Private Console Cowgirl

[Hacks]

Count Zero
Refugee Sector, Nar Shaddaa


Acid rain fell in sheets.

Hacks rushed through the entrance of Count Zero, exposed skin prickled with irritation. She shrugged off her leather techjacket and studded pullover, tossing them in a corner by the door with the carelessness only a regular of this bar could show. She would just scoop them up on her way out, she was confidant no one would steal them. She turned her plastic eyes out the entrance and onto the rain splashed streets. Nar Shaddaa's population were quick to pull their coats close and run for cover on nights like these.

Toxic waste from distant industrial sectors regularly contaminated the climate. Weather conditions were purified and maintained by WeatherControl but when that failed six months ago the Hutt Council gave no thought to repairing the networks infrastructure. The Refugee Sector suffered, a ballooning population of homeless combined with wide, open streets that offered little in ways of cover meant the residents were forced to suffer from frequent acidic burns.

Hacks walked out onto the clubs main floor, once standing five foot six the woman now towered over most at seven foot, a lifetime of painful and extreme cybernetic surgeries had altered every part of her body. She was a ghost of her former self. She could no longer feel the sensation of flesh on flesh, cold metal fingers offered no human connection. Unnatural eyes that never quite blinked, and pupils that never dilated, scanned the room.

The dance floor thundered with the latest synthwave out of Denon, bodies writhed to the electronic beats. A mosaic of droids and aliens brushed against one another, caught in the ecstasy of the night. Hacks shouldered her way through the throng, carving a beeline path towards the bar. As she saddled up by the counter she flagged down the bartender, asked for the cheapest beer on tap and slapped a handful of creds down.

In moments she was fleeing from the bar, beer in tow, as she moved for the nearest free booth. She fell into a cushioned lounge, kicked boots covered in grime up onto the centre table and slowly brought the glass in hand to her lips. She closed her eyes, soaking in the strangely satisfying sensation. The beer tasted awful, but she wouldn't change it for the world. A second later her eyes flickered back open.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Refugee Sector, Nar Shaddaa
Objective: Find Hacks
Tag: Hacks
Attire And Gear: Link

It had been a while since the last time he had seen the cyborg called Hacks, but now more than ever he needed the woman to help him unlock the desperate truth he had been yearning for. For over a year he had been trying to gain access to the galaxy wide orphanage mainframe, not just for himself but for the orphans that could use his help in the future. The database was a pain to get into, and he didn't have the knowledge to gain access. Although, there was one person who did.

Cartri had been tracking the cyborg ever since she left Denon. Not that it was incredibly important, but he wanted to make sure where she was when it came to situations like this. Every place she went to, accessed, and used always left a footprint. In ways, the teen was always a step away, watching and keeping in the shadows for when he needed her. The ginger and Hacks still had some kind of respect for each other, but the problem was to what extent. Even so, Cartri was still willing to take that risk. Now with the new gear he carried, he was pretty much ready for any situation thrown at him.

Walking along the busy streets of Nar Shaddaa, the planet somehow made Denon look less bad than it was. Why Hacks chose this dump out of everything the galaxy had to offer was a complete mystery to him, and he wasn't going to stay longer than he needed. Only a few hours ago he received a tip off that Hacks hung out in the refugee sector in a run down club like the one on Denon. He wasn't surprised, but with such a downgrade he'd think she'd have more pride to go drinking on another planet.

Going through the open front doors of the club, he walked straight into the packed club. The dancefloor was heaving with activity, all of which contained drunk aliens that were trying to drink the stress away. Peering across the floor he wasn't expecting it to be so hard to find a 7ft woman, if she was standing up that is. In the corner of his eye, he saw a lonely figure sitting alone in one of the booths. It was clear who the individual was and with a deep sigh, he began pushing and walking himself through the crowds.

Many of the people were quite taller than he was, so getting bumped around was going to be expected no doubt. Some of the people gave him funny looks just from seeing how young his face was. Cartri wasn't bothered by that at all, he was only here for one person after all. Finally, he managed to push past the last person and stand behind Hacks with an emotionless face.

"Hacks... long time no see" he muttered out, his arms slowly folding in a more serious nature "I had a feeling you wouldn't miss the party life, even when you're based on Denon's seemingly worse twin brother..."

 

[Hacks]

When her eyes flickered back open she heard him. Cartri. "Hacks... long time no see," he had muttered from behind. What the hell is he doing on the Vertical? she wondered. "I had a feeling you wouldn't miss the party life, even when you're based on Denon's seemingly worse twin brother..."

She slid across the booths leather couch, then climbed up onto the table, leaving dirty track marks from her boots, and bounced back off the table onto the other side, sitting down onto the opposite couch, now facing Cartri who had been standing behind her. She thumbed at a switch beneath the table and an explosion of bright, yellow light burst out from the centre console on the table.

A spike of energy shot up then came down around them, forming a yellow energy dome encircling the booth. It was a concealment shield, low-energy. Individuals could simply pass through the energy shield harmlessly but listening in to conversations within the shield became utterly fruitless. Hacks felt adrenaline pump through her artificial veins.

