See Me In Shadow

[Natalia Renkl]

The geologist groaned as she had to squeeze herself further into the cave to retrieve the sample she had specifically come to fetch. The asteroid belt around planet AX-213 had proved a headache to explore and required extensive time; but she was proud of the progress made.

"Faucon, you're out of oxygen in ten minutes. Get your ass back to the shuttle!"

She muttered as her pilot was whining and giving useless warnings yet again. She didn't bother reply to him, for her breath was better used to do her job. She carefully pulled the samples she had chipped at, and placed them in a safe container. Slowly removing herself from the rocky corridor, she got back to her feet and picked up the two medium size boxes she was carrying with her for this trip. It wasn't the first asteroid belt she had worked with, but it was a very interesting one.

She was already looking forward to run tests in her laboratories; but for now she hasted towards the shuttle. She normally preferred flying solo, but she had had to retrieve larger samples this time around, and all heavy-lifting droids were either already assigned for an incoming supply run coming to the station, or undergoing maintenance. That meant she had to put up with another living being.

She quickly brought the last two boxes aboard, and closed the hatch behind her. With a long sigh, she unsecured her helmet and removed it. The stale air system of the shuttle was a treat after the walk back to the ship.

"For frak's sake, you could have said something! You had me worried!"

Without hesitation, she yelled back towards the cockpit.

"You shouldn't have volunteered for that job, Harris! Stop whining and get us back to the Lunatica!"

She heard half-formed curses and rolled her eyes.

Making her way to the cockpit, she slid into the copilot's seat and glared at Harris.

"Don't bark at me, Faucon!"

"Then shut up," she responded deadpan, thus ending the conversation.

She eventually relaxed in the seat, as they took off. The flight back to the space station that had been her based for the last five years would take about two hours.

While she had remained loyal to the Empire, and was still working for an imperial-aligned mining company, she had been off the grid in comparison to her sisters for so many years, she had to remind herself of her real name sometimes, having grown used to be called Klem Faucon. She was proud of her lineage, and believed in the Empire; but her way of serving was very different from her Moff and Army Captain siblings. As much as she knew that the other Renkls didn't think ill of her, she still knew they would likely remain estranged for the most part.

She let her mind wander until she saw the space station Lunatica appear before them. They were at the border of Wild Space, which provided so many fascinating mineral sources. The closest planet was Belkadan (https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Belkadan/Legends), which was fully entranced in imperial territory, while they were in this no man's land, that had once belonged to the Infinite Empire so many millennia ago.

It didn't take them long before docking into the smaller hangar bay of the station, for the main one has to be available for the imminent supply delivery. She helped Harris unload the samples she had gathered and take them to her lab further into the station. Once everything was in there, she could part ways with him.

She was tempted to start running basic tests on what she had found; but she knew she needed a shower, fresh clothes, food and caf, before anything else. So, she locked her lab behind her and headed towards the living quarters section of the Lunatica.

Shortly before she reached her small room, one of the administrative personnel, Ajla, stopped her.

"Klem! There's someone looking for you."

The brunette quirked a brow. That was new.

"Who's that?"

Ajla shrugged. "She just said she's here to speak to you for official reasons."

The geologist frowned. She really had no idea what this might be about.

"Tell her to come to my lab in one hour. I'll be there."

[Linnea Vandron]

Linnea Vandron did not like to be kept waiting. Though being practical, she had to concede that Renkl required rest after extensive field work and a two hour ride back to base, but she was outside the geologist's lab precisely an hour later. She pressed the comm system to alert the scientist of her presence and relaxed, arms folded behind her back.

As this was official business from an Admiral, Vandron was in uniform - white double-breasted tunic, black pants and boots, insignia plaque and code cylinders perfectly aligned, and hair pinned up under her cap that displayed her rank as a member of Imperial Intelligence. With her credentials and rank, most gave her a wide berth even if she weren't in Imperial territory. She lacked any desire to care what the scientists were researching here. Her orders were clear on who she was to recruit and bring back and that was the focus of her investigations.

She knew everything there was to know about the only Renkl daughter not engaged directly with the Empire. Her sisters were a Moff and Captain respectively in the service of her Majesty, but this one decided to carve her own path without the weight of her name attached. Vandron could respect that considering her own tendency to do similar.

