An Uncommon First

[Kay-Larr]

The news of [member="Eddak Manod"] 's murder came as a shock. A big one. For the entire morning she just kept to herself, not speaking with anyone or even eating as she tried to grasp the situation. There was no motive discovered as of yet. Of course there was speculation and security within the Palace was heightened as a precaution, but still, the very fact that such a close friend was murdered was difficult to grasp.

In the hours that passed, Kay decided to step out of herself for a moment and treat the situation like one of her mystery novels. As always the cases there were broken down into the simple: who, what, where, when, why and how. But every time she had thought that she could figure out some kind of a motive, it just wouldn't make any sense. Maybe she was just too emotional over it. The whole thing was too close to her heart.

Eddak. She was going to miss him. Dedication and loyalty were hard to come by, and he had it in spades. What was to become of Galderra? What was to become of his staff? His people? He had no children that she knew of. [member="Bradshaw Ku"] was said to be contacted to take care of things there for a while, but she wasn't sure if he was going to be reached.

Kay sighed as she gazed out of one of the tall windows in her office. It was fitting that the clouds were heavy with rain. Maybe the weather chose to fit her mood. Regardless, she couldn't afford to avoid everyone. There was time for grieving later.

Earlier in the morning she had sent out a request for a meeting with [member="Callum Calahad"] ; a private investigator with a great record on solving cases. If anyone could gelp find Eddak's killer, he could. That is if enough evidence was left behind.

 

[Callum Calahad]

Callum stood outside the Royal Palace as rain cascaded from the clouds. Bad weather for a bad situation it seemed. As he gazed up at the great windows of the palace, he wondered just how many murders would take place before the galaxy was satisfied. Hundreds? Thousands? Probably more.

He waited outside the main gate to the palace as he smoked his cigarette, the smell coating his now drenched suit jacket. As he puffed the last of his cigarette, he dropped it onto the wet pavement and stamped on it, twisting his foot on the stub. Upon approaching the gate, he was met by a guard. Obviously the palace was under increased surveillance since the murder, so hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with another murder of a government official.

"Sir, I must ask that you present identification, and that you hand over any weapons you may be carrying." The guard ordered, and Callum obliged, showing a holographic image of himself with his credentials written next to it. He then handed the guard his DT-29, and stepped inside the gates.

The palace was magnificent, and had it been a different occasion, Callum would've wanted to look around. But business came first, he could have a tour later. He was taken swiftly through the corridors of the palace by a member of staff, before finally stopping infront of the Queen's office. The staff member knocked on the door firmly, before walking away.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

"It's open."

Kay was in the midst of refreshing her cup of tea. Word had already been passed of the arrival of [member="Callum Calahad"] to the Palace as soon as he had gone through security. She wasn't dressed in any regal fashion. Today was just supposed to be a day spent working in her office, so slacks and a long sleeved shirt was the order of the day. However for comfort she had a shawl wrapped around her. It gave her an excuse to hug herself and cross her arms over her chest.

As Callum stepped in, Kay bowed her head to him. "Welcome to Commenor. I wish that it was for better circumstances, but I think that good circumstances are never a part of your job. Please have a seat. And would you like some tea? Brandy? Water?" Serving others was never something that she thought of as being beneath her. It wasn't as though she was born into a monarchy at all.

 

[Callum Calahad]

"Thank you your highness, water would be nice." Callum replied, before taking a seat and admiring the room. So much art and culture had been beyond him, working in the dark and crime ridden underworld of Coruscant, he still hadn't caught up with all of it.

"You're right about my job, your highness. This isn't the first murder case I've worked, but all the same, I'm sorry for your lose." Callum said, removing a small capsule from his pocket. He'd seen enough murders to have them engraved in his mind, and the pills helped him deal with that.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded and poured [member="Callum Calahad"] a tall glass of water. Carrying both drinks, she handed him his and then sat herself down in one of her chairs, tucking her feet underneath while she cradled her cup in both of her hands.

"Thank you. [member="Eddak Manod"] was a close friend. He took the safety of myself and my family very seriously. I just wish that we'd of been successful in doing the same for him." She sipped her tea, her brows furrowing in thought. "I can have some of his staff brought in to you for questioning. I can even have an office set up for you, along with your own chambers. Would there be anything else that you need?" She wasn't sure if he'd require her to be interviewed or not. And no doubt he'd want to see the scene of the crime. Images were taken of it, as well as of Eddak's body before it was sent off to get some tests done. It was all going to take some time.

