11-28-2016, 12:36 AM
The available data on both the robbery and the thieves was sparse, but it was enough to be getting on with. Pepsiman provided it in the form of a code-locked briefcase, containing both electronic and hard-copy information. There was a sticky note on the front, with a five-digit code on it. After using it to open the case, in order to give the index of contents a cursory glance and check that everything was present, Kelly memorized the code. He then closed the case and tore the sticky-note into pieces, which he deposited into a recycling bin beside Pepsiman's desk, along with his empty soda-cans. Pepsiman clapped Kelly on the back, then ushered him back into the elevator, briefcase in tow. As the doors slid closed once more, the Chromed Cola Crusader flashed the traveler a thumbs-up and uttered the only actual words he'd spoken throughout the entire meeting:
"Best Luck!"
His voice was deep and gravely, and he had a thick accent.
'Bestoh Ruck?'
Japanese, maybe?
Huh.
Apparently I know what 'Japan' is. And earlier, I recognized Pepsi. There's the skeleton of more information here - some actual detailed background. I'll have to try to chase it down once this job is done.
The traveler shook his head, returning to the task at hand. He manipulated a touch-screen panel on the wall for an embarrassingly long time before figuring out the elevator was actually voice-controlled when accessing the non-restricted floors.
He cleared his throat, hoping, likely in vain, that nobody had seen that. "The Lobby, Please."
A few moments later the door opened - onto a spacious, black-tiled general lobby at the ground floor of the kilometer-high tower. The pervasive smell of corn-syrup was replaced by that of recirculated air and floor-wax. It had taken the exact same amount of time as the ride to the top floor of the PepsiCo HQ, and just like before, Kelly hadn't felt the elevator move.
It must have inertial dampeners on the interior... impressive.
Before going about his business, Kelly spent a couple of minutes with his Dataverse link confirming his understanding of Empire currency. It turned out the entire Imperial financial system was a roundabout way of trading Omnilium, thanks to the twin wonders of Summoning and Extraction. That meant he could summon as many Imperial Credits as he liked with no legal repercussions - he'd only be adding value to the market.
He smiled. It also meant he could break down any large stacks of cash he received into something far more useful, and still get them back if he really needed them.
Armed with a newfound sense of financial security, Kelly called another taxi and went outside to meet it. As he climbed into the back of his ride, sinking once again into slightly overstuffed leather seats, Kelly was greeted by a familiar voice.
"Hello Mr. Mayhew! It is still Johan. I am your taxi again!"
"Hello again Johan," he said. "I'm not quite sure where I'm going yet, so bear with me for a moment. Does T3S3 offer a privacy guarantee?"
"Yes sir! For just five percent added to your fare, you can purchase our business-traveler's privacy package! For just this small additional fee, any and all information related to private business activities will not be retained in my memory!"
Kelly nodded. He wasn't sure he trusted a guarantee like that in a place like Coruscant, but he could also see how, precisely because of the invasive nature of the upper tiers, it would be a valuable service. All told, he would be willing to put money on there being government bugs in all the taxis, probably outside the control of the vehicles' AI.
But I can't be too good at this right off the bat, can I? The Empire might think I'm a spy, and I'd rather not be questioned if I can avoid it.
"Thank you," he said. "I'll take it. The contents of the briefcase I'm about to open and any electronic data displayed during this trip are property of PepsiCo, and therefor private. Now please, take me up to the top of the city and circle for a while."
Johan took off, rising on silent engines, and Kelly keyed in the combination to open the case.
There was only a small amount of additional information on the heist; a holo-cube containing a single twenty-second video-clip from the NukaPepsi lab that had survived in a shielded data-buffer, and still frame enhanced images of the thieves.
There were five of them: two stout men, one taller fellow, one who was more average, and one wiry woman. All were young, all looked fit, with the focused, hunted look about the eyes of professional paranoids who had been working too long. In the video they moved with discipline, not wasting any time as they broke into the server room and fried it with some kind of anti-tech grenade, ending the clip in a storm of static. They all wore black balaclavas and carried tactical shotguns. Their biometrics weren't on file anywhere, or if they were it was so far under the great Imperial thumb that PepsiCo didn't dare pry, so the thieves were assumed to be secondaries who had been summoned within the city and immediately gone underground. None had yet been identified by name.
Kelly leaned back in his seat for a moment and listened to the murmur of the wind outside, letting his thoughts spin. There'd been a forensic play-by-play of the robbery in the materials he'd been shown earlier. The thinking was that they hadn't been intending to kill the scientists, just kidnap them, but the labcoats had resisted and one of the thieves had lost his temper.
The traveler suspected the tall one for that - he didn't move quite like the others. He was twitchier. Filing that away for later use, Kelly turned his attention back to his homework.
There was no solid information on their location - only that they had gone to ground on Tier-Four, and were moving within the underworld there, trying to offload their pilfered Pepsi product. It wasn't all bad news, however: PepsiCo intelligence had managed to work up one solid lead, and that was where Kelly came in. As he wasn't a known affiliate of Pepsi, Kelly could pose as a buyer, and set up a meeting through the go-between handling the sale, who had been identified. The details, however, and the remaining legwork, were on him.
