A Bold Move

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Dashal Vance"]

Royal Palace-Chasin City-Commenor


Kay leaned back in her chair, seated in her office. Her datapad was in one hand, while a cup of Sapir tea was in the other. She scrolled through her growing list of allied governments. Some had business ties, some military, others to secure the trade routes for their own purposes. Yet there was at least a few where the reason behind the request for an alliance wasn't exactly clear. Even then, who was to say that every one of her alliances were genuine ones?

This she needed to find out.

Going to each of them and asking wasn't the way to go about it either. Kay knew better than that anyways. This was politics, afterall. Intrigue was the name of the game. Those that knew how to use it to their advantage always came out on top. And with being Queen, there was a host of resources available to her. And a lot of credits.

She sipped her tea. A slicer would come in handy. But how to find one? It wasn't as though she knew where to look. The holo-net of course but the best of the best probably used a different kind of holo-net altogether, one that she had zero knowledge of how to access.

Perhaps key words would suffice. Using her public holo-mail server, she whipped up a draft of a message.

~Greetings,

I am in need of the best slicer in the business, capable of breaching even the toughest government security systems. Cracking this holo-mail provider should give you all the info you need on who I am, where to find me, and how deep my pockets are.~

Kay didn't send the message. She felt as though she didn't have to. Instead she just saved it. Anyone looking for certain key words when it came to looking for more work to do that was challenging, would certainly be able to find it.

Wouldn't they?

 

[Dashal Vance]

​

Commenor​

Chasin City Palace​

Office of Security​

​

Routine and order was the preferred and methodical approach to ensuring a sense of protection and the very definition of security. The trademark stamp of approval to administer the various functions of protocol keeping any structure from collapsing into chaos, both literal and virtual. Chasin city's grandiose white walled palace was no exception, and towed the line of measures to prevent outside attacks, incursions, sieges, and even as simple as preventing trespass for unauthorized personnel. While the security office wasn't going to be stockpiling weapons and employing an armada, the officers in charge were certainly armed for the need they hoped would never arise. There were the technicians, those in charge of monitoring communications and sweeping through security features that were laden throughout the palace. Any good security system was going to be robust, but also relatively unseen, not wanting to distract from the ornate archways that littered the premises, and made the Palace the treasure to behold that it was. Tucked away in a much smaller office that was plastered with durasteel tones, boasting an array of holographic monitors, and system panels with various blinking lights and dials, the crack team of office security remained doing their day to day, while getting paid by the hour from a rather substantial economy given the schooling system on the planet. While the education system was an impressive and ever-expanding staple of the planet, it was not without it's faults and failures. The biggest namely was scholarship access, and it went without saying that not everyone deserved the attention of a free ride, but between the high rates, and limited ability to gain government funding - there were cases that rested outside of what was considered worth it.

Earlier in the month an even more remote section of the employee database had seen a negligible uptick in activity around the start of the new semester. A few new faces had found their way into the hallowed halls of the UOE, ones that had originally applied and were deemed not suitable for lack of funds to entertain the notion of higher education. This was thanks to the IT department for official city business, and more specifically an undercover force that had yet to be sussed out. Hiding in plain sight, with nearly unlimited access to buildings, personnel, and the slicer's favorite medium; data streams. Security was an illusion when you worked from the inside out, and not exactly the awe inspiring displays you could find in travelling holo-circus events. It was far more hum-drum, but it made the job of gaining financial records and spoofing credit accounts all the more potent. Dash liked credits well enough, but he could get them anytime he really wanted or needed them. The causes that the Hapan lived for were generally based on a few criteria, and he'd been playing the underdog card for the last rotation of this system. Education was well and good, but just not exactly the kind of thing he was ever interested in officially perusing. He'd graduated his own Hapan classes well before he was supposed to, and lecture halls bored him something fierce. Others though, especially those of a worthy cause and a few credits to spare, that was another story and that'd been his reasoning for taking up the tech support role. At least they allowed puff-cake delivery.

:: And here I thought you'd never be on anyone's official payroll. :: The synthesized sweet tones of a dulcet delight emanated from the floating orb swishing back and forth amid the lines of a holo server farm in the climate controlled room. DARCI had found it somewhat amusing that her maker would allow credits to roll in based on actual work for a corporation that mandated actual rules to follow.

