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[Vayden Q'orr]

BRENTAAL

ISC territory. Not the place for those with imperial sympathies, something that those still wearing them on their sleeves would become all too aware of in a flash. Overnight, any imperial still on the planet became a hostage, everyone they could get their hands on was dragged violently to holding cells. Now, the Empire would have to find a discreet way of extracting the few remaining imperials on the run or risk more open conflict with the ISC...
.

Like the majority of the ISB, Vayden Q'orr heard the news through their internal alert system. He wasn't entirely surprised, given the lingering tension between the two factions. Nor did he initially think it was of any concern to him.

In fact, despite receiving such an important message in midday, the rest of his time was spent in the usual manner: reading local crime reports, analyzing patterns and checking in on informants for their scheduled reports.

Not once did sympathy for those affected cross his heart. If anything he was critical of them. How could so many allow themselves to be captured? Had he been in their situation he was sure he would've foreseen such a danger and escaped before such a blockade was put in place.

As he left his office he played out the scenario in his mind. How he'd have stayed under the ISC's radar, what contacts he would've cultivated beforehand in case of such a crisis. In the end, he settled on a good riddance attitude.

Not only did he feel that anyone shortsighted enough to be taken hostage wasn't worth keeping in the Empire, it would also mean several positions would be left vacant. No matter how many hostages were inevitably released in an exchange, someone would need to do the work in the meantime.

With that many losses in the workforce, the odds of him rising the ranks could only increase. So he continued on to his apartment in the city, seeing everything perfectly in place as he'd left it.

He made himself a very rudimentary but protein rich stew for dinner and read through the daily news available to the public. It was always good practice to know what was being put out there for general consumption. Information was its own currency, and without a standard to base it off of one could fall into the trap of appraising their own knowledge's value incorrectly.

Once he was satisfied he changed into his simple sleepwear and sat to watch some cheesy holovid about an underdog huttball player who won it all in the end. How shocking. Sporting events and holovids were the only real entertainment he afforded himself. Deep down, he knew he could've gone pro had his parents not wished a different career path for him.

Turning in for the night, he lay on his back, for some reason unable to sleep. The Brentaal situation was still occupying too much of his mind. Fine. One last mental exercise before bed. How would I extract them?

A smash and grab was out of the question. It would never be approved and most likely lead to more loss of life than those being extracted. A purely clandestine endeavor would be far too complex to pull off. If anything they'd be doing the ISC the favor of rounding up all the stragglers for them. No, there'd need to be a cover story. One that could operate in broad daylight to avoid suspicion.

Then it hit him. He bolted upright in his bed, reaching for his comlink on the nightstand and sending a quick message to his superiors asking for an audience. That night would hold no sleep for the agent after all. Instead he would spend the next several hours developing his idea so he would be ready to present it in the morning.

When the morning finally came, he was already dressed and filled with sugary beverages to keep him energized despite the lack of sleep. He finalized the draft of his plan on his datapad and made his way back to headquarters. Footsteps as fast as he could manage without seeming improper carried him to the room he had been told to go to.

He pressed the chime, adjusted his uniform, and walked in. Wasting no time with introductions since they'd have seen his name on the schedule he got straight to the point "Hello, I believe I have a way we could get our people out of the Brentaal situation."

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

She wouldn’t have even involved herself in this operation if not for one, single detail.

Cipher Two.

Six had reasons to believe that Two wasn’t KIA as originally reported. Intelligent analysts uncovered details that profiled Two, but nothing could be verified. Two wasn’t reported captured, so Six could only assume that the other Cipher was being held in ways that violated human rights or something else was afoot. In any case, the extraction operation was tricky. Six didn’t underestimate the ISC, and she knew even some of the best agents were capable of falling prey to the likes of the Bothan Spy network - the greatest intelligence network in the galaxy. ISC’s resources were boundless while the Empire was still reeling from the recent war.

With the collapse of the New Republic and Alliance, even the core and midrim planets disregarded basic ethics when it came to handling current or formerly hostile parties. Six was drawing blanks- the Ciphers were all stretched thin across the board. She would have to draw back into the broader ISB to pull off a successful operation that didn’t catch Emryc Thorne’s attention.

The Firrerreon was on her second cup of caf already when the door practically burst open. She was adorned in a form-fitting dress suit, sharp gaze studying the tall man that eagerly approached. She first noticed his eyes - a very unfortunate shade of yellow that could perhaps be mistaken for the ‘Sith Sick’. Next, she found his sheer size curious considering he was in a field that was all about blending in. Either he was exceptional - Or he was only sent for ones where he posed as the dumb bodyguard.

“So it appears,” She responded with a glint of amusement in her eye as she leaned back in her seat, a cigarra hanging from the corner of painted lips. She had been at this for hours, so she would hear any theories regardless of who it came from at this point, “Enlighten me, Agent Q’orr,” She said, her hawk-like gaze boring into him.

