Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

10 nights later, in the morning

Theron Shan carefully closed the digital backdoor behind him on the Republic Fleet’s customs desk.  Kai Zykken had officially declared he had no goods as he boarded the space station.  He’d gotten off the planet without their knowledge.  Theron knew something had been up with the security holos and the fact he could no longer track Zykken.  Lana had been all too willing to blame it on the storms that roared through Rishi regularly. Gorro had shown up on the death registry as a result of a bar fight, but Gorro was an idiot in the first place; a short life expectancy was not a shocker. 

Add all that on to the fact that they were set to start the op in less than three hours, and Theron really missed ----

Click click – Theron knew the sound of safeties being flipped off.

“Hands toward Heaven.”  A decidedly pirate-y voice rasped behind them.  It sounded more like ‘-ands toward -eaven,’ the letter ‘h’ silent. 

Theron tore himself out of the mainframe he was plumbing through and gave a sidewise glare to Lana as he raised his hands. “You were supposed to be watching the monitors.”  Theron raised his eyes to the screen in front of him, focusing on the dark spots to try to see a reflection of whoever this intruder was. 

“Storm took them out.  And I’ve been having this wretched headache all morning,” she hissed.  Lana looked exceptionally pale and ill.  He felt some compassion, but now he was likely going to have to save both of them from these intruders.  Theron’s mind raced through the options. 

His bracers could fire off darts once he turned around and got a visual with his implants.  He assumed there were at least two armed intruders – two safeties.  It would be better if there was only one intruder duel wielding, but if they hadn’t shot one of them (probably him) in an ambush, that suggested at least two people.  He could throw himself at the intruders, getting in too close so that they couldn’t fire without hitting each other.  If they somehow had managed to take out the security holo (which he considered far more likely than a storm), they weren’t dumb and they wouldn’t actually shoot.  However, that also mean they had other weapons, such as a vibroknife for close combat. 

“Sith, that means up.” The voice grew impatient. 

“Just do it.  I’ll take care of this,” Theron muttered.  Lana did as she was told, finally.

“Now turn.  Slowly.”

Lana turned slightly faster than Theron, and he heard her breath catch in her throat.  He readied himself for a number of things, including Imperial or Pub authorities.

He wasn’t ready at all.

Two women stood with their blasters aimed toward them, cheery smiles plastered across their faces.  They wore clothes often affiliated with the pirates of Rishi, but with their own modifications specific to each woman. Both uniforms were cut to show off the female form.

Theron’s attention tunneled toward the obvious leader, the one with the captain’s coat.  Her hair was wild, long and teased up into a great mane, held back barely by a headband.  Her coat was open.  The uniform was made of the same thick cloth as the coat.  Theron could see the v-cut neck, the suggestion of a sleeveless shirt, cut high.  Theron could detect two blaster scars on the taut abdomen, a few lines across the body, the still bright pink scar sneaking out from the partly covered left shoulder.  The trousers covered to the midthigh, exposing skin between there and the bottom of the knee, before the boots covered the rest of the leg.  This exposed a blaster scar on one leg and clear, obvious signs of a burn on the other. 

There was a particularly nasty scar over the captain’s right eye.  It began just below the eyebrow, crossed the lid (he saw it when she blinked), and stretched down into her cheek.  The scar’s color had faded over the years, but it was an aberration across the pale, warm porcelain skin…

More than anything else, that scar had caused Theron not to recognize her at first glance.  It was when he realized the other woman was Risha Drayen that he realized—  “You’ve gone native.”

Eva Corolastor gave him a brilliant toothy grin, a true pirate’s smile.  “Hello, Hello.”  It sounded more like ‘–allo -allo’ in her guise.  Then, in her regular voice, “You put us on quite the chase.” 

