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1. Male Sith Warrior
Most people who met the wrath and, by extension, Lana Beniko, wouldn’t believe that they were Sith. They were both pleasant, honorable people. The idea of Taral ever even being associated with the emperor, let alone being his ‘wrath’, was laughable.
Until you saw him in combat and realized that, despite all appearances, you shouldn’t cross him.
Which is why Theron’s facing the end of Lana’s lightsaber right now.
Theron honestly tries to explain, but Taral lunges forward before he can get a word out, sharp points pressing into old wounds and-
He’s being hugged. About half a foot off the ground, feet dangling as he tries to get his arms around Taral’s pointy armor.
“Oh, sorry. You did come to apologize, yes?” Taral asks, setting him down and moving a respectable distance away.
If he had ever even dreamed of betraying Taral before, he would be on his knees begging for forgiveness right now.
Theron knew what Taral did to traitors-he had turned on Acina based only on her small violation of their agreement and Theron’s word. Its almost surreal to still be alive.
“I was working as a double agent.” Triple? Shit, no time for semantics. “… You’re not mad?”
“Everyone in my inner circle gets one free betrayal.” Taral’s lips purse as he amends, “Malavai gets two.”
2. Female Sith Inquisitor
“I wanted to say I’m sorry for choking you and planning to kill you.” Amudae strokes his hand like a pet. “I overreacted. I should have trusted you.”
Theron clears his throat, trying not to remember how close he came to asphyxiating before he even made it off the train. “Yeah, no, I get it.”
Considering Darth Zash and the fact Amudae’s complexion is pink bordering on white, he really could have planned this better. That’s ignoring the lightsaber hole in his gut. He has the miracle of instant cauterization, implants, and Sith healing to thank for his life.
The dark side made people paranoid. Aggressive, on edge. All things you didn’t deliberately want to provoke in someone whose SIS profile included the words ‘capricious’ and ‘possibly bipolar’.
She really needed therapy. They all did.
“I still shouldn’t have. I’m going to get better. I don’t want to hurt you-any of my friends.” She’s still stroking his hand. “I would have been a bad mother.”
He squeezes her fingers the best he can, still woozy from his kolto nap. “You would have been the best mother. Nobody would lay a finger on your kids.”
Amudae swallows thickly, pressing her forehead to his hand and letting her lekku fall against his arm. “What if I did?”
Theron manages to pull her in for a hug, not having the words to dismantle that horrifying hypothetical.
“I’m going to talk to your mother and Ashara and-“ Hot tears slide down his wrist. “I’m going to get better. Even if it means becoming a Jedi.”
“You don’t have to,” he tries to tell her. He knows what giving up her freedom would mean for her and he doesn’t want that. “You don’t have to.”
3. Female Bounty Hunter
“Apologize or else,” Luzat informs him, holding the littlest Cadera up like a long cat to stare at him with those big blue eyes.
“Luz, you can’t bring him here!” He protests, naturally going to cradle Ziv, instead. “Its dangerous!”
Luz smiles smugly at him, crossing her arms. “Zivu, are you happy to see uncle Theron?”
“T’eron!” Ziv obediently agrees, grabbing onto his jacket with a certifiable death grip.
“He started speaking?” Theron’s heart squeezed. He’d missed it. What else was he missing right now?
“Yeah, you were his first word. Asshole.” Luz snorts, not caring that Ziv could repeat that now. “I was hoping for ‘mom’ or ‘mommy’, but no, its just T’eron day and night with this one.”
Ziv started chewing on his jacket. He had the teeth of a Rattataki, leaving little dents wherever he bit down. Shit, he had more teeth now than Theron remembered.
“So, when can I expect you back? Ziv misses his favorite babysitter.”
“I can’t.” He knows he can’t, more than ever. He has to make sure Ziv is safe from the Order. "I can't come back, Luz."
“Uh huh. You tell him that.”
There’s a wrinkle between her eyebrows that wasn’t there before when she takes back Ziv.
“Just record the good bits for me, okay?”
“No.” Luzat scowls, lifting her head to glare at him. “You should be there.”
Theron’s not sure how she found him in the first place, but that’s the Champion of the Great Hunt for you. Cradling his nephew to her chest as she climbs back aboard her ship.
4. Hand of Jadus (Female Imperial Agent)
Ranking top of the list of people you shouldn’t get close to, let alone betray: imperial agents who ordered mass kills and became the right hand of an evil challenging the emperor’s own.
Before this whole entire other empire business, Theron may have even said Jadus actually squeaked out ahead of the emperor, if only because Jadus was still around.
Really, Jadus and Valkorion would get along-they were both abusive parents with pointless goals that no one else understood.
Theron feels entirely justified in the chill he feels watching Thalaressa enter his hospital room.
She let him know exactly how much she was looking forward to killing him on the Holonet. Had grinned and told Lana to put her lightsaber down, because Theron was hers to end.
“I kill traitors.” He knows. She killed bystanders and enemies alike, but traitors were personal. She took special joy in targets close to her. She grinned for a week after she took out Kaliyo.
Sometimes he wonders what happened to her. How she became who she is, someone with millions of deaths resting on her shoulders. He wonders if there’s anything horrible enough that could warrant that sort of change or if she has always been this way.
They maintain eye contact for longer than Theron is comfortable with. How pathetic would it be to ask her to end it now? After he just got out of the tank?
“Don’t let it happen again,” she finally says, turning to leave. He can hear her voice break when she whispers, “I have a reputation to maintain.”
He’d always deluded himself into thinking he could somehow make Thala better. He hadn’t expected it to work.
“Tally,” he whispers, watching her head duck down from behind. “Stay with me?”
She turns around with a quivering lip and settles in beside him, resting her head against his shoulder, despite the horns.
Its hard to remember she was just eighteen when she ordered the Eradicators to fire.
5. Male Imperial Agent
"Not Zildrog's location, evidently."
"Sorry, I needed to meet somewhere the Order wouldn't notice. I managed to give them the slip, but we don't have much time." He glanced to where Espera was standing, arms crossed and as cold as... well, he'd never seen him this cold, excluding that message on the Holonet. "I know you're angry with me, but let me explain."
"Yes, I am." Espera drawled, not giving an inch. "I am so very angry you left the Alliance to go play double agent. In fact, I'd quite like to torture you. I want to torture you for the rest of our lives."
"That's..." Theron swallowed, subtle as he redirected his gaze.
"Theron." Espera sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm not angry with you, I'm asking you to marry me."
"What?" Theron's face dropped at the same time Lana's did.
"You're doing this now?"
"Well, obviously. I could hardly propose to him while he was pretending to be a cultist." Espera clucked his tongue, fishing a box out of his pocket and opening it with little fanfare. It was the golden tone of Zakuulan metal, paired with rubies. "All the men's rings were so boring, but this one matches your jacket and my eyes. It seemed suitably romantic."
"You-really, uh. Do you?"
"Do either of you happen to remember the snake... god we're here to kill?" Lana interjected.
"You know what? Throwing caution to the wind here." He finally managed, taking a steadying breath which Lana helpfully filled in the silence for.
"Obviously, considering you're ignoring the cult."
"Yes, I'll... do that. Marry you. Please."
"That was really difficult for you, wasn't it?" Espera huffed a laugh, dutifully taking the ring and kneeling to slip it onto his finger. "Seeing as I spent so much time researching human marriage traditions just for you, I call Lana as my maid of honor."
"That's not fair. Who am I supposed to take, Jonas?"
"As touched as I am that you are fighting over me, can we please go stop the cult?"
"Spoil sport." Espera grinned, standing and brushing the dirt off his knees.