Ôba, lá vem ela

[Asher]

Location: [REDACTED]
Locale: Café Ewokian Delight
Time: Noon, five years ago

Neon lit streets reflected against the rippling puddles that were starting to take shape along the surface of the duracrete pavement. It was a downpour yet the seats outside the cafeteria was filling up for lunch hour as if it wasn’t there at all. The patting sounds of raindrops hitting the glass-covered patio offered a break from the hypnotizing white noise that had consumed the city for the last twenty minutes. Every now and then a low rumble would call from above to indicate that the storm had only just begun to take shape above their heads. On the news there were reportings of disappearances by the billions yet nothing seemed to be done to actually find the people around. Nobody really paid attention to the news around here anymore, people were already too preoccupied with the ebb and flow of their own lives, most of them being thankful that they hadn’t been one of the people who had disappeared. Some people more thankful than the others. The atmosphere of bottled up, pensive fear lingered in the air like a thick miasma that people did their best to avoid.

One after another seats would disappear, and one after another people would come to request the chair that had been placed before the girl and her father. Though whether he was her actual father or not remained to be seen. They shared names and family on their identification papers, shared the same hotel room and rental speeder according to the other papers as well, but in actuality they shared nothing at all. He was a dark-skinned man with graying hair under the cover of a happy family man in his waning prime, and she was his adoptive daughter. He wore a rugged leather jacket with boots that matched. It was the perfect means to disguise himself and trick the rest of the world into believing his carefully constructed image of a self-made man. His daughter on the other hand didn’t really share in his sense of style at all. Her eyes remained focused on the people that passed their café by, watching from behind her shades as they went about their lives, idly fantasizing about who they were and not really keeping her head in the game.

The man, her father, grasped at her dark cotton-padded jacket and shook her shoulder ever so gently to pull her back into the act again. Her eyes went wide for a second, eyebrows perking up from behind her glasses as she looked at him with an apologetic smile. He returned one of his own and quietly nodded his head at her to go back to keeping a lookout for their contact. She nodded and drew a hand through her dark brown hair and leaned back in her seat to truly focus again. Her free hand fell into her lap and slapped against her black tights before it moved up to fix the collar of her dark gray shirt.

She was looking for a woman. Someone with blonde hair and an, according to her handler, prominent body. There was a clear motive behind the meeting that went beyond just the job. Rae’s handler had just about jumped at the task to help this ‘Kellarov’ that he had told only told Rae so little about. Apparently she was an outstanding agent who needed some help with enough discretion to call in an old favor from several years back to ensure that it happened. The girl wouldn’t have counted on the old man to be sentimental after all these years in the business, but perhaps there was just something more to their work that Rae had quite simply missed or been left out of. Not that it mattered, she had long since come to understand the importance of keeping secrets. It was the way of the world, and it was the way of survival. She respected the old man far too much to delve into it. She owed him that much, he had after all taught her everything she knew.

The clouds finally eclipsed the sun in full and the shades came off to expose the girl’s hazel eyes to the world as they continued to seek the right person from the crowd.

“Can I take this chair?” A man approached her.

Rae shook herself from the staring and turned to look at him.

[ No. ] She signed with her hands.

“What?” He blinked.

A sigh parted her lips as her eyes set on the floor.

“The lady said no, mister.” Her handler’s voice rumbled like a deep bassline. “Leave.”

“Fine, whatever.” The man grunted and left the family of two to themselves.

Now, where was their lunch date?

[member="Mara Kellarov"]​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Mara felt like she was walking on a tightrope, had been for months now. Her last operation for the Republic had ended in failure, her entire squad had been killed and she had been left for dead. It had been a mix of luck and sheer tenacity that had gotten her out of the facility and to relative safety.

As safe as one could be while still within the territory of the One Sith.

Her group had been dispatched to destroy one of the Sith's bases. A place dedicated to their twisted alchemical experiments, and supposedly one of the main sources for the various monstrosities they constantly unleashed on the Republic. The intention was for them to infiltrate the facility, set up explosives in strategic locations and blow the entire place to hell.

Was being the operative word. It had been a karking suicide mission and her higher ups had known it.

They had been thrown to the wolves, to die. Slowly over the past two years her group; her brothers and sisters, had been slowly chipped away - taken from this world and pushed into death's hands. By the end of it, there had only been seven of them left, all of which had been sent on the same mission. That should've been a red flag in itself, as the operation hardly needed more than four operatives to be effective.

From the first sub-objective, everything had gone wrong. Someone; somehow, had managed to trip a silent alarm no one had been made aware of. The entire facility had been sent into a lockdown and the squad had been effectively cut in half. Devoted as each and every one of them were, they pressed on with the mission while also gradually slicing their way through the security. Then the Sith had arrived, and a slaughter swiftly followed. Mara had to listen as her comrades were slaughtered on the other side of the base. Followed by having to evade the Sith as they killed the rest, slowly catching up with her.

In the end Mara had managed to blow up only a quarter of the facility, although she had managed to take out the Sith in the process. But she had been too close in proximity and had been injured too - a sizable piece of shrapnel had lodged itself into her stomach. Yet she had been able to haul herself to another SIS safehouse, patch herself up well enough to get her arse out of Sith Space.

When she had reported in...it was clear her superiors hadn't expected her or anyone to have lived through the operation. It had been doomed from its very inception, and they had still been sent there. Months had passed since then, Mara had been pushed into off-duty so she could recuperate. In that time, she began hearing whispers - real and not. Paranoia and being an agent were synonymous with one another. And Mara couldn't help but feel she was going to wake up one morning with the barrel of a gun against her head.

