Dust in the Winds... [Haru]

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Bandomeer...ionite...damn maniac was going to have them traipsing all the way to Ilum (or some other equally inhospitable planet) next, she supposed. The woman honestly felt like they were on some huge, obnoxious (and probably deadly), scavenger hunt...that or it was some insane shopping list. Sighing, the woman debated the thought that perhaps it was a bit of both. That would be right up her alley, wouldn't it...Let's send the Rilan out to go and find the items we need to try and take over the galaxy...oh, and while she's at it, I'll remind her to grab a jug of blue milk. We're just about out.

Heaving a weary (and frustrated) sigh, Talau rolled her eyes a little.

In fact, the woman was shading multi-hued eyes from the sun with one leather-gloved hand. Anyone who may have spied the woman standing atop the ridge above the local mining town wouldn't have mistaked her for a jedi in million years, and for anyone who may have been searching around through the force she had compacted her presence to little more than some average person. Of course, this wasn't necessarily the truth, but no one needed to know that. She certainly didn't want anyone to know that.

Then again, Talau had spent quite a lot of time making certain that she looked anything but jedi once she had been knighted. The fit of her leather armor and the slight snap of her long brown duster, the sway and tinkle of the beads and few feathers she kept threaded through her hair...it certainly spoke more of the outer edges of civilized culture than to being anyone connected to the jedi order. Of course, that had been part of her job as a shadow...perhaps not so much as the investigators, but certainly to an extent she needed to be camouflaged.

Hoping that she could get her hands on something useful, Talau slipped and skidded and clambered down the steeply sloping ground the old fashioned way toward the mining town...

[Harukei]

As Fal begun to made his way through one of the mining towns of Bandomeer, he noted how dusty it was. For a world that had once bristled with rolling hills, it was a shame that such beauty, now only accessible by images stored in ancient databanks and holobooks, had waned in favor of heavy industrialism and a world that was well on its way to become a dust bowl. Not that the grime and dust bothered him, after all, had he wished to remain clean, he would have stayed at the Temple on Coruscant. 

Among the multitude of beings that traversed what passed for the bazaar on the world, few would notice the cloaked figure that advanced slowly. The myriad of species, shaggy Talz with their white fur, Nikto that walked in pairs, whispering something between them and a massive Trandoshan with malice on his eyes, would shield him. Although experience would tell him that it would be just a matter of time before someone learned that a Jedi was on the planet. The Zabrak hoped that it wasn't just the planetary governor, attempting to gain a favor with a Jedi, which would not happen anyway. 

He supposed that the first thing he should do was to get information about the town and maybe some about the planet itself. Making his way inside a cantina frequented by miners, he sat on the bar, pulling the hood that shrouded his features, leaving his crown of vestigial horns exposed and the lineal tattoos of his face visible for the bartender, which resulted to be a devaronian male, whose left horn was broken. The red skinned male would eye him, as he cleaned a glass with a piece of cloth that had seeing better days.

"Whaddaya want?" The devaronian asked with a frown. 

"Ardees." He replied.

The bartender would pull a glass out, filling it with the beverage and placing it before him. Fal took a swig, noting the bitter flavor, likely due the fermentation process. His features remained stoic after the taste, placing the glass on the counter. A mental probe from his would only bring superficial information, such as that the bartender in question was quite annoyed. 

"You one of those new miners?" He asked again with the same frown.

"Maybe." Fal answered before subtly waving his hand at him. "What can you tell me of Bandomeer?"

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

It had taken a lot of nosing around to figure out who the manager of the local mine was, as well as who it was there who sold the refined ionite. Of course, she didn't care so much about who sold it...that was going to take too long, but if she wanted to give off a sense of being legitimate it was likely best to be asking those sort of things first. It helped that the nutter in charge of this wild gundark chase had provided her with a half-decent cover. Honestly it made Talau wonder just what other connections the woman had....and why. Well, didn't all dark jedi have connections to further their own ends? She supposed it wasn't really a stretch to imagine this woman was exactly the same way...after all, she seemed to work in many of the same patterns.

