Ask [D'ian] Aggressive Acquisition

[Jaikus Thorne]

It had been quite some time since Jaikus had last stepped foot on D’ian - let alone traveled this deep into the Corporate Sector. Years had passed since he had struck a deal with the Senator of Tanaab, one that had kept the Sith Empire fed in spite of the crippling sanctions that had been levied against it. This time, however, it was for matters of pure self-interest that Jaikus had made the journey this time around.

Since his confrontation with Emryc and subsequent conversation with the now-former Empress, Jaikus had almost completely withdrawn from the Sith Empire - instead focusing all of his efforts into his own, personal ventures. Chief amongst those was his plans ‘Atlos’, and the Axxilan had spent weeks laying the groundwork - securing investors and his own pool of capital in order to get the company off the ground. It was slow, meticulous work - but it was work that he was confident would bear fruit in the end.

For the moment, the Axxilan had turned his attention outward - fixating onto another organization on the market, one in particular that had been making waves in the Corporate Sector. Vinda’a BioChemical Laboratories, once only a small firm, had become known across the Galaxy in recent years - infamous for their advancements in Cloning and Genetics. Their shareholders had grown rich since the company had rolled out tailored genetic therapies for its clientele. Naturally, they posed the most significant risk to Jaikus’ own plans - and they possessed assets that granted them a clear advantage over any new competition.

Assets that Jaikus planned to acquire by whatever means necessary.

With a method of approach already in mind, Jaikus had only reached out to Mars a few days prior to his journey to D’ian - going purely off of the assassin's reputation to assist with this venture. Naturally, the Axxilan had taken care to use heavily encrypted lines for each and every one of their exchanges - ensuring his identity entirely shrouded.

As far as Mars was aware, the man she was set to meet was merely another operative assigned to complete the job - rather than her very employer.

Arriving at the location long before the assassin, Jaikus used the encrypted channel to send a ping to Mars - knowing she would find her way before too long. Rather than one of the glittering hotels, casinos or corporate buildings the planet was known for, Jaikus picked a rather low-key cantina in the poorer districts of the capital city - patiently waiting already seated in a booth. His identity was perfectly concealed behind the armor that he wore - the clean, opaque mask covering the entirety of his face.

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

This was an essential contract for Mars because success today meant more opportunities tomorrow. The woman wanted to get to the point where she didn't have to advertise her services. She was already on her way there, as this employer had specifically reached out to her at a time when she wasn't actively accepting new contracts. If things went well today, she'd have her fingers in a new market - corporate dirty work. It didn't sound the most exciting at first, but the jobs paid well, and that was exciting in of itself.

Her employer had instructed her to meet another operative at some cantina on D'ian. They hadn't given her any information about the other person on the job, just like they hadn't revealed any about themselves. "An AES 128-bit encryption?" She recalled back when she'd tested the security levels of her employer's channel. It was heavy encryption; she had no desire to try decrypting that. It wasn't worth the time. Thus, her employer remained a mystery.

Mars arrived wearing dark clothes and with her visor already securely attached to her face. She immediately singled out the person she was meeting - they were sitting where she told they would be sitting after all - and made her way over. The metal of her hand clinked against the surface of the table when she reached out to steady hand as she sat down, and the warm yellow lights of the cantina reflected off the shined surface.

"Hey," was the first word out of her mouth as she sat down. "So, you're the one with the details, huh?"

It seemed like her employer wasn't the only one wanting to hide their identity. There were definitely several good reasons to keep your identity private. Not everyone wanted to live crime, for example. Mars, on the other hand, didn't care. This had always been her life.

tag: @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus patiently waited for the other half of this operation to arrive - and understandably - the man took precisely zero shortcuts when it came to masking his identity. The armor that he wore concealed every inch of exposed skin, while the filter installed within his helmet served to scramble and mechanize his smooth voice. Even in the event that the featureless visage was removed, the additional precaution of an Epidermal Disguise mask was molded to his face and radically altered his appearance.

More than ever, the Axxilan couldn’t afford to have his face or identity attached any any kind of shady dealings - least of all what he intended for Vinda’a.

