Shadow of the Crimson Turtle

Sovia smiles. "I'm afraid the force does not work that way. Make up your mind though and I will warn you if it is about to get dangerous."

Leb enters the repulsorlift and gives space to Drael to enter.  “So, how do you two met yourselves?” She and to him while the repulsorlift gains height and speed.

Ceph nods at the draethos then heads on inside and up to the counter.

Nils waits for 20 seconds or so, then also heads into the building. Avoiding the counter, he looks for somewhere inconspicuous to keep an eye on Ceph from without it being obvious that's what he's doing.

The queue is short, and once a couple of locals have concluded their business with the teller, Ceph is free to approach the counter. Behind the transparisteel barrier sits a bored looking middle aged woman. "Yes?" She asks apathetically. With an unerring sense of direction, Vin manages to make it away from the BMC patrol and heads back up towards the upper city, his newly acquired blaster stashed in his jacket. A large holographic billboard catches his eyes as he walks the streets of Salis D'aar . It depicts a cadre of bright eyed workers brandishing mining gear. Join the Bakur Mining Corporation today, and find the fortune waiting beneath your feet!

Nils feigns interest in a large wall display ("Open a Junior Savings Account today and start investing in your childrens' future!") as he eavesdrops on the counter.

"Hello! I'm actually hoping you can help me out with a bit of a problem, see I'm a personal assistant and I need to pick up something for my boss, I think he might have it deposited here. He's pretty vague with his instructions and he'll just KILL me if I'm late again, I'm really kinda screwed. Is there anything deposited here under the name Edovan Axos? Or maybe even under the name Ceph, maybe he put it in my name." he finishes the question with a big smile, trying to seem as sweet and sincere as possible.

"Me and this driver? " Drael jokes back pointing at the man in the front seat "Well I just sort of stuck my arm out and the car pulled up" he smiles and continues "I assume you mean Vin and I, well we were both lacking the funds to retire to a quiet life of luxury so we ended up finding each other through a man named Obrim, who needed a pilot, and muscle and as I have both I took pity on Vin and let him tag along, we've only known each other for a few months, he's a good guy, little bit too much starch in his collar but he means well. You should have spent some more time with us while we were flying here from Endor, you could have gotten to know us then."   Drael pauses "I hope the old fella is ok, he finds me a bit much sometimes, I think , and likes his own space but it's easy to get mixed up in stuff in a strange city, having  said that, I think  somebody trying to start trouble with Vin is likely to have cause to regret it..." Drael looks out the window as they drive, watching the view slowly shift.  "Driver, you know this place we are going to? Nice area, or not so much?" Drael makes small talk as they proceed, not offering much more in terms of personal details about himself and trying to learn about the area.

"Yes, yes. Lovely flowers!" The driver replies, although, when Drael looks out the window, this seems unlikely. The shining city centre has vanished into the distance behind the speeder, and as they head deeper into the industrial quarter the landscape only grows more brown and ugly. About ten minutes later, the car slows and pulls off of the main skylane, dipping into a local district. As the taxi pulls up outside the gates to Greuter Components , Drael and Lebenha see that there is indeed a lovely bed of well kept flowers outside.

"I have to say , I thought you were messing with me, but those are pretty flowers.  Look out here in the middle of nowhere it might be hard to get a ride back to the city and I don't think we'll be there for too long, do you mind waiting for us?  I'd much rather stick with a driver who knows what he is doing, so many don't, you know?" Drael beams at the driver before getting out of the car, paying the credits if necessary for the fare already clocked up.  "So, shall we see if Boto's friend wants to buy a whole lot of metal?" He asks Leb as they move towards the entrance, stopping to admire the flowers quietly saying "Well I'll be damned, somebody out here has green fingers."

The teller eyes Ceph with suspicion. "I'm afraid that we cannot give out privileged information on our clients without account details and suitable identification," she tells him snootily.

