The Imperial Seeker - Bastion

[Kelsie Sylvan]

Bastion was a place Kelsie always felt she didn't spend enough time at. During the Empire's time, stormtroopers and army troopers marched proudly about, eventually with the banners of the Pentastar Alignment hanging on every other building. The people were proud. Kelsie was too.

So much had changed since... walking through the Pellaeon Gardens made her wish she could've stuck around longer and aided the admiral in his service to the Empire. Of course, she wished a lot of things. Wished for a better future for herself... wished for her friends to be here, or even just alive. Wished to know what happened to her son.

That was what she was here to learn.

Finally she arrived in front of the Imperial Library, right where she remembered it. It looked refurbished a little, lacking the old Empire's symbols, those things now replaced by the symbols of the Sith Empire. It was an odd sight. Perhaps if there was still a true Empire to speak of she wouldn't have to go through all this trouble to get a little information.

She waited until the right moment, a pair of hurried-looking officials walking up the steps to the library, being forced to step around the immobile, casually-dressed young woman. She acted almost surprised, stepping aside politely and then, for added effect, heading up to the front wall of the library. A pair of armed guards waited outside, but if Kelsie knew anything about military discipline she knew that these two weren't really paying attention. And she was right, they likely didn't even bat an eye under their black helmets as she moved behind the pillar to one side of the door.

Smoothly she pulled her simple black leather jacket closer to her, but to a particularly perceptive passerby they might notice a pair of small, pitch-black spider-like objects fall out the back and quickly scuttle away, sticking to the wall and slipping into the rotating doors just behind another official heading into the building. The extra reflec she'd removed from one of her spare armor sets made the LK spider slicer droids that much harder to detect. And of course, as a final precaution, she'd brought along a Taozin Amulet, tucked neatly in her coat's inner breast pocket. She was far from new to this.

The young woman leaned casually against the library's outer wall, her eyes darting around under her Theia sunglasses as the systems gave her constant updates on the progress of the two little droids. It seemed that they were moving quickly enough, it'd only be a few minutes before they reached the archives.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Oh come now. They must have something on the works of Imperial Agriculture here."

"I'm sorry, sir, but this the Military section. Agriculture would be on the opposite side."

Kahlil frowned, his hazels eyes looking over the timid form of the librarian he was speaking to. The poor man seemed so full of fear for telling the Son of the Emperor he was in the wrong section. Was that how the common folk viewed the Sith? Or, more directly, the Zambrano? He raised a hand to glide through his own hair as he thought to himself, which raised.. A whimper? Did he hear that right?

A brow raised on his features as he glanced to the librarian who had indeed whimpered at the sight of Kahlil raising his hand. He just let out a sigh, shrugging his shoulder. "Alright alright. I'll go check the other side of the building." The Sith tried to ignore the sigh of relief that came from the terrified man as he turned to leave. Best not enforce the idea that the common folk should quiver in fear from the beings that were supposed to control and protect them.

They needed that illusion of peace.

It was as he was leaving however that something caught his eye. Rounding a corner he caught the faintest bit of movement skittering above him. With a quick glance he noticed it. A spider? No, a machine. He didn't try to follow it, knowing for sure it would notice if he had. Instead, he traced the air with his fingers, marking a small sigil.

"S̜̲t̹e̴͚̲͓̖͙̺̪bͅe̤̘͚̳͙͝ ͙̼̣͎͚̰s͙̜̬ͅà̘̣̦͉̺̯̥v̯̻͇i͕̤̞̗̠̥͓m͏͍̲i."

A quick spell, and once he finished the same symbol he traced in the air appeared on the back of the slicer droid as it skittered away. A tracking spell. He left the building then, finding a spot to sit across the way to simply watch. Whoever sent the droid shouldn't be too far away after all, and his burning curiosity to know who kept him from what ever he wanted in the Agriculture section.

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

It was like a punch to the gut, one she should've been expecting. That momentary ripple in the Force as the sorceror's spell flew off his hand. Kelsie felt her ears pop, and she suddenly felt queasy, like the Force was trying to make her sick. Did she ever feel it.

The two little spiders continued on their mission, moving down quickly through to the archive's main database to begin their search. But Kelsie was in no condition to keep up on their progress.

