Hack and Burn [Waste Rangers]

[Chairdor]

This was quite possibly the worst day of Taon's life and maybe his last. Terminus had been having trouble with militias emerging to combat crime so the government created a huge benefits package for anyone who became an officer. Naturally Taon joined up in order to make good money thinking the politicians would never do something as stupid as go to war with the gangs. That was yesterday however and it seemed today times had changed, so now before he enjoyed even a single moment of the now tripe benefits offered for putting his life on the line, the old merc was expected to suit up and ship out to the slums to play chicken with some vigilante jackasses.

Placing his face into his hands the man sighed as he grabbed his rifle and other gear. On his wall monitor he noted the bits of video he had just watched, cats and their silly antics, an old man falling off a scooter, a jedi using mind tricks to perform pranks. To think the preservation of this simple humorous life was what he would be fighting for this night and many others for weeks. Enough to make a grown man cry really, but not Taon, Taon was more the get angry type so after smashing his helmet into his monitor he prepared himself for a little thing called war.

Just as he fully equipped himself he saw his new cracked monitor flashing red. Turning about he saw a strange picture of a cat and then the words 'Smile you're going to war' were crossed out and a big red 'NOT' was written over them as a young woman said, 'This has been a test of the emergency broadcast system, thank you for all those who prepared as you should. Good Night,' with that Taon set to cursing, he'd just destroyed his wall monitor and now he didn't get to shoot the people responsible. This really was the-

'Best Day Ever'​

Para 'Slamma Jamma' Arin said as she turned on the music she always hacked to. As she readied herself for the cakewalk that was bypassing a network security grid once it was actively broadcasting she noted the message it was displaying, 'Smile you're going to War'. Shaking her head with a frown at that she made a few adjustments after displaying her trademark cat logo,

"No war tonight, bad for business," she said with a smirk as she began to work on her real goal.

Tapping her keyboard lightly she navigated her way into a few banking reserves and began to move a few thousand credits around as a test. Seeing that they remained in their new locations Para smiled as she set to work. A few credits here, a few credits there, there a credit, there a credit, everywhere a credit credit. Once the server was sufficiently muddled with random data to cover her trail, Para moved one hundred thousand credits from a recently opened account into a charity she had read was currently failing. Noting the goodness in her heart she knew then that she deserved a reward for her selflessness. Taking one credit from every account she could access she watched as thousands of credits funneled through a series of proxy accounts until they finally arrived in her own personal checking account. Watching her savings slowly tick up to insurmountable levels Para kicked back and realized she could retire at 25. Not that she was going to, still it was nice to have the option.

As the hacker performed her work she looked out onto the massive city spanning nearly the entire world and blew a kiss, "To the techno illiterate, may you always be ten steps behind me." After that toast to her own victory the young woman stood up and left the public terminal of one 'Lars Karaonae Public Accountant' making sure to spray the area with a mildly acidic substance to melt any trace of her presence. Upon leaving the office building she came across the guard kath hounds and offered the sweet hearts another strip of jerky each, "You're such stupid idiots," she cooed and they happily accepted her food without so much as a yip to alert the guards.

Once far from the scene of the crime Para took a victory spinning leap and began to dancing about thinking she was invincible. As she celebrated the hacker wondered what the bankers might say when they learned what she had done to their precious little system,

'I'LL KILL THEM'​

A rather rotund Hutt declared slamming his slimy fist onto the table surrounded by similarly rotund fellows of varying species and levels of rage. One of the individuals, a lithe woman with a rather controlled look about her spoke up,

"We don't even know who they are,"

"Well that's why were hiring the security firms" he replied slamming his fist once more.

The woman sighed as she stood up and activated a small holo projector. The hologram was of two officers taking a package of money from a scared woman. Clicking another scene appeared of officers walking past a dying man as he was being savagely beaten. Another click another scene this time of officers smashing into a hovercar only to rush off without so much as a note. Removing her glasses the woman said,

"I don't think its in our interest to trust security contractors with this mission, noting their long history of corruption, incompetence, and theft."

A grumbling mummer of agreement emerged from the table as the woman moved on to her recommendation. Clicking the holoprojector a small add appeared showing a group of cowboylike fighters with the words 'Waste Rangers' underneath them. When this faded she said,

"I think we need a bit of off world help for this and this was the closest reputable group I could find,"

"Very good, you have permission to contact them on our behalf."

The woman smirked, "Already have they're set to arrive any minute for a briefing." with that she turned off the projector and walked out of the room. As the woman left with a widening smile she thought Those idiots as she cycled through the presentation she had made in order to insure that the investigation against her was done by illiterate cowboys and not the finest security force in the system. Giving a light chuckle Para 'Slamma Jamma' Arin, vice president of the Terminus Banking Commission knew she was in the clear. Now to plan her retirement.

 

[PapaChenks]

Dorax had just gotten off his speeder bike, stretched his legs after the journey. It was his first mission on Terminus, also his first mission with the rangers. He breathed in heavily as he looked over at his partner, Sarith, seemed hand enough, on the looks of things he'd seen his fair share or action.

As Dorax began to make his way towards the clients location, he called to his new partner "Oye, Sarith, I'll let you do the talking to begin with. Take this as a complement, your more... approachable than me." He finished off, turning himself so his entire front was facing away from the speeders. The Ssi-Ruu eyed up the building, that smell, the smell of a Hutt. He'd had a few run-ins before with that specie. They weren't all bad, but they certainly weren't all good. Dorax craned his neck as he walked slowly towards the entrance.

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Sarith stepped off the speeder and hadn't taken more than a step away before deft hands placed a cigar between his lips, and with the clicking of a lighter he had a cherry burning orange with a long drag. He watched the building, as if there was anything to watch, and listened to Dorax speak. He didn't answer right away and instead let out a long sigh that was complimented with a curling gray cloud of smoke to go along with it when the pleasant buzz of nicotine hit his senses.

