Odessen, Alliance Base,War Room, 5 AEA

They lost them.

The words still echoed in Raven's head, as the young assassin hectically tried to contact Koth's shuttle again. To no avail, though – the only answer that she got was static.

"Zakuulan idiot."

Lea's face showed nothing but pure anger, but the Barsen'thor had enough self-control to leave it at that. The Jedi just turned and stalked out without another word; Raven would have bet much that her sister was going to hit the training facilities, and vent her frustration on the droids there. Growing up with the Jedi Order might have softened her temper, much, but in situations like these, her mother's legacy and habits were shining through.

Well, their mother's. Darth Ignus' blood was running in her own veins, too, for better or for worse. Pondering to join her sibling, the young inquisitor made a conscious effort to relax again. Her fingers had started to hurt from making fists for too long.

"Hey."

Someone gently nudged her shoulder, and the young Sith was glad to see warm, brown eyes, which were shining with sudden determination.

"I could probably trace and hunt Koth and Len down", Theron offered. "Give me an hour to collect some special equipment, call some contacts, and prep another shuttle, and I promise I'll be back within one week, with both of them in tow."

Blinking, Raven tried to guess whether her partner was serious or not. It proved to be quite difficult at the moment.

"Seriously. Handcuffed, and gagged."

Somehow, the corner of her mouth was twitching against her will.

"I think I'd actually like to see that", the assassin admitted, and felt the cold within her heart lessen a bit, as humour started to resurface.

"Oh, you will. Definitely. Two securely-tied presents for my most favourite Darth in the universe."

"Hah!"

"And I'll even tie some ribbons to Koth's head to make a bow. You can choose the colour."

Shooting the agent a dark glare, Raven made a face.

"You know, that sounds disturbingly kinky."

The resulting grin was entirely too innocent to be convincing.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about", Theron answered, and suddenly looked like the most harmless Jedi Padawan in the long history of the order. "On second thought, though…"

No. That grin looked more fitting for a Sith Acolyte with an above-average fantasy.

"… would you indeed be interested in things like that, my lord?"

Raven didn't even have to look around to know that they had the attention of the whole room. Blast it all. Collecting all shards of her dignity that she could reach, the Sith glared at the smiling, accurately hair-dressed nuisance.

"Even if I knew what you were talking about, I would certainly not answer that in front of witnesses", she answered with all the composure she could scrap together. "Now shut up, please, or I'll have to Force-choke you."

An arm found its way around her shoulder. Raven would have lied if she'd told herself that the feeling wasn't comfortable.

"And to think that you were the one to call me kinky… Ouch!"

Smiling as calmly towards the others as she was able to, Raven looked around, while stepping onto Theron's toes again. Hard.

"Back to work, everybody. Continue to monitor Zakuulan operations. Should Arcann hit other targets, we have to be ready to help survivors if he picks more populated places to bombard. Watch for new allies, and fight the new Emperor's propaganda. But don't forget to get some rest as well. And if anybody should hear news about Koth, please tell me immediately."

The young inquisitor focused on the agent again.

"Now, about your blatant ignorance of an Alliance Commander's order…"

Out of the corners of her eyes, Raven saw that Lana was massaging her temples.

"Just get a room, you two."

Odessen, Fury, Quarters, 5 AEA

Black stones, on the ground, stretching from her position onwards to the foggy, unseen horizon. Air that held no trace of life, but only stale, motionless, dusty hopelessness. Weird sculptures in the distance, half-seen, half-hidden in the shadows. Darkness around her, not just the absence of light, but the feeling of something more sinister, menacing close by. Drowned out though, ignored, as sorrow gripped her heart. Grief, not hatred, even as shiny, ghostly movement tried to draw her attention away from the scene in front of her.

"It is your destiny…"

Words. A voice. Ignored, too; syllables drowning in the void. She would deal with the dark phantom in her mind and his hissed half-truths and manipulations later.

Red and black steel, motionless. More red, slowly spreading, merging with the dark stones below.

Gasping, Raven tensed and called on the Force out of reflex, but was quick to recognize the face in front of her. Theron's nose was inches away from her own, worry evident in the many small lines around his eyes as he frowned. Looking around to ground herself in the reality around her, Raven noticed that the Fury's lights were on. Apparently, the agent had shaken her awake out of uneasy slumber.

"Hey there. You okay?"

Breathing deeply, the assassin tried to calm her racing heartbeat.

"Yeah", she finally answered, and moved her hand with effort to reach a glass of water, before cuddling closer to the welcoming warmth at her side. Seconds later, she found her head resting against Theron's chest, and the rest of herself securely hidden in his embrace. The young Sith hoped that the former Republic special agent was also trained in warding off bad dreams.

"Just nightmares", the assassin murmured quietly. "It has been weeks since the last… suppose it was simply time for the next. And with Koth leaving… there was just too much going on for a good night's rest."

The feeling of loss returned, albeit eased by the comforting presence at her side.

"Hm. Want to talk about it?"

Closing her eyes again, Raven thought about that question for a second.

"It's… difficult to describe", she finally answered, while struggling with both words and memories. "When I was frozen, I dreamed about the former Sith Emperor, you know that much. He showed me things, memories… I saw Arcann, and Vaylin. The Eternal Throne. The Sith Empire in shambles. But there was more. Things that were more personal."

Pressing her nose deeper into warm Corellian cotton, Raven didn't care if her voice got a little muffled.

"I saw my crew. My friends", she admitted in a whisper. "Frozen in time, unmoving, not reacting when I called out to them. So I went on, ventured through the nightmare lands I had found myself in, and reached an area resembling the Imperial Citadel. But it was broken. Everything was broken. And yet, there were other phantoms there. Moving shadows, spirit forms… Officers, Sith. Normal people. The spirits of the dead. All of them blaming me, because I had not been able to defend them. Because I had been too weak to fight Vitiate and his children. And then… there was a fight…"

Swallowing, the young assassin brushed away the vision's pictures, and reminded herself of the true person she'd called ally once, and not his look-alike shadow that she'd struck down in those nightmare realms. Calm, controlled, no matter what, and rational, reasonable even. She'd always got the impression that nothing could really unsettle the old Dark Councillor, and he would most certainly not have been spooked by a little nightly vision, regardless of its contents.

"Within the dream, I faced Darth Marr in combat", Raven continued, suddenly calm herself, as shadowy nightmare pictures got replaced by real memories. "I struck him down in self-defence, and when he fell, everything around us crumbled."