"You know me, selfless and sacrificial. Fairly certain my humble feats will reach the Bard of the Hyperlanes one day." Dash replied with his irrepressible need to mock the sanctity of being altruistic. "Check cache sixty five and we'll need to update them to a new petabyte for the fashion department's annual bash." Despite his ongoing report with DARCI, Dash was here to do a job, and not just the one for which he passed the authorization and cheated the background check on, but the actual one he was being paid to do, which was to maintain a system that for once didn't make him blackball another laserbrain from being able to access the holonet for crimes against code. This was a robust system that he could work with, while still improving. "This is why they fell by the way..."

:: Who? ::

"The Empire."

:: You're still bringing up that old thing? ::

"All olive drab, no glamour. I mean granted these designs are not even halfway practical, but at least they have a color scheme above two-toned funeral attire."

:: Yes, records indicate the Empire fell because of their lack of glitter, and seasonal catwalks. :: DARCI commented with her trademark acerbic wit.

"Damn straight."

:: Server cache updated, and your new obsession just drafted an entry. ::

"Ilianna? Mareesh? Kiymani?" Dash spit out the first three on his mind, all co-eds, all around his age. He paused for a moment before checking his tech gauntlet and then grinned. "Oh, her majesty."

:: She's too old for you, and likely has better taste. ::

"Let's hope not." Dash grinned and switched mental gears to activate a Trojan horse in the security office array that would worm it's way through and create a need for his presence in the Palace proper. The best way he knew to gain an audience. Now he just had to wait and be summoned. Dash hated waiting.

[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Dashal Vance"]

Kay was curled up in a chair in her office, her datapad in one hand, tea cup in another. She was absorbed in another of her mystery holo-novels written by one of her favourite novelists, Danial Browns. The puzzles, the cyphers and secret codes of ancient times were fascinating. And although she wasn't very tech saavy, she still loved to read these kinds of stories. It was treasure hunting at it's finest.

The pressure was on. The hero Roberto Langdono was nearing the end of the trail of puzzles, the villains hot on his tail while his assistant tried her best to keep up. Kay chewed the inside of her cheek, eagerly taking in every word while she pictured it all inside of her head--when all of a sudden the letters started scrambling. Then lines appeared, small at first, but then they got larger and larger until they filled the screen.

"Noooo.....not now!" Kay frowned as she rebooted her datapad, hoping that that would clear up the problem. "So much for that anti-virus software." She sipped her tea and waited a few minutes for her datapad to boot up. The lines took up most of the screen, much to her frustration.

She grumbled to herself and got up from her chair, moving over to her desk as she got out her commlink. "Contact the University. I need one of their best tech students to fix my datapad, maybe do a scan through our systems. It may have been compromised."

"Yes, my Queen".

She dropped her commlink onto her desk beside her datapad and then proceeded up the stairs to get herself more formally dressed. Kay couldn't greet a guest in her nightgown and housecoat afterall.

 

[Dashal Vance]

Despite the age in which he lived, where the influx of technology was widely varied, but also communal in a sense of a galaxy spanning network - Dash was highly aware that he'd have to put boots on the ground in order to facilitate some jobs. This wasn't an issue for the Hapan native, as travelling was all well and good, and often provided him with a great sense of entertainment for his limited attention span. There was a lot to see in the Galaxy, and while he wasn't some ace pilot or working alongside a space-faring crew; he had done his fair share of system hopping in his brief time outside Hapes. That planet was never going to afford him the things that would fulfill him on any level. Despite the planet being ruled by the women, and all of them genetically blessed with grace and beauty - Dash couldn't take the regime in which he was a second class citizen based on chromosomes.

Commenor did have its access to the holonet, but for the school system, financial records, and other sundry items they were smart enough to keep it on a closed loop - which had in-turn brought the slicer to the planet in order to setup shop and do his deeds. The tech department served him well, allowing a sense of freedom and the posturing ability to approach nearly anyone with a consultant like attitude. No one was immune from his approach, not even the Queen herself - as it was so arranged by his little present he had just uploaded. The code itself was benign of real damage, but certainly would make things irritatingly annoying for those that weren't versed in the algorithms and back-doors to some of the most ubiquitous of technology. He wasn't trying to destroy the woman, or really put her out of any official functions - but her draft was a request for not only a slicer, but also an audition. Dash enjoyed competition - rather more accurately, he enjoyed stopping any competition dead in its tracks. The slicer community wasn't one of social graces, or trustworthy fraternization - it was a collection of competitive spirits and egos constantly trying to one up the other.

