TRIAL RUNSAs part of your application to the Mantell Syndicate, you are given an option to submit a 'Trial Run'. If you choose to use it, it's a method by which we get to know you, your character, and your style a bit better. The Trial Run is a short story you will write about your character's early interaction with the Syndicate known as a "Trial Run". Since from an 'in character' standpoint you don't apply to work for the Syndicate (they instead recruit you) ,this is considered the Syndicate's test of your skills and ability to improvise. Also, just because you 'fail' the mission doesn't mean that you've failed your test with the Syndicate. They've even been known to set up their own contractors after assigning them the mission to see how they handle un-expected twists and seemingly impossible or 'no-win' situations. We've provided a number of 'story seeds' below for you to choose from that all represent missions the Syndicate might send a contractor on. Select a story seed you feel suits your character and/or one you think will make for the most interesting adventure. The seeds are intentionally 'un-detailed' so you can fill in the details yourself and personalize it. This is why two seperate members can write a story from the exact same seed and have them end up very differently indeed. You will also need to come up with a handful of custom 'twists' on the mission that you will have to deal with as you create your character's adventure. If you have further questions about writing a Trial Run, feel free to ask any member about it and/or you can refer to our online resources here. Trial Runs are divided into three sections: Distribution, Asset Management, and Special Contracts. Each section focuses on a different type of mission. For example, standard 'smuggling' or more straight-forward missions are found in 'Distribution'. 'Asset Management' missions usually have to do with manipulation of various situations to the Syndicate's advantage, or cleaning up messes that have happened. 'Special Contracts' deal more with 'black ops' kind of missions that involve bounty hunting or even assassination. |
A valuable cargo has been delivered to the wrong person. There has been a mix-up, and a not-quite-legal cargo has been included with a perfectly legal cargo. The problem is that the recipient happens to be a minor crime lord (they also deal in legitimate cargoes from time to time), and they will know full well what they have gotten. Chances are they haven't realized yet. Your goal is to retrieve this mistakenly delivered cargo and deliver it back to CTE's hangar bay, if possible with no-one being the wiser.
You are to provide transport of cargo to Coruscant*. You are to avoid any Republic or Imperial forces along the route. Coordinates for a private landing facility on Coruscant will be provided to you along with falsified freighter and cargo manifest codes, should you need them. Discretion and low-profile is a must for this delivery. You will be provided a bonus if you are able to get the cargo to its destination ahead of schedule.
(While this mission sounds simple and straight-forward, it is the 'twists' you will create that should make it a challenge.)
* -You can choose the starting planet.
We have an operative on Dromund Kaas who has recently been compromised and needs immediate evacuation from the planet. He has managed to make it to an abandoned military outpost on the edge of city sector R-721. You are to reach the operative and transport them back to Ord Mantell. This will require finding a way to bypass the planet's orbital patrols and automated security as your odds of surviving a direct confrontation with the Imperial forces on that planet are slim to none.
In order to reassure the nervous officials of an unsure system's government that the Republic remains strong in the face of the renewed Sith threat, the Republic is staging a crackdown on illegal activity in the region. This has the potential to adversely affect Syndicate interests in the area. In order to avoid the Republic net, the Syndicate requires detailed plans of the upcoming security operations. We believe the operations are being organized by the commander of a Republic battleship orbiting the planet. You will need to slice the commander’s personal terminal in order to get the details we need.
The Syndicate has a 'shadow relay' in a comm section of a government facility which is used for secure communications between the Syndicate and a government employee with whom they have an 'understanding'. For whatever reasons (left up to you), the employee is no longer in the employ of the government nor the Syndicate. Your task is to find and recover the device before the employee's replacement is chosen as someone finding the relay before the new employee has been 'recruited' would be embarrassing for the government and potentially costly to the Syndicate.
A big competition is about to start (on a world of your choice). A client of the Syndicate has placed a substantial bet on the event with a business rival. If the Syndicate's client wins, they will be in a superior position to stage an aggressive acquisition of their rival's business and in turn, would be indebted to the Syndicate for future business and services. Your job is to make the Syndicate's client wins their bet. This must be done in a manner that is free from suspicion that the competition has been tampered with. (The nature of said competition is left to your discretion. Examples include Huttball, fighting arenas, Pazaac tournaments, swoop bikes races, etc...)
