Theron hunched over the console, his fingers moving like a blur. He didn't have much time. It was now or never, and if he waited too much longer, the chance would be gone forever. For a brief instant of a second, Theron's heart sank.

If only there was another way…

An alert grabbed his attention, and with a few quick swipes, he was able to redirect his focus to the inbox. It was a message from Iokath.

Ever since the Empire's Wrath, Darth Seyje, had been reunited with her long-lost husband, the responsibility of Alliance Commander had fallen to her sister, Master Saiyah. The result of this had been an alliance with the Republic during the war on Iokath, despite their previous relationship with the Empire with Seyje was still in charge. Needless to say, the aftermath had been…chaotic.

Theron heard footsteps approaching and quickly shut down the console. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Saiyah walking towards him with Seyje at her side. Interesting. Seyje hadn't been an active presence on the base for a few months now, but the events surrounding the traitor in the Alliance no doubt pulled her back into the action.

"Commander. Fresh news from the war on Iokath," Theron reported, directing it at Saiyah.

She stopped, folding her hands in front of her thighs as she waited patiently. Seyje, on the other hand, folded her hands behind her back in a fashion quite similar to her significant other.

"Imperial gunners shot down one of our transports. The Republic's helping us recover our losses, but we're locked in a stalemate," Theron explained.

Seyje's brow furrowed, and she shot a glare at Saiyah. "You revoked our alliance with Darth Acina and didn't tell me?"

Saiyah was not surprised by the question. She stood her ground, but there was no mistaking the hint of regret in her voice. "You chose to step down from Commander, Seyje. I was left with a choice, and I chose the Republic because I know I can trust them."

"What you did was make the Alliance look indecisive," Seyje snapped heatedly. "Neither the Empire nor the Republic will ever fully trust us now."

The former Sith had a point. In turning her back on the Empire and choosing an alliance with the Republic, the reputation of the Alliance had changed significantly. Theron had picked up on all kinds of nasty rumors from the holonet, calling the Alliance dirty backstabbers and hiding their true desire for galactic dominance. None of it was true, but it was a hard point to dispute after Saiyah's recent decision.

"We can argue about this later," Saiyah shot back, returning her attention to Theron. "What about the hunt for the traitor in our ranks?"

Seyje made a loud huff of annoyance, earning a glare from Saiyah, but she said nothing more on the matter.

"We're questioning everyone from the usual suspects to your top advisors," Theron said, followed by a disappointed sigh. "So far, everyone looks clean. We'll find the traitor, but these mole hunts take time."

"We don't have time," Seyje retorted harshly. "Whoever it is tried to kill my sister, and I want to make them pay for it."

Saiyah was quiet for a moment, silently accepting Seyje's remark. It was already a well-known fact that the two remaining Davire sisters were devoutly protective of each other. Seyje's emotions just tended to flare up more often due to her Sith upbringing.

"I know how much energy you're putting into this, Theron. It means a lot to me," Saiyah murmured with a grateful smile.

The words pushed on Theron's chest, tempting him to walk from this cliff he was heading towards, but they would not be enough to turn his feet from the path he was on.

"And you mean a lot to me," he replied. "I'd do anything to protect you."

The hair on the back of Seyje's neck immediately stood on end. That wasn't how Theron normally spoke to his romantic partner.

Something's wrong. His tone of voice is…off.

Her telepathic message must not have gone through, however, as Seyje noticed the starry-eyed expression on her sister's face.

"Theron Shan, are you getting romantic on me?" Saiyah asked with a grin, taking a step towards the spy.

"Is it working?" he retorted, reaching his arm out around her waist and pulling her into a kiss.

Seyje quickly looked away, not out of respect for them, but because there was this sudden nagging in her gut that something was not right. She cared too much for her sister to say anything, and now was certainly not the time speak up. Her thoughts were interrupted by Theron's disappointed voice.

"Now if only I could produce results."

Adjacent footsteps caught everyone's attention as Lana came walking into the room.

"Lighten up, Theron. Things aren't all doom and gloom."

She had an unusually satisfied smirk on her face, which they all noticed.

"You look cheery today, Lana," Theron noted. "Did Gault spike the caf again?"

"Even better. I found a lead," Lana boasted.

Saiyah and Seyje both exchanged a glance of anticipation. Even having the rumor of a lead was more than they had found ever since the incident.

"Where? How?" Seyje asked curiously.

"Alliance agents picked up a signal from the Shadow World of Umbara," Lana explained. "It's encrypted with the same algorithm the traitor used on Iokath."

"I wonder if Kieyla's team has been able to crack its code yet," Saiyah wondered aloud.

Seyje shrugged. "She said they would get in touch if they had any luck. It must be a damn good encryption since we haven't heard anything from her about it."

Lana cleared her throat, indicating there was more, and the sisters immediately returned their attention to her.

"They are still on the planet – helping our Imperial rivals grab a massive stockpile of Adegan crystals."

Seyje's brow furrowed, her gaze shifting to her sister. "The traitor already lured me into one ambush on Iokath. You can't just walk into another."

"She won't. This time, I'll have her back," Theron promised.

The Sith wasn't convinced, and Saiyah noticed. Before she could question her sister's doubt, however, Lana spoke up.

"As will I. The Empire won't give up their precious crystals without a fight."

"That's no surprise. Adegan crystals are attuned to the Force," Saiyah noted. Her head tilted to the side, a curious expression on her face. "Could our traitor be working with the Jedi or Sith?" she wondered.

"It's possible. But Darth Malgus once discovered a use for them beyond lightsabers. He's gone, but the Empire may be continuing his work," Lana assumed.

"Hard for us to know when we've been gone for five years," Seyje remarked.

Her and Lana exchanged a glance. The Empire hadn't changed at all during that time, so it went without saying that the possibility of them pursuing Malgus' old project was high. The shrug in Theron's shoulder indicated he was ignoring the possibility.

"Both sides have tinkered with Adegan crystals for years. Part of an arms race to build a new arsenal of superweapons," Theron said.

"If we move quickly, we can corner the traitor and hijack those crystals. Intel says they're on an Umbaran supply train headed for the capital city," Lana explained.

Saiyah nodded. "Then we leave now. The traitor won't escape us this time."

She turned around and swiftly left the room with Theron and Lana at her heels. Seyje, on the other hand, trailed back a few steps. There was some reason for her to be suspicious, yes, but they could trust Theron, right? Was she being irrational to suspect something just from the way he spoke? The constant immersion in war had affected all of them. Maybe Theron was just tired.

I'm overthinking this, that's all.

And yet Seyje couldn't seem to convince herself otherwise.