Ask Coruscant The House of the Rising Sun

[Corran Velt]

Rain tapped against the windshield of the speeder. Being an purely urban world, it was surprising that Coruscant could still rain. Yet water fell from the heavens. Hues of luminescent purple, red, blue, and green colored the tear-drop streaks that glided down the windows of the vehicle. Holosigns that called out attractions, storefronts, merchants, and services. However, the two men inside the parked speeder were interested in only one such establishment. The Red Sun Holo-Cafe, district four, sub-level B. Through the watery windshield, the rumored front for Crimson Dawn didn't seem that impressive. Perhaps that's what made it a good front. "Well, this is the place Telo told us about," Corran said to his companion. Either it was going to be the keyhole to a broad criminal empire or a flat nothing.

The drive over had been a slow and steady thing. Contrary to his sometimes dashing appearance, the blond ranger drove with a dedication to traffic laws. More lead-footed folks would often confused Corran with an elderly driver. But arriving safety and obeying the local laws was not only expected of Sector Rangers, but he held himself rigidly to such things. A microcosm of his dedicated values. Even if Darmus had been annoyed by the speed, he wouldn't be able to deny it had been a smooth ride. It was also an inconspicuous one. A rented speeder not in a hurry anywhere didn't draw much attention, much like the Red Sun.

While the cafe and speeder appeared unassuming, Corran broadcasted 'Sector Ranger.' He looked groomed in the usual cadet-like fashion. It was time to dawn his more rugged persona. Unzipping his jacket, he untucked his shirt quickly followed by ruffling his hair. In moments the usually pristine lieutenant looked more like the common space trader or smuggler. Probably because he had lived that life before. The now 'disguised' ranger turned to Darmus and gestured over his thumb at the Red Sun Holo-Cafe. "You ready to check it out?"

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

Darmus hadn't paid attention to the ride at all. He had been busy tapping on his datapad, prepping the device for some slicing this far away from the dedicated rig in his apartment. It was some work, took some time and he only looked up when Corran decided to 'declasse' his appearance. The older ranger couldn't help but smile and shake his head, "Look out, Crimson Dawn-" he said, "-you'll never see this lieutenant coming!"

Darmus was dressed the same as always and he made no effort to appear as anything else. His clothes were reminiscent of the Tuolriep Sector he was from, but his outfits had always screamed 'jumped up lower level squatter' as the ranger service paid like shit. He was clean-shaven, though, and these days that was something of a rarity. "yeah," he replied and opened the passenger door, "craving for a good cup of caf." He'd run out of caf ages ago and his diet pretty much consisted of Iridonian whiskey and noodles.. not that it showed, ofcourse. For some reason Darmus had watched that new Preef Callo movie, The Good The Bad and The Rodian and decided that the wide-brimmed had he had in his closet looked a lot like the hat worn by 'The Bad' in that flick. As such, the second Darmus stepped out into the rain he put on that brown wide-brimmed hat and grinned with content. "Don't even notice it's raining."

Crossing the street towards the Red Sun Holo-Cafe Darmus felt strangely sure of himself. This wasn't hunting down the Sith, but something more manageable. A local slicer, just like all those other slicers he's caught in his long career in the ranger service. Finally something this old dog could use his old dog tricks for.

Neither Darmus nor Corran stood out as they entered. Surprisingly the wide-brimmed hat was a popular fashion choice these days on account of those movies and they managed to find spot at the bar without any trouble. "Two caf, and-" the older ranger took a long look at the wide assortment of freshly baked cookies, "-a chocolate chip cookie." A quick look around the bar and Darmus spotted the terminal they were supposed to use to make contact with the slicer, but it was also occupied by someone playing chess with what seemed like a friend on Corellia. Guess they had to waste some time on smalltalk. "So, Corran." Darmus started just as the two cups of caf were placed in front of them, "I hear you're banging another doctor? I knew you had a type, kid."



@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Considering all the time and effort it took to even get this far in pursuit of Kel the slicer, Darmus didn't seemed to be taking the case as seriously as expected. Maybe it was the joke. Maybe it was the seemingly lackadaisical desire for caf. Maybe it was the hat. It was most definitely the hat. If Darmus felt relaxed enough to be so nonchalant, the case might be more in the bag than it seemed. Corran only shrugged, tugged on his jacket collar to provide some meager protection from the rain and followed his fellow ranger into the Red Sun Holo-Cafe.

