Kallus finished the shutdown procedures before he stood and let the techno-service droid know that he'd be in charge of the ship until he returned. He then walked down the loading ramp, and then had it raised before he left. For once, he was glad that one had to have their bio-signature on file and scanned in order to access the ship. Trilex wasn't exactly known as being a hub of security.
Walking from the port toward the section of the city that held the various bars Kallus felt a bit ridiculous. While he'd been able to prevent the Mandalorian woman from going too crazy, when he'd been ordered by Mon Mothma to change his appearance as a condition to the authorization of his mission to make contact with Kiara as a Fulcrum, he'd had no choice but to subject himself to her creative talents. At least he was able to point out that he needed a look that would cause him to go unnoticed rather than stand out. That did help. Still, he hadn't been able to walk away completely unscathed. Kallus's feet already hurt thanks to the inserts that were put in his shoes to make him appear taller. He hoped that the bar that he was looking for wasn't far away.
Kallus saw a chronometer on the side of a building and saw that it was nearing the end of an Imperial shift. He hoped that meant that the workers would be making their way to the city soon. And that Kiara would be among them. As he strolled toward the other end of the city, he kept his eyes on the alleys and street corners. He didn't like the element that he saw that filled this city. It reminded him too much of the section of Coruscant where he'd grown up. He kept a hand at his blaster, ready to use it if he needed. When he saw the establishment that Kiara had mentioned in her brief transmission, he eyed it skeptically.
Once inside he headed off to the side where he could watch the door. He ordered a drink, but he left it untouched for the most part; only pretending to drink from his glass from time to time to avoid suspicion. He'd been nursing his drink for nearly two hours before he caught sight of Kiara slipping into the door. She paused at the entryway and scanned the customers inside. Kallus saw when she spotted him because she developed a smirk in regard to the makeover that Sabine had given him.
Kiara made her way over to the table and as she sat down Kallus spoke first in a gruff whisper. "Don't say anything. The only way I could come was if I allowed Sabine to change the way I look."
She shook her head while trying not to laugh. "So should I take it that you don't intend to stay a redhead when you leave?"
"Sabine thought that since you mentioned having a brother in your transmission that it would help if I looked more... like you, I suppose." Kallus ran a hand over his dyed auburn hair. "Though at least I was able to remind her that I didn't want to draw attention. She'd intended to give me green hair."
Kiara bit her lip and turned her head away from Alexsandr to keep from laughing at the image that she got in her head for a moment before she turned back. "I'm sorry I missed the opportunity to see that."
"I'm sure you are." Kallus rolled his eyes. He glanced around and saw that a cyborg was approaching. He seemed to be staring at them when he stopped halfway to their table. "Friend of yours?" Kallus whispered.
"He's the one who runs the underground transmission business in the bar." Kiara didn't like the way he seemed to be trying to place Kallus. "Let's get out of here. I'll assume that you left the ship at the port?"
Kallus nodded and stood. He and Kiara then headed out of the bar. When they passed a group of men near an alleyway, he put a protective arm across the back of Kiara while he kept his other hand on his blaster. If it wasn't for the fact that Kiara would travel the streets with her own hand on her blaster she would have cracked a joke about his behavior. Still, once they made their way onto the Shadow Chaser where they could speak freely without worrying about being overheard Kiara snickered just a bit as she was able to break free from the protective hold.
"Well, that would certainly make the locals believe my cover story about contacting my over-protective brother last week."
"Not funny. I do hope that you don't walk around this city alone often."
"No, not often. But in case you've forgotten, I'm not exactly helpless. I can take care of myself."
"Perhaps, but you are not invincible."
Kiara rolled her eyes. "So why did you come all the way here?"
"Your message," Kallus led Kiara to the common area so that they could sit while they discussed what the woman had learned since she'd left Lothal. When they entered the room, however, the droid became ecstatic at seeing its mistress. He floated over to her and spun in excitement. It took some time to convince the droid that the two organics needed to discuss a few things in private. Once that was done Kallus prodded Valour once more as they sat on one of the couches in the common area. "You said something in your message that led me to believe that the Empire has found another Jedi temple. Is it like the one on Lothal?"
