Ah, the lovely smell of Ord Mantell in the morning, twenty-three year old Sergeant Tiannya Vleska thought to herself as she double timed it to the Separatists volcanic holdout. Lieutenant ‘large stick up my a**’ Jorgan ordered her there to deactivate the stolen ZR-57 after her squad had gone missing.

Not that the young Cathar soldier minded her mission, Tia had done well in the military. She might not have liked being forced into that career, but she ended up happy there. She occasionally thumbed her nose at authority, not having much use for the etiquette and protocol expected from lower ranking soldiers, like herself, by the officers in charge. She hated being under the command of someone who thought their stripes meant they were gods, people like Lieutenant Jorgan, and that lesser officers and soldiers were rookie morons. However, despite that shortcoming, she was a very good, highly skilled soldier, following orders, for the most part, well-liked by her equals, and rose through the ranks quickly.

Tia was driven to be the best she could be and was thrilled when she’d been offered the opportunity to go into Spec Forces. She accepted the assignment to Havoc Squad immediately and left the Outer Rim to meet up with her new squad on Ord Mantell. Tia wanted to be successful, not because she wanted praise and infamy, but because it allowed her clearance. The more successful she was, the higher her security clearance would be and that would help her in her search for the truth of what happened on Nar Shaddaa when her parents and littermate, Jakob, were killed and why.

She and her surviving littermate, Katrynka, lost themselves in the streets of Nar Shaddaa when their family was killed. The nanny, who’d been watching thirteen year old Tia and Kat at the time, had attempted to kill them as well, but they managed to escape after killing her. After a few months surviving on the streets, doing odd jobs and stealing, they hooked up with an eleven year old, very talented, Mirialan pickpocket, Valaya. Val had been on her own after losing her parents to mysterious circumstances as well and Tia intended to search for information on Val’s family along with her own.

The three girls lived and worked together for a few months, Kat and Val stealing and Tia working odd jobs, before an elderly Human woman, Jessa, took them in. That’s where they met nine year old Zyr'anna. Zyra was a tiny, beautiful pink skinned, violet eyed Twi’lek girl. She was such a shy, sweet little girl and she and Val became like sisters to Tia and Kat. They discovered that Zyra was force sensitive, but didn’t want to be taken in by the Jedi for reasons she never wanted to share. Tia, Kat, and Val respected her choice and kept her secret.

Things were going well over the next three years until Jessa passed away. The girls made arrangements to bury the woman who’d taken them in and cared for them. They would continue to live in Jessa’s flat and honor her by taking in those that needed help. It was a sad day for the four girls, but the worst was yet to come.

One day while Kat and Val were out working the Promenade, two men came to the flat. They were Syndicate thugs demanding ‘protection money.’ They intended to take Zyra as payment since the underage girls didn’t have enough credits. It was just a few days after Jessa had passed away. There was no way Tia was going to let those scum take her little sister and she had fought the men with everything a sixteen year old girl had. She was a fierce fighter, and did a fair share of damage with her claws, but she was hardly a fair match for two large street thugs. She managed to pick one of their pockets before succumbing to her injuries. She woke to Kat and Val tending to her bruises and cuts….one of them nearly cost her right eye and she had a feint scar over it to remind her of her failure to keep Zyra safe.

Tia, Kat, and Val spent the next year hunting down one of the men responsible in hopes of locating Zyra. The wallet she snagged had given them an identity, Tegan Foster. Foster was a Smuggler for the Exchange and Val finally found a lead one day. There was an Exchange database deep in their territory in the Corellian Sector. Val was a skilled slicer, so she and Kat went to hack into the database to search for information on Foster. Tia stayed behind to keep their belongings safe. An unoccupied flat begged to get broken into and the girls needed all of their credits and belongings in order to get Zyra back.

Kat and Val were successful in getting information on Foster, but both were injured in the process. Val’s injuries were serious and possibly fatal if not tended to quickly, but the girls didn’t have the necessary supplies. The only place that had what they needed to save Val was the Republic Military Headquarters on the Promenade. Unfortunately, the girls were underage and the Republic would most likely take them into custody, unwilling to allow three underage girls to roam the streets of Nar Shaddaa. They had to keep up that clean, moral image, Tia snorted at that thought, too bad that morality didn’t extend to saving a twelve year old Twi’lek girl. She had tried to go to the Republic embassy when Zyra was first taken, but they told her they were unable to help since kidnappings were common on the streets of Nar Shaddaa and one Twi’lek girl would take up too many resources to find.

The girls’ only option was to steal the supplies they needed to save Val. With Kat also injured, it was up to Tia to get what they needed. Tia hated stealing and wasn’t that good at it, but she had to try for Val’s sake. So she took Val’s stealth generator and went to the Republic Headquarters on the Promenade. She had been packing the stolen goods in her backpack when a Republic soldier caught her and after interrogating her for hours, Tia finally relented some and admitted she was stealing the supplies for orphans on the streets. She agreed to be taken into Republic custody in exchange for the medical supplies to be delivered to her flat. The officer in charge agreed and the supplies were taken to the flat as Tia was shipped off to the military.

Tia hadn’t really been able to keep tabs on Kat and Val since being caught stealing. They had allowed her to send a brief message with supplies to Kat and Val before they shipped her off. Every day she’d prayed to the force that Kat, Val, and Zyra were safe.

“You’re really deep in thought there, Tia,” a snarky voice interrupted, “anxious?”

Tia glanced over at the Mirialan next to her and smiled, “Just recalling the good ole days.”

“Ah yes, the good times on Nar Shaddaa!” the other young woman rolled her blue-grey eyes. They were both the same height, but the Mirialan was petite, like an dancer, lacking Tia’s voluptuous curves.

As luck would have it, Val showed up on Ord Mantell the same day Tia did. The girls found little time to catch up, but Val was able to fill her in on what happened after she’d been sent to the military. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to locate Zyra yet, but they had a good lead. Thanks to Val’s slicing skills with the Exchange computer in Bleeder territory, they had managed to track down Foster. Kat and Val stowed on his ship as it was docked. They managed to persuade him to spill what he knew about Zyra, then they killed him, dumping the body in space. Zyra had been sold to an Imperial slaver. Val took over Foster’s ship and she became a smuggler, working in both Republic and Hutt space. Her goal was to infiltrate the Republic to track down Tia and find out what happened to her parents and Kat and Tia’s families. Val had managed to hack into an SIS database, but the stuff she was found on her parents and Kat and Tia’s family was heavily redacted and she was nearly caught. Kat had taken on a more dangerous task. She became a bounty hunter so she could infiltrate the Empire with the hope of finding Zyra.

Val’s ship had been stolen and she was hunting down the man responsible. Tia and Val worked together when they were able and both girls were currently heading into the Separatists’ volcanic hideout on a mission. Val was accompanied by a very handsome Mantellian native, Corso Riggs, who’d also been betrayed by the man who stole Val’s ship. He was a talented fighter and a very friendly sort. Tia had a feeling he was smitten by her friend.

“Hold up a sec, Tia,” Val said as they approached the entrance, “There’s something I want to give you first.”

Tia did just that, knowing that it must be important for Val to stop at that point, “What’s up?”

Val dug a bracelet out of her backpack, handing it to Tia, “Something made me grab this off of my ship before leaving it,” she explained, “I somehow knew I’d be seeing you soon and that I wouldn’t have the chance to get it later.” Like most of her species, Val had small degree of force sensitivity and trusted in her 'gut feelings.'

“That was my mother’s,” Tia gasped, “I never thought I’d see it again!” It was the one memento she had of their parents and she’d forgotten to put it on the day she broke into the Republic Headquarters.

“I found it when we packed up our stuff to leave Nar Shaddaa behind,” Tia explained, “I knew I’d find you someday. I also tinkered with it.”

“Go on,” Tia nodded.

“Look, I know that ornery Lieutenant is keeping tabs on you during your missions,” Val began, “but I’ve got a bad feeling about this place. You said so yourself that they lost the feed on your squad and were rebooting the system, and that he injected a secondary tracker into your arm as a precaution. This is suicide and yet they’re sending you in anyways!”

“Val,” Tia sighed, “I know the risks, but I’m good at my job and it’s my duty. I know it wasn’t my choice to serve in the military, but it’s been a good life these past six years and I like what I do.”

“I still get the feeling you are headed into deep trouble. There’s a transmitter and tracker in that bracelet….a very sophisticated one that’s extremely difficult to detect and interrupt. It requires a special code to access and anything that’s transmitted with that thing will be heavily encrypted. I’m the only one with the access code and the proper decrypting tools. The bracelet is transmitting right now and even if your armor cam and tracker fails like the rest of your squads’, that thing will keep working,” Val explained, “This is my way of helping. We lost you once, Tia, and now that I finally found you, I don’t want to lose you again. You, Kat, and Zyra are like sisters to me.”

“I know, Val,” Tia hugged her petite friend, “and I feel the same way. I was so worried about you and Kat that day I was caught and I was relieved when I first saw you here on Ord. I’m still worried about Kat and Zyra, but hopefully Kat will be able to locate her quickly and the four of us will be a family again.”

“I really hate to interrupt,” Corso began as he drew his rifle, “but we’ve caught some attention.”

Val quickly explained how to access the transmitter and Tia slipped the bracelet on, tucking it under her glove. Then the three of them fought their way into the Separatists’ holdout. Tia split off from Val and Corso when they came to where the Separatists’ communications system was located. Val and Corso continued on into the base in search of her ship while Tia entered the Communications hub. She found Imperials and Separatists working together there. Tia was a very deadly fighter after being in the thick of fighting for the past six years and easily dispatched her opponents, enjoying the physical act of killing Imperials. She owed every one of them for their disgusting views on aliens and slavery. She finally got to the communications console and used the data spike she was given to broadcast the disarm codes throughout the stronghold. No matter where the stolen ZR-57 was in the base, it would soon be neutralized.

Moments after using the spike, Tia was contacted by her favorite irritant. Much to her shock, Lieutenant Jorgan actually congratulated her on her success and let her know that they had just gotten her armor cam running as she was fighting the Imperials. He wanted her to continue further into the base in search of her missing squad and see how much the Imperials were involved. Tia acknowledged the order and moved out. It’s too bad he’s such a dick, she thought, he's kinda sexy. Tia knew her mating cycle was approaching and it would have been fun to have the opportunity to finally mate with Cathar male. She knew she’d be able to seduce the grouchy officer easily. With her slender, voluptuous figure, black hair, unusual silvery fur, and lavender eyes, she was an attractive member of her species and had little trouble finding good looking male company when she felt the urge. Alas, that’s not going to happen, she sighed as she left the room, he's a complete and total pr*ck and I’d rather break his face than kiss it!

Tia continued on further into the holdout and after fighting her way through, she was at the point where they’d lost her squad’s signal. She spotted a corridor off to her left and went in to investigate. She carefully made her way through the corridor and encountered more Imperials. After quickly killing them, she rounded the corner and found her squad working with Imperials. They were loading what she assumed was the stolen ZR-57 into a shuttle. Those dirty traitors! Luckily, they hadn’t spotted her yet and Tia needed to think fast. She was certain her armor cam wasn’t transmitting anymore. They likely had tech in the area that disabled standard military transmitters. However, she had her bracelet with Val’s tech in it. A plan began to form in her head and she approached her squad before she had a chance to change her mind.

Tavus was the first to spot her, “Sergeant, I thought my orders were clear,” he told her, “You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“I’ll take her,” Wraith whispered from behind as she felt a rifle barrel touch the middle of her back.

“No, Captain,” Tavus commanded, “Sergeant Vleska’s a fine warrior and deserves an explanation, not to be shot in the back.”

“There’s nothing to explain, sir,” Tia calmly stated, “You’re working with the Empire. I assume you all are defecting. Why though? What makes you do this?”

“It’s simple,” Tavus admitted indulging the young woman he’d come to respect, “You and I are warriors, Sergeant and Havoc Squad is the best. Unfortunately, the Republic no longer values that.”

“What makes you believe that?” Tia asked.

“They abandoned us during a mission on Ando Prime,” Tavus spat, “Things didn’t go as they planned, we had bad intel and were trapped. Instead of getting us out of there, the Senate left us there to die.”

“You think it’s any better in the Empire?”

“The Empire values us, Sergeant,” Tavus told her, “More than the Republic ever will. It’s too bad you found us. I liked you and you might’ve been willing to come with us had you been with us longer.”

Tia took the plunge, “Who says I’m not willing?” The rest of her squad stared at her in shock. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Tia would’ve laughed at the looks on their faces.

“What are you saying, Sergeant?” Tavus finally replied.

“Don’t be so surprised,” she chuckled, “You think you’re the only ones with a grudge? Did you even read my file? I was forced to serve in the Republic military, it wasn’t my choice. They caught me stealing medical supplies for orphan kids back on Nar Shaddaa when I was seventeen. Instead of being willing to help, they took me like a slave and shipped me off to military training!”

“Can she come with us, sir?” Fuse asked. Tia had a feeling he liked her and smiled encouragingly at him.

“Is that something that interests you, Sergeant?” Tavus replied.

“As long as I’m treated like an intelligent soldier and not like a slave or incompetent rookie, then yes.” Tia agreed, “I have no real loyalty to the Republic, but I found that I liked the life of a soldier, so I stayed. My biggest concern is the attitude the Imperials have toward aliens. Is that going to be an issue?”

“They haven’t treated me or Wraith badly,” Fuse assured her, unable to keep the hope out of his voice, “I think you’ll be happy.”

“Are you certain this is what you want?” Tavus asked, “You realize there’s no going back.”

“I realize that, sir,” Tia assured him, “I have no ties to the Republic and no desire to.”

“I hate to interrupt, sir,” Gearbox told Tavus, “but we need to make atmo soon or it might be too late.”