But then something began happening, Force Users started disappearing in masses all of a sudden. It threw the Republic into a mess, and Mara saw an opportunity to capitalize on their diverted attention. She had reached out to an old contact, one who owed her a favour from back in the day; a man she simply knew as Roland. Names were always a fickle thing for agents, changing all the time to fit the mission. But sometimes when you found a kindred soul, the real name slipped out.

A meeting point had been set up, and Mara had just entered the cafe itself. She had blended in with a particularly thick crowd that had entered - a group of workers who had entered together. She had moved about the establishment once, eyes flickering around in search of any potential spies or enemies. Then she finally sat down, sneaking up on the pair by suddenly sliding into the chair.

Mara wasn't dressed in anything particular, blending in almost perfectly as any ordinary pedestrian. The only thing of note was the rather form fitting jacket she wore, the hood of which was still over her head - both to keep the rain out of her hair and her identity hidden. Although now that she was seated, she pulled it back slightly to reveal her face - some of her light brown hair falling out of its confines.

"Roland."

Her voice was quiet, but it immediately set the tone. The fact she had used his first name; his real name, meant that whatever she was here for went beyond just a simple professional favour, it was personal.

[member="Raena"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Mara Kellarov"]​

The rest of their time at the café would pass in silence. Not that there was much of a sound to be had. Rae had been mute since the day she was born and in turn become the signal for her parents that perhaps it was time to stop trying for more lest they came out any worse. Of course, part of it was mentioned as a joke but for a girl just about coming out of her teens it was hard to really see it as such. Not that her parents had been anything but supportive through her time with them. They had given her all the care and attention that she had desired, and then some. Perhaps it was because in the end she was still just the fourthborn of their house, or perhaps because they were actually good parents. Regardless, Rae would have ended up with Roland as it was anyway. As a close family friend and the spymaster of her father it was just the way of things.

She always did have a way with secrets. One of the benefits of being mute was that people seemingly became a whole lot willing to trust you when they believed there was no way for you to tell what you were told. And when you had dirt on others you’d also have a palpable grip around the stones that drove said individual onwards. It was a more subtle form of power that few seemed able to contain and control these days. Roland had made a big fuss about it when they had first started working on turning Rae into something a bit more refined than just a keeper of secrets, one long lecture about how in the end it was possible that Rae was even more powerful than any of her siblings and that with the right training she could become one of the most dangerous people in the galaxy.

Of course, it wasn’t actually the praise and promises of power that had really drawn Rae into the game as much as her never ending desire to see which boundaries she could push and to what extent. An agent was free to move as they wished and make the arrangements that they wanted with the only thing binding them to their obligations being their word. Of course that was also a part of Roland’s very first lesson. A spy, or agent as they both had come to prefer to call it, was only ever as good as their word. If you promise everything you better also return from a mission with all that you have promised. Never be too specific, and if the terms don’t work out don’t be afraid to seek other ventures. It was an approach that with time would come to suit the girl just fine in both love and life.

She never made ties anymore, and she knew that Roland was both proud and confused of her ability to learn the harsh truths for someone so young. You could have a favored client, but only a fool locked themselves to the unjust cause of a singular organization. Espionage wasn’t a desk job, Roland always said. At least not unless said desk contained the documents or data that you were searching for. The second an agent accepted life as a desk jockey was the second they got married to a slow death, and they would both agree that there was nothing tempting about that in the slightest.

They lived fast, worked fast and they attracted people who held the same ideals at heart. Roland had hesitantly shown Rae an image of his girlfriend, at least one of them, to show the importance of an impeccable cover story and the comforts they offered that would have been exclusive to either life he had going. Rae herself had picked up the pieces of what she needed there as well. Maybe she hadn’t gotten to the part where she had two wives or husbands, but she had her own deals for comfort that worked just right for her. No strings, a single call away and a night or two off and she was back on track with the galaxy again. There was no need for anything more complicated than that. It was almost ironic that the girl was still circling around the old Roland at this point, but he still had lessons to impart upon her. Maybe once he was drained of his uses she would leave him, but before then there was just no chance in hell she would waste the opportunity.

Keeping an eye out on the people passing them by Rae felt the frustration bubble in her chest as one person after another proceeded to pass the Café by without so much as batting a single lash in her direction. There was one blonde passing them by with the body to match, but they were gone as soon as they had come. Eyes rolling in frustration she tried to set them on Roland only to see the woman approaching their table to take a seat. The mute girl’s eyes squinted to try and see through the darkness of the cloak. Hands moved up to take it off and what would you know. That must have been her.

Roland sighed. “Rae… I told you to keep an eye out.”

[ You said she was blonde. That’s not blonde, that’s light brown. ] The girl signed and gave the man a dry stare.

The man looked at Mara and then the girl. “I know what I said.” His head shook and turned back to Mara once again with a grin spreading from cheek to cheek. Not that it lasted, a single glance and the tone of the conversation quickly sunk to the appropriate tone. Roland shifted his weight forward, against the table to let his arms rest against its cold stone surface.

“Is it time?” He asked and pushed Rae closer to the table.

 

[Mara Kellarov]

She had always been someone of action, being born into a military family meant she was never destined to be idle - never work a job that didn't have the purpose of completely exhausting her physically. Even as a child her parents had ensured she was active, never letting her to simply enjoy the simplicities of childhood. Looking back on it now, Mara could easily pinpoint specific things they had done, veiled under 'fun and games' that were in reality more lessons.

As she had grown up, Mara was thrown into more mature lessons, her father in particular took her out hunting - taught her how to fire a weapon. Her mother continued to teach her logic and reasoning, how to view things from a more analytic sense rather than through force. And that didn't go into the various uncles and aunts she had, that and the plethora of cousins that pretty much compensate for being the only child.

