A/N: so a while back "I rly love rei" and "I rly love consulars" combined into a jedi!rei au and snowballed into this with the whole LvsD event so uh
this is just an intro/info dump fic to get a hang of writing rei as a consular and cori as a warrior, but in the future I'm not sure I'll be doing much with the actual plot of sor/kotfe. as much as I love the whole cross-faction romances, there are fun things you just can't do with them, so this is my self-indulgent-ship-fluff project to make up for that [if you do want plot stuff or canon stuff I'll shamelessly recommend my sor fic Ostensibly]
there's also at least one fake married fic planned.
Manaan, 13 ATC
Rei split from the Sith as soon as they landed back at the facility. Nadia trailed behind, casting glances at the togruta and her apprentice even as they disappeared further down the walkway.
"So," Rei began, drawing the single syllable out as she spoke to Theron over the comm line, "the Sith was a nice touch."
"When I tried putting the diplomat in charge of finding allies, she said 'no, we'll be fine' and complained about how boring politics are."
"That was back when our plan involved sneaking into some private research labs, not sinking half the facilities." Rei motioned to Nadia, and they slowly began walking back from where they'd landed the escape shuttle. With their soaked robes and sloshing boots, it would be a long trip back to the office Theron was waiting at. "But it's fine. It was nice. Like a little master—padawan dual training session. We all stab things together and the other pair… you know."
She faltered; fighting alongside a Sith hadn't quite been an experience she could put into words. The actual fighting had been mostly the same, though the two Sith were far more in sync than Rei and Nadia. The togruta had a flair for the dramatic, Rei assumed, given that she seemed to prefer to kill things with a quick burst of Force energy or a few precise strikes of her lightsaber then turn and walk away, cape billowing behind her in a way that could only be intentional.
Her apprentice, it seemed, was at least polite. Rei could easily sense that she was incredibly powerful in the Force, but she wasn't the beacon of darkness her master was — she was simply there. Rei had figured that she — perhaps even moreso than Nadia — would be interested in her knowledge of the Force-sensitive selkath, but Theron had suggested over the comm that she wait.
Something about maybe when they're not trying to kill you.
Well, when they returned, Rei would be enlightening them — and not just on Force cults, but architecture, too; recent trends on Manaan were among some of her favorites, right up there with ancient Sith and the upper levels of Taris before its destruction.
All of which, she supposed, should probably wait until their current situation was dealt with.
When Rei and Nadia arrived back at the office they'd originally met Theron at, they found him gathering up datapads and equipment and anything else he'd brought with him. He glanced up, tossing a small holoprojector at Rei that she barely caught by reaching out with the Force. "The Imperials are after the Revanites, too," Theron offered as explanation. "They've agreed to play nice and help us go after Darok and Arkous."
Rei let the holoprojector drop into her waiting hands. The thought of having to continue to work with the Sith was enough to send a shiver along her spine; she supposed it was too much to hope that they could simply let the Imperials handle the situation alone, and she got the feeling Theron wasn't the sort to leave a job half finished. If she left — and she was almost tempted to — it would mean leaving Theron to work with at least three Sith, which wasn't something Rei would've been comfortable leaving anyone to do. Except, maybe, another Sith.
As she followed Theron out of the cramped office — assuming they were headed to meet with the Imperials — Rei motioned for Nadia to follow and fell into step beside Theron. "Do you trust them?"
He gave her a quick sidelong glance, frowning. "We don't have to trust them to work with them," he finally offered with a shrug. "Right now they want the same thing we do, which is to take care of the Revanites."
"I suppose that's enough for now." Still, it left the question of what they would do once everything was over; at best, it would be an awkward parting of ways, but Rei doubted things would end on such positive terms.
After making their way through the facility, they entered into a large room, one that looked as if it were normally used as a conference room of sorts. The togruta and her apprentice stood near the table, and a twi'lek sat cross-legged on one of the chairs, her chin resting on one of her hands. A blonde Sith stood near them, and greeted Rei, Theron, and Nadia as they entered.
"Theron Shan." She gave a short nod towards the agent, then turned to others. "And the Jedi team. Lana Beniko," she introduced herself. "I helped to coordinate the Empire's attack on Tython."
