[Day 3 - Late Morning] Neighbourhood Watch

[Vala Roke]

Right when morning rolled around, Vala caught an earful of the local town chatter and alarm bells immediately started to ring in her head when she heard a familiar name. A part of her thought that the local criminal activity would lay low with the influx of war and Mandalorians that were running rampant planetside but she might have been a bit too optimistic on that front, which was a rare occurrence as she would tell herself. If crime didn't sleep, then neither should she! She wasn't going to turn a blind eye, even if she had bigger problems on her plate.

Vala would march up to the Lodge and request a hasty appointment with the mayor.

[Mayor Camali Evevos]

Vala is directed inside the lodge and up to Camali's personal quarters and office on the top floor. The rooms smell faintly of a spicy incense and are comfortable warm despite the cold outside. Her office is clean and well organised, displaying a photo of a younger, happier Camali and another woman as well as a degree and some awards.

The mayor herself is seated in a highbacked wooden chair across an ancient wooden desk but she stands with a soft smile as Vala enters.

"Good morning Ms Roke. Reception said you had an urgent request of some kind?"

[Vala Roke]

Vala wondered if she should have been better dressed for the occasion, considering she was seeing a mayor directly. That wasn't something that happened often on Corellia, considering that council people typically didn't give their time of day to just anyone and most certainly not someone of her paygrade. Well, now that she actually manage to get her attention, it was best to follow up with her case.

"Hello, Mayor Evevos, thank you very much for seeing me on short notice," she said with a faint smile, still a bit surprised that she was able to see her so soon. However, her expression did get serious as she avoided the trap of small talk and got to the point. "As they might have told you, I'm from CorSec. While I know that I don't have any jurisdiction in your orbit, there has been something around here that is in relation to my investigation and I thought it would be more than fair to inform you of my findings so that you could put this information to use in your jurisdiction. I have been made aware that a business person by the name of Rogan Terrik has a relationship around here?"

[Mayor Camali Evevos]

Camali's eyebrows rise a little at all of this but she gestures towards the seat opposite.

"I see, this investigation must be important to take you from Corellia out all the way to Kandra's Run. Your home planet is invigorating, although I only visited the once."

She waits a moment before sitting, her brow creasing slightly at Vala's mention of the name.

"Yes, Mr Terrik has indeed conducted substantial business here. It's probably not a huge leap in logic for me to assume your investigation concerns him in some fashion?"

[Vala Roke]

Vala stepped forward and took the seat as offered. She leaned back on the seat momentarily but quickly reminded herself to not get too comfortable, stopping herself from crossing her legs. It wasn't like she was being offered a cigar and a shellfish dinner just for handing out to the mayor.

"Invigorating is a new one," she smirked faintly. "Congested in some parts, grimy and industrial in others. We seemed to have a large number of pests, which is open to definition. We don't naturally leave our orbit, there's too much to do and so few of us around. I suppose this is the rare case where we found ourselves so close to having enough evidence to make the case, so I guess I picked the short straw to overstep it. We weren't going to be able to do anything, naturally. It was supposed to be an easy track and tag then I was on my way back. That was until the Mandos came."

She sighed softly and nodded as she got around to answering her question. "I'm afraid that my investigation does have Mr. Terrik very connected to a particular smuggling ring that I was following. I'm not sure if he's quite the head but he's looking very likely as the face. We're talking about the sort of smuggling where often parts and ships are stolen, stripped of serial numbers and sold to the rest of the galaxy. That's probably the surface of it, such an operation is usually used to bankroll other less lawful means to make money and maintain power with less friendly means."

[Mayor Camali Evevos]

Camali nods slowly, listening to Vala's points with an attentive air. Before looking a little saddened.

"I'm afraid that doesn't strike me as terribly surprising Ms Roke. I've had misgivings about Mr Terrik for a while. His access to certain equipment is...unusual. But the unfortunate truth is that we need the weapons he provides, even if we have questions about the sources. I can't very well tell my people that they can't defend themselves because we're taking a stand against smuggling."

She spreads her hands regretfully.
"If you can find some hard evidence of him committing serious crimes I will take it before the town council and General Novar and make the case for his arrest. I can't promise results, but I will promise to try. However, until we have evidence I'm limited in what I can do to assist your investigation."

[Vala Roke]

Vala frowned at that note before nodding a little. "So, you already have a relationship. I had a feeling that something like this would come up. Wartime making some awkward partnerships necessary. I'm not going to blame you for using whatever resources are given to you, especially when it comes to defending your town. Just know that he had been doing this long before war was even a possibility and criminals do have a habit to prey on the weak. I doubt there will be such things as goodwill or freebies, especially if you gather enough of a tab to be reliant on them once things return to normal, if ever. Your short-term need and his long-term investment. His types are moving to own this place as the end goal."

She crossed her arms. "I'd think twice about how deeply you want to go into this relationship. You don't want to end up surrendering this place even after the Mandalorians are gone. I would be very careful around them. I'd say building up a case against him would be a necessary insurance plan if anything. Backstabbing a criminal is kind of just desserts."

