A Noblesse Oblige to Save Information[Republic]

[Camellia Swift]

Well this was certainly a rather annoying situation.

Looking over the reports, Camellia Swift found herself incredibly annoyed the more and more she saw the audacity of the situation. Someone had tried to hack into Rendili Stardrive's files. Not only that, but they had been looking at the Noblesse destroyer class warship design. The one including a Linear Railgun Cannon and Anti-Concussion Field Generator that the company was developing to produce for the Republic. The fact someone had heard they were working on the project, and then had the gall to attempt to steal the work, was infuriating.

But what was more infuriating was the fact that that someone may or may not actually have gotten any information.

Security had detected the intrusion quickly, but at the speed such attacks worked it left the technicians unsure whether or not the slicer had gotten anything from their link before the protective systems caught up and locked down the breached data. It was clear an inside person had helped get the slicer in, and in fact that person had already been caught. A cheap engineer who hadn't got to work on the project but felt slighted because of that fact. They had apparently sold out and were approached for their support. The question then was by who?

It was clear the actual slicer had to be in system at the time and likely as near to the system they had been hacking as they could get. Obviously since they had been locked down quickly they hadn't been close enough. Their data attack had been well done, but it was weak so they hadn't been on Rendili Stardrive's station or in its planetside offices. Security had worked as fast as they could to track down the other end of the link when the breach occurred, but by the time they had pinned down the location and moved in on it the suspect had already fled.

Working back through cameras they had found who was plugged in at the time of the attack, and who had left right after they had been shut out of the systems. Now they just had to find them, but Camellia didn't have the time to lead a manhunt nor did she know how she would go about it. So she made a call, specifically a call to [member="Caid Centurion"]. "I'm sorry to bother you sir. However we appear to have a bit of a problem. An attempted hacking attack was made on Rendili Stardrive's system earlier today. They were after files on the Noblesse design. We were able to shut them out of the system, but we don't know what they may or may not have managed to get before. It could be nothing, or they could have as much as the whole design, or anything in between. Our planetary security has coordinated to uncover the suspect's identity but he has gone to ground and while we are still working on the project the company can't lead the manhunt ourselves. We are thusly requesting the Republic's aid in putting together a small taskforce to find the criminal Ja'xa Melard. A Devaronion male who appears to be a freelance agent. He may be working for a rival company or another government such as the Sith, or even the black market. We aren't sure. What we do know is that neither we or the Republic want this design stolen or in the wrong hands. We've put together what history we know of this individual. He has several pirate and mercenary acquaintances and appears to like frequently some of the worlds near Nar Shadda and Corellia. If there is anything more we can offer to fixing this information leak let us know."

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid had returned to Anaxes following his...enlightening meeting with Rendili Stardrive and various other guests. He was due to deliver his report on the progress and suitability of the Noblesse Program to a special military commission at the end of the day prior to the Senate Security Council the following evening. If things went well there, he would, no doubt, be dragged before the entire Senate. The beauracratic mess of it all gave him a headache just thinking about it, but there was no way around appealing to the politicians that controlled the flow of money.

As soon as he'd finished reviewing a number of production reports for the various vessels destined to be assigned to the First Assault Group upon its official inception, he was informed by his Flag Aide that he'd received a new message from Captain Swift. Motioning for the young man to patch the message through, Caid activated his holocom and waited until the recording activated. When the recording was complete, Caid exhaled heavily and shook his head. "Mother..."

Snatching his communicator off his desk, he connected directly to the Flag Aide seated at his desk just outside of Caid's office. "Lieutenant. Who has an operational unit readily available?"

The Lieutenant quickly checked through a host of classified information that he had access to by necessity of his job. "Captain [member="Gir Quee"] seems to be the closest that is available for tasking. Shall I get his Squadron Commander on theline?"

"No time. Admiral [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] will just have to be copied on the message I'm dispatching."

"Connection is patched in, Admiral."

Staring into the holocom recorder, Caid delivered his orders swiftly. "Captain Quee. Establish contact with Rendili Stardrive immediately. There may be a potential problem with some information relating to the Noblesse Program. Do what you can. Let me know what additional assets you may require in a timely matter. Centurion out." Stopping the recording, Caid distributed it to both Captain Quee and Admiral Stahlman.

Once that was complete, Caid picked up the communicator and dialed an encrypted line to Republic Intelligence. His Flag Aide did not have access to that number. "Yeah. Admiral Centurion. I'm preparing to forward you some information from Rendili Stardrive regarding potential ttheft of classified information. I've already detailed a small element to assist Rendili Security in their efforts."

