Log:Kidney and A Hard Place
Log: Kidney and a Hard Place
Overview
- OOC Date: September 23, 2022
- Location: Nar Shaddaa (RP Room)
- Participants: Nylis, Pilha Aino, Shadra Nim (GM)
At the behest of arms dealer Dran Arborem, Pilha and Nylis work to retrieve a transplant organ from a nearby hospital for his son Uzzad Arborem.
Log
Unlike the stale white, aesculapian walls of a general hospital, this private facility exudes the warmth and classic luxury one might expect aboard a SoroSuub yacht. The floors are polished, naturally sourced stone. The walls are clad in synthwood and trimmed in gold which may very well be real. The lights are comfortably low and hidden by cleverly positioned plants and panels scattered about. Only a couple things betray the reality: a cylindrical medical droid standing vigil with its array of dentist-like tools at the ready, and the octopus of tubing and sensors connected to a young teen languishing in a gurney.
Looming over the youth stands a smartly dressed Corellian man named Dran Arborem. His burnished hair is undercut and long on the top. Aquiline features are made more severe by the dour look on his face. His stature is solid suggesting a history of physicality. Even as he worries with one arm across his chest and the other stroking the underside of a cleanly shaven chin, it's clear that the gears in his mind are ever whirring.
"Thank you for coming," Dran intones. His voice is gravelly. Vice and a lifetime of speaking have worn hard edges in to his voice. "I expect brevity and discretion. I purchased an organ from the Rarrined Medical Center through a contact named Dros Eevve. However, this individual has reneged on the deal." He turns away from the sickly youth to examine the pair recently arrived. "Your role is to ensure that the deal reaches an amicable conclusion without the destruction of the property. My understanding is that it is stored in some sort of sensitive container. I believe at least one of you has the requisite minor medical knowledge to ensure that it remains functioning on the trip back."
Pilha Aino cuts a slight figure in her armour. She holds the helmet under her head and stands with her weight on her left foot as she listens to Dran. Her face serious, she mulls over the information then speaks. She has an odd accent - a mix of Corellian and Nar Shaddaa. "What type of sentient is Dros? Any idea about the security at the Medical Center?"
Most times in the past, when Nylis has been seen, his Arkanian features have been on display, his light battle armor absent a helmet. Tonight, having accepted the gig, the small frame is adorned from head to toe in light, moveable armor, which includes a helmet that mostly abscures his face from view, with a mask wrapped around his nose and mouth, further preventing his identification.
He arrives with his medpac and combat sword fastened to his left hip, both readily available in a moments notice. As well, he walks with his pristine, modern spear used as a walking prop. "Organ transportation can be arranged, yes." He ensures, both hands wrapping around the shaft of his spear, which he leans against. "Providing surgery afterwards, to supplant the expectant organ is also.. Possible, but I'd recommend a specialist on this organ."
With that said, he glances aside at Pilha and nods in agreement. "What's the organ, as well. I'll need to know the specifics so I can mind the safety of it, during transportation."
"Who's to know? These are your problems, not mine," Dran sets expectations with a nonchalant shrug that seems oddly juxtaposed against the gravity of the situation. "One might expect that there is some security to ward off scavengers and violent patients. My understanding is that you two have some skillsets that may allow you to glean additional information before charging headlong in to the facility."
The shorter of the pair receives Dran's attention then. "The surgery will be addressed by those in this facility. Your task is simple: retrieve the organ and bring it here." The request for a description causes the man pause. He draws in a deep, bracing breath and then steals a glance over his shoulder at the teen. "My understanding is that it is an extension of a blood filtering system. Kidney, some other tissue. I am not a doctor."
Pilha responds with a nod and watches Dran closely, particularly when he glances at the teen. "Have you paid already? Want the money back as well?" The terse slicer is certainly to the point, and apparently different services are on offer as well.
"These are sufficient details of the organ and tissue for me to get the job done, then." Nylis accepts with an incline of his head, and then he glances upward towards Pilha, briefly, and then his gaze returns to Dran. "We'll make this happen, then. It's a pleasure to work with you, Mister Arborem." Otherwise, he waits until Pilha is finished.
