Seasnake: My new fanfic. Set in the Star Wars the Old Republic MMO universe but doesn't follow the story of the game. I recently marathoned that game for a over week and had to write something. Just look at this story as another fun tale set in the Star Wars universe, goodness knows there are tons of those.
K+ for descriptions of violence, tiny bit of swearing, and overall evil behavior. Might become T later, you never know with the Sith. Only other warning is for mild Vette bashing. But that is just how my characters feel, I hold nothing against her personally.
"Beep, beep." Elkernen rolled over in bed and groggily flailed an arm in the general direction of his bedside table. "Beep" the holocomunicator chimed again. It took a second more of groping in the dark before his hand settled on the device. He had to blink in the sudden blue light as the outline of his master appeared.
"Apprentice."
"Mm?" he made a non-committal grunting noise as he sat up half-way.
"I have need of you. Gather your things and report to my chambers."
"Nn right away." The hologram went dark. The Sith apprentice yawned and took a moment to stretch. He climbed out of bed to stand in front of his mirror. The lights came on and a young pure blood Sith warrior appeared in the reflective surface. He had thick black hair, deep red skin, and a face and neck covered with distinct ridges that spoke to his pureblood heritage. As a child he had originally grown his bangs out to help hide the fact he didn't have any cheek tendrils or eyebrow-stalks that were common among his race. He had discovered he liked having slightly longer hair and bangs that hung over his eye and had kept the style even after outgrowing his adolescent insecurities. With only a moderate amount of haste, he retrieved his five metal piercings from the table top and fastened each in the appropriate hole in his face. If he had known that he would only be in bed for three hours he would have left them in.
A minute later he fastened the last button on of his battle armor. He double checked that his pockets still held his emergency medpacs then telekinetically called his two lightsabers to him from where they rested within easy reach of his bed. Elkernen snatched the duel weapons out of the air as he walked out of the bedroom. The light in the main room of his apartment flickered into life, causing his sleeping Twi'lek slave to stir.
"Get up." He shoved the creature off the couch with the sole of his boot. She hit the floor with a thud and a high pitched whine. Elkernen ignored her in favor of walking to his kitchen and retrieving a glass of water.
"It's the middle of the night," Vette complained as she pushed herself off the floor.
"Lord Baras doesn't seem to care."
"Geeze, what does he want? If this is a booty call you can count me out." The Sith rolled his eyes. He snatched something to eat then headed to the door. He waited for Vette to collect herself and scamper towards him. He handed her a crust of bread, turned off the light, and locked the door behind them.
"Aah, Apprentice." Lord Baras looked up from his desk as Elkernen walked in. "A matter has come to my attention. A matter that requires both swift action and careful discretion."
"And what might this matter be, my lord?"
"In an unfortunate turn of events, a formally loyal Imperial Intelligence officer has gone rouge and now poses a security threat that can not be tolerated."
"Is the Republic responsible?" Elkernen asked. Vette wisely stood off the side without comment.
"If that were the case we would have been alerted sooner." the Sith Lord began to pace. "No, this is a completely personal matter. It seems that the agent in question recently learned that both his children failed their trials on Korriban and has decided to blame the Empire for their deaths."
"Pathetic," Elkernen shook his head.
"Regardless of his motives, this former agent holds a collection of information that will prove extremely to both the Empire and to me if any of it comes to light. I am sending you on this mission where you will work in conjunction with whichever agent Imperial Intelligence has assigned."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Four hours ago the traitor left his post at the Bureau of Imperial Intelligence. Most of the Sith Lords are unaware if the security breach, I only know because I have eyes and ears everywhere. Intelligence is busy assembling a small strike team to head after the traitor. I informed Keeper that you would be joining the mission, just to make sure my interests are protected. You will have to work with one or more agents on this mission. They will have more information on the traitor than I have access to. You will follow their lead for the duration of the mission, within limits of course."
"In other words I'm going to play spy."
"In other words, yes. But there is something else you must do. After the traitor is dead, make sure all copies of his stolen information are destroyed. I have some secrets that I want kept form even Imperial Intelligence. The agent you are working with becomes suspicious or tries to take a copy back to the Bureau of Intelligence, you have permission to silence them through any means necessary. But do try to be subtle, the fewer questions asked the better," Lord Baras finished and watched his apprentice for a response.
"What an interesting change in pace. This could be fun."
"Just make sure you don't muck it up. Travel to the spaceport and check in with the agent you find there. They will explain the details. Don't come back until the traitor is dead and my secrets safe." Elkernen bowed and took his leave.
"Am I coming?" Vette asked as they jogged out of the city, towards the speeder droid.
"You're useful in a fight but bite that tongue of yours around the Intelligence Agents," the Sith answered.
"Got it."
"Destination?" the ever perky droid asked as they approached.
"Space port." Elkernen climbed onto the nearest speeder and waited for Vette to sit behind him before paying the droid.
"Have a pleasant day."
