Searching for Thugs in All The Wrong Places

[Casual]

{Still in the Temple}

In his hands, Bemek Forian held a datapad with information that would alter the course of a Dark Jedi's life. To think that such a small thing could change the life of another so drastically, it could mean imprisonment, death - if the Council so chose, or even the loss of the Force. He was walking now towards the ship that waited to take him on his mission, and walking out of the High Council chamber. It was too bad these meetings were so formal, he almost wished he could hit on High Council Member Lamilia or Rayn, just to see what the reaction might be. Which was actually, the only reason he ever flirted at all...

This callow thought was contrasted by what was heavier on his mind. He was going back out there, on the hunt. There was a certain attitude he had to adopt to prepare himself for this, and such thoughts were not conducive to it.

They told him he was to go to Taris to apprehend or eliminate a Dark Jedi that they'd had problems with in the past. He was a weequay by the name of Bahndo Remoon. The datapad said that he would be given further information by a Jedi who had dealt with Bahndo before, the 'pad said that she would brief him on what information was not presented on it on the way to Taris.

A she? No. This was a mission. A Shadow's mission. His mind had to be focused on what lay before him. It wasn't that he had an inability to focus, he simply hadn't had the chance to meditate himself into the situation as was his custom prior to missions, that's all.

As he walked, he attempted to slowly bring the task into focus, to let himself be guided by the Force to bring the Dark Jedi Bahndo to justice. Before he knew it, he had walked up to the ship and brought himself to reality to meet a yet-named Selonian female awaiting his arrival.

Why hellooooo there...?

He trailed of with a questioning trill that indicated he desired a name, as well as the flash of milky-white and pointed teeth in a very charming smile and tilt of the head. Somewhere inside him, his conscience gave itself a mental slap to the forehead.

[Kella]

Sellah was waiting in the doorway of the ship. Her whiskers twitched. Her tail thumped quietly against the wall.

Remoon. The name made her fur rise. Up until a few months a go, when she'd been unexpectedly assigned a Padawan, tracking had been her main vocation. She wasn't particularly smart, or particularly skilled, but when she was on the hunt, the skills she had fell together, and everything made sense.

Remoon was the one who'd gotten away.

Finally, she saw the Jedi Shadow approaching. Finally. She glanced at the chronometer -- surely she'd been waiting twenty minutes.

She'd been waiting five.

Sellah took a deep breath, attempting to calm her nerves. If she let her emotions on this case cloud her judgement, then Remoon would get away again. She knew that.

It didn't make it any easier.

"Why hellooooo there...?"

Sellah looked at Bemek -- she knew his name from reading the file -- blankly for a long moment. She hated it when people asked questions without really asking questions, because then she had to go about figuring out what they were asking. Finally, it clicked. Introductions. Right.

"Sellah," she said flatly. "Sellah Bellae."

She beckoned he follow her into the ship, and her ears told her he was right behind. Sellah was a firm believer in efficient use of time, and as she passed the cockpit, she knocked on the door -- the signal that everyone had arrived. As soon as she reached the passenger quarters, she turned to face the other Jedi.

"So to Business," she said, feeling the Engines thrum to life. "Remoon. You've read the file, but that's why I'm here -- to provide what can't be contained in a file. I tracked Remoon for almost a year. I'd get a lead, the lead would go cold, and then another would come along. After ten months, I was so close. I saw him..." Sellah's golden eyes lost focus, but she shook her attention back. "But he disappeared into a crowd, and there were no other leads. To have him slip through my claws after so much work was... infuriating." Sellah looked Bemek in the eye. "I know that's inappropriate but it's true." She sighed.

"A month ago, six people were killed and nine injured in a transport explosion. At first, it seemed to be an accident, but as soon as the remains were examined, there were injuries that could not be explained by the explosion. Upon further examination, the MO fit Remoon's. Some locals emerged claiming to have information, and that's when InterPol called the Jedi. This is the lead I-- we've been waiting for... It's all a game, to him. I think the reason that he's finally resurfaced is that he's... bored. But he's underestimated me-- the Jedi before."

Sellah paused as if she was done. She never talked this much. But her nerves still weren't at ease.

"Remoon didn't just kill people. He slaughtered them. He was a murderer, and a terrorist, and he is really good at disappearing. We need to stop him." Sellah's whiskers flared. Something in her tone implied that stop did not necessarily mean catch.

