Jedi Council Forums - The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 7 (OCs, CorSec Detectives)

Locked Topic | Read Only Topic | Previous Active Topic | Next Active Topic

Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 - ~~Previous~~ | Next | Reload

Author	Topic: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 7 (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
Luton_Plunder Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 8/23/07 6:06am Subject: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 7 (OCs, CorSec Detectives) - Date Edited: 1/19 5:40am (10 edits total) Edited By: Luton_Plunder
	Title: "The User - Episode 1:3 'Metalegacies'" Timeframe: About 2 years before ANH Characters: OC's Genre: Action/Adventure Summary: Detective Tadgh Maitland and his brother Taban investigate a remote planet that may conceal secrets from their past. Meanwhile, Detective Jeanice Keyston investigates the resurgence of a xenophobic gang. Disclaimer: I don't own star wars and wont ever make any money off of this story, ever, ever. George Rulez, ok? Welcome, welcome to the Third episode in the series! New readers, rest assured I will attempt to make this as stand-alone as humanly possible. But if you would like to fill in the back-references, feel free to read up on the first two adventures! The User 1:1 - Special Investigations The User 1:2 - Premeditated So, with a deep breath, the saga continues.... Primary Characters Tadgh Maitland - CorSec Detective with Special Investigations (SIn) Jeanice "Keys" Keyston - CorSec Detective with Special Investigations (SIn) Taban Maitland - Director (and sole employee) of CorSec Droids & Data division - Brother of Tadgh Maitland Iqbal 'Despot' Despotov - Director of CorSec Special Investigations (SIn) Kayleh - A Mysterious Jedi Knight Previously on The User... During the course of Investigating an impossible murder, Detective Tadgh Maitland was confronted by a Dark Jedi (and Emperor's Hand) named Bastian. Convinced that Tadgh and his brother Taban were force sensitive due to their Jedi Father, she attempted to kill them both. She was wrong about their force sensitivity and thwarted by Tadgh, who had no choice but to kill her. The Emperor was outraged and assigned another of his secret hands - 'Thirteen' - to attempt to either convert or kill the brothers. One week later, during the investigation of a kidnapping, Tadgh encountered a second Force User named The Mystic who possessed an ability to see into the future. After helping locate the kidnapped victim, The Mystic was killed by Thirteen in the middle of his CorSec prison cell. The relentless pursuit and destruction of other Force Users in the galaxy continues. The User - Episode 1:3 Metalegacies Pre-Credits Sequence Detective Tadgh Maitland trained his BlasTech on a point somewhere below the eyebrows of the Duro thug and above the forehead of the human hostage. Grey hands gripped the woman's neck, restricting her from crying out as she so obviously wanted to. It was difficult to block out the taunts of the crowd, elated that human blood may be spilled in the name of their entertainment, but he had to try. This shot would take nothing less than his absolute concentration. "I know what you're thinking, Detective," the Duro said with a menacing grin. "And I know you are good enough to make the shot." Tadgh tightened his grip and steeled himself. He had been expecting trouble when he had gone to investigate the reports of gangland human death matches, but had never expected it to be this serious. All he could do was keep his calm and attempt to decipher the best course of action. "But even you will admit that you are not invincible," the Duro continued, snaking a dented vibroblade across his captive's throat. "We have the superior numbers." It was true enough. There were at least twelve other gang members of various species around him, all clutching guns or close-range weapons. He had been unable to identify which specific gang this was, but judging by the firearms they were carrying they were well funded. He didn't dwell on it. It could wait until after he had apprehended them all. "But I know how you humans like to exaggerate your ties to one another," the Duro was well into his diatribe now, speaking with a flow that was well practiced. "Your own personal safety may not be a consideration for you, as long as it means that this hostage goes free. Am I correct?" Tadgh still hadn't spoken, the Duro probably mistaking this as a sign that he had his rapt attention. "And so for that reason I give you a choice," the Duro said, motioning to one of the gang members directly behind Tadgh. A Kubaz stepped forward, gripped in his arms a second human woman. This one Tadgh recognised all too well. "We found this one sneaking about our perimeter. You know each other, I think?" Tadgh turned and kept emotion from his face. He nodded curtly to the woman, spoke her name in casual greeting, "Detective Keyston,", and turned away from her immediately. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that 'Keys' could handle herself. For now he kept his eyes trained on the Duro. "You cannot save them both with guns, Detective," the Duro said, ignoring Tadgh's casual dismissal of his colleague quite piously. "Your blast-em-up tactics are useless here. It is time to step back from your disgusting human bravado and accept that you are not better than us." For every word that the Duro said, Tadgh found his impatience inflating. Extreme xenophobic gangs like these were all the same, seeking to end the perceived inequalities between their races with violence and bloodshed. Mending the divide between races was, to them, about taking their place as righteous rulers. "So clueless are you humans. So limited. You would risk your life to defend your own," he shook the woman in his hands, "but balk when we do the same. Family, Detective - you do what you must to defend it. And what you fail to realise, what you all fail to realise is that family is not bound by blood." Why is it, Tadgh thought to himself, that I always get stuck listening to a monologue? "So here we find how far you are willing to stretch your definition of family. The human you know, or the human