References Upon Request (Members of the Underground/Open)

[Spark Finn]

Nar Shadda
Rusty's Pub and Cafe

Abandoned by the jedi, betrayed by the sith, lost and returned from the Nether, the young-slicer was ready for a different surrounding. Fingers flew across the holopad. Bony-form sat scrunched-up in a corner seat with the wall to her back, pools of grey-blue able to see all who entered and exited the slightly smokey pub/cafe.

The smell of spice and glittersticks mixed with fresh java.

Through a feth-ton of research and kismet, Spark found a channel to some supposed members of the Underground. She sent a ping with enough information to get their attention. After all, someone was hacking their systems and letting them know about it.

Bottom line: she wanted a job.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Spark Finn"]

The pingback crossed the galaxy, made its way to Rebellion Actual, then flitted back to Nar Shaddaa.

General Jorus Quentin Merrill stepped into the cantina, cybernetic eyes scanning vigorously. The source was supposed to be here. Thirty percent probability, the techies said, but he had good instincts, and this was the first one he'd tried. As Nar Shaddaa cantinas went, this one was unexceptional in the extreme.

Now came the fun part: figuring out who in here, if anyone, was the slicer. The blonde in the corner, doing her level best to watch everything without looking like she was watching everything? The cyborg jacked into some unidentifiable lump of electronics at the bar? The pair of Barabels hissing over a hefty datapad at a side table? The paranoid Yaka muttering into a high-end comlink?

Short of asking everyone, his options condensed down to two: make some noise and read the response, or wait for someone else to notice him. He'd had bounties on him at one point or another, some of them large; his affiliation with various resistance groups was well known. If someone was gunning for the Underground specifically, his face would set off alarms.

He sat down at the bar and ordered some lum.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

This time the movement of her fingers didn't bring the new window up on her datapad. It was the same sense of technometry that told her about a pair of cybernetic eyes. She didn't even need to look at the bio-photo of the man that just walked into Rusty' Pub and Cafe to confirm who he was. Discarding several ways of of doing this, she decided to be direct.

Peeling away from the comfort of the corner, she picked up the half mug of Java and stopped a seat away from Jorus. "Top me off JoJo?" Credits slid across to the bartender who plucked up her mug and trundled to the opposite end. Grey-blue gaze remained on JoJo but her posture angled just a degree more toward the patron with the glass of lum.

"Jorus Merrill. Captain, General, hyperlane creator, and shotgun extraordinaire. I'm Spark Finn. You're looking for me and I'm looking for a job."

 

[H3xle]

Sam slipped into the cantina and scanned the room. His augmented reality contacts identified no one he knew personally, so with a blink he closed off the windows in his vision and said to the bar.

He was in his everyday load out, lightly armored clothing with a pair of pistols at his hips. He walked with an air of confidence, though his hands never strayed near his guns. He sat at the bar and ordered a coffee. Though he had just joined the network, he has received a strange security notice and request to back up any other Underground members. Problem was, he didn't know anyone else, so he traveled from cantina to bar to saloon, keeping his eyes open and himself sober.

[member="Spark Finn"] [member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Jorus Merrill]

Jorus' eyes flicked to [member="Sam Turain"], his backup. He wasn't much for reading people, but every instinct made strong suggestions about the blonde's harmlessness. He met Turain's eyes, just for a moment, and shifted his chin sideways as if to keep turning in that direction -- a tiny 'no' signal. His gaze settled back on [member="Spark Finn"].

"Competence is one thing; motivation is something else. If you know my ranks you know what I do, and I only run with people that know what they're getting into. You seen war, kid? You had the chance to think hard enough about death that it scares you, and come to terms with that?"

 

[Spark Finn]

Eyes flitted to [member="Sam Turain"] beneath glass lenses as he joined the bar but quickly returned to the freshly refilled mug brought by JoJo. Fingers went to curl around the ceramic sides as if she could seep the warmth from the liquid into herself. "I've seen war and I know the measure of death." Gaze remained down as she peeked at [member="Jorus Merrill"] from her peripheral.

"I was on Manaan when the sith attacked. I controlled a battalion of droids on Kashyyyk during the war. I've met death in the Nether. I've stood over the Abyss of Ruh. I confronted the Sith Lord who infected me with a modified strain of a techno-virus. I'm tired of being controlled or manipulated. Without debating the will of the force, I want to start making my own choices."

Grey-blue pools finally lifted to face Jorus Merrill straight on. "I may not look like much but I know who I am. I know my weaknesses and my strengths. And for once, I have a good idea of what I'm asking to get into. Will you have me or do I need to log onto Freg's List?"

 

[H3xle]

Sam had taken his cup of coffee to the last seat along the bar and was just taking a sip when he saw the signal he'd been searching for. [member="Jorus Merrill"] made the sign, then followed it with a negation. [member="Spark Finn"] wasn't a threat.

