Looking for Allies in All the Wrong Places

[Kay-Larr]

Bakura. Kay's favourite retreat. With it's different terrains of forests, valleys, mountains and seas, it was quite peaceful. And being that it was in neutral territory far away from anywhere of importance, it was a nice place to relax and not think about the constant struggles of the Galaxy. Here life moved in it's own pace. Visitors came from all over, but for the most part they were just taking in the scenery and activities that this planet had to offer.

Kay had her favourite places to visit too. But today she was in one of the largest cities, Salis D'aar. There was a ned to refill her supply of Sapir leaves and the market was where she could find it. She purchased a large pouch of it, enough to last her for quite a few months. All depending on whether or not she shared her coveted tea.

After shopping for her wares, she ended up at one of the café shops, where she bought herself a large cup of tea and sat outside at a small table, observing the busy street and sidewalks while cradling her cup in her hands. Her satchel rested comfortably on her lap, there within easy reach and as a discouragement for pick pockets.

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali sipped at the slight cup of caf in her hand as she held the flimsi-print news journal ahead of her. Through the sunglasses she wore she appeared to be reading, though her peripheral was focused on her surroundings and her gaze was fixated on Senator Kay-Lar. The woman's activities outside of the Senate chambers had piqued the interest of the Intelligence Ministry, and Ali had been assigned to dig a little deeper into the woman's background. She was a relatively new senator to the Galactic Congress, though had been prominent in the work of many smaller worlds for years. Ali had told Crassus the assignment was a pointless waste of time, but the old man hadn't agreed, and so Ali found herself on Bakura, in Salis D'aar, tailing a woman roughly her age who had a vested interest in little more than tea leaves. The woman's belongings Ali would have to go through, but would not have the opportunity to do so until later. For the time being, Ali remained at a distance, simply watching and gathering notes with which to form a basic approach to her mission.

[member=Lady Kay]

 

[Kay-Larr]

People watching was always relaxing as well as entertaining. There was so many different stories that could be imagined for the different species that walked by. Each one had their own likes and dislikes and each person had their own objectives when coming to this street. It was fun to come up with different narratives for them in her head.

Kay sipped her tea while she watched and pondered. Now was not the time to think of politics or the Republic in general. No. She had other things to do as well. She brought out her datapad from her satchel and accessed the holonet. She needed to check on the progress of her shell company and see how many slaves were rescued, as well as how many were sent to other worlds to begin their new lives. It was ongoing work and she wasn't quite sure how long it would be for. That all depended on how long before the Cartel wizened up to this part of her plans. At least it was the one with the smallest degree of danger.

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali rested her datatablet on the table, with the side camera angled toward her target. She could only sit and drink caf for so long before she had to pee. It was simple biology, really, that got her out of her chair and passing the Senator's table. With the woman on Bakura more or less quietly, she lacked a standing guard, which left her vulnerable to attack as well as intelligence raking. On her first pass across the patio, Ali made no contact, or even gave hint that she was aware of the woman's presence. She merely entered the cafe through the side door, used their refresher room, and returned with a fresh mug of caf in her hands. On her way passed the Senator's table, however, Ali's ankle twisted as her heel caught a crack in the pavement, and she tripped and fell, her caf pouring out onto the Senator, datapad and the bag in her lap. Ali winced and cried out loud, pushing herself up and looking the woman in the eyes. She was kind-faced and clearly soft-hearted, though Ali sensed a strength in the woman she couldn't rightly identify. Being a public figure does take a lot out of you I'm guessing.
"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, pulling a kerchief from her pocket and patting down the woman's datapad screen and bag. As her hands fell on the satchel, Ali dropped a tiny bug inside that would allow her to track the woman's position and listen in via audio. As she did, Ali's fingers brushed against a cold, metallic cylinder, and Ali immediately hid her realization by exclaiming sourly. After thoroughly soaking the kerchief, Ali rung it out in frustration and tossed it onto the table. "I am soooo sorry!" She cried out again. "Let me flag down a server for you, please, over here! Please, we've had a spill! Hot caf! We need towels and rags, and well just bring absolutely everything!" Ali cried out desperately, clapping her hands over her cheeks and turning red. "I can't believe I did that, my heel caught and I just went down like a shock blasted mynock!"

[member=Lady Kay]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was so deep in her reading that she didn't even notice [member="Ali Hadrix"] until her drink was all over herself. She gasped in surprise and then just sat there trying to regain her breath while Ali busied herself with trying to clean up the mess.

Once she found her voice however, she lifted her satchel and placed it on the table next to her datapad as she took the offered towels from one of the servers and wiped herself down. "It's okay...There's no need to make a big fuss. It'll dry.." In time. And after she has a shower and does her laundry. Her satchel had gone through thick and thin, so it was quite well worn. Her datapad however had flickered and turned itself off. "And that...will need to be taken apart and cleaned. But don't worry about it. Did you want to get yourself another caf?"