Looking up to the sky, Talau sighed and squinted a little at the brightness and the warmth. Gazing around her once more, the woman shook her head a little. So sad how this planet has so swiftly been eaten away at for minerals... she mused as she strolled along, finally ducking into the cool interior of the local dive. Slipping through the tables, she'd find herself a seat at an unoccupied section of the bar and pull out her data pad, already starting to sift through it as the zabrak not far off asked the bar tender about the planet they were on. While not overly interested in the man at first, as her senses cautiously spread through the area, her awareness of him and interest in him swiftly tripled. Damn, another force user...and a jedi by the immediate look of him.

Double checking her concealment, Talau reassured herself that she would appear as little more than your average person...or, at most, very vaguely force sensitive...

[Harukei]

The glass of Ardees was the best he could have gotten from the Devaronian bartender. That much he would take on his assessment due the quality of information he had gained after the questioning assisted with the Force. It was said that Jedi Mind tricks only worked with those who were weak minded. And while it's availability to defuse potentially explosive situations was not denied, he often wondered it's practicality to gain information, specially from an individual whose mind was little more than mush after an overuse of death sticks. The horned male had only given him what he knew about a gang and something of value they were hiding. But where they could be or what could the object in question be, there was nothing he could say. 

At some point the discussion had shifted into a sobbing confession of the failings of his life brought by the mind trick and how he wanted to be more, but due his addiction to the dangerous narcotic, he had not done much with his life. The Jedi Master would only wave his hand more, as the mental suggestion aided by his voice would tell the red skinned male that he should perhaps go home and rethink his life. He supposed that he would have to start from there. If he knew something about frontier worlds was that, even under Republic rule, they would have grey and black markets in each town. From there he could gain more leads.

However as he stood up and turned towards the only visible doorway of the establishment, something faint caught his attention. It was at first something that could be sensed, but that he had not recognized for some reason. And then it was gone, as if a presence was now vague or opaque. A Force sensitive hiding from him? Another Jedi, or perhaps a Dark Jedi or a Sith attempting to slay him. It wouldn't be the first time for someone to try so and a part of him had wondered what had kept them away for so long. 

Fal would continue to walk through the sea of booths and tables, each step taking him closer to from where that split second of sensation. However another mental tug from the Force would be heard as before the arming sound of a blaster could be heard, he had commanded the inert hilt of his weapon that hung from his utility belt to his hand. A snap hiss would resonate as the Jedi Master would turn, slicing the very air with an emerald blade. The energy beam would slice the nozzle of the blaster that had being aiming since he had passed the table to his most immediate left side. His arm would coil and then spring forth, crashing against the chest of a red skinned Twi'lek that flew back and landed with a thud.

"You've being askin' too many question Jeedai." A Nikto said training his twin blasters at his chest. "You comin' with us."

With his blade to his side, he stood his ground, calculating his options as he allowed those who had nothing to do with this to escape, lest he risked to have an innocent be caught in the crossfire. Once he was sure that most of customers had left he raised his blade in a serene fashion. 

"I don't think so." The Zabrak would say.

A hailstorm of blaster fire rained from the Nikto and his accomplices. With a calmed mind he deepened into the Force as the blade would be directed into the familiar techniques of Shien, the crimson bolts that boiled the air on its wake being redirected without much effort against limbs, in an effort to keep his attackers alive. 

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Oh great...here he comes, she groused internally. The last thing she needed was to be trying to outwit another jedi, and she couldn't afford to get caught. Silently she went through a dozen different possibilities as the zabrak closed in slowly. Not a single flick of her eyes was given to him as he did; instead, Talau simple sat at her portion of the bar, one leg hooked casually over the other as she scrolled through some mail on her data pad. Of course, this was until she felt the familiar threatening waves in the force crashed against her mental bulwarks. It took some effort not to look up before the sounds of blaster and saber filled the air.

