Chapter Text
The rattataki agent dusted off their clothing one last time as they heard the faint sound of footsteps coming from the corridor outside the meeting room. It had been a while since they last officially met someone as their on-field agent persona, and they were excited about the prospect.
Sitting on a cold, grey metal chair, they put their boots up onto the table, crossed their legs, leaned back against the backrest, then folded their arms on top of their chest, setting up that final piece of scenery in the darkened, empty meeting room they'd been waiting in for ten minutes. They checked their voice changer fifteen then five minutes beforehand. And of course the blinds were still shut, they were going on a very secret and important undercover mission, and the atmosphere had to match.
Okay - maybe they were a little too excited. But this kind of field mission had become scarce recently. They never had to meet new people to infiltrate enemy lines with anymore. They shook their head in discontent at the thought, enjoying the still empty room to act out more than their persona would.
As soon as their head came to a stop, the handle moved, and soon, opening the door, came in a white nautolan, followed by the usual cybernetically enhanced human man. Commander Cyaka, or Darth Imperius, and the ex-SIS spy Theron Shan, republic citizen - or at least until his defection to join the Alliance.
Rumour was going around that these two were banging. Well-founded rumour. The two of them were being quiet about it for now, but their inner circle knew. And they weren't specifically hiding it either, which meant it was easy enough to figure out if you came digging. Which the agent did. The ex-Cipher and their team kept tabs on more people than anyone in the Alliance would approve of.
The rattataki noticed that the Commander was wearing something more professional than he had been for the past few months. He'd traded his usual jacket and underground look for a black leather military suit with golden details, a small butt cape, and boots long enough to cover his knees. The agent ever so slightly tilted their head to the left. They were glad to see him get more used to this position. Stars know he struggled to accept that title for too long.
They realised they'd be ogling at the nautolan for a few seconds now, and slowly nodded at both him and Shan. Cyaka nodded back, while Shan closed the door behind them. The agent noticed Shan's slight eyebrow raise as he turned his head towards them, before he crossed his arms, sending a curious look at his attention. The agent kept staring in silence.
"Right." The Commander's booming voice broke the silence. "We all know why we're here, let's not waste any time."
He opened up one of his pocket, taking out carefully a piece of paper than he unfolded on the metal table in front of them. The agent straightened up, taking their feet out of the way and putting them back on the ground. A map.
"This is what you'll be working with. A single night, a single ball. If you need to extend the timeframe, you send a signal, otherwise we'll waste a lot of resources trying to get you both back, is that clear?"
"Yes, sir." Theron threw with a little smile. The agent settled for a nod. The Commander resumed.
"Good." He turned to the ex-Cipher. "Our operative here will take every undercover aspect. He'll be the one to infiltrate the ball, so any interaction with others will have to go through him." He turned back to the map laid out in front of them all. "Now, if you find a way to infiltrate the ball without getting your face on camera, that'd be ideal. Which is why we need your help, Shan, to mess with the security system as needed. On top of slicing the systems we've already marked for information."
Both agents nodded in unison at the Commander's instructions. This was all expected, part of the initial request for coming here.
"Now," Cyaka furrowed his brows, apparently anticipating something with great annoyance. The agent raised an eyebrow behind their helmet. "There is two ways this can go. Either you both go into the field, communications open at all times, or you both work with coms mostly closed, Shan on the ship, receiving important data and slicing remotely."
Theron let out a chuckle. Cyaka closed his eye in apparent defeat.
"Right, right, because working separately on a mission that needs us both is gonna work out so well."
"Theron, please-"
"Sorry." He said, looking straight at the agent with a grin. "But you have to admit that it's kind of ridiculous, right?"
The concerned's gaze went from one to the other in quick succession. Oh the couple had definitely argued about this before.
"He thinks the latter option is 'greatly preferable' for this mission." Theron said, confirming their suspicions.
"One option just presents too many unnecessary risks." The Commander sighed, still not deigning to look back up at Theron.
"Having us both on the field will allow us to intervene and help cover the other when needed, and will work out easier if slicing remotely through the network doesn't work out as intended."
Cyaka buried his head in his hands, looking exhausted. Theron kept going:
"I think you consider our former allegiances too much of a risk in the equation."
"Intelligence and the SIS have very different ways of operating!" Cyaka shot back.
"I worked with Lana before, Cy, I know how our methods could clash. Besides, you sold me this guy as super professional and adaptable."
Not even accounting for the fact that the ex-Cipher had already worked with the SIS befo- Oh. Oh that's what this was about, wasn't it.
A few months before then, the agent had explained to the Commander why Kaliyo had been so standoffish towards an ex-SIS agent like Theron Shan. They probably made it sound like they would have had the same problem as Kaliyo in the future.
Wait. Had the two of them truly never worked together before then because of this? Had the Commander been trying to work around pairing the two of them together until now?
…Well now they felt really guilty about gossiping to Kaliyo on the topic of his relationship.
They sat in stunned silence for a few seconds while the other two where still throwing arguments at each other. This was certainly unexpected. They weren't expecting to be reminded of that today. Maybe that was a little hopeful of them, now that they were really thinking about it.
Boy were they glad to be able to keep a straight posture while zoning out.
"…we're both adults, Cy, and we've been working with the Alliance longer than you. I promise you that we're not going to jump at each other's throats once the ship takes off." As he says that, Theron turns to the masked rattataki. "Right, agent?"
The concerned's head turned from Shan, to Cyaka. The Commander was shielding his eyes from Theron's gaze, giving the ex-Cipher a look full of regret and apprehension. Once he noticed their attention on him, he silently mouthed a 'Sorry'.
Their helmet went back to Theron. They brought out one of their hand from the fold on their chest, and lightly tapped the side of the mask. The brief soft buzzing confirmed to them that the voice distorter should still have be working fine. Satisfied, they finally raised their voice for the other two to hear:
"Thank you for the careful consideration, Commander. It's not unappreciated." They uncrossed their arms, and put their hands on the table. "Agent Shan is right. We will be alright."
Theron's smile widens a little, enough to barely show his teeth. He turns back to the nautolan. The agent can almost see him biting his tongue to hold back a 'See?' or a 'I was right'. The ratattaki, observing that, held back a chuckle, before continuing:
"But we shouldn't jump to conclusions right away. Depending on the situation on-site, either plan could work in our favour."
The ex-SIS agent nodded.
"Agreed. Both solutions are equally as valuable."
Cyaka sighed again. They smiled under their helmet, both because the bickering was quite entertaining, and because they could also hear a bit of a relief in that exhale. He got the message.
"Yes, well. Now we know." He cleared out his throat. "There are still some details to go over, if you'll indulge me for a bit longer."
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