Open Nar Shaddaa Cat and Mouse Games

[Hannibal Grayza]

Stepping down the landing ramp of the Catspaw, dressed in his Nar Shaddaa best with a pair of his usual leather gloves covering his hands. His ID-21 seeker droid in tow, Hannibal retrieved his airspeeder from the lowered cargo ramp and sped off into the greater area of the smuggler's moon. He'd agreed to meet up with Nash for a little date, which was what Hannibal was choosing to call investigating a known bomb-slinging terrorist. They hadn't shared the same ship because Nash had her own and probably had things to do separate from Hannibal's things, so they'd settled on meeting near Nash's strip club. They both knew where it was, done and done.

It didn't take long for Arcene to get to the right neighborhood, pulling into a free space and doing it's best to pretend to be an ordinary speeder for the moment. He flicked a switch, causing the top of the speeder to slide back and away, the front transparisteel viewport sinking into the speeder body, giving him a clear view of everything. He lit a cigarra, spending this time to neatly roll up the sleeves of his shirt and double check his gear. After confirming his DE-10 was clipped well to his right hip and his lightsaber was in its proper placed inside his coat, he got to waiting. He really hoped Nash wouldn't take too long. Not because he was in a massive rush, though he was a tad eager, but more because he was easily bored by waiting. He ended up playing some variety or other of synthetic bassy music over the speakers to pass the time, watching the people pass by and generally keeping an eye out and a hand on his blaster. Nar Shaddaa wasn't a super safe place, but at the very least, people tended to assume flashy people were that way because they were somehow important in the Syndicate.

Of course, Hannibal had no intention of correcting these people if it prevented any issues before they started. So, like that, he waited.

Here, kitty kitty...

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

Nar Shaddaa. Once a place she would have called home... now just another planet full of scum and villainy. She hadn't been to the Slicer's Vice in a couple months; she was shocked by the enthusiastic greetings she got from all her girls, their loudness, the business of it all. It didn't take her long to get settled, however, getting dressed was a different story...

She dressed in civilian wear that befitted an owner of a strip club; her leggings, tucked into mag boots, cleaved tightly to her legs and hips, and over her blaster vest the black Slicer's Vice T-shirt proudly displayed the logo, atop that a simple black synthleather jacket, her gloves and then... the finishing touch.

A helmet... with cat ears, currently off and perked on her hip.

It was something she found so tongue-in-cheek, she couldn't help it. Her blaster was tucked, hidden away in a quickdraw holster to her hip, her lightsaber stashed within the jacket, as well as her two blades. overkill? Maybe, but this was Nar Shaddaa. Overkill was ordinary.

The last time she had seen Hannibal was on Ajan Kloss... and the kid was a bit of a wild card. So she was hardly surprised he looked like some Hypo-Pop star/budding pimp enthusiast. Her own speeder was nothing fancy, but for sake of appearance she would simply step from her club, hands on her hips.

"Well now, pretty boy. You sure took your time." She tilted her head towards the bar, smirking. "Come in for a drink?"

No need for more prying ears and eyes... She knew he was eager to get going, but he knew things about this that even she didn't know. And she needed information.

It seemed collaborating information with her partner was the best choice before moving forward.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Ah, there she was! Flashing a grin he waved at the tall Cathar woman, stepping out of his airspeeder along with Ego and closing it up, making sure it was well and properly locked. "Hey there, tiger. I'd love a drink." he responded, stepping over to Nash and inevitably following her inside. Hannibal hadn't really expected for them to actual convene inside the place, but he certainly wasn't going to complain about either the privacy or the additional eye candy.

The inside was the usual mix of neon lights, shady customers, half-dressed working girls, and cigarra smoke. He deposited his own half-smoked cigarra into an ashtray as he passed by, turning to look at Nashyr. "Do you have some private area or are we just picking a table?" he asked, eager to get to it. He wasn't in a huge rush or anything, he rarely was, but the sooner they got to talking the more progress could be made.

Nashyr needed to brought up to speed on the sorts of things they were looking for and who, where they were looking, what to avoid, and other such investigative details. Hannibal was also quite sure she had questions of her own, since there hadn't been many Jedi actively tracking the Arcanist himself as opposed to the other more murderous examples of darksiders. He had certainly run into him often enough to at least have something of an impression of the man, always digging for more clues as to his personality and motivations. The mask made that quite a bit harder, but he just refused to take the damn thing off.

"Ah. A green galaxy's my standard, if you don't mind." he added, assuming the offeree was going to be getting any drinks.