@Pazaakly

 

[Vayden Q'orr]

Taking the invitation Q'orr closed the distance and began to speak "In short, we make a holovid."

No use explaining why other approaches wouldn't work, he knew better than to waste her time with things she already knew. He wouldn't have even brought his idea to her attention had he not believed it so unconventional that it surely hadn't been brought up as a possibility yet.

Elaborating further he explained "I propose a cover story of a production team with a new holovid in the works. Brentaal happens to be one of the prospective shooting locations and our trapped allies will be reported as location scouts we'll be meeting in preparation for filming."

The imperial stragglers still on the run would of course need falsified identities in order for it to work, maybe even some prosthetic work if they were a particularly stand out species.

He couldn't get too far ahead of himself, though. It was entirely plausible that his proposal would be soundly rejected and be laughed at all the way off Raxus. All the same he plowed onwards, confidence never wavering. "Here, this is a list I compiled of industry standard cast and crew roles."

He handed his datapad over to her with everything he'd worked on the night before. It was limited given his clearance as he didn't have the names of all those captured or missing, but he had managed to put together 30 jobs they could assign as covers for their trapped comrades.

He didn't expect to save that many, given how rapidly the difficulty of the operation would multiply with each addition to their "crew", but it served to show how detailed his plan was.

Finally, he concluded by saying "There would obviously need to be a lot more ground work laid out before ever reaching that phase. New identities for the agents that will play the roles of director, producer and so forth. Not to mention the press junkets and marketing it would take to give the holovid an air of legitimacy." He paused now, waiting to see the Cipher's reaction to all this information.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six was silent through the pitch, her face largely stoic. It was difficult to tell whether she found this brilliant or the worst idea she ever heard, her expression just as easily supporting both. There was a moment of pause as she digested the information before she finally spoke.

“How do you propose we contact the Imperials on the ground?” She asked calmly, “As of now, they are scattered to the winds and we have no way of rallying them to a meeting and giving them a way out,” She said, setting down the datapad he provided her. It was one of the craziest ideas she had ever heard, but her recent deployment as an insurgent Imperial showed her that nothing was off the table.

“Perhaps a targeted casting call at the various regions of last known activity,” She explained, “We weave code into them,” Imperials were given ISB codes in case of a clandestine extraction. Any Imperial would recognize them and hopefully know to show up for the casting call, after which the ‘selection’ would be made of the Imperials. This would ensure that there was enough of a mixture of regular civilians to avoid suspicion. The only downside was Cipher Two. Six wasn’t sure whether Two was still on the Imperial side or just another victim. Nothing was more terrifying than when a Cipher went MIA.

“I will entertain this,” She said finally, “I will be the costume designer. What role do you intend to play?” Instead of telling him, she would let him take his pick. However, her tone very much suggested that if he jeopardized the operation she would put a blaster bolt in him herself. It was an unspoken promise among agents.

@Pazaakly

 

[Vayden Q'orr]

He nodded along slightly, the barest of indications of the true pride he felt in himself in the moment. The mere fact that the gears were turning in her head as well at the prospective operation showed he hadn't been misguided in placing faith in himself. She was bringing up good points as well, as he had expected.

He thought of how he would solve the conundrum she raised, settling on a similar strategy of lacing an advertisement with imperial code. Her idea however was more fleshed out and actionable, he was impressed by how quickly she was thinking through this hypothetical. "A solid strategy, sir."

The role he'd most likely prefer would be director, it felt natural given it was his concept that would be brought to fruition. Normally speaking that lent itself to one ending up behind the camera. However, there were other factors in play. Most important being his physical profile. It wasn't one screaming artist.

Even pondering for a moment a cover story of former star's directorial debut would simply put undue workload on those creating the false identity needing to backtrack much further to try and establish a past career in the public eye no one would actually remember.

He gestured to himself and explained "I will play the role of an actor. A relative newcomer to the business in their first major role. I believe my physique will pair nicely regardless of a protagonist or antagonistic role. It will also give plenty of opportunity to tour the planet, making it possible to farm for contacts while under the guise of an actor taking advantage before shooting starts to see the sights."

It would also be one of the most vulnerable roles to take. With his face plastered on advertisements and in the public eye he would be one of the first to take the fall if things went south. It was a dangerous assignment but one he had zero hesitation in taking on.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

T-Minus 10 Days Till Deployment
​

They had only a few days to get this perfectly right. Six cleared the insane idea. She was taking a chance, and it would reflect poorly on her if it all went south. However, when it came to dealing with the ISC, unorthodox was the only way to attack the problem.

A warehouse had been repurposed into a ‘studio’ that was the stage for all the pre-production work to create the film.This was where the initial storyboarding would take place. Six had already done some work to get in touch with Brentaal points of contact under an alias to inform them about a filming crew coming in. She had landed on a concept about a post apocalyptic story that needed Brentaal’s arid backdrop as the perfect setting.

Unfortunately, this meant she was shoved into the Screenwriter role instead of the nobody costume designer she had been eyeing.