The establishment had a number of patrons, many styled like Darmus weirdly enough, but it wasn't crowded by any means. Lt. Velt followed his partner's lead and took a seat at the bar next to him. After placing an order on his behalf, Corran supplied a polite nod, "Thanks. Warm caf on a cold day sounds nice." Ideal chitchat, but it was genuine. While Ranger Onn glanced about the cafe, the blond youth did the same but not for the terminal. A criminal front had to have some sort of guard or sentry, right? An older couple having caf. A bookish Mon Calamari typing in some notes. Before he was allowed to finish scanning the room, caf slid onto the counter before him. "Thank you," Corran instinctively replied.

Caf normally wasn't the lieutenant's thing. Energy wasn't something he lacked. Not to mention there was not accounting for the taste. Blending in required a certain level of... character, so down the hatch it had to go. After taking the initial sip, the combination of the flavor and Darmus's question forced Corran to choke. He patted his chest a few times to ease the liquid down. "I wouldn't use the term-" a cough interrupted, "I wouldn't use the term 'banging.' It's more than that. I'm seeing someone." The young man pointed an accusatory finger at the more senior man. "And for the record, the first doctor wasn't my idea nor my fault. She took a liking to me, that's all." Doctor Strop's temporary affections made the mission easier. She was alive and unharmed and Corran never spoke of it again. At least not to anyone but those he held the utmost trust. Since then there had been only Ilana. As if to correct that thought, a flash of a memory displayed Bast Emblai. Visibly, he shook that thought away. No use dwelling.

Another attempted sip of the caf forced Lt. Velt to suppress a grimace. Who really drank this stuff? This is why water was his preferred drink of choice. Moving the topic away from himself and onto his partner, Corran set the cup down and nodded to Darmus. "Besides, don't you have a girl? Surely a charmer like you might even have a few."

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

Darmus smiled and took a large sip of his caf, "You sure you know this work is for you," he didn't ask. Most of the rangers Darmus had known in his long career were hardy men and women. People who didn't take shit and knew that shooting first was sometimes the only way to dispense justice. Corran was too sensitive. "It's just that," for some reason he stared into his cup as if lost in memories of paths not taken, "attachments, you know?"

Right after the attack on Coruscant, before Darmus had locked himself up in his apartment, a new recruit had latched herself onto him. She had given him hope and made the loss strangely bearable. She didn't survive her first shootout. Darmus dreaded the pain and doubts of having someone to lose.. a wife or child.. look what it did to Trys, to the Zeltron, to.. he snapped out of it and took another sip as if he hadn't just stared off into the deep for four slow seconds. "I'm craven," he replied, making the name his fellow rangers once called him his shield against everything that resembled an emotional attachment. The only one that had pierced that in years had been Corran.. when that foolishly sensitive and emotional rookie came back for him.

Trying to change the subject, Darmus gestured towards his datapad and the datacard sticking out of it. "You know I infected something when," he words trailed. He still wasn't quite capable of calling the attack on the Sector Rangers HQ for what it was. "Still hasn't pinged."


@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Warm caf provided a soothing heat to Corran's hands, a little chilly from the rain. He didn't take a sip; his fellow ranger's comments were too odd not to dwell on. There was no work for the blond lieutenant but being a ranger. No doubt had ever surfaced about that. His only other job before was laboring away on a bulk freighter like his father. That supplied a bit more income but it didn't satisfy Corran's need for justice. If not for others, than for himself. His dad's killers were out there. He knew it. They had to be. What else could he do knowing there were slicers, robbers, pirates, and Sith out there? Take a nice desk job?

Attachments though... this gave the energetic younger man pause. Even Darmus seemed to be dwelling on something; looking for answers in his mug. Corran followed suit, staring down in the dark liquid as if answers could be found there. In a way, he understood the experienced ranger. Relationships were complicated and their line of work added another layer to that. Bast Emblai, stern looking with a messy bun, reflected in the caf. An attachment he both loved and feared. Lieutenant Velt swiveled his eyes back to Darmus. Were they not friends? An attachment? Despite how different they were, they had been through a lot together.

A firm hand gripped Ranger Onn's shoulder. "Everyone said you were craven, but I've never seen it. I think it's meant ironically." Corran shook his shoulder a bit in supportive jest before withdrawing his grip. "Besides, I think I'd like you no matter how we met. Attachments are inevitable." A stupid boyish grin shined from the blond ranger's face. Even in somber moments, the good nature of him couldn't be suppressed.

