Episode 1.0 - The Festival of Great Trade

(OOC: If you haven't read this post, ensure you read it before you reply.)

Dawn came to Svivren with a rosy glow from the hills behind the Wrils Spaceport. With it came the morning breeze that stirred the countryside to life. It looked like it would be a beautiful, early summer day—perfect for the Festival of Great Trade.

Preparations for the festival took days, weeks even. They reconfigured holoprojectors to project decorations throughout the city. Giant banners were hauled out of storage and suspended across the speedways. Cargo speeders had been appropriated and refitted as parade floats. And everyone even remotely involved in trade on the entire planet would be on holiday today.

Smugglers tended to avoid Svivren because of their draconian laws against violence and personal weapons. If a being was caught committing a violent crime they would be executed, immediately, in public for the act. If suspected only, they would probably be executed at the end of their court case. For a smuggler to do business on Svivren involved calculated risks, and low competition. But that just meant more business for the few smugglers that understood how to conduct their trade on Svivren. And for those gutsy few, the rewards were usually worth the risks.

All at once the festival began. The populace erupted from their dwellings as the holoprojectors kicked in, and festive music began to play. It was Svivren at its busiest. Just to add to the chaos, ships from nearby sectors arrived to disgorge their wares in hopes that they too might make a windfall during the festival. The marketplace practically spanned all through the capital of Wrils, but especially from the spaceport to the business district almost 3 kilometers away. Stalls lined the streets, and the crowd was so numerous it was impossible for speeders to stay on the ground. Two klicks to the north of Wrils the parade was organized and began winding its way through the streets, and the skies.

Rexi smiled at the throngs milling about in the street, dressed in their festival finery, relaxed and enjoying the atmosphere. So many suckers, so little time he thought to himself, smile widening as he caught sight of the mark. The water-fat Twi'lek was dressed in silks and surrounded by three gorgeous young women as he made his way down the boulevard. Rexi made a mental note that none of them appeared to be armed before flipping open his comm and calling his partner. "He's on the move, Calli. I'll keep him busy, you get the stuff from his safe. If you think you can handle a simple second-story job, that is."

Without waiting for a reply, Rexi approached the fat tradesman. "Lors? Lors Tarr? Why I haven't seen you since that time on Lothal! You seem to be doing well for yourself! Here, let me buy you a drink and you can tell your old friend Rexi all about how an old tradesman like you managed to turn things around so quickly!"

((Edited to change post as))

Lors Tarr paused in mid-stride to look at the whoever it was that called his name. Once he caught sight of Rexi his lekku twitched in exasperation. The women with him turned as a group toward Rexi; two recognized Rexi and frowned, and the last just looked bored.

"Rexi Chekku, you barvy scoundrel! I hoped that Lothal was the last I'd see of you. It isn't that difficult to make money when there a thief isn't emptying your pockets," an edge of anger ungirded Lors voice as he said that, "Or did you think I wouldn't notice?"

His lekku twitched several times, probably sending messages to the women.

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Tarr's offices are lush and sprawling. There are smaller offices, conference rooms, even what looks like a typical call center on the first floor. All these things are presumably to uphold his image as a legitimate Svivren business man. There are only the most basic security measures on the first floor, and all the electronics in the offices and call center are locked down by the central system they are linked to. The only interior access to the second floor is a single lift in the middle of the building. It does not appear to have a secure keypad, but there is a conspicuous-looking security camera focused upon the lift.

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Meanwhile, at the Thaali Research Institute Dr. Johtot enters by the rear entrance and proceeds directly to her lab. On the way across the building she paused briefly in the lobby just long enough that Valoris should have noticed her, if he was present. Dr. Eliasan is a tall and slender near-human. Her eyes are a dark chocolate color and her hair is dirty blonde. Despite her average appearance her smile dazzles and reinforces the confident, elegant way she carries herself. Her confidence tends a little toward arrogance.

She keyed her comlink and connected with Pepra and Valoris.

"Please meet me in the labs, I have a few tasks for you both before we can leave this morning. I know you really want to know what this is about, and I'll explain once we're in the labs." She smiled briefly to herself.

She deactivated the security lock on the lab and entered. The lights turned on automatically, but Eliasan did not activate any of her equipment. After several minutes of organizing some critical equipment while she waited for both Valoris and Pepra to join her, they both arrived.

She turned to Pepra first and handed him a datapad. "I need you to slice into spaceport security and pull a roster on all the ships currently in port. The dockmaster won't necessarily know, or flag, a ship as a possible smuggler. But depending on who the dockmaster is we probably can infer what ships might be smugglers. I want you to narrow the list to those you think are most likely smugglers and pull whatever you can on their crew roster. This datapad is brand new and not registered or traceable to the labs."

