Empire's Lost Children

[(Alex) Jacen]

Jacen narrowed his eyes as his fighter sped towards the planet of Couprii. The sign of agression was pointless...even if anyone was able to see him from this difference, the vision-enhancing visor he wore would have hidden his eyes. Still, he did it anyway.

Dressed in his usual outfit of Storm Commando body armour, and flying an X-Wing, he felt pretty dangerous. He glanced out at the port S-Foil of his fighter. It was still painted in a fairly standard, and boring grey. The squadron colours were black, but that wasn't enough. He'd have to get it re-painted into black and red when he got back to base.

He'd gotten so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice the patrol ship closing in on him. The Y-Wing was a slow, lumbering craft, but at this range, with his shields down, it could easily blast him into oblivion. Or, worse, it could hit him with an ion blast. Then he'd be captured. He didn't usually doubt his Astro droid's abilities, but even the droid had admitted that his false ID wouldn't hold up to closer inspection.

"Unidentified X-Wing, power down your engines, and await landing clearence." The voice of the Y-Wing pilot was gruff and angry; the voice of an old, seasoned pilot.

Jacen quickly obliged, although regretfully. He could tell the pilot would be annoying. He'd have loved to blast the Y-Wing to kingdom come. He probably could have. But he had a job to do. "Maybe on the way out," he whispered to himself, making a mental note of the fighter's registration code.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" The pilots attitude was course and agressive, but Jacen wasn't surprised. He'd flown through two checkpoints unstopped, and he wasn't exactly displaying standard New Republic colours. He could almost sense the itching in the other pilot's finger as it hovered over the trigger.

Jacen took a deep breath, and adopted the irritatingly calm voice of the character that Kay-4 had created for him. "My name is Lieutenant Atven Delso. I am an operative in a Special Intelligence Unit. As for why I'm here..." he performed a very convincing sigh. "I'm afraid that is classified." He smiled smuggly, knowing what effect it would have on his voice. "If you check with landing control, I think you will find I'm expected?"

Jacen could hear the pilot grumbling. He'd obviously been hoping for a pirate that he could arrest...instead, he got an Intelligence Agent. Not the same thing, really. "Very well, Lieutenant Delso. Proceed at your leisure. There is a landing site near the main diplomatic complex. You are requested to land there...if its not too much of an inconvenience."

It didn't take a genius to detect the active hostility of the pilot. Like many others that Jacen had met, this pilot obviously didn't like Intelligence people all that much. Fortunately, Jacen had grown used to it. "Thank you kindly. It was a pleasure. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon." He punched off his comm unit, and brought his fighter back on course towards the planet.

* * *

As the ground crashed into the landing skids of his fighter, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Step one out of the way," he muttered to himself. "I'm in." He popped the canopy, and turned to his R2 unit. "Ok Kay-4," he called. "Lets go find out how to kill this guy."

[Navaria Tarkin]

Ambassador Klaan had greeted Navaria before her foot even set upon Couprii soil. "I thank you for coming as quickly as you did Knight Tarkin. It pleases us that not only did the Order listen to our plea, they sent a member of the Council to travel here to be advised of the situation plaguing us."

As with any being of political power, Klaan was quick with the gratitude and pleasantries, hoping to make his situation be more favorable to Navaria by flattering her. She took a long hard look at the human. Klaan was in his mid sixties, his hair white except in a few areas that were peppered black. He had a kind face and his brown eyes showed wisdom instead of ambition that she had grown accustomed too. They were genuine and tired from the situation his world was going through.

For months, pirates have been seizing exported cargo as it would leave the Couprii system. All pilots and passengers were forced into escape pods and returned back home with a warning. Any cargo ships leaving the planet would result in the same ending. Couprii tried smugglers and hiding supplies on personal vessels, but somehow the pirates knew of their plans. That indicated a mole was inside their government and the planet became desperate, calling upon the Jedi Order to aid them.

Bowing, she removed the hood that was obscuring her face, "We had to be sure of how extensive these attacks are. We even had word from nearby systems that similar raids have started." The pair quickly proceeded to walk out of the docking bay, surrounded by guards. Couprii City was a metropolis, much like Coruscant, but just on a much smaller scale. "We think with the frequency of raids against your vessels, and how amazingly fast they get away, there must be some sort of base nearby. Could be stationary, or a ship to move their operations around. It is unclear at this time as to what."

The entourage rounded a corner. Civilians moved out of the way in respect, awe and fear as the spied the Ambassador with a Jedi Knight. Navaria could hear them whispering their concerns as to what this could possibly indicate, but the majority of them voiced their thanks and gave their luck in taking down whoever was responsible. The Capitol building was coming into view. It was hard to miss being the tallest building in the skyline. "First priority is to find out who is leaking information. We have to assume they know everything," she paused to accentuate her point, "Including my presence here before I arrived. They might try something drastic to keep their operation going."

