BHG Trial - Interception!

[Kiro]

As a rule, the Bounty Hunters' Guild preferred to be on the side of the angels as far as Republic law was involved, generally refusing contracts that directly opposed or hurt the Republic, considering they paid the Guild rather well in order for their services, and in order to keep their services from being turned against the Republic. But every rule had it's exception. And this happened to be one of them. A certain wealthy client had offered a frankly obscene sum of credits in order to spring a prisoner from a Republic Prisoner Transport headed to the supermax prison on Coruscant.

And because the Bounty Hunters' Guild preferred to avoid hurting the Republic, at least officially, this was also why this particular contract had been chosen as the Trial of one aspiring Hunter, Diva Tumi. She wasn't a true member of the Guild yet, so should her mission fail and she ended up caught, or dead, the Guild could easily deny any involvement and claim Ms. Tumi as yet another wannabee unaffiliated with the Guild.

In order for Diva to accomplish her mission, she would have to board the Republic prison transport while it was refueling and synchronizing it's navigation computers at a space station orbiting Anaxes. From there, it was a direct jump to Coruscant, where CSF would begin transporting the entire prisoner wing of the ship directly to the prison. So while at Anaxes Orbital, Diva had exactly one hour and fifteen minutes to infiltrate the ship, collect her acquisition and get out, or spend the remainder of her natural lifetime within a Republic supermax prison. If she succeeded, however, she would not only get a substantial payday, but she would also be a fully licensed member of the Bounty Hunters' Guild.

 

[Diva]

...docking, hold, checkpooint, starboard row, cell 4...starboard row, cell 4......starboard, 4.... **Alright Zekk, let's do this.

The Anaxes Depot was a gleeming testement to the world's successfu industrialization. Housing a half dozen full frieghter sized loading bays, countless docking terminals, and a small community of on base labor that provided every form of maintenance service a ship could need, and any service a weary crew required as well. Above the main concourse a great holoprojector proudly displayed the following for all to see:

Anaxes Orbital is Proud to Serve the Republic 1,743 standard days Without Incident!
​

That morning, Bay 2 had been seccured in anticipation of Republic Prison Transport- 24601 stopping over for refueling, and synchronization of their nav computer to ensure them direct passage to the core. Hardly a rare occurance, this was just another day for the trusted republic space station. Though Bay 2 was closed to the public, there was no reason to be concerned by the regular goings on: Hundreds, even thousands of sentients coming and going daily, and enough employees that many went lifetimes without meeting everyone on board. Noone thought twice about the "Jakku Orchid" (the falsified ID for Diva's ship, Matador) docking a level below Bay 2 a few hours earlier. And a young theelin woman with a human male companion? Not worth noticing. Two system analysts missing? Now that would absolutely be investigated, but not until hours later when they failed to end their shift, well after 24601 had left.


Diva Tumi was dressed in the crisp uniform of an official Depot systems administrator, a job that involved overseeing and trouble shooting repair and maintenance on starship communication, navigational, and other computer systems; all of which Diva knew little to nothing about. She had wanted to be a technician so she could know what she was talking about, but Zekk rightly insisted she "keep her purple gob shut" because a technician would never work with the plan. So here she was, dressed relatively well all things considered, but she felt naked. She barely had space on this uniform to hide any gear. Thanks only to the data kit toolbelt and sporty jacket was she able to conceal what she had: A single light blaster, lasercutters, and a remote smoke grenade which Zekk held the detonator to. Strapped to her calves under loose slacks were two dataspikes her partner insisted she take in case of emrgency, and a single sad little knife. Her hair was all pinned down and tucked under a tight little cap, with a pair of small safety goggles resting on her brow.

It nearly crushed her to ask for Zekk's help. The first hurdle was pride, the second sharing profit; but the flippin Guild, in it's final act of testing her patience, had given her 32 hours prep time and their was no plan she could concieve that didn't involve splicing. Thankfully, nearly 3 cycles ago, Diva had made a working friendship quite literally forged in fire with scrapyard dog and technical wizard Zekk Coron. He didn't come cheap, but if he did she probably wouldn't like him as much. The plan was solid, as solid as it could be, and now both scoundrels had working falsified security clearance, and were already standing on opposite sides of the Bay 2 floor when the prison frieghter touched down.

How soon before they're ready to link up? I'm gettin antsy...

Diva mumbled into her comm as she strode about the bay with a an air of tempered authority, fiddling with the large Datapad that "came with" her uniform, and examining all the things Zekk told her she should be examining, including the fueling platform once it sprang up from the floor. As she came around the back, she scrutinized the platform more carefully until a deep gap between bits of machinery revealed itself. At least a little slight of hand was something Diva could handle with aplomb, and accomplishing her task restored a bit of confidence as the soft tink of the smoke bomb assured her it was nested somewhere out of sight.

Package delivered....

Diva choked back a giggle of satisfaction at her clever use of lingo and continued to circle the frieghter studying it's crude brick-like frame and astonighing rows of blaster turrets. Staring on as the ramp finally lowered, Diva set her shoulders and prepared for the role of her lifetime, in that she either pulled this off, or would surely die trying.

Alright scrap-rat, let me know when I'm in the system and clear to approach.


In the back of her mind, she was sure she heard a clock start ticking.


