Coruscant's Underworld

The YT-2400 arrived over the C19 entrance and began its descent downward. AVI began working to get connected into the comms system of the ATC. He found their transponder in the city systems and made note of it.

Ok, I am ready to scramble our signal. Heading to 1313 shouldn’t be any issue at this point.

Dee nodded and leaned back in the seat. The long descent down would take a few minutes, and none of it was anything she needed to manage. As they descended, the light from above became less and less natural. Soon, they passed 2142 on their trip down.

The Schreckliche Lüge is parking and making its delivery. It could take them a while to get things unloaded.

1841 and down. Dee kept watch, but nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. She wasn’t used to making runs like this, or at least this far down in the city. 1922 was as far down as she ever went, that she could remember.

AVI highlighted the entrance on her visor.

Here. Enter here and it will be a bit of a flight. it’ll be a tight corridor.

Dee grabbed the stick and pointed the nose at the entrance.

AVI, you know this is 1401, right?

Yes. Follow the path I have set for you.

Dee hit the throttle lightly and the ship lurched for 1401. The hologram of AVI pulsed on the console.

Welcome to 1401. There is a corridor that will take us several miles to the north to D21 where we will continue our descent down to 1313. Unfortunately, C19 was a little far from our actual destination and it had the added benefit of a checkpoint by the planet's security forces. D21 is currently clear.

The ship slid in between other freighters and shuttles on its journey through the tunnels. AVI had her turn down a side passage to avoid a traffic stop by security forces.

It wasn’t long before another descent tunnel lay ahead, and the freighter pulled into the stream of descending vessels.

=1313=

Dee throttled up the ship and it pushed into the passageway. A little way from the tube, a landing pad was highlighted on her visor. The ship glided into its spot, and Dee set it down gently. Her nerves were spiking, and her heart was racing. She was excited but grateful that her visor was closed on her helmet. She didn’t want to give away her various emotions.

Welcome to 1313.

Dee nodded to Fumnanya and followed Dikeledi to the back of the ship, continuing onto her own cabin where she retrieved her weapons. She reached under her bed and grabbed the small wooden box AVI had retrieved. Reaching inside she grabbed a petal and slid it into a pocket on her chest before sealing the box back up and hiding it away. Swinging by the fridge, she grabbed a drink and headed back to the cockpit to begin locking the ship down just in time to see Dikeledi and Vejide fly off.

AVI, kneeling at the top of the ramp, is busy fastening the cargo to the sides of his Heavy Repeater power pack. Cinched down and tightly sealed, he stands up and shoulders the pack before donning his cloak over his head and back. Making sure it is secured, he unholsters the heavy repeater and holds it by the top carrying handle.

His arms were outfitted with additional laminate armor plating, tinted dark gray. Shin guards, knee guards, and additional chest plating contoured to his frame. To anyone who had not met him before, he would look like any other armored droid, albeit an interesting design. Niko would be able to surmise that AVI was loaded for bear with the thicker plating.

He tossed a bag to Niko. Inside was half of the payload cinched down tight to keep it from moving around in transit.

Let’s hoof it. I think we can dodge around easier on foot than being locked to an air speeder.

AVI looked back at Dee

I’m leaving you with a combat subroutine. If you need to fight, it’ll take care of the weapons work for you. Lock the ship down and keep things hot for us.

Aye. Be safe out there AVI.

I will.

He stepped off the ramp and gave Niko a light pat on the shoulder with his free hand before grasping the heavy repeater. With that, two E-11 MkII carbines, a selection of thermal detonators, and a couple of additional surprises, AVI was ready to stretch his legs anyway.

=====

The loading ramp sealed with a hiss and Dee started doing low power sensor sweeps around the ship. Nothing was going on that was out of the ordinary, but she kept her book stowed away. Her Sniper leaned up against the co-pilots seat, and she gripped the E-11 MkII as the sensor sweeps scanned the area.  The engines were off, but the pumps and priming systems whined, ready to kick the ship off at a moments notice.

AVI, having followed nearly every step Niko had taken, walked with assurance and curiosity. His imposing bulk and the heavy repeater felt a little outside of his normal character. However, he was enjoying the change of pace.

AVI responds with humor in his tone to the suggestion of taking the easier route. Yes, perhaps they would fare better down here. They are probably both tougher than I am to be honest.

He slightly turns his head to track the retreating group as they continue onward. The sensor array in his head kept him alert and ready. Though, he wasn’t certain exactly what that readiness was for just yet.

As the police probe floated by, AVI gently pinged it to see if he could easily infiltrate it. Too many firewalls prevented easy access, and he ceased before he was noticed. He reached out through the wireless transmissions to see if there was anything else he could latch onto. An automated street cleaning truck was parked nearby in standby mode. It had no real protection, and AVI marked it.

Aside from that, a few open holonet connections granted him access to the local net, and he used that to boost his surveillance as they continued to the tapcafé.

As they wandered around it gathering intel, AVI released the heavy repeater, and it retracted under and behind his cloak as it holstered itself. Pulling his arms in, he hid underneath the gray. Why don’t you finish that first, take a deep breath, and then we can head inside? AVI leaned against the wall, damp and dark. He considered the area and put it to memory as Niko took a few more drags before flicking it to the ground. AVI nodded toward the entrance and the two headed inside.

The tapcafé was mostly silent save for the clanking of dishes in the back, and the odd squawking of whatever rhythmic music that originated from the cook's homeworld. AVI, not the protocol droid, had no idea of the origination. A robotic voice shouted from behind the counter to let them know it would be a minute before it continued shouting to the back.