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali covered an open mouth, aghast. "I can't even think about caf until I know that 'pad of yours is in working order!" Ali lifted her eyebrows, looking shocked that the Senator didn't seem more concerned. "An expensive piece like that can't be cheap to fix. Please, let me get it sorted for you." Ali insisted, pressing a credchit into the woman's hand. Another tracker-bug, the credchit would also be able to access the woman's electronic devices wirelessly and download their contents once they were powered on.

[member=Lady Kay]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay tried to hand the chip back. "No no no, it's okay. I'll get it taken care of. I have another one back at my office anyways. This is just a spare. I've got good tech friends that will be able to fix it for free. I'm sure to them it'll be a simple task. So there's really no need to worry about it." Poor [member="Ali Hadrix"] seemed so flustered that Kay just had to try to calm her down. So she tried to change the subject a bit. "How's your ankle? Did you twist it?"

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali bit her lip and pouted momentarily at the Senator's rebuff of her offer. Before she could insist, Kay-Larr asked after her ankle, which Ali dismissed with a casual wave of her hand. "I'll be fine," she assured the woman, reaching down and rubbing the joint before picking up the heel from which her foot had slipped. "Kark," she muttered, flashing the heel for the Senator to see. "The darn thing broke." Indeed the heel had snapped. "Can't trust anything made on Rodia these days," she lamented, taking the second heel off and opting to go barefoot. "Well I would feel remiss if I didn't offer you something in exchange, perhaps some company, miss...?" Ali's tone was a mixture of flirtatious and friendly, a sound combination that typically got her foot in the door with females humanoids. Kay wasn't a Zeltron, so Ali didn't have to worry about the tables being turned on her, but even so she would be cautious. Politicians didn't typically survive without growing a few sets of extra claws...or teeth, which was Ali's preference.

[member=Lady Kay]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was oblivious when it came to casual flirts, especially when it came in her direction. Her mind just wasn't thinking about such things. There was just too much at stake with it and she had more than enough trouble on her plate anyways.

"Some company?...Sure. I don't see why not. I was just people watching anyways. What's your name? I'm Kay." She left her titles out of it. There was no need for her to flaunt herself or her position. Some recognize her from the holonews at times, but she figured for the most part that people didn't pay any attention. Especially way out on Bakura. And there was nothing better than being an unknown person every once in a while. It was partly why she liked coming here. If she could afford to buy a house, then she would buy one here.

"Did you want a refill of your caf?" She slid the modified cred chip on the table towards [member="Ali Hadrix"] .

 

[Ali Hadrix]

"Oh, no need, I shouldn't be drinking too much of the stuff anyhow." Ali smiled, but shook her head, holding up a hand in denial as Kay slid the credchit back across the table. Ali propped her hurt ankle on her knee and rubbed it gently. Attempting to force the chit on Kay would seem suspicious, so Ali opted to stash it somewhere on Kay's person at a later time. She took it gratefully and returned it to her handbag. "My name is Harma," Ali replied, introducing herself. "Harma Wynvy." The alias, if checked, would produce a falsified record about an Alderaanian woman who had once been convicted for a minor drug possession but later turned herself around and launched a transportation business on Bakura. The story was easy enough to verify through several fake banking clan accounts. The drug possession was a flare Ali herself had added; if a target became suspect, Ali would have a secret to confess in order to throw them off the scent that she was a spy. "So, Kay, what is it you do?" Ali asked pleasantly, continuing to rub her sore ankle.

[member=Lady Kay]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was under the assumption that only salesmen and politicians lie, and [member="Ali Hadrix"] didn't appear to be either one of those. So she didn't worry about checking up on her. At least not yet anyways. There was no reason to.

She sipped her tea, glancing at Harma's ankle, before turning her attention back to the woman. "Oh...I work on abolishing slavery in the Galaxy. I'm not silly enough to believe that it will end in my lifetime, but that doesn't mean that the people stuck in it now aren't worth saving or should be overlooked." Even though she worked outside of Republic jurisdiction, she still did her very best to keep it to herself. She didn't want anyone to get hurt or killed because of her mistakes.

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali's eyes lit up at the mention of saving slaves. "Slavery surely is a hot-button issue in the Outer Rim," she replied casually. A touch more sincerity entered her voice as she lowered her volume, "Abolishing slavery is a passion of mine, as well." She smiled at the other woman. "I work with an organization part time called Freedom Solutions," Ali said excitedly. "We gather supplies for donation to recently freed slaves who need help getting their lives established on their homeworlds, or offworld if that's not possible." She folded her hands before her on the table. "So who do you work with?" She asked. "A non-profit or a government organization of some kind? Oh, have you ever worked with Lives of Pride?" Neither of the organizations existed, but by the time Lady Kay had any time to look into them, they would, thanks to the GRIM agents listening in on her conversation.

[member=Lady Kay]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smiled as she had found someone that also worked hard at freeing slaves. It was a rarity, given how so many people profited off of them.

