The Capital's Underworld/Just Visiting

The Senator was good and dead, this was a story that had caught his world by surprise and already there are rumours that spread about the party behind the explosion that ushered him to the life beyond. Many candidates among his people have put themselves forward to replace him, quietly but they have done so. And his only consolation, the supposedly dead Senator that is, is that no great civil unrest has taken over Dac although the fear of it grows. The Mon Calamari has found himself ferreted away in one of the most remote corners of the Jedi temple, the ORder having graciously offered to hide him until the ruse can be sprung. And for the first time since he came here, the Senator has been allowed visitors, thgugh even they come under military escort.

The Mon Calamari had been quite surprised to hear the CSA Direx among those who had taken to the airwaves to speak about him. Other than that, though, the media coverage had gone in exactly the direction that he thought it would. Hopefully it'd last; not everyone seems to like the idea of him letting other people think he's dead.

Unfortunately, all the optimism in the galaxy wouldn't do anything about the Dac's growing political factionalisim problem, which his alleged death had been made quite a bit worse.

The Mon Calamari had been quite surprised to hear the CSA Direx among those who had taken to the airwaves to speak about him. Other than that, though, the media coverage had gone in exactly the direction that he thought it would. Hopefully it'd last; not everyone seems to like the idea of him letting other people think he's dead.

Unfortunately, all the optimism in the galaxy wouldn't do anything about the Dac's growing political factionalisim problem, which his alleged death had been made quite a bit worse. For the time being, the Senator has hidden himself away in the Jedi Temple under the care of a few trusted friends in the Temple. Standing on top of the balcony, the Mon Calamari leans against the railing overlooking the ground below, reading various news feeds from his datapads.

Despite some considerable badgering by her superiors at the hospital, Myiari had ignored their recommendation of refraining from visiting the Senator to maintain the illusion of his untimely demise. Originally, only the hospital administraors and surgeons were supposed to have been the only ones aware of the plot. Myiari had found out through sheer circumstance -- she wasn't supposed to have known. Regardless, she agreed to stay quiet about it, but the secrecy wouldn't stop her from seeing him.

A shaggy head turning from one direction to another, Hauwka mutters and murmurs unintelligably under his breath. He did not like anything in the entire incident; such 'cloak and dagger' is not for him, but as he was assigned to keep an eye on Myiari, well - maybe he'll get to find out more. He follows her inside, towering above almost every other sentient they might pass, wondering when he can get back to his ship and finish repairs. His translator droid for the moment is silent.

It seems that Rasi ahd the same ideas as Myiari and at roughly the same time too, for he falls in beside the Wookie and her not far from Tokoga is. "Miss Oerstead, Cadet.", he says in greeting, though he does not once take his gaze from the path before him. His uniform can be glanced under the trenchcoat he wears, no doubt the outer garment put on to hide his true affiliation. After all, if he was followed to the Temple and so on and so forth, his muted tendency towards paranoia at times manifesting itself. "First time that you come to see him?", he asks of the two.

After a few brief scrolls through the index, Tokoga returns the datapad to his pocket and takes out a single cigarra--not his usual brand, as the person who had retrieved it for him had gotten the pronunciation wrong and ended up with an entirely different blend--and lights it before leaning against the rail and looking thoughtfully out over the section of path it overlooks.

It's pretty lonely though, he thinks to himself. Depressingly lonely, really, despite the fact that there were Jedi everywhere. He's gotten a much deeper understanding of why Myiari always wanted to be away from it when she had been there.

The medic offers a single nod in reply to the commander's question. "It is. My bosses at the hospital tried really hard to keep me from it, though," she complains. "They said it'd be too much of a liability and that I wasn't even supposed to know in the first place." She glances around at her surroundings. She knew the temple fairly well, and being here again brought back a lot of memories. "I think he should be around here somewhere."

Hauwka turns his head to the side to look at Rasi and barks a response, accentuated by a crisp nod. The translator on his belt suddenly sparks to life and says, "Yes, sir." The wookiee shrugs his broad shoulders and sniffs the air. He has never before been in a Jedi Temple of any kind and the atmosphere is starting to grab his interest. He has to keep his paces short so that he does not walk ahead of Myiari and Rasi. He barks a question to Rasi. "How many Jedi are here?"

"Enough.", which is another way of saying that he considers those already present to be a couple too many or that he does not have the first clue, the latter given that this is Rasi. "And you weren't supposed to know, but what is done cannot be undone so we change our plans must change accordingly.", very few plans outlast the first instant after they are put into action. "That is his room.", Rasi adds, pointing to the guard, a Republican soldier, before one of the doors, and Rasi lets the other two step before him into the quarters that are Tokoga's, the door chiming when they are opened.

