Night On The Town

[Isamaya]

Seated in the immense Enchantre, a symphonic hall dedicated to the greatest maestro that the galaxy had ever seen, Isamaya enjoyed the variety of singers that had been gathered for this celebration of not only exquisite culture that the Empire brought, but also to their leader. Reclined in the cushioned, red velvet seat, the attache' for the empress listened with rapt attention as the melodic and strong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut6lSLggEtI) voice of the entertainer echoed within the hall. She had seen him before and even bought several of his works on holocube, now gracing the intern's small, yet spacious apartment. Blue eyes admired his features as the music played, almost allowing herself to be carried off to some far off, sylvan garden as they enjoyed one another's company in more than one way. Starting to feel a bit flush, she smiled to herself faintly knowing that nearly every woman in this building was probably thinking the same thing.

As the cold war continued with the terrorist organization known as the Alliance, the Adumarian allowed herself to forget about those troubles and leave them outside the main doors to this large building. She had been putting in extra hours in the office keeping the empress up to speed on various other matters dealing with business meetings as well as diplomatic visits by those allied with the Empire. Now it was time to enjoy herself and allow these performers to carry the young, single female away.

[Baastian Cain]

"Pardon me. Excuse me. Sorry."

It had taken Baastian Cain the better part of the singer's first set to slip away from his COMPNOR handlers. When he'd suggested a night out, Lieutenant Heward had been all too eager to oblige - Holos of the Order's favored son enjoying a night of culture and sophistication! That'll go a long way toward capturing the sympathies of the elite. He'd already posed on the front steps of the Enchantre, shared highballs with executives from the Financial Sector, and offered up twelve kinds of brooding stares at the lieutenant's direction once they finally crowded into the elevated box at stage right. He'd been so busy looking attentive and enraptured that he'd barely had a chance to hear any music.

Not that it mattered much to his tin ear. To him, a night out meant a bantha burger and a shockball game. If he was going to be denied that, at least he could buy himself some time away from the camera crew. And so he'd bowed out to head to the lav, and then looped his way back into the nosebleeds looking for an empty seat where he could puzzle through the music in peace.

"Oh, watch your foot - thank you. Sorry."

The broad, powerful frame that made him a juggernaut on the sparring floor wasn't much help trying to sneak through a crowded row of theater seating. At last he found himself standing before an empty seat, right next to a young woman who seemed to be riding the singer's dulcet tones right into hyperspace. Baastian opened his mouth to ask her if this seat was taken, then thought better of it and simply eased himself down. He figured he had fifteen minutes at best before he was spotted. Silver braid and tassels didn't make for good urban camouflage.

The singer finished his latest number with a throbbingly high fermata that made his throat ache in empathy, which lasted a good two measures longer than you thought was possible and which was drowned out before the end by a swell of thunderous applause. Baastian joined in with the dull thud of his black leather gloves.

[Isamaya]

So enchanted with the singer's ability to weave in and out of the amazing notes, she barely noticed her new neighbor in the open seat to her left. Though as her entertainer and future husband finished his first love song to her, she stood and clapped with enthusiasm, glancing momentarily to the suited blonde man to her left. Unsure if she actually recognized him, Isamaya reclaimed her seat with everyone else as another song began, this time a duet (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjHQTqCWioQ) and blue eyes misted as she imagined being able to sing as well as this woman, though knew that was just a fantasy. Left knee over right, the Adumarian found herself again being carried away as a charge of adrenaline rushed through her as their voices echoed with the music. Though she had never heard the woman other than once, Isamaya had to admit the singer was very good, which of course made the Imperial even more jealous.

As they finished, she clapped enthusiastically once more and the lights dimmed slightly for the next number. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5YHhm71yds)

This time, electric blue eyes couldn't help but notice the ostentatious uniform on the large man to her left. Where had she seen him before? Lighting not giving her very much help with details beyond a faint glow from the distant stage, then her attention was grabbed once again to the energetic singer now giving her heart throb a break.

[Baastian Cain]

The music was... nice. Very nice, if he thought about it. He could imagine playing it softly over a nice nerfsteak meal, or in his office to hold his focus on a stack of reports and cadet reviews. But sitting in the dark for three hours, straining to hear the violins one moment, being blasted by an orchestral swell the next? There was no story here, no action to follow, and he didn't even know what language the young man was singing in. He was certain the fault was with him, not with the ten thousand other souls packed in the auditorium. Between field work and public appearances, his schedule didn't leave a lot of time for the fine arts. But he was beginning to feel his appetite for culture fed to bursting.

