Hello again, loyal readers! I've granted all of you a special Halloween treat...another chapter. And not just any chapter; this one is all about Veruna. So enjoy, and Happy Halloween, a solemn All Saint's Eve, and a Blessed Samhain to you all.
Zala made her way down the hall, the stiletto heels of her glossy black boots clicking and clacking on the pale tile as she walked. In one gloved hand was a tall metal cup of artisan caf, whipped to a froth with bantha milk, sugar and a dash of cinnamon. In the other hand was a datapad, which she occasionally glanced at, scrolling through messages and correspondence as the thirty-four-year-old ISB major made her way to her office in the huge building on Coruscant. She spied a group of young field agents talking by a doorway, and put on a little extra sashay of her hips as she passed. She smiled deviously, knowing their eyes were on her, and they had by now probably forgotten what they were talking about. Boys could be so predictable.
Veruna reached the door to her office, and with a little shuffling about of her datapad, dialed in the security code with the index finger of her right hand. The hatch swooshed open, and she stepped into the waiting room of her office. The small room had a boring tile floor like the hall, and by regulation had white walls, but at least she had spruced up the space with a couple of fake potted trees and some paintings. The latter were all works that popped with garish colors, contrasting with the otherwise sterile scheme of the room. A metal surrealist sculpture sat atop a small table in the corner, next to a small bubbling fountain. If they had let her get away with the fuzzy lavender chairs, it would have been nicer.
"Good morning, ma'am." Naysa Tayen greeted from the white-topped desk at the back of the room. The new ISB communications specialist straightened her white tunic. "How are you today?" The young blonde woman was always wanting to impress, Zala thought. Cute.
"Oh, the same as yesterday." Veruna answered. She sat her caf down on her clerk's desk. "Any calls, sweetie?" Tayen smiled nervously. It was hard to tell sometimes if her boss was joking, being nice, or actually flirting. It could be awkward at times, and Major Veruna seemed to either not care, or enjoy that.
"Oh, yes ma'am. Tayen replied, brushing her bobbed hair back over her right ear out of habit. She consulted her terminal's screen. "Captain Teek of the Coruscant Police Force wants to inform you that he uh…arrested two criminals who may be selling weapons to rebels?"
"Put Agent Grath on it." Zala stated boredly. "And Milkhai…Sector Supervisor Darinian will be on my ass by the end of the day for a report."
"Yes ma'am." Tayen said, typing on her keyboard as Veruna took a drink of her morning beverage. She licked her lips and hummed a little to herself.
"You have a staff meeting at four." The young secretary continued. "A security briefing for everyone in your department."
"Oh just wizard…" The intelligence officer sighed. Unless it was about something extra juicy, those meetings seemed to drone on for hours. Sometimes Veruna thought, the colonels and deputy directors just loved hearing themselves talk. "Next…"
"Colonel Armande will be visiting around noon, and stated that he will be meeting with you, ma'am."
"The Colonel?!" Veruna exclaimed, almost spitting her caf out all over her clerk. "Oh kriff, you say Armande is coming…here?"
"Yes ma'am."
"He say what about?" Veruna asked. Armande was the head of internal surveillance operations, essentially the patriarch of everything Imperial internal affairs, and answered only to Yularen himself. She had met him personally only a couple of times, and he wasn't the type of officer to descend from on high to meet with some lowly field officer for no reason. She could glean from this then that his wanting meet with her was about some matter of grave importance. Whether good or bad, she didn't know, but the fact that he was coming all the way down here to see her was almost frightening.
"No, he was kind of…curt." Tayen explained with a wince.
"Yeah, that's him. Well…shoot…okay, try and make the office look as presentable as possible."
"I will."
"I'm gonna go to my office and try to chillax before I have to hang with the big boys."
"Alright ma'am. I can handle things."
"I would hope so, Tayen…you came highly recommended." Veruna said back. "Oh, and try nebula pink. The frosted ferrous lipstick clashes with your eyes, sweetie."