Vayden was asked to arrive at the warehouse to practice easing into their roles with the others. He would have been told he was the main protagonist of the film and this was going to be his big break on the silver holo. Six was already waiting with a datapad, rapidly scrolling through what she set up. There was another agent named Farz that was assigned to play the Director. He was a cathar that was already telling everyone where to go and take places.

Once Vayden arrived, Six approached him, eyes still on her datapad, “You’ll need to sell your role,” She said. He certainly had the look of a solid protagonist, albeit a bit older. But so far he had the personality of a shoe, so she hoped he could at least fake it. The datapad had a scene written out about his character just coming across the corpse of his teen daughter. She had been killed by a rival gang in the post apocalyptic world. And this was his moment of fire and spark to turn from scavenger to active hunter, a life he had left behind when he first had a family. Six was making this up on the spot, and she only hoped he could bullshit just as well.

“Convince me,” She said as she stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest.

@Pazaakly

 

[Vayden Q'orr]

Up until today Q'orr had been doing as much research as possible without compromising his sleep schedule. He suspected there would be many sleepless nights in the near future so saving sleep deprivation for as late in the process as possible was imperative to keep his mind sharp during the operation.

He'd watched interviews on the HoloNet with various celebrities across the galaxy, studying their manner of speech and general disposition. The good news was there was an abundance of variety, it was hard to have a wrong answer as far as persona was concerned.

His speaking patterns would need to be altered however. His usual distant tone, while efficient for a workplace, was not the type instilled in stars always looking to appeal to their fans. In addition he'd started putting more care into his physical appearance. Not physique, mind you, but the less practical things like a skin care routine. He had to play the part of someone who cared about their appearance beyond the simple neatness associated with professionalism.

He had yet to establish an aesthetic for his new personality, so for the time being the only change in his appearance was he hadn't shown up to the warehouse in full ISB uniform. He greeted Six and Farz with a simple nod as he passed by and got in position.

It wasn't his normal flavor of deception, but acting wasn't so dissimilar that he felt foreign to it. He approached it like any other assessment he'd taken before. He had to convince them of a lie. Just the same as he would in the field, he didn't rely on overblown theatrics to try and sway them. No, his approach would be subtle.

He walked into the scene as it were, at first a brisk jog as if coming out of a sprint, and added the detail of a faltering step implying he'd just seen clearly that his daughter was dead. He stared intensely at the ground in front of him, clenching his jaw and forcing his eyes to water.

Then he shifted his eyeline to the implied horizon. His shoulders tensed and hands tightened on themselves. The role of active hunter came naturally to him, all he had to do was think of his younger years spent as an imperial peacekeeper. An ironic name for all the pain he'd inflicted in those days. He held that stare, that look of wanting nothing more than to break every bone in someone's body, waiting for some cue to end the charade.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six watched his scene play out, quirking a brow.

“You’re coming across the body of your beloved daughter, not straining to take a shit after a feast at Baco Tell,” She stated dryly. Six hadn’t expected him to hit the mark, but his rigid demeanor was definitely going to make him incredibly unconvincing as an actor. They at least had to get a preview to sell the concept to the ISC contacts. They also had to doll him up to look the part, “You’ll have to wear contacts on the job. Yellow eyes aren’t in fashion these days.”

She took a step back and nodded, “Try it again. I’m sure you’ve loved and lost, pull some memories up. Go somewhere far from here and into that moment,” She smirked to herself, “Or if you’d prefer, I can give you a solid kick to the jewels to get the emotions going.”

She wouldn’t admit it, but she was enjoying this whole idea far more than she expected. She had put in hours to put together a fake screenplay, adapted his characters into scenes and even wrote in dialogue. It was a film she wanted to believe in, which was exactly what would make it convincing to others.

He would learn real quick that contrary to what he may have expected, Cipher agents weren’t the overly rigid types when they didn’t need to be. Their job was to be deceptively ruthless while overtly being just another civilian in the crowd. It was a constant balancing act and these days Six didn’t even know what was Alita and what was Six.

@Pazaakly

 

[Vayden Q'orr]

He could appreciate the humor in her critique, not that his expression would show it. To the surprise of no one, he wasn't the type to easily crack a smile, even less so to crack a joke himself. He relaxed himself out of character, shaking off the tension so he could reset before trying the scene once more.

All the times he'd been treated less than fairly to put it lightly because of his naturally yellow eyes flashed before them at her quip about them being "out of fashion." He nodded and said "I'm all too aware. Unfortunately my mother was neither a geneticist nor a prophet." Contacts were thankfully an easy fix. They just weren't something he'd commit to wearing on a daily basis.

He would never admit it, but part of it was pride. Wanting to achieve greatness in spite of the setback instead of changing who he was to get there.

The kick to the jewels as she put it was an offer he would politely decline. Pain was hardly a motivator for the older man who'd suffered far worse than that many times over. He was curious however at her more cavalier attitude. It wasn't what he expected from such one with such a prestigious position.

