Obscured: Cure for the Itch [Complete]

[Ysanne Isard]

Ysanne Isard was in a somewhat irritated mood. Having only recently dispensed with the services of her long-time assistant, she now found that the deed had been less of a benefit that she had thought. Even though she had always managed to keep a closer eye on the ever-fawning Jekaan Oludh, he seemed to have found his way around all of her restrictions until most of her work had rested on his own shoulders. Clever, he had certainly been – that was sure now. But she would be able to do without him – of that she was certain. It would simply take a little time.

She looked down on the datapad in front of her, and at the almost finished document she had been busy with these last few minutes. That, too, had been something she had ordered Jekaan to do before his unfortunate demise, yet it seemed he had not thought it important enough to carry out at once. She had instructed him to arrange for a meeting with several influential people, including Rama Sha and Jedah Lynch. The meeting with Lynch had come and gone, yet still she had not received any reply from any of the others. It stood to good reason that her late assistant had never sent off any of these communications she had ordered, apart from the one to Lynch.

A sudden noise made her look up from the pad – in time to see Eluna Thals enter her office. With a smile that seemed oddly out of place and almost certainly false, her new “assistant” – for certainly Eluna saw herself as such, since Jekaan’s mysterious disappearance – greeted her with a cheerful good morning and then stood next to her to await any instructions.

Was it just her imagination, or was that damned woman trying to read what she had written on the datapad? She turned the pad over, and issued a few simple instructions for Eluna to carry out – nothing too important, of course.

After her new assistant had left, Isard allowed herself a tight smile. To Eluna - and Tondry, whom Eluna most certainly was working for – her position here had to seem weak and rather ineffective. With Jekaan gone, it had to look to them as if all of her power had been cut off; with no one besides his own people for her to rely on – all on her own, far away from her own power-base and support in the Headquarters. How fortunate it must have seemed to them to find such a perfect opportunity to spy on her, after Jekaan’s mysterious disappearance.

Eluna, whom she had entrusted with the job of spying after Tondry, certainly seemed more interested in looking over her own shoulder than that of her 2nd-in-Command. And if she was in any way suspicious whether Isard wasn’t simply allowing her to access the information she wanted her to know – which was of course what Isard was doing – she could do nothing but take it anyway and hope to find something Isard had overlooked.

Too bad for her that that would not happen.

If Tondry thought he might be able to outsmart her with using her own agents against her, he was far from the truth. No – she hadn’t come to Coruscant without planning carefully; if he expected her to be ignorant of the danger of positioning herself in the “enemy’s” nest without having her own way to sting back, he would deserve what was coming to him.

She finished the message on the datapad, extracted the data-chip and instered it into one of the machines on the wall behind her. Using an encryption key she had recently obtained as one used by Rama Sha, she ran the message through the machine, then sent it over a secure channel she had managed to find in Jekaan’s files.

The next step was taken.

[Data Transfer]

<font face=Arial size=1 color=lightgreen>
//40.11.1.13.46.02#MC#TSE-HQ#RS//
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//RAMA SHA - IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT I AM IN POSESSION OF INFORMATION YOU NEED CONCERNING ONE OF INTEL'S MEMBERS. I AM MOST CONFIDENT THAT YOU WILL WISH TO MEET WITH ME TO DISCUSS THE TERMS OF HANDING OVER THIS INFORMATION. NO FURTHER COMMUNICATION IS ADVISABLE. YOUR ARRIVAL WILL BE WITHIN THE NEXT 48 HOURS, AT THE CO-ORDINATES GIVEN BELOW - DIR. ISARD//
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//ATT: *crc.ipc-q4.s12.l73.-w164.n41//
//40.11.1.13.47.57#CRC.1.IPC#IIHQ#YI//
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[Rama Sha]

OOC: This takes place after "A Tale of Two Ramas"


:: Rama looked the screen over, Scanning the words as they came threw over the subspace communications relay. The thing had been bounced off so many places to avoid pinpointing the orgin or it's destination that it was streaming at a snails pace. Rama sat in the small office area of the Phoenix, awaiting the cordinates of this "Meeting" ::


Excellent......