He spared a glance at the pretty, ginger-haired woman on his right, who was still ensorcelled, her blue eyes sparkling with moisture. Not wanting to intrude on her enjoyment, he scanned the rest of the audience, spotting a few others who seemed to feel like he did - shifting in their seats, dozing off, or hunching over a poorly-hidden handheld vidscreen. And then he looked over at the box he was supposed to be occupying. The two cameramen were lounging with their equipment leaned against the wall, apparently enjoying Baastian's disappearance even more than he was, while Lieutenant Heward sat stiffly with her attache case on her lap in a tightly clenched grip, every once in a while aiming a pointed glance at the box's entrance behind her. Baastian grinned and bit his tongue to keep from laughing.

The orchestra roared again for one last chorus, which the man and the woman sang in clear, ringing octave unison, with a final declarative note that lasted forever until it was snowed under by the swelling tympanis and cymbals. Thunderous applause brought the audience to their feet, and Baastian rose just a few moments late, like a raw recruit who doesn't know the muster signals yet. Then the performers took their bows and the lights came up. Intermission? Probably. Lieutenant Heward stormed out of the box below with her camera crew in tow, which meant Baastian's minutes of freedom were probably numbered.

"So," he said once it felt socially appropriate to speak again, and he turned toward the young woman. "That was... definitely the best performance I've heard all year."

Even Vissica would agree with the truth of that statement, if only on a technicality. What was the singer's name again? He should have grabbed a program.

[Isamaya]

Like everything else that she enjoyed, the finale to the long ovation ended and offered Isamaya a reintroduction back to reality, though as she began to ready herself to leave, the tall officer grabbed her attention. Smiling, "Definitely. If you hadn't heard Martellus or any of the others before then you'll have to buy the holocube on the way out," she stated, having already gotten her own copy when she entered. As everyone began filtering toward the aisle, she waited knowing now exactly who this was having seen him on the holovid more than once, proclaiming glory for the Empire through the trained ranks of the Imperial Knights. "I've gotten all of his music as well as the older ones by Leraydi, the pianist."

Chuckling lightly, she offered her right hand, "Isamaya, sorry."

[Baastian Cain]

Baastian moved toward the vacuum created by the patrons shuffling their way to the aisles, but when he saw Isamaya staying put, he did, too. They wouldn't gain anything by adding to the traffic jam, and he wasn't in a hurry to endure Lieutenant Heward's passive-aggressive reproofs. Besides, it was nice to exchange pleasantries like a normal human being once in a while. He met her hand with his own. The soft leather of his glove almost felt like skin.

"Baastian," he replied with a warm smile. "Pleasure to meet you Isamaya. Sorry for dropping in on you in the middle of the concert. My, uh, other company was getting a little stifling. You sound like a patron of the arts. Do you come here a lot?"

The row around them was beginning to clear. If Heward had the presence of mind to look up in the mezzanine, he wouldn't be hard to spot.

[Isamaya]

"As often as I can when we're on Coruscant," she nodded and reclaimed her hand now that the pleasantries had been accomplished. "It's a nice change actually and it looks like we're going to be onworld for a while, so going to soak up all I can. This show doesn't travel far from the Imperial Centre." Though that was a shame, she felt like this business trip was more of a vacation than it really was. Noticing that the traffic was thinning, she turned and led him out toward the aisle, filtering into the flow toward the nearest exit.

Glancing back toward him as they moved, "You not able to get here that often, I take it." She imagined celebrities would enjoy these types of events, but she could be wrong.

[Baastian Cain]

That - ha. Yes, that was an understatement. He smiled ruefully and decided it was better to just give up his pretenses.

"No. To be honest, I didn't even know who was playing tonight. I just needed to get away for a few hours."

He wasn't sure if Isamaya had identified him yet or not, and he didn't want to be conceited starlet who made presumptions on his own fame. And anyway, it was kind of nice to be anonymous once in a while. Especially with Lieutenant Heward still on the hunt.

They made it out through the double doors and into the crowded foyer with no sign of pursuit. Maybe he could indulge his freedom for a little longer.

