Ask Money Today

[Arla]

Per my new OP template, thread is death enabled​

True to her word, Arla had reached out to Envy about a rather low-hanging-fruit of a job. After a breif conversation over the comlink, the two had agreed to meet at the spaceport, and Arla stopped by a fast-food chain to pick up a breakfast sandwich of which she now took a bit. She frowned as the taste of fake meat, fake eggs, and the galaxy's greasiest biscuit filled her mouth, and she frowned, her face scrunching up slightly.

Still, she took two more bites, hoping that it would grow on her before finally just giving up and throwing out the rest of it. She didn't know how people in this galaxy could bring themselves to eat that fake trash. She'd eaten her fair share of gamey foods before and even scraped by on roots and berries, but that was at least all real, not so processed it was unrecognizable.

She shook her head in annoyance and walked over to one of the piers stretching out over the water as she waited for Envy's arrival. Her ship was just down the dock and parked in one of the hangars, and while she didn't usually like people to come aboard, it couldn't be helped in this case.

But for now, the huntress waited, leaning on the railing as the breeze washed over her, looking out to the water before looking back at the people passing by all around. Men, women, droids, even the occasional animals all made their way by on the path but Arla had yet to see the person she was meeting.

 

[Yvon]

Yvon hadn't exactly expected to be reached out to about a job quite so soon, but that was okay. Money today was always better than money tomorrow. They had had a brief conversation during which Arla had filled the slicer in on what she needed. Simple stuff, below Yvon's skill level, but they liked the woman and besides. Money.

So Yvon found themselves walking down the piers of Lay Pa-Sidian. There was a slight breeze and gentle lapping of waves against the docks that brought a sharp, salty aroma to the area and the slicer scrunched their nose underneath the rim of the dark sunglasses they wore. White hair stuck out underneath and above the rim of the sports visor they wore and a black hoodie covered the bare top of their head.

A slightly too long leather jacket hung heavy with inside pockets containing Yvon's slicing tools, and they wore a brace of throwing knives strapped close to their body and one on the inside of each wrist. Not that the slicer thought they would need the weapon's but a little paranoia hardly ever hurt anybody, usually the opposite. A pair of sweatpants and sports sneakers finished up the outfit as they approached their new friend(?)/employer from behind, totally inconspicuous among the summer clothes wearing crowd that milled about the docks.

"Hello." Yvon said as they came to stand next to Arla, looking out over the waters of G'wenee. They edged near the railing for a moment to look down before shying back as a wave crashed against the pier and a salty spray of water threatened their personal space.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla had many skills in her arsenal. She was capable of sneaking, tracking, killing, and manipulating but she was about one step away from useless when it came to technology. That meant having someone who could do that part of the job for her was invaluable.

Said potential person made their appearance moments later. Hello, Vy, she said, turning to look at the slicer. She'd already passed along the information, but thought it wouldn't hurt to reiterate her request.

I need my ship's transponder ID changed. Off the record. I don't want anyone knowing the old or new, she said. She'd already selected a new name for the ship, and handed it over to Vy.

I understand that off the books work like that isn't a problem for you, she said. From what the slicer had said, it sounded like illegal operations were practically the backbone of the business.

 

[Yvon]

Yvon's eyes moved over to Arla as she said the slicer's name, or at least a version of the one they had given. Glancing at her for a moment as she explained what she needed again, Yvon nodded.

"Simple enough." Of course they had already known what they were going to be up to, thought the reminder was nice. Yvon's mind was mostly focused on the present but there was a big job that they had been working on before Arla had given them a call that was still spinning it's way through the slicer's brain.

"Why would that be a problem?" Yvon asked, cocking their head slightly. Oh right. Yvon glanced around at the various people walking around. People usually cared about laws and taxes and stuff like that. "No, it's not a problem." They nodded.

"I assume we're going to your ship, unless you brought it with you." Yvon didn't find that likely as she glanced over Arla's person briefly, not seeing the device. Besides, it would be silly to pull out a whole ship transponder and work on it right there on the docks. "Lead the way." They would say after a moment of standing there awkwardly.

Yvon would follow Arla as she led the way to the job site, eyes moving back and forth behind dark glasses as they kept a careful watch on their surroundings. This was probably the part where people made conversation, and Yvon tried to think of something casual or cool to say but all they could think about was the project they had been working on for the past few days since the two of them had met at The Dungeon.