Lt. Velt blinked at the datapad that had been pointed out. He wasn't a techie by any means and what Darmus meant by 'infected something' wasn't altogether clear to him. What was clear was the weight of headquarters in his voice. He did something then. 'Pinged' provided a bit more context. Some sort of message or signal was supposed to come back. "I don't think enough time has past yet," Corran reassured him, though uncertain if that made any sense technically, "Give it some more, maybe." Hesitantly, the young man took a sip of the caf and winced immediately. His face contorted like he had eaten dirt. A hard gulp was followed by smacking lips. "I do not know how people drink this stuff. Am I gonna ever taste again?"

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

Darmus finished his coffee, tapped his hat and rose from his stool without saying a word to Corran as to what he was going to do. It's not that Corran had said something wrong, but more Darmus who wasn't willing to accept that attachments were inevitable and his biggest attachment was in the room with him. Walking over to the game of chess, Darmus reached out to the holo-king and nudged it over to its side. "Guess that's checkmate," he stared violently into the startled chessplayer's eyes. Darmus' tired angry eyes, the blaster brandished in sight and the uncompromising stance made it clear that the civilian shouldn't try and cause a fuss. "So the terminal is free now?" the chessplayer nodded and after quickly logging out he got up from his chair and rushed outside of the Red Sun Holo-Cafe, prompting Darmus to turn towards Corran and wave him over, "Shorter game than we thought."

Sitting down, the older ranger plugged his datapad into the terminal and ran some software while he scrolled through the terminal's functions. "Seems like you basic comms-unit," he sighed, slightly disappointed, but then his datapad pinged and showed some kind of Watcher Malware had been uploaded into the terminal. Darmus was familiar with it, but it was very much just a simple level 1 monitoring plague that didn't replicate itself. That wasn't it, then.. "maybe it's really so easy as to-" he words trailed as he opened up the pre-programmed list of contacts.

<Medical Emergencies>
<Interplanetary Calls>
<Onplanet Calls>
<District Communication>
<Law Enforcement Services> <Disabled>
<HoloNet News>
<HoloNet Support Designated Terminal>

The last one seemed out of place. Darmus had never seen it before on another terminal and it seemed to be terminal specific. "That crafty bugger," the old ranger shook his head and pointed at the number to show Corran, "Hiding in plain sight."



@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

"Wha... where you going?" Corran asked his partner as he rose from his seat and walked off. The younger ranger craned his neck to follow where Darmus was headed. As much as he liked the veteran, which was quite a bit, Corran couldn't really puzzle out what went through the man's mind. So often it felt like Ranger Onn was several moves ahead. Much like... the chess game he interrupted. Oh boy. The blond lieutenant slid his hand over his face with a groan. Anticipating a fight, he rose to his feet only to see the two holo-chess players remove themselves from the scene. Huh. A tough guy approach wasn't really Darmus's usual style. Expect the unexpected with this guy.

With a wave, Corran made his way over with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. He joined his fellow ranger in taking a seat at the table but sat sideways, back to the wall, as to keep his eyes on the front door and the rest of the establishment. The Red Sun Holo-Cafe was supposed to be a den of criminals. Even so, the blond ranger couldn't help but look over the lip of Darmus's datapad. All the code and numbers seemed more like ancient, unknowable script than modern technology. Besides the odd bits of Galactic Basic between all the symbols, the lieutenant couldn't make odds or ends of it. It was still interesting to look at.

Ranger Onn's seemingly random taps on the datapad and spoken musings gave the indication that something was happening. The technical understanding seemed just as magical as the Force. Darmus the wizard had found something that was hopefully comprehensible and showed it to the blond lieutenant. At first, Corran didn't really see anything of place. Holonet Support Designated Terminal? Was that the big find? He glanced up from the datapad with a cocked eyebrow, "I don't get it. What gives it away?" Darmus had to realize he was dealing more with a blaster jockey or ship mechanic than a technical genius.

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

Looking at his young partner with amazement over the admission that he wasn't able to read simple code. It always struck the older ranger as odd that so many of his fellow rangers only knew about blasting and didn't have the vital knowledge of how to slice into a personal device. Really, though, on the Core worlds slicing was a large part of a successful investigation. Out on the frontier worlds it sufficed to just draw a blaster and shoot a man dead, case solved. In the core you needed to present evidence and argue someone's guilt in court while the perps were aided by more and more skilled slicers to wipe camera footage or mask their signatures using scatterweave. Still, out of everyone Darmus was most accepting towards Corran and thus he refocused on the job. "Exclusive support for designated terminals doesn't exist," he smiled, "So what do you think we should do, Lieutenant?"