The Ambassador blanched, "What are you saying?"

The Knight stopped and faced Klaan, "I'm saying that you should step up security. Anything could happen."

[(Alex) Jacen]

Jacen jogged across to where Klaan's secretary had told him that the Ambassador would be. But as he drew closer, he spotted the fact that the Ambassador was not alone. His heart raced. The cloak, the outfit, the tingle inside him..."She's a Jedi," he breathed. He slowed his pace, and tried to hide the fear within him, becoming the sort of person he'd been as a Storm Commando, many years ago. "Ambassador Klaan?" he called.

Klaan turned, to see someone in Storm Commando armour advancing towards him. His first instinct was to panic...but Jacen held his hands up to show that he meant no harm. "Who are you?" Klaan managed to ask.

Jacen smiled. "Atven Delso. Lieutenant. New Republic Intelligence." He held out a hand to Klaan. "I'm from a Special Intelligence Unit...we've been investigating piracy in this region. I wondered if you could answer a few questions for me."

Jacen could see the fear rolling off the Ambassador. His cowering ceased, and he looked considerably more comfortable. Almost pompus, in fact...New Republic Intelligence were taking an interest in him. He took Jacen's hand in a firm grip, but couldn't equal Jacen's contribution. "Welcome to Couprii, Lieutenant Delso. It is a pleasure to have you among us." He beamed, high on his own sense of self-importance. "This is a Jedi that has been dispatched to assist us," he said, turning to Navaria. "Knight Tarkin...Lieutenant Delso."

Jacen was glad of the visor he wore...it disguised the surprise in his eyes. In an effort to cover it up, he cocked his head to one side. "Tarkin?" he asked, trying to convert his surprise into passing interest. It half worked. "Not exactly a common name, is it?"

[Navaria Tarkin]

The security were about ready to fan the street in order to block traffic so Klaan and Navaria could cross it when everyone stopped dead in their tracks. A hand came to rest on her sabre discretely as the guards circled around the Trooper heading their way until he was identified. Apparently NR Intelligence had sent someone as well. If that was true, of course Navaria would not be privy to such information. There was no outward indication that this man was lying, but still ... something was nagging at Navaria about this individual. The Ambassador was too trusting, which sort of made the Jedi roll her eyes inwardly considering what she just said.

"No," she bowed in greetings, replying curtly and noticed the change in his voice that was ever so subtle. He was surprised of her presence here, but it was because of her name. "Not common at all. Can I see your orders? This is a private meeting that you came in on." If everything was on the up and up, then and only then, would she allow this individual to come along.

[(Alex) Jacen]

Jacen smiled, and handed a datapad to the Jedi. "Not very private," he said almost laughingly, and pointed upwards to one of the nearby windows. There was what sounded like a distant profanity, and a security officer vanished from sight. "You were being observed from afar." He peered across the street, and waved to too more guards, who glumly jogged away, their cover blown. "It would seem that your Chief of Security doesn't like being kept out of the loop on security matters, Ambassador."

"It would seem..." Klaan replied, still staring up at the window where the first guard had been. "How did you see them?"

Jacen tapped a few controls on his visor, and it switched from heat-sensitive to "normal" mode. "A wonderful device, this visor of mine. I salvaged the componants out of a Storm Commando helmet. It has various visual enhancements but..." he sighed. "Its about the only good thing that I got from the Empire." He stared at the ground, his true feelings, and hatred for all things Imperial not needing to be distorted to fit his character.

He smiled again, before noticing the Jedi's apparent readiness for battle. "Is there something wrong," he asked with a frown, "Or did I just startle you?"

[Navaria Tarkin]

Navaria never once faltered and answered crisply, "Private in the sense that you weren't expected."

She looked over the orders with a critical eye. Everything seemed to be official and Navaria handed back the data-pad to Delso. "I guess you're with us." The anger coming from the Intelligence Operative could not be ignored. Things were becoming clearer to the Knight. His hatred of the Empire was being rolled onto her. He did well to hide it physically and she could feel his determination to not let this anger cause him to fail in his mission.

"Ask yourself this, Agent Delso," she began, taking the hand off the hilt of her weapon. "When someone you don't know heads your way out of the blue during an important mission, are you not prepared for anything?" A knowing smile came and Navaria answered before he could speak, "No, of course not. It was merely a precaution."