Theron lowered his hands, and Lana did the same.  He actively fought the urge to charge toward her and grab her.  Whether out of annoyance or out of relief or something else, he was not sure.  For now, he let the professional cover of the SIS agent wash over him and played it cool.  “Guilty as charged.  Sorry if we put you out, but we did have to be cautious.”  He raised his chin slightly toward the front door.  “I’m guessing you’re to blame for our security cam being out….and I wonder if you’re somehow responsible for our slightly under-the-weather Sith here.”

“Oh, good, it did work. Guss will be happy his suffering wasn’t for nothing,” Risha pulled out a device and clicked it off. 

Lana let out a gasp of relief.  “What is that thing?” 

Risha pocketed the round device again.  “Old Mandalorian toy – they found it while we were at Rakata Prime.  It emits disrupting Force waves, apparently.  It’s enough to distract Force users, though it doesn’t actually do any harm – and if they know it’s there, they can likely overcome it. We tested it on Guss, of course, before bringing it here.” 

“Doesn’t affect Force-numb bantha fodder like me and Theron, though.  All the same, we wanted to get the drop on you two, bit of good-humored vengeance,” Eva said as she holstered her blaster, safety back on. 

 “We had to get you here without an obvious trail. Sorry we couldn’t be more direct,” Theron apologized.

Eva planted her hands on her hips and sighed overdramatically. “After all of this time, no contact, no signals, no Jawagrams – I was starting to think you didn’t care.”

She was teasing him.  Flirting with him.  He could go right back at her.  He pointedly made eye contact, catching her a little off-guard – for once, he pinned her.  “Is that a fact?  What are you thinking right now?”  The dark eyes eagerly engaged his, and he felt a frisson of energy up the base of his spine.

“Shall we focus please?”  Lana requested.   “The Revanites have gone to increasingly severe lengths to hunt us down.  We were unsure as to what to make of your silence.”

There was the unsaid fear that Eva had sold them out, at least on the Sith’s part.  The fact that they hadn’t been burned on Rishi indicated Theron’s caution.

Eva’s eyes lingered a second longer, but she broke the connection, reluctantly.  Theron was satisfied.  She shook her head.  “We got your message over two weeks ago.  Figured out pretty quick you were trying to give us a cover story once you arrived here.  We took the time to set up shop as an actual gang.”

Theron closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his hand.  “Yeah.  That’s what I was afraid of: the Red Hulls are now real.  And you’re leading them.”

“Yarr.” 

Lana bit back a laugh.  “Oh, I do like you.  Cannibalism and all?” 

Risha rolled her eyes.  “Only on raids, apparently.  Fortunately, Bowdaar has a lot of large animal parts in cold storage at the moment so we can fake it for the time being.  What’s the point of cannibal pirates, by the way?”

Theron intervened.  “We need you to go after the Nova Blades.  They’re the major gang that runs things on Rishi.”  Theron reached back to strike a few keys on the computer, and it projected a few holo images of the uniform, their encampments, and their extensive conquests. As he turned to face Eva and Risha again, the two women exchanged a look.   He couldn’t decipher it at first glance – some part of a previous conversation, he supposed.   “They butcher entire crews and enslave anyone on Rishi who stands up to them.  They’re working with the Revanites.”

Eva’s eyes danced back and forth as she read through the screens.  “Been here for nearly two weeks, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of a Nova Blade.  I don’t know the Novas.  They don’t seem to have any presence off of this planet.  I’ve seen all, sorts of others here  - White Maw off Hoth, for example.”

“Up until recently, the Novas were completely settled on this planet – had been for generations.  You remember our scare on the way to Rakata Prime?” Theron waited for her to look at him before he continued.  “I’m going to say that was them, with their ships wearing Revanite colors.  As for why you haven’t seen them here, I suspect they’re keeping busy with off-planet business and keeping it to themselves on base.”

“And using technology way beyond their means,” Risha murmured.  “The dragnet they used to stop the Thief – not standard issue for any law enforcement.”

Lana picked out a particular star map to magnify.  “The Nova Blades have changed tactics since they encountered you.  They’re now attacking trade lanes in very specific areas.  They’re in unmarked ships, so it does look like random strikes; we’ve only untangled it because of their transmissions.  Over the last several months, they’ve gradually re-mapped quite a bit of stellar traffic.  Very strange.”