Was she already in character? Was she trying to help him get into character? How would a self-obsessed actor respond? If there was ever a time to experiment it was now. It was the whole reason for their being there at the end of the day. So, trying to slip into his role he quipped back "I'm sure you can find a better use for them than violence, sweetheart."

Then he'd center himself once more, trying to play a character playing a character. Piece of cake. He did his best to find a sense of love and loss that Six had described but was finding it difficult. The only true loves in his life were his parents and they were both still alive. He'd have to look elsewhere in his memory.

He settled on the loss of a comrade. A fellow peacekeeper he'd served with when first starting out. Uzin was his name. A strong, attractive man he had idolized as a new recruit to the Empire. Uzin had also been the first one he'd lost in the field, gunned down by some criminals making a run for it.

He focused on the memory of never catching those thugs. The pain it had caused him, the guilt, the anger. He focused that and projected it onto the emtpy space before him that he had to imagine was a lost daughter that he'd loved. Then from deep in his gut he let out an agonized scream "YOU BASTARDS!! I'LL KILL EVERY KRIFFING ONE OF YOU!"

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six said nothing in response to his obviously displeased sentiments around his eyes. If he was good, his eyes would be a non-factor. After all, Altair Din had made a dent in the galaxy and quite the name for himself while he was a universally despised race. Anyone could rise above what they were born into with enough grit. For Six it was the opposite. She tried to run as far as she could from her true origins and a family name she no longer wanted to associate with.

She was waiting for him to jump back into the scene, but he instead made a quip right back at her before it was unclear whether he was acting or not. The boldly flirty line was so out of character coming from someone as rigid as him that she had to do a double take. What followed was a small, involuntary laugh. The contrast between his general curmudgeon persona and that line was a slick dagger out of nowhere that left her in stitches. Even so, that laugh revealed her pointed fangs - a constant reminder that no matter how lighthearted, she was still lethal without any weapons. Chalking it up to him testing the role, she gave him a nod of approval.

She was back to her cool, aloof self when he tried the scene again. She could tell he took her advice and withdrew into the corners of his psyche to extract fuel to power the scene. This time, he was far more convincing. He was an agent, after all, doubtless he had to adapt to different scenarios on a dime. Nevertheless, the delivery was impressive, and she was pleased “Much better,” She said, even giving him a polite clap of appreciation.

“When we arrive, you will have to do an interview about the movie and your role,” She explained, “From here on out, I will refer to you as Talen Brisbane, your character name. And I’m screenwriter Ada Vance. Talen is supposed to be laidback as a person, a people-pleasing newcomer trying to get his big break. He doesn’t have that overly stuffy ego you see in A-listers just yet. You will, of course, be wearing contacts and a wig, but most importantly..” She paused, her gaze drilling into his, “We are worthless in combat. Absolute shit. We do not break cover unless we are positioned to neutralize all witnesses. Understood?”

That was the downside of these unorthodox missions. You had to simply let your brethren fall and maintain your cover because the mission was priority. She had let more fellow soldiers die than she cared to admit in the name of the job, "Anything else you'd like to cover, Mr. Brisbane?" She asked him. This was, after all, his idea they were all executing on. If he had creative differences, she would entertain them.

@Pazaakly

 

[Vayden Q'orr]

His self confidence was reinforced with his string of successes. First by eliciting a genuine laugh and nod of approval with his uncharacteristically flirty line. Then followed up by an apparently improved second attempt at the scene. He'd felt good about both, but he was nothing if not malleable.

He nodded along as Six elaborated further on the parameters of their upcoming ruse. It was all logically sound. He already felt more confident in his ability to play his role knowing he wouldn't need to act in line with the A-list types. Playing a newcomer eager to prove themselves was in fact incredibly relatable to him. The change would only be a matter of externalizing those sentiments.

His curiosity was piqued at the mention of a wig. He hardly considered his hair to be a defining feature, all the more reason to wonder what kind of disguise she had in mind for the Kage. Once she concluded her briefing he nodded and said plainly "Understood."

Of course, he liked to believe that he was always in a position to neutralize all witnesses. It would be an interesting challenge if the time came. But in an operation like this with so little room for error, he could appreciate the need to bank on as many absolute certainties as possible.

Once she opened the floor to him for questions he began to rattle off "A few things, screenwriter. For one, shall it be Ms. or Mrs. Vance? Secondly, I'll need to see my name in writing, I'd hate to blow my cover on something as trivial as that. Finally, public figures like us normally have a security detail. How close knit are we intending to be with this operation? If our security are other imperials in disguise we'll have more opportunities to speak freely yet expose ourselves to more potential weak links. Whereas if we outsource them they won't be as reliable nor will they be in confidence. It's a risk either way."

