A Tangled Web

[Kay-Larr]

Kay paced back and forth in her office on Commenor. She had only just arrived with her new assistant [member="Fixx Kearney"] after visiting the Senate. He was getting his security clearance and that gave her a few minutes alone to think and worry. She was in quite the pickle and whether or not she should include him in the matter was something that she was debating with herself.

As Fixx entered her office she stopped pacing. She just stared at him for a moment or two, chewing the inside of her cheek a bit. Well. Here goes nothing.

"I know that neither of us trusts eachother, but I am in need of your expertise and advice. Though I must admit that for self preservation and to maintain my freedom, it would be wiser for me to keep my mouth shut."

 

[Connor Harrison]

He had provided everything that was asked, and his job as intelligence officer for the Minister would be confirmed for his time with [member="Lady Kay"] of Commenor. Making his way to her office, he was shown straight in and found her pacing which spoke volumes. He smiled and let her speak a few feet from her desk in an office that was even more hard to read than the Ministers.

"Well, your trust means you have good instincts. Don't trust anyone - that way you'll live longer.

Taking a quick look around, he found the seat opposite her desk and sat down. It was soft and quite plush, but she stayed stood.

”I'm here for the Republic, and to make sure you don't get into trouble. I can help you. I don't want to fight you as I think we're on the same side. You just need to convince the Minster through me.”

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded. Though she wasn't so sure that what she had to say wouldn't make him arrest her right then and there. Everything that she had done was with good intentions. It has saved lives with little cost. But now there was one.

He might be comfortable but he was used to this line of work whereas she was not. "If it would be alright, could I have [member="Mantic Dorn"] sent in? This....matter that I want to talk about involves the Jedi too."

She had already sent word out to the man. If [member="Fixx Kearney"] would of said no, then she would've argued for it.

 

[Connor Harrison]

"Of course,” he said, a pleasant smile on his face.

He had gotten on well with the Jedi and had no worries about him. He rested his hands on the arm of the chair and looked up at [member="Lady Kay"].

"I’m not here to question you, Senator. If you’ve nothing to hide then you’ve nothing to worry about. Please. Relax. I’m here to help fight the fight you’re fighting…hm, too many fights there. But you get the idea.”

 

[Kay-Larr]

She had plenty to hide and [member="Fixx Kearney"] knew it. Otherwise he probably wouldn't be acting this way. Things were good until just before he showed up. Now a choice from the past was coming to bite her in the butt unless she could figure out a way to work out a different solution. But the cost will be great.

It seemed to be taking forever for [member="Mantic Dorn"] to arrive, which made her all the more anxious. "Maybe I'll just whip up some tea..." That sounded like a good idea. So she started to prepare herself a cup. "Did you want some water?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

"No, thank you.”

Water was fine at the office and during training – now he was out and in the field and facing death at every turn, so why waste the little life he may have left?

"Got any whiskey?”

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

She shook her head. "Sorry. But I do have some of Commenor's finest Brandy. It's quite popular. Would you like to try?" Kay had to wait for her tea to be ready, so that gave her time to fiddle with other things. It wasn't often that she had guests so she made sure that some Brandy was always on hand.

[member="Fixx Kearney"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

A slight incline of the head and a flicker of a smile. "I'd be delighted.”

Funny how the little things seemed to build small bridges between people.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Now that her mind was a bit preoccupied with her task, she seemed a bit less nervous. Kay poured him a glass, not too much though and then handed it to him.

Her water was boiled at the very least, so she poured it into her cup over the prepared tea leaves. Kay cradled the mug in her hands and walked back, leaning against the edge of her desk.

"So....are you going to set up your own apartment for yourself? Or how does this work?"

[member="Fixx Kearney"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

"Thank you,” he leaned and took the glass.

By the time [member="Lady Kay"] had poured her tea, the drink had hit the back of Fixx's throat and burned a satisfying taste all the way down.

"Not bad,” he shifted in his seat, "and don't worry about me. I'll find a place sanctioned by the Minister in the local area. I know there are places so I'll hold up there. Unless you ever fancy a night-cap.”

The blue eyes were up to no good already, passing time before their Jedi arrived.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Public transport #23b to Commenor had been a rough ride and Mantic had actually hoped to have some time spent on Ossus to recover and meditate, not to mention oversee more training of future jedi knights in his care.

