Autumn in Avalon

[Delilah Keyes]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlzaKrG4ljw[/media]​

Solomon's Pub​

Avalonia​

Dosuun​

Del couldn't sat that she *liked* Dosuun. It was impressive, certainly. Clean lines, clean streets, beautiful architecture. Too clean. Too perfect. In Delilah's experience, anything that looked too perfect meant that it was hiding the rot farther beneath the surface. While she couldn't catch a single glimpse of it in the First Order Capital itself, it simply cemented for her that whatever it was, where ever it *did* exist.... it would be worse than the places that didn't try to hide it.

She was sitting in the back booth at Solomon's Pub, a mid tier restaurant popular with tourists and locals alike. She was dressed conservatively, aiming to blend in with the populace. The last thing she needed right now was unwanted attention. No makeup, her dark hair pulled back into a high pony tail and tied with a scarlet ribbon- her contacts indicator of just who, exactly, he'd be meeting.

Things had started to go wrong recently. Carefully laid plans unraveling, a certain rather powerful individual in the criminal underworld on her heels. While she wasn't going it as alone as usual, for this she'd refused [member="Walker Ducote"]'s help or company.

​"Old business," she'd said. "Not going to drag you into it. But if it goes well, we'll have one more piece to fixing this mess we're both in."

The information on the data pad she held had been meant to be part of a pair. The war between the GA and FO had left openings for people like her. Opportunities to profit. She'd gotten wind of a particular operation, and tracked down someone who'd been there, personally. She'd paid well for the information on the black site in question, anticipating the other information she was looking for would increase this sets by an exponential factor.

Unfortunately, she hadn't counted on the strange encounter on Nubia... a close call that one. Ultimately, that strange man had been unwilling to part with the intel she needed to play both sides of this war for a hefty profit. So she had only part of what her initial plans had required, and a particular need to sell it, even without the other piece of the puzzle she'd hoped to have.

Even if all she managed was to recoup her initial lay out, she'd walk away from this meeting happy. Well, maybe not happy but satisfied certainly. If she could pull a profit from it? So much the better.

It had taken some strings pulled, favors called in and others now owed, to set up this meeting with an agent of the FOSB. Delilah had no idea just how much of the information on the data card they already had, but she was certain at least some of it was old news to them. So she hadn't offered specifics when she'd floated her offer. Just that she had information on an Alliance Black Site that had, at least once previously, held First Order personnel. She'd only given the name Del, not particularly useful if they went digging.

She had ordered a local beer, to justify her presence at the table. It wasn't particularly to her taste, but then, she didn't feel much like drinking anyway.

| [member="Jacques"] |​

 

[Alkor Centaris]

Of course she was being watched.

The woman was in a business where information was delicate, and when improperly handled could prove disastrous. First Order intelligence was seasoned in maintaining a secure, secretive, and extensive network throughout the Empire. At its heart in Avalonia, they were especially cautious.

Comms chatter flickered in the ear of 0772 as they watched the woman in her seat, everything from her chosen attire to secondary and tertiary scans of her person relayed in the span of only several minutes. He wore a passive expression as he sipped gingerly at his caf, taken black with a spoon of sugar. The bitterness intermingled with a slight sweetness that tickled his tongue just right.

The woman claimed that she held especially sensitive material that the Order would want to take advantage of. In light of the recently resolved conflict, the Security Bureau was unwilling to take any chances.

"You may approach, Agent," the director broadcast. 0772 glanced up toward the woman, who until that moment he had ignored entirely. "She appears unarmed, and there is no immediate threat to your safety or the citizens."

He stood slowly, purposefully, and lifted the cup to his lips one last time. The last few drops warmed his throat as he pushed the empty drink across the table and turned. The woman sat herself well away from the rest of society, a red flag to most that she wanted nothing to do with the general population. Such clandestine behavior was commonplace, and everyone but the servers seemed to dismiss it.

He broke her silence with a warm smile and his hand extended. "Ma'am," he greeted. 0772, alias "Jacques" was a pale man with near-human features, short and shaggy black hair kept styled, and vibrant ruby colored eyes. They held none of the virulence that a corrupted Force User would, instead glimmering with a natural light. His uniform was all black with red accents, a golden First Imperial insignia emblazoned on the lapel.

All of it neatly washed, ironed, and folded to reinforce austerity.

"My name is Jacques," he permitted. He had no real name, so whichever he gave was unimportant. That she felt safe and able to relay her information was his only prerogative. "And I am given to understand that you have something that will interest my employers?"

[member="Delilah Keyes"]​

 

[Delilah Keyes]

"I guess I should have expected the First Order to show up in full uniform," she said, her tone a touch dry as she met his hand with hers.

Dark gaze traveled up and down his form without a hint of hesitation or shame, taking him in for a moment before she shrugged. If they weren't concerned about keeping things on the down low, well, that seemed like an internal problem. There was no way to know that, here on Dosuun, no one sneezed without the Order knowing about it, so subtly was less of a concern.

Since she didn't actually have the other side of the information she'd intended on selling to the GA (or else offering at an even higher price to the FO in exchange for *not* giving it to the Alliance), she didn't have any particular reason to worry about it over much. If anything, news that she was meeting in public with an official of the Order, if it got back to certain parties, might make them think twice before....