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

He was asking the right questions. She hadn’t really given too much thought into the Ms. or Mrs. front just yet, but she knew right away she didn’t want to have more elements to memorize than her own persona, “Just Ms.,” She confirmed, “Same for you - Talen Brisbane is quite the eligible bachelor,” It was practically expected of newcomer actors not to be tied down, “And yes, of course you’ll have all the details in writing, along with meeting points, scripts to memorize and any other updates. You will be given a burner refurbished EZPhone,” She said.

There was a pause before she answered the rest of his question, “Obviously we can’t be from Raxus, so we've selected Andara as our origin. This also means we take a trip to the planet a few days before we deploy to brush up on the lore and local customs. Our security detail will be a third party group from Andara that won’t have any awareness of our operation. We have to minimize any data leaks.”

It was very complicated, but Six was arranging for it all behind the scenes. About five days before deployment, they would be on Chalacta before finally deploying into Brentaal.

“Brush up on your lines because we only have a few days to get this right,” Six said, both to him and herself. Her role was more behind the scenes, but she still had to come across as a professional at it.

@Pazaakly

 

[Vayden Q'orr]

T-Minus 5 Days Till Deployment​

As far as fake homeworlds went, one could do far worse than Andara. All to the contrary, it was an amazing planet to spend time on. The vibrant forests that surrounded them were the perfect backdrop for the cultured atmosphere its people fostered.

In his brief time here he'd learned how important academics were here, hence why so much of its land was dedicated to schooling. Elites from all corners of the galaxy chose to send their children here to learn.

Vayden Q'orr would see that and feel envious of their position. Having the privilege of spending their formative years surrounded by the best teachers credits could afford. Already leaps and bounds ahead of the vast majority of the population. Good thing he wasn't here, then.

The man currently walking down the street was Talen Brisbane. Living proof that you were never too old to get your big break. He was enjoying his last day on the planet he called home before going off to bigger and better things. His purple eyes seemed to be magnetized to the sky above, no matter how hard he tried to anchor them elsewhere.

He'd already seen these streets thousands of times over. His heart, his future, they were already on Brentaal. His footsteps would also betray him, leading him away from the nostalgic paths of his youth and towards the office where he knew his screenwriter would be. Maybe if he showed up early they'd get to leave sooner, too.

It couldn't possibly be because today the contract between them and the third party group meant to protect them would be finalized. Talen couldn't care less. He certainly didn't need to see them up close to get a sense of what they'd be dealing with for the next couple weeks give or take. He didn't care if they fell into the right balance of competent yet manageably disposable should things go sour.

So given he knew nothing of any of that he showed up to his boss' office unannounced. Very unprofessional, but he was new at this so it was to be expected. Barging in he was already speaking before he'd fully entered the room "Ada! Hi! Just decided to drop by, see what's popping. Anything I'm--"

He stopped himself as he saw they were not alone in the room, clearly surprised at the presence of the security. "Woah, who are you guys?" Turning back to his boss he asked "Are you busy, Ada?"

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

She had to hand it to Q’orr for being a good sport. The man was put through all sorts of grooming to make him look less like a rugged warrior and more like a prettyboy actor. This included styling his hair differently, getting it dyed to cover up the grays, the contacts of course.

Vayden’s biggest challenge was Farz, the director, who grilled him day and night to shape him into a true actor. Six had no doubt that if the Kage ever came across Farz in an alley, Farz would suddenly die of ‘natural causes’.

On top of that, he had to take minor facial injections to tighten up the skin to make him appear younger. It was only part for the role, mostly so even having his mug splashed across the media wouldn’t end his career as an agent. This resulted in him looking like a younger, even more stunning version of himself. Being a Kage, doubtless he was already used to women drooling over his appearance and trying the cliche 'protect me!' routine, so it spared Six having to explain to him about not getting distracted by randos.

Even as he walked down the street, he would catch more than a few glances his way because of his movie star appearance. Six, on the other hand, went the opposite direction. Instead of the usual femme fatale demeanor she usually projected, Q’orr would come across a woman he hardly recognized. She had long, brown and braided hair. Her eyes were bright green and she sported some nerdy glasses that were actually re-designed AT-specs.

“Oh hi Talen!” She said eagerly upon greeting him, “No, not busy! You actually arrived just in time! These gents are Garth, Taz and Marlon. They’ll be our security from here into Brentaal.”

The men were all large and beefy, cliche in their rigid demeanors. They gave a curt nod to Vayden before Six smiled and placed a hand on Marlon’s shoulder, “Marlon here might actually be a fan of yours,” She said with a convincing giggle. If Vayden paid attention, he’d recognize the gesture as her planting a tracker on the man with the subtlest touch. The same was done for the others.

“Oh I am..” Marlon said, almost blushing, “Since we're technically not working right now...Can I get an autograph?” It was astonishing how much just labeling someone as a celebrity suddenly made folks a ‘long time fan’. Taz and Garth laughed at Marlon and the atmosphere was jubilant and energetic. After a moment, they left to go get their badges issues, leaving just the two agents.