He was more approachable? Obviously Dorax didn't know him that well. Then again this was the first time they'd ever worked together. But still, his fellow Ranger had a point. He didn't know Dorax's history very much, but Sarith was in his element here. This was a job that he could handle well. He had never worked on Terminus before but high-dollar white-collar crime was essentially the same no matter where you went. Whether you liked it or not, no matter how nice the offices were of the people that needed your help, you ended up slinking around in the dark corners of a club or a drug lab, or somewhere unpleasant to find your answers. Having a seven foot tall cyborg partner around would help with nosy bouncers and toughs, at least.

"Sounds like a plan." Sarith followed just a step behind Dorax with one hand stuffed in the pocket of his hoodie, "Shouldn't be too much. Its just some Hutt bankers." As they came through the door he stepped closer to be able to lower his voice, "In, briefed, and out. Hopefully we can be following a lead before its time for dinner."

As he approached the front desk, Sarith stepped ahead of his partner with a few quick, broad steps. When he approached the counter he spotted the trash can nearby. A quick tap and he flicked his ashes into the can before putting the cigar back in its original place so he could bury both hands in his pockets. He was pretty sure doing that had earned a glare from lobby security but he was sure it wasn't about to start any bin-fires from old ash.

He was as straight to business as possible, "Hey there. We're with the Rangers, sent here about a job the firm needed done. Ring them that we're here and we'll head up."

 

[PapaChenks]

Following his partners lead as the doors opened to reveal an open elevator. The elevator, Dorax presumed was there to take himself and Sarith to their clients. By the looks of it, the size of the machine would only just manage to hold himself looking about 7,4 maybe 7,5. Dorax walked into the elevator before waiting for instructions. In an effort to start conversation he asked his new partner in a brash fashion, "So, Sarith, last kill?".

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

As the elevator had come open, Sarith waited for his much larger partner to step inside before he followed suit. He kept to his own small side of hte elevator and had been intent to wait in silence, "enjoying" (if one used the term lightly) the elevator muzak being piped in from the speakers. In the first few moments of relative silence while thoughtfully taking a pull of his cigar, Sarith wondered just how their dynamic would go if they had to go questioning any shadier elements for this job. He'd found often times it was best to go with a loose plan, and flow with the situation from there. But you still needed a plan. Knowing himself well and taking one look at Dorax told him that the old-fashioned and highly popularized "Good Cop, Bad Cop" skit wasn't an option. The best they'd managed would probably be something akin to "Bad Cop, Worse Cop". Sarith wondered how that would play out.

Sarith would probably just have to smack the poor fool with their own shoe. Dorax could use a chair. Or another suspect.

But with Dorax's question, he didn't answer right away. Instead the former Detective seemed to ponder and think on it. For the time being his partner didn't know of his true history and the things he'd done since his time as an officer. In fact he was fairly certain he'd never even told the man about his time in Internal Affairs in Iziz. Until he found a good time to bring up the later mess that was his career, he'd prefer to keep away from those stories. Even if it meant taking a bit of a scuff to his reputation.

"Last kill? Hm." He thought on it a bit more, eyes drifting to the ceiling of the elevator, "Would had to have been - maybe seven months ago? I was doing security for some herders on Tatooine. Kept animals and sand people away from their herds. The kill was nobody really special. Just one of the sand folks who zigged when he should have zagged, is all." He flicked ash to the floor, not concerned with the mess a service droid would likely be stuck with, "Back when I was a cop, we tried not to kill too many people. It was bad for business." He sighed lightly, "You?"

 

[PapaChenks]

Dorax laughed at the reply, "My last, planet, Galantos. Someone wanted me dead, they sent a bounty hunter after me. Unfortunately for him, I'm faster than I look, he may have got the first hit, but I certainly got the last." He looked at the screen which displayed the floor level as the number slowly increased. "Wait, did you say you were a cop?" He said, leaning his head towards his partner.

 

[Chairdor]

OOC: sorry for the delay. Here is a picture of Tom DeLay

Also for the rest of the RP let's keep posting in order from me to Papa to Hobo

Para watched the two 'gentlemen' arrive in the banking center and slowly take the elevator up toward her floor. As the elevator ascended so too did the young woman's confidence as she barely contained her laughter after seeing the mockery of justice she had managed to find out in the boonies to personally bungle this job for her. Oh my god that bearded guy looks like a hobo that got beaten up and robbed by another hobo and that metal lizard is wearing a skull, A SKULL! clutching her sides as she realized she was essentially in the clear, Para moved towards the elevators now opening doors being sure to adjust her suit jacket to make sure her first impression was a good one. While this seemed to be a highly superficial move Para knew in order for her double life to be a success for the time she needed she truly had to be of two minds. While nighttime 'Slamma Jamma' Para was an uproarious and extremely cool hacker extraordinaire, daytime Para was a respectable young upward mobility focused woman who had dreams and a mortgage.

Adjusting to this mentality Para shifted her hair into a more conservative fashion and stretched her lips for a nice big smile to greet the two rangers. Going through all the motions of her plan in her head once more she carefully spoke the words she had practiced quite a few times just hours before,

"Greetings Gentlemen I am Miss Arin a representative of the banking interests effected by this unfortunate crime. As I understand it you're here to help us with that so let me lead you to what we've determined is the scene of the crime while I give you all the background we have already gathered," as she finished this introduction she slowly turned about and began to walk in a leading fashion towards the desk she had used just hours before to become one of the richest women in Terminus. Her selected victim was yet another fallback in her series of plans B through Z, his name was Lars Karaonae and he and his accounting firm had become infamous for wire fraud and dodging taxes. A common joke among the bankers who shared his office was that the accountant was often unaccounted for and today was no exception as Para was sure he had fled the system by now.

"This office belonged to a private accountant named Lars Karaonae who rented the office space for his firm. His office and its computer was accessed around one a clock this morning at which time financial trading rose about a tenth of a percentile above the average. After this initial rise it rose again by five percent before every single account in our server was accessed at once. Tracking the money proved to be impossible after it went off world and that leaves our potential losses at some several hundred million credits. It's a paltry sum for the organization as a whole, but our reputation as a secure network is what is truly at stake."