She leaned forward and stumbled, only noticing the tall man walking out of the building out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't focus that long, beginning to cough despite trying to hold it in. It took her a few moments to regain her composure -- but by the time she had, the guards had noticed her. She couldn't stay right there any longer, so she paused for a moment, then continued her way down the steps of the library. She found a public bench, sitting not too far away from that same man, trying to stay relatively inconspicuous and casual... but on a Sith filled planet it was likely the Force user would soon be found.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

It wasn't all that uncommon for Force Users to be in the Sith Empire. In fact, it was fairly common. Kahlil pulled out a small black tome as he sat on his own bench, thumbing through the pages at random. He was patiently waiting for the spider to return to it's master. But something felt... Off. He muttered under his breath a quick incantation and held a small medallion attached to a cord above the black bound book.

At once the medallion soared over to [member="Kelsie Sylvan"] , pointing directly for where she was sitting. With a slight chuckle Kahlil snapped the book shut and turned, giving the woman a slight wave. "You feelin all right ma'am?"

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

Her eyes snapped at the small, glinting medallion as it flew through the air. Hearing the man speak, she turned to face him, her eyes still hidden under her shades. This was rather frustrating. A lesser person might've cracked, being in the core of the Sith Empire's territory, operating entirely alone on a personal mission. It was stressful, but Kelsie had done worse. There was always worse.

She tilted her head as she looked at [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] , seeming a little confused. "I'm fine," she said in a decidedly neutral tone. Despite facing the man and quietly noting down his features, her eyes still flicked around under the shades as the spider slicers continued their journey, far underneath.

The little droids worked in tandem, clearing each consecutive security measure as a team, crawling across the walls behind one another and eventually reaching the older section of the archives. The real work began here, as Kelsie didn't quite have an idea of what she was supposed to be looking for. Her son could've gone under a great many names, gone on to do a great many things -- each search would be long and arduous. She'd have to get rid of her company as soon as possible, without drawing attention to herself.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Are you sure? I felt something a little off earlier. Someone affected rather negatively by the Force. Pretty rare for that to happen y'know." Kahlil shrugged his shoulders faintly towards [member="Kelsie Sylvan"] as he glanced over to the building again. That spider sure was getting busy from what he could feel. At least now that he had someone to talk to he might be able to find the droids owner without suspicion.

Little did he know though.

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

Bingo.

Searching

Search Terms:

"Sylvan"
"Kelsie Sylvan"
"Squad 42"
"Aarken Treram"
"Alexis Tanner"
"Daniel Houston"
"Fern Zakaali"
"Evalyn Colbun"
"Hawk"
"Eyes"
"Blast"
"Cobalt"
"Ghost"
"Dust"
"Vanguard"
"Vanguard Program"
"James Sylvan"
"Pentastar Alignment"
"Delta (1-50)"
"Jace Faypick"
"Squad 41"
"Voron Sicarrio"

While her expertise wasn't slicing, Kelsie was decent enough, and the spider slicer's programming was good from what she'd seen. This little breach would just seem like another standard data access, but Kelsie would need to see the documents and data before she could make any decisions, and that would take time, especially considering the encryption level of many of the files. She'd lost most of her access codes a while ago, so she'd need to wait -- perhaps she should've gotten a room at a hotel nearby.

"The Force?" Kelsie feigned looking confused for a moment, before seemingly realizing what the man was talking about. "Oh, yeah, that thing... I dunno, I was just feeling a little sick is all. Happens to me sometimes." From what she could guess, this one was some kind of Sith sorcerer, not someone she wanted to tango with, at least not if he could put any sort of distance between them. She shifted slightly in her seat, moving closer to him just barely, and thanking the Force that she brought along her Taozin amulets.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Must of been from my spellwork earlier. I do apologize. Searching for an answer to a technical problem." Kahlil seemed none the wiser he was talking to the very problem he was investigating, though he did raise a slight brow as [member="Kelsie Sylvan"] seemed to scoot closer. It seemed to confuse him for a moment, until of course his mind made it's own natural conclusions.

Kahlil was the son of the Emperor. Wasn't surprising folks warmed up to him, if only to keep the wrath of his father from coming down on them.