She really was done this time, and found her eyes drifting to the floor, rather than the Amaran. Sellah had just realized that she really hadn't given Bemek the chance to say much of anything. So she stayed quiet, waiting for him to say what he would.

[Casual]

"Sellah, Sellah Bellae"

The Selonian said, in a rather vapid tone of voice.

That is a beautiful name, pleased to meet... your... aquain-

She had beckoned him to follow and began moving, so he trailed off and followed her onto the ship. As they walked in she knocked on the cockpit door. Straight to business, he realized then his unfounded concern on focusing. He may yet even get to meditate.

Sellah explained the situation as the ship came alive, and when she finished, he could feel it take off. He only ever nodded or kept a plain and serious face as she spoke, taking mental notes of each point, and thinking out what such a stunt would require in terms of resources, location, and time. What he needed was information to compliment the information. When on the trail, it was a constant hunt for the rare and elusive entity known as information, as one bit leads to another leads to another, until you reach its source or author, in this case, it would be Remoon. He glossed over the personal affiliations Sellah made to herself concerning the weequay target, knowing that such things weren't of as much importance right now as was this info.

She stopped, he prepared to formulate what to say in terms of their next few actions and assess the situation, make certain he knew what she knew and all of it. She spoke again, however.

" Remoon didn't just kill people. He slaughtered them. He was a murderer, and a terrorist, and he is really good at disappearing. We need to stop him."

He caught her expression and flare of her whiskers, it was not a becoming look for her. He understood though her drive to see Remoon to justice, however, he noticed some maliciousness behind her voice, yet in the Force he sensed she was restrained. She could possibly have an agenda against this man, and it wasn't difficult to see that. He himself had his reservations against such a bold word as "stop," and the connotations behind it. He voiced them.

Of course, it is the will of the Council that will decide the fate of the fallen, his tone was serious now, he was assimilating into the mission and the etiquette required of such a serious matter, Is there anything more you can tell me about this man? Habits, appearance, style...?

Bem was on the prowl, now. It was time to bring justice, and he knew his partner felt the same.

In the momentary silence, the ship shook as it exited the atmosphere.

[Kella]

Sellah nodded to Bemek's question. She was glad he seemed ready to get down to business.

She lifted the Datapad from her bandoleer, and was silent as she navigated the device. She looked up at Bemek, and handed it to him.