The obvious thing was just to call the number and have a chat with Kel, but that could also spook him and might not last long enough for it to be traced. The other, to Darmus equally obvious thing but perhaps a brainwrecker for the young ranger was to infect the terminal with the ranger's monitoring plague and wait for a criminal to use the terminal to contact Kel. That would give them enought time to trace without spooking him. Either way, Darmus was curious to see what Corran had learned in the past five years on the job..

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

As matter-of-factly as the answer came, the young lieutenant didn't really feel like it provided clarity. Why wouldn't there be exclusive support for a designated terminal? Didn't all terminals need support sometimes? Well... maybe it was hard to support a device from the same device. Like if it got a crack in the screen or something. Corran visibly looked confused but Darmus's follow-up question forced even more perplexity onto the blond ranger's features. "I wasn't expecting a pop quiz," he said bluntly. Blue eyes under a furrowed brow scanned the screen looking for clues or an answer.

None of the command prompts or selections offered much of anything. They mostly were about making calls or reading information online. Just about any device could do that. Without any clear paths forward on the screen, Corran decided to do what he usually did with any case when he found a dead end: back up and think bigger. He sat up in his chair and folded his arms. Getting out of tunnel-visioned thought often helped see things that were in plain sight. At first he glanced around the room. Not so much to discover clues but to clear his headspace. What should they do? Mhmm.

Tapping the link Darmus pointed out as the fraud might require a passcode or something. It might even cause an alert of some kind. But they couldn't just ignore it could they? In situations like these, Corran would normally suggest a stake-out. They could watch for which criminals used the terminal and maybe even catch some information on Kel's whereabouts. Other patrons used this spot for other things like holo-games though. Sitting around here for days might get suspect after awhile. They needed another way to watch this terminal without really being h- That's it!

Corran seemed to jolt out of his thoughtful stupor and he leaned forward against, propping his elbows on the table. "I think I got an idea. What if we... planted a listening bug?" The young lieutenant was whispering so as not to be overheard. "Like a.. digital stake out. Can we do that?" Technically speaking, he had no idea if such a thing was even possible. Would their malware even be able to do its work undetected even if it could? That's why Ranger Onn was the technical expert here and Corran was the one who did the blasting.

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

Darmus shook his head, "Doesn't usually work against slicers." After all, if Kel was behind Darmus losing sight of some of the perps he'd been tracing, then the damned underworld slicer was also aware the malware existed and careful not to let it enter his own devices. "Like I did just now," he motioned for his own datapad that he had connected to the terminal, "Kel will run scans on the terminal just like I just did. If he knews we found it, he'll burn it and we'll lose him" he paused, feeling stuck suddenly as if all the waiting and hard work left them with empty hands suddenly, "we'd lose him forever."

At this point a slick-looking human with an expensive limited-edition datapad under his arm approached the pair. Darmus thought he recognized him as one of the rumored members of the Crimson Dawn operating here on Coruscant, or maybe he was part of the KnowOnes, either way it was probably smart not to let him discover what they did for a living. "That fella's game of chess ended rather abruptly, didn't it?" he flashed a grin and planted one hand in his side, showing that his belt-buckle was also the scabbard of a subtly disguised vibro-knife. Darmus merely shrugged, "He took a gambit with his queen," perhaps the reference was too obvious, or perhaps Darmus was being too smart for his own good, but the "queen" he meant was none other than Vivienne Donatade. Nothing seemed to suggest slick caught the reference, "and lost."

A frown and a glance towards Corran later, slick, too, shrugged. "Well," he finally guessed that the two guests weren't interested in small talk, "you wanting to holo-dial someone offworld?" he asked, trying his best to be subtle. "You know you don't need to plug in your own datapad for that, right? Just use the <interplanetary calls> feature our technician installed."

Ah, so all of it was a custom job was it? Darmus glanced towards Corran. Maybe slick could get them the number of the technician to install similar features for them? Get Kel physically trapped in a location carefully quarantined by the ranger service...


