[D3 EM] A sinister breakfast

[Nekoinu]

"Lady Cortess, he was a better master than I," he noted.

"Clearly you seem set on this. My main question now is: why?"

[Alysele Cortess]

She didn't say out lout what she thought. That is a low bar to meet.

She frowned, taking a pregnant pause before answering. "I feel that after my performance yesterday, I may need something else in addition to Makashi. It feels that my technique was not enough for my challenge, and that is unacceptable." She looked down at the table, avoiding his gaze. "That fight was my duty. It is what I have been doing. There might be some things I am not suited for, but yesterday's fight? That is my competence. Apparently, not as much as I would have thought."

[Nekoinu]

"What do you believe the other Forms would offer? You faced a singular opponent in melee combat. That is the purpose of Makashi."

[Alysele Cortess]

"And here I am." She shrugged. "It was a good fight... until he hit me." She looked at her arm. "I need to learn to take hits. Or get better armor. Makashi is great when parrying, but there is a limit on how much I can push off and defend against."

[Nekoinu]

"None of the Forms stress taking hits. You may be searching to become more physically capable, Lady Cortess." A pause. "Armor is a solution as well."

[Dapper Dog]

Alysele's comm-link starts to beep with an incoming call.

[Alysele Cortess]

"I guess I'll have to look around for some armor then. Any suggestions where, or-" Her comm started beeping. She glanced towards Lorne and the floating spoon, and mumbled a quick 'Excuse me, this might be important' and accepted.

[Dapper Dog]

"Master Jedi, this is Lana Beniko. I have information and I pledged I would share it, do you have time to review my findings?" the Sith aspirant says once the call is initiated.

[Alysele Cortess]

"Aspirant Benko, well met." She looked around.. while this was a pretty public place, it was sparely populated this early.

She glanced up at Lorne. "One moment aspirant." She muted her ocmm (if that is possible). "Master Lorne, I am working with the sith around the investigating of the cult. Considering our goal here, it seemed prudent. If you would like, I am happy to share what I am told."

[Dapper Dog]

Lana waits patiently while muted.

[Nekoinu]

"I will step outside for a moment. Inform me when you are finished."

[Alysele Cortess]

"As you wish Master Lorne."

She waited for him to leave... and a few more moments. The on hold music was some kind of abysmal new hip version of a classic jizz song, no doubt enough to make everyone regret their life choices.

Finally she turned it on. "Now it's good aspirant. We can talk."

[Dapper Dog]

Lana continues, "The nikto you encountered is a member of a religious sect of assassins, the Morgukai... there are many sects and this one has attached itself to this mythology of the Red God. After questioning the alien we were able to determine a name, Azanak. The Morgukai train to kill force users. This is a threat to Jedi and Sith."

"We scoured the holonet, the cult has gone to ground after your encounter. This will require more direct intervention. There is a bar in Shadow Town called Kintan Sunset, we suspect it may harbor more nikto amenable to the cause of the cult. I suggest you and the pantoran investigate it while I follow another lead."

[Alysele Cortess]

Alysele frowned. "So the two of us should go into a bar in Shadowtown, which is a known place where our trained Force Sensitive killers hang out, while you.... do something else." She wasn't entirely happy.

Or rather, not at all. "Anything else about these Mordukai? What kind of techniques do they use?"

[Dapper Dog]

"That is the point of my lead to learn more about their techniques and methods. You can follow the lead or not, master Jedi. There is no reason for all of us to go when we can divide our efforts. I will be in touch, I hope my trust in your dedication is not misplaced," Lana replies calmly.

[Alysele Cortess]

"Your trust is greatly appreciated, Aspirant." She replied sourly. "We will check the lead out, and will let you know of our findings. Hopefully tomorrow."

She pondered. "Anything else you can mention about this place or the cult?"

[Dapper Dog]

"The murder rate in that neighborhood is 1.5 times higher than average in the district, vicious gang wars are frequent," she adds calmly.

"Best of luck, master Jedi."

Lana ends the call.

[Alysele Cortess]

Well... that was... news.

"Farewell Aspirant." She stated simply, than waved towards Garrick Lorne.

[Nekoinu]

"You were speaking with a Sith then." His words were not of anger but they certainly expected explanation. "I assume that she is a recent acquaintance."

[Alysele Cortess]

Aly indicated towards the seat in front of her, while eyeing the spoon.

"It was aspirant Benko, student of Darth Xevious. After I... was defeated the other night." That was difficult to admit, but the truth is the truth. "She arrived with some imperial forces. They have been tracking this cult, and yesterday we agreed that she would share with me any new leads she has. Which she just did." Aly frowned. "A bar in the Shadowtown... not my usual battlefield."

[Nekoinu]

"To become a skilled warrior, you must be able to adapt to any battlefield," he noted. He took the seat and nodded. "This Lana Beniko. Could you tell me more about her? Anything so that I may assess her character."

[Alysele Cortess]

"Well, it does seem that my preferences have been overruled." She tried making light of the situation before letting out a sigh and answering his question. "She is a student of Darth Xevious, and seems to run a professional operation. She has information on the Jedi gathered here, as my name was provided as bait for the serial killer." She frowned deeply. "She has agreed to share the investigation results with me, so that is something."

[Nekoinu]

"Would you rather I charge in and handle it for you?" he asked bluntly, "How else will you learn if the masters fight all of your battles?"

Garrick Lorne paused. "She gave your name as bait or somebody else did?"

[Alysele Cortess]

"I did not say that Master Lorne." Her own response was quite blunt as well.

"I am just hoping that someone with more exprience in such matters would give me some pointers."

She sighed. "She gave my name to a mercenary to use as bait."

[Nekoinu]

He cocked his head. "Are you getting sassy with me, Lady Cortess?"

On the matter of Lana, he sighed. "And you trust her?"