Umgul City

Sighing inaudibly and almost out of boredom, Mace did not even bother to reply when the Detective started being on the defensive. . . That wasn’t what Mace meant, far from it, granted that she did not explain, but then again Mace was no longer used to working with people that did not know her. If she could, she would avoid working with people that barely knew her too. Right this instant; she was reminded why she always preferred to do things on her own too. Yes, Mace wasn’t that much of a talker and no, she clearly didn’t like explaining herself, going into details each time she said something.

The Force help her then and there. . .

Thankfully for Mace but also maybe for the Detective, Atlantis was more inclined to speak and share. At least he was explaining it to a certain point and maybe, just maybe the Detective was going to get where Mace currently found herself with her line of thoughts.

“Ayla, it is. . .” Said Mace after hearing Atlantis’ order before glancing at him meaningfully as if she was currently warning him that she did not want to hear a complaint from the Detective due to this matter that was obviously taken over by the Mist Order. Mace had no time to deal with those futilities and she clearly did not want to deal with any type of social relations between Force users and non-Force users.

Yes, she probably sounded or looked arrogant then and there, but there were things that were far more important in her opinion than detailing every action of hers, or every thought of hers. Currently, Mace only wanted one thing and one thing only, it was to find whoever did this and whoever potentially impersonated Andros because the Vice-Governor still had the shortest of fuse than ever. Especially currently with everything he had been dealing with.

Part of her actually wished that Ayla was in her place, because Mace was certain that her cousin was more approachable in a way, or maybe just easier to talk with. But Ayla wasn’t here, Mace was and that was something she was going to be dealing with. Mace should probably re-learn how to deal with people no matter what the circumstances were. . . Although she currently wasn’t holding her breath about that for the time being, lest something drastically happened, but again, not holding her breath.

Finally though, they had arrived at their desire location, and Mace could just step out of the airspeeder and breathe. Maybe it was just the wrong thing to do, to just slightly pull away from the three others, but currently she really needed to breathe with all the thoughts that were tossing and turning in her mind. During the time Atlantis spoke with whoever he needed to speak, Mace pulled her datapad out and sent an encoded message to Ayla to track down that Doran Healy and even get the data from the Deputy Director of Intelligence if necessary, but just to track him down and start surveillance on him.

Returning to where Atlantis was currently standing, Mace looked right in front of her for a moment in silence before syncing herself with what he was currently seeing. Mace was thankful that Atlantis always left his mind over to her when it was necessary, and despite not currently seeing a thing, Mace could see through his own mind those silhouettes that only he could see due to how he came to master the mist for himself. . .

“Natural origin, right?” Asked Mace rhetorically while she removed one by one her gloves and let Atlantis stand back for a moment. Channeling the Force inside of her, Mace closed her eyes briefly to concentrate and remember the images she saw in Atlantis’ mind, she knew that she had to drain the mist of the humidity otherwise she would be causing a chain reaction with what she was about to do. . . Clearly she did not want that, although she was thankful that Atlantis had created a breach between her and the others.

Mace usually did not do this, she usually increased the humidity in the mist, but tonight, it was a whole different matter, which required of her to be concentrated more. Tucking her gloves into her belt, Mace removed her cloth and tossed that in the breach that Atlantis created and it already looked like her own cloth was creating that static from the electricity that her fingertips were forming.

I really hate this part. . . Thought Mace, as when she finally opened her eyes, their colors had changed leaving her with a gray stare and she began to send multiple little balls of electricity not as big as two millimeters of diameter each all over in the mist hoping that whoever had been standing there with that natural origin clothing would have left a mark right then and there into the mist.

All of the balls were scattered, that went without saying due to the fact that the person who had committed that crime moved fast, but looking right in front of her, it felt like it was a joyous event with fireworks except that the balls remained where they were until she brought them altogether with the Force to outline that silhouette that Atlantis had been seeing all along.

Judging from the height, it definitely couldn’t have been Andros, he was taller than that. “Definitely not you or your brother, Atlantis.” That was a given, they all knew that, but from the flat surface, Mace didn’t even start to guess if it was male or female. Sighing softly and shaking her head, Mace looked over her shoulder in Atlantis’ direction and still she had no cut her connection to the Force but her gaze returned to normal, thankfully.

“Who do you know is at that height here?”

Umgul City - Sike's Estate

Nazani rubs the back of her neck when Grandmaster Vyridian says that she's free to go, but that he will be continuing to use his abilities to try and learn more. Shaking her head to indicate that she will staying even before Aninh suggests that she stay for the time being, Nazani mutters to herself, "Who needs sleep anyway?" When she has an idea of what the Jedi are planning, Nazani feels a thrill of hope that they might actually be able to track the assailant's actions after the attack, and she unconsciously adjusts the paddle holster at her back that holds her DC-15s as they set out.

