“We've intercepted intel that the ISB is attempting to root out a suspected mole in the Imperial facilities. An unnamed Shistavanen – we'll call him 'Wolf' for the time being – is being sent by the ISB from offworld to take part in the operation, but the Rebellion – and the Baron – believe he is willing to work with us as a potential mole of our own. The Baron will be making contact with him later, and if all go well the Shistavanen will be filled in with his role in this mission. If the intel on him is wrong, we'll have to adjust our plans.”

I narrowed my eyes. “While I trust the Baron's judgment in this matter, I also advise everyone to keep a close eye on our new ally during this mission and don't hesitate to knock him out if he starts to cross us.”

Coughing lightly, I continued. “Wolf's task is to deliver a sealed message to Via D'Gane, a Zeltron secretary who works in a local experimental facility and who's suspected by the ISB of smuggling classified information to anti-Imperial agents. The Rebellion claims they don't know of her working for them, so it's possible if she is a mole that she's working for someone else; the lead suspect is the Black Sun organization, a crime syndicate we're better off without.”

“Anyhow, Wolf is to meet D'Gane at the Club Bin Prime Casino, where she played sabbac nightly. Then he's supposed to get her alone and deliver the message, and wait for her reaction. We don't know at this time what the message is, but it's likely a fake letter of some kind, possible appearing from an anti-Imperial group, intended to provoke a reaction from D'Gane. Wolf may be able to provide us with more details soon.”

“Based on what we know, here's a working outline of our plan. I have an… acquaintance… at the casino who owes me, and she's going to help Sprend and Tor-Nenko get temporary jobs as guards. The Baron has arranged for a couple of guards to get tickets to the grav-ball tournament and will be providing references as well, so there shouldn't be any problem getting you two in.”

I gestured towards Sprend and Tor-Nenko. “Your initial job will be to find a location where Wold can deliver the message. We're looking for something we can easily guards the entrances to and can ensure privacy in. The ISB is sure to have a tail on Wolf, and we don't want that tail to interfere. You'll likely have more to do later, which I'll explain in a moment.”

“Prior to the deliver I'm going to show up at the same sabbac table as D'Gane and try to get a read on where her loyalties might lie. I can let slip some of my own prior ties and see how she responds; that may prove useful in hinting towards which of the following scenarios will play out. After I finish there, I'll either position myself inside or right outside the aforementioned room and signal Wolf to make his move.”

I turned towards Dash. “While I'm doing this, your job is to park your speeder at the closest exit to the meeting room and then try to sniff out the tail. Coordinate with Sprend; his tracking skills should be invaluable. Once the tail is identified, you may be commed to provide a distraction if needed, or to be a tail of our own if the party moves outside.”

“There are a few scenarios once the message is delivered: D'Gane is actually loyal, at which point she'll probably either be confused or will outright attack Wolf, thinking him to be anti-Imperial. If she attacks, Wolf will signal Sprend & Tor-Nenko via comlink, and they'll come in to break up the attack in their security guard guise. In either case, once she's subdued, we'll convince her that Wolf (and possibly myself) are working for the ISB, and are not anti-Imperial. At that point we could try to frame her as being the mole anyhow, but it's more useful to enlist her aid in finding (and then recruiting) the actual mole. If we play hardball with her and convince that she needs to help to get out from ISB suspicion, then it shouldn't be too difficult to get her cooperation.”

“If D'Gane IS anti-Imperial, Wolf is supposed to lead her to an ISB safehouse and await an 'Agent 63'. In that case, we have a couple of different situation to cover. If she's actually Black Sun, the Baron thinks our best solution is to help Wolf take her out. I'd tend to agree, though prefer knocking her out and dumping her somewhere if possible.”

“If she's sympathetic to our cause, we need to try and get her on our side. Dash, if it gets to this point we'll comm you; I'll explain why in a moment. It shouldn't be too hard, once we explain the trouble she's in. She then can either continue on her job, with her and Wolf making it look like she was loyal – but that's probably the riskiest course for her overall. Her other option is to come with us; at that point Wolf can comm Vinny, who'll be be waiting in a borrowed taxi to pick them up.”

“Dash, you'll have one of two jobs here. If we've already had a chance to scope out the safehouse, you'll tail Vinny to provide an escape plan. If not, you'll go ahead and give the safehouse a look and comm back with what you find. At that point we can make a decision: continue to the safehouse, or stage an ambush.”

“If we stage an ambush, Vinny will drive to a secluded spot and Dash will distract the tail if necessary. D'Gane will sneak away (either on foot or with Dash; we'll arrange a meeting point with her) and we'll rough up Wolf to look like they were ambushed. Ideally we'll plant some evidence pointing to Black Sun being involved, perhaps a gang symbol or the likes. That'll let Wolf keep his cover while giving us D'Gane.”

“If we go to the safehouse, we'll need to be extremely cautious. I don't know who Agent 63 is, but it's sure to be a highly-trained ISB special ops agent, and 63 likely won't be alone either – though I wouldn't expect a large guard to be accompanying. Right around here is where we'd want to take out the tail if possible - whoever's in best position can handle that. Sprend, if we can get you with Dash that might be best, to allow you to be a mobile sniper.”

“The safehouse plan would be to ultimately frame Agent 63 instead of D'Gane. A fight could be staged (or actually happen, with us as backup) to look like 63 attacks Wolf & D'Gane, who could then corroborate each other's story that 63 was actually a mole.”

“In any case, as mentioned, identifying and taking out the tail – or at the very least, the tail's likely recording equipment – is vital. We don't want any evidence of our interference ending up in the hands of the ISB, or they'll tear this planet apart looking for us. Tor-Nenko, you might think about anything you could rig up to interfere with recording equipment – both the tail's and possibly the casino's as well.”

I took a breath. “That's the gist of it. It's not perfect, but no plan is; just maintain your discipline, stay in contact, and be ready to adjust to the unexpected. The Baron will be staying back on this one, to prevent being recognized and to provide early warning. I'll let him explain those details, and then we can discussed any perceived holes and hone the plan.”