Para moved into the office playing her role perfectly. If all went well these two goons would have no idea where to start the search and waste a few months of time 'investigating' while the hacker deleted any other trace of evidence that may have remained from her actions. If they did catch a trail however, Para was confident it would be to find the elusive accountant who could believably take the fall for her due to his past illicit activities. As for the icing on the cake, Para gave a small frown as she looked to the two rangers adding this next bit,

"I'm sure your interested in any video or audio records we have of the office but as it happens this entire building is mainly unmonitored save for the vault and server rooms. We have a large network of law offices within the building and they might find other accommodations if they knew their attorney client privilege was being undermined by continual surveillance from a third party. However, we have made sure not to touch the crime scene so it is completely uncontaminated, you're free to dust it for any prints or dna if you'd like."

With that Para held up a small booklet.

"This is the official report of the rest of our findings in full, on behalf of Terminus Central Banking, I wish you an expedited effort in catching this fiend,"

Handing it to one of the Ranger Para turned face and headed back to her own unmonitored office. Arriving she fell into her chair in a laughing fit knowing now that she really was in the clear. Now the two doofs would probably check the room for dna only to find every speck of it was covered with her special acidic glaze. Anything that had once had an ounce of value as evidence had become horribly contaminated and intermixed with everything next to it making it next to useless in testing. Of course they would check the computers logs as well. She hoped they were quick on their feet because that computer was about to go up in flames in 3...2...1...

A ring of a fire alarm came up right on cue as Para smiled and kicked back as everyone else around her panicked. I got this in the bag she thought as she kicked on her hacking jams and rocked out in her office for a spell.

 

[PapaChenks]

"Ha!" Dorax laughed at the sight of the monitor that he and Sarith were facing burst into flames. "Well there goes our first point of interest." Dorax looked around the room, sucking both his cheeks in as his eyes narrowed, as he smelt the burning solder of the machine.

"Ya know, I'm one for timing, and I sure as heck bet whoever this hacker is as well, that explosion, was trying to be well timed if you ask me." Dorax then took a step towards a window looking out over the metropolitan environment beyond. "Though I'd say, poor timing. You look like you've been in the game long enough, and I sure have to say that someone who as the skills to acquire several hundred million credits wouldn't be the type foolish enough to leave evidence."

Now turning to look at the door, "What type of person would be that good but also that arrogant? They'd be young". He raised his hand to scratch his left side of his neck, "They'd also be working on the inside. Now we're in a bank, not too many young folks in here."

Dorax turned back towards his partner, "I know we haven't been here long, but we've already encountered one young employee of this company, and she fitted the bill. Not saying she is, but I'd rather question her before she gets to far away. Did you catch her name?"

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Ignoring the burning monitor for the time being, Sarith crouched down and eyed the surface of the desk carefully. There was something about it, about the sheen on the surface of the water from the fire extinguishers that kicked on overhead. It was - familiar. As was his signature for being engrossed in thought, he puffed away at his slowly dwindling cigar. Gears turned and immediately he connected the dots. It likely wasn't Drexl Spirit, a far more aggressive chemical solution (which had nothing to do at all with the Drexl of Dxun). There would have been pock-marks and damage all across the computer and the desk likely would have had burn damage. But the intended result was, he imagined, very much the same. Even if the computer hadn't started burning away, it would have been wiped of DNA like everything else the hacker might have touched. And all the while, Sarith kept an ear listening to Dorax's every word carefully. More pieces to be analyzed by the detective-machine.

"What's the perfect crime if nobody is able to admire you for it?" The question was almost more to himself than to his partner as Sarith stood, "I think you're right on the DNA evidence. Probably acid-wiped. You couldn't find less hair on a waxed twi'lek dancer." He flicked the rest of the cigar into the burning remnants of the computer monitor, "One thing is for sure, I can almost guarantee you it isn't the Mr. Karaonae who used this office. If its public knowledge its his office, he wouldn't have used it unless he was some special kind of dumb, and if he was that dumb then he wouldn't have bothered to get rid of the DNA. Besides, I guarantee they have samples from him on file somewhere."

Sarith reached into one pocket of his hoodie where he felt the book containing the official report the aide had given to them. He frowned and looked about the office, taking in the smoldering remains of the computer, the desk, out the door. Still he went over what Dorax had just said and then over his brief experience with Ms. Arin who, as best he had been able to tell in first meeting her, seemed to be on the level about the whole thing. Maybe - he wanted to brush it off as simply being a gut instinct but he'd been saved too many times listening too them. Maybe Ms. Arin was perhaps a little too level-headed and calm about the whole situation.

"I agree with you, Dorax. But I don't think the fire was poorly timed, or the explosion poorly set. I think - I think they were set just how our culprit wanted them set." He grinned as he almost admired the work of whoever they were dealing with, "The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they are when you kill them, Dorax. To do what they did, our hacker obviously needed skill, and an inside contact. They want to confuse us on just how skilled they are and hide any third parties in this." He sighed, "I think we need to go speak with Ms. Arin again while maintenance douses this fire. Do me a favor Dorax? The staff on this floor are busy evacuating and I'm willing to bet Ms. Arin is with them. Keep an eye out for when she returns and let me know. While she's out of the office with the other employees, I'm maybe going to see if I can peak through anything she might have."

With hands stuffed in his pockets, he made his way past the last remnants of the evacuating employees, scanning the open floor for the woman they'd met while on his way to her marked office. When he reached the door, he tapped twice to check, and then went for the handle. Needless to say, if it were to be unlocked and he found Ms. Arin within, she'd be greeted with a muted but curious look from the former Detective.

 

[PapaChenks]

Dorax laughed at the sarcastic nature of his partner. A bell went off in his head. 'Unless she was set up?' he queried. The cyborg then left the room before promptly leaning on the door as it closed. He doubted she'd return, though if she was foolish enough he'd be waiting.

If that elevator door open and he caught just a flash of her, he'd be onto her like a flash. His tail hung limply as he waited. For either the return of Arin or of Sarith.

