RPlog:Calling in on Old Friends

The Seraphim, a relatively recognizable ship after all the work that Kaitlin's techs and put into upgrading and customizing the ship, sits with its boarding ramp open as loadlifter droids wander into the hold and back out, carrying the cargo of medical supplies she had brought to the planet. Shael stands nearby, overseeing the process, and wearing her usual coveralls. Her hair is cropped in an unattractively short, spikey style, and bags under her eyes are a testiment to how little Shael has been sleeping of late.

Though he has not been doing much sleeping of late, Rasi does not look the worse for wear, or whatever the saying is. He is dressed in his 24s, as yet another saying goes, looking sharp and even quite charming especially with that cigarette lightly hanging from between his lips. Two large briefcases are carried, one in each hand, the strain of it beginning to show. It is only by pure coincidence that he spots the familiar ship, and from there it does not take him long to spot its even more familiar owner. He does not raise his hands in greeting because of the briefcases, though he does call out. "Shael."

Hearing her name, Shael turns away from watching the work to see Rasi approaching, replacing a slightly surprised expression with a welcoming smile. Her shoulders remain a little hunched as Rasi continues towards her, her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her coveralls, and the shadows and tired lines under her eyes remain unchanged. "Hey, Rasi," she greets the man. "Didn't really expect to run into you here. How are you?"

The first thing he does is put down the briefcases, a sigh of relief given when they are placed on the ground. "How do you do?", he says between puffs of his smoke. "Indeed, it is a surprise, I haven't really heard of you for some time. I wondered where it is you had gone off to hide yourself. And I am very well, tired since I was in a meeting with the admiralty for the past several hours, but no complaints." Not much at least.

Shael shrugs her shoulders slightly, her smile tightening for a moment as she replies. "Took a few months off," she lies through her teeth. "Had some stuff I needed to take care of. All fixed now. Glad I don't have to deal with military meetings, though. I may be tempted to slit my wrists after that. Never heard good things about those meetings."

"There is never anything good about a meeting where the fate of an entire planet is being discussed. Do trust me on that. It's just utterly stressful, that's why so many soldiers are prematurely bald." His attempt at humour somewhat ruined by the weary undertone to his voice. "What brings you here?"

Shael removes a hand from her pocket long enough to gesture towards the droids still unloading the Seraphim. "Medical supplies," she replies simply. "Helping out the New Republic, and paying my bills. What's not to love, huh?" The hand, so recently freed, ends up shoved right back into her pockets, and her shoulders hunch inwards again. "So what's the verdict, then? How're we saving Dac?"

"That is still to be determined, on the upside I know that the Chief of State is onboard so there's that to say at least." His voice, of course, dropped to a mere whisper when he gave that answer and it gradually returns to its normal level as he continues. "Have you seen much traffic out there in space on your way down?"

A strange expression crosses Shael's face at the mention of Leia, one difficult to read, perhaps. Surprised, perhaps. Or hurt. Or maybe even lonely. "Well, with L- Madame Organa here helping you guys figure everything out, shouldn't have much to worry about over Dac, should we? And wouldn't you know more about the insystem traffic than me?" She removes one hand from her pocket again to gesture around the starport briefly. "Lots of supply shuttles coming in and out, though. They want us to land, unload, and get the hell out as fast as we can, pretty much."

While not the most perceptive, Rasi does notice the slight change in the young woman, though he does not comment on it yet. "Hmm, lots you say. Well, I suppose we will have to deal with that sooner or later.", he does not elaborate on it. "And yes, I would, but I haven't been up there in several hours. How long did it take you to get clearance and get down here and get your cargo unloaded? How many hours you'd estimate?" A slight pause is taken, Rasi hesitating over whether he should ask for more information, "What's wrong, did something happen?"

Shael shrugs her shoulders at his first question, turning her gaze to eye the Seraphim contemplatively as she composes a response. "Didn't take me as long as many to get clearance, I'd imagine," she replies. "I didn't come out here of my own accord to make a profit. I was actually contracted by the New Republic to come out here and drop off the cargo. Since they were expecting me... I was only floating out there for an hour or two." At his second question, tension slowly begins to build in Shael's posture, and she keeps her gaze on the Seraphim for several long seconds before she turns back to Rasi with a forced smile that she hopes will pass muster. "Nothing much. Just some trouble with a friend. Nothing you need to worry about."

