Ask Coruscant Netrunning straight to prison

Darmus Onn

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It was the first time in two months that Darmus walked through the doors of the Coruscant ranger office and he did so with a heavy heart. A lot of things had happened in the meantime, including a devastating attack on the prison on Corellia, but Darmus was determined to focus on the future now. He'd spend the last few months drinking himself into depressions in between bacta treatments and he was in a desperate need to change his own outlook. Solving a case would be a good start.

When he arrived at his station, however, Darmus showed a first crack. Ofcourse, he though, he didn't have any open cases right now. When he was injured he had to return all of them to the pool so other rangers could pick them up if they had the time and most leads would've gone ice cold by now anyway. Already craving a stiff drink, the forty-something ranger sat himself down in his chair with a sigh and grabbed the datapad from the table.

It was dead. His work-datapad had been idle for so long he needed to plug it for it to start up and only then did the bright red notification flash up.

<<Task Expired: Sign After Action Report Doctor's Orders>>

"Damnit, Captain-" Darmus growled, "-couldn't you have just signed it for me?" Another, even deeper, sigh later and the ranger leaned back in his chair and began reading the report that the young Corran Velt had written while Darmus was lowered into a bacta tank three districts away.

"Assigned to protect Dr. Zafina Strop. Key witness."

So far so good, kid. Smart of you to keep out the part about my suggesting you sleep with her. Appreciate you looking out for your elder, Darmus thought with an amused grin. Reading the report might just be the thing he was needing..

"Guards spotted three gunmen, but were unable to confirm due to network breach."

Darmus was beginning to remember the details of their mission. He'd been too busy with current events to really bother looking back at the mission that got him shot, but now that he need the change in scenery he started to recall his slice-off with a criminal slicer they gunmen called "Kal".

"Ranger Onn got shot and needed immediate repatriation. I took all three gunmen into custody."

"Good work, kid-" Darmus smiled and tried to scroll down to the recordings of their interrogations when he spotted there weren't any. "-maybe not. Rookie mistake, I'm sure." This not being the first time a ranger forgot to add links for convenience's sake, Darmus knew his way around the network and after a minute scrolled down the interrogation files of two months ago. "Huh?" there was a gap on the morning after their mission. "They never interrogated them?" he looked further into the archives to find at least any reservations of interrogation rooms and there he did find one, but only the one.

"Lieutenant Titch, Interrogation room three. Doctor's Orders."

By now he was getting the distinct feeling that something was really kriffing wrong and he dialled up Lieutenant Titch only to find that his number was disconnected. Rising up from his chair and looking around to the other present rangers, Darmus raised his voice "Anyone know if Lieutenant Titch is around?"

A ranger three desks over looked up and over to Darmus, recognizing him and then, suddenly saddened, shook his head. "Kriff, Darmus, I guess you don't know. Titch got in an accident a month ago. He's dead."

Darmus' shoulders dropped and he fell back into his chair. What the kriff was going on here? Feeling utterly confused, he decided to ask the rookie if he could shed some light.

<<Corran, if you can spare the time come meet me at my desk at your earliest convenience.>>

While he waited, Darmus decided to continue his search for the missing files.

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Corran Velt

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It had been a few months since the TAU case. As official work in the Core worlds went, the operation did not go “by the book.” An office floor shot to pieces. TAU paying out life insurance policies for several of their corporate security staff. An entire corporate network breached. A Sector Ranger brought to the drink of death by his wounds.

Despite it all, however, the mission was to protect an innocent life and Dr. Strop had survived unscathed. Her testimony a dangerous weapon in a war between corporations. That seemed so long ago now. Corran had been assigned to small, even pointless, details since then. Some minor dust-up on Jakku and correctly filing away cold cases. It felt like a punishment, even if it wasn’t. There were some rumors about some big operation in the Outer Rim, but the rookie Ranger felt he wouldn’t play some big part in that.

