Game: An Unpaid Debt

[Bulwark]

"Well let's not lose the auction then." Kenobi says with a smirk. "I trust each of you are capable of damage control should that happen."

"Frankly, I'm more concerned with winning the auction and making it off the station. We shouldn't have any trouble getting the data to you and destroying the original to keep it out of Separatists hands. But I'm not so confident of making it off the station alive. Based on my previous encounters with the Separatists, I fully expect an ambush on the way back to the ship.
I'll speak with our host and try to arrange for additional security."

[Blackferne]

@Bulwark and Dood

"Very well. Expect the droid protocols within 2 hours and keep me updated after the inspection. If you need to hire some of Joonhali's guards for additional security the Republic will gladly foot the bill." Kenobi says before nodding in respect and cutting the transmission.

[Whiteness]

@Jokull

As you approach the alcove with the drinks you take a quick look at the thing he placed on the table. You've seen them before, it is an ELD scrambler used to mask conversations from eavesdropping. He takes the drink from you and takes a good size sip.

"So I'm here. Pehri says there is some kind of auction and we need to put a stop to it, but as usual he was light on the details. You may not know me, hell I would be shocked if you knew me. In the organization I'm just known as the Ox. So for all intents and purposes you will call me the Ox or Mr. Ox if you prefer. What I do, is well I fix things. So give me the run down. Who are the players, and what is the score?"

To start, the auction is for a nav unit with information on where the Katana Fleet is, opening bid of 711 million, two bidders, one from the confederacy and one from the republic. We have to open a line of credit with Bank Rossi who will them put the money in escrow. he pauses to take a drink and try and look like he is having a simple conversation. He is speaking quietly, but not whispering. People tend to notice whispered conversations more...

Jokull conitunes, Well the two from the Confederacy, a human and a Zabrak, both seem to soldier types, the kind that think force and intimidation solve all problems. No finesse or subtlety and they probably share a brain. If they lose the auction I suspect they will try to take the information by force. He looks around the bar to see if the delegates had arrived. Perception: Roll(1d20)+12: 12,+12 Total:24

The two from the Republic are a bothan and a human, and they seem to be the more rational pair. I made the mistake of trying to imply the auction was a trap yesterday to the Bothan and he called me on it infront of the others, though it could be a trap to get both sides credits. The human doesn't seem to trust Joonhali either when it comes to the money aspect of this transaction. They don't seem to like working with a known theif. he pauses again to take a drink.

There is also a mystery woman named Avonna who is upset with Joonhali for some dealings on Dathomir but I don't have all the details. People here seem to be afraid of her. Tomorrow morning we will be allowed to inspect the device under supervision with bidding commecing afterwards. Also, he said he happened across the fleet when he was on his yacht. I asked if there was any other sentient aboard other than himself and he did not answer me. I intend to verify that he is the only person that has had access to this information before tomorrow. I'm sure it would cut the cost if the other bidders found out this information was not exclusive and may already be compromised.

[Blackferne]

@Jokull

"I think you may be looking at this all wrong. We don't care if the information is sold or not, what we want is to make sure the war isn't over before its time so we can make our profits. If I remember correctly the fleet is 200 assault ships and that kind of infusion into either faction would be a serious strategic advantage. Play this out in your head for a second. Assuming Joonhali isn't in on a con, the Republic wants the information exclusively. The money doesn't matter to them because 711 million is 10% of what that fleet would cost to produce. Hell they'd probably pay 3.5 billion and still be happy with it. Same goes for the Confederacy. They have the banking clan at their back so the money at this point isn't the issue, it is the available ships. So they both want exclusivity and are willing to pay dearly for it. What we want is something else entirely. What we want is for neither of them to get it, or arrange for both to get it simultaneously. If we get the information exclusively we can always offer a few ships to the lagging side, and that is great, but also it will be extremely expensive since we can't have the deep pockets that governments can. Our best move instead is to let both get the information at the same time so that way they all rush out there to grab the ships, take a few for themselves and try to blow up the rest to prevent the others from getting them. We keep the parity they have, don't have to win the auction and if we are so inclined we could send a fleet of scrappers to clean up the mess." He leans back in the booth and picks his teeth.

[Whiteness]

Jokull nods and takes in everything Mr. Ox said.

Do you have any suggestions on how to keep both from getting it? There seems to be more options on how to get both of them the information. Also, I told the republic group that I would be waiting here if they wanted to talk, so they may be arriving shortly.

[Blackferne]

Jokull nods and takes in everything Mr. Ox said.

Do you have any suggestions on how to keep both from getting it? There seems to be more options on how to get both of them the information. Also, I told the republic group that I would be waiting here if they wanted to talk, so they may be arriving shortly.

"Well if you want to keep it out of their hands, let one of them win the auction then steal it from them. Or kill them for it. They are probably so focused on each other we are nobodies to them. Hell I'm willing to wager if the Republic wins the auction the Separatists have plans to kill them for it, and vice versa. All we have to do is kill the one who wins that fight and walk away."

[Blackferne]

@Furiel and Klak

"I'll pass on your requests to Intel to see what they can dig up. I'm fine using Rossi as a bank line. They have too many assets in our territories to try and pull a fast one on us. I'll establish the credit line. Go buy a droid for inspection and we'll send the protocols soon." Dooku says before cutting the transmission.