[(Alex) Jacen]

Jacen flicked his wrist, and seemingly from nowhere, a Vibroblade appeared. He smiled a little. "No, not quite everything. But most things." He threw the knife-like weapon, and it lodged itself in the wall some 20 meters away. "One of the first things we got trained to do, Miss Tarkin, was to know that the only person you can truely trust is yourself."

He slipped off his headset, and fixed Navaria with a calm, unfaltering gaze. "There is a saying where I come from," he said slowly, his eyes never breaking their connection with Navaria's. "I've been in the line of fire far too many times to not have a contingency plan. Precautions work up to a point, but you can't predict anything. You have to be ready for the unexpected. I know that..." The comlink in his pocket beeped. "Excuse me for a moment," he said with a bow, then stepped away from them.

The screen on his customised comlink translated the pops and whistles of his astromech's almost incomprehensible language. He had sent his droid to try and access the Coupriian mainframe, to "Test Security". It wasn't surprising that Kay-4 had made it into the system. "Send us a message, would you, Kay?"

Jacen turned back to his companions. "My appologies...my droid has just completed a preliminary checks on your computer security. I'm afraid there are some problems."

"Oh?" Klaan asked with a puzzled expression. Jacen pointed to a nearby display that had, until a few moments before, been cycling through the local news headlines. Now, however, it flashed a single message: Hello Ambassador. "Oh," Klaan said again. "A message from your Droid, I presume?"

Jacen nodded. "He is currently connected up to the computer via my hotel room. If he can access news reels all the way out here..." Jacen glanced at his datapad, "...and find out that you're meant to be taking your wife out to dinner tonight, to celebrate a wedding anniversary..." his eyes twinkled. "Lets just say that things could be tightened up a bit." He shrugged. "We have reason to believe that an attempt will be made on your life. If they can access your daily timetables, they can plan their tactics well in advance, and plan an inescapable trap." Jacen turned his expression to one that was very grave. The seriousness his tone took on had a remarkable effect on the Ambassador. "I don't particularly want you to die, Ambassador. Would you like me to see if I can improve computer security a little?"

The Ambassador nodded weakliy. "Please...do."

[Navaria Tarkin]

She almost, almost, rolled her eyes at the Agent's bravado. It was completely unnecessary and startled most of the citizens in the area. A look of displeasure from that brazen act was directed towards Delso. Navaria didn't say anything, the message she was projecting was clearly written upon her face.

That was when the Agent received contact with his Droid. Apparently there was a leak in the system, which didn't shock Navaria. She had come to the same conclusion before Delso's seemingly timely arrival. And how quickly he was able to deduce such information that there were such giant gaps inside the system, not to mention finding out about the Ambassador's plans for later on in the evening. He was too protective of Klaan's life.

So either he was just too good at his job or a stupid assassin. Even the Force was clouded by this enigma and Navaria would have to bide her time and watch this Agent Delso carefully.

"And how do you suggest we strengthening the security of their systems when they have obviously been compromised? The holes you found are so gaping ... " She glanced at Klaan, "Far as I can tell, the damage has been done. Our priority is to have you safe and on guard at all times Ambassador. I believe that Delso is correct in assuming that your life is in danger. "

[(Alex) Jacen]

Jacen had his arms crossed, with a small black box held in his hands. He clicked it on, and sounds escaped. "Your target is Ambassador Klaan. If you ever want to get paid, he had better get dead." Jacen clicked stop.

He slid the recording device into his belt as he spoke. "That was intercepted by one of our agents." He shrugged. "The man speaking is named Visu Baan. He's from Coruscant...a very dangerous man. We've been monitoring his operations for a while. But unfortunately, he's very slippery..." He sighed. "He's one of the big crime bosses operating in this area. He's the one who wants you dead, Ambassador."

Slipping his headset back on, he looked up and down the street, his fingers tapping the controls that would adjust the magnification. "I have some things to work on," he said in a very vague manner. "Good day, Ambassador." He bowed, first to the Ambassador, and then to the Jedi. As he straightened up, he tried to give her his cutest smile. He doubted it would work, and he knew that she was off-limits, but she looked pretty amazing, even in her robes. When someone looked that good, it was always worth a try. "It is always an honour to meet one of the nobler protectors of the New Republic." he let his smile drop, and returned to his usual, professional attitude. He snapped off a quick salute, then set off down the street at a run.

[Navaria Tarkin]

What was it about her that made her so attractive to mercenaries and smugglers? One would think the robes would create some sort of boundary but that didn't to hinder anyone.

She kept her attention focused on Jacen till he disappeared from sight. His presence still the Knight to be wary of him, even if he was speaking the truth. That if was bugging her. Navaria was very adept at sniffing out the truth, but the Dark Side was prevalent in the overall scheme here. The Ambassador's life was in danger and Delso had magically appeared with all the answers as to whom was behind it. When and where an attempt on Klaan's life was still up in the air.

