Adventure 18: Breaking and Entering

176.239:M22 – A little over a month has elapsed since the incidents on Gelgelar and, in that time, the crew of the Exeter have been making an effort to maintain a low profile. Work remains difficult to come by, but a recent job brings them to Alderaan, and here, on this beautiful Core World, the crew scatter, intent on burning some of their hard-earned monies on various vices. Ondo remains behind aboard the Exeter, ostensibly to do ‘paperwork’ and keep an eye on the ship, but truthfully because he’s uncomfortable on such a high profile world.

During his ventures, Jor’dira stumbles upon some unexpected information: a Republic bureaucrat named Narp Pilyev is discreetly selling census information regarding healthy, adult, female Twi’leks who recently left their homeworld, Ryloth, at the same time that Jor’s sister vanished. Realizing that his information could only be abused by would-be slavers and desperated to get the intel himself, Jor returns to the Exeter and informs his captain, asking that they keep this mostly secret. Ondo agrees to help.

8T33 is tasked to gain as much information as he can about Pilyev with Jor’s assistance, while Ondo ventures out to scout the man’s penthouse. Safe from prying eyes, Ondo uses the Force to mind trick his way into an apartment with a good vantage point of Pilyev’s penthouse. Jor eventually joins him once he and 8T33 have obtained valuable information on Pilyev’s comings and goings. Several days pass as they observe and they decide to make a stealth insertion into the penthouse, utilizing a pair of shadowsuits that they legally obtain.

On the night of the raid, things initally go relatively smoothly. The shadowsuits allow Ondo and Jor to avoid detection by the cameras, and the remote-controlled H1N1 (operated by 8T33) quickly detects a concealed safe. Unfortunately, Jor’s excitement over having a lead to his sister results in him failing to disarm an unseen silent alarm, and suddenly, the two 501-Z droids patrolling the penthouse are alerted to their presence. Seconds later, the two human guards are also alerted!

8T33 seals one of the doors leading to the master bedroom before jacking into a nearby terminal where he begins the process of slicing through the meager computer’s systems. One of the 501-Z droids surges toward them through a narrow corridor and Ondo, suddenly realizing that he brought only his concealed lightsaber, springs forward, igniting his weapon and meeting the droid head on. Naturally, this causes some surprise to Jor, but he is initially too busy to truly react.

At the sight of a lightsaber, the lead human guard panics and bolts, calling out for his cohort to come with him, and against Ondo’s weapon and Jor’s well-placed shots, the two 501-Zs quickly fall. Ondo senses that his use of the Force has been detected by several of the Jedi currently in the city and urges haste – while Jor thoroughly destroys the droid’s memories, Ondo cuts into the safe with his saber and 8T33 convinces the penthouse security to let the two guards free while simultaneously altering the digital documents that identify the Exeter as those who purchased the shadowsuits. After quickly making a copy of the data they came for, 8T33 also transfers the core programming of the computer into a deactivated cleaning droid and allows it to run free.

With copies of the data tapes – and some cash taken from Pilyev’s safe – in hand, Ondo and Jor make good their escape, still mostly undetected. They rendezvous with 8T33, who has been loitering in the area in a speeder, and, as they depart the area, they see the two Jedi arrive on speeder bikes along with a phalanx of police cruisers … at almost the exact moment Narp Pilyev comes rushing home…