Slicing the Force-Computer

[Janick Beauchamp]

After what she experienced on Coruscant when with one Stephanie Brown, she realizes that she likened Drain Knowledge to using the Force to slice into people's brains and her brain can take a lot of attempts at using Drain Knowledge by outside parties before she suffers for it. Nevertheless, she still struggled for the business aspect of the deal. Perhaps if she could attempt cold-calling some of those off-world adventurers again, despite the low rates of success such methods usually meet? Fruitless attempts were made for such in the past, but maybe the Force would prove different this time around. Here we go again, she thought, while she typed another message into her datapad pertaining to the whole production and sale of customized alchemical items destined to a different category of client compared to what she usually aimed for, but hoping that this one would work, too.

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Dear [member="Drogh"],

You seem to be the type of person that regularly goes on adventures and seem to know what's good and what's not so good for you. Because of this, you might be interested in alchemized equipment: with alchemy one can have a high degree of personalization. However, due to the nature of the alchemical process, please state what kind of item you might want alchemized, and that you will need to come in person to the Utapau Alchemy Castle on the Fourth Moon of Utapau to complete the processing of the order.

Janick Beauchamp
Owner, Utai Magic Circle

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[Drogh]

In a dark corner of the crypts of Coruscant Drogh hid in a small alleyway, hidden from the light, embraced by the dark.. Sitting there in the cold half-ruined alleyway of the underground, holding a small device connecting him self to the holonet, getting a message from a women he had some small contact with, interested in a dark art. Drogh responded with little, he wasn't for formality, preferring things to be short and to the point. He responded with "I will show you what I want alchemized when I get there." Drogh got up from the dark alleyway, glancing around, it was empty, devoid of lift, it did truly feel like a crypt.

Drogh walked off, walking past the dead and dying buildings of the underground, the poverty stricken areas and the sea of decay that swept though out the land. Finding his small ship, he flew out of the underground and into the light, if only breifly before entering the dark void of space, zooming towards the planet of Utapau.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

[member="Drogh"] claiming that he will show what he wants alchemized when he got to the Fourth Moon of Utapau would imply that there is something to alchemize. But not knowing what there is to alchemize would make it difficult to determine what effects to apply on it: some combinations would be impractical, impossible even, to use on items, while others are enhanced by combinations. Once Drogh arrived at the place, he would find himself in a place with somewhat rarefied atmosphere, and the last client came out just an hour ago. And then she took the whole hour to recharge her Force-batteries: usually it would take a whole night's worth of sleep to recharge the Force-batteries in full, or otherwise be liable to rest for extended lengths of time once the alchemized stuff is done. As night fell over the Utapau Alchemy Castle...

 

[Drogh]

Drogh flew to the moon. It was lush, green and filled with life. Drogh hated it, he despised the open air and the freedom, the endless woods and the long lakes, it made his skin crawl. Drogh liked the damp and dark grounds of the underworld, so used to misery without Drogh felt ill, so used to the dead air, he struggled to breath in the fresh, so used to the overcrowding, Drogh felt chocked in the open. So used to the tight alleyways, Drogh's eyes strained at the openness of it all, this was a unwelcoming place, yet he knew where he had to go. Walking though the open fields towards the castle like building, he noted the loneliness Drogh felt, walking with not a soul in sight, only to add to his growing paranoia. As he approached the castle like building, Drogh calmly knocked on the door, waiting a response.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

By nightfall, that dark presence finally made its approach towards the castle, with some feeling of unease. With someone knocking at her door, Janick looks out the peep-hole and realizes that there is no other dark-sider around. For miles around the castle: most of the residents might have quite a lot of money, but none of the others used the dark side. She finally opens the door, letting [member="Drogh"] in, dressed in her lovely black dress that she seems to wear very often when in the business of alchemy.

