Assassination on Coruscant (Confederation Mission)

[Maris Kala'myr]

The city planet of Coruscant was like home to Maris and she missed the mile-high spires that reached towards the heavens. A great deal of her early years was spent within Senate Hall in the service of her first master, Senator Dagmar. She knew the twisting corridors and stately rooms like the back of her hand. It helped that she had the floor plan within her databanks. Even though Coruscant was in a constant state of flux, it always remained the same, at least to Maris it did. It was always a bustling hub of activity and the centre of the known galaxy.

The deceptive droid sauntered through the regal halls of Senate Hall with a data pad clasped within her finely manicured hands. The computing device was far from necessary given the quadrillions of operations per nano-second that she was capable of. But all the other Senatorial aids and assistants carried them and Maris wasn't one to break with tradition. Besides, it was needed. One of her hands drifted across the sleek lines of her business jacket and adjusted the collar, making sure she was presentable.

The glorious Confederation of Dolomar had ordered her to the planetary city in order to investigate sedition amongst the Senatorial ranks. Her target was Senator Yaris. He was suspected of subversive acts against the Confederation, poisoning the minds of others with Alliance propaganda. The droid's eyes narrowed at the thought the terrorist organisation that had the nerve to by such an upstanding name. Maris was a stalwart defender of the Confederation; just the thought of someone defaming it set her on edge.

The Confederation was life, it was death, and without it was anarchy. Maris remembered her life before coming under the service of Dolomar; it was empty and unfulfilled. But now she felt a great warmth in her circuits. The Confederation had taken her in and given her purpose. She would do anything for them and had done so.

Brushing a piece of lint from her knee length skirt, Maris tapped the entry panel beside Senator Yaris' chamber door. His assistant had taken an unfortunate and unexpected leave of absence the previous evening. The droid had seen to that. Now she was ready to step into the aide's shoes; it was a position she was all too familiar with. The panel chirped before the door receded into the slick wall. Clutching the data pad in both hands before her lap, Maris entered the chamber. The door sliding closed behind her.

"You're late." A gruff voice sounded from an adjoining room. "I need to review the data files for oversight committee meeting this morning."
A grin touched Maris' lips as she turned the data pad and glanced down at the glossy screen that had once belonged to the Senator's aide. Her fingers danced across the surface as the data files were prepared and transferred to the Senator's data pad.
"The files have been transferred and I apologise for my unpunctual arrival."
Her voice was sweet and comforting and something the Senator had not been prepared for.

A silence filled the room before the Senator poked his head around the door frame. He was a man in his late forties and in relatively good shape. He had bags under his eyes and it was clear that he wasn't getting enough sleep. His brow furrowed as he gazed upon the slender maiden still standing before the door. His mouth opened and he slowly pointed a finger towards her. Maris tilted her head to one side and smiled pleasantly.
"My name is Shala Temas. I am from the agency. Were you not informed of my arrival?" Maris stepped further into the room to get a better view of the Senator as he shook his head.

"No, I wasn't."
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I would have thought he would have informed you of his leave of absence." said the droid with a convincing grin, "But I have been briefed on your schedule and have everything in order."
"Very well." said Senator Yaris with a swift dismissal of the hand.
He thought it was a little odd and was slightly worried about his aide taking off like that, but he had more important matters to attend to. Senator Yaris disappeared back into the other room, leaving Maris to her own devices.

Her highly advanced ocular sensors took to scanning the room, looking for any data devices or access terminals that she could access remotely though her TechSpan module. There was the Senator's data pad, something that she would rifle through in time. Maris wanted to see if there was any incriminating data stored on any other devices that could link the Senator with the terrorist organisation known as the Alliance.

((Are there any other terminals or data pads within the Senator's chambers and is anyone else present?))

[Xira Stone]

((There is one terminal, but as you access it, you do not find anything of importance. There are no datapads or holopads lying around either. By the clean state of the room, you can conclude that Yaris is a very fastidious man...which also means that he would have well-hidden any incriminating information tying him to the Alliance. In your sweep of the room, you notice cameras set up in various spots in the room; you can assume that they are in all of the rooms, as well. Security is very tight in the Senatorial apartments.))

