Welcoming Party

[Kay]

Sien turned to regard Tekal at the mention of protection, only to witness an expressionless nod of acknowledgement in Meira’s direction. Surmising the minister wouldn’t say anything beyond this though, the president proceeded to take a seat and address the Jedi. “It’s unfortunate any protection was needed at all really, which is why the finding of General Seghr’ak Vidar, with each passing day, becomes an ever higher priority. Unfortunately however, he continues to evade government agents… We believe he may have entrenched himself in the city slums, a place which we had difficulty monitoring even before this mess, but anyone we send in to seek him out simply disappears and frankly, I can’t spare many more men. Which brings me to the next problem…” Sien pauses to give a deep sigh before continuing, the current events obviously weighing on her greatly.

“It seems many have noticed this lack of manpower and so we’ve been receiving… offers. I’m sure you noticed the dark haired human who I was speaking with. Well, he’s one of many mercenary company representatives, each eager to “assist” apparently with my current dilemma.” The president’s tone darkened at the mention of the mercs as her gaze became steely, clearly irked by them. “I do not want to rely on a band of common thugs to deal with my planet’s problems. This is why Master Jedi, I implore you, if you can, find Seghr’ak Vidar and get him to lay down his weapons and end this nonsense. If you’re able to do this I’ll be eternally grateful to your order.”

As she finished the meeting was interrupted by a sudden chime at her desk, followed by the voice of what was probably her receptionist, “Madam President, as per your request, I just wanted to remind you of your appointment.”

Hearing this Sien stood up, brushing her hands against her robe as she spoke, “And with that, I am afraid I have to get back to my duties. If you have any questions, please free feel to ask Tekal. Otherwise, if you want to discuss these matters further with me, you can meet me tonight. Tekal will explain; Good day Master Jedi.” Unfortunately, beyond this, she left little time for a response as she promptly gave them a light bow of her head and made for the door, leaving the Jedi in the room with Tekal; who apparently wasn’t feeling so chatty herself.

“Yes, well, as much as I’d ‘love’ to help, I too have matters to attend to. What with a raving lunatic creating havoc in my city and all. So, I hope you won’t mind if I instead leave you in the capable hands of my ‘top’ assistant.” The sarcasm from Tekal was obvious enough and her enunciation of ‘top’ likely didn’t inspire much confidence, but she left the Jedi with little choice as she simply walked up to the desk and, after pressing something on it, spoke out to nobody in particular, “Send her in.”

The product of her act soon bounded in eagerly, taking the form of a young red haired, Devaronian woman, her skin matching Tekal’s in being furless and tan, while her locks sported a short and neat cut. She dressed in casual military wear, a pair of dark black baggy pants tucked into even darker combat boots, her tank-top a contrasting white. She saluted Tekal as she came to a stop, her green eyes brightening visibly at the sight of the Jedi… evidently a fan. “Lieutenant Allera Jesial reporting Minister Tekal.”

Tekal sighed visibly at the lieutenant’s appearance, walking passed the Jedi as she spoke. “I said to dress in civies; you look more like a soldier than ever Jesial… Anyway, here are your objectives, please take care of them.” And with that, Tekal brushed passed the young soldier and left. After which Jesial practically exploded, “By the force, actual Jedi, you have no idea what an honour this is for me; is that a real lightsaber; do you really come from Coruscant; we’re going to make such a great team!”

“Jesial!” The minister’s voice roared from down the hall, to which Allera gave a small cough. “Sorry Master Jedi, it’s just, I’ve never seen anything like you before… Seriously though, there’s not much to tell. You’ve each been assigned a room in the Twilight Hotel, a snazzy place just across from here, as well as a means of transport to help you get around more easily.” Jesial paused as she pulled out a small key-card from her pockets, presenting it to Vreem. “It’s a tiny white ship and holds around eight passengers. Besides that, you’ve been invited to President Sien’s ceremony tonight. Everyone of import is invited; including many involved, or trying to become involved, in the recent events, so expect to bump into a few merc companies if you go. There’s also the ‘Shipper’s Stop’ bar, I took the liberty of programming that into your ships nav-computer,” she beams proudly at this, “It’s one of our best leads to finding Vidar and we believe it may also be where he contacts his weapon suppliers, being as it’s a frequent stop for shipping traders.”

Stopping to take a breath, Jesial pauses as a look of deep thought crosses her face before she begins again, this time a little hesitantly, “I also programmed the coordinates of Kemal Gurnak, someone we’ve suspected of being involved in most of Montellian Serat’s organized crimes and who we also believe has connections with the Hutts. The building I’ve pointed out is a lavish estate but don’t be deceived, this man is anything but an honest businessman… Unfortunately, we’ve yet to find any evidence against him but I have a hunch that if you want information, he’s your best bet. I’d just be wary of the price of said information…”

[Vreem Took]

It was only a brief meeting, to say the least. The President didn’t necessarily seem like she was being rude or hiding anything from them, on the contrary she revealed a fair amount in their brief meeting. However, she did seem to be extremely occupied at the moment. Vreem supposed the meetings with these mercenaries wasn’t doing anything to help lessen her workload. No doubt they were flocking towards her source of wealth like moths to a flame, as they so frequently did. Yet this information about the slums seemed quite important to Vreem.

