Chapter Six – Imperial Files Galore

The Wraith kids watched quietly as their respective parents left the room, the younger ones happily content to do nothing but tussle over toys.  Meli seemed to be immediately drawn to the three-years-younger Keira Fel, the Goddess in miniature.  Of course, none of them thought like that.  Next to Meli sat Liselle, Keira on the other side, and then Inyri was on Lis's free side.  While Keira was little older than seven moths old, she was perfectly happy being quiet while listening to Meli, Lis and Inyri's "highly important, top security NRI-type thingy"...in other words, their 'plan of attack'.

"Are you sure we've gotta stay here like the good little mom and dad miniatures we are?" Inyri asked, expression all child seriousness.

A few feet away, Rane and Davin were seen glancing at each other silently, then the two of them quickly stood and exited the room, obviously not wanting 'in' on the operation.

Meli, however, grinned.  "Whoever said mom and dad were 'good'?"

With a sniggering grin, Lis nodded in agreement, then frowned at the sight of Calik Celchu, nearly seven and a half, entering the room.  Her eyes track the suspicious 'older kid' as he skirted their rather large group and grabbed a stack of datacards on a table.  Minutes later, he was gone.  It wasn't like she had anything against Calik, it was just that he seemed very... strange.  Like he saw things nobody else did.  However, Lis didn't really bother doting on that.  She'd just take her Aunt Tyria's advice on never saying or doing anything in front of Calik that she didn't want remembered to come back and haunt her.

Whatever it was, there was certainly something odd about Calik Celchu, and as one of her personal 'goals', Lis meant to find out what exactly that 'something' was.

* * * * *

The Victory-class Star Destroyer Drive Force was already in place in Coruscant's orbit.  All it needed was its task force.  On the planet itself, Iella Wessiri Antilles was watching the white triangle hanging in the orbit of the night-side of the planet.  There was no doubt in her mind that she'd see it again.  She would be on it, after all.

That didn't stop her from wondering to the sense behind Wedge's supposed plan.  Sure, Cloud City was in New Republic hands.  Sure Lobot practically ran the place.  But that didn't mean opening negotiations at the spot was intelligent when it involved open invitations to the complete crew of the Gorgon.  Not to mention that now they knew that that crew consisted of two Sith lords, Ysanne Isard, Admiral Daala and a certain relative of Face Loran that wasn't exactly loved.

A sigh escaped her as she picked her datapad up off the desk, putting it in her pocket.  Winter was prepared to go so far as bringing Calik with her but had thankfully been talked into leaving him at the Twin Suns.  Originally Iella had dared to dream that bringing more than herself and the Rogues plus a few diplomats would be enough.  The fact that Tyria Ritril was now finding Imperial higher-up's with near-impossible hack accounts along with intercepted comm chatter had squashed her hope.  The Gorgon was now not scheduled to arrive at Cloud City within the next few days, as planned.  The vessel would be taking an extra seven days.

And that was what troubled Iella.

What could've gone on that changed the timeframe?  The immediate thoughts, upon hearing the news, was that perhaps Daala wanted a broken NR agent before reaching Cloud City and had been, up to now, unsuccessful.  The next day Tyria had stumbled across the new demands on the files.  It didn't take a genius to figure out that it only meant on thing.  What was worse was that Adra knew exactly what Tyria's trails and slicing habits consisted of.  Which, in turn, meant that if the Imps had gotten her on their side...  Well, if that was the case, then the New Republic was in serious hot water and Imperial Intelligence had just gotten a sithload smarter.

* * * * *

The 'request':  NRI master files

The order issued by:  Admiral Daala, Imperial Intelligence head Ysanne Isard

Her answer?  Drag me to Corellia's hells and back first.

A rather-deaf Adra sat in front of a computer console, her gray detention uniform certainly not as crisp as it had been when it had been issued to her.  In the course of over a week and a half, Adra had managed to make Daala and Isard think she'd been 'broken' by their tortures.  She wasn't about to risk her children's lives by forcing the two Imperials to use injections in more liberal amounts than they already were.  Nor was she willing to risk electrical currents getting a crash course on ravaging her limbs.  The illusions and not-quite phantom pain Jori had subject her to, on top of the Imperials' work, had left her mind screaming protests in a rather convincing way.  For record's sake, it was the illusion of Coruscant burning, and her friends all in Daala's interrogation hold being tortured that had gotten her.  Added to that was the 'wonderful' frequencies she'd been subjected to.  The pitches had been toyed with, all the while echoing around the plain room.  Neither the Force nor hands plastered over her ears had stopped the sounds or gotten rid of the horrible pain.