It had been the first time Corran had been stationed in the Coruscant Sector Ranger HQ. He didn’t even bother adding any personal touches to the desk he occupied. A Ranger’s work was out there, boots on the ground. Not….well, this. That’s when a message appeared on his terminal. It was from Ranger Darmus Onn.

<<Corran, if you can spare the time come meet me at my desk at your earliest convenience.>>

“Huh. Didn’t even know Onn was back from medical leave,” The novice Ranger said to himself. Regardless, time was the one thing Corran had plenty to spend. Getting up from the desk and putting the terminal to sleep, as well as grabbing his badge and blaster from the drawer, the young Ranger made his way up to Darmus Onn’s floor. The more-experienced Sector Ranger didn’t look any worse for wear. The bacta had done its job from the look of things. Though, Onn couldn’t ever seem to escape that melancholic look.

“Good to see you out of the tank, sir. What can I do for you?” Corran leaned against the desk and folded his arms.

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Just when the rookie ranger arrived on Darmus' floor, the latter had given up on trying to find anything on the archives and was instead checking out Corran's file, most notably his most recent assignments and once again the ranger's brow furrowed. It was this look that Corran first noticed and Darmus couldn't fault him for thinking he was melancholic for he was, but he also felt slighted, wronged and the victim of a conspiracy.

"Ah, ranger Velt-" Darmus replied as Corran leaned against his desk, "-just read they send you off to Jakku after our last assignment together." Suspicious as he was by nature, Darmus tried to read Corran's face as well as he could and refused to show the rookie his cards until he was sure he could trust him. "Guess you weren't senior enough to handle the interrogations eh?"

It was proper procedure that the lieutenant took over if the senior ranger was unable to do the interrogations himself. The rookie could sit in, sometimes, but perhaps they didn't want to cause a scene seeing as this particular rookie could have some beef with the men that shot his partner. Sending Corran off to Jakku, though, that was a strange glitch. Rookies didn't get jobs like that on worlds like that, but the order seemed to have come down through the net. Jakku requested Corran.

Things weren't adding up and Darmus hoped Corran would have some kriffing answers.

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Corran Velt

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Ranger Onn’s question caused a similar melancholic appearance on Corran’s face. It was apparent the young man had some conflicted feelings on the whole thing.

“I received assignment to investigate a low-level spice dealer by the name of Meeno,” Corran said, carefully phrasing his words not to sound insubordinate, “No one spoke to me about interrogations. I received orders and got off world to Jakku. Everything else regarding the TAU case went… to someone else. I think.” It was apparent that the rookie didn’t know much and maybe that was intentional.

A few moments went by as the cogs in Corran’s brain spun until an idea formed in his head about where this was going. The Ranger stood up from the desk and replacing his casual lean with a serious stance. In a barely hushed tone, Corran began tapping the desk with his index finger, “Wait, did something happen? Did those assailants walk? We had them dead to rights! My written testimony was like a video recording of the whole thing! With words!”

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Darmus Onn

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Darmus was watching the rookie closely and was convinced that the latter's indignation wasn't fake, which allowed him to be taken into confidence. "Not sure," he replied, "I think they're locked up, but-" he turned his datapad around to show Corran the missing files, "-everything they might've said in interrogation has been thoroughly scrubbed from our records."

Taking the datapad back to show Corran the one reference he found: the reservation made by Lieutenant Titch, "Titch did at least one of them, I'm sure." He voiced with dissatisfaction, banking on the belief that Corran had already been aware of the lieutenant's fatal speeder crash. "Can't ask him and can't keep looking for crumbs on the net. You got any ideas?"

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Corran’s eyes glanced over the datapad and his brow furrowed at seeing the reservation for Lt. Titch and no further records. No interrogation notes. No further logs. It was if the case had just… vanished. Sure, the Sector Rangers in the field could play fast-and-loose with how things got done and how laws were enforced, but Chief Hudson made a point that Rangers in the field who put their lives on the line didn’t sacrifice for naught. The office and legal work were expected to be thorough and concrete. To see a gap like this was beyond worrisome.

