Ask Plot Coruscant Look Ma! I'm on Holovids!

Zentripoli

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The Column Commons is the district at the center of HoloNet providers, holodrama and holovid companies. The Five Syndicates have to find out why they are getting such "bad press" and also discover who are the people that are allowing the Drellis Syndicate to dictate and spin the news. The Five Syndicates must find out how to make their own headlines, but that means squeezing in the right place...


Nevarr Hotel
Column Commons
Coruscant
Column Commons was a district of Coruscant located between the Imperial Palace and the Calocour Heights area. The architecture of the region was unique when seen from the surface. The Commons consisted of vast open areas, exposed to the wind and weather, interspersed with thick, sturdy duracrete columns, thousands of meters tall, which in turn held hundreds of floors of cityscape towering overhead.

Column Commons was the publishing district of Coruscant, housing hundreds of news services, HoloNet providers, holodrama and holovid companies. TriNebulon News and Nova Network both had their headquarters there, as did publishing house Veritas Press. It was said that nothing escaped the notice of the citizens of "the Commons," and information brokers, slicers, and spies mingled among the journalists and businessmen as gossip and secrets flowed freely.


The first order of business for Zentripoli, Vara and Scudd was to find who it was in the Column Commons that was on the take with the Drellis Syndicate. Such a task would not be easy if it were to be done with subtlety and finesse. If the Drellis informant got wind that the Five Syndicates were on to him, Zentripoli was quite sure he would scatter to the wind and the Drellis Syndicate would come down like a ton of bricks. The information they gathered so far was that the informant worked for Nova Network, one of the large holonet companies on Coruscant.

Of course, that is where Vara came in. The human was an accomplished slicer and the Columi knew that such skills would be needed in their role here on Coruscant. Zentripoli really only knew Vara by reputation, so heard she was a bit of a droid expert, much like him, so the Columi had a good sense of what the human brought to the table.

They secured a hotel suite in the Column Commons that they would use as their base of operations. Zentripoli brought three droids with him to aid in their tasking: a ZDT-410, the ZDT-415, and the ZDT-06. The Columi really had no choice in the matter. He simply could not function without them. It was definitely his weakness, but such was life. Looking across the table in their suite, Zentripoli began, “My first thought is that we follow the credits. Find whose account numbers simply do not add up…”

@Bear
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Vara Dramm

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The trip was longer than expected, especially for Vara's first time traveling into the core worlds. She alleviated the anxiety caused this by consuming the occasional deathstick every time the ship landed in the port of some mid-rim world she had never heard of, occasionally taking an opportunity to look around the spaceports before growing bored and returning to the ship to sleep.

It was the 6th stop on the trip before they finally made into into the Corusca Sector. The glaring blue lines of hyperspace travel faded away into the black and white dotted sky of space. She felt that she would never get used to hyperspace travel. Vara hoped that wasn't true, she couldn't rely on spice every time to alleviate her naivety towards the logic of space travel.

Within a couple minutes of coming out of hyperspace, she saw Coruscant come into view. It looked much like Nar Shaddaa, except they at least seemed to try to hide the filth on the surface. Not nearly as many neon signs and hopeless crowds as her home moon, but she heard enough stories about the abundance of such in the lower levels. "it's go time," Vara nodded to her droid companion, XB-7. She lifted her bag, which contained a few spare outfits and her essential slicing gear and slung it over her back as the droid followed her out of the ship.

The sunlight hit her tired eyes and she winced a little, forgetting the nature tinting that the passenger ship's windows had. She plucked the headphones off her ears, which were playing some form of Duros music from the Outer Rim and let the earbuds idly dangle from the collar of her shirt.

The light hit her with a new sense of memory of why she was here, and it wasn't simply for vacation. She had an individual reach out to her for a job. She didn't have a lot of detail on the job yet, but figured there was a reason why they picked an outsider. She didn't have a firm affiliation with any of the Syndicates yet, which made her popular with the occasional freelance work.

Vara had made her way to the hotel suite she was told to meet at in the Column Commons. Probably neutral ground for her to meet up with her new cohorts. After venturing the city-world for a bit, she arrived on track with the meeting place. She was a bit surprised when entering the suite and being greeted by multiple droids of ZDT design. She never had an opportunity to take one apart... but that could wait.

She sat down at the table and exchanged the essential formalities with her new acquaintances before listening to what the small alien employer had to say. As she listened, she contemplated lighting a cigarra but ultimately decided against it. "Any leads at all? If we can narrow it down to a few companies or districts, it may help a bit."


@Mithias
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Zentripoli

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Zentripoli knew Vara by reputation. Within the Five Syndicates, she was part of the Crymorah Syndicate and one of the few droid experts among them. This connection alone was appealing to Zentripoli to have another kindred spirit in his love of droid-kind. While this was a pleasing opportunity in meeting her, there was business that had to be attended to, specifically the fall of the Drellis Syndicate.

