Edge of Time

[Tatiana Renkl]

Rage was blinding her more than the angry tears that filled her eyes. She threw the encrypted datapad across the room, caring little about her strong aim had smashed a precious vase in the process. She got to her feet, and walked up to her liquor cabinet, pouring herself a full glass. Years serving in the military meant that she still held her alcohol really well. She didn't want to be intoxicated though part of her entertained the idea. She needed the burn down her throat and the whiskey was doing the job well.

"By all power, how the frak could she do that? Traitorous bitch."

All by herself in her office at her mansion on Virgillia 7, Tatiana Renkl only had the walls to yell at, or rather speak coldly as the deadliest winter on Ilum. She couldn't believe what had happened. The reports had been cross referenced by two different teams, both hired guns, not imperial intelligence, because Tatiana had wanted to make sure of the mess from different sources. It was a potential disaster, but beyond that, the Moff couldn't wrap her mind about how a member of her own family was selling themselves to the enemy. She had always fought for the Empire, including to reassert imperial power over her home world. It was disgusting.

She didn't realize she crushed the empty glass in her hand until she felt the pang of pain and looked down at the blood dripping on the floor. She looked at the small crimson pool forming for a moment, before walking to a nearby freshener to clean up the wound and bandage it. It would be easy to just call for her servants but she had no interest in doing so.

She cleaned up her own mess afterwards. That was what she had always done. She wasn't one to delegate when unnecessary or unwanted.

That was exactly what she was going to do regarding her family issue. And for that she would require a most qualified imperial to assist her.

Once all was taken care of, she returned to her desk, and reviewed several potential candidates who had been attached to her service on Virgillia 7. She had options but she eventually made up her mind for an element she had had her eye on for a while but hadn't had reason to get involved.

Uncaring it was late night, she sent a summon, after verifying he was on world.

The matter was urgent.

[Madoc'leri'kleoni]

The comm platform next to his bed began to chime. Not the usual alarm to stir him awake, although it did manage to do just that. No, this was more like a warning klaxon that would have jolted the most wizened of men from their slumber. Clerik, as he was known by those closest to the Core, propped himself up on his elbows and sliced a narrow glare toward the device. Then, he rose even further and pried it from his nightstand, activating the persistent summons and sighing in noticeable relief when the noise gave way to a thickly accented voice dictating his immediate appearance at a particular mansion. The faint blue light of the hologram only served to highlight the slate-blue skin stretched over his sturdy bone structure, injecting an almost feral gleam in the red eyes that eagerly soaked in the message.

The thin coverlet cast over his frame was thrust aside and he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, his feet splaying against the floor. The muscled expanse of his chest was bare, goose flesh rising along the azure skin as the circulated, chilly air rasped out of the rickety vent above him. Seeing as how his first year under the tutelage of the Empire had mostly been comprised of being shuffled to and from the most remote, undesirable stations of the galaxy, it was nice to finally receive a summons rather than a dismissal. In truth, he had somehow managed to manipulate his way precisely into the company he desired to keep. A bleak smile crossed his lips for the faintest of moments and then he drew to a stand, slipping on appropriate garb for the impromptu meeting.

Before leaving his ramshackle abode in the dregs of the city, he stole a glance toward the lock box containing his rifle. If she was summoning him, this would undoubtedly end with someone dead. It didn't matter who, he had waited too long to prove himself to question things now. So long as it wasn't his brother, he could care less who had to die to further his goals.

He hadn't kept her waiting long, arriving at the appointed location and following the appropriate instructions to enter the mansion. The foyer admitted him into a sprawling hall, his eyes flicking this way and that to gather what details he could. He stopped centralized in the room, awaiting further instructions with his gloved hands clasped behind his back.

[Tatiana Renkl]

Tatiana had drunk two glasses after sending the message. Yet there was not the smallest hint of intoxication in her poised demeanor or in her stern gaze. The only betraying sign that something had occurred was the bandage on her hand, which she was by no mean hiding. She had no reason to. She was not one to lose her legendary focus. Rage outburst was not an absent reaction in her history records but she had no shame in that. She had worked her way up to where she was now, having thought since a young age to restore imperial power on her home planet, and having proven undying faithfulness to her empress.

As soon as the Chiss agent made his way to her mansion, she kept her eyes on the door, until the moment he stepped inside, waiting for any upcoming order. She had been ready to bypass any mission the young man was assigned to if need be, but much to her surprise - and somewhat chagrin due to his compelling file - he was ready to be sent wherever. One's waste of this agent would be her gain.

She had had her eye on this agent for a while, but had never had to enlist him for anything yet. Despite the urgency of the matter at hand, she would be a liar if she tried to deny appreciating his well-sculpted figure. He had to be one of the most handsome Chiss she had got to lay eyes on, but now was no time for such ruminations and digressions.

"Your file lacks details on your assassination skills. Tell me more about them, Agent."

Another time it might have been mere foreplay banter, but right now she needed to know which way her plan should go.