It all ultimately forged her into the woman she would become, unfortunately that wasn't a soldier at least in the traditional sense. All the training her family had put he through, had ended up in the sights of the SIS. With a history of being part of the military; Republic or otherwise, family members were usually fast tracked into the ranks. But it also meant lots of eyes were fixed to them, and Mara had caught a specific someone's attention.

Then it was all taken away, enlisting into the SIS meant she had to give up her name and past, becoming someone entirely different. Sever connections and start fresh, as an agent. It was rough, and Mara very nearly failed her preliminaries but in the end managed to pass and be welcome into their ranks.

Now years had passed, and she wanted to get away from it all. The feeling of betrayal sitting firm in her heart, paranoid welling up in the back of her mind. She needed to disappear, for a good long while to sort things out.

Mara raised an eyebrow at the young woman signing, realizing in that moment she was mute. The agent understood it too, thankful at least for having learned that during her time as in the SIS.

"Thank you, I seem to get that often." Mara spoke softly, a small smile on her face as she looked at Rae. It was a forced expression, Mara wanted to ease the tension she was feeling, to distract her from the thoughts whirling in her mind. But right now it was an impossible feet.

“Is it time?”

She simply gave him a nod. Roland was one of the few people Mara had openly spoken with in the past. Years ago the family he worked for had reached out to the Republic for aid, and they had looked to the SIS to provide it. Mara had been the agent dispatched to assist, and had worked alongside Roland to see their issues resolved. The two had hit it off; not in that sense really, but in the fact he was in a similar line of work as her, but with the freedom that was permitted being outside of an Agency. Roland had heard her plenty of times, Mara's gripes and issues with the SIS and even though she hadn't outright said it, it would appear Roland had suspected things were going to implode sooner or later.

"Yeah, I'm looking to get out, to disappear."

[member="Raena"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Mara Kellarov"]

The brunette was tense though. Rae let her eyes linger on the other woman as she tried to figure her out. The woman had done the same, the glimpse in her eye as she realized that the girl was mute was one that she was used to. It seemed she understood Rae as well which made it all the better. Then again, to be an agent and not understand Basic Sign Language was just sloppy workmanship. You needed to remove barriers in communications no matter where you went, said Roland. It was just a shame that signing lacked the subtlety of verbal conversation. It was easier to spot and in situations like these there was just the one thing Roland would do.

“Need to lay off the signing, Rae.” He sounded very serious and the girl perked her brow at that. “Too easy to read.”

It was a repeat lesson then. The mute sighed and and rolled her eyes as she too rested her arms on the cold surface of their table looking at the agent before her while Roland shifted back in her seat as Mara confirmed his fears. His lips twisted into a frown as he thought about what they needed done.

“Your employers are hard to disappear from.” He said, lowering his voice. A hand reached to cover his lips to stroke his index finger against his moustache and beard. “I haven’t had the time to set up the perfect net yet. With the disappearances over the last few weeks I have lost a good deal of agents either to retirement or said… Whatever it is that is happening.”

To lighten the mood he grabbed Rae’s shoulder and gave her a shake. “As such it’s just going to be me and Whisper here-” Rae raised her brow and the man continued to shake her back and forth for a bit. Like a father, Rae would assume. “-and while she can’t speak a single word of our language,” He continued and Rae blinked. “She is still able to handle just about anything thrown at her. She is my protegé after all.”

He finally stopped shaking her and let go of her shoulder. The teenaged girl raised her hand by her side and pursed her lips in a wave for hello.

“I think we’re going to have to use this crisis as our blanket, meaning we have to be quick about how we go about this.” Roland finally said and leaned forward against the table again. “Have you reported in with your bosses at all since these disappearances started happening?”

 

[Mara Kellarov]

To say it was difficult to disappear from the SIS, would be a gross understatement. It was impossible. Rarely was there a time someone actually managed to 'escape', it became a common sight for agents to die in the line of duty. Or end up in an incident that either sent them into a coma, or seriously wounded them to a point they could no longer remain active. Which some would label as being and even worse fate.

A desk job.

It was the nightmare of every active duty agent, spelling doom for the rest of their lives. Because it wasn't as simple as transferring out to a different job. No, once you took part in the dark and slippery slope of espionage, you were stuck with the SIS for life.

However an opportunity had presented itself to Mara, a window of time that would allow her to at least attempt to disappear, vanish from the galaxy in general.

Mara looked over at Rae, interest clear in her eyes and an amused eyebrow raised. 'Whisper' huh?

But there was a sign of recognition in the agent's eyes, not that she recognized the young woman for who she was. But Roland had spoken before about his 'protege', someone he had taken on to learn the trade and was someone the older man was proud to have passed his knowledge on to.

"It's nice to meet you Whisper, how do you feel about cracking into one of the most secure data banks in the entire galaxy?" It was an almost perfectly deadpan delivery, if it weren't for the serious tone that lingered in Mara's voice. The agent's eyes snapped back to Roland after the man had spoken, taking a moment to think before she spoke.

"That's precisely why I called this favour in when I did. Whatever is going on right now, has thrown the Republic into chaos." It was as perfect of a cover one could get, something that couldn't be passed up. "I last reported in just over twenty-four hours before the disappearances reportedly began."

[member="Raena"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Mara Kellarov"]

Brows perked to show exactly how unamused Rae was at the idea of having the codename that she had been provided with. Even a mere whisper was something she couldn’t do. She could sigh, scream, grunt and make a few other noises but as far actual talking went she was crap out of luck. The woman spoke directly to her and the girl would offer little more than a shrug and a cocky smile in response. As long as Roland was there they’d have a snowflake's chance in hell at making it through, and that was a generous gamble at most. This setup in particular was not the one that Rae had grown used to.