AVI walked down the aisle and took a seat at a table next to the booth. He sat with his back to the Aqualish and a Rodian, letting Niko face all of them and the Zabrak. AVI kept his attention focused forward, handing Niko a menu. A service droid rolled up next to the table.

Whatya have?

Water and something stiff if you have it.

Whatever...

The droid rolled off. A scratchy voice came from AVI's side.

You two look like delivery boys.

AVI looked around casually, but not at the Zabrak. We do make deliveries.

What do you deliver?

AVI reached around slowly to his pack and unhooked one of the boxes. He slid it onto the booth beside the Zabrak. With less secrecy, the Zabrak handed it back to one of the Aqualish who took it, opened it, and sampled it. He nodded.

I take it that’s not all you have?

No. AVI, emboldened, reached around, unhooked the other box while Niko handed his delivery as well. The Zabrak checked each box and nodded. Pulling out a holopad, he sent a message, then slid over a credit chit on the table.

Consider dinner on me then. Have a good day gentleman.

He and the three henchmen stood up and headed out the front door. AVI waited for them to leave then looked at Niko. Should we head out?

Raniero Sessa, a twelve year veteran of the Coruscant Underworld Police, does not stir from his reclined position on a rooftop beside their RapidResponse police speeders when his partner for the past two years, Saibh Treacy, announces that she has spotted something suspicious since she finds nearly everything that catches her attention suspicious; which, given the character of the level they patrol, means that, as she likes to remind him as often as possible, there is a statistical probability that she is right about her suspicions more often than not. Sounding bored, Raniero asks, "What is it?"

YT-2400 just set down, Saibh says as though that is all the explanation required.

"And?"

Sighing as she realizes that she is going to have to work to get Raniero motivated, Saibh, who has an uncanny ability to rapidly sift through information on the Coruscant Security Force database and every law enforcement or other database linked to it, links her datapad with her helmet's customized HUD while watching the freighter. Transponder signal is scrambled, Saibh says after trying to identify the ship to run it against BoSS records. Getting no response from Raniero, Saibh uses the specific eye movements needed to zoom in with the red mechanical eye coverings of her helmet on the bearded human that exits the freighter and starts smoking. Capturing an image of the human to run it against a facial recognition program, Saibh says, Junkie looking dude just came out, looks nervous. Running his picture now.

Groaning as he stands up and grabs his helmet off of the seat of his speeder, realizing that Saibh is not going to rest until she finds a reason to do something with the freighter, Raniero steps beside her and puts his helmet on. Junkie got a record?

Junkie does, Saibh says, sounding predictably smug. Oh, look at this, he's a former Sector Ranger with a long name I am not even going to try to pronounce, got booted for, no surprise, getting a taste for spice while working undercover and for theft of credits from evidence.

Outstanding warrants?

Sounding disappointed, Saibh says after more data sifting, Statute of limitations ran out last year.

Once a skel, always a skel, Raniero says, warming to the idea of a possible bust. Watching as other humanoids and a droid exit the ship, he asks, Anything on the junkie's friends?

Little one with the glasses is a potential match for Vee-something Diya, enforcer for a defunct criminal organization used to be based on Tatooine. Hair is different, but I'd say it's her. Nothing on any of the others. Stomping her foot as an airtaxi arrives and is soon boarded by the two females, Saibh whines, Great, there goes whatever it is they are smuggling.

Calm down, Raniero says, watching the airtaxi lift off. See if you can find out where that thing takes them from their dispatcher. We play this right, he says while watching the former Sector Ranger and the others that emerged from the freighter milling about, we might be able to bust them and whoever they are here to meet.

I like it, Saibh says, getting to work on accessing the airtaxi company's dispatch records as she asks, Should we move on the freighter now?

Shaking his head, Raniero says as a second airtaxi sets down, Let's wait and see if the junkie and the droid go anywhere first. Meanwhile, put out BOLOs on the three that left in the airtaxis in case the dispatch search doesn't pan out, and see who else is on duty in case we need backup.

After the droid and the junkie have set out on foot, Saibh asks, Follow them, or deal with the ship?

Raniero turns and gets on his police speederbike, Have Janda and Wiater and their partners search the freighter and question any crew. Have Baik and Sohn and their partners start heading, quietly, for the area so they can be our backup.

Taking their speederbikes up into the gloom above the streets after lifting off from the building, Saibh and Raniero tail the droid and the junkie from far above, using the darkness and distance to conceal their presence. Setting their speederbikes down behind a building near to the tapcafe the junkie and the droid go into, Saibh comms Baik and Sohn with the location of the tapcafe as she and Raniero gun their speederbikes and begin moving towards it.

When the Zabrak and his henchmen exit the tapcafe, Saibh and Raniero are waiting for them with their blasters drawn, spaced out behind the cover of their speederbikes to be able to fire on their suspects from two different angles. As Saibh shifts her gaze back and forth between the suspects outside of the cafe and the front entrance to watch for the junkie and the droid to appear, Raniero shouts, Coruscant Security Force! Hands on your heads!

Two Panther police interceptors descend from above the tapcafe, sirens blaring and lights flashing as one heads for the front of the cafe and the other for the back while Saibh and Raniero wait for the Zabrak and his henchmen to surrender or try and fight their way out of the situation.



As the Underworld Police move on the tapcafe, two Panther police interceptors approach the landing pad where the YT-2400 landed, not activating their sirens or lights until one is beginning to land while the other hovers over the freighter and, the pilot of the hovering speeder, Officer Janda, turning on a spotlight to illuminate the area, calls out over the speeder's loudspeakers, Coruscant Security Force! Exit the freighter with your hands on your heads! You have one minute to comply or you will be boarded by force!