Nar Shaddaa

Aphr knew the best place. She knew what would be somewhere between the riches of the upper class and the scummiest lowest levels. She made sure to include the name of the place when she sent the letter to her arranged meet.

At the arranged time, she slipped into the cafe of Wonderland Studios, looking for the woman in question. If she knew Adrianaa like Aphr thought she did, the woman would have arranged much earlier than Aphr.

The senator sat at a table with a wall to her back and a clear view of the entrance. She watched Aphr and smiles.

"Good afternoon"

She stands and gives a nod.

She knew the woman well. There was a warm smile as she approached Adrianaa, giving her a nod. "Long time no see; good afternoon. It's lovely to see you again, I hope your journey has been ok?"

"The journey was fine, though the welcome less so. "

Adrianaa motions to the seat across from her.

"Please, have a seat"

"Ah, that's unfortunate. What happened, may I ask?" She sat down, adding "at least I will always give you a warm welcome, as will the crew if you feel like coming to visit" a smile at that.

"Some pirates decided to make my ship targwt practice. It didnt end well for them"

"I wouldnt turn down a chance to see some old faces. Though I know a meeting is never just for fun. So, what can I do you and the crew?"

"I'll let Xero know. The boss will welcome a visit from an old friend" Aphr smiled, before nodding "a much better welcome than pirates anyway. Ah, to business then" she leans in closer, talking quietly "Xero's quite lovely aunt has taken interest in arranging some trade routes between here and Coruscant. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how good and profitable it would be to be able to arrange a trade deal for Dango the Hutt."

A pause.

"How is your influence and contact web in Coruscant?"

"As strong as ever. I am sure we could get something set up."

Adrianaa pauses.

"There would be a few stipulations though. And we would need to discuss what is exactly being offered in return for the routes"

"What would the stipulations be? Of course, what is offered shall need to be discussed, my position here is to gauge if your contacts are as strong as ever, and whether the opportunity would be something that would appeal to you" she smiled "you know my role well, my friend."

"The same as always. No slaves and no children. Are we wanting an offical route, or a more underground one? That dictates the rest of the stipulations."

Adrianaa returns the smile.

"She wasn't too specific, other than 'good' trade routes. And the best routes are the ones that receive less investigation, right?" Aphr replied with a chuckle "if you are interested, and give your stipulations, I can take them back to Xero and Dango."

Adrianaa frowns a little and raises a brow.

"Dango should know I need full details. I can't comment on anything until I know what sort of thing we are looking at. I mean, obviously things like lowered tariffs, taxes, and inspections, but the rest of what I can or can't do depends a lot on what sort of agreements we are making and what is being run."

"I don't know many details. Your name wasn't mentioned in the planning, it was the first name that came to my mind though. I need to know if you would be interested first. I know this isn't the normal situation" Aphr holds her hand up "I've only been told to see if there is potential."

Adrianaa frowns a little deeper and nods.

"Of course I am interested. There is just a lot of things to balance. I don't want Dango thinking it's a done deal when I am blind. Let them know I'll do everything I can, but until I know exactly what it is we are trying to set up and whats going to be moved, I can't give any guarantees. I can't set my fee either until that point."

"Exactly what I expected you to say" Aphr said, her smile now more akin to a frown "I will bring that information back. Hopefully next time I can give you something more concrete. Please accept my apology for the vagueness, it's not how I like to operate either."

"I understand. So tell me, how are things? Has thia peace summit disrupted much?"

"Things are as they have always been. The Starcross has gained a good reputation for reliability, and I've enjoyed being the voice of the operation. Xero has given me a lot more freedom than a slave would normally be allowed, which has in turn helped me in getting better deals for the Starcross" Aphr smiled "and what of our former comrade? How has the high life been treating you? Are you sure you wouldn't rather be working with us again?"

"It's been going well. The life of a Senator is quite busy. Always someone wanting something, and billions of people to please. But I feel like I can actually make a real difference now where before everything was so small. It's strange, when I worked with you all I felt like there were missions that were so important, but on the grand scheme of things, no one even noticed. Now, if I make a spelling mistake on a holonet post, entire planets discuss it haha."

Adrianaa's smile returns and she looks off into the distance for a moment.

"There are times I wouldn't mind being back with you all though."

Aphr laughed. "Sounds horrible. I'd rather not have that much attention on everything I do. I can't imagine why anyone would want to be in that life."

"Scale, mostly. I can do a lot more good as a Senator than I ever could have on my own."

"Can you really change a lot though? Is that why you're here, to try and change the direction of the war?" Aphr asked honestly

"Absolutely. The war needs to end. Too many innocents have been hurt. I need to do my best to get the Sith to agree to peace, or a ceasefire at least"

"And you believe you can do this? What's different about this that would lead to a potential ceasefire?" Aphr asked honestly, quite curious

"I think because the Sith agreed, there is a possibility. I still have other methods I am working on as well though should the talks fail. I want the war over, one way or another"

"Anything the Starcross crew can help you with?" Aphr asked, curiously