[right][h3]Khulbe's Palace - Jast[/h3][/right][hr]

“You’ll forgive my enthusiasm, Khulbe, but I do love it when the sales pitch and the science are the same thing,” Jast answered. “Nothing sells like the facts.”

“The plan, though, that’s a good question. This isn’t too different from anything I did with the Service. Information extraction and data jobs were my line of work before we met,” he explained. The circumstances had changed significantly in the meantime, however. With the Strategic Information Service, the Galactic Republic’s intelligence apparatus, he had all the resources in the galaxy to support his operations. Intel, assets, fireteams, professional slicers, the works. Jast pulled a hand-rolled cigarra from his jacket pocket and lit it, taking a drag as he mulled worked his way into this next, critical step in the negotiation. Nothing went with brandy like nicotine. 

“The fact of the matter is that I’m in the unfortunate position of working as both operator and analyst these days,” he explained, “which makes the job tough. My team and I have some intel to work with, enough to give us a start. We have some connections on Ord Mantell that could lead us in the right direction, but my first thought is to bring in my friends at Coronet Analytica, see if we can get some more intelligence on the situation before we make a move. Once we determine what we need to grab and where, my team and I go in and grab it. Could be a data file, could be personnel, could be Trithemeus himself.” 

“But we can’t do go anywhere or grab anything as long as we have this pseudoteth on the Raven,” he said, taking a long drag on the cigarra. “Heavily regulated product, like I said. We pull in on some of the worlds we need to stop at, law enforcement will arrest us twenty minutes after we land. So, if you’ll buy that off us—and I’ll give you a discount on it, say 60% of value—you can free us up to chase leads on the chemist.”

[[@Saix] [@The Wyrm]]

[center]- - -[/center]

[right][h3]The Raven Trespass - Boqorro[/h3][/right][hr]

“It’s not refined,” Boqorro said. “We know what that would do to you. This," he continued, pointing to the bag of clear fluid to which he and Val had connected the Zelosian via plastic tubing, "is mostly water. Just enough glucose in there to wake you up after a week or so out of the light.”

“You said your name is T’a,” he carried on. He folded his arms again and leaned back against the airlock’s frame. “So, T’a, where were you trying to go when you stowed away on my ship?”

[[@Mistiel]]