Risk Assessment

[D'Kor]

He’d paid a lot of credits to stay at one of the only, and best, hotel on Phrystal island. Initially he thought about booking an entire floor but decided, if ever given the chance, the recovery from any probable wild parties would go much smoother in the penthouse. The first few weeks of his stay were spent frequenting bars both on the mainland and off, schmoozing with the locals, making a few contacts in the smuggling world for future business, goofing off on hydrobikes with vacationing Naval and various university students, and several attempts to drown himself with alcohol. After that brief rebellious stint however he locked himself in the penthouse only allowing room service to enter every other day.

What the mysterious guest was doing was the talk of the hotel for one or two days and then he was forgotten even by them. But D wasn’t laying low or anything of the nature. He was planning. The idea he was putting into its final stages before acting on it had come to him one night as he…well he couldn’t rightly recall what he’d been on at the time but the idea somehow stuck with him. It’d been tossed aside as a stupid hallucination or something you would only think of when your mind was tripping into space for nearly two years. Gradually though, almost unconsciously, D’Kor began to work the angles and realized that pulling off the biggest paying job he’d ever heard of….might, just might be possible. So for three and a half weeks straight the man who never really concentrated on anything, other than pulling a trigger, or tying one on, worked his ass off. His drink would inevitably end the night alone and hardly touched as clips of security footage, blue prints, time tables, accounting figures, inventory lists, flight schedules, even weather predictions flashed before his eyes.

This one job could have him sitting pretty on his own planet with loads of credits to spare, not that he would, he couldn’t get away from a life of crime if it was blind and had a bum leg. No, for D, this was all about finding out if he was good enough to pull it off. If he could do it no one would laugh, no one would think he was only hired muscle. He would prove he wasn’t some dumb mercenary but a real class act. The kind the authorities would waste thousands of credits to hunt down, he grinned at the challenge. Being Chroma-Neeka was one thing but what he was planning would put him on a whole other level; elite. It hadn’t been done before which was why he was dead certain it would work. When the new week started he paid the hotel staff to hold to a story about how he’d gone off world and subsequently peddled the story himself to anyone who asked, as he returned to his previous antics of everything carnal.

D’Kor had sent off a few messages to people he’d heard of that did good work, people he wanted in the crew, and to the one person that would linchpin the whole operation. It sounded innocent enough but anyone that bumped into the law would get the picture, approximately.

“Hey, listen, me and about eight other classmates are down here at the ritzy place on Phyrstal Island; on Abregado-Rae? You know the place. It’s not the same without you so why don’t you come over? We’ll hit the hot spots, have a little recreational fun for once…it’s a Great Idea.”

He hadn’t heard all that much in ways of a reply but he hadn’t expected to so he was lazily cleaning his gun out on the terrace when the door sounded. “Yo, it’s open.” He called out, sliding the barrel back into place and mounting the receiver. The handgun was tucked into the back of his waist belt and the half unbuttoned casual dress shirt, remnants of last night, pulled over the weapon. He jogged into the room to meet the first of his team, gave a small wave, and grinned. “Drinks are behind the bar, room service if you’re hungry. Trip down here alright?”

[Sadie K'Vesh]

"So that's the kinna greetin I get, yeah?" The words came from Sadie real smooth-like. Smoother than she'd thought they would as a cigarra was propped between her lips as she entered the penthouse.

Not that she was expectin' much better. Sadie knew better than that dren. Though the communication had come when she was still sportin' the shiner than ol' Bog had given' her because of the last gig she'd run with 'Kor. It was leavin' her, mind ya. Barely a trace was left, but still hangin' roun' like that gorram headache one could fetch when they'd spent a lil' too much time with Miss Darcy.

But 'Kor had been different in a way. Had kinda pulled her from the norm and became a boss-type that really made the kind of difference that a lesser girl went and swooned at and doted upon. Not that she'd been all that much better. 'Kor had gotten under her skin somethin' awful. Not that Sadie'd ever admit it.

"Frakkin sweet deal ya got here, Korbie." She couldn't resist. "Aint figured you got this sorta place goin'. Not on account of that pub ya went and took me to."

Stupid gorram tralk had to go and bring that up. Frakkin Sadie never really knew when to shut her trap. Was done easy like though. More than she figured it would be on account of who it was she was answerin' in the first place. A drink - some sorta concoction with a sprig of mint muddled up in it - was made up right quick like before she plopped herself down in one of the larger armchairs.