The young Ranger folded his arms again, deep in thought. “You’re… uh, the technical type, aren’t you?” Corran mused, “Can we check if any of the datafiles had been deleted or moved to new server storage or something? Are there any time-stamp changes?”
Darmus had proven to be confident in his abilities during the TAU operation. Though Corran never saw him in action at the terminal, Ranger Onn had likely saved his skin more than once during the whole thing. If there was someone who could fish out technical bread-crumbs to follow, wouldn't Darmus be the one to do it?

A quick sigh of dissatisfaction was followed by a hail-mary, “At worst, we can go interrogate those criminals ourselves. Even if they are locked up in a Coruscant jail somewhere. Maybe they can recall meeting with Lt. Titch.”

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At first Darmus felt annoyed at the rookie's suggestion and he let it show in his facial expression. Who did he think he was talking to? Ofcourse he had done his due-diligence, he wasn't a rookie. "There's nothing, kid-" he growled and he hadn't realized he had disliked the comment so much, because the growl wasn't at all voluntary, "-whoever did this had months to cover his or her tracks." He was reminded of the many slicers he had encountered during his long career ranging from those that delayed stock markets, rigged podrace betting or provided back-up for the more violent type of criminal associate. Kriff, he suddenly realized the obvious and he couldn't hide his sudden enthusiasm. "They never did arrest that slicer, did they?" Rising from his chair, the old ranger nudged Corran in the direction of the speeder pool.

"I don't admit this often-" he began as he lead the way, "-but you got something there. Let's go visit Telo and his friends in prison." Maybe the rookie wasn't all that bad, maybe he had.. what's that word? Potential. Telo was the only name Darmus remembered and it belonged to the man who shot the security guards and kissed a stun bolt in the control room of T.A.U. No doubt he'd be the one that got the hefty sentence. Double murder and an attempted one. He'd still be strolling up and down his cell fifty years from now, for sure.

Accessing the speeder garage, Darmus signed up for a patrol speeder and got the keys for a brand new CC-2 Avian Airspeeder. Since it was new there was a clause about getting docked pay if you crashed it or caused any other kind of damage to it, so the second they got the red avian in their sights he tossed the keys over to Corran. "You drive. Looks like you two joined the ranger service at the same time." He smiled, no way he would let his poor driving skills cost him tonight's su'shi order.

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Corran Velt

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The older Ranger's expressions changed so quickly in such a short span of time that Corran had trouble deciding if he should be offended, disappointed, or elated. His mind was trying to connect the dots between missing interrogation files, the still-free slicer - his name was Kal if memory served - and visiting some convicts in jail. What passed for praise from Darmus was nice though, even if at the time Corran wasn't entirely sure what for. It wasn't until the pair got to the new police airspeeder that the younger Ranger had pieced it together.

Catching the keys out of the air, the rookie waved them back at Darmus, "Jokes on you. I drive like the elderly. This baby will arrive without a ding on my account." Corran buckled himself in and turned on the ignition before nodding at Ranger Onn, "Secure your seat-belt, sir. Don't want a fine from Coruscanti Security, now do we?" The tone was half in jest. The location of the prison was entered into the CC-2 Avian's navigation system. Hands gripping the wheel, Corran pressed on the lift and the acceleration and the airspeeder floated into the sky and merged into the crowded skyways of Coruscant.

After a few minutes had passed and the commute had settled into an easy flow of traffic, Corran finally asked, "So... what's the missing interrogation have to do with the slicer? I do distinctly recall him having a vendetta against you. At least, at the time."

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He wasn't kidding, Darmus thought, Corran really did drive like an old weequay lady suffering from arthritis. "It adds up," the rookie should've figured that out, but Darmus let this one go as he was good enough to fly. "Three men could've told us who the fourth was, neither can be touched while in ranger custody-" he began, holding up the amount of fingers whenever he said a number and his eyes fixed, as usual, on his datapad. "-but they can talk, identify the fourth and get a reduced sentence."

