Chapter 17: Opening Communications

            Perhaps it was to be expected, but Kayora managed to defuse the situation before it was able to rise to more than a collection of high tensions. Lana wasn’t entirely certain that Theron had fully forgiven her, but he had at least begrudgingly accepted that her ploy had born fruit. She had also promised Kayora that she wouldn’t use any of their allies as pawns again. She didn’t see a reason for that to be a necessity in the future, but Lana also found herself sincere in the promise. She wasn’t sure what exactly it was that made her feel that way. In the past, she had no issue giving her word to a current ally with no reservations to the thought she may find a valid reason to break it, but this promise felt different somehow.

            Lana shook off the feeling as Theron began to detail what he’d learned of the Revanite’s plans during the short time in their clutches. It was worse than she’d feared; the Revanites had managed to embed operatives in every level of military of both the Republic and the Empire. For weeks they’d been subtly feeding their own intelligence operatives information, painting a picture of a mass staging of the opposing fleet in the space above Rishi. Since each side believed the other was gearing up for a mighty offensive, their only option was to leap into the system and catch their enemy by surprise, thus stopping an impending invasion and potentially turning the war in their favor.

            However, the reality of the situation was that each fleet, Republic and Imperial, would drop out of hyperspace at the same time, each assuming the other was unprepared. Once the fleets engaged each other, the Revanite saboteurs within each fleet would do what they could to cripple the ships they were stationed on: disabling shields, scrambling targeting systems, even eliminating other crew members. With such chaos, the fleets would tear each other apart, and once the damage was significant enough, Revan would lead his own fleet into the system, easily wiping out or overtaking the remaining Republic and Imperial forces before spearheading an attack on the capital worlds.

            If the plan succeeded, it would not only bring an end to the war, but an end to both the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire.

            “And even though I managed to get a list of the spies, we can’t warn the fleets when they arrive because of a massive jamming station located at the far side of the Revanites’ compound.” Theron shifted forward, looking close to collapse as he propped himself up against the table.

            Kayora crossed her arms and studied the map projected on the table. “It sounds like we need to get in there and disable the jammer before the fleets arrive.” She shifted her gaze to Theron and then to Lana. “If we can get the signal freed up, can the two of you contact the head of your respective fleets?”

            Lana exchanged a look with the SIS agent. Behind the exhaustion, she saw a look of determination, as well as a dose of fury, feelings that she felt mirrored in her own mind. “You can count on us,” she said, speaking for the both of them.

            “Mako and I can help you and your padawan take out the jammer.” Lana looked over to see Vera stretching her arms over her head, groaning as she rolled her wrists in a circle, hearing the pop of a joint. Finding herself on the receiving end of questioning gazes from the two Jedi, the Chiss shrugged, her lip twitching up into a smirk. “I knew you were going to volunteer, so I figured we could just skip all that and get moving.”

            Letting out a huff of amusement, Lana turned her attention back to Kayora. “Agreed,” the Twi’lek said. “Lana, please get Theron to rest a bit. There will be some time before we can get the jammer disabled, even if we run into no resistance.”

            Nodding, Lana shifted to face Vera, grabbing the woman’s hand and giving it a squeeze. As concerned as she was about their chances at getting the jammer disabled in time, she’d be lying if she also didn’t feel a tinge of worry for Vera’s safety. She didn’t doubt the woman’s skills, but they were heading right into the heart of the cult, and there was always a point where sheer numbers outweighed skill. Hoping the small gesture conveyed that to her lover, Lana let go of her hand, only for Vera to grab her behind the neck and pull her in for a crushing kiss. As they separated, Lana bemoaned the brevity of the kiss, and pushed away any worries that it might be their last.

            Vera slipped her helmet on and clapped her hands together loudly. “What are we waiting for? Let’s fuck up some cultists!”

            There were a few chuckles, and even Kayora smiled before turning on her heel and moving toward the entrance to their hideout, Nadia, Mako, and Vera following. Once the hiss of the door signaled their departure, Lana focused back on Theron, who had crossed his arms, leaning back on the table.

            “You heard the Jedi,” Lana said, a teasing smile on her face.

            “I’m fine. There’s plenty to do to get prepared before they get that jammer down.”

            Lana arched an eyebrow. “Do you really want to be the one to tell Kayora that you didn’t follow her request?”

            Theron hesitated. He started to respond, then paused again, before he heaved a heavy sigh. “No, I don’t.”

            Laughing, Lana stepped toward the agent, offering a bit of assistance to walk him over to one of the cots set up in the corner. “Don’t worry, even I don’t want to disappoint her. She carries an aura of authority, but without any malice or ego. It’s very unlike what I deal with from the Sith.”

            Letting out a hiss as he lowered himself down, Theron nodded. “Yeah, she’s something else. She’s the kind of person that won’t even raise her voice if you fuck up, but you’ll know she’s disappointed and somehow that’s worse.” Adjusting his position, Theron laid down onto the cot, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. Lana began to walk away before he spoke again. “Vera though, she has this air of apathy around her, but you can tell when she fights for something, she fights hard.”

