Lady Valmay, Hostess's page

Lady Valmay accepts Rhea's easy exit with fine grace, and puts on a bit of a show for her employees and customers as she escorts the field operative back to the main entrance. Amidst Valmay's angry shouts about not giving money to those who waste it, Rhea interjects her own improvised protests with gusto, and soon enough finds herself back on the pedwalks of Ahto City.

One finely-tipped nail rattles out a staccato on the desktop as Valmay ponders what Rhea is reporting. An HK-50 model? Very interesting. . . . . And this droid is following a Corellian by the name of Hayden? The irregular beat stops. Hmmmmm . . . . If my guess is correct, Varn, then you may have put yourself into a singularly advantageous position. So much so that I'm obligated to apologize for my earlier viciousness. The potential gains from what I'm seeing are so great that putting aside my family loyalties in the interests of the Crown is the only reasonable course. With ethereal grace, Inita moves from her casual recline to brace Thea eye-to-eye across the homogoni desk. I have no authority to override your current mandate, Rhea, but I can amend it slightly. You would do well to cultivate a positive relationship with this "Hayden". He may be the key to accessing the droid on which you've rightly set your sights, but also --, the manicured finger ascends toward the ceiling, Also! --, a window into the very heart of the Republic's innermost powers. Stay with those two as best you can, and include every possible detail in your regular reports -- Hapes has much to garner from your work.

Valmay subsides once more, and slightly mellowed silence overtakes the room.

Rhea/Rednal -- feel free to conversate more, here. If my surmise is correct, then you just might be in this room for the next six days, our time. If, however, I'm wrong, well . . . we'll have plenty going on in short order. It may be a gross instance of plausible deus ex machina, but . . . I've got a game to run! :)

Lady Valmay listens carefully to Rhea's story, and lets her finish before she begins to dig deeper into the details.

I'm going to post this as a series of questions, and, if you please, Rednal, answer them in succession (noting any avoided questions as clearly as you can, please -- if there are any.).

1) So. This battle . . . . The fight was between the local Exchange enforcers and a group of . . . Mandalorians? What was the result of the attack?

2) What model is this "rare droid" you're tailing, hmm?

3) Is the droid accompanying someone? Or is it one of those ghastly 'liberated' droids?

4) What's your current cover identity, and what's your expected itinerary? I've been pressed to provide all the information I can regarding your anticipated movements for the foreseeable future. I can only guess that one of our superiors may need to be able to contact you swiftly -- a special assignment may be coming your way soon . . . .

That's it for the moment. Will be getting the storage depot post prepped shortly.

Behind an ornate homogoni desk, a very petite woman sits fully reclined in a memory-foam chair covered with tasteful synthsilk upholstery. Cradling a wineglass in one manicured hand, a wry half-smile graces the dark-eyed woman's immaculate visage. Swathed in sheer couture that both conceals and accentuates her every curve, she rises gracefully and begins to walk around the desk toward Rhea.

Tut, tut, darling! Whoever said anything about 'disappointment'?! . . . . But forgive my brashness -- introductions are in order, of course. In a courtly fashion, the comely madam's hand reaches toward Rhea in polite greeting. Your name, my dear?

Automatically, Rhea accepts the handshake while identifying herself. The light grip suddenly becomes vise-like as the brothel's operator pulls herself fully into Rhea's "bubble" and hisses: And I, Miss Varn, am Lady Inita Valmay, by pure happenstance your superior in this little dance of ours. Quick as a flash, the rage dissipates from her voice. It is a delight to make your acquaintance, Rhea. It is so wonderful to meet the scion of a competing House, is it not?

With those few moments' exchange, Rhea realizes some part of what is transpiring here. House Varn and House Valmay are very nearly on equal footing in the political tangle of Hapan culture. Though she cannot recall any 'bad blood' between the two families, it seems Valmay has a different perspective altogether. And given the protocols of reporting in to a planetary station chief, the field operative understands that she has a duty to provide a detailed debriefing, but yielding up too much information might give her competitor too much leverage. A delicate dance, indeed . . . . Moreso because the command code Rhea received could only have originated from someone farther up the chain of command . . . . Someone with great influence wanted this particular meeting to occur, even though it was unnecesaary.

Lady Inita glides over to a sidebar and replenishes her drink. Glancing back over her shoulder, she asks, Would you care for a drink before we sit down for your fabulous tale? Only a trained eye would be able to see through the false smile that delivers the question.