[Maris Kala'myr]

Maris didn't expect this to be easy and a slight frown worked across her delicate features as the terminal turned up nothing of interest. There was only a slight probability that anything of value was stored upon it but she had to check for completeness. She knew firsthand how protective and secretive these Senators could be. Hers had been highly paranoid and ever so careful to keep his criminal activities away from prying eyes. While Senator Yaris seemed a little more trusting, he was just as careful.

Slowly she paced around the room, looking over the well kept room and studying the holoviewers on his desk and wall. Her head slowly turned to one side as she watched the scene play out. It must be his family, Maris thought to herself and noted how good a cover the Senator had constructed for himself. This man was a vile traitor to the Confederation and he would be brought to swift justice along with his associates. The Senator's family may be just the leverage that Maris required. She understood that the blood bonds were some of the strongest in the galaxy and an undeniable weakness for organics.

Turning around and walking slowly across the luxurious room to the Transparisteel window that looked out upon Coruscant, she took note of the many surveillance devices located throughout the Senator's chambers. They would only be a minor inconvenience but something that she would have to deal with later. Slowly she reached out to the security grid with her TechSpan module and examined what she was up against. It only took a moment for Maris to conclude it was a very complex security system with multiple levels of redundancy. The TechSpan module broke the connection as the Senator joined her in the room.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked the Senator rhetorically as he noted her staring out the window, waiting on him.
"Yes" Maris responded simply without missing a beat.
She turned around to greet Senator Yaris with a courteous smile. The Senator responded in kind, although his was more of a formality without much emotion. Maris could see there were other things weighing on his mind as he adjusted his Senatorial garments in preparation for the meeting.
"After the oversight committee meeting you are having lunch with Senator Heana and you have a three o'clock with an individual from the Corellia Bureau of Intergalactic Trade." Maris recited in an even and comforting tone for the Senator.
"Yes, yes, thank you."

Maris wondered if either of these meetings was linked to the Alliance. It was definitely a possibility and one the droid was eager to play through. Her orders were to silence any and all involved with spreading Alliance propaganda. Fortunately for Senator Yaris, he was safe until his associates were named. It was doubtful that the Senator realized the clock was already ticking for him.
"Come along..." the Senator pointed to her expectantly. "Shala" reminded the droid with an even smile and nod.
"Yes, Shala, come along."

The pair exited the Senator's chamber and walked briskly down the long corridors. The Senator removed his datapad from the folds of his Senatorial garments. Maris eyed it carefully. Her TechSpan had been having trouble gaining access to it. But luckily for her she possessed the transfer code from his previous aide's datapad. The encryption that protected the device would soon be broken; it was only a matter of time. But for now she was content to play secretary and learn all she could about this man and his affairs.

"So, Shala, what happened to Sario, again?" The Senator questioned still looking down at his datapad.
"Sario?" questioned the droid.
"My previous aide. You said he had a leave of absence."
"Oh, yes." Maris nodded, "I'm afraid I don't know more than that. The agency contacted me; I only spoke with Sario briefly. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of more assistance."
"Right then."
Even though there was a lovely smile upon her lips, a number of flags had been raised by the Senator's follow up questions. It could have been genuine concern for his aide or he was checking out her story. Vocal analysis on the Senator's speech had been inconclusive and Maris thought it best to play it safe. If the information the Confederation required couldn't be teased away from him, it would be taken.

The pair continued through the hallways and soon came before a large pair of doors. Inside was a long table with chairs situated along either side. The room was large with a vaulted ceiling and tapestries and banners hung from between the arches. Maris took a moment to gaze upward as Senator Yaris took his seat. Soon other Senators joined them and the meeting began.

((Was Maris able to access the Senator's datapad yet? Was there anything brought up in the meeting that could be deemed subversive to the Confederation?))

