Ask Karn's Relinquary

[The Storyteller]

Karn's Relinquary

When Imperial Peacekeepers arrived on the scene they found the Commander's residence to be thoroughly searched. Clearly they had been searching for something and they had found it. Built into the floor the peacekeepers discovered a safe that was sliced open by what looked to be a lightsaber. All that remained inside were a few thousand credits, but it was obvious that the main item that had been inside was missing. About the size of a book. Go to the penthouse apartment, search it, interrogate Commander Karn to find out what had been stolen.
Participants: @Guinevere​

Rumor was that the Imperial Security Bureau was panicking. They knew the Emperor would be livid that something had happened to ruin the skyline from his Raxus palace and the involvement of a high-ranking commander cast the worst kind of light on them. After all, if Commander Karn truly was corrupt then how could the ISB be trusted to handle real espionage assignments? Get your affairs in order, give the Imperial Armed Forces control and oversight. The whole bureau was on the brink of a coup if they didn't manage to solve this quickly.

The intelligence department had ciphers, but for this assignment the director had chosen someone who had been critical of Commander Karn before. Agent Guinevere was perhaps not the best impartial investigator, but if something of a dislike for Levik lingered she might have the right drive to push him into the airlock that much faster.

So they send her in alone, without an impartial partner to play Devaronian's Advocate, and as the elevator dinged and the doors into Commander Karn's penthouse slid open she was looking at the confused faces of a dozen peacekeepers. They appeared to be investigating as well, their own investigation perhaps, but some of them looked a bit more rough around the edges than Imperial dress protocol preferred.

One of them, standing close to the elevator as if to guard it, saluted the agent. "Peacekeeper Cala, ma'am," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly afterwards as if he was nervous about seeing her here.

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

Was it cosmic karma that had finally caught up to Commander Karn or simply bad luck on his part that reportedly a small group of Sith targeted his penthouse and raided it for contents yet unknown? Finding out what was stolen would be the easy part, assuming at least a minor amount of cooperation between the branches of the ISB but that was certainly far from guaranteed.

Nodding to the saluting Peacekeeper, her first impressions of the scene and those within it were less than happy. "Agent Delevigne. My orders are from the Director to command this investigation and by the emperor, you will remember that." The snappy address aimed to scuttle whatever shenanigans the others were up to and properly assert her control over the outcome of the investigation.

Guin's own pristine dress was in stark contrast to the messy outfit standing before her, but that was a problem for Karn, not her. This was her big chance to mark a mark within the ISB and she intended to do just that. Adjusting her coat with one hand and a briefcase in the other, she'd brought a number of tech items that she thought might be useful but first, she needed to know what they knew.

"Leave now if you have a problem with that." The agent waited for any of those who might do so before continuing. "Status report then? What have you found? I want a list of all the possessions of value inside this room prior to the theft and explosion." Making her way over to a nearby port and plugging in a company device she began scanning the local networks. "Any recordings or witnesses spot any suspicious activity? Any leads at all? I can assure you that we will get to the bottom of this."

If there was a rogue Sith group responsible for this heinous action, Guin knew they had to act fast or they'd never be found.

@Eccles

 

[The Storyteller]

The nervous looks on the peacekeepers intensified. An agent from Imperial intelligence was send By the Emperor to investigate? Guinevere would recognize a few of them as having been on the planet Wayland in the Ojoster Sector. "Yes, Ma'am-" Peacekeeper Cala said and others nodded to confirm that they, too, would remember who had been put in charge of the Imperial investigation.

None of them left when given the opportunity, but a few did straighten their tunics and ran a self-conscious hand over the one-day stubble on their chin. "The whole place is a mess," Peacekeeper Cala began with the status report, while Guinevere would notice that one of the twelve seemed to be speaking into a communicator as he walked out of sight into what she could only guess was the kitchen. "-seems Sith didn't like Commander Karn's efforts in the Expulsion, or perhaps his senate appearance denouncing them,-" he was after all very visible to the Galaxy as one of the faces of the New Empire. "-the safe was slashed open by a lightsaber, which seems to corroborate the theory that it was them."

