Ask Raxus Cipher Six

[Levik Karn]

CIPHER SIX​

Three months after the attack on the Imperial Knight's Castle and the Imperial Security Bureau was still running on mere guesses and other kinds of assumptions. It was so bad that the interim director, no one had yet replaced Val Vathra despite her most likely having died in a covert operation on the planet Manaan, had decided to call in one of the Empire's highest ranked investigators.

Commander Karn's shuttle touched down on the landing pad of Raxus' Sixth Garrison. Most of the defected soldiers that had attacked the castle had come from here and the ISB had managed to add one of their own to the complement of soldiers meant to replace the defectors. 'Cipher Six' those extras at intelligence called the agent and as it usually did, it caught a nerve with Levik. Detectives and spies weren't usually a good combination, but luckily for him he had managed to mention his rank in the conversation with the intelligence division and had managed to become the spy's handler in the process.

The privileges of rank. Just like this 'surprise inspections'.

"Commander Karn, we-" the lieutenant wavered, "-we weren't expecting you today." Several of the Peacekeeper officers that had accompanied Levik on the Kanpa-class shuttle were now exiting and filling up much of the garrisson's landing pad. It was a show of force like any other and Levik played the part, "That's usually how it works with surprise inspections, lieutenant." The Director had been clear; treat everyone except the replacing soldiers as potentially involved with the attack on the castle. There were reasons to believe the attackers hadn't devised their plan of attack on their own and were merely recruited. Whoever recruited them had to be here.

Finding them out was the cipher agent's job.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

The fact that she was already investigating similar cases of insurrections made her especially qualified for this job. Today she was Sgt. Tarlan, stationed as a transfer to serve as a guard at the building. Her goal was the technology department to get into some of the consoles here, but she had to learn the schedules of other units rapidly. Hopefully Karn would offer more windows.

She could see the anxiety around the Commander’s ‘surprise visit’, and she observed her surroundings for now. The Lt. that met Karn rapidly commed others about his visit, which is where she came in.

Alita looked up as a few enlisted soldiers scrambled in different directions. She played dumb, glancing over at a passing soldier, “What’s going on?”

“Surprise inspection,” The soldier grumbled, “Always such a pain in the ass.”

“Sounds like it,” She sighed, “How can I help?”

Meanwhile, the Lt that Karn met was both panicking and furious. He was leading Levik towards the cafeteria and other unassuming areas to stall, “This is the second surprise inspection in a month. We’ve been clean and yet you keep coming by and disrupting our process,” He said. ISB would have had no record of another inspection. Levik could decide to divulge that intel or keep it to himself for now.

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Commander Karn frowned at the lieutenant as they walked into the cafateria, "Remind me, lieutenant-" he made a show of turning towards her when the cafetaria was filled with off-duty or on-a-break imperial soldiers, "-when did loyalty to the Imperial principle become bothersome to your-" his eyes narrowed and he paused long enough for her to realize she mad a colossal mistake. "-process?"

His own Peacekeepers moved, scanning the room and one even unclipped the holster that held his Imperial-issued pistol. If there wasn't already a clear definition of antagonistic, then the Imperial Dictionary would just enter a recording of this very moment. This inspection of a garrisson whose loyalty wavers and a strict Imperial Commander that does not have it in him to bend his principles. "but Commander," she stammered, her voice was in a higher pitch than before, "-the Imperial Security Bureau already identified the culprits of the attack on the Imperial Knights." She tried it, that much Levik would give her credit for. He'd be more likely to write it in her obituary than in her imperial dossier if she kept this going, though.

"And where did the men and women who murdered good Imperials-" calling the Imperial Knights 'good Imperials' actually made him vomit a little, but if he didn't play the boogeyman then Cipher Six couldn't latch onto existing resentments. "-come from?"

Once again the lieutenant dry-swallowed, her gaze momentarily going over the room that was filled with her subordinates as her authority over them and in fact her entire career in the Imperial military was evaporating in a very public way. "They were all stationed here, commander."

Levik pretended to be surprised as he turned towards the room. None of the men and women that had been sitting and eating there had the guts to stand up and leave, so Levik found himself an audience to play his theatrics to. "Where they," one of his fingers went up as if he had an idea and then slowly turned to looke at the lieutenant, "all part of the same unit, then?" the lieutenant almost unnoticably shook her head, "No, Commander."