[Xira Stone]

((A good chance at snatching the datapad does not present itself. The meeting, too, seems uneventful at best as well as they talk about economics and the future stability of the market. However, an interesting point arrives when an assistant appears from the wings and walks over to you, leaning down to speak to you in a quiet voice so as not to disrupt the meeting. She informs you that there is a speeder waiting just outside to take Senator Yaris to his destination as scheduled. You can conclude that this is why Yaris has been quiet for most of the meeting--he was waiting for this moment in which he could deliver an excuse to leave.))

[Maris Kala'myr]

It was a good thing that Maris was a droid and could easily block out the monotony of the meeting. How the other aides stood through this was beyond her. She was still paying attention and studying every syllable uttered for any treasonous meanings and found none, but her mind was elsewhere. There was a chance that the intelligence was wrong, maybe Senator Yaris wasn't the traitor that the Confederation believed him to be. It was a possibility and one that Maris had to consider.

Turning her torso toward the assistant as she approached, Maris studied her carefully but bared no outward signs of her scrutiny. Deeming that the assistant wasn't a threat, she leant in with a warm smile and nodded a thank you once the information had been delivered. The assistant took her leave whilst Maris waited silently for a lull in the conversation. The droid took a step towards the Senator and leant in. He turned his head towards her.
"Senator Yaris, your speeder is waiting." whispered Maris before stepping back.
He nodded before turning his attention back to the table.

"I'm sorry but I have just been informed of something that requires my attention. If you would excuse me." The Senator announced as he stood from his chair.
The other Senators nodded and didn't push the issue, but it was clear that this wasn't normal behavior and Maris picked up on that. Her head tilted to one side as the new data was incorporated into Yaris' extrapolation model. Maris and her target left the meeting room and headed out of the Senate Hall.

Whilst they were walking, Maris noticed the Senator stealing a glance whenever he could. He was watching her closely, almost trying to decide how much he could trust her. She hadn't given him any reason not to, but the mysterious disappearance of his usual aide had put the Senator on edge, even if he wasn't going to admit it aloud. Finally they arrived at the speeder. Maris opened the door and Yaris stepped into the back. Just as she was about to join him, he held out his palm to stop her.
"It's okay, Shala, you don't need to come along." He looked up to her and made eye contact with the droid. "It's a personal matter, I wouldn't want to subject you to the boredom."
The Senator began to laugh, trying to put a good spin to his words.
"Why don't you take an early lunch... don't worry, I won't tell the Agency."

Maris remained impartial as his words were analyzed. She smiled and nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes Senator, and thank you."
Turning her attention back to the datapad, she brought up the Senator's schedule.
"You have a lunch appointment with Senator Heana. I could meet you at the restaurant if you wished." Maris asked with an arching of the eyebrows and a turn of her head. The Senator shook his head and waved his hand dismissively, "No, that won't be necessary. I'll see you in my chambers for my three o'clock."
Maris nodded before closing the door to the speeder.

She knew he was lying and there was a very high probability that the Senator was a traitor to the Confederation and everything that the intelligence had indicated. Maris felt a swell of pleasure within her circuits. She still needed proof and if she was right, this meeting would be it. The speeder pulled away from the Senate steps and joined traffic. Maris waved the Senator off. Once the Senator was sufficiently out of sight but not far enough away that she couldn't still track him, the droid hailed a taxi.

Soon an EasyRide passenger airspeeder came alongside the steps of Senate Hall and Maris stepped aboard. She wasted no time in ordering, in the politest way possible, the driver to get going. Within a matter of a block, the airspeeder was hovering above and behind the Senator's speeder, tracking his every move from a safe distance. Eventually the speeder came to a stop outside a building. Maris had the EasyRide continue on and turn the corner.

((Where did the Senator end up, is anyone waiting for him, and what is the scene?))

[Xira Stone]

((The Senator ended up at one of the more high-toned Residential Apartments but there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary going on. After a quick look to his right and then to his left, he disappears inside of the building beyond your sights.))

