Gravity

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus looked at the file. There were several codewords across the label. Some he didn't even recognise. With a sigh he smoothed out his features and returned to business.

"Do you have a redacted mission file we can review together before we pick someone for the full security brief?"

The Captain opened the file where he couldn't see it and leafed through it.

"This contains a summary with no sensitive information. Review it and choose the pilot."

Asmus took the flimsi and scanned it before sliding it into his own file. "When by?"

"Close of play, day after tomorrow," he replied.

"Will do," Asmus said with a nod. He left the mission room rather abruptly. He had two reports to write, his daily flight manual revision, and a mission plan to review before he could get onto finding a way to meet her again.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Meanwhile, Kaile took a quick shower and got dressed. The hair was combed straight again, only this time tied in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. With the straight slash of her bangs and the casual dress blouse, slacks and jacket, she blended right in with the rest of the Resistance crew. If anything, keeping low key functional with proper rank made for easy trips in and out.

A meeting with Captain Amadgener and Lieutenant Vo would bring her up to date on just what else was planned for her. The thought alone made her stomach clench in knots thinking about it. Rounding the corner as she made her way towards the mission room, her mind was stuck in the clouds that she didn't catch sight of the body exiting so quickly.

The Wraith Squadron Commander found himself caught in a half bounce as the brunette went crashing right into him. It was, after all, a small ship.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

With his head down, Asmus was in a foul mood as he marched away from the briefing room. It was a slow shift through several expressions as he realised what had happened.

He stumbled a half step back, folder dropped and he grabbed Kaile by the shoulders instinctively to stabilise them both.

That glare transitioned into a joyous smile as he saw Kaile. But almost immediately he remembered where he was and - more importantly - who was right behind him.

However, Asmus wasn't one for hiding his feelings. He tried to paint a neutral expression on his face, but it was obvious he struggled to do so. She was such a welcome sight after that debrief.

"Terribly sorry Kaile," he said curtly. He was dressed in the Resistance's dark grey officer's uniform. There were many variations of what this looked like within the loose knit organisation, but in this was it was a short-sleeved formal shirt, with his rank insignia on the sleeve.

He dropped down to pick up his folder, tearing his eyes from her.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]


"Oh dangit!" came her slight curse just before catching her surroundings. Hands had found her shoulders and stabilized her before chocolate brown eyes went wide at the realization of just whom they belonged do.

By then Asmus' folder and files had gone scattering to the floor, leaving her to only react and bend down to help the Wraith Squadron Commander pick them up.

"Sorreh," she managed to squeeze out, flushing pink in embarrassment as they both collected the sheets of filmsi. Hands would brush as she gave him her assembled stack, and as cheesy as it seemed, it felt like a spark ran the space between them where they touched.

A half smile went drifting only to freeze as behind the crouching Captain, was her Captain; Amadgener.

"You already sent her to the med-bay earlier Janes, I don't need you harming my agents further." the man managed to say with a droll tone.

"Good morning Sir," she managed to say in a soft tone, doing her best to keep her expression set so that her emotions wouldn't give her away. Granted, that did nothing for how her hands gave way to more exaggerated gestures as she came to her feet.

"Sorry about that Captain Janes." she managed to tell Asmus. However, with how hard it was to maintain her focus around the man, there was a slight narrowing of Amadgener's eyes when he caught the Wraith's Commander's and his agent's expressions.

"Inside Vera."

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus kept his back firmly to the captain as he straightened up. That was probably telling, but the Wraith commander merely wanted to keep his expression from betraying anyone.

“No problem,” he said as he stepped past Kaile and on to the offcer’s workspace. Parts of the ship were as much an office as they were part of a military carrier. That was the nature of the work now. He found a spare terminal and sat down, pulling out the flimsiplast brief.

A simple insertion job. An asset needed to be pulled from First Order space. The location, the asset and most things were redacted. What was required was a pilot and a shuttle coming in under scanning floor. High speed manoeuvres in tight spaces. An agent would make contact and extract the asset from a small town.