Their part in this effort was to find the informant and turn him. Zentripoli listened to Vara and he responded, “Our sources have pinpointed the problem existing within Nova Network, which is in the Column Commons. Due to the information he is providing for the Drellis Syndicate, he must have access to a lot of information and has the capability to censor and twist the stories that are released on the Holonet. This is where we need to start, most assuredly.”

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Preef Callo

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Preef was late. Not just late, but like, really late. This was his first time on Coruscant and he really just discovered... Su'shi. They didn't have that on frontier worlds. At least, not as good. Though this wasn't just good... Preef thought this was heavenly.

Anyway, after knocking on a few wrong doors the rodian finally arrived at the correct hotel suite and one of Zentripoli's droids let him in. "This world has everything-" he blurted out as way of greeting when he saw Zentripoli, "-I'm Preef. You must be Zentripoli." he dropped himself on the bed and let out a groan of satisfaction before rising up again and turning to the little alien, "You ever had Su'shi?"

His aberrant behavior was due to the expensive whiskeys he'd been able to buy and that one Su'shi called "Glittery Delight" that he ordered three times without realizing Glittery meant it was covered in glitterdust. It sure made his experience on Coruscant more pleasant.. for now..

The Crimson Dawn had send him to support Zentripoli's scheme against the Drellis Syndicate. The Crimson Dawn had dealings on Coruscant that were too valuable to lose to an upstart syndicate like Drellis and by way of approval and support they had the rodian shipped over from Shaddaa. Preef was by no means a slicer, or otherwise tech savvy, or smart, but he was quick on the draw with a reasonable aim to boot. More importantly, he was expendable to the Crimson Dawn.

Preef recalled that when he entered, Zentripoli just mentioned something about "Nova Network" and while it took him a few moments to process, that name did sound familiar! "I love Nova Network-" the rodian began excitedly, "-they make those Lone Ranger flicks don't they?" There was one filmed on Tatooine where the lone ranger was shot by a rodian gunslinger and that was Preef's favorite movie of all time. "I'd love to visit!"

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Zentripoli

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Vara had been called away and indicated she was not going to be able to return. Even more unfortunate was that her affairs were not family related. He didn’t know her that well, but this type of mentality seemed to be predominantly found with humans.

Typical…

The small Columi mentally commanded the Boost droid over to a Holonet terminal and decided that the slicing piece would have to be done himself. While Zentripoli was not a “practiced” slicer, persay, his mental capacity was well into the realm of “highly capable”. As he dug into the holonet, the Columi began researching Nova Network articles that ran contrary to other personal and commercial accounts of the events. The Columi was being cautious with the idea that he would not be detected, so this took some time. The Crimson Dawn was sending someone to help his efforts here, which would come in handy once he was able to narrow the field a bit.

Cross-referencing those stories brought the possibilities down to two individuals: both were humans.

Typical…again.

Preef Callo made his entrance late into the evening—4 standard hours, 54 minutes and 32 seconds late, to be exact.

But who’s counting?

Zentripoli was not angry or upset about how late the rodian was—he simply expected it from most of the syndicates other than his family. It was just a necessary part of working with syndicates other than Crymorah—it was a mixed bag of talent and slime. Alas, this was the way of things…for now.

The diminutive alien turned to the rodian as he plopped down on the bed and listened with his tiny fingers steepled, observing the Crimson Dawn scoundrel as he went on about sushi. Finally, after his observations both about this world and their task, Zentripoli replied, “Preef Callo. Your reputation proceeds you. Pleased you could join me. Your timing is impeccable..."

Considering how to address his observations without being rude, Zentripoli humored him.

“Indeed, Coruscant is at the heart of the known galaxy—it offers much in the way of consumer products. As for sushi, I have never had it in the form in which it is commonly served. However, I have had it as a part of my diet, mixed in with several other dishes. A Columi’s sense of taste is non-existent, so I cannot relate to your elation over his delicacy.”

Pause.

“Nova Network has led the news market on Coruscant for the past seven years. It is a large and accomplished media organization. Oh, and yes, the show with the rodian is amusing…”

The boost droid shifted so Zentripoli could see Preef better now that he was horizontal on the bed.

“You may indeed get your chance to visit. My research was fruitful in looking into the Drellis Syndicate’s influence over Nova Network and has led me to two humans that are the most likely to be on the Drellis Syndicte’s payroll: both are new anchor personalities for Nova Network—Danton Nightdancer and Howard Slipstream. Yes, both of these names are their ‘on-air’ names. Their citizen names are Danton Varber and Howard Cliffjii…”

Zentripoli allowed the rodian to take in the information he gave him so far before continuing. The Columi already prepared himself for having to give the details again in the event the rodian did not retain any of the information given due to his current state.