She sighed inwardly. Probably not. Wishful thinking, and that level of optimism she would leave to Walk.

"Del," she supplied in response. "And I have information for sale," she emphasized. She'd made that clear in the initial contact, but she needed to be clear that she was here as a broker, not as a concerned or loyal citizen. Del didn't even live in FO space, and she liked it that way. No risk of miscommunication.

She motioned for him to sit, leaning back in the booth and watching him.

Del had brought a data pad she'd transferred all of the information to. But the key to decrypting it, that was in a different location, one she would retrieve it from or offer to [member="Jacques"] , depending on how the meeting went. It was a two stage decryption, and while perhaps not impossible for the FOSB to crack without her willing cooperation, certain not worth the trouble when she'd be perfectly happy to trade it all over for something as simple as credits.

 

[Alkor Centaris]

"It is the capital," 0772 reminded her gently. "We would attract more attention if I were dressed in plainclothes. The local peasantry does enjoy it's gossip, I've heard." The ruby eyed Agent gestured toward another table where two women fidgeted uncomfortably at his attention. The underlying meaning would be evident to this information dealer-no one will meddle in official business.

He accepted the refill of caf as it hurried to his side, savoring the bitterness as he regarded the woman with a level stare. Imperials were known for the attitude with which they carried themselves. Most civilians found them unsavory. "Del's" response was expected.

"Of course," he reached into his chest pocket and produced a credit chip for her to inspect. "And I have the funds, provided you can certify the nature and reliability of your product."

He waved the item in front of her passively twice, then palmed it.

His eyes never left her face, and he gauged her responses both verbal and nonverbal. He was trained in interrogation tactics with and without the Force- if there was any slippery intent, or she was hiding something, he would pry further.

He hoped it would not come to that.

"So, I'll need to take a statement from you in that regard. Are you amenable to this?" He tucked the payment away and produced a pen and pad in it's place. Rudimentary, but far more secure than servers and data.

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

 

[Delilah Keyes]

Del wasn't particularly impressed, and made no attempts to hide that. She just arched a single eyebrow at him as he went through the motions of his bit and waited.

In truth, she didn't typically work within official channels. It wasn't in her wheelhouse, and the way of doing business 'on the level' always seemed incredibly naïve to her. But then, she didn't have the faith in his empire that he had. She probably didn't have that level of faith in anything these days.

It wasn't that Delilah specifically distrusted the FO, so much as she distrusted just about anyone. People acted and reacted, ultimately, in their own best interests. And when those interests aligned with hers? It was beautiful. That was seldom enough the case however.

Her eyebrow arched even farther when he pulled out, of all things, writing materials. The FO must put an inordinate amount of faith in their Intelligence officers in return. That was interesting. Unless of course he was already recording in another fashion as well, which, honestly, Del simply assumed to be the case. That she was wrong would have surprised her.

He was smug, a little condescending, and ultimately, put far too much weight on that uniform. But none of those were actually her problem and they slid right off of her as she withdrew a slender holodevice and palmed it. With a flick of her thumb, she activated it.

A tiny hologram, just a slice of an internal control room, appeared. Of course she wouldn't have brought the whole thing to this meeting- she was far too accustomed to working with people who, if they knew she had in her hands everything they wanted, would just as soon shoot her in the face and take it before handing over the simple credits they had agreed on. Blue lines rotated slowly, and she tapped a finger on the control again to pause it and enlarge. The S.I.S. logo could be seen visible on one of the screens.

"One of their Black Sites," she said crisply. "I have the rest of the layout, security details, as well as the type of prisoners kept there. And, of course, the location."

[member="Jacques"]

 

[Alkor Centaris]

The Agent listened in his ear as a string of curses fired off in rapid succession, and he blinked slowly. His tongue moved across his lips to wet them as he staved off part frustration at the sudden outburst from the surveillance team, and partly to retain his composure in front of the source. They then proceeded to turn into a gentle smile, not unkind, but not as warm as the first. "And of course, you're not interested in giving up your source, I expect."

It was not a question, rather, it was the predictable outcome. With the sudden interest the Bureau had taken in her wares, 0772 knew that either she had stumbled on something she should not have, or the woman was selling something of supreme interest. He needed to dig further.

He tapped on the table a few times, a generic sign of deep thought, but to the people listening in his ear, it was First Imperial Battlecant.

What do you need from this woman?

His eyes watched her with only mild interest as the answer came. He offered her a pause, a reasonable amount of time to give her answer about her source, before he added, "I'd also like to know," he added, "what specifically you are privy to in terms of this site. Is this just information for sale, or are you more involved than that?"

His expression was a bit more serious now as he kept eye contact, and he stretched out his thoughts to broach the surface of her own. If this woman had state secrets, he needed to take immediate action to assure that she was not a threat to the Order.

He became instantly aware of how she felt about him, but ultimately, her business acumen was commendable. She kept her composure despite being utterly repulsed by his demeanor. "We're obviously prepared to reward you handsomely for your compliance in this matter," he added, sure to make it worth her while.

This was a woman who spoke the language of money, he observed.

Easily dealt with.

[member="Delilah Keyes"]