The marshlands of Dromund Kaas were pitch black, lighted only the occasional patrol. Elkernen watched the darkness for any creature deranged enough to pounce at him. He didn't consider himself paranoid but ridding so close to the large predators made him slightly nervous. Where he had grown up on Korriban, the taxies always flew above the predators or traveled places free of the local creatures.
They landed and barely took two steps inside before a voice called to them.
"Right on time," a Chiss female leaned against the wall and watched them approach. She had dark blue hair in a wedge haircut that ended just below her chin. A blaster rifle hung across her back and she wore medium armor decorated in practical straps. "This way," she pushed off the wall and started to walk away without waiting for a response. Elkernen followed her to a hanger where a small ship sat docked. Silently, they all climbed on board. Elkernen took the seat next to the agent while Vette sat behind them. The pilot glanced over his seat to the Chiss who nodded, the pilot then began to start the engine. Vette swiveled her neck around with interest as the ship started fired into life. Elkernen just watched the agent pull out a data pad. Nobody talked as the ship lifted off.
"What can you tell me about this traitor?" Elkernen spoke after a minute.
"His name is Randal, 45 years old." She showed him a picture of a human man with graying hair. "Passed every routine physiological evaluation. After the death of his wife, his access to information was restricted. He received news of the death of his two sons yesterday. Another physiological evaluation was scheduled for first thing this morning." The agent said all this without glancing up from her screen but she didn't appear to be reading off it. "He stole a drive from Headquarters and killed a watcher and security guard in the process. He paid three bounty hunters to leave Dromund Kaas at the exact same time in an effort to disguise which ship he departed on."
"Are we on the right trail, then?"
"Almost certainly. Headquarters is tracking the other two ships just in case we are wrong."
"That's very reassuring," Elkernen said sarcastically.
"Is your slave competent?" the agent abruptly asked.
"…decently."
"Can she keep quiet?"
"I'm afraid that's another matter entirely."
"I can hear you, you know," Vette piped up. They both shot her a glare over the back of their seats.
"She has a mouth on her but She won't cause any problems," he assured the agent.
"Good," she set her datapad aside and pulled a shock collar out of her pack. "We will attract much less attention like this." She tilted her head down and attached the slaver collar to the back of her own neck. Elkernen gave her a quizzical look. "It's fake but call me "slave" when we land. Imperial Agents aren't particularly welcome where we're going."
"Exactly where are we going?"
"An unimportant asteroid with a half-assed spaceport that criminals and bounty hunters use as a fueling station. No doubt Randal will try to find new transportation. He has a head start but with any luck he hasn't found accommodations, yet." She finished adjusting her fake collar and returned her attention to her datapad. "Our goal is to find him and silence him. Preferably without identifying ourselves as Imperials."
"Sounds simple."
"The possible complications are if he has already left and we will have to track him. And of course there is the possibility he has hired himself a mercenary."
"That's where I come in," Elkernen crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.
"You won't have to worry about me getting in the way. I assure you that I'm more than capable to defend myself."
"You had better be. I'm not here to baby you." The agent nodded and typed numbers into her datapad.
A few minutes of traveling in silence passed. When Vette started to hum a tune, Elkernen decided to ask more.
"What exactly is my cover?"
"This is a surgical strike, no need for a cover identity. If anyone questions you just threaten them away or give vague answers."
"You clearly know about me, but how about you? What's your name?" Elkernen watched the lean female. She wasn't very tall and surprisingly skinny. Apparently it was true that Chiss had high metabolisms. She wasn't very talkative and he was finding it hard to get a read on her.
"I'd rather not say. Don't take it personally but it's my policy not to share information with someone until I know they won't blurt it out by mistake at the first given opportunity. Unlike you, I've been trained for this sort of thing. Besides," she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder to indicate the seat behind them, "you said you slave had a big mouth. Better to give her less to hold in it."
"I can still hear you."
"Alright then, Slave," Elkernen shifted into a comfortable position to wait out the rest of the flight.
A few hours, and about five songs from Vette, later the team docked on the small asteroid port. The agent told the pilot to watch the ship then fell in step behind Elkernen, playing the part of a slave. The Sith took a quick glance behind him to make sure both females were following then headed into the main part of the hanger. Several shady individuals lurked about but none of them were traitor Randal. He could hear bad music from down the hall so headed in that direction. They arrived truly crappy cantina. A handful of unsanitary customers filled the small room. Nobody paid much attention to the trio. The agent strolled right up to the counter and started a conversation with the bartender. Elkernen decided not to intervene; this was her area of expertise. If they encountered any violence, he'd take over. He scanned the room for Randal but didn't see him.
"Here's your drink, Master, and our target just left for the cargo bay." The agent reappeared and handed Elkernen a cheep beverage. That didn't take her long to get what they needed. He nodded and shoved the drink at Vette so he could have both hands free as he headed down the opposite hallway.
They barely made it out of the dingy canteena before a large alien blocked their path. "Sith, huh? Skinny man paid me to kill you if you showed up."
