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" I see. Hopefully things will go smoothly then after that and we can begin to amass our forces. " Angel said, then headed into her bedroom and came out after a few moments, looking more presentable. " Ready when you are. "

Angel thought about the Dark Lord's speech and the yells of defiance, and tried to think of a possible way to convince them. Once they were away from everyone, and after he made his call to Cale, Angel said, " I have an idea. What if we could cause enough chaos in such a way that they would have to reconsider your request, and deceptfully let them feel safer by dividing power between different generals or something, but what they won't know is those generals all answer to you, so you can have all the power without their knowing until you decide to further your plans. Or, perhaps we could ' persuade ' enough of them to vote differently in another meeting by whatever means we have available. " After thinking a little more, she said, " Perhaps if the Force could be used to manipulate enough minds... But would that even be possible? "

Angel was completely caught off guard, and almost freaked by the sudden attack, but realized it was unintentional when the Dark Lord stopped and let her down. She decided to not say any more, and made a mental note to avoid doing anything when he's mad.

Selkisto emerged into a clearing that clearly hadn't seen maintainance for a while. As a result of being in the undercity, he was collecting a lot of dirt on himself. He kept his mask on, for visibility as much as hygene. There was a turbolift before him. He dusted it off. A heavily tarnished plate lay underneath a thick, caked layer of grime. The plate itself was hanging by one bolt. However, what the plate said made one of Selkisto's eyebrows raise. It led to a building connected to the senators' quarters. This was the place to go, he was certain. But for the kidnapper's "entrance" to be based here didn't make sense...

One way to find out. He swiped the key.

There was a disheartening "WOMP" and a softer creaking. Suddenly, a lift car descended, rather hastily. It appeared brand new. Well cleaned an maintained. It was a part of the building that obviously had to keep up appearances. Well, no backing out now. Selkisto hesitated. This plot ran deeper than it appeared to have... It went into the higher levels of the Senate. This was obvious. And for something like this, with so much secrecy, and dealing with the lower levels, it could only be revolving around one trade: slavery.

Selkisto looked into the lift. It was empty. Tentatively, he entered. It lifted with a lurch and cruised upwards. Before it could get into visual range of anyone in the upper city, it lifted into a shroud that covered the lift for the remainder of its journey. It stopped at a tunnel, a tunnel that led up and towards the senate building. Selkisto followed the tunnels slowly, taking out his SO-19 and fingering a grenade.

***

A rodian senator reclined in his chair, sipping a fine liquor. It fizzled a bit as it glimmered shades from red to green, and red again. He looked around the room. Vast transperisteel panels, elegantly shaped to fit the ornate recesses of the wall they occupied, loomed before him. He swiveled to his right. A door began to open. His guards were there before it made the snap-hiss of fully recessed panels.

A pair of twi'leks entered the room. The rodian's nozzle of a mouth flitted upward in a show of pleasure. "Changwee, ootah fnorska!" he ordered the guards. They left abruptly. His eyes leveled on the twi'leks and he beckoned them in his native language. They didn't understand what he said, but the lust in his eyes was unmistakable.

They came forward gracefully, hips moving as only twi'leks' can. As they neared, they were struck by the typical rodian stench the senator gave off. Professionalism brought into bear, they ignored it and fought the impulse to cover their noses.

They were getting paid a lot for this.

They heard a small thud. Probably nothing. The rodian was too lost in his imagination to hear it. Suddenly, the twi'lek's lekku's twitched with sensation; something hot was nearing. It was instantanious. Macroseconds after the feeling, a squeeking sound reached their ears faintly. The rodian fell forward onto chest the shorter of the Twi'leks, nearly causing her to fall over. She'd had clients who were eager, but this was rediculous. However, the stench intensified, and the senator's body was not as warm as she expected it to be. Slowly, it cooled, and the twi'lek stood, glancing at her partner, wondering what to do. This was odd behavior, even in their line of work.

A purplish goo oozed out of the Rodian's head. It dawned on them. Sreaming, they fled to where they'd seen guards leaving, but upon reaching them, saw that they had been felled. The faces of the hapless pair were suddenly met by a grenade and a rifle. Panicking, they looked at the source of the objects that stifled their mouths. A mask gazed back, featureless macrobinocular eyes drawing their fear into a deeper void.

The voice that came out, however, was almost kind. "You're not slaves, are you?" It asked politely.

In a mix of confusion and fear, the two women merely dropped to the floor, unconscious.

An experienced arm, long attuned to instinct, had dug the gun gently into the chest of the man who had spoken to him. "Perhaps. I assume you're not affiliated with them..."

He spun around. Took a good look at him. No, he didn't even /look/ threatening.

"I would love to stay and chat. Honestly, I could use some company. And I don't know how you got in here, but frankly, I don't care, and I have a job to do. Time is of the essence."

He swiftly made it to the console the rodian had once been sitting at. After studying the buttons on it, he maneuvered through the computer until he found what he wanted. He grinned upon learning the location of one of the slave hiding places. Reminded him of an old story called the "purloined datapad."

He composed himself, kicked the rodian for good measure, and turned to face the man still in the room. "Why are you still here?"

Selkisto stared blankly at the man. He didn't want to admit it, but he was quite confused. He passed the man up as being a looney that dwelled the tunnels or something. "Sorry, but no thank you. Like i said, urgent matters at hand." He turned and ran past the man, into the tunnel he had come from. On a thought, he spun around and went back to him. "Might i ask you to pick up these two lovely young ladies and take them somewhere were they can reorient themselves safely?"

Selkisto nodded, not quite comprehending what had just happened, and went his own seperate way.