Eyes Above

Imperial Intelligence Fleet - in orbit around Corellia

Cad Bakvalen watched the console read-out in front of him, eyes tracking the small blip of light inching ever closer to the surface of Corellia. It wouldn't be long before the shuttle, which had been cleared for transit through the Imperial Blockade, reached it's destination - a small starport on Vreni Island. System scans told Cad that there were a handful of passengers on board, but only one of them meant anything to him: his field agent. The woman had yet to meet, but whose life he was going to spend at least the next year controlling.

"I'm sorry that we didn't get a chance to meet in person before all of this, agent."

It wasn't unusual, for officers and their field agents to be as distant as the Core was to the Outer Rim. In fact, it was preferable. It kept an emotional separation between the handler and their agent. Still, the apology from Bakvalen had at least sounded sincere. As sincere as anything could, coming across a crackling voice-only comm line. He reclined in his desk chair, looking at the spread of files and flimsies. Touching the tip of finger to one, a personnel dossier, he pulled it slowly towards him and flipped it open, revealing a colour photograph of a young woman.

"Not my preferred approach to begin an op like this, but circumstances being what they are... it's best we get you on the ground sooner rather than later."

"No apology is necessary, sir."

Agent Lovelace, while very much on duty, looked less like an Imperial agent from a family of distinction than a young civilian woman about to hit the beach. The crocheted tunic and denim shorts of her outfit were complimented by a fashionable pair of sandals. Her arms neck and chest were inked over in tattoos, jumbled together in a way that made picking out just one to remember difficult. Her only concession to her trade was the earpiece curled around her left ear.

"I'm not on holiday. It's a job."

Circumstances being what they were, the details of this operation were as yet unknown to her. Her training and skills, were very specific. Her assignments prior to this had been in protective details. Infiltration. Interrogation, if necessary. She was not afraid to get her hands dirty for the Empire. She came from a a family of staunch Imperial loyalists, uniformed officers and upstanding citizens, every one.

All dead.

"Very good," he acknowledged, his eyes lingering for a second longer on the head-shot of Adaline Lovelace before he flipped it over, to skim the contents of a printed document. These were files he'd studied already, of course. He had been given the time and authority to select a field agent, and in doing so Cad had read over the profiles of a dozen currently in-active agents. There were operatives with greater field experience or more proven grasp of tradecraft, but this particular op required a different approach.

"Once you've touched down, you should head straight to one of the nearby harbours and catch a ferry. One that will take you up the river Tyr."

Pulling the woven beach bag closer to her person, Adalinde reached inside and pulled out a tourists brochure of the Vreni Island resort. It contained a detailed map which she examined now finding the quickest route from the star port to the marina. All manner of crafts were available, offering tours around the coastline, or for personal use to enjoy the waters more privately. Her orders were to secure passage on a ferry.

"Copy."

While she waited for the shuttle to land, she considered her newest handler. She was used to it. Having someone in her ear telling her what the Empire required of her, but it was almost always awkward the first time. Things would run smoother when they found the right..rhythm? Probably not the right word. Whatever.

The shuttle landed. Adalinde disembarked with the other passengers, waited through the security check point and started toward the water along her predetermined path.

Someone whistled at her. "Hey miss! First time on Vreni Island right? You need a picture to remember your vacation! Let me capture you with the ocean at your back!" He was a moderately attractive young Corellian. Probably made a fortune robbing tourists with outrageously priced images that they were compelled to purchase on impulse to mark the day with their families.

"No. Thank you." She declined the opportunity. Her mind on the ferry ahead - and making it there before it pulled away from the dock.

The sound of the hawker’s patter reached Cad through Ada’s earpiece. The sensitivity of the microphone was such that if Cad closed his eyes, the ambient sound of the marina almost made it feel like he was down there on the surface. All that he needed to complete the illusion was the smell of sea salt and fried fish.

“You’re making good progress,” said the voice in Ada’s ear. “Is this your first time on Corellia?”

"He was right.", Adalinde commented regarding the hawker. "It's my first time to Vreni Island, but not Corellia."

She stopped talking long enough to secure a place on the ferry, and find a spot once aboard. Choosing a location alone near the bow, Adalinde, leaned casually on the rail, staring out at the waves as she continued.

"I've had some jobs in Coronet City." He had not asked for details, but that information alone should be enough for him if he was curious.

The ferry pulled away from the dock, heading up the river.

"I like the food.", she added as a side note. "Spicy."

“Me too," the handler admitted. "If all goes according to plan, you’ll have plenty of time to try some of the local cuisine.”

Cad called up a map on his desk-inlaid computer terminal. With a tap, he zoomed in to the grids that showed the slow curve of the river Tyr as it wound its way inland.

“The ferries run a slow route up and down the Tyr. You’ll come ashore three or four times, depending on the ferry company you’re with, before you reach a stop that they’ll announce as the theater district. I want you to get off there.”

