Public Secrets in Starlight | A Core War Story

[Ines Pen-Ar-Lan]

Secrets in Starlight
Preparing for the auction​

After having parted with Matthias Colcrip , Eese Arralen had continued her journey on foot and spent a little bit of time at a busy antiques store. Only upon having parted with a few more boxes from the noble's home province did she meet up with the chauffeur who drove her up to the Casion.

Upon entering the Gaming Floor, the woman paused to look out over it all. Not a single facial muscle move as her head slowly turned to scan the surroundings. Finally, she gave one of the staffers holding trays with drinks a nod, beaconing for him to approach. Before the first step was taken, the agent was forced to use all of her might to resist letting out a bitter sigh as the sound of her companion testing the equipment could be heard through her elaborately designed earpiece.

When the staffer arrived and held his tray out for her, she took a glass and offered a monotone "Yes, thank you." whilst subtly using her free hand to activate the 'speak' function as she said the first word. Her gaze then fell down onto the drink: She watched for a few moments before taking a small sip. A seemingly involuntary frown formed and she moved over to an unused table to put the drink away.

With purpose to her steps, Eese then made her way to the blackjack high stakes table. Two of them ( Olivia Pendleton Ronval Rubat ) appeared to be having horrible evenings. At least when it came to the games - aside from that, the noble was present for long enough to register a seemingly pleasant conversation. One which did not appear to be coming to an end. With that, she turned and continued to the next high-stakes table where she finally found an empty seat - positioned so that she could see the unlucky players of the previous table, and so that they could see her.

Offering a substantial amount of credits, a heap of chips were brought to her. And thus, began a careful and calculated set of games. It mirrored her conservative way of dressing rather well, in fact. At some point, a fellow player turned to her to ask about her evening.

"I suppose It is pleasant enough" the monotone tone remained and was met by a somewhat surprised look as she had lost another hand. Without a follow-up question to respond to, the noble simply looked to him before letting her gaze shift back to the cards.

Hearing Matthias once more did not provoke a physical reaction. The only reaction she offered was upon being approached by the fellow player once more - this time asking about who she was. It was small talk, cold and without any obvious purpose. Eese offered a long gaze "I am Eese"

Despite making it abundantly clear, the chatter would continue. Eventually, the man mentioned his inheritance at which point the woman took her chance by once more pressing the speak button to let Matthias hear her words. "Good, then you have access to credits when the need arises." As the expensive night continued, there was little left to do but to hope that she wouldn't lose all too many credits and that her companion would get the gist of what she wanted to convey.

 

[Trent Veillion]

Diana Fox

"Could be, but could just as well be a body double... triple?" He shrugged there. "A person like that in a role like theirs? They could be having twenty different bodies moving around, each a different double." That was what excited Trent for spycraft. You never really knew what you were up against until it was far too late to prepare for it.

It forced you to get really creative.

Trent inclined his head to Diana.

"Yes, I suppose that's true, but trust me darling... I don't request reimbursements for everything. Sometimes I follow the creed of 'better ask for forgiveness than permission'. And you only need to ask for forgiveness if they find out about it."

Trent had realized early on that the SIA and the GA were such behemoths of bureaucracy you could get away with a lot of things.

As long as you delivered results.

He glanced towards Diana again when she asked him the pivotal question. It made him smile. You could take the girl out of crime, but you couldn't take crime out of the girl by the looks of it. "Because, darling, we are the Galactic Alliance. We do things with a certain level of... grace and refinement." Then a gentle shrug.

"Unless there is no other way around it anyway. How would you go about killing them all without it being led back to us anyway?"

 

[Sentapoth Findos]

Glancing at the data pad in hand, Sentapoth noted that the information provided about the auction was lacking. The identity and motive of the individual or group responsible for stealing the outdated data drives from the Strategic Intelligence Agency remained unclear. Despite this, it was apparent that the perpetrators were highly skilled and experienced.