Again the Commander turn to the room in shocked surprise, "No?" he repeated, "No didn't come from the same unit, did they," he said rethorically, still very much putting up a display that everyone would recognize as a superior officer berating and belittling his subordinate, "then what connected them?"

If she had the ability to sink through the floor, or otherwise turn invisible, Levik was sure the lieutenant would've done so. He was in the proces of ruining her career, perhaps even any future career as well as the Imperial Security Bureau did keep records and took notice on its lowest class of Imperial failures. But, strangely enough, he didn't feel much like he cared or took pity on her. It wouldn't be the first time he ruined a life while he could've easily avoided it. "Nothing, sir." the lieutenant admitted after a moment of contemplative silence, "No shared quarters, no shared breaks, no shared duties. Only thing was this garrisson."

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

The scene at the cafeteria was drawing quite a bit of attention. Several soldiers gathered to listen and the man she spoke to signaled for her to join him to eavesdrop. From her position she could make out Levik shredding the Lieutenant in front of all her subordinates. Six could feel the others near her tensing, some of them whispering about how painful this was to watch.

“I don’t blame the people that acted out,” Six whispered, eyes narrowing, “Look at that fucking asshole just acting like he owns the place. Like he knows everything. Like he knows what it’s like. I bet one of those Forcies manipulated him and has him for a pet,” She rapidly whispered, seeing a few nods of agreement. She decided to add some embellishment that really did fit what the ISB was capable of, “I heard his group is tracking down the families of the soldiers garrisoned here."

There was a collective gasp, more whispers and chatter erupting. She looked at the soldiers around her, “We’re not safe anywhere. They won’t stop till they strip us of rank and make us disappear.”

There was quiet muttering and chatter of dismay, “It’s ridiculous because the Lieutenant wasn’t even involved,” A man blurted out. Another soldier next to him nudged him.

“What? She wasn’t. She’s getting grilled for no reason. Look at her.”

Six didn’t push just yet, but she filed that bit of information down in her mind. She profiled the man that said it. A younger guy, freshly enlisted.

Coin Flip: Tails - Lt didn't have anything to do with the planning for the attack

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Levik paused, waited, as he looked around the cafetaria. He spotted his cipher among them and hoped that his theatrics had done its job. "Prepare the longroom," the Commander finally told the lieutenant whose will he had thoroughly broken, reffering to the cafetaria that was exclusively for the higher-ranked officers. "We will start with the officers. No one is to leave. Recall all patrols." the interviews with the higher-ranked would take an entire day, then Levik would order other peacekeepers to start interviewing the soldiers, guards and patrolmen stationed there. This wasn't their first rodeo of it. Since the attack on the Imperial Knights Castle this garrisson has had several similar inspections. The lieutenant simply nodded and snapped into attention, 'Yes Commander, right away commander." and turned on her heels to make the preparations he demanded of her.

Levik waited a second longer and let his stern uncompromising Imperial gaze fell over the gathered men and women of the garrisson. He estimated more than one would turn out to be a traitor, or at least in league with traitors which made them just as bad. There was a line with insubordination that you couldn't cross, that Levik never crossed and that was never to hurt those who truly believe in the principle.

Another moment and he made a signal to the other peacekeepers to fall out and follow the lieutenant. He did as well, after a short, "Carry on."

One of the guards close to Cipher Six closed his hands into fists and slammed one on the table, "Someone should make sure that commander gets an accident or something."

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

When Levik turned to look, she met his gaze and gave the subtlest nod. That nod meant that things were about to get unpleasant for him. There were just enough people riled up and just enough tension to create the perfect storm. She needed to sell it just enough to get recruited into whatever secret group was involved with multiple instances of insurgencies across Imperial space.

She heard the Imperial next to her and she nodded, “Then let’s make it happen.”

“What?”

“He is going to squeeze us all till we sign confessions,” She whispered rapidly, “Look at the Lieutenant! He broke her,” Six shook her head, “I will drop him, get everyone else out,” The plan was risky, especially because she didn’t want to put any Imperial lives in harm’s way.

She waited until all the Peacekeepers filed into the next room. Levik was straggling in the back. She aimed and fired her pistol, popping him with a medium stun to drop him right there. She followed up by hurling a smoke grenade to temporarily obscure the view. The soldiers around her sprang to action, though many of them remained confused. They scattered in different directions, but she bolted and ran from the scene.