Under most circumstances she would have gone in solo with the man keeping tabs on her through a feed of his own, more often than not it was also her own fathers’ estate that she was breaking into as well. It was good practice in both prevention and detection for her father’s spymaster and crew, whereas to Rae there was an element of safety behind it. Sure, the technique skipped the stakeouts, but it still showed a thing or two about breaking and entering without being seen, something that the girl had grown all the more adept at with the passing of each month. She had the theory behind it all down and the mindset, in many ways this was to be her first serious live-action scenario.

From above their heads the smattering of rain seemed to grow all the more heavier. The pools in the streets grew bigger and deeper. People had long since found somewhere to hide. The patio heaters above their heads flickered to life and immediately lent a small measure of warmth against the biting cold winds from outside the glass ceiling’s steadfast protection.

“I had not counted on there to be a storm, but we may be able to use that to our advantage as well.” Roland said and rose from his seat, offering his hand to help Mara out of hers. Rae, not so much. “My people have a place around the corner, we should find what we need there.”

Eyes set on Rae. “And you.” He frowned. “Suicide missions make for poor introductions, but they make for worse endings. Stick to me and our friend here at all times and you will be fine.”

A credit chit was discarded on the table with the tab for their drinks.

It had been a pot of tea.

Caf made you jittery.

The rain came crashing down against their heads with no end, like stepping into a shower that you couldn’t turn off. The neon lights reflected their cold artificial brightness against the surface of the street like never before as the white noise from the rain grew louder the further away they got from the café. Roland led them down the street, into an alley and up to an unmarked door. Three button presses, one keycard swipe later and they were granted access to a small and unremarkable safehouse.

“Welcome to part one, Rae.” He said and spread his arms in the direction of the designated closet area. “Equipment and the equipping of equipment.”

“Well... Ladies first.” The man smirked and looked at the two girls.

Rae looked right back with her arms crossed against her chest, head shaking all the while before she pointed at him and then the equipment.

[ I don’t know. You might have to show me how to get dressed first. ]

Her lips twisted into a grin.

[ Watch and learn, that’s what you always say. ]

The man’s lips thinned as he looked over at Mara instead, hopeful she at the very least would after several years of friendship would let him see it unmasked. Even if just for a brief moment as they got changed into the catsuits and what-not that’d ease their movements inside the SIS complex.

“What do you say, Kellarov? Just this one time?” He tried one of his winning grins. “It will be just like on Coruscant all those years ago?”

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Mara smiled slightly as she watched Rae's reactions, from her 'codename' to how she responded to her directly speaking with her. She noted the cockiness in the way she smiled, but saw that it wasn't without measure - the younger woman was fully aware that the mission before them had the lowest chance of success. Too many parts that need to go perfectly, that can easily go wrong at the click of a finger.

Thankfully the numbers on staff were decently diminished, resources needing to be redistributed with the sudden disappearances around the galaxy. Whether it was to investigate or to resupply key areas that needed ble bodies.

But they were still going to be breaking into a highly secured base, intending to hack and steal information.

Mara peered up as the storm grew more fierce, rain pelting down on the building's roof. It had certainly picked up since she had arrived, and the agent pondered what impact it would have on their mission. Although it seemed the same thoughts had crossed Roland's mind too.

"Agreed, it should hopefully mean the outer perimeter will be less guarded - at least in terms of actual eyes and ears." They would definitely still have to deal with the base's defense systems if they wanted to successfully infiltrate.

Once they were just about to step out of the cafe, Mara pulled the hood of her jacket up and followed behind Roland as the trio pressed on towards the next location. The trek didn't take long, and they were inside the safehouse. Mara's attention was immediately on closest area, knowing well enough it was where all the weapons and equipment would be located. She strode over and pulled the doors open and stepped inside. The agent began cataloguing all that was available, sizing up what would be best for the mission.

She perked an eyebrow, turning her head to look in Roland's direction after the man had spoken.

"Oh, you would remember that, wouldn't you?" She grinned at him, remembering Coruscant very well. "I bet you've had that hardwired into your brain." Mara joked as she found a particular suit that would fit her well enough. It had been years since Mara had been at all shy of showing off her body, it was after all just a viable tool as any other weapon. She slid of her jacket and pulled her shirt off over her head - revealing a particularly nasty scar that was clearly newer than any of the others that marred her torso. Soon her boots and trousers were off, before she began slipping into something a bit more suitable for the mission. All thorough the change of clothing, Mara was speaking as if it was nothing.

"This mission is going to be classed as 'Ghost'. Our best bet is to infiltrate and not disturb anyone as we proceed with the objective. Albeit, we should take some non-lethal stuff incase that doesn't work out." Which it likely was going to be the case at some point. "Leaving a body count is not going to help in disappearing."

[member="Raena"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Mara Kellarov"]

Cautious eyes hovered on Roland and Mara as they both got changed, taking note of what hidden clues she could find about them in the way they moved and the way they carried themselves. Mara was confident in herself, Roland seemed to be more careful than Rae had seen him before, but perhaps that was to be expected. Over the years he would have gathered a few more pounds perhaps from sitting behind a desk a lot of the time, but all things considered he was still in shape. Eyes wandered over to the brunette as she lift her jacket, and sure enough there it was. Roland missed it, too busy with getting his gear into place, but Rae did not. She resisted the urge to perk her brow at the sight, and would be lying herself if the name wasn’t something she would have preferred more than Whisper.

