Chapter 8: Heart of the Ascendancy
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11 Elona, 25 ABY - Csaplar, Csilla, Unknown Regions
((It's a trivial task to get out of the water undetected, there are plenty of shady areas to emerge.))
Kirkland 03:12, 3 July 2010 (EDT)
Akea emerged from the water, almost a little disappointed to be on land. The water slid off his fine scales, leaving him dry almost instantly. He looked left, right, and then up, noting the lower-class nature of the neighborhood they emerged in. This was slightly different than the environment he anticipated an entrance into, but in an advantageous way. Sliding forward quietly along the rock and sparse, mossy grass that grew by the river bank, he beckoned for Allanar and Renora to follow. Both of them had at least marginal stealth training in their history for different reasons, and emerged quietly, keeping low. The trio had gathered behind a rocky outcropping near the bank, peering at the residential area before them.
Akea spoke to them softly, getting right to business.
"We have virtually free reign to move about at the moment. You two should find a spot suitable for sneaking deeper into the city, but don't proceed yet. I'm going to enter that area - I expect that it won't be long before someone notices me. I plan to introduce myself and ask for help. We shall see how this bodes. If it seems like this may be leading somewhere productive, I'll give the two of you the go ahead via comlink. I'm assuming that Renora should have some idea of where to start looking. Renora, if you have any contacts within the CEDF who you are certain you can trust, this might not be a bad time to call them up. If the situation doesn't appear to productive or favorable, I'll signal as such - if it's not already apparent - and we'll plan to meet up at the base of that waterfall if the situation permits."
The two humanoids were a bit blindsided by the forwardness of the Dur Sabon's plan, but nodded as the serpent slithered out from behind the rock. Akea knew that they had little information about the political situation in Csaplar, which somewhat limited their ability to execute a plan hinging on any of the subtleties present thereof. Akea made his way to a pier, which led into a street. He nonchalantly passed a few surprised citizens, moving quickly enough to avoid interaction but not so fast as to appear aggressive, on his way to firmer ground. Comfortably on a city street, he scanned the scenario for a citizen who did not appear to be taken aback by his presence. Unfortunately, there weren't a terribly large number of them out, and none of them seemed unsurprised, although none had attacked him either. Although some started to back away, Akea called to one in as friendly a manner as a Dur Sabon could manage.
"<Salutations>. I am a foreign diplomat on business to the city, and I am in need of some assistance."
The Chiss male stopped his retreat, though he did not seem entirely comfortable before Akea. Nevertheless, he maintained his composure. Akea continued, assuming intuitively from the man's fixed gaze that he understood Basic.
"I understand this is not a conventional route of entry. I'm afraid my vessel was fired upon on the way in. As you might imagine, aquatic environments are somewhat amenable to my species - I am a Dur Sabon. Fortunately, although my ship was too damaged to proceed safely, I was able to swim the rest of the way."
The Chiss, skeptical as he was, could not help but notice the hulking serpent standing before him seemed sincere enough. He looked up to Akea, keeping his wits about him and making due with Basic.
"I understand. Are you harmed?"
Akea shook his head negatively, saying, "Not seriously. I am largely unscathed, but the attack on my ship leaves me somewhat concerned. If you would oblige me, sir, my requests are twofold. Firstly, is the governmental district of Csaplar safe to enter? I do not mean to imply that strife is expected, but I am not aware the immediate political nuances at present, especially given the attack on my vessel. Secondly, if said district is safe, might you escort me there or inform me of a safe means of doing so?"
Akea met the Chiss's gaze. His tone was submissive and certainly not hostile, although his gaze was as steeled as ever - the Dur Sabon's visage made it clear that treachery was unacceptable.
Dan 03:02, 4 July 2010 (EDT)
The facial expression of the Chiss indicated that he was struggling to understand some of the more complex words that Akea was losing, and during the silence that followed Akea was afraid the man failed to understand. He responded, "Government district?" Akea nodded to confirm his understanding. He pointed to the street corner a few blocks down. "You know transport?" A further pause, as Akea expected more information. The man did continue. "How do you say... shuttle?"
"I can get a shuttle to the governmental district? Is it safe?"