As people started to rush out of the building, Talau dropped her data pad on the counter and practically vaulted over it with a short leap and the strength of her arms. Landing on the other side, she'd drag her data pad with her and slip it into her belt. The devaronian bar tender was hunkered down on this side as well, just a little way away from her. Waving him over as the sound of blaster fire filled the air, she spoke quickly to him. "You have a gun around this place?"

"Y-yeah, mostly for show."
"Can you get to it from here?"
The man nodded a little.
"Show me where."

With that the two of them crept off in the direction of the stowed blaster rifle. Taking it in her hands, Talau resisted a sigh. She wasn't exactly known for her ability with a blaster (she was certainly no Locke), but she had enough training to get by with: the blasting end pointed at the bad guys, you aimed, you squeezed the trigger, it fired. Oh, and take the safety off. Going through the motions of checking the weapon had a charge, she set the thing for stun rings, flicked off the safety, pulled it tightly to her shoulder and popped up over the bar, using it to steady the weapon as she sent blue rings of stunning and numbing energy firing toward the remaining assailants.

Considering the size of the rings, they were fairly difficult to get away from, and they certainly garnered some attention from the toughs, the ones further away turning their fire toward the woman, seeing her as the easier of the two targets. With a smirk, her job was finished and she ducked back down behind the bar...the group sufficiently distracted and disorganized enough for the zabrak to deal with easily.

[Harukei]

As his blade circled in practice motions to deflect bolts that flew eagerly against him, Fal would notice the movement behind the bar. The Force telling him whispers about what was about to happen as the woman he had being moving to before the small skirmish took place. It was within a split section that the stun rings of the blaster flew from the rifle that she held, most likely being owned by the proprietor of the locale. The slow rings found their marks on the backs of the gunmen that fell to the floor with a thud, unconscious and now harmless.

The remaining gunman noticed and divided their efforts, a couple would turn away from the Jedi Master, training their blaster fire at the bar with a murderous intent, while the rest continued the barrage of salvos against the Jedi, attempting to gain fame for slaying one of the mythical knights that protected the Republic. However if they wanted to do so was of little consequence. With a subtle movement of his wrist he angled the emerald blade, returning the crimson bolts that flew against him with murderous intent. A bolt finding the intended target of the weapon hand, forcing the thug to drop his weapon in pain.

He took a first step. Slight movements of his head and torso as more bolts coursed towards him. His weapon now focusing on defense as he cut the distance between the assailants and himself. With a single one handed slash he managed to slice the weapon of the first, knocking him down in fear, with a gesture of his hand, he gather enough power of the Force to conjure a small push that knocked the second thug. Another subtle change in angle would deflect a pair of blast against their casters, hitting them on the forearm and shoulder respectively, taking them out of the conflict. 

Fal would stand behind the remaining two, deactivating his lightsaber. One would turn, a Twi'lek attempting to take him out after his defenses were perceived as being dropped. A strike of the hilt from his lightsaber against his temple would knock her out. Painful, but not life threatening. The second and last one standing of the group, the Nitko that had begun to threaten him, would turn his arm and body, raising the blaster to chest level and prepared to pull the trigger. His hand was faster, seizing the weapon arm by the forearm, raising it against the resistance of the owner as one blaster shot resounded finally, piercing the ceiling above.

"Will you cooperate now?" He asked with a stoic tone.

Unsurprisingly and after several minutes, what passed for law enforcement in Bandomeer would arrive. Surprised to see a Jedi, only to take the gang to the nearest detainment station, including the man that he wanted to interrogate. Fal would do so, however he would need to address another matter. The woman and the Force signature he had recognized. After all was done, he would walk to her, as officers had ended to take upon her testimony of what had happened. 

"You and I need to talk." Fal told her, crossing his arms before his chest. 

 

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

While she didn't bother to poke her head up from behind the bar again, Talau was intently paying attention to the echoes of the force. With furrowed brows and narrowed eyes in shades of grey, orange and gold, the woman holding the blaster rifle must have only looked to be biding her time and hoping not to get blasted to bits in the process to the bar staff cowering back there as well. Of course, as soon as the chaos of the blaster fire and whirring of that heated saber started to die down, the sounds of local law enforcement arriving resounded outside the building only moments before they started came through the door, weapons drawn.

