Ask Raxus The Devil in the Details

[Cipher 7]

Dolan chewed on the inside of his lower lip as the lift descended into the bowels of the ISB headquarters on Raxus. He’d been gearing up to join his wingmates on a mission to hunt down a group of pirates, but instead he was told by their commanding officer to return to Raxus. Luckily, Jacen had a substantial hyperspace jump to cool his jets. He was dressed in his flight suit, minus the helmet, he’d been told this was urgent, so he figured he didn’t need to be dressed in his Class A uniform.

The lift door’s hiss’d open and he stepped out, flanked by two Peacekeepers. Dolan couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something off about the guys who flanked him. They carried the air of cocksure pirates instead of the prototypical by the book discipline of Imperial Law Enforcement.

Everything he’d learned over the course of his life, told him to pull his weapons and run. This was starting to feel like he was being marched to his execution. He kept his anxiety in check as they reached the end of the corridor. The Peacekeeper on his left stepped forward and pressed a fob to the security panel. The light changed from white to red and the door opened.

The room was as nondescript as any he’d seen within the confines of an Imperial base. It carried a sterile air about it. Grey durasteel walls lined with column lights, pristine black floors, and an all white ceiling.

Home sweet, home, he thought.

The same “Peacekeeper” that let them in, gestured to a seat and said, “Sit there.”

Jacen’s half-lidded baby blue slid from the officer to the chair and then back before to took a seat. The taste of blood in his mouth let him know he was still chewing on the inside of his lip. So much for stowing his anxiety.

The Peacekeeper’s took up positions on each side of the door, while Jacen waited for whatever was about to happen.

@Sreeya @Eccles

 

[Cipher Six]

Moments later the door opened again and in walked Six. She was adorned in a suit, her heels clicking loudly to announce her presence. She walked around him and he would get a whiff of some expensive, classy perfume before she came into view. Her hair was neatly styled, a thin gold chrono on her left wrist and her lips painted ruby red as a stark contrast to her porcelain pallid skin. She gave him a onceover before casually sitting down in the chair across from him.

“Relax, darling, you haven’t even been given a reason to be nervous,” She said with a wink before offering a smile that revealed her fangs, “-Yet,” She added before she leaned back in her seat. She crossed one leg over the other as she reached for a cigarra, lighting it and placing it at the corner of her lips. Six checked her chrono. Levik was due shortly after.

@Zay @Eccles

 

[Cipher 7]

Jacen had abandoned the rigid pretense of remaining at attention as soon as boredom overtook his anxiety. His posture relaxed as he settled into the hard duraplast seat, deciding if he was going to have to wait for bad news he’d at least be comfortable while doing it. Unfortunately, as soon as he started to recline in the seat the door hissed open and he jumped, half-lidded gaze widening in surprise as a strikingly attractive woman wearing power pant suit entered.

Dolan shot up, years of academy muscle memory snapping him into attention as she gave him a once over.

Her words put him at ease a bit, but he couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what she wanted. Luckily, he was annoyed enough to not really care and retorted, “Nervous? I don’t know the meaning of the word.” he said, with a polite smirk.

Everything with the top brass was a test, but he let himself relax and decided to introduce himself formally before she had him court-martialed for being an ass, “Jacen Dolan, Lieutenant of Blackout Fleet. Third wing of Cinder Squadron. Designation Theta-7.”

He took a moment to take her in, repaying the assessing gaze she’d blessed him with upon entry, then tired, “I apologize for my ignorance,” he hated this “talk around the point” bullshit but the imperial hierarchy demanded it, and since he’d grown up in their system, he knew the game and played along, “But, I’m afraid my orders didn’t specify who I’d have the pleasure of speaking too.”

Jacen cocked an eyebrow at the lit cigarra. He hated how much he wanted one, the smell alone of the spiced tabac was almost as tantalizing as the crimson lips the vice hung from.

@Sreeya @Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Something had changed about Commander Karn's responsibilities after the Grand Moff had ascended to the Imperial throne. His operation in counterinsurgency had apparently reached the Imperial Council and instead of playing chief law enforcement officer on Taris he was put in charge of operations inside the Imperial Security Bureau's Blackout Fleet. A role taking place in the shadows of galactic affairs and one that suited him -with his contacts in both the Exchange and the Hutt Cartel- quite nicely. The director had said that Overseer Terco -of the cipher program- needed a new Cipher Seven. Apparently the previous one had died during a mission last week and a lieutenant from the Blackout Fleet was on the shortlist to replace him.

That's why when the sliding doors into the room opened for the second time, the two agents saw a tired man with Commander stripes on his uniform regard them with somewhat of a stern look. "Put out the cigarra, Cipher Six," Commander Karn said as he stepped into the room and looked at them both. "This isn't a ragtag rebel cell," he looked at Lieutenant Dolan as he said it and knew that the youngster wouldn't understand the reference to Cipher Six' most recent undercover assigned. Both of them had just returned from what was perhaps a career-defining operations. Operation Oracle. Cipher Six had performed admirably and worked undercover for months, embedded into various insurgency cells to find out the Oracle's identity. Levik had over the course of the investigation been imprisoned once and been tortured twice. Seeing her smoke a cigarra instantly reminded him about how the Mothkari Crime Family had stolen his affectation from him. The golden lighter that had been a graduation present from the Eriadu Naval Academy. Last night he had been reading commendations and recommendations from various commanders inside the Imperial Security Bureau, all praising Cipher Six and trying to reserve her services for future operations. His own file was remarkably less positive. He had spend more than his budget had allowed to get Imperial operatives into cartel space and the Grand Marshal bailing him out of a Serenno prison had caused a diplomatic incident the Grand Moff (and eventual Emperor) had to personally cash in more than one favor over. It might be extremely petty, but Levik wanted to show he was still the ranking officer for now.