"Welcome to the Utapau Alchemy Castle: my name is Janick. As discussed earlier, I will alchemize an item for you today, with financing available if you need it. But before I alchemize whatever you have in store for you, I would like you to learn some new technique: Drain Knowledge. It might be useful in interrogating people or to learn stuff faster than you otherwise would. But first, you have to realize that using Drain Knowledge is akin to using comebody else as a computer in the Force. Depending on the mental defenses of the target, it might be a little hard; also, if you're careless, you may accidentally remove knowledge from the user but removing knowledge from the user, as opposed to simply downloading information from someone else through the Force, depends on how good the target's memory is: if the target has a good memory, it may be difficult to remove information from its memory but it is easier to download more information from the target. It's also important to have a good feel for the target's brain"

 

[Drogh]

Drogh was in stark contrast to the lady, she had class and taste, a elegance to the way she dressed. Drogh's cloak reeked, as he stepped in to the room it fell victim too a foul smell that blasted into the castle, like gas bomb smoking out any pleasantness this place held onto too. It smelt of urine. unnatural chemicals, natural body odor. It brought in blood and sick, vile and disgusting, yet Drogh had little concern for hygiene, he was always ill regardless. He brought in Coruscant with him, all the blood and chaos that followed that city, followed him into this peaceful paradise. Drogh was barraged by a haze of words, meaningless and droll. Her words were ash to him, as he instantly losses interest and began to gaze around the beauty that he spoiled. The fine wood paving, the beauty of the workman ship, the fresh smell that lingered awhile longer. A small roaring fire in the distance, glass clear as ice. As she carried on rambling, droning on about information he cared not far he snapped back at her, regaining his waning interest. "Be quiet for a moment, would you?" Drogh gave her a glare that was like several knifes driving into her skin, confident she would listen Drogh spoke bluntly and clearly. "I have not the slightest interest for your alchemy, and do not pretend you know the workings of the brain nor a computer." Drogh paused again, finally finishing off what he had to say. "I want power, and you're to help me get it, can we sit?"

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Of course, I would help you get power. Just tell me if there's anything you need, like increased strength, increased ability to use the Force..."

He flat out refused to learn Drain Knowledge, she thought, which means that [member="Drogh"]'s route to power did not involve mentalism. Nor would he perceive Drain Knowledge of being of much use. But Janick's role in providing him power was, well, indirect. Oh and I think some air freshener is in order before I can even alchemize anything: just to make sure neither him nor I would get sick because of it, she thought again, while realizing that a smelly alchemical environment can also make the resulting item pretty smelly, too. And also carry health risks, both to her and to the Utai maid, even though it didn't seem to faze him much. Was he the kind to carry on thievery or other stealthy ops in smelly areas? He would realize that being smelly can be a strength in some situations but a liability elsewhere.

"First, is there something you use a lot? For my plan to power to work, for you to be able to use the newfound power, the enhancements I can provide are best placed on items you use a lot"

 

[Drogh]

Drogh was taken a back a bit, instantly she agreed, offering to help him with nothing in return, Drogh would not complain. Drogh wanted to sit down, pushing past her like the ghost he was, he found him self into the lounge with pure luck, sitting him self down, finding a nice sofa to defile. Sitting down he gave a glance at the maid, a horrid creature, deformed in Drogh's eyes, yet this was not a new sight, yet the poor attempt to make it look "pretty" was pathetic. Drogh awaited the women, discuss further what Drogh wanted, what demands she may or may not have, Drogh cared little for her power, Drogh only wanted his own.


[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Two questions: first, what is power to you?"

While [member="Drogh"] was under the impression that Janick would simply hand out some implement of power for free, he would probably fail to realize that there was a cost to alchemizing the item until too late, until the alchemizing was complete. I've come across so many variations on people's conception of what power even means to them, that I feel better if I ascertained what one's conception of power even is. Some people seem to have sinplistic conceptions of power, while others have more complex conceptions that require multiple enhancements, she thought, while pondering the sort of enhancements necessary. Or tell him about other means to obtain what power he sought.

"Second, what would you use that power for?"