Kiara thought about the temple before she answered. "It isn't a Jedi temple. It is older than the Jedi by a few centuries. But artwork similar to that which was found on Lothal has been uncovered."
"So, it's another temple with a portal?"
"Maybe. Possibly. Which is why I've been working on sabotaging the excavation."
Kallus's eyes widened just a bit. "If you are caught-"
"I know. But I'm careful. I've added a few flaws that when looked at, unless you know what you are looking for, appear to be old damage from the centuries of being left not being maintained. I'm hoping that the minor changes will be enough to keep it from being activated."
Kiara rested her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes. Being back on her ship was a rare luxury that she wanted to absorb while she was there. When she opened her eyes back up and turned her head to face Alexsandr she found that he was watching her. She sat up and shrugged.
"Anyway, other than that, there's really not much to report. That and the fact that I really don't have much of a way to send in a message if I do come across some information for the rebellion. Even with a transmitter, all transmissions are being heavily monitored off of the planet. So, the odds of getting anything of use out would be nearly non-existent."
Kallus stroked his beard as he considered what Valour was saying. "Then that means that I should stay. At least until you have more information to send in. Then instead of trying to find a way to get the information out I'll just be able to leave the system and get somewhere safe to transmit it."
"No, Alex. Your new look may help keep you under the radar for a little while but if you stick around people will begin to get curious." Kiara sat up and shook her head. "And if anyone looks hard enough, with there being an Imperial base here, they just might cross-reference your appearance with the files of all known Imperial defectors. And if they run a bio-scan-"
"That would only be done if I gave them a reason to be suspicious and take me into custody. And besides, you are the one who created the cover when you sent out a message that you have an over-protective family." Kallus's eyes took on a look that said that he didn't plan to leave just yet. Not unless he had a pretty damn good reason to leave.
Kiara rolled her eyes. "Stubborn as always."
"I have to be. Look at the company that I keep," Kallus chuckled. "Now, since we've gotten that out of the way, how about I fill you in on a few changes that have been made since you left Lothal."
"What kind of changes?" Kiara squinted her eyes.
"The crew of the Ghost is expecting a new member next year." Kallus saw that Valour didn't quite get his meaning right away, so he added, "Hera's pregnant."
Kiara's brow went up. "Really?"
Kallus nodded. "Hera and Kanan have already gone to see her father to tell him the news. Though the crew has forced Hera to take on a more of an administrative role for now since they don't want her taking any risks. You should have seen her face when the whole crew ganged up on her when she volunteered to lead a squad out for a mission. She looked mad enough to rip the limbs off of a gundart."
"Oh no. I'm guessing that it's going to be a long eleven months for her, then." Kiara laughed as she could imagine the patchwork of a family all banning together to make sure that the mother-to-be didn't put herself in danger. What little interaction she had with the woman was enough to tell her that she wasn't one for sitting on the sidelines. Kanan was going to have his hands full with keeping her out of harm's way.
"Eleven?" Kallus didn't know how long Twi'leks were pregnant. Hadn't never needed nor cared to know.
"It may not be quite so long, since Kanan's the father but..." Kiara shrugged. She paused before she asked, "Other than that, how is everyone?"
Kallus leaned back against the couch and thought about how to answer her. "There's still a cloud that hangs over them. It's like no one wants to be the one to mention Ezra in fear that it would cause a dam to break. Especially now with Hera being pregnant."
"Ah, yes, it is the same for pregnant sentients of nearly all species. Pregnancy tends to make them a little extra emotional." She then laughed before adding as she leaned back onto the couch, "I'm surprised that the other fellas didn't volunteer to join you on this trip just so that they could escape the hormones."
"Give it some time and they just might," Kallus joined with a chuckle.
Valour examined her work carefully before she prepared to leave at the end of her shift. She got cleaned up and retrieved her pass to leave the base. When she left and started toward the road that would lead her to the city she scowled as she noticed that Alexsandr was waiting down the block. When she reached him, she couldn't help but to lightly smack him on his arm.