Six watched them until they left before turning to regard Q’orr, “You’re keeping it together remarkably well,” She said, her voice dropping a few octaves back to her usual instead of the peppy higher pitch of Ada. The room was secure, so they could briefly talk freely. Six reached into her bag and popped a piece of gum into her mouth to curb the oral fixation from smoking. Ada, of course, didn’t smoke.

@Pazaakly

 

[Vayden Q'orr]

Talen still wasn't used to her new persona. The sugary sweet greeting grated his ears with its high pitched tone. But he held back any wincing or other sign of displeasure. On the contrary he beamed right back at her to mirror her excitement. "Security?! Are we gonna be in danger? Or are you just doing me a solid and giving me a bunch of strong, muscular men to follow me around everywhere?"

He asked his question in an overtly playful tone and cast his eyes at the three men to give them each a very deliberate look from head to toe. From their perspective he was just a flirt checking them out, but in truth he was sizing them up.

Garth seemed to be a very straightforward man, if anything trying a little too hard to look intimidating. It was a minor change but it was clear his chest was puffed and shoulders flexed in an attempt to look bigger than he would normally. Taz was an easy one to read. His definition was all for show and even at a distance Talen could see a muscle imbalance. Attack from the weakside and it would be a quick fight.

Marlon ironically enough was the most physically impressive. His demeanor however seemed to suggest he was new to this kind of gig. It made Talen equal parts suspicious and curious as to what his previous line of work was. Walking over to the third man he said "Always a pleasure to meet a fan, but I gotta know, which holovid of mine is your favorite?" It was in fact a trick question simply because Talen hadn't existed five days ago and had not a single film credit to his name yet.

Marlon laughed with a hint of nervousness and stumbled over his words trying to think of what to say, but Talen had seen enough and bailed him out "I'm just messing with you handsome, this is my first big holovid. I'm sure you follow me on switter." The man may have an intimidating presence but he wasn't quick on the draw at least with his words. Good to know.

Talen gave him the autograph he wanted and watched them walk away and called out after them "We're going to have so much fun together!" Once they were alone his demeanor changed drastically. His face went from a big smile to falling back into his resting face, which naturally came across as slightly pissed.

His tone of voice also dropped several octaves as he said "I've been trained to resist a vast array of tortures that have been thought up across the galaxy. Some only hypothetical." Then he ran his hand through the new locks on his head and added "This is far worse than any of them, but I'll continue to hold firm." It was the closest Vayden Q'orr could get to humor.

Speaking on the elected guard he said "Good choice on the security front. They look the part and should push come to shove they can be taken out of the picture with little trouble. My secondary goal in coming here was needing you to relay a message to the ISB. This planet is known for its academics I've received no word on my earlier request for a write-up of my grades. It strikes me as a badge of honor someone around here would like to flaunt."

He noticed the gum she was chewing and its purpose. He never understood the habit himself, there were plenty of ways the galaxy could and would find to turn your body against you. He hardly found it necessary to do the work for it. Normally he'd say nothing on the matter, but even he could grasp the concept and need to build rapport with those he'd soon be sharing critical situations with.

For that reason he said "I'll be sure to get you a nice pack to celebrate once this is all said and done, if you'd like. Everyone celebrates in different ways."

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six grinned at his sentiments about being put through the worst torments. She didn’t need to remind him that he could have picked any role he pleased. If he intended to challenge himself, this was certainly one way of going about it. She was impressed by how he profiled the security guards, getting a read of their personality. He had the makings of a Cipher - just needed to practice playing different roles far out of his comfort zone.

“Noted,” She said flatly at his remark about his grades, “Don’t get too excited- Talen was average in academics, one of the chief reasons he turned to acting instead. Your career is mainly obscure soap operas that we’ve planted in Holonet enough to where people think it has just vaguely existed this entire time. They recognize your face but can’t quite place from what. Exactly where we want to be.”

His offer of smokes drew out a soft chuckle. She actually turned to look at him, gazing into the striking, amethyst eyes, “If we pull off this crazy stunt, it’s you we will be celebrating,” She gave a half smile, “How do you celebrate anyway?” She asked before she continued without giving him a chance to respond. Six turned away and gazed at the wall across from them, “I’m thinking overlooking an ecumenopolis skyline with some smooth jazz playing while you nurse a 138 ABY single malt Corellian whiskey with no one else in sight.”

Even she could appreciate that fantasy. Six focused back on the task at hand after that, handing him a chrono to wear on his wrist, “This has a tracking device and distress signals to geolocate you. We’ve set up satellites to track your pings that the ISC doesn't know about. As you know, no weapons. The security guys will be surrounding us at all times. Their backgrounds allow for casualties without anyone really kicking up a fuss.”

She checked her chrono before looking up, “Come on, you’ve got a photoshoot and some autograph signing to do,” She said, unable to bite back a smirk, “I’m impressed. You’ve already come a long way from appearing as if you have indigestion during the emotional sequences.”

With that, she eased right back into her persona, turning to lead the way to the silly activities he would be subjected to unless he had anything else to add.

