Around town (Sam)

[tomcat]

General info on Cloud City:

LayoutCloud City consisted of 392 levels, in addition to a top-side surface-level concourse. The level-arrangements were as follows:
Level 1-50: Luxury hotels and casinos which made the city famous throughout parts of the Outer Rim.
Level 51-100: Upscale housing areas.
Level 101-120: Administrative offices.
Level 121-160: Privately owned industrial areas with an infamous reputation, known as Port Town.
Level 161-220: General housing of the facility's workers.
Level 221-280: Factories.
Level 281-370: Gas refineries and miners' quarters.
Level 371-392: Contained the 36,000 repulsorlift engines and tractor beam generators that kept the city afloat and in position.



Sam followed the map he had downloaded into his memory banks.

The path lead him off the airy, and busy, upper concourse of Cloud City and into its busy passageways. He mingled in with crowds of people of various types - both species-wise and the hierarchy of professions. He also saw droids moving throughout the crowds. Sam noticed the predominance of his kind were tied in service to some master, not independent like him.

Finally, he found a public lift that took him down a long and boring descent of one-hundred and fifty three levels. When it arrived in the area of the city called Port Town, he disembarked and again picked up the path from his internal map. Sam walked until he came at last into a massive maintenance chamber where droids and ugnoughts bustled about moving huge pieces of refinery machinery on repulsor sleds and tugs. Meshworks of scaffolding was erected around multiple machines and the maintenance crew went about their labors.

Sam also saw a great number of droids that mingled around not working. Some stood silently ignoring their companions, as if in sleep mode; other droids talked in groups about their goings on; while others gathered around an area where cases of components were stacked. It was like one of the many retail stores that Sam had seen his human companions visit, except this area had three long tables and droids bartered back and forth over them trading money, services, parts, and even themselves for upgrades. Sam walked in that direction.

Upon his approach, another battle-droid model stood quielty observing the chaos. It was one of the IG series of droids.

[donimator]

Sam's circuitry ran a few micoramps hotter at seeing the IG model...those Confederacy droids. His memory had been wiped many times from his demise on Bestine IV as a Trade Federation trooper to his reassembly as a service droid, but something of the sight of the other droid put him on edge. Raised...feelings of rage, thought he could not form the flashes of memory into a solid reason why. He found his arm moving towards his concealed blaster and had to stop, running a quick diagnostic to conclude there was no malfunction. Instead he tipped his hat as he walked by keeping his distance.

He approached one of the tables and made a quick perusal of any displayed wares while picking up the binary chatter. He made a few inquiries about a directory server, or someone who was in charge of the place he could inquire to in confidence. Never, of course, letting up on his scanning or tracking of the movement of the many around him across several radiation bands.

[tomcat]

Sam noticed a wide, and useful, variety of new components in multitudes of conditions - from brand new to well-worn, and from legal to non. Cloud City was certainly a good place for commerce, but the droid could see (and hear) that prices reflected the markets isolated location. There were not too many settled worlds this far out in the rim.

Sam picked up a new-looking data unit that would easily install within his chasis, and he eyed it closely to see if it had any markings or if they had been filed away. As he did, a 3PO unit approached, "Will you be interested in purchasing that unit? It will enhance your data storage by a magnitude of four, if you are carrying the original basic install of your model, plus it will enhance your communications link. The increase in data storage, along with the unit's internal processor frees up resources to increase your functionality. It will also provide the write-space for self-reprogramming. It costs 3,500 credits. Please return it to the table if you will not be making the purchase. Thank you."

Sam thought the 3PO units were always such... pansies, as his human counterparts would say. He made an inquiry to the droid, "Who runs this shop."

The 3PO unit pointed back to the IG unit standing a ways off and watching over all. The combat droid was intimidating. "That is my master, IG-35." The statement caused Sam to look up... a droid owning a droid? Interesting.



Should Sam decide to purchase the enhancement, it will bestow a +2 to Gather Information tests and Use the Computer. He will also have the ability to self-reprogram.

[donimator]

Although he was made of metal and composites, Sam, nevertheless, stiffened. The IG line of droids were supposedly more advanced than the Baktoid series and were to replace the B1s and B2s should the Confederacy have been successful. And they never let Sam's kind forget it. Sam did not see the appeal. Blocky. Lanky. Look like a stack of tin-steel alloy food preservation cannisters.

Sam turned away from the protocol droid and made his way over to IG-35...verrry slowlllly and keeping his hands visible. He stopped close enough for a quiet conversation, but out of arm's reach (and damn, they did have gangly arms). Thankfully, Binary did little to convey emotion. Idle chit-chat was not the most efficient use of the language, but he did not want tinges of old hostilities to creep in (what was it about these IG droids that bothered him so much?

"Greetings IG-35. Nice operation you run here. Quiet. Prosperous. I am looking for a particular skill from a droid with discretion. An information gather. Surreptitious. Could you suggest such a model?" (Gads! Damn near pleading!...run diagnostic...)

[tomcat]

IG-35's visual receptors scanned Sam up and down. It then spoke in reply, "You are not wearing a restraining harness, nor do I detect an electronic leash. You are a free droid?"