"Hey - I remember passing a bar on the way in. Looked like a little Corellian dive. Would you mind joining me for a drink? After I buy the holocube, of course"

[Isamaya]

Entering the press of the equally well dressed crowd, Isamaya grinned and nodded at the invitation. She had nothing else on the schedule for the evening and who would believe who she was out with this evening, back at the office she mused with excitement. "That'd be nice actually." Blue eyes turned toward the circles of friends and acquaintances as they weaved their way through, some noticing Baastian and motioning to him as they passed, totally ignoring the auburn haired attache at his side. No doubt they thought her just another personal assistant, she assumed. But, that was okay.

Eventually entering the elegant establishment, it's large bay windows overlooking the nearby central park alight with luma lamps and passing traffic on the far right. Finding an empty table for two, she claimed the chair on the left and relaxed, taking in the quiet conversation around them and the light music playing from a local musician at the stage in the far corner. "This is nice," she stated, turning her attention to Baastian. "Never been in here before."

[Baastian Cain]

It was nice - actually a fair bit nicer than Baastian was expecting, and he began to worry about what this place would do to his paycheck. He'd dined in some of the most exclusive establishments in Imperial Centre before, but always on COMPNOR's tab. Considering he'd just gone off the grid, he didn't think he could justify putting this bill on his expense account.

The Imperial Knight slid easily into the other chair and tugged on his uniform jacket to straighten its heroic lines, more a reflex at this point than anything else. "Neither have I," he confessed with a smile. "But if it's Corellian, they'll have good brews and a great bantha burger. Sometimes you've just got to go back to the basics, you know?"

A slender Omwatti girl with a head full of bright blue feathers came by to take their orders, then returned with a stout Corellian ale and Isamaya's liquid vice of choice. Baastian sipped at the foamy head of his beer and sighed in ambrosia

"So, Isamaya... that's a name you don't hear every day. Where's home for you?"

[Isamaya]

Taking in their unique waitress for a moment, she ordered a Bespin Port and relaxed as they soon gained their first order, the food coming shortly. Sipping on the wine, she set it down, long manicured fingers toying with the bottom of the flute mindlessly. "Born and raised on Adumar, actually," she began. "Not too long after high school I left there and followed a friend that I had met who was in the Imperial service. Never did tell me which," she grinned, electric blue eyes focused now on the table's centerpiece for a moment, then raised again. "I joined the governmental ranks as a low level runner, then worked my way up through the ranks. Gophered for a senator for a year," she grinned, rolling her eyes. "Now I work for a Moff as her personal attache which has been an experience, to say the least."

Taking another sip of her wine, she moved to set it down as her eyes caught sight of a suited woman and another carrying a holorecording droid, scanning the crowd. "Uh oh," she motioned with her head toward the entryway.

[Baastian Cain]

"Adumar," Baastian said, impressed. "That's a long way from here. Would it be too much of a stereotype if I asked you about your blastsword?"

He followed Isamaya's eyes toward the door and saw the tall, thin blonde and her retinue of COMPNOR cameramen. Seemed he'd underestimated Lieutenant Heward. "Ah. Looks like my chaperone's here." He looked back Isamaya's way and held up the wine list to shield his face, grinning secretively. "Sometimes I swear she's Force sensitive. Clear your mind, or she'll hear us thinking happy thoughts--"

"Sir Cain!"

Slowly he lowered the menu card. He could hear Heward and her entourage picking their way through the dining room. "Well," he said. "Dren."

Lieutenant Heward stormed up to their table, her pale cheeks speckled pink from exertion and indignation. "When you disappeared, I had feared the worst! What happened? You were supposed to make an appearance at the VIP lounge for the patrons of the Enchantre."

Baastian looked up at the lieutenant, the picture of innocent surprise. "Oh, that was after the show? I thought we already did that on the way in."

"That was the red carpet gala, it's not the same thing! You can't very well have a meaningful conversation in view of the public." Her eyes kept darting from Baastian to Isamaya, regarding the latter as if she were an unusual insect on the toe of her Okar designer boot. Meanwhile a camera droid hovered into view over her right shoulder and emitted a flash that set both of them blinking.

Baastian shielded his eyes with a black-gloved hand. "Sorry, I guess I was... distracted."

Heward's eyes settled on Isamaya. "So I see. Well, aren't you going to introduce us, Sir Cain?"

