A/N: This is a piece I'd written a few months back when I started rewriting Recompense. It takes place after ch. 1 - towards the beginning of Forged Alliances - and doesn't quite fit in with the condensed outline I'm working with now. However, it's got a couple important plot tidbits in it, and honestly I really like how I wrote Lana here, so I figured I'd go ahead and post it.
Lana hated pacing. Ultimately, all it did was expend an unnecessary amount of energy and didn't do anything to increase productivity.
And yet, she found her self doing precisely that — pacing around Arkous' office, pausing every so often to check for new messages. Lana had little else to do until Arkous returned, and the time-sensitive nature of their mission was beginning to test her nerves. Arkous himself had gone to greet the Wrath; he considered it to be only proper to be there to meet her in person when she arrived. There had been no further word from Cipher Nine — Arkous had confirmed her identity, it seemed — only that she had agreed to meet with them.
As Lana slowed again, picking up her datapad, she was stopped by the appearance of two women — one togruta and one human — in the doorway to the office. Gently placing the datapad back down, Lana cleared her throat. "Agent Ven, I presume?"
"Miss Beniko, I presume?" the togruta echoed, tone serious but expression playful. "I spoke with Arkous when we landed. He said his advisor would be waiting for me."
"Yes." She gave a curt nod. "Darth Arkous should be returning momentarily. I can brief you, in the meantime, but your associate—"
"—is part of an incredibly classified Intelligence initiative," Agent Ven finished. "This is Ensign Temple. She's training under me. She goes where I go."
The ensign glanced over at the agent, but said nothing. Lana supposed she could accept the explanation, and chose not to pry about the woman's connection to the Force — it was well-hidden, faint but still unmistakable. A curiosity, but ultimately irrelevant.
"The final decision will be up to Arkous," Lana cautioned, "but for now, she may stay."
"Good. And I don't think he'll have any objections. We met earlier," Ven explained, voice nonchalant, as if working with esteemed members of the Dark Council was an everyday occurrence. Which, given her reputation, it might've been. "He wanted to have a few words with the Wrath first, but they should be along soon."
"Understood." Lana once again checked her datapad for messages — this time suppressing her urge to pace — and, as Ven had suggested, it was only a few moments before Arkous arrived, followed closely by the Emperor's Wrath. Instead of the sleek red and black armor she was known to wear, Darth Evris was in simple crimson robes, her loose blonde hair cascading down her back. She was accompanied by two other humans, both of whom Lana recognized — one was Darth Evris' apprentice, the other was her husband, a captain who'd served with her for as long as she'd been in the public eye.
Lana supposed it would be in poor taste to comment on their recent wedding, given that they'd gone to such lengths to avoid the continued public interest in the affairs. Instead, she gave a quick bow. "My lord, it's an honor."
Evris nodded in acknowledgment. "The honor is mine. Darth Arkous speaks highly of you."
"I'm only doing my duty to my lord and my Empire, same as anyone."
"Indeed," Arkous commented, "but there are those who serve because it is what they know, and those who serve with unmatched dedication and tenacity. The two of you — Darth Evris and Agent Ven — are the latter, and will bring glory to the Empire today."