Check Out My Staff

[Holden Tark]

Hanna City, Holden rarely traveled into such a nice city to find a buyer for his artifacts, but this one was unique. Too many people could abuse this particular find, so Tark decided it belonged in a museum. The curator of the Hanna Institute of Antiquities was out of town on business, but another staff member had been asked to take a look at the historical value of the item. Holden hated how museums always assumed his kind were crooks trying to pass off forgeries, but if he were in their shoes he'd likely do the same.

Holden was dressed as if he had just come off an expedition, because usually that was the case. In his right hand he carried an a silver, rather long, protective case which was naturally locked, only opened with a frequency key. Holden carried the key in his boot.

Walking into the institute, Holden checked in with the receptionist and was asked to wait. His attention was caught by an early design Echani staff, likely dating to 3,000 BBY. He smiled looking over the detail, wanting to touch it, almost touching it, but knew better. The last thing he needed was to upset security. He would be found admiring it from a distance.

[member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Alleycat]

Daska had lost track of time while deciphering a stone tablet that had the linguistic department all in a tizzy. It was like a puzzle, and the Chandrilan loved solving puzzles, but not riddles. Now they drove her nuts.

"Miss Tess… Your appointment is here - a [member="Holden Tark"]. He's waiting for you in the East Room," buzzed in the receptionist.

"I'll be right down. Thank you," Daska replied, then finished jotting down her last thoughts and impressions of the words on the table in her datatpad before reluctantly leaving the work to meet a salvager, who had found some artifact on a salvaging expedition he thought that should be in a museum. The young well-studied archaeologist was cynical at best, but her boss had given her the task of finding out what he had none the less. In her business as an antiquities collector herself, she had learned the hard way one never knows when junk suddenly becomes treasure or visa versa.

The blue-eyed golden blonde with a wavy below-the-chin bobbed hairstyle was dressed simply chic all in black, no frills. When Daska entered the East Room high heels lightly clicking on the tiled floor, she easily spotted the man for whom was her appointment. He looked like her when out on one of her own expeditions. His intent curiosity of a one-of-kind Echani piece gave him away too as did the long, silver case he was holding that said mine.

"Mister Tark…. I am Daska Tess, an associate here at the Hanna Institute," she offered with a business-like smile and an offered hand for a greeting shake. "I understand you have something of great interest to show us - a staff? I have a particular fascination with those. Shall we get to it, right this way."

A graceful motion of her hand showed the way and off they went to a side room that was for private showings.

 

[Holden Tark]

Tark grinned when the blonde greeted him. "Hot Damn! This is my lucky day,"[/color] the Corellian thought to himself as he caught site of the woman which would be handling the appraisal. Holden already knew the staff belonged in the museum, he just was picky on which one. Thus far three museums had not appreciated the lengths it had taken Holden to aquire the staff in the first place. Hopefully this one would, and the associate seemed to be keen on getting a peek at what was in the case.

"Holden, please. I haven't been one for formalities since CorSec disbanded. Though Ms. Tess it is a pleasure to be here. Anyone that can appreciate housing a one of a kind Echani staff near 4,000 years old, will certainly appreciate what I have in the case."

Holden followed her into the room for the private showing. Blue tinted green eyes dipped below her waistline to check out the sway of her hips. Her walk was interesting, not completely the walk of someone who sat behind a desk and pushed paper all day. This one had seen field work.

Once they enters the room, Tark placed the silver case on the table. Bending down to retrieve the key from his left boot, Tark pressed the small button which would release the locks. Opening the case, Holden stepped out of the way for Daska to see the staff. The staff was pure white, seeming carved of wood, and one could not tell it had been in three pieces. Holden had a smile on his face knowing the woman had never seen anything like this.

"So, you like my staff...."

[member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Alleycat]

"CorSec? Then you must be Corellian… I am truly sorry to hear of the fate of your homeworld. I spent some time briefly on Corellia in my youth. I thought it most beautiful there," she replied, making polite small talk.

Daska watched with silent amusement as [member="Holden Tark"] pulled the key to the secured silver case from his boot, then keen azure eyes fixated upon what was in the said case. The archaeologist's heart skipped a beat, okay three, as the staff was revealed. If it was indeed the staff, then this would be a coo of unspeakable riches and status for the Institute not to mention for the archeology community as a whole.

The Chandrilan opened a cabinet in the room and pulled out a kit. She slipped on a pair of white cotton gloves, then turned on a hand-held scanner. Tess' gloved fingers began to caress the long shaft of the staff with a tenderness and loving appreciation that spoke volumes of the devotion she gave to her profession.

"Oh I do, very much like your staff," Daska smiled with an appreciative twinkle in her eyes. "Please tell me how you came to have this artifact in your possession. No detail is too ls small," she nodded schooling her face again, then began in earnest testing the ancient staff for autheiticy.

 

[Holden Tark]

"Glad you like it," he smirked thinking of the double meaning and innuendos laced through this whole exchange. "And yeah, I'm Corellian, and it stinks about the planet, but you know, it gave me the push I needed to do something different. I don't think a Tark male has not been part of CorSec for at least a few hundered years."

Yeah, it all went back to Darren Tark. Every Tark could tell the story of how it was a proud heritage to uphold, and yada yada. Holden had never really wanted to be CorSec, but coukdn't deal with not following tradition. He enjoyed his adventires much more now, and the cyborg which was accompanied him most occasions had been a good friend. Though, Holden sure appreciated being in the company of a fully 100% human woman.

"Found all three pieces after I dug up a holocron on Ossus. It led me, and the Jedi helping me at the time, to another temple where each piece was found. The scavenger hunt was interesting. The first piece was way to easy to nab, the other two well, not so much. The second piece nearly got me run through with a stone spear, and the final piece almost had me flattened by the ceiling. All I can tell you is its called the emporer's staff, and was used to bring people, and thjngs, together. Well lost people and lost things. The theory I've recently guy into is..." he pointed to the notch at the top of the staff, "...there is an amulet of some kind that fits here, and when placed in the right spot will point to where some major artifact rests."

It was all theory at this point.

[member="Daska Tess"]