Tavus nodded, “Sergeant, give me a moment to talk to the rest of the squad. We work as a unit and are like a family. They need to have their say in this matter.”

“I can respect that, sir,” Tia admitted, as she saw the Imperials ready their weapons in case she tried to escape, “but you should know that I have an armor cam on me still and Lieutenant Jorgan injected a tracker into my arm before I left the base.”

“Thank you for telling us, Sergeant,” Tavus nodded, “and we can take care of that before we take off if you end up coming with us.”

After a few minutes, the rest of her squad came over to her, “Welcome aboard, Sergeant.” Tavus smiled, shaking her hand as he reached into her chest plate with the other and ripped out the armor cam.

“Give me your arm,” Needles told her, “I’ll get that tracker out of you.”

Tia took off her glove and arm plate so Needles could cut out the tracker. After he removed the tracker, smashed it, and patched her up, he ran a scanner over her, “she’s clean.”

“Any regrets, kid?” Gearbox asked as they boarded the shuttle.

“Only that I didn’t get the chance to break Jorgan’s face before leaving!” Tia grinned as the door closed behind them.

The rest of her squad laughed at that as the pilot steered the shuttle out of the hanger and took off. Please force, Tia prayed, touching her bracelet as she watched Ord Mantell get further away, let Val’s transmitter work!

The Cathar mating cycle was completely made up by me and is first brought up here.

Tython was burning.

He enjoyed the thought of it and wondered, however briefly, why the Sith chose to sit on such knowledge. They had heard of Tython. All of them. They had spies planted amongst the Jedi. All of them. And yet there they sat on their arses bickering over planets to attack or whining over the planets the Republic had taken back. What was the point in waiting? Why waste the lives of Sith and Imperials alike when Tython was ripe for the plucking?

They listened. And Tython was burning.

The planet was filled with the newest Padawans and some of the most skilled Jedi he had ever encountered. The closer they came to the Jedi Temple, the harder it became to gain ground until they were at a standstill just outside the doors. He didn’t mind the brief stalemate and he would ensure it was brief. This was what he lived for: the thrill of battle. He almost wished Malgus was here. He would love to see him fighting Shan. As it was, Malgus was nowhere in sight, but Shan was. He wouldn’t be able to get to her, of course, not if Marr had his way which he most likely would, but it didn’t matter. There were plenty of Jedi to go around and go around they did.

Padawan after Padawan, Master after Master, he cut his way through the defensive force until a golden fury attacked him. He was stunned at first. He had fought enough Jedi to know when shrouded in the light side of the Force they tended to glow a golden white, but he hadn’t fought a Jedi quite as angry as this one. She glanced at the fresh corpse on the ground for but a moment before charging at him, white hair whipping the air as she rushed toward him.

He studied her movements as she engaged him in battle. She used a double-bladed saber with long practiced ease. She was swift and sure in her attack. He marveled at her skill and her calm despite her obvious grief and anger. He studied her attack for a few moments too long as evidenced by his sudden view of the clear blue skies over Tython. She quickly blocked his view and prepared to end him.

Something about her face snapped a memory to the forefront of his thoughts.

“Potato salad,” he murmured.

Her blade stopped and her eyes widened. Then she was gone. He rushed to his feet to find her only to be met with the chaos of battle. She had disappeared. He briefly wondered if she would be taken alive. It didn’t matter now. He sped back into the battle for Tython pushing all thoughts of the white-haired Jedi out of his mind. For now.

Eeehh, I feel weird about this one. I'm no good at writing action or action like things or things explaining that action totally happened believe me please I swear.

Blah.

Thanks for reading.

@Irishfino: Oh, I'm loving the Geltie series with Narithia!!!

@Yoshi: Doh! I actually feel bad for Kaliyo and Pierce.....hehe. Also.....hehe, a citified Vik on vacation in the woods......well played, sir, well played!

Ahahaha! As a fire mage who married a rogue I approve this story wholeheartedly. (Not a subtlety rogue, though. I made it clear early on that if he specced subtlety we didn't have a future together. Subtlety rogues are jerks!) I love that everyone keeps it a guilty secret.

Also, I loved your pieces with Torian......and yeah, the stuff he wanted you to cover yourself with.....really gross!!!!

@Alaurin - Mando man? Please, Torian is a boy I'd have liked Gault better as the LI as well, even if I don't like how he joins the crew. As for Bella/Mallay - I'm glad to see them moving forward, even if Bella's got to learn how to handle her tequila a bit better I'm glad that Mallay has that support structure too - one of the things I really liked about the trooper story was the very strong sense of team the companions have (other than Vik, I guess) - they're people you could see gelling as a squad and always being there for each other, even if they don't always enjoy each others' quirks.

Also, I totally hated Thana Vash and I love what you did to her!!!!! She so deserved it!!! I knew so many people that would have been sucked in by promises of pets by WOW!

“Care to repeat that? You want to do what?” Thorns asked appalled. “If somebody had told me, this was a competition for cheating, I’d have sent Gault in my stead.”

@sthrift:HAHA, score 1 for Jorgan!! I am really loving his and Vik's little competition......eager to see more!!

“Oooo, I knew you were a bad girl. So could I get the same deal for my silence? Huh agent? Please?”

@Alaurin: Go Mallay! I hate rogues. Hate. Them. Cheatin' little stun-locking bastages! Since I usually play a tank'ish sort (and also suck at the pvp's), I wind up becoming someone's "special friend". Usually, a rogue type. Loved how everyone was hiding it from one another. It also reminded me of one of my favorite commercials!

Also....Mak-O's....HAHAHA!!! and

Plastered on it was a picture of Blizz, jumping into a bowl of cereal that had blue colored mallow jawas floating in it. The box read "Blizz Berry! The healthy way to start scavenging your day! Turns your milk blue! Mallows contain no actual jawa parts."

@Allronix: I loved the competition and that Theron used the laws of Physics to win the day!! Many giggles!

@alaurin, This story was so fun! Love the screen names you gave everybody, and I like that it took all of them to best Mallay.

Also, nice piece on Kinka......I remember that mission and I know Vector would have taken that really hard!

@marissalf That was a beautiful retelling of that agent sequence, very fitting to the quest events and I always love the appearance of watcher x.

@bright_ephemera

He could teach her a lot about what it meant to join the first brotherhood that had ever wanted her.

This made me so sad, considering who her brother is.

Don't go in our quarters. At all?

@Allronix Physics! Awesome story and I thoroughly enjoyed the "Hell number four out of the nine froze over" line.

@DarthSillyMonkey Not going to lie, I'd buy Mak-O's and Blizz Berry cereal. Loved the story.

@sthrift

He then chuckled in his Gand like way. “Vik 2, Jorgen 1.”

@frauzet Poor Thorns, agents and conscience really don't mix well.

@Lesaberisa Nerfing the damage of a class that can heal to full is totally valid. *sprints away and vanishes*

@Adwynyth Ooh, Skadge-hunt. I like! Also, making him smarter than he seems would be great. Nothing pisses me off more than the sequence that requires I let him on my ship.

Basuda the Hutt was pleased, opening bounties to the Jedi and even Republic soldiers was proving more profitable than he had estimated. The enterprise was so successful that the Republic had even leased him an entire level and business was booming. His cheer was short lived, however, when an annoying human began making a commotion at the foot of his dais.

"I have the certificates right here! What do you mean you can't sell me that blaster?"

"Apologies," Grada said in his alien tongue, "You do not have the proper standing with the Bounty Supply Company."

The human drew himself up to his full and impressive height. "I have been earning points with your company for months, just look at my membership card!"

Grada dutifully placed the datacard into the reader but he knew what the result would be. "I'm sorry, but you only have sufficient points for the Contraband Resale Corporation. The item you wish to purchase belongs to the Bounty Supply Company, that requires a new card. Might I interest you in a gambling box to get you started?"

"They're owned by the same Hutt!" The man screeched pointing at Basuda.

"They are separate but wholly owned subsidiaries of Basuda and Amdra the Hutt Family Conglomerate, not to be confused with Basuda the Hutt Industries or Amdra the Hutt Incorporated." Grada explained gently. "Basuda and Amdra formed the Family Conglomerate for the purpose of providing galaxy wide values. Did you know that your family and associates can all take advantage of our low prices and purchase items that can be found nowhere else?" Grada maintained his calm demeanor even while the man's giant fists clenched and his face turned shades of red rarely seen on a human. There was a reason Grada was made chief customer service representative, his gentle nature and voice was enough to calm most angry clients. Most.

The human drew his holdout blaster and leaped up the platform to where Grada stood. He hauled the smaller alien off his feet with one hand, and swung his blaster around wildly.

"This is an outrage!" He snarled, "I demand-"

He was not allowed to finish his sentence. Gula Sem, the head of the Embargoed Items department and part time bouncer, had rushed the stage when the human made his first move. His fist connected snapping the man’s head around. The human fell to the floor unconscious, his jaw dislocated by the look of the way it still hung open.

Gula felt through the man's pockets, but found only a paltry pair of single credsticks. "You're in luck today, mate," the weequay said tossing the credsticks to Grada. "Outrage and a trip to the emergency table are on sale, only a credit apiece."

The mood outraged and the emergency medical table (which is a neat looking thing that acts as an out of combat health restore) are both sold by the Bounty Supply vendor for 1 credit each and do not require any reputation. Go get the outraged mood and try it if you haven't. It's hilarious (or scary) but mostly hilarious.

Wynston is, for much of his life, a citizen of the Empire. He was born on the ice-ocean world of Rentor, a world of the Chiss Ascendancy, and worked the mines there for several years before his family - parents and four surviving siblings - moved to a minor Imperial world. A year later Wynston, now in late adolescence, moved on his own into the heart of the Empire. He never looked back.

He signed on with Imperial Intelligence and bound up much of his self-worth with them, serving with efficiency, determination, and, when possible, humaneness (first piece). He generally did a good job keeping his weaknesses, alcohol and women, under control, and was on the whole a dedicated but unremarkable operative.

The stirrings of conscience and questioning of authority gradually placed the Empire's people as a higher priority than strict orders. Even as he got higher-profile jobs from higher-ranked sponsors he started plotting his own course.

It was during this rise that he met with Sith Warrior Ruth, first as lovers, then as friends and allies (second piece). Meanwhile he had an extended (by his standards) affair with Kaliyo Djannis; it ended badly, throwing him into an alcohol-fueled tailspin (third piece) from which only the intervention (second piece) of his old Intelligence contacts saved him.

In time he struck out on his own, heading what was at first a minor agency with the covert sanction and funding of Imperial Intelligence. The mission was, to begin with, the safeguarding of the Empire's people; that scope expanded over time. He maintained a friendship with Ruth for several years before their differing methods and her trust issues led to an estrangement. He never forgave the event that turned Ruth from an open ally to a paranoid executioner. He never forgot the hero she could have been.

Sixteen years later a huge threat led him to seek her help despite their differences; he worked with the Jedi hero Larr Gith, the skeptical Wrath Ruth, and, at Ruth's insistence and badly against his own better judgment, Quinn, for the fight of their lives.

Nowadays Wynston works, keeping a wary eye on Quinn and vice versa, at the job of keeping the galaxy safe. He participates in generally silly stories with Dawn Herald Hazard, Ruth and Quinn's son Rylon, and Pierce Junior.

Wynston is about five foot seven and wiry, pretty, with pale blue skin, dark blue hair, and a fastidious neatness whenever the job permits.

His stories span from about age eight to age forty-five. He played a supporting role in Timelines 1 and 3 of standalone thread Ruth Means Compassion and a leading role in the Lodestone AU thread. He also stars in the silly late-timeline Don't Call Them Ruth-less. Most of his serious personal canon, and a fair amount of his Ruth-less nonsense, is here on the SFC.

Calline is two and a half years younger than Wynston. She never worked in the mines of Rentor; the family moved away before she was old enough to get sent down. Reserved, clannish, and not always prepared for all outcomes of her actions, not to mention taller and darker of skin, she seems to have little in common with her brother - but her nerve, wanderlust, and desire to earn a place somewhere worthwhile are taken right out of Wynston's book. After several years working at a droid factory and studying certain practical skills she struck out as a mercenary, where her work caught the attention of one Braden.

Now that she has her own ship, Calline and her crew have been joined by the second-hand astromech called T5-M7. She works hard at the skills required for her job. If she gets good enough at finding people, someday she might locate her missing brother.

Calline is five foot ten, slender but with curves, pretty like her brother, with dark blue skin and darker blue hair. She likes feminine things but spends most of her time in rugged gear.

Calline thus far exists solely on the SFC thread.

She woke in pain, not quite sure, at first, where she was. She gave no outward sign of having awoken; a useful skill, when one was never quite sure where one might end up. She wasn't restrained, a small blessing, although the raw, burning irritation in her wrists and ankles told her she had been, and fairly recently.

A small noise from her left, combined with the background hum she had finally placed, told her she was on her own ship, and probably relatively safe; she still gave no outward sign of consciousness, because one could never be too sure.

She continued cataloging her injuries, the worst of which were definitely the not-still-bleeding lacerations on her back; one of those needed fairly urgent medical attention if she were to avoid scarring. Her memory of the cause of that suddenly resurfaced and tried to demand her attention, but she was an old hand at compartmentalizing, and her physical concerns were currently far more pressing than her emotions.

Her right hand was swollen and stiff, nearly frozen into a fist. Nothing broken, she didn't think, but definitely sprained. She had punched something, or, more likely, given the torn skin across the knuckles, someone, really hard. Another memory came back and tried to seize her; she put it in the box with the other one, but she let enough of it through to explain why her left eye was swollen shut. Also the pain in her kidneys.