 

[Chairdor]

As the alarms continued to ring, workers began to shuffle out of their individual cubicles and offices down towards the various staircases and lifts that would lead them to the emergency exits in the building. Para paid no heed to the alarms knowing her little cook fire would be instantly doused, but not before its work had been done. Just as the hacker began to tap her foot to the rising beat of her mixlist she heard her doorknob begin to moving. Fearing it was another coworker or worse on the the investigators she swiftly turned off the music and used her sudden stress to channel into a frazzled look of fear. This fearful look was what met the entering Sarith as Para began to push past him saying,

"Oh dear...oh dear me I was so focused on my work I just now heard the alarms...you should get out of here to you're already putting yourself at risk hunting a possibly dangerous man you don't need to play firefighter as well," with that Para moved towards the lift which at the time was only occupied by a short fat man with coke bottle glasses holding a red stapler. She attempted to move away from him as he kept muttering something about how he was told there was cake.

As she descended she pulled a small transceiver from her pocket and clicked it just as she did every night. Slowly the security measures in her office began to activate turning her ten digit pass code for her computer into a thousand digit one, locking the drawers in her desk, and most importantly storing her music list in cloud storage so it couldn't get corrupted. Confident she had dodged a proverbial bullet the hacker watched as the elevator doors opened and she had to dodge a literal one.

CRACK

The blaster bolt singed into the wall just behind the fat man she rode with, he looked down as did she to see a clean hole going right through his stomach. He touched upon it for a moment, bringing a crimson finger to his eyes before they rolled back and he fell upon the floor dead. Screaming Para was held down by two men armed to the teeth and prepared to use there teeth as well if the job required it. As she was dragged with the other hostages she finally realized the fire alarm had faded long ago and was replaced with an entirely different alarm, the warning siren now ringing she had only heard once on a drill years ago, but she remembered its meaning quite clear enough. Terrorism.

"Now everyone if you could just bunch up nice and close for the group shot," a sinister man said with a cackle as two of his grunts held up automatic blasters in preparation to fire upon the group. As they lined up their shots the cackling man ceased laughing and began to proselytize his insane and inane reasoning as to why he was attacking a building full of bankers,

"You may have read about the rising militia activity in the news, but to those ignorant of the whole affair let me tell you what the militias rose to protect the people from...you" he said pointing a finger which drifted over the entire terrified crowd, "As it stands Terminus isn't exactly equitable in its distribution of wealth...you think yourselves tall but it is only because you stand upon the backs of so many oppressed and now you have made your final mistake...the theft you allowed last night will cost the slums of this world thousands of lives...so it's only fair that a few of yours are taken as well."

Para couldn't believe this maniac. A dollar that is all she took from peoples accounts, albeit she took a dollar from as many account as she could but that shouldn't cost her her life. as her heart and mind raced as one she thought of what she could possibly do as she was herded in like the others amidst their sweat and sobs. Paralyzed for a moment as the guns were raised against them and some of the gathered began to scream Para shot up and shouted,

"Wait!"

It seems time heeded her call as everything seemed to stand still for the hacker as her eyes slowly began to close in fear of the bullet undoubtedly heading towards her exposed form. Instead she felt hands upon her shoulders and as she opened her eyes she looked upon the man who had spoken before. He smiled at her as he said,

"I recognize you and you are exactly who we need,"

Para didn't know what to say. Did they know she was a hacker and wanted her to get into the mainframe, did they want her access card or her knowledge of the buildings layout. Then all at once she was lifted by a bulk Gammorean as the man began to laugh,

"You're the VP for that Hutt, the last member of the board. Fantastic! Boys we got our last hostage!"

Cheers were heard as Para was slowly taken outside. As she looked back through the closing doors the last thing she saw was the automatic fire cutting down her coworkers. Closing her eyes after a moment Para put her head down. Eventually she was shoved into a mass of flesh and opened her eyes to find out it was one of her bosses. Getting up she saw the whole board was assembled save for one. Looking about curiously a Twi'lek spoke up,

"Graum tried to resist...he...they."

Para nodded as she felt a sudden movement under her feet,

"Where are they taking us?" she asked the assembled group, but none knew. Taking a seat in an unoccupied corner Para dug her knuckles into her eyes trying to think. Ultimately her mind turned back towards justifying these happenings, trying to figure out how this wasn't her fault. When she at last concluded she was responsible for the deaths that day she began to sob. She thought she had taken so little, but now she could never return what had been lost. As the dark vehicle continued to move the hacker humored hopelessness when she saw a small glowing panel in the corner. Growing closer towards it her eyes lit up as her hands got to work on the screen. Hacking had gotten her into this mess, now maybe it could get her out, now maybe she could do some good after all this evil.

 

[PapaChenks]

Blaster shots! The daze Dorax had fallen into was abruptly ended. He jumped up from his position heading towards the sound. As he approached the elevator landing he saw bodies. Unarmed bodies. Regardless whether this had anything to do with his assignment the Ssi-Ruu knew this took priority.

As he stopped to view the scene he raised his wrist to his mouth speaking into his comlink, "Sarith, we have a problem, you probably know about i'm going to try....." He was cut off by movement amongst the bodies.

"Lizard!" Dorax was struck by the derogatory term but slid the side of the fallen Gossam.

"You all right?" Dorax asked

"Fine, only a slight leg wound" Dorax glanced at the Gossam's right leg which was singing, after a deep cough the Gossam continued, "They, they took a prisoner" He motioned in a direction, "they can't have gone too far"

Dorax wasted no time, nodding his thanks and rushed off in the prescribed direction. How did he know I was help? Dorax wondered, before remembering he was in a bank with a large firearm holstered on his back. The cyborg burst through a set of doors before raising his wrist again, "Sorry about that Sarith, just a got a detail, you can track my movements, I'm trying to track a hostage, Dorax out". He knew his message was rushed but frankly he had higher priorities.

The Ssi-Ruu stumbled over a fallen chair which impeded his fast movements. This turned out to be fortuitous as it meant he open the next door at a far slower pace. The door slowly opened. There were people inside. Dorax glanced through the gap between the door and the wall. Holding the door in place with both hands to prevent it sliding open.

He knew he couldn't go in all guns blazing, that'd be reckless. He decided to send a message via his transponder to Sarith to tell him his location, he guessed that the ex-cop would know what that would mean, that he was in a situation where he couldn't talk, but that it was imperative that his partner came to.

