Ask Nar Shaddaa Operation Vision Impairment

[The Storyteller]

Jabba the Hutt Memorial Plaza​

One thing that could always be said for Nar Shaddaa was that, for being the most disgustingly corrupt centre of the Galaxy, it was always changing.

Hutts were able to wipe the moon's buildings clean and start again to fit whatever warped vision they had for a 'perfect' city because no one was able to stand in their way. If you didn't sell to a Hutt, after all, they would just kill you and be done with it. Such had been how Jabba the Hutt Memorial Plaza had been created, under the direction of a local Hutt of some renown and cleared of all else to ensure it could be built. This Hutt, Wallut the Hutt, was a descendant of the great and powerful Jabba the Hutt and so wanted an area of the planet to be presented as well as possible to reflect on the greatness of his ancestor.

Having been educated in the Core (at great expense) Wallut the Hutt had a preference for the type of architecture that could be found deeper in the Galaxy and had demanded that anyone wishing to build near his plaza needed to build in the same style. The Oracle, seeing their fortunes well and truly on the rise, purchased a semi-completed skyscraper on the edge of the plaza not long ago. Various elements of the businesses and enterprises of the Oracle were relocated to the Tower, as it became known as.

Only the first three floors were furnished and completed, serving as part-front business and part-legitimate business as several different scams and businesses were run out of the space. Workers on those first three floors came dressed in full business attire with blasters strapped under jackets and under dress hem-lines as they were instructed to give the entire operation an air of class despite openly being a criminal enterprise. Battledroids and other scumbag-types walked the halls alongside those in business dress, all of them deep in the pockets of the Oracle.

Even from outside, it was clear that most floors of the tower lay empty but at the top extra floors were still being constructed, seemingly in an effort to ensure that the penthouse office was taller than any of the other buildings around the plaza. As the trio approached the building, they would find themselves in a line to even enter the building, several people ahead of them as a collection of B1 Battledroids acted as security, scanning entry passes alongside an armed probe droid and a single organic, who seemed to be the acting supervisor if her datapads and annoyed expression were anything to go by.

As they approached, the man closest to them, at the end of the line, just shrugged as he caught them looking.

"Taungsdays, am I right?"

@Sreeya @Phoenix @Alhon

 

[Varyn Atrix]

They'd finally located Oracle. From his discussion with Six, it sounded like she had been working this job for far longer than he had. Far, far longer. In fact, he was quite a late addition to the operation, but he was excited to be involved in its conclusion. Or at least, what they all hoped was the conclusion.

He recognized the gravity of this situation. They were walking into enemy territory. They had done their recon and scouted the area already. They'd watched droids and personnel come and go, and they had prepared as much as they could.

Varyn's lightsabers were tucked away under his clothing, at the ready for when this inevitably went to pieces, but he couldn't help but think just how outnumbered they were here. It was going to take ingenuity and clever thinking to win the day here.

But then, he was also being accompanied by a Cipher and a General. Those two titles alone spoke to the skill and experience of his partners, so if anyone could do it, it was them. Could have been the start of a bad joke: an Imp Knight, a Cipher, and a General walk into a crime den.

At least it's hump day, Varyn said, giving a convincingly sincere tone to his voice that said he knew all about that. Just getting to the next weekend.

 

[Cipher Six]

It had been months and months of build up and prep leading up to this moment. Six didn’t get rattled easily, but even she felt a sense of dread. This was the toughest enemy she had ever gone up against, and they had to cut off the head of the snake. So far they had the element of surprise on their side as Six and Max had worked for some time to get on Oracle’s good graces. Instead of fighting their way up, she expected to have to combat their way down.

Six turned to regard Varyn. He was shockingly good at blending into any scenario without standing out. ISB had produced him with a cover to play as one of the newly hired workers. Today was his first day on the job, so he could find some excuse to get a tour of the facility.

She and Max were known to the group and would have no problem getting up to the penthouse. However, killing Vivienne Donatade was a whole different issue. For now, Six fell into step with the others, making her way through the entry lines. She was dressed in business attire, but it was ISB issued. She was more than thrilled to have her little gadgets back again.

“Play it cool and make sure no one tries to search us,” For now, she only observed them scanning security passes. She would be in trouble if anyone tried to look for the pistol she packed in her purse.

@Phoenix @Alhon @Nefieslab

 

[Max Dram]

This was it. All their efforts in recent months had come to their climax, a final operation engineered more by Six than anyone else. Max knew how long she had worked on this and how desperately the Empire needed it to succeed. The Orcale's treason must stop here, tonight, in a squalid plaza on the grimy Nar Shaddaa.

The uninspiring 'Tower' was a disappointing lair for a criminal mastermind, but it did not really matter. From here she had perpetrated countless acts of sabotage and subversion. Max had seen up close how completely she had warped the minds of men he once trusted with his life. She would not live to finish her Tower, of that he would make sure.