you don't? That one," he pointed a grey hand at Keys, "you can quantify her right to life. This one," he shook the woman in his arms again, "you cannot. Perhaps she will cure a disease, or rule all of Corellia one day. Then again, perhaps she is a criminal who harms others. It is time to make your choice, Detective. "Your colleague, or-" Tadgh wished he could have thought of a better excuse as to why he did it, but the reality was that the monologue was becoming unbearably boring. In one smooth motion, he drew a second blaster from an armpit holster and pointed it straight at Keys' chest. Without giving it another thought, he turned his full attention back to the Duro and squeezed both triggers. His stun bolts hit both of the hostage-holding thugs and dropped them. The Duro hit the ground limp, a carefully placed glowing blue mark between his eyes. The Kubaz had taken the shot centre chest after Keys had expertly manoeuvred herself out of the blaster's path - as Tadgh had known she would. Before the crowd of gang members had a chance to react, half of them had been hit by blaster shots from an unseen source. Tadgh drifted his aim with both blasters to clean up the remaining thugs in his field of vision. Behind him, he could hear Keys' blaster as well. Within three seconds of his first shot, the only beings left standing were human. The silence that followed was stark against the blasts that had preceded it. Dust and smoke mixed in the air to create a thick haze. It was like viewing everything through a foggy lens. "Nice," a very tall woman said, striding out from her hiding place, smoking blaster still in hand. Her CorSec ID hung from her neck, glinting through the cloudy air like a beacon of the law. Tadgh smiled at her. "Good shooting, Mercutia." "Lockyer hit more than me," she said, shaking her head. "Only one more," Lockyer called, descending from his own hiding place atop a set of crates. He had already holstered his weapon - typical of 'Safety First' Lockyer. "That puts you three ahead, my friend," Mercutia said with no small amount of professional jealousy. She and Lockyer were Special Investigations' most competitive gunslingers, and as such kept their tallies well up to date. "I'm going to have to come up with something special to beat that." "My gods!" the hostage announced suddenly, arms wrapped around herself. The volume of her voice startled all of them. Her eyes were wide as she glared at the four CorSec detectives in disbelief. Hit by a sudden pang of guilt, Tadgh walked to her. He wanted to apologise for risking a shot over her shoulder - such a thing was known to induce shock. He would need to comfort her in any way he could, especially given all she had been through in the custody of these alien thugs. He was stopped in his tracks, however, when she put a hand across her chest and beamed at them. "That was so cool!" -----signature----- The Essential Guide to OCs. Say No to Mary. http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/25562370/p1
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
VaderLVR64 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 8/23/07 6:23am Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Prologue (OCs, CorSec)
	Hit by a sudden pang of guilt, Tadgh walked to her. He wanted to apologise for risking a shot over her shoulder - such a thing was known to induce shock. He would need to comfort her in any way he could, especially given all she had been through in the custody of these alien thugs. He was stopped in his tracks, however, when she put a hand across her chest and beamed at them. "That was so cool!" Priceless! Please put me on your PM list! -----signature----- R.I.P John, Alex, Jason, and Christian Never forgotten Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ 2114 soldiers waiting for someone to care
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
VA_Parky Registered: Aug '05	Date Posted: 8/23/07 9:33am Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Prologue (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	Hee!! What a wild first post, Luton! I honestly loved it to pieces! The hostage's line at the very end just MADE the chapter for me! A brilliant touch! Tadgh is my new favorite hero. I just adore him. The way he gets so annoyed with the bad guys is priceless. His comment about getting stuck listening to monologues had me in stitches. You have created such a neat guy here!! I really root for him and his CorSec colleagues - something that makes me nervous since there is still so much sinister stuff lurking around the corners! Thank you so much for the wonderful PM! I would have hated to have missed the beginning of the next tale in our series. I'll have to ask for your patience though - my Dad is having bypass / valve replacement surgery in the next few weeks, so I have a feeling I'll be MIA for a bit. I'll be back, I promise! I just didn't want you to think that I had lost interest of abandoned the story or anything. I've been here from the beginning and I play to stick around to the very end. As always, I'm looking forward to the next chapter!!! -----signature----- Currently on hiatus Awash in Broken Promises (RotS AU): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/23913704/p1/ Our 1st - Matthew - arrived 1/1/08
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 8/23/07 11:17am Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Prologue (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	Yay, new story time. Human death matches? Whew, that ain't a good thing to have happening on your planet. He didn't dwell on it. It could wait until after he had apprehended them all. Atta boy, Tadgh. If ever a situation called for confidence, it would be this one. Tadgh wished he could have thought of a better excuse as to why he did it, but the reality was that the monologue was becoming unbearably boring. hee hee. Hopefully that's not what Tadgh puts in his report to Despot. Her CorSec ID hung from her neck, glinting through the cloudy air like a beacon of the law. That's a darn cool image. The competitive dynamic between Mercutia and Lockyer is interesting. It was a good thing Tadgh and Keys had their help in this situation. And I agree that the hostage's reaction at the end was great. Hmm, it's kinda weird how part of that horoscope actually was accurate for me today... Excellent first post! There are already a few things I'm curious about, but I'll wait and see if they're answered as things develop. -Thumper -----signature----- "Like anything worth writing, it came inexplicably and without method." -Karen Eiffel, _Stranger Than Fiction_ "Adamantine"--Rebel OC vig http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/30390799