Quite quickly they were shuffled on to the Minister and then once again onto her aide. This Jesial seemed like a perfectly nice person, yet Vreem couldn’t help take concern at the fact they were being treated like unimportant or unwanted guests. As if bringing an end to this was not their top priority here. Still, there was nothing they could really do about this fact, it would have been nice to talk a little bit more, but now they had a little bit of freedom in their work. Vreem accepted the key-card with a warm smile and a brief thank you before turning to Meira and Niv-Taro with some new information at hand, provided from the mouth of their budding liaison, it gave them a couple of leads.

Since Jesial didn't appear to be as uptight as their previous host, Vreem took up the role of bossy High Council member once again. “It seems like we’ve got a number of different leads to follow up on. In all honesty, none of them sound even remotely safe.” He paused for a moment thinking over the insanely idiotic plan he had formulated in his mind.

“We’ve been given two leads by Jesial here,” he said gesturing politely to their acquaintance, “a bar which may be a hotspot for the purchase of weapons and the home of a possibly powerful associate to the Hutts. Meira, I want you to take the bar, there’s no doubt that there’ll be blasters in there so be careful in how you approach the situation. Niv, I’ll leave this Kemal Gurnak up to you, it may be hard to get any information out of him, but try your best. Be careful though, he may not like you messing in his affairs. Both of these tasks will be extremely dangerous and we will be split up, no doubt too far away from each other to communicate telepathically. We all have our communicators in case of emergency, if we get the opportunity to use them. How you approach both of these tasks will be up to you, the aim will to be get as much information as you can and then to meet up at the ceremony tonight.” He handed the key-card over to Niv, since he would prefer a little more discretion where he was going.

Turning to Jesial he spoke in a kinder tone of voice. “Jasial, I was wondering if you would be able to do three things for me. First, would you be able to accompany Meira to the bar? I feel that things could get ugly and your presence would be useful. Secondly, if he so requires it, would you be able to provide Niv-Taro with a few guards? It’s not necessarily because he’ll need them, but it may act as some kind of deterrent to Kemal Gurnak if he wants to create that kind of mood. And finally, would you be able to point me in the direction of the slums? Hopefully I might be able to find some trace of this General Seghr’ak Vidar, even if it is like walking into a gundark’s nest.” He smiled warmly, hoping that this lieutenant would be able to accommodate his requests.

[Meira]

There was hardly reason to sit down at all, other than the politeness of the gesture. The President no sooner sat than gave a bit of information and then was on her feet again. Meira's heart noticed the weight that the President felt and was so not put off by the short time of their meeting. If anything, this gave them a great deal of freedom in the matter.

As She dismissed herself, Meira stood and bowed. Madam President. She said in a simple and respectful farewell. She then turned to Minister Tekal, who seemed vexed as she announced she'd be leaving them in the care of her "top" assistant. Did the sarcasm go unnoticed, of course not. Was it of particular interest, not really. What was of interest however, was the seeming lack of gusto behind the whole thing. There was no doubt that these Devaronians wanted the whole matter done with, but it also seemed that no one here wanted to get their hands dirty.

Once the assistant appeared, Meira couldn't help but allow a smile to touch her features. This Jesial was young and vibrant, a welcome change from the stuffy nature of politics. As soon as Minister Tekal was gone, the mantle of leadership was restored to Master Took. Meira took relief in this, even if it would be brief. He doled out the orders quickly, allowing them to gain ample ground as they followed each lead separately. Yes, it would be more dangerous this way, but the likelihood of danger was a given to begin with.

She nodded, confirming her orders and then looked to Jesiel. She could already see the advantage of this plan. Two young females going to a bar would make sense, and could even prove useful, if their feminine charm could lend them an advantage. Meira was not one to consider her looks, but she was not hard on the eyes, and her band tattoo gave her green eyes a vibrancy that could draw nearly anyone in, if she only ever tried. She was glad that she had accepted the new clothes on their way here. She was already dressed the part.

[Halmtier]

When Jesail entered the room and began to act in a manor far displaced from the other representatives, Niv-Taro felt partially relieved. She appeared to be much more interested in this whole situation then Tekal- and much less experienced. Still, the energy she displayed was a pleasant change of pace from before. After her explanations were complete, Vreem once again took the reigns of leader (pun not intended) and started dividing the tasks.

Taking the Keycard from Vreem, Niv-taro felt slightly apprehensive about splitting up after such a 'warm' welcome. Still, it would make information gathering go all the faster, and three Jedi walking together would probably raise a few eyebrows, and a few alarms. It was when Vreem suggested that he go with guards that Niv felt a need to butt in.

"Although I appreciate the sentiment, I am going to have to decline the offer of guards. I fear that if I approach the man with such an entourage, the wrong message will be conveyed. Seeing as we're dealing with a seasoned Information salesman, I don't with to give a hostile impression from the get go."