Eva took a few steps forward to analyze the map.  The glow of the screen made the scar over here eye all the more clear to Theron.  It had been a nasty, painful wound.  “The Revanites have some major expenses.  Piracy would help them cover costs.  Bodies in exchanges for arms and munitions.”

Lana stroked her chin thoughtful.  “Perhaps, in part.  But the attacks seem to be patterned, though we can’t determine its purpose.” 

Eva flicked her wrist at the screen and brought up the list of conquered ships.  “At first glance…”  Her eyes scanned the data.  “I can tell you these ships aren’t with Voidfleet.  They are officially and openly affiliated with Republic or Empire.  There also aren’t any neutral or Hutt contractors in here.  The Revanites are targeting their own governments of origin.”  Eva’s eyes slid over toward Theron for a moment.

Theron liked a clever girl, and he liked a girl who remembered the pieces they’d started to put together on Katalla.  Voidfleet wasn’t in this game, but the Hutts….

Eva turned back to Risha.  “Think we can pipe this back to Port Nowhere, have Rogun take a look?  He knows how the wind blows.” 

Risha stared at the information for a moment. “Get me a data stick and we’ll run it through the Thief directly.  I have a few things I want to look at too.  Something … is wrong.  It doesn’t feel right.”  Risha sneered at the data; it was bothering her just to look at it.

Eva looked between the two operatives.  “Risha’s criminal instincts are better than my own skills on some days.  Give it to her.”   

Both Lana and Theron went to work to offload the data, quickly producing a file dump for Risha to plow through.  Wordlessly, she left the safehouse and headed directly back to Virtue’s Thief. 

Theron drew up a few more files more immediate to Rishi.  “Now we need to find out what the Nova Blades know.  Their computers could tell us everything.  However, directly attacking the computers would make the Revanites suspicious.  We need to disguise our real motives.” 

Eva turned to look at him.  “So that’s why you told everyone we’re pirates.  Our attacks look like a fight between gangs, instead of a targeted move.” She was smug.  “We’ve read it right then.  We’ve done a very convincing job of establishing ourselves here.” 

“Oh?”  Theron couldn’t help but let the amusement enter his voice.

“Yeah, it seems that the Red Hulls moved into an seaside warehouse – very nice ocean view -- previously used by the Corellian Run Scoundrels.”  Theron knew the one.  Of course, she had taken it right out from under Zykken.   “The Hulls are cutting in on some shipping.  They’re talking to some of the lower level gangs.  See if they can get a piece of the action.”

“Exactly.”  Theron was rather pleased with the chaos that he had already heard about.  “Before we send you for the main event, we should hit a few more Nova Blade holdings to solidify the cover story.”

“The Blades have a supply cache hidden nearby.  Once the Red Hulls have destroyed it, word should spread quickly.”  Eva turned her head toward Lana, attentive.  “We have some mutual friends who are excited to help with the task.  They’ll meet you in the field.”

“Jakarro and C2-D4,” Eva filled in. 

Lana nodded.  “We were planning on deploying today, rain or shine, since we were anticipating on being short-handed….but I think we can be patient, especially if the Red Hulls are as fierce and competitive as you’ve suggested.” 

Eva gave the spies a smile worthy of the pirate’s guise she wore. 

Theron finished the briefing.  “So, rained out til tomorrow.  I’ll ping T3 now that I know he’s on planet.  While you’re hitting the supply cache, we will keep spreading the word about your ‘grudge’ and see if we can find any other targets.  Sound good?” 

“Aye, aye.” Eva turned to follow Risha out, but Theron stopped her.  He was curious.

“Speaking of eyes, what happened there?”  Eva turned to face him, her right side illuminated by the computer lights.  Theron grasped her chin with his left hand, carefully, to get a better look at it.  “It’s not new, but I haven’t seen it before.”

