29. February 2016: chapter updated

Rishi couldn't have been more different from Dromund Kaas.

With as much time as Rei had spent in Kaas City recently, on her best behavior for the Council, she'd grown used to the rain and the darkness and the stuffiness that came from both the climate and the culture. Everything in the city seemed to be cold and rigid, imposing architecture and unwavering traditions and endless rules meant to keep outsiders out. But there was a richness to the city, also, a warmth and depth brought on by the pride that saturated everything the Sith did.

Not that Rei had been able to experience it — a Rattataki, no matter how skilled in the Force, had no real place in the Empire. Of course, by the time she'd been given a seat on the Dark Council, Rei had lost all interest in trying to educate herself on Sith culture.

Rishi, by contrast, was warm and bright and loud; where Kaas City had long, dark corridors where footsteps echoed, Raiders' Cove had crowded streets filled with people and chatter and busy market stalls. It was chaotic and overwhelming and alive, and Rei loved it.

From the moment they'd stepped off the ship, Rei had struggled to keep up with Zaara. She wanted nothing more than to take in the sights, stopping at every other merchant to browse, but the agent was impossibly focused. Of course, Zaara was far more prepared than Rei; she'd traded in her usual dark coat and rifle for a short crimson jacket and a low-cut cream shirt, with a pair of blasters at her hip and an assortment of probes and grenades tucked safely out of view.

Still, it was clear she was enjoying herself. Zaara walked with an easy smirk and an effortless swagger, an arm locked with Vector's and her accent falling flat as she presented herself as some sort of pirate. Rei, however, saw no point in trying to hide who she was; even ignoring the fact that she lacked the intensive training Zaara had, Rei was still in the robes she typically wore while in Kaas City, her lightsaber clearly visible.

Not that her status seemed to be making an impression on anyone.

It took Rei far longer than she was used to to get service at one of the covered stalls selling brightly colored fruit. She took a few experimental bites as she searched through the crowd for Zaara, only to find that the togruta was already headed her way.

"That didn't take long," Zaara remarked, giving a pointed glance towards the bowl of fruit Rei held.

"I was curious, and it looked good," she defended, mouth still half full. "And I'm on vacation. Have you—" Rei gave a little hey in protest as Zaara grabbed one of the pieces of fruit. "Have you found whatever it is you're looking for?"

"I have. It wasn't even hard — I'm something of a local celebrity, it seems." Zaara grinned, but there was an edge to her words. "They even have holos of me, which is quite the feat."

"You think it's Lana and Theron?" Rei popped another piece of fruit into her mouth, resisting the urge to make a face at the unexpected tartness.

Zaara didn't answer right away, frowning and craning her neck as she searched through the crowds. "Maybe. If they want to get my attention, they've done it a little too well. It's not enough that people recognize me on sight, apparently. I've got a rival to deal with, too."

Rei shrugged. "Just say the word. Dealing with rivals is a bit of a specialty of mine, you know."

"Let's hope that's not necessary. I need information, not bodies, for the moment."

"You're sure?"

"Well, no, but close enough." Pivoting on her heel, Zaara took a few steps backwards as they entered the alleyway the coordinates had led to, the streets shadowed with the setting sun. "But there's something about this that I just can't shake."

"What do you mean?" Rei followed behind Zaara and Vector, her bowl of half-finished fruit in one hand and Kai Zykken's datapad in the other. Even she had been able to recognize Lana in the holorecording, but that didn't mean she was comfortable walking entirely unprepared into a back alley.

They were nearing the end of the alleyway before Zaara answered her. "The elaborate background, the tucked away safehouse — just this entire setup, it almost feels like an old Intelligence job." She glanced down to check the coordinates again, then pointed towards an open doorway. "Though, usually they warned me ahead of time."

Rei narrowed her eyes. "You're enjoying this. The whole breadcrumb trail thing."

