| abstract
| - Built over looking the Caamasi Gardens, a lovely nearly upscale hotel is found. Within the lobby, an entourage of bellhops and ESPO Security along with CoprSec moves, taking luggage to some appointed room and ensuring the Direx's safety. The woman herself is seated upon a posh bench, with her blonde assistant beside her. Each woman holds an infant, both very pale, the flesh devoid of olive and yellow hues, with a very slight lavendar complection. The infants, girls, coo and giggle as the adults play with them and talk about the purpose of the visit. "I swear, I hate holding hands with the contract holders here. Tatooine is by far easier to deal with. If they get their goods great, if not, well that grounds for coming out to visit. Here, anytime there's a hint of civil change, unrest, violence, they get worried over their orders," the Nagai, Nitisha speaks softly to Carnylla. The blonde meanwhile keeps perky and chuckles. "You sound stressed," she teases, "Perhaps you came back to work too soon," she dares to say. With his human aide in tow, the Mon Calamari Senator steps out of the lift, grumbling to his aide--a middle-aged woman, though she carries herself as a much younger woman would, and looks the part as well. "If Sandomere _is_ behind this, he's going to find himself in a political black hole," Tokoga grumbles, looking down at the floor. "You should be happy you have the support of your people, Tokoga." the aide comments. Tokoga rolls his eyes. That was more or less a given, considering his political history on his own planet. Still looking more or less at the ground in front of him with a slightly annoyed expression as the two make their way through the lobby, the Mon Calamari doesn't notice the Direx or her entourage. Jaz squeels sharply, and Nitisha shakes her head, "Hush you, you'll draw too much attention and get into trouble. Far too soon for that my deal," the woman bends down to kiss the infant's cheek then places her into her buggy, and old style contraption, but the Direx thought it was charming when she bought it. Standing up she bids her aid to watch the younglings and starts to approach the Senator. "So, any idea how all of this got started?" she asks and crosses her arms so her hands rest upon her hips. An old habit of when she used to secret weapons upon her and expected words to come to violence. It was also her stance of power, rarely mistaken for timidness. "I have heard rumours and I do not like where they're going," she tells him and regards his aid then inclines her head slightly. "Hmm?" Tokoga looks up, not immediately realizing that the question is addressed to him. What was someone of her stature doing here personally, anyway? Maybe she took the adage of 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' to heart. "I don't like where they're going any more than you do--probably a great deal more," he answers, crossing one of his arms across his chest and placing the hand of the other arm against his chin in a casual, thoughtful position. "But you already know part of the story, it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out the rest," he smiles playfully; meeting the Direx seems to have lightened the Senator's mood. If nothing else, it was an outlet for him to tell stories to. "Do you have time to talk this over where there are less ears?" she asks him. "I am disturbed by the recent addition of rumours." Damage control, no doubt is what brought her here. What better way to get through and figure out how to save her and the corp's rep than to talk to the one the mess is centered upon. Nitisha keeps her stance and looks to the lift and thinks, "I should be able to move into the study of my appartment," she offers, "And Nevia makes a wonderful pot of tea." "Of course." The Mon Calamari nods solemnly, his voice taking on a more serious tone. He turns to his aide and puts his hand on her shoulder. "You'll be alright without me for a while, Alexis, yes?" The woman bats the Mon Calamari's arm away with a grin and nods, putting her datapad in her pocket before making her way toward the exit. "I hope that the civil unease this whole mess hasn't had too drastic of an effect on your operations," Tokoga offers when he turns back to the Nagai. Nitisha waits for the assistant to vacate and then starts to head towards the turbolift, directing the male to join her. "The unease," she shakes her head, "Contract holders are worried, but sales are going up, especially in the personal armour and small arms area. Your people are worried. That is what the sales tell me." The hands fall from her hips and then clasp behind her back. "So, lets start from teh beginning. You know Nass is dirty and do not have a shed of evidence. What about these words that you are lining your pockets? Will this kill the council before it's fully formed?" the woman asks once in the turbolift and the door is closed, her attention on the Calamari. "The Defense Council is designed to be an integral component of the