Tempest Omega - Team #5

Halcyon

07-03-2011 13:18:56

Courscant
First Alliance Bank
50th Floor

Internal Audit Division

Evan rubbed at his eyes, checking the time for what appeared to be the hundredth time today.

“Half an hour to go” he muttered under his breath, none of the other workers bothering to acknowledge the sound. There were only a few of his co-workers even in today, most off on assignment or having already gone home for the night. Evan had only been in the Audit division for a few months, and was still getting accustomed to the workload. He was finishing up a preliminary report for his Manager, his eyes glazing over the numbers the floated before him.

It was this unfocused gaze that found a pattern in the number. Evan blinked rapidly, sitting up a bit straighter as he studied the links that had formed for just an instance. His hands reached for pads that littered his desk, calling up previous reports. Hours passed, Evan never bothering to look up as all the others said bye to him on their way out. The lights had been dimmed as night progressed on further. His small desk stood out, the various pads and screens glowing in the dimness. It was sometime after midnight when he called his Manager, rising him from sleep

--||o||--

Antei
Dark Hall

Grand Master’s Office

Both men had been conversing for some time, going over all of the latest updates across the Dark Brotherhood. It had only been a few days since Halcyon had been named Deputy Grand Master once more. He ran a hand through his emerald hair, picking up another pad from the ornate desk in front of him. It had been sometime since Sarin had ventured into his own personal mission, and there was much to be caught up on.

“That should be the last of it”, Muz stated from his seat, two black pools peering out from the strands of hair that covered his face.

Halcyon had begun to glance over this final set of information, eyes flashing in surprise as his head shot up to look at the Grand Master.

“Interesting, yes?” Muz grumbled as he pushed back his seat and rose, turning away from his newest Shadow Hand. “This information came in only yesterday, and we’ve verified it. Within the week we should have lost access to all of our funds”.

Nearly a decade ago then Grand Master Jac Cotelin had re-initialized the operation called “Tempest Bravo”. The objective was to procure funds for use by the Brotherhood. Although the main thrust of the operation had ceased, remnants remained, which were then used as the main source of income for the Dark Brotherhood. In recent days all of the accounts stemming from Tempest Bravo had begun to be closed, and all access to these funds denied.

“Have they tied them to us yet?” the veteran Councillor asked.
“No, but they’re quickly going through the various shells. It’s only a matter of time before that information is found out. I have already contacted the Master-at-Arms and the Fist to prepare us should we be found, but I want this handled before we reached that point”.

The Grand Master had turned with those final words, his meaning clearly conveyed to his second-in-command. Halcyon nodded his head as he rose, moving quickly to the exact. Darth Ashen watched as the other Sith Lord made his exit, moving toward his console to put his own actions into motion.

--||o||--

The call had gone out to the Brotherhood, calling on it’s members to perform a mission for the Dark Council. Halcyon now addressed those who had responded, his holographic image flickering before those who had accepted the mission.

You and your team has received the mission details. Although seemingly simple, the mission itself involves the very future of the organization. Fail, and we will see a battle on two fronts; both militarily and financially. Either will ruin us. Both will see we have no chance of success. You have all the assets of the Brotherhood at your disposal. Know that you are not alone in this mission as others will be working to see that our enemies don’t succeed. Others will want this glory to themselves. Only success will see that you achieve it alone.

Contact me regarding what you enquire. Time is of the essence.


The image suddenly winked out, leaving those listening to immediately set their plans in motion

Mirado

09-03-2011 23:19:54

- Prefect’s Office
- Gamuslag

The image of the freshly appointed Deputy to the Grand Master was lost on Mirado. Recently, it had been deemed too costly for HoloNet transmissions, so the Knight of Sadow was forced to look straight ahead at a screen, unable to read the body language of the person he was talking to.

“You understand your mission?” Halcyon asked of the youngest Pepoi. The two men had never met, and only knew of one another by reputation. This was, in fact, their first conversation.

“I do. My brother Methyas and I will take care of this, with our apprentices.” Mirado said plainly. “We won’t fail you.”

