The medical wing had finally descended into a heavy, clinical quiet.
Most of the lights were dimmed, leaving the room washed in the muted glow of the Moena skyline as it filtered through the transparisteel window. Far below, the city moved in an endless, indifferent crawl, ships gliding through night lanes, life continuing without pause while Shade sat motionless in the shadow of her chair.
Her right arm remained locked in its brace. The joint had been forced back into place hours ago, but the surrounding muscles were still swollen and raw, turning every shallow breath into a dull, persistent tug against the injury. The doctors had insisted on monitoring and recovery, and Shade had allowed them their procedures, not out of a need for care, but as a necessary tax on her body before she could return to work.
Once they were gone, she had asked for a secure line.
The datapad rested in her lap, its screen casting a pale blue light across the cobalt of her skin. Her crimson eyes studied the message buffer with a hunter's patience before she began to type. The words came carefully, not born of emotion, but of the same precise efficiency that governed her every move.
As she worked, the memory of the containment cell flickered through her mind with unwanted clarity: the crushing, suffocating pressure of Allan's power; the moment her legs had buckled under the sheer gravity of his will; and the sound of the door opening, revealing Varin walking out beside him.
Shade's jaw tightened. She had given Varin her word, and he had been taken regardless. That failure sat in her chest like a shard of ice, frozen and immovable.
The datapad chimed softly as the encryption cycled through Republic Intelligence channels. Shade rerouted the transmission one final time, bypassing the standard networks to reach someone she had not contacted.
Lysander.
The man who had once kept her prisoner was now the only person she trusted to understand exactly what Allan Alhune represented.
The message was transmitted without fanfare.
To: Lysander
Subject: Mortifer Extraction
Varin Mortifer has been taken.
The individual responsible identified himself as Allan Alhune. His capabilities exceed those of typical Force users, demonstrating advanced gravity manipulation, biological destruction, and rapid regenerative healing. He breached a Republic Intelligence containment wing and neutralized the security detail without visible effort.
I engaged him. The result was predictable.
I was unable to prevent Mortifer's extraction. However, Varin was aware he might be targeted; prior to the incident, he allowed me to place a tracker on his person. Its signal remains active.
You understand the implications of this situation better than anyone currently in Republic Intelligence. If Alhune has taken Mortifer, the consequences will escalate beyond our ability to contain them. I am forwarding the tracker signal with this transmission.
If you are willing, we may still have an opportunity to intercept.
I would not contact you unless the situation justified it. It does.
— Shade
The datapad gave a final, sharp chime as the encrypted packet left the system. Shade set it aside slowly, her remaining hand resting against the arm of the chair.
Somewhere out there, in the dark between the stars, Allan was moving with his prize.
For the first time since the cell had collapsed around her, Shade allowed herself one quiet, controlled breath.
The hunt had begun.
Varin Mortifer
Lysander von Ascania
Most of the lights were dimmed, leaving the room washed in the muted glow of the Moena skyline as it filtered through the transparisteel window. Far below, the city moved in an endless, indifferent crawl, ships gliding through night lanes, life continuing without pause while Shade sat motionless in the shadow of her chair.
Her right arm remained locked in its brace. The joint had been forced back into place hours ago, but the surrounding muscles were still swollen and raw, turning every shallow breath into a dull, persistent tug against the injury. The doctors had insisted on monitoring and recovery, and Shade had allowed them their procedures, not out of a need for care, but as a necessary tax on her body before she could return to work.
Once they were gone, she had asked for a secure line.
The datapad rested in her lap, its screen casting a pale blue light across the cobalt of her skin. Her crimson eyes studied the message buffer with a hunter's patience before she began to type. The words came carefully, not born of emotion, but of the same precise efficiency that governed her every move.
As she worked, the memory of the containment cell flickered through her mind with unwanted clarity: the crushing, suffocating pressure of Allan's power; the moment her legs had buckled under the sheer gravity of his will; and the sound of the door opening, revealing Varin walking out beside him.
Shade's jaw tightened. She had given Varin her word, and he had been taken regardless. That failure sat in her chest like a shard of ice, frozen and immovable.
The datapad chimed softly as the encryption cycled through Republic Intelligence channels. Shade rerouted the transmission one final time, bypassing the standard networks to reach someone she had not contacted.
Lysander.
The man who had once kept her prisoner was now the only person she trusted to understand exactly what Allan Alhune represented.
The message was transmitted without fanfare.
To: Lysander
Subject: Mortifer Extraction
Varin Mortifer has been taken.
The individual responsible identified himself as Allan Alhune. His capabilities exceed those of typical Force users, demonstrating advanced gravity manipulation, biological destruction, and rapid regenerative healing. He breached a Republic Intelligence containment wing and neutralized the security detail without visible effort.
I engaged him. The result was predictable.
I was unable to prevent Mortifer's extraction. However, Varin was aware he might be targeted; prior to the incident, he allowed me to place a tracker on his person. Its signal remains active.
You understand the implications of this situation better than anyone currently in Republic Intelligence. If Alhune has taken Mortifer, the consequences will escalate beyond our ability to contain them. I am forwarding the tracker signal with this transmission.
If you are willing, we may still have an opportunity to intercept.
I would not contact you unless the situation justified it. It does.
— Shade
The datapad gave a final, sharp chime as the encrypted packet left the system. Shade set it aside slowly, her remaining hand resting against the arm of the chair.
Somewhere out there, in the dark between the stars, Allan was moving with his prize.
For the first time since the cell had collapsed around her, Shade allowed herself one quiet, controlled breath.
The hunt had begun.
Varin Mortifer
Lysander von Ascania