The Neimoidian was concerned by this high level of experience, as the auction had the potential to be a trap for the delegations present, a deceptive maneuver well recognized in the world of intelligence.

Nonetheless, this was mere conjecture without any evidence to prove it so he would have to rely on the good graces of the auction host. The auction was not for a few more minutes, enough for the Trade Federation Delegation to arrive within the gambling floor to probe for information using the conversation of commerce to disguise the intent.

"Greetings, I was wondering if you could tell me something about the financial state of Cantonica." Sentapoth inquired about the financial condition of Cantonica to a Toydarian Minister who was seated nearby the high-stakes table in the corner. The Toydarian appeared puzzled at first, but then a discreet hand gesture indicated to him that the Neimoidian was interested in discussing business matters rather than just financial statistics and shortcomings.

"Cantonica is quite pleasant, provided one can manage the credit chips slipping out of one's hand, seemingly by magic," the Toydarian chuckled, implying to the Neimoidian that each word held a dual significance: the credit chips symbolized a rise in activity, and the mysterious nature of their arrival indicated a deliberate intention.

 

[Credius Nargath]

Detail: [X] [X] [X] [X]
Name: 'Credius A. Nargath'
Representation: Classified

The Protocol droid looked up from their seat, tilting their head to the side as this Chase person complained or maybe explained why it was somewhat strange to see the lot of them already present at the auction before they had actually brought forth their credits and credentials. Letting out what could be described as a metallic sigh, where no actual air was displaced at all, the Protocol Droid functioning as the intermediary between their Master and this establishment looked at the datapad the man was holding out, for a moment the False man's eyes flashed with a spectrum of colors, it was but for one moment, but even if it was within the span of someone blinking their eyes, it could have been noticed.

In the meantime, the half a dozen massive scleratis droids looked down upon Chase, their cold and inhuman appearance granting them additional presence and though they did not move or make any sound, it couldn't be made clearer that these droids were a threat to any and all who would dare to even think of laying a hand on the Protocol Droid who seemed to be in command of the entire lot.

When the Protocol Droid's eyes turned back to normal, a chuckle escaped their vocoder, a strangely harsh, yet also strangely human sound for what was essentially nothing but cybernetics, plating and wiring. "Seems like I'll have to head to the Casino in that case, you have my thanks..."

Upon further inspection, Chase would notice that on his pad, the Protocol droid was now listed as Credius A. Nargath and that apparently the requested deposit had been handled, showing that whomever was in control of these droids from behind the scenes had both the wealth and the means to do something like that without any effort at all.

"For now, let's hope everything is in order for you to not disturb us anymore unless when it is required..." 'Credius' reached out towards Chase's shoulder, placing their heavy hand upon it and giving a few, surprisingly heavy pats. "Good? Good. No worries than."

After that little altercation, the Droids made their way to the register to collect their credit for the casino, reaching out for one of the large security droids to hold on to the physical chips that had to act as the amount of credits they would be allowed to spend in the casino. The protocol Droid utilizing the name and likeness of the Former Marquis of House Nargath looked around for a bit, noticing some games with cards, others with what looked like blocks, even some with dice. Processing these images and the games themselves, the droid accessed the network in order to instantly learn and comprehend the rules of each and every game which had been provided to the guests within the casino.

"Patterns of logic and mathematics versus the art of dealing and sleight of hand," The man let out a sigh before moving on to the table which seemed to be the most interesting for the moment. "So let's see...the goal is to reach a certain number with a minimal amount of cards and beat the opponent or the house...I think this is going to be interesting."

Placing some chips on the table, 'Credius' started playing a game...not really getting into the games like others, but if it could pass the time, that was all he needed.

TAGS: OPEN
​

​

 

[Olivia Pendleton]

Olivia let herself indulge in the absurdity of the situation. Luckier? Oh, if he only knew.