@Pazaakly

 

[Vayden Q'orr]

School grades had never been his forte, more often than not preferring real life experiences as a measure of one's ability than sterilized test scores in a void. He'd lose no sleep on playing the role of a subpar student.

He cracked a measured smile at her comment of their potential success resulting in a celebration of himself. If only. "I'm not in this line of work. We judge our proficiency by how little we're spoken of. If no one remembers my work for the ISB it'll be a job well done."

What he didn't add was his desire for more than the ISB. He hardly saw it as the final frontier for his career. No, even now as far down the rungs of the political ladder that he was, he would never be truly satisfied until everyone knew his name.

He was about to answer her question before she went on to guess what his form of celebrating looked like. She wasn't too far off despite playing up the dramatic angle of it all. "Arcadian jazz, preferably. Having no one else in sight is the default, yes, but not preferred. It's simply hard in our line of work to enjoy more base desires without opening oneself to increased risk of foul play."

He assumed it was a problem even more so for a Cipher. Even ISB agents were still referred to internally by name. Ciphers didn't even get that much. It was hardly a deterrent for the Kage. He had killed and would continue to do so for the opportunity of one day joining their ranks.

He listened to the rest of her updates in silence, giving only small nods with each bit of information to meet the bare minimum for interaction. No weapons would be a challenge, but it helped to envision their guards as holsters that could talk. If things got hairy they'd be nearby and would be involuntary providers of weapons if need be.

He eased into his persona in turn and quipped back "The only thing giving me indigestion these days is your insufferably sweet disposition, Ada." With that they headed off to the hell that awaited him.

The autographs would be fairly straightforward, the photoshoot however would be one of the weirdest experiences for him, given he was used to staying out of sight as opposed to on full display.

But when the crew wanted "Dashing Rogue" he brooded like his life depended on it, and when they wanted "Fierce Kitty" they got a cat full of attitude. Because that's what professionals do.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six grinned as he mentioned the concerns around opening up to vulnerabilities as an agent, “You can enjoy yourself more than you believe,” She reminded him, “There are many walls you can drop without giving enough to exploit. It’s a juggling act you’ll pick up soon enough,” Six didn’t pretend to keep from having any connections at all. Though so far they had been superficial, she allowed herself attractions, dating or other social ties all without revealing relevant information that could jeopardize her work.

It was a credit to her training that she managed to keep a straight face through the photoshoot. The image of Vayden Q’orr making pouty lips at a camera was going to be seared into her mind for a while.

The next few days passed in a blur. The security detail became more chummy with the two - Marlon was quite taken with Talen and found every excuse to be seated near him while still keeping it professional. Six began to wonder if the guy was going to be a problem, but she left it alone for now. They didn’t have time for last minute swaps just because of a silly crush.

At long last, they were finally on their target planet. Every bit of preparation they could have done was completed. All of the undercover agents were briefed, the security detail remained clueless, and they were a legitimate film crew and actors landing on the filming location.

Of course, since they were traveling with their star actor, they all got posted at the Favis Resort. Ada Vance stepped out into the dry and hot planet, waiting for the others to join her. The resort was massive and sprawling, and they were given rooms in a wing where there weren’t too many other tourists.

“Ooh look how much there is to do!” Ada said excitedly, pointing out people sailing or boating through the polar sea. They could even spot glaciers and people climbing. The presence of a security detail already caught the attention of other guests, several trying to shamelessly snap pictures of Talen Brisbane. Six privately smiled to herself- for all the ways Q’orr presented himself as an agent, he certainly liked being the center of attention.

They were only afforded a few hours to settle in before the filmmakers and Talen were seated before a local audience for an informal press conference. Most of the questions were vaulted at the star actor.

“Mr. Brisbane, how do you plan on getting into character for the role of a man that lost it all?”

“Will there be a romantic partner opposite your role?”

“Mr. Brisbane! What are your opinions on the recent collapse of the New Republic and Free World Alliance?”

Six’s jaw tightened. She never understood why reporters asked actors political questions and she wasn’t about to risk it now, “We are trying to keep this session apolitical, thank you,” She smiled sweetly, her chipper voice echoing through the chamber.
“Ms. Vance, how did you choose Brentaal?”

“Brentaal was the perfect location because of the myriad of backdrops it can offer,” Ada said excitedly, “You have deserts, vast oceans, ice caps and various other types of terrain that can be modeled into the perfect movie setting. This will allow us to shoot both pre and post-apocalyptic scenes. Admittedly, our budget is restrictive, so we found it strategic to select a planet that just had it all,” She said with a sheepish smile. The sentiment got murmurs of approval.

“We heard you will be doing a casting call and selecting from locals right here?”

“That’s correct!” Ada perked up. This was excellent, “We want to be as inclusive as possible in our filmmaking and we believe Brentaalans will make a critical addition to our fine team of cast and crew. We will be posting calls for auditions through all the major cities such as Cormond, Curovao, Oradin and others.”

