"Are we even sure she's still alive?" Seth Qorbin asked coldly. "We are not. Then again we both know that the Remnant would not so easily terminate a spy, not without first ensuring they squeezed every ounce of information from them first", came the equally calm and cold reply of the masked man standing on the other side of the large desk.

That was indeed the conclusion Seth himself reached even before asking the question. On one hand the news gave him hope. On the other hand the seasoned pilot dreaded to think of what tortures the captured agent would endure at the hands of the Remnant. He knew that no amount of drills and psychological training would prevent a true interrogator from breaking his victim. At best it would slow him down, which would in turn lead to even more torture as a result.

"Any other assets and resources for this mission?" Seth maintained the same unperturbed tone of voice as he queried the Chief of Naval Intelligence. "N-no further assets, though you are cleared to use whatever resources you deem fit to get the job done", was Captain Grey's response. The man's slight hesitation did not go unnoticed but Qorbin decided not to look further into it. "Understood", he instead replied and stood up. He gave a light salute and began walking towards the door when he heard Grey's encouragement from behind "Good luck Lieutenant!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later, the outskirts of Iskerendys on the planet Naru Baan

"Damn!" Seth Qorbin breathed out the curse as he stared at his goal - a medium sized IR installation that on the outside alone had a dozen or so guards patrolling the perimeter. There were also three security droids that circled the building non-stop but there seemed to be a 2 minute, 43 seconds gap between their every rotation and that did not leave a whole lot of time to make a run for the structure, hack the keypad and get in. Especially not with the organics also keeping watch.

The first VENI agent that was sent in to infiltrate the facility had a much easier time of course - she merely used her fabricated credentials and month long undercover effort to just stroll through the gate without anyone being none the wiser for it. Then again she did get caught so maybe someone did wisen up after all...

Now that the Remnant knew they were targeted though the same trick would not have been possible a second time so soon after the initial failure. This much was also evident given the increased security measures that so disheartened Seth throughout the better half of the day - since he first started stalking them from afar.

The VE officer knew that he could always try his chances in an unfair fight, him versus the whole base. He had both his heavy blaster pistols with him and even managed to bring along a sniper rifle as well. He would be able to pick off the sentries from afar and then storm the place guns blazing, taking out anyone and everyone that moved. There were just three problems with that plan. The first was the obvious fact that he could die in the attempt. That would've been both bad and equally sad all the same time.

The second issue was the fact that the enemy could always decide to kill their captive so as to ensure that a rescue mission would not be successful as a result. That was also bad. Not as much as the first case scenario but still... The third, and also biggest problem with that plan was the fact that so revealing his position would alarm not just the IR presence at the base but also that at the spaceport and more importantly still the one ever looming in orbit - the one that would subsequently be able to fry any ship that attempted to leave the planet's surface without proper clearance.

No matter how lucky he was Seth knew all too well that there was still a limit to just how much he should strain that good fortune of his. He also knew that he needed a different plan... and soon too.

"You planning on heading in there?" a deep voice asked from behind him. Seth's mind instantly froze the moment he heard the question. He knew then and there that he was for all intents and purposes screwed. He was lying prone, hands stretched forward and only gripping a pair of rather harmless TD2.3 electrobinoculars. The sniper rifle was visible besides him, the heavy pistols were too far out of reach, being instead strapped to his hips and the only vibroblade he carried was in his right boot.

Given the fact he was on an enemy planet, his intentions quite obviously hostile - or very dubious at best - Seth Qorbin's reanalysis of the situation only produced the same result: he was so very screwed...

"That was the plan, yes" the blond Onderonian forced himself to answer in as casual a voice as he could muster... even as beads of cold sweat began forming on his forehead. "Don't suppose you could help me out with that, could you now?" Seth asked and ever so slowly began turning around, trying as best he could not to appear menacing or dangerous. The last thing he wanted was to get shot in the back in such an incredibly stupid situation.