@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

After all that thinking and forcing his gears to turn to find a technical solution, Corran couldn't help but feel a little let down. The world of slicing was like a game of loth cat and prey, but whoever was the predator changed with every line of code. They'd found Kel's handiwork but couldn't take advantage of it. He'd catch a whiff of it and run, as Darmus explained. Losing track of a criminal was bad enough. Losing track of a clever one was worse. They often learned from their errors and got increasingly more difficult to locate. Slicers, especially, may not surface for years or go entirely unnoticed on the net. The young man sighed in dejected frustration. This wasn't as easy as storming a spice den.

The two undercover rangers were not allowed to dwell in their thoughts for long though. A man that would have stood out on most levels of Coruscant approached them and flashed a hidden blade. While Darmus and the new-comer parried words in code or... something, it all sounded like chess talk, Corran glanced between the belt-buckle, the man's face, and Ranger Onn. It was clear the guy was some sort of criminal, but obviously not a pick-pocket or lower thug. Lieutenant Velt didn't know the gangs of the ecumenopolis very well; he wasn't assigned here often and didn't investigate the gangs when he was.

Their exchange only started to make sense when the finer-dressed man actually started talking about what the terminal could do and, better yet, who made it. The blond ranger immediately jumped on the opportunity, "You know, I really like the set-up of the system here. I must admit, I'm pretty useless when it comes to tech. Ain't that right?" Corran turned to nod at Darmus before facing back to the slick man. "We've got some.... properties that could use some of this stuff. I wasn't sure who we'd look into for that kind of job. This technician, though.... would you recommend them?" It hadn't even occurred to Lt. Velt the technician might actually be their slicer target. He was just trying to get lead they could get their arms around.

Slick furrowed his brow and his eyes shifted between the two sitting men. He was clearly chewing over how to reply. With a quick glance over the shoulder, the slender man replied quietly, "His services do not come cheap, but he does maintain discretion." Corran grinned politely. "I'm sure we could work out something. How do we... signal we are interested in doing business?"

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

The finer-dressed man seemed to ponder it for a moment but then shrugged, "Kel can be a real stickler about these things, but-" he shrugged again, cast a look towards the bar and then turned back, "He works out of an apartment in this district, sublevel-A. I think it's four-oh-five in housing complex Y." Apparently our man didn't care much about the finer points of the slicer's security and Darmus did his best to appear only mildly interested in finally have a really good lead to his nemesis' location. "What's his rate?" he asked as if he still wasn't quite convinced. "dunno man, gotta ask him." With one last shrug the man turned around and returned to the bar.

Darmus waited a moment and then looked at Corran with a sly smile, "You did that well." It wasn't high praise, but right now, coming from Darmus Onn, it was the highest praise he could bestow upon someone. He would probably have danced around the subject for hours and Corran just straight up asked and got the answer they needed.

"let's give it a few more minutes, then go gear up." If there was one thing he dreaded about what they were gonna do next, it was the risk they'd be taking and there was no way he was gonna take said risk wearing a wide-brimmed hat instead of a tac-vest.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Sometimes interrogations were like pulling teeth. Threats, bluffs, and crass language. All that was needed sometimes was asking the right questions with a smile. The unsuspecting finely-dressed man had surrendered their target's location with only some polite convincing. Not that it was Corran's intention from the start. Those natural business instincts from the trade lanes had sensed a potential deal and he charged right in after it. He didn't expect the technician to be Kel himself! The undercover lieutenant ranger supplied a polite nod of thanks to their unknowing informant as he turned to leave.

A few moments of silence ticked by before Lieutenant Velt swung his gaze over to his fellow ranger knowingly. He wasn't one to gloat but there was some pride in stumbling into the right answer. The blond ranger wasn't one to expose his real joy over Darmus' hard-won compliment either. At least not in public and on a mission. To that he only smirked and gave another solemn nod of gratitude. Impressing the veteran said a lot at how much his skill was improving or at least his luck.

What surprised Corran more than Onn's praise was what he said next. A raid? So soon? Kel must have really gotten under his skin all that time ago. "Right," the younger of the two men replied and leaned back into his chair. Pre-combat aches would arrive soon. Fueled by anticipation and adrenaline. He was use to it now. They were going to finish what Kel started.

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

Later that evening, a non-descript speeder pulled alongside sleepy housing bloc. A holographic 'Y' in aurebesh signified they were in the right place. Red tail-lights flickered and blinked off. Two rangers sat in the front seat, out of sight and unseen. No one was expecting them. Surprise was on their side.