'Not a threat...ok. Guess I'm just sitting here drinking my coffee...' keeping one eye on those two, he peered around the cantina and shuddered at a memory, 'this looks just like that poodoo hole on Dantooine. Where the nerf herder wanted me to ship a seventy head herd of nerfs to the otherside of the core. Should've charged him more.'

Silently, he would continue to look around. If he could get a job from someone here then it'd mean his rushing around tonight wasn't for nothing.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"Guess I read you wrong, then," he said after a long moment. "And I'm glad for it. Sorry for underestimating you." He gestured at [member="Sam Turain"]. "The spacer over there trying not to look like he's looking is my backup gun. I'll ask him to take you to one of our bases so we can get you set up. I don't mind telling you, kid, we've got few enough people in your line of work. You're needed."

 

[H3xle]

[member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Spark Finn"]

Sam nodded and stood, draining the rest of his coffee and putting the mug down on the bar and walked over. He looked both Jorus and Spark over with a practiced eye and a passive face.

"How're you both doing?" Sam sat down at their table without waiting for permission. He looked back and forth between them for a moment, then continued. "How may I be of service?"

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Sam Turain"]

She exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She. Just. Got. The. Fricken. Job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!

Hands were clammier than an Ewok's paw climbing after a rainstorm. It's a good thing Jorus didn't want so shake on it. She discreetly brought them away from the warm sides of the mug and brushed them up and down the fabric of her dark-washed skinny jeans. "Thank you Sir. You won't regret it. Just don't ask me to fight anything bigger than a greeper."

Deadpan.

"Hey," she looked cautiously at the newcomer, well, coworker now. "I think you just got delegated to new employee orientation." There was a twinge of hesitation in her smile. The slicer peeked back to Jorus. "One more thing. I...without going into all the details, I'd like to continue some training with force related things. Got any recommendations for who I could reach out to for that? Or some resources?"

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Sam Turain"] [member="Spark Finn"]

"Our friend here has just signed on for the big one," he said to Turain, quietly. "If you've got the time, I need you to run her out to that safe house on Eshan for security checks and orientation." 'Eshan' was code - the screening safe house was on Ord Mantell, and Turain would know that. There was a decent chance he'd gone through that one himself when he first signed on, or he would know people who had. "If you can't make it, I'll take care of it myself."

He looked back to Spark. "Training can be arranged. We've got more Masters than Raaf's crew, and they're diverse. Instinctive astrogation, telekinesis, bladework, ballistokinesis...we might even be able to rustle you up a technopath if that's your schtick."

 

[H3xle]

Sam took a moment to look around the room, obviously gauging the people in the cantina. He then turned back to [member="Jorus Merrill"] and did a nod/shrug.

"It's not like I'll be finding a load to haul here. I can take her to Eshan, it's not been to long since I was there so I should still know the way." He smiled confidently, then turned to [member="Spark Finn"] and offered her a truly genuine smile. "Welcome aboard. I dabble in force related things as well, though it is far from my strong suit. Lucky for you, my strong suit is flying. Getting from point A to point B with minimal interruptions or problems." He offered her his hand. "You can call me Sam."

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Sam Turain"]

Sandy-brows shot-up in curiosity. With all her research and recent slicing activities on the Underground, she had no idea what that meant. But if they were going to trust her, she had no choice but to trust them. Besides, if something went wrong, she could cause a comm-short out here, nav-computer glitch there, and blaster-pac overload...

She looked to Merrill, adjusting the black-rimmed glasses on her face. "All of that...sounds good. Technometry is my jive but it would be good to know enough about the other areas so I can defend myself and not end up like a crushed mynock on the first mission."

Giving her hand one last nervous wipe, she extended it to Sam's. "Spark. Spark Finn." Hand quickly lowered. "I'm ready to go when you are. All of my belongings are in that booth right here."

Rough past. She didn't have much. Just some good tech and a stellar pack of gum.

 

[H3xle]

[member="Spark Finn"] [member="Jorus Merrill"]

Sam's smile went away for a moment as he looked over into the booth. There was not much there, and while he wasn't a psychologist or anything close, he'd run across plenty of people who had had rough lives to know the signs. He looked at Spark, then, and raised an eyebrow, considering something. Finally, after a few heartbeats consideration, he nodded.