The rest of it was minor, and she thought she might be ready to deal with her memories, as long as she could get to the medbay and into the kolto tank without--

A small hand reached out and ran itself up her side, surprisingly gentle. "I know you're awake, Agent." Damn it. I relaxed too much. "Thanks for the fight, but I want to get some real sleep now, and your blood is making my sheets all gross." She could picture the insouciant grin on the smaller woman's face. "Not to mention the other bodily fluids. Anyway, get out. Might want to go climb in the kolto tank; I know you'd hate to have any permanent marks on all that pretty blue skin."

"I hate you."

"I know you do, Agent. That's why I stick around. The thought of you out there happy somewhere without me, well, I just can't stand it." She was definitely grinning now. "Besides, who else is going to fight back when you need a little stress relief? The old man would just tranq you, the droids wouldn't get it at all, Bug Boy, well--"

"Don't be disgusting."

"Aw, poor Bug Boy. Heh. And the cheerleader, we both know she's the whole--"

"Enough."

She laughed. "You know you could just order--"

"Kaliyo."

She laughed again. "Come on, get out of here. Go patch yourself up."

"I can't move."

"Worn out, huh? You're not the only one, sweetcakes. Guess the stories about Chiss stamina are true. Fortunately for you, I've got stims--"

"No stims. It'll interfere--"

"Not for you, Agent. For me. And don't pretend you care what I do to myself."

Silence, followed by a hiss from the stimpack, the rustling of sheets, and a nearly inaudible grunt as the tiny Rattataki stood and walked to the other side of the bed. She opened her good eye and surveyed the damage. As she'd suspected, there wasn't nearly as much as she'd sustained herself. A few finger-shaped bruises here and there, and the left side of her face was one mass of purple.

Kaliyo noticed the scrutiny and grinned, although with her face swollen like that it was even more disturbing than usual. "You hit like a girl. I had worse from my baby niece when she was five."

"I think you may have noticed that I am a girl. So are you."

"You may be a girl, but I'm all woman."

"I really do hate you. Are you going to help me up or just stand there admiring your handiwork until everyone else gets back? By the way, you should trim your nails."

"Nah, gouging a guy's eyes out with blunt fingernails is just unpleasant. All right, this is going to hurt, ready, UP!"

Kaliyo grabbed her waist and bodily hauled her up off the bed, Cipher helping as much as she could, but she hadn't been exaggerating much about not being able to move. She hissed in pain as her back made contact with Kaliyo's chest, and again, louder, as they stumbled into the wall, although still upright.

"All right. Just give me a mom--Stop that." She slapped Kaliyo's hand, which had started to take liberties with their position.

They stood there, Kaliyo leaning against the wall and Cipher leaning against her, for a few minutes. "Stop writing dirty words in Rattataki on my stomach."

"Gotta do something with my hands, and you won't let me do anything more fun."

"Get me to the door, I think I can make it the rest of the way now."

At the door, Kaliyo spun her around so they were face to face. She was still grinning, but now there was a different look in her eyes. She started pulling the taller woman's head down, her intent obvious. Cipher closed her good eye, and just as their lips were about to touch, murmured, "Onomatophobia."

The sharp intake of breath from the other woman hurt more than all her wounds in aggregate.

"Really? Now? Everything we did last night, everything you begged me to do to you last night, and now you whip out the karking safeword?"

The door opening was her only warning as she was shoved out into the corridor, but she'd been expecting it anyway. She turned to take the impact on her left shoulder as the door shut behind her. Various banging and smashing noises punctuated a truly impressive display of creative cursing, starting in Basic and working through Huttese, Rattataki, all three dialects of the Chiss language, two of which she hadn't even known Kaliyo knew, Kaleesh, some of the more pronounceable bits of Rodese, and--was that Shyriiwook? If they ever spoke a civil word again she'd have to ask how she made her vocal cords do that.

She'd made it about halfway to the medbay when Kaliyo's door opened again and she stormed out, fully dressed and carrying a duffel almost as large as she was, toward the airlock. She stopped just before she turned the corner and shouted, "And that is probably the most kriffed up safeword I've ever heard, anyway. And they call me crazy!"

She was still in the kolto tank several hours later when Dr. Lokin returned to the ship. He reviewed the equipment, glanced at her mostly-healed wounds, and set the tank to decant her. He left the room, returning a moment later with a considering look on his face. He waited for the tank to finish draining, then directed the machines to set the Cipher Agent on the exam table.

"All right, let's have a look here."

"I'm perfectly capable of doing my own treatment, Fixer."

"Yes, your medical studies are coming along quite nicely, my dear Cipher. Just think of this as a review session."

She considered arguing some more, but her heart wasn't really in it; she sat quietly as he peered closely at her face, her hand, her back.

"Yes, quite nice. Shouldn't be any scarring, full functionality in the hand, well done. Shall I put out some feelers for a new enforcer? I have some favors I can--"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, Doctor."

He looked at her and sighed. "Cipher, what have I told you about getting too attached to assets?"

She again considered being stubborn, but again yielded. "Why do you think I drove her off?"

"And you don't fear reprisal? She really is quite dangerous, you know. I could take care--"

"Fixer."

"Well, you do know her better than I do. Although I'll also remind you that she was selling--"

"Doctor."

"Yes, you're right, that's old ground, no need to keep going over it. But still, what's to keep her from--"

"Eckard."

He kept the smile from his face only with greatest effort. "You have a plan, then?"

She kept the pain from hers with an even greater effort. "I've learned from the best."

Despite having it hanging over her head in-game, Eleeta has never told any of her crew her real name, and rarely even thinks it anymore, although it's a fairly safe bet that Lokin and SCORPIO know it anyway. Neither of them will ever tell any of the others, Lokin because he can't see any advantage to it yet, and SCORPIO because she mostly doesn't deign to speak to the rest of the crew.

She and Kaliyo are not an item, but they are partners, and Eleeta trusts her more than anyone else on the ship except for HK-51. Although it's mainly a matter of knowing exactly how far and with what she can be trusted. Aside from running interference on ops and doing most of the actual killing, the main thing Eleeta uses her for is punishing herself when her job requires to do something really horrible. Poor little LS V Agent, trying to be a good person in a horrible world. So far she's hanging on to her sanity by her fingernails, just barely. This suits Kaliyo just fine, and seems to scratch her "hurt them before they can hurt you" itch. They've been together a long time, by now, though, and Kaliyo is starting to forget that the Agent is just another mark, and Eleeta knows it. Actually letting her in close would ruin everything, though; it would almost be like being happy, and she's not allowed to be happy, ever. (Maybe she's not holding on to her sanity as well as she thinks.)

This being an Agent story, though, there is of course more going on than it first appears, and if I actually get around to writing more we'll see some of what that is.

An extremely angry Lieutenant Aric Jorgan was on his way to the Senate Tower on Coruscant. I can’t believe it’s come to this, he thought, barely keeping his temper in check, a Spec Forces squad turns traitor and I’m going to burn for it. I swear if I ever come across those traitors, I’ll kill them with my bare hands! The events of the past thirty-six hours kept running through his head as he left the Coruscant spaceport.

General Vander had joined him in the Republic Command Center at Fort Garnik back on Ord Mantell shortly after they’d managed to reboot Sergeant Vleska’s armor cam feed. They watched in shock as she fought Imperials inside the Separatists’ stronghold and that shock turned to horror as they heard what happened when she found her squad. Her armor cam wasn’t working at that point, but the tracker that Jorgan injected into her arm put out a signal that allowed her sound feed to continue working, something he’d forgotten to tell her. They heard Tavus admit to defecting to the Empire along with the rest of Havoc squad. Then the final blow came when Sergeant Vleska agreed to defect along with them. She’d allowed Needles to cut out the tracker he’d injected into her arm and that was the last they had heard from any of them.

“I can’t believe I was so wrong about her!” Jorgan growled, drawing a stare from a passerby. Sure, he’d been hard on her at first, but he was with all rookies. So many hot shots had come to Ord Mantell fresh out of the academy, thinking they were the best of the best. That attitude usually got them or their fellow soldiers into trouble and Jorgan learned to put them in their place right off the bat. Sergeant Vleska hadn’t taken his attitude very well and made sure he knew it. She’s definitely a feisty one, he admitted to himself, smiling before he could help it. Despite that, he was coming to respect her skill and felt a little guilty for the way he’d treated her. Too bad she’s a traitorous b**ch like the rest of her squad! Now he hated her along with the rest of her squad, maybe even more so.

As soon as they lost the feed, General Vander immediately contacted the head of Spec Forces division, General Garza, with the news of Havoc Squad’s defection. An hour later, Garza contacted them back, requesting that Jorgan appear in her office so she could accompany him to an Inquiry and Review. Both General Vander and Jorgan knew what that meant, Jorgan was going to take the fall. General Vander didn’t like it, but his hands were tied. Jorgan packed his belongings and took the shuttle to Coruscant the next morning.

****

Twenty-one year old Valaya Tarenz had just finished making contact with Darmas Polleran, a gambler and information broker who operated out of his private room at The Dealer’s Den cantina in the Old Galactic Market sector of Coruscant, when her datapad beeped. She immediately checked it, hoping it was a message from Tia.

Val had been worried about the Cathar who was like a sister to her ever since she and Corso left Tia at the communications hub in the Separatists holdout yesterday morning. I should have stayed with her, was one of the many thoughts running through Val’s head ever since. No one had heard from Tia after that and Val wasn’t able to get anyone from the Republic Command Center to talk to her.

Val and Corso left Ord Mantell for Coruscant after Skavak escaped once again with her starship. They learned at the Separatists holdout that he had a mole inside Viidu’s warehouse, Viidu’s girl Syreena. After rushing back to Viidu’s, finding him dead and Syreena talking to Skavak, Val wasted no time. Syreena begged for her life, spilling that Skavak betrayed her too and that he was on his way to Coruscant, but that wasn’t enough for Val and Syreena took a blaster bolt to the head. Corso accompanied Val to Coruscant, feeling guilty that he hadn’t been able to stop Skavak from stealing her ship in the first place and owing him payback for stealing his blaster, Torchy. As soon as they arrived, Corso told Val they’d need local help and he happened to know just the guy. Darmas Polleran was an old friend of Viidu’s who operated out of Coruscant. Corso made contact and he and Val went to meet with the notorious gambler.

Val let out a sigh of relief when she saw the encrypted message on her datapad. She immediately recognized the source, having written the encryption codes herself. She noticed a public computer terminal in back of the cantina and made her way over to use it. After slicing into it to ensure high security, Val decrypted the message and played it through her personal Holocommunicator. Sure enough, Tia’s image appeared and Val was shocked to see her wearing Imperial armor.

“Val, I need you to act quickly. Many lives are at stake, including my own and I don’t have a lot of time. I know you’re worried and I promise, I’ll fill you in very soon. I’m sending another message exactly ten minutes after I send this one. Do not decrypt that one. I need you to get to Coruscant as quickly as you can and find the head of Spec Forces division, General Elin Garza. You should find her office at the Senate Tower. I don’t care what you have to do, just get to her and make her listen to you. As soon as you’re alone with her in her office, and she assures you it’s secure, decrypt the second message and play it for her. Move fast, Val, I’m not kidding when I tell you that at this point, my life is in your hands. Get there, make her listen, play the second message. No matter what, I love you like my sister. In case I don’t survive this, play this message for Kat…..I love her too and if you find Zyra, tell her I’m sorry I couldn’t stop those men from taking her.”

Val immediately disconnected from the terminal and wiped any traces of her using it. She was shaking as she turned to Corso, “I knew she was headed for danger,” She told him, worry etched in her face, “I should never have left her.”

“She had her mission, Captain, and if we went with her it might’ve gotten all three of us killed,” Corso assured her, “I know what ‘what ifs’ are like and nothing good can come from dwelling on them. Now, let’s get to the Senate Tower and find General Garza.”

Corso led Val out of the cantina and they quickly went to the Senate Tower. Val asked a protocol droid where she could find General Garza’s office and a few minutes later, she was entering the suite. A young man, her assistant Val assumed, stopped her as she went to enter the General’s office.

“You can’t go in there!” he yelled, “yo…..” he was cut off by Val pointing her blaster in his face.

“This is an emergency and I’m going in there,” Val insisted, deadly menace in her voice, “I don’t want to kill you, but I will if you try and stop me.”

“What is the meaning of this?!” a grey haired, stern faced woman demanded as she came out of the office Val was trying to get to.

“Are you General Garza?” Val asked, not moving her blaster.

“I am,” she replied, “Now do you mind telling me why you are threatening young Private Grady here?”

“I apologize, General Garza,” Val replied, holstering her blaster, “I am Captain Valaya Tarenz and it’s very urgent that I talk to you…..in private….right now. Please, I have a message that you need to hear…..you and no one else. I promise, you can have me arrested as soon as I play the message, but you have to listen to it. Lives are at stake!”

General Garza looked at the petite Mirialan pleading for a private audience and noticed her tall, dreadlocked companion. For some reason, despite the young woman threatening her assistant and the fact she had a mercenary with her, she believed the young woman was sincere and she always trusted her gut.

“Fine,” she nodded, “but I want you both to leave your weapons out here.”

Val and Corso did as she requested and the three of them went into her office. Val immediately went to the computer terminal and brought up Tia’s first message. She played it at the small conference table where they all sat. After they watched it, General Garza sent out a message cancelling the meeting with the review board and turned to Val.

“Captain, how and when did you receive this?” she asked, “The last thing we were aware of is that Sergeant Vleska defected to the Sith Empire with the rest of her squad.”