Corran checked the charge on his blasters. He'd bring his usual two sidearms and a non-lethal concussion grenade for room clearing. Not that they'd need it, he hoped, but a whole tool kit at hand made any hurdle easier to pass. A fully secured blast-vast hugged his torso underneath his jacket. Lieutenant Velt turned to Darmus, his face stern and serious, "Do you detect any digital trip-wires?" Getting caught early would ruin their whole plan of action. Get in quick. Get out quicker.

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

It had been a while since Darmus had worn his blast-vest and wasn't just a little less snug than it used to be, but it also seemed heavier. "Not yet," the older ranger replied with his eyes fixated on his datapad, "but there's not much I can see from here. Underworld slicers, they-" he switched his datapad off, tossed it on the floor of the speeder and opened the door, "-they know their stuff." Unlike law enforcement slicers, typically, so Darmus wasn't even going to try and breach his perimeter with the processing capabilities of a mere civilian datapad. No need to explain that to the golden boy, though, so he simply got out of the speeder and looked around a bit.

He had abandoned the wide-brimmed hat, but besides from the blast-vest there wasn't any evidence that Darmus had, in fact, geared up. He checked whether or not his blaster was still holstered on his hip, it was, and then exhaled sharply. "Alright, four-oh-five, guess that's the fourth floor then." Assuming Corran would follow, Darmus entered the housing complex and headed over to the elevator.

There wasn't a receptionist. No clean walls, either. There was a graffiti tag of the Blackened Jet Empire on the wall next to the elevators, but it didn't change what Darmus was already beginning to suspect. Both the Blackened Jet Empire and the KnowOnes were part of the so-called Lower Five gangs that ruled a significant portion of the Coruscant middle to low income residential levels. Those Lower Five had recently joined the Crymorah Syndicate through the Zaa Fenn Crime Family... the same family that Darmus held partly responsible for the massacre of ranger command. It all fit. Preef Zaa Fenn guarantees an increase in their numbers and they pledge their loyalty to him. Kriff, and he even crippled the ranger service doing it.

Darmus turned to Corran and the latter could see the frustration in his eyes, "Whatever you do, don't let him escape." The Sector Rangers had been focused on fighting the Sith Order for too long now and the Five Syndicates had profited way too much. If they couldn't capture this slicer, well, then Darmus would like to see him dead.


@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

When it came to the digital game of loth-cat-and-mouse-droid, Lieutenant Velt had to rely on his fellow ranger's expertise. If he said it was best to proceed when it came to traps and security, then that was likely the best advice to take. Corran exited the speeder and locked as it as the door shut. He adjusted his blaster holsters and looked at Darmus. The last time they did something like this, the veteran had nearly gotten shot to pieces. To expose himself to harm again said a lot about what this mission meant to him. Doing the little good; helping average people. The blond ranger inhaled quickly, drew his sidearm, and followed Darmus into the complex.

As apartments went, this place ranked among the most decayed. Everything had aged poorly; blackened with grime and grease. The walls had graffiti tags of various scrawlings but one for the Blackened Jet Empire was the most professional and largest. Corran was beginning to think there was no land-lord to this place. Well, one that wasn't a black market gangster anyway. How many denizens lived in squalor like this? Controlled and looted by the various gangs that dwelled in the urban underbelly of Coruscant.

Darmus abruptly turned and bitterness gleamed in his eyes. Corran tightened his jaw; his teeth clenching as if chewing on steel. This was serious. More serious than anticipated. Kel was going to leave in cuffs or in a body-bag. There were no other options. And Darmus knew that Velt could and would kill. Often ruthlessly. "Roger," the blond ranger replied with a monotoned agreement.

The fourth floor was much like the lobby. Decrepit, impoverished, dirty. Only the desperate must truly rent here. Or those who didn't want to be found. Lieutenant Velt had taken point and advanced with a shoulder to the wall and a blaster pointed to the ground a few feet in front of him, gripped with both hands. Four-oh-two. Four-oh-three. Four-oh... the number had fallen off this one. Finally - Four-oh-five. The door itself was distinct from the others. Newer in fact. Corran could imagine the slicer might have afforded a couple more luxuries than some of the other locals. The blond ranger stacked up on the wall next to the door in a textbook fashion. He was going to breach it.

Silently, he motioned with two fingers at Darmus and then pointed towards the door. At the veteran's signal, Corran would use all his strength to knock in the door and the raid would begin.