Then Darmus went quiet for a moment while he angrily swiped away windows and tabs on his datapad, until finally he cried "Gotcha!" and showed Corran what was displayed. "Titch contacted our tech department a dozen times between those interrogations and his accident." Corran wouldn't be able to read the tiny letters and watch out for traffic, so Darmus returned the datapad to his lap. "He always was a stubborn goat," his worlds trailed off and he went quiet again. If Lieutenant Titch suspected something he wouldn't have let it rest.. did that mean his accident wasn't an accident at all?


Netrunner-in-prison.jpg

Forty minutes later a security guard lead them to a drone-like transport that fit the three of them only barely before it set off up towards the 112th level. Darmus' right hand held on to the railing with such an intensity that it seemed he was trying to squeeze it and he generally seemed more tense than you'd expect from a veteran ranger. It wasn't so much that he was afraid of confronting Telo. He was scared of heights.


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Corran Velt

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Corran listened intently to Darmus as he walked the rookie through his thoughts and intentions, only allowing a cursory glance from the wheel when Ranger Onn tried to show him something. For his part, Corran had never met Lt. Titch but Darmus seemed to have some respect for the man’s thoroughness and drive while on a case. If the Lieutenant had contacted the Ranger technical department several times before his untimely demise, didn’t that suggest Titch had found something of concern?

After Corran had gingerly docked the airspeeder, he felt satisfied that they had no near-accidents or possible scrapes to the new vehicle. It was Sector Ranger property, after all. The prison itself was pretty standard for this level of criminal on Coruscant; giant, foreboding, and dark. The drone-lift that carried the trio down into the convicts’ pit didn’t seem all that threatening to the rookie, though he did notice Ranger Onn’s vice-grip on the railings. Corran didn’t have the heart to tell him that if the craft did suddenly have issues flying, the hand-railing likely wouldn't save him.

“So you really think Telo will flip on his slicer friend?” Corran asked, leaning casually against the rail as if they were standing firmly on the ground, “and you think Kal, the slicer, is a serious enough threat to warrant this type of deal?” The questions didn’t sound combative. They were more inquisitive for the younger Ranger to understand the game between law enforcement and holonet slicers. To him, what harm could a slicer really do? Is it as bad as reducing Telo’s sentence? A man with two murders under his belt, at least? Only Darmus could say.

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Thankful for the distraction, Darmus still shook his head in reply to the younger ranger. "Pulling a trigger is easy," he said as the hover-lift came to a halt in front of Telo's cell. "Take Telo here for example," he gestured towards the sorry human creature that sat on his bed, leaning against the cold durasteel wall in an utterly spartan cell. "He pulls the trigger for a few credits and gets caught," now realizing he had visitors, Telo lifted his head and wasn't at all happy to see the two rangers he had burned on his retina's. Darmus was about to make a point to Corran, though, so he didn't engage the prisoner just yet. "He pays a hefty price. His payments probably wasn't that big either, so it's pretty much a lose-lose situation for him." Telo, imprisoned now for a couple of months and looking at a few decades more, seemed to agree to this sentiment and nodded as such. He was in a kriffed up situation for sure.

"Now, whoever ordered him to do it-" Darmus now turned to the prison guard, including him into the lesson for the Force knows why, "-they just send another team to the judge. They win. For him, sending Telo to kill that doctor was win-win. Or rather, he couldn't lose, now-" he paused, suddenly even including Telo and beckoned him closer, "-Telo can't implicate him even if he tried."

Darmus knew what he was talking about, for in his two decades of being in the ranger service he didn't just have a thoroughly lacking number of shoot-outs, but he studied the finer points of the criminal support infrastructure. Thus, without dragging the answer to Corran's question out any longer, he turned back to the younger ranger and smiled. "The slicer is the in between that can also open doors that the trigger man-" he once again gestured towards Telo, "-can't even see." But that wasn't all, "He's also the only one who is able to implicate the one that hired Telo."