Which means that there is more to this story than she is willing to tell at the moment, and that only time will reveal the true story behind that...frown? Whatever it might be called. "Thank you for answering, it might help us in many ways. Have you been here only or on other parts of the planet? And what do you think of the events here?"

"Oh, I'm not setting foot outside of the starport," Shael states firmly. "Besides, I'm not supposed to stick around any longer than it takes to unload the cargo. Landing pads are, apparantly still at a premium." Shael turns to lean back against the hull of her ship, crossing her arms idly across her chest as she continues to talk. "As for what I think... Don't know. I don't see that having the military around at all has been helping the situation. The relief efforts have been needed, of course, but..."

"One moment.", Rasi says, his commlink ringing very loudly as he set it to as soon as he left the meeting. Much of the following conversation, short as it is, is in short, one word answers, at least from his part. Whatever needed to be said is exchanged quickly enough, and Rasi is smiling, one of those true face-splitting smiles that show extreme contentment. "Are you sure you do not wish to step out of the spaceport? I'll even treat you to whatever you wish at the local cantina. This is an occasion to celebrate, I don't think I'll have many opportunities to do so with how busy we will be in the coming weeks."

Shael looks doubtful, glancing towards the Seraphim, which has already unloaded the majority of its cargo. "Someone would have to clear it with folks here in the starport, or I could get in trouble for over-staying my window. What're we supposed to be celebrating, anyways?" she asks, before nodding her head to indicate his commlink. "That was good news?"

Some time later, Rasi returns to that spot he stood upon not long ago, "There, you're cleared for two more hours. Ample time should you not say. And yes, it was good news, the plans I mentionned were approved. So, shall we be on our way. You will forgive me if I don't offer you my hand, but the briefcases are heavy enough as it is."

Shael looks mildly surprised and uncertain when Rasi returns, glancing back towards her ship, before she nods hesitantly. "Yeah. Sure, why not?" she replies, before pushing away from her ship. "I can carry one of those, if you want," she offers. "So what's the big masterplan? How're we saving Dac from itself?"

"First, you tell me what's wrong, what happened?", while he may not be the most perceptive of fellows, Rasi does notice things when they are right in front of him, and Shael is not quite the trained actress she might be hoping to be. "And don't try to evade answering, young lady."

Shael lets out a faint snort, keeping her gaze ahead of her as they walked, shoving her hands back into her pockets when he doesn't hand her one of the cases. "It's a long story. I ended up staying in an Imperial labor camp for a while. Surprised you hadn't heard about it, actually."

"A labour camp, what in the bloody worlds where you doing anywhere near an Imperial facility? I understand that you smuggler types like to sneak into areas you should not be, but really, you should know they are bad hosts." The last part of his statement is made distracted, Rasi's head so that he can look at her. Maybe he had one of those ideas people keep talking about, Shael shrugs her shoulders, her gaze still forward as they walked. And she was unlikely to look towards Rasi as long as they continued discussing her time with the Empire. "Got a little too cocky, I guess. Don't worry about it. It's over now," she states firmly. "So what's the master plan?" she asks in a blatant attempt to redirect the conversation away from herself.

"You know I won't drop this until I know more, I may put it aside today, but I'll want to know what happened eventually. However, if you don't want to talk about it, I can understand." As for her question, Rasi simply shrugs, or at least tries to raise his shoulders as much as the heavy cases will allow. "I cannot reveal all of it, however, I do know of a way you can help if you wish to help out?"

"Oh?" Shael asks, turning her head towards him again, a curious expression on her face. She makes not comment on his plan to pursue what had happened to her. She had little intention of revealing much of it to him. "What can I do?"