A look around did reveal that the otherwise spartan penthouse, lacking personal affectations as far as Guinevere could see, was trashed. The couches were overturned and the holo-communicator seemed almost ripped from the ceiling. Two peacekeepers were hunched down over what seemed to be a hole in the floor which was located were presumably the U-shaped couches originally belonged.

The peacekeeper returned from the kitchen and Guinevere would recognize him as Davik Dyne. He was one of Levik's men that had been part of the same group as Guinevere on Wayland. There was no doubt that he had recognized her as he stuffed the communicator back into his pocket. "We heard the Imperial Knights are chasing the terrorists," Davik said, shooting a look at Peacekeeper Cala, "Good thing Commander Karn was still at the office, right, Agent Delevigne? Can't imagine facing Force-users and surviving," the other peacekeepers seemed to agree with that sentiment as they remembered Levik's previous encounter fighter the Sith. Back on Taris it had almost cost him his life. Unfortunately for Davik, Guinevere would've been briefed on the fact that Levik hadn't been at his office at the time of the attack.

@Guinevere

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

The penthouse was a curious sight, and the distraught peacekeepers added another piece to the puzzle. The agent stared at Peacekeeper Cala briefly, holding a neutral smile as he was cooperating and sharing information freely first. Having read the commander's file and an interesting encounter with him previously, Guin was keen to get to the bottom of this quickly and establish whether there was any truth to the rumours and conjecture or if it had indeed been idle talk.

"Let us take a look, shall we?" she motioned toward the opened safe and made her way to view it. The tell-tale signs of a lightsaber cut were indeed present alongside a pile of credits stashed in the corner. A small protective wrapping was all that remained of whatever item had been its centrepiece, leaving the agent to wonder as she plucked it up. "Have you seen this before, Peacekeeper Cala? Do we know what the safe contained?"

It hadn't escaped her notice that Dyne was present, abruptly disappearing into the kitchen and reappearing. This investigation would never be properly completed if those present were interfering in some way. As she made her way over to the holo-communicator, she waved him over.

"Good, the Knights will solve one problem and we will solve the other. Commander Karn may have legitimate reasons for his actions, and we will not rush to judgement without evidence." She looked Davik in the eye as he mentioned the Commander's office, intentionally not revealing her hand for the moment, and instead began searching the holo-communicator for its memory bank and popping it into her pocket.

With that out of the way and with a stern voice, Guin wasn't taking her chances. "Peacekeeper Dyne, your communicator, please." If she had to also turn this place upside down in order to find the truth, she'd do it.

@Eccles

 

[The Storyteller]

Peacekeeper Cala, earnestly, shook his head. "I heard someone say a diary," one of the other peacekeepers chuckled as he heard Cala repeat such an unlikely theory, "as it appears to have been a book of some kind." but who would in their right mind put a book inside a hidden safe? "Maybe something inside a case that resembled a book in size?" That was about as far as Peacekeeper Cala had come in his guesswork and his mind drifted to the small pile of credits in the corner of the safe. For him, as a mere peacekeeper, that was about a month's worth of Imperial salary.

His answer to the agent was interrupted by Davik Dyne's return to the room and Guinevere seemed instantly disinterested in the poor well-meaning peacekeeper to focus on the holo-communicator mounted on the ceiling of the lounge area. Davik, although surprised by Agent Delevigne's presuming Commander Karn's innocence, wasn't born yesterday and while he aided the intelligence operative in her work of securing the databanks of Levik's private holo-conversations, he wasn't in any way startled the moment she asked to see his communicator.

"Unfortunately it just broke," he smiled and took a step backwards as he took the communicator out of his pocket and immediately let it fall on the floor, "See?" The smile widened into a grin as he stepped on the communicator with his heel and more or less crushed it. Another Peacekeeper that stood nearby seemed to shrug, "They break all the time. It's a real problem." It wasn't a coincidence that this one's uniform also wasn't up to Imperial code. Whatever shady business Commander Karn might be involved in.. these two were clearly in on it.