This was more Asmus’ skillset than Chad’s. Wilson was far more technical and tactical. Chad was the better dogfighter. Just. The slender margin was important. They were going to divert the ship for this, he realised. Perhaps another week in enemy space. Another week before she could run, to try and convince her not to.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

It was hard to keep herself from turning her head and following Asmus' as he got to his feet and left. In the end, the Lorrdian agent would swivel her head to glance back up at Amadgener.

"Yes Sir." she replied, moving in to step into the mission room. Lieutenant Vo joined them shortly after, bringing with him three small folders of filmsi and a datastick.

"Agent Vera, glad to see you are feeling better." the Sullustan said with his version of a smile.

"Thank you." she replied, sliding into her seat as the door behind them slid shut.

"I'd be hesitant to send you back out into the field again after you've barely recuperated," Amadgener began.

"But we have a word that one of our assets may need extraction...."

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Just because he approached his position in a professional manner - most of the time - didn't stop him from considering the notion of going on a mission with Kaile.

It wouldn't affect his decision on who to send. He couldn't allow the personal to alter how he approached his responsibilities. But it did provide a minor distraction and had him ignoring his work and daydreaming. His mind had settled on quite a pleasant fantasy when Wilson cane and sat next to him.

"Got grilled?"

"Of course, don't worry about it. Have a look at this flight plan for me. Do you think Chad would fly this better?"

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

"So you need me to go in?" Kaileann read over the file, glancing back up to the Captain as he sat down behind his desk.

"Unfortunately yes." he told her, motioning for Vo to proceed with the details. Kaile went panning her attention to the Sullustan Intel officer, who then clicked a small control to bring up a holographic display. The image of a brunette with olive skin and dark eyes came into view.

"This is our asset, Agent Solo, currently working within the First Order among their ranks. She's been implanted to gather information from some of the upper echelon officers." more holopictures came into view.

"Two days ago we received notice on First Order movements and had our fleets intercept them. By now, the First Order would be well aware that they have a mole in their organization and would do all in their power to flush them out." one of the risks of being an embedded agent.

"We are working on a timeline to extract her, but for the present time we will need someone who is familiar with working with the First Order to be able to slip in and bring her out for extraction."

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Taking a shuttle in like this? You know you're better at that. When's this for?" Wilson asked curiously.

"Don't know yet," Asmus lied. I think the Captain is just giving me busy work for us mouthing off during the sim.

"Figures." Chad turned the terminal screen towards him and slid his key card in. He opened up their low grade system to start on his write up for the simulation. "I wonder how many curse words I can sneak in."

"Best not." Asmus was looking at his screen, clearly distracted.

"Lucy came asking after you. I'm not convinced she's given up you know."

That was like a slap in the face to draw him from his reverie. It has been a nice little distraction too. The Kaile he now knew, but back in the refresher at Quin. Only they hadn't left the room when she'd been perched on the sonic washer.

He sighed. "Why?"

"Just wanted to talk about your ship apparently."

"Fine, I'll go find her later."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Kaile's eyes went wide.

"When?" it was odd really. There the Lorrdian espion sat, listening in to the briefing on what her next mission would be. However, her mind was elsewhere. On the dark-haired man with the jade green eyes that were flecked with gold. On a crooked little boy smile and the way his voice fell by her ear the night before. On Asmus.

Funny, all this time she'd been thinking about the best way to get away. Now the first thing her mind went to was the real possibility she would soon leave. It was what I wanted, wasn't it? What I had planned on requesting. Perhaps the young agent had fooled herself into thinking that she would be able to step away again. To leave before she got in too deep. Odd how it felt when it would appear she would have no real choice in the matter.

"At the most, two weeks from now. Maybe earlier." the Captain told her. Kaileann gave a small nod.

"We are going to assign you a pilot to drop you into position. They will be with you to provide an extraction once you reach Agent Solo and get her to the designated area."