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

]center]Theme[/center]

Corran was ready, Darmus was ready. "Sector Rangers!" the older ranger shouted as he nodded for Corran to knock in the door. Seconds later Darmus lead the barrel of his pistol guide him through a filthy apartment littered with junk-food and power-cables, much like his own had been for months after the attack on Coruscant headquarters. There wasn't even a sliver of a doubt in his mind. They were at the right place.

There was a lot of light coming from the main room, but neither Darmus nor Corran were foolish enough to just run towards it and at the first open door Darmus went left, right into the bathroom. There were used needles and stim-packages in the sink, the bath-tub was full of ice-water and their slicer clearly didn't have a regular cleaning lady, or a droid, because water-stains covered the chrome and the tiles were brownish. "Clear," he said, loud enough for Corran to hear, and turned back into the main hallway. There wasn't another door until they reached the main room now and soon Darmus was bathed into artificial light.

Once his eyes adjusted he was looking at the ghostly pale, fear-stricken and unshaven face of the slicer he only knew as "Kel". They had managed to surprise him and the slicer had only barely managed to unplug himself from his rig when he, too, recognized Darmus and the painful a mixture of relief and fear overcame him. He knew the intruders were Sector Rangers, he knew them to be bound by law, so Darmus watched the slicer's eyes and then his body go for the blaster pistol on a nearby table.

Darmus grinned as he pulled the trigger and send a stun bolt into the slicer's ribs. Kel exclaimed a faint "Ugh" as he dropped to the floor on his side, coming short on the table and his blaster. Darmus stepped closer and pulled the trigger again, this time hitting him in the chest. "Clear the apartment," he told Corran, nevermind that the younger ranger outranked him. Finally he could really look at his nemesis..

Kel seemed to be in his thirties and his looks had clearly been wasting away, muscles deteriorated due to a lifelong lack of physical exercise, the sub-par cybernetic lower legs and smelling clothes that looked like he had been wearing them for weeks. The rig on the other hand, Darmus estimated that to be nearly priceless. Several fortunes, at least. Definitely not something he was going to have sitting here while they escorted the slicer to prison.


@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

On command, Lieutenant Velt's big black boot smashed in the door with trained precision. It flung open and slammed against the opposing wall. Darmus was the first one in. Corran covered him with a blaster raised pointing down towards the end of the entryway. The fatal funnel was always the most dangerous part of room clearing and going by the book was going to preserve their lives more than gung-ho antics. Ranger Onn announced the room on the left was clear, signaling Corran to advance. His eyes never left the iron sights of his pistol as it stayed focused ahead for danger. Together they swept the hallway until finally crossing the threshold into the main living area.

Per room-clearing tactics and training, Corran faced one way and Darmus went the other. The two rangers would 'slice the pie' of the room until they had cleared it of hostiles. Only flashes of blue forced the blond ranger to swivel his weapon over to his partner's section of the room. Sprawled out on the bed was a pale, decrepit thing. A second stun double-tapped the suspect. While Lt. Velt didn't need a reminder from the veteran, he replied all the same, "Copy." In an apartment such as this only the kitchen remained. Corran's blaster barrel scanned the tiny room for contacts and found none. Used plates and bowls piled high in the sink. Grime and burnt spills coated the stove. The younger man opened the fridge just to check and it was mercifully bare and not filled with rotting food.

"Clear!" Corran called out before making his way back to the main room. Threats now abated, he kept his weapon pointed to the floor and at his side. Room clearing was always a risky business but this one had turned up in their favor. Now came clean up. "Is that our target?" Lieutenant Velt asked with a nod towards the unconscious person. If so, this left them in a precarious situation. They could call the Coruscanti Constabulary and get this place tapped off and evidence secured. But that could give away the Sector Rangers hand if they wanted to keep infiltrating whatever network Kel worked for or supported. Not to mention this was Syndicate territory. Local police may not have been down here in years. On the other hand, taking what they needed and lugging the suspect into their rented speeder provided the best secrecy and benefit but at the cost of immense risk. Criminal goons could be heading down to this level if anyone in the block alerted them. They also could simply not care who gets iced. All part of the risk.

"Should we call it in or take what we can and evac?" Corran asked his partner.

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

Darmus holstered his blaster and turned to this younger friend, "Aye, this is him." His mind seemed to be racing as he looked at the rig, more precisely, he looked at the control tablet. Kel had plugged himself out, but he hadn't been able to remove himself from the Net. The link was open. His connection with the KnowOnes, with the Crimson Dawn, with the Crymorah Syndicate.. it was all still live. If they called for back-up then it would be noticed. The link would be severed with Kel from the other side.. but right now, Darmus looked at Corran. "Lock the door and lets tie this bastard up."

