The efforts of the previous evening have revealed that the security staff for the night shift was bribed to turn off alarms and ignore the attack on the penthouse. The Olan's have taken them into their personal custody and are interrogating them ferociously, since this impinges upon the honor of their clan as a matter of hospitality and security at the hotel. Anwara Olan has sworn to personally see to things here and has provided you with an alternate venue, his own home, from which to continue your operations.

The Lorelei had to remain in the hangar, but her records and transponder were altered to show she is being berthed there long term. The Imperial investigation should turn up nothing. Damaging the reputation of the Olan's by attacking the Marquis seems to be an adequate motive for this terrorism, according to Anwara, and they should not investigate too much further than that when there are no records of anyone in the suite, but a supposed ambassador from Nal Hutta who delayed his arrival by a pair of days.

So, the third day of the group's stay on Ryloth dawns with their arrival at Olan's personal abode, which is about halfway up the northernmost wall of the cavern in an upper middle class neighborhood. Anwara's children and spouse are currently off planet on a pleasure cruise, so there is no one else present as Anwara himself shows them around and sets them up in the spare bedrooms.

Kala sighed, the thought of leaving one of her prized possessions back at the ship was almost unbearable. Granted, getting caught with it would probably be worse in the long run. She wondered perhaps, if this Anwara was in cahoots with Jaerad, making Varis an easy target in this case.

The question was though, where do they go from here?

The movement to different quarters was the only good thing to come out of the whole fiasco. Whatever the manager Anwara Olan said Narik believed they or Varis had been the target. It was harder for the soldier to discern why. The private dwelling was more homely than the hotel and hopefully a bit less conspicuous. Narik didn’t expect another attack at least not for a while.

He put his bag down in the room assigned to him and approached the others ”let’s see that recording of yours Aadun. I think we should discover who attacked us and pay them a visit” the soldier was in his typical gray robes, his blasters concealed beneath them.

It took him a while to get to sleep after the excitement of the night before, but the little bit he got was enough to make him feel better.  Once groomed and dressed, the zabrak stepped out into what would be the new "common" room and glanced around at any of the others who happened to be about.  His attention was immediately turned when he heard Narik mention him by name, so he looks over at him.

"I haven't completely gone over it myself, but I can get it for you," he says and walks back to his room.  He searches through the bag for a moment before pulling out the datacard that he had saved it on.  He went back to Narik and handed it off.

Kala had spent some time staring at the wall while the others were talking. Everyone seemed to be focusing their attentions onto different things, payback for the attack being foremost on their minds it seemed. Her own demeanor seemed calm, though, when she turned back to the gathered group, her demeanor seemed to have changed.

"Once you're done that, we need to get back on track. Aadun, I want you to work with Joron, to do some research on this world's customs. See what would get a family so humiliated, that they would be exiled, and never to return. If you can find a way to do that by lining our pockets, then even better." That last comment wasn't inspired by greed, but by simple logic. They had made some powerful enemies, and whoever had done this would be back eventually. Being better equipped and having better allies would help to turn the tide, and that would require a good bit of money. "Narik, I would like  you and Krysten to scour the area, find the enterances and exits, work up some plans in case we are attacked here as well. The better we are prepared to either turn the tide, or escape, the better. Varis, I think we need to talk about some things, away from the others."

How long had it been since she had been like this? Several years now, at least. Though, she wondered if these people would take orders as well as the others she had served with.

Aadun looked over at Kala with a neutral expression.  Whether or not he was happy to be getting orders from the Zeltron couldn't be read from his facial features, but there was suppressed annoyance deep down inside.  He was actively trying to hide those feelings, however.  "I have done some research already that leads me to believe that this planet has very loose views on morality.  Many of the usual things that would be considered shameful on other planets are viewed as positives here.  I can try again, but that may be harder than it seems."

Kala returned Aadun's glance, with one of her own. It seemed perhaps to be letting him know that she knew that. "I know Aadun. There has to be something. Even in Hutt space, where there's almost no laws, there's still crime and punishment. Instead of looking into laws though, we need to look to the court of social and political events. There has to be something, something that would cause the ruling family such embarassment, that they would never show their head on this planet again. Don't think legal in this instance..."

Varis quirks an eyebrow as Kala barks out orders, but she otherwise makes no move to comply with the one that would seem to be directed to her. In fact, she takes a seat in the living room and makes herself comfortable.