Theron tipped her chin and gently moved her head to get a better look at that mysterious mark on her eye.  When it first happened, it must have been gruesome.  Eva was shockingly docile in his hands.  He could see the pulse in her neck, and he noticed it gradually quicken the longer he touched her.  Her dark eyes remained trained on him.  “What happened?” he asked her.

The eyes sparkled up at him.  “Violin string snapped when I was 12.  I got my eyelid down in time, but it scarred horrifically.” 

There was a pause as he studied the scar and its shape.  “That’s not what really happened.”  His voice was low in timbre. 

“No,” she whispered, all mischief as usual. 

He made a dismissive noise in his throat.  Fine, let her keep that secret.  “Why haven’t I seen it before?”  His fingertip trailed down the length of the scar. 

“I usually wear a layer of Dermaplast.  The Voidhound is meant to be perfect.  More personally, for Eva Corolastor a woman with a scar is so much easier to identify than just another girl in the galaxy. Having no identifying marks keeps the crew safe.”  Her voice was even and low as he continued his careful analysis of her face. 

Theron gently turned her face in the light again.  “You hide in plain sight.  You’re always in disguise.”  She nodded in his hands.  “One of these days, you’ll have to show me everything without the costume.”

Eva’s eyes opened wide as Lana’s voice broke in from across the room. “Not now and not here, Theron.”

Theron slowly realized what he just said as well as --   “That-that came out wrong.”  Theron let her go, quickly, eyes racing to find where Lana was.  She wasn’t even looking at them, her back turned as she worked at another console.  

“On the contrary.  I think it came out right,” Eva murmured to him.  Theron felt fire in his head as she flounced off, all too pleased with herself. 

**

“So, how long are you going to string them on?” Risha asked as they moved through the streets, back toward the ship, rain pouring down around them.

“Let’s run that data they gave you first. See what their capabilities are, and see how else are they getting people off this planet,” Eva replied. “If we can stop that in cooperation with the agents of the two major governments supporting us, they may not have as many objections as they would if I just said, ‘How much for just the planet?’”

Then she added, “You know, Rogun was right.”

“You’d be dead on sight here, if you were as you normally are?”

Eva nodded as they crossed the wharf back to the ship. 

Risha caught the edge of some emotion from Eva.  She didn’t know exactly what it was, but she pressed it.  “You somehow screwed them over before I met you?”

“Not quite.” 

“This got anything to do with the fact you’re sleeping in the cockpit again?” 

For anyone who knew Eva, her sleeping in the cockpit was a sign of trouble.  Eva had apparently done it when she was a child, on and off when her parents let her.  She did it for a long time after she first became captain.  She did it from Tatooine all the way until she became Voidhound.  She did it after the Port Nowhere episode.  Sometimes she did it when she was sick or upset about something – one or two nights, but she’d go back to her quarters when the trouble was past.

Eva had been sleeping in the cockpit, in the captain’s chair, for ten nights, since the night she dyed her hair and got them all to start construction on the Red Hulls uniforms.

“Yeah, it might,” admitted the Captain, grudgingly. 

Risha stopped dead in her tracks.  “Out with it.  I’m not going back to the ship with you until you come clean on this.”

Eva stopped and turned to look at her, with an expression that conveyed the sentiment of, “Really?” 

“I don’t do business blind” was what Risha said.  Eva was fluent in Risha-ese, which meant this translated to, “I’m worried about you, you idiot.”  Rain was coming down in buckets now.

“Fine.  You know how the Novas are into slavery – we knew that after Rogun spoke to us.”  Eva hesitated a second.  “Their silent partner prior to the Revanites was Darmas Pollaran.  This is where he trafficked the women from.  This was his cover before he got into sabacc and information dealing.”  She laid it out there – Risha had asked for it, and she got it. Bluntly, brutally. with no forewarning.

For a few moments, Risha felt as if the floor was pulled out from under her.  The cool, indifferent character with the superiority complex faded, as she watched Eva look around nervously, something so unlike her. 