"I think the answer to that will depend on what newspapers you read," Olivia said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I am, for the moment, the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Pendleton Defense Industries." The company had been in the papers recently for the scandal that came about from her husband's ill-advised decision to provide some Galactic Alliance contractors with an inferior alloy, his subsequent indictment at the hands of the Alliance's Department of Justice, and her husband's recent death, ostensibly by suicide as a result of the scrutiny.

Pendleton Defense Industries was thus in the uncomfortable position of being publicly scandalized and privately dominated by the Department of Justice and, by some extension, the Alliance's law enforcement arm. That was part of the reason she was here; if she could obtain the data drive, Olivia thought she could leverage it to get herself some breathing room, get the Alliance off her back with a show of goodwill.

Or else as a tool of revenge. Olivia would decide depending on how big a son-of-a-queen her handler was in the moment.

Olivia raised her glass with the others, murmuring her agreement with Mr. Pavond's quasi-toast. "Allow me," she said, setting her now-empty glass down too. She gestured for a waiter. "Another, please, and you can put another of Mr. Pavond's drink on my tab. Actually, how about a round for the entire table?"

The waiter shuffled off and Olivia turned her attention back to the game. How much did she have to dump into this game to get the attention of the people running this auction? She lost another bundle of credits with an astronomical 35 (how? how was it possible, Olivia asked herself) and then upped her bid again. "What exactly is a vaparator?" Olivia asked, genuinely curious. "I have heard the term used several ways."

INTERACTING WITH: Ronval Rubat​

 

[Torn Eskol]

DEVIL HIMSELF






​

SIA SPECDIV
AGENT ESKOL


Rabbit looked up at the newcomer.

"Credius" looked bored. Bored and uninterested in the game. Rabbit knew that he would have to provide some more... material things than credits. His line of credit wasn't good, but. He had a few things that bad guys might want. Off the top of his head, the next 30 days of encryption keys for the Alliance. Two old blockade runners that the Alliance confiscated, a stockpile of weapons. Proton torpedos, rifles, armor, ammunition. Artillery pieces. The Alliance's many wars had made stockpiles of weapons all across the galaxy. Even better, the Galaxy's constant rotating hands meant that with things like the NIO, the Confederacy, the Silver Jedi going away-

Well, all their stuff was still out there. And Rabbit knew about it more than most. It was part of his job, and part of his way to scrape by a little better. Sure, he'd only sell to friendly militias and the like, but- an Agent's salary wasn't enough to buy a nice watch twice a year. Besides, it would've gone to waste or worse, the enemy could get ahold of the old stockpiles. Beyond that-

The locations of several listening and outposts for smugglers to bypass, patrol routes, patterns. 30 days of uninterrupted smuggling may not have sounded like a lot of time, but 30 days without a single shipment or smuggling operation being intercepted?

Invaluable to the bad guys.

No, money wasn't the most valuable thing in the galaxy.

Sometimes the means to evade the Alliance, to bypass them, was better.

Going back to Credius, Rabbit- Sel, looked at him across the table. Sel was a hard mother fucker, an arms dealer, a sneak. He took a drag on something awful- not just a cigarette, and sipped at another drink. Sel couldn't help but stare- the fella was big. Even through the Force, Rabbit was hard to read. He had been trained to resist Jedi and Sith interrogation techniques, and even taught how to resist their mental probing- but not overtly. Through the force, there wasn't any hint of deceit, any hint of subterfuge or danger. He lightly covered his left arm- the one with the carbon-polymer composite knife strapped to his arm. It was thin, flat, double edged. Just for stabbing.

"You may not get too far touting around droids in a casino, you know."

Genuine advice, or an insult, or part of the character? Rabbit was hard to figure out.

