POKING THE WRONG NEST

Days pass by. Trace Irya got from now two dead cultists proved to be waste since she checked Ziost and found nothing out of ordinary. As for other locations mentioned, getting there needs preparations and trustworthy members of Preservation. Now, more than ever she was unwilling to put her faith in other's people hands. But she had to cause brain power dwindled to just few, and access she had, depended on Commander's and, now newly addition to Preservation order, agent Inako's good will. Since Irya knew Commander Torles so well, she was reluctant to even mention her affairs concerning the Cultists, even if she ends up dead or dying. Irya walks into the officer's deck spotting few members at their posts. Among them agent Inako was supervising everything that was happening in the room, throwing her look randomly on each member or just spectating stuff on the screen of the computer, when she spots a girl dressed in dark robe, the same one she was introduced to couple days ago. Inako nods at Irya acknowledging her presence but continues finishing something she had been occupied with just while ago. Irya walks to the wall not so far from the door she came through and leans on it with her arms crossed waiting for agent to finish what she was doing.

- How may I help you, my lord? She was rather straight forward, knowing that each time this sith appeares it was when she needs something in particular.

- Agent, I hope you can spare some time of yours and meet me in Cantina. Then she pushes herself of the wall waiting for affirmation even thought she knew that Inako can't really afford to reject her request. -''Yes, of course, my lord! I'll be there in a matter of minute.'' Irya just sharply proceeds back through the door of the officer's deck heading straight to lower levels of the Dreadnaught.

CANTINA TALK
Cantina of Preservator was mostly always full of people who were off duty or those like Irya and Inako, who needed some false privacy to talk about various stuff.

Inako walks into Cantina, scanning around through crowd of people just to spot a sith girl sitting by the table at the very corner of the room, petting her glass of unidentified liquor in it. She had a hood on but the mask was lying on the table. Nonetheless her face was hidden and in dark due to the dim cantina lights. Agent carefully walks to the table, stopping just when she reaches appropriate distance.

- My lord! She addresses the girl letting her know that she's here and ready to be of service. Irya, leniently leaned on the back of the seat, points at the chair for agent to sit. A good minute or so passed before Inako broke the silence but not the sith's invisible stare. - ''My lord, is something wrong? You wished to speak with me?'' She still had her duty to go back to but also it would be unwise to offend the sith across the table, or any sith actually. Irya sighs and straighten herself up.

- Who sent you? She sounded very unpleasant.

-  Excuss me, what?

- ''Why sudden confusion? I've asked you simple question.'' Irya kept her voice rather cold.

- ''I was sent by the Imperial intelligence service. Is something wrong with that?'' She knew that this was not the thing sith wanted to talk about but still it felt kinda odd. Irya just kept her stare on as if inspecting something, making situation rather unpleasant, but not for her, then suddenly grabs her mask, placing it on her face and standing herself up. Inako, surprised  by this gesture, just follows up Irya's movement with her eyes, without saying a word.

- ''After your shift ends, meet me in the hanger of Fury Interceptor and be ready to depart. '' She proceeds to the Cantina exit without even looking at agent, nor waiting for her reply.

- Y-Yes, my lord. Just a response of a habit not really thinking whether she likes the idea or not, or having time to discuss the terms, if there were any to begin with, since sith was already out of sight.

HEADING FOR THE BASE
Inako's shift ended up in the morning. She was tired but trained for this kind of extreme situations, if one could call it extreme. Inako reaches hunger doors, spotting the sith. Before she could even signal her that she's here, sith girl turns and disappears into the ship.

- Yeah, she saw me, alright. Inako sarcastically hisses just for herself. She reaches the cockpit finding Irya there already starting engines making ship ready for take off.

- Good morning, my lord. she grabs onto something expecting that take off with each second, since sith didn't offer her a sit or something.

-  You can fasten yourself to that chair, agent. Irya proceeds a bit irritated with Inako's  'by the book' attitude. In just a couple of minutes they were already in the Space heading for the Preserver's HQ base set on Rishi.



What Irya found there surprised even her. The place she used to hang around was now intimidatingly vacant. Guards were not positioned appropriately, and everything gave away that chill stale atmosphere. What more, entire complex seemed decrepit even. Lord Nahuni who used to hang around cantina there or hearing her voice of displeasure through the corridors of HQ, was non existent. She didn't like Nahuni but at least they shared connections and fought for same goals. It was a painful feeling that Irya was trying to suppress, since the first place she stepped her foot on when she left Cult was exactly the Rishi base, where new chapter of her life began. - ''What happened here? What's this place?'' Irya just glances at her, waiting for couple of seconds before she answered.

- Beside lacking of proper maintenance, this very base was attacked, not so long ago. Irya sarcastically throws those words at her scanning for her reaction.

- ''Well, it's a base. Attacks are bound to happen.'' she kept her sight on the complex of buildings ahead, while Irya's stare was fixed at the agent's face. She lets out just a smirk, annoyed by the fact that agent's statement was suppose to be incorrect.

- But not this base, no. This one was suppose to be well guarded. She was more annoyed that the attack actually happened and caused enormous damage. And not just physical damage, but it has cost lives, either directly in attack or leaving consequences which later led to more lives taken after, including Alyria's and, the more painful one for Irya, Argehar's.