Kelly looked out the window. Tier-Two stretched out below him, towers gleaming in the light of an artificial sun, lesser structures little more than a distant, textured tracework.
There are several ways I could play this. All of them are risky, though.
He smiled, put the various files and the holocube away, and closed the briefcase.
"Johan," he said, "Please, take me to a turbo lift - preferably one that goes straight to the fourth Tier."
"Best Luck!"
His voice was deep and gravely, and he had a thick accent.
'Bestoh Ruck?'
Japanese, maybe?
Huh.
Apparently I know what 'Japan' is. And earlier, I recognized Pepsi. There's the skeleton of more information here - some actual detailed background. I'll have to try to chase it down once this job is done.
The traveler shook his head, returning to the task at hand. He manipulated a touch-screen panel on the wall for an embarrassingly long time before figuring out the elevator was actually voice-controlled when accessing the non-restricted floors.
He cleared his throat, hoping, likely in vain, that nobody had seen that. "The Lobby, Please."
A few moments later the door opened - onto a spacious, black-tiled general lobby at the ground floor of the kilometer-high tower. The pervasive smell of corn-syrup was replaced by that of recirculated air and floor-wax. It had taken the exact same amount of time as the ride to the top floor of the PepsiCo HQ, and just like before, Kelly hadn't felt the elevator move.
It must have inertial dampeners on the interior... impressive.
Before going about his business, Kelly spent a couple of minutes with his Dataverse link confirming his understanding of Empire currency. It turned out the entire Imperial financial system was a roundabout way of trading Omnilium, thanks to the twin wonders of Summoning and Extraction. That meant he could summon as many Imperial Credits as he liked with no legal repercussions - he'd only be adding value to the market.
He smiled. It also meant he could break down any large stacks of cash he received into something far more useful, and still get them back if he really needed them.
Armed with a newfound sense of financial security, Kelly called another taxi and went outside to meet it. As he climbed into the back of his ride, sinking once again into slightly overstuffed leather seats, Kelly was greeted by a familiar voice.
"Hello Mr. Mayhew! It is still Johan. I am your taxi again!"
"Hello again Johan," he said. "I'm not quite sure where I'm going yet, so bear with me for a moment. Does T3S3 offer a privacy guarantee?"
"Yes sir! For just five percent added to your fare, you can purchase our business-traveler's privacy package! For just this small additional fee, any and all information related to private business activities will not be retained in my memory!"
Kelly nodded. He wasn't sure he trusted a guarantee like that in a place like Coruscant, but he could also see how, precisely because of the invasive nature of the upper tiers, it would be a valuable service. All told, he would be willing to put money on there being government bugs in all the taxis, probably outside the control of the vehicles' AI.
But I can't be too good at this right off the bat, can I? The Empire might think I'm a spy, and I'd rather not be questioned if I can avoid it.
"Thank you," he said. "I'll take it. The contents of the briefcase I'm about to open and any electronic data displayed during this trip are property of PepsiCo, and therefor private. Now please, take me up to the top of the city and circle for a while."
Johan took off, rising on silent engines, and Kelly keyed in the combination to open the case.
There was only a small amount of additional information on the heist; a holo-cube containing a single twenty-second video-clip from the NukaPepsi lab that had survived in a shielded data-buffer, and still frame enhanced images of the thieves.
There were five of them: two stout men, one taller fellow, one who was more average, and one wiry woman. All were young, all looked fit, with the focused, hunted look about the eyes of professional paranoids who had been working too long. In the video they moved with discipline, not wasting any time as they broke into the server room and fried it with some kind of anti-tech grenade, ending the clip in a storm of static. They all wore black balaclavas and carried tactical shotguns. Their biometrics weren't on file anywhere, or if they were it was so far under the great Imperial thumb that PepsiCo didn't dare pry, so the thieves were assumed to be secondaries who had been summoned within the city and immediately gone underground. None had yet been identified by name.
Kelly leaned back in his seat for a moment and listened to the murmur of the wind outside, letting his thoughts spin. There'd been a forensic play-by-play of the robbery in the materials he'd been shown earlier. The thinking was that they hadn't been intending to kill the scientists, just kidnap them, but the labcoats had resisted and one of the thieves had lost his temper.
The traveler suspected the tall one for that - he didn't move quite like the others. He was twitchier. Filing that away for later use, Kelly turned his attention back to his homework.
There was no solid information on their location - only that they had gone to ground on Tier-Four, and were moving within the underworld there, trying to offload their pilfered Pepsi product. It wasn't all bad news, however: PepsiCo intelligence had managed to work up one solid lead, and that was where Kelly came in. As he wasn't a known affiliate of Pepsi, Kelly could pose as a buyer, and set up a meeting through the go-between handling the sale, who had been identified. The details, however, and the remaining legwork, were on him.
Kelly looked out the window. Tier-Two stretched out below him, towers gleaming in the light of an artificial sun, lesser structures little more than a distant, textured tracework.
There are several ways I could play this. All of them are risky, though.
He smiled, put the various files and the holocube away, and closed the briefcase.
"Johan," he said, "Please, take me to a turbo lift - preferably one that goes straight to the fourth Tier."