@Rev @Tsunami @Kiro

​

 

[Rev]

Oh how his thoughts found it too easy to wander, and wander they did when so much was going on around him. Not only had he bummed a ride from Diva Tumi only a day prior, but she had managed to set him up with a rather lucrative job. Despite it being a more than likely life sentence in republic space, at that thought he looked over his shoulder and smirked at the overdressed Theelin across the bay. He might not have been able to take in every bit of her outfit, but to him she stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the first time they'd met. It was in that thought he realized he wasn't quite wearing his own proudest outfit. Glancing down at the name tag it didn't quite fit his face or species for that matter: Guur Xi'Xi, Intelligence Official. Although their outfits were similar in color, his had a bit of 'flare' to it that Diva had fought for before realizing he'd only fit in this one and she the other. A bright yellow bar running up both arm lengths and down the back managed to make him look like other technical officers around the facility; but even he felt a tad out of place.

Bringing his hands together he cracked his fingers and turned to the nearest terminal. Running his fingertips across the console the screen quickly lit up and a red 'X' formed on the screen showing he had no access to encrypted machine. Letting out a sigh he gave a quick 360 glance and stretched out the link from his wrist attachment and plugged it into one of the few ports the advanced tech had. This time when his fingers came down on the console it opened like a vault, the name on his chest appearing in the top right hand corner and giving him full access to the limitless comings and goings of various ships and travelers. It wasn't until 24601 came up on the terminal that his mark had been matched and he opened the file. It was a pool of information, almost more than a person could comprehend, but luckily he knew just what he was looking for and where to find it. It would just take something they didn't have much of: time.

"...well don't blow it. I mean I wouldn't mind taking your ship, but credits are what I'm here for, V-V."

He almost laughed over the com at his nickname for Diva. He was sure she'd be cursing; assuming she could at the thought of the old Hutt moniker coming back to life. It was fortunate for him he was half way across a docking bay that could house two of these freighters, or he might find a that blaster bolt doing more than pointing at him. Reaching to his chest with his right hand he grasped for a cigarra which wasn't there. Cursing outloud in Huttese it drew some eyes to himself which he nodded away. He'd left the damn things in their normal place, his jacket on Diva's ship. Letting a barrage of curses explode inward he continued his search, trying to forget that nagging sensation to smoke one more.

"Package Delivered...."

The announcement put the same smirk on Zekk's face as he double checked to make sure the detonator was nestled in the same coat he'd only just moments before searched. Luckily that item was deep within the right coat pocket and he would not soon forget it. Throwing around a few files and finally getting into the import files he uploaded a rather professional looking photo of Diva to the log and attached "Shamir As'ada" into the port authority files. In the process having to remove a rather large supply of toiletries to balance the schedule of events. He'd bumped her into the inspection and pushed back the original officer two hours; plenty of time.

"You're in... I can't do much from the outside. Check camera's on the ship.. arrange who and what is going in and when.. I need you to uplink me into the ship's maintenance computers or the ships main terminal. ...You know how to do that, right?"

 

[Tsunami]

"Captain Othus, we have docked with the station." A nerdy looking man said as he turned to a taller, older looking bellow sat in a large chair. "Very good." Othus said now standing up as he walked over to a medium sized holo table in the center of the room. "Send word to those in the dock, we will need fuel and supplies. Have the security teams check the cells, make sure everything is in order. I want this to be text book." He spoke as his hands brushed against the glass screen of the table, flicking through the information that it provided such as prisoner information and CCTV footage.

As the ramp lowered in the docking bay, Team Six of the on board security force walked down, there rifle stock held tight against their dominant shoulder. They would be checking everyone who intended to get aboard ID, running a scan and confirming with the bridge if they were required on board.

Meanwhile a large armoured man had walked onto the bridge, a scar down his left eye and repeater in his right hand. He was the head of security for the vessel and was coming to give his report. Accompanying him were his two guards, also well armed and armoured like much of the security on board.

"It all seems to be fine to me Cap, the ray shielded blast doors along the prison corridors seem to be fully functioning. CCTV is fully operational and it would seem that refueling is underway." His military background showing as he explained the situation. "The cells themselves are being checked as we speak, as per command. I doubt we will find any issues with the cell sir." His voice was a confident one, he ran a tight ship and his cell block was so heavily defended that it could be mistaken for a military base.

"Glad to here it Donald. Make sure all essential stations are manned with multiple men, that includes the armoury among other things. I don't want some of the people we have in those cells getting to any key parts of this ship if they managed to escape. Is that understood Lieutenant?" He ordered, his eyes meeting the larger mans as he finished his sentence.

"Understood, Sir." Donald nodded and turned, his hand pressing to his ear as he relayed the orders to those under him.

They would be here for a little over an hour and the clock was already ticking.

@Diva Tumi

 

[Diva]

Watching the crisp regiment of gaurds, Diva took pause to re-evaluate some of the details of her performance. First, she had to accept the fact that she was definitely intimidated. Second, the silly banthashit girly routine she was planning on could be tossed out, which frankly was fine by her. After a moment's consideration, a new and improved "Shamir As'ada" was imagined, and took her first steps toward doom or glory.

The theelin's heavy tonails hit the metal floor of Bay 2 with a stern, authoritative *clack, clack*. Diva had picked up this comanding little trick by watching human females who insisted on wearing long, uncomfortable heels on their shoes. Other than the pleasant cosmetic lift it offered the reason for such discomfort had alluded her for years until she thought to watch the reaction of others to it. With each step that sound demanded attention, respect, and power; and Diva immediately tought herself to use her normally silient feet to replicate the sound. Her posture reflected this cool air of confident, professional discipline, and (thanks to Zekk) her already activated security tag was already extended in front of her as she bypassed several privates, and approached the ranking officer on the ramp directly. Her voice was clipped, efficient, and her smile tightly drawing a perfect balance between polite and warm.

Republic Transport- 24601, welcome to Anaxes Depot. As always, we are proud to serve the needs of the Republic. I am Shamir As'ada, the Systems Administration Officer assigned to oversee your navigational updates. If you will please escort me to the cockpit, we can get started and have you heading safely to the Capitol in an hour or so.