Credius Nargath

 

[Ronval Rubat]

HIGH_ROLLER
Special Agent ██████ - 'R U S T Y' Mister Varlo Pavond
Strategic Intelligence Agency Chief Executive Officer of VaporPro Industrial & Engineering​

Location: Cantonica
Objective: Spend Some Cash
Equipment: Flute of Champagne, B.R.I.E.F.C.A.S.E briefcase, E.G.G.S. lucky charm, C.O.M.P.A.C.T. cosmetic holder, C.H.R.O.N.O.S. watch

Spoiler: disguise drip check

Tags:
Interacting Olivia Pendleton
Fellow SIA uh nobody in particular Delphine Grosvenor Torn Eskol

"I think the answer to that will depend on what newspapers you read," Olivia said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I am, for the moment, the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Pendleton Defense Industries."

For the moment.

Varlo ruminated on that for a moment- whatever the case may be, he believed he had enough information to identify and piece together a motivation. Alliance corpo, likely in a precarious position. The question then was- was she in this to use the information to remain on the Alliance's nice side? Or as... forceful leverage? Perhaps even to give it to someone that could give her protection if she decided to break from the Alliance?

"Well, never did like the papers. Prefer to hear it straight from the source- so, how has your tenure been treating you, Miss Chairman?"

Olivia raised her glass with the others, murmuring her agreement with Mr. Pavond's quasi-toast. "Allow me," she said, setting her now-empty glass down too. She gestured for a waiter. "Another, please, and you can put another of Mr. Pavond's drink on my tab. Actually, how about a round for the entire table?"

Varlo smiled, happily receiving a new glass of the ice brandy. Good stuff- and fortunately, the ice helped dilute the alcohol, keeping him mostly sharp. The other patrons were also rather pleased with the free round of drinks. He upped his bet again. "Here we go." One of the other gamblers chuckled and upped his bet too.

"What exactly is a vaparator?" Olivia asked, genuinely curious. "I have heard the term used several ways."

"Oh yes, well, conveniently, VaporPro has expended into both fields. Coincidental, I assure you." Another bust. Another hundreds of thousands of creds flushed away. Varlo knew that every buy-in to the auction would likely spread out into the grey market ecosystem. Every moment of idle conversation and suave liquor here was the dividends of funds channeled into the Alliance's enemies. Heady stuff.

"So that means moisture farms vaporators on desert worlds- that was my original field- and then later, expanding into ventilation and cooling. Industrial sized and 'unusual environment' air-conditioning stuff, so that's evaporators and condenser units. Not as exciting as the defence field, I take it?" Varlo gave a wry smile.

 

[Diana Fox]

​

Diana rolled her eyes. The thing about Trent Veillion was that he had an answer for everything. In a sticky situation that came in handy. At other times, it could be a challenge. Luckily for him he was good-looking. That kind of energy in a pocket-protector-wearing nerd -- the other Alliance handlers she had had the misfortune of dealing with on occasion -- would be downright irritating.

"Correction -- darling," Diana said pointedly. "You are the Galactic Alliance. Me? Decidedly not."

She glanced at the leatherette sofa across from him, where a throw blanket lay rumpled. "I don't know about all of them," said Diana cautiously, her eyes cutting back towards the open back of the yacht, as if itching to get back to the surveillance. Perhaps there was more dedicated public servant to her than she let on. Or maybe she was just after the lucrative bonus that came with a successful operation.

"But I'm glad you asked." She went over to the sofa and tugged the blanket, revealing a sniper rifle that was almost as long as Diana was tall. "I've been practicing. I reckon I could pop four, five skulls before they get to through the door. The trick is to nail the ones closest, so their bodies will cause a tripping hazard."

The criminal looked fondly at the rifle before tossing the blanket over again.

"As far as Rishi... things are proceeding according to plan. It will be a few weeks until we start seeing a profit, but that's... normal." A sly smirk over her shoulder. "Why? Got a hole in your pocket for credits?"

Trent Veillion​

 

[Matthias Colcrip]

SECRETS IN STARLIGHT

Matthias sat and listened as Blue did her usual secret agent work. He found it to be both impressive and amusing. Impressive because, if he was being honest with himself, he hadn't met anyone quite like her. A true social chameleon with the ability to blend into and crowd regardless of that crowd's belief or creed. She was able to portray these completely different personalities all without effort, or at least to him it appeared effortless.