"Um…okay, thanks Major Veruna."
"Just trying to help you look that extra level of cute." Zala winked, and walked through the doorway into her private office. She sat her drink and her pad down on the desk and dropped into her chair, letting herself spin a full revolution before coming to a stop. "Oh dank farric, it's going to be one of those days…" She sighed and booted up her terminal. Zala placed her chin on her right hand as she scrolled through her work. Six active cases, four officers she was spying on, and now the Coruscant Police were trying to break into the intelligence racket again. It would be entertaining, watching them bumble around trying their hand at espionage if it didn't make more work for her when they did. And to think she wanted to be one of them once upon a time.
Of course, that was back when she was a kid, when she thought that being a cop, an investigator would be an exciting job. Back when her parents tried in vain to break young Zala from 'making an ass out of herself' in the bars and clubs on Coruscant's lower levels, and convince her to do something better with her life. Little did her upper-level parents know, it was in those dangerous scugholes that the audacious teenager with the fake ID had become streetwise, and gained all of her knowledge of the underworld and lawlessness that made her a prime candidate for the police force.
Looking back, that was a child's dream. Police. Imperial Intelligence was the real big-leagues, and she was ecstatic to have been picked up by the ISB right out of police academy. She had done things she never would have been able to do…or been allowed to do as a police investigator. Tracking down terrorists and deserters, playing cat and mouse with enemy spies, listening in on people's most intimate conversations, it was exciting to Zala. She especially loved the surveillance and the fieldcraft. There was something so delightfully naughty in the way it felt…like she was always in a legal and ethical gray area. She could dress up however she wanted, and go pretend to be someone else to get close to suspects. She could watch them through their walls and listen to them talking over the holocoms…in the shower…in bed.
Yes, she had always been a little…strange with her private appetites, and yes, her job just made it all that easier to indulge in her interests. Secretly watching people was satisfying, but playing dress-up and engaging with dangerous suspects…that was absolutely thrilling to her. She had no qualms about it. One should always try to get a job they love. She had one that could satisfy her cravings. Mostly…
Veruna lazily checked in on three of the officers she was charged with monitoring. She watched one, a stormtrooper captain named Dace, on his base on some far-flung planet for a while. He was ordering the stormtroopers under his command to perform drills, likely for his amusement. She changed the feed over to the next. That fat idiot Major Brentog was sitting at his desk eating what looked like half of a roasted animal for breakfast, and washing it down with what amounted to a barrel of caf. Zala's upper lip curled up in revulsion. Brentog was too lazy to be a threat, and she didn't think he'd had an original thought since he was a lieutenant. She switched to Lieutenant Mintz and sighed.
"…and I would like some time off for once." The blonde-haired woman was complaining to another female lieutenant. "I have important things to do outside of my duties, and never seem to have the time to do them."
"Important things to do…" Veruna muttered sarcastically. "Hmmm…Is it your fiancée, or that Army Captain this time?" She sighed. "Darling, at least do better than that grimy mechanic…or that Twi'lek taxi driver. Ugh." She hated this one. Not because the of the young woman's promiscuity though. Veruna would never shame a girl for that. She actually enjoyed the shows Mintz put on sometimes. The girl was just too much of a stuck-up airhead, and it grated on Zala's nerves.
Veruna now brought up feeds from The Accuser, and tapped into the cameras in Delta-7's area. She saw three of Tharcourt's troopers in the lobby. The two scouts were arguing about something, and that cocky sniper of his was laying on a bench tossing a rubber ball into the air repeatedly. She switched to the hallway feed outside, and saw that the commander's death trooper was standing guard. Veruna smiled. Sergeant Daraay was an interesting person for sure. If anyone else at ISB knew about her sudden acquisition of a personality, they would be livid. She chuckled. Nobody had to know. The intimidating woman was charming, and would protect Commander Tharcourt to the end, and that was enough for the ISB Major to let a few slips of protocol go unreported. She linked up to the feed from the hidden camera in Tharcourt's office, but found it dark and empty.