Or gaining his favor.

"I'm Kahlil."

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

Kelsie sensed something small in his little introduction. This was someone important, but she had no idea who... she cursed under her breath. More research to do next time. A Sith, too, that was... bad. Not wanting to seem too odd, she flashed a smile to him. "Nice to meet you Kahlil, I'm Jacquelyn," she said, just in case he decided to search her name later. "You live here?" She didn't know too much about the surveillance systems here, much less the Empire itself -- but from what she could tell they weren't exactly slacking.

The files streamed in, and a small audio played to summarize the important points of each one. Her split attention might prove problematic, but for now she'd continue to work.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"At the Academy, sorta. Been traveling more and more these days to get stronger and what not. Boring Sith stuff." Kahlil brushed over quite a bit of the Sith lifestyle only because he was sure [member="Kelsie Sylvan"] was neither able to or cared to understand it. He kept on assuming much about the woman, casually dismissing her in the back of his mind as nothing more than a commoner as he focused on his tracking spell.

The spider had stopped moving for some time now. What ever it was sent to do, it was doing. Should only be a matter of time before it came back out and led him to it's master.

"What of you, Jacqyelyn? Live here or just visiting?"

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

Kelsie didn't mind being brushed off, at least in this situation, but she had that bad feeling in her stomach. This Sith was doing something, something she probably wouldn't like. She stopped checking the documents, and gave one more search -- 'Kahlil' -- before ordering the slicers to download everything and leave the building the way they came. She then shifted in her seat to face Kahlil, taking off her glasses to reveal her deep hazel eyes. She smiled softly, the kind of smile that made most stutter. "Oh, I'm just visiting... honestly I've been lost all day, I really should've gotten a guide or something," she said, her soft smile turning into a little pout. Hopefully that would be enough to get his attention -- it was for most men to say the least -- but she knew the Sith were rather odd creatures. No guarantees. There never were in her line of work.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

The search for Kahlil would reveal two things. First, his tenure as a student within the Bastion Sith Academy. A promising student at the top of most of his classes, but noticeably far behind in classes concerning close combat and physical endurance. Despite those short comings, he graduated at the height. Second, he is a son of the Emperor himself, but most information on this seems to have been deleted.

As much as the young Sith wanted to keep the conversation as a casual distraction he found himself suddenly flustered, blinking furiously as if to clear [member="Kelsie Sylvan"] and her smile from his mind. He broke eye contact almost immediately, glancing to the building as he coughed, trying to cover up his stutter. "A.. Ah. Right. A guide is usually a good idea for planets such as this. Is there a place you were looking for?"

For all his pedigree, the young Sith was still a young man who spend his life in a book, not the world.

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

It'd worked. Excellent... she rolled with it and gave a warm smile once more, again shifting closer to the tall young man, though this time with a slightly different intent. "I don't really know, I've never been here before. Maybe I need a local's recommendation," she said, making it a partial offer. Having one less set of eyes on the building would be nice, and perhaps she'd be able to glean a little information from him about the state of affairs with the Sith. Of course she had no idea who he really was, but having at least some relation to one of the Force users of the faction might be useful.

She glanced down at her glasses, her eye movement still just barely picked up, as she ordered the slicer droids to move back towards the spaceport and send the files on a tightbeam communication to her ship. Hopefully no one would notice, after all those spiders were meant to be stealthy and small.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil coughed again as he glanced nervously to [member="Kelsie Sylvan"] 's warm smile. "The uh.. Well. I don't really have an recommendations. I spend most of my time in the Academy, so I don't know really anything about what to see. I know where places are at least." He figured the usual Sith recommendations wouldn't be any use to someone without a Force signature. The common folk needed to be protected from the truth of the Galaxy after all, and as a Sith it was his duty. Still, he definitely wanted to suggest something.

"There's a great Caf shop down by the Si-" He trailed off, his attention immediately pulled by his marker suddenly making a beeline for the space port. At once his flustered demeanor changed, his eyes narrowing towards where the spider was going for just a moment. Then his attention returned to his companion, the placid smile from before back. "By the Space Port. I plan to head that way, if you'd like to see?"