Those special moments where Diva's beginins as a performer allowed her to completely trancesnd her reailty were immensley satisfying. Unfortunately, a part of her also knew that Zekk was tucked away in a corner of the massive room choking on his own laughter after hearing that speech come over the com, but any malice was erased as she saw her face and fictional identity flash green on the guards security pad. A patient but insistant smile ramained on her face as she awaited escort. At this moment she recalled a con artists mantra she had once heard, "be the duck," which described a perfectly calm exterior while paddling furiously beneath the surface. Diva felt like the duck.

@Tsunami @Rev

 

[Tsunami]

Republic Transport- 24601, welcome to Anaxes Depot. As always, we are proud to serve the needs of the Republic. I am Shamir As'ada, the Systems Administration Officer assigned to oversee your navigational updates. If you will please escort me to the cockpit, we can get started and have you heading safely to the Capitol in an hour or so.

The theelin had approached the ranking officer, who had just let aboard a number of other legitimate staff members. and asked to be taken to the cockpit. With a chuckle and a grunt he dismissed her request and then questioned it.

"The cockpit is off limits as per regulation 0783 of the prisoner transport union. So no, i can't escort you to the cockpit. Maybe you should start by explaining who you are and why you need to enter the second most important part of a ship such as this."

He paused for a moment, removing a small holo transmitter, pressing a button to call the captain, he would be the only one who could authorise her entry onto the bridge. "Can't be too careful." and with that comment directed at the violet vixen the image of the captain appeared, it flickered as he spoke before he turned to the theelin woman and asked her once more.

"What is you business on the bridge of my ship?"

@Diva Tumi

 

[Diva]

Diva was a Duck.
Shamir As'ada was a no nonsense system admin.
With professional poise and a peircing look of maternal dissapointment to this ranking officer, she leaned to be sure the captain could here her, and drummed up a copy of the official fascilites schedule for 24601 on her own large datapad. Sure enough, as Zekk had promised, after the regular maintenance crew he had presumably admitted before her, Shamir's name and tittle were listed clearly as the only System Admin on the docket, designated to synchronize the navigational system. She held it at a perfectly passive-aggressive angle, where she could review it in plain sight of this over suspicious officer; daring him to look at his own manisfest, which would undoubetly read the same. Thank the black void she had brought Zekk, and now that officer's over cautious incompitence gave her the upper hand.

Her voice was articulate, without insistance, and somehow still warm, yet unforgiving.

Ehem... A pleasure Captian. Shamir As'asada at your service, sir. As I only just informed your offcer, I am the System Admin who will be overseeing the snychronozation of your nav. computer, which I'm sure your officer could easily confirm if he checked the schedule he has.

He is, of course, rightly concerned about regulation 0783, but last I was informed the Navigational system is accesed in the cockpit Captian. If this has changed, or is not the preference of your vessel sir, then by all means escort me to whichever terminal on board is prefered. However, ff that is indeed 24601's perogative, I am obligated to inform you that your projected departure time of may be affected.

Shamir smiled at the poor officer, a small sign solidarity for having to throw him under the bus a little.

Diva made a note to bump Zekk another 2% cut for making her do her homework. She knew the standard procedure of her hi-jacked persona forwards and backwards, and had learned everything they could get their thieving hands on about this class of transport. Knowing that he was listening though made her desperately want to talk to him, celebrate every small success, or have some reassurance from him as she entered the lion's den. For now it was only trust, which Diva found the circumstances were supplying her an uncharacteristic abundance of.

@Tsunami

 

[Rev]

The officer lashing back at Diva caused the spacer to bite his lip like an overwrought teen. He couldn't remember being this nervous about anything, but the purple woman who wished for him to accompany her came back with a mastery that reminded him of why he had not only taken the job; but impressed him all those years ago. His hands meanwhile tapped on the terminal with the same edginess his biting lip gave off. Sucking a deep breath of the stale docking bay air he did his best to simply relax.

"God I need a Cigarra..."

Bringing one of his fluttering hands to his mouth he didn't realize he was speaking over com at the time and quickly cut the transmitter off, only allowing him to hear for the time being. The response was laughter on his end as he peered around his vicinity for anyone that was possibly paying mind to his rather obtuse behavior. Once he felt he was in the clear his eyes went to some guards, more precisely the weapons they carried. Hammering in a few commands in the console to distract himself he pulled up the Uniform Code of Correctional Justice. A wide grin grooming itself onto his face this time he chimed into his comrade's ear intentionally.

"Repeat what I say..."

He paused to let the thought sink into her mind before continuing.

"Uniform Code 0011-40 in the Code of Correctional Justice strictly enforces that all guards, officers, and faculty must follow Republic by-law 8482 in recognition of personal armament within a detention freighter or facility."

As his hands continued to work while reading off the law which forbade staff from bearing their own weapons he pulled up the information on the officer his eyes could not leave. A middle aged female who's expression told the story of her boredom, and perhaps why her blaster was the only one different than any of the other guards; she didn't care. His pause again was this time to let the law settle the air for the C.O., perhaps again catch him in a blind side before again laying the hammer down.

"Officer Moira at the boarding entrance, she has a personal weapon. Should I bring this up to the Admiral or will you be taking care of this?"

He only hoped Diva was able to comprehend and say it all back to this by the book member of the ship. The code was enough to court-martial an Executive officer; maybe even ground a Captain. Luckily for the two of them there was no bluff in what was just said. Regardless, it was no guarantee of getting Diva where she needed to go. Taking a step back from the terminal he crossed his arms and took in the view; waiting.

