Meeting the past

It was almost funny how much it actually bothered her to realize that she was jealous. She had no reason to be jealous, and no right, either; Vector was Vector, and he was here, on her ship. He had made it clear that he preferred to be here, that he preferred to be with her...

But it still made her feel moderately insecure to think about what he might have been like before he'd become a Joiner. Would he have become engaged to Anora if he hadn't become a Joiner? Would he have even liked her, the Cipher agent, if they'd met then?

Toni laced her hands behind her head and stared at her ceiling; she had told him what she thought he needed to hear, and the words were truthful; people changed as life did, and Vector had moved on, changed as the circumstances demanded. Anora wanted him to return to the person he had been, but that was almost an impossible feat. Even if the Joining could be reversed—and who was to say that was impossible—he didn't want it, and she wasn't the kind of person who would try and force her opinion on someone else.

Besides, she liked Vector as he was. He simply seemed to want her to be happy, which, given recent events, was somewhat lower on her scale of things to do. What was there to be happy about?

After a moment she sighed, and rolled onto her stomach, half-burying her face in her pillow; what she ought to be doing was sleeping, not fussing about some woman in Vector's past. It was the past, and he had said he felt nothing for her any longer. He was happy as he was, and that was enough.

It made her smile, just a little bit; admittedly if Vector had never become a Joiner, they never would have met, and she never would have found a sense of calm on board her ship, in this turbulent turn that life had taken. Even now, she still didn't fully trust most of the people on her ship except Vector.

That said, given Kaliyo's latest escapades, the distrust in her was still well-deserved. Both Lokin and Temple, however, had been steadily growing on her. Lokin's rather acerbic humor covered well for his active concern over her physical state, and Temple... Stars, Temple was just too cute for a human. She still felt rather bad about the forced transfer, at that...

"Agent?"

Toni lifted her head slightly as Vector peered around the door frame.

"We are... sorry to interrupt, but we have something we think you ought to see."

She pushed herself upright with a mental complaint—why was it that every time she wanted a nap, something happened?—and motioned him in. When he cycled the door closed, she raised her eyebrows... and then when she caught his pensive expression, they came back down in concern.

"What's going on?" she asked, scooting to the side of the bed.

"Anora has... contacted us again. Initially we thought to ignore the message, but..."

He pulled out his holocom and hit the playback button; Anora's form popped up, looking nervous, uneasy. Toni was immediately put on alert; something about her body language didn't inspire trust.

"Vector, I know this probably isn't the best way, but... I want to meet with you. Please, just to talk for a short while? I can't... forget what we had. I still... I miss you, and I want to see you. If you'll come to Kaas City, we can go to the restaurant that we always enjoyed, and just... We can spend some time together. Like we used to. Please."

Toni pressed her lips together briefly as the message ended. He'd brought this to her for a reason, and he wasn't the sort to pit one woman against another for his affections. Especially when he didn't feel affection for Anora any longer. Jealousy warred with, and lost to, a nebulous suspicion instead. Something about that whole message seemed... off.

"We feel that it is... inadvisable," he said after a moment, putting the communicator back in its pouch. "But we also think that perhaps we should go just to tell her in person. Perhaps she is one of those who needs that."

"It feels like a trap," Toni replied with a frown. "In her previous message she implied that they could try to... reverse your Joining. I don't think you should go. Or if you decide to go, I don't think you should go alone."

"We... were hoping that you might come with us, actually," he admitted. "We do not want to cause strife, but perhaps she would accept from another non-Joiner what she cannot from me."

The rare personal pronoun was what really got her attention; Vector was Killik enough, had been with her long enough that she had grown used to, enjoyed, even, his odd speech patterns. As she had learned, had seen, the Dawn Herald could keep parts of their individualism, their own perspective, over that of the hive. But this was something outside the nest, in the realm of personal for him.

In short, this really was bothering him. How could she do anything but protect him?

"I'd be more than happy to accompany you to Dromund Kaas and make sure nothing happens," she said after a moment, reaching over to lay a hand on his arm. "I like you the way you are."

The admission seemed to surprise him, but after a moment, he smiled.

"We are pleased to know this."


It felt vaguely uncomfortable to be in Kaas City after so long; she hadn't reported in to the Intelligence building in what felt like years—funny how a minimum of downtime made it seem like time itself passed so much faster—and part of her rather wanted to... while the rest of her wanted to never set foot in those halls again, still angry as she was about the brainwashing nonsense. That she still worked for them was only temporary until she could figure out a way to break free of all of it.

"So, where are we going, exactly?" she asked, absently adjusting the fall of her hood. It wouldn't do for someone to catch a glimpse of her on a holofeed, not with the Star Cabal raising trouble the way it was.

"There is a restaurant in the plaza, not far from here," Vector explained. "It was not very expensive, so we would often come here during class breaks and practice our skills at reading body language."

"We being you personally, or you and Anora?"

He surprised her then by taking her hand, and she realized that she had probably sounded more jealous than curious. Despite this, he seemed to not be bothered, and only smiled at her slightly when she glanced up at him in surprise.

"It varied. We did both, though we learned quickly to make it a point to never stare at Sith."

Toni grimaced a little; she wasn't afraid of the Sith any longer, but she still treated them with more caution than Modiri. Most Sith had unreasonable down to an art form.

"I can certainly understand that. I did... something very similar when I joined the Academy."

Mostly in sheer self-defense; humans could be far more subtle than her own people, and learning to tell the difference between mockery and joking was what had allowed her to stay at the top of her class. As had a bit of subtle sabotage and rumor-mongering of her own; she hadn't been inclined to be ushered out for any reason.

Foolish of her, considering the Empire's views on non-humans. But she had wanted so badly to prove herself. To ensure that the sacrifices she'd made to get so far were worth something.

"Agent?"

She startled a little, and shook herself lightly, glancing up at him curiously.

"We find that we are... uneasy. Now that we are here."

Toni glanced around the plaza, then tipped her head lightly, reaching up to tap into her com.

"Ensign?"

"Here, sir. No unusual activity that I can see."

"Doctor?"

"The same," Lokin replied in his crisp, professional voice. "No extra guards, or additional monitors of any type. For the moment, all is clear."

Now it was Vector's turn to blink. Toni smiled a little.

"You think I'd leave this sort of thing to chance?" she teased lightly. "I don't know about you, but I happen to have a healthy sense of paranoia."

That got her a chuckle, and he squeezed her hand lightly.

"We appreciate the care you take on our behalf."

Toni stayed quiet, but this time she squeezed his hand. Maybe later she would tell him that she knew all too well what happened to people who walked into uncertain situations unprepared; maybe later she could tell him that she had a pit in her stomach that was fear of him disappearing, never coming back.

Maybe later, when she was certain there weren't monitors, when her comm channel wasn't open by necessity to receive verbal reports, she could find the words to articulate how much she needed the stability he gave her. Maybe even tell him why. Maybe...

She gave herself a mental shake after a moment, composing her expression into calm neutrality as they approached a small outdoor seating area, plainly attached to a nearby eatery. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand from his, taking a more professional attitude on the situation; she was here to make sure he didn't disappear. She was not here to interfere with a discussion unless it turned dangerous.

