Ask Bastion The Catharese knot

[Dismas Zaa Fenn]

THE CATHARESE KNOT

The trio of Imperial peacekeepers laughed as they seemed to wave off the slightly shorter man in civilian clothing, but the latter seemed to have none of it and stepped a little closer. "I'm telling you I've seen it with my own eyes," his eyes lit up as he regained the interest of the peacekeepers. "The flexibility allowed them both to bend in a way that," he paused as if he was mesmerized by the memory of watching the scene unfold that he was trying to translate into words, "I can only imagine what it would be like to have such a-" he was rudely interrupted by one of them; "Wouldn't catch me dead with a Cathar," the man was painfully human and humancentric, which wasn't altogether uncommon in the Empire of Davik Emer-Drast. Dismas, however, merely smiled, "Won't know what pleasure is, then, either."

The Catharese loveknot was almost like this mystical thing for these human brutes, but Dismas had seen it performed. A few years ago he had the good fortune to walk into an establishment of class that had these beautiful Cathar. The moves, the panting, the furball.. it was a thing of beauty.

Because he had often bragged to other members of the Blackout Fleet of having been "close" to Cathar cultural practices, the Fleet Commander had ordered him to accompany one of the ISB assets into town. Apparently there was a rumor that a group of former Jedi-lovers on Bastion was keen on taking out the Imperial respresentative that now provided 'law and security' through oversight on the planet. Something to do with the many Imperial Czerka workdrones and indentured gathering on Bastion to be shipped to the surrounding systems to crew the new Imperial Czerka mining facilities.

All Dismas knew was to meet his contact here. He would recognize them without much trouble, or so the commander had grinned at him, so he had just been chatting up these peacekeepers while he waited.


@Remileah

 

[Cipher Four]

Cipher Four, Imperial Intelligence has received information that suggests a group of insurrectionists are attempting to assassinate and overthrow Imperial governance on Bastion. You will go there and subdue these insurgents by any means. Lethal force is authorised.

Bastion. A recently-acquired Imperial asset relinquished from Jedi control. It had only been under Imperial rule for a few weeks at most, and already, Jedi sympathisers were planning to stage a coup and remove the Imperial leader from play.

With this newfound threat looming over the freshly placed Imperial representative, Cipher Four had been dispatched to ensure their safety and continued governance. This revolt would be quashed before it ever began, and anyone associated with it, even by proxy, would be used as a grim reminder of what standing against the Empire meant. These insurrectionists would be removed, and their removal would serve well to smother any embers of rebellious intent still flickering in the hearts of Bastion's populace.

Four was to meet with an individual by the name of Dismas, a member of the Blackout Fleet. He was someone with more knowledge of Bastion than she had and possessed a cultural understanding of their suspects—reportedly Cathar—that would likely prove instrumental. She had the skills, and he had the information. The success of this mission relied on him as much as it did on her, and though Four was loathe to allow the integrity of the operation to hinge on an unknown variable, he had been vetted by Command. She didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

The Fiani woman stopped a short distance from the group of people chatting and laughing together. Dismas was among the gathering, and she needed to remove him from the situation without arousing suspicion. Four put on her best smile and sashayed towards the group, her hips tick-tocking back and forth while her three tails swished and bobbed behind her.

"It's true," Four chimed in as she approached. She had spoken up early enough to allow the man to look at and identify her without breaking the natural flow of the interaction. Once she was close enough, Four wrapped her arms around Dismas's before pressing into his side. "The Catharese Loveknot is quite the erotic and exhilarating sight to behold. You may say you wouldn't be caught dead with a Cathar, but you're missing out on a unique bliss you can't and won't experience with any other woman alive," she continued with a sultry wink. Once she was finished embellishing her tale to the others, Four looked up at Dismas.

"I'm sorry I'm late! Are you ready to go?" she asked. "They're going to close soon, and if we don't leave now, we'll never make it on time!"

@Eccles

 

[Dismas Zaa Fenn]

Dismas spotted the Fiani woman approach them and he immediately understood what the commander had meant with him just 'knowing'. True, it helped that she came close and backed up his story of the Catharese loveknot as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself tight into hsi side. The advances were a surprise and Dismas didn't quite know how to handle himself in a situation like this. After all, he didn't actually have any ISB training to speak of. So he merely grinned awkwardly and wrapped an arm around the fiani woman, too.

"Heh, you know what they say-" he started, trying to ignore the looks of disapproval from the imperial peacekeepers. Some, if not most, of them were known and irreparable specists, after all. "-diversify and experience new things every day," he gently blew into the Fiani's overly large ears. Well, compared to a human's anyway. He didn't dare make his point by touching her tails, so he didn't even try and simply nodded as she gave an excuse for them to get rid of the peacekeeper's company.

As they walked away, still tightly holding each other like a loving couple, Dismas couldn't help but lower his voice to whisper. "You're the agent, I presume?" he asked as he continued to hold her close, "I'm Dismas."

@Remileah

 

[Cipher Four]

Four said nothing else as the two of them retreated, content to disregard the sour looks from the peacekeepers. The eyes of contention were entirely negligible to her. She knew she had the means to settle any trouble should they pursue it or, if she was spiteful, put in one call to I.S.B. and have them stripped of their rank or relocated elsewhere. The influence of a Cipher was not something to be underestimated, and the best part is that they would never know it was her.

"Yes," she answered plainly. After a few minutes weaving through the streets and alleys, Four casually surveyed her surroundings to ensure nobody else was around her and Dismas. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she released the man's arm and walked away, approaching a dumpster with several discarded boxes stacked next to it.

"Dismas, I'm Kasumi," Four answered as she shoved the top of the dumpster open. With a hop, the Fiani draped herself over the dumpster's edge, presenting a pleasant view for Dismas as she rifled inside. Her rummaging was followed by a metallic clink and a quiet hiss of compressed air. "I'm who you'll be working with."

Four kneeled, reaching for the underside of the dumpster, now sticking out slightly. The Fiani pulled on the bottom, revealing a neatly organised tray of weapons, tools, and other armaments. It looked like this was a dead drop for agents going on covert operations.

"Do you have any information to share yet?" she asked as she began arming herself and gathering the tools the two may need for their task.

@Eccles