"Has the Jedi Order been notified?"

Caid's dispassionate response was immediate. "No. Why?"

"Their assistance may be beneficial. They have methods that could qutie certainly speed the recovery effort."

Caid rolled his eyes. "I'll take care of it." Disconnecting the transmission, Caid sent a quick response to [member="Camellia Swift"]. "Captain...I have detailed Captain Quee to spearhead the Republic assistance here. Additionally, I will ask the Jedi Order for assistance in the matter. Regardless, Captain Quee will remain your point of contact. Good luck."

Exhaling, Caid tapped a button on his communicator. He never really had cause to contact the Jedi Order, so he did not recall the contact information off-hand. After a few brief moments of searching, he located what he was looking for. After patching in the information, he began the recording. "This is Grand Admiral Caid Centurion. I'm sending you a message received from Rendili Stardrive regarding a recent theft of sensitive information. I have already detailed a small element to assist Rendili Security, but the suggestion was made to request assistance from your organization as well. Whatever assistance you derive, please contact...Captain Gir Quee of the Republic Navy directly."

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Marcello had just finished a meeting with a Padawan about their progress when his datapad began beeping softly. Withdrawing the device from his pocket, the Jedi Master entered the security code and thumbed through...well...a number of messages he'd yet to read. There was one, however, that caught his attention mostly because of the sender. Republic Military Command.

Opening the message, Marcello quickly realized it was, in fact, just a re-routed notification from the central server that all Masters of the Order were tied into. Which meant he would have to get to a holocom to actually access the information. Coming to his feet, Marcello adjusted his brown leather flight jacket as he proceeded through the carpeted corridors of the Ossus Jedi Temple.

Arriving in the communications room, Marcello activated the holocom, activated his access code, and then inputed the message code. The display crackled slightly before the enlarged, blue-hued visage of a man in a military uniform appeared. The individual looked...super thrilled to be sending the message. Once the message had played in its entirety, Marcello arched a curious eyebrow and deactivated the display.

After deleting the notification from the cue on his datapad, the Jedi Master turned and dispatched a message out to his apprentices [member="Rano"] and [member="Adrian Yusanis"] directing them to meet him in the hangar bay. That complete, Marcello withdrew his communicator and utilized the contact information provided for Captain [member="Gir Quee"]. "Captain. I am Jedi Master Marcello Matteo. We received a request for assistance from...an Admiral Centurion? We are happy to help. Curious as to where you would like us to meet you - we will be traveling from Ossus."

 

[Rano]

[member="Marcello Matteo"]

Rano was in the middle of reading when he got the message.. quickly he finished off reading the page he was half way threw with before shutting off the computer and headed off to where he was mmeantto go

 

[Gir Quee]

[member="Marcello Matteo"] [member="Rano"]

Altier-class Frigate Athena, somewhere in the Slice

Gir was still watching the contents of the message from Admiral Centurion when his communication's officer, Toka, cleared his gravelly throat to get the man's attention.

"Incoming message," said the Mon Calamari, "this one is from a Jedi."

"One second," replied Gir, watching the last of the admiral's message, "all right, patch it through."

A disembodied voice began speaking into the Gir's headset.

"Captain. I am Jedi Master Marcello Matteo. We received a request for assistance from...an Admiral Centurion? We are happy to help. Curious as to where you would like us to meet you - we will be traveling from Ossus."

Gir quickly flipped through several screens on his command chair, finally selecting the navigation screen, which displayed his small flotilla of vessels as being just galactic south of the Perlemian and several parsecs away from the Republic world of Handooine. He briefly pondered stopping there before dismissing it on the grounds of efficiency. It would make the most sense to meet in a location between Ossus and the flotilla's position. He quickly scanned the map for such a suitable location, finally settling on Nespis VIII. It was slightly closer to Ossus than his position, but he decided it would probably be better given the shorter duration of many smaller vessels that Gir guessed the Jedi would be using to travel. Besides, the world had sizeable amount of space traffic, and the assorted industries and establishments catering to spacers, both reputable and irreputable, that they might be able to pick up on a lead, if they talked to the right people. He cleared his throat and toggled his comlink.

"Thank you for your offer of assistance, Jedi Master," said Gir, "I will meet you at Nespis VIII, though you may arrive several hours earlier than my vessels. One of the suspects has had several tickets in this system in the past. We might be able to pick up on someone who knows or knew him here."

 

[Marcello Matteo]

((OOC: My bad guys. I get like...25% of notifications it would seem hah.))