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Darth_Manion Registered: Feb '07	Date Posted: 8/23/07 3:06pm Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Prologue (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	Huzzah for shooting stuff! It's nice to see a fresh chapter of The User again. And new characters, as well. In my book, you can never have too much cannon fodder . As for these pesky alien-supremacy cabals... I think my conspiracy-detector is telling me that there's more than just a bunch of thugs at work here. Although, I should probably wait until I've got more than a hunch before I begin my wild plot theories. Be honorable, ronin. -----signature----- "Life... is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for." -Smoking Man, 'The X-Files'
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
The_Face Title: Ex-Manager Registered: Feb '03	Date Posted: 8/23/07 8:44pm Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Prologue (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	That hostage reminded me of the kid on the bike from The Incredibles. And then of Hot Fuzz. That's just the way I am. Good start, LP, and one that throws us right into the action. Nice to see Tadgh and Keys in their CorSec element, particularly when it means new characters. Can't have three to four detectives running all of SIn can we? And continuing Face's random association game, I got a Gimli/Legolas running death count vibe from Lockyer and Mercutia. Very much looking forward to this, LP. I'll be expecting update PMs of course. -----signature----- "Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." - E.L. Doctorow
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Luton_Plunder Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 8/23/07 11:01pm Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Prologue (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	MamaVader - Thanks so much for checking this out Consider yourself added to the 'best dressed list' Parky - Welcome to the latest episode And thankyou for adopting Tadgh as your new favourite hero And as for your concerns regarding being away shortly, think absolutely nothing of it! I hope everything goes incredibly smoothly for you and your father. I'll keep you both in my thoughts. See you whenever you are able Thanks again for replying! Thumper - New story time indeed! Faster than I'd thought too Human death matches were about the most abhorrent thing I could think of within the TOS It's actually a bit of a fine line to walk. Effectively, Corellia is gripped in a time period in which racism is quite prevalent between humans and non-humans. Tadgh, Keys, and every human character is inherently racist in this story because of the climate around them. The xenophobic gangs they are fighting only exist becuase of xenophobia in the first place, so it's thin ice stuff. I don't want to portray any of my characters as indecently racist because they aren't - but the climate of the galaxy dictates that they base more decisions on race than they should. Glad you like Mercutia and Lockyer! As Face said, you cant have all of SIn represented by 3 detectives And haha, you think there's a career for me in astrology? Thanks so much for the reply! Manion - Haha, Manion, you've just about mimicked one of Taban's lines from chapter two when you said 'Huzzah for shooting stuff' Well picked, sir! And your alien-supremicist conspiracy theories may or may not be well founded. I don't know. I'm a clueless bystander. Thanks for replying! More to come shortly Face - Haha, Hot Fuzz is one of my favourite movies ever. I think I will write all the SIn detectives with some kind of cake or ice cream in their hands from now on. I'm very glad to see you like the new characters too, who will have more of a role as the story goes on. Here they're just kind of names that shoot guns Gimli/Legolas is probably a good analogy for them Thanks for the reply! More coming your way shortly... -----signature----- The Essential Guide to OCs. Say No to Mary. http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/25562370/p1
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Rogue_Pilot_2347 Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 8/25/07 7:54pm Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Prologue (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	Oh goodness. I'm sensing a nightmare tagalong here. Nevertheless, it was cool. I'll give her that. Nice start. I'm liking it so far. Just for everyone's benifit: reading Luton's pms at 11:00 at night is not a good idea: They make very little sense. Can't wait for the next bit! -----signature----- The Ultimate poetry Challenge: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=26190468&brd=10304&replies=6 Two Halves of the Same Whole: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=27517831&brd=10476&replies=0 *For the 2nd drabble challenge
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Luton_Plunder Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 8/29/07 12:15am Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Prologue (OCs, CorSec Detectives) - Date Edited: 8/29/07 12:23am (1 edits total) Edited By: Luton_Plunder