"I see you've already met Lieutenant Dolan," Levik motioned for him to sit down before he, too, sat at the last available chair in the room. He paused there for a moment as if he was regarding the fact that Jacen was wearing a flight suit as a personal insult to him and his station. Some had said that Levik was sure to make director this month, at least, if he hadn't gotten on the Emperor's bad side.

@Zay @Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six said nothing in response, calmly surveying the man before her. Before long, the door opened and in walked a grumpy Karn. She wasn’t fazed by his brisk tone, her gaze briefly flicking over to the Commander. Amusement danced in her eyes, though a semblance of empathy kept a smirk from gracing her lips. Levik needed to make a show of appearing as the most important man in the room after all. She was at least partially responsible for his career taking a hit - he had to take the fall for the botched hit on Serenno. Meanwhile, she had countless missions lined up in the next few months.

She silently put out her cigarra, gaze flicking back to Lieutenant Dolan. Since Karn had already rudely introduced her, she didn’t repeat her designation, “Do you want to become an agent or are you content with your current position within the blackout fleet?” She didn't give a crap who was shortlisted. Six had seen entirely too many Ciphers come through that didn’t have the appetite for the job. They were put through rigorous training and it had all been a waste of time. She needed someone that could adapt to any role and improvise on a whim. Above all, they needed to want it. So far, this guy looked like he stepped into the wrong room, and the vacant confusion was going to grate on her rather quickly. If this was Levik’s doing, he was getting sloppy.

Her gaze intently drilled into Dolan, the laidback demeanor from before fading away now that it was all business.

@Eccles @Zay

 

[Cipher 7]

Jacen’s cocked eyebrow swung around to meet the unsettling gaze of Commander Karn. His brow deflated as he saluted the commander. Internally, he berated himself for not changing, but if he was going to get his ass chewed, then he might as well be ready to get the hell out of there once it was over. Luckily, Karn’s ire found Cipher Six first and Jacen let a small appraising frown slip before receding into his typical dumb soldier expression.

He watched the unspoken conversation play out between them, that was interesting. Then took his seat. Karn acted like Jacen’s flight suit was an affront to Imperial protocol, but The Lieutenant didn’t waver. Dolan wasn’t easily intimidated. He hated himself more than anyone else could, so what was the point in caring about someone else’s issue?

Karn was an unsettling ordinary guy. Aside from the thousand yard stare in his eye that could pin you to a seat, there wasn’t anything about him that stood out. Which in reality was probably perfect given his position. The juxtaposition between Karn and Six was phenomenal. Until she dropped the nice agent act.

“I want to be an agent ma’am.” he said, his eyes bore right back into hers. He wasn’t lying, but he also wasn’t one for speeches. He wasn’t a politician, he was a soldier. His tenure on Blackout Fleet had been fun, but being an agent had been his goal from the beginning. From the moment the ISB had put eyes on him, Jacen had been working for this opportunity and he’d be damned if it passed him by.

He looked between the two of them then asked, “When do I get started?”

@Sreeya @Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

Jacen wasn't the first Dolan that Levik had met in his long Imperial career and the young prospective agent's file had no secrets for him. Privilige of rank for someone who also had good connections with the CEO of Imperial Czerka. Jacen seemed to be a doe-eyed boy right now, but if he looked anything like his old man did during operations than Levik had no doubt this kid would be able to surpass even Cipher Six.

"Not so fast," he suddenly told him, taking the datapad from his pocket and holding it above the table as if he was reading questions from an interview format. The Empire loved its bureaucracy and Designation Control's report to Overseer Terco and Commander Karn had been thorough. Cipher Six would get a redacted version soon, too. "Your most recent mission was to the edge of cartel space," he let it linger for a moment, wondering if he should've briefed Cipher Six on this young buck's parentage. To her they were strangers. Levik just happened to know both.

"Give us an unredacted report. What did you see, notice, think about the people you encountered?" the Commander's voice was stern, but for the first time he seemed to know what he was talking about. For a Cipher Agent the most important thing was being able to read people and Levik was curious what Jacen would see over his twin-brother.

@Zay @Sreeya

 

[Cipher 7]

”Not so fast…” stated Karn, Jacen watched the commander carefully as he fished a datapad out of his pocket. The commander asked for a full account of his mission. Truth to tell, there wasn’t much to tell, but Dolan noted the commander’s interest in the “People” associated with the hand off, so rather than regurgitate the entire report he decided to focus on Dismas.

“Yes, sir.” Jacen started, “The Mark dictated the location on the edge of Hutt Space, a space port called Haskeen’s Pride by the local pirates. First impression wasn’t great. It’s clear to me that the relationship between his usual contact isn’t typical. The fact that I showed up instead put him on edge. He got jumpy and provoked some locals,” Which was true, “I was forced to defend myself,” which was less true, “Only to have Dismas flex his name sake in a power gambit only he was concerned with.”

The entire time he spoke he kept his gaze on Karn. He wasn’t really sure why Cipher Six had been dragged into this or why he was being forced to do this little song and dance, but if this was the last step before becoming an agent he’d do the damn dance if asked.

“Once the theatrics were put to the side, the pass-off was routine.” If Karn wanted him to describe every pirate in the bar, Jacen could come up with a couple things he noticed, but he had a feeling the commander wanted to know about the mark, not the bartender.

@Eccles @Sreeya