Ask Coruscant A Slice of the Pie

[Reshelle Solus]

Appropriately shady cantina, Lower levels, Coruscant​

"Pieslice," she muttered over her comms as she made her way towards the bar, her voice modulator and sound dampener set to a private setting so that her words were sealed within her helmet, "who names their child Pieslice?"

"It's a slicer name," came the reply in her ear, her siblings keeping in touch for a few more minutes before they made the jump out of the system, "they probably have a perfectly reasonable name they were given at birth. Bob, or Guinevere."

That only made her let out an exasperated grunt. "So they picked the name themselves? Of all the names, in all the languages, they picked Pieslice? This is evolution catching up with them for being so frickin stupid."

All that came back was a chuckle, which turned into a laugh when she tried to place an order only for the bartender to stare at her with growing frustration. "Still us." She cursed under her breath. "Shut up Guinevere." With that last retort she pressed a button on her gauntlet so that her words actually escaped the confines of her helmet.

"A Corellian sunrise," she ordered, and the bartended started moving to make the drink, "and a slice of pie." He paused at that, taking measure of her before nodding and getting back to making her drink. When he slid it across to her a little while later he also handed over a tracking fob to her. Nodding her thanks, she left some credits on the bar for him, including his payment for the information, and made for the rear exit. Her companion were due to meet her there, provided she sent them the confirmation that she had what they needed.

Just then a ping chimed in her helmet, they were about to exit the system. "Signing, off. Don't you die while we're gone Reshi."

Her only response was to utter a wordless prayer for their safe return, before pressing another button on her gauntlet. As the broadcast was sent to her co-conspirators, she stepped out of the cantina and made herself comfortable against its outside wall. The hunt was afoot.

@Eccles @Arclight @Sreeya @Logan

 

[Kara Zaa Fenn]

They'd been on Coruscant for almost a week now and the credits on their accounts were dwindling fast. Who knew everything on Coruscant was so much more expensive than Byblos? Add that Kara knew no one in the Core, no contacts, no regular contractors, no gangs, no mercs and no other hunters. This was one big jungle of predators and no one to give a 'rural chick' like Kara a break. She had tried to get the bounty for the Onderon Crown Jewels, but the BHG agent just laughed at her. 'You!? You don't even own a ship. You're a nobody'. Well, she hadn't been a nobody on Byblos.. kriff, she had to start all over didn't she? The only one she managed to wrestle from the agent was 'Pieslice' but it came with a caveat: working with a Mandalorian.

Caveat or not: Pieslice was part of the KnowOnes slicer collective, which in turn was part of the Lower Five. That was more easily explained as follows: Every scoundrel, enforcer, thug, spicer, slicer and backstabber on the levels 1000 to 1300 were gonna be gunning for them once they find out they're pursuing a bounty on their turf.

This was way more dangerous that any job on Byblos had been and all Kara had was Val and another Mandalorian. On top of that she definitely struck out with the local mercs. 'wont work with a rookie' well kriff you too! So what options did she have? She rang Edin (@Sreeya) to tag along. He was a pro that had been proven to be dependable back on Byblos. Kara liked the thought of having him around again. Next up was a conundrum. Going after a slicer with three blastertoting mercs was probably the karkest idea ever, so after some begging with the local agent she eventually got a name, K3Y (@Logan). Kara had no idea how slicers worked. Would she show up to the meet or call herself in while staying behind at some fancy rig?

They'd find out soon enough, because they just reached the alley and Kara lit up her last cigara as they waited for the Mandalorian to came out the rear exit. "High risk, again-" she grinned towards Val and Edin, "-but this job will put us on the map here. Only going up from here." and that last part was her most sincerest hope. Once they knew Kara 'the fixer' was dependable she would no doubt be contacted for private bounties like art heists and megacorp convoy robbing. The big leagues.

@Wit @Arclight @Sreeya @Logan

 

[Kiara Shan]

It had been awhile since Kiara had spent any significant time on Coruscant. In her experience, a keen slicer could make way more money in places closer to the outer rim, where advanced tech was scarcer and people who actually knew what the kriff they were doing with it were even rarer than that.

