Nar Shaddaa

Hala made herself a cup of tea then closed and locked her room. Calling up her holonet, she keyed over into her encryption protocol, activated her code cylinders, and leaned back slightly while sipping her tea while she waited for her contact to accept her connection....

The holocall opened and a harsh, arrogant voice announced, "Su cuy'gar." His lips put on an apologetic smile. "Greetings and my sincerest apologies, Watcher," he said in a tone much more fitting for a man of the Sith Empire. "That early greeting has become an automatic response."

His eyes shifted to the cabin. "I see you have elected to fly with her after all. Watcher, how much does she know about our operation?" he inquired, his tone devoid of any judgment.

She waved her hand dismissively and shrugged.

"I am not sure what she has been told Cipher, but she is familiar with my counter intelligence role. Beyond that, I have not been informed she is to be focused on our objective or not. If that changes, I will pass that along."

Her jaw shifted slightly as she appraised the man, then her lip twitched and she nodded.

"You may begin your report."

"I will assume her involvement is not crucial to the operation then."

The Cipher agent straightened out. "My infiltration of the Mandalorians has been successful, thus far. My repertoire of skills has proven to be an apt match among their kind. A small gathering of the young generation has flocked to my banner. In addition, I have secured myself an invitation to Corso Fett's party. It will be taking place tomorrow at night." He paused, a smirk spreading across his lips. "I am, of course, referring to Galactic Standard time."

He crossed his arms. "I have been fortunate that I have not had to take any contracts against Imperial targets. In the incident that that does occur, I will not send word ahead. I also expect no refraining from reprisal."

"Any reprisal will be coordinated and proportionate. Do what is needed for your mission to succeed."

She leaned back and took a sip of tea while continuing to study the face before her.

"Do you have anything else to report? If not, do you have any questions or require any support, favors, or turns of fate?" she added with a playful grin.

His eyes turned to the tea. "I do miss having a good tea, Watcher. Mandalorians appear to favor liquor above all else."

The smile faded from his face. "One man among those present on the Moon may prove troublesome. He is the leader of Clan Kelborn and has expressed Republic sympathies. All members of his Clan whom I have met agree with this notion. I suspect that he will attempt to direct Corso Fett towards our Empire. The probability of such an outcome is unknown to me."

He paused. "Do you wish for me to give the full report on other persons of interest or would you rather read it?"

"Understood. I will make overtures towards Clan Kelborn. Avoid aggravating them and continue with your vote count. Be discrete though, I have received a report that there is heightened interest in these affairs as well. If you are able to identify one of their agents, pass along their identity but do not engage unless you are certain it will not compromise your identity. I would tell you to appear simple, thuggish, violent... whatever you needed to be to appear to be nothing more... Appear to be easily readable, nothing like 'cipher' might imply.... but you know these things. So instead I will say good hunting, and there will be tea once this is all done."

She smiled, nodded, and lifted her mug slightly towards him.

"Please transmit your report on a sub-channel. If I have further questions about them, I will follow up. Your time is valuable."

The Cipher's expression remained mostly unchanged, though a frown spread across his lips. "I imagine you will arrange for a clean removal of our problem if it is detected. Or perhaps you should have it 'thuggish' as you said. There are plenty of mercenaries to hire on this Moon who will not question any request for murder."

His report came up during the conversation, the psychological profiles neatly sorted in categories such as 'Mandalorians' and 'Clientele.'

"If you have any questions about my assessments, you may let know now or later." He paused. "On my end, I do have one question, Watcher, if I may. It is a personal one."

"Ideally, it would be less wasteful than that. Such problems seem like they might be a learning experience if given the chance. But any overt violence against the Republic must not seen to be coming from the Empire, lest we anger the Hutts. I know there are intelligent and capable Mandalorians, but being exactly as one expects is the best way to hide that you are not."

Her eyes narrowed slightly but without judgement.

"You may," she answered while she called up the documents and began scanning them.

"If they were not intelligent and capable, then they would not be useful to our Empire."

The Cipher agent kept his tone flat. "What is your current relationship with the Sith Moyr?"

"She belongs to a higher caste, so I defer to her when I do not have specific orders otherwise. She is capable and I have used her because of it and she has no doubt tried to use me before. Perhaps even succeeded from time to time," she answered blandly, her eyes fixing on those in the video screen before her.

"We all defer to the Sith, Watcher," he said, his tone almost scolding. He then perked his brow. "'Used her?' What an interesting dynamic you two have." Cipher-6 shook his head. "I assume it does not have an impact upon your performance. If it had, I would have noticed by now."

"If I thought it did, changes would be made. And you would likely speak with a different Watcher right now."

The Cipher agent let out a small laugh, his smile a bit strained. "I hope that never happens, Watcher-7. It is my hope to continue working with you until the end of my duties."

"Likewise. I find our joint efforts productive, and I wish them to continue," she said with a faint smile.

"I leave myself vulnerable and you reply so plainly. Typical, Watcher," he said with genuine amusement. "Do you have any further questions for me?"

She shook her head.

"Not at this time Cipher, though if I have questions about the profiles I will forward them to you in a discrete manner. Until the next time, be well."

"Farewell, Watcher." He gave a formal salute and then shut off his side of communications.

The Watcher nodded and flicked off her communication terminal, then leaned back and resumed reading through her new list of profiles she would have to manage.