Davik returned the hand to his pocket, also against regulations, and with his free hand pointed first at the safe and then at the databank in Lieutenant Delevigne's pocket. "So you got what you came for then? Proof of an emptied safe and the private calls of a superior officer?" the tone of voice was filled with disdain. No doubt Davik had supported Commander Karn's promotion to director.. one that he had been denied recently. It all seemed like a poor attempt to frame Director Senyn into ordering a biased investigation to get rid of a bureau rival, while at the same time pinning the attack squarely on the Sith attacking a publically known Imperial officer.

There were other options open to the agent in her investigation. She could try and figure out where Commander Karn had actually been at the time of the attack, for it was neither at home or at the bureau headquarters. She could also order him to be detained and brought in for questioning based on the suspicions she already harbored against him. Or she could try and scour the HoloNet about items about the size of a book that the Sith might be interested in. This was her investigation and she was free to accuse him of nothing, or a thousand things, assuming she'd have the evidence to back it up.

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

Guin brokered a simple smile as Davik stood on his communicator. "Your cooperation has been noted. Peacekeeper Cala, please secure the contents of the safe." What he did with it was none of concern, instead plucking her own communicator out and broadcasting, not breaking eye contact with the shifty fellow. "Suspicions confirmed, status one. Appears to be a forced entry by Sith." It had been reported by eyewitnesses that several artefacts had been stolen, but so far they could only confirm one had existed so far.

"Cross-reference Commander Karn and his codes with any references to any known Sith artefacts on file regarding a book or of that nature, and let me know what you find." The witness statements were sufficient for probable cause, but they were not likely enough beyond that but pull enough threads, and something will fall into your lap. If a single report anywhere in the imperial system linked them, it would be flagged.

With the attempted deception by Davik to mislead her about the commander's whereabouts, she at least had the upper hand there. "Keep an eye on Karn, invite him in for questioning if you don't hear back from me." It was as much of a threat as any, if Davik or the others touched a hair on her head, they'd do so at the risk of their boss.

While Guin was busy up in the penthouse, other agents were downstairs finishing taking evidence or witness testimonies.

"Witnesses claim they saw multiple objects being removed from the penthouse, yet the evidence only shows one. Search the penthouse for clues about what may have been taken." Assuming they dispersed, she was under no illusion that they would probably assist her in this properly. Pulling Cala aside to walk with her, she slipped over to open her briefcase and removed a small device.

With a lowered voice, she started to try to coax some information from the man. "We both know that Karn wasn't in his office last night, and anyone caught lying for him is bound to land themselves into trouble. Tell me what you know, and I'll make sure you're justly rewarded and, more importantly, kept anonymous." If that didn't get her anywhere, there were alternate methods she could employ. But in the meantime she began to walk along the floor and walls, sweeping with the device looking for hidden compartments or devices.

@Eccles

 

[The Storyteller]

On the other side of Agent Delevigne's communicator a full department of HoloNet-experts began to do as they were told. Commander Karn had been involved in the Sith expulsion from the Empire and as such had put his signature under several sith artefact founds that were moved to the Imperial Vault here on Raxus. Furthermore, after his promotion to Commander he had done several inspections. He had arrested a planetary governor over the man's allegiance to the old Sith Warlord that had ruled the planet before and had discovered a possible theft at the Raxus Imperial Vault itself before ordering a full audit of the vault's contents. The audit report had been Overseen by an intelligence supervisor and hadn't been part of the search results. There had been no reference of a book or an object of similar size.

Her threat didn't seem to make quite the impression that she wanted it to. Her assertion that it was possible that they perhaps wouldn't 'hear back from her' was wild. Murdering an agent of the Imperial Security Bureau while she leads the investigation into your actions was a sure fire way to the labor camps and then the imperial execution block. Having her fail to get any results in her investigation, however, could ruin her career. So they simply nodded and pretended to be looking for more artefacts that were perhaps hidden under the rubble.

After being taken aside, Peacekeeper Cala seemed to frown for a second. Had the agent just offered him credits to do his job? Bribing him for information would be so obvious that the others would probably ensure he met an accident within a forthnight. Still, if he had to choose between the Empire and loyalty to Commander Karn, well; "All I know is that Lieutenant Lorso went to the old city to notify Karn,"

Another name that Guinevere would recognize. Lieutenant Lorso had lead his own team back on Wayland before getting ambushed after taking the ridge overlooking the militia's camp. He had been shot three times and lost an arm to shrapnel, but Levik had made sure he got the best cybernetic replacement. There had also been a bonus involved, but that one had been off-the-books. The old city referred to the pre-Empire Raxus capital. It had older buildings and a high peacekeeper presence over reports of spiceheads frequenting the area.