"Huh…" She scoffed. "You're usually up and at-em this time of morning, sweetie…" She checked the mess hall, the bridge and the training floor, but he wasn't in any of his usual haunts either. "Where are you, Drakken…" She muttered. She bit her lower lip, and switched to the feed from his old bedroom. Since he had allowed that adorable ensign to kick him out of his own quarters, she only checked this camera when she was bored anymore. Ensign Thorne had by proxy, become her responsibility once she had transferred to Tharcourt's unit, but Veruna had compiled a basic file on her and left it at that. Not that she didn't check in on her from time-to-time, just to make sure she wasn't plotting treason or something. Besides, Thorne was cute, and had legs to die for.
"Ooo…just now getting up…" Veruna said to herself, watching Tharcourt on her screen as he pulled on his boots. "And sleeping in your own bed. Damn, you must have been tired." She of course noticed that Thorne was nowhere to be seen, and remembered that the poor thing had to be taken to medical as soon as the team's shuttle had made it back to the ship the day before. Tharcourt left the room, and Veruna followed him on the camera feeds as he stopped for a cup of caf with his troopers like the enchanting everyman he was, then went into his office. He seemed tired, and as he sometimes did, looked like he had something on his mind. The placement of the camera in his office only allowed her a partial profile of him, so it was hard to read his facial expressions.
Commander Tharcourt took out a datapad, and typed away on it, likely a report from his operation the day before. Veruna whiled away the time by sending some encrypted messages to three of the field agents under her. A reply came back, and she hummed agreeably. Good. Grath and Milkhai were already on their way to the police headquarters. It was probably nothing, but that rogue was essentially setting up his own network, supplying the rebels with information and weapons, and she wanted to investigate all possibilities. She sent back another encrypted text to Grath along those lines.
After a while, it seemed that the target of her surveillance was finished with his report. To her intense boredom though, he started another. She sighed. The man was so damned attractive partially because he was so active and fun. It seemed like a waste for him to be locked in his office, silently typing out reports. That was Veruna's least favorite part of the job, and knew the commander had to feel the same way. They were both so outdoor people. She licked her lips, tasting the sweetness of the candy-flavored pink gloss on them, grinned playfully, and pressed a button on her desk.
"Yes, ma'am?" Tayen said over the speaker.
"Can you get me Commander Tharcourt's office on a holocall, please and thank you."
"Certainly, ma'am. One moment." The young specialist returned. She was so cute when she was trying to be professional. The orb set into her desk glowed dimly, lightly pulsating as the call was connected. It took a few moments, and she watched on the camera feed as the commander tried to make himself presentable. He probably thought it was Lord Vader or something. The poor thing. An image of him appeared in blue on her desk, and she didn't give him time to say anything.
"Hey Tharcourt." She said in a friendly tone. "I wanted to drop you a line and see how everything was going."
"It's…going." He said with a slight shrug. He lifted up a datapad like it some venomous creature. "Up to my eyes in reports after my last mission."
She could only imagine. From what little intel she had on his last operation, his team had killed an entire garrison of rebels and completely leveled their base. Though the details were sketchy, she believed it. Every time that man was sent to eliminate an enemy stronghold, it pretty much meant that he was about to accomplish a Base-Delta-Zero without the need for a fleet. His ferocity in battle was a little scary to her, and kind of erotic.
"I heard you cleaned out an entire rebel base…yet again." Veruna commented dryly. She finally noticed his haggard appearance. It was still hard to tell through the low resolution of the holo-image, but she could see that his uniform was stained and wrinkled, and he looked like he hadn't shaved in three days. There was a dark smudge of grime on his left cheek, and he was certainly looking tired.
"Kriff, sweetie…you look like hell." She choked out. Tharcourt didn't look too entertained by that statement.
