Ravens; Respite and Revenge

[Lurcano Car'dann]

Lurcano just shook his head, suppressing the urge to chuckle. Yet he hadn't expected such a response from everyone. Lurcano wasn't delusional. He knew he was far from the most liked person in the Ravens, and he was fine with that. As long as people listened to his commands when it mattered they could hate his guts. It seemed that he was wrong, and that he'd been making an even bigger ass out of himself then he usually did. 'Damn, hidden feelings much?'

It started with some Zabrak women standing up and lecturing him. He just smiled through it and nodded his head every few seconds. 'Does she know that I'm Sgt-At-Arms? Eh probably not. And even if she does, not like it means chit. I'm pretty much everyone's queen at this point.' Jen spoke next, and that one genuinely frustrated him. He liked Jen, and he didn't want to ruin his already tenuous relationship with her. Chiasa and Keiara's comments merely added to the flames. 'Maybe it's a good thing this is the first actual management meeting I've attended. Everyone seems to hate my karking guts.'

He sighed and decided it would be best to remain quiet if he wanted to keep his current position. He didn't understand all the hurt feelings over this supposed betrayal. They were criminals. One would think such a thing would be expected. Especially with all the other small signs that pointed to his eventual betrayal. I mean, his entire family was practically involved with the One Sith. Lurcano hadn't really planned for such a thing because he didn't think he had the balls to go against the Ravens; but he'd obviously been wrong. This was definitely a severe case of underestimating someone he shouldn't. He would not make the same mistake again.

After a few more minutes of mindless prattle, he drifted off as Jarven began to speak with some women he didn't particularly care about. He went back to surveying the room and his mind drifted off to something Chiasa had said pertaining to the man who had walked in wearing full armor. Lysle? Lysle Rigger. The founder of their organization, or so he had heard. He had also heard that the man was dead. 'Just goes to show you can't always trust everything that you might hear.' He was definitely an interesting person, and someone he might have to acquaint himself with in the future. 'If looks are anything to go by, this motherkarker looks like someone I don't want to kark with.'

Kezeroth the Malevolent The Upright Man Zenva Vrotoa Keira Ticon Jen Chiasa Kritivaas Patricia Susan Garter

 

[Zenva Vrotoa]

[member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"] [member="Xalus"] [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] [member="Jen"] [member="Lurcano Car'dann"] [member="The Upright Man"]

Zenva rose from her chair once more as [member="Jarven Zexxel"] entered. She bowed in return, sharp and precise. Her voice was kept calm, "Little Brother, lose the smirk please. This is a serious matter."

She sat and listened for a time. She listened as this new woman ([member="Alexandria Fraytal"]) made two handsome little speeches professing her loyalty to the Ravens. But Zenva's attention stayed with [member="Keira Ticon"]. The woman had an understanding of what was needed. A response.

Zenva stood, her gaze shifting between the president and vice-president. "Lady Kritivaas, I feel I must inform you of exactly what my role is in this organization. I was hired specifically to perform assassinations, abductions, and any other personal work that mister Bane required. I have never answered to a vice-president. I have never answered to a sergeant at arms. It's not my job. I answer to the President."

She paused to nod to the VP. "Of course miss Garter, I will gladly aid you if you should ask. It's just not my job to report to you."

Her attention returned to the new president, "Miss Ticon has the right idea, Madame President. Now is the time for distinct action. If the Ravens are going after Cryax Bane, then Clan Vrotoa awaits your orders, lady Kritivaas."

 

[Lysle of the Hydian Way]

The shrill cries of Jen shook him for a moment, then a smile cracked his lips apart in a brilliant display of perfect white teeth. “A-A-AND WHERE... WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? YOU KA-...YOU PIECE OF-...“ She wailed before she stopped herself, breathing heavily as she stood still on the floor, as if attached to it and afraid to move away from her spot on it. "Out in the Chiloon Rift, having drinks with Mr. Ideus, and remaining informed by Ms. Rose or Chiasa herself."

He gently placed the helm onto the table and relaxed back into his seat. "But I wouldn't color me impressed with how the show has been going. An alliance with the rebels? They attacked us. I thought I taught the Ravens better than to bow to those who would slap us across the face. Cryax has made a run for it, he evaded security and by now I assume he's hiding in the deepest darkest recesses of this galaxy, cowering behind his Sith overlords. How in the name of the Ravens did this get so out of control? The Primeval align themselves with the Sith, we haven't turned friends-to-enemies of not just one galactic power, but two. The Republic would not easily befriend criminals, and the Mandalorians, well, we've angered them much in the past. I'm not sure if they could fully forgive me, and the Ravens, for Barab I."