"Of course not." Zaara disappeared through the doorway, her voice echoing down the stairwell as Rei followed. "It's been too long since I've done straightforward undercover work, is all."

"If it's undercover work you're looking for, you're in luck. Can't promise it'll be straightforward, though."

Rei emerged into the main room of the safehouse behind Zaara, finding her grinning widely at Lana and Theron. "Well, if it isn't my two favorite people," Zaara greeted them cheerily. "If the rest of this job is anywhere near as well-prepared as what I've seen so far, it'll be a breeze."

"High praise indeed," Lana smiled, "especially given what little we've had to work with."

"And tracking my ship? That couldn't have been easy." Zaara moved into the center of the room, and Rei leaned against the table behind her, setting the datapad down and watching the rest of the group curiously. Back when they'd all been gathered on Manaan, things had been tense and uneasy between the Republic and Imperial teams. Now, there was no hint of the previous distrust.

"It wasn't," Theron said, mock annoyance coloring his tone.

"And yet you managed — I'm impressed." Zaara looked back suddenly, searching for Rei. "You remember Lana and Theron? And I'm sure you both remember Darth Nox."

Rei was aware a simple yes would have sufficed, but that wouldn't have been quite as satisfying. "Of course I remember. I nearly lost my job trying to defend Lana, and Theron couldn't keep his eyes off me."

Theron seemed unamused, but Zaara gave a long sigh. "Nox, don't start. Besides, I'm guessing whatever it is we're here for, it's important? Unless you led us all this way for some forced vacation time."

"Unfortunately not." Expression sobering, Lana handed Zaara a datapad. "We've tracked the Revanites — and, we believe, Revan herself — here to Rishi, and to a group of pirates known as the Nova Blades."

"Pirates?" Rei echoed. It hadn't taken long to infer that the cove was run by various pirate gangs, and their hunt for information all morning had only confirmed that. The cantina gossip she'd overheard had suggested that the Nova Blades were one of the most powerful groups, but that didn't explain why Revan would need them. Rei was no stranger to utilizing unusual sources for power, but for the Nova Blades to have any use, there had to be some tactical advantage to controlling Rishi. "What's here that Revan wants?"

Instead of answering, Zaara simply handed her the datapad. "It doesn't matter. The Nova Blades — they run the place, basically? They've got money, numbers, slaves… They hold so much control here that the others are powerless to push back."

"Exactly. Except," Theron pointed out, "now it's your job to do just that — push back. Hence your colorful background."

Zaara frowned, crossing her arms. "You want to use a power play to hide our attacks against the Revanites."

"Why?" Rei interjected before anyone could answer. "You've already pointed out that the Nova Blades have everything they need to maintain control. Instead of destroying that control, why not just take it?"

Lana's brow furrowed. "You mean take control of the Nova Blades for ourselves? Presumably, it would take far too long, and there's too great a chance of our true motives being revealed. If this were a long-term plan, then perhaps. But, as it stands, we're short on time and this is the quickest way."

"She's right," Zaara added. "It's far from the best plan, but given the timeframe, and without Intelligence or SIS resources, there's no way to efficiently infiltrate them."

"And we don't care what happens to Rishi or the Nova Blades once we're finished. Like Lana said," Theron shrugged, "we'd go about this differently if it were a long-term plan. But right now, our only focus is the Revanites."

Rei fought back the urge to point out that everything was a long-term plan; they might have been far from Dromund Kaas and Sith politics, but a loyal pirate gang could come in handy one day, regardless. "Alright," she finally conceded. "Our focus is the Revanites. What, exactly, are the Nova Blades doing that's so vital to the Revanites?"

"You're with us, then, Nox?" Lana asked, not entirely hiding the surprise from her voice.

"Mmm, I suppose." Rei pulled her feet up onto the table, sitting cross-legged. "As long as this stays more interesting than council meetings. Oh!" she added after a moment, "and I want the first shot at the pirates." She hadn't had a good fight against pirates since Hoth — and that had almost made the cold worth it.