Sorrow returned, but it was more muted now.

"I don't know how much of that was Vitiate's doing, or simple carbonite nightmares. Maybe there was also a stray Force vision or something playing into all this. Perhaps it was all of it at once, or perhaps it was only coincidence", the assassin continued, still quietly, but feeling more in control now, more like herself. "But when I woke up in this new reality, with Zakuul as the new galactic superpower, and everything I had once known gone or changed, this last part of the nightmare followed me. It has gotten better since, but once in a while, I still find myself standing on dark nightmare stones, with the broken body of my former ally in front of me, and I just feel so lost in this new world that even Vitiate's whispers aren't able to reach me any more."

Something warm brushed her cheek, gently, and the young Sith was finally able to manage a small smile as she leaned into the touch. The silence that settled in was starting to feel comfortable again.

"Shhh, I understand. He was like a mentor to you, after all", Theron finally whispered. "When you started your tenure on the Dark Council, I mean. I noticed on Rishi that there was a, forgive my Jedi upbringing prejudices, completely weird amount of trust between you two which was, frankly, unheard of between Sith. A blasted space battle was raging between mortal enemies, for crying out loud, and you just called that guy, and asked him nicely to please stop shooting. I thought you'd lost your mind when I heard that over the comm link. But what really floored me was how easily the personified nightmare of all Republic worlds simply nodded and did just that. It made me fear that you were actually strong and devious enough to just mind-control Marr of all people, and that thought just might have made me freak out a little."

Despite her best efforts, a small grin managed to squirm its way through Raven's neurons, until it finally reached the corner of her mouth. "Not interested in awkward flirting with a galaxy-dominating, mind-controlling Sith assassin warlord? I'm so disappointed."

"Nah. You don't know true disappointment until you've seen Lana glare at you while desperately hacking remotely into Imperial data streams for no other reasons than personal curiosity, while the fight that could start the end of the galaxy is happening right in front of your own nose. I just wanted some form of reassurance that I wasn't pining over a ridiculously beautiful evil overlord out to control the whole galaxy, you know?"

Raven massaged her head. "Not that I don't appreciate the compliment, but could you please speak in a normal voice again? I can nearly hear you thinking in italics, and while I have to agree that it was pretty intense back then, I'd like to skip the tension at 3 AM in the morning. Besides, you got over your qualms impressively quickly once we had some privacy after the cross-faction council in Raider's Cove."

The young Sith didn't even have to turn her head to know that her companion was smirking now.

"Well, I had just come to the conclusion that resistance was obviously futile, so I thought that I might just go with it… ouch! Just kidding. No, the Imperial mission logs that I found told me that you had already worked together for years, starting with random general bounties, and working your way up to galactic crises like the Dread Master fiasco on Oricon. That had to count for something, even among Sith."

Memories clouded Raven's sight for a moment, and she blinked until the strangely warped world of terror the Dread Masters had built their stronghold in disappeared from her mind again. Feeling nostalgic all of a sudden, she then consciously reached back, to times where fighting for her life on a daily basis had been as normal as now, but when the whole universe had still been simpler, somehow. Ilum. The Dark Council Chambers. Adamas Space Station over Hoth. Korriban. Other worlds, more dangers, the Force steady by her side, and its shadows close by, offering protection. And, finally, Ziost, back then, in times long past. The world had been cold and cruel, at least to its slaves, but it had not yet been the most horrible necropolis that this galaxy had ever seen.

"He was looking out for me before that", Raven murmured, the feeling of warmth and safety around her finally prompting the young Sith to share memories and thoughts she had not even discussed with her sister. "You wouldn't find much evidence for it, just a little too much... coincidence, you know, once you started digging. But I noticed. And in time, I also believe that I found out why."

The young Sith closed her eyes, and tried to wrap herself more neatly into the safety promised by familiar arms and warm blankets around her. " I never told him, though. And now it's too late. So I suppose that's where the nightmares come from. Seeing you or Lea in my nightly visions would be more painful, but I have no regrets regarding either of you."

A small movement behind her stopped Raven from falling asleep right then and there, but it was only Theron, who reached for the controls to dim the lights again. "You're not making much sense, my love", the agent whispered into her ear, "but I'm glad that to hear you don't regret this. Us. Now, try to sleep. There will probably be plenty of crazy things or people vying for your attention again tomorrow."

Odessen, Alliance Base, 5 AEA

Raven looked down, tried to memorize the scene in front of her, and shifted her attention subsequently back up to the ridiculous puppy-eyes right in front of her own nose. Deploying a raised eyebrow to what she hoped was a world-shaking effect, she folded her arms and steeled herself for whatever plea there was to come.

"Please. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for what I did."

Staring into the three-dimensional picture of condensed agony, mortal shame, and self-depreciation, the young assassin allowed her eyebrow to climb even higher, while drawing the silence out longer.

"I won't pretend it didn't hurt, Theron", she finally answered, taking great effort to emphasize every word, and revelled in the effect it had. Impressed beyond words, Raven wished that she could take a picture – it seemed that the agent's whole mimic was now trying to convey purest misery.

"I… I know I don't deserve it… but can you give your idiot spy boyfriend one more chance?"

There was simply no way the Sith Inquisitor and Alliance Commander could resist these eyes, or this voice. If they ever found a way to weaponize the effect, Arcann would soon topple over his own feet while trying to make amends for his sins.

"You don't need another chance", she sighed, and returned Theron's last notes of toy money to him. "Just remember my leniency if I happen to land on one of your space stations next. As I said, that last bill from your Outer Rim sector worlds hurt my finances rather deeply."

The living image of sorrow and regret switched to a relaxed, happy and joyful agent at dazzling speed.

"Thank the stars. I'll spend the rest of the game making it up to you. In fact, I hereby offer an armistice and acceptance of you as sovereign over my dominion, in exchange for military protection and mutual cessation of landing fees between our worlds. I'll even throw in my fleet of star fighters as part of the deal. Sounds good, my Empress?"

Raven was just really getting into answering that question in a decidedly non-verbal way, when a dozen tiny objects rained down onto the board game. Kaliyo, fuming, had thrown her own star fighters and remaining money away, and jumped up, fingers visibly itching for her blaster.