“Tia would never voluntarily defect to the Sith Empire, General. I got this message about half an hour ago,” Val explained, “and came right here as she instructed. I gave Tia a bracelet of her mother’s she’d left behind when she went off to the military. I put a sophisticated transmitter in it. I’m good with slicing and code. I wrote the codes for the tech…..it was my design. It’s undetectable except with highly advanced scanners and even then only if it’s activated. I taught her how to activate and use it just before we went into the Separatists holdout on Ord Mantell.”

They heard voices on the other side of the door, one of them not sounding very pleased, “Captain, I want you to play that message for my guest outside. He’ll need to hear it.” Garza told Val as she got up and opened the door.

Lieutenant Jorgan entered Garza’s office and immediately noticed it was empty except for a familiar, petite Mirialan and her Human companion. He’d seen both of them with Sergeant Vleska through her armor cam on Ord Mantell.

“Captain,” he growled, “I didn’t expect you to be here. Did you hear from that traitorous filth you call a friend yet?”

Val went ballistic, jumping out of her seat and slapping Jorgan hard enough to make him stagger, “How dare you say that about her!” she shrieked, “You have no idea what you’re talking about so shut your trap before I permanently shut it!”

“What,” Jorgan sneered, “truth hurts?”

Corso grabbed Val before she could hit the large Cathar again, “Calm down, Captain,” he told her as she struggled in his arms, “This isn’t helping.”

“This is all your fault you stupid son of a b**ch,” Val spat at Jorgan, “You sent her in there alone!”

“I fail to see how I’m responsible for your friend turning traitor,” Jorgan shot back, “She made that choice all on her own!”

“That’s enough!” General Garza snapped, “All of you sit down right now! We don’t have time for this.”

Val’s anger deflated when she remembered why she was there and sat. Jorgan glared at her and took a seat across the table from her, crossing his arms.

“Captain Tarenz, can you play that first message again for Lieutenant Jorgan?” Garza requested and Val did that.

Surprise showed on Jorgan’s face when he saw Tia in Imperial armor imploring Val to quickly get to General Garza. The Cathar ran his hands over his clean shaven head and down his neck, his laser green eyes reflecting his shock.

“Now, we are all at the same place,” Garza said, “Captain, are you able to play the second message here?”

“Yes, give me a moment,” Val replied as she went to Garza’s terminal, “forgive me General, but I prefer to use my own security…..I have serious trust issues, I know,” Val sliced in, put in her security codes, decrypted the message and played it. Once again, the image of Tia in Imperial armor appeared.

“I’m going to assume that Val was successful and that General Garza is viewing this message in a secure location. If not, then she’s in big trouble if I survive. Please excuse the sounds of music and the shower, but it was the safest place I could find and yes, I ran a tech scan before recording. I’m Sergeant Tiannya Vleska and I was serving in Havoc Squad on Ord Mantell. I have little time and a lot to tell you, so here goes. I don’t know how much you are aware of at this point, but the members of Havoc Squad have defected to the Sith Empire. I caught them working with Imperials in the Separatists holdout. They were loading the stolen ZR-57 into a shuttle when I arrived. I knew I was as good as dead if I went in, but we needed information. That is why I decided to go with them. I had some plausible reasons for a grudge against the Republic and I managed to convince them I wanted to defect as well. They took out my armor cam and cut out the tracker Lieutenant Jorgan injected me with, then ran a scan. Luckily, Val had given me a means of communicating secretly, which she can explain to you later, if she hasn’t already. Their scanner didn’t detect Val’s tech and we left Ord Mantell. A lot has happened since then. Havoc isn’t the only squad to defect, at least ten other squads that I’m aware of at this point have joined us. That number may go up and I’ll let you know if I find out. Apparently, this mass defection has been in the planning for quite some time. Tavus cited Ando Prime as his reasons and I’m going to assume you know the details. Right now, Tavus has operations going on in Coruscant’s lower levels. He’s operating under the assumption that you are unaware of the defection and is securing armaments and supplies through his usual sources while he still can. I don’t have the details of that, but I’m hoping you know what he’s talking about. The man in charge on Coruscant is a retired Havoc CO, Jek Kardan and he’s working on some sort of communications relay. Havoc Squad is currently on an Imperial battleship, but I get the feeling we’re moving out soon. I know Tavus intends to send us out on individual assignments, but he hasn’t given out the assignments yet, so I don’t know who’s going where at this time. Look, I’m not trained for this cloak and dagger stuff, that’s for the spooks in SIS, but I’ll do my best to help bring these traitors down from the inside and hopefully live to tell the tale. I’d better go now, so I have time to actually take a shower. I’ll make contact as soon as I’m at my new location and it’s safe for me to do so.”

The four of them sat silently around the table for a moment, absorbing what they just learned. Val had tears in her eyes and glared at Lieutenant Jorgan who she felt was responsible for all of this.

“Where do we go from here, General?” Jorgan finally spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Tavus usually got his supplies through various Underworld gangs when he didn’t want Republic standard issue equipment,” Garza explained. “I’ll send out teams to work on cutting off these sources. However, I know two groups will be difficult, The Migrant Merchant’s Guild and Black Sun.”

“We have to go into Migrant Merchant’s Guild territory,” Corso told the general, “Is there anything we can do to help while we’re there? I know Val wants to see her friend safe.”

“Sergeant Vleska has put herself in great danger for us,” Garza admitted, “She’s gone above and beyond the call of duty and I want her safe as well. If you’re willing,” she nodded at Corso and Val, “then I’ll take you up on your offer and you won’t be going alone.” She turned to Jorgan, “Lieutenant Jorgan, I’ve cancelled the Inquiry and Review. I hearby promote you to Captain, effective immediately. You are now assigned as the new CO of Havoc Squad and when she’s back with us, Sergeant Vleska will be under your command. Other than that, Havoc will be yours to rebuild.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jorgan saluted.

“Your first mission will be to accompany Captain Tarenz and Corso Riggs into Migrant Merchant’s Guild territory, you’ll meet with Corporal Garrum in the security checkpoint across from The Dealer’s Den cantina and he’ll have the mission specs for you. Help the captain with whatever she needs to do there, then the three of you take care of the task Corporal Garrum gives you. I’ll work on planning for Black Sun and locating Kardan while you three are dealing with the Migrant Merchant’s Guild,” Garza explained, “Captain Tarenz, you and Mister Riggs can stay with Captain Jorgan at the military complex while you’re working together. Right now, the three of you can go there to the suite set aside for Havoc when they’re staying here, unpack, and prepare yourselves for combat. That’ll give me time to work out what needs to be done in Migrant Merchant Guild territory and get the information to Corporal Garrum.”

“Yes, sir,” Jorgan nodded.

General Garza looked at the petite, teary eyed Milialan who was glaring at Captain Jorgan and smiled, “Captain Tarenz, I promise I’ll do everything in my power to bring your friend back to us safely.”

“She’s like a sister to me,” Val sniffed, “I should’ve stayed with her instead of going after the man who stole my starship.”

“You can’t blame yourself, Captain,” Garza told her gently, “If you’d been with her, you’d both be dead and we would be in the dark about what happened. Thanks to your technology and her quick thinking, Sergeant Vleska is alive and able to communicate with us.”

“See,” Corso added, “I told you not to blame yourself. From what I saw and things you’ve told me, Tia’s a survivor and she’ll make it back.”

“One thing that I can’t stress enough is that we keep quiet about what’s going on. We want Tavus to think Havoc’s defection is a secret for as long as possible and the more that know the truth, the greater the chance Tavus will find out. Now, the three of you get going. Time is of the essence, and if you get anymore messages from Sergeant Vleska, contact me immediately!” Garza insisted, “Oh, and Captain Tarenz, please don’t injure Captain Jorgan anymore. He didn’t have your knowledge and from what he’d heard, Sergeant Vleska had truly defected. I need the three of you to work together, can I count on that?”

“You can count on me, sir.” Jorgan insisted.

“Me too,” Corso agreed.

“I’ll do anything to get Tia back safely,” Val nodded, “Even if I have to play nice with this jerk.”

Prudii shivered as he stepped out into the frigid tundra of Hoth. He'd forgotten how shabla cold this planet was. He sealed his armor at the joints and activated the internal heater. Still, the damage had been done, and his fingers already felt numb.

"All right," he said, "we've got a bit of a ways to go."

He led Havoc Squad out on their taun-tauns–their speeders hadn't been adapted for cold–toward the outpost south of Aurek Base. When they arrived, a small Ugnaught asked for help in retrieving a shipment of crashed defense droids. He added that the droids' systems had been set on defensive and they would fight any rescuers.

"That should be fun," Jorgan muttered sarcastically.

Prudii nodded. "The sooner we get moving, the better. Come on."

They found the remains of the ship and dismounted their taun-tauns. Prudii crawled forward and looked down into the depression made by the ship's wreckage.

"That's a lot of droids," he said. "Wouldn't be so bad if we could just call in a strike, but we need their cores intact."

Jorgan nodded. "We'll have to do this the hard way," he agreed.

Havoc Squad moved down into the wreckage, firing as they went. Tanno Vik charged ahead, expertly using his vibrosword and grenades to cut out the droids' actuators and motivators. Soon, the droids were nothing but smoking heaps.

"Recover the essential parts," Prudii told the squad. "And let's get back to the outpost. Blast, but it's cold."

Before he could say anything else, there was a whirring sound and more droids popped out of their racks. The squad, bunched up, was surrounded.

* * *

Two grueling hours later, they returned to the outpost with the parts the Ugnaught mechanic had requested. Forex was leaning to one side, one of his legs blown off. Tanno had broken his wrist, and Yuun's exoskeleton was cracked along his forearm. Elara and Jorgan had bruises and burns, and Prudii had dislocated his shoulder. But overall, the mission had been a success.

"I really hate this planet," Prudii grumbled.

@marissalf That was a beautiful retelling of that agent sequence, very fitting to the quest events and I always love the appearance of watcher x.

Thank ya! I first wrote that without their conversations, but suddenly last week I needed more Watcher X in my life

@marissalf, great rendition of a brutal sequence. I was infuriated at what they did to Vector during it.

Thanks! That particular part of the class storyline was tough to watch, and I always hated that they hurt Vector. Realistically, he probably got off easy, but still...not cool.

Also, nice piece on Kinka......I remember that mission and I know Vector would have taken that really hard!

Thanks! I keep going back to how that would have affected him as a sort of helpless spectator. I may need to write a version from his POV, eventually.

theStirges, welcome to the thread! I’m going to echo Adwynyth because “delightfully twisted” is the exact phrase that came to mind when I read it. Your Kaliyo is so very Kaliyo, in all her unhinged glory. And I loved the exchange between the agent and Lokin at the end.

Bright, Very handy primer on Wynston!

If she gets good enough at finding people, someday she might locate her missing brother.

I can imagine this will make for some really good stories.

@Kabe, Hilarious! Leave it to the Hutts to wrap things up in enough red tape to circle Nar Shaddaa twice over.

@alaurin, Really liking this new take on the Trooper story. It makes sense that Tia would choose to go along with the rest of the squad. Any reasonable person looking to survive would take that way out. This should make for an interesting dynamic with Val, Corso and Jorgan.

@Irishfino, ah, I see what you mean with Azasha still having a part to play. I love that it all seems to be part of a bigger plan. Let’s get the popcorn!

@Yoshi, I always really enjoy Hoth, but for a character it would be terrible. Prudii and crew were probably really cranky after that ordeal.

Jeana checked the lightsaber's balance. The blade hummed, casting her in red light in the temple's dark shadows. Her own saber hung from her belt. This one was an artifact, from a warrior who had followed both Dark and Light sides of the Force.

"It's a little top-heavy," Jeana said. "Why would that be? A lightsaber should be balanced, otherwise one would lose control of the blade."

She crouched like a cat, feigning an attack. She swung it around her head. She whipped the blade it in circles, slashing down into an imaginary foe's head. Vette watched her with one eye while picking through the choicest artifacts with the other.

"It just doesn't make sense. Why would a legendary warrior use such a lousy weapon?"

"I knew a guy who always used a heavy pistol because he liked to hit people with it in close quarters," Vette said. "He had big arms, too. Hated small guns, even the good ones."

Jeana thought of someone using a vibroblade versus a lightsaber. A brutal, butchering weapon. The bloody thoughts triggered something in the blade. The blade light pulsed with greater intensity.

Jeana had an idea. "Don't tell Jaesa I did this," she said to Vette, winking. She walked up to a nearby statue. Jeana channeled old feelings of rage against Darth Baras. She howled and slashed the statue. Pieces of it went flying. Then she mixed it with pure focus. On her next swing, she cleaved it in two and never felt the blade slow down.

"Holy moly," Vette said.

Jeana shut the lightsaber off. She looked at it, trying to look inside with X-ray vision she didn't have. "Tricky, tricky, tricky! There are crystals inside the blade that respond to the mix of dark and light side power. That's where the weight's coming from."

"Are you keeping it?"

"Nah. I'd rather be thinking about my fighting than playing tricks with my lightsaber."

Vette's eyes sparkled. "Can I have it?"

Jeana wagged her finger. "Now, now, homegirl. You can keep as many artifacts as you want. Historical treasures go to the museum on Dromund Kaas."

Vette pouted. "You never let me have the fun stuff."

Prudii walked toward the Senate Tower at a brisk pace, feeling eager but worried. Supreme Commander Jace Malcom had summoned him for a private meeting in his office–Prudii reported to General Garza, so someone above her summoning him couldn't be good. Or maybe it was great.

He walked into the office. The Supreme Commander's aide, a petite Mirialan female, looked up and smiled at Prudii.

"The Supreme Commander is waiting for you," she said.

"Thanks."

Prudii entered the office and stood at attention. Malcom stood with his back to the door, looking entirely uncomfortable in his gray uniform. Prudii had seen the man in combat armor, and he looked much more natural in it than in his uniform.