"Sir, at least three other people have turned to stare," Temple reported over the secure channel. "They're looking at Vector, and seem to be consulting datapads."

"...we see Anora," Vector said after a moment. He sounded almost... nervous. "She said she would meet us at the usual table, but she is much farther back than we remember our usual table being."

"Two people just passed me wearing heavy-ass armor under their coats," Kaliyo said, her cool tone almost bored. "Looks like they're heading your way, agent. No guns, but they definitely walked like they had weapons."

Five on two odds weren't terrible, but now Toni was wishing she'd asked Modiri to come along as extra muscle. The bounty hunter's attitude was much more imposing, while Toni's skills lay more in making people forget she was standing there. While having Temple monitoring the coms was good, Mako probably would have been better at it, or they could have split the tasks. Granted, SCORPIO would have outstripped both of them, but as far as Toni was concerned, that droid was only a temporary addition to the crew, and as soon as she could, she was either going to dismantle SCORPIO, or find her another berth. One far away from her ship and her crew.

Vector stopped at the edge of the table, next to the chair, and Anora looked up, smiling weakly.

"It's... lovely to see you again, Vector," she said, and her voice seemed just as weak as her smile. "I ordered your favorite, it should be here in a... a moment... Who's this?"

Toni took up what was usually Vector's position; standing at his back and a little to the side, giving him room to act as necessary. She also made it a point to not face the table; right now, she was acting as Vector's guard, and she took her chosen duties seriously. Scanning the plaza, she caught sight of several people congregating at the far end... they looked like Sith, and Sith in groups always spelled trouble.

Why were Sith there, actually? Other than inside the Sith Sanctuary, they tended to hate being close to one another. This needed careful watching...

"She is our guard, and friend," she heard him say. Mentally she smiled; she was so much more than that, really. "We are grateful for the consideration, but... we do not intend to remain," he continued gravely. "We are appreciative of your concern, Anora, but we are who we are, and we are content in this."

"Vector, it's not right what was done to you!" Anora said insistently. "You're human, not... this."

Toni did her best not to bristle at Anora's tone; Imperials who were in Intelligence or the Diplomatic corps tended to have more open minds than the an average, run-of-the-mill person, but on a whole the Empire didn't like someone if they weren't human. Anora, it seemed, was no different.

We are an ally to the Empire, and work directly with their best agent. We would not be thus if we were not also the Dawn Herald of our nest. We do not regret the path our life has taken. That is all we wished to say. Please excuse us."

Toni heard Anora's chair clatter, and half-turned to give the human woman a sharp look. Anora looked upset, and had reached out to grab Vector by the arm; it took a lot to keep herself from smacking those grasping hands off, and his careful attempts at extraction didn't help Toni's temper any.

"Sir, there are a lot of Sith at the far end of the plaza," Temple reported, her voice worried. Toni half-turned away, focusing on the words to distract from the irritation. "I think something's going on over there that you might want to be elsewhere for."

"I agree," Lokin cut in. "It would appear that a number of heavily armored droids are also beginning to circle the area. Leaving the plaza in haste seems like a sound plan."

"I said excuse me," Anora repeated, her tone turning a little strident. "Are you listening?"

"You're excused," Toni shot without really thinking about it. Then grimaced a little; she'd been hanging around Modiri far too much recently, and it was showing in her speech patterns. "What?"

"Well, you're his... his friend. Can't you talk him into it? He's human, he's supposed to be human, not... not a..."

Toni turned to face the woman squarely, battling her annoyance. She considered and discarded a handful of replies, trying to walk the line of someone too busy to deal with this sort of petty nonsense.

"Firstly, it's very rude to talk about someone as if they're not standing right there. Vector, I apologize for it."

"We are not insulted," he said mildly, a small smile flickering across his face.

"Secondly, I like Vector as he is. And he says he prefers to be this way. Just because you want him to return to his old self doesn't mean-"

The explosion at the far end of the plaza had her whirl, reaching for her rifle as she did so. Said far end had cleared of civilians... and those who hadn't cleared out weren't likely to be alive, considering the spread of the rubble. It hadn't come flying their way, at least, but when she glanced over her shoulder to make sure Vector wasn't in danger, she saw Anora latched onto his arm again.

She turned back, and tapped her earpiece.

"What the hell is going on?" she snapped.

"Sith games," Lokin said, his tone acerbic. "I recognize this. They release some slaves and prisoners, and if they can make it to a designated safe zone before the Sith apprentices catch them, they're free. Theoretically."

"Tch. Temple, I need a route out. Now."

Going towards the Sith was a bad idea in general. Worse if they were playing some power-games, which... they were Sith. Those were unavoidable. But this plaza was a deathtrap, and the Sith were crowded near the only real exit.

"Working... Okay. Go out through the restaurant at your left; there's a sewer that can get you all the way out of the city. Or somewhere else in the city, if you'd like."

She nodded, and glanced at Vector. As long as they made it to a safe place, she'd be content.

"It's not safe to walk by Sith," he observed. "Especially not when they are actively causing damage."

The dry delivery of the obvious made her smile a little, if tightly. Just one of the things she enjoyed about him, really. Had he always possessed that sort of humor? Would it vanish if he became a full human again?

Why was she wondering this? He wasn't going to change. He'd already said as much.

"There's a way out through the restaurant itself. Should be a sewer grate of some type, that will get you out of the area. Take Anora and get moving," she instructed.

Vector's eyebrows creased slightly in a frown.

"We are not leaving you behind."

The smile softened slightly; lightly she patted his arm.

"I'm not taking on a group of Sith, Vector, but it might be easier to... evade the Sith by subduing their target so that they stop blowing holes in things."

She winced as her statement was punctuated by a crack of lightning and the sound of an angry screech; Sith in groups never ended well. It was going to degenerate sooner rather than later, and she didn't want him in range of furious Sith. The nonsense of the Dread Masters still weighed heavy on her mind, despite Modiri's apology to him over what had happened.

"It's not up for discussion," she said, giving him a sharp push. "They're not fighting each other yet, but there's no guarantee that it'll continue. Patch Temple into your com, and she can direct you through the sewers until you're safe. Now go."

Vector looked like he might protest again, but Toni was turning away already. It bothered her to leave him with that woman, but dealing with the Sith and their 'games' really did come first. Even with the available armored droids and Sith Enforcers to make sure none of the apprentices died, that consideration wouldn't extend to the general populace if they were unfortunate enough to investigate.

She ducked behind another table as a nearby piece of stone paving was lifted and launched at an inoffensive-seeming group of slaves—they still had their shock collars on, albeit plainly deactivated for this nonsense.

Sith, she mentally groused, were just too damn high-strung and arrogant.

"Agent, if you're going to get involved, I suggest starting with those three Cathar," Lokin said. "If they get much further into the town, the casualties are only going to multiply."

"On it."

Toni reached into a side-pouch, and loaded the rifle with a few stun darts; remove the reason for the Sith to get violent, and with any luck, they'd take their prizes and leave.