"Ugh, you two are impossible! This was supposed to be a nice, relaxing blackmail-allowed unfair game of Galactic Conquest, full of tension and betrayal, and you dimwitted misfits just have to turn it all mushy and sickeningly sweet! I swear, if I ever see that expression on either of your faces again, I'll…"

Luckily, her rant was cut short when the door towards the Command Centre opened, and Lana appeared, eyes blazing, and a little unsteady on her feet from a big box full of intel-filled disks that she was carrying. Thanking the galaxy for small mercies, Raven extracted herself from what was quickly threatening to get a little too private for public situations, especially regarding the present company of one cursing Rattataki, an amused pirate, a smiling Togruta and a laughing Jedi Consular, and joined her sister, Senya and Admiral Aygo, who were all peering over a rapidly growing heap of datapads.

"You all know that Theron passed some of the data which Master Kell took from Overwatch to his SIS contacts", the Sith Lord started without preamble. "Apparently it made for a convincing invitation to some prospective allies in the Republic Special Forces."

"Who are you planning to recruit?" Raven asked, but was interrupted when Lea gave a loud whistle. The Jedi had wasted no time and started digging through the datapads; picking one and waving it wildly without any sense for decorum at all, she beamed like her birthday and Republic Day had suddenly fallen together into one delirious glittering heap of present-filled goodness.

"It's Havoc Squad!" the Barsen'thor all but squealed in delight. "War heroes, all of them. Decorated up to their respective noses, with enough sway to bring in many more allies, should we be able to convince them to join us, of course. Which we should definitely try. Shouldn't be impossible, they were on Yavin 4 as well and already proved to be both capable and open-minded enough. Now, it seems that they took leave of their official duties..."

Lana cleared her throat. Pointedly. "As I was saying", she continued, "there are some prospective allies from the Republic Special Forces, Havoc Squad to be precise, currently on an 'unscheduled' operation on Zakuul. They agreed to a rendezvous, but it's up to us to really win them over."

Struggling to pull the next datapad from the golden-haired Jedi, who appeared to be nearly swooning over the elite unit's symbol, Beniko finally won the hand-to-hand duel, and continued to deliver facts over the constant level of fawning in the background. The unit itself had actually split, with the commanding officer, a colonel who'd become famous under her call sign 'Meteor', still back on Coruscant, seemingly on a personal mission to convince the Supreme Chancellor to release both her medic and battle droid companion from redundant desk work and propaganda speeches back to active duty. The majority of the group, however, was supposedly targeting a listening post manned by the Knights of Zakuul.

"The officer in charge could pose a problem, though", Lana continued with her briefing. "He's a major, highly decorated, but defined by his hatred for the Empire. Understandable, considering that he holds us to be ultimately responsible for the near-total destruction of his home world by the Mandalorians in the Battle of Cathar. Other than that, his service record shows evidence of remarkable skill, bravery, and loyalty. Major Jorgan would be a valuable asset to the Alliance. I'd therefore suggest to make the first contact easier for everybody by sending the Barsen'thor of the Jedi Order…"

Somebody coughed. Belatedly, Raven realized that her sister's adoring fan-inspired rant about Havoc Squad's famed exploits had stopped minutes ago, and that the Jedi Master was a little paler than usually, with the noticeable exception of her nose. A hint of red was slowly spreading from its centre gradually towards her cheekbones.

"Apologies, but I have reason to believe that this approach is not feasible", Lea declared with an impressive aura of calm dignity and noble wisdom, which Raven might actually have bought if the consular's left shoulder hadn't been twitching slightly in that tell-tale way it always did when she tried to bluff her way through a devastatingly bad game of Corellian poker. "Given Major Jorgan's already confirmed distrust of former Imperial troops, any Republic-friendly agents of ours might be seen as purely diversionary tactic. Besides, he's military. Having the leader of this Alliance, who's famous for taking the field herself and leading from the front, obviously shying away from this mission will fully earn his distrust and contempt."

Since everybody was rather quick to agree with the esteemed Jedi Master's analysis, especially all the former Republic troops around, Raven simply resigned herself to another mission in the metropolis-and-swamp world of Zakuul. Theron, to his eternal credit, was the one brave exception to the ongoing evasive manoeuvres, and volunteered himself, his shoulder pads and his blaster for a master course lesson in intergalactic diplomacy, mud stomping, and shoe cleaning. It was in moments like these that Raven truly and deeply felt how much she loved the former SIS agent, despite all the awkward beginnings and his creative excuse for a reasonable haircut.

Despite the young Sith's best efforts, dignified Master Lea Kell refused to surrender more information on the target even under threat of most severe torture, also known as tickling, and escaped Raven's rather unsuccessful attempt to coerce information out of the unwilling Jedi by means of phasing through the walls.

"You'll be fine!" she shouted, while running full-speed from the revenge of the Sith. "Just be nice and respectful, don't try to make him purr by scratching behind his ears, and above all, don't sneak Gentle Gran's Favourite Kitty Treats into his rations!"

Fully flabbergasted for a moment, Raven finally managed to intercept her sister's erratic way through the base, and did a little phasing of herself to literally cool the overheating Jedi down a little bit in one of the beautiful little lakes outside. When all the splashing, wailing and howling had finally subsided, the former Dark Councillor fixed the part-time wayward Jedi with an unrelenting deep glare that successfully made her target squirm.

"I had certainly not expected to hear inconsiderate, tactless, speciecist comments from you of all people, Lea", she stated, and tried hard for her best Very Disappointed In You voice. Since the Jedi was suddenly wincing like one of her orobirds during the most severe itches of their moults, and looking everywhere but at Raven, the Sith was pretty sure that she got her message through.

"I know, I know", her sister conceded, while trying to turn the wet mass of stuff on her head into recognizable hair again. "Let's just say that my advice was based on events that happened on Chandrila, quite some time ago, when some young, promising Republic recruits were assigned to a training mission with some Jedi close to the Jedi Enclave there, and when some even younger and most certainly more stupid Padawans might not have been the expected picture of perfect politeness one would hope for when dealing with honoured guests. I was nineyears old, hated nothing more than boring reading in the Jedi archives, and loved to spend time with the groundkeepers and gardeners outside. And one of them had a cat. Well, you can imagine the rest, I suppose. Hard to forget that episode when it was rubbed in again on a monthly basis, just to remind a slightly older and even more adventurous Padawan to actually do her studies in intergalactic diplomacy." After coughing out about half a lung full of muddy water, Lea threw her head back, managed to get at least the most noticeable pieces of reed and algae away from her face, and coughed awkwardly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd love to go to discuss philosophy with Sana-Rae. That's usually sufficient to make my head hurt enough that I forget anything else which might have happened in terms of embarrassment and painfulness. And, trust me: If you deal with Aric Jorgan, then just pretend that you don't know me."