 

[Tsunami]

The man holding the miniature holo terminal paused as the purple woman and his captain conversed. When the woman had finished answering the fairly simple question the captain then began talking to the officer.

"Very well, hold her here for a moment. I will have Donald send one of his guards to escort this woman and bring her to the cockpit. While you wait contact Dr. Greenacre and have him take a DNA sample and biometric hand print of the woman so that we can log Shamir's time on the vessel."

As soon as he finished speaking the com went dead, the hologram faded and his orders had been stated and as per every member of his crew he expected the officer to carry them out to the letter.

"Sorry for the wait madam, I will just contact Greenacre and have him meet you at the blast doors to the cockpit to take the information required. It is nothing more than a formality, we log everyone on the ships DNA and prints for safety reasons. I'm sure you can understand that." He turned away abruptly and moved to the side, in his place another guard stepped in as the officer moved away to inform the good doctor that his services would be required.

Meanwhile the captain had informed his head of security that a unauthorised crew member from the station would be coming aboard to help sync the nava computer. He wanted an armed escort with her at all times, however was told to give her what she needed to perform her task quickly and efficiently.

@Diva Tumi

 

[Diva]

Diva carefully wrestled with her great internal relief, and managed to translate it externallly into a grateful nod from Shamir. She forgot how well she could handle her own adrenaline, as it was usually just put into her trigger fingers. The metaphorical legs of her calmly composed duck were doing the cabage patch. She even had to turn the start of a laugh into a delicated cough to cover the delight of another amusing new thought: "The force is strong with me". Ha. Just when she thought her life couldn't get weirder...what a week.

*ermm*... I am familiar with your standard security procedures Officer, and comforted to know they are observed in full on this vessel. Her lips grew tight and she leaned in with secret concern, making precious the secret she was to share with this gruff fellow. As I can see we share a concern for protocol, please inform your Captian that I spotted your PO Moira in clear violation of Uniform Code 0011-40, and I trust you will handle it with the same open efficiency...

Zekk's voice in her ear was very soothing. Full out espionage was, shall we say, and area of interest for her, and she made careful note of all the benefits an accomplice brought to the table. Couldn't let him know though, her ship was already having trouble holding both their egos. There was also the matter of DNA records being apart of the "yuh know...just, like, some other totally standard Republic security stuff.." that stayed her from awarding too many gold stars this early. Obviously, hopefully, her partner ntended to wipe that junk, but for a few glorious minutes Shamir As'ada was going to have a republic reccord! Diva reigned her thoughts back from the swift flood of fantasties about her newly minted alias. Alias... cool. It gave some validation to her hour spent irritating Zekk while she chose the perfect name. He had insisted she just use the uniform's original owner, who was now stunned and sleeping next to Zekks's uniform doner in holding cell aboard the Matador, but Diva needed to build a character. Oh how she wished she could throw that in his face right then; instead she would have to take solace in imaginging his itchy fingers grope for a cigarra from the pack she had been careful to remove from his uniform pocket that morning.

A pleasure Dr. Greenacre, Shamir As'ada.

Diva was sure to shake his hand firmly with her right, then remove the heavy glove from it to make the polite offer for his scans, and sampling. As she felt the needle prick her thumb, the astonishing reality occured to her that Diva had never been arrested or processed by law enforcement. Once freed from ownership the only person to hold her down for a hand print was that attrocious slugball, and he had just taken her whole left hand. This of course was why she favoured her right with the good doctor, and slid her glove back on when they were done.

Once the scans were added to the manifest, Shamir As'ada, now a real girl in the eyes of the republic, had a little extra swag in her step as she *clikkety clacked* down the starboard hall of the long prison frieghter. Some of the prisoners seemed able to recognize the sounds of her confident steps as being similar to high heels, and called out with crude detail the thoughts it inspired. It was with great restraint that she ignored the response of her two armed escorts, who chose to sneak a look at her legs themselves rather that discipline the rowdy criminals. Diva wondered if there was some way to orchestrate this so she got to shoot everyone. Notably, cell four at least was slient within, and that was were her aquisition, a Mr. Dufresne, was held. She had little intel on the mark himself, pardon, itself, but she knew where it was, and confimrmed as much on the cell's datascreen as she passed.

Captian! Her greeting was enthusiastically formal, which was easy considering the man's impressive, and even intimadating bearing in his uniform. Ms. As'ada bowed and soluted him, and Security Chief Drumpf respectively as she was introduced. As she spoke, Shamir As'ada set immediatly to work with a crisp and polite effeciency that only a woman of her practiced professional caliber could, accepting a wave of the Captian's hand as permission to continue, as she located the navigation systems.

Anaxes Orbital is honered, as always, to be in service of the Republic. On a personal note, I am in great admiration of the tight ship you keep gentleman..As though the thought surprised her she went on to offer a look of humble conern to the men infront of her. Which reminds me, I regret to bring to your attention that I saw a PO of yours - Moira, I believe - in violation of Uniform Code 0011-40, which I am sure you know is a particularly concerning regulation. I informed your ranking officer on the floor, and wanted to be sure he informed you per my request...

It was the perfect smokescreen. True, informed, and reflecting well on her character no matter the outcome. Plus, judging by the look on their faces, it seemed very likely that the gentleman outside had not called it it. The regulation's concequence being more severe than Diva knew, it was quite likely the SO would have tried to deal with it descretely. If she was lucky this might draw at least Drumpf and another guard or 3 out ouf the cockpit. If not, she came out clean. Besides, with a satisfying *whir* as the comp link cable was accepted into the ship console's jack, phase 2 now rested heavily in Zekk's craft hands.

