Umgul City

Arezou drums her leathery fingers on the table softly as she listens to the detective lay out his case, not finding it as convincing as the Rodian seems to think it is. Biometric records can be altered, and the witnesses claiming the brother was as the academy could be lying to protect their Grandmaster. Arezou also knows that there are Force powers, like Similfuturus and Force Phantom to name only two, that would allow either twin to appear to be in one place to others while actually being somewhere else like Sike's estate. The version of events that the UPD presents is also not entirely outside the realm of possibility either, and so Arezou decides there is not anything to lose by cooperating. Generating some goodwill with the UPD cannot hurt after all, and Arezou would not want to be looking in the wrong place if the true enemy is someone other than they thought. Looking from the Rodian to her associate to see what his opinion is, Arezou sees Klivian shrug noncommitally, and then looks back to Nemes to say, "Your case is weak, detective, but not beyond all belief. I would like to hear more about how you and the Jedi came up with your suspect profile as well. But first, in the spirit of sharing, we do not know of any mercenaries or assassins matching your profile, but can make some inquiries to see if any of our other associates might. As for who might have hired someone with the skills you've described, I suggest you look closely at Strilath the Hutt. His business interests lay in similar territory as ours, and he has always resented our . . . market dominance. He has also employed offworld talent in the past. Smiling predatorily, Arezou says, Naturally, we will make our own inquiries as well, and let you know of anything we useful we learn. Folding her wrinkled hands together on the table in front of her, Arezou says, Before we end our time together, I'd like to give you a suggestion about things you might want to look into regarding your dismissal of the Vyridian twins. Research the Force powers Similfuturus and Force Phantom, and find out if either of the brothers know them. You will understand the suggestion when you do your research. Now then, tell me more about how your suspect profile was built."





Strago runs a claw tipped hand over his scaly head as he answers the woman in an impatient but oddly calm voice, "I feel like I got thrown through a wall and stabbed, that's how I feel. Look lady, no offence, but can we skip the whole you try and make nice with me so I cooperate part and just get to the part where you tell me why you dragged me back in here when I already told you everything I know? I hurt all over, I'm on a lot of painkillers, and I don't like cops or being in these little rooms much. Cut to the chase, huh?"

Recover.  Extrapolate.


Giving her best attempt at a sympathetic and understanding smile, Madieke forces herself to call on some of the techniques for building rapport she has learned over the years as she says, "I can see that you're not feeling very well Mr. Strago, and I truly do appreciate that you agreed to come in even though you are hurting.  I can assure you that I won't keep you any longer than necessary. Strago does not seem as paranoid as Orainn had, but Madieke decides to go about her interview with him differently, and not to let him know that they are looking at a different suspect than the one he identified to try and avoid getting his back up.  What I'd like to do is help you dig a little deeper into your memory of the events last evening.  You may have seen, heard, or even smelled more details than you realize, and I can help you recover those memories if you'll let me.  The more specific detail the case has, the stronger it will be.  Sometimes simply assuming a witnesses cooperation will lead them to cooperate, and so Madieke forges ahead as though certain Strago will agree to what she has asked, To start us off, why don't you tell me what happened last night from the earliest point you remember to when you were attacked.  Try and use as much detail as you can, even if it seems irrelevant.  Afterwards, I'll teach you some ways to improve the amount of detail you can retrieve, so we can then go over your memories again while using those techniques."  Sitting back in her chair comfortably so her posture demonstrates she is no hurry, Madieke waits patiently for him to tell his story.       




Nuala shakes her head when she sees the look Nemes gives her to let him know that she doesn't have anything to add, her thoughts already moving on to ways they can find out about the Force powers Arezou had suggested they research.  While she is no expert on Force abilities, Nuala can guess what the one called Force phantom does, and extrapolate from that what the Weequay is suggesting might have happened.  Maybe they crossed the Vice Governor off the suspect list too early after all?  Or, as though that were not a creepy enough thought, maybe they eliminated the Grandmaster too quickly, and have been chasing their tails while working right beside the killer they are hunting?  The implications of what Arezou suggests could be pretty disturbing, but Nuala decides to wait until she knows more before getting herself too freaked out.        

"Whatever, let's just get this over with," Strago says, settling himself in the chair since it sounds like he won't be leaving anytime soon. The first version of his accounting of the previous evening's events is simple enough: Strago had been assigned to stand guard inside Sike's home, outside the doors to the Bothan's rooms. An avid crossword fan, Strago had been working on a particularly challenging clue when he heard the sound of the front door opening. When he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, Strago had set his datapad aside and drawn his blaster while walking towards the stairs to get a look at who was coming up. Strago recalls hearing the footsteps cease, after which Andros Vyridian leapt into view and extended an arm, throwing Strago back with the Force so hard that he was flung around and crashed through the wall behind him. Strago's next memory is of hearing a lightsaber being ignited, and then the sound of Vyridian's footsteps coming closer. Strago's last memory before losing consciousness is of feeling the lightsaber piercing his left side.

