Ziost - Crown of the Sith Empire

"Are you geared up to go Lo?" Char gives himself a bit of a patdown, trying to ensure that he's all put together, and that he strikes a figure.

"My gears do appear to be functional Master Char." L0-R3, Char's droid replies.

Char sighs and buries his face into his palm. "I get the one protocol droid who doesn't understand idioms. It's going to get us killed some day."

That statement wasn't quite right, or even mostly right. L0-R3, sometimes called "Lo" by his owner wasn't a stock protocol droid, though it seemed that some basic functions had been loaded on. Furthermore, the situation the pair was about to walk into was far more likely to get the pair killed.

The cantina is a bit dusty and quiet in the late morning, before when most customers would be likely to be dropping by. That reason was why Char had chosen it. He scans the rooms as he walks in, and identifies the most likely booth of his potential clients and slides in. "So, I hear that you are looking for an upgrade to your communications package."

A portly human woman looked up form her burger and said, “Oh you must be the one I am supposed to meet, what was this about what now?”

"I'm a salesman of sorts, of a very particular trade. I sell...well, let's call it Communications Services." Char holds out his hands, a symbol of open favor and goodwill. "Now, I'm a simple man. I believe that the common man deserves to have his business as private as possible. I think you can appreciate that, yes?"

Char leans back a little, trying to appear as confident as possible. "I've been hearing a lot of buzz lately, of the sort that its harder and harder for good citizen of the Empire to conduct their business. I would like to offer those services."

Char pauses, suspecting that the next part would be what could possibly sell it. "And sometimes, to keep that right, you need to have someone doing the same thing to the people who are trying it on you. Not to be too humble, but I'm that person."

She gestured with her fork and said, “What’s the cost, I don’t give two bantha poodoos about the sales pitch… just give me the cred cost.”

"For you?" Char seems to think for a moment. "Consider it a free sample. There are more important things than credits, aren't there ma chere?"

Cher's smile is a bit too bright, his eyes taking on a predatory hunger.

"If you think it sounds too good to be true, consider this: if I'm as good as I say I am you can't afford not to hire me."

“I don’t buy it,” she said putting her fork down. “Just giving something for nothing, ain’t buying it… too many bloody alarms in me head.”

Char lets out a mirthless chuckle. "I understand the hesitation. I myself am wary whenever someone tries too hard of a sell. I'll put it to you this way: I want to move my little business into some, let's call it, "aggressive expansion". To do that, I need things, things that can't be gained quickly or easily with a wave of a credit stick."

Char raises a hand and begins to count off items on his fingers. "First is equipment. Yes, sometimes credits will do, but for the fun stuff it sets up the red flags we are trying to avoid and it takes time. Second, personnel. People who I know have their heads in the noose as much as mine, and whose discretion and loyalties can be counted on. Three...reputation."

Char pauses, the genial air dropping for a moment. "Gear. Men. Street Cred. Youse got it. That "free taste" is my chance to get that last one. And if you like my work, I get access to the first two, ya dig?"

“You want our service you have to bleed for it, give to the case with more than a smile. You want to work with us then you will need to do some legwork for the team, savvy?” she replied pushing the plate aside.

“You want to work with us, you need to do work for us.”

Char pauses. "I am not opposed to some legwork, and willingness to show what I can do. What was the phrase"“Y,ou want to work with us, you need to do work for us.”? I believe that's what I was offering in the first place. I assume that you would like your trial of my services on a task of your choosing then?"

"Something like that," she responded.

"We need some evidence expunged from Imperial Intelligence, feel like cracking the government?"

Char grins. "Now you're talking my tongue!" He claps Lo on the back, wincing as the slap of his bare hand hits metal.

"How do you want it done?"

"Quietly and quickly," she responded.

"Once you have sliced in we need you to remove a list of names that will be provided to you. I do not have them."

"And you would like me to slice, what, here and now?" Char raises an eyebrow.

"Before you decide to sell us something," she replied.

Char nods and starts to pull out his tools and datapad." Alright then."

These people are being cagey. Time to see if they actually want to what I'm selling.

Char starts to tap away when an alert caught his eye. He had some feelers out, but someone was broadcasting on a channel he had cracked.

Well, I was looking to show that the government can be cracked...let's see what's happening...of course, I have to keep this encrypted. No sense in leading them right back here...

Stream baby Stream-Hard Computers with One Upgrade: 4eP+1eA+2eD+1eC 2 successes, 3 advantage


"Ha!' Char pumps a fist, and then notiices what's on the screen. "Oh! Oh. Oooooh. I think you might want to watch this."

The feed was scratchy, being relayed through Imperial comms networks, but it seemed that something serious was happening.

“I won’t go down easy… but I will keep it sporting, inside my ship is some Imperial Security officer who got too nosey… want to save him go ahead… but the ship is rigged to explode so don’t tarry.”

"Ummm...I think you might want to listen to this"

"I have no idea who that is," she responded.

"Hey, you wanted someone to crack the government comms. This is a live operation. I can try to dig deeper, but it's going to be based on what they are broadcasting. Maybe I can crack their individual decks or trace the source..."

(Computers or Underworld to get more information?)

OOC: Hard Computers or Skullduggery.

Char tries not to show his desperation as he syncs his brain implant directly into the datapad, wincing and snapping his eyes in a jolt.

Just keep slicing

"Master Char..." L0-R3 seems to tense but Char waves hin off.

"Its time to earn our rep Lo."

Telecoms Sales-Hard Computers: 4eP+1eA+3eD 5 successes, 1 threat, 1 Triumph