[member="Jen"]

 

[Jen]

Lysle’s soft reply had shocked her, confused her even more so. Anger and despair still filled her veins, but she knew that very often it was calm before the storm. Moreover, technically speaking it would also give him their attention and respect to talk in such a manner until a storm, if any, was unleashed. She stared at him for a second more, wide eyed before she decided to rub away a tear that had formed in her already sore eyes, realizing she had been heard. Jennifer slowly and rather clumsily found her seat once more, picking up her Sandro computer from the floor, giving the spice bag a brief glance. She could always take it later or get hold of some new.

Throughout Jennifer’s life, she had never truly had a father figure; she had never had a loving family that cared for her, that had listened to her, she had never had that connection to any one group.

Well, at least until she met the Ravens.

Sigourney, Lysle, a much younger Isaac (at least behavior wise), other people that were merely blurry faces as they had been out of Jennifer’s reach and mind for too long. Back then, on that fateful day she had approached them for one reason and one reason only, to get hold of an illegal speeder engine. She had traveled all the way to Nar’Shaddaa from Coruscant in order to get it; going through a small list of places she had been recommended to visit by her sources, all proving incapable of selling the wished product to her. Nevertheless, out of all the places, she would find not only a great engine for virtually no price in that poodooty cantina, but that day, she also found a family. Perhaps not a family in the sense of blood, but then at the very karking least mind. They all belonged there.

She had never had that father figure, but Lysle was the god damn closest she had.

She had never had a brother, a sibling just a little older than her, but [member="Cryax Bane"] had been the god damn karking closest to it.

Another tear had build up in the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek as she found herself seated in the chair once more, the sandro computer on her lap. A faint smile, just a hint of it played on her features for a second, a deep breath taken as she glanced down towards the screen.. Hmm... Now… Where were she...


EDIT: A temporary, somewhat secure holonetwork was set-up for the Ravens by Jen in this thread. It is known as Johnson's Private Server. Link (my second post in the thread if I'm not mistaken) Obviously it only allows for simple server functions.

[member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"] :: [member="Isaac Ideus"] :: [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]​

 

[Miss Blonde]

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] [member="Xalus"] [member="Jen"] [member="Keira Ticon"][member="Zenva Vrotoa"] [member="The Upright Man"] [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"] [member="Jarven Zexxel"]



Patricia sat in her seat and soaked in all the vibes of shock, betrayal, anger, all the negative vibes going around essentially. But she didn't let that get to her, the newly minted Vice President just sighed and smiled softly. As loud and obnoxious as Lucarno may have been, or mysterious and brooding as Lysle or Kez were. This was her family and she loved them, yes she would gladly drop kick Lucarno in the dick but that didn't mean she wouldn't care for the man.

"This is my Sergeant at Arms. Yes he may be an idiot at times and he needs to watch his mouth, but if you threaten him with violence you threaten me. He is an extension of me and therefore under my protection. You may not have to like him, but he gets results. Keira, I love you girl but take it down ten percent." Patricia moved to her datapad then began to pull of specs of what they had available.

"So as you all may or may not know I have since the beginning of our little affair with Stargo Defense Enterprises, have had all our droids that they provide run on the SDE network. This is why we still have function of our primary army, so this means we may be blind right now but we can still defend ourselves. Priorities as of now are as Madam President Chiasa says. We reestablish our network, [member="Jen"] honey I know you are going through a rough patch but we need you right now hun." Patricia said in a very caring voice to her. She then looked to her sergeant at arms and spoke.

"Lucarno, since we are removing Sith allies from our side of space I need you start scouting out and drawing up invasion plans. I would like them on my and Chiasa's desk by next week. Take the Red Dress if you have to, she's got a stealth system and can hold her own in a fight." Patricia said in a professional manner.

"The rest of you, I know these are dark times and let me assure you that we are not beaten. These karking sith may have struck a blow with Cryax's deflection to go stroke their collective egos, but we will have the last laugh in this. If anyone has any questions comments or concerns about how I or Madam President Chiasa runs things then please let us know. Nothing is taboo and we encourage you to critique us. Also Lysle we've never met, I'm Patricia it's nice to meet you." Patricia finished her little spiel then looked to Chiasa.

"If you want I can make a request to [member="Darth Metus"] to let us piggy back off their network as we reestablish the cryptnet."