"Oh please tell me it aint just you and me. Not that I don't think you and me could pull a fast one on just 'bout anyone..."

It was a female sort of stupidity that lead to her tone, and Sadie knew it. Damned herself to whatever hell existed and back several times over for it too. But yeah, it came out. Frakkin' 'Kor had upturned her gorram world with the band, and she had wanted (frakkin' prayed to the Force-crap and beyond just before sleep even) to forget about the blondie... but then that message came through and she told Bog she had to run and here she was.

Frak him.

Not that she'd give any hint towards it as she sipped on drink where she was sitted not-so-close to him, eyein' him with that sorta look only girls could give that told of all the "hate-you"s for chagin' one's life an "think I might like ya" for the same damn reasons.

She waited for a bit though as her and 'Kor kinda looked at each other in that stupid way.

"Krast... you got others comin, dontcha?"

[Salvo Starborn]

The door to the suite swung like the entrance to a saloon as Salvo Starborn waltzed in.

“Door's open,” he said by way of an introduction, lazily jerking a thumb over his shoulder. “This it, then? Don' get me wrong, ah like the look'a the place but... where's the blow? Where's the birds?”

His gaze hopped between D'Kor and Sadie, half-expectant and wearing the perplexed smirk of a kid who'd gotten up on Life Day morning to find no presents under his wroshyr tree.

[D'Kor]

She'd made it. He'd honestly expected to receive a picture of her flipping him the bird and that would be the end of it. It wasn't the nonchalant way she made herself at home but the first words out of her mouth that stumped him, but good. He wanted to say the typical things that were better left in the gutters where they were brewed from. Wanted to retort with a witty, biting comment. She spun his head around and he didn’t want anyone near him that could do that kind of nonsense. So he just resigned himself to letting a smirk settle between the corners of his mouth.
That little sneering, shining, half grin. He was amused that he couldn't figure out what was making her ramble. Whatever, his head needed to be on the job. He sauntered around the bar taking in all of the questions and talk without so much as a quirked eyebrow, and popped the top on a beer. The smirk never left his lips, nor, once his eyes fell on her again, did they leave; until one more arrived. "Still a few more left I figure. I considered private rooms for everyone but....togetherness is what it's all 'bout anyway."

He lifted the beer for a sip and motioned with it towards the back bedroom as he did so. "Angie's in there on the nightstand if you need the fix while we wait. Crude in the drawer, and I think there's still some Marcan around here somewhere, if the maids didn't take it. Ran out of rolling paper though." He'd wait until it was clear everyone that was going to hire on for the gig had come before proper introductions. Then again...

"Oh, ta made, I almost forgot. New guy, this here is Saidra." A long savoring drink of beer was the only thing that stopped him from breaking the cool external manner while he waggled a finger in Sid's direction. "Introductions and all. The rest should be along here sometime so just crash where ever."

[Sadie K'Vesh]

Guess Kor owed her that one, Sadie should have known better than to ever tell the blond what her name was all full-like. But whatever, fine, she'd stick with that. Better than havin' this 'New Guy' or whoever else was gonna walk through that door goin along the lines of 'don't I know you some place...?' Was damn hard enough for a body to keep themselves anonymous when it came to their work over just code and transmissions, but when you had to get all face-to-face-buddy-buddy... well all that just generally got knocked right out the hold. Didn't help her cover was with that gorram band. 'Least he hadn't blown everythin' to hell and called her by any important sort of alias.

Sadie went and gave the boss a sickly-sweet smile before salutin' the other bloke with her drink. All arguments aside the lil' hit to her had done enough to mentally slap some sort of sense back into her brain. Whatever wrongs she thought Kor might have or might not have done had to be dealt with later - maybe after this job was all over and said and done with and the both of them wouldn't have it on the brain no more. Or maybe it was best left to just rot in the gutter along with all those feelin's she'd had wellin' up before she'd entered that door. Best point on that one.

Was for the best. For now Sadie had to go and bring about a great deal of focus about gettin' the job done and gettin' paid. Yeah sure, normally there was a need, but this time it was a real bad one. Was all well and good when you were pullin' a gig to make your own ends meet, but when someone was back on what you considered a homestead demandin' 60% or your neck... well that put a whole new round of motivation to the whole damned thing. Weren't no point in makin' that a known thing neither. Sadie had learned one thing about Kor on their last round and that was the boy didn't take too kindly to the sob stories, not that she was any better, and that gave way to the kind of thinkin' that nor was any other goon that was about to enter. Whatever you did with your cut was your own fraked up business, even if it was just turnin' around and givin' it to somebody else to save your own hide.