"Major," Malcom said, "how is the commander of my former squad?"

"I'm doing well, sir."

Malcom turned and gestured at the chair on the other side of his desk.

"Take a seat, Major."

This ain't good, Prudii thought. He sat down and clasped his hands together on his lap, trying not to wring them. Malcom took a seat at his desk and pulled out a datapad. Prudii swallowed and heaved a sigh. This was all so unusual.

"Major," Malcom said, "what is your opinion of General Garza?"

Prudii frowned. "General Garza is a very practical woman, sir."

Malcom grinned and nodded. "Very diplomatic of you, Major. But how are her commanding skills?"

"General Garza...sir, she's a fine commanding officer, but the fact of the matter is, she micromanages, sir. For example, she was extremely upset that I told Jonas Balkar about Havoc Squad's defection, even though it was a help to the mission in the long run. Not to mention, it brought SIS over to the military's side."

"True," Malcom agreed. "But to be fair, she did order you directly not to mention it."

"Garza would alienate the Senate, the SIS, and even the mainstream military officers just to get a job done 'efficiently.' However, despite it she is overall a commanding officer who cares for her people, sir. She always has the Republic's best interests at heart, but she would never send her men on a mission she knew to be suicidal."

Malcom remained silent for a moment and consulted his datapad. He typed in a few notes, folded his hands, and looked Prudii in the eyes.

"Thank you, Major," he said. "Dismissed."

Prudii frowned and stared at Malcom for a moment, confused.

"Sir?"

Malcom chuckled. "Garza was up for review. I just needed your opinions. I'm getting the other squads in here, too. Dismissed. And my personal best wishes to Havoc Squad."

Prudii saluted. "Thank you, sir."

He turned and left the office, feeling upbeat, all fear and anxiety gone from his system. He could return to the BT-7 Thunderclap and move on to something important–like defeating the Empire.

Garza really comes off as a bossy, no-good lady through Coruscant, Taris, and Nar Shaddaa, but by the end of Act 1 and through the rest of the Acts you really can tell she cares.

One week earlier:

The 'com chimed. "Sir?"

"How many times do I need to tell you that you don't need to call me Sir, Ensign?"

"Um, yes, Sir, sorry, Sir. I'll work on it."

She rolled her eyes, not that anyone could see her, or that anyone but another Chiss would be able to tell anyway. How races with distinguishable corneas and pupils thought they could conceal their thoughts remained a mystery to her even now, all these years later.

"Very well, Ensign." The irony of calling her associate by her former rank while insisting that she drop the formality was not lost on her, but the young lady became flustered almost to the point of uselessness if she so much as hinted that she might call her by name. "I assume you had an actual reason for interrupting me?" Not that she'd actually been doing anything in particular, and not that she minded Raina interrupting her, but certain things were expected, and the poor girl was lost enough without the usual command structure.

"Of course, Sir. Holo for you."

"Who is it?"

"I can't break the encryption, sir. SCORPIO said she would have a trace on it soon, but it's taking her longer than usual. It doesn't seem to be from Sith Intelligence or the Dark Council, but that's just a feeling."

Raina's "feelings" had been getting more frequent, and more accurate. It was getting more dangerous to operate in Sith space with her aboard, and she'd considered more than once heading to Csilla to lay low for a while, or at least dropping Temple off there, but she was prevaricating, and the situation hadn't become critical yet.

"Hmm. Very well, Ensign, put it through to my personal holocom. Keep SCORPIO on the trace just in case."

"Yes, Sir. Putting it through now."

The holo sprang up, and a familiar face she hadn't expected to see again appeared.

"Hello, Cipher Nine."

"Hello, Minister."

"Former Minister, as you're well aware."

"Yes, but I can't call you Keeper anymore, either."

"Hm. Very well. It will come as no surprise that this isn't a social call."

"As usual, your gift for understatement leaves me in awe, Sir."

The former head of Imperial Intelligence nearly smiled. "Disrespectful as ever, Cipher. I have missed you."

"Pardon, Sir? I must be getting some static on the line, I almost thought you expressed a personal sentiment just there."

"Yes, well. Enough with the pleasantries. It has come to me through certain channels that the Sith Academy has become aware of your assistant and believes they are close to tracking you down. There is an emergent situation on Makeb that I believe you are aware of?"

"Marr contacted me just yesterday. I was still deciding whether or not to go."

"When you arrive, they plan to remove her from you and 'enroll' her in the Academy."

"So we're not going to Makeb, then."

"Cipher, your presence is urgently required there. Whatever he told you, Darth Marr was understating the case considerably. If you do not intervene on Makeb, the Empire will fall, and the Republic will make such a hash of things that the galaxy will be plunged into chaos, possibly for centuries. You must go to Makeb."

"I won't lose Raina to the Sith. I can drop her at Miurani House--"

"That route has already been closed to you."

"What? How? Allies or not, the Ascendancy is not in the habit of turning over nobility or their guests to the Sith."

"When the 'Hero of Tython' shows her face anywhere in the Ascendancy, pretending to be Merit Adoptive Eleeta of House Miurani, she will be taken into custody at best."

Silence. Through years of ingrained habit, Cipher kept her face perfectly still.

"By the time the truth is established, it will be too late. You will likely be dead, the Makeb operation will have failed, and your assistant will be taken."

"How long have you known, Sir? Or, perhaps, a better question would be why you never asked me about it?"

"A better question yet, Cipher, would be why you never reported it to me. Still, Master n'Sappho is an incredibly popular figure in the Republic; her face is known everywhere. She is more popular than the Supreme Chancellor, Master Shan, and all of their holo-vid stars combined. The fact that you can go anywhere without being mistaken for her is a tribute to the Censorship Bureau's brutal suppression of anything to do with her."

"Also, I actually wear clothing like a decent being. I guarantee you they aren't looking at her face."

"Yes, a tube top and skintight, glossy black leatheris pants are much better."

"I wear a coat, you know. Besides, seduction is part of the job."

"All of this is beside the point. I'm out of practice, letting you distract me like this. I had been aware of your sister's activities for some time before her rise to prominence in the Republic, but until she attracted the attention of the Emperor, she was just another minor Jedi Knight, keeping the Sith distracted in the Republic instead of botching things up in the Empire." He must have gotten something really good on someone very highly placed if he was airing his opinions of the Sith like this, secure channel or not. Not for the first time, she regretted not keeping the Black Codex for herself. "Propaganda went mad when the Emperor turned her and the rest of her little troupe of idiots to the Dark Side--" If he noticed her sudden utter lack of motion he gave no sign. "--parading them through Kaas City as a demonstration to the futility of resisting the Emperor, and then Intelligence, Censorship, and those same lackwits in Propaganda had the very devil of the time putting the lid back on after she escaped." He did notice her resumption of breathing. "You were distracted at the time, Cipher, merrily undoing all my hard work keeping you alive. I'm surprised you hadn't caught up on all this already, though."

"As you say, I was distracted at the time, and I haven't wanted to give certain parties aboard any more ammuntion for future strikes against me, so I've been very carefully not looking at anything to do with my fool sister."

"Yes, your sister is certainly a very great fool. A pity the Jedi got to her first, although if her brief stint under the Emperor's control is any indication, having her as a Sith would have been a nightmare for the people of the Empire."

Emotions are a curse. Her expression changed not at all.

"She is also, however, extremely powerful, and has the backing of the former Emperor's Wrath, also a force to be reckoned with. The Republic are never quite as foolish as we'd like to believe, so they have sent Master n'Sappho to Makeb."

She shifted forward just a bit. "You're saying my sister will be on Makeb when I arrive?"

"Precisely, which presents nearly as many opportunities for you as it does obstacles. As you have no wish for your assistant to be murdered at the Academy, or, worse, actually become Sith--"

"I would hate to lose such a valuable asset."

The corners of his mouth tightened just a bit, but he continued. "--I suggest that a change in assignment may be in order."

"Hmm, snatching a Force-sensitive out from under the noses of the Academy press gang, convincing an Imperial Intelligence operative to defect, and tweaking my nose, she won't be able to resist. Capital plan, Sir."

"I see independence hasn't dulled your intellect. In that case, I'll leave you to your planning. Good luck, Agent. And--" He paused, glanced to the side, then back. "Never mind." He cut the 'com.

Cipher sat quiet for a moment, then threw her holocom at the wall so hard the casing cracked. Before it had time to hit the floor she shattered it with a well-thrown vibroshiv and vaporized three of the pieces with shots from her sidearm, which she nearly threw across the room as well before collecting herself.

She hit the intercom button. "Ensign?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Lay in a course for Nar Shaddaa. Civilian routes."

"Very good, Sir."

"When you're done with that, have Vector relieve you on the bridge and report to my quarters."

"See you in a few minutes, Sir."

She pressed another button on her control panel. Very shortly, the door opened and Toovee stepped in, taking in the debris and scorch marks.

"Oh, dear, oh, dear, Master. Bad news on the holo again?"

"Just clean it up. Quickly."

"Of course, M--"

"Silently. And get me a new personal holocom unit."

The plot thickens! And by thickens, I mean that there is now a plot. Yeah, my Agent and my JK are identical twins. The story of how one came to be working for the Empire and the other ended up a Jedi will probably come up at some point.

When they're talking about clothes, Zel wears the Republic Dancer's outfit(with a Covert Energy Belt so as not to ruin it), because standard Jedi robes are too restrictive for the destructive whirlwind that is Ataru form. And because it distracts Imps really well, as well as a lot of other species. Eleeta wears the Unbound Trenchcoat because they finally got sick of my b*tching and made a coat where the actual coat changes color with the dye pack and I can finally have a frickin' white trench. At least, I like to pretend that's the reason. Also she wears the Concealed Bodysuit Pants, because shiny black pants? Seeeeeeeex-ay!

Eleeta completely understood and eventually agreed with Keeper's reasons for the brainwashing, in case you were wondering. Still pissed her off, but she forgave him. She even forgave Ardun Kothe, which was much easier after he got shot to death by turrets. Man, I was glad I didn't have to take DS points to see him dead, 'cause I totally would have, and I managed to accumulate a grand total of 0 DS points in my entire playthrough.

But you can merrily let Kothe get killed without any irritating LS options to save him. I even gave him a chance to surrender, hoping he wouldn't take it and I would be forced to kill him. Close enough.

@Yoshi: Hoth isn't my favorite planet.....just looking at it makes me cold! As for Garza, I agree with your take on her. She really does come across pretty harshly at the beginning, but you get the sense later on that she does genuinely care about her people. I've given her a sense of humor in my fanfic (anyone dealing with the Lauren girls needs one), but she still is mostly her stern self.

@alaurin, Really liking this new take on the Trooper story. It makes sense that Tia would choose to go along with the rest of the squad. Any reasonable person looking to survive would take that way out. This should make for an interesting dynamic with Val, Corso and Jorgan.

@CNS_Sarajevo: welcome!! Interesting analysis of the lightsaber and I can definitely see Vette asking for it!

@theStirge: The plot thickens indeed!! I'm liking this and can't wait for more!

Tia awoke naked in a strange bed, a little confused at first, but quickly recalled where she was as she absently touched her bracelet. Her nudity didn’t surprise her since she usually slept that way unless she was sharing quarters with males. She felt a slight twinge of regret as she glanced at the pale skinned Zabrak sleeping next to her. Probably not the best choice I’ve made, she thought, staring at the ceiling, but then again, this whole situation I’ve gotten myself into probably isn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done.

Tia didn’t regret having sex with Fuse, she was into the third day of her mating cycle after all, and the Zabrak had noticed. As it turns out, he was a very considerate lover and they had a very pleasant night together. It’s too bad he’s a traitor, she sighed, feeling a little guilty for sleeping with the enemy and enjoying herself, but I’m not convinced he really wanted to defect. Fuse was definitely the follower type and fiercely loyal to the squad he considered family. Tia could respect loyalty like that, she felt the same way about Kat, Val, and Zyra, but she noticed a few times that Fuse seemed troubled. He was a nice, sweet, shy guy…..a little too shy for her tastes, but she still had fun last night. For some odd reason, Lieutenant Jorgan kept popping into her head, much to her annoyance, and she found herself wondering what happened to him after they disappeared.

Fuse found her in the rec area shortly after she’d recorded and sent out a couple of messages to Val. Havoc Squad had their own section of the large Imperial battleship, The Justice, which was put in Tavus’ command once they met up with the Imperials after leaving Ord Mantell. They each had their own sleeping quarters and shared a rec area, galley, and refresher. She took advantage of Tavus and the other’s absence as they toured the large vessel and locked herself in the refresher. After using a tech scanner to check for cameras and listening devices, turning on the shower and some music, she recorded two messages explaining what happened and what she knew at that point. It was risky and she worked fast, but she knew the Mirialan she considered a sister would be very worried at that point and she needed to get the word out.

Fuse asked her why she didn’t come with them when they toured the ship and she made up a story that she needed some time to process everything that happened. She told him she felt better after taking a long, hot shower and having some quiet time to herself. Fuse understood and offered her a private tour. They talked as they walked along, getting to know each other. Tia told him a few details about her time on Nar Shaddaa, her littermate, Kat, meeting Val and Zyra, Zyra being kidnapped, the Republic refusing to help and forcing her to serve in their military after they caught her stealing. She was reinforcing her reasons for defecting with them and Fuse ate it up. They had dinner together and watched a movie on the HoloVid in the rec area after. When Fuse admitted, with a shy smile, that he sensed her heightened pheromones, Tia grinned and explained it was her mating cycle. One thing led to another and they wound up in his quarters.