"Of course, of course. Well here, if it's under my name," Ceph pulls out his ID and shows it to the teller.

The teller examines the ID critically. "The account?" She asks.

Ceph runs a hand through his ‘hair’ as he tries to remain calm. “Uhm, could you check under 78?”

"78??" The woman asks incredulously. However, she enters the details into the system and, low and behold, safety deposit box 78 is registered in the name of Edovan Axos, with Ceph as an authorised account operator. "Please take the door to your left," the teller tells Ceph snootily. The door is a gleaming silver with an access pad that clearly requires identification.

'Mining Corp?!?' Vin thought, angrily.  He ducked into an alleyway to think. 'They were snatching people off the street... weren't they?'   Vin started questioning himself.  'I killed that poor bastard over a mining consortium..."  Indignation ignited into outrage.  '...no, I killed that asshole in self defense.  Fuck that alien waste of space.'    Vin looked at his cred-chit for a moment, 'I bet that red skinned devil had some creds on him.'  Then the thought occurred to him.  'Oh... oh ho ho... Well if that don't beat all, I'm turning into a damned pirate.  No doubts there.  This is bullocks.'   And with that he pulled out the blaster in the empty alley way and prepared to toss it into the refuse pile nearby.  He hesitates.  'Yeah... yeah... not gonna go unarmed.  Fuck that bloody nonsense.'   And he tucked the blaster safely away once again. And then started to look for a way back toward the ship.  "I need some cafe." he said aloud to himself.

A wave of relief washes over Ceph as he hears this. “Awesome! Thank you!” he says as the joy of his success drowns out any attitude from the teller. He happily bobs over to the door, sneaking a glance and nod to his companions.

Sensing no trap, Sovia returns the nod. 

As Ceph presses his ID to the reader, the doors slide open with a sharp swish . On the other side is a gleaming silver corridor, lined with more doors. A golden guideline running the wall marks the way around a corner and on to the safety deposit vault, outside which a Firrerreo bank employee stands waiting. "Mr. Ceph," the man acknowledges with a slight incline of his head, hands held behind his back. "Please leave any weapons here," he explains, indicating to a tray on a short round table besides the door. "I will open the vault for you momentarily." Once Vin has returned to the relative safety of the upper city, it doesn't take him long to find a cafe with fresh coffee. It seems popular, with several groups of patrons chatting inside.

“I see  “ replies Leb to Drael and Vin history. “At least you know each other for more time that we do. We just met after the bombing at the station docking bay and we were trying to find out who did it when we were framed. And yes..” she seems a little bit embarrassed when he mentions that she has spent few hours with them. “You are right I should have spent more time with all of you but I had... some things to figure out. I have responsibilities back at Endor station and I need to go back there.”  When they arrive she kneels towards the flowers “who would had said...” she just wishpers.  While Drael looks at them she opens herself to the Force to get ready to the encounter with the next individual. 

A large durasteel gate blocks entrance to the company grounds, to the side of which is a small hut containing a lone Rodian guard. "Ahem, excuse me, can I help you?" He calls out to the approaching humans.

Ceph’s skin naturally takes on the silver hue of his monochromatic surroundings as he follows the line and finds himself in front of another employee. He is compliant and removes the small knife strapped to his leg, placing it on the tray with a soft clink.

"Well hello there my friend, we are looking for the boss, big fella called Boto, more arms than usual, sent us to see if he wanted to deal. Can you give him a call, ask him to see us?" Drael is all charm as he approaches the rodian.

"Boto? That guy did me a great deal on repairing my speeder!" The Rodian declares. "Best mechanic in the city! I'll get you put right through." The guard gets on the comm and a few moments later the gate buzzes and begins to slide open with a creak. "Head right on in! Alice will show you up." Beyond the gate is a large yard, with several trucks sitting in loading docks. A number of speeders are also parked outside the main building, one of which looks very expensive. Inside the front door is a curved desk with an attractive young blonde sat behind it. "Thank you. Please stand back," the Firrerreo says, before turning to a control panel and beginning to unseal the vault. There's a whirr, a clank, and a hiss of hydraulics as the heavy durasteel door slowly slides open. "Number 78 will open for you automatically," he adds, gesturing for Ceph to enter. The vault's walls are lined with numbered compartments, one of which slides open with a gentle puff of air. Inside lies a simple black datapad.