 

[Arla]

Arla was going to explain why it would be a problem but before she could, Vy seemed to realize what she was talking about. Good because laws were not only fickle from place to place, they usually got in her way, and she wasn't entirely convinced yet that she wasn't going to occupy her time with throwing rocks at those governments.

She nodded again as Vy mentioned to go back to the ship, and she started heading in that direction. The slicer seemed distracted, but that didn't both Arla so long as she got the job done. Perhaps a more direct approach to this conversation was going to be the most useful. Or was it? What had she said when she showed up to the club? She was trying to learn to be more subtle, right?

She entered the hangar where the yacht was parked, punching in the security code that triggered the ramp to descend. Immediately, Fenris descended the ramp to greet the huntress, and Arla broke into a wide smile as she bent down to scratch under his neck.

Who's a good boy? she said quietly, her usual ice quickly melting under the affection of an animal.

Alright, go back inside, she said, motioning back up to the ramp and then turning back to Vy again.

Come on inside, she said, heading up the ramp just after Fenris and making her way in the direction of the cockpit. Computer access is in here, she said, sitting down at one of the consoles and flipping the activation switch.

 

[Yvon]

The walk to the ship was spent in silence which Yvon didn't mind as they continued to scheme, nearly oblivious to the walk itself. It wasn't until they arrived at the hangar and Arla punched in the codes that Yvon snapped back to reality.

"Woah." Yvon said as a large furry monster came down the ships ramp. The slicer tensed and fought the urge to back up as Arla clearly knew the creature, calling him a good boy and scratching him under the neck. The wolf paused briefly to shake itself and send shedding fur flying around to settle on the ground at the top of the ship's ramp. Yvon skirted nervously around the pile of fur as they followed Arla into the belly of the beast so to speak.

"What is that?" Yvon asked, pointing at the wolf that had found it's seat and was watching the slicer as they walked past and up to the cockpit. The ship was all sleek and black and cool, which meant Arla clearly had money. Yvon settled in the other chair, looking for a computer access port as they pulled out their port scanner and a tightly rolled bundle of cables.

"You sticking around G'wenee after this?" Yvon asked as they found what they were looking for and plugged in to the console. They glanced back up at Arla as they booted up the device.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

A Rattattaki saber-wolf, she said. She supposed that normal people would probably answer more than just the basic question, wouldn't they? How much did she really want to give away, though.

I got him as a pup, she added as Vy started settling into the seat and booting up the device. Arla was a relentlessly curious person, and couldn't help looking over the slicer's shoulder.

Not sure yet, she said honestly. I don't have a contract here, but it's a major trade center. I imagine a slicer and a hunter could find ways to gain some influence and credits on a planet like this, she said, deciding to just go ahead and drop the hint of what she was hoping to accomplish. A foothold somewhere. Even if it was just local criminal elements, it could be transformed into something more valuable in the long run, particularly when combined with the other loyalties she held.

@Arcangel

 

[Yvon]

"Rattattaki saber-wolf." Yvon repeated as she watched the lines of the boot process start on her slicing rig. It only took a few moments but during those two moments Yvon was painfully aware of two things. First, the way the saber-wolf was staring at her from its seat outside of the cockpit. Second, the way Arla was reading over their shoulder.

It only took a few moments for the rig to finish its boot and Yvon was quickly rooting their way into the ships transponder as Arla continued speaking. Yvon was usually pretty socially oblivious, but even they couldn't miss the way Arla had paired the two of them up in that sentence.

"Well since you mentioned it, I have been keeping my eyes out for opportunities." Yvon said as they gained access to the transponder. If Arla was still watching, she might have a hard time understanding what was going on onscreen, an array of lines of code inhabiting it. Yvon's commands that they typed out were equalling cryptic to the untrained eye as they pulled a copy of the original transponder codes.

"A hunter could fit right into those opportunities with some expansion on my original ideas." Yvon said as they glanced over at Arla in an attempt to gauge the woman's interest. It was true, an extra set of muscles that was perhaps more willing to get her hands dirty. That opened a lot of doors. Not that Yvon needed any help opening doors.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla may have been watching over Vy's shoulder, but she had absolutely no idea what was going on. Not even the faintest clue besides the fact that there appeared to be a great deal of code running across the screen. Still, it was rather fascinating, and she hoped that watching would help prevent the slicer from doing anything untoward as well. It wasn't that Arla didn't trust people, it was just that she didn't trust people.