The electronic leash to which IG-35 referred was the constant electronic signal that most owned droids emitted that told their owners where they were at most times. It was not unlike the standard restraining bolt or harness, which did the same thing, but also gave the owner the ability to stop the droid. Independent droids had these features permanently shut down and so were able to move around without claim.

"You are also part of the B-series of battle droids... I have not seen many of your type walking around any more. Most have rusted away and been fed to scrap mills." The droid gave a mechanical laugh, but then back to business. "Were you looking to purchase a droid or hire one?"

[donimator]

"I've been free from the day my creator was taken away. Now I work for myself." Sam cracked a servo in his neck as he found himself explaining too much, "I am looking to hire a droid out for now. An analyst. Someone who can dig deep in the subspace chatter... Someone who won't mind having their memory wiped when this is done."

Sam took a half-step closer. "I am short on credits, but can offer a service in exchange. My original programming is intact, but I specialize in mechanics...accidents."

[tomcat]

The cold red glow of the IG-series droid's eyes stared back at Sam. IG-35 was calculating the use for the droid in front of him. He was a business-droid, but like all those in business, he wondered how he could profit.



There was little offer of money on the table, but service was always useful. "And who knows," IG-35 thought. "Perhaps this B2 may just have to use his independence as collateral."

He spoke, "I have two such droids in my employ and I would be willing to hire them out to you. The fee for their services will be paid to me in credits, which you will earn to pay me. You may earn the needed credits by working for me, or however else you want, but... I will be paid in full plus any interest if you extend the cost of using my droids beyond a timeframe of my choosing." IG-35 then got into the details of his offer:

The Snooper droid (as it was called) would cost 300 credits a day. The memory wipe would cost 1,500 credits plus an additional 150 credits, per occurence, if Sam wanted the memory wiped daily.

"Where and when will you e needing my droid? And how would you like to pay for said service?"

[donimator]

Sam disassembled IG-35's offer many ways to try and detect a hidden loophole or catch, but the terms seemed simple enough. This was going to cost him and he had to be careful how much he indebted himself to this gundark. As much as it pained him he kept his tone neutral (thank goodness for Binary!), "Your terms are acceptable and I would like to pay with the following conditions...
1. I will fully pay credits for the memory wipe in advance. No record of the transaction, though.
2. With that deposit, I will barter my services against your droid's, but I want to see the results of a day's inquiry first.
3. I'd like to meet and brief your droid to get started as soon as possible."

Sam extended his credit chips for scanning. 1500 credits would take a large bite out of his cash flow, but you can't spend it when you're dead. "Confederate or Imperial credits? Your choice."

[tomcat]

"You will need to pay with Imperial credits. I do not know if you will find any takers for Confederate credits... not since the end of the war." IG-35 motioned for Sam to follow and the two droids walked over to where an administrative droid that looked like it had been a casualty of the war, by the shape it was in, stood quietly. The IG droid directed it to take payment from Sam through an augmented scan device. It reduced the credit chip in transfer, but did not make any traceable record of the transaction.

It did not strike either droid, but all of them - the IG, Sam as a B2 model, and even the Confederate credits that he held on a separate cred-chip, were all leftovers of a war that had raged across the galaxy. Now they were forgotten, left to tend themselves until they no longer would be able.

With a green light on the scanner announcing the increase in IG-35's wealth, the old battle droid again waved Sam to accompany him. They walked a ways through the bazaar-like area until they came to a room. Inside, droids of different types sat, worked, charged, or lay in scrap. IG-35 walked over to a rusted, but functional droid of the CZ-series.

"This is CZ-22a. It will assist you in your task. I will expect the droid back to me by this time tomorrow, at which time you will either pay me in credits, or take up service to me to pay off your debt."

CZ-22a looked at Sam, "I am here to serve, master."

[donimator]

Sam sized up the droid offered. Not much to look at on the outside, but if anyone knew not to judge by appearances, it was Sam. "Walk with me." Sam strolled out of the chamber and into a service corridor. He scanned the area to try and make sure nobody was around before talking to the droid.

"I'm looking for info on Varta the Hutt - activities, associates, areas of operation. Especially anything related to Bakura. Who runs his operations there? And there can be no trace on this. Keep to datanets as much as you can. Other droids, ship computers, docking logs - whatever you can pull without asking too many questions of sentients. Wipe your feet as you go. I'd rather see careful than fast. Here is a burst frequency you can reach me on when you have found something. I'll find you. No transmissions." Sam sent a secure frequency key to the droid. Nothing that could be tapped into or tracked back to Sam, just a carrier wave with an electronic ping.

[tomcat]

"As you wish, master," replied the droid, which made Sam feel awkward with the title. "The data request will take some time. Shall you accompany me or do I need to come to you with results?"

[donimator]

"Just send me a squelch when you have something. Transmit nothing over the datanet. I'll find you...and I'm nobody's master." Sam retunred to the maintenance hub and took a long look at the bustle and activity. Best get back to the Aegis and get working on the mods, he thought to himself. However, he took the long way back filling in some gaps on his internal map and getting a feel for the floating city. He doubled back a few times to check for tails. Cautious sometimes kept you from the scrap pile.