Ask Punting the Unpuntable

[Ashla Ti]

Nomad City, Nkllon​

Over the years the mobile mining facility known as Nomad City had seen its shares of ups and downs, destroyed and repaired on numerous occasions, but one way or another it had survived to mine another day. At present it was but a shadow of its prime, operating at limited capacity, barely mining and processing enough minerals to make made a profit under regular circumstances. But given the state of the Galaxy, with war looming and the shipbuilding business booming, the facility's current administrator was able to paper over the cracks in his horrid business acumen and keep the venture afloat. But his ineptitude was no secret, as was his love for gambling, weaknesses that could be used against him. And that was precisely what she had in mind.

With a facility this large the workforce needed to be kept happy, and the administrator did that by running a small casino and pleasure house, and was himself a regular at the sabacc tables. Her plan was simple, sneak into the facility mainframe, upload some malware that would allow them to take control of the casino, and then trick the administrator to bet the facility itself. She had seen it in some holo-documentary, apparently Lando Calrissian himself had once lost ownership of the facility in a game of sabacc, so it felt like a fitting way to make another for lose the facility.

But she could not do it on her own, so she had reached out to an old contact, one she hadn't worked with in a long time, but one whose abilities she trusted. Having reached out to him earlier, she waited in one of the cantinas scattered across the facility, munching on some snacks and scaring away any would be solicitors with a glare, getting pleased with her self on account of how good she was getting at that.

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

It had been several years since Vizim had heard from Ashla Ti. No longer an Acolyte, which he also hoped meant she wasn't as rough around the edges as she used to be. Though now that she was Lord Raze's apprentice, he had a feeling that a lot of edges had been smoothed out. Vizim wasn't well acquainted with the Dark Lord, but he had worked with the man before during the raid on the Sector Ranger's blacksite to rescue Tiamat. The guy wasn't someone high on Vizim's list of people to mess around with.

And ultimately, Vizim and Ashla had pulled off their prior operations together as well, so there was that. This was an opportunity to expand the Empire and further his own influence, so he had accepted the offer. Now that he was here, Vizim had decided that Nomad City was a craphole. Literally destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, it had been one step away from a waste of space before the Empire had decided to start cranking out ships. Ships that required metals by the tons.

He arrived just in time to see his partner scaring off some locals with a mean gaze, but he was undeterred.

You know they think you're a hooker, right? he asked. The city didn't really have its share of women her age except those that worked at the administrator's "facilities."

Seems you've moved up in the world, he said. Though the comment was a reference to her promotion and apprenticeship, following the comment he had made moments earlier, it could definitely be construed as an insult. He didn't rush to clarify, seeing if she would get as flustered as she used to. He was kind of hoping so.

 

[Ashla Ti]

Ashla smiled at Vizim's greeting, taking a swig of the literal swill that passed as ale here before turning to face him. "From amateur dominatrix to hooker in a literal shithole, I'd hardly call that moving up in the world." She had spent a great deal of time among questionable company since her last encounter with Vizim, and she felt pleased at that reply.

Gesturing for him to take a seat, she pushed away the bowl she had been munching from, and in the same gesture slid a small dawachip towards him. "A copy of the publicly listed blueprints, and the malware we need to upload into the mainframe. In case we get split up." She recalled Vizim being all about the job at hand, not really one for chitchat or small talk, so instead of doing any of that she jumped straight to the point. Giving him a moment to review the data, which also contained a small dossier on the facility administrator including her reasoning for hitting him on the gambling tables, she took another sip of the drink, immediately regretting the decision but downing the lot of it nonetheless.

"So," she asked, "what do you think? Any kinks in the plan? Suggestions, improvements?" She had of course left out the parts about her inspiration being a holo-documentary, a holo-documentary about a rebel hero at that, but nonetheless she wanted to see his reaction. Last time it had been all his plan, even when she had screwed up he had thought up a way to work around it. So in a way she saw this as a good test, a test to see just how far she had come.

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim snorted slightly at her response in what might have been approval at her retort, but didn't comment further before she launched into talk of business. That was just fine by him. In fact, it was better than just fine. This was how he liked to handle things. If there was to be flirting, chatting, or anything else, it always came second to the job at hand.

Perhaps it was her first comment that had primed his mind, but when she mentioned kinks, another immediate comment came to mind.