 

[Jarven Zexxel]

Jarven slowly stood up from his seat, meddling with a few button on his wrist node and hacking a connection with the holo projector in the center of the table. When his new found social instincts and cues deemed it safe, he addressed the leadership, nodding his head as he spoke each of their names. His eyes glowing like The Illusive Man from Mass Effect, he said, "Madam President, Madam Vice President, and Mr. Hyde (OOC: get it? It's a literature ref---oh never mind...)..." He wasn't quite sure how to address [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"]. He had known little of the man, except for his reputation, and he had become irrelevant in the previous months.

He started pacing from the left side of the table to the right, making small appropriate hand gestures during his speech. "...Re-establishing our lines of communication are of utmost importance, indeed. However, I would argue that resurrecting the Cryptnet would be foolhardy and leave us vulnerable. Was it not Cryax whom created the network in the first place? And if not, then we still know that it was HE who ran, fixed, used, and upgraded the Cryptnet on a regular basis. The idea to continue to use this network seems like one that invites trouble. If Cryax deems to do so, I believe he would find the system to be familiar enough to easily manipulate. Besides, this is a new day for the Red Ravens."

He turned and started to address those around him. "It is a new, frightening, sorrowful, exciting new day for the Red Ravens. One of our flock has left and our flying formation has been broken. But Cryax made a deadly mistake. He left as our faction was approaching a new day and age. He wanted out instead of wanting in. Today is the day that we leave him in the dust. Today is the day that we rise from the ashes. Today is the day that we evolve."

He turned back to the leadership. "And to help us do that, I would like to present to you my part in the solution..." He waved his hand from left to right in the direction of the table projector. It came alive and started projecting a stream of green data amidst a black background. It went by fast and it kept going on. The view of the data panned out to show the startling amount that Jarven had already worked on. It moved on to show a black machine big enough for a large human to stand inside of easily. It panned out to show a digital realm. This realm would be confusing for most, but Jarven wouldn't go into detail about it. He considered this to be a sneak peek and he didn't want to overload everyone with his future plans.

"I present to you the plans for a new network. A stronger network. If you choose to accept this endeavor, it would only be appropriate that you, the leaders of the Red Ravens, choose the name for this new network...."

He hoped that he had presented his case well. These new augmentations were still new and if he messed up, he was certain that time was simply needed to assimilate these new changes.

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"] [member="Jen"] [member="Zenva Vrotoa"] [member="Lurcano Car'dann"] [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

Having said her piece, the Twi'lek had stopped, waiting to allow the others to respond. And respond they did. Some pleasingly, some.. less so. Still they got their say.

Another sharp-toothed grin was offered to [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"] at his statements.

"Blood we can offer, and I am sure having a wolf in their merry little pen of sheep will be of much use as well."

It was an interesting thing, animal metaphors. Ravens were social creatures, though they could be vicious. Wolves too. Sheep on the other hand were by and large stupid animals who needed to be led. Needed a shepherd. Ravens and wolves might have an alpha, but each of them was ready and capable of standing on their own, making their own decisions. They worked together because they were family.

The interaction between [member="Alexandria Fraytal"] and [member="Jarven Zexxel"] was unusual. Jarven was not speaking or moving in his usual manner, and it immediately made the Twi'lek wary. The woman though.. The Twi'lek stood, yellow eyes boring into hers.

"Seven of the Yttak tribe. I accept and claim you as mine. Stay of the Yttak as you will, but know you are a Raven. My home is your home."

Not the usual way one became a Raven, but it felt fitting. Besides, she sounded sincere and willing to pledge herself to a cause. Better that the cause be the Twi'leks.

Her attention turned to [member="Keira Ticon"] and [member="Zenva Vrotoa"]. The Zabraks words were good, her place was one Cryax had not felt the need to share, but then it looked as if everyone had secrets. Cryax with his assassin and betrayal, Patricia with her killswitch.. One had to wonder what else people were hiding. It didn't matter. Whatever they had it would not be enough. The Twi'lek was resolute. Besides, it looked like at least one of Cryax's little secrets was hers now. The explanation of how Zenva and her clan operated pleased the Twi'lek, best that they should report to no one but her at the end of the day.

"We will need to take action. This slight cannot be ignored. I've posted a bounty already but quite frankly I expect nothing to come of it. It is a statement nothing more, that both he and his new-found friends understand precisely the level of my vexation. I suspect the wisest course of action is to have you both work together. Zenva, I trust in you and your clans abilities, with his seeking refuge with the Sith, Keiras abilities with the Force and otherwise will make her a valuable edition. I leave it to the two of you to work out who answers to who in what situation. Alive if possible. Dead if not. Either way, make him regret what he did to our family. He'll be in Sith territory, if he's left to go where he pleases somewhere metropolitan. I cannot imagine him willingly roughing it. Based on his prior dream to live on Nar Shaddaa because of it's reputation.. He'll be somewhere well known. Corellia is out of the question. Try putting out feelers on Coruscant."

