A/N: in which zaara and davri commit treason, theron is conflicted, and rei accidentally has An Emotion
another filler-ish chapter that's just a badly concealed attempt to write out conversations between rei and theron. again, takes place about a week or so after the last chapter. I was going to wait a bit to post another chapter but I had this one edited already and, hey, it's star wars day so why not
"Good news," Zaara announced as she waltzed into the safehouse, "and bad news."
"Not too bad, I hope." Lana glanced up from her datapad. "I've already arranged for transportation."
"No, nothing terribly bad." She plopped onto the couch between Vector and Ashara. "Good news: Nox won't be a problem. I finally got a hold of Talos, and apparently Nox and Andronikos have gone to finish off whatever it is they've been planning all week. Something about pirates." As valuable as Rei's help might be, Zaara was still convinced there would be a diplomatic solution to the Mandalorians, but not if Rei were to tag along.
Ashara groaned, but gave no explanation.
"And the bad news?" Lana prompted.
"Kira's gone with them, so we're one short."
Cori folded her hands on the table, frowning. "Lana said the shuttle holds six people. I think we need six, in case…"
"In case we have to fight our way through an entire Mandalorian clan," Zaara finished for her, nodding. Counting on her fingers, she said aloud, "Me, Raina, Vector, Cori, Teeseven. That's five. SCORPIO is still working through that data, and I'd really feel better if Lokin stayed here so he's ready in case anyone is hurt too badly." She glanced to her left.
Crossing her arms, Ashara sighed. "Somebody else gets to explain it to Nox, then. She's already going to be furious when she finds out you all went after the Mandalorians without her."
"I'll handle Nox," Zaara promised, before standing. Rei could pout all she wanted, but Zaara would rather deal with her anger than ruin any chance they had at a relatively peaceful solution with the Mandalorians. "If that's settled, then, we should get moving. It's been days since we've made any real progress on the Revanites, and I'd like to get back to it."
The atmosphere in the safehouse shifted, from a lazy morning chat to a palpable energy as the group prepared to leave. Zaara slipped out of the safehouse to head back to her ship for a moment; she was aware she was being followed, but had nearly made it outside before Vector fell into step beside her.
"Your mood is… odd," he remarked quietly. It was a simple statement, not an accusation, but it made Zaara uneasy all the same.
"I'm just glad to have a goal in sight again." She slowed as they reached the end of the alleyway. "Actually, I wanted to run to the ship first, to check on Lokin," she lied. Zaara glanced over her shoulder to where Raina and Cori were following close behind. "I'll be right back.".
Vector tilted his head a bit, thinking. "Doctor Lokin went to the med clinic for supplies."
As before, it wasn't an accusation, just an innocent remark, but Zaara was well aware of the unspoken question. She felt a brief pang of guilt; she wasn't fond of keeping things from Vector — even if only out of practicality — but hadn't told him or anyone else about her chats with Davri. It had been easy to rationalize, with so much at stake and so much depending on their success. Still, there was no sense in letting Vector worry needlessly.
"It's just a quick holocall," she assured him, knowing both that he wouldn't pry, and that she'd be much more comfortable explaining the situation once everything had been taken care of. "Nothing big. I'll just be a few minutes."
Vector offered a nod, then a smile, then a featherlight kiss to Zaara's forehead. "Be safe."
Her smile mirrored his. "Always am."
"They what?"
"Come on, Sith. You know how Zaara gets when she wants to play nice."
Rei crossed her arms, squinting up at Andronikos despite the glaring afternoon sun. "You don't play nice with Mandalorians. I know that, you know that, Zaara knows that."
Raising an eyebrow in amusement, Andronikos shrugged. "I don't know. Between her and that Jedi, they just might be stubborn enough to work something out."
"You can't agree with them," Rei groaned, arms dropping to her side. With a long sigh, she began to head back to the safehouse. She hadn't expected that it would take long to check up on Lord Veijel and the progress that he and Talos were making on the activated arrays, but she also hadn't expected it to go nearly as quickly as it had. Of course, it shouldn't have surprised her that Talos had everything under control and ready to report in.
At any rate, she hoped that Lana and Theron would have something for her to do. Despite the relative quiet they'd enjoyed over the past several days, there was always something that needed to be done, and Rei was usually more than happy to oblige.
Put simply, Rei was bored. There was only so much council work she could do without being in Kaas City, and the only personal project she had to worry about at that point was being managed by Acina.
She'd joined Zaara under the impression that Rishi would be a vacation from the carefully calculated politics Rei was so tired of, but so little of what they'd dealt with had been anywhere near straightforward. She wanted a simple problem, one didn't require such deliberate maneuvering.