Qorbin half expected to be greeted by the threatening looking barrel of a carbine pointed at his head, the man wielding it likely wearing a black uniform, denoting his Imperial allegiance... instead what the VE officer saw was a ragged looking individual, likely in his mid thirties, wearing casual clothes and a long hooded overcoat on top of them. Although the fellow was gripping his blaster pistol, Seth also couldn't lose sight of the fact that the weapon had not actually been unholstered from the man's thigh strap.

Although he still couldn't quite understand the circumstances, one thing he was almost sure of - if the other man wanted him dead he'd be dead already. And if he wanted him captured... then he was certainly taking a lot of risks in the process. Not wishing to ruin the status quo - at least not until he could reach for his own weapons, Seth merely smiled and repeated the question from before "So could you? Help get me inside that?"

The other individual just looked Seth over, next stared in the distance towards the IR facility, and next back at Seth. "I might... for a price." A mercenary? Seth thought as he pondered on the odds of conveniently finding one willing to side with him, given his circumstances. It wasn't entirely impossible of course, but the odds of it happening were still rather slim however...

"Fair enough", Qorbin smiled as he slowly began getting up - at first just in a seated position, as he did not want to alarm the man by suddenly snapping to his feet all of a sudden. He tried keeping his hands close to his thighs, as well as keep his legs slightly raised and pointed in the man's direction... just in case he'd have a chance to exploit a moment of carelessness and manage a shot in the process. It was still dangerous and he knew that miscalculating things would give the other fellow enough time to pull out his own blaster and put a hole in him before he'd manage a second shot. And the chances of even the first hitting weren't all that great either...

"So what's your price?" Seth asked in a business sounding tone. It was not the first time that the Onderonian negotiated something whilst not really in a position to bargain, but it was however the first when his own life was directly endangered by the result of the negotiation. Seth did not really like that feeling...

"A ticket off this rock for me and a few friends, as well as safe passage to a nearby neutral world", was the man's clear reply. A reply that almost made the VENI agent frown in surprise. If that was all the man was asking for then he was getting off cheap. Heck, Seth half expected the other fellow would request a few million credits or some huge favor that he'd have neither the time nor ability to complete on his own. A simple ride off the planet though - that he could do. Unless...

"How many friends are we talking about?" the blond officer asked just in case. "A handful. Don't worry, we'll squeeze in your transport just fine", the other man added and as soon as he did DeepSix realized that meeting the man here was not an accident - not that he ever assumed as much. No, the fellow standing before him had seen him land at the spaceport and next took it upon himself to shadow him to that rooftop. This couldn't have all been a spur of the moment thing... No, this was planned. The only question was - exactly what did that plan entailed?

"So long as you don't cramp my style I can hardly say no, now can I?" Seth gave another smile before deciding to risk it all and get up to his feet. Seeing the other man did not pull out the gun and squeezed the trigger was also a good sign. "So do we have a deal?" Qorbin asked before stretching his arm forward, towards the other fellow. "Deal", the other human replied bluntly as he shook the offered hand.

Great, Seth narrowed his eyes slightly even as he kept on the appearance of a fake smile. The man did not trust this offered help but he also did not have any reason to doubt it either. In fact, either the other man was for real - in which case the extra help certainly couldn't hurt, or he was playing Seth - not at all impossible of course, though the VENI agent couldn't quite think of anything the IR would gain by putting on such a show.

"Come on, we'll make our move tonight", the ragged man said matter-of-factly and turned away. For the hundredth time Seth considered pulling out his blaster pistol and shooting the strange man, especially now that the latter couldn't fight back. In the end though, the blond Onderonian overcame his baser instincts and just picked up the sniper rifle, packed it back up and followed his mysterious guide.

"Everyone in position?" RedTape's voice came as little more than a whisper through the personal comm devices all members of the team were provided with before departing. A series of clicks were heard next and Seth wasted no time in producing a confirmatory click of his own. Communicating in this manner came fairly easy to him, given both his time spent serving as a pilot as well as developing as a VENI operative.

The mercenary leader had spent quite a bit of time preparing this operation so the plan required only minor alterations so as to accommodate Seth's participation in it. All throughout the briefing Qorbin's impressions regarding the man were maintained and even intensified - the amount of information that he had managed to acquire, the precision with which he analyzed it all and the confidence with which he presented his findings... RedTape was no amateur.