"I...don't even know if he had any next of kin..."

 

[Callum Calahad]

Callum placed the pill in his mouth before taking a large drink of water. He made a face of disgust as the pill slipped down his throat, he still hadn't gotten used to the feeling or the taste. He'd looked over the news article about the King's death, and heard the holorecording on his way to the palace. Didn't mean he couldn't listen to it again, he might have missed something anyway.

"The office and chamber would be useful, though don't go out of your way to set me up here... If you'd like, I could look into Manod's history? See if I can locate his next of kin? I wouldn't charge you." Callum said, though he knew that there was little hope of finding anyone related to the king. "Also, I'll need any surveillance from the King's home if that's possible. Do you have anything you can tell me about the crime? Did Manod mention anything that might've seemed odd?"

Callum looked out the window as the rain poured down it, as if the sky was injured by the king's death. It would be a long night, but hopefully the murderer could be found and tried soon enough.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay hadn't even gotten in to how much [member="Callum Calahad"] would charge her for his services. But it wasn't as though that was a big concern for her. She was just a wee bit more financially secure than the average joe. Well maybe quite a bit more than a wee bit.

"It's no trouble at all. We've got plenty of space." She sipped her tea as she pondered on his questions for a moment. "His home world is near the Empire's space. However the Empire is one of our allies. So I don't think that they'd do this..." Kay chewed the inside of her cheek and then got to her feet. "Please excuse me for a moment." She headed ocer to her office door and opened it. However instead of stepping through, she just looked to Olivia seated at her desk. "Olivia, could you get in touch with [member="Ailred Vruumond"] and have him come here as soon as possible?"

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you." Kay closed the door and then headed back over to her seat, taking another sip of her tea after she had sat back down. "I've just sent word for obe of Eddak's staff. He'll have more answers than me."

 

[Callum Calahad]

Callum jotted down what [member="Lady Kay"] said, noting the vicinity of the crime to territory of another faction. Even if the CSA and the Empire were allies, it didn't mean that everyone believed in it. And with an assassination so close to the Royal Family, it could be assumed that this was a message. More facts would have to be gathered however, and with the Queen's help, Callum could hopefully get a hold of anyone that could've seen what happened.

"Thank you your highness. Any help you can offer in locating suspects would be much appreciated. Would it be possible for my weapon to be transferred to my office? Got a feeling that whoever killed Manod won't be too pleased to find out someone is looking into it, let alone a PI." Callum said before taking another drink of water. "Has the body been examined yet?"

 

[Neldar Poska]

[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Callum Calahad"]

Ailred wasn't entirely busy at all, in fact, he was a little bit free. He was still getting things arranged with Mon Calamari Shipyards to get his ships constructed and the plans to locate his people hadn't even been drawn up yet. He could decide to start work on them, but then that's assuming what assets he would have in the future. Unfortunately, with the recent incident occurring involving Ailred most trusted and cared for best friends, he dropped everything. Everything. Ailred was not a man to show emotion but this had touched him and effected him in a way he had never experienced before, not even the conflict that resulted in so many of his people dying had hit him this hard. However, when Lady Kay requested his presence concerning the matter, he took the next available trip straight to Commenor. Eddak considered Lady Kay family, and even though Ailred didn't know her as well as he did, he still considered her something of a step-sister, of sorts. Out of respect, he had arrived when she requested. He had been patiently waiting outside; AIlred was perhaps the most patient man Lady Kay would ever meet, but it wasn't just pure patience. Ailred always had a lot to think about, all the time. Just recently, it was more than twice as usual, and worse.

When Ailred was called, he appropriately stood and addressed his outfit; a uniformly robe-like attire. He nodded to the secretary with a thank you and he headed for the door. He gently, oh so softly, knocked on the door and cracking it, "Greetings, Lady Kay." He slowly pushed the door open and proceeded inside, his face looking positively emotionless. However, it was just a front, holding back his emotions like the largest flood gate ever created. "You requested for me? Please, how may I be of service to the illustrious Queen of Commenor?" he asked with a great bow.

