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The problem with the Empire was that sometimes you needed incredibly specialized people without the time to go through the politics required to actually get to those people. Unless they happened to be your people to start with, which was regrettably not the case here.
The dreadseeds had been locked away for a reason, and half the people who would be perfect for retrieving them would also be perfect for handing the information about their theft over to those who would gleefully use it for their own gain or against Acina. The rest, she'd need to negotiate properly to get access to, and that took time. Time that she didn't feel they had.
One could hardly use the fact that artifacts were being used by Sith lords who didn't care if they drove the normal populace insane as an excuse for urgency. Not in the Empire. Not when the areas immediately affected were remote and mostly unpopulated. Not unless there was some other reason to take down the Sith in question.
That meant that she needed someone a bit outside the norm.
"Her?" Acina asked, when her people brought the contact to her for approval. "Who is she?"
Even as she asked, Acina had a feeling that she ought to know the answer. Some bit of recognition, like she'd seen the slip of an alien before somewhere. If she had, though, it hadn't been important enough for her to remember the specifics.
"We don't have a name. Everything about her seems to be classified or erased. If you believe rumors, she used to work for Imperial Intelligence somehow -- probably an agent that got a bit too much of a reputation. She seems to appear in every big conflict lately. Usually invited."
"Including Oricon," Acina said, trailing a finger through a list of almost comically influential sightings and rumors. She assumed most of it was false--if the list was to be believed, the woman was a one person Sith extermination machine, and surely someone would have taken matters into their own hands before she was pointed at them…or maybe everyone else who had received this list, much like Acina, could see the value in an effective but politically limited free agent and didn't think they themselves were at risk of being taken out by a Force blind alien.
She should probably review her security.
The woman was no more intimidating in person than she was over the comms. She looked pretty, soft, attentive, but no more than any of a dozen servants she had passed to get here might have been. The only thing that stood out was the lack of nerves, but it was cloaked with enough politeness that it wouldn't have been obvious unless Acina was specifically looking for it. She looked like she was meant to be here, but not like someone important enough to keep an eye on.
It was entirely possible that Acina had walked by her a hundred times and not seen her. Add a servant's or slave's uniform and the woman would become invisible.
Her reaction to the existence of the dreadseeds was mostly annoyance. "Give that traitor of yours a good kick for me, will you?" she groused. "Like we don't already have enough of that to deal with. Dread this, dread that. They need to get a new shtick."
"A kick will be the least of his concerns, but I'll pass on the request."
Acina had been waiting for some sort of negotiation, some sort of demand, in exchange for the help. Instead, the woman was apparently the one person in the Empire for whom the knowledge that artifacts were being used by Sith lords who didn't care if they drove the normal populace insane was a convincing enough reason to get right down to business.
Of course, if half the rumors were true, then having yet another Dark Lord on her comm list may have been a compelling enough reason, but most would at least pretend that wasn't their main motivation. Here, the woman didn't have to mostly because Acina wasn't sure whether or not it actually was.
After the second dreadseed was successfully extracted, Acina finally got around to asking for the woman's name.
"Cipher," she said, sounding amused. "Not really accurate anymore, but I got a bit attached to it. Good enough for this. It's what most people know me as nowadays."
"It fits the company you keep, Cipher." Acina said, smiling. It did, at that. For many sith, names weren't about who you were, but what you were. Or what you wished to project yourself as.
"Oh, this was a great decision. You should say my name more," Cipher purred into the comm.
Asking for Cipher's name had apparently unleashed a torrent of flirting. Not that Acina could say she hadn't encouraged it. Cipher was clever, powerful, pretty, and very good at reading between the lines. All Acina had to do, initially, was say her name a bit more than strictly necessary. As long as she had Cipher routed into a private line, Acina could have flirted with her in front of others without it necessarily being obvious
She resolved to be careful, though. One needed to be with someone with that sort of reputation. Especially someone who could have who knew how many ulterior motives or use any gaps in security for some true aim. Flirting was a good way to keep things nice and controlled, but Acina knew better than to let that pull her guard down.
"I used to work on honing my skills by stalking Sith around the city," the agent said idly as she messed with some bit of a gadget strapped to her wrist. They'd found the last dreadseed that Acina had coordinates for, something Acina would not allow herself to be disappointed by.
That comment, however, drew Acina's attention immediately. Partially because it came out of nowhere, and partially because it may answer some questions she'd had. "That's bold. And risky."
"It was great fun though," Cipher said chirpily as she sent off the tracking info for the dreadseed they'd just extracted. "And if they did spot me, then that would just mean I got to try out a few other ideas for distracting hot women who were suspicious of me. Just another sort of practice, that."
"You may have found it a bit easier to be more direct, Cipher, especially with young Sith." If Acina had been one of those Sith being stalked, which this seemed almost an admission of, she certainly would have been inclined to take notice of the direct approach. It had taken Acina a good long while to properly appreciate that the Force blind could be just as much of a force to be reckoned with as any Sith, and were much more willing to strike when a Sith's guard was down--say after bringing a pretty girl back to their rooms--than many Sith were. Her old master's constant warnings of death beyond every corner hadn't really seemed real until after an assassination attempt or two.
"Oh, where's the fun in that? I like the challenge, the uncertainty."
"I suppose you're in the correct line of work for that then."
It came back to the Arcanum. Because of course it did. Of course they were bold enough, foolish enough, to break back in.
Cipher didn't seem at all surprised, but she was willing to jump to deal with it and unlike Acina she could move freely and quickly.
Acina was fully aware that giving Cipher the coordinates and granting her entry was likely a mistake. If not now, then surely eventually. The woman was fun to flirt with, but who knew if the person Acina was flirting with was the woman's actual personality or something put on specifically to entice Acina to trust her.
"I promise not to steal much," Cipher said, winking through the commlink. "And if I do, I'll give it back. Maybe over dinner?"
Acina was fairly certain it was a joke.
It might not have been. The part about the stealing, that was.
She sent the coordinates. "I don't think theft will be necessary for that, Cipher. Should I set a time?"
"If you want to give me encouragement to get in and out quickly with my hands empty, that is an excellent way to do it."
At the end of Cipher's next fight, Acina sent her a calendar invite labeled 'Dinner'.