Sir Cain was still blinking away the spots. "Oh... right. Isamaya, this is Lieutenant Bridgett Heward from COMPNOR. Lieutenant, this Isamaya. She's a government attache from Adumar."

Which, along with the fact that she liked the concert, was the sum total of what Baastian knew about her so far. Lieutenant Heward considered the young woman across from Baastian as if deconstructing her at the molecular level. "Indeed. How do you do, Isamaya...?" She offered a hand and drew out the name in the air, clearly expecting a surname to follow, along with a better explanation for her part in Baastian's truancy.

[Isamaya]

As Isamaya listened to the exchange between the two, she began to see the woman as a manager of sorts and having no clue as to the life of a celebrity, his status in life wasn't so appealing anymore. She almost felt sorry for him as the arrogant female then turned her attention to her instead. Extending her hand, "Pleasure," she replied without adding more to what Baastian had already offered. Retrieving her right hand once more, she reclined back into her chair. Two could play that game.

Shaking her head, the lieutenant sighed lightly, then claimed the seat that the cameraman drug from a neighboring table. So, there was to be an interview here, Isamaya mused.

[Baastian Cain]

Lieutenant Heward filled in the seat and offered Isamaya a saccharine smile, like arsenic dropped in cane sugar. The Omwatti waitress hurried back to the table, but Heward dismissed her with a curt backwards wave of her hand.

"So," she said, scooting forward on her seat as if brimming with intrigue, "you must tell me how you met."

Baastian took another sip of his beer while he had the chance. "Well, there's not much to tell. I was... taking a different route back from the fresher, and we bumped into each other at the concert. I sat with her for the last set, and then I asked her to join me for a drink."

"Mmm, no."

Baastian blinked, wondering if she had misunderstood. "Excuse me?"

"No, you see, that won't do at all," the lieutenant insisted. "If this is going to work, there has to be a story behind it. Something to justify disappointing a few dozen wealthy supporters of the New Order. Let's see..." She squinted at Isamaya like a portrait painter considering her subject. "Your eyes met across the crowded lobby during intermission. You recognized Baastian from the holos, but didn't dare think that he had noticed you, until you found yourself standing face-to-face with him. You exchanged pleasantries about the concert, discovered a common interest in the fine arts, and were so entranced by one another's charm and sparkling wit that you simply lost track of the time and ended up..." She cast about at the bar around them, waved a hand in disgust, and said, "...here. You, Isamaya, were startled to find that a figure so much larger than life is still a man of the people. And you, Baastian, were captivated by her... her..."

She trailed off again, finding her well running dry as she stared at Isamaya. "We'll work that out later. After I've had a chance to fully vet your credentials and history. But mark my words, you will be captivating, or you'll learn how to fake it."

[Isamaya]

About to reply, Baastian chimed in as to their meeting though that didn't seem to matter and it was at that point that Isamaya's Adumarian nature began to show in her electric blue eyes, which flashed at the lieutenant. About ready to punch the woman, she refrained knowing there were too many witnesses here at the moment. Had she been at home, some years ago, that wouldn't have mattered. Heward then continued with her fabrication which then made Isamaya wish she hadn't stopped herself.

Glancing to Baastian, pointing to the third wheel, "What's she talking about?" Leaning forward, she glared at their uninvited guest, "What makes you think that I'm some hired consort, or actress?" Her cheeks flush, Isamaya felt her blood boiling. "I work for Moff Renkl, not you."

A sardonic smile returned the angry retort. "As of right now, honey, you work for the hero of the Imperial Knights. I'll take care of any liaising with the Moff." Her eyes glanced to the outfit that Isamaya was wearing, "We're going to have to fix this also."

Balled fists at her sides, Isamaya's eyes revealed the storm that was raging within.

[Baastian Cain]

It didn't take an empath to read the signals Isamaya was sending. And even if she wasn't sending them, this was too much. Baastian fixed Heward with an iron-hard glare.

"Lieutenant. We just came for a drink and to talk like normal people. If you want to tell me every conversation I have is the legal property of COMPNOR, that's one thing, but that doesn't include my conversation partner."

Heward went from withering stare to condescending laughter in the blink of an eye. "Oh, Sir Cain, really, you don't have to be so dramatic. I don't want to commandeer her entire career. It's not as if your own schedule could even accommodate a full-time domestic partner. But I'm sure that..." Her fingers flew over a small datapad in her hand, and she glanced at the results. "Moff Renkl can spare her every now and then for public appearances - galas, concerts, parades, and the occasional candid photo at an offworld resort, just to add some spice."