"Sir, Vector and Anora are in the sewers, but the com keeps cutting out. I'm not too sure how well he can hear me in there, but I'll keep trying. I've plotted at least four safe exits, and two of them are near Kaliyo."

"I've got my eye on em," the Ratataki woman confirmed. "If they end up here, I'll catch them."

Toni nodded, then ducked from cover to cover, working her way towards the poor Cathar slaves that had been temporarily forgotten as the Sith attacked one another in their bid to win.

Goddamn Sith and their power plays...


Torian would almost have considered it a good day; Imperial space meant no stupid Republic soldiers trying to shoot him, and he had enough credits on hand to replace some of his gear that had been worn to bits.

And if he might have been looking for something to buy Modiri, well, he wasn't going to admit to it. Trying to find something that might appeal to her was a little tricky, but maybe a new mod for her blaster...? Or the barrel was getting pretty worn too.

He'd spotted Vector walking into the plaza, trailed by a smaller figure that could only have been Toni, and had spared a moment to wonder what they were doing before he'd decided it wasn't really his business. If they'd wanted company or help, he knew Toni would have contacted Modiri about it. She was smart like that.

Still, he kept a casual watch on the entrance; when Sith swarmed in, he became concerned. When they started throwing lightning around, he ducked behind the nearest solid bit of stonework, and contacted Modiri.

"Hey, Mo... Sith just attacked a plaza."

"And?"

"Toni and Vector walked in there about five minutes ago."

She stared at him for a minute, then scowled.

"Want me to move in?" he asked.

"Keep an eye on it, and move in if the need help. I'll get Mako on the holofrequencies, see what she can glean. Don't bounce a com to them until you know it's safe."

He nodded shortly, and cut the com, peering out carefully from behind his chosen pillar. He couldn't see Toni yet, but in her own way she was just as crazy as Modiri; there wasn't much chance she wouldn't get involved.

If this was what it was like to have a younger sibling, he was glad his were only in spirit.


Vector was not very comfortable with escorting Anora through the sewers. By all rights he should be back with Toni, watching her back and making sure those Sith didn't cause her harm. The scents and auras in the sewer were also more than minorly overwhelming... as was Anora's insistence on leading the way, even though he was attempting to follow Ensign Temple's instructions that would bring them to safety.

"-ector, you're goin-... -eed to turn le-... -an you hear m-"

The interference from building materials was not helping, and finally Vector pulled to a halt, reaching for the physical communicator. Perhaps if he used it to boost the range of the audio connection, he could hear Temple better.

Right as he did, Anora slipped, and her hands flew out, knocking the com into the murky sewer filth as she tried to avoid falling. Vector managed to keep her upright, then frowned down at the murky water; the com was protected against such things, but now he had lost his way of effective communication with both Ensign Temple and Toni. And that was not pleasing.

"We should fetch that."

"It's probably washed away already," Anora said quickly, looking sheepish. "I'm terribly sorry about this, I had no idea-"

Even this far from his nest, he felt the soothing murmur of a thousand other voices, urging him towards calm, soothing his agitation. It helped, but the moment he thought about being disconnected from Toni, from the ensign, the unease reared its head again, and he found himself looking back along the path they had taken, having not heard a single word Anora had been trying to say.

"Vector, are you listening?"

"We must go back," he said after a moment, nodding firmly. "There seems to be little dangers here, and you also seem to know where you are going. The agent must not be left alone with the Sith; she will get hurt."

"...the agent? Your... friend?"

"Yes."

"Why are you worried about her, then? Intelligence..." Anora shook her head after a moment. "Do you care so much more about her than me?"

"We promised to be at her side and disposal," Vector replied, a little puzzled by Anora's reaction. "We prefer to ensure she suffers few injuries. She can be reckless."

Anora's interest bothered him, and had him keeping his sentences shorter than usual; true, Toni herself had said they shouldn't—couldn't—display too much affection in public spaces. It wasn't safe. He didn't disagree with her assessment, but confronted with the fact that he was standing beside the wrong person, he was not watching her back the way he ought...

It wasn't right for him to be here.

"Vector... I'm really sorry about this..."

Anora was almost his height; he'd forgotten that, having grown used to Toni's shorter frame. The cold metal collar that snapped abruptly around his neck made him go still as betrayal cascaded through his system, echoed from a thousand voices. The collar hummed slightly, the electrons singing in silent warning.

"We're going to make you better, I promise," Anora said, though her tone was almost miserable to his ears. "I know people that can reverse this, and soon, you'll be the way you were."

"...we are content the way we are," he said, struggling to avoid a response more fitting of Toni's friend Modiri. "We are Dawn Herald of the Oroboro nest, and we do not desire that to change."

"I'm sorry, but you're not in your right mind. The collar is only temporary; you'll see, once the doctors help you, and you go back to normal, it will be better."

Vector looked down those few inches at Anora, judging both body language and pheromones; she was trembling, her eyes tear-bright, and she thought herself in the right. The shock collar wouldn't allow him to get very far away from her before it activated, but he was tempted to test the range.

"The agent will not be pleased by this," he observed finally.

"You're supposed to be part of the diplomatic corps, not at the beck and call of some... alien who thinks she's an asset to the Empire!"

He went silent, feeling offended on Toni's behalf, but not quite able to articulate why the attitude bothered him. Instead, when Anora started walking, he waited to see just how much distance he could garner; she was maybe two feet away when the collar activated and gave him a sharp, nasty jolt that knocked him to his knees. The earpiece squealed in anger, and he winced as he pulled it out and got to his feet; the delicate electronic piece was going to need as much replacing as the original holocom.

He had no way of contacting the ensign, and no way of getting to Toni. Anora had implied that the doctors she was bringing him to would reverse his Joining, take him away from the hive mind that he found comfort and peace in. Take away the purpose he had for the Killiks, and leave him alone in his own mind again.

As he followed Anora through the sewers, he could only hope for one thing; that his allies would find him first.


Toni gasped for breath as the purple lightning crawled over her skin; unlike the time with Darth Zhorrid, this lightning actually did hurt, and she could do very little for a moment except struggle to breathe.

So, maybe she shouldn't have started trying to dart the Sith into unconsciousness. She'd been trying to make them stop fighting, but unfortunately, when given a common enemy, Sith were as quick as any other group to start working together.

It didn't help that most of the droids were slag at that point. Useless things hadn't even been able to catch the downed slaves.

She yanked her commlink out of her ear as it crackled and squalled; she was definitely going to need a new one after all this. Hell, she was probably going to need a new holocom period after all that.

"Don't say this often, but maybe you hang around Mo too much," Torian offered as he injected kolto into her upper arm. "Her job to find the fights, not yours."

"Funny man," she grumbled, pushing him slightly... but not enough to knock him out of their haphazard cover. "What're you even doing here anyways?"

"Was close by. Saw the fight. Saw you go in before the fight started."

"Tch."

She might have been too focused then, to miss seeing him. True on a normal day none of them really stood out, but still.

"Extraction ideas?"