"Thanks, Veruna. I really appreciate that." He said in a monotone that made her smirk. At least he still had that sarcastic humor of his. She loved that about him. Zala decided to throw a little hint his way, still hoping that something would eventually stick.
"No, no. I mean I totally dig the sexy battle-damaged bad-boy look, but you look like you've gone a round with a wookie and came in second place, man." She explained.
"It was a little rough out there." He said, and he seemed to slump a little. She stuck out her bottom lip for a moment. She didn't like seeing him down. It was like watching some powerful and awesome predator laying there hurt.
"I heard that too." She said, then realized why he was probably in a bad mood. "Oh! How is Thorne? I heard she got hurt pretty bad. The little cutie's like…not too damaged, is she?" Veruna hoped she wasn't. She kind of liked Thorne, and that girl made Drakken happy, even if the gorgeous dummy was too dense to realize it.
"She'll be alright." He answered. "She's taking a long bath in a bacta tank. Had a run-in with a devaronian and they had a brawl. Guess it was his last." That part gave her pause. What? Thorne had fought a devaronian? And won? How tough was this woman? Veruna remembered the time she'd gone up against a devaronian. He almost killed one of her team, and she'd shot him eighteen times before he finally stopped being a jerk.
"Crink me sideways. I fought a devaronian once…but I had a blaster." Zala muttered, still processing that Thorne had beaten one by herself. "How you two doing?"
"Veruna." Tharcourt growled back. Veruna grinned. Always a sore spot, and always fun to bring it up.
"Oh…right…you two aren't together." She said, making sure she sounded as sardonic as possible. Zala sighed, and remembered that she hadn't had time to applaud Tharcourt for rescuing the ensign from that disgusting schutta Raliss. "Hm. Glad you got her out of that…situation she was in though. Congrats on that, by the way. I knew you could be devious if you put your heart into it." She saw Drakken pass her a glance that spoke volumes. He hated doing what he'd done, despite the payoff. Tharcourt was one of those rare types, the ones with a sense of decency.
"Yeah…I'd rather not talk about that." He said in a harsh tone.
"Well snap me down, if you're not in a mood today, sweetie." Veruna stated. She let out a sigh. "I forgive you though. You prolly got a lot on your mind with Thorne in the infirmary and everything you have to do to get ready for your big move."
"Yeah…it's been a real…" He began.
"Pain in the ass?" She finished the statement for him, and he almost smiled a little.
"Yeah." He nodded. She felt this was the best time to bring up something she'd been wanting to tell him. With his attitude this morning, she figured it would be best to bury the lead though. At least for now.
"Well, I'll leave you to your business, Drakken." Veruna said. "Tell Thorne I said get well soon. Oh! And I'm working on a case. I may need some extra muscle here in the next few weeks. Think you can lend widdle old me a hand?"
"I…" He started to protest.
"You still owe me, Drakken." Zala stated in a no-nonsense way. She almost hated to make it an order, but he did say that he would repay her for her help, and she really wanted this to happen.
"Ugh…alright." He said defeatedly. She pumped her fists into the air. Finally, she had a chance to spend time with him, and it had taken so much work. "Wait…" He shot. "What do I have to do?" She couldn't help but grin. Details would come later, and there was no getting out of this for him. They were going to have so much fun.
"That is classified, darling." She answered smugly. "I'll let you know more closer to the date. You take care of yourself, Drakken." She paused, and gave him a genuine smile. "And take care of Thorne."
"I'm sure I will." He said.
"See you soon, Commander Tharcourt." Zala said in a sing-song tone. She gave him a wink. "Veruna out." With that, she pressed the red button, ending the call. The hologram shut off, and she leaned back in her chair, and let out a euphoric breath. "Stars…" She breathed, her lips turning up into a smile she couldn't contain. "…what a girl has to do for a good time…"
And it wasn't for lack of trying. Zala had practically thrown herself at the man, and he hadn't reciprocated in the least. He hardly noticed her. It was infuriating. Everywhere she went, all these guys and girls looked at her like some savory little morsel, except for the one person she wanted. And she really…really wanted Drakken Tharcourt.