She was confident that Renkl wold be persuaded to return to Imperial space. The geologist like asteroid belts and Sillesk had an extensive one that needed a lot of mapping and mining ...

[Natalia Renkl]

Natalia had returned to her lab ten minutes before the mentioned time. She had cleaned up and changed for another set of black and beige practical clothing: pants tucked into hiking boots, and a long-sleeved high neck top. Her black hair was pulled into a sleek pony tail. She might not be formally imperial compared to her sisters; but there was still something about her that would have made her fit in many imperial settings. Maybe it was embedded just way too deep into the Renkl DNA at this point, she sometimes mused.

She had already started to run some scans and tests on what she had brought back, while eating. When she heard the knock on the door, she was about to make herself some caf, but thought she'd ask her unexpected visitor if she wanted some too.

She walked to the door and opened it, her eyes taking in the sight of the impeccably dressed woman. She recognized the uniform and she still had enough knowledge to understand she was from Intelligence.

"Please come in," she said politely, stepping back to let the other brunette in.

She closed the door behind them.

"I was about to make some caf, if you'd like some."

Once she got her answer, she walked to the small caf maker and got it ready.

"What brings Imperial Intelligence here?"

Her tone was courteous and professional. She might like being in hell holes where the rocks and minerals spoke to her in greater quiet than big imperial hubs. She hoped that her sister hadn't suddenly bloody decided to have her dragged back home. That would make her angry and she had better things to do with her time than argue with any imperial officials about family drama.

[Linnea Vandron]

With a courteous nod, Linnea entered and glanced about the room at equipment that was currently analyzing samples that Renkl brought back. "Caf sounds lovely. Thank you..."

She was equally polite despite her tone bordering on distracted as the scanner head twisted and turned around the rock, immediately feeding data to the screen for review. Linnea walked the length of the table to look, never touching.

"Really just a messenger." She paused her steps and looked up with a slight shrug. "An acquaintance asked a favor. Not too many takers wanting to come out this way."

Linnea took a few steps forward as she reached into the belt pouch and revealed a datacard. "I was tasked to persuade you into accepting a new assignment. And no, this has nothing to do with your family."

The agent was well aware that relations weren't ideal with the Renkl sibings when it came to family matters and expectations and wanted to clear that up straight away.

"If I may?" Linnea waited near a datapad and didn't want to disturb anything going on without permission. Last thing she wanted was to override any data being saved or worse, ruin the sample.

[Natalia Renkl]

When her unexpected visitor was on board for some caf, Natalia made sure to prepare for both of them. As much as she didn't mind a minimalist lifestyle, she was picky with a few things, and her caf was one of them, much to the surprise of the few people tasting what she made in her lab or in her quarters.

The moment the other woman called herself a messenger, she raised a brow, hoping it wasn't some sisterly idea from Tatiana to try to bring her back into the Renkl proper fold. As much as she was proud of her twin, and even their younger sister, she had no interest in leaving her career behind.

She smirked at the remark that few would want to come to where she lived. "This is one of the perks of this job," she replied a little sharply.

She handed one of the mugs to the other imperial and took a careful sip from her own.

Her shoulders tensed at once at the mention of being persuaded into an assignment. She let a sigh of relief out when the woman said it wasn't related to her family.

"That's a good start," she admitted more openly than she would have a few years ago.

"One second, please," she replied when the Operative inquired whether she could use the datapad. Closing the distance with the workstation, the Renkl brunette typed up a few commands and diverted one of the monitor and the nearby datapad as an independent circuit so her analysis would continue to run smoothly.

"Alright, go ahead."

[Linnea Vandron]

"Thank you." Linnea immediately slipped the datacard into the workstation port and cued up information on the Sillesk system. Both their time was valuable and it was important to get right to business.

"Admiral Rigel Bismarck has invited you to get to know the asteroids in Sillesk."

The asteroid belt flashed on the monitor with data points appearing with various information on chemical makeup of the rocks.

"The belt is extensive having approximately 2 million asteroids. Some are over a kilometer wide."

One of the largest ones being mapped appeared with a graph of seismic activity in the area relating to potential crashes.

"This is a highly dangerous assignment classifying the belt for mining, possible bases, and to ensure that Sillesk itself remains unharmed from any strays."

Linnea shrewdly gazed at Natalia. "With the work you do here, this is right up your alley, Renkl."