"You can help me figure out how people are getting past the blockade and sneaking in all sorts of weaponry to the rebels through customs. And if you have any contacts on the planet, asking them if they know of anything." The request is phrased just before he steps into the starport's primary cantina, busy as ever, he does of course hold the door open for Shael. "Would that be too much?"

Shael lapses into silence, a thoughtful expression on her face as she considers the request. "I could look into it," she replies at length. "Though you've got no guarantees I'll find anything. I know a few people I could contact, though. See if they have any supplies they need to get through to Dac on the sly. See what I learn from that."

As warranted by the conversation they are holding, the section of the cantina he heads towards is at the far corner of it, the only part without all its tables taken up, and the only part where one might hold a conversation in privacy. "I will hand you a list of contacts I believe are feeding the main insurgency, the Quarren Survivalist Party or whatever they're calling themselves this day. The QSP is most likely...compromised by external forces, and with your background, you could be made out quickly enough if you go to them directly. Which is a lesson you should keep to mind for future purposes, if you wish to approach a group, always start with its secondary, and even tertiary associates. It's longer but more effective in the long run."

"Right," Shael agrees with the nod. "I'd be stupid to approach someone I didn't know, anyways. It'd set off too many alarm bells. But the list'll help, without any doubt." She slips into her seat, picking the one that let her set her back to the wall, and leans back comfortably, one of her hands resting lightly in her lap while the other rested on the table.

"Have you been to the Kessel region of late. You know, what the Imperials call the Kessel Redoubt or some such name?", Rasi asks, the briefcases placed on one side of the table itself, well within his viewing field. A bit ackward now that he has to lean slightly to one side to be able to look at Shael, but he does not complain.

Shael hesitates, before shaking her head slowly. "I don't deal much in spice," she confides. Just the once, so far, to be honest. And even that was under special circumstances. "What does Kessel have to do with supplying the Quarrens? Kessel's Imperial, isn't it?"

Rasi's attention is drawn to the approaching waitress, and his next words are meant for the Mon Calamari woman. "Fizzyglug, large and cold with just a hint of lime. And whatever the lady wishes.". that being Shael. Only when the alien woman is on her way to the bar does he answer, "Yes, it is Imperial.", a disappointing answer for sure, but perhaps it might be helped by that slight twitch of his lips into one of those mysterious smiles, brief as it might be.

Shael orders a whiskey for herself, and lets her mind turn over what she's been asked to do: and what her next step will have to be. "Is there a timeline?" she asks curiously. "A deadline of any sort? Or just as soon as I learn anything useful, if I can?"

"Admitedly, there is little official confirmation of this. However, historically speaking Quarren insurgency groups have created the most trouble for planetary governments when they've been supplied and directly aided and organized by powerful external organizations. That, and really, we're not talking about small little piddly groups, we're facing what seems like a full-fledged military. And really, who else wants to harm us to this point and is capable of creating this big a mess?" Rasi frowns suddenly, "A whiskey...aren't you a bit young for such a strong drink?", the question proven to be a false one when he chuckles moments later. "Primarily, I'd like to find how they're able to sneak past the customs on the planet. That will help us plug up any holes there are. Two days enough to do this, actually finding out who's connected to the QSP and working your way up towards its ranks, well that I'd say you have two, three weeks?"

Shael rolls her eyes at his commentary on the whiskey, offering no response on that front. When her drink arrives, she lifts it to her lips for a sip. "Two or three weeks should be fine. I should be able to find /something/ by then. I just don't know that it'll be terribly helpful."

"Have you been to the Kessel area of late though, you never did answer that?", and as he promised, Rasi got out a credit chip and handed it over to the woman to pay for the drinks. It is with a content sigh that he puts down the glass of fizzyglug after having quaffed down nearly half of it. "Anything that you find will be helpful."

Shael shakes her head again. "I already told you no," she replies, a slightly snappish tone in her voice. When she realizes how she sounds, though, her expression turns to a slightly embarrassed, apologetic look. Occasionally her temper flares for no good reason. Imperial custody can do that to a girl. "Only been there once, and that was some times ago."

"Some times ago, huh.", not a question that, more one of those sounds that take up precious time while one thinks of a more appropriate response. "I see now. Well, other than that, how are you doing? I heard you dropped by the company over at Ord Mantell asking for some work?"