It wasn't just for physical reasons either. Veruna was convinced that she'd had a serious crush on the Special Forces commander from the day she was assigned to keep tabs on him three years ago. His witty, bad-boy attitude and his history of pushing the bounds of insubordination and propriety was so alluring that she couldn't stop herself from being mad about him. The fact that he had that rugged, roguish handsomeness, and he was a fearless war junkie with a tragic backstory sealed it for her, and she gave herself a little side-mission; to do whatever it took to climb into bed with that man. It would be extra points if they hooked up, and the grand prize would be wedding bells.
Now she had the perfect opportunity to bond with him, to show Drakken that she was more than just some unapproachable ISB agent, an emotionless omnipotent force. She could show him her feminine side, her fun side, and they could go on a mission together. Maybe she would get lucky and he was truthful about his lack of feelings for that young ensign, and they could have a chance. Maybe she would get extremely lucky, and the two of them wouldn't mind experimenting. Veruna paused and made a sour face, rolling her red-brown eyes and huffing a sigh. Nah. She never was that lucky.
Zala spent the next hour studying over the intel on the case that had been giving her fits for weeks. The former Imperial Intelligence captain had deserted, and the traitor had taken too many secrets with him when he bailed. Not to mention the weapons. Now he was hiding, right here on Coruscant, right under her nose, and from the looks of things, he was setting up his own private intelligence agency for hire. Hunting him through his web of proxies and safehouses, encrypted messages and stolen blasters had led to dead end after dead end. Pursuing someone with the same skill set she had, the same knowledge of the Imperial intelligence network, was at the same time thrilling and annoying. She was going to find that sneaky bastard yet, find the rock the little rat was hiding under, and kick it over herself.
She was rereading some intel from interrogation when he stepped into her office. Veruna was surprised that he hadn't checked in through her secretary or waited to be buzzed in. It was even more alarming that he had used an electronic 'masterkey' on her door to gain entry. She looked up as the door slid open to see Colonel Armande simply walk in like he owned the place, his tall form taking up most of the doorway. Major Veruna stood so quickly her chair bounded back against the wall, and she snapped a salute to the imposing officer.
"Colonel Armande, sir." She greeted. He returned the salute with a face that looked as though it were carved out of stone. 'Completely unreadable' She thought to herself.
"Major Veruna." He began, and turned away, admiring the credentials, holoprojected photographs and eclectic artwork hanging on her office wall. "Intelligence school on Coruscant. Graduated in 7963, second in a class of thirty. You were previously enrolled in Coruscant Police Academy, where you were top of your class." She gulped. She had done this same thing to countless people as an intimidation tactic, and it was so unnerving for it to be used on her. "Three Imperial officers executed or in prison for treason thanks to you, and a real homegrown terror plot right here on Coruscant…foiled by your hand. So very many accolades…and how many seditionists and criminals against the Empire have you arrested?" He looked toward her expectingly.
"Um…something like twenty-five or thirty, sir?" She offered. He smiled coldly.
"Thirty-two, actually." He stated, turning to face her directly. "Not...even counting civilians. So why, I must wonder, have you not apprehended former Imperial Intelligence Captain…Janus…Neyaster…Latoure?" He fixed her with an icy stare that would destroy the will of anyone not trained in counter-interrogation techniques.
"He is…very slick, Colonel." Veruna answered. "It looks like he'd planned his defection months in advance, and he had set up safehouses…contacts with the underworld, the works. I've uncovered at least a dozen pseudonyms he had been operating under in the last two months, and he never shows his real face, not even to his closest contacts."
"Hm. You are so full of bad news, major…" He said in a condescending tone. "At least tell me a story that will cheer me up?" Veruna felt sweat beading on her forehead and the underarms of her tunic becoming damp despite the frigid temperature her office was always kept at.
