Ask Over the Overik

[Amun Seti]

Jeset sat at a little cafe, one of many that lined the streets outside of the spaceport. Quermia was a quant little planet. There was no Coruscanti urban sprawl here, nor the untamed wild of Yavin. Instead the native Quermian's seemed to combine the two. Greenery was everywhere in the city, growing off of towers and out of buildings. It seemed everything was a garden to the long necked species.

Of course even a garden hid secrets aplenty. The reason Jeset was there in the first place. The planet owed its fealty to the Sith Empire. They seemed to make good show of it. But there was an irregularity in the accounting at the local garrison. There always seemed to be a shortage of blasters on Quermia, and Jeset was there to figure out where exactly the blasters were going.

Jeset glanced at his chrono. His partner in investigation should be arriving soon. He figured he had just enough time to finish his caf and eat the donut he was still waiting on. The service seemed a bit slow in this cafe and he wasn't sure if he was going to leave a tip at this point. It all depended on the donut.

@Wit

 

[Rhaenys Drast]

Rhaenys was glad to not be running late, but she was nervous nonetheless. This was her first solo mission after all. Well, not really a solo mission, she would still have a partner, but she wasn't being supervised by a superior, so it kinda, sorta, counted. She ignored the fact that given her level of experience it was very likely that the acolyte accompanying her was going to be supervising her, she wanted to focus on the positives today. She had more than enough to worry about without taking away the one positive she had to hold on to. Two, if she managed to stay on time.

And she did, despite the last minute stop she made right outside the cafe's entrance to check her satchel to make sure she had everything she needed. Datapad, spare documents, identification, her research notes on the mission, and a few bars of chocolate in case she got nervous. It was only when she was content that she hadn't forgotten something, or somehow lost something since she had checked right before stepping off the ship, or at the first signal, or the numerous time since. Maybe she wasn't as focused on the positives as she thought she was.

But as she stepped into the cafe, spotting her white haired partner, she pushed away the urge to check her bag one last time and walked up to the table just as a droid was walking over with a donut. "Oh, could I get one of those as well please?" She gave the droid a polite smile as it nodded in response and walked away, turning her attention to the other acolyte.

"Is that any good?" She asked, gesturing at the donut, suddenly beginning to wonder if she should have waited to see if he liked it before ordering one for herself. Great, now she was worrying about the worry-snack she had ordered. Just perfect.

@Arcangel

 

[Amun Seti]

Jeset was alert as he idly sipped his coffee. He watched through the cafe's window as a girl stopped outside, fidgeting with her bag like she had lost something. Nervous that one.

Then she walked right up to his table and sat down after further delaying the server droid. The donut finally found its way in front of him as the woman took her seat, asking about the donut that sat untouched in front of Jeset. He stared at her for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know yet. Looks tasty though." He smirked, reaching out for the donut and taking a bit. "As good as any donut." He answered dryly, taking a sip of caf to wash it down. It was a bit dry.

He looked his counterpart on their mission up and down, gauging her. She seemed fresh, nervous. Like she hadn't done anything like this before. Jeset wasn't exactly a veteran operative, but his Master hadn't skimped on the field training. The field of course being wherever his Master decided to go that day, training being whatever violent ruckus or covert operation they got up to. He really never knew exactly what to expect, kept him on his toes.

"Have you been briefed?" He asked, quietly wondering to himself if the powers that be had decided to stick him with some newbie. That would be just great, wouldn't it.

@Wit

 

[Rhaenys Drast]

Rhaenys nodded, of course he wouldn't know. She had seen the donut arrive, so how had she expected him to know how it was before he even had a bite? She fought the desire to check her bag once again, maybe just bury her head inside it, but she fought the urge and smiled at him weakly. Thankfully he brought up the topic of her briefing, and that perked her right up. She had been briefed, and had even done a fair share of research on her own. What she lacked in field experience, she was hoping to cover up in theoretical knowledge.