Dorax closed the door quietly. He pressed his right ear against the door to try and hear the goings on beyond the door, hoping to hear a cue to burst in. He decided now would be a good time to get his weapon ready. If he was about to get into combat he might as well be prepared. He unslung the large chaingun from his back, wondering why he decided this as his weapon of choice. Sure in large combat it was fine, but if he was trying to refrain from hitting someone he didn't want, it would be difficult. Why oh why didn't he go for a simple blaster. Putting aside these thoughts, he waited and listened by the door.

He suddenly realised the vehicle on the other side was moving. Glancing through, all the persons had gone, presumably onboard. The large vehicle moved off into the distance, did he follow? He'd left his blasted speeder bike by another entrance. Opening the door his eyes followed it, at least he now knew what he was looking for. He needed to reach it, but how?

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Probably till the day he died, Sarith would never know what divine being had been so kind as to grant the fluke of allowing his partner to hear the echo of those shots over the slowly dying alarms and water hitting the surfaces around him (which, truth be told, was getting annoying with how it'd begun to soak his hair). But Sarith wasn't thinking about that right then. The moment the call from Dorax had come over his communicator, Sarith had already been moving in a dash for the elevators, and when he vaulted one of the desks in his way he'd already had his pistol drawn in-hand by the time his feet hit the ground again. Whatever was happening meant he had to move, and fast. On a planet like this? Corporations weren't treated how they were in other places. Crossing into the lobby was like crossing the border of another country. Its citizens protected by laws and regulations outsiders couldn't hope to understand, its heads-of-state untouchable by common law. The group that went guns blazing into a place like this had a death wish, or they had a mission. Sarith hoped it'd be the first and then he'd be happy to oblige them.

One of the elevators was already taken by Dorax and so Sarith was in the one right beside it. While there were no bodies within, there were scorch marks and what looked like blood burned into some of the walls and the carpet under his feet. Sarith scowled at the thought and tucked to one side of the elevator before crouching down with his pistol trained on the door. Just in case there were still gunman waiting to try and pick off any last minute escape attempts. Of course when the door opened he was greeted with nothing of the sort. Instead he found only a blasted and shot up lobby. Wounded and dead lay seemingly everywhere and the acrid stench of burning flesh and cloth hit Sarith as he stepped out of the door and swept the lobby with his pistol at the ready. Part of him wanted to throw up but he bit back the rising sensation in his throat and picked up his pace moving across the lobby as he caught sight of Dorax. Immediately he took to following his fellow Ranger.

But his luck wasn't the best. In a manner like a few women he'd once called lovers might have wished of him, he arrived after his partner. Of course this time it was simply catching a good enough glimpse of the get-away vehicle to be able to pursue it. However while Dorax was staring in the direction of the fleeing vehicle, Sarith realized they needed to act. Yes he would have liked using their own speeder bikes but that wasn't an option. Those were waiting outside the wrong doorway. Sarith spotted an aircar just parking with its occupants seemingly oblivious to the current situation. With a harsh slap on Dorax's shoulder signaling him to follow, the former Detective ran for the aircar while fishing inside his hoodie for his ID. He could only pray that these kids in the car would be too petrified by the threat of authority to actually ask questions. Otherwise things might fall sour.

He flashed his ID, fast enough for a quick glance to identify that it was, in fact, an ID. Little more. That and the gun in his hand would have to be enough. If he was lucky they'd think he was a plain-clothed detective . . . which he and Dorax technically were.

If only Sarith didn't have so much past experience doing this sort of thing, "TPD! We're commandeering your vehicle! Get out, now!"

He moved to the driver's side as he tucked his "badge" away inside his hoodie. With the backing of a seven foot tall cyborg lizard with a big gun with him, hopefully it'd make an impression. That and the way he moved towards the driver implied that if the kid didn't get out of the car, then Sarith was a second or two from making him get out of the car.

 

[Chairdor]

Para needed something to focus on. That's what her music was for really, it allowed the twitches of her body, her hunger and thirsts and every other stupid little desire, to fade into the obscurity where it belonged. Her mind freed then Para could do anything with her fingers upon her keyboard and her face glued to a string watching data form into the beautiful tapestry of possibility that so many couldn't see. Her breathing was too rapid now, her heart was too broken, her mind filled with unreleased tension and unanswered fears. Still she had to press on, she had to at least begin.

A rapid tapping of effort flashed across the screen as Para began to thread the needle between the interfaces security protocols. Luckily the device she was jacking into was overly sophisticated as he frazzled mind wasn't prepared for anything too challenging. Slowly the others began to take notice of her efforts and one Rodian business man began to look over her shoulder perusing her efforts. Slowly his own fearful mind watched her easily hack into the door controls and he began to put together a few dots. Stepping back with a gasp he pointed at her and said,

"Hacker! It was you!"

Para was too in the zone to notice the Rodian's correct assessment so when she was rudely yanked from activating the door gears to free them all she was quite surprised to see the surviving hostages looking upon her with daggers in their eyes. Several hands gripped deeply into the flesh of her tired arms bruising them in their intensity. Wincing at the sudden hostility of her coworkers and business partners Para attempted to play dumb,

"Wha- what are you talking about I'm just trying to call the police on it!"

In this instance playing dumb fit the part as it was quite the stupid thing to do. The Rodian fed up with Para's little act threw he back into her chair and approached her with the others. His accusing finger pointed directly to her chest and then pressed upon it harshly as he spat the anger and bile he had had to hold back from this nightmare of a banking disaster,

"You were the one who stole from us! From all of us! This is happening because of you!"

The words stung in their truth and Para quivered under his continued violence in holding her. This did not cause the angered group to relent at all and they might have gone much further if Para hadn't gotten the small of her hand free enough to place it upon the monitor she was just about finished hacking. As she typed one letter at a time she grimaced and spoke to the harsh Rodian,

"So..what if I am...what are you going to do to me?"