Luke had his say, and the Twi'lek ran through a gamut of emotion, all without showing anything. Her mask was firmly in place. How dare he? Not even for him. Not even for him would she tolerate this. She left it for the time being. Processing, deciding how to respond.

Patricia and Jarven chimed in. The network was a rather large priority, but despite the blondes alleged loyalties, after the Stargo revelation, there was only so much power she was willing to hand over to the couple. It was only paranoia and stubbornness that had kept her in her own ship with her own droids. Otherwise the new Vice President could have detonated her ship at any time as well. She did not appreciate never having received that little tidbit of information.

"Jarven, if you have a plan good, [member="Jen"] has already been cobbling us a system that's usable for the time being. Work with her. I would rather not have a system in place that only one person understand the ins and outs of, for obvious reasons. We're going to need to be more careful what lives on our networks in any case. I've moved many of our assets into the public domain, masking them as legitimate so they enjoy both our protection, that of our lawyers and what planetary defences can bring to bear. No more rosters. We mind what we send via the comms. I do not see the need to further draw on Stargo."

Back to the more pressing issue in her mind. [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"]. What the Ravens did not need right now was to be further divided. One betrayal was enough. This felt very close to another.

"As for your concerns Lysle.. Whether you are impressed or not does not concern me, and quite frankly regardless of what you've done for anyone else in this room I do not in fact recall you teaching me anything. What I do recall is you appointing Cryax, your prodigy to be your second, to lead if you fell. What I do recall is as you mentioned keeping you briefed and keeping your secrets, and never in all the time you spent on your own agendas and your drinks did you venture an opinion or offer to help."

"Not. Once."

"Perhaps you were not paying attention. Ravens bow to no one. That is why we are here. We are in partnership with the Rebel Alliance, not bowing to them, and they know very well what kind of a threat we are and what we can do to them if they show any inclination to turn on us again."

"As for your concerns about the Sith and the Primeval.. Then what? You in one breathe say we must not bow to anyone when you speak of a group I could wipe out if the notion took me and then cry because our enemies are powerful? You would do what? Pander? Crawl back to them? Follow Cryax?"

The Twi'lek was not pleased. Not in the least. Could none who were meant to be her equals, her support see the larger picture? Did none of them see what needed to be done?

"Perhaps you have not been paying attention to how we've grown. Not even the Sith or the Primeval can cross us so easily now. We are not the group that slapped the Black Suns in the face and then ran away. Nar Shaddaa is ours. This side of the galaxy is ours. I intend to see that it remains so."

"As for the Republic, no, I doubt they will be seen to align with us, but they will buy our weapons and our gear, they will take our help as long as their politicians and their voters do not have the relationship rubbed in their faces. And they are a convenient buffer between us and the Sith."

"The Mandalorians might not forgive you, but as you have so accurately pointed out, I am not you. Overtures have already been made. This is easily within my capabilities."

"I will say it once more. I do not need anyone to like what I do, but you will abide by it."

"I will listen to other plans and ideas. I will not tolerate people disagreeing for the sake of disagreement. How did the Ravens get so out of control? You trusted the wrong man and we paid for it and were left to deal with it on our own."

I was left to deal with it. How dare you undermine me so? Not even for you.

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Isaac made his way through casino security as he had many times before. It was nice to escape the smog of the streets... it hadn't rained for over a week and Isaac had just made his way back from Tatooine. He was still pulling sand out of every pocket, nook, and cranny from his time on that god-forsaken planet. Of course, Antecedent was his home. He lived there, his friends lived there, and the Ravens were headquartered there. But he didn't feel at home. As of late, he had been a rambling man, ending up whichever way the wind blew. His colleagues at the Casino certainly wouldn't be expecting him, but he'd had an invite nonetheless.

Walking into the room, he noticed the heads turn to acknowledge his tardiness. Standing up and pacing around the room was a man he recognized as [member="Jarven Zexxel"]

"Don't mind me, I simply got caught up in traffic. Please, continue." He gave a nod to a couple of familiar faces. To [member="Jen"], who had always been an ally. And to Lysle-- Isaac wished he could've seen everybody's faces during the big reveal.

After Jarven's sales pitch, Chiasa stood and began to deliver quite the scathing diatribe in the general direction of Lysle. God knows what Isaac had walked into, but it was to be expected when dealing with some of the most powerful criminal thugs in the galaxy. As the proverbial dust settled, Isaac felt the need to break the silence.