"That's everything I've got..."

~~~ (Taris) ~~~

Sellah was up and moving before the landing gear had even touched the ground. As soon as the engines ceased whirring, she was opening the portal. All arrangements with the pilot had been made beforehand.

She felt hot concrete underneath her paws, eyes skimming the inside of the hangar. She took a purposeful step--

Somewhere... she was suddenly struck with the realization that she didn't know where she was going. Had she been alone, she would already have her course plotted out, but she was with another Jedi -- and not only that, he was the one in charge. Which suited Sellah fine, because she really did not like being in charge of anyone but herself. Even so, it always took her a while to figure out these situations.

So she stepped aside, and looked back for Bemek. She was somewhat abashed for having charged so zealously for nothing.

"So," she said uncertainly, when he appeared, "To interview the witnesses at the transport company?"

[Casual]

The datapad had much of what he needed to know, but at the same time, nothing. It left no trail to follow. Just dead, useless facts. He couldn't catch a dangerous Dark Jedi with some pitiful 'pad's information. He needed to sniff it out. He needed to initiate the hunt in other ways.

Thank you, I'll look into this further.

He went off to meditate where he could on the ship as they made their way to Taris. He let the Force envelop him, surround him. Perhaps the Living Force could lend some breadcrumbs to his bleak black trail. Through this, he began to also consider where he must go. The Force would guide him and Sellah.

{Taris}

When the ship made its landing of churning metal and blaring bedlam, Bemek stood from his seat and made his way towards the exit ramp. The ramp down which Sellah had already descended. He could tell that she had been moving forward with purpose and then came to some revelation and had stopped by her body language. She then turned to him and asked:

"So, to interview the witnesses at the transport company?"

Bemek couldn't help but chuckle. He'd been the same way on countless partnered occasions, so he knew the zealousness that followed Sellah. He felt the same way now.

Actually, no, Miss Bellae. That would be a good call, to be sure, but Remoon blew up a transport. If he's as cunning as you believe him to be, he will be looking out for the nosies in that very place, and since I don't believe you can hide your presence, no offense, but that's just our lot, then we will have to move differently.

He was walking as he spoke with her, and passed her as he did so. He was headed somewhere different and politely gestured that she follow.

I don't want any leaders here. This is a team, a unit. So to start, I'm entirely open to your input. I am merely more experienced, and that is why I believe it would be best that we move towards a cantina, speak with the Interpol, or with family of the deceased. With that we could find potential motive or direction. Learn what we can about the incident as if we were there ourselves, as it were. Locals can give us the eyes we need to see the past, and with that view, we can map out our next steps. These all would also avoid the target. If he knows we're here, we could lose him, though there are counters to this, they would be either sheer crazy or dangerous to attempt. Such as claiming we wish to actually join this man, or something of the like. Now. That's enough jabber out of me. We're just two spacers looking for odd-jobs now. Where would you like to begin our hunt?

[Kella]

Bemek had a very good point -- Remoon would probably be watching all of the people he knew had witnessed him. She began to think. But Bemek had said they were a team, so she would think aloud. That way, she would not have to explain herself later, and it would end up meaning less time talking overall.

"All the witnesses we have got good looks at Remoon... he probably made himself intentionally memorable. He wants us to know he's back, and he is watching those witnesses to try and get a look at the new force sent to track him. So... maybe the people who were in the same time and place, but don't think they remember enough to come forward. One of the witnesses was a waitress at a Cantina. She said Remoon came in for lunch at the same time three afternoons. Maybe we ask the businesses across the street or next door? See if we can piece together the bits?

"And you should take this," she unclipped her lightsaber from her bandoleer and handed it to Bemek. She felt an odd need to explain, "Since you have pockets."

Sellah did not, in fact, have pockets, as all she wore were a bandoleer, a few pieces of jewelry, and a dense coat of fur. She had no place to conceal a lightsaber, having left her cloak aboard the ship. And a spacer looking for an odd-job definitely did not wear a lightsaber.

Bemek had the map, so she waited for his confirmation and direction.

[Casual]

{Blarg, super wordy, I'm trying to feel out how much Bemek thinks on the job as a Shadow, so bear with me ;D )

It was quite silly of him to assume that an indirect route would be best, seeing as how there were surely witnesses that hadn't been accounted for by Remoon. Certainly they could find someone who was at the scene. By glancing at the datapad on some missed information, Bemek realized that there indeed had been a waitress who had seen Remoon on multiple occasions. It would be best to start with her.

"And you should take this, since you have pockets."

That is a good call my beautiful Selonian partner.

He replied with the tone of voice that indicated that he should have thought of that already. Shock, I suppose one could call it, mingled with the word choice to assuage the notion presented. He took the lightsaber and tucked it into his coat pocket, next to his own. In the same motion, he brought up the datapad with his other hand, making the movement seem nonchalant. They didn't want to be caught waving lightsabers around, though he had tinkered with a flashlight to make it appear as a shoddy attempt at a lightsaber, a mere ploy in case they might need to catch someone off-guard should there cover be blown. He'd used the same tactic previously to much success, and with an egotistical madman like Remoon their target, surely he too could succumb to over-the-top cloak-and-dagger tactics.

