Chance Meeting

[Ultimatum]

The recent government changes were giving Ultimatum a theoretical headache, theoretical only in the sense that he could not fully experience it like an organic. Bonadan had not offered much resistance, and that was fortunate. The infrastructure of the world wouldn't have survived a full week under a blockade. However, it had come with a cost in the form of minor law adjustments. While conceptually rather simple, they required precise and questionable changes in how the ICLE maintained the peace. Weapons were banned on the world, and so the police had to find different equipment that could help in their work while conforming to the law they upheld. The one positive side was the addition of a loophole for armaments below a certain threshold of destructive capacity. At the moment Ultimatum was coordinating the rotation of personnel, bringing in officers from the field work so they could turn in their current weapons for some weaker ones and sending out officers to take their place.

The droid was walking outside of the ICLE headquarters, keeping an eye on the surroundings as he sent orders through his mental computer. It had been less than two months since a local crime syndicate had bombed the facility and released several prisoners. The criminals responsible had been arrested, and security tightened, there was now always an 'armed' officer in an unmarked vehicle nearby. Even with the potential threat, the station had to be open to the public and therefore they could not lock down the area, not without government authority anyways. Ultimatum knew a Sith who might have been able to get the leaders of the world to give ICLE some more breathing room, but the droid was cautious when asking for help from organics and Sith in particular. And Ultimatum didn't want to alienate the locals, police had enough to worry about, and angry citizens was the last thing they needed.

"Unit Six, await relief and then report to HQ for replacement weapons. Officer Parialan, relieve Unit Six in Sector Gamma Two." Switching to another frequency, Ultimatum caught the end of a broadcast on the moving of money between banks. While individual account's money was digital and therefore transferring funds could be done safely across the HoloNet, the physical cash that was picked up by people when they withdrew money had to be moved from place to place. One of the reasonably popular banks was having several large withdrawals, perhaps a sign of an incoming run on the bank, and was calling another of its branches for physical credits. They had requested ICLE give some protection for the transport moving the money, and so Ultimatum had further spread his people to make a small convoy for the bank. It was promising to be a busy and perhaps productive day.

[member="Asheda Tyr"]

 

[Asheda Tyr]

The latest conquest of the First Order had changed quite a bit from the usual practice, planet likes Atrisia falling under the control of the imperial regime in a rather peaceful way. No invasion, no annexation, merely a military blockade and diplomatic talks to get the government on their side and a little back stage changes to for fill the acquisition of the world. Not really that good compared to others but in light of there past conquest, the Sith and Mando Empire it was very lax. Though it did not come with it's own problems, seemed that the FO's reputation far out weighted any good it did.

As such even a peaceful world like Atrisia had it's fair share of problems with smaller splinter factions on the newly acquired worlds, causing problems that caught peoples eye but no enough to warrant sending boots onto the ground. Not that the FO wanted to, the more they put a military presence on the world the more they resistant, and mercenaries were not always a decent option, but some sort of Galactic police force, now that would be a decent investment.

To bad it was all the way on the other side of the galaxy, not the easiest place to get through, many of the FO main opponents and waring factions in the way making for a difficult trip. Thankfully Ash's past in the Jedi order and other connection made for a much easier trip, now the goal was to find this [member="Ultimatum"] who ran the ICLE. Donned in her old Jedi attire the blue skinned Torgutra excited her First Order shuttle, maybe an odd sight but her credentials were spoken for, as long as she didn't do anything out of the ordinary or drew too much attention she'd be allowed free reigned.

"Step one complete not onto step two, guess a good place to start would be the latest area of arrests".

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum had been busy enough that visiting a crime scene was out of the question. However, that did not stop him from wishing that he could. The droid had found a strange pleasure in solving the puzzle of the evidence found in those places. It was complex beyond any toy puzzle and few could appreciate the work and thought that went into figuring it out. His primary fear on this day was that some of the more intelligent criminals would spot this time as an opportunity to commit crimes with a lowered chance of capture. As much as the droid tried to create a flowing and logical system for the switch over, there was a chaotic element that left openings for criminals to take advantage of.