@Rev

 

[Rev]

Just as Zekk's mind began to wander off once again at the thought of speaking to a rather large bellied human and his Rodian friend behind him the screen in front of his glazing eyes exploded with a myriad of information. Taking a step forward instead of back he scanned it over, his pupils shifting from left to right and down a line with each passing millisecond. The tough thing about being fed an entire freighter of encrypted information wasn't that the payload was more than most any man could comprehend; but finding just what was necessary to get the job done. Standing back for a moment he allowed his thoughts to recollect as he devised the appropriate plan within his mind and quickly went to work on it. Patching into the com-link on the ship he masked his voice and would come out of the speaker to the Captain's rear.

"Sir, we have someone accessing our navicomputer.. Should I allow them through?"

Cutting the com his fingers instead went to work elsewhere, first accessing the ships Prisoner Manifest. Much of the names he could throw to a different screen, forgetting about them for the time being. He was looking for a specific culprit, not just the run of the mill criminal. Diva would recognize the face from the catcall she received only moments before. A rather large Zabrak that could have competed in size with a Wookiee; a villainous monster by galactic standards. Not only had he been a known killer in more than 10 systems, but he'd been cooped up on the ship for almost an entire cycle; no prison particularly wished to house him due to his connections with the Hutt cartel and well... his size. Grinning at the picture that came along with record the smuggler plugged in a dataspike to the terminal and started a timer; 5 minutes.

"Cough."

He sent a command through the com to Diva and her alone. As he spoke his hands pattered away on the terminal and brought up their target: "Dufresne." He got a full view of the cell and at the man who sat quietly on his bed, looking over some datalog. Shaking his head at the poor fool Zekk hit a command on the terminal and the room exploded with an electrical charge and pinged the response back to the nearest terminal to that very cell block. It would appear one of the officers charged the room with a near lethal blast of electricity; an act normally saved to calm down captives that wouldn't "calm down." It was enough to exert an echoing scream through the block's hall and resulted in a loud thud of his body collapsing against durasteel. He'd again access that same com, a voice coming through it with a far different tone than the first but with a familiarity to the Captain and staff on the bridge.

"...Captain, we uh-.. just had a malfunction on Cell Block 6, Cell 4. Prisoner 227 is out cold. Permission to call in Dr. Greenacre?"

Zekk made sure to keep the voice analyzer open this time. It was masking his voice to sound just like the officer for that block at the time. The ship was foolish enough to use voice activation for password's sake and they were saved in the open. A few alterations to the analytical program and he was able to create a near flawless mask.

 

[Tsunami]

As the woman entered the bridge she was pleasant in her greetings and mentioned the lady by the name of Moira for the second time. What may have looked like a confused look, was just that. The captain had already been reported of the breach of the ships code of conduct, all his guards were armed, the nature of the job meant that they had to be. However personal weapons, they could be given to prisoners and were not monitored which of course made them dangerous.

"Yes, I am aware of you noticing that. My guard on the ground informed me. Odd that you would mention it again. No matter, I have already asked her to be brought to the bridge so that you can identify her by face, it would be a shame for me to punish someone without being 100% it was this woman you saw." The captain turned as he spoke, his hand waving her to continue on with her work.

Moira would arrive shortly along with two guards who would have by then confiscated the woman's equipment ready for inspection. Shamir had begun her work on the nava computer, paused briefly her escort flicked a switch on the side of the terminal that would relay any and all of her workings to a central HuB to make sure all was being done correctly. This was in order to ensure there were no mistakes made aboard the vessel and if by some chance there were, the tech would be called on the terminals small holo terminal, where another tech savvy humanoid or droid would be able to assist.

Before he knew it the Captain received another message, saying that there had been a issue in one of the cells. Due to the sheer amount of cells and prisoners on board he swiped on his terminal, locating the cell information and the prisoner information.

"Negative, that prisoner is too dangerous for the good doctor. Please keep the blast door closed and have a medical droid attend the cell holding 227. Make sure that there are guards to cover the door entrance when the doors temporarily open. It wouldn't be the first time a prisoner faked injury to try and escape and if he does try to escape, we have authorisation to terminate him. Make sure the Ray shield comes back online the moment the droid enters, and have the guards assess the situation. Understood?" He paused but briefly before the guards escorting Moria entered the room.

"Shamir, a moment of your time. Is this the woman you saw. Can you please describe the weapon you saw on her persons and any other equipment that she may have been carrying." This wasn't a nessecity but a test. The captain had noticed her eagerness to catch the woman, and could only assume she was working towards a promotion. If she was as perceptive as she seemed, maybe he would put in a good word for the woman.

@Diva Tumi

 

[Shalken]

Lesovikk paced in his cell, deep in thought. He had spent every waking moment since his capture planning a possible escape. No opportunity had revealed itself to him; that is, until now.

For some reason, the convoy had stopped en route to its destination. In order to discover why, he had his AI, TALOS, carefully monitor the ship's systems. Naturally, he'd be able to do a better job himself, but he had no access to a console. His tracking AI would have to do.
Apparently they had stopped for a refuel and a nav coordinate update. If there was any chance of escape, it was now, but something kept him from acting. Something else was afoot here, something suspicious.

TAL chirped into his ear, "Odd, I'm picking up strange readings....redirected from somewhere else in the ship besides the cockpit. Someone else is in the system. Should I interfere?"
Lesovikk frowned, replying in a low, guttural growl. "rrrrrrkkkk.... No. Keep monitoring. We take advantage of situation when time is right."

He fell silent as a nearby door slid open, a loud *clickety clack* of high heels followed by the formal clumping march of combat boots. The hall broke into a ruckus of jeering and catcalling as the Theelin flanked by her escort walked down the long row of prisoners. Lesovikk silently eyed the group as they walked by, heading toward what he presumed to be the cockpit. As the group disappeared past the next set of doors, the hall returned to its previous semblance of calmness.

