After defeating General Rakton in an intense battle, Major Alsorran of Havoc Squad has been called back to Coruscant. Spoilers for the Trooper, Bounty Hunter, Agent, Smuggler, and Jedi Consular storyline.
Rated T - Language, violence.
Cantinas were a place Major Nonalo Alsorran never expected to find herself in. She had never been much of a drinker during her time in military training and even less so as a ranking member. The loud music of the place gnawed at her brain. Nonalo could handle hours of firing rifles and bombs exploding but the obnoxious sounds of sentient beings irritated her. She sat at a round table in the Sailor's Sun Cantina on the ruins of Corellia, waiting patiently for a drink one of her squadmates fetched her. Without her durasteel chestplate and heavy greaves, Nona felt exposed. The soft touch of cloth to her green skin made her weary. Thankfulness did not cover what she felt about the hidden blaster she had on her belt. Eyes flitted toward her still. Ever since her arrival had been announced by a slightly drunk Aric Jorgan, people could not look away. She was the hero of Corellia. The Hero of the Republic. Nona was no Jedi and able still to change the course of the war in the Republic's favor.
Yuun, her tech specialist returned with a neon purple drink. The Gand murmured something about the contents of the beverage but Nona paid him no attention. Her brain pulsated with an ache. She wanted nothing more than the sleep aboard her ship, the BT-7 Thunderclap. However, her crew, the most talented soldiers in the Republic had demanded shore leave. And who was she to deny them? Hesitantly, Nona brought the cocktail to her lips.
"Major," A male voice spoke softly from behind her. She turned and was surprised to see Jonas Balkar. An SIS agent who had worked with her on numerous ops was standing there on Corellia smiling at her.
"Agent," She said quickly to cover her confusion. Jonas looked to Yuun and bowed his head respectfully. Unlike many who encountered the enigmatic Gand, Jonas did not seem to care that Yuun was not human. She herself being a Mirialan affected her greatly whenever anti-alien sentiment was abound. "I wouldn't expect to see an SIS agent here on the battlefront." Nona said in her best attempt at joking. Ever since a child, Nona had been reserved. Her mother and father had raised her on their ancestral home world of Mirial. There, she had been taught the ways of her people. Connecting to the peace of the galaxy. Some would call it communing with the Force but Nona had always struggled with this. Milara, her sister was different. Her strength in the Force was exceptional; something her parents were ever so proud of until the Empire discovered Milara's existence. She shook away the dark memories of her childhood to meet Jonas' gaze.
"I'm here for you, Major." Jonas said with a solemn expression. Nona's heart leapt at his words. Her tattooed cheeks flushed with an emotion Nona had not felt in some time. Warzones were not the place for emotions as flimsy as crushes. Jonas took the open chair at the table. A scantily clad Twi'lek server approached and asked for Jonas' order. He asked for a Tatooinian Sunrise before turning back to an interested Yuun and tired Nona. "Yesterday morning, we got an Imperial Intelligence defector." Nona set her colorful drink on the table and crossed her arms before her as she waited for him to continue. "She is the very agent who revealed the past Supreme Chancellor's skewed alliances." Jonas took a sip of the drink that had just arrived for him.
"What does that have to do with me? I work best on the battlefield and not in clandestine back-channels." Nona had never tried her hand at the spygame. Jonas cracked a smile.
"Oh I know, Major. I've seen your talents in the field." Nona's face got warmer. Was that even possible? Jonas finished his drink before speaking again.
"The agent will only work with you." Jonas finally admitted.
Unease crept through her body. Imperial Intelligence was a slimy beast that it seemed could never be put down. Just the thought of an agent made her skin crawl. Her thoughts must have written themselves out on her face. Jonas sighed in understanding.
"Major!" Aric, Nona's right-hand man, sidled up to the table with a rapturous human woman hanging onto his waist. "Who knew Corellia could be this fantastic?" Aric's breath smelled heavily of alcohol. Having to burst Aric's celebratory bubble was almost as bad as having to meet with this unknown Imp.
"Sorry, Jorgan, we are needed on Coruscant." Nona stood from the table. Aric's smile fell instantly.
"Yes, sir." He stood as straight as an arrow, all traces of intoxication unexplainably gone. "I'll get the rest of Havoc Squad to the ship ASAP." Nona thanked him with a nod. She turned to Jonas.
"See you in the capitol." She said before walking out of the cantina.
The BT-7 Thunderclap was a standard issue ship provided to all Republic lieutenants. Nona was now a major but she had grown accustomed to the smaller vessel and had yet to request a new one, much to the chagrin of Tanno Vik, her Weequay bombs expert. He lacked the gung-ho motivation the rest of her crew boosted. Nona had recruited him off a battle-scarred Balmorra with the promises of wealth and glory. Havoc had the glory but still lacked of credits.
"Already have us working the grind! Damn slavers." Vik grumbled after Nona had spoken to the crew in the holocommunicator room of the ship.
"Shut it, Vik." Aric snapped. "Did Agent Balkar give any more information than that, Major?" Aric stood at attention like he always did.
"You know SIS, they aren't keen to give out the information to just anyone." Nona sighed.
"We need to proceed with caution here, Major." Elara Dorne said. Dorne was her squad's medic and an Imperial defector herself. Her accent was crisp and had taken Nona some time to get accustomed to. "Imperial Intelligence is a snake. This is likely a last-ditch effort by Intelligence to get a cypher agent into the Republic." Dorne spoke from experience. Her father, Vasil Dorne was indeed a special attaché to the Ministry of Intelligence.
"Cypher agent?" Vik asked sharply. "What's that?"
"Cyphers are the field operatives of Imperial Intelligence. They specialize in covert operations, assassinations, data gathering, and infiltration." Dorne spoke as though she were reading a manual.
As her squad continued its bickering, Nona turned to glance out the viewpoint to her left. The electric blue of hyperspace reflected in her eyes. Maybe she had wanted some shore leave like her crew. But Nona was a reliable soldier; she would always follow the orders given to her by superiors. This op was one that left a bad taste in her mouth yet she allowed her ship to carry on toward the Republic's capital world of Coruscant.