"An exchange of credits has already occurred but I am only interested in the retrieval of the organs. If it is convenient and within your power, do so if you wish. In my experience it tends to be advantageous to be less ambitious when /time/ is a limiting factor," Dran drawls flatly. Dran nods curtly in the Arkanian's direction. "Transportation is waiting for you at the front of the clinic when you are ready."
Pilha shrugs vaguely and lifts her helmet up. "Sure thing, we'll be in touch in due course, then," she murmurs. She pulls the helmet down on her face, the lights of the upmarket clinic reflected in the black eye-orbs. She turns and ambles out, boots thudding faintly on the floor, to where transportation awaits.
Another nod, and Nylis turns after Pilha, trailing after her for the transportation as well, wordlessly.
A repulsorlimo awaits the pair. Its sleek, luxurious exterior hints that the interior will carry much the same esthetic as the private clinic itself. It does not disappoint. It's not an overly long trip but there is a chance to do some preliminary research along the way. The pair are dropped off within a few blocks of the facility. The chance for surveillance or more direct incursion is available.
Pilha opens the repulsolimo and climbs in. She settles back, crosses her left leg over her right, pulls a datapad from her pocket and eases her left glove off to use it. Tap tap tap. "Ok, so..." She says quietly. "Our mark is a tech, not a doctor. Found some reports that he was investigated for stealing supplies but it fell apart because no evidence he enriched himself. Unless he passed the money to a third party or stashed it."
All the while, on the ride over, Nylis is flipping through his own datapad. "That's unfortunate. It's hard to tell if this tech has been storing the organ properly to begin with, then."
Pilha steps out as the repulsorlimo pulls up a discrete distance from the medical centre. She wanders toward the clinic and down an alleyway to its side, looking for a connection to attach her datapad and check the building's security, but as she walks down the rubbish-strewn alley, a security cam spots her and the systems raise their threat scanning protocol. Pilha can't find anything, so she heads back to Nylis.
Casing around the side of the building, Nylis can be found spear in hand as he peeks around the corner of the structure. As Pilha approaches, his head turns in her direction and he nods. "Looks like just one guard at the shipping dock. Might be our way in. Standard blaster pistols, and low level armor. I'm not particularly creative, on non-hostile solutions. Anything on the network worthwhile?"
Once the pair have been unloaded, the limo immediately takes off and disappears in to the mottled sky. It's a short walk to the medical center. The area is fairly densely populated and foot traffic is reasonable prolific. Benches scattered about offer up plenty of opportunity to casually observe but with the teen on death's door, and Dran's emphasis on time, there may not be that much time to dawdle.
"Couldn't find anywhere to jack in," Pilha says quietly in response to Nylis. "But... if we pretended to be a medical waste disposal we could probably slip in. We'd need to go buy some overalls, though. People tend to overlook delivery people..."
"That may work, for a time. We're on a time limit, though. Going to buy materials for the job would take too long." Nylis counters, adjusting and lifting his spear in a slow twirl, so the tip is pointed low. "I say we just get in as quickly and quietly as possible, see if we can nab their comms and listen to their conversations... Pick up an access card if we're lucky, and get rolling. We're going to have to wing this."
The pair discuss their options. Time continues to slip on by.
Pilha pauses and straightens. She looks at the clinc, turning her helmeted head to study it. "Ok, fine," she says coming to a conclusion. "After you."
"Alright, if you've got ranged options, engage the guard with stun shots, I'll try to get in close." Nylis presents, and without waiting for confirmation, turns and darts around the corner of the building, springing and working to quickly scale the fence, tossing his spear ahead of him before jumping to climb over.
Sure thing," Pilha says as she looks down to check her blaster charge. She heads over, pulling her DL-30 out and flicking the setting to stun. As she draws near, trying to be discrete, she draws her blaster and fires at the guard
The guard notices a flicker of motion in the corner of her eye and turns to find Nylis attempting to scale the fence but failing. She rises, moving out of the box to investigate on her side of the fence. With her hand about her sidearm, but the weapon still in its holster, she creeps forward - at least until the slicer's stunshot finds its mark. Spasming, she crumples in to a heap.