Shael shrugs her shoulder, by way of confirmation, before she replies. "Yeah, I did. I was racking up some docking fees for a while without having any income coming in to cover it. Plus, some of my contacts were a little annoyed with me for my unexpected vacation. I needed the work."

"Don't know that I would call an Imperial labour camp or the circumstances that led to being incarcerated in one a vacation. Though who knows, a couple of days dealing with the bureaucracy of a customs department or..." Again that commlink of his beeps again, this time more insistently if that's even possible. "One moment please.", he says before answering it, and as he hears what has to be said, Rasi can only be said to be grossly surprised. "Listen to this, it's an IGN broadcast made by the Empire. Audio-only unfortunately." And after turning up the volume, he lets Shael in on what he just heard, Shael and whoever else is close to overhear.

Surprise plays briefly over Shael's features, before her expression fades into tones more difficult to read. She lets the message play in its entirity before she offers any sort of reply, and even then it's not much of one. "I didn't realize there were any alien races out there idiotic enough to side with the Empire," she states, with a little bitter humor.

By the time the broadcast ends and his commlink is shut down, a sizeable audience has gathered around the table, cantina workers and patrons alike in their amazement at what they just heard. "If you could please excuse us.", the change in Rasi's voice is perceptible, polite but forceful, the voice of someone who'll brood no disagreements. And it is only when he is certain he won't be overheard that Rasi's gaze settles once more on Shael. "The Quarrens as a race haven't agreed to squat, however there are plenty of self-defeating individuals who do not have a well-developed sense of self-preservation. And put enough of them together we have the troubles we have now. Believe it or not, this makes my life infinitely easier. You can put aside for now the infiltrating the QSP thing, the priority is finding how they sneak onto the planet. There's no point in proving that they're receiving Imperial help. Another bunch of self-defeatists those Imperials."

Shael nods firmly, flashing Rasi a brief smile, that makes an effort at looking determined. "As soon as I know something, you'll know it," she promises him simply. "Can you get me any information on how the fleet's deployed, to help me figure out where the holes? You never know what a pair of... untraditional eyes might find."

He hesitates for a moment, and after a slight tilt of his head he shrugs. "I'll provide as much as I can, not much, but as much as I can. It won't do much good though, we're rotating things here and there and especially with this, things won't stay much the same so the sooner you can get this done, the better. And you're supposed to find it on your own, don't expect me to make your job any easier young lady." Rasi empties the last remnants of his fizzyglug before continuing, "You would come to me if you were in trouble, yes?"

"Wrista and Kyrin got me out of the only trouble I was in," Shael replies, flashing him a smile that's at least /close/ to the cocky and confident smile she used to wear. "And speaking of..." She lifts her whiskey to her lips, knocking back a large portion of the contents. "I was hoping to see one or both of them. Permission to land on the Audacity? That's where Kyrin's stationed, isn't she?" Shael leans forward in her seat, clearly preparing to end their little meeting.

"The only trouble you were in, we'll have to discuss some other day. And permission not granted unfortunately, we're hosting a diplomatic delegation from the Caspians, from the Chief of State's office and no doubt we will be crawling with higher-ups. However, we won't be leaving the starport for some time, so you can drop on by and I'll make sure that you're given entry. The Colonel should meet you by the crew area. Is that alright? And make sure to let me know when you drop by, I'll have to take you on the grand tour. And if we do manage to get to space, you can always dock with us, the Seraphim has docking capabilities right?" With that, he rises slowly, lifting each briefcase off the table and momentarily resting them on the chair he just left.

"Hey, as long as I get to see Kyrin," Shael agrees easily, a hint of what suspiciously resembles desperation sneaking unbidden into her voice. It catches her by surprise just how much she suddenly wants to see her friend. It'd been over a month since she'd been rescued... and she has so many things she needs to talk to Kyrin about. And apologize for. "I'll catch you around, Rasi. And I'll the best I can." That said, Shael raises her hand in a brief farewell, and starts to head for the door.