Senate, it's not going to be dissolved simply because a contractor failed in their fiduciary obligations." The Mon Calamari shakes his head and drops his arms to the sides, looking at his reflection in the lift door. "I've scheduled a press conference tomorrow to present independent audit reports of my own, er, pockets, as it were; that should mitigate further political fallout on my part. But dealing with it has taken a significant amount of time, and has cost me significant political clout in the Senate with legislation that would help deal with Nass." She nods slightly, "What a baffoon," she states, "Surely you check up on those you're going into contractual agreements with." The door opens and she steps out, heading to where her appartment for the stay is. A bell hop opens the door for the pair and she makes it straight for the study. "Neiva," she calls, and a blue and silver protocol droid appears, "A pot of tea please and all the fixings. Inform the rest that I am not to be disturbed." The droid half bows to Tokoga when he enters and then in a sweet alto voice states the acknowledgement. "Under normal circumstances, yes--but it wasn't a funding proposal that I had been involved in, and Senator Sandomere's positive vote for my anti-racketeering bill was contingent on the funding amendment's approval." Tokoga stays silent until the two of them get into the study. Once they've sat down in the study, he continues. "And considering that he represents Ord Mantell, it isn't a huge leap to ... make the proper connections." "Who lines Sandomere's pockets," she purrs as she leans back in her chair. There's a shake of her head. "Rumours I have heard is that you came to me to secure arms for your personal use. To secure your position, one would assume. I do not desire the media to get ahold of that rumour," she states very firmly. "Aside from the occassional kidnapping that failed to yield demands for ransoms, I have managed to keep my name and face and MerrSonn out of the trash talks that lower intelligent beings enjoy. So, you see, if you continue to look dirty or manage to get more mud upon you, they will start looking at the visit to my office." She sighs, "I hate how folks jump to conclusions." The woman regards him, "So, what bills were these exactly. Their terms?" "My use?" The Senator grins a little. "I hadn't heard that one. What would they possibly think that I'm doing, organizing a private army?" He shakes his head again--this time, it's accompanied by an annoyed sigh. "The Incorporation of Crime Act would extend criminal conspiracy penalties to equal the original charge to everyone involved in the operation. It also provides a number of evidentiary measures--allowing investigators to seize funds earlier to prevent ringleaders from absconding with their illicit funds, for example. More or less, it makes it possible to fight people like Nass in the legal arena." She shrugs, "Wouldn't be the first time someone has done that," she tells him. There's a beep and Lazure answers the intercom at her desk. "Tea is ready," comes the feminine voice. "Enter," Nitisha responds. The door opens and the droid walks, not shuffles, in and delicately deposits the tea tray in the middle. Quietly the droid pours and fixes the Direx's tea and then turns to do the same for the Senator, asking him how much sugar and cream he would like. There are finger cookies with the tea to snack on during the meeting. Once finished the droid bows out and disappears through the door, securing it behind her. Sipping her tea, tasting the hints of flavour Nitisha smiles and relaxes a bit. "Do you have suspects linked to this Ness?" she asks him, curious, "And would you care if I attached a couple of my stealth personnel to follow them?" The young woman did not want any chance of false information coming out and somehow implementing her in this whole mess. "Also, who is it that first brought up the charges against you? Work backwards and see what you find, they might have skeletons in their closets bigger than you allegedly have." She smiles at him, while unfamiliar with the environs of the senate house, she's certain that politics here work similiarily to what she's used to. She nods approvingly at the description of the bill, impressed that the Senator was taking a radical step. Now knowing why Nass may be the one behind his soiled image. "There were no charges per se, just an investigation from the Ethics Committee, which should release its report in my favor sometime this week. It was the program's director who fingered me for involvement, but I think he's just a pawn in a grander scheme--he probably doesn't know anything beyond the fact that I cosigned the funding amendment." "There are a few suspects here on Ord Mantell suspected of being linked to Nass' enterprise," Tokoga nods, picking up his tea and sipping it. "Including the one that tried to firebomb me at the restaurant. We haven't been able to conclusively link the two, however." Tokoga rolls his eyes a