Frowning, Raven scratched her head. "What, just because you once acted like a child when you were, well, a child?" she asked. "I bet you anything that he doesn't even remember that short episode."

Funny. The Sith didn't even know that facial muscles could move that way.

"No, that's indeed not the problem", Master Kell said with all the dignity she typically displayed nowadays when around other Jedi Masters. "Unfortunately, though, we met again, on a rescue mission to Archar IV, and my brilliant plan to even the odds against the big and ugly felida beasts involved lots and lots of catnip. Please don't ask for details."

Zakuul, Wilderness, 5 AEA

Raven liked to think of herself as a responsible, reliable adult with a relatively high tolerance for redundant tasks, fragmentary instructions or explanations, life-threatening dangers, or her sister's pitiful jokes on the rare occasions when the Barsen'thor wasn't only tipsy, but well and truly drunk. Still, the young Sith had to admit that walking through the heart of her arch-nemesis' empire's olfactory unpleasant depths of a swamp, wiping spiders out of her hair or away from her throat, and wading through heaps of dismembered wildlife that apparently had still failed to get the memo that Sith made a poor choice for breakfast, was slowly eroding her calm composure. Fighting to get her admittedly well-worn boot out of a particularly nasty hole in the sticky, muddy ground, the powerful Lord of the Sith, Darth Imperius in the flesh, suddenly got the nagging, unshakable feeling that she was being watched. And, since she knew her own luck very well after all that fiascos that made up her life, it was either a very hungry rancor, a squad of trigger-happy Republic elite soldiers, or Emperor Arcann personally witnessing her discomfort.

"I've got an anti-material rifle trained on your position and an unrestricted firing angle…"

When a stern and frankly quite threatening voice hit Raven's ears unprepared, she tried to straighten and turn quickly into the direction of the speaker. In hindsight, though, with her foot still stuck to the ground and the terrain around her decidedly not in her favour, quick movements were not the most advisable course of action. Reflexively cursing and flailing when she felt herself become unbalanced, she was glad beyond words that Theron was there to save both her, her robes, and her dignity from an unpleasant little bath in front of witnesses.

Silence greeted Raven when she had finally regained her composure, and was looking into the shadows, searching for whoever had sort of greeted her just some seconds ago. The sudden quiet of the swamps was astoundingly loud in her ears.

"Stand down, Havoc."

Well. At least one thing seemed to be going according to plan today.

Lord Kallig, Force-Walker, former Head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, and hero of a zillion battles, watched mutely as a frowning Cathar came into sight, joined by a group of Republic soldiers who wore the Havoc badge with pride. None of them were looking as if they'd recently wrestled with the swamp's inhabitants, Raven mused, and wondered if she'd ever learned the magic behind that feat.

"I represent an alliance forming against Emperor Arcann", the young Sith Lord stated, and valiantly tried to go back to her scripted speech. "We thought that might interest you…"

If anything, the frown from the imposing Cathar at the front of the group actually deepened.

"… and yes, I was on the Dark Council for a time, but…"

A swift gesture cut through Raven's attempt at a speech, and she just watched, as the Havoc Squad major stared at her incredulously.

"'Fu-zzy blasted swamp'?!"

The Sith felt her ears grow hot.

"Um, I'm deeply sorry, but I didn't mean any disrespect, I just slipped and… well… 'fuzzy', you know, it's one of the nicer alternatives to actual swear words, you see, in general at least, unless, okay, you know, well, perhaps not, but humans, Sith Purebloods and… eh… more humans aren't offended by it, and they make up most of the Imperial elite, so it kind of got into the general way of talking, and… and..."

She was interrupted by a low groan.

"Intelligence was correct then? Bloody universe and it's sense of humour. I'm Major Jorgan, and if about one hundred first-hand witnesses from the Republic and the SIS contact briefing me are to be believed, you are the completely insane and suicidal Sith Lord who saved imprisoned Jedi and legions of slaves while an acolyte on Korriban, spared defected scientists, enemy soldiers or other lost souls whenever and wherever encountered over the course of your impressive career, built up an orphanage on Nar Shaddaa of all places, and who still talks too much and suffers from chronic politeness while being able to kill those opposing you with a single thought..."

Raven… blinked.

"Orphanage?" she asked, meekly. "I just asked my people at the Strell House to go with it when they presented their plans to open a soup kitchen for the poorest of the poor…"

"… and", Jorgan continued as if she hadn't spoken at all, "can't curse for the life of her, but has a sister who is more than able to compensate in that regard. I've never ever again seen a Padawan who could compete with my own instructor, Force take him gently, in terms of cussing and roaring like a roasting Wookie on a rake when angry, and frankly, I don't want to."

Finding that her mouth was still open, but without any single word that came to mind, Raven closed it quickly. The Cathar in front of her sighed.

"Just call me Aric", he grunted, and signalled Sith assassin and Republic agent to follow him and his people. "Figure I owe you that much; one of the guys on the prison world of Belsavis that you spared was a friend of mine. And there's that small matter of you playing a vital role in saving us all on Yavin 4. Colonel was there, guarding the command post during your negotiations, and vouches for you, which means you can't be that bad; Meteor's usually right about this sort of I was down with a Massassi bite at the end of it all, and didn't get the chance to see for myself, but I trust her. And by extension, that apparently means I also trust you. What a crazy universe."

The major shook his head in what had to be a mix of frustration, bafflement, disbelief… and possibly also a small part of grudging amusement. "Now, about this Alliance of yours… I'm tired of seeing Arcann stomp all over the galaxy. Figure if the same is true for you, then you won't mind helping with an operation here on Zakuul."

Naturally, winning over Havoc Squad to their course could not be accomplished with a nice chat and reminiscence of the good old terrible times, plus a nice and easy little mission. Instead, the universe decided to complicate things in form of some Zakuulan sensor probes, plenty of Zakuulan droids, and a bunch of Zakuulan refugees, and all that before they had even started with that ominous mission. Raven joined Aric Jorgan and his men in shooting the first and second, and getting shouted at by the third group for… well, the Sith wasn't even that sure what for, exactly. Living?Or wanting to continue living for the foreseeable future? Apparently, her very existence and Arcann being his usually charming self and striking hard against any and all perceived opposition made her into the perfect scapegoat, and she had little to no say about it. At all.