The Rodian's eyes black as tar, thinned as he smiled, "Whatever I want,"

That was enough justification for Para as she activated the cars doors causing the Rodian to stumble back in surprise and then flew out of the vehicle with a single scream before smashing into a building just below. Brushing herself off Para looked to the two remaining Hutts far to fat to lose their balance and fall like the Rodian and gave them a smile and a wink before leaping out of the vehicle.

Down on the ground two teen were still desperately trying to call 911 to report that their car had been 'commandeered', while high above Para continued to descend away from the terrorists and swiftly towards the earth. While this seemed to be an escape plan with a rather obvious blemish the young woman rectified that by shifting her body just so to reveal the small flaps of cloth hidden in her work clothes. Always looking for a thrill the young hacker had gotten into the dare devil hobby of free jumping and quite enjoyed a good jump after her lunch break every day at work. So like any person would she hid a small pack of parachutes in her suit making it hilariously a para-suit. Letting the small flaps of her para-suit deploy the young woman's descent ended with a small bump as she then began to float gently back to the earth.

Up above the terrorists driving the vehicle felt the sudden loss of weight but were two preoccupied with what was appearing in their mirrors,

"Blimey that look like coppers to you?" one of them asked and the other answered by producing a spear and leaning out the window. Firing rapidly and without aim or remorse the terrorists began to laugh hoping soon to see the little ship before him crash and burn along with everything else on this stinking planet. This banking nonsense had finally allowed his group a chance to rise up and destroy this world so they could build it back up again and he was damned if he was going to allow some coppers in what looked like a mini van speeder stop him.

 

[PapaChenks]

Dorax tried to keep his balance, due to the size of the vehicle he didn't want to lean, "I can't shoot!" he exclaimed to his partner, he had a firearm capable of destroying the fugitive craft's engines but he knew there were hostages on board. Looking through the windshield Dorax had to think fast. He couldn't shoot, but was been shot, he had to get on board.

Sarith's piloting skills were enough to avoid the blaster shots, but for how long. Dorax ordered his partner to drive closer. Examining the diminished distance Dorax guessed this would be his one chance before he was destroyed. Slipping into the rear of the 'van' the Ssi-Ruu opened the back door just as a shot went through the windshield and past the right of his face.

Now was the time where it paid to be Lizard and machine, this was his moment. With both hand grasping the roof, he turned 180 degrees so was essentially holding onto his vehicle, he could feel the craft drop at his end due to his immense weight. With one great pull, Dorax hauled himself onto the roof, already leaving a dent.

"Your not going to like this" Dorax barked at Sarith, warning him of the imminent lowering of the height of the roof above his head. He hoped his partner heard him. Pushing himself off with his arms, then the huge injection of power as his legs were utilised, taking one more push on each of his arms and legs Dorax leaped.

It wasn't the furthest he'd leaped, but time seemed to slow down, with the exception of the blasts, fortunately Karma was on his side, and the blasts avoided him, just. His claws raced into action, clinging onto the rear of the terrorists ship, pulling it down. Dorax swung himself first onto the roof then quickly to the left of the ship, holding onto the roof with his right hand, and with his left he swung at the closest terrorist, before grabbing the unlucky individual and squeezing his neck into a pulp, letting go only to see the fellow fall from the craft.

A blast from the man's partner hit him on Dorax on the shoulder and sent the Ssi-Ruu falling back. Falling out of the craft, Dorax's tail held onto the under belly of the ship. He waited four seconds before the inevitable checking from the terrorist to make sure of Dorax's fall by looking over the side of the craft, at which point Dorax's cybernetically advanced tail swung into action, giving him enough momentum, swinging round to grasp the man and pull him from the ship before letting him fall to his inevitable death.

Dorax didn't know what his partner would think of his ruthless nature, Dorax had always subscribed to the chain of thought that you need to break a few eggs to make an omelette, so did not meditate of the thought of a few drops of blood. Dorax's tail swung him back underneath the ship, before swinging back again, building up momentum before releasing him as he swung 270 degrees through the door of the craft, head butting the final, who appeared to be the most senior of the terrorists, to the floor.

He stood over the bleeding man who'd just been hit with the weight of two skulls. Dorax pulled him by the collar with both hands, "Your nicked" he said in a sinister fashion just as the now heavily dented 'van' pulled up along the right side of the ship.

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

He'd been in more high-speed pursuits than he liked to think about and none of them were anywhere near as fun as the vids had people thinking. Right now there was a trio of teenagers calling the real TPD about the fact that two of their apparent plain-clothed detectives commandeering their parent's car. And then they were probably going to have to explain to their parents that it hadn't been cops they'd just given up the car to. Of course their parents would have to give them some slack. Dorax was a pretty nasty fellow and Sarith didn't want to be on the business-end of the cyborg when he got pissed off. And then suddenly the windshield exploded and Sarith was reminded just how deadly and pressing the situation was. Sarith was constantly having to dip up and down to avoid enemy fire, he was too busy to fire (never mind his pistol would have done little), and he had to be mindful of the extreme added weight of his partner.

"I can't shoot!" He heard Dorax yell.

'Of course he can't, Sarith. You still ow Death a glorious and fiery exit for her entertainment.'

The best (comparatively) safe spot was a blind-spot underneath the terrorists' transport where their gunner couldn't hit the van. It brought a few moments of peace. Just before Dorax decided to get crazy.

"You're not going to like this." The cyborg barked at him.

Sarith found he rarely did, but before his partner could do anything he watched from the open cargo area as a figure fell from the transport. A female, to be exact. It only took till the cyborg had first moved to climb atop their van that he realized he had to do something. Trying to keep an eye on both the falling figure and his partner's life-or-death fight atop the terrorists' transport. Thankfully the girl made his job easy - with the most ridiculous sort of parachute one could imagine. Though Sarith couldn't deny the humor behind a para-suit as he watched her form going lower and tried to keep his attention both on her and on his partner. It wasn't until he saw his partner finally clear out the cabin that he raised him on the radio.

"Dorax, get that thing down safe, and call TPD for the other hostages. Then beat feet out of there before they show up. I'll meet up with you." He tilted the speeder, looking down below at the falling secretary, "I've got a pretty girl to catch."