Suddenly, TALOS chimed alarmedly in Lesovikk's ear. "Watch out! There's a command entered to set off a-"
The AI was interrupted as a loud burst of electricity went off only a couple cells away from him. Lesovikk growled angrily into his comm, "That could have been for me, idiot. Pay attention." "Oh, sure! And whose fault is it that I'm a tracking AI, hm? Not designed for extensive computer manipulation? Ring any bells?"

Rolling his eyes, Lesovikk decided to continue the debate later, waiting for the day's events to unfold.

 

[Diva]

Well, her name tag still says Moira...so yes Captian, thats her...

Diva could finally feel the perspiration under her arms. She had to hand it to this salty son of a sarlac, he was razor sharp and didn't miss a beat on his vessel. If she hadn't run her damn mouth off quite so much... Upon seeing the woman, obviously a stranger to Diva, she could only give it her best guess, which thankfully was enough. Her name plate was prominantly displayed over her right breast, but more important was the broken look in her eye which sparked with little in anger at the sight of Diva, her pressumed stool-pigeon. More than that, she was pleased to feel the hate, guilt, and fear racking Moira's mind. It was about as miniscule as any connection through the force could be, but it was Diva's first on-job application outside her recent training, and she was proud. That only aswered half his completely ridiculous question though, the next bit was...not as easy, but hardly impossible. The Captain had set the test for Diva's BS about as high as he could with this infuriating stunt, so she could only double down, coming out strong with the sarcasm that allowed her to leak a little steam, and feigning irritation at being torn from the screen full of blinking star charts she was "reading". A crack in Shamir's professionalism would prove a perfect excuse to stall a second while studying PO Moira.

err.. excuse me Captian, once I put my mind in the charts I.... Unnaceptable sir. I appologize. Nothing like a little character flaw to strengthen any performance. After the moment of swift panic at her own tone, Shamir straightened to attention with practiced defference. There were two types of guards Diva had seen on this ship. The much more heavily armed and militaristic defense team, and the security officers, to which Moira clearly belonged. The only easily visible weaponry they carried was a stun baton, and a side arm. Their equiment belts were crammed full of doodads, but none of them seable from a distance. Which one had Zekk seen?

I'm afraid I didn't notice anything but her weapon Captian. I take a great deal of pride in my work, but I am not qualified, nor equipped to confront a Republic officer, sir, let alone approach.... Had to be her pistol. There were like, what? 3 types of stun batons in the galaxy, and they all looked the same. Standard issue stun batons were also the most prevelant form of equipment stored on any prison transport, she would have no reason to have her own stun baton. ...I merely noticed the odd fit of her sidearm in it's holster. I checked the hip of other PO's and confirmed the handle did not belong to the standard issue PP-8's the rest of your security force were carrying. I only checked her tag after that sir to file my report. I understand that perhaps I should have informed Anaxes Orbital, but in my experience sir, Republic Security handle their affairs much more efficiently than the station does. I understand Captian if you feel the need to include that in your assesment of service upon departure.

A gentle blush graced Diva's cheeck as she found the perfect balance of intrepid embarrasment to the earnest and dutiful Shamir As'ada. Damn that was a good lie. Like really good. Short, sweet, in-character, and with just enough detail. Zekk better have been listening because he had apparently been too damn busy having fun in his new digital playground to feed her the intel she needed fast enough. Krif, her chest was sweating now, too. Even if he didn't buy her rhetoric, she had bought some time.

Improvising words was fine, but sooner rather than later she would have to deal with this room another way, and it was still more populated than she would've liked. There were two of those defense team guards, one holding Moira easily by himself, then the Captian, then...Drumpf. The armored men would normally be easy, especially with that rifle just hanging over the shoulder of Moira's restrainer: Well defended against most attacks, but slow. The Captian obviously knew what he was doing, and Drumpf...yikes. Since they brought it up, Diva assesed what those two men were packing. Much lighter in terms of any hardware, but it wasn't hard to see that neither needed a rifle to be dangerous.

She had hoped Zekk would've found a way to thin the room by now, but his initial distraction was no match for the Captians resolve. Hopefully she had satisfied him enough that the next bit of Phase 2 would get rid of Drumpf, or at least the other three guards. Until then she remained obediently at attention doing a reverse duck. With an excuse for Shamir to be a little outwardly flustered, she could slow down inside and focus all her senses -and other skills- on listening. These stakes were about as high as possible, and Diva had to admit that her patience for this level of delicate stress was thin, and having her back against the wall triggered a lot of impulses that were not helpful yet. Shamir As'ada may have been a masterpiece of theatrical skill so far, but she was not long for this world.

@Rev

 

[Rev]

"Excuse me, Sir..?"

Zekk could hear the voice of a young man calling at him from behind, but the constant chatter coming over his ear piece was almost enough to drown out the voice. It wasn't until the stranger put his hand on the spacer's shoulder that Coron officially gave the lad the attention he felt deserved. Giving a nonsensical smile he bowed his head and gritted his teeth. What the hell do you want? Was the expression on the smuggler's face, but he fought his damnedest to not express it as outward as it was.

"D-do you know where Bay 8 is? I'm looking f-..."

Zekk's voice quickly spat out at the idiot with a rage only someone who didn't want to be pestered could comprehend.

"CAN'T YOU SEE I AM BUSY? DO I LOOK LIKE A PROTOCOL DROID?!"

His arms opened at either side as if he expected an answer to his rhetoric. Motioning to his left to push the traveler aside his eyes took in a large "8" just as he did so which was too easily accompanied by an arrow. Gripping the fearful boy by the shoulder he pushed him in the direction his eye had caught while beckoning him away.

