Streamlining The Process (Aurelia)

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"]


Aurelia being a corrupt nepotist did not surprise Callisto. Her files had indicated as much, and in any case it was not surprising in an organic leader. Coruscant had not been built on fluffy happiness and sappy idealism, much as certain fools would like to think otherwise.



"No, ma'am. I'll take care of it," the red-headed terminatrix said calmly, then departed. One advantage of droids was that in most cases they tended not to speechify and kept to the point. While corruption in the family was clearly permitted, having 'lower caste scum' steal was naturally the worst thing imaginable. There was no change in Callisto's placid expression but deep down there was still the memory of having been 'lower caste scum'. On a planet that had been ravaged by the Republic Aurelia led.


However, Callisto was a murderous killer droid and not a wet hen, so this did not cause a sudden emotional reaction. That would have been illogical. What was logical was...recycling the assistant. He would perish and then rise again, purged of organic weaknesss. And her cover would be further enhanced by riding Aurelia of an annoyance.

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Callisto Scarlett"]
Aurelia watched her go and chuckled. Well, that would keep the robot occupied for a while. Gannus would be gotten rid of, and it would be instructive to see what her 'Assistant' did.

In the meantime, Aurelia had some appointments, and she wasn't that keen on having the droid standing over her for these meetings, so it had all worked out rather well!

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"]


The fact that the Senator probably wanted her out of the way did not escape Callisto, but it was of no consequence. She would make her way in soon enough. Besides, the biggest secret was the one that eluded Aurelia! But first things first. She had familiarised herself with Gannus' schedule and determined that this hour he should be at work in his office, while Valentinian was officially off seeing business partners.


Which presumably was a cover for in various forms of debauchery. There were various ways to dispose of him, but Archangel had given her the programming for...other methods to lure a target out. Not everything had to be resolved with a hammer!


As it happened Gannus had not only followed his boss' good example by pocketing Company monies, though of course that was bad in his case because of his class, but by accumulating a rather significant significant debt. Betting on swoop bike races was not only frowned upon in 'the better part of society', but also very costly. His creditors were also...not very nice people. During her hacking Callisto had actually come across a holomessage. There was the hint that he might try to disentangle himself from his debts by selling insider information. It was convenient that as an HRD she could imitate voices.


Thus Gannus would soon receive an auditory message purporting to be from his creditor and informing him in no uncertain terms that they wanted a meeting. Likewise a location was named, out of sight of his corporate masters.

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Callisto Scarlett"]
Gannus was indeed there at the expected meeting place, an area in lower level Anaxes not frequented by law enforcement or Jedi.
However, showing a bit more brains than usual, he’d come with two battle droids as backup and a blaster at his side. He stood and waited impatiently for who he thought was Noxan, a functionary for the local criminal boss.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"]

Human replica droids were not infallible, much as they liked to act as if they were. So while Callisto could not fully anticipate the manner in which Gannus would respond, it was a reasonable supposition that he would have enough brains to bring some backup. After all, the creditors with whom he was dealing with were a quite nasty lot.


You did not become an underlord of the Cartel without having the stomach to pour petrol over people. The meeting place was an area in lower level Anaxes where neither the local constabulary nor the Jedi would tread. Thus is it was the perfect site for illicit dealings...or for an ambush. By the time word would reach the guardians of peace and justice, their work would be for naught. The alley was dark and foreboding, as alleys tend to be in any work of fiction.


However, Callisto would not be walking up to him. Sure, she could probably take out the droids at close range, but Gannus was expecting something else entirely and the firefight might give him chance to escape. Instead she was hiding in a building that overlooked the alleyway, in cover behind a window.


Armed with a shatter rifle, ironically enough a weapon the heretical droid [member="HK-36"] was terribly fond of. Silenced rounds propelled at tremendous speed and velocity, capable of punching even through heavy armour. Her rifle followed the patterns of movement ahead of her as Gannus grew visibly impatient. She had them in her sights and so she squeezed the trigger, shots ringing out for the droids in quick succession. A third was reserved for Gannus' right kneecap, which was always a good place to hit someone.