"Space politics..." He exhaled loudly. "Not my cup of tea, to be honest. I will tell you one thing though-- to let Cryax Bane live would ruin our reputation. But to start an intergalactic war with the Sith over him is too much. When criminals begin to act like senators, something's gone wrong."

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] ; [member="Patricia Susan Garter"] ; [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"] ; [member="Zenva Vrotoa"] ; [member="Lurcano Car'dann"]​

 

[Xalus]

Things were getting a little heated, even his sassy Queen was - not surprisingly - snapping back at anyone who disagreed with her plans or suggestions. However, that was their most dire mistake: merely taking them as suggestions. They weren't - not in the slightest. Xalus had operated with special forces teams, commando units, infantry regiments, and even some of the more clandestine aspects of warfare; orders weren't simply things you could ignore. They were law.

He could feel a snarl growing in the bottom of his throat, but the sound was held back. Lips had already peeled back to reveal gruesome fangs, saliva squirting in his mouth as the tin foil-y taste of blood became apparent. On the exterior, it simply looked like he was standing there just as usual. In reality, doom was being spelled right in front of their eyes.

The bounty hunter never came unarmed, so the rifle he cradled was ever present as he strode forward to flank Chiasa.

"Orders are orders. No questions, no complaints." His voice was deep and gruff, much like a drill sergeant on the eve of a temper tantrum. "Do as you are told and victory is yours."

It was probably the most he had ever said in one sitting, but he was riled up.

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"], [member="Jarven Zexxel"], [member="Jen"], [member="Zenva Vrotoa"], [member="Lurcano Car'dann"], [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"], [member="The Upright Man"], [member="Keira Ticon"], [member="Patricia Susan Garter"], [member="Isaac Ideus"]

 

[Jen]

Jennifer would have gotten no message from Jarvan when he had entered the room. Unless, that is, the man had really wanted to work for a couple of extra hours to trace her signal –randomly- in order to get onto her secure HoloNet line. To then continue his slicing adventures onto her datapad, so that he could alter with its code so it would show the message he had planned for them, she would truly be impressed.

Nitty gritty tiresome work for the cool factor. It was something to admire in a sales man. Perhaps she had just not heard the message and not looked yet. Who knew what the enhancements that donned his body was capable of.

But again, she didn’t realize she had gotten a message and after Lysle had started to talk Jennifer had returned to her coding. Sitting in her chair with her Sandro upon legs, the focused gaze having returned onto her features that had turned soft and calm once again.
This was at least until Jarven started to present his idea, her gaze slowly raising from her computer’s screen to, with a raised brow, look towards him as he talked, studying the holo projection as it appeared in front of them and moved about. A slight smile appearing on her face every now and then and once she deemed him finished she would adjust herself a bit in her chair, letting out a faint cough to clear her throat before talking, her attitude a bit smug. She had actually never met Jarvan until now so she did not know what to think of the man, nor if she could trust him.

“Interesting. However, I’ll just raise a few questions so I know what it is you’re attempting on creating. Yea?” She stopped, thinking for a second as she with a ponderous expression attempted to re-wind the presentation in her head. “Oh. Yea. First of all to make you aware: What I’m currently doing is not an attempt to resurrect the CryptNet. Or rebuild it for that matter. It is correct that-…” She glanced down towards the floor for a second, finding it easier to cope if she did not say his name:”-That… He was the one who, with most of the other slicers, kept the Cryptnet clean and updated it. He did however not create it. His familiarity with the old program is therefor also, the reasoning behind what I’m currently doing.

We-… He-… I. I knew his abilities well. I know his signature ‘moves’ so to speak and his favored methods to enter networks… This will not aid the network on an overall basis as he can easily adapt, but it will make sure that he’ll need to get out of his comfort zone if he ever attempts to slice into it. I’m not that great of a slicer compared to him, but I’m familiar with the topic. I will need help so it’s nice that you’re able to lend a hand. However….

Whatever it is you’ve made, moved too fast for me to read properly, you know… But yea, nonetheless, we’ll have to adapt it to a common language that our server runs on. I heavily suggest we use one of mine custom software’s as I’m currently the only one who owns a Sandro and I’ve accepted no orders of it so far. For some reason he was never tempted to order one from me… A shame, I guess… Basing it off this system will make our task a lot easier. We should of course update it and run it through a lot of more tests than I’ve initial done, but still. You seem to have a good grip around this stuff too, so it wouldn’t be too hard for you to learn the language, I guess.