"TRY THAT WAY!! ....ya Buckethead."

Turning his back he took a few long strides back to the console and was able to pickup the voice in his ear for the first time in what felt like eternity, whatever it was Diva was stumbling through put a grin on the splicer's face. It was her tripping over the holster and weapon that made him cover his face and wonder what sort of hole she was digging herself. An idea popping into his mind he began infiltrating deeper into the system, this time he'd connect to Moira's radio with an expertise that impressed even himself.

"...Did it work!? Did you get Z-11 on board?"

He paused just long enough for the idiocy to seem believable.

"If you intend on taking care of the Lieutenant I think now's your chance!"

It was then he'd cut the connection with the com, re-routing the link to Officer Pyre, the only staff that made any note of being on the XO's staff. Meanwhile his hands went to work on doing what Diva was supposed to be: updating the navigational charts. Luckily for the two of them it was a simple update that just took time. Copying the files over he entered it into the system and the process would begin. Shooting a whisper through his own comlink this time to Diva he made sure to keep one more trick up his sleeve.

"..Mark is unconscious. You saw Moira talking to a uniformed officer. Dark hair, tall, bright eyes. Didn't seem normal."

He closed the biography on pile, taking note of the bland military photo the man had. Perhaps his good looks and shady off-shore record would make the Captain think the two had more than just a chain of command plot on his hands. A datastick inserted into the drive would load their emails with weeks of archived emails from junk to love letters and an occasional plot of mutiny thrown in. He'd dig them a grave they'd never dreamed of finding themselves in; at least he hoped.

 

[Tsunami]

The captain wasn't taken aback by her outburst. For someone who had been coming across as so anal and even more of a stickler for right and wrong than him, he was surprised she had stopped herself during her outburst. Never the less he couldn't help but ponder her answer to his simple questions. A gun doesn't fit it's holster, therefore it must not be standard issue?

"Could the holster not have been standard issue? I mean, if you couldn't tell the gun then there is no rules broken if her holster wasn't standard issue. While it turns out you were right THIS time, it would be worth while inspecting things closer, lest you leave colleagues with a sour taste in their mouth." As he had finished speaking Moira's began to dispute the woman's credibility.

"You have no reason to belive me now captain, however this woman came no where near me. I have not seen her and how she came to the knowledge she has provided you is..." her talking was cut short by her radio, that began rambling about the lieutenant and what seemed to be a plan.

"Remove her from my sight, take her to one of the small holding cells. Have the interrogation droid pay her a visit. I want to know all her plans, all her accomplices. What is happening today." He paused while he shook his head and wiped a tiny drop of sweat from his brow. "Update, how are we doing in terms of refuling. Do we have long left? and Shamir, how long left till you are done."

A younger man replied from one of the seats at the front of the bridge. "We are just under half way through the process. sir" That meant they were at least on schedule. The captain nodded at the young man, before turning to Shamir and waiting for her reply.

 

[Diva]

He's correct Captian. We've been here about 5-6 minutes, it should only be another 6 or 7 until we complete the synch. The fueling unfortunately is the tedious bit and may be another half hour; but if you are eager to be rid of me Captain, you do not have long to wait.

Shamir produced the faintist hint of a smile, though her tone had returned to even proffesional level it was most comfortable in. Examing the datapad she saw that Zekk's remote access program had completed, and she swiped it off the bottom of the screen, leaving nothing but star charts.

Perhaps you would like me to show you the ....

Diva was interupted by a plesant little bit of the plan she had almsot forgoten about during the Captian's interogation. A holoscreen jumped to life infront of the other young man on the bridge. The scene it showed was extremelly troublesome. A guard took up most of the lense , his face twisted in panic. Behind him was the cellblock, and several guards engaged in a fire fight. One fell even as the guard making the call began to speak.

Captian! Commander Drumpf! Prisoner K-117 has escaped his cell. We have 2...no, 3 men down. Prisoner is armed and extremely dangerous... He must have taken out the alarms...request immediate assistance! Please... *another man down*

Ah yes...the Zabrak. Good timing, Diva had been getting bored. She qietly thumbed the datapad to signal Zekk for phase 3: Lockdown.

Shamir reacted accordingly. Recoiling from the scene that played before them, she stumbled backward eyes wide in with fright and confusion.

Captian! I am sorry but I have no choice but to alert the station and have the ship grounded. I exercise perogotive 1003 and request immediate escort to safety!

Tapping her comm, she frantically hailed her "superioirs".

Overseer Xi'Xi, 24601 has an escaped prisoner, armed and dangerous....Yes sir, I'm unharmed and have requested evacuation and should be out soon...

Not once in her life did Diva ever expect to be pleased with the many rules and regulations of beaurocracy. Bless the Republic.

@Rev

 

[Diva]

(ooc: @Rev is having some busy times and has given me permission to post on his behalf.)

Snickering into the cuff of his baggy, stolen sleeve, Zekk watched the survelience footage of the monsterous Zabrak as he continued to gain ground through the cellblock. He was slowing though. No one anything could take on that much republic trained prison security alone, so with his free hand Zekk was busy scrolling through the prisoner manifest to find him some back up. Lets see...

Prisoner 74, a grizzly looking wookie. Patches of fur missing, one eye, and a nasty psyche profile including a fear of captivity. Disturbing the peace, involuntary manslaughter, murder in the 1st and second degree, criminal intent..

Too much to read. Open.

Prisoner 111, a Dug hutt informant. Nothing special on first glance but flagged for dangerous behavoir and frequent, near successful escape attempts, and he was near the Zabrak. Besides, listening to Diva spout bantha shad was making him a little nostalgic, sooo...