Marcello provided [member="Gir Quee"] with a swift response as he continued on his way to the hangar bay at the Ossus Temple. "Very well Captain. We shall meet you on Nespis VIII." Stowing the communicator once more, the Jedi Master pulled out his datapad this time and sent a brief bit of information down to the various members of the Service Corps that supervised the flightline. In general, he just needed their assistance in filing an expedite flight plan.

It was often the case that such plans were not submitted for official business simply on the basis of operational security, but he preferred to have a record of his departure in this case since it involved coordination and operation with the military. Turning down the corridor, Marcello also pushed out the information to a number of others that he was, basically, forcing to participate. The message was simple.

If you are not otherwise occupied, please meet me on Nespis VIII. The Republic Military has requested our assistance, and I would much prefer not to disappoint our brothers and sisters that we rely upon so heavily in this war against the Sith.

Marcello entered the hangar just as he hit send on the message to [member="Corvus Raaf"], [member="Avalore Eden"], [member="Meeristali Peradun"], [member="Kian Karr"], and [member="Kana Truden"]. Putting away the device, the large Naboo native leveled his glacier-blue gaze upon one of his apprentices. "[member="Rano"], good to see you. We're going to Nespis VIII to aid the military in hunting down a spy that may have stolen some sensitive information. Do you have what you need?" Trick question. Rano knew that Marcello had told him to always be prepared.

((OOC: You obviously don't have to participate, but it would go a long way towards helping the Republic produce some new designs they desperately need. Tell your friends. Kthx.))

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Not otherwise occupied. What did that even mean? Did all of the other Jedi have leisure time and had nobody told her? Not that she would have accepted it if she was offered it. But still.

She checked the names that had received the message. [member="Kana Truden"] was around, she'd seen her earlier. She'd been asking advice on what colour tunic went best with her lightsaber blade. I mean? Asking Corvus for fashion tips?

And [member="Kian Karr"]? She hadn't seen him but if he was here, he'd head for the ship she was currently en-route for. She reached the hangar before Kana, she could sense that, so she prepped one of the ground crew of her flight plans and immediately set to performing the pre-flight checks. Having completed those outside the ship, she headed for the cockpit and before resuming her routine, punched a quick message to Master [member="Marcello Matteo"], confirming she was heading to Nespis VIII.

"Raven," she said, patting the console in front of her, "We're going on a little trip."

[member="Camellia Swift"] | [member="Rano"] | [member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Rano]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Marcello Matteo"]


Rano brushed some of his shaggy hair out of his eyes." i always have everything, as you told me to " Rano said with a small nod of his head as he then glanced around, while folding his hands behind his back.

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian Karr received the message just as he was about to remove his mask in his quarters and settle down for a rest in between lessons with several padawans. Looking at the message on his datapad, Kian quickly reattached his mask and threw on his Shadow robes. He had been training at the temple too long and needed to dust off the rust when it came to investigative work. And besides, he couldn't possible miss an opportunity to work with a Jedi he hadn't before. Master [member="Marcello Matteo"] was known to Kian, but they had never been on assignment together.....and then there was the fact that [member="Kana Truden"] and [member="Corvus Raaf"] had been invited....it would look bad if they went and he didn't!

Rushing toward the space port, Kian hoped he was in time to catch a ride on the Raven. As he entered he saw that the ship was prepping for take-off.

Permission to come aboard. Kian communicated to Corvus telepathically as he rushed up the boarding ramp. He assumed she would not object. Entering the cockpit, Kian saw that he had beaten Kana to the Raven and he jumped into the co-pilots seat and sat back.

"Where's Kana?" He asked tilting his head to the side and smiling broadly beneath the mask.

[member="Rano"] - [member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus felt the message from Kian lightly touch her mind. 'Of course.' she responded. Once he made his way to the cockpit she respnded "Haven't you seen her?"

Kana was often late, but rarely this late. She continued the pre-flight checks and then waited. She could only wait so long before leaving.

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana rose up from her bed in a hazy yet really comfortable yawn. Raven had this incredibly comfortable resting area and she couldn’t help waking up as the start up process began. She rubbed her eyes and got up from her spot of slumber. Her hair was a mess and the white tunic was wrinkled. She could have fixed both of them but she didn’t.

Wielding her most content smile she made her way towards the cockpit. Whoever was in there would obviously be surprised to see her, right? Her smile quickly faded as she caught sight of both Kian and Corvus in the pilot’s seat and she began running her hands through her hair in an effort to make it at least decent-looking. She then began to run her hand along her stomach and back in an effort to smoothen out the occasional wrinkle. She would have gone for the arms, but keeping it sleeveless had it’s benefits.