By the way, I’m not quite sure whatever that 3D room was, if it was some sort of visual representation of a server room or whatever, but if it’s a virtual reality input of some sorts then it would only hinder our work and take up processing space. Just saying.

Oh also, if people insist on not keeping the name, CryptNet. Then lets call it VaultNet or something. It’s still under the earth and all shadowy, but it’s a vault now. More secure. Would make sense? Aaaand…” She had been glancing a bit around while she had been talking, now turning her full attention back towards Jarvan, her face still tired from the obvious grieving she had been through, but nonetheless a small, barely visible smile played on her lips, it was obvious that she loved the silent competition that she helped create between the two: “What was your name again?”

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] :: [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"] :: [member="Lurcano Car'dann"] :: [member="Jarven Zexxel"]​

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

There was that at least, Chiasa reflected as her metaphorical feathers unruffled themselves. Even if [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"] was not the returning saviour, the support that she'd so desperately hoped he was. At least she had [member="Xalus"], she always had Xalus. Not that she intended to turn him loose to wreak havoc upon the other Ravens, she would leave before it came to that, but that he would, if she asked him. That he was always there. Supporting. Protecting.

Did these people not understand? Did they think that having grown this big this quickly they could now sit here and stay uninvolved? That other organizations, that political groups were not paying attention to them?

There was no choice. They were in it. It hadn't been her who'd allied them to the Sith. That genius idea was no brain child of hers. And when the Sith had tried to usurp them, to take control, what was she supposed to do but throw them back? Even that she might have been able to weasel around if they hadn't also handed down heavy restrictions on who the Ravens could and could not do business with. And having been forced to outright send them away, she was forced to deal with the fact that the Sith never let a toy get away. If they couldn't have it for themselves they wanted to destroy it.

That being so at least the field was opened up again. The Ravens could sell to whoever they liked, but they also had to deal with the threat. Was she intending to march on Sith worlds? Gods no! She would rid herself of Sith allies who lurked close enough to be a threat though, and the Rebel Alliance were a useful tool to do that. She would also sell to the Republic, who she hated, because credits were credits, and if they were stronger they could hold the Sith at bay. And she would work with the Mandalorians for the same reason, because they were strong enough to hold both the Sith and Primeval at bay, and could use the skills the Ravens had that they sorely lacked.

But they didn't see it!

They thought they could just go back to sitting in a smoky little den and the credits would keep rolling in and they'd be safe. That they could be find some Black Sun remnants and pick fistfights and that would be enough.

It wasn't.

She would keep them all secure whether they damned well liked it or not. If she had to do this just her and Xalus while the others sat about smoking death sticks and drinking, congratulating themselves on what great criminal masterminds they were, she would do this. Still, looking around the room, she didn't think it would come to that.

 

[Jarven Zexxel]

What [member="Jen"] didn't know was that his message hadn't been sent through the Holonet. Since he was in close enough proximity, his unique take on hacking allowed him to figure out how to wirelessly access the display functions of the datapad itself. By sending thousands of connection requests simultaneously to the network access node (which would obviously be denied by the internal systems), a small-data-using program could find its way on board amidst the chaos of processing, like a data spike. It was a simple and straight forward little program that quickly steered clear of anything to do with the network itself and instead went for the display configuration. It would tweak and twist the background just enough to reveal the message intended before reverting back to normal. The message would show when the datapad was active. When the datapad would be on standby, the distortion message wouldn't be displayed. Once the sequence to "wake up" and unlock the datapad kicked on, then it would be visible for 5 seconds and then erase itself. This is similar to how Youtube works: The video you choose downloads to your computer, but isn't saved, so it disappears afterwards. If Jen looked at her Event Viewer, she'd notice 2145 warning notifications with the same title, "tin_man.exe".

He walked over to Jen, so that they could have a conversation without taking up attention. He stood a respectful enough distance from her without sacrificing the anonymity of their conversation. "Hunny, if you told me to make this network using only a space banana and a monkey wrench, I would do it. The success probability rate of that would be a staggeringly unwelcome amount of 1.118%, but I would still do it. I've got so much up in here..." he motioned at his head. "...but I'm willing to do what you want of me. That room for instance is...a work in progress. Separate, yet very much related. We need not worry ourselves with it at the moment."

 

[Lysle of the Hydian Way]

Grey eyes darted from Jen to Chiasa as she addressed him, and a menacing scowl grew across his face. He spoke quietly, but he spoke in such a manner as though an adult talking down to a child. "Was I talking to you?" There was nothing more that needed to be said from the man.