[Maris Kala'myr]

Maris waited around the corner of the building and watched as the Senator entered the upscale apartment complex. Her eyes narrowed, realizing that if she didn't move quickly she would lose the Senator and any chance of discovering who he was meeting with. Quickly she turned the corner and walked briskly toward the door and tried not to look as if she was in a hurry, where in fact this was a matter of life or death; the Senator's life or death to be precise.

The greeting droid opened the door for her and bid her welcome to the Coruscant Towers. Maris nodded back to the droid and offered her thanks. Courtesy was so embedded into her personality subroutines that she did it without thinking, even to those that wouldn't have necessarily gained such a response from an organic. A quick biometric scan of the lobby yielded no results. The Senator must have already taken one of the repulsor-lifts to the meeting room.

Maris had already activated her TechSpan module, reaching out to the buildings security grid to initiate handshake protocols. Luckily for her the system was nowhere as advanced as the Senatorial chambers. A wry grin snapped across the droids synthetic lips as the security system opened up before her. An influx of data rushed through her mind; she could see and feel everything. Every surveillance device within the apartment complex was at her disposal as well as the buildings infrastructure.

Pressing the lift call button, she waited patiently for the repulsor-lift to return to the ground floor. Meanwhile she was accessing the security archives for the last two minutes. There were numerous devices located throughout the upscale apartment complex but it only took a moment for Maris to locate Senator Yaris in the footage. She felt like a fly on the wall watching him take quick strides across the lobby and enter the repulsor-lift. Her point of view switched instantly to inside the lift and observed the doors close and him request his floor.

Meanwhile, the repulsor-lift's platinum doors opened and Maris stepped inside, shadowing her Senator's actions. The doors closed and the lift began to rise. Her point of view switched again, this time to an optical device looking onto the repulsor-lift. The Senator was more relaxed now but still seemed riled. He activated the door panel to a room six down from where he had exited. The Senator waited for a moment, nervously scanning up and down the corridor before the door opened and he entered the apartment.

Maris stepped off the repulsor-lift and casually made her way towards the room. Unfortunately, there were no surveillance devices inside the rooms, only public passageways. She paused beside the door and increased the sensitivity on her auditory senses whilst simultaneously accessing the room manifest to see who had checked in. She knew it could have been an alias, but even aliases were known. Figuring that it was very suspicious to be waiting outside the room, Maris checked the room availabilities around her target.

She was in luck, the room next door was unoccupied. Stepping away from her target's room, the next door along opened up and Maris slipped inside. She moved quickly towards the adjoining wall and listened carefully, adjusting her auditory function for best reception.

((Is the room checked out to anyone of interest to the Confederation and is Maris able to hear the conversation within?))

[Xira Stone]

((The room belongs to Senator Yaris himself, or rather the Yaris family in general and it's safe to assume that this is probably where his family stays when they're on world. That being said, you can hear a conversation going on between a man--Yaris--and an unidentified female. The conversation is as follows:

"I don't understand, Bryn."

"I know, Tanya, but it is important that you just do what I say and take you and the kids off planet. Head to Naboo."

"Naboo? Why?"

"Please." A pause. "The less you know, the better. It's just safer this way."

"Are you in danger? I want to know what's going on, Bryn--"

"You can't. Not yet. Just do as I say, understand?"

Another pause. "I don't like this, Bryn."

"Tanya..."

"You're a Senator and we're your family! We shouldn't have to sneak around like--like criminals!" A longer pause now. "Should we? What's going on?"

"I'm not going to talk about this anymore. You will take the children and go to Naboo and that is that."

"Bryn!"

The conversation ends as you hear a door slam closed. Surveillance picks up Senator Yaris back in the hallways and he's on the move again back to his waiting speeder.))