Another smuggling/crime syndicate (Black Suns, the Exchange, etc.) has been moving in on Syndicate 'territory'--in this case, by sending a skilled negotiator to bargain with a Hutt lord with whom the Syndicate currently has a profitable arrangement. Your mission is to intercept the negotiator and 'convince' him/her to cease and desist, while also 'asking' for everything they know about the rival's operations. Whether (s)he survives the 'conversation' is left to your discretion, but failure to extract any relevant information would result in a serious decrease in your pay.
A prominent political figure is about to make an important decision that will impact CTE's business ventures on a certain planet. We need the politician to make the right decision. Your job is to make them more pliable to suggestion. How you do so is up to you, but DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE LINKED TO THE SYNDICATE!
An operative previously under the Syndicate's protection has been captured. (It could be by another organization or by the local law enforcement, at your discretion.) The operative is in a secured facility. Extract them and deliver them to a location we will provide to you on Ord Mantell. (If you choose to go against a rival organization, feel free to maim any guards. Be more discreet if you go against a law enforcement facility.)
The Syndicate suspects that there is an informant in their midst, and are contracting outside help to confirm their suspicions. Your goal is to hack into the target's personal datapad .Get in, find out what you can, then get out. It is vitally important that you don’t leave any traces that can be linked back to the Syndicate.
(The informant can be Republic, Sith, or belong to any other organization you choose.)
Corellian Transports and Exports (the Syndicate's front) has an exclusive shipping agreement with a friendly corporation that is currently at the forefront in its respective industry. Inside information has shown that a rival company is designing an apparatus that will 'revolutionize' the industry, as it were, and it might cause the company the Syndicate has an arrangement with to go out of business or at least lose much of their business power . The rival company is slated to have a demonstration of the prototype at an expo soon to a number of prospective buyers. Your job is to sabotage the device any way you see fit, that either causes it to be outright destroyed during the expo, or to not perform its intended purpose. This will hurt the reputation of the rival company enough that they shouldn't be able to recover for quite some time. (What the apparatus and 'industry' is is left up to you.)
A local politician who has always been outspoken against crime has finally started drumming up enough support to make a run for Senator. The Syndicate does not want this to happen. The politician is planning a trip to a luxury system to unwind for a few weeks before they start to campaign for this position in earnest. Your task is to sneak into the politician's private hangar and sabotage their ship, ensuring that they do not reach their destination alive. However, due to the populatiry of this politician's views in certain circles, it cannot be evident it was due to foul play, lest they become a martyr for the cause and a full investigation is opened. Therefore, the whole incident must look entirely like an accident.
A small Hutt cartel has recently stolen from us a CEC light freighter prototype with numerous functions and upgrades that would make it very attractive to those who wish to ship goods quickly and discretely. The hutt has decided to auction the ship off to the highest bidder and is preparing a large party in a discrete location on Nar Shaddaa for those who wish to bid on the ship. You are to attend the auction and acquire the ship by any means you choose. Results are all we care about. The ship is not to be damaged or your fee will be reduced accordingly.
A well-compensated informant in a rival organization* has been found out and a bounty has been placed on their head. They have had time to go into hiding, but can't leave the planet they are on. They have critical data we need, but they have decided to hold onto it as a bargaining material, attempting re-negotiate their deal with the Syndicate. The informant has chosen a poor time to get greedy. The Syndicate does not like bargaining for that which they've already paid for. Your job is two-fold: First, you need to get to them before anyone else does. Secondly, you need to convince them to release the data we need to you. Then you need to make sure they will never talk about us to anyone.
*(Possible Organizations include Black Sun and The Exchange, or you can create a smaller group or let them remain nameless...)
Hackers from a rival organization have been attempting to slice into Syndicate databases. Find out the identity of the attackers, and plant a virus to disrupt their organization. Ensure that they will think twice about challenging the Syndicate.
A certain bureaucrat in the Sith Empire has been a thorn in the side of the Syndicate for quite some time now. She has been summoned to Korriban in order to report on the illicit activities in her sector of space. She will be traveling on a Fury-class Imperial Interceptor. We need you to slice into the ship’s computer to introduce an error in the hyperoute calculations. Make sure that when her ship enters into hyperspace that it will be obliterated by running into the gravity well of a nearby star or some other equally fatal 'accident'.