"Captain Janes will review who is the best candidate in his Squadron qualified to go with you."

Chocolate brown eyes met with Amadgener.

"He'll be working as a liaison with you while we complete all the preparations and the mission briefing to the pilot assigned."

Oh hell...

 

[Asmus Janes]

The flight plan didn't look right to Asmus. The problem was that the SAM emplacements and sensor arrays were redacted so he couldn't do better. But it seemed to him it would be easier to drop harder and approach up the western valley.

He suspected the First Order thought the same and had put something at the head of that valley. But perhaps not. It was just a regular town after all. They couldn't have stormtroopers on every corner and AA guns coveting every square kilometre. They would have bankrupted themselves by now.

His hands danced across his terminal as Wilson wittered something about an officer's cards night in a few days.

"Done," he murmured. He yanked the memory chip from the computer and stood from his chair. He told himself that he wasn't going back because Kaile was there, but because he wanted to throw his report in the captain's face and show off.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]


Kaile's jaw fell only to close. It was one thing to tell herself that she should stay away from Asmus. Another when the choice was made for her. Or in this instance, being brought closer together than Kaile ever had originally thought she'd ever would.

"As in...now?" Kaile managed to blurt out. That only got her some rather confused expressions from both men.

"I mean," she began, glancing from the Captain to the Lieutenant. "Of course." she gave them both a half closed lipped smile. Her fingers gave a small tap upon the files. Right.

"So when do we start?"

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Janes has been given a declassified brief to review. It will probably take him a week to fit it into his busy schedule," the Captain replied. "Unless you'd rather not work with him?"

It wouldn't have overly surprised him to find out that Kaile was being hounded by the Rogue. Even if not, not everyone - himself firmly included - could work well with the young man. Promoted beyond his age, that was the problem as far as Amadgener was concerned. Yes he was a brilliant pilot, but with age came experience and wisdom. If he was still only a lowly lieutenant he would have been far less condescending.

---

He'd reached the ceiling of his ability, that was the problem as far as Asmus was concerned. The captain was frustrated, but this was as far as he would ever go. Little boss of a little boat. He'd probably go on to a desk job somewhere, or a nice comfortable space station. Not like he'd ever run one of the big ships, or progress on to an admiralty.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

I - ah...

Okay, not quite where she wanted this to go to. "No, not what I -- ahh.." meant. Right, think fast Kaile. The Lorrdian gave what appeared to be a reassuring smile. "Just wonderin'" a gesture of her hand followed.

"What with Darek just out of the bacta tank and all..." saying that brought an expression of understanding from both of the officers. Not a lie. Kaile was concerned about Darek. Just that she wanted them to stray from talking about Asmus.

"I'll do what I can for Agent Solo." there was another agent on the line. She knew full well already what it meant when an espion on the field had to be taken out of an escalating situation.

 

[Asmus Janes]

There was a sharp rap on the door. The two officers pressed a button and the lights beneath the surface of the table went dark. The flimsiplast documents they had spread across it instantly became almost impossible to read.

“Come in.”

The door slid open and Asmus stepped in. He stopped at the entrance and gave a curt nod. Saluting was something that had fallen by the wayside in the Resistance. An outdated tradition that didn’t really have any barely on operational effectiveness as far as Asmus was concerned.

“My report is complete,” Asmus. There was a slight twitch at the corner of his lips as his eyes passed over the agent. Probably so faint only she would notice if she was looking.

The Captain, having just had his prediction smashed, tried in vain not to look aggravated by this. “And who is going to be flying?”

“I will sir, Lieutenant Chad on standby.”

“Very well. It’s important that you know the background of the operation. Vo will give you a temporary induction into Level 3 later today.”

Asmus managed to keep his expression neutral. Jogging through Deck B was suddenly back on the cards.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Wait what?

The surprise and muted joy at seeing Asmus again were abruptly replaced by a half startled expression. Her mouth fell open only to close shut. She barely caught the slight hint of smugness in the corner of his mouth when Asmus took note of the Captain's mild annoyance.

