Chapter 2: Forges of Ithyari

[Andy 60]

"Jya, I don't know about you," Aston sighed, "but it's kinda stuffy in here. I'm going to head out for some fresh air and see if I can't get a closer look at what we're up against. Being cooped up inside with a broken air-con system does nothing for my concentration."

* * *

Soon later, Aston sat in the corner of what passed as a veranda at a small cheap cafe near to the communications centre. His back was against the wall, so that nobody could see what he was doing, as he scrolled through technical readouts of the base security, looking for a weak point he could exploit.

He took a sip of his caf. Or at least what seemed to pass for caf in these parts; it tasted like dust. A shadow fell across his work and he covertly brushed the "panic button" he'd installed on his datapad that switched all his work into the background. Aston looked up at the smartly dressed man who was standing in front of his table, "can I help you?"

"I haven't seen you around here before," the man stated. He was obviously probing for information.

"Just arrived; looking for work," Aston said. To emphasise the point he casually laid his datapad on the table, showing a job search page of the local holonet he had programmed his panic button to call up on request.

"I see." The stranger said, "and what line of work would that be?"

"Networking," said Aston, "holonet installations, small office networks, comms systems. Things like that."

"You don't look old enough to be in that line of work."

"Old enough," Aston laughed, but the man didn't crack a smile, "I just finished my apprenticeship on Coruscant. Heard there was work going out here, so here I am."

"Do you have any identification?"

"I do." Aston fished out his ID and immigration papers. "And here's a business card... Just in case."

The man scanned the ID with a hand-held authentication device and then took the business card and read it aloud: "Kenzie Brannon, Freelance Network Systems Installation and Maintenance Engineer."

"That's right. You know of anywhere looking for my skills? I noticed a lot of factories on my way in, I was hoping some of those would be looking..."

"I don't know." The man frowned as if thinking about something, but he seemed satisfied with Aston's answers. "I'm not a recruitment agency. Most factory work around here won't be listed in the usual channels. You'll need authorisation, which you can obtain from City Hall--you can't miss it--it's a big Imperial-style building three blocks west of the spaceport."

"Okay, thanks. If I don't have any luck around the city I'll try there."

"No problem. Have a good day, Mr Brannon." The man walked away, and Aston returned to his work...

There seemed to be a slight gap in the security camera coverage on the south-east corner of the communications centre. If we could come up with a distraction for the security guards...

Edited September 6, 2007 by Andy

[Mara 29]

Listening in on the squadron frequency, Artie whistled to himself. A race sounded exciting. He'd even film it himself if he could. If they couldn't find other holovids, that is.

Kaden heard Artie's whistle but figured the droid was just looking over the ship specs or something, and so he ignored it. He just focused on his datapad, chewing through another ration bar.

[Ender 8]

I know, Drake! Sheesh.

Jaim noticed Tak's slight hesitation at the bartender's inquiry. He knew that it wasn't like the man to be distracted, even minutely. And he wasn't even looking in Layla's direction...

Jaim didn't really know what to make of Layla Nasrin. She was certainly attractive, but not quite his type. Frankly, Jaim also knew quite a bit of her reputation, probably even a few things she didn't know about herself. He was impressed by the fact that she had made it off Corellia in one piece, much less alive. He had seen the bounty notices go up, seen Argos' fuming and raging against her. Not a man to be trifled with.

All this made for one fine complication. Jaim sensed something coming, something outside their current mission. And he had the distinct feeling that what was coming wasn't good.

[Chickenman 9]

"Sounds like a good idea guys." He grinned. "Nat, it would be my honor to humiliate you."

Edited September 9, 2007 by Chickenman

[Ayingel 24]

Frustrated with her response, Szen followed along helpless in her thoughts, knowing she couldn't ask any more. She thought about opening her mouth again, but that didn't seem like a good idea with the answers she had.

I'll ask later...

"Yes, ma'am," Szen smirked a little as Brier looked back.

[Vergere 1]

She just shook her head as they walked, slowly meandering about the market until they ended up back at the hotel. Swiping to get into their suite, Brier looked around as she let Kilee in, but said nothing as she furrowed her brow in confusion. After sweeping for listening devices, she sighed. "And here I was, thinking we'd be late getting back here."

[Rogue 4]

Layla felt a chill run down her spine as she took a sip of her Durindfire cocktail. Putting it down she looked over her shoulder, trying to find the source of her uneasiness.

Something's wrong...

Trying to stay in character she said, "I appreciate the drink, Captain, but I think we'd better finish them up and get going." before turning back to Tak and Jaim.

[Ayingel 24]

Szen looked around the suite a little. Nothing had changed, and it was quiet.

"Seems like we're early."

[Vergere 1]

"Sure does." She moved to sit on one of the couches. "So did you see anything interesting about the relay network, factories, or what the people thought, while we were out walking?"

[Ayingel 24]

"It seems a lot like they don't like outsiders. Didn't you notice the looks they gave us when we were with your friend? We might be needing to adapt even more. We really need to blend well to not raise suspicion while we're all together."

[Vergere 1]

Leaning back to get comfortable, Brier nodded. "Okay, good. Then what would you suggest?"

