Evasion

Dromund Kaas: Spaceport

As soon as they split up, Cipher Nine pulled out a small bloodstained cloth from his belt, went to an unoccupied corner and began cleaning his shiv and wiping the blood off his glove. He kept all his gear and top shape and had learned from experience that it was best to clean up blood sooner rather than later, else it would stain the material and dull the blade further.

Normally at this point he would reflect on his mission and its completion. But this time he had to focus on a different problem: How to get to Imperial Intelligence undetected?

He wasn't too concerned with leaving the spaceport. He could get out by simply using his stealth generator which the spaceport was not equipped to detect. Once he got outside, he could find a spot to de-cloak without being seen. And stealth was essential.

His species was going to be a massive liability in this situation. Chiss were rarely seen in Imperial space. All chiss who would be on Dromund Kaas would be either military or Intelligence personal. Knowing how Intelligence and the military operated, he figured that the soldiers patrolling the city had orders to detain any chiss they saw. The positive side of this was that this wasn't public aside from the bounty posting. Civilians would likely not know he was wanted, but that meant almost nothing in a city filled with soldiers.

On top of that, he had bounty hunters to worry about. The bounty posting had just gone up, so he didn't think he had to worry about that for at least a day. Still, there would be some, especially from the Mandalorian Enclave, who would jump at the opportunity to please the Dark Council. In fact, he would not be surprised if the Mandalorians were offering a separate reward simply for one of their own to earn the Dark Council's favor.

However, most hunters lacked subtlety. The good ones had it, sure. But the majority, the ones he was most likely to encounter, would not have the first clue on how to track someone like him.

Don't underestimate them. Cipher Nine reminded himself. One bad move on his part would easily give him away. Just simply being spotted would be cause for alarm. But the biggest obstacle he faced were the Imperials occupying Kaas City. Intelligence had likely shared his profile with the Imperial Army and they would likely be using probe droids with anti-stealth capabilities.

That would likely make traveling through the main city square impossible as that was the most obvious route. They had likely set up checkpoints at the taxi to the Citadel as well as Imperial Intelligence. So he would have to find another way.

Imperial Intelligence might also pose a problem. He didn't know if this was official Imperial policy, but he had been sent to make contact with or potentially kill Cipher Seven. That had clearly not gone according to plan, but what if that was policy. Now that he was wanted by the Dark Council, would Intelligence send a Cipher Agent after him?

It occurred to him that he knew very little about other Cipher Agents operating in the Empire. He lived mission to mission, only focusing on his assignment. He had never had actually met another one, excluding Cipher Seven of course.

Keeper's still in charge. Cipher Nine thought, trying to reassure himself. He won't believe this ridiculous story.

He hoped, anyway.

He still had to solve the problem of actually getting to Kaas City. Normally he would just take a speeder there or taxi. That obviously wouldn't work here. Even civilian transports would be a bad idea. He was simply too conspicuous.

Which meant that he would have to get there without being seen and the only way that might be possible was through cargo transport. He believed that shipment got sent out from the spaceport every hour. He knew where the transport area was, it had minimal guard and would be easy to sneak aboard one of the transports.

Ok. Cipher Nine mentally nodded. One problem solved, now how to get through the city? He would have to answer that question once he was safely on the cargo transport. He inspected his blade. It was clean, as was his glove. He sheathed his shiv and tucked the cloth back into his belt. Time to move on.

The fact that the spaceport was busy worked to his advantage. He was using the cloaking generator now, but if it failed there were enough people that it wouldn't draw as much attention. He finally reached the cargo transport area. As he suspected, there was not much of a guard.

Two troopers stood at the entrance, the workers behind them were loading boxes into the transport. The transports themselves were essentially large rectangular boxes with a small piloting area in the front. Certainly not elegant, but functional. It would be easy to get inside. Moving quickly, Cipher Nine nimbly jumped into the transport.

"Did you feel that?" One of the workers asked. Cipher Nine froze.

"What?" The second one asked, annoyed.

"A breeze!" The worker insisted, "I just felt it."

The other worker sighed, "So?" he asked.

That seemed to throw the worker off, "Well…" he trailed off, "That shouldn't happen in here." He finished lamely.

With no small measure of condensation, the other man placed a hand on the workers should, "Leon," he spoke slowly, "I think you've been working too hard."

"Oh, shut up." The worker rolled his eyes and both turned their backs to Cipher Nine who used the opportunity to move towards the back of the transport. He was lucky that both the workers had decided to ignore the "breeze". While not posing a threat, they could have severely complicated his plan and drawn attention to him.