With the guard crumpled, Nylis can't quite jump high enough to clamber over top of the fence, and grunts in complaint. "Kriff! Hurry over here and help me over!" He calls over for Pilha. "Or you go over, you pick but make it quick."
Guard dispatched, Pilha hurries over the Nylis, her boots crunching on the ground. "Ok," she says, then bends down with her right knee out. "Hop up."
With Pilha rushing over, Nylis accepts the hand over and hops over the fence, curing his small frame under his breath. "Who thought this was a good idea? Because it's cute? Damned parents..." He murmurs, scooping up his spear and rushing to find the button to open the gate...
The button is easy enough to find. The gate whirrs as its magneto-lock disengages and motivators slide the heavy metal aside. Anyone could walk through at this point. There's two loading gates and an employee access door. The doors are closed at the moment. There's dumpsters and a disposal area for cigarras.
Pilha grabs an access card from the guard before Nylis drags her off. She quickly searches the guard box and finds a spare uniform, she dons it quickly, leaving her armour with the tied up guard. Unfortunately for Pilha it has the guard's name "Shana" stitched into it. Pilha curses quietly but it'll have to do. "Ok, we can get in. Ready?" She asks Nylis and holding up the access card.
It's a quick job, gagging and tying up the guard, as though Nylis has done this before. And then he drags her off to hide behind the dumpster, out of view of the CCTV. Then he quickly darts, scooping his spear back up and arrives by the door with a smirk. "Yes, yes. Ready. Just keep that thing low and ready to go." He murmurs, gesturing with the tip of his spear towards her blaster.
The back door gives way once Pilha swipes the keycard and the pair are allowed easy access in to the corridor. There's a doorway that leads to the loading bay and another direction that leads deeper in to the hospital proper where the main arteries for the building flow. In stark contrast to the clinic, the lights are harsh and bright. The walls are white save for signs and the usual marketing posters. The din of chatter can be heard. It's a busy day.
Pilha nods as she keeps her pistol out. Guard uniformed, she swipes the card and holsters her weapon, then walks in with a measured step as if she's on a patrol, looking for Dros Evee.
Nylis meanwhile slides in just after Pilha quietly, and he mostly sort of... Walks behind her, using her frame as cover while she has the only functioning disguise. Small frame for the win, here.
The pair work their way down the hallway, mostly blending in with the crowd. It is Nar Shaddaa and rough individuals are a dime a dozen. There are helpful guide kiosks at regular intervals, artificial potted plants, and staff milling about as well. There are several rooms flanking the hallway. Some doors are closed, others are open. They all feature a small rectangular viewing window that can be privacy screened if desired.
Pilha moves quickly, with the calm step of a security guard on her patrol. She glances in rooms as they pass them, then spots their Duros friend tending the IV of a patient who lies still, eyes closed. She glances at Nylis. "Is the patient asleep or not? Check the machines."
A Duros is pointed out to him, and Nylis nods. "Sure, I'll take a look, meanwhile, can you jack into these kiosks and get to work from here?" He questions in a low whisper, and he does indeed slide up to the nearest kiosks with a view of the Duros, accessing the computer and scanning for information about the patients vitals.
Pilha wanders to the terminal and quietly connects her datapad. Juuuuust a security guard updating their log... or something. She taps away for a minute, and then pulls out the info. A map. Pilha shakes her head and has another look.
Sliding up to the computer, Nylis draws up some data and after a brief search he shakes his head lightly. "Yeah, this guy is kriffed." He whispers for Shadra. "He's not going to be waking up for a loooong while. I'd bet a hundred credits this isn't a patient, but a victim. Either they kriffed the transplant, or he's a harvest for them and my money's on the latter."