They were nearly at the safehouse when Andronikos announced he was headed to find where Kira had gone off to. After a quick trip down to one of the market stalls for food, Rei decided to stop by the ship. She'd intended to grab her datapad to read over some reports she was likely behind on, but a book on the lounge table caught her eye. It was Ashara's, the latest in a Republic series that Kira had loaned her a few days before.
The series was apparently quite popular in the core worlds, and Rei could vaguely recall Ashara spending weeks trying to get her hands on one of the previous novels when it had been released. As far as she knew, she was the only one on the ship who hadn't read any of them and, as far as Rei was concerned, there wasn't a better time to get started.
With the book in one hand and a bowl of assorted fruits she'd grown fond of in the other, Rei made her way back to the safehouse to settle in for the evening. She was unsurprised to find Lana and Theron in the main room; Theron was seated at the table, and Lana sat on the couch, legs tucked up under her as she read off from a datapad.
"Nox."
"Lana," Rei greeted, sitting across from Theron, pulling her feet up onto the chair to sit cross-legged and setting the book on the table. "Anything exciting happening?"
"I'm not sure it counts as exciting, exactly," Lana offered, "but Jakarro and Deefour may have found a lead on the whereabouts of the Revanites' base. They've discovered records of various warehouses near here that may hold the information we need," she explained, standing and handing the datapad off to Theron. "However, there's no way of knowing how heavily fortified they are or if we should expect reinforcements. We're looking into it, and assuming Zaara and Cori return at a reasonable time, we should be able to investigate today."
"You mean, return from dealing with the Mandalorians?"
Lana sighed. "Ashara mentioned you might be upset."
"I'm not upset," Rei admitted with a frustrated sigh. "When Zaara works out a plan, you follow it. Like it or not, she knows what she's doing."
Theron glanced up, amusement clear on his face. "I'm guessing you have first-hand experience not following one of her plans?"
"Once," she answered, referencing the absolute mess that had almost been their mission to Oricon, "and it nearly ended with the destruction of the galaxy."
"Why doesn't that surprise me."
With an innocent grin, Rei turned back to her book. She'd barely finished the first page when she remembered a comment Ashara had made. "How well do you know Davri Sohms?"
"What?" Theron glanced up, brow knit together in confusion at the sudden question.
"Davri Sohms," Rei repeated, grabbing a piece of a sweet yellow fruit and popping it into her mouth before offering the bowl to Theron. "The major," she clarified. "Apparently Kira only started reading these because Davri did some sort of endorsement deal. I wasn't sure why I recognized the name, at first, but she and her squad have caused a lot of trouble for the Empire."
"She's done a lot of work with the SIS, but I hadn't actually met her until a few months ago." He paused, and Rei wasn't certain whether he was thinking or just hesitating to say more.
"Major Sohms has been the driving force behind several Imperial losses," Lana spoke up from behind Rei. "At one point, nearly every recent major Republic victory on Corellia could be attributed to her. It's not surprising her name has caught your attention." After a moment, she added, "She also was part of the strike team that took Korriban recently."
Rei snapped her fingers. "That's it."
"Yeah. Sorry about that, by the way." Theron reached for a piece of one of the smaller green fruit that Rei had been avoiding. "Zaara mentioned you got caught right in the middle of the attack."
Finally giving up on reading for the moment, Rei shrugged. "It wasn't so bad," she lied, not exactly eager to revisit the attack, when she'd been holed up in another Sith lord's office with a handful of acolytes and apprentices just doing what they could to survive until reinforcements arrived. "In truth, out of the group I was protecting, we lost more to the Sith than we did to Republic forces."
That got both of their attention. "What do you mean?" Lana pressed, voice equal parts concerned and suspicious.
"You know how the overseers get," she remarked blithely, picking through the fruit until she found the last few pieces of her favorite. She regretted saying anything, and debated simply not clarifying further. Frustration got the better of her, however. "Everyone in that group was either an alien, or a former slave, or both. No one who would be missed, in other words." She frowned. "They killed one of the acolytes before I stepped in."
The safehouse fell into an uneasy silence. Rei continued staring down into the half empty fruit bowl, her anger spiking at the memory. She could lie — as she had to the acolytes afterwards — and claim that there was a special sort of joy in depriving others of their fun, or search for some excuse about making an example or establishing her power, but the truth was far simpler.
She was sentimental.
Not in an overly emotional sort of way, and if she ever saw any of those acolytes again, she wouldn't be inclined to give them any further advantages — that is, if she even recognized the acolytes upon seeing them. But it hadn't been too many years before that Zash had decided to give Rei a chance — for her own gain, of course, but it had been a chance Rei had needed — and Rei had come to learn that oftentimes, a chance could make a world of difference.