That wasn't as pressing as the realization that now she'd have to work with the Squadron Commander for the upcoming mission to extract Agent Solo.
"Then it is settled." Amadgener resolved it without another word then, much to Kaile's growing sense of disconcertment.

"Vera, "

"Yes, Sir?" Kaile swung her attention back to the dark-skinned male, attempting to keep her expression neutral.

"You'll meet with Captain Janes and Lieutenant Chad to discuss the mission parameters later today."

"Yes Sir..." hazel eyes managed to catch the Jade then.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Yes sir," Asmus replied. His voice wavered only slightly as he met Kaile's gaze. It was a relatively short mission; he could keep an entirely professional attitude around Kaile for that long. "I'll drop us fro orbit without getting picked up on scanners and thread a shuttle through a narrow ravine at supersonic velocities. Agent Vera can ask the man if he wants to leave."

The Captain glowered. Asmus looked a little sheepish when Kaile looked at him. He was feigning making light of the situation because he was nervous. Nervous that the officers would see the way he looked at her.

"I'll need everything we've got on the layout of their aerial defences."

"We'll do the proper induction so you can read the files at fourteen hundred," Vo said.

The Captain looked the Kaile. "Unfortunately Captain Janes's background means he's only permitted temporary Level 3 clearance for urgent requirements only."

Asmus rapidly searched his mind for a way to wipe that smug smile off his face.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Oh, this was getting increasingly awkward. The Lorrdian was able to read Asmus like a book; he was nervous, and he had a slight twitch in his fingers as they would flex. He wasn't the only one, Kaile's own fingers began a small rap on top of the table as she went mentally through the significance of what this just meant.

Not a few days ago, Captain Asmus Janes, Leader of Wraith Squadron had no idea that the Yum Bunny waitress he had met several years ago was, in fact, more than she seemed. Years of wondering where she went off to, what she was doing, and why she had not bothered to contact the pilot came bubbling back into the surface. The knowledge that Kaile - her real name surprisingly enough - was an agent working for the Resistance was shocking enough. That they would both could very well potentially working together on another mission to extract another agent even more staggering.

It was one thing being around him. Another in a professional capacity that Kaile had been trying to keep inconspicuous.

Kaile managed to ask, swiveling her attention from Asmus to the Captain.

"Is this a drop and grab or will I have to be embedded for the extraction?" the former meant that all Asmus would be doing is dropping her off to find the asset and then collect at that same point in time. The latter, that she would be left to her own devices for however long before meeting for the pick up.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Vo looked between the Captain and Asmus. He tapped a few keys and the table turned from a backlight for flimsiplast to a holographic display.

"Asmus, pretend you didn't see this until later," he said. The Captain gave him an inquisitive look, but it was Vo's call on what information could and could not be divulged. "This is a rapid extraction. Hans Gelfert is a First Order Colonel who has been selling us information for a year and is going on leave. They suspect his activities and he is being watched, hence Agent Vera is going to make contact. He's going to be jittery. We have enough Intel to believe he is now in danger. Not urgently so, but we need to make a move in a two week window when he'll be staying in this small town."

The holographic display showed the terrain and was suddenly populated by a medium sized settlement. Asmus leaned closer, appraising the air defences and flight plan with a professional eye. He was going to need to make adjustments.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

A rapid extraction. There was mild relief in that. It meant that the time spent with Asmus wouldn't drag on. In and out to grab Agent Solo, AKA Hans Gelfert. This I can do.

There was still a slight bit of anxiety to the Lorrdian, but she managed a curt nod and a following, "Thank you, Lieutenant Vo."

"Any problems you forsee, Janes?" the Sullustan would inquire the Wraith Squadron Commander. He had recommended Lieutenant Chad as a backup, but with this new bit of information, would either Janes or Chad need to reconsider? There was more that they would need to go over at fourteen-hundred, but at least this would narrow it down further.