Open.

Prisoner 92. Now that was a cute one. A Reshekki sharpshooter. Very clever and resourceful apparently, but more importantly he was directly across from Dufresne, who was barely conscious and still had four guards hunkered down with him.

Why not? Open.

Kriff, it was like a choose your own holodrama, but before he could pick any more characters a little red indicator on his holoscreen started to flash. Party time already? Guess he'd have to work on the guest list as they went. Quick systems check first. His remote program was running. Perfect, now his access was complete with our without Diva being plugged in, provided he didn't break it himself. Now for the lockout.

OW!

Zekk hollared, as the taste of iron pooled on his tongue. Apparently he had been nawing on his own thumb in place of the cigarra he so desperately wanted. Huh. Looking back to his datapad he continued running the lockout. All emergency systems were under his control, and he had disabled any manual use of anything but door open and close. That meant no emergency safety barriers, or locks. The lone team in the cockpit would have no choice but attempt evacuation, or remain trapped. Comm's were all jammed and rerouted through him. The ship was now his own personal labyrinth and survelience was...wait...why was it so dark?

Oops.

Apparently the shock from biting his thumb had caused a single slip. The lights on board the ship had been out for about two full seconds before he switched them back on. Not the worst thing he could have accidently done, but it certianly added a level of mystery to things. Well what can you do, at least Diva would know he was there. Using the voice modulation program he had whipped up earlier he rushed a coverup over the bridge's comm, as the light flashed back to life.

"Captian! Power is out and we have at least two more cells open, emergency systems not responsive....."

Breaking off the end with a little static for effect, Zekk grinnd with cheaply earned pride as he plunged the tip of his wounded thumb back into his mouth and sucked on the blood a bit. It helped.

@Shalken @Tsunami

 

[Shalken]

The hallway had once again exploded into a frenzy, this time for an entirely different reason than before. The freed Zabrak was truly a testament to why he was imprisoned in the first place; guards were dropping like flies everywhere as they tried to create a desperate defense against the madman. Through the commotion, Lesovikk's keen hearing picked up parts of a guard's frantic relay to the cockpit. "...extremely dangerous....taken out alarms...assistance..." Although it was clear to Lesovikk that the escapee had nothing to do with the alarms' malfunction, he would definitely make use of that information in the near future. As fortuitous as the chaos was, Lesovikk knew he would not be able to make use of it just yet; he needed more time, proper circumstances. The opportune moment. Heck, this was almost like his job.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, TALOS warned, "I'm picking up more commands to the cells. That's odd, they're coded to....open?" As if to punctuate his sentence, the Reshekki's cell door slid open, along with several other seemingly random ones dotted throughout the hall. Not even skipping a beat, Lesovikk leaped forward and crashed into a guard right across from him, and from his new makeshift jump pad, he then launched himself off the hapless sentinel in the direction of the nearest door.

Expecting the it to slide open on its own, he bumped into the now locked down entrance. As he fumbled for the controls, the lights suddenly flicked off. Blimey, he couldn't have orchestrated that better himself. Whoever was behind this heist certainly knew what they were doing. In the amount of time the room was engulfed in darkness, Lesovikk had the chance to partially open the door, slide through, and shut it before the lights reactivated. To the random onlooker from inside the hall, he would have jumped to the door as the lights shut off and then completely disappeared as the room was re-lit.

Once on the other side, Lesovikk continued his hurried pace. He had an idea for escape, but his plan hinged on a single factor, one that he could discover by a cursory glance out a window. His hopes were confimed as he dashed past a fortuitously placed pane of tinted transparisteel. Lesovikk quietly directed his AI, "Location of nearest starboard escape pod."

"Take a right, then a left....you had better not be planning what I think you are." Lesovikk dashed around the corner. "Worth a shot." "You're insane."

Darting around the next corner, he saw the escape pod hatch he was looking for. However, instead of entering immediately, he slipped into a little storage compartment in the wall. Lesovikk wanted to throw off any pursuers and establish a new resting point; he was not about to take any more risks than necessary.

 

[Tsunami]

The captain was a proud man and he had never failed to control a situation. He certainly did not plan to start now. Various alarms began to blare on his command console alongside his comlink constantly going.

Then the lights flickered off for but a moment. The blazes is going on in this ship... he thought as a familiar voice came through the coms explaining that the power was out. Not only that, but all of the door overrides were failing to respond. At this point, even the captain knew that the ship was in trouble.

"Bring me my key card!" He yelled as the security who had been accompanying the theelin woman dashed across the bridge to a security footlocker, keying in a four digit code before opening it and taking its contents out.

"Here you go captain." the guard said, his hand barely stretched out for a moment before moving back to his station at Diva's side.

With a long and drawn out sigh the captain snapped the plastic shelled key card and pulled from within it a code. His hand moving over the arm of his chair he began typing the long code, hit enter and stopped all the alarms. In their place a voice could now be heard.

"This is the captain speaking. We are performing a level one evacuation." The voice repeated over and over. Before long the alarms within the docking bay could be heard screeching faintly alongside the relevant procedures declaring all personnel to leave the bay immediately.

He then addressed the cockpit. "You have my permission to take your weapons OFF stun. This is not a drill, your lives are important and it is my job to protect you all. I will be staying behind and Donald will take over command. I may have lost my ship, but they shall certainly not take her out of this docking bay!"

It was the kind of selfless commitment to his job that had helped him achieve his role as captain. As the crew within the cockpit begun to prepare to leave many shaking his hand, hoping that this wasn't his final rodeo.

Donald wasn't with them all, but would be guiding the evacuation as best he could while his team hunted the escapees.

@Diva Tumi