Ghost was a lot cooler of a name than Whisper, but a classification was a classification and there was perhaps a need for separation of the two. Roland paused at the mention of not leaving a body count to look at Mara. “Now you know that might not be a possibility here.” He said and zipped his suit up. His attention went over at Rae. “Chances are…” He drifted off and the girl stopped dead in her tracks as she thrust her first pant leg to look right back at him. “Well, we can’t leave any evidence that we were there. Much less her.”

The girl rolled her eyes and continued putting her suit on. It hugged against her skin and had it been another four years ago Mara would have seen the questioning stares of a sixteen year old girl battling her inner demons, but those days were gone. She had been raised by her father’s most trusted man to carry out the tasks that needed to be kept off the record by all means necessary. Her training started at dawn and ended around the afternoon. Evening to night was for reading and then it repeated for six days a week as she read, exercised and trained her mind to commit itself to and perform what was necessary to work in the field that all three of them shared. Her body would reflect upon that as the black suit hugged against her flexing muscles to show off every single movement that she made.

The question that had been asked by those around her had always been why she had chosen this path. Why she liked the shadows and why she endured what she did. In truth she did not know, but perhaps something about the life fascinated her. She was the fourthborn, so inheritance was certainly off the table. Perhaps she simply wanted a purpose, or maybe the fact that she was mute meant that most other courtly duties were out of her reach. Her father’s opponents had once outright asked him why he had allowed her to become this, and whether she was a weapon or a tool to him. To her, Roland and her father it was a question in which the only viable answer was simpler than the moronic rivals and their question would imply. Raena had always been both of them at the same time. She was a weapon and a tool, citing the ancient, distorted Jedi wisdom that a weapon was a tool, and that any tool could be a weapon. Improvised weapons, the body itself through intensive training methods. It made no difference, and Rae had been granted the best education on the matter that her father’s money could buy. Eshan, Mandalorian, Zygerrian, there was no point in limiting one’s self to just the one style. And then there was the fencing but that one was really just a fun hobby that Rae happened to enjoy. She knew how to take down a person, disarm a person, dispose of a person and hide all the evidence that she had ever been there, and the air around her would show an air of confidence that made it all the more obvious that she knew this.

Rae knew that she was good, but having Roland worry this much brought her down. Just a little. He wasn’t usually like this. Her father had always said that she got her cockiness from that man, but now he wasn’t showing it at all. It was almost as if he was afraid of what would happen once they set off on their mission. A small subtle sigh parted his lips hidden under the facade of a deep breath and sharp exhale to calm himself.

“We good?” He asked and looked around at the two with a pie-eating grin. “It’s just a highly secure, overly protected security facility housing many if not all files on a great deal of Republican agents out there in the field.”

“Nothing says says political backlash quite like having a noble house getting caught poking their fingers in something like that,” He dropped the smile and looked at Rae. “Especially not their daughter.”

Her eyes went wide as she looked over at Mara to indicate something along the line of “SHE DOESN’T NEED TO KNOW THAT, ROLAND.” Her cheeks puffed up and her brows furrowed. He shook his head and looked over at Mara.

“Yeah, in case you hadn’t figured that one out, she is the daughter of my employer. A noble house from the Core worlds.” He looked back at Rae. “Now promise me you will stick close to me and do everything I say, Rae.”

Rae grew worried. This was not like him at all.

[ I will be fine, Roland. Stop worrying. ] She signed and shook her head.

“It’s my job to worry.” He sighed yet again and looked over at Mara. “I know parts of this facility, I have the original blueprints on my pad, but rumor is they changed sections of it out due to leaks.”

“... That would be how I got the maps in the first place, yes.” He grinned once more and shook the mood. “And no, I was not involved.”

“... Directly.”

 

[Mara Kellarov]

While she hadn't caught Rae's gaze on her; on her scars, Mara had noted how the younger was analyzing things. The Agent herself had her eyes flicker to Rae every now and then, not out of desire to appreciate her body - but to see how she acted.

Over the course of her SIS career, Mara had overseen the training of two different recruits who had been brought under her wing through orders. Each had their own little quirks, things that made them individuals, something Agents weren't suppose to have when they were on a mission. The Agency preferred their agents to be sharpened into fine tools, with only their current objective as their sole focus. Sometimes that worked out well during training, other times it drove the trainee crazy.

Not literally, but it was enough to have them drop out from the program.

But it was impossible to completely wipe away what made someone human, desires and fixations. A sharpened tool would eventually grow dull if they remained the same, never finding means to distance themselves from the violence - away from what drove them into nightmare filled nights. Whether that was that was comfort through drink, flesh or both.

And that's not what she saw on Rae's glances. There were no wayward looks to followed the length of her body. No sign of those pesky teenage hormones running rampant as they had a tendency to do.

You've taught her well, Roland.

Especially for someone outside of any of the known Intelligence Agencies. Although, maybe that was the best thing - being unattached to any major government.

She fixed Roland with a look, one that wasn't entirely too pleased with his answer. If she could help it, there wouldn't be a single dead body left in the wake of their infiltration. Mara certainly wasn't shy about killing, especially if it meant achieving what she was setting out to do. But there was something about this mission...she didn't want to have to bring harm to anyone that might come across.

Entirely for selfish reasons mind you, a body count was only likely to push the Republic in trying to track her down again. But then again, plans were made to go wrong a lot of the time, and something told her this wasn't going to go as smoothly as she hoped.

Mara quirked an eyebrow as she zipped up her suit, hands running along the material before she began to choose her weapons and equipment. She gazed over at Roland and Rae, watching the two interact, amused by the latter's reaction. She had indeed worked out that 'Whisper' was in fact Roland's charge, more than just someone he was training.