Once the file had been uploaded, Dash wasn't wasting any time in preparation. The tech department was small enough where he could hold up in a single room surrounded by a barrage of technology both old and new. At least they knew how to spend credits here, opting for the higher functioning models and newest software updates. This was still conventional and a bit boring for Dash's tastes, but he knew he'd have to work with standard equipment instead of the prototypes he put together. Even DARCI had been droning on about the issues with such non-custom technology, and it had taken Dash's convincing not to upgrade them too fast to things they couldn't handle once he skipped off world to the next adventure. If he was going to make a good impression he wanted to make sure it was on his terms, while still being presentable. The uniform he was given had been modified to an extent, giving off his personality, and also allowing him to pass through the levels of security needed. Normally he dressed in a few more colors, but even on Commenor, the fashion industry had been tasked with creating the uniforms that the employees wore, and they were better quality than than the bargain bin you'd find on other worlds.

:: No amount of primping is going to excuse you for hijacking the Queen's personal datapad. :: DARCI commented to the time Dash was taking in the mirror making sure the gel in his hair and the personal attention to facial grooming was just right. He only did this when he wasn't knee deep in oil-prone technology, or hanging upside down off a power line converter to reprogram a garbage freighter.

"If she didn't want the best, she shouldn't have put the offer out there. Besides it's better to ask forgiveness than permission."

:: You're planning to actually ask for forgiveness this time? ::

"Figure of speech darling."

:: Perhaps you should figure out your speech before you meet royalty. ::

"Don't think my charm will be enough?"

:: Its a good thing she needs you. ::

"Love you too, babe." Dash turned to grin in the direction of the floating orb when the comm-signal at his desk lit up and announced the Queen's need for a tech support guru to grace her presence. A smirk touched his lips before he gave a non-commital answer. He couldn't seem too overeager to see the older and classy highness, despite his giddy expression. "Be right there." Dash chimed back and then clicked off his tech gauntlets to hide their tell-tale cyan stripe of influence on each arm before taking the turbo-lift from the levels below the Palace where the server farms were stashed to rise towards the upper levels, and finally the private suite of the Queen's abode. He'd mapped this place the first two days he got here, and knew it like the back of his hand - but he'd never been inside the personal chambers of her majesty, which he was suspecting would be just as opulent as the rest of the estate.

"Halt, state your purpose." The refined sentry at the entrance to the enclave gruffly addressed Dash as he approached, holding up a gloved hand while his other rested calmly at the side where his firearm was securely fastened.

"Her Majesty requested tech support. Is that the new Merr-Son model?" The slicer in disguise pointed abruptly to the piece on the officer's waist. "I got the upgrade on Trooper Terror: Makeb edition. Didn't come with the pearl handle. Does it kick back harder?" Dash didn't really have a filter for his inquiries, and they came pouring out like a deluge of questions. The guard simply narrowed his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose and tapping his ear for the commlink.

"Wait here." He sighed. "Your Majesty, visitor from the technical operations that you requested has arrived."

[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay had just come back down the stairs from her bedchambers when the sentry gave her the message. She had picked out a simple dress, black as always. Before even leaving her chamber, she had shrunk down her Force signature to that of a small tree nut. Contacts were placed in her eyes to hide the yellow speckles in them. Those speckles were growing each day, each time she practiced her newly acquired skills, so the contacts were needed more and more. "Send him in."

[member="Dashal Vance"] was escorted in. Kay was standing next to her desk when she first caught sight of him. Dash was young, but that wasn't surprising. The young seem to have a greater grasp of tech than those older than them. He was in uniform, though it was modified. Kay didn't mind the slight changes. She wasn't a stickler for them as long as they weren't crazy ones. They weren't in the Empire of old, nor was he under the command of General Omar Santiago. That man would have given Dash the worst tasks to do, if that were the case.

She took hold of her datapad from her desk and handed it off to the lad and pondered for a moment. Could the virus be a coincidence? Or was it to do with the draft of a message that she had sent? Kay didn't want to go outright and suggest it, so for now, she played innocent. "My datapad seems to have a virus or something. I'm not entirely sure. Do you think that you're the right person to fix it?"

 

[Dashal Vance]

Royalty was not something Dash was unfamiliar with, although his thoughts on the matter had been skewed because of his upbringing. Queens were considered a default notion, something that every planet likely had - or at least that was his early thoughts on the matter before he got into the HoloNet. The Queen Mother was not someone he'd ever personally met, but there were few people in his upbringing that didn't act like a self-proclaimed highness, expecting Dash's complete obedience. Hapes was likely the one place Dash wouldn't really find the prospect of a female dominated society intriguing. Still, home was home - at the end of the day - he still didn't want to go back. Commenor, he hoped, was different as at least they were giving semi-important positions out to the male class. Thankfully being hired on was a benefit of doing things his own way - as a consultant he could change his schedule, agree or turn down offers and play by his own rules, to which he had a laundry list of unique by-laws that he generally came up with on a whim. Most of his work wasn't directed at him specifically, unless it was a repeat performance and this potential contract was no different - cultivating a need for more than just an asking price, but something of a demonstration - hence the audition warranting his presence.