Didn't make pretendin' that everythin' was shiny any easier though. But as the first drink went down all too easy she figured more would help the cause, though mixin' more was too much of a hassle. Sadie sat up just enough to snag a mostly-full bottle of suspected hard stuff to herself that she started swiggin' on, eyein the New Guy and the door for any other New Folks that'd come swaggerin' in. Weren't no point in sayin' nothin' while waitin'. She'd done enough of that poodoo already.

[Kallum Romanoch]

Outside, a woman screamed and there was a sharp crack. A din ensued which rumbled down the hallway towards the penthouse suite, swelling into a fumbling cacophony of curses as it burst through the door. A young man staggered inside, throwing the door shut behind him, and when it shuddered on its hinges his back fell flush with it until the mysterious onslaught subsided. Silence at last and he slumped forward with rattling breaths. Finally he straightened up, revealing a bright young face, glistening with sweat and aglow from a very distinct pink handprint on his left cheek.

"I touched a boob," he declared openly with a nod, and as he swaggered towards the group of strangers, a broad grin: "Y'alright?"

[Salvo Starborn]

By the time Kallum staggered into the room, 'New Guy' had fallen like a sack of potatos into the nearest couch and was already set about cutting himself a hit of whatever was the nearest spice to hand. He licked one fingertip and dabbed it in a small heap of fine orange flakes, tasting the blend without a thought for what his hosts might have cut into it.

“Aw'right.” He nodded at the new new guy. “You the bell boy?”

[D'Kor]

"Shit I hope he ain't." The bottle was drained of it's vestigial drops of beer, then promptly chucked into the bin. "He get's a handful of sweater meat for the first time in his life and he ends up like this? Not a good sign." He didn't allow much in the way of a response. "Maybe house keeping. Yeah, look, I thought the sheets were stretchy, ya know? I didn't think they'd stay all stretched and defunktified like that....it's not my fault. So jus' one set of bed covers ought'a do for now."

D slipped out from behind the bar, ambling his way over to a projector he'd set up on a low slung coffee table in the middle of the room. Without a second thought for Titty Tim he jabbed at a button on the machine. The projector flickered for a minute and then a calendar sprang to life, hovering mid-air for all to see. With one hand he pointed to the small box that marked the day's date, the other hand indicated a day later in the month. "We have ten days to get this operation ready to run; mostly because the weather won't suit any other time for our exit strategy. On day eleven the work is compressed into two, maybe three, hours of action and we're outta here. Paychecks cut the same day. How and when the work gets done between now and day ten, I don't care. If the assignments get done and no undue fuss comes our way, leisure time is yours to play with between now and Go time. Not such a bad way to earn 9 mil, yeh?"

The slick grin that had taken hold of his face sank slightly as he realized he hadn't heard the door open and shut again. He turned around to eyeball the bellboy, or whoever he was. "What's up bru?"

[Kallum Romanoch]

"What's up, bru?" Kallum repeated, frowning in assessment, "Yeh know, ah like da'! Soouunds a bi' like a catchphrase or suttin'. Ere we go!"

There were beer bottles chilling in a bucket of ice next to the couch, Kallum snatched one out and slumped into a seat. Tearing off the bottle cap with his teeth, he spat it across the room with a loud pluh, and rested one heavy boot after the other on the coffee table. He gave an idle gesture to the holo-projection.

"Yeh were sayin'? Oh, just a-" his words fell short as he pressed the bottle to his lips and swigged deep. After a long pause, he finally pulled away with a contented sigh, and looked pleasantly to the man with eyes for him.

"Continue."

[Serrena Alcine]

Well, she did say my time was my own, when I wasn't on a business trip...

With a plump lower lip caught between her teeth as she thought, the woman's fingers slid absently through her sable curls. Comfortably ensconced in the back of a rented speeder, crimson orbs gazed with little interest at the passing buildings and throngs of people. Some day, she supposed, it would hold some manner of enjoyment again. For now, her anger at everyone and everything that had turned on her held sway.

As the vehicle slipped out of the traffic and began to slow, the dancer took a moment to adjust the hem of her 'dress'. The very human driver's eyes were glued to his mirror as the speeder stopped, devouring the salacious view she proffered. A bellboy had already removed her bags from the back and waited on the curb as she slid provocatively out of the vehicle.