[Maris Kala'myr]

The wry grin returned to the droid's synthetic lips as conversation was parsed, analyzed, and dissected. Maris continued to listen for a moment longer and heard a soft sobbing. Her head turned to one side as her hand ran down the wall, almost feeling a connection with the adjacent room. She couldn't help but consider her involvement in this. Was the Senator stepping up his plans, getting his family off-world and safe because of her? There was a high probability that was true. With that assumption being the case, Maris had to act soon.

She watched through the lens of the security camera as the Senator marched down the hallway and into the repulsor-lift. The resolution on the device was high enough that Maris could see the anguish on his face. He didn't like lying to the one he loved, in fact, he hated it. But Yaris understood the precarious situation he was in and the less his family knew about his dangerous relationships the better. He could tell them in time, when it was safe.

The information gained from eavesdropping would be what she needed to pry the names of his associates from the Senator, of that the droid was sure. Senator Yaris had shown great care for his family and put their safety above his own. That noble trait would be his undoing. The droid stepped away from the wall and reset her auditory limits back to standard. Once checking the corridor was clear, she stepped out from the adjacent room. The door closed behind her and she walked at a comfortable pace back to the repulsor-lift.

Her connection to the buildings security grid was still intact and she monitored the Senator as he left the building. Maris exited the lift on the ground floor and headed towards the exit. She paused in the foyer and glanced toward one of the surveillance devices. As she looked into the mechanical eye perched in the corner, the security grid was taken offline. The archived footage from the past ten minutes was purged from the databanks and the security logs were corrupted beyond recovery. The grid was then sent into a hard reboot, it would take a while for the system to come back online and even longer for the damage to be assessed.

Maris left the Coruscant Towers and boarded the still waiting airspeeder. She sat in the back for a moment and considered her options. She needed to confront the Senator and decided his chambers would be the best place. The airspeeder was ordered back to Senate Hall. Maris knew she would need time to infiltrate the Senate's security net and cover her tracks. This meeting between them would be private.

Disembarking from the airspeeder, she paid the driver and made her way up the steps. Already she was reaching out with her TechSpan module and probing the security grid. She had already preformed a preliminary scan and now was filling in the blanks, so to speak. The droid walked slowly through the corridors of Senate Hall and eventually arrived back at Senator Yaris' chambers. It took some time, but ultimately the security grid succumbed to her will and opened up before her. She had to be careful and act accordingly, any errant commands could trigger and intrusion detection protocol.

Methodically the droid accessed the optical surveillance databanks from the morning and corrupted the portions of the data that she had been seen in. There were many separate cameras and a large amount of data to go through, but eventually it had been done. When security would later replay the footage to see the moments before the Senator's death they would only see unreadable data.

Next she moved forward to a time when the Senator's chamber was empty and sliced together a loop from all surveillance devices. This looped data was then inserted into the bit stream and portrayed Senator Yaris' chambers as empty. Maris would have an uninterrupted and private meeting with the traitorous Senator.

Finally alone and feeling unburdened by the security devices within the room, Maris decided to snoop and see else she could find on the man. She began at his desk and worked systematically around the rooms.

((Did Maris find anything incriminating with her extensive search of the Senator's chambers?))

[Xira Stone]

((Your preliminary sweep of the room doesn't yield any good results, but as you're searching around on his desk, you mistakenly knock over a crystalline vase of Ithorian roses. The vase, however, does not break but reveals a small encryption pad beneath it. You manage to break the encryption code and the wall just above the desk slides open, revealing a safe of sorts. Within the safe are datapads of what seem to be completely useless data--diaries, perhaps? Upon closer inspection, however, you realize that they are all in code and, more importantly, reveal the names of a few of the Senator's Alliance contacts and various meeting places. It's doubtful that the names are anything more than aliases, but the fact that the Senator had gone to great pains to hide all this information hints at his guilt.))

[Maris Kala'myr]

Maris had been waiting for the Senator's return and she was confident that he hadn't jumped the system. Although she believed him to be suspicious, the droid had yet to confirm or deny his suspicions. The Senator wouldn't deviate from his schedule. He didn't want to be acting strangely; especially not now he suspected the Confederation's ever watchful eye upon him. The HRD was sitting at his desk with the various datapads from within the hidden wall compartment sprawled out before her.