"...it's probably a lost cause at this point, but if we duck into the restaurant, there's a sewer exit that gets us out of the area," she said after a moment. "The ensign is supposed to be walking Vector and Anora through it right now..."

Vector... she hadn't wanted to send him away, but she couldn't risk a civilian getting hurt by Sith bullshit. She could only hope that he was okay, and that they were safely out of range. Of course, she wasn't going to be able to find out now...

Actually.

No, escape the situation first, then find out if Vector and Anora had made it out.

Toni peered carefully over the top edge of the cover, then ducked quickly, just barely missing a shock to the face; it sped overhead close enough to make her hair try to stand on end under the hood.

"I don't have enough stun darts for all of them," she muttered. "And even being Intelligence won't help if one of them die."

"So let's take the back door and get out," Torian urged, pulling at her arm carefully.

The Sith would likely just go back to attacking each other, but at least now the rest of the civilians had gotten the memo. So Toni nodded, and they crept through their cover, eventually breaking for the restaurant, ducking a stray shot of lightning. Sprinting through the unlocked door, they passed the huddled staff and through the kitchen, out to the alleyway Temple had marked on the datapad's map. The sewer grate was still slightly askew, and she wondered if that had been Vector, or if someone else had made use of the exit.

"...Torian, can you contact Kaliyo for me? My com was fried. I want to know if Vector and Anora made it out safely."

She wanted to catch up to Vector, really, but hearing they were safe would be a close second for comfort.

Torian nodded, and pulled out the visual unit, quickly patching in Kaliyo's code.

"Yeah? Oh, hey agent. Picked up a Mando, I see."

"Joke later, report now; are they out?"

Kaliyo shook her head.

"Not a sign. The signal got worse the farther in the went, or at least, that's what Temple was whining about. She was pretty sure he wasn't able to hear shit."

"...damnit. Does she have a fix on his com?"

"It's been stuck in the same place for a few minutes, somewhere in there. Dunno if it means he's fighting or waiting."

Toni frowned a little, lightly drumming her fingers on her hip. If the com signal was dodgy, she wasn't sure she really wanted to go down into the sewers. And that was without her own finicky nature rearing its head. But Vector was down there, either lost or in trouble... and she wouldn't leave him by himself.

"Mo would kill me if I let you go alone, so don't say it," Torian said as he disconnected.

"...I don't think she'd kill you. She likes you a bit too much for that."

Amusingly, she saw a flash of color cross his face, before he gave her a glare that lacked any real heat.

"Point stands. Going in?"

Toni looked around the alley for a few moments more, sighed, and nodded. She would just have to clear her clothes exceptionally well before she wore them again.


Torian had weathered Modiri's attitude for months now, and would be the first to say that the pair of bounty hunter and Imperial agent were total opposites. Where Modiri got mad and bulled ahead, Toni got cold and methodical. Oh, Toni could lose her temper, sure, but on a whole, she was much more calm and collected. She had plans, and even when they basically amounted to 'kill everything in the room' she still went about it with precision.

Watching her stand at the edge of the wall where they had managed to trace Vector's holocom, he was suddenly not so certain that they were as opposite as he'd thought.

Toni's shoulder's were tight, and she was as still as a statue. Her face lacked any expression, and it wasn't a professional mask... it seemed more like a refusal to display anything, and somehow that was chilling. If she'd been force sensitive, or a Sith, Torian was willing to bet that he'd be seeing lightning ripple over her in waves. This wasn't just her being upset, this was a whole host of emotions, and all of them were in danger of culminating into a clarifying rage.

And maybe it was a bit cowardly, but he damn well didn't want to be the person on the receiving end. So he stayed still, waiting in silence as the sewer water dripped down from overhead, watching what he could see of Toni's face.

"How's your connection down here?" she asked finally.

Her voice was so calm. Modiri was still at the top of his list for deadly tempers, but Toni was bumped up the list to just below.

"...Mako can you hear me?" he said after a moment, tapping into the audio link.

"-rian? Hang on some inter-... et me adju-... Okay! There. That should work. What's up?"

"Some chick's run off with Vector. We need you to find him."

"With Vector? Who's stupid enough to do that? Where's Toni?"

"Here and waiting answers. Her comm got fried." He glanced at Toni, and didn't know if the calm waiting was worse than the cold fury. He decided he also didn't want to know. "His com got left in the sewer. We need eyes, Mako."

"On it."

"Patch in Ensign Temple," Toni instructed quietly. "She was-"

A rustle in the muck behind them had Toni whipping around, just in time to bat away a stun grenade as a group of Sith and their entourage exited out of the tunnels. She hissed something that he decided he didn't actually want to hear, and threw down portable cover.

Clearly the Sith were not going to let them get out without a proper throw down.


Though he was troubled to admit it, by the time they came out of the sewers Vector felt rather hopelessly lost. The tunnels themselves had held a myriad of less than pacifistic droids and other inhabitants, and being forced to defend Anora from those hazards had worn on him.

But she was the one who had the code to unlock his collar; she was the one who carried the device that made it shock him if he got too far ahead or behind. He had no choice... and in good conscience, he couldn't just stand aside and let someone with no combat experience be attacked.

It was annoying to realize just how little choice he had in the matter. It was humbling to realize that he should have gone with his first instinct, to ignore the message. And he still worried about Toni; against all those Sith, with no other physical back up, how would she fare? She was a good shot, an excellent fighter; but Sith...

"We're almost there," Anora said, giving him a tentative smile. "Don't fuss so, Vector. You'll see soon! It'll be all right."

"We are not worrying on our behalf."

She looked perturbed by the brusque tone, and said nothing else, allowing Vector a chance to glance at the nearby chronometer. They had been underground for a good twenty minutes... How long before Toni would come?

How much time before they ran out?


"How's your com?" Toni asked as she carefully checked over the Sith bodies.

"Fried," Torian grunted in disgust. "Stupid lightning."

She half-smiled in understanding, nodding a little as she was suitably assured that all the idiots were breathing, if unconscious. Vector, she thought, would have been impressed. Or, well, she hoped he would have; it took precious time incapacitating them over just killing them, but Sith tended to get a little... pissy if someone killed their own. No matter the fact that most Sith seemed to hate one another, and she wasn't as all sure how the Dark Council managed to even function considering the myriad power plays put into action.

Most done, no doubt, by the damned Star Cabal.

Still, it put them out of touch with all of their backup, and meant they would have to do things the hard way.

"Let's get back up to street level," Toni decided after a moment. "If nothing else, Mako and Temple can see us through the holofeeds, and we might get lucky."

Torian nodded, and they turned to head back up into fresher air.

Toni was hanging on to a semblance of calm by a thread, and she had the sense that Torian knew it. Granted, he wasn't a verbose person by nature, but he was being more laconic, more wary than normal.

Well, that was fine. She didn't need external input on this, really. It would be a shame to hurt someone like Anora, but if Vector was harmed in any way, she wasn't going to let her get away with it.


"Got him!" Mako cheered over the link. "They just came out of an alley in the medical district! Here, these are the coordinates! It looks like they're heading for this building at the center of the block, so you'd better hurry."

