Silias takes one final look around the dingy motel room he had been using as a base of operations for the last few weeks and sighs in relief as the time for austerity is over, and he could move on to the next stage of his plan. Bugging the computers of the cruise companies that visit the port was the easy part. The preparation, study, surveillance and bribery were tricky, but that preparation work had finally paid off as the cruise ship both Silias and his assigned target were booked on was due to board that day.
Once satisfied that he had packed away, he walks out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him. He quickly makes his way to the motel’s lobby to check out. He looks around to see if anyone’s watching before sliding the room’s card into the return slot, then quickly swipes a credit stick along the kiosk’s payment terminal while softly muttering.
Once out of the motel, Silias takes a final look around the accommodation district of the small starport with an expression of disdain. The local population comprises those who serve the galactic cruise industry and local service workers on top of the passengers transferring between different liners. He walks up to a public terminal and connects it to his info slate to call his fixer. “I’ll probably be gone by the time you get this. He would not pay for real-time calling since that’s a waste of money. I’ll be boarding the ship in a few hours, along with my mysterious date. I can’t wait to see how it goes. I should be back in a week.” He says to let his fixer know that everything’s going well, and he should be exfiltrated within a week if all goes to plan.
Once he finished the call, he tosses the credit stick down behind the public data terminal while grinning to himself at the thought of throwing any tail using financial records after someone lucky enough to find the stick with a months’ worth of average local pay remaining as he makes his way to the more luxurious passenger side of the small starport and slips into the line for those wanting to board the Jupiter Stellar, a luxury cruise liner.
Once at the front of the line, he greets the receptionist at the check-in desk with a friendly smile. “Hello there, I’ve got a booking with the Jupiter Stellar. Here’s my ticket.” He slides over a paper ticket and an electronic ID card.” The receptionist looks over him at first, not bothering to hide her disgust before suddenly faking a friendly expression the moment she checks his ID and booking.
“I thought you were someone who stole the ticket based on how you’re dressed and with how little luggage you’ve brought for a ship of this class.” She says, trying to backpedal slightly.
Silias laughs. “I’m a professional gambler, and I make my living off the cards you see.” He then pauses. “The trick to being able to make a modest living at cards is to be lucky. The trick to being able to live large off the cards is to be a skilled people reader.” He then suddenly smirks. “The other trick is to know how to present an image. Someone in your position really should pick up those skills to avoid alienating any future customers.”
After getting his ID and boarding pass back, he offers a final wave then makes his way through the boarding tube of the Jupiter Stellar. It’s one of the Star Dream Line’s older ships that still shows all the class one would expect yet is starting to become affordable for those who managed to avoid being screwed out of their life savings by greedy megacorporation’s throughout Terran space.
While lining up to look around the crowd boarding the ship, he takes his time. Most seem to be junior executives and upper-middle management sent on vacations as a reward. He chuckles to himself, knowing that they act like they can play a game of poker but lack the skill and instinct to come out on top, just as they’ve ascended the corporate ladder to the point where they’re no longer competent to climb hire, an easy mark in the ship’s many casinos while he maintains his cover.
Another group he notices are the retirees who managed to save enough money to taste luxury just once after working a hard life in the corporate grind. This group does have the skills needed to win at cards, even if they prefer the simple monotony of the computerized games designed to swindle people out of their hard-earned credits.
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Silias finally reaches the front of the queue and hands over his boarding pass. This clerk had been notified of his high roller status in advance and had already offered him a friendly smile. “I see you’re a frequent visitor to our affiliated casinos, and your membership status will apply here.” The clerk then winks. “I hope you help us shake a few suckers out of their credits during your stay. I see you chose one of our mid-deck cabins, and we could upgrade you to a star view cabin on the same deck as the casino if you want.”
Silias shakes his head and answers. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m happy with the cabin I reserved. As you can see, I’ll be spending some time at the ship’s tailor to get a new wardrobe made up, and I want to get my exercise in at the gym, gotta stay fit, you know.”
The clerk nods and laughs along with Silias. “Yes, don’t worry, we won’t lose your luggage like the last ship. Your high roller status gets you the premium lounge access to the gym, the premium lounge and a visit to the captain’s table. We’ve got three different shops that sell the latest fashion and one tailor if you want something more personal.” He then slides pamphlets to Silias along with his room card. “You’re on the fifth deck midship on Bliss Row. Can’t miss the cabin.”
Silias takes his time to thank the clerk then slowly makes his way into the ship, exploring and admiring the luxury. He had seen better, and he had robbed better, but, for now, he had nothing but time to settle in and do recon before the next phase of the operation could begin.
The first step to his heist would be to visit his cabin and unpack his gear, and the second step would be to check in with the contacts on the crew that his fixer had arranged for him. So he takes the long way to his cabin to get started on his scouting. While he had taken the time to go through the ship’s blueprints, it was different seeing it in person, especially since he could finally see the ship’s security for himself.
He stops by one of his targets during the trip for a better look. On noticing that the security cameras are different from what the plans had hinted at, Silias silently groans knowing that he’s going to need the help of a contact for sure if he wants to find out the camera’s location and aim.
Finally, after he tours, the ship Silias arrives at his quatres. He places his luggage on the table then suddenly grins on, noticing a box hidden under the table with the sigil scribbled on a corner from the contact. He takes the box and opens it to reveal that it contains some of the equipment his contact was supposed to provide onboard, a modified slate and a datajack kit designed to infiltrate computer networks, a set of lockpicks for mechanical locks and the best of all, a smartcard cloner.
Satisfied that his contact is onboard, Silias then groans as he recalls getting no instructions on making contact. While thinking if he should try the datajack, he enters the cabin’s bathroom to inspect it then flushes the toilet. Suddenly he cries out in shock as the toilet is blocked and the water starts to rise, coming dangerously close to the bowl before stopping. The experience freaks silias out as he wonders how to best call maintenance while hiding a parcel of illegal gear that their scanner could easily sniff out if he’s not careful. His musings are interrupted as someone knocks at the door of his cabin.
Silias opens the door and comes face to face with a solidly built man in engineering overalls. “I was just in the area, and I got a notification about a faulty toilet. Mind if I take a quick look? I’ll have it fixed for you in a moment, sir.” The engineer addresses Silias, trying to think of an excuse to get him to leave.
On a second glance, Silias notices that the engineer has a tiny orange paper sticker on his coveralls with the same sigil as the package had and invites him into the room. “I assume that I can thank you for the welcoming gift?” He curiously asks.
The engineer nods in answer while stepping in and locking the door behind him. “Yes, I currently go by Jacques Bouhier. I’m a fellow member of the guild. I never expected to be working with someone of your skill but, that explains why we’ve got two main objectives and several new sub-objectives. The other guy has more gifts for you but, he’s busy.”
Jacques works to fix the sabotage he had done to the toilet. “Sorry about the toilet. I could not monitor your door without security breathing down my neck but, I could monitor the engineering alarms since I’m the deputy chief engineer.” He then grins. “I’ve already made a copy of all the heads ID cards using that toy I gave to you. I suggest using it to get some copies of junior staff too. They log where the heads use their cards.” He explains as the duo start to work, plotting the next stage of the operation.