Vinter tells her partner, "I'll catch up," then sprints for their speeder to grab an evidence collection kit in case their search leads them to additional evidence. Cacracci nods, moving at the rear of the group and, looking up from time to time to watch the progress of the faint images the red haired Jedi creates with the small lightning charges she periodically releases, focuses her attention of the ground near where the image passes to see if anything may have been left behind that could provide additional clues. Vinter, when she rejoins the group, adds her efforts to her partners as they continue following quietly behind the others.



Umgul City - 23rd Precinct

Conall purses his tapir-like snout in thought when Durnin asks about getting access to the UPD's databases, shrugging after giving it some thought and deciding that there is nothing to lose from letting her sift through old cases and saying, "That's a good idea. You never know what we might turn up. Gesturing towards her bag, he says, Get that set up and I'll get a tech to get you temporary access to our database. Returning not long after with the dataterminal tech, Conall watches as he does his mumbo jumbo to get Durnin her access. Once the tech has finished and left, Conall says, Let me know if you need any help sifting through anything."

His datapad pings, and the Rodian excuses himself, reading over the initial report from the surveillance team assigned to Arezou before telling Durnin, "The team sent to keep tabs on Arezou is in place, and then sighs, rubbing his sternum before reaching up and rubbing his antennae with a wide yawn as he says, I'm going to grab some sleep in the break room. Wake me if anything breaks."

Those with the Jedi familiar with the layout of Umgul City will recognize the area that Grandmaster Vyridian loses the trail he has been following as one that is geographically near to two potentially significant points in the city. The trail ends equidistant from both the spaceport and an area of the city that is comprised of large estates that would be affordable only to individuals possessing great wealth. The shadow that they have followed was most likely enroute to one or the other of those destinations.

The search for cameras that might have captured an image of the figure that is being sought will prove successful, an ATM placed near one of the streets Grandmaster Vyridian was able to track the shadow's progress on being equipped with a camera to film all transactions. When the footage is reviewed, an image of the cloaked and hooded figure can be seen briefly moving behind a customer making a withdrawal at the ATM. The hood of the figure's cloak obscures its facial features, as the cloak conceals its clothing, but the investigators now have a clear image of the garment that would match the fiber recovered from the Sike crime scene, as well a relatively clear idea of the figure's height as comparison with the other individuals moving on the streets around it show that it stands at or near 5'5, which is below average for a humanoid male and average or slightly above average for most humanoid females.

Ranger Durnin's search for OC related crimes will show that Sike did indeed keep a tentative peace when alive, few reports existing of casualties related to fighting between organizations and none of civilian casualties related to violent organized crime. Statistical analysis will show that deaths related to drug use are higher in lower socioeconomic areas, which is not uncommon on any world, but it will also show a profound lack of drug related activity near schools, suggesting Sike strictly enforced a policy of restricting sales of narcotics to children. UPD's OC unit knows that Sike also sold narcotics to wealthier individuals, through CI's or other sources. The crime that Ranger Durnin noticed Detective Nemes had considered possibly connected to the death of Sike, when looked into more closely, will reveal that the victims often worked as bodyguards for Klivian, and would more likely than not have accompanied him when meeting with Sike.

Nazani cautiously pats Grandmaster Vyridian lightly on the shoulder when he apologizes, not sure whether he is the type that prefers not to be touched or not, telling him, "Don't sweat it. This may have been more useful than you think. Answering Councilor Vos' questions, which will also explain what she meant when she said that their little field trip was productive despite what she had thought when they set out, the dark haired, curvy Lorrdian says, Our perp was either headed home, she points towards the lights from a few large, gated estates that can be faintly seen through the mist to the east, or to the spaceport," she points to the west even though the spaceport cannot be seen through the mist.

Vinter, running a hand through her blonde hair to push it behind an ear, muses aloud, "They might have just been reporting in to an employer. You could check the list of residents and see if . . ."

Caccraci, her lips pursed in thought as she scans the businesses nearby to see if any are likely to have cams at street level, interrupts her partner, "There's no probable cause. Besides, what would you look for? Previous employment as a criminal mastermind or something? It would be pointless without more to go on. Getting passenger manifests for outgoing transports at the spaceport during the time frame would be just as useless. The killer, if they are offworld talent, would probably be traveling under an alias. Pointing towards an ATM not far from where they are, the dark haired, pointy eared Morganian says excitedly, There! Most ATMs have cams to record customer transactions, right?  It would have a good view of the street, and we know the killer passed that way. You could probably easily get a warrant for the bank to give you the cam footage in the morning."

Mace had still been looking around while she recuperated from her excessive use of electricity. Sure she might have been exhausted from that, but she did not show it on her features. She continued to keep an impassive expression on her features while she continued to retrace the steps of the silhouette that they were tracking to begin with.

At some point she stopped and looked to think about every permutation and every road that killer might have taken, and it either could have been towards one of those estates like it could have been towards the spaceport. That much was a given. She had reverted to her usual silence, speaking only when spoken to and that was it. Even though maybe she could have looked like she’d rather be someplace else right now because the trail had run cold it did not deter her from looking left or right. . .