But when a senator of the Galactic Republic called, one does not deny it.

Having arrived to her office Mantic Dorn was shown inside by an assistant, and as they both entered the room Mantic took s bow toward [member="Lady Kay"]

"Senator, I am here as requested." he added with a neutral tone. Then he turned his head toward [member="Fixx Kearney"] and added with a more light tone;

"Agent, a pleasure to see you again."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow as he spoke about a nightcap. At first she thought he meant a drink, but the look in his eyes suggested otherwise. She only asked because she wasn't sure how far this babysitting venture extended to. "No, no, I don't think so."

She sipped her tea as [member="Mantic Dorn"] arrived. Now with both him and [member="Fixx Kearney"] here, she could face her mistakes and suffer the consequences. But hopefully she could get help instead.

Kay didn't hide her Force signature and she wondered if Mantic could pick up on it. "Thank you for coming. I need your advice...from both of you." She would've felt safer to put the desk in between herself and the two men, for she felt too vulnerable. She already figured what their reactions would be. Anger, disappointment and then the scolding would take place.

"Do either of you know of a Darth Ferus?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Fixx was amused by her reaction, and kept his little grin when [member="Mantic Dorn"] arrived. Looking over his shoulder, he stood in greeting to the Jedi, letting him take a seat before he followed. When [member="Lady Kay"] moved behind the desk, it felt like business as usual.

"Darth Ferus? Can’t say I have,” he said, and looked to Mantic.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Accepting a cup of the local spicy wine Mantic found his seat in a comfortable chair and brought the glass to his nose, sniffing it carefully.

"Darth Ferus... " his eyebrows crouched and his forehead wrinkled. ".. I am not sure. the name rings a bell. But it might only be the title of course." he finished and shook his head looking up at the senator and the agent.

[member="Lady Kay"] [member="Fixx Kearney"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Well that was unexpected. She figured that he was well known, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Kay looked to [member="Mantic Dorn"]. "He's the one that pretended to be a bounty hunter and got us out safely from Atrisia." That should be enough help for him.

Now to cut to the chase. She sipped her tea and then cradled the cup in both of her hands. "I owe him for that and for another thing. He requested a meeting and so I went. What he wants is an audience with the Senate, to pretend to take a couple of Senators hostage and win the release of the Sith prisoners that the Republic has. He says that doing so would ensure no killing and no further attacks to escalate the war." She looked to [member="Fixx Kearney"] now. "I managed to buy myself some time to come up with a viable alternative and he agreed to it. Though letting him into the Senate....I have a bad feeling about it. Who knows what he could do. I fear that it's a ploy to seize power over the Senate and with that, the Capitol. But I have a good position in that I can try to find out what they are planning."

She chewed the inside of her cheek and stared at her cup. "What I need is help coming up with a viable option. Though I suspect that he would be half expecting me to set up a trap for him as well. It's as though this is a test to see where I stand...."

 

[Mantic Dorn]

As he was listening to [member="Lady Kay"] Mantic reacted with surprise. He had been surrounded by darkness on that foul day when Senator Kay had tried to argue against the sith prescence on Atrisia. But he had focused on the speakers, not the bounty hunter. At first he considered to question this but on second thought it actually fit in well.
The Bounty hunter, stepping in to save the damsel in distress, was in fact an ally of the current ruler of Atrisia - Emperor Malgus - another sith that Mantic had spent a great deal to investigate.

Was it all connected somehow?

He was about to answer when he suddenly felt something strange. He turned his head and looked at [member="Fixx Kearney"]
No, it was not him.

By the force... Mantic frowned and his eyes fell on [member="Lady Kay"]
Was this a trap? Was Kearny in on it?

He looked around the room with new eyes, were there any droids or otherwise dangerous items that would avoid his senses?

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Mantic Dorn"] just seemed to be looking around. The fact that he kept all of his thoughts to himself was a bit worrying.

"What are you thinking, Mantic? I'm not a traitor to the Republic, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just...just a bit naive into thinking that I could stop the bloodshed."

 

[Connor Harrison]

He tried to make sense of things, but [member="Lady Kay"] was starting to talk about a plan that was very risky, very dangerous and very likely to get results. Resting his chin in his hand, he turned to meet the look from [member="Mantic Dorn"] – guessing he was sizing up the two in the room after such an idea.