Alarms began to blare almost immediately and she rushed through the corridors. She glanced over at the soldier from earlier, “Lock all the doors behind us!” She shouted. She noticed at least one of the soldiers was a high ranking officer running from interrogations. He swiped his keycard and locked down every door behind himself.

Six’s move had been brash, but the potential traitors needed to see her do something overt to be convinced of her recruitment potential. She darted outside, pausing to catch her breath. She looked at the small group of people gathered around her, “What have I done?” She asked in exasperation, “I…I..”

“You’re not alone,” The officer that escaped said, “Come on,” He jutted his chin and led the way towards a parked ship.

And so began a whole new sting operation.

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Levik didn't even know what happened. One moment he was making his way to the interrogation room and the next he woke up on his back with the faces of several peacekeepers above him, checking his responses by snapping their fingers from all sides of his head. "Commander Karn? I think he's conscious again. Where are you, sir?"

For a moment Levik tried to frown, but that hurt his head and then the intense noise of the alarms registered and induced quite the headache. "What a stupid question, officer-" he groaned and tried to sit up straight again, which only succeeded with a little bit of help from the officer, "-we're on Taris where I-" he paused and looked down the unfamiliar hallway, "-no wait, that's not right. Raxus. I'm on Raxus and," a couple of armed and armored peacekeepers ran passed into another hallway shouting things like "They got a ship," and "Don't let them escape."

"You were shot, commander. Medium stun to the back," the officer explained and Levik's head jerked at him in surprise, anger and shock as his eyes widened, "Who did this?" Who would have the nerve to shoot him in the back inside a kriffing Imperial garrisson. He was Commander Levik Karn, for kriffing sake. "A woman guard. Dark hair. She tossed a smoke grenade and fled with a couple others. We're trying to ascertain their names."

No need, Levik thought. Kriffing Cipher Agents. With considerable support from an extra officer, the commander rose to his feet just in time to see the lieutenant he had berated earlier return. Her look seemed worried but they both knew she'd be enjoying this if it wasn't for the fact that apparently there were still traitors around that felt the secure enough to act out so brazingly. Her command sucked and she would no doubt be demoted and assigned to re-indoctrination. "Commander Karn," she said in a voice he immediately recognized as a 'bad news voice', "Someone fried our systems. We have no way of knowing who shot you or joined her in her flight." Kriff. The only way to find out the identities of those that fled with Cipher Six was to request official data from the Imperial Security Bureau headquarters and manually match the names with those still present on base. If there was a single officer in that group with the Cipher Agent then the Empire wouldn't know in time to flag their imperial access codes.

This entire thing now relied on Cipher Six.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six went completely off the radar. Levik would be left stewing in what happened for a few days. Since the grand escape, she tagged up with the insurgent group. They jumped out of Imperial space and she was soon recruited within their ranks. She couldn’t rouse suspicion, so it had taken her days to get back into contact again.

Levik would get a call from an unknown source one day. If he answered, he would hear a female voice, “Apologies about the stun..” There was a pause, “I’m in.”

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

The lieutenant had been demoted. Not just to sergeant or cadet, either, but straight out of the Imperial Security Bureau. She was a grunt now, cleaning the latrines of a forward post out in a swamp world where everyone had the runs. She would probably hate Commander Karn for the rest of her life, but it was her own failure to allow rebellion to fester in her ranks. Levik had written her to be partly responsible not just for the attack on the Imperial Knight Castle, but also on the attempt on his own life. No one knew that it was a cipher agent that purposefully hit him with a stun bolt, though, but that couldn't be a reason for leniency either. While Cipher Six was undercover there could be no risk to exposing her cover identity and that meant he had to use the full weight of the security bureau to punish the unwitting lieutenant.

By now he was back in his office on Taris, watching the rain pour down on the capital city as his music player in the corner played some Jossy. He couldn't really put himself to focus on the reports and other administrative caveats he had to fill in before the end of day and every now and then his gaze shifted towards the empty place on his wall-mounted shelf that he fixed in preparation for someone getting him the Traitor's Smirk.

His thoughts weren't on Imperial business either, for he had recently acquired a Book of Shadows and while he copied the contents of rituals and nightsister magic, none of which made any sense to him who couldn't even sense the Force, the promise of the multiple fortunes he would make from selling their secrets was keeping him occupied regardless. The only thing that could pull him away from his revery was -ofcouse- a call on the secret line. "Kriffing finally," Levik sighed as he plugged in the earpiece to make sure no one could overhear the conversation and opened the bottle of cognac on his desk. He had kept it unopened, waiting for either good news or bad, but he knew that whatever Cipher Six had to report, he would need a drink at the end of it.