After Madieke teaches him the memory improvement techniques, Strago's story remains unchanged, differing only in the level of detail he is able to provide. Unfortunately for the Ranger, little of the detail proves useful. The smell of his own singed flesh is the predominant odor that Strago recalls, and the enhanced visual memory he is able to call on only fleshes out the portrait of Andros Vyridian he is able to provide. Even the most identical of twins are distinguishable, differences in diet, exercise, environment, and thousands of other factors causing subtle differences in their appearance ranging from weight and facial wrinkles, to build. Strago is able to recall with Madieke's help several such tiny details that explain his certainty that it was Andros Vyridian that attacked him. His attacker did not speak, so Strago can provide no details about his voice, and the black clothing worn covered all but the attacker's face. Strago is also able to describe the clothing worn by the attacker beneath his hooded cloak in detail after the memory exercises, providing details such as the fact it included a sash and included a gi-like tunic.

After telling his story for the final time, Strago asks tiredly, "Are we done here now? I still don't get why you haven't already brought Vyridian in yet. What's the hold up there?"


           __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Arezou resists the urge to laugh out loud when Nemes reveals that the UPD and Rangers are working with the Grandmaster of the Mist Order, finding it highly amusing that they would think it wise to include the twin brother of the prime suspect in the murders being investigated when both brothers should be looked at closely in her opinion. Even more amusing to the Weequay is the fact that she has never heard of a power like the one Nemes describes being used to create their suspect profile. How very convenient that the twin of the prime suspect possesses a unique Force power no one has ever heard of that allows him to point a finger elsewhere. Orainn's fear that a cover up is going on is sounding less unreasonable by the minute, Arezou thinks to herself as she says, "If we find anything about possible matches for your assassin, you'll hear from us. Nodding to Klivian to show the investigators out, Arezou smiles and tells Nemes and his cohorts, I've enjoyed our chat, it was most informative. Good luck with your investigation."

After Klivian has shown the group to the door, he returns to his seat and shakes his head as he asks, "They can't really be that blind or dumb, can they? Chuckling to himself, Klivian says, I wish I could see their faces when they research those powers. Putting his hands on the sides of his head and then moving them outward, Klivian says, Mind blown, right? Picking his datapad up and beginning a new holonet message, Klivian says, We have to let the lawyer helping Orainn out with his press conference know this. The press will love it. UPD incompetence, maybe a government and Jedi cover up. Great stuff. Do you still want me to have someone look at the possibility the Hutt was behind things?"

Arezou nods, "Of course. If it was one of the Vyridians, let the UPD and Sector Rangers try and deal with them. Strilath we can deal with ourselves if it looks like he's the responsible party. Or maybe even if he isn't. It might be wise to nip that potential problem in the bud."

Entin & Orlov Residence

Mace wasn’t at all convinced by the act that the two were putting upfront, Atlantis had decided to lay it all out, well now she was thinking that they were getting somewhere, and the fact that Mace was still looking at the couple very placidly did not give anything from her demeanor or expression right now. She supposed that it was the right way to act, to look all indignant, to look all confused and she wasn’t faulting them for that, if obviously both of them were saying the truth, then she guessed that there was only one way to prove it she guessed.

“Please, we all know how easy it is to manipulate people’s memories especially when they are not attuned to the Force. . .” Began to say Mace as she still did not quite followed Atlantis who had started to take his leave, Mace wasn’t quite done yet and there was still something irking her about Helaine’s voice. Just the tone of her voice was really hitting Mace’s nerves, for someone who was older than her, for someone who was capable of many more things, really that tone of voice could have gone to begin with.

“You know what I have come to realized?” Asked Mace rhetorically before pocketing the piece of paper she had been holding thusfar. “You have already made your first mistake that one evening.” Said Mace thoughtfully as she looked straight in Helaine’s direction that time as she said her words. Mace did not say which evening at all but she was very certain that Helaine was smart after all and not just some mindless and clueless bimbo really, if Mace could put it that way.

“You must be relishing in the fact that you are causing chaos, that you do not even know what is waiting for you, and his,” Mace briefly gestured in Atlantis’ direction and then added on. “Code will do anything and everything to stop what is going to come your way, but fact is, I pity you both, because while the two of you pretend to stand united, and pretend to be sheltering the other,” Looking at Lyov this time with a nonchalant shrug. “Who is going to protect you from one another in the very end?”

Mace lift her hand and just turned around before shaking her hand as she walked away from that despicable sight she was seeing from Helaine. “Really, please do keep on looking dumber, I am sure that it is what your Master wishes you to be, a mindless puppet to his scheme.” Smirking at the thought, she waved her hand again. “Really it is fine, Lyov we do know our way out, like I am sure you would love to be getting rid of every people that are standing in your way to attain your goal, I will applause you when that happens but in the meantime, we shall show ourselves out. . .”

Leaving it at that, Mace looked over her shoulder with a daunting smile in Helaine’s direction as if to encourage her to even start contradicting her right now, but really this was a 50/ 50 scenario, either way, no Mace did not need the witnesses’ names on who were invited here last night because they already had it and it amused her that they had specifically chosen Andros to be the so-called culprit because if there was one thing she intimately knew about the younger Vyridian, no one wanted him as an enemy.