Scouting Morje

[Daxton Bane]

It was rather a simple matter for Daxton to infiltrate the next planet targeted for acquisition by the Empire, after all like most planets in the Galaxy they did have a space port. The problem was getting them to understand what he was saying. Silently he raged that he might was well be talking with a tuna with a face, but he couldn't say that to their faces. It took him a week to find a submersible droid with a protocol upgrade capable of communicating to them his purpose. Rather the purpose of Rhatt Olange, representative of a Trade Consortium of Free Planets, who had come to Morje to discuss trade agreements.

Still he was able to make inroads with them when he gave them 'friendship' gifts. They had practically swooned when he explained that they were moonstones. The shiny baubles weren't really moonstones, rather mildly radiated isotopes that were harmless save for pulse of energy allowing anyone with the proper scanner to track the holder.

In his guise as Rhatt, he explained to them that the Trade Consortium wished to trade for basic and luxury goods in exchange for coral as well as medical tech. He had obtained samples for later study on how they could be used for Sith purposes. What information he was able to gather was sent via encrypted code to his superiors.

To celebrate the 'success' of the trade talks he was throwing a small party in the underwater apartment he had leased for some of the select leaders of their society. Strange that all of them were female but it was not his concern. They were polite but seem to look down on him because of his sex. Well that would change soon enough.

When this party was over his droids would be collecting dna samples that his guests had left behind. That should provide them with an extra edge should the leadership prove resistant to change. If they don't agree they would die and die horribly. Daxton would ensure they would die in a most horrible manner indeed. He absolutely hated spending all day wearing a rebreather unit, but that was a necessary when dealing with an aquatic species.

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OOC: made corrections due to facts discrepancy pointed out to me. Thanks for the save. Apologies in advance Flint.

 

[Flint Pherson]

Republic Spies had noticed the recent interest into Morje and were working quickly to bring the Republic to bear on it's importance. The true contest for the planet was to be determined at a future date. But until then Naval Commander Pherson was on-planet. Working with an undercover team of spies in defense of the Republic's Interests. It was extremely discourteous for the Sith to Pre-game the contest. But? The Republic would be happy to discourteously counter their motives likewise.

Of most interest to Pherson and his cadre of spies was a one, Rhatt Olange. A business man who's encrypted signals had earned him some attention. Without a Sith Codex they were unable to open the messages, but the Republic had noticed their intended destination. Olange could only hide his intentions for so long. Flint and his group now huddled down in their underwater suite to discuss this new revelation.

"Well. To start. We've had two men watching him Commander. He's been here for weeks."
"And?"
"And. He's on to us. It's hard enough to go unnoticed without local help. And, Tarric believes him to be a Force Adept too."
"Oh? Specialist Tarric. What makes you think that?"
"I'm a Kiffar sir. And my native senses tell me this man has noticed us. Plus, his Midichlorian count is through the roof. Here is a skin flake sample we recovered and analyzed to get a positive ID. It is not anyway near normal for his species."
"Damn it. That complicates things."

Flint looked about the small room and sighed. These men were undercover acting as delegates for a Mineral Corporation. They kept eyes and ears on all the newcomers to the local government. Under the guise of furthering 'foreign relations'. Of course, it was a balancing act to be sure. Their passports only gave them another week on the planet. So, it was a tight schedule for the spies. Like the Sith, they hoped to place more 'permanent' agents on-site as diver droids and camera bots. However, it was slow going at best.

"Alright. Next time he shows his face we'll tail him back to his apartment. ...Tarric, get our camera bots online. Mr Olange might notice us following him again. So we'll have to remote control the droids to keep up."
"Don't worry. These bots can hover, dive, and hide in plain sight. We'll get him for sure."

"Good. Once we have his apartment, we can smash in and ransack the place."
"Why not just capture and drug him? His com will have a Codex. Then we can decrypt the messages at our leisure. And kill him if need be."

"No good. Sith Force Adepts can single-handedly kill whole armies. Trust me. Distance is our ally in this place. ...But if worst comes to worst? We'll need an escape plan. Something local. ...Kaden. Can you work us a few ways out?"
"Sure. I'm on it."

"Good. Now all we have to do is wait for Mr Olange to visit the Delegation Board again. And the Counter Op can begin."

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ooc: edited to reflect Bane's discretion in using his force abilities.

 

[Daxton Bane]

He knew that eyes were on him, whether they were Republic, Mandalor or one of the dozen other factions out there in the galaxy he could not say. They were careful enough to be discrete, but not discrete enough. So it would seem that the games were on, but that only added an extra motivation to be careful not to slip up. Lounging in the surface apartment he was using as home while on the planet, he considered his next move.

