[ISBI] Meltdown

[Ethan Tahmores]

Coronet City, Corellia

The motor servos of the lowering mechanism were still whirring away, and the repulsorlifts were still rumbling through their shutdown proceedure as Ethan stepped from the durasteel ramp beneath the chin of their shuttle, and onto to the duracrete slabs of the landing platform. A few slow paces carried him clear before he halted, and he rocked slightly onto his toes, aclimitising himself to the gravity. His eyes flicked casually upwards, watching the the two CorSec X-Wings that had escorted them down swoop around to head back to their patrols; a casual salute turned into an exaggerated full-arm wave of acknowledgement to the pilots.

He swept his gaze around his surroundings, drinking in the details. They'd landed on a 'crete platform carved into verdant grasslands that rolled in all directions, bounded only by a broad inlet of ocean that separated them from the distant view of the Coronet skyline. A small collection of buildings were scattered around, built from what Ethan assumed was the local stone; they hunkered low against the grasslands however, trying their utmost not to disrupt the view of the landscape, no doubt concealing vast structures somewhere underneath.

The downside to all this open space and scenery was the breeze that rushed in from the miles-away coast, relentlessly buffetting anything that stood more than a foot or so off the ground. Ethan stood firm, but the duo of landing techs that jogged out from the hunkered bunker leant into the wind, wincing as it whipped up dirt and debris into their eyes.

Ethan wasn't the only one standing tall against the elements, however. A figure stood, a few dozen paces away, evidently awaiting their arrival. He was too distant to identify from memory; but the stature and build weren't in keeping with Jacob Tur'enne. After Ethan had confirmed his intention to help, Jacob had made arrangements to send across information on the existing official investigation; and had also made references to another individual who was looking into the case.

An Inquisitor in black? Ethan mused, pacing over towards the waiting figure. Not exactly inconspicuous.

Despite his certaintly of his interpretation, Ethan nonetheless allowed himself to act on those assumptions; he'd long ago learned that, though highly irregular, there were times when he was completely wrong. And so, as he approached the waiting man, he phrased his greeting as a question.

"Reinhart Thul?"

[Reinhart Thul]

There was a wistful distance in Thul's eyes, as he examined the Coronet City skyline. It was beautiful, in every way. A melancholy beauty, of course, but beauty nonetheless. A journey on the maglev train, rushing amongst the winding streets and towering skyscrapers of the city, always cleared his thoughts and lifted his spirits. Now, however, there was a shadow settled over his memories of Corellia, an insistent anxiety that tugged at him as tirelessly as the winds of the grasslands tugged at dark fabric of his clothes..

“Reinhart Thul?”

His eyes faintly narrowed, Thul pulled his eyes from the city and found himself looking into an unfamiliar face. He smoothed the frown from his brow with ease and pressed a small smile onto his lips.

“Tahmores?”

[Ethan Tahmores]

Ethan was instinctively suspicious of people who mustered a smile too easily. On some occasions, they were those incredibly well-adjusted people, who had absolutely nothing in their life to furrow or frown about. Those people were either annoyingly - and often blindly - optimistic; or else were just hapless morons. Ethan had very little patience for either personality type, though admittedly there were some exceptions.

The alternative was far more likely in Ethan's mind; and far more worthy of suspicion and mistrust. The other variety of people who smiled so easily were those so skilled at deception that they could make even the most forced of expressions seem natural. For someone in Thul's position, that could be a remarkably valuable talent; it also had the potential to make him remarkably dangerous.

Ethan knew that for a fact, being counted amongst that number himself.

"I hear that Jacob Tur'enne isn't the only one who lacks faith in the competance of my Corellian counterparts," he stated simply, tone and expression remaining neutral.

[Reinhart Thul]

The smile grew, small laughter lines creasing the edges of Thul's eyes.

“I have always been an admirer of Corellian tenacity – but in matters such as this, it can never hurt to have a.. fresh pair of eyes to look over the problem.”

As a former scout for Imperial Intelligence, Reinhart was no stranger to the Imperial Security Bureau. Their operatives were amongst the most loyal the Empire had to offer, ever viligant for treason from without and within. On one occasion, Thul himself had been subject to an Internal Affairs investigation. ISB left no rock unturned and so it was, in a way, gratifying to know that the Empire's tireless watch-dogs were joining the hunt for Alexander Tur'enne.

“You are familiar with Jacob?”

[Ethan Tahmores]

"Only in passing."

There was that damned easy smile again; it took every fibre of Ethan's willpower not to narrow his eyes in suspicion.

Thul had clearly taken Ethan's critique of the Corellians in jest; that was his perogative of course, but had not been Ethan's initial intention. Since the planet of trecherous and untrustworthy bastards had ceded from the Empire and set up shop as an "independently governed, allied system" - a bunch of hippy crap, Ethan thought with a mental scowl - the situation had gone from bad to worse. The number of Corellians who'd funnelled themselves into the Rebel Alliance was staggering; and that included those from within the ranks of the Empire itself. Their law enforcement agencies were complacent meanwhile, and smuggling - as well as terrorist activity - was rife; even if they didn't fund it directly, about half of the illegally operated ships cruising around the galaxy were bolt-buckets from Corellia, by Ethan's reckoning.

Worse, the Empire had let their standards slip. Local ISB forces - and Imperial forces in general - were full of fraktard morons who, were their brains explosives, they wouldn't manage to have enough to produce a decent belch, let alone blow their hat off. Here was a place where - as far as regulations and proceedures went at least - snafu was the order of the day. So many times, Ethan had come across the individuals assigned here, and had half-considered defecting to the Rebellion out of shame; even the trecherous, rebel scum that defected couldn't be as bad as some of the uniform fillers they shoved off on Corellia.