“Knight Raaf. Knight Karr.” She bowed at the two of them as the ship started taking off. Since Corvus was in the pilot’s seat it was just fair to assume she would crash it the second Kana spoke up and she grabbed a hold of one of the walls. “Good to see you two going on a mission of some sort.”

She would have mentioned her rigorous barrier training but they would have to ask for that.

[ [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Marcello Matteo"] | [member="Rano"] | [member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Camellia Swift"] ]​

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Marcello actually allowed a thin smile to briefly touch his lips at [member="Rano"]'s retort. With a succint nod, the Jedi Master turned and guided the boy towards a waiting transport. R9 had already taken Marcello's N-1T to the Praxeum waiting in orbit - where it would remain. However, Marcello himself would not be hijacking the Jedi training ship simply because it was scheduled for a diplomatic/training venture elsewhere at present.

Once both Jedi were aboard the shuttle, Marcello began received responses from other Jedi. One name in particular was familiar to him, and he smirked slightly at the ever-eager Knight Raaf's reply. Making his way up to the cockpit, Marcello gave the flight crew their destination and they were quickly off.

-----
Later

The shuttle reverted to realspace just on the edge of the gravitational influence of Nespis VIII. Already in the cockpit, Marcello used the onboard communicator to reach out to Captain [member="Gir Quee"]. "Captain, this Master Matteo. We have arrived at the destination. Please dispatch your wishes for rendezvous upon arrival."

Now...they waited.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Rano]

[member="Marcello Matteo"] [member="Kana Truden"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]


Rano remained silent and would stay quiet until spoken to , though he was eager to meet the other Jedi. the Padawan was now watching out a window gazing in awe at all the stars.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was aware of Kana entering the cockpit, but not of coming on board. And she looked like - well she looked like she'd sleeping rough. On a ship or something...

"Have you? Did you? I mean, here?" Corvus stood, and looked her friend directly in the eyes. This was primarily to resist the urge to look over Kana's shoulder in case she saw anyone else. "All the pre-flight checks are done. Why don't you take us to...our destination. I presume you've responded to the request, or you wouldn't be here, would you? I'll just make myself comfy back here. Stim-caf anyone? Anyone need any ironing doing?"

[member="Rano"] | [member="Marcello Matteo"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Camellia Swift"]

 

[Gir Quee]

Altier-class Frigate Athena, somewhere near Nespis VIII

"You haven't heard of him?" questioned Captain Quee, leaning forward in his command chair.

A blue holo of a Republic officer somewhere on one of Nespis VIII's space stations shook his head, "It's not that. We've all heard of Davish Miskin, we just don't have much recent information on him. I'm transmitting you a file of the most recent holo that we have of the man.

Gir glanced at his secondary holo-projector, which displayed the image of the alleged slicer; a slim man with tan skin and speckled hazel eyes wearing some sort of jumpsuit.



Gir turned his attention back to Lieutenant Zykken, "How recent is it?"

"Two years old."

"A lot can happen in two years," mused Gir, "but I suppose it's something. Is there anything not really in the holo-files that you can tell me?"

"Well," stated the other man, "I was just a cadet when he was last around here, but according to police officer's who caught him the first time, he has a habit of rubbing his right temple; apparently he got hit there by a fist or club there once, and ever since then, it occasionally throbs. Officer Markulos also described Miskin as being "pretty quiet" and "lonely" even in the clubs. That seems to go along with our psychological profile of his introverted nature, but he seems to like to hide in crowds for some reason."

"Looking for prey maybe?"

Zykken shrugged, "Couldn't tell you. If I were you, I'd start hitting up the clubs around his old stomping grounds on the Neera Station."

"Thanks for your time, Lieutenant."

Zykken nodded before the transmission cut out. The light that made up his holo image dissipated to reveal the rest of the bridge crew preparing for the Athena's reversion. Only a few seconds passed before the flashing lines of hyperspace cut to reveal the Nespis VIII system. While the original space city was now gone, destroyed by a certain reborn Emperor some eons ago, a variety of space stations now orbitted around the swirling blue and purple gas giant of Nespis VIII. He eyed several of the more diplidated stations, wondering just have fringe elements inhabitanted them given the area's historical domain as the outskirts of Hutt Space. Probably a great place to sell the data too. Might have to hit up the local infochants too...Toka, his Mon Calamari communication's officer, cleared his gravelly throat.

"Incoming call from the Jedi master, sir."