"Yeah, I remember you gushing over how great 'Raena' was." There had been times when the two had simply conversed over drinks, subjects from all different areas in their life cropping up during that time. Mara chuckled, looking over at the young woman. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Rae."

Once she was fully kitted out with various gadgets, Mara turned her full attention to Roland.

"Yeah, the Republic can be as tight lipped as they get when information is involved. I have no doubt they completely changed the layout to try and work against any leaks."

[member="Raena"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Mara Kellarov"]

Being outside the agencies had a downside. Not getting data and intel on targets as easily was one, the cost of it another. You had to learn to make do with a lot of what you had, and most of the times that wasn’t a lot. It was about who you knew and the secrets you held onto. Trade the right ones at the right time and you stood to gain. Trade the wrong ones at the right time and you stood to gain even more. Backstabbing was part of the game, and Rae had been made aware of that from the very start. Of course, some were more inclined to do it than others, but that didn’t change the fact that it was a field where people was as likely to end your life as they were to keep it.

Roland had caught Mara’s look and perked his brows with a shake of his head. There was a chance, she had to have known that much. He hadn’t ever been a man to ignore risk, it was how he had stayed alive when others had not.

“I was not gushing.” He chuckled at Mara’s comment. “I was merely praising.”

Rae looked amused and waved back at Mara.

“The Republic is dying as it is.” Roland shook his head. “I am just lucky our new overlords didn’t do any background checks.”

A burned Republican spy with many records of action against the Sith? Roland had laid low for years at this point, it was unlikely they would find who he was at this point but the records were still there in their grasp. He’d have embarked on a mission like this of his own, but at this point that would only further increase the likelihood of them coming around to poke at the past. Better let ghosts lie in peaceful slumber. Roland wasn’t even his real name, but that was hardly something the others needed to know. It was all the mirrors and smoke that he needed to stay alive.

The mentor and his apprentice wrapped up preparations after Mara had done her final check on her gear. Checks of their own were had…

“Check.” Roland announced aloud. “Check.”

“Check.”

“Double check.”

He turned around to do the same check on Rae who had already done hers by the time he was done.

[ I am already done. ]

“Safety first.”

The check wrapped. Full marks.

“Well, I had to check.” He muttered and looked at his pad again.

“There should be a speeder coming to pick us up and get us over to the facility.” He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. “Any last minute pep talks? Advice for the newbie?”

[ Yeah, Mara, do you have any advice for Roland? I think he’s about to wet himself. ]

“Oh shut it, you.” He laughed.

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Mara shook her head smiling at Roland's response. There were a lot of things in the agent's life that she had intentionally forgot about, burying it beneath a lot of alcohol. But it was oddly enough the moments in between; mostly when she was drinking, that she remembered the most.

Times when she was simply herself, not an agent for the SIS. Dancing and drinking the nights away, even talking to those she trusted were things she cherished.

Especially given the latter had been in short number for a long time now. Steadily dwindled through one suicidal mission or another.

And then the nights out got even more frequent, making it so very easy to just forget everything. Trying to force the bad memories out and replace them with at least something that was decently good.

It rarely ever worked.

"That's the good thing about the current chaos hitting the galaxy. The disappearances are affecting everyone." Mara knew she should feel bad about it, and to a degree she did. But right now all she cared about was the fact it was something she could exploit. Along with the fact the Republic was falling? Just another boon.

Internally Mara cursed, what had happened to her? Years ago she was a devoted agent of the Republic. Now she wanted nothing more than for it to disappear.

She shook her head, thoughts of all her dead comrades springing to the forefront of her mind. She knew why.

Attention shifting away, Mara watched Raena and Roland interacting. Frowning ever slightly at the latter's behaviour. She could chalk it up to just general worrying, it was hardly far-fetched thing as she knew Roland had been caring and training the young woman for years now. Perhaps it was because it was Raena's first real mission? At least that's what Mara was getting from this whole situation.

"Stick close, and stick to the plan?" She laughed along with them. Mara was confident Roland knew what he was doing, and in turn knew he had trained Raena to be the best. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

[member="Raena"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Mara Kellarov"]

It was Rae’s first mission. Roland had expressed his regret that it had to be this way, but that if she made it out alive there was no doubt that she was ready to take on jobs of her own, if not even more. It was like a combination of both an introduction and a final exam, only that this time the candidate was far too precious — in a quite literal sense — to risk failure with. His eyes lingered on the young woman as she checked her gear one last time. Her father would have him hung for this if she died, and if Mara feared retribuition from the Republic she had quite clearly never scorned nobility. They tended to hold grudges, and grudges were far more personal than desertion from an imploding governing body and organization.

The sound of messages being relayed to his pad broke the silence. Rae looked over at it and then the door, her hands tensing up with a pop before she let them rest by her side again. Roland looked at Mara and nodded his head. The time had come to get started on their little op, and force knew Rae hadn’t been wrong about him wanting to wet himself. The things he knew that the dungeon master performed without the knowledge of their good lord and employer was enough to keep even him awake at night. There was no mercy in feuds, and feuds were something that the nobility excelled at. Roland himself had even brought down more than his fair share of minor houses simply because they had been a threat to this or that employee, more often than not having accepted one contract from two minor houses and taking them both out in a single sweep. He was unscrupulous at times yet fair to those he deemed his friends, and that was what he had gained a reputation for.

Problem was that somewhere along the way he had grown a heart too.

The trio stepped out into the rain again. Rae frowned as she looked up at the sky and felt the raindrops crash against the surface of her skin, fully aware that this was quite possibly one of the last times she would ever experience it again. With the others stepping into the transport she lingered with her hand resting at the roof for a moment to gather her thoughts before the last precipice.