As the line of fifty questions seemed to wear very thin, very fast on the guard to the Queen's chamber, the only new sound the agitated man made was a sigh of relief when he heard the command to show the requested visitor entrance to her abode. A quick cursory scan indicated that the young man had no weapons, and that even the floating orb hovering about his person was not threatening. Dash didn't care for violence, at least not in real time. Virtually he tore apart the competition and held a relatively untouchable high-score on every version of Trooper Terror to date. Simulated combat was a boon to the overactive brain of the Hapan, but he wasn't daft enough to think he'd last two seconds in a real fire fight. His preference was flight over fight, and his skills at free-running were honed out of necessity, keeping him one step ahead of just about anybody that wasn't enhanced. It was also an excellent exercise regiment.

"We'll have to talk again soon dude. We can swap war stories." Dash beamed at the guard as he was given the all-clear and marched forward with pomp and circumstance to guide his footsteps, sliding through the doorway and listening to the all too familiar hiss as it slid closed. The scenery had changed instantly, going from a calm white and gold mixture to the earthen tones of wood overlaying just about every piece of furniture and interior motif in view. The Queen even had a bookcase, with actual books - terrible ancient things that simply confused the slicer whenever he saw them. A low whistle was let out, not for how antique everything looked - but how rich and expensive it certainly was. Anyone could go with the sleek and stylish design of the modern era, but to have something actually crafted from the forests found mainly on moons - that was a step in a higher echelon of credit farming madness.

"Nice digs your majesty." Dash slid his hands to his hips and arched his eyes back and forth until they finally landed on her, and that dress. A tell-tale smirk touched the Hapan's facial features which soon turned into a grin of satisfaction. "Even better." Stepping forward and plucking the datapad into his grip, Dash turned the device to face him and quickly flew through a few command lines of code one-handed. His eyes however stayed fast and locked on the Queen as he took the moment to slide unceremoniously onto the corner of her wooden desk, letting his feet dangle.

:: I apologize for his manners, your majesty - he's not been housebroken yet. :: DARCI's voice echoed through the sphere floating around Dash, with that motherly tone to her synthesized vocals inciting disapproval.

"The fun part is when they try." Dash gave a winning smile towards the floating essence of his personally crafted AI. His eyes turned back to the Queen as he cleared his throat and composed himself a little bit. "Yup, you've been whammied good." Dash gave some faux concentration as he hit a few more commands into the datapad. "Though, you really can't expect not to get sliced when you advertise. I must say though....good call not broadcasting beyond the capital." Dash turned the datapad around, showing her drafted message, before laying the pad flat in his palm and the projected message shifted in mid-air to form the letter 'J' in a rotating three dimensional display. "I think the colloquial term is...you rang?"

:: Show off. ::

"Resume builder." And then back to the Queen. "Jericho, whose walls you need to crumble?"

[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Oh boy. [member="Dashal Vance"] gave her a look that she had seen before. It was the same awestruck and lustful look that she had before while in the First Order capital and a young man had tried to court her. It was silly really, and she knew that he was just wanting her power and what a marriage with her could bring him. Of course she picked up on that right away and stopped the man from thinking that that foolish dream could be a reality.

Kay's eyes were drawn to DARCI as the sphere spoke. An amused look appeared. Perhaps DARCI kept the boy in line by way of shock therapy of some sort? He could use that.

Again her attention was turned to Dash. The way his fingers flew on that datapad was almost dizzying. Coding, the holonet, viruses and the like, all of that stuff was out of her grasp. Her mind wasn't wired to understand it. Everyone has their talents, and this was his.

A brow was raised, her jaw dropping slightly as he spoke of her message. So it worked. On the one hand, it showed just how closely she was being monitered. And on the other, it gave her a new way to reach others without actually sending anything out. Still, she had half a mind to just stick with writing things down on paper.

"Jericho, is it? There are many walls that need to be breached, and secretly, if that's at all possible. Is there a way to do that without anyone knowing? And also..." Kay took a step closer to him, folding her arms across her chest. "...how did you know that I had that drafted message to begin with? Are you monitoring my holomails?"