“This is where you come in—I may need you to pay them a visit and ‘discern’ which one of them is working for the Drellis Syndicate. While you are doing that, I will be researching observing them to see who they interact with so that I can find the Drellis contact…”

@Ecclessey
 
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Preef Callo

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Preef understood less than half of what Zentripoli said, simply on account of the little alien's words being too sophisticated for a frontier rodian to understand. What he did get out of all of that was that it didn't have any tastebuds and Preef looked at him with pity, "So you've never tasted su'shi? Or noodles?" he asked, completely uncaring of the information he was getting on Nova Network. "You sure you're," he paused, looked him up and down -which didn't take long- and put his hands together, "alright?"

Zentripoli continued his progress report and while Preef still didn't understand much of it he followed enough to get he gist. "So we're doing torture," he sighed, "again."

The rodian hoped it wouldn't have to come to that. He didn't really find himself to have a stomach for such cruel work, having found the experience harrowing even when a droid was doing to actual work behind a closed door. He would simply have to do his best to convince them at blasterpoint, maybe threaten their families?

Seemingly approving of the proposed course of action, Preef took his wobbly self off the bed and back on his two feet where he checked for the essentials, which was just his blaster, and pulled his tunic straight. "Right, so-" he began, trying to remember the names that were said of a news program he clearly never watched because he didn't give a Bantha's poodoo about the Core worlds or any world come to think of it. Takodana, maybe but even that only that very small part of it. "Where can I find this Slanting Nightbarber?"

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Zentripoli

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It does not appear it is mere coincidence that the four syndicates, besides Crymorah, would send incompetence incarnate to work alongside me every time the families are forced to cooperate with them. The probability of this being a concerted effort to attempt to annoy me is far too high. I will have to make accommodations to send the help I am given on a meaningless romp while I get the task done...next time. Alas, at least this rodian has a certain charm, so there is a slight amount of amusement value in this pairing…slight.

Zentripoli mused these thoughts at the same time he was speaking to Preef...such simultaneous trains of thought were possible when one had a brain that contained four cerebrums and over one hundred lobes with each being dedicated to an independent function.

“Danton Varber aka Danton Nightdancer lives three standard kilometers from the Nova Network News Station where he works. Danton takes his own airspeeder and parks within a secure parking deck underneath the penthouse of the news station. Mr. Varber is very cautious in his transit. His airspeeder garage is connected to his condominium on the 331st floor, Condo 331Q, and is a direct route to open air. That is the information I was able to garner on him. Oh, he also is escorted by a houk bodyguard…everywhere he goes. The bodyguard lives next door and his accommodations are paid for by Danton. This leads me to believe that Danton might be our human. However, there is not enough information to make this conclusion yet…”

Pause. Zentripoli already had the specifics of these two ready to send to Preef. He was not confident in the rodian’s ability to maintain the information that was presented so far…

“Howard Cliffjii aka Howard Slipstream lives approximately 5km away from the Nova Network News Station where he works. The address is Columns Breach, Apartment #7654. Howard takes his landspeeder…sometimes public transport to work. His speeder is parked in the parking deck of his apartment complex. Howard walks, or staggers, to his transportation in the mornings to get to work. Mr. Slipstream loves his female company and the company of spice equally. He has access to a lot of credits and spends them liberally each evening. With the amount of credits this human spends each night, even with the salary of his profession, it seems the numbers do not add up. However, as in the case of Mr. Varber, there is not enough information to make this conclusion yet.”

Pause.

“This is where you come in Mr. Callo. I care little about the method that you utilize in order to discover which is working for the Drellis Syndicate. Once this is discovered, we will have to see if we are confident that we can turn him to the Five Syndicates. If we cannot turn him, he will become an instant liability to our efforts”

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Preef Callo

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Preef listened rather intently, but lost the trial somewhere in the details. That little creature sure did talk a lot. "Right," he said when Zentripoli was finally done. "Send Howard spice, tell him to call Vanessa-" he nodded to the nearest droid, "-he can imitate the voice of a wily Zeltron dancer-" but without waiting for a confirmation, because frankly if the droid couldn't that wasn't his problem and something for Zentripoli to figure out, "-she'll invite him here. Subdue him and wait for me to return." He didn't want a droid to interrogate him if he was innocent of what Zentripoli accused him of... not after he watched V3PO "interrogate" someone. If Danton was the one getting paid by Drellis they could just let him go and blame it all on some confusion with a different Slipstream.

Suddenly the rodian slapped himself in his face and shook his head violently to clear his head. "I'll deal with Danton at his home," he stated quite matter of factly, suggesting that perhaps he was more capable than people gave him credit for. "Never met a Houk before." Preef grinned. They said Houks were hardy and could take a few bolts before going down. They were also rumored to be stupid and it wasn't often that the rodian had the higher ground in the brain department.

Assuming there wouldn't be any objections to his plan as it wasn't likely Zentripoli was going to do any heavy lifting himself, Preef turned round and exited the hotel suite the same way he came in. He'd hail a taxi to get to the proper highriser.

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Zentripoli

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“Agreeable.”

Zentripoli watched the rodian leave and quickly ran a few model simulations in his head to predict possible outcomes of success for the course of action suggested by the Callo. Many of the models had a high probability of success, so the small Columi chalked one up to the rodian as having competent qualities…so far.