That gave Guinevere three options. She could head to the old city, she could delve deeper into the imperial records about this rather concerning theft of the Imperial vault or visit Lieutenant Lorso to find out what it would take for him to rat out on his superior.

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

The answer given by Cala was rather incomplete, but perhaps so was his own information. "Notify Karn of what, exactly?" The agent pressed him for anything more he might have on the subject.

There were two main prevailing theories floating about in Guin's head about how Karn had amassed these artefacts. Given his recorded visits to an Imperial vault, it was possible that he had somehow managed to smuggle these items from within. Although, she would have expected the report to note a book missing if that were the case. The second was that the Commander had taken them from the field and illegally withheld them from Imperial records.

Either option was likely trouble for Karn, but the ever optimistic agent wondered if the man had a legitimate defence for what appeared to be illicit actions. But confirming that would require being able to ask the man himself, which wasn't certain to be possible.

Guin made her way back to the port scanner she had plugged in earlier to check if anything of value had been located, and if so, would transfer the data back to her home terminal. Once complete and assuming the other peacekeepers failed to turn up anything of note, she would file a short report before departing.

It was time to pay Lorso a visit.

@Eccles

 

[The Storyteller]

Peacekeeper Cala looked at agent delevigne for a moment in what seemed like utter surprise and confusement. This was the agent they put in charge of investigating the terror attack? It was as if they did not want to find out why Commander Karn had been targeted in fear of damaging the reputation of the Imperial Security Bureau. "Of the attack on his home," Peacekeeper Cala replied, earnestly, "Agent Delevigne, are you alright?" his face betrayed worry yet also mild amusement. He had heard of the agent's dancing attempt at a recent award ceremony and silently seemed to wonder if she was as good at investigating crime scenes as she was dancing.

The results of the port scanner were inconclusive. Nearby networks also included the subnets of the wealthy imperial citizens whose penthouse apartments were located above and below that of Commander Karn. When it came to subnet of Karn's penthouse it was utterly conform Imperial regulations. In fact, judging from the activity logs of his automated lights and kitchen dispensary he didn't appear to spend much time at home. Imperials that worked at the Imperial Security Bureau were known to be work-aholics and Levik Karn didn't seem to be an exception to that rule as his record showed he often arrived at his penthouse late at night or not at all.

Although his imperial file noted presumed 'ties to local gangs' when he was stationed on Taris, there was no proof of him maintaining these ties from the comfort of his Raxus penthouse. Perhaps he was, thanks to his rank, all too familiar with the all-seeing presence of Designation Control.

---

Forty minutes later Agent Delevigne arrived at the residence of Lieutenant Lorso. It was a modest one-bedroom apartment in a building owned by the ISB and housed many of the bureau's non-commissioned and subaltern officers and agents. As she rounded the corner into the hallway she would immediately notice the peacekeeper standing guard and saluting her on her approach, "Agent Delevigne, we've detained and instructed Lieutenant Lorso about your arrival." The peacekeeper in question showed a stubble as if he had been voluntarily working double shift.

The apartment was almost default. It was clean and no item inside was out of place as if the lieutenant had a hard time shaking off prior military service. Agent Delevigne would have had access to his file while in transit to his apartment and it showed the following:

"Imperial File on [Lieutenant] Lopik Lorso

Born in 131 ABY on the planet Corvus, Lopik Lorso seems to be related by blood to known Ossein smugglers and corporate cargo pilots. He shows however no known affinity to astronavigation of indeed the piloting of hyperspeed-capable spaceships and had been relegated to the Imperial Peacekeeper Corps in 152 ABY.