"I realize that I am now in the minority, but embarrassing them is going to take a lot more work and time.  An assassination would be a lot easier.  If we MUST, then perhaps I will look into this if Joron agrees.  I do not, however take orders from somebody who isn't paying me themselves," he says once again, keeping his voice quite even.  Feeling that like he got his point across, his neutral face becomes that of a smirk.  He leans over and looks Kala in the eyes.

"If you were nicer, maybe I'd be more inclined to help you out."

"While the assassination would be easier, it would ensure that more violence would come to Orn's family as the disposed family attempts to get back into power. With the heavy embarrassment, they wouldn't dare to show their faces on the planet again. Perhaps you could convince Orn to give you a bonus for something like that. Besides, if things go in that way, we would have a powerful friend on the ruling council." Kala replied. "I understand, both about the financial aspect for you Aadun, and my lack of manners in trying to give orders, but you must imagine, that time is not on our side. Think about it. Someone tried to kill us last night, Kaiten is gone, if he's lucky, then he's gotten with a group that's a little sympatheic to him, if not, then our adversaries might have caught him. That means that they might be expecting an assassination. Even worse would be if he was picked up by the empire, a visiting inquisitor would be able to drag all his information out of him." She finished as she nodded slightly.

She batted her eyelashes in his general direction. "So, perhaps I should rephrase it. Could you please do this for me? I would consider it a personal favor."

"Thank you," he says sweetly, in a way trying to mimic the tone that she had used.  "I will consider your offer."  He nods his head to her and then looks back across the room.

With that out of the way, he decided that he wouldn't do anything until the others had their say.  He did walks over to Varis and smiles at her.  "I wanted to check up on you.  After last night I imagine that your arms are probably sore from holding onto the side of the building.  Do you need a medkit or anything?  I have several."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:38, Sun 30 Aug 2009.

Varis smiles graciously at Aadun, "I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine. It was definitely a strain. Fortunately, I'm in excellent physical condition. I'll keep in mind that you asked after me, though, Aadun."

Still in full battle rattle, Kala was unable to see Krysten's eyebrow quirk when she was ordered to scout the area.  Silently, she waited until Kala was verbally sparring back and forth with Aadun before turning her helmet towards Varis in a questioning manner.

Overall, she agreed with the plan, but as Aadun had voiced, they weren't being paid by Kala, they were being paid by Varis.  And as with any mercenary, she followed orders from the person she was being paid by, not by another person on the crew.

When Aadun passed him the datacard Narik thanked him. He then jacked his own datapad into the household link. Once he had established a link he inserted the datacard and pulled up the recordings of the night’s action onto the largest display screen in the house. With his datapad on his lap he controlled the display and watched the event in slow motion.

As he looked for any sign of who it had been who attacked them he listened to Kala. Narik was growing to trust the Zeltron but was yet to really know any of his companions. He paused the feed from the datacard as her and Aadun spoke ”someone believes we have chance of succeeding in our mission or they wouldn’t have bothered to go to the lengths of attacking us. If we can find them we can find out the reason they think we will succeed. I imagine anyone who feels that threatened must have a big secret to hide. In finding our attackers I believe we will find our answer” the soldier’s comments were made wholly as sharing of his own thoughts and not a challenge to Kala’s commanding Joron and Aadun, Narik could see that some of the others had a problem with it but for Narik it made sense that orders were followed without question regardless of who made them. In battle you didn’t get the opportunity to be democratic. Narik would expect the same respect if in the heat of battle he tried to command the others. It was down to the simple rule of survival.

There had no been no ordering of him and Krysten, just a simple request. The soldier turned to Kala ”I’ll take a look around once I’ve reviewed this. Things should be safe for a short while” he then turned to Krysten ”I could do with your opinion on this datafeed and then we could check the security together if you’re willing” he asked as he restarted the playback.

OOC Narik will take 20 on his Use Computer & Perception to watch the playback. Results 29 & 28.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:18, Sun 30 Aug 2009.

Varis shrugs slightly and motions with her hand for Krysten to follow Kala's suggestion and scout. The smile on her face makes her amusement at the whole situation apparent.

OOC: Perception checks are appropriate to see what anyone watching the video would notice. Anything in particular you're seeking?

"As delighted as I would be to help others learn the customs of this world, I'm afraid that I cannot." Joron said, his eyes not once leaving his own datapad. "I have a date. Besides, I thought I gave ample insight on their customs the previous evening..." In that moment, the brash young noble trailed off, quoting what sounded like an intricate proverb in Ryl.