"You'll have plenty of chances, I'm sure. Shall we fill you in?" When Zaara nodded, Lana and Theron both launched into an explanation of the Nova Blades' operations — who they were, how much influence they held, where their main base was located, how they were connected to the Revanites. Rei scrolled through the datapad as they talked, finding much of the same information.

"And, of course, nothing is going according to plan so far," Theron added. "We tried to get in touch with the whole team from Manaan, but it doesn't look like Darth Evris is coming, and Major Sohms hired some freelance captain to investigate."

"The whole team?" Zaara echoed, cutting off Theron before he could finish. "What about Cori? Where's she in all this?"

"On her way," Lana assured her. "We believe she'll arrive within a day or two."

"Alright. Good. I should fill my team in, then we can get started."

"Yes," Rei agreed slowly, thoughts no longer focused on the Revanites. They had an important goal, certainly, but it would be a waste if she failed to get any work done while away. Rei was almost certain that Thanaton had devoted resources to Rishi at one point — she could easily be mistaken, considering the wide scope of Thanaton's projects and the fact that, even over a year after taking control of his power base, Rei was still unfamiliar with most of them. "I have a… thing to check on. I'll be back… eventually. You know where to find me." She hopped off the table, not waiting for anyone's response before leaving.

She plodded back to the ship, mind racing as she tried to remember why exactly the planet was standing out in her mind, and why she connected it with Thanaton. Even by the time she was on the ship, pacing in front of the holoterminal as Zash's image flickered to life, Rei still hadn't come to a solid conclusion.

"Zash—" Rei cut off almost as quickly as she'd begun. "Actually, first, did you get my message to Andronikos?"

"Of course, my lord," Zash crooned, something resembling a smile crossing the Deshade's face. "In fact, everything is in perfect order here."

She rolled her eyes. "Save it." Rei didn't have time for either a lengthy report on council activities in her absence, or another of Zash's blatant attempts to earn favor. "Rishi. Thanaton had a team or something here, didn't he? I realized this morning the planet seemed familiar, but haven't been able to place why."

"Yes, I believe he did," Zash answered slowly, reaching for a datapad. She scrolled through it, finally offering after a few moments, "Ah, here we are. Lord Veijel, listed as a seeker into matters exotic and arcane." She rolled her eyes. "Thanaton was fond of that title, evidently. There must be a dozen others with that same designation.

Her pacing coming to a stop, Rei tapped her fingers impatiently against the holoterminal, repeating Veijel's name beneath her breath. The name wasn't familiar, but that didn't mean it wasn't worth investigating. "Any information on what he's actually doing?"

"No, but ever since you took over for Thanaton, it seems Veijel has been trying to get an audience with you."

Rei snorted. "Who hasn't been?"

"He hasn't reported any new findings, but it might not hurt to check in with him anyway," Zash suggested lightly. "Seeing as you're on Rishi anyway. Maybe, send one of your apprentices. Remind him of his station and the price of wasting resources."

Crossing her arms, Rei considered the advice; she was always grateful for her suggestions, even if she didn't always admit to it. "I'll send Xalek," she decided, assuming that she herself would be busy with the Revanites, "and maybe Talos. I'm sure he'll know whether Veijel's work is worth investigating for myself. Or if it's even worth my continued support."

"I doubt it is. And I'm certain Xalek is capable of making that entirely clear."

"Yes, but I'll still be waiting for Talos' opinion," Rei cautioned, raising an eyebrow. "I'll keep you updated. Nothing else important has come up, I assume?" she asked, part of her mind wondering if there had been any news from Acina yet.

"A handful of messages asking how many council meetings you'll miss this time," Zash shrugged. "Your team from Manaan checked in to say the Republic politics are still keeping them from the facility. So, no, nothing important."

"Good. I'll be busy for a while, but forward me anything interesting."

"Yes, my lord."