Of course...upon seeing the pained, groaning, vaguely writhing and very unhappy members of the gang littered around the bar (as well as the jedi), they slowly lowered their weapons once more.

...thus began the clean up.

Finally poking her head up from behind the bar, the woman offered the bar owner his rifle back and picked her way through broken glass bottles to get out from behind the bar. Alas there was no escape from questioning, however, and Talau didn't particularly feel like lying, either...not with a fellow jedi so near. Of course, she didn't really offer them anything more than the minimal information, either. It really wasn't their business now, was it?

Just as she was about to leave, thinking she might manage to get away without any unwanted conversations, what should she hear from behind her?

"You and I need to talk."

Oh joy...lucky day with the Winds, isn't it... she mused silently, slowly turning to look up at the man. One brow was raised, eyes a drab green and grey mixture, threaded through with a staunch sort of gold coloring. Settling her hands on her hips, the Rilan woman stood silent for a moment. Finally, when it seemed he wasn't going to say anything else immediately following his statement, she gave him a vaguely gruff, mildly irritated, "Well, then talk."

[Harukei]

The Zabrak would lock his eyes unto the Rilan, noting the gruff, albeit vague, tone she had used on him as a response of his statement. Under normal circumstances he would have not minded. The woman was someone that he had just met. Whether this had been by just chance or the Force willed it, was yet to be revealed even to him. That aside there was something to which he had little doubt of. The individual before him seemed to be dulled, as if something had wanted him to believe there was nothing out of the ordinary with her.

However given her recent exploits and what he had seeing, he doubted that was so. After all if she was yet another denizen of the galaxy, she would had escaped, valuing her life more than helping someone like him. At least his experience would tell him so. Before the little skirmish with the gunmen had begun, he had sensed something through the Force. Which came in a similar muffled fashion from the woman. The only logical conclusion to him were that this woman was either a Force sensitive or she simply someone that was so utterly normal that it seemed to pour through her pores, whether she could be a Jedi was another matter. 

One thing to be certain however, is that she seemed to have a dislike for a figure of authority like the one he represented. The next words that she would use could tell him a lot about what were the motives that had brought her to a world as backwater as Bandomeer and also of would help him to to gain some insight on who she was. Her words would be ones that the Zabrak would pay attention to very closely.

"That was good shooting." He begun. "I must say you must be very brave to face bandits like those when everyone else left the cantina, very Jedi-like." 

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

While the man took a moment to size her up, Talau's wheels were turning. By all means she looked nothing more than human...except the eyes. The eyes always were a tell that something was...off. Of course, it wasn't like the Rilan were common in the universe at large...in fact, even Talau herself had only ever met as many as she could count on one hand...including herself. Still...maybe she could use that to her advantage. Even so, after all the staring and studying he did of her (short as it was in reality), Talau could only snort a little as she tried not to laugh at his statement.

"Jedi like?" she repeated, her bemused smirk and questioning (not to mention the threads of green creeping slowly into her eyes) belied the humor she saw in his words. "So those in the military, or those who've been in the military previously are jedi like? Good to know." The woman shifted her weight from one foot to the other casually, her hands coming to rest on her hips as that long coat swung slightly around her ankles.

"Look, if you're getting at something other than a 'thank you for helping me out', you should really get to it. I've got other things to be doing than getting involved in gunfights with saber-happy jedi."

[Harukei]

"Perhaps." He responded ignoring the rebuke she had given him.

With one more passing of his eyes, he would note the almost subtle change of the color of her irises. Something that he supposed it was the process which Force sensitives that had fallen to the Darkside of the Force experimented upon their masked illusion to portray them as normal individuals fading. Yet instead of the sulfuric yellow and bloody crimson pigmentations that he had seen from the eyes of Dark Jedi and Sith, it was green that begun to take life in her irises. Almost as if they had reacted due the relative bother she felt due his presence. She was a Rilan, a rarity that he had never seeing beyond the terminals from the temple and old holobooks.