"Hmm...?" Tokoga turns behind him at the sound. That's odd...he isn't expecting anyone. Letting the cigarra smolder on an ashtray in the balcony--it wasn't very good anyway--the Mon Calamari raises from his seat and opens the door. "Ah, Commander...Myiari..." he smiles a little. "How's life in the outside world?" He gives a nod of acknowledgement to the Wookie, since Tokoga doesn't remember his name.

"Chaotic, to put it simply," Myiari replies wryly, sliding her goggles off her head and allowing them to simply hang around her neck as she fixes her hair. "Some people are really upset about your 'death', others are extremely happy and are taking advantage of it, some don't care either way. Outside of the political arena, not a lot seems different, at least from what I can tell. People are a little more wary, though, because of your alleged assassination. Nothing that big's happened in a while."

Hauwka looks sidelong at Rasi, hearing the laconical response and 'urfing' to himself with mild interest. He remembers the Jedi Purge all too well, and the subsequent enslavement of his people by the Empire. The wookiee lifts a shaggy hand to his head and scratches it idly once they reach the Senator's quarters. After Tokoga nods, he returns it with a nod of his own but does not introduce himself, preferring to let his commanding officer do any talking. Once inside, he takes a position beside the door, arms at his sides.

"As well that it should not have happened, a Senator of the Republic getting killed in its capital. Many things are possible, but this one should not have occured. Nass must fall for it, if for no other reason that he can't believe us capable of willing to do something like this." But he can no longer put off his curiousity, piqued when he saw the reaction his answer had on the Wookie. "You find something puzzling, Cadet?", he asks after a moment. The door closes behind the last of them to enter, behind Rasi and the man looks around the room, it is his first visit as well.

"Yes, I know, it's all over the airwaves. It's a rather strange expeirence, hearing yourself spoken of in past tense. Like being at your own wake." The Senator grins a little. At least most of what was said was nice. "Though I'm sure that'll change later. At the same time, I'm eager and hesitant for this whole experience to be over." The Mon Calamari shrugs, then opens the door the rest of the way to let them in. "But where are my manners? Something to drink?"

At Rasi's question, the walking carpet known as Hauwka cocks his head to the side and 'mrrfs' a statement for his droid to translate. "You sound as though you do not like the Jedi, sir." says the droid in Basic, chirping up from his belt. He pauses to give the Senator time to speak and shakes his head. He is not thirsty. A moment later he continues talking through his droid. "Were they not supposed to be 'guardians of peace and justice' in the galaxy?"

"Nothing for me," insists the medic. "I came by to see how you were doing, Senator. Trust me, I know how hard and how irritating it can be to try and lay low." Granted, when she had been staying at the Jedi temple, she was only in their protective custody; she didn't have to pretend she was DEAD.

"It might be impolite to speak ill of someone in their own house.", darn near rude and that is something Rasi cannot be called often. But still, the cadet did ask the question, and after a moment, the soldier makes up his mind with a quick shrug. "The Jedi are people like you an I, albeit ones gifted with an unique ability. As with all other groups in the galaxy, they have their supporters and their proponents and people who lean one way or another. I have not seen eye to eye with the Order in the past." Although it has not stopped him from working with them as required.

Rasi's reply has Hauwka shifting his eyes toward the Senator with a curious tilt to his head, and then back again to his commanding officer. He hmphs to himself and falls silent once more, choosing to contentedly stand by the door as the faithful guardian giant until such time as he can go back to doing what he loves and working on his fighter. A buzzing noise starts very faintly, coming from somewhere around his waist. Hauwka resists a wince and continues watching and listening to the others in the room.

"I've been doing a lot of reading," Tokoga grins. "I might be in trouble once I'm caught up with the Dacan Law Review, though, I've re-read just about everything else I own."

"You certainly sound like you're enjoying yourself," Myiari notes wryly as she glances to the Mon Calamari. She reaffixes her goggles to her head once her hair has been combed free of tangles, the goggles hopefully able to keep her hair in place for a while longer. "How long do you think you're going to be here, and what do you plan on doing afterwards? I'm assuming the longer you stay in hiding, the harder it'll be to fix things when this is all over."

Rasi arches a brow at the noise coming from the Wookie, "something the matter, Cadet?", he asks before turning his attention to Myiari. "We've been informed that the person who will claim responsibility for the attack will meet with Nass soon if he has not done so already. Once we have the appropriate proof, then we can move in on him, though given that he's got contacts in the police, we'll have to do things very quietly."

Hauwka doesn't reply verbally to Rasi right away. He surreptitiously flicks a switch on his translator and the sound dies instantly. A barely aspirated curse slides out from between his lips, but he hopes nobody heard it. He barks in reply to Rasi and the droid say, "No, sir. All is fine." He pauses and asks a question. "So the one claiming responsibility for killing the good Senator here is a plant to get close to this Nass and find proof you can take to the authorities? How will you know which authorities to trust?" He tilts his head to the side and waits as the droid finishes translating.