[ This is it then. ] She signed to both Mara and Roland. [ The one I have trained for over the last few years. ]

“Yes.” Roland answered, his will seemingly strengthened by the leap he had already made entering the back of the transport.

A deep breath entered and left her system as she closed her eyes and stepped into the transport proper. The point of no return had been crossed and the deal was sealed then. She took her seat in front of both Mara and Roland, gave them a look of worry before letting in another deep breath. Halfway through the exhale the frown turned into a smile, the smile into an eerie excitement for the coming mission.

She had prepared for five years. This was it.

The transport took off and neither the mentor nor the student seemed worried anymore. Worry had no place on the agenda from here on out, only results.

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Much like Rae and Roland, the worry and concern that had settled in Mara's mind before was pushed out and kept locked away. There was never a place for such emotions when on a mission, that was one of the earlier lessons that had been taught to her.

All that mattered, was the mission and achieving the set objectives. Any deviation from that had the potential to cause issues, and more often than not they usually did.

With the One Sith's recent occupation, there were now routine checks and scans of any and all vehicles that went about. The bad thing about that, was the process was automated and would alert the nearby authorities if a suspect vehicle had been picked up. Thankfully, the transport carrying the trio had a valid registration that listed it as 'civilian'. It ensured they had a smooth journey to their destination.

And with any mission with common sense, they stopped a few clicks away, outside before a network of alleyways.

If this was another time, Mara would've thrown out a quip about hoping they had good navigation skills. But no one present was in that current mindset right now, and they made quick work of moving through the maze like network until they finally had eyes on the structure itself. It was decorated in One Sith banners, with a moderate patrol of guards moving around its perimeter.

Mara sighed quietly.

"Looks like they're not sparing any expense in keeping everyone else out of the building."

Their last report on the complex had indicated that the Republic hadn't necessarily removed every bit of information before the Sith had struck. And the fact the security was beefed up? It certainly gave more credit to the idea that there was still some technicians hidden within the premises.

"You see any way we can get inside? The ground level looks too well patrolled for that type of entry." She lowered the macrobinoculars and handed them over to Roland.

[member="Raena"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Mara Kellarov"]

“One Sith. Crap.” Roland cussed under his breath at the sight of the banners above the base. It complicated things, but perhaps it was to be expected that the One Sith wouldn’t delay repossession of any potential backup the data the Republic might have left behind. There was no doubt that Mara was in that database, at least not if her stories added up and she was in fact being ‘retired’ by her employers before her time. If the SIS couldn’t end her, then surely a Sith APB could. And if there was one thing you did not want in this day and age it was an APB issued by the One Sith.

Roland grabbed the macrobinoculars that he was handed and began to look around.

[ Second floor, the blueprints had made mention of a ventilation chamber. You can see the exhaust from here. ] Rae signed to blind eyes before she sighed. Hands reached out before the lenses of the binoculars to poke at the device and then point in the direction of the ventilation shaft.

“Rae.” Roland lowered the device and looked at her. “What the-”

[ Ventilation shaft. ] She signed. Again. [ Ventilation shaft, underground tunnels or roof access. ]

Roland looked at the girl and then Mara with a grin on his lips. Eyes set back on the girl again. He sucked in a breath to question her, but once again she began to sign.

[ Fifteen second rule. Find the entrance and exit ASAP, then plan accordingly. ]

“... Right, right…”

[ Tunnels are narrow, easier to get spotted. Ventilation shafts can be loud unless we are careful and the roof access will grant us more immediate access through the atrium, but comes with an even greater risk of accidentally stumbling upon someone on the inside. ]

“Fifteen seconds for that?” Roland looked amazed.

[ No, fifteen minutes. You two talked a lot. ]

 

[Mara Kellarov]

The One Sith's occupation of the building concerned Mara, though not necessarily because it was no doubt heavily defended. Sure, that was an issue in itself, one they could easily overcome with careful planning.

After all she had a lot of experience fighting against them. Which in turn was the source for her concern.

Over the duration her time as a SIS Agent, Mara had built up a reputation as being a thorn to the One Sith's side. There was no doubt several others; ones that likely ranked higher, but she was still somewhere on that list. And no doubt they would like they find that list, track down the Agents and capture them.

That was the furthest thing that Mara wanted, although it did raise that question for a moment. What would be worse? Being kept within the Republic's net, or wind up in the clutches of the Sith?

In Mara's opinion, she'd go for the third option - to disappear.

She turned her attention back to her two partners, letting out a small chuckle when Rae grew slightly annoyed at the fact Roland couldn't see her sign. As she did that though, Mara looked back towards the building and mentally debated their options. The ventilation shafts would no doubt get them deep into the facility, but they were both cramped, confined and had the potential of being noticed if they weren't able to keep the inevitable noises low.

It was too risky.

Mara's eyes caught Roland's as he looked back and forth between her and Rae. That grin of his spoke volumes, and the Agent rolled her eyes.

"I say we use the roof access." She took the macrobinoculars back, returning her gaze to the roof - finding a viable way for them to get up there. "As Rae pointed out, ventilation would be too noisy and the tunnels too dangerous if we get caught in such a small and narrow area. And while the rooftops will have its own risk, I think it's the only way we can really get a foot into the building."

[member="Raena"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Mara Kellarov"]

Which wasn’t to mention the fact that all of the facility’s air was transported through the vents. Warm air was not particularly nice, was it? The rain drenched the agents and Rae swept up to tie her hair back into a tight knot in further preparation for what lie ahead. Of course she had a mask to hide her face, she wasn’t that new, but even Roland had to cut expenses somewhere. Besides, she’d rather die than cut her hair short enough to fit under a helmet or even worse, wear a hairnet. She was nobility in the end. Vanity just sort of ran in her blood, even when she was far less so than the rest of her family. Design did have it’s importance on practicality every now and then.