Well, as it turned out, Envy seemed to have some interest in at least a temporary alliance as well. Maybe the Force had shoved them together, but Arla wasn't going to make any assumptions yet. For all she knew, the Echani was still going to stab her in the back or try to steal something from the ship on the way out.

You already have interests scoped out? she asked. It was hilarious that between the two of them they seemed to have approximately zero tact, and Arla was arguably the more tactful of the two, which... really said a lot about the situation.

Let's hear it, she prompted, though it didn't quite sound as requestful as it probably should have.

 

[Yvon]

Yvon continued to do their thing, ignoring Arla for a few moments as they wrote. It was a simple process for the skilled slicer to wipe the ships transponder clean. Way easier than when they had wiped their own identity clean from the government systems on Begali as a teen.

"Yes. A few interests actually." They answered the question a few moments late as they proceeded to reconstruct the transponder's architecture, restoring it to factory new before plugging it with all the new information.

"G'wenee is a trade planet, situated near the start of the Braxtant Run." Yvon paused as they continued to work. They weren't sure if Arla would understand the significance of this statement, so they continued to elaborate. "Ores and other raw materials from Bandomeer and Selaggis pass through here daily on their way into the Empire to the factories on Jaemus and Bescane. Weapons to Taris from Bastion. Lots of money passes through here, a big pie with all sorts of hands in it."

They started to put the finishing touches on the transponder while they explained the logistics of the region. They had narrowed down a few easy scores to start, but it had been difficult to narrow it down. An extra body opened up even more options.

"Influcence or credits?" Yvon asked as they started to move onto the second part of the transponder job. "I've narrowed down options that range all over the social structure. Government officials, business executives, bankers, industrialists, the press." The list went on, they had been doing their homework the last couple of days after the club. Once they had recovered from the hangover that was.

"Straight theft is also an option of course. But riskier. People are easier to ply than vaults." The slicer said as they turned to look at Arla for a moment and put a faint, emotionless smile on their face. Then Yvon's eyes glued back to the screen as they pulled a datachip from their pocket, plugging it into the rig as they started to construct a temporary clone transponder signal node from the copy of the original.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Although Arla wouldn't consider herself to be a real expert on the planet, she was at least familiar with it from a cursory perspective. She knew that a lot of money passed through and she knew that meant there was a lot of people and a lot of greed. Both of those meant opportunities to exploit.

Arla considered the question that Vy asked about money vs. influence. It was one of those age old questions, and the answer to it would often depend on what exactly was entailed with each.

Consistent income would be useful, she said. It might be too much to ask, but the two of them putting their heads together could open all kinds of doors.

What about criminal elements? They can exert control and gain income. What if we were able to... forcefully exert control on them? she mused aloud. It was a proposal for a more long term partnership between the two of them, as it turned out, but Arla... well, she was going for it.

 

[Yvon]

Yvon raised an eyebrow as they stared at the screen at Arla's suggestion. No interest in a big score, rather, a consistent stream of credits. Practical if one was thinking of building for the long term, though risky and prone to fluctuation. A progress bar started to load across part of the screen as the transponder clone and necessary failsafes were transferred to the datachip.

"There are two major criminal elements that carry out most of the organized crime in the city." Yvon said as they turned away from the slicing rig which continued to carry out its transfer, swiveling the chair to face Arla. "A rather expansive criminal gang that fancy themselves as some sort of keepers underworld law in the city, the Lay Pa-Sidian Paladins." They furrowed their brow at the thought of them. If there was one thing worse than criminals, it was criminals who pretended they were anything but.

"The other is a regional criminal power that have been moving in on the Paladin's territory, the Pentastar Syndicate. The stronger of the two, though locally they are at a disadvantage." Stronger, richer, more ruthless. "Rumor has it that they are bankrolled by the Banking Clans, I haven't done enough digging to confirm this however." The scanner pinged a quiet note and Yvon turned back to it, pulling the datachip and holding it out to Arla.