In 157 ABY, while stationed on the planet Taris and serving as a Lieutenant to Commander Karn, Lieutenant Lorso sustained major injuries to his lungs, abdomen and left arm on the planet Wayland. The arm had to be replaced completely by a cybernetic. After his rehabilitation he returned to active duty under the command of Commander Karn, now stationed on Raxus and has seen action during Operation [redacted]."​

Guinevere would find the lieutenant sitting on one of two chairs in the small kitchenette. An opened bottle of cognac, a fine year he wouldn't be likely to have bought on his own salary, sat opened on the table. Two glasses were filled and one of them was already half-empty. "You must be agent Delevigne," he smiled and motioned for her to sit on the only available chair. As she took her seat another peacekeeper came out of the small bathroom, nodded a salute and then made his way to the hallway to give them some privacy. "I've been told you have some questions for me?" the smile faded and he took another -rather large- sip of his glass of cognac.

Through his window, which offered a view on the apartment building across the street, rather twenty meters away, Guinevere could hear and see that it had begun to rain.

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

The agent made a mental note of the information that was being made available to her, each little piece of information just waiting to be pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. Whether or not she'd be able to do it in time before the commander disappeared into the void, or worse, something bad happened, was still in question.

The file on Lorso provided some interesting facts and connections that she hadn't known before. Taris seemed like yet another clue in an ever expanding investigation, but without the time to properly check everything out, it might have to be done at a later time, she mused.

Returning the salute to the peacekeeper outside the door, Guin smiled. "Thank you, much appreciated." It was difficult to tell how this discussion would go, half expecting the man to support the commander to his dying breath but also half unsure. If indeed the commander had engaged in illicit activity, it wouldn't have been the first time, and in doing so he may have burnt many bridges. It would be interesting to see which ones remained standing once the house of cards started to tremble.

Stepping inside the small apartment, she immediately noticed the state it was in. It was a stunning contrast to the expensive bottle sitting beside him, prompting her thoughts tracing as to what kinds of questions to start with. "Yes, Lieutenant Lorso." The agent moved to sit down across from him, taking out a small datapad and placing it on her lap.

Guin noted the cybernetic arm, looking back at his eyes. "You did a fine job back on Wayland, Lieutenant. I'm sorry that it came at such a high cost." She remembered how his team had been ambushed on the ridge, and the damage he had taken suggested that he had not been privy to any of the mole business. Even back then, Guin had been interested in pursuing the mole lead more, but Levik had blocked her access at the time. Once that had just been a frustrating internal issue, but now it appeared suspicious.

She wondered if Lorso might share a similar train of thought or share anything that could be useful.

"Commander Levik has taken care of you for the trouble, it seems, but I wonder if his hand had anything to do with placing you there in the first place?" Depending on how he responded, she'd reconsider her next approach. "Generosity can come hand in hand with guilt, you see."

@Eccles

 

[The Storyteller]

Lieutenant Lorso smiled and then shook his head. "We were doing our jobs, agent," he simply replied and then took his half-empty glass from the table for a sip. "Bit overconfident despite your intel, perhaps, but it had obviously been a trap anyway." In fact, in part due to the events on Wayland the bureau had placed Commander Karn in charge of Operation Oracle. The intel had come from a Cipher he had requested to insert herself in a local anti-imperial group on Raxus, but once they had been able to connect the Oracle to the players on Wayland, the Nikto and the mole, somehow the upper level had determined Karn might as well lead the oracle thing as well.

He exhaled sharply through his nose and seemed to suppress a laugh, "Commander Karn also is not one to feel guilt." and yet the fact remained that Lopik Lorso walked around with a brand-new cybernetic arm from Imperial Czerka. "So let's not beat around the bush. Why are you here, asking me about Levik Karn's generosity and guilt, and not out there chasing the Sith terrorists?"

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

Guinevere gave a knowing nod as the Lt spoke, it had been a difficult time with limited knowledge to work with. At the time, they had fully believed the mole had been terminated, but who really knew what was going on with this commander?

Adjusting the data pad in her lap, she paused after his question for a moment to consider her words once more. "Perhaps not." Lorso could be of great help to her investigation, but she'd need to get him cooperating first. "The terrorists are being dealt with, but I am dealing with why they were there in the first place."