Every options were options and worth to undertake, so when the dark haired forensic tech said that there was no probable cause, Mace looked at her thoughtfully. “Not if you start looking into a profile of someone that has disappeared entirely from the grid and then just came back out recently. . .” Said Mace as a food for thought, after all, like she thought earlier, any leads had to be exploited one way or the other. . .

Relaxing her posture when the discovery of that ATM had been made, Mace stared instantly at Atlantis having a brief glance of his thoughts and she just kept on looking at him with a deadpan expression as if asking him if this was really the right time?

At least he got a hold of himself quickly and she returned to her usual stare, that placid one while she listened to Atlantis’ suggestion to maybe get instantaneous access to the camera feed. To think that he asked if Madieke trusted Nuala’s hacking skills. Of course, the SEO should, either way, as far as Mace was concerned even the Intelligence Department had not been aware of that to begin with until she sent her cousin to warn Horsea to strengthen the network. . .

Nazani can't tell whether Aninh is showing signs of possessing a sense of humor or not when she asks if Grandmaster Vyridian is worried about violating bank customers' privacy, and so she pretends to rub her nose to cover her amused grin in case the Ranger was being serious. Not having missed the fact that the Grandmaster addressed Aninh as Madieke, Nazani wonders whether the two are closer than she had thought based on their meeting at the academy; though she supposes that whether they are or not is irrelevant, only her naturally curious nature making her wonder. When Aninh asks about who they would need to reach out to in order to gain access to the spaceport's records and the census information, Nazani says, "I'll ask the chief to see what he can do, and then glances at her wrist chrono to see whether it is too late to make the request now. Wincing at the time, late enough at night or too early in the morning that the chief will not be in the precinct yet, and since he was there late tonight, or really last night now, Nazani knows it'll be best to wait and try to catch him when he's more likely to be in a giving mood. You two can go now, Nazani tells Vinter and Cacracci when Aninh sounds ready to head out to see the coroner, Thanks for your help."

Cacracci, lips pursed in thought as she considers what Mace had said and not hearing Nazani, muses aloud, "There's a lot of reasons someone might be, she makes air quotes with her fingers, off the grid, actually. I mean, just because we can't reconstruct a history doesn't mean it's logical to conclude that someone has something to hide. Not everyone lives a life that leaves a paper trail, and there are some worlds that don't have as efficient or as invasive a . . ."

Vinter tugs her partner's shoulder and says under her breath with a smile, "No one's listening. We're forensics, remember? Not detectives.  Or Jedi. Rolling her eyes as she nods a farewell to the two Jedi, the detective, and the Ranger, the blonde haired Shownarri says, Good hunting," and then tugs Vinter, who lifts a hand and waves goodbye to everyone, back towards Sike's estate where their vehicle is waiting.

The thing about her, Mace never really asked for something to anyone within the government unless it was necessary and because time was of the essence. Usually for this case, she wouldn’t even have lifted a finger to ask for this or that manifest because she preferred to always keep things separate. That was just the way she was and that was also how she operated somehow. But this case was different. It concerned the Vice-Governor who also was a Force user, who also had most of his core powers turned in the darkside of the Force.

Not a lot knew that, and even if some came to find out about that and exploit it, she really didn’t want to think about the unthinkable concerning Andros. In this case, he was indirectly involved by being cited as the attacker, so she knew that she might have to get those data. When Atlantis clearly instructed the Detective to not even bother with getting the chief of her precinct on this, Mace grabbed her datapad and sent in an encrypted message to Horsea knowing that her friend, even at this hour, was still within the Intelligence Department probably because just like a few of them, they were all avoiding more or less the rest of the Kiffars due to that matter that concerned Forcias. . .

Sooner rather than later, Mace got a confirmation from Horsea who also informed her that Ayla was currently with Andros and that she had been informed more or less of that situation. . .

“Make that half an hour.” Said Mace thoughtfully, knowing that it would approximately take from Andros’ office to Horsea’s office about five minutes and then accessing those records before sending it, not taking into account the multiple matters that were always brought to Horsea whenever she passed through the open space of the department. Thirty minutes was perfect enough.

Mace was nonetheless listening to what one of the techs was saying, it was true, she conceded that fact, after all Mace had more or less the same matter that hanged over her head. A lot of things were sealed about her whereabouts, about what she had done, plenty of things had been sealed by both Horsea and Forcias, but the thing is, her lifestyle never changed at all. Whereas who she was clearly targeting right and who were going to be looked into were the wealthiest and what discrepancies were present there. . . But right now she wasn’t going to get into that, and she just inclined her head briefly to thank both of the techs while she turned around to follow Madieke and Nazani.

Hopefully, also the morgue would provide them with other evidence that they could use but she really needed to just stop thinking for a moment and try to recuperate as best as she could because, she did not know what to expect there and if also she was going to have to do something about reading those bodies or not. . .