Author'sNote:This idea came to me while I was playing Saint's Row The Third. I know that there are other modern-age DA2 stories out there and I hope not to step on toes with my plot line here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age 2, Origins or Awakening. If I did the rating would have jumped higher than M.

The Imperium

Prologue: Making Plans

Written by ClaretAmazon

Papers lay scattered on the desk, centered around an open laptop. It shed grainy gray light across them, the inked words standing out in sharp contrast to their pale backgrounds. Figures moved across the screen to join together, one groping and eager, the other simply docile. A piece of paper left it's vantage point, retreating into the darkness like a shamed lover.

Hawke skimmed the words on the page, memorizing them. He would need all the knowledge he could get for this assignment Meredith had placed before him. Information was sketchy on the Imperium, too many agents never returned to gather anything concrete on their dealings. Oh, it was common intel that the Imperium dealt with everything from lobbying Politicians in the country that they practically owned, and in other countries, all the way down to have a massive hand in the thriving – yet underground – Slave Trade.

The Imperium... on the surface it was a large organization, but nothing more than a group of Magi thugs on a power trip at the core. They had been around for as long as anyone could remember, longer than the Antivan Crows even, based out of Tevinter. Their fingers were everywhere, their eyes on everything that happened. They were to blame for mysterious disappearances, a Politicians rise or downfall, for war, for racketeering, money laundering, for blood magic. Any evil thing a sane person could think of they had done, and more.

Kirkwall's Templar branch of the CIA had contacted him after their latest spy stopped reporting in. Nuit 'Hawke' Amell had a reputation for getting things done on the sly and had tangled with the Imperium's small scale slave trading before. He had been more than happy to take this assignment, with stipulations of course. Meredith had been less than pleased but had eventually agreed. She could no longer risk her own people without bringing down the ire of the Viscount and the Chantry.

Nuit had been hired to take down one of the top Lieutenants, or Senator, by the name of Sextus Danarius Saturninus. A high ranking Senator close to the Archon of the Imperium. He was mostly involved in the slavery, blood magic and black market antiquities, along with a nice dash of experimentation on humanoids.

The mage set the paper down, eyes returning to the movie. The quality of it was poor, pixellated and slightly out of focus. That he had it at all was a testament to his predecessor's skill. This DVD had been copied from Danarius' own discs that he kept in his private chambers in Tevinter. He kept a multitude of them, some of them heavily encrypted records of his business, others were like this one: a recording of his bodyguards extra activities.

Hawke shifted uneasily as he watched the bodyguard stretch out on the bed, looking like a stringless puppet while a older, heavyset male pawed at his body. The bodyguard was an elf, definitely male, and covered in pale white tattoo's. The poor quality of the DVD copy didn't give him much detail beyond those markings, the collar around his neck, and his hair and skin colors.

The written information on the man was also just as poor. His name was Fenris, somewhere between mid-twenties and early thirties,skilled with the Remington Model 7615, Colt New Agent, and interestingly enough, the Greatsword. A note on the half-page of information queried that he might be one of Danarius' experiments. It went on to describe that the Senator sold the man to those who could afford the hefty price tag attached. The DVD's were possibly blackmail fodder. So far he'd seen one Merchant Prince of Antiva, two of Kirkwall's elite, and currently onscreen was an Orlesian businessman.

Another piece of paper was pulled forward to divert his attention away from the sickening action on screen. Unlike the others sent into the Imperium Hawke had decided to take a different route. They came into the gang via competitions for new blood to bolster their lower ranks and worked their way up. He would get into the gang through Fenris.

With the unlimited credit card Meredith had (grudgingly) given to him he had secured an 'appointment' with the Senator's slave. He would meet him tomorrow night in Minrathous' ValanrianLussoHotel. It was rather upscale, most likely the nicest place he would ever rest his head. He was not looking forward to it at all. Slavery and prostitution never sat well with him, and to now be involved in it, he only wanted to gag.

If everything went right then he would be in the Imperium by the end of the week. If everything went horribly wrong... well, his brother would be one very rich Warden.

The rutting body playing out on his laptop's screen was given a final disturbed glance before it was turned off. He'd need to see Varric before he left, make sure everything was in order before he left for Tevinter.