While nursing her headache from Force overuse, and trying not to glance too longingly at the last of her ration bars that she had shared with the angry group of swamp outcasts, the assassin grudgingly admitted to herself that moments like these were the price for turning her back onto the Dark Side. And yet… When the last half of Theron's final ration bar found its way into her hand, and was accompanied by a warm smile, Raven didn't find it in her to regret her choices. Now they only had to make it back to camp, with more food, shelter, and hopefully a relaxing long, peaceful night waiting for them, and then they would be able to deal with anything Zakuul could throw at them in the morning. Or afternoon, preferably.

Zakuul, Havoc Camp, 5 AEA

"I'll see you in the morning. Oh-seven-hundred."

Darth Imperius, Force-Walker, Hero of Yavin 4, and masterful Sith assassin did not whine. Did not whine. Absolutely did not… Oh, well.

"Oh-seven-hundred?" Raven whined. With her current headache, she already knew that sleep would elude her for the next hours. Additionally, both the suffering of the Zakuulan rebels and their accusing glares when they were introduced still haunted her. Naturally, the level of sympathy from the Republic leader was mediocre at best.

"You'll survive. I think."

One hour later, Raven found herself sitting on a log and staring into a particularly dark swamp hole. She had excused herself from the tent that Havoc Squad had offered her and Theron, as wrestling with her blanket in a futile attempt to drift off would only serve to keep the agent awake as well. Neither of them was in the mood for other activities, especially considering all the witnesses around. From what the young Sith recalled from an oldstrategic/tactic textbookabout Republic-associated species, Cathar hearing in particular was very sensitive.

Soft steps behind her alerted her from her meditation, but a short glance back confirmed that it was only Major Jorgan, or, well, Aric, who appeared out of the shadows that made up their camp. His posture was relaxed, though, which made an emergency unlikely.

"Still awake as well?" Raven asked, curious, and moved a little to the side; the major accepted the unspoken invitation without pause.

"Always, when so much is at stake. This may be our best shot at hitting Zakuul where it hurts since this whole mess started." Aric sighed deeply, and the inquisitor nodded in agreement. The silence between them felt comfortable now.

"Sometimes it still feels unreal. In one moment, I strike at the former Emperor, and after what's been barely a blink in time for me, people call me Outlander and a good ninety percent of everything I have ever known and taken for granted is suddenly null and void. Plus, a powerful galactic cyborg tyrant apparently now is obsessed with ending me and the even more tyrannical ghost that has taken residence in my head…"

"What?"

Groaning, Raven hid her head in her hands. "Let me guess. That piece of information didn't make it into the briefing?" She paused, but since Aric still seemed to search for any way back to reality, the assassin just shrugged and continued. "For now, I'm reasonably sure that Vitiate seeks to influence me, but simply controlling me is either beyond his power, or he's consistently toying with me. Either way, if you regret not taking that shot when we first met, you probably needn't, unless you'd fancy carrying a boasting voice in your head yourself. From what we know, there's every indication that the phantom menace can switch bodies again."

A sudden cold in her thoughts heralded the presence of said menace. "Such animosity. We are partners now, fates intertwi…"

With a routine that felt both immensely satisfying and disturbing in its familiarity born out of sheer frequency, Raven shut the pouting avatar of the dark side out of her conscious thoughts. While she couldn't rule out that the former Emperor was indeed just toying with her, Lord Kallig had noticed that most deep emotions, aside from hatred, anger, and fear, tended to scare her unwanted guest away for a while. So she recalled every feeling of regret and pain that she'd felt when meeting the Zakuulans earlier that day, and allowed her head to drop into her hands in relief when the insidious presence faded. Silence reigned again, but it had lost all shreds of comfort.

"Are you all right?"

Nearly chuckling at the awkward question, Raven tilted her head to the side. What a multi-faced question. "I'll have to be", she answered, slowly. "I'll have to stay in control. If not, we can all but forget about the Alliance, really. There is little point in replacing a violent, unrestrained ruler with a genocidal one."

A low hum next to her told the young Sith that Aric was thinking about her words. "This new Emperor. You've met him?"

"More than once." Deciding that there was little point in keeping this information from her ally, Raven leaned back against another peace of wood, and stared into the distance. "The first time I saw Arcann, I was a prisoner, caught by Zakuulan forces after the destruction of Darth Marr's flagship. There was a fight. At its end, Vitiate was dead, his ghost inside my mind, I was frozen in carbonite, and Arcann declared himself ruler of the whole galaxy." Even with all that had happened since, that particular memory still stung like a raw, open wound.

"I faced Emperor Arcann in open combat on Asylum, some time after I had been freed from the carbonite prison", she continued. "That space port did not survive our meeting, and I almost did not, either."

"Hm. So he's indeed powerful, then. Not just a figurehead who controls an unstoppable armada."

Nodding, Raven absently-minded touched her robes. She was still not quite sure how she'd been able to survive a lightsaber to her chest in the first place, and how both her sister and herself had made it back to the Gravestone in time for her to get medical aid. Within her memory, the Force Storm that had surrounded and shielded them still roared insistently.

"Would be easier if he were", Aric mused aloud. "Any weaknesses, then? What's your assessment?"

"He's…" No. Raven stopped herself, swallowing the first, more short-sighted comment. "You know, it's so easy to think that he's just every bit the Sith that his father was. But… imagine growing up in the shadow of an all-powerful cross between a warlord and a god, who warps and destroys whole planets at a whim, who doesn't know kindness or love, and who won't tolerate it in his offspring." She knew for sure that Senya had suffered under Valkorion's cold, once he'd lost the warmth he'd shown her, pretended or real. Common reasoning indicated that it wasn't only the former Knight of Zakuul who had been hurting.

"So he's emotionally unstable, definitely prone to rage, and possibly overcompensating for some deeply-felt sense of insecurity. We might be able to find some use for that information." The Cathar even pulled out a datapad to put down some notes. From what she'd seen so far, the young inquisitor wasn't surprised that Havoc Squad was so famous among the Republic's soldiers – they all seemed to be as relentless in battle as they were meticulous and exact out of it, and always quick to take note of possible weaknesses in their enemies. Raven hoped that at the end of this operation, she wouldn't qualify as one.

Next to her, the major sighed as he joined her in staring out into the darkness.

"Nothing but despots left in this galaxy. The Republic I signed up to protect doesn't exist any more. We gave the reigns over to people who don't care how we win, just as long as we do… Saresh is all but a dictator now."