The questions turned back on Brisbane after that and got progressively stupider such as asking his favorite color, hobby, if he had a significant other, etc.

@Pazaakly

 

[Vayden Q'orr]

Q’orr took note of her words and set them aside to consider at a later time. He still had trouble finding the added risk worth it, though he’d be lying if he denied the fact that going so long without that natural connection left him feeling lacking in a sense. Maybe with the extra training he assumed Ciphers received he could feel more confident exploring something like that.

The Marlon fellow quickly began to get on Vayden’s nerves more than he’d care to admit. He hated suck ups and posturing in general. It was his sincere desire to see to it that somehow someway his bodyguard would meet a tragic demise protecting the celebrity he was so fond of. Q’orr would pull the trigger himself if need be. For now though Marlon’s crush would be entertained by the far more people pleasing Talen, messing with his security every now and then.

When they arrived at the resort Q’orr found himself impressed by the accommodations. The Emoire was going to have quite the expense report by the end of the operation. His instinct told him to walk the perimeter and get a sense for the layout of the resort itself but forced himself into his role instead by coming to greet those already taking pictures of him.

At the end of the day work was work, but it didn’t lessen his disdain for everyone he interacted with in the slightest. Somehow he was the undercover agent and the “fans” were more artificial than he was. Every time he posed with one of them for a picture all he could think of in the back of his mind was how badly he wanted to be back in his normal modus operandi.

When they arrived for the press conference Talen turned on the charm even further, before a single question had been asked he waved and shook hands with a lot of those that would be asking the questions. Not usual protocol for one of these events but he figured it was a nice touch. And as the questions came at him he’d roll with the punches.

“I’m approaching my role the same way I do every character, I’m finding his emotional center because at the end of the day that’s what’s going to carry throughout the whole film and it’s what will connect with audiences and touching their hearts is what it’s all about.”

In response to the question of a romantic partner he said “I’m sure you’ll find that this is a very earnest movie. It’s all about the relationships we form with our environment and those around us and we really want to focus our attention on nailing the sentient condition and those themes will be developed through every character mine interacts with throughout the story.” It was a very long winded way of saying nothing at all to allow them to forget what the question had been about to begin with.

When the political question came up he instantly put in a face of nerves and sent an uneasy glance in Ada’s direction. He could’ve given a similarly nothing answer but he was playing the role of someone new to this much scrutiny so he made a point to rely on her like a lost pet in the moment.

He watched her handle the more real world questions with ease and let his eyes glaze over the room before the focus returned to him. Once it did he’d answer their questions and add some of his own back at them, asking about their hair color, or some accessory they had on, or some clothing with a pop culture reference on it. Anything to further endear himself to them by feigning interest in them individually.

Apparently her mention of a restrictive budget gave cause for concern for a couple of those present as they started to ask follow-up questions on the matter.

“Ms. Vance, will the film be given a wide release across the galaxy?”

“How long is filming to take place? Will there be credits allotted to re-shoots if necessary?

“Will you back out of your contract with Brentaal and leave our citizens out of work if you find a cheaper solution?”

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six loved the way Vayden handled his questions. He could very well have a career in politics with his ability to craft bullshit on the spot without ever directly answering a question. She made a mental note to bring him along on a big league diplomatic mission next time. After all, she was the driving force behind the Empire acquiring a new, critical shipyard and a diplomatic ally in the banking clans.

She nodded at the questions fielded to her, “The film will have a measured release. We will first present it at the Curavao Summer Film Festival. If it performs well there, we will look into a broader release. This allows us to react to market demands instead of burning through our budget.”

For the next question, “We expect filming to take approximately three months. And we have allocated credits for re-shoots,” She added the last bit confidently, even though it was a crock of shit.

Ah, this last question. Her confidence never wavered, that same smile still on her face. Only Vayden know she was also spinning up answers on the fly like he was, “Because we understand the limited parameters of our budget, we will ensure that anyone hired is compensated for their time per diem. Beyond that, the contract will be a percentage of the film’s revenue projected by our media analysts. Our per day salaries are modeled after a standard rate-of-the-picture as a ratio of the production cost. No citizen will be left holding the bag.”

The thorough answer was enough to satisfy the average reporter and there weren’t follow up questions. The press conference ended shortly after, allowing them all to disperse back into the resort. Vayden didn’t even break a sweat. She was studying him on this mission, taking mental notes for a report that would ultimately make its way back to the ISB Director.

But for now, they had time to themselves. The resort was massive with plenty of facilities and her cover allowed her to enjoy herself more than she would on a combat mission. She figured Q’orr found some hole to crawl into as his ‘free time’. If he happened to wander around the resort at all, he may come across an entirely empty ballroom in the lower, largely abandoned levels where the hotel was playing some old timey number. Six was in there, barefoot and spinning across the floor in an elegant waltz and dipping into an old school foxtrot. It was unclear if this was Ada or Six doing it, but she was into it all the same dressed as the former.

@Pazaakly