03-23-2016, 08:23 PM
Aye, I've been typing up those excerpts to try and get a feel for how I want scenes to play out and such but ultimately I don't want to commit to the meat of the writing yet.
Karyn walked into the shop, it was fairly small all things considered, a Tecarian stood behind the counter and welcomed him to the shop as he looked around, an unsurprising blend of electrical devices, related peripherals and tools populated the shelves, stuff like this sold fairly readily on most worlds, though Karyn noticed some oddly low prices on otherwise high end products. Prices aside he wasn't here to shop though, and approached the counter, where the Tecarian addressed him with a bizarre, constantly shifting accent, like a haywire translator of some sort.
"Welcome to my shop! I can tell you've already surveyed my wares, is there something particular you were looking for or did you need my help with something?"
Karyn fished the note out of his pocket, his informant had told him that this codeword would get him the info he needed here
"uh yes, I am here looking for a vay-cay-shun?"
The Tecarian's eyes seemed to visibly light up...well moreso than they already were as he quickly responded in his strange shifting accent
"ah yes yes of course, I know plenty of good spots, here follow me into my office in the back and we can discuss some hot destinations"
He quickly made his way over to the door into the back of his shop and ushered Karyn inside as he opened it, quickly shutting and locking it behind them once he was through
"So, you need some info?"
Karyn turned around, distracting himself from the otherwise mundane storeroom to address the shop owner
"Are you sure it is safe to talk back here?"
"Of course I'm sure! Imperial Enforcement may not trust people like you but Tecarians like myself are practically above reproach, it only took a request from me and my shop here is free of any surveillance, I like to do my info brokering in the back though so the neighbor's equipment doesn't overhear anything sensitive"
Karyn raised an eyebrow slowly, a small smile appearing on his muzzle, he was finally making some headway.
"How much will this info cost me?"
As he talked the Tecarian gestured constantly and unpredictably, further exacerbating his ever-changing accent, though his speech was always clear and concise.
"Cost you? No no! First time is always free, after all what's a favor between friends?"
"...Very well I need to find somebody"
"Find somebody? OH! You're that bounty hunter! The net has been abuzz about you, lots of Officers want to just send you back to the spaceport and kick you off-world but nobody high up will let them. Well I don't know if I want to betray any of my clients..."
"He is a Marrian by the name of Arturian Lenam"
At the mention of the name the Tecarian falls silent and his arms drop to his sides for the first time since he started talking.
"Lenam? ...yeah I know him..."
"I presume you have a history?"
"Ehhhh Art likes to cut me out of his dealings around here, most anyone who wants to do anything vaguely questionable on Tecar comes to me, I can set up totally off-the-grid meetings and safely broker info that's otherwise pretty dangerous to have, but Art didn't like me having any say in where or when he does anything so he just went around me"
"Around you?"
"Yeah, straight to Enforcement, the thing about Enforcement is that nobody there will betray the Empire, but what Lenam does is he just uses Tecar as a distribution point, his men smuggle goods here from Confederate space, then ship it out to wherever he has customers, nobody can really pin down his operation without making a move on Tecarian space though, which is obviously not a good idea"
At this point Karyn's face cannot hide his surprise and confusion, he knew Arturian was the key to a smuggling operation but he didn't know it operated underneath the "incorruptible" Tecarian Imperial Enforcement.
"And Enforcement just lets him do this?"
The Tecarian broker laughs, though it seems to shift subtly and constantly like his accent and winds up being very disconcerting
"Of course not! Enforcement would have a SWAT team at his front door in a heartbeat if they knew, but there are some officers in Enforcement who are a bit more interested in material wealth than others, middle management types, and he pays them pretty handsomely to make sure everyone is somewhere that his activities aren't visible from, and they run with this since he isn't technically doing any direct harm to the Empire."
The Broker's eyes light up again as he continues
"But with you here, tracking him down, Enforcement is watching your every move, and if you make a move on Art then they will too, and his little house of cards will come crashing down around him! He can grease all the palms he wants but once the higher ups get involved he's boned!"
"grease...palms?"
The Tecarian's energy once again seems to vanish as he goes silent and still to process what Karyn just said
"uh..yeah, it's a saying where we're from, there's a lot of those though, I guess some translate better than others"
"I see. Well I need to find Arturian and get him off-world without being arrested or killed by Enforcement."
The Broker nods thoughtfully
"Easier said than done, but Art is a man of power, I bet if you rock the boat enough you can force him out of his little hole, and if you can get him to try and flee off-world you may be able to catch him beyond Enforcement's jurisdiction. I tell you what I'm gonna give you the location of a warehouse his goons work out of, you go there and bring Enforcement down on them, and that should spook Art enough to light a fire under his tail, then you just gotta catch him at the spaceport before he leaves or track him down again once he's off world"
"I would prefer to catch him while he is here on Tecar"
"Then you'll want to move fast!"
The Broker rummages through a nearby box and fishes out a Holopad to present to Karyn, although an otherwise nice model with a modern projector and audio-only call support it appears to have seen better days.
"This is the best I can do for you in terms of 'secure' communication, if I find anything you need to know I'll send you a quick audio-only."
Karyn accepts the device and looks it over before depositing it in a pocket.
"This seems like a bit more than a favor...friend."
The Tecarian laughs again.
"I am not a dangerous being Karyn, but I quite like my position here, and with Art trying to displace me, it's absolutely in my best interests to see him fall. You're a golden opportunity for me, so I just want to help you help me. Now I think I've taken enough of your time, you have a smuggling ring to break up!"
The Tecarian practically pushes Karyn back out into the shop and addresses him
"I'm so glad we could find a good destination for you, I hope you enjoy your trip!"