At first Seth was sure the other man would try to either keep him out of the mission or otherwise just give him some bogus role such as lookout in case anything went sour. The blond Onderonian was actually surprised when he was proven wrong. Not once during the briefing did RedTape try to leave Seth out of it. Not once did he appear to be hiding anything. Not once did the VENI agent trust that the man was fully honest about that though.

"Wait for my signal", RedTape's whispered voice once again brought Seth back into the present where he and the motley crew he became part of were about to storm an Imperial installation - a task most sentient beings would've thought as near impossible. "Three... two... one... mark!" the mercenary boss commanded and Seth stared through the scope of his sniper rifle as a shadow slowly rose by a guard's side.

The shadow in question was the Human male introduced to Seth as simply Ice. His job was to get close enough to the guarded perimeter without drawing attention and when the time was right to bring down one of the sentries. Warm red blood sprayed from his target's throat as a vibroblade was thrust in from behind, all the while Ice made sure to hold his free hand over the unfortunate soul's mouth so as to prevent any screaming or other loud noises that may have drawn unwanted attention.

The lifeless corpse hit the ground by Ice's side and the man straightened up his fake black uniform, knowing his job would now be to just stand there and appear to be the one he just killed. That was one of the main reasons for which the operation had to happen during nighttime - so that the other sentries would not have as easier a time to realize that something was terribly wrong.

"Snow?" RedTape's voice inquired and a moment later a female voice replied as silently "We're in the clear. Other sentries remain oblivious to our presence." A confirmatory click was heard next and before Seth knew it two other shadows appeared from out of nowhere and dragged the corpse away so as to ensure its presence there would not become an impediment later.

"First droid is coming into range - get down", Snow instructed and Seth watched as the shadows melded with the earth beneath them. Meanwhile Snow was busy changing clips - a fact that would've normally surprised Qorbin given the fact that she had not yet fired a single shot.

The man knew however that she was instead replacing her subsonic cartridges with rounds specially modified for the purpose of the next stage of the operation. "Droid continues its patrol... Ice's disguise seems to be holding... It's moving away..." the female sniper informed everyone and from the corner of his eye the VEN officer could see her tensing up. A moment later a barely audible sound - perhaps softer than even a child's sneeze - let the blond Onderonian know that the woman had fired.

Immediately Seth returned his attention to the installation's perimeter - in particular to the droid whose back was turned to them. The artificial construct however made no strange movements, instead continuing down its path. "First droid is away", Snow announced and Qorbin could see the other two men rise once more and dragging the neutralized Imperial's corpse even farther away, in so doing further reducing the chances of unwanted discovery.

"The bug's functional and transmitting data as intended", came a new voice over the comm channel. Though DeepSix did not yet recognize the speaker, the latter was in fact Micro - a young slicer that proved himself a natural when it came down to understanding and exploiting technology for his own end. "Hit the other two droids and I'll be able to record and loop the images they're processing - effectively turning ourselves invisible as far as they're concerned.

Two more shots from Snow and less than six minutes later Micro triumphantly announced that all three droids were taken care of and that they would not see nor recognize anyone even if they stood directly in their path, close enough to spit in their photoreceptors.

"Move out", RedTape instructed and this Seth recognized as his cue to get up and follow the three other men as they carefully made their way past Ice, all the while being covered by Snow who in the meantime had switched back to regular subsonic ammunition. The two of them would remain outside and both inform the team if anything was happening as well as trying to take care of things should anything turn sour.

The four men were almost by the facility's walls when one of the droids popped out from behind a corner ahead. All aside Micro froze and raised their guns, pointing them at the approaching hulk of metal. "What are you doing? Told you they've been dealt with..." Micro repeated, almost sounding hurt that he had to restate what he assumed would be considered obvious given his intellect and talents.

Seeing the droid not stop in its tracks, raising the machine guns it was using instead of limbs and just indiscriminately filling them with holes was proof enough that the geeky looking kid was not lying after all. Everyone else lowered their own guns, slowly hugging the wall and making their way towards the entrance, all the while allowing the droid to pass them by indifferently.

