Information is Ammunition (Onderon)

[Arrbi Betna]

Iziz City
Onderon
14:00 Standard Time
Corner Cafe



It was a nice enough place, he figured, but ultimately a bit too much for his tastes.

"Too fancy and... aloof, I guess," Betna said to his only companion before taking a sip from his mug. It was some sort of sweet caf typical of the area. It tasted pretty nice, but it was a bit too sweet for his liking and, if he was honest, his wife's behot was better.

"Trick is to blend in and look like you belong," he continued quietly, setting the mug down on the table. He wore typical spacer's garb - leather breeches and boots with a well used jacket covering the plain shirt underneath - and sat comfortably in one of the wooden chairs of the outdoor cafe. On the table before him was a small, portable computer and a small plate of local pastries. "If you look like everyone else, then there's no reason for anyone to single you out for any real reason."

He hit a few keys on the little computer and smothered a mild yawn. On the screen the holonet cranked up and data flowed on one of the small windows. To anyone watching, it looked like a pair of men chit chatting over caf while one tinkered with a computer; a typical business meeting in progress. After a moment more and another refill of caf from the Togruta waitress, the data stream flashed green once.

"Alright, we're in," he said simply. He wasn't a master slicer, but he was decent enough at the job to get most tasks done given time and concentration. "Time to see what we can dig up."

Sure, the Republic had pulled out of Onderon after the fall of Contruum, but just because the Republic was no longer here didn't mean that there weren't data remnants on their supply lines. Wiping hard drives entirely was nearly impossible without outright destroying the physical servers themselves. Even deleting data never entirely wiped out everything. All that did was remove the ability to normally access it in most cases and then convert the area over to reusable space. He couldn't alter files he found, but he could read them, and that was all he needed.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"I don't think you understand, pal," said the pilot. "Dxun is bad news." He pointed at parallel score-marks on the shuttle's fender, as if the gesture was eloquent -- as if Aamaw couldn't see the damage plainly.

"Thank you," said Aamaw. "I appreciate your forthrightness, pal." The appellation felt strange on his tongues. The pilot blinked. The Ithorian gestured down at his suit of chunky armor. "As you can see, however, I am most well-prepared for the risks of the Demon Moon."

The pilot sucked his teeth. "That's what you think. Ever had a dragonbug rip your ship in half?"

"A drexl? I should be most interested to see-"

"No. No, drexl dragonbugs ain't something anyone should be interested in seein'." The pilot threw up his hands. "Force knows I could use the money, but I ain't gonna be responsible for you getting splatted. Sorry, pal, answer's no an' that's the final word."

***​

​

Aamaw clumped through Iziz City in full armour, looking for a drink. In due course he settled down on a squeaking, protesting chair at a tapcafe. A Togruta was serving patrons; two men were having an impromptu meeting over a computer; a mild and mediocre place. Nothing compared to Dxun and the benefits it could bring his people.

"One caf, please," the cleric burbled.

 

[Vilaz Munin]

It was...weird and unusual for the Mandalorian to be in foreign territory without his personal armor. Wherever he went outside of Mandalore and her colonies he always wore his beskar'gam in public to show people who he was and to give them a fair warning of not confronting him, or else they would be condemned to a brawl that they would regret. Vilaz liked to show his strength and dominance to strangers that weren't affiliated to his culture. Today, however, he would have to leave that persona of his and act like a normal, regular citizen who was dealing with business affairs with Arrbi who, too, had a fake persona.

"This is too weird for me, man," he said to Arrbi quietly while taking a sip from his mug. Like Arrbi he wore a spacer outfit: leather jacket and boots, ripped pants, and a white plain shirt. Tendrils of his hair dangled down I firmly of his eyes causing him to use his hand to place it them behind his ears. He needed a haircut and desperately. The Field Marshal did look like he belonged in this cafe from those who would observe him and Arrbi.

Finally, they were inside the holonet after the waitress refilled both him and vod, and having a munch of a pastry. He too was on a portable computer looking up the stocks of the companies known to the Galaxy. Just to add more flavor to their "meeting".

"I see Armatech raising in the stock market."

[member="Aamaw Murr"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[Plobb Tureen]

As with many starport towns - or in this case, the only city on Onderon - aliens were a common enough sight. Plobb the Armored Ithorian plodded his way past the cafe, helmet off and left behind with his pack at the shuttle bay his flight was at. It would be safe. Thieves on Onderon were exceedingly uncommon, even with the Republic gone. Striding past, he noted another of his kind seated and waiting for whatever he'd ordered.