One week later, here she was.  After her 'fun with frequencies', Adra had found blood beginning to make its way down either side of her neck, the source undoubtedly her eardrums.  At first sounds had been an absolute nightmare to deal with.  However, Daala and Isard had both been dually convinced at that point that she was 'seeing the light' of the Imperial sides of things.  Stars, she was even allowed to use the closest 'fresher whenever it was needed for vomiting and the likes.

The ysalamir which had dutifully guarded her hold had been removed, Jori's Force filter in its place, yet it was still an improvement.  Now she was updating Imperial files under the not-quite watchful eye of a 'sleepy' guardsman.  The datapad she'd stolen now carried every tidbit of information she'd been ordered to put codes over.  The problem was that she currently had an offensive order.

There was no way in any hell that she was slicing Intel's files.  No way.

Unfortunately, the options weren't too great.  She could pretend that she didn't hear enough of the orders to follow them up, but that 'error' would be solved rather quickly by merely transmitting orders directly onto the computer screen.  And it wasn't quite like she'd be able to say she couldn't do it... unless...

Hope sprang up in her mind with arms flailing at the thought.  Winter had requested, a while back, that there be a 'backup' database.  Something with fake records.  Tyria and she had started on that idea as soon as time had allowed... only they'd been sidetracked.  Well, she just had to hope Tyria had finished it.  One hand unconsciously rubbed her lower back while the other began tapping away on the keys.  Seconds later, she'd found precisely what she was looking for.

Adra touched the guard's mind again, using the Force to lull him into a deeper sleep.  IT wasn't a hard task, after all.  A supple mind was definitely one of the things Daala wanted on security individuals.  Following her fingers, Adra watched with a slight bit of pleasure as Intel's files opened easily, letting her know exactly what she wanted to know.  Pulling 'her' datapad out, she hurriedly transferred its data to the computer.  A few codes later, Iella's computer had a rather large file waiting for her.

As soon as she was done with the transfer, the slicer got out of the program as fast as she had entered it.  She just had to hope her signature icon had made it through with the message.  Before she really thought that thread out, she'd found the fake files that had been set up.  It was hardly a challenge to 'hack' into those files, considering.

* * * * *

The screen readily flashed with the message of a large file transfer, and appeared to have been blinking for quite some time.  The official briefing had just drawn to a close and here she was, getting a data transfer.  At first she decided to ignore it.  However, there was a very simple image that changed her mind.  It was a computer and a lightsaber.

Before she'd really had time to think, she was heading towards the conference room.  Thankfully the Wraiths were still in the room, some of them looking a bit more forlorn tan others.  However, everyone glanced up as she entered.

"I need to see Tyria Ritril and Nicola," she stated.  Then, as an afterhoguht, added, "Oh, and Face might find this interesting too."

The three requested Wraiths followed as ordered to Intel's computer room.  The screen was still flashing on the computer Iella commonly called her own.  She gestured to the icon still flashing opposite the message and immediately got the reaction she knew she would from the three.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa.  How'd she get in contact with a computer?" Tyria questioned.  It was a valid question, considering.

Face didn't appear so ready to question that aspect of the message's tracings.  "What did Adra have to say then?"

"She didn't open it, Loran," Nicola said dully.

Iella heard what she thought was an 'Oh' from the former actor, but ignored it.  "I wanted Tyria to see about it, considering she'd be best at tracing a fake.  And if it's not a fake, then I'm hoping it's a large chunk of information on the Imps.  That being said, Nicola, you might be able to update your infiltration plan if this is what I hope it is."

The two women nodded in understanding, Tyria taking the chair.  Face was staring at the icon fixedly, as though trying to see something that wasn't actually there.  Nicola noticed this as well and shook her head slightly.  She raised a hand and waved it up and down in front of his face.

"Poster Boy," Nicola continued waving her hand.  "You okay?"

Conversation halted abruptly as Tyria gasped quietly.  Iella glanced over Tyria's shoulder and felt her jaw drop.  The screen was scrolling down faster than the eye could properly comprehend as more and more file charts poured from the transfer.  Well then, the data certainly didn't need trace work.  At the bottom, a small text message filtered onto the screen.