Indeed, had they acted the previous evening and stolen the precious art from the museum, things could have already been in motion - for better or worse. But now, now everything was a mess. Attacked in their penthouse, their numbers thinning, they hadn't the slightest clue on their missing member of the bounty hunter they had hired. However, what they lacked in members and security, they gained in suspicion and paranoia. If the young lord was versed in anything, it was the suspicion of rivals.

"Miss Jorn, why not use your... feminine wiles to our advantage? I'm certain it can help... influence others into netting the desired results." Certainly the Zeltron suffered no compunctions from such a thing. After all, she had just done so with Aadun.

"Aadun, if you find yourself in need of credits to see things through, do let me know." He said, smiling politely at his pda.
[private to GM: Taking 20 on perception for a total of 29.]

Aadun nodded his head at Varis and then turned his attentions to the others in the group.  He walked over to stand behind Narik and was about to study the information when Joron's statement caught his attention.  So, he looked at Joron instead.  "You probably don't want to say that to me," he says with more than enough amusement in his own voice.  "Though having a backer would make my life easier.  Anyway, if you think my idea from last night has merit, Joron, I think we should start getting something together for Brill.  After your date, of course."

"For now, I can humor you, Kala and do some more research, if Varis doesn't have anything else I need to do.  Tonight, I want to go to the 'Lazy Bantha' and scout out for Skaan Distombe.  As of now, we know nothing about him and I want to rectify that.  I don't plan to talk to him or anything obvious, but just observe."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:35, Sun 30 Aug 2009.

"Ahh. So, it would take you the whole day to primp and preen yourself for your date then?" Kala replied, as she smiled over at Joron. "I was sure that if you had enough experience in the political arena, then finding something like what I asked for would be child's play, but if you feel that you don't, I suppose I will have to see if there's someone more competant and up to the task. While you provided insight enough, it has no bearing on what we need now. We need to find that one thing that will cause the clan to be so disgraced that they leave and never even think about returning. Your plan to raid the museum might have worked, then again, as Aadun has said there seems to be nothing on this planet that warrants anything that bad. If you can engage in slavery, what's a few trinkets lost from an old museum? As I stated before, if you are not up to the task, then we'll have to work it out some other way." She finished, as she turned around, and began to ponder the next few moves that she would have to make.

She needed to talk to Varis, alone if possible. She didn't know who she could trust, especially after the attack. Planning on how to trap the people after her was now a priority in her mind.

Krysten nodded to Narik as she stepped over to take a look at the recording.  But at the back of her mind was the fact that she was now out of rockets.  She made a quick entry on her wrist comp to take a look around for a place that might sell them.

08:33, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 25 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 16. Watching the video.

"They're only credits... but if you don't need them..." Joron taunted the Zabrak with an amused grin. "I've already something to deliver him and have factored your thoughts into the... deal. He should find it most suitable, shouldn't he?" With those words, he paused to slyly eye the Duchess. "Also, I'll be keeping my eyes out for something that may aid us during the rest of our stay. Should I find one, you will be free to use it, Aadun."

With words most ambiguous and eyes distracted by the video in front of them, little information as to the what, how, why or when escaped the young lord's lips. Indeed, whether on purpose or not, it seemed Sarrus was speaking as little about his intentions as possible. Perhaps he felt those within their group were no longer trustworthy... or perhaps it was their new surroundings. Or maybe, just maybe, the video was just that darn interesting~ Whichever the case, it kept others in the dark.

Then, as Kala spoke, his lips parted to sound a reply that lacked even the slightest hint of bite. "Oh, quite the opposite, I assure you."

OOC Narik will be looking for anything to identify the attackers. The clothes they were wearing, the type of airspeeders or weapons they were using etc. He will be trying to find something to connect them. Were they hired thugs, mercenaries, or gang members etc?
Perception check 28.

The airspeeders all appear to be Sienar craft, although they're not in top condition, probably acquired secondhand, definitely not maintained to military specifications. Identifying numbers have been scrupulously erased or covered.

The missile launcher on the military grade airspeeder was definitely after-market and looks to be a quick installation piece.

The visible attackers are not wearing uniforms, but they are all dressed in combat fatigues the equivalent of what would be available to a System Security Defense Force. All of the personal rifles they used were comparable, but not identical.