:: Rama leaned back. Bringing his hand up into a diamond like form in front of his face ::


<Font color=red> After we get what we want.......will we kill her? </font>


"We'll see what she says. She may be more useful alive for the time being. But if all she can provide is what we need......then we'll take our information......then we'll take her life."


:: Rama grinned at the thought. As he punched in the numbers into the nav computer. The Phoenixs steering Jets fired realigning the ship and then it jumped into Hyperspace. ::

[Rama Sha]

:: the hiss and moans of the ship filled the air around the landing pad. Just mins before Rama had been cleared to land on this platform. He found it odd.....this was the first time he had been back to courscant since his days as a Jedi..........well the first in this body. It would take some time to use to the years worth of Memories he had taken from weak clone. He longed for the day he could do away with him completely. He had ruined all the grand plans.......he had done the exact opposite of very thing he was made to do. Rama had lost his throne........both on Ord Mantell and at the Sith Empire. Pffft.......A Council, what an idiotic and very Jedi like idea. Seems he was mistaken in decideing to keep those memories in place.....the clone was flawed, all the more reason to destroy it. But Prehaps........Prehaps this deal, would give himself some joy and a new foot hold for conquest. Rama stepped off the boarding ramp and got his filled his lungs with Courscant air for the first time in almost 4 years. ::

"Courscant................I hate this place. "

[Rama Sha]

"No one to meet me........how typical."


:: not much time had passed and Rama was already annoyed. Had he not come all this way for such needed infromation he would have left this place long ago. ::


" I do hope they arrive soon......my mood is not improveing. "

<font color=red> You waste your time half breed. This does nothing other then waste our time. </font>


"When I want your opinon I'll ask for it. "

[Ysanne Isard]

The small blue icon on the bottom-left of her viewscreen had been blinking for the past 10 minutes, but she studiously ignored it and kept on telling Eluna her weekly work-schedule.

The blinking icon indicated that she had a guest - most likely the one she had been waiting for; the arrival of any of these "guests" was something she did not want to miss overseeing herself, but Eluna's presence prevented that.

"And what about General Oludh's... errr... sudden disappearance, Madam Director? Shouldn't we investigate this case?"

Eluna's suggestion almost made her lose her calm. Not that she hadn't expected something like this, but it still reminded her of something rather unpleasant she had no wish to think about. So it was that she stared at the screen for a few more seconds before answering to her assistant's query, going over the answer she had prepared for this matter.

It required some finesse. But Ysanne had never lacked that.

"Ah... that will not be necessary, Eluna. I can assure you that there is no case to investigate."

She deliberately made her voice sound hurried, as if she merely covered up the truth - with someone like Eluna who did not know her well enough to see beyond the facade, she could rely on this being read the way she wanted it to.

"I do not recall on you making any progress with the project I gave you. I think you should concentrate your investigative skills onto that instead of chasing after shadows - I expect a report from you by the end of this week. I trust I have made myself clear?"

Eluna was at that moment leaning rather unobtrusively over the table, her eyes scanning the screen in front of Isard with all unhidden curiosity as she seemed to have noticed the icon that was not standard for the usual interface. Her reply came as a low murmur only.

"Yes, Madam Director."

Isard deactivated the screen, but Eluna wasn't moving.

"Anything else, Miss Thals?"

The cold sharp tone of her voice made the woman stand up, as if she had realised only now what she was supposed to do.

"No, Madam Director."

"Then you may leave. I assume you have something better to do than look over my shoulder all day long."

The rebuke certainly wasn't lost on Eluna, and she finally grabbed her stack of datacards and left the office.


Not a minute later Isard was out of her chair and on her way to the secret hangar only she had access to, to "welcome" her guest.

[Rama Sha]

I grow tired of this......


:: Rama touched the comm on the his wrist to activate it. ::


R6.....Prepare a subspace message with this ships current cordinaties and a read out of the defenses you scaned and find the nearist New Rebulic outpost. Set a 10 count down......if i have not told you to abort within that time Tansmit the info.



:: Rama deactivates his Comm ::


I do hope this Isard shows up...........for her sake.