She pulled out a datapad and slid it across the table so that is was positioned between them, the screen coming to life and displaying a collection of news reports and holonet broadcasts going back a few months. "So I did some research on the way over. Reading up on the planet, accessing the local archives," she spoke with a freedom and comfort that had been missing so far, suddenly in her element, "and I think I found something. You see these reports? Local militias, resistance cells, pirates, all saw a slight uptick in activity in the past few months. I didn't think much of it, it wasn't enough to account for our missing blasters. But I didn't really have any other leads so I dug some more in the sector database, and turns out while their activity had risen, attacks on local shipments of tibanna gas have dropped, to almost non-existent levels. That got me thinking, so on a hunch I checked the garrison's ledger, and not only are they missing blasters, they have an even larger shortage of tibanna gas. I think someone's used the fact that they don't have blasters to start a side hustle of their own, selling off all the tibanna that was probably just sitting there!"

She only stopped when the droid returned, this time with another donut for her, which she immediately started stuffing into her mouth.

"I don't know if its related, maybe its the same parties, or someone's just taking advantage of the situation. I didn't really have time to look any further into this. Hmm, you know this is a nice donut!" Her words slightly muffled as she spoke as she ate, she finally finished almost half the donut in no time at all before picked up a glass of water to wash it down before tackling the rest.

@Arcangel

 

[Amun Seti]

Jeset watched his fellow acolyte start to go into the briefing, as well as the extra research she had done. "Someone did their homework." He said dryly as he raised his cup at her in salute, he was impressed. He had just been focusing on the official problem, but there seemed to be a whole layer underneath.

"So we have an official problem, and an unofficial problem." He said, tapping his finger three times on the table as he pondered on the new information. New information, new opportunities. He looked at the girl across from him, watching as she scarfed down the donut. Trying to judge just how much of a square she was.

"I'm Jeset, by the way. Whats your name?" He asked her as he set down his coffee mug and leaned forward out of the relaxed position he had been sitting in while he waited. "Did you tell anybody else about the tibanna shortages?" He asked with a cool tone as dug for more information. "I'm surprised the missing blasters flagged attention but not that, maybe two separate hustles going on."

@Wit

 

[Rhaenys Drast]

Rhaenys smiled at the compliment, though it didn't last long as she realized in her excitement she had skipped introductions. "I'm Rhaenys." She introduced herself, before pondering his question. "Maybe someone on the garrison is trying to suppress the news about the missing gas? Trying to stay out of trouble? Maybe someone played the would be players?" She grinned at the thought, finding the possibility of another mystery to solve immensely exciting. She had always loved doing research work, spending time in the archives, this felt in line with that, felt like something she could actually do.

Done with her donut, and seeing Jeset return his coffee to the table, she scooped up the datapad and returned it to her satchel, eager to leave. "Come on," she said eagerly as she got to her feet, dropping a few credcoins on the table, enough to cover both of them, and beginning to exit "the only way to get to the bottom of this is to start poking around the garrison, or maybe tracking down some of the tibanna buyers and squeezing them for answers. Up to you really, garrison, or squeeze?" She paused then, as something just dawned on her. She had never really done an interrogation. She had read about them, even seen one as part of an internship of sorts, but that was it. She glanced at Jeset, eyes narowing slightly as she wondered.

"You know how to squeeze someone for intel," she tried to be casual, but there was no hiding the worried tone of her voice that made it more than evident that she herself had no idea, "right?"

@Arcangel

 

[Amun Seti]

Jeset returned Rhaenys smile as she told him her name. "Rhaenys." He said as he looked at her. "Pretty smart to throw the small timer under the speeder while running a bigger racket." He commented, smirking. "All under the Empire's nose." He wondered who they might be. Resistance? Or just an opportunistic officer trying to line their pockets.