For a few moments, Risha and Eva were back in their early twenties, realizing that Eva had –

“Nothing ever stays dead in this galaxy, does it?  Things just rise back up and haunt you forever.”  Risha managed to squeeze out the words in a rush. 

Eva sighed and reached up to adjust her bandana.  “Yeah, well.  Point is, they got plenty of reasons to be mad at me for that, plus the whole slave market crash we engineered.  The Voidhound is a head that would be hunted here, no due deference or interest in making friends at all here.”   As Eva’s hands dropped, she made a request.  “Don’t tell anyone on board.  They’ll worry.”

“Too late for me on that count,” Risha retorted, and that’s when she really knew that this upset her. 

Imagine what it was doing to Eva. 

“You know how Bowie will get.  You know how Corso will get.” 

“What about Akaavi?”  Risha asked.  “She went with you when –”

Eva was already shaking her head.  “No, she’ll do that Mandalorian jai'galaar thing where she watches me and is ready to swoop down screaming on anyone who even breathes in my direction….”  Then Eva stopped.  “Then again... she – you should -- ”

Eva, indecisive.  This was bad. 

Risha swallowed. “I’ll keep it to myself.  For now.  You start acting … You start making –”  Eva, indecisive; Risha, inelegant – it struck Risha how fresh the wounds still were. 

“You’ll tell someone if the situation fits. I get it.”  Risha noticed how the temperature had dropped due to the rainstorm; Eva’s breath was visible now.   “I need to get a hat, if this place is going to have this much rain.” 

Risha rolled her eyes at the non sequitur.  “Let’s get back to the ship then.”    The pair took a few steps forward before Risha stopped again.   “What about Guss?”

Eva stopped in her tracks too.  “He was there when I shot Darmas.  He saw the whole thing on Corellia.”

“Guss is cool?  For this?”

“Yeah, Guss is cool.”

All joking aside, much like his capabilities in the Force, the Mon Cal was randomly trustworthy. 

This was one of those random things. 

The pair continued back to the ship in silence, only to be met by a very excited little droid.  “Theron Shan = alive.”

“Not so loud,” Eva gently warned him, hand sliding over T3’s dome.  “You’re going to short yourself out, playing in the rain like this.”

“Shipment = arrived.  T3 = alone.  C2 = afraid of water.”

Risha chided him, “Yeah, C2 is smart and he has more exposed wires than you do.  The rest of the crew went to the warehouse?”

“Affirmative.” 

“The delivery boy gave you the security codes for the drop-off?”

“Affirmative.  Delivery boy = no access to ship.”

Eva looked around and finally saw the neat pile of waterproof crates left behind by Rogun’s agent.  “I know we say we like to do our own wet work, but this takes it to another level.” 

The two women – with a little help from T3 and C2, who stayed out of the deluge entirely – swiftly moved the Voidfleet goods into Virtue’s Thief cargo bay.

Risha noticed that Eva checked the spice shipment closely.  “Taking a packet for samples?” she asked casually.

“Hey, we got the first meet-and-greet at the warehouse later this week – I was worried this wasn’t going to come in on time, after all that talk I did with them last week.  We have potential buyers.  Would you circulate something without trying it?” Eva asked.

“Apparently, they do, based on the ryll Guss picked up.  Then again, they may be idiots like Guss.”  A smile played at her lips.  “Though I will say I don’t think they’ll be able to resist this stuff.  It even looks nice in the packaging.”

Eva gave the packet of spice a long, hard look.  Then she turned to Risha.  “You still got a small stash, or you need a top up for your weekend getaways?” 

Risha contemplated the answer as she watched her captain carefully.  “I’ll check.  What about you?”

“Gotta look the part of a free-wheeling spice dealer, right?” 

“….Right.”

There were a few moments of silence.

“Quality assurance?”

“Even better excuse.  But let’s hurry up – we do have a schedule to maintain.”