A pair of spacers were sizing up a computer too, which wasn't particularly interesting. The Ithorian could not stop himself, though, as he came to a stop near the pair. "It is regrettable that companies specializing in the instruments of violence are capable of such growth." A common enough Ithorian opinion, and had the pair been Mandalorians, certainly he would not have uttered it aloud.

But these were clearly not Mandalorians, and therefore he was clearly in no danger when he said 'I don't like weapons. Violence is unnecessary.'

[member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Aamaw Murr"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna nodded cordially at the Ithorian before taking a sip from his mug.

"True, though in such a violent galaxy I can't begrudge someone making a few credits on weapons and armor," he said politely with a shrug. "Sure, most of the galaxy would rather live and let live, but it's the small number of violent folks that make it hard for the rest of us. Me, personally, sure I'll carry a weapon and wear armor when I need to, but for the most part I'd rather no need one."

He spoke the truth, oddly enough. Though a Mandalorian, he would much rather be able to stay at home and enjoy his family and clan life rather than step foot on a battlefield. Sure, as a Warrior race honor and glory was everything, but that didn't mean that many wouldn't prefer a quiet life at home over the lethality of war most days.

"Tyro Koda," he said, using the alias for this particular visit. Though some may recognize him from the small events on Ossus, that was with full armor and helmet. Even the Jedi Grandmaster wouldn't know his face, only his helmet's visor, for he'd never removed it in her presence. He jabbed a thumb at Vilaz across the table. "My cousin, Tyris. We originally came to see what kind of shipping work we could find, but with the Republic gone, the market is a free and open place. Can't hurt to see if we can lay down some roots and a long term business office."

[member="Plobb Tureen"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Aamaw Murr"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Plobb Tureen"] [member="Vilaz Munin"]

What was this? A cousin -- he clearly had the Tureen airgills -- deep in philosophical debate with the two humans? Over the Great Question itself? Aamaw's low spirits vanished. Much as Plobb had interjected apropos of nothing, Aamaw felt himself compelled to comment. "Thank you," he said to the waitress, and sipped his caf as the conversation continued. His interested attention was, he knew, evident.

"Need is a matter of perspective, friend," he interjected, with a solemn nod. "Could you not assure your safety just as well through nonlethal means? Think of the potent technologies at your fingertips: null-burst projectors, paddle beamers, Brix-C, even some variants of sonic armament. Surely there are recourses sufficient that harm becomes truly a last resort." He jostled his powerstaff significantly.

 

[Vilaz Munin]

As the two men were engaged in their activities an Ithorian came by to their table and announced his opinion to the two. It was directed to the comment that Vilaz made about Draco's corporation being successful in the market industry. He didn't know much of the way of life of the Ithorian's, but he did know that they worshipped nature a lot and were extreme pacifists. Such aliens would fit in the Jedi Order because of the common ideals both the Jedi and Ithorias shared.

For the Mandalorian it was impossible to accept the concept of pacifism. After Arrbi ended his dialogue with the Ithorian the Field Marshal opened his mouth and said, "Honestly, I don't trust most people behind me and not knowing when they can jump ya. Ain't nothing wrong with personal defense."

What he said was partially true. He liked his guns and didn't trust anyone who wasn't a Mandalorian. "But it's nice to meet ya, strangers."

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Plobb Tureen"] [member="Aamaw Murr"]

 

[Plobb Tureen]

The Ithorian bowed its head deferentially, a polite a manner of greeting as it could. "I apologize profusely for my rudeness in butting into your conversation. Ithorians, as a people, are profoundly against bias. I do a disservice to myself being so presumptive as to assume you wish for my opinion." He bowed his head again, as polite as ever. "I do not begrudge armor, Mister Koda, merely the tools of death - as my fellow here says, there are plenty of nonlethal means to defend oneself, but your opinions and values are your own, and I would not be so rude as to tell you that you are wrong.

An opinion cannot be wrong, after all."

His fingers continued their gentle shiftings, "My deepest sympathies, Cousin Koda, for your inability to trust. Truly a shame it is to not be able to believe in the goodness in your fellow being. But I will go no further, as I am getting dangerously close to insulting you - which is not my intention.

What manner of shipping do you specialize in? I have a cousin who transports beasts to new worlds as a means of saving them from extinction at home. Truly a noble effort."

[member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Aamaw Murr"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Betna said with a chuckle before nodding at the armored Ithorian's powerstaff. "Nonlethal weapons have their place and I'd be glad if we all used them instead of lethal weapons, but there are creatures that those don't work well on and drugs that can easily place a being's physiology to where a nonlethal weapon is far less effective, if not outright useless. If it's any consolation, I do prefer pursuing other options before lethal weapons come into play if at all possible."

