Chana-003

No more than eighteen hours have elapsed since a bomb was detonated in a small office on the Row. Five dead, a dozen injured. It could have been worse -- a lot worse -- had the device gone off during a busier time. Still, it's a heinous act, and the authorities have closed off the affected section of the Row, mindful of preserving as much evidence as they can to help them reconstruct the timeline of events and hopefully lead them to a suspect.

"We're not officially involved with the investigation, but I was hoping we might be able to help in some way. Chana, you've been trained in the minutiae of observation, haven't you?" Johanna says as she stops and turns to the young woman a few paces behind her, "At the very least you have an eye for detail. I'm not sure what we're looking for yet, but I'll know when we find it." Then, to Leo, "Thanks for coming along. I know it's been ages and it was short notice, so I'm aware that this is probably an inconvenience for you. Still, it never hurts to have a third person looking, right?"

Chana nods. Fear the cute one. She's brought her tools. Also, her R2 unit follows along behind her. That she has grave reservations about her observational powers at this stage of the game she doesn't come out and say. She'll do what she can. "A bombing. How quaint." is all she says.

Walking along with Johanna and Chana, Leo looks around the disaster area nodding his head slowly as he listens to the woman. In response to her question, the man answers, "It is no inconvenience at all. Any attacks on my homeworld is of significant interest to me. So what are the authorities currently suspecting?"

"They're keeping a very tight lid on everything and not making anything public yet about their suspicions," the pilot replies, "But a friend of mine -- and you didn't hear this from me -- has an in with one of the folks on the forensics team they dispatched to process the scene. Apparently the device used shares a few key characteristics with two bombs recently used on Chandrila in the commission of an art heist. Seems the thief has a penchant for blowing shit up once he or she has the goods." As they move away from the Row and into the darkness of the alleyway, she looks up at the urban overhang blocking out the last of the sunlight for the day. Something about this place seems important.

Chana takes a good look around, committing the crime herself in her mind. Art there. Escape speeder there... no there... this was so much easier before ... "The question is, what was the bomb to cover up." Chana moves to the center of the blast radius as best she can and has a good look around. "R2, give me a bacteriological scan would you? Look for any bacteria with off-world origins that you can't find on the three of us. The four of us. You're not exactly sterile.

As they continue to move along, Leo lets his gaze pass over everything, large and small. Listening to the report and pondering Chana's question, Leo says, "I'd imagine they would not have hit such a high priority place unless they also possibly wanted the attention. There are also ways to obtain goods without going through such destructive means. You stay low key if you want to remain low key, but go for high priority if you want others to look for you."

"Mmm," Johanna says absently, still scanning the windows of the offices and housing units above, "I also imagine that someone up there saw something. You don't have this kind of a view and not know what's happening on your turf... which leads to the next question: why hasn't anyone come forward with information? I know for a fact that many of the beings in this area have been interviewed by the authorities but that there are no leads so far. If you ask me, someone is withholding what they know." She stands silently for another few moments before looking back to Chana and Leo. "Mind you don't disturb the debris field. They haven't finished with it yet."

Chana nods absently. "So you think it was an inside job, he thinks it was terrorism more or less, and I think it's covering up forensic evidence." Chana chuckles. "R2, do you have an opinion?" The 'droid tweets and whistles. "R2 says clearly it's the work of a rogue droid. So ... what was stolen? Do we know?"

"Well, Corellians aren't exactly known for playing cleanly," replies Leo to Johanna's question. "Blackmail, mafia, you name it, it can keep people silent." Turning to Chana, the man adds, "Until we have something to go off of, it's like a wild Ewok chase."

"None of those scenarios are mutually exclusive," Johanna reminds Chana, "And there was nothing stolen from this site that anyone knows of. It was a local campaign office. No fancy art or anything like that inside." She reaches into one of her pockets for a smoke before she thinks the better of it... wouldn't do to contaminate the crime scene, after all... and gives one last glance up at the windows. "Leo's right. There are all kinds of powers that can keep people silent. Let's say for a moment that all three possibilities are simultaneously correct: it was an act of terrorism perpetrated by a domestic entity for the purposes of covering something up. Something worth killing indiscriminately for. Perhaps the earlier art heist was to secure financing for a greater project... in which case the authorities are going to have their hands full chasing down leads. Something tells me this is all just getting started."

Chana frowns. "What kind of campaign? I'm a little behind on local politics. If it's political, the Empire is always a possibility. Though... from what I gather, random bombings aren't quite their style. More like precision orbital bombardment." Chana pauses, her eye fixated on that thing she was about to step on. She crouches down to look at it. "R2. Gimme a scan on this."

Leo reaches up and scratches his chin as he lets his sapphire gaze pass over the entire area before coming to rest on the object Chana orders her droid to scan. "Think you found something of interest? If so, we can assume that these men may not have been the brightest in choosing to leave behind evidence."

(And here I had to go.)