“Good.” Halc said, and killed the transmission. Mirado promptly stood up, and began pacing. On the sofa across the room, Dirk sat cleaning under his fingernails with a pen knife and looking out the window.

“You have any ideas?” Mirado asked of his apprentice. The boy had led a similar life to his own, and neither one of them were unfamiliar with the art of taking things that didn’t belong to them.

In response, Dirk closed his knife, leaned forward, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Four people on the crew, might be tricky.”

“You’re thinking the Mandoviol game?” Mirado asked, taking the chair across from his human apprentice.

“Yeah, if Masika can sell it.” Dirk said, readjusting himself on the couch to get more comfortable. They were recent additions, extra furniture from Mirado’s recent home purchase, put to work in his office.

“She can sell Ice to a Wampa.” Mirado said, though a dark look crossed his face all the same. “C’mon, we’re cutting out early, we need to get to Tarthos.” he added, and grabbed his jacket. The two assassins walked their way through the facility and caught the Commander’s shuttle out.

- Mirado’s Residence
- Pepoi Compound
- Tarthos

Methyas sat there quietly, stroking his chin, and listened while the three other people spoke around him. He felt like the odd man here, in so many ways. The three of them had not only come up in the criminal element, but had thrived within it. Still, he felt it time to speak up.

“So, this is called what again?” He asked as he got into his brother’s refrigerator and opened up a can of juice. At his apprentice’s gesture, he tossed her one as well.

“It’s called a Mandoviol game” She said, opening her juice. “And to do it right, we’re gonna need a massive injection of money to have the flash we’re gonna need to make this work.”

“Gotta spend it to make it,” Dirk muttered while he picked at a bag of cheese bites.

“How much?” Mirado asked. “We’ve been getting budget memos left and right. I can’t use the HoloNet for communication anymore.”

Methyas nodded an agreement. “Word is, the Grand Master himself isn’t even using it anymore. If that’s the case, we’re hurting worse than it looks.”

Masika took a breath before giving her answer. This was her arena of battle. With a lightsaber, she was barely functional. With the Force, she might have been a child, but with a con game, she was an artist. The downfall was, not many people appreciated artwork.

“35 Million credits.” She said, and waited for the outburst. It happened, of course, with the three men talking all over each other and making a general mess of the conversation. She waited them out, which took more than a few minutes, especially considering the two Miraluka scowling at each other, ripples of the Force coming off of them telling a lot of their telepathic communication.

Still, she cleared her throat, and waited a bit longer. When she finally had their attention, she continued. “35 million at a bare bones minimum. 60 would be a lot better.”

“Absolutely not.” Mirado said with a scowl.

“Out of the question.” Methyas said.

“There’s no better way to do this, and Dirk said it right. We gotta spend it to make it.” Masika said with protest. “There’s gotta be a way to make that kind of money.”

“I might have an idea, actually.” the only Human in the room said, piping up. “20 creds says you’ll hate it though.”

Methyas

20-03-2011 21:08:06

Unmarked Shuttle, Upper Atmosphere
Maryo, Corporate Sector, Outer-Rim Territories


It had been surprising for the group of them thus far, with the Brotherhood's failing finances it had been completely unexpected for the Council to accept as much of their offer as they could. While maybe half of their baradium had come from Council, Methyas and Sai had pulled some strings through Dlarit to acquire the last of their starting inventory; now it was simply a matter of getting everything to market.

The others each had their own talents and experiences working with this kind of scheme, whereas Methyas himself stood apart from them. He had been a warrior and a member of the Republic before they had reformed to the Alliance. While Methyas was certain that his allies were prepared to do all of the shady, undersided portions of their plan, he was prepared to stand as a "symbol" alongside his apprentice. The pair of them stood at the top of their shuttle's ramp now, dressed in their evening finest as their shuttle's captain reported their landing sequence. Methyas spoke swiftly, without turning to face his apprentice, "You know this stuff better than I do, I'm simply the 'money' in this scheme. I'm sure they'll try to take advantage of me; use that to our advantage. I doubt it will come to that tonight."
She nodded and quickly took his arm as he offered it to her, the two of them felt the shuttle touch down upon the platform before Methyas started to tap his shikomizue upon the deck plating. It took no time before the ramp decended, opening Masika's eyes to the glamourous resort world of Maryo. Even during the twilight of the planet's evening hours, the resort was bustling with life while the sounds of wine, women and romance could easily be heard nearby.