He flicked a glance at Varyn, not yet properly acquainted with the Knight, but having been briefed by Six. He would have to get the measure of the guy on the job and for now was content to swallow Six's assurances about his character. He at least seemed to be blending in with the line of workers well enough and not shouting his mouth off.

After the Oracle, the General was perhaps the most famous Imperial rebel in the galaxy, his profile and notoriety among the reasons she was thrilled to have him. There was no sense in hiding his identity in these insurgent circles; they knew who he was and loved him for it. It might just be the thing that would keep him alive.

"Sure thing" he replied to Six, digging his heels in. "This is me playing it cool". Max strode beside Six in a long trenchcoat, a broad-shouldered tower of black with a single silver star glinting on each shoulder. To the passerby, it looked like simple militaristic fashion, but to the occupants of this building it would mark him for who he was.

He was packing underneath it all of course, but he was counting on no one finding that out until they were up top. The Oracle was expecting he and Six after all and she and her minions would hopefully be too taken with their champion to suspect foul play.

"General Dram" he said loudly, striding up the line to push in at the security desk. After all, what attacker would be so brazen. He held out his pass for the droid to scan. "She is expecting me and my associate".

@Nefieslab @Phoenix @Sreeya

 

[The Storyteller]

As Max and Six moved up, it was clear that they were going to jump the line and it was clear that none of the people in the line were going to make a fuss about it. They took one look at them and mentally marked them down as "different" - and in the world of the organised crime families of the Galaxy? Different meant that you could afford to stand out a little bit, afford to show off how you were unique.

Better.

Still, the line shifted to allow them passage with nothing more than some light mutterings. The man who had spoken to Varyn sighed a little bit and turned his head to whisper to the younger man.

"Who do you have to kill to get into that kind of club, eh kid?" he sighed a little bit louder, remarking wistfully, "Bet they never have the hump day blues..."

At the check-in desk, the droid turned it's pointed head from the person it had been scanning, to Max, to the scanner, then back to the previous check-in, back to Max and so forth.

"Erm..."

It did so again, it's almost nasally voice box squeaking slightly from poor maintenance.

"I'm not seeing anyone with the first name 'General' on my list... erm... I'm going to need to notify my supervisor." the B1 droid declared before waving one of it's flappy hands, a touch frantically... and waving down the hovering probe droid, "Supervisor Floats? The pass doesn't match the appointment list!"

The ominously hovering probe droid let out a screech of scathing binary that had the B1 nodding frantically and hurriedly swiping the pass before handing it back to Max.

"S-sorry about that Mr General, sir! Just straight through the weapons scanners on your left, you and your associate!"

The B1 droid gestured to the walk-through scanner set up to the left of the line - it was clearly designated as the exit but at this point the B1 droid seemed eager to get them moving through the weapons scanner so that they wouldn't get chewed out by their very aggressive probe droid manager. What Max, Six and Varyn would all note was that the scanners appeared to be active and every person going through the one on the right was being allowed through without issue. What all three of the highly trained agents would be able to tell, however, was that none of the people filing through the scanner were armed at all.

@Sreeya @Phoenix @Alhon

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn felt a little bit bad about what he was going to do. Poor Mr. Hump Day was just trying to make it through another day, and keep his head down, but Varyn... was going to use the poor man as a bit of a scapegoat. Hopefully, nothing too terrible would end up happening to him in the long run.

So unfair isn't it. Just makes you want to get people riled up in protest, doesn't it? he asked, using the Force to nudge the man's mind into just that. With any luck, he would create quite a ruckus that would allow one of the other two to sabotage or somehow disable the scanner.

If not, Varyn was sure he could find a way to do it. Yes, totally sure. Uh-huh. "Oh whoops, how'd the entire scanner randomly flip upside down. Weird." Not exactly subtle, though.

 

[Levik Karn]

Having been given a free pass to travel through Hutt Space unmolested, the Imperial Pugio-class frigate called the Haradan was fueling up in a spaceport on the other side of the Smuggler's Moon. Commander Karn didn't have the success he wanted on Hollastin and this investigation had him seen tortured and interrogated twice now, with the latter leaving a more lasting impression that the first. The Siren of the Mothkari Crime Family lingered in his mind as he heard his own thoughts in her voice. Soft, melodic and calming.

Regardless of his own mental state, operation Oracle was nearing its conclusion now that she had been identified and her location had been revealed to be on a cartel planet. It seemed like even a syndicate leader like Vivienne Donatade had chosen to escape the Core towards Hutt Space, just like how the Crymorah and the Pykes had done. No doubt the Falleen Council that ruled the Black Sun was on one of these planets, too, forcing the entire power-structure of the former Five Syndicates square under the rule of that one Hutt; Supreme Mogul Nor'baal Desilijic Fa'athra.