Yet no matter how impressive an act she put on, it was the feeling of amusement that had more of a grasp on Matthias. After all this woman who helped him clear a gangster den on Tatooine, rescued him, who he then rescued in return, and who was the only person in the galaxy he had any real chemistry with… he didn’t even know her name.

Matthias grabbed the bottle and finished it in a final gulp. He decided he didn't want to think about that anymore. He thought it was time for something new.

Making his way through the crowd, Matthias walked about the gaming floor. Everyone was mostly having a good time, those few who weren't usually opposite those luck favored more. He didn't gamble and indeed tonight he wasn't going to start. Instead he roamed about and only appeared interested in the various games and tables available. Instead he began examining security; cameras, guards, droids they might trip security, anything and everything he could see.

"Don't be alarmed if you see me strolling about," he whispered to the comm in his ear, "Just taking in the sights," he jokingly remarked. Now if they bumped into each other she'd at least know he wasn't roaming around mindlessly after spending time at the bar. He didn't want her to get any bad impressions. He wasn't sure why, but regardless he pressed on and continued to attempt to focus at the task at hand: count security, wait for the auction, don't get caught.​

Ines Pen-Ar-Lan @Open

 

[Credius Nargath]

Detail: [X] [X] [X] [X]
Name: 'Credius A. Nargath'
Representation: Classified

The Sceleratis kept themselves mainly quiet, guarding their charge from several feet distance to allow some breathing space for the protocol droid to do their thing. However, the distance in question was small enough for the sceleratii to be able to traverse it within the blink of an eye, something 'Credius' knew all too well, granting the droid some comfort to know that it would be relatively hard for others to become a nuissance and take him down without proper retaliation.

AS he was playing the game, it seemed that there was one thing the droid had not counted on: luck, a power that simply couldn't be meassured, a quantity and a quality that couldn't e verified in mathematics and code. However, while he was simply passing the time as he had been instructed by this attendant earlier, 'Credius' did not fail to notice the approach of another man.

While his own sensors and scanners picked up the prying eyes, the droid calmly continued his game and ignored the prying eyes until they finally spoke up, right after they seemed to move their arms a bit, as if to hide something or maybe just because they simply got tired from leaning on the table. 'Credius' didn't care too much though.

"You may not get too far touting around droids in a casino, you know."

A metallic sounding chuckle escaped 'Credius' mouth, a hint to the fact that it wasn't a man who got himself a droid security team, but a droid with a droid security team. If anything, this should've made it clear that whomever was in charge of these droids, was either careful, extremely cautious or possible indisposed to come to this place themselves. Still, another chuckle left 'Credius' mouth as he raised his eyebrows a bit and glanced at the gruff looking stranger. "Sometimes it is better to show one's hand rather than having to take risks with hidden trumpcards. A public show of force is already more of a deterrent than just hoping you have protection, not knowing how, where and when someone may strike your unprotected self."

TAGS: Torn Eskol
​

 

[Mercury]

A different waiter approached the table with Ronval Rubat and Olivia Pendleton , carrying a large tray of drinks. He weaved through the other tables, careful not to let a drop spill. Perhaps not the most elegant of movements, not the most polished, but he thought it wasn't bad for his first day on the job. He dispensed the drinks working from one side to the other, and for the two protagonists at the table he laid out a special coaster: an invitation to the secret auction taking place that evening.

"Your patronage this evening is much appreciated sir," Rum said. "Madam. My employer would like to invite you to an exclusive... get together. You'll find the details right there." He tapped the invitations, each with a corner placed under their cocktail glasses. "The minimum deposit for the event is five hundred million. I can send the cashier over if you'll need it."

With a slight bow, he backed away from the table. Above him, the eye-in-the-sky camera zoomed in on Ronval Rubat and Olivia Pendleton . Watching. Waiting.