The rest Corran would be able to figure out on his own. There were countless of men and women willing to pull a trigger for credits, especially in the lower levels of any city-world. Telo was a symptom of a bigger crime. The slicer was the bigger fish, for without him the corporate-level crook couldn't pay a trigger man and hide behind scrambled code. So in a way they were the only bait with which you catch the criminal mastermind.

Darmus had been searching for years to find one of the Crimson Dawn's slicers for that exact same reason. Gunslingers, smugglers, slavers and pirates were all inconsequential. Take out the crime lord and the infighting will kill more criminals the ranger service could ever afford to put behind bars. Top brass never understood that.


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Corran Velt

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As the craft descended and eventually synced-up to Telo’s ray-shielded cell, Corran listened intently to Darmus’ walk-through of judicial logic. Occasionally, he would nod at what he understood and furrow his brow at the temporarily confusing segments. The younger Ranger’s experience had been entirely the basics. Someone breaks the law or code of the Sector Rangers, you arrest them. If they resist, aim down your iron-sights. That’s how all of Corran’s problems were handled in his time with the Rangers.

Darmus, to his credit, was opening up a world that the young man hadn’t even considered. Ranger Onn may not be the aggressive, quickdraw type but he knew his investigative police work. The scaffolding of organized crime was slowly being revealed to the Corran, even if he didn’t fully understand how to take it down. Telo seemed to understand with crystal clear clarity. When you have nothing but time to think, pathways to revenge are often well-trodden thoughts. The disheveled former hitman was nearly against the ray-shield barrier now, moving his angry gaze between the two law enforcers.

“So what do you say, Telo?” Corran asked, “Do you want to take the opportunity to be a good citizen?” The young man’s tone was innocently serious. To anyone listening it would have sounded naive, at best. The prisoner grunted, “I would rather take the opportunity to strangle you both with my bare hands.” The sentence was punctuated with the convict clenching his fists tightly together for emphasis.

“But…” Telo continued, “It isn’t fair that Kal gets to walk free while I rot. A little incentive would go a long way to jogging my memory.”

Corran shrugged and welcomed Onn to the negotiation with a sweep of an open palm.

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Darmus turned towards the security officer and shrugged, "We're not really in a rush, put him in solitary for a few months," he smiled and tapped Corran on the shoulder to signify to Telo that they were really about to leave again. Seeing his only chance at an early release go up in smoke, Telo wanted to change his tone and yet his desire to play the tough guy won. "Suit yourselves. Maybe by then I've forgotten Kal altogether!" he grinned, but his eyes didn't join him and appeared anxious.

Darmus dropped his shoulders as if he was defeated by the smart remarks of the convict, "That's too bad, cooperating freely, before incentives, would've knocked-" he looked at Corran, "What do you think, ranger Velt?" Pausing to look back at Telo with raised eyebrows, Darmus knew he had the kriffer by the balls, "-ten years off his sentence unconditionally?"

Telo seemed to be cursing at himself, thinking about ways where he could get back on top. Unfortunately for him, he had become a triggerman for a reason. I.e. he didn't have the smarts for anything else.


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A tap on the shoulder turned Corran into an actor. He gave a despondent look and a reluctant shrug. A sharp turn of the heel indicated that the pair of rangers were indeed leaving and discussions were over. Not that they really were. It was one of the oldest tricks in the book. Advertising did it too. Limited time offers that were going, going, and soon to be gone. Unfortunately, Telo didn't seem to take the bait. An unlikely threat of faulty memory really made Corran's acting into something more real. Uncooperative criminals who had nothing to lose but everything to gain belied either a certain loyalty in their group or something bigger going on.

To Ranger Onn's question, the younger man could only offer up his hands and a shake of the head. "Ten years? Sounds right, give or take. Shame that option might be gone now." He then folded his arms and took his place on the hovercraft that had brought the law enforcement officers here. Telo seemed to be chewing durasteel slag in his tight jaw. Darmus had snared him and the gunman was as stupid as street toughs usually were. Only good for muscle. Only was a matter of time now.

