Private The New Murmurs of Vulpter

[Phalsi Drynchen]

SHADOWS ABOUND
Objective: Find De Way
Location: Vulpter
Equipment: Under-Armor, Clothes-The look, The Mask, Scope- on belt, Wrist Device, Slicing/Gaming Tool, The Encoil, Zerek Stowaway Node, ICE/iBorg Clarion Personal Translator
Weapons: Four Zenji Needles, Hard Light Weapon, Pair of Shock Whips
Ship: Unmarked Shadowfire
Tags: Brandyn Sal-Soren​

She sighed into the helmet, wondering exactly what the Sister's of the Mistryl's had asked her to look into this time. Vulpter wasn't exactly the planet she figured would have any issues. Or warrant even a junior member of the Shadow Guard to look into.

But perhaps that was the reason.

A junior member on a blue milk run of a job looking into-. She scrunched up her face, not remembering all of the details quite as well as the thought she had. Something she would remedy as she let the vessel coast closer to her destination while she opened the datapad for a gander.

Settling into her seat a bit better, she scrolled through the details.

Limited Known Data
~A group has begun speaking in public areas about their displeasure with those wielding the Force. Citing issues of using cognitive manipulation and elevated social positions to justify their actions.~

Even she had to raise a brow at the mention of that possibility. It wasn't as though the issue had been entirely removed from her own thoughts. Who could trust people that seemed entirely above the normal populace?

She continued scrolling, letting the thought color her perception of the data presented to place herself in the shoes of those she would be investigating.

~Unknown goal at this time. Limited intelligence gathered suggests a strong anti-force movement within those the ideation is popular amongst. Strong suggestions of Jedi being swayed to the Darkside. Similar to our own concerns previously.~

She couldn't help the frown that formed as she read that bit. While it was true that some inevitably fell, it wasn't entirely common like donning socks or changing ones underwear. It usually involved far more drastic actions beforehand.

Or severe mental manipulation.

~Unknown leadership at this time. Unknown agenda. Requires investigation of hierarchy and associated members. If suspected of being associated; Follow and tag for additional surveillance by incoming reconnaissance team.~

The small frown that followed the last words made her wonder if she was forward recon or just a scout for this operation. The end of the file was reached, and she stashed the thing inside her encrypted systems for the time being.

The starport finally reached out to her, confirming her trajectory and making a note of her unique vessel aloud.

"High performance starship. Asteroid field racing. Only been on the smaller circuits, but looking to expand. Well. When I can anyway. Bit of trouble since all the heathens have moved in and the space magicians put a lockdown around those parts." She remarked. The contemplative silence clued her in to what instinct had warned her about.

Potential members were screened before they even made landfall.

She'd made sure her record was scrubbed of her involvement with the Jedi. Even letting a few charges of public disruption remain after some of her encounters on Denon and a few sprinkled through the Outer Rim for the sake of something showing up when searched.

She hadn't ever made a name for herself within the Silver Jedi, and largely been an under the radar padawan. The Silver Shadows had been equally sure about scrubbing her record, but official groups had a way of leaving little inklings of information.

Paired with her own efforts, and a few of her tech inclined Mistryl sisters, she'd made sure her record was more readily received by those not wanting to have an agent within their ranks.

Clearing up her reason for visiting, citing the need to peruse the internal sectors and perhaps look at upgrades, she made landfall on a private landing pad.

A detail that hadn't escaped her attention.

Donning the Mask, she let it cover her face but left her hair uncovered. The grip it had around the nape of her neck finally a comfortable thing as she let her dark hair remain in the tight bun. The two decorated ends of the needles protruding from the top while the others remained hidden in her sleeves.

She milled for a moment to fill time, locking down the starship proper and securing her effects in the small craft. Not that it was entirely difficult since the cover had an efficient magnetic locking mechanism.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Status: Undercover
Location: Vulpter
Tag: Phalsi Drynchen


"Eklin," came a voice from behind Brandyn.

The Padawan turned to face the lanky, green-skinned man who had called his false name.

"You ready?" Said the tall man.

"Yeah, Fengus," Brandyn said, sounding annoyed, "I'm ready, have been for ages."

"Ah, quit your whining boy," came the curt response from Fengus.

"I ain't whining," Brandyn said, whining.

The irony was not lost on Fengus, who simply turned and walked out of the room. As he passed by the workbench beside the door, he subtly palmed a datacard, and stuck it in his pocket. Brandyn was already half way across the room, and close to the door himself before he had decided just to keep his knowledge of Fengus' theft to himself.

"Another junk run?" Brandyn asked, making small talk more than anything.

"Nah," came the husky voice of the taller, more seasons New Way operative, "we are being tapped as drivers. Something big's going down. They need to options should their first choice for exit go south. You are option three...by the way." Fengus gave Brandyn a grumpy glance.

"Take the old blue one," Fengus said, pointing over at the old rusty speeder in the back corner.