Perhaps not all syndicates wish to annoy me…

The boost droid hovered back over to the terminal. Using the backdoor he created earlier into the main terminal of the hotel, he used its processing poor and identification markers to cover his digital footprints. He then utilized the second backdoor made that granted access to Mr. Cliffjii’s digital information. Quickly running through the communiques that were made on his comlink, there was a particular lady who seemed to book various hotels throughout the city that coincided with the comlink conversations. Using that information, Zentripoli booked a room next to their own room. While Zentripoli paid for it, it was booked under one Ms. Shila Keemer’s name. Having the number and full name of Ms. Keemer, Zentripoli then was able to slice into her comlink. For many minutes, the Columi had to wait, but eventually she made a call. Zentripoli began recording and getting samples of her word use, accent, pitch, tone, etc. in order to be able to replicate her voice.

Following this process while slicing was not easy. In fact, Zentripoli needed to contact Pidge a couple of times in order to verify the “best practices” in what he was trying to accomplish. Pidge Batana was part of the Mothkari family with Zentripoli, so she was one he could trust…and she was one of the best in the business at slicing.

Finally piecing together all of the consonants and vowels needed to construct a message, the Columi loaded the clips of speech into his ZDT-415 and helped guide the droid in constructing the voice. Some time later, it was ready. Mentally controlling the droid, Zentripoli reached out on a secure, spoofed line to Howard Cliffjii’s comlink. It rang and was promptly answered, “Heya sexy, whatchu wearin’?”

The droid used words that Zentripoli selected that seemed to measure the highest in authenticity. It flowed quite naturally, “You can find out by coming to 76435 Holtus Hotel. I have a surprise for you. Don’t make me wait…”

With that, Zentripoli cut the line. He ensured that the real Shila Keemer would not receive a callback and it would simply go to a digital black hole.

This was not easy to accomplish. It took Zentripoli many hours to set this up, including many calls to Pidge. But the Columi learned very quickly. Zentripoli made a note to himself to delve further into slicing for his own protection—he would have a long conversation with his twi’lek family member about it for sure…

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Preef Callo

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The taxi flight was unremarkable and the droid left him exactly where Preef had directed him to thirty minutes earlier. As the taxi then flew away again, Preef found himself standing on the edge of a highriser staring at a closed garage door. Not that this would stop him. He had robbed a casino on Canto Bight by getting into the vault undetected! A civilian's garage door wouldn't be a problem. It only took twenty seconds from inserting the spike to the garage doors opening and then Preef was in. The rodian didn't see any speeders inside the garage, which meant both the target and the Hook weren't home yet and that provided him some time to look around.

The garage didn't have a lot of cover and if he was spotted there they were only a speeder thrust away from escaping him. "No cameras," Preef told himself as he decided to move on to the apartment with the confidence and comfort of not having been noticed yet.

Unbeknownst to him Danton Varber and the Houl were just getting into a speeder at the Nova Network offices and began their journey home. The Rodian wouldn't have much time to prepare an effective ambush for the Houk...

@Mithias
 

Zentripoli

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Part of Zentripoli’s success was remaining anonymous. He did not seek fame, but simply the power and credits that allowed him to accomplish his goals. It was quite fine by him if the Jedi and the Sector Rangers continued to never heat about him. That meant being diligent with his “appearances”, which meant simply not making any appearances except to those of 5S. The Columi knew that if there were those in the Five Syndicates who saw Zentripoli as a threat, they could make keeping anonymity difficult. But such was the life he lived…

On mental command, the ZDT-415 opened its chest cavity and fired up the cockpit within. The Boost droid reached above itself and plucked the Columi from his seat and hovered over behind the ZDT-415 and lowered the small alien into the cockpit of the security droid. Once settled in the cockpit, the belly closed shut and sealed Zentripoli within. The boost droid floated over to the fresher, leaving the pair of identical security droids – one a legitimate ZDT-410 and the other was Zentripoli’s combat platform. As they waited for Mr. Cliffjii to arrive, Zentripoli commanded the ZDT-410 to hide behind the bed with his dart gun, loaded with a sedative. Zentripoli modified the dose to act fast, but not last long. Long enough to put him into a position of compliance…

The droids and Zentripoli did not have to wait long. It seemed Mr. Howard Cliffjii wasted no time to be with Shila Keemer. A rhythmic tap came from the door. Padding over to the holovid that viewed the guest, it was Howard, in the flesh, straightening his collar as he waited. Zentripoli stepped around the corner to towards the fresher and activated the door. The durasteel-framed door, slid open upwards and Cliffjii wasted no time making his way in.

“Ohhh, we playing a little game? Where are—”

His words were slurred—he had been busy with the spirits it seemed. As soon as Zentripoli heard him clear the doorway, he shut the door closed. The Vanisher droid popped up leveled the dart gun firing the shot into the human’s neck. He clutched his neck in surprise and simply mused, “You’re not Shila…”

With that, Howard Slipstream was down for the count. Zentripoli, the boost droid and the ZDT-410 went quickly to work preparing the new anchor for questioning.