"The ship is Outrider 1​, you'll find it berthed just three blocks down in the itinerant freight hauler docks. Berth number thirteen." He took out a chit and his datapad, plugged the first into the second and did some quick typing. When he was finished he handed her the chit and stowed the pad. "This chit will identify you as a fully paid passenger, get you onto the ship and into the communal areas and the set of quarters identified when you plug it into a datapad or computer terminal. I'm going to head there right now and get the pre-flight and clearances to depart filed. You are welcome to walk with me, but if you'd rather scope it out on your own first I am ok with that." He took a pointed look to her lack of belongings and then back to her, "You can take your time, lift off will be at your say so." He was doing everything in his power to be friendly and non-threatening to the woman. He had seen the type before and it was fifty/fifty on whether she'd want to board with him or scope it out first. He wouldn't tell her the destination, that was something she'd learn when she got there same as he had. Any other knowledge was hers to have, the chit would give her user read access to the computers on the ship except the nav computer.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Sam Turain"]

She studied the datachit in her palm and gave Sam a nod. Scanning the force over it, she could pick up on the tech. Pros of being a technopath. Her datapad was more of a luxury than a need. She plugged it in anyway.

No need to draw more attention than she had in hacking the Underground's systems.

"I'll go with you." She felt confident enough if something went south she could figure it out and get herself clear. She had done so with the sith.

"Is this how it was when you joined up Sam?" Stopping at the booth along the way, she slung a battered-looking grey pack over her shoulder. Everything was in that pack. She fished out the pack of stellar strawberry-gum and offered Sam a piece as she took one for herself.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Spark Finn"] [member="Sam Turain"]

Jorus tossed them a wave on their way out and sat back to finish his lum. Some people liked to try and make change by centering everything on themselves, making themselves essential. For Jorus' part, he'd always seen more success, more inertia, when people made connections, got motivated on their own, and were trusted to work autonomously. Flat management structure, they called it. Someone had to make the big calls, but the big calls weren't that frequent.

 

[H3xle]

Sam smiled and took the offered piece of gum, popping it into his mouth and chewing it a bit before replying.

"Well, I never did anything to get the kind of attention you garnered." He began, looking thoughtful as they walked out of the cantina. He silently chewed the gum as he lead her on a winding path that took a few switchbacks. On the way he slipped his hands into his pack pockets, what appeared to be a contemplative gesture on his part. "I get things for people, things they need or want and can't get for one reason or another. I've been doing that since birth practically, my parents were both in the life as well. One of their contacts set me up on a job that turned south. Leaving out the gory details, this guy saves my bacon and suggests that I find a network that can support me in those...rough times. He just so happened to have a network, and after a bit of back and forth, I was taken to the same place we're going." His speech was a tad slower than the average person, though measured. As if he were weighing his words before he spoke them.

Sam looked at Spark a moment, then quirked an eyebrow. "What'd you do, exactly, to get an armed response? All I got was a notice to back someone up if they needed it, was kind of a rush job."

[member="Spark Finn"]

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Sam Turain"]

The gum bubble popped against her nose as she heard 'saved my bacon.' Eyes widened and she hastily began to peel the sticky stuff off her skin. This guy certainly had a different way of speaking and she found it refreshing. Her string-bean form bobbed next to him as they walked. Sandy-brows crinkled.

"Wait. But your folks. Are they okay or were they in that job? Oh. And me?" A sheepish-look crossed her face. Bony-shoulders hitched-up before dropping down. "I-uh, kinda hacked into the Underground's high security systems and left a fairly traceable ping back here. I just didn't...know how else to reach you all. And I wanted....let's just say I wanted to give you all a work sample."

 

[H3xle]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Sam's feet caught each other and he stumbled a bit as she told him that she'd hacked their systems. His eyebrows went up and a praising smile lit his features.

"They must grow them mighty bold where you come from, that rates you fairly high in my book." He responded as he resumed walking beside her. The more they walked and talked, the more relaxed he seemed. "As for my parents, they retired not to long ago. They have more skill sets than just smuggling, and they set up a school on my homeworld." His mind started putting things together, though he didn't really know what the end product meant. He hadn't ever heard of a force user being able to effect computers. ​"I've never really met anyone who could use the force and was a slick slicer. Where did you learn to slice? It's something I've always been intrigued by, but shipboard life doesn't give much chance for pursuing those skills."

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Sam Turain"]

At least they weren't firing her after the first five minutes on the job. "A school. Your folks sound like they really care." It was a foreign concept to the slicer. Grey-blue eyes shifted down to her converse-clad feet. "Slicing, holopads, that stuff is simple to me, compared to people. My mom dropped me in a boarding school as soon as she could. I don't think she was ready for me yet. I felt more at home glued to a holopad than running around with the other students. I picked-up stuff on my own, through a few professors, and few a through others on the fringe of boarding-school society. And I don't know if it's boldness or stupidity. Number One rule of slicing: don't get caught."

They wandered into the hangar. She followed after Sam's lead. Fingers flew over the datapad seemingly attached to her hand.

"So level with me Sam. How long's this trip gonna be?"