Jaikus idly drummed his gloved fingers against the table, listening to the muffled tapping until Mars finally made her approach. Citrine eyes flicked up to regard woman, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips for just a moment. She had no idea that is was her very employer behind that mask, and nor would she ever. “That I am,” He said after a moment of pause - the mechanized and distorted voice managing to maintain the smooth and diplomatic tone. “And you must be Mars. A pleasure to finally meet you,” He didn’t tack on the additional comment of ‘in person’ that he normally might. The decision not to reciprocate the introduction was a deliberate one - as he rather preferred not to establish a persona to attribute to the armor.

“I trust your reputation wasn’t exaggerated.” He added, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips behind the mask. By design, the pair had been reserved a private booth within the cantina - tucked away from the general populace and largely out of earshot of anyone else, especially with the music that bumped all around them. “I am sure you are aware the general idea of what we’ll be doing,” For now, Mars only knew who their target was and that they would be infiltrating the company headquarters, but nothing else.

After a moment, the Axxilan pulled a datapad from his lap - passing it across the table and towards Mars. Projected on the screen was a complete layout of the Vinda’a headquarters building - schematics that Jaikus had to pull multiple strings to get his hands on. “Our target,” He said after a moment, “..Are the Corporate computer archives, located on the fourth level of the facility, in order to plant data onto their systems, to our employers benefit.” He tapped a button on his vambrace, briefly ejecting a code cylinder filled with said data. He didn’t elaborate on what it contained, at least not quite yet. “Naturally, the facility is crawling with security both integrated and through personnel. We’ll need to infiltrate without alerting them to our presence,” He paused. “Any breach in security of alarm is likely to put the complex and computer systems into lockdown and render our objective moot.”

“To my knowledge.. The best method of approach would be here,” He gestured to a specific point on the exterior of the building, revealing a ventilation plate on the side of the building. “If we’re able to slip past exterior security, moving through the climate control system would be the easiest way to maneuver through the building.”

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

Mars took the datapad into her hands and gazed down at the screen through her visor. She used the pads of her fingers to scroll, twist, zoom in, and otherwise observe the layout of the building. When the mystery man mentioned the fourth level, she switched to view it and repeated her observations from before.

"What's that? Data plague?" she would ask in reference to the code cylinder as he ejected it from its home.

"Yeah, naturally," she would jokingly scoff at the mention of tight security. There was never not tight security, though people like her wouldn't be needed if there wasn't. "...but the ventilation? Yeah, I agree. It'll be a lot easier than busting down the front door."

Mars zoomed in to where the ventilation plate was located. It wasn't too easy of a place to reach, but that also meant that guard patrols might not frequent the path as often. "We'll have to be careful though. It wouldn't surprise me if they have motion detectors set up in the vents in case unwanted visitors get inside. Like us, or rats."

tag: @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus’ gaze flicked down towards the code cylinder, lingering on the small device for just a few moments after Mars asked her question. “Not quit, but equally damaging. Information that will be leaked to the public once it is deposited onto their central computers.” He revealed, drumming his fingers idly against the table. Vinda had established a reputation of trustworthiness amongst its many clients and the public, and the Axxilan’s plan was centered on lighting that reputation ablaze. Only then - once investors had fled in droves and their stock price plummeted - did the Axxilan intend to swoop in.

“It is,” He gave a small nod, pleased that they were at the very least in agreement on the best point of entry. It didn’t mean reaching the ventilation system would be easy or that their problems would miraculously end there, but Jaikus was confident that this was the best method of approach.

“Remaining undetected is paramount. Any signs of a break-in will raise suspicions about anything released in the aftermath.” He said, knowing that fact was easier said than done. But the difficulty ahead of them was why Jaikus had reached out to Mars in the first place.

His head tilted ever-so-slightly when she mentioned the presence of motion detectors in the ventilation system. The Axxilan couldn’t help but exhale a laugh through his nostrils when the woman mentioned rats, “Likely an apt description of ourselves, from their perspective.” He grinned beneath the mask - lips tugging upwards and into that cheeky expression. “You are correct, though.” The Axxilan glanced back down to the holographic map, silent for a long moment. “We will need to cut power to the building - if only momentarily and until internal generators kick back in. If we are careful it should give us the opportunity to get into the ventilation systems and disable sensors internally before they kick back online.”

“I suggest we infiltrate after nightfall and when the majority of employees have returned home for the evening. A momentary lapse of power is less likely to be scrutinized, and there will be less eyes monitoring sensory systems.”