After a moment, Theron shook his head. "I don't see why you'd stay."
"Stay? You mean, stay where I'm one of the most powerful people in the entire Empire?" Rei prodded, glad for the easy change of subject; boasting was always easier than introspection. "Where I have wealth and power and influence? If the Republic can match that, I'll gladly switch sides." She didn't miss Lana's exasperated sigh. As the larger implication of the thought began to sink in, Rei found herself overcome by a fit of laughter. "Can you imagine? I would make a terrible Jedi."
Theron's grin mirrored her own. "I can't argue that."
"I mean, with the robes and a little blue lightsaber—" Rei's words trailed off as more laughter bubbled up. "Oh! Do you think Teeseven would join my crew if I were a Jedi? Or you? That's what this is all really about, isn't it?" She pointed an accusatory finger at Theron, laughter under control but a wide grin still plastered across her face. "You just want me in the Republic so you can have me all to yourself."
"That's… that's not what I was going for. At all." Theron's focus was directed entirely at his datapad; when he spoke again, his words were more pointed. "Besides, it's not like you haven't said practically the same thing."
"But I meant it."
Lana sighed as she stood. "If the two of you insist on going back and forth again, I'm going to go check on Jakarro. He should've been back by now."
Rei watched as Lana left, picking the book back up and reaching for one of the last pieces of fruit. She still puzzled her; in many ways, Lana reminded her of the Wrath — poised and collected and ruthlessly dedicated — though Rei doubted she had the same merciful streak that seemed to burden Darth Evris. Given Lana's penchant for efficiency, it didn't surprise Rei that she and Theron had so easily decided to work together.
Though, at that point, Rei was certain she was biased. Insincere flirtations aside — which, she'd noted, were becoming more infrequent and less insincere — she was beginning to find that she enjoyed spending time with Theron, whether it was talking or playing pazaak or simply sitting in comfortable silence as she read over reports.
She'd already broken her I don't trust agents rule for Zaara. Breaking it again for Theron would practically make the rule obsolete.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Rei cleared her throat. "I meant it," she admitted thoughtfully, "about the Republic. They would take away the… the safety, I suppose, that I have with the Empire." She was painfully aware of the irony of her statement, of referring to her position as safe. At the very least, she supposed, it was a different sort of danger — one she could fight back against. "The Republic is too, I don't know, idealistic, maybe."
"And — what? That's worse than everything the Empire's done?"
"That's my point." There was an edge to Rei's tone; she deliberately leveled her voice before she continued. "I've seen the absolute worst the Empire has to offer. I've lived it. And now I'm… It's unreal. I'm in the exact opposite position as I was four years ago. So," she drew out the word, shrugging, "I do what I can to fix things. The Republic just wants to destroy us — the good and the bad — but it's the Empire that can take steps to actually correct some of its flaws."
Theron watched her silently for a moment, brow furrowing just a bit, before breaking into a slow smile. "Now who's idealistic?"
"I said take steps and some," Rei pointed out. "All it takes is five minutes at a council meeting to get rid of any idealistic notions — all anyone can actually agree on is that we should keep fighting against the Republic. And, evidently," she made a vague gesture towards herself and Theron, "not even that, on some days."
His expression turned serious. "I guess we picked the right council member to get stuck with, then."
She scoffed, her dismissal turning to quiet laughter as she imagined Rictus or Mortis or Marr sitting in the small safehouse. "I don't cheat at cards and I have a wonderful personality — other council members aside, I'd say you and Lana are very lucky you're stuck with me." Rei waited for Theron's response; when he simply gave a little tilt of his head, she leaned forward, a slow grin beginning to form. "Are you agreeing with me?"
"I didn't say yes," he pointed out quickly.
"But you didn't say no."
He was silent for a few moments, looking equal parts torn and disappointed. "No, I didn't."
Rei sat back in her seat, staring down at her book. In the weeks she'd been on Rishi, not once had she successfully goaded Theron into admitting that her presence wasn't entirely inconvenient. Granted, she'd been a bit of a wild card when she'd first arrived — the Sith who gave up trying to convince the Dark Council that Lana was a traitor wasn't much of a reputation to go on — but she'd had Zaara to vouch for her.
She'd suspected as much, honestly, considering that Theron no longer protested when Rei dragged him and whoever else was at the safehouse out to have lunch in town every few days. Conversation came easier between them, and he no longer watched her with that wary look like he expected her to turn on them at any moment. As for herself, Rei had long since grown comfortable being around Theron; it wasn't the same as with, say, Talos, but she had found herself trusting him.
Like friends, she supposed. Or something similar, anyway.
Whatever the word, she was beginning to discover that she wasn't quite looking forward to the end of their alliance.