The occupants of the vehicles are all helmets or breathing apparatus, and appear to be two Twi'leks, identifiable only by their lekku, a Kel'dor, and an unidentifiable member as well, most like a near-human with no need for modifications to a helmet.

A flash of light color in the front seat of one of the airspeeders seems to indicate there was a near-human with long blond hair on board as the pilot.

”What do you make of that?” he questioned the others that still showed any interest ”from their dress either military or paramilitary. Comprised of Twi’lek and outworlders.” the soldier stated his own observations before he made any supposition ”we can probably discount any Imperial involvement but we’ll still be casting a big net if we go looking for them on the streets” he shrugged his shoulders at a loss of where to investigate next.

"There are ways to shorten that net." Kala said, as she nodded to Narik. "We have to first think about who they are after, if it's the Lady Varis, or one of us. Once we determine that, then we need to make a list of who the enemies of that particular party is." She finished, as she looked around the room. She knew who her own enemies were, but she doubted they had caught up with her. She could have Aadun try to sniff though her fake identity sometime later, to see how hard it would be.

"So, once we get that kind of information, all we need to do is to leak a little bit of information about where we are going to be to them, and let them send their assassins again. That will confirm who we need to be defending ourselves from." She finished. "All of us have our skeletons in our closets, and no doubt we've offended someone in the past. We need to figure out who would have the kind of pull to hire mercs, either local or offworld? Who would have the resources to have someone disable the security systems, bribe the guards, and knew exactly where we would be? Obviousally, some or all of us have very influential enemies. Shall we start the list with the Distombes?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:59, Sun 30 Aug 2009.

Aadun smirked and responds, "Oh, no, I would love to have more credits.  You'll be the first person I go to when I'm running low."  Even through his smile, his mind is working and wondering what the catch was going to be.  Nobody ever just gave these things away for free without expecting something in return.

He listened quietly at that point as Narik and Kala discussed the attack from the night before.  He looked over at Varis, hoping to catch her eye.  There was something she told him in the hallway, but he hadn't heard her mention it since.

"I think you should put Jaerad Kienaan at the top of the list, Miss Jorn. The Distombes may be a close second.

"And I should probably be the prime target, although I'm not pleased about it."

"Hmm." Kala replied, as she nodded to Varis. "Jaerad might actually be the easiest one to uncover his intentions. If you know of a safehouse he has on this planet, we could attempt to contact him, and inform him that we are on the way to that safehouse. If we get attacked on the way there, then we can be fairly certian, or if when we arrive in the safehouse, we are attacked shortly thereafter. Though, what would Jaerad have to gain from your demise?"

"He has no safehouses here. His presence is minimal, which is why we're here with this mission. As to why he would prosper from my demise... I'm afraid I am subject to a Non-Disclosure Agreements for the time being. That's as much as I am able to reveal."

Aadun studies Varis for a long moment before nodding his head slowly.  "We all have our secrets," he says simply and then shrugs.  "This one could get us killed of course, but if you can't talk about it, then that's that.  Now, how certain can we be that he is the assassin?"  Since his presence is minimal, would he have gotten the firepower together so quickly?  Would he have begun planning this even before we left?"

He knew it was a lot of questions at once, but his mind was racing.

"He knew that we were coming here before I did. How long did he have to plan all of this? It's impossible to say. Maybe there was no rush on his part. I doubt he has the personal resources on planet to have handled this directly, though, so this was more than likely an intermediary agency, probably a mercenary company.

"But even my personal certainty isn't enough to be one hundred percent sure this was Jaerad. It's best if you don't shut down all the other options just yet. I could be paranoid."

With a frown Narik knew he out of his depth. It was usual when in a military unit or on a battlefield you knew who your enemy was. He cast a simple question on there for consumption ”does Jaerad know we survived last nights attack and if so does he know where we are now?” obviously if he knew where they were they could easily be attacked again, if it was Jaerad that had planned the attack.

"I haven't contacted Jaerad. The security personnel weren't mine, though, so it's likely that Jaerad has a spy and has already been informed that we're alive. I made sure they didn't know where we were going when they were assigned to guard the ship."

”Then we can let slip to the security staff a false location of where we are” Narik smiled as a plan formed in his mind”we then set up an ambush to capture whoever comes to get us. We don’t need to stand and fight them all just catch one for questioning later then run. Now as fugitives of our own employer its best we get used to hit and run tactics, we haven’t got the resources to stand up and fight against Jaerad” now more in his own element the soldier spoke confidently.