"Thanks Mako," Modiri said, flipping to the map screen of her datapad. "Anything from Torian or Toni?"

"No, I think the fight with the Sith shorted out his com." A pause. "...Oh no."

"Oh no what?"

"I got a better view, and I know why Vector's still following this lady. She put him in a shock collar."

Modiri whistled lowly, and it was echoed by Kaliyo, who'd left her post the minute it became clear enough that Vector and Anora weren't going to be turning up in her area.

"Man, if you wanted to piss off the agent, I can't think of another way to do it," the Ratataki woman said after a moment. "She's going to go orbital. Whatever protection this chick has, it's not going to be enough to save her life."

Modiri had a good reason to move at her best possible speed; she honestly liked Vector, and there was no way of measuring how upset this was going to make Toni. In their months working as a team, she'd seen a lot from the Chiss woman, learned about her moods and what could trigger certain reactions; she'd gone from a somewhat idealistic, marshmallow sort of agent to someone who was just absolutely done with her own employers, and only hanging on to that employ by a thread.

Really, she would make an excellent partner as another bounty hunter, but Mo hadn't quite convinced her yet.

"Mako, Temple, can you figure out where they're going?"

"Well, there's really only one place to go if you're going to try and reverse a Joining, and that's the experimental facility," Ensign Temple said after a moment.

"Of course there's a place like that in Kaas," Mako said dryly.

"The coordinates are here, but it's going to be difficult to get in without some form of ID. Um..." Temple went silent for a minute. "Dr. Lokin's on his way now. He'll meet you outside the facility."

"It looks like Anora's moving at a calmer pace to avoid making people stare," Mako theorized after a few more moments as Modiri consulted her map, Kaliyo peering over the Mirialan woman's shoulder. "If you take this route, that'll cut some of your travel time, and you should be able to beat them there."

"I've got an eye on the holofeeds around the doors," Temple broke in. "There's a back door that she'll probably try to use... Lokin says to meet him there, just in case."

"Got it. Keep me posted if anything changes. Once you spot Toni and Torian, send Gault to them with the info... but maybe leave off the bit about the collar."

No point in setting Toni off without a clear target, after all.


Vector didn't much care for the smells and auras that surrounded the hospital district of the city. Pain, fear, illness, grief; they all battered at him like hail, and his own ability to remain calm was being heavily tested the closer Anora drew to a squat building, somewhat overlooked by everyone they passed. It had no visible main entrance, and only a few windows, set very high up where no one could look in. Half of it was behind a tall fence, and Anora led him to one corner of it, scanning an ID slot to open an unobtrusive gate.

Once beyond the gate, however, other things filtered in. Aura's he recognized, though not the one he'd hoped for. Still if Lokin and Kaliyo were there, surely Toni could not be far behind.

Another ID scanner, another door swung open. Anora headed in, then stopped short so suddenly that he almost ran into her.

The room beyond was actually quite small; it seemed to be more a receiving room than anything else... one that had been made a shambles of. A light fixture was still showering a few sparks, and if there was meant to be a staff member there, they weren't in evidence.

But Kaliyo, Lokin, and Modiri were.

"You know, there's smarter ways to go about pissing people off," Modiri said. She almost sounded cheerful. "Especially us."

Vector relaxed; if Modiri was there, Toni was definitely on the way.

"Wh-who are you people?" Anora demanded, sounding more afraid than anything else. "What are you doing here?"

"Lady, we're your worst nightmare," Kaliyo smirked a little.

"Properly speaking, that would be Cipher Nine," Lokin corrected calmly. There was a cold light in his eyes as he regarded Anora, however, and Vector found himself realizing that the doctor was highly offended. "Who should be joining us shortly."

"And if you're smart, you'll take that thing off his neck, and go sit down quietly like a good girl before she gets here."

"We were expecting a bit more vehemence," Vector said when Anora failed to respond.

"Nah, we'll let the agent be the one to explode," and Kaliyo's smirk widened. "It should be fun to watch."

"We're switching things up this time. I get to be the nice one today," Modiri said in a deadpan.

"I-I..." Anora spluttered for a few minutes. "Don't you see, he has to be turned back! He's human, not... not this!"

"I mean, I know Imperials are racist fucks, but this is a bit much, even for that," Kaliyo commented offhandedly.

"He is who he is, and it seems to have escaped your notice that he's happy like this," Modiri said bluntly. "And frankly, we like him that way. So get the collar off him, and sit your ass down before Toni gets here and decides she wants to shoot you in the face for grabbing him like this."

"...perhaps you are over-estimating the agent's anger?" Vector said, a little cautiously.

"Man, you're the one who's always going out with her and shit," Kaliyo shook her head a little. "You can't be that clueless."

"Belsavis," Lokin said quietly, when Vector started to object again.

The reminder of the planet where they had collected SCORPIO stilled him; Toni had carried a level of simmering anger in her song that had nothing to do with her current relations to Intelligence that had begun only after the droid had attempted to use a gas that controlled a person's mind, and enhanced their aggression. When they had finally made it into the Megasecurity ward, meeting SCORPIO face to face, she had been far more aggressive than usual, even outstripping Modiri's usual bombardment of damage. And considering Modiri carried missiles that was impressive.

She had implied much in the past, and she was not... physically affectionate with anyone else in the same manner she was with him. She took greater care with their public relationship, to make it seem like it was professional, but when it was just them-

"Why," came the icy, cultured voice from behind them, "is Vector wearing a shock collar?"

"Oh shit," he heard Gault mutter.

Modiri sighed, and shook her head a little; Vector carefully turned to see Toni framed in the doorway; hood down and expression cold as Hoth. Torian edged carefully around Toni until he was standing with the bounty hunter; Lokin and Kaliyo prudently stepped behind what was left of the receiving counter.

The air was full of her song, of the cold, deadly fury that was Toni's temper... but it was still not unleashed. The fact that he could taste the anger, but she showed nothing more than icy professionalism was almost... frightening.

"I told you so," Modiri said, nodding a little at Torian. "Should've taken it off before she got here."

Anora paled, and then paled further and started stumbling backwards as Toni slowly moved forward. It was a prowl, not a stomp, and Vector hesitated briefly, not entirely sure he wanted that fury to be directed at him in any manner. This was an anger different, almost worse, than what had been seen on Belsavis. He was almost... mesmerized.

But when her fingers flicked and a vibroknife landed in her palm, he reached out to catch her wrist.


His touch was like a bucket of ice water; Toni stilled immediately, but her anger, her absolute fury was only paused, not ablated. The continued presence of the collar, the sight of that cold metal on his neck, only helped it to grow.

But this was Vector. She would not hurt him.

"Let go," she said quietly.

"We do not wish for you to hurt her," Vector replied.

"She put you in a shock collar."

"Yes," he agreed.

"She wanted to take away the Joining!"

"Yes."

"And you don't want me to hurt her?!"

"I'm not sure he's capable of wanting anyone hurt..." Modiri put in from where she was leaning against the wall.