	Rogue_Pilot - Great to see you back Haha, I promise our easily impressed hostage has been heard from for the last time I do apologise for the PMs, they make so much sense to me at the time Thanks so much for continuing to read! Chapter One "He made a mistake," Tadgh said, looking down at the momentarily lifeless body of the Duro he had stunned. The gang members had been bound and placed in a line along the ground in anticipation for their waking. CorSec Patrol had arrived to secure the scene and the entire area was now awash with officers. "In his speech about family," Tadgh qualified. "Oh yes?" Director of Special Investigations 'Despot' Despotov asked at his side, engrossed in compiling the initial reports he had been given by all four SIn officers in attendance. "He used the term too loosely," Tadgh continued, surveying the scene one final time. Mercutia and Lockyer, after finding and freeing the remaining hostages, had left the scene already to continue with their own independent investigations. Keys lingered to interrogate the gang members they had arrested. "To him, family is anything that draws a group together. It's a numbers game almost. His family of non-humans, my family exclusively of humans. It's flawed." "Fascinating," Despot said vacantly, moving to a new area of the scene. Tadgh had to hasten after him to stay in earshot. "He forgot that it's not how many people you know that makes a family. It's how well you know them. If he'd known that he might not have chosen Keys as the second hostage. He'd have won," Tadgh admitted. "I see," Despot gave a token response, probably unaware of what he was responding to. Tadgh took very close notice of his superior's inattentiveness and smirked to himself. "And," he said in a serious tone, "I'm thinking of joining the circus." "Mm-hmm," Despot grunted non-committally, eyes not moving from his datapad. "And," Tadgh snorted a laugh, "We should change the SIn motto to 'have you tried handling it yourself?'." "Mm-hmm," Despot agreed once more. "And," Tadgh pushed, thoroughly enjoying himself, "I think I deserve a pay rise of no less than 100 percent." "Absolutely not." "It was worth a try," Tadgh said and shrugged. "You're right though - about the family thing," Despot said, circling the unconscious line of aliens as though holding them there with his gaze alone. "What he's got here certainly isn't a family. Too much animosity, not enough trust. This is a gang, nothing more intimate than that. Now, the question is - which one?" Tadgh nodded and surveyed their captives, looking for outward clues as to which group they might belong to. All over Corellia there were gangs built on Xenophobia and it could be any of them. Tri-continuum were a definite possibility, they had one too many determined vigilantes living underground to ever be totally overcome. It was also possible that the Sceptres had made a resurgence, but he truly hoped that wasn't the case. He had personally shut them down a year ago when he'd incarcerated their leader, Mochtaan. "Are you thinking," Keys said, moving to stand beside him, "these are the same guys that organised the Heartstring kidnapping a couple of weeks ago?" He honestly didn't know and said the only thing he could think of that would get him out of having to provide a concrete answer. "Are you?" "Hard to say, given that it's your case," she countered. She had her professional face on but he could detect the determination in her voice. After having worked together for years there were certain nuances in one another's manner that they could interpret quite well. At the moment, she was projecting an air of excitement. She was looking forward to interrogating these prisoners. "It's yours too, kind of," he replied. Despot had assigned her the case of tracing all recent gang activity that SIn had on record. Technically their jurisdictions were overlapping on this case. "And besides, you're curious." "Then I'd say yes," she said, consulting her datapad. A fast and to-the-point answer, just like always. And if tradition held, she would most likely be proven right. "There are a lot of Xenophobic gangs, but they're fiercely territorial. None of them can quite agree on how to take action. Here we have two instances of human hostage taking. The Modus Operandi is the same." "Why not just say 'MO'?" Tadgh asked. "Because every common cop says 'MO'," she said. "Touché," he bowed slightly. "Want to hear my theory?" "Is it an interesting and original one?" "A bit same-old, same-old unfortunately. I'm pretty sure these guys - whoever they are - have a new benefactor. Probably off-world but someone with a lot of credits to throw around. Some of these street thugs were carrying shiny new carbine models that were only released in the last few months. Either they've been saving their hard-earned, or-" "Someone has taken a heavy interest in racial politics in Correalis," she brought the thought to a natural conclusion. There was a moment of silence as they both considered the ramifications of that theory. Most of them involved an increased workload for SIn. "But for what?" Tadgh said, rhetorically. Neither of them could answer the question and it wasn't something that they really needed to concern themselves with. They could discuss the issue in the same way that citizens discussed government policy - no amount of debate on their behalf would influence the end result. Still, it was engaging. His line of thought was broken by Despot who announced himself with typical abruptness. "Maitland," he said, stepping right between him and Keys. "I forgot. Somebody left something for you at the office yesterday." In his large hand was clutched a small yellow flimsiplast envelope labelled 'Tadgh Maitland', which he surrendered to his employee. "I would have given it to you sooner but we had to make sure it wasn't going to explode and kill us all. You understand." "Sure," Tadgh said, accepting the envelope with perplexion. "Who sent it?" "Nobody knows," Despot said. "It was delivered by courier." "And nobody thought to find out who sent it? Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Despot's hands met his hips. "I'm sorry, am I to take that as your request to transfer to the safe division of Special Investigations? The one where you track down stolen presents for orphans and battle bah humbug monsters and enforce that everyone must be open about their feelings? Not to forget policing the 'at least five hugs a day' law. Shall I go on, or are you adequately convinced of this division's safeness?" Tadgh smirked in spite of himself. "Sorry, Director. I just wanted to know who sent it." "And I told you, we don't know. Now open it - or I'll arrest the suspense for attempted murder. Of me." Tadgh and Keys both winced. The Director was infamous around the SIn offices for making the most unlikely of speech gaffes. He was aware of this, however, and at times attempted to head off the fact that he was making them by stretching a figure of speech into something unrecognisable. In this case, surely 'the suspense is killing me' would have sufficed. "Duly noted," Tadgh said, ripping open the surprisingly strong envelope. A small, flat object fell from it and landed in his hand - metallic, cold against his skin. He looked at it for a few moments, strangely sure that he had seen this before. A piece of white flimsiplast followed, Progenitor III written delicately across it with what looked like blue homemade ink. Keys looked over his shoulder with a frown. "Somebody send you a credit chit?" But Tadgh had left the conversation. He had joined the dots on where he had seen this item before. It was a long time ago, but it was unmistakable. In the corner of the bronze disc were a set of initials - JM - and in the centre an image of a Jedi Knight, lightsaber held triumphantly aloft. There was no mistaking it. "I..." he began, unsure of what to say. "Excuse me," he settled for, moving away from Keys and Despot. He needed to tell his brother about this immediately. *** "Well," Taban Maitland said, scanning the horizon from his unique vantage point, "this is a fine day to be outside." It was true. The weather was particularly clement today. The bright orange sun baked the beautiful streets of Correalis, hot enough to warm the cold metal hearts of droids. A combination of cool breeze and a suitably sleeveless shirt made the temperature pleasant, however - and the fact that this was his day off work would have made for an incredibly close to perfect day. There were factors that counted against it however. Like the fact that he was dangling one-armed from the roof of his own apartment building. "Hey Tack," he said into the comlink affixed to the neckline of his singlet, "far be it from me to rush you, but the lactic acid is getting to be somewhat unbearable." Speaking about it seemed to only make it worse - the sharp ache in his right arm's muscles was increasing exponentially. "Do not worry," Tack's mechanical voice came back instantly. "The concept that muscle lactate equates to lactic acid is a misnomer. Lactic acid cannot form in the human body without specific factors that you are not currently experiencing. You are not susceptible to acidosis." Taban bit his lip. "Thankyou. Kind of not the point, but thankyou. Can you just open the damn grate already?" Tack was an extremely useful droid. A more extensively adaptable robot Taban had never known. A more tangential and skewed logic system he was certain couldn't exist. But he more than made up for his shortcomings with reliability, and of course a close connection with Corellia's most ubiquitous Common Data Network. Given that Tack could access it to share information with any droid on Corellia that possessed communications software in real time, putting up with a few personality quirks was an acceptable compromise. "The maintenance droid should be opening the grate any moment now," Tack relayed through the comlink. "The security systems have already been disabled but will re-activate in several minutes time." Taban nodded to himself, gritting his teeth against the pain. "Good. I'll tell you once I'm past the security door." "That will not be necessary - I will know." Beneath his feet Taban saw the maintenance grate prop itself open. He dropped to it as soon as he was able, falling the few feet and landing safely. There was great relief in his right arm as he let it fall limp beside him. He tried to exhale as much of the pain away as he could and hoist himself upright. He had to keep moving. The security systems would engage again shortly and he would need to be beyond the security doors by then. The maintenance droid sat dutifully next to him, waiting for its instructions. Of course, it normally wouldn't have done this but for the fact that Tack was controlling it remotely through the CDN. "Okay Tack," he said, whispering into the droid's comm system. "Seal it up behind me." The maintenance droid chirped an affirmative and set about closing the hatch he had just come through. If it were left open when the security systems re-activated, alarms would be set off through the entire building. That outcome, as were most that involved setting off alarms, was undesirable. "Now the tricky bit," he muttered to himself, crouch-running through the maintenance vent. He had only to find the correct grate and lower himself through it to gain access to the room he wanted. A simple task - hindered only by the presence of a large circulation fan that would make progressing from this point impossible in a single piece. He stood before it, feeling the deadly rush of air sweep over him and mess up his hair. He added another mental tally mark next to 'factors that count against the perfect day'. "Okay..." he continued to talk himself through the process, "if I were an emergency override switch..." There were no visible signs of anything resembling a switch on his side of the fan, and nor were there any covered panels or access ports. There had to be one, however - otherwise the maintenance droids would never be able to get past the fan either. That meant it was either concealed or, more likely, triggered by short-wave remote. He smirked as he removed his datapad from his back pocket and brought up his list of programs. Working at the Droids & Data division of CorSec meant that at any given moment he was up-to-date on the latest hacks and slicing codes to surface on Corellia. For something as simple as a short-wave 'on/off' switch, it would probably be easier to slice the code than physically pull a lever. He selected a program marked 'Taban's Crack-All' and activated it on short-wave broadcast. The fan stopped spinning instantly. Resisting the urge to spout a cliché, he tucked the datapad safely away and kept moving. It wasn't long before he had found the exit grate he was looking for and swung himself through it, landing lightly in the maintenance access hub. It was in this room that the droids that cleaned and serviced all the apartments were