One of the places ICLE kept a constant vigil at was the spaceport. Some of the connected criminal gangs would have their members find passage off world after committing a particularly high-profile crime, a lesson learned after the incident of the HQ bombing. Those people were constantly updated with the latest information on known criminals, as well as suspects, further they were told to report any suspicious activity and only the more veteran officers were sent on that job. For the most part it was fairly boring, made worse by some tourists seeing it as an opportunity for a photo with an ICLE officer, which wasn't all that common but happened enough where the stories floated around the barracks about it. But when a criminal did come through, it was particularly interesting. Few people, when this close to escape, would remain calm or accept surrender when stopped by armed guards. The officers were given spots by the spaceport officials, located in areas that were both readily visible and some out of the way. They were tactically placed to allow at least two officers a direct line of sight to each other.

Ultimatum had been able to avoid contacting them for the moment, no crimes had yet been committed and the officers had not called in anything so the droid concluded that it was secure there. Now it was a matter of continuing his current work.

"Base, this is Officer Nessier, I've got a robbery in progress at the bakery on street one-oh-three. Two individuals, one armed, pistol." With that transmission, Ultimatum sighed, he had hoped to not really worry about something like this.

However, that was not all, another message, this one from the spaceport came through. This was good news though and Ultimatum would have smield at hearing it, "Ultimatum, I'm back. Coming out of the spaceport, going to walk so don't send any cars round."

Before he could respond to the first, and more important situation, one of the dispatchers took over and ordered backup to the scene. The droid turned his attention to the message from his Maelibus friend, "Wouldn't be able to, even you wanted. The situation has most of our vehicles tied down."

"This place just keeps getting crazier. I'd have thought crime would settle down with police nearby."

"Logic would have dictated that."

"Well, see you in five." Pulling the crimson hood back so that her natural golden skin was visible, Sarah began to make her way through the spaceport. It wasn't too crowded, now was the season for many tourists and business trips were on hold with the change over of governments.

[member="Asheda Tyr"]

 

[Asheda Tyr]

It seemed the planet was in a poor state crime wise, the sound of sirens and law enforcement cars zoomed by, a sense of uneasiness in the air, "well seems like this company have their hands full in this area". "... should I? I mean, it is a Jedi's duty to bring peace, even if this planet is not under any Jedi law... I just hope it does not cause to much trouble". Last thing she wanted was to spark more rebellion if rumors of a Jedi circulated around, even if the Sith did raise rumors about the Silver and others being genocidal maniacs and military minded very few people actually believed it. "No, I shall not wait any longer, if I can help quell the violence on this planet all the better, hopefully that will lessen the burden on the company", a do or do not moment if she ever experienced one.

Reaching out with the force she could detect a close by disturbance, a small amount of panic rolled together with other emotions, from what she could tell somewhere over near a bank of sorts. A classic heist, but more that that a perfect place to keep her skills sharp and Ash had in mind quite the play to get inside without being noticed by the crooks. With post haste but not to fast to draw attention the robbed Togruta slowly made her way over to the bank which was currently being robed, but instead heading towards one of the more known entrances the Jedi Master found herself on the roof, feeling around to locate the robbers.

"Not a large groups, perhaps capitulating on the disaray of the current planet", nothing hard to deal with, all she would need to do was slip in through this solid duracreet roof, stasis the crooks and tie them up before anything went wrong. Placing her hands against the wall she let the force flow into the solid wall the force flowed through it on a molecular level, a purple like shimmer coming from the roof, herself slowly sinking into the roof, coming out on the other side, falling to the floor like a leaf, slow and silent. "Step one down,, may to knock these people out and take them in" something she would not have been capable of a few years ago, but now was more then capable of.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

There were now a few more reports of ongoing crimes; it appeared that the word was out. The ICLE was having a change of guard and now was the time to strike. Ultimatum was about ready to scramble fighters to transport the officers to where they were needed, but to do so would require permission from the spaceport air control to postpone flights from and to the spaceport. He was reasonably sure that he would have received such approval, but the situation had not developed to the degree that Ultimatum would have been comfortable with calling such action.

