Ask Closing In

[Cipher Six]

Six calmly popped another snack into her mouth as he talked, surveying him the entire time. Her gaze was hawk-like and it was difficult to tell what was going through her mind. After all, it was her job to be mysterious and withdrawn.

“Are you this nervous by nature or is it part of your cover?” She asked with the faintest grin as she popped in another snack, “This air of unassuming and innocent but you’ll stab people in the spine when the job calls for it?” Six outlined, leaning back a bit in her seat, “Impressive.”

She thought over his question, “I was a cadet so I was never formally a part of the IAF. However, I did have to run real missions with them as a cadet as part of my prep for Cipher school. These days I take on deployments that are between one to two years long,” She shrugged vaguely.

“I’m admittedly wary of Force users,” She confessed to him, “Nothing personal,” She smirked, “I never know what they can do to my mind. My mind is my last stronghold."

 

[Varyn Atrix]

The fact that Varyn got absolutely nothing from her was both expected and somewhat disorienting in a way. He wasn't an expert at reading people, but she gave off even less of her opinions than most people.

He actually laughed as she asked if the nervousness was part of his cover, the laugh turning into a smirk after a few moments.

It's just part of my charm, you know? he said. It wasn't entirely untrue. He had spent so many years undercover, watching every word, sending everything he said through a filter. Finally being overt about his thoughts was a relief that he appreciated every day. That was the part of the job he didn't miss.

Kriff, he said, eyebrows rising as she mentioned how long her assignments were. He didn't realize Ciphers went under for that long, but he supposed it made sense in a way. They were the most committed agents to the cause, and that required great personal sacrifice.

He nodded as she mentioned being wary of the Force. It was weird to him as someone who grew up around the Force and with the Force in him.

I... can't really blame you, he said, turning thoughtful for a moment. It's something I just grew up around all the time, but so many people have never even met - or just heard a bunch of half-true rumors about - Force user's. And then the Sith didn't really help any of that, he said, finally shrugging.

Yeah, can't blame you, he said, before suppressing a smirk. I'm glad you're willing to at least give me a chance, he said. He wanted to offer a "demonstration" but that felt in some way like it would have been tacky. Maybe later, who knew?

 

[Cipher Six]

“I’ll give you a chance,” She said quietly, “You gave us a chance, didn’t you?” He gave up everything he ever knew to come over to the Sith. She didn’t ask what brought him over - the reason was likely something she would consider silly. Six had her loyalties, but she was still pragmatic. During the Sith and Imperial split, she chose the side that had the better odds despite her family having served under Sith for generations.

Six finished up her snacks and glanced down at her chrono, “All right it’s almost time for me to meet my very handsome date,” She said dryly. She got up and rifled through the case that was on the bed. Now that Levik was back on the scene, she could get things delivered to her. Part of her gadgets included trackers. Six took out a small, circular object and handed it to him, “Find an excuse to bump into him and plant this. You may have to feel him up a little - a simple brush won’t make it stick,” She smirked at him.

With that, she began to walk out of the room, curious to see how this would play out. She already got a text from the Gran, “All right, Romeo’s en route.”

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn just smiled. Often he regretted his decision to join the Sith and sack Yavin, but he never regretted his decision to leave the Sith in favor of the Empire. It was a decision he'd have made again in a heartbeat. He wouldn't ever rule the Empire, but maybe, just maybe, he could actually have a positive impact on it like he had once dreamed. It seemed maybe he'd already started.

Or maybe he was waxing philosophical like he had a tendency to do.

Yeah, he said, checking his chrono as well and taking the tracker she handed him. Fancy little gadget and higher tech than... well, any of the toys he'd had for himself.

Pays to have a budget, he muttered to himself before looking up at her again. Lucky Sith-man for getting to go on a date with her... you know, except for the fact that he might be viciously killed later, but that was neither here nor there.

Lucky me, he said in a sigh-groan combined with a tone that left absolutely no question in anyone's mind that he didn't feel lucky. All part of the business, though.

Alright, let's do it, he said. He took off his outer leather jacket and kept only the inner hoodie, a small thing but on the off-chance he had been spotted earlier, having at least a slightly different outfit could help avoid unwanted notice. Fortunately, Varyn had always been someone that people found it easy not to notice or to forget about after they saw him. One of those faces.

He didn't walk with her, but he was never too far away as they made their way to the meeting point. A relatively secluded area of street near a strip of restaurants was what was ultimately chosen.

Cue Varyn's turn.

He stumbled along down the street, a bottle in hand that he had quickly purchased just before the Sith arrived, and the tracker in the other hand.

