Ok I see a lot of stuff being tossed about here so I will do a quick and dirty FAQ on Cries of Alderaan storyline for those that need to finish it.

1) Do I have to collect Rebel discs if I am an Imp or Vice versa to complete the quest?

A) NO!  You can collect either sets Reb or Imp, if you are Reb, Imp, or Neutral and turn them in to a faction recruiter.  You WILL get the same faction increase, creds, and badge.  It really is dependent on which side you turn the discs to get which faction. (Imp recruiter...900 Imp faction, Rebel Recruiter...900 Rebel faction)

2) Can I gain the discs over and over to gain the faction?

A)NO!  You get a one time shot on the faction and badge.  Otherwise all you get is another 600 creds.

3) Where do I get the discs?

A) From every humanoid NPC.  Meaning pretty much everything on two legs.  Thugs, hermits, Valarians, Jabba swoops, gungans, theives, rebel troopers, storm troopers, meatlumps, ragtags, and everyone else has a chance of having a disc.  You best bet is to find a place where some low level NPC consistently spawn.  Corescant City in Correllia has several places on the outskirts of the city that have places like this but a LOT of cities do as well.

Also, you can get them by getting treasure maps and digging them up.  I found one in a treasure box.

4) I got a "encoded disc" but which one is it?

A)Click on the disc and let the radial menu come up.  Look for the 'decode' button and it will decode it to identify what it is.  ENCODED DISKS (without the name Imperial or Rebel) HAVE A CHANCE TO BECOME A REBEL OR IMP ENCODED DISK ONCE YOU DECODE IT.

5) How do I find out what number I have on my Rebel or Imp Disc?

A) Double click on it in inventory to bring up another window..the detail window.  Look at the title..it will say something like "Rebel Encoded Transmission (2/4)" or something like that. 

6) Ok so I got all four discs...now what?

A) Click on one disc and click 'read' in the radial.  This will bring up what it is and a button that says "Assemble".  Click this and your four will become one.  You may now turn this in the recruiter of your choice.

7) How do I turn it in to the recruiter? 

A) Drag  the completed discs over the recruiter.  He/She/It will take it and give you the reward.

8) Whats with the jumbled text that shows aftrer you turn it in?

A)  That is the second part....You can get a chance to decode parts of it but it is tough.  There is an ongoing forum thread already set up to try and decipher it here.

Danke on the slice...but I thought this would help some that are trying to complete before the end of the month. 

I got mine done about a week ago and have spent most of my time in game explaining to guild members how to do it, so I figured it would be best to drop something here as well as there.

And lo, a mighty yell was heard across the battlefield, and it chorused to the effects of "Bump"

I know its not kosher but bump this....its important to those wanting to finish.

Good luck kids.  It feels good to finally finish this off.

Oh yea, Happy Bats Day. 

so, from what i understand,

there are 2 sets of four disks, each with the name of rebel or imperial associated with them.

imp1-4 and rebel 1-4

turning in a complete set to a recruiter of either faction will get you faction points, and a story badge.

so heres my question: can the two complete, diffrent sets be turned in fo faction points? or is the one-shot spent when you turn in one kind.

"What would you say the drop frequency is on these discs? I have killed nearly every npc I've seen since the story began and have not found one disc. Do I have a better chance of finding one if I just stay at a spawn point for a while, then if I keep moving? "

Well they are a rare drop but they will drop eventually.  I think you are better off staying with one spawn rathewr than running around constantly...here is my advice. 

Find a place with 2 close spawn...and just run between them.  Kill all the spawn and keep looting till you get 4-5 corpse placeholders with the "there is nothing on these corpses".  Now move on to the other spawn and do the same thing.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  The only down side is you WILL get a ton of junk.  I must have had 40 CDEF's by the end, so make sure you have plenty of space. I saved them and gave them to a smuggler to slice - always good to get a friend that slices.

Quick tip...when you kill something hit the tilde key (next to the 1 key) and then the number 1.  Quick looting.

Notice it took me about 9 hours of constant killing to get all my disks.  Some have done it really quick (so far the quickest I heard was some lucky dude who got them in 1 hour) and some are really bad (another ran 36 hours before he got them all!  But then again, he is a nut)

Keep at it though.  We don't know how the badges will effect us in the future, and you may regret becoming discouraged and stopping on this quest if something happens like a special ability or storyline being introduced to those that have the badge over those that do not .  Not saying it will, it is just possible.

