Eye of the Needle (D0, The Saarai-kaar)

[Sylvain Torsin]

He chuckled, "Fortunately for us I am not his dog. Not like the woman who owns this pile of junk I'm riding in."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

Shaisha stifled a laugh. Poorly.

"Oh, you're hitchhiking with Layne?! Now that is just too funny... is Baras looking to have only one of you two now already?" she held onto her sides as she let out a laugh.

"Had I known, I would've picked you up after I left Ziost. Bar's well-stocked, and well... while my mechanic might be tempted to upgrade your lightsaber, I think you and my pilot would get along well."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He smiled, "Is that so? You'll have to introduce me. I'm intrigued to see what type of man you think I would be friends with."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"Woman," Shaisha corrected with a chuckle. "She's one of those wide-eyed idealists. Pretty new to it all still. Holds your old man in high regard."

"And you? Made any new friends since we last spoke? You've kept a rather low profile since Korriban."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He smiled, "Friends are hard to come by, especially for a man like me. I have some potential associates. People I can rely on to give me a decent amount of support. Competent people. One is riding with me right now out to Nar Shadaa. She's a military woman; called her up for a bit of an issue that emerged a couple of months ago. Her name is Asra Nakahti."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"She is trustworthy then, and not someone's puppet?" she inquired with some interest.

[Sylvain Torsin]

He tilted his head, "That is still unknown. She's capable and a compliant soldier. Discerning more will take time."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"I trust you will handle that." This wasn't one of her people, so she wouldn't overstep herself too much there.

"Baras is allowing you outside now for the peace talk? How does he feel about the initiative for peace with the Republic?" While she kept a somewhat neutral tone, there was a sense of disbelief or mockery as she said the word peace.

[Sylvain Torsin]

"He is in favor of a reprieve for now. And Vowrawn?" Sylvain asked.

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"Hard to tell, he's been weighing the matter heavily, from what I gather... there are benefits and drawbacks to this peace, which I can see too." It didn't seem she cared much one way or the other the matter settled with.

"You'll probably handle negotiations more than I will anyway."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He nodded, "I am in agreement with Baras on this issue actually, but for different reasons."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"Oh? And what are your differences then?"

[Sylvain Torsin]

"Baras is likely trying to put himself into a greater position, and I feel that we are beginning to be stretched to thin. We've taken much, now is the time to consolidate, regroup and push forward again once our resources are replenished. I've been looking at the numbers, and I do not expect things to go well in the next year or two if we keep this up."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

The female Sith nodded thoughtfully. "That is my assessement too. As well as my master's. Victory means nothing if you cannot hold on to it."

And the fact that Baras and Vowrawn were rather opposed in views wasn't exactly something that needed to be rehashed. In that regard, Shaisha and Kristal had more common grounds with their masters.

"However, time for us to recover and regroup means the same for our enemy. Unless their situation becomes much more dire."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He tilted his head, "I think peace benefits us more. The Republic is supposedly the guarantor of peace and stability to many systems, but if they acquiesce and plea for peace with us after having lost battle after battle for the past several years, doubt will begin to form in the minds of many systems. And if we appear to be less intimidating than they think we are, it is possible that we could draw a number of systems into our orbit without having to expend resources. Peace now would be a great loss for the Republic I think."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"Not so sure on that myself, but there's merit in what you say," she said, not quite in agreement with Syl.

There were a few other things she wanted to ask, but seeing as how Syl was on a ship with Baras' favorite attack dog, it was probably better to save it for another time.

"Been talking to Kris lately?"

[Sylvain Torsin]

"I spoke with her this week." He replied, "You?"

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"..."

Shaisha shook her head. "I've kept an eye on what she's been up to, and shot a few messages over, but... no, I haven't really talked to her in a while."

[Sylvain Torsin]

"You should give her a call. She seems well." He said with a smile.

"She certainly is a lot easier to track than either of us are."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"That is true," Shaisha chuckled. "Just reading the reports of the war-front usually does the trick there. Now I wonder how much you've been struggling to keep track of me. Hmm..."

She shot Sylvain a teasing smile.

[Sylvain Torsin]

"I kept up for a while there while you were dealing with the subversive elements on Ziost." He replied with a smile.

"Then you made it a bit more difficult."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

Her smile faded slightly. "Yeah... but that story's going to have to wait until some other time. When you're in a more secure location. Not that I don't trust you, but that ship you're riding on isn't that safe."

"There's been a lot on my mind lately... so it will be nice to be around you and Kris again."

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylain's brow furrowed slightly but he nodded, "Whatever it is that requires such secrecy, I am glad Kris and I will be there to support you in it."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"At the moment, there are few others I would trust." Zeno was a loyal friend, she knew, but at least with Syl and Kris, she knew where their loyalties would lie ultimately if she told them the truth.

"I'll talk to my people about this Magpie-thing once I hit planetside.... and who knows, I might end up asking you for a favor in finding someone. Regardless of how all that goes, we'll at least see eachother again at the meeting with this Anhel."

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain nodded, "If you've got any free time you could come along with me as I... explore the city tomorrow."