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She merely smiled at Hannibal's flirtations, and tilted her head to lead him on. Past the bar, the patrons, up a narrow flight of stairs, towards what was very clearly her own office. And from the looks of the thin layer of dust... nobody had been in here since she was last here.

She gestured towards one of the seats as the door hissed closed, stalking to her private bar.

Provided all the drinks were here... and it looked like they were... "Talk while I mix," she answered plainly, preferring to cut straight to the chase. She knew she ought to be flirty, talking sweet nothings and pleasantries, but he looked just as keen to get on as she did.

"Tell me what you know."

When she finished with his drink and slid it his way, she revealed hers; simply a bottle of water.

No time to get muzzy-headed now.

"I know nothing but rumors about this guy. If reports were true, you know more." She leveled her gaze his way, as she cracked open the bottle and took a small swig. "I'm curious, and this is my home turf."

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

As much as Hannibal enjoyed the flirting and being alone in a room with someone, he was more internally focused on the work at hand. While the Arcanist hadn't been much of a danger to civilians per say, he'd been using the Jedi name and may be connected somehow to other more nefarious terrorists, in particular the woman who Master Oren had engaged with briefly on Naboo. If they could gather some leads they may be able to learn more about them, or perhaps at least track down a ship or vessel.

Hannibal sat himself in one of the seats, leaning back in a casual fashion and lighting a new cigarra, an ashtray he'd quietly swiped from a table placed upon the nearest convenient surface. He took and drag and exhaled a plume of smoke before he spoke, also removing a holoprojector from inside his coat and tossing it up on the same surface.

"I'm sure you've read the news regarding the Arcanist and his presumably female accomplice. I have personally run into him a few times, but have yet to find myself before the Rain. Neither of their faces have been shown and their voices aren't on record unscrambled, but there is some information." He leaned forward, activating the holoprojector. A fairly accurate reconstruction of the Arcanist's get up was displayed in 3D, a list of known traits on the side. He pointed some of them out as he spoke.

"Somewhere around six foot tall, versed in at least basic explosives, trained Force user. Based on available footage he does not appear to be a casual user of a lightsaber, though there hasn't really been direct engagement and his style is difficult to gauge." He swiped the image, bringing up a hand-gathered and fairly incomplete psyche profile of the man.

"He believes he is doing the job the Jedi should be doing by killing off exploitative criminal elements. While I personally would prefer to ignore him, he's doing it while representing the Order, and we tend not to use these same methods. He seems perfectly willing to kill in order to avenge and protect the vulnerable, with little qualm regarding method so long as it weakens the Syndicates and makes them afraid of retaliation." He swiped again, showing a vague map of Nar Shaddaa with several areas lit up. The Pit, the spice den, a smuggler's port, so on.

"The types of places he targets are clear, but what isn't is where he comes from. Does he have a ship? He was also spotted on Coruscant, so he may be taking public transit, but I highly doubt it. Does he have a home base on Nar Shaddaa? I want to try following the trail back to hard evidence that might allow him to be more easily tracked, trapped, and caught if it comes down to it."

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She was grateful Hannibal wasn't up to flirting much; her thoughts involving being kind to just about anyone were limited at best. So instead she simply listened as he gave his speech, head tilted. "So he's some sort of Robin Hood type." Her lips twitched, but there wasn't much humor there. "Shame. If I was one of them still I'd be proud for his helping... but you're right. He seems the type to help the poor and unfortunate, just with the wrong name. Deliberately or not hardly matters though."

She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "The truth of the matter is, we're not the only ones looking for him. I'm sure Nar Shaddaa's been combed by the Syndicate for evidence, as well as the Rangers if they wanted to get invested this far. I doubt it, but it seems likely." She tapped a nail on her desk.

"Furthermore, if he's already struck and we're pursuing this late in the game, we'll be drawing up ragged threads that may lead to nowhere," she pointed out, head tilted. "Why are you so fascinated? The likelihood of finding anything concrete is slim, and you know it." She seemed pained at the idea... truthfully, she wanted to understand why he was doing all of this. And why now, in particular, and against the Syndicate no less.

She could sympathize on one hand... but on another, he bombed close to home. And that made it a bit more personal.

"We can't go about looking like a bunch of flashy credits, though," she commented dryly, giving him a slow eye on his outfit. "Sorry, kid, but you stick out like a sore thumb on a rancor."