allowed access to extensive network of vents and corridors that ran behind the walls. Of course, the security on the room was tight. If a potential burglar got inside, he or she would have free reign on anyone's possessions. It worked to his advantage that the possibility someone might try it in reverse was never considered. He had one final hurdle to pass - the security door. It was quite well protected for a civilian job, and connected to enough alarms to deafen all residents in a 10 kilometre radius. It would be too much for his Crack-All to handle. "What I need," he said to himself, "is a little bit of luck." He plugged his datapad into the security console and selected a program entitled 'I Feel Lucky'. After a few seconds the screen returned a single blinking word: go. Hoping that he had judged the security level well enough, he began to indiscriminately punch in a random sequence of numbers and letters, stopping only at the length he thought the code might approximately be. A few seconds passed. He bit his lip. And the door swung open with an approving beep. "Lucky," he said, pocketing the datapad once more. The program worked not by providing him with the right code, but by changing the correct code to whatever was entered. It made him look as though he could simply guess any random code and luck on the right one, hence the name ''I Feel Lucky'. At parties, he found it went down a treat. Triumphant, he stepped forward out of the maintenance room and breathed deeply. He had done it - he'd made it beyond the security checks and found his way back to his level of the building. His own apartment was not far away, but he would have to move quickly before he was noticed. "Whoa, dude!" a slow, drawling voice said from close by. "Taban?" Taban winced a long, painful wince. He recognised the voice. "Hey," he said, trying so hard not to sound frustrated and annoyed, "Carl, how's it?" "Hey, man," Carl said, blinking several times and scratching at his thick stubble. "Hey, I don't think you're meant to be in there man. I mean, like - did you forget your keycard again or something? Man?" Taban forced himself to remember that this man owned the building. "I didn't, Carl, no - but it seems someone has cancelled my front door swipe access again." "Oh, yeah man, yeah!" Carl said as though just remembering this. "That was, like, my dad, huh. I like, told him not to and stuff...but then..." he lowered his voice and blinked several more times, "he like...did it anyway, man." "That's devastating, really," Taban said, finding himself with a smile spread across his face. Carl, as annoying as he could be, was actually a highly amusing guy. He was the absolute dropkick son of one of the wealthiest men in Correalis and had been donated a small property empire to run for the sake of keeping him busy. He was entirely inept at it, but was good natured and a very good handyman which made living under his roof quite easy. It was difficult not to like him. It was just that he was best taken in small doses and rarely came in them. "So is there any chance you can reset it for me?" "I don't know man, like, my dad is getting pretty mad that you're still here, man." Taban rolled his eyes. Carl's father had never exactly approved of having a CorSec officer living on his premises - a risk of snooping around his shady business activities, most likely. He disguised it as a distaste for the fact that Taban's less-than-affluent lifestyle didn't fit the décor of the place. Taban liked to think he made up for it by gifting common-dress-sense to the clientele. "You own the building, Carl - not your dad." "Yeah man, I know huh. It's crazy, right? But he's all like...'don't let that CorSec back in here' and I'm all like...'dude, Taban's okay' and he's all exploding and stuff. Dude, you should have seen his face when he heard about Tonk in there!" 'Tonk' was Carl's name for Tack. It was close enough, and would be a long and complicated process to correct. "You told him about Tonk?" "Yeah!" Carl seemed to be extremely amused by this. "He's like all red and shouting and stuff, 'firefek'n droids cluttering up the place, it should be paying rent too' - it went off in here, man! Like he didn't hate you enough already!" Carl nearly fell over laughing. You probably had to be there, Taban decided. "Well I'll tell you what," Taban said, striking inspiration. "He'd probably be even more angry if he found out I can break in here this easily, right?" Carl stopped laughing. "Dude, you seriously can't tell him that. He'd like...throw me out another window." "Wha-" he paused, "another window? He's done it before?" "Oh, like, just, like, as a joke." Carl busied himself staring at his bare feet and scratching various parts of himself, offering no further information. Taban took it as a sign to drop the subject and continue. "What if I help you close the security holes in the vents? Will that buy me back in?" Effectively, he'd just offered to fix security holes that only existed because he'd broken into the building himself. But he was banking on the fact that petty details like that would fly straight over the top of Carl's head. "I'll say it will, man!" he agreed enthusiastically. "Wow, man, you are, like, always helping me out like this." "Only 'cause you're so handsome, Carl," he said with a wink. Carl near giggled. "Dude, quit it, man, like, come on. Shut up. Man." Taban had scarcely been more grateful to hear his comlink, still strapped to the top of his singlet, begin chirping for his attention. He grabbed at it, saw that the frequency belonged to Tadgh, and brandished it for Carl to see. "Sorry, Carl - CorSec business, looks like." "Duuuude," Carl said, stretching the word beyond its length limit and giving him a sly nod. He raised one hand into the shape of a pistol and contracted his middle finger, whispering the word 'pew'. "I get it." Taban decided it was best to let him walk away with whatever misconceptions he had about the nature of his CorSec work because it clearly made him happy. Somewhere between amused and bemused by his eccentric landlord, he answered the comm with a grin. "Dude, like, hey man, Tadgh, dude, how's it, man?" There was a split second of silence from the other end