"I think I'm close to a breakthrough, sir." She said. "Very close. I'm planning an operation in a couple of weeks, dependent on certain intel I am sure I will be delivered soon. He doesn't know that the noose is tightening around his neck, and I will throw the trapdoor myself." She wasn't sure if he was smiling or sneering.
"That, I like to hear, Major." Colonel Armande stated with a cock of his head. "Now…believe it or not, I did not come here to discuss your case, this rogue intelligence operative. And I did not come here to admire your whimsically feminine waiting room, nor your very un-regulation boots, major. Zala glanced down at her stiletto-heeled boots for a brief moment and blushed a little. "No. I came here to ask you something, and I felt I should do so in private, face…to…face."
"Absolutely sir…" She returned in a low voice. "…um…what can I help you with?"
"You are currently assigned to monitor Imperial Special Forces Commander Drakken Tharcourt." She felt more sweat beading, and a small rivulet run down her right temple.
"Yes sir, I am." She replied.
"Have you noticed anything of late in his actions, his words, anything at all to indicate disloyalty, major?"
"Hum? No. Not at all." She said, knowing that it was a bald-faced lie, but comfortable in the fact that anything incriminating on his part had long since been deleted. "As far as I can tell, he and his unit are performing very admirably, and…I mean beyond duty, sir…they look like they have a real love for annihilating rebels."
"So, you believe that this Commander Tharcourt is a loyalist to the bone?" Armande asked, his head very slowly moving back and forth as if he were studying her. She tried to not let it get to her.
"I mean…from the camera footage and listening devices, and what I read from his after-action reports, it looks like the man is a pretty dedicated officer of the Empire, sir." She explained.
"And you have put in a request to pull him from his unit for a joint mission." The colonel probed.
"Yes sir. I thought taking down Latoure would be easier if I had someone skilled in close quarters combat. I've babysat him long enough, I know what he's capable of, so he was my first choice." She felt a knot in her stomach. "There's no problem with my request, is there sir?"
"Oh no. Not at all. I should think he is a perfect candidate for your mission, major." Armande answered. Veruna was confused now. Something was definitely going on, and it involved Tharcourt in some way. Her curiosity was ended when the colonel dropped the hammer. "In fact, I want you to do everything in your power to study and scrutinize the commander all that more closely." He said. "Orders from the top, major. Commander Tharcourt is to be watched intently."
"Any reason why, sir?" She asked, trying to keep any nervous inflection from her voice, knowing he would pick up on it immediately. "I mean…is there anything I should be made aware of, or anything I should look for in particular?" Colonel Armande stepped closer.
"I was sent here by Lord Vader to inform you that Commander Tharcourt should be watched closely. That is enough for you or I to consider, don't you think, Major Veruna?"
"Lord Vader?" She breathed. Oh stars, this was bad. "Yes sir. I couldn't agree more."
"Very well." Armande stated. He turned and started to leave the office, but paused at the door, likely for dramatic effect. "And major? Any sign of disloyalty or treason from Tharcourt, I need not tell you what needs to be done."
"No, colonel…" She replied, and attempted a cruel smile. "That always goes without saying."
"Good. Remember, we are ISB. Keep your enemies close…"
"And your friends closer." Zala stated. Armande left her office, and she immediately dropped into her chair, pulling her knees up to her chest. That had been the most threatening meeting she had ever had with a superior officer, and she had once been in a room with Admiral Yularen, Moff Tarken and Admiral Versio, for Kriff's sake. She touched the index fingers of her gloved hands just under her eyes to catch the moisture, trying not to smear her dark eyeliner.
"Damn it, sweetie…" She huffed irritably, and rolled herself forward to the computer screen on her desk. She brought up the feed from Tharcourt's office, to find there was nobody there. She checked his foyer, the bedroom and the cafeteria to no avail. Finally, she switched to the feed from the training hall, and her eyes widened.