She sipped her tea as [member="Ali Hadrix"] blabbed on about various organizations that Kay didn't even know existed. Yet she had never bothered to search for such groups either. "Oh I haven't worked with either of them. Though I have a friend on Zeltron that helps with the transition. Many of the free slaves go back to their homes, but some prefer to be in Republic worlds where they can get paid well for their work. But most of what I do is in the rescuing itself. I tend to not hire the same people, or the same ships and equipment. No rescue is done in the same way, so that it is unexpected. Sometimes I even get word ahead of time as to what village is going to be raided. So I hire a bunch of mercs and soldiers to ambush the slavers when they arrive. I even have a fake company set up to buy slaves at auctions and then steal the money back with the help of slicers." Hearing herself she had realized how much work and time that she put into it. Yet she was never paid for it. No money came into her hands. She was always the one paying others. It was why she didn't have any homes or apartments, no staff or luxurious clothes. Because of her anti-slavery commitments, she just couldn't afford them. And it wasn't as though she had a husband to help her pay for it at all.

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Zeltron friend. Slicers. Mercenaries. There were bound to be paper trails for all this. Ali hid the surprise that boiled within her as Kay Larr blurted out most of everything Ali was looking for to begin with. Confessing to launching unauthorized operations as part of the Senate, things done in the name of the Republic. Potential money laundering; Ali wasn't a DA and couldn't say for sure. Yet the woman clearly had good intentions, at least thus far. Ali listened to her story intently, as if fascinated, and expressed awe for the woman for her bravery. "Goodness, I wouldn't have thought...no offense!" Ali replied hastily. "That's just...such a burden to take on, and you do it alone? Well, I mean you have your slicer friends I guess, wow. Where did you find such wonderfully like-minded people!?" Ali kept her tone light and excited, as if she revered Kay more than anything else.

[member=Lady Kay]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Ultimatum was excellent in what he does. His control over the holonet enabled her to have every camera capture of her speaking with Sith and hiring of them to be erased. He had the holonet constantly searched, just in case anything new popped up. Ever since her meeting with the Intelligence Minister, she felt as though she needed to cover her tracks. Kay wasn't a traitor. She felt it was beneficial to be able to work with an enemy on a problem that was outside of both of their governments. Yet, most probably wouldn't understand that.

Seeing [member="Ali Hadrix"] 's reaction wasn't uncommon though. Kay was quite used to it. "No offence taken. I haven't always been in politics. That's just been my life for a little while. As for where I find people to help me? I just put the word out and then interview those that show up. You'd be amazed at how many out there are against slavery. But I guess you might already know that, given the organizations that you've worked for."

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali listened carefully as the Senator grew more careful with her choice of words. Even so, the woman provided Ali with a means with which to catch her in the act of her illegal activities. Sting operation, Ali thought. If they put out the call for a job, particularly if they could receive a referral from someone Kay had previously worked with, then they might be able to catch the Senator propositioning GRIM Agents for illegal anti-slavery activities. Ali certainly wasn't a fan of attacking anti-slavers, but she hadn't chosen the job; GRIM officials felt it was unbecoming for Republic Senators to be involved with such illegalities.
"Well I've certainly helped out a few public sector organizations, but what you're talking about sounds..." Ali leaned in and whispered, "Illegal." She put a frown on her face, as if unsure 'illegal' necessarily meant 'wrong.' "But...is that how it gets done? I always thought my donations and my time spent caring for former victims was all I could do..."

[member=Lady Kay]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay frowned a bit. For a moment it was almost as though she was talking to Mantic and Faith again. "Illegal? Not entirely. Slavery is illegal in the Republic. Rescuing them is not." Sure most of her activity was in Hutt space, but some in the Senate knew about it, especially when the bounties started popping up, but she was never told to stop.

She had another sip of her tea. "Looking after and helping out former slaves is important. But where do you think they come from? How do you think they have gained their freedom. It's all because of people like me.....I don't neglect my duties to the Republic. I try to be there for every vote, attend as many meetings in person when I can, and also help the planet that I represent to have enough contracts to keep their economy strong. My anti-slavery activity has sort of taken a back seat for the moment."

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali nodded repeatedly as the Senator spoke, as if she were suddenly understanding a point of view she had not before been exposed to. Unfortunately for Kay, the legality of slavery was not in question, the unsanctioned nature of her actions were. "I suppose that's fair enough," Ali replied amiably before turning serious once more. "If one wanted to...help, as it were...would you be the person to talk to?" She asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

[member=Lady Kay]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded a little before she sipped her tea. "I'm sure that I'm not the only one out there, but yes, I would be one of the people to talk to. However as I said, I've had to take a break from it for a little bit. In a way it's good, for it keeps the slavers on their toes. All is not lost though, as my shell company still does their work to rescue the slaves at auction."

A pity that this young lady didn't come to her months ago. But then again, it may be for the better. [member="Ali Hadrix"] didn't look like she's seen much violence in her life.

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali leaned back in her seat and considered Kay's words a moment. She looked around, at the clear Bakuran skies, at the buildings rising into the air around them and in the distance. The city was neither grand nor particularly dense, but rather had a nice homely feeling to it. After several moments in relatively comfortable silence, Ali looked back toward Kay.

"Well if you're the person to talk to...I'd like to talk." Ali finally replied, her voice firm.