"Lieutenant," Baastian repeated. "We're not dating. We just met."

"I know that," Heward replied with injured patience. "I also know you haven't had a single romantic attachment since your army career. Frankly it's an enormous gap in your public persona. Having a partner humanizes you, makes you seem desirable and attainable. I had intended to arrange for someone to meet with you, but the two of you clearly have some natural chemistry, and she is very attractive. It would be foolish to waste that."

She turned back toward Isamaya, now all business. "Whether you engage in anything beyond appearances is entirely up to you. You would be compensated, of course, and whatever clothing, accessories, or cosmetics we deem necessary for you to have will be yours to keep."

[Isamaya]

Mouth falling open in disbelief, Isamaya was beginning to think that this woman was totally deaf. Brow furrowed as she listened to the exchange, knowing that the holorecorder hovering over the woman's shoulder was probably catching most of this for the commitment hearing later, the attache sighed as she fell back into the chair once more. Gritting her teeth as her eyes met the lieutenant's once more, the lower ranked assistant knew that the Moff probably was going to accommodate anything that the COMPNOR representative wanted, so she acquiesced reluctantly. She was definitely going to empty that account, she determined.

Her azure gaze drifted back to Baastian, there were definitely worse partners to be coupled with, she mused. "Sure," Isamaya glanced back to Heward. "Why not," she replied, shaking her head lightly. Taking up her glass, she downed a long gulp of her wine then raised it again as their waitress neared. Probably should make the next one stronger.

"Excellent," the determined woman stated, grinning. Her smug nature was definitely going to make Isamaya regret this later, she knew.

[Baastian Cain]

"I'll just need your thumbprint there... splendid!"

After receiving Isamaya's impression, Lieutenant Heward secreted the datapad in her jacket and rose from her seat, sparkling with the satisfaction of a job well done. "We'll be in touch. In the meantime, Sir Cain, you can consider yourself at liberty for the evening. All the better to get acquainted with one another. And do remember - the citizens of the Empire are always watching!"

She smiled broadly at both of them, and Baastian was positive he detected a glint of savage triumph in her gray eyes. The camera droid lingered over the table for a few moments until he gave it an awkward smile and finger-waggling wave. Then it scudded after its mistress.

Baastian sank into his seat with a heavy sigh, eyes unfocused, until they zeroed in on Isamaya. "You don't actually have to do this," he said. "She's doing it to get back at me for walking out on her. I mean, it's not like I'm completely opposed to the idea, there's a reason I asked you for a drink, but I don't want you to feel... you know..."

His poise failed him in the face of Heward's machinations. He wasn't sure if it was possible to salvage any normalcy from the evening now. He may have been set at liberty, but he still had mission parameters. Get acquainted. Well then.

"So. You have any family?"

[Isamaya]

Still numb from being coerced into this arrangement, Isamaya watched the woman leave, knowing this wasn't over yet regardless of who she worked for. Blue eyes soon fell back to her unintentional date as he apologized for the ambush. Shaking her head, the auburn haired Adumarian waved off the gesture, though it was appreciated. "Don't worry about it, not your fault." Though her acceptance no doubt sounded hollow, she did accept the new drink as the waitress returned. "We'd like our orders now," she stated, now that their interruption was gone.

"Oh, okay. Be right back."

Taking another sip, Isamaya leaned in on crossed arms. "My father was killed in action some years back, but I still have family on Adumar. Mom, brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Most serve the military in one capacity or another. My mom's a doctor." Gazing to her glass, manicured, tanned fingers mindlessly touring the rim. "Not huge fans of the Empire, but they've accepted what I'm doing." She turned her attention back to him. "You?"

[Baastian Cain]

He shook his head, wistful, but not downcast. "I was raised by my grandmother just outside the Southern Underground. She was a tough old bird - if she joined the war she could have shouted the whole Rebel army back into submission."

Baastian took the head off his Corellian ale and nodded in approval. He didn't know which brew it was, but it was thick and malty, real liquid bread. He might not even need a bantha burger.

"My grandfather and father were both in the army, and I ended up following in their footsteps, up until they discovered I was Force-sensitive. It's not the kind of service I had in mind, but then, we're all just following where duty leads us. So... if you don't mind my asking, what led you here?"