That much was, in fact, true. If given the chance to talk things out or simply part ways before violence, Betna preferred to take those options if possible. Unfortunately, with the nature of his work and being a Mandalorian, he didn't always have that option in most cases. He took another sip of his caf and glanced at his computer screen. So far, the program was sorting through files and sifting through data. Some popped up the telltale green of readable data, others came up red or yellow to denote unreadable and partially damaged data respectively. He let the program keep running for the moment. He'd have another one sift through the gathered data to see if anything useful had been found.

"You're fine, friend," he said, glad he'd managed not to call the Ithorian vod, which would probably instantly tip off the astute that he had either spent a lot of time with Mandos or was, indeed, a Mando. "Opinions are just that: Opinions. If two opinions collide, I'm sure we're all mature enough to agree to disagree on them and move on. As for shipping, we mainly move valuables for people. Things like rare art, items of material worth, and occasionally the odd museum piece. Nothing hugely worthwhile to the more... theft oriented folks, like pirates, but you do see the occasional... determined collector, which can cause problems, especially if they're armed. Hence why we tend to carry weapons of our own when we need to. It's nothing as grand as saving species from extinction, but we do get the opportunity to help preserve someone's culture, modern or ancient, on occasion."

[member="Plobb Tureen"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Aamaw Murr"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Plobb Tureen"] [member="Vilaz Munin"]

"I am not..." Aamaw slopped caf over the gauntlet of his chunky armour. "I am not immune to the logic of last resort. I simply wish that more sentients prioritized solutions that could resolve problems without injury or death. Prioritization, not exclusivity. Gronk." He sipped gingerly, pondering.

"And it is not only nonlethal weapons that make the difference between a killer's mindset and a more enlightened soul. Consider solutions that can be achieved through slicing, or economic manipulation, or reasoned persuasion. One must have opponents if one is to stand for anything, but it is possible to provide stalwart opposition without, what is the phrase, going full Republic. Yes?"

 

[Vilaz Munin]

They were kind to both him and Arrbi, and they shared their knowledge and wisdom to them as well. Never had he been interlocked in a philosophical debate with another individual about anything. Thankfully, Vilaz accepted the views and opinions of others. Though, he would show some angst when someone was making harsh criticism of his culture, but in this state he would do his best on not defending his culture with a passion so his and Arrbi's cover wouldn't be ruined.

Just when he was about to continue the dialogue the Ithorian with the powerstaff made another wise comment with a hint of sarcasm at the end. The Redneck began a mild laughter after the armored Ithorian said a phrase that was popular during these days because of the stupidity of the Republic. After he contained a majority of his laughter he said to both aliens, "Y'all two seem like good people. And smarter than most people living in this Galaxy. Why don't y'all take a sit so you don't have to work your legs in standing up," and gestured two unoccupied seats stationed at the table he and his fellow Mandalorian were using.

[member="Aamaw Murr"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Plobb Tureen"]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna chuckled for a moment or two at the Ithorian's comment. Going full Republic was a very good way to put it. Nowadays, the Republic was terrified of it's own shadow, so much so that it almost always stayed in it's little bunker of denial. The few times it stepped out with the chance to move forward towards better things? It jumped at its shadow and the galaxy had six more months of something to shake their heads at and laugh.

"That's a great way to put it," he said, sipping his caf. He flagged down the waitress and ordered more pastries and a refill. "I agree with my cousin, here. Pull up some chairs. Let's have a chat. Makes the day go by and its the most mental engagement I've had since the last time I had to make the Kessel run in twelve parsecs."

As he spoke, he noted that more of the data streams turned green and a few more yellow. More had turned red, but the area of the holonet he was browsing was almost entirely sifted through. In a little while he could delegate a program to sifting through the data found so as to speed up the process. For the moment, though, he hit a few keys on the computer and had the unrecoverable data dumped. There was no need to keep it and it was more or less useless for his purposes. No real reason to keep it in any case.

[member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Aamaw Murr"] [member="Plobb Tureen"]

Spoiler

yes, I went there.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Plobb Tureen"]

"Thank you kindly," said Aamaw. An Ithorian was not a delicate creature; less so when wearing plastoid expeditionary armour. The chair creaked under him in an ominous way, but he did not spill his caf again. He held the cup delicately between gauntleted fingers.

"Yes, thank you most kindly. Iziz is so dense that it is easy to feel alone and unnoticed. Company is hard to find in such an active, busy environment." He burbled to himself, in thought. "I had hoped to visit the wilds of Dxun, for solitude and research, but it was not to be. Such a fascinating place. Do you know that the tomb of Freedon Nadd lies there? Deadly to the soul should you linger, of course, but an edifice made by Mandalorians five thousand years ago -- and not a mark, not a bit of passing time. There is a unique species of insect rumored to live nearby; I had hoped to examine it."