[Ysanne Isard]

As she passed the small control room for the hangar Rama would be waiting in, she looked into it and inquired about her guest's status from the single occupant of the room.

"He has been in contact with someone on his ship; however, it is most likely the ship's computer or an external droid, as there are no human life-signs we can read."

She found this only of moderate interest - much more important was what had been said. And the impatient look on her face was enough for the officer to tell her.

"We were unable to monitor the comm channel used, but I don't think that's necessary; if you would like to hear what he said, we recorded every sound in the hangar since his arrival."

With grim satisfaction, she nodded. And for the next few minutes listened to the voice of her guest, as the 20 or more minutes that he had spent alone had been cut down to the mere essentials.

It was almost to be classified as a smile - the expression that was blossoming on her face as she listened, to the horror of the officer; to him, nothing could be worse than a smiling Isard. Grim, stern and angry or cold - those were the things he had learn to deal with, yet smiles were something that totally threw him out of balance. He could feel moisture gathering on the skin of his palms, and a clammy sense of unease all over his body.

Isard was not in the least disturbed by the threat her guest seemed to think he could make. It amused her, rather, and to some extent, only served to add to her opinion of Rama Sha - he was no less what she had expected.

Talking to himself was a thing that perplexed her, however, yet she filed that fact in her mind under "excentricism" after not too long consideration.

Having satisfied her primary need for knowledge, she stepped beyond the control room into the turbolift and descended into the hangar proper.

She did not think herself fool enough to try to enter unobserved, or at least without having her presence detected shortly upon arrival. So it was that she firmly walked forward, to come to a stop at a safe distance from the Sith, fully conscious that every step she took would be under close scrutiny.

"I bid you welcome, Rama Sha."

[Rama]

Did you enjoy yourself in the control room?


:: Rama looked over that woman. ::


Yes....I knew you were here, and your thoughts. Ever make me wait like that again and all your underlings won't have to overthrow you............you'll be dead!


:: Rama places his hand together, the sound of the leather gloves rubbing to together was the only sound. ::


Issai.......deactivate program.


:: From inside the ship a small click and whirl could be heard then a powering down sound. ::


Well, lets have a look at the great Isard i've heard so much about.

:: Rama begins a slow but steady circle of her. ::


I hear you have something of intrest for me........some information?

[Ysanne Isard]

She hid the frown that wanted to appear on her face. It was not that she had not known of the skills Sith seemed to have with monitoring conversations; failure to apply this knowledge to this situation, therefore, was extremely short-sighted. It meant that she had been careless, and that was an unpardonable mistake in her books. For now, however, she regarded it as a warning to be even more careful than she had been ever since the Sith’s arrival.

During her father’s leadership, as a member of Intel and the daughter of Armand Isard, no amount of effort had been held back to let her benefit from all the special training an agent would usually have to go through. As part of this had come a rigorous schooling in the sort of mental techniques that would allow an Intel agent to keep his mind’s secrets to himself; a skill particularly of use in an encounter with one such as the Sith. She herself had had plenty of opportunities to use this skill in the days when she had vied for Palpatine’s favour against Vader himself; the Lord of the Sith would not have stopped short of taking over her mind if he had only gotten an inkling of the knowledge she was hiding from him.

In her dealings with Sith, therefore, she used this technique to keep them from knowing any more than she was ready to let them find out. It was a simple thing to shut away those thoughts that had nothing, or only marginally something, to do with Rama Sha; to put them into a compartment of her mind that would be too impenetrable for a Sith to access. Partitioning one’s mind was a skill that came close to what doctors often proclaimed as schizophrenia, hence it was a skill best kept secret - that all Intel agents had to learn to be proficient in such a thing so dangerously close to mental illness, was not something to announce in public.

If Rama now thought he could find out anymore than she was prepared to let him, he was making a big mistake. And if he thought his threats would impress or intimidate her, it was an even bigger mistake. For a moment she considered telling him that his broadcasts would never have reached the outside of this building due to its special shielding, but she preferred to keep this to herself for the moment - just in case.

Instead, she got straight to the point of answering his last question.

"Information - yes. But not here - I would like to talk to you, and I think a more private location than this hangar would be more apropriate. Follow me."