He waves a goodbye to Karyn, who smiles and returns it as a formality before heading back onto the sidewalk to reflect on that...unique exchange.
"Welcome to my shop! I can tell you've already surveyed my wares, is there something particular you were looking for or did you need my help with something?"
Karyn fished the note out of his pocket, his informant had told him that this codeword would get him the info he needed here
"uh yes, I am here looking for a vay-cay-shun?"
The Tecarian's eyes seemed to visibly light up...well moreso than they already were as he quickly responded in his strange shifting accent
"ah yes yes of course, I know plenty of good spots, here follow me into my office in the back and we can discuss some hot destinations"
He quickly made his way over to the door into the back of his shop and ushered Karyn inside as he opened it, quickly shutting and locking it behind them once he was through
"So, you need some info?"
Karyn turned around, distracting himself from the otherwise mundane storeroom to address the shop owner
"Are you sure it is safe to talk back here?"
"Of course I'm sure! Imperial Enforcement may not trust people like you but Tecarians like myself are practically above reproach, it only took a request from me and my shop here is free of any surveillance, I like to do my info brokering in the back though so the neighbor's equipment doesn't overhear anything sensitive"
Karyn raised an eyebrow slowly, a small smile appearing on his muzzle, he was finally making some headway.
"How much will this info cost me?"
As he talked the Tecarian gestured constantly and unpredictably, further exacerbating his ever-changing accent, though his speech was always clear and concise.
"Cost you? No no! First time is always free, after all what's a favor between friends?"
"...Very well I need to find somebody"
"Find somebody? OH! You're that bounty hunter! The net has been abuzz about you, lots of Officers want to just send you back to the spaceport and kick you off-world but nobody high up will let them. Well I don't know if I want to betray any of my clients..."
"He is a Marrian by the name of Arturian Lenam"
At the mention of the name the Tecarian falls silent and his arms drop to his sides for the first time since he started talking.
"Lenam? ...yeah I know him..."
"I presume you have a history?"
"Ehhhh Art likes to cut me out of his dealings around here, most anyone who wants to do anything vaguely questionable on Tecar comes to me, I can set up totally off-the-grid meetings and safely broker info that's otherwise pretty dangerous to have, but Art didn't like me having any say in where or when he does anything so he just went around me"
"Around you?"
"Yeah, straight to Enforcement, the thing about Enforcement is that nobody there will betray the Empire, but what Lenam does is he just uses Tecar as a distribution point, his men smuggle goods here from Confederate space, then ship it out to wherever he has customers, nobody can really pin down his operation without making a move on Tecarian space though, which is obviously not a good idea"
At this point Karyn's face cannot hide his surprise and confusion, he knew Arturian was the key to a smuggling operation but he didn't know it operated underneath the "incorruptible" Tecarian Imperial Enforcement.
"And Enforcement just lets him do this?"
The Tecarian broker laughs, though it seems to shift subtly and constantly like his accent and winds up being very disconcerting
"Of course not! Enforcement would have a SWAT team at his front door in a heartbeat if they knew, but there are some officers in Enforcement who are a bit more interested in material wealth than others, middle management types, and he pays them pretty handsomely to make sure everyone is somewhere that his activities aren't visible from, and they run with this since he isn't technically doing any direct harm to the Empire."
The Broker's eyes light up again as he continues
"But with you here, tracking him down, Enforcement is watching your every move, and if you make a move on Art then they will too, and his little house of cards will come crashing down around him! He can grease all the palms he wants but once the higher ups get involved he's boned!"
"grease...palms?"
The Tecarian's energy once again seems to vanish as he goes silent and still to process what Karyn just said
"uh..yeah, it's a saying where we're from, there's a lot of those though, I guess some translate better than others"
"I see. Well I need to find Arturian and get him off-world without being arrested or killed by Enforcement."
The Broker nods thoughtfully
"Easier said than done, but Art is a man of power, I bet if you rock the boat enough you can force him out of his little hole, and if you can get him to try and flee off-world you may be able to catch him beyond Enforcement's jurisdiction. I tell you what I'm gonna give you the location of a warehouse his goons work out of, you go there and bring Enforcement down on them, and that should spook Art enough to light a fire under his tail, then you just gotta catch him at the spaceport before he leaves or track him down again once he's off world"
"I would prefer to catch him while he is here on Tecar"
"Then you'll want to move fast!"
The Broker rummages through a nearby box and fishes out a Holopad to present to Karyn, although an otherwise nice model with a modern projector and audio-only call support it appears to have seen better days.
"This is the best I can do for you in terms of 'secure' communication, if I find anything you need to know I'll send you a quick audio-only."
Karyn accepts the device and looks it over before depositing it in a pocket.
"This seems like a bit more than a favor...friend."
The Tecarian laughs again.
"I am not a dangerous being Karyn, but I quite like my position here, and with Art trying to displace me, it's absolutely in my best interests to see him fall. You're a golden opportunity for me, so I just want to help you help me. Now I think I've taken enough of your time, you have a smuggling ring to break up!"
The Tecarian practically pushes Karyn back out into the shop and addresses him
"I'm so glad we could find a good destination for you, I hope you enjoy your trip!"
He waves a goodbye to Karyn, who smiles and returns it as a formality before heading back onto the sidewalk to reflect on that...unique exchange.
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I answer questions. snark provided free of charge.
Most hated member of the nexus, irritation and/or ragequit guaranteed or your money back.
"IF I DO NOT RETURN INFORM MY HUMAN COHABITANTS THAT I FEEL STRONGLY FOR THEM"