We could’ve been friends, she sighed as she carefully moved Fuse’s arm from its position across her stomach, he isn’t my type for a romantic relationship, but he would’ve been a good friend. That was her regret about what they’d done last night. She didn’t want him making more of it than it was…..her mating cycle’s drive for sex. For her, it was nothing more than that because no matter how nice he was, she could never let herself forget that he was the enemy. Fuse must have felt her stirring and he tightened his arm around, pulling her closer.

“Morning,” he murmered, nuzzling her neck.

Ah, what the hell, Tia thought as she felt her body’s immediate response, what’s one more time gonna hurt? “Morning,” she smiled as she turned to face him. It was the last thing either of them said for a while as the drive of Tia’s mating cycle took them both over once again.

A little while later, Fuse and Tia were lying in bed, spent once more, when a knock sounded at the door. Fuse got up, pulled on a pair of shorts, and opened the door enough to peek out.

“Good morning, Fuse,” Tavus began as he opened the door fully and entered the room, “I was wondering if you’ve seen…..” He stopped as he noticed Tia in the bed, “Never mind.” He chuckled, “Fuse, Sergeant……Havoc is meeting in the rec room shortly.”

“I apologize, sir, for….” Tia replied.

“You’re not in the Republic anymore, Sergeant,” Tavus interrupted, smiling, “Even there, intimacy among squad mates technically wasn’t against the rules. It’s not a problem for me unless it interferes with your duties. Now, both of you, hurry to the break room. I’m sending some of the squad out today.”

Tia slipped on the pants and shirt she’d put on after her extremely fast shower yesterday and went to her quarters. After quickly brushing over the fine silvery fur that covered her body, dressing, and combing back her thick, short black hair, she was ready to join her squad in the rec room. Everyone else was already there, Fuse blushing a little when she entered.

“Thank you for getting here so quickly,” Tavus started, “I’m still putting together most of the assignments, but there are two that are ready to be started immediately. First off, Wraith is leaving shortly on a quick mission. I’ve already briefed her, so she’ll be leaving just as soon as we finish here. We also have a base of operations ready on Taris. Needles, you’ll be going there to begin the research we discussed a few days ago. Taris is currently under Republic control and they’ve recently started reconstructing the planet the Sith bombarded centuries ago. The Republic should give you little trouble, but there are also pirates and rakghouls to consider. Taris is a dangerous planet right now and I wish Sergeant Vleska to accompany you.”

“Understood, sir,” both Needles and Tia replied.

“The rest of you, I’m still coordinating with the Imperials and the other defectors. I should have your assignments within the next day or two. Needles, Sergeant Vleska, I need you to pack your things and be ready to leave as soon as we can get a ship ready. Wraith, your ship should be ready shortly. Best of luck to all three of you….you’re dismissed.”

Tia left the rec room and went to her quarters to pack her few belongings. She had little other than her Republic armor, which she figured she’d just leave behind, a few toiletries and a couple changes of clothes she managed get from the quartermaster when they’d arrived, her weapons, datapad, and the Imperial armor she’d been given. Sadly, all of her possessions, with the exception of her rifle, fit into her backpack. Tia didn’t normally have a lot of stuff, but she was fond of nice, stylish clothes to wear when she wasn’t on duty, not to mention her love of pretty bras and panties. I doubt there’s going to be a lingerie shop on Taris!

Fuse came in to her quarters just as she was zipping her bag, “I wish I was going with you, Tia,” he told her, “I know last night was probably just a fling for you, but I feel like we’re at least friends and I don’t want anything happening to you.”

“Thanks, Fuse,” Tia smiled at him, “I feel the same way. You stay safe wherever you end up and keep in touch if you’re allowed.” And please don’t leave out any details about where you are and what you’re doing…..

Tavus came in just then, “Fuse, I’d like to speak with Sergeant Vleska alone for a few minutes,” Tavus told them. As soon as Fuse left, he spoke up, “Sergeant, the research Needles will be conducting on Taris is very important. I didn’t want to say anything in front of the others, but while he’s a medical genius, Needles isn’t much of a fighter. I’m counting on you to keep him safe.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to keep him safe, sir!” Tia assured him, but don’t be surprised if he ends up dead…..

“Thank you, Sergeant,” Tavus nodded, “I’ve seen you in action and I know what you’re capable of, which is why I chose to send you. Please, don’t hesitate to contact me if there’s anything you need to do your job on Taris.”

“I will, sir!” Tia assured him and he left her quarters. Tia knew she didn’t have enough time to put together a message before she left, so she put her Holocommunicator and datapad in her backpack and headed to the hanger to wait for the ship to finish fueling.

The ship was still in the process of fueling, so Tia got out her datapad and brought up an old mystery novel she had. She’d been reading for a few minutes when she heard Tavus and Wraith come in. They paid her little attention as they walked to the ship she was leaving in. Thanks to her species’ excellent hearing, Tia was able to hear bits of their conversation. She overheard Tavus wishing her luck on Coruscant and Wraith saying she’d contact him as soon as she bagged the Senator and was on her way to Port Raga. Then they said a very intimate goodbye to one another and Wraith boarded the small ship. So that’s why Tavus wasn’t upset that Fuse and I slept together, Tia thought as Wraith’s ship took off, he was doing the same thing with Wraith!

“Do you think I have enough time to use the ‘fresher before our ship’s ready?” Tia asked Needles.

“I don’t see why not,” he replied, looking up from his own datapad, “You can leave your stuff here and I’ll have it put on the ship if it’s ready before you get back.”

“Thanks, sir,” Tia nodded, “I’ll take my datapad with me since I’m in the middle of a novel. I won’t need anything else from my bag, so you can have them just put it and my rifle in the storage locker.”

As soon as she got to the nearest refresher and locked herself in, she activated her bracelet and plugged it into her datapad. She quickly typed a message to Val briefly explaining what she just learned about Wraith, telling her that she and Needles were headed to Taris, and promising to send a proper, detailed message as soon as she was able. Tia sent the message, fixed her bracelet, quickly used the ‘fresher, and went back to the waiting area.

Just as she got to her seat, one of the hanger crew came over and told them the ship was ready. She grabbed her things and followed Needles on board. After storing her stuff in the locker and taking her seat in the cockpit next to Needles, they took off for Taris.

She wasn’t too worried about getting a more detailed message to Val once she reached Taris since Needles seemed to be the loner type…..the creepy, stalker, mad scientist loner type. I’m glad he’s human and can’t detect my mating cycle, she shuddered, because I don’t think I could handle him hitting on me!

I am operating under the assumption that the Havoc traitors went to Tavus’ ship, the Justice, after leaving Ord Mantell with the stolen ZR-57 and that Wraith, Needles, Fuse, and Gearbox left for their destinations from there.

Again, for those who haven't read the other stuff on Kat, Val, and Tia, the Cathar mating cycle was completely made up and I introduced it here.

"Let me get this straight. I'm not doing one job, I'm doing three?"

"What, did you think that I was going to go through the trouble of expunging that many records from two separate, highly secure databases for a single job?" Fenn'rys laughed, "You overestimate yourself, my handsome hunter."

"Yeah, well, I can't help feeling like I'm getting the raw end here." Drokk'it crossed his arms and scowled slightly.

"Let me put this in perspective for you, oh great and mighty Champion." the Chiss stood up from the chair across from him and started pacing.

"Imagine you're hired to break into both the Dark Council chamber as well as the Jedi Council on Tython. You are to kidnap members of each Council, replace them with duplicates while they're holding session, and you have to do so while not leaving so much as a trace that you were ever there."

Drokk's eyes widened as he thought about it. "Impossible. Go into a room full of the strongest force users, and get in and out without them noticing? Can't be done."

"And yet, you're asking me to do the same, just in the virtual plane." Fenn'rys stopped and fixed Drokk with a sidelong look. "The SIS and Imperial Intelligence databanks being the Jedi and Dark Councils."

She turned and leaned on the chair, facing him with a grin, "Really Drokk'it, if you think about it, I'm giving you a massive discount."

"Yeah," he scowled hard, "that's what worries me. So, what's the first job?"

"Kaliyo will accompany you to a party on Corellia, being hosted by a playboy with both Imperial and Republic ties. There, you will locate and secure a certain artifact in his collection. An artifact we will use to further sway the Voss to join the Imperial cause."

Drokk cocked an eyebrow dubiously.

Fenn'rys looked at him questioningly, "What?"

"You're going to send me, and the poster child for chaos, into a fancy dress party? And we're supposed to fool who, exactly?"

"Really, Drokk'it." Fenn'rys smirked, "You'd be amazed at how deviously charming Kaliyo can be."

Once again, he cocked his eyebrow dubiously.

"Who would you assign this task to then?"

"You, Temple, and Vector seem more qualified for something like this."

"Unfortunately, I'll need Ensign Temple's assistance in dealing with hacking security, and extraction. Vector is well known in Imperial circles. We can't jeopardize his relationships with the diplomatic service for this. That leaves SCORPIO, whose existence isn't known outside Imperial Intelligence, and Dr. Lokin, whose morbid fascinations and inability to hold his tongue, make him a liability."

Drokk sighed, "Which leaves me and the psychopath."

"Look at it this way, hunter. You definitely won't be bored", the Chiss grinned wickedly. "Now, let's get you prepared."

************************************************************

The event went pretty much how Drokk had expected it to.

... which is to say, poorly.

His first sign that the night would not end well came as he and Kaliyo were about to be announced.

"What's eating you, Drokky-poo? You look like you're about to enter a Rancor's den", Kaliyo smirked.

"I don't do well at fancy-schmancy shindigs. Not exactly my style."

"You worry too much, this'll be fun!" She grinned.

He looked at Kaliyo doubtfully, "Something tells me this isn't your style either."

Kaliyo feigned shock, "Drokky! I'm crushed! I'm actually quite good at being entitled and snobbish." She said with a haughty air. "Learned it from my sister."

"Sister, huh?"

"Yeah, she's all about being pretentious and snooty. Likes to believe she's some sort of big shot on Tatooine. Dresses fancy, acts all high and mighty, but really, she just runs a gladiatorial ring that the underworld locals like to bet on."

Drokk stiffened up like he'd been hit with force lighting. "Ooooh frag." He gave her a pained look, "Your sister is the Lady--"

"--of Pain. Yeah, you know her?" Kaliyo looked a little surprised.

He slapped his forehead. Sunuva -- I got a baaad feeling about this.

Just at that moment, they were announced by their cover identities.

"Lord Reynolds and his escort, Madam Teng!"

Kaliyo nudged him forward, "That's our cue, M'Lord." She said sarcastically.

People stared as they entered the ballroom. Which wasn't surprising, considering how they looked.

Kaliyo wore a dark indigo shimmersilk dress that clasped behind her neck. From the neck, two lengths of cloth covered her breasts, crossing over just above her navel, leaving her neck down to the crossover, along with her back and sides, open. The dress was ankle length, with a long slits on either leg , that ended just below her hips.

Kaliyo looked stunning, and the dress would've been considered elegant anywhere else. Here, the style would be considered crass... probably just the way Kaliyo liked it.

Drokk wore basic Imperial formal wear (tight apparently was the in thing this year), with his hair pulled into a ponytail. His facial tattoos were covered by an expert make up job. He stood tall, stiff, and looked completely out of place.

How in the pits of Dathomir do these people wear this stuff? I think my underwear just disappeared up my--

"Ahh, Lord Reynolds! So good that you could make it. I'm this evening's host, Baron Xessus. Please, eat and drink to your heart's content! The end of the world is coming!" He laughed, "And really, where else would you rather be, than at one of my parties, after all?"

Drokk forced a smile and attempted his best pompous face. "Of course, Baron, of course. Your graciousness is legendary, good sir."

"Yes," the Baron drew out the word , "well, I have other guests to attend to, and it seems your... escort... has gotten the hang of this." He gave something between a disgusted and amused look over Drokk's shoulder. "Ta." He walked away whispering to his consort.

Drokk quickly turned to see his second indicator of how his night would turn out. Kaliyo was holding an attendant hostage by his tie, and gulping down his tray of drinks, one by one. He quickly rushed over and removed her restraining hand.

"What in the hell are you doing!" He hissed, "You're gonna blow our cover!"

Kaliyo yanked her hand away, "Careful, Drokky-- sorry, Lord Reynolds. People will start to talk", she winked. "Besides, there's no way I'm going to be able to handle this wad of stuffed shirts without something to take the edge off."

She turned and sashayed over to the bar moving smoothly, like a dancer, but with that hint of wildness that attracted men. He saw more than one head turn in her direction. A few of the younger, more adventurous ones started making their way towards the bar.

He frowned. Careful boys. She's not just wild, she's poisonous.

At least Kaliyo would be kept busy for a bit.

He turned his attention to the party attendees, and the layout. What they were tasked with stealing wasn't in this room, but getting through the doors that led into the main house wasn't going to be a cakewalk.

There were four exits and he spotted a guard at each one. They all sported a familiar bulge beneath their coat, right where a holster would fit. Some of the serving staff moved too fluidly through the large crowd to just be waiters. Fenn'rys and Temple would deal with the video and electronic surveillance, but the--

"Hands OFF, pal! Just because you see a suit you like, it doesn't mean you get to try it on for size, schutta!"

Drokk turned in time to see Kaliyo slap a would be suitor's hand away from her backside.

He rolled his eyes and mimicked Fenn'rys, "You'd be amazed at how charming she can be, my a*s!" He started walking over to the bar, trying to strike a balance between being imposing, but refined.

He wound up feeling like he had a stick up his rear.

"Something I can help you gentlemen with?" Drokk shot glares at the three men surrounding Kaliyo. Then shot one at Kaliyo herself.

Two of the men cowered out of survival instinct, but one young man tried to impress the Ratattaki woman by making a stand.

"M'Lord, to put this frankly, this really isn't any concern of yours", he said pompously.