He could capture and put them to question but that would tip his hand. No, better to let them remain in place where he could keep an eye on them, besides it amused Daxton to toy with his watch dogs, whoever they maybe. It really didn't matter, in a few days this world would belong to the Sith.

So he arranged for a dizzying schedule for the next few days, visiting various locales with local leaders with the dual purpose of stretching and wasting his watcher's resources at the same time tempting them to attack him in the midst of so many innocents. Meanwhile he intentionally posted few mercenary guards to protect his apartment, not enough to deter intruders but enough to look realistic. He wanted them to get inside and find the data pad which he planted for them to find. It housed planted evidence 'proving' he was an agent working for combined Hutt-Mandalore venture to expand into this region of space. If anything that should have them checking in the wrong direction until it was too late.

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ooc: edited for the same reason as above.

 

[Flint Pherson]

Pherson's team of spies found Olange with little difficultly. He was out and about with a busy schedule it seemed. So dizzing in fact that Pherson found it easier to call off the droid hunt and simply ask a local leader in person where the delegate was staying. Luckily Olange had posted guards and made no secret to his whereabouts. He kept a convincing disguise.

"Okay. So the apartment is a no-go."
"Commander?"

"He's posted guards and there is other security present. We can't breach without leaving evidence we were there."
"Why not just drop the guards and slice the door?"

"No good. We can't risk showing ourselves. The locals are suspicious enough as it is of outsiders. We have to keep our cover."
"New plan then?"

"Yes. New plan. We need to raise awareness. Show the locals they are not as safe as they think they are."
"I don't follow you Commander?"

"Tarric. Wipe the bots we've got. Delete all the data. We start fresh with a new routine today. And this time I want you spying on us."
"Us? You want us to spy on ourselves? But what about Olange?"

"Negative. He's too good. And if he knows someone is watching him, he'll be twice as careful from now on. We need to splash some water around and make waves. Get these people moving."
"Okay. But how is spying on ourselves going to help?"

"Just get me an hour of footage. Show Daniels and Miller walking around the promenade. Follow Greg as he make a few trips to the spaceport. ...Make it look like someone is spying on us. Like we are the victims here."
"And?"

"And. Then we turn pretend we found these droids and turn the footage in to the locals. Make it look like someone is hunting, us."
"You don't really expect them to act on this? Do you? ...And besides. That will severely limit our ability to move around. We'd be done after that. Finished."

"We are out of time. It's too late now to change anything. For us, and for them. ...So let's get the locals curious. Make this place smell fishy."
"Heh. ...Okay. Here we go."

Pherson and his crew began working on their new plan. Wiping the droids for finger print, deleting data, and dissolving their essence from the metal. Then they set about gathering hours worth of random footage. Mostly of themselves acting in character. But some footage of other foreigners and locals was added as well to season the pot. Then they smashed one droid and turned in their 'fake' evidence to the local leadership. Complaining about foreign spies and strange Intelligence. It took their best acting to get the local leadership to take them seriously. Make them suspicious enough to start thinking about security concerns.

Tarric talked about his unique abilities as a Kiffar in sensing memories from objects. Let them know that many species possess unique talents that their Armed Forces might not be prepared for. Pherson used his knowledge as a soldier to discuss security loop-holes in their defense. And of course, the other spies used their cover as 'delegates' to discuss how lazy security causes concerns with foreign trade agreements. It causes a lack of trust. Overall, the spies showed their hand. Caused enough mistrust to pretty much make themselves a target too. Morje would be a little bit more skeptical this time around.

Pherson didn't get a chance to discuss biological warfare with the seafaring people. Their local underwater lifestyle provided enough awareness of poisons, toxins, and mineral warfare. Morje was no stranger to the assassin's creed. As such, Pherson and his team made their remarks, submitted their evidence, and then prepared to depart the planet. Claiming that they needed to leave early because: 'it wasn't safe anymore for foreigners.' Either way. The game of Spy vs Spy, was over.

...

"Think they bought it Commander?"
"Well. We've been given an armed 'escort' now. So yes. I think it worked. Any other spies out there will have a difficult time remaining a friend of the locals. We've successfully smeared the good reputation every foreign official on the planet."

"Yeah. By smearing ours. ...We almost got caught back there. Do you know how hard it is pretending to be legitimate Mineral Contractors out here?"
"Ease up there. It's over and done. We didn't get exposed and now the locals are wary of strangers. Probably off witch-hunting for new spies and hacked droids right now."

"Well. This isn't going on my record as a mission complete, you know."
"Sit tight there. In a few days Morje will see enough action. And this time, it will be a fair fight."

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ooc: exit