espionage! → cassian andor

i. the meet

⋆☆* ✧✰.✦

ALL KIDS RAISED IN THE CORE grew up hearing the same thing: "the galaxy is more than just the Core; if you want to really know it, then go visit the Outer Rim". The funny thing, though, was that they were also told how dangerous the Outer Rim was. As far as the parents of the Core were concerned, the Outer Rim was a vile place filled with bounty hunters, miscreants, and other disreputable sorts.

Mari Tam spent her whole life in the Core until she joined the ranks of the Empire. Since then, she had visited the Outer Rim—and all sorts of other places—several times, and she honestly found it more depressing than she did dangerous. Perhaps it was because she could take care of herself, but she saw past the danger and instead looked at the lives of everyday citizens. They lived in fear and poverty, barely scraping by with the jobs they could scrounge up, and that's if they weren't slaves. Her heart ached for them; the Empire's grip was only so strong in such places due to the high levels of crime and distance from the Core, which meant it couldn't give the people the help they needed.

It was for that reason that she despised going to the Outer Rim, but at least this visit would be short, and at least it was for a good cause. She was planning on meeting a member of the dangerous and anarchic Alliance to Restore the Republic, one who was planning on becoming a spy for the Empire. More experienced Imperial Security Bureau agents would turn up their noses at such a "small" mission, but Mari rather looked forward to it. If she could successfully get information from their new spy and it turned out to be fruitful, it would bring them one step closer to restoring true peace to the galaxy (and her one step closer to being given better missions).

Mari had only been with the ISB for a year and a half, but she quickly began making a name for herself with her intelligence and her ability to defend herself in a fight, both verbal and physical. She had a way with people and a way with words, and she used that to her advantage—it was the reason she had made agent at the age of 22. Her upbringing had gotten her through the door (her well-to-do parents enrolled her in the Junior Academy the moment they could, and she only went up from there), but it was her skills that allowed her to achieve her dream job so early in her career. She was already making a difference for the Empire, even if it was mostly securing little victories. Hopefully, this mission would be another little victory.

The plan was for her to meet the contact in the alleyway behind a restaurant on a planet she hadn't even heard of until a few days earlier. Like most Outer Rim planets, it was filled with disreputable people, so no one would think twice if they were seen talking quietly in an alley. Mari took a small starfighter that was nothing like anything the Empire was known to have and wore clothes that looked nothing like her crisp ISB uniform. As far as she was concerned, no one would think of her as Imperial—she just had to hope that her contact wasn't luring her into a trap, which was certainly a possibility.

Mari could feel eyes on her as she walked down the sidewalk, because while her cloak's hood was pulled up over her head, it was still clear that she wasn't poor and that she was female, and both of those traits gathered attention on a planet like that. She didn't fear for her safety, though; she had her service blaster strapped to her hip and she wasn't afraid to stun someone if the need arose. She looked down at her dark brown belted tunic, tucking a few strands of her unruly, curly brunette hair behind her ear as they fell into her face. Once that was taken care of, she let her hand rest on her blaster, the reminder of its presence giving her some comfort.

When she looked up again, she noticed she was nearing the alleyway in which the meet would take place. She surreptitiously slipped around the corner and, once she checked behind every possible hiding spot, stood against the wall and waited. She was a few minutes early, which had been part of her plan, and now she had time to watch the area and ensure no one's attention was drawn.