Toni spared a moment to give her Mirialan friend a sour look, though she had to admit that Mo was probably correct. Reluctantly, she allowed Vector to pull her arm back, though he didn't try to take the knife from her.

"We are not injured sufficiently for this level of anger," he said quietly, very carefully squeezing her wrist. "We understand her desires, even if we do not agree with them."

There was more he wasn't saying, more he was trying to get her to understand through subtle body language. Shifting her attention to him seemed to free Anora from her paralysis; she tried to bolt. Toni started to yank her wrist from his grip, then stopped as Torian casually slid his vibrostaff into the way of the fleeing woman, tripping her headlong into the wall.

It would have been amusing if Vector's collar hadn't snapped to life, knocking him to his knees with a sharp jolt that almost took Toni off her feet as well. She cast Torian a glare, even as Modiri lightly punched the life-long Mandolorian's shoulder with an irritated look.

"Shit, sorry," Torian muttered, scrambling a little to grab Anora and bring her back within range before the collar could shock them again.

"Look, you give up the codes, get the collar off, and I'm sure we can talk Toni down from the clear murder she wants to commit," Modiri drawled a little. "Or I have Blizz do it, and no one but Vector stands between her and you."

"I-I-I," Anora stammered, looking from Torian to Modiri, to Toni. "But... he should-"

"He should what?" Toni demanded, shaking her head sharply to clear it. Vector remained kneeling, still stunned, and that only made her more upset. "Listen to you? Give up a path that you don't understand, but he enjoys? Whatever you might think, he is his own person, and he is perfectly capable of deciding what it is he wants to do with his life."

Briefly her mind flashed back to Alderaan, and she stifled a wince; then-Keeper hadn't exactly given Vector a choice in joining her... but he had made the best of the situation, and hadn't it turned out right in the end?

Something to think about, to talk about, later.

"And just because what he wants isn't what you want is no damned reason to put a collar on him and force him into what you want!" she continued, moving away from Vector to stare up into the face of the diplomat. "He's made his choice, it had nothing to do with you, me, or even the Empire. Now give me the code."

"I don't know it!" Anora burst out, actively cringing back against Torian, as if he'd protect her from Toni's wrath. "I took it from the sorting room, I didn't see any codes!"

Toni rifled her pockets, and came up with the portable 'leash' that allowed masters to take their slaves off the grounds with them, out of range of house sensors and terminals. This she tossed to Vector; it would prevent any further shocks. Then she grabbed Anora by the front of her shirt; Torian prudently released the woman so that Toni could drag her towards a door that led to another room.

"Blizz, get started on taking this thing apart," Modiri said, her tone bored.

"Agent-" Vector started to protest.

And then Toni was through the door, and the rest of his words were lost.


Vector sat in silence while Blizz swiftly worked to take apart the shock collar, holding the 'leash end' in both hands while he considered what had just happened through eyes other than his own. Anora had conspired to bring him here against his will and the will of the nest, to remove what made him a Joiner. He did not want that, but he had not been in a position to stop it.

His allies had stepped in, and mitigated the trouble, but now Toni was once again out of sight, and her anger still sang in the air like snow on the mountains of Alderaan. Would Anora come back unharmed, or would Toni's temper lead her to cause harm to someone who was not armed, who used words instead of weapons to fight...?

No. He had to trust that Toni, no matter her anger, no matter how vindictive she might get, would leave Anora in one piece. She was methodical, precise, and above all, practical.

But he still wished he could be in there, listening to the words. Knowing what she said instead of just how she felt. Because under the anger was the bitter taste of fear, and if there was something that could scare Toni, he ought to know about it.

Right?

"Any adverse effects from that shock?" Lokin asked, his brisk, professional tone breaking into Vector's thoughts. "How are you feeling?"

"We still... tingle. But it is fading. We will recover."

"You know, I always knew Kaas City was good for something more than their beers. But I think I'll hit a cantina before I get back to the ship," Kaliyo said, heading for the door. "The buzz lasts longer."

Vector blinked as she walked out, and Lokin shook his head a little.

"I'll have better luck getting Cipher Nine's attention back on the ship," the elder doctor said, straightening after a minute. "But from the looks of her, she'll need some tending."

"We have kolto," Vector said after a minute, trying not to wince as Blizz shorted out a circuit. "We will... tend to her."

"Then I'll head back as well. Try and convince her to take it a bit slow. You'll both probably need it."

Vector nodded, and Lokin followed Kaliyo. Gault, after tossing Modiri a pouch, also booked it, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else. Modiri opened the pouch, and dropped a new holocom on Vector's lap, then passed another one to Torian.

"Had him grab them when we figured out you'd lost contact," she explained as Blizz muttered something that sounded rude, twisting a part of the collar in his hands. "What the hell happened, anyways?"

"We are... a little uncertain ourself," he admitted. "Anora was once very dear to us, and seemed unable to accept that we are... as we are. So we—I—asked the agent to come and help explain it. This outcome was... unexpected."

But was it really? Toni had certainly tried to prepare for something to go wrong. That she hadn't succeeded was going to weigh on her, he knew. She took failure so... personal. Mission failure was not an option to her, but this hadn't been a mission. This had been a personal request, from him to her, and she hadn't really failed. He was still himself.

Would Toni see it that way, however? Was that why she had dragged Anora into the other room, had been so willing to threaten harm to get the codes for the collar?

There had to be a way to address this that let her know he wasn't upset with her, that she hadn't made mistakes.

"You're not the stupid sort. How'd you get grabbed?"

"Toni... insisted we take Anora away from the Sith that were hunting down slaves," he replied after a moment. "We did not enjoy leaving her behind, but we did not think Anora to be a threat, and she was unarmed. When we could not hear Ensign Temple, we tried to pull out the holocom, but it was knocked into the sewer, and from there, Anora put the collar on us." He paused, then looked up at them, earning a faint mutter from Blizz. "How did you know to come find us?"

"Saw you head into the plaza, and then watched Sith go in," Torian replied with a shrug. "When things blew up, I figured backup was in order."

"We are grateful."

Modiri snorted a little, but said nothing as Blizz cheered, the collar clicking open at last. Vector rubbed his neck gratefully, then started to get to his feet.

"We should, perhaps, check on her..."

"You do that," Mo nodded a little, smirking slightly. "We'll hang out here til you guys come out."

Something about that was almost ominous, but Vector couldn't quite say why. Still, it was good to have Modiri, Torian and Blizz watching the door; the last thing any of them needed was for more of Toni's enemies to try and drop in on them.

He was still... careful when he stepped into the next room. It was also small, and a bit of a mess; clearly the advance group had cleared the place out, and destroyed it for good measure. A door at the far end of the room had just finished swinging shut as he passed his gaze over it, but he couldn't smell or taste any blood; there was anger, there was restraint, fear, a host of negative emotions...

But Toni stood alone in the room, hood still pushed back to reveal the deep blue of her hair under the wavering lights, and he walked up to her with care.

"...I let her go," she said after a moment, her voice clipped. "Hopefully with a greater respect for the autonomy of other people."