What she ate, or did not eat, was going to depend greatly on the particulars of this job. As yet, undetermined.

"Copy."

Adalinde peeked over the rim of her shades. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Families, as well as couples young and old alike, sat together talking about the activities they had planned, or who they would be visiting. Others seemed to just be taking advantage of the commute, if the uniforms and business attire meant anything. Some watched the river as they made their way inland. Others were oblivious to the scenery more absorbed in whatever they were doing..

Apparently relaxed, or at least doing a good job of faking it, Adalinde tipped her head back to let the sunlight warm her face while she waited for the right stop. When it arrived, she disembarked the shuttle and joined the pedestrian traffic into the theater district.

Before Adalinde, the theater district sprawled out in a brightly-lit maze of mismatching buildings. Some shows had signposts to where they could be found, including an off-world visiting production of Squid Lake, while other, smaller plays were being acted out right on the street to passersby.

“You shouldn’t have to go far before someone tries to sell you a ticket to see something.”

Other passengers who had disembarked the ferry before Ada were already being stopped by promoters in a broad square ahead.

“You’re looking for an evening performance of The Trickster King. Only buy a ticket if the seller says that the play will be delivered as it was intended, in ancient Corellian.”

He was right, even as he was telling her what to expect, she was being handed adverts for each locale that she passed by. She did not accept any of them. Instead, Adalinde kept one hand in the pocket of her shorts and the other wrapped around the strap of the bag she carried. Her lack of interest was not a hindrance to a few of them who followed her along, giving her the highlights of various shows.

"I'm sure it's a lovely recreation... No, I do not require a ticket... Thank you, no." On and on her refusals went ,until she spotted what she thought might be the right show..

The Trickster King.

It was the right play, but the sign posted did not mention anything about it being done in ancient Corellian. Stopping just beyond the theater, Adalinde busied herself shuffling around items in her bag, while watching the seller outside the entrance. He spoke to a few people as they too passed, but nothing. It was possible she had the wrong location, it could be showing in two places. Adjusting her bag, and her sunglasses, Adalinde moved to continue on when suddenly from behind her the proprietor said exactly what she had been waiting for..

"Showing tonight only! The Trickster King, delivered as it was intended, in ancient Corellian." That was the phrase exactly.

She turned around, obviously interested now that she had the right showing. "I'll take one ticket."

In Cad’s ears, the voice of the ticket tout was muted, but he picked up the words: “It’s going to be an explosive performance.” He could almost hear the grin and wink in the words. With that, the ticket was handed over. It was a small stub, directing Adalinde to an old amphitheater. It would be two hours before the showing started. From the signs around her, it seemed many of the shows would begin at about the same time.

Cad's voice was a murmur in her earpiece. “Are you a fan of the theater?”

Tucking the ticket stub into the pocket of her shorts, Adalinde kept walking in the direction she had been going until she was directed otherwise. "I'm not sure..", she replied honestly. "Not something I find myself making time for, I suppose."

She had at least a couple hours to kill, unless there was something else to be done prior.

Adalinde considered the voice in her head for the first time, wondering just exactly who was overseeing her directives. Who was the person behind the voice? It was not something she'd ever stopped to consider from her previous handlers. She just did as she was told until the job was done, or someone was dead. Which was usually the same time..

"Do.. you like it? The theater, I mean?"

“Maybe,” was all the voice in her ear replied. As Adaline continued to take in the theatre district, it seemed like The Trickster King was not a particularly popular performance. The ticket seller was making only a passable attempt to encourage passing tourists to come along. A few moments later, the voice spoke again.

“Intelligence suggests that the Corellian insurgency are using the amphitheater as a staging point for anti-Imperial activities. Rallies, planning meetings, recruitment forums. Hopefully this evening will be the latter.”

​The fingers of Adalinde's hands splayed in a wordless gesture of frustration that a mic would not pick up. That was one those answers that only brought more questions. Maybe?

Shaking her head, she kept walking, purchasing a cold drink from a street cart as she progressed through the district. Sipping at the chilled, spiced, Corellian-apple cider, she tried to keep the scowl off her face at what she was hearing.

Some might call her conditioned to her life, but Adalinde saw the Empire as an extension of her family. It was her only connection to her family.

"Really..? And if it is?"

If it is… Cad reclined at his desk, knowing that what he was about to say might be controversial. Field agents were expected to do many things, to involve themselves in all sorts of unsavoury activities that any good Imperial citizen would have considered… unthinkable.

“You’re going to join the Resistance, of course.”

I'm what now?

The incredulous remark was there, unspoken on the tip of her tongue, but Adalinde would never utter it. Too much training to argue with what the Empire asked of her, no matter how demeaning.

Agent Lovelace would comply.

Still, there was an almost uncomfortable pause before she responded. "Of course."