"What the hell do you think you are doing? Do you have a death wish? Just standing out here in the open so close to an Imperial Base?"
"Relax. No one has recognized me. Not to mention, I likely wouldn't have been anyway outside of the sector that I was stationed at." Kallus chuckled but rubbed his arm as if he was trying to soothe the sting from the smack.
"You are taking a big risk in hoping that's true. I thought that you were going to wait for me at the bar."
Kallus glanced around at the individuals who lined the street. "You have to be kidding."
Kiara rolled her eyes. "I think you are taking this role as my over-protective brother just a bit too far. Not to ment-" She paused when she saw troopers up ahead on their path. Or more specifically, the device that they had in their hand as they stopped random citizens on the street. "Shit!"
"What is it?"
Valour turned and held her finger up to Alex's lips. "Not another word until we get back on the ship."
Kallus gave her a look of confusion before he saw what she had seen. He nodded in understanding. Those devices could pick up vocal voice prints for more than a city block. The two of them did their best to not attract attention as they picked their way back toward the port where the Shadow Chaser was docked. Neither of them spoke since they had no idea of how many other troopers were out on the street with the voice detection devices.
Once the pair were back at the ship Kiara closed the loading ramp behind her on the way up into it. Once safely inside she groaned. "That changes things. I wonder what spurred the Empire to use voice-print devices out there."
Kallus thought back to the time when they'd been out at the bar the night before. "That cyborg. He was looking directly at me for a moment yesterday."
Valour thought about the enhanced man who ran the transmission enterprise. "He must have installed some software that allows him to compare his clients with those who are wanted by the Empire." Kiara shook her head. "So much for no one recognizing you."
"Relax. If he had truly recognized me, I wouldn't have lived long enough to get back to the ship."
Kiara narrowed her eyes at Alex. "If that is true then just why are those troopers out there?"
Kallus sat on the couch in the common room on the ship as he thought about it. "Well, I'm guessing that while the cyborg couldn't see all of my face, he may have seen enough to trigger the facial recognition software's report for a possible sighting. If he is an Imperial contact, that is."
"Which means that you have to get off of this planet and out of this sector. And fast."
"Now wait a minut-"
"Alex, you stay, and you'll be found." Kiara turned towards where Tac was hovering just outside of the common area. "Tac, get the ship ready and you'll need to be the one to interact with the control tower when requesting clearance to leave."
"Of course, Mistress, Kiara." The droid floated off to begin to get the ship ready for take-off.
"You do realize that I know how avoid detection on my own. I'm not an idiot."
Kiara turned back to Alex and snickered. "Depends on one's perspective and the day of the week."
"Cute." Kallus stepped past her as he headed toward the cockpit to help the droid. "But I'm not happy about leaving you here on this planet."
"Duly noted." Kiara shook her head at the man's stubbornness. "But I have a mission here. I have to make sure that the temple isn't activated."
Kallus turned and looked back toward Valour, "And if you are found out? If they realize that you are sabotaging the temple?"
"When did you start to become such a worrying ninny?"
"I guess it was right around the time that I grew a conscience."
Kiara paused since she knew that comment said much more about what the man felt about himself and his past than it did about her. "And if I promise that I'll be careful?"
The two stood looking at one another when the droid came floating down the small corridor where the two were still standing. "I've contacted control and they have approved our immediate departure as soon as we are ready."
"Thanks, Tac. I'll be right up to the cockpit in a moment." Kallus waited until the droid had left them alone once more before he addressed Valour again. "That's one promise that you'd best keep."
Valour reached out and hugged Kallus for a moment before she pulled back. "You'd better go before the Imperials decide to revoke their approval for ship departures."
Kallus sighed. "You're probably right. Just-"
"I know. Be careful. Just make sure you take your own advice, too."
With that, Kiara walked down toward the loading ramp and lowered it so that she could leave the ship. Once it was raised back up Kiara watched as the ship's engines were ignited and lifted up as it briefly hovered overhead before it then shot up towards the sky. With the Shadow Chaser gone, Kiara headed back to the Imperial Base.