"You serious?" Brandyn said, mocking, "you really don't think it will get to the point that they need me...do you?"

"Why waste air time on a decent speeder?"

Brandyn frowned, but despite his displeasure was already headed over to do a quick check over of the vehicle. "Following you, Fengus?"

"Following me. I will give you your station en route."

​

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

SHADOWS ABOUND
Objective: Find De Way
Location: Vulpter
Equipment: Under-Armor, Clothes-The look, The Mask, Scope- on belt, Wrist Device, Slicing/Gaming Tool, The Encoil, Zerek Stowaway Node, ICE/iBorg Clarion Personal Translator
Weapons: Four Zenji Needles, Hard Light Weapon, Pair of Shock Whips
Ship: Unmarked Shadowfire
Tags: Brandyn Sal-Soren​

"Over here little bud." An older feminine voice called to her. She still had mixed feelings about the chrome Implanted along her spine given the slight surprise she felt at the sudden appearance. Perhaps if she hadn't gone with the possibly shortsighted upgrade, she might have developed a better sense of her surroundings with the Force.

Giving a slow turn to the sound, an older woman beckoned her over towards the doorway leading inside the building.

Silvered hair atop a face wearing the lines of time of the woman that waited for Phalsi. Even with the laugh lines and crows feet across her features, there was still a sharpness about her that warned of skills that hadn't been laid to rest just yet.

One of the Mistryl's had come to meet her.

Not a big surprise when she was traveling abroad anymore. There was at least one per planet, and they made an annoying habit of coming to find or greet her personally to see the newest addition to their numbers.

"Aunty. You shouldn't be out on these landing pads. Idiots fly around here, like me." She let the voice changer alter her pitch slightly, drawing a deeper tone out of her. The woman laughed before beckoning her over once more.

"That's why I'm waiting over here. Come now. Don't keep an old woman waiting. My bones aren't what they used to be." The small nod from Phalsi had the woman twining her hands together, grabbing her duffel before joining the elder Mistryl as they walked along.

"What have you been up to of late? You haven't been in touch really since you've been away." The woman chided her, the loose garb she wore revealing nothing of what was beneath. Her sun kissed features offered a little insight to what the woman did daily, but her hands lacked the scars Phalsi and a few others in their organization wore with shame across their knuckles.

"Outer Rim has been spotty with their transceivers of late. Those Maw poodoos are running around making the racing circuits a blight to organize. Last asteroid race we had ended up being called when a few of theirs were spotted nearby." Phalsi explained, sharing the cover story she'd cooked up on the way in to corroborate.

The older woman sighed, giving her the usual disappointed sounds a family member would.

"Your sisters back home would be disappointed you haven't been to visit yet, stopping in here first I mean. Well, we'll keep that between us then and your lack of a ring. Mentioning races, have you checked if there will be any around here?" The elder woman glanced sideways for a split second, checking Phalsi's pace.

"I hadn't yet. Figured I'd come see you first. You know of one going on?" Phalsi was thankful for the Mask she wore, the continued glance sideways a telling sign as she wondered what the woman had.

"Mm. I might. But we'll stop for a light lunch before I tell you that. Wouldn't want you running off just yet. I know a little place downtown. Come." The older woman pulled her along, setting their path as they traveled to the interior of the check in and customs areas.

Getting her parking pass sorted, she glanced at the rather official looking alteration to her chain code.

Her burner identity was set, being given before they had arrived at the desk in a subtle exchange when Phalsi was rummaging through her bag. Holding the bag open for her in an awkward side step of the walkway as she rummaged for her other documents.

They traveled further inside, coming to the main exchange where rides could be found across the city and to other cities for a nominal fee, turning to the side and avoiding that for the time being.

Walking a little ways further, the older woman apologized for making her carry the bag along a while longer.

"I planned an excellent dinner for us. I just got the jitters expecting you and couldn't bring myself to eat." Ysild explained with a smile as they found a seat overlooking a lower exchange of traffic filled lanes below.

"You know better than letting yourself go for too long. Haven't got the shakes yet, have you?" Phalsi's turn to chide the woman in a familiar way. Aunt Ysild and Niece Hild enjoying a meal if anyone was watching the pair. Ysild waved the concern away as she dropped her voice to a hushed tone as the menu was lifted for selecting their meals.

Switching to the language only the daughter's of Emberlene knew within their particular circle.

~"Been movements within the city. Nothing of concern yet, but there's a meeting place."~ Ysild spoke in the Mistryl battle language before pointing to something on the menu for her to try excitedly.

~"I'll give you the coordinates when we reach safety. For now, we play the parts."~ Ysild informed her as Phalsi nodded along before asking about something else on the menu in common.

Playing along was something Phalsi could do with ease. Her black hair done up in its bun was a non-issue for the moment as the waiter came round, taking their drinks first before inquiring about an appetizer.