"Oh really?" He clinched his fists. Drokk rarely put up with the self-entitled. It was a button of his.

"Yes, really, you uncouth vagabond." The young nobleman puffed up. He seemed to lack a self preservation instinct. "How is it that you even received an invitation? Did you mug someone and steal their clothes?"

Remember the mission. Remember the mission. Drokk fought the urge to show the young noble some of his special 'communication' skills. Mako called it 'comprehension through pugilation'. It was amazing how much could be communicated with one, or several, blows to the face.

It had come in extremely useful on Alderaan.

Kaliyo slid between them, "Now, now boys. Keep it in your pants and be civil, this is a party after all. There's time for brawling after we get hammered." She winked at the men, and then led Drokk over to the dance floor.

"Y'know Drokky-poo, that was kinda hot. You, all standing up for my... honor, or whatever. Made me quiver in all the right places." She licked her lips.

"Trust me, it wasn't for your benefit. We got a job to do, remember?"

Drokk scanned the floor as Kaliyo led the dance. Most eyes were on them since it was out of place for the female to lead, but trying to lead Kaliyo was like trying to herd baby Nexu.

Both impossible to do, and impossible not to come away with bite marks.

"Awww, c'mon hunter, lighten up and live a little!"

Kaliyo placed her hands tightly on his shoulders, a sign that he was to support her as she went airborne, body parallel to the ground, kicking both feet, and landing a half circle from where they started. She did this three times, and it gave Drokk his third and final insight into how his night would end.

As he supported her second double kick through the air, he noticed the shocked faces of the crowd.

"Huh. Seems we offended a lot of people with our lack of skill." He set Kaliyo down after the final kick, "These nobles take their dancing pretty seriously."

Kaliyo put her arms around Drokk's neck and pulled him close, "Nah, I think they're more offended that I'm not wearing underwear."

He immediately blushed, "You're what..?"

"Drokky-poo! You're all red. That's adorable!" Kaliyo laughed. "Feel free to get a hand in there and feel around for yourself, hunter", she whispered seductively.

Drokk's eyes were drawn to Baron Xessus talking to the guards and pointing. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen." He tapped the comlink in his ear, "We're blown. Ideas?"

Silence. He watched the four guards peel off their door posts and make their way through the crowd.

"Agent, we're made. Orders?"

Again, silence. Frag! Now we have to improvise.

The crowd formed a circle as a guard approached. Drokk stepped in front of Kaliyo. "Sir, may I help you?"

"Lord Reynolds, we've been asked to escort you and your... guest, from the party. If you would follow us please."

"I-I don't understand?" Drokk feigned entitled ignorance as best he could.

"Sir, you and the lady will need to leave. Now." The guard put his hand inside his jacket.

"Hold on just a karking second!" Kaliyo pushed Drokk out of the way.

"Madam Teng?!" Drokk said brow furrowed, and though gritted teeth.

"This is Nerfsh*t, Lord Renyolds." Kaliyo took an aggressive stance.

"They're bent because I flashed everyone, but I don't see anyone else being tossed out!"

She started pointing at people in the crowd.

"That guy had his hand so far up that broad's skirt, he was working her like a puppet! And that lady there, yeah YOU, you spent an awful long time under that table looking for whatever you 'dropped'!" Kaliyo pointed to a table with three suddenly very embarrassed men.

"And you three!" She pointed at a very angry, and very red, Baron Xessus and the couple next to him. "Don't even get me started! People eat that food, y'know!" She then winked and nodded approvingly, "but kinky. Verrrry kinky."

The guard took the blaster out, "Okay, that's enough. You're done now."

Her eyes lit up and she grinned manically, "Now it's a party, Drokky-poo!", and then she jumped the guard before he could raise his blaster.

Drokk let loose a string of curses as he ripped his jacket open for freedom of movement. Kaliyo was busy biting the ear off the guard that tried to toss them out, as the crowd began screaming and running for the exits.

Three more guards with blasters drawn made their way through the crowd, braining anyone foolish enough to get in their way. Drokk flew into action, grabbing a round table and using it as a shield.

They moved towards each other, blaster bolts taking pieces of the table when they connected, and Drokk hucking chairs at the guards to throw off their aim.

The blaster fire started impacting regularly, telling him they were close now. Drokk threw what remained of the table at them high, and hit the ground rolling.

He spun on his hip and trapped the first guard's heel with his left foot, bringing his right heel down on the guard's kneecap. With a sickening crunch, the leg folded the wrong way, and caused the guard to drop his weapon and fall backwards howling in pain .

Drokk grabbed the gun as he rolled over it, barely avoiding the blaster fire of the other two guards. He came to one knee, and dove for cover, knocking over a table in the process.

As blaster fire took chunks out of the table, Drokk hurled a chair over the top and came up behind the throw, targeting the guard on the right. He landed a bolt to the midsection, as he pointed his arm at the guard on the left and fired his...

... nothing. He was reminded he wasn't wearing his power gauntlets when shrapnel from the table exploded, and showered his arm.

"SUNUVAFRAGGINGSKADGEFACED--" He screamed as he ducked back behind what was left of the table, shaking his arm. Nothing permanent, but the splinters were going to be a b*tch to get out.

The table was rapidly disappearing, when Drokk heard a muted *Snap-crackle* as the blaster fire stopped.

He rolled out of his near nonexistent cover and up to one knee. There was Kaliyo, covered in blood, letting go of the guard's head, which was now facing in the wrong direction.

"Lords, I. Am. So. HOT right now!" She zeroed in on Drokk, her eyes burning with lust, and moved in on him with purpose.

Drokk quickly stood up, putting his hands out in front of him, "Whoa there, you crazy b*tch! We ain't finished yet!"

The crowd had dispersed, but three of the waiters had stuck around, and were now wielding cleavers from the overturned food table. They fanned out around the pair.

Drokk was trying to keep an eye on the waiters as they closed in for melee, while deflecting Kaliyo's not so subtle advances at the same time.

She grabbed at his crotch, "C'mon, Reaper. Admit it. You want me." She ran her tongue over her blooded lips.

"I told you, that ain't ME ANYMORE!" Drokk roared as he grabbed the arm reaching for his manhood by the wrist, whipping Kaliyo's body at the waiter closing distance behind them.

Kaliyo moved gracefully and instinctively, as she leapt and kicked the surprised waiter in the face, crushing his nose. She landed and then rolled up Drokk's arm, and into his body, wrapping the arm around her as she did.

The second waiter charged in and brought his cleaver down in an overhead arc. Drokk spun left, out of the way, taking Kaliyo with him.

He felt her use the momentum to jump and wrap her body around his lower back. Drokk threw his left arm over her, catching and supporting her torso, as he threw his weight to the right. Both of Kaliyo's feet caught the waiter in the ribs with several loud, sickening snaps.

He went flying into some standing tables, as a gout of bright red blood vomited from his mouth.

Kaliyo landed on her feet behind Drokk as he kicked a chair at the last standing attacker. It stopped the waiter's advance as Drokk turned in a circle, catching Kaliyo by the waist, lifting her, and releasing her into the air.

She spun like a ballerina, flying towards the waiter, as Drokk advanced on him and roared "HEY!"

It grabbed the waiter's attention just long enough for Kaliyo to come out of the spin, using her momentum and the gravity of her landing, to connect with what was now a souped-up roundhouse.

The thunderous mix of popping and crunching told Drokk that the assailant would be needing a total jaw replacement... and more than likely, Kaliyo had broken her hand with the force of her blow.

Drokk surveyed the room. It was empty, save for the bodies either trampled in the chaos, or dealt with in the fight.

Kaliyo rose, shaking her hand. She turned on Drokk like a hungry Akk Wolf, and started trying to strip her dress off. It looked difficult with one hand.

"Ooooh Drokky-poo, you always manage to show me the best times!" She growled as she moved in on him, "Let me return the favor! You're not going to be able to walk for a week when I'm done with you."

"That's not going to happen!" Drokk held his hands in front of him, and started backing up. "Married, remember?"

"She'll never know, and who cares anyway?" She had almost shrugged her arm out of the dress when both of their comlinks squawked to life.

"Save it for Club Ufora, Kaliyo. Extraction on the hover deck, four minutes." Fenn'rys' voice played into their ears.

Drokk ran over to the food table, grabbed some ice in a cloth napkin and handed it to a visibly fuming Kaliyo, then tapped his ear as they exited the ball room.

"Where the hell were you? The mission is blown because we had to improvise!"

"I'll brief you when you're on board the Phantom. Now cut the chatter and move."

********************************************

Drokk sat in the briefing room freshly showered, feet kicked up on the table, and dressed in the exact opposite attire he had left the ship in. Pants, t-shirt, and socks, that was how he relaxed.

Only he wasn't relaxed.

First, Kaliyo had attempted to pick the lock on the fresher door while he was showering. The only thing that prevented her quick entry, was her swollen hand and that creepy droid, SCORPIO, who dragged her away.

He had jumped at every sound he heard for the remainder of his shower.

Then there was the matter of the botched mission. Drokk had entered a contract. Three successful missions in exchange for expunging the records of his crew from both Imperial and Republic databases. Kaliyo's chaotic nature had all but ruined their chances. Security would be locked down tight now.

Would that mistake cost part of his crew, or was he going to have to run a new mission to satisfy the full contract?

Lost in thought, Drokk was only half watching the news holovids about the incident when Fenn'rys walked in.

"Quite the show you two put on out there. I'm afraid Kaliyo might be falling for you, Drokk'it."

"Huh?"

Fenn'rys sat down across the table from him, grinning, "Nothing. Are you ready to debrief?"

Drokk took his feet off the table and sat up. "Yeah, sure. Kaliyo need to be here for this?"

"The good Doctor is working on her hand. I'll debrief her later." Fenn'rys said as she looked over some paperwork. "I apologize for earlier. Kaliyo can be simply intractable when her more hedonistic instincts take over."

"So I noticed."

"Now then, the operation wasn't a total failure." Fenn'rys placed the relic that Drokk had been tasked to retrieve on the table.

"When it became apparent that Kaliyo's rebellious nature was going to compromise the operation objective, I had Ensign Temple drop me off and I stole into the mansion during the chaos."

"Wait, so when you knew the op was going south, you used us as decoys?" Drokk said, irritated. "Why didn't you let me know you were changing plans? We coulda been killed out there!"

"Had I notified you of the alteration, you would've handled things differently. As it was, you gave us the exact amount of time required. Plans change, Drokk'it. You have to learn to adapt, something I would have assumed you'd be familiar with by now."

"Yeah, I'm familiar with it, but I also notify my team so they can adapt and maybe walk out of there without a broken hand, or something else!" He held up his bandaged arm.

"You're the Grand Champion of the Great Hunt, Drokk'it. That you took any damage at all from those low caliber thugs, somewhat disappoints." Fenn'rys said, frowning.

"Now, because the operation's failure can be directly attributed to Kaliyo's actions, and not your own, I feel that you fulfilled your end of the contract. Ensign Temple is altering records on two of your crew members as we speak."

Questioningly, he looked at the Chiss agent. "Are you sure? I'm not going to make excuses, my mission failed. I'll fulfill the word of the contract. Honor sort of requires it."

She smiled, "No, hunter. You did what I requested, and then adapted on the fly. Kaliyo is not the sort of chaos one prepares for, as much as reacts to. The mission succeeded regardless. I consider the first or your three tasks complete."

"All right, I'll take it then. Thanks for understanding. So... which two are being cleared?"

"Oh, Drokk'it." Fenn'rys smiled coyly, "I'm fully aware that you care for certain members of your crew more than others. I believe that you'll work harder if you aren't aware of who is cleared, and who isn't. Call it... insurance."

"Have it your way." Drokk frowned, "I find it pretty insulting you don't think I'd give 110% on a job, though."

"It's nothing personal. Just business." She said apologetically.

"Right. Business." He was still visibly offended.

Fenn'rys gathered up her paperwork. "Well, that concludes the debriefing then. You know where the mess is, and we have fresh spirits we picked up when we began the operation. They're yours to enjoy."

She stopped before she left the room, "Oh yes. Temple is working in there, but feel free to use the cockpit to stargaze", she said over her shoulder, "After the day you've had, you should try to relax."

"Uh, sure. As long as I'm not in the way."

Fenn'rys turned and smiled, "I'm sure you won't be. The pilot's chair has the best view, by the way." She said almost knowingly.

Drokk studied her as she walked out.

His crew knew that he skywatched in his free time, he didn't think that would be something that was located in an intelligence file.

Then again, they probably know how many times I wet my bed as a kid. Not hard to figure out that I like to relax by watching the skies... riiiiight.

Lots of people probably relaxed the same way... but how many knew that Drokk preferred the pilot's chair, because it offered the widest view in the cockpit? Was it that common of a choice that she would offer it off the cuff?

Drokk became aware of the feeling forming in his gut.

... and he didn't like it at all.

**************************************

Fenn'rys tapped her ear bud as she walked. "Temple. Status report."

"Yes, sir. Custody of Baron Xessus has been turned over to the Tenebrous successfully."

"Initial interrogation results?"

"Nothing we weren't already aware of, sir."

"Understood. Continue to monitor news feeds and law enforcement channels. Any information about the party that is outside what we planted, or what we disseminated, I want it shut down immediately."

"Should I alert you?"

"Yes. Also, you will be receiving a guest within the next few hours. Make sure he has access to the pilot's chair. Before he arrives, switch to code language Alpha Alpha Foxtrot."

"Use of cipher for Alpha Alpha Foxtrot, confirmed. I assume the guest will be the hunter? Do you plan to explain the real reason you went in there?"

"No Ensign, and that means you won't either."

"Understood, sir."

"Good. Carry on."