"I'm sorry." The words sounded hollow, even to her own ears, but there was a certain warmth spreading inside Raven as well. She'd chosen to place her trust in these Republic soldiers, and felt that she was getting some measure of trust in return. Perhaps they might really succeed in making the whole Alliance work and grow. "Still, there's hope. You and I found some common ground, a Republic Elite trooper, and a former Dark Councillor of the Sith Empire of all people. If we are able to look over our hurts and fears, Saresh and the others might find it in them to do so, too, once we've dealt with Arcann." Frowning, Raven recalled what she knew about Chancellor Saresh. "Well, and if not, there will be some way to restore what's lost. In contrast to the Sith Empire, you've got enough people left who actually care." Bitterness slipped into her tone, unbidden, but hard to fight. She'd hoped that the Empire could be changed, and still did, but it seemed even more unlikely now than in the past. With all of the former Emperor's deeds out in the open, and a common enemy to fight, the Sith as a whole still preferred surrender, internal squabbles for scraps of power, and the habitual war against the Galactic Republic to real change and a unified front against the new thread. It would have been almost comical if it hadn't been so… sad.

"Colonel said the same thing", Aric admitted. "Its just… I will fight for the Republic until my death, but I won't fight for some bureaucrats who just push through for whatever personal agenda they might fancy." Shaking his head, the Cathar suddenly frowned. "Which reminds me: That 'Alliance' of yours may be your show to run, but these people here, Havoc, are my responsibility until Meteor returns. We clear?"

"We are. You're a good man, Aric", Raven conceded. Perhaps it was the worry for his soldiers that was so evident in his words, but the Sith felt a sudden kinship of a sort with the stern, serious sniper. "You'd take the whole galaxy's troubles on your shoulders if you could. I admire that."

"Just doing the job I signed up for."

The inquisitor would be the first to admit that she wasn't the most adept person at reading Cathar body language, but the major seemed pleased. Or relieved, more likely. Humming in acknowledgement, Aric stood up, but hesitated to go actually back to the camp.

"You saved a lot of lives today", he added, while a small fraction of his perpetual scowl disappeared into the night. "See you at oh-eight-hundred, if you don't mind grabbing a ration on the run for breakfast. Your Force is unlikely to need as much prep time as our equipment."

Zakuul, Knight Outpost, 5 AEA

"Look out!"

Raven threw her lightsaber just in time to distract the Zakuulan battle droid from turning Aric Jorgan into a spectacularly furry wall hanging, hurried out of the way just to nearly meet an untimely end at the claws of an astoundingly bloodthirsty-looking second droid, and had just enough time to evade the explosion as the major turned the most certainly overpriced piece of Zakuulan technology into cheap scrap metal.

"Thanks!"

"Not yet, behind you!"

Wheezing, the inquisitor managed to collect enough Force energy for a nice crackling bolt of pure lightning. The energy hit the droid directly into a more vulnerable spot on its lower surface, and the resulting explosions were music to Raven's ears. Her nose might complain about the stench of burnt circuitry, but she could live with a little discomfort.

"And everything had started out so well", she panted, and joined Jorgan in a semi-organized retreat. The mission had really looked nice and simple in theory. The Zakuulan outpost was a perfect target, the Alliance forces who distracted most of the troops were well-organized, and their mission objective was clear as Corellian crystal. They only had to plant a wiretap on the planetary transmitter within the Zakuul outpost, evade the Zakuul Knights, and then tap into the newly acquired source of information to choose high-value targets along the Spire at their leisure. Even the Zakuulan refugees had come around, sort of, and their leader was advising Havoc Squad and sharing his immense knowledge about their surroundings and Zakuul in general. The majority of the Knights had indeed left the outpost, Havoc Squad had guarded their rear when Raven and Aric Jorgan had closed in on their target, and the force fields in their way had been easy to shut down.

And then, just when they were about to get comfortable, their enemies had somehow got wind of their activities, and had rushed back in force. It wasn't only the huge elite droids plus some company that the sniper and the inquisitor had just defeated, but also a huge contingent of Skytroopers that had the remaining members of Havoc running for their respective lives.

Blast it all.

Raven shot some sparks of Force energy as cover fire, while she and her companion joined the rest of the squad in their temporary shelter upon some sort of bridge. Unfortunately, the fast number of troopers in front of them was only half of their problem; three Zakuulan transporters full of further surprises were slowly descending on the other side of their highly unsafe place of refuge.

Calculating their odds, the young Sith finally gritted her teeth. She was perfectly able to shoot one or perhaps even two of those transporters out of the sky with the help of the Force, but doing so would leave her open and vulnerable for the droids behind them. The amount of Force that she could channel in a certain time frame was limited, after all. Cutting a path through the armada at their rear was also possible without question, but would leave her equally open to a retaliation from the newcomers. Defending this position was possible for some minutes at best, and Lana, Theron and the others were too far away to reach their position in time. Even Lea, with her ability to phase through the thickest of undergrowths if she pleased, wouldn't be able to make it.

And still… Raven wasn't afraid, and felt sort of bad because it. There was no point in being afraid for herself, because she was lucidly aware that she was in no real mortal danger. Through the Force she could sense no foreign presence around them, which meant that the Knights of Zakuul were still far away. Their droids were deadly in their endless ranks and blind determination to eliminate all enemies of Zakuul, but at the same time they were easily evaded with a quick phasing step to the side in combination with a protective hiding Force Cloak.

The young Sith knew her limits, though. While perfectly able to save herself, she wouldn't be able to perform that trick more than once in the time that they had, and while she was confident that she'd have a good chance to take Aric Jorgan with her, a manoeuvre like that would leave the other members of Havoc to their certain deaths. Not that this was a change from what they faced now.

Turning towards the Republic officer, Raven wasn't surprised to see nothing but steely determination on the Cathar's face. He knew enough to accurately guess what she was capable of now, as he had seen plenty of it during the battles in the swamps.

"Can that garbage!" he ordered, readied his rifle, and shot her a short glance. "I will stay with my men, no matter what", Aric murmured quietly towards the inquisitor. "You… you do what you have to. Just make sure that Arcann pays for this."