With care, he reached out and put his hands on her shoulders, turning her gently to face him. Her hands came up to grip his wrists, far tighter than she usually did, and her aura tasted of anger laced deeply with fear. The fact that none of it showed on her face was probably a testament to her training more than anything else, but it... hurt him to see how forcibly she was restraining herself.

"We should return to the ship now," he said gently. "Your injuries need tending."

"My... oh," and she made a slight face, the neutrality falling away like ice on Tatooine. Her hands loosened, then dropped entirely from his wrists. If not for the taste of anger and fear, he would have thought her to be calm once more. "I'm fine. Torian patched me up after we dealt with the idiot Sith, and we were pretty much unmolested after that. Are you hurt at all?"

"We are well," he said reassuringly, giving her a small smile. "Though our legs are still.. tingling a little."

"Well then, we should get you back to the ship so you can rest up," she said, her tone turning brisk and professional as she flipped her hood up. "Where's Mo and the rest?"

"Modiri, Torian, and Blizz remain in the main room, watching for us," he said, falling in on reflex as she headed for the door back. "Everyone else had returned to their prior work."

She nodded a little, and pushed back out into the main room.


The walk back to the plaza was mostly done in silence, for which Toni was grateful; she didn't want to talk about the great, yawning pit of fear that had swamped her when she had realized Vector was not just gone but taken. The fear that had turned to cold fury, the exacting, specifics of everything she'd said she would do to Anora if she even so much as breathed in Vector's direction again.

What was arguably worse was that she had meant every word of it. Anora would have lived a horribly long time, suffused with as much pain as physically possible, if Vector had been altered in any way against his will.

Was it the after-effects of the brainwashing serum that made her emotions swing this erratically out of control? She hadn't been like this before... Before was almost a dream, really. The Academy, Hutta, the early months figuring out how to work with Modiri, Kaliyo always at her back... Work for Intelligence hadn't been so fraught then.

Stars. Maybe she was just tired. Maintaining that anger, controlling it to be put to good use, had taken a lot more energy than she'd thought it might. And she wasn't going to subject Vector to her moods if she was being this irrational.

"Thank you for the help," she said as they reached the speeder that would get them to the spaceport.

Torian shrugged lightly, nodding a little in acknowledgment.

"You should have just asked for it from the start," Modiri replied.

"I didn't think we'd need it," Toni replied crossly.

"That wasn't what I meant, and you know it."

Before Toni could snap out something else, Vector lightly touched her arm.

"We are also grateful," he said calmly. "We should have kept you informed, but we thought it best to try and handle this without the extra oversight. We apologize."

"Just remember, you've got friends willing to help," Modiri said.

Toni sighed quietly; yes, she should have told Modiri from the start. Having more people instead of less might have prevented the whole mess from spiraling out of control so badly, might have avoided...

Modiri's light, friendly punch was followed by Torian sticking his hand on her head and then pushing her hood down a bit more to obscure her vision. She squawked, and turned, ready to smack at least one Mandalorian, but Modiri jumped into the taxi with a grin, Torian and Blizz swiftly following. She made a rude gesture as their taxi took off, and heard Vector laughing softly behind her.

"We wish to apologize to you as well," he said gently as they waited the return of a different taxi. "We did not mean to cause you great worry."

"...it's fine, Vector," she replied, waving a hand slightly. "In the words of Modiri, 'shit happens.' You're... still here. That's what matters."

As the remotely piloted vehicle landed, a civilian climbing out, Vector rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Still. We apologize."

"Well, I forgive you," she replied, admittedly a little bit impatiently. "Now let's go. I'd like to be off Dromund Kaas sooner rather than later."

He didn't seem put out by her brusque treatment, at least, simply climbing into the taxi and waiting in his customary silence while she punched in their destination. The ride to the spaceport passed in a silence that was somehow both thick and yet... comfortable. She wanted to reach out, to catch up his hand, to hold his arm...

She held herself back; even the taxis had links to the holonetwork, and all it would take was one slip up for the Star Cabal to get their hands on that sort of incriminating data. If they did, they would know that her crew, and Vector in particular, could be considered a point of weakness. She'd already suffered one attack from enemies they'd attempted to set on her. She wasn't going to give them the opportunity to do something worse.

It was almost a relief to see the spaceport; it was a greater one to reach her ship unmolested. A quick check showed that everyone, even Kaliyo, had returned, and in short order, they were lifting off, returning to the silence of the stars.

With no real destination in mind, Toni set them to drifting gently in the wake of Modiri's ship, then retreated to her room. She wanted—needed—a bit of space and privacy to try and wrap her head around the excessive emotion. She even cycled her door closed to avoid having to talk to anyone; what could they say that she hadn't already figured out?

She stripped down to her undergarments, then sprawled on her bed, pulling in a pillow to her chest in lieu of the person she would have rather been holding. Who, she wondered, if any of them, would ever figure out that it had been fear before fury? The minute she'd realized that Vector wasn't with his com, it had opened a pit deep in her, and only reflexive training had kept her from freaking out there in the sewer.

She should never have sent him away. They should have gone together, but...

Toni rolled onto her side and half-hid her face against the pillowcase. Stars. Was this what the academy had meant when they'd warned about getting too attached to someone? Having him anywhere else but nearby left her feeling anxious and alone, and when it wasn't him at her back, it just didn't feel right.

She let out a slow breath, pushing back on the unwelcome, unnecessary tears that tried to flow. Vector was on her ship. He was safe, unharmed, and still wholly himself. Still the man she loved, Killik oddness and all.

Her door chimed gently, and she ignored it; she didn't want to talk to, or even see, anyone. When it cycled open anyways after a good five minutes, she half-sat up with a flush of irritation.

And stopped as Vector quietly stepped into the room, cycling the door closed behind him. He removed his boots in a surprisingly finicky manner, then came over and sat on the bed as she slowly sat up, pillow still hugged to her chest.

"We... I... thought you could use some company," he said quietly. "You are not yourself."

"I'm fine," she replied, though it lacked her former vehemence. "I'm just tired. It was a more eventful day than I was expecting."

"Toni..."

Her arms tightened on the pillow. In public, and sometimes still even in private, it was 'agent.' Agent was a safe label to hide affection behind, affection somehow only her crew and Modiri's could put into the word.

But her name. The name she had refused to give up in favor of the code name 'Cipher Nine.' The name that was the first gift her parents had given her, and the last thing she remembered both of them saying to her before she had left for the Academy. Before they had died.

She made herself breathe deeply again, pushing emotion away, pushing it down to deal with another day.

It might even have worked, had Vector not reached over and pulled her into a hug. The pillow remained between them, but she couldn't stop herself from pressing her forehead to his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding tight as little shivers raced along her spine.

She had been so damn scared. The idea that he would not be there was one that hadn't occurred to her before, not really. Letting him stay and rest on the ship was one thing, but him simply not being there...

Tears burned, and she gave up the fight to remain stoic. There were no listening devices in here, no cameras; her spare holocom was off, and buried in her closet for good measure, the earpiece somewhere in a drawer that she was going to have to dig around in later. There were no extraneous cameras, or things that could cause trouble.