The actual target had always been the Baron. He was known to throw expensive parties where every debauchery was discretely satisfied. They were frequented by both Republic and Imperial politicians alike, whose loosened morals tended to loosen their tongues as well.

It was a ruse, of course. He would plant recording devices everywhere, capturing sensitive information that he could later sell, or put to use.

Fenn'rys felt that the Baron's information would be better exploited in her hands. It was her stock and trade after all. Thus the need for the operation.

The Baron would protest initially, of course. After a few days of interrogation, however, he would come around. They always did. They just didn't always come around with facilities intact... or alive, for that matter.

Drokk'it didn't need to know that... or that he was a decoy from the start.

His initial assessment of the situation was, of course, correct. The hunter had good instincts.

Sending Kaliyo in to a high class soiree was akin to hitting a Rancor in the eye with 500,000 volts and setting it loose in a fine Alderaanian wares shop.

She knew that between the two of them, Drokk'it and Kaliyo would get thrown out.

Kaliyo never skipped a chance to challenge authority, which guaranteed a fight would ensue. Parties of that nature had certain... rules, after all.

Drokk'it would not allow a teammate to fight alone, which guaranteed he would join in. He had certain rules as well.

Together, they guaranteed the Baron would leave the ballroom for the safety of his bedroom... and right into Fenn'rys' waiting arms. No one would see her, no one would ever know she was there.

All of her operations played out in this manner. It was one of the reasons the original Keeper had favored her over other Cipher agents.

It had also earned her the nickname, 'The Phantom' in Intelligence circles... well, those circles that knew she existed.

Fenn'rys stepped into her quarters and filed the operation docket away neatly in the secure cabinet. She stretched a bit, then removed and stowed her boots, and meticulously put her jacket on a hanger.

She then walked over to another cabinet and removed a bottle of cognac and a snifter.

She looked at its mate, sitting on the shelf, alone.

Maybe she would go and join Drokk'it a bit later. Maybe share her brandy. It was some of the finest in the galaxy after all.

No, if she was to play this correctly, she would have to be patient. Drokk'it still didn't trust her... yet.

No matter. It had been almost 15 years since she'd last spent time with him. Waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt.

So this story was born out of a couple of people wanting to see a little more of Fenn'rys and what job she was going to make Drokk'it do (Waking the Sleeping Reaper, pt.3, linked in the opening above). Hopefully, those of you who wanted to see more, this was worth the wait. And there's more on the way.

Kaliyo may or may not be a Sister to the Lady of Pain. It's Kaliyo, so she may be pulling stuff right out her wazoo, but I think Kaliyo would know about the Lady, as notorious as she is in the Underworld.

The formal wear I used was the stuff you get in the Nexus cantina on Dromund Kaas (Social 1 required). I use it for my sinper right now, but I viewed it on Drokk, and MAN did it look two sizes too small. Never saw male formal wear that had the "bulge".

Mellekor is a Zabrak Warrior, prodigiously talented with the Force, diligent in his study of the ways of the Dark Side. He is a proud man, and as much a traditionalist as an alien can be. The unavoidable recognition that a mere alien can have the fortitude to come out ahead forces him into some uncomfortable realizations on occasion, particularly as regards his slave, Vette.

Ananz is a Twi'lek, a slave until his gifts with the Force were discovered and he was sent to Korriban Academy. Proud, short-tempered, quick to apportion and punish guilt, with a long slow burn of resentment against slavers in general and the oppressors of Twi'leks in particular, he cuts a messy path to prominence. At the same time, he has a playful sense of humor and he wonders what it would be like to be normal. Nobody's slave, nobody's dictator, just a free man. He isn't sure he'll ever get the chance.

When Mellekor is moved to set Vette free on Tatooine, he expects her to leave and never come back. She stays, though, still serving as a mouthy second opinion. It isn't until he starts training his apprentice Jaesa in the ways of the Dark Side that Vette announces she's had enough watching this career and walks out. Mellekor moves on, telling himself he lost nothing. He takes Jaesa as a lover in part to show everyone that the Twi'lek means nothing to him. But when Darth Baras starts a campaign of cutting down Mellekor's supporters Mellekor contacts Vette again, asking her to stay with him until he can eliminate the threat.

He cannot persuade her to stay after that.

Vette meets a plainclothes, artifact-repatriating Ananz about a year after the class line ends. His identity doesn't stay hidden for long, but they hit it off as Ananz dedicates every moment he can steal to this normal half of a double life. If Mellekor notices he is determined not to admit that it bothers him.

And that's the personal setup when the canon events of Ilum kick into motion.

Ananz is a smidgen above average height, rangy, with green skin and straight slashing marks on his lekku. Mellekor is tall, powerfully built, with red skin and black tattoos. They both exist exclusively on the SFC.

Vierce and his younger brother Kirsk grew up on the Imperial-occupied world of Kegled II. The planetary resistance continued well after the Republic/Empire war ended; four years before the game timeline starts, the Empire finally withdrew, leaving Vierce and a number of his resistance friends free to join the Republic Army. (Because the Republic totally didn't help the resistance because that would be a violation of the treaty. Nope. Cough, cough.)

Their father was killed by Imperial forces seventeen years before the game timeline starts, when Vierce was seven and Kirsk was five; Mama Savins still lives in their house in West Ford City.

Kirsk is charming, flaky, outgoing, mischievous, impulsive, poor at planning, questionable at execution. The job of smuggler appeals to him, especially the part about being able to take his own ship and disappear whenever he feels like it. A cyborg and an accomplished slicer, Kirsk avoided the heavy combat of the resistance movement. He copes with the darkness of his upbringing by...not, mostly. Irrepressible creature that he is, he just keeps moving: there's too much to do and see and have fun with.

Vierce, by contrast, is gruff, tenacious, conservative, earnest, realistic in planning, unstoppable in execution. He's cautious in some ways except when he's angry. Imps make him angry. He's a big guy, head and shoulders taller than many, with a face scarred on one side from burns sustained during a reckless charge during a resistance raid. He stays in touch with a number of his peers from his Ridgeside neighborhood; the notable lost one was Illyris, a much-loved girlfriend who was captured and killed in an Imperial sting. Vierce left Kegled II after its liberation to join several of his friends in signing on with the Republic to take the fight to the Empire. He was getting along fine with his concepts of justice, fairness, and killing all Imps, until General Garza dropped an Imperial defector on his ship.

He kept on with the job, relying heavily on his friendship with Aric Jorgan. Vierce did not welcome Elara Dorne. The development from hostile distrust to grudging respect took a while, and it look a longer while for Vierce to realize that the nature of his preoccupation with the accent-flaunting Imp had changed in response to the witness of her character. Lucky for him, she noticed his good points, too, and came to recognize the work he put in to overcome his lifetime of conditioning in order to give her a chance. They got there eventually. Just like Kirsk said they would.

Vierce's stories span from about age seven to age twenty-seven. Most of his story is on the SFC. He has a few additional class mission stories on his standalone thread over this way.

Dankin set his ship down on the landing pad and unstrapped himself from the pilot's seat. He pulled his blasters from under the control panel, holstered them, and walked down to the exit ramp, adjusting his hat as he went. Akaavi and Corso were waiting by the ramp.

The ramp lowered and Dankin walked down and was met by a dockmaster in a blue-gray uniform and two armed soldiers. He frowned. That wouldn't be standard procedure. This was supposed to be an easy run. Setting himself at ease, he greeted the officer.

"Name?" asked the dockmaster.

"Davik Onasi," Dankin said. "My ship is the Silver Dart."

"Cargo?"

"Foodstuffs for the locals."

"Quantity?"

"Fifteen crates."

"Sign here."

The dockmaster handed Dankin a datapad and Dankin quickly typed in his false name before returning it to the dockmaster.

"Good day, Master Onasi."

The dockmaster and his troopers left and Dankin sighed in relief. Then he turned to look up the ramp at Corso and Akaavi.

"Unload the rifles," he said. "The Republic resistance is counting on them."

"Right away," Corso replied.

I imagine that after Act 3, the smuggler doesn't spend a lot of time smuggling to non-Republic people.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"Take a seat, Ensign."

"You're in the only chair, Sir."

"The bed is quite comfortable."

"I, Sir, I, ah--"

"Sit, Ensign. That's an order."

The dark-skinned young Human perched gingerly on the edge of the bed, stiffly at attention, her face flushed.

"Really, Temple, have I given you any reason to believe that I'm going to assault you? One might begin to think you don't trust me."

"No, Sir, I, um, well, Sir, it's just--"

Cipher Nine sighed and rolled her eyes, then remembered and tilted her face up as well. "Must I apologize again for the seduction training incident? I told you, you should see it as a compliment to your skill at deception; I completely believed that you welcomed my attentions."

"Yes, Sir, thank you, Sir, it's only--" Raina stopped, cleared her throat, shook herself a bit, then visibly relaxed, even going so far as to lean back on her hands and cross her legs at the knee. "Anyway, Cipher, what did you want to see me about?"

The white of her sudden grin was shocking in the middle of her previously stern blue face. "Oh, very nice, Ensign."

Raina grinned back at her, apparently completely at ease with a close friend. Only long familiarity let the Cipher see it for the lie it was. "Well, I have been practicing. There wasn't much else to do on Ilum while we waited for you to get back from whatever Moff Regus had you doing."

"Ugh, don't remind me. Those people he had me saddled with nearly got me killed."

"Oh? You seemed on pretty friendly terms with that Sith Lord."

"That 'Sith Lord,' as you call her, is Darth Imperius, on the Dark Council itself. She was aware of our mutual interests and invited me to discuss them. And one simply does not refuse a Dark Council member."

Raina's grin turned naughty. "It must have been quite the discussion. It took nearly as long as the ops preceding it. Was Kaliyo very upset? I can tell you that Vector was. I don't know why you keep stringing him along."

Cipher's tone turned frosty. "Ensign, Vector's delusions about me are not my fault. I have made it clear on multiple occasions where my interests lie and have never done anything to encourage him in the slightest."

A sudden wave of fear rolled off of Raina, putting the lie to her cheerful laugh. "Oh, don't be like--What is it, Sir?" The sudden shift back to her natural posture would have been disconcerting if the Agent had been paying attention.

"You're projecting your emotions."

"Ah, that is the point of acting, isn't it, Sir?"

"No, Ensign, I mean, literally projecting your true emotions. I could feel your fear just there."

"Oh! I, ah, now that you mention it, Sir, I do feel the Force rather strongly just now." The fear increased to the point that Eleeta had to put it in a box to put aside.

"You need to relax, Ensign."

"I'm, I'm trying, Sir."

The effort to keep from trembling in fear was getting harder. "Imagine that your fear is a physical object, that you can lift with your--" The intercom chimed.

"Agent, we are sorry to interrupt, but we fear we are under attack. There is a palpable sense of dread being imposed on us from without."

"I'm aware of the situation and am handling it now, Vector. Deal with it as best you can." She cut the 'com and turned back to Raina. "Where were we? Ah, yes. Imagine taking hold of your fear. Ah, in fact, imagine that you're reading a report on your fear. It's clearly quite important, but you can see that it's not something that demands immediate attention. Move it from the 'Urgent' folder to the--ah, speaking of urgent." She hit the 'com. "SCORPIO?"

"Yes, Agent."

"Distract Kaliyo for a moment. Do not allow her into the engine room, the infirmary, the bridge, or my quarters. The conference room should be fine." She cut the 'com again and closed all channels except emergency. Kaliyo was especially destructive when she was afraid, and not knowing the source would probably make it worse. She turned back to Raina, who was now breathing heavily and shuddering just a bit, once more. The fear was spiking up and down, and there was starting to be some anger as well. She kept her breathing and her voice steady and resumed. "The fear report is very interesting, isn't it? You'd really like to take some time to study it more carefully, but you have more pressing concerns. Put it away and come back to it later. It will still be there after you've dealt with, for instance--" This was a risk, but if it didn't work she was probably going to have to tranq the girl anyway. "--unwanted advances from your commanding officer." Three quick moves and Temple was on her back on the bed with the Cipher perched over her hips, holding her hands above her head. Like a switch being thrown, the fear was gone. Eleeta nearly lost her composure completely, the relief was so sudden.

Neither of them moved for a moment, Raina gasping for breath, sweat evident on her forehead now that they were so close. She closed her eyes, turned her head to the side and visibly swallowed. "Can, can you let me up now, Sir? I believe I'm in control of myself again."

Cipher sat still for another moment, her hands still pinning Raina's to the bed. Finally, "Hmph. Straight girls. Such teases. Get a poor girl all worked up, then leave her panting." Her breathing was, in fact, perfectly steady and her expression was her usual business face. She got to her feet, pulled Raina upright, then sat back in her desk chair.

"Ahem, well, Sir, it's not my fault you lot are so easy to manipulate. Worse than men, really."

Keeping the sudden swell of pride and affection out of her voice was much harder than keeping the fear away had been, but she managed, just. "Well, I had my doubts about your new assignment, but not anymore."

Part of the problem with writing characters who play things so close to the vest, as pretty much all of the Agent's associated characters do, is how much to put into the narration and how much to leave to the reader to suss out on their own. It doesn't help that I've just gotten through reading the Vlad Taltos series and have pretty much stolen the idea that there are things, major important plot things, he just doesn't talk about, either because he doesn't care or because it's none of your business, and you just get to speculate, although since that series is mostly written in first person that works a lot better as a conceit.

These characters have been working together for a long time, now, though, and they're all very private to start with, so there are a lot of things that they will understand between themselves that they will feel no need to talk about with each other, and a lot of the time I'm not going to talk about it in the narration, either.

All of that, of course, is going right out the window if and when I ever get around to Zel's crew. They're a much more talkative, emotive bunch. Well, most of them. Certain Chagrians are hard to write because they're so dull.