"Alright, lets move." Jeset agreed, taking his own stand. He reached for his wallet but Rhaenys beat him to it, dropping enough on the table to cover both their stays in the cafe. "Why not both?" He said with a small chuckle as he looked at Rhaenys. "Both problems start at the base. Kill two birds in the same nest." Or so the saying went.

He looked at her as she asked if he knew how to interrogate a person. The concern that he was babysitting a fresh acolyte started to nag at him again as it was sparked by the anxiety in her voice. "Don't worry, I'll handle any finger-breaking or eye gouging we might have to do." He said with a quick wink before leading them away from the spaceport.

The Garrison was close by the spaceport. Far enough that the two wouldn't get caught in the same turbolaser blast or bombing run in case of an invasion, but close enough that the garrisoned soldiers could reach the spaceport in a hustle if they ever needed to lock it down. As it was, there were still soldiers almost everywhere. Patrolling. Standing guard. Always watching.

"You ever fire a blaster before?" He asked while they walked, glancing over at the other student. Jeset was pretty sure he had an angle to get them access to the information they needed. Closer at least. He was also curious. Lots of Sith were the type to put their nose up at a good old fashioned blaster.

@Wit

 

[Rhaenys Drast]

Jeset was right about the base being the heart of both the issues, so it made that they start there. She was good at gathering data, reading books, connecting the dots, but things that were right under her nose often escaped her attention, so she was glad to be with someone who did catch what she had missed.

"A blaster?" She replied, caught off guard by the question. "At the practice range, never on a live target though. I.." She paused for a moment, unsure of whether or not to share the next piece of information, but it might be relevant so she decided it was best to be forthcoming. "I've played a lot of Counter Spike in the holochambers, so I do have some live experience. I won't shoot you by mistake if that's your worry." She tried to keep a straight face and forced herself to keep her eyes pointed ahead as she made the joke, but could not help herself and a smirk pulled at the corners of her lips.

Thus betrayed, she gave up and let the grin take over, before glancing towards him with a question of her own. "You're the action and adventure sort of Sith, aren't you? More of a fighter or barbarian than say a.." she paused for a moment, gesturing towards herself, "a wizard or an artificer?" She regretted saying that almost as soon as she had, first the mention of her being a gamer, and then talking in starships and sarlaccs, she was doing a great job of hiding that she was a nerd. And who ever wanted the nerd on their team?

@Arcangel

 

[Amun Seti]

Jeset glanced at Rhaenys as she confessed to only ever firing a blaster at the range. Or in a holochamber. Then she started to babble about barbarians and sorcerers like being a Sith was all just part of some game. Definitely a freshie. Jeset had learned a valuable lesson very early on in his career as a Sith. There was only one game in the Sith, and they played for keeps. The stakes... your life.

"Sounds like you could use a refresher. On the blasters, not the Counter Spike." He said as they approached the Garrison. Jeset reached into his messenger bag and pulled out an ID card. There were a few other useful things in there as well. Some snacks, first aid kit, a rebreather. And a Spaltoids box filled with micro tracker beacons. HIs lightsaber of course was concealed on his person, always present, a lesson drilled into him by the Jedi. tHiS wEaPoN iS yOuR LiFe. Or so they always said. Jeset could mock them all he wanted but they had a point.

"We'll head to the armory and check out a few blasters for training for now, get our hands on some of whats been going missing." He said with a bored tone as they approached the base. He held his ID out for the guard to scan. Assuming Rhaenys had her ID as well, they would walk into the base like they belonged there. They kinda did though.

"So if I'm the action and adventure sort of Sith, what does that make you?" He asked in a covering small talk as they walked the entryway of the Garrison that bustled with Imperial activity. Jeset wasn't sure he would exactly call himself that, he wasn't sure what kind of Sith he was if he were to be honest with himself. Of course that didn't mean he had to be honest with Rhaenys.