Eyes closed. Deep breath. Focus.

Plummeting an air-van through speeding traffic was not a normal thing to do. Catching somebody mid fall only made it worse.

Sarith reached behind him as best he could and felt for the handle of the side-door. The small little button to open it all the way was just next to that and with a click he heard the door coming open. What he was about to do was very dangerous, likely to fail, and most likely going to look awesome no matter what happened in the end. With that thought in mind, Sarith nosed the van down into a full dive. Straight to the ground, actually easing off the throttle to avoid going too fast. He heard horns blaring and was pretty sure more than one car swerved out of the way to avoid him. He was going far faster than the falling girl could hope and so blazing past her, with distance to avoid throwing her off of course, wasn't any hard task. After that came the hard part, as he applied enough braking to start losing speed, turned the van completely around so that he was facing up, and started accelerating for the parachuting young woman. He was heading towards her, fast enough that she'd definitely feel it, but slow enough that she wouldn't be a broken mess on the opposite wall of the van as he slammed on the brakes, and turned the side with its open door to face her.

 

[Chairdor]

One moment you were a young man with ideals who wanted to see a better world, the next you were a terrorist kidnapping bank officials who is then killed by a cybernetic lizard with a skull on its head. At least that's how Johnny Demarco felt now as the massive creature wrecked havoc on his body and his psyche. Thrown from the vehicle by this terrifying creature Johnny's final moments were filled with sheer bed wetting terror and a sense of shame. He had trained and meticulously planned this attack for a year now. He thought he had made a contingency for everything. Oddly enough he had a plan for both a lizard attack and a cyborg attack, but unfortunately not for a cybernetic lizard attack.

As the earth neared and Johnny slowly shut his eyes and wondered maybe if he should have listened to his father and become a contractor. Maybe he should have built something instead of trying to tear something down. Maybe that was what was wrong with him that he-

Johnny smashed into the earth before his epiphany occurred. He shall be missed.

Up in the vehicle the terrorist Dorax headbutted was still attempting to get his head around the two heads who had just smashed him. He tasted blood and felt bad for whoever was bleeding. Spitting confusedly the terrorist got up and realized he was driving. Instantly his coddled mind returned him to when he was sixteen and it was time for his driving test. Terrified he ran from the vehicle they wouldn't laugh at him again! Leaping from the high flying speeder he swiftly launched himself to death. Terrorist number three will be missed.

Para was parachuting down to safety slowly but surely. She was nearing the tops of high trees and drifting slowly to freedom. Already an idea formed in her mind, she'd flee the system work for the Hutts, that would work they loved free money and thats what hacking was. As she drifted however her mind drifted as well and this combination inevitably led to surprise, like the surprise of suddenly drifting into the open door of a speeder. Suddenly quite stable and shooting through the air, her para suit slowly losing its captured air Para looked around frantically and saw one of the investigators driving the speeder she was now in.

Shifting about and screaming Para made her way to the door only to realize they were too close to the ground for her para suit to save her, she was as good as captured. After this brief frenzy she sighed and offered her hands for cuffing, something she'd seen a thousand times before when someone in the office got busted for 'corruption' a common office tactic used in power-plays. Then she withdrew them realizing something, she had one last thing to offer, a saving throw,

"Before you turn me in...what if I fixed this? All of it?"

Not caring if she had his attention or not she continued,

"You get me back to my terminal at the bank I'll undue all the changes I've made and better yet I'll give you access to our 'rainy day fund' money that's been squirreled away for years to avoid taxation...all I ask in return is that you don't cuff me...I have sensitive wrist skin."

 

[PapaChenks]

Dorax was left a fair bit surprised by the actions of the last terrorist, chose death then try and argue his cause, well. Obviously this guy didn't believe in his cause enough to try and convince Dorax that his actions were well intentioned, this solidified the view in Dorax's mind that he had done the right thing.

The ship was falling, he was about to make a leap when he remembered the two Hutts on the ship. "curses" He uttered under his breath. The ship was still flyable, "shut the doors" he barked at the Hutts and the obliged. Dorax didn't waste a moment ripping out the chair which was too small that it would have prevented him from piloting the ship with any ease.

Grabbing the controls of the unfamiliar craft the ship lerched first up, then down before Dorax managed to stabilise the vehicle. He parked the ship near a workplace of the local law enforcement. Before allowing himself to be asked questions on the situation, he jumped out of the vehicle and 'legged it' away from the craft.

He found himself on the railing by a crowd of people. As he approached a public docking area he raised his wrist to call Sarith, where he realised it probably would have been best if he'd taken the names of the Hutts. Regardless of this he'd seen Sarith catch the girl they were after, their probably culprit for the whole mess.

Speaking into his corresponder "Sarith, all three terrorists are dead, no they didn't say anything, there were a pair of Hutts on board, they're safe. Come pick me up when you have the chance" pressing a button to activate a beacon to show Sarith the Ssi-Ruu's current location.

Waiting for his partner, the large cyborg pulled a bottle of some liquid and started chugging it down in huge gulps, before noticing that the general public had realised his presence and were giving him a wide berth due to his appearance, this produced a large semi-circle of space around Dorax who stood on the edge of the platform. 'Typical' he thought 'Everyones afraid of the big guy, and I'm the one protecting them..... bigots'

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Sarith turned back just long enough to be sure that his target was, in fact, in the van. The ride was full of holes, it wasn't exactly the fastest or most agile thing up and about in the traffic-ways, and right now he had to do his best to dodge everything from buildings to small trees. Once it seemed like she'd gained the sense to realize that even if he didn't try to catch her again that jumping would do little more than smear her across the ground, he reached behind his seat to hit the button for closing the door - only for the motion to cause such strain on the track of the door that it actually busted loose, and only shut two thirds of the way. Again Sarith felt bad for the kids who would need to answer to their parents about why they had just given up their car to a lizard with a skull on his head and a homeless-looking guy who said he was a cop. For now he had to focus on other matters, though. As she made her way up to him, Sarith picked up their altitude, but only just enough to avoid some of the taller trees without getting back up into the flow of heavy traffic. He wanted to avoid the attention of the police probably starting to look for a vehicle by this description.