Commander Karn and the best twenty of his men were laying on nearby rooftops observing the skycraper. The cloaking devices of their Imperial Peacekeeper Armors had been engaged for the duration of their approach, hence their rather late positioning. They carried backpacks with jetboots and were meant to move in as reinforcements if shit hit the fan, or a straight up sniper squad once the Oracle's presence had been confirmed. Regardless, the Commander had been Cipher Six' handler for this entire investigation and he would see through to the end. "Cipher Cipher, come in," he told her through the commline he shared with both her, General Dramm and Knight-Captain Atrix. Despite the two men outranking her, there had to be no doubt that when it came to the Oracle, Cipher Six was in charge on the ground. "Team two in position. Confirm succesful insertion."

 

[Cipher Six]

Six bristled slightly at the incompetence of the droid, but externally she kept a calm demeanor. A quick glance revealed that people being scanned through didn’t have weapons. She was quickly thinking through options when Varyn stepped in. Use of the Force for mental manipulation was something that made her deeply uncomfortable. Furthermore, she was concerned about using the Force like that around Crimson Dawn - people that were extremely familiar with Sith tactics. The poor guy started by bumping into someone next to him, and a sudden and abrupt little scuffle started at the front of the building.

The agent moved with the crowds, squeezing right through and into the building in a show of getting away from the chaos. She didn’t glance over her shoulder to see if the others entered - she wasn’t trying to appear as part of a group. Once inside, she fell into steps with the other visitors in the building.

“Confirmed insertion,” She discreetly commed back, though it remained to be seen if the entry was flawless. It all depended on if the scuffle died down naturally without any questions being raised.

@Phoenix @Alhon @Nefieslab @Eccles

 

[Max Dram]

Flaunting his credentials did not go entirely to plan, but Max was glad when he at least got the go ahead to enter.

The scanner was an issue and Max made a show of straightening his coat and chuntering about the poor reception while he tried to devise a way in. It was then that the scuffle began and the General was concerned for a few moments that something entirely unexpected would ruin their plans. But even if he didn't know Varyn well, he had a pretty good read on Six at this stage. Something was at work here and Max wasted no time in seizing the scuffle for the opportunity it was.

The brawl was small, but causing enough raucous on the ordered forecourt to attract the attention of all droids and cameras. Max made his way towards the scanner, turning deliberately away from it at the last moment as if his attention was drawn by the commotion. Reaching behind, he grabbed an exposed relay with his cybernetic hand and forcibly bent it out of alignment. The light of the scanner flickered and failed, fortunately quicker than anyone could notice, and Max found himself through and inside.

Max kept moving, like a man who had in no way just broken in would do, pausing briefly at the foot of the stairwell to feign a check of his datapad. His peripherals told him Six was through, but it remained to be seen if Varyn had made it too.

@Phoenix @Nefieslab @Sreeya @Eccles

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was quite proud of his handiwork, heading through the checkpoint in the bustle. He opened himself up to the Force and let everything around him flow in. The fear, the concern, the confusion. It was all to his advantage, and he didn't have to look to know when no one was looking. Like a forgettable ghost, he slipped through the scanner and out the other side before anyone noticed.

He made no response over the comlink as Six had already responded, and he figured it was best to keep the chatter to a minimum. That was the first hurdle overcome, but he had no doubt that others would be ahead of them.

Notably, he heard the zapping sound of an electroprod going off somewhere behind him, and momentarily glanced the man he had manipulated flopping over very stiffly. He only narrowly managed to keep from completely wincing at the sight, and felt a twinge of pity for the man.

Your sacrifice and pain will be remembered, he thought to himself. The man would be fiiine.

@Eccles @Nefieslab @Sreeya @Alhon

 

[Levik Karn]

Commander Karn received confirmation from Cipher Six and immediately lifted the binoculars to his eyes. The skycraper had some obvious weak spots. Easily reached entry points thanks to the fact that it was still very much under construction. The AMS virus had hit Nar Shaddaa very hard, perhaps worse than any other densely populated planet in the galaxy, and yet it was in size still very much just a moon. Millions had died, which had opened up a lot of ground for new building projects. New casino's, new skyscrapers with private landing pads for the rich and wealthy that liked to spend a fortnight in the new cartel casino's. Supreme Mogul Nor'baal was doing well for himself post-AMS, which, weirdly enough, he had Durr to thank for.

"Copy. Beginning insertion on floot forty-three," Levik replied over the shared comm with the others as he took off his backpack and put on the jetboots, confident that he would be very hard to see for any potential skyline-guards from the Crimson Dawn. Only twelve peacekeepers followed his lead, for eight of them had been designated as sniper support in case the whole operation devolved into a shootout.