"I..." Telo started slowly, "don't know nothin'."

Corran legitimately grimaced. Stupidity went hand in hand with stubbornness. Instead of extending a hand, the goon had dug in his heels. By the look on his face, the criminal would rather be locked away in solitary than acknowledge being outsmarted. The blond youth gestured at Darmus, "Come on Ranger Onn. We'll come back when he's ready to talk." Telo turned away, as if no one else was present, and soon the hovercraft would be making its way back to the terminal. Without the captured killer's confession, the case ran cold. They'd wait for as long as they needed to.

----------------------------------------------------

That wait took longer than anyone could have predicted. Between the comings and goings here, Outpost Blue had been captured, Sector Ranger Headquarters had been destroyed, and Corran, a rookie no longer, had been promoted to lieutenant for his experience. He had the facial scar to prove it. Both rangers, more worn than before, were here again to meet with Telo. A small fish compared to the Sith, but a link to a greater organization in the galaxy somewhere. Local guards had said that over the years, the prisoner was seeming more open-lipped.

"Well, think he'll give us the truth this time?" Lt. Velt inquired of Darmus. It would have been annoying to come down here just for more chest-pounding.

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The raid on the evidence vault had overturned hundreds of convictions on appeal and forced the rangers to release at least the same amount of perps because the evidence of their crimes was gone. Darmus hadn't allowed himself to sleep since, turning his apartment into one giant computer rig and personav to track all everyone they released. His malware had infected both their personal devices and the camera networks across the lower levels of Coruscant. Now, this meant he was sucking up almost all power in his apartment building... but he didn't care.

Today was probably the first time in weeks he left his apartment. It was definitely the first time he showered, shaved and dressed up appropriately. The badge and gun felt heavier than they used to and they already hadn't felt light since Outpost Blue. All in all, perhaps it was a good thing that he had messaged Lieutenant Corran Velt that he'd meet him at the prison instead of the makeshift new headquarters. It was better that way.. the wound was still too fresh.

"Probably," he replied, "After the evidence vault they had to release twelve hardened inmates on his block." Not Telo, though.. Darmus had kept personal copies of the camera footage of his crimes and conviction was still as solid as when the judge put him behind bars. "The lower levels are a gangers paradise right now. He'd be a fool if he didn't want to get back down there while there's something to be had."

For Darmus it was personal. The slicer they wanted Telo to snitch on had been a thorn in Darmus' side of the past years and even now he caught rumors that Kel was responsible for wiping the monitoring malware from personal devices of the more organized gangers. After all those privacy violations he still didn't have a single thing on Five Syndicates... he knew the Crimson Dawn was everywhere on this planet and yet they were his biggest blindspot. He tried his best to hide the strain from Corran, who had become much more experienced and above all mature since they last partnered up. "You best Lieutenant Titch proud, LT."



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Mention of the release of the twelve inmates now freed visibly made Corran's jaw tighten. It was but a tiny fraction of the hundreds that had been released or cases tossed out since the fall of Sector Ranger Headquarters. Salt into an open wound hurt less. The obliteration of their administrative citadel wasn't enough. All their hard work had to go up in flames too. Years of cases built up. Rangers putting their lives at risk to capture the scum of the galaxy. All gone because if those Force cults and their never-ending war. The lieutenant grinded his teeth behind pursed lips. Why couldn't those Jedi and Sith just leave the regular denizens out of their bloodshed? Maybe finally the whole universe would be a better place.

But that work started again here. From the most humble of origins. A minor case from years ago. Telo, a captured hitman, was the first step to capturing a notorious slicer. A particularly troublesome one. Corran nodded to Darmus' assessment of the situation and his invocation of their another lieutenant they once knew. "I'll do my best, Ranger Onn. I'll do my best." That was really all he could do. The hovercraft descended, much as it did long ago, and finally came to rest before a shielded cell. It was different than the one Telo had inhabited before. It was lower in the prison. A further descent into darkness.