It seems that very Cantina is not far from here at all, this way, m'dear

He was being very whimsical, preparing to get into character as an aloof-jobless spacer. It wasn't necessary, but it helped. He gestured to the location and shifted the datapad so that Sellah could see for herself where they were headed.

We're going to be asking about jobs in the area first, to draw off any suspicion, then bring up the news about Remoon, and ask her what she knows. We need her to like us enough to tell us first though. Otherwise such intrusive questions won't fly and we won't find out what she specifically knows. You've done this before, I know, but I don't get partnered often, so I feel you should know what I know so that we're on the same page.[/b]

He gave her a wink and pushed the console button to the door of the cantina. As he did so, his mind procured one phrase: Let's rock and roll.

[Kella]

Sellah easily matched Bemek's pace, though her muzzle crinkled oddly at his remarks.

"I was meaning that we might talk to the people around the cantina. You said that Remoon was probably watching all the witnesses." She sounded both confused and reluctant to express that confusion. "But as long as we are subtle she would be a good place to start."

By this point, the Cantina door was already sliding open. Sellah was hit with a sudden rush of new smells. Meat on the grill with Cumin and Sage, tailring-egg salad, stale bread and fresh citrons, three individuals who had not showered in several days, a handful of reptiles, a mammal of some kind, and alcohol, despite the fact that it was only late morning, comprised only the salient scents. Sellah was accustomed to tuning out the clutter, however. Her eyes caught up with her nose, and she skimmed them around the cantina. There were several waitresses, all skimming around the cantina at significant speed, in a mad dash to keep up with the lunch rush.

Sellah almost forgot to relax her posture, and saunter her wait on to one leg for a bit. Master Rhissai had told her that while it was always good to be prepared for a fight, always looking like you were prepared for a fight had a way of bringing more of them than preventing them. And, she said, it was a dead giveaway.

So the Selonian sauntered a bit. She had to get her mind into the right frame. A spacer looking for work. She looked to Bemek, skimmed the crowd, readjusted her bandoleer...

"Hello, may I help you?"

A waitress breathily said, smiling a prefabricated smile in her prefabricated pink uniform. Sellah looked to Bemek. She liked it when other people did the talking.

[Casual]

He gave her a quizzical look, and then realized that he had said they would be interviewing the waitress specifically. Bemek shook his head in a display of shaking off the confusion on the subject.

Oh, right, my mistake, I meant to say interview those around her. Regardless of whether we question her or those around her, Remoon could be tempted into suspicion. We don't need that quite yet. Rather, we can ask around, and hopefully, we can be directed to the waitress by the patrons, rather than seeking her out ourselves.

He gave a reproving nod, his eyes seemly surveying the sky as he did so, as if he were visibly checking to see if he had missed anything or clarified himself incorrectly. Finding he did not, turned his gaze back to the Selonian and smiled his coy and charming smile of full teeth.

He said the last bit of his sentence under hushed breath, as they were by now traversing a short ways through the Cantina. All the while, he surveyed the Cantina with every sense he could, Force and physical. To miss any small thing could undo many very big ones. A Shadow knew this, heck, any Jedi knew this. From the feel of the tendrils about the air, he could tell that Sellah knew this just as well. And from the sniffing.

It seemed to house no surprises, with the exception of the waitress he almost missed approaching them as he felt about the place with the Force.

"Hello, may I help you?"

At first he didn't know what to say, but he, being himself, never had such a dilemma for long. With a glance at Sellah's eyes looking to him to cover this one, he spoke, adopting a lanky, loose and carefree pose of a street-smart job-jumper.

Well, I believe you can. You see, me and my partner here were lookin for a bit of work. Any old job'll do really, we just need something to get us off our bums and back on our feet. Know of anything?[/b]

One would think the fellow's jaw would break with the amount and variety of smiles the sly fox gave, but truth be told, it was practically their natural position, and as such, were forever genuine. Surely the lady couldn't resist one such smile and a prod of Force Persuasion.

He knew that with the explosion of transports would come the loss of life of the employees of the transports. The business would be taking a serious hit and be in search of replacement pilots for their transports. Just like the Force, everything had a way of being connected, one simply had to find that niche to slide into, ask the right questions, and the prey could easily fall right into their lap.

[Kella]

"Know of anything?" Bemek asked.

"Heh, do I," huffed the Waitress. It seemed that even without the special persuasion, she'd be eager to share. "We're always understaffed for the lunch rush. The owner's always looking for people to work part-time," she shifted one hand out from under a tray full of drinks, balancing it precariously towards her hip, to gesture to a set of swinging doors behind the counter. "Jus' go right back if you wanna talk to 'im." She started to walk away, but paused, probably figuring any gesture of helpfulness was likely to get her two more coworkers. "And the guy at booth three," she pointed with the toe of her shoe to a nearby table, "He edits the local holonews, so he probably knows of any help wanted ads. Hope y'all find what you're lookin' for," she added, "Would love a few more staff around here." The waitress smiled at Bemek in particular, and rushed off with the drinks.

Sellah, assuming that Bemek would start with the Editor, let her mind backtrack to a thought of lower priority, one that had been waiting just under her conscious.

Her muzzle crinkled, "Why did you call me 'beautiful'?"