The agent leaned her hip against the station and thinly smiled. "The Empire has extended Bismarck a generous stipend for this research. Some of that will be allocated to you, upon your acceptance. All travel and moving expenses will be paid for and you get to hand pick your team."

She raised her hand and pointed to a file on the screen. "This here has all the equipment available and if you need more, you'll have to file a request that will be approved or denied by the Admiral."

Renkl was top pick for this and the Admiral used everything in his power to make a reasonable enticing proposal for the scientist to take seriously.

"The only caveat is I need an answer now. Things are moving fast out there. Admiral needs to know he has someone jumping in on this ASAP. To be fair, I can give you a few hours to look over the files. Answer questions to the best of my ability."

[Natalia Renkl]

Natalia appreciated the other woman's promptness and directness. In a way it reminded her how imperial efficiency could make a difference for the greater good, even though she had stayed on its fringe, serving in her own way, for most of her life.

She took another sip from her caf as the holo displays came to life. She quirked a brow at the mention of Admiral Bismarck. The name didn't ring a bell; but she hadn't expected an Admiral to seek her out. That was new.

She took a step closer to the hologram of the asteroid belt. That was one heck of a belt.

There was something weird about it, something that she couldn't put her finger on right away. She reached out and tapped a side information list, bringing up a brief geological history of what had happened in the system. That explained better.

"That's a rare cosmological event, and with even more unique results," she said, mostly to herself, as the gears in her mind were already getting to work and considering geological specs.

She looked at the other woman at the mention that the Empire had allocated extensive resources for this research. Something was up there, something huge, even if nobody really knew what yet. The Empire had always supported scientific research; but that was one hell of a stipend.

When invited to do as such, she checked the list of available equipment. That was more options than she had seen her mentor benefit from a few years ago. It was impressive, most impressive.

Handpicking her own team would be good too; even though she liked working alone. With a project of such a scale, she knew that a one-woman operation wasn't an option; but it was worth it.

She met the other brunette's eyes within seconds of being told her answered was required on this same day.

"I'm in."

There was no hesitation. She might be a rogue by the Renkl family standards; but she served the Empire by choice and she knew an opportunity when she saw one.

"I can be in Sillesk in ten days. I am certain the Admiral will understand I can't just drop everything here and jeopardize another imperial operation."

[Linnea Vandron]

Linnea was able to predict many things, a talent of hers that served her well as an agent, but Natalia Renkl surprised her. She was certain it would take at least an hour of deliberation while pouring through the information on the datacard before making one. It took her minutes and she hadn't even scratched the surface of available data. She predicted some push back and a moderate amount of debate, but this high end assignment had Natalia wrapped around its finger.

At least it made her job easier.

"Of course," said Linnea with a nod. "He would expect nothing less."

Operations needed to be handed down to the rest of Renkl's team and that would require extensive debriefing. If it would take ten days, Linnea would hold her to it.

"And I'll arrange transportation." She pulled out her datapad and called up her monthly calendar. "Is there a time that works best?"

She wanted everything nailed down when sending the report to Bismark.

[Natalia Renkl]

Natalia appreciated that the woman whose name remained a mystery was direct in the matter at hand. The scientist could spend hours working details in her research but logistics did not have to be headaches or full-blown conferences. Hell, one of the few assets of not holding a formal degree was that nobody expected her to show up at academic parties. She had better things to do as in working her ass off in actual dig sites.

"Good," she replied with a nod to the confirmation that her response, including her timing was suitable. It wasn't as if she was going to just give up on the team here. She wasn't so certain of anyone willing to be in this middle of nowhere but she wasn't going to ignore such an intriguing and resourceful opportunity to be someone else's babysitter either.

"I am surprised that an Admiral would send for me, and that a representative of the ISB would be the one handling the proceedings."

She knew her value and wasn't going to play shy about what she could do. The offer she was given made it clear it had been well thought out, and that resources were on par with what she would handle. It was a far cry from what she had done in the past years.

"I can have everything ready by 0700 ten days from now. Any time after that would work as well."

She'd rather get started sooner than later, and she was a light packer. Heck, she didn't have many personal belongings in the first place since she had scampered off from the Renkl household many years ago, wanting to carve her own mark in the galaxy, away from the formal apparatus to which her sisters belonged.