"We don't know that Narik." Kala said, as she shook her head. "We do need to set up a trap, and find out who those people were working for, but until we do, we can only be cautious about who we interact with. If we find out that Jaerad is plotting against Varis, then we all have to decide what we will do. We still have a mission to accomplish but finding out who is after Varis should be a top priority. Since attacks will probably continue, and might jeapordize the mission and endanger not only our lives, but lives of people uninvolved with the situation."

Narik nodded to Kala ”if we give false information to the security personnel assigned to us by Jaerad and an attack does not come then we can eliminate Jaerad as a suspect. I think its worth a go”.

"So be it. One of you can contact the security personnel and alert them to the 'new' location, in the event of an emergency only, of course."

She looks around.

"Kala has made a good point. You still have a mission to complete. Our new situation and location affect the accomplishment of it somewhat, but it should still be within reach. Kaiten's disappearance is not reassuring, though. I think I'll make it my own goal to locate him."

"Joron appears to be working on the Brill and Sinya situation," she comments and then pauses for a second while he puts his thoughts together.  "Otherwise we need to make a decision about how we are proceeding with the Distombe Clan.  Unless a better idea is put forth, I plan to scout out Skaan tonight.  Even if we are not actually assassinating anyone, I want to get a look at him and see how he acts.  It could be worthless, but you never know."

"Kala also informed me that I also need to do some more research, so if you like I can get started on that immediately."

Narik nodded to Varis, if she would concentrate on finding Kaiten he would concentrate on finding who was after them or her. ”I’ll set something up. I’ll keep my comlink close by” he reassured everyone as he readied to leave.

Using the holonet the soldier searched for a hotel in one of the poorer areas of the city. Narik hoped to find the sort of place someone on the run would go if they didn’t want people asking questions. It would work as a cover story and hopefully be in a place where the hotel security wouldn’t scare off a repeat attack.

When Narik had what he needed he went to the chosen hotel and booked a room. He called it in to Jaerad’s security personnel then he dressed himself in his second-hand all weather cloak. Narik hoped that if he wrapped himself in the old cloak he would have the look of a common vagrant. The soldier then positioned himself on the street corner and watched the hotel for any unusual activity.

Kala walked up to Varis and leaned in as close as she could. "I'm worried the Empire might have gotten their hands on Kaiten." She whispered. "Which makes all kinds of things problematic. I wouldn't suggest mounting a rescue if they captured him... Anyway, if you are availble, we could go walk around in the gardens and chat, if you'd like."

Turning to Aadun, Kala nodded. "If anyone can find what we're looking for, I know it's you." She finished, before watching Narik leave. She sighed a little, wishing someone had gone to back him up, or hoping he had a lot of stun grenades in his inventory.

Having watched the video, and not seeing much of anything that she could add to the conversation, Krysten went about her assignment: scouting.  The first things she looked for were the obvious doors, windows and sundry other places that could be used for entry or egress.  Every door and window that she found was then tested for security; was it able to be opened from the outside, inside or both?  Was it lockable from the inside, and how resistant to attack did it look and feel?

That done, she started searching the rooms they were allowed access to for concealed entries and exits.  Paneled walls were gone over meter by meter, checking for irregularities or hidden access panels, while bookshelves had mostly random books tested to see if they activated anything.  It was cliche, certainly, but oftentimes paranoia lent itself to a certain amount of holodrama-esque theatrics, as if the very simplicity of it would help protect it from discovery.  Stranger things had worked, gods only knew.  Nevertheless, all of the classic "hidden doorway" techniques were checked.

Over the course of the next several hours, she made as many notes in her bracer comp as she deemed necessary, noting the layout of the house, quarters, bathrooms, locked rooms, kitchen(s), and the various other household rooms and locations that might be of any use to her or the group.  She also attempted to extrapolate the function of any locked rooms based on their location and adjacent rooms.

[Private to Varis Rei: As an aside, I'll be more than happy to take as many Perception checks as you deem necessary.  I'm more than willing to admit I'll likely miss something, but I find it slightly more sporting (and possibly entertaining) for both of us to roll for it instead of just taking 20 for everything.  Not to mention, it's more than a little boring doing it that way.

19:00, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 24.
19:00, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 13.
19:00, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 18.
19:00, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 20.
19:00, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 22.
19:00, Today: Krysten Tyner rolled 15.]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:01, Wed 16 Sept 2009.

