Imperial Agent Bellon, aka Cipher Nine, it back. This time he is sent to a planet in wild space with great potential as an ally for the Sith Empire in its war with the Republic Alliance. You might want to read "Revenge is not the Answer." That is a little more serious than this but sets up Bellon's past, which plays a role in this story.
This is inspired by the fact that both Imperial Agent trainers and Forsaken love the phrase, "Trust no one." For those of you who play both games, you will notice some literary license taken. This was written purely for fun. Enjoy.
Chapter 1
Bellon'dfrey'theris, core name 'Dfrey, aka Bellon, groaned and rolled away from the warm body lying next to him. He muted the buzz on his personal holo communicator and grumbled as he forced himself into an upright position. He looked at the caller, Keeper. He groaned again putting his face in his palm.
When the woman next to him stirred, he picked up the communicator and headed into the living area of his apartment. He didn't turn on any lights; he could see well in the dark. He sat on the couch and activated the communicator.
The image of Keeper appeared. "Cipher Nine… You could have at least put a pillow in your lap." She scowled at him.
"Normal people are asleep at this time of night," he responded grumpily dragging a pillow into his naked lap. "Sir," he tacked on hastily.
"We are not normal people; you should know that after 13 years. I have an assignment for you." The image stepped out of frame but her voice carried over. "The Winterspring File, yes, that one." She appeared again holding a data pad.
"What is the assignment that it couldn't wait until I came in?"
"Under cover,…" she scowled again at his most audible groan. "Under cover assessing a newly discovered world as a possible ally against the Republic. I need you to come in A-S-A-P to be present when the on-planet crew calls in."
"Yes, sir. Right away, sir. Cipher Nine ou…"
"And do put on some clothes. Keeper out." The image disappeared.
Bellon was awake now so there wouldn't have been any sense in trying to go back to sleep anyway. He eased back into the bedroom trying to minimize noise that would wake up Loa. He'd leave her a note explaining his absence and that he expected to be home that evening.
He had met her about a year ago; it was rare to meet another Chiss in Dromund Kaas, much less female, much less agreeable, much less from the same social class, much less close to his age. She was a liaison for the Chiss Expeditionary Force to the Imperial Army and worked at the Chiss Ascendency Embassy.
Since he had returned to Dromund Kaas from his extended undercover work as a republic privateer, Keeper had him doing small jobs: courier, escort, tracking, schmoozing with the Chiss Ascendency diplomatic corps. He hadn't been out of Imperial space and away more than a couple of weeks at the most for several years. It had been a nice change, an almost normal lifestyle. Loa made it seem even more normal. He had been toying with the idea of talking to her about unifying their families, Chiss for marriage.
He turned on the bathroom light, took a quick shower, and shaved. He passed back through the dark bedroom to his closet and pulled out a clean uniform then dressed in his living room. Lastly, he jotted a note for Loa telling her he'd be home for dinner. It was handwritten and placed where she would see it.
He stepped out of his climate-controlled apartment into the simmering hot, humid, Dromund Kaas night. His speeder pad overlooked the chasm separating the Citadel, the business district, and upscale residential district where he lived. In the silence of the night, he could hear the chirpetts in the brush at the bottom of the canyon. He took a deep breath resigning himself to the end of some normalcy, climbed into his speeder, and headed for the Citadel.
He landed in front of Imperial Intelligence leaving his speeder with a valet droid. As he entered Intelligence, the Regular Army guard snapped to attention and saluted; Bellon's return salute was haphazardly casual. The place was pristine clean, deserted, dimly lit with readouts at empty stations blinking lazily and unattended; his footsteps echoed. It was a rather forlorn ambiance. He took the hall around to the left that led back into operations. The second guard, this one Imperial Intelligence, checked his credentials before saluting and allowing him to enter. Operations was alive; everyone was at their positions, and mouse droids were scooting about carrying messages.
Bellon nearly stepped on one; he skipped over it cursing lightly. Keeper's door was open, so he entered without knocking.
"Cipher Nine reporting as requested." He saluted the woman who was his boss.
She returned his salute, stood, and indicate he follow. They went back out to the operations floor and a full-sized holo terminal.
"Any hints what's this about?"
"About two weeks ago, an Imperial Reclamation Service ship force landed on a remote planet in wild space beyond the outer rim. They reestablished contact with their commander about a week ago. Ah, here he is. Moff Gerard." She greeted an older man being escorted in by one of the Imperial Intelligence guards. "This is Cipher Nine, the agent who will be spearheading this operation. And Darth Vowrawn." She bowed her head to the Sith behind the Moff.
"A Chiss?" the human Moff asked with enough distaste to put Bellon off immediately. "Is this the best you have, Keeper?"