"You just patch it through without any screening from here on out," said Gir.

"Yes sir."

"Captain, this Master Matteo. We have arrived at the destination. Please dispatch your wishes for rendezvous upon arrival."

"Master Matteo," replied Gir, "upon talking to several local officials, our man is most likely located on Neera Station. I am transmitting all of the information that I've acquired on him as well as several of my personal notes. Unfortunately our holo of him is a little dated, and parts of his appearance may have changed. My ship is currently en route to Neera Station. I wouldn't even think of having the Athena dock there, I think that attract far too much attention to our investigation, but I can either meet you on the Station, or if you'd prefer, you are all welcome to dock with the Athena."

[member="Rano"] | [member="Marcello Matteo"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Camellia Swift"]

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Marcello dispatched a swift response to [member="Gir Quee"]. "We'll meet you on the station. I received word just prior to departure that another group of Jedi will be joining us. I'll pass along the meeting location." Turning his attention back to the pilots, Marcello instructed them to dock at Neera Station. Prior to leaving the cockpit, he dispatched the updated meeting location to [member="Corvus Raaf"].

Finding [member="Rano"] seated quietly in the crew compartment, Marcello stood in the doorway and spoke to the boy. "We'll be docking shortly. Go change into regular civilian clothing - we need to do our best to blend." Turning, Marcello was preparing to depart when he recalled something. Turning back around, he smiled thinly. "Oh and...you'll need this." Reaching beneath the folds of his brown flight jacket, Marcello produced a fully-functional lightsaber that contained a green blade. Rano had been undergoing vigorous lightsaber training at the Temple on Ossus. Time for practical application. After tossing the weapon to the boy, Marcello made one final comment. "Don't kill yourself."

-----
Twenty Minutes Later

Marcello stepped off the transport shuttle carrying nothing other than his lightsaber concealed beneath his jacket. After speaking briefly with Port Authority, Marcello guided his apprentice away from the docked spacecraft and towards the interior of the station. Electing to linger in the general reception area, he waited to catch sight of the Captain. He presumed the man would be in some...sort of uniform. However even if he wasn't, Marcello was fairly certain the military officer would be easy enough to spot.

[member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Rano]

[member="Marcello Matteo"]

Rano walked quietly along side him dressed in a black top with a grayish colored jacket and black boots and pants. The lightsaber he had been given was under his jacket. He also had a pair of fingerless gloves on.

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana blinked and gave the young woman a shrug. She looked like a natural beauty and stimcaf was bad for you, besides it’s not like a hyperspace jump has ever been instant. Usually they tended to drag for at least a few hours unless they had some sort of upgrade when Kana was asleep.

“No, I’m good, Knight Raaf.” Kana continued to pat her tunic as she turned to Kian. “So I clearly missed out on something here. Where are you two going?”

((OOC: Sorry for the delay! I did not intend for that to happen! Following posts will be longer.))

[ [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Kian Karr"] ]​

 

[Gir Quee]

Neera Station

Gir stepped off the Remember Hast's ramp and onto the wheel-shaped station, only for his nose to be immediately assaulted by the scent of stale deathstick smoke and what he hoped was some sort of cheap alcohol. Instinctively Gir fastened the belt of his trenchcoat tighter, hoping that it's dark folds would conceal the Republic duty uniform underneath. While he had originally worn it to conceal the uniform in hopes of not attracting Davish Mishkin's attention, he found himself thinking it was for more defensive purposes now. He was beginning to think that the denizens of Neera station, while nominally Republic citizens, would probably not take too kindly someone of official government capacity. Even the blaster pistol holstered to his belt didn't make him feel much more comfortable.

But we do what we must, for the Republic.

After carefully eying his surroundings, Gir strode forward a few steps before turning around to face his shuttle. The man from Hast tapped a few buttons on his comlink, causing the shuttle's ramp to rise up and become flush with the fuselage, and setting the ship's anti-theft devices on even as another man got a little to close to Gir's ship for the officer's liking. The rough and tumble of the Rim. This is going to be one of those places where I'm going to have watch my wallet, isn't it? Gir shook the thought from his head and headed deeper into the depths of the station.


[member="Rano"] | [member="Marcello Matteo"] | [member="Kana Truden] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled at Kana and shot Kian a glance. "Nespis VIII. It's an urgent mission. Master Matteo? Did you get the message? No worries, the coordinates are already in the navcomp. I hand Raven over to your capable hands. But I think we're needed as soon as possible."

"What do we know about the planet? I have to admit, it's not one I'm familiar with."

[member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"]