"Kala and I will be going for a short walk. Do what you can, Aadun, I'm sure your skills are up to the task."

Meanwhile, as Kala and Varis exit, Krysten begins an intensive search of the premises. [Private to Krysten Tyner: 6 Perception rolls, please.]

Now that everybody had figured out what they needed to do for the day, Aadun decided that it was time for him to do the same.  He gets up and heads out of the main room, to start work on his task.

Back at the hide out Narik went inside to see who was about. ”Anybody home?”.

Narik doesn't find anyone answering quickly. Aadun and Kala may be about doing some things, but Varis is nowhere to be seen and Joron seems to have stepped out as well.

Krysten comes strolling back through the door shortly after Narik asks his question.

"I'm here, though I'm not sure where everyone else is.  You have a datapad I can download the house layout too?"

Narik nodded to Krysten was he swung his pack off his bag and retrieved his datapad. The soldier passed her it “I laid myself out for the picking and no-one came. I reckon whoever attacked last night is after one target only. Kind of points in Varis’s direction”.

Krysten flipped open a small compartment on her own datapad and retrieved a cord before taking the one handed to her.  She then located a small latch that opened to reveal a data cable receptacle and plugged the cord in.  Data scrolled across both screens as the datapads talked to each other in their electronic language, and she waited patiently until a small button popped up on her display that said "Synchronize?"  She tapped the button, and waited a couple more seconds as the datapads finished.  Once that was done, she located the file in her own directory and sent a copy to Narik's directory that contained all the information she had been able to discover.

That done, she removed her datacable from the port on Narik's 'pad and closed the latch over the receptacle and handed it back.  She retracted the cord in her own pad and closed its compartment as well before looking back up at him.

"Then one of us should probably start insisting we be with her at all times.  She may be able to take care of herself in hand to hand, but elegance and speed is no match for your experience or my beskar'gam."

She shrugged in a philosophical sort of way.

"That aside, there's at least three hidden doors plus a panic room.  The only activation method I was able to find was the panic room.  Still someplace to stash Varis until a firefight passes over might come in handy.  In addition, I've downloaded as much of the mansion layout as I was able to determine to your pad."

Narik watched as Krysten uploaded the layout of their current hide out onto his datapad “good job” he commended her work.

“It’s bad that we don’t know where she is now” he leaned a little closer and lowered his voice “you know this whole thing could be set up. Varis might just want us to think someone is after her” Narik didn’t add anything else “what we doing next?”

Krysten didn't so much ignore the compliment as pass it over.  Like she would do anything else other than her best?  Pfffft.  Focusing on Narik's next words, though, touched upon something that had been percolating at the back of her mind for a bit, but that she hadn't really considered.

She didn't return his conspiratorial lean, but she did allow him the courtesy of lowering her external speaker when she responded.

"Regardless of whether or not someone is after Varis, or if she thinks someone is, my job is to 'A,' keep her alive and 'B,' assist her with completing the mission.  'A' comes first, with 'B' a close second."

Pausing to change mental tracks, she continued after a moment.

"As for what we are doing next, since you're head of security, I'd like your permission to see if I can find some place to replenish my wrist rocket ammunition.  It came in more than a little handy, and I don't feel right without at least some form of ammo for it."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:36, Sat 03 Oct 2009.

The mission and any plans they had laid were in ruins. Krysten logic was seemingly something to hang on to. So Narik neither approved nor disapproved her statement. When it came time for him to answer her he gave his consent “let me come with you. No harm in having some back-up and our charge Varis could be anywhere so we’re not serving her by sitting idle here”.

Aadun stepped back into the room, looking rather happy about something.  "Hey," he says to Krysten and Narik as he walks into the room.  "Just wondering, do either of you speak Ryl?"

Krysten nodded.

"I do."

"Good," he says and smiles a bit wider.  "I think I have an idea, though it will be dangerous.  In order for us to take out the Distombe Clan without killing them, we have to prove them traitorous.  Phase one of my plan would be to start rumors about them involving the current quarantine.  They would need to crop up in different news sources and at different times and appear to be written by different people."

"I haven't written these out yet, but I need a fluent Ryl speaker in order to translate some of them.  Translation programs are excellent, but in my opinion they can never beat the nuances that a fluent speaker can make.  Do you two think this will work?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:39, Tue 06 Oct 2009.

