Infiltration
By Laryn Chillbreeze
Author's notes and disclaimers:
The Star Wars universe and its inhabitants are represented by LucasArts and, more recently, Bioware and EA Games. This is an exclusive contract, so I am not allowed to take any credit for most of this story. I mean it. Give them the credit. I'd rather not have bounty hunters after me.
Warning: This story is classified as a "lime". Read on at your own risk.
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Introductions
"I wouldn't finish that sequence if I were you." The lightly accented words were accompanied by the distinct feel of a blaster barrel pressed into the middle of her back and the sound of a stealth field disengaging. She stiffened in surprise for a moment, then relaxed into her usual bravado as she called to her companion. "Bowdaar, keep this guy busy for just a minute, will you? I'm almost done."
There was no response other than a dry chuckle behind her. "Bowdaar? Is that his name? Sorry, but the wookie is in no position to help you. Now step away from the console." The slicer looked back over her shoulder to confirm the voice's boast. Behind a neatly-groomed man in his early thirties stood her friend and self-proclaimed bodyguard. His head was hanging heavily, and a dart protruded from the fur of his right shoulder. A pale, bald woman with purple tattoos stood confidently training another blaster on the near-unconscious wookie. Not good, she thought. I can get out of here, but I'd have to leave Bowdaar behind. And that bitch would probably kill him first if I started fighting. My best chance is to stall them until that tranquilizer wears off.
Apparently the Imperial knew this too, because his next instructions quickly dashed that plan. "Kaliyo, use the antigrav unit and bring... Bowdaar." The man gave the slicer a meaningful look when he said the name. Kaliyo's scowl was her only answer as she complied. Unfortunately for the intruders, she administered a longer-lasting sedative to the wookie as well.
Her apparent superior never moved his coldly professional gaze from the slicer while he issued his orders and waited for them to be followed. His eyes remained steady as he addressed the slicer directly. "Turn around and put your hands in front of you like a good girl, and we'll be going."
She did turn around, but put her hands on her hips and smirked with barely-felt confidence. "My parents always told me never to go anywhere with strangers. I guess that means I have to stay here. And that computer was so entertaining. I'm sure you don't mind if I keep playing."
"I'm sorry, but I do mind. These computers are for official use only. And..." he feigned chagrin and gave her a slight bow, "I do apologize for my lack of manners. I am Cipher Nine, an agent in the employ of the grand Empire. You, my dear, are under arrest."
Quick but surprisingly gentle hands snapped a restraint on one of the slicer's wrists. When she instinctively grabbed at it with her free hand, Cipher Nine used the opportunity to shackle her other wrist. In spite of her situation, with her wrists bound and her friend in a stupor, the slicer still managed to grin as if she had the upper hand. "So," she asked in a casual tone, "where to?"
In fine rogue fashion, the slicer chatted amiably during their walk to the Mezenti Spaceport, both to keep her spirits up and to possibly gain some useful information. The agent again surprised her by being forthcoming with his answers. No strategic information, of course, Cipher Nine reminded himself, but a pleasant conversation is certainly a nice change. Kaliyo was nearly as silent as the wookie she was guiding along. That was typical for her, when she wasn't making some scathing remark or chiding him for being too soft. Some things just require a more delicate touch. Leave the heavy lifting to the soldiers. His mind wandered to other circumstances involving a "delicate touch" until he noticed the slicer had stopped speaking. She had turned her head toward him and seemed to be waiting for something.
"I'm afraid I didn't hear your question, miss..." Cipher Nine struggled to maintain his sense of being in charge of the situation. Damn this woman is distracting! I haven't even learned her name yet!
"I asked which ship is yours." The slicer ignored the prompt for her name. Cipher Nine could have sworn she gloated briefly, but lost the chance to confirm his suspicion when she looked away to consider the berthed vessels. Well, he hadn't actually given his real name either. But she's my prisoner, not my equal. Worse, she's a threat to the Empire. He pointed out his ship anyway, and saw a look of honest admiration cross her face.