@Ecclessey
 

Preef Callo

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By the time Danton Varber and his Houk bodyguard arrived at the garage, Preef was set-up comfortably in the former's living room. A glass of Corellian Whiskey on the coffee table in front of him, the rodian sat in the dark and listened intently for any sounds as he turned the blaster pistol over and over in his hand. His waiting had finally come to an end.

The door slid open, "Yeah yeah, good night, Motte." Danton said as he stepped into his apartment, alone, and with a clap of his hands engaged the lights. "Computer, play Tayla Swoffle's 'Sexy Nerd'-" the human ordered his home-entertainment module and two seconds later the sweet tones of the young Zeltron singer filled the apartment.

Then, a voice the human could only barely understand was heard from the living room. "Computer, play 'Outlaws of the Outer Rim'" and shortly after the unmistaken whistle was heard and the startled Danton turned in shock and looked straight into the barrel of Preef's DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol. "Who-"


Preef rose from his seated position on the couch and motioned for Danton to sit down in a chair nearby by waving his blaster in that direciton. "I'm just here to talk, mister." Danton complied, what choice did he have, and sat down as he looked at the rodian with shocked and desperate eyes. "Who are you? What do you want? How did you get in here?" the human stammered breathlessly, his knees and hands both shaking a little as he clearly wasn't used to this kind of stress. Preef instantly had his doubts whether a man this affected by a blaster could have a side deal with a criminal syndicate, but then again, not every criminal was an emotionally numb button man.

Speaking of numb.

"NO TOUCH DANTON!" the Houk shouted as he barged through the door that connected his apartment to that of Danton's and rushed towards Preef. The startled rodian only had the time to turn slightly and pulled the trigger of his pistol just in time, hitting the Houk's right forearm, but it didn't seem to affect the giant in the slightest and with a gigantic smack of his left Preef was send flying backwards, over the couch, and onto the floor. In his fall he dropped his blaster, just out of reach, and the Houk kept coming. "AAAH!" it shouted as he grabbed Preef by the collar and tossed him effortlessly against the nearby wall.

Danton only watched. A slight smirk crossed his face as his hands and knees stopped shaking and he seemingly enjoyed the spectacle. "Yes! Prick out the frog's eyes!" the human cried excitingly, but it didn't have quite the intended effect as the Houk turned his head towards him and looked at him with confused eyes, "Huh? This rodian." and he let go of Preef's collar, who then fell down on the cabinet before rolling off and falling on the floor, just four feet shy of his blaster to which he desperately began to crawl.

"Get hiiim!" Danton screeched and the Houk turned back to the wall, didn't see the rodian suspended in mid air, looking down at the cabinet and then to the floor and by this time Preef had made it halfway to his blaster. "HOUK CRUSH!" Motte bellowed and he stamped with his full weight on the rodian's calf, prompting a hurtful cry from the rodian before he was picked up by the gun belt and tossed over the couch and onto the coffee table, crushing the glass of Corellian whiskey in the process.

The Houk wanted to walk towards Preef in a straight line but found his way blocked by the couch, to which he stared for a full second before deciding to walk around it. Meanwhile Preef moaned of the pain as his right hand touched his lower back where glass shards had cut the skin, before rolling himself off and then underneath the coffee table. The Houk, upon not seeing the rodian paused again, to the frustration of his human master, "He's underneath the table, dummy!" Motte then put on of his large hands around the edge and suddenly paused, "Motte not dummy!" The coffee table was tossed aside as if it weighed no more than a feather, landing somewhere on the other side of the living room. The table out of the way he saw.. nothing.

As the human complained over his bodyguard's low intelligence, Preef had crawled out from underneath the table, through the Houk's legs and once the latter realized the rodian wasn't where he expected him to be, was on his way to his blaster with utmost haste. "Behind you!" the human cried in vain for Preef picked up his blaster as the Houk turned and this time he didn't aim for a hand, but the heart. Motte looked at him funny after the stun bolt hit his chest, but he didn't drop and instead started walking around the couch towards Preef. The latter, stunned himself by the Houk's sturdiness, aimed for its large head instead and fired again. This time the Houk halted his advance as he eyes rolled back and the corners of his mouth dropped, but still he stood, so Preef fired another stun bolt in his face and it seeming more the force of the blast than the actual bolt that made the large alien fall backwards and to the ground. Out for... well, long enough.. hopefully.

Preef turned his head towards Danton, who was still sitting in his chair and looked properly defeated right about now. "Now, mister-" the rodian sighed in an attempt to hide his obvious pain and exhaustion, "-we should really talk now."