The droid had moved indoors and was standing before a holotable with the city displayed in scaled three dimensions. A red light appeared wherever a crime was reported, and blue dots showed the various officers' last reported locations. There were a fair number of red dots; most had one or two blues near them. Various ICLE operators were open to holocalls, and they were kept fairly busy. A new dot appeared as the droid watched and Ultimatum listened to the police comms. The constant chatter did not aid the robot's comprehension of the situation, but he isolated the voice he was searching for and listened to the report, "Federal Credit Bank halfway down sixth is being robbed. Unknown number or armament, recommend three officers investigate."

"Officer Six-Three-Zero, I have Officer Gerald with me, we'll go."

The robot waited a few moments before he prepared to offer to go as well. Things were tight enough to have the commander going out. But before he could voice his decision, another volunteer spoke up, "James, Officer James here. I'll go with you Six. I'm on Money Lane, just finished up with a dispute. Good to go."

The three officers would be heading in the bank's direction in about three minutes, possibly more since James was not in the bank's direction. Ultimatum hoped they would get there in time. Once more the robot wondered if he should have made a specialized unit for this sort of work, something that could use the dangerous weapons and deal in high-pressure situations such as hostage crisis.

----------

Sarah continued on her way, passing by people but paying them no heed. Her work was done, and she was looking forward to relaxing at home, in this case, one of the upper floors of the ICLE headquarters. It was a pleasant enough day for the walk, the sun wasn't too hot, and there was the hint of a cool breeze. Of course, criminals would ruin this sort of day.

[member="Asheda Tyr"]

 

[Asheda Tyr]

Ash could easily sense law enforcement entities approaching the bank, good it would hopefully distract the thieves and allow her to subdue them anything bad happened. Like silent with Ash glided through the hallways of the bank, a small motion of her hand sending a subtle but powerful force stasis wave throughout the facility, robbers and captives alike soon feeling an immense sensation to fall asleep. It would be best to have everyone unconscious for this whole event, never know when the crooks have some sort of inside man to keep things in check if the heist went sour.

Checking to make sure everyone was asleep and well, along with tying up the would be thefts Ash made her way to the front entrance hands raised as to not cause any engagements, a coy but cheery smile on her face the entire time. "Well hello there, he this is an awkward way of saying hi, but just to let you know I have taken care of the crooks inside and was looking to meet someone who held a high position in the ICLE". Not her brightest through process but the best way to get in touch with a law enforcement firm it to go were the law needed to be enforced, stopping a bank heist was just icing on the cake.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum relaxed for a moment, letting his brain reprocess a bit while he waited for more updates. The next message through the system involved the bakery, "Base, Officer Nessier reporting in. Two suspects apprehended, one pistol taken. No resistance, bringing them back now." With an exhale of relief, the droid turned his attention to the other situation developing.

--------

The ICLE officers arrived at the scene and were preparing to enter, one of them even had a flashbang ready. Fortunately he had not pulled the pin as it turned out to be unnecessary. The two other officers aimed their stun rifles at the togruta and one yelled, "Mam, show me your hands and step away from the building."

The officer with the flashbang put it away and pulled his rifle forward, nodding to the other officer the two advanced towards the entrance, giving [member="Asheda Tyr"] a wide berth. The third officer, Officer James, began to step towards her and asked, "You want to see the boss? Mam, you know how crazy that sounds right now?"