Pulling up a small photo of the book cover found in Karn's safe and showing it to the Lieutenant, she pressed on. "I have sworn affidavits that the terrorists were seen leaving his penthouse with several stolen and off the books artifacts. Given that I can find no paper trail for how they could be there legitimately, I can only assume they are ill-gotten goods."

Even Lt Lorso would know the dangers of housing such artifacts in an unsecured manner, worse still in a civilian territory. Was it evidence of callous disregard for the safety of others? Or simply a means to an end. "The commander seems to be living well beyond his means, living it up, investing large sums of money...buying things." She glanced over again toward his arm and bottle.

"I suspect that you know this already, but I need your help to both find him and connect the dots. If he has betrayed you, the peacekeepers on Wayland, he won't stop there. Will you help me?" Now she would also find out where his loyalties lay, and potentially at what cost.

@Eccles

 

[The Storyteller]

Lieutenant Lorso frowned at the agent's bluff while all she showed him was a picture of an emptied safe and a layer of dust revealing that something the size of a book had been inside of it. "So you have a witness of a terror attack, one that involved Sith Champions," his smile widened as he took the bottle from the table and refilled his glass, "swear they saw the Sith leave with several artefacts and you assume they're ill-gotten goods?"

The peacekeeper in Lopik Lorso wasn't impressed. "Commander Karn will have your assumptions thrown out and bring in experts that call into question the validity of a witness' observation during a traumatic event. All that your picture shows," he paused as he put the cap back on the bottle and placed it back on the table, "Is that he owned a book."

That Commander Karn was living beyond his means was true.. at least when you only consider his Imperial salary and factor out the dividends of his shares in Systech Corporation. Shares he bought with 20% legit and 80% illegitimate funds. Lopik Lorso knew all of this because -quite frankly- he was Karn's lieutenant for a reason. He had known where to find him when his penthouse got attacked and made quite a sum from his business with the Exchange.

"Suspicions don't get convictions, Agent Delevigne-" he shook his head and then took a sip from his newly filled glass of cognac, "-evidence does." Then he simply opened up his cybernetic hand and rested it on the table with the palm up. Was he merely resting it? Or did he suggest that -for a fee- he could help her get the evidence she needed.


@Xorism

 

[The Storyteller]

Meanwhile Designation Control found himself under siege from a net-signature he could only decrypt enough to read Siren.

<... Activate EI-9 Network Security Droids ...>

Although Designation Control had a processing capability that was seemingly on par with those of the EI-9 network security droids due to him being not just a slicing savant, but a cyborg as well, the dataplagues that were being used to assault the Imperial Security Bureau were not already registered in the vast memory banks of known malicious programming.

Aided by the droids' powerful multi-core heuristic processors, Control could adapt and react even quicker to new security threats, deploying new programs or adjusting existing ones on the fly faster than an organic could ever hope to.

<... Scan memory banks to match 'Siren' to known malicious programming ...>
<... Scan completed: No match found ...>

<... Error: Unsufficient Rights to Artefact Databank ...>

If Designation Control still had enough humanity left he would most likely curse at his screens. The intruder had just revoked his access to the Artefact Databank!? This was a bigger threat than he had ever encountered since joining the Imperial Security Bureau. Finally, a proper challenge.

<... Run Directive 34-21-09: 'Restrict Access to Operational Files' ...>
<... Operational Files Restricted to Clearance Level 'Imperial Council' ...>

<... Run Directive 66-20-77: 'Isolate Imperial Vault' ...>
<... Error: Imperial Vault Databank currently in use: Unable to Isolate ...>

<... Show Last Command: Imperial Vault Databank ...>
<... Last Command: 'Delete Audit Reports' ...>

---

Agent Delevigne would get a ping on her datapad with a simple message from Designation Control:

"Slicer attacked Imperial Vault Databank. Audit Report was deleted. Data overwritten then corrupted. Defensive Measures Ongoing."​

Which meant that Guinevere had apparently missed her window of opportunity to go and investigate what had been reported as missing from the Imperial Artefact Vault. Perhaps it had been something the size of a book. Hopefully the supervisor in charge of said audit had read and remembered it and the information wasn't lost completely.

@Xorism

OOC: Minor negative IC-consequence to not posting within the 48h window.