While the data contained within revealed nothing at first, as a whole there were notable patterns contained within the 'diaries' that her heuristic algorithms were able to decipher. A number of names and places jumped from the data and Maris' lips were touched by a pleasant smile. This was more than she had expected to find. Not only was Yaris sentimental to their cause, he could have been part of the Alliance. This information could break open the terrorist network.

Gathering the datapads into a stack and picking them from the desk, Maris walked the short distance to the couch and lowered herself onto the microfiber clad cushions. The pads were placed neatly to one side of the glass coffee table. Maris sat back in the sofa, crossing one leg over the other, and folding her hands in her lap. With all the information gathered and the room secure, the droid waited like a Cavern spider for her prey to enter her web.

An hour or two passed before the Senator made his appearance. He walked quickly into the room and skidded to a halt upon seeing Maris sitting comfortably on his sofa. Yaris' disturbed eyes quickly settled on the stack of datapads resting on the corner of the glass table. Shaking his head, his eyes snapped back to the smiling droid. Slowly he began to back away and Maris rose to her feet, slowly extending a hand to the seat opposite.
"Please have a seat, Senator. There is much that we need to discuss." Maris said in an even and polite tone, one that defied the seriousness of the matter.

The Senator shook his head defiantly as his brow furrowed. "I have nothing to discuss with you. I'm calling security."
He turned his back on Maris and quickly made his way towards the door, just about as he was about to activate the comm. system, the droid spoke again.

"How's Naboo this time of year, Senator?" Her head tilted to the side as her grin widened. The Senator felt his heart sink in his chest as his stomach clenched. Her words had frozen him in his tracks. Slowly he turned his head and faced Maris. "I hear it's beautiful. Must be summer there; I've always wanted to visit. Maybe I'll have the chance."

The Senator was no fool and although the droids tone was nothing but pleasant and sincere, he got the threat loud and clear. His hand fell limply to his side as if the fight had been sapped away from him. Turning and facing the slender figure, Yaris' eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out the woman standing opposite.
"What do you want from me? Credits?"

Maris shook her head and chucked softly to herself. Senator Yaris' stomach turned. Blackmail he could handle, but if this woman wasn't after the credits, this was serious.
"What I would like is for you to have a seat, Senator."
With a begrudging sigh, Yaris took the seat across from Maris and crossed his arms. The droid perched herself on the edge of the sofa with her hands clasped neatly in her lap.

"I know you are a good man, Senator, a man of principles and of integrity. I know you have betrayed the Confederation because you believe you are doing the right thing. They have gotten to you Senator. Their lies have sullied your soul and your mind." the droid tapped her temple with an index finger for effect, "The Confederation is not your enemy. They are the only entity standing between us and the anarchy this Alliance would have us become."

"May I be candid with you, Senator Yaris?" said Maris after a short pause and settling her blue eyes square on her target. "You will die today." A small smile touched her lips.

Yaris nodded, he had concluded that much. He remained silent, just staring across the table to the woman who held his life in her hands. The pair remained deadlock for the longest time. Maris was the first to break their standoff. She extended her hand towards Senator Yaris.
"Your datapad, please."
The Senator watched her closely for a second before shaking his head.
"I won't help you."

Maris frowned and diverted her eyes for a moment. Exhaling slowly she turned back to the resistant man.
"Your datapad, Senator Yaris. Trust me; you wouldn't want me to remove it from your person."
Her hand extended further towards him and his face was struck with a sneer as the datapad was tossed haphazardly across the table top.
"Thank you."
He sneered again and turned away from Maris not even wanting to look at her. The pad was encrypted and the Senator was confident there wasn't anything that could be done with it.