Rei cleared her throat; she squared her shoulders and straightened her posture in an reflexive attempt to keep from being overshadowed by the Sith. "Master Reiyaxa Kahzri," she paused, clasping her hands behind her back, "of the Jedi High Council. This is my padawan, Nadia. We're well aware of your role in the attack." The last bit slipped out before Rei fully realized what she was saying, earning her a skeptical eyebrow raise from Lana and an exasperated eye roll from Theron.
"This is the Lord Wrath." Lana motioned to the togruta. "She and her crew have been an integral part of our success."
"Lord Coryn Ven. If our goals truly align, then it will be a pleasure working with you." Her voice was softer than Lana's, smooth and quiet and not at all what Rei expected from someone with such a towering, imposing figure. She inspected the Republic team, glancing over them with her sharp, coppery eyes before continuing. "My apprentice, Jaesa, and my second-in-command, Vette. Now — Theron, you mentioned something about Rakatan technology."
"Right." Theron held out a hand, and Rei surrendered the holoprojector, which he set on one of the large tables and pulled up some information from his datapad. "Here's what we know about the actual cyborgs."
The twi'lek gave a long, loud sigh, leaning back on her hands and tilting her head to look over at the Wrath. "Considering what you've gotten us into, I'm revoking your vacation-planet-choosing privileges."
"Are you certain this wise? Or even necessary?"
If Lana was at all perturbed by Cori's constant questioning, she didn't show it. "Respectfully, my lord," she began, turning to face Cori, "I do believe it's necessary. Seeing as it's our only real option at this point, whether or not it's wise is beside the point, is it not?"
Cori didn't respond immediately, instead frowning and continuing to watch as the Republic team made their way through the long hallways of the Manaan facility that had become their impromptu base of operations. There was something not quite right about the trio; Cori had met members of the Jedi council before — none of which were still alive — and this Master Reiyaxa was… odd. She was filled with eagerness and pride and a sort of unsettled agitation that Cori couldn't quite decipher, yet the Jedi didn't try to hide any of it. And her padawan was hardly a shining example of the light side; there wasn't necessarily darkness within her, but a churning mess of emotions that, in Cori's opinion, would've made the girl a wonderful Sith.
The pair was concerning enough, and that wasn't even taking the spy into consideration. He seemed earnest but guarded, and Cori sensed nothing but honesty when he offered to work with them, but that was far from enough for her to trust him; her sister was a spy, and though they'd fallen out of touch in recent years, Cori knew just enough about the workings of Imperial Intelligence to know that everything — well-intentioned or not — was an opportunity.
Besides, Shan already knew more about her than anyone outside of the Dark Council.
As the Wrath, Cori was no more than a shadow or a myth, an agent of the Emperor that most Imperials doubted even existed. Beyond tales told in hushed whispers, the only proof of the Wrath's existence was her bare chambers given to her within the Citadel, where Quinn — now a glorified secretary — resided, taking requests and jobs and messages and passing on only the most important to Cori.
She had all but a dozen people in the Empire doubting her existence, and Shan knew exactly who she was and what she looked like. It was a problem that would have to be handled, sooner rather than later; it was only a matter of how.
"And when this is over?" Cori cleared her throat, glancing over at Lana. "We cannot simply part ways."
Lana tilted her head a bit, brow furrowing as she thought. "Couldn't we? I don't believe they intend to deceive us — it's not typical of the Republic, and Master Reiyaxa has a bit of a history with… unconventional alliances."
"Ten minutes ago you were telling me to be wary, that she rose to her station by systematically hunting down Sith and fallen Jedi."
"They weren't her allies."
Cori had to clench her teeth to keep from breaking into a smile at the teasing lilt to Lana's tone. As it was, she could already feel her frustration and worry dissipating, replaced with an unfocused preoccupation with the golden-haired Sith standing beside her. "Might I remind you, Miss Beniko, that when this is all over, we'll no longer be her allies. Just Sith." She clasped her hands behind her back and continued to stare out across the rest of the facility, but the edge had drained from her voice as well. "Or shall we just plan to burn that bridge when we come to it?"
Amusement shone in Lana's eyes, though the rest of her expression remained pensive. "Not exactly how I would word it, but yes."
For Vette's sake, Cori pretended she couldn't hear the twi'lek's snickering from behind them.