[Ayingel 24]

"Definitely to stay in as small of groups as possible. As soon as Aston finds an easy way for us to communicate with us knowing for sure it isn't tapped, it will get a little easier. We may need someone to just be a runner, though, until then. Or perhaps code, but being new to the squadron, I'm not sure on common syntax."

[Rogue 4]

"You act confident." Nat grinned as he responed to Aeric. "But we'll see who ends up on top in the sims, Captain."

In all honesty Nat knew that Aeric had more flight experience than he did, and would certainly have the upper hand. Still, he wouldn't mind testing his own skills against him some day. "And Two, Eight, I have a feeling that everything you just suggested goes against both Squadron conduct and base regulations."

[Vergere 1]

She leaned back and closed her eyes, thinking. Her brow furrowed, and she didn't speak for a bit, but when she finally did, it was back into the dreamy, sing-song type of voice she'd had during the briefing. "I wonder if the others have had as much of a problem, or have run into any trouble. And I'm curious as to where our slicer is. I had thought that two people were staying here while the rest of us went wandering the city." Brier opened her eyes. "Feel free to sit - not much for us to do while the boss man is gone. Rest your feet for a time." She smiled.

[Ayingel 24]

Szen stopped pacing. She hadn't even realized she had started, but on the Captain's recommendation, she sat down across from Brier and sighed.

"I don't know, but Aston is pretty young and I can't blame him for wanting to get out."

[Vergere 1]

She shrugged, not saying anything one way or another. She watched Szen through half closed eyes for a moment, "You okay? You were pacing, and have seemed rather... stressed... for a while."

[Andy 60]

Just then Aston walked in to be faced with a bunch of 'where have you been' looks.

"The air-con broke down, and I couldn't stand the stuffiness. Went for a little scouting trip." Aston grinned.

"Couldn't you fix it?" Szen asked?

Aston winced, "I'm a slicer, not a mechanic... Sorry." He set his equipment down on the table.

[Princess 35]

"Oh lighten up Lieutenant. I heard that Commander Antillies raced one of his pilots in ore haulers on Borelias."

[Drake 53]

Takeshi chugged back the rest of his Flameout, letting the firey-cool liquid scald his tongue and freeze his throat. When he finished, he set down his glass and let out a refreshed sigh.

"Yeah, that was good. Let's head back now."

He tossed the bartender a small tip and the three left the cantina. Tak tried to keep them in the shadows as much as possible but there was little he could do without communicating his intentions or making it obvious he was trying to conceal their escape. If what he saw was right and the shadow he spotted in the doorway was a Mandalorian, it would be hard to conceal even if he were alone. The bounty hunter would find them regardless but he wouldn't try anything due to the advantage the Revenants had in numbers. Tak made a mental note to do a scan for tracking devices when they got back to the Krazy Krakana.

They made it back to the hotel and up to the Emperor's Suite where the others were waiting.

"Good to see you all made it back. I hope no one ran into any more trouble than we did. Anybody have anything to report?" he asked.

Edited September 7, 2007 by Drake

[Vergere 1]

?The relay network is poorly protected and is in a chaotic pattern across the city. I?ll be able to get a diagram set up within a few minutes once I have access to a map of the city. After listening to some of the people milling around the areas we were in gave us good information, telling us that shifts change at 2100 local time, 0300, 0900, and so forth. 6 hour shifts. Night shifts obviously have fewer people, but it?s an around the clock operation when it comes to the factories. They never stop or turn off. The city never stops either. The people in general are in a state of discontent. They don?t like strangers, but I don?t think they?re happy with their government either. Then again, we were in the middle of lawlessness. They?re rarely happy people. But there were several factory workers that seemed discontented as well.? She shrugged. ?Oh, and tomorrow people are predicting rain. Just a random tidbit there.?

[Drake 53]

"Very good," said Tak. He went over to one of his packs and took out a holoemitter. After placing it on a nearby table, it activated, revealing a three-dimensional layout of Yarin City. "Could you make use of this?"

He turned to Layla. "What do you have to report?"

[Rogue 4]

What's this bad vibe I keep getting...? She sat down on one of the stools at the bartop in thought.

At the sound of Tak's voice Layla snapped out of her reverrie. "I have to agree with her. I'm getting the same reading on my pheromones and it's written all throughout their body language. The people here seem discontent and uneasy...I'm not sure if that comes from the Empire itself or from their hard factory lives. We'll have to be cautious...And then there's everything I said to you in code before..."

[Vergere 1]

"Of course." She moved over to the table and began putting the relays into the model for people to see, working off her memory, her face intent and focused.

[Drake 53]

He nodded with a smile. "Just wanted to see if you picked up anything I hadn't but I guess I'll go first." He began his explaination. "We checked out one of the entrances to the upper tier of the city. It was guarded by six Stormtroopers and watched by cameras. I also monitored a defense network wired into the gates and fencing. We'll either need to find a way past the guards or through the fence security. Not to mention that we'll also need to get into the building itself. I'm hoping Mr. Kendall has some good news for us in that department."

Tak glanced over to Layla once again. "Anything to add, Legs?"

[Rogue 4]

"Huh?" Layla asked, leaning on her elbows on the counter, her head in her hands. She felt and looked incredibly tired, and when she spoke she didn't even bother to look at him. "Oh...no, nothing...you've got it all covered."