Turning to face the voice behind them, Cipher and Watcher found themselves standing before Darth Nox, who was dressed only in a small bathrobe.  Without hesitation and head bowed, Cipher was the first to speak, "forgive our intrusion upon your private quarters, my Lord Nox, we were obviously brought here in error by your servant. With your kind permission, we will leave immediately and await your summons to the proper location."

With a mild laugh the woman replied, "good morning, you must be the persons Keeper sent, Cipher Nine and Watcher Zed if I recall correctly."  Then moving toward a small table in the room, she continued, "you're in the right place, be at ease.  Come have a seat, we have much to discuss and time is a precious commodity."

Waiting for Darth Nox to be seated first, Cipher and Watcher then sat down allowing her to continue,  "first, Darth Nox is the title given me by the Dark Council.  My real name is Zefaara Nar, Lord of the Sith.  You will also discover, as time passes, I do not operate like the typical Sith"  Pausing for a moment, she spoke again to the pair, "the reason you're both here is to head a special unit of people I'm assembling for a mission vital to the future of the Empire.  Another is that I owe Keeper quite a few favors and he didn't want his two best people to be wasted by petty Sith politics."

"What do you mean by wasted, my Lord?" ,Cipher queried, "by your words,you make it sound as if something, how do I put this? ... ominous, was about to transpire effecting us."

"Your words cannot be farther from the truth,"  Zefaara addressed the pair, "in a few hours, Imperial Intelligence will be disbanded by the Dark Council.  Most personnel will be assigned to the military or various Sith Lords... some are to be 'retired'.  Keeper was able to ascertain that he and the two of you were among the names on the retirement list.  As I said before, I owe Keeper quite a few favors and he collected on a couple."  With her demeanor changing to a more serious tone, Zefaara added,  "I pay my debts, the three of you are now safe.  You two are now with me, Keeper and his wife are safe and comfortable in a location known only to me."

Taken aback by the Sith's words, Cipher responded, "we are indeed indebted to you, my Lord. We will serve you faithfully and are yours to command."

The conversation was interrupted with the opening of the door the pair had entered the room from.  Mayla walked in, carrying a serving tray and approached the Sith.  "Please pardon my intrusion, Master,"  the young woman timidly said, "but you have not had your morning tea, I could not allow so grievous an oversight to happen."

"Ah, Mayla," Zefaara softly spoke to the girl, "whatever would I do without your attentions? Thank you, my dear."

Noting the girl's dutiful attention to her master, Cipher said, "I admire how well you have trained your slaves, my Lord.  Her knowledge of how to keep you happy is quite impressive."

In a swift move, Mayla turned toward the man and abruptly set the tray on the table.  Leaning across, she began shouting at the agent, "I am not a slave!  I serve my Master of my own free will... and will do so until I die!"  Realizing what she had done, Mayla immediately turned toward the Sith and prostrated herself before the woman, sobbing uncontrollably.  "Please forgive me, Master," the girl said between cries, "I have brought shame upon you, I'm sorry."

Pushing her chair away, Zefaara bent down and lovingly cupped the distraught girl's face in her hands.  Cooing softly to Mayla, she said, "it's all right Mayla, there is nothing to forgive.  If anything, it's you that should forgive me.  I haven't told him how things operate here yet, he meant no harm."  Gently lifting the girl's face and gazing into her eyes, the Sith continued, "please get up and calm yourself.  There is much I need you to do today and only you can handle these for me."  Helping Mayla to her feet, Zefaara then began wiping the tears from her face as she said, "go now, my guests and I can help ourselves to the tea.  You'll find today's schedule and tasks on your datapad.  Take some time to compose yourself, my dear child.  I'll see you again, later."

Before turning to leave, Mayla bowed to the Sith and said, "thank you, Master.  I will not disappoint you."

Watching Mayla leave, Zefaara turned toward her company and spoke, "Perhaps now is a good time to bring you both up to speed on how things work in my organization."  Returning to her seat, she reached to the tray.  Taking a cup, she then began to pour herself some tea.  Adding cream and sugar to the steaming liquid, she began to stir the beverage.  "Tell me,"  the Sith Lord asked, "are either of you familiar with the man, Nok Drayen?"

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Thanks for dropping by and hope you enjoyed your visit.
Comments are always welcome and appreciated.
Mioraa