A fair question. Adumar was insular to the point of xenophobia, and generally more concerned with its own feudal disputes than anything beyond its own atmosphere. If not for the local proclivity for missile manufacturing - even more critical to the war effort now that interstellar Starkiller missiles defined galactic policy - the Empire might not pay any attention to it at all.

[Isamaya]

Definitely a fair question, she mused as the din of conversation continued on around them, some taking note of the couple now left alone by the obviously overbearing woman accompanied by the holorecorder operator. "Met someone that turned my eyes skyward and I never looked back. She had been in the service of the Empire and even though they had been unfriendly to my home city, she was more than a mentor and I owe her a lot. I helped her escape and eventually ended up serving the very government that I had been raised to despise," she shrugged, grinning. "Fate's funny that way, huh?"

Taking another sip of her wine, she set the glass down once more. "I take it you're not the only Force sensitive in your family," she stated as more of an observation. "Thought that ran in the family."

[Baastian Cain]

Baastian gave a shrug. "I'm the first one I know of. But maybe it skipped a few generations. The Jedi weren't even allowed to have families in the Old Republic, but they still found new recruits."

He glanced across the table at the basket of dinner rolls the Omwatti waitress had deposited, and opened a gloved hand. A steaming roll floated gently from the basket and hovered into his waiting grasp.

"There's still a lot we don't understand about the Force. But we're working on that. I hope we can help people see that it's just a tool, like any other. It doesn't make me better than you, any more than your skills make you better than me."

With a twist of his wrist, a butter packet floated out of the basket and hovered toward the roll. But halfway there it ruptured, hemorrhaging soft butter-replacement spread like the innards of a crushed beetle, and dropped to the table with a soft splat. Baastian laughed and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.

"Serves me right. Big things are easier than small." He set about cleaning up his mess with his napkin. "I admire your loyalty, by the way. To your mentor. It takes a lot of courage to leave familiar surroundings behind and step into a bigger galaxy."

[Isamaya]

Watching as Baastian showed off his abilities in the Force, she backed as the butter exploded and chuckled lightly in surprise. "Hope you don't try that too often with anything that's more expensive," she commented sarcastically. Taking up her napkin, she began helping him clean up the mess and then folded it as she then set it off to the side.

Blue eyes then focused back on the larger Force user and she sobered a bit at his praise. "She taught me a lot, so I owe her a lot. I certainly wouldn't be sitting here today without her tutelage, regardless of what my family may claim."

Soon, their waitress arrived with their plates and the Adumarian began digging in, leaving protocol to the wind as her stomach had been growling in the past few minutes. It had been a long evening already, and dinner had been missed.

"Enjoy," the waitress bid as she smiled and moved on.

Glancing up to his plate, she noted the unique spices within his choice. "That smells great, hope it tastes as good as it looks."

[Baastian Cain]

A bantha burger, medium rare, with nuna bacon and traladon cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, and just a bit of mayo - this was heaven on a brioche bun. Baastian mmmmed in appreciation after the first juicy bite, then dabbed his lips with a napkin. "Now that is a burger," he said. "How's your..." He leaned over to see her plate.

"So, if we're dating now... I guess we'd better learn each other's likes and dislikes. So, you like classical music. I like a bantha burger. What else do you do for fun, assuming you get any free time from the Moff?"

[Isamaya]

Grinning as he observed her soup and salad, more than enough for the active Imperial, she then nearly choked on the fact that they had been paired professionally, regardless of how it felt like an ambush and coercion. Sighing as she set the spoon on the edge of the white bowl. "Well," she thought for a long moment and wondered just how much she would be revealing on their 'first date'. "I love jazz as well as various other types of music, just depends on the singer and arrangement and my mood at the time, really. I've gotten to see quite a few really good artists performing when the Moff wants to entertain politicians or just get away, herself. Nice change of pace actually."

Pondering more information beyond that as she took another sip of her wine, then set the glass down. "I exercise every morning, read when I can. Typically documentaries or nonfiction that help with my job, keeping up on certain people and groups that the Moff needs more information on or is about to meet for the first time." Blue eyes rose to him and she smiled, "I know, usually Intel is supposed to do that with their daily briefs, but it's nice to have avenues into things that they may leave out for one reason or another." Taking another spoonful of soup, she swallowed and glanced back to him once more. "I'm sure you do more than work out and do interviews," she chuckled.