            Iella-

            Imps have new code coverings.  Here's the data from

            every file I worked on.  Until Cloud City.

            -A. Loran

"Why did I know it was her?" Tyria nearly laughed out the words, obviously talking about the new code coverings the Imps had.  The hacker shook her head, then scrolled back up through the files, a wide grin on her face.  Nicola moved forward and Iella stepped aside so the other woman could look through everything with Tyria.

Face looked nothing but none-plussed by the message.  Iella, giddy by the new information, debated waving a hand in front of his face, as Nicola had earlier done.  The idea was stomped on when the pilot suddenly pulled out his datapad.

* * * * *

The tension he'd been feeling for weeks was suddenly and completely lifted.  Adra hadn't been brainwashed, his twins were still both alive, and she'd successfully convinced the Imperials that she'd deserted.  She didn't make a half-bad improve, if truth be told.  Now his only concern was getting Adra back to Coruscant and never letting her out of the squadron headquarters again.

But at this very moment, he was most anxious to get started on his squadron's mission to Cloud City.  Technically it was Nicola's mission to lead, but why sweat the details right now?  Face just wanted to get there as soon as possible.  But having a transmission from Adra was something to lift his hopes.

Face glanced down at his datapad once more, rereading Adra's message there.  He smiled to himself, forgetting he was in a room with three other people.  Nicola looked over at him, as Iella was also doing.  Tyria, completely engrossed, continued looking through the files.  The only Jedi present was the first to speak.

"Loran, what's up?"

He glanced at the three of them, a grin firmly in place.  With a shake of his head, Face replied, "Oh, nothing.  Just something Adra sent that I was pleased about.  Nothing like seeing Lieutenant Kettch running down the halls of anything."  He flashed his wide, trademark and patented grin.

"And that wouldn't be a thing to smile over, as we all know," Iella commented.

Feeling more free to joke and have fun then he had felt in a while, Face let his jaw drop in fake disbelief.  "But Kettch has been nothing but loyal to the New Republic-"

"Face," warned Iella.

"-in all his years of service!  I mean, honestly.  The little guy really deserves some respect-"

"Face..." now he had Nicola and Iella both daring him to continue.

"-as it's not like he did anything to you, after all," he finished, ignoring all three women's protests, as Tyria was now telling him to shut up.  "However, as I can see mere talk of Kettch isn't worthy of your time, I'm going to have tot alk to Janson and Ari over this."  He walked to the door and paused, an insanely boyish grin on his face.  "See everyone later!"

And with that, Face bounded out.

* * * * *

"And to think I said his holos were better than Tetran Cowell's," Nicola shook her head.  "If I'd known he would read as much into that as to go so far as bringing me into Wraith I would never have boosted his ego intentionally."

"Well, Nicola," Iella grinned, reading the computer screen over Tyria's head, "I did try to warn you."

Instead of verbally replying, Nicola rolled her silver eyes, all but dismissing the comment.  The files available to her on the computer screen were becoming too good to pass up.  A stray file suddenly caught her wandering eye and she instantly raised a hand to pointat it.

"Open that one for a second," she said, even as Tyria did as much on her own whim.

The file opened, showing a new database with yet another list.  Only this time it showed names.  Most of them had an inactive status listed next to the date following the name.  And next to the word 'inactive' or 'active' was one of four words.  Nicola's eyes widened as Tyria scrolled down the list, but stopped on a name:  Aerolin Nexco.  Her file status was inactive, as were most, but the detailed status read 'turned'.

Abruptly, Nicoal's index finger hit the down arrow on the keyboard, sending the files whipping downward once more.  At last they came to the more recent entries.  Tyria Tainer was one of the names listed.  A dozen names down, yet another familiar name made the bottong of the list:  Adra Tallon Loran.  Her file was one of three that were listed active.  Detailed status read 'turned/in process'.  The room, once buzzing slightly with happiness, was now solemn and silent.  There only seemed to be two options on what to do, and that was either to go back to the main database or to find out what exactly had been going on aboard the Gorgon.

Unfortunately for her, Nicola didn't say 'backup' quick enough.  Iella was the one who spoke.  "Open that up, Tyria."  And so, with the decision made, Nicola sighed and resolved herself to see what was next.