"An X-70 Phantom! Someone must think highly of you. I've only heard rumors of those. So I guess you're not some underling. Glad to know I wasn't caught by just anyone." She held up her head as she added, "Not that I could be caught by just anyone." The flush of pride which had been creeping up Cipher Nine's neck dissipated with the cocky tone in her last statement.
"Actually," he corrected, "that's an X-70B. Top of the line, and your transport to Dromund Kaas where you will face trial and most likely execution." There, that should take her down a notch. "There is a slim chance you can change the outcome, if you're willing to divulge exactly what you learned from our system, what the Republic was planning to do with the information, and perhaps share what you know about the Republic..." He barely bit back the word scum, remembering at the last instant that civility was a better approach with this type. He tapped a short sequence into his wrist computer to open the hatch, then bowed again in a gentlemanly fashion. "After you."
Immediately on boarding the ship, the small party was greeted fervently by a silver and red droid. Cipher Nine ignored it, but Kaliyo relaxed her vigil over the comatose wookie long enough to wave her blaster in the droid's face. "Shut it, Twovee," she growled. The 2V unit gushed apologies and headed off to prepare a meal for the crew and their guests. It wouldn't do to have a hungry wookie on board, after all, and past experience had taught Twovee that hungry masters were more likely to turn service droids to scrap metal. It had heard about that happening to droids on other ships, at any rate.
"These are your quarters. I do hope you find it comfortable," Cipher Nine explained with mock-solicitation as he led the slicer to a holding cell. A short distance away, Bowdaar was deposited by an annoyed-looking Kaliyo into an identical cell. The slicer-turned-prisoner noted with dismay the shock collar around the wookie's neck.
Cipher Nine caught the look and elucidated, "A necessary precaution. Your friend is quite powerful, so I can't risk the damage he would cause if he got loose."
She nodded to concede the point, accepting the indirect compliment and threat with equal aplomb. That self-assurance was interrupted when Cipher Nine produced a syringe filled with a murky purple fluid. "What's that?"
"Truth serum," he answered calmly as injected the liquid into her upper arm. Impressive. She didn't even blink when the needle went in.
"Do you always drug girls before you talk to them?" she teased.
"Just the ones who are likely to be difficult. I want information." He stepped closer until she could feel his breath on her face, then added in a slightly menacing tone, "And I always get what I want."
A chill raced up and down her spine as he left the room. The feeling eventually subsided, and she gathered the courage to taunt silently, Not this time, buddy. Already, one of her cybernetic enhancements was working to purge the serum from her system. Unfortunately, just being able to resist that approach wasn't enough. She had to find a way off this ship and back to freedom. With an effort, she reminded herself of the tight situations she had been in before. I will find a way out of this one. I always do. Dromund Kaas is about half a day away. That's plenty of time. I just need to figure out how. In spite of these assurances, she couldn't help feeling a twinge of panic when the ship's engines roared to life and Nar Shadaa's surface fell away beneath them.
She was no better off twenty minutes later when Cipher Nine came back from the bridge. Bowdaar had regained consciousness, but his initial roars of defiance had given her a splitting headache and earned himself a hefty jolt from the shock collar, gleefully delivered by the Rattataki. Bowdaar and the slicer had both turned down the meal the droid offered, despite the tantalizing aroma rising from the bowls – no small feat for the wookie. Cipher Nine looked at the cooling portions of stew with disapproval.
"If I had wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have wasted the effort to bring you onto my ship to do it. Dead bodies do tend to reek."
"Oh, I'm sure you meant well, but your girlfriend seems to be a bit jealous. I wouldn't put it past her to tamper with the food. Besides, the droid forgot to remove the restraints so we could actually eat." She cocked her head to one side in a coy manner. "Or were you planning on feeding us?" She barely managed to keep from laughing as a variety of emotions passed through Cipher Nine's features: incredulity, irritation, and... shock? Yes, that was definitely shock.
Of all the responses I had anticipated, flirting wasn't one of them. Cipher Nine grinned at the thought. This should be fun.
