Ahsoka Tano; Mightiest Force Wielder (Book 1: The Rise)

Eyes of the Empire 2

For the oncoming day, Mike was busy taking DNA samples from the doors of all vehicles parked in the mint's parking lot. He again used the jetpack with the cloaking device for that. After having collected the DNA samples he used the DNA-analyzer, receiving 3 matches. Means 3 people closing the doors of the transporters, must have used those 3 vehicles on the parking lot. To those vehicles he attached tracking devices and he tried to make pictures of the owners with the com link. Getting those pictures meant never ending waiting times in the parking lot. When the shift of the respective people ended and they returned to their vehicles he could take pics. This he managed with two of them. He missed the third one picking up his vehicle though. The tracking devices revealed, where these workers lived. Mike removed the tracking devices the next day again not knowing, if the mint would check their personnel's vehicles on a regular basis as well.

The next days, Ahsoka's team investigated the material from the cameras. Most of it was when the transporters had been in traffic or in storage, neither one very interesting. However, the rest of the material revealed, that the transporters were scanned when moving into the mint, then washed and again scanned, then moving further on to the loading area. One person would load the containers with the chips into the transporters and close the doors. At that time however, the containers were already locked, meant that the 3 people, whom they identified with the DNA were not the ones closing the containers and thus could not open them either. The people who would close the containers could not be identified, they were in another room. Mike realized, that the mint had really taken many things into account, setting up their processes in a safe manner. He did not expect that and it also meant, their team had wasted about 2 days with the DNA samples. It also meant, they had nobody to unlock the containers, which rendered their whole operation useless. However, the source wanted Ahsoka to review the video material again. Doing that she saw another man at a smaller bank who opened the transporter removed the containers and opened them right off. Their security processes seemed not as rigid as those at the mint. They had to find that bank and the bank accountant, but where? It could have been any bank on Coruscant and there were many. The only option Mike saw, was to follow the same way the transport took.

It took Mike two days, to track the way back to the bank using the recorded material. Not only, that he had to go from corner to corner, verifying if he was still on the right track, he also had to take care not to get overrun by the other vehicles who could not see him. However at the end of the second day, he not only had the bank, he also had the person. Once he had found the bank, he was simply waiting for all employees to leave the bank after it closed. The mint was operating 24/7, but this smaller bank only opened from 9:00 – 19:00h. He had the picture of the respective employee on his com link and after he had seen a few close ones, one came out completely matching. Mike followed him to his home and with that they had somebody who could open the containers for them. Problem was, that this person could most likely only open the containers dedicated for his bank. So they had to take whatever came to that bank, which also meant, that they had to change the robbery plan completely. They could not attack the credit transport in the beginning of its journey, no they had to attack it at the destination. The following day, Mike sat up the surveillance drone opposite of the bank, to get information about the loading level of the transporters, arrival frequency and hopefully more. One week of surveillance revealed, that the loading level of the transporters could not be detected well at their arrival. The heavier transports would hit the ground harder when touching down, but optically detecting that was only a rough guess. The surveillance also revealed, that this bank only received a credit transport every other day. They had no hall like the mint to unload the transporters, so they had to do it outside on the parking lot. There were always 6 escorts accompanying the transporters, probably for that very reason and the security personnel in the escorts would get out of their vehicles, securing the procedure with their blasters. The convoy could come in from two different directions, arriving in the parking lot 3x6=18 security officers would swarm out securing the parking lot, once the place was secured the guy from the bank would come out opening all transporters and unloading containers one by one into the parking lot, opening them there. Afterwards more people from the bank came and took the trays with the credit chips putting them on air trolleys, then bringing the air trolleys inside the building. Next the containers would be closed again and put back in the transporter. Now quickly the whole convoy left. All that did not take more than 5min. They had streamlined the process well. Mike asked himself, why they would not bring the containers inside the bank and open them here, it would be safer? After a little while he figured it out; the containers were a bit too wide. It was a heavy security door and the way it was put into the wall of the building, it could not open all the way, it was maybe only 1-2cm they were talking about, but the containers could not pass through it. With all that information, Mike had to craft a new plan.

The evening of the same day, he used the jetpack with the cloaking device, flew over to the bank and examined the security door thoroughly. He did find out, what manufacturer it is and that there was no operating panel on the outside, thus he figured it could only be controlled from the inside.

After he got back to his apartment again, he did some research about that security door. It was a bolted steel-concrete door which would open with finger print scan and/or code and look again with a gesture or pressing of a button. It was at least 5 years old and only the new generation, the successor product, offered retina scan as an option. That was the information on the manufacturer's page.

Looking at the videos again and again, Mike had observed that the bank accountant had a tendency to lay a hand on the door of the transporter while observing his people to haul the trays in. He remembered having heard about a guy making artificial hands for finger print mocking. With a new idea, he visited the underworld again. Mike had to ask a number of people and do some bribery until somebody called the guy and they could meet. The guy asked, for what he needed the artificial hand for and Mike lied to him, that he worked at Sienar and he wanted to steal data storage devices which were locked up. They discussed the matter and the crook gave him a scanner, then instructing him he had to clean the finger print scanner at the entry door right before the person would touch it and then take the scanner he just gave him and scan that surface. The scanner he gave him would indicate, when the scan was usable. He better do that a couple of times to get good material. Cleaning the finger print scanner and then scan it with the scanner he was just given, is often not possible, because of surveillance of the area around the finger print scanner. It was also possible to use any other flat surface, like the desk of the person having the access rights. Once having performed the scan, Mike would have to bring the scanner to him, then he would make an artificial hand for him. Mike had to pay 1000 credits deposit for the scanner and another 2000 credits once he got the artificial hand.