of the comm, followed by Tadgh's wary voice. "Taban, if you ever pretend to be him again I will have the Tactical Response Team bomb that building into the ground." "Do you promise?" Taban countered, beginning the short walk to his apartment door. Tack would be waiting in there for him, probably shirty after being locked inside alone for the best part of three hours. "What can CorSec's most handsome help you with today? On his day off, hint, hint." "You sound puffed," Tadgh said, "what have you been doing?" "Dangling from a building," Taban said dismissively. "You?" "Shot up a den of thieves and rescued a couple of hostages," Tadgh said, equally as dismissively. "But then something quite interesting happened. I got a letter." "Oh yeah?" Taban asked, pushing the door to his apartment open. It was as he left it - more or less a complete mess. His bad habit of bringing his work home with him meant that pieces of droid were scattered everywhere. It wasn't like they weren't organised, but he couldn't deny that it looked anything but. Tack was waiting with the droid equivalent of patience next to the kitchen, propped against a bench top. "I love getting letters. Who's it from?" "I have no idea, and neither does the entirety of SIn." "Ah," Taban said, sealing the door tightly behind him and moving through his cluttered living room. Tack was following him but remained silent while there was a comm conversation in progress. "The stealthiest and most mysterious letter writer in the core strikes again. You want me to help you track down the sender?" "It's more what's in the letter that I need to yell you about," Tadgh was completely serious. For a change, Taban thought with a roll of his eyes. The last month or so had seen a distinct increase in serious conversations between them. Though to be fair, being targeted by Dark Jedi and having your death prophesised by a future-seeing vagrant will do that to you. Tadgh continued in Taban's silence. "It's a coin - a Jedi Credit, to be more specific." "A Jedi Credit?" Taban echoed, switching on the light to his bedroom. Compared to the other rooms it was immaculately tidy. A large window overlooked the park district of Correalis. It was a view that he couldn't afford, but with Carl on his side he managed it. He sat down and began to slip his shoes off. "I haven't seen one of those since Dad was given his. Does it have the corny Jedi with a raised lightsaber in the middle?" "Oh, I'll say it does," Tadgh confirmed. "In fact, it's even got a pair of initials engraved into it. 'JM'." Taban stopped - one shoe on and one shoe off. "What?" "Jericho Maitland," Tadgh said, sending gravitas crackling down the comm. "This belonged to our father." Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our first 'dun dun DUNNNHH' See you all shortly! Edit - I forgot to give my due credit! The Update PM for this week is an extremely old internet joke that you guys have probably heard a million times. I'd cite a specific source but it was sent to my inbox years ago Just so there's no confusion, no I didn't write it, hehe -----signature----- The Essential Guide to OCs. Say No to Mary. http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/25562370/p1
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
VaderLVR64 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 8/29/07 5:36am Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 1 (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	A DUN DUN moment indeed! "Well," Taban Maitland said, scanning the horizon from his unique vantage point, "this is a fine day to be outside." It was true. The weather was particularly clement today. The bright orange sun baked the beautiful streets of Correalis, hot enough to warm the cold metal hearts of droids. A combination of cool breeze and a suitably sleeveless shirt made the temperature pleasant, however - and the fact that this was his day off work would have made for an incredibly close to perfect day. There were factors that counted against it however. Like the fact that he was dangling one-armed from the roof of his own apartment building. "Hey Tack," he said into the comlink affixed to the neckline of his singlet, "far be it from me to rush you, but the lactic acid is getting to be somewhat unbearable." Speaking about it seemed to only make it worse - the sharp ache in his right arm's muscles was increasing exponentially. "Do not worry," Tack's mechanical voice came back instantly. "The concept that muscle lactate equates to lactic acid is a misnomer. Lactic acid cannot form in the human body without specific factors that you are not currently experiencing. You are not susceptible to acidosis." Taban bit his lip. "Thankyou. Kind of not the point, but thankyou. Can you just open the damn grate already?" Loved it! -----signature----- R.I.P John, Alex, Jason, and Christian Never forgotten Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ 2114 soldiers waiting for someone to care
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
VA_Parky Registered: Aug '05	Date Posted: 8/29/07 6:50am Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 1 (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	Ha!! You've outdone yourself, Luton - not only was I cracking up at the PM that popped up when I logged in this morning, but the chapter itself was wonderful!!! I absolutely LOVED IT! What an incredible blend of humor - and ominous mystery. Who in the world would have sent Tadgh that coin? And more importantly - why? I'm going to go crazy trying to figure all of this out. I mean, the possibilities are endless... some are good for our heroes... and others, not so much. Guess I will just have to exercise the fine art of patience and see where this situation falls. I'll be out of touch beginning tomorrow, but I promise to return just as soon as I can. Thanks again for the laugh today - I really needed it. My Dad's surgery is tomorrow so my stress level is somewhere in the upper level of the atomosphere right about now. I appreciate the brief mental vacation! Looking forward to more of this wonderful tale! -----signature----- Currently on hiatus Awash in Broken Promises (RotS AU): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/23913704/p1/ Our 1st - Matthew - arrived 1/1/08