Telo, for his part, had not aged as well as the other two rangers. That was really saying something. Sure, the inmate was just as muscled, but he looked rougher. Less hygienic. Age had been less kind. Hard time did that to a person. With a few measured steps, Corran stood at the front of the hovercraft and faced into the cell. "Inmate Telo. Long time no see. I'm Lieutenant - "

"I remember," came the gruff reply. The former gunmen rose from his metal cot and lumbered up to the ray shield that kept him imprisoned. "What do you want?"

Corran gestured to Darmus. "Ranger Onn and I are here for information. The kind only you can provide on a certain slicer." Unlike before, Telo only exhaled slowly out of his nose; his eyes clearly a window to him thinking about the best next move. Maybe he'd finally see the benefits of disloyalty and get some payback for Kel being free all this time.

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Darmus laughed once, but it was joyless and sounded more like a bark. "Kriff it with the Ranger Onn," he said sharply, gripping the railing tightly as if his life depended on it. "Darmus works just fine," his grip on the hovercraft loosened now as he stared at the sorry excuse of a ganger. Corran took the lead and Darmus was glad he did because at least now he was certain that his fear of heights wouldn't be a focus point in their introduction.

Corran did well, too. He was more mature and didn't beat around the bush. His accomplishments didn't lie and his willpower and actions while under immense pain had spread among the ranks like wildfire. The only spot on his career was of a personal nature.. he was romantically linked to the CEO of a shady corporation. Darmus would personally see to it that Corran would never get in a taskforce to take down corruption. They didn't need to have their case against the Crimson Dawn, Blackwell or Czerka fail because the lieutenant on the case had links to their competition. Bad judgment in his private life wasn't a matter of discussion for today, though, so Darmus focused on the present.

"Time served," he just blurted it out. No point dancing around it.. in Darmus' world Telo was a moronic triggerman without ties to organized gangs.. he'd rather toss him out on the streets, infect his personal devices with the SR monitoring dataplague and either watch him get shot by another ganger or bust him again tomorrow. Everything to get that information.. it was the only key to get dirt on the Crimson Dawn.. it was the only way he could make up for the losses from the raid on the evidence vault. Perhaps he should've discussed it with Corran, not in small part because the lieutenant was the one signing off as the ranger on record for this deal.

Telo looked up, then to the lieutenant. "He serious?"


@TerranSteel
 

Corran Velt

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Time served. Who knew two words could feel like being struck by lightning. A younger Corran would have about-faced and dressed-down his fellow Sector Ranger. Time Served? Telo was doing hard time for murder and lots of it. That criminal deserved every moment in a prison cell. But... Corran was a more experience lieutenant now. He had the authority to fully dress-down and reprimand Darmus but stayed his hand. If all that hard-earned experience taught the blond ranger anything, it was to trust your fellow rangers. Darmus Onn, especially, had earned that. All these thoughts played behind a stoic face. When in front of prisoners and dignitaries, it was best to keep your cards close to your chest.

To the convicts question, the ranger lieutenant offered merely a curt nod. "He's as serious as the judgement that got you here." Corran felt certain that nothing felt more real than the time Telo had spent locked up in this place. A part of the lieutenant hoped that this was part of some scheme. A gambit to get information but to keep the convicted killer behind shields. That was unlikely though. Once a bargain was struck, the Sector Rangers would file the paperwork with Coruscanti officials and it all would go through. Underhandedness didn't become either of them in the first place.

Telo, for his part, seemed taken aback by the offer. He squinted at the two law enforcement officers, trying to scrutinize their seriousness. Cautiously, the goon marched up to the ray shield that separated him from freedom. "...In trade for what info, specifically?" The fish had taken the bait and hooked clean. Though what information Telo had remained in doubt. It had been years since he had last worked with Kel. His intel could be outdated or totally irrelevant. The only option now was to hear him out.