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

Agent Delevigne watched with an ironclad expression as Lorso reviewed the picture and offered his opinions. To some extent, he was right. If she relied entirely on a handful of witnesses, it was likely that Levik could walk on such evidence. That was assuming, of course, that she wouldn't be able to find a single camera angle either within or around the penthouse on Raxus that could corroborate the statements, but even as she worked on securing this, it would likely take additional time.

She watched as he laid his hand out, but she wouldn't flinch. "I agree, Lieutenant, which is exactly what I am here for." Guin had more up her sleeve than simply dangling a stack of credits in front of him, although she was prepared in any case. "I have broad jurisdiction on this case, and with that comes certain privileges. If you provide the evidence that we need, I will arrange for a confidential immunity deal to be struck up for you. Anything that implicates you in any way, connected to Karn, would be null and void."

Guin would watch for his reaction whether he was interested in such an agreement, but if not she would hear out his demands.

Feeling a buzz coming from her datapad, the agent glanced down to check the incoming messages that on first glance appeared concerning. Quickly typing up a message to HQ, simply reading - Problem at the vault, get me a statement from the supervisor who audited it ASAP. Hopefully, it wasn't too late.

@Eccles

 

[The Storyteller]

The statement was quick.

"Supervisor Athmon recalls that Commander Karn ordered a full audit of the Imperial Vaults after he suspected the theft of several lightsabers of individuals with high ranks among the Sith Order and detained the Fortress Commander for High Treason. We confirmed that the lightsabers were indeed missing, as were other artefacts, and are in the process of interrogating the Fortress Commander to learn his accomplices."​

It seemed that Commander Karn was good at his job. Finding out about the theft of lightsabers was no small thing, after all. Was the slicer attacking Designation Control a separate incident? Were the Sith helping their inside man by destroying evidence and attacking the man that accused him of theft? This lead to even more questions.

---

Lieutenant Lorso meanwhile seemed a hard man to impress. "You're offering me immunity?" he asked, the smile never fading from his lips, "For anything I may have done wrong related to Commander Karn? Like what," he turned his chair slightly and rose to walk towards the window of his small apartment, "I was late once. Karn wrote me up for it and placed me back on the waiting list for-" he paused as if he tried to convey how small his apartment was, "-better, bigger housing. That while he himself lives in a penthouse. Does your broad jurisdiction also extend towards salary increases, record expungement and better affordable housing?" He seemed to stare for a moment to the apartment building that was a literal stone's throw away, covering his own window in external shade.

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

Guinevere continued to glance at her datapad while Lorso watched the outside. The information received didn't answer more questions than it created, but this whole investigation had been one lead to another. Eventually something would come together, surely, she thought. Quickly typing back a reply, she asked designation control for the following.

> Did any of the missing artefacts noted from the vault match any descriptions given by the witnesses near the penthouse.
> Cross reference the list against Taris and see if anything interesting comes up as Karn was known to operate there.
> Can the audit logs be found on a physical medium?
> Is there any reason Lt Lorso hasn't been promoted to Captain yet?

The ISB was a notoriously suspicious organisation, and it wouldn't surprise Guin in the slightest if they had back-ups of back-ups or fail safes for important information. Still, it was a long shot and there was still the angle in front of her to work somehow.

Looking back up to see Lorso still watching outside, she started to answer him. "Don't be coy, you know exactly what I mean. If Karn has his hand in some illicit activity, he would seek to make others complicit in the crimes." That way, in theory, they would be less likely to turn away from him if they were guilty as well.

"I'm offering you protection, if you were involved and can provide evidence of such things." she mused about his smart comments for a second before continuing as he discussed potential benefits. "It does."

And with a promotion too, if she could swing it.

@Eccles

 

[The Storyteller]

Designation Control had -for his doing- an unusual long delay as he was busy fending off an attack by the slicer 'Siren'. A slicer that more appeared to be his equal when it came to how fast they worked to counteract each other within the network and he needed the extra processing power from the EI-9 droids to truly outpace and isolate her from reaching critical systems.