"What does he really hope to gain from this? Pretends to kidnap Senators for a prisoner release? What then, he just hands them back?”

Fixx sat up and forward.

"Senator, it’s these sort of things that make you a threat in the eyes of the Republic. How absurd does this sound. The Senate isn’t going to stand by a let their own be kidnapped- we will have Jedi warriors and soldiers engaging to stop them and guaranteed casualties. And then the Republic itself isn’t going to negotiate with Sith forces at all; it shows weakness, and if they do it once then they’ve nailed the coffin shut.”

Without breaking his eye contract with Kay, he gestured to Mantic.

"The Jedi aren’t stupid. They will know this was an inside job and it makes the web of deceit even wider, and then Mantic will be the one to try and throw others off the scent. It’s a dangerous snowball that will grow and grow before it collapses. Why do you always put yourself in positions that, when it WILL go wrong and come back, you’ll be the one to suffer most?”

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic drummed his fingers together for a moment before deciding that it was indeed no lurking assassin droid or otherwise suspicious about the room, at least from what he could tell.

He narrowed his eyes at [member="Lady Kay"] when she asked him to respond and felt that he needed to proceed with caution regardless. Agent [member="Fixx Kearney"] took the initiative though and seemed to be adressing the matter from a new perspective.

He took a deep breath to refocus. This was not something he would enjoy doing.

''I am afraid that the agent is right Senator.'' he began fixing her with his gaze. ''There is a sound reason why force users are not allowed into the senate. The law is there to protect the populace from the influence of such individuals as myself. Wether we follow the dark or light it is simply a too deep temptation to use these gifts to influence ones own purposes, however good they might appear. To allow a sith to adress the senate would be to open a wound and plant a disease inside our body. It might not give direct results but the danger it holds to the overall well being is indeed nothing to underestimate.''

Mantics eyes wandered from Kay to Fixx and back again. He had met [member="Fixx Kearney"] before and trusted in him being a loyal servant of the republic. But dealing with the things that come along the intelligence work did put him in a position where rules sometimes had to be broken. Mantic knew this and he therefore tried to thread careful in his next move.

''While I do not know of [member="Darth Ferus"] that does not mean he is not dangerous. I have met several sith boasting about their titles but this one seem more cunning. The fact that he has hidden his force signature from me and remained under the radar of Agent Kearney indicates that he is indeed very dangerous. To hide ones force signature is not easy, but somehow you have learned this ability.''

''This is also more disturbing since you, with all due respect senator, should instead come forth and admit your crimes toward the republic and turn yourself into the care of the jedi order. We must determine what sort of influence you are under for the sake of your peope and the entire republic. Your future is not to be decided by the three of us alone.''

He turned again to [member="Fixx Kearney"]

''I must ask you to assist me in this arrest and help me ensure her safe return to Chazwa where her affiliation with the force will be determined and proper ruling decide if laws has been broken.''

Mantic remained still, but his thoughts did wander to his hip and the attached lightsaber that hung there. Somehwere deep down he truly despised himself for the action. He had much hope in the young senator and had been prepared to risk his own life to protect her more then once. But this was a grave situation, who could tell how far the dark tendrils of the sith had sunk into her ways. He would not be able to determine this on his own.

[member="Lady Kay"] [member="Fixx Kearney"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay addressed [member="Fixx Kearney"] first. "I know that the Sith's plan of going into the Senate is a bad one! That's why I asked for some time to come up with a viable option. That's why I asked the two of you for help!" As for why she has it so that she suffers more when her plans go wrong...well, why shouldn't she take the fall for her own mistakes? They are her mistakes, afterall.

But as [member="Mantic Dorn"] spoke and revealed that she was Force sensitive to Fixx, Kay just froze in place. Here she was asking for help and in doing so, they just wanted to take her away instead. She just remained speechless for a moment as she tried to think of what to say or do that could salvage this situation as it all fell apart around her.

"Please don't arrest me. I'm a good person, I never meant any harm to the Republic. And I have never, ever used any special gifts to influence the Senate or anyone." At least not that she was consciously aware. She put down her tea cup onto her desk. "I have just under a week to get back to Ferus with any new plan. If you take me away to the Order and I miss that deadline...I don't know what could happen, but it probably wouldn't be good. Please. Please don't put me under arrest."