[Furiel]

@Furiel and Klak

"I'll pass on your requests to Intel to see what they can dig up. I'm fine using Rossi as a bank line. They have too many assets in our territories to try and pull a fast one on us. I'll establish the credit line. Go buy a droid for inspection and we'll send the protocols soon." Dooku says before cutting the transmission.

"Well ok then. First order of business, inspection droid. We'll have to go see what they have available and hopefully they'll have one with a little extra space in the trunk so to speak. Something has been tickling around in the back of my head since we left the auction though. What interest would the Hutts actually have in a fleet of warships? Assuming Mouthy is working for them, or some other criminal syndicate, what interest would they have in a couple hundred warships? Any ideas buddy?"

While waiting for an answer I'll initiate a quick station search for the droid seller location. Once I have that I'll be setting up a much more complex data search routine on Frostasson to see what background info I can dig up on him, who he might be working for along with what ship he is registered as arriving in here.

Computer use: 1d20+14: 7+14=21

[Reese]

"Well ok then. First order of business, inspection droid. We'll have to go see what they have available and hopefully they'll have one with a little extra space in the trunk so to speak. Something has been tickling around in the back of my head since we left the auction though. What interest would the Hutts actually have in a fleet of warships? Assuming Mouthy is working for them, or some other criminal syndicate, what interest would they have in a couple hundred warships? Any ideas buddy?"

While waiting for an answer I'll initiate a quick station search for the droid seller location. Once I have that I'll be setting up a much more complex data search routine on Frostasson to see what background info I can dig up on him, who he might be working for along with what ship he is registered as arriving in here.

Computer use: 1d20+14: 7+14=21

"What interest would anyone have in Warships? I see it similar to 'why do we want them?'. It is because they change the balance of power in the galaxy. If we controlled the Katana Fleet, we immediately have the upper hand. And if the Republic gets them, well we might as well apologize for ever wanting to do govern ourselves."

"You know, I think the important thing here is to always look as legitimate as possible, to the point of defending Joonhali if something goes south. We have our back-up plans, but I want to give no reason for this to go any way other than our way. Any luck on that droid?"

[Whiteness]

"Well if you want to keep it out of their hands, let one of them win the auction then steal it from them. Or kill them for it. They are probably so focused on each other we are nobodies to them. Hell I'm willing to wager if the Republic wins the auction the Separatists have plans to kill them for it, and vice versa. All we have to do is kill the one who wins that fight and walk away."

Well Mr. Ox, I don't think I clearly stated their response to me. They both seemed very threatened by my presence. One of the seperatist goons even went so far as to say I was trying to 'sow further mistrust' between them and the republic as if they weren't in open war against each other and had some reason to trust each other now. I will try and clean up the mess I've seemed to make, I am hopeful that one or both groups will contact me to get more information on my motives.

[Blackferne]

@Furiel

The location and Droids in stock are easy to find on the station computers. There are a few protocol droids, a labor droid, and three astromechs available for purchase.

As for Mr. Frosstasson. He is a trader by official listing. Usually involved with material transports. Well educated by galactic standards and has several accolades in business. His ship's dock is listed on the manifest.

[Furiel]

"Well ok then. First order of business, inspection droid. We'll have to go see what they have available and hopefully they'll have one with a little extra space in the trunk so to speak. Something has been tickling around in the back of my head since we left the auction though. What interest would the Hutts actually have in a fleet of warships? Assuming Mouthy is working for them, or some other criminal syndicate, what interest would they have in a couple hundred warships? Any ideas buddy?"

While waiting for an answer I'll initiate a quick station search for the droid seller location. Once I have that I'll be setting up a much more complex data search routine on Frostasson to see what background info I can dig up on him, who he might be working for along with what ship he is registered as arriving in here.

Computer use: 1d20+14: 7+14=21

"What interest would anyone have in Warships? I see it similar to 'why do we want them?'. It is because they change the balance of power in the galaxy. If we controlled the Katana Fleet, we immediately have the upper hand. And if the Republic gets them, well we might as well apologize for ever wanting to do govern ourselves."

"You know, I think the important thing here is to always look as legitimate as possible, to the point of defending Joonhali if something goes south. We have our back-up plans, but I want to give no reason for this to go any way other than our way. Any luck on that droid?"

"I don't see it that way. It makes sense for both of us and the Republic to want a couple hundred warships because it could easily turn the tide if they are easily made battleworthy and thrown right into the fight. 200 Dreadnaughts isn't enough to start your own government and all the Hutts care about is profits. So why get a bunch of warships? I have trouble imagining them trying to outfit and man them as a mercenary fleet. And reselling them after they win them would be a big gamble, and probably not be that profitable either. Unless they want to be the one who decides who wins...but what would they have to gain by being able to decide which side gets the fleet...

Damn it, this is going to bug the crap out of my until I figure out what their angle is...

Oh yeah, the droid shop is in section 2, lets get going. And after that I think we swing by the docks and see what kind of ride Frosstasson has."

Tony will start heading for the droid shop assumedly with Klak in tow and continue his pondering