He muttered to himself for a bit until he was close enough.

Hey maaaan, you know, we're all the Force's children, aren't we? he said, slapping the man on the back.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, the sticky bit didn't want to just stick to the Sith. It also wanted to stick to Varyn who - when he lifted his hand away - still hadn't liberated himself from the tracker.

Another then.

Like, whad iv we all juz got along man, he said, slurring his words a bit as he slapped and slightly rubbed his hand across the man's back again.

Get off of me, you drunken idiot! the Sith spat, shoving Varyn back and into a wall.

Hey, whoa bruh! Alright, whatever! Varyn said as he started moving to leave.

 

[Cipher Six]

By the time Varyn walked back to where she was, he would see her doubled over. She covered her mouth, practically in hysterics from laughing. It took a moment for her to collect herself, her eyes almost watery from laughter, “Hm, I suppose I could have given you this,” She said as he brought out what looked like a tiny droid spider that could scurry about and plop into someone’s pocket. No adhesive necessary.

Six typed into the burner NalPhone about how she had to cancel the date. After a series of moody texts back, he was on the move. She brought out her datapad, activating the tracker. He showed up on the radar at once, “There we go,” Six said as she nodded to Varyn.

With that, she began to tail the Gran at a distance. She looked over at the Imperial Knight, “Can he…sense we’re onto him?” She asked, “When I was in the docking bay he felt a sense of paranoia and wanted to move inside. Could he have sensed you nearby? We can’t tip him off this time.”

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn returned to see Six absolutely doubled over with laughter, and he suddenly felt like he was the butt end of a joke. His eyes narrowed.

Wow, you couldn't have given me that earlier! he scoffed, face twisting into a joking mock-scowl.

That would have been useful. Guess you just wanted to see if I could improvise, he said, before adding a tsk-tsk-tsk noise. Well, at least I was able to get you a good laugh, he said with a smirk.

She booted up the tracker and they started moving a short while later.

Yes and no. You know when you get that tingling sense on the back of your neck that someone's following you but you can't put words to it. Like that, he explained. Although he'd never had to operate without the Force, he had heard many agents talk about how they experienced similar things with enough years of training and action.

I'll hang back further and do my best to... cloud things. Obscure that sense that he might get, he said.

As they followed the trail of the tracker, he focused his attention on the Force and making it hazy and cloudy. It was something he knew how to do, but required more of his attention than he would like, leaving Six to keep watch for them both.

As they followed the trail, the tracker stopped at a speeder repair facility. The lights were out and it didn't appear that anyone was "home" but there was no question the man - or at least his tracker - was inside.

From her time in the area, she would know that this area had ties to more organized criminal elements and most knew that toying with it was unwise. It was an "untouchable" location.

 

[Cipher Six]

Six abruptly stopped when she realized where the Gran disappeared. She looked a little uneasy, which was extremely rare for her. She glanced over at Varyn, “I have reasons to believe one of the syndicates operate out of there,” She jutted her chin towards the facility, “But I’m not sure which.”

Unfortunately, Sith did most of the dealings out here where Imperials focused more in Imperial territory. As a result, ISB had limited knowledge of the intricacies between each of the syndicates. Six thought for a moment, “Let’s recap,” She said, “Oracle sends me to deliver a Sith artifact to someone that’s obviously a Sith. That guy just walks into a territory rumored to belong to a gang or some organized crime unit.”

She didn’t step closer, but she knew showing up would be suicidal. They had to tread carefully, “Do you have any theories?” He had seen more sides of the galaxy than she had at this point, "Did you notice my job was just to deliver the artifact? Not to take anything in return? That means the Oracle isn't selling it, she's moving it."

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn paused as they recapped their situation. There were a lot of question marks and a lot that he still didn't know, so he remained silent for a moment as he thought.

One of the big Syndicates, he thought to himself. He wasn't overly familiar with the field of organized crime, but he also wasn't completely foreign to it either. The underworld of Coruscant was lousy with criminals from small gangs all the way up to the big dogs.

Anti-Imperial operations, alliances with the Sith, and Sith artifacts, he said. He was sure there was money in it to lure any of the Syndicates in. And who wouldn't want Sith as muscle if they could be controlled? A big "if."

Did a Sith work their way up in one of the orgs? he speculated. It wasn't unheard of in the past. The likes of Darth Maul had done just that if the stories were to be believed.

If I break in and have a look around they can't link it directly back to you if I get caught. Your cover will still be intact, but if one of the Big Five is working out of here, the evidence will be inside, he said. He was willing to take the risk, and one could argue that it was one of the reasons he'd been brought along.