Without looking behind her to see if he followed, she led the way back to the turbo-lift, but instead of stepping into it, she pressed an almost invisible button right next to it - which started another mechanism that opened up the view to another room. Sliding the door aside with her hand, she entered and gestured for him to follow.

"Step inside, and we shall talk."

[Rama]

:: Rama steps thru the doorway ::


"Ah......your blocking me. What could you have to hide from me in that head of yours? "


:: Rama grined at this. She had know he'd try to probe her thoughts during all these talks, but hadn't been able to hide everything from him. This was a comforting thought, she didn't know exactly how powerful he was, and this was a most comofrting thought. Allthought her apparent lack of concern with his threat also meant she was argonat enough to think that her forces here could actually stop him from killing her. This again gave him comfort. She must have thought her imperial trained guards would be enough to stop him, but she didn't realize that once the Sith had detrimed to do something....it would be done. "Her head would be on the floor before the first guard reached them.",he thought" but first the information. Then we'll decide what to do with her" ::

[Ysanne Isard]

Only the slightest hint of a smile disfigured Isard's lips at his last comment. No, indeed the Sith was not disappointing her.

"How good of you to notice. Yes, I am indeed blocking my mind from whatever mind probe your ilk usually likes to perform to get your own feeling of security confirmed. Call it a kind of extra layer of security our late Emperor liked to provide us with."

The last remark she had not been able to resist adding. If mentioning her late employer held any respect, or even just fascination to this new generation of Sith, it was something she liked to investigate.

If she had intended to watch for a reaction, however, this was prevented by the loud click of the door closing behind them. Instantly, the room's illumination dropped to almost total darkness, and the center of the room suddenly flared bright with silvery light: a shape began to take form from its shimmering outline, and converged into the clear lines that showed one of Isard's own agents.

She turned back to Rama after watching the image appear, and pointed at it,

"I trust you are familiar with this man?"

[Rama]

"Yes, im aware that The old Sith Master used you lower life forms to get what he wanted. He was a man of great vision, why do something yourself when you can get other fools to do it for you."



:: The lights dropped and the the hologram of a man appeared. Rama studied it, and then the question came. ::


"I trust you are familiar with this man?"


Yes........well enough.

[Ysanne Isard]

The holographic image of Pierce Tondry, Intel's vice-director and first-in-command of the Coruscant operations, revolved on the small unit. It was otherwise motionless yet should the man in as life-like a fashion as could be wished.

Ysanne looked upon it rather proudly - the technology that reproduced the holo was of the highest and newest standard, and was only available to a chosen few at this moment. She wasn't foolish enough to think she could impress the Sith with it - no, her smugness came from the fact that she was still considered one of "the few".

Her eyes wandered back to her guest. He had not spoken since, but the look on his face showed that her plan was going to go well.

"What is it that you know of this man?"

[Rama]

" I heard a rumor he knows where i live........and I value my privacy. "

:: Rama leaned back in his chair ::


"but some like this fellow so I need solid proof of that.....I need to know that he knows for sure, before proper action can be taken to silence him."


:: He looked over at the woman. ::


"You won't miss him will you?"

[Ysanne Isard]

Amusement shadowed her face like a dark cloud. It seemed she did not even have to do anything herself to make this Sith do what she had intended - he was jumping to the right conclusions all by himself.

"What makes you think I would simply sell him out to you - after all, no matter what it might mean to you, he is one of my men. My responsibility. Do you think I would just hand him over like that?"

She paused for a moment, then added, slyly,

"If, however, I were offered something in return..."

She looked at him, hoping that the point she was trying to make would not be lost on him.

[Rama]

Offered your something?


He wants you dead.......and wants your spot. I would think your would be glad to get rid of him. Killed by a Sith, no ties back to you............


But let's say I was to offer you something? What would you require?

[Ysanne Isard]

A silvery sharp sound of laughter broke the silence that had entered the room after his last words. her eyes semed to sparkle - whether it was from real mirth or something colder and much more deadly, only Isard herself could know.

"If I were to call you a fool for believing all that is said about the state of affairs between my second-in-command and me, I would be no less of a fool to do so in the presence of a Sith. If the rumours are true or not, however, I am not at liberty to disclose to you - I'll leave that to your own interpretation."