Narik couldn’t help with the translation but could comment on its worth “it’s worth doing as long as it can’t be traced back to us or the Ziveri clan” he agreed “the people of Kala’uun must be keen to rid themselves of the Imperial Inquisitor and offering the Distombe clan as a scapegoat could pave the way for the Ziveri Clan.”

"That is exactly what I was hoping to do," he says and shrugs his shoulders.  "The rumors are already widely available that the Distombes may be working very closely with the Imperials already.  It would just be putting an additional idea out there for scrutiny."

"Yes, having this linked back to us would be a worst case scenario.  I need time to plan and make sure that doesn't happen."

“See what you can do, I’m sure you’ll manage something” Narik encouraged the Zabrak “keep us updated on your progress. I’ve got a lead on who attacked us last night. As soon as I find out anything substantial I’ll pass it on”.

Krysten took the datapad from Aadun, politley, and glanced over the various pieces of text.  She thumbed through the pages with rapid speed, doing a bit of each in her head before handing the pad back to the Zabrak.

"I'll start on these this afternoon after I get back from gathering some ammunition for my wrist launcher.  They'll be done before tomorrow morning.  Does that work for you?"

With the confirmation that his plan was solid, now he knew that he needed to work on some evidence.  Rumors without proof were meaningless, after all.  "That's fine.  I'll see you later then," he comments and nods his head at them.  "I probably should do some more plotting and planning anyway in order to make sure that this goes off without any sort of problems arising."

Krysten nodded.

"I'll let you know when I'm back.  Good luck with the evidence."

“Okay look after yourself and contact us if anything happens” the soldier offered as he followed Krysten out.

Back at the group’s hideout Narik retrieved the recording cylinder he had been left by the Kubaz and sent the recording cylinder for playback.

The cylinder, it turns out, is only good for audio recording, but the conversation recorded is very, very interesting... and disturbing.

The recording picks up mid-sentence, as if the Kubaz decided, spur of the moment, to begin it.

The first voice belongs to Narik's agent. "... could this one know that Black Sun was involved in so simple a thing? This would not have imagined that the organization had recovered so quickly. This one apologizes most humbly, Master Storn."

Next, a deep male voice is heard. "Goridan, you have stuck your long snout into our business one time too often, I..."

A seductive female voice interrupts the man. "Now, Aric, don't be too hasty. From what I've heard, this Kubaz doesn't investigate on his own. He's working for someone. He can deliver a message for us... tell them to butt out and mind their own business, don't you think?"

"Isara, I don't know why you care. If you'd let my men handle things on their own without insisting that you accompany them, the target would certainly be eliminated without the need to investigate further."

"It wasn't my mission, but I do like to get my feet wet every now and then, Aric. Don't make me regret putting the man in contact with you."

"Thanks to the blockade, no one else here could have handled it so well."

"If you consider a near failure to be 'well'."

"I... Why are we speaking in front of him? He's a security risk."

"He's no such thing. Listen to me Kubaz. We're going to outfit you with a wire and a small security device. If you reveal any information besides what you are directed to whoever hire you, we'll not only kill you, but whatever family we can find on this wretched planet. Now..."

The recording cuts off as abruptly as it began.

Narik listened to the recording and then listened to it again. The target of the attack was still unnamed but he could at last give their enemy a name. Black Sun. The soldier mused on the news. The fact that they organised themselves in the manner of a legitimate business didn’t stop them being criminals “at least we know who’s trying to kill us” he remarked to Krysten “not much good reporting it to anyone I guess. We’re on are own. What interest would that gathering of crooks have with any of us anyway?”

Krysten thought for a moment before responding.

"My guess is one of our party leaders owes them something.  I'd hold off on saying that name too often.  We've got enough people after us we don't need any more just for being careless about what and where we talk."

Narik shook his head. He did want to avoid any unwanted entanglements with the criminal organisation the Black Sun but the information had to shared “we need to tell the others what we’ve discovered” he shook the cylinder “this recording puts Jaerad’s out of the list of suspects. Unless of course his higher up the food chain than I thought. I didn’t think his connections were as high up as Black Sun. Perhaps the mission here has interfered with plans of theirs otherwise they wouldn’t have attempted to remove us”

From the recording however it appeared that the Imperial Blockade was unconnected “it doesn’t provide us an answer why the Imperials are here” he mused “there may be an even bigger player involved. I don’t think there’s anything we can do but continue our plans and watch our backs. I wonder if Aadun has got anywhere with his investigations”.