Kallus finished informing Mon Mothma what he'd learned from Valour on Trilex regarding the new temple that the Empire had uncovered as well as Valour's attempts to subtly damage it. While the woman may not understand fully the implications of what the temple represented, she could remember a time before the dark times when the Jedi were nearly wiped out to extinction. She knew that they possessed mystical knowledge and power and she agreed that it would be a tragedy on a massive scale if the emperor was able to seize the kind of power that Jarrus had spoken about in his reports that he'd filed after the Battle of Lothal.
After being thanked for his report, he headed back out toward the hanger where he'd seen Hera giving directions to her crew. She had apparently found that the ship needed to be cleaned of the power scoring. Zeb could be seen working alongside Chopper up on top of the ship as he approached. As Kallus was spotted by the Lasat, Zeb told Chopper that he was going to take a break. Kallus heard Chopper say something about how Hera wouldn't be happy about the break but since Zeb couldn't understand the droid he didn't respond.
"When did you get back?" Garazeb asked as he walked over to the man who must have taken some of his time during his return trip to remove all traces of Sabine's color alterations that she'd made to his appearance.
"A few hours ago. I've already gone to give my report regarding what I found on Trilex. Mon Mothma said that she'd see about sending other agents to routinely check to see if Valour has anything to report."
"I sort of thought that you would take a while before you came back," Zeb eyed the other man. "Something wrong?"
Kallus let out a long breath. "I'm pretty sure I was detected. As a result, the Imperials had troopers on the street with voice-print identifiers. When that happened, I had to make a quick departure."
"The Empire doesn't usually deploy those-"
"Unless there has been a verified sighting," Kallus finished the Lasat's thoughts. "I didn't even think about that until I was already out of the sector. Which means that even if I'm not there, my presence could potentially be linked back to Valour. The only reason I didn't turn around as soon as I thought about it was the fact that it would only serve to confirm any suspicions."
Zeb saw where Kallus was working the muscles in his jaw. He felt for his friend and tried to find something that he could say to ease the worry of the other man.
"It's not easy having to leave people you care about behind when they have a mission in one place, but you have one in another." Zeb leaned against the hull of the Ghost as he saw Kallus turn to fully face him.
"What are you insinuating?"
"I'm not insinuating anything. I'm downright saying it. You, my friend, have been so far in over your head for a while, now. It's actually been kind of funny to see that, for an intelligence officer, you've been pretty clueless about what's been going on." Zeb chuckled as he saw his friend's face look as if he was about to argue with him. "I've spent months listening to you when you were worried about where she was before Lothal."
"And I assume that you are going to say that you wouldn't be just as worried about Hera or Sabine if they were out of contact for nearly a year?"
"Didn't say that. But I've seen the way you look when you talk about her and the most damning evidence of all... How soon after she made contact with you did you decide that you had to drop everything to go to Trilex?" When Kallus gave him a dirty look Zeb continued. "You know, the rest of us actually had a betting pool going for when you'd be back; if you'd be back. I think that the only ones who haven't been clued in are the two of you."
"Zeb, you are making a lot out of nothing. Valour and I are friends; nothing more. And I'd be concerned for any friend if they were stationed on Trilex or if they were currently embedded into the Empire as a Fulcrum Agent."
"I-" Zeb was cut off at the sound of Hera coming down the Ghost's loading ramp.
"Zeb, why are you down here and not working?" When Hera spotted Kallus, she stopped. "Kallus? I didn't know you were back?"
"I haven't been for long. I'll let Zeb get back to work. I just wanted to check in with all of you. I see you are keeping the crew on their toes, as always."
Hera looked over at the smirk that was on Zeb's face and decided that she'd ask what it was about after the other man was gone. "I figured that since my family here has helped to convince the leadership that I should be pulled from leading any missions until after the baby is born that I'd see to it that they are just as bored as I am."
"I'm sure that you'll be able to put more of your talents to good use, now that you temporarily won't be able to put your piloting skills to the test." Kallus excused himself and then headed back to his cabin in the Shadow Chaser.