A few minutes later the door to the transport closed and he heard vents kick on as the transport fired up. He de-cloaked and began to notice something peculiar with the air. It was getting much colder each second. He leaned back and began to relax on one of the crates. This transport must be carrying food or other heat-sensitive materials. It was very relaxing. For most species, this temperature was uncomfortable to most and deadly to others. But to a chiss it felt wonderful. He was very pleased, he had wondered if exposure warmer climates would slowly strip away his tolerance for the cold. Apparently it had not.

Reinvigorated, he began to plan on how he was going to get through Kaas City. The main square was off-limits, he wasn't going anywhere near that area. That left several options. He knew that the apartment complexes had a pad that went to the Citadel. It was a heavily populated area but contained mostly civilians. Furthermore most of it was being demolished or rebuilt due to Eradication Day. It would be much easier to sneak through there undetected, but would likely take longer.

The other area that had a pad that transported people to the Citadel was the slave pens. It was a fairly secure area with a very structured layout. If it was similar to standard Imperial format, he should be able to plot a path without him being seen. It would be a quicker path, but was more risky than the apartment complexes. He was also sure to get spotted by some slaves at least once. He didn't know if they'd react to him or not but that was a factor to consider.

Of course he could take the direct route and hope that the guards would be lax because he wasn't expected to go there. He shook his head. No. Far too risky, best to stick between the apartment complexes or slave pens. He compiled a basic list in his head:

Apartment Complexes:

+ Mostly Civilians

+ Easy to navigate

+ Low military presence

+ Plenty of abandoned places and buildings

+ Direct path to the Citadel

- Civilians pose security risk

- Take a longer amount of time to navigate

- Landing pad may be guarded

Slave Pens:

+ Easy to navigate

+ Exploitable layout

+ Takes less time

+ Can easily cause distractions due to proximity of slaves

- Increased security

- May not follow standard Imperial layout

- Slaves pose security risk

He would be lying if he omitted that he wanted to avoid the slave pens because it made him uncomfortable. Slavery was one of the topics that he preferred not to think about, mostly because if he did, he might feel obligated to do something. Slavery was against the Ascendancy's laws and keeping slaves in Chiss space would bring swift retaliation. He imagined that the Sith had tried to explain it as a 'punishment for criminals' but the Ascendancy was too smart to believe that. They likely made an agreement: Keep slavers out of chiss space and we ignore your "criminals". He shook his head, trying to focus.

Best not to take chances. Even if it took longer, the apartment complexes were the safest and least visible route. With so much at stake he couldn't risk being exposed for the sake of speed. He checked what inventory remained. He had expended his two smoke grenades and one fragmentation grenade. That left one fragmentation grenade and one concussion grenade. His blaster rifle was still fully functional as was his pistol. His wrist launcher was still functioning as well. He had a few sleep and poison darts so that was still an option. There was also plenty or kolto remaining, he hadn't needed to use it yet but figured it was only a matter of time.

His plan decided, he leaned back and closed his eyes, attempting to get some rest before embarking into the City.

Dromund Kaas: Kaas City Cargo Port

He immediately woke as he felt the transport slow down. He must have arrived. Stepping quickly to the door of the transport, he activated his cloaking generator and waited for it to open. A few seconds later, it rose and he saw three workers standing outside.

Wasting no time he jumped out and dashed to the nearest corner. The workers had apparently seen nothing and began unloading the cargo. He breathed a sigh of relief and frowned. It was starting to rain. That could pose a problem. It was only sprinkling now, but heavier rain would reveal him. Not explicitly, it would act the same way snow or sand would, forming a humanoid figure which would be easily noticed by a careful observer. He hadn't anticipated this but could work around it. Kaas City had enough sheltered areas where he could move unseen with no problem.

He exited the transport area and started moving along the street. There were a decent amount of civilians going about their business, but most would probably clear out if the rain got worse. He stuck to the wall, keeping an eye out for Imperial Forces. He spotted four troopers in a square formation heading to talk to an officer. Interesting, he began moving that direction. Perhaps he could learn something.

"Sir!" The leading soldier barked at the officer, all of them standing at attention.

"At ease." The officer commanded as he pulled out a datapad. Cipher Nine could guess what it contained, "We have a person of interest to watch out for."

"A chiss, sir?" One of the soldiers, a female, asked.

"Yes," The officer replied seriously, "A Cipher Agent, one of the best, so I'm told. His file is above me. All I know is that he is wanted for treason and we're to watch for him."

"A chiss will stand out." A third solider pointed out, "He can't hide for long."

"Cipher Agents aren't stupid." The officer reprimanded, "He likely knows this and will try to hide as often as possible. He may attempt to assault troopers and assume their armor. You must watch for soldiers that are not acting normal. Probe droids are sweeping the city, his cloaking technology will soon be useless."