Maris placed the pad atop the stack and continued to speak, "While you may be a traitor to the Confederation, I see no reason to bring your family in on this. she sent a pointed nod to the holograph on his desk, " They never need know. Wouldn't you agree, Senator?
Reluctantly he nodded, realizing that he could spare his family from all of this.

"All I'm asking for is names. Name names, Senator." she paused, "You see, if I don't get them from you, I'll have to get them from them. We'll have to freeze your accounts whilst we check for illegal transactions; your property will be seized. Their lives will be turned upside down. They'll be homeless and broke; not a credit to their name."
Maris shook her head as she finished her compassionate speech.
"You don't want to put them through that, do you, Senator Yaris?"

((How does the Senator respond?))

[Xira Stone]

((Senator Yaris is silent for a long time, obviously thinking it all over. While he believes wholeheartedly in protecting the Alliance cause...he loves his family too much to cause even more undo suffering on them. Slowly, with great reluctance, he lowers his head and tells you the names of two other senators that have been in cahoots with the Alliance. Their names are Arini Boozla of Drall, and Myar Muun of Sullust.))

[Maris Kala'myr]

Maris clapped her hands together as Senator Yaris spilt the names of his accomplices. The Confederation would be very interested to hear of this unraveling plot the Alliance had spun together. Many of the Senators held great sway amongst their people, if they began to back the Confederation's opposition, it could be very bad. However, the situation could be used to their advantage. The Senators had their ears to the ground and there wasn't much that happened without it getting around the grapevine. The deaths of three Senators affiliated with the Alliance, even slightly, would go far deter any others from travelling down such a dangerous road.
"Thank you, Senator Yaris. You have done the right thing." Yaris sent her a scornful glare.

The droid didn't blame Senator Yaris for his betrayal. She didn't blame his collaborators either. The blame sat firmly in the hands of the Alliance. The blood of these men was on their hands. If the Alliance hadn't spread their treasonous propaganda and swayed good sentients to their dangerous agenda, none of this would have been necessary.

Slowly Maris rose to her feet with a reluctant sigh and walked around the back of the Senator. He stiffened and his breathing became ragged and exasperated. Regaining his composure, Yaris sat upright and stared forward with a stern gaze. Her slender hands rested upon the Senator's shoulders and she squeezed gently. He squirmed beneath Maris' fingertips. Pursing her lips, she shushed him compassionately.
"No, no, no... don't struggle." whispered the droid as she lowered herself to his hear.

The Senator sat still and could feel mounting pressure on his shoulders. Maris had to be careful when dealing with organics. She found them so fragile. The droid could have easily shattered the man's collar bones and shoulder blades without a second thought.
"My family. The Senator trembled in nothing more than a whisper. "They'll be safe?"
Maris continued to rub his shoulders and slowly turned her gaze down to the man beneath her. Their eyes met and slowly she nodded.
"Yes, Senator. They never need know of your... indiscretion. And if what you have told me is true, they need not be involved."

"It is the truth... I, I swear."
His voice broke, praying that his assailant believed him and although he hated to think so, also prayed that she found what the Confederation was looking for in his associates. The Senator knew otherwise he could bring his wife and child under the Confederations ever watchful eye.
"Are you ready, Senator?" purred the droid in a smooth and comforting manner.

Before her victim had a chance to respond, his neck was snapped in a fluid motion. Maris cocked her head to one side as she looked down upon the slumped body of the traitorous Senator. She met his glazed over eyes, a brief look of pain engraved within his iris, and she smiled.
"Good night, Senator."
The droid stepped around the sofa and collected the various datapads that would be used as evidence against both Arini Boozla and Myar Muun. Their lives would be investigated and their business dealings scrutinized.

Leaving the senatorial chambers, Maris' TechSpan connection to the security grid was reactivated. She began actively corrupting the data streams feeding the surveillance devices as she walked the hallways in a quick, yet unhurried, manner. Hopefully there wouldn't be any trace of the assassin that murdered Senator Yaris in his own chambers, only unanswerable questions. The droid descended the steps of Senate Hall and boarded an idle airspeeder.

