Rule One
I’ll say more about this later (and tag it lol (and edit)) but I’m at work on phone so lol no
And hours later I finally edit this. I wrote this for a friend ( @colorsofagency ) and Helieth is his OC. She’s the Sith Inquisitor. Sable is my Imperial Agent. Some spoilers for the end of both storylines, though they’re intentionally vague because my game keeps crashing before I can finish the Agent storyline.
Enjoy?
Edit: Now on AO3!
Rule One: Never let them see they’ve gotten to you.
Sable had learned that early on in his training with Ciphers Three and Six. Cipher Six had come back from a mission covered in blood and new scars, and while Three had fussed, stitching his face with resigned movements, he said those words in his Mirialan-tinted Imperial Basic. Sable had taken it to heart, for all that he’d been a baby Agent at the time, barely into his twenties and full of Imperial enthusiasm.
A far cry from the man he was now.
Letting his feet lead him through the complex on Dromund Kaas, Sable’s face and posture had lesser beings fleeing at the sight of him. He was tired, and recent events had done nothing to help that. Getting tortured and ‘breaking’ – whether it was real or not, Sable couldn’t – wouldn’t say – and then going on like nothing had happened was probably not what his mentors had in mind. Even Six, a kriffing ruthless son of a nerf herder, would have probably taken a day to refocus and get further than wrapping his seemingly-permanently cracked and bruised ribs before going onto the next step of his mission.
Sable had kept going and nearly died.
Three plus Six equaled Nine, and Sable didn’t want to think about what his designation after getting brought back out of Shadowtown meant.
Sable paused in front of a door, glancing at it. He’d heard whose door it was. The new Darth. He supposed all those lessons paid off, if it was who he thought it was.
There were reports to write. About what happened with the Star Cabal. And…. Hunter. A flash of anxiety ripped through Sable before he quickly repressed it, not letting it cross his face other than as a heavy sigh.
Sable didn’t even know why he was there, intimidating little Sith who just made it to Dromund Kaas without doing anything in particular. Sable was merely glad that he wasn’t bleeding any longer. Sith could smell blood from two parsecs away. The Lords hovered around at the edges of his cybernetically enhanced senses like they weren’t sure if they wanted to test their luck with him or not. The one Darth he’d seen had eyeballed him from the end of the hall, but as he was outside Imperius’s door, the Darth had done nothing in full view of another Darth, whether Imperius was in or not.He wanted to leave. Wanted to go back to Hutta, of all places. Things were simple there. Maybe he could revive the Red Blade persona. Of all of the things he’d done in the last few years, the Red Blade was the most fun he’d had since…
Before.
Sable shut down that tram of thought immediately, knowing it was useless.
He still didn’t know why he was standing outside Imperius’ door. Was it to get a look at the new Darth? To determine where the power would lay?
Maybe he was just hoping that it was the one Sith he could trust not to kill him for everything he’s done.
He turned from the door, intent on stalking his way back to what remained of Intelligence and take stock to rebuild.
“Agent?”
Sable knew that voice. Recognized its slightly worried cadence and always surprisingly gentle pitching. Sighing softly, Sable turned to greet Helieth.
“Darth Imperius, I presume?” He wasn’t to act like he had seen her when she was scared and nervous. It would show weakness that neither of them could afford at the moment.
“I… yes. You must be the Cipher Agent from what’s left of Intelligence.” Helith’s voice had stepped into confidence quickly, and she acted like she knew everything and that she should be obeyed.
Good.
“Step into my office, Agent,” she said, stepping past him and opening her door and leaving it open for him to follow her in.
Sable followed Helieth in, closing the door behind him. “Darth Imperius, I–”
“Sable.” Helieth merely sounded relieved when she cut him off. “After you were reassigned to Lord Razer and everything that happened on Corellia, I was… worried, when you didn’t show up again.” Helieth was facing her desk, away from Sable. She wasn’t letting him see her weakness, how she was nervous. “I am glad to see you alive.”
“I am glad to still be alive,” Sable agreed, noting the way Helieth’s hands were slightly less tense on the desk after he spoke.
“You were hurt. Badly, if it took you a month to come back to me.” Sable felt guilty when she turned and there were unshed tears in her eyes. “The longest it’s taken you before is a week, standard, to let me know you were still alive. And I knew to expect that. This… What happened to you?” She stared at his face, where he still had visible remnants of being tortured.
“I did my duty,” was all Sable had to say. Was all he could say.
Helieth gave him a searching look at his words, and Sable was understandably tense. He’d never liked being under Sith scrutiny, even if it was a Sith he liked. The sudden hug, careful around his still-bruised ribs, had Sable frozen in place, stunned.
“You came back,” Helieth whispered into Sable’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
Sable placed one arm across Helieth’s shoulders and the other hand patted her head. “You’re welcome.”