The thunderous music suddenly died when the shield came down. It was quiet. She could hear her heart thump in her chest. "You must have a good fake ID, you keep getting into bars you aren't old enough to be in," Hacks said, knowing full well this moon was the type of place to never check ID's. Perhaps on Coruscant he would have worse luck.

Hacks didn't carry but she felt the itch to run her hands over her jacket just encase she had forgotten a sidearm left there, but knew how stupid that thought was. "Let's make this quick. What the fuck do you want, Cartri," she said. Plastic eyes searched beyond the shield, scanning for familiar faces. Seeking out any other runners from Darkwire that may be with him.

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Refugee Sector, Nar Shaddaa
Objective: Find Hacks
Tag: Hacks
Attire And Gear: Link

Upon letting himself known the robot calmly moved across the table and sat opposite him. She flicked a switch close by and made a bubble cover them, hiding their private conversation away from the rest. The once loud music dissipated into a blur, leaving only Hacks and Cartri to voice what they wanted freely.

"What can I say, I'm a persuasive kid" he lied, knowing full well no one was at the door to ID him the last few times. Many of the clubs didn't have that to begin with, all they cared about was credits, no matter how old they were. Cartri moved further into the booth and sat opposite hacks, calmly lifting his legs and placing them on the dirty table hacks had just climbed over. As always the woman was straightforward, something which always amused Cartri every time they met.

"What do I want? I want your fething help" he said back to her equally as direct. Recently, he had visited the orphanage that had once housed him. The kids there desperately needed his help, especially with temporary rehoming. Not only that, but Cartri finally had the opportunity to know more about what happened on the day he was dropped off. In many ways than one, this was going to be treated with the utmost importance "You'll be paid too, very decently by that fact. It's just the matter if you can do it or not" Cartri knew she had more than enough experience to get it done, it was just the matter of if she still trusted him.

"I need you to hack the galaxy wide orphanage database. It holds some key information in helping some kids I'm helping, as well as for me..." he frowned briefly, before snapping back into a straight face "I don't care how you'd do it, once I'm in you can feth off for all I care. You'll have your credits, I'll have the information I need"

 

[Hacks]

"What do I want? I want your fething help," Cartri spat back, and Hacks smiled. She liked Cartri, even if she gave him shit. The redhead continued, "You'll be paid too, very decently by that fact. It's just the matter if you can do it or not." She rolled her eyes at him, and gargled a noise of dissatisfaction in her throat. She pushed his buttons, he pushed hers. Nice kid.

"I need you to hack the galaxy wide orphanage database. It holds some key information in helping some kids I'm helping, as well as for me... I don't care how you'd do it, once I'm in you can feth off for all I care. You'll have your credits, I'll have the information I need." Hacks' plastic eyes studied Cartri for a moment, never blinking. It was a recent ocular implant since they last saw one another.

"So you want me to slice into a notoriously under-funded system, that probably employs minimum wage workers to defend their net? Sounds easy to me," she remarked, paused for a moment and then asked the real question, "But how many credits are we talking?" Her eyes shifted and stared past him, her attention grew cold.

Her cognitive implant responded to firing neurons, thought manifested to digital instruction. Inverted lines of code streamed across Hacks' glasses. Her mind plucked a datasheet with her remote access to the net. Public information on the galactic orphanage system. Owners, shareholders, investors. Plastic eyes turned to the holoprojector on the table, the file uploaded onto the projector and ballooned to life over the table.

Since their last meeting it had not just been her ocular implants that had been upgraded. She was nearing the end of her transformation from human to machine, she was now a walking supercomputer, capable of slicing with thought alone, her four hands and datagoggles had become mere accessories to further facilitate her craft.

"Is this the one?" Hacks asked, eyes snapping back to reality, then turning to glance at the blue hologram on the table. A spreadsheet of information written in aurebesh.

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Refugee Sector, Nar Shaddaa
Objective: Find Hacks
Tag: Hacks
Attire And Gear: Link

"So you want me to slice into a notoriously under-funded system, that probably employs minimum wage workers to defend their net? Sounds easy to me,"

"There's more to that system than minimum wage workers Hacks..." Cartri said back dryly with a look that showed he wasn't really impressed by that comment, especially when he had tried so many times himself to get through "Name your price" he remarked "But I expect you to be reasonable" if she was going to ask for an obnoxious amount he wasn't going to hang around much longer, even if it meant taking longer to find someone with a similar skillset as the cyborg.

Leaning back in his seat, he watched as lines of code streamed through her glass at a speed that was beyond his imagination. The original Hacks had long been surpassed by the hacks he knew now, a robot who could get to anything and everything. Cartri leaned forwards in amazement when she had placed the spreadsheet he needed before his very eyes. That was everything he needed...

"That's it," he said to her with a careful look before leaning back in his chair. It couldn't be that easy, surely there was going to be more to this than he throught.

"I sense there's more to this than simply credits. Am I correct?"