Squinting her eyes, Raven tilted her head. "I'll not desert you now", she hissed back. That she'd not stay to die once the Skytroopers had taken down the others went unsaid. Camouflaging her movements with the Force, the young Sith took aim, and threw an arc of Force Lightning towards one of the landing transporters. Sparks of energy dazzled, machinery howled, and the ship crashed to the ground with a thud that was magnified ten-fold by Raven's raging headache – an attack like that more than overstretched her connection to the Force for some seconds. But then she noticed that not only the first ship was down, but also the second, and the third one was exploding in thin air just as she managed to focus her eyes.

"Hurry!"

Half running, half being dragged along by the Cathar by her side, Raven didn't bother to ask for an explanation as long as the events were playing out in their favour. Mere seconds after they'd cleared the bridge, explosives rained onto the approaching droid army, and just like that, they were safe.

Fully ready to give a medal to all the Alliance troops that had rescued them, the young Sith was surprised to see a group of Zakuulan refugees, or, well, Zakuulan rebels instead. Now they had truly earned that designation, the inquisitor mused, and watched from the sideline as Major Jorgan thanked their leader, who was the same man who had advised them earlier, for their timely help. It was heart-warming, on the one hand; a group of brave outcasts who found the will to fight in their souls, willing to stand for themselves and for what they believed in, ready to stand up and challenge their oppressors… And yet, they were so few. Their equipment was so limited. And even with the success right here and right now, Arcann wouldn't even take notice of them, and whatever Knights who'd find themselves tasked with destroying this little swamp rebellion would likely just laugh at their so-called resistance, before blasting them all from orbit if necessary.

Would that also be their own Alliance's fate? Granted, they had more resources at their disposal, but in comparison to the full fearful might of the Eternal Fleet, they might as well be fighting with sticks and stones against a battle cruiser.

Zakuul, Havoc Camp, 5 AEA

Back at the camp, Raven still needed some time to shake off the gloom that had infected her. Theron's presence significantly improved her mood, though, and the fact that nobody had really gotten hurt did wonders to ease her tension as well. Lea was joking around with Talos, who had apparently joined the attack on Zakuul together with the others, and according to Lana's data, their plan had worked for now, as far as the wiretap was concerned. Better still, some unexpected allies were always a plus, even if they wouldn't be able to truly fight back against Arcann's troops for the foreseeable future.

"We knew this war wouldn't be easy, but we've made progress", Theron commented next to her, and Raven grasped his hand in acknowledgement and comfort. Aric Jorgan, who still seemed to be exhilarated from battle ardour and their unexpected escape, was almost looking happy. Almost.

"Nobody else has made it this far, I'll give us that", the sniper conceded. "And it's an even bigger victory for the Zakuulan rebels. Arcann is seeding his own defeat in these swamps. Every defiant soul the new Emperor drives out here will become a weapon against him." He looked around, a certain amount of pride visible in his posture. "I want to embed Havoc with the rebels. Train them to be a proper fighting force. Build an army right under Arcann's nose."

There was a question mark hidden in the sentence, and Raven belatedly realized that their mission was all but over, and that no member of Havoc Squad had left to return to their own tasks – whatever those might have been. Instead, everybody was watching her, as if her agreement was required to take action. As if they had, without openly stating it, already agreed to join her cause.

And it was hope that was visible on all their faces. On those of the rebels. On those of the Republic squad. In Theron's warm eyes. Even Aric Jorgan's slight frown seemed to be hopeful. It was the same hope that made her get up every morning, the same hope that kept the people on Odessen from succumbing to despair and defeat.

"Whip them into shape, I'll work on getting them equipment", Raven proclaimed, and tried to draw upon the high spirits around her to bolster her own. They still had a long way to go, but surely every little step had to help and count for something.

Odessen, Alliance Base, War Room, 5 AEA

Their escape from Zakuul's swamps and subsequent voyage home to Odessen was blessedly uneventful. Raven used the chance to sleep for most of the time, which earned her a raised eyebrow from Aric Jorgan. The major had meant to discuss their new partnership between Havoc Squad and the Alliance, and joined them on their journey back to their main base to check possible supplies for the rebels, but the inquisitor was in dire need of some peace and quiet.

"Is this a Force thing related to overuse and exhaustion or something, or are Sith just that sleepy when not shooting lightning?" the Cathar finally asked, as he turned towards Theron and Lana instead. Raven had made it pretty clear that he'd get nothing but snoring out of her, which was likely unhelpful when trying to find information on his new allies.

"Careful there, Major", Theron just commented light-heartedly. "You don't want to cross our resident Dark Lord of the Sith while on the epic quest to find a soft pillow, and besides, you did wake her at oh-eight-hundred this morning. Sith are very sensible…"

Raven simply threw Theron's own pillow towards the agent to shut him up, and then closed the door to their quarters. Luckily, the reinforcements from the Alliance had just brought her trusted Fury starship, outfitted with enough of Oggurobb's inspirations to hide them from Zakuulan sensors, so her chances to actually get some quiet time for herself were actually quite good for once.

"Interesting group you've got here. It takes all kinds, I guess."

Raven followed Aric's glance around, and tried to see the Alliance's command crew from an outsider's point of view. Ex-SIS agent, former Sith Intelligence Lord, creepily-powerful not-a-droid-mechanical-being, former Zakuulan Knight, slightly crazy Jedi Master, rouge pirate, rouge Padawan-Sith mix, suspicious anarchist, beaming archaeologist, and an assortment of unlikely specialists and other soldiers… plus about fifteen orobirds, five of them newly hatched since they'd left Odessen earlier. Apparently, her three pets from before the war against Zakuul had finally decided that the Force-balanced refuge world was an excellent place to populate, and that the respective other qualified orobird or orobirds of the trio weren't bad company at all. Raven was grateful for Lana's efforts to save her pets during her long absence, but hoped that the huge colourful menaces would stop laying eggs before she would have to enforce an omelette diet for half of the base.

Oh, right. She should probably say something. "We share a common enemy and desire, that's enough", Raven answered absent-mindedly, and suddenly had an inspiration. "By the way, what about possible mounts for the Zakuulan rebels? I've made very good experiences with those birds you saw earlier; they are loyal once tamed, eat basically everything, are fully able to dismantle a droid or two on their own, can simply be protected with a standard shield generator, and easily flourish on all temperate worlds – I originally got mine from Quesh, Corellia, and Rishi."

The frown was back on Major Jorgan's face. Raven guessed that meant 'no'. Pity.