Ceph nods and carries on, glancing around at all the closed boxes and wondering what precious items could be contained within. The thought comes with a pang of nostalgia as he remembers a time when he actually would have tried to pull off some daring heist in a bank like this. But those memories feel distant now, and they vanish as he picks up the datapad with a puzzled look on his face. Best not to turn this on here. With the item in tow, he turns to make his way back to Sovia and Nils.

Seeing Ceph exit the vault, Nils casually turns away from the wall display in front of him (depicting a heavyset, sad-looking man in a black headscarf next to what appears to be an injured rancor, with the slogan, "Protect the things you love most - ask about pet insurance today!") and walks out the door ahead of Ceph and Sovia, avoiding eye contact with them until he's out of the door.

"That's a very nice looking ride - the boss', I presume?" Drael remarks as they head inside, as they approach the desk his smile threatens to take his ears off, "Well hello, you must be Alice, you can call me Drael, this is my business partner Leb, we are here to see the boss, I believe the man on the door called ahead for us." He leans on the desk, running his hand over the smooth texture of the surface "Although if I needed to wait here for a little while, I have to say, I wouldn't be that upset." he finishes looking straight at the receptionist.

Alice bats her eyelashes at Drael's charm. "Yes, he'll be ready for you in just five minutes," she assures, leaning forwards against her desk. "Can I get you anything while you wait?"

Refraining the urge to roll her eyes at Drael's flattery, Leb gives them some privacy and wanders around the speeders. She rounds the one that Drael mentioned, noticing it's more modern design and she imagines that the engines, the repulsorlifts, and thousands things more that she doesn't really understand should be of better quality of the others. She keeps an eye on her companion though, waiting for Boto to appear and then rejoing Drael.

Ceph trails Nils for a few moments, Sovia not far behind, until the trio are a safe distance from the exterior of the bank. Once they have reconvened, Ceph produces the plain black datapad. “Successful heist!” he says with a grin. “Now let’s see what’s on this thing.” And with that, he powers on the device, holding the screen so that all three of them can see.

Vin eyes the cafe. 'Too many people,' he thinks as he glances through the glass windows, but goes inside anyway.  As he steps inside the doorway he glances at the vid-screens looking for drink prices.  The flicker of a holo-vid in the corner draws his attention as he eyes a couple dressed BMC mining fatigues watching the holo of a twi'lek dancer.  'Still a weird form of R&R.'   But most people in the cafe are enjoying the colorfully dressed human female swaying to the music as she plays the Xantha with some local tune.  'That's better,' he considered and a longing smile crept on his face.  The atmosphere is rather pleasant.  Not a seedy backwater bounty hunter hovel, but just normal citizens unwinding.  Seeing the attendant looking expectantly at him, he gives a polite smile and asks, "How much for a Caffe au Chocolat in the Nabooian setting?"

"To you, just one credit," the waitress tells Vin with a smile. She's a young brunette wearing the cafe's uniform. Her name tag reads Christine. "Would you like that here or to go?" Across the cafe Vin catches the name Endor amidst the buzz of conversation. The datapad blinks on with a soft buzz as Ceph activates it, and asks for a password.

In answer to her question, Vin eyes the surround to look for an empty table.  Seeing a nice spot, he turns back.  "I think I will sit for a while; been a long day so far."   He hands Christine a cred chip, "Take five for yourself for being such an charming hostess, could you bring it to my table when its done?  If its not too much trouble..."

