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| - The Senator and the two marines enter the briefing room, its been a silent journey here for many obvious reasons. The Senator is the one who closes the door and he regards the two men. "I am to assume this room is secure?" he asks in that same pleasent and amused tone. "Define secure, Senator?" Vengan asks. The Marine's sole concession to the situation is to remove his helmet and toss it on the battered, stained table. "If by that you mean that we're not -likely- to get attacked, then yeah, I guess it's more or less secure." He drops heavily into one of the chairs and slouches under the weight of his armor, fishing for a hydration tube and sipping greedily from the water bladder on his back. In kind, the sergeant plops his own helmet on the table and sits in a chair next to the captain. "If by secure you mean nobody can hear you scream, more or less would be the answer there too." Dagon looks...well...pissed. He is a marine. Marines have a job to do. Regardless, his place is here and quite frankly, he's glad to take the weight off his feet. Lavrish'lin smirks at the two. "We didnt have to be here like this...you chose this path Captain." he waves that off and begins pacing. "Since all of you military sorts think we senators are idiots and out to get you, I will remind you that the Rebellion you were so proud of serving in some cases was founded by senators." he reminds them with a bit of an acid tone. "But lets get to it...we are dealing with potentials...we are dealing with a battle that is kicking your asses and you dont even know it." he continues to walk. "First and foremost, what I want to avoid is seeing your unit out there for war crimes." he raises his hand to ward off any immediate counters. "Regardless of wether the order to take the sample from the Qaurren came from, we didnt have the right to do it. No offical planetary sanction...no family permission...no permisson from the dead being." he contiues. "So...potentially your team is look at a charge on the scale of war crime." "Noted, Senator, and that's something that we'll have to deal with later," Draelis observes. "But it's done now, and while it's a shame that it happened, there's no point in dwelling on it. And inasmuch as I would have liked to -ask- his permission before taking a brain sample, we were a bit occupied with being shot at at the time, if I recall. And what with the threat of disease being as high as it was, I didn't think twice about issuing the order to cultivate a viable culture sample by whatever means the medics deemed most efficient by virtue of their training. If the Republic reads that in the news and still wants my head, well," he shrugs expressively. "I'm sure that I can always get a job pushing paper somewhere." "With all due respect, which right now is a small amount, since when was taking a sample from a dead terrorist on a New Republic world considered a war crime? A bacta refinery, taken by force by the Quarrens in question and kept from operating within its normal parameters, has been freed and returned to normal operation. In doing so, we have saved lives all over the galaxy and kept various criminal syndicates from capitalizing on the lack of supply. Please tell me, senator, why is the senate focusing on a single sample taken from a corpse during the middle of a New Republic sanctioned mission?" The sergeant looks completely in awe of what he views is political ineptitude of the senate as a whole. "If you ask me, I'd think you people have more to deal with than some random piece of sushi." Vengan kicks Dagon's boot firmly. "At ease that shite, Sergeant," he glowers at Dagon. "They're living beings like anyone else. Keep that up and I'll bounce your skull off the karking blacktop." "My appologies, sir. And to you senator." The sergeant looks down at the table and folds his hands. "My personal commentary has no place here, but my question stands. Why is the senate focusing on a single dead Quarren? It seems a little odd to me is all." Lavrish'lin shakes his head and looks at the captain. "If it comes to a charge of war crime, its not just you...its all involved." he warns in a soft tone. "One of the points I was hoping you would catch, war crimes do not center on the commander...it falls on the shoulders of all involved." he actually looks very concerned that the Captain get this point. "War Crimes can get you executed...you, him." he gestures to Dagon. "And anyone else in the unit, this is why I tried to point out that there is more at stake then you think." He chuckles at Dagon. "First off all, this is a civil war on appearance, the Qaurren are a partisan force...because you and others in the military are calling them terrorists and thus siding with the Calamari...win or lose the Qaurren can call foul on the New Republic." He shrugs as he continues speaking. "Its a rock and a hard place, the taking of the sample was icing on the cake. because now they have a tangible admitted proof of wrong doing by the Military. It maybe a small point to you...but diplomaticly speaking. It is a crime....soldier, senator or Jedi or what have you. None of us have the right to at will deface or dismember a corpse." "And that's understood, Senator, and as I said- there's nothing that