"Well Ambassador," Navaria began walking towards Couprii's Governmental complex. "Best to get you back to your office and discuss the details of your upcoming public visits. We need to go over security details in private."

"Yes of course. Once we go over the preliminaries, we'll have to let Agent Delso in so he can tighten security further."

Navaria pleasantly smiled as if that notion didn't trouble her in the least, "Yes, of course. I'll contact him personally once we are ready." She had a bad feeling about this...

[(Alex) Jacen]

Jacen ambled casually along the hotel corridor with a pile of boxes in his arms. One of them was shaped in a surprisingly similar way to the case he carried his sniper rifle in. But of course, that was merely coincidental.

Reaching his hotel door, and fumbling with the handle, he dropped the boxes. They fell to the floor with a thud. "Frell," he cursed, crouching down to pick them back up. A shadow fell across him. He looked up. Double frell, his mind whispered.

[Navaria Tarkin]

"And you call yourself an Intelligence Officer." Navaria quipped as she kneeled down besides Delso. She had a sense that he was not happy to see her, course that could be because she had caught him at an awkward moment. She began to pick up one of the boxes. "Let me help you with these."

The Jedi smiled, making sure that he understood she was joking before, "I did not mean to startle you. I came by to discuss the security measures that are needed. Ambassador Klaan and I did some preliminary work."

[(Alex) Jacen]

Jacen quickly snapped the lid of his sniper rifle case closed, hoping she hadn't noticed. He smiled nervously, trying to look as off-guard as possible. "Ah, right. Security measures." He fumbled about a bit more. "Want to come in? Or go in, as I'm still outside? But I'll be inside once you are, and..." He realised he was rambling. He sighed, and tried to clear his head. "Door's open."

[Navaria Tarkin]

She looked down for a moment, smiling at Jacen's nervousness. "Sure," Navaria looked up and stepped through the threshold, "We can talk about things inside."

The room was minimal, so there wasn't alot of space. She found an empty spot on the floor to set down the box she was holding. "So just how long have you been on the planet?" Small talk would help her to figure Jacen out and perhaps ascertain what his loyalties were so appease her suspicions.

[(Alex) Jacen]

Jacen shrugged. "About 10 minutes longer than you knew I was. He piled the boxes he carried on a unit beside the bed, and closed the door, instantly regretting it. Great...now I'm trapped. His eyes roamed the room. There were two places he could go...into the bathroom, or out of the window. Unfortunately, she was between him and both of them. Why did he leave his lightsaber with Kay-4?

"Sorry there's not much room," he said, sitting awkwardly down on the floor in front of her. "Its amazing what you can fit inside an X-Wing," he said with a nervous chuckle, pointing at the boxes around them.

[Navaria Tarkin]

"Quite true. The storage capacity of those fighter's is amazing, not to mention how well they handle." Navaria sensed the tension coming from Delso. "Probably my favorite ship out of all of them."

[(Alex) Jacen]

"Usually, all I need is space for me and a sniper rifle," he said off-handedly, the nerves falling away, not completely realising what words were leaving his mouth. "The fighter is just for this assignment. My unit tends to favour more Imperial-looking craft...it helps us if we need to get inside their space at all."

Jacen slid his jacket off, and dumped it on the floor behind him. "I could never get the hang of sitting down while wearing those," he said, pointing at Navaria's Lightsaber. "Always ended up ramming it into my leg."

[Navaria Tarkin]

"Well, it becomes an extension of the Jedi's body. Most of the time I don't realize it is even there until I need it." Now she was very curious about Delso. "It sounds as if you were once trained as a Jedi." Which means it didn't go well. He had very little control over his emotions.

[(Alex) Jacen]

He shook his head frantically...and a little bit nervously, too. "No, but I played one on TV." Noticing her puzzled expression, he smiled, and continued. "Taryn V. During an operation to that planet, I was required to pretend to be a Jedi-trained individual. The Imperial Intelligence service managed to procure a lightsaber for me. We managed to scare the intelligence we needed out of the natives." He shrugged, but inwardly he let out a sigh of relief. He'd never thought that mission would ever be useful for anything.

Forcing himself to concentrate, he looked back up at Navaria, trying to make sure he didn't slip up again. "You said something about Security measures?"

[Navaria Tarkin]

She sensed deceit, but in this particular case it might have had to do with the mission being classified. Still..

"Yes, the Ambassador and I have started going over some of those countermeasures. I promised that I would come and inform you personally to assist us before we went too far ahead." And for a look around the hotel room of course...