Cipher Nine backed into the shadows and silently thanked the anonymous officer for providing so much helpful information. He actually hadn't considered taking a soldier's armor but he was considering it now. He would only need it for a short time anyway. He'd decide when he reached the apartment complexes. If the officer was literal about probe droids sweeping the city, than he didn't have much time.

Dromund Kaas: Apartment Complexes

Cipher Nine hadn't realized how devastated the apartment complexes actually were. From a distance all that was obvious were a few missing buildings. But the ones still standing hid the shells of buildings and rubble that littered the streets. He wondered what had happened to the civilians who had lived there. He doubted that those civilians had been compensated by the Sith and the best case scenario for them was likely deportation to a planet with the room to take the displaced war victims.

The streets were not empty though. There were nearly a dozen worker droids moving around, cleaning the streets. Two soldiers stood nearby, overseeing them. He had surprisingly not seen any civilians yet, though now that he thought of it, it would be odd seeing them in a construction zone.

He observed the area, looking for any other sign of activity. Seeing none after a few minutes, he decided now would be the time to take a uniform for himself. Neither of the troopers was a perfect fit, but that wasn't necessary. Both looked bored, as far as he could tell from their body language. There was no dialogue between them either, easy. He crept around until he was behind the one slightly behind the other. He quickly shot a sleep dart at him. He quietly moved behind and caught him as he fell, slowly lowering him to the floor.

The second trooper hadn't seemed to notice anything. Rather than waste a valuable sleep dart, Cipher Nine simply crept up behind him and placed him in a neck lock. The trooper attempted to fight back, arms vainly trying to strike his face but to no avail. Slowly and silently, the man was choked into unconsciousness.

He then dragged both troopers into one of the destroyed buildings and began removing their armor. After tying and gagging them he began putting the armor on. It wasn't a comfortable fit, but he should be able to pass as a trooper at a distance. No doubt that search parties would be sent out for them but he had removed the trackers in the armor. That should make him untraceable if someone tried to use the armor to find him.

The helmet fit well though. It just provided full vision and lacked the technology of the Imperial Special Forces or Mandalorians but it was serviceable and that was all that mattered. He left the building and stepped onto the street. The worker droids had apparently noticed nothing. As the rain started to pour down, he turned and started heading toward the landing platform.

He was being followed.

The man was trying to be subtle, but leaping behind corners whenever he turned around only drew attention to him. Cipher Nine wasn't entirely sure when or how he had found him but he'd put up with him long enough. He headed over to another abandoned building and just stood at the edge.

Sure enough, the idiot bounty hunter walked in without observing his surroundings. Cipher Nine immediately slammed him into the wall and jammed his blaster pistol to his head as he held the man by the throat.

In fact, it wasn't a man at all but a devaronian. The horned aliens with red skin and canine teeth that often worked as criminals or bounty hunters. This one was missing one of the two horns the protruded from his head. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Whoa, whoa, buddy look I, *ack*!" He gasped "I surrender!"

"Who are you?" Cipher Nine demanded, the helmet marking his voice harsher.

"Nobody! Nobody!" The hunter responded quickly, waving his hands for emphasis, "Look, someone just wanted me to follow you, I swear!"

"Your. Name." Cipher Nine repeated. He pressed the pistol into the devaronian's skull.

He gulped, "Gault, Gault Rennow. Transporter of Imperial goods and occasional tracker." Cipher Nine cocked his head. The story sounded ridiculous coming from "Gault Rennow", but oddly enough he couldn't tell if he was lying or not. Perhaps it was because he was a devaronian, but Gault looked and sounded sincere. He might be telling the truth.

Or he was a very good actor.

"How did you find me?" Cipher Nine demanded.

"Look pal," Gault kept sounding like he was giving a sales pitch "I've got no clue who you are but I was just asked to follow the chiss. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy, what with you appearing and disappearing like that."

"Who told you to follow me?"

"Don't know the man's name but he was big. Mandalorian, or at least wore the armor."

"Does he know where I am? " Cipher Nine hissed.

"No! No!" Gault insisted, "I was just supposed to find out where you were going and contact him."

"How!" he demanded.

"Holocom! Right pocket!" Gault quickly answered.

Cipher Nine didn't quite relax, but he felt better knowing that his location wasn't revealed yet. Assuming Gault was telling the truth, which he still wasn't sure of yet.

"Uhhh…" Gault interrupted his thoughts, "You're…you're not going to kill me, right?"

He really should, just to be safe. But killing always drew more attention to you. He wasn't sure if he wanted to aggravate this Mandalorian or of "Gault's" associates. He could simply knock him out, but he had no guarantee that Gault would keep quiet. All he could get was his word and the word of someone held at gunpoint was always suspect.