 

[Kay-Larr]

"Yes, I can have your weapon transferred. As you can imagine, new guests are often encouraged to leave their weapons with security as a precaution. Once your clearance has gone through, you'll be free to carry it on you."

As she was about to answer his next question about Eddak's body, [member="Ailred Vruumond"] arrived. She bowed her head to him. "Yes, please come and have a seat. This is [member="Callum Calahad"] , the top of his field in private investigations. I've recently hired him to help with discovering who..." Kay took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The reality of the situation was still hard to grasp. More so because she didn't want it to be real. "...who murdered Eddak. And more importantly, why. I was hoping that you'd be able to help as well and provide more insight than I could."

 

[Callum Calahad]

Callum stood as the door opened, and nodded to [member="Ailred Vruumond"] entered. His stance suggested he was military, and given the circumstances that wasn't a big leap. Hopefully he'd be able to provide more answers than [member="Lady Kay"], given his loyalty to the murder victim.

"Greetings Mr Vruumond, it is a pleasure to meet you, though I wish it weren't under such dire conditions." Callum said as he offered his hand to Ailred. "You wouldn't mind if I asked you a few questions about the murder, I'm sure you wish the killer be caught as soon as possible." Callum then took his seat once again, and turned to the Queen. "Thank you Your Highness."

 

[Neldar Poska]

[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Callum Calahad"]


Ailred had nothing on his focus except for Queen Lady Kay at the moment, agreeing to her words. When she introduced the Investigator, Ailred then turned his attention on them. He gave Callum a soft bow before walking over and taking a seat with everyone. "Greetings Callum Calahad, I am Ailred Vruumond. I am what you would call the Head Priest of my people, but I was Eddaks.... First Admiral. It was an honorary title, being his first Admiral, I had leeway with the others. I would have absolutely no issues with you asking me questions, as long as you don't mind turning our illustrious Queens Office into an Interrogation Room." Ailred gave a smart-ass response, though it was mostly triggered out of stress. Ailred still had a way of doing things, and didn't feel the Queens Office was an appropriate place to ask people such questions in such a manner. Besides, the Queen and Eddak were friends, and Ailred thought much more gentle words could be used, and less direct attention to murder being spoken right in front of her. However, he would yield to the Queens decision, "otherwise, I'm completely at your service."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded to [member="Callum Calahad"] as he thanked her. She made it a habit of hers to acknowledge the words of others, instead of just waving them off. Everyone was important in their own way. Everyone had a purpose.

She raised a brow as [member="Ailred Vruumond"] responded in a strange way. It took her a moment to recall the culture of Eddak's people. They saw women as being almost fragile in their sensativity and the need to protect them was very strong. But Kay had seen a lot and gone through a lot. So she shouldn't be phased by anything that she would hear. Yet...Eddak was her friend. Certain details might be too much for her to take right now, given everything that's happened as of late. "Would you like me to go? I don't really need to know anything other than whether or not my people are in danger..." And her family. She was glad that her children were safely off worls right now.

 

[Callum Calahad]

Sarcasm, great. Murder cases were serious, no place for jokes, and Callum could already tell that the [member="Ailred Vruumond"] was going to be a problem if he kept the act up. He did find his response intriguing though, he seemed to care a great deal for [member="Lady Kay"] and her well-being when it came to things like this. Unfortunately, she would have to hear things she didn't want to, facts that would be hard to swallow.

"You may stay Your Majesty, I have no problem with you being here, it is your home after all." Callum reponded, walking over to the window. Still raining, did it always rain here? He pulled a small voice recorder out of his suit jacket, before walking back over to the desk, placing it on top and switch it on. "Mr Vruumond, I'm going to ask you questions relating to the murder of Eddak Manod. Anything you say can be used in my investigation, so I ask that you answer the questions truthfully. Do you agree to these terms?" It was standard procedure for Callum to record the interviews, and to disclose to anyone he spoke to that what they said would be used.