 

[Asheda Tyr]

Ash had her hands raised already upon exciting the place, sighing slightly at the officers remark but continuing to comply, could have at least said thanks, but she guessed they had work to do. "Hey it sounded good in my head okay, besides I helped did I not"? She was unsure if ICLE was actually in charge of official law enforcement, IE criminal prosecution or merely just security. In some cases her actions and vigilantly nature would probably get her put in the slammer, but in this cash such may not happen, still no reason to be lax about it.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

The police smirked a bit at her joke, before pulling his face tight again. He spoke into a comm on his wrist as he neared [member="Asheda Tyr"], "Command, we have an unknown. She claims to have taken care of the bank situation. She says she wants to see the boss."

He listened carefully before stating to the Togruta, "I guess this is your lucky day. We're bringing you in, and the boss is working hard, so you'll probably get to speak with him."

The small holoprojector on the comm unit blinked to life, and an image of Ultimatum phased into appearance. The droid nodded to the officer before turning towards the Togruta.

--------------

Ultimatum had heard the first part of the communication and had left it for Command to deal with. While he was appreciative of people helping, or trying to help, vigilantes were criminals nonetheless. The person would be brought in for questioning, probably have a few days sentence in the comfortable cell. The droid was glad that he had some ability to charge people with certain crimes. It was not ICLE's position to actually take a judicial position, beyond reporting information, arresting people, and executing sentences. One of the few areas where ICLE was given free reign for sentencing was in the obstruction of justice. So long as the punishment did not exceed a particular severity, Ultimatum could arrest, sentence, and execute that sentence in this case. He rarely used this right, as he feared its overuse would see it taken from him.

Which was why he had called when the decision had been made to bring her in. He wanted to speak with this person to know more about them. They might only need a warning. And if they were a foreign national, then there would need to be a different handling of the situation. He spoke quickly, "Greetings. I will speak with you further once we are face to face. However, I would like to know who you are and what you were doing here." The droid watched across the small holo-comm and waited for a response.

-----------

Meanwhile, the officers who had entered the building found it to be just as Asheda described. They quickly secured the criminals and began moving them towards the entrance. One would keep watch over them while the other moved to the civilians and checked for damages to the surrounding area.

 

[Asheda Tyr]

Ash waited patiently for the officer to call in the situation, a little surprised by what she saw on the holo communicator, she did not expect [member="Ultimatum"] to be a droid. Regardless she was glad things had, for the most part, been easily taken care of, only problem now was landing a contract with the CEO, judging from what was going on today the ICLE most likely had their hands full already. "Well then please lead the way, best let you people tidy up and get those wannabe robbers in jail".

Looking down at the communicator Ash was greeted by the small but most likely tall droid, "Well hello there Mr Ultimatum, my name is Asheda Tyr, I am and FOSB agent". "My presence here is due to the First Order looking for a company then specializes in law enforcement and peace keeping, though I could not help but lend a had when I saw the bank robbery in process, Jedi instincts and all you could say".

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum nodded as he stated, "I hope we can do business. I appreciate the help, but please speak with one of the officers before trying to help." It wasn't just the person's safety that concerned the droid, but also the potential political repercussions of having civilians help the officers. A Jedi could be explained readily, but the example it might set could lead others to take action. That could create an even more precarious situation within the government because allowing civilians to step into harm's way was the opposite to what a police force was supposed to do. Therefore, Ultimatum had to be careful who he allowed to officially aid the ICLE in policing matters.

The officer listened over his ear comm, a report from the officers inside. The police officer pointed to the patrol car and offered, "We can give you a ride back to base. Too many people to take back in it, so I'll be going back to base."

[member="Asheda Tyr"]

 

[Asheda Tyr]

She was glad [member="Ultimatum"] was lenient though in her mind could not really understand what the whole problem was, she assumed that people recognized that a Jedi could take care of things other were not able to, but regardless she complied with the droids words. "Oki dokie, next time talk first use force powers later gotcha", her tone playful like always. As the holo projector shut off Ash turned attention to the officer, "Yes that would be most pleasant, please lead the way".

Following behind the officer Ash hopped into the police cruiser, quickly zipping off for the main HQ before much noticed was directed at the whole bank robbery, in but a few minutes touching down in front of a rather large complex. "Sooo, do I wait here or follow you into the base"?