"I haven't decided." He told him, Gault's eyes widened at that.

"No need to get hasty, buddy." He frantically spoke, "What is it you want? Credits? Let me live and I'll give you whatever you want."

"Credits are worthless to me at the moment." Cipher Nine hissed, irritated that he would try bribery. "You have nothing to offer me and I have no guarantee that you'll follow through!"

"Not true!" Gault insisted, actually sounding offended, "My word is as strong as iron! And everyone needs something. Your needs just may be…different."

"I agree."

"Look, just tell me what you want."

"Tell you what," Cipher Nine proposed, "Convince the Dark Council to remove the bounty posting and I'll consider letting you go."

"Ahh…" Gault stuttered, "The Dark Council may be above what I can accomplish. But I can certainly direct other hunters away from you. I can tell my contact that you've left Dromund Kaas and can do the same for any others that come my way. I know a lot of people in the business."

"We return to the same problem." Cipher Nine told him, "I can't trust you."

"Right, of course." Gault spoke reasonably, "Look, if you ever want to kill me later I have a small office in Kaas City, just asked for Gault Rennow and I have a person who works for me in the Nexus Cantina, ask for Tyresius Lokai."

Cipher Nine was tempted, he really was. Gault appeared to be telling the truth, but if he was lying he would be in a much worse predicament. Even if he was telling the truth, it would only be a temporary measure and he didn't believe Gault's assurances one bit. It was too risky, there was too much at stake to leave him alive.

"Sorry," He told him, "but I can't let you live."

Gault's eyes widened and grabbed Cipher Nine's should in an attempt to push him or attack him, he wasn't sure which. That was the final push, Cipher Nine shot a bolt into Gault's head. The devaronian's body slid to the floor, an expression of shock on his face. Cipher Nine knelt down and checked his pulse.

Dead.

Just to be sure, he shot his head again.

Satisfied with the outcome. He left the building and started heading to the landing pads, this time checking more thoroughly to make sure he wasn't followed.

The rain kept pouring down but Cipher Nine barely felt it. Focused on his goal, the elements were a distraction he could not afford to notice. The landing pad was now in sight, there were several speeders but little else. Odd.

There should be some form of security at this place. A trap perhaps? But if so, it should have been sprung by now. He walked towards the speeders when a roar interrupted him. He looked up to see a figure with jetpack soar over him to land in his path.

Cipher Nine took off his helmet and let it drop to the ground with a thud that was muted by the rain. He knew who it was and would need his senses unrestricted by the helmet.

The Mandalorian stormed toward him and stopped a few meters away, lightning flashed in the sky. "You've led me on an interesting chase," his harsh voice spoke, "But it's over now."

Chiss and Mandalorian faced each other, "Is it?" Cipher Nine asked, "Who are you?"

The Mandalorian took out his pistol and aimed it at Cipher Nine as he answered.

"Ranko of Clan Lok, Grand Champion of the Great Hunt."

Supplementary Material

Transcript between the Minister of Intelligence and Darth Zhorrid

[THE MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE]: Darth Zhorrid, is there something you require of me?

[DARTH ZHORRID]: Yes, yes, Minister. I've just received some terrible news.

[THE MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE]: And what news is that, my lord?

[DARTH ZHORRID]: My cipher had betrayed the Sith and the Empire!

[THE MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE]: May you clarify for me, my lord?

[DARTH ZHORRID]: Cipher Nine! Cipher Nine has betrayed the Sith! He has betrayed me and I want him dead!

[THE MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE]: Cipher Nine? He is one of the Empires best agents. I highly doubt he would betray the Empire.

[DARTH ZHORRID]: Do you…doubt me….Minister? Perhaps you need a reminder of who you serve.

[THE MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE]: Of course not, my lord. However, based on his record he may have been set up instead.

[DARTH ZHORRID]: Do you think I would not know a traitor when I see one?! I knew the cursed alien was trouble the moment he stated that he said he didn't respect me! ME!

[THE MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE]: I certainly don't understand that, my lord. Nevertheless, I believe we should look at the evidence before-

[DARTH ZHORRID]: Do you not understand me?! I am ordering you to hunt down Cipher Nine NOW!

[THE MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE]: Yes my Lord, but we need this evidence so we can begin tracking him. His, ah, traitorous activities may reveal where he plans to go and where that may be.

[DARTH ZHORRID]: You shall have whatever you need. Once you find him, bring him to me! Then I will show him the cost of defying a member of the Dark Council!

[THE MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE]: It will be done, my lord.

End of transmission.

[THE MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE]: Keeper, we have a problem.