As the holoterminal shut off, Ashara's head poked out from one of the back rooms. "So, by busy, do you mean you'll have something for me to do? Other than telling me to just stay on the ship?"

Rei crossed her arms, regarding her apprentice with amusement. "Patience is virtue, you know."

Ashara let out a loud peal of laughter. "Right."

"We'll have plenty to do," Rei assured her, unable to hold back a grin of her own. "We're just waiting on some Jedi for now."

"I win." Rei placed a final card down on the floor, leaning back against the couch with a smug grin.

"That's three in a row," Ashara protested, gathering her own cards up. "You're cheating. You're not this good at pazaak."

"If you're leaving," Rei called as Ashara pulled herself up from the floor, tossing the cards onto the table in the center of the safehouse, "does this mean I win?You give up? You'll fix 2V's organization of the cargo bay? Or," she added, "do we try for best five out of nine?"

Ashara shot Rei an are you kidding look as she pulled out one of the chairs from the table. "It's four to one. I'll pass. And, no, I'm not fixing that mess. It's your fault for telling the droid to make itself useful in the first place."

Rei settled onto the couch, tucking her feet up under her. Zaara and Lana had been gone all morning — something about catching up on official Imperial business — and they'd evidently decided the night before that they wouldn't move against the Nova Blades until Cori arrived. With Talos and Xalek out investigating Lord Veijel, Rei had little to do for the time being.

She glanced around the room; Lokin, Temple, and Theron were all buried in their own work, and Rei was still stubbornly declaring the trip a vacation until they needed her help against the Revanites. "As exciting as this is," she sighed, "I'll be heading down to the markets. If Zaara needs me, tell her I'm busy."

"Bring me back some food?" Ashara twisted in her seat to look back at Rei.

"No," she scoffed. "You want it, you get it yourself."

Ashara sighed before following after her. "It was worth a shot. It works with Andronikos, sometimes."

"Do I look like Andronikos? But if you're coming with me," Rei commented lightly, changing the subject as they exited the safehouse, "you should grab something quick instead of going all the way down to the cantina. I found this shop yesterday and wanted to show—"

She was cut off by a loud growl from just beyond the alleyway; its source was a hulking alien whose species she'd never seen before. "You! Finally I've found you. Where's your friend — the one who killed my brother?"

"Unfortunately, my friends and I haven't killed anyone here, except — wait, you're not talking about that rodian, are you?"

From behind her, Ashara groaned. "You were gone for an hour yesterday, Nox. How did you manage this?"

The creature charged forward before she could answer; lashing out with the Force, Rei tried to keep him from barreling straight into Ashara, but her apprentice was well out of the way before he would've reached her. Between the two of them, they dealt with the alien quickly; as Rei clipped her lightsaber back and smoothed her robes, her holocomm began to chime.

Theron's image shimmered to life as Rei answered the call. "Miss me already?"

He didn't respond, instead asking, "What was that? Our security systems picked up your… visitor."

"It's taken care of," Ashara reassured him. "I think that was dealing with an issue, not creating one."

"Alright, just checking. Can't be too careful. Hey — Lokin says it looked like Ashara took a hit earlier and wants to know if he should come meet you or if everything's fine."

"It's fine," Ashara answered, a bit too quickly. "I'll need a new robe," she admitted, pulling at the edge of her robe, which had a clean split from her waist to her mid-calf, "but I'm fine. And don't worry, I'll keep Nox from making any new problems."

As they headed towards the markets, Rei gave Ashara a pointed look; she was unsatisfied with her answer, and just because, apparently, neither of them fully trusted Lokin, it didn't mean she was going to just let her apprentice walk around injured. "Is everything alright or should I have Talos meet us?"

"I'm okay. Maybe a little sore, but okay. I do need a new robe though — I'm not walking around like this."

"Good," Rei beamed. "We can spend the rest of the day wasting time and credits, just as I'd planned."