"How long?" RedTape inquired after Micro pulled out a nifty looking datapad with a lot more buttons, dials, leds and cable sticking out from it. "A minute to check for booby traps, another two or three to redirect or bypass them and around two at most to decrypt the key", spoke the slicer as he hooked his gadget to the control panel near the door.

Less than three minutes went by however by the time the door slid open, just shortly after the second droid passed them by and ignored them just as the first had done before it. "Snow, we're heading inside", RedTape announced and Seth heard the single click that came in silent response. "Come on", RedTape instructed and led the way in, with the other three - including Seth - following close behind.

There was a short corridor ahead of them leading into what appeared to be a larger room. Movement could however be heard coming from further ahead and everyone stopped to listen. Realizing whoever was up ahead was not going to move anytime soon RedTape began creeping forward, careful though so as to stick to the shadows as much as possible.

He stopped when he was about to enter the larger room and held his fist up, a second later raising two fingers so as to silently let everyone behind him know that there were two targets ahead. The man remained crouched as he slowly and silently approached the two figures, his suppressed blaster held high and aimed at one's head.

Seth however was right behind him and for the most part mimicked his actions, steadily making progress as he aimed his own similarly silenced blaster at the other figure. When the two got close enough to their targets Qorbin noticed RedTape turning and giving him a long, questioning look. Given the circumstances as well as the mercenary's action thus far DeepSix could only assume the other individual was wondering how he wanted to play this out.

To answer the unasked question Seth just took another step forward and gave a slight nod toward the other's target. Whether the merc leader actually understood what the VEN officer tried to show or whether he mostly just guessed the other's intention, the rugged looking fellow just nodded his approval and slowly got to his feet.

As he lunged forward, bringing one arm around his target's throat and the other around his mouth Seth similarly got up and delivered a strong punch to the other Imperial's neck, all the while using his blaster's butt to further increase the amount of damage.

As RedTape finished strangling his target, Seth delivered another strong kick to his own victim's throat - this time around hearing the telltale sound of something breaking inside. The two men next stopped and listened - making sure there were no sudden noises coming from any of the other corridors. There were none however so RedTape took a tighter grip on the corpse he was still holding and pulled him back in the corridor from which they entered. DeepSix similarly picked the other corpse's foot and dragged him along, dropping the stiff next to his equally dead companion.

Given the mission's parameters it would've been impossible for the Remnant not to eventually realize they had been infiltrated anyway, thus secrecy was not a concern for any of the parties involved. The one and only thing they needed to ensure was that the entire operation would be achieved in silence. Any distress signal sent from the facility would've been enough to force everyone into hiding and even that was a bad idea as the Imperials were well known for their tenacity and perseverance. It was thus highly unlikely they'd give up the search till the culprits would be found and either neutralized or otherwise captured.

"Micro, where do we go from here?" the merc leader whispered and waited for the slicer to check his fancy datapad. "Holding cells are... that way", he said and pointed toward an empty corridor, "One level down, straight ahead and next left at the first intersection." He next checked back his gizmo and continued "Security center however is through there", he said and pointed at a different corridor, "fifty feet ahead and to the right."

The mercenary boss nodded his understanding and next spoke calmly "Smiley, take Micro and secure the center. Me and our friend here will go deal with our other business." The man finished talking and glanced over to Seth to see whether there would be any argument coming his way. None came however.

On one hand the VENI agent knew that it would've been safer to keep the team together as they moved forward, ensuring their chances of swiftly dealing with any opposition. On the other hand he knew they were on a tight schedule - they had to finish their business in the facility as quickly as possible and make themselves scarce before a general alarm could be sounded. If they were still on the planet's surface when that happened then things would not go well for any of them... Plus there was merit in RedTape's plan - by securing the security center in the facility they'd be able to not only take control of key systems but also maybe manage to sabotage the alarms. That would in turn provide them with more time should they end up needing it later...

"What are we waiting for then?" Seth asked and gave the other man a big grin - the kind he often got after taking down a particularly gifted enemy pilot.