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

"I'm sure all the Sith academy stuff is nice," she said, with a hint of indifference. Perhaps she'd look into it later, but right now it wasn't the time. She had better things to do...

Then again, she did have a lot of time. Enough time to head to a cafe... at the spaceport. "Really? I'd love that," she said, once more flashing that perfect smile of hers. Inside, though, she felt a pang of doubt. Could this Sith be sensing her droids? Might explain his sudden change in plans. But she kept up appearances and smoothly got to her feet, putting her glasses in a pocket on the inside of her jacket. She definitely didn't want to lose them.

"Lead the way, mister Kahlil." She knew the way there, of course, she'd basically beelined to the library once she'd gone dirtside, but she wanted him at least partly in front of her as they went. And of course, the obvious gesture of acceptance in a way.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Of course." Kahlil took the lead at [member="Kelsie Sylvan"] 's inclination, his hands calmly clasped behind his back as he stood. At this point he had begun to ignore her presence, calmly walking through the busy streets of Bastion. He wasn't much for conversation, instead focusing on the mark he had left on the droids to make sure he was on the right path. Once they entered the space port the young Sith blatantly ignored the Caf shop, instead following his marker without a word.

The woman mattered none now.

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

Kelsie got to her feet as well and followed the young Sith on his way towards the spaceport. She watched him intently, knowing that he wouldn't notice if she didn't talk. His odd conviction and how he walked gave her a sinking feeling in her stomach. Best case would be that he had to meet someone else at the spaceport or something. Worst, he knew exactly what she was up to.

But he didn't, did he? Otherwise he would've done something about her, first. Or paid attention to her at all. She could work with that.

She continued to follow Kahlil, staying just behind and to his left. Her ship, where the pair of spiders had gone, was a heavily modified YT-1300. The droids had slipped in through the cargo bay and went directly to her work room. The young woman put on her sunglasses once more, her eyes darting around inside to make sure everything on the ship was properly stowed and hidden, and to make sure there weren't any police or soldiers nearby. She was certain that her quiet movement and his attitude towards her would mean he wouldn't notice until it was too late.

[member='Kahlil Zambrano']

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil continued right through the space port with a focused gate, still oblivious to [member="Kelsie Sylvan"] following him. She had become a literal after thought now that the droid had stopped at it's destination. He made a casual note of the ship as they entered the hanger. There was no one else inside, not even a crew, which cause the young Sith to narrow his eyes. Was it a droid who was sent without a master?

Or were they the master?

Now that he was taking in the environment he finally glanced over his shoulder to the woman, blinking in some surprise. "Ah, sorry Jacquyelyn, duty called. I'd step back now, I have an intruder to deal with."

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

"Oh, okay," she said, once again giving that dismissive hint in her voice. She looked away and took a step back. "What are you gonna do?"

She really hoped it wouldn't come to violence or something. It wouldn't be very fun. Even with no witnesses it'd be rough. But she wanted to see what he planned to do first, perhaps she'd be able to avoid a confrontation... or at least, make it clean.

She put her hands under her armpits on the inside of her jacket, within easy reach of her blaster and slugthrower. She could only hope.

But perhaps it was time for some aggressive negotiations.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"What I do best." He gave [member="Kelsie Sylvan"] a confident smile before holding out a hand. He didn't have any of his usual relics, not even his staff. Just his sword which rested on his hip. He'd have to go about the old fashion way to cast his spells. Kahlil moved his hands as if he was pulling from the air around them. The lights flickered as the shadows of the room shifted, coalescing between the Sith's hands into a small sphere of a bottomless abyss.

"S̯̜u̜̞͙͚t̢͉͙̪̤͙t͔̪̯̤̺̤͎̕a͝ ̷̱͍̪͚ͅC̻̼̱̟̹̥͉͢h͉̤͍̲͖̣ͅw҉̭̦̥̭i̬̦̮̼͍t̟͓us̡k̩̺̫̯̺̭̳͘a̝̯̙͝ͅḱ̩̠."

The sphere launched at his words, striking the side of the ship. On impact it detonated, expanding in a violent rush of heat and dark energy. His target? Right where he felt the spider droid, both to expose it and keep who ever owned the ship from escaping.