The Axxilan leaned back, allowing his gaze to linger on the holographic map for a few moments longer before flicking back up to Mars. “Naturally, we both get paid once the information is planted and we successfully extract ourselves from the building.”

“Any other concerns?”

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

"Essentially dataplague," Mars thought to herself as the masked stranger continued briefing her. From how he spoke, he seemed to have a good idea of how these sorts of operations went, which was good. It was better to work with someone who knew their stuff rather than get stuck with some smuck getting paid to trip over his own shoelaces.

"I'll program something to let us remotely flick the power then," she said off-handedly as her eyes glazed over, already beginning the first few stages of building such a program. It would be easy to accomplish as long as there wasn't any natural or artificial interference, as all the thing had to do was flip a switch. Literally.

"Night works. Getting out and getting paid definitely works. I do have one quick question though." The cyborg woman refocused her eyes and brought them over where she assumed the man's were as well. "Do you have a name?" Or was she supposed to just call him "the one with the information" the whole time?

tag: @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus flashed a content smile beneath his featureless mask - nodding ever-so-slightly towards Mars when she mentioned programming an application to do the job. Though the Axxilan had some rudimentary slicing skills by virtue of his previous profession, he was entirely pleased to be working with someone more skilled and could pull her weight equally to get the job done. “Excellent,” He said smoothly, drumming the tips of his fingers against their shared table. “Twenty-four hours should be sufficient?” He inquired with a small tilt of his head. The Axxilan wanted to get the job done quickly - but he was more-or-less flexible to however long it took for Mars to create her application.

But maybe it was a little bit of encouragement for the woman to fit within the time frame.

“No argument there,” Jaikus said with a small exhale of amusement, raising a glass when Mars mentioned getting paid. Of course, little did she know that the man before he was the one writing the checks. He tilted his head a bit when the cyborg appraised him, questions his name which the Axxilan hadn’t quite divulged yet. After a moment of pause, he nodded. “I do,” The only question was which he chose to offer her.

“Dervish,” He replied back smoothly, opting for the code name he had progressively begun to attach to his current armor. It was very clearly a name used for his line of work and one Jaikus doubted she would just much more thought.

“Come nightfall, then.”

—​

With a plan in place, all that was left to do was to wait. The day came and went without further complication, and it wasn’t long before Mars and Jaikus were scheduled to rendezvous once more outside the Corporate Headquarters. Before long, Jaikus intended to call them his own. Coordinates were forwarded to Mars ahead of time - allowing the Assassin to seamlessly weave through back alleys and side streets and to where Jaikus was waiting.

It was a mere block or two from their destination, just far enough for them to not draw suspicion by creeping close to the premise. Drawing attention before they even began was, unsurprisingly, low on his goals for the evening. Jaikus was already in place - casually leaning his bodyweight against the smooth metallic exterior of a nearby cantina. Drunk patrons stumbled about outside, while the scent of spice and cigarra smoke hung heavy in the air all around them. The latter was familiar enough - though still something the Axxilan could never find a taste for.

He was dressed in the same armor as before, concealing his identity and ensuring he was equip properly for the job. For the moment, he simply waited for Mars to arrive before proceeding to the first steps of their infiltration.