The pair moved quickly, they had already arranged their meeting with a potential buyer a meager few days after acquiring their resources. As the pair entered the packed restaurant, they were swiftly shown to their table without much of an affair, the gorgeous Zeltron assisting her Master into his chair before taking her own. The couple didn't have to wait too long before their targets showed up, a set of humans, the assistant speaking quickly as he offered his hand to Methyas, "Mister Arcturi, it's great to hear from you. It's sad to know that Arthur has passed on."
Methyas swiftly took it, shaking the man's hand in turn before shaking his companion's and responding, "Yes, that was quite a while back now. It's wonderful to know that the Arcturi had so much prestige that we were forgotten until we had gained such a large resource."

The assistant spoke up once again, "Yes, we're quite surprised you were able to acquire such a large ammount of this resource without much notice."
Masika took her chance to speak next, "Mister Arcturi has worked as our COO for several years now; it has actually been his business savvy and ideas that have allowed us to obtain such a surplus of our Baradium supplies. His past with the Republic actually prompted this offer. We do have other buyers lined up if you're more interested in his background though."
The Republic representatives cleared their throats for a second before continuing, "And whom might Mister Arcturi be working for?"

Masika smiled with a chuckle escaping her, tossing a set of datapads in front of the pair, "A previously unlisted organization, 'Tempest Industrial Incorporated'. There's a list of our recent transactions as well as our stock options, we're actually quite surprised the market shares are as strong as they are."
The two representatives looked over the package quickly, trying to absorb as much of the information as they could from the impressive portfolio. The information was detailed, going back over five years detailing Methyas' familial donation to their acquisitions and sales. After glancing at each other once or twice the two turned to look at Methyas whom was whispering to Masika, the woman feining a giggle before one of the two representatives spoke up, "Your asking price for this sale seems rather high, but this portfolio seems to speak for itself. These other organizations, they're all big names...you've supplied them all?"
Masika nodded before responding, "Yes, supplied or purchased from."

The pair looked at each other again for a few moments, their uneasy feelings and doubt seeming to shrink away as they took their time to think it over. As their doubt vanished, they loosened up, "We'll take it, prepare the shipment for BlasTech Industries. We'll pay the account, and get the funds from them at a later time."
The air around them seemed to relax a bit before Masika spoke, "Thank you, our account number is listed within that portfolio, once we've received the payment we'll complete our shipment to BlasTech. It's been an honour working with you boys."

The pair quickly shook hands with Masika and Methyas before they left the table with Datapad's in tow. Masika letting out a sigh of relief before Methyas spoke, "You did well my apprentice, between my atmosphere control and your natural talents...those men never stood a chance."
The woman blushed a little, these sort of comments were common from her Master, but this was about her mastery within her former field. Something that Methyas rarely comment on or approved of. The datapad at her waist vibrated, distracting her from her thoughts as she grasped it with a simplistic message on the screen. Her voice speaking quickly, "The transfer has been completed, we're ready for phase two, sir."

Methyas nodded, motioning for her to help him from his chair to keep up their charade. He spoke simply as she offered her hand, "We'll contact 'the board' and ensure that the resources are shipped to them; once the shipment is completed lets get moved onto our next project."
Masika nodded, speaking just as casually as the pair left, "Mirado will be contacted as soon as we're aboard the shuttle, sir. We'll need the long-range transmitters."

Mirado

22-03-2011 15:26:44

- First Alliance Bank
- Coruscant

The two men walked into the bank, the doors sliding open before them like they owned the place. The one in front, taller, and athletic, had his long hair drawn into a ponytail, while dark glasses rested over his eyes. He was flanked by a slightly smaller man with what looked to be a very expensive haircut, done in a style that made it look as though he didn’t give even the slightest damn about his hair. Both men were dressed in expensive black suits, high polished shoes, and had 1500 credit chronographs on their wrist.