can be done about it." Vengan's hands spread. "An apology will be rendered to the citizenry of Mon Calamari and I have already agreed to take personal accountability for the action. Unlike other professions, Senator, Marines have never failed to stand up and take accountability for their failures. So my question is, why are we having this conversation?" He leans forward, staring intently at Lavrish'lin. Dagon looks like he's about to say something, but most wisely just keeps his mouth shut. The captain has a fantastic point and anything this particular marine has to say will do nothing but draw out the conversation and likely get him time in the brig. One of these days he'll get used to the restrictions of being a non-commissioned officer. Lavrish'lin sighs and looks at the man. "This was meant to be a casual conversation...I brought the hammer in case you were uncooperative." he now finally takes a seat. "The Madam Chief wants the straight line tale of the whole event...without public splash or personal angst or polishing to make it digestable by the high command." he runs a hand over his head and around his horns. "So...we can get ahold of it and look for the best lines of defense, I dont want and the Madam Chief does not want good men going down because of some bad luck on an operation." And his own angst over the matter peeks through. "This whole thing is fuel for the Empire...screw the syndicates and there exstra credits on the side, we lose Dac to the Empire...we lose the shipyards, we loose Bacta." he gestures to the two men. "You guys have been made the poster boys for leaving the New Republic...you really think that 1 million deaths is an accident of food posioning?" "Correction: you brought the hammer because I wasn't gonna kowtow to your 'authority'," Vengan says, flickering a finger at Lavrish'lin. "Look, Senator, Marines ain't in the habit of docterin' up AARs and reports t' higher." His own annoyance comes through in a faint slip into an Outer Rims drawl. "Th' report you got was th' one I wrote still covered in blood after we'd secured the AO and signed, by me, made it to the desk of the Joint Commander for this entire operation. Hell, you want it again?" He fishes for his datachit and plugs it into a desk terminal, then spins the display towards Lavrish'lin. "There it is." "I stay up on political changes, Senator," Vengan says, re-assuming his Marine speech patterns. "I'm well aware of the current sociopolitical climate and moreover, I've got ears in the NRI that probably stretch a bit furthur than yours do. The Chief of State has access to even more intel than me. That said, she should know good and well why I gave the order to go in hot-" he taps the table- "why we gave the order to collect the brain tissue-" he taps again- "-and why this operation was conducted the way it was." There's a strange tightness around his lips at that remark and he sags back in his seat. "If you want to know more than that, then you'll have to ask her about it, because the clearance for -that- planning session so high, I think I'm in trouble even mentioning it exists." Dagon smiles slightly, still maintaining his silence despite reaching into his pouch and removing his own datachit. It remains between his fingers and still has the bloody fingerprint on it from when he removed it from his datapad after the establishment of the GZ. He flips it idly in his fingers before laying it on the desk. "I will bet what you'll see on that is equal to what you see in front of you now. As you know, senator, as Squad leader on this mission it is procedure to produce a log of the actions taken by my men. This too has been reported to Command, though you can take it as well if you choose." Lavrish'lin smiles and looks at the Marine. "Dont you think it odd then, that the Madam Chief would send me out here if she knew the full why of it all?" he asks in a soft tone. "If you would quit being prissy...and stop and think for just a bare moment...that we are on the same side." He takes a casual making breath. "Have you considered the possability that your playing into the hands of situation, by going in HOT. You played up the role of antagonist...by opting to use Lethal force for the sake of saving Marine lives in deferance to Civilian lives...that again you were potentially playing into a bad hand?" he rises from the seat and begins to pace the room again. "There is a military tactic, where you devide and conquor your enemy, well someone his in the process of deviding the Republic." he nods to the door. "Devide it from it resouces and its weaker...somewhere someone needs to remember that we are a Republic, the senate supports the military. The Military supports the senate." he nods to the chit. "If thats a recorded live feed of the whole operation, then that is fantastic." he looks at Draelis. "You can hate me...you can think I came here to thump you with the order. I asked you to talk to me. Time is of the essence, because the longer we are in the dark and devided the more of an edge the enemy has." "No, we're not on the same side, Senator," Vengan says, looking back at the Senator. "Like I said, Senator, I'm not a fool. I know as much about this situation as anyone else in my situation, and maybe a bit more. I didn't make it this far in my career