Tharcourt was singlehandedly taking on seven or eight training droids with a blaster pistol. She watched him get shot by stun bolts several times, shaking them off, to deactivate one droid after another. She felt her mouth go dry, and her body ached for that beautiful crinked-up man. Oh, by the void how Zala wanted him to take some of that aggression out on her. She wanted to let him have at her, and see how primal he could be. She bit her bottom lip and let out a whimper as she watched him tear through the training units, now temporarily forgetting her stress from only a few minutes before. Finished with the droids, Tharcourt spun his pistol like some gunslinging bounty hunter, and walked out of the arena like a man on a mission. Zala bit her lip until it hurt as she gripped the edge of her desk tightly. Finally, she let out a long breath before leaning back in her chair.
"Oh dank farric…I needed that…" She panted. "Okay…whew…get a grip, girl." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, refocusing on the monitor. She tracked him back to his office, where she watched him take out his personal datapad and start reading. Out of curiosity, and remembering that he was now on the suspect list for some reason, Veruna began typing at the touchscreen of her terminal. Locating target device…Accessing device remotely…Device encrypted…
"A tiny little tunneling program should do the trick…" She muttered, sending a slicing virus across the galaxy to the little datapad Drakken held in his hands. A line of binary scrolled across her screen, follow ed by a beep to signal that she was now able to access his device's hard drive. She smiled. Too easy. Veruna pulled up what Tharcourt was reading, and was actually surprised for a moment.
It was some weird novel about some people hunting a purrgil or something. Oh yes, she remembered now, this was something she had to read in secondary school. That ship captained by a total psycho, trying to kill that purrgil. It ended up wrecking his ship and killing everyone. Why was he reading that? She smiled. Because he was smart, of course. Smart people read things like that. Stars, could this guy get any deeper? Zala let out a sigh and rested her cheek on her right hand.
"Whatever you're doing…be careful." She whispered to the screen.
She took a quick lunch, and ended out the day with the meeting and a holocall with her field agents. So, the perps the coppers had picked up were tied with the rebellion, and with her quarry. Interesting. She felt a little glum about the fact that the Coruscant police had actually done something right, then reminded herself that as outdated and useless as a sundial was, it could sometimes be accurate. She ordered the investigators to move the two conspirators to cells in ISB Headquarters. She would have to have a word with them herself. Veruna ended the call and took her datapad and designer beverage cup with her. She left word with Tayen to lock up and turn off the lights, and left her office.
Zala parked her magenta speeder in the garage of the upscale apartment complex, and set the security system. She walked through the dimly lit parking lot, one hand on the tiny hideout blaster at her side, under her tunic. She took the elevator up to the 51st floor, and made her way down the hall toward her room. A man in a tidy red uniform, the concierge for her floor, greeted her as she passed. He watched the short, attractive Imperial officer as she continued down the corridor, huffing a nervous sigh. That woman was a good tipper, but she was so strange. She had rented not only the apartment she resided in, but the two adjacent ones as well, and her rent was paid by COMPNOR. She never told the staff or her neighbors what she did, but it was obvious from her uniform, and from her comings and goings at odd hours that she worked for one of the intelligence agencies. She was most certainly a spy of some kind. As if having a potentially dangerous and high-ranking Imperial operative in the posh apartment building wasn't enough, she kept the apartment staff and her neighbors in a constant state of distress.
There was the time the residents on that floor had been awakened by the sound of blaster fire. Two rough-looking individuals were lying dead just outside her door, and another just inside her room. Police and Imperial officials had shown up mysteriously fast, and the complex was quickly reimbursed for the damages. Then there was the time the concierge had seen a young Twi-lek woman, obviously a call-girl, enter the woman's apartment. The next three hours were terrifying to the residents and staff alike. It sounded for all the planet like someone was being brutally tortured in the room. For all they knew, this was the case. Eventually, the Twi-lek girl left, dressed now in strange paramilitary-style clothing, a traumatized look on her face. Nobody had the nerve to question what had happened. The concierge shook his head, and went back to his rounds.