"We'll… see about that", the Cathar deflected, just in time to somehow trigger a wave of teasing and bickering among the group that was completely unrelated to anything the two of them had just said, but left Lea incapacitated with laughing tears, SCORPIO fuming, Senya shaking her head in disbelief, and all the others in various shades of amusement. While Raven was happy that the consular had apparently gotten over her fears as well as her hero worship regarding the Havoc soldier, the Sith wouldn't have said no to a little more… restraint.

To his credit, Aric Jorgan managed to keep a straight face throughout all the insanity that was the new normal on Odessen, and finally they managed some form of strategic discussion. Despite SCORPIO's thinly-veiled criticism, which triggered yet another wave of shouting and name-calling, most of the present Alliance members agreed that getting some amount of equipment to the rebels on Zakuul would be beneficial to all of them, and that sending Havoc to train them would be a good idea as well. A short message from none other than Meteor herself had reached them earlier as well; the colonel was on her way to Odessen after simply hacking some Republic systems, all but 'abducting' the very willing two missing members of Havoc Squad, and escaping with Captain Dorne and the assault droid M1-4X on their BT-7 Thunderclap assault craft before former Chancellor Saresh or the new puppet Chancellor could stop them. None of them had been keen to find out what the leaders of the Republic might do to their former poster soldiers once word of the de-facto defection of the rest of the unit got out. After getting acquainted with the team on Odessen, those Havoc Squad members would return with Major Jorgan to Zakuul. Raven wasn't really sure why there was another captain on the squad when there was already a colonel and major in the group, or why Dorne had actually been a part of none other than Jace Malcolm's staff instead of being with her unit, but she suspected that there was a longer story there, and did not want to pry. Or perhaps the Republic's military was simply organized this way. Well, as long as all Havoc members were happy with this new alliance between their groups, Raven couldn't care less about formal ranks or potentially classified information without strategic value to their current situation.

Odessen, Alliance Base, 6 AEA

Raven wasn't sure how many days or weeks had passed since Havoc Squad had started their mission on Zakuul, and was too lazy to check, but the short reports indicated that the training of the Zakuulan rebels went well. The same could also be said about the Alliance's other operations, for once. New recruits were joining them, with the Gand that Doctor Oggurobb had once mentioned among them. It turned out that he was also a former member of Havoc Squad, and with the rest of the unit already committed to fighting alongside the Alliance, it didn't take much to convince Yuun as well. Additionally, a whole legion of Trandoshan mercenaries arrived on Odessen one day, with Lea's old friend Qyzen as their leader. Overjoyed to have found his Herald of the Scorekeeper again, he promised his people's help in fighting their enemies alongside his Herald's helping hunters. Raven counted that as a big win, and their military commander Bey'wan Aygo agreed wholeheartedly. Some time later, Theron found traces of yet another old companion of the Barsen'thor, and Lea went almost berserk discovering that her old friend Felix Iresso had been captured by Zakuulan forces five years ago, and had been tortured ever since for the information stored inside his head, while the Republic had effectively abandoned him. Raven joined her sister's rescue mission, together with the Trandoshan leader, Talos, Theron, Lana, and Senya. Even Kaliyo tagged along, proclaiming that she needed to shoot something after almost getting soft from the sheer amount of friendship and companionship that Odessen radiated. With so much firepower, it was almost too easy to break into the remote Zakuulan colony prison, and free the former lieutenant. Raven wasn't so sure that recruiting him to fight for the Alliance at once was a good idea, though. Concerned for his mental health after the ordeal that he had gone through, she asked Sana-Rae for help. With Lea's support, and the Voss Mystic's counsel, the young Sith hoped that he would get the chance to heal.

More contacts were made with the more sympathetic ears in both the Republic and Sith Empire, and Arcann didn't send his warships to attack more targets. Even the ghost of the former Emperor was silent. The young Sith allowed herself a deep breath, sure that neither of these enjoyable trends would last forever, and joined Talos in the cantina. The commander greeted her enthusiastically, and before Raven knew it, she was ignoring her meal completely and instead trying to help her companion decipher some obscure form of Jedi cipher he'd found on some old stone plates.

"Those might be the key to understanding the Forgotten Scrolls of House Bindis on Alderaan", Talos smiled, and seemed to take it for granted that everybody knew about this noble house, or why their scrolls were both forgotten and important. Unfortunately, either of those points completely eluded the young Sith.

"Oh, don't worry, I still have enough time for our main research questions", Talos explained, misinterpreting her helpless shrug for criticism. "This is just a short side project that Master Kell expressed some interest in. Imagine what those long-forgotten Jedi Masters might have left us…"

"The quest for knowledge is both honourable and eternal", the Sith Inquisitor agreed, and finally decided to leave this noble endeavour to the expert. Luckily, a hint of Force energy was sufficient to heat her plate again.

"I acquire your attention. Do not tarry."

Grumbling, Raven extracted herself from the nest of datapads she was currently sitting in. With some amount of actual free time on her hands, she had started to search for her missing former apprentice Xalek in earnest now. In parallel, she was also keeping her eyes open for any trace of the vanished Grand Master of the Jedi Order, and the probably non-existing hypothetical dark-sided ally, whose potential help might explain both the Force Storm eruption back on Asylum, and the not-quite-a-vision Force pictures that had warned her about Talos Drellik and his Massassi problems.

Aric Jorgan had called SCORPIO a 'pushy droid'. The young Sith was completely with him on that sentiment.

"Good. You're here."

Raven smiled at Theron's greeting, but that expression turned into a frown pretty quickly when SCORPIO mocked the agent, and was thrown into the next wall by a not amused consular just seconds later. That in turn provoked Lana to lecture them about responsibility and mature behaviour, which meant that everybody who was not directly involved fled the War Room rather quickly.

When order had finally been restored, SCORPIO decided to be cooperative and showed them a stream of data sent by Havoc Squad from Zakuul.

"Hidden inside a mundane signal, I discovered encrypted transmissions, code-named the 'GEMINI Frequency'. They are broadcast from the throne to every vessel in the Eternal Fleet. The Spire schematics provided by Kaliyo confirm this."

Every vessel in the whole fleet… That was big.

"It's how Arcann commands his warships", Theron confirmed. "This is the break we've been waiting for, a direct line to the enemy fleet."

Smiling, Raven looked at the signal, and saw… possibilities.

"Start a plan of attack", she ordered. "It's Arcann's turn be on the defensive."

Author's Note: Apparently trying to imagine a character's reactions is easier once you don't consider the agent in question to be a heartless traitor. Who would have thought...