"This is a clone of your old Transponder, plug it in here when you leave G'wenee." Yvon indicated a datachip insert next to the one their rig was plugged in to. "It will broadcast the old codes for your departure. The Explorer leaves G'wenee and then ceases to exist once you pull the chip. That way there is no record of the Shadow ever being here. I can only guarantee it will work once though, so you might as well destroy the chip afterwards." That was that, job done. Yvon unplugged and powered down the slicing rig, stowing it away as they turned once more to Arla.

"So, what are you proposing? a suggestion like this implies you're interested in the long game." Yvon didn't see any point in being anything but forward, so far a trait that Arla shared. The slicer could appreciate that.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla listened to Vy's description of the situation and she, too, leaned toward the Pentastars. Stronger but at a disadvantage, which meant that if Arla could find a way to tip the scales in their favor and take over them all at once, it would mean higher payoffs in the long run.

She took the transponder code and gave a nod as she listened to the instructions, getting hopeful that she could simply swap them out whenever she desired from thereon out, but Vy quickly crushed those thoughts.

Very nice work, she said, stepping back into the ship and pulling out a stack of credits to pass across to her new maybe-partner.

She paused a moment as she tried to decide how much to reveal and to what extent she could trust this person. And what she could gain. Ultimately, though, she needed reliable allies who were proactive, and thus far Vy seemed to be that.

I already have allies scattered across the galaxy, but to organize them into something more useful, I need money and somewhere to operate out of, she said.

I guess this means I'm proposing a partnership, she said. And at worst, Vy would get cash and contacts out of it too if Vy wanted no part of Arla's plans.

But you are quite skilled, she added honestly. It wasn't flattery, it was just the reality, and a good slicer was invaluable.

 

[Yvon]

A stack of credits made its way to Yvon's hand and they briefly counted them, dropping the stack neatly from one hand to the other while keeping count as each credit puck left their fingers. Fully satisfied, they pocketed the currency and turned their attention back to the conversation at hand.

A conversation that got an eyebrow raise out of the stoic faced slicer as Arla rounded out their proposal. A partnership of sorts. Not just a common bounty hunter, Arla claimed allies and influence of some sorts around the galaxy. Truth or a lie? It seemed silly to lie to someone who could likely verify the claim, someone like Yvon.

"I know." Yvon stated with a nod in response to the compliment. Most people would say thank you, of course, most people cared about the praise of others. Their words weren't cocky, just factual.

"A partnership?" They asked after a moment of thought. Yvon wasn't opposed to the idea, though they wanted a better idea of what Arla had to offer besides a mysterious list of allies. Yvon wasn't fond of structure, or taking orders. On the other hand, having a network to draw from opened up possibilities across the galaxy. Made it easier to move goods and credits. Simpler to line up jobs, more people to carry them out.

"I'm not... uninterested." They answered after a moment as they considered the near future. "I propose we set about bringing the local branch of the Pentastar Syndicate under our influence." There was a slight emphasis on 'our'. If it involved credits, influence, power... well Yvon definitely wanted in on the take, even if their role was a shadowy one. "We can proceed on the discussion from there." Yvon finished, waiting for Arla's response. Yvon wasn't sure what Arla brought to the table in terms of personal ability, but the scheme they were concocting would be a good way to figure that out.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla noted the slicer wasn't exactly chomping at the bit, but she'd have been more concerned if that were the case, probably. People willing to jump into full partnership without knowing the full details were questionable. One could say that Arla was making an unwise decision for doing just that, but it was an opportunity to see what Envy could do as well.

It seemed that the two of them were having the exact same thoughts at the same time.

Seems like a reasonable start, she said. Pentastar, then, she said, falling silent for a long moment as she thought about their options. Arla was lethal and had ever confidence in her ability to cut the head off of the snake of either of these syndicates.

I could just kill the heads of both of them. Force them to submit, she said as casually as could be. It was the exact move that Darth Maul had used during the Clone Wars. It wasn't subtle, but neither was her father. Well, one of her fathers. They'd brought Ithor's city down not through subtlety but through strength and power. The syndicates were not the Empire.

Especially if you can slice their systems and guide me through their base with their security systems. I could do it without much of any prep, too, she said.

 

[Yvon]

Yvon simply nodded as Arla repeated the name of their target. It seemed they had come to a tentative agreement. The slicer waited as Arla seemed deep in thought for a moment. The words that next came out of her mouth were a surprise to Yvon.