 

[Drogh]

Drogh looked at her with rather disappointed look, this bland pseudo-intellectual nonsense she was trying to pull off annoyed Drogh. He held it all under his mask of course, not a sigh of emotion could be seen behind the dark metal. Drogh refused to answer the first question, a waste of time and breath. "Coruscant, I want it."Unlike Janick, Drogh had no time to spew meaningless dribble, Drogh wanted only what was important to him, and that is Coruscant, it would not be a easy, such a large thing, under the control of a Alliance, it would be a task to pray it from their hands, Drogh would find a way, all the wanted was the underground after all. The top was just the dress, the organs and blood was the underground. bridges to be crossed at another time.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"You do realize that Coruscant is ruled by a municipal council, so your goal is to be the mayor of the planet"

In Janick's experience, when people had location-specific desires for power, it's either political or ownership-related in nature. Turf wars, in her mind, were about political posturing to her. While [member="Drogh"] might have known about how Coruscant proper was ruled by city councillors with millions of constituents, and that city councillors come from both the underground and the upper reaches of the planet, it's entirely possible he meant it in a turf wars kind of thing. Yet Janick basically knew very little about the art of waging electoral campaigns, but a lack of knowledge on the issues could easily sink an electoral candidate, and that people will generally care more about the executive branch than the legislative if more than one branch is up for election at the same time. But she refuses to go beyond the very basics when it comes to gang warfare: it is a topic she feels uncomfortable around.

"Or perhaps you mean it in a more crime-gang kind of way? In either case, make sure you have ambitious but achievable goals in mind, that are tailored to the people's issues: people will not follow dreamers that clearly have unrealistic, or unfeasible, plans. You want some means to power, but if crime is more your thing, perhaps weapons smuggling could be part of the deal, beyond any drug-smuggling deal"

 

[Drogh]

Drogh gave a dismissive scoff. "I will not win votes, I will take it." The mindless soup of words as this girl just spews and spews dribble. "Gangs are not real power, not real authority, I want control, I want the underworld as my realm, my dominion." Drogh said as he clenched his fists, feeling as if he was gripping Coruscant by the neck. Drogh had ambition, some thing he lacked, and now that he had it, Drogh felt the darkside working with him, not gnawing at his soul. Power is what Drogh desired, yet he had little of it, this little lady would be a vessel of his power, or at least Drogh wanted it to be that way. "I will not be a major, I will be a king, democracy does not suit me, I will take it." Drogh said firmly one last time to make it clear, as he leaned forward on the sofa, "Teach me every thing you know, aid me in every way I see fit, and in time I promise to give you a great reward, will you help me?"

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"The inside job or the coup are your remaining options"

My idea for that sort of stuff would have been some sort of inside job, she thought. But from what she knew about inside jobs is that one still needed to garner enough trust and followers to carry it forward. As for coups, knowledge of the issues is still a major component as to how to make a coup work: sometimes regimes that emerge from coups would be short-lived, and Janick would probably know more about how to make the regime last than how to engineer an inside job or a coup. [member="Drogh"] would be most... unsatisfied, to say the least.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid I'm of no further use to you: there's nothing I could know that would help you stage a coup or an inside job capable of toppling a regime. Now, try your luck somewhere else!" she screamed in anger, almost as if Dun Moch was in use.

 

[Drogh]

Drogh got up, his fingers tingling with rage, glaring at the women with his vile vicious eyes, burning with a fury that could not be stopped. Drogh in a sudden flash of aggression, reached out to grab the girl, slamming him self forward at her like a battering ram. His bony fingers would wrap around the girl's neck smashing her against the wall, Drogh was weak physically, but the force gave him power. It was true, the girl was far superior in the force then Drogh was, but her rage was lacking, her hate was weak. She was like a child to Drogh, innocent and idiotic, her dark arts meant little to Drogh, he saw nothing more then a idiot trying desperately to be smart. "You have poor vision girl, you know far to much about me, if you refuse to work with me, one of us will have to die." Drogh said in her ear, with a shrilling cold whisper.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]