- ''I’m sorry my lord, are you implying something? You think there was a security breach somehow, so you brought me here to investigate?'' Inako focuses now on sith when she felt mild distress in her words. Irya steps more deeper on the base ground observing. After a short walk to the inner of the base, they’ve reached a catwalk but this one was made of wood tied up by the rope leading to some round shaped complex. In the middle of it, stood a large mechanism and beside it a computer of sort. - ''This is why I brought you here, agent. You have my permission to scan and download any data you can find stored in there.'' She points at some console still operational. It was the backup terminal with log storage where Irya hoped to find any kind of data regarding the attack even thought Torles deleted all files back on the Preservator. That day Commander almost lost his life trying to debate the attack with Argehar, and yet again she stood there unbothered by breaking now meaningless word she gave to her master. With him gone and everything falling apart Irya sets her mind on digging into secret her master tried to bury, and secret he even took lives for.

- My lord, this must be wrong… she was tapping buttons on display with a mild confusion on her face. Irya steps closer to the console Inako stood by. These files are either encrypted or broken. Irya frowns at her thinking out loud.

- He didn’t delete them after all if you can see something.

- Oh I see something for sure, but can’t make sense out of it.

- Never mind, just continue downloading everything you can.

It didn’t take much time for Inako to do what they came for. What Irya didn’t like is that no one even bothered them. It wasn’t how they operated in the base last time she was here. Irya had only one reason in mind, nothing of a value being there for safe keeping now that Shard is gone. But still it was a base of operations. Maybe attack happened only to get the stone out and bury the base to the ground, where both ideas failed. Shard had been taken away by the third person, and base is still standing even though in ‘ruins’.

- We’re going back to Preservator. She glances at agent.

- Yes, my lord. Inako pulls out a data chip and offers it to Irya.

- No, agent, you gonna be working on it. Inako’s confusion was obvious but she didn’t say anything, placing the data chip into her pocket.

Just when they are about to reach the ship, a man approaches them. He seemed like usual officer in Preserver uniform. The man stops just at appropriate distance and pulls his arms behind his back as all officers usually do when addressing to strangers or higher ranks.

- ''Good day, ma’ams! I’m an officer appointed for the landing bay and your ship wasn’t on today’s schedule. I’m certain it must be some mistake but I would need to check your approvals.'' Irya and Inako glances at each other at the same time, but before Irya manages to even open her mouth Inako interrupts her.

- Good day, sir. I’m agent Inako and this is my superior Lord Irya, Darth Deik’s apprentice. An obvious lie on which Irya opens her mouth as if to object, only to be interrupted yet again by Inako’s stare. ''We were in a hurry and came in just to pick some stuff Darth Deik left since he couldn’t get them himself. You know, he’s busy now with his new duty, and probably forgot to announce us.'' Seeing officer’s unhappy face, Inako passes him her ID card. ''I can only offer this. I’m a member of Sith Preservation and stationed on Preservator, so at least we are not enemies.'' She sarcastically smiles trying to fool the man. ''Also my direct superior is Commander Torles. If you have something to protest you can directly go to him.'' She throws almost fake smile. Officer glances at her then at the sith girl, before inspecting ID card. It took couple of second before he finally spoke.

- ''Well, agent Inako, ID is in order. I’ll let you go this time only because I know Commander Torles and how much I respect that man, but next time you will have to provide that approval. Have a good day!'' He nods at her and proceeds forward passing by Irya.

- ''Like wise, officer. Thank you.''She proceeds with courteous, but Irya looked indifferent to it. Once they were near the ship's entrance she turns to the girl.

- You’ve blabbed out too much agent Inako! She adds with anger. Bringing those names was the last thing Irya wanted, especially Torles’s.

- But he’s let us pass, my lord! She was mildly confused with Irya’s disapproval. Irya frowns at here not even trying to explain how she could simple mind trick him and be done with it. Now, she may as well think about explanation for her trip back to base, if the officer blabs about it to someone, especially that someone being Torles.

- There is a reason why I asked you to come and not Torles himself! She was holding her temper.

- ''You must know that sooner or later he will find out, my lord. And I can not lie my direct superior, especially not him.'' She sounded a bit worried, either thinking about situation where she will have to report to Commander Torles or being mistreated by this sith in front of her.

- But you will do everything to keep it a secret, agent, at least for long as possible. Threat was now obvious. ''Or I’ll make sure you never speak to anyone again. Am I understood?'' Irya cold stare could tell she’s serious. Inako kept her calculating stare at the sith before she dares to speak her mind.

- ''Lord Irya, first of all, I’m not your enemy. We are fighting for the same cause. Second, if you could have been more frank with me I might had come even with better solution than we had, cause I’m kinda in the dark here. I have no idea what these files are and what you’re planning to do with them. Not even close, I have no idea who you’re trying to hide these things from. And third, where I have to be frank with you and hope that you won’t kill me for speaking my mind, is that I know you. I’ve read your file, and Commander Torles explained things about you.'' She tried to be as much as polite and friendly as possible showing all appropriate courtesy cause what she wanted to say next might cost her her life for sure. ''I could and should arrest you for barging in Preserver’s base and, apparently stealing something from the computer’s log, but here we are. I haven’t stopped to even think about stabbing you in the back.'' She had sincere look on her face, hoping that the Sith won’t interpret her words as a threat. Irya stood there silently, obviously very displeased with what she heard from agent, but in truth hurt by the thing that Inako was once again right about everything. After all this time spent with Preservers, and after all she had done for them, she’s still no one. With Argehar gone she’s once again a Neophyte, and alone. Torles was probably and still is the only one who keeps her head attached to her body. Even so, she couldn't trust him anymore. He became distant and somewhat absent. That thought pierced her heart. Irya just turns slowly not even saying a word, proceeding to the ship.