I will answer any and all that I can so keep dropping questions here. 

"so, from what i understand,

there are 2 sets of four disks, each with the name of rebel or imperial associated with them.

imp1-4 and rebel 1-4

turning in a complete set to a recruiter of either faction will get you faction points, and a story badge.

so heres my question: can the two complete, diffrent sets be turned in fo faction points? or is the one-shot spent when you turn in one kind."

Ah...a good thought....get the imps get their faction, get the rebs get their faction.  I really do not believe you can.  I think it works like you are getting flagged once you turn the first set in and cant turn them in again no matter what variation.  I will check around to see if anyone has done it but I would not think you could.

Where is the thread that shows the decoded text?

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Development&message.id=323382

Up to 55 pages so far.  No real idea so far I think.  Some think its has to do with a cypher key but a lot have run through the typical ideas.  A few are going bananas trying to figure it out (I saw one trying to run it through a NASA cypher he works for!)

When it finally gets figured out though, a lot are gonna either be cheesed they did not think of it...or glad its over.

SPOKE TOO SOON!

Looks like they got em translated:

I think...

Here is the Imp one

ENCODED IMPERIAL TRANSMISSION confirmation Code 915-A86Q. Attention, all officers. Urgent orders enlclosed. Summary: an Alliance spy has misappropriated documents.  Keywords: Project Dead Eye, Vacca (Doctor), Rebel Alliance.

ALET ALERT ALERT

A rebel spy, possible codename Skimmer has obtained vital documents related to secret research project codenamed Project Dead Eye.  These documents are encrypted, and we belive that the Alliance does not have the means to decrypt them, but we but we cannot permit the risk that the project be revealed.  It is urgent that any and all Rebels associated with the deliver of this material be terminated with extreme prejudice. 

Loyal Imperial Officers are already guarding Doctor Vacca, but security will nead to be increased.  Deployments in vicinity of the project should prepare for emergency personnel requisitions in the event of the Project needing increased manpower. 

An informal note: Vacca may work with filthy furbags, but you all know the critical nature of this project, IT MUST NOT SLIP, or Vader will have all our heads, starting with mine.

-Moff Jerjerodd

and I believe this is the rebel one

 -ALLIANCE EYES ONLY. Pass the word. Lyda managed to get
hold of some important info about that secret Imperial project
we've heard rumblings about. Now they're after her. They call
her Codename Skimmer, ha, if they knew how close they got
to her real name!

Break.

Anyway, keep an eye out for her--she might try to contact
you. She's gone deep underground, and we have no idea where
she is. Whatever you do, you MUST NOT give up her identity.

Break.

Also, see what else you can find out about these two things.
One, the Codename for the secret project is apparently 'Dead Eye';
see if you can dig up any more information on it. Two, we
need intel on a human doc named Vacca. Looks like he vanished
off of Alderaan ten years ago, and of course records from there
are hard to come by now (curse the ashes of that slime Tarkin).
We need all the information we can get, but DON'T let anyone
know you're looking too hard.

Break.

Word is the Princess is personally interested in this one, so
maybe if you get lucky, you can earn yourself a shiny medal too.
Grease the power couplings if you have to--the budget is going
to stretch if need be.

Break.

You all know it'll break Lyda's mom's heart if we can't get
her home safe. She's lost enough in the last few years, and
now her daughter's off risking her neck. Lyda's spunk may have
taken her a bit too far this time. Let's be careful out there.

DERLIN, SIGNING OUT

Koster has said they have been solved so it looks like these may be it.  I am sure we will get the answers soon enough.  Anyway, read up....for this is the 'intro' to next month's storyline/quest as I am told.

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=game_guides&message.id=46023

You can turn in both sets, but not worth it. Also, they are raaaare. I had 0 Jabba, and 0 Valarian faction points. I now have -5000 Valarian and +5000 Jabba but never got a disc (or even a **edit** container) by doing destroy Valarian missions. Thats a lot of Valarians dead. Luck is your best bet (or buying them heh).

That is true...you can buy it if you have the cred.

Also you can sell them rather nicely.  Seen them between 15K and 35K