Calsera reads over her data as the others debate where to start with the shenanigans and Kolit makes some calls. The captain's voice quiets the discussion for a moment.

Quote:

"Any chances of getting our hands on a few things? Background stories, papers, a couple bulk freighters, and a few inconspicuos fighters?"

Kolit's eyelids flicker, the Mon Calamari equivalent of a wink. "What do you need?"

The information on Naga's operation is patchy. The datapads abound with information on suspected shipping schedules, possible allied criminal organizations, things that would help the Alliance keep tabs and ambush his operations, but details on the people are few and far-between:

Bek Briggs is an ex-Imperial supply monkey. He's suspected of passing spice through Bespin customs in exchange for off-the-books tibanna; now he handles Naga's exports. He still has a network of contacts inside the Empire, which is why Naga's been buddy-buddy with them as of late.

Moff Jona Dorn of Mygeeto is Naga's biggest importer of slaves. Their relationship has been... strained... as of late. The Moff's provided Imperial training for Naga's enforcers in the past.

It's unknown how many chiefs operate under Naga. The Alliance knows of three. Booda's the Zabrak's nickname. All intelligence gathered thus far suggests that he's next in line for Naga's job. Businesslike and professional, though a die-hard Imperial loyalist.

Every successful crimelord has a consiliere. Kasa Ra handles Naga's off-world negotiations. There's no intel on her personality - the Kaminoan is a cypher politically. She might make a suitable replacement if your plan is to topple the organization at the top, but confirm her loyalties before you engage.

Roga is Naga's younger sibling. He's not suited for a leadership position, but without any other competition he could claim the high chair by inheritance. He's kept under control by his Wookiee minders.

Maso interrupts. "There is an Alliance operative undercover in the organization. His identity wasn't important before, but make sure our man is out of there before you blow anything up. He's a Besalisk, real name Tol Grannick. He's using the alias Tol Dukat, working as a henchman for the Hutt. He got us the intel you used on your last mission and we'd like to keep him around if you don't plan on demolishing the entire operation."

The last bit of datapad information details Naga's personal retinue. He uses no droids, not after an incident several years ago where someone reprogrammed his protocol droid for... mischief. He keeps a Quarren translator at hand, who doubles as Naga's voice when the Hutt is indisposed and Kasa Ra is elsewhere. Twin human female gunslingers protect Naga; they have some sort of complicated debt of loyalty to the Hutt. The final member of his retinue is "Hound". It's a feral Abyssin, kept chained to Naga for amusement and to discourage anyone from getting too close.

"Well, we damaged both his transports and his fighter force. What do you think he'd say if a small transport and security firm applied for the job? Whoever has the best connections would play the part of the owner, with Lt. Taban in command of the actual ship. I'd be looking for a frieghter, a big one. Maybe a hundred meters or so. Modify one internal bay to hold a few fighters, the less conspicous the better, Headhunters, something that doesn't scream "Rebellion!". Then paint the transport and the fighters with a fake logo and color scheme, suitably weathered. Sell the package as a convoy with it's own escort force. Besides being an attractive selling point for Naga, we can use that as an HQ for a long undercover operation, if necesary. Of course, to pull this all off, we'll need cover identities and such."

Reading through the info on her datapad, Calsera finds some juicy tidbits. There are some places that they may be able to drive a wedge, if they're smart about it - particularly between the Moff and Naga. If they can find out more about the female gunslingers, there may be an opportunity there, as well.

Cat looks up as Ty makes a suggestion. "Sounds like a reasonable idea. One thought: any escort fighters should be mis-matched, with at least one non-rebel model. Too much consistancy will look suspicious."

Mandall smiles.

"I don't care; if it's got an MGLT rating, I can fly it. I'm a bit concerned about creating cover identities out of thin air in this kind of timeframe, though. A Hutt strikes me as someone who trusts reputation much more than documents, so coming to meet him with no name and a ton of gear has to look suspicious. I think we either need to gain some cred or make sure he's desperate."

Ty frowns for several seconds, considering Mandall's concerns. "Those are both good points. We'll want to either play this as a startup company, just into the marketplace, or spend some time building a reputation. For the first, we'd need to make sure he's desperate enough. If we need more desperation, we could we hit a few more convoys, unless it would blow the source's cover. Adressing the second, how long do we have before Naga fills the holes? Do we have time to set up and make a few runs for somebody else, build up a reputation? Could we get somebody to make a recomendation?"

"Bluffing reputation is easy enough, if we're...a long way from home. There' flashy...and then there is dangerous flashy. If we're the second, he may not be looking to close."

Aurelia ponders for a second, nodding.

"Don't suppose we have any Hapian design equipment lying around. Nothing says dangerous-flashy like pirates with their own country. And while we're at it, I say we go top-down. Folks on the bottom have way too many of their own problems, power struggles and avoiding a rusty knife - or worse - to be worried about the top."

Her mood...as it has been since the convoy raid...seems downright enthusiastic.

Kolit confers with Maso before replying. "Naga's most likely looking for people now, but it'll take time. That works to our advantage right now - it'll take a while to get this ragtag pirate fleet together, and you don't want to show up on his doorstep the day after his convoy gets wasted, conveniently asking for escort jobs. You'd be Opee-bait in no time."

Maso continues. "If he doesn't have use for you, you'll have to make yourself useful to him. Make some more job openings if need be. Alliance Intelligence should be able to pull a few strings for the Hapan ships, if you think that'll make for an effective cover."

"Actually, I like the idea of playing Hapan pirates, and a couple Hapan ships would go a long way to making the illusion work. We'll still probably want some kind of bulk freighter to do the actual work, once we get our feet in the door."

Ty nods. "Definintely. I know there have been some recent shakeups in the power structure of the Hapans, a couple of clans kicked out. How about Mandall plays an exiled prince trying to start over? That would explain the start-up cash, as well the precence of Hapan fighters, if we can find any. They build nice fighters, I've seen them."

Mandall smiles.

"Well, I do have that ruggedly handsome rogue prince look down..."

Ty stumbles slightly, then corrects his mistake. "Sorry, I meant him," and points at Ganet before continuing, "I'm not good with names."

As Shas sits back listening to the conversation he begins thinking and finnaly speaks up "If you guys need fighters I can check some of my conacts for a few."

Mandall gives Ty a good-natured glare.

"I could draw you a flowchart..."