I'd have thought you'd figure out if he has any kinks as part of the recon, he said. As soon as he'd said it, he realized that that cover might actually not be the absolute worst plan to use over again. Probably not a first line, but something filed away as secondary or tertiary. She seemed to have managed it last time.

He didn't even miss a beat plugging in the chip and scanning through it on his datapad. He thought her heard a slight gagging sound as she finished whatever she was drinking and his eyebrow went up.

That good? How old are you even? Are you old enough for that? he asked with a squint before glancing back down at the info. He slipped the pad away a moment later and nodded.

Seems good enough to me. Infiltration first, then. Do you know what time admin hits the tables? One of us might need to stay up in the mainframe to manipulate the droids and card machines, he said.

 

[Ashla Ti]

Normally Ashla would have smiled at his comment about kinks, accustomed as she had become to such humor from Altair and Cairo, but the fact of the matter was that she had done her research on that topic, and she wasn't sure how pleased he would be by the response. "Well, about that. Given his inclinations, you might be more successful at that than me." She smiled into her drink, leaving the comment at that, and let him analyze the data.

"Old enough to know that this tastes like Hutt sewage," she replied with a look at the empty mug, befogging snapping her head around to look at him with a frown as a memory surfaced, "why is it that every time I meet you I end up drinking something horrible? If I didn't know better I'd think you were going around playing some elaborate prank on me." She shook her head, before raising her hand and gesturing for the bartender to pour her another.

"They say beer is an acquired taste," she spoke up, forestalling any question from him about her order, "but why anyone would want to acquire this taste I don't know. Anyway, the administrator should be at the tables in.." She paused to take a look around, spotting a display on a wall that was displaying the current time. "About three hours time, give or take. But he is there every day, so if we aren't ready by then we just wait till tomorrow." As the barkeep placed another mug before her, she waited for him to go before less than enthusiastically lifting it up to her mouth and taking a sip, before pushing the mostly full glass away from her.

"Nope, not happening. Never going to like that."

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Hm, he acknowledged. Vizim's face already wasn't particularly excited or enthusiastic looking after being told that he would be better suited for this particular target. He was about to say something that was perhaps a bit flirtatious, but held his tongue, remembering that she'd just been an acolyte not so long ago.

Maybe it's because you have horrible tastes in drinks, he said, leaning forward to look into her glass. He frowned and scrunched his face up a bit, deciding that it didn't look good. Probably even worse if it was warm.

Alright, three hours it is, he said, heading toward the door and casting a momentary glance back to make sure she was coming. Three hours wasn't much time to work with and his mind was already starting to work into overdrive. It was all the harder because this was a con rather than an assassination.

We can't leave a trail of bodies on this. In fact, we can't leave a trail at all, he said, voice quiet so no one would overhear them. There's got to be a criminal underworld here. I wonder if we can hire them to cause a distraction, he said, giving them an opportunity to get inside.

 

[Ashla Ti]

Leaving a few credcoins on the counter, Ashla left the bar and followed after Vizim. She hadn't considered using the local criminals to their advantage, and was glad that Vizim had walked up ahead because she did not want him to see the look that crossed her face when the realization hit her. Closing to force the conversation onwards to cover any surprise on her part, she decided to take the suggestion in stride, to act as if this wasn't the first time she had considered such a scenario.

"Packaging and shipments," she said after a quick consultation to the blueprints on her datapad, "on one of the lower levels where the larger freighters can dock. Security patrols seem to leave those sections alone, probably because they are paid to do so, or are too scared to deal with whoever is in charge down there. As good a place as any to start looking." A few more clicks brought up the fastest route to the lower hangar, and as they reached an intersection she took a turn to the right. "This way, it's close enough that we can make a quick detour to try our luck."

With that she lead them down a series of corridors that ultimately brought them to a set of turbolifts, and they rode one of them down with a group of miners who gave both of them looks that were anything but subtle. Ultimately they found themselves in a large hangar, filled with droids, workers, quite a few ships, and more boxes than she could count. But they had barely made it more than a dozen feet from the turbolift exit when a mean looking Zeltron intercepted them, built like a tank, Ashla could barely keep herself from staring at the rather impressive scar that ran down the side of the woman's face.

"Best turn around and head back the way you came lassy. Keep your business in the cantinas, that's the agreement. Keema don't take nicely to your sort."