The proposal of just cutting the heads off both snakes was... quick. Messy. It carried unpredictable results as far as how well they would be able to maintain some level of control after the fact. The fact that Arla said it so confidently, that she could do it with little preparation had Yvon slightly on edge. Just who had they gotten themselves tangled up with.

"Direct. Certainly an option for the Paladins." Yvon mused aloud. The local group was directly led by their leader, a twi'lek named Ryen Doww. Yvon was fairly certain that if they could topple the man and project enough strength from that position that the Paladin's might fall in line from what they knew of the groups organization. The Syndicate on the other hand. "That option poses a bigger risk with the Pentastar. While they do have a local leader, a certain Xeno Jann, who manages the day to day operations on G'wenee, the syndicate's true head lays elsewhere. I am of the opinion that it would be a better option to bring this leader under our influence, preferably with the greater Syndicate none the wiser."

That route left them free to operate while benefitting from the presence of the Pentastar Syndicate on G'wenee, besides. "Plus, I don't think either of us are interested in handling the day to day minutiae of running a planetary crime ring." Yvon certainly wasn't. Perhaps it would be entertaining on the short term, but their interests lay elsewhere. Yvon thought for a moment, accounting for their new allies confidence in her own lethality. "Perhaps the head of the Paladin's leader would serve as an appropriate carrot for Jann, with a damning bit of blackmail that would land him in lethally hot water with his higher ups as the stick to keep him in line." They finished, satisfied with the general idea.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

The old saying that "to a hammer everything looked like a nail" was almost accurate with Arla, except that she fancied herself a scalpel. And to a scalpel, everything looked like flesh. Yeah, that sounded about right.

At least they agreed with her slicing the head off of the Paladins. Off-world, she thought to herself, wondering if there were other options for that, then.

Kill the head of the Paladins, meet with the local leader and threaten him or blackmail him. And these off-worlders? They're not going to like us muscling in on their domain, she said. Do they need to be hunted down as well? she asked. Unless she had failed to follow what the slicer had just said.

Unless you plan to kill them to offer an out to our blackmailed friend, she said, the thought clicking in her head. That would still mean it might be appropriate to send some of the Kaleesh or even an Anzati after the off-worlders.

This seems like a good enough plan, she said, knowing it was likely to go to pieces as soon as it was underway, but that was fine. That could come later. Envy was right, Arla had no interest in running the day to day operations of the organization, and this brought both groups in line at the same time.

What do you need to make this happen on your end? she asked.

 

[Yvon]

Arla went over what she understood of the plan and Yvon quietly nodded along, gently correcting where the woman's understanding needed correcting.

"If things go well, we get what we need out of the local leader with his off-world superiors none the wiser, at least for the time being." That was a decently big if, but Arla seemed to be on top of the whole 'kill or eliminate all who stand in the way' method of thought. "If need be, we can arrange their deaths, but if by some stroke of luck we manage to gain the submission of the local leader while also maintaining the image of business as usual... that opens up other options for progressing influence up the ranks of the Syndicate on whatever other worlds they hold power." Whether that meant repeating the process up the chain, pushing the local syndicate head up as a pawn, or other more violent methods, that could all be decided later.

"It's always an option, though we might lose some leverage at that point." Yvon topped off the idea of letting some pressure off Xeno Jann by eliminating his superiors. That was all well in the future though. One step at a time. Arla asked what Yvon would need which stopped the slicer as they took a few moments to think.

"Two days. I'll need time to set up this up and gather what extra information we'll need." Yvon stated, holding up a pair of fingers. They took a moment to pull out their nalphone and type out an address before sending it to Arla. "Meet me at this address. I should have everything put together by then. Come ready." They said with a nod. If there was nothing else to be said, Yvon would take their leave to get started on their end of the preparation.

-----​

Two days later and Yvon was waiting at the address they had given to Arla. It was an apartment complex that stood next door to the Paladin's headquarter building in the lower class district of the city. The proximity to crime money meant the apartment building was actually not half bad, and Yvon had had to arrange a vacancy on the side facing the target building to set up shop. They had installed a few additional security bolts into the door that led into the apartment for added safety. Small camera's dotted the building all the way up, as well as around the building, their images displayed on several screens that hovered over the primary screen of their slicing rig setup.

They had spent part of the first day setting up, discretely moving equipment into the apartment in the pile of empty boxes that were stacked haphazardly in the corner, bearing labels like; clothes, kitchen, bathroom, etc..