As such agent Delevigne's questions went to a supervisor directly. Supervisor Tal was a stern Imperial, but when it came to analyzing humint there was hardly anyone better in the Empire. Her reply was the most illuminating so far:

> Unknown. Top Secret Audit Reports from the Vault have been deleted from the databank per Designation Control.
> Two conflicting reports exists on Taris Criminal Activity.

1) Commander Karn reported recent efforts to wipe the gangs from the sewers as a success. Crime numbers have dropped drastically before he was reassigned to the capital.
2) A local Troig by the name of Eccle'baal has been rumored (through humint) to have successfully sold a Shard of Palpatine, Kyber Crystals by the dozens and more recently a Dathomiran Book of Shadows​

> It is against regulation to keep hardcopies of secret audit reports outside the databanks for security reasons.
> Lieutenant Lopik Lorso has not come up for promotion yet as he hasn't reached the necessary benchmarks.​

---

Back in Lopik Lorso's apartment the man turned back to agent Delevigne with a single raised eyebrow. "Get it in writing. A significant salary increase and a bigger apartment here on Raxus. One with a view," he said as he walked back to her, refilled his glass with cognac and sat back down at the table as if he was finally willing to conduct the interview that Guinevere wanted. "Plus protection, immunity and record expungement."

@Xorism

 

[Guinevere Delevigne]

While the information took a little longer than she had hoped, the eventual answer did at last provide some actionable intelligence that she might even be able to use in this little 'chat' that she was having. At the very least, the list of leads to follow up continued to increase, whether they went anywhere or not was yet to be determined.

Tapping away at her data pad, the agent glanced up at Lorso. "Course, the deal will be reliant on the information you provide being useful and relevant." If he fed bogus or information that didn't actually help lead to punishing Karn for any crimes he may have committed, then the Lt would find himself in hot water.

To get a deal written up, Guin flicked a message off with the instructions, hoping that it wouldn't take too long. In the meantime, Guin wanted to probe the Lt with some new information she had just learned.

Switching between the data pad and Lorso, she started casually fishing. "What can you tell me about the Book of Shadows job?" She paused, glancing down at the screen in the hopes that something had come back yet. She had to establish some kind of connection between Karn and this book, a shadowy vault just wasn't going to cut it.

At last, a communication arrived at her screen, bringing a smile to the agent's face. "You will provide written evidence in exchange for these, and you may be called upon to assist with the investigation and potential prosecution as I see fit." Assuming he was in agreement, she would send him the document.

@Eccles

 

[The Storyteller]

Lieutenant Lorso didn't say a word and just kept quietly sipping his cognac for the minutes it took to get his deal in writing. Eventually, though, he was able to read it off of agent Delevigne's screen:

Topic: Lieutenant Lopik Lorso's benefits pursuant a deal he made with Agent Delevigne.
Lopik Lorso will give information to arrest and convict his superior officer [Commander Levik Karn, specifically] and in return will get a significant credit boost to his monthly salary, an upgrade in living conditions and immunity for any crimes he may or may not have been involved in during his time working for the Commander Levik Karn.​

"Finally," Lieutenant Lorso grinned, "Information being relevant is a lovely low bar, so I'll accept it."

Agent Delevigne had met the conditions under which Lopik was willing to turn on his commanding officer, so the rest of this already time-consuming conversation would go much easier. "The accusation against the Fortress Commander of the Imperial Vault was lucky," he referred to the Commander Karn arresting the man in charge of the Imperial Vault for suspicion of theft. "Because while we had nothing to do with those lightsabers going missing, so he probably really did steal them-" something that, due to the records being deleted by the foreign slicer was hard to confirm, "-it also hid the fact that Levik hired a guy named The Devil," he paused as he poured himself another drink, "Crimson Dawn I believe," probably an irrelevant tidbit for someone that -like Guinevere- wasn't fully read into Operation Oracle, "to steal something from the Imperial vault. Not sure what, but the timeline seems to coincide with the Book of Shadows you mentioned."

Lopik emptied his glass and let the liquor burn through his throat for a moment. "But good luck proving it. Levik has been hiding activities from the Bureau for so long he's anal about security. Only uses the long-range holo from a Pazaak Den in Old Town that isn't monitored by Designation Control."

@Xorism