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Zentripoli

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The Columi watched as the human started moving and moaning from the grogginess that the sedative imposed. As the realization of his predicament became clear, his eyes widened in abject fear as he stared at the pair of security droids standing in front of him. During his state of unconsciousness, the man had been bound completely to the dresser. Zentripoli never used chairs when binding a living being. There were too flimsy and increased the probability of escape. However, weaving the bindings through a large dresser imposed a much stronger base as long as the bindings themselves held. Howard was seated in the floor with his hands bound behind his back. His feet were together extended out in front of him, bound to the bed. A hand towel was shoved in his mouth and strapped across his head.

Zentripoli was within the security droid and the small alien’s mechanically enhanced voice came through the security droid—as if he was a droid.

“Mr. Cliffjii. My apologies for the imposition and inconvenience of your current circumstance. However, we have need of information and we need it rather quickly. We have done a great deal of research on your movements, credit expenditures, daily habits, close associates, and family connections. It is our hope that we will not have to interfere with any of these links to your life. However, should we believe that you are attempting to deceive us in any way, we will begin to squeeze an item, each time we suspect falsehood. Please nod if you understand our expectations.”


Howard Cliffjii frantically nodded. Any lack of clarity or sensibilities from substances seemed to have taken their course and a clear-headed news anchor was what was in front of Zentripoli.

“Very well. Let us begin…”

@Ecclessey
 

Preef Callo

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Danton shiftly uncomfortably in his seat. "When I said that-" the human's hands and knees began to shake again, not that Preef had noticed they had stopped doing that during the fight. "-wasn't, you know-" his voice broke, "-not personal or anything."

Preef put a step forward with the wrong leg and winced from the pain, seeking support against another chair with his free hand. Kriff, looked like the Houk's stampede damn did break his leg. Danton noticed and suddenly his hands stopped shaking and his eyelids narrowed. He was cooking something up and Preef was oblivious to all the tells. Luckily for the rodian, he was the only one with a blaster. Pain written all over his face, Preef turned to the liquor cabinet, "You mind?" he asked, rhetorically, and poured himself a stiff one. "Not at all," Danton replied, entirely for show..

Gulping two glasses of Corellian whiskey down, the rodian was feeling a little better as he sat down in a chair opposite Danton, making sure not to put any weight on his broken leg and yet still wincing with every step. "Now we gotta have ourselves a talk," the gunslinger balanced his pistol on the palm of his hand with the barrel still fixed on the human and the latter pretended to be scared while in reality he was fuming mad at the high-priced bodyguard the Drellis Syndicate had provided him with. Deciding to put up an act of innocence, the human bit his tongue so hard that tears began to well up and then roll down his face. "P-p-please, sir-" he stammered, "T-take what you want, j-just don't k-k-kill me."

Although the thought of robbing Danton did appeal to Preef, especially considering that's how he made his living prior to joining the Crimson Dawn, he managed to contain himself and keep his priorities straight. "I'm not here to rob you, mister," he replied calmly and as a show of good faith returned his blaster to its holster. "Like I said, just here to talk."

Knowing fully well what the rodian was referring to... why else would an armed scoundrel come into his home for a chat.. Danton put up a display of disbelief on top of that of his feigned innocence. "T-talk? B-but I'm just on-screen talent." This line worked, for Preef looked up and to his right while he pondered over the meaning of "on-screen talent" and recognizing this, Danton pressed on, "I just say what they tell me to say. What do you want from me?"

The rodian still looked a bit puzzled when his eyes returned to meet the human's and stayed there. "Why the Houk?" he asked, pointing over his shoulder with his left thumb towards where the Houk lay unconscious. Danton, committed to the ruse, was quick to reply, "Lots of folks don't like the news and blame the anchors," he sniffed and wiped his tears with his right sleeve. He was putting up a performance he thought was worthy of a Doskar acting prize and yet the rodian seemed untouched. "Yes," Preef said as if convinced by that logic, "but why a Houk?"

Danton didn't quite understand what the rodian was getting at, "because he's big?"

That didn't do Preef, not by a long shot. "Why not a human? Pair of humans? Or-" he took the pistol from its holster again, -if legit threat, why not Sector Ranger? This is their homeworld is it not?"


@Mithias
 

Zentripoli

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Howard Cliffjii’s tongue was wagging as quick as he was able to spit out the words. In truth, to Zentripoli, this human enjoyed his life too much to jeopardize what he had going. He revealed that he had been encouraged by representative of the Drellis Syndicate to run specific stories and not run specific stories. Howard also divulged that he did not work for them, nor was he on the take—they simply made it clear that if he did not comply, they would kill him.

No subtlety or finesse with this Drellis Syndicate. “Blunt force trauma” seems to be a consistent them in their modus operandi…

But Zentripoli had to know if this was the one on the Drellis Syndicate payroll—he was quite sure it was either Howard Cliffjii or Danton Varber. Preef was investigating Varber. Zentripoli did not ask or care how the rodian would get to his conclusions—only that he got there. As long as the Nova Network was still spinning stories for the Drellis Syndicate, it was a detriment to the Five Syndicates and their influence here. To Zentripoli, Howard Cliffjii was used to being able to talk his way out of situations with others, but now that he was faced with two 4th degree droids, his tune was a little different. The Columi decided to press this advantage...

