could use Dread Virus to stop any dispatch, and could claim it to be the work of his own slicing.



No worries if Darro continues to suspect The Doctor's sandrot; oversight on my part so exploitable.
 

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Darro eyed the doctor as he responded. Hmmm yeah something was definitely off. Darro had no ide why the man would be faking something like that, possibly an excuse to wear that suit, more than likely a way to hide his identity. Re of course changed the subject only somewhat confirming, at the least, that the man probably didn't have sandrot. Of course a person could have any number of reasons to hide who he was. The hunter wouldn't push the subject any further out of fear of souring the deal. Hell if his credits were good Darro didn't much care who the man was, but if those credits didn't find their way into his account...well the good Doctor wouldn't be the only Felder employee to get a visit from Darro.

The others essentially agreed that a frontal assault was no good, they'd be spotted far too early and far too quickly. The rookie claimed he could pretty much give them free run of the facility once they were in. Meaning the only thing they'd need to worry about was the physical security in the building. Which would only be harder if they started blowing up doors. "Hmmm if you can slice the doors, I say we stick to that once inside at least till we get our hands on Fields." Cadu pretty much suggested what Darro was thinking, a "quite in loud out" approach if possible.

He took note of the fuel tanks...hmmm. "Hell if we can rig this fuel to go up, that'd be a pretty damn good cover for our exit. Keep'em busy dealing with that while we get out with the doctor." The thought was that all that fuel was cause a pretty massive fire that would either need to be dealt with or lose the facility.

The fact that some of the staff lived on site was also interesting. He assumed that was Cadu's thought as well when he mentioned comings and goings from the facility. "I see what you're on to there. If there's folks on site, they obviously need to have supplies brought in: food, medicine, and such. Could hijack a shipment coming in, or just hide in one." He thought for a moment but there were problems with that approach as well. "Places like this though, they probably have a usual staff that delivers those supplies. Our 'acting' would have to pretty karkin' good to explain why strangers are bringin' in that stuff now. If we just hid we'd have to worry about them scannin' the cargo." Darro shook his head, he felt like that was close to a solution but just missing something

He raised an eyebrow at their employer's final suggestion. It made since to Darro and seemed to be a pretty good reason for their approach to the site. "Hmmm pretty loud goin' in that way, but I could see that workin'." He looked to Cadu. "Actin' ain't really my thing, so if we go that route I can play the unconscious pilot that needs help after this terrible 'accident'." He rubbed his chin again and looked to the others. With some fine tuning this seemed like a decent plan as any.

@Dmitri @Ridei @Casmer

You're all good, I'm not gonna derail the thread over it, just thought it'd be fun to mention lol. Never expected that random knowledge from playing The Old Republic to come in handy!
 

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15
The plan that was being formed wasn't subtle at all and it bothered Aran a lot. Crashing a ship nearby? What's that going to achieve? he thought to himself. In his opinion all this action is going to do is to make the laboratory security jump into a high alert mode. Even when they incapacitate the first responders from the facility and enter the compound, the reports bouncing from an unmanned communicator or jamming signal will warn the enemy that something is not right. If they keep the station on low alert when they enter, the intrusion will be noticed much later. Plus there was another issue.

"I might even be a good actor... on Poyl. I'm sure all of you have noticed my accent already and the security will notice it too. It's clear I'm not from around here so I would need to say as little as possible to avoid suspicion." He then turned to Darro and said "And no offence but your facial tattoo is a dead giveaway too, I haven't seen anything like that on Lothal for three weeks I spent here and I bet the locals would be quick to notice its distinctiveness. Even if you play an incapacitated pilot with full covering helmet, they're going to try to remove it to check your vitals, there is very small chance they would do it inside the facility and not at the crash site." Then turning to Re he said bluntly "Your suit covers a whole body, do you think you will have an opportunity to tell your whole story with the disease in a chaotic situation like that?" Aran then addressed all people gathered: "What do you think their reaction is going to be once they see three out of four of us are trying to hide their identities?" Aran hoped that him pointing the holes in their plan wouldn't make him new enemies.

If there was no subtle approach the plan would need to guarantee they would end up inside the facility and catch the opposition by surprise. And so Aran spoke with a fervor in his voice like he was explaining a religious doctrine to a bunch of murderous zaelots."If were gonna crash a ship, lets crash it into the lab, into the hangar bay." He looked at every person gathered firmly to back up his words but gave no time for interruption. "It opens our way in and out, it halves our distance from the possible target and it will shake them up heavily, giving us a chance to quickly end initial engagements." The idea wasn't subtle at all, it was crazy in every sense of the word, but ramming a ship into a target surely wasn't anything new. And someone here bragged he was a decent pilot, exactly what was needed to pull this off.

@Casmer @Dmitri @Topher Ridge
 
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