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Darth_Manion Registered: Feb '07	Date Posted: 8/29/07 1:08pm Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 1 (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	Heeeeyyy, sweet chapter, man. That instalment made my day. Seriously. -----signature----- "Life... is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for." -Smoking Man, 'The X-Files'
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Mjsullivan Registered: Dec '03	Date Posted: 8/30/07 3:18am Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 1 (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	Okay, deep breaths for a moment... I love Carl. Best. OC. Ever I suppose there are some other good ones in there too but what do I know. There are totally not enough stoner surfie d00ds walking around in the GFFA. I could imagine this guy either wearing a lay of flowers around his neck and clutching a surfboard or a tie-dyed jumper with socks and sandals. Either way, Taban sure knows how to pick good company huh. So, I missed the prologue - a great bit of action and CorSec working relationships on display. And I'm with everyone else on the 'that was cool' line from the hostage - neat Chapter 1 was an exercise in wonderful. Tadgh, Despot and Keys get to all have some banter and Taban gets to show of his leet skillz. So many moments to enjoy, though I really did like the 'I'm feeling lucky' program in Taban's datapad. And Despot's monologue about the safe division of Special Investigations Post more! Soon! Uh...please -----signature----- Working in Darkness - On Hiatus :::::: http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/15283754/p1
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 8/30/07 10:21am Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 1 (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	I got such a kick out of the e-mail addresses in the forwarded message. "He forgot that it's not how many people you know that makes a family. It's how well you know them." Hmm, I know we're still really early in the game here, but these lines struck me as being important. I would have loved to see Despot's expression if Tadgh had tried to enforce the "five hugs a day law" on him. Though I imagine for the purposes of the story Tadgh has to at least survive the first chapter, LOL. It'll be interesting to see what Keys comes up with regarding this gang, especially whether they're connected to the Heartstring kidnapping and where they're getting their money from. Like the fact that he was dangling one-armed from the roof of his own apartment building. The placement of this line was great. And poor Taban, getting his hair all mussed up by the big fan. It was fun seeing him buy his way back into his apartment by offering to fix the "security holes." I agree, Carl was cool. There was a split second of silence from the other end of the comm, followed by Tadgh's wary voice. "Taban, if you ever pretend to be him again I will have the Tactical Response Team bomb that building into the ground." I think these are my favorite lines from the post. heh heh. I still laugh just by reading them. The Jedi Credit that belonged to their father is sure making a big impact on Tadgh and Taban. I'm looking forward to learning more about that. Great post! -Thumper -----signature----- "Like anything worth writing, it came inexplicably and without method." -Karen Eiffel, _Stranger Than Fiction_ "Adamantine"--Rebel OC vig http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/30390799
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
The_Face Title: Ex-Manager Registered: Feb '03	Date Posted: 8/30/07 1:52pm Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 1 (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	Luton_Plunder posted: "And," he said in a serious tone, "I'm thinking of joining the circus." "Mm-hmm," Despot grunted non-committally, eyes not moving from his datapad. "And," Tadgh snorted a laugh, "We should change the SIn motto to 'have you tried handling it yourself?'." "Mm-hmm," Despot agreed once more. "And," Tadgh pushed, thoroughly enjoying himself, "I think I deserve a pay rise of no less than 100 percent." "Absolutely not." Can’t get these things past ol’ Despot. Luton_Plunder posted: "I'm sorry, am I to take that as your request to transfer to the safe division of Special Investigations? The one where you track down stolen presents for orphans and battle bah humbug monsters and enforce that everyone must be open about their feelings? Not to forget policing the 'at least five hugs a day' law. Shall I go on, or are you adequately convinced of this division's safeness?" Great, now I’m seeing Despot as Dr. Perry Cox. Seriously though, awesome rant. Haha, very nice reveal of Taban’s situation! The first sentences lull the reader into a nice sense of security, up until you hit us with that. Smoothly done. So that’s the purpose of Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” button. Right? And of course the DUN DUN DUNNNNH. I’m excited to see where this JedCred leads those intrepid Maitlands. Excellent chapter, LP! -----signature----- "Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." - E.L. Doctorow
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Rogue_Pilot_2347 Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 8/30/07 5:59pm Subject: RE: The User (1:3) 'Metalegacies' - Chapter 1 (OCs, CorSec Detectives)
	Whoa. Jericho Maitland? Isn't that their dad? This is a good chapter. My body and brain are kind of dead right now, so that's about the best reply I can manage at the moment....Can't wait for the next bit! Yeah. I told your CorSec joke to my mom and sister and they totally didn't get it. I even took the SW references out of it. -----signature----- The Ultimate poetry Challenge: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=26190468&brd=10304&replies=6 Two Halves of the Same Whole: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=27517831&brd=10476&replies=0 *For the 2nd drabble challenge
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History

Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 - ~~Previous~~ | Next | Reload