“Mr. Cliffjii, we have marveled over the resilience of the human anatomy for some time. It is amazing that we are able to skin a human and the human is able to remain alive if the loss of blood is controlled. There is the periodic loss of consciousness due to the extreme pain of the act, but in the end, few anatomies in the galaxy are able to stand up to that sort of duress—”

That was clearly enough for the human. He interrupted, “Hey wait! Look, I…I have been completely honest about this kriffing stuff with Drellis! What else do you need to know?!”

Phrasing his question carefully, the “droid” spoke, “Multiple deposits are made periodically into your ‘other’ account with Jurvin Banking. It is from a variety of different sentients from different sectors. What are these deposits for?”

There seemed to be some visible relief from the human, “Oh those! Right…well ummm I have these passes I am given from the station, free passes to different events across the planet. Well, I just sell them for a lot of credits to give me some extra bit of flow. Look, I don’t get paid by Drellis. I asked one time. I got knocked out—I don’t ask anymore.”

The droids stood in silence as Zentripoli processed this information. From his research, all of the items Howard told him added up and stood up to scrutiny. From his internal comlink that could not be heard from outside of the ZDT-415, Zentripoli sent Preef a quick text communique…

Do not suspect Cliffjii is on the payroll, but he is getting strong-armed by them. Send status of Varber when available.

@Ecclessey
 

Preef Callo

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Danton and Preef looked at each other as the latter waited for an answer. It took long for Danton to come up with one... too long. Finally, the human sighed "He was-" he broke eye contact, "-introduced by someone." Preef wasn't an expert negotiator by a long shot, but even he picked up there was more to that story than Danton was willing to tell. "Drellis," the rodian stated, matter-of-factly, and the human nodded in reply. "He wanted me to kill stories about his business and-" he looked at the rodian sideways and for the first time actually spotted the Crimson Dawn tattoo on his right forearm as Preef scratched his head. "-discredit yours."

"Mine?" Preef pressed, not entirely sure what the human was getting. "Crimson Dawn," Danton replied submissively. For all his theatrics it seemed he was easier to break than Preef had expected for someone who was in the game because of his brain... he knew Marissa would never have cracked under pressure... but then, perhaps Danton wasn't in this with his brain as his only valuable skill was his ability to sell bullshit to the people of Coruscant. Preef better be wary he wasn't getting tricked... "Hmm," the rodian unholstered his blaster again to show he wouldn't accept any bantha-poodoo stories and that simple movement clearly startled Nova Network's primetime star. "Tell me everything or I shoot you in the kneecaps and bash your face in so thoroughly-" he was surprised by his own aggressive threat, "-that you will never be 'on-screen talent' again."

"Whoa!" Danton cried as his mind showed a flashback of the same kind of threats Drellis had used on him back in the day. Kriffing criminals, the lot. "Alright! Drellis wanted me to smear what he called 'the Five Syndicates'-" the human said in a rush, "Crimson Dawn, Black Sun, the Hutt Cartel and Crymorah and Pyke families."

Preef frowned and pointed his blaster at the human's left knee, "I thought you didn't make the news?" The human dry-swallowed, "I lied. I can eh-" he paused as he shifted uncomfortable on his seat and was preparing himself to do the one thing newscasters never like to do: back-track previous statements. "-scrap topics and replace them with my own ideas. That's what a decade of anchoring gets you."

Suddenly, and with some difficulty, the rodian got up from his chair and motioned for Danton to do the same and move to the door. "Let's get into that speeder of yours," the rodian more than suggested and Danton knew better than to refuse, yet there was something very mob-esque about 'going for a ride' and then getting wacked in a remote location. Preef recognized the suspicious look and smiled, "I just need you to tell your story to someone else," he paused pushed Danton towards the door so he wouldn't notice the rodian's obvious limp as he avoided putting weight on his broken leg, "he's gonna have instructions for you."

Danton visibly relaxed after hearing that. Turns out the Five Syndicates just wanted him to become their pawn instead of Drellis'... he was getting curious now. The Five Syndicates could probably pay him more and provide some more effective security. It was the former he was more interested in.




@Mithias
 

Zentripoli

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There was a reason for every decision that Zentripoli made for jobs like this. The Nevarr Hotel and this particular room were chosen specifically for this “operation” for many reasons: it was centrally located, they commonly did not book rooms on the 28th floor—so Zentripoli booked on the 28th floor, the accommodations were above average, and security in the hotel was abysmal. All in all, it made for the perfect “stay” for an interrogation. Looking over at Howard, Zentripoli explained through the droid, “Mr. Cliffjii, you now work for us. You need not know who or what we are, but here is what we are willing to do for you...”

Howard Slipstream, the famous news anchor, seemed to straighten up a bit now feeling that death would not be the end result of this little episode…

“Our contacts here will meet you and from time to time. You will be on the payroll of our organization. We will ask tasks of you from time to time. Should you comply each and every time we ask something of you, the credits will continue to flow and your well-being will not be at risk…do you understand, Mr. Cliffjii?”