Quickly spurring into action, Darmus tried to find something sturdy enough to tie the slicer down on one of the chairs, eventually deciding to just rip off the shower rails and figure that and some periodic stun bolts would do the trick just fine. He didn't wait to explain his plan to Corran and lifted the unconscious slicer onto the chair and secured the man's ankles and hands with the shower rails. It wasn't perfect, but it provided them some time. Once Corran was done with barring and locking the door, he would find Darmus sitting down behind the slicer's rig, controlling tablet in hand.

He was smiling and had this wicked look in his eyes. "Can you imagine, Corran?" he tapped the touch screen, twisted a button and ramped up processing power. "Embedded in the private network of the planet's most elusive slicer's collective?" This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. To strike hard against the underworld slicers of a planet like Coruscant? That could cripple the gangs, the syndicates and every corrupt politician on the planet and to a wider extent influence the greater Republic. Darmus had worked to stop these collectives his entire professional career and he had never been this close.. but then, he looked at Corran, "Can I trust you?" he asked, eyes narrowing slightly. Lieutenant Velt was clearly on the straight and narrow. His idols were hard-hitting gunslingers like Lieutenant Aran and Captain Rook. What Darmus was about to attempt was so far off the books no one in Ranger Command could ever wrap their narrow-minded heads around. He wasn't about to let anyone stop him. Not even the rookie he saw as a protege.


@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Evacuating with evidence or calling in back-up might as well have not been uttered at all. Without skipping a beat, Darmus ordered Corran to undertake a third option. The younger ranger nodded and sped-walked to the door. He glanced out into the hallway to make sure it was clear before shutting the door, locking the keylock and then the mechanical deadbolt. It would take an explosive or ramming crew to get through there now. Corran would have preferred adding an additional furniture barricade but there wasn't much around in the scant and messy apartment.

When Lieutenant Velt returned from the entryway, he found his partner just finishing up binding the suspect with shower rails and moving onto taking up near the slicer's station. Corran furrowed his brow in minor confusion. He glanced between the other ranger and the unconscious criminal before shrugging, pulling out his stun-cuffs and securing the prisoner's hands behind the chair. Sometimes it comes in handy to always have the standard recommended equipment for all Sector Rangers on hand. A question ending with his name summoned the blond ranger back into the small living area to find Darmus gleefully getting into the technical rewards of their raid.


"I can only imagine, Darmus," Corran replied. All of the guts that made up the holonet were a near mystery. Cables and connections were simple enough to grasp. It was all the stuff that made the whole... thing function or stay interconnected that was about as close to magic as one could get nowadays. Well, besides the Force. Lieutenant Velt stood beside the veteran ranger and folded his arms, looking over his shoulder with curiosity. Then Darmus gave a serious look and asked a pointed question. Corran could only chuckle nonchalantly, "Of course you can trust me." What a silly ask. Had they not been through dangers together? Stood by one another as partners? Naivete slowly gave way to uncertainty. "Why do you ask?" The younger ranger cocked an eyebrow.

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

Darmus smiled as he plugged himself in using Kel's datapad. "You're looking at the newest member of the KnowOnes," he said it so matter-of-factly that perhaps Corran would think he was simply signing up as a new recruit, but that wasn't the case.. not in a long shot. "I'll find out their access points. Their locations." He grabbed the Virtual Reality goggles that the slicers use to sync in better with the HoloNet and immediately was overwhelmed with the amount of raw data he had to interpret. These slicers weren't kidding. They had their own heavily encrypted message boards, communicated only in code and never using their real names.. this was going to be more complicated and costly an enemy than Darmus had ever faced before.. "Could take a while," he sighed as his fingers becan sliding over his control panel, "days, maybe months, so-"

He removed one of his hands from the control panel and waved in the direction he thought their prisoner was. "-You book him. Solitary. False identity. Anything you can do to keep him a secret, you hear?" As a lieutenant, Corran could just label files as classified 'lieutenants and up', assign an assumed name and redact everything else related to their hunt for Kel. Darmus couldn't do any of that.. something about coloring outside the lines a bit too often.. just like he was doing now. Going undercover for an indefinite amount of time, slicing to his best ability to enable criminals and help them succeed avoid justice. It went against every fiber of his being, but if he could take down the slicer's collective known as the KnowOnes, then it was all worth it.

/end thread

@TerranSteel