Nar Shaddaa

This was exactly the sort of place that Niall wasn't supposed to go on his own. On the other hand, he wasn't alone. And while it looked more like a dive bar than a caf shop, it did at least offer caf.

Niall held the door open, waiting, until it was his turn to enter. He let the door swing shut behind him, nodding towards an empty booth near the corner.

Arsele hadn't had much around the city tracking down information lately... so perhaps this would turn out etter with help?

Nodding her head in thanks to Niall, she walks in the familiar dive, looking around.

Perhaps the oddest of the lot was one rather put upon bureaucrat. "Captain....Miss?" Yslane looks the two over. "You need some assistance with the locals? I have compiled some information from our files at the Foreign Office. I hope they help. But we will probably need to actually walk the streets."

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Streetwise Check D4 Boost from other PC: 1eP+3eA+1eB+2eD 2 successes, 1 advantage

The best bet for a good lead was to meet in a nearby alleyway during Jal's 'open business hours.'

"Very good. Lead the way, ah, miss." Niall echoed her earlier title. In fact, he wasn't sure exactly what he should call her.

It wouldn't be that far to Jal's, he knew.

Arsele certainly ~recognized~ Yslane, but had never gotten her name from Zanebry... or Niall.

As they were leaving, she smiled at her, "I never introduced myself by the way; Name's Arsele Girard. I believe you already saw my usual work."

Since it is a few hours before the Jedi actually admits to being a Jedi....Yslane smiles, "You are Mr Varliss's partner?" The bureaucrat didn't seem really cut out for this work, as she spent half her time looking around like child who had just raided the cookie jar. "Oh...sorry, I'm Yslane Tssilla of the Republic's Foreign Office. A pleasure to meet you.....I thought your performance was quite lovely. Ah....sorry not appropriate for this skulking about thing."

"It's a pleasure to meet you face to face." Niall said, inclining his head formally. "Captain Niall Organa." He seemed a strange mix of relaxed and tense, seeming to change from moment to moment as thoughts flickered through his mind.

"It sounds as though you have a good lead, then? Lead the way, if you would. Ah, no pun intended." He chuckled softly to himself, shaking his head, cheerfulness winning out for the moment, at least.

Yslane blushes a little, "I...ah read your dossier....my mother helped design the first campaign that used your image." She nods, "Oh..." The bureaucrat seemed a bit hesitant, "I thought I was just helping gather information...." Her hand slips into her coat, drawing attention to her already poorly hidden holdout pistol. "Okay. Let's go." She takes a breath and lets go of her pistol then walks out the door toward the alley.

The Devaronian watched the group approach him. "New customers? Tell me who you are. I don't like working with strangers." He looked past them. "Were you followed? Nevermind, that doesn't matter."

"Oh." Niall smiled, using the same one that showed up on so many of those recruitment posters. "Well, I hope you'll give her my best, then. It must have taken her a lot of work to make me look that good." He said modestly. And mostly untruthfully.

Niall followed, keeping pace with the tall woman, glancing back to make sure Arsele was keeping up easily. "Thank you for your assistance. And, ah, don't do anything that you're not comfortable with. You've done a lot to help already."

...

Niall stepped forward, a reassuring smile on his lips. "Then let's not be strangers. Niall Organa." He waited for his companions to introduce themselves, or not, if they chose.

"Oh....uh Yslane Tssilla...." She resists the urge to add 'of the Foreign Office' to her introduction. "How do you do?"

"Right, right, the famous 'Captain Alderaan' and his... sidekicks? Whatever, whatever, it doesn't matter. What are you here for?" He looked over their shoulders. "I deal with the Republic, sure, but not everyone appreciates that. And yet some people would rather have me not exclude the Republic. Go figure."

"Hard galaxy." Niall said, his tone dry. "Anyway, this isn't a request for the Republic. This is a request for me." Which was why he had left out his title. Especially coupled with his planet of origin. "And they're not my sidekicks."

"M[y sister Rayne was killed here about a month ago." He launched into the explanation, taking a quick glance at his two companions. "Right before she was killed, she was speaking with Andrei Vedantam. It... seemed like quite a coincidence. Perhaps too much of one. I wanted to find out if there was anything more to him being there, talking to her."

Jal stroked his chin. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about. What do you have to offer me in return?" He smirked. "Credits or information. That's how this goes down, sir."

"Almost certainly credits." Niall said. "This is, after all, a personal deal, and there's not a whole lot of information that I come across on a personal level."

"That's disappointing. But I understand the value of information." He looked at all three of them and then smirked. "Name the amount you're willing to pay."

"Hmmm." Niall's lips twitched. "Is that how it works? I make a purchase, sight unseen, without knowing the value? Come now, friend. This information has but one buyer: me. Perhaps you should make me an offer with that in mind."

(would roll my awesome negotiation, but it's after day change. Could anyway?)

Jal shrugged. "It's not, just wanted to see what you're like. My price is 300 Credits. How's that sound, Captain?"

"Oh." Niall blinks. "Yeah. Okay." Was this how these sorts of deals always went down? He shot a quick glance at Arsele for confirmation.

"Alright." Jal nodded. "Your sister was an adventurous sort, from what I hear. She, Celna, and a couple other friends." He shook his head. "Simply put, your sister didn't really belong in the lower levels."

A pause.

"I have reason to believe Andrei Vedantam planned on her being his next victim. She was a bit too smart for him to lure her in but a man like that..." He gave Niall a consolatory smile. "Shit luck all around, friend."

Niall sighed. "So, that's it, then? Nothing more to it? He didn't get her name or image from anywhere? Anything like that? Just... shit luck, as you say?" Niall seemed a bit deflated.

"From what I received, he did look her up. Heard about her and her friends coming to this moon. Thought of it as a 'challenge,' according to his logs."

Niall is silent for a few moments, his lips thinning noticeably. "A 'challenge'." He echoed, his voice cold and quiet.

"But he looked her up, you said. Is there any indication as to why? Where did he hear about her from? I just want to know if there's someone..." He sighed. "Someone who wanted something like this to happen, perhaps."

Jal shrugged. "If you want to go through his files and question his 'friends,' go ahead. But I'd recommend not trying to make something more out of this."