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal grinned up at Nash, gesturing with his cigarra-wielding hand. "I keep running into him for a reason, and his representing the Jedi is troublesome. His capture would prove our good intentions to half the galaxy. While we are a little behind, the Syndicates and their security aren't, which is something of an advantage." He indicated Ego, who floated slightly forward in response. "Ego and I are well equipped to access systems and recordings. At the least, I think we could trace his wanderings to set areas and narrow down what port a ship may have landed in."

Regarding her next statement he nodded in agreement and stood up from his chair and struck a pose. "Y'think so?" he joked, right before his expression became perfectly neutral for a moment. "The look's intentional." he said before he switched back to his usual smirk, the coat slung over his shoulders lifted up to reveal a small satchel clipped to his belt. "I have other clothes for this, don't you worry." Hannibal found if he dressed in a flashy manner he was quite easy to recognize, but dumb it down significantly and suddenly he was invisible even in places he frequented. A fun trick.

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She raised a brow to his statements, but said nothing at first. She had to agree, being mislabeled was a pain, but for the Cathar, it was nothing new. Everyone tended to loathe everyone in this galaxy, there were no unifying factors to keep it together. She tilted her head and grinned, then slowly raised.

"Cute trick. I'd hate to see your changing skills in action."

Was she teasing him?

Possibly.

"Well then." She shrugged her jacket, feeling the familiar weight of the armor beneath it like a second skin, setting down her drink and scooping up her helmet.

"Let's go hunt for clues, handsome."

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal flashed a wink and turned on his heels, smoothly slipping off both vest and cloak, switching his lightsaber to an upper chest clip and putting on a neutrally colored pocketed jacket overtop his white shirt. He tucked the bottom of his trousers into his zip up boots and smoothed out his hair. Much more blended in than the flashy vest and coat.

"Lets." he replied, striding out the door, his presence in the Force immediately sinking somewhat as the smirk disappeared from his face. Detectable to sensitives, but also making him less noticeable to those who weren't. As they made their way out of the Slicer's Vice and over to the speeder he opened it, slipping into the driver's seat. "We should start with the nearby smuggler's port. It's the most likely place to have surveillance that actually caught anything." he said, starting up the airspeeder and flying them off as soon as Nashyr was inside.

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She slipped out after him, careful to lock up the office and slip the helmet over her head. She knew the cat ears were overkill... but it was her way to blend in as well. Many people did their own custom appearance, but she enjoyed hers for the anonymity of it.

...Perhaps that was one reason why the Anarchist chose such looks, but she wasn't going to dwell on that.

It was a silent ride, but her gaze was drawn by the many glitzy holograms that danced about, completely at odds with the gritty surroundings of the underbelly of Nar Shaddaa. Once again, she was reminded that her place in the galaxy...

It hardly mattered. In some ways, that was a comforting thought, but one she didn't have the luxury to dwell in. "You said you met him yourself before..." she answered, slanting a glance his way. "Did he ever give any reason to attack the places he did?"

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Tapping idly on the controls as they cruised as a reasonable speed through the Nar Shaddaa air lanes, Hannibal took a few extra seconds to respond to Nashyr's question."Oh yes, he did. He seems to believe that criminals participating in particularly heinous activities are better off dead in order to protect the lives of others. Not that Jedi never have to end lives, it just feels to me he's skipping a few steps along the way." He paused a moment to adjust several of the control board settings and turn Arcene into a different lane going in another direction.

"The spice den was also a small refinery, which checks out. The smuggler's port is just a big pile of money for the Hutts. His motives aren't terribly complicated, in the end. At this moment, however, I am more interested on a possible connection to the Knights of Ren. The footage kindly provided by Durr over the holonet is, frankly speaking, absolute crap. I need to piece together other details in order to start tracking people down." He had no proof so far, really, except for some scraps of conversation and the fact that folks dressed as Kage warriors keep showing up. Of course the one on Corellia had announced he was a Knight of Ren, which was part of his suspicion. He had several things to confirm, and annoyingly, one of them would require him to convince Durr the Hutt into letting him visit Nal Hutta and see more detailed feeds. So he needed some more information first.

They would be at their destination in the next few minutes.

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

"Right. And an extra set of eyes couldn't hurt," she slid a glance back over his way, head tilted slightly. Truth be told, she liked this kid... but she wasn't as deep into this as he was. Her biggest drive was clearing the Jedi name; a task in and of itself given the tantalizing, splashy headlines media provided over Zapan's arrest. She barely knew the man after a few brief, chance meetings... But it was enough to know that even a halfway decent Jedi had to change with the times to get on board with what the red-bladed fellow sensitives were up to.