"Before I turn you in?" Sarith laughed, "The kind of people who want to turn you in would see me dead too, once they actually find out who I'm working for. Plus, they wouldn't even want me wasting my time on getting you to the jailhouse, and I'm not in the mood to kill anybody, really."

She seemed repentant enough. Sarith turned back in the direction of the offices and started gaining altitude.

"You can fix this?" He laughed again, a more sardonic sound this time, "Things have gone to hell, sister. You know this place isn't going to be safe for you anymore, right?" He made a vague motion with one hand out the pock-marked windshield, "But you're good with ELINT. So I've got a proposition for you. The job isn't going to be easy. Long hours, the AC isn't always working, and plenty of people may want to kill you some day. But the take can be pretty good and the tab at the bar doesn't have a limit."

He turned to regard her with a raised brow, "Sound interesting to you?"

The office tower began to come into sight. The bottom floor was locked down by police already. Sarith was thankful that he and Dorax had parked just outside of what seemed to be the police perimeter for the crime scene. Gaining altitude to start blending into the traffic above, Sarith eyed the roof. It seemed clear enough, but they wouldn't be able to linger very long. This would have to be quick. As he drew closer and gained further altitude, heading for the roof, he turned to the hacker to make sure she was ready before finally zeroing in on a landing spot.

"Okay, Ms. Arin. We have to be quick about this. If cops aren't already in the office looking around, they will be soon. If we run into one, you let me handle it, and you run for the van: got it? We can't tangle with the police right now."

He didn't wait to hear her answer, instead lowering to the roof.

When they touched down he was already out of the van and moving for the maintenance doorway to get down into the office.

"Avoid the elevators." He cautioned, pushing open the door, "They'll be watching them. We have to take the stairs. Now let's move."

 

[Chairdor]

A thousand thoughts charged through Para's skull, it wasn't the most she'd ever had to think but these were charged with more than simple algorithms, yes and nos, ones and zeros, true moral dilemmas kept popping up to delay her best laid plans. She felt helpless as the onslaught of innocence attempt to pervade her every thought of grandeur riches and gems. As she thought the hacker tried to remember the little girl who when she was six years old told her mother she wanted to be filthy rich and never have to work ever without opening her legs up to some rich snob like she had. Para remembered not being in the house much after that remark, but it did eventually send her to programming camp so she took what she got and boy did she take a hell of a lot.

Slowly Para realized what hell she might have to pay if she was brought in and those thoughts were only slightly assuaged when her captor/savior said he wasn't going to turn her in. Then she was of course quite confused when he talked about a job offer, something vague about not having A/C. Realizing this offer might be her only choice after what she had done she thought shit...I love A/C...all I wanted to do was be filthy rich without working. I never wanted anyone to suffer

It was with that thought that Para realized that she was still six years old in a lot of ways and that in all the years of learning to be a brilliant businessperson, hacker, and DJ she had forgotten to learn how to be a person along the way. When he finished his proposition on this idea she thought on it for a moment but while her mind worked her mouth made an executive decision,

"Yeah"

After that she looked out the window on the other side of the vehicle that wasn't partially opened, whoever owned this piece of junk better have insurance she thought as her office grew closer. Listening to his instructions on one level Para mentally prepped for the obstacles she might encounter and the things she'd have to change. When the vehicle lowered she rushed out and lead the way. Para kept a rigorous excercise routine up in order to keep her payments low on the company health plan, one of her most beloved physical activities was running down the stairs so she was quite the pro at it. Rushing down to her level she burst onto the floor forgetting the stealth aspect of their mission. Para got lucky as her floor was abandoned but she heard men walking on the floor below, she had less time than she accounted for.

Accounting. That's what caused this whole mess, no one counted shit anymore, they had robots do it for them. Para cracked into the counting machine at her desk and saw the small history of errors she had added to the code, a vacation here, some nice shoes there, every little bit of theft had a price tag and a story to go with it. Sighing she undid years of genius with a few keystrokes. Left with the basecode Para put on her jam and set to work at turbo speed.

Slapping at the keys as her eyes stared unblinking at the streams of data cross multiple screens she set to work on the security measures as a preemptive strike. Knocking them down a peg she immediately worked to undue her early shifting but was stalled when a prompt appeared

NO TRANSFER GREATER THAN 50,000 ALLOWED

For a moment her brain stopped functioning and the moment after it wanted her to kill herself. Para had screwed up big time setting the security to default as it reinstated things like a transfer limit. Her hand shaking she took that onto a central drive, a sort of information stick that could act as a signature to collect the money at another bank at anytime. Looking at it she saw a small drop in the pond, she couldn't undue what she had done with that little cash. Looking at the screen with new eyes she wondered what to do. Then it came to her.

Chaos

Chaos had caused this mess, now chaos would fix it. Harshly pawing at the keys Para created a small code that said three now equaled four, this simple illogical statements shifted value of accounts changed percentages and shifted balances all across the world. Slowly she saw the change spread until at last the system gave out and crashed. The screen now black Para saw her reflection, she looked tired but sated as the system rebooted. Standing up she explained,

"I have 50k credits on this, as for the rest of the money, well with the system rebooted everyone will get the money they had in their accounts before the...update I made last night, plus a generous amount from the undisclosed funds this bank held...hopefully that should stop the riots."

She lingered on that last remark. Hopefully. Even if it all ended it didn't undue the people who had died, the lives that had been destroyed, including her own. Looking to Sarith she said,

"Let's get out of here" and rushed to the van.

Down on the surface officers began to close in on Dorax aiming a great deal of weapons at him,

"Lizard cybrog man, stand down or you will be shot with tranquilizer guns!"

A fellow officer whispered to the man speaking,

"What do you mean these are potato guns?!"

All the men looked down at their guns and discovered the firearms were actually children's toys. Corruption on Eriadu knew no bounds and in this instance an official sold the weapons meant for the officers to pirates, they hardly used the non lethal guns so it was only now that this branch of cops even noticed. Embarrassed the speaking officer looked down and said,

"You...you're free to go"