The Chiss smiled, satisfied that Akea could understand him speak. "Yes yes, do you have <money>... how do you say... credit?"
Akea came to a quick realization that the galactic standard credit was probably not accepted here. "Are Republic Credits accepted here?" Akea asked, already knowing the answer.
The man laughed, "No no, not here, not on transport."
Akea replied, "Then that leaves me in a bit of a predicament."
Kirkland 02:55, 5 July 2010 (EDT)
Akea was faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to ask for money. At the very least, it did sound like he could get to the government district without causing too much of a fuss. Still, the man hadn't answered one of his key questions, so Akea tried again, using a more blunt approach.
"Do you know if Imperials are here?"
The man thought for a moment, placing a hand to his chin before replying, processing the question. He shook his head negatively.
"No, they are not."
Akea nodded. He'd partly asked the question to buy himself some time to make his decision, deciding that he had to proceed - even at the cost of some dignity. Ideally, somewhere in Csaplar housed a currency exchange center, and credits wouldn't be totally worthless to this man.
"I have only credits, and no money to ride the shuttle. Could we trade?" To assist the man in understanding, Akea gestured to his right bracer, which clearly housed one of his credit sticks.
Dan 03:22, 5 July 2010 (EDT)
The Chiss initially shook his head, but changed his tune when Akea began to pull out an a large amount of credits, perhaps a larger amount than he intended to reveal. The man replied, "OK OK." He pulled out a coin purse and produced two small coins. "Twenty," he said. Akea hesitated for a moment, clearly realizing the man was attempting to rip him off, and debating for a moment if he wanted to bother negotiating. "Do you have more?" he asked, figuring he could use a little more than one fare. The man turned the coin purse upside down, showing that it was empty. "Two for two," he said, holding out two credits and pretending he was well aware of the black market exchange rate. The man quickly accepted, leaving Akea to wonder if he was still getting ripped off, yet satisfied that he was able to reduce the price by a factor of 10. The main was polite throughout the transaction and even walked Akea to the transport's pick up location, where two older Chiss women were also waiting. He bowed slightly and bid the Dur Sabon good will as he departed.
He spoke quietly into his comlink to Allanar, "I'm taking a transport to the city center. I asked a citizen if there was an Imperial presence in the city and he was unaware of any. Proceed with our plan."
A thirty foot repulsorlift shuttle approached the stop and opened its doors. It was jam packed with Chiss commoners, much to Akea's dismay. After the two women boarded the shuttle, he did as well. Many passengers stared as he entered, and many shifted away so they would not have to touch him, even if it meant squeezing other passengers uncomfortably. The ride to the city center took about thirty minutes, with several stops, and remained equally uncomfortable for all aboard throughout the journey.
The correct stop was obvious to Akea when many other disembarked the shuttle. He did as well, arriving at a large transport terminal in the city center. Several beautiful skyscrapers surrounded the terminal and the colorful uniforms the Chiss wore confirmed to Akea that he was at the right place. Only a few blocks in the distance was the House Palace, the building that housed the Chiss Parliament. Its architecture stood out among the rest as a place of importance, and Akea figured that would be a good starting point for his inquiry. As he moved toward the palace, he noticed he was receiving less stares than he did in the outskirts of the city. Although he still stuck out in the homogeneous crowd, it was clear that the people of this area were more accustomed to seeing life-forms outside their own. It was a more sophisticated, affluent crowd to be sure.
Kirkland 04:56, 5 July 2010 (EDT)
Allanar waited somewhat impatiently for the signal from Akea, not so much anxious to get going but about the potential state of the society Akea was walking into. In the mean time he removed the water suit that had allowed their sub-zero swim, though it still left him a bit chilled. He did his best to pack the suit into the bag that he had brought with him, changing into the most common clothes he could manage so he appeared a typical human rather than a Jedi. Once complete, Allanar surveyed their surroundings, discussing with Renora where they would head first until Akea gave them the go ahead.