 

[Neldar Poska]

[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Callum Calahad"]


Ailred shook his head from Lady Kays response, it seemed Ailreds meaning wasn't taken as expected. "No, you misunderstand, Queen Lady Kay. I have no reason to ask you to leave, I implied for us to leave. This is no interrogation room, and this fine gentleman shouldn't treat it as such. But if you wish for this to happen here, I understand, Queen Lady Kay." Ailred gave a bow with his head, soft and slow, his eyes shutting as his head tilted down and then opened again as it came back up. Except, he turned to Callum immediately afterward. "However, Callum Calahad, you will ask questions I deem appropriate. Eddak was my best friend, and I am loyal to him. If you ask anything slanderous, I may choose to leave. I have never lied in my life." Ailred and his people didn't have the culture of Galderra, in fact, they came from an entirely different world. No one was different, not from their eyes, to their clothes, to their sex. He didn't carry the same thoughts that women weren't seen as entirely equal to men, even if Galderra had their own excuses on the matter. But Queen Lady Kay... was a Queen. And whether or not she considered herself an equal among her people, Ailred wanted to treat her as a Queen, and merely felt holding an interrogation in a Monarchies office was blasphemous.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded to [member="Callum Calahad"] as he assured her that he wanted her to stay. So that was settled then. [member="Ailred Vruumond"] seemed to agree on that front too, but in a different sort of way.

"Interrogation rooms are meant to intimidate people into answering questions. I don't believe that any of us require intimidation in order to give Mister Calahad the answers that he seeks. We all want the murderer to be found and arrested. And I assume that everything said here would be kept strickly confidential. That is unless there are some secrets about Eddak that he didn't wish for me to know?" Her friend cared for both herself and her family deeply. She knew that. But she doubted that any of this had to do with them. More than likely the murder was done by someone that had their own personal vendetta against Eddak.

But those were just her own guesses.

 

[Callum Calahad]

Callum gave a sigh, and walked back to the window. People always seemed to think they got to decide on the questions he asked, which was not the case at all. No, Callum would ask what he deemed useful to his case, and expected to get answers that were just as worthwhile.

"Mr Vruumond, I will ask whatever questions will get me closer to the truth. Nothing I ask, and nothing you answer, will be released to the public unless it is relevant to the case. I am not a journalist." Callum replied sternly, walking back to the desk and taking his seat. "Where were you on the night of Eddak's murder? You said you were his First Admiral, so I imagine you were with members of the Navy?" He could already tell that Ailred would be difficult, but that could easily be because he was in shock, or it could be to remove any idea of him being involved in the murder.

[member="Ailred Vruumond"] / [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Neldar Poska]

[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Callum Calahad"]


Ailred crossed his arms, looking right upset. He answered the Queens call out of courtesy because Eddak had sworn a life of allegiance to her. But he didn't realize he'd be badgered with questions and seen as a suspect. "I'll answer what I deem necessary - Naval duties weren't called in. There was no war, Galderra didn't have a sizeable fleet, most things were handled by the Fleet of Commenor," he gestured over to Lady Kay with a nod. "Unfortunately, I'm not as worthy of the title as you may think; it was an honorary title. To answer your question bluntly, I was on Dak; Mon Cala. Discussing new ship designs with some Mon Calamarians which I was preparing to use to gather my people who have spread among the stars." Ailred could have went into detail, but it didn't seem like it mattered for this moment.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay looked to [member="Callum Calahad"] as he sighed at the window. She hadn't seen him work all that much yet, so she wasn't used to his mannerisms, nor the tactics that he favoured when it came to how he got the information that he sought.

She then turned to [member="Ailred Vruumond"] as he crossed his arms, clearly not at all pleased with what was going on. Kay frowned slightly at the way that he phrased his answers.

Yet she remained silent, not wanting to interfere. At least not until it was requested of her. All that she wanted was to have this matter solved and to ensure that others weren't in danger. She had no malicious intent. Hopefully everyone would understand that in the end.

 

[Callum Calahad]

"You'll understand if I ask for someone to collaborate your alibi? I want to eliminate you as a suspect as soon as possible honestly. You don't strike me as the kind of person to commit murder." That was a half truth. No one was beyond murder, but nothing had suggested to Callum that [member="Ailred Vruumond"] would do such a deed. Nothing yet at least. The whole situation was a mess, and trying to pussyfoot around the issue wasn't going to get results.

"Did Manod mention anything to you that seemed strange, anything out of place?" Callum asked, before turning back to [member="Lady Kay"]. "Your Majesty, could you possibly get the post-mortem report sent to me? It would help a great deal in narrowing down suspects."