"Yes," Keeper responded with grit in her tone.
"Moff Gerard, I would prefer to hear no words coming from your mouth," the Sith lord warned. The animosity between the two was tangible."
"Yes, as I was saying, Cipher Nine; the crew of the research vessel reestablished contact about a week ago with news of Force users inhabiting the planet. Moff Garard convinced the Dark Council that this planet should be investigated and brought into our fold before the Republic finds them. Darth Vowrawn is the Dark Council representative for the project and requested you, by name." She looked at Bellon pointedly to ensure he knew how important this assignment was to his career.
"It is good to see you well and rested Cipher Nine," the Sith greeted. "We've arranged for Capt. Lakris to contact us again tonight with more extensive information about the planet's residents."
"Will the crew be remaining planet side?" Bellon asked.
"No," Darth Vowrawn answered. "They have repaired their ship; they will remain in place only long enough to guide you to a safe landing zone. They will then return. They are little more than archeologists and historians; not at all fit or trained for detailed reconnaissance."
"What exactly will be my task?" Bellon asked.
"You…"
"Keeper, Capt. Lakris is on," one of the minders announced.
Keeper activated the life-sized terminal. A bedraggled Imperial Reclamation officer with the rank of captain appeared.
"Moff Gerard," he acknowledged the one familiar face. "Capt. Lakris of the research vessel Silthar's Promise reporting as ordered, sir."
"Introduce us, Moff Gerard," Darth Vowrawn suggested with a warning tone.
"Capt. Lakris, this is Keeper head of Imperial Intelligence and Darth Vowrawn of the Dark Council." Moff Gerard didn't mention the alien operative.
"Moff," Vowrawn growled.
"And the Chiss is a cipher agent," Moff Gerard reluctantly acknowledged Bellon.
"You are Darth Lakris' son, yes?" the Sith asked.
The officer nodded, "Yes, my lord."
"You have a good reputation for observation, captain," Darth Vowrawn put the man at ease. "What have you got for us?"
"Well…" he turned to a voice off holo. "Then activate the cloaking device; we don't want some barbaric idiot stumbling into the ship." He turned back to the holo. "To begin with, we had a run in with some local creatures; little more than animals but organized and intelligent enough to coordinate their actions." He turned way. "Bring up the holo of the attackers."
His image was replaced by a 3D image of a large, hulking, green humanoid dressed in primitive armor and carrying an oversized sword; tusks protruded from its heavy mouth. "They are still snooping about outside," Lakris said from off-camera. "They speak a guttural language that Childress is trying to translate; we should have that done by the time you arrive, agent."
He continued to describe the creature they were looking at. That creature was replaced by several non-humanoid animals, which Lakris described as well.
His image replaced the pictures. "There are apparently two factions at war on this planet and that makes life difficult for us; their reaction is shoot first and ask questions later."
"What about the Force users?" Darth Vowrawn asked.
Lakris suddenly brightened. "That is the fascinating part. It seems almost every living creature on this planet is Force sensitive to some degree. The armed creatures that attacked were wielding only swords and pikes but used the Force to augment their attacks. Halbreth, tell them what you saw."
He was replaced by a slender, young woman. She had a bandage on her cheek. "Manlie and I were foraging when we saw two Force users fighting in the distance. Both were humanoid: one was covered in fur, over two meters tall with a long muzzle; the other was very small and green with large ears. The power they were wielding against one another was devastating: throwing fire and ice, lightening and boulders. Each was able to shield against the attack of the other. We watched through our field glasses. The battle lasted about ten standard minutes before the fur-bearing creature retreated and teleported somehow. Should I tell them about the battle site we found?"
"Please do, Lt. Halbreth," Darth Vowrawn encouraged.
"It was just a little battle, looked to be no more than two companies. Anyway, there was scoring in the earth to indicate the Force was used. This is what one side looked like." The picture of a dead creature with horns, pale blue skin, and animalistic, hooved, hind legs and tail appeared. "As you can see there is no physical evidence of attack; an autopsy indicated the Force had shattered its internal organs." The body of another green hulking creature appeared. "This one was killed by multiple wounds – sword, arrows, and daggers."
"Do you know which company won that engagement?" Darth Vowrawn asked.
"We believe the Growlers," Halbreth explained. "At least there were more of their tracks leading away from the site than the other."
"We are calling the big green creatures Growlers," Lakris explained stepping back into view. "One of the bodies of the hooved-horned beings had a written communiqué. Childress translated enough to figure out they represent 'The Alliance' under the command of a King Wrynn. One of the Growlers also had a written note, which Childress translated. That indicated they were part of what they call 'The Horde' under the command of someone called Hellscream."
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