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

"Twenty-four hours," Mars affirmed with a nod before she left to get to work.

~~~​

As promised, twenty-four hours later, Mars arrived at the specified location with the program on her person. She was dressed inconspicuously - black cargo pants and a hoodie with the hood up - and had brought only a small backpack with her containing the program, a vibroknife, and a DL-18 blaster pistol. She hoped to avoid having to use it at all, but if she did, she was hoping that such a common model would prevent the weapon from being traced back to her should something happen.

The program hadn't taken her too long to create - it was the research that had taken the longest. With a bit of searching, she was able to figure out what protocols the company used by accessing a backdoor in a third-party contractor and gaining access to their surface-level credentials in the company.

Once that was figured out, she'd grown a bit curious about Devrish. Unlike her other research, her attempts at finding information about the man were far from fruitful. Either the man had absolutely zero HoloNet presence (unlikely), or this was a code name he only used in physical settings. Mars couldn't help but be disappointed by this seeing as she was always a bit nosey about her anonymous coworkers. Still, she said nothing about it as she casually approached the man at the rendezvous.

"Hey stranger," she hummed upon reaching conversation distance of the masked man. She was already wearing her visor, but she manually switched the vision setting as she approached. "I brought lunch," she added with a subtle gesture to her pack as she referred to the program she'd promised. "Should suit your tastes."

"Lead the way."

tag: @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus hummed under his breath, idly drumming a finger against his thigh as he waited. While the Axxilan had opted to don his armor once again - for good reason, of course - he didn’t particularly stand out from anyone else in the seedy district. Mercenaries and hired muscle were as common as businessmen on D’ian, and his current attire fit right in with those who lingered close to the cantina. “Lovely to see you again,” He said smoothly, grinning beneath the mask as he turned to face Mars.

He neatly folded his hands against the small of his back - fingers clasped and posture straight. “I’d wager to say we’re practically friends, by now.” He quipped at her usage of the word stranger, playfulness lingering in his voice. Of course, the Axxilan moved promptly along - focusing his attention onto the satchel she carried. There was no questioning what was hiding inside, and Jaikus couldn’t deny being a bit impressed that Mars had managed to keep to schedule with the program. “Wonderful. I’m famished,” He smirked.

“As you wish,” Jaikus turned quick on a heel, slipping around the corner without another word. He had no desire to waste time - capitalizing on the small window of time that they had to get the job done - without anyone being the wiser, ideally. Black boots carried the Axxilan through the alleyways of the district - moving swiftly as they approached the corporate building in the distance. Outside, Mars and Jaikus would already be able to see come suited employees heading back to their speeders or beginning their walk home - bidding farewell to their co-workers as the sun dipped low on the horizon. There were only essential employees and janitorial crews inside, just as they had planned.

“Time to work our magic,” Jaikus muttered, slipping past the corner of an adjacent building as he stalked towards the Corporate office. He crouched a bit lower - seamlessly slipping behind a stretch of green hedges and using the dim lighting to his advantage. Mars would very quickly get the impression that ‘Dervish’ was far more than he appeared - the way in which he moved instinctively alluding to a career specializing in this sort of covert work.

His path eventually led to a ventilation opening along the side of the corporate office - a gentle gust of warm air passing past the slits as the Axxilan came to squat down in front of it. “If you’d be so kind?” Jaikus whispered back to Mars without looking - clearly signaling for the women to launch her cyber attack. Without another word, Jaikus waved a hand over the ventilation grate - the Force slithering forth to coil around the bolts that kept the grate in place. They turned and loosened without damaging, pulling out of place in order to open their path forward.

He made no attempt to hide his Force usage, and wouldn’t explain any questions Mars asked. Though in her line of work, it was likely she’d seen plenty of independent Force Users self-employed.

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

"Oh yeah, totally. My bad," she replied back, her lips curling up into a cheeky little smile. It wasn't a genuine one, but because her visor was already in place, there would be no way for him to discern whether it was or wasn't. Plus, he was no Terra.

"Damn, we haven't spoken in a bit," Mars noted as she followed her masked associate. "Unfortunate. I should message her." She'd liked that tiefling almost from the first time they'd met. They worked well together, and she might dare say they were friends. Alas, that was a to-do item to be checked off later when she wasn't in the midst of an operation.

Mars kept her pace with Dervish until they reached the building, where she too could see the last few straggling suits leaving the building. She increased the magnification in her visor to get a closer look at the men and women as they left, searching their legs and behind for the telltale shape of a keycard. At a glance, she didn't see anything of the sort, so she followed after Devrish.

