Slip into the compound, snatch the files, replace them with misleading information. Piece of cake. Lace repeated the directions in her head as though they were part of the kid’s holo show Alver the delver. Flame, she hated that show.
Slipping unseen into the target area, she quickly found what she was looking for. Storing the data in a safe location on her person, she set to work replacing the files in the system. She hummed quietly as she worked, a devious smirk on her lips beneath the mask that she was wearing. Finally, with a push of the button, she was finished. She hoped whoever opened those files enjoyed seeing Quarren tentacle porn.
Slipping away, she commed in to the Intel network, dialing none other than her favourite desk jockey; Waycorth. There’s a pause as the call connects and then, the ever familiar voice.
“Good Evening, this is S-Way-Thirty-Three--”
“You always say the sweetest things to me.” Lace snickers, cutting his introduction off.
“Well, you know, I try. Hello, Lace.”
“I assume you’ve received my data transfer?” She slinks carefully down a hallway, voice lowered.
“Checking…” There’s a pause, the sound of fingers clacking at keys. “Yep, looks like it’s all here. You replaced the files to cover your tracks, right?”
“Naturally. Though I am quite concerned about how you happened to have thirty terabytes of Quarren Tentacle porn. Is this… something we’ll have to discuss next time I visit?” Her tone was that of mock concern and levity. She pressed herself to a wall as a patrol unit passed the adjacent direction.
“I sit at a workstation all day, fulfilling all sorts of odd requests. This shouldn’t surprise you.” Waycorth chuckles.
“Because I tend to lack some of the basic requirements for that…”
“Well, I do have a closet full of interesting things.” Waycorth begins before pausing suddenly. “Oh, hello.”
“More porn?” Lace asks, slipping around a corner and behind some grotesque artworks.
“Did you see any of the data you recovered?” Waycorth’s voice takes on a mildly concerned tone.
“I wasn’t exactly in a position to peruse.” And then she curses under her breath. A patrol heard her conversation and was now looking for the source.
“There’s a lot of stuff in here. Stuff people shouldn’t know about.” Fingers clacking at keys again. “Command is calling and requesting your presence.”
“Well, they’ll have to wait.” She snaps, voice hushed. Thinking quickly, she rolled a smoke grenade across the room, hoping to distract her pursuers.
It worked, thankfully and Lace took the opportunity to launch her wrist-mounted grappling hook to a panel in the ceiling, lifting herself up and away from prying eyes. Snaking her way into the crawl space in the ceiling, she began to hurry her way out of the compound before security measures were fully armed.
“Lace? Everything alright?”
“No, Sullivan. Are you able to track my location? I need an exit out of here.”
“Hold on…” From his position, Waycorth remotely managed to access one of the cameras in the compound. With quick thinking, he powered several around it down and then proceeded to work his way into the security network. Within moments, he had managed to provide an opportunity for Lace to exploit. An unlocked door to the servant’s quarters that lead outside.
Lace didn’t need any prompting. As Way relayed the details to her, she followed, managing to slip out of the compound and into the night without further incident.
“This is Agent Lace to S-Way-Thirty-Three. I’ve made my way safely out of danger. Thank you.” She sighs and drops the professional tone. “What’s this about Command wanting to see me?”
“Not sure, but I wager it has something to do with the data you pulled.”
“Right,” She sighs again. “I’ll head there immediately for debrief.”
“Roger. See you soon, Lace.”
Back at headquarters, Lace stood at a modified parade rest, watching her handler through the lenses of her mask. They only ever seemed mildly annoyed that she never took it off, though never said anything about it.
“Right.” Her handler began, focusing attention on Lace. “Good job on recovering this data. However, it only confirms our suspicions.”
“Ser?” Lace asked, hesitantly.
“Several years ago, a particularly adept Agent foiled a Galactic conspiracy to destroy both Republic and Empire through means of the great galactic war. The organization behind this was called the Star Cabal. All of their information, targets, plans, and so on was stored in a device called the ‘Black Codex’, which was turned over to us for safeguarding.” The handler waits, reading Lace to be sure she was following.
She nodded and signalled for the handler to continue.
“With their secrets stolen and the main conspirators killed, the Star Cabal was effectively dismantled. We spent several years afterwards tracing down and eliminating anyone who may have escaped. But now,” The handler points to a datapad. “It seems like we were mistaken. Information from the Black Codex has been leaked. The only explanation is that a person or persons within Intelligence has betrayed us.”
Lace shifts, arms crossing over her chest, listening keenly in on all of the information being put out. “Is it not possible someone else has the data?”
“Possible. But extremely improbable. That being said, I’m putting you in charge of spearheading this matter.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. As you are one of the only individuals who can be trusted with the task. I won’t lie. It will be difficult. But our entire way of living is at stake here. Officially, you are attached to the Alliance from the Chiss Ascendancy. So… you have the liberty of recruiting whomever you see fit to assist you in this matter. But be discreet.”
Lace lets out a long winded sigh before nodding her head. “I understand. I’ll put out the word and see what I can come up with.”
“Good. That will be all. Dismissed.”
With a snappy salute, Lace spins on her heel, still trying to work around all the information in her mind. As she exits Command HQ, she patches in to Waycorth’s personal line.
“This is S-Way- Thirty--”
“Sullivan.” Lace cuts him off. “I need you to do something for me.”
“You sure it’s not to you?”
“Well that comes later. For now, I need your help with something. I need you to put out an alert. Embed it in a harmless advertisement. Hopefully some people will be clever or lucky enough to find it. There’s something big brewing…”
(Waycorth belongs to @formidablepoe and was used with permission)