"Yakotori Seafood and supplies," the commander said flatly, not risking that someone would call him to check whether or not the woman they had killed was indeed a cipher, "What can I help you with today?" he had memorized the codelines that he had to start with and the proper response to confirm her identity.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

“It’s Madam Clara. I need to make a reservation at one of your restaurants,” She said. While the line may have been secure, her location was not. She couldn’t risk speaking frankly, “For ten. You still have Kirruk soup? That was strongly requested,” A bit of digging and he’d know right away it meant Ossus, “Next Tuesday. Nothing fancy, so tell them to keep the birthday antics to a minimum,” The insurgents going in were wary about ambushes. They planned on breaking in and sabotaging a location and stealing supplies. Levik would have to be subtle about heading off the attack and stopping it, “And tell Dina I said hi,” That would be the last detail he needed to pin down the exact Imperial facility that would come under attack.

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

These Cipher Agents might be real professions, but that didn't mean everyone else was just as quick with the code languages. Levik made notes on his datapad, Kirruk Soup?, Tuesday, Minimum birthday antics and Who is Dina? All the while he listened, "Glad you're okay, Cipher Six." His gaze shifted to the bottle of cognac which he had just opened. Turns out to be celebratory bottle, after all.

That is, "Be aware I'm writing you up for shooting your handler in the back," his voice sounded annoyed, but more caring that it would under different circumstances. He knew the game, he knew how the Imperial Security Bureau operated and that in this moment there was only one of them risking their lives for the safety of the Empire. "A Cipher designation doesn't mean you can just blaster everyone, no matter how much you dislike them. There are rules everyone in this bureau has to follow." it was a typical tirade for a cipher, really, they were known to go a little off-book sometimes, "so you better stay alive out there. At least until I can debrief your violation to the Director." and since they didn't technically have an active director right now, just an interim, that meant he was more or less giving her an order to be careful and not die.

Somehow as he stared at the coded message he'd scribbled down it all started to click. An attack at an Imperial facility on Ossus, this tuesday, but don't make the trap too obvious. They're wary of ambushes. "Are you coming, too?" he asked her as a final question. If she was coming along he would have to brief the team not to use lethal bolts.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

There was silence throughout the admonishment. A moment later, there was a soft laugh on the other end of the comlink. It was genuine, warm laughter. They both knew the game. They both knew the rules. There was a pause before she spoke, verifying that she was entirely alone, “I’ll be okay. I’ve got you watching my Six,” She couldn’t resist, “I won’t be joining for dinner,” There was a click, and she was gone.

–​

“It was a pain in the ass getting the rotation schedule,” Garn said to his fellow insurgent. They had all been Imperials before, but ISB outed several of them. The number of people they had on the inside was dwindling. However, they knew their way around their old bases to loot them. After the overt Imperial Knight base hit, they were told to do lowkey operations. Ossus generally didn’t have high security, so this would be a breeze.

“Rancor 2 checking in, give me a status report,” He spoke into his comlink.

“We are good to go, we have Rancor 4 and 8 in the cargo vehicle.”

Two insurgents were posing as supply delivery drivers. The massive supply speeder was just pulling into the cargo bay of the Imperial base. The objective was to discreetly stock this up with weapons and armor and sell it in Hutt space. As the Empire was desperately dealing with dwindling assets thanks to the sanctions, the cost of Imperial tech was soaring all over the galaxy.

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

With his cloaking device engaged, Commander Karn was nearly invisible to the naked eye. So were the six peacekeepers he had brought along. All six of them were training in urban combat, gang warfare and special peacekeeping operations. They were perhaps the finest men that Taris had to offer and Levik had made sure to claim them all. As was his perogative as the highest-ranked peacekeeper of Taris Station.

click-click the signal buzzed into his earpiece. Targets had arrived right on schedule. Tuesday, this facility on Ossus. There was no way the local guards would have flagged ordinary delivery drivers if it hadn't been for Cipher Six' intel. She was good at her job, Levik would give her that and it was a refreshing change of pace to boot.

click-buzz-click he signalled back, giving them all the order to wait. They were hiding among the crates with weapons and armor, waiting for their prey to come to them and lull them into a false sense of security.