Despite that, several days ago she had received a correspondence that piqued her interest. A group of people looking to make a splash were going after a rival slicer, Pieslice. Kiara had tangoed with them before, trying to keep them out of somewhere she was being paid to keep safe.

Pieslice was good at their work though, but so was she. Kiara had managed to keep sticky pie fingers out of most of the sensitive information. Most.

Kiara sat alone in a corner booth of some hovel of a cafe, her attention drifting despite typing away on a datapad. Eventually a message flashed across her screen. Her contact for the bounty letting her know it was game time.

It didn't take long for Ki to arrive at the rendezvous point, though it appeared she was not the first. Nodding first to Kara and then to Reshelle, Kiara eyed the latter somewhat suspiciously. She'd never worked with Mandalorians before.

Face hidden behind her armor - worn mostly for identity protection, though Kiara was now sure that being grouped with a Mando meant that they'd likely find themselves in the middle of a firefight or something very soon - the slicer decided to introduce herself.

I'm K3Y. She said simply, her voice somewhat scrambled by the tech in her face mask. Is this everyone?

@Wit @Arclight @Sreeya @Eccles

 

[Valorie Kefka]

Coruscant. Another city that covered the planet. Another world of urban canyons and durasteel alleyways. Kriff.

"Kara I swear you told me we were going to Ryloth." She complained through the lit cigarette that hung from her mouth, taking a deep inhale and blowing smoke out her nostrils. Leaning with her arms crossed and her back against the alley wall, she glared at Kara through the smoke that rose from her nose. "Where's the beaches? where's the bitches in bikinis?" Sure, she could see girls in bikinis, but she had to pay for it here.

And pay for it she did. Between the gambling and partying she had already blown through a huge wad of credits, not to mention the exorbitant lap dance rates on the core world...

Her line of thought was derailed when an armored and partially masked figure walked up to them and introduced herself. K3Y, their slicer. "Sup girl," Val gave the woman an upward not of her chin, "Name's Val. Think we're waiting on a Mando and a Merc, some cat-boy who thinks he's funny." She said nonchalantly as she stepped away from the wall, grabbing the cig from her mouth with one hand while holding the other one out for a shake.

@Logan @Sreeya @Eccles @Wit

 

[Edin Frost]

Edin was horribly hungover - he too splurged a bit with his newly earned funds. His head was throbbing and his eyes were slightly red, hair a little disheveled. He ran his fingers through the strands as he strode up to the others just as he overheard Val remark about it.

“Love you too, Hot Mess, is that your very own cigarra?” He said with a fanged grin before his gaze flicked to the others as he casually swiped a cigarra from Val with cat-like reflexes. She had a habit of bumming them off everyone around her. He didn’t bother with a helmet this time considering he was actually more anonymous without it.

Unlike the others, he had no reservations about working with a Mando. Being from Tatooine meant he worked with them many times prior and he didn’t mind the chaos they usually dragged with them. It often caused enough distraction for him to do what he needed. He briefly glanced over at the woman he hadn't met before, though it was hard to form opinions when someone was helmeted. Edin pulled from the cigarra and exhaled some smoke before looking at Kara.

“Have a good feeling about this,” He remarked, “Let’s hope you’re two for two.”

@Eccles @Logan @Wit @Arclight

 

[Reshelle Solus]

With everyone gathering in the alleyway, Reshi made her way over, arriving as the last arrival, the mercenary from the descriptions, spoke up. "You shouldn't tempt fate like that friend," she said to the man as she reached the group, "brings bad luck. The name's Reshelle, and this must be all of us." She took a moment to size them up, before nodding and beginning to walk. "Let's get out of here," she said as she walked past them towards the entrance to the alley, following the signal on the fob, "we can talk as we walk."

Once on the main thoroughfare, and away from the prying eyes of other potential hunters at the cantina, she slowed down a little. "So," she started, "tell me. Who did you guys piss off to get stuck with me? The guild isn't particularly hot about my kind right now, so you must have done something to someone." She had wondered if it was simply because they were new, but the desk jockeys the guild hired were known to hold grudges, and sometimes a grudge had a great story behind it. Maybe they were a story as well, and she liked a good story.