            Lana stopped walking for a moment, smiling at the fact that Theron had some around to see what she had suspected of the bounty hunter from the very beginning. “Yes, she fights exceptionally hard.”

            Theron placed his hands on his stomach and closed his eyes. “I’m glad she’s fighting for you.”

            It took a brief moment before Lana realized that Theron had said “you”, not “us”. Quirking her lips, Lana continued her stroll over to one of the computer stations to get prepared to contact Darth Marr once the communications were restored.

            She was glad Vera was fighting for her, too.

—

            Lana had gotten good at compartmentalizing over the years, especially as she had moved into more of an oversight role when she began working for Sith Intelligence. At first it had been difficult; her attention would constantly be split between providing information to the operative she was commanding and evaluating how she would have approached the situation in the field differently. It was exhausting, and constantly had her irritated and on edge. After one particularly grueling operation, Lana pivoted to a purely clinical approach. She would provide her operatives with exactly what they needed in their current situation to best set them up for success, and no more. Once she stopped critiquing their methods, she found everything went much smoother.

            What she had never had to deal with though was one of the operatives being someone she cared a great deal about. It was one thing to stop analyzing an individual's actions for effectiveness, but it was another to put aside any evaluation of the risk factor of those actions. Providing support to Vera meant that she had to trust that the bounty hunter would be able to protect herself, and just give her direction as needed.

            It was certainly a boon that the team also included a pair of Jedi, including one of the most powerful that Lana had encountered. Still, it didn’t remove all of the anxiety that Lana felt as she tracked the team’s progress through the Revanite compound.

            A groan caused her to glance over to Theron. The SIS agent had been monitoring for incoming ships, and a groan could only mean one thing: the fleets had arrived.

            “Heads up, both Imperial and Republic ships are dropping out of hyperspace,” Theron warned the others over the comms. Whether it was the nap or his implants working overtime, Theron showed almost no signs of the wear and tear from his imprisonment only a few short hours ago. “They haven’t gotten in range of each other yet, but it won’t be long.”

            “Yeah, we’re in a time crunch, we get it.” Vera’s voice echoed out of the speakers, and they heard the snap of her rifle shot before the audio cut out.

            Theron leaned forward against the console, shaking his head.

            “Don’t worry. I have faith that they will succeed,” Lana said, though she wasn’t sure whether it was more for Theron’s benefit or hers.

            “They had better.” Theron grimaced. “If they don’t, we’ll both quickly be on the losing side of a war.”

—

            Lana sighed in relief as she ended the holocall to Darth Marr. As she’d hoped, the strike team had managed to get the jamming equipment disabled before the fleets had taken much damage. Their attempt was nearly disrupted when a defense walker had dropped on top of them from orbit, but the team had worked exceptionally well together. Vera and the two Jedi had engaged the two-legged war machine with quick hit-and-run tactics, Vera from the sky utilizing her jetpack and Kayora and Nadia on the ground, darting between cover and the walker’s legs like insects. Mako had used the distraction to sneak over to the jamming equipment, and managed to disable it by the time the others had dealt with the walker. Immediately Theron and Lana had contacted their fleets and sent the proof of Revan’s interference, causing both commanders to call off the attack.

            “You know that Revan’s not done,” Theron commented gruffly as the two of them packed up what personal belongings they had. Given that Revan’s plan had failed, his compound was in flames, and his fleet hadn’t materialized, there was no reason to stay on Rishi any longer. Wherever Revan may be, it was highly unlikely he’d be returning to the tropical planet.

            Lana tipped her head. “Of course he isn’t. I don’t intend to stop searching for him.” She arched a questioning eyebrow. “Do you?”

            Tossing a rolled up jacket into his rucksack, Theron let out a chuckle. “You know I don’t.” Zipping the pack closed, he hefted it over his shoulder. “Keep me posted with what you find, yeah?”

            “As long as you do the same.”

            Theron smirked. Hopefully the whole planned kidnapping business truly was water under the bridge, especially since it had allowed them to jam a spanner in Revan’s plans. Certainly not halted, but delayed, and any delay was welcome, as it gave them more time to find out what Revan was scheming and how to stop him. The SIS operative snapped off a sloppy salute and disappeared into the hallway heading to the front door.

            Tucking the last of her personal effects into her bag, Lana initiated the system wipe on all the consoles in the hideout. All pertinent data they’d transferred to data sticks, and there was no reason to leave any trace behind, even though they were no longer considered fugitives from their respective factions. Shouldering her packs, Lana made her way to the door and stepped out into the sea air, sun shining down and salt on the breeze. A beep from her datapad caught her attention, and Lana smiled when she saw it was a message from Vera.

            Staved off galactic destruction. Think I deserve a reward. See you at the ship. V.

            Chuckling softly, Lana tucked the pad back into her pack and headed toward the docks, dreaming up creative ways to reward the sassy Chiss.