Silence at the Reactor Core. Marv closed early today; he said he felt a bit off - he has been pulling long shifts lately, too.

I have just returned from my meeting with the Governor's head of security. I had put together a long list of proposals, many of them addressing concerns with stormtroopers assaulting citizens in the streets.

He had the gall to say, “These are merely Aliens - they don't respect our natural right to rule the galaxy, and these lesser species initiate these encounters. If your mongrel Assembly would bar non-humans from holding office, perhaps they wouldn't act as if they had the same rights we do!”

With a straight face. Shameful. I was livid on the inside, and I was tempted to make use of my staff of office. Restraining myself, I pointed out that the reports clearly show these assaults are almost all non-provoked, often the hard-working poor who have to work late and live off the main grav-bus routes. He brushed off my comments.

Nearly the entire list was like this. Bringing up valid concerns, recommending sensitivity training, diversified security forces, reforms to Imperial military procedures, all met with disdain. Not much longer… I hope.

Through all this I was keeping a surreptitious eye on his comms, but the few calls that interrupted us were fairly routine. He left the room twice for bio breaks (the meeting was rather long, and I kept plying him with cheap faux-Corellian ale), and I took the opportunity to contact the team to let them know the coast was clear so far. The second time he left his notebook was open, so I slipped on a glove and started paging through it, but did not have time to find anything useful before I heard footsteps echoing through the hallway.

When the meeting was finally over, I showed him out the door, and he pretended to be gracious and said he would consider my recommendations and sent his greetings to the rest of the committee. Hiding my outrage, I nodded politely, and made an inane comment of how we all do our best.

I locked up and headed to the Reactor Core, and here I am, waiting again, writing to pass the time. Hopefully I will be able to meet Brown Fox in person. Via D'Gane sounds like an interesting character as well.

I need a break from these late nights. I think I finally fell asleep at 4:00 this morning, worrying about Brown Fox and Via. They did end up contacting me to give a brief “All is well” - I assume Agent 63 accepted the story and perhaps at least part of the plan will go smoothly. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Tor-nenko had been the first of the team to arrive back last night. It looked like he was in shock - almost dishevelled. He was ready to leave the planet, but I managed to calm him down enough to get his story. Apparently the mission, while successful so far, has had some surprises. I offered to approach Via for him, to protect his identity while finding out hers.

On the bright side Tor had retrieved a data chip with information, and while I contacted the others about coming to pick me up, he managed to make a copy and decode it enough to discover the title of the contents: “Blaster Miniaturization Study”. Compatriot will be very interested in this.

I met the others in the back alley and brought the original data chip with me. On the way to Brown Fox's Den I heard the whole story, and I nearly flipped. First the worthless security meeting, then dealing with Tor's issues, and now a bloodbath of ISB troops. Not to mention a fistfight with Brown Fox's tails! Add in little sleep all week, and the only thing holding me back from snapping everyone's head off was years of restraint and performance training.

After hearing about Via's antics, I concluded that she was either completely insane; or arrogant, naive and rash. I did not expect her to be ravishing. The Zeltrons do have a certain reputation, though I had never met any before. After greeting Brown Fox, I set my eyes upon Via. A woman this beautiful certainly cannot be trusted.

I wanted to encourage a positive reaction, so I reached out with the Force as I introduced myself. She apparently recognized my name, and was quite complimentary; I found myself enjoying her smile rather too much… remember Circe.

Turning to the others, I asked for a moment to speak with Via - I wanted to get this investigation over with quickly, and discover her loyalties. I looked at both Damaria and Sprend, reminding them with a twitch of my eyebrow of our conversation in the taxi - if I signal, bust down the door and take her out.

The conversation was surprising. Our introductions had been positive, but she was clearly suspicious of my intent. She had taken out her blaster and was cleaning it by the time I turned from the door - an implied threat - and at the same time she asked with clear innuendo and a smirk for a weapons check or she would be forced to do a pat-down. I almost told her I had left my Staff of Office behind - but I thought better of it.

Instead I approached the true topic of our discussion indirectly. With one hand ready to signal with the comm-link in my pocket, I said casually, “I need your help in a personal matter. I have reason to believe you may know the location of a friend of mine. He left the planet a while back on a transport named 'Azure Sunset'.”

She stood up suddenly and I was about to signal, but I saw her eyes. Her face went pale and she stepped toward me with intense, real concern. “How quickly do I need to leave? Any chance I can retrieve a few things from my house, first? I have to bring something to Manya.”

She passed the test; I breathed a sigh of relief. Merr-Sonn. Tor will be extremely relieved, and will probably have a thousand questions.

Of course, when I tried to explain what was really going on, her first reaction was to punch the air out of my lungs (smart - slaps in the face leave marks), and then she quite memorably apologized for her reaction. Quite the mercurial personality.

I finished my explanation of our small Resistance group, and how all anti-Imperial groups need to work together. She reverted back to her flirtatious personality and responded that she would gladly make use of her talents - I am very concerned that she may become a distraction to the success of the Resistance. And yet she seemed to have survived just fine as a double-agent, and typically only those with great discipline and caution are able to pull that off.

In any case, I was satisfied with the meeting, and despite her unpredictability I am now comfortable trusting her to some degree. Spending time alone with her is another matter - old fears have a way of haunting the present.

Is it fair that I can use the Force to influence others, and yet refuse to let others naturally influence my thoughts and actions? Should I remain closed and un-movable, clinging to the security that comes from a false self-sufficiency? I think Damaria has helped me face parts of my past - trusting her has certainly begun a process of growth in me. But after years of safely hiding, dare I leave myself vulnerable, especially now that the Empire is certainly on the alert? Too much introspection. Back to the matter at hand.

We invited the others in and came up with a plan to clean up the evening's adventure, and I produced the datachip as the evidence to plant on Madar. After we went our separate ways and I returned home, my house certainly seemed empty and lonely. My past needs to be left behind - the Empire has destroyed that, and I will not let them destroy my future as well.

It was SO good to see Compatriot again. When she was speaking I closed my eyes and remembered the good times, simply enjoying the cadence of her familiar voice. She has done well, and I am very proud of her. If only I had half of her confidence and zeal.

It is official. The Alliance has recognized our group, and the entire team now knows who we are working for. May the Force keep us alive to benefit from this arrangement.

I was quite pleased to see that Compatriot had picked out a special replacement for the ornamentation on my Staff of Office. The switch would only be noticeable to those in the family, but instead of an ebony carving of a bird, the ornamentation is made of a dark, heavy, metal alloy. I have never used it in combat before, but I feel that the time is coming when this will be necessary.

I feel well-rested and encouraged for the first time in weeks. Perhaps there is indeed hope for Balmorra.

Talent gained: Sense Advantage - Once per session, mad add to 1 NPC's skill check