Levik watched as the massive supply speeder was slowly driven into the cargo bay and came to a stop, lowering its ramp to reveal four humans. They were all veterans of the wars, Levik recognized it immediately by their tread and the way they carried themselves while under the stress of their covert operation. Perhaps he had served with them during Sith invasions of the passed. Perhaps, if the dice had fallen differently, he would've been the one wearing a delivery uniform instead of the armor of a peacekeeper.

The moment one of the insurgents came near, Levik fired a stunbolt from point-blank range against the back of the man's head. The other peacekeepers followed quickly and all four insurgents now lay stunned on the floor. There was, however, one part of the Cipher Agent's code that Levik had failed to scribble down; the number of insurgents.

As the two still cloaked peacekeepers approached the speeder the were in time to spot two more desperate-looking delivery men kneeling down to seemingly retrieve blaster rifles from a hidden compartment in floor of the speeder's cargo hold. They quickly fired stun bolts of their own and the two men fell unconscious on top of the opened compartment.

Levik pressed the talk button, click-click-click-click. Four down. One of the two that were now inside the speeder replied, click-click.

Suddenly the door on the driver's side opened and Levik locked eyes with an utterly surprised man who saw his four compatriots unconscious on the floor and four -now no longer cloaked- peacekeepers standing above them. "What the-" he began and then suddenly pulled back into the cabin and closed the door.

Immediately Levik and the four nearby peacekeepers dashed towards the speeder van, "We've been made!" the commander cried as the speeder's engines came back to life.

One of the peacekeepers switched the setting on his rifle and blasted the cabin's window open as the drive was about to put it in reverse. Another moment later and another threw a flashbang grenade right into the cabin of the still slow-moving speeder van.

_____

Ten minutes later and all ten insurgants were stun-cuffed and lined up next to their speeder van. "Check their mugshots," Levik ordered before lighting a cigarette with his golden Eriadu Naval Academy lighter, "cross-reference service records. Show me their next of kin. Their addresses. Everything."

Three of the insurgents immediately looked up with an expression of horror and disgust. Good, then they probably had families within reach of the Imperial Security Bureau.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

“ALL TEN OF THEM!” The man screamed as he punched the wall hard enough to put a dent in it, “ALL. TEN! I WAS TOLD OSSUS WAS LOW SECURITY! WHO FUCKED THIS UP?!”

Six stayed quiet. It was her and five others in the room. They were on reserve for the Rancor Op that was a colossal failure.

“They were expecting us,” The man hissed, “And we don’t even know HOW!”

She flinched right with the others when the man slammed his fist yet again. He was pacing back and forth, “Someone’s onto us. We have to start digging. The Peacekeepers have never been so on top of things before,” He growled, “The Oracle will be furious.”

The Oracle, from what Six gathered, was the Mastermind behind all this. Only the very elite in the insurgent group could get in those inner circles.

Six thought for a moment. This entire thing would fall apart if they took Levik out of the game or started to drill into him. She rapidly thought on her feet, glancing at the angry insurgent.

“We can’t take our eyes off the target,” She said, “We need to be strategic about what we hit.”

She had their attention. Normally a newbie would be brushed off, but she had gotten street cred from them all witnessing her icing a Commander.

“What do you suggest?”

“Let me work it.”

—​

The next day, Yakitori Seafood and Supplies got another call from Madam Clara, “The food at your restaurant was terrible. The guests want to lodge a complaint with the chef,” A subtle remark that the insurgents were trying to drill in on Levik, “I will need to personally review your food shipment for quality. And send droids so the job actually gets done,” The insurgency needed to have a win. Only then could Six get into the upper echelons and towards the head of the snake. Her proposal was to lead an attack on a cargo transport being shipped with merchandise. If the operation succeeded, the chances were high she would be able to go right to this ‘Oracle’.

This was risky, but her job almost always was. It would be up to Levik to set the scene, “I will call you in three day’s time. Prepare to give me logistics then.”

Click.

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

The needle was extracted from the base of the man's neck as Levik watched with a bored, and slightly frustrated, expression on his face. In front of him, strapped to chair and attached to various Imperial machinery was a human military-aged male. whose eyes nearly rolled back in his head from the pain that was just injected into his nervous system. "You're tough and I can appreciate that," he turned the datapad he was holding around and showed the man a video of his four-year-old daughter playing in their apartment's living room. "But how tough would she be if I hooked her up to the same machine?"