[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] - [member="Jen"] - [member="Isaac Ideus"]

 

[Zenva Vrotoa]

Zenva turned to her clan, gathering them in close. They spoke quietly among themselves while [member="Jarven Zexxel"] gave his presentation and laid plans for a new communications network. Something the Zabrak matron had no interest in. After a time the two males, Commander Zuko and big Orluk, saluted their leader and left the meeting without a word. Zenva turned her attention to her small niece, Renesri, and the two spoke a little longer. All of this was done in Zabraki to provide a semblance of privacy to their conversation.

When Jarven finished, little Renesri moved to stand beside him and the woman Jen. The twelve inch height difference between little Ren and Jarven was rather noticeable as the youth reached up to tug at a portion of the man's breast plate. Her diminutive voice drew little attention, "Uncle Jarven, can I watch? I won't touch anything and I won't ask stupid questions. I promise! Maybe I can learn, you know? Go from accidentally hacking your implant to hacking it because I meant to."

As for Zenva, her gaze turned back to the leadership at the far end of the table and the growing tension in the room. This was a poor time to be creating strife. The Ravens had been dealt a harsh enough blow already. Casting blaim for Cryax's betrayal would only create a rift among those who still remained true. Zenva spoke up, hoping to ease the conversation back on course,

"Lady Kritivaas, now is not the time to let emotion cloud your judgement. Mister Rigger did what he believed was in the best interests of our organization. It isn't his fault that Cryax became ill. He didn't give Cryax to the Vong creature Dredge. Which I feel must be brought to everyone's attention. The Vong played with mister Bane's mind, twisted him. I can't be the only one who knows about this. Surely others have seen it happen. How in the middle of a conversation Cryax would stop and stare at things no one else could see. I'm not defending what Bane has done. He has betrayed us, pure and simple. But I urge you to consider what you have said and who it is your speaking to. You sent out a call to what? Every single Raven you could? Look around the room Madame President. We are the ones that flocked to your call. Don't repeat Cryax Bane's mistake by casting blaim and mistrust. We answered. Have a little faith that we are here to help repair the damage a traitor has done."

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] [member="Jen"] [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"] [member="Isaac Ideus"] [member="Xalus"] [member="Lurcano Car'dann"]

 

[Jarven Zexxel]

After he had finished his presentation and before he went over to [member="Jen"], Ren came over to speak with him.

"Ren!" He firmly grasped and shook her hand and grinned like an idiot. He would have gladly scooped her up in a hug, but he was a new family member, and he didn't want to overstep his bounds. Jarven may have received a smooth and sophisticated upgrade, but he was still "I love my family and friends VERY MUCH" Jarven.

He kept the conversation within an "indoor voice" range. "Of course, you're MORE than welcome, Ren! In fact, I'll teach you all that you want to know. How does that sound?"

During his conversation with Jen, he remembered to ask her, "Is it alright if Renesri Vrotoa tags along with us while we're working? She wants to learn some important life skills."

[member="Zenva Vrotoa"]

 

[Jen]

Jennifer had peacefully returned to her work after she had talked, easily enough ignoring most of what was said around them, but as she spotted Jarvan out of the corner of her eyes approaching her she had to let out a quiet sigh, adjusting herself a bit in her seat so she could face him, not bothering standing up. His introduction wasn’t exactly appreciated either from the looks on Jennifer’s face, her expression immediately growing stern as he called her hunny. “Don’t… Call me that…” Jennifer said rather loudly, her tone an indication of that she was not kidding, it was certainly a clear warning and that she had probably talked with too many people for today and needed some rest soon enough, a hand immediately shooting to her forehead to rub it, her eyes closed as she listened impatiently for a while.


“I do not care about monkeys and bananas, but I think that this “room” of yours.” She made quotation marks with her fingers: “Is very important. I would like to know what we’re working with. Otherwise we can’t work at all. Everything must be tight knit. If it isn’t we can’t encrypt anything well enough to keep out anyone.”

As the conversation was near its end Jennifer looked over towards the other girl who had approached Jarvan earlier, Jennifer’s eyes growing small as slits as she silently observed the girl. Waiting for the question to end. “Who? Her?” She nodded towards the girl. “You do realize the task ahead is not some sort of summer trip or relaxation session, yea? She can’t come and shouldn’t. We don’t need someone to accidently cause bugs to pop up in the system. The fewer that programs the entire system, the better. She can help with the stress testing, try to slice it once it's done. But nothing more than that."