It was the slicer's turn to be shocked when she saw the agent suddenly grin at her and seat himself in the chair folded down from the opposite wall. "And give your friend a chance to rip my arms from their sockets? I'll give you points for cleverness, but I'm no fool either. As you said, I'm not just anyone. Now, let's talk about who you are and what you were doing at that terminal."
The slicer did her best to evade and deflect questions, and even managed to take the conversation off topic a couple times. By this time, Cipher Nine was up and pacing in front of the cell. Good. Just a little further and he'll make a mistake. With any luck, I can goad him into letting me out. However, she had needed to give a little to keep her verbal footing with him. "I was just curious" would have been dismissed out of hand, so she admitted to searching for schematics. The terminal's records would have told him that much anyway. No kind in particular, she had explained, just anything which might be of interest to a potential buyer. Yes, of course she was about to spike the system; that goes with the territory, so long as one doesn't drop the spike before stealing the data. "Actually, there's a funny story about that..."
Cipher Nine shook his head halfway through the recitation. "So the Republic instructed you to disable the system as well?"
"I already told you, I'm a freelancer. I don't work for the Republic."
"And I already told you I know a Republic spy or saboteur when I see one."
"Then I bet you see a lot of them, because you're seeing them where there aren't any. My work goes to the highest bidder."
"Then who is your employer? And what would he want with Imperial plans?"
"That's classified," she retorted smugly, using his own line from when she had asked what he thought she had found.
Cipher Nine stopped pacing and took a deep breath. This was going nowhere. Part of him was thrilled to have such a delightful challenge, but another part was becoming increasingly frustrated at this woman's mercurial conversational skills. Most people would have broken down by now. Had they met under other circumstances...
He lowered the cell's field so he could address her more directly. She flinched slightly when he brought a hand up next to her face, but he only wound his fingers into her shoulder-length auburn hair.
"So you work for the highest bidder."
Her breathing had quickened a little, but her voice was steady as she replied, "That's right. About time you got it."
"Why not work for me? For the Empire? The Republic... or whoever your employer is," he added with dripping sarcasm, "probably won't be able to match the wages we can provide."
She didn't hesitate before answering, "I hate the Empire. That's part of why I took this job."
The words echoed in Cipher Nine's head for a moment before he thought to ask her why she hated the Empire. Even saying the words left a taste of ash in his mouth. Her flippant response of "long story" was just as frustrating as their earlier conversation had been. Only her barely audible hiss of pain made him aware he was clenching the fist holding her hair. He released his grasp and moved his hand down to her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. Enough was enough.
"Since you insist on being stubborn," he growled, "I can see we're going to have to do this the hard way. I told you before, I always get what I want. You may have forgotten about Bowdaar, but I have not. From now on, every time you refuse to answer a question, the wookie will pay for it. It is a rather barbaric method, but effective. Your friend's pain will loosen your lips." He ran a thumb lightly over her lips as he breathed the last sentence, eliciting a shudder, then waited a moment for the full weight of the threat to sink in.
"Your name," he commanded.
The prisoner shot an apologetic look at Bowdaar, then glared back at Cipher Nine. "Imara."
Two hours later, Cipher Nine had drained Imara of almost all the information she had about the schematics in the Imperial terminal. Half a dozen shocks to the wookie, delivered sadistically by Kaliyo – And most of those with no order to do it, let alone a good reason, she seethed - caused Imara's voice to break, but she adamantly refused to admit being anything other than a freelancer temporarily in the employ of some small-time inventor. Either it was true or a very thorough cover story, because even Imperial records supported her claim. He set that information aside for more careful scrutiny later. Best not to start seeing connections where there were none. Others had made that mistake and lost their minds. Still, he was not satisfied. There was something missing.
Imara recited her answers almost mechanically now, exhausted from the interrogation. Her typical confidence was noticeably flagging, as her responses became more straightforward and less self-assured. What does he want? she fumed inwardly, although even that was lacking energy. I've already told him everything I know about those damned schematics... well, most of it. He can't have guessed the rest.