"I'll stay until a warrant has been issued for Nass." Tokoga says as he pulls a glass off from the top of the room's cooling unit and fills it with a green, effervescent drink. "I plan to be there when it's executed." Mostly, the Mon Calamari just wants to see the look on Nass' face when he realizes what he's done.

"I have faith in the people," he answers the latter question after a sip. "I don't think I'll lose their support over this. I trust them to understand. But there'll be bureaucratic difficulties either way, I'm sure."

Myiari is not nearly as optimistic as the Senator is. But then again, politics isn't her arena; what does she know anyway? "It had better be worth it. This whole plan of yours is a risky maneuver politically, at least from what I can see. If you're gone long enough, people might've replaced you already."

A low series of grunts and growls comes from the tall wookiee by the door, translated into: "I do not understand these politics... Why could you simply not find this Nass and put a bowcaster quarrel in him?" Hauwka glances down at the droid, having not expected it to translate his mutterings, and heaves an annoyed sigh. He looks this way and that at Myiari and Tokoga.

"That's their prerogative, but the Council is far too factionalized to accomplish anything as a group anymore...it would take months for them to agree on the mechanics of such an irregular vote.....I hope."

Tokoga chuckles at the Wookie's question. "Were it that easy. Under current laws, most of what he does isn't illegal because of the way that he does it, or he uses loopholes in the financial system to ensure that it can't be traced back to him. So, I did the only thing I could, and tried to change the law, and almost got killed. Three times. Well, four times, I suppose..." That would be including Nass' discrediting his name and getting him almost killed at the hands of some of his own constituents. "Which leaves us at this step...waiting for him to do something against the law."

"What is it, Cadet?", Rasi asks again, Hauwka's reply only making him that much more curious of just what it is that the cadet is hiding. And as for Myiari, a simple nod is offered to confirm Tokoga's answer. "I don't think that it was the best of plans, but very rarely have I the best of plans been the ones that have been available to us. All in all, it is one that is cunning and results in the least breaking of the law."

"So you fake your death, lull him into a false sense of security and hope your plant can find something of use?" says Hauwka's droid after he speaks to the Senator. The wookiee hmphs again, not entirely happy but at least seeing *some* logic in the Mon Cal's reasoning. He turns to Rasi and then plaintively indicates the droid on his belt. "The mechanic you assigned to fix my translator droid...did a less than satisfactory job. Apologies sir." Both droid and wookiee fall silent and the latter shrugs his shoulders.

"Still, do you really think he'll slip up this time?" the medic inquires. "I've met the guy myself. He's not just a common street thug; he knows what he's doing, and he knows how to do it without completely implicating himself. How else has he been able to get away with what he's done so far? If you can't find anything linking him to the bounty on your head, he'll get away again."

"I don't think so," The Mon Calamari takes another sip of his drink. "From what I've been told, there's going to be every conceivable manner of surveillance on them. There has to be something."

Hauwka looks from both Tokoga to Myiari and lifts his chin, considering what he has heard. A moment later he looks in Rasi's direction and speaks. "I should get this...fzzt contraption repaired properly, sir. If you have no objection I can take my leave now and see to it right away." The droid whines and makes a grinding noise before falling silent. Hauwka salutes Rasi and disappears out of the room.

Rasi nods at the Wookie's answer, finding it to be satisfying, "Might I suggest bashing it against a wall a few times.", the times he has had to kick a battery of guns into working have been far too many for him to count. "Please go see to it.", he says once the cadet speaks, his attention turns back to the two others. "What will you do when this is resolved, andmight I suggest participating in the party sent to arrest him, both of you."

Myiari very nearly balks at the commander's suggestion. "As much as I'd love to, I'm a medic and a civilian, remember?" She places even greater emphasis on the word 'civilian'. "If I keep getting involved in this Nass business, I'm probably going to get fired."

"Oh, _I_ plan on being there," Tokoga grins, looking from Myiari to Rasi. "I want to see his face when he realizes what he's done."

"I understand, Senator.", and Myiari's point of view he understands as well. "And I suppose that is true, although we'll have to do something about you being just a medic." But that is a matter for another day. Straightening from the wall he was leaning against, Rasi rearranges his trenchcoat so that it conceals his uniform. "I'll be on my way, good luck with your stay here Senator, and hopefully we will get this resolved soon.", and for Myiari a quick nod of his head, "Miss Oerstead, if you run into any problem, you know how to reach me."

Despite Rasi's rather foreboding comment, Myiari nods her head. "Of course." She turns back to the Senator and flashes an apologetic smile. She of all people knew how dull it could get at the Jedi temple by yourself. "I wish I could stay and keep you company for a bit longer, but my shift at the hospital starts soon. Hopefully this'll all be over in a few days."

Tokoga nods toward Rasi, raising his hand in farewell as he leaves the room. "Very well, Myiari. Don't let me keep you, and don't worry about me." he grins slightly and makes a small gesture of raising his glass.