[member="Jarven Zexxel"] :: [member="Zenva Vrotoa"] :: [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] :: [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"]​

 

[Jarven Zexxel]

Jarven could sense that there was more going on than just disgust at the name he used for almost every woman that was a friendly. So, he put up his hands in mock surrender and respectfully moved on. After she stopped talking about Ren, Jarven spoke up.

To provide visual cues along with his words, he first raised one hand out, palm up. He said "tag along" and then raised the other hand separate from the other with its palm up, "while we're working. Two different things. She doesn't have the technical expertise to help, but she's family and she wants to sit, watch, and learn. Now, granted, she doesn't have to come and she won't come if you still don't want her to. I will simply put aside time to teach her another time. However, this will be one of the only times that she gets to WATCH---" He put emphasis on the word "watch" "---two geniuses creating a network from the ground up."

[member="Jen"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

Did the scowl intimidate the Twi'lek? Of course not. Firstly because she had [member="Xalus"] at her back and secondly because [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"] clearly had no idea the things she had done and stood through since he'd left. It would take more than him to put her in her place. As for any other emotion it might have inspired, hurt for one, those would be dealt with later, in private. As far as the Ravens as a whole were concerned she would show her business face and her fangs. They did not need to see or be involved in any other side of her.

Face composed, yellow eyes met blue.

"You should have been."

That was a loaded statement, as simply delivered as it was, and encompassed more than just this meeting.

"Zenva is correct however, it is the future that interests me. And no, you are not the only one who noted it. It was also the Sith who set Dredge on us in the first place and then had us work side by side with him. Almost every ill that has fallen upon us comes from them. I do not intend to tolerate it."

Time to get down to brass tacks. Actions. Plans. The parts that could be revealed in any case.

"They have allies to the west of us. The Albrion Systems Authority. Largely a group of business banded together. They feed billions of credits into the Siths war machine, not to mention the necessary goods they produce. In the near future I intend to.. inconvenience them. The Sith have cut into my profits. I intend to return the favour. Not today, not tomorrow, but soon. Keep your talons sharp Ravens, we'll be using them soon enough."

[member="Zenva Vrotoa"] [member="Isaac Ideus"] [member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

 

[Grug]

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] 's Gamorrean minion stood a slight distance from her. Grug was rotund with heavy muscled limbs, with twenty morrts feeding off his body that gave off a sweet stink that combined with his unbathed ordor. Not exactly a pleasant creature to have close to one's side, but a Twi'lek with a hefty bounty on her head needed all the help she could afford. The green skinned porcine-humanoids were prized for their powerful physique and brutality on the field of battle and Grug was the perfect specimen that represented the pride of his clan. He was slightly taller then the average Gamorrean, standing in at 5'11" and weighing in around 300lbs. He had many scars of battle that littered his body, a testament to a life of violence.

Grug gave a warning snort to [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"] , a man that had spoken to his employer unkindly and enough for the large boar to take notice. The Gamorrean supported his weight upon his two handed great vibro-axe known on his planet as Arg'garok and he was lightly clad in mixed array of armor with mostly comprised of thick durasteel paldrons and a archaic metal helmet. He had a thick loin cloth to cover his unpleasantries and a belt and holster that sported a single heavy blaster pistol and a large hunting knife. The straps and bandolier across his thick chest and round belly held a couple boom boom options but other then that it was obvious that the boar favored the axe above all.

 

[Genu Kudd]

Genu paced the floor around the casino, he didn't really have a reason to be at the casino, he was too new to have been invited to this private meeting of the upper echelon of the Ravens, but he was there anyway. He knew of the bounty that [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] had on her head and while he didn't owe her anything, yet, He intended on making sure she lived long enough for her to owe him something. He had spent years on Nal Kreeta, first as a gang member and then as a duelist and cage fighter. he held no silly disillusions about how the galaxy worked, he knew that power came in many forms, and being a sought after asset was one way to become powerful. He longed for the power to shape his own destiny, the power to give himself the freedom from the concerns of the other beings of the galaxy with impunity.

He paces around the inside of the casino carefully, casually even. His eyes never stopping as he checked each person he passed. His hand never left the hilt of the blade tucked inside of the clothed he wore, he never stopped moving, never stopped to talk to anyone else. All he wanted to do was become useful, to become someone that could be called on in time of need. To do the things that others wouldn't, not because he wanted to serve, but because he understood that power was taken, but to take that power, you had to know where to go to get it.

Working with the Ravens was the option that interested him the most. The Sith and the Jedi order had similar methods, both required strict adherence to a code a code that he refuted. Genu had a code, but it was his and his alone, one that had kept him alive for this long. It would keep him alive long enough for him to earn the power he craved, he just had to show that he was worthy of the attention required to get that power.