Lord Zabi looked at the Jedi in front of him and shook his head.  "No, I have no idea of any Sith manipulation. I have never heard of anything like that happening here. We have always been a neutral planet and maintained our neutrality through the many wars waged by your Republic over the past thousand years."

He seemed shocked and even annoyed that he was being accused of working with the Sith.

Jax holds his hands in front of him, attempting to calm the baron. "It appears that I have misspoken. I'm not accusing you or any of your peers of actively conspiring with the Sith. Theirs is the way of manipulation, infiltration, and decay. They would likely try to play the existing powers on Balmorra against each other, and then swoop in when all are weakened.

To that end, our Order suspects that they might be in action at the upcoming gala. It is an ideal time for them to strike due to the attendance of so many influential Balmorrans. We would like to ask if you could add us to the guest list under false names to attempt to sniff out their plot."

Would I be able to make a discipline check to see if he is lying to me as well?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:24, Tue 31 Mar 2015.

Lord Zabi stared at you for a moment, then gestured to one of his bodyguards.  The man leaned his head down and spoke quietly into a comlink.  Suddenly, one of the doors in the back opened up.  Zabi turned and began walking towards the room.

"I cannot add you to the guest list. As it is not my party, I do not have that authority. What I CAN do, however, is bring you along as part of my entourage. You see, I share your concerns. I believe the Sith ARE here and they are working to manipulate my peers."

He entered the room, then turned to face his guests when he got behind a desk.  He pushed a button and a wall panel slid away, and a monitor appeared.  He hit a few buttons on the screen on his desk and an image appeared. It was of 2 humans in Sith Imperial uniforms. They were walking into the spaceport before vanishing into the crowd.

He looked up at the Jedi as the doors closed behind him.

"I apologize for the reception, but I had to make certain you were not Sith yourself. After all, to us non-force sensitive types you are hard to distinguish from each other. This here was taken just over 2 weeks ago. Those 2 seem to be Sith soldiers of some kind. Now it is possible they are here on personal business. Or maybe vacation. Maybe they are even here for a romantic getaway. But honestly, as much as I love my planet, it is not known as a tourist or vacation hot spot."

He paused to let the information sink in to his guests.

"I am being a horrible host. Can I get you anything? A drink maybe?"

After the run around they'd been through earlier there were few things Jax could do with more than a drink, "Yes, a drink would be welcomed, do you have any lomin ale? I can appreciate your caution, though it certainly made our life no easier. This is good intel you have, could we copy it to our datapads to add to our findings?

I agree with your analysis, uniformed Sith are unlikely here for anything but business. Are these the only images you were able to capture? I might have an idea of how we can expand the search..."


Could I make a computers check to create a program to scan security footage for Sith uniforms?

Lord Zabi pushed a few more buttons, and a hard copy of the image was printed out. He handed it over to Jax.

"Unfortunately, yes. We were unable to capture anymore images, and even searching the city has produced no results.  There was a rumor of some Sith activity this morning, but I have been unable to confirm that."

Just then, a message came through on the Jedi's comlinks:  ++I'm back at the front gates and I've had a sighting of what I believe to be the Sith we've been looking for but I've lost visual contact.++

OOC:

Yes you can. You can create somethin on your datapad, or ask to use his systems. Though he might not be too eager to let strangers into his computer network. 4D difficulty
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:27, Thu 02 Apr 2015.

on datapad is totally fine.

OOC:

That is fine.  Difficulty: 3D1C.

Jax spends a few minutes sipping his drink and typing on the datapad. Eventually he realizes that he doesn't have enough clear photos of the uniform to create a program to ID them on the recordings.

15:30, Today: Jax Nilar rolled 2 failures using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 3d 1c 4a. create uniform ID program.

Jax is unable to create a program due to lack of data.

Jax puts his datapad down, takes a sip and looks to Zabi, "Lord Zabi, I wasn't able to create the program. The images don't have enough data, even combined. We may need to do this in a more manual fashion. Furthermore, an associate outside has indicated that there may be Sith attempting to gain access to your compound. As this is your home I'm happy to take your lead, but I do have an idea or two."