The man, Lenny Garco, had been an Imperial Sergeant for nearly a decade before he decided to become an insurgant and betray the loving fatherly embrace of the Empire. It had taken the Imperial Security Bureau about half a day before they discovered that his wife had rented an apartment in the historic section of Theed on the planet Naboo. By now a local man associated with the Blackout Fleet was filming them at their home. One word from Levik and the man would kidnap both Lenny's loved ones and bring them to Raxus for the extended torture sessions, courtesy of the helpless witness; their father and husband.

Lenny was beat. He was sweating profusely, forcing the torturer to hook him up to an extra bag of liquids so he wouldn't dry out, and he had bitten off a piece of his tongue earlier because the mouthgard hadn't been inserted properly and the shock-treatment had made it impossible to unclench his jaw. Honest mistake from the torturor, Levik didn't hold it against the man.

"Please, they have nothing to do with this," Lenny's voice was weak and his eyes already red and strained from tears. He would tell the Empire everything he knew. The Imperial Security Bureau had never met a sentient they couldn't bend to their will. "Who recruited you?" Levik asked in that particular tone of voice reserved for brisk command.

"Ceryn Ditko, Engineer First Class. Imperial Space Ship Sandoval," Lenny let out a defeated sigh and seemed to mutter an apology as the Imperial lieutenant next to Levik entered the name into a database. "Failed her loyalty test two weeks ago. Executed last thurday." Well, that was convenient, but looking at the sudden surprise in Lenny's eyes that was very much new information to the traitor. Unfortunately for the ISB it was a dead end.

"Who leads the insurgency?" the commander asked just as he spotted his second enter and signal to him that he had an important incoming call. Kriff, bad timing. Lenny seemed to doze off a little, probably due to exertion and pain. His mind realized that he had failed to resist and some of the stress that came with continued resistence now ebbed away. "Only ever heard of the Oracle," he said as he closed his eyes. The heart monitor was dropping, too, so Levik quickly motioned for the medic that was standing by, "Keep him alive and conscious. I'll be back in a minute."

____________

Cipher Six communicated in her usual coded dribble. She needed a win, but that was to be expected. It was standard tactic to first thing the ranks, then become the golden boy or girl with a succesful operation in order to get to the inner circle. Fine, Levik would set up a cargo transport operated by droids and local patrolmen. They'd be expendible, just as the cargo.

There was something more important that he just barely managed to slip into the conversation before the Cipher killed the connection; "Get me the identity of the Oracle." They'd have a torture room of their own waiting for them.

____________

Three days later the Cipher agent was briefed in their usual coded dribble. The Intelligence division of the bureau had helped him come up with a code in which the agent would be well-versed. Pirate activity near Junction had caused problems for Imperial bulk cargo shipments between the two territories in the galactic north. A supportive Serenno noble had offered his lands as temporary depot. Security was relatively low. Imperial battle droids and Serenno local guards. The depot had everything from foodstuffs and small-arms to building blocks and armored walkers stored out in the open underneath the starry skies. Cipher Six was allowed to get anything she wanted from it.

It was all obsolete trash, anyway.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

At first glance, the depot looked relatively low-key. Macrobinocs confirmed droids patrolling the perimeter. Good. So far she looked good to the insurgents with the intel she was able to supply. Six despised taking on combat roles, always finding it rather uncivilized. However, she had been trained to be the best at her job, and that often called for fighting. She was outfitted in low quality and older models of Imperial gear, her kit composed of whatever the insurgents managed to steal from their hit and runs.

Instead of a big group, there were five insurgents including her that approached the depot. This would be a quick in and out, and it would be just enough to get into the Oracle’s inner circle. Six was pleased to learn that Levik’s interrogations clearly got him the name, something she couldn’t pass safely just yet from her end.

Under the cover of night, the group began to close in.

--​

Unbeknownst to both Levik and Six, Serrenian spoiled brat Henry Palerma from a long line of nobility was on the scene. He had fucked up one too many times and was forced into enlistment to do mandatory service. And it was to guard some bullshit depot. The audacity of his parents! He passed his time by throwing rocks at the droids or standing around scratching his nether regions. Henry was never going to amount to anything at this rate. His family left him to rot by putting him in these shameful jobs. His overzealous father wanted to show they were ‘helping’ by currying favor with the Empire.