Just as the slicer had predicted the cursed door standing in the VEN officer's path did indeed part once the seventeenth symbol was pressed. He rushed inside only to find the bruised and battered body of the woman he had been sent to find. Given her weakened state as well as the nature of some of her wounds it didn't take long for Seth to figure out that aside from the more humane means of torture the captured agent was forced to endure some more barbaric methods as well. Worst still she ended up enduring the sort of treatment that no prisoner of war should have to suffer, regardless of crimes committed. Then again such was the harsh reality of spooks for they did not truly exist as far as the rest of the galaxy was concerned. They were shadows whose very existence could be denied by the faction they worked for...

"You?" the woman asked weakly as she attempted to raise from the bed. Seth was momentarily caught off guard by the sight before him. He had know this could happen and deep down even tried to prepare himself for when the moment came. His attempts proved futile however as no matter how much he tried to, anger and repulsion rose within him and formed a large know in his throat.

He was about to feel sorry for the woman and almost made the mistake of vocalizing such concerns when light from the corridor finally lit up the captured agent's eyes. They were swollen, bruised and bloody but even given all that damage the look in her eyes was still as fierce as it had ever been. Whatever happened in these cells had not broken the woman's spirit yet. Deep down she was still herself - even if she might require some time to realize as much herself...

"Expecting someone else?" Seth offered a fake smile as he joked and approached the injured Human female. "Why?" she asked just as weakly as before. "Mostly because I was bored. Also because I was in the neighborhood. Lousy neighborhood by the way..."

"What of the mission?" the woman paused and Seth noticed she was straining to speak as she continued "Have you accomplished my mission as well?" Seth shook his head to answer. "The mission... The mission comes first... We must complete it..."

Again Seth shook his head, only this time also added words to the negation: "My mission is to get you home. That's my one and only objective." Noticing the woman was about to speak Seth continued "Mission parameters cannot be changed under any circumstances." The man noticed the fire in the blonde's eyes grow even fiercer but was satisfied to see she did not attempt to fight him on that.

"Can you walk?" he asked in a softer tone of voice. The woman nodded and shakily got to her feet but immediately Seth could tell her movements were wobbly and unsteady. Given the grimace on her once pretty face the man also knew she was in pain. More importantly he knew that she would've normally tried to hide such signs of weakness even from him. The fact that such was not the case this time around further angered Qorbin as he once more only imagined the kind of pain and suffering his colleague likely endured at the hands of the Remnant.

Normally he would've asked the woman to lean on him and use his body for support but he knew that would both slow him down as well as undoubtedly put more pressure on the captured agent's stamina. He sighed as he leaned forward, bringing his hand around the woman's thighs and picking her up before she really got a chance to figure out what was happening. She actually yelped in surprise but realizing as much she embarrassingly spoke "I can walk for myself... Put me down."

"Of course you can walk for yourself. Thing is... I'm sort of in a hurry and don't really have all night to wait for you to pace around. Especially if I'd have to look at your pain scrunching face in the process."

The tone he used was merry and light even if the message itself was by contrast grave and serious. He knew that the words would hurt his colleague's pride but also knew that because of that very pride she would not further refuse his help. She may have become a hindrance but at the same time she knew enough not to become an obstacle as well - actually standing in the way of her peer doing his job.

She remained silent as Seth carried her out, in the corridor meeting with both RedTape and the woman he had seen earlier in a not all that dignified posture. She was still shaking and twitching but at least this time around she was standing up on her own feet and had more clothes than before too.

Everyone took a moment to stare at each other as a whole bunch of questions no doubt ran across all their heads. Finally it was Seth who broke the tense silence - "She coming along too?" To this RedTape simply nodded and led the way to the exit. "Micro, we've secured the captives. How are things on your end?"

"Just finished a moment ago. Smiley and me will trail back to the entrance and wait for you there." The mercenary leader did not answer him, instead choosing to address a different person over the comm "Snow, you read? We'll be coming out any minute now. How are things there?"

"Quiet for now."