Reconnaissance on the Paladin's stronghold had revealed several layers of security, nothing that the two of them couldn't handle if Arla was as good as she talked. They had also managed to dig up some veeerrry interesting dirt on Xeno Jann, unconfirmed, but it could be corroborated once they made their move in that direction. Now it was all down to waiting as Yvon split their attention between typing on the slicing deck, eyeing the camera's and going through more data splayed across several holomonitors.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Two days later, Arla showed up to the address in question. Her own time had been spent doing some recon of her own. She made her way up to the apartment building with a duffle bag slung over her shoulder, stepping inside and plopping the bag down in a corner of the room.

Prepped? was all she said as she made her way over to the window and peered out through a slit in the window coverings. She could see the building on the outside and the many people who were milling about outside.

The sun would be setting soon, and that was all the better for Arla. She'd prefer an operation like this at night, and had already familiarized herself with the positions of the guards outside. Not that she planned to simply waltz through the front door.

While she listened to whatever Envy had by way of an update on the situation, she started unpacking her duffel bag. A head wrapping to cover her face and round out her concealing outfit, her collapsed energy bow with some spare powerpacks, a pair of duskblades, her hunting knife, and even her lightsaber, though that item was still wrapped up and out of immediate view.

 

[Yvon]

Yvon spotted Arla making her way up to the apartment long before she arrived. The slicer unlocked the variety of locks that had been installed post occupancy, letting Arla in.

"Yeah." Yvon nodded. They were wearing a new set of operating gear, minus the helmet, which sat on the side of the desk next to their slicing rig. A brace of a dozen throwing knives were sheathed at various points of their body, a dozen in total. Yvon didn't expect to need any of it, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Arla unpacked her duffel bag while Yvon moved to activate a holoprojector. Three dimensional images filled the center of the room, an external projection of the Lay Pa-Sidian Paladin's "stronghold" next door. A short and blocky three story tower, its brutalist design featured raw duracrete, durasteel barred windows, and a low perimeter wall that prevented easy ground access.

"I've reconstructed what I could of the Paladin's headquarters," Yvon started, fumbling with a datapad that controlled the projection, "External scans, architectural records, construction blueprints. It's not a complete mapping as I'm sure there have been some modifications made, but it should help." The slicer finished as they tapped a few keys, cutting away the externals to reveal an internal view of the various floors and rooms, many of which were occupied by a haze that indicated an unknown.

"Perimeter sensors, patrols, and a pair of auto turrets cover the front door. I think we can both agree that's not the way in." A few more taps and the image zoomed out, centering on the roof for a moment. It was flat, with a low rim that would do little to prevent someone from falling off if they got too close. "The rooftop has a pair of air ducts, as well as a locked door set in the northwest corner. Unfortunately the walls are smooth duracrete, hard to scale." A few more taps and they camera panned in and to the walls, the plasteel windows whose exterior were covered further with durasteel bars lighting up orange on the screen. "Likewise reaching the windows is a problem, getting through them even more problematic."

Yvon shook their head for a moment before commanding the hologram to spin, focusing on the rear of the building and a large blast door there. "A blast door guards the entrance to the speeder bay, likewise well guarded but regular shifts of swoop patrols and other vehicles enter and exit on a fairly regular basis. This might be your best bet if you can catch a ride in on one of the vehicles, though from what little I have been able to see in the bay there is usually a large concentration of Paladin's in there." It was a tough nut to crack, just getting into the building was a challenge.

"Thats where my intel ends. Once you're inside I have little in the way of information on what sort of defenses they have." A slight frown spread on Yvon's face. They had considered the options, neither of which were ideal. "If you can lay a trail of these," Yvon palmed a small triangular device and thumbed a button on it, causing it to open up and raise a triangulating array of three small panels, "Signal boosters, I can bounce my connection off of them to a terminal where you can plug me in." Another device, a small rectangular stick with a terminal splice at the end.

"This runs the chance of discovery if someone stumbles across one of these, or other causes of signal loss which would leave you on your own until I can find a work around." Yvon paused, shrugging after a moment. "Or I can just come with you, I can infiltrate well enough, fight if I need to, but I don't want to slow you down." That and the personal risk factor of entering such a well defended compound was... very high. It would however allow Yvon direct access to the Paladin's systems which would make slicing their defenses a whole lot easier.

@Phoenix