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Callisto Scarlett"]
The sudden, precise onslaught caught the party completely by surprise. After all, they were expecting a shake down. A man couldn’t repay money if he was dead, after all.
Gannus went down screaming, wildly looking around and fired his blaster randomly into the shadows, but had no idea where the attack had come from.
“Show yourself!” he shouted to the menacing silence after his outburst.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"]


From the shadows Callisto suddenly emerged, blaster pistol in hand. The droids had been taken out, now only Gannus was left. By chance one of his poorly aimed shots actually hit her and for a moment she shook slightly under the blast. Her eyes flashed a venomous crimson, bringing her true nature to light.


She raised her gun and squeezed the trigger, firing off stun blasts at Gannus. Her shots were well-aimed and precise, so down he would go to join the rest of the riff-raff and homeless Archangel had made a habit of preying upon in the lower levels of Anaxes.

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Callisto Scarlett"]
With Gannus subdued the unfortunate human could be hauled off. The processing machines were always hungry, after all!

Aurelia meanwhile went about her daily routine and was in her office and waiting for Callisto’s report and presence the next morning….

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"]


Mission accomplished and all that. Gannus was hauled off and picked up by a nondescript truck that, unbeknownst to anyone except Callisto and the machines driving it, had also loaded a couple homeless people no one would miss. The vehicle went off and soon their living cargo would be on a ship and out of the system before anyone noticed.


Perhaps Gannus would be missed, but enquiries would lead to nothing until the police concluded gangsters had done the job. Callisto had been in touch with Moira and Maelion. His vacant spot would be filled by an operative of theirs, unbeknownst to Saelari Mining management.


On the next day Callisto arrived in Aurelia's office, punctual as ever. She understood the importance of need to know basis. "The situation has been resolved, ma'am."

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Callisto Scarlett"]
Aurelia looked up with a cunning smile. “Yes, I heard that Mr Gannus did not appear for work and that a new person has taken his place.”
She shrugged. “Well, so long as the new one doesn’t get uppity, I have no concerns.”
The implication that the man had been murdered didn’t seem to worry Aurelia at all.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"]


Aurelia was unphased, which did not surprise Callisto. She remembered the woman when she had been chancellor. As a matter of fact, she had been one of her pawns there. One of the many cogs in the war machine on a forgotten planet that continued to be a hellhole and a perennial thorn in everyone's side.


However, she showed no emotional reaction. Perhaps she might have felt some satisfaction that Aurelia was completely in the dark about the hidden power that was pulling her strings. Step by step Archangel would strengthen its grip over her company and senatorial office, then Pylos itself. Baby steps, of course, since the goal was to maintain secrecy. It would be a long time going before the true process began. "Yes, ma'am. What are your orders for me?" she asked. To the point as usual, no unnecessary comments or small talk.

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Callisto Scarlett"]
Aurelia peered at her, frowned. “Go and make yourself useful, and don’t get oil anywhere it shouldn’t be,” she said dismissively.
When her new aide was gone Aurelia opened a draw of her desk and pulled out a bottle of spirits. It was early, sure, but she didn’t seem to even get buzzed these days. She put it down to the change in air to Anaxes….

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"]


With that Callisto departed. he did have an idea about how to make herself 'useful' since her boss was not watching over her shoulder. There had been some rumours about...dissidents on Pylos. Elements disgruntled with the Republic. To be sure they were an eclectic mixture of old school secessionists, anti-Jedi agitators who thought the magi were making a power grab, along with 'liberals' who simply did not like the Saelari Dynasty's stranglehold on the planet.


Except opposition to the regime clearly was opposition to the war effort. Opposition to the war effort meant collaboration with the Sith. Clearly no risks could be taken after so many acts of betrayal. Something for her to look into and research, build a case step by step. Archangel may be able to help when it came to providing...evidence.


Meanwhile Maelion Liates and Moira Skaldi would be working on something else entirely. Namely on Project Elysium...