"Valoris, I want you to contact this speeder salesman," she pulled a datachip from her pocket, "and ask if the cargo speeder I reserved is ready. This is a distraction for our opponents, and I have no intent to show up to rent it. My personal speeder is parked outside the building and we'll use that instead."

"I'll explain more when its safe. I need to go to a medical conference to demonstrate my discovery. If I don't, I won't have a chance to get a large enough sponsor to bring my discovery to market. Without a powerful sponsor my discovery, and us too, will be buried by the bacta cartels."

The Bothan Dockmaster, Lo Trey'Lya, spent a few moments telling of the local bars before he got to anything good. Unless you considered dives like The Drunken Jawa bar, Hoiinia Tep Cantina, or The Hydrospanner interesting that is.

"I heard from Madak, over in bay aurek 19, that a Lambda shuttle came in with some high ranking Imperial officers. They don't have more than a token bodyguard with them, but that's more than enough to cause trouble." His fur rippled to underscore the point, stating that they were heavily armed. "But perhaps what Zhur'seca saw is more disturbing. She saw, from a distance mind you, several Falleen exit an unmarked freighter. Might be nothing. Might be really bad."

"Lots of parties like to negotiate deals during the festival. You gentle beings may wish to keep your heads down."

His datapad chirped a notification and he nodded to Wuc'vulog. Without another word he turned and walked off toward the adjacent bay. In the distance a YT-1300 began its graceful descent to bay cresh 11, beside The Turtle.

"Wonderful! I knew the shipment should arrive today, but little did I know that my old friend Rexi was involved." Lors Tarr cheered up immediately, "I didn't think you were involved on Lothal, really, but one can never be too careful. Come! Lets stop by The Hydrospanner and have some drinks. My workers can take care of transporting the goods, and you can fill me in on your adventures."

He set a heavy hand on Rexi's shoulder as he turned in the direction of The Hydrospanner. The disinterested Twi'lek woman moved to the other side of Rexi and looked subtly pleased as she draped herself on his other arm. Her grip was firm and intended to convey something a bit threatening.

"Then we can conclude our business after a game of sabacc. What do you say, old friend?" Lors Tarr smiled in genuine enjoyment. Perhaps today's deal would be highly advantageous.

Tarr commed his facility and informed someone there that the expected shipment had arrived. Moments later, three grav sleds with large, empty crates were guided from the back of his offices by several workers. They looked somewhat tough and headed in the direction of the the Turtle's docking bay.

"Wonderful! Perhaps you'll help me increase my profit margin on those guns," Tarr said with enthusiasm.

Lors and his entourage led the way to the Hydrospanner. The Hydrospanner was a medium sized cantina that primarily catered to blue collar workers. The building is clearly old, as one can tell from the patina on the structure and the wear on the 'crete. Inside, the drink selection is good and cantina has an air of being well maintained and cared for. A few of the regular patrons are in evidence, and there's a lively game of sabacc going on in one corner. Lors Tarr motions toward an empty sabacc table and everyone seats themselves, while Rexi's escort pulled a chair from an empty table to sit next to the rodian. Tarr touched a button and the table's interface flickered to life.

"I think I will go buy us a round of drinks, if you could instruct the table to deal us out."

Without awaiting an answer, Lors got up and waddled off to the bar.

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Meanwhile, three thugs with grav sleds and heavy-duty crates wove way through the crowd. It only took the 5 minutes to reach the tunnel that led toward the Turtle's docking bay. As they passed along the tunnel corridor they approached Wuc'vulog's position. The lead thug nodded to the Twi'lek as he continued down the passageway.

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While Pepra and Khan are busy Dr Eliasan collects several delicate, customized apparatuses and secures them in a carrying case. She then proceeded to open the other side of the case and loaded several vials from a nearby cryogenic storage vault. The case closed with an audible sucking sound and charge indicators lit up. The sound of a portable cooling unit emanated from the case briefly, then stopped.

Then Valoris approached and demanded answers.

"Some... extra-legal agencies are interested in my research. I have the chance to break a cartel that has a stranglehold on the galaxy, and naturally both they and any other organization would want to claim my research for their own." She paused to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and studied Khan's eyes. "In four weeks there's a medical conference in the Tapani sector. Until I am able to publicize my findings there, my disappearance would be easy to arrange and my research could be easily buried, or exploited. You may not need your gun here, but you probably will need it before we get to the conference."

"I will have more time to explain when we are off-world."

Eliasan glanced over her shoulder to look at Pepra. Her brow furrowed a moment as she wondered why he hadn't spoken up yet. "Pepra, are you about done? Is something wrong?"

Rexi programs the autodealer for a three person game and smiles warmly at his escort. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, though I'm sure your used to having men at a disadvantage, but I'm afraid I didn't catch your name earlier."