For the moment, the pair are unaccosted. Nylis successfully assesses the patient diagnostics. Pilha begins to narrow down the options. Based on Nylis' earlier observations, he knows what they have a few rounds before the integrity of their disguise is really going to be tested by a passing patrol.
Pilha shakes her head wordlessly. She looks up as a Rodian wearing armor wanders by and nods at him. He nods back, then the dark-haired slicer looks down and slices the terminal again. "Just a map...trying to find the organ.... there we are. A delivery was made and the organ was originally slated to head to the laboratories but it was diverted to cold storage and labeled as bio waste before a false record put it back in the lab. I have a map to cold storage... let's go."
And just as Pilha reveals those details, Nylis presses a few buttons on the terminal and turns to her. "Alright, let's go. We've got a short amount of time before they know what's up. Go, go." He murmurs in a low whisper, urging her forward.
Pilha doesn't need telling twice. She unhooks her datapad and heads to the cold storage quickly. She keeps her expression stern.
Pilha successfully identifies the deception in the computer system before they discover it in person. Armed with the knowledge to get where they are going, it's just a matter of getting there. Fortunately, Nylis uses his background in medicine to trigger a seizure in a patient in another part of the hospital.
"CODE BLUE! SECTOR 6A" The synthesized voice carries over the intercoms across the entire hospital and there's a rush of activity down a hallway opposite the path the pair intend to take. They go left, curious onlookers and medical staff go right. A classic.
With the aid of the stolen keycard and a well-populated datapad, the pair work the maze of the Hospital and pass in to cold storage. The temperature drop is immediate and extraordinarily unpleasant relative to the rest of the corridors. There are several shelves with various boxes and containers. Nearly all are marked with some sort of biohazard symbol. All have descriptors scribbled on their surface. Fortunately, Nylis has identified what the case looks like.
Once they are underway, Nylis scoops up the spear and dashes after Pilha, following her lead into the cold storage. "Alright, it should be marked with a shipping label. They'll try to obscure the details by using technical terms. Did you get a code, maybe?" He questions, searching for the case he identified previously.
"Yup," Pilha murmurs as they head into the chilly cold storage. She tells Nylis the code, then waits by the door in case anyone comes in, keeping an eye out while Nylis searches.
Tick tock. The whirr of the fans almost drowns out the chattering of teeth.
The small, lightly armored Arkanian dashes forward, sifting through the variety of crates and items in the cold storage. "Come on, come on..." He complains, and then, "Aha!" He declairs happily. "Here, this is it. Kriff, this is gonna be..." He murmurs, slinging the spear over his shoulder and grunting as he begins to pull the crate down. "Alright, we're low on time, and this is gonna be heavy. Think you can lift things better than me? I'm not built for heavy lifting... And if this thing gets damaged, we're kriffed."
"On it," Pilha lifts the heavy container with a grunt, muscles on her slender arms stranding out as she huffs and heads out. "Let's get the frak out of here."
And with Pilha carrying the crate, Nylis leads with his spear held low and ready, just in case, back for the exit. "Great, yeah let's go. Time's up." He murmurs after her as they go.
Fortunately Pilha does in fact lift. Despite some flubbing, the pair's unique combination of slicing and medical knowledge has provided enough wiggle room for them to find the target without having to leverage the medical technician. The well-placed distraction makes for easy sailing out the backdoor. With the guard out of commission and in no position to have woken up to sound the alarm, passage through the gate is trivial. Backtracking to where they were dropped off, the limo comes unbidden from the sky and invites the pair in.
Pilha hoists the container into the trunk of the repulsorlimo, grabbing her armour on the way, and then bundles herself into the limo. Up, up and away.
The operation is successful. Dran, while not the type to gush, is visibly more relaxed as the organ bundle is found to be in good enough shape for the procedure. The trio are ushered out by medical staff and the fate of the teen is in the hands of professionals. Pilha and Nylis are rewarded with credits and some street clout that they may be able to leverage in the future. As an added sweetener, a voucher to the Celestial Garden is added to the pile. One of the fanciest restaurants on Nar Shaddaa, it's an opportunity to experience something they may not otherwise be able to afford.