They reached the vent, but Mars veered off toward an external power box. It was locked, but that was hardly an obstacle. A minute later, the cover was off and the woman had her program pulled out of her bag and secured to the system via a small receiver. Tthe cover was put back on, and she returned to Devrish with a small remote in her hand. She'd missed his laissez-faire use of the Force, for better or for worse.

She pressed the button, and the power shut off a few seconds later. "Ladies first," she decided with a smirk, and Mars placed her hands firmly on the vent and hopped on up.

Once she was inside and without a moment spared, she immediately located the nearest port and connected herself to it. "Loading... loading... done." The power flipped back on just in time, and the numerous motion sensors throughout the ventilation systems flipped off. "The vents are clean. Let's go."

tag: @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus tilted his head towards Mars, watching as his companion slipped into the ventilation shaft first. “Why of course,” He mused, “After you.” Jaikus wasted no time in crawling in after her - though not before pulling the vent plate back into place to mask their entrance. Beside the few bolts that had been loosed, there was no visible sign they either of them had entered the facility for anyone walking past.

As soon as the motion sensors were down, Jaikus offered Mars a nod before jutting his chin forward. “It should give us plenty of opportunity to get in and out,” He said, following the Assassin along as they crawled through the vents. He evenly distributed his weight along the thin metallic floor, aiming to make as little noise as possible. “They won’t notice its down until long after we’re gone.”

He briefly paused, tapping a button along his vambrace to pull up a map of the facility on the inside of his HUD. The same information was transmitted to Mars, and would promptly pop up on her visor if she accepted the message. “Service map of the building,” He said, once more starting to move forward, “Should give us an idea of where the central archives are.” The ventilation system itself was a maze, but the map would give the pair a decent understanding of where they were and where they were going.

Minutes passed, but it didn’t take the pair long to reach their destination within the building. Jaikus came to a halt just behind Mars - glancing through a vent that lead down into the central archives. There was an immediate brush of cool air being pumped into the room, keeping a multitude of servers and computer systems cool.

The only obstacle, of course, was the trio of maintenance workers still occupying the room.

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

Mars took a second to pull down the sleeves of her hoodie all the way down her arms where she snagged them onto a small hook on each wrist. This would make sure that the metal cybernetics of her arm wouldn't clink and clang against the metal of the ventilation shaft as they crawled through. Like Devrish, she too made sure to distribute her weight evenly to avoid making a ruckus as she crept across the thin floor.

The message Devrish sent her appeared in the corner of her vision once it underwent a quick security scan, allowing Mars to lead the way through the maze of air conditioning tunnels.

"Three bodies," Mars said in a hushed voice. Her visor increased magnification so that she could get a closer look at them. The cyborg wanted to know whether or not they were armed, but as she searched the seams of their pants and pockets for any indication of a gun, she didn't spot anything. "Don't appear to be armed."

The woman positioned herself to the side of the grate and then pulled it up and out of the way. Once she was sure none of them were looking their way, Mars dangled her feet in, lowered herself down past her shoulders, then dropped. She muffled the fall by landing on her toes and immediately ducking into a crouch, then slid out of the way to allow Devrish to follow her.

"You. Me." She made a series of hand signals to gesture Devrish to take care of one of the workers to the left, while she grabbed the one on the right. The third was on the opposite side of the room, so as long as they were quick, quiet, and stayed out of sight, she figured they would be able to grab two, and then diverge on the final man.

tag: @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus exhaled once through his nostrils - proceeding the information that was presented to him. While the Axxilan wasn’t at all pleased by the development and having to deal with members of the facility staff, the revelation that they weren’t armed - and their apparent position as mere maintenance - was a bit more favorable. In the end, he merely nodded towards Mars before flicking his citrine gaze back onto the trio.

“Good,” He muttered quietly, his calculated and cold gaze fixating onto one of the men in particular. “All the easier for us,” With that, Jaikus followed close behind the assassin - slipping out of the ventilation grate and moving onto the floor level.

Unbeknownst to Mars, Jaikus passively channeled the Force as he moved - allowing it to flow into his lower extremities and enhance his movements. Even as he landing into a crouch, his footsteps made not a single echo. He didn’t pause there - immediately moving past Mars and moving onto the flank of the soldier she indicated to. The Axxilan had conducted these types of operations enough to where most of it was second nature, far more than open field combat.