It was secretly heartening to see another fellow Jedi equally gung-ho about all this. There were some skills she was rusty in, slicing was one of them. But at least he had no qualms about it.

"Then let's get some data, handsome," she grinned, leaning into her seat.

The hunt had begun.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

THEME​

Hannibal nodded in response, unusually quiet as Arcene pulled into the area of the port and was parked on the side of a secondary street. He got out with little fanfare, Ego floating up and latching securely to the back of his jacket. He locked up after Nashyr exited the speeder, sinking his presence into the eddies of the living Force, his aura becoming barely a whisper among the myriad other life in the area. He began to move off, slipping through the chaotic crowds swiftly and steadily, clearly well used to dealing with them as no doubt Nashyr was as well.

He was heading towards the main office of the port's security, functionally uniformed gangsters who patrolled the place and made sure no trouble disrupted business. They also happened to run the surveillance over the sub-sector, consisted of fixed cameras and droid patrols. If they could get access to the feeds for that day, they may be able to find the next area to check for metaphorical footprints.

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She stepped out nimbly, stretching as he parked, tilting her head to feel out the eddies of the crowd around them. So many people around... so many bodies, hands that would pick you clean of your valuables in a second if you let them. Like Hannibal, she stepped with an almost feral grace through the many-species throng, gaze an alert green-gold through the visor.

If he wanted an in through security, they'd have to be creative. And for that, they needed more than one slicer. She palmed her computer spike calmly in her sleeve, hands tucking into shoulder pockets. "Shame we can't simply access a terminal..." she muttered, more so to herself than anyone else.

There had to be an in somewhere... some sort of office with an access port and enough to imprint a data chip. She began to casually wander once more, gaze scanning each building near the port with scrutiny.

Follow the trail of slime, and just maybe...

But if they accessed information through the main databank, it would be all the easier. Shame about it being gang-run, though. Guess she'd have to pull a few strings to distract and seduce, maybe.


@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

The young Knight brought his hands up to his hair as he moved, rearranging it into a rougher and side-slung fashion and adjusting his suppressed aura and facial expression both. His face face shifted into one of of calm, casual confidence with small and disdainful frown to match, the aura suppression giving way to gentle impressions of authority and and power. Moments after leaving the crowd, which was now trying a little harder to avoid him, in front of the security station he also changed his posture, upright and broad with long and casual strides.

Then he walked right on in and to the front desk, leaning against it and speaking to the twi'lek seated there, sharp eyes meeting their own. As intended, they looked nervous, no doubt helped by the fact he was flanked by a tiger-striped cathar. "Durr sent me. I need your camera feeds and security logs for this date and these times." he demanded icily, slipping a flimsiplast sheet with notes across the desk along with a datapad. "Quickly, please." Nothing in his tone suggested he was asking for it, despite the niceties, and he no longer had a speck of his usual good humor. If anything he was giving off the impression of a Syndicate hitman.

Which was the point. While there were protocols in place, this was still basically a criminal enterprise, and intimidation had its uses. The twi'lek secretary moved off to the security room with the note and the datapad, at which point Hannibal removed a second from inside his coat and brought up a data feed. In several minutes it blinked several times and beeped an affirmative, then buzzed twice a few seconds later. Hannibal clicked his tongue in irritation before putting it away again.

The datapad had been pre-loaded with a viral program that would later wipe the cameras logs of his presence, but it had been fended off and deleted itself. Which meant he probably couldn't use this trick again for a good while. Still better than them noticing his intrusion into their network from a simple hack attempt.

Having decide it was close enough he waited patiently at the desk, sure his intuition would warn him of incoming trouble, maintaining his posture and expression.

@Killa Ree

//OOC: Dice Roll: 50

 

[Nashyr Ris]

The moment there was beeping, one of the three morons slouching about came leisurely strolling over, one hand on his hip.

"'Hey, kid, I don't think you is who you says you is..." he grinned, showing a mouth of grimy yellow teeth. Two other guys came strolling over as well, watching closely. "You might have to come with me, check out since we have the same... boss..." his eyes panned over Nash, and she could feel herself stiffening, waiting for a fight. The receptionist came back, her face hard.

"Sorry, I can't give you those right now. We'll have to call to verify your... standing with Durr. Regulations and all."

She glanced back at Hannibal... and sighed. If it was going to go down to a shootout, then she was at least armed... But it could never go easily for them, could it?

@Mr. Teatime

Hey. Link! Listen!