The fob ultimately brought them to a stocky looking building, three stories tall with a single entrance at the front. And standing in front of it were three guards. A quick glance revealed at least four others scattered in the vicinity, and there were probably more inside the building. Whoever was in there, they had some solid security. She glanced at the merc, mild amusement in her voice as she spoke. "See, bad luck."

@Eccles @Arclight @Sreeya @Logan

 

[Kara Zaa Fenn]

Kara rolled her eyes. "For the tenth time, I'm sorry-" she sighed, looking at an accusatory Val. "-I thought the starliner went one way on the Corellian Run and instead it went the other. Besides," her eyes narrowed as she recalled their first ever departure from Byblos, Stargaze Station, the Sing Sang Club and the rather rushed boarding of the high-class starliner. "I seem to remember we were both too drunk to notice."

There was no time for Val to share in the blame, however, as the slicer arrived at the opportune moment for the redhead. "I'm Kara," she smiled at the slicer who would probably recognize the name as the one paying her cut once the job was completed successfully. Let's hope this slicer was they Key to getting their slice of the pie.

When the Mandalorian greeted them, Kara wasn't sure what to think. This one was more talkative than the last one, but she doubted that Reshelle would be as keen to part with half her cut just to know what they rest would do with theirs. At least she seemed more professional, which, considering the company usually kept, was a breath of fresh air. "We're new on Coruscant," the Byblos-native explained, "No local rep to get in on the big bounties here." That should explain why they were teamed up with a Mandalorian, at least. In the bounty business your rep was everything and the most profitable fobs always went to those hunters with the biggest local rep. Just the way things were.

Arriving at the building, Kara noticed the security was tight and thus she turned to Edin (@Sreeya), their resident sneakthief. "Pose any trouble?"

@Wit @Arclight @Sreeya @Logan

 

[Kiara Shan]

Kiara remained mostly quiet as they followed the Mandalorian to their destination. It seemed like she was an outsider to this group in more ways than one. Not only had she never really done any bounty work at all, apparently some in the group were already acquainted with one another.

As the group approached a short building, its security force evident, Ki let out a small sigh. She hadn't expected things swimmingly the entire time, but then again, it would have been nice to go more than ten minutes before encountering their first.. situation.

Looking up towards the roof, Kiara noticed a small electrical instillation. Probably used to bring holonet into the building or some sort of another communications array. Either way, it was a door for people like her.

I can grapple line to the roof and slice into that array up there. Likely would be able to cut security, if they have any. At the very least should be able to sever communications getting out, so no backup coming should we have to go loud. Kiara said to the group. Shouldn't be too hard to get up there without anyone noticing.

Kiara would wait to see if the others had any better plans before acting. In situations like this, running off half-cocked was how people ended up with a blaster bolt in between their eyes.

@Wit @Arclight @Sreeya @Eccles

 

[Edin Frost]

Edin flashed a grin to the Mando, “I quite enjoy working with Mandos actually. They are great at making a scene and letting me quietly do my job,” He gave her a playful wink as they kept walking.

Having done these kinds of jobs many times before, he wasn’t entirely surprised by the level of guards in the way. Edin listened to the others as his eyes took in sight of the building and possible weak points. He glanced over at Kara when she spoke, “Only if we spook them at once.”

The slicer’s plan was a solid one. Edin reached for his rifle and looked through the scope, panning over the roof, “Two up there,” He said quietly, “I can take out the guy along the east side of the wall and you can get up from there unobstructed.”

As an assassin, he was prepared with silencers and means to take effective shots in situations like this. He split off from the group to take up position to drop the target hopefully without triggering anything.

Once he was situated, he looked through his scope, aimed and fired. He watched the man drop successfully. However, luck was not on their side as another man just so happened to come up to the roof right then. He saw the other guard drop and panicked, rushing back the way he came and sounding the alarms.

“Shit,” Edin muttered to himself and through the comms channels between them all.

Dice Roll: 3/20

@Eccles @Arclight @Logan @Wit