The security grid connection was terminated and the speeder took to the sky. Maris glanced over her shoulder and watched the stately building vanish into the tall spires and swarms of speeders. Her nimble mind focused on what would come next.

[Maris Kala'myr]

As the lissom droid stepped upon the boarding ramp of Theomeny, the YT-2000 Light Freighter, the vessel instantly came to life. It had existed on the docking platform in a state of lockdown and awaiting its master's return. Now Maris had arrived and the ship was greeting her warmly. She used her TechSpan module almost exclusively to control many of the systems aboard Theomeny. In fact, it got to the point where the ship felt like an extension of her physical body. Once aboard, pneumatic actuators drew the boarding ramp flush against the hull and formed an airtight seal.

Maris stumbled across the durasteel decking, almost displaying exhaustion at her long day of work. However that was all it was, a display; a trait mimicked and copied from her human counterparts. Maris learnt a lot from the humans she associated with. They were her window into soul and although the true emotions behind the actions were not experienced, her heuristic algorithms were able to accurately judge when such sensations were appropriate.

Dropping the datapads onto a small table, she unbuttoned the top button on the cream blouse as a deep sigh passed her lips. She entered the captain's quarters to slip into something more fitting. It would only be a matter of time before the Senator's body was discovered and Senate Hall went into lockdown. Maris put the time of discovery no later than 3:05. The Corellia Bureau of Intergalactic Trade representative was going to have a nasty shock when he entered Senator Yaris' chambers. A grin passed her lips as the scene was simulated. Corellia was a world with heavy Alliance ties, it seemed only fitting that he find the fruit of his labours.

But Maris could not dwell on those errant thoughts for long; she had two leads, two Senators implicated by the late Senator Yaris that needed to be dealt with. The droid's orders were to terminate Yaris and discover his traitorous associates. That had been done. What steps she would take now would be up to her superiors. Maris was a tool of the Confederation; a laser scalpel sharp enough to excise the deviant elements that spread like a cancer through the known worlds.

The HRD emerged from her quarters wearing something quite different from the conservative business attire. Maris was wearing a snug dull grey tank top and a pair of tight leather pants. A pair of utility belts crisscrossed from her hips, each supporting a blaster holstered to each thigh. Heavy black boots thudded against the durasteel floor plating as she quickly made her way through the dimly lit corridors of Theomeny. Swooping past the perpetually unoccupied co-pilot's station, Maris slid into the comfortable captain's chair.

The consoles around her lit up along with the rumble of engines. After a quick chat with ground control, Maris was cleared for departure. She wanted to get off the planet before the Senator was discovered. There was a chance that all flights from Coruscant space port would be grounded until the authorities got a better hand on the situation. Maris couldn't allow that to happen. The YT-2000 Light Freighter rose slowly from the docking berth. The landing gear withdrew into the ship as the atmospheric engines accelerated to escape velocity.

Maris set course away from Coruscant at maximum speed. Running a hand through her hair and sorting out a few of the kinks in her synthetic locks, a console screen flickered beside her. With long range communications online, a secure and highly encrypted data channel was established with her Confederate masters. They needed to be apprised of the situation and she needed further instructions.

[Xira Stone]

((A screen flickered before opening before Maris. Xira Stone stood, stoic as ever on the other side of the secure channel. Her aging blonde hair was pulled back and hidden beneath a formal black military cap. As per her usual habit, she was clothed in typical military service clothes which were comprised of various shades of black and greys with only her medals and awards providing a contrast of colour to her otherwise pallid and bland clothes.

"Fourdee," the Grand Admiral began in a decidedly straight-forward tone of voice. "It was my understanding that you were sent to Coruscant to deal with Senator Yaris and find proof of his dealings with the Alliance. Yet, by all measurements and estimations, you are ahead of schedule in checking in. Am I to assume that your mission has thus been completed, then? If not, I sincerely hope you have a good reason for contacting me."

She looked expectantly at Maris through the holoscreen, waiting for an answer.))