Her smile grew a degree in cold condescension. She truly hoped that it would not be beyond his capability after all, to come to the right interpretation.

"Say you were to supply me with something that lies within your possibility to obtain. Something like.... oh, let's just say, for example, a full shipment of carbonite. I am sure I could find ways to endorse you."

[Rama]

That's do able......


:: Rama tapped his fingers on the desk a few times. ::


But what do you want it for? And why can't you aquire it on your own.


:: Rama knew this wasn't going to be used for any typical use.....or why ask for such a easy thing to come by on the open market from him. He wanted to see if she would reveal what she intended to do with it. ::

[Ysanne Isard]

Looking at him for a moment that seemed to stretch into the infinite, she decided that it had been enough talking around the subject. It seemed she could trust the Sith to a certain degree, no matter if he thought otherwise; with what she knew of him, there was not much he could do against her if he decided to betray her trust.

With a kind of subtle slowness, she sat down on one of the only pair of chairs in the room, and gestured towards the other. Not waiting for him to comply, she went straight to the subject.

"Let's not mince words any further: I do not ask you for anything because I have nothing better to do than employ your ...services. I simply wish to save us both some time and energy that we might have wasted otherwise. For you and I, so it has come to my attention, share a good few of the same enemies - it would be a foolish thing not to pool both our resources and see that our enemies get what they deserve."

She watched him for a short moment, eager to see any kind of reaction to this, then continued,

"There are matters that will come to pass in the future which will necessitate a change in the structure of affairs. I have already taken the appropriate steps to ensure that these changes will come to pass smoothly - however, to do this, I act solely on my own responsibility. To bring some of these changes to pass, I will need to pool my own resources with those of other entities, one of which is you. I can offer you a kind of open partnership in this venture to change the structure of the galaxy, since our goals would most likely co-incide. But it is your decision."

That said, she sat back and waited.

[Rama]

Well im glad you decided to stop "Minceing" words. Your Cryptic speech patterns were really begining to bore me.




:: Rama leaned forwards and put his shoulders on the table interlocking his hands in front of this face. ::



I am not going to be one of your Resource pools.............I will be your associte. What this means is I will help you.....but like wise you will help me. Don't let your arogant imperial attitude let you forget that.



But yes..........we do have many of the same eneimies, and It would benfit both parties..........for now at least.


You'll have your carbonite....

[Ysanne Isard]

From somewhere around her chair she suddenly pulled out a datapad - at least it looked that way since she had not appeared to be carrying such an item before. The pad she set down in the center of the table between them, and then slowly pushed it with her index finger a few inches forward towards him. Her eyes followed the movement, then switched to watching the face of her new accomplice.

"Associate - partner... it seems the same thing in this case. We shall both reap the benefits of our actions - for a while - helping each other in whichever way necessary."

The datapad's display screen suddenly came to life. It seemed to be remotely linked to another, and proceeded to scan the Sith's eyes. Isard made a minute gesture towards him to stop him from recoiling away from it.

"This datapad holds some very valuable information. I would not like that to get into the wrong hands - the pad has an integrated retina scanner in it that will necessitate a confirmation of your identity every time you access it - and just to be a little safer, it holds a sensory package that will make it shut down whenever someone unauthorized approaches. I might not be able to keep you from talking to others about what you find here, but I can stop anyone from trying to find out without your or my permission."

The scan was evidently complete, for the thin beam shut down. instead, the datapad lit up once more and file after file started opening up on the screen.

"Aside from the payment for the carbonite - I trust the information will prove to suffice for whatever you intend - you will find some of my intended targets in these files. Only some - not all... for the moment, I prefer to keep some matters to myself. I assume you would wish to do the same."

With a swift movement, Isard detached her rank cylinder from her uniform, and unscrewed the top half. From the hollow inside that was definitely not standard Imperial issue, she took a tiny round object, and that also tossed on the table in front of him.

"These are the co-ordinates and instructions for the shipment - I think it would be in your interest to deliver it in person. You might just get to see something worth your while."