Their first order of business would be to find a safe house they could operate out of for the duration of the mission, luckily this district seemed a fairly good choice to begin that. They would need money, but Renora was familiar enough with the culture here to know how to obtain it. Allanar let Renora lead the way through the city, attempting to go mostly unnoticed but also not to appear too out of place when he was inevitably seen by the citizens of Csaplar. Once they got the money they needed and furthermore a place to stay they could begin to formulate the first steps of their plan.
--FyreFly 12:35, 5 July 2010 (EDT)
(luck roll)
Renora changed out of the wetsuit and stood beside Allanar on the sidewalk, taking a moment to take in the sights and sounds of Csaplar. She informed Allanar that, as luck would have it, they were on the opposite side of the city as the home of her family. They both agreed it was best to settle in this part of town for the time being. Renora made a quick stop at a nearby bank, emerging with two small sacks of coins. It had been a while since Allanar had been on a planet that doesn't take the galactic credit, let alone a planet operating with money purely in coin denominations. She handed one of the pouches to him, and they proceeded to secure lodging.
While they were walking, Renora mentioned to Allanar that both of her parents were bureaucrats in House Chaf, and that she was debating whether or not it was a good idea to contact them. Due to the top secret nature of her undercover assignment, she was hesitant to let anyone know she had returned, even her parents. Though she deemed them trustworthy, if word got out within House Chaf that she was on Csilla, they would be after her for sure. By now, she assumed she would be listed as missing in action by Chiss intelligence.
They spent the next hour getting situated and taking a moment to rest after such an exhausting swim. Renora used some of this time to browse the local newsnets, trying to find any information regarding the star destroyer in orbit overhead.
(computer use roll)
Sitting on one of the beds with the datapad on her lap, she shifted it in Allanar's direction, showing him the screen. A futile action, as the characters on the screen made no sense to him. "Says here the Empire is in town for a three day summit on 'regional economic and security issues'. Sounds harmless," she said sarcastically.
"Where did you find that?" Allanar asked, visibly concerned that she might have go onto intelligence networks.
"This is a public newsnet. Don't worry. Though I could probably get the real scoop from the intelligence networks, I'm not sure it's worth it yet to try..." he voice trailed off, as she weighed that option.
((We're now out-of-sync time-wise between Akea and Allanar, so if there is any communication between the two via comlink, I'll let you know when it syncs up.))
Kirkland 02:03, 6 July 2010 (EDT)
Akea entered the governmental building nearest to him, approaching the security desk after taking stock of the lobby's inhabitants. Though he got a few awkward eyes from security officers, he was not visibly armed and moved slowly. Upon reaching the desk, Akea looked down to the security officer sitting behind it. Although the security officer was initially a bit suspicious of the bizarre serpent's motives, he was pleasantly surprised to find Akea had taken the time to memorize a bit of Cheunh.
"<Salutations. Do you speak Basic?>"
The officer replied, listening a bit more intently, "I do."
Akea nodded, continuing, "I am a foreign diplomat on business to Csaplar. The Imperial ships orbiting the planet caused some confusion upon my entry, and I hope to straighten things out with a government official. Would it be possible to speak with someone in foreign relations?"
Dan 23:21, 6 July 2010 (EDT)
The security officer behind the counter thought for a moment. This wasn't the type of request he got on a day-to-day basis, to be sure. "I see. Have you contacted anyone within the houses regarding this? Is someone expecting you?" His tone was polite and cordial.
Akea explained, "No, after arriving I had no available method of contact."
"I see," the guard repeated. "Which House does your business pertain to? I can have a representative of that house get you in touch with the right people." He produced a datapad from a shelf under his desk. "Also, I will need you to fill out this visitor permit form..." his voice trailed for a moment, before asking, "I am sorry, I did not catch your name?"
((With intelligence 4 Akea is aware of the structure of this Chiss government on a broad level. He understands the basic structure of the Ruling Families (of which there are currently 6: Csapla, Nuruodo, Inrokini, Sabosen, Chaf, and Mitth). He knows the bureaucracy is incredibly complex, and that multiple houses could very well engage in foreign relations activities. He knows that House Nuruodo has traditionally been the house that handles military and foreign policy (and that this was the house of Thrawn's origin). He knows that Renora and the sith warrior they captured are members of House Chaf.))
Kirkland 02:21, 7 July 2010 (EDT)