The slack-jawed driver stared as she sauntered inside, completely forgetting to ask for the fare. That earned a wicked smirk from Serrena as she plucked the glasses from her head and directed the bell boy to put her things into the waiting storage space under her name. The lift was waiting for her when she crossed the lobby, stilettos clicking, held empty by a very helpful bell boy who was looking more than a little star-struck. A crimson orb winked just as the doors closed, her fingers reaching out to press the button for the penthouse level.

D had already begun when she slipped into the room, dropping her bag silently on a waiting chair. Arms crossed over her chest, she watched with a critical eye and waited until the kid had finished talking. Rather, to her eyes, finished looking like a fool.


"Looks good to me, love. Sorry I'm late." Serrena purred as the conversation lulled. A smirk curled her crimson-stained lips as she lofted a delicate brow, eyes glowing bright.

[D'Kor]

"Serrena," Here he paused to glance over his shoulder and toss a smile and wink her way, "Them three words make me all kinds of nervous most times. But glad yer here." Attention would then be diverted back to the holoimage as the calendar flickered out of existence and a running number ticker replaced it. The number was currently at an odd 4.3 billion credits, and speadily increasing. The lingering smile D had greeted the latest crew member with spread into a full blown mischievous, Cheshire grin.

"Eleven days from now that figure will reach four point five billion strong. Every week, every day, every hour thousands and thousands of folk put their trust in the holonet, swiping every variety of credit chip in existence and all of it gets recorded. But we're not going after the main transactions, see? When someone, say, buys the spouse a dinner you always got this uneven bill right? Well when the transaction goes through the computers record the change amounts. What happens to all that change?" He paused to see if anyone actually knew, the logic of it all was still a bit fuzzy but he was so excited there was scarcely time to being a reply when he started talking again.

"All of the figures for the monthly report come out exact but when they get to....the banks, all the left over change is rounded up to the nearest credit. It's all recorded and cataloged. But were going even lower and aiming for a smaller target. The computers also keep track of the fractions of a credit that get rounded up or down and that is our payday. This here," he pointed to the numbers in front of him,

"Is all of that money what been rounded out to make things even. Whenever the tickers hit that magic four point five number all of the data is saved and the counters roll over. Alls we got to do is go in and trick the Galactic Banking systems into dumping that number into a valid account, then verify it to make it show. After that it's split up twinxt us and wired into five seperate accounts on Niro eleven I'll be setting up tomorrow. The casinos here are wired into the banking network so making the hit here is better than in the core yeh?" Just thinking about all the money and the job flipped his stomach enough that he had to let out an anticipitory chuckle. "Questions? Drinks?"

[Sadie K'Vesh]

Sadie wasn't about to go and say anythin' right off. That sort of thing was gonna have to be gone and left for whoever was gonna be the loudmouth in the group - her guess was the kid with the hand print. Though, even with what probably amounted to several shots on an empty belly makin' her brain kinda fuzzy she got the jist of what Kor was gettin' at in the grand scheme of it all.

She let her eyes go an wander over the other three in the room. Two boys looked like heavies of some nature - though the smaller one might have a trick or two somewhere. The pretty thing Sadie had no clue on, maybe she was distraction to keep the goons in line, maybe a distraction for Kor, maybe more. Didn't matter none. Was up to Kor to toss out means to ends at everybody.

Course not a one of 'em really looked like they were there to do the bit that Sadie guessed was gonna land on her: 'trick the Galactic Banking systems' as Kor had put it. She had already come up with numerous other ways of callin' it - none of 'em too optimistic in the long end. Thing that stuck out like a sore part was the effort it went to take and do somethin' like that. It was the kind of effort that no matter how bad you tried to avoid it, left little prints in the code. Everyone in the business had their ways of doin' stuff. So that meant that at the end of the day, there was a real risk of leavin' somethin' of yourself behind. Didn't matter how clean they all did the job. Trick would be to be all awares of that sort of thing and cut it off, maybe pin it on someone else.

Sadie went back to nursin' the bottle, hopin' the alcohol would go and untangle the knot in her guts that was beggin' to start formin'.
Don't go and make any sort of ideas, for all you know Kor might have himself a team of slicers here and just called you in for giggles sake. Or maybe it is just gonna be on you to pull off that dren and the others are gonna do what they do to make sure you can get that system to do what you need it to. Either way this aint gonna go sour. He aint gonna let that happen, got too much planned here.

A look was given' to the boss. Lackadaisical for the most bit, though unable to hide that tension she'd gone and made in the first place. Yeah, and maybe you're just the patsy. Sadie actually managed to laugh that line of thinkin' off.