Nodding vigorously, Howard responded, “Oh yes, you can count on me. I can make this work….ummm…what about the Drellis Syndicate?”

Without hesitation, Zentripoli responded, “We will worry about them. You just do as we ask. They will not come looking for you again.”

A bit of relief crossed the human’s handsome features and nodded seemingly deep in thought. Before he had an opportunity to ask anymore questions, Zentripoli looked down at his comlink and saw that Preef was enroute with Danton.

Looking back at Howard, he stated flatly, “Now, we have a few things to take care of. We are going to have to deprive you of two sense for the next little bit. I am sure you understand."

Without saying another word, Zentripoli mentally commanded the ZDT-410 “Vanisher” unbind Howard and rebind him in the fresher, completely blocking off sight and sound with an ear insertions and a mechanical blind. Zentripoli covered the Vanisher with his pistol until the Vanisher was done with its work. Zentripoli double-checked the droid’s work and then closed the door to the fresher.

The two “security droids” waited on Preef and Danton…

@Ecclessey
 

Preef Callo

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It took thirty minutes for Preef and Danton to arrive at the hotel suite. Preef was lucky that Danton had become curious to the possible benefits of cooperating with the so-called Five Syndicates and didn't try to escape the wounded rodian. Whatever came next was for Zentripoli to figure out, because Preef would go and find the nearest private medical facility and get his leg fixed before leaving Coruscant. Meeting his first Houk had been.. interesting. Apparently they weren't the smart kind of alien. Humans were, as always, doing stuff for personal gain alone, which didn't surprise either.

Zentripoli was harder to figure out. A small guy with an obviously large brain who let droids to all his work. Was he really trying to lead his own syndicate? Preef didn't know and frankly, after today, he probably would care to find out either.

He pushed Danton in the suit with his right hand still on his holstered blaster. "Boss is inside," Preef told him and suddenly Danton straightened his clothes and coughed to clear his throat for the negotiation ahead. Unbeknownst to the human Preef shook his head. There wasn't going to be a negotiation at all... "This is him," Preef told the droids and Zentripoli, "He's been working for Drellis."




@Mithias
 

Zentripoli

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Zentripoli watched on his viewscreen the rodian and human enter the hotel from within the ZDT-415. The Columi was still tapped into the security feeds—just in case Preef was under duress, but it seemed the rodian had done his job. He walked with a slight limp, so Zentripoli figured he ran into some complications. Zentripoli knew these things happened. Preef had the harder target of the two to round up.

Minutes later, the door opened and Preef stated, “This is him. He's been working for Drellis."

With that, the door closed and Preef was in the wind. The Crimson Dawn thug had done what he needed to do with proficiency—that was all Zentripoli could ever ask for.

Danton had a look of confusion as the door slid closed behind him. The rodian told him the boss was inside—and it was just two security droids.

Zentripoli said flatly, “Have a seat in the chair, Mr. Varber.”

Looking around, the man took a seat in the only chair in the room. Assuming the droid that was talking was the one he needed to be addressing, he began, “L-look sir, I had a good gig going with Drellis. But I know that time has come to an end. Your ‘friend’ enlightened me about that.”

Pause.

The man was nervous. He knew that he was dealing with the Five Syndicates now. After allowing a few moments of uncomfortable silence to hang, Zentripoli explained, “You work for us now, Mr. Varber. One of our contacts here in Coruscant will be reaching out to you within 72 standard hours. This individual will explain our new arrangement. You will run the narratives for our organization, as you did for Drellis. You do not work for them anymore. They will not be troubling you any further. Should you decide this arrangement is not to your liking, then that would be unfortunate. This arrangement is non-negotiable. Do you have any questions?”

Swallowing hard, Danton asked, “Yeah, can you provide another bodyguard?”

Zentripoli responded, “What you do with the stipends we provide is your business, as long as it does not jeopardize the services expected of you. Our organization will not provide one. If there is nothing else, you are free to leave. According to your schedule, you are supposed to be on the air in 24 standard minutes. I recommend expediency in making that time slot…”

The news anchor straightened up, swept his hair to the side, stood and managed a weak smile to the droid and quickly left the room.

Zentripoli had already removed all evidence of their occupancy of the room. There was just Howard Cliffji. Quickly removing all of the binds on the human, Zentripoli explained, “We are leaving now Mr. Cliffji. Are there any questions as to your role in from this point forward?”

Vigorously, the other “on air” personality shook his head. The droids led the human out and to the service turbolift, closing the door behind them. By all appearances, the droids seemed to be led by Howard, but such was the appearance that Zentripoli wanted. Exiting the service lift, the group left out of the rear entrance. Once out of the hotel, Zentripoli said simply, “We will be in touch, Mr. Cliffji. This is where we part ways.”

Not wanting to tempt fate, the human turned and walked briskly down an alley towards the main thoroughfare. With that, the droids walked down the opposite alley…

END THREAD
 
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