He kept his tirade mental of course, hidden behind eyes that - for the moment at least - conveyed nothing. "I presented evidence in a case that he prosecuted," Ethan explained, expanding on his initial, short response.

He flipped the conversation on it's head immediately. "The more interesting story, I think, would be the one of how a Corellian lawyer and an Imperial Agent get to be so friendly." He flashed the vaguest hint of a smile. "Wanna clue me in?"

[Reinhart Thul]

“I'm afraid there is no interesting story there. I was stationed on Corellia many years ago and was fortunate enough to find a friend in Alluria Tur'enne. I know Jacob Tur'enne only by association.”

Both men were smiling, though for no real reason. There was an element of deception in meetings such as these, when both men were trying to evaluate who currently had the upper-hand. Neither wanted to betray too much, not when there were so many unknown variables potentially at play.

“So.. you will be leading the official investigation?”

[Ethan Tahmores]

Ethan offered a sussinct nod. "That's the notion," he confirmed.

Only by association? Ethan mused. That in itself was interesting, though he didn't press further. He didn't know enough about Mrs Tur'enne to draw any kind of conclusions, and he hated to guess; what career she might have occupied, that had seen her serving alongside Reinhart Thul, was something he would have to investigate at some point, merely to satiate his curiosity.

His tone took on a light, jestful air, though there was an undercurrent of threat that stressed his words. "I trust I can count on your full cooperation in this, Agent Thul."

[Reinhart Thul]

Thul weighed that idea with a half-nod to one side. Working outside of his official capacity as an Inquisitor - and frankly, even within that role - he was under no compulsion to share his conclusions with a man like Tahmores. The Inquisitoriate valued independence and discretion in its agents, but there were times when Thul knew that splendid isolation was not quite so splendid.

“Yes... I think we could both benefit from a mutual exchange of information and ideas. Will you be working the case alone?”

[Ethan Tahmores]

Ethan turned to look over his shoulder, expecting to see the agents he'd brought with him from Imperial Center waiting patiently, or perhaps dutifully offloading equipment from the shuttle. The sight he was presented with was far less respectable, however.

Someone - he refused to allow himself to speculate who - had apparently taken it upon themselves to unload and activate the analysis droids that the team had brought with them from headquarters. All things being equal, it was a sensible idea: both droids were equipped to move under their own power, and one of them was even fitted with sophisticated repulsorlifts that allowed it to move easily around laboratory facilities, or float effortlessly over crime scenes without disturbing the precious evidence.

Unfortunately, the agent in question hadn't taken the strong crosswind into consideration. Abby, the SP-4 analysis droid, had been blown over and was now flailing on her back, unable to right herself under the continued assault of air pressure; Greg the JN-66 meanwhile was already a good few meters away from the shuttle's hatch, repulsorlifts struggling to achieve the necessary speed to fly against the headwind.

Ethan sighed and let his shoulders slump, watching as Agent Jansen attempted to catch Greg, despite him clearly being several inches too high for her short stature. He offered Thul a thin-lipped smile, and gestured back towards the shuttle. "Allow me to present my team."

[Elizabeth Jansen]

No sooner had Tahmores finished his statement than Eliza managed to finally jump high enough and snag the floating droid out of the air, clutching it to her chest until it proved that it wouldn't float away again.

Not that she let it go as she heard the announcement of the team made and came over to smile at the man that her boss had been speaking with.

With one arm wrapped firmly around the droid - who was now protesting her hold just a bit with the occasional chip and beep - her other was extended towards the man.

"Eliza Jansen, sir. At your service."

[Reinhart Thul]

It was difficult for Thul to suprress the smile that he felt coming over him, as he watched one of Tahmores' agents wrestling with a wayward droid.

“Good to meet you, Eliza. I'm Reinhart. What's your role in Agent Tahmore's team?”

[Soren Khapst]

"Alright Abby...up you go. Stay between these crates until we're ready to load you into ground transport, ok? Don't want you falling over again." Soren muttered as he righted the poor flailing droid, setting her amidst the pile of crates he'd offloaded from their shuttle. She chirped at him, earning a snicker in response as he shook his head and retrieved his jacket.

Donning it, he walked over to where Ethan and Eliza stood, his bag over his shoulder. With Eliza speaking to Reinhart, Soren stood on Ethan's right and spoke quietly.

"Rest of the gear is offloaded and waiting for transport, sir."

[Elizabeth Jansen]

Her overall joy at the entire situation and the feeling of being on her first assignment came to an abrupt halt at that very moment. She glanced at Tahmores from the corner of her eye as her thoughts stumbled over what exactly her roll was there at that very moment. After all, she was new and young and... Probie, Hazing fodder... She even let her brain skirt along the edge of the word amateur but found that it was downright insulting for her to even consider that as a term that applied to her.

"Forensics specialist." The confidence with what actually came out of her mouth surprised her somewhat. It brought on a smile.

"Means I probably get to go play in the lab with the droids when we're done here." Eliza nodded her head back towards the droids as best as she could without spinning around. A rather proud little look in her eyes came as she managed to turn that smile on Tahmores, waiting for some sort of validation in her words.

[Reinhart Thul]

Thul acknowledged Jansen - and her youthfully enthusiasm for the mission - with a nod, before letting his gaze drift to the figure who now stood alongside Ehtan Tahmores. He lacked the specialists obvious excitement but appeared prepared nonetheless; a former military man perhaps, given his stance. Again, Reinhart nodded.

“If we're all present and assembled.. shall we begin?”