 

[Cipher Six]

Six thought about his idea. She didn’t like it one bit, and that was clear on her face. As he turned to leave, she glanced at him, “Just be careful, okay?” Her gaze flicked over to the warehouse.

“I have a lot of experience with Sith,” She explained, “If it comes down to it, you may need to kill Romeo and present yourself as the alternative choice. It’s just how things work. It may be a way into…whatever this is,” Six suggested, but only as a desperate alternative.

With that, she stood back and let him venture in. The facility looked abandoned at first, but Varyn would be able to see shadows moving inside the windows. It wasn’t easy to make out what was being said, but he would be able to tell at least four or five people were inside. The speech was changing - almost like a chant. If Varyn got close, he would feel a pulse of the Force.

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Part of him wanted to make a coy quip about her wanting him to be careful, but he actually found the sentiment to be a little too sweet to tease... for the moment.

Varyn's face scrunched up slightly as she mentioned him taking the place of the Sith. Odds were that whoever this "Oracle" was would be expecting a Gran and although he could pull off being a Sith if he had to, he couldn't pull off three eyes. It just didn't quite go with his hair.

Yeah, absolutely last resort. Agreed, he said. His hands went reflexively to the lightsaber hilts under his jacket and the reassurance they always offered to him.

Well, maybe the Force be with me, he mumbled to himself as he started moving closer. Initially, he moved toward the building like a pedestrian on the street, letting the Force amplify his senses so that he could hear the chanting even before he was inside the building.

If eyeballs could roll out of his head, that was what would have happened. Varyn's distaste for Sith magic, Sith alchemy, Sith sorcery, and all other things Sith-spooky was well known even when he was a Sith, and this had that written all over it. He hated it.

Suck it up, buttercup, he mentally groaned as he drew closer to the building and finally slipped down a side alley and looked for any second story window or alternative entrance that might be available to him. He had no such luck.

Oooookay, then, he thought, choosing one of the back doors and beginning to go to work bypassing the lock. Now this was something he'd gotten good at as a Shadow. He was a pro at opening locked doors.

He managed to slip inside without too much trouble, but that was where the problems started to begin. He stepped through the door, and as he did, he thought he heard a pause in the chanting. Perhaps they'd heard the door slide open, but he had to scramble to find somewhere to hide, sliding under a speeder that was being worked on and hoping to the Force that they were going to just be satisfied with a quick look around and seeing the room was empty. A trick of the mind.

He didn't even dare breathe.

 

[The Storyteller]

“This is useless,” One of the Sith said, “We can’t do this without the full set of the inscriptions.”

“The Kravos holocron is lost,” Another Sith practically hissed, “Obtaining it is not an option. There were rumors about it going over to Darth Raze at some point. If you want to face him, be my guest, but I’d rather keep trying to crack this code.”

“Vivienne won’t allow us much longer,” The Gran said, “Today’s shipment was from Darth Veles’ stock. We risked Dathomir to get it.”

“Vivienne is losing,” A woman hissed, “She knows it. We need to rethink working with her.”

“She’s the most powerful option we have, Juvani,” A male said, “We are hunted every day. The Dark Lord keeps drawing attention to herself, Darth Raze is decimating anyone that’s not him…we have nowhere else to turn. Bringing this army to life will put us back at the top of the foodchain.”

“Why are we working with Vivienne to begin with? Why aren’t we turning to Iron Dragon?”

“Because Vivienne is still at the top,” The Gran stated flatly. There was pindrop silence after that.

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn stashed himself under the vehicle as people started talking, and although he knew he couldn't memorize everything he was hearing, he was smart enough to keep his comlink live and flip a switch on his datapad to record everything that was being said. The analysts could sort through what was useful and who was who later. For the moment, his attention was focused on not being caught.

Kriffing Raze, was the first thing that popped into Varyn's head, but as he listened to the conversation unfold, he became more satisfied that the former-Dark Lord wasn't involved. Okay, well that's an improvement at least, he decided.

He recalled stories from the Clone Wars taught by Jedi and Sith alike about Darth Maul taking over criminal organizations for his own ends. It made sense, then, that the Sith would be trying something similar. On the run, without reinforcements or resources, what other option did they have?

He wanted to ask if Six was getting this, but couldn't risk speaking. Then he thought "oh I'll use telekinesis" followed by the thought "wow, what an awful idea, Varyn. Stay out of the head of the person who already thinks you're going to play around in her head. Good talk."

Well, he'd wait in silence for the moment, waiting for the meeting to disperse before moving to try to exit the building. Only then, did he whisper almost from the back of his throat.

Did you get all that? he said.