Moving into position, Jaikus waited for the targeted maintenance worker to step around a row of servers - conducting routine maintenance as he checked each system. He moved just beyond the line of sight of the other two - and it was at that precise moment that the Axxilan struck. Slinking forth from the corner, the Axxilan lunged towards the maintenance worker - one arm snaking beneath his arm and across his neck, while the other firmly planted down across the man’s mouth. A single step backwards was taken - just a bit further into the darkness - before the Force ripped through his fingertips.

Just as the man began to squirm, Jaikus channeled the Force and slammed it against the maintenance worker’s mind. It abruptly blasted through his every thought and mental proceed - bringing them to a screeching halt with no heed to the damage done in the proceed. Not even a second later, the man collapsed backwards into Jaikus’ arms - knocked out cold. Jaikus slowly lowered the man to the ground, leaving him slumped the corner and safely out of sight.

If Mars had dispatched her own target by that point, Jaikus would slowly begin moving in for the third and final kill.[/gfont

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

Mars went quickly toward the man on the right. Like Devrish, she was quiet as a mouse, keeping her weight on her toes in order to muffle the sounds of her steps. She was a slicer, yes, but she'd broken into and snuck around in all sorts of places for years now. Sometimes, it was to steal. Other times, it was to end a life. Either way, she knew what she was doing.

She came up behind her target and slowly rose up from the ground, waiting a few moments until he was completely hidden from view, then reared back and chopped the maintenance worker in the nape of his neck. The precision of her strike and the solid metal of her cybernetic limb meant the man was immediately out cold. After checking his pulse to make sure he wasn't dead, she slipped her arms under his shoulders and drug him off to the side.

"Where's the third?" He'd moved from his previous position, so Mars proceeded with caution as she slinked about the various terminals and towers in the room. Her eyes flicked back in the direction Devrish had gone, checking to make sure he wasn't compromised. To her irritation, the third man had slowly made his way over there and was getting dangerously close to spotting the man.

"Shit." Mars immediately spun around and began advancing toward the guy, hoping to reach him before he spotted her accomplish. She slid her foot out, shifted her weight, then spun her body around and kicked her foot into the back of the man's knees. He instantly collapsed face first onto the ground, allowing Mars to kick her heel into the back of his neck and knock him out cold too. She then looked up at Devrish, and smiled under her visor.

"Clear."

tag: @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

With his first victim neutralized, Jaikus immediately began to move across the chamber - quietly cutting around the corner between the blinking terminals and server towers that filled the room. The Force passively flowed with his every footstep - dampening each strike against the ground until the noise was beyond audible to the maintenance workers. His fingers hovered above the hilt of his vibroblade, while his free hand swept out in front of him - the Force crackling between his fingertips, prepared to lash out at a moments notice.

His citrine gaze swept the room, quietly scouring for any sight of the third man. It wasn’t until Jaikus heard the beginning of footsteps from behind that he whipped around - vibroblade pulling a few inches from its sheathe as he turned. Before he could lash out and neutralize his target, however, the Axxilan watched as Mars jumped him - knocking the man out cold without a moment of delay.

Jaikus’ gaze lingered for a moment before flicking back up to Mars, giving her a solid nod of gratitude - lips tugging up ever-so-slightly. “You live up to your reputation.” The Axxilan said smoothly. Without another word, he slipped past the unconscious man and turned his attention to the main terminal in the center of the room. He tapped a single button on his vambrace, withdrawing the computer spike that was promptly inserted into the terminal. A small display appeared, and Jaikus immediate went to work slicing into the system. “It will only take me a few minutes..” He said, glancing up vaguely towards Lizzie. “Keep an eye on the doors.”

Beyond the archives, the sound of heavy footsteps would clearly be heard - though it remained momentarily unclear where they were going.

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

Well, she certainly hadn't built her reputation up on fuck-ups. There were plenty of for-hires out there that would bust down a door, guns ablaze, but not so many who would deal with the infiltration side of things. It was so much easier to do the former, but the latter was just so much more rewarding.

"You're not too bad yourself, Devrish," she chimed back. Now that they were alone in the room, she wasn't wholly concerned with someone overhearing them. The cyborg woman did still keep her voice at a cautious hush, but hand gestures who no longer necessary.

While he worked on slicing into the system, Mars fought the urge to peak over his shoulder and make sure everything went smoothly and leveled her eyes back and forth between the room's exits. It was then that she spotted a camera dome stuck on the ceiling on the far side of the room. She couldn't tell if it was online from where she was, so she made a quick comment about it and headed on over.

"Easy enough," she noted as she easily removed the glass casing that concealed the camera itself. The device was in its relaxed off position, which was a source of relief for the slicer. It wasn't difficult to disable cameras, but it was much more of a chore to locate the security room and manually delete any footage. "I wonder if the brief power outage fucked with the camera systems..." If the security was as extensive as Devrish had said before, it was possible that the cameras were on two or three separate systems to avoid a total blackout. If that was the case, then perhaps this particular system was in need of repair.