Christine happily takes the credit chip and bounces off to take care of the order. The table that Vin has chosen is close to that of the Cerean and human who he overheard, and, from the table he's chosen, he can just about make out their hushed conversation. "-a major victory. Yes, the chaos resulting from the J-attack makes it unlikely that anybody is searching for the Covenant , but it also detracts from the message. Tr-" "One Noobian Café au Chocolat," Christine declares, placing the cup down in front of Vin. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Nothing that's on the menu, love.  Most appreciated."   Vin tries to pour his charm into an endearing smile.

Sovia looks over Ceph's shoulder at the datapad. "He would not waste time sending you to collect this if you did not already have the answer. Think. Let the force guide your mind. Is there a phrase that leaps to mind, perhaps something the two of you have shared?"

Christine's smile turns almost shy and she drifts off to serve other tables. Meanwhile, the nearby conversation continues. "-ntion to our cause, and to do that the truth must be revealed to the masses." "It won't be easy," the human replies. "RBS controls the holonet, and will quickly cover up any leaks. The information will have to be disseminated with more... finesse."

Ceph does as Sovia advises, and conjures up images of first awaking in the lab after Axos had saved him, returning from his first successful mission, attending exclusive meetings by Axos’ side, then suddenly a vision that has yet to happen. “I got it!” He excitedly enters the code: exAkk5 and flashes Sovia a grin as the password works. “Good thinking! You accepting new padawans?” he jokes.

The pad accepts the password and Ceph finds two text files on its home screen. One is entitled 'cipher' and the other 'relay'. "He has a plan in place for that," answers the Cerean. "For the sake of our children, this injustice cannot be allowed to continue." Christine approaches the pair with their bill and the conversation shifts to more mundane fair. Soon they are paying and preparing to leave.

While Vin is intrigued by the conversation, he does not attempt to follow the two strangers.  Instead he finishes his caffe and waves Christine over for one final favor.  "Excuse me, Christine."   He gives a neutral face, trying to just relax with the two strangers now gone.  'It was good caffe.' 

Christine floats back over to Vin's table, pad at the ready. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Yes, directions to the starport... if you know it." he hesitates before adding, "It seems I've gotten a wee bit lost during my little jaunt planet side." 

Ceph quickly clicks the ‘cipher’ file. Seeing the scrawling code he shakes his head in mild frustration. “Why couldn’t it have just been credits in there?”. He navigates back and then opens ‘relay’ to find another set of coordinates. “Maybe we need to go here and input that code into something? I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out once we get there, Whizkid.” he says to Nils. 

Nils peers at the file contents over Ceph's arm. "Maybe," he ponders, "for a cut of the loot, of course!" He studies the coordinates as Ceph brings them up again. "You know I was a little disappointed that all went so smoothly? Nobody framed you for anything. Disappointing. But now it's turned into a scavenger hunt I'm very excited to see where it will lead to next! Sovia, you can't use the Force to resolve planetary coordinates can you? Oh, let's call Habib! He can take us to the next stop!" He pulls out the card Habib had given him, excited to see his idol again so soon. "Does one of you have a comm?"

"I doubt 5 minutes would be enough, sadly. Maybe I'll need to come back a few times, let's hope this is a profitable relationship with your boss so I can be back soon." Drael makes small talk until they are called up, being charming but not giving much away or making any promises.

A few minutes later something lights up on Alice's computer, leaving her looking almost disappointed. "He'll see you know," she explains, gesturing to a nearby pair of elevator doors. "Fourth floor."

Sovia hands her pad over to Nils. "Here, I know little of it. The Bith in the store said it was a good one. Runs the latest version of Spandroid, think he said it was called Spwhisper. Whatever that means."

Nils takes the commpad and dials Habib.

HONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNK neeeooowwwnnnn RATATATATATATAT The noises blare from the speaker on the compad as Habib picks up. "Hello friend! What can Habib do for you?" The man yells over the racket.

"Yes, it is Nils! Sorry, are you in the middle of something? I can call back? We have finished our business in the bank and need to go somewhere else."