@Wit

 

[Rhaenys Drast]

"Ahh, smart!" She hadn't been particularly excited by the prospect of her first assignment turning into a training session, but it being a cover for actual progress in the investigation, that she liked. Pulling out her ID as they reached the entrance, letting the guard scan it once he was done with Jeset, she tried her best to fit in. This wasn't her first time on an imperial garrison, but it was the first time on her own and not as part of a field trip with a million academy chaperones to keep her from seeing anything but the most boring aspects of the base.

She was a little lost in checking out her surroundings when Jeset spoke up, and she had to pull her eyes away from a large walker that was getting cleaned by a soldier dangling from the cabin by his own tail. And there was so much more trying to draw her eye, it was all very fascinating. But, she was here on a mission, and she had to focus.

"Me? The girl in the chair back on base who whispers in your ears? I don't have a lot of field experience to compare against, but I have helped done support research for a few missions, and it's fascinating how much you can do if you have the right knowledge, the right leverage." She turned to give him a glance, before smiling and leaning in conspiratorially. "It's also more comfortable on the chair."

As they entered the main garrison building, they had to navigate themselves through a sea of activity, soldier, officers, civilians, all moving in a rush to get somewhere. They found the weapons locker in the basement, with a unnervingly cheerful Rodian manning the checkout logs, who refused their request with the most polite smile on his face.

"Ahh, sorry little friends, can't sign out any weapons to anyone not on the list. You'll have to fill out form 1P-3X43A and get it approved by the captain. Get me that, and you can have all the guns you want for you little training session."

Not expecting that, having heard no mention of it before, Rhaenys turned to Jeset, speaking in a low voice so that the Rodian could not hear what was said. "Do you think that's just in response to the shortage, or could it be an extra measure to cover things up? If there aren't as many weapons checked out, tibanna can stay scarce?"

@Arcangel

 

[Amun Seti]

The pair made their way through the busy garrison, Rhaenys seeming awe inspire by the every day happenings of the military base. Jeset had seen it all before. The logistics of running an empire were quite impressive, but one grew numb to the vastness of such things with time.

Rhaenys seemed surprised as he returned a question her way, torn from staring up at a walker as they skirted its pad. She rambled on in her usual fashion, giving Jeset all he asked and more.

"You're Operations?" He said with a raised eyebrow as she bragged about the chair. He guessed she was right, sitting in a chair surely beat trekking through swamps or mountains. "That... actually makes a lot of sense." He gave her a look up and down as he thought about it. There was little more time to dwell on the subject however as they reached the basement.

Jeset stared at the Rodian for a split second as the soldier denied their request. He glanced at Rhaenys as she spoke to him in a low voice, practically whispering in his ear. It would make sense, the less tibanna they had to use up in training and other exercises, the less obvious the shortage would be. The form the man had called out was likely bullshit, and it almost certainly guaranteed this Rodian was in on the take.

"Maybe, let me try something." He said quietly, giving her a smile before leaning in to the counter, glancing around to locate the camera's as he did so. He had noticed a few things about the Rodian as they had come in, namely that he seemed far to happy to be on armory duty, and that his watch was far to expensive for a soldier of his rank to afford.

"C'mon man, don't do me like that. I'm trying to impress the girl." He said, hooking his head at Rhaenys while he gave the soldier a wink. "Just a few rounds at the range, have them checked back in before anyone even notices them missing." He slipped a few credits from his pocket and pushed them forward's under the hem of his sleeve, out of view of the cameras. He tapped them together quietly to draw the soldier's attention to them.

The Rodian looked down at the credits poking out from under Jeset's sleeve for a moment. The Rodian cocked his head for a moment at Jeset, staying silent. Jeset sighed and slipped a few more credits under his arm.

"It appears your paperwork is all in order." The Rodian said with a smile as he produced a form, sliding the credits towards himself under the cover of it. "One moment." Jeset glanced at Rhaenys, giving her a slight wink before the Rodian returned with a pair of blaster rifles. "Fifteen minutes, their due for inspection soon. Good luck." The Rodian warned Jeset with a wink as Jeset grabbed the pair of rifles.