Lord Zabi looked at his security chief before looking back at Jax. "A sith is trying to gain access? Why would they do that? And what proof do you have?"

Jax replays the transmission before replying, "My apologize, I may have misspoken, a fellow Knight is near the gate to the compound and spotted what he believes might be Sith agents. I'm not certain that they are attempting to gain access. Would you or your security chief like to speak to him directly?"

Jax offers the commlink to both men.

++Theres no sign of him now. He seems to have disappeared but I'm sure we'll run into the Sith again soon.++

Lord Zabi looked to his security chief. "Bring in their ally. The less he is seen outside the better."

He turned back to Jax.  "I believe that you are not plotting against me. And that Sith threat might be credible for tonight's proceedings. And as much as I despise the Deikuns, I will not let the Sith step in and cause my planet to fall to chaos."

"I'll comm him to alert him to your security's intention. He can be a bit jumpy at times. One second please."


Jax steps to the corner and whispers to Maliq, ++Zabi's security is going to bring you to me. Please cooperate.++


Stowing his comm link and returning to Zabi he continues, "Does your lordship think that Deikun is allying himself with the Sith, or could he be a mere pawn in their grand scheme?"

Lord Zabi was quiet for a moment then looked up at Jax.

"The Elder Deikun is too smart to fall for the Sith. He waited almost 25 years before setting his plan in motion that led to my father's downfall. If he would wait all that time to gain power, he would not easily let it go. However, he is mostly retired these days. His son,  Casaval, is another story. He is rash, pompous, and believes his is THE greatest person on the planet. He would be bold and stupid enough to throw himself in with the Sith. And screw our entire planet in the process."

He sighed and lowered his head, leaning over his desk.  He looked up after a moment at his security chief. "Get my family to safety. If our new Jedi friends are correct, then things can go bad VERY quickly."

"That seems prudent, but please ensure that their departure is discreet. We can't afford to tip our hand before the time is right. Also, does your lordship have a secure uplink I can use. While we wait for Maliq to join us, I'd like to file a report with the council, in case they decide backup is needed."

Zabi looked at the security chief, and the chief nodded his head.  "Yes, in my private office. Not this one." He grabbed a datapad from his desk and then walked around to stand next to Jax.  "We can go to the secure office underground. From there we should be able to get an encrypted link to the holonet."


The guards opened the door and ushered them out into the hallway, then towards the secure office.

Jax nods and follows the cheif and Zabi to the underground office.

Once they reach the underground office, the security chief runs a few scans before letting the others inside. "Everything is clear. Room is secure. The holonet link is over there."

"Thank you." Jax sits at the terminal and pulls up the Order's reporting service.

++OP UPDATE - BALMORRA

Knight Jax Nilar reporting in, with an update to an earlier transmission. We have made contact with the Zabi family after a failed attempt to communicate wtih the Deikun clan. Zabi's security force spotted what they believe to be 2 Sith agents (image attached), Knight Maliq may have spotted one as well. Also note, when we left Deikuns it seemed that we were being monitored by drones. I will continue to send any data as we gain it.

May the Force be with you.++

The message received a note that it had been received at the Jedi Temple.

Maliq greets the security personell that approach him with a bow and follows toward the compound. His mind still dwells on the shadowy figure he sighted and he wonders what mischief they have planned on Balmorra. If only I could have gotten a better look at him." Maliq chides himself for allowing his prey to elude his grasp. We'll find them and we will stop them, whatever their plan.

Maliq is escorted to the secure office.  Once there, Lord Zabi looked up at him then over at Jax.  "Is this your associate?"

Jax nods and gestures between the two. "Lord Zabi of Balmorra, may I present Jedi Knight Maliq of the Jedi Order? Maliq, this is Lord Zabi, who has graciously shared his intelligence with us."