Post by Rabbit on Nov 16, 2018 7:34:02 GMT -5
A Bothawai autumn was a glorious thing; Kar'eth absolutely loved it. Though, to be fair, this was the first time he'd ever been to Bothawai, much less experienced the turning of its seasons. The mountains that loomed above Drev'starn, the capitol city, were resplendent in golds, plums, scarlets, and umbers. The air was crisp and the Mirialan had to wear a heavy jacket to sit outside comfortably - complete with gloves and a scarf, accustomed as he was to controlled climates in space and places like Coruscant.
He was sitting in a little outdoor cafe, bundled up in a thick woolen coat of muted blue and a maroon-colored scarf wrapped around his neck and tucked just so into the top opening of said coat. Kar had taken off his black leather gloves, which were laying neatly on the tiny tabletop just next to his saucer. He had his hands wrapped around a fairly large (yet strangely, still dainty-feeling) tea cup that was filled almost to the brim with a piping hot Alderaanian black tea that scented the air around him with fragrant wafts of steam. Kar had just finished stirring in a healthy helping of the local honey and he leaned back in his chair as he lifted the cup to his lips. He fully intended to savor this.
It wasn't often that he got to sit back and actually relax on a mission. But, this was one mostly of his own making and the SIS agent was determined to spend at least a little bit of time enjoying the local flavor, as it were. Drev'starn was a bustling metropolis and the little cafe he had chosen offered a great opportunity to enjoy plenty of fresh air and privacy.
What Kar'eth liked most about this particular establishment, was that it was tucked away just off of a major thoroughfare. All of the outside tables had been carefully arranged around thick walls of lush, well-maintained greenery, which gave it a cozy, intimate feeling. He had chosen a table at the far end of the corner cafe, right against the brick facade of a connected building that had looked to house a law office, a florist, and (of all the things), a tattoo parlor. The wall Kar had his back to was the outer wall of the flower shop and to say that little niche was quiet, would be an understatement.
He had scans up around the perimiter of his little sitting area, as well as a short-range scrambler. This way, he could work in relative security, without having to hole himself up in some back-end room somewhere. When it was possible, Kar'eth preferred to do his business outside. It wasn't what most people would expect of a spy - he subscribed whole-heartedly to the method of "in plain sight". Beings rarely paid attention to what was right in front of them.
Kar'eth was on Bothawai to make contact with refugees from Teth. He had originally wanted to set up operations on another planet, within Hutt space, but command had shot him down. They wanted him to stay in Republic space and adhere to the traveling restrictions currently in place. Even if his work as an operative would have otherwise suggested that he get as close to Teth as possible, the SIS High Command wasn't taking any chances. Bothawai, as it so happened, was the closest planet to the edge of Republic space in the Galactic East, and while it was no where near Teth, it was still close enough to attract a handful of refugees.
Most of the refugees, Kar had learned, were wealthy citizens of the Republic who had gone to Teth to enjoy one of it's apparently famed resorts. Others were natives to Bothawai who had been on Teth for business. Kar'eth figured it all worked out in the end, in a way. There was a budding network of espionage on Bothawai and its operatives were already attracting attention for their impressive track-record of results. In the grand scheme of places Kar'eth could have been forced to pick for his particular work, he could have done a lot worse than Bothawai.
He took another sip of his tea and eyed the holopad he had placed on the table in front of him, then the three chairs arranged around him, and finally to his datapad, on top of which he had placed his gloves. He was waiting for an Underworld contact to ping him over the holopad. He was hoping that he'd promised her enough credits to get some decent information to work off of - SIS was one thing, but Kar knew from personal experience that no civilized organization dealt in information better than the Galactic Underworld as a whole. Not to mention, Teth was in Hutt Space. If anyone was going to know anything first, it was going to be any one of the galaxy's crime lords and their syndicates.
Command had also informed him that he would be meeting one or two others here, so that he wasn't going in and interviewing refugees on his own. Kar'eth wasn't exactly sure why he needed company to do that sort of work...but he also knew from experience that he couldn't get every single being he encountered to talk. His way worked for most...but there would be others who would respond to a different approach, from a different person. When it came to information gathering of this variety, two or three were infinitely better than one. Especially since it had been made quite clear to him that he was to get in, get as much information as possible in three days, and then get out.
The Republic was uneasy. With some unknown threat lurking on the edges of their space, Kar'eth couldn't blame the powers that were. The Republic was still trying to recover from the last war with the Sith and her resources were stretched thin. If loss of even a single operative could be avoided, SIS at least, was going to do what it could to keep him and others in his line of business alive.
And really, Kar'eth didn't mind working on a team. He glanced up at the clear blue sky; the ghostly outline of two crescent moons and one full could be seen directly above him. The Mirialan set his tea cup down and stretched his arms up over his head with a satisfied groan.
There were worse places he could have picked to sit and wait. S'long as he wasn't here long enough to make the cafe staff suspicious, he was more than happy to stay put. Hell, he might even put in a order for some of those toothsome looking pastries he had seen in the cafe's window case.
He could get used to this. Easy assignment, easy day.