Cipher Nine paced restlessly in front of Imara's cell, trying to find the missing bit of information. Finally he stopped and grabbed her chin again, searching for clues in her expression. A flinch – fear. Good, she should be afraid. People who are afraid are more likely to slip up in their story. A tiny shift of her left eye (he couldn't tell what the right one was doing) in the direction of the other cell accompanied by a crease in her forehead. She's worried the wookie is about to get shocked again. Indeed, Kaliyo was looking at Cipher Nine expectantly.
A quick tightening of the lips. That's not good – she's thinking about fighting back. Damn, but this one is fiery! Well, best to keep her off balance so she can't set her defenses again. Before he could think twice about what most would consider rash, or at best unprofessional, he used his free hand to draw Imara in for a kiss. Kaliyo growled almost as loudly as Bowdaar, but he didn't care. He had a job to do, and he wasn't about to let some Republic girl keep him from doing it.
She's still fighting me, he observed as he felt her body tense. He pulled back to consider the effects of his decision. Her normally direct gaze was averted, and her respiration and pulse rates had both risen sharply. Her small hands had balled into fists; if not for the restraints, she probably would have slugged him for that. Before she had the chance to move into action, Cipher Nine took a step back, cleared his throat, and smoothed his coat and beard. By the time he had finished, Imara had relaxed back into her confident posture and was regarding him carefully.
"Shall we try this again?" he asked patiently. He was about to start asking questions about her employer, but those questions were halted by Imara's best seductive smile.
"Fine by me," she purred, "but I don't think this is the best place for it, do you?" Obviously his attempt to unbalance his prisoner had backfired, because he was the one who was floored. Once he had replaced his wits into some semblance of order, he decided a little recreation was one of the perks of the job, and what could a bound, unarmed young woman on a hostile ship in deep space do anyway?
He's good in bed, I'll give him that, Imara mused as she looked at the sleeping figure next to her. Too bad he hadn't noticed her palm one of his tranquilizer darts when he reached out to keep her from "falling". These gentleman types are all the same – they see a damsel in distress and lose their senses. She chuckled quietly at how unfair it all was for guys, then unbound her cuffs. The restraints were standard-issue; no challenge for Imara. He had underestimated her. They all do, for some reason. She shrugged as she pulled on her clothing, fastened her weapons belt, then activated her stealth field generator.
Kaliyo slumped where she sat on the bridge when the dart struck home. Imara eased the woman's body to the deck, then went to free Bowdaar. On the way, she encountered Twovee and prepared to blast it. Amazingly, the droid surrendered without a fight, then deactivated itself. Not a combat droid, I guess. As Bowdaar moved the two new prisoners into the ship's holding cells, Imara set course for Republic space.
A minor course correction set them down in a large field on Alderaan a short time later. Imara could very easily have brought the troublesome agent to Republic security, but he hadn't actually harmed her or Bowdaar. Aside from the application of the shock collar, both had actually been treated rather well. Okay, so maybe the Empire has a few good people in it, she admitted silently. That still doesn't excuse what they did.
Her contemplation was interrupted by Bowdaar's rumbling voice. "Why are we leaving live enemies behind us?" he inquired.
Imara's thoughts turned inward again for a moment before answering. "An old friend once told me the best vengeance is letting a person live with their failure." The wookie nodded grudging acceptance and followed the slicer to the Republic spaceport.
"Summers, aren't we going after them?" Kaliyo pressed.
Agent "Cipher Nine" Summers, released by the recently reactivated droid, reached the viewport in time to watch the pair disappear over the horizon.
"Not this time. We got what we were after, and I'm sure we'll see them again. Let's go make our report."
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A/N: I agree with the review by moody bloom, and have changed the rating from M to T.
Update - October 27, 2012: I know my review challenge (10 reviews) wasn't anywhere close to being met, but my muse would have given me a concussion if I didn't finish the story anyway. Future chapters are ready for posting, and will contain spoilers for the smuggler and IA storylines as well as references to Imara's backstory (laid out in "How I Became a Smu... Businesswoman).