After a few hours on the job, he got bored and lonely. He called over some of his designated ‘soldiers’ that were originally patrolling around a key Serreno diplomatic building. Begrudgingly, the militiamen had to agree since Henry was a noble after all.

Henry was in the middle of picking his nose and digging for gold when his commlink went off.

“Sir, we appear to be spotting some movement heading your way.”

“W-What???”

“Permission to engage, sir.”

“Um, yes! I’ll prepare on my end! Let’s box them in!”

--​

The quiet, calm setting went to shit in seconds. Six realized too late that a whole new group advanced on them from the back. She whirled around, but it was too late. The insurgent next to her took a blaster to chest, and she barely avoided one to the head.

What happened?! Had Levik turned on her? Was he in on the conspiracy all along? Her heart was pounding against her chest as she ran and tried to find some cover. This was not at all how it was supposed to go. Blasterfire erupted all around and she began to realize the primary offense came from a Serenno militia instead of the droids discussed with Levik. What the fuck was going on?

Six looked around and spotted a space to hide. She darted in that direction but someone abruptly jumped into her purview.

A pampered prince of a manchild in overly expensive armor leveled and shot her point blank range.

“Gotcha bitch!” Henry giggled in delight, waving around his blaster. Ohoho, father was going to give him a medal for this!
Thankfully he didn’t know how to take off the stun setting, but Six was out cold all the same..

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Once again Levik was waiting at his desk. It was raining again on Serenno and his screens showed less and less alerts. The Imperial Security Bureau had Taris firmly in its grip and as it coasted casually while the rest of the galaxy was in turmoil, some voices of discontent also rose. "Why stay with the Empire when we're this stable?" they'd say, wrongly omitting that it was thanks to the Empire that they were doing this good to begin with. It was of no real concern to Levik, who considered himself more a member of law enforcement than a politician anyway.

The bottle was on his desk again. Aged Cognac from Naboo this time, still unopened and full. The communicator with the secret line was laying next to it. Jossy once again came over the speakers as the Commander glanced periodically at the empty space on the shelf that he had reserved still for the Traitor's Smirk. Any day now, surely..

Then something happened. Instead of his communicator going off he noticed an alert from Serenno concerning a FAILED attack on the imperial supply depot on planet. "Kriff," he sighed, twisting the bottle open to better deal with the bad news and poured himself a glass as he read the report.

Report on the attack on Imperial Supply Depot 34-dash-12. Location: Serenno
In the dead of night six insurgents tried to sneak onto the depot. Thanks to the heroic actions of Viscount Henry Palerma, four of them had been killed and two taken into custody. They are currently imprisoned at the Palerma estate, awaiting execution.​

He needed a moment. Really. Even the smooth warmed Nabooan cognac could not dissaude the stress causing widened nerves becoming visible at his temples. Cipher Six was either dead or captured. There were too few details to confirm and he was the only one even aware of what she looked like and that she was inbedded with the insurgents. Time to execution, if Levik had any guess he'd say roughly twelve hours.

Kriff it. He could be there in eight. "Droid, get an Imperial shuttle ready."

_______________________________________

Eight hours later and Levik stepped off the shuttle's ramp into the Serenno sun, which stood in stark contrast to the rainy weather he had during his departure from Taris. Two Peacekeepers flanked him as he approached the Count and the Viscount of House Palerma. "I am Commander Karn of the Imperial Security Bureau," he said in an utterly authorative way and the older man nodded, "The Count of Cavalas has spoken rather highly of you, Commander," the man said and then seemed to nudge his son to bow as well. "I'm the one that saved you depot," Henry blurted out to clear surprise of his father, who shot an embarrassed and apologetic smile to Levik, which was only worsened when the Imperial commander merely frowned, "I heard you forgot your blaster was still on stun." The kid's face went red with indignated anger, "Take me to the prisoners."

A few minutes later and Levik stepped into Cipher Six' cell. Or rather, the room that was made into a cell, for the estate didn't in fact have a prison. She had been stun-cuffed to a bed in one of the many guest bedrooms. All things considered it was the best prison cell Levik had ever seen. "What?" he asked as he looked her over to see for any obvious injuries that would need direct attention, "Didn't like the food?"