As the small group made its way back towards the installation's entrance with RedTape both leading the way as well as ensuring nothing strange would pop out from any corner ahead, the captured VENI agent tilted her head so that her lips were as close to Qorbin's left ear as they could get without actually touching it. "Who are they?" she asked suspiciously. Remembering a scene from earlier that very day the man asked as he replied just as softly "Friends apparently..."

The group was almost back in the entrance hallway when movement caught with the corner of his eye caused Seth to turn and face an Imperial that stared at him wide eyed. Before the other was allowed a chance to react Qorbin shifted his body in such a way that the hand still gripping his gun ended up stretching towards the enemy. He didn't bother aiming first, instead shooting twice - both shots hitting the other in the chest and killing him where he stood.

"RedTape, we have a problem..." Seth whispered loud enough so that the individual in the lead could hear him. The merc boss returned a sour look before he shrugged his shoulders and motioned to keep going. There were no other encounters by the time they reached the entrance - where they've also met up with Micro and Smiley, the former looking rather concerned upon noticing Sin's condition but otherwise knowing better than to ask what had happened.

"Snow, we're coming out", RedTape announced and opened the door as soon as he did. Unlike the way in however, when only four men had to sneak their way to the entrance, the way out would not likely be as smooth - especially given the condition of the liberated female captives.

"Ice, be prepared to break cover", the merc leader instructed next and then just started making his way to the hills and the city that laid behind those hills and the starport that laid in that city and the ship that waited in that starport...

The entire group barely got about halfway to the perimeter's exit when Snow calmly informed the lot that they've been made. No shots or screams were heard though and Seth only imagined that the woman already took out the sentry in question. Just as the group was about to pass Ice's position another sentry found himself receiving a small cartridge in the head. This one must've called out first however as others turned to look around and check what the commotion was about.

"Sentries alerted. It's only a matter of time before they catch on what's happening", Snow informed them as she took careful aim and took out another unsuspecting guard. "Understood", RedTape replied and took a knee to steady himself before raising his blaster and taking careful aim. Ice and Smiley followed in their leader's example and equally raised their guns all the while taking different sentries as their targets.

Silent swishes could next be heard as subsonic cartridges left their guns and impacted the soft tissue of Imperial guards. Throughout this Seth kept carrying his colleague, with Micro and the other captive following close behind him. It didn't take very long for the VE Lieutenant to reach Snow's position and from the corner of his eye the blond officer saw the woman shoot another round. In the meantime the firefight below had stopped being one sided, the remaining sentries finally wisening up and beginning to return fire.

As RedTape and his two companions slowly retreated, Snow made sure to take out the more troublesome troopers. After a while the remaining shooters all dived for cover as they finally realized there was a sniper in the enemy's mist. A sniper they could not even see thanks to the darkness surrounding them... Every now and then one of them would pop out from hiding and check whether the coast was clear and whenever that happened Snow was ready to carve another kill count on her rifle.

After allowing the other members of her group a ten minutes head start the woman also picked up her sniper rifle and turned round to follow in their path. She had no intention of staying behind and getting captured after all. She had seen the way Sin looked after having spent only a few days in their midst...

"Snow, we have a problem here... where are you?"

OOC:

Total WC: 8405
This completes Tier One of my SWC cert, as well as hopefully qualifies me for the Infiltration and Slicing ancillary skills. Before anyone asks the infiltration bits above were not used in order to qualify for this cert - as I'm already qualified in Xeno Martial Arts... as the cert requires one to be.

I'll begin work on Tier Two momentarily and hopefully will finish it either tomorrow... or at least sometime this week. The reason this post ends abruptly is because the Tier Two will continue from where this one finishes off. It'll also offer some answers to questions you may have asked yourselves throughout. Who is the VENI agent? What was her mission? Who exactly is RedTape and his band of merry men? What exactly was their goal in helping me out? Who is Sin and what is her relationship with the others? What did Micro do whilst sealed in the security center? How come everyone was so careful getting in but not as much getting out - no, this was not an omission on my part mind you...

Bottom line - stay tuned if you want to find out the answers to these questions and many more!