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim followed the signs in the direction she said. The walking paths became notably more unpleasant the further on they went, and it started reminding him of all the disgusting area of town that he'd been to where he was more likely to be mugged than not. Fortunately for him, he didn't make a very appealing target to most.

There were looks from the miners in the turbolift, but he didn't look at the man for more than a moment before deciding he was irrelevant and going back to his formulations of a plan. They wouldn't likely have an easy time because there wasn't much for them to offer the organized crime of the area. But maybe they didn't need organized crime, maybe it was just a dumb biker gang that would do it.

They exited the turbolift and were almost immediately confronted by the Zeltron who looked like he was more muscle than brain. Vizim wasn't feeling very patient today and had half a mind to just run the guy through out of the gate, but decided that probably wasn't the best way to get this done.

We're here to see Keema. We have a lucrative proposal, he said. The man looked at him for a moment and then started to laugh.

Look bud, you may be tough where you come from but I don't recognize you, and if I don't recognize you, you don't get in to see Keema, he said. Over the man's shoulder, Vizim could see a pair of Gamorreans step forward, seeming to take up positions if there was confrontation.

Vizim worked very hard to keep his hands from flexing down to his blaster, but that wouldn't do. Before he could make a move or a decision, the man spoke up again, this time toward Ashla.

Look sweety, you might want to get your partner out of here before I make you both turn around. We're not interested, he said.

@Wit

 

[Ashla Ti]

"Okay!" She replied to the man's comments, but as he nodded and was about to turn around and walk away she moved. Without any warning she rushed forward and an arm shot out to jab him in the throat. As one of his arms went instinctively towards his throat she caught the other arm and twisted it at an unnatural angle, continuing to move forward so that she twisted the arm around and now held him from behind. She kicked at the back of his knee, making the leg buckle. Before either of the Gamorreans could react the man was down on a knee, Ashla standing behind him with his right arm in her grip, wrist bent backwards and one twitch away from breaking.

"Now," she whispered threateningly into his ears, "let's try that again. We want to meet Keema."

The Gamorreans had started to move by now, so she just looked back over her shoulder and gave them a glare, which made them pause. She pressed again on the man's hand, and spoke over his scream. "You better call off your goons before you lose the arm. Keema, now."

He desperately waved behind him, blindly gesturing for the Gamorreans, but they seemed to get the hint as they stayed where they were. "Okay... okay, I'll take you to her. Please...please just let me go..." He more whimpered than spoke, and Ashla pressed down on his arm once more for good measure before letting him go, taking a step back herself in case he tried anything. She didn't expect anything from a third rate goon like him, but she had learned that it was always better to be safe than sorry.

"This way.." He said as he started limping through the hangar, leading them towards a maze through shipping equipment. Ashla turned to Vizim as they moved to follow, giving him a proud smile as she fell in step after the man and his Gamorrean thugs. Ultimately they were lead into a small room that had been turned into a makeshift office, and seated behind a small table was a tiny Chadra-Fan woman, Keema.

"Who the fuck are you," she asked, not at all surprised by their presence, probably having caught Ashla's little demonstration on a holocam or received word of it, "and what do you want?"

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim forgot just how violent Ashla could be. In such a small, unintimidating package that was something he was sure could be worked to her advantage for her entire career. The moment she moved, he pulled the blaster from his hip, focusing it on the pair of Gammorreans in an instant, reaching up and pulling back the hammer to give it an extra punch.

The guards stopped and the man caved after a few moments. The hunter tilted his head to the side as if studying them for a moment, noting their movements and looking for the telltale twitches that indicated they would attack. Their muscles were still tense and predatory, but they withdrew and Vizim's finger reached up to disengage the hammer from his pistol before letting it drop down to his side again.

Nice work, he thought to himself, heading in the direction they were led and keeping his attention far more on the pair of thugs behind them than ahead.

When they were led through the building and ultimately to a Chadra-Fan, Vizim had to admit he was surprised. He kept his face stony and impassive, but seeing someone of her diminutive size running a gang like this was surprising.

We have a... and that was as far as he got before he heard blaster fire outside.

He heard the boss swear again and look over at a screen. It's the howlers. Get the gang together. You two want something from me, you help us beat this howler trash back. Then we'll talk, she said, climbing to her feet, a blaster from her desk in hand, and heading toward the sound of the gunfire.

@Wit