Bankor

Aran stood patiently in the tent-office, waiting for Captain Alincott (at least, he thought she was a captain. Military ranks were still not intuitive to him). A climate control unit labored, mostly successfully, to keep the air at a livable temperature for humans, and so he had laid his thermal cloak over the camp stool on the visitor side of the desk.

He was, of course, nervous, and was, of course, trying to project his usual serenity. The Jedi habit of inserting themselves anywhere in to any given Republic power structure that suited them came more comfortably with age and rank, he was sure. He had talked confidently enough to the lower-level officers when explaining about his encounters with the mysterious lady, he suddenly felt the presumption of calling upon the highest-ranking SIS officer on planet. Perhaps I should have asked Zanebry first. But he had been reluctant to expose his semi-successful espionage to a barrage of mature scepticism. Much like with his Masters, he wanted to have more to show, first.

Inside he was expecting the good captain but it seemed her office or tent had been commandeered by the journalist he me near the club. He spoke over his shoulder, “I was just thinking about you, padawan. Was reviewing your history. Seems like we should talk, Vain Taskar.”

“Jedi Shadow.”

Aran immediately bowed from the waist and held it, a reflexive move that both showed genuine deference and bought him time to school his features and manage his thoughts. He tried to remember what the journalist had said, and how he had reacted, and swallowed quietly and nervously.

Still, bowing, he spoke. "Jedi Taskar. I am honored that you have revealed yourself to me. How may I be of service?"

“Bring me up to speed on the mystery woman, just call me Vain. Act natural, don’t be nervous, pretend I am not judging your every response critically,” he said smirking.

“You have done a great deal of work, I figured it was time to come out of the shadows and assist you.”

Aran straightened. Vain had succeeded in putting him at ease; however much he might worry about their judgment, he is used to doing as his older-and-wisers tell him. He explained the basics of what happened -- the first contact in Urthan Mil, the meeting at the farmhouse, the offer of the enemy on a silver platter; spotting her at the club with the strange droid, overhearing her treachery, his failed attempt at planting a tracker. He followed with his impressions, offering them freely, expecting Vain to help him explore the possibilities and fill in the gaps.

"I think that this 'Ghost' must have a broad and powerful network, to move so comfortably between parts of Bankor, and to have contacted me in Urthan Mil already knowing I was a Jedi. She obviously has some level of infiltration into the Republic camp. When she had merely identified me, it could have been a Resistance member or a mercenary, but the codes she passed to the Kryze suggest something deeper and more insidious.

"She could be purely our enemy, having offered her information to us as bait, and then selling our secrets to the enemy, but I feel like it is more complex: either opportunism backed by the arrogance, and perhaps the resources, to think she can avoid retaliation. or a deeper strategy." After a moment's hesitation, he added, "I sensed her feelings during the meeting in the farmhouse. I do not know what it was that caused them, but I felt disgust and intrigue. She might have strong feelings about the Jedi. She would not be the only in the underworld to do so." He left out his own uncomfortable reaction to her, and speculation about whether it was an intended, calculated or accidental effect on her part.

Vain listened quietly as he looked at various pictures and notes on the table. He finally spoke once he had processed it all, “So we have a mystery woman with a great deal of material support, this seems to coincide with my own findings and investigation. One of the things we have observed with this conflict is the speed at which the local forces folded.”

“It was uncanny, they local defense force should have been able to put up a more firm resistance but they didn’t. Then once full control was maintained by the Mandalorians there were a series of critical attacks by the Resistance that hampered their control of the planet.”

Vain rubbed his chin and said, “Taken piece mail it just seems like a series of lucky breaks and coincidences but I have a different theory. An outside force, or forces, has been at work inflaming and prolonging this conflict. Whoever they are wanted the Republic to get involved.”

“This whole situation may be one big trap,” he said summing up his thoughts.

Aran frowned, trying to process it all. "The Sith?" he said, not at all sure. "They asked to step in, and have that installation in the north." He shakes his head. " I never faced them," he said apologetically, "but this seems their kind of over complicated."

“That would make it easy, but I doubt it. Intelligence suggests the organization involved dislikes the Sith as much as they dislike the Jedi,” Vain responded.

Aran leaned forward hungrily, his mind alight at the mystery. "Intelligence? What else do we know?"

“Slow down there, padawan. The Intelligence isn’t as thorough as all that, scattered reports pieces together over time to find patterns in the data. SIS started data mining after some incidents and generated a report for a group they call the Star Cabal, not sure who came up with the term, us or them, but that’s the name we are going with. At first it was thought this group was some Imperial Black Ops division, but as they pieced together data they started seeing incidents that could be attributed to this group working against key Imperial assets,” he responded.

“Best guess is that they are working to inflame tensions to bring Sith and Jedi interest into conflict, perhaps to turn public opinion against them? It is unclear what the end game is. We could be chasing ghosts here, and this group is not one monolithic entity but several. We do know the few agents we have tentatively identified were highly trained operatives with sophisticated gear and methodology.”

Vain then rubbed his chin, “We believe one of these agents is working in this sector and goes by the name Clever Man.”

"How much does Commander Malcom know? What has been his reaction?"

“Not much, I don’t have anything but hunches at this point. The Jedi Council did inform him that they felt the matter on Bankor was complicated and part of a larger campaign against the Republic, but offered little evidence. So he is aware but no real details, hopefully we can get him those details before whatever is being planned is unleashed,” Vain replied.

Aran nods solemnly.

"Is there any task you would like me to perform? The place we're going next... does not seem to be the sort of place that Ghost would have agents. No cantinas. Do we have any leads on the security problems in the Strike Force?"

“I am working on it, all I know is we got possible Sith incursions. So this is going to be a priority for me above the mystery woman matter,” he responded.

"I will attempt to allow the Force to guide me, then, until we are again closer to the sorts of places where scoundrels gather." Aran bowed from the neck. "Please do not hesitate to call upon me in this matter, Vain." He paused a moment, framing a thought. "I was trained for the shadows. I find outright war random and senseless, and fear I am not much of a warrior. I hope that in this, I can be of better use."