[ Roof access means we will have to rappel from the windows. We’d also have to go down maybe three floors and hope nobody sees us in the meantime. ] Rae signed and gave Roland and Mara a small grimace. [ It is also a one-way road unless you want to leave some rather distinct ropes hanging from the ceiling. ]

“Girl’s got a point.” Roland frowned and scratched his chin in contemplation. “We will have a solid entrance, but as far as exits go we might have to improvise.”

[ The tunnels. ] Rae shrugged. [ It is easier to move out through the tunnels than in once we have a clearer picture of their patrol patterns. ]

Roland opened his mouth to talk for a moment before it closed again with a dumbstruck look. He had no idea how this had happened. When had Raena, who two months ago was having trouble breaking into her own father’s home, suddenly become this aware? Rae merely grinned and gave Mara a look that said it all. She had deceived Roland too in the end. The man opened his mouth to ask her how she had managed all this when she interrupted him.

[ Never broadcast your movements. ] She lectured him. [ If your enemy knows what your next move is, you’re dead. ]

“... Right.” Roland cleared his throat. “Right, I told you that. In hand-to-hand practice.”

The girl shrugged. A sigh parted the man’s nose and she turned to Mara.

“Well, we have a plan.” He whispered. “I think we can move on this when you’re ready.”

[ I am ready. ] Rae signed.

“Well, so am I.” Roland agreed.

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Mara mused quietly as she watched/listened to what Rae had to say. Her argument against using the roof was valid once the Agent thought on it some more. As while the rain would help obscure them somewhat, they were still moving in broad daylight. Even if there was no one within the vicinity, they'd run the risk of something seeing them from afar.

Such a thing was more useful during a night operation, which this unfortunately wasn't.

Another option would've been to find a more direct entrance; such as a door, but facilities like these had as minimum amount of entrances and exits for a reason. There was no way of knowing what was awaiting them within. Any data they had on patrol routes before, was now defunct given the One SIth had taken over and no doubt had their own forces defending it.

Mara just about caught Roland's expression, one of surprise at Rae's words. For a moment she didn't know why until Roland spoke up, and she couldn't help but chuckle lightly. What amused her more though, was seeing how Rae moved her hands.

She could literally imagine the young woman's voice, lecturing the old man about something he had forgotten. But that wasn't really the case, was it? Rae had taken a lesson from one thing and applied it to something else entirely. Like a good Agent always did, adapting to the situation.

And it seemed from Roland's expression, that the apprentice had trumped the master for a change.

"The tunnels it is then, let's go."

Mara led the way, keeping her body low and crouched as they left the confines of the alleyway and towards the complex. They had a bit of a ways to go, as the tunnels were situated near the back of the area.

On the opposite side of where they currently were.

[member="Raena"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Mara Kellarov"]

The tunnels. Boots hit the ground and didn’t stop moving from there. The rain showed no sign of letting up. The winds began to pick up and a slight haze was wrapped around the entire city as the first lightning strike caught onto one of the tall buildings somewhere perhaps… One second, two seconds, three seconds, crack. A kilometer away or so. The good thing was the fact that it masked them, the bad thing was the trail they would leave behind as soon as they stepped into that building. It wasn’t something you often saw in the movies, but all that rain and all that water that clung to your clothes had to go somewhere. It didn’t disappear until you made it.

The tunnel entrance was located in a small ditch-like trench at the very outskirts of the perimeter. From the vantage point they would have been able to make out the signs of two patrols in a pattern that crossed by the entrance itself to check in with one another, report back and then continue onwards, changing route with the other team, in a sense. The door itself was robust, old and most likely loud. They’d need to be careful with how they sought entry if they wanted to play it as safe as possible.

Roland, of course, wouldn’t have minded if they just stunned the guards and acted as fast as possible while inside. Rae herself was all about the challenge of enacting a Ghost clause for the first time in her life.

“That’s the trench up ahead.” Roland whispered into the comms as they got to another new checkpoint. Up ahead the vague lights of the patrolling guards’ flashlights could be seen heading away from them, towards the door to check in with the other team. “Are you sure about this?”

“Ghost operations are a lot of trouble, M.”

“...” Said Rae over the comms.

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Everything but the mission was pushed away from Mara's mind, the weather; the constant rainfall was nothing to the Agent. She had moved in beat with the Roland and Rae, a brief trek to the next vantage point.

They had a good sight of vision on the tunnel entrance, along with the two patrols that were focused within that area. One was actively moving back and forth, while the second remained near the door. There was a small gap where they were stood and the door itself, but it looked old enough that it was going to cause enough racket when opening it.

Mara stopped herself from audible cursing.

It was going to be impossible to get inside if either of the groups remained. Sure, they could distract the moving patrol - but that would alert the other when they didn't meet their routine check in. Even if there was thirty minute gap between, that was nowhere near enough time to achieve their objective, especially because they didn't know what forces were awaiting inside.

They needed to distract both.

"I'm sure about this, R. We're dealing with the One Sith remember, you know what that means." Sith. If they caught anyone's attention here, they ran the risk of a Sith showing up. There was no way they would leave something as important as information acquisition to a group of regular soldiers alone.

"We need to find a way to distract the patrolling group, lure them away from the door hopefully taking the stationary group with them too." Even if they could only get the one away, it would leave them some breathing room to reach the door. "We could also use the lightning to cloak the sound of the door."

[member="Raena"]​