@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

There was a painful throb in her head, but she was miraculously still alive. She realized she was in a rather nice cell. Were Serrenians ostentatious about everything? Oh, right, there wasn’t actually a prison because none of this was supposed to happen. Six had to fight the urge to vomit as she came to, rubbing her head from the killer headache.

She glanced up when she heard a noise, spotting Karn. She wasn’t planning on seeing him anytime soon, and she wasn’t entirely sure where she stood. For all she knew, he was working with the enemy and trying to root out agents working the case. It didn’t make sense, but she didn’t trust anything these days.

Outwardly, she grinned at his words, rubbing her eyes, “Don’t suppose I can bum a cigarra off you?” She queried, feeling that harsh withdrawal. Her smoking habit was terrible. She reminded herself to kick it for years, and it never went anywhere. She always stopped at stepped 2 or 3 in the 10 step programs, "Why were so many Serrenians there?"

“The gig is up isn’t it..” She said with her head bowed, bitterness bleeding into the tone. She wasn’t sure what happened, but she knew the mission was a colossal failure. There was no way to get to Oracle now unless… She stared at him for a moment, “Are any of the others alive?”

@Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Since her hands were still stuncuffed to the bed, Levik put the cigarra between the Cipher Agent's lips and lit it with his golden Eriadu Naval Academy lighter. It was the only affectation he allowed himself to have and break uniform protocols with, but then who would report a Commander and more importantly to whom would they report it? Brass wasn't interested in uniform violations and Levik made sure not to take out the lighter when in the same room as the interim director or the lieutenant-general himself.

Anyway, "Overzealous noble," he sighed in reply to her question as to the number of Serenno guards that had shown up, and then lit himself a cigarra as well. The room really was nice and it reminded him of the last time he was in a room like this with an attractive woman. Both Kalique and Cipher Six had disappointed the Imperial principle, he mused. Maybe it was a sign of bad luck. Or maybe he judged the agent too harshly and failed to factor in the circumstances. Her insertion into the insurgency cell was impressive, after all. If only it wasn't for those overzealous nobles..

"Those bloody Serrennians left only you and one other alive," Levik shook his head in disbelief. His own trap had been immaculate and he had bagged himself six insurgents that had all been tortured to reveal the little information that they knew. In the Imperial Security Bureau it wasn't a question if someone would hold out under torture, but merely for how long. Eventually they would give them everything. First humiliation. Name of their first crush. Woman they thought about when having sex with their wives.. but so far all they got was a name. The Oracle.

He turned towards the Cipher Agent with a look that was far worse than the disappointment and anger of a superior officer. His expression was softer than that. Levik had felt a strong responsibility for her survival and now realized he had always seen mission success as something that came second. As such, the disappointment that she saw on the Commander was almost fatherly. He was like a disappointed father. "If torture doesn't get use more on that name, then we'll have to re-insert you." which, all cipher agents knew, was almost the same as a death sentence. The Empire didn't care, ofcourse. An individual was replaceable. It was worth the risk in the grand scheme of things.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

That cigarra hit just right, and she came to life when the smoke filled her lungs. She moved the cigarra to balance in the corner of her lip as she spoke, “You won’t extract a name,” She confirmed flatly, “The grunts only know them as Oracle.”

It was a dead end, and it frustrated her to no end. She caught the disappointment on his face, but she had been in this game long enough to know it wasn’t at her. But it did tell her that even he was completely sidelined by the Serrenian arrival. Sometimes every bit of planning could still collapse with outliers in the mix. Her piercing, hawk-like eyes lingered on him for a few moments before she spoke again, “This isn’t a prison. Let me make an organic escape. I’ll need to take the other prisoner with me. Oracle will want to recall all survivors to them after this loss.”

At this point, Oracle’s numbers were dwindling. They would want to hunker down. In some ways, it could even expedite finding that nest. She just had to get the other prisoner, who had been in their service longer, to agree to the idea. Agreement was a much higher possibility if she bailed the guy out of here as well.

“So you can find some reason to go talk to the other guards while I break the prisoner out, I can stun you with your own blaster or…” She flashed him a smile, revealing her fangs. It was only a tease, but a subtle reminder that she had her own weapons. Re-inserting herself was the riskiest option, but she had already made up her mind.

Henry Palerma was likely to be the biggest hurdle in the way. He was hanging around like a fly on poodoo, just waiting for someone to pat him on the back and for opportunities to announce how he prevented a massive terrorist attack. He already tried livestreaming things through Holonet.

@Eccles