At their entrance, a young woman hustled over to them quickly, her heels tapping a rapid rhythm against the marble floor of the bank. As she came closer, the smaller man stepped forward and put a hand out.

“Hello miss,” he said, his accent so Corporate sector it hurt. “Lemme cut you off really fast. We’re not here for an account, we wanna talk to your boss, so get on that for me, would you?”

As quickly as she’d approached, her sudden halting of all movement was even more sudden. It was the curse of the average person, being stopped in your tracks by perceived authority. “May I ask who’s calling on him?”

The taller of the men approached her with the kind of smile that belonged on the face of powerful businessmen; Predatory and cruel. Still, his tone didn’t match his look, something that frightened the young lady. “This is my card.” He said quietly after reaching for one in the inside pocket of his coat.

The bank clerk looked at it a moment, and took note of the name. Mirado L’eonheart. The card said he was the chief acquisitions officer for Tempest Industrial Incorporated, and listed half a dozen communications contacts for him. She held his card in hand and smiled at him, lost to him, but still important to know, thanks to his telepathic conversation with Dirk. It meant she hadn’t been told to turn people like him away.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “You can have a seat in our conference room to the left, while I contact the president. Help yourself to some caf if you like.” and with that, she scurried off, her heels tapping that same quick rhythm. Dirk headed towards the conference room, and Mirado followed him, the both of them silent.

Once within the conference room, Dirk shut the door, polarized the windows, and they both began looking for listening devices. Once they were satisfied, they took their seats. Dirk opened his briefcase and got it ready, while Mirado stretched his senses out in the Force. He could sense the clerk, and found her in front of somebody. They were both anxious, though the other person was containing it better. It didn’t seem like they were excited about the appearance of the two Jedi so much as worried though.

Dirk noticed his master’s scowl, but waited until Mirado relaxed his face before speaking. “Something up?” the human asked, as he got his portable computer out and hooked up.

Mirado nodded. “They’re nervous about something, almost scared.” he said. At that, however, forms approached the door, more than the two he looked at earlier. “Heads up.” he said, and waited on their knock. It came, of course, and they didn’t wait before coming in. Nothing shocking really.

What was shocking, however, was the very well dressed gentlemen that came in with them. “Mister L’eonheart, my name is Dem Wassten, I’m the owner of this bank. I understand you want to talk to me.”

“That’s right,” Mirado said, standing up and offering his hand. “We’d like to make you a rather wealthy man.”

Dem took Mirado’s hand and shook it like a consummate businessman. “I already am a rather wealthy man, how do you intend to prove me wrong?”

“We represent Tempest Industrial Incorporated, and the board feels that it’s time to start branching out.” Mirado said, and sat down, just a moment after Dem did. “With a financial institution as part of our holdings, we can begin generating a considerable revenue for our shareholders. It’s a rather worthwhile investment, one we’d be very interested in making happen.”

“You’ll forgive me if I want to see your corporate charter and the like,” The bank owner said. At that, Dirk slid the portable computer around, and let Dem pull up the information that they’d had spoofed. It wouldn’t stand up to intense scrutiny, but it didn’t need to.

The bank owner read for some time, the whole while suspicion mixed with excitement came off him in waves. This went on for about an hour, before Dem returned the computer to Dirk. “Looks solid enough.”

“We’d like to invite you to join us for dinner and drinks this evening, on us, of course.” Dirk said as he put his computer away. “The Nebula, perhaps?”

Dem thought about it a moment. The place had a one year wait for reservations, and one of the most exclusive clientele lists of any restaurant in this sector of Coruscant. Clearly they’d been planning this a while. “Very well, I’ll meet you at 1900?”

“That would be fine, we’ll be there.” Mirado said with another predatory smile. With that, they parted ways with handshakes. As they got out the door, Dirk made contact with Masika. It was time for the next part of their plan.