Sip.

 

[Plobb Tureen]

Plobb made his own armored way into a seat, creating the same issue for his chair that [member="Aamaw Murr"] had with his. "I thank you both kindly for the gesture." He says to the spacers, settling his suction-tip fingers down onto the table so his lengthy arms weren't dangling awkwardly down towards the sides. "That distance does not seem feasible for the Kessel Run." The Ithorian remarks, but he would never dare call the man a liar.

In this instance, he was more displaying curiosity as to whether or not such a thing were possible, because apparently he lacked a developed sense of humor. "Why would you wish to visit the tomb of a Sith Lord?" He asks, turning his eyes towards his fellow Ithorian.

[member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Plobb Tureen"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

"Entomological curiosity, cousin. And a taste for ancient architecture, I suppose. But primarily, the insects. Their regenerative and coordinating functions, their symbiotic healing relationship with their hosts, their legendary durability - there is much to learn about and from the common orbaliscus beetle. Endangered now, alas, but that location is reported to have a strong population, one of the few on record."

 

[Vilaz Munin]

"You're quite welcome, lads," the Mandalorian said to the gratitude of the Ithorians. He raised his mug to his lips to have another sip of his caf. Gladly, he did not choke when one of the aliens announced to the patrons occupying the table of his wanting to go to Dxun. It was nasty business to be on the Demon moon especially when it hosted violent events. The death place of Mandalore the Indomitable, the moon where the Great Hunt was hosted, a skirmish between the Mandalorian Crusaders and the Republic, and other unpleasant events.

"The Demon Moon? Friend, that place has death written all over it. I mean, it is why they call it the 'Demon Moon'," Vilaz said to Aamaw hoping to make him reconsider of visiting the moon that could lead him to his death.

He had a bite of a muffin and continued scrolling down through the stocks on the Holonet.

[member="Aamaw Murr"] [member="Plobb Tureen"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"Dxun," he echoed mildly to himself.

It wasn't every day you heard of the planet and it was fairly funny in some ways that the Republic had never cleared out the Mandalorian ruins on the moon. They'd held Onderon for millennia and yet still hadn't removed the rubble and wreckage and caches of Mandalorian fortifications and supplies. Someone could make a great deal of money rooting through the jungles to find such things. They could also very quickly lose their lives.

"If you're careful and cautious, you can probably poke around up there a little and not risk your hide too much," Betna said with a shrug. "But for anything more than a cursory glance, you'll probably want hired help or some serious firepower, preference for non-violence or not. Never been to Dxun, but I've been plenty of other places with nasty predators and not all of them are territorial. Some are just plain hungry for anything they can catch; Human or Ithorian."

As he spoke, the programs finished sifting out the data he wanted to look through and the last of the information turned green or flashed red. Betna dumped the unreadable data and set what he'd gathered aside before storing the data onto the computer's data drive. From there, it was a simple effort to sever the computer from the holonet entirely and begin running the localized data sifter to rummage through the information. With luck, the program would find what he needed quickly.

[member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Aamaw Murr"] [member="Plobb Tureen"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Plobb Tureen"]

A ponderous nod. "Your warnings are gratifying and appreciated, gentlemen. Perhaps my xenobotanical zeal overcame my better judgment. Alas for the common orbaliscus." Murr examined the dregs of his tea and set the mug down, armour rasping.

"I..." Murr hesitated. "I wonder if I have the right words so as to cause neither wariness nor offense. It strikes me, though, that a small team of stalwart private contractors, clearly men of action, could find opportunities in the detritus of the Republic's withdrawal. Such opportunities might well involve the procurement and, presumably, analysis of information left behind by the unwary. Procurement, in turn, not to mention analysis, would certainly require quick wits and powerful computational apparatus, not to mention a deft grasp of appearing inconspicuous. Such opportunities would, I believe, have value for the brave and clever, if willing to risk censure and disapproval based on facile, reactionary, anachronistic, nay, defunct possessiveness. I trust I do not speak out of turn?"

 

[Plobb Tureen]

Plobb wondered if [member="Chodo Murr"] knew something he did not, and almost voiced such concerns, but he restrained himself, looking between the two individuals. "I would be remiss of me, kin, to not at least off up my own assistance with your endeavor. I may not be able to suitably procure what you're looking for, but I could likely assist in the analysis."

@Arrbit Betna [member="Vilaz Munin"]