little at the statement before pausing to consider the offer of trailing the leads they have on Nass. "Tracking their activities is a rather risky move," the Mon Calamari concludes after the brief moment of silence. "But it could give the investigation against him the edge that we need to catch him. I assume that they're trained to act with ... discretion?" At this point, he certainly doesn't need the political fallout of someone discovering that he's linked to having CSA-connected personnel operating on Ord on his behalf, but the hamstringed investigation could use the boost. Perhaps some evidence conveniently left in the open 'somehow' would be just what it needed. Listening keenly, Nitisha nods where appropriate. "So you estimate the programme's director to be a puppet, surely you have someone looking for the puppeteer," she asks. Contemplating things through, she works to recall what she knows and what she suspects. "Do you have that man in custody?" she asks, regarding the bomber. Setting her tea down, she steeples her fingers and purses her lips. "Do you take me for a dolt? I am offering the aid of the OOAG in investigating this as a sign of support, and you ask me if they are trained in discretion. Let me put it to you this way. Every Direx knows that there are about ten to twenty employees at minimum, hired in from the OOAG watching their moves and desicions. That number goes up everytime there's a drop in market price." No doubt one of her ESPOs is one of them. But she has nothing to hide, performing everything in accordance to the law. With her people working she can see just how much is being linked to her. If not for that rumour, she no doubt would be in Tokoga's place. The devious woman has no intentions of ending up in a scandel of this low grade. If she was going to enter into a scandel, well, she would have to make sure it was huge. "My people know the definitions of silent, observation, non-interferance and report. They can be your worst nightmare or your best friend realised. If you desire I can also have one assigned to Mr. Puppet and learn if he's got anything dirtier than you to start debasing these alligations. A dirty whistle blower always ruins things when one is trying to take a powerful person out of the picture." "He's in custody, yes. Even though he couldn't be definitely linked to Nass, firebombing people eating their dinner is still considered a crime." Tokoga allows himself a bit of a grin, which almost immediately disappears after the thinly veiled insult. "If you have such trust in them, then very well." The Mon Calamari frowns a little. The particulars of the CSA's internal operations are not something that he's familiar with--all the Senator knows is that he'd have a lot of problems to deal with if they were discovered. "But you must forgive me my concerns--most people wouldn't be too fond of the idea." "I understand," Nitisha says very simply, belaying the complexity of thoughts. "If they are caught, the Prex and Exo will leave me to defend myself, especially given the last round of events upon Ord Mantell regarding a certian Twi'lek and the present Exo. The agents sent will be made fully aware of the consequences of being caught." The young woman's fingers fall from a steeple to simply being crossed upon her dark wood desk. One hand moves to take one of the cookies, and she delicate nibbles upon it thinking. "If they are caught it's not just your rep that is in the toilet, but mine as well. I want to know how this man is getting my products and commiting terrorist acts with them. I want to know who is starting this rumour that you are somehow amassing my weapons." She grins, "Somehow, if you forgive me, I do not see you as a general or even an admiral. Much less realising which end of a blaster is dangerous," spoken in a jesting manner to lighten the mood. "If you would be so kind as to give the list to my assisstant, she will see that it is done promptly and quietly." Already the young Nagai has a means of salvaging her rep, and fully trusting the loyalty of the woman that she calls sister, Nitisha knows it will not fail within her office. "If my people are captured by yours, by all means treat them as you would a criminal and I will see that they are bailed. But I highly doubt that yours will be able to catch them." The Mon Calamari nods slowly as the Direx speaks, absorbing her words and grinning slightly at the joke. He takes another long sip of his tea. "I'll have the list drawn up and sent over by courier," Tokoga answers. "Let me know if there's anything else that you need sent over." Calmly, Nitisha nods in agreement. The sooner she has that list the sooner she can start cleaning up this mess. There are far better things for her to spend her time focused on than on NR politics. When will these buggers that like to cause havok learn that, she wonders. "I will ensure that you know," she tells Tokoga and stands up, ready to see him out.
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