She watched as the Sith Master inserted the chip into the pad, and then took a second to read through the file. His eyebrows rose in surprise.

'No wonder - I should think even if Cloak were absent, there should be enough remaining on Vjun for him to make a clean sweep through the place.... and get rid of some unnecessary accomplices for me.'

[Rama]

"And what might I see Isard? Your luckly you got me to come here.......im not use to risking my life by reveiling myself to others. So it would have to be something very GOOD for me to risk my life a second time. "

[Ysanne Isard]

She allowed herself a premature smile full of self-satisfied glee, thinking about the fulfillment of her plans. Her voice did not hide that feeling either.

"Oh, but your life shall not be at risk. Not at all - for you will merely be the silent witness of the total obliteration of that group of people you and I both despise. And for just another small favour you could do me, I would even consider handing over one or two of those carbonite reliefs to you. Let's say... how would you like Jeseth Cloak hanging from above your mantelpiece in solid carbonite?"

[Rama]

That does sound nice........but I'd rather dump that self absorbed bastard into the acid pits of Vjun. But could I not have Jeseth brought to me? I have many loyal agents that could do the job. Unless YOU want me there for something.


:: Rama grinned. He knew this one was a tricky one....and that this might be a doublecross......IMPS were known for that. ::

[Ysanne Isard]

She realised from the way he had formulated his question that he was still suspicious - maybe even more so than before. It would not be an easy task to make him believe in what she wanted.

"No, of course you could have Jeseth brought to you - carbonite-encased or not. That would be your own choice."

Leaning forward towards the Sith, to give her words a little added meaning and more of a conspiratory mannerism, she continued,

"It is rather that you have guessed correctly, and I do want you there for something. I shall be frank with you, since we are now partners in this venture - I plan to retire from this position soon. If and when I do that, all plans regarding this and other matters will officially be abandoned - however, they will continue being carried out by myself and those selected few I call my associates. And as such, my own safety might not be guaranteed any longer. Especially in a mission as dangerous as the venture with some of the members of the Black Hand - oh, I do not think we shall count ourselves as lucky as to get all of them in one strike - I require someone with your skill and power to keep everything under control."

Smiling unpleasantly, she added,

"That is the other favour I had spoken of - that you agree to be my bodyguard and quite possibly the wild card to the success of this plan. Will you agree?"

[Rama]

"The Black Hand are hardly a threat to me..............but if you feel they may be a threat to you.....You wouldn't be as stupid as to put yourself in the same room as someone you intended to kill. Let alone as near to you as I'll have to be to guard you."


:: Rama knew he was being used in a way.......but this would get him into the inner workings of the Imperials. He was useing her. It was a Mutual thing, and in the end he was sure he'd come out on top, besides this would fit into his plans perfectly. ::


"I will do it, but don't double cross me Isard. I have friends who wouldn't be happy if I ended up dead either."

[Ysanne Isard]

The statement didn't need a verbal reply - she simply nodded to show her agreement. If he was foolish enough not to expect her to have some fail-safes in place in case he would try to double-cross her, it would be his own undoing.

Isard, to indicate that she thought this meeting successfully concluded, got up from her seat and slowly walked back to the door. She didn't look back over her shoulder to see if her guest was following suit - she simply assumed that he would.

At the door, she turned. There was something she had better add.

"In the future, any correspondence between us will be exchanged by means of a personal courier. I will introduce her to you upon our meeting in the Vjun system - I trust everything up to that point is clear with both of us?"

[Rama]

"But of Course."

:: Rama gave a slight grin and small bow, and then was gone. By the quick rustle of wind past Isard, she knew he gone out the door.......Just to fast for her to see. ::

[Ysanne Isard]

Isard allowed herself another self-satisfied smile, then activated her comm line and issued a quick command that would let the Sith leave again from the hangar.

The meeting had gone much to her liking; it seemed this Sith was quite easy to deal with, for one of his kind. Then again, she would see what the future would bring. For now, there were other plans to complete...

With a confident air, she started on the way back to her office, thinking all the while how close she was getting to the end.

Or rather, the end of the beginning.



<center>To be continued in Obscured: Priceless or Headless?</center>