@Eccles
 

Darmus Onn

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Oh good, Corran backed his play. Darmus revelled from Telo's squinting eyes and gave the scumbag all the time he needed to mull it over. Staying loyal to a slicer he worked with once years ago and spending decades in prison or his sweet Freedom. It wasn't a hard choice, not really, but all he knew was a way to get in touch with the slicer and that was it. "Whatever leads to Kel's arrest." Darmus' words were confusing to Telo and the ganger looked at him for a long time before shaking his head, "I have a way to contact him, but-" his brain was racing trying to come up with a spin where merely fingering a mutual contact could lead to the slicer's arrest, but even he knew that his information was dated and... "Deal."

Telo looked straight into Darmus' eyes, stunned by the ease in which the ranger just accepted a deal over so little information. He looked at Corran again, but this time he didn't want to waste time and have the other ranger reign in his partner. "Okay, get it in writing and i-" he was interrupted once again when Darmus merely pulled out a holo-recorder and beckoned the guard to come closer before pressing the record button.

"My name is Darmus Onn and I'm a Sector Ranger, with me is-" he nudged the guard to speak, "-Security Guard First Class Mike Atem-" with a simple nod from Darmus the guard stepped back again and gave him his personal space, "-as my witness. The deal offered to Telo Mak is time served if he gives any info that leads to the arrest of the slicer known as Kel."

Telo's eyes grew wider and wider, "Do I?" he asked, pointing towards himself in an effort to get his info on record and thus securing his freedom. "Ehm, this is Telo Mak and I ehm-" he turned his head towards Lieutenant Velt but quickly reconsidered, "-know that if you want to reach 'the slicer known as Kel' you use public terminal number three in the 'Red Sun Holo-Café' in district four, sub-level B."

Just like that. Both Darmus and Corran would instantly recognize it as a known Crimson Dawn front and that didn't only worry Darmus, but it excited him beyond measure. He ended the recording and without another word to Telo he turned towards the guard, "Process him and set him free tomorrow morning." He'd slip in a dataplague of his own making into Telo's personal device before they left in order to track him and make sure he wouldn't warn Kel off. First he turned back to Corran, "ready to check it out?"



@TerranSteel
 

Corran Velt

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Trust in his fellow ranger paid off yet again. Though, there had never been a gamble placed on Darmus that didn't eventually turn out to be the right choice. Corran only displayed a subtle expression of surprise with a cock of an eyebrow. Had Darmus really gamed this whole meeting out? Telo folding, having the ability to record at the ready - all of it. Maybe the humble ranger wasn't just good at slicing and technobabble. He was actually a good Sector Ranger. As Darmus recorded his pledge, with witness, and the prisoner gave their information, the lieutenant stood stoically. As if he was monitoring the agreement. In truth, Corran had no idea how this was going to pan out and so it let it flow. Nothing something he was always comfortable with but for now, small fish acted as bait for bigger ones. Even when Telo glanced at the blond ranger for assurance or attempting to glimpse some trap, Corran stood impassively.

Once the location was uttered in full, the young man turned to look at Darmus for confirmation. Had he heard correctly? Red Sun Holo-Cafe was long rumored (nearly confirmed) to be a front for Crimson Dawn. It was hard to link crimes and people to a single location, but now it provided a doorway to their target. It came at the cost of letting a criminal go. Corran would have to see how this turned out before casting judgement. He couldn't deny it led to results - eventually. The lieutenant raised a finger to his partner. "One last thing before we go."

Turning on his heel to face Telo, Corran stood at his full height and looked the very model of a law enforcement officer. Besides the scar and ruffled hair, that is. "Mr. Mak, we appreciate your cooperation. Once released, we have nothing but high hopes in your successful return to being a law-abiding citizen." Corran gave a brief nod. "Good luck." With that, the blond ranger turned to Darmus and offered a small smirk. "Now I'm ready to check out. Let's go."

@Eccles
 
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