Veruna glanced around to make sure nobody was watching, before typing in the code on her door's security panel. She didn't trust these cut-rate civilian locks. Too easy to tamper with. The panel beeped and the door opened. Veruna quickly stepped into her room.
"Lights on!" She called, and the recessed lighting of the apartment's living room area lit up as she drew her hideout blaster and scanned the room. Finding it appropriately empty, Veruna knelt and checked the thin, almost invisible string placed across the entryway at waist-level. It was unbroken and still tacked to both sides of the wall as when she left it. Satisfied that nobody was lurking in her apartment in a vain attempt on her life yet again, she pulled the string loose and tossed it and her small blaster on the entryway side table. She glanced back to see the large E-11D propped up beside the door.
"Right where I left you, gorgeous." She muttered, and walked fully into her room. Veruna took off her belt and tunic, and draped them over a chair. She made her way to the small but chic kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. Nothing fancy tonight, just a little sweet white blend from Mon Cala. "Music on." She sighed, and sank into a soft, lavender armchair in her living room.
Wait 'til you're announced
We've not yet lost all our graces
The hounds will stay in chains
Look upon Your Greatness and she'll send the call out…send…the call out send…
"Yeah…" Zala sighed contentedly, kicking off her boots and socks and laying back in the chair. She took a long sip of the wine and closed her eyes, relaxing after such a stressful day at work. The music picked up a little in tempo, and Veruna smiled a little at one of her favorite "Chill-beats".
Call all the ladies out
They're in their finery
A hundred jewels on throats
A hundred jewels between teeth
Now bring my boys in
Their skin in craters like the moon
The moon we love like a brother, while he glows through the room...
Her eyes slowly opened, and Zala finally let the day sink in. She had gotten the mission with Tharcourt that she had been wanting since…forever. But then it had to all be spoiled by her finding out that he was suspected of treason. Him. Why? Yeah, he was no raving jingoist for sure, but despite his sometimes blatant and untasteful criticisms of Imperial doctrine, she had never seen him do anything to look like he was a traitor, or openly disloyal. He willingly performed dangerous and covert missions, putting his life on the line to serve the Empire, and seemed to have no qualms about it. Nothing sussy in that at all.
She understood her chilling orders. Vader had commanded her to watch him, to study Drakken for the smallest sign or hint of disloyalty, and terminate him should the need arise. She took another drink of her wine. And Vader was someone you just didn't disobey, even if you thought he was wrong. What if? What if the stupid and probably groundless allegations proved true? Would she even be able to kill someone like him without at least a dozen men? And could she do it? Veruna's eyes started to glisten a little. Maybe. Maybe she could, if he gave her reason. Maybe she could just fake his death though. Either way, it would suck. Sometimes, this job had little hidden thorns just waiting to stick you when you least expected it.
She drained the rest of the wine and sat in the chair until the song had finished, then stood and walked into her bedroom. Zala let herself fall face-first onto her bed, her fluffy pink comforter wrapping around her on impact. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. It stunk having this apartment to herself. It stunk even worse not to have someone to talk to when she needed it. She rolled her head back and cast a glance at the binders on the posts of her bed, and scoffed. It's so much better with someone else…
"Kriff…maybe I'll just order in tonight." She whispered to herself, "Hm. Something deep fried and smothered in calories." Veruna looked over at the large, plush tooka doll sitting innocently on the bedside table. "What? I'm allowed depression eat, Kloie."
Finally, you get to see a little of Veruna's human side. I mean, she's still...Veruna, but now hopefully, she doesn't seem as creepy-stalker as she did before. Well...
I will try to have the next chapter up sometime this week. I'm writing about 20 chapters ahead of what I'm posting, and trying to stay that way, but fortunately I've been on a bit of a roll lately. The good spirits willing, I can sustain that, and finish this story before Christmas. So keep it tuned in right here, folks. The next installment of Imperials will be coming your way shortly. Until then, Cheerio!