For the first time in what felt like years, Toni had no reason to guard herself against her own emotions.

She tossed the pillow aside and curled into his lap as though she were a small child, hands wrapping tightly in the fabric of his jacket as she pressed her forehead against his neck and let the tears fall. Let herself be confused by the shuddering panic that had tried to sweep her sense away when she hadn't been able to find him in the sewer, when the Sith had delayed her, when Gault had found her and said they knew where he was.

Vector just held her. He stroked her hair, and murmured quiet reassurances. 'We are here' swiftly changed to 'I am here', and though it was jarring to hear the personal pronoun, it spoke to the part of her that needed that reassurance.

Tears ran out eventually, and exhaustion dropped over her like a thick blanket. Her grip on Vector loosened, and she let her eyes close, simply listening to the steady pulse of his heartbeat.

"We did not mean to scare you," he said softly.

"It's not your fault," she replied, her voice cracking slightly. "I-"

He reached up, and smoothed his fingers across her cheek; the caress made her fall silent.

"We will not leave your side again," he said, his voice quiet and firm.

The words soothed her, warmed her. The warmth faded quickly as her mind flashed back to Alderaan.

"You don't... regret leaving the nest?" she asked hesitantly.

He shifted slightly, but when she moved to get off—surely his legs were numb at this point—he tightened the arm wrapped around her waist until she stilled again.

"The initial transfer was not expected, nor desire, but we have come to enjoy this new life. We find new reasons to enjoy each morning, and the people that have joined are unique to our perspectives. We would not change the path for any reason, and we will not—I will not—leave you." Lightly, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "That is a promise, Toni."

She wanted to tell him not to make promises he couldn't be sure he'd keep, but she didn't have the energy or the desire to scold him for the sentiment. Right now, that sentiment was everything she needed, as was his presence.

No doubt sensing this, Vector simply scooted down on the bed until they were both laying down, her head pillow snugly against a drier spot on his shoulder. Then, the sneaky cheat, started running his fingers through her hair.

Already worn out from the crying and stress, Toni had absolutely no defenses against being lulled so perfectly to sleep.


Vector continued to trail his fingers through Toni's hair, even after her ragged breathing had evened out, and everything about her had quieted. It hadn't quite occurred to him until that point, but Toni was someone who felt things with a clear intensity.

He could remember the subtle, simmering anger that had accompanied her throughout her time as a forced double agent working with Arden Kothe; at that time, he'd thought it was simply because she hadn't liked Kothe or Hunter. While it had been an accurate summation, leaning that she had been forced to do things with a controlling word had explained much more.

It had stung a surprising amount to know that Modiri had known, but he had not. Even following behind her, protecting her, he had not known of this code word, had not been able to ease her burden in the slightest. And she had done it to... protect him? Well, to protect all of them, as a good leader did—the hives multiple memories showed many situations like that, where a leader held the greatest burden and did what they could to shield others from it.

But how much else was Toni sitting on, storing away, to protect them? What didn't she say?

He knew very little about her past, and that was... an unacceptable thing to realize. Who had her family been, before she had come to the Imperial services? What had drawn her there? While she had lightly explained how she'd come to work with Kaliyo, the time before Hutta, before meeting Modiri, it was all a large swath of the unknown.

And now, he wanted to know. Needed to know in a way he thought was based in the strong affectionate ties they held. More than affection, maybe? They had properly kissed only once, and admittedly, Belsavis hadn't given him much time to focus on the part of his mind that remembered human affection, needs, and desires, but he thought—comparing the memories of Anora when he had loved her, to the memories he now carried of Toni—that perhaps this was one of the things he needed to relearn faster.

Everyone needed someone. He had the hive, the Oroboro minds that could calm and quiet his agitation, his anger, but all other species lacked that connectivity. They were alone in their heads, with their thoughts, and could never truly see or feel as another person felt. But still they were drawn to one another, in inexplicable ways; Lokin, Temple, Kaliyo, and he himself circled Toni, drawn to her the way Jawa were drawn to broken machinery.

...perhaps that was not the most accurate description. She was damaged, perhaps, but nothing about her was broken. And they were all drawn to her for different reasons, carrying different expectations and hopes. Toni, in her way, managed to balance all of them, providing an ear, and sound advice. She might not entirely trust all of them, but she would always hear them out.

Despite that, she had control to a fine art, and if not for his ability to feel things on a different spectrum, he might never have known just how she felt about this whole... adventure. Would she have cried alone, hugging the pillow, or would she have made herself sleep, and never addressed how she felt?

He smoothed his fingers along the curve of her cheek, wiping away what he could of the tears that were left; she murmured something unintelligible, her fingers briefly clenching, then releasing his coat. Something about it made him smile; maybe in the future he would be able to orchestrate more of these unguarded moments, see more of the little things that Toni hid from the world.

At the urging of others from the hive, he let the worries he carried drift, let him mind relax; he needed to be human for her, but he needed to be the Dawn Herald for himself.

He could only hope that he would find the right balance so that their unique relationship could continue unimpeded.


Toni woke slowly, and was almost immediately confronted with conflicting physical and emotional feelings; her head ached abominably from the crying she had indulged in, and the lingering aches of the fights with Sith reminded her that she was not as uninjured as she'd tried to pretend.

But for all her body hurt, and she wanted to soak in a hot-spring until she couldn't stand it any longer, her heart felt... for a lack of better word, it felt lighter. She had been sitting for a long time on a morass of feelings, not able to bring them up with anyone for fear of shattering the image of who they needed her to be. Oh, there was Modiri, but her answers generally boiled down to 'blow something up to feel better' and that only worked part of the time.

She shifted a little, listening to Vector's steady heartbeat, feeling the warmth of his breath ruffling her hair lightly; on the one hand, she owed him an apology for falling apart like she had, but on the other, wasn't that what... couples were supposed to do? It was almost amusing to realize that while she'd certainly been attracted to a number of people—Senju, Aristocra Saganu—Vector was the first she could claim an actual relationship with.

Thinking of the aristocra gave her a small pang of guilt. She didn't have the time to contact him, discuss the gift he'd given her, or the implications in his message. And she was going to have to discuss what she felt a little more with Vector as well; while he didn't seem the type to be jealous of her sharing affections, she had heard enough stories about relationships falling apart precisely because the primary pair didn't communicate properly.

But that was for the future. A future after the Star Cabal was dealt with, and she didn't have to be so pervasively on-guard. Where she could hold Vector's hand in public and not worry about the consequences as either an Imperial Agent, or someone who had enemies in high places.

She was damned well going to make that future happen too, if only for the chance to shoot Hunter in the face. He'd more than earned himself a blaster bolt.

But that was for later. Right now, she actually had time to breathe. No emergencies. No holocalls from either Intelligence or Modiri. It wouldn't last—couldn't last. But until Vector woke up, she decided that she wasn't going to move. She was just going to let the moment linger until there was no other choice in the matter.

Because when, if ever, was she going to get another moment like this?