 

[Hacks]

"That's it," Cartri said, leaning back into his chair, "I sense there's more to this than simply credits. Am I correct?" The holoprojector cut the feed, the spreadsheets vanished with a bright blue wink. Hacks crossed her four arms and fell back into the booth, offering a wave of a mechanical hand before returning it to its crossed state, "I always like creds - but what do you want with these kids?"

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Refugee Sector, Nar Shaddaa
Objective: Find Hacks
Tag: Hacks
Attire And Gear: Link

"I always like creds - but what do you want with these kids?"

"I want to help them hacks, with that information it will be so much easier to rehome them, find long lost family, and provide help to where it's needed most." The teen said honestly back to the robot without a single hint of mistrust in his tone "Right now, my former orphanage is getting closed down due to its funding being cut. If any of the kids are still left in there after that deadline, they'll be thrown onto the streets with nowhere else to go" he explained, knowing the information Hacks holds could make the process of rehoming a whole lot easier.

"If you think there's a catch to all this and I'm going to use those kids for my own benefit, then you're mistaken. With the plans I have, I'll be giving those down on luck kids something to live for, something which I didn't have from an early age" If Hacks still had a heart she'd accept the offer no matter how much he gave her, but that was a fact he doubted would ever happen from a person who was so focused on herself more than anything else.

"Once it's all said and done I will leave you as if we barely knew each other. Nowadays, I know you like your space so I will keep to that promise" the teen said, his body leaning forward from his seat "But if you dare to take advantage of me or those kids at any time, all you'll be seeing is my face no matter where you hide"

 

[Hacks]

As Cartri spilled his good intentions, his bleeding heart held out to Hacks, she waved a bartender for another drink, her mind retreating from the teens words. A bottle of beer soon found itself on the table in front of her, mechanical hands gripping the glass and bringing it to her lips for a quick swig. "Hell of a cause," she muttered, her disinterest evident on her tongue.

"Once it's all said and done I will leave you as if we barely knew each other. Nowadays, I know you like your space so I will keep to that promise," the teen said, his body leaning forward from his seat "But if you dare to take advantage of me or those kids at any time, all you'll be seeing is my face no matter where you hide."

She clicked her tongue along the roof of her mouth, brows raised, "So you know I like my space, but you came to annoy me anyway." She didn't respond to his threat, it's the only reason she had entertained him yet. She liked his gall. It reminded her when she was his age, maybe in fourteen or fifteen years time he could be just as miserable a person as she was.

There was a third option in this deal Cartri did not see but her dead plastic eyes hungered for, feign her help, take his creds, and report him to the Corporate body running the orphanage network to claim a double payday, hell, she could even point them in the right direction for a bit extra.

Her mind raced, connecting to a datashard kept spare in her AJ implant. It copied the spreadsheets she had obtained, but then spiked it with malware that would corrupt the shard once he was outside of proximity. She couldn't just let him get away with that info if she wanted to make bank.

"Pay me now, and you can have the data now," she said flatly to Cartri, brokering no arguments in her offer, "Fifteen thousand." As she spoke her lower right arm reached up to her AJ unit, a metal index finger gently pressing against a datashard that popped out in response, then she pinched the shard and tossed it onto the table.

What she had no mentioned was the data was spiked. He could check the info himself right in front of her, it would look clean without investigation - but once outside of view, when that shard could no longer remotely connect to her implant, the malware would begin to borrow, eating away every shred of information on that shard until it was an empty husk.

She stood up from the booths couch, "Give me my money and leave me alone, just like you offered." The yellow tranquillity screen that offered them discretion vanished with a quick thumb from her lower left hand on the control module. Press him for time, make him think this offer wouldn't last, she thought. She looked ready to leave, "Now or never, kid."

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Refugee Sector, Nar Shaddaa
Objective: Find Hacks
Tag: Hacks
Attire And Gear: Link

"So you know I like my space, but you came to annoy me anyway."

"Now what wouldn't be the fun in that?" he said with a brief grin for the first time since the meeting. Cartri did respect Hacks truly, the only thing that got between them was her attitude and way of life. If she had seen that, there was a possibility she could have been in Darkwire right now. Even so, it was too late for her to come back now.

For a brief moment of silence, he watched the clogs turn inside of her mind as if she was thinking about something. A strange feeling deep down was trying to convince him that she was plotting against him someway, but he doubted even the great hacks would do that against such a noble cause. Finally, she finally threw her demands on the table and asked him for 15,000 credits right now. His blue eyes watched the shard roll across the table and come to a stop in the middle. The information he needed was only a reach away...

"That's all you want? no catch?" he said calmly, the push to get him to buy it right now not bothering him by the slightest "It seems a bit strange that you only want a lump sum of credits, a hacker of your caliber probably would be thinking of something else to bargain..." he muttered as he stared at her in deep thought.

With a loud sigh, he removed a chip from his pocket and transferred the money onto the chip. Without hesitation he lightly threw it over to her and stared a hole into her soul "There's no going back now" he said with venom in his voice before getting to his feet to stand over her "If I find out you've given me shit, you'll most certainly be seeing my face again. And trust me, it will be far different from what you saw today"