However what she had said, the way that she had responded to his sentence had seemed to be like a skilled duelist warding off an incoming attack. A redirection so she could continue on her business, whatever they were. Of course he would not allow her to leave so soon, at least not until his suspicions were confirmed. After all even if felt as a deaf sound, there were hints and distant echoes that he could still perceive. He supposed that a small nudge was needed.

"Of course, I suppose that there are not many Force sensitive soldiers in the Armies of the Republic." It was a bit of a gamble. But the dulled sensation she transmitted had given him a clue to work with. "And well, I believe any ex-Republic Soldier would not take it's time to Stun instead of kill. Like I said, very Jedi-like."

Now it was matter to see what petty excuse the woman before him would lay. No doubt it would be something among the lines of changing her ways or that she had served long enough and had done her killing. Which plausible as they could be, he seriously doubted. 

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

It wouldn't show as more than a vague lifting of her eyebrow, but she caught sight of the wheels turning behind his eyes. Something inside her practically wanted to shout "We're caught! the jig is up!" and send her walking out through the door without so much as a second glance...in essence fleeing the situation. Of course, if he really was onto her, that would only confirm suspicions.

Oh, this was a tricky situation she found herself in, wasn't it...

With a swift flick of her head, her long, brown, tresses swished back behind her shoulder again, and she gave him a cunning sort of smile. That green was giving way to traces of wary, pale, orange...though she was sure to keep that sort of emotion in check. After all, if he did discover she was a jedi, what harm would it...oh right.

"You might be surprised...there's a chiss I knew. She was from the medi-corps...last time I saw her she was a sniper in the military." Well it was the truth, after all. Rahja...where had she gone anyway? It only reminded her that if anyone could help her, it might be someone with one of the Familiar droids. She had to find someone. Fast. "But I suppose you're right that most soldiers wouldn't take time to stun...guess I have a little jedi in me after all...who knew?" she seemed to muse, a playful, almost mischievous, smirk flitting about her features.

"Wanna hand me your saber and see if I can manage it?"

With a sly wink and a grin, she said the question so teasingly it was difficult to guess if she was being serious or if she really was just poking at him.

[Harukei]

Even at the sight of her mischievous smile, he could not say he was impressed. Although he would acknowledge that the young woman before him was attractive, some might even adventure to say beautiful, there was nothing in her smile or way of acting that might have dissuaded him to fall for such an obvious scheme. Had he been a Padawan or a Jedi Knight green from his Trials he might have fall for her charms without a second thought.

However her mention of the Jedi Service Corps did brought another clue to the theory of her being a part of the Order. Although the Corps were well known as an honorable alternative for those that did not possess enough capability to begin training as Jedi, many people in the galaxy just saw them as normal individuals that served the Republic. The washouts, as some Padawan would call them in a derogatory fashion reserved little recognition despite their service to the Republic. 

So that she had known one meant that either she was one of them. Or she was a Jedi Knight that had met and befriended one. He supposed there was only one way to truly figure it out. He reached for the hilt that hung from his belt, took it in his hand and laid it in one of her hands while he gave a single step back. He sensed no ill intend for her and even if she tried to turn the weapon against him, there was a level of confidence that he could dodge whatever the woman in front of him tried to do. 

"Go on." He said calmly. "I am sure you can do well."

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Now here was a funny thing...

Of all the things she'd been trying to do....charm him and get him to actually hand her his saber were not among them. It was no wonder, then, why she looked so surprised when she found the hilt in her hand. If anything, the poor woman looked a little mortified. Had that just happened?

No, really...had that just happened?!

This man was either very confident (almost to the point of stupidity), or he really thought that she was a jedi. It wasn't that he was wrong about the latter, but you just didn't take chances like that! Perhaps he had a second saber? As the threads of mortified orange began to creep back out of her eyes again, she turned her stupified stare from the saber in her hand back to its owner.

It still rested in the palm of her open hand, arm almost extended fully away from her and ripples of surprise and consternation ebbed from her even as she recovered from the shock of his actions. "Are you frelling kidding me?!" she stated, and none too quietly, "get this thing out of my hand...sweet Winds of mercy!"

[Harukei]

For a moment he had allowed himself to be actually shocked by the result of his action. His experience telling him that most likely she was about to use his own weapon to threaten him. However this as not the case. For a moment of shock after she had made a tantrum, turning the head of the officers that were still looking for evidence, he would allow himself to crack the usually stoic features of his face and chuckle lightly. 

He took his own weapon from her hand, lest he risked another outburst from the young woman. He inspected his weapon, noting that it was just as how he had seen it during the last time he had ventured to dissemble it for repairs and revision. Clipping the inert hilt of his lightsaber to his waist he would take a look of the woman, noting how the pattern of her eyes had changed after the outburst. However he supposed that with just the knowledge he had obtained from her, could infer that she had most likely a member of the Order at some point, someone who was never chosen as a Padawan and became a member of the of the service corps, just to eventually leave it.

"Pardon me for that." Fal offered to the distraught woman. "I didn't wish to bother you in such way. Although you did ask for the lightsaber in a rather convincing way." Even though it wasn't at all convincing. He supposed that he could simply tell her his suspicions. "Jesting aside, I do have to wonder why are you here." He said while scratching his chin. "I might be wrong, but I do sense the Force in you, and your reflexes and personal belief tell me that you could once be member of the Service Corps, you said you meet someone from there, did you not?"

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Whether or not anyone was looking didn't really make any difference to the woman...let them look, she figured. Still, the shock that radiated out from the man at her handing his saber back to him had the woman fighting back her own urges to laugh. Little flecks of green dotted her eyes as one brow lightly quirked upward at his chuckling. No matter how amused she was Talau locked that away, folded her arms and shifted her weight to one hip as she huffed quietly. Well, at least it was good to see the zabrak smiling...hopefully.

"Pardon me for that."

Did she really have a choice?

"I didn't wish to bother you in such way. Although you did ask for the lightsaber in a rather convincing way."

Right...neither of them were convinced that he had been convinced. Talau made no move to even try and hide how she rolled her eyes at him. Again she shifted, this time her body language making it quite clear that she was ready to walk away. She was quite over this conversation.

"Jesting aside, I do have to wonder why are you here. I might be wrong, but I do sense the Force in you, and your reflexes and personal belief tell me that you could once be member of the Service Corps, you said you meet someone from there, did you not?"

His question was met with a frustrated sigh. "That's right Mister Jedi....because no one else can have good reflexes but force sensitives. How about you just insult half the galaxy, huh?" she groused as she started to walk away. "You can keep wondering for all I'm concerned, and yeah I said I met someone...some insane chiss sniper in spec ops. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got the rest of my day to live."

...and with that she vanished out the doors and into the streets of the mining community.

[Harukei]

Fal would only allow the woman the her tantrum. While it was true that many beings in the galaxy had superior reflexes, the Force did allow for a higher form of clairvoyance that coupled with reflexes that were above those of many species, could be said that were better than those of the average denizen of the galaxy. Even so he would rather not give her a speech about it, given her volatile state at the moment and the fact that he preferred to focus on his mission rather than convincing someone, former member of the service corpse or not, to cooperate with him.

The Zabrak supposed that the best course of action was heading with the law enforcement. At least they would have an idea of where he should begin looking. And if possible he might as well learn something for the criminals that had survived the small skirmish at the bar after a brief interrogation. Upon leaving the bar, the mining town was as dusty as when he had went inside the establishment. People looking with interest at the presence of so many patrol speeders and of what had happened in the local watering hole. 

However the rumor that a Jedi was among them seemed to be one of the items that garnered attention, much to the Jedi Master's distaste. The trip was a rather fast one, despite the general disorganized look of the town. However the law enforcement station did came as a disappointment. Even for a frontier, outer rim world this place was fitted with obsolete technology. Fal realized then that it would be through the detainees that he would managed to get any sort of information. 

After talking with the chief officer of the station, he was given a separate room in which he would be allowed to talk with each member of the gang and hopefully get useful information. He supposed that it could be worse, and if his stay had to be longer it suited him fine. However such concerns would be placed aside as the first of the criminals would be marched unto the isolated room. A single source of light from the ceiling above dispel the darkness as the Jedi sat with a serious face before a male Twi'lek. 

"I will tell you nothing!" The Twi'lek said with a frown.

"Just want to talk, then you will leave." Fal responded with a calm tone, waving his hand before asking. "Who hired you?"

 

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Once outside, the woman gave a sigh of relief as she walked down the sidewalk. Pulling up a cloth around her nose and mouth to help stop some of the dust from being inhaled, Talau knew that her chances of getting anything done around here with another jedi on the prowl (especially one she'd just helped) would be slim to none, but perhaps she could still do some poking around the local mining office. That's precisely where she headed, also. With swift change of direction and a little work on her part, the woman had vanished into the thin crowd of people with not a trace to be found of her.

Walking along her new path, the woman's mind mulled over the recent conflict. Just what was that man up to, anyway? No, it was none of her business. But someone, several someones, had just tried to kill him...irregardless of a whole bar full of people being there in the way! Maybe she could just...no. No, it was none of her business right now, and speaking of business: if she didn't get down to business right away, there would be hell to pay. Not only that but the woman had the most sinking feeling that their paths would cross again.

She sighed.

Her mind chased itself around in little patterns of thought as she walked for the next few minutes before she finally reached the mining offices on the edge of town. Opening the door, she stepped into the reception area of the office building and walked to the front desk. The place was surprisingly nice for a mining operation in a little (by comparison) town, but then...was she all that surprised? No, not really. Mining was the main livelihood of the people on this planet these days, so it made sense that mining operations (offices included) would have the best the town could offer...perhaps in accordance to how many credits they brought in.

The receptionist wasn't around at the exact moment, which gave Talau a little time to look around casually. Plush leather sofas, decent computing system (perhaps not top of the line, but certainly up to date), a few plants, clean windows, nice curtains, nice carpet, good looking reception desk...She peered over the front edge of the desk to look at the area below. Nothing of particular interest left lying around to read, but it seemed like they had a decent security system as well...which had her head up again and looking around. Ah...there they are...three cameras for good viewing of the area out here...hmm. She had just started moving to sit down on one of the sofas when the receptionist (a lovely mirialan woman) came around the corner, fiddling with a ring and a bracelet...perhaps fresh from the toilet.

"Oh! Hello! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were here...there's a button just there you could have pressed to get our attention." The woman seemed a good natured sort with a kind voice and a little smile as she settled down once more, motioning to the button in question.

"That's alright, I wasn't waiting long...I've not even had a chance to sit down," came the easy-going reply, Talau giving the woman a little smile in return as she approached the desk once more. "I was wondering if I needed to make an appointment to speak to one of the management. I have a buyer interested in costs for ionite from your mine...but honestly, the sooner the better."

"Hmm...well, our sales manager is out today, actually, but let me take a look at his schedule for tomorrow and see if we can't get you in somewhere?"

"Tomorrow is alright, I think...sadly this was just a last minute stop before my flight off planet again, so it doesn't leave me much time."

"Oh, yes, I understand..." the woman replied distractedly as she siphoned through whatever files and documents she needed to see the appropriate day's schedule. She hmm'ed a little and tapped a finger on the desk, and tipped her head to the side thoughtfully. "Well," she stated finally, "He has an opening after lunch at one, and another opening at two-thirty....will either of those work?" The woman (Lelia, by the name plate on her desk) looked up questioningly, waiting to see what the answer may be as Talau thought it over. Honestly, the rilan wanted to take the first time but...something (the force) was nagging at her to take the second one. It frustrated her to no end...but she'd just have to make up an excuse if the wicked witch on the ship started questioning her.

"I'll take the one at two-thirty. My name is Kiva Arya."