Either way, it had worked out well for them.

"But, don't mind if I do." Mars released the port connector from her wrist and plugged it into the corresponding socket in the camera, giving her high-level access to the security systems. She was still able to keep an eye on the doors while she worked on looking for a vulnerability to let her gain elevated privileges as the UI for it appeared in her visor.

Once she was in, Mars immediately began looking for a network entrance into their security database. She could never pass up the opportunity to snag some high-level security data.

tag: @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

“I’m flattered,” Jaikus said - the inflection in his voice making it clear the Axxilan was sporting a grin beneath his mask. He was entirely pleased to be working with someone who was equally capable and had experience in matters of subterfuge - making short work of what was otherwise a delicate and sensitive operation. In truth, Jaikus had his work cut out for him after their job was all said and done. Capitalizing on the fallout of the leaked information, moving in to purchase plummeting shares - all it would require surgical precision to execute, and it was exactly what the Axxilan had been preparing weeks in advance for.

“Anyone coming to pay us a visit?” He asked after a moment, glancing over his shoulder to Mars. He caught sight of the Assassin tapping into the computer systems and proceeding to collect her own data - and promptly didn’t care either way. As long as she knew how to cover her own tracks and ensure nothing suspicious could be found, Jaikus had no qualms with what she was doing.

His gaze only lingered on the woman for a few moments before promptly flicking back to the terminal he was attached to. A quick review of the terminal revealed the data was almost completely uploaded onto the archives, and the dataplague attached ensured that the corresponding files could not be deleted off the network once they were implanted.

“Just a minute or two more.”

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

”Cameras are offline,” Mars answered as she continued to study the downloading information on her visor screen. ”My guess is they’ve probably got their cameras on multiple systems to avoid total security outage, and it just so happens that our little power flicker took this system offline.” Though she had no idea when they’d recuperate and come back online, the cyborg woman had at least disabled this one for sure.

”Roger that.” As far as she could tell, they weren’t in any danger of any complications as long as they didn’t spend tens of minutes in here. The regular routine of checking each and every terminal probably took half an hour or so, and she doubted the place would be so paranoid as to radio in on their maintenance workers every few minutes.

In the meanwhile, Mars continued with her own infiltration. The systems were pretty secure, but to her absolute delight it looked like someone had installed a backdoor hidden behind an unassuming user account and forgotten to remove the access. Of course, she wasn’t looking to harm the systems at all. She just wanted their data.

tag: @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

A few minutes passed, and Jaikus was beyond pleased to find the process went without interruption. The maintenance workers were still out cold after being neutralized - and the few other individuals within the facility simply weren’t concerned with their whereabouts - and had no reason to needlessly go investigating the archives. It was more than the Axxilan could have hoped for, and it took a concerted effort for Jaikus to contain the grin that found its way onto his lips.

“Done,” He said after a long moment, pulling the datachip free from the console. With his information and the accompanying dataplague uploaded onto the system, his objective within the building was complete. All that was left was to expose the evidence he had planted - and to position himself accordingly to capitalize upon the fallout. His work wasn’t quite done - but his job with Mars had reached its conclusion.

“Once you’re finished collecting souvenirs,” He said, his voice carrying the clear inflection of the smirk on his lips, “I would recommend we get moving. Sooner rather than later.”

The moment Mars had finished with her own collection, the Axxilan turned on a heel - his gaze flicking back up to the open vent they had emerged from. The Force subtly coiled around his extremities as he vaulted upwards - landing within the vent with only a muffled, barely audible thud. He proceeded to extend a hand down to his hired help - allowing her to slip back into the ventilation shaft so they could make their exit.

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

"I'm good to go," Mars called out not long after he indicated his desire to get going. She had just finished downloading the data she wanted and immediately removed herself from the system afterward. "Let's."

Mars went to follow after Devrish and witnessed the literal vertical leap he took to get up into the vents. She paused, eyes narrowing behind her visor, but she followed behind him anyway. Her hand grasped his and she pulled herself up. The woman wouldn't ask, but she'd learned something very valuable about her mission partner.

Once they were out of the building, Mars helped put the grate back into place and remove her tech from the power box not too far off.

"Good job in there," she complimented of Devrish once they were clear of the building's premises. "Been nice workin' with someone who knows what they're doing for once," she added.

tag: @Altaris