Floor forty-three seemed to have the easiest aerial access point, but as far as Commander Karn could see it also didn't have any guards posted outside. Perhaps they didn't think anyone would see an unfinished skyscraper as a logical place for a syndicate boss to hide out on, or perhaps they were better at hiding than the imperials figured criminal scum to be capable of. So, when everyone was outfitted with their respective jetboots, all thirteen of them began their flight over to floor forty-three.


@Sreeya @Alhon @Phoenix @Nefieslab

 

[The Storyteller]

-- Main Hall --
​

The scuffle out the front of the building managed to help all three of the agents gain access to the building. It was enough to keep the agent at the front from noticing Max's small act of sabotage but it had the slightly unfortunate effect of causing some measure of alarm to have been raised. Not enough to constitute a full-blown alert but enough that the trio would be able to see that the B1 droids in the main hall seemed to have received a non-verbal command to bunch up closure to the entrance.

Through the Force, Varyn would be able to feel it as the instigator of the scuffle was dealt some swift "Nar Shaddaa Justice" - at least they had the grace to drag him into an alleyway off to one side before putting a blaster bolt in the back of his skull.

To one side of the hall a sign indicated that the sole lift to access the rest of the skyscraper under construction was through a door to the east side of the hall, guarded by another B1 droid that didn't seem to have received any commands to crowd at the front as their allies had done.

As she moved deeper into the main hall, Cipher Six would catch sight of two sentients as they exited a door to her immediate left, entering the hall. Unlike the others, they were both visibly armed and were dressed in armour that had clearly seen some action. Marked as bounty hunters, or hired guns, Cipher Six would be able to tell them apart from the typical fare - they were a local concern known to be a pair of humans (no one was entirely sure of genders or even given names) but known collectively as The Oshai Twins. Armed with twin pairs of GLIE-44 blaster pistols and garishly green painted F-11D Blaster Rifles, the Twins looked like they'd gotten their weapons from a Resistance/First Order bargain bin but their weaponry was of secondary importance.

What was important was that both of them were striding with purpose towards the lift and the droid stationed to guard it seemed to be already preparing to move to allow them quick entry. While there may be other ways to gain access to the upper floors, the main way to do so was through the same door that the Twins were looking to move through - and the lone drone was still standing guard over.

-- Floor Forty Three --​

Far higher than ground level, Levik and his assault forces would find the winds of Nar Shaddaa treacherous but nothing that troops accustomed to combat landings and crossings would be incapable of handling. As they approached, the layout of the floor would come into focus as they began their final landing stretch.

Levik and his squad would land heavier than they otherwise might have intended due to the strong headwinds they had to act against. As they came into land, they would have begun to notice the reason why there were no guards and no workers - it appeared that the workforce was able to blend it by virtue of being the same colour as the floors and the walls they were constructing.

A pair of LE Series Repair Droids were working together to repair a 'squirming' MSE-Series Maintenance Droid. The trio of droids were not far from where Levik and his squad had landed but the Imperials remained undetected thanks to a partially constructed wall that obscured their landing on the north side of the building from view.

As observed previously, the entrance that Levik and his squad would make for was built into the west side of the construction site, boxed in by a pair of completed durasteel walls. The late-night repair and maintenance droids were, however, working on the north-west side of the building, between the Imperials and their goal.

@Sreeya @Phoenix @Alhon @Eccles

Spoiler: Floor 43 Map

Spoiler: The Oshai Twins

 

[Levik Karn]

There was a notable relief in the way Levik sighed after landing. He had worried about their insertion, but with all thirteen peacekeepers armed and cloaked inside the unfinished skyscraper he didn't think much could go wrong. Not with the people he had on the ground floor, anyway. Cipher Six, Knight-Captain Atrix and General Dram were tried and true professionals.

Commander Karn signalled for his men to slowly take up advantageous positions while still cloaked to avoid detection from the trio of droids. Then as he himself remained out of view and earshot from the droids, he used the commline. "Team arrived on level forty-three. Droid presence encountered. Caution advised." He informed them of his succesful insertion, for it was best they made them move on the Oracle together, but just in case they were already enroute to his level then warning them of the droid seemed like the most logical thing to do. It was best to er on caution, after all.

Levik wasn't comfortable in using blasters to take down the droids, afraid that the sound would carry to inside the building and put Vivienne's men on alert. So, he ordered three peacekeepers to switch to their vibro-knives. "Approach them from their dead spot. Rest cover them. No blasters if possible." The intention was simple, use their armor's cloaking device to sneak up to the preoccupied droids and plant the knives into their droid brains. The maintenance droid included.

If succesful they only had to wait for the arrival of the others and then they could discuss the plan for their final assault.

@Sreeya @Alhon @Phoenix @Nefieslab