"How unfortunate for you." The alien reached for his blaster only to realize a lightsaber had been inserted into his gut. Elkernen withdrew his weapon, twilled it once while he watched the alien collapse, and then sheathe it without so much as a blink. The agent nodded her approval but hurried past him towards down the hall. Elkernen ran after her.
They came into a large hanger that currently housed two ships. The Sith barely had time to register that a group of people were standing near one ship, let alone that one of those people was Randal before the agent dove behind a shipping crate and whipped her rifle out of the holster. Elkernen stood carefully to the side and tried to line up his attack. If he could leap into the center of the group…
"Is that him?" Vette shattered any hope of a sneak attack.
"Hey!" one of the humans that wasn't Randal noticed their presence. With a mental note to later electrocute the Twi'lek, he used the force to propel himself through the air. He landed in the middle of the gathering and sent a shockwave of force lightning through the ground. The men all stumbled backwards in a daze. Elkernen trusted the females not to hit him by mistake and ignored the volley of blaster shots that came from behind him as he sliced through the creatures in front of him. Two fell almost instantly, but a third pulled out a blade and blocked what would have been a fatal lightsaber slash. Elkernen jabbed with his off hand but this man had better reflexes than his comrades. Vette gunned down one man who made a run in her direction.
Randal proved to be the smartest of the group. He let the hired help cross blades with the Sith, and tried to position himself so that the fighting was between him and the agent. His plan proved ineffective thanks to the agent's superb aim. A rifle shot whizzed a centimeter away from Elkernen's ear to strike Randal in the shoulder. Elkernen swiped below the belt and cut a huge gash in his opponent's shin. The man started to scream but was promptly silenced as half of his face was removed. Elkernen turned to face Randal but met a blast of intense white light instead. For a disorienting moment he stumbled backwards. He couldn't see but his training allowed him to block the blaster shot Randal fired in his direction. As he was blinking back to awareness a strong energy blast carved a hole through Randal's head and out the back of his skull. The traitor collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll.
"You alright?" Vette asked.
"Fine," Elkernen returned his two lightsabers to his belt and rubbed the last spots out of his eyes.
"Slave, make yourself useful and loot that ship for anything valuable. Better to make this look like a robbery," The agent instructed. She returned her blaster to its position across her back. "I'll make sure that nobody was eavesdropping."
"You don't need to examine the body?" Elkernen found that unlikely. The agent gave him a knowing half-smile.
"Do whatever your master sent you to do. Just save one of his thumbs for me. That's all my superiors require." Without another word she walked out of the hanger to check the hallway for lurkers. Elkernen raised an eyebrow. This agent apparently understood how Empire society functioned. At least he wouldn't have to kill her.
A quick search of Randal's body uncovered an encrypted datapad and no other items. Elkernen turned it into a useless hunk of metal and plastic then sliced off one finger for the agent. To keep with the robbery theme he removed anything with resale value from the corpses.
"Wow, they really didn't have anything good," Vette reappeared from the ship she had just ransacked.
"We just need it to be obvious that somebody ransacked the ship," the agent had reappeared sometime while Elkernen dealt with the bodies. She stood by the entrance to the hanger keeping an eye on the hall.
"Don't have to worry about that. I'm not the tidiest of girls."
"In that case let's take our leave," the Sith said.
"Yes, we can trust the locals to throw the bodies into the nearest furnace without a second thought," the agent agreed. Elkernen walked in front of the two females as they returned to the ship. Nobody stopped them or gave them a second glance.
"Done?" the pilot questioned as they approached.
"Done." Elkernen confirmed and took his seat.
"Heh, that wasn't too hard," Vette commented while the pilot took off.
"That reminds me," Elkernen pressed the shock button for Vette's collar.
"Argh! Ouch, what was that for?"
"Learn to keep your mouth shut, Slave. You could have gotten us killed."
"Hah, against those losers."
"Shock her again, please," the agent spoke up. Elkernen smirked and complied.
"Ow! Quit it, I'm sorry, alright?"
"She doesn't sound very sincere," the agent observed. "That must not be a very affective disciplinary tool."
"I have noticed that. Do you have a better suggestion?" he asked. It had been a successful mission, might as well joke a bit.
"Most of the pressure points I know would make her vomit and considering our close quarters…" The agent smiled wickedly and unclikced her seat buckle. "I'll just do this." She spun around in her seat and grabbed Vette by the neck. The Twi'lek yelped but the Chiss jabbed her thumb into a soft spot on her cranium. Vette went instantly went limp. Elkernen watched the whole display with mild interest. "She'll wake up with a massive headache." The agent returned to sitting forward and redid her seat restraint.
"I don't know how much that will help. That will just give her something to whine about." The agent shrugged.
"I just wanted to keep her quiet for the rest of the trip," she explained. Elkernen snorted back laughter at that.
After a minute of silence, the agent turned to face the Sith. "Hit'tomi." She offered him her hand. "You were very efficient, Apprentice Elkernen, it was a pleasure serving the Empire with you."
"Likewise, Agent Hit'tomi." They shook hands and shared a small grin.