[Mayor Camali Evevos]

"Oh, well I'm not really terribly familiar with this sort of thing. Our organised crime is generally much more amiable, but I suppose they're members of the community."
Camali is looking a little unnerved.

"Just survive another day seemed like all we could aim for. But I wouldn't forgive myself if I simply led the town into the pocket of another villain come the war's end. I don't know where I could source more weapons from except...well maybe there is one sentient. Maybe I should just ask members of the Alpine Clan to handle this."

[Vala Roke]

Vala couldn't help but frown at this, "I very much doubt that this group is a sort of mom-and-pop outfit making things work, taking from the rich and giving it to the poor. Even if Mr. Terrik is a supposed philanthropist. May I ask what're the workings of the relationship you have with him at the moment? But at the end of the day, I'm not going to tell you how to run your town, especially during wartime. A measure of caution would go a long way, if you're already going to make a deal with a gangster.

She tilted her head at the mention of the other party. "The local gang of these parts? They're not directly related to your fortuitous benefactor, are they?"

[Mayor Camali Evevos]

"He's been selling to a number of city's on the planet, even the capital. Mr Terrik was well recommended by a number of people, most sellers wouldn't even bother coming by a planet like Obroa-Skai.

When he came to Kandra's Run with a large stock of weaponry, well with the war on we all pooled our funds to purchase some of his supplies. We've always had our hunting rifles but against Mandalorians we needed something with more firepower."

She gestures to an ancient slug thrower mounted high on the wall.
"Mandalorian armour is thicker than most of the beasts we deal with. Although not all."

Camali settles herself before launching into what sounds a lot like an academic lecture on the Alpine Clan. The look and short of it (her history is quite comprehensive) is that the Clan operates throughout the planet in its rural areas, tends to have a working relationship with most communities and specialises in smuggling and moving contraband.

"Although as far as I know they're not related to Mr Terrik, he's an off-worlder."

[Vala Roke]

"Ever the opportunist," she snickered without much humour around it, more of a wry attitude about her. "Again, I don't blame you for taking the offer, especially at such a time. It's kind of hard to expect you to maintain a moral high ground with those rifles. That said, I'm not so sure he's exactly your guardian angel in any sense of the word, Mayor Evevos."

"How much you didn't deal with the Alpine Clan since the start of this?" She brought up curiously, as strange as it was for a cop to ask about dealing with criminals. "It seems it would more sense as you're giving back to the same planet, in a way. I would have thought you would get closer together given the circumstances and you wouldn't need to deal with an off-worlder."

[Mayor Camali Evevos]

"Officially I have no business with the Alpine Clan. But unofficially the town has a working relationship with them. Kazimieras Dubick is their sentient in Kandra's Run, although he prefers to travel. I probably see him once a month or so."

Nodding at Vala's question. "We would have preferred to do business with them, but they just don't have the quantity or the quality of arms we need. Most of them are hunters, trappers or guides in their day lives. They don't carry heavy weaponry for the most part."

[Vala Roke]

Vala didn't look too pleased with this situation and let out a small huff. "It does sound like your arms were tied in the situation when you have no other options. I don't know what else I can do or offer in this situation. That said, I think I'm going to still keep tabs on your benefactor here. I'm not exactly going to be making an arrest since I can't...but let's just say I going to hold on to that hunch for now."

She didn't say anything else but give her an expectant glance. At this point, she could either discourage her or support her. She didn't know where the mayor stood with the philanthropist or how deep she was in his pocket.

[Mayor Camali Evevos]

"You need to do what's right. If the case has taken you all the way out here you can't very well stop now, can you?"
The Mayor smiles slightly.

"But please be careful, the war is dangerous enough."

[Vala Roke]

"Well...I suppose CorSec never asked for your permission in the first place," she said with a slightly apologetic look on her face. "But now that we've met face to face and made it all formal with this meeting, I figured it would be best to make it official. I don't think we need to have secrets on top of what we're dealing with around here, right?"

Getting back to the point of her meeting, something quickly came up to her mind. "One question, I suppose where does Mr. Terrik spend his time or operate here? I promise to not cause any trouble and stir up the hornet's nest, unless it stirs itself, of course."

[Mayor Camali Evevos]

Gently, the mayor shook her head. "So far, he maintains his operation elsewhere on the planet, only delivering some weapons here. He's coming here to expand, since Kandra's Run has now become a focal point in the war." She paused a moment, a look of fatigue crossing her features.

She looked at Vala. "Once that information has been established, I can share it with you." Her look became more serious. "If you promise to share anything you find with this office, but without any sort of official approval from it."

[Vala Roke]

"Oh, that's wonderful," she said with a slightly dry remark regarding the expansion of operation here."It would be interesting to hear if he's moving off the planet too, running past the Mandalorians without any issues."

"Of course, it's only fair I'll share anything I find with you. I want to make that Kandra's Run is on the best footing when it comes to dealing with questionable types," she nodded on that note as she prepared to make her leave. "If there's nothing else, I've probably taken enough of your time on the matter, Mayor Evevos. Thank you for being upfront on the matter."