without learning how to read between the lines." He rises from his chair, resting his hands on the tabletop. "I'm well aware of the pressures we're looking at, Senator," Draelis declares. "And I'm aware of the underlying pressures behind them. The question is do we bow to violent civil unrest, even if it is prompted by something else? Or do we demonstrate that we have the moral fortitude and discipline to maintain order, even in the face of our detractors?" His face is impassive. "If the answer is the first, then the Marines should never have been deployed to Dac. You politicians should have done the job for us. But if the answer is the second, then you need to let us -do our jobs-," he emphasizes, "without interference. If you need something to do, then do what you do best. Go talk to the people and try to explain this, rather than making a show of castigating me and mine." The sergeant nods and leans back as much as he can in his seat. Sometimes it's better to not interrupt when Vengan gets on his horse. Instead Dagon laces his fingers behind his head and waits for the senator to respond. Lavrish'lin narrows his eyes. "None of that would have happened, if you had simply got off you soldierly attitude and had a talk with me." he regards the officer with a very shrewd gaze that soften. "As for what we do...we respect the sovereign rights of a member world, if they are having a civil war to settle a social or political dispute. It is not our place to fight for one side or the other." he corrects the officer. "Peace keeping force does not mean come in and take realestate, if you really want to go there again." he lifts both hands palm up. "As a peace keeping force we dont kill civilians, we dont call one side or the other in a civil war the good guy or the bad guys...we treat both sides the same." he looks at Dagon. "We dont make species related slurs..." the Senator actually seems annoyed with this tact of conversation. "Since you wanted to go this road again...here we are, oh and since you decided to crawl up that road again. And want to slander the State office, the Madam Chief was in the trenches from the beginning...her loses were tangible as have yours been." he smirks at the man. "Your a pup compared to her, she has seen more action then you will likely ever see." Vengan rolls his eyes expressively, exchanging a look with Dagon. "I'm done debating," he says in an informative tone of voice as he drops heavily back into his seat. "You've got the information you wanted. Right there is my full report on the action on the bacta facility, at least everything that's been unclassified thus far. It's no different that what the Chief has on her desk. Now," he adds, kicking his feet onto the desk, "what else can the Marines do to make sure your stay on Mon Calamari is as comfortable as it can be?" he asks with a wide, insincere smile. As if to punctuate his words, the building suddenly shakes as a hollow boom echoes around the facility. "Since we've got nothing to do now, senator, I'm sure we can occupy our time with doing nothing but make sure you have the utmost in accomodations." The tone is obviously not one of eagerness to please. Dagon pulls out a small data recorder and speaks into it briefly. "Note to self. Remember to note the senator's blatant reference to the Chief of State's age in the report." He clicks off the recorder. "I wouldn't want any details to be missed, in my report, senator." The marine grins again and slides the data recorder into his pocket. Lavrish'lin shakes his head and leans forward. "You didnt just be so foolish as to show me that did you?" he suddenly seems very amused. "You really didnt mean to do that did you...that was just a prank right?" suddenly the Senator seems very keen and very pleased. "Oh but you did do that...didnt you." he chuckles. "Well then, why dont you make a copy of it for me and we both can send one to the Madam Chief and see who alters it first?" "How about he doesn't, Senator," Vengan says. "Sergeant Dagon is perfectly within his rights as a military personnel on what is, I suppose, a trial, to have a recording of what is said here." He fingers his own audio recording device on the HUD around his neck. "That way if we were in the presence of a Senator less possessed of scruples than yourself, we can indemnify ourselves against any slanderous accusations which might be brought against ourselves at future events. And I certainly don't appreciate the insinuation that Sergeant Dagon would falsify records to present himself in a more positive light." He gets to his feet. "I think we're about done here." Dagon stands with a broad smile. "Besides, senator, I doubt that the Chief of State has any reason to want to listen to my shopping list for when we return to Ord Mantell. I'm quite sure my lack of clean undergarments is none of her concern. If I were recording this conversation, I'd have used the recorder made available to me in my issued equipment. So with all due respect senator, buzz off." With that, the sergeant doesn't even wait for Captain Draelis before walking toward the door. "Oh and senator, you can keep that holo. I've got three other copies along with the one that was sent to CoS Organa-Solo. Have a nice day."
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