Ysild filled in for an appetizer, while Phalsi pulled the Mask free from her face. She hadn't wanted to shed the thing just yet, but eating behind it was a pain beyond measure. Green contacts colored her usually blue eyes, a beauty mark dotting the spot just beside her mouth as she thanked the server and waited.

Waiting was typically the most difficult part of these tasks.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Status: Undercover
Location: Vulpter, Charbi Financial District
Tag: Phalsi Drynchen


Waiting was the worst part. You would think it was being party to criminal activity, or at least privy to it, but no it was the waiting. Waiting for a moment in which he could inject an understandable error into the mix that would see the mission fail to meet its parameters, or better yet see some of the culprits arrested. Brandyn doubted that he would have much of a chance now. His cover identities reputation for 'timely incompetence' had started to manifest distrust in the group he had been with for the last few weeks. It was to the point that Brandyn was wondering if Elkin Canstar was going to hit the pile of discarded identities he had left behind him.

It was frustrating. Rebuilding an identity and regaining the trust of a different cell was a long drawn out process. It meant very little escape to Hapes, or to Coruscant for more training. He always had to be in the group, earning his keep and his reputation.

'Elkin' had sat in the covered speeder for the better part of an hour. He had the vehicle tucked away in a back alley, but he had a clear line of sigh down a wide boulevard opposite him. The comms had been quite for a while since the go signal had been given. They must have switched to a different channel. Brandyn did not like that. It might indicate some measure of distrust in him.

"Skrags," came a voice over the comms, Brandyn jumped at the harshness of the tone, "we got some pesky Vulsec guards poking around. I am going to have to move on...Canstar. You are primary...should be any minute now. Standby."

"Standing by," Brandyn said back over the comms, trying to hide his still shaken nerves from his tone of voice.

A few minutes was an overestimation. A massive one. Within mere seconds of Brandyn going on standby, shadows suddenly appeared over his shoulder and the doors to the speeder hissed open. Brandyn turned to see two masked men, blasters drawn, jumping into the back seat. One of them held a silver case, it had the insignia of the Enarc Trade Guild upon it. Brandyn did not let his gaze linger on it.

"Berrant sent us," one of the men yelled, "Berrant sent us."

The code phrase had been given, and Brandyn obliged by putting the speeder into gear and heading towards the boulevard.

"Get your heads down...and stay down. Windows are tinted but you can still pick up silhouettes if you are looking for them," he reminded the men who seemed to be one step ahead of him as they had already ducked down.

He drove on to the wide, busy boulevard, but kept a leisurely speed so as to not draw attention.

​

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

SHADOWS ABOUND
Objective: Find De Way
Location: Vulpter
Equipment: Under-Armor, Clothes-The look, The Mask, Scope- on belt, Wrist Device, Slicing/Gaming Tool, The Encoil, Zerek Stowaway Node, ICE/iBorg Clarion Personal Translator
Weapons: Four Zenji Needles, Hard Light Weapon, Pair of Shock Whips
Ship: Unmarked Shadowfire
Tags: Brandyn Sal-Soren​

Being a street kid had some advantages she supposed. The small exchanges between people that seemed overly familiar. The sounds of footsteps with purpose and leisurely being such a large difference that it could tell you the intent of who was approaching.

The urge to watch her surroundings with all the people walking about and doing their own thing was irritating her.

Her attention shifted to the lanes beside them to keep from letting her eyes glance across all those walking by. She was impressed by the older mystril ladies that could simply tune everything out.

"Planet seems pretty sleepy anymore." Phalsi's tone was bland, glancing across the traffic passing by.

"Better that way. Let's us old folk live longer." Ysild filled the air with talk as she let Phalsi ply her eyes elsewhere.

Phalsi was keeping her gaze brief between the vehicles across the lanes, eyes catching the vehicle that had appeared from seemingly no where.

It seemed to linger against the flow of traffic, her eyes drifting around to spot the relative flow as her interest settled squarely on the vehicle for a while longer.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Status: Undercover
Location: Vulpter, Charbi Financial District
Tag: Phalsi Drynchen


His Force senses flared. They were being watched, from somewhere. He did not move his gaze, but kept his focus on being as natural as possible. His mind's eye wandered about, seeking the one that was watching, attempting to ferret out their motivations. His mind settled one someone hard to pin. Their attention on the vehicle he drove was, not one of conviction but also not of passing disinterest either. On the spectrum of 'observer' this one fell just to the wrong side of neutral for Brandyn's liking.

"We are being watched."

"Cark it. Get a move on then kid. If they've spotted us. There is no point taking the Taungsday cruise anymore."

The masked man was not entirely right. Perhaps they could still get out of this if the just maintained their composure.

"I don't think its VulpSec."

"A third party?" Came the voice of the other man, "I knew that you had been tagged Varkon."

"Shut it. Keep my name out your carkin' mouth."

Brandyn breathed in deeply, calming himself. Slowly, he depressed the accelerator and started to casually pass other vehicles, moving just a touch faster away from the observer.

​