"I make my own luck." Jeset said as he turned and left the room. He hoped Rhaenys had the good sense to follow him quickly as he led the way down the hall to the blast range. He examined the rifles they had been given, noticing a few things right away. Though they were the same make, one had clearly seen a few years in service, the other still gleamed with that factory sheen. They both only held half a charge of blaster gas.

@Wit

 

[Rhaenys Drast]

Rhaenys smirked as Jeset made his comment about making his own luck, making a mental note to remember the phrase. It was a cool line, and in the right situation she was sure she could use it to her advantage. As they left and move towards the blast range, Rhaenys had an idea about how best to use the blasters that had been given to them. "Fifteen minutes? We could do with more time, right? I might have an idea."

Gesturing for one of the blasters, she would start tinkering with it as they moved towards the range. Normally you would not want to mess around with the cartridges that held the tibanna gas for the blasters, but she had read reports about soldiers in the field using rudimentary weapons to pry them open to set up traps. They didn't have those tools either, but they did have the Force. So once they reached the range, she set the cartridge down on a counter and focused on it with the Force, using a very careful pull to pry the cartridge open a fraction at a seam. Gas leaked out of the now compromised cartridge, and alarms went off almost at once, as they were meant to.

Turning to Jeset with a smile, she tossed the blaster back to him, minus the ruined cartridge, as personnel started evacuating the range. "I make my own time." Gesturing towards the exit, she started moving with the crowd, but once out of the range she turned away from them, heading a level down instead of up towards the exit. With two blasters on hand, chaos unfolding upstairs that would keep everyone too distracted to even bother looking for them, and the building being evacuated, they had a lot more freedom to navigate the building as they wanted.

@Arcangel

 

[Amun Seti]

The firing range wasn't far from the armory and it was a short walk. Rhaenys said something about time and gestured for a blaster and Jeset handed her the old and scarred up one, freeing his hands up for what he needed them for. Focusing on the screws that held a panel on the stock of the rifle, they slowly untapped themselves until the plate wiggled loosely.

A hand fished in the bag on his hip for a second until he found the spaltoids container, pulling it free to pop it open and fish out a micro tracker. Back in the bag, he thumbed the tracker on and then slipped it into the open plate of the rifle before screwing the plate tight again. During all this his attention was pretty focused on what he was doing, leaving Rhaenys to her own devices.

Task complete, he turned to trade rifles with her to do the same. His eyes went wide with shock as he saw her prying at the tibanna gas canister.

"What are you doi-!" He started to shout only to be drowned out by blaring alarms, yellow lights flashing along the ceiling as the base went into emergency alert. He covered his mouth and grabbed the now useless blaster out of the air as she tossed it to him, rushing away from the leaking cartridge and out of the firing range.

"What were you thinking?" He asked harshly as he glanced at the now potentially explosive training room. They moved quickly away from the room only to run into the Rodian clerk who was rushing towards the firing range.

"What's going on?" He asked with a pointed glare at the pair, glancing at the two rifles in their hands, though his focus seemed to be on the shiny new one.

"I don't know, we were setting up to get shooting and her rifle started leaking gas." Jeset hooked a thumb at the rifle in question, missing its gas cartridge. He let a panicked sound enter his voice that was only half faked. "We ditched the cartridge and got out of-" He continued the lie before being cut off by the Rodian.

"Whatever, give me that." The Rodian snatched the shiny new rifle from Jeset. "The shi-inspection just got moved up." The clerk's words slipping as the unforeseen complications clearly had messed with whatever plans were already in motion. Rifle in hand, the Rodian turned and started to run back to the armory. Jeset's eyebrow rose as the man clearly left the other rifle in Rhaenys hands.

"Let